The killing of George Tiller

If you’ve spoken to anyone in pro-life circles lately, you probably know who George Tiller was. He was one of the few doctors in the country who actively and proudly performed late-term abortions. His name is much-reviled. “Tiller the Killer,” he was called.

This morning, he was shot and killed while he was at  church.

I wish that I thought his killer was a jealous husband, bookie, random shooter, or crazy person who just wanted a headline. I fear, though, that this is going to be (as I described it to my wife) one of us. I expect that we’ll find out that he calls himself pro-life, maybe he’s even some kind of Christian.

I hope not, but I have to be realistic about this.

Naturally, just about every pro-life group around is condemning the killing. I might add, they mean what they say: No one condones this kind of thing. The problem is, it doesn’t matter.

The narrative is going to be that pro-lifers are hypocrites who don’t mind killing abortionists. It’s not a fair charge — since the overwhelming majority of us don’t — but it will be out there. Every time something like this happens, the pro-life cause is set back by the evidence that not all of us are really pro-life.

We all know that it only takes one person to do unspeakable damage to the credibility of an entire movement.

That, however, remains to be seen. For now, the paragraph from the NPR story that should hold your attention is:

The slaying of the 67-year-old doctor is “an unspeakable tragedy,” his widow, four children and 10 grandchildren said in statement. “This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace.”

His family and friends should be in our prayers. His killer has committed an act of profound evil, and it has caused tremendous pain in a great many lives.

Nothing excuses that. There is no rationalization that makes it okay to kill abortionists.

I pray for God’s peace for Dr. Tiller’s family and friends. I hope that they are comforted in this tragedy.

Refusing to pay taxes?

I had Glenn Beck’s radio show on this morning, and he played a clip from his TV show of actor Craig T. Nelson, who has apparently declared that he isn’t going to pay his taxes anymore because of the out-of-control government.

Transcript.

So, now, of course, there are people who are jumping on the bandwagon. Half-heartedly, Beck moved on to discussing the merits of getting people not to pay their taxes. He asked whether the government would have to break out the “jack-boots” if a million people refused to pay their taxes.

I wasn’t aware that the IRS was now a Nazi organization, but I suppose that’s the way he sees it.

Anyway …

To any Christians who are thinking about this, I’m going to give the longer version of the answer I just threw at Shane Vander Hart over at Caffeinated Thoughts. I had considered writing about this right after I heard it … Now that I’ve read a few posts about it online, I feel compelled. (By the way, in case you don’t go to look, Shane agreed that this is not a good idea.)

“Night at the Museum 2″

Last weekend, I took the boys to see the second “Night at the Museum” movie, subtitled “The Battle of the Smithsonian.”

For those who don’t know the first, here’s the premise in a nutshell: Larry Daley is a loser who takes a job as the night watch guard at a New York City museum out of desperation. It turns out that an ancient Egyptian relic there, though, brings everything to life each night. Chaos ensues. Eventually, he gets the hang of the situation, learns life lessons from Teddy Roosevelt, and lives happily ever after.

For the sequel, Larry has left the museum and is working on his inventing. Daley Devices is a big hit, and he’s more or less forgotten his friends at the museum. He makes his first visit in months, and learns that most of the displays are being sent to Washington, and the museum is replacing most of them with high-tech holographic displays.

The museum artifacts feel utterly betrayed by Larry, and there are several comments made about his insistence on answering his cell phone all night. Most telling is when Teddy begins, “Remember, the key to happiness is …,” and he answers his phone. After dealing with the call, Larry looks up to see that the sun has risen, so Teddy is again a wax figure. (One of the keys to happiness, we should all know, is knowing how to ignore your cell phone.)

Although it was supposed to stay in New York, the tablet that brings figures to life was sent to Washington and put in the National Archives. Chaos ensues.

Jed, the miniature cowboy figure, calls Larry for help. It turns out that an evil pharaoh, Kahmun Ra, has been animated, and he wants the tablet. Larry heads to Washington and gets into a confrontation with a Smithsonian guard, using a great deal of museum-guard jargon (comparing flashlights, for example).

He sneaks into the Archives and gets into the middle of the battle. The battle ranges through the Archives and museums, and winds up involving Al Capone, Ivan the Terrible (errr, … Ivan the Awesome, he prefers to be called), and Napolean as the pharaoh’s lieutenants (he rejects Darth Vader and Oscar the Grouch). The heroes include returns of Attila the Hun, Sacajawea, Jedidiah, the Neanderthals, Octavius, and Dexter the monkey. They are now joined by General Custer, Amelia Earhardt, the Tuskegee Airmen, a giant squid, several Albert Einstein bobble-heads, a bust of Teddy Roosevelt, and the giant Abraham Lincoln … yes, the Lincoln Memorial is animated.

