No Grasp of Your Reality

If we can judge a nomination by the fear it brings out of the liberal pundits, then Samuel Alito is a wonderful candidate. Liberal author David Corn seems to petrified that Alito is the perfect conservative judge. He is concerned that with Alito, the democrats will be unable to sidetrack the issues:

There is no question that Alito is qualified, in that he has been an assistant solicitor general, a deputy assistant US attorney general, a US attorney and an appeals court judge. He is reputedly intelligent and scholarly. There will be no major disagreement over document releases; there are fifteen years of appeals court decisions for his friends and foes to scrutinize. That leaves the Democrats one avenue of attack: Alito would be bad for America.

Finally, it seems the Democrats will be forced to confront a conservative judge based on how he thinks and how he understands the Constitution, and not secondary issues like experience and a paper trail. (I think those issues are important, but still, they’re secondary.)

We’re starting to hear comments from Democrats like Pat Leahy:

This is a needlessly provocative nomination. Instead of uniting the country through his choice, the president has chosen to reward one faction of his party, at the risk of dividing the country. Judge Alito’s record on the bench demonstrates that he would go to great lengths to restrict the authority of Congress to enact legislation to protect civil rights and the rights of workers, consumers and women.

In other words, he’s afraid that Alito will read the Constitution without skipping the 10th amendment.

Here’s a quote from Eric Stern, Executive Director of the National Stonewall Democrats

President Bush has nominated a socially conservative judicial activist to appease the socially conservative political activists who control the Republican Party and this White House. Every Supreme Court nominee deserves a fair and thorough investigation into their judicial record. While judgements on this nomination should not be rushed, the giddy salivation of anti-gay activists over their preferred nominee should disturb fair-minded Americans.

Well… he’s not quite right. What makes me salivate is how much the liberals are jumping over each to complain about Bush’s choice. It’s a good sign that we should back Mr. Alito for the nomination, and pray that the Republicans will have the guts to back up this nomination.

I finally found the audio for one of my favorite Monty Python skits, the review of Australian wines (1.3 mb). Yes, it’s stupid, but it’s funny. I’ve got some other skits ripped from some of their other albums, and I’ll be putting them up online in the future.

BTW, Australia has had the last laugh, since they’ve left behind their reputation as a cheap wine producer, and produce many quality wines.

True to form, I’ve jumped on new technology, and fully expect it to change the way I live my life.  A new web tool called “Flock” has just been released in beta, and so far, I think it’s pretty cool.  While you can bookmark your links local like normal, you can also link to your del.icio.us account, and directly link and rate your bookmarks. Also, you can write up blog posts through the web client, like this post.

I’m hoping that it’ll support community linking, so I can easily see other people’s links…

NASA has a very, very sweet video made up of satellite images of the 2005 hurricane season. I had it playing at work yesterday, and everyone who walked by my cubicle stopped and agreed with my conclusion.

Download it and watch it.

What is small, red, round and is just what the doctored ordered?

No, it’s not that little pill that you now have to ask your pharmacist for by name.

The answer is Red Hots cinnamon candies, which were created by Ferrara Pan in the 1930s.

If you’re looking for a cure for those boring coffee blues, sprinkle in a few Red Hots and give your coffee a swirl. Instant cinnamon. The extra spice will warm your soul faster than the bean itself.

Don’t stop with your coffee, though!
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One of my favorite blogs is that of Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. Reading it gives me courage to live a joy-filled life, not in fear of others (Gal 1:10 ) . He and his wife, Denise, recently adopted a baby. His blog entry about the adoption and the baby’s namesake put tears in my eyes. It’s a must read. And while you’re at it, read the post just before it, “Double, Bubble, Toil and Stumble” before it on drinking in moderation.

If you’re not sick of RC yet, check out the new book “To You and Your Children: Examining the Biblical Doctrine of Covenant Succession” published by Canon Press. He wrote the foreword. His book “When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling” is also excellent and is part of our permanent collection.

Since my post, I have worked to perfect my own biscotti recipe. (According to this link, Biscotti in the US can be traced back to Christopher Columbus.) My recipe is inspired by the recipes for Biscotti di Prato from Mary Ann Esposito’s book Ciao Italia: Bringing Italy Home and Mark Bittman’s Biscotti from How to Cook Everything.

