Autumn songs

Last updated on: September 30, 2011 at 6:00 am By Fred Clark

And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song … “All Four Seasons,” Sting “Autumn in New York,” Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong “Autumn Leaves,” Eva Cassidy “Autumn Leaves,” Nat King Cole “Autumn Sweater,” Yo La Tengo “Autumngirlsoup,” Kirsty MacColl “Door Into September,” Jacob Altemus “Four Seasons in One Day,” Crowded House “Four Seasons in One Day,” Mary Chapin Carpenter “The Late September Dogs,” Melissa Etheridge “Leaves on the Sidewalk After the Rain,” Jonathan Richman “Lullaby of the Leaves,” Chet Baker “Moondance,”... Read more

Sept. 30, 1934, Fireside Chat, President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Last updated on: September 30, 2011 at 12:01 am By Fred Clark

To those who say that our expenditures for Public Works and other means for recovery are a waste that we cannot afford, I answer that no country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources. Demoralization caused by vast unemployment is our greatest extravagance. Morally, it is the greatest menace to our social order. Some people try to tell me that we must make up our minds that for the future we shall permanently have millions of unemployed... Read more

Rights for me, but not for thee

Last updated on: September 29, 2011 at 4:04 pm By Fred Clark

So says Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association: My argument all along has been that the purpose of the First Amendment is to protect the free exercise of the Christian religion. Fischer’s interpretation of the no-establishment clause of the First Amendment is that there is no establishment clause in the First Amendment. He believes that “the Christian religion” — that is, real, true Christianity according to his definition of it — is established, privileged and protected in a way... Read more

Postpremillennial politics

Last updated on: September 29, 2011 at 12:42 am By Fred Clark

Sharp-eyed students of American pop-eschatologies may have noticed an inconsistency in the views I’ve attributed to Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann. The previous post cites a couple of examples of Bachmann repeating the sorts of conspiracy theories popular among “Bible prophecy” premillennial dispensationalist fans. Yet in an earlier post — “If Michelle Bachmann doesn’t want to be regarded as having close ties to dominionists then she should stop hiring them” — I noted that her campaign staff includes prominent... Read more

Anti-Antichristianity influences politics

Last updated on: September 28, 2011 at 8:34 pm By Fred Clark

Matthew Avery Sutton argues “Why the Antichrist Matters in Politics” in a New York Times op-ed column. Writing for First Things, someone named Matthew J. Franck is deeply wounded that Sutton, rather than Matthew J. Franck, was invited to write for The New York Times. Franck’s response to Sutton’s column conveys three main points: 1) That Matthew J. Franck thinks very highly of the intellect and scholarship of Matthew J. Franck; 2) That no examples can be found to suggest... Read more

Love in action

Last updated on: December 30, 2011 at 1:40 pm By Fred Clark

It’s not easy to tell the difference between a survey reporting a change in behavior patterns and a survey reflecting the same behavior, but a change in respondents’ willingness to be honest with pollsters. The latter is my guess as to what’s really revealed in the studies cited in Tyler Charles’ Relevant magazine article “(Almost) Everyone’s Doing It” — subtitled “A surprising new study shows Christians are having premarital sex and abortions as much (or more) than non-Christians.” “Surprising” to... Read more

TF: A case of do or die

Last updated on: September 26, 2011 at 5:48 pm By Fred Clark

Tribulation Force, pp. 413-417 We come today to the first kiss between Buck Williams and Chloe Steele. Jerry Jenkins is not a writer I trust to handle such a scene, and the involvement of Buck Williams as one of the parties to this kiss introduces a significant “ick factor,” so I’ve been anticipating this passage with something like the disgust expressed by a young Fred Savage in The Princess Bride — “Do we have to read the kissing parts?” I... Read more

'We know how to get out of this mess'

Last updated on: September 26, 2011 at 1:10 pm By Fred Clark

We have a lot of work to be done, just waiting for people to do it. We have a lot of people without work to do. This really isn’t complicated. Here’s Dean Baker this morning for the Center for Economic Policy and Research: We know how to get out of this mess, we have known how for 70 years. We just need the government to generate demand. That means spending money. Ideally it would spend money on useful things like... Read more

Last week's jobs thread …

Last updated on: September 26, 2011 at 5:00 am By Fred Clark

… only had a handful of comments. Probably a hint that this attempt at longshot-networking isn’t working. So instead of starting another new thread today, let’s try redirecting back to last week’s to see if we can’t drum up a few more responses there. Read more

Sunday favorites

Last updated on: September 25, 2011 at 5:15 am By Fred Clark

Matthew 5:3-9 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of... Read more

Who was the prophet who pronounced doom on Jezebel and Ahab?