Interesting idea for a list: the top 10 books people lie about having read.

I'm 0 for 10, and mostly proud of it. (#1 and #2 are imminent reads and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World should cover for #5.)

The Northern Gleaner: good thoughts on prayer, positivism, and [looks sheepish] fellow bloggers.

LVMI: on the (non-)correlation between wealth and happiness.

Libertarianism definitely suffers from at least some degree of Ivory Tower syndrome. It seems the facts are that many people throughout the last century have been forced to choose between food and freedom. That's not an easy choice.

Daily Kos links to a video of the recreational violence that is plaguing Baghdad. (Older viewers only please.)

Wait a minute: isn't the ISF supposed to be a non-sectarian representation of a stable, democratic Iraq? What's with all the Sunni/Shiite animosity within the force? Someone help me out here.



And yes, keep praying.

Free speech? This seems to be taking things a bit too far. (PjM)

UPDATE: Another report on this sorry mess, via Instapundit.

MercatorNet with another report on the negative fallout of China's one-child policy. (Earlier article here.)

Well, Bloglines was looking like a go until it started missing new posts. Not good. I mean, that's sort of the point.

I've been throwing OPML's around like frisbees, trying to find a reader that would import my feed file because I was getting really tired of rounding them up every time. Gritwire flunked, along with Sage and NewsAlloy. Google Reader was having trouble recognizing and reading feeds. FeedLounge is a paid service: no thanks. Rojo was not too bad, but it seemed to me that the developers used so many toppings on the pizza that they forgot the dough.

There was only one left: NewsGator. Nervously, I loaded the home page, registered for the umpteenth time, and found the import tab. Presto! It loaded my opml from Bloglines seamlessly and won me over with its crisp, intuitive interface.

The only significant drawback is that it's a bit slow, but hey, it works, and that's all I'm asking right now.

(In case anyone is interested, here is the article that Garrett linked to in his comment below. It's a good summary of what's available. Also see Garrett's RSS post from October.)

Postscript: If you manage RSS content, be sure to add the feedbutton - a nifty little java widget - to your site to simplify the subscription process for your readers. I've had one on Sojourner's Song for awhile: Green Coffee gets one today.

Israel has approved a Muslim as a cabinet minister. (Daily Kos)

Muslims need the Lord, just like the rest of us. But it's always heartening to see some sense and sanity in politics, an arena that could really use a little ecumenism.

Baghdad: Mortar explodes at girl's school; five dead.

It seems the extremists have been targeting the education system in a mindless slaughter of the innocents. Lord, how long?

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is throwing his hat in the presidential ring. The more the merrier I guess. (Daily Kos)

UPDATE: You guessed it: Charlie Rose interview.

I was somewhat disturbed the other day to see The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins, ranking #25 on Amazon. Currently, it's at #16; apparently it peaked at #2. This is an unsettling measure of society's collective fist in God's face.

MercatorNet has posted an excellent article about the book, with lots of sagacious commentary, along with a comprehensive roundup of links and resources for further analysis.

I'm not counting my chickens just yet, but it seems I've found a workable RSS solution, at least for the short term, or until I get a Mac. I'm using Bloglines, which isn't bad, although there are a few things I would change.

I'm using this post to test the notifier.


UPDATE: Bloglines checks... once an HOUR? You've got to be kidding me! That is soooo 20th century!

Hmmmm.

A lot of my work on the web relies on my ability to efficiently monitor RSS feeds. The last couple of days my computer has been crashing (yes, it's a PC) and clearing my feed lists. If you have a reliable solution that has worked well for you I'm all ears.

VOM, Ethiopia:

On January 8, the homes of three Christian families were burned by Muslims in the village of Begge. Even though the family belongings were burnt, no one was injured in the attack. At last report, the police had not yet investigated the incident or taken any action to bring the arsonists to justice. In the same area, 10 Christian youths have been living in a church building in Begge three months after fleeing from their homes. They were chased from their homes after their families threatened to execute them for converting from Islam. In a separate incident, a Christian man was killed by an unknown person in the town of Kofele. The father of five was hit on the head with a metal iron rod. His family believes he was killed by Muslims, since the Kofele area is dominated by Muslims. Pray God will comfort this brother's family in their grief. Ask God to encourage the Christian families who are homeless, so they can have deep assurance of God's love in the midst of tough times.

Keeping a finger on the Caedmon's pulse. "There's a stirring..."

I love political satire: LVMI just posted this livid-libertarian gem that is actually written very entertainingly.

AU is criticizing Bush's proposal for school vouchers:

Republicans leaped to their feet at the mention of “school choice” for parents across the country, while Democrats applauded politely, clearly bristling at the thought of diverting desperately needed funds away from public schools.

Supporters of church-state separation have reason to bristle, too. Vouchers are not just a way to get kids out of failing schools, as advocates claim; they effectively force taxpayers to finance religious indoctrination and discrimination. ....

For example, approximately 1,800 D.C. students currently receive up to $7,500 to attend the private or charter school of their choice. Two participating schools are the Blessed Sacrament School and the Islamic Saudi Academy. A quick glance at these schools’ Web sites shows how much their curricula are infused with religion.

AU is totally missing the point. The government is not specifically endorsing religious education: it is merely equalizing the subsidization it has already introduced; namely, that state-funded education be accessible to the entire population. To allow parents and students to choose their own preferred educational establishment does not endanger the separation of church and state.

Education Vouchers are an idea that Milton Friedman continuously advocated as a means to give students and parents more leverage in the education market. They seem to make complete libertarian sense.

Whether government-sponsored education is a good idea in the first place is an entirely separate discussion.

Garrett has revamped his blog pretty drastically: check it out.

As is often the case, the world is quicker to point out the travesties of evangelicalism than Christians. Here's AU on TV evangelist Benny Hinn; Wikipedia largely substantiates the criticism.

The Northern Gleaner on leadership.

Years ago when I was leading a fellowship one of the men who was a key part of that Church said, "If you want to know if you are a leader, look and see if anyone is following you, If they're not you are just taking a walk"....

I say, that's not leadership, that's domination and intimidation. Leadership is finding the right people, preparing them and if they will do what they must, giving them a hand to help them become everything they were created to be.

That, my Minister readers is what Ephesians 4 is all about. Not creating followers, creating leaders.

Sting operation targeting So. Cal. illegals results in over 450 deportees. (PJM)

This is sort of what I was hoping wouldn't happen.

SOTU roundup from WORLD.

Wesley Autrey, a New York construction worker who heroically rescued a seizure victim from a subway train and was mentioned in Bush's SOTU address, already has his own Wikipedia article. And you can't afford to miss this fantastic interview on the David Letterman Show.

Great guy, great story!

The Christian Mind on materialism and medical ethics.