Welcome to the Web

It's finally up! Second Presbyterian Church of Greenville - at the heart of Historic West End -- has entered the 21st century. After quite a long wait our website is up and running.

Check it out at secondpca.org

Coming soon I will link to various pages of this site - just to give my readers a taste of Southern Presbyterianism.

Right now, I have to hit the hay -- long day tomorrow!

Christianity Done Right

In an article touting the "virtues" of Government assistance, the New York Times buries the true answer on the third page! True help is not in MORE government programs but in dedicated Christian ministries doing what the Church is supposed to be doing!

From the article (p. 3):

In the past 10 years, the infant mortality rate for blacks in most of the Delta has averaged about 14 per thousand in some counties and more than 20 per thousand in others. But just to the south of Hollandale, Sharkey County, one of the poorest, has had a startlingly different record. From 1991 through 2005, the rate for blacks hovered at around 5 per thousand. State officials say the county’s population is too small — it registers only 100 births a year — to be statistically significant. But many experts feel it is no coincidence that a steep drop in infant deaths followed the start of an intensive home-visiting system run by the Cary Christian Center, using local mothers as counselors. “If this is a fluke it’s a 15-year fluke,” said Dr. Glick, the neonatologist.


The website for Cary Christian Center, serving for 35 years to the poorest counties in America, shows a full range of ministries available. [For some reason the banner heading frame does not load on Firefox. It is best viewed, therefore, with Internet Explorer.]

The complaints of the Progressive Secularist establishment is that Governor Barbour's policy of fiscal restraint and welfare reform are contributing to increased infant mortality. The article itself mentions the destructive lifestyles of the poor - notable obesity among poor women and permiscuity among teens - that undoubtably account for the mounting problems. Noteworthy, I suppose, is the reference to "unborn infants." I guess the child is an "infant" if one wishes to carry her to term and a "fetus" if otherwise!

The article has a chart that shows all of the deep south much the same condition as Mississippi, including South Carolina. I am not aware of programs as effective a Cary Christian Center here, but it certainly looks like there should be!

Evil strikes Virginia Tech

Words escape me. The evil that took 32 innocent lives in one morning - 3o of them within less than one agonizing hour - can hardly be imagined. Perhaps the hate of a twisted mind like Adolf Hitler might be capable of contemplating such an act. But even the evil German dictator had other people do his biddings under a reasoned plan.

The victims ranged from freshmen from small town America to a Holocost survivor whose family immigrated to Israel. The killer did not seem to have any particular victim in mind, but did return to classrooms to make sure his deed was done.

I encourage everyone to visit the New York Times and read the profiles and comments on the victims. I spent the better part of today doing just that. It is a sad excercise, but one that will lead you to appreciate life and the grace of God that keeps most of us safe from the greater evil in the world.

Our prayers are with the victims' families, friends, and colleagues. As the nation mourns, let us reflect on our purpose and calling -- whatever it may be.

Of Greenhouse gases and healthy plants

Every once in a while the New York Times gets it. Even in the science section.

In an article entitled Green, Life-giving, and Forever Young Natalie Angier makes a lot of good points about the importance of plants. Unfortunately, she gets into evolutionary theory and messes it up. She finds plants so different from animals that "it's like plants evolved on Mars." And then, the very mechanisms that entice insects and humming birds to polinate many plants are somehow clever tricks of time and chance.

And then, there are a few things left out. Plants are said to make their own food through photosynthesis upon sunlight. And then the wonderful mechanisms of capillary action and evaporation get water as far as 400 feet from the roots. And, of course OXYGEN is produced.

But plants cannot make food out of water and sunlight alone. Sunlight is the energy, chlorophyl is the cataclyst, but the missing ingredient is none other than that -- shall we say it? -- is Carbon Dioxide! Yep, that dreaded "green house" gas that is threatening the planet! According to the article at wikipedia, the equation is:

6 CO_2(gas) + 12 H₂O_(liquid) + photons → C₆H₁₂O_6(aqueous) + 6 O_2(gas) + 6 H₂O_(liquid)

carbon dioxide + water + light energy → glucose + oxygen + water

And so, the plants make SUGAR from atmospheric CO₂ and give off oxygen and that OTHER -- gasp! -- greenhouse gas: WATER! Yes, the unmentioned greenhouse gas that NONE of us can live without, be we animal or plant, is good old H₂O!

