FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Volcker Confident About Oil-for-Food Probe: "In an interview with FOX News on Wednesday former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said that he will be publishing an initial report in about two months, and it will likely be damaging for U.N. officials and many others involved in the oil-for-food program."
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Aha! Seems that UN officials and others [French, Germans, Russians???] had a financial stake in seeing Saddam in power. Could it really be that Europeans would sell out freedom for gold?

Yahoo! News - Court Upholds Sante Fe Wage Ordinance; Landmark Ruling Confirms Power of Cities to Raise Pay for Low-Wage Residents: "SANTA FE, N.M., June 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In a sweeping decision, New Mexico state court Judge Daniel Sanchez today upheld the Santa Fe living wage ordinance -- one of the nation's first local laws raising the minimum wage for workers at all large private businesses in the city. The ruling means that thousands of low-wage workers across the city will begin receiving at least $8.50 an hour. "
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Hmmmm. Let's see now. This means that businesses will not move to Santa Fe, unemployment will rise, welfare rolls will rise, taxes will rise, and the authors of these laws will complain about out-sourcing and selfish businesses. Why didn't they raise it to $50 an hour so people could really be comfortable? Hmmm?

In his landmark book Personal Knowledge, Michael Polanyi refers to the atomic theory of chemistry that was established by John Dalton in 1808. It was generally accepted almost at once, yet its meaning was obscure. Fifty years later, more clarity came to the theory when Cannizaro defined the concepts of atomic weight; molecular weight and equivalent weight. Many questions were answered. Polanyi writes:

"Such clarification is irreversible; it is as difficult to reconstruct today the confused conceptions which chemists used during the previous half century (and which for example induced Dalton to reject Avogadro's Law as contrary to the atomic theory of chemistry), as it is to be baffled once more by a puzzle after having discovered its solution.... [In the same way] Great pioneers in hypnotism, like Elliotson, had fallen tragic victims to the confusion previously prevailing, for lack of a conceptual framework in which their discoveries could be separated from specious and untenable admixtures."

It is not too great a leap to jump from chemistry and hypnotism to theology. The whole purpose of theology is to bring by definition and clarification the truth of Scripture into focus. Those who denigrate theology are scalawags and charlatans, who do not wish to have clarification in these matters so they can continue to practice their witchcraft and sorcery in morals and worship.

My Way News: "- The Republic of Georgia said it plans to boost its military contingent in Iraq; 250 servicemen are awaiting orders to depart for Iraq to join the 158 soldiers already serving there, said Givi Iukuridze, the head of Georgia's General Staff. "
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Hurrah for this former soviet of the defunct USSR. They know what tyranny is. Hurrah, again.

Killing stiffens Roh's resolve - Iraq - www.theage.com.au: "South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun denounced the beheading of a South Korean hostage by militants in Iraq but said his country would continue its plan to send more troops rather than bow to terrorism. "
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Maybe there is more backbone in Korea than in all of France, Germany, Russia, and Spain.

It's not for the faint of heart. I refer to Michael Polanyi's 1958 classic Personal Knowledge. It has more about epistemology than most want to know. ["Epistemology" is the study of what can be known and how it is known.]

What I find intriguing is how often Polanyi comes up to the reality of man being in the image of God, looks over the precipice, and then refuses to take the leap. It's a shame. It is a great book and valuable, in spite of its humanistic suppositions. I haven't finished it yet, but have already had my mind stirred.

Check out the new post on Theological Figs. Click on the link on the right.

USATODAY.com - Diet: Potato growers say they'll pitch a 'low-carb' spud: "Florida is the first test site in the United States for the European import, which was developed by HZPC, a seed company based in the Netherlands. The potato was developed by crossbreeding and was not genetically modified."
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Hey! Don't mess with the spud. The potato is one of the best things in the world and shouldn't be messed with. I for one, am perfectly satisfied that the Idaho baking potato, slathered with butter, and plenty of salt and pepper, cannot be bad for you. Nervous little people that you see jogging early in the morning, fretting about a calory here or a inch or two there, die young from nervousness and worry.

