Dean's World

Open thread. 7:04pm Eastern--Go!

In the comment thread to this post, I made the following claim: Limited evidence, has never stopped any thinking man from advancing an hypothesis.

Though I hedged, saying: Nothing wrong with that as long as the thinker properly qualifies his view, the claim, in my view, is flat wrong.

A thoughtful person withholds "advancing" hypotheses all the time. A simple example of this can be found in the assessment of motivations: thoughtful people often remind themselves not to ascribe motivations to certain actors, for lack of evidence.

Obviously, then, there are times that reason compels one to withhold advancing an hypothesis, even with qualification.

Do you agree?

Also, I would like to form a coherent explanation as to when one should, reasonably, advance a tentative hypothesis and when one should not. I have just begun to think about it, and would love the input of this notably thoughtful community.

UPDATE.....

I hedged a little in limiting the query to the very vague "Advancement" of an hypothesis. Perhaps, if we reformulate it, more precisely, to "Formation" of an hypothesis the subject will be easier to deal with.

Accordingly, it is possible that 'thinking man', by definition, forms a hypothetical explanation for any empirical data he comes upon. And intellectual discretion starts with an analysis as to how much 'weight' to accord his current understanding (hypothesis) and where to go from there.

If so, what follows should be a quest for a coherent explanation as to how to evaluate hypotheses relative to the quantity and quality of their respective underlying evidence.(Something that I believe Dave touches on in the first comment to this post.)

Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their mental health as excellent
....
But an analysis of the relationship between party identification and self-reported excellent mental health within various categories of age, gender, church attendance, income, education, and other variables shows that the basic pattern persists regardless of these characteristics. In other words, party identification appears to have an independent effect on mental health even when each of these is controlled for.

The reason the relationship exists between being a Republican and more positive mental health is unknown, and one cannot say whether something about being a Republican causes a person to be more mentally healthy, or whether something about being mentally healthy causes a person to choose to become a Republican

Wellington, Fla.-based Devil Mountain Software ran several versions of XP and Vista through a test simulating common desktop computing tasks. It found the original Vista performed 50 percent to 100 percent slower than the prevalent XP Service Pack 2, or SP2.

Last Thursday, I woke myself up early, headed down to St. Vincent DePaul (a local homeless shelter/soup kitchen), and said "I'm here for my shift! What do you need?" I was told that they had too many volunteers, and I should just go home to enjoy my Thanksgiving.

Sometimes I love humans.

It was on my way out of the car when I hit my head on the roll bar. It wasn't a car accident or anything, just a simple exiting the car bit of mishap.

I believe that good works are private-- that talking about them is bragging and cheapens the experience. On the other wrist, by talking about them, by making it clear that helping other people is the expectation norm for an adult member of society we make such works more likely. What are your thoughts on the subject?

A "takfiri" is an apostate Muslim*. This cool posters and others like it (presumably in Arabic) are all the rage in Iraq these days. The murderous fascist Iraqi "insurgency" is of course hated by the vast majority of Iraqis, and the people there are ever more willing to say so, Thank God.

More pictures right here.

(Via INDC Journal.)

* Update - Correction, it's a Muslim who accuses others of apostacy. Thanks Daniel.

The Watcher's Council has announced its picks for the most outstanding posts of the preceding week. The winning Council post was Right Wing Nut House's post, “Buchanan's New Book: “Prepare Ye for the End””. Second place honors went to my own post, “The Visual Imagery Society”. I voted for Rick's post so I'm happy with this result and grateful to the Council for its support.

The winning non-Council post was Wolf Howling's “Have Our Copperheads Found Their McClellan in Retired LTG General Sanchez?”. Second place honors went to Michelle Malkin's “Letter from the Front: Turkey Day in Tikrit”.

The complete results are here.

Applications are still being accepted for the Council spot that has become available. If you've got a blog and you're interested in expanding your readership and having a greater impact, you might consider applying. The rules are here.

Since everyone else is all about their religion vs. atheism lately I figured I'd jump on the band wagon. And instead of making a title that an atheist might misread, misinterpret or mis-whatever and get insulted I figured to insult right out the door.

That's called being efficient.

So, what's Kevin D. got to say that will turn the world on its head and make believers out of the heathen masses? Not a darned thing.

Listen, I think we're all reasonable and intelligent people here. And we're passionate about what we believe. But, frankly, most of us don't know one another from Adam and things as deeply held as faith isn't something to be debated. That's to say, I've never head of a case where anyone was swayed either way by two people pounding at one another. Most of the time we root for our side and hiss at the other.

And I'm pointing at myself too here.

The best witnessing tool at our disposal is our life. We can speak a great game but if our life isn't something to be envied then what we say won't carry much weight with anyone. This goes for atheists and theists alike.

Let your life be your witness.