In fact, there is more water produced in the burning of fossile fuels than there is in carbon dioxide. If you reverse the equation above you can easily see this:

Heat + C₆H₁₂O₆ → 6 CO₂ + 12 H₂O

It's clear -- twice as much water as carbon dioxide! And -- horror of horrors -- the main combustion of sugars (and other carbon molecules) is done by ANIMALS. Every breath expels both greenhouse gases: water and carbon dioxide. My how well the system was DESIGNED, huh?

Furthermore, studies have found that the photons are not lost in the process. The energy is "trapped" in the food the plant is making. When an animal -- like man -- eats the food, especially "raw," the energy of the photons is ingested to be released as energy in the many processes of the body, including our own building of "bio-mass." I read this aways back, but this article on "bio-photons" is what came up on my google search. Plants actually "give off light"!

Two saints go to glory

This week at Second Church we lost two long-time members. Our prayers are with their families as they adjust to the loss that we only feel faintly. I am not a biographer, so I cannot speak to these lives with authority. However I will provide the links to their obituaries.

Mrs. Opal Holbrook was our church librarian for 15 years prior to her sickness in 2006. Her illness defied easy diagnosis and it seems that certain proceedures to allow treatment turned out to be detrimental to her recovery. It was sad to see her decline so quickly. Go to her obituary here

Mr. George Woods, a respected elder emeritus (thrice retired: US Navy, Cryovac, 2nd Pres. session), had been suffering from multiple problems related to age. He passed away after heart surgery, though he had been showing some signs of improvement. In hindsight, it was probably a bad idea to attempt heart surgery when they did. However, he was an elder statesmen for the the WW 2 generation that we are losing daily to unrelenting time. The picture at his obit is of him as a sailor. Every Thanksgiving he used to let us know how thankful he was just to be alive, noting that his being alive was a gift from God! Our prayers will go with his family.

I Corinthians 15

20 ¶ But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Words mean things

A truism made famous by Rush Limbaugh states simply: "Words mean things."

Unfortunately, conservative bloggers and commentators seem to be as guilty as liberals in taking words out of context. Or even "in context" but attempting to read too much into them.

Recently I have encountered two conservative sources that "took to task" Dr. James Dobson who was quoted by a news source selectively. Even in the simple quote, though, Dr. Dobson was stating an obvious opinion:

Gilgoff quoted Dobson saying of Thompson, "Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for, [but] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression."

Of course, he goes on to explain why this matters, and what it would mean to a potential presidential bid to former lawyer-actor-senator Fred Thompson. Dobson didn't know much about Thompson's religion and was left with the impression that he was a Christian. He assumed, perhaps unwisely, that other Conservative Christians might have the same impression. If this was the case, the candiacy had little chance.

Fellow blogger "Hondo" of ConservativeChristians.blogspot.com felt betrayed as a rising star seemed to be derailed by such inflamatory speech. But the words are simply a opinion and NOT a declaration concerning Mr. Thompson's spiritual state. I tried to find information linking Thompson to ANY religious activity, and found only a video of him in a church immediately after the 9/11 attacks. He said all the "right things" but came across only as a cultural Christian at most. Most Americans came across that way in those early days of September 2001. The wikipedia article doesn't mention his religion in the sidebar. The religion of other potential candidates IS listed in the same source. This leads me to wonder if he even WANTS us to know his religious connections.

But words mean things. What Dr. Dobson said stands on its own. He had doubts that a one-time senator (who "replaced" Al Gore!) could stand a chance against political guru Newt Gingrich (who worked hard to impeach Bill Clinton). Of course, of the non-candidates, Thompson is now polling ahead of Gingrich. Dobson's statements may have been unwise, but they certainly weren't malicious.

"I don't think he's a Christian; at least that is my impression." Subsequent "evidence" of is status as a "baptized member" of the Church of Christ not withstanding, I have to ask, "Is he or isn't he?"

Another Fellow Blogger puts it well:
http://dakotavoice.blogspot.com/2007/03/dobson-on-fred-thompson.html

WorldNetDaily gives the "rest of the story":
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54963

Of course "the rest of the story" is a trademark of Paul Harvey, for whom Thompson subs occasionally. I think I wrote "rest of the story" before I researched Fred Thompson, but the irony of the use is fitting. I am astounded that some conservatives were so easily offended by this statement. Again, what do these words MEAN?

"I don't think he's a Christian; at least that is my impression.