My favorite quote from all time is from Winston Churchill. When asked what he did for exercise, he said something like this, "Mostly I exercise by serving as pall bearer for my physical fitness friends."

Anything that takes away from a merry heart cannot be good for you. That includes most diets.

Mike S. Adams: Our Republican Substitute Teacher: "'Well,' said the man, 'you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met but, somehow, it's my fault.'"
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Read this great article from my favorite college professor. In a minute or two you will learn more about taxes than if you listened to evening news for four or five years.

Grove City College_Throckmorton_Hiding Truth From Schoolchildren: It's Elementary Revisited: "Noe' Gutierrez, the young man that told his story in the video, came out as gay at 16 but then came out again as ex-gay at 24. On 'It's Elementary,' he was filmed speaking to a San Francisco area middle school on behalf of Community United Against Violence. Mr. Gutierrez was quite involved in gay advocacy and frequently spoke publicly on this topic. However, about six years ago Mr. Gutierrez went through a period of re-evaluation and change. The end result was his change of sexual identity from gay to straight. Without fanfare, Mr. Gutierrez went through a profound experience of transformation and after a while of working through his experience began telling others of his change."
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Can't happen, of course, according to the PC bunch, but it doesn't matter to them that it did. This "scientific" bunch has a long history of ignoring facts that don't agree with their conclusion. In fact, that is one of the accepted methods of modern science--ignore what doesn't agree with your conclusion. If you don't believe me read Michael Polanyi's Personal Knowledge or Knowledge and Being. No friend to Christian presuppositions, Polyani demonstrates the necessity for faith in all scientific knowledge and has been a giant in 20th century scientific thought.

It shows the irrationality that is involved in the attitude of modern science to Christianity. "Christianity cannot be true because I don't want it to be true, and if it is true, I would have to change my moral presuppositions and my truth presuppositions and I don't want to do that so Christianity cannot be true. I will not allow it to be true," pretty much sums it up.

The last two weeks have been very busy. I taught a class on Introduction to Reformed Theology in Baltimore during the week of June 7-12, and this week another minister and I represented our church to the Synod of the United Reformed Churches of North America meeting in Calgary. So there has been little time to blog.

Most of Friday, June 11, I spent driving through the northeastern part of Maryland, driving through small towns and farmland, listening on the car radio to the Reagan funeral. I wonder if we will every hear anything like it again. Of course, it was a funeral in the very best tradition of what was once American state religion, broadly evangelical and protestant, although a catholic priest helped officiate, something we would not have seen in the 19th century dominance of our state religion.

There has been an unending assault on our state religion for the past 65 years or so, using a revised version of American history and interpretation of the First Amendment. There may be even more changes in the next few decades, because of the change in the demographics of America, with a large influx of Hispanics, Eastern Europeans, and Asians. The vitality seems to be going out of evangelicals as they lose their sense of the inerrancy of Scripture and justification by faith.

The bright spot on the horizon, small as a man's hand, is the revival of high calvinism which is taking place throughout the world. The consistent theology and world view of calvinism is greatly feared by humanism of all stripes, but an integrated biblical faith is the only real answer to consistent humanism, whether of the virulent variety of militant Islamism or the seemingly benign form of New Age irrationalism.

It certainly appears that we are in for a ride that will include a lot of change in the next few years. The funeral of Ronald Reagan may well have signalled the end of an age, an age that some may remember with nostalgia, but one that is likely never to come again.

Reason: Objections to These Unions: What Friedrich Hayek can teach us about gay marriage: "But look. No matter how I come at this question, I keep bumping into the same wall. For the entire history of civilization, marriage has been between men and women. In every religion, every culture, every society -- maybe with some minor and rare exceptions, none of them part of our own heritage -- marriage has been reserved for the union of male and female. All the words in the world cannot change that. Same-sex marriage would not be an incremental tweak but a radical reform, a break with all of Western history.

"I'm sorry. I am not prepared to take that step, not when we are talking about civilization's bedrock institution. I don't know that I can even give you good reasons. It is just that what you are asking for is too much."

