Fooled Again -- Brown Victory NOT What is Told

Daily Paul Liberty Forum : Brown’s Win Is Evidence of Tea Party Hijacking

Unlike Beck, Limbaugh, and Hannity would have you believe Republican Scott Brown’s Tuesday win over Democrat Martha Coakley is not the first in a long line of future victories for the “Tea Party” movement but rather a result of a coup d’état for the Republicans and a testament of a poorly run campaign and a disillusioned Democrat Party. Similar to the public’s infatuation towards Obama, Palin and other cult of personality politicians Brown’s win can be attributed to his ability to relate to his constituency and unfortunately not towards his ideological superiority over his opponent.

Had the Tea Party folks been concerned about his politics they would have had at the very least questioned his continued support and defense of socialized healthcare in Massachusetts, which has contributed towards bankrupting the commonwealth and lead to the highest rise in healthcare premiums as compared to any other state in the union. Even more disturbing, Massachusetts and Obama’s federal proposal, “Obamacare,” have identical mandates forcing private citizens to buy healthcare insurance.

Similarly, his claim that he’ll lower taxes and cut spending does not line up with his voting record. ...

I have dogs Pavlovian with expectation when we drive in to park after an outing which customarily means leftover fries or portions from a burger joint or Taco Bell. I can hand off food to one with typical canine enthusiasm. I can also give empty fry box to another which he will eagerly chomp down on and go growl guard over as though he had something.

I'm just saying; maybe folks are being played more than they want to admit.

Foreseen: Leno - Conan Transition Leads to NBC Late Night Conflict

As Leno Moves to 10 p.m., New Chapter in Late-night Begins | NewsHour | May 29, 2009 | PBS
[Full transcript & video link available on page]

JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight, a big shift in late-night television.

Jeffrey Brown is back with that.

JEFFREY BROWN: It's the end of an era this evening, as Jay Leno sits for the last time behind the famous "Tonight Show" desk. Leno took over for Johnny Carson 17 years ago, and the late-night comedy staple has been a ratings hit for NBC almost that entire time.
...
...
JEFFREY BROWN: In a television twist, Leno is not leaving, but moving. In the fall, he will start a new show that will air nightly, but in prime time.

And for more on this story, we're joined by Eric Deggans, television critic for The Saint Petersburg Times.
...
...
A 'big experiment'
JEFFREY BROWN: This move in the fall that you were referring to, this is a big experiment, to move Jay Leno to prime time. It is sort of a paradigm shift for programming. Tell us, what's -- what is the gamble here? What is the thinking?

ERIC DEGGANS: Well, the gamble here is that NBC will be giving up an hour of its prime time every night to a single show.

There is the thought that ratings will probably go down, at least on some nights. It will be hard to compete against popular shows like "CSI: Miami." But the sense is that NBC will still make money, because the show will be so much cheaper to produce.

Now, that won't necessarily be a good thing for the affiliates of NBC, because they will have lowered ratings going into their evening newscasts, which -- where they make a lot of money. And it may not be good for Conan O'Brien, who may see a diminished audience funneled to his show from the late-night -- from the late-night newscast, because people are going off to do other things at 10:00, because they are not interested in Leno.


Leno's popularity growing
JEFFREY BROWN: Well, you know, we said at the top that this was all sort of carefully choreographed, although, in the interim, when Jay Leno was supposed to leave, he got more popular than ever, right? So, that is what led to this 10:00?

ERIC DEGGANS: Yes.

You know, when this was originally announced, something like five or six years ago, Jay Leno was going down in the ratings. And there was the thought that, by the time 2009 came, it would be obvious that he should be transitioning.

But, in that time, Leno got stronger, not weaker. And, in fact, Conan O'Brien was the one who saw ratings dips. So, all of a sudden, NBC is in a situation where they have to switch hosts. They wanted to keep Conan O'Brien at NBC. But they didn't want a really strong Jay Leno to go to ABC, which was the strongest competitor.

So, instead, they had to offer Jay Leno this 10:00 p.m. show. Now, imagine if Johnny Carson, back in 1992, had decided to take a little time off, and then come back to prime time while Jay Leno was still trying to establish himself as the host of "The Tonight Show."

I mean, this could seriously undercut Conan O'Brien, although I say, you never -- you never count Conan out, because he's a smart guy and he's very funny.


Millions at stake
JEFFREY BROWN: You know, we are talking about the personalities here.

