ESPRESSO ROAST - A TEAM BLOG

Parks In Capital Rotunda: Very Cool.

A Fitting Tribute.

Related Story.

Labels: David C. Price

Newsweek: The Gospel According to Anne

An interesting article on the new direction of gothic author, Anne Rice:
The Gospel According to Anne - Newsweek

Labels: David C. Price

Chavez Expulsion of Evangelical Missionaries From Venezuela

Paranoia, coupled with a socialist political agenda, has resulted in the expulsion order of Christian missionaries from the country of Venezuela by President Hugo Chavez. Fox News reports that missionaries with the New Tribes Mission (NTM) organization have been ordered to leave the country due to claims that the group is tied to the United States CIA in preparation for a military invasion:

Chavez — who has repeatedly claimed the United States is plotting to invade his oil-rich country — two weeks ago ordered New Tribes missionaries to leave, accusing them of exploiting indigenous communities and having links to the CIA through "imperialist infiltration."

This is not the first time that NTM has faced problems with the Venezuelan government. Several times in the past accusations have flown, but never amounting to anything substantive, suggesting the government simply wants the Christian mission organization's influence over the people to end.

Ironically, in defense of the mission group, tribal leaders of the groups NTM has ministered to have stood up, calling for the expulsion order to be rescinded:

Many indigenous leaders in Amazonas state defend the group, and on Friday hundreds marched through the southern town of Puerto Ayacucho to protest Chavez's decision. Some said they support government efforts including the granting of collective property titles to Indian groups but don't see the sense in kicking out missionaries who help the tribes.

Clearly, the missionaries, who have maintained a constant presence in Venezuela since 1946, have come to mean a great deal to the tribal people. Providing them with physical necessities along with the application of the Gospel of Christ, the missionaries of NTM have come to be called "friends".

Speaking through an interpreter, Tute, the tribal leader, said the Joti people have come to know the white missionaries as neighbors.

He said the villagers, who still speak only Joti, have not been pressured to abandon their beliefs and customs. They still hunt with blow guns and cook cassava over stone hearths in the ground.

But some changes have come: The missionaries have invented a way of writing the Joti language, and many Joti have learned it.

The missionaries say they stretch their donated funds to cover expenses of flying in food and supplies and airlifting tribe members to medical attention in emergencies via a short, grassy airstrip.

"There was never anybody who helped us like this before," Tute said. "It pains me to think of losing them."

If clear and solid evidence of wrong-doing were to emerge regarding NTM, they should be forced to leave. There is no place for those who claim to carry the message of salvation through Christ but secretly have a secondary mission of spying for a government agency. However, that kind of proof being leveled against NTM is highly unlikely.

On the surface, one might think that Chavez, who has garnered a good deal of support from Venezuela's poor for his Bolivarian Missions, would applaud the work of groups like NTM in his country. After all, Chavez appears to be deeply concerned for his people and has implemented many initiatives to change the landscape for the poor of Venezuela (considered good if you are a supporter of leftist, socialist governmental policies as many in the U.S. and European Union are). However, Chavez 's commitment to Socialism makes certain that he is no fan of those who believe that teaching people to "fish for themselves" is a better alternative to handing out government produced "fish". Chavez has called Venezuelans to choose between "capitalism, which is the road to hell, or socialism, for those who want to build the kingdom of God here on earth."

Apparently, the problem lies even deeper, as evidenced by Chavez's ties with Cuban Communist dictator, Fidel Castro. For some time, accusations of corruption have been lodged against the Chavez administration regarding his Bolivarian Mission. Though Chavez wants to see social reform brought to his country in order to aid the poor, he wants it done solely through Casto's Communist providers:

Critics of President Hugo Chávez Frias and the social and political agenda of his Movement for the Fifth Republic have alleged that the Cuban Misión Barrio Adentro I medical professionals are agents and propagandists acting for the ruling Communist Party of Cuba. They allege that these professionals were invited to Venezuela by the Chávez administration to indoctrinate the wider Venezuelan population. The Venezuelan Ministry of Health says that Cuban professionals were needed because it was unable to find a large enough supply of adequately-trained Venezeulan doctors willing or able to serve in impoverished districts and barrios. Venezuela's barrios are often crime-ridden, lack such basic services as water and sewerage, and are thus unattractive prospects to the predominantly affluent and upper class Venezuelan physicians. The Venezuelan Medical Federation, the largest association of medical doctors in Venezuela, has lobbied vigorously against Mission Barrio Adentro, and is currently locked in a legal dispute with the Chavez administration over the legitimacy of the Cuban doctors' licensure and practice. The other programs likewise been criticized as inefficient and incomplete by opposition figures. (see Criticisms)

With such a shortage of aid providers, one would think groups like NTM would be considered partners in the battle against poverty in Venezuela. However, it appears that Chavez is most interested in indoctrinating his people into his own brand of socialism and making sure that foreign influences, like the NTM, are replaced by his own form of "kingdom building."