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Read this article. What great sense it makes. Haven't we had enough human disasters in the 20th century by people who thought they could create social orders that ignored basic human instincts?

A Tribute to Brave Americans.
Memorial Day, 2004

What brave men they were that Christmas night, 1776! George Washington had decided to risk it all on one daring attack. The British with their Hessian mercenaries [Hesse made a living by renting soldiers] had driven the Americans from New York and Long Island. Most American soldiers had signed up for only six months terms and those terms were coming to an end. Washington’s troops had dwindled to about 10 percent of his original force, about 3000 men, many of them without shoes or proper clothing. But they were well armed with plenty of artillery.

The Hessians had taken up positions in Trenton, certain that Washington’s army was defeated and could not fight. Besides, it was winter, and a terrible storm was brewing. But they were fine professional soldiers, the finest in Europe, and they reached deep for energy to post guards and be vigilant. It is a modern myth that they were drunken and asleep that night.

Washington had retreated across New Jersey and crossed the Delaware River and took up positions in Pennsylvania opposite Trenton and NE of Philadelphia.

Washington divided his army into three parts, two parts to attack Trenton from the south and east, the third part under Washington would cross to the north and attack from the north. Two of the armies were unable to cross the river that Christmas night because of the storm and the ice piling up in the river.

Washington and his troops effected the crossing with much difficulty. Yes, Washington stood in the boat, for the boats were huge Durham boats made for carrying the trade that made Pennsylvania farmers rich. Besides only a fool would sit down, for there was always water in the bottom of the boat, and nobody sat down in them, especially during a winter snow storm on December 25. Modern debunkers in history departments for many years have downgraded the status of American heroes.

They were four hours late when they finally got all the troops and artillery across. It was well past dawn when they finally completed the trek south, hauling artillery pieces up steep banks and braving the fierce blowing snow and ice.

Washington did not achieve his goal of a night attack, but the storm helped. They did not achieve complete surprise upon the Hessian troops, for they were spotted by sentries and both sides fought bravely, but the Americans had the advantage of artillery, numerical advantage at that time and place, and finally the Hessian commander called a halt. It was over at 9:00 a.m. Washington’s gamble had succeeded.

The great victory at Trenton shook America and Europe. Fresh recruits lined up throughout the colonies to join the American armies. Inquiries and inquisitions were held in Hesse and England. The English blamed the Hessians and the Hessians blamed the English. Continental currency received a shot in the arm.

The victory at Trenton was probably not the turning point of the war, but if Washington’s gamble had failed, his army would have been pinned with their backs against the Delaware river, and it probably would have been destroyed. Trenton did not gain liberty for America, but it made it possible for the war to continue.

God bless General George Washington, and God bless America.

I do not know what the greatest generation of American was, but we couldn’t even talk about it if it had not been for the generation of 1776.

FOXNews.com - You Decide 2004 - Frist Campaigns Against Daschle in South Dakota: "'What it indicates now is probably that things have become more partisan,' said Senate Associate Historian Don Ritchie. Ritchie said leaders have traditionally laid off campaigning against one another because they would have been 'trying not to burn too many bridges.' "
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More partisan? Who is Peter Brownfield trying to kid? These are the most partisan Democrats in my lifetime. Have you heard what they are saying about Presdent Bush? Do you know how they have bottled up judicial nominations for partisan reason? Frist is just recognizing reality.

RealClearPolitics: "'Today, the United States is confronted by another ill-considered war, conceived in ideological zeal and pursued with contempt for truth, disregard of history and an arrogant assertion of American power that has stunned and alienated much of the world, including traditional allies. At a juncture in history when the United States needed a president to intelligently and forcefully lead a real international campaign against terrorism and its causes, Bush decided instead to unilaterally declare war on a totalitarian state that never represented a terrorist threat; to claim exemption from international law regarding the treatment of prisoners; to suspend constitutional guarantees even to non-combatants at home and abroad; and to ignore sound military advice from the only member of his Cabinet � Powell � with the most requisite experience. Instead of using America's moral authority to lead a great global cause, Bush squandered it.'
-Carl Bernstein"
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Have you noticed how the willing democratic shills in the press, chortle with glee any time anything happens that they can construe as a disaster for America, in hopes that they can defeat Bush in November. They magnify faults, minimize assets, and hope for American disasters and deaths and disgrace, just so they can gain the power they lust after.

