The Daily Detour

Richard Dawkins debates John Lennox in Oxford

Even as I write this, tonight at 7:00 p.m. UK time (2:00 p.m. EST) at the Oxford Museum of Natural History, Richard Dawkins and Dr. John Lennox are debating on the question, "Has Science Buried God?"--the subtitle for Dr. Lennox's recent book on the subject. This debate is sponsored by the Fixed Point Foundation. It is the second encounter between these two, as they initially met in Alabama last October. (You can see that debate here.)

This follow-up discussion is taking place in a very historical setting, particularly as it relates to the entire Creation-Evolution debate. For it was in 1860 that Thomas Huxley (known as "Darwin's bulldog") and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce had their famous debate. That debate, combined with the Scopes Trial, and more recent exchanges on Intelligent Design, was one of the pivotal junctures in the journey of these two competing philosophies.

During my time in Oxford this past summer I had the privilege of taking the self-guided tour through the famous museum (which was on my "To-Do" list for my last day in Oxford :) and was even more privileged to study under Dr. Lennox. It was a very insightful experience. So, I'll be interested to hear how this exchange goes.

UPDATE: As I was reflecting on the discussion tonight, I couldn't help but remember a portion of one of Richard Dawkins' books that I read this past summer in Oxford entitled, A Devil's Chaplain. In chapter 5.5, he is relating correspondence that he shared with the late evolutionary biologist Dr. Stephen Jay Gould back in 2001. The portion that I copied from the book is much too long to include in this post, but I would strongly encourage you to take a look at it here. It is worth noting for two reasons: First of all, Dawkins' suggestion to Dr. Gould in that correspondence--that evolutionists should not even share the stage with anyone who may support a creationist viewpoint--shows the unique irony of his sharing the stage with Dr. Lennox right now. Secondly, the sheer arrogance that Richard Dawkins' attitude demonstrates toward those who hold different beliefs than his is palable in his correspondence. It seems somewhat unbelievable that someone would have the audacity to actually print such candid contempt if I hadn't experienced similar sentiments in my interactions with certain other atheists at times. And it is particularly revealing given that evolutionary atheists so often claim that we should be tolerant of others. (And, from their perspective, indeed we should, if we are to promote evolutionary development from this point forward.) But with someone as prominent as Dawkins publicly promoting a preemptive and blatant disrespect for people of opposing positions makes me wonder if this idea of tolerance is held as highly as we are made to believe? Take a few minutes and read this portion of the chapter and judge for yourself.

Colin Powell endorses Obama

In an interview on "Meet the Press" over the weekend, former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for president. This coveted endorsement has been months in the making as Obama carefully courted him, particularly given Powell's respected military and foreign policy experience. And it was especially revealing given that Powell considers himself a Republican. (Clearly, labels no longer mean anything.)

The New York Times reported, "People in both parties debated the impact of Mr. Powell’s endorsement, but on a Sunday morning in Washington the conclusion was that the action revealed less about Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain than about Mr. Powell...." I would concur. As they pointed out, Powell's endorsement was as much about cementing his own political legacy (given his volatile experiences a part of the Bush administration) as it was about Obama's ability as the leader of the free world.

I have always respected Colin Powell's remarkable journey and his steller military career. But it doesn't automatically translate to good judgments across the board. To endorse someone with no military or foreign policy experience over a career military man raises significance about the endorser.

I have always questioned Colin Powell's political convictions. He has been soft on abortion and on other significant issues, has waffled on his political philosophy, unable to solidly determine whether he is actually a Democrat or a Republican (remember when he was wrestling with whether or not to run for president 13 years ago? His political philosophy was a question he never seemed to confidently answer.) In many people's minds, Powell has always been a RINO (Republican In Name Only) And so we see it again.

It reminds me of the yard signs one can see in some of the downtown Indianapolis yards. Side-by-side are signs for our governor, Mitch Daniels (a conservative Republican) and Obama (the most liberal member of Congress). The mental gymnastics required to reconcile one's support for two candidates whose political philosophies are so diametrically opposed is enough to manifest a severe case of schizophrenia.

