I'm really looking forward to Lauryn Hill's new album. Despite her occasionally bizarre outlook on life, I appreciate a lot of the things she has to say in songs like "Doo Wop (That Thing)". It seems she has at least half a head on her shoulders. Here's hoping she works out whatever she needs to work out, because she's quite talented.

Dag, Peggy, the president only mentioned God once during the address.
Get a grip.

Come on, let's lay off Peggy. She's one of us. In fact, she was mostly responsible for all of Reagan's God talk in his speeches. She just thought that Bush's speech was over the top and less than great.

Fortunately, I didn't get a chance to see it, so I can't judge for myself, but Peggy Noonan is usually right about most things.

Great links: I especially like Noonan's "moral modesty." What hellish kind of Newspeak is that?

We used to call it cowardice.

"I hope she's working on getting outta that whack pseudo-spiritual cult life too."

That really rubbed me the wrong way... Two points:
(1) Has it occurred to you that perhaps what makes her music so
compelling is that fact she let's us in a little bit on her spiritual journey?
(2) And who are you to mock her spiritual journey anyway? Obviously her understanding of her relationship with God is different than yours, and you do not agree with it... which is cool... but you should at least respect Ms. Hill's integrity to walk her own spiritual journey...

Billy HW:

Noonan is one of 'you'. Maureen Dowd and Molly Ivins are closer to my end of the spectrum. Having said that- I didn't find the president's inaugural address pious or inappropriate. Historically, Lincoln, JFK and Carter have all invoked God to about the same degree as was done in that speech.

jab, I can respect someone's right to make a decision, but that doesn't mean I have to respect the decision they make.

I just read the Rolling Stone article. Cool.

What is this "one of us" talk? I'm not into blind obligation to sides. I'm gonna call somebody on their wrong regardless of persuasion.

Noonan better watch her back. Literally.

I hear ya Ambra. Its important to relate to views, but we have to call anybody out when they aren't being consistent. I agree with Peggy Noonan on a lot, but she doesn't have nail scars if you catch my drift. Keep up the good work and speak your mind. Thats what separates you from the rest.

Hi,

The whole "intelligent design" concept is quite interesting. Comedians Penn & Teller did an excellent piece on creationism and the like on their Showtime show "Bullsh**!" Pretty funny stuff. I recommend the first season collection. They go after both liberal and conservative loons on quite an array of subjects.

PS...check out my new site...click right below...

A "Nightline" correspondent asked one of the Dover school board members who is a proponent of intelligent design to describe the concept. Girlfriend couldn't 'splain it, and kept pointing to a memo in her hand, saying, "It's in the memo,"

How much you wanna bet she wanted to break out Genesis? (as quiet as it's kept, Darwin, a former seminarian, did not espouse "evolution")

The fact that you find Penn & Teller even remotely amusing says it all, Mike.

Glen,

I wouldn't normally find them amusing. I find the material they've mined for their television show to be highly subversive, entertaining and thought provoking.

Going after both creationist loons and environmental whack-jobs makes for pretty interesting viewing. Teller's mute-schtick is so played, but Penn's frequent outbursts of profanity are amusing at times. The presentation of the show is highly-polished and very watchable.

Noonan better watch her back. Literally.

Well, now you've gone and completely lost your mind.

You might want to tone down that childish attitude. You also might want to try some humility and respect for your elders. I think I remember reading something about that in the Bible somewhere.

There is such a thing as Evangelical hubris.

BillyHW, at what point is suggesting that God is not mocked childish and constitute losing one's mind?

Really...

The point is, Americans should know better, the consequences of suggesting that God be left out of an equation.

That's not Evangelical hubris; that's Bible. This isn't about disrespecting elders; this is about disrespecting the name of God. I say, He wins.

Evangelical hubris?!?

Nahhh... arrogance in the name of God is virtue!

Alright... dang... I tried to cancel that last post... that was obnoxious on my part. I knew it was wrong just as I hit "post" and tried to "cancel" immediately after.
I apologize...

Intelligent design is just creationism in drag.
The problem with intelligent design is that it claims that certain organs or organisms are far too complex to have evolved via natural mechanisms, but instead must have been supernaturally designed... this idea is called "irreducible complexity"... but this is just "God in the gaps" couched in scientific jargon... that whatever we can't explain with our current scientific knowledge must be a miracle of God... but as soon as scientists eventually find an explanation, the creationists must backtrack... intelligent design has NO scientific basis of its own... it is completely reactionary, defensive, parasitic.
Interestingly enough, the Catholic Church, which has been so wrong in the past about science (eg. Galileo), has come around an accepted evolution... in fact, the Catholic Church runs the Vatican Obervatory that does cutting edge astrophysics research on the origins of the solar system... they learned long ago that science and religion are complementary, not in conflict.

