It's come to this: I have a major paper due in three weeks and unless I get serious about my research and writing, it's not going to get done. Unfortunately, I've come to realize that a blogger is someone quite akin to a strung out junkie who can't wait to get his next fix. Nevertheless, at risk of going through some strange withdrawal where I'm curled up in a corner, wild-eyed and drooling, I'm going to have to force myself to take a sabbatical from blogging for a few weeks. Though I'm tempted to say I may post here or there if something good comes up, I'm not going to or else I'll fail...pretty plain and simple, I'll blow the paper, look like a fool, fail the seminar and...well...curl up in a corner looking wild-eyed and drooling. Since I don't want to see that happen, I'm going to step away completely.

I really hope that in my absence, those who have started coming by regularly will not abandon doing so in the future altogether. As soon as I get a handle on all things academic, I will be back adding yet another voice into the mix of this crazy culture of ours. I'm hoping by that time the name of Eason Jordon will be nowhere to be found in the blogosphere and no new "gates" will have emerged ("rather-gate," "eason-gate," etc., for those slow on the up-take). I'm pretty sick of all the gates and, frankly, wish people could come up with a little more original term...but I digress.

So, hang in there with me if you will...subscribe to my RSS or Atom feed and come on back to espresso roast when things pick up here again. If you'd like email notification, drop me a line at espresso-roast@insightbb.com and I'll let you know when I'm posting again. Also, I've got quite a few archives here over the last several months, so maybe you can find something that interests you. If so, drop a comment (or, hey, sign my guest book...that would be cool).

There are some really good blogs listed on my blog roll I recommend you check out: Alex Forrest is a friend of mine from Southern who usually has some insightful comment (when he's not talking about gay lectures...you'll have to check out his blog to find out about that one); Long Time Gone has some interesting comments and reports from an American living in Korea (not to mention some pretty gruesome photos and videos...really); Texas Bug who is from...you know...Texas, and has some good posts especially related to some of the more personal stories involving our operations in Iraq; ReaganWarrior often has some very insightful commentary...those on the left, beware ;-). I also highly recommend Evangelical Outpost, Le Sabot Post-Moderne, and Wittenberg Gate. There are, of course, many others worth a read and I commend them to you.

Ok, well...be blessed and I'll see you here in a few. Till then...

Labels: David C. Price

FOXNews.com - Health - Romanian Twins Born Two Months Apart

I've obviously never given birth, but my wife has and I've seen it and I'm glad men don't give birth! Can you imagine going through that long, painful process of giving birth only to hear the doctor tell you that the other one (in your OTHER uterus) isn't ready yet...we'll have to do this all over again in a couple of months?

The first thing I've ever heard come out of the mouth of new mothers is how thankful they are they're NOT pregnant anymore. So perhaps this is just encouragement to all you epectant mothers out there (and fathers): it could certainly be worse!

Labels: David C. Price

Well, no...I suppose one would never really need to wonder about the Times...it's pretty clear about where they stand on most issues. Nevertheless, in my last post, I mentioned an OP-ED piece by Michael Behe in today's edition. I was going through comments for a blog of an opposing position and came across a post by one of the editors at the Times:

I am an editor at the Times, and I clashed with PZ once before over a Times article on a creationist theme park. At that time I invited him not to write a letter to the editor, but to submit an op-ed piece. That’s what Behe wrote, and PZ could write a refutation of the same length. There’s no guarantee that it would be published, but if it’s good, it very well might be.

To defend Times journalism very briefly, opinion articles, like letters to the editor, are not edited or challenged for “balance.” They are intended to give people a platform to spout their views, one hopes in an intelligent way. Then the paper runs other articles or letters with contrary viewpoints. I doubt you’ll ever see the Times run an opinion piece by someone advocating that the earth is flat, or that the six-day creation is literally true, because such ideas are so thoroughly discredited as to be utterly indefensible. Unfortunately, many reasonable people believe that ID is at least somewhat defensible or at least possible. And so opinion pieces like this can get published, but so can their refutations, if PZ or another scientist wants to take a crack at it.
(italics added)

Following the previous acidic and vitriolic comments on Behe and those other "ignorant liars" who believe this "crap" that were on that blog (including one who actually suggested that Behe and other proponents should be denied the right to live), I suppose actually saying that one can be "reasonable" and believe ID should be taken as a compliment. I don't and ad hominem attacks still don't answer Behe's assertions. I suppose if these folks feel that threatened by the growing influence of ID, those are the kinds of personal attacks that can be expected.

Labels: David C. Price

RedNova News - Evolutionary Biolologist Ernst Mayr Dies

That is not a sarcastic statement. I take no delight when I read a story like this one when I know the person died denying the existence of God in their lives. To me, it's tragic...but he knows now there is a God.

A related story, but one with more hopeful possibilities, is of the developments a couple of months ago regarding famed atheistic philosopher, Antony Flew. At the age of 81, Flew acknowledged his newfound belief in the existence of God, though he currently considers himself a deist (you can read a related article here).

Flew, staunch defender of David Hume's philosophy, has spent much of his life arguing against the existence of a god of any kind. With the incredible developments of the work related to Intelligent Design, Flew stated, "I think that the most impressive arguments for God's existence are those that are supported by recent scientific discoveries...I think the argument to Intelligent Design is enormously stronger than it was when I first met it." In spite of this huge step for Flew, he still finds himself tripped up on the problem of evil. Hopefully, his story will have a happier ending than that of Dr. Mayr...but he's not there yet.