Of course, the NTM expulsion was also aided by the recent careless word of televangelist, Pat Robertson, who advocated the assassination of Chavez by U.S. forces. Following Robertson's "apology," the Chavez administration promised to "more closely scrutinize and curtail foreign evangelical missionary activity." With Robertson handing them a gift by providing a reason to become more openly suspicious of evangelical groups, they are using it as a smoke screen to make good on that promise and further advance his Castro-backed, Socialist agenda.

Labels: David C. Price

"Bruschi's Back!"...that was an understatement

In my last post, I mentioned that Tedy Bruschi had been cleared to play in last nights game against the Buffalo Bills but that we might not see much action from him since he had been working to get back up to speed with his defensive teamates. OK, never mind...I think he's up to speed.

Nearly 8 1/2 months after suffering a mild stroke, Tedy Bruschi played as if he had never been away from the New England Patriots.

The veteran linebacker participated in 64 of 77 defensive plays and recorded seven tackles in the Patriots' 21-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night.

Good to have you back, Tedy. The Patriots, improving to 4-3, are still solidly in first place in the AFC East.

Link: Yahoo Sports

Labels: David C. Price

Bruschi's Back!: Great News for the Ailing Patriots

The defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots get a much needed boost by activating linebacker and defensive leader, Tedy Bruschi this week.

Bruschi has been out of the Patriots' line-up since suffering a stroke ten days after helping lead the Patriots to their second straight Super Bowl win. Fears were that Bruschi's career as a professional football player were over.

The Patriots (3-3) are not likely to utitilize Bruschi to a great extent in tonight's game against the Buffalo Bills, but as he continues to regain momentum, we should see more action from the player who carries the heart and soul of this champion defense. If we're lucky, we'll see more of Bruschi on the field than expected.

Though the Patriots have had a rough start, it is way too early to count them out for a third run to the top of the championship hill. With many of the top players in the injured column, coupled with a tough opening schedule, the Pats 3-3 record (with a couple of the games being near-misses) probably does little justice to the their actual performance under the circumstances. Lesser teams would be nursing the wounds of a winless season.

Welcome back to Tedy Bruschi: a great football player and an all around classy guy.

Labels: David C. Price

Six Degrees of "Scooter" Libby

I haven't had the time to keep up very much on the "Scooter" Libby indictment over the last couple of days in light of my wife's surgery, but John Martin has of Martin's Musings. Check out this post as he connects some interesting dots in a game of "Six Degrees of Separation."

John is an excellent blogger who, as best I can tell, has yet to garner the following I feel his blog deserves.

Labels: David C. Price

Under The Knife, Part II: THE MORNING AFTER

As I said in my last update, surgery went well...but little else following that did.

To start from the real beginning, two weeks ago when we began the process of planning for surgery, we told the nurses that K could not have Codine (allergic) or Morphine (does nothing for the pain). We knew this well, mind you, because we had just gone through this three weeks earlier after her first surgery (correction: 4 weeks, 5 days, my wife tells me...but who's counting). The only drug that seemed to help at all was one called Delauden. At that time, we requested that be the pain medication to be administered following the surgery.

OK, fast forward to yesterday. When K checked in, she reiterated during the first pre-op interview what drugs worked, what she was allergic to, and what didn't. Later, she went through it again with two other nurses before I got there and then we both spoke with yet another nurse AND the anesthesiologist before surgery, being assured once again that they got it.

The surgery concluded at about 3:30 and we were moved to the room at about 5:00. As the nurse began to hook the pain drip to the IV, Karen casually mentions something about the Delauden. "Huh?" said the nurse. "The Delauden... for the pain," says Karen. "Uh...,"replied the nurse. We looked at the injector and in bold letters..."MORPHINE." This particular nurse had been told nothing and had no idea about anything that had transpired earlier, this being what the surgeon ordered.

With my wife's arm being satisfactorily deadened for at least four more hours, we casually asked the nurse to please work on getting the correct medication before the block wore off at 9:00. "No problem, I'll put a call into the surgeon," declares nurse Denise. An hour later, we call back to the nurse to check on the progress. She's not heard back from the surgeon. OK, we'll wait, but please stay on top of it. Another hour passes...nothing. Yet another hour goes by and the surgeon finally called in a prescription, but the pharmacy has to deliver it up. Long story a little shorter, it's 9:15 P.M., the block began wearing off at around 8:45 and by now has worn off completely. The pain strikes with a vengeance. I make my way politely, but with great determination down the hall to have a "chat" with one of the nurses. They hastily make their way down to the pharmacy, get the drug, and get it into my wife's IV at around 9:45 P.M. In the meantime, Karen is in absolute agony, trying to control the pain of having her arm sliced open and screws drilled into her bone through deep-breathing (you know, the Lamaze stuff that pregant women do), tears quietly streaming down her face. Me, I'm breathing deeply, but it's not pain (except for the hurt I feel having to helplessly watch this)...I'm trying to keep my cool in the midst of incompetence.

