Senate Vanity Index

Just in time for election day!

Is it possible to objectively measure a U.S. Senator's egotism based on his office decorations? You be the judge.

I find this oddly fascinating.

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10 Things to Keep in Mind After the Election

As an addendum to Gaines' earlier election post this morning, I'd like to add these ten things to remember no matter the outcome, from Doug Wilson.

#1 is obviously the most important:

God is still Father, Christ is still at His right hand, and the Holy Spirit is still abroad in the world, recreating that world according to the image of Christ. When the nations conspire against Him, He laughs at them.

But I do heartily recommend #7:

Learn something about economics. Please.

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Some Thoughts (From Other Folks) for Election Day

A couple of thoughts before I head to the polls in just a few short hours:

First, a hymn:

Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Holy His will abideth.
I will be still whate’er He does,
And follow where He guideth.
He is my God,
Though dark my road.
He holds me that I shall not fall
Wherefore to Him I leave it all

Whate’er my God ordains is right,
He never will deceive me
He leads me by the proper path,
I know He will not leave me
I take, content,
What He hath sent
His hand can turn my griefs away
And patiently I wait His day

Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Though now this cup in drinking
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it all unshrinking
My God is true,
Each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart
And pain and sorrow shall depart

Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Here shall my stand be taken
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken
My Father’s care
Is round me there
He holds me that I shall not fall
And so to Him I leave it all

Secondly, Derek Webb has some good thoughts on Christians and voting.

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This Sounds Familiar ...

The conspicuous fault of [Political Party X], like the personal fault of [Presidential Candidate Y], was that it represented integrity and reason, in a year when the electorate hungered for frisky emotions, for the peppery sensations associated, usually, not with monetary systems and taxation rates but with baptism by immersion in the creek, young love under the elms, straight whisky, angelic orchestras heard soaring down from the full moon, fear of death when an automobile teeters above a canyon, thirst in a desert and quenching it with spring water -- all the primitive sensations which they thought they found in the screaming of [Presidential Frontrunner Z].

Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here

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The Eleven O'Clock Hour

Let me say up front that though I am not a Barack Obama supporter, I do applaud yesterday's speech. One of the good things that I hope might come out of this crazy election is more honest discussion about race relations in our country BETWEEN Americans of different races, not AT each other. And I hope "A More Perfect Union" acts as a catalyst.

What struck me most is that Obama sees and insightfully acknowledges the multiple racial perspectives that are often only talked about behind closed doors. He brought the private discourse of this nation into the public light of day. Though I encourage you to watch the entire video and read the transcript, I wanted to highlight what I thought was the climax of the speech:

For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. ... And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

Until we in the Christian community, in all churches, openly acknowledge the tragedy of segregated Sunday mornings and seek forgiveness--until we start to mend torn relationships with our brothers and sisters down the street--we will not be able to be the church for the world that we are called to be. I'm not saying anything new. I'm just repeating something we all need to hear (me especially).

I also understand that though Obama's speech does not get at the true heart issue of sin in this matter, it certainly highlights the symptoms. Especially the talk of anger. And it opens the door for discussion and a way for some to find much-needed redemption. I hope and pray the Church will be the ones to lead this nation in reconciliation by acknowledging the root of bitterness and pulling it up quickly. The Church should, I believe, demonstrate through word and deed that in Christ "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus." This is one of those issues that is at the heart of the Gospel. Christ came to make us one, and we should all share table fellowship with Christians from all corners of the world, but most especially those in our own cities and towns.

Some of my friends are tackling the issue of racism and race relations as well. Lane attempts to comment on the misunderstanding of racial issues. Travis has been posting a series on "Racism 101" with a reading assignment and a post praising Obama's speech.

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Vote!

We voted this morning. (If you haven't voted today, there's still time! Here in Georgia, the polls are open until 7 p.m.)

Our voting location chose an insanely small room in which to hold the primaries. I carried Jacob in the sling, thankfully, but these two mamas who came in after me with extremely large and cumbersome strollers were in for an adventure. The room was also set up inefficiently, which didn't help.

After meandering our way through three tables in the midst of the crowd, Jacob finally got to watch Mom vote. But the voting "booths" weren't exactly private. The computer screen was in a row with six other computer screens and if you were standing right next to someone, you could probably see how they voted. Not that I really minded, but still.

At least Jacob was able to witness the democratic process in action. :)

We're actually excited about watching the returns tonight (after House, of course!). Lately, with all the debates and caucuses and primaries, we've become slightly addicted to checking C-SPAN. We don't have cable, so if we're itching for something political and it's not on the networks, we turn there. Or the internet, of course.

Is anyone else planning to watch the returns tonight? I'd just like to see Ron Paul get double digits (!). I have a feeling the Republican primary in Georgia is going to be spread out between all four candidates. On my way home from the polls, I saw 2 McCain signs, 2 Huckabee signs, 1 Romney and 1 Paul sign. I have a feeling that's going to be similar to the distribution of votes...

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In Honor of Super Tuesday

Campaign Game!

If only the real thing were this much fun!

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Tomorrow, Tomorrow

Super Tuesday's tomorrrow. It's only a day away!

And even though I know who I'm voting for, I still take multiple candidate matching quizzes, just because I can. And they're kind of fun. If you still are undecided, the two quizzes I linked to might be useful.

It's probably no surprise to friends and readers that on the issues I matched up closest with Ron Paul and was furthest from Barack Obama, even though the latter probably has a more likely chance of winning a presidential nomination. Oh, well. I'm still voting my conscience tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

No matter who you vote for, just make sure that if you are in a Super Tuesday state, that you are going to the polls! Make your voice heard!