A dot in the middle of Canada

I have a "neat" counter in the side bar that locates hits from all over the world. Lately I have used Google maps to locate the lone dots out in the middle of "nowhere." I am pretty certain of one in Russia (Google only had ONE town in the vicinity) and tonight I was zooming in on the Northwest Territories to see if I could identify a couple of lone dots there as well. One was on Hudson Bay and I am almost certain it was from the hamlet of Arviat (pop. 2060, again the only settlement near that spot on the map). I am split between two small towns on the McKenzie River for another hit: either Ft. Providence (pop. 835) or Ft. Simpson (it has it's own website and looks to be about the same size as Ft. Providence) with Ft. Simpson more likely since it seems more connected to the net (internet access at the library!)

Just a little distraction on a Saturday evening. Maybe these accidental hits will re-contact me.

The Government should stay out of medicine

I am a conservative, and I don't lean "libertarian" often, but when the government tries to forbid folks with MEDICAL reasons to partake of a relatively benign drug, then I resent its intrusion! States across the nation are passing "medical marijuana" laws that the federal government refuses to recognise. This is an unreasonable extention of federal drug laws - almost as far off mark as using RICO laws against lawful abortion protesters!

To quote the New York Times:

On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that while they sympathized with Ms. Raich’s plight and had seen “uncontroverted evidence” that she needed marijuana to survive, she lacked the legal grounds to exempt herself from federal law.

The court “recognizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes is gaining traction,” the decision read. “But that legal recognition has not yet reached the point where a conclusion can be drawn that the right to use medical marijuana is ‘fundamental.’"

In spite of the evidence and new laws, federal judges continue to hold fast to antiquated decisions going back decades. This is not justice as it should be. Justice must be tempered with compassion and common sense!

And for any family and friends who might read this - I have NEVER touched marijuana, and only know its smell because of a demonstration (burning some confiscated weed) at a police station when I was in high school (Civic Youth Day, I had been "elected" Mayor). In this one incident, at least, I agree with the ACLU. Does that make me a bad person? :-(

March Madness!!

I am not a basketball fan, but I clicked through to "the bracket" at the NYTimes site and made my picks based on the standings. I chose only six "upsets," four in the first round. My only luxury, as I see it, is Duke getting to the final four. The championship will be Florida vs. North Carolina. The winner will be North Carolina!

After a very close game, # seed 6 Duke will probably beat # 4 Pittsburg in the second round. They will have to beat #2 seed UCLA and # 1 seed Kansas on the way to the showdown with Florida. They will most certainly lose then. Duke's last five games have been disappointing, and the only thing that makes them "favored" over Pitt is number of points scored against their opponents. In that stat, they have Pitt by an average 5 points. I see Duke 74, Pitt 69. The other games, though, are wishful thinking. :-)

My ususal scheme is: East beats West, South beats North, and University beats State. Tech is a long shot. :-)

It really doesn't mean anything since I am not a betting man. To all you fans out there -- have fun.

Return to "Eden"

Actual measurements from the atmosphere and space over the last forty years or so do not support the computer models being used by enviromentalists for "global warming." A special thanks to Hondo at conservativechristians.blogger.com (see sidebar) for this link:

http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p36.htm

Their conclusion is basically the same I came to months ago ("Paradise Restored"):

"Human use of coal, oil, and natural gas has not measurably warmed the atmosphere, and the extrapolation of current trends shows that it will not significantly do so in the foreseeable future. It does, however, release CO2, which accelerates the growth rates of plants and also permits plants to grow in drier regions. Animal life, which depends upon plants, also flourishes.

As coal, oil, and natural gas are used to feed and lift from poverty vast numbers of people across the globe, more CO2 will be released into the atmosphere. This will help to maintain and improve the health, longevity, prosperity, and productivity of all people.

Human activities are believed to be responsible for the rise in CO2 level of the atmosphere. Mankind is moving the carbon in coal, oil, and natural gas from below ground to the atmosphere and surface, where it is available for conversion into living things. We are living in an increasingly lush environment of plants and animals as a result of the CO2 increase. Our children will enjoy an Earth with far more plant and animal life as that with which we now are blessed. This is a wonderful and unexpected gift from the Industrial Revolution."

Over 17,000 scientists have signed this petition. Why isn't anyone listening?

Redefining morality?

Riding high on what is arguably "bad science," the New York Times in a short editorial calls morality that is defined by how "humans behave with other humans" as antiquated. They "emphatically disagree" with traditional values when it comes to abortion and homosexuality -- two sins that destroying society -- while upholding the morality of "saving the planet."

