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Snow in all 50 States

Even Hawaii???
From the KBTX Weather Blog:

Thursday night snow was falling here in Bryan/College Station, piling up in Dallas/Ft. Worth to what would amount to be 12.5", and spreading east towards other parts of the United States. By Friday night, that same system even put a dusting of snow on the ground in the Florida Panhandle! That got us weather folk wondering, could there have been snow in all 50 states at the same time? After scientists in Hawaii scoured the mountain tops, it seemed as if they were the only state holding out meaning, only 49 of the 50 had snow on the ground.


Until this happened....

A graduate student out of University of Oklahoma named Patrick Marsh confirmed the milestone in his blog with this picture. Two tiny specs of snow atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii on February 13.

Technology Divides

I remember when my eldest child was 2 yrs old and I had to chase her away from the vhs tapes on our shelves.

By the time my youngest came about, now ten yrs old, I had to chase her away from our growing collection of dvds.

I did a double take as I chased my 2 yr old niece around the house yesterday though.  In her hands was the portable dvd PLAYER!

Wow, technology sure is changing fast but those little ones still know what they want.

Even Atheists Know

Take a look at this interview conducted by a Unitarian minister and a hardcore atheist. 

Marilyn Sewell:  The religion you cite in your book is generally the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I’m a liberal Christian, and I don’t take the stories from the scripture literally. I don’t believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example). Do you make an[y] distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?

Christopher Hitchens:  I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.

Which one is the Atheist?  Which one is the Minister?

Marilyn Sewell is the Unitarian Minister and the hardcore athiest is Christopher Hitchens, who wrote God is Not Great.  I think the Bible is very clear about many things, clear enough that an athiest knows.

h/t First Things

Food Police and the Obese

I recently watched John Stossel's program on food police and found it both informative and infuriating.  I'm sure Mr. Stossel would be thrilled to hear that. 

I don't remember the name of the lady guest so I'll just call her Ms. Food Police.  She kept saying she didn't want to restrict our freedoms but didn't think it wrong to dictate where and when goodies should be sold.  Nine out of ten ppl are obese because of life choices and therefore the government has to limit those choices.  To her, limited freedom was just as good as real freedom.   For example, she said that Girl Scouts and clubs shouldn't be able to sell cookies anywhere but in the grocery store.  She also agreed that BMI is just a starter for measuring actually obesity but then is also willing to make statements about the number of obese which are most likely based on general population BMI scores.  I felt she was full of double speak.

There was also a Mr. Food Police, a lawyer advocating for food warnings on fast food was also a featured speaker.  I found his proposal ridiculous, especially in light of the New York experiment.  Mayor Bloomberg ordered calorie information be put on menus to enlighten his fellow citizens as to how bad their eating habits were.  Unfortunately, the ignorant masses continued to eat the large restaurant portions.  Mr. Food Police really got my goat though when he insulted the next guest, Mr. Statitician, for not being a doctor.  How dare he talk about health science yet not have a doctorate!  Wait, isn't that what he is doing?  I hate hypocrites.

Mike Huckabee was also on as a guest since, as governor of Arkasas, he signed a bill authorizing the schools to weigh kids, calculate BMI, and send a letter home to parents with the information.  Mr. Huckabee wasn't that great at defending his policy though.  He stated that the state had an interest in keeping people healthy because it was going to have to pay for any health problems down the road anyway.  Though the statement is true, he didn't elaborate further to distinguish why this justification was okay in this instance, but not for the many times Food Police try to use this reason, money, to take away our freedoms.  Is weighing children an interference?  I would say no for two main reasons.  First, as Mr. Huckabee did note, the schools had traditionally take height and weight measures of the kids anyway.  Second, I would suggest that this is not intereference by the state, it's merely a public service.  The state spends funds telling you to buckle up, watch for ice on bridges, not to litter, and not to shake babies as a public service announcement.  The weight and BMI info is a public service announcement on a personal level.  I would say it only becomes interference from the government when it causes changes in your life.  Now if the school also sends home a letter saying their putting your kid on a special diet or exercise program, then that becomes interference.

Haitian Politics

Previously I had blogged about international complaints concerning the United States' humanitarian efforts in Haiti.  Yesterday, John Bolton hit back hard in an article he wrote for the New York Post.
Read more.

The motto for United States humanitarian relief efforts around the world, most recently in Haiti, should be “damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” However much or little America contributes, someone complains, from those who think we unfairly have to shoulder a disproportionate share of the world’s disaster relief to those who think our response smacks of imperialism.

Fun Friday Favorites

And here it is, another Friday but I still haven't installed a trackback program.  I did look it up and since Blogger doesn't make it easy, I have to add a second comments feature to the program specifically for trackback.  Oh bleh, I really don't want to!