Finally, the pain begins to subside a half hour or so later after a couple of other minor issues, and I begin to settle into my recliner for a little sleep since I had to be up and at work by seven the next morning. The floor we were on looked almost like a hotel with these really pretty rooms, so I'm thinking that recliner over there should be pretty comfortable. As I wearily lower my tired bones into the chair, I'm thinking it's not too bad so I push on the arms of the chair to "recline." I say "recline" because it doesn't really recline, it's more of a...a tilt (body stays pretty much in a sitting position but rared back as if one is sitting in a rocket ship waiting to be shot into orbit...of course, I had already been into orbit over the problems with K's medication). Not only does this chair do nothing more than tilt, but as soon as you take your hands off of the arms of the chair...it untilts (as if one who was prepared to be shot into orbit was suddenly and forcefully dropped back onto the lift off pad). Giving up, I throw three little blankets, the thickness of a worn sheet, on the cold, hard concrete floor and settle in for a series of naps in between the visits paid by the hospitality committee every couple of hours or so.

All in all, it was a lovely experience.

Labels: David C. Price

Under the Knife: Part II...(with updates)

Today is the day that my wife goes in to have her right arm fixed. For those who follow this blog, you know that about a month ago, she fell on her arm and shattered it at the wrist. At the time of the accident, she had an external fixator surgically attached to her arm to hold the "puzzle" back in place. Unfortunately, the major wrist bone was not put back in the exact position it needs to be in, resulting in a 90% chance of developing severe arthritis later in life.

At around noon, the surgeon will go in, position the bone correctly and insert a metal plate to hold everything still. Sounds fun, doesn't it? As we'll be in the hospital overnight, I may not be able to give an update or do any additional posting for another day or so, though I will if I can get to a hotspot.

The cool thing (I guess) is that the surgeon will be taking digital photographs throughout the procedure (!!) and will share those with us after the operation. I didn't ask him why for two reasons: 1. I figured that it was for teaching purposes as he will have two interns assisting him (and it is a doctor with Kleinert, Kutz & Associates, the premiere hand specialists in the world--they pioneered the hand transplant--so I'm sure there are plenty of teaching opportunities) 2. The doctor is Asian and barely speaks English so I doubt I would have understood his explanation anyway. Of course, my friend Peter Glover in England thinks I barely speak English, so I shouldn't say anything (nor should you, Peter). All that to say that I should have some pretty interesting pictures to share with you later if you are interested (don't worry...for you squeamish types, they would be in the form of links). I haven't run that idea by my wife yet, but I'm sure it will be copacetic with her.

This, as with the first surgery, promises to be a long couple of days. I would appreciate it if you would keep us in your prayers. Fortunately, this time the surgery is here in Louisville and my mother-in-law is here to help with my son and basic household maintenance. Thanks to all of you who have posted comments or emailed notes of support. This is a pretty long and difficult process, but God's faithfulness abounds.

UPDATE I: It is 3:48 PM on Friday and Karen is currently in surgery. She was scheduled for 12:30 and they were about two hours behind. Of course, that meant that she was in that bed for three hours prior to going in...not good! The wildest part was when one of the doctors and a nurse came into the pre-op room, started messing with Karen's fixator (the support on her arm--see picture in above link), and proceeded to begin unscrewing it from her arm! With no explanation or fore-warning. Talk about freaking out a little. Seriously, Dr. Dude just whips out this little hand-cranked drill and starts removing the screws. I wish I had a picture of K's face when they started. Now, it wasn't pain since they had given her a block, serving to completely deaden her arm...just schock. Mine was probably pretty interesting looking, too.

So, K is in surgery and I am sitting at a downtown coffee shop a short walk from the hospital sipping latte while my wife is under the knife. Something just not right about that.

Thanks so much for those of you who have left well-wishes...it means a great deal and I look forward to sharing them with Karen. If I get a chance, I will update again soon.

UPDATE II: 9:00 P.M. Surgery went well. It took about half the time as they anticipated which was great. The surgeon felt that she will have a full recovery. He also showed me the pictures he took of the surgery. The yuck factor was pretty high but not too bad. It’s kind of weird to see a picture of your wife’s arm dissected before you with a metal plate mounted inside.

Currently, Karen is resting well in a comfortable room. As for pain, she still feels like an amputee (at least as far as she thinks one might feel) since her arm has been deadened, but she is beginning to feel twinges of pain. This could still prove to be a long night…and short on sleep.

Labels: David C. Price

Book Review: Common Grounds

It's all about story. In a 21st Century world wary of cold, hard facts, it is the narrative that communicates truth in a non-threatening, acceptable format.

This is exactly what Common Grounds delivers. Beautifully weaving theological concepts, doctrinal issues, apologetic arguments and worldview issues into a vast tapestry, Common Grounds systematically presents the truths of Scripture by means of an engaging dialogue through which even the most biblically illiterate of individuals can understand.