And that's the problem we have here at the D. World. We don't know one another beyond what words we read here. So, we let our rhetoric get out of control because we don't have the silent witness of our life to back us up. I mean, for example, Dean's said some stuff that, had I not known the guy, had I not been able to come to him on a personal level, I'd have written him off some time ago. But because we have that personal relationship, I've gone to his home, he's come to mine, I know that what I read may not be the whole story of what's going on.

I think we forget that. The words we read on the page is all we can know of most people here but we forget that it's a real thinking, breathing, feeling, flawed person writing them. And the five seconds or so we spend reading their words is nowhere near the totality of that individual or what may be going on behind the scenes that is coloring them. In most cases then we’re either unwilling or unable to say, “Hey, is everything okay?”

It's not something easy to do, believe me, but let's step back a moment and consider that we are not the possessors of all that can be known and, more than likely, we're probably wrong about a great deal we think we're right about.

I heard someone once say you can't get 75 years worth of experience until you've lived 75 years. I think we're often grasping beyond our experience because, well, we want to be right. It's only natural I suppose. No one certainly wants to be wrong! And when someone attacks that, especially some uppity dolt we've never met on a blog, we get defensive.

What I believe I know to be true is what I try to live and to attack what I believe I know to be true is to attack how I live. In many cases, we're not just attacking what someone believes about existence, we're also attacking how they live because the two cannot be separated. Remember that the next time you speak harshly of another's beliefs. You’re walking into their home and pronouncing judgment upon everything therein.

Speaking for myself here, I'm more open to the judgments of those I know in life, those I've shared a meal with, those I've invited into my real-life home, then "CrazyB0B452." And I'm more likely to return his words about my beliefs, no matter how innocently said, with vitriol because he doesn't know me and I don't know him.

So, what I'll endeavor to do in my life is establish those personal relationships. And I'll let my life speak for my beliefs. It's a challenge, we're an opinionated people, quick to insult and quick to be insulted, but I think it's a worthwhile goal.

Amy Alkon is an obvious voice of sanity.

(Via Glenn.)

Scientific American has a look.

(Thanks Josh.)

U.S. Rep. John Murtha today said he saw signs of military progress during a brief trip to Iraq last week
...
"I think the 'surge' is working," the Democrat said in a videoconference from his Johnstown office

Taha Ahmed Abdul-Salam, the exchange's chief executive, said he hoped things would improve soon thanks to an electronic system set for launch early in 2008 to speed up transactions and make it easier for foreigners to trade Iraqi shares

I had a little problem back in October, when Fluppy died, and I started compulsively bidding on lamps at eBay. I had just discovered eBay and became instantly addicted to the sensations of of all, the escape, the way it makes everything stop hurting and it's all a dream. I started bidding maniacally, for hours on end. Every lamp was the lamp of my dreams. One of them had sailboats on it. One was a Victorian sconce. One was a Deco chandelier. One had pineapples engraved in the glass. One was the tackiest thing in the world. None of them seemed to cost anything much. So I started bidding. What's $9.99? What's $24.99?

I never win anything, generally, so I was stunned when I started winning several of them. That only fueled my addiction, because eBay is so congratulatory and kind and nice. CONGRATULATIONS PIE-PIE, YOU WON!!

My mother used to call me pie pie. None of these things are accidental or incidental. eBay is an opium den. The thing that really blew me away was when I got positive feedback. I paid for something, it arrived, I told the seller that I got it and liked it very much, and they started singing my praises on eBay. I don't really want to admit how many lamps I bid on, because I used the rent money for all these lamps. Jose hung them for me. And we got dimmers. The works. I can't get over the dimmers. I also bought a new sink on Craigslist. It is avocado green, ceramic, from the 50s, and belonged to the seller's grandmother, who she described via email. I had to hire a fairly expensive man with van from Craigslist, Avi, to pick it up. I was five minutes late when he delivered it and he was angry and scolded me (a bit.) I said I was sorry and asked him to leave it on the curb. He said it was too heavy for me. I told him I am stronger than I look. It was heavy as sin, but I got it upstairs by dragging it on a towel. "This way you can have your five minutes back," I told him, with a smile.

Nobody understands how ultra-sensitive I am about time. Time is my downfall, my great failure, the thing I can't handle anymore. I am late even when I am on time. Because people set their watches fast.

Or maybe because...I am always late. I got into a discussion about this with a man at a party recently and he sent me an article saying people in workplaces get angrier at people who are late than at people who smell. He was on their side.

I think it has all gotten out of hand.

Anyway.

The last two lamps got lost, and then found, at the post office, and tonight, in a sad mood, I came to my front door with the two boxes stacked to my chin, clasping my keys, unable to unlock the door. It's two doors, actually. And an electronic key system. Lo and behold, a homeless man appeared, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. "Let me help you!' he said, leaping into action. I let him help me open the first door. "Let's get the next one," he said. "I can't stand to see a woman struggling. I'm a gentleman, see."

"Thank you," I shouted. "Thank you so much. You are a gentleman."

Suddenly, I felt happier. The Christmas tree was blinking so brightly in the lobby. I reminded myself to drop the super a note, telling her how much I love the Christmas tree, every single time I come in from the cold.

