Hidden Meaning

The National Cathedral needs gobs of money to even undertake restoration. Thatere's a hidden metaphor in there somewhere.

All Things Being Equal

Would it be better to have a bad liar as governor or a good liar as governor?

As far as I know, Rick Scott is not a liar, so all things are likely not equal in Florida. But the question is worth considering.

I think it boils down to credibility. If the candidate just can not tell lies without giving away that she's lying (i.e. facial expressions), then I would vote for her. If she can not get away with lying due to incompetence (which would be the case here), then I would not vote for her.

The difference is that incompetence is rarely confined only to one area. If she habitually shoots herself in the foot, then she shouldn't be allowed near any dangerous objects, not just firearms.

The Wrong Tree

Back during the last Presidential election a fair amount of fringe bloggers went after the President by making much of his full name and that he wouldn't release his actual birth certificate. At the time I thought they were wrong so to do.

Now, I have a new theory. I now believe Mr. Obama's actual name at birth was James Earl Obama. It would explain much.

Core of Personal Theology

Currently there are two forms of theology loose in the world.

The first is what I call personal relativism. This is most popular in the US. It can be summed up as "I define who God is, and therefore what the world is like." A lot of the self-help, empowerment crowd seem to believe this.

The second, and this is popular in the modern Episcopal Church, is corporate relativism. "We define who and what God is, and therefore the nature of the world."

My view: "God defines me. What I know about the world is what He has told me."

I'm not humble. But I do know pride is a sin.

Political Quote For the Year

Sen. Everett Dirksen: "When I feel the heat, I see the light."

We need more like him.

Book Decision

I'm at a crossroads and am having trouble deciding what to read. I have two candidates. The first is my old, reliable companion: The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. It is short, chock full of wise counsel and eminently readable (for those who do not know it, the Consolation may be the best selling self help book of all time). Or, I can re-read a book I haven't read in its entirety since college: The City of God by St. Augustine.

Both would do me a world of good. I just can't decide which. I also need to get serious about studying the Bible again. I've gotten out of the habit, which is horrible. Lately all I've been reading are throw away thrillers and a history of early New York. It's been fun, but not especially nourishing.

Lose Weight at Wal-Mart

Instapundit links to a Forbes article that discusses a study linking access to Wally World with weight loss. Areas that have access to Wal-Mart have populations that weigh less than areas without such access, in brief. They discuss many reasons for such a correlation.

I can think of two more. First, with the poor, who are the focus of the study, most poverty stricken areas do not have what the rest of us would consider to be 'real grocery stores'. Because of the increased risk of loss due to theft, vandalism or other factors, merchants in such areas charge more per item. They also have much smaller inventories. They therefore tend to stock junk foods, which have longer shelf lives than fresh meats, fresh fruits or fresh vegetables.

The second, less serious, reason is that Wal-Marts are frickin' huge. If you go there to buy a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, some socks and some touch up paint, you're going to walk all over the planet to get those items. Whereas if there is no Wal-Mart, you're going to drive to A&P for the milk and bread (typically A & P's are fairly small), then to Belks (also small), then to Ace Hardware (ditto). That's a lot of driving, but very little walking.

Does the second reason mean that in addition to helping us lose weight, Wal-Mart is reducing greenhouse gases?

Which is worse?

The paper dying or the words on the paper?