Top News Examiner: Regarding 'change' -- Liberals drink deeply from Fascist well, says review of 'Liberal Fascism'
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Rick at CNSNews.com
By Rick Pearcey
This week (and next's), I've been helping out editorially over at CNSNews.com -- editing articles, posting stories and photos, and learning the ins-and-outs of their publishing system.
The CNSNews fun plus continued posting at The Pearcey Report and my page at Examiner.com make for a couple of rapid-fire weeks.
In a few minutes, I'm off to the "gym" (downstairs at the treadmill!) to make up for lost soccer time.
Consider yourself officially invited to check out CNSNews. Lots of great people there doing terrific -- and, I dare say, important -- reportorial work.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
This week (and next's), I've been helping out editorially over at CNSNews.com -- editing articles, posting stories and photos, and learning the ins-and-outs of their publishing system.
The CNSNews fun plus continued posting at The Pearcey Report and my page at Examiner.com make for a couple of rapid-fire weeks.
In a few minutes, I'm off to the "gym" (downstairs at the treadmill!) to make up for lost soccer time.
Consider yourself officially invited to check out CNSNews. Lots of great people there doing terrific -- and, I dare say, important -- reportorial work.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, September 8, 2008
Top 10 Ways Sarah Palin Has Shaken Up the Race
By Rick Pearcey
Big political news of the day comes via USAToday -- namely, that the GOP "Convention Lifts McCain Over Obama."
This headline may be an understatement, for McCain now leads Obama by 54%-44% among "those most likely to vote," according to the results of a post-convention USAToday/Gallup poll.
Speaking of bounces, MSNBC has bounced "Incendiary Hosts" Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews "From Anchor Seat," reports the New York Times.
Perhaps not unrelated, the political and journalistic landscape has undergone these adjustments since the announcement of Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate Friday, August 29.
In "The Top 10 Ways Sarah Palin Has Shaken Up the Race," Jennifer Rubin takes notice of the Palin impact. Members of the national press may find Shake-Up No. 8 of interest:
Crossposted at Examiner.com.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Big political news of the day comes via USAToday -- namely, that the GOP "Convention Lifts McCain Over Obama."
This headline may be an understatement, for McCain now leads Obama by 54%-44% among "those most likely to vote," according to the results of a post-convention USAToday/Gallup poll.
Speaking of bounces, MSNBC has bounced "Incendiary Hosts" Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews "From Anchor Seat," reports the New York Times.
Perhaps not unrelated, the political and journalistic landscape has undergone these adjustments since the announcement of Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate Friday, August 29.
In "The Top 10 Ways Sarah Palin Has Shaken Up the Race," Jennifer Rubin takes notice of the Palin impact. Members of the national press may find Shake-Up No. 8 of interest:
For the rest of Sarah's Top 10, go here.She has dealt a blow, a big blow, to the credibility of the MSM. We witnessed a MSM feeding frenzy (ranging from spurious allegations about her support for Pat Buchanan to suggestions she was neglecting her family) the likes of which we haven’t seen in a presidential race. Surviving that, she and McCain will not only run against the media (to the delight of the conservative base) but will try to largely ignore them. And to the extent that their credibility has been wounded by a failed and vicious attack on her, the public will be less inclined to pay attention to their pearls of wisdom or to think it odd that Palin doesn’t appear as a guest on Hardball.
Crossposted at Examiner.com.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Rick on Breaking News at Examiner.com
By Rick Pearcey
I've begun posting as a Breaking News Examiner at Examiner.com, which appears in more than 50 metropolitan areas across the United States.
Today's post, the first, is "The Speech Heard Round the World."
Gov. Sarah Palin's RNC address blew the rafters off the roof in St. Paul, but what's the response outside the U.S.A.? This inaugural post takes a look.
Visitors and comments are welcome.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
I've begun posting as a Breaking News Examiner at Examiner.com, which appears in more than 50 metropolitan areas across the United States.
Today's post, the first, is "The Speech Heard Round the World."
Gov. Sarah Palin's RNC address blew the rafters off the roof in St. Paul, but what's the response outside the U.S.A.? This inaugural post takes a look.
Visitors and comments are welcome.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, August 25, 2008
Borrow, Read, Buy: New Amazon Review of Total Truth
By Rick Pearcey
An Amazon reviewer borrows, reads, and plans to buy Total Truth.
He writes:
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
An Amazon reviewer borrows, reads, and plans to buy Total Truth.
He writes:
75 reviews on Amazon here.In a postmodern age of conflicting World-views and relegated religious values, Pearcy's [sic] book hits hard with pinpoint accuracy. A diagnosis of modern thought, the history which led to it, and the schism of ideas that we now accept in the public sphere, Total Truth is not just a deconstruction of modern naturalism, it draws a picture of a completed Christian Worldview. I borrowed this book from a friend, but will soon add it to my library. I highly recommend "Total Truth."
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Unethical Loyalty
By Rick Pearcey
This story about John Edwards and a former campaign aide raises the issue of misplaced loyalty.
Would you lie, nuance, cheat, steal or otherwise enable your compromised boss, candidate, cause, or trusted ministry leader?
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
This story about John Edwards and a former campaign aide raises the issue of misplaced loyalty.
Would you lie, nuance, cheat, steal or otherwise enable your compromised boss, candidate, cause, or trusted ministry leader?
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Friday, August 8, 2008
Tim Carney Honors Bob Novak
By Rick Pearcey
With Bob Novak's decision to retire, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor, Tim Carney is now editor of the "Evans-Novak Political Report" (see this publisher's note regarding ENPR at Human Events).
Both Novak and Carney are journalistic colleagues of mine from my tenure as managing editor of Human Events. ENPR, a sister company with HE in Eagle Publishing, Inc., needed an associate editor, and that became me. Carney came to Human Events as a bright, young reporter, and then later in a separate career move, he began working at ENPR.
In today's Examiner, Carney offers a moving tribute to Novak, "the hardest-working man I have ever known. . . . Privileged to call him my boss for half my (admittedly brief) career, I suffer an incalculable loss as Bob Novak sets down his pen, but millions of his readers are also saddened."
But while Carney suffers loss, some choose a different path, for example, the "Internet’s puerile purveyors of uninformed vitriol celebrate his retirement."
Others enjoy a gain, of sorts: "There is another class of people in this town who -- even if they admire the man -- benefit from the end of Novak’s column: The politicians, lobbyists, bureaucrats and operatives who want to work in peace and quiet, out of the public view."
Yes, says Carney, "this city" has lost something, but "what we’ve lost is not primarily a conservative voice -- Novak was one of many who clearly and consistently articulated the call for limited government and, later in his life, also the protection of the unborn."
What "we've lost primarily" is this:
A word to Tim: One of the best ways to honor your boss is to give the rich, powerful, and infamous of Washington, D.C. -- religious, secular, or undecided -- a reportorial basis to greet the morning news, and each hour of the day, with fear and trembling. No peace, no quiet, for the corrupt and their enablers.
Read Tim Carney's entire column here.
Related
For a discussion on objective reporting and Christian worldview, see "Warren, Murdoch, Porn, and WND."
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
With Bob Novak's decision to retire, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor, Tim Carney is now editor of the "Evans-Novak Political Report" (see this publisher's note regarding ENPR at Human Events).
Both Novak and Carney are journalistic colleagues of mine from my tenure as managing editor of Human Events. ENPR, a sister company with HE in Eagle Publishing, Inc., needed an associate editor, and that became me. Carney came to Human Events as a bright, young reporter, and then later in a separate career move, he began working at ENPR.
In today's Examiner, Carney offers a moving tribute to Novak, "the hardest-working man I have ever known. . . . Privileged to call him my boss for half my (admittedly brief) career, I suffer an incalculable loss as Bob Novak sets down his pen, but millions of his readers are also saddened."
But while Carney suffers loss, some choose a different path, for example, the "Internet’s puerile purveyors of uninformed vitriol celebrate his retirement."
Others enjoy a gain, of sorts: "There is another class of people in this town who -- even if they admire the man -- benefit from the end of Novak’s column: The politicians, lobbyists, bureaucrats and operatives who want to work in peace and quiet, out of the public view."
Yes, says Carney, "this city" has lost something, but "what we’ve lost is not primarily a conservative voice -- Novak was one of many who clearly and consistently articulated the call for limited government and, later in his life, also the protection of the unborn."
What "we've lost primarily" is this:
As a cancer survivor myself, I understand we inhabit a less than perfect world: My hopes and prayers remain with Bob Novak and family for the best possible outcome.A reporter who cast a cynical eye on the best-laid plans of bureaucrats, who took the same level of skepticism to his coverage of both political parties, and who was motivated, above all, by the desire to unearth information that powerful people would prefer remained buried.
To the detriment of the republic, there is now one fewer skeptic calling around Capitol Hill until he gets the real dirt; there is one fewer sleuth -- freed by his spot on the opinion pages from what Novak calls the “deaf-dumb-blind” sort of impartiality that often makes news reporting worthless -- exposing the true machinations in the government. This can be a cause for relief for many powerful people.
A word to Tim: One of the best ways to honor your boss is to give the rich, powerful, and infamous of Washington, D.C. -- religious, secular, or undecided -- a reportorial basis to greet the morning news, and each hour of the day, with fear and trembling. No peace, no quiet, for the corrupt and their enablers.
Read Tim Carney's entire column here.
Related
For a discussion on objective reporting and Christian worldview, see "Warren, Murdoch, Porn, and WND."
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, August 4, 2008
Has Anyone Read Total Truth?
By Rick Pearcey
A potential reader of Total Truth wonders:
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
A potential reader of Total Truth wonders:
Send help here.In a couple of weeks, our adult Sunday School class will begin reading her book Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005).
Has anyone read this book?
Can you discuss its pros and cons?
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Bible Not a "Religious" Book
By Rick Pearcey
Archaeological finds like this help remind people that what is given in the Bible is not "religious" in the contemporary sense of the word, in which "faith" and spirituality are privatized self-medicative theories to help individuals, groups, communities, and movements of various stripes advance agendas, gain power, and otherwise cope in a heartless world and indifferent cosmos.