But what -- what -- what are the stakes? What are the financial stakes? Because, after all, for the network, that's what -- that's what this is much about, right?

ERIC DEGGANS: Well, it's about a lot of things.

Of course, it's about the revenue that these shows generate. But it's also about, what kind of network is NBC going to be in the future? If Jay Leno actually works, I think one of the things you will see is that other networks will try variety programming in prime time. In a sense, it will be back to the future, the days of Sid Caesar or Carol Burnett, where we had variety shows in prime time all the time.

If it doesn't work, NBC will have damaged its reputation with its affiliates. There will be millions of dollars of advertising revenue at stake, not just for the networks, but for all the stations that carry NBC programming as well. So, this -- this is a big gamble. And it may show the future of network TV hanging on Jay Leno's shoulders.
[emphasis added in text - original in headings]

=================

Just something found while I was reviewing some old recordings.

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The downside of too much efficiency

Energy-efficient traffic lights can't melt snow

MILWAUKEE – Cities around the country that have installed energy-efficient traffic lights are discovering a hazardous downside: The bulbs don't burn hot enough to melt snow and can become crusted over in a storm — a problem blamed for dozens of accidents and at least one death.

"I've never had to put up with this in the past," said Duane Kassens, a driver from West Bend who got into a fender-bender recently because he couldn't see the lights. "The police officer told me the new lights weren't melting the snow. How is that safe?"

Many communities have switched to LED bulbs in their traffic lights because they use 90 percent less energy than the old incandescent variety, last far longer and save money. Their great advantage is also their drawback: They do not waste energy by producing heat.

Authorities in several states are testing possible solutions, including installing weather shields, adding heating elements like those used in airport runway lights, or coating the lights with water-repellent substances.

Short of some kind of technological fix, "as far as I'm aware, all that can be done is to have crews clean off the snow by hand," said Green Bay, Wis., police Lt. Jim Runge. "It's a bit labor-intensive."

In St. Paul, Minn., for example, city crews use air compressors to blow snow and ice off blocked lights.

Some communities began installing cool-burning LEDs more than a decade ago, and it wasn't long before drivers started complaining about the problem.
...

============
Uhh ... what's the wording? ... tradeoffs ... unforeseen consequences ... downside ... adverse side effects ... collateral damage ...
Just think, if global warming kicks in with vigor,
their won't be any problem with such buildup.
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Environmental Costs of Going Green

Are Rare Earth Minerals Too Costly for Environment? | PBS NewsHour | Dec. 14, 2009
[video segment and full transcript]

Excerpts --

LINDSEY HILSUM: ... Rare earth processing in China is a messy, dangerous, polluting business. It uses toxic chemicals, acids, sulfates, ammonia. The workers have little or no protection.

But, without rare earth, Copenhagen means nothing. You buy a Prius hybrid car and think you're saving the planet. But each motor contains a kilo of neodymium and each battery more than 10 kilos of lanthanum, rare earth elements from China. ...

ZHAO ZENGQI, Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute:The environmental problems include air emissions with harmful elements, such as fluorine and sulfur, wastewater that contains excessive acid, and radioactive materials, too. China meets 95 percent of the world's demand for rare earth, and most of the separation and extraction is done here. So, the pollution stays in China, too.

LINDSEY HILSUM: ... at Baotou, 100 miles away, we found the frozen tailing lake where rare earth mixes with mud, waiting for processing at nearby factories. Technologies we all use, like computers, mobile phones and energy-saving light bulbs use rare earths processed here. And local villagers whose farmland has been ruined by seepage from the lake pay the price.

...
...


ZHAO ZENGQI: Although China has the largest reserves, we only have 50 percent of global deposits. We are supplying too much rare earth, and it's not sustainable, so we must restrict export.

LINDSEY HILSUM: The writing on the wall says: Become the leader of the world in rare earth industry.

But China can't produce enough for everyone anymore, and if governments are serious about low-carbon technologies, other countries will have to start producing.

MARK SMITH: I think that, if we don't get a couple of projects up and running very, very quickly, there's going to be very severe shortage of rare earths in the world, and all of these clean-energy technologies that we're legislating and trying to implement through policy changes are not going to be possible.

LINDSEY HILSUM: Champions of a low-carbon future have yet to wake up to the environmental price Chinese workers and villagers are paying. At Copenhagen, politicians talk of cutting carbon emissions, but they can't meet any targets without rare earth, and that means a sustainable supply, and not all from China.

============

Free Energy -- Free Lunch -- Perpetual Motion --
I will let you know when I find some.