I think Jews who fight Christmas trees are crazy. Our super also put a paper menorah on the table. That doesn't make me feel the way the Christmas tree makes me feel. A Christmas tree looks like pure hope, to my eyes. At least one friend has said I am conflicted about my Judaism. (Father Jewish, mother Christian.)

I am not.

I am conflicted about my tardiness.

Why am I telling you these things? Because I have decided to write about tiny tiny things, every day, until somebody makes me stop. I am convinced that everything matters. And you got to take notes, along the way.

Still more great news from Iraq.

No wonder the media wants to talk about other things!

(Via Glenn.)

A commenter in Aziz's thread on God made this statement:

It's not so much that God cannot logically exist, it's that there is no proof. I require proof. That's the sort of thinker I am. Not much I can do about that.

I don't believe it is possible to live without any faith at all. All of these people that think they are on a higher intellectual plain, because they cannot simply believe in God without proof are fooling themselves.

A person simply can't live a fulfilled life without any faith at all. If you spend your life requiring proof without ever just having some faith, your life will suck.

FAITH — noun

1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief, trust.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
4. often Faith Christianity The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith.
6. A set of principles or beliefs.

You have to have faith or trust in things or people. You won't always have proof and even when you do, the proof can be wrong. Mistakes are made. Then what happens? Does your life collapse?

You don't want to believe in a higher being? Fine don't. But don't fool yourself into thinking that you don't because you require proof. You don't require proof, you don't want proof. You choose not to believe out of fear. It's easier to live your life however you please, if you don't have to answer for it in the end. Cowardice is what that is, not higher critical thinking.

The U.S. National Endowment for the Arts thinks so. Daniel Henninger isn't so sure.

not the God who is a hypothesis, or the God who is a gene, or the God who is a hole, or any of the other Gods that those who freely choose disbelief continually insist is equivalent to the God in which I have, simply, faith.

I don't want to prove God. I don't need to prove God. However, many anti-theists (a distinct subset of atheists as a whole) seem to want to, and need to, disprove God. But all of these boil down to utilitarian descriptions of God - a functional God, one whose existence is defined by human semantic constructs such as Occam's Razor, or limited by human concepts of logic and reason (proof of negatives, the immovable stone, etc), or by linear time and space (creation and causation), or even by morality (why won't god heal amputees?). I agree; none of those gods exist, and I don't believe in any of them.

There is no god. Save Allah!

(cross-posted at City of Brass)

More humiliation in store for Coleman.

Some 48 per cent of Americans now believe that the US ­military effort in Iraq is going well, compared with 30 per cent in February, according to the latest poll by the Pew Research Center.

During the past month more Iraqis have returned than fled. It is the first time that has happened since the war began in 2003.

The first convoy is relatively straightforward as these refugees have volunteered go home to Iraq.

Some of them began agitating to return soon after the fall of President Saddam Hussein, even staging sit-ins in their remote desert camp to press their case.
...
The agency says it believes that up to half a million refugees could eventually seek its help to return to Iraq.

Since the ouster of Saddam Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has organized returns to Iraq for about 4,500 refugees. An additional 50,000 to 100,000 Iraqis have returned, according to the U.N. agency.

Wow! I don't really post here all that often, do I? Hm. Ok, I promise: as soon as I recover from this head-wound, I'll put up a post about how the WGA strikers are dead write...

Karol Sikora notes:

It monopolised ministerial attention and swallowed huge sums of public money in campaigns to raise public awareness.

The gay community, which was the most likely to be affected by Aids, was at the forefront of the pressure for vastly increased state funding.

A whiff of panic filled the air, with projections of a soaring rate of mortality from Aids before the end of the century.

The Aids terror was extended overseas. It was said that a massive pandemic, on the scale of a modern Black Death, was sweeping through the Third World.

Death, in the form of HIV/Aids, was sweeping his cruel scythe through Africa and the Indian sub-continent, extracting an unprecedented toll.

And it turned out to be a bunch of crap, sucking up money and attention giving people condoms and useless medicines that should have been spent on malaria, cholera, sanitation, and nutrition.

One day a reckoning is going to come on this, but I suspect those most responsible will have managed a golden parachute to retirement without having to give any real accounting. Instead the young turks will wind up paying the price in shame.

When you pay people to see something, it turns out that they tend to see it whether it's there or not.

I have little faith in the future of democracy.

BOSTON — Lawmakers on Beacon Hill are set to consider a proposed ban on spanking children in the commonwealth.

Kender at "Stop the ACLU" asks:

what the hell is wrong with these people? There was a time when an unruly child got paddled when they misbehaved. Over the last couple of decades that has been set aside in favor of “time outs” and other such “punishments” that don’t really work.

I don't think alternative punishments don't work.

"Time outs" do work, I find, but only when the child knows that his breaking the "time out" before being authorized will result in physical pain.

