When God's Word causes you to sin

We covered my covetousness over the Calfskin ESV yesterday. Today I just want to point out that this Bible edition is even more drool-worthy. If you have never handled or used a loose leaf bible before, you really have no idea what it means to have a real "note taker's" Bible. Wide margins are nice, I guess, but not hardly beefy enough to take real notes on a perpetual basis. You get one of these bad boys and a ream of acid-free, pre-drilled white 8.5x11 paper, and a set of accounting binders, and you have what I would call the top shelf of self-study Bible tools which does not require electricity.

When mine arrives, I'll do a series of blog posts on how to make your copious-note-taker's bible.




In more serious, real-faith news, my brother John sent me this link, and he has requested prayer for this young lady from his church.

You people remember how to do that, right?

I own ...

... a large-print ESV with 6 years of study notes in it, an ESV Study Bible for which I am lifting weights so I can carry it around, and now I found this Bible, which Boomer in the Pew is giving away from free.

I want it. It's nice.

My new favorite climate change link

Because when you believe in science, you have to believe in all of it.

research for a future post

I'm looking for someone who knows something about the history of law in the west, particularly law in the United States.

QUESTION: when, if ever, was adultery illegal in the US? If you have an answer, link me to relevant supporting data.

It's for a follow-up on the Gay marriage post I did at TeamPyro, and I could use some research help with that question. If you don't have links but do have appropriately-cited PDFs, e-mail me.

real-life superhero

Charles Turk Honored by Cambridge Who’s Who for Excellence in Education Administration cent notes: that's my dad

PHILADELPHIA, PA, February 5, 2009 -- Charles Turk, Retired Teacher, author and Priority Consultant with the College Board, has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in all aspects of education administration.

Mr. Turk has an unprecedented 41 years of professional experience in the education field. Prior to retiring from his teaching post, he specialized in teaching students in grades nine through 12. He proudly served as chairman of the English department at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, New York and was honored with the Teacher of the Year Award. Additionally, he was included in Who is Who Among America’s Teachers in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2007. Mr. Turk was named as a keynote speaker from the Middle States branch of the College Board on teaching Advanced Placement English at the AP Conference in the summer of 2009. Mr. Turk came to the United states in 1957 with a third grader’s education.

Currently serving as a priority consultant with the College Board, Mr. Turk is responsible for developing curriculum and syllabi for high schools in the New York City school system. He notes that he became involved in his profession due to an innate desire to educate others and considers mentoring for the College Board to be the most rewarding aspect of his career.

A published author, Mr. Turk wrote his autobiography Mt Father’s Words in 1997. The book details his struggles to keep clear of Bolshevik brainwashing while forced to serve in the interior branch of the communist Rakosi regime. A Member of the State Evaluation Committee, Mr. Turk received his Master’s Degree from Canisius College and his Bachelor’s Degree in Education. He is presently working on two books which he aspires to have published in the future.

For what it's worth, he is also the guy who taught me critical reading and critical writing, so if you are looking for someone to blame ...

what's 193,000 between friends?

Alert reader Curtis Sheidler sent me this link to Artic Ice levels and the way NSIDC measures it. Turns out their reading this year were off by about 193,000 square miles.

Just for reference, You can look at this chart here and create your own punchline for the size of this error. For example, the error is along the lines of suddenly claiming that the United States is now missing OH, WV, PA, NJ and NY.

Like this:

I would call that a material error in data. Ridiculous.

BTW, I know this blog has sort of digressed from its actual life's blood of preaching the Gospel and thinking about the limits of orthodoxy. You faithful readers are to blame for enjoying the global warming stuff so much.

Ironically, they admit they were wrong

Global warming "scientists" admit that they were wrong. Unfortunately, it's not because it was colder this winter than any of the last 10.






UPDATED: Moonwalker denies holocaust, or at least the moral equivalent.

Watch & Discuss

It's a 1-hour video.

"Silencing Christians".

HT: Kevin D. Johnson via Facebook

Brave New Tort

Oh brother -- after Justin Taylor's week of riling up the masses over the brave new world of eBooks, apparently it turns out that the Kindle 2 violates a pretty serious piece of copyright law.

Suddenly an eBook is going to have to cost as much as a book plus the audiobook, which is a huge boon to the author and a huge fork in the eye to the consumer.

