The Institute (協会)

Supreme Court Strikes Down Decorating Public Schools Like Racial Christmas Trees

I talk about today's Supreme Court decision at the Acton blog.

Tonight, Live, 311 & Matisyahu--In St. Louis--I'm There!!

Tonight I'll be watching 311 & Matisyahu live! I've got GREAT, GREAT seats too. I was in line 8 minutes after the tickets went on sale.

Woot, woot!

New York Times Reports That 17 to 29-year-olds lean left politically

I posted it here at Acton's blog. From the article:

More than half of Americans ages 17 to 29 — 54 percent — say they intend to vote for a Democrat for president in 2008. They share with the public at large a negative view of President Bush, who has a 28 percent approval rating with this group, and of the Republican Party. They hold a markedly more positive view of Democrats than they do of Republicans.

Forty-four percent said they believed that same-sex couples should be permitted to get married, compared with 28 percent of the public at large. They are more likely than their elders to support the legalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Tiger Woods And His Wife Now Have A Daughter, Should He Retire From Golf?

At Tigerwoods.com you can catch the shots of Tiger's new kid: Sam Alexis Woods.

I wonder how this is going to change how he trains/practices/plays, etc. He's on the road constantly. Practices hours and hours per day. Pro golf marriages don't have the best histories (Fred Couples, John Daly, etc.).

How is he going to do this? I do give him props for missing the Buick Open to stay at home with the fam.

Lake Tahoe Fires--Can You Imagine Your Housing Burning Down? What would you try to save?

The remains of a house that burned up in Meyers, Calif., is seen Monday morning, June 25, 2007 during a wildfire. (AP / Paul Sakuma)

State of emergency declared for Lake Tahoe area

Associated Press

MEYERS, Calif. -- California officials declared a state of emergency Monday in the area near Lake Tahoe where firefighters battled a raging forest fire that has destroyed 225 buildings and forced the evacuation of hundreds more.

I can't imagine this. Here are the top things I would save. (1) Pictures and (2) My laptop. You?

New Book--Rishistan:A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich

Written by Robert Frank

* Category: Business & Economics; Social Science
* Format: Hardcover, 288 pages

Get the book at Amazon.

About this book:

The rich have always been different from you and me, but this revealing and funny journey through “Richistan” entertainingly shows that they are more different than ever. Richistanis have 400-foot-yachts, 30,000-square-foot homes, house staffs of more than 100, and their own “arborists.” They’re also different from Old Money, and have torn down blue-blood institutions to build their own shining empire.

Richistan is like the best travel writing, full of colorful and interesting stories providing insights into exotic locales. Robert Frank has been loitering on the docks of yacht marinas, pestering his way into charity balls, and schmoozing with real estate agents selling mega-houses to capture the story of the twenty-first century’s nouveau riche:

House-training the rich. People with new wealth have to be taught how to act like, well, proper rich people. Just in the nick of time, there’s been a boom in the number of newly trained butlers—“household managers”—who will serve just the right cabernet when a Richistani’s new buddies from Palm Beach stop by.

“My boat is bigger than your boat.” Only in Richistan would a 100-foot-boat be considered a dinghy. . .[more below]

Personal pleasure craft have started to rival navy destroyers in size and speed. Richistan is also a place where friends make fun of those misers who buy the new girlfriend a mere Mercedes SLK.

“You want my money? Prove that you’re helping the needy!” Richistanis are not only consuming like crazy, they’re also shaking up the establishment’s bureaucratic, slow-moving charity network, making lean, results-oriented philanthropy an important new driving force.

Move over, Christian Coalition. Richistanis are more Democratic than Republican, “fed up and not going to take it anymore,” and willing to spend millions to get progressive-oriented politicians elected.

“My name is Mike and I’m rich.” Think that money is the answer? Think again as Robert Frank explores the emotional complexities of wealth.

And, as Robert Frank reveals, there is not one Richistan but three: Lower, Middle, and Upper, each of which has its own levels and distinctions of wealth —the haves and the have-mores. The influence of Richistan and the Richistanis extends well beyond the almost ten million households that make up its population, as the nonstop quest for status and an insatiable demand for luxury goods reshapes the entire American economy.

Family Reunion Time

(This photo is from the Midwest Regional Black Family Reunion which meets this year in Cincinnati, Aug 17-19).