If you spend too much time looking for logical consistency in the movie’s mythology, then you might get bothered by the fact that the planes and rockets in the Air and Space Museum shouldn’t really work — Jed’s guns didn’t become real, why should planes with no fuel be able to fly? In the words of the “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ theme: “Repeat to yourself, ‘It’s just a show, I should really just relax’.”

This is a fun little fantasy, not sophisticated science fiction.

It’s also well worth seeing. It’s quite funny. It is not completely free of profanity, but it’s pretty close.

All in all, I’d recommend it. We don’t go see a lot of movies, but my sons love the first “Night at the Museum” and this was sort of a birthday treat for my younger boy. I would say that this was worth seeing.

It was pretty much a fun movie, but did afford the opportunity to discuss some of the historical figures who appeared. (Normal people might pass on that … I like doing it.)

Enjoy.

Sigh … I hate feeling stupid

I deliberately didn’t say anything about the San Diego/Bible study story until I’d done some looking into it.

Very shortly after I did post something, two bloggers proved that I should have waited another couple hours.

The Internet Monk has a great post on the subject. So does Polycarp.

I admit, I’m tempted to delete my previous post … but that’s not the way I do things.

Sigh …

This is exactly why I’m usually skeptical of stories about people being picked on. It looks like I might have fallen for this one.

However, this does bring up the opportunity to tell a story whose lesson I (apparently) still haven’t learned.

In my first semester of college, I was in my Justice and Public Policy 101 class at North Carolina Wesleyan College. The professor was telling us his whole theory about what made liberals and conservatives tick, who was rational when and who was irrational when. He certainly did not fit EagleScoutJonathan’s definition of “Appropriately Neutral,” to say the least.

My point of view was well-known. I was well to his right.

Our major assignment in that class was a series of position papers on any topic in justice — which is a very broad topic. The first one I tackled was gun control. The professor had told us that he would give A’s, B’s, and “Rewrite” as grades on these — he expected these papers to get people thinking and wind up padding our grades if we put at least a little effort into them.

When I got mine back with a “See Me – Rewrite” note, I was furious. I just knew that I was being picked on for a conservative viewpoint. I was all set to fire off letters to the Young America’s Foundation, the state confederation of the College Republicans, and everyone else.

Then I met with him.

He thought that my paper was very good, and would give me an A if I wanted it. He thought, though, that I could do more. He wanted me to take the paper a step further, to expand my argument and think a little more deeply. I was one of half a dozen students in the 101 class he’d picked for this.

So … ummm … not exactly being persecuted for my beliefs. Rather, I was getting more attention from the professor and being invited to have more dialogue. Did he make fun of me? Yep. Did he take it when I dished it back? Yep.

When, on the final exam, I wrote a double-length essay about his whole rational/irrational liberal/conservative theory, I told him his theory, then went on to explain why I thought it was bunk (I was more tactful than that).

His response on that was, “Well, you’re wrong, but you explained it well.” That was worth an A in the class.

The lesson is that not everything that looks like persecution really is. After that, I became very skeptical of most people’s claims of being picked on by authority figures. In this San Diego case, though, I might have been duped.

I’d still like to know who this person was who was asking questions, but I can’t escape iMonk’s point:

Stop the whining. Stop the insisting on rights. Stop going to legal foundations. GO TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS. Work this out. Show something practical and constructive. Would Jesus be shouting about Obama is shutting down Bible studies? Get a grip.

(You REALLY ought to go read his post, by the way. The whole thing is great.)

San Diego vs. home Bible study

Well, here’s a bit of absurdity …

In San Diego, it is apparently being considered an illegal use of land to hold a Bible study in one’s own home.

Apparently, the determination is that they need to get a permit because holding this Bible study have an effect on traffic.

Uh-huh.

I wonder if anyone remembers the freedom of assembly. It’s another part of that pesky First Amendment thing? Anyone? Bill of Rights?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Ring any bells?

I see the traffic issue, and if this is some kind of a gated community or condo association, then those organizations might even be able to make a case for it. However, this seems to be a county official — and the argument is absurd.

Does a person have to get a permit to hold a dinner party? Backyard cookout? Birthday party for the kids?

Apparently, the pastor was asked a number of questions about specific practices of the Bible study — “Do you pray?” for example.

I rather suspect that this is going to go away and that the San Diego officials are going to wind up apologizing for bothering the pastor. If not, then there is a much more serious problem than people realize.

If, in your home, you want to hold a Bible study, book club, dinner party, Superbowl party, bridge night, or a bunch of friends who like to watch “Dancing with the Stars” together, that’s your business. The county is free to regulate the parking, which might make things difficult, but has no business asking whether the attendees pray.

