Wonderful Matters

A whole lotta Christians of some renown have gathered to issue an official proclamation of their desire to continue to do things their way no matter how much the federal government hints that they comply with them. It's called the "Manhattan Declaration," and it says three key things. One, we won't refuse to yell against abortion. Two, we won't refuse to yell against same-sex marriage. And three, we won't refuse to keep yelling. That last one was really an insistence on religious freedom, but what it really means is that they want to keep doing their thing and at the same time keep getting nice tax breaks for being otherwise good obedient tax-exempt non-profit congregations. Sadly, if these people were truly heeding Christ's words they wouldn't have to make such a proclamation. All they'd have to do is live out Christ's words . They'd then blow away so many people that seen in all His glory would be Christ, instead of a batch of off...

I recently read an economics piece about the opportunity cost of a certain Christmas tradition. The writer--some young financial wonk somewhere--lamented the abject inefficiency of gift-giving, going into great detail about the real value of the practice. His argument went something like this. Aunt Gladys gets you a $50 sweater when she really could just hand you the $50, at which point you could get what you really want. But because she gave you something you really don't  want, the value to you is no higher than $30, graciously considering that even if you don't really like it, it may be serviceable for having on when picking an avocado off the tree on a mildly chilly morning. So it's not just $0, let's grant that it is something. Making a valiant attempt to think like an economist, he concedes that there may indeed be a value to the simple fact that Aunt Gladys got you a gift, and tacks on another $30 for that, making the value $60. (If he were to be even more pr...

Last night I finally went to see 2012, the film with the boffo special effects of the utter destruction of the earth. There has been lots of water cooler talk about whether or not the world will actually end in 2012 like the Mayans supposedly said it would. I'd even noticed a number of books on the shelf at Borders all about how justified the concern should be. Whatever. The one book I read about all things significant is the Bible, and it pretty much has everything right there. It categorically says that the world as we know it now will indeed end . When that is only God knows. Sure he gave us some hints, but none of them amount to enough for anyone to say things like, "Yep, there it is, it'll happen on December 21st 2012 yessiree..." The one thing that is for sure is that God will hold on to those covered by the blood of His Son, and whatever value that has for anyone depends on whether or not they simply put their faith and trust in Him. When you watch this...

I was recently amused by a headline in the Los Angeles Times, but it was certainly not surprising considering the media are simply the spokesholes for Cain, indeed themselves a vibrant part of the World System's decision-making processes. Sometimes, though, your attention can be drawn to the folly revealed in their pronouncements. It seems that all the money used to bail out important people "appears" to be paying off. It  appears that things are getting rosier for important people. The article does mention a lot of things that are not going well with the bailout plan, but hey, it's best if things appear to be going well. But this is the World speaking. Treasury Secretary and once New York Fed President Tim Geithner once said that the appearance of a powerful financial institution and its activity is most important for sustaining confidence, calling it "theater." At least it's entertaining! Never mind that it is actually real . Never mind that pe...