Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Rick Santorum, and Mary I, of England, Walk into a Bar...

My wise grandmother, Gina, told me more than a few times never to discuss sex, politics and religion in public because everyone had an opinion which you were unlikely to change, and that you'd probably just make people angry. I know this to be true, but I just can't help myself sometimes. It's primary season in U.S. politics, which means we get exposed to lots of allegations of "bad" sex and lots of questions about candidates' religious proclivities. The "bad" sex allegations have pretty much been all aimed at Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. The allegations are well-worn, and I'm frankly a little bored by them. Religion, on the other hand, gets my heart racing. One of my favorite people on the planet recently forwarded along to me an e-mail exhorting me to carefully watch the candidates for there religious stances because of the importance of these practices and views to the proper governance of the Country. So I did. Here's my primer:

Newt was raised Lutheran, became a Baptist, and converted to Catholicism. This combo played pretty well in the Palmetto State, which has been Newt's only primary victory so far.

Mitt Romney is, of coure, a Mormon, and he appears to be a very_active member of the Church of Latter Day Saints . The Latter Day Saints Church shares many characteristics of the Christian Church as described in the early Christian Creeds, but also varies_from_it_in_significant_ways, including its rejection of the Holy Trinity.

Ron_Paul was raised Lutheran, became a Baptist, and had his children baptised as Episcopalians. That's a pretty good smorgasbord of Protestantism, but as far as I can tell, Ron is not trying to convert anyone to any particular religious ideology.

President_Obama's_description of his faith is that he was raised by non-religious parents (his father was an atheist who'd been raised Muslim, and his mother was a lapsed Methodist), but was Baptised in the Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago as an adult. Of his faith, he says "I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't—frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead—being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me" (I've heard people say that they don't believe that President Obama is actually Christian. I guess you could say that about any of the candidates if you wanted to. Like I heard in church camp many moons ago: If you were on trial as a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Depends on the standard you use, I guess. I'll take Paul's (the Apostle Paul, not Ron Paul) in Romans_10:9-13. 'Course, trying anyone for being a Christian has been done to death, hasn't it?).

If you want a candidate whose politics match his religion, then Catholic Rick Santorum is your best choice. Rick has apparently said something to the effect that separation of Church and State has caused great harm in America. Give him credit: he's not flip-flopping on his religion. But is bringing the pulpit or altar to the White House a good thing?

The Founding Fathers, most of whom were Christian, made sure to include certain Amendments to the U.S. Constitution to protect the rights of individuals against the awesome power of Government. Their first amendment?

Amendment I. Religion and Expression "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances".

Why would the Founding Fathers want to guarantee that individuals could worship as they please, but deny them the power to have an official American religion? Maybe they remembered Henry VIII's daughter, Mary I of England, a/k/a Bloody_Mary who had a lot of English folks burned at the stake for the crime of not being Catholic.

But that couldn't happen in the age after the Age of Enlightenment, could it? Sure it could. In fact, it happened in post-Wiemar Republic Germany.In a wonderful biography I've just finished on Dietrich_Bonhoeffer, the author, Eric Metaxas, points out that when Adolf Hitler wanted to mold popular opinion to accept genocide, he created an official German Church in order to get rid of the pesky pro-Jewish sentiments that seemed to permeate the Bible (BTW, Metaxas' book is a great read).

So, what's best? Beats me. But I'm always wary of anyone tells me he knows God better than the next guy...

Killer Tunes.

I was jamming to some Pop music on Sirius Radio the other day, and tuned in to a catchy tune. It was "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People. It even had whistling. Now, a tune with whistling has got to be good clean fun, right? Uh, not exactly. I looked up the lyrics and the song is about a kid that goes on a killing spree. This is not a new phenomenon: Warren Zevon did it in the 1970's with "Excitable Boy"; The Talking Heads did it in the 1980's with "Psycho Killer"; Pearl Jam did it in the 90's with "Jeremy". Oh, well, like they say, "Guns don't kill people; songs about guns kill people". Sumpin' like that...

Ghost Whispering.

I was messing around with FaceBook the other day, and took a gander at list of friend suggestions FaceBook recommended. I guess their suggestions are based interconnections that my FB friends have with their friends. I guess FB figures that if I'm friends with Mitch and Cathy, and Mitch and Cathy are friends with Betty and Bob, maybe I oughta check out Betty and Bob. So I did. As I scrolled through the list, I noted at least two people who have died: a local police officer and one of Lady Di's former associates (none of the folks in the pic at left are dead, as far as I know. I just picked the page randomly... Okay, it was because of the dude that looks like Elvis). It was kind of creepy. I declined to send friend requests to them, since it's pretty unlikely they'd accept (even Mark Zuckerburg doesn't have an app for that). Maybe I'll try the original social network connection: maybe I'll say a prayer for them.

