“Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.”
Which one are you?
Mark Call makes some great points in a recent interview.
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
To Whom Do You Belong?
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010Google Is Watching out for You
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” -Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. (The Register, Dec 7, 2009.)
In case you need a review of why Schmidt’s opinion matters, see my previous blog post about Google. Everybody thinks everybody else is doing something they shouldn’t. Privacy is essential to freedom.
America, the Fascist
Saturday, December 12th, 2009I don’t know which is worse, that this might happen in America or that hardly anyone is surprised anymore:
While returning from a trip to the US (in other words, going to Canada) on December 8th, Canadian SF author Peter Watts was attacked, beaten, pepper-sprayed, and imprisoned without access to legal counsel by the US Border Patrol.
Read the article for more details. Follow all the links in the article for yet more details and discussion if you don’t mind “strong” language.
Paranoid Fantasies?
Thursday, November 12th, 2009- What if your free email provider indexed every email you sent or received for keywords?
- What if they provided a free search engine that remembered every search?
- What if they also owned a great video sharing site and remembered every video you watched?
- What if they offered free blogging sites, remembered every visit, and indexed every post and comment?
- What if the same company offered free maps and directions with satellite or even street-level views and remembered every location you viewed?
- What if they made the maps really easy by linking them to the GPS device in your phone?
- What if you could use their on-line productivity software to create all your documents and financial records.
- What if they let you store backup copies of all your computer files on their servers for safe keeping and kept a copy of your encryption key?
- What if they cross-referenced all these different data points and shared them with others?
George Orwell? 1984? The real thing could be so much worse.
Thank You, Veterans
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009To those of you who have been willing to put yourselves in mortal danger for the rest of us, Thank You!
To everyone else: Tomorrow is not the day for patriotic disclaimers. Don’t say, “Thank you, but…” Don’t say, “Serving in the military would be ok if only…” Just say thank you. Show sincere appreciation, and leave it at that. Resume your political commentary on Thursday.
Great Podcast
Friday, November 6th, 2009Mark McLellan delivered another great message last shabbat. You can download the mp3 at graftedin.com.
Unicorns, Carebears, and the H1N1 Vaccine
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009A selection of headlines from the past few weeks:
- Initial Results Show Pregnant Women Mount Strong Immune Response To 1 Dose Of 2009 H1N1 Vaccine
- Pregnant Women At ‘Serious Risk’ from Flu
- Mother’s Flu Shot Protects Newborns
- Flu Vaccine Given To Women During Pregnancy Keeps Infants Out Of The Hospital, Study Suggests
- Pregnant women should get flu shot as winter bites
- Pregnant women need H1N1 shots
- H1N1 contributed to pregnant woman’s death
- Pregnancy a Key Risk Factor for H1N1 Flu
- Swine flu shot may ease pregnant mom’s worries
- Pregnant? It`s Time for a Flu Shot, Says Miami OB-GYN Specialist
I am certain that the people who wrote these articles and most of their sources truly believe that pregnant women need to get a flu shot and especially need to be vaccinated against H1N1. Maybe they’re right.
But it smells like brainwashed lemmings trying to hose down the rest of us.
Reality Check
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009The University of Montreal tells us that women are better at identifying emotional responses than men. My first reaction was, “And someone thought we needed a study to figure that out?” But then I remembered that this is a university. Yes, they needed a study to remind them girls and boys really are different even on the inside.
Side note: Evolutionary psychology is almost as big a waste of time and money as xenobiology. Almost.
V’Zot HaBrachah 5770 – The Defense of Israel
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009Deuteronomy 33:7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.
Referring to Abram and the great nation that would come from him, God said, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee…” Christian America has largely taken this as a directive to contribute to Israel’s national defense, but is that a good interpretation?
The political entity of Israel today is primarily made up of Jews, whether physically descended from Judah or adopted by custom or conversion, and Moses’ blessed Judah with the ability to defend himself with God’s supernatural assistance. Their survival does not depend on their possession of powerful military hardware or better tactics. Their relationship with God and obedience to his commands is much more to the point. There is really nothing we can do to help them militarily because any assistance we provide is superfluous. At times it might even be counterproductive.
The actual well-being of Israel is a secondary concern to most Christians. They don’t necessarily promote the idea of a military alliance with Israel because Israel needs it. They promote it because they need it themselves. They want the blessing that God promised to those who bless Abraham. That’s not a bad thing, but they should realize that there are many other means by which they can bless Israel. Justice in international courts, open trade, charity, and scientific cooperation, to name a few.
Our government in the United States (and pretty much everywhere else) is really only good at one thing: destruction. It seems to me that one good way to bless Israel would be to keep our government out of it unless something needs to be blown up. If Syria and company invades, then send the government to Syria where they can do some real good. Otherwise, let private individuals do whatever they feel led to do on Israel’s behalf. Pray, contribute to a charitable fund in Israel, join the IDF.
As one grafted in to the tree of Israel, an adopted child of Abraham, you can bless me (and therefore yourself) by not using tax money. Please.
Humans Essential Part of Ecosystem
Thursday, September 24th, 2009Researchers are just figuring out what has been obvious to everyone who takes the Biblical account of creation seriously, whether literally or metaphorically: humans are an essential part of the global ecosystem.
ScienceDaily (2009-09-23) — Researchers in Spain have shown for the first time the close space-time relationship between the presence of the griffon vulture and transhumant sheep farming in mountain passes. Transhumance — the seasonal movement of people with their livestock — has fallen in some parts of Spain by up to 80 percent over the past four years. The scientists say that traditional livestock farming practices are crucial for the preservation of mountain ecosystems.