Boots and Sabers:  How far would you go for a pack of cigarettes? Is the recession really that bad?

Clayton Cramer:  How to start the day on a positive note.

FinestKind Clinic and Fish Market:  Twinkies and more Twinkies!

Michelle Malkin:  This is exactly why I read the SOTU speech the next morning.

Hot Air:  A Video on "How to Report the News"

Maggie Farm:  Failing as a Father

Why Women Can't be Mechanics

Why can't women be mechanics you ask? 

Click here for the answer.

It's just the mechanics of it....

h/t Maggie's Farm

Anti-American Sentiment Strong While Helping Haitians

There has been a strong backlash against the US for stepping up and taking the lead for the Haitian aid. Oh, it's not coming from the Haitians, as this Time article reports:

On Monday, the U.S. is sending troops in to help restore order — and far from resenting the intervention, many Haitians are anxious for the American colossus to arrive quickly and to completely take over the running of their country.

Au Contraire!  It's  France and Brazil that are angry about USA's organizational skills, and now Italians that are getting air time complaining about the use of military as humanitarians.  Do a search for "haiti military takeover" and you'll be shocked at the many news references you get.  Ex-Haitian government officials are getting into the act, even as the UN states that military is needed for security escorts.  The French have such an anti-American attitude that their news organizations are using "domination" and "occupation" to describe our organization of aid relief.  It's gotten so bad that President Sarkozy of France had to make a statement against the anti-American blabbermouths.  What's the basis for this argument?

Some French officials had accused the US of sidelining the French effort, including a minister who angrily accused the US of "occupying Haiti" after a French plane carrying a field hospital was turned back from the airport, the Telegraph reports.

Seems the plane was diverted to Dominican Republic. 

The Anchoress has been calling for a strong, public leader for Haitian aid on the US side for a while now. Maybe communication from a front and center international leader could have prevented, or at least nullified this anti-American backlash. 

Haiti Updates

Pastor Harrison has updated his blog, Mercy Journey, with a slew of articles. 

We were taking a brief break drinking water to recoup from the exhausting and draining heat when a nurse ran to call us back to pastoral care duty. She said: "The sitution has turned chaotic and dangerous! Please come and calm them! Some are jumping from the second story building fearful that another tremor might kill them!

He also talks about the Medical Mission Team that's on the ground and gives details you won't find in the nightly news.

A team of helicopters, financed by a generous individual had been and continues to fly in victims of the quake. Port au Prince is some 50 miles distant, across the Haitian Border. I write this morning at 8:30 a.m. from the veranda of a large vacant home, which now houses forty or fifty medical professionals, including the LCMS team. The hospital runs on two shifts, and performs about 40 surgeries per shift. About one third of the procedures have been amputations.

The Anchoress has been following Ed who's been posting from his home in Haiti.

We are using our last gallon of gas in the generator as I type. The UN is still not here. A few Christian doctors are here for a couple of days. Though it has been 8 days since the earthquake, it has all been one looooong… day for us. Thank you so much for the prayers and please keep praying.

Friday Favorites Roundup

Howdy!

I've been thinking of adding a couple of other websites that I enjoy reading to the favorites lists but that would make these round ups very long!

Local politics have been a hoot over in Wisconsin this week over at Boot and Sabers. First, their governor is proposing a statewide health care plan and promising that it will be "entirely self-funded."  I guess their Democratic governor didn't learn a thing from the national health care fiasco.  Second, the Milwaukee School Board comes up with three finalists for the superintendent and they all have terrible resumes.

Clayton Cramer has officially started his teaching career as a Professor of World History. 

The good doctor at FinestKind Clinic and Fish Market has a slew of links to interesting articles published in the UK in respectable papers.   including a reporter, diagnosed with a terrible disease, contemplates suicide but learns to live instead.  The other article is another reporter's personal story, as he announces he's become hetero.  Two articles espousing right-wing ideas in the same week?  What is Great Britain coming to?  If those are too much for you, she has dancing and singing kittens.

Educator Joanne Jacobs highlights the National Council of Teachers of English trying to change the standards of education.  Their idea is that writing should more about self-expression rather than college and career readiness.  Thank you Joanne for keeping us informed of such crap.

Lutherans for Life says they can provide you with a Speaker if you need one for an event.

Michelle Malkin is probably having one of the best weeks in a long while.  Most of the news you're probably heard though the general media so I picked her article about the "The Left's Palinization of the Brown Family".  Now that Mr. Brown is Senator Brown, they're flashing old pictures of his wife in a bathing suit.  Are they ticked that she's sexy?  I just don't get it.

Secondhand Smoke looks internationally as he investigates Scotland's proposed assisted suicide bill.  It would allow non-terminal teenagers to be prescibed suicide drugs plus be administered by non-doctors. 

That's all folks!  I swear I'm gonna install trackbacks somehow.