As a budding author myself, I say, "lay it on, baby!" As a fan of technology and gadgets, and a covetous man at heart, I say, "kill all the lawyers -- especially the ones who are doing this."

I'm going to lock myself in a room alone and battle it out until only one opinion remains.

It's a slow week. Sorry.

Because Phil Perkins is claiming I "don't want to debate", and there's no sense posting to his meta as he will pick and choose what he will allow to show up there, here's all the e-mails he and I have traded on this subject since he emerged from silence. The point, for those who need a point here and can't receive this in the humorous light it comes wrapped in, is to avoid any misunderstandings regarding what Phil & I have discussed so far -- becuase I think Phil has misunderstood it pretty significantly, and it would behoove his wifre, his elders, or his parole officer to talk to him about his interpretation of the facts.

---

---

Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 3:40 PM
FROM: Phil Perkins
To: Frank Turk
Cc: Jim Largent


Frank, How are you? Sorry for the delay. Very busy. We ought to get that debate going. I accept your terms last stated. My thesis is three-part. 1. Frank Turk was wrong to defend so-called gender neutral translations. 2. Frank Turk knew better when he did so. 3. Frank Turk's deception about the issue was probably because he and others don't wish to practice the doctrine of biblical separation as given in the New Testament. I might tweak that a bit, but that's pretty much the sense. We ought to get started next week or the week following. I think it ought to be open ended, ending only when one fails to respond. Once that happens the last to write gets one more response. I'll post soon. Sincerely, Phil Perkins.

---

Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 8:02 PM
FROM: Frank Turk
To: Phil Perkins
Cc: Frank Turk , Jim Largent


Pick one thesis. Three is too many.


Sent from my iPod

---

Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 8:53 PM
FROM: Frank Turk
To: Phil Perkins
Cc: Jim Largent


Also, open-ended is not a debate: it's a feud. I have no intention of spending the rest of my life responding to you in order to prevent you from having the last word so that you can't declare yourself the victor.


My offer to you was to have an exchange in D-blog format up to 10 questions -- even if you sent up your own blog and got your own moderator to referee. You can even have the opening statement and the last word.


One thesis, 10 questions each, 10 answers each. Word limits to answers and questions. That's a debate rather than mere bickering.


-- Grace and Peace to you,


~Frank

---

Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 10:24 AM
FROM: Phil Perkins
To: Frank Turk


Frank, Okay, here's my thesis: Frank Turk wrongly defended the practice of so-called gender-neutral translation while knowing better, probably becaue he doens't want to practice biblical holiness. The offer you mentioned wasn't your last one. I can produce quotes. Again if you want out, just be honest and say that. I'll announce that if it's the case. It's been a long time. Phil Perkins.

---

Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 10:56 AM
FROM: Frank Turk
To: Phil Perkins


Jim:


No open-ended exchanges. Q&A format, word limits -- you can choose the # of questions and the word limits. That's how I always engage with people, and for you to ask for an open-ended exchange demonstrates only two things: [1] you think having the last word makes you right, and [2] you think wanting structure in the exchange is cowardice. My opinion is that you can have the first and last word, and the reader can decide from a structured exchange that follows a clear method of give and take who has the better grasp of the facts and the stronger conclusion.


As for any "announcements" you want to make, publish this e-mail chain as the substance of what we're talking about. Of all the people on the internet today, Phil, who are even semi-reputable, you have picked the one person who is well known for taking all comers in structured debate.


I welcome debating your factually-challenged thesis with your choice of moderator and your choice of debate forum; I will publish every word of the exchange at my Debate Blog so someone other than your wife and your parole officer will read it. You deserve every minute of your grab for attention, and I plan on giving it to you when we have resolved these preliminaries.


Not if: when. It's not any kind of debate if there's no structure for the readers to follow.

Phil Perkins update

Sent earlier today:

---

FROM: Frank Turk
TO: Phil Perkins
Wed Feb 11, 2009 @ 10:56 AM
SUBJECT: re: e-bate


Jim, [sic -- my typo]


No open-ended exchanges. Q&A format, word limits -- you can choose the # of questions and the word limits. That's how I always engage with people, and for you to ask for an open-ended exchange demonstrates only two things: [1] you think having the last word makes you right, and [2] you think wanting structure in the exchange is cowardice. My opinion is that you can have the first and last word, and the reader can decide from a structured exchange that follows a clear method of give and take who has the better grasp of the facts and the stronger conclusion.