By sitting in on the conversations of three very different twenty-something friends and a new acquaintance, a semi-retired seminary professor, we are privy to the personal challenges that each face in their individual journeys toward authentic, reality-based faith.

Though their spiritual backgrounds are vastly different (a “back-sliding,” workaholic, Southern Baptist investment banker, a charismatic wave-boarding philosophy student, and an agnostic corporate attorney), each is similarly vexed by unfounded presuppositions and misinformation about such issues as the person and nature of God, the nature of man, and the nature of ultimate reality that must be confronted and overcome if they are to find real peace and contentment in their busy lives.

Professor Charles MacGregor is the perfect conversational and spiritual guide as he teaches us the need for grace, patience and kindness as we engage in discourse with others about matters of faith. His probing questions and pleasant demeanor draws the three into meaningful dialogue, gently challenging their closely held views and causing them to think deeply about what matters most.

The authors of Common Grounds are to be applauded for accomplishing the difficult feat of neatly unfolding some very difficult and complex issues in an intelligent and readable format.

Common Grounds can be purchased directly through Amazon.com by clicking on the image above. Also, visit Glenn Lucke and Ben Young's blog, Common Grounds Online.

Labels: David C. Price

New Hampshire Is Getting In On The P.C. Game

Fellow blogger, Tim Ellsworth, points out yet another instance of political correctness run amuck:

A high school in New Hampshire has eliminated the term “freshman” and will now refer only to “ninth graders” because it’s a gender-neutral term.

While they’re at it, may I suggest they replace the title “administrators” with “raving lunatics” as well.

Just when you thought the level of P.C. in America could become no more ridiculous, somebody demonstrates their creativity. Is it just me or should administrators not be spending their time on more important issues? Hey, I've got one: why don't they try actually teaching our children?

Similar E.R. posts:

Ridiculous Item of the Day: NCAA Goes On The War Path

For Goodness Sake, Don't Use the "R" Word

Labels: David C. Price

Espresso Roast: What's it worth?

My blog is worth $201,540.78.
How much is your blog worth?

Uh...any takers??

Labels: David C. Price

The Pearcey Report

I am pleased to announce a very welcome addition to the internet: The Pearcey Report, created and edited by Rick and Nancy Pearcey:

THE PEARCEY REPORT
NOW OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED

Today marks the official launch of The Pearcey Report, a website of news, comment, information, and worldview. It can be viewed online at www.pearceyreport.com.J. Richard Pearcey is editor and publisher of the report. Rick has worked as a journalist, writer, and editor in the Washington, D.C., area since the late 1980s.

Best-selling author Nancy Pearcey is editor-at-large. Her most recent book is TOTAL TRUTH: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity. She is also the Francis A. Schaeffer Scholar at the World Journalism Institute.

There is much to explore in the The Pearcey Report. A few highlights:
News: The News section connects readers with breaking stories of the day from around the world -- in politics, international affairs, the arts, science, health, books, film, people, the odd tidbit, and more.

Comment: The Comment section features insight and opinion from a variety of observers and news outlets.

Articles: The Articles section offers a strategic and humane analysis of contemporary life, thought, and action. Expect to encounter the work of seminal Judeo-Christian worldview thinkers such as Francis Schaeffer, C.S. Lewis, Udo Middelmann, Os Guinness, and Nancy Pearcey.

Information: The information component opens the door to the wider world of U.S. and international media -- and to a life beyond the crisis of the moment. Thus, in addition to websites for columnists, think tanks, and activist groups, also available are resources for further study, travel, world cities, and more.

The website has already received praise for its design. The Pearceys want to thank webdesigner Tim Challies (www.challies.com) of Websonix for his expertise and terrific work in helping make The Pearcey Report attractive and engaging.

For more information about The Pearcey Report, see www.pearceyreport.com.
Or contact the Pearceys at Pearcey@pearceyreport.com.

Labels: David C. Price

A Road to Destruction

"Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD."

With these words, the beginning of the end for the city of Sodom was underway. Later, we read that, because of the immense wickedness of the people, God destroyed the city completely. The question then arises: How long can a city or nation that fully embraces wickedness stand? I don' t have that answer, but there are enough examples around, in growing numbers, that we may soon find out.

Perhaps there is no better example than that of Quebec. This Canadian Province has long been known for it's tolerance of everything (except, of course, intolerance). However, Quebec goes farther than simple tolerance, it fully embraces the very things that led to the downfall of the city of Sodom.

A recent story in the New York Times explains that candidates running for political office in Quebec possessing a strong sense of morality need not apply:

Quebec voters are a famously tolerant lot. They elect many gay and lesbian politicians, and they seem to think that political leaders who don't admit to having smoked marijuana are lacking in joie de vivre.
One premier in the 1970's ran over and killed a homeless man and then was re-elected.

