March 22, 2004 by s.z.

So Stupid You Want to Smack Them Today's Wall Street Journal editorial is about how anybody (including the September 11 Commission) who says anything about Bush's failure to do enough about terrorism prior to 9/11 is part of a Democratic conspiracy to blame Bush for the attack (in order to futher Kerry's campaign).  It also claims that Clarke's book is a bunch of whining by a disgruntled guy whose job was downgraded, so you shouldn't believe anything he says (because gruntled people have only nice things to say about Bush's pre-9/11 terrorism efforts).  Oh, and Clarke is wrong when he says the Iraq invasion has actually increased the risk of terrorist attack on America, because, um, we captured Saddam!  . . .it would help future policy makers to have a thoughtful look at how and why we missed the al Qaeda threat as it was massing in the 1990s. In order to take such a detached view, the Pearl Harbor inquiry waited until after World War II to publish its findings. Bush said that the War on Terrorism might not end during our lifetimes -- but I guess the Journal is right and we should wait until it's over before trying to figure out what led up to 9/11, because we'll all have cooler heads after we're dead.  And anyway, we already know that everything was Clinton's fault, so what do we need a Commision for? As for Iraq, he [Clarke] and other Bush critics want to claim that the U.S. invasion has only created more terrorists--as if there weren't any before March 2003. And as if those terrorists are only striking at Americans and our allies in Iraq, not also at Turks, and Indonesians, French and Saudis. So, if there were terrorists before March 2003, then who cares if the Iraq invasion has created lots more of them?  And if terrorists have attacked other countries, then when terrorists attack us and our allies and say it's because of Iraq, then they are obviously lying and are probably part of that Democratic conspiracy to make Bush look bad. Mr. Clarke lambastes the White House for seeking links between Iraq and 9/11, even as he himself asserts that he knew in the immediate aftermatch that there were no such links. How could he have known that? Mr. Clarke fails to mention that Abdul Rahman Yasin, the one conspirator from the 1993 WTC bombing still at large, had fled to Iraq and was harbored by Saddam Hussein for years. In our view, a U.S. President who failed to ask questions about Iraq and other state sponsors of terrorism in the wake of 9/11 would have been irresponsible.   1.  Because if there were no links between Iraq and al Qaeda prior to 9/11, and al Queda was responsible for the attack, then there were no links between Iraq and 9/11. 2. Just because a guy is harbored by a country after committing an act of terrorism, it doesn't make that country actually complicit in the acts of terrorism later commited by the group to which he used to belong.   3.  Asking questions is fine.  Trying to pressure experts to give you the answer you want is not fine.  Anyway, over at Sadly, No!, Peanut done a great job of providing info about Clarke's claims, and about his appearance on "60 Minutes." You should check it out if you are interested in this issue.  And you should be interested in it, because if goes to the very heart of Bush's presidency.   6:57:55 AM

Wasting Time The Christian Way Philip Lancaster, who runs the "Patriarch" site mentioned in yeterday's post, notes that he is "under the authority of the elders of Harvestwood Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Floyd County, Virginia." Richard (who blogs at Bartholomew's Notes on Religion, and does a good job of it) says: Check out Lancaster's "Harvestwood Covenant Presbyterian Church", esp. the "Covenant News" section. http://www.harvestwood.org.  It's obsessed, a la Fred Phelps, with "Sodomites", and has a link to a blog called "Abominations." Suddenly Landover Baptist seems less funny.  While the Harvestwood site itself has fallen into disrepair, Covenant News, which Harvestwood had linked to, is going full steam ahead.  Covenant News bills itself as a news service for "today's church."  No less an authority than "Best of the Christian Web" says of it: "Covenant News is a unique service dedicated entirely to providing Bible-believing Christians with timely news and information.  By providing a wide spectrum of knowledge concerning specific Pro-Life and Freedom of Speech news topics, The Covenant News gives the Christian activist the ability to discern what actually occurs behind the headlines, so that appropriate action may be taken." The editor of Covenant News is Jim Rudd, a "Street Preacher" who claims he does God's will by calling to repentence those attending gay pride parades, and visiting abortion clinics.  So, he's a "Christian activist," just like Mr. Phelps. Wo'C reader Pete M. followed Richard's recommendation and checked out Covenant News.  