Moving to a new address

This blog is being replaced by Judson's Corral. I hope you'll come visit.

Considerettes - Gas Prices Drop. Who Will the Left Credit?

re: "...When prices went up, Democrats blamed Bush. Are they going to credit him now, or have they all of a sudden discovered the free market?"

Baptist Press - Send a note to Billy Graham for his 90th birthday - News with a Christian Perspective

re: "NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Do you have a story about how Billy Graham's ministry has impacted your life? If so, his friends and family members would like to hear it -- and then deliver your story to the evangelist, who turns 90 on Nov. 7. / The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has set up a website -- BillyGraham90.com -- where people can send Graham stories, birthday greetings or simply a note of thanks to the man who likely has preached the Gospel to more people than anyone in history. (Messages to Graham also can be mailed to: Billy Graham's 90th Birthday, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201.) The deadline for submissions is Nov. 1. The website also has materials to help churches promote the opportunity..."...

ADF Alliance Alert » City Receives Early Christmas Present In Legal Victory Over Anti-Religious Group

re: "Liberty Counsel reports: “Yesterday afternoon, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) against the City of Green Bay. Liberty Counsel successfully represented the City of Green Bay in a controversy over last year’s Christmas display with a Nativity scene at City Hall..."

Guilty Party by Mona Charen on National Review Online

re: ACORN, Obama, and the mortgage mess

Seraphic Secret: ...And the Financial Crisis is a Surprise Why?

re: "Note that this is a New York Times article from Sept. 1999 about lowering credit standards, thanks to Bill Clinton, Franklin Raines—now Obama's financial advisor)—and Freddie / Fannie.Note that this is a New York Times article from Sept. 1999 about lowering credit standards, thanks to Bill Clinton, Franklin Raines—now Obama's financial advisor)—and Freddie / Fannie..."...

Signs of the Times: Expelled Hits Theaters Once Again

re: "Ben Stein's controversial film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which happens to be the #12 biggest box-office documentary in history, has emerged relatively unscathed from the lawsuit initiated against it by Yoko Ono... / ...snipped.../ Of course, the Federal Court judge did not dismiss the suit on the basis of Ono's inconsistent worldview, but because the manner in which Stein employed the song fell under the doctrine of Fair Use.... / ...snipped... / Long story short, Stein's film is hitting theaters again this month..."...

Baptist Press - Congress moves to inform mothers, protect unborn

re: "WASHINGTON (BP)--A bill to protect the lives of unborn children diagnosed with disabilities has passed both chambers of Congress and is awaiting President Bush's signature. /The Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act, sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R.-Kan., and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D.-Mass., would provide support and balanced information to parents who receive a diagnosis of Down syndrome or any other condition prenatally or until a year after birth. / ...snip... / The Senate passed the bill Sept. 23, and the House passed it two days later in what Brownback said was "a great victory for expecting parents who learn that their unborn child may be born with a disability." /The bill requires parents who receive a diagnosis of an impairment for their child be provided with the latest information on the condition and be informed of support services available. It also would establish a registry of families willing to adopt special needs children..."...

EconLog, What Warren Buffett Wants, Arnold Kling: Library of Economics and Liberty

re: "...The best players in this World Series of Poker are the folks at Goldman. They hired Fischer Black and other geniuses back when the markets were first getting going. They have typically had the best squad of geeks around. /Buffett just bought a stake in Goldman. That stake would be a lot more valuable if there were actually a poker game--that is, if mortgage securities were still trading. Right now, they're not trading. So Goldman is sitting there ready to play and no one is ready to play with them. /Along comes Uncle Sam, who wants to take a one-hour lesson in poker and then sit down and play in the World Series with $700 billion in chips. And whaddaya know? Warren Buffett thinks Uncle Sam really has to get in the game."

ADF Alliance Alert » ACLU opposes freedom of conscience regs for pro-life docs

re: "The ACLU has issued this press release that begins: “The American Civil Liberties Union and all its state affiliates, including Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, submitted comments to the Department of Health and Human Services asking the administration to rescind regulations that could seriously undermine access to reproductive health services, including birth control and abortion.”

Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools - WSJ.com

re: Stanley Kurtz: "Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience. From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists. / The CAC was the brainchild of Bill Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground in the 1960s. Among other feats, Mr. Ayers and his cohorts bombed the Pentagon, and he has never expressed regret for his actions. Barack Obama's first run for the Illinois State Senate was launched at a 1995 gathering at Mr. Ayers's home. / ...[snip]... / The Obama campaign has cried foul when Bill Ayers comes up, claiming "guilt by association." Yet the issue here isn't guilt by association; it's guilt by participation. As CAC chairman, Mr. Obama was lending moral and financial support to Mr. Ayers and his radical circle. That is a story even if Mr. Ayers had never planted a single bomb 40 years ago."...

hat tip: The Paragraph Farmer

ADF Alliance Alert » Wisconsin Court Creates Financial Incentive for Assisted Suicide

re: "The Americans United for Life Blog reports: “Today the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District IV, ruled in Donna Limmer v. Linda Schunk that persons who assist in the suicide of another are still entitled to the inheritance of the deceased person. This dangerous decision encourages persons who have a financial interest in another’s death to assist that person in committing suicide.”..."...

The Point: The Issues That Matter

re: "Check out this video from CatholicVote.com. It doesn't tell Catholics how to vote, but it certainly defines, in a powerful way, the issues that matter most..."...

CatholicVote.com: Pastors to challenge Minister Gag Rule

re: Joshua Mercer: "There’s a myth out there that churches don’t pay income tax in exchange for not talking about politics. Hogwash. Churches don’t pay taxes for two major reasons: 1. They are not involved in trade, but in trying to help people (spiritually and physically.) Churches after all, started hospitals, universities, etc. /2. Going back thousands of years to Ancient Egypt, governments have not taxed churches because the power to tax is the power to control. /Well, control is exactly what Lyndon Johnson wanted when he inserted language into the tax code prohibiting pastors from endorsing any candidate from the pulpit. Since 1954, any minister thinking of endorsing a candidate was suddenly threatened with massive taxation. /That’s not entirely accurate. Ministers were always free to endorse Democrats. They just weren’t free to endorse Republicans. Black pastors endorsed Democrats without any impunity. /Well, this Sunday, the Alliance Defense Fund is encouraging ministers to exercise their freedom of speech and religious freedoms by endorsing a candidate. They are challenging LBJ’s Minister Gag Rule. The Wall Street Journal reports ..."...

Cafe Hayek: How they think vs. how I think

re: "The White House is trying to argue that the bailout isn't so bad, it might not really cost $700 billion because some of the assets will appreciate in value. / ...[snip]... / But from my perspective, the budgetary gains and losses are a trivial part of the story. Those are a transfer from taxpayers to the current holders of the assets. My real concern is the incentive effects for future prudence (reduced) and the weird misallocations of capital that will inevitably result. I also am deeply concerned about the rule of law and how such a program can possibly run in a non-arbitrary way. /If the government makes money on these transactions, it actually depresses me all the more."

The Thinklings: On Faith and Superstition

re: "Mollie Hemingway writes an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal: Look Who's Irrational Now. She makes the counter-intuitive case that irreligious people are more susceptible to superstition, belief in the paranormal, etc, than people who hold orthodox beliefs. Some excerpts...// Anti-religionists such as [Bill Maher] bring to mind the assertion of G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown character that all atheists, secularists, humanists and rationalists are susceptible to superstition: "It's the first effect of not believing in God that you lose your common sense, and can't see things as they are."

hat tip: Phil