Innocent Bystanders

I’ve always maintained that hooters are an underutilized resource. It’s terrain that has many potential, and unrealized, possibilities. Surely, I thought, there is some way that we can enlist those luscious orbs in the Fight Against Global Warming™

Now, finally, there is a company in Japan that agrees with me.

TOKYO — Can lingerie really empower women?

That’s what one company apparently was thinking in its quest to design a solar-powered bra capable of generating enough electricity to charge a cell phone or iPod, Reuters reported.

Triumph International Japan showed off its “Solar Power Bra” on Wednesday in Tokyo, but it will not be in stores just yet.

The environmentally friendly, green-colored brassiere includes a solar belt that goes around the stomach, but its creator admits that “people usually cannot got outside without wearing clothes over it” and says it should not be washed or worn in the rain to avoid damage.

FOXNews.com - Japanese Company Unveils Solar-Powered Bra

It’s over. Silky Pony has finally made a choice.

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama has been endorsed by his former rival John Edwards.
Mr Edwards, who was John Kerry’s running-mate in the 2004 presidential race, had been one of the few senior Democrats yet to endorse a candidate.
Correspondents say his endorsement will damage Mr Obama’s one remaining rival, Senator Hillary Clinton.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Edwards endorses Obama in US race

Obama is now ustoppable with the support of the Sexiest Woman Alive.

In my mind, Isaiah is the most compelling book of the Old Testament. That’s not just because of it’s messianic content and eerily accurate prophecies, but mostly because it is, in part, plainly addressed to the people of the the end times, those anticipating the “Day of the Lord” — meaning you and me.  Speaking across the centuries, Isaiah has some news for us, and many warnings.

I’ve often thought Isaiah really belongs in the New Testament. During every season of Advent and Lent, in my church you will hear readings from Isaiah almost every week, with his relentless message that we should make ready for the Day of the Lord.

For the first time since 1967, the Isaiah Scroll from Qumran is on display. This scroll is virtually the entire book from prior to 100 B.C., still in legible condition due to the arid conditions in which it survived the centuries. Jesus would have used a scroll exactly like this when he read from Isaiah, and said “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:21).” I remember seeing the caves at Qumran, where all the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, when I was on a business trip to Israel and had a chance to visit Masada in the same area. I would love to see the scroll. This is surely the preeminent national treasure of Israel.

2 minutes ago

JERUSALEM - One of the most important Dead Sea scrolls is going on display in Jerusalem this week — more than four decades after it was last seen by the public. The 24-foot scroll with the text of the Bible’s Book of Isaiah had been in a dark, temperature-controlled room at the Israel Museum since 1967. It went on display two years earlier, but curators replaced it with a facsimile after noticing new cracks in the calfskin parchment.

The museum decided to put the scroll back on show for three months as part of Israel’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

The priceless manuscript, written by a Judean scribe around 120 B.C., was in a long glass case Tuesday, its neat rows of Hebrew letters distinct and legible. President Bush, visiting Israel this week for the anniversary celebration, will be one of the first to view it.

The Isaiah manuscript was the only complete biblical book discovered among the Dead Sea scrolls, one of the great archaeological finds of the 20th century.

Israel Museum puts Dead Sea scroll on rare display - Yahoo! News

When I first saw the headline, I did a mental double-take. Its not as bad as it sounds and it is interesting. Wrong, but interesting. The notion there is an ‘authority of science’ is just weird. He does rip Richard Dawkins a new one which is nice.

Read the article. You’ll be glad you did.

Especially the Marines.

Somewhat surprising — given that we keep hearing how they are losing a pointless war in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members.

All military services met or exceeded their monthly recruiting goals in April, with the Marine Corps signing 142 percent of the number it was looking for, the Pentagon said.

Marine Corps surpasses recruiting goal - Military- msnbc.com

      “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”  - Washington Irving

Happy Mother’s Day.

And wrote a very sweet remembrance of him.

I’m so sorry PJ. 

A live wire.
Barely a beginner, but just watch that geezer go.

Hard not to love this guy. He’s 61, 5′4″ and “stout.” And he decided he wanted to get a degree in modern dance.

It’s a little unusual, Morrow admitted, that an “old buzzard” like him is dancing alongside a bunch of “chick-a-licious 22-year-olds.” But he loves the arts so much he doesn’t care who gives him weird looks.

“I’m not coming to class with any ulterior motives or anything creepy,” he said. “I just want to learn to move, leap, be graceful.”

We could all take a lesson on persistence from Mr. Morrow. He’s worked 20 years on his signature movement which entails gracefully swishing his arm in a manner of “swaying seaweed.” A real American hero? I think he’s earned it. Alexey Vayner could learn a thing or two.

CARROLL, Ohio — Time stopped in this small village today as residents turned out to honor the life and death of one of their own.

Lance Cpl. James F. Kimple, 21, was among four Marines killed May 2 by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Hundreds of friends, relatives and village residents attended Kimple’s funeral service at Bloom-Carroll Middle School.

