A bit of this and that.
- Dave Johnson: The Spying Started Before September… – Even before 9/11 provided the justification, the Bush Administration was pushing telcos to allow warrentless wiretaps on their say-so — and punishing ones that refused to do it.
- ArsTechnica.com reports that the new FISA law is worse… – Everybody, myself included, focused on the telcomm immunity issue. But review of the law indicates it’s actually worse than folks thought, de facto legitimating any sort of surveillance the feds want to do through weak approvals, lengthy periods before which they have to seek approval, and fuzzy lines as to what the justification needs to be. Which raises the question of whether the Democratic leadership is stupid, compromised, blackmailed, concerned over looking weak on “terror,” or so confident that they will win in November that they don’t think it bears worrying about (see “stupid”).
- Stuck for a story seed? – A random story seed generator. Noted for future reference.
- Christine Wicker: Full-Quiver Theology – Everyone kind of pokes fun (or rages) at the Catholic Church for its anti-birth control rules. But here are some fine evangelical non-Catholics who are here to tell you that if you aren’t having as many babies as you can, as soon as you can, and raising them to do the same, you’re pretty much going straight to hell. And they aren’t just fringe lunatics playing to revival tents in Oklahoma, either.
- ACR: Anglican Communion Redux: The Irish Primate on… – Anglicanism built an amazing “big tent” philosophy out of a number of internal debates in the past. Richard Hooker was a key player in emphasizing the role of reason, inclusiveness, and toleration (and was a major influence on John Locke, in turn an influence on our Founding Fathers), and his “via media” has served Anglicanism well in the centuries since his time. A shame so many seem so eager to toss it out now.
- Obama Will Go Outdoors To Accept Nomination – And the fact that Mile High Stadium looks like a giant diaphragm will cause some folks to consider him anti-Christian and pro-baby-killing.
- Giving Religious Pamphlets to Minors – Excuse me. I had better not catch you handing out religious literature to my kid, unless you’ve talked with me about it first. That’s a good way to get a bloody nose, it is. Think I’m not that kind of guy? Think again.
- That’s no moon… oh, wait, yes it is. – Something to remember about eyewitness anything, let alone UFO reports.
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Dave, we’ve known that the Bushies were doing Warrentless wire tapping from Febuary ’01 from the Joe Nacchio/Qwest case, no big new news there.
Yes, but it’s worth bringing up because the meme is that this was all done explicitly to protect us from another 9/11, and didn’t start until then.
re Full-Quiver theology, I wonder if the folks who espouse it are learning from the Mormon Church as well as the Catholic Church?
Well, it’s Southern Baptist, which I wouldn’t expect to explicitly draw from either — but who are probably reacting to the same biblical passages.