Instead what we have is information from the Creator regarding the objective world of fact, reason, history, and evidence.
Holistic, Biblical "faith" is primarily a matter of trust, not epistemology. True enough, trusting information that is given by our true Maker helps unlock further knowledge (see the scientific revolution), but it begins with information rooted in the real world.
Thus, what we have in Old and New Testament history are not mere "stories" (as "believers" of atheistic, academic, or pastoral stripe sometimes like to phrase it) but rather accounts of events that occurred in this world.
This kind of concrete truth -- not private experiences created by drugs, "religious" encounters, a rich imagination, or deeply held personal desires -- is what sets people free to navigate as whole but imperfect beings in a broken world.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Archaeological finds like this help remind people that what is given in the Bible is not "religious" in the contemporary sense of the word, in which "faith" and spirituality are privatized self-medicative theories to help individuals, groups, communities, and movements of various stripes advance agendas, gain power, and otherwise cope in a heartless world and indifferent cosmos.
Instead what we have is information from the Creator regarding the objective world of fact, reason, history, and evidence.
Holistic, Biblical "faith" is primarily a matter of trust, not epistemology. True enough, trusting information that is given by our true Maker helps unlock further knowledge (see the scientific revolution), but it begins with information rooted in the real world.
Thus, what we have in Old and New Testament history are not mere "stories" (as "believers" of atheistic, academic, or pastoral stripe sometimes like to phrase it) but rather accounts of events that occurred in this world.
This kind of concrete truth -- not private experiences created by drugs, "religious" encounters, a rich imagination, or deeply held personal desires -- is what sets people free to navigate as whole but imperfect beings in a broken world.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Friday, August 1, 2008
Presidential Elections vs. the Kingdom of God
By Rick Pearcey
A renowned pastor apparently cares little about the 2008 presidential election because such things have "nothing to do with the kingdom of God."
And yet Jesus said, "Love thy neighbor" (Matt. 22: 39).
Now, if you "love thy neighbor," do you not also care somewhat about the neighborhood of thy neighbor? It may therefore be a matter of godly and humane concern who is elected President, not just of the "neighborhood," as it were, but also of the country.
For if the King of the kingdom of God says "love thy neighbor" is important, and this love includes compassion about the real-world impact of concepts, practices, and leaders on the lives of our neighbors, is it not part of the kingdom of God to care somewhat about who is elected President?
Yes it is. This is part of the Total Truth of what it means to be a compassionate human being alive to fellowship with the Creator and newness of life, across the whole of life, in relation to our neighbors.
This is one of many reasons presidential elections matter not just now, but also in eternity.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
A renowned pastor apparently cares little about the 2008 presidential election because such things have "nothing to do with the kingdom of God."
And yet Jesus said, "Love thy neighbor" (Matt. 22: 39).
Now, if you "love thy neighbor," do you not also care somewhat about the neighborhood of thy neighbor? It may therefore be a matter of godly and humane concern who is elected President, not just of the "neighborhood," as it were, but also of the country.
For if the King of the kingdom of God says "love thy neighbor" is important, and this love includes compassion about the real-world impact of concepts, practices, and leaders on the lives of our neighbors, is it not part of the kingdom of God to care somewhat about who is elected President?
Yes it is. This is part of the Total Truth of what it means to be a compassionate human being alive to fellowship with the Creator and newness of life, across the whole of life, in relation to our neighbors.
This is one of many reasons presidential elections matter not just now, but also in eternity.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Congratulations, Rush -- Now Shut Up
By Rick Pearcey
In today's Examiner:
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
In today's Examiner:
Question: Where's the "off switch" for Congress? In the old days of freedom, we had the Constitution. _______________As Rush Limbaugh and his estimated 20 million daily listeners celebrate the talk radio titan’s 20th anniversary on the air, Democratic leaders in Congress are moving to turn his mike off.
Their weapon is restoration of the so-called Fairness Doctrine. Even folks who would rather have a root canal than listen to Rush’s daily pronouncements should hope they don’t succeed. If they do bring back this bureaucratic relic from the days of Harry Truman, it won’t be just Rush’s voice that will be muted, it will be free and open political debate in general that will suffer.
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Bruni-Sarkozy and the Unbearable Lightness of Nudity
By Rick Pearcey
France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy seems to have second thoughts about having "posed for too many nude photos."
Good for her, and yet: How is this possible?
Is she no longer "proud of my body"? What? She wants something special, private, reserved, unknown to others, with her husband?
As if human love between husband and wife is more than the publicly accessible physics and chemistry of firing neurons.
Here's what may be bubbling to the surface: Despite the pronouncements of Darwinian and atheistic theory, human beings in fact are more than flesh, skin surfaces, and matter.
For all the MTV and artsy hype, the reduction of ethics and meaning to the raw power of individual choice diminishes the human being as a person.
Beauty may be skin deep, but privacy isn't. It goes to the heart of the living soul as a personal being who acts out into the external world.
Like an alienated man on a bridge in the dark of night, humanity screams out against the unbearable lightness of materialism and its inhumane orthodoxies, no matter how pleasing they may be to the skin trade or cash register.
Privacy is good. If it survives, we survive as free, humane beings. To be naked in love one must sometimes cover up.
See also
Rolled Model: Tennis Pro Harkleroad "Proud of My Body"
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy seems to have second thoughts about having "posed for too many nude photos."
Good for her, and yet: How is this possible?
Is she no longer "proud of my body"? What? She wants something special, private, reserved, unknown to others, with her husband?
As if human love between husband and wife is more than the publicly accessible physics and chemistry of firing neurons.
Here's what may be bubbling to the surface: Despite the pronouncements of Darwinian and atheistic theory, human beings in fact are more than flesh, skin surfaces, and matter.
For all the MTV and artsy hype, the reduction of ethics and meaning to the raw power of individual choice diminishes the human being as a person.
Beauty may be skin deep, but privacy isn't. It goes to the heart of the living soul as a personal being who acts out into the external world.
Like an alienated man on a bridge in the dark of night, humanity screams out against the unbearable lightness of materialism and its inhumane orthodoxies, no matter how pleasing they may be to the skin trade or cash register.
Privacy is good. If it survives, we survive as free, humane beings. To be naked in love one must sometimes cover up.
See also
Rolled Model: Tennis Pro Harkleroad "Proud of My Body"
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, July 28, 2008
Rick Warren Mesmermized
By Rick Pearcey
The not mesmerized David Bass over at the John Locke Foundation maintains a critical distance vis-a-vis Barack Obama.
While thinking through Bass's point above, free-thinkers and disciples of Jesus (who as human beings ought to be free-thinkers) may also want to consider the following 4 points:
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
The not mesmerized David Bass over at the John Locke Foundation maintains a critical distance vis-a-vis Barack Obama.
Not allowing one's mind and church to be taken over by alien thoughtforms is a good thing. "Sales resistance" in all things, including religion and politics, is helpful in this regard -- and it's profoundly humane and biblical.Obama's attempted coup of the evangelical right is hardly a universal success. He continues to tick off conservative mainstays like James Dobson, who can see past the senator's rock star persona and occasional biblical references to his liberal core. But others are not so wise. Rick Warren, for example.
While thinking through Bass's point above, free-thinkers and disciples of Jesus (who as human beings ought to be free-thinkers) may also want to consider the following 4 points:
More . . .First, be an old grizzled shepherd, not a smiley-faced “believer.” The shepherds of Luke 2 do not put God in a closet and say you can know him but only if you go in there and submit to some kind of privatized epistemological baptism that happens to “people of faith.” Yes, the Bible knows about “believers,” but that’s to emphasize the commitment of the whole person to truth-claims that are accepted on the basis of reasoning and information that make rational and evidential sense in the real world. Shepherds, grizzled or otherwise, do get to smile, but first they see the baby.
Second, develop sales resistance. Christmas is about individuals willing to evaluate things for themselves. There is no need to check your brains at the pasture gate just because of bright lights in the sky, fancy advertising, or manipulated symbols on CNN or in form letters from ghostwriters employed by respected bigshots, religious and otherwise. Question authority, think freely, foil the manipulators, eyeball the materialists, refuse the hypocrites, and take responsibility for your life as a choosing, thinking being made in the image of God.
Third, affirm the whole person. Reject the despair of a splintered secular existence where hope sinks like a lead balloon but we’ll pretend it floats because pleasing feelings attend a current holiday. Christmas is about fact and meaning together because the Savior of the world is a real baby in a real manger who lives a Gospel that touches the same ground we walk on every day. Celebrate the humane unity of life as a complete person liberated from brokenness and bad philosophy. Act coherently and authentically at work, in government, on campus, in church, before the easel, in the lab, and with your family. Embrace humanity in community with our true Creator and then watch love and truth burst out of the secular straight-jacket.
Finally, celebrate the individual. An individual named Jesus came to Bethlehem to live and die for people, not for useful cogs in a cosmic machine that burped a mass of humanity into being by accident. He chose a path leading from Bethlehem manger to Roman cross because, despite our choices to walk away from truth and love, flawed human beings remain magnificent creatures of great worth and significance, having been made in the image of God. The Nativity is about regular people, what Francis Schaeffer called “little people” in “little places,” who join with the Creator to rage against the machine, death, sin, and decay. The love of a parent for a child, of a living God for human creatures with particular names and life stories that matter, is not a cruel joke foisted off on us by our genes. Nor is this love of God and man to be disrespected or steamrolled to the ground by the demands of big government, big business, or big ministry. With God we revolt against any who would deify themselves or their groups to transfigure creatures of such great worth into enablers, minions, pawns, and alter egos for the rich, powerful, and hard-chargers of this world.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Setting the Schaeffer Record Straight
By Rick PearceyA reviewer writes:
As an admirer of Francis Schaeffer, one of the saddest things I have witnessed during the last few years is the attempts by both his own son and by other detractors to impugn his integrity or, at least, to redefine him as something he was not. Reading son Frank Schaeffer’s memoir, both father and mother are portrayed negatively, Francis as a reclusive, depressed, sometimes suicidal man and Edith as a perfectionist nut. Well, perhaps the title says it all -- Crazy for God. This book by biographer Colin Duriez, Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life, should set the record straight.More . . .
