Unite Later

Following is the text of an e-mail I got from Focus on the Family. People should read it before jumping on the "What an idiot to call SpongeBob gay" bandwagon.

By now you've undoubtedly heard about the controversy surrounding statements I made recently in which I reportedly accused a cartoon character named SpongeBob SquarePants of being "gay." Although I never made any such comment, the media has repeated the story incessantly, to the point that the truth of the matter has been completely obscured. Here's what actually happened.

I haven't plunged into the murky depths of the so called "Sponge Bob" controversy, but I have got to say this much; Michael Ventre of MSNBC (Main Stream Network Bashing Christians) comes off as a Genuine, 100%, A-1 Authentic Ignoramus.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds expresses my sentiments well.

All I can add is- Thank God for home schooling. May God have mercy on our public school children.

* * * UPDATE * * *
Focus on Family Statement
Bill Cork has a good grasp on the story.
Dr. Don Wildmon Money Quote-
"If you are a person who accepts the homosexual lifestyle, then you are tolerant," he said. "If you don't, then you are a bigot who is motivated by ignorance and hate."
More from Dr. Reynolds...
First, no evangelical is ever allowed to denounce anything in pop culture. That is the first media rule. Since we all know, in a breath taking piece of stereotyping not seen since we danced Jim Crow, that all evangelical leaders are prudes and irrational no one ever asks if such concerns are valid. If an evangelical says it, then we know it is false and hopelessly reactionary. At this point, Michael Jackson's best p.r. hope is for some evangelical to denounce him. The LA Times would then find some way to praise the King of Pop.

Proverbs Daily is doing a seven day series to promote the pro-life stance during the ongoing Sanctity of Human Life Week. Todays topic relates to the effects of abortion on the man...

...Men are largely let off the hook as far as their role in the decision making process. Because abortion is seen as a woman-only issue, the woman takes all the blame for the decision she makes. Millions of men have been given a free pass for their role in pressuring, influencing, threatening, or even bribing the mothers of their child into having an abortion. Millions of other men have no responsibility placed on them for their indifference or their absence. Sadly, those men that want to keep their child are told they have no legal say in the matter. A man is obligated to protect his child outside of the womb, but if the child is inside, his right to protect is stripped away....

...Men, don't put yourself in the position of having to deal with an abortion decision in the first place. Practice abstinence. If it is too late, fight tooth and nail for the life of your child. Consider all abortion alternatives with the mother. If your child is already lost, seek help from a pastor or counselor to minimise your grief and tell others about your story to minimise the loss of innocent life in the future.

Men often get a bad rap, and we usually deserve it.

There can not be an abortion without there also being a man involved. Granted, a man can not bear the child, but that does not mean he is not grieved at the loss. A man that is not shaken by the loss of his child is no man; he is a cold, heartless beast.

ScienceNotFiction says:

... I think that science is the basis behind most moral judgments. This is because science is a result of reason, and reason is the fundamental basis of law.

Laws aren't about morals... Not really. Because morals are relative. What one person considers immoral is not always the same as what another person considers immoral.

It's late, so I don't have a lot of time to develop this post. If anyone sees this, please feel free to chime in with your thoughts on the source of our legal system. Is it a secular institution, as SNF would claim, or do our laws originate from a higher source? I've got my ideas, but I want to flesh them out a little more before throwing them out there.

By the way, I do not play a lawyer on TV.

* * * UPDATE * * * Finally got around to working on this post, for what it’s worth… I agree w/ SNF that our laws are derived from reason, although I’m sure we would disagree as to where we derive that capacity for thought we call reason. Our ability to reason is given to us by God. It is one of the characteristics of God that we possess as His image bearers. God’s laws are written on our hearts. Murder is wrong. Rape is wrong. Stealing is wrong. Left to reason alone, however, we can justify any of these acts. As SNF says, “morality is relative.” If there is no external standard to judge the “rightness” or “wrongness” of a matter, then how shall we reason that murder, rape, or theft are “wrong?” I can reason that, absent that external standard, there could be an instance in which murder, theft, or rape might be “right.”

Tsunami relief is the kind of thing that I would do because it's the right thing to do, not because of it's potential tax consequences. That being said, congress has made qualified contributions for tsunami relief deductible for '04 through the end of January.

