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Vincent Browne is very relaxed these days. The Tonight with Vincent Browne programme goes on air at 11pm, when he welcomes viewers, gives a brief summary of the show, then hands over to the TV3 newsroom for headlines.
At 10.45pm he is still at his desk in the large communal production office.
At 10.57pm his guests for the evening are in the studio, having their microphones attached.
In the director's box they are calling "One minute."
Someone in the box says, quite reasonably, "Where's Vincent?"
Someone else says, in a public-relations voice: "I'm sure he's outside, doing a bit of research."
It is left to the newsreader, Stephen Murphy, to say "Good evening and welcome."
The headlines roll on. The newsreader is saying "And finally for now . . ."
The studio clock is showing 23.03.54 in red digits when Vincent Browne takes his seat on set and delivers his wintery smile.
Several times during the programme he plugs a new version of the show, which will start next Wednesday. The People's Debate With Vincent Browne will air once a month, at the earlier time of 10pm, for two hours, and will consist of an audience of about 200 people – "ordinary or, rather, extraordinary people" as he puts it – and Vincent Browne. "We're calling it democracy television," he says, without a blush.
TV3 staff say the dry run of the new format was most encouraging, with Browne performing extraordinarily well.
Some people are calling this his break from the nuisance of having a panel of guests. He denies this, but he does say: "If there's a panel, they suck up half the time."
He does seem to get pretty angry with politicians. "Well, listening to that rubbish, night after night . . . People who watch only occasionally don't have to listen to that night after night after night. Life is short."
He says he gets cross with people such as Peter Mathews, a Fine Gael TD for Dublin South. "I like Peter Mathews, and I think he likes me, but he goes on and on and on . . . It's cruel and unusual punishment.
"But also, on behalf of the viewers," he says. "You ask them something and they just rabbit on and on and you ask them again . . . Unfortunately, some RTÉ programmes allow people to talk down the clock. And I need them to get to the point."
He has thought of offering panellists guidelines, to help them out. They would be stark. "If you're asked a question, answer it straight away. If you want to provide context, do it afterwards."
Perhaps he is calm these days because he is comfortable working with a team of just three people: the producers, Betty Purcell and Lisa-Marie Berry, and the researcher, Daniel Murray.
For those of us who worked with Browne in previous incarnations (as editor of the now-defunct Sunday Tribune , he recruited me in the early 1990s, and was my boss until he left in 1994), and observed his regular lava flows of anger, watching Tonight With Vincent Browne will never be a stress-free experience.
"No one has ever said that to me before," he says evenly when told how awful the editorial meetings at the Tribune were. "Or, rather, if they did, I have forgotten." It seems all that is left of those terrifying rages are a few pebbles of irritation.
As an interviewee, Browne is modest and courteous. He is enthusiastic about Mario Rosenstock's imitation of him, which periodically depicts him as Satan, saying, "I don't care." At the first meeting with him, he says, Rosenstock imitated a regular panellist, the economist Constantin Gurdgiev. "It was just so funny."
Tonight With Vincent Browne tries hard to find new panellists. And particularly new women panellists, of whom the latest success is Francesca Comyn, Newstalk's court reporter, who was talking about the Anglo Irish Bank case. "She was excellent," he says. "It's great to find someone like that. Any time you find a woman that great, it's so good."
But it's also a matter of trying to vary the view. He believes "RTÉ has the same people, with the same agenda, on Saturdays and Sundays. They've all bought in to the neoliberal agenda," in his view.
Things are more conservative now than when he was young, he says. He will turn 70 in July. "It's worse. There was a time when we thought we could generate our own jobs back then."
In his own profession, he says, "It is unhealthy that a large part of the media is owned by one man." Everywhere, the debate has been flattened, he says. "There's no difference between the Independent and RTÉ. Independent Newspapers might be slightly to the left of RTÉ."
And then the media itself is in such trouble, with less money available for investigative journalism. "I thought it might be a good idea to try a new model." He had thought that, when the Sunday Business Post was in financial difficulty last year, it might be have been saved by members of the public, who would pay €100 a share and elect a board. In the end he decided that the Sunday Business Post was too much of a niche publication for this to work. But he thinks about these things.
He works happily at TV3, the most commercial and minimalist of Irish stations. "There's no interference here. They don't have a hand-wringing committee to discuss which insult to the establishment has been perpetrated the night before."
He has been very lucky to have been given this television opportunity, he says. But he finds print journalism more satisfying. He likes writing his column, which appears on Wednesdays in The Irish Times , and says it works best if he starts it on Sundays.
That way he has time to throw the whole thing out and start again, if he wants to. "There's a satisfaction to that."
He's planning a few columns about gambling. "It's so cynical." And he's not too fond of the National Lottery. I suggest it's patronising of him to tell people what not to do with their money. "Well, maybe," he says. "But it's not patronising to say that the State shouldn't be involved in it."
Does he gamble himself? "Do I bet on horses? No. Do I play cards? No. But I gambled on Village ," he says, referring to the current-affairs magazine he founded in 2004 and edited until 2008; it is now published bimonthly with no involvement from Browne.
"I thought I knew about magazine publishing . . . I thought, I'll have an outlet until I fall off the perch. Unfortunately, I fell off the perch . . . Ha!"
I wonder whether he has any regrets, looking back on his career, littered as it is with good ideas such as Magill , the Sunday Tribune and Village .
"I don't look back on my career much at all," he says. It's a surprising thing to say when you think of all the tears that were shed, mostly by other men, during that career, and how sorely missed those media outlets are. I ask who his dream editor would be. Would it be himself? He replies: "I wouldn't be my own dream editor, in fact. No. Nor did I ever enjoy being editor. I enjoyed writing."
He was getting what he wanted out of journalism with Magill magazine, he says. "The Sunday Tribune experience, on the whole, was not a happy one." He made a mistake, he says, in holding on to Magill when he started the Tribune . "I should have given [the new Magill staff] the magazine and got out altogether.'"
"I've found this out about myself. I'm always dissatisfied with anything I do. I think it's not good enough . . . And my disappointment with myself comes across as disappointment and the chastisement of others. But in principle you're blaming yourself. I blame my mother."
He laughs at the last part of this. Indeed his mother – he was her second child and eldest son – set the bar pretty high. After he did well in his Inter Cert, she said: "You nearly didn't get honours in French." "My reaction was not anger but amusement."
He won't say anything negative about his mother. "All Irish fellas love the mammy. I certainly did." She died in 1987. His father died in 1992. " I still miss them." Every now and then he thinks, She'll be so glad when she hears that.
Anger, he says, has never been a factor in his life outside work. "I have never been angry with my daughters, for example." He says he has to pretend to be angry with them, for parenting purposes, but you cannot imagine that he would be very good at pretending anything.
Emma is 32, a barrister and a mother. He shows me a photograph of his baby granddaughter. Julia is 23. She studied archaeology. "She's not allowed to leave home until she's 47." He laughs benignly. Then he walks away to the quiet production office.


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GERMANTOWN, Md.—Police charged two women on Saturday in the deaths of two children in Maryland, saying the women believed they were performing an exorcism.
Montgomery County Police charged 21-year-old Monifa Denise Sanford and 28-year-old Zakieya Latrice Avery with murder in the deaths of two of Avery's children, a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old. The women are also facing attempted murder charges for injuring the children's siblings, ages 5 and 8.
Police say the two younger children who died suffered multiple stab wounds.
Police were called to the home where the women lived on Friday. A neighbor called 911 after noticing a vehicle with the door open and a knife laying outside of the vehicle. Avery was arrested when authorities say she tried to flee from a townhouse near the vehicle. Police found the two children dead inside the home, and their siblings and Sanford were taken to the hospital with injuries.
Police say Sanford was arrested Saturday after being released from the hospital.
Also on Saturday police identified the children who died as Norell Harris, a 1-year-old boy, and Zyana Harris, a 2-year-old girl.
The older children who were injured were identified as 5-year-old Taniya Harris, a girl, and 8-year-old Martello Harris, a boy. They remained hospitalized Saturday.
Police say Sanford and Avery each face two counts of first degree murder and two counts of attempted first degree murder. Both were being held without bond.