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
More on Benny Hinn's "Offshore Miracle"
By Rick Pearcey
A thinking pastor questions Benny Hinn.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
A thinking pastor questions Benny Hinn.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Friday, July 18, 2008
Another Alternative to Girl Scouts
By Rick Pearcey
A reader recommends High Adventure Treks (HATS) for Dads and Daughters as another alternative to the Girl Scouts.
Here's a May 13, 2008, story from "Neighbors Go" of the Dallas Morning News.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
A reader recommends High Adventure Treks (HATS) for Dads and Daughters as another alternative to the Girl Scouts.
Here's a May 13, 2008, story from "Neighbors Go" of the Dallas Morning News.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Thursday, July 17, 2008
"Culture War Is Lost Unless . . ."
By Rick Pearcey
Seth Elliott of IHS has a word for delusional culture warriors lacking credibility:
* Dembski Questions Famed Healing Ministry
* What Is a Plagiarist?
* O'Reilly, Letterman, and the Culture War
* Francis Schaeffer: A Student's Appreciation of a Distinct Approach
* I'll Take Sartre
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Seth Elliott of IHS has a word for delusional culture warriors lacking credibility:
The culture war is lost unless people begin to trust Christians more than secularists, atheists, communists, and radical liberals. To gain this social trust, I propose that Christians everywhere submit themselves to the Christian Credibility Creed.
Read the specifics of Mr. Elliott's Credibility Creed here. Do you agree with him -- in general, in particular?
Related articles:* Dembski Questions Famed Healing Ministry
* What Is a Plagiarist?
* O'Reilly, Letterman, and the Culture War
* Francis Schaeffer: A Student's Appreciation of a Distinct Approach
* I'll Take Sartre
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
AC Milan: Official Ronaldinho Announcement
By Rick Pearcey
Italian soccer giant AC Milan has signed Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho to a 3-year contract. Here's the official announcement from the AC Milan website:
Italian soccer giant AC Milan has signed Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho to a 3-year contract. Here's the official announcement from the AC Milan website:
RONALDINHO: AC MILAN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
7/15/2008 -- AC Milan and FC Barcelona have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ronaldinho to the Rossoneri's club. Tomorrow the player will be in Milan for the medical and to sign the contract which will tie him to Milan until June 30th 2011.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Billions and Billions Insulted: Press Conference to Question McDonald's
By Rick Pearcey
As the press release below indicates, announcing an event to occur tomorrow morning, the movement to question McDonald’s and its embrace of the homosexual agenda continues to build.
Chicago, Illinois – On Wednesday, July 16, at 10:00 a.m., Liberty Counsel will participate in a joint press conference with the American Family Association (AFA), Americans for Truth and the Illinois Family Institute in front of the McDonald's restaurant across from McDonald's' corporate headquarters in Oakbrook, IL. Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel, will address the media.
Recently, the McDonald's Corporation contributed thousands of dollars and joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a radical homosexual activist organization that pushes the homosexual agenda, including calling for legalization of so-called "same-sex marriage." In so doing, McDonald's has publicly sided in the ongoing culture war against the majority of Americans who hold traditional family values. For this reason, AFA called for the boycott against McDonald's.
"Unfortunately, McDonald's has chosen to side with militant homosexual activists over people with traditional values," said Matt Barber. "The company has further escalated the controversy by lodging a personal attack against the tens of millions of Americans who support traditional sexual morality and legitimate marriage. While referring to Christians and other people with traditional values, McDonald's spokesman Bill Whitman arrogantly told the Washington Post that, 'Hatred has no place in our culture,' thereby suggesting that people who support the historical definition of marriage are simply motivated by 'hate.' This insult is highly offensive, and anyone who supports traditional marriage should boycott McDonald's and tell the company why they’re doing so."
Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented, "McDonald's should focus on food quality and safety issues instead of attacking the values held by the majority of people worldwide. Marriage between a man and a woman is the norm throughout the world. McDonald's' personal attack against those who support the traditional definition of marriage, while siding with a narrow group that promotes a radical redefinition, shows that company executives are out to lunch. McDonald's might as well change their signs to read 'billions and billions insulted.'"
For more information, contact Liberty Counsel public relations at 1-800-671-1776.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
As the press release below indicates, announcing an event to occur tomorrow morning, the movement to question McDonald’s and its embrace of the homosexual agenda continues to build.
Press Release
July 15, 2008
Liberty Counsel to Hold Joint Press Conference
to Address McDonald’s Anti-Christian Attacks
Recently, the McDonald's Corporation contributed thousands of dollars and joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a radical homosexual activist organization that pushes the homosexual agenda, including calling for legalization of so-called "same-sex marriage." In so doing, McDonald's has publicly sided in the ongoing culture war against the majority of Americans who hold traditional family values. For this reason, AFA called for the boycott against McDonald's.
"Unfortunately, McDonald's has chosen to side with militant homosexual activists over people with traditional values," said Matt Barber. "The company has further escalated the controversy by lodging a personal attack against the tens of millions of Americans who support traditional sexual morality and legitimate marriage. While referring to Christians and other people with traditional values, McDonald's spokesman Bill Whitman arrogantly told the Washington Post that, 'Hatred has no place in our culture,' thereby suggesting that people who support the historical definition of marriage are simply motivated by 'hate.' This insult is highly offensive, and anyone who supports traditional marriage should boycott McDonald's and tell the company why they’re doing so."
Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented, "McDonald's should focus on food quality and safety issues instead of attacking the values held by the majority of people worldwide. Marriage between a man and a woman is the norm throughout the world. McDonald's' personal attack against those who support the traditional definition of marriage, while siding with a narrow group that promotes a radical redefinition, shows that company executives are out to lunch. McDonald's might as well change their signs to read 'billions and billions insulted.'"
For more information, contact Liberty Counsel public relations at 1-800-671-1776.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Unholy Matrimony -- Massachusetts Leads the Way, the Wrong Way
By Rick Pearcey
Coffee With Curt percolates with excitement over how Massachusetts continues to lead the way in advancing regressive, monosexed "unholy matrimony," to quote an email from one of our favorite Revs.
"This is nothing new," says Pastor Curt. "Massachusetts has been trying to lead the way in liberal, anti-family legislation for years. Even the (very, very few) Republican legislators have tended to go along with this trend. After all, they wouldn't want to bruise anybody's ego, or infringe upon anybody's 'rights' -- unless those anybodies happen to be Christians."
But don't blame this retrograde "leadership" only on the politicians, cautions the Coffeeman. "The church is supposed to provide a moral compass for the society. Yet, the church's position of moral leadership has been compromised by liberalism, Biblical illiteracy, scandal after scandal, and timidity (read that 'fear'). Many churches today have no moral compass themselves."
More here for a needed change in direction.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Coffee With Curt percolates with excitement over how Massachusetts continues to lead the way in advancing regressive, monosexed "unholy matrimony," to quote an email from one of our favorite Revs.
"This is nothing new," says Pastor Curt. "Massachusetts has been trying to lead the way in liberal, anti-family legislation for years. Even the (very, very few) Republican legislators have tended to go along with this trend. After all, they wouldn't want to bruise anybody's ego, or infringe upon anybody's 'rights' -- unless those anybodies happen to be Christians."
But don't blame this retrograde "leadership" only on the politicians, cautions the Coffeeman. "The church is supposed to provide a moral compass for the society. Yet, the church's position of moral leadership has been compromised by liberalism, Biblical illiteracy, scandal after scandal, and timidity (read that 'fear'). Many churches today have no moral compass themselves."
More here for a needed change in direction.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, July 14, 2008
Dembski Questions Famed Healing Ministry
By Rick Pearcey
William A. Dembski of Intelligent Design fame questions the healing ministry of Todd Bentley down in Lakeland, Fla.
Such questioning is legitimate, Biblical, humane, and necessary. Humaness, worldview, and discipleship are cut from the single cloth of truth.
We await a reply to Dembski's question: "Faith and Healing -- Where's the Evidence?"
Meanwhile, one way to test the validity of an organization is to examine its methods. Not just the PR methods evidenced on websites with glossy pictures, wondrous bios, and a Herculean list of accomplishments and books, columns, etc., "by" the latest version of "renegade-turned-modern-day-St. Paul."
No, sadly, not the methods on display for public view, but the ones kept "in the basement," as it were. That's where, so often, in the dark, the real work is done.
In this regard, and in liberating contrast, the Lord's work is meant to be done the Lord's way, across the board, and with application to the nuts and bolts of organizations put forward as "Christian ministries."
This was a central concern of Francis Schaeffer, as seen in chapter 13 of the beloved True Spirituality. It is also the concern of chapter 13 of Nancy Pearcey's book Total Truth. The Lord's work is meant to be done in the light.
To follow truth is to embrace beauty. To fake it, "nuance" it, and spin it for "the sake of the Gospel" (i.e., fundraising, etc.) is to demean people and take the Lord's name in vain.
Dances with deception set forth in the service of Celebriantity and its hard-charging gods are a disaster, no matter how much noise is made about "worldview" or "reforming manners," no matter how much access to Big Media or the White House is gained, and so on.
You know the song and dance. It's underlined in hundreds of thousands of "Dear Friend" appeal letters strategically underlined in blue and signed by machines. One might be tempted to conclude that some evangelical marketers think Christians are idiots waiting to be led around by their noses.
"Test everything," says the real Apostle Paul (1 Thess. 5:21). "Testing everything" is key to embracing love and avoiding the cruelty and ugliness of a truncated Christianity and inhumane "ministry."
