Religion of Peace

A British schoolteacher in Sudan is facing deportation for allowing her six-year-old students to name the class teddy bear "Muhammad." Of course, that's better than the 40 lashes she could have had. Meanwhile, street mobs are calling for her execution. I'm just glad Islam is a religion of peace.

Leadership

There's a lot more to leadership than telling other people what to do.

Unsafe at Any Hour

Large swathes of American soil are lawless and ungovernable. This is scandalous, yet we continue to accept it.

No Escape from Mortality

Professional athletes who collect guns out of personal safety concerns are often derided. And it is true that some break the law by not having proper permits, etc. But the murder this week of Redskins star safety Sean Taylor is a sobering reminder that even those with great physical gifts cannot escape their own mortality.

Giving Thanks?

Commercializing Thanksgiving ought to be a crime.

Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation

WHEREAS, It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor;

WHEREAS, Both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

George Washington, October 3, 1789

Dieting

After you turn down doughnuts a couple dozen times, it gets easier. Not.

Big Head

You could tell Pinocchio was lying by the way his nose grew. I wonder if the feds could tell Barry Bonds was lying by the way his head grew.

Rules for Living

No. 499: Replace something before you run out of it.

Atheist Zeal

Atheists spend a lot of time and emotional energy telling us why they don't believe in God, and why we shouldn't either. The zeal of the unconverted, I guess.

Burning Bridges

Don't burn your bridges unless you're willing to get wet.

Don't

If you don't have anything constructive to say, don't.

Chinese Puzzlement

China to the world after it was discovered that the Aqua Dots toy has a chemical found in the "date rape" drug: "Was that wrong?"

Web Haters

The Web is filled with self-important haters. Don't take their comments too seriously. And don't be one of them.

Desperate Writers

Hollywood writers, having trouble keeping body and soul together on $200,000 annual salaries, are on strike. The work stoppage has ground several late-night shows and Desperate Housewives to a halt.

These shows have writers?

Blue Whale Theology

If a person's size were all-important, the Son of God would have come to earth as a blue whale.

God's Plans

Don't get angry when God changes your plans. You belong to him-remember?