subset: commoncrawl


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"Necessity is the mother of invention.", Agnes DeMille, Al Hirschfeld, Alice Nikitina, Alicia Markova, Anna Pavlova, Anton Dolin, Arnold Haskell, Ballet Club, Ballet Russes, Beatrice Lillie, Bernard Williams, Bert Lahr, Cyril Beaumont, Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Jacob's Pillow, John Drummond, John Rawlings, La Chatte, La Péri, leg warmers, London's Regal Cinema, Marie Rambert, Mark Twain, Maryinsky Ballet School, Mercury Theatre, Olga Speeivtseva, prima ballerina assoluta, Radio City Music Hall, Sergei Diaghilev, Speaking of Diaghilev, The Nightingale, The Seven Lively Arts, Vogue, wartime rationing
Ironically, no one knows for sure who "invented" the adage "Necessity is the Mother of Invention." Though variously attributed to Plato, Aesop, and an Indian philosopher (no, it wasn't Frank Zappa), the saying came into general usage in 17th century England. Several hundred years later, the proverb would prove prophetic for a small, sickly Jewish girl from Finsbury Park, London. Born in 1910 with flat feet, knock knees and weak legs, Lilian Alicia Marks was the unlikeliest of future ballet stars. First, all classical ballerinas in her day were Russian. Second, as Markova herself often joked, "What would people say to a girl with throat trouble who announced her intention of becoming an operatic singer?"
And indeed, little Lily would never have dreamt of a dance career had ballet class not become a necessity. Not only did she have fallen arches, but her right knee often buckled under. The doctor proposed leg irons as a cure, a fate neither the frail seven-year-old nor her mother relished. Any other options? Ballet exercises might strengthen her limbs and feet, offered the physician. They did. And a ballet prodigy was discovered in the process.
Mark Twain's variation on the theme was "Necessity is the mother of taking chances." That was certainly true when the painfully shy Lily Marks, age 13, auditioned for Ballets Russes impresario Sergei Diaghilev and his new hire – the untried choreographer George Balanchine.
From the The Making of Markova: "Balanchine started asking me to do all kinds of things, including a lot of acrobatic steps. These I did rather to his surprise, mine too I might add. Finally he said, 'Now please do for me two pirouettes in the air, like the men do.' This seemed to me a little extraordinary as I had never even tried to do one. Anyway, I attempted it and went round perfectly. He was delighted and said, 'Yes, you will do.'"
Within months, the naïve teen became the youngest ever soloist at the world famous Ballets Russes and star of Balanchine's first full-length choreographic work for the company, The Nightingale. As London newspaper The Independent would later comment: "Alicia's incredible virtuosity thrilled Balanchine. He included double tours en l'air, a turning jump from the male lexicon, and devised a diagonal of jouettés that gave the impression of a little bird hopping." The ballet launched both of their careers. However, Lilian Alicia Marks would not be listed on the program. Being a prima ballerina in the 1920s "necessitated" a Russian name. "Who would pay to see Marks dance?" scoffed Diaghilev, who quickly rechristened her Alicia Markova.
Diaghilev also believed the best ballerinas made as little noise as possible. More than anything, his youngest-ever prodigy wanted to please him, so Markova learned to dance silently. "If Markova springs like a winged fairy, she comes to the ground just as lightly," wrote British dance historian Cyril Beaumont, "noiselessly in fact, always passing – ball, sole, heel – through the whole of the supplanted foot. Of how many ballerine can that be said?"
An airy lightness would become Markova's signature, along with her never showing any signs of physical exertion or heavy breathing. She developed that otherworldly quality out of necessity when performing with Marie Rambert's Ballet Club, one of England's first classical dance companies in the early 1930s. "The stage at the Mercury Theatre, it was very small," explained Rambert. "But she [Markova] turned it to her advantage. She developed a very effortless technique. You could stand quite close to her. You didn't hear her breathe. You didn't hear her move a step. She just floated on a cloud. It was really wonderful!"
Markova may have been extremely timid off-stage in her early dancing years, but she was a whirlwind on. So much so, that one night while doing a series of rapid turns, her headdress flew off, fortunately settling 'round her neck rather than landing with a thud. Though Diaghilev was impressed she kept dancing impeccably, he sternly warned that must never happen again. The obedient teen's solution? Glue. Fortunately she found one that stuck without removing every hair on her head.
Nicknamed "the Sphinx" by her Ballets Russes peers, Markova was exceptionally quiet in a company of exuberant personalities. She was keenly observant, however, avidly attending dress rehearsals of other dancers. That was lucky for her when she inherited the lead role in La Chatte.
"[Olga] Spessivtseva created it and had an accident, and then [Alice] Nikitina took over and she hurt her foot, and then I went in," Markova explained to Speaking of Diaghilev author John Drummond. "I was the third Cat. I was only sixteen at the time, but I was very observant. I had noticed that they complained so much about the floor because it was black. American cloth, terribly slippery in certain areas. And other areas, because of the very modern design, were like cotton, two surfaces, and I figured out that was causing the accidents."
Making matters worse – or better, depending how you look at it – La Chatte choreographer George Balanchine decided to take advantage of Alicia's special talents and add more complicated and difficult moves. Again, as told to Drummond: "I thought, I don't want to hurt my foot. I don't want to be put out, because it was a wonderful ballet, marvelous role. I had to solve the problem somehow, and this slippery floor, because otherwise I wasn't going to be able to do all these double turns in the air that Balanchine had given me and all these pirouettes on pointe which he had added, so I suddenly remembered when I danced on a ballroom floor, I used to have rubbers [sole grips] put on my ballet shoes."
As one critic noted, "The Cat of Alicia Markova was flawless. She is an accomplished ballerina . . . one of the greatest dancer talents of present times." And resourceful. In fact, to solve an ongoing workout problem, she invented one of today's most ubiquitous ballet essentials. The lightbulb went off while Markova was knitting a bed jacket as a Christmas gift for an elderly friend. In order to make the wrap both warm and comfortably lightweight, she created an airy, lace-like stitch using extra thick wooden needles.
That gave her an idea. Up until that time, dancers wore heavy leg warmers over knit tights during winter practice sessions. Despite the cold, the wool made them sweat profusely. In Markova's case, perspiring heavily led to weight loss she could ill afford. So using the same open-weave stitch as in the bed jacket, she created lightweight leg covers that were breathable and less restrictive.
When fellow dancers saw Markova's creation, they asked if she might be willing to knit them several pairs as well. She would. They quickly caught on and the ballet world has Alicia Markova to thank for the standard practice leggings of today.
Unlike many of her peers, Markova was always trying to put on weight rather than lose it. Bone thin in her early years, she was once described by dancer/choreographer Agnes DeMille as "the stringiest girl I ever saw, a darling little skeleton." And as Ballet Club's Marie Rambert noted, "Happy Alicia who can eat like a mortal and dance like an immortal. It was so astonishing to see Alicia putting down a thick solid steak and kidney pie, and to think when she comes on the stage, she's a disembodied spirit. How did she do it?"
Five meals a day cost money and Markova made very little of that while pioneering British ballet in the early 1930s. "I had to live and I always had a great appetite," she later reminisced. "I love my food, so I was doing commercial work as well." The "commercial work" Markova referred to was dancing in popular stage musicals, as well as live at London's Regal Cinema three times daily between film showings – much like the Rockette shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Frederick Ashton was the choreographer.
From The Making of Markova: The pay was exorbitant for the times, £20 a week for Markova, and would subsidize her and Ashton's more serious collaborations for the budding British ballet community. . . . Everything was on a grand scale, especially when compared to the tiny, small-budgeted Mercury Theatre. . . . Sandwiched between a performance of The Regal Symphony Orchestra and the Hollywood film Illicit – starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell – Alicia Markova and William Chappell were to appear live on stage in the Dance of the Hours. The production was quite an extravaganza with the two leads, amply surrounded by a large – though rather inexperienced – corps de ballet. The audience was wowed nonetheless, captivated by the two stars, elaborate sets, and fanciful costumes. . . .
The Cinema production numbers changed every three weeks, which meant Markova would be performing three shows a day in one ballet, while rehearsing the next one. It took a toll physically, especially in Ashton's Foxhunting Ballet, where Markova played the titled Fox "in all-over brown leotard, large bushy tail, a bonnet with little ears and paw-like gloves."
. . ."I just remembered being dazzled at what she was doing," [ballet critic] Arnold Haskell remembered years later. "It was sandwiched between the selling of ice-creams and the film and all that, and you couldn't get into a ballet atmosphere, but you could admire the virtuosity, and it was a show of virtuosity for a popular public." In many ways, it could not have been a more effective tool for helping ballet trickle through all levels of society in England for the first time.
While many high-toned balletomanes looked down on a ballerina of Markova's stature performing in such "mass-market" productions, she continued appearing in popular venues long after she needed the money. Never a snob, Markova felt exposing new audiences to the beauty of ballet – no matter where they first saw it – would only increase ticket sales for classical dance. And it did.
Another boon to popularizing ballet in the 1930s and '40s was Markova's appreciation for – and mastery of – the mass media of her day. In 1932, she became the first ballet dancer ever to appear on the new-fangled medium of television (see earlier post: The Television-ary Markova), and willed herself to become a more vocal marketer in newspapers and magazines. That was not easy for a woman who barely spoke a word until age 6 and totally lacked confidence as a public speaker. But Markova loved ballet, and wanted everyday folks everywhere to share her appreciation. Understanding the power and wide reach of print media, she slowly but surely became a more lively and entertaining interview subject. Her natural empathy and down-to-earth manner endeared her to thousands of housewives and working women, especially during the war years. (See earlier post: Markova Entertains the Troops.)
And speaking of the war years, Markova wished to remain in London with her family and friends at the outbreak of WWII. Unfortunately, she had an ironclad contract to dance in the U.S., with non-compete clauses and threats of legal injunctions requiring she honor her commitment or stop performing all together. As the main financial support of her sisters and widowed mother, Markova had no choice. But she managed to stay connected to her loved ones through weekly shipments of goods that were rationed in wartime London.
That necessitated two things: careful budgeting of her meager wages, and inventive packaging to insure delivery. From The Making of Markova: "I would always ask what the shortages were and I remember the one time, they said lemons. . . . You couldn't get lemons. I went out and bought a lot of lemons, and I thought how are we going to get them through? Customs will take them first, probably. So what we did, we got a whole lot of old sweaters that looked like awful old shabby things and filled the arms with the lemons and rolled them up . . . and we sent them over to the family."
Markova also made sure to send "necessities" like hard-to-find lipsticks for her sisters, with ballet shoe ribbons and metal hairpins going to needy "bun heads" at the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. "Bobby pins! We couldn't get anything like that," famed British ballerina Beryl Grey later told Markova. "We were so excited and grateful, and so touched that you were thinking of us."
"An extravagance is something that your spirit thinks is a necessity," proffered British philosopher Bernard Williams. One might agree that a fur coat is a prime example. But that wouldn't be true for early 20th century ballet dancers. Winter tours throughout Europe, and later the United States, often required extensive journeys in unheated trains. It was a bone-chilling experience. In fact, Anna Pavlova caught pneumonia when her touring train broke down in a frigid snowstorm, causing her premature death within weeks.
When the 14-year-old – and penniless – Markova was accepted at the Ballets Russes, a generous, well-traveled friend of the family had one of her own fur coats cut down and remade for the tiny dancer, knowing she would need it. Later, Markova learned how valuable that gift really was. It wasn't just the unheated trains. Dancers often spent hours on wind-swept, icy rail platforms waiting for luggage, costumes and sets to be loaded or unloaded. A lightweight fur also served as a soft mattress, warm blanket, and even a public relations tool. After lengthy trips on bumpy railcars, ballerinas hardly looked their best when arriving in a new town. Markova noted that donning their fur coats made them look glamorous to the press, even when they could barely keep their eyes open.
There was one "necessity" Markova staunchly opposed throughout her career. She was repeatedly advised to have her ethnic nose bobbed so she would look "prettier" – and more importantly – less Jewish.
When Markova began dancing, classical ballerinas were all Russian, and Jews were not allowed to attend the Maryinsky ballet school in St. Petersburg. In fact Jews weren't even allowed to live in cities like St. Petersburg and Moscow without special permits. Anna Pavlova was Jewish, but hid that fact throughout her career. Even when she was world-famous, she was afraid of losing fans if her religion became public in such anti-Semitic times.
Alicia Markova felt differently. Not only did she refuse to have her prominent nose "fixed," but she was also openly vocal about her religion, becoming a great source of pride in Jewish media circles throughout Europe and the United States.
Markova would become the first Jewish – and first British – prima ballerina assoluta in history, and a role model for young dancers all over the globe. "Necessity is the last and strongest weapon," wrote Titus Levy in ancient Rome. For Markova, honoring her religion was that kind of necessity.