So nobody was particularly surprised when André Boisclair, a 39-year-old gay man who banters about his sexuality on television talk shows, became the instant front-runner in the leadership race to head the separatist Parti Québécois.
The real test of Quebecers' broad-mindedness began last month, however, with a published report about Mr. Boisclair's lively night life in Quebec City - complete with excessive drinking and cocaine use - while serving in the provincial cabinet in the 1990's.

The article goes on to say that "Mr. Boisclair's poll numbers did not drop. In fact, they soared, at least initially, with more than 70 percent of Quebecers saying in polls that his cocaine use was not an issue."

In Quebec, it not only works in one's favor to be morally inept, but it can be one's political demise to stand against it...evidenced by opposing candidate's silence on the issue:

Afraid of a backlash, Mr. Boisclair's opponents have hardly mentioned his drug use. At a two-hour candidates' debate Wednesday night here, it came up only once - and obliquely at that - when Ms. Marois, in her closing remarks said: "We will soon be at a decisive turning point in our battle. To succeed we must be beyond reproach."

At this point, America lags behind Canada in embracing tolerance to the point of moral destruction, but it is certainly the direction we are headed. In more and more cities, from San Francisco to New Jersey, Las Vegas to New Orleans, candidates with strong, moral conviction are considered obstructions toward progress. The results of the last presidential election notwithstanding, the president who is considered by a large segment of the United States to be the strongest in the last decade is the one who eventually admitted to numerous affairs and was impeached for lying under Oath. Yet this president, had he been constitutionally permitted, would have run a third time and more than likely won a third term.

Why the embrace of moral ineptitude in our public figures? Perhaps it is because we have abandoned the idea of selecting the best among us. Certainly, political leaders have been flawed throughout the ages, but if we are honest, we have longed to have someone in leadership whom we could admire; whom we could encourage our children to emulate. We had a sense (in this country, at least) that our leader should carry moral authority, calling us to be better than we were, encouraging us to remain faithful to the God we served and who we believed had established us as a nation. America's greatest heroes are men like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln who led with humility, strength, courage. They were men who took their responsibility as a leader very seriously and who understood that their position was "under God."

These are, of course, ideals. These men were fallen sinners as the rest of us, but virtue was something to which they aspired and we, as a country, attempted to follow their examples. This is something which America, following countries like Canada, France, and others, is rapidly abandoning. The moral authority that America has stood upon as a leader of the free world is not crumbling because of political choices, but because we no longer embrace moral responsibility. The recent situation in Iraq is but one example. Attacking a country because we were attacked, as in Afghanistan (i.e. retaliation), was supported by a wide majority. Going into Iraq and liberating a suppressed people because it was the right thing to do and should have been done a decade earlier has been met with falling poll numbers, representing diminishing support.

Perhaps the attitude in Quebec sums up the reasons for the changes we are witnessing:

Lise Payette, a former Parti Québécois cabinet member, suggested in a column in the tabloid Journal de Montreal that Quebecers "have a weakness" for candidates who mirror the off-color image they have of themselves. "We Quebecers fancy our heroes a little bit cheeky, defeatist, hesitant, unsure of themselves, alcoholic, a little or even a lot unreliable, a little bit fraudulent or even a little drugged," she explained. "We like to say they are like us."

Perhaps it is because we no longer aspire to be led by men of virtue who believe that we can and should be better than we are. Perhaps, instead, we just want someone who can make us feel good about ourselves where we are; someone who lacks the moral fortitude to call us to greatness but, instead, makes us feel we're already there. Or perhaps, we simply no longer know the difference.

"Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace."

Labels: David C. Price

Medical Update

For those of you who have been asking about my wife's progress after her injury, we went back to the hand specialist on Tuesday and found out another surgery is in order. On the 28th, they will go in to insert a plate into her wrist.

As it turns out, her wrist is not setting right and, if left untreated, she has a 90-95% chance of developing severe arthritis, at which time an operation would be needed anyway, with the results being highly questionable. If we do the surgery now, there is the same percent chance of full recovery with only a mild chance for arthritis later in life. Therefore, the decision was something of a no-brainer, though neither of us are excited about the prospect of going through the process again.

Please continue to pray for our family as we continue down this road to recovery...and thanks to all of you who have continued to ask about her and pray for her. It means a lot.

Oh, and for those of you who like this sort of thing, here is a picture of her current contraption.

Labels: David C. Price

A New Orleans - San Antonio Swap?

An interesting post at World suggests that New Orleans and San Antonio might actually end up doing an unplanned and, according to Ray Nagin, an unwanted swap. For Nagin, it's a double-whammy! See my previous post on the other part of the swap.

Labels: David C. Price

San Antonio Saints?!

