Rev. Phelps to Visit Plattsburgh - Again

The good Rev. Fred Phelps is going to visit Plattsburgh again. The reverend doesn't like the play "The Laramie Project".

The beliefs of Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro Church of Hate confuse me. That is until I spent a little time at his "godhatesfags" website. Rev. Phelps has somehow convinced himself that he is one the unconditional elected, one of the Five Points of Calvinism. This, as I understand it, means that he is one of God's children that have been saved from the beginning of creation.

When God created the Universe (and people) he designated certain individuals as saved and other individuals as those who will eternally rot in hell. This makes a bit of sense due to the concept of "predestiination". Since God is all powerful and all knowing and always was and always will be, God knows what is going to happen in the future. So obviously who will be saved and who will not be so lucky has already been written.

The cool think about the unconditional elected designation, is (as I understand it) it doesn't matter how you lead your life. You can hate freely, as Rev. Phelps and his family does and it doesn't matter - you have already been unconditionally elected. You are predestined to be saved....no matter your actions while living on Earth.

"God preordained...a part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to eternal salvation, and another part, in just punishment of their sin, to eternal damnation. " John Calvin

Naturally, you can back this statement up with any number of passages from the bible.

Romans 9:21: "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"

Below is a picture of some of the members of Rev. Phelps Westboro Baptist Church.

They look a little similar to one another. Not a surprise since most the church members (~70 members total) are also related to Rev. Phelps. Sounds much more like a cult to me. If the Rev. Phelps is one of those individuals that has been "saved", I'm glad I'm an atheist. I'd rather rot in hell eternally than exist forever in a place where Phelps is considered one of the good guys.

Personally, I like George Carlin's views on religion.

Second Week Down

Today marks the end of the second week of classes. Quizzes given in Human Biology and Anatomy & Physiology II. Everyone in A&PII passed with pretty good scores and that was expected. Human Bio scores were better than the group I had last semester but still have 5 out of 37 students who failed to take the quiz. I'm going to be a bit more strict this semester in the amount of time I give to make up missed exams.

My Pathology class gets their first exam next week. I expect they will do quite well. We had quite a lively discussion about therapeutic touch in Pathology. Unfortunately, I didn't realize we had a TT practitioner (actually Reiki) in the class. Some of my comments on TT were not well received.

Bob Marley

Bob Marley was born on this day in 1944. I wasn't a big fan of his music when he was alive, but I come to appreciate it.

Krugman vs Will

I Screwed Up 2

The end of the era of excuses and denials.

How Many Planets "Out There"

Most people have probably read that extra solar planets have been discovered and that is about the end of it. Just how many planets have been discovered? How many stars have we seen that have planets revolving around them? These questions and many more will be answered at JPL's PlanetQuest website. In less than a month, the Kepler Satellite will be launched.

Are we alone? Is ours a unique planet or are there many other Earths orbiting other stars? Scheduled for launch in March 2009, Kepler, a NASA Discovery mission will help scientists determine just how many Earthlike planets may exist in our galactic neighborhood.

Visit the Kepler Mission website to learn how we are going to find many more planets in the immediate (relatively) vicinity of our galaxy.

I Screwed UP

Only two weeks into the Obama administration and President Obama has admitted that he screwed up. Eight years of George Bush and Bush still can't admit he ever made a mistake.

GOP Economic Advisor

Joe "The Plumber" is the latest advisor to the GOP on the economic stimulus package. Liberals consult Nobel Prize-winning economists and conservatives count on unlicensed plumbers for economic advice. Joe "The Plumber" is fresh off his job as a "journalist" in Iraq. While in Iraq, Joe pronounced that he didn't think we needed any jouralists in Iraq. Just let the military tell us what is going on.

Health, Defense and the Press

Some of my conservative positions.

Tom Daschle should withdraw his name for Secretary of Health and Human services. He's probably the one of the best people for the job but there has to be an equally good person without Daschle's tax woes.

The budget of the Department of Defense should not be cut - at least not in these economic times. Yes, I'm sure the budget could use a lot of work. We have heavy equipment in Iraq that needs to be replaced or refurbished. We don't really need F-22fighter jets (although it is a really, really cool aircraft). We need more ideas like the F-35 joint strike fighter.

The media needs to keep on President Obama's case. That is their job. Too bad they didn't do the same with Bush to keep him honest. But that is in the past.

Teleportation

Remember that recent post about entangled atoms? I didn't think so. But entangled atoms are theoretically useful in making a quantum computer. Entangled atoms actually "teleport" information - spooky!

In todays Science Times there is an excellent graphic that explains quantum teleportation. Yes, theoretically this phenomenon could be used to teleport you....or at least a copy of you.

More Ice Palace Pictures 2009

Ice Channel

The lone tower by the Lake

Side of the Ice Palace

This was an access hole for wiring I think. It's been plugged up.

Extra blocks (being used to construct a pyramid in Riverside Park I understand)

Pirate ship of iceSteps to the quarterdeckLooking at the bow of the ship from the quarterdeck

Ice Palace from out on the Pontiac Bay

Entrance to the Ice Palace

Why Didn't I Think of That?

February 12th marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. Click on the below youtube video and listen to Thomas Henry Huxley lament, in a song, about not seeing the simple fact of evolution. It's a minute or so into the video, so be patient.