Wind
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Dr. James Hansen on Letterman

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While bantering with Letterman on the climate change issue, the "Father" of Warm Mongers plugs a new book -- December 10, 2009.

Climategate: Links and Brief Quotes

**Quotes taken from heading entries on the EWOF blog --
End the War on Freedom | Links and Commentary from my Crypto-Anarcho-Libertarian Perspective
Scroll from opening page for short excerpts or link to full original articles below**
--------------------

Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of 'Anthropogenic Global Warming'?
'James Delingpole at Telegraph Blogs - "hacker broke into the computers at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (aka Hadley CRU) and released 61 megabites of confidential files onto the internet." If this stuff is for real, the whole human-induced global warming house of cards is about to collapse.'
(lengthy article with hundreds of comments)
==============

Exposing the Warm Mongers
"J. Neil Schulman - I love the phrase "warm mongers". I'll start using it. But the most important part of this essay was the reminder that no scientific question is ever "settled", at least not in the mind of a real scientist."
=============

A few thoughts on Climategate
"Michael Jennings at Samizdata - more wisdom about the reality of scientific research, from someone who used to do it."
============

A Message to the Environmental Movement
'James Corbett of The Corbett Report - "Your movement has been hijacked," says Mr. Corbett, "by the very same financial interests you thought you were fighting against." Powerful stuff. Transcript at the link, but the video displays lots of background information during the talk.'
============

Just a few selected from the plenty of buzz in news and on the net about Climategate.
A review of a Think Tank interview with Bjorn Lomborg is also an earlier blog here --
Global Or Verbal Warming- with Bjorn Lomborg

Wind

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Mapping Demographics: Patchwork Nation

Stimulus Money Plows Through Tractor Country
[streaming video available]
Ray Suarez speaks with Dante Chinni of the Patchwork Nation project about tracking federal stimulus money as it is dispersed through America.
(transcript excerpts) --

JUDY WOODRUFF: Next: where the government's stimulus money is going, as broken down by Patchwork Nation, an on-air and online project that will be making regular contributions to the NewsHour in the months ahead.

Ray Suarez is our guide.

RAY SUAREZ: And I'm here with Dante Chinni, who heads up the Patchwork Nation project.

And, Dante, you and your team have looked where the stimulus money has gone so far. What have you found?

DANTE CHINNI: Yes. With the help of ProPublica, who kind of sorted some of the stuff out by county, we mapped it. And then we have these counties broken in types. So, we can kind of get a sense what kind of place in America, what type of community is getting the money.

And these are highway funds. This isn't all of the stimulus, but this is the thing they thought would create the most jobs. And, so far, it's largely going to rural, agricultural America, per capita. The largest amounts, by far, are going there. And, you know, that's -- that's not necessarily bad.

...

RURAL AREAS REAPING THE BENEFITS
RAY SUAREZ: Now, those high per capita numbers, are they just a function of small populations, or is there something else going on here?

DANTE CHINNI: You know, look, in part, this is -- this is a function of a small population. If I go to a town of 100 people, and I give them a million dollars, a million dollars is not a lot of the -- is not a lot of the stimulus, but, split amongst 100 -- 100 people, it looks decent.

But it's more than that, because, when you break the counties out into these types, as we do, we're able to get a feel for -- in each one of these 12 communities, we have identified who's getting the most, not even in per capita terms, but in just real raw numbers terms.

And tractor country, these real agricultural centers, did very well. They did better than every one of our communities, except for two. And that does show a kind of oddity in terms of what you want to do with the money, what you think it's supposed to be for.

...

DEFINING A PATCHWORK NATION
RAY SUAREZ: Well, tell us more about Patchwork Nation. The idea is not to compare American places region to region or state to state, but by kinds of places, right?

DANTE CHINNI: Right.

The idea behind Patchwork Nation is that, you know, regions -- breaking the country into regions, or even defining them by states, talking about Michigan or California, doesn't really do the trick.

I mean, when you -- when you look at what makes different parts of the country go, different areas in the country go, it's different things. So, places with colleges or universities in their town, a big college or university kind of defines that place. It changes what it is.

Big cities, big diverse cities, places like Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, that's a type of place. The suburbs around those areas, those are types of place.

So, the idea behind it is, let's break the -- let's break the country's counties, the 3,100-plus counties, into 12 different types of place, and see the way these different types of place are dealing with kind of the changing economy, in particular, changing political picture, and get a feel for kind of the direction these different -- these different really countries inside the country are moving at a kind of interesting point in history.

