What One Hand Giveth...

May 1, 2003:

Men and women in every culture need liberty like they need food and water and air. Everywhere that freedom arrives, humanity rejoices and everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear.

The advance of freedom is the surest strategy to undermine the appeal of terror in the world. Where freedom takes hold, hatred gives way to hope. When freedom takes hold, men and women turn to the peaceful pursuit of a better life. American values and American interests lead in the same direction: We stand for human liberty.

Our commitment to liberty is America's tradition - declared at our founding; affirmed in Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms; asserted in the Truman Doctrine and in Ronald Reagan's challenge to an evil empire.

-- President Bush

January 4, 2006:

Coast Guard Repatriates 126 Cuban Migrants

Loompanics Going Out of Business

Mike Hoy's Loompanics Unlimited, seller of unusual and controversial books for over 30 years, is going out of business--everything is 50% off. It's a sad day, but fortunately most of these books are now easier to obtain than ever. (Hat tip to Patri Friedman at Catallarchy--I haven't received the catalogs for many years.)

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl is a spammer

As readers of this blog know, I'm no supporter of George W. Bush. I've never contributed funds or worked to support the campaign of a Republican. Yet I received this spam email from Jon Kyl, who is apparently concerned about competition from Arizona Democratic Party chairman Jim Pederson in the next election. It's also interesting that Kyl's jonkyl.com website is hosted in Canada, and his campaign webservers are hosted in New Jersey. Way to support your home state, Senator.

From: "Senator Jon Kyl"
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 23:57:14 -0500
Subject: I invite you to join my team...

Today I am writing you for two reasons. One is to say thank you for your past support of President Bush and a second is to ask for your help. I am not asking for money. I am simply asking for your time and energy in helping my reelection campaign.

First, thank you for your help in the 2004 election. Because of your hard work, we had a huge victory in Arizona. One of the key elements of victory was the organized force of Bush Volunteers who registered voters, made phone calls, walked neighborhoods, placed signs and bumper stickers, and helped get out the vote. It was a record setting year, and you were part of that team.

Second, I want to ask for your help. As you may know, I am running for reelection to the U.S. Senate. My opponent is the former Chairman of the Arizona Democrat Party, Jim Pederson. He has personally bankrolled the Democrats' efforts, including against President Bush, to date he has spent over $5 million on Democrats and their causes. He is a supporter of Howard Dean and Ted Kennedy and was a leader in John Kerry's failed presidential campaign. Not surprisingly, John Kerry now is Pederson's biggest contributor.

That is why I need your help. Television and radio alone will not win this election. In order to be successful, we will need to replicate the Bush Volunteer program to run our grass roots campaign. We are currently recruiting volunteers from across Arizona to join our campaign as Kyl Captains. As a Kyl Captain you will be integral in our network of individuals who are willing to help on the campaign. Whether you prefer registering voters, working the phones, or just talking with your friends and neighbors, you will be a critical component of my campaign. Because Jim Pederson will spend what it takes on television, it is very important to have a strong and active Arizona Team on the ground, registering and getting voters to the polls. I am convinced it is the key to victory in November 2006.

Please take a moment and visit www.jonkyl.com and sign up as a Kyl Captain. Your personal commitment to this campaign will make all the difference. It has been the greatest honor of my life to represent the people of Arizona in the United States Senate. With your help I hope to continue that public service.

Again, thank you for your past work on behalf of the President and I look forward to working together in the future.

Sincerely,

Jon Kyl
U.S. Senator

P.S. If you have any questions, please feel free to call my office at (602) 840-0306 or visit: www.jonkyl.com

P.O. Box 10246 :: Phoenix, AZ 85064 :: info@jonkyl.com

Paid for by Jon Kyl for U.S. Senate

Report card on the U.S. government's response to the 9/11 Commission

The U.S. government has failed to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to fix the worst problems. Shane Harris and Greta Wodele of the National Journal have written an article analyzing why this failure has occurred.

Here's the quick list of recommendations which received D or F grades:

Allocate homeland-security funds based on risk: F
Reform intelligence oversight: D
Declassify overall intelligence budget: F
Improve airline passenger prescreening: F
Change incentives for information-sharing: D
Improve government-wide information-sharing: D
Improve checked bag and cargo screening: D
Mount a maximum effort to secure weapons of mass destruction: D
Strengthen the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: D
Provide adequate radio spectrum for first responders: F
Support reform in Saudi Arabia: D
Set coalition standards for terrorist detention: F
Support secular education in Muslim countries: D
Support scholarship, exchange, and library programs: D

The Idiocy That is John 3:16

People are clearly terrified of death.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (New International Version, Red Letter Edition)

I guess I can sorta see why this verse is so commonly quoted by Christians who are evangelizing—it is, after all, always best to appeal to your mark’s fear and greed—but on close inspection it really proves as empty as any snow job you can name.