One more thing: If this isn't fixed, it matters little who wins the election. Politics follows culture. Methods matter. It's a warning and a promise.
* Update: See discussion at Dembski's site, here. "Dembski Questions Famed Healing Ministry" is referenced at response No. 44.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
William A. Dembski of Intelligent Design fame questions the healing ministry of Todd Bentley down in Lakeland, Fla.
Such questioning is legitimate, Biblical, humane, and necessary. Humaness, worldview, and discipleship are cut from the single cloth of truth.
We await a reply to Dembski's question: "Faith and Healing -- Where's the Evidence?"
Meanwhile, one way to test the validity of an organization is to examine its methods. Not just the PR methods evidenced on websites with glossy pictures, wondrous bios, and a Herculean list of accomplishments and books, columns, etc., "by" the latest version of "renegade-turned-modern-day-St. Paul."
No, sadly, not the methods on display for public view, but the ones kept "in the basement," as it were. That's where, so often, in the dark, the real work is done.
In this regard, and in liberating contrast, the Lord's work is meant to be done the Lord's way, across the board, and with application to the nuts and bolts of organizations put forward as "Christian ministries."
This was a central concern of Francis Schaeffer, as seen in chapter 13 of the beloved True Spirituality. It is also the concern of chapter 13 of Nancy Pearcey's book Total Truth. The Lord's work is meant to be done in the light.
To follow truth is to embrace beauty. To fake it, "nuance" it, and spin it for "the sake of the Gospel" (i.e., fundraising, etc.) is to demean people and take the Lord's name in vain.
Dances with deception set forth in the service of Celebriantity and its hard-charging gods are a disaster, no matter how much noise is made about "worldview" or "reforming manners," no matter how much access to Big Media or the White House is gained, and so on.
You know the song and dance. It's underlined in hundreds of thousands of "Dear Friend" appeal letters strategically underlined in blue and signed by machines. One might be tempted to conclude that some evangelical marketers think Christians are idiots waiting to be led around by their noses.
"Test everything," says the real Apostle Paul (1 Thess. 5:21). "Testing everything" is key to embracing love and avoiding the cruelty and ugliness of a truncated Christianity and inhumane "ministry."
One more thing: If this isn't fixed, it matters little who wins the election. Politics follows culture. Methods matter. It's a warning and a promise.
* Update: See discussion at Dembski's site, here. "Dembski Questions Famed Healing Ministry" is referenced at response No. 44.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Friday, July 11, 2008
Question McDonald's
By Rick Pearcey
Question McDonald's.
That's what free-thinking Americans might want to do.
WND reports that McDonald's is now saying "Christian Boycotters 'Hate' Homosexuals."
First, McDonald's attacks family. Now, it attacks Christians. Big Mac is selling Big Bigotry in allowing itself to be coopted by an anti-family, anti-Christian agenda.
And if you question the wisdom of this corporate empire's new scheme, why, you're a hater. In fact, how dare you question the establishment, the worldwide Pink System!
This is yet another reason a free-thinking people may decide to spend their petro-dollars driving to a friendlier restaurant.
Perhaps a restaurant not at war with family or with the founding worldview of U.S. society.
Perhaps a restaurant where it's safe to question, to think, and demand reasonable answers -- without being slammed by a corporate giant as some kind of "hater." Please.
Another reason not to waste an ounce of gas driving to McDonald's.
Pro-homosexual fanatics may think everything is going according to plan, but something tells me McDonald's might regret its new line of attack. McDonald's may regret adding attacks on Christianity to its attack on family.
What's especially amazing is that McDonald's likes to hype itself as "socially responsible." Well, a thousand plaques on the wall are meaningless if you deny family, deny freedom of thought, deny the Creator's norms for life, and seek to cloak your denial in so-called "diversity."
If it's still OK at question authority, test everything, and think freely (as is our birthright as human beings created in the image of God) consider: Are these attacks really "socially responsible" -- or are they just good old secular fanaticism draped in focus-group-tested marketing language?
Is McDonald's really being "socially responsible"? Or are we witnessing pink fanaticism fueled by pink Kool-aid?
Something to think about.
But not at McDonald's.
It's hard to think when a "socially responsible" someone is yelling at you for not drinking their Kool-aid.
See also:
* No McDonald's Today
* WND's Farah Blasts Pro-Homosexual McDonald's, Joins Call for Boycott
* Reader Responds to "No McDonald's Today"
* National Radio: Rick Pearcey Discusses McDonald's Homosexual Alliance
* "Faggot" Easy to Defend: Surprising Help From Secular America
* Rosie O'Donnell's Oppressive Coat
* O'Reilly, Letterman, and the Culture War
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Question McDonald's.
That's what free-thinking Americans might want to do.
WND reports that McDonald's is now saying "Christian Boycotters 'Hate' Homosexuals."
First, McDonald's attacks family. Now, it attacks Christians. Big Mac is selling Big Bigotry in allowing itself to be coopted by an anti-family, anti-Christian agenda.
And if you question the wisdom of this corporate empire's new scheme, why, you're a hater. In fact, how dare you question the establishment, the worldwide Pink System!
This is yet another reason a free-thinking people may decide to spend their petro-dollars driving to a friendlier restaurant.
Perhaps a restaurant not at war with family or with the founding worldview of U.S. society.
Perhaps a restaurant where it's safe to question, to think, and demand reasonable answers -- without being slammed by a corporate giant as some kind of "hater." Please.
Another reason not to waste an ounce of gas driving to McDonald's.
Pro-homosexual fanatics may think everything is going according to plan, but something tells me McDonald's might regret its new line of attack. McDonald's may regret adding attacks on Christianity to its attack on family.
What's especially amazing is that McDonald's likes to hype itself as "socially responsible." Well, a thousand plaques on the wall are meaningless if you deny family, deny freedom of thought, deny the Creator's norms for life, and seek to cloak your denial in so-called "diversity."
If it's still OK at question authority, test everything, and think freely (as is our birthright as human beings created in the image of God) consider: Are these attacks really "socially responsible" -- or are they just good old secular fanaticism draped in focus-group-tested marketing language?
Is McDonald's really being "socially responsible"? Or are we witnessing pink fanaticism fueled by pink Kool-aid?
Something to think about.
But not at McDonald's.
It's hard to think when a "socially responsible" someone is yelling at you for not drinking their Kool-aid.
See also:
* No McDonald's Today
* WND's Farah Blasts Pro-Homosexual McDonald's, Joins Call for Boycott
* Reader Responds to "No McDonald's Today"
* National Radio: Rick Pearcey Discusses McDonald's Homosexual Alliance
* "Faggot" Easy to Defend: Surprising Help From Secular America
* Rosie O'Donnell's Oppressive Coat
* O'Reilly, Letterman, and the Culture War
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Aborcentration Camp: If You Build It, They Will Die
By Rick Pearcey
No humane-thinking human being wants a Planned Parenthood aborcentration camp (aka "clinic") in his or her neighborhood.
Thus protesters have alerted the City of Portland, etc., with salutary results thus far.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
No humane-thinking human being wants a Planned Parenthood aborcentration camp (aka "clinic") in his or her neighborhood.
Thus protesters have alerted the City of Portland, etc., with salutary results thus far.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Honor Killing in Ga. Reveals Weakness of Political Correctness
By Rick Pearcey
There's been an honor killing in Clayton County, Ga., just south of Atlanta. A Pakistani immigrant strangled his daughter to death. She, according to police, was planning to divorce the husband imposed upon her by an arranged marriage.
Rather than examine the link between Islam and parents killing daughters who question arranged marriages, "learned analysts search for clues in South Asian cultural habits and the practices of European royalty," writes Robert Spencer.
"The price of this politically correct refusal to confront the ugly realities of the Islamic link to honor killing will be, quite simply, more honor killings," Spencer warns.
But not in South Asia, in the south of Atlanta.
In university, from Hollywood, on newscasts, and in corporate cultures, Americans are instructed and goaded to embrace secularism, cultural relativism, and "diversity is our strength."
The upshot is not just wasted money, foolish schooling, dumbed-down adults, rootlessness, and social apathy in the face of evil.
People are dying. "These young women are the ulitmate victims of political correctness," Spencer concludes.
Honor killings help reveal the inhumanity and weakness of political correctness.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
There's been an honor killing in Clayton County, Ga., just south of Atlanta. A Pakistani immigrant strangled his daughter to death. She, according to police, was planning to divorce the husband imposed upon her by an arranged marriage.
Rather than examine the link between Islam and parents killing daughters who question arranged marriages, "learned analysts search for clues in South Asian cultural habits and the practices of European royalty," writes Robert Spencer.
"The price of this politically correct refusal to confront the ugly realities of the Islamic link to honor killing will be, quite simply, more honor killings," Spencer warns.
But not in South Asia, in the south of Atlanta.
In university, from Hollywood, on newscasts, and in corporate cultures, Americans are instructed and goaded to embrace secularism, cultural relativism, and "diversity is our strength."
The upshot is not just wasted money, foolish schooling, dumbed-down adults, rootlessness, and social apathy in the face of evil.
People are dying. "These young women are the ulitmate victims of political correctness," Spencer concludes.
Honor killings help reveal the inhumanity and weakness of political correctness.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, July 7, 2008
WND's Farah Blasts Pro-Homosexual McDonald's, Joins Call for Boycott
By Rick Pearcey
Joseph Farah of WND has joined the call to boycott pro-homosexual McDonald's, formerly known as a family restaurant.
The American Family Association announced its boycott of Big Macs last week (July 3).
Judging by their reaction, many homosexual activists flipped into berserk mode in response to "No McDonald's Today," which announced our concerns and was published at Pro-Existence a few months ago (April 4, 2008).
For more on the homosexual reaction to "No McDonald's Today," see Andrew Sullivan, including his links.
See also:
* Reader Responds to "No McDonald's Today"
* National Radio: Rick Pearcey Discusses McDonald's Homosexual Alliance
* Court Watch: Does McDonald's Support This Lesbian Attack on Family?
* "Faggot" Easy to Defend: Surprising Help From Secular America
* Rosie O'Donnell's Oppressive Coat
* O'Reilly, Letterman, and the Culture War
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Joseph Farah of WND has joined the call to boycott pro-homosexual McDonald's, formerly known as a family restaurant.
The American Family Association announced its boycott of Big Macs last week (July 3).
Judging by their reaction, many homosexual activists flipped into berserk mode in response to "No McDonald's Today," which announced our concerns and was published at Pro-Existence a few months ago (April 4, 2008).
For more on the homosexual reaction to "No McDonald's Today," see Andrew Sullivan, including his links.
See also:
* Reader Responds to "No McDonald's Today"
* National Radio: Rick Pearcey Discusses McDonald's Homosexual Alliance
* Court Watch: Does McDonald's Support This Lesbian Attack on Family?
* "Faggot" Easy to Defend: Surprising Help From Secular America
* Rosie O'Donnell's Oppressive Coat
* O'Reilly, Letterman, and the Culture War
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Where Is Nancy Pearcey?
By Rick Pearcey
Julia Duin over at the Washington Times looks at the "world of religion" and wonders "What Happened to the Women?"
"In much of the church," she writes, "there is a whole gender missing."
Among the missing is noted professor, editor, scholar, thinker, musician, best-selling author, wife, and mother Nancy Pearcey.
Thus alerted, I conducted a bit of research and found her, here.
Needless to say, an impressive woman.
You can read more by Julia Duin here.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Julia Duin over at the Washington Times looks at the "world of religion" and wonders "What Happened to the Women?"
"In much of the church," she writes, "there is a whole gender missing."
Among the missing is noted professor, editor, scholar, thinker, musician, best-selling author, wife, and mother Nancy Pearcey.
Thus alerted, I conducted a bit of research and found her, here.
Needless to say, an impressive woman.
You can read more by Julia Duin here.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Thursday, July 3, 2008
McDonald's, Rush, and the Mediterranean
By Rick Pearcey
In addition to the rescue of hostages down in Colombia, here are 3 other reports of good news to consider:
1) The American Family Association is calling for a boycott of pro-homosexual McDonald's, formerly known as a family restaurant. Maybe the AFA and others can help save the fast-food joint, formerly known as a family restaurant, from its politically correct, inhumane, and regressive concept of "social responsibility."
In addition to the rescue of hostages down in Colombia, here are 3 other reports of good news to consider:
1) The American Family Association is calling for a boycott of pro-homosexual McDonald's, formerly known as a family restaurant. Maybe the AFA and others can help save the fast-food joint, formerly known as a family restaurant, from its politically correct, inhumane, and regressive concept of "social responsibility."
2) Rush Limbaugh is to get $38 million a year for the next 8 years, plus a 9-figure signing bonus, according to AP. Rush deserves it, and America needs his voice. PC diversity is a weakness, but true diversity of information that respects the individual's need for critical distance is a strength. Meanwhile, Rush, why only $38 million per year?
3) "Miracle Diet From the Med" tells us about the cancer-fighting benefits of a Mediterranean diet. Yet another alternative that beats McDonald's, bigtime. We at the Pearcey villa have recently enjoyed recipes and insights based on The Mediterranean Diet and The Mediterranean Prescription. Bon appetit!
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, June 30, 2008
White Pastor Acknowledges "Racism"
By Rick Pearcey
A high-test coffee-drinking pastor friend of mine finally acknowledges he's a "racist" and maybe even a Nazi. Apparently it all hinges on whether you're willing to vote for a certain candidate for president.
Thus spake Pastor Curt:
Apparently, in some minds, those regressive days are over. All you need now is a color chart and progressive people to point you in the racially correct direction.
As for King, Curt, and me, we're all racists. Maybe even Nazis. Heil Skin Color!
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
A high-test coffee-drinking pastor friend of mine finally acknowledges he's a "racist" and maybe even a Nazi. Apparently it all hinges on whether you're willing to vote for a certain candidate for president.
Thus spake Pastor Curt:
I heard it yet again this morning from a Barack Obama supporter. He said (on the radio), “I am suspicious of anyone who won’t vote for Barack Obama. He is at best a racist and at worst a Nazi.” So there you have it. I’m a racist (or Nazi). I guess there is no consideration given for viewing candidates on their records and beliefs. Barack Obama is a left-wing liberal. I’m a conservative -- too conservative for the Republican Party. I wouldn’t vote for Barack Obama if he was green, white, yellow or a combination thereof. To call me a racist is pretty stupid. Give me a break -- I grew up in South Providence!Once upon a time in America it was OK to think before you voted. Once upon a time there was a black guy named King who talked about evaluating people on the basis of character, not skin color. But on this new line of thinking perhaps Herr King was a closet Nazi.
Apparently, in some minds, those regressive days are over. All you need now is a color chart and progressive people to point you in the racially correct direction.
As for King, Curt, and me, we're all racists. Maybe even Nazis. Heil Skin Color!
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
What Is a Plagiarist?
By Rick Pearcey
What is a plagiarist?
"First-class intellectual fraud" is how one newspaper describes a now-fired professor.
It seems rather odd, but there really are people who have no compunction about allowing their names to be slapped onto work done by others.
Sometimes it seems the bigger the name, the easier the slap.
It seems rather odd, but there really are people who knowingly and repeatedly allow themselves to be praised for work they did not do. And not just professors at universities.
"I love your commentary!"
"What a magnificent book on Christian worldview!"
"God has really used it."
"Thank you," says the ever-so-humble con artist.
But why the counterfeits? Perhaps money is to be made, reputations to be shaped, images to be projected, downfalls to be rehabilitated, legacies to protected, embarrassment to be covered.
But we can do better. Most people know this intuitively. It's the way we teach our kids: "Honesty is the best policy" and "tell the truth, even if it hurts you."
Some people are on a learning curve. Many simply haven't yet seen through illusion to the darkness and complicity. In certain respects, we've all been there. Sometimes we are not able to see the darkness until we are so far in that it seems almost impossible to escape.
What counts is what we do when we discover the emperor is rather naked indeed. Some turn around and move toward the light. Others move deeper into darkness. This can be a process that takes a moment -- or weeks, months, and years. By it, cultures are won or lost, lives lived fully or in vain.
When you move into the light, you get Reformation and renewal and humanity. When you persist in enablement, you get the status quo, enslaving praise, and mission failure.
Thus we witness intellectually and spiritually fraudulent books, articles, columns, film reviews, book reviews, blogs, blurbs, letters, and sermons.
Colluding in this con are the ghostwriters, who are paid to allow someone else to be credited with work that is not the putative "author's." Allowing someone to take your work and pretend it is theirs is just as much a form of plagiarism as when the other person steals it outright.
What the ghostwriter does is to join the fake "author" in defrauding the public. Both are stealing from the storehouse of the public trust. A contract simply legalizes the immorality and digs the hole of corruption that much deeper.
Thereby millions of unsuspecting people are involved in this deception. Publishers thereby sell more books, organizations thereby raise more funds. With particular callousness, an "author" might even boast of how royalties are donated to this or that ministry.
Should we ever be too important, too "Big," or too busy to tell the truth? Of course not.
We can do better. We can encourage authenticity in our own lives and elevate the individual and his creative gift instead of smashing him or her.
This is part of the high calling of "loving thy neighbor," of practising the truth that there are "no little people" and of doing "the Lord's work the Lord's way," as Francis Schaeffer so often emphasized.
It can be done with one word, a single phone call can get the ball rolling. Mere seconds can help change the culture and reform manners.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
What is a plagiarist?
"First-class intellectual fraud" is how one newspaper describes a now-fired professor.
It seems rather odd, but there really are people who have no compunction about allowing their names to be slapped onto work done by others.
Sometimes it seems the bigger the name, the easier the slap.
It seems rather odd, but there really are people who knowingly and repeatedly allow themselves to be praised for work they did not do. And not just professors at universities.
"I love your commentary!"
"What a magnificent book on Christian worldview!"
"God has really used it."
"Thank you," says the ever-so-humble con artist.
But why the counterfeits? Perhaps money is to be made, reputations to be shaped, images to be projected, downfalls to be rehabilitated, legacies to protected, embarrassment to be covered.
But we can do better. Most people know this intuitively. It's the way we teach our kids: "Honesty is the best policy" and "tell the truth, even if it hurts you."
Some people are on a learning curve. Many simply haven't yet seen through illusion to the darkness and complicity. In certain respects, we've all been there. Sometimes we are not able to see the darkness until we are so far in that it seems almost impossible to escape.
What counts is what we do when we discover the emperor is rather naked indeed. Some turn around and move toward the light. Others move deeper into darkness. This can be a process that takes a moment -- or weeks, months, and years. By it, cultures are won or lost, lives lived fully or in vain.
When you move into the light, you get Reformation and renewal and humanity. When you persist in enablement, you get the status quo, enslaving praise, and mission failure.
Thus we witness intellectually and spiritually fraudulent books, articles, columns, film reviews, book reviews, blogs, blurbs, letters, and sermons.
Colluding in this con are the ghostwriters, who are paid to allow someone else to be credited with work that is not the putative "author's." Allowing someone to take your work and pretend it is theirs is just as much a form of plagiarism as when the other person steals it outright.
What the ghostwriter does is to join the fake "author" in defrauding the public. Both are stealing from the storehouse of the public trust. A contract simply legalizes the immorality and digs the hole of corruption that much deeper.
Thereby millions of unsuspecting people are involved in this deception. Publishers thereby sell more books, organizations thereby raise more funds. With particular callousness, an "author" might even boast of how royalties are donated to this or that ministry.
Should we ever be too important, too "Big," or too busy to tell the truth? Of course not.
We can do better. We can encourage authenticity in our own lives and elevate the individual and his creative gift instead of smashing him or her.
This is part of the high calling of "loving thy neighbor," of practising the truth that there are "no little people" and of doing "the Lord's work the Lord's way," as Francis Schaeffer so often emphasized.
It can be done with one word, a single phone call can get the ball rolling. Mere seconds can help change the culture and reform manners.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, June 23, 2008
"Home" Abortion and the Death of Privacy
By Rick Pearcey
A fact of life today is that the womb is not a safe space for pre-born humanity. It's clearly more dangerous there than in the less-efficient concentration camps that exemplify the recent Dark Ages of liberated, enlightened, post-Christian Europe.
The lack of privacy and protection in that erstwhile sanctified place located inside the body of a mother has been extended to "clinics" and hospitals. Aborcentration camps are well-neigh a global franchise.
Inhumane worldviews do not sleep or rest. They continue to unfold and impose their consequences, even if PR talking points distract and bait the hook with language of high self-esteem.
That, plus the patina of corporate sponsorship, may do the trick. As a test case, you might try knocking on the door of McDonald's, once known as a family-friendly restaurant.
"Safe" and "legal" choices abort the lives of millions red and yellow, black and white. Females are empowered by blood, their babies condemned to their freedom.
Now come reports that women are being offered "home" abortions. Humanistic regress thereby advances the concept of home invasions to new levels in a post-humane culture.
The Hollywood celebrities and paparazzi are right: Privacy is dead.
Related
* Habitat for Inhumanity
* Square Circle Watch: Pro-Life Christians for Obama?
* Abortofascism and Free-Market Homicide
* If Diversity Is King
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
A fact of life today is that the womb is not a safe space for pre-born humanity. It's clearly more dangerous there than in the less-efficient concentration camps that exemplify the recent Dark Ages of liberated, enlightened, post-Christian Europe.
The lack of privacy and protection in that erstwhile sanctified place located inside the body of a mother has been extended to "clinics" and hospitals. Aborcentration camps are well-neigh a global franchise.
Inhumane worldviews do not sleep or rest. They continue to unfold and impose their consequences, even if PR talking points distract and bait the hook with language of high self-esteem.
That, plus the patina of corporate sponsorship, may do the trick. As a test case, you might try knocking on the door of McDonald's, once known as a family-friendly restaurant.
"Safe" and "legal" choices abort the lives of millions red and yellow, black and white. Females are empowered by blood, their babies condemned to their freedom.
Now come reports that women are being offered "home" abortions. Humanistic regress thereby advances the concept of home invasions to new levels in a post-humane culture.
The Hollywood celebrities and paparazzi are right: Privacy is dead.
Related
* Habitat for Inhumanity
* Square Circle Watch: Pro-Life Christians for Obama?
* Abortofascism and Free-Market Homicide
* If Diversity Is King
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Friday, June 20, 2008
Race Horse Named "Total Truth"
By Rick Pearcey
The fun news is there's a race horse named "Total Truth." Someone clearly has stumbled into brilliance.
Well, almost.
Because said horse was discovered to have transgressed the legal limit for steroids and therefore scratched from a $500,000-purse race.
The above-linked June 16 news report makes no mention of home runs, triples, etc.
But there is this: Not long ago, in 2006, Total Truth, "with Ron Pierce at the controls," won a "thrilling victory at the $1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup."
Moral of story: Owners with a horse named "Total Truth" have big horseshoes to fill.
Please mind your race manners. Then run like crazy.
For the inside book on Total Truth, go here.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
The fun news is there's a race horse named "Total Truth." Someone clearly has stumbled into brilliance.
Well, almost.
Because said horse was discovered to have transgressed the legal limit for steroids and therefore scratched from a $500,000-purse race.
The above-linked June 16 news report makes no mention of home runs, triples, etc.
But there is this: Not long ago, in 2006, Total Truth, "with Ron Pierce at the controls," won a "thrilling victory at the $1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup."
Moral of story: Owners with a horse named "Total Truth" have big horseshoes to fill.
Please mind your race manners. Then run like crazy.
For the inside book on Total Truth, go here.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Misplaced "Faith" Kills
By Rick Pearcey
In what appears to have been an avoidable tragedy, "Teen From Faith-Healing Family Refuses Treatment, Dies," according to AP.
In the midst of such a heartbreak, it must be said, with compassion: This outcome was avoidable not just medically, but also in terms of "faith."
For nothing in the information we have from the Creator suggests that living in community with him and each other requires living in alienation from medicine.
Just as the Biblical worldview is a science-starter and not a science-stopper, even so its high view of creation, the natural order of things, and then specifically of individual bodily existence, makes it a medical-science-affirmer and not a medical-science-denier.
Historically, this represents positive change. "Prior to Christianity," a book reviewer writes, "the Greeks and Romans had little or no interest in the poor, the sick and the dying." But a new and improved attitude was introduced into the stream of western culture when "the early Christians, following the example of their master, ministered to the needs of the whole person."
Reactionary attacks on Christians inhibited this progressive and humane effort. "During the first three centuries of the church they could only care for the sick where they found them, as believers were then a persecuted people. Once the persecutions subsided, however, the institutionalisation of health care began in earnest."
Nevertheless, the Biblical data consistently set forth a high view of the whole person and a revolt against the "plague," as it were. So while we are deeply thankful, we are not surprised by the emergence of a more humane approach in the care of people, such as when the "first ecumenical council at Nicea in 325 directed bishops to establish hospices in every city that had a cathedral."
Likewise fitting is that we see the construction of the "first hospital" in Caesarea, built in 369 "by St. Basil." With more to come: "By the Middle Ages, hospitals covered all of Europe and even beyond. In fact, 'Christian hospitals were the world’s first voluntary charitable institutions.'"
"Faith" means trust. It is not an end in and of itself. The proper object of one's trust should be truth, lest we fall blindly into a ditch.
The truth is: Both prayer (asking God to intervene) and medicine (asking God's servants to intervene) operate in the same, unified created order, without tension, without contradiction. It's a wholistic, humane response to death, disease, and decay.
Dr. Luke the physician, author of the Gospel of Luke, would have pleaded to see and help cure this unfortunate teen. He would do his part in fighting the plague.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
In what appears to have been an avoidable tragedy, "Teen From Faith-Healing Family Refuses Treatment, Dies," according to AP.
In the midst of such a heartbreak, it must be said, with compassion: This outcome was avoidable not just medically, but also in terms of "faith."
For nothing in the information we have from the Creator suggests that living in community with him and each other requires living in alienation from medicine.
Just as the Biblical worldview is a science-starter and not a science-stopper, even so its high view of creation, the natural order of things, and then specifically of individual bodily existence, makes it a medical-science-affirmer and not a medical-science-denier.
Historically, this represents positive change. "Prior to Christianity," a book reviewer writes, "the Greeks and Romans had little or no interest in the poor, the sick and the dying." But a new and improved attitude was introduced into the stream of western culture when "the early Christians, following the example of their master, ministered to the needs of the whole person."
Reactionary attacks on Christians inhibited this progressive and humane effort. "During the first three centuries of the church they could only care for the sick where they found them, as believers were then a persecuted people. Once the persecutions subsided, however, the institutionalisation of health care began in earnest."
Nevertheless, the Biblical data consistently set forth a high view of the whole person and a revolt against the "plague," as it were. So while we are deeply thankful, we are not surprised by the emergence of a more humane approach in the care of people, such as when the "first ecumenical council at Nicea in 325 directed bishops to establish hospices in every city that had a cathedral."
Likewise fitting is that we see the construction of the "first hospital" in Caesarea, built in 369 "by St. Basil." With more to come: "By the Middle Ages, hospitals covered all of Europe and even beyond. In fact, 'Christian hospitals were the world’s first voluntary charitable institutions.'"
"Faith" means trust. It is not an end in and of itself. The proper object of one's trust should be truth, lest we fall blindly into a ditch.
The truth is: Both prayer (asking God to intervene) and medicine (asking God's servants to intervene) operate in the same, unified created order, without tension, without contradiction. It's a wholistic, humane response to death, disease, and decay.
Dr. Luke the physician, author of the Gospel of Luke, would have pleaded to see and help cure this unfortunate teen. He would do his part in fighting the plague.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Ghostwriter Causes Columnist to Resign
By Rick Pearcey
In an email titled "Ghostwriter Causes Newspaper Columnist to Resign," an alert reader sent us this amazing story of publishing malpractice:
We do not knowingly publish or link to work in which the putative author has lied, cheated, or stolen to get his or her name on an article or book. Would that a similar principle affirming authorial integrity would apply to those (staff, free-lancers, "ministry partners," etc.) who enable this sort of regrettable, disrespectful, and regressive behavior.
And by the way, having a contract legalizing this unethical practice does not make it right. Rather, it just deepens the hypocrisy and furthers the corruption. Remember what your parents told you: Two wrongs don't make a right.
We are aware, of course, that this sort of deception happens outside of Christian circles, among the "pagans," as it were. We are also aware, from personal observation and via news reports, that this malpractice, unhappily, also occurs inside Christian circles. By this means, if unrebuffed or winked at, sin is introduced into one's methods of doing business. "Ministries" may be "blessed" as a result, but you may want to examine the source of the "blessing."
Faked blurbs, ghostwritten columns (and radio commentary), and pretend authorial masterworks are part of a spiritual dynamic decidedly unbiblical, inhumane, and ineffective. Not doing the Lord's work in the Lord's way in the area of publishing may help raise millions and create an empire for a "respected" Christian celebrity. But the Lord's name is taken in vain, and a watching world knowingly laughs and easily reduces Christian activism to just another play for power.
Want an example of a strategic spiritual blunder in the culture war? This is it. By no means is it alone among our challenges or the end of the world per se -- but it does indicate that the opportunity for a "Reformation of Manners" in Christian circles is rich indeed.
If the name of your favorite Christian "author" or "columnist" does not appear on the pages of The Pearcey Report or Pro-Existence, it may be part of our humble effort to show respect for work well done by real people, work that does not defraud readers and misdirect their time, money, and energies. Getting a momentary buzz because a "Big Name" "weighed in" doesn't cut it.
"Real work by real people" seems a sound principle flowing from a high view of truth, a respect for the individual, and a heartfelt desire to live with a measure of intellectual and creative integrity, and honest community, before and with the living Creator.
Related
Plagiarism: Pretend People, Fake Work
Oxford, Cambridge, Plagiarism, and Christian Worldview
I'll Take Sartre
Human Identity, Biblical Worldview, Creativity, and the Meaning of Work
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
In an email titled "Ghostwriter Causes Newspaper Columnist to Resign," an alert reader sent us this amazing story of publishing malpractice:
Simple honesty, not to mention respect for our readers, is one of the reasons The Pearcey Report and Pro-Existence are "Ghostwriting-Free Zones."Well-known San Antonio Express-News music writer and columnist Ramiro Burr, facing allegations that he hired a ghostwriter to produce more than 100 stories and columns since 2001, tendered his resignation Tuesday afternoon as the newspaper’s investigation into this and other violations of the newspaper’s ethics policies by Burr was drawing to a conclusion. Burr, 52, covered the local and international music scene for the past 25 years. He worked for the San Antonio Light from 1983 until the Light folded in 1993 and has been with the Express-News since. He is also a local correspondent for Billboard magazine and in 1999 wrote a book, the Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music.
“Ramiro caused the Express-News to unknowingly publish work under his name that was not, in fact, his own work,” said Robert Rivard, editor of the Express-News.
“It was the work of at least one other writer who did not receive credit and who we did not know about. Ramiro decided on his own to resign just as our investigation was concluding and we were preparing to take appropriate action. We have a zero-tolerance policy whenever someone on our staff presents work as their own that is not their own.” . . .
We do not knowingly publish or link to work in which the putative author has lied, cheated, or stolen to get his or her name on an article or book. Would that a similar principle affirming authorial integrity would apply to those (staff, free-lancers, "ministry partners," etc.) who enable this sort of regrettable, disrespectful, and regressive behavior.
And by the way, having a contract legalizing this unethical practice does not make it right. Rather, it just deepens the hypocrisy and furthers the corruption. Remember what your parents told you: Two wrongs don't make a right.
We are aware, of course, that this sort of deception happens outside of Christian circles, among the "pagans," as it were. We are also aware, from personal observation and via news reports, that this malpractice, unhappily, also occurs inside Christian circles. By this means, if unrebuffed or winked at, sin is introduced into one's methods of doing business. "Ministries" may be "blessed" as a result, but you may want to examine the source of the "blessing."
Faked blurbs, ghostwritten columns (and radio commentary), and pretend authorial masterworks are part of a spiritual dynamic decidedly unbiblical, inhumane, and ineffective. Not doing the Lord's work in the Lord's way in the area of publishing may help raise millions and create an empire for a "respected" Christian celebrity. But the Lord's name is taken in vain, and a watching world knowingly laughs and easily reduces Christian activism to just another play for power.
Want an example of a strategic spiritual blunder in the culture war? This is it. By no means is it alone among our challenges or the end of the world per se -- but it does indicate that the opportunity for a "Reformation of Manners" in Christian circles is rich indeed.
If the name of your favorite Christian "author" or "columnist" does not appear on the pages of The Pearcey Report or Pro-Existence, it may be part of our humble effort to show respect for work well done by real people, work that does not defraud readers and misdirect their time, money, and energies. Getting a momentary buzz because a "Big Name" "weighed in" doesn't cut it.
"Real work by real people" seems a sound principle flowing from a high view of truth, a respect for the individual, and a heartfelt desire to live with a measure of intellectual and creative integrity, and honest community, before and with the living Creator.
Related
Plagiarism: Pretend People, Fake Work
Oxford, Cambridge, Plagiarism, and Christian Worldview
I'll Take Sartre
Human Identity, Biblical Worldview, Creativity, and the Meaning of Work
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Steyn Notes Times Coverage of Canada's "Assault on Free Expression"
By Rick Pearcey
Mark Steyn writes today:
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Mark Steyn writes today:
The Canadian state's assault on free expression has never made the front page of the Dominion's leading liberal newspaper, The Toronto Star, nor of The Globe And Mail, nor even of The Vancouver Sun, when last week's show trial was happening right under their noses.Steyn fan and blogger Michael Graham is astonished to read "something nice" about America in the pages of the NYT.
But it is on the front page of today's New York Times.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, June 9, 2008
Pearcey Report Offline
By Rick Pearcey
The world-famous Pearcey Report is currently offline. We hope to be up and running again as soon as possible.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
The world-famous Pearcey Report is currently offline. We hope to be up and running again as soon as possible.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Friday, June 6, 2008
Carol Kelly Dorn -- Portrait Artist
By Rick PearceyArtist Carol Kelly Dorn has launched a new, beautiful website.
Carol and husband Mike and family are long-time friends of the Pearceys.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Rick Pearcey on National Talk Radio Today
By Rick Pearcey
The national talk radio show Point of View, hosted by author Kerby Anderson, has asked to interview me today from 3-4 p.m. Eastern time.
Possible topics for discussion include:
* Habitat for Inhumanity
* Abortofascism and Free-Market Homicide
* Operation Marriage Crisis: Woman "Married" to Berlin Wall 29 Years
Listen online here.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
The national talk radio show Point of View, hosted by author Kerby Anderson, has asked to interview me today from 3-4 p.m. Eastern time.
Possible topics for discussion include:
* Habitat for Inhumanity
* Abortofascism and Free-Market Homicide
* Operation Marriage Crisis: Woman "Married" to Berlin Wall 29 Years
Listen online here.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Friday, May 30, 2008
Operation Marriage Chaos: Woman "Married" to Berlin Wall 29 Years
By Rick Pearcey
A friend alerts us to a woman clearly ahead of her time.
According to the Telegraph, a Mrs. Berliner-Mauer, of Sweden, recently revealed that she "tied the knot" with the famous wall while visiting Berlin in 1979. The blissful creature-to-creature ceremony was conducted "before a handful of guests."
Clearly biased in its reporting, however, the Telegraph castigates the woman as having a "bizarre fetish for inanimate objects." Objectum-Sexuality, to be regressively clinical.
But please: Bizarre?
What's truly bizarre is the newspaper's own embrace of Objectosexophobia. Shame! Shame on all objectosexophobists!
No doubt "wall friendly" New York and California stand ready to grant Frau Berlin Wall renewed status as "member in good standing" of the human race (with the entire U.S. to follow in good order, out of compassionate legal necessity).
And for all you haters out there, just remember this: Love without limits, Matthew 7, diversity is our strength.
Who but the worst of brutes would deny any creature, human, animal, plant, or wall the right to marry, to commune, to couple, to partner, to triangulate?
Operation Marriage Chaos begins.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
A friend alerts us to a woman clearly ahead of her time.
According to the Telegraph, a Mrs. Berliner-Mauer, of Sweden, recently revealed that she "tied the knot" with the famous wall while visiting Berlin in 1979. The blissful creature-to-creature ceremony was conducted "before a handful of guests."
Clearly biased in its reporting, however, the Telegraph castigates the woman as having a "bizarre fetish for inanimate objects." Objectum-Sexuality, to be regressively clinical.
But please: Bizarre?
What's truly bizarre is the newspaper's own embrace of Objectosexophobia. Shame! Shame on all objectosexophobists!
No doubt "wall friendly" New York and California stand ready to grant Frau Berlin Wall renewed status as "member in good standing" of the human race (with the entire U.S. to follow in good order, out of compassionate legal necessity).
And for all you haters out there, just remember this: Love without limits, Matthew 7, diversity is our strength.
Who but the worst of brutes would deny any creature, human, animal, plant, or wall the right to marry, to commune, to couple, to partner, to triangulate?
Operation Marriage Chaos begins.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Pearcey Rocks Darwin's Boat
By Rick Pearcey
Nancy affirms free inquiry, critical thinking, and challenges to dogmatic instruction in Darwin, as noted in this mag's coverage of "Beyond Expelled."
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Nancy affirms free inquiry, critical thinking, and challenges to dogmatic instruction in Darwin, as noted in this mag's coverage of "Beyond Expelled."
See Also
Christianity Is a Science-Starter, Not a Science-Stopper
"Beyond Expelled" Upset in Florida
"Beyond Expelled" -- An Evening With Author-Speaker Nancy Pearcey
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Rolled Model: Tennis Pro Harkleroad "Proud of My Body"
By Rick Pearcey
It's skin-baiting 101 all over again.
This time a 23-year-old female, Ashley Harkleroad, ranked 61 in the world in women's professional tennis but not exactly a house-hold name, will bare all in an upcoming sleaze mag.
Here's the shop-worn, braindead rationale: "I'm proud of my body."
Utter nonsense.
Does "proud" entail public display?
No.
For example, the human heart is a beautiful thing, but if a pretty girl pulls her heart out and shows it to a nice photographer, she's dead.
Even if her mom approves. Or Leno. Or Oprah.
Did you know that many beautiful things, many wonderful things of which one holds in high esteem, can be kept private -- and rightfully, fulfillingly so?
A confidence among best-friends. A loving glance between husband and wife. A good work done in secret so that PR machines and legacy-building do not take over to twist, finesse, and deceive.
Human creativity, too. As Camus said, "There is no true creation without secrecy."
Many, many private things of which we may all be proud and are quite beautiful are nevertheless destroyed when removed from their proper context.
Not just human hearts are destroyed. But we also lose that hidden place, shaped by the Creator, that all humans need if we are to unfold who we are as persons.
But the huckster comes and says, "Be proud. Show me everything!" Cha-ching!
Next!
An individual with no sense of privacy is functionally a nonperson. And that hurts because we are persons -- more than meat plus instincts -- and to destroy all boundaries, all limits, is to attack the center of who we are.
You can be No. 1 in the world and utterly dead inside. You died on the way to the top.
The best things in life aren't just free, they're hidden in secret places where respect is earned, not sold, revealed to the few, not to the many.
* See Also
Dungeon Incest Story Shocks
Rupert Murdoch: Satan or Savior?
Warren, Murdoch, Porn, and WND
Liberal Pundit: Child Porn Should Be Permitted
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
It's skin-baiting 101 all over again.
This time a 23-year-old female, Ashley Harkleroad, ranked 61 in the world in women's professional tennis but not exactly a house-hold name, will bare all in an upcoming sleaze mag.
Here's the shop-worn, braindead rationale: "I'm proud of my body."
Utter nonsense.
Does "proud" entail public display?
No.
For example, the human heart is a beautiful thing, but if a pretty girl pulls her heart out and shows it to a nice photographer, she's dead.
Even if her mom approves. Or Leno. Or Oprah.
Did you know that many beautiful things, many wonderful things of which one holds in high esteem, can be kept private -- and rightfully, fulfillingly so?
A confidence among best-friends. A loving glance between husband and wife. A good work done in secret so that PR machines and legacy-building do not take over to twist, finesse, and deceive.
Human creativity, too. As Camus said, "There is no true creation without secrecy."
Many, many private things of which we may all be proud and are quite beautiful are nevertheless destroyed when removed from their proper context.
Not just human hearts are destroyed. But we also lose that hidden place, shaped by the Creator, that all humans need if we are to unfold who we are as persons.
But the huckster comes and says, "Be proud. Show me everything!" Cha-ching!
Next!
An individual with no sense of privacy is functionally a nonperson. And that hurts because we are persons -- more than meat plus instincts -- and to destroy all boundaries, all limits, is to attack the center of who we are.
You can be No. 1 in the world and utterly dead inside. You died on the way to the top.
The best things in life aren't just free, they're hidden in secret places where respect is earned, not sold, revealed to the few, not to the many.
* See Also
Dungeon Incest Story Shocks
Rupert Murdoch: Satan or Savior?
Warren, Murdoch, Porn, and WND
Liberal Pundit: Child Porn Should Be Permitted
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Monday, May 26, 2008
Habitat for Inhumanity
By Rick Pearcey
This story says so much: Christian Ministry "Habitat for Humanity" Agrees to Work With Abortion Giant Planned Parenthood." The report begins:
Another observer is subtle: "Talk about dealing with the devil."
A 4:09 p.m. search of the Habitat website yields no results for "Planned Parenthood." One wonders -- Where is the press release announcing this intriguing development, this brave partnership, this wondrous event?
While Habitat falls silent, Planned Parenthood unashamedly leads the way forward: The abortion industry giant reportedly is "excited to have Habitat be a part of the Planned Parenthood team."
But enabling abortion -- what journalist and author Peter Hitchens (atheist Christopher's brother) just two days ago calls a "massacre to suit the selfish" -- hardly seems consistent with the humane thought and practice that accompanies the proper application of Christian thoughtforms across the whole of life.
One might also ask, paraphrasing, What does it profit an organization, a volunteer, a "Christian," a "ministry" to build houses for the whole world, but lose its own soul?
Then again, if church-state separationists are correct, transactions such as real estate deals and other acts in the public sphere have nothing to do with the Gospel in the first place. For the secularist and bifurcated "believer," holiness and its attendant humanity stop at the church door.
For an alternative to the problem of an inhumane secularism and its echo in a fragmented spirituality alienated from the concreteness and wholeness of life, consider this.
* Update
Here are the Sarasota City Commission minutes, May 5, 2008. See page 10, item 12. ht: Kevin Bussey
* See Also
Abortofascism and Free-Market Homicide
Fascism Is Back
Square Circle Watch: Pro-Life Christians for Obama?
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
This story says so much: Christian Ministry "Habitat for Humanity" Agrees to Work With Abortion Giant Planned Parenthood." The report begins:
An erstwhile supporter of Habitat explains his disillusionment in "Why I Can No Longer Support Habitat for Humanity."Habitat for Humanity has verbally agreed to an arrangement that would help Planned Parenthood open an abortion facility in Sarasota, Florida. The agreement, which reportedly has not been finalized, would fulfill a city requirement that would allow Planned Parenthood to acquire the occupancy permit it needs to open.
“According to zoning regulations, Planned Parenthood cannot build their abortion facility in the planned location without the presence of a multifamily liner building,” said Jim Sedlak, vice-president of American Life League. “Unfortunately, Planned Parenthood found a creative solution to its problem and is using Habitat for Humanity to achieve its objective. Planned Parenthood plans to sell land to Habitat for $10 so it can meet city requirements.”
The Sarasota City Commission approved a plan on May 5, based on the agreement with Habitat that would allow Planned Parenthood to open their facility. A letter that Planned Parenthood filed with the city before the meeting said, "We are excited to have Habitat be a part of the Planned Parenthood team."
“Habitat for Humanity, which claims to be a Christian ministry, says that this was only a real estate transaction,” said Sedlak. “However, Planned Parenthood could not open its abortion facility without Habitat’s help." . . .
Another observer is subtle: "Talk about dealing with the devil."
A 4:09 p.m. search of the Habitat website yields no results for "Planned Parenthood." One wonders -- Where is the press release announcing this intriguing development, this brave partnership, this wondrous event?
While Habitat falls silent, Planned Parenthood unashamedly leads the way forward: The abortion industry giant reportedly is "excited to have Habitat be a part of the Planned Parenthood team."
But enabling abortion -- what journalist and author Peter Hitchens (atheist Christopher's brother) just two days ago calls a "massacre to suit the selfish" -- hardly seems consistent with the humane thought and practice that accompanies the proper application of Christian thoughtforms across the whole of life.
One might also ask, paraphrasing, What does it profit an organization, a volunteer, a "Christian," a "ministry" to build houses for the whole world, but lose its own soul?
Then again, if church-state separationists are correct, transactions such as real estate deals and other acts in the public sphere have nothing to do with the Gospel in the first place. For the secularist and bifurcated "believer," holiness and its attendant humanity stop at the church door.
For an alternative to the problem of an inhumane secularism and its echo in a fragmented spirituality alienated from the concreteness and wholeness of life, consider this.
* Update
Here are the Sarasota City Commission minutes, May 5, 2008. See page 10, item 12. ht: Kevin Bussey
* See Also
Abortofascism and Free-Market Homicide
Fascism Is Back
Square Circle Watch: Pro-Life Christians for Obama?
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Friday, May 23, 2008
Hannitizing the GOP: Sean's Top 10 Steps to Victory
By Rick Pearcey
Sean Hannity offers the GOP something it lacks: A unified platform for victory in 2008.
Back-sliding Republicans co-opted by the ways of Washington would do well to consider adopting something like this 10-point plan.
But for a strategic solution to what ails the GOP, a 12-step program may be in order.
Thus, to Sean's Top 10, consider adding these 2:
1. Attention to the issues of life, family, and marriage, so that human beings from biological conception onward and their foundational, God-given social institutions are afforded a dignity and respect consonant with science and with inalienable rights endowed upon each individual by the Creator.
2. Renewed commitment to the U.S. Constitution and the Founding worldview, centered on that very Creator affirmed in the Declaration of Independence and set forth in the verifiable data of the Biblical information.
Note: The dream of freedom, shining cities on a hill, and last best hopes for mankind is not just for Republicans or Americans. It is for all people and all times.
America didn't make it; it made America. And it can make any nation, any people, exceptional. American exceptionalism is not exceptionally American.
And America at her best is great insofar as she realizes, and insofar as individual Americans act upon, that dream as an information-rich vision of a liberated humane existence, a vision that springs forth from the Creator, from the mind of God.
To the degree that Ronald Reagan understood and articulated this, to that degree he inspired.
Question: Do Republicans "get it"? Not yet, if you go by GOP House Leader John Boehner's interview with Hannity on radio yesterday.
Here's the interview, from YouTube. Boehner's webpage excerpts are here.
Boehner appears a likeable fellow, but his performance reminds one of an actor sleep-walking through a role. His message is uninspiring, to say the least.
Prediction: If present trends continue, the GOP will be thumped mightily in the House and Senate. Any "Conservatism" worth advancing will remain in exile and fighting a losing battle until it finds its way home via points one and two above. "Conservatism" may be too tame a word for what's needed.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
Sean Hannity offers the GOP something it lacks: A unified platform for victory in 2008.
Back-sliding Republicans co-opted by the ways of Washington would do well to consider adopting something like this 10-point plan.
But for a strategic solution to what ails the GOP, a 12-step program may be in order.
Thus, to Sean's Top 10, consider adding these 2:
1. Attention to the issues of life, family, and marriage, so that human beings from biological conception onward and their foundational, God-given social institutions are afforded a dignity and respect consonant with science and with inalienable rights endowed upon each individual by the Creator.
2. Renewed commitment to the U.S. Constitution and the Founding worldview, centered on that very Creator affirmed in the Declaration of Independence and set forth in the verifiable data of the Biblical information.
Note: The dream of freedom, shining cities on a hill, and last best hopes for mankind is not just for Republicans or Americans. It is for all people and all times.
America didn't make it; it made America. And it can make any nation, any people, exceptional. American exceptionalism is not exceptionally American.
And America at her best is great insofar as she realizes, and insofar as individual Americans act upon, that dream as an information-rich vision of a liberated humane existence, a vision that springs forth from the Creator, from the mind of God.
To the degree that Ronald Reagan understood and articulated this, to that degree he inspired.
Question: Do Republicans "get it"? Not yet, if you go by GOP House Leader John Boehner's interview with Hannity on radio yesterday.
Here's the interview, from YouTube. Boehner's webpage excerpts are here.
Boehner appears a likeable fellow, but his performance reminds one of an actor sleep-walking through a role. His message is uninspiring, to say the least.
Prediction: If present trends continue, the GOP will be thumped mightily in the House and Senate. Any "Conservatism" worth advancing will remain in exile and fighting a losing battle until it finds its way home via points one and two above. "Conservatism" may be too tame a word for what's needed.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (articles).
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