P.S. Reading a biography of Ronald Reagan during election season has been an entertaining and eye-opening endeavor. I promise a full review once I finish.

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4 Truths

...that I've seen on the internet in the last week or so.

You can live in IKEA, at least for a week.

Chinese Restaurant Fortune Cookies are actually Japanese.

You can learn something about the economy from a LEGO film.

And finally, clowns really are scary.

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Best. Fundraiser. Ever.

It's all over the blogosphere, but I have to mention it here for my readers who only get their news from the mainstream media. Yesterday, due to efforts of volunteers unrelated with his official campaign, Ron Paul raised over $6 million, the most any candidate has ever raised in one day (beating Kerry, even), but there's barely a mention of it on any of the news stations or political websites or newspapers. At least the AP/NYT is taking notice.

Even if you think he's unelectable, that's a remarkable feat, especially since the median donation amount was $50.

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Ron Paul has a Blimp

It looks like another crazy idea is taking shape from Ron Paul supporters, but I only wish they could somehow fly the blimp over useful places like the BSC bowl games and the Superbowl in February instead of just campaign rallies. How do you get permission to do that sort of thing?

By the way, for those of you who don't know, since I first posted about this Ron Paul guy I've been reading everything I can about him and watching tons of interview clips (including these by John Stossel). He's greatly overlooked by the media despite his amazing ability to raise massive amounts of money (he's up to almost $11 million in just the fourth quarter!) Now that I've learned more, I'm very intrigued by his honesty, his consistency, his pro-life and non-interventionist stances, and his push for limited, Constitutional government (No more IRS! No more Dept. of Ed! Yay!). I even plan to vote for him in the Republican primary. *gasp* And yes, I do think he has a chance to win, but even if I didn't, I still wouldn't want to vote for someone I didn't believe in, like one of those "frontrunners." I guess I'm proof that those bumper stickers really DO get people's attention in a positive way...



P.S. Some friends and fellow RP supporter and I have a new joke where we greet each other with the phrase "Ron Paul" said in quick succession, like the SNL sketch of "Buh-bye!" Do you think it could catch on? Maybe I should teach J to say it as his first words and then record it and put it on You Tube...he might be like the little Animaniacs girl. Remember her? "Love ya! Bye-bye!" Heh heh. Ok, nevermind me. I'm off to attempt to be more productive and less random...


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Odds & Ends

Not much time for blogging these days, and even when there is, the office firewall doesn't always play nice with Blogger. I know, excuses, excuses. Anyway, here are a few links for your perusal.

Re:Greek is an online Biblical Greek resource from the folks at Mars Hill Church. From my limited poking around, it looks like the site has plenty of neat features, including parsing, lexical tools, concordances and what-not. Plus, it's FREE.

N.T. Wright spoke at Asbury Theological Seminary (Kentucky) earlier in the week, with chapel messages on "Use of Scripture in Contemporary Political Discourse" and "God is Public? Biblical Faith in Tomorrow's World." You can listen online at the Asbury chapel site. (Scroll down to 11/13 and 11/14 for high- and low-bandwith recordings of both talks.)

I have already listened to the first one, which was good. Wright gives an overview of how politically-minded folks in both the US and Britain use Scripture to advance their causes, noting that they tend to cherry-pick a few verses here and there while ignoring major themes and key passages. He then offers some insight on how the full story of Scripture (with particular attention to the Gospels) can and should inform the Church's interactions in the world. (Apparently, there was a third talk on Acts with Q&A, but it does not appear on the webpage. Pity.) Update: The third talk is now available.

Speaking of the Bishop of Durham, I just received my copy of John Piper's newly-released The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright in the mail this week. I think I would have been more interested about this book a year or two ago, but I'm still going to read it. I might even write a review.

Sufjan Stevens has a great Christmas present in the works: the rights to one of his songs. Contestants enter by submitting an original song. The winner gets to exchange the rights to his/her song for the rights to an unreleased Sufjan song.

Oh, and Sufjan has put up his entire (excellent) Christmas box set for free streaming here.

And finally, as a shout-out to Duke fans everywhere, here's a site devoted to their upcoming bowl game.

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It's way too early for stuff like this...isn't it?

Today, while shipping an eBay package, I saw a yellow one of these plastered on our local post office dropbox:

I've heard they are everywhere (at least that's what the interweb tells me), but this is the first one I've seen or heard about. Not that I'm even considering this guy or even know that much about him (though I do appreciate his pro-life stance), I just found it an odd place for a bumper sticker. Besides, isn't that some sort of defacement of government property to put a bumper sticker on a mailbox? What does that say about a Presidential candidate when his supporters are campaigning in an illegal manner? But maybe that's the point?

I don't think it will help him get many votes here, anyway, since I think that half of the people living in our zip code aren't even legal citizens and/or don't read English. (Last week while in the post office I had to help someone distinguish between the "stamped mail" and "metered mail" boxes--things like that happen often.) Well, at least it made my weekly postal drop-off a bit more interesting!

Mars Hill Audio Podcast -- Dialogues on Justice and Judges

The latest installment of Audition, the podcast of Mars Hill Audio, is a preview of an upcoming series entitled Dialogues on Justice and Judges. The series' first episode, "Jurisprudence and the Roberts Court," is a fascinating look at the shape of the Supreme Court of the United States under Chief Justice John Roberts. Even if politics and civics aren't your cup of tea, this episode contains some very interesting analyses of the transformation of the nation's highest court over the years, as well as many underlying philosophical changes. Ken Myers and the MHA crew always do a great job, and this podcast is no exception.