Car Update

I had someone I know look at my car today and...no dice. We had the battery tested. It's good. He spliced together the cable that was falling apart. No help. He found another cable that had fallen apart ("Are there any cables in here that are in one piece?" I asked). Nothing. He looked at all the fuses. They looked good.

We pushed the car to a different parking spot to hopefully keep it from getting towed. We are going to tow it to my house tomorrow with his Durango and he is going to call some people he knows to see if one of them can take a look at it.

In the meantime, I borrowed my dad's vehicle for one day and my good friend, Jeromy, has been letting me drive his car. Thanks to both of them for their help and to Travis, the guy who took a look at it today and is going to try to call in some favors. It's nice to know that there are people I can count on to give me a hand when I need it.

The Dark Side

A new book out, The Dark Side, shines a bright light on how torture became instituted under the Bush Administration. It makes it clear the Cheney was the major architect of the plan. Andrew Sullivan and Matt Yglesias both comment. The worst part is the fact that it seems no one is going to pay a price for having committed these heinous crimes.

Weekly Music Video

"Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage." Who hasn't felt like that from time to time?

"Bullet with Butterfly Wings" - The Smashing Pumpkins

Weekly Secret

PostSecret

There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lunch

Whatever your feelings on the Iraq war, I think it is important to remember the costs of such endeavors.

The premature death of Joseph Dwyer at the age of 31 has highlighted the neglect many American veterans believe they face once they return home.

He was made famous by a photograph, taken in March 2003 during the first week of the war, in which he is seen running to a makeshift hospital.

In his arms, the soldier was cradling an injured Iraqi boy who he had rescued from crossfire.

The arresting image, held up by the war's supporters as the human face of the invasion, was reproduced around the world and Specialist Dwyer was hailed as a hero.

However, he was always uncomfortable with the media attention, attempting to deflect its focus on to his entire unit. He had done no more than any of the other soldiers in his unit, he told reporters.

It emerged that Mr Dwyer's post-war civilian life was also no different to that of many fellow veterans.

For years, he struggled against post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug abuse, unemployment and marital breakdown.

On June 28, Mr Dwyer, 31, called a taxi to take him to a hospital near his home in Pinehurst, North Carolina, after earlier taking presciption pills and inhaling fumes from a computer cleaner aerosol.

When the driver arrived, Mr Dwyer said he was too weak to open the door. Police had to kick it down and found he had collapsed. Within minutes, he had died.

Police in several states had been dealing with Mr Dwyer for several years as he suffered from violent delusions that he was being hunted by Iraqi soldiers.

He was in and out of psychiatric care, once being committed after he started firing at imagined attackers inside his home, leading to a three-hour police siege. He had also crashed his car several times after swerving to avoid imagined roadside bombs.

Mr Dwyer's family said he had also been struggling with depression and sleeplessness, symptoms associated with PTSD. He would spend nights hiding in a wardrobe clutching a knife, and started inhaling from aerosols to help him sleep.

Hat Tip: Rod Dreher

The Car Gods Are Displeased...Again

I don't know what I have done to them, but they are pissed at me again. Two days ago, I couldn't start my vehicle and I figured out it was because the cable running from the battery to the rest of the car had fallen apart. Literally. It had been held together by electrical tape which had slipped away and was now just hanging there. Digging up some electrical tape of my own, I did a quick job of taping it back together and off I went.

Except that I had to do it nearly every time I got back into the car because it kept falling apart. And then today, I hit the jackpot. Apparently a fuse blew or something shorted out along the line somewhere because I can't even get the thing to spark now when I put the pieces together. Oh, the battery is still good. Crossing a couple of screwdrivers touching the posts gets a good zap, but nothing comes from the damn wire.

So, the car is sitting behind the local mall. I'd love to just firebomb it, but, alas, I need a vehicle. Even if they hate me and go out of their way to make my life difficult.

Don't Baby Your Kids

'Cause they could turn out to be wimps. So says Hara Estroff Marano, an editor at Psychology Today who says we shield our kids from too much which only harms them in the long run. She offers some advice to parents.

One, back off and give kids some credit and some leeway to demonstrate their competence. Two, let kids play freely without monitoring. Three, eat dinner together at least five nights a week: aside from the sense of cohesiveness, it gives all that security that is the breeding ground for success. No matter where you are on the socioeconomic spectrum, it is more correlated with school adjustment and achievement than any other single thing that parents can do.

The whole interview is worth reading. I know I find myself guilty of this at times. The world can be such a horrific place and I want to shield my beautiful daughters from all of the crap. Unfortunately, I or any other parent cannot do that completely. The best we can do is to slowly expose them to it, but educate them about it and guide them and be a rock for them to hold on to during the bad times. God knows it's not easy, but the effort is certainly worth it.

Not No, But Hell No.

Like Andrew, I hope this is a joke.

Yes, we can vote for George W. Bush in 2008. We have the right to write in the name of our chosen candidate, regardless of whether or not he is officially on the ballot.

We know that George Bush was God's Candidate in 2000. We know that George Bush was God's candidate again in 2004. And George Bush has been God's president for the last 8 years.

Trust in God and vote your faith. Keep America safe. Write-in George W. Bush for President in 2008.

Look At Me! I'm a Christian!

I've never understood the desire of some people to proclaim their belief in Christianity as loudly as possible, people like those in South Carolina who now have a license plate that says "I believe" and has a picture of a cross. Well, I suppose I shouldn't say that I don't understand, 'cause I do. It is a shallow declaration of faith that is much easier than, say, trying to live a quiet life of following Jesus's teachings. People might not figure out you are a Christian that way, not to mention that it's so hard striving to live virtuously. Much easier to shout from the rooftops, "Hey, I'm a Christian." Then people don't have to guess whether or not you are and you can go ahead and slide on some of those pesky Commandments.

