in medias res

The Jackson Sun has an interesting opinion piece about Rep. Stacey Campfield’s scuffle with Black Caucus chairman Rep. Johnny Shaw.

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The problem with war is that it is not simple. That’s why the coverage of war will unavoidably be laced with bias. This CNN article from today’s edition presents the protesters against the U.S. war as coming from different backgrounds, but unified against the war. Is it that simple? Certainly not. Some of the folks say war should never be an option. Some think this war was started for the right reasons, but has gone too long and should end now. The problem is that the only thing these people have in common is their communal distaste for the war. The are not unified on a the reasons for being against it, and they are certainly not unified in a proposed solution to make the troops leave.

Back to Iraq complains that Fox News didn’t cover the protests, but frankly, I’m getting tired of all the media outlets constantly at the beck and call of anyone opposing the war as if it’s some kind of ground breaking revelation.

The pro-war protesters got barely a by-line in the CNN story. There were just 150, while the anti-war rally boasted numbers soaring into the thousands. Here’s my thought on the war: if I really loved what was going on, I wouldn’t waste my time protesting in favor of a man who will keep focused on the war and stick to his guns whether or not he has people on a street corner chanting his name. He’s already into his second term people! Get over it and focus on bringing a strong Democrat to the table, else get used to being the party that brings dissent rather than suggestions. For the claim of being a progressive party, you sure seem to be hesitant to change.

And finally, Sabbah brings us protests that don’t make sense.

Update: Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom brings us criticism of basically the same kind of fluff I was riffing on. (Hat tip: Instapundit)

Update: When the Kos takes a look at your protest and says, “No thanks,” you can consider yourself a fringe radical.

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President Bush didn’t have much of a progressive answer as far as PorkBusting is concerned. The video is of his answer to the question: Where are you suggesting cuts be made to help pay for Katrina?

Video here.

There’s more on the grassroots movement of PorkBusters gaining momentum at The Political Teen.

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I don’t understand why this is a story… AT ALL. There’s really nothing more to say. The plane had a malfunction, the pilot took care of it, and nothing happened. Can anyone explain to me why I had to hear the Fox News Alert sound just for this?

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KRAMER: You know the police, they found another victim of the Lopper in Riverside Park. I saw the photo, and it looked a lot like you.

JERRY: Oh, come on. There’s a lot of people walking around the city that look like me.

KRAMER: Not as many as there used to be.

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First release of the information that has made my weekend: Seinfeld Seasons 5 and 6 will be released on Nov. 22!

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I swear, when I was looking for a name for this blog and stumbled upon the Latin for “in the midst of things”, none of these folks’ blogs showed up on Google! Now the hip thing to do is have a blog that’s in the midst of things.

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Today on his nationally syndicated radio talk show, G. Gordon Liddy said that asking a man with homosexual tendencies to become a priest and take a vow of chastity is like asking a child to work in an ice cream shop and not take a scoopful.

Hmm… not really sure how I feel about alter boys being compared to scoops of ice cream.

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Just saw a commercial for a OTC drug called Altovis. The commercial opens with this line:

More than 10 million adults suffer from daily fatigue due to too much work, too much stress, and not enough sleep.

Stop! Hold it right there. I know exactly what the problem is. In fact, you’ve given me a bit of insight into a solution. Perhaps I need to cut back on my work load, de-stress, and get some more sleep!

More: Apparently the makers of Altovis are being sued for fraudulent billing practices.

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“Imagine every morning if the teachers had the children stand up, place their hands over their hearts, and say, ‘We are one nation that denies God exists,’” Newdow said in an interview with AP Radio after the ruling.

“I think that everybody would not be sitting here saying, ‘Oh, what harm is that.’ They’d be furious. And that’s exactly what goes on against atheists. And it shouldn’t.” more…

So Newdow, the crusading atheist comes back with one more. But he misses a crucial philosophical point. A society that embraces that God exists is not the same to an atheist as a society that denies God’s existence is to a believer. If God doesn’t exist and everyone around me wishes to think God does, then I merely laugh at their feeble attempts and waste of time. But if God does exist and everyone around me chooses to think otherwise, then I might find that to be a truly sad display and mourn their souls. Because you see, if God doesn’t exist, then why does it matter? You might as well let people believe whatever they please. It is for this reason that I’ve never been able to understand crusading non-believers. What are you crusading for? The absence of something?

A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell. -C.S. Lewis

But Lewis may be able, as with most brilliant minds, to sum up my argument in a single sentence:

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.

Update from Ian Schwartz (hat tip La Shawn Barber):

Athiests [sic] account for 902,000 or 0.4% of the US population. Those who believe in a God or some sort of a higher being account for over 86% of the US population. It is amazing that such a small minority can rule over a large majority.

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