...

Check the interactive maps at --
Patchwork Nation | Online NewsHour | PBS

or at --
Patchwork Nation: American communities in a time of change. > Patchwork Nation Blog | The Christian Science Monitor

You can view the county by county overlay for the 12 community types or other demographic info.
For instance: check under the *LATEST DATA* tab, select the "culture" category and view the map for "Cracker Barrel restaurants" or "Gun shops and dealers".
Maps also have zoom and hover pop-up.

Neat.

Wind
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Is HIV Bogus?

After several paragraphs reminding of the historical and political backdrop to the CDC development of the AIDS story, in an article titled "Still Not Convinced HIV Is Bogus?", James Foye at LewRockwell.com reviews the documentary "House of Numbers" about the fraudulent invention of the HIV virus:

Filmmaker Brent Leung takes us on a journey through the whole sorry episode, from the beginning to the present, in his riveting new documentary, House of Numbers. Born in 1980, Leung has lived his entire life under the shadow of the AIDS bogeyman. His generation, successors to Generation X, became Generation HIV.

...

In what may be a real eye opener for many viewers, Leung totally debunks HIV testing. (Can you say "manufacturer’s criteria"?) But who needs faulty HIV testing when the World Health Organization (WHO) has given us the Bangui definition for AIDS which provides a simple list of symptoms to using for diagnosing AIDS without testing? Though moderated nine years later with the admonition that testing should really be done, it did a wonderful job of kick-starting the supposed AIDS epidemic in Africa.

...

Leung (quite correctly) avoids taking one side or the other, and positions himself simply as the annoying gadfly that keeps asking questions. But the answers are painfully obvious to any thinking viewer.

One scientist in the film states bluntly Peter Duesberg’s ideas are killing people. Meet Lindsey Nagel, and decide for yourself. Her story is told in the film.

...

Not knowing any better at first, the Nagels followed their pediatrician’s instructions to administer anti-retroviral drugs, which at the time meant high dosage AZT. For months the Nagels watched as their initially healthy daughter deteriorated, getting sicker and sicker. Among other things, her growth became stunted. Of course all symptoms were ascribed to her supposed HIV infection, and not the drugs.

After nearly two years of this, the Nagels were alerted to Peter Duesberg’s dissenting view by a relative who read an article about him in National Review. The Nagels became intrigued and wrote to Duesberg. He responded immediately, telling them to take Lindsey off the antiretroviral drugs, or they would kill her. They did, and for that reason Lindsey is alive today.
...

I have seen diseases du jour like "hypoglycemia", chronic fatigue syndrome", "systemic candidiasis", etc. rise and fade from popular discourse. There are studies that indicate allergies are rare for children exposed to pets, soils, pollens and other common outdoor exposures found on farms or rural environments. Kids raised in overly sterilized confines lack immune system development. The raw milk controversy is about whether processing is too protective and far removed from natural exposures that strengthen immunities. Even the polio epidemic has detractors claiming poor diets high in sugar as more contributory than a pathogen.

I have my doubts about all sides. I suspect that there are numerous components to any sickness or syndrome. Some of those components include: political contrivance, media infestations, quackery infections, poor health habits, mental overdrive, ...

G1

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Coming To Our Senses

In the "Cosmic Perspective" conclusion of the July 21, '09 episode of NOVA scienceNOW, Neil deGrasse Tyson delivered his summation segment by noting the limitations of the 5 senses in detecting the reality around us.




==================

The foregoing perspective was primarily elicited from the segment on The Science of Picky Eaters which demonstrated the genetic preconditions for tastes differences among people. It is not a matter of discipline or conditioning that determines a predisposal for liking or disliking such foodstuffs as broccoli.

Biologists have discovered that, out of the thousands of genes in our D.N.A., there's one that determines if we like the taste of some healthy greens or if we can't stand them.

And that single gene was discovered by geneticist Dennis Drayna. He found it by testing how strongly people react to the taste of P.T.C., a compound a lot like the chemical found naturally in vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli. While some people hate the taste of P.T.C, others can't taste it at all.

Dennis found the reason why, and it's in our genes.

With the help of some middle school students participating in a DNA experiment, the results confirm as predicted --

Back in the lab, Danielle analyzes the kids' swabs. She thinks she can predict who hates the bitterness of broccoli, based solely on their D.N.A.

She then returns to the classroom to share the results with students and their parents.