According to a report in USA Today, the New Orleans Saints owner, Tom Benson, is working with Texas officials to permanently relocate the team to the Lone Star State. N.O. mayor Ray Nagin was none to slow to voice his disapproval, stating that New Orleans wanted the team back, but the owner could stay:

"I'm ready to go to the NFL and to (commissioner Paul) Tagliabue and say, 'Give us the Cleveland plan,'" Nagin added, referring to the league awarding Cleveland an expansion team almost immediately after the Browns moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season. "Whatever the Saints want to do, you let them leave, but they can't take our logo, they can't take our name, and you give us a promise to give us a franchise when this city's back."

This is a pretty big slap in the face to the city that has forked over millions of dollars over the last several years to develop and improve facilities for the Saints at Benson's demand.

Labels: David C. Price

Ever just have one of those days?

Labels: David C. Price

UPDATED - Numbskull Speaks Sharpton's Logic: If it negatively affects African Americans, blame it on White America

(After further consideration, I determined that referring to someone as "numbskull" is inappropriate and ungracious)

“Broken levees are weapons of mass destruction.”

Al Sharpton, speaking Saturday at the Million More Movement demonstration in Washington D.C., apparently implying that levees were intentionally breached in order to wipe out African Americans in New Orleans.

This is, unfortunately, what people like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, and others think. It is their M.O., making sure that America remains "Black" and "White." Oh, I'm sure much, if not all, of Sharpton's motives are politically driven, perhaps wanting another shot at the White House. However, the only thing he has to stand on are his accusations of racism, even the absolutely absurd ones like suggesting levees were used as weapons against black people.

Now, certainly there is plenty of racism that still exists in this country against black people (not to mention the kind of "reverse racism" exhibited by Sharpton and friends) and all of it is an abomination. However, when that is the heart and soul of his platform, images of a black George Wallace come to mind when I think of what would happen to this country if Sharpton's brand of racism actually made it to the White House.

Labels: David C. Price

Bush Presidency Judged Unsuccessful...One Year Into Second Term.

We are one year into the second term of the President and a new AP poll has declared the Bush presidency unsuccessful:

Forty-one percent of respondents said Bush's presidency will be seen as unsuccessful in the long run, while 26 percent said the opposite. Thirty-five percent said it was too early to tell, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

In January, 36 percent said successful and 27 percent said unsuccessful.

The increasing pessimism about Bush's long-term prospects comes at a time when many polls have found the public increasingly is negative about Bush's performance and the direction of the country.

Seven in 10 said they want the next president to offer policies and programs that are different from the Bush administration's.

Only half said they wanted the next president to offer different policies in 2000, at the end of the Clinton presidency. By a 2-1 margin, people said the Bush administration has had a negative impact on politics and the way government works.

Frankly, I have no idea what his presidency will be judged as when it's over, but it is way too early to be judging the success or failure of an entire presidency five years into what will be an eight year presidency. Notice the MSM comparison? "Only half said they wanted the next president to offer different policies in 2000, at the end of the Clinton presidency." That statement was followed by what people are saying about the Bush presidency at this point. (NOTE: The opinion of Clinton wasn't always so favorable either.)

Love him or hate him, I don't really care...but please, such obvious attempts at trying to negatively define Bush's legacy is painfully apparent. These pollsters, as well as most other people with half a clue, understand that the more these types of polls are taken and stories are written at this point, more people will buy into it and agree with them. That, of course, is the point.

Labels: David C. Price

Espresso Shots [10-13-05]

Here are a few shots for you: Good post on Naturalism's "ethics" over at Evangelical Outpost. If you get lost somewhere in the middle of this post, hang in there...the ending is good. Also, Al Mohler just finished a three-part series on apologetics in a postmodern age. Finally, William Dembski comments on Creationists distancing themselves from ID...an interesting twist since most evolutionists accuse ID proponents of being Creationists.

Labels: David C. Price

Well, there's one way to cut crime.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch burglar phoned police after fleeing in panic when he found the corpse of an 89-year-old woman in a house he broke into in The Hague.

Police said they were still searching for the burglar who 'got the fright of his life.'

'He said he was the burglar and that he found a corpse,' a police spokesman said. 'He found the mortal remains in one of the rooms and left the home to call emergency number 112.'

Police were investigating if anything was stolen and believed the woman may have been dead for some time.

Labels: David C. Price

USA Today Poll: America Not Ready For Woman Prez

In spite of ABC's extended female presidential informercial, Commander-in-Chief (read, H.R.C.), a recent USA Today poll reveals that, at this point, America still isn't ready for a Madame-in-Chief:

Asked if they would vote for a qualified woman for president, 13% of Americans in a USA TODAY Poll last month said no — including 16% of women, 10% of men.

That's about double the percentage who ruled out voting for a Jew, black or Catholic the last time those questions were asked, in 2003.

What's more, some of the 86% who said they would vote for a woman probably didn't mean it, says Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Poll at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Those surveyed "feel some social pressure to say the 'acceptable' response," he says, and may want to reflect the nation's aspirations as a land of opportunity.