So, the other day I'm sitting at a red light, minding my own business. All of the sudden, I see in my rear view mirror a little green truck sliding towards me. There was only enough time to **BLAM**!

Great news first... no one was hurt.

The collision pushed the bumper of our Chevy Tahoe into the quarter panel slightly. We've been driving it around fine since then only just today even bothered with dropping it off at the shop for repairs. The Dodge Dakota was that hit us was worse off. His quarter panel got shoved all the way into his front tire.

It's a popular rant to decry the evil SUVs on the highways, but let me tell you something... when my only son is in the car, I'll take the Tahoe over the Dakota any day. You would too, if the life of someone you cared for was at stake.

Oh, and more great news! The rental? A Cadillac Escalade!

Need I say more?

I've got a reflexive urge to insert a knee related pun. Would that be a knee jerk reaction?

(Thanks, kneel)

By the way, the site has some interesting educational activities related to weather and simple machines as well as the knee surgery thing. We'll be having science class here later!

Michael Williams had a post in which he stated his position as being in opposition to abortion on a moral basis, but accepting of the legality of it in cases of rape and/or incest. Basically, his premise is that the harm done to the woman justifies her being allowed to end the pregnancy. I respect Mike a lot, and do not doubt the sincerity of his faith, but I questioned (and still do) his reasoning for opposing the morality of the abortion but not the legality of it.

Since I've eaten a chunk of Mike's bandwidth on this question, I'll repost it here on my dime; How ought a Christian view the subject of abortion? Should pragmatism rule? Should emotionalism trump scriptural principles? What scriptural principles are in view with this issue? To stake out my position on the issue, here's a couple of excerpts from my comments in Mike's post...

The Stainless Steel Advantium by Kenmore (Sears) is certainly a nice looking microwave. At nearly $750, it's certainly not a cheap unit. You would think for the price, though, a little more thought would have gone into the design.

At the top of the unit is a plastic grill (immediately below the cabinet in the picture.) Behind the grill is a small recirculation fan and a charcoal filter. The charcoal filter is supposed to be replaced on a regular basis (about every six months, according to the installation instructions.) Two screws hold the grill in place. Would you care to guess where those two screws are?

Removing the grill and replacing the filter should take about three minutes. Due to poor design, however, here's what you've got to do;

• Get a step ladder
• Get a helper
• Disconnect the electrical cord
• While your helper supports the unit, remove the three MOUNTING BOLTS (#9010)
• Lower the front of the unit until (two) SCREW TAPPING,TRUSS HEAD (#1656) are accessible.
• While helper continues to support the unit, remove both SCREW TAPPING,TRUSS HEAD (#1656)
• Remove GRILLE ASSEMBLY (#1225)
• Remove old GREASE FILTER ASM (#1240)
• Install new GREASE FILTER ASM (#1240)
• Attach GRILLE ASSEMBLY (#1225)
• Insert (two) SCREW TAPPING,TRUSS HEAD (#1656)
• Have helper raise unit into installed position.
• While helper continues to support the unit, re-insert and tighten MOUNTING BOLTS (#9010). Avoid over tightening so as to not damage unit.
• Re-insert electrical plug.

Simple, no? Try to not drop the thing on to of your new Ceramic Cook Top!

***UPDATE***
Seems the link above is broken... here's the diagram. While not shown, the two screws are installed from the top (they go into parts #1218.)

Why would anyone care what Amber Frey has to say? Her only claim to fame is that she committed adultery with a murderer. Is that what it takes to get recognition in America today? Greta Van Sustern ought to be ashamed, but she obviously has none. Such a waste. Walking past the tv, I saw the interview in progress. Without needing to hear a word, I shut it off. My son asked me about that... I sat down and explained that Scott Peterson committed murder and adultery, and that Amber was the person that committed adultery with him. I then explained that, as Christians, we are to not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Amber and Greta don't have a word to say that we need to hear. We talked about a sheep knowing and following the voice of it's shepherd... Jesus is our shepherd. We will listen to Him, not Amber. Not Greta. Jesus commands us to love them, to forgive them, but not to listen to what they have to say.

Robert E. Lee was born January 19, 1807. Christian, patriot, and leader, this man of character is an example we should learn from.

I would recommend General Lee: A Biography of Robert E. Lee
This biography of General E. Lee and his part in the American Civil War is written by his nephew who was a cavalry officer in the war under his command. His exposition of Lee's achievements at Sharpsburg, Gettysburg and other fields of war are enhanced by his access to Lee's private papers.