But first, they give each kid some P.T.C. to drink.

As she expects, some taste absolutely nothing, while others wished they'd stayed home, especially Reed and Jarrod. When they see their D.N.A. results, it comes as no surprise; they've both got the form of this gene which makes them very sensitive to bitter. And guess what? Neither of them likes broccoli.

GAIL MOMJIAN (Reed's Mother): She did come right over to me afterwards and said, "See, I told you I don't like vegetables."

Maybe I'll give her some slack.

ISA WELSCH (Jared's Mother): Yeah, I'll have a little more empathy, I guess, at this point.

NEIL DeGRASSE TYSON: So what you're telling me is that the picky-eating children are not accountable for being picky eaters.

BOB MARGOLSKEE: It's in their genes.

NEIL DeGRASSE TYSON: It is biologically predetermined. They are innocent in this accusatory world.
...

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Obama’s New Health Care Logo

Note that the 2nd comment proposes math that affords health insurance coverage to the 45M uninsured at somewhat less than the guvment bust out proposals.

Below The Beltway » Blog Archive » Obama’s New Health Care Logo

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Further Observations on Gender and Genesis 3

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Further Observations on Gender and Genesis 3
[ESV except where noted]

Some prefatory remarks:

What do you call popular misrepresentations from scripture?
... Urban legends of the Bible?
... Bible folklore?
... Bible-snopes?

I am not aware of any single site like a "biblesnopes.com", but there is a religion section at snopes.com. While not designed for in depth exegetical debunking, the section does expose popular religious hoaxes. Fact checking about Quran 9:11 reveals that no such text really prophesies anything about the Iraq war as declared in e-mail forwards: "... for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace."

Hang around within earshot of Bible discussions and eventually one is likely to hear of some reference to the "book of Hezekiah". In the ripe social context, that can be as gratifying as a snipe hunt.

Google "Hezekiah 3:16" or "book of Hezekiah" to find --
Dr. Claude Mariottini's blog Excerpt::

Hezekiah 3:1: “Money is the root of all evil.”

Hezekiah 3:2: “God helps those who help themselves.”

Hezekiah 3:3: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy,
wealthy and wise.”

Hezekiah 3:4: “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”

Hezekiah 3:5: “Cleanliness is next to godliness.

...”

[Note: there is a Wiki article for "snipe hunt". Someone should make an entry for "book of Hezekiah"]


Maybe it was flannel boards instruction or illustrations from Sunday school lesson pages that set the mental image of Elijah being taken up *inside* a chariot on a whirlwind. I suppose it not unique to have fantasized about skipping casket duty by matching up with translation like Enoch or Elijah. Well, through out much of my youth, I had often envisioned being raptured to the divine heavenlies while astride my birotate chariot. I sort of knew that if flesh and blood couldn't osmose past "The Kingdom barrier", then alloy and polymer couldn't either. I could dream. Maybe there was some transformative type of supernatural physics. Sigh ... I could dream.
Now imagine the time I was sitting in adult Bible class where an instructor informed that, contrary to common imagination, the chariot/s were actually a barricading manifestation not vehicular transport for Elijah:

2Ki 2:10-12 And he said, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so." And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw him no more.

Huhhh ... ?
A minor detail perhaps.
Enough cause for a closer look at one's reading of scripture or, for that matter, observation of most anything. Sometimes we can read what we are looking at and other times we can only read what we see until someone points out what we are really looking at.
Yeah, there was also that earlier aha moment in this student's life when it took someone else pointing out that there was actually no biblical count of 3 wise men at the nativity.

In his Genesis Commentary, and other presentations, the turn of phrase Walton uses in noting his hermeneutic approach is "taking the text at face value". That is a refreshingly natural way to nuance the ideal of filtering out tendencies to read eisegetically; or as I like to quip: "... don't go hearing things not said".

While axiomatic imperatives phrased similarly to "... speaking where the Bible speaks and silence where it is silent" concern Bible texts, it is likewise a matter of “ ... elementary law that every statute is to be read in the light of the Constitution. However broad and general its language it cannot be interpreted as extending beyond those matters which it was within the constitutional power of the legislature to reach.” [McCullough v. Virginia, 172 U.S. 102 (1898)] And, ... in statutes levying taxes the literal meaning of the words employed is most important, for such statutes are not to be extended by implication beyond the clear import of the language used. If the words are doubtful, the doubt must be resolved against the Government and in favor of the taxpayer. Gould v. Gould, 245 U.S. 151, 153." (emphasis added) Both of these are among the emphatic citations doted on by the freedom, tax honesty and simpatico movements in oppositions to governmental encroachments empowered through legislative trespass and interpretive sophistry.

