Quick Hits

It’s about midnight. In twelve hours, my wife should be in the hospital to have a C-section and deliver our baby boy. Eagle is with my parents and will join us (and meet her little brother) later. My older sons are with their mother … they’ll meet their little brother when they get back.

A few things, though, have hit my attention:

Gov. Sarah Palin has done whatever she’s done, for whatever reason she’s done it. Frankly, the soap opera that is the life and career of Gov. Palin is drawing too much attention. For now, she’s managed to get everyone talking about what she might do now that she’s resigning as governor. Who cares?

Let’s wait until she actually says something, and then figure out what we think of it. For my own part, I’m pretty sure that I don’t care. I am surprised, though, that people who accuse Obama supporters of treating him like some kind of Messiah figure don’t notice the irony of how they handle Gov. Palin.

Shoving Hot Dogs in Your Face is one of those “sports,” to use the term in the loosest possible sense (by which definition playing Wii should be an Olympic sport), that has always disgusted me. Historically, it’s just been the thought that someone actually eats 60-ish hot dogs in ten minutes that would do it. This year, a “professional eater” (seriously, read the article!) shoved 68 hot dogs in his mouth, and the second place contestant did 64. In ten minutes, between the two of them, they ate 132 hot dogs. Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading Joe Schriner’s blog and taking his ethical thinking to heart, or maybe I’m just waking up to better priorities.

This year, more than the thought of that many hot dogs, what turned my stomach most was the fact that we have people who call themselves professional eaters, and we have people who are actually starving. What those two contestants consumed in ten minutes could have been lunch for about 15 families of four.

Speaking of Joe Schriner, I’m supporting his 2012 run for President. I reserve the right to look at other candidates, of course, and to choose candidates for party primaries and such. However, I look at Schriner’s commitment to a Consistent Life Ethic and like what I see. I anticipate writing more about him in the near future.

Blogs You Should Read. There are many. I’m not listing them all here. I am pointing to a few particular posts, though:

At Sola Dei Gloria, PJ is talking about the nonsense that is the attempt to pin down the Antichrist. Another antichrist candidate ‘bites the dust’…

At the Church of Jesus Christ, Polycarp hits on many good things. This is one that hit me especially:

It’s Deplorable What is Being Ignored, he says about the coverage of Michael Jackson’s funeral as compared to the rest of the world

About books. I’m participating in a blog tour for Jared C. Wilson’s Your Jesus Is Too Safe in the near future, and I’m hoping to be part of the tour for Andrew Peterson’s North! Or be Eaten! (book two of the Wingfeather Saga — you should read On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness if you haven’t already) when it comes out.

Polycarp graciously sent me his copy of the American Patriot’s Bible, and I can now say definitively that it’s as scary as I’d thought. I’ll have more-detailed comments later. The gist, though, is that it’s a shallow look at both Scripture and history. Using that lack of depth, it builds a case that sounds strong, but isn’t.

Sadly, though, it will appeal so to readers ignorant of history or Scripture but predisposed to a pro-American message. I’m afraid that in this country, and in our churches, we have far too many ripe victims.