There was a really interesting moment at the Democratic National Convention yesterday. After being criticized for removing God and Jerusalem from their platform, platform leaders called for a suspension of the rules to have the language reinserted. The revised language included the word God and a reference to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
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Some Thoughts on the Eastwood Speech
After Clint Eastwood’s speech at the RNC last week, journalists covering the convention overwhelmingly judged it as an epic fail. I gave my own brief evaluation of the speech via Twitter. While I didn’t appreciate Eastwood’s implied vulgarities, I didn’t think the speech went nearly as badly as the analysts were suggesting. My exact words, “The Eastwood speech played really well in the convention hall. It probably played better among TV viewers than commentators give credit.”
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The New Evangelical Subordinationism?
In recent years, evangelicals have engaged in a vigorous debate over the doctrine of the Trinity. One group argues that the Father and the Son are equal in authority and power with the Son submitting Himself to the Father only temporarily during the incarnation. Another group argues that the Son’s submission to the Father is functional (not ontological) and eternal. The debate has generated a great deal of discussion not only because it effects the foundational doctrine of God, but also because of its connection to evangelical debates over gender roles. Egalitarians tend to hold the first view of the Trinity while some (though not all) Complementarians hold to the…
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Will journalists scrutinize the Democratic platform?
The editors at National Review online ask a fair question of journalists covering the Democratic National Convention this week: Journalists gave close attention to the silence of the Republican platform on what exceptions an abortion ban should contain. Will they comment on the Democratic platform’s silence on the limits the abortion license should respect? Will they note its coded endorsement of taxpayer funding of abortion, and the extremism of that policy?
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The Slippery Slope and the Definition of Marriage
Some people tend to be wary of slippery slope arguments, but when it comes to defining marriage the slope really does appear to be pretty slick. Take note of this story out of Brazil, which is known for its progressive views on social policy. CNN reports that a Brazilian official recently granted a civil union to a man and two women who are living in a polyamorous relationship.
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Atheism, the NY Times, and My Hometown
I have to say that I was agog when I saw that the nation’s paper of record—The New York Times, the old gray lady herself!—contained a feature-length story about my hometown of DeRidder, Louisiana. I would never have imagined such a thing to be possible, but there it was. My hometown is a dot on the map. It’s a place that means the world to me. But like many other small towns across the South, it’s just not the kind of place that has much of interest for coastal elites. We have local celebrities, but very few national ones. The big events in DeRidder are high school football games and…
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Which party holds extreme views on abortion?
Last week, I asked and answered the question, “Which candidate holds extreme views on abortion?” In this post, I ask the same question about the two major political parties. Which one holds the most extreme views on the abortion issue?
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Week 1 of College Football
Today was the first Saturday of college football—otherwise known as “the last week of scrimmages for title-contenders.” This is the week when all the big boys play weaker teams and waste all of our time. It makes for really unexciting football. Is anyone surprised, for instance, that Oklahoma State would pull out the “W” against Savannha State? No nail-biters in that one. It is, however, a bit shocking that they ran up the score 84-0! I guess after missing the title game last year with a single loss, Oklahoma State feels like it may need some style points for the final reckoning…but I digress. Congrats to Alabama-Michigan and Clemson-Auburn for…
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Which candidate holds extreme views on abortion?
Going into the Democratic National Convention next week, the scuttlebutt is that the President will emphasize the abortion issue and will try to paint his opponent as extreme on abortion rights. I’m wondering if this is really the conversation that President Obama wants to have. I’m no shill for Governor Romney. As I’ve said many times before, Romney’s record on this issue is not inspiring in my view. His conversion to the pro-life cause has appeared to many as a political expedient. Even now, Romney holds a less than pure pro-life position—one that is to the left of his own party’s platform. He’s hardly an extremist.
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The Bones Brigade
Stacy Peralta’s 2001 documentary “Dogtown and Z-Boys” covered the rise of professional skateboarding in the late 70’s in the pioneering Zephyr skating team. I really enjoyed the film even though it focused on the period just prior to my interest in the sport. Stacy Peralta’s new film, however, is a different story. It’s all about the “Bones Brigade”—the skate team sponsored by the Powell-Peralta skateboarding company, the team that was all the rage when I was still skateboarding. These were the days when Tony Hawk of the Bones Brigade and Christian Hosoi of Skull Skates were the best in the sport. They had an amazing rivalry and pushed the sport…