Ancient Tablet Calls Into Question Current Theories of Early Christianity

A fascinating tablet dated to the first-century B.C. is forcing scholars to reexamine our current picture of early Christianity. The tablet talks about a three-day resurrection and blood being required for redemption. Most believed that this was an invention of early Christians, but this tablet which has yet to have any serious detractors to its authenticity may show that the idea was in the Middle East before Jesus.

A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era — in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.

It is written, not engraved, across two neat columns, similar to columns in a Torah. But the stone is broken, and some of the text is faded, meaning that much of what it says is open to debate.

Still, its authenticity has so far faced no challenge, so its role in helping to understand the roots of Christianity in the devastating political crisis faced by the Jews of the time seems likely to increase.

Daniel Boyarin, a professor of Talmudic culture at the University of California at Berkeley, said that the stone was part of a growing body of evidence suggesting that Jesus could be best understood through a close reading of the Jewish history of his day.

“Some Christians will find it shocking — a challenge to the uniqueness of their theology — while others will be comforted by the idea of it being a traditional part of Judaism,” Mr. Boyarin said.

This is very interesting and I can't wait to read more about it.

Weekly Music Video

The biggest selling 12" single of all time.

New Order - "Blue Monday"

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PostSecret

Religious Education Run Amok

I am all about studying different cultures in school. I don't think it gets addressed near enough and when it it, it is often too distant and remote for the student to get a solid grasp of the culture being examined (especially if it is not a Western culture). This lesson seems a little out of hand, though.

Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and 'pray to Allah' during a religious education lesson.
...
Parents said that their children were made to bend down on their knees on prayer mats which the RE teacher had got out of her cupboard and they were also told to wear Islamic headgear during the lesson on Tuesday afternoon.

I'm pretty sure that one can learn about Muslims and Islam without, you know, actually praying. How about visiting a mosque or something crazy like that? Maybe even talk to a real, live Muslim or two. That's just silly, I suppose.

I'd hate to see this teacher's lesson plan on current events and terrorism.

This Too Shall Pass

A coworker and good friend called me this morning to say that her husband had passed away. When she got out of the shower this morning she found him slumped over in his chair. She called 911 and performed CPR, but to no avail. The doctor said it was a "massive heart attack." He was only 53-years old.

Death is nothing new to our species and nothing I write about it now is going to offer any new insight into it. Today's event, though, reminds me of how fleeting and fragile our meager existence is. No matter what your religion, no matter what you believe about an afterlife (or lack thereof), you have to accept the fact that the life we have right now is tender and precious and gone all too quickly.

Tell the people you care about that you love them. Live every day as if it is your last, for no matter who you are this, too, shall pass.

Mark Twain Superstar

If you're a fan of Mark Twain (and you should be if you are not), then check out the cool article Time has on one of the most influential American authors. Here are some quotes of his that I particularly like.

"All generalizations are false, including this one."

"All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure."

"But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?"

"'Classic.' A book which people praise and don't read."

"Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't."

"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company."

"I have been complimented many times and they always embarrass me; I always feel that they have not said enough."

"Often it does seem a pity that Noah and his party did not miss the boat."

Weekly Music Video

I have a thing for songs about heroes and here is a great one.

Foo Fighters - "My Hero"

Weekly Secret

PostSecret

Genghis Khan vs. George W. Bush

Matt Yglesias has the blistering takedown.

On the advice of some readers I picked up Jack Weatherford's Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World where I learned that Genghis Khan banned torture in his empire.

So, yes, under George W. Bush the United States of America is regressing to an understanding of humane treatment of people that doesn't reflect the enlightened views of Genghis Khan. That's your feel-good thought of the day.

Now, yes, you can say that Genghis had pragmatic reasons for this and not moral reasons. You can also say that Genghis perpetrated many atrocities in his time. Still, it's pretty sad when the President of the United States of America heartily embraces a practice banned by Genghis Khan.

Five Things to Keep in Mind

Jeromy quotes five things to keep in mind from a book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.

Life is Hard.
You are not that important.
Your life is not about you.
You are not in control.
You are going to die.

Those are some good guidelines for life, though I would modify a few of them.

You are not that important, but you can do important things.
Your life is not about you; it is about what you can do for others.
You are not in control of what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it.
You are going to die, but only physically. "Luminous beings are we. Not this crude matter."

I might also say "Life is hard. It's harder if you're stupid," but that's mean sarcasm and certainly not how I roll.

Vindication

No longer can anyone criticize the sarcasm that has been known to occasionally fall from my lips. I can just say, "Survival of the fittest, baby."

Evolutionary biologists claim that sociality is what has made humans such a successful species. We are masters at what anthropologists and others call "social intelligence." We recognize and keep track of hundreds of relationships, and we easily distinguish between enemies and friends.

More important, we run our lives by social calculation. A favor is mentally recorded and paid back, sometimes many years later. Likewise, insults are marked down on the mental score card in indelible ink. And we are constantly bickering and making up, even with people we love.

Sarcasm, then, is a verbal hammer that connects people in both a negative and positive way. We know that sense of humor is important to relationships; if someone doesn't get your jokes, they aren't likely to be your friend (or at least that's my bottom line about friendship). Sarcasm is simply humor's dark side, and it would be just as disconcerting if a friend didn’t get your snide remarks.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have survival traits to hone, not that I expect you to have a clue about anything like that.