- Original “Moral-Majority” conservative feels betrayed by Bushies, wants to get back to Reagan roots
- Must-read quote for bloggers and blog readers
- Boeing’s enormous new rocket and why it could be important
- I just finished reading a story that took me 3 tries…
1) Who is Chuck Baldwin? He’s as Christian-conservative as you will ever hope to find, with serious credentials dating back to before the Reagan administration, and he has some very interesting things to say about the Bushies: “I am a conservative Christian, and the Religious Right scares me, too.”
2) I read this great quote about blogs today:
“Blogs can be a great way of communicating, but they can keep people apart too. If I read only those of my choice, precisely tuned to my political biases and you read only yours, we could end up a nation of political solipsists, vacuum sealed in our private feedback loops, never exposed to new arguments, never having to listen to a single word we disagree with.”
- Lev Grossman, TIME magazine, 21 June 2004, pg. 70.
It’s too easy to wrap myself in the warm-fuzzy comfortable agreement of friends while demonizing the “other side.” Worst of all, it could keep me from discovering what I have in common with people who vote differently, believe differently, and live differently. This is exactly why I read blogs by writers with whose politics I disagree.
I’ve long since given up reading controversial issues written by people who pretend to be “neutral” or “objective.” If they aren’t really neutral, then their fictional objectivity is a lie. And if they are really neutral, then they’re inhuman or just ignorant of the human side of the issue. Better to find intelligent apologists for all sides, then read, and think.
FYI: I don’t even pretend to be neutral about issues that matter to me. Being fair-minded doesn’t mean you can’t come to a conclusion; it just means you’re very careful how you get there.
Question: is it likely your favorite news outlet is immune to bias? No? Then you’ll have to work harder to get the whole story.
3) Boeing’s new rocket can lift 13 tons into a geostationary orbit This is good news for space science, and it could be somewhat redesigned (if we have the sense of purpose) as a replacement for the space shuttle. Unfortunately, the rocket is currently booked for military purposes into the next couple years.
No, I don’t have a problem with military missions – but couldn’t we just shoot one up there with a repair crew , a re-entry capsule, and some parts for the Hubble telescope?
Just for comparison (and it’s a bit apples-and-oranges) the original Saturn V from the 1960’s could send about 50 tons to the moon. This “giant rocket” could fit in the Saturn V’s shirt pocket.
4) I’ve been a fan of Robert Heinlein all my life, but one of his stories I could never quite “grok” is The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. I’d try reading it, but then not be able to figure out where the story was going.
I just tried again, and I think I “got” it at last – it’s a hum-dinger. Heinlein didn’t do supernatural-fantasy-horror very often, but this story is supremely creepy. It starts out with the biggest of all detective-novel cliches; the troublesome client. Then it dives into a harrowing and hopeless dark alley. Who is the villain? What’s behind the mirror we call reality?
I wonder if Heinlein ever read C.S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength. Or if Lewis ever read this story. The story lines are different, but they have a very similar feel.
No entry tomorrow, folks. Have a great night.