Random stuff again...

Light week blogging again because I've been busy with family things, and working on my other website (announcement shortly...)

Some random stuff from the web this week:

The left talks constantly about what a "disaster" the Bush II administration has been, and how his reelection will bring horror and chaos of apocalyptic proportions to America. Right...

Here's a concice and topical quote from a professor in Canada (courtesy of left-leaning Mark Kleiman) explaining that essentially it is impossible for any president to screw up America very badly under the current system--so people shouldn't become suicidal over who's president. (People on both sides of the political spectrum overstate the impact a president can have for good or bad--presidents by themselves can't really do much to change the direction of a country...)

Offbeat News: Medicinal leeches! (No word on whether they'll be going back to the 'drilling holes in the head' method of treating mental illness)

Also, I can think of a number of reasons this guy should have rethought his proposal method, but at least it had a happy ending...

IntellecXhibitionist discusses the "limits" people put on the Atonement. Yet another example of people using "reason" to limit the power of God. ("Sure, God can move mountains, but he certainly can't help a person overcome same-sex attraction...")

(Here's my brief article on the Atonement if anyone's interested...)

On the same subject, the Constitutional Amendmend "protecting" marriage didn't get past the Senate this week. Many people, myself included, think a Constitutional amendment isn't warranted in this situation, while still opposing gay marriage in principle. OpinionJournal laments that the over-aggressiveness of the amendment supporters has essentially given gay marriage supporters a political victory of sorts. The editorial also states that gay marriage is now "inevitable". I say it was inevitable from the very beginning, but still stand by my position that gay marriage:
(1) should be opposed on principle
but (2) will almost certainly come to pass in many places
and (3) is not actually that big a deal and won't cause apocalyptic horror and chaos anymore than Bush's re-election will. Life will go on...

(Obligatory link to my gay marriage essay...)

Everything is black-and-white to Meridian Magazine, of course, which classifies anyone who doesn't believe a constitutional amendment about marriage is warranted as a "Marriage Opponent". Sigh...