I'm off this weekend to the 'ol family reunion in North Carolina. Mine won't be as large as the National Black Family Reunion in Washington, D.C. Sept. 8-9, but it might be close. Since my family does not really have any drama broadly but the key themes, as usual, will be:

(1) stories of how racist white people are/were in the South and North (especially New York city and state) with the concomitant charge to never associate with whites outside of professional settings because they cannot be trusted; (2) I may hear more stories again of my two uncles who were severely beaten by racist whites in the south, one in the Mississippi and the other in North Carolina (with a golf club to the head, severely effecting his motor skills; (3) church talk--lots of Baptist and Pentecostal-type non-denoms (including preachers); I even have one uncle and his family who are Missouri-Synod Lutherans mainly because of all the churches they were visiting at one time, the Lutherans were the only ones that visited them in the hospital. Later, one of my cousins was a missionary in Japan for the Missouri-Synod for several years.

I blog again at some point next week.

Why We Love "Ultimate Fighting Championship" Fighting!!

The UFC has totally replaced boxing as a "sport" to watch for men. On the UFC website, you can follow it all.

So here's the question, fellas: why do men LOVE to watch UFC? Why is it played in every sports bar in America?

I wonder if it has something to do with the this being one of the few places where men actually get to truly test themselves and others can watch the testing of masculinity.

Thoughts?

Why Men Hate Going To Church--Future Father's Days May Be Nothing But Laments In American Churches

I was watching TBN last night and they had program about Father's Day. On the show "Praise the Lord" (taped Thur, June 14), Matt Crouch hosted a conversation featuring a whole list of pastors/authors talking about how pathetically feminized and emasculating conservative evangelical Christianity is (which may explain why most churches in America are nearly 2/3 women and why nearly 90% of all boys raised in the church abandon Christianity by the time they're 20-years-old). Most single guys 18-years-old and up are missing in our churches (unless their girlfriends or wives bring them back).

The conversation also explained just how sad, well-meaning mothers are over-mothering their sons and when combined with passive fathers are raising a generation of handicapped men.

Mark Gungor, Pastor of Bayside Church (2300 in attendance) said,

"The single greatest concentration of emasculated men in America is in the pulpit. . .[these] men are so afraid of offending anybody. . ."

Maybe Gungor's talking about those really soft spoken "preachers" who whisper, soft-spoken sermons. The guys who get really soft and quiet when they are pressing an important point. These guys who have confused winsome with preaching like Joel Osteen and Mr. Rogers.

Good conversation, I didn't agree with all of it but I was reminded of this problem again. This problem is so bad that a PC-USA elder, David Murrow, was on the show (a PC-USA ruling elder on TBN?). Pentecostals/Charismatics are addressing it (TBN), Catholics are addressing the problem (Leon Podles), Conservative Baptists and Bible Churches started a national movement to address this (Men's Fraternity), Mark Driscoll Pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle, and president of the Acts 29 Network, is on youtube talking about the masculinity crisis, and what do here about this from the non-Acts 29/Piper(BGC) reformed types? Crickets. Silence. Denial. Or many are confused thinking this is about being "macho" and it has nothing to do with being "macho".

Get this book to get started:

Why Men Hate Going To Church, by David Murrow.

Seventh-Day Adventist TV?? I got nervous

Here's the link at 3ABN.

I was TV surfing last night and stumbled upon 7-Day Adventist TV. I saw again this morning a picture of their active missionary activities in the Latin American and the concern that 7-day adventism was not as big as it should be. I got scared. Don't most of us consider them one of the cults? I got nervous.

Open Letter To All St. Louis Drivers: "The Green Light Means 'GO'"!!

Dear St. Louis Drivers,

Pictured above is a something called a "GREEN LIGHT." Can you say, "green light?"

When you're driving in your car and you see it. You should press the large pedal on the far right (pictured below) called, an "accelerator" or "gas pedal," that way those of us who actually have stuff to do can get on with our lives while you sit and the traffic light. Gazing at the sky or talking on the phone.

Ugghhh!!

Best,

Anthony

PS--St. Louis, below is a picture of a gas pedal on the far right. Your car should have one.

Globalization Is NOT About The West--Why Is No One Prostesting Asian Globalization?

Here's my most recent piece at the Acton Institute. If you know people who are actually believe the American culture and the Western culture is taking over the world, after you chuckle, the most gracious thing you should call them is "uniformed about international economic realties."

