Archive - Nov 16, 2006

Date

Podcast of the Week

Posted November 16, 2006 - 7:13pm by Expat Teacher

I just listened to a fascinating podcast from C-SPAN. U.S. District Judge John Jones talks about his ruling on intelligent design and judicial independence. That may not sound interesting, but this judge is the one that decided the Dover intelligent design case. He shares his opinions (iTunes required) about how he came to his conclusion that Intelligent Design was not science and had no place in a classroom. He also talks, a little, about his faith and how the political process has intruded into the judicial world too far.

It is about 50 minutes long, but the last 20 are Q&A session that isn't that interesting. Download it to your iPod and give it a listen. Good stuff. Very thoughtful.

What do you think of what he has to say?
<!-- technorati tags start -->

Technorati Tags: , ,

McCain. Better than Giuliani?

Posted November 16, 2006 - 6:45pm by Expat Teacher

My last post on Giuliani confirmed my suspicion. People aren't that excited about him. Some folks want to hear more, but there wasn't an outpouring of immediate support for him.

Today we learn that McCain is forming an exploratory committee. He has a long history of service to America, but he is also 70 years old. He has been a traditional "rebel" in the Republican Party, but has also been close to the very unpopular President. McCain doesn't have strong evangelical credentials, but has tried to make overtures to the religious right with an awkward talk at Liberty University. He is a big hawk on the Iraq War, suggesting that we increase our troop numbers. He might be the only guy in the entire country that feels that way.

So is anyone excited about his candidacy? What excites you? What concerns you? Is he the front runner because he has been running for since 2000 or because he really strikes a chord with Republican rank and file?
<!-- technorati tags start -->

Technorati Tags: ,

More on the Politics of Food

Posted November 16, 2006 - 10:08am by bjanaszek

To pick up on the discussion that Mr. Kidd started, I'll add this post by the urban homesteaders over at Hen Waller which highlights a New York Times Small Business section article entitled "Why Roots Matter More." What is most interesting about the Times article is that it highlights the dilution of organically-raised food as it becomes more mainstream. As consumers are learning that the organic label does not necessarily mean "local" or even "safe" (as discovered during the outbreak of E. coli found in bagged spinach), they are seeking out food grown locally with sustainable methods, and they are even willing to pay more for it. And, even better perhaps, regional and national producers and suppliers are looking for ways to localize their businesses. I'll let Holly at Hen Waller describe this:

Alternatives to the Republican Party

Posted November 16, 2006 - 8:33am by Will Hinton

Captain Ed has this to say this morning:

"It may be time to take Mark Tapscott's advice, offered over the summer, and look outside the GOP for alternate methods of pursuing conservativism. All we find there is a nest of those who want to manipulate federal power as an engine for their own agendas, instead of reducing its reach and its intrusiveness. We have at least a year to see whether we can be more effective outside the party -- because the Republicans seem intent on proving that we have no place inside it any more."

Is there a way to break the two party hegemony?

Murtha's Ethics Challenged

Posted November 16, 2006 - 1:27am by Curt

I'm not a big fan of George Soros, so I'm glad to see CREW (which I understand is funded by Soros), take a non-partisan stance against Murtha:

CREW Blasts Pelosi Endorsement of Unethical Murtha for Majority Leader

Rep. Murtha was listed in CREW's report Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch). As reported in the study and by the news media, Rep, Murtha has been involved in a number of pay-to play schemes involving former staffers and his brother, Robert "Kit" Murtha.

Eight incumbents in CREW's report lost their races to ethics issues.

Isn't it refreshing to see this type of non-partisan criticism.