It took me only one or two spankings to teach my children that staying in their room when I sent them there was not optional.

Spanking is, indeed, an indispensable parenting tool, but it is an extreme form of punishment and must be administered judiciously.

I also spank my children when they say "NO" to their Mommy or Tatty. It only took a few times for them to learn the lesson, though every once in while they need a "gentle" reminder. It really is essential to their education that they not feel it an option to refuse orders.

After returning to school from a long summer break, my eldest (4) picked up a nasty rude streak from some of the other children. It made my wife nervous. Took about three days to rid her of that.

I have never spanked my child while angry, and I only once spanked them without them knowing beforehand that the offense obligated a spanking. (The middle girl ran into the street.)

(I found it in this post at Protein Wisdom)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Police have lost red-light cameras to traffic accidents but never to gun play. "This is the first one that's been shot," Capt. Gordon Catlett said of the wounded camera at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Interstate 640 — one of 15 camera-equipped intersections in the city.

Clark, now facing a $50 fine if convicted and loss of his rifle, refused to say anything about the incident to police, leaving the motive unclear.

Huh. New guy at Balloon Juice Michael D likes to pick on girls.

Michael, as a reading comprehension public service I requote part of Willow's post to you:

Every so often I like to see how far one of my fundamental beliefs can be stretched by intelligent opposition.

Michael: Willow certainly got what she was looking for in the comment threads here at DW. Your comment thread at BJ, however, was notably lacking in the penultimate part of the statement above.

A position has opened up on the Watcher's Council. If you have a blog, considering applying for it—the current rules are here.

Not long ago a scholar at Carnegie-Mellon produced a network analysis of the blogosphere that suggested that you could get a pretty good idea of what was going on by reading just 100 blogs. Present or emeritus Watcher's Council members were heavily represented in that 100.

The Watcher's Council is a great way to find new readers, make a difference, and to punch above your weight class.

"In raids overnight, Iraqi and coalition forces were able to identify and detain four members of a militia extremist group we assess as responsible for this horrific act of indiscriminate violence," Smith said. "Based on subsequent confessions, forensics and other intelligence, the bombing was the work of an Iranian-backed special groups cell operating here in Baghdad."

“When you go on night patrols you'll see people playing dominoes in the middle of the night,” Colonel Dowling said. “I'm not scooting 'em because it's 23:00 and they're supposed to be inside their doors. I'm out saying Hey, have some tea. Are you sleeping outside tonight? Please be safe. Those are the things a typical neighborhood cop would say. And that's what I want to show them. I'm not shaking them down. I'm not kicking in doors. I'm not demanding information. I'm not taking over their house to use for a sniper. I'll knock politely, and if they don't want me in the house, we don't go in the house.”

Welcome to the Carnival of the Liberated, a sampler of some of the best posts of the week from Iraqi and Afghan bloggers. The Afghan and Iraqi blogospheres continue to be very, very quiet. Here are a few things I thought you might be interested in. One observation: the ex-pat Iraqi bloggers who are most reliably the voice of the Ba'ath are complaining about the Iraqi Sunnis cooperating with the Americans. There may be something to this “Sunni Awakening” stuff after all.

A Citizen of Mosul, a medical doctor, considers the health statistics in the Nineveh governate. I think he might want to consider why the birth/death ratio was so high before the curfews and power outages.

Alive in Baghdad has a video report, essentially a lengthy complaint by Sadr loyalists, on Iraqi sovereignty.

Roads to Iraq takes note of a Turkish newspapers solution to the problem of a Kurdish homeland: incorporate all of the Kurdish areas (including parts of Syria, Armenia, Iraq, and Iran) into Turkey. They also apparently want parts of Greece and Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Crete.

Great Baghdad has a post on where the Iraqi refugees are going.

You might be interested in Last-of-Iraqis accounts of the “awakening” movements that may signal the end of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

neurotic iraqi wife points out that Iraqi ex-pats returning isn't necessarily cause for hope.

Thoughts from Baghdad has her own take on the reduction in violence there.

Dave Schuler posts regularly to his own weblog, The Glittering Eye. The Carnival was originally conceived by Ryan Boots.

Nights like this, it seems there is no stitch left that would bind us to anything beautiful or hopeful.

Rudeness is the only real plague. I am obsessed with rudeness and its opposite, its answer: Civility.

Civility, the heavy silver, costs more. It is wasted, given, thrown down for the sake of the fleeting sparkle on the pavement as we pass. Its own currency, that can transform a slum to a castle.

There are a few people left on earth that possess it; Another word for it is "class" and class has nothing to do with money or status.

I was wearing a bright red sweater and a smile when I walked into the iconic Strand bookstore at 5:35 this evening to rid myself of 8 large bags of discarded books from my shelves. Some of them were good, and in good shape, and even recent, popular, etc. Some of them were rubbish, admittedly. But I was proud of the haul, felt it to be substantial and of good quality.

"I have eight bags," I said cheerfully to the nearest Strand employee. Strand runs its business on USED BOOKS that people just like me schlepp down there, for a few shillings.