With these principles for taking the text at face value, let me make some further observations from an analytical and close reading of sections in Genesis 3.

[Note: I use the term "Further Observations" as sequel reference to my previous 5/08 blog entry -- Observations on Gender and Genesis 3]
===============

AN INJUNCTION; NOT A FORBIDDEN FRUIT --

Taking the text at "face value" supports the idea that the doctrinaire concept of a "forbidden fruit" is not properly derived from scripture. The issue is correctly framed by observing that there was simply a prohibitory injunction applicable only to Adam; it was not a matter of a universally "forbidden fruit".

At Genesis 2:16,17 'the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." '

{Further Observation Ia: Here is the original prohibition. A singular "man" is given a "restraining order" against eating of a particular fruit. Nothing about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (ftkge) being off limits to animals or any other entities.}

When God confronts the man, he alludes to the previous injunction: "Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" (v11)
{Observation Ib: Hmm ... this direct quote is in the singular isn't it?}

OK. Wait a minute. Let's backtrack and examine the record to make sure. Surely there is some warrant for the doctrine of a forbidden fruit.

Well, there is the account of an interpretive discussion between the woman and the serpent about the plurality of the proscription against certain fruit ingestion. see Gen 3:1-5.
{Comment: There seems to have been a rather drastic fate-altering outcome to the creedal determination and application from that theological conference.}

In the 3rd repeat of the injunction God upbraids Adam: "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' ...".
{Obsv Ic: OK. Here is an additional bit of information that seems to suggest that perhaps persuasions by the wife's interpretive prowess just might be ... uhh ... maybe ... somewhat less ... than reliable.}

||Summary Observation I -- Given that the text offers a Divine directive thrice upheld as soley enjoining the man and given that the wife's evaluation is somehow suspect, there is support for a case of: "What was OK for the goose was detrimental for the gander".||

This means that the generally accepted traditional view can be labeled as "Full-Forbiddenist" and the above is a "Partial-Forbiddenist" viewpoint.

Someone could use the variant logical progressions as an academic thesis showing how and whether toxic or not and gender differentiations hold up to scriptural scrutiny. My suggestion is that by a logical process of elimination someone could evaluate as proof whether the ftkge had inherently toxic or psychoactive properties, whether it was totally off-limits or whether merely off-limits to Adam. I believe that improved or formally phrased syllogisms for the conjectural scenarios that I posted, in comment below my post here, would, by above said process of elimination, lead to a "minimal-forbiddenist" position. The ftkge need only have been off-limits to Adam to have resulted in the effects on conscience, subsequent consequences and adjudication.

There are inextricable logical and theological quandaries from presuming that the tree was universally off limits. While I have not elaborated here, my first impressions are that NT, especially Pauline, discussions on sin, law, death and deliverance dovetail exquisitely with the foregoing model. My follow-up will probably be titled "Implications from Observations on Genesis 3".


CURSE or CONSEQUENCE?

See vs 14 & 17.
{Obsv #II: The only 2 things cursed were the serpent and the ground. The woman's subjugation to childbearing pain and husband rule is a derived consequence not a curse per se.}
I will concede that some semantic bleed-over might be warranted from cultural or linguistic context. My point is to demonstrate a fine line of distinction apparent from a prima facie reading.

16To the woman he said,
"I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you."
{Obsv #III: This is an administration of grace. It need not be interpreted as "the woman's curse". It follows from the prophecy of enmity and ultimate victory that endurance to the fulfillment of triumph must undergo strengthening through struggle and suffering. Survival would require subjection to the "husband".}

20The man called his wife’s name Eve,
because she was the mother of all living.
{Obsv IV: Eve is named here immediately after Adam is given an outline of his demise. She, "mother of all living" has been coupled with a "dead man walking", but nothing in the text comparatively indicates her lifespan.}

[Implications Preview: A sufficiency of grace administered to Eve precludes the necessity for an "Immaculate Conception" later. I would suggest that there may very well be a number of "doctrinal scratches where there is no itch"; "cures for ills that are not"; "fixes for things unbroken". How shall I profit in studying reams of Biblical scholarship on "things not said" in scripture? Is it possible for multitudes and generations of the devout to be and remain in thrall to an "urban legend of scripture" for thousands of years?]

