R.I.P. Larry Norman

From LarryNorman.com

Our friend and my wonderful brother Larry passed away at 2:45 Sunday morning [February 24, 2008]. Kristin and I were with him, holding his hands and sitting in bed with him when his heart finally slowed to a stop. We spent this past week laughing, singing, and praying with him, and all the while he had us taking notes on new song ideas and instructions on how to continue his ministry and art.

Larry was a real ground breaker. It's tragic what happened to him later in life (and I'm not even sure what happened to him).

But he really opened a lot of doors for Jesus Rock and a lot of minds to what church should be about.

And dared to ask the question, Why should the Devil have all the good music?

Rest in piece Larry, in the arms of your Loving Father. I hope you found the peace that eluded you in the later years of your life.

You are no longer "Only Visiting This Planet", you are now "In Another Land".

Update:
Interview on NPR with Larry's brother, Charles.
Entertainment Weekly article

Thanks to Dan Roth of ChurchMedia.net for the links.

Patients left in ambulances for up to FIVE hours

Oh yeah. I'm just thrilled by the prospect of universal health care.

From the U.K by way of the DailyMail

Seriously ill patients are being kept in ambulances outside hospitals for hours so NHS trusts do not miss Government targets.

Thousands of people a year are having to wait outside accident and emergency departments because trusts will not let them in until they can treat them within four hours, in line with a Labour pledge.

The hold-ups mean ambulances are not available to answer fresh 999 calls.

(read the rest)

Looks like the law of unintended consequences coming home to roost.

Hat tip to Reformed Chicks Blabbing for the link.

Are you looking for change?

Are you looking for change?

Look no further than the First Citiwide Change bank

[ SUPER: "When you do only one thing, you do it better" ]

Customer #1: I needed to take the bus, but all I had was a five-dollar bill. I stopped by First Citiwide, and they were able to give me four singles and four quarters.

[ SUPER: "At First Citiwide Change Bank, We just make change" ]

Bank Representative: We will work with the customer to give that customer the change that he or she needs. If you come to us with a twenty-dollar bill, we can give you two tens, we can give you four fives - we can give you a ten and two fives. We will work with you.

Customer #2: I went to my First Citiwide branch to change a fifty. I guess I was in kind of a hurry, and I asked for a twenty, a ten, and two fives. Their computers picked up my mistake right away, and I got the correct change.

[ SUPER: "Correct Change" ]

Bank Representative: We have been in this business a long time. With our experience, we're gonna have ideas for change combinations that probably haven't occurred to you. If you have a fifty-dollar bill, we can give you fifty singles. [ SUPER: "We can give you fifty singles" ] We can give you forty-nine singles and ten dimes. We can give you twenty-five twos. Come talk to us. [ SUPER: "We can give you twenty-five twos" ] We are not going to give you change that you don't want. If you come to us with a hundred-dollar bill, we're not going to give you two-thousand nickels.. [ SUPER: "We're not going to give you two thousand nickels" ] - unless that meets your particular change needs. We will give you.. the change.. equal to.. the amount of money.. that you want change for!

[ SUPER: "At First Citiwide Change Bank, Our business is making change" ]

Bank Representative: That's what we do.

SNLScripts First Citiwide Change Bank I
SNLScripts First Citiwide Change Bank II

And hat tip to Michelle Malkin for the link.

Bill Clinton in Madison, WI

Bill Clinton will be speaking at the UW Stock Pavilions today.

At least they should have the equipment to clean up after he's done speaking. :rolleyes:

Presidential Election: What's important

When you line up McCain next to either of the Democrat choices, there may not be as many differences as many of us would like. But there is one big one and Oliver North puts it quite well:

The election in November will determine how we proceed on the most profoundly important matter facing our nation: the crucial outcome of an unprovoked war waged against us by radical Islam. All other issues, as important as they are, pale in comparison to achieving victory over those who seek to destroy our very way of life.

Mr. McCain has pledged to win this war. We must do so, for the consequences of failure would be staggering. But, as he has acknowledged, he cannot do that without the support of conservatives who man the phone banks, raise the funds, walk the precincts and turn out the vote on Election Day. I hope my fellow conservatives will decide as I have, that we need John McCain as commander in chief.

Read the entire editorial.

And thanks to the John Gibson radio show for having Oliver North on to discuss this.

McCain Nose Plugs

Many are saying that it's time to unite and support McCain as the presumptive Republican nominee. I'm pretty sure I have to agree.

Harry Reid said the possibility of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) becoming president "sends a cold chill down my spine." (credit CNSNews.) That's a pretty strong endorsement in my book.

For those of us, ...uhh, less than enthusiastic about a McCain presidency, The People's Cube has come up with McCain Noseplugs to wear to the voting booths in November.

Thanks to Michelle Malkin for the pointer.

McCain and Judicial Nominees

One of the most important considerations when considering a presidential candidate is what type of Supreme Court nominees they will appoint. A Wall Street Journal editorial agrees.

On Jan. 20, 2009, six of the nine Supreme Court justices will be over 70. Most of them could be replaced by the next president, particularly if he or she is re-elected. Given the prospect of accelerating gains in modern medical technology, some of the new justices may serve for half a century. Even if a more perfect candidate were somehow elected in 2012, he would not be able to undo the damage, especially to the Supreme Court.

We'll lay aside the irony of them endorsing a man because of the number of Supreme Court justices who will be over 70, when their endorsee will be 72 when he takes the oath of office.
Let's consider what factors might play into a McCain choice for a Supreme Court Justice.

The Gang of 14. McCain was a main instigator of creating the gang of 14 senators who agreed to vote for or against judges en masse. This basically took the "advice and consent" role of the Senate in nominating judges and justices and gave to power to decide which nominees would get an up or down vote in the senate to 14 Senators. This doesn't necessarily reflect on how what kind of nominees he will nominate. But it does show how he feels about constitutional processes.

McCain-Feingold Campaign Refinance act. McCain points to this as one of his big successes in the senate, to try to minimize the influence of money in politics. Any reasonable assessment of campaigns since the law was enacted show at least as much money in the mix, if not more. However, this has come up for scrutiny to the Supreme Court. Some (including me) consider the bill an assault on the first amendments. McCain will likely support justices that will not overturn McCain-Feingold.

Federal Election Commision v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. This is one such case challenging McCain-Feingold that came before the Supreme Court. McCain filed an "amicus curiae" brief in support of the FEC and, therefore, against Wisconsin Right to Life. That means he agrees with Breyer, Souter, Ginsberg and Stevens, who sided with the FEC on this case. It is reasonable to assume, then, that these are the types of justices he would look for.

John Fund, also of the Wall Street Journal, wrote:

Mr. McCain has told conservatives he would be happy to appoint the likes of Chief Justice John Roberts to the Supreme Court. But he indicated he might draw the line on a Samuel Alito, because "he wore his conservatism on his sleeve."

McCain says he doesn't remember saying that phrase and are happy with both. He did not stand against either nomination in the Senate.

And I'm not sure where that leaves us. Do we take him at his word and what he promises he will do? Or do we judge him by his actions so far?