The true science that upholds the true humanity of developing is disregarded in favor of false claims that went out with microscopes! As for homosexuality -- the open practice of such anyway -- the Times would insist that in is totally acceptable IN SPITE OF the verifiable facts of its dangers.

For over thirty years we have been losing the war with the children of the sixties -- and now they think they have the upper hand. It is time for us to stand up against the travesty of "Secular Progessives." Tonight I saw the movie Amazing Grace. This movie tells the amazing story of how William Wilberforce spent the better part of two decades bringing an end to slavery in the British Empire. The movement behind him did this by wide publication of the TRUTH. Against the odds, with the support of his friend, William Pitt (the youngest ever prime minister), he succeeded. John Newton, of course, was a big supporter of Wilberforce. He convinced him to persue the cause against the odds.

Where is the likes of William Wilberforce in our Congress today? Is there a presidential candidate of the caliber of William Pitt?

If we return to traditional values then we won't have to worry about our stewardship of the planet. If we care about the weakest among us, we will care about the world we leave to them.

The End of the World as we know it?

Just who is in control? Are we indeed entering the last of the "last days"?

And if we are, can we stop it? How will we resist?

Click here and decide for yourself.

This is a long documentary (1:49) and makes a good argument against individual income tax. The truth of the Federal Reserve and the "phony money" the government "borrows" from them is well stated as well. The thrust in the last third of the report, though, makes applicaton of this double threat to the present War on Terror. It assumes that the present situtation is all staged for monetary gain of these unseen manipulators. I remain unconconvinced of this, though I am sure that the powers behind the "Federal Reserve" do indeed "profit" from the present effort.

Is Walgreen's Racist?

In today's New York Times I read a confusing article. The gist of it is that the world's largest pharmacy "makes" African-American managers work in inner-city stores, thus reducing their ability to advance in the company. Johnny Tucker, a black manager with the company 21 years, is suing because he has always worked "in the 'hood" (my words, not his). From the article:

He applauded Walgreen for having stores in inner-city neighborhoods. But he said the company needed to spread the challenges of managing such stores among all its employees, not just black ones. Over the years, he added, he had been held up at gunpoint and threatened with a knife.

“I didn’t live in these neighborhoods, so why was I working there,” Mr. Tucker said.

It seems to me that if such people were not available to staff these stores, they would not open so many of them. Walgreens builds pharmacies across the street from their competitors and even within a mile or two or EACH OTHER on the same thoroughfare! They are "everywhere."

Mr. Tucker thinks that they should "spread the challenges" to all its employees. But not even a retail giant like Walgreens can dictate that good managers work stores that by there locations will not turn good profits. I am surprised that some stores open where they do. This suit is against Walgreens for placing the right people in the right stores in a society that is fractured in to "communities" of hyphenated Americans.

Walgreens with more than a hundred years in the business has learned what works. Neighborhood pharmacies serving neighbors is a proven formula. It would be a shame if this government action should force a socialistic answer to a personnel problem.

The circled area of this map is "my" route at work. I presently serve FIVE Walgreens stores, with one taking shape (M). I personally have NOT seen or heard any such prejudice here in the deep south!

Global Warming CAUSED the Ice Age

I have been meaning to post my thoughts on this "politically incorrect" minority opinon for weeks now. I remembered reading Walt Brown's In The Beginning concerning the Ice Age.
To find this article, go to creationscience.com and search for "Global Warming" on that page. That short overview presents valid scientific theory as to how a WARM earth is the ONLY way excessive evaporation could produce the snow necessary for the observed ice caps. In part it reads:

"For a few centuries after the flood (during the ice age), much of the moisture that evaporated from the warm oceans fell as snow and accumulated so rapidly on the cold continents that large Antarctic lakes are still covered by glaciers today. Heavy cloud cover from so much evaporation and from volcanic dust further cooled the continents. Large temperature differences between cold continents and warm oceans generated strong wind systems that quickly carried the moist air up and over the continents where it cooled and fell as snow. Each winter’s glacial advances were followed by summer glacial retreats; these yearly cycles left marks on earth that some mistakenly associate with multiple ice ages."

Dr. Walt Brown's work, with it's working theories that have predicted discoveries from salt water pockets under mountains to the composition of comets, is probably the best out there!

The rapid "cooling" caused by warm seas evaporating is generally accepted science. It HAD to be warm before the evaporation could get water into the air to dump large amounts of snow! QUICKLY.

Does the Cent make sense?

