I'm Just A Bill

Curious about how a bill becomes a law? Maybe you need a refresher course? Then sit back and watch this classic Schoolhouse Rock explanation and harken back to the good old days...

World Affairs or Celebrity Photos? You Make The Call

What does this say about our priorities and interests in America?

The Young and the Reformed

I read a really interesting article on the upsurge in Reformed theology, especially among the young. Turns out Reformed theology is growing fast in Baptist circles. Check it out at Christianity Today.

Think You're Safe?

No doubt you've heard of the debate in the Senate over the redefining of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention (the article defining what degrading treatment toward prisoners is). The Bush administration is pushing to redefine degrading treatment so that it may use tactics to extract information from suspected terrorists. A few courageous Senators, like John McCain (R-AZ) and John Warner (R-VA) and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, are resisting the President's efforts. They point out, rather correctly, that this redefinition is detrimental as it would set a precedent for other countries to do the same thing, and also because America, as a moral leader, is above such degrading treatment.

So, you think this is just something for the suits in Washington to worry about? Think again. A Canadian citizen (with dual citizenship in Syria) was detained by the Canadian police and handed over to the CIA while he was traveling in La Guardia airport. He was accused of being a member of al Qaeda and taken to Syria to be tortured. Turns out, this gentleman has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

So often the argument is made that terrorists are the only ones who will be caught up in rough-handling of prisoners and torture, so innocent people needn't worry. In fact, as the above case illustrates, that is not the case. Americans ought to support the resistance to the Administration's efforts to redefine Common Article 3 to suit our needs during this war. Indeed it is important for the President to protect Americans, and I don't think he means anything evil by his efforts. But we as Americans must recognize that we could be detained by another country when we are traveling and not have our rights because that particular country is following the lead of the United States government in redefining Common Article 3. We must protect America, but not lose our moral high ground and our rights in the process.

Irony of Ironies

Here is a copy of the email I sent to the Council on American-Islamic Relations regarding this eruption in violence over the Pope's coments:

Salaam alaykum,
I am a Christian and I have a deep love for Muslims. However, I cannot help but be dismayed when I consider the reactions made in regards to the Pope's comments of last week and the lack of condemnation in the Muslim community. I am not a universalist, I believe that Christianity is the true religion. While I believe in spreading the Gospel to all, I don't believe in conversion by the sword. Violence, according to the God I serve is wrong. If fellow Christians act out in violence against someone or some group I condemn that. My question is, why has CAIR and other Muslim organizations and imams not condemned the widespread violence that has erupted across the Muslim world? The claim that just a handful of Muslims are
reacting this way is entirely false, I believe. After all, this is not the first time this violence has erupted from those who dare to go against Islam (the Miss World controversy in 2002 and Danish cartoons to name a few from recent memory). While so many try to say Islam is a religion of peace, it's adherents and it's holy book say something completely different (like Surah 9). I do not hate Muslims, in fact I will continue to pray for Muslims. On the other hand, the reactions by thousands, if not millions of Muslims to these comments seems to indicate a deep hatred toward Christians and only proves the point that Islam is not a religion of peace. I call
upon CAIR to speak out against these scary, extreme reactions by many in the
Islamic community.
Thank you for your time,

Teresa has a much more logical and pithy entry on this whole escapade, check it out.

Will On The Mark

George Will is right on the mark with his blast against liberals who are all over Wal-Mart. It's been a familiar rallying cry for liberals lately to target Wal-Mart for what they claim are unfair labor practices. Wal-Mart pays a fair wage for the work that is done and Will rightly points out the underlying logic behind the liberal attacks of Wal-Mart. It's worth the quick read.

Great Speech

President Bush gave a great speech commemorating the 5th anniversary of 9/11. It was good to hear the President detail his belief of how the attacks of 9/11 and reform in the Middle East are directly connected. We are engaged in a clash for the survivial of civilization, as the President put it, and we must not forget this. This clash does not require everyone to sacrifice their lives, but it does require a steadfast resolve to persevere to victory against Islamofascism (Tony Blair, British Prime Minister, addressed the fact that most of the public just doesn't get the grave danger posed to civilization from these extremists). It is good to have a President who is a resolute leader--determined to do what is necessary to protect not only America, but also the world.

Meanwhile...

The war in the western region of Sudan, Darfur, continues. Despite world outrage and a response by the UN (though lackluster), government troops a proxy militiament continue their killing and pillaging of innocent Darfurians. A snippet from the Washington Post story:

Yagoub Mustafa, 45, could not easily mimic the "whoop whoop whoop, boom! boom!
boom!" of two helicopter gunships that fired rockets into the huts in his Darfur village. He tried to make the noises, but they were not loud enough, or terrifying enough.

But the horror he experienced that July afternoon, while he crouched low under a tree with his sobbing sons, daughters and nephews pressed against him, was more easily expressed: Mustafa thought they all were going to die, he said. And as he offered soothing words to the children, he begged for rescue in a silent prayer. Please God help us. We need your mercy.

Three years into a war in the Darfur region of western Sudan, thousands of villagers have been victimized by government troops and proxy militiamen who killed, raped and looted. Now the government is intensifying an air war featuring Soviet-era Antonov planes jury-rigged into bombers and Mi-24 helicopter gunships turned against mud-and-thatch huts. New waves of shellshocked villagers have left their homes and trekked for days to bulging relief camps.

Here's hoping the awareness of the plight in Darfur continues and does not fizzle out.