Question & Answers

Last updated on: June 25, 2010 at 5:07 pm By Fred Clark

Suzy Khimm of Mother Jones reads a new study by British economist James Rockey and finds his some of his conclusions "perplexing." Rockey writes: It would seem that the better educated, if anything, are less accurate in how they perceive their ideology. Higher levels of education are associated with being less likely to believe oneself to be right-wing, whilst simultaneously associated with being in favour of increased inequality. This result contrasts with those for income: higher levels of income are... Read more

Well, no, not really

Last updated on: June 23, 2010 at 5:27 pm By Fred Clark

Taegan Goddard reports: President Obama has relieved Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his command over remarks made to Rolling Stone magazine. Well, no, not really. Gen. Stanley McChrystal lost his command because he had lost the map. Those remarks showed that he seemed to think he outranked the democratically elected civilian government it was his job to serve. McChrystal's remarks, and even more so those of his staff, showed that he was openly contemptuous of not just the particular civilians of... Read more

TF: Direct leading

Last updated on: June 22, 2010 at 5:05 am By Fred Clark

Tribulation Force, pp. 236-243 The Tribulation Force gathers in Bruce’s office for their meeting. Bruce announces that he wants everyone “to put on the table everything that was happening in each life.” He goes first, repeating his usual maudlin refrain about “his own sense of inadequacy” and shame, guilt, etc. He also admitted his loneliness and fatigue. “Especially,” he said, “as I think about this pull toward traveling and trying to unite the little pockets of what the Bible calls... Read more

Big shoes

Last updated on: June 21, 2010 at 5:19 pm By Fred Clark

Manute Bol was tall. Taller than that. Whatever it is you picture when you read the word "tall" doesn't quite capture how tall he was. Just look at that picture there to the right. That's not some Iverson-sized guard he's defending there, that's Patrick Ewing. Patrick Ewing is 7-feet tall. Manute Bol was more than a half-foot taller than Patrick Ewing. When people saw Bol for the first time, they stared. It took a moment for their brain to accept... Read more

Neighborhoods

Last updated on: June 18, 2010 at 4:46 pm By Fred Clark

NPR's David Greene had a good piece of reporting on Wednesday from Osh, Kyrgyzstan, on the aftermath of ethnic violence there that has left as many as 200 dead: "Calm Returns, Fear Remains, in Kyrgyzstan's South." This is a place I know little about and a conflict I do not understand, except slightly by analogy, and even then I am not sure by which analogy. The ethnic distinction between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz is not one I would be able... Read more

The wrath of Zeus

Last updated on: June 15, 2010 at 4:54 pm By Fred Clark

Some called it "Touchdown Jesus," or "Big Butter Jesus," or "Quicksand Jesus," but the actual name for the giant statue outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio, was "King of Kings." Whatever one calls it, that glorious piece of Roadside Americana is now gone. The statue was struck by lightning Monday night and burned to the ground. That's right, Jesus burned to the ground. Yet the Cowtown Cowboy still stands — along with hundreds of his kin. What does... Read more

TF: Last supper

Last updated on: June 15, 2010 at 2:11 am By Fred Clark

Tribulation Force, pp. 231 – 235 We're nearing the end of the largest section of this book — the part involving Buck and Rayford agonizing over their respective more-prestigious job offers. Their new jobs place them closer to the center of the action Antichrist-wise, allowing both to witness the global events that Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye want to portray in these books. That narrative convenience accounts for the fact of their respective job offers, but it can't account for... Read more

Sex & Money, part 3

Last updated on: June 11, 2010 at 4:17 pm By Fred Clark

I worked myself into a bind on the question of usury and interest because I was reading the Bible wrong. I was approaching it wrong, asking the wrong questions and therefore coming away with the wrong answers. "What does the rulebook say about this?" I asked. And then, having asked that question in that way, I found that the rulebook offered a set of rules. Those rules seemed clear and strict, and they seemed to forbid the very good work... Read more

Upright Citizens Brigade

Last updated on: June 10, 2010 at 2:50 pm By Fred Clark

Via Grist: http://www.ucbcomedy.com/videos/embed/23691f9f95fce8fca3b49a14619493ae Read more

Four things, three good, three bad

Last updated on: June 9, 2010 at 4:45 am By Fred Clark

This should blow Robert J. Samuelson's mind: Nokia has introduced a cellphone with a bicycle-powered generator. This is pretty cool. I can imagine some upscale Americans buying such a thing in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, but that's not who this is designed for. The new Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit is being released, first, in Kenya. This is a cellphone for the poor. It's designed to meet the needs, and budgets, of people who live where electricity is... Read more