The married father of three young children was based at Camp Pendleton in California and was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He leaves behind his wife, Amber, and their two children, Drake J. and Maleah R. Kimple, all of Amanda, and his child Dominic J. Kimple of Carroll.

Downtown Carroll was nearly deserted during the funeral, with local businesses paying tribute to the fallen Marine on signs and window displays. Pictures of the men and women from Carroll serving in the armed forces hang on the wall of Scoons Restaurant and Bar on Center Street.

Kimple’s is the only one of the nine marked with a black ribbon. Outside, the sign reads “ Welcome home Jimmy Kimple, be at peace.”

It’s cool that the bikers showed up for Jimmy.

Rows of motorcycles surrounding the school gym belonged to the Patriot Guard Riders and the Leathernecks Motorcycle Club. The two groups combined to bring more than 75 riders to serve as an honor guard in the funeral procession.

“A Marine is a Marine for life,” said Mike Ream, 60, of Columbus, who led the Leathernecks’ detail yesterday. “This kid we’re burying today is younger than my children, but he’s my brother.”

The Columbus Dispatch : Town mourns fallen Marine

Iraqi and U.S. troops were on Sunday pushing ahead with their Lion’s Roar targeting al-Qaeda’s last urban stronghold in northern Iraq to try to drive out militants who regrouped there.

Lieutenant-General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, commander of Iraqi armed forces in Nineveh province, said the operation, which was launched Saturday, would particularly target al-Qaeda fighters in the city of Mosul, regarded as the group’s last bastion in Iraq.

“I declare the beginning of the military operation today to clean the province of al Qaeda remnants,” Tawfiq told reporters on Saturday.

“I call on all the clerics and the heads of tribes to support the security forces in our effort to kick al Qaeda out.”

Tawfiq said a vehicle curfew had been imposed throughout the province, whose capital is Mosul.

Why is this operation newsworthy at Al Aribiyah, but not the Western press?

Operation Lion’s Roar is an Iraqi led, planned and executed operation, and is another example of the Iraqis’ growing confidence and ability to independently carry out complex combat, police and humanitarian operations, said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces in the north.

‘Lion’s Roar’ targets al-Qaeda in Iraq

I suppose I should be outraged by this, but it’s actually kinda funny. Childish, but funny, and let’s be honest, I’m no stranger to childish humor myself.

A group called the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco has launched a ballot initiative that would rename a city sewage treatment plant the “George W. Bush Sewage Plant.”

A petition is being circulated that would put the measure up for a vote in November. If it passes, it will rename the city’s Oceanside Treatment Plant for the 43rd president of the United States.

I’ll bet it passes.

FOXNews.com - San Franciscans Want to Put President Bush’s Name in the Toilet

Currently, if a pastor preaches about a particular candidate, the church may face a smackdown from the IRS. A conservative political group is trying to change that.

NEW YORK — Conservative legal advocates are recruiting pastors nationwide to defy an IRS ban on preaching about politicians, in a challenge they hope will abolish the restriction.

The Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., will ask the clergy to deliver a sermon about specific candidates Sept. 28. If the action triggers an IRS investigation, the legal group will sue to overturn the federal rules, which were enacted in 1954.

Under the IRS code, churches can distribute voter guides, run voter registration drives, hold forums on public policy and invite politicians to speak at their congregations.

However, they cannot endorse a candidate, and their political activity cannot be biased for or against a candidate, directly or indirectly.

The Alliance Defense Fund said Friday that the regulations amount to an unconstitutional limit on free speech and government intrusion into religion.

I sort of agree with that. The government should have nothing to say about what emanates from the pulpit. Maybe.

On the other hand, I don’t want “churches” to become covert tax-free political fronts that are exempt from the reporting requirements of other political organizations, especially regarding where their money is coming from. So, um, I’m thinking about this

Johnson said about 100 pastors have expressed interest in participating so far.

The IRS has stepped up monitoring of nonprofit political activity during the 2008 election. Punishments can range from a financial penalty to loss of tax-exempt status.

IRS investigations are confidential and the agency does not discuss the cases.

However, the United Church of Christ, which counts Sen. Barack Obama as a member, has said that it is under IRS review because of a speech given by the Democratic presidential candidate at the denomination’s national meeting last year.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an advocacy group in Washington, monitors church political activity and consistently files complaints with the IRS. They said Friday that they will notify the agency of any pastor who participates in the ADF campaign.

Interesting. The conservatives are defending the right of the UCC to implicitly endorse Obama. One hundred conservative pastors are interested in defying the IRS. There’s trouble brewing.

Some religious groups support keeping politics out of the pulpit.

J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington, which advocates for religious freedom, said churches should be involved in public issues, but partisan activity can “compromise the essential calling to spread the Gospel.”

“The church can’t raise prophetic fist at a candidate or at a party,” Walker said, “when it’s locked up in a tight bear hug with that candidate or party.”

Well, see, I agree with that also. I don’t think that political partisanship by a church is conducive to its primary mission of spreading the Gospel, or to it’s ministry as an advocate for justice.

Here’s what I think: I just don’t know what to think about this.

Pastors Urged to Preach About Politics, in Hopes of Toppling IRS Ban - America’s Election HQ