I am a meteorologist and a former youth leader at church…I have a lot to say on both subjects…and then some
Where do we draw the line? I understand not letting a teacher lead or organize prayer in a public school or related setting. They are government workers, and if a government worker in a work type setting is leading or organizing prayer or some sort of religious service then I understand how that under the Constitution that could be viewed as establishment of religion. I work for the federal government (National Weather Service) and it would be inappropriate for me to lead a prayer at a severe weather spotter talk.
However, here is where I have the problem. Somebody else who is not a government representative organizes a prayer at a function, and I am then not allowed to express my beliefs by praying along with them?
I understand the original complaint with the coach leading the prayers, but now, if the students organize and lead the prayers, he can’t participate? If he is showing favoritism to the Christian players over the non-Christian ones, then that is wrong, that’s even non-Biblical (book of James). However, if he isn’t doing that and expressing his beliefs who are we to interfere.
So if I go to a Lion’s Club meeting to do a talk, and they pray am I not allowed to participate?
The Associated Press: Ban on a type of prayer in school allowed to stand
Link to the original at This is Indexed blog
I may not agree with every book in the library, but I think it is dangerous when people want to control what is in there. If you have trained your kids, then a book should not threaten your kids.
Ah, yes. You have to love being misquoted…from the Cadillac News
The 1 to 2 inches of rain combined with the melting snow may result in poor drainage areas, which may in turn result in areas of temporary flooding. Lutz urges residents to call 911 or the National Weather Service lines if they see areas of flooding. The NWS can then issue a warning to others.
“We will see a decent rise on a lot of rivers because we’ve had little in the way of frost. We’re not getting a lot of run-off. It has to do with the rain and snow melt,” Lutz ¨ explained.
“It takes time for the snow melt to enter the ground, and since we had so much snow early, the ground never ¨ really froze. Some surfaces had freezing, but not down deep; it’s only 32 degrees in the first eight inches,” he added.
Either I wasn’t making sense from low blood sugar, or I got misquoted, because this statement contradicts itself. A better explanation would be:
Since the snow came early in the season, we have little in the way of frost in the ground. This will limit the amount of run off, since the water will go straight into the ground. However, we will still a pretty decent rise in a lot of the rivers, due to the rain and snow melt.
So when I rail against the media at times for misquoting people or not completely reporting at story, I like to think that I know what I’m talking about, because it happens to me from time to time.
I saw this on the UMNS reporter’s blog yesterday and heard about it on an NPR podcast yesterday as well. An astronaut within NASA made a point about the barriers to innovation within NASA. It has been shown to senior NASA personnel, they thought it was funny and painful to watch, because it was true.
This is so true not only in NASA, but in the UM church as Amy Forbus points out. I say that most organizations that get large get into this rut. I think that Christians in general get into a tradition to the point that it is made into doctrine. All need to work at breaking down those silos of compartmentation.
As funny that I could point at NASA, but my own agency can suffer from it as well, although I have seen some changes in recent years. I also see it in agencies that I have to work with as well, not only in the Federal government, but the state and local levels as well.
So, is this rampant in your own company or organization? Look for ways to change. The end of the video has probably the best way for change…Servant Leadership.
I’ve been into science for a long time. I’ve been a Christian for a long time. I’ve been an adult leader at a church youth group for almost 10 years now. A long time ago I found a book on my dad’s bookshelf called ,”How to Lie with Statistics.” I was a bit young to read it, but after having two statistics classes in college, and dealing with statistics in my job all the time, I see how people do this all the time, both intentionally and unintentionally. After a few years of the kids are out of control mantra, by some, hard data is beginning to refute that.
Two sociologists in Philadelphia, Kathleen A. Bogle, of La Salle University, and Maria Kefalas, of St. Joseph’s University, both specialists in teen sexual behavior, told Parker-Pope that they’d had to struggle mightily to get people out of their “moral panic” mindset, and make them understand that teens are not “in a downward spiral” or “out of control.” The Myth of Lost Innocence – Judith Warner Blog – NYTimes.com
I work with teens, trying to build relationships and helping to guide them through that time of life that I would never want to go back to. I have to say that the students seem to be pretty healthy with most of their attitudes, and that it’s only a few kids that are the “at risk type.” My experience has been that the kids are all right. It isn’t time to panic.
The last several years have been a turning point in the band wagon effect that I have suffered from my youth. I’m beginning to question everything I read and hear on the internet and test it all. From things that come out of religious circles like the 4% generation, to some man made global warming thoughts. My dealings with the media in the past to not tell the whole story, from the reporter being a flawed human being to the editor trying to sell newspapers or TV ratings. I have even seen and remember people pushing their own agenda, that was out of selfish motivation and not for the common good.
I looked on at the last presidential campaign and saw things on both sides of the spectrum that had little to do with anything. From the “is Barack Obama a natural born citizen to the Sarah Palin downs syndrome baby was really her daughter’s. All of which have been proved false, but to this day continue on into the concious thought of the American public.