Read a good summary and clarification about Intelligent Design in today's OP-ED in the New York Times by Michael Behe, one of the major proponents of ID.

Labels: David C. Price

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I heard about this on the radio on the way to work today and looked it up when I got home. This is a very interesting development in the debate over stem cell research...at least indirectly.

It turns out that a couple in the Chicago area who had frozen embryos at a clinic have been given the option of suing because the embryos were accidentally discarded. The kicker is that, under Illinois state law, they can bring a wrongful death suit. Cook County Judge Jeffrey Lawrence said "a pre-embryo is a 'human being' ... whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb."

If a human embryo is granted legal protection and status as a human being, which many of us already argue that very point, then it could have far-reaching implications into the destruction of embryos for research.

[The judge] said the couple is as entitled to seek compensation as any parents whose child has been killed.

In his ruling, Lawrence relied on the state's Wrongful Death Act, which allows lawsuits to be filed if unborn fetuses are killed in an accident or assault. "The state of gestation or development of a human being" does not preclude taking legal action, the act says.

Lawrence also cited an Illinois state law that says an "unborn child is a human being from the time of conception and is, therefore, a legal person."

I, for one, think this is a great development. I completely support the President's stance on the subject as expressed in his recent State of the Union address: "I will work with Congress to ensure that human embryos are not created for experimentation or grown for body parts and that human life is never bought or sold as a commodity." This latest development is a step in the right direction in ensuring that one unborn human life is not snuffed out for any reason, especially when the "benefits" of such an action are so unclear (though I don't believe that even the best results justify the destruction of the human embyos).

I will be following this story with interest on this blog and welcome any insight and feedback from readers.

Labels: David C. Price

HT: Drudge for photo.

Labels: David C. Price

Michelle Malkin blogs about MSNBC's Chris Matthews expressing his belief that the interaction at last nights State of the Union Speech pictured below was less than sincere:

Last night, MSNBC blabber Chris Matthews suggested that the powerfully moving hug between Safia Taleb al-Suhail, who recently voted in the Iraqi elections, and Janet Norwood, mother of a Marine who died in Iraq, was staged. Matthews sneered that fellow MSNBC host Pat Buchanan was being "naive" for arguing otherwise.

Obviously, if it was an honest interchange, it might lend emotional support to the President's position. You can read the transcript of the conversation posted over at Michelle's blog.

Labels: David C. Price

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No, I'm really not talking about a politician, a liberal theologian, or a whacky news story (though perhaps it could apply to any of the aforementioned), I'm talking about myself. After four hours in the library doing research, I spent three hours today in Philosophy of Religion class talking about the nature of time, space, and God. As interesting as it was...I'm spent. I'm going to sit now with a blank stare on my face, work on keeping the drool in my mouth, and listen to the State of the Union address. God bless you all and goodnight.

Labels: David C. Price

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - U.S. Headlines:

A teenager who shot and killed his grandparents as they slept is "a shy, decent boy" who was led to kill by the antidepressant Zoloft, his attorney said as the boy went on trial.

Christopher Pittman, now 15, is being tried as an adult for two counts of murder in the November 2001 slayings of Joe and Joy Pittman with a pump-action shotgun. Their house was set ablaze and the youth, then 12, drove off in the family car.

Defense attorney Andy Vickery said Monday that Zoloft was to blame.

Ok, at this point, I'm not buying it. The story goes on...

Prosecutors contend Pittman shot his grandparents because they disciplined him for fighting on a school bus.

"This is not a case about Zoloft. This is not a case about Pfizer," prosecutor Barney Giese told the jury in opening statements. "This is a case about Chris Pittman."

I agree. Yes, it is a tragedy and, no, I don't like the idea of a 15 year-old kid going to prison for the better part of his life, but neither do I like the idea of two people being blown away in their own home because they disciplined a 12 year-old boy...their own grandson, no less.

I'm sure there are many issues to be dealt with in this case, but at some point, there comes a time when we stop placing blame everywhere else and put responsibility on the one to whom it belongs. Perhaps someone has a good argument regarding the strength of Zoloft of which I'm not privy, but I've known people who have been on Zoloft and there seems to have been no signs of maniacal rampages.

No doubt this kid needs (needed) plenty of help and I certainly hope that in the process he gets it, but to say that the drug has taken the three lives is a bit of a stretch. Let's give people an excuse for taking out their aggressions on other people without fear of repercussions for their behavior...give them a prescription and have at it. I don't think our society or our kids will be better for it.

Labels: David C. Price

This post from World Magazine blog points out the seriousness of the danger right here at home, especially for Arab Christians.

Arab Christians who have visited Paltalk.com, an internet chat service, have been tracked by a radical Muslim website, barsomyat.com. One Christian named Joseph, whose picture was posted on the site, was threatened: "'Know, oh Christian, that you are not far from us and you are under our watchful eyes!' Another user remarks, 'Laugh, oh Christian, and soon you will see a big hit.'

Lest you think this is much ado about nothing...

Another Christian who visited Paltalk.com was murdered after receiving threats: "Two months before Armanious's murder, authorities said he received a death threat from a Muslim PalTalk user: 'You'd better stop this bull ... or we are going to track you down like a chicken and kill you.' On January 14, Armanious and his family -- including two daughters, ages 15 and 8 -- were found killed in their Jersey City home, bound and gagged with their throats slashed."

It's important to note that the hate site's web-hosting company, Viza-Web Inc, is based in Woodbury, Minn.

Labels: David C. Price