I should thank The Internet for keeping me up-to-date on the goings on over in Iran over the past few days. The mainstream media have good company when it comes to being silent on the matter, though. Still, I’ll hand it to CNN, who had the story covered… via user-submitted content. The agency itself was much more concerned with reporting that hundreds of thousands of people were whining about their televisions failing to perform in the new digital age. Please pray for the Iranians. Events such as this serve to reveal beyond question the world’s need of a Savior, of our constant need for the Gospel.
For all you Web-heads (bloggers, not Spiderman fans… Well, them too!), Thesis 1.5.1 was released a few days ago featuring a number of improvements, new features, and performance enhancements. Most importantly, v1.5.1 allows Thesis to play nicely with WordPress 2.7 – 2.8, two major versions of WordPress awesomeness with which you can use Thesis.
On that subject, Chris & I have all sorts of great ideas for the future of Thesis. Don’t you worry ’bout that well drying up anytime soon. :D
A friend of mine (hi, Glen) recommended A. W. Bullinger’s study Bible to me; well, I didn’t get the Bible, but I did order two of Bullinger’s books. Currently, I’m reading The Witness of the Stars, which I’m finding fascinating. Bullinger traces the earliest history of zodiacal observation and relates it the the witness of the Scriptures, which more than once speak of the testimony of the stars. My opinion thus far? Bullinger was either a certified genius or an authentic wacko.
And if you got that reference, then I’ve no doubt that you, like me, are eagerly awaiting this!
Finally took the time to watch the Google Wave preview in its entirety. Set aside an hour & twenty to immerse yourself in the future of online communication. Google has taken the best parts of e-mail, message boards, blogging, collaborative document creation, wikis, instant messaging, and even PowWow (the best chat program I have ever used, and it’s been unavailable for years) to an extent. Are you prepared to ride the Wave?
Dad’s blog is taking off nicely, which is awesome. His most recent post, Science and Religion, is interesting. I like the part about science being unable to prove that the universe didn’t actually begin just a few hours ago. I’d like to add that it takes a lot of faith to believe that the universe is billions upon billions of years old when it could just as well be 6,000 – 10,000 years old, created with the appearance of age. Granted, it takes faith to believe that as well.
In the time it took me to write the above paragraph, a new entry popped up on Dad’s site. Amazing. I should point out it’s spelled “Walmart.” No hyphen, just one capital. ;)
The local city park has announced that beginning very soon, they will be providing free wi-fi access. I know I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but the service is being provided by these guys. It’s been a while since coming across a site that broken. Can anyone else get any content to pull up? Still, perhaps this will be the incentive I need to hit the park more often with Alicia. Now all I need is a Frisbee flying disk.
If you’ve not seen Up yet, I highly suggest it. Adults may even enjoy it more than younger children do. Pixar touched on a number of “grown-up” themes with this film, including death. Kids may not get it — and perhaps that’s a good thing — but you will. It may be wise to take a few tissues along.
So what’s been on your mind and radar this past week?
Isn’t it amazing that the people of Iran are willing to die for their freedom and we in the USA are giving it away to Comrade Obama.
Piano Lessons,
I’m curious. Just what freedom is it that you are losing?
The freedom to own bonds in a major Corp. without the government taking it and giving ownership to the UAW … The freedom to speak out against a repressive government and actualy be heard through our
State Owned Media … The freedom to practice my religion without the government telling me where and when I can worship God (If I am Muslem it is OK) … The freedom to have my children educated properly without having to pay for government run schools .…
Shall I continue ?????
“The freedom to own bonds in a major Corp. without the government taking it and giving ownership to the UAW”
And that freedom is in what foundational document?
“The freedom to speak out against a repressive government…”
You can’t? And what has Obama done to restrict it?
“Shall I continue ?????”
Well, I would prefer you make sense of the statements you’ve already made before you continue. You are free to do whatever you want.
“…and actualy be heard through our State Owned Media”
I’m not sure I understand this. Which media does the state own? Banks, car companies, but media?
“The freedom to practice my religion without the government telling me where and when I can worship God”
Really? Where can you not practice your religion? And how is Obama responsible?
“The freedom to have my children educated properly without having to pay for government run schools ….”
And the freedom to not pay for schools is in what foundational document? When did you have this freedom? And, again, what does Obama have to do with your “loss”?
