Monthly Archives: December 2011

The symbolism of the nonexistent

A few years ago I listened to Brad Stine, who happens to be a conservative Christian, make a joke to a sympathetic audience about how funny it was that some non-Christians were offended and objected to the image of a cross … Continue reading

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Atheists behaving churlishly

Of the various Christmas sightseeing destinations offered a child in 1960s Los Angeles, the Santa Monica crèches—a series of small stage sets erected on the bluffs above the Pacific Coast Highway–were particularly alluring.   The life-sized mannequins that populated the chicken-wire … Continue reading

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Merry Christmas One and All…

…on the occasion of this thoroughly enjoyable, marvelously syncretic celebration. “For the people who were shovelling away on the house-tops were jovial and full of glee; calling out to one another from the parapets, and now and then exchanging a … Continue reading

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Glimpses of Future Disaster

Demographic projections always have to be treated with a great deal of care, but this (from a piece in the National Interest) still makes disturbing reading: A recent report compiled by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics makes some projections looking … Continue reading

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Another God, Dead

Via the Daily Telegraph: When the Sun of Mankind was born, in a humble log cabin on his nation’s holiest mountain, a new bright star shone in the heavens, and a double rainbow appeared. The birds sang songs of praise … Continue reading

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Tanya Rosenblit

Via the New Zealand Herald: She had no intention of emulating Rosa Parks when she set out to find a bus to Jerusalem on Friday but by yesterday Tanya Rosenblit had become a defiant symbol around whom a majority of … Continue reading

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Why Ron Paul will not run as a third party candidate in 2012

Will Ron Paul kill the caucuses?: The most troubling eventuality that Iowa Republicans are bracing for is that Paul wins the caucuses only to lose the nomination and run as a third-party candidate in November — all but ensuring President … Continue reading

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Newt Gingrich & David Barton

OK, the source is Right Wing Watch, but here is Gingrich speaking with Rick Green, one of David Barton’s colleagues at Wallbuilders, but, clearly, ‘at’ Barton. Gingrich: All I can tell you is that sometime in February or March, Calista … Continue reading

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Newt Gingrich, Historian

Via the Economist: Believers in the idea that America was established as a Christian state scored a hit last year when the Texas school board, a politicised body in which evangelicals control crucial votes, ordered up textbooks laying out this … Continue reading

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Choosing

Via The Tablet, an interesting story from Israel: According to the Israeli government, there are roughly 5,800,000 religious Jews in Israel, 1,320,000 Muslims, 150,000 Christians, 130,000 Druze, and exactly one secular Jew. His name is Yoram Kaniuk—and if a new … Continue reading

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