'Pope Regretful Over Outrage'

tee bee

Regretful, that is, for quoting an ancient manuscript.

In his speech Tuesday to university professors in Germany, Benedict cited an obscure Medieval text that characterizes some of the teachings of Islam's founder as "evil and inhuman" — comments some experts took as a signal that the Vatican was staking a more demanding stance for its dealings with the Muslim world.

No, blowing up buildings while crashing passenger-loaded planes (with children onboard) into them and hoping for a high bodycount isn't evil or inhumane - if you're a psycho.

Meanwhile, Mecca burns.

"We do not accept the apology through Vatican channels ... and ask him (Benedict) to offer a personal apology — not through his officials," Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Lebanon's most senior Shiite cleric, told worshippers Friday in Beirut.

Two churches in the West Bank were hit by firebombs Saturday, and a group claiming responsibility said it was protesting Benedict's words.

In Iraq, the main Sunni party warned the pope's comments could lead to violence between Muslims and Christians. The pope "should not be lured into returning to the Crusades," the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party said in a statement.

"The world today needs all religious authorities to cooperate to curb the phenomenon of violence," it said. "We urge all Christian religious authorities in both the Arab and Western world not to be involved in the confrontation against the Islamic world as it could lead to Muslim-Christian violence, God forbid."

We should speak the truth in love to a world thirsty for living water. But our leaders must make no mistake that Islam has to face itself and "cooperate to curb the phenomenon of violence" that it has created, or be held accountable.

Only one world religion advocates the forceful subjugation of all people.

Sorry, Rosie, but the destructive and now-historical actions of a handful of militant wackos at abortion clinics doesn't compare:

O'Donnell: “Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America.”

Say what?

We have not seen Christians flying planes into buildings. Or strapping on an explosive vest to blow up pizza parlors. Or driving explosive-laden cars into police stations. Or beheading bound prisoners. Or denying education to women.

We've legislated this 'activism' out of existence. Which proves a further difference: These so-called dangerous people live by the law, not their own desire for vengeance and world dominance.

The reaction to Pope Benedict's moderate criticism - delineating Christianity from Islam and its penchant for jihad - has given these fascists yet another excuse for a looting and murdering spree.

How much of this is the peaceful Christian and secular world going to sit still for?

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's remarks in the Fox article, for example, don't signal a lack of welcome for the Pope so much as they attempt to mask glee that his trip will be anything but peaceful.

I'd go in the bullet-proof glass helicopter if I were you, Benedictus. I think they'd like nothing better than to parade you down main street, or at least your head on a spike.

CP @ GMC.

Leaky Vessels

tee bee

Novak, attempting to set the reocrd straight writes: "First, Armitage did not, as he now indicates, merely pass on something he had heard and that he 'thought' might be so. Rather, he identified to me the CIA division where Mrs. Wilson worked, and said flatly that she recommended the mission to Niger by her husband, former Amb. Joseph Wilson. Second, Armitage did not slip me this information as idle chitchat, as he now suggests. He made clear he considered it especially suited for my column."

Novak slams Armitage for holding back all this time.

Armitage's silence for "two and one-half years caused intense pain for his colleagues in government and enabled partisan Democrats in Congress to falsely accuse Rove of being my primary source. When Armitage now says he was mute because of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's request, that does not explain his silent three months between his claimed first realization that he was the source and Fitzgerald's appointment on Dec. 30. Armitage's tardy self-disclosure is tainted because it is deceptive."

Um... Novak, meet pot; Armitage, meet kettle.

I agree. It's all your fault.

Hrmph.... I'm trying to stifle the CLEARLY useless urge to ask why Novak keeps coming out holding the clean end of the stick in this whole Novak-spawned mess, even when he's stirring the pot.

Via Kim Priestap; CP @ GMC.

Identify Your God

I read this in the Best of the Web and thought it interesting.

Children of a Lesser God

A Baylor University study "found that Americans hold four different images of God," London's Times reports:

Nearly a third of Americans, 31.4 per cent, believe in an Authoritarian God, angry at earthly sin and willing to inflict divine retribution--including tsunamis and hurricanes. . . .

At the other end of the scale is the Distant God, seen by 24.4 per cent as a faceless, cosmic force that launched the world but leaves it alone. . . .

The Benevolent God, popular in America's Midwest among mainstream Protestants, Catholics and Jews, is one that sets absolute standards for man, but is also forgiving--engaged but not so angry. Caring for the sick is high on the list of priorities for these 23 per cent of believers. . . .

The Critical God, at 16 per cent, is viewed as the classic bearded old man, judgmental but not going to intervene or punish, and is popular on the East Coast.