A New York Times Op-Ed piece raises an interesting question: Is the Lincoln Penny disrespectful of the Great Imancipator?

Of course, the fact that I am a diehard southerner, and long-time resident of the sovereign state of South Carolina, might just color my opinions of the "greatest president." But, be that as it may, I suppose my earlier blog in the penny's defense still stands. But should it retain Lincoln? And should he be replaced by a new indian or perhaps another president?

The NYT writer supposes a new president of lower standing for the penny (after the planned commemoratives in 2009 and 2010). After that, he supposes a new $2 or $5 coin with the same portrait of Lincoln. I vote for the $5 coin to coincide with the $5 bill. That will make it easier for the paper money to be phased out!

The writer proposes James Buchanan or Andrew Johnson [Lincoln's successor who survived impeachment by one vote]. How about it, readers? Any suggestions?

"Illegal" Immigration, reconsidered

Several days, or perhaps weeks, ago I come across an interesting video of "border volleyball" over a 30 foot wall at the California-Mexico border. Unfortunately, I was just surfing the blogosphere and failed to bookmark the site. However, today I thought I would use Google maps and Mapquest to view the border. You can actually see a "line" from space across southern Arizona! Well, actually from an arial shot high above. [Some physics whiz or photographer can probably tell by the scale in the pictures below.] Anyway, look up "Walleyball" on YouTube for the video.

I included identically distant shots to indicate what an actual wall looks like. Most of my viewing today was on the border with no apparent fence. I wondered to myself about those making the difficult journey across desert to avoid the border guards. You can see that there is a large highway on the Mexican side that parallels the visible white line (dirt road?) at about a 200 foot distance. The actual line, according to the overlay, goes right by the structure. Pictures of trash strawn in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Park shows that the traffic is heavy.

It is in this park, though, that the truely ILLEGAL aliens often lurk. These are the drug and "slave" trafficers promising a "better" life to those they smuggle and to American drug users that demand their product! It is such scum of the earth that gunned down a dedicated public servant, a true hero in the war on terror, Kris Eggle. If we are to "fight" illegal activity, let us go after the truely ILLEGAL aliens, not those who are only guilty of being human.

If anything, in my virtual trip down the border, I have seen populations of people just wanting what is best for their families. Let us make it as "easy" for them as it was for our forfathers to come take this land.

Is nicotine the villian?

I have often mused about the fate of tobacco in this nation, once even in this format. However, the I have to disagree with a recent editorial in the NY Times (fancy that).

The conclusion in a NYTimes article on FDA control of cigarettes:

"It’s not enough to regulate the varying degrees of nicotine in cigarettes. Ultimately, there’s only one way to deal with the addictive effects of nicotine, especially on children: grant the F.D.A. the authority to get nicotine out of cigarettes altogether. Anti-smoking groups shouldn’t settle for anything less."

I am not a smoker, but I am not an anti-smoker either. The fact is, it is NOT the nicotine that is the "dangerous" part of a cigarette or other tobacco product. Even this article admits that the tars are what carry the carcinigens. Unfortunately, these "tars" and other plant fats also carry the flavor. To simply remove the nicotine from cigarettes would only make them less addictive. Or even non-addictive. Smokers would continue to smoke out of psychological habit and suffer from withdrawal symptoms needing medicinal nicotine for months. And then, believing it didn't matter, they might just keep smoking the cancer-causing product for the psychological "fix" they are use to!

The real dangerous substances are the tars which are very absorbant of trace minerals - especially RADIOACTIVE minerals! In fact, it is probably possible to grow "safe" tobacco in clean soil that has none of these trace elements. It is sure worth a study if nothing else. I propose that this noble plant - sacred to the Native Americans - be treated with more respect. It is more than likely that English settlers, in turning it into a commercial success, have ended up destroying its "reputation" forever.

Why not process the weed down to a non-radioactive (tar free) nicotine delivery system, even ADDING nicotine to make fewer necessary to the addicts. Or, if it is perceived that their will be a great loss of market, then formulate a "flavoring" to replace that lost when removing the tars. Meanwhile, tobacco marketers need to consider a post-smoker world in which the tobacco plant could be transformed into a plant protein source to feed livestock or even human populations. The nicotine could be exptracted for medicinal purposes and as an insecticide.

In remembrance of Brenda

I wish I had pictures and family comments, but I will have to just post my condolences to the extended family of my cousin Brenda on her passing this week. She lived in Wewahitchka ("Wewa") Florida. She was only a little older than me and was a stabilizing force in the Holmes clan. She will be missed.

