Culture

We are all used to the pressures of having so many things to do that it seems almost impossible to concentrate on a particular task. If there is ONE personal management system that I continue to hear good things about from Christian leaders and scholars, it is Getting Things Done by David Allen. This from Amazon: Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do's clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists--all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you're working on. However, it still operates … [Read more...] about Getting Things Done – be like Wayne (Grudem)

The New York Court of Appeals (New York's highest court) ruled 4 to 2 against more than 40 same-sex couples seeking the right to marry in a July 6 ruling. Judge Robert S. Smith wrote the majority opinion, which stated that the court found no basic constitutional right to same-sex marriage. He did open up the possibility that a change in the state's marital law could be initiated by the legislative branch, but then proceeded to give numerous reasons why that would be ill-advised. Among other points, Smith argued that that limiting of marriage to heterosexuals was not solely based on … [Read more...] about Same-Sex Marriages Struck Down in New York

In a conversation with Larry Arnn, renowned economist Milton Friedman makes some powerful arguments in support of educational vouchers. I found the following quote to be a particularly creative, insightful, and gripping way of stating the matter: "Think of it this way: If you want to subsidize the production of a product, there are two ways you can do it. You can subsidize the producer or you can subsidize the consumer. In education, we subsidize the producer—the school. If you subsidize the student instead—the consumer—you will have competition. The student could choose the school he … [Read more...] about Milton Friedman — Education Vouchers

Justin Taylor reported the news earlier today, from a Publishers Weekly article. Some of this was confirmed to me via personal correspondence from a former Multnomah employee. On a personal level, this is sad, as the future of many good editors and managers is uncertain. On another level, I'm concerned that the future owner will likely be a secular publishing house, and hence more likely to make publication decisions based on economic driving forces rather than theological or pastoral convictions. (That is arguably already an issue in the industry.) An announcement is due Friday that … [Read more...] about Multnomah Being Sold – And Possibly Closed

James Taranto delineates the significance of the 5-3 Supreme Court ruling regarding the treatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay (Hamden v. Rumself). Not surprisingly, it is not as "significant a blow to the President" as the media has purported. Media coverage: * "The Supreme Court on Thursday repudiated the Bush administration's plan to put Guantanamo detainees on trial before military commissions, ruling broadly that the commissions were unauthorized by federal statute and violated international law. . . . The decision was . . . a sweeping and categorical defeat for the … [Read more...] about Hamdan v. Rumsfeld – Media Coverage

Thomas Sowell writes a good essay on how the media coverage of Iraq fails to grant soldiers the presumption of innocence with regard to unproven charges. The irony, of course, is that even citizens who do not sacrifice for the good of America enjoy the presumption of innocence. How much more ought courageous soldiers (seeking to secure the freedom of others) receive this fundamental privilege of democracy? Key quotes: "A recent study by the Media Research Center found that the three big broadcast news networks -- CBS, ABC, and NBC -- ran 99 stories in 3 and 1/2 hours about the … [Read more...] about Thomas Sowell – Coverage of Iraq War