That adds up to 94.8%, which leaves some room for other conceptions of God. Here are some we thought of:

Totalitarian God. He is everywhere, and he is watching you.

Multitasking God. Answers prayers by phone, fax and BlackBerry, all at the same time.

Noncommittal God. Loves his children, but isn't "in love" with them.

Isn't this fun? If you can think of other "Gods," send them along and we'll publish a list of the best.

If you send an e-mail to Best of the Web (opinionjournal@wsj.com), please comment on your proposed God. I would like to see them. I will recognize the best "other Gods" if I get enough comments. But given that I've posted once in a month, I doubt I will.

Don't expect anything until after next week. I will try to blog some again after next week.

Carol Bouchard -- Remembering Just One of the 2,996

As the size of a project grows, so grows the chance of becoming overwhelmed. In my church, which is Christian, we have this discussion all the time. Christians struggle to save all the souls of mankind. It is our calling. We are not to do it by force or intimidation, however. We are to do it with love and revelation.

We will never succeed to save the world. Nor can any one of us, or any one church, send missionaries to the entire world. So each person and group must pick our missions, be they foreign or domestic, and do them as well as we can. There comes a time when one has a lost soul in front of us asking for direction. We must not fail to try to reach that soul. Just that one. Among millions. Every lost soul is worth saving.

An analogous problem faced one whose idea was to honor those who died in the attacks on America on 9/11. How do you honor 2,996 people who lost their lives at the hands of evil men? The solution, thought up by The 2,996 Project, was to let bloggers tackle the problem one person and one blogger at a time. So I accepted my duty to honor one soul that met its maker on 9/11. I honor Carol Bouchard.

*********************************************************************************

This task is daunting. I am asked to honor a life I did not personally know. So I will do my best to give you the basics of this important person whose life is missed by many friends and family members.

Carol Bouchard was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11 on 9/11/2001. She lived in Warwick, Rhode Island where she worked as an emergency room secretary at Kent Hospital. She had a sense of humor that many people commented about, and she was considered a friend who was always willing to lend a helping hand. She did her part to give back to her community. Among her efforts was her participation in a mentor program for local youth. She left behind her husband, Fred, pictured at right.

Many of the passengers that perished on the airplanes were professionals flying for business as they had done many times before. Not so with Carol. According to her friends and family, she was on her way to Las Vegas with a friend, Renee Newell, but she was reluctant to go because she was afraid to fly. She overcame that fear to join her friend on that trip.

I imagine Carol regularly overcame similar obstacles to achieve what needed to be done in her life. As I visited various tribute sites, I have learned that Carol was an etremely kind woman who passed only because she wanted to take some time to enjoy life with a friend. She left behind a family and co-workers and friends that loved her dearly.

Our world lost an important soul on 9/11 when Flight 11 was used as a weapon by evil men. Carol Bouchard's death is not one to be overlooked on a long list of names we don't know. Her's was a life to be cherished and missed, and those she touched before she left should remind us all of this special person we lost 5 years ago.

God bless Carol Bouchard and those who feel most personally that void from her loss. May her passing remind us all of the preciousness of the fragile life that God has given us, and may we all be inspired to live it fully for ourselves and others.

Never Forget, Nurses are Strong

tee bee

What is it KJ would call this?

PORTLAND, Ore. — A nurse returning from work discovered an intruder armed with a hammer in her home and strangled him with her bare hands, police said.

Susan Kuhnhausen, 51, ran to a neighbor's house after the confrontation Wednesday night. Police found the body of Edward Dalton Haffey, 59, a convicted felon with a long police record.

Something like instant justice, I think.

The Path to 9/11

tee bee

Hyscience has a post up about The Path to 9/11 and Losing Bin Laden.

After all the cries of Bush failure for not nabbing Bin Laden, it prompts the question: if Clinton botched the capture (on more than one occassion, it appears) why is Bush being held accountable for someone else's cleaning bill?

Good stuff. I may have to watch The Path to 9/11, if it ever makes it out of the can.

Signs of the Apocalypse

tee bee

Gad! -- Tigerhawk is right.

Really. I thought he was being facetious, but he's not when he says:

I agree with Atrios.

It's a dangerously wrong view of the world.

...

I'm just saying that the Consensus View of Sensible Technocrats has been pretty disastrous for a lot of people. Sensible Technocrats are above of all driven by the belief that They Are Right.

And it's why - pragmatic as I consider myself to be - I am loathe to hoist anything other than the cross or the jolly roger above my flagship.

I think the great danger here is the utopic placebo that's inherent in groupthink.