Attacker Beaten with Candy Cane

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A man who allegedly threatened neighbors with a knife on Thanksgiving was beaten with a large decorative candy cane wielded by a bystander, Sacramento police said.
http://www.kcra.com/news/18164598/detail.html

Evangelicals hurting the GOP?

Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker: 

To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn’t soon cometh.

Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth — as long as we’re setting ourselves free — is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111802886.html

Parker goes on to suggest that Howard Dean was right about shifting demographics, and suggests that the conservative movement will die if religion does not return to the privacy of one’s own heart, “where it belongs.”

My position, in the words of Jim Wallis, “religion is personal but never private.”  Even though I have different priorities than evangelicals, I don’t think we’re ready to give up on issues like abortion. Although I generally support Roe v. Wade the “all or nothing” ends of both sides need to make some concessions as I cannot identify with either.

God and Kentucky’s Security

Kentucky’s Department of Homeland Security depends primarily on the protection of the Almighty God.

Specifically, Homeland Security is ordered to publicize God’s benevolent protection in its reports, and it must post a plaque at the entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center with an 88-word statement that begins, “The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God.”
http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/608229.html

I believe Rep. Tom Riner may have crossed the line and used the state to promote religion, as he said “Government itself, apart from God, cannot close the security gap. The job is too big for government.”

Maybe so, but is this about preaching or addressing threats to the citizens of Kentucky?

Predestination v. Free Will

Yeah, I stole it from John the Methodist.

New title, fresh slate

So it occured to me that after the 2008 elections I should not refer to Indiana as a “red state” anymore, or at least that I hope I don’t need to. With that conclusion I’ve changed the name of this blog to “Moonbat State,” not specifically refering to Indiana. I’ve also wiped the slate clean and cleared out the sparatic posts I’ve made over the past 18 months and hopefully I’ll keep a more regular record of my musings.