The White House vs. Fox News

Behind the War Between White House and Fox

By JIM RUTENBERG

Published: October 22, 2009

WASHINGTON — Late last month, the senior White House adviser David Axelrod and Roger Ailes, chairman and chief executive of Fox News, met in an empty Palm steakhouse before it opened for the day, neutral ground secured for a secret tête-à-tête.

 

Roger Ailes reached out to David Axelrod to address rising tensions between Fox News and the White House.

 

Mr. Ailes, who had reached out to Mr. Axelrod to address rising tensions between the network and the White House, told him that Fox’s reporters were fair, if tough, and should be considered separate from the Fox commentators who were skewering President Obama nightly, according to people briefed on the meeting. Mr. Axelrod said it was the view of the White House that Fox News had blurred the line between news and anti-Obama advocacy.

What both men took to be the start of a frank but productive dialogue proved, in retrospect, more akin to the round of pre-Pearl Harbor peace talks between the United States and Japan.

Survey says: importance of bible study varies (Debate in Progress)

Not exactly an article that begs entry into the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, but a recent survey has discovered (like so many others) that interest in biblical learning is pretty minimal in the minds of young people, compared with old farts who like nothing better than thumping bibles and complaining about young people.

Ninety percent of people 64 and over, which Barna terms as Elders, and people between 45 and 63 (Boomers) believe the Bible is sacred. That drops dramatically to 67 percent among Mosaics (age 18-25). Similarly only 30 percent of Mosaics believe the Bible is completely accurate in its teachings. That compare to 46 percent of Boomers and 58 percent of Elders who defend biblical perfection.

A majority of Mosaics also see the Bible as just one of any number of religious or spiritual texts pointing to a similar set of ethics and morality.

Fifty-six percent of Mosaics are willing to lump the Bible in with other writings, while only 40 percent of Busters and 33 percent of Elders agree.

I’m not a biblical scholar, but I took a comparative religions course in university and I’ve done a lot reading on my own time since then. One thing I can say with absolute certainty: the world is old.

The world is very old, in fact, and there still could be remains of civilizations under the dirt and rocks that rose and fell and remain forgotten because we have no way to prove they ever lived. And, when we do have proof, like Etruscan tablets, the proof is only as good as our ability to understand it.

Those Pesky Pirates are at it Again

Global pirate attacks on the increase

(CNN) — The first nine months of this year has seen more pirate attacks than all of last year. And more than half of those attacks were carried out by suspected Somali pirates, an international maritime watchdog group said Wednesday.

The increase in attacks has forced many countries to patrol pirate hotspots such as the Gulf of Aden.

“The increased activity in Somalia is the major reason for the spike,” said Cyrus Mody, manager of the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors shipping crimes.

From January 1 until September 30, pirates worldwide mounted 306 attacks, compared with 293 in all of 2008, the Bureau said.

Of the incidents this year, Somali pirates accounted for 54 percent: they launched 168 attacks.

Thief prays for forgiveness before robbing clerk

This was interesting reading:

Police say an armed robber spent nearly 10 minutes on his knees praying with a clerk at an Indianapolis check-cashing business before fleeing with $20 from the register.

Security video from the Advance America branch clearly showed the man’s face during the stickup Monday, and a 23-year-old surrendered Tuesday on a preliminary charge of robbery.

Police say the robbery took an unusual turn after the gunman came around the counter when the clerk starting crying and talking about God.

The man said he had a 2-year-old child to support and asked for prayers about overcoming his hardships.

Police say the man removed the bullet from his gun and gave it to the clerk before taking her cell phone and the money.

That’s the nicest robbery story I’ve ever read. I love that he was overcome by the clerk’s reaction and sat there long enough to be fully recorded by their security surveillance. I also love the fact that he later turned himself in. God will, of course, get the credit for that. I’m going to credit the thief’s last shreds of integrity and dignity instead.

Too bad the journalist couldn’t include what happened in the man’s life that led to his action and this reaction. Job loss? House loss? Too much credit card debt? Girl wanted more than he had in their divorce settlement? Owes child support? Didn’t want to pawn his stereo to afford diapers? Dad once worked with a guy who did that. Who knows what he blew his paycheque on. There wasn’t even a casino in town at the time.

I’m not terribly well off compared to some, but I can’t imagine what it must be like to be in dire straits enough to consider robbery as a solution. How much crap has to happen before that’s the best alternative?

From the “why is this news?” department…

Barack Obama and his family may have found a new church!

Start the parade in 3, 2, 1…

President Barack Obama and his family attended a worship service Sunday at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, their third visit to the historic congregation across Lafayette Square from the White House.

According to the Associated Press, Obama, first lady Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia listened to a sermon about how Christianity has consequences.

The article was written October 12th. Anyone know if they went back? Anyone? Man, this is more exciting than a soap opera! Does anyone Twitter this stuff? I feel so behind!

Is this like how hotels will advertise if the Queen slept in a room? Barack Obama sat in this very pew! He did! I saw him! No, I’m not making this up…

During the sermon, seminarian Mike Angell told the parishioners that the consequences vary, whether it’s making a hard decision at work or deciding to give more time to God. But he added that they don’t face these consequences alone. “We are given each other as a source of boldness,” he said.

We have each other. We should be able to rely on and support each other without needing to bring a deity into it, however.

Thoughts?

Artists of the Day – Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo

In celebration of  the National Hispanic Heritage month, this is a tribute to two of Mexico’s greatest artists.  Without question, both merit their own separate Artist of the Day posts, but I’m trying something different. I thought it would be interesting to give a visual comparative study of each artist’s style in their works represented here and in the web gallery links provided. I will let their art speak for themselves.

Diego Rivera (1886 – 1957) – Considered the greatest Mexican painter of the twentieth century, Diego Rivera had a profound effect on the international art world. Among his many contributions, Rivera is credited with the reintroduction of fresco painting into modern art and architecture. His radical political views and tempestuous romance with the painter Frieda Kahlo were then, and remain today, a source of public intrigue. In a series of visits to America, from 1930 to 1940, Rivera brought his unique vision to public spaces and galleries, enlightening and inspiring artists and laymen alike.  Diego Rivera biography

Flower Festival. / Festival de las flores. 1925. Oil on canvas. 147.3 x 120.7 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

The Blinds Parable

The Blinds Parable.

I, too, have a parable to share. Hope that you find it good:

“

In Ancient Greece, there once was a community of blind people.

They were living happily and equally, for they couldn’t see the race of their fellows blinds, nor their ugliness, nor their wealth. Their world hadn’t borders, for they couldn’t see them, and they owned the world between them.

But one day, a blind acquired a hunger for power, and proclaimed himself dictator, supreme ruler of all men and things. His pride knew no limits, and in a law, he declared that all their togas were red, as it should be.

US ARMY – be all that you can be.