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100 Ways to Fight the Flab Competition – Top 12
Taa-Raaa – we have the first set of results of the Fight the Flab Competition, judged by Janie Milman, co-owner of the fab Chez-Castillon, Morgen-with-an-e-Bailey – blog-designer extraordinaire and me. Thank you so much to everyone who entered. Morgen has been the organised one and done all the admin, so over to her….
Hi Morgen here
Yes, that's right – the entries were so impressive that we couldn't agree on just ten.
Five of the twelve received a vote from all three judges, the other seven were picked by two of us.
Below are the shortlisted twelve and we shall be putting our heads together to pick out a winner… we may be some time! 🙂 Only kidding, we will be posting the Top 5 here on Saturday 11th May then the winner on Saturday 18th May… listen out for the fanfare. 🙂
For a reminder of the prize…
The entrants had to: Write a diet or fitness tip in no more than 250 words. Entries were be judged on originality and entertainment value.
The author of the best tip will win: a week's writing course with Jane Wenham-Jones, September 28th-4th October 2013 at Chez Castillon (see http://chez-castillon.com for full description) including meals and accommodation (flights not included) – worth £875.
and now for the Top 12… (in alphabetical order by surname)
Tip Name
|Karen Booth
|The Regulating Waistband Plan
|Philippa Bowe
|Clean out your colon
|Tracy Fells
|The E-Plan
|Ninette Hartley
|Sleep The Fat Away
|Jessica Kennedy
|Stop Doing the Dishes
|Cathy Lennon
|Acquire a Labrador
|Jane Lovering
|Bum's Away
|Clare Mackintosh
|The upside-down diet tip: a poem
|Jan Newton
|Make Rejection Work for You
|Janet O'Kane
|Why join a gym when you can work out at the supermarket?
|Rebecca Stanley
|In a Spin
|Tony Tibbenham
|Roll 6 for Chocolate
So good luck to those 12 and watch this space for the top 5 next weekend and the winner the weekend after!


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Beirut's Zach Condon Distills Himself
Trumpeter/ukulelist/singer Zach Condon, native Santa Fean and frontman for Beirut, has garnered a world of attention for music that draws heavily on his serial "flirtations," as he calls them, with various genres. French chanson, Balkan brass, Mexican church bands, electronica—each has provided the inspiration and stylistic setting for a Beirut album.
The constants in those recordings, though, are Condon's love affair with melody and his ear for the right sound in the right place. For the latest Beirut release, The Rip Tide, Condon focused on those elements, hoping to distill his own sound from the multigenre cocktail. He's succeeded in creating his most personal and arguably his most beautiful and mature work to date.
Photo courtesy of Le Chat Lunatique
Coca Leaves, Vinyl and Confiscated Mustache Scissors ...
Le Chat Lunatique goes to Colombia
The mountains are to the east, and there's a tram to the top of them. Spanish is spoken, tamales are eaten, potholes are plentiful. Albuquerque's Le Chat Lunatique felt right at home in Bogotá. The gypsy jazz band made its first, but likely not its last, visit to Colombia in early September to take part in the 23rd Festival Internacional de Jazz del Teatro Libre.
Akiliah Martinez
Show Up!
Electronic Blessings
Fest spotlights new wave of Native musicians
Brad Charles wants you to know there's more to rez music than metal. Charles and his partner, Hansen Ashley, make up the Navajo Nation-based post-punk duo Discotays. Dissatisfied with performance opportunities on the reservation for indie and electronic music, Charles organized a showcase to coincide with the 100th annual Northern Navajo Nation Fair.
Flyer on the Wall
Blitzen Trapper, Dawes and the Smoke Fairies in Santa Fe


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Hello my mad lovelies,
I just want to say that I haven't forgotten you or this blog. It's just that I'm really trying to focus on my recovery right now and finding it very hard to write. My medication is still changing regularly, I'm in an out-patient program that meets daily, and I'm just plain exhausted. Lithium totally zapped my ability to string together sentences and find words, but the good news is that I'm weening off the toxic substance and starting a new med (Abilify). Have any of you tried Abilify? What were your reactions to it? Did it help you? I'm hoping it helps me because I'm getting awfully fed up of feeling like a medication guinea pig.
I love you lovelies tons and wish you love and light,
P.S. Here's a puppy to make you (and me) smile


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Watch Samurai 7 full episodes online in English gogoanime.
Other name:
Synopsis: A small village is being persecuted by robbers who return every harvest to seize the village's crops. Faced with starvation, the villagers send out a mission to find and recruit some samurai to defend them. With no pay to offer except rice, and knowing full well that only down-on-their-luck samurai would even consider accepting such an deal, the villagers can only hope that their saviours will appear before the rice is ready for harvest.


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Wow! 7 years with WordPress. I've had a few blogs open and close since I signed up with WordPress.
I enjoy sharing things and making blogging buddies. I look forward to more years of visiting your blogs and reading the wonderful thoughts you share.
To my Blogging Buddies, Readers and Visitors,
Thank you all!
Thank you WordPress for making such a great blogging community.


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UP – Singe Page True Parallax HTML Template
UP is a single page template build with HTML5/CSS3. True parallax effect with 4 layers moving in different speed adds another dimension to the site. It is also responsive, looks beautiful on every screen. UP is recommended to creative people, freelancers and agencies.
Parallax effect is equiped with a mobile browser fallback, it will disable on mobile devices because of performance issues
Photos used in this template are not icluded.
Theme features:* Single page, creative portfolio
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* Powerfull but easy to customise parallax effect (multilayer)
* Single image or Video background on the homepage
* Premium Revolution Slider – $12
* Isotope plugin – $25
* Working Contact Form
* PSD files included – for easier customisation
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If you have any questions about customisation this tamplate witch are not covered in the documentation check the FAQ section in this item page. Feeel free to ask question in the comment section or contact me directly via e-mail form on my profile page.


text: Hello! Does anyone know good basic reviews on cell surface glycoproteins/proteoglycans? I would like to get informations about their mode of association with the cell membrane and the glycocalix, types of saccharide chains, modes of enrichment/isolation for SDS-PAGE and lectin blotting analysis. Sicerely Dr. Roberto Gualtieri E mail: Gualtier at dgbm.unina.it


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Next Poem
The rose is a rose,
The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose -
But were always a rose.
Back to Robert Frost


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McPherson, Aimee Semple
McPherson, Aimee Semple ĕmā´, məkfûr´sən [key], 1890–1944, U.S. evangelist, founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, and, in the 1920s and 30s, one of the most famous women in America, b. near Ingersoll, Ont. Born Aimee Elizabeth Kennedy, she was converted to Pentecostalism as a young girl and married a preacher, Robert Semple. The couple went as missionaries to China, and when he died a year later, she returned to the United States. Not long afterward she married Harold McPherson, but she left him in 1915 to take up a life of itinerant preaching, holding revival meetings along the Atlantic coast. With her mother, Minnie Kennedy, as business manager, she went to Los Angeles in 1918. There she became phenomenally successful and was noted for her healing sessions. In 1923, she opened Angelus Temple in Los Angeles and began to preach the foursquare gospel (see Foursquare Gospel, International Church of the) at the temple, in an evangelical newspaper, and on her own radio station. Her disappearance in May, 1926, while swimming in the Pacific, and then reappearance in June with a bizarre tale of kidnapping caused a huge uproar that resulted in a trial for fraud. Although she was acquitted, her business activities as head of Angelus Temple resulted in numerous other legal actions. She died as a result of an allegedly accidental overdose of sleeping pills.
See biographies by R. Bahr (1979, repr. 2001), E. L. Blumhofer (1993), D. M. Epstein (1993), and M. A. Sutton (2007).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Protestant Christianity: Biographies