Payton's Magic?

Is it just me, or does the New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton look a little like the ventriloquist dummy from the 1978 Movie Magic? Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy the Super Bowl, whether Miami ends up Peyton (Manning's) Place or (Sean) Payton's Place.

R.I.P., KoP, Farrah.

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett were omnipresent in my youth. I didn't have the Farrah poster, but I think my buddy Russ did. I wasn't a fan of Michael, the person, but I was a big fan of Michael, the Entertainer. My daughter says I got her to eat meatloaf by telling her that it was Michael Jackson's favorite food. For all I know, it was. Whatever. She ate the meatloaf. "Beat It" was probably my fav MJ song. What were yours?

Kill Bill, David Carradine, and the Meaning of Life.

Like a lot of Americans, I've been reading accounts of the death of actor David Carradine. Like a lot of trailing-edge Baby Boomers, I watched him in Kung Fu. Like a lot of Quentin Tarantino fans, I watched him in Kill Bill. The details of his death, and the conclusions to be drawn from the details, are apparently still evolving, but he clearly he died alone and far from home. He died like his television character lived. He died like lots of folks live. Here's to you, David.

For the rest of us, here's the last five or six minutes of Kill Bill, Vol. 2. If you haven't seen the movie, and intend to see it, you probably ought not to watch this clip just yet (and, you ought see it. Cool soundtrack, cool action, and cool visuals- just what you'd expect from Quentin Tarantino- in what turns out to be a relationship movie. Who knew?):

Scrabble.

Oldest and his girlfriend stopped by this weekend. Got to love kids who'll play Scrabble with you, so we weren't really strict with the rules: "fiatin" and "crun" went unchallenged. Well, they sound like actual words, anyway.

Disasters? What disasters?

Severe global recession. Rising violence. Global warming. And now, the Swine Flu. How should we deal with this? Here's my suggestion:

A Well-Heeled School.

I watched the Mens' College Basketball Championship game between the North Carolina Tarheels and the Michigan State University Spartans last night. Each of the schools has won multiple national championships, and each has one with their current coaches, Tom Izzo from MSU and Roy Williams from UNC, but their programs are vastly different.

Michigan State roster is overwhelmingly from the midwest, with all but two players from Big Ten states (although one of those two is from Nigeria). All of the announced starters were either from Michigan or Ohio.

The Tarheels are a national crew, with each of the five starters from a different state. While six of the seventeen players on the roster are from North Carolina, none of the starters are from the Tarheel State. They are from California, New York, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Only Maryland is an Atlantic Coast Conference state. On the entire roster of 17 players, nine states are represented.

The game was played in Detroit, and MSU was a sentimental favorite. In the end, the Heels stomped the Spartans. There's usually a reason why an underdog is an underdog.

Attack of the Bugs.

We're supposed to be attacked by bugs today.
Not these kind of bugs.
Not this kind of Bugs. Actually, they're calling it a worm.
I set my SuperAntiSpyware against it. So far, so good. Maybe this was all an April Fool's Day joke afterall.

The Oscars.

I watched the Oscars last night. I actually saw fewer "good" movies last year than any year in my life. The Boro's lone theater doesn't generally show "artsy" films. Alas, since my forays into entertainment are generally with my children these days, it probably wouldn't matter if Ivanhoe Cinemas did show them. "Boys, we're going to the movies. Want to see "The Reader"? Well, I'm not really sure what it's about, but the critics love it. What? No, Adam Sandler isn't in it. No, I'm pretty sure nothing gets blown up. Fine, we'll see Iron Man". I did see a couple of Academy Award nominated films. Yeah. You guessed it: The Dark Knight and Iron Man. I'll see others, eventually.

R.I.P. Millard Fuller.

I'm a smart-ass, as you probably already know; consequently, when I saw the headline "Habitat Founder Recalled" my first reaction was, "Obviously, Millard was made by Chrysler". But it's not that kind of recall, and the founder of Habitat for Humanity deserves more than a bad pun to note his passing. Like God's best workers, Millard Fuller walked the walk. He didn't just talk about God's love, he did stuff to help poor people because that's what he thought God's love meant. Like every one of God's children, Millard had his faults, I'm told, but he wasn't some bloodless ghost preaching empty platitudes. By God- and for God- he did something. You know, maybe Millard was recalled by his maker, afterall.