I have not been able to find a statement from the county defending this matter. I rather suspect that they know they’ve overstepped their authority and are looking for a way out.

Swan fighting

Over at In2theFray, Alfie has linked to a great story. So, a big ol’ hat tip to him.

Here’s the story from Spiegel Online.

Apparently, a man got into a fight and picked up a live swan to hit his opponent.

Somehow, I wasn’t too surprised at this part:

The assailant, named only as Sebastian P., was drunk at the time

Big shock, no?

Thanks for asking; or, What I’m reading

A friend of mine asked me at church the other day exactly which books I’m reading, since I mentioned in my last post that I’m way behind on reading.

So, here goes …

First, I’ll mention the books that my son wants me to read.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart is the sequel to The Mysterious Benedict Society. I reviewed it at the Book Nook Club.

The Battle for Skandia is the fourth book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series by Robert Flanagan. “Tickle” had been hesitant to start the first one when I gave it to him for his birthday last year. Then he began devouring the series. He has said repeatedly that he wants to talk about this book, but he’s great at not giving spoilers, so he isn’t. I need to finish this one. I’m about halfway through it.

Tickle also read the Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper. That was probably two years ago. Thus far, I’ve read Over Sea, Under Stone. That puts me at one out of five. I’ve started The Dark is Rising, but long enough ago that I’m going to have to start over.

As for the books that I’m supposed to be reviewing …

The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns. I really enjoy this book, and I’m supposed to review it per my deal with Thomas Nelson. I’m coming up on three months since I’ve had it.

Rubies in the Orchard by Lynda Resnick … I’ve had that one even longer. It’s a good read, but I haven’t been in my read-a-markering-book in a whlie.

I had told my sons that I was probably going to stop reviewing books for a while, just so that I could catch up on other thing. Then I got an e-mail from Bethany House publishers offering to send me Love is a Verb by Gary Chapman. So much for that thought! My wife has actually read a couple chapters, but I haven’t even cracked it yet. I’ve had that one about two weeks.

My mother lent me The Shack by William P. Young. I’ve got to get that back to her sooner or later.

On another blog, there was a little bit of talk about Blue Like Jazz author Donald Miller. I mentioned that I’d never read the book as a qualifier to some things that I was saying. That evening, a friend of mine lent me her copy at church. This was Good Friday.

Just to top it all off … My wife wants me to be reading Emergence by David N. Palmer, and I had started rereading Hard Times by Charles Dickens before I really inventoried my tardiness.

I should probably get some of these done before the baby comes on 7/8, and then there are new books coming out soon that I need to read — North! or be Eaten by Andrew Peterson (book two of the Wingfeather Saga), the third Mysterious Benedict Society book, and Stolen Magic by Cindy Davis and John Richters (John being my father in law).

I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth

It’s just been a wild couple of weeks, and blogging has sunk to the bottom of my priority list. I have now built my collection of books that I must read by … oops, overdue! … to seven. That, and there are three books that my son wants me to read to be able to discuss them. (He is the best at avoiding spoilers!)

I’ve started several posts about political and religious issues, and tossed them all. I just don’t have that much drive to write it right now …

Raffi at Parables of a Prodigal World recently announced that he’s ceased blogging for now, for very much the same reasons that I’m saying. He ran out of things to say.

That, and I’m working on our garden beside the house. I need to transplant some of the stuff soon, and the soil still isn’t ready. This is the result of procrastination, I know. Still … there it is.

I have some, but they’re not getting anywhere. I’m working on posts for the “Characters Who Teach Character” series, but they’re scheduled for later posting, so that I won’t have a false start as I did last year.

I exist, I’m still reading blogs; and hopefully making some interesting comments somewhere … but right now my heart isn’t in putting up a lot of posts.

I’ll get back to it, I promise.

Now watch me put up fifteen posts next week …

I have some thoughts for Memorial Day coming up, so there’s something.

Anyway … thanks for stopping by, and I am still around.

Nancy Pelosi vs. the CIA

Amidst the various torture discussions going on, we have the little nugget between Speaker Pelosi and the CIA.

The CIA claims to have briefed her in detail about what was going on in terms of “enhanced interrogations,” and she claims that she was never told about waterboarding. More than that, she claims that the CIA misled her.

Here are my questions for Speaker Pelosi: What did they tell you, then? and When are you going to have hearings to investigate why the CIA lied to you?

Chuck Schumer backs parental consent law!

… For credit cards.

Yes, folks, just to clarify … 20-year-olds should not be allowed to manage their own credit, but 15-year-olds should be trusted to make their own decisions about surgical operations.

Well, abortion, anyway. They still need permission to get their ears pierced.

On what planet does this kind of thing make sense?