He commented: I was heartened to read the following in the "Covenant News" section: "This Mel Gibson film is on pace to become one of the most commercially successful of all time, and it may even surpass the deplorable and depraved and Leftist 'Titanic'." That's right! It's time we all stood up and denounced the radical Leftism of Titanic! Seriously. What kind of left-wing traitors were running that ship that they ignored all the evidence that pointed directly to Iraq as having caused their sinking? It's so obvious that Jack and Rose were simply shilling for socialized medicine (i.e. "Where are the rest of the life boats?") while ignoring the Islamist threat that any true believer would have noticed immediately.  Yes, if not for Covenent News, we'd have been hoodwinked by the socialism in Titanic (because any movie that shows rich people as bad and poor people as good is inherently socialistic, and therefore depraved), and possibly have come to believe that the love of money was the root of all evil.   And if we were a young girl, then deplorable, leftist movie might have tempted us to not marry the wealthy jerk our mother had chosen for us, which, as we learned yesterday, would be sinful.  Plus, we might have done nasty stuff in a car, thus obligating God to smite us (and everyone else on the ship) with an iceberg. Preacher Jim Rudd also seems to be the guy behind Covenant News's sister site, Abominations (news items about child molestation, rape, and other sexual crimes -- but mostly stories which mention homosexuality).  Here's a typical item: Human Rights Campaign honor Texas sodomite lawyer With these words, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that sexual deviant filthy sodomites in Texas need never again fear being arrested for what the lascivious perverts do in their own homes: “The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime.” Posted by Editor at 11:32 AM [Note: the Style Guide for Abominations mandates that homosexuals always be called "filthy sodomites" -- while it's recommended that you also use the terms "devient" and "pervert" as frequently as possible, they aren't required in every paragraph.] Abominations includes links to: • God Hates Fags • Homo-Fascist-Watch • ProtestGayDay.com • Convincing Reasons Homos are Hellbound • Quislings for Christ You know, good, loving Christian sites.  So, the whole thing is like Landover Baptist, but without the uplifting parts.  Feeling kind of slimed, I checked out some of Lancaster's other links, looking for something a little more wholesome and goofy, and found Vision Forum, which is basically a site selling videos and books to Evangelical Christians who homeschool their kids (Vision Forum's speciality is a line of books and videos designed to teach girls that a woman's place is in the home, where she should serve men and wear dresses than don't expose any flesh).  However, the site does have some commentary.  One of my favorite items was Never Been Kissed: A Home School Love Story.  It's about the arranged marriage of two young people from two homeschooling clans, and the purity of their love, as demonstrated by the fact that they've never, ever spent any time alone with anyone of the opposite sex, and have never experienced that thing you earthings call "kissing": When they stand at the marriage altar today, both bride and groom proclaim to the world that this is their first love. It is true love. In fact, today, they will take their very first kiss -- Ever! -- With anyone! -- And they will do it at the moment they are pronounced man and wife.  But this love story is about more than just the bride and groom. It is about two families, an entire community of believers, and a new generation of children who are being raised to embrace and emulate the pattern for life preparation and marriage being modeled today by the happy couple. The groom, 21-year-old Joshua, works for Vision Forum as a graphic designer. Joshua, who joined Vision Forum immediately upon completion of his home education, is one of a growing number of home educated students who are demonstrating that a little bit of entrepreneurial vision, a lot of effort, and some good old-fashioned practical experience is a superior method of life preparation than a four-year journey through the halls of Babylon (a.k.a., the modern college experience). Yes, going to college would have just corrupted him by teaching him about the outside world, and then the whole homeschooling thing would have been for nothing. The lady of the hour is Miss Noelle Wheeler, the twenty-four year old daughter of evangelist Richard "Little Bear" Wheeler. Vision Forum readers may recognize her as the girl who graces the cover of the Beautiful Girlhood Collection with such genuine sweetness and femininity, or as the author of our best-selling book Daughters of Destiny. Anyone who has met Noelle knows that she possesses a refreshing innocence and precious naiveté that only comes from a girl who has been raised around the sweet aroma of Christian holiness.   "Precious naiveté."  That's a GOOD thing in a 24-year-old woman. Anyway, a reader of the story was troubled by one aspect of it, and asked the site owner/Christian leader a question: Dear Doug, Thank you for the letter describing the marriage of Noelle and Joshua. The testimony was inspirational until we read the ages of the couple. Why were we surprised to learn that the bride was three years her husbands senior? Our family has been led to believe that because God created Adam first, this is therefore an example of God's plan for His design for marriage.  The Bible instructs that the wife be in submission to the husband. Do you think that an older wife would be challenged in a greater way to submit to a younger husband in leadership of all matters? On the other hand, would a younger husband have a greater challenge loving and leading a wife older than he? Here's part of Doug's reply: Dear K.: Thank you for this excellent and thoughtful question. It is refreshing to see people thinking through such questions. To the best of my understanding of Scripture, the biblical emphasis is that younger men may lead both older men and older women if they have the marks and qualifications of leadership and if their potential wives can with a whole heart obey Paul's command to "call [their] husband Lord." (1 Peter 3). So, yeah, it's okay with God if the woman is older than the man, as long as she's properly submissive. And here's a different question, this time from a Vision Forum customer: The Vision Forum, I was delighted to receive your catalog today anticipating ordering items for my four children, UNTIL I got to page 19 of the Lewis and Clark Collection.  I am absolutely outraged that you are offering the pelts and tails of animals as children's play toys. . . . And here's my favorite part of Doug's response: I would offer you a gracious challenge: By what standard have you determined that it is o.k. to eat a hamburger, but not o.k. to wear a raccoon on your head? Because it's ALWAYS okay to wear a raccoon on your head.  It's just crazy talk to suggest that kids shouldn't use dead things as part of their Christian play time.    This part of Doug's reply was good too: In fact, the animal rights movement, with its opposition to "speciesism," its advocacy of vegetarianism (by the way, why should animals have more rights than plants?), its opposition to hunting, and its hypocritical pleas for animal safety is a direct attack on Genesis and the dominion mandate. Every time we train a boy to hunt for the glory of God and teach them the biblical implications of such hunting---we strike a blow against the Devil!   So, get out there and shoot some varmints -- for God!  And then wear their skins on your head proudly, or no hamburgers for you! Anyway, I wasted the whole night on this kind of stuff.  I blame Satan.  Learn from my example to just say no to wacky Christian websites. 5:42:09 AM

Gospel Writers Deny Any Association With Kelley; Also, May Sue Gibson For Royalties From Christian Reader, March/April 2001 Reporting from Hell's Doorstep Jack Kelley covers the world's hot spots  . . . As a foreign correspondent for USA Today, Jack Kelley has traveled to 86 countries and conducted interviews with 36 heads of state, including Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat, the Dalai Lama (who, jokester that he is, burped in Jack's face), and Mikhail Gorbachev. What has brought him to the front lines of human conflict and tragedy? "Journalism is a calling," he explains. "I feel God's pleasure when I write and report. It isn't because of the glory, but because God has called me to proclaim truth, and to worship and serve him through other people." His role models, he says, are four of "the greatest journalists of all time": Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. [snip] When truth is a casualty In times of war and crisis, Jack has repeatedly seen how easy it is for misinformation to color perceptions. . . .Jack says the best way for him to demonstrate his Christian walk is to strive for excellence in all his dealings. He checks and rechecks his facts and sources, and puts in extra effort so his reports will be accurate and to the point. P.S.   Zombies push Jesus from top of box office Jesus reportedly suffered no ill effects from the fall.  When asked for comment, he said, "Hey, I've been scourged, beaten, had chunks of my flesh pulled out -- the zombies are nothing compared to the Romans.  And hey, they're zombies, so what can you expect?  Anyway, I forgive them, 'cause, you know, that's what I do.  Besides, I know what it's like to come back from the dead and have people bugging you before you have that first cup of coffee." 1:21:36 AM