Too Good to Be True: Fat is Where It's At!

According to YahooNews,the fountain of youth is flowing with fudge and bacon. It appears that those few extra pounds that made you look older when you were younger, make you look younger when you're older. I still got a bet with my bro-heim to lose 20 pounds, and I'm still gonna try to run a marathon in '09; but maybe I won't quit icecream all the way...

The Giants.

The Lads and I have been reading the Book of Genesis lately. No, not a primer on an old Sega videogame system; the other Genesis. From the Bible? First book? No? Anyway, their is some really cool stuff in Genesis. Including this passage:

Genesis 6:4 (New International Version)

4 "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown".

Or, if you'd rather, here's the King James:

Genesis 6:4 (King James Version)

4"There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown".

I try to sort through the stuff that seems to me to be instructive, but probably didn't really happen, from the stuff that may have actually happened. I've really never known what to do with the Nephilim: there doesn't seem to be any real instruction in their inclusion, but if the Nephilim actually existed, why don't we have any scientific proof of them?

'Course, maybe it was like the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, where they just store the artifacts away where nobody can find them. You remember Raiders of the Lost Ark, don't you? Well, here: let's melt some faces!



What the heck, I'll Google it. Maybe there are Giants out there.

Not these Giants.

These giants.

Ah, finally, the following video proves conclusively the existence of the Nephilim:

Brave New World.

I read in yesterday's paper that the woman who received a face transplant in Cleveland has been doing well. This news following the well-publicized birth of octuplets through in vitro fertilization to an unmarried woman who'd already had six children by the same process a few years earlier. Genetic engineering. Cloning. Face transplants. Steroids for strength in a jar. Just who do we think we are:



Oh. Right.

Are you ready for some football?

This is Raymond James Stadium, where the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will be duking it out in the Super Bowl this Sunday.
This is where the South Carolina Gamecocks play ball.
This is where I played college football. Yea, Sewanee's Right!

Got court again this week. Posting and responding could be spotty. I'll check in when I can.

Conan, the Librarian.

When I saw this "Pearls before Swine" yesterday, I chuckled. The juxtaposition of the generally held perception of librarians as orderly, quiet and meek with physical violence is funny stuff. My mom was a librarian, before she became a nun. Talk about Life in the Fastlane! Conan, the Barbarian, was a comic book hero of mine before Ah-nold portrayed him in the Hollywood version. Barbarians mean dis-order, boldness and a general disregard for civilization: the opposite of librarians. Anyway, for years, the verbal juxtaposition of those contrary concepts has been swimming around in my head as "Conan, the Librarian". Evidently, I'm not the first to have this thought:

Fluffy to the Rescue!

When most folks think about animals as heroes, they think about dogs. Like this:



or this:



Now, a new hero for a new era. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Fluffy. A cat, not a dog, saved a family (including, in what must have been total humiliation for the family dog, the family dog) from a burning house. Surprise, surprise.

We interupt this Smackdown to bring the following...

I went to the doctor's for a check-up today. Those bastards made me get on a scale. Now, my brother, the Amazing Ultra-marathon runner, AndyMan, recently blogged about his holiday weight gain up to 192 fairly solid pounds. Geez, what a lightweight. Like Jack Palance's character told Billy Crystal's character on City Slickers, "I crap bigger'n you". I've picked up 16 absolutely unnecessary pounds in the last three months, bringing the ungodly total to 246 freakin' pounds. This is not considered torture to the scale at the present time, but when Leon Pannetta becomes the CIA chief... well, let's just say I've got some life-style changes to make. I've already mentioned in comments in Star's blog, I've resolved to run a marathon in 2009. Reckon I'd better get to it. Like it or not, I'll bring you more Neil tomorrow. In the interim, this cartoon intro reminded me of me.

Torture of Choice

I read in today's Charleston Post and Courier that the U.S. Gummit was using AC/DC and Barney the Dinosaur to pound enemy combatants into submission. When my oldest was a kindergartener, I took him to see Barney at Universal Studios. In a week, I'll be taking the Lads to AC/DC. Evidentally, I'm torturing them. Well, Barney was torture for me, so I guess this is payback. Combining Barney with Souja Boy? Yeah, I know. SO last year, but hey, that's torture!



For technical reasons, Phil Collin's "In the Air Tonight" has been added to this post: