*News Theme Song* It’s the return of the Weekend Report! *News Theme Song*

iMonk’s Passing

Since news is usually sad, I’ll begin with the reminder that today is the Memorial Service for our dear friend, Michael Spencer. I am sad and frustrated that I couldn’t make the drive down to Kentucky. Keep a close watch on the Boar’s Head Tavern, where we will certainly be continuing to honor the Internet Monk today.

Chaplain Mike, who’s been keeping InternetMonk.com going over the past few months, has been linking some classic iMonk articles. Read these, and you’ll know why his writing was a big deal to so many of us. Links:

• Wretched Urgency: The Grace of God or Hamsters on a Wheel – This article completely changed my perspective on the church and evangelism. Read it.
• On Christless Preaching – I want to stab myself in the eye with a pencil whenever I hear a self-help sermon.
• Why I Am a Christian (10 Reasons) – A good apologetic for the faith.

This morning, I was looking for an article Michael wrote on Harry Potter, and in searching his site, found one of the times he’d linked me. It’s an articled called “The Night of Weeping,” and it’s closely related to what I wrote yesterday about Theological Pain.

Interesting Links

• I love grammar jokes.
• I feel like I need to write something really profound about the Tiger Woods commercial.
• Best photo caption ever

Top Stories

The Treasury Department wants more power. I can’t even comment on this.

iMonk: What Do Gays and Lesbians Hear? Must reading.

Clinton’s Campaign Record

Sports: No way the Sabres are making the playoffs. And they don’t deserve to.

Top Stories

Dallas Willard is coming for a Conference on Ministry at one of my alma maters (I’ve graduated from too many places…). I very much intend to make the time to go to this conference, on recommendation from iMonk and others.

Ron Paul’s campaign is finally over as of Thursday night. Of course, this should have happened a while ago, but there you are. It will be interesting to see if his ideas pick up steam from here, or die with the man’s defeat in the republican primaries. See editorial below.

Arts and Entertainment

Ani DiFranco – Tricia and I went to see her here in Rochester last weekend. I’m not a huge Ani fan, but she’s really, really talented. She’s got a 1-year-old, and she did a nice set of songs about her baby.

Springsteen – My parents, Tricia and I went to Springsteen and the E. Street Band.  Great show!  Highlights of the night were “Because the Night” and “Working on the Highway”

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – Just bought two tickets for their outdoor concert in Canadaigua this summer.

Books: Big reading week for me. I finished a few books this week:

• J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• McGrath and McGrath: The Dawkins Delusion?
• H.P. Lovecraft: At the Mountains of Madness
• J.R.R. Tolkien: Farmer Giles of Ham

I was also selected to review Andrew Peterson’s forthcoming book, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness during the “blog tour” the publishing company has organized. I got my copy today and read the introductions and the first chapter. This is going to be a tremendous book.

Editorial: I’m not a “Ron Paul Republican…”

…primarily because I’m no longer a Republican. Well, technically I am. But within the next year I’ll be leaving the Republican party. I have to say that, while I understand what Paul is saying – that the current process is unfair to third parties and such – I think he’s dreaming to imagine that the Republican party will change anytime soon. In other words, I think trying to change the GOP from within is the wrong move for Dr. Paul. If he really believes there is a need for third parties to become more prominent, he needs to go third party and take his following with him. I respect what he’s trying to do, but I’m leaving and going for a different party. I don’t think NYS formally recognizes the Libertarian Party, so I’ll probably go independent.

Seriously, the Republican party isn’t going to get the message unless we start leaving in droves. This country is about to be taken over by Democrats for decades to come. I’m serious. Bush’s 8 years has basically created a massive number of young Democrats. If the Republicans aren’t willing to offer a genuinely conservative alternative (the neocons are not doing this at all), then it’s time for conservatives to leave and find a party that will allow us to offer that alternative.

Top Stories

For those of us who have turned 100% against Bush, this is a good balancing piece. I said when he got re-elected in ‘04 that if he was going to have any chance of a positive legacy, it would be in Africa, not Iraq.

But if we could return for a moment to the reality that his legacy will not be a good one, this is really funny.

(HT to BHT for those stories)

Sports

Steve Bernier is an immediate hit in Buffalo, scoring on his first two shots of his first game with the Sabres. Here’s the problem: Buffalo has sent the same message for the last several years – as soon as you get good, we’ll trade you. Seriously, the only way to secure a permanent position in Buffalo is to be mediocre; which is, of course, why they’ve stubbornly held onto Lindy Ruff for so long.

Arts and Entertainment

Dave Archuleta, 17-year-old American Idol competitor, makes Randall Goodgame cry. The kid’s good and all, but I’m not as enthralled by him as the rest of the world seems to be.

Editorial: Scot McKnight and Hermeneutics

If you’re tempted to throw a blanket denunciatory statement on everything “Emerging,” you need to read some Scot McKnight. I read A Community Called Atonement recently, and I highly recommend it. He’s just posted a Hermeneutics quiz, which is quite interesting. I scored as a “progressive” (70), but I’m on the more “moderate” end of the progressive score (which ranges from 66-92). Here’s what it says about how I read the Bible, which is actually pretty accurate, both in its strengths and weaknesses:

The progressive is not always progressive. Those who score 66 or more can be seen as leaning toward the progressive side, but the difference between at 66 and 92 is dramatic. Still, the progressive tends to see the Bible as historically shaped and culturally conditioned, and yet most still consider it the Word of God for today. Following a progressive hermeneutic, for the Word to speak in our day, one must interpret what the Bible said in its day and discern its pattern for revelation in order to apply it to our world. The strength, as with the moderate but even more so, is the challenge to examine what the Bible said in its day, and this means the progressives tend to be historians. But the problems for the progressives are predictable: Will the Bible’s so-called “plain meaning” be given its due and authoritative force to challenge our world? Or will the Bible be swallowed by a quest to find modern analogies that sometimes minimize what the text clearly says?

Take the quiz, put your scores in the comments!

Experiment: Frozen in Grand Central

Hey, Jude

The New Indiana Jones Trailer

Top Stories

Who’s Still Afraid of Osama? Steve Chapman argues that the idea of a terrorist with a nuke is exceedingly unlikely. Eye-opening, and I’d like to hear responses to that one.

The BHT Celebrated its 6th Birthday This Week – It’s been an honor to be a part of it for the last couple of years.

Ron Paul Says No Third Party Run:

Let me tell you my thoughts. With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero. But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining, and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get. But with so many primaries and caucuses now over, we do not now need so big a national campaign staff, and so I am making it leaner and tighter. Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican party, so there will be no third party run. I do not denigrate third parties — just the opposite, and I have long worked to remove the ballot-access restrictions on them. But I am a Republican, and I will remain a Republican.

This was always Paul’s purpose – to ignite a movement, not to win. He was banking the long-shot bid on a brokered convention, and Romney’s leaving ends that hope. He never thought he’d get as far as he has. I’m torn on his decision to not go third party. On the one hand, he’s probably just being realistic: if libertarianism is going to have a powerful influence in the near future, it’ll have to be through a major party. And after all, he’s talking about Republicans used to talk. Still, if he’s committed to seeing third parties do well in America, why not channel this movement’s energy toward a third party effort that couldn’t be ignored?

Paul’s conclusion is a bit cryptic on one point; he says the other reason he’s not running third party is that he wants to maintain his congressional seat and not lose that election because he’s tied up in another effort. Then he says he has other plans to continue this ideological movement “that I will share with you when I can.” Um…can you share with me now? I’m curious…

Arts and Entertainment

Mythopoeic Award Challenge – Can you read seven award-winning sci-fi or fantasy books by the end of the year? I can!

Editorial: Is Obama Really Left of Hillary?

There are positions Obama holds that are really left, and I don’t like them. I’d say I’m scared of his spending plans and government-increasing, but then, I voted for Bush twice…

What surprises me is the common belief that Obama is left of Hillary. I don’t think it’s as simple as who’s “more left.” There are some very clear places in which Barack is actually far more conservative than Hillary, and his health care plan is one of them. I watched the debate between the two a week and a half ago, and I was utterly appalled at the way Hillary talks. We all should be. Because she was talking about mandating health care. Get that? Mandating. You have no choice. You’re too dumb to take care of yourself; let the Nanny State do it. We know what’s best for you. Trust us. Oh, and if you refuse it, we’ll garnish your wages.

Barack, while not offering the free market solution I’d prefer, at least has the respect for individual liberty that says, “Let’s lower health care costs and let people make their own choices.”
Sullivan sums it up nicely:

Tyler Cowen is impressed with the arguments against them made by David Cutler, Obama’s chief healthcare adviser. I’d point out something else about this rare Clinton-Obama policy difference. Obama is the more pragmatic and centrist of the two on this matter. The notion that he is the more liberal of the two is not a very enlightening analysis. In general, they represent different strands of liberalism, and it’s reflected in their campaign rhetoric. Obama tends to emphasize people’s ability to help themselves and their capacity to do so independently of government. Clinton tends to emphasize the neediness of people for government support and help, and she’s much more comfortable with coercive government action.

It’s “Yes, We Can,” vs “I’ll Take Care Of You.”

Top Stories

Speaking Times for the Debate – Um…not fair?

Excellent Anti-Clinton Blogging - If you want a regular dose of rational and funny anti-Clinton blogging, you should be following Andrew Sullivan. Great stuff, and not the typical Republican freak-out, but really intelligent commentary on why this woman cannot be president.

A Visual Map of the Bible – (HT to phantasmagorical)

Sports

It’s NHL All-Star Weekend – Why in the world isn’t NBC putting this game on national TV? Versus? Come on. I thought you were trying to promote the game of hockey.

Two Unbelievable Goals – Nash and Ovechkin. Be amazed. Be very amazed.

Entertainment, Arts and Culture

TMBG! I didn’t realize They Might Be Giants had so many music videos. Every bit as weird as their music, which in their case means genius.

• Ana Ng
• Birdhouse in Your Soul
• Dr. Worm (this one’s my favorite)

Editorial: Pro-Life? Really?

I’m still wrestling with the whole issue of Dr. Paul, though I’m leaning much more towards voting for him as I’ve discovered more about him (his deliberate anti-racism is not something he’s suddenly discovered as a result of the newsletters, but has been part of his candidacy since debates and discussions last year). But that’s not what I want to write about here. This is the story about Christians and the pro-life position. It goes like this: We’re pro-life, unless we’re talking about non-combatants from a different country, and then there’s an exception, because they’re evil.

This pro-life group fails to be swayed towards supporting Dr. Paul despite the fact that “Jane Roe” has endorsed him for President. Why?

“He’s an outstanding man… If he were not such an isolationist, I’d support him,” she said. “A lot of pro–life people here feel the same way.”

Memo to everyone: Dr. Paul is not an isolationist. Now, I could be reading this wrong, but here is what this says to me: we want a pro-life guy who’s going to continue Bush’s foreign policy. This has become a fairly popular position within American evangelicalism, and it’s scary to me. Tell me, how does one truly claim to value life while supporting a foreign policy that results in the deaths of untold civilians? Is it really that easy to just write off the lives of countless people because they happen to be from “those bad countries over there”?

Any insight into this? It’s very troubling to me.

Top Stories

Panopticon? Greece is “the only country in the world in which there are “adequate safeguards” against surveillance abuse.” If Foucault were alive, I think he’d have a lot to say about that.

Errancy The inerrancy discussion/debate is happening again at the Tavern and across the blogosphere as a result. This ranges from fun to appalling every time it gets going. My two modest contributions to this round are here and here. Michael catalogues his posts here.

A Divorce Amendment? Sullivan nails the a problem with the call for a Federal Marriage Amendment. Can I editorialize before the editorial? Is anyone suggesting the the government just get its annoying self out of the marriage question altogether? (Oh yeah…the newsletter guy…)

Entertainment, Arts, and Culture

Kitty Throw – A tremendous amount of mindless fun, and very dangerous for the procrastinator.

Juno: Count me among those who think it’s a great movie (and I’ve ordered the soundtrack).

Editorial: GOP Candidates Pros and Cons

Now that my vote is back “up for grabs,” I’m in the same boat as many other people: forced to weigh significant pros and cons when it comes to candidates. (I agreed with almost the entirety of Paul’s platform, and where I disagreed, I remembered that there was no way he was going to be able to automatically implement much of it anyway). So here are some brief pros and cons lists. I’m throwing Obama in because he’s the only Dem candidate I’d even consider supporting.

Mitt Romney Pros:

• Ross Perot endorsed him. Stop laughing. I’m serious. Obviously, I’m demonstrating a proclivity for non-mainstream candidates. But Perot was a guy who got economic issues right (as we’re now realizing 16 years later), and there’s no way he’d endorse a candidate who would be bad for the economy.
• We’d finally have a Republican candidate with great hair.

Mitt Romney Cons:

• Bush fans like him.
• Interventionist foreign policy; wrong in Iraq, which is a defining issue for me.
• He seems to have only recently discovered a lot of conservative principles.
• I could be wrong, but I’ve got the feeling that Mitt Romney is our John Kerry. From Masachusetts. Flip-flopper. Not enough to excite the Republicans to get out and vote. Although I’ve seen a few clips lately where he’s handled himself really well under pressure, so I could have this one wrong.

Rudy Giuliani Pros:

• Mayoral experiences
• Tax cuts and welfare reform

Rudy Giuliani Cons:

• Foreign policy
• 9/11 – I’m sorry, he screwed that up in so many ways. “I’m sorry…where would you like Central Command to be located, Mr. Mayor? In the place they targeted in 1993? You’re sure…? Erm…OK, you’re the mayor.”
• The way his eyes bug out every time he wants to emphasize a point…which is like 3 times a sentence.

Mike Huckabee Pros:

Mike Huckabee Cons:

• Southern Baptist preacher as president? No, thanks.
• His jokes aren’t funny. I hate his wise-cracks.
• He spoke at Hagee’s church. That’s pretty much an automatic no-vote for me.
• Based on some of the things he’s said this week, he’d kick the First Amendment’s ass.

Ron Paul Pros:

• Almost the entirety of his platform.
• A radical change in politics-as-usual.
• Potential to put libertarianism permanently on the political map.
• The only real small government candidate.

Ron Paul Cons:

• Newslettergate

Fred Thompson Pros:

• He seems to be an actual, consistent conservative (not one who just found out what it means).
• He’s the only other libertarian-leaning candidate.
• He not obsessed with personal political ambition.
• He’s “folksy.”

Fred Thompson Cons:

• He’s pretty much thrown his own campaign away, and this last minute scramble just isn’t enough. It might not earn the “lazy” charge some people say, but I’d like to see at least a bit more motivation from a presidential nominee.

John McCain Pros:

John McCain Cons:

• Mr. Surge
• That fake smile at the close of every single statement he gives in a debate.
• Ross Perot trashed him.
• He’s condescending and annoying.

Barack Obama Pros:

• A genuine change in the tone of American politics.
• He’s not Hillary.
• A black president would be a good thing for this country. Sorry, fellow Republicans. I mean that, and it’s not “racist” to say that.

Barack Obama Cons:

• He’s really, really, really (really, really) left.
• His vote against protecting the lives of late-term babies who survived an abortion procedure is appalling. He was afraid approving of that would set a precedent for the claim that an unborn baby is a person. I’m afraid approving of a born baby who someone meant to kill before it was born sets a precedent for infanticide (you know, because it actually is infanticide).

BREAKING NEWS: New Hampshire GOP Backs out of Fox GOP Forum!

It’s a video report this week.

Ron Paul Supporters and the 12 Corners of Brighton (Rochester, NY…about 5 minutes from my home):

Red State Update on Iowa Caucuses:

Editorial (not a video): Kuyperians, Theonomists, and Covenanters for Paul?

Bill Chellis asks why many Reformed Christians (of the covenanter type) support Paul rather than Huckabee, when Huck clearly talks “Christian nation” talk much more than Paul. He gives some of his own reasons, and I offered this comment:

I think one of the things that makes Paul the more attractive candidate for the Reformed conservative is this: Paul is the only candidate who would promote a governmental system that would allow us to be hobbits in peace. I can’t be a hobbit if Gondor is always in my business. Paul wants to “legalize prostitution” only at the federal level, meaning that if we here in the Shire don’t want it, we make our local laws against it. If we want to smoke our pipeweed here in the Shire, we can; if we don’t, we can make our laws against it. Mordor, Gondor, Rohan – they can all do what they do in their own lands, and if Mordor gets out of control, we can all rise up against it together. But for the most part, leave us alone in the Shire, and let us maintain our local traditions and laws without interference.

Furthermore, the typical micro-reformed Christian is skeptical of Huckabeevangelicals. He’s a poster-boy for everything the circus of American evangelicalism has become. We don’t like what American evangelicalism has done to Christendom, so we don’t like what Huckabee would do for America.

Top Stories

• The last several posts at Andrew Peterson’s blog are live performances of the main Christmas content of his excellent album, Behold the Lamb of God. They’ve been up for awhile, but if you didn’t know that already…now you do, and they’re well worth your time. Pierce Pettis sings “It Came to Pass!”
• N.T. Wright Christmas sermons: God Inside Out, What Is This Word?, Emperors and Angels, Full of Grace and Truth

Arts and Culture

David Sedaris has a great essay called “6 to 8 Black Men,” which tells of his experience of learning how Santa is celebrated in the Netherlands. Someone has taken an audio file of his reading that essay live, split it up into three parts, and put it with footage (which doesn’t really matter…it’s the reading that counts) on YouTube. Here are the links. You will laugh very, very hard:

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

Sports: I won the championship in one fantasy football league, and I’m in the championship game in the other.

Quote of the Week:

Only [Ron] Paul has introduced a bill to legalize unpasteurized milk. Give yourself five minutes and see if you can think of a more countercultural idea than that. Most people assume that the whole reason we have a government is to make sure the milk gets pasteurized. It takes some stones to argue otherwise, especially if nobody’s paying you to do it. (The raw-milk lobby basically consists of about eight goat-cheese enthusiasts in Manhattan, and possibly the Amish.) Paul is pro-choice on pasteurization entirely for reasons of principle. ~ Tucker Carlson

Even in the Christmas edition, I had to get Ron Paul in there somewhere. Actually, after you’ve read the N.T. Wright sermons above, Carlon’s essay is one of the best on Paul yet and well worth your time.

Editorial: Happy Christmas

I’m sure you’re tired of all these self-promoting bloggers. I just wanted to take time away from blogging to tell you, “Happy Christmas.”

(Yes, that was a slam on Huck).