A Strand employee barked at me: "You walk in here at 5:35 with eight bags of books..."

I raised my hand like a traffic cop. "Stop. You are not going to abuse me for bringing books here, when this is what your business runs on, other people's books."

I demanded to have dealings with anybody other than this rude man.

I was referred to another man, behind the counter, and a third man started unpacking my books upon the counter. About ten minutes later, the man behind the counter, who had singled out about a third of the books as desirable, looked up and said: "These are pretty low end books you have here M'aam."

The blood rushed from my face to my feet, and I meekly said: "Ok."

I stood there uncomfortably, not knowing where to put myself, until finally the conclusion. He cleared his throat: "These books here," he said, pointing to the chosen stack, "are worth $85 to us. These others have seen better days."

"Fine," I said.

"Go to the end of the counter and sing your name and he'll give you the money."

I did.

"Thank you," I said, and walked out with my crumpled plastic zippered bags.

All the way home I felt numb, as though kicked in the shin and groin. Why was it necessary for him to insult me and my books like that?

Why?

Eventually, a chill came over me, and I started crying. I've been through much much worse, God knows, but the tiny knife cuts are the ones that fell us, sometimes. I started writing emails stating that I didn't think life was worth living and asking certain friends to please state their position on suicide. This happens some nights--when all the world seems rude, ugly, run amok with pig people. When nobody takes the extra two seconds to say something the nice way, the gentle way, the deftly gracious way.

It drives a person mad.

My father is a Southerner, and has spent a lifetime buiding these sand castles of decency--the right way to say things. The right flair, the extra cymbal crash, the reassuring twist. He reads every word of every fan letter he receives, and answers it. He sits and listens to every singing Christmas card and patiently waits for the snow, the bells, the lights, the snowman to start dancing...and he isn't even Christian, he is Jewish. Then he starts composing a reply about how nice, original even, the singing e-card was.

He never simpy turns down an invitation to an event or party--even if he knows he can't make it. He hangs up, waits a decent interval, then calls the person back to stress that he really searched his schedule for a way to make it happen, but just couldn't. This way they walk away feeling intact or better. Nothing taken away. Their party was perfectly terrific--he just could not make it.

In every communication, however short, he gives that little bit extra. Tries to remember a river or town in the part of Poland this person is from and exclaim its properties and even pronounce it right, so they feel valued.

Everything worth having is in the stretch, the arch, the extra measure.

People who have bothered to possess grace--it's a monument to waste, a thing of rare beauty. I wish I had it all in one room, in one place, to walk all the way around it and see what all went into it.

Why? How? What was America...before?

We--some of us-- are fighting back, vigilante style.

Vincent and I were in a restaurant one night and the waiter was rude bordering on violent. He snapped the menus on the table to indicate we had better order dessert right away or get out. He even said that people were waiting for the table.

Vincent looked at me and said: "We're leaving."

I nodded. We stood up, and we walked right out. Once we turned the corner, we started laughing. The life force came back to us.

"We're not taking it anymore. It ends here, tonight," he said. I smiled and nodded. I wouldn't have cared if we went to jail that night. I think Henry David Thoreau would have approved.

One day Vincent was walking in midtown and a woman pushed him. He is an athlete and mathematician. As a result, he held his body still, while the perpetrator, the pusher, flew backwards, cursing him. "Somebody's gonna mace you!" she shouted. Because he kept his space and held his ground. Vincent grinned from ear to ear and shouted after her: "Oh yeah? You want to party? What are you doing tonight?"

Six months later, that still makes me laugh.

Be kind. Be precise in your language. Be decent. Be imaginative. Flairful. Generous.

Tomorrow, we die.

If people try to zap you, zap em right back.

And now I shall go an consult my book of Orisha curses to see which one might be fitting for this latest transgression against my God Given rights.

Or former atheists, or anyone who has an answer they like. Every so often I like to see how far one of my fundamental beliefs can be stretched by intelligent opposition. Today I want you to try to convince me there is no God, WITHOUT referencing "the problem of evil." (In Islam God's ultimate goodness stems from the mercy of creation [the idea being it's better to exist than not exist], which contains both good and evil, so the existence of evil isn't the same problem it is in Christianity.)

Note that I'm also not asking why God need not exist--ie the "the universe works fine on its own" argument. I concede there is no need for God to exist; I want to know why God does not exist.

Nothing you say will offend me, except perhaps artistically, unless you flat out call me or any other theist retarded.

Arretium, circa 129 BCE

I watched as the young man left the patio, his olive skin rippling over smooth muscles, his body alive with that energy that can only be captured by youth in full bloom.

“He’s beautiful,” I offered, then stifled a laugh as I saw Marieko’s spine stiffen. “There are things I could teach him… but you already know that, yes?”

The old Greek turned to face me as I reclined on my left side and snatched another pear slice from the tray before me. His face was unreadable, a skill he thought he had perfected years ago but had been forced to re-learn in the year or so since Rufus brought me to this place. It was his only defense against me.