“For God so loved the world…”

A loving God? The unmitigated level of sheer evil in the world belies this claim, but one doesn’t even have to look past the almost endless Biblical examples of God’s despicable behavior to conclude that, whatever God’s feelings toward the world, “love” doesn’t seem to count among them.

“…that he gave his one and only Son…”

Oh, look! Here’s a Biblical example right here! God loved the world so much, but really, He couldn’t be bothered, so he sent his son to do his dirty work? Come on! You expect me to believe that the best God could do, given that he loved the world so much was to send his “son,” in human form, to Earth to wander around, give speeches, and arrogantly tell people, over and over again, “Believe that I’m the Son of God or you’re going to burn in Hell!”?

Yeah, so he supposedly cured the sick and made some alcohol, but given the Biblical account, even that wasn’t too terribly convincing, as not even all the witnesses were swayed to believe his claims of divinity. God supposedly really really really loved the world, so couldn’t he have done better than torturing and killing his own kid to “save” the world? I mean, if he wants us to be all worshipful and stuff... If he loves us so much, why not just “save” us all in the first place, and dispense with all the bother (and just who is it that God is “saving” us from, by the way, if not Him)?

And what about that “sacrificing” thing, anyway? So Jesus “died” for us, to cleanse “us” of “our” original sins, and this was supposed to be God’s big “sacrifice” that makes Him all magnanimous and whatnot? What convolution of mind allows anyone to actually believe such an absurdity? Jesus was one third of the triune God, right? So in what sense did he really die? In what sense was this a “sacrifice” at all? The only answer I can come up with is, “It wasn’t,” so the entire edifice of Christian doctrine evaporates.

It’s amazing what straws people will clutch at attempting to avoid facing that final curtain.

New Testament: The Wine Cooler

Endorsed by Jesus.

ACLU files lawsuit against warrantless wiretapping

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against the NSA asking for an injunction against warrantless interception of communications to international destinations. The plaintiffs include James Bamford (author of The Puzzle Palace, Body of Secrets, and A Pretext for War), Christopher Hitchens, Greenpeace, Larry Diamond of the Hoover Institution, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and others.

Animal Planet Heroes Phoenix

Tonight is the premiere of Animal Planet Heroes Phoenix, a fifteen-episode series which filmed animal-related emergencies last year which were handled by the Arizona Humane Society's Emergency Animal Medical Technicians (EAMTs), a program launched in September 2002.

The show airs at 8 p.m. MST in the Phoenix market on the Animal Planet channel.

UPDATE: Kat and I attended the Arizona Humane Society's premiere event last night at Harkins Cine Capri. Many of the production crew (from Anglia Television), all of the EAMTs, and many AHS staff and volunteers were present, and available to chat after the show.

The show (an episode titled "Trapped Underground") was alternately heartwarming and saddening. A 14-year-old Spaniel was trapped 20 feet underground in a sinkhole in the owner's yard, a kitten was trapped in the piping of an apartment sprinkler system, a dog and her puppies were stung repeatedly by bees, and a large number of Brussels griffons were being kept in horrific conditions by a hoarder.

The upcoming schedule is a new episode each night this week: "Wandering Beagle" tonight (Jan. 17), "The Dog House" (Jan. 18), "Promise to Mother" (Jan. 19), and "Desert Rescue" (Jan. 20). Information on air dates and times may be found at Animal Planet's site.

ID advocates temporarily back Saddam Hussein's astrologer

William Dembski stopped blogging at "Uncommon Descent," but then turned the keys over to Dave Scot and a few others. A recent post there, quickly deleted, gave a quote from Dr. Raj Baldev criticizing evolution. It was no doubt deleted once the poster became aware that Baldev is an Indian astrologer and swami who endorses palmistry, numerology, and "occult reading," and who gave private consultations to Saddam Hussein when he was in power.

Ed Brayton commented on this posting before it disappeared, and now "crandaddy" at Uncommon Descent has the nerve to criticize Ed for being "bigoted" in pointing this out.

As a commenter on Ed's blog has pointed out, Michael Behe did say in the Dover case that astrology would count as science under the definition of science that admits intelligent design.

The Secular Outpost opens for business

A new group blog, The Secular Outpost, is now open for business with a post from Jeff Lowder on J.P. Moreland's claim that Christians are less biased than naturalists.