Charity and Americans

Over at Maggie's Farm, there's an awesome picture graph page of how Americans give to charity.  Sorry, it's extremely large and I can't figure out how to get blogger to let me post it here.  Please do go and take a peak though.

I went to Mint.com, the creators of this "wallstat", and found a treasure trove of information.  They also have links so that I can embed these awesome stats for you to view also.  I'm sure most of y'all wouldn't have clicked the link to see this.


budget planner – Mint.com

Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist:  A good strong German word but I can't seem to remember it's definition.  I can't pronounce it either but that's nothing new to me.  If you click on the link, you'll be able to hear the word also. 

From Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: zeit·geist

Pronunciation: \ˈtsīt-ˌgīst, ˈzīt-\
Function: noun
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: German, from Zeit + Geist spirit
Date: 1835
: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era

Favorites Roundup

Over at Boots and Sabers, Owen is ticked about the new taxes being proposed for banks.

Clayton Cramer's rolling his eyes over people who are depressed that they can't live in Pandora, the imaginary world in Avatar.  He's hasn't been blogging as much because he's preparing to teach a college class.  That's a class I wish they would stream for us to watch too.

The doctor over at FinestKind Clinic and Fish Market shows us how to make different kinds of  Fry Breads.  Is that healthy doctor?

We're all talking about the superintendent of Houston's new proposal to fire teachers based on student performance over at Joanne Jacobs.  The comments are very interesting and worth your while.

Life issues are in the news again and Lutherans for Life have rolled out their newest program for Life Sunday on January 24th this year.  Just last week, I was watching Fox News at my sister's place and saw Lutherans for Life in a clip of an pro-life protest they played.  I sure wish I could be there one day. 

Michelle Malkin learned that the veggies used on the Iron Chef White House Special were all staged.  None of them came from the White House garden.  Veggie-Gate!  *laugh*

Last but not least, we're discussing two big topics over at Secondhand Smoke:  the legal defense of justifiable homocide in the murder of the abortion doc and the health care tax exemptions only unions members.  There's always more than meets the eye and Wesley J.  Smith always puts it in prospective for me. 


 

Helping Haitians

I ask that you help Haitians with your prayers and petitions to God.

You can Fast for Haiti.  Spend the time you would be eating in prayer and donate the cost of your meal to relief efforts.

If you want to help Haitians with your money, I highly recommend Lutheran World Relief.  Okay, I might be a bit biased here but even The Anchoress put us on her list of recommended charities and so did USA Today.  :)  You can also read Pastor Harrison's blog Mercy Journey with all the current updates. 

01-13: LCMS World Relief and Human Care responds in Haiti with emergency funds after devastating earthquake

As news of what is being called the largest earthquake to hit Haiti in more than 200 years reached LCMS World Relief and Human Care (LCMS WR-HC) on Tuesday, the Synod’s mercy arm began preparing to reach out in the Caribbean nation with much needed assistance and working in cooperation with Lutheran partners.

Only hours after getting reports of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, the Synod’s mercy arm announced it was making available funds to meet initial emergency needs. "The unfolding drama in Haiti calls for unlimited mercy on the part of the people of the LCMS. The needs are urgent and overwhelming right now," said Glenn F. Merritt, LCMS WR-HC director of Disaster Response. "I appeal to God's people to respond as generously as possible during this most difficult time."

Early reports indicate extensive property damage and terrible suffering among people trapped in collapsed buildings in an impoverished country already challenged by longtime political strife and poverty. Haiti is widely known as the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

News of the devastation triggered numerous calls and e-mails to LCMS Life and Health Ministries Director Maggie Karner who, even before the earthquake, was preparing to send the first LCMS WR-HC Mercy Medical Team (MMT) to Haiti next month. Ironically, on Monday Karner sent a massive MMT recruitment appeal to LCMS pastors and congregations asking for physicians, pharmacists, and other medical professionals to volunteer for the team that is scheduled to serve in Haiti March 11-21.

"Our preliminary legwork for the first MMT team to Haiti in March will serve us well as we prepare to respond," Karner said Tuesday night. "Perhaps now, because of this tragedy, people will see the desperate need in Haiti and prayerfully consider how they can use their gifts and talents." (To learn more about the MMT trip to Haiti, contact LCMS WR-HC’s Jacob Fiene at 800-248-1930, ext. 1278, or jacob.fiene@lcms.org.)

LCMS WR-HC is working cooperatively with LCMS World Mission, Haitian missionaries, and partner churches to provide relief in a timely fashion. Funds are urgently needed to help Haitians who have lost loved ones and homes.

To share Christ’s mercy with suffering Haitians, make a gift by clicking the Give Now button below, call toll free 888-930-4438, or mail donations marked “Haiti Earthquake Relief” to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, P.O. Box 66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-6861.