“My grandson is none of your concern, Felicitas,” he growled at me and this time I did laugh, but quietly.

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It's getting pretty Jewish around here lately, I know. Well, Dean had his Muslim period, you know, so I guess this is our Golden Age.

But unless you are of the Flying Spaghetti Monster stripe, you must read about the amazing story of a church that decided en masse to convert to Judaism.

Thanksgiving has come and gone and, like many, I took part of the Black Friday festivities. No, I didn’t get to some store at 6 PM on Thursday to get in before everyone else. I showed up at the Best Buy in Traverse City a bit after noon. I had planned on being there at 5 AM but couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Every year Best Buy has a number of new games half-off and this year I wanted to snag Bioshock and The Orange Box, both for the PC. They sold out of The Orange Box but had plenty of copies of Bioshock available. I called a friend back at home and he grabbed The Orange Box for me at another Best Buy.

The wife and I then had lunch at BD’s Mongolian Barbeque and spend the rest of the day at the mall and hit a Border’s (where I grabbed the Battlestar Galactica RPG and Firefly: The Official Companion - Volume 2) before heading back to her mother’s house.

So, did anyone else do any shopping on Black Friday? Snag anything good? See anything interesting?

Thirty four years after leaving the land of Israel, escaping, thereby, the vengeful wrath of his brother, Eisov, Ya’acov begins his journey homeward.

On the way, Ya’acov, knowing that he must encounter Eisov, sends a contingent of messengers (angels) to Eisov in order to find out Eisov’s intentions regarding him.

He tells Eisov, through the messengers, that he has until now “been dwelling with Lavan”, and then goes on to tell him-again, through the messengers-about the possessions he has managed to amass while with Lavan.

Rashi, after pointing out that the Hebrew word for “been dwelling” is numerically equivalent to 613 (the number of Torah commandments), comments that with his “I have been dwelling (613) with Lavan”, Ya’acov wished to convey to Eisov that despite his residence with the “wicked” Lavan, he had not been affected by Lavan’s lifestyle and had managed to keep all 613 Torah commandments.

Only then did Ya’acov tell Eisov about his wealth and worldly accomplishments.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, drawing upon the famous dictate, “the behavior of the Patriarchs is an example to their children”, informs us that we can learn from this episode an important lesson regarding Jewish public relations:

When a Jew finds himself needing to curry favor with non-Jews, he must never assume a posture of self-abasement and weakness. Rather, he must approach the non-Jew with “Geon Ya’acov” (the pride of Jacob), declaring proudly his dedication to the Torah and its commandments.

And when a Jew behaves in this manner, not only will the non-Jew concede to the Jew what he needs--Eisov says to Ya’acov “keep what is yours” (Genesis 33:9); ”here Eisov concedes the blessings to Ya’acov”, comments Rashi--but also he will come eventually to a state of admiration and love for the Jew--”And he embraced and kissed him” (33:4)

It's the Jewish blog carnival, in all its self-regarding glory!

Saturday Night open thread: go! (6:18pm Eastern)

Gary Kasparov has been arrested.

Here's some news you can use.

So, anyone else going to be watching Galactica Razor tonight? I plan on commenting after it airs, and spoilers *will* be allowed (fair warning).

Wow.

(Thanks Cardeblu.)

Friday night open thread: go! (9:54 pm Eastern)

"He who says he supports Chavez but votes 'no' is a traitor, a true traitor," the president told an arena packed with red-clad supporters. "He's against me, against the revolution and against the people."

The proposed revisions would do away with presidential term limits, extend terms from six to seven years, let Chavez appoint regional vice presidents and eliminate Central Bank authority, among other changes.

Critics warn he would also have the power to shut down Venezuelan newspapers, television and radio stations by declaring a state of emergency, and the government could detain citizens without charges during such a period.

Chavez insists he will only stay on as long as Venezuelans continue to vote for him.

BAGHDAD - Bombers struck a pet market in central Baghdad and a police checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul on Friday, killing 28 people in two of the deadliest attacks in weeks.
...
Despite the uptick in violence, November appeared on track to be the fourth month in a row to see a decline in the total number of Iraqi deaths, with at least 517 reported so far compared with 911 in all of October, according to an Associated Press tally.

"You can move freely in Amariyah at any time of the day or night," Abul Abed said. "You can even see women without head scarves, wearing tight jeans!"

A must-read.

Abandoning these people would be the most shameful thing imaginable for the coalition allies.

(Via Glenn.)

David Bernstein looks closely and finds a discomforting ambivalence.

Headline: Over 600 Cheer at Ordination of Two Roman Catholic Women Hosted by a Synagogue in St. Louis.

Leaving entirely aside the question of the validity of ordaining women to the priesthood (which one would think is a matter for those in charge of the church hierarchy to decide), what on Earth would a Jewish congregation be doing hosting such a ceremony? These are very different religions. Although I suppose one could argue that Reform Judaism is increasingly more like Unitarian Universalism than it is to Judaism...

