Preemptive Celebration

Bush and Laura send their greetings to those celebrating Rosh Hashanah...
except, it is not Rosh Hashanah until next week.

God's Favorite Caucus?

Bill Richardson, New Mexico's governor, told the Northwest Iowa Labor Council Picnic that it was God's will that the first primary be held in Iowa.

"Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord, should be the first caucus and primary," Richardson told the crowd.

While talk of God's will is something Americans have become accustom to, it is probably a good sign that Richardson's comment was not well-received. "That was a little weird," said Sioux City resident Joe Shufro. "I don't know what God had to do with choosing Iowa among other states. I found that a little strange."

"It's the kind of thing that would make me wince if, for instance, George Bush said it," said another resident. "Richardson has the saving grace of not taking himself too seriously. It was one of those off-the-cuff remarks that can't be taken as seriously as the punsters will make it."

Bible Vandalism

Actor Ian McKella says he rips out the anti-gay bits of the Bible every time he stays at a hotel room. Makes sense. Jefferson took out the bits he didn't like. So does everyone else. But it is the people who put things in that really confuse me.

One Plague Down...

We have all read the Bible and thought to ourselves, "How did God do that?" No word yet on getting people to talk different languages, fiery chariots, or impregnating a teenage girl but researchers from MIT can confirm that the first plague was probably red tide. This is almost as much fun as the Masked Magician.

Preserving the Biblical Times

I know that it is not really news that there might be damage to a wall in Jerusalem that might date back to the Bible; I just don't know why the International Herald Tribune, Reuters India, and the BBC News think it is. While any potential Israel/Palestinian spark seems to be news, it is precisely this kind of "Muslims are destroying something from the Bible" that has muddled the Western understanding of the conflict.

Obama Bender

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama told a congregation in New Orleans:

"Getting ready to talk to you today, I recall what Jesus said at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. He said, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock.

"The rains descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. But it did not fall, because it was founded on the rock."

That rock was a principal of brotherhood exemplified by the church during Hurricane Katrina — but not the federal government.

"Something was wrong in America. Our foundation wasn't built on the rock."

Digging through God's Play Box

QJ.net is looking forward to the "playing God" debate that will sure to follow the development of "wet artificial life." So am I.