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Display live data from a JSON-feed / API on your wordpress-site!
Grab JSON from an URL and convert it to HTML on a WordPress-Page
JSON Content Importer – API- and Webservice-Connector – Powerful and Simple JSON-Import Plugin:
- Use a templateengine to display the data from an JSON-Feed.
- Define the url of the JSON-Feed, a template for it and other options like number of displayed items, cachetime etc..
- Cacher with new Option: If a http-API request fails, you can use the maybe cached JSON. Set the radio-button in the plugins settings: what API-problem should be handled how (either a non valid API-http-response or a non JSON-API-response – or both). By default for backwards-compatibility this is switched off. Recommendation: Switch on the plugins-cacher (e. g. some minutes) and select the radiobutton for "If the API-http-answercode is not 200 OR sends invalid JSON: try to use cached JSON" in the plugins options.
- The templateengine inserts the JSON-data in the template.
- You can either use this as wordpress-shortcode inside a page – whereby some extras like urlencoding can be invoked.
- Or use the Gutenberg Mode: Then you don't have the hassle to put an shortcode together, test it and change it. With a Gutenberg-Block you can test it in realtime and create a shortcode (if you want to stay with shortcodes).
How to start and help
How to example of using the plugin
Basic structure of the Shortcode:
- url="http://…json"
- numberofdisplayeditems="number: how many items of level 1 should be displayed? display all: leave empty or set -1″
- urlgettimeout="number: who many seconds for loading url till timeout?"
- basenode="starting point of datasets, the base-node in the JSON-Feed where the data is"
- oneofthesewordsmustbein="default empty, if not empty keywords spearated by ','. At least one of these keywords must be in the created text (here: text=code without html-tags)"
oneofthesewordsmustbeindepth="default: 1, number: where in the JSON-tree oneofthesewordsmustbein must be?"
This is the template:
Any HTML-Code plus "basenode"-datafields wrapped in "{}"
{subloop:"basenode_subloop":"number of subloop-datasets to be displayed"}
Any HTML-Code plus "basenode_subloop"-datafields wrapped in "{}". If JSON-data is HTML add "html" flag like "{fieldname:html}"
templates like "{subloop-array:AAAA:10}{text}{subloop:AAAA.image:10}{id}{/subloop:AAAA.image}{/subloop-array:AAAA}" are possible:
one is the recursive usage of "subloop-array" and "subloop".
the other is "{subloop:AAAA.image:10}" where "AAAA.image" is the path to an object. This is fine for some JSON-data.
Some special add-ons for datafields
- "{street:purejsondata}": Default-display of a datafield is NOT HTML, but HTML-Tags are converted : use this to use really the pure data from the JSON-Feed
- "{street:html}": Default-display of a datafield is NOT HTML: "<" etc. are converted to "&,lt;". Add "html" to display the HTML-Code as Code.
- "{street:htmlAndLinefeed2htmlLinefeed}": Same as "{street:html}" plus "\n"-Linefeeds are converted to HTML-Linebreak
- "{street:ifNotEmptyAddRight:,}": If datafield "street" is not empty, add "," right of datafield-value. allowed chars are: "a-zA-Z0-9,;_-:<>/ "
- "{street:html,ifNotEmptyAddRight:extratext}": you can combine "html" and "ifNotEmptyAdd…" like this
- "{street:purejsondata,ifNotEmptyAddLeftRight:LEFT##RIGHT##}": If datafield "street" is not empty, add text on the left and right
- "{street:ifNotEmptyAdd:,}": same as "ifNotEmptyAddRight"
- "{street:ifNotEmptyAddLeft:,}": If datafield "street" is not empty, add "," left of datafield-value. allowed chars are: "a-zA-Z0-9,;_-:<>/ "
- "{locationname:urlencode}": Insert the php-urlencoded value of the datafield "locationname". Needed when building URLs
JSON Content Importer PRO
This free version of "JSON Content Importer" can put together many JSON-Feeds and is flexible with it's template-engine. But sometimes you might need more:
- application building by creating a searchform and connect it to a JSON-API in the background: pass GET-Variables to use a dynamic JSON-Feed-URL ("talk to API / webservice")
- much better and more flexible templateengine: twig
- use it as Widget
- create and use Custom Post Types
- usage on multisite installations
- store Templates independent of pages
- more Shortcode-Parameters
- executing Shortcodes inside a template and
- more features…
If the free version comes to your limit, I'm looking forward that you COMPARE PRO and FREE of the JSON Content Importer.
This plugin provides 1 block.
- JSON Content Importer FREE
For detailed installation instructions, please read the standard installation procedure for WordPress plugins.
- Login to your WordPress installation
- Install plugin by uploading json-content-importer.zip to
- Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu.
- Klick on "JSON Content Importer" menuentry in the left bar: basic caching-settings and more instructions about usage.
- Cache folder: WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/cache/jsoncontentimporter'. So "WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/cache/'" must be writable for the http-daemon. The plugin checks this and might aborts with an error-message like dir is missing or not writeable. if so: check permissions of the directories.
Help! I need more information!
What does this plugin do?
This plugin gives a wp-shortcode for use in a page/blog to import, cache and display JSON-data. Inside wp-shortcode some markups (and attributes like urlencode) are defined to define how to display the data.
How can I make sure the plugin works?
See this video and try to experiment:
Create a sample-page and use the wordpress-shortcode "jsoncontentimporter". An example is given in the plugin-configpage and in the "Description"-Section.
there are 2 steps: . access to JSON and convert it to HTML: Step 1: Get access to the JSON-data and Step 2: Convert JSON to HTML.
The Pro-version comes with a installation-check option.
Who do I find the proper template for my JSON?
Check the plugin-website!
Free-Version: If you're lost: open ticket at wordPress.org please provide the JSON-code or link to it (either in the posting or in a mail to the plugin author).
Don't forget:
What does this plugin NOT do?
The plugins templateengine of the free version is focused on some basic JSON-imports.
If this comes to a limit check out the pro-version: There you can use the twig-templatengine, create custom posts out of JSON and many other features.
Your options if this plugin does not work:
- use correct code for this plugin 😉
- if the above is ok, change the JSON-Input
- open ticket at wordPress.org provide the JSON-code there or an email to the plugin-author.
- Check the pro-plugin!
Where is this plugin from?
This plugin is made in munich, bavaria, germany!
Famous for Oktoberfest, FC Bayern Munich, AllianzArena, DLD, TUM, BMW, Siemens, seas, mountains and much more…
Contributors & Developers
"JSON Content Importer" is oopbron sagteware. Die volgende mense het bygedra tot die ontwikkeling van hierdie uitbreiding:Contributors
"JSON Content Importer" has been translated into 1 locale. Thank you to the translators for their contributions.
Translate "JSON Content Importer" into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
- WordPress 6.2 changed the way Blocks are rendered. This Update fixes the crash of the JCI-Block with wordpress 6.2
- Fixed security issue: Rio D. discovered and reported a Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability to Patchstack. Thank you Rio! For utilize you need WordPress-Backend-Access and the affected Page is in the WordPress-Adminarea only. Nevertheless: Update your JCI-Plugin, please!
- PHP 8.1 fixes
- New! Use JCILISTITEM to show a JSON-List: {subloop-array:mylist:no_first_item,no_last_item}AA{JCILISTITEM}BB<
{/subloop-array:mylist}, see https://doc.json-content-importer.com/json-content-importer/free-show-the-data/ for more
- Enhanced! "purejsondata,ifNotEmptyAdd", "purejsondata,ifNotEmptyAddRight", "purejsondata,ifNotEmptyAddLeftRight" and "purejsondata,ifNotEmptyAddLeft", e. g. {jsondata:purejsondata,ifNotEmptyAddLeft:TEXT}, see https://doc.json-content-importer.com/json-content-importer/free-show-the-data/ for more
- Plugin Ok with WP 6.1.1
- PHP 8.1 fixes
- New Shortcode-Parameter: "trytorepairjson=16" in the Shortcode removes non ASCII characters from the JSON data
- Bugfix after WordPress 6.0 changes: Load JSONcontentimporter-Quicktag in a slightly different way
- Bugfix: Handling of JSON-Nodes containing ( or )
- Plugin Ok with WP 6.0.2
- Added sslverify-switch in the plugins general options: If a https-certificate is suddenly invalid, try to switch off it's verification (not ideal, but pragmatic)
- Some improvements for debug-infos (e. g. add debugmode=10 to the shortcode)
- Plugin Ok with WP 5.8.1
- Importaint speed-up Bugfix for JCI-Gutenberg-Block! If you run your WordPress with Gutenberg-Blocks (no ClassicEditor-Plugin active) several unneeded libraries are loaded (independend of using a JCI-Block or not). This slows the site and gives bad load-ratings e. g. at Googles Pagespeed ( https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/ ). With this fix the unneeded libraries are not loaded any more and the load-rating should be better.
- Background-Check for allow_url_fopen in Plugin Options: If allow_url_fopen is not set to TRUE in the PHP-Settings, this might prevent PHP and the plugin to get JSON via http-requests from remote servers (if there no red text, all is ok)
- Plugin Ok with WP 5.6.1
- Internationalization added: Available languages are English, German. Feel free to add other languages!
- Shotcodeparam nojsonvalue: If "nojsonvalue=y" the API-Answer is available as {nojsonvalue}, helpful if the API answer is not JSON
- Plugin Ok with WP 5.6
- Bugfix if subloop's have several unreplaced {…} items
- Plugin Ok with WP 5.5.1
- Bugfix if a JSON-field is not always there or null (loop stopped if so)
- Placeholders for template: If you want to have curly or square brackets {}[] in the template, this can trouble the shortcode-syntax or the template-parser. Use the placeholders #CBO# (curly brackets open), #CBC# (curly brackets close), #SBO# (square brackets open) and #SBC# (square brackets close) in the template, the placeholders will be replaced by it's bracket-values in the end after parsing.
- Plugin ok with WP 5.4.2
Compatibility fix: Plugin is now Ok with PHP 7.4
- New Option: If a http-API request fails, you can use the maybe cached JSON. Set the radio-button in the plugins settings: what API-problem should be handled how (either a non valid API-http-response or a non JSON-API-response – or both). By default for backwards-compatibility this is switched off. Recommendation: Switch on the plugins-cacher (e. g. some minutes) and select the radiobutton for "If the API-http-answercode is not 200 OR sends invalid JSON: try to use cached JSON" in the plugins options.
- Bugfix: Add Gutenberg-JS only in the backend (before it was also in the frontend)
- New: Added a Quicktag to the WordPress-Text-Editor to insert the JSONContentImporter-Shortcode incl. an example
- New Plugin-Option: Switch off Gutenberg features (maybe a site builder needs that)
- Bugfix of Bugfix, sorry…
- Bugfixes: detect Gutenberg and WordPress 5.0
- Bugfixes
- Plugin is ok with the Gutenberg Plugin 3.9.0
- Gutenberg-Mode: With an active Gutenberg Plugin you get an easy example for testing and learing how to use the plugin. If you don't want to use Gutenberg on live-stage: Use it to easy create the shortcode (almost avoid the learning of the shortcode-parameter-syntax)
- Plugin is ok with WordPress 4.9.8
- Plugin is ok with the Gutenberg Plugin 3.6.2
- Plugin is ok with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): The plugin does not collect personal data itself. You may list the plugin in your GDPR-documentation as used software. Maybe the used API uses personal data – then you have to take care of the GDPR.
- Improved debugmode (use debugmode=10 in the shortcode for that)
- Changed the Videolink to a better HowTo-Video
- Added upgradelink to pro plugin in PluginList
- Plugin is ok with WordPress 4.9.1
- Adding "debugmode=10" to the Shortcode parameters will show you info about the API-JSON-retrieve and the used template for converting to HTML.
- Ever since the plugin uses the PHP function "mb_check_encoding" to detect a maybe needed character-conversion. Unfortunately some WordPress/PHP-installations do not have the PHP-optional "Multibyte String"-library required for that. Then the plugin does not work. Now the availablility of "mb_check_encoding" is checked: If it'S not there the conversion-feature is disabled.
- At the Plugin-options you can set a "Bearer"-accesskey for oAuth-Bearer-Authentication. The there defined accesskey-string is sent to the API as "Authorization:Bearer accesskey". Some APIs just need "Authorization:accesskey". So "Bearer " should not sent. To do this add "nobearer " (with one space at the end) at the beginning of the option-field.
- Plugin is ok with WordPress 4.7.5
- New option: Add Default Useragent for http-request (some APIs need that)
- Plugin is ok with WordPress 4.7
- https instead of http for Plugin-Website
- Remove invalid quotation marks in shortcode-attributes (when copypasting example code this can happen)
- Plugin is ok with WordPress 4.6.1
- Plugin is ok with PHP 7.0
- Cleaner Code
- Plugin is ok with WordPress 4.5.2
- Added features for coming future addons
- Plugin is ok with WordPress 4.5
- Improved description
- Caching-Bug Fixed: WordPress 4.4.2 does not create a "/cache/" folder. If "/cache/" is missing, the plugin creates on. This is relevant for totally new WordPress installations, as older ones should have such a directory.
- Plugin is ok with WordPress 4.4
- minor change: prevent direct calls of plugin
- bug fixed: path of cached files is now set ok
- bugfix: problems with numeric JSON-values and field manipulators like {JSONkey:ifNotEmptyAdd:….}
- beta feature Vers. 0.2: Fixed bug in using oAuth-Bearer-Accesscode for authentification at JSON-Server: Bearer-Code is added to the Request-Header.
- bugfix: caching now works even with very long URLs
- beta feature: On the Optionpage you can set an oAuth-Bearer-Accesscode for authentification at JSON-Server: This Bearer-Code is added to the Request-Header.
- new: "{street:purejsondata}": Default-display of a datafield is NOT HTML, but HTML-Tags are converted. If you want to use really the pure data from the JSON-Feed, add ":purejsondata". Try first {street}, then {street:html} and then {street:purejsondata}. In some cases: Take care that "meta http-equiv=content-type…" is set to "utf-8"
- bugfix: handling of JSON-values with $
- WordPress 4.3.1: check – all ok
- bugfix: correct encoding of spaces when using {FIELD:html}
- bugfix: deleting unfilled template-items containing dots
- WordPress 4.3: check – all ok
- added feature: remove unfilled template-placeholders {…}
- introducing "JSON Content Importer PRO"
- WordPress 4.2.3: check
- minor bugfix regarding attribute "ifNotEmptyAddRight"
- new Pluginwebsite: http://json-content-importer.com/
- "&" in JSON-Feed-URLs are replaced by "&"
- added a donated feature: new shortcode-params "oneofthesewordsmustnotbein", "oneofthesewordsmustnotbeindepth". This is for excluding JSON-data from display: When one of the ","-separated keywords at "oneofthesewordsmustnotbein" is found in the textblock, ignore this textblock
- minor bugfix: JSON-Structures like { "$a": "$b"} can be handled (before: "$" made problems)
- new feature "{street:htmlAndLinefeed2htmlLinefeed}": Text-Linefeeds of JSON-data are converted to HTML-Linefeeds
- Boolean JSON-Values were ignored before this version. Now the text "true" or "False" is displayed
- Bugfixing Cacher: Timeout-Parameter of cache was not handled right
- Fixed a bug with JSON-Value containing "$"
- new shortcode-parameter: "oneofthesewordsmustbein" and "oneofthesewordsmustbeindepth"
- filter & hook for third party extensions added: hook "json_content_importer_extension" and filter "json_content_importer_result_root"
- Sourcecode: Classes rearranged
- minor bugfix: number of items in subloop/subloop-array was sometimes ignored and all was displayed
- "made in munich" added (see faq)
- Bugfix: tags like "{aa/aa}" are ok (previous: error)
- Display JSON-HTML-Data really as HTML. Default: JSON-HTML-Data is displayed not as HTML but as HTML-Text. New in this version: tag-sytax like "{tag:html}" or "{street:html,ifNotEmptyAddRight:extratext}" allows real HTML-display.
- New parameter in "[jsoncontentimporter]"-shortcode: set http-timeout "urlgettimeout". default is 5 seconds (ueful if source-website of JSON is slow)
- Logo of plugin: WordPress-Logo inserted
- Update of screenshots
Completely rewritten template engine for even better JSON-handling:
"subloop-array": key should also be in the closing tag, e.g. "{subloop-array:KEY:10}{some_array_field}{/subloop-array:KEY}".
The "subloop-array" without KEY in the closing tag is ok if there is only one "subloop-array" in the template. But if there are more than one "subloop-array" in the template insert the KEY in the closing tag!
Then the template engine can identify the correct JSON-data.
"subloop": what is above for "subloop-array" is also for "subloop", e.g. "{subloop:KEY:10}{some_object_field}{/subloop:KEY}"
templates like "{subloop-array:AAAA:10}{text}{subloop:AAAA.image:10}{id}{/subloop:AAAA.image}{/subloop-array:AAAA}" are possible:
one is the recursive usage of "subloop-array" and "subloop".
the other is "{subloop:AAAA.image:10}" where "AAAA.image" is the path to an object.
JSON-data with multiple use of arrays can be handled by the template engine
- Added Screenshots
- Enhanced "subloop-array", new processing of pure string/numeric-array data (before: only string/numeric-data in an object)
- Enhanced FAQs: Added Link to Website for better creating shortcode-markups
Enhanced the template engine for better JSON-handling.
Initial release on WordPress.org. Any comments and feature-requests are welcome: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Students at the prestigious (at least hard to get in) Tokyo University have formed a group called "Project to Think About 3.11 Debris". The group held a public symposium on March 28 on the Tokyo University Komaba campus, co-sponsored by Jiji Tsushin and others with "special support" from the Ministry of the Environment.
Their message: More information disclosure from the national government should help; there is a "silent majority" who would gladly accept disaster debris.
From the event co-sponsor Jiji Tsushin (3/28/2012):
Tokyo University students make proposals on disaster debris processing - information disclosure to dispel fears
"The Project to Think about 3.11 Debris", where Tokyo University students discuss the issue of disaster debris from the March 11, 2011 earthquake/tsunami, issued its proposals to the national government to further disclose information to dispel citizens' fears of radiation contamination. The Project is co-sponsored by Jiji Tsushin and others, with the special support from the Ministry of the Environment. The proposals will be submitted to the Ministry of the Environment shortly.
The Project pointed out that it was the delay in disclosing information by the government after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident that has hindered the understanding by the citizens of the safety of the debris. It requested that the government strengthen the effort to disclose information so that citizens could determine the danger of radiation calmly [in a scientific way] and break a vicious cycle. The group suggested the government disclose the decision process when they had decided on the safety standard for the debris (8,000 Bq/kg of radioactive cesium).
The group also told the audience that a construction of a rugby field was being planned in Kamaishi City in Iwate Prefecture using the debris, and suggested the government create a database of the projects at local municipalities in the disaster-affected areas. It also criticized that the debris disposal and rebuilding of cities and towns were being considered separately.
Further, as to the disaster debris acceptance, the group said only the opponents were getting the air time, but "the disaster victims are reserved, and they don't complain or demand". In reality, there was a "Silent Majority" who wouldn't mind accepting the debris, the group said, and emphasized the need for more dialogues.
If this seems contrived to you (I don't see why it shouldn't), it's because it is, contrived. This "Project to Think about 3.11 Debris" seems to have been organized by a joint educational venture between Tokyo University and Hakuhodo called "brand design studio". Hakuhodo is Japan's one of the two largest ad and PR agencies who has been getting a lot of jobs from the government ever since March 11, 2011 to spin the government policies and appropriately guide the general public.
This entity is the "others" in the Jiji article above, who co-sponsored the event on March 28.
If the national government thinks Tokyo University, Hakuhodo (or Dentsu for that matter), and the Ministry of the Environment exude honesty and truthfulness after one year of misinformation, and the citizens are willing to fall for this, there will be not much I can say.