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Today, while searching for a calendar to purchase for 2006, came across one that had a William Bouguereau’s painting of The Abduction of Psyche. I decided to do a search on this artist, and found this lovely painting of a little girl. “Le goûter” is French for “The Afternoon Snack”. The girl’s eyes reminded me of Tabitha’s.

Sorry I haven’t written in a while. I’ve been distracted by another project, and also been working long hours on a proposal at work. But, I saw this answer and had to share it.

MSNBC has posted an interested article surprisingly called, The Gift of ADHD. Intrigued by the title, I started reading the article and was amazed. Finally, someone is starting to realize that docile, passive children aren’t necessarily ideal.

Just as teaching a child to walk takes a lot of attention, allowing children to have the freedom to explore takes similar resources, since you need to constantly be making sure they are being guided, and helping them up when they fall down. A teacher who needs to keep track of thirty students can’t give the children freedom, so they confine them to a desk. If they won’t willingly stay confined to a desk, they they are drugged until they sit still.

As the article notes, this torture that we ironically call “education” is actually counterproductive to raising intelligent, creative children.

The good news is that if your child can emerge unscathed from his education, he can find his niche in the real world that will reward him highly for his ardent curiosity, creativity, and ability to solve problems in innovative ways.

I love it! I love it!!! The article continues to break down the “wisdom” of modern education by praising such taboo activities as “goofing off”, and “impulsive behavior”:

Confusion is an admission that one does not fully understand the material being covered. Creativity requires that a person acknowledge that there is more to what is being taught than is covered in the simplifications being presented. Therefore, confusion can also be thought to be a necessary component of creativity. Confusion can represent an experience of the mystery of what is being taught. For example, in reflecting on photosynthesis, a child with ADHD might be awed by the order and harmony in the universe that allows for the sun to nurture plant growth, which in turn nurtures the human environment. A child with ADHD might get derailed in the experience of awe and get confused about the detailed aspects of the biology of photosynthesis. Confusion is essential to creativity but gets a bad rap in our culture, which makes a virtue of being sharp and quick at all times.

I hope this is a sign that people are actually starting to get it. I have to work daily with people who have been forced into the box of our public education compliance system. Sadly, all those who experience it are either recovering, or still victims. Neither situation is one in which I’m going to force my children.

One of my favorite places to eat in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is Casa’s in Fort Wayne.

Today, I was missing their Isalata Casaburo, and decided to make my own. It hit the spot. The taste is uncomplicated and refreshing. The bite sized texture makes it easy to eat - you can almost scoop it up, as opposed to having to stab it with your fork. An excellent compliment to Italian dishes.

My version:

• Iceberg & Romaine Lettuces - 1-2″ pieces
• Scallions - Chopped diagonally in about 1/2″ pieces
• Red peppers (use ones that are juicy, yet crisp!) 1/2″ pieces
• Generous amounts of freshly grated Romano and Parmesan cheeses
• Garlic Croutons (If you don’t have the patience for making your own - T. Marzetti’s Restaurant Style Garlic & Butter croutons are quick substitute.)

Top a mixture of 3 parts Red wine vinegar to 1 part olive oil - you want the flavor to be pungent and the quantity to be enough to coat the lettuce, not drench it, when the salad is tossed.

Serve with a thick piece of Italian bread, smothered with real butter - the kind of bread with a crust so thick that you have to physically yank it away from your mouth.

Click on the photo to see more in that set.

fall2005/toetrying Micah, attempting to touch his feet
The Garden Bunny (can you find the cricket?) fall2005/bunny1
Sarah-and-Tom/sj12 Mrs. Albrecht

I haven’t done a review in a while, but Sarah picked up a book at the library that I so enjoyed that I needed to share it. The book is called “Squeamish About Sushi: and Other Food Adventures in Japan“, by Betty Reynolds, and is a beautifully illustrated introduction to Japanese food culture.

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I take a perverse pleasure in seeing people discover for themselves wisdom that’s been in the Bible for centuries.

Leviticus 19:9-10 “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God.” (ASV)

A group of people in (what I guess is) the Los Angeles area have created a website listing fruit trees from which the owners have given permission for the public to glean. It’s very appropriate that they call their project “Fallen Fruit“, as seen in the above verse. God laid out a blueprint for a working welfare system that recognized both the importance of landowners (contra progressive socialism), and the rights of the poor and needy (contra conservatism, compassionate or otherwise).

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