Dr. Dobson in his own defense re: SpongeBob

I would encourage all to check out the Focus on the Family website for Dr. Dobson's latest newsletter in which he makes his case. The good doctor is very clear and concise. When I did my analysis, all I did was go to the We Are Family website click on sponsors and then click on Tolerance.org, the only name in the top few that I didn't recognize. Lo and behold, when I go back there today, I had to dig around a lot more than I remember last week, but here's the link I was refering to in my "side-by-side": Uncovering Attitudes. Apparently the folks at Focus on the Family (FoF) had been watching the We Are Family guys from before this, though, and had other information--which Dr. Dobson explains--previous to the outbreak of the controversy ... v-e-r-r-r-y interesting!

Inaugural High Points

Nice job by Eamonn Fitzgerald characterizing Bush's comments in the inaugural address. I came away with exactly the same impression and was most impressed with these same "quotable" moments!

Arlington Road Revisited

So, I’m reading this news story on Yahoo; the headline: “24” Making Nice with Muslims … I’m asking myself, who is this CAIR organization (they seem to be the ones complaining to Fox and in negotiation with them)? I go to dogpile, and search … and how about that, search results yield: 1. CAIR and 2. Anti-CAIR

This is like some kind of looking-glass interface … Anti-CAIR reports on their website that CAIR is suing them for defamation. Anti-CAIR is fighting on the basis that it is only defamation if it’s not true! A search for Anti-CAIR on the CAIR website, however, had no results at all!

Curiouser and Curiouser, as Alice said.

Then I remembered something I’d read in "Imprimis" (a newsletter published by Hillsdale College, which I subscribe to) last year, and found the reference; "Imprimis" is transcribing a speech delivered by Stephen Schwartz, author of the bestselling book: The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism (Anchor, 2003). Sure enough: CAIR is mentioned in his speech; Schwartz tells a story about their approach to the San Francisco Chronicle some time ago, which was along the lines of: " ... whenever you do a story on Islam, you should call us first and make sure it is correct." In this approach, I am strangely reminded of how they seem to be dealing with Fox, here. Their people meet with the Fox producers and creative people. They sponsor PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) and prescribe how often and when they should be shown during airing of the Fox blockbuster “24” … Hmmm.

Now, I don’t get cable, but from what I’ve read, “24” sounds like a rip roaring story, and timely, too. It’s just a TV reenactment of the 1999 Tim Robbins film Arlington Road, made relevant post-911. I can’t imagine what all the fuss is about.

The Evolution Revolution

I keep seeing and treating on News Media Bias, repetitions of the same set of evolution/creation dichotomizing. This polarization is de rigeur, if you're trying to make a case against teaching anything but evolution, or if you're going to sue a school board for calling a spade a spade (a theory a theory), and suggest students consider what they're studying carefully; a highly suspicious position for a school board to take with respect to its students. This is the allegation in the Atlanta, GA ACLU action: " ... they're calling a theory a theory and asking students to carefully consider what they're studying." (I paraphrase)

But there's an even deeper reason I see this whole controversy as a joint creation of the ACLU and the Press. The logical foundation of my thinking is this. If every species evolved from an earlier form, it seems fairly obvious to ask: well, what about the first one?

As soon as you ask this, you must realize it cannot be a dichotomy; evolution doesn't even pretend to address the question of the "first one," so it's not offering any alternative theory to creationism. And creationism, for its part, doesn't speak to God's methods; if you had a supreme being involved, surely not shocking the fauna by making new things appear gradually would be on the order of common sense!

So, it's not a dichotomy; they are not mutually exclusive and could even both be completely true!

News Media Bias Opens Blog

Here's what I've found out: doing our famous side by side analysis of news articles really helps me crystallize how I feel about an issue!

This will be the forum for that new level of insight, and a little free expression of my own opinions on issues, and or really how I see it that things shake out, after having become more or less intimate with both sides and what seems to be behind their respective positions.

Nobody's perfect, so it will also be a place for me to weigh any reader comments and, if called for, I'm not above changing my opinion!

So, welcome!

Let's see how this goes....