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Wednesday, February 11, 2009
From the Greatest Generation to the Worst Generation in Just a Single Generation
Keynes believed in what he called "the circular flow of money." One person's spendings goes towards anothers earnings, and when that person spends his earnings he is, in effect, supporting another's earnings. This circle continues on and helps support a normal functioning economy. When the Great Depression hit, however, people's natural reaction was to hoard their money. Keynes believed that when people "stopped" spending, the circular flow of money collapsed and the economy came to a standstill - causing the Great Depression to deepen and lengthen even further. Most economists believe if it were not for World War II and the massive amount of manufacturing required to support a world wide war, the Great Depression could have extended well into the 1950's.
Keynes proposed a solution to end the Great Depression based on government. He wrote that governments should "prime the pump" with massive federal spending. By priming the pump he meant governments should "kick start" the money flow in the economy through governments actually buying things on the open market itself (i.e. real estate, banks, etc . . ) or by borrowing money to improve roads, bridges and public works. Keynes believed that once primed, the economy would once again see circle of money and their would be economic growth rather than contraction. Keynes ideas spawned a slew of interventionist economic policies proposed by liberal politicians during the Great Depression. But only government spending on "public works" eventually passed, and even then, under great opposition. The people of America in the 1930's just couldn't stomach government borrowing and spending that would increase the national debt, believing it would burden future generations.
When Keynes was asked, "Where will your economic theories and resultant government spending policies leave our country in the long run?" he gave his famous response:
"In the long run we are all dead."
In other words, Keynes didn't believe one should care about the long run as a nation. One should only think about the present. My economics professor at the university where I studied, a Keynesian himself, put it like this: "Why should the government care about borrowing trillions of dollars? When it comes time to pay, they can print money to pay what they owe."
Keynes flippant response brought him great criticism at the time. Why? Millions of people living in the 1930's and 1940's possessed different values than Keynes. These people, whom Tom Brokaw described as "The Greatest Generation," believed that a person should sacrifice for future generations. To them, the end was not death. They believed in legacy, future security and an eternal state. They had their eye on their own children and grandchildren. For this reason they revolted against Keynesian economics and a vast majority of the spending proposals liberals proposed in Congress during the 1930's and 1940's were rejected.
What has happened to our country since then? It seems that we as a people have gone from "the greatest generation" who sacrificed for the good of the future, to "the worst generation" who desire government to spend trillions to give us a better life, a better job, a better house -- and this transformation from selflessness to selfishness has occurred within the course of "a single generation."
May God help us all.
In His Grace,
Wade Burleson
43 comments:
- Dr. Mike Kear said...
I go more for Austrian economics rather than the Keynesian type. Austrian economics, however, really requires the family to be the family and the church to be the church, both entities operating as God designed them. Both the family and the Church have a biblical mandate to function in such a way that poverty is minimized and God's Kingdom is advanced. The government should be small and efficient, not the overlord of all things public and private that it has become through the disfunction of the family and the church.
Keynes was wrong and Paul was right: In the long run we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
- Thu Feb 12, 04:42:00 AM 2009
- Stephen said...
Dr. Mike Kear - Amen!
The problem is neither financial nor fiscal, it is spiritual and moral. The "render unto Caesar" commandment is a model for limited government. Many Christians, left and right politically, seek to solve problems resulting from spiritual and moral deficiencies through the agency of government. Hence, tax "contributions" become charity and a surrogate for Biblical charity.
- Thu Feb 12, 07:12:00 AM 2009
- Kevin said...
The older I get the more Libertarian I become. At the rate I'm going, I'll retire to a desert island and declare it a sovereign, tax-free nation.
By that time I should be able to buy nukes on ebay to ensure my sovereignty.
KuyaKevin.com: Abstinence Articles
- Thu Feb 12, 07:14:00 AM 2009
- Ramesh said...
All the below links are from NYT:
The Reckoning: Articles in this series have explored the causes of the financial crisis
How the Government Dealt With Past Recessions
Tracking the $700 Billion Bailout
Adding Up the Government's Total Bailout Tab
The Debt Trap: A series about the surge in consumer debt and the lenders who made it possible
Bernard L. Madoff
- Thu Feb 12, 08:53:00 AM 2009
- J. Guy Muse said...
No doubt about it, Keynesian Economics is ruling the day. Where are the Milton Friedman voices that are so desperately needing to be heard on this matter?
Anyone who has ever lived in a nation (like we have) where the government spends this kind of money knows two things inevitably happen: 1) local currency devalues to the point that it takes a wheel barrel of money to go grocery shopping, 2) people become more and more dependent upon the government for being their savior.
Is this really the path we want to go down as a nation?
- Thu Feb 12, 09:09:00 AM 2009
- greg.w.h said...
GuyMuse wrote:
No doubt about it, Keynesian Economics is ruling the day. Where are the Milton Friedman voices that are so desperately needing to be heard on this matter?
In a nation that practices democratic polity--which is very similar to congregational polity--you are that voice. Speak up!! Teach your neighbors! Write and call your newspaper reporters, editors, and publishers!! Hold your Congress Critters accountable!
The address to directly send email to President Obama is:
Trust me: a flood of email and phone calls will eventually convince our national leaders to pay attention. The audacity of hope is that you pick up your phone, turn on your computer, put pen to paper or stylus to touch screen and ask them to reconsider.
Greg Harvey
- Thu Feb 12, 09:30:00 AM 2009
- Unknown said...
there is a lot of truth to the idea of present day pragmatic economics but I think our biggest generational sin is being naive and ignorant. Probably, like you say, the reason we get deceived so easily is that our temporary greed blinds us. We are fat on populist ideas.
But I think it could be more than simply degenerate selfish policies. I think behind all of this is philosophical confusion about the best way to live in the world. The administration rejects the idea of lowering taxes on businesses because of a concept and a need to be advocates for the poor. While you and I believe that the private sector, through churches and communities, when operating in freedom, will look out for the interests of the poor. They believe that it is government's responsibility. Of course when I see these folks work it is hard to see their best intentions too much.
here is a great video I found discussing the morals of capitalism with Friedman
- Thu Feb 12, 10:03:00 AM 2009
"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem."
...Ronald Reagan
- Thu Feb 12, 10:06:00 AM 2009
- kehrsam said...
Wade: You promise to give up economics and I'll not take up preaching! ;D
Seriously, you are beating up something of a straw man here: Human nature has not changed, and unless regenerated by the Holy Spirit all of us are totally depraved. The "Greatest Generation" was great because they faced great tasks and obstacles; should we face a second Great Depression, the current generation will behave in much the same way.
Keynes Money Cycle was not original to him, either. It is simply an idealized extension of one of Adam Smith's ideas, that specialization of work or production led to greater efficiencies than everyone fending for himself. This is undoubtably correct, and even Biblical. Compare Paul's instructions regarding parts of the body and roles in the church.
We are facing a crisis, and yes, Baptist voices need to be heard. Frankly, I don't care whether the nex generation can afford our current standard of living or not. I do care whether they are aware of the Good News, and so that is where I want to place my efforts.
- Thu Feb 12, 10:19:00 AM 2009
- M. Steve Heartsill said...
Wade, at first, I thought you were talking about Kenyan Economics. Amazing how first reactions can be wrong.
- Thu Feb 12, 10:40:00 AM 2009
- Christiane said...
Good Morning, everyone
I used to teach economics: to sixth graders. Don't ask me how, because you have to be able to understand abstract concepts with some degree of ability , and many sixth graders just 'aren't there yet'.
Maybe many Americans aren't, either.
What DO they know about economics?
I'm not talking about 'what they're told by others', but what do they know concretely?
Yes, they understand CONCRETE economics very well: foreclosures, loss of property values, inability to get loans, job loss (particulary upsetting when their tax dollars have paid for their company to send their jobs overseas), it goes on and on.
Just for a moment, try to remember a time when you or a parent or spouse was 'laid off' or 'fired'.
The medical insurance is no more.
The worry, sometimes amounting to anxiety, the canceled plans and dreams for children's educations, and so many fears and hopes for the future.
The reality of this is what many in our country face and many more will soon be facing:
google up the graph lines that show the rate of unemployment compared to the last two recessions and OMG, the 'unemployed' line for now is almost going downward vertically.
So. If you don't want Obama to try to sort this out with an aggressive plan,
red light word here is 'positive'
but maybe it should be 'productive'
Nice to see Republicans waking up after a long, long, eight-years long sleep. 'bout time.
One wonders 'why not sooner?'
Think about who gets hurt the most by this crisis: the TRULY vulnerable in our society who MUST depend on us for their existence.
Take care of them, as is right.
The rest of us will be all right, having done what we are called to do as Christians. L's
P.S. Maybe we need 'the lean years' to bring back what is truly important in our lives. Just hate to see the innocent among us suffer.
How are all of you planning to survive, if, no, WHEN this crisis hits 'home'?
- Thu Feb 12, 11:01:00 AM 2009
- Ramesh said...
Off Topic:
Dr. Tom Ascol: Reflections on the dust-up over Calvinism at SWBTS
Fbc Jax Watchdog: Memo To Maurilio
As the Watchdog website winds down in the last few articles before putting down the pen for at least temporarily and hopefully for good, just a few last messages to be shared.
- Thu Feb 12, 11:42:00 AM 2009
- Alan Paul said...
What I have always done Christiane - With His help. I trust the Lord to provide for my family's needs.
I DO believe we need the lean times - without them we would take greed, selfishness, arrogance, etc. to a whole new low never before thought of.
- Thu Feb 12, 12:10:00 PM 2009
Since a gross waste of money is the theme for this comment stream, I thought it would be appropriate to expose this bit of (old?) news I found. You all can take this how you like, but it seems to me that our seminaries are sacrificing their principles for the sake of the almighty dollar. Wade recently scared SWBTS into keeping their 5 pointers for fear of losing reputation which of course leads to loss in funds. But here is something else I found interesting. Southern (and it pains me to say this) Seminary has decided to help train the next generation of charlatan preachers by allowing their students to intern with some of the most crooked pastors in the convention. Once you review the link I will post you will clearly see that Bellevue Baptist Church can buy anything it wants, including a seminary (as if the MidAmerica is not enough for them). Have the PhD standards at Southern really dropped to this standard? Or is it simply that the fat Bellevue check forces 5 pointers to drop their pants for a season.
I am ashamed to be in a convention with BBC and their pastor. I am ashamed that my dream seminary has sought fit to spend a night in the harlot's den.
Of course you can decide for yourself:
Click here
I have another issue with Southern at the moment. This article in Towers Online would seem to forget that there are literally thousands of SBC church who cannot find pastors. Yet it advocates sending fully trained MDIV's to mega churches to be "further trained"
HogWash!!! Get a Bible, and get behind a pulpit 3 times a week to people who smell like people and learn to love them!
Stick them in a small rural church for a year and I guarantee they will never turn out to be like Dr. Financial Gaines.
Is this convention "BLIND"? or just "BLINDFOLDED"!!!!!
- Thu Feb 12, 01:05:00 PM 2009
- greg.w.h said...
There is room to say exactly the same thing through questions and examples without the judgmental tone towards Gaines, even if you fundamentally disagree with him.
I use the example of the closing of the Seminary campus in Semarang, Indonesia to make the same point: when the students moved from the villages to the city of Semarang, they often didn't want to move back. So the mission came up with the plan to replace the central campus with Theological Education by Extension for ALL churches based on materials created specifically to address the education gap between a village pastor and the central message of the Gospel.
To be honest, the programmed instruction wasn't much more difficult than AWANAS material. Which meant these leaders could turn around and directly use it in their teaching from the pulpit. And by doing that, they engaged the next generation of leaders at the exact place where they lived both physically and spiritually.
And by doing this, the Mission reaped another benefit: it put the indigenous pastors in front of the leadership of the national churches. So when the missionaries were forced out of Java later, indigenous pastors were at all levels of leadership in leading the churches.
Jerry Rankin understands this, by the way, and a lot of the portions of the IMB model that aren't obvious to Americans are based on those experiences. This includes the continual re-assignments. Just as pastors train the members, the most important work of missionaries is to identify leaders who can become those pastors and train them. And then move on just as Paul consistently did.
The BBC internship program is closer to that model, though, than just the seminary experience by itself. But I think your approach would be even better. But remember that the closest churches to a long-established seminary are often the most resistant to student leadership. So moving the students further away from a local seminary (or collecting them in either distributed local church buildings or distributed local regional campuses) might be better yet.
Best of all is the testimony of Phillip would went wherever the Holy Spirit took him. The Holy Spirit is the most important professor in each pastor's personal seminary experience.
Greg Harvey
- Thu Feb 12, 02:01:00 PM 2009
- Lin said...
What is even more chilling is to think of the inflation that will come due to this measure. It might be a few years, but it will come. And guess who inflation hurts the worst? Those who are on fixed incomes and welfare. The ones Obama wants to help.
On another note, we do not teach economic history in this country. That is a huge failure. When the stock market crashed in '29, Hoover had made many mistakes leading up to that but there was one thing he did right. Since the federal government had NO power to regulate the market at the time, Hoover called the Governor of NY and asked him to stop the margin calls. The governor refused. And the rest is history. The NY Governor at the time was FDR.
And his works and spending program only prolonged the depression. Actually, the war brought full employment.
And now we are repeating the same scenerio. Except we now know that what you start giving you cannot take away.
- Thu Feb 12, 03:55:00 PM 2009
- greg.w.h said...
Normally I ignore my mistakes if I think the reader can get the gist of what I was trying to say, but this one needs a correction:
Best of all is the testimony of Phillip who went wherever the Holy Spirit took him.
- Thu Feb 12, 04:05:00 PM 2009
- greg.w.h said...
Lin wrote:
And now we are repeating the same scenerio. Except we now know that what you start giving you cannot take away.
Bill Clinton deserves credit for reforming welfare and putting strict limits on how long someone could receive it IN A LIFETIME. The Democrats are reversing or extending those constraints, though, and putting us back where we were.
But we did successfully take away promised benefits in a way that was and is consistent not only with American values, but also with biblical views on social justice. People need to work if they can for their own spiritual and mental health.
Remember that the failure of Carter led to the philosophical change that Reagan led. The Democrats have the same opportunity that Reagan had, but they're returning to their old vote-buying schemes. Democracies fail when the citizens realize they can vote themselves the largesse of the treasury...or the printing of innumerable, worthless currency.
Greg Harvey
- Thu Feb 12, 04:09:00 PM 2009
- Kate Johnson said...
We live in an age of entitlement. If you doubt that, just listen to what the people asked the Pres during his town hall meeting... can you get me a house, a better car, better benefits for my job at McDonalds... paa-lease... What happened to self-sufficiency?