Lesson: our founding fathers were right. The only good government is limited government. People should make most of the decisions themselves that affect their lives, and power and money in the central government should be severely limited to the most basic needs. If the power and money is removed from Washington, then only patriots would want to go there, and scoundrals wouldn't stay.

Michael Moore has become a GM-sized conspiracy theory factory.

The fake-umentary maker recently suggested that Democrat donor Michael Eisner was conspiring with the Bush brothers to censor his latest film, "Fahrenheit 9/11."

In the movie, which recently took the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Moore presents a conspiracy theory that involves Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida, the Saudis and the Bush administration. He bases the crackpot thesis on the news reports that, in the days after 9/11, about 140 Saudis were airlifted back home, two dozen of whom were members of the bin Laden family.

Lost in Moore's mental machinations were the facts that Osama was estranged from his elephant-sized family and had had his Saudi citizenship revoked two decades ago.

If he's looking for real conspiracy fodder, Moore might try checking out some of the new folks that Miramax Films has hired to promote his flick. Howard Wolfson is the ex-campaign press secretary for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Michael Feldman is an adviser from Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign. Mark Fabiani and Chris Lehane are former Clinton White House advisers.

And then there's the Miramax spokesman who's been talking to the press about the story. He's Matthew Hiltzik, and he worked on Hillary's U.S. Senate campaign.

The Left Coast Report whispers, Vast left-wing conspiracy, anyone?

--from James Hirsen's Left Coast Report. Newsmax.com

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan: "Fast Eddy Doctorow told a story at the commencement all right, and it is a story about the boorishness of the aging liberal. An old '60s radical who feels he is entitled to impose his views on this audience on this day because he's so gifted, so smart, so insightful, so very above the normal rules, agreements and traditions. And for this he will get to call himself besieged and heroic--a hero about whom stories are told!--when in fact all he did was guarantee positive personal press in the elite media, at the cost of the long suffering patience of normal people who wanted to move the tassel and throw the hat in the air."
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Hurrah for Peggy Noonan!

Michael Moore and Me: "The only problem is none of this is true. It never happened. Moore is a liar. He made it up. It's a fabrication on two levels. One, I've never met Moore or even talked to him on the phone. And, two, I read both The Iliad and The Odyssey in my first year at the University of Virginia. Just for the record, I'd learned what they were about even before college"
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Of course Michael Moore is a liar. He lives in a dream world in which he and his kind fancy they are gods and can create their own reality. The French, of course, and their lovers receive such gladly, and have for years at the perversion and monstrosity they call a film festival.

Hyping Liberal Radio's Rise, But Not Its Fall -- 05/20/2004 - Media Research Center - Media Reality Check: "Then, on May 14, the Chicago Tribune revealed that one inside source said �Chicago staffers were never enrolled in a health insurance plan, though Air America promised coverage and deducted health insurance premiums from their paychecks.� Would that spur a juicy liberal-hypocrisy story in the middle of what big-government lobbies touted as �Cover The Uninsured Week� (May 10-14)? No. "
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You protect your own, and liberals have a cozy relationship with the national media. But there are good places to get the news, and Christians should stop hoping against hope that the national press will get it right. They won't, and we do not need to wait for them to do so. Their monopoly and power is over, thank God, Carl McIntyre, and Ronald Reagan.

EditorandPublisher.com - Information Authority for the Newspaper Industry: "The survey also revealed what some are sure to label a 'values' gap. According to Pew, about 60% of the general public believes it is necessary to believe in God to be a truly moral person. The new survey finds that less than 15% of those who work at news outlets believe that. About half the general public believes homosexuality should be accepted by society -- but about 80% of journalists feel that way."
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As Hamlet's friend might put it, "We did not need one to rise from the dead to tell us that, M'Lord."