OK, I will bite...
Evolution is just secular humanism in drag.

Glen,

No, evolution is science. Period.
It has nothing to do with secular humanism.
One can be a Christian AND believe in evolution.

Evolution is bad science, seized and run with by people who simply cannot handle the idea of a Creator.

Show me that "missing link" and we can talk. Otherwise, ya got nuttin'.

Then again, if you want to claim apes in your family tree, I suppose that's your prerogative. Just make sure those branches are sturdy :)

Glen,

You have no idea about what you are talking... normal people would be embarrassed by their ignorance rather than being proud of it.
The theory of evolution is supported by incredible evidence... of course, it is not a complete theory... we still have unsolved problems... but scientists view such problems as future opportunities for research. No scientifc theory is complete... including gravity...
We keep looking for evidence, modifying and improving the theories, and testing them against more and more evidence... it is a never-ending process... the theory of evolution is not complete, but it is improving... creationists, on the other hand, wants to shut the whole process down... contrary to the rantings of creationists, scientists have no problem at all with INFORMED critiques of evolution.... its how theories get improved... but creationists don't want to improve science, they want to shut it down.

I would beg to differ, but hard-headed evolutionists persist in hanging on to a theory that just doesn't hold water in the long run.

You think you have apes in your tree, fine. No one wants to stop your fantasy life. I find it pretty amusing, actually.

Jab
you're misrepresenting the catholic church's position a little bit:

The Church insists that man is not an accident; that no matter how He went about creating Homo sapiens, God from all eternity intended that man and all creation exist in their present form. Catholics are not obliged to square scientific data with the early verses of Genesis, whose truths-and they are truths, not myths-are expressed in an archaic, pre-scientific Hebrew idiom; and they can look forward with enjoyment and confidence to modem scientific discoveries which, more often than not, raise fundamental questions which science itself cannot answer.

http://www.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Issues/Darwin.html

Their position sounds a more like intelligent design than darwinism.

You can hold your breath until you pass out, as far as I'm concerned, "Tae", if it will bring blessed relief from your palsied prose.

How's that anonymous character assassination blog goin' for ya?

Actually Tae, given your apparent need to ramble on in prose, puffed up knowledge and blessedly long comments (which few people read by the way, so I dunno why you even included the link to your novella), I actually was glad you chose not to comment on this one.

by the way, a curious question...how tall are you?

No you're that way because God made, designed, and fashioned you that way, despite what racist Darwin may say.

"[now, does that advance
some argument on natural
selection -- that us post-
graduate folk are generally
taller -- i dunno. . .?]

Nope. Just wondering if it was a Napoleon complext of sorts. It seems it isn't. It's just plain arrogance, which I suspected. Anyway, your salutation in past threads lets me know what you're about, your line of thinking, and how to go on ignoring you appropriately. Thanks for answering.

Trolls hide in an "anonymous" world.
Your character assassination website is "anonymous."
Ergo, you are a troll.

Some day, when you are a man instead of a boy, you will freely and openly stand behind your statements. Until then, "Tae/whomever", you remain a child best neither seen nor heard.

Tae,

Great response to Glen's demeaning non-response.

Your question wasn't answered, "Tae", because I'm not about to debate intelligent design with someone who is too cowardly to identify himself/herself.

While you may get great pleasure out of attacking others from the comfort of an anonymous online existence, it shows you as a tedious troll.

Jock up, or jump off. End of story until/unless you quit hiding behind that lame fake name.

jab wrote: (1) Has it occurred to you that perhaps what makes her music so compelling is that fact she let's us in a little bit on her spiritual journey?

That really doesn't matter if the spiritual journey she's on is the wrong one.

(2) And who are you to mock her spiritual journey anyway? Obviously her understanding of her relationship with God is different than yours, and you do not agree with it... which is cool... but you should at least respect Ms. Hill's integrity to walk her own spiritual journey...

I respect the fact that people need to get free from the pseudo-Christian cults being passed off as legit in this country. In my book, Lauryn meeting the true God is more important to me than her coming out with another album.

It's been widely accepted by all types of people that post-success of "Miseducation", Lauryn Hill has been "on some whack stuff".