The 34% who said "most of my neighbors" wouldn't vote for a female president may have given a more candid measure of the public's views.

Related E.R. post.

Labels: David C. Price

The Dominance of Evolution: The Only Way to Avoid Bias In the Classroom

Due to my wife's injury, blogging has definitely taken a backseat (as it should), but I will continue to do my best at consistency. As best I can, I continue to follow the trial in Pennsylvania regarding the teaching of Intelligent Design Theory in the classroom. Of course, describing it as "teaching" is quite a stretch, since the whole case is over whether or not a brief and simplistic paragraph on the existence of an opposing theory can be read before the teacher engages in an entire course of study on Darwinism.

Yesterday, while reading the Louisville Courier-Journal, I came across an article on the subject in which concerns were voiced within the Rio Rancho, New Mexico school board by faculty who are "averse to teaching a concept whose scientific validity has been questioned." If that is the concern, then Darwinism needs to be scrapped as well. As a matter of fact, the validity of Darwinism's "scientific validity" is being questioned more and more everyday as people are coming to realize that this weak, philosophical framework is not only full of holes, but unable to adequately come to terms with the reasons for which it should even be taken seriously. After all, if intelligence grew from random mutations, there is no reason to accept any statements, beliefs, or propositions as trustworthy (grounded in fact/reality), including Darwinism itself. But the kicker is that no one lives this way! To believe that Darwinism is true, you must do so from the foundation of a worldview other than Darwinism. Naturalism, the worldview upon which Darwinism is built, offers no grounds by which this type of certainty can be upheld. Sorry, folks, it's just not there.

The thing that makes me nervous is that in the classroom a teacher is to be unbiased, but students are allowed to express their opinions. Can a teacher remain unbiased? Can we keep it from becoming a preaching session?

The teacher who made this statement in the article doesn't believe what he is saying for two reasons: First, the statement itself belies the bias he feels towards Evolution. If teachers like this truly wanted to be unbiased, they would desire to teach both theories equally. One doesn't battle bias by eliminating other possibilities.

Let's apply this teacher's philosophy to other areas of life and see if we support his argument: Microsoft, which dominates the software industry, grows to such a degree that every computer in the world is running Windows (quite a stretch, huh?). Then some developers come up with a new operating system that they call Linux. They do so because they feel that Windows isn't as great as everyone believes and doesn't like Microsoft maintaining a monopoly with an inferior OS (remember this is an analogy...I make no statements regarding the superiority of Linux or MS...so to the computer geeks who may take this way too seriously I say, relax.) However, as they attempt to introduce this new operating system to the market, the United States government prohibits them. Why? Because they don't want to introduce bias into the system. Of course, we all know that the only way to prevent such a monopoly is to eliminate the competition. What a wonderful idea that is.

Secondly, teachers who make statements like the above-mentioned are already preaching in the classroom. Only, they are preaching the religion of Darwinism. For an hour everyday, these students are attending a church service in which they are involuntarily submitted to the indoctrination and prosylitazation of these Darwinian science teachers. I know I've just upset a bunch of Darwinists because only they are allowed to use such language in attacking ID. But it's high time we call a spade a spade. Darwinism is nothing less than a religion based on a philosophic worldview in which a large number of scientists (though not a majority of Americans) are predisposed to believing by faith, absent conclusive scientific evidence. Sure, they'll spew out mouthfuls of vitriol against ID and those who adhere to it, but their verbal attacks do not...cannot...change the facts regarding their substandard and ineffective worldview.

Rick Cole, a science teacher from the one of the local high schools who has taught ID alongside evolution for 11 years before being ordered to stop sums it up pretty well in the concluding remarks of the article:

The teachings avoided religious discussions, Cole said. According to student surveys he collected through the time he taught intelligent design, 98 percent of the nearly 1,000 students he taught preferred a side-by-side presentation, he said.

'When it comes to the origin of life, it's been very much a closed market, and no opportunity to consider alternative explanation,' said Cole, who hopes to restore intelligent design this year. 'The majority of science teachers choose to avoid the subject because of the controversy; they would just rather not even teach it.'

To all of those teachers of evolution who fear the controversy, grow a backbone (it's OK, surely you've evolved that far).

For anyone wanting to know why Intelligent Design will dominate at the end of the day, this article by Doug Kern is a must-read. Also, Alex Forrest has a good post here on the application of Intelligent Design in real life.

UPDATE: Check out this post at Short Attention Span;

10-11-05 UPDATE: Read this article from todays edition of USA Today, "The Whole World, From Whose Hands?"

Labels: David C. Price

Theological Perspectives, Simpsons-style

"I wish God were alive to see this."

Homer Simpson, while watching a meteor shower with family
The Simpsons

Labels: David C. Price

New Book Review Coming Soon

After having received this new book a couple of weeks ago, I am finally getting to the point of being able to read and review Glenn Lucke and Ben Young's new book, Common Grounds: Conversations About the Things That Matter Most. I plan on having the review posted here within the next couple of weeks. Thanks to Glenn and Broadman & Holman for asking me to review the book. Check out Common Grounds Online.