Somehow my previous comment got a bit out of order. My apologies.
The freedom to educate you children apart from government-sponsored/subsidized/whatever schools is still out there. Some states — Indiana, for example — are very lenient on home schoolers. There’s no test to take to determine if you are a qualified home school teacher, there’s no predetermined or required curriculum, and there’s pretty much no state interference whatsoever. I’m pretty sure the only requirement is that home schools operate at least as long (180 days, I believe) as the public schools do. This, of course, allows home schools the freedom to operate *more* than public schools, allowing for teaching of civics, how to behave in society, and so on. Too bad they don’t, the public schools having already set a bad example on that one.
Piano Lessons, are you saying that you would actually be willing to die over those issues you mentioned? If so, I think you’re willing to throw your life away far too easily, my friend.
Rick,
You are missing the end of his post. “without having to pay for government run schools ….”
Piano Lessons complaint seems to be with having to pay taxes to support public schools even if he or she isn’t sending their children to them.
Looks like I have started a discussion based on the constitution, or what’s left of it.
First we need to know why we even have a constitution. It isn’t for the reasons that a lot of people seem to believe. Our constitution was never a list of rights GIVEN to us by our government. It was a list of rights given to us by our God, and recognized by our then government of and by the people. In response to Senior and Rick Beckman, Obama isn’t to blame to our loss of freedom. He is just another in a long line of Communists in our government determined to destroy what is left of our constitution. The constitution was put in place to protect us from an oppressive government, and our hammer to guarantee that it was enforced was our right to keep and BEAR arms, and a well armed militia(the National Guard) which was supposed to be under the control of the individual states. Well .… lets see how that has evolved over time. First of all , in violation of the constitution, you can no longer BEAR arms unless you are lucky enough to live in a state that will charge you a FEE (tax) and GIVE you the so-called right to bear arms in a concealed way. And even then you better be careful or you will land in jail. Second of all, Our National Guard is under the control of the Federal Government: kind of like the “fox guarding the hen house” .
As far as my right to worship my God as I see fit … The best examples I can give are in our government run schools. Children are being persecuted every day in that failed institution for simply trying to say a prayer, or wear a T-shirt depicting some religious meaning. Yet that same institution will bend over backward to guarantee the rights of other students to wear T-shirts depicting anything from drug use to porn and nothing is said. The universities on Michigan and Minnesota have even installed foot washing basins for Muslim students.
Unless the government gets out of the business of regulating how and when we can worship God, we should not have to pay for “freedom FROM religion” .
Next topic … whenever you are ready.
“Obama isn’t to blame to our loss of freedom”
Please make up your mind. You were the one that seemed to be blaming him: “we in the USA are giving it away to Comrade Obama”.
“He is just another in a long line of Communists”
A long line of communists?? Really? Who? Do you understand the definition of communism? I can actually understand the reasoning behind someone calling Obama a communist. There are actual facts to support such a label (but I suspect the history of his full term will not be so supportive).
As for the gun issue. As far as I know, any law abiding citizen in this country can acquire and keep a gun. If there is a place where you cannot do that, then I support your effort to change it. As for having to pay fees, etc. I don’t have an issue with that and you get no sympathy from me on that front. If you really want more lenient gun laws, I would suggest that you support drug legalization. Most gun violence is a result of the drug war. Less gun violence would lead to less public support for gun laws.
As to the religion issue. It sounds to me like you are not complaining about a lack of ability to pray, but rather a lack of ability to shove your faith in my face. As a non-christian, I can tell you that many Christians feel it their duty to try and “save” me. It gets tiring. It’s not that I see a problem with a child wearing clothing that depicts a religious meaning, but I’d be a lot more supportive if it wasn’t for the constant evangelizing from many Christians. Also, if you allow a cross, then you have to allow the images a Satanist would put on his or her shirt.
Any child that wants to sit at his or her desk and quietly pray is free to do so. How would anyone know?
When evaluating the governments attitude towards religion, it might help to imagine how a given attitude would manifest itself if the majority of the population was Muslim. Two hundred years from now it might be.
As for display of porn and drug use I am not a fan of that either. Public schools in Marion have instituted uniforms. So apparently it can be stopped.
So, I still don’t see where the government has infringed on your rights. Sorry.
I was just going to say I couldn’t bring up YDial content either but.…Rich you always seem to be able to say what I don’t have the words to put together to say :)