Last year, R.E. Lee Day also fell on MLK Day. Brit Hume made a brief mention of Lee's birthday, demonstrating that he is not content to let the MSM and other forces of political persecution correctness completely revise history. For our part, we did a unit on the civil war. To culminate our study, we attended a "Robert E. Lee Sunday" service at a local church.

The pastor dressed as a Civil War chaplain and church members were in 1860s-period dress. The morning service consisted of readings and music from the Civil War era, followed by professional Civil War re-enactors from the 12th Texas Cavalry and 11th Texas Infantry, who performed a live Civil War re-enactment.

A descendent of General Lee was present. He described the spiritual significance of the elements of General Lee's camp flag.

*** UPDATE ***

I did not intend for this post to degenerate into the "all confederates were pro-slavery" argument, but I should have anticipated that. Nevertheless, David Marcoe has been looking at some interesting facts relating to the war of seccession. Unfortunately, modern debate does not seem to allow for facts to be considered in the place of broad generalizations.

While toying with the idea of blogging, I've been looking at several different platforms. The one I seemed to have settled on for now is pMachine. I'm working with the free version right now, I'm not yet sold enough to put down the $45 ($125 commercial) for the pro version. A few of the things I like about pMachine;
[ ] Curse word censoring
[ ] Relatively easy setup and management
[ ] Potential for MultiBlogs
[ ] Multiple users, user registrations

Primary downsides I see at this point;
[ ] No "Save to Draft" function (Does this exist in pro?)
[ ] No comment moderation (other than requring registration)
[ ] No spill chuck

My second and third runners up are B2Evolution and MoveableType. What platform works best? Which blogware best accomodates all these issues?

OK, I'm not sure how I got here, but here I am. I've been toying with the idea, trying different platforms, tweaking templates and such. In the process, I've managed to set up a working(?) blog, and have even had an outside visitor! (Discoshaman- I am humbled that you would grace my almost-blog... Thanks for the comment!) So, what is Unite Later about? What will you be reading about here? Will there be profound essays on topics of major import, ala Bill Whittle? Not likely. Dozens of updates each day, like Instapundit? No way. Sharp witted humor like Frank or Scott? I wish. A whacked out following of demented idiots similar to the moonbats of kos and du? Thankfully not. Instead, I expect to post occasionally about; [ ] Things that are Dear to My Heart. [ ] Deep thoughts about theology (God good, devil bad. Jesus saves, Allah kills.) [ ] Bar-B-que, ribs, and buffalo wings. [ ] Rants about windows (no, I'm not switching to linux/mac/other_os... solving all my problems would leave me nothing to complain about.) God only knows what will become of this venture. Hopefully someone finds something of value or worth in it.

After seeing Jim Carrey's lewd portrayal of Dr. Suess's beloved Grinch, I was very apprehensive of seeing him in any other children's movie. I must say, however, the folks at Nickelodeon did a good job of keeping his standard fair in check. Other than one unnecessary curse word, his performance of the villainous Count Olaf was splendidly nefarious. I've not read the Snicket series, but this movie has convinced me that this should become a literature study in the not too distant future (my boy agrees as well.) Warning to parents- some themes and scenes may be quite intense for younger children. Be prepared to discuss the realities of death, evil, greed and malice. There is no graphic display of violence or death, but multiple murders and attempts to murder for financial gain are clearly portrayed. There is no question that the evil Olaf is indeed wicked, yet the children always respond with courage, character, and consideration for the well being of others. A common theme in movies these days teaches kids to connive and manipulate for their own advancement. This movie definitely breaks that mold with a powerful message; one does not have to become evil to resist evil. * * * UPDATE * * * If you came here from google looking for info on the 0x8DDD0004 thing, try this post instead. I have no clue why google thinks 0x8DDD0004 has anything to do with Lemony Snicket.

There's been this haunting tune going through my head today (and to the family's chagrin, out of my mouth as well.) The Johnny Cash version goes; "Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie," These words came low and mournfully From the pallid lips of a youth who lay On his dying bed at the close of day. "Oh, bury me not--" And his voice failed there, But we took no heed of his dying prayer; In a narrow grave just six by three We buried him there on the lone prairie. They don't make music like that now days, do they? And they certainly don't make singers like Johnny Cash anymore.