As long as the Genesis account has been around, I puzzle if what I note here is entirely new. To my knowledge, the foregoing viewpoint does not represent a common or widespread position. The brevity of the Genesis account is problematic in that it relates much of import yet reveals minimal particulars. Recounting the story of Adam's exile has generated all manner of ideology that range from profound to bizarre. Perhaps someone has already written a book or thesis surveying the differing doctrines, ideas and speculations that abound from ancient to modern time.

My observations are based on the English rendering. Nuances in the Hebrew may refute what I am seeing. I will leave off here for further discussion in comment. I welcome demonstrable correction as well as confirmation.

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Global Or Verbal Warming

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**Global Or Verbal Warming- with Bjorn Lomborg**

BEN WATTENBERG: Hello, I’m Ben Wattenberg. Our guest today is Bjorn Lomborg of the Copenhagen Consensus Center.
BJORN LOMBORG: The reason why they came up with saying that Kyoto or doing something more than Kyoto is a bad deal is simply because it’s very inefficient. It’s not saying that global warming is not happening, it’s not saying that it’s not a big problem, but it’s saying that what we can do about is very little at a very high cost.
BEN WATTENBERG: The topic before the house: Global warming or verbal warming?

Bjorn Lomborg "used to be a member of Green Peace." In this interview, on "Think Tank" (originally Aired 1/31/2008), he summarizes his transition from enviro-alarmist propaganda to common sense, explores the cost to benefit trade-offs in technology, policies and culture and mentions two of his books:
THE SKEPTICAL ENVIRONMENTALIST
and
COOL IT: THE SKEPTICAL ENVIRONMENTALIST GUIDE TO GLOBAL WARMING.
Link to the video and read the transcript here --
PBS: Think Tank: Transcript for "Global Or Verbal Warming- with Bjorn Lomborg"
The episode ends with this ["well duh"] excerpt:

BEN WATTENBERG: Hold it, say that again.
BJORN LOMBORG: The sea ice in Antarctica has increased over the last 50 years and is now at an all time record high.
BEN WATTENBERG: But the amount of ice in the Arctic --
BJORN LOMBORG: Arctic is diminishing.
BEN WATTENBERG: Is diminishing.
BJORN LOMBORG: But notice how we hear almost exclusively about the Arctic, because it fits the story. We don’t hear about the Antarctic because it doesn’t fit the story.
I would say that’s much more the tendency or the nature of the climate change debate, that we are being very one sidedly [SIC] fed stories that fit the model.
Let me give you another example of that, the polar bear, in many ways, has become the icon of global warming. And it’s absolutely true. You should just know the polar bear population has actually quadrupled over the last 40 years from about 5 thousand to probably about 22 thousand now globally.
But, yes, global warming will probably make it harder for polar bears because diminishing and eventually --
[speaking over each other]
BEN WATTENBERG: Unless they move to the Antarctica.
BJORN LOMBORG: But -- yes. But let me just then tell you this is what you never hear. People say this shows that we should do something.
If we do the Kyoto Protocol that will probably save about one polar bear every year. Now, I’m all for saving a polar bear even, you know, even though a couple trillion dollars might be a little high price tag for that -- but isn’t curious that at the same time we don’t have a conversation about the fact that every year we shoot somewhere between 300 and 500 polar bears.
I’m just -- shouldn’t we perhaps stop shooting 300 to 500 polar bears before we have a conversation about enacting policy that would cost trillions of dollars.
BEN WATTENBERG: Hold it. We’re running out of tape. Bjorn Lomborg, thank you very much for joining us ... (emphasis added)

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Further video entries can be linked from here -- YouTube - Bjorn Lomborg - The Facts about the Environment

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Watch Tank Man -- PBS Frontline

Virgil's blog post linked to YouTube video of a film which is also featured on a PBS '06 episode of Frontline. There is an encore presentation scheduled for this week. Along with links to further treatment of the Tiananmen Square incidents of 1989, the full program is also available to watch online from links on this page --
FRONTLINE: editors' notes: in the news: do you remember tiananmen? | PBS

Tuesday, I will record this on DVR for later review.
(I am preempted by vote on real-time viewing due to a broadcast of some high level sports competition on a major network.)
I will be listening for further details on what I briefly heard during a preview where the narrator described the events as a crackdown on a "pro-democracy movement". That word "Democracy" causes me to squirm uncomfortably and I think of the mode of governance rejected by the USA's founding fathers.