I love going to an obscure family-owned restaurant where the waitresses call you "honey" or "babe."

I'm not a Huckabee supporter, but this is a great ad:

It also shows that his campaign "gets" the internet, doesn't it? This is even better than Hillary's very funny ad a few months ago, and they're smart enough to put it on YouTube so bloggers can feature it.

(Via The Queen.)

I had a better day than I had a right to. How about you guys?

It's not Friday, but it is Thanksgiving so what the heck: open thread, go! (7:02pm Eastern)

Funniest Thanksgiving bit ever.

Today I'll be going to church, then doing some service work, then visiting my family--and thanking God that I'm alive.

What are you thankful for today?

David Petraeus.

(Via Bill.)

In the comments to an earlier post Acksiom asked:

"what grounds or principles or whatever it is that the Pot-hibitionists are citing as being more fundamental and primary than the right to self-determination."

I suggested two answers to his question, the second of which I am posting now:

My current view is that we, as Americans, despite what we are accustomed to think, are subjects of a sovereign. The conquerers of this great land, who defined its constitution, vested this sovereignty not in a king per say, but rather in a legislature, judiciary and executive defined as they are in said constitution. We are not subject to an American king, but we are indeed subject to an American sovereign. It's crucial to remember that this constitution was ratified representatively by all those to be subject to the sovereignty embodied within it.

It's true that the founders and the ratifying subjects placed limits to the powers of this sovereign, but not so many as to give credence to any 'right' to self determination to the extent such as claimed by doctrinaire libertarians. (Yes, the "constitutionality" of many of the powers of the sovereign is still debated by thinkers. But their disputes are merely academic, as the constitution grants the judiciary the authority to settle these questions, whether we agree with its conclusions or not.)

The only way, so far as I can tell, of ceasing to be subject to the American sovereign is to leave his lands, the lands for which "he" spilled "his own" blood to hand down to us, his subjects.

The above, of course, does not pretend to deal with any "natural law" objections one might conjure against the powers of the American sovereign.

Come check out this post by 'Dean's World' contributor, and my co-blogger, AlexH.

The probable true story.

Reading this interesting post by Darlene Click at the protein wisdom blog, I came across this excerpt:

Prosecutors said homeowner Shannon Edmonds opened fire Dec. 7 after three young men rampaged through the Clearlake house demanding marijuana and brutally beat his stepson. Rashad Williams, 21, and Christian Foster, 22, were shot in the back. Hughes fled. […]

Edmonds’ stepson, Dale Lafferty, suffered brain damage from the baseball bat beating he took during the melee. The 19-year-old lives in a rehabilitation center and can no longer feed himself.

For the purpose of making my point, I am assuming here that the facts of the case match the excerpted description.

I regret that he did not also manage to kill the third one.

He essentially invented - or at best was spoon-fed - the story about jews wearing yellow ribbons in Iran.

The Associated Press reported from Tehran that the draft law, which has received preliminary approval, would discourage women from wearing Western clothing
...
the requirement that Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians wear special insignia might be part of an older version of the Islamic dress law, which was first written two years ago.

The quote can be found in several editions of Khomeini’s speeches and messages. Here is one edition:

Paymaha va Sokhanraniyha-yi Imam Khomeini (“Messages and Speeches of Imam Khomeini”) published by Nur Research and Publication Institute (Tehran, 1981).

Shaul Bakhash of George Mason University looked into the quote, and has written the following for a private newsletter for Gulf experts:

CaliforniaJosh wrote:

"I wish I had the time right now to argue my position on this, but I can't, so I'll ramble off the following:

My take is this: If you believe marijuana is harmless, you will argue for its legalization. No surprise there.

If you believe that it's not harmless, like I do, and generally bad for a society that already has problems with tobacco, alcohol, and the illegal drugs, then you'll argue to keep it illegal.

I do believe it has medical benefits, especially for chemotherapy.

I believe it should only be legalized if the prices are kept at current levels, and most of that price is as tax, and that tax is used to fight the real war on drugs which is against meth, crack, heroin, cocaine, etc etc. I also think the death penalty needs to be utilized much greater, but not for anything related to marijuana. But certainly for heroin, crack, etc.

I used to think weed was harmless, then after a decade of watching my stoner friends turn into losers and develop mental problems, I changed my mind. It's not like crack where you see people go to hell immediately. It's not physically addictive. But it does change people that smoke it every day, and it changes them a few percentage every year. Compound that over a decade, and you've got a person who is fundamentally different, and that's bad for them and society.

Those that smoke it on occasion are probably not affected by it at all. Same with those that drink on occasion.

Some people argue for legalization of all drugs, to fight crime. Why doesn't the netherlands have crack and heroin available in the stores? Answer is that it's a very bad idea.

Just because some people can handle their alcohol, doesn't mean we all can. Same with marijuana. I know folks that are high all the time, every day of every month of every year. The human brain simply isn't designed for that.