China’s Stealthy Globalization

by Anthony B. Bradley, Research Fellow, Acton Institute

One of the pervasive myths of globalization critics, and G8 protestors, is the idea that the West alone is globalizing the world. This year’s G8 summit outreach proved that China is not only the world’s greatest producer of greenhouse gases but is globalizing the world without much notice. China’s economic aggression in the Caribbean and Africa are two such examples of Asian globalization that may trump the West in years to come.

Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations had two outreach sessions at this month’s summit with five developing countries -- Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa -- demonstrating that globalization is exactly that -- global. This year’s outreach marks the fourth time that Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the meeting as China's economy has grown at an impressive pace of more than 10 percent for five straight quarters with a GDP topping US$2.2 trillion in 2005, according to the World Bank.

You can read the rest here.

I'm Speaking At Acton Univeristy This Week

Acton University
June 12-15, 2007
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Acton University is a unique, four-day exploration of the intellectual foundations of a free society. Guided by a distinguished, international faculty, Acton University is an opportunity to deepen your knowledge and integrate rigorous philosophy, Christian theology and sound economics.

My Lectures:

(1) The New Deal and the Great Society: Moral and Economic Failure--Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson established massive government programs intended to help the most vulnerable in American society. This lecture examines these programs, from the standpoint of Christian ethics and the work of Thomas Sowell in terms of their failure to produce their desired ends and delivering a "raw" deal for America's poor. Special attention will be paid to process-oriented vs. result-oriented social programming.

(2) Evangelical Social Thought: Justice Grounded in Love--The lecture introduces the biblical and theological foundations of Evangelical social and economic thought grounded in the love of God and neighbor conjoined with the doctrine of creation. The goal and motive of the Christian life will guide this discussion of justice with its implications for contemporary issues.

Here's the link. You should be here next year. You will get this synthesis no where else.

Orphans and the American Dream

Why Does America Have Orphans If It Has Christian Churches?

America has nearly 115,000 orphaned kids in foster care waiting to be adopted. Some wonder how this is possible in a country with Christian families. Surely, there are 115,000 missional families in America, right? Missional families, for example, embrace the redemptive mission of God and practice "true religion" in their local communities (James 1:27). Missional Christians in America could eliminate the foster care system tomorrow if we would stop "shootin' up" with the American Dream (heroine) in order to get high on a lame life lived for the sake of comfort and ease.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world," writes James (1:27). As a matter of fact, the Bible has over 40 verses mandating God's people to look after orphans and the fatherless for various reasons.

According to the American Religious Identity Survey, conducted by the City University of New York, there are over 224 million Christians in the United States. So, why are there 115,000 orphans in a country that has over 224 million Christians?

Here's the rest of what I wrote at the Resurgence Site.

In the photo above: Once a resident of a group home, this teen appeared in person to social workers and made a case for why they should consider him for a special foster home where parents are trained to deal with troubled youth. He appears to be to be thriving in the hom thriving in the home and enjoys having a room of his own. (photo by NELVIN CEPEDA / Union-Tribune). Here's the story.

Moving Today--Is This What Hell Will Be Like?

I'm moving today. Right now, actually. I hate it. I can't think of many things worse in life. This must be a picture of one dimension of eternal punishment. I just have to find the verse.

Anybody else hate moving? Are there any freaks that love it?

Paris Heads Back To Jail--Whew!!

Maybe after this Paris will go away. Check out GoAwayParis.com. Join the movement!

Choose Life--Your Mom Did!

I just saw this bumper sticker today and laughed. I'm going to try this on someone to see what happens.

"Yeah, I'm basically pro-life 'cause my Mom was with me."

Haha!

Paris Hilton Released From Jail?? Like OJ, It's Good To Be Rich

From CNN:

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Paris Hilton was let out of jail Thursday morning, days after she began serving what was to have been a 45-day sentence for violating probation, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

Hilton must wear a monitoring bracelet and remain at her home for another 40 days, said sheriff's department spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Medical considerations "played a part" in the decision to offer Hilton home confinement for the remainder of her sentence, Whitmore said.

Here's the moral of this outrageous story: money and privilege can get you WHATEVER you want in America, including living above the law.

Pathetic. . .

Your thoughts?