So, if people call me conservative, it is because that I think that we should slow down and not rush to judgement and question all of the things that people say. If people call me liberal, it is because I have looked at the raw data for myself and agreed that there is a problem that we need to combat now. That is why on my Facebook page, I list myself as, “A Little to the Right but not by much.” Slow down people think about the crap in the media that is shovelled. Some is right, but some is wrong.
My main point that I guess that I’m trying to make is that my opinons have come to me over a long period of time. I try to remain open to new data, but I question it, and I question the old data, as well. I respect other people’s opinions and try to arrive at my conclusion by using the scientific method. However, I am a flawed human just like the rest of us. I realize that I can be fooled by people, and that I need to remember to question everything.
Love him or hate him, President Bush did some things that most people would have thought him impossible to do. Here’s one and it has gotten little press:
The information director at the UM sponsored Africa University has written an interesting article for UMNS with thoughts from some of the students about what an Obama presidency means for Africa. I had many differences with President Bush over the years, but I never quite understood why most of the people who hate him never gave him credit for what he did for Africa. During his time in office, he more than tripled humanitarian aid to the continent, and he made AIDS and HIV a huge priority. Tens of thousands (maybe more) of people are alive today because of his policies, and it would be good to see his detractors at least give him props for this.
I hope that President Obama can do more.
Rick Warren Interview: On Gay Marriage and Divorce – Beliefnet.com
Rick Warren nails my views on gay marriage. My thought has been that gay and lesbians can have civil unions, but as a church, we do not have to bless them, just as we need to deal with two heterosexual people living together before being married, or deal with someone who is doing x. Sin is sin we should not bless it. We should love the person, respect them, and pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them of their sin.
I don’t know if my twitter posts being summarized is bothering anybody, but I like them. For one, I actually talk about things weather related. That was always something I did rarely, in the past. Also, I sometimes wonder aloud some of the things on my mind. I try to get too mundane with the twitter posts, but I can’t help myself sometimes. One thing that it has done, is spurred on my blog writing. I was sputtering for a while. Now, I am writing a post at least once a week, sometimes more.
On a slightly different thought, I’m glad the elections are over. I know hope that people are moving on with their lives. I thought that the tenor of the whole election got a little too muddy for my liking. Actually, I know some conservative friends who were freaking out over the Obama election, but I knew it was a done deal. I relaxed as I heard all sorts of things that are supposed to happen with the Obama election. However, a lot of the news sources I read the progressive are a bit perturbed at his picks for cabinet posts.
I have to say this, I vote. Sometimes for the winner and sometimes not. I participate. However, I continue to live my existence based on something totally different. If the government comes and takes my 401k (something one of my conservative friends said) oh well. While I may not be that complacent about it, my hope is not placed in the government to bail me out. I will live a life of significance no matter who is in the White House.
Tyra ‘shocked’ by risky teen sex – Parenting & Family – TODAYshow.com
I guess Tyra doesn’t get out much. While I don’t doubt some of the information, this survey is skewed by who goes and takes it. It doesn’t have any scientific validity, so I question the statistics.
Well, some of them may be telling the truth, but knowing that people fake stuff just to get on Jerry Springer, then I think that Tyra is really naive.
My brother-in-law pointed me to site on his twitter feed the night of the election, or somewhere around there, about this. It was about a pro-lifers who support Obama. Then Scot McKnight posted a link to this beliefnet.org article on his Jesus Creed.org This was the breakdown of the statistics.
So what do they [Obama pro-lifers] believe? They are fundamentally different from McCain Pro Lifers because they simply don’t believe that criminalizing abortion is the most effective means of reducing the numbers.
Here’s the key:
11% believe the best way to reduce the number of abortions is through legal restrictions
87% believe the best way is “by preventing unintended pregnancies (through education and birth control) or providing financial assistance to pregnant mothers.”Just as surprising, is that a third of McCain pro-lifers, and 42% of McCain voters, agreed that the second approach was more effective.
The Pro-Life Obama Voters: What Do They Want? – Steven Waldman
I have stated (maybe not on the blog) that I could vote for someone even if they don’t want to reverse Roe v.Wade, if they have good plans to do the “preventing unintended pregnancies (through education and birth control) or providing financial assistance to pregnant mothers.” However, I didn’t see enough proof of that from Obama, and a few other things. I didn’t vote for McCain for the same reason I didn’t for Bush Sr. v Clinton (I voted for Clinton.), no vision and a disorganized campaign.
I really would like a two pronged attack on abortion. It would be both of these options. Surprisingly to most, I came to my beliefs about abortion through my science roots. The fact that I oppose all life ending things (death penalty, abortion, euthanasia, etc.) comes from my faith as well. I look at life starting from conception and ending any life should have legal consequences. However, I think that before we can get to that point we need to look at how we defend the weak and oppressed. I think that there are better ways than to terminate a pregnancy when one comes along. I think that a child should be looked at as a blessing, whether that blessing is meant for the mother, or possibly to another if she carries it to full term.