Also, if schizophrenia or other mental illnesses run in your family, chronic marijuana use can bring it to the surface if you've been dealt a bad set of DNA. That's an established fact, not speculation. European scientists proved it.

California's democrats really screwed up with the medical marijuana stuff, it's abused to such a degree it's a complete joke. They even named the bill SB420. Senate Bill 420. For those of you that know, 420 is code for "lets get high".. It was no coincidence.

The roman empire fell from within, for many reasons, one of which was laziness. I wonder if the chinese and indians are kicking back getting high, thinking they're at the top of the world? I dobut it. But I know lots of americans are."

.......................................................

I am here making no statement as to Josh's well spelled out views other than that they are worthy of serious attention.

The Economist reveals that the Ayatollah apocalyptic quote that Norman Podhoretz is throwing around doesn't actually seem to exist.

Norman Podhoretz, when pressed for a source, says it was Amir Taheri. And that the quote was from 1980. And that the dog ate the quote in subsequent compilations of the Ayatollah's speeches. thus spake the Tool:

The quote, along with many other passages, disappeared from several subsequent editions as the Islamic Republic tried to mobilize nationalistic feelings against Iraq, which had invaded Iran in 1980.

The practice of editing and even censoring Khomeini to suit the circumstances is widely known by Iranian scholars. This is how Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, the Director of the Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland and a specialist in Islamic censorship, states the problem: “Khumayni’s [sic] speeches are regularly published in fresh editions wherein new selections are made, certain references deleted, and various adjustments introduced depending on the state’s current preoccupation” (Persian Studies in North America, 1994).

First of all, Amir Taheri is not exactly a reliable source. He essentially invented - or at best was spoon-fed - the story about jews wearing yellow ribbons in Iran. The National Post issued a retraction, but Taheri stood by his "facts".

But let us take Taheri at his word. Suppose that the Ayatollaah catually did utter those words in 1980. Is this even remotely relevant to the question of whether Iran can be deterred? Julian Sanchez says it succinctly:

the broader question is whether Iran should be treated as a potentially suicidal nation run by apocalyptic madmen, or as an aggressive but ultimately familiar sort of antagonist, motivated by raison d'État and therefore deterrable. And if we're looking for insight into that question, then the fact that Khomenei may have uttered the quotation given above in revolutionary days strikes me as far, far less significant than the fact that Iran's "Khomeinist" government has since seen fit to toss it down the memory hole.

In other words, the very act of censorship which Taheri claims is occurring to sanitize the Ayatollah's utterances in the revolutionary era nearly three decades ago, actually demonstrates rather clearly that the modern ruling elite of Iran is eminently deterrable, and not wacky insane at all.

And the bottom line is that Iran is totally outmatched, and knows it. Blake Hounshell, writing at Foreign Policy Magazine, does the tally:

Let's take the case of Israel, which would theoretically be the country most threatened by an Iran with nuclear weapons. Israel reportedly has upwards of 200 nuclear bombs and/or warheads and second-strike capability. Notably, Israel has three nuclear-armed submarines; Iran has no technology that can detect them.

In the extremely unlikely event that the mullahs are foolish enough to launch their unreliable missiles on Tel Aviv and/or Jerusalem (most likely killing tens of thousands of Muslims and destroying several major Islamic holy sites in the process), Israel will annihilate Iran. With their submarines, the Israelis can do so even if their entire country is destroyed first. Boom. That's deterrence.

For all Anne Applebaum's hand-wringing about the only option being "fingers crossed", the simple truth is that a nuclear Iran is far less a threat to Israel's existence, let alone ours, than the Soviets were during the Cold War. And recall the rhetoric of that age:

At some point amidst the amiability and the inability to reach every agreement, Khrushchev broke out in one of his flights of rocket rhetoric. "Technicians make me laugh," he said, "when they argue over the question of whether five or maybe six rockets armed with thermonuclear warheads might be needed to demolish Great Britain. We have at least twelve already pointed at that target." And then, looking at his guest, Khrushchev remarked that Italy, with its allied missile bases, could expect its share. "This is not a threat," he added with a straight face, "just a warning."

Deter that! oh wait, we did. We buried them.

I caught our very own G. Willow Wilson's segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation this afternoon. Her very lovely speaking voice came across beautifully on radio.

I simply had no idea. She really should be podcasting.

Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2007) — The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.

The New York Times admits things are massively improving in Baghdad.

It appears that this is what Dean's World will look like soon. I'm geeked.

So, have you bought CAIRO yet?

"Gonna" (as in "going to") has been admitted to the dictionary.

It's an odd linguistic construction since it's not standard contraction and doesn't even really save space. It's just faster and easier to say.

I suppose some grammarians are furious, but too bad. ;-)

We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah. For patriotism is another name for paganism. I say let this land [Iran] burn. I say let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world.

If a day comes when the world of Islam is duly equipped with the arms Israel ha