You Republicans Are In Trouble: Your Thoughts On The Republican Debate

Y'all got a chance to see the 10 GOP presidential candidates on Tuesday night discussing Iraq, health care and global warming.

You Republicans have a tough choice. Are there any guys that stood out to you and why?

(for the record, I'm registered with neither party but I'm willing to temporarily become a Democrat if it means keeping Clinton out)

50 Highest Paid Atheletes

(I'm rich, B!#$@)

Wow, here's the list from Sports Illustrated/CNN. The top paying sports: golf, auto-racing, baseball, and basketball. Wow!!

Thoughts?

Here's the top six:

(1)Tiger Woods
Pro Golf
Last Year's Rank: 1
$11,941,827--Salary/Winnings
$100,000,000--Endorsements
$111,941,827--Total
Mighty Tiger's handlers figure sports' first $100 million man's endorsement and appearance income increases an average of 13 percent a year.

(2)Oscar De La Hoya
Boxing
Last Year's Rank: NR
$53,000,000--Salary/Winnings
$2,000,000--Endorsements
$55,000,000--Total
One last giant pay day? On top of $25 million purse, Golden Boy took home $28 million in pay-per-view receipts from the Mayweather title fight.

(3)Phil Mickelson
Pro Golf
Last Year's Rank: 2
$4,256,505--Salary/Winnings
$47,000,000--Endorsements
$51,256,505--Total
One of sports' most reliable endorsers, Lefty is now at a point where his annual take in off-the-course income outdoes his total career winnings.

(4)Shaquille O'Neal
Miami Heat (NBA)
Last Year's Rank: 3
$20,000,000--Salary/Winnings
$15,000,000--Endorsements
$35,000,000--Total
Shaq took 20,000-square foot mansion off the market last year when no one would meet $32 million asking price. Now he's trying again -- for $35 million.

(5)Kobe Bryant
Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
Last Year's Rank: 4
$17,718,750--Salary/Winnings
$16,000,000--Endorsements
$33,718,750--Total
Need proof Kobe is a marketing genius? Since he switched from No. 8 to No. 24, his jersey has become the top seller in both the U.S. and China.

(6)LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
Last Year's Rank: 6
$5,828,089--Salary/Winnings
$25,000,000--Endorsements
$30,828,089--Total
King James' $2.1 million, 11-bedroom mansion near Akron is in the process of being refitted with a theater, bowling alley, casino and barber shop.

Clinton: Faith helped her through marriage infidelity

June 4, 2007

Clinton: Faith helped her through marriage infidelity

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In response to a question about how she managed the infidelity in her marriage, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, said “I’m not sure I would have gotten through it without my faith.” The White House hopeful answered the question as part of Monday’s Faith and Politics forum at George Washington University moderated by CNN’s Soledad O’Brien.

“I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and the strength to do what I thought was right,” Clinton said. “Regardless of what the world thought. And that’s all one can expect or hope for.”

Sen. Clinton also told the forum audience that she takes her faith seriously and personally, and comes, “from a tradition that is perhaps a little too suspicious of people who wear their faith on their sleeves.”

from CNN Political Researcher Xuan Thai

Ahh, thoughts?

Brubeck Was Amazing

Wow!! Brubeck was absolutely amazing. He is simply unmatched in jazz. No one mixes time signatures like that. Amazing. It was a real privilege to see a legend who was on the scene during the height of bop and hard bop.

Scalia's Daughter Gets A DUI--So What?

From CNN:
• Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's daughter on probation in Illinois
• Ann S. Banaszewski, 45, entered plea agreement for DUI
• More serious charges, including child endangerment, dropped
• Banaszewski also agreed to perform community service

WHEATON, Illinois (AP) -- The daughter of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was sentenced to 18 months of court supervision after pleading guilty to drunken driving.

Ann S. Banaszewski, 45, of Wheaton, Illinois, on Wednesday accepted a plea agreement under which prosecutors dropped four other charges including endangering the life of a child and failure to secure a child younger than 8 in a child-restraint system.

She was arrested February 12 while driving away from a fast-food restaurant in Wheaton, 20 miles west of Chicago. Three of her children were inside her 1996 Ford van when someone called police to report a suspected intoxicated driver, authorities have said.

Fellas, seriously, WHY is this in news? The woman is 45-years-old. What's this-got-to-do with Scalia?