musing minds

Ann Althouse is photo- and video-blogging her vacation in Austin. This is an interesting looking place.

The Anchoress points us to an essay by CBS’s Dick Meyers about “the scolds” and discusses Terrorism on Ten Speeds in San Francisco. I am so glad this “ride” did not occur when we were there last summer.

Basil serves up hot links every day.

Beldar discusses the difference between “bought” and “sought”.

Betsy discusses the advantages of being in the last two years of the second term of the presidency. The NYT title of the linked article? Bush Defies Democrats with Recess Appointments. Didn’t the Democrats first defy Bush by refusing to consider his nominees? Reading further into the article, the Times concedes that recess appointments are indeed allowed by the constitution and noted that:

The Bush administration withdrew Mr. Fox’s nomination for the ambassadorship on March 28, after it became clear that Democratic senators were lining up against him to settle a score.

Release date: 7.4.7

This is a Michael Bay / Steven Spielberg live action project starring Shia LeBeouf of Holes and Even Stevens, Megan Fox of Hope and Faith, Josh Duhamel of Las Vegas and Crossing Jordan, also starring Rachael Taylor, Jon Voigt, Tyrese Gibson, Anthony Anderson, and John Turturro.

The trailer *and teaser * look marvelous! I was watching The Riches last night and saw the commercial for the first time. As the mother of two sons, Transformers are a part of life.

* links are to Quicktime – for other options, Yahoo! Movie page for Transformers.

The teaser tells us that Mars Rover Beagle 2 did not crash after all, the last transmission showed a large, mechanical man bending over and then the transmission ended abruptly.

The trailer lets us know that there are both good and evil transformers, some have come to help us, some have come to destroy us…

The CGI is beautiful. This will almost certainly be a “buy” for us on DVD when it comes out.

Lyrics from the animated TV show:

Transformers
More than meets the eye
Transformers
Robots in Disguise
Autobots wage their Battle
To destroy the evil forces
Of the Decepticons

Looking at some of the pork included in the House and Senate emergency supplemental funding bills I am perplexed. $25 million for spinach growers because of the e-coli kerfuffle last year. Shouldn’t those spinach farmers be insured against crop loss? Wouldn’t that count as crop loss? And $40 million for peanut storage. Why store the peanuts? They can be sold or given to peoples around the world who need protein, they can be made into oil which can then be used as a bio-fuel like used fry oil from restaurants… Ewe lamb replacement and retention? Are ewe lambs not being given enough salary and benefits? Are they quitting?

La Shawn is looking for testimonies of how one came to Christ. I left mine in her comments but I am reprinting it here as well.

Please feel free to leave yours in both places if you feel so moved.

When I was 16 years old I had a dream that everyone I knew and everyone I loved worshiped the devil. I tried and tried to get them back in my dream, but they wouldn’t come. I woke terrified, my heart racing.

I spent the next 40 or so minutes repeating again and again, Jesus Loves Me. Jesus is my Saviour. Jesus died for my sins. Jesus loves me. Jesus is my Saviour. Jesus died for my sins.

Finally, after repeating that for about 40 minutes, I was calm again. My heart was beating normally. I was no longer terrified.

If I hadn’t had my faith in Christ, I am sure I would have been lost, would have had to have been institutionalized, in a rubber room with a well fitted white jacket.

The devil tried to get my soul. With Christ’s help, he failed miserably.

Thank you Jesus, You have saved me more than once.

Go read what Beldar has to say…

Thanks Bill, this is wonderful.

Sanjaya and Haley are safe, Chris Sligh is gone… Next week: Tony Bennett songs. Who will leave their heart in San Francisco?

VK is having a Sanjaya Edition Caption Contest! Tell her we sent you.

I went from the living room to the kitchen to heat some water for tea and unexpectedly came across this airport sitting on the floor in front of the refrigerator. I often come across an unexpected airport or parking lot in my home. That’s one thing you get when you have a six-year-old boy in the house.

Thanks to Michelle.
Dear Muslim Terrorist Plotter/Planner/Funder/Enabler/Apologist,

You do not know me. But I am on the lookout for you. You are my enemy. And I am yours.

I am John Doe.

I am traveling on your plane. I am riding on your train. I am at your bus stop. I am on your street. I am in your subway car. I am on your lift.

I am your neighbor. I am your customer. I am your classmate. I am your boss.

I am John Doe.

I will never forget the example of the passengers of American Airlines Flight 93 who refused to sit back on 9/11 and let themselves be murdered in the name of Islam without a fight.

I will never forget the passengers and crew members who tackled al Qaeda shoe-bomber Richard Reid on American Airlines Flight 63 before he had a chance to blow up the plane over the Atlantic Ocean.

I will never forget the alertness of actor James Woods, who notified a stewardess that several Arab men sitting in his first-class cabin on an August 2001 flight were behaving strangely. The men turned out to be 9/11 hijackers on a test run.

I will act when homeland security officials ask me to “report suspicious activity.”

I will embrace my local police department’s admonition: “If you see something, say something.”

I am John Doe.

I will protest your Jew-hating, America-bashing “scholars.”

I will petition against your hate-mongering mosque leaders.

I will raise my voice against your subjugation of women and religious minorities.

I will challenge your attempts to indoctrinate my children in our schools.

I will combat your violent propaganda on the Internet.

I am John Doe.

I will support law enforcement initiatives to spy on your operatives, cut off your funding, and disrupt your murderous conspiracies.

I will oppose all attempts to undermine our borders and immigration laws.

I will resist the imposition of sharia principles and sharia law in my taxi cab, my restaurant, my community pool, the halls of Congress, our national monuments, the radio and television airwaves, and all public spaces.

I will not be censored in the name of tolerance.

I will not be cowed by your Beltway lobbying groups in moderate clothing. I will not cringe when you shriek about “profiling” or “Islamophobia.”

I will put my family’s safety above sensitivity. I will put my country above multiculturalism.

I will not submit to your will. I will not be intimidated.

I am John Doe.

His cancer has spread to his liver and he will fight as hard as he can. Tony went in for surgery to have a growth in his abdomen removed yesterday and they’ve found the cancer in his liver. The press was notified at an off camera gaggle this morning.

Tony, you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.

Update: Send a get well message to Tony