But I do want to throw something into the mix... There once was a time when the church took care of widows and orphans, feed and sheltered the homeless, ministered to the wounded. Then came big government and we let them do our job. Churches used to be the shelters for abused women and children. Now, does that happen? I actually was speaking at a very large church in our area, and before I spoke on domestic abuse and what the church can do to minister, the pastor stood up and told them all that, "if someone comes to your door needing shelter because of abuse, send them to the local domestic vioelnce agency. Don't tkae them in. That's what social service agencies are for." Needless to say, I was stunned and appalled. But I shouldn't have been. This pastor just had the gumption to say it out loud. (And, yes, I know there are churches doing what I have described as our responsibility, but that is not the norm.) Please DO NOT think this means I am anti-church, I am far from it. I love the church as Christ intended it to be - a salve of human kindness and compassion.
So we have made our bed. Will we continue to lie in it?
God help us, indeed.
- Thu Feb 12, 04:33:00 PM 2009
- New BBC Open Forum said...
Not wanting to derail the topic here, but since you brought it up I'll respond this one time. One minor point, MABTS is not "owned" or controlled by Bellevue. They did donate the land the building sits on and contribute some money every year, so perhaps there's some sense of obligation to the church, but most of the professors there are not Bellevue members and there's no love lost between them and Gaines. It's the same with "Love Worth Finding." That's a totally separate entity from Bellevue. You may recall MABTS president Mike Spradlin (and James Dobson) calling for any pastor who willingly covered for a sexual predator step down from the ministry. While he didn't mention any names, there was no doubt in anyone's mind which pastor he had in mind since the Paul Williams story and Steve Gaines' coverup of it were all over the news at the time. The source for many of the Steve Gaines jokes going around was none other than people at the seminary. (I'd never heard "Financial Gaines," but it's more appropriate than you probably realize. "No Gaines, no pain" was another one.)
President Emeritus, Gray Allison, was preaching at a funeral (or memorial service) for a longtime, elderly Bellevue lady last year, and Steve Gaines attended. Allison remarked that this dear lady had the privilege of sitting under three fine pastors during her years at Bellevue. (That would be R.G. Lee, Ramsey Pollard, and Adrian Rogers.) Gaines reportedly sat up straight in his seat with a shocked expression, and Spradlin joked you could hear the backs of the elderly attendees crack as they suddenly straightened in their seats upon hearing this remark.
Make no mistake about it, that "pastor intern" position was created by Gaines "Sr." specifically for Gaines "Jr." This was at the same time dozens of longtime staff were being laid off and thousands of $$$ were being spent on the annual "Family Fun Festival," a Halloween carnival (they just don't call it that) on October 31st for the whole community which would rival most county fairs. (Kiddies are encouraged to wear costumes, just not "scary" costumes.) We're talking huge carnival rides, inflatables, pony rides, a petting zoo, concession stands, free candy, a couple dozen Porta-Potties (essential to keeping the unwashed masses from trashing the facilities), etc. This less than four months after a 4th of July celebration with one of the biggest fireworks shows in the tri-state area that had to have cost thousands of $$$. That was open to the community, too. There were security problems, and beer cans littered the grounds afterwards. All this under the guise of "Bellevue ♥'s Memphis." IMO Bellevue ♥'s money and showing off more. Spending money on stuff like this reminds me of some of the "pet" projects in the government "stimulus" bill, so perhaps it's not so off topic after all. Waste is waste regardless of who's doing the wasting.
I predicted some time ago that when "Jr." finishes seminary he will be hired to fill the associate pastor position at Bellevue which has been left conspicuously unfilled since the departure of Mark "We Have No Bylaws" Dougharty in 2007. Just before "Jr." and his very pregnant wife moved here last summer it was learned by residents of Bellevue Woods, the "retirement community" adjacent to and owned by the church, that "Jr." and his wife and the baby which was due shortly would be living in one of the Bellevue Woods units. The minimum age for BW residents is 55, no exceptions. Even Gaines "Sr." isn't old enough to live there. Understandably, the residents in that building didn't want to live with nothing but a thin wall separating them from a family with an infant who was likely to cry in the middle of the night. There was finally such an uproar from the residents that the idea was scratched, and last I heard they were living in missionary housing owned by the church. With the Gaines family the #1 rule is "rules don't apply to us."
I like your idea much better. Put them in small churches where "people smell like people" and let them get a good dose of reality. Perhaps they could develop some humility at the same time.
- Thu Feb 12, 04:45:00 PM 2009
- Lin said...
"Bill Clinton deserves credit for reforming welfare and putting strict limits on how long someone could receive it IN A LIFETIME. The Democrats are reversing or extending those constraints, though, and putting us back where we were."
Greg, I was not even thinking about welfare. I was thinking of middle class entitlements such as social security, medicare, all the money thrown at education with horrible results, growth of government (which now has the largest unions), etc.
How much of that has been taken away? None. It has grown.
- Thu Feb 12, 04:46:00 PM 2009
- New BBC Open Forum said...
And the thing about Medicare is, when you reach Medicare age you have no choice but to use it. You cannot get a primary private insurance policy at that age, only supplemental policies. More and more doctors are now refusing to treat Medicare patients because they're paid so little.
- Thu Feb 12, 05:07:00 PM 2009
- New BBC Open Forum said...
P.S. Bellevue has had student interns from MABTS for some time now. Here is the caliber of some of the students they've selected. One of these characters was found to have posted porn on his MySpace site and posted the same stuff on underage girls' MySpace pages. (I saw it myself.) Of course, nobody cares. {shrug}
- Thu Feb 12, 05:21:00 PM 2009
- Christiane said...
Dear LIN,
You mentioned 'all that money thrown at education'.
Well, the money didn't make it into the classrooms. I've taught with torn and ancient textbooks, when we could get them.
But I taught anyway.
And supplies?
None, unless the teachers bought them.
So we bought them.
The next town over made its teachers clean the school before and after classes because they could not afford housekeeping staff.
So the teachers scrubbed the classrooms and the toilets.
Trust me, the taxpayers were not getting ripped off, the kids were.
- Thu Feb 12, 05:36:00 PM 2009
- Lin said...
L's, I agree with you. It mostly goes to the bureaucracy that is not in the classroom.
- Thu Feb 12, 05:45:00 PM 2009
"One of these characters was found to have posted porn on his MySpace site and posted the same stuff on underage girls' MySpace pages. (I saw it myself.) Of course, nobody cares. {shrug}"
Note to all SBC Search Committees and Entities:
Never hire someone who has been an intern at BBC.
- Thu Feb 12, 06:17:00 PM 2009
- WatchingHISstory said...
Now that Steve Gaines and Bellevue Baptist is the off-topic discussion will I be free to contribute to this topic? I hope so as I feel I have a contribution to make alongside NASS' nasties!
- Thu Feb 12, 06:23:00 PM 2009
My last couple comments have been in appropriate. Just so you know where I was coming from. There is alot of Internet dirt on this man and his church. I have been angered by it all day.
Feel free, from my perspective, to take the torch. I am sorta over it.
- Thu Feb 12, 06:48:00 PM 2009
- Christiane said...
"Between heaven and earth,
Like a lamb just shorn.
Dear Lord, I lay my head to rest
Upon the altar of thy Sacred Breast.
In times of suffering and pain,
Feign there, would I e'er remain."
Mary Catharina
of Ireland
- Thu Feb 12, 06:49:00 PM 2009
- Native Arkansan said...
Revrend Kev:
I didn't thank yer last couple o' comments was in appropriate. There's lots o' wastin' going on in the goverment and in big ol' mega type churches too.
Did ya see this one? Dat's funny!
- Thu Feb 12, 07:03:00 PM 2009
- WatchingHISstory said...
Steve Gaines inherited the mess left to him by Adrian Rogers. Dr Rogers was a benevolent dictator. He along with a few close knit friends ruled the church and naturally no one complained. He never had a church conference and was not questioned by anyone.
Rogers covered up a messy situation by a previous staff member by paying him $500,000 hush money. The man had an affair with a local Sunday School student and he embezzeled some money from the church.
Gaines could never match this corruption.
- Thu Feb 12, 07:06:00 PM 2009
- gmommy said...
I'm afraid the people who were actually harmed by the minister of perversion at BBC would disagree with you.
In your mind only.... would a pastor "affirming" a minister who had just confessed he was a child molester be LESS corrupt than the possibility that AR approved a cash settlement for a minister who had an affair, got fired, and sued the church later.
You have never been a member of BBC and your source for this story about AR is from a blog.
How do you know it wasn't made up to see you go nuts with it?
You are not the litmus test for who is corrupt or if the story is true.
After all...you say you see snakes that no one else sees and growl while on hands and knees and call that Spirit filled.
Your only source for the story you say is worse than allowing a sexual predator to have free access to our most vulnerable are the people you call ugly names and accuse of lying.
- Thu Feb 12, 08:04:00 PM 2009
- Chris Ryan said...
I was so refreshed to read your comment. I get so sick of listening to people complain about govt spending, but not being willing to give their money directly to the poor and the needy if the govt stopped its entitlement programs. We can't have our cake and eat it too. We either need to let the government do our job and stop complaining or we need to step up and be the church.
Personally, I am in favor of the second.
- Thu Feb 12, 08:08:00 PM 2009
- WatchingHISstory said...
Will anyone ever talk about the fact that Steve Gaines kept Paul Williams confession secret for six months, that it is something that most anyone would have done in SG's shoes.
NASS's sheep are using 20/20 hindsight to judge SG. If you were the new pastor of a church like Bellevue following AR and you found out that PW had been sodomizing his own son for 12-18 months 17 years ago while AR was his pastor. What would you have done?
You would hope against all odds that this would go away and you would not have to face it. Gaines mis-calculation was that he hadn't considered what young Williams had endure with Adrian Rogers. The son knew what this would have done to AR's Bellevue and he could not risk that. So he suffered 17 long years silence confiding in his friends only. His friends insisted he go to Gaines.
So when Steve Gaines became pastor he knew that he was accessible.
If you are going to fault SG then it is my opinion that you need to fault AR as well. AR's inaccessibility to the young son cost him a life of pain and sorrow.
Perhaps AR would have acted fast but He would have covered it up with money and no one today would know anything about it.
- Thu Feb 12, 08:36:00 PM 2009
- Tim G said...
This is your best post EVER! Nice job!
- Thu Feb 12, 08:42:00 PM 2009
- Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight) said...
Let me just point one thing out - if you think that the Bible mandates small government you are misreading God's Word.
The Bible (and thus God) nowhere limits government to the size advocated by Austrian economists and Ayn Rand readers.
Romans 13 tells us some of the role of government, but that passage was written to ensure Christians pay their taxes or else they will suffer when the state punishes them.
The fact is that neither communism nor free-market capitalisation is supported or proscribed in the Bible. If we believe in the sufficiency of scripture we must therefore assume that it is the choice of the Christian to follow what he/she thinks is the wisest political and economic route.
I write about this in more detail here.
- Thu Feb 12, 10:37:00 PM 2009
- oc said...
Free market "capitalisation".
Does that mean whatever the market will bear determines the price of letters in regard to the upper-case alphabet?
- Thu Feb 12, 11:56:00 PM 2009
- Kate Johnson said...
thanks, and I agree with you. But notice how you are the only one to respond? :( Somehow, we always get sidetracked.
I get really frustrated because my husband and I run a non-profit ministry, Christian Coalition Against Domestic Abuse. When we started it we envisioned that we would be supported by other Christians and churches. To my dismay, this is harder than I thought. So I am left with applying for grants and federal funds from non-Christian sources. I know it shouldn't be this way. I know that God wants Christians to step up, but the reality is....
And so we look to papa government to handle our social ills rather than Papa and His people. Sad, very sad.
- Fri Feb 13, 08:41:00 AM 2009
- Kate Johnson said...
BTW, you can check us out at www.ccada.org
- Fri Feb 13, 08:42:00 AM 2009
- Only By His Grace said...
And Southern Baptist wonder why the working poor, Democrats and Union members feel very uncomfortable coming to a Southern Baptist Church. Why? Just read your article and the comments.
Phil in Norman
- Fri Feb 13, 08:57:00 AM 2009
- Christiane said...
Hi PHIL IN NORMAN,
I'm L's and I am not a Southern Baptist. I really don't think my comments would offend Democrats or union members or the working poor, whom I have served professionally for many years.
So may I, as a commentator, be excused from 'the comments' as a whole ?
I do VOTE at a Southern Baptist Church, which is my voting precinct and I CAN verify that for years, a gauntlet of Republicans have formed a line on either side of the walk-way going into the voting building and, at times, were, shall we say, vocal in their attempts to intimidate.
I never assumed that the Church permitted this, nor that these people were from the Church.
The last time I voted, they were not there and the walk-way entrance had been cleared, so that voters could come in and out without harassment.
Someone must have reported the attempts at intimidation to the authorities.
I do agree with you, the tone of the blog and comments are interestingly one-sided 'as a whole.' And much more 'abstract' and theoretical than many readers can identify with, but still they have provided an interesting window into "Republican' reaction to Obama's efforts.
I do not take this in a negative way myself, but as a respectful observor, I had hoped for more positive suggestions that did not come as to how to resolve our nation's economic crises.
I should have been glad to read the positive viewpoints on ways to restore our levees, fix our aging infrastructure, and remove our children from the blight of those schools that are at best shabby and at worst, a danger in some respects. (My school had a WALL pull away from a wing off of the main building and, it was only at that point, the city agreed to begin to build a new replacement school. I taught in one of the classrooms on the side of the building where it happened, so I can speak as a witness.) L's
P.S. May I suggest that the people you named: Democrats, union members, and the working poor, might be very comfortable visiting in SOME Southern Baptist churches: like Kevin's, and Rex Ray's, and Wade's, and Bob Cleveland's, and many others.
I am very certain of that from the Christian witness of these people here on this blog. :)
- Fri Feb 13, 12:29:00 PM 2009
- Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight) said...
BTW Wade you're off beam about Keynes. Borrowing money and pump priming is only half the story.
Keynes also argued that governments should run fiscal surpluses and even contract in size during economic expansions as a way of balancing out the deficits during recessions.
This sort of practice would've been far more beneficial for the United States than the fiscal policy practised since 1981. Both Reagan and Bush 2 cut taxes and increased spending and ran huge deficits. 25 years of fiscal profligacy is now coming back to haunt America.
Had Reagan and Bush 2 been Keynesian, there would be little or no net government debt.
Ironically it was the Republicans who are mainly responsible for these deficits.
I'm not saying that Obama and his stimulus plan are going to work - I just think that there's far more going on here than many conservatives realise.
- Wed Feb 18, 01:24:00 AM 2009
- Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight) said...
More on Keynes:
The quote "In the long run we are all dead" comes from a book called A Tract on Monetary Reform and says this:
It would follow... that an arbitrary doubling of [the money stock], since this in itself is assumed not to affect [the velocity of money or the real volume of transactions] ... must have the effect of raising [the price level] to double what it would have been otherwise. The Quantity Theory is often stated in this, or a similar, form.
Now "in the long run" this is probably true. If, after the American Civil War, the American dollar had been stabilized... ten per cent below its present value ... [the money stock] and [the price level] would now be just ten per cent greater than they actually are.... But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again.
In actual experience, a change in [the money stock] is liable to have a reaction both on [the velocity of money] and on [the real volume of transactions]...
The phrase "In the long run we are all dead" was therefore a warning for Economists to take into consideration the future after they have died! He's actually asking Economists to look beyond their own notions of "the long run".
- Thu Feb 19, 05:26:00 PM 2009