While browsing elsewise, I came upon Democracy: The God That Failed with 1 favorable review:

Hoppe at his best

The title says it all, and is intriguing enough for inspiration to read.
...
Democracy, long touted as the ONLY fair representative government actually pillages it's citizens with a rapaciousness seen in the worst communist countries, through short time preferences and its open ended entry into legalized theft, extortion, and fencing of stolen goods, of the labor of its countrymen.
...

Amazon also has reviews touting the work as a worthy read

There are principles here to evaluate.
Do not advocates for democracy hijack the message of liberty and supplant democratic ideology as the proper route to freedom?
Was Tank Man a pawn of democratic sentiments?
Or was he a single soul exercising liberty in the face of overwhelming oppression?
I suspect that he may have fallen victim, martyred as collateral damage, between a clash of the two democratic impulses represented by the Communist regime and the populist uprising.
True liberty does not easily place loyalty in either side of what amounts to a turf battle among gangs.
.
We'll see.

A Glimpse -- GM Bankruptcy Fallout

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In Detroit, Mixed Emotions Over GM's Bankruptcy Move |Transcript| June 1, 2009 | PBS
Excerpt:

PAUL SOLMAN: Ben Matta is president of this Flint local.

Is this contract an act of desperation?

BEN MATTA: I believe it is. We obviously know what the alternative is if we don't get it ratified.

PAUL SOLMAN: Even UAW President Ron Gettelfinger used the d-word.

RON GETTELFINGER, United Auto Workers president: Desperation and survival. It's pretty dramatic from a standpoint of our membership.

PAUL SOLMAN: Current membership and future membership, since new workers, the so-called second tier, will make only $12 to $14 an hour. In return, the union keeps the current wages for first-tier jobs of roughly $65,000 a year, and it gets almost 20 percent of Newco, the new GM, though that stock will be owned by the retiree health fund, the VEBA.

RON GETTELFINGER: The Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association that looks after retirees that's controlled by independent directors, so we as a union do not have any of that stock.

PAUL SOLMAN: For its $30 billion or so in future health claims, the VEBA gets $10 billion in cash from the government, a $2.5 billion note, and stock in Newco.

RON GETTELFINGER: Now, this company has to succeed for that stock to be worth something to supplement that VEBA. And that's what we want to see happen.
[at about 4:30 time mark]
PAUL SOLMAN: Newco also has to succeed to meet future UAW pension payments. In a sense, G.M. has become a retirement community that supports itself by selling cars.(emphasis added)

RON GETTELFINGER: Three hundred and seventy-three thousand retirees and surviving spouses at General Motors.

PAUL SOLMAN: And how many workers?

RON GETTELFINGER: Sixty-one thousand.

Full segment (10 min) video here:GM Bankruptcy Affects Myriad Stakeholders
==========================

1 to 6 is a mighty productive ratio for retirement support compared to the 2 - 3 to 1 usually cited for a Social Security beneficiary. I am not claiming any numerical grasp on the bigger picture which no doubt includes a back-story of prosperity, attrition and collateral damage. I just find that "GM as a retirement community ..." is an intriguing caption under a snapshot of an historical moment. Questions remain about sustainability and public subsidy.

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Cheesus, ExeJesus, Eisegesis ...

Dallas Couple Sees Jesus Inside Cheese Snack

Beth Wagner
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ¯ Dan and Sara Bell of Dallas found a Jesus-shaped Cheeto while on a road trip last week. They have since nicknamed the figure "Cheesus."

Many people have seen and heard about the likeness of Jesus turning up in unlikely places. Now, one North Texas family says they found Jesus in a cheese snack.

Dan Bell found his vision of Jesus last week at the gas station. "We were leaving town. I stopped by to fill up with gas and bought some snacks."

Inside a 99-cent bag of Cheetos brand cheese snacks, Dan and his wife Sara found something unique.

Sara recalls the discovery. "I was putting them in my hand and I had eaten most of the ones in my hand, and one was left lying there. And I said, 'Oh my gosh, look at this. It really looks like a person in a robe praying.'"

Dan looked over. "I said, 'Wow, it does look like a praying Jesus.'"

The couple nicknamed it "Cheesus."

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These folks must be some of those nouveau dupes following that strange new cult called hyperpreterism. They seem to find the presence of Jesus Christ appearing everywhere, even coming out of a bag of Chester Cheetah's famous snack. Next thing you know they will be claiming that Chester is the incarnate 2nd coming of Cheesus Chrust hisself.

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