Nut cases who get it right

I heard the author of this book (new release this week) interviewed on a radio program a few days ago. He is a died-in-the-wool proponent of the views of Ayn Rand. It's frustrating that I agree with over fifty per cent of what he says (including everything he says about the free market and education), but he still comes off as a nut case.

Last week a lot of Christians got bent out of shape because of the Muslim reaction to the movie about Mohammed. From what I can tell, it probably had a good bit of truth in it, but it was poorly produced, and its spokespersons came off like nut cases.

We live in an age of sound bites and images, and careful reflection on complex ideas is getter rarer all the time. It doesn't help any of us when right ideas are espoused by nut cases. Those whom God has gifted to be able to communciate well should take the lead in expositing Biblical thinking on current issues. I recommend BreakPoint with Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet. 

Pervasive banality

As much as those of us who are nerds-in-training might like to

believe that there could be academics as innocent of popular icons and values as Dr. Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Temperance Brennan, it is, in fact, the utter unbelievability of their remoteness which gives charm to these characters. Pop culture rules, even in the halls of ivy. Banality has conquered America. Our diplomats are being murdered, Washington does not respond, and everyone is watching the finals of "America's Got Talent."

Radical Faith: Trusting Public Schools

John Taylor Gatto, former New York City and New York State Teacher of the Year: “Is there an idea more radical in the history of the human race than turning your children over to total strangers who you know nothing about, and having those strangers work on your child’s mind?”