As for any "announcements" you want to make, publish this e-mail chain as the substance of what we're talking about. Of all the people on the internet today, Phil, who are even semi-reputable, you have picked the one person who is well known for taking all comers in structured debate. I welcome debating your factually-challenged thesis with your choice of moderator and your choice of debate forum; I will publish every word of the exchange at my Debate Blog so someone other than your wife and your parole officer will read it. You deserve every minute of your grab for attention, and I plan on giving it to you when we have resolved these preliminaries.


Not if: when. It's not any kind of debate if there's no structure for the readers to follow.

Darwin must die

That's not some fundamentalism luddite saying that: It's the New York Times.





HT: alert reader J Clark

How to make me burn more fossil fuels

OK -- a warning that this video is probably not suitable for kids because of the subject matter, but there's no profanity or sex -- just idolatry.



HT: faithful reader Candy

economic crisis skubalon detector

You know: I have a lot to do. My blogging has suffered, I know, but you people hang in there and stop in to keep me involved, so I have to write about something.

And this week I stumbled onto this little ditty at Salon.com about the "role of government" in the current economic crisis, and how the Republicans have "lied" about that role since Reagan.

The writer of that article (in her own words) "quotes Robert reich in a major way", so here's the big stuff before I give you my assessment:

The bursting of the housing bubble caused the current crisis, but the underlying problem began much earlier -- in the late 1970s, when median U.S. incomes began to stall. Because wages got hit then by the double-whammy of global competition and new technologies, the typical American family was able to maintain its living standard only if women went into the workforce in larger numbers, and later, only if everyone worked longer hours.

When even these coping mechanisms were exhausted, families went into debt -- a strategy that was viable as long as home values continued to rise. But when the housing bubble burst, families were no longer able to easily refinance and take out home-equity loans. The result: Americans no longer have the money to keep consuming. When you consider that consumers make up 70 percent of the economy, the magnitude of the problem becomes apparent.

Now, yes: consumer debt is a serious problem for said consumers, and it was exceedingly stupid for people to go into debt for stuff like TVs and iPods to the tune on average of their annual income -- but people weren't buying groceries with credit cards becuase they didn;t make enough money.

First, let's talk about what "real median household income" (RMHI) is. The US Cesus Bureau defines it like this:

That's from the first footnote of the document "P60-233", "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006", published by the US Census Bureau. So the real median income is adjusted for inflation, so there's no hankey-pankey with what a dollar can buy, OK?

And given that definition of "real median household income", here's the graph of said indicator:

Taken from the same P60-233 document, fwiw. Now, you may complain about your inability to make fine distinctions, but here's a set of reference lines to help you make sense of the status of real median income:

The vertical red line is 1975. The horizintal red line is RMHI in 1975 -- you know: pre-Jimmy Carter. The net is that RMHI has never been lower in the last 33 years than it was in 1975, so RMHI has not yet "stalled" vs. 1975.

In fact, if we call the RMHI in 1975 $39,000, RMHI in 2006 was $48,200 -- 23.5% up from 1975. So in real terms, US Households make 24% more money than they did in 1975, and to press a political point, Salon.com is willing to fraudulently claim that is a decrease.

That's intellectually criminal.

A little less conversation

Here's how talking to Iran will go.

Change we can believe in

In his first round of hard-nose international diplomacy, President Barack Obama shows what he's made of by caving in when Europe threatens a trade war over the fact that he wants to spend the money he wants to borrow from Europe and Asia (also known as the US National Debt) on US industry and goods.

Nice work Mr. President: you showed 'em good.

and that's a wrap

No: I'm not shutting the blog down.

Apparently, the women who spear-headed the gay "marriage" thing in Massachusetts are ...




... wait for it now ...



... getting a divorce. That's right: now they really do have a marriage exactly like heterosexual marriage. It's nice to know that they didn't really mean "'til death do us part", but only "until we get tired of all that other stuff."

Nice work everyone: that's a wrap. I am sure Newsweek will put this in a cover story as well.