I wrote why I thought the “shocking preacher” was hypocritical to claim to be a Calvinist yet be sure that gays go to hell. Now, the world’s worst dinner guest has lost a lawsuit to Albert Snyder, the father of a marine killed in Iraq.
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I have a basic love-hate relationship with database programs in general, and even more so with genealogy programs.
Genealogy is a “data based” activity, and the advent of personal computers and software should have meant a better method to collect and store the data. The problem has been that the major program, Family Tree Maker by Ancestry.com is like that old nagging aunt you have in your Gedcom: it constantly nags you. Internet searches, once the domain of free and open access, invariably lead you to a search box that announces thousands of “hits” for your brick wall ancestor only to lead you to a sign up page for a “free trial” ending with, of course, a recurring monthly payment of $19.95.
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I live in a southern California coastal community just north of Malibu, and the last few days has been terrible. A thick cloud of smoke has hung in the air like a thick marine layer, causing us to turn on the lights inside the house periodically in the middle of the afternoon. Tonight, we are getting our usual on-shore breeze and I can see stars in the sky … evidence that the Santa Ana winds have abated. They may be back, but any break is a good thing.
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The Cato Institute Blog notes that Romania is joining a growing number of nations that have privatized their national retirement accounts:
Under a new system launched last month, more than 3 million Romanian workers under 35-years-old must opt for one of 14 competing private pension funds before January 17th, 2008. Those ages 35 to 45 can also decide to join one of the private funds. Starting in 2008, 2% of every worker’s general income will be redirected from the state budget to the chosen private fund. This contribution will gradually increase to 6% by 2015, and the current 9.5% social security contribution to the state system will diminish accordingly. “Several million Romanians will become investors, and the private pension system will educate them in the spirit of a free market economy,” says Romanian President Traian Basescu.
How did they get so smart? Or, alternately, why are we so dumb?
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Matt Young at Panda’s Thumb reviews Paradigms on Pilgrimage, by Stephen J. Godfrey and Christopher R. Smith, two evangelicals with advanced degrees who made the journey from Creationist thought to embracing evolution as God’s tool for creation.
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