Growing up, I always spent time with her brothers nearer my age. Larry still lives in the area, and Randy died a few years back. Their father, Troy, died around 1971 (I had just graduated from high school), but their mother, my dad's older sister, just died last year. Brenda had spent the last years of her mother's life as her primary caregiver.

Brenda is the third of my older cousins -- children of my dad's older sisters -- to die. Our mutual cousin (they were "double" first cousins) Shirley (the oldest of her siblings) died several years back of complications from diabetes. Randy, Brenda's brother, died in an accident at his home near Jacksonville, Florida, a few years after that.

And so, I guess this is about all I can say right now. Pray for her family as the funeral is Monday, January 29.

It is suspected that Brenda suffered a stroke. Consider this, from a blog on heart disease:

What does a bad heart cost?

From now until 2050, they calculate, stroke treatment will cost $1.52 trillion among non-Hispanic whites, $313 billion for Hispanics, and $379 billion for African Americans. Corresponding per capita costs were roughly $16,000, $17,000 and $26,000.

"Lost earnings and informal caregiving were the highest two individual cost contributors in all race-ethnic groups," Brown's team notes, "constituting approximately half of the total costs."

Be sure to take the risk assessment test available at the link at the top of that page, or just go to the link directly from here.

Fifty Million Killed

Fifty Million Dead! That's more killed per day than were killed on 9/11 !

The last thirty-four years have NOT seen an improvement in the lives of America's women. And it is NOT the fault of the political or religious right with a "continuing prejudice" against the fairer sex.

Abortion on demand has slacked off a bit in some places - such as South Carolina - but it is not all together clear why. I mean, really, the very ones that would be seeking abortions are those that never saw life outside of the womb. It can be reasonably assumed that around twenty-five million of those abortions were to the developing lives of girls, many of who would undoubtably grown up as "victoms" of society and "used" by the men in their lives!

But the numbers seem to be about the same year by year. Of course, we have gone from 200 million to 300 million in those three decades or so. And so, the "rate" of abortions has fallen. But our politicians can't seem to uphold the nations abhorance to "partial birth" abortions. That is, if you can call the court system "political." And you know it is (even if they deny it).

And so, here it is. After two weeks of silence, I rant again!

We pro-lifers have "science" our side and still continue to stumble politically. A conservative president gets two appointments to the Supreme Court in one year and we still have to "worry" about a "swing" vote in a pseudo-conservative put in by a previous "conservative" president. You'd think that with FIVE of NINE justices being Catholic the pro-life issues would be a "slam dunk." Not so. A "Kennedy" holds the cards in the Court even as a far-left Kennedy takes over a "ruling" position in the Senate. No relation. But we wonder. Hmmm....

Enough for now.

Just So Stories

A little over a century ago, Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book, published a series of children's stories called Just So Stories. Recently, in an anthropologist Dr. Nina G. Jablonski explains the importance of man's "sweaty skin" to evolution:

"On an evolutionary level, there are three remarkable facts about skin. It comes in colors, of course. Compared to other mammals, our skin is relatively hairless. And it’s sweaty. In the last few million years, humans became the sweatiest of mammals.

Q. Is that important?

A. Absolutely. It’s often said that our large brains are what made it possible for us to evolve from ape to human. But those big brains could never have developed if we didn’t have exceptionally sweaty skin.

It happened this way. There was a tremendous takeoff in human evolution about two million years ago when primates who could no longer be called apes appeared in the savannahs of East Africa. These early humans ran long distances in open areas. In order to survive in the equatorial sun, they needed to cool their brains. Early humans evolved an increased number of sweat glands for that purpose, which in turn permitted their brain size to expand. As soon as we developed larger brains, our planning capacity increased, and this allowed people to disperse out of Africa. There’s fossil evidence of humans appearing in Central Asia around this time."

Mr. Kipling had nothing on this lady! This story may make logical sense if such changes came about according to the conditions. However, according to theory, these changes take way more time than a few hot summers in Africa. But give it ten years and this story "It happened this way ..." will be standard fare in the science texts read by our impressionable young people.

Is it any wonder that our young people are leaving the church in droves. The "public " schools push the evolutionary dogma and persecute children that seek to pray on school time. The church is lucky to have them two hours a week! Most parents, if the truth be told, probably have them for less time than the church!

Indeed, Jesus could not stand such hypocrisy. When will we learn??