text:
"And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child,
how can we tell other people not to kill one another?
How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion?
As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves
that love means to be willing to give until it hurts.
Jesus gave even His life to love us.
So, the mother who is thinking of abortion,
should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans,
or her free time, to respect the life of her child.
The father of that child, whoever he is,
must also give until it hurts."
Mother Teresa
Here is another excerpt from Peter Kreeft's book How To Destroy
Western Civilization And Other Ideas From The Cultural Abyss
or perhaps we should just call this part 2 of yesterday post,
God Blessed Texas….
"It's the unmentionable elephant in the living room.
It's sex.
Religious liberty is being attacked in the name of sexual liberty.
The current culture war is most fundamentally about abortion,
and abortion is about sex. Abortion is backup contraception,
and contraception is the demand to have sex without having babies.
If storks brought babies, Planned Parenthood would go broke.
Catholics, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, and Evangelical Protestants
are the only groups left in the West who oppose the Sexual Revolution
and uphold traditional sexual morality.
Everyone else assumes, without question or controversy,
that contraception has finally "liberated" sex from its servile connection
with baby-making and has turned it into a purely personal,
"recreational" option.
Our liberty is being denied because it threatens their liberty,
Religious liberty threatens sexual liberty.
Our religious freedom of conscience threatens their sexual freedom
of conscience.
It's not their behavior that we threaten, it's their conscience.
They want us to approve their
behavior, at least implicitly, by paying for it.
We are the last people in our culture who say no, who judge,
who dare to play the prophet. Prophets are always unpopular.
There's no profit in being a prophet.
Prophets are lights that are a bit too bright.
They show up the artificiality in the air-brushed Playboy fantasies.
They threaten the fun. Prophets are X-rays that show cancers
to patients who are living in denial.
If Jews and Christians could just erase two of the Commandments,
the ones against adultery and lust, the new post-Christian culture of
Western civilization would have absoutely no problem with religion.
They call us "judgmental" and "authoritarian",
but it's because we are exactly the opposite,
because we do not claim the authority to contradict our
Creator and Commander,
because we do not dare to be so judgmental as to judge His judgements
to be mistaken, because we dare not erase or change the line
He has drawn in the sand.
We cannot compromise our consciences because we believe our
conscience are His prophets, not society's.
It's not that we seek to impose our sexual morality (or any other part of morality)
on others by force.
We propose; we do not impose.
We seek only liberty of conscience for everyone, including ourselves.
No one wants to send sexual storm troopers into fornicators' bedrooms.
But they seek to impose their sexual morality on us.
They do not merely propose, they impose.
They want to force us to compromise our consciences or be punished by
a fine (or something worse).
We can tolerate them; why can't they tolerate us?
Why are they so threatened by our minority view?
Because they know it is not a minority view,
but the majority view in all times and places outside
twenty-first-century Europe and North America
(for example, every culture in history and "backward" cultures like
Africa and Latin America still today)
and the view of all the great religious of the world.
If our principles were merely quirky,
like the principles of a small Native American tribe that
sees the hallucinogenic peyote as a regions sacrament or the principles
of the Amish that see electricity as evil,
the Establishment would not be threatened by tased principles
and would readily grant these fringe groups the right to be exceptional
for the sake of conscience—as they do.
The do not insist that the Amish pay a penalty for not using electricity.
But they do insist that we pay a penalty for not paying for abortions.
Perhaps their consciences are still alive, after all, and feel guilty about killing
their own unborn children. How could they not?
If they can get us to compromise our consciences,
they won't feel so bad about having compromised their own.
"Everybody does it" has always been a very effective and convenient excuse for
any kind of evil, even slavery or genocide.
That's what this is not just about contraception or abortion or whether
every human biological life is intrinsically valuable.
It's about whether every human conscience is.


