Unbelievable try from our Eagles. This is more in line with something you might see from a New Zealand All Black team that what you might expect from the lowly USA (in rugby terms anyway). Todd Clever was a force in every game, and Ngwenya’s speed was a sight to behold.
UPDATE: YouTube took down original video, so I’ve linked to another
I sometimes wonder how my college hours might have been spent had YouTube been around back in the day. Probably not on something quite this elaborate, but who knows for certain.
In case you’ve ever thought what happens when you combine bored engineers with easy access to video distribution?, well, wonder no more.
Hat Tip: Clayton Cramer
For those who haven’t enjoyed one of Pat Condell’s tirades before, allow me to introduce you to one of the West’s best aplogists. This particular rant is in response to the mayor of Brussels’ recent decision to ban an anti-Sharia demonstration scheduled for September 11. Fair warning, Mr. Condell gores all oxen at some point, so man up before clicking any of his videos because he will address your favorite belief before he finishes. In the grand tradition of Senior Drill Instructor Hartman.
Just a thought, but what does it say about our preachers when the most cogent rebuttal to the radical Islamist’s theological argument for Sharia is being advanced by an avowed, loudmouthed atheist? We’re in desperate need of some apologists (1 Peter 3:151 Peter 3:15).
HT: Allahpundit
Looks like iskorpitx got me. Luckily, it only affects my custom theme files (so far), so I’ve had to switch back to the default. I’ll try to fix it tonight (as well as upgrade to the newest release of wordpress).
UPDATE: Okay, I restored the hacked files, so the old theme is back. I really need to update this theme as the fixed width columns get annoying after a few hundred readings, but you know that already ;-). Off to update to the latest wordpress now.
The folks over at Maps of War have gone and done it again. They’ve produced a map showing the various kingdoms that have ruled the Middle East throughout history. This would actually be an excellent visual aid for Sunday School teachers struggling to put the Old Testament into it’s proper context.
Hat tip: Teflon Don
The whole shock-jock gotcha journalism meme lost it’s lustre for me years ago. Which is why, it’s so refreshing to see a politician forcefully and forthrightly repsond to it’s implementation. The DJ, Jan Mickelson, is a jerk throughout. This video was recorded without Romney’s knowledge and includes some heated discussion off-air wherein Romney gently but forcefully corrects Mickelson’s obvious ignorance regarding Mormon theology. On that point, let me officially register how tired I am of journalists going after candidates’ theological views. They’ve used this tactic against Evangelicals for years, and I’m tired of it. It was slimy then, and it’s slimy now.
Perhaps I’ll have to rethink my initial enthusiasm for Fred!.
I’ve honestly never read anything quite so moving before. It’s the tale of a very bad car crash told from the points of view of the responding officer, the ambulance driver, and the ER nurse.
I sit here stunned.
I’m getting flashbacks to Reagan and his 9 scariest words in the Universe: I’m with the government, and I’m here to help.
John Barnes posits an interesting theory as to the identity of The New Republic’s author, Scott Thomas. It’s a very fascinating analysis marred by a slip at the end. Below is the comment that I left on the discussion board where the replies are beginnig to accumulate.
I’d like to add my second to Mark Twain’s point regarding whether or not there truly are “many beyond the eyes of authority” and whether their “superior officers will be devoting any large amount of time and effort to finding or suppressing it”. Albeit, I’d like to do so a bit more gently.
Casual slander of this sort is problematic because it is exactly so jarring from both the tone and the seriousness of your initial post, which I greatly enjoyed reading. Your analysis was both lucid and insightful precisely because it was so well-informed given your day job. It’s painful to see such a slip show up as a throw-away line backed by nothing more than your probably assertion. It shows a bit of sloppiness in your analysis.
I personally have never served in our military in any capacity, but it has been both my honor and my privilege to know many, many members over the years both active duty and retired. Their stories have always been interesting and informative sometimes just because they served to educate me on exactly how many things that I routinely take for granted. I’m speaking of things both major and minor from where I will live to when I will awake in the morning.
In addition, I’ve taken great pains through the years to augment the knowledge gained from real-live military folks with book learning as they say here in the Southern states. It’s really not hard to pick up on the culture of the military with just a little work. One thing that has always, always impressed me is how infused our soldiers are with personal ethics that far exceed the average civilians.
Now, having set the stage, let me address the first point that I mentioned above: “many beyond the eyes of authority”. There are almost certainly few if any of the active duty personnel serving in Iraq today who would fit this statement, and certainly none who would be serving in the unit described by “Scott Thomas”.
The only soldiers who spend any amount of time beyond the eyes of authority are likely to be in special operations of some sort as they are on missions taking them out of direct contact with the chain of command at HQ (think behind enemy lines). Even then, there is always an authority whether it be the officers or non-coms on the ground or just the uniform code of military justice. Now, I’ve known a number of special forces folks in my time, and I would trust them implicitly with my life and the lives of my loved ones. They have all been the type of person who upon finding a wallet on the ground return it to the owner along with it’s cash and credit cards.
Regular soldiers are always under someone’s authority … even when they do not want to be there. My friends and companions who’ve served almost all spoke at some point about exactly how chafing it was to be under authority at all times. One went so far as to eschew haircuts for several years after his discharge (honorable) from the Navy as a residual effect of living under the thumb of his higher ups.
Now for the second point: “it is doubtful that superior officers will be devoting any large amount of time and effort to finding or suppressing it”. I cry foul on this one too.
Beyond the political correctness issues that Mark Twain Sam raised, I’d like to just point out that promotions do not come easily in today’s military, so serving officers tend to be a bit zealous about this type of thing. After all, not only is it the right thing to do, it’s the right thing for their career as well. You don’t have to take my word for it, just think back on the various scandals we’ve seen in the last few years and realize that the military justice system uncovered them first; Abu Ghraib, Haditha, etc.
Please accept this critique in the spirit of “iron sharpening iron” as I don’t mean for it to come across as a gotcha post. Your analysis was otherwise very interesting. Keep up the good work.
“The woman sitting in front of us was very upset and asked me how I could just sit there reading,” Katie Hayden said. “Bob’s been shot at. He’s been stabbed. He’s taken knives away. He knows how to handle those situations. I figured he would go up there and step on somebody’s neck, and that would be the end of it. I knew how that situation would end. I didn’t know how the book would end.”
Folks, you really do need to read the whole thing. Trust me on this one.