Borg Blog: February in Review

February was a fun month for family activities, punctuated by a trip to the theater to see Curious George, and an exciting snow-less sledding adventure, of which I included pictures of the kids.

In February we celebrated the birthday of America’s first president and most indispensable man, so I posted my own biography of this great man and another essay on his influence on the Constitution, as well as some other thoughts over the course of several posts — all In Honor of George Washington.

On the subject of commemorations, I also noted the passing of feminist icon Betty Friedan and Mozart’s 250th Birthday.

In early February, I delivered a well-received, 30-minuted speech to a group of Northern Virginia conservatives that I titled, “A Crisis of National Identity: Reconnecting Our Youth With America’s Heritage of Freedom.”

This past month I also began posting excerpts from important Reformed documents as an aid in Sabbath day meditations. These include passages from a work of Martin Luther’s and of the Heidelberg Catechism. To these, I added my own thoughts that have resulted from a course I am currently taking at church called Sonship, including a first and second definition of Justification by Faith, and of Faith itself. And I capped it all off with a throught-provoking Quiz.

Regarding national politics, I linked and commented on several excellent articles, including one on the president’s State of the Union Address, two articles on the Muslim riots in the wake of the Danish cartoons (an eternal perspective from John Piper, and a social analysis from Krauthammer), and Ron Paul on the three errors that led to the port security debacle.

Most importantly, though, I ask the critical question: “Does ‘Dubya’ Really Dine on Slime Mold?”

Finally, I invite you to offer your thoughts in my post, Spidey Goes Black? Chime in and tell the world: (at least my miniscule part of it) What is the best superhero uniform of all time? And, should Spider-Man trade in his red & blue outfit for a black one? As you can see, this is easily the most important post in the history of Borg Blog.

For more, I invite you to comb through the Archives, linked on the right hand side of the page.

One last note: As the Borg Blog gets bigger the longer I have it, and as I post somewhat frequently and regularly, and as some of the posts are quite lengthy, I recognize that this blog is becoming harder to navigate, esp. concerning the archives. Therefore, sometime in March I will switch over to a new and much better blogging system. I’ll keep you posted.

‘Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy’

Kudos to Bruce Bartlett for his brave and principled stand.

Ron Paul: The Port Security Controversy

To use a poetic and literary device often employed in the biblical Proverbs:
Two things the Bush Administration got wrong regarding the purchase of American ports by a UAE company, three in jeopardizing our ports’ security: 1) mistook sales to a state-run entity as a free market transaction, 2) made authorization where they had no constitutional power to do so, and 3) dictated port decision to states and cities from above (thus violating the Tenth Amendment).

As Ron Paul notes, “everybody likes presidential power when they agree with how it’s used. When they don’t, they rediscover … the Constitution.”

Spidey Goes Black?

Ugh. Say it ain’t so!

This photo, released by Sony pictures, suggests that Spider-Man will be trading in his classic red and blue uniform for a black one in the third movie installment, coming in May 2007. At least, it appears that way, and that is the conclusion USA Today drew.

Now, I’m no comic book aficionado, and rumor has it that in the books Spidey does go black. Well, here is one fan hoping the movies skip that part. Why trade in the coolest superhero uniform on the planet for black? Everyone goes black, for crying out loud! How contrived. Trying to make what is already cool even cooler risks simply going hokey.

So, watcha think? Black or red & blue? If Spidey doesn’t have the coolest uni, who does? Feel free to cast your vote in the comments section below.

With Friends Like These, Who Needs Snow?!

Well, a semi-steep grade and slick ivy helps, too!

The above picture was taken on Saturday while we visited our good friends, the Burchards. That’s Samuel in the back of the sled, Maggie in the middle, and the driver is Kyle and Veronica’s oldest boy, Aidan (their other boy is Julian).

Read the rest of this entry »

‘What Is Your Only Comfort in Life and Death?’

Lord’s Day Meditation

There may be no more beautifully clear outline of the Christian faith than the historic Reformed document, the Heidelberg Catechism. (See also: “Christ in the Heidelberg Catechism”) I post the first two introductory questions here as we meditate on the Lord’s goodness to us this Sabbath. Read the rest of this entry »

In Honor of George Washington

Given the lengthiness of my posts below honoring George Washington on his 274th birthday, and to save readers some scrolling, I offer the following “index”:

• The First American and the ‘Greatest Man Alive’
• Washington on the Constitution and the Essential Place of Religious Liberty in America
• Happy 274th Birthday, President Washington
• George Washington on Constitutionalism

The First American and the ‘Greatest Man Alive’

George Washington — memorialized accurately as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen” — stands even to this day as the indispensable man in America’s history. Although not known as a great political theorist or speaker, nor as a prolific writer, Washington’s character and soundness of judgment served as the point of unity and backbone for the cause of independence and political union of the original thirteen colonies.

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Washington on the Constitution and the Essential Place of Religious Liberty in America

George Washington’s contributions as Revolutionary War hero and as America’s first president have been well documented. What is less understood is his indispensable contribution to the American understanding of individual rights and the successful ratification of the United States Constitution as the vehicle to protect those rights.

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Happy 274th Birthday, President Washington

As my friend and former colleague (read: boss) from our days together at Accuracy in Academia points out in his post today honoring George Washington, today is not “President’s Day.” Even according to the Federal government today is officially “Washington’s Birthday” — even if the real date of George’s birth is two days from now. That this is Washington’s Birthday is as it should be. After all, why should we give the same honor to William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Warren Harding, LBJ, Bill Clinton and the two Bushes as we do for our greatest president, thus diluting the honor due him?

Since I lack time at present to write anything new (I will post my own biography of Washington and my essay on his influence on the Bill of Rights later), I will do my part to honor our first and greatest president by simply linking to something I wrote and posted a year or so ago: “George Washington on Constitutionalism”. Were it today that more political leaders and presidents — including the present one — would give more than lip service and actually follow Washington’s sage advice and example.