text:
QOTW: White Zombie by Something_WEiRd
Roll up! Roll Up! Gather round the camp fire kiddies. Here's the first Question of the Week answered by Rob. Thank you to Zombie Head Inc member Something_WEiRd for their question:
Question: I hope this question doesnt upset you (Rob Zombie) because it doesnt seem like you liked to be asked about White Zombie but why did they break up? well , thats not really my question, my real question is Have you ever thought about reconciling with the members of White Zombie and patch things up? You guys have been through so much, don't you miss them? Ive heard in numerous interviews that you have not spoken to any of the members of the band since the breakup about 16 years ago. There seems to be some hostility or rancor there. White Zombie is one of the greatest bands of all time and there will never be another band like it again. Im not asking for a reunion (that would be really awesome though), I was just wondering if you missed them and what really happened that made you not want to speak to them for so long, if that even is true.
Answer from Rob:"Sometimes a band just breaks up because the band has run it's course and the best days are behind them. White Zombie went through a lot together and did tons of great stuff, but it was time to stop. The good times were over and we were all moving in different directions. Times change, people change and things end. I have no bad feelings about it or anyone from the band. As far a a reunion show, I don't think there is any point. The band stopped at the height of it's fame and should be remembered that way. Getting it back together would only ruin it. It was a special moment in time and trying to relive it 16 years later would be wrong."
Next week it could be you as they say so get on over the the forum and ask away here: https://robzombie.com/forum/#cid=24