Labels: David C. Price

Washington Times: Religious conversion redefined nominee's worldview

I wanted to point out this interesting article about Harriet Miers from the Washington Times in case you missed it. Unfortunately, I've had little time, in light of my wife's accident, to spend much time familiarizing myself with Miers beyond what I've heard through the MSM. Despite what I've heard from some conservatives, it seems as though she will be a good candidate. Do you have any thoughts or compelling arguments one way or the other?

By way of a quick medical update, my wife had an appointment with one of the doctors at Kleinert, Kutz & Associates regarding her wrist. I mention that name only because I've been surprised at how many know about these doctors and also to point out how good God has been to us through this. In case those names aren't familiar to you, I found out that the leading hand doctors in the world are right here in Louisville. Kleinert and Kutz are the doctors who pioneered the hand transplant and are considered the doctors for hand injury. We felt very blessed. So, as it turns out, after additional x-rays, one of the bones is not in exact alignment, though the doctor says that if nothing shifts, it may be within an "acceptable" range. In two weeks we go back and if her wrist has shifted further out of position, another surgery will require a metal plate in her wrist. Please pray not only that the bone will not move further out of place, but that it will actually shift into alignment. Thanks.

Oh, and I have been asked what my wife was kicking at. Well, my 5'4" wife was kicking at the face of a 6 foot tall guy (not to actually kick him but to show some of the other girls she could do it). I must say, had she been wearing sneakers she wouldn't have fallen...but regardless, had she been trying to actually kick his face, I would also be blogging about his broken nose. As for me, I'm glad I'm six foot tall...and three inches!

Labels: David C. Price

She’s up, She’s Down…She’s Broken.

This was a crazy, crazy weekend for us. In my last post, I mentioned that we would be in North Carolina over the weekend. We took part in a conference at Ridgecrest, North Carolina. We were scheduled to return Sunday, but five minutes before the last session in which we were to take part in leading, my wife, horsing around with a couple of teen-age girls decided to do one of her old cheerleading kicks. Well, she made the kick…except…she was barefoot on thin, slick carpet atop concrete slab. Her foot went up, the one on the floor slipped and, after of moment of being airborne, she crashed violently to the ground, shattering her right wrist.

To make a long story short, after an ambulance ride to Asheville’s Mission hospital and into the emergency room, the orthopedic surgeon painted the scenario. Out of three options, the best was to do surgery on the wrist. By four that afternoon, my wife was in surgery to have four posts inserted into her wrist and an “external fixator” attached to them in order to hold the puzzle pieces together.

Sunday night was horrible as the pain medication wore off and she agonized all night long as we tried to get the pain under control. Monday was not much better, leading to another night in Asheville before getting the pain under control and a discharge this morning followed by a long, six hour drive back to Louisville.

We are exhausted but doing much better. The blessings through this were numerous as it could have been much worse. Perhaps I will follow up with some of those details in a later post, but God is good. For now, though, I have to return a rental car and get to bed. Blessings to all.

Labels: David C. Price

News

Relief Organizations

Glenn Reynolds Says

Proud Member of the Alliance of Free Blogs

BLOG AGGREGATORS

League of Reformed Bloggers

Monday, October 31, 2005

Parks In Capital Rotunda: Very Cool.

Newsweek: The Gospel According to Anne

Chavez Expulsion of Evangelical Missionaries From Venezuela

"Bruschi's Back!"...that was an understatement

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Bruschi's Back!: Great News for the Ailing Patriots

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Six Degrees of "Scooter" Libby

Under The Knife, Part II: THE MORNING AFTER

Friday, October 28, 2005

Under the Knife: Part II...(with updates)

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Book Review: Common Grounds

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

New Hampshire Is Getting In On The P.C. Game

Ridiculous Item of the Day: NCAA Goes On The War Path

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Espresso Roast: What's it worth?

The Pearcey Report

A Road to Destruction

Friday, October 21, 2005

Medical Update

Thursday, October 20, 2005

A New Orleans - San Antonio Swap?

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

San Antonio Saints?!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Ever just have one of those days?

UPDATED - Numbskull Speaks Sharpton's Logic: If it negatively affects African Americans, blame it on White America

Friday, October 14, 2005

Bush Presidency Judged Unsuccessful...One Year Into Second Term.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Espresso Shots [10-13-05]

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Well, there's one way to cut crime.

USA Today Poll: America Not Ready For Woman Prez

Monday, October 10, 2005

The Dominance of Evolution: The Only Way to Avoid Bias In the Classroom

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Theological Perspectives, Simpsons-style

Friday, October 07, 2005

New Book Review Coming Soon

Washington Times: Religious conversion redefined nominee's worldview

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

She’s up, She’s Down…She’s Broken.

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