Todd's Mischief Blog

Yesterday I responded to an article that quoted heavily from the Washington Post on the subject of whether Rep. Gabrielle Giffords would lose her congressional seat. Let me it make clear that I was responding to claims made in the article, not attempting to interpret Arizona state law. More accurately, I was responding to the sentiments expressed in the claims. The Washington Post was getting worked up over nothing. It seems that the statute brought into question regarding whether Giffords’ congressional seat is considered vacant does not even apply to federal offices. Had the reactionaries who were so agitated by the statute bothered to investigate, they would have maybe held their tongues. Instead, their inner workings were partially revealed, displaying a preference to see American citizens unrepresented rather than risk losing a Democrat seat in congress. How’s that for ugly politics? Furthermore, they reveal their contempt for the rule of law first by not bothering to understand i...

Giffords could lose seat because of obscure statute Follow the link to read the story if you like. I think the astute observer of the media can guess without looking what the hubub is all about. I haven't listened to the radio today, but I expect this to be the talk all over by tomorrow if it wasn't already today. While I am filled with compassion for Ms. Giffords and the other shooting-spree victims and their families, my observations on the story will be to-the-point: First of all, in this case "obscure" means "a law Democrats don't like." Second, the Washington Post (see the article) proves how obtuse it can be in wondering whether not casting votes for three months can actually constitute a vacancy. Third, my response to Governor Symington: The provision was put in place precicely for cases such as this. If it weren't, there would be an exception for illness or injury, which would render the provision stupid. Also, in this case "injusti...

In a very quick cash in of their credibility chips, the website/organization No Labels, having only officially launched yesterday , has already been outted for swiping graphics for their website. To make it worse, the lead designer for No Labels, Dave Warren, initially vehemently denied his thievery. “I do my own thinking, man,” he said. Full article after the jump »

Does God have something to say about global warming? I think He does. But I’m guessing it’s not what you think. That was a teaser. I’m going to tell you some other stuff now before I get to the money quote. First of all, the Bible doesn’t have a lot to say about planetary maintenance. Almost any discussion on Christian environmentalism necessarily starts with Genesis 1:28 . God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” A lot of environmentalists hate that passage because, to them, it seems like Judeo-Christian carte-blanch to rape the planet. Of course that’s not true. Beyond that, there’s some instruction on cropland management ( Exodus 23:10-11 ; Leviticus 25:1-7 ); a few passages that indicate proper treatment of animals ( Deuteronomy 25:4 ; Proverbs 12:10 ; Proverbs 27:23) and directions for proper waste managemen...

Ted Turner says that, to save the planet, the whole world needs a one-child policy. The human population is predicted to reach 10 billion by 2050—that’s pretty soon—and Ted doesn’t think the planet can take it. I did do a little slogging around on Google, and it seems the current expert consensus is on that number for Earth’s maximum occupancy. So is Ted right? Let’s look into it… First, let’s consider the world fertility rate. The fertility rate is basically an estimate of how many children each woman will have in her lifetime. The replacement rate is two (2), meaning if every woman had just two kids in her lifetime, the population would remain unchanged. A tiny bit of math tells you that a one-child policy is half the replacement rate, and would reduce population. So, I found some data on the fertility rates from the United Nations Population Division (graph mine). Total world fertility (children per woman) Actual and projected, 1950-2050 The world’s fertility rate is dropping...

Well, it sure didn’t take long. The Democrats are singing a different tune after taking a shellacking at the ballot box yesterday. Overnight, mandates have given way to working together to move forward. Suddenly gridlock is the worst thing that could ever happen. Well, it bears repeating–again and again and again–that this is what happens every time Democrats face a setback in their political agendas. Full article after the jump »

Memorization. That’s not a very fun word for most. I enjoy acting as a pastime, but I consider memorizing my lines the trade-off to all the fun. In high school I was in the band. Every so often, the director had us memorize a piece. Yuk! I was also a member of the public speaking club. It’s a lot more fun to write a speech than to memorize it, even when it’s your own words. Church school included memorization of many, many Bible verses. And in sixth grade, I had an English teacher who felt it was very important to practice memorizing speeches and poems. Full article after the jump »