Though endorsements have limited impact for candidates, they are not without impact. And Powell's endorsement was not exception. Obama has been courting the statesman-soldier for months and months, only to receive the endorsement a mere two weeks before the election. Coincidence? I don't think so... :) 

The birdseye photo tour of the Palin rally

(I was in the process of my usual late-night blogging on this post, when Sarah Palin showed up on Saturday Night Live--not my usual Saturday late night fare, but I was tipped off that she might make an appearance. Both the opening sketch and her brief inclusion on Weekend Update with Seth Myers and Amy Poehler were well-done. She looked calm and cool, which was to be expected. A very savvy political move indeed, given all of the attention Palin-look-alike Tina Fey has garnered on her behalf.)

As promised, The Daily Detour was prominently represented at the Sarah Palin rally Friday afternoon. And our VIP tickets were such a valuable commodity that by the time we got through the traffic, the VIP section was officially closed off to us by the fire marshall and the Secret Service. So what was supposed to be an exclusive TDD interview with Palin, combined with the promised photo for Caleb and Andrew, had to be scrapped for Plan B--the photo tour from the back row. As I predicted in my previous post, our TDD press pool quickly became a mere puddle. So, this birdseye photo tour of the event will have to suffice. :)

According to media reports, there were over 24,000 supporters at the rally.

Standing room only

Yours Truly and my beautiful bride (and Emma, though she probably won't remember it) from our unique vantage point

An exclusive of Sarah Palin (I think--hard to tell). She's speaking from the podium right above the "in" on the "Victory in Indiana" sign. Look closely...she's the one wearing red. C'mon, can't you see her? (I clearly needed Mandy Leech's telephoto lens. :)

The radical group, Code Pink, made their customary appearance. Here they are being their usual disrespectful selves, repeatedly interrupting Governor Palin's speech with their shouts against the war in Iraq. It was a bit ironic coming from a group that was promoting a "Silence the Violence" message. Their protests raised a couple of questions in my mind as I watched them spout their diatribes: First of all, is their "Silence the Violence" message universally applicable worldwide, say, in examples where dictators are brutally killing their own people (in places like Iraq)? Or, is it merely a message aimed at the U.S. military forces who employ necessary violence to stop tyrannical murderers and other evil atrocities around the world? Secondly, and more practically, how does being rude during someone's speech achieve the desired end that Code Pink is pursuing? Don't get me wrong, I actually respect protesters and those who are willing to courageously stand up for what they believe--even if I disagree with their philosophical positions. (In fact, conservatives could use more people who are willing to speak up for the conservative philosophy.) But no matter the person or position, disrepectful engagement is never appropriate. In this case, as in so many others, people like the Code Pink group seem to be in it for reasons that are less about genuinely furthering their cause and more about promoting their true agenda--personal attention.

Tensions rise with those around Code Pink

The police finally step in and escort the Code Pink folks out of the rally for being disruptive (presumably for not following their agenda of peace).

All in all a fun experience, even if we were in the very last row. The Daily Detour, always guaranteed to be in the middle of the action...almost. :)

UPDATE: You can catch Sarah Palin's SNL sketches here. It's always nice to see a political candidate who can let their hair down and laugh at themselves a little bit. It doesn't happen often enough. :)

Sarah Palin coming to Indy

Well, the McCain campaign hasn't given up Indiana, despite Obama's efforts to saturate the media markets here (see my previous post on the subject). Later this afternoon, Governor Sarah Palin is coming to town to host a campaign event, and according to the earliest reports, it promises to be a packed house.

Thanks to the gracious generosity of someone who shall remain nameless, The Daily Detour has secured two last-minute VIP tickets to the event, so we'll be joining the press pool (or making a little puddle of our own) and bring you in-the-trenches coverage of the event. Stay tuned...

Heartland Film Festival '08

I failed to post about this last year at this time, so I determined that I needed to rectify that oversight. For any of you here in the Midwest, the Heartland Film Festival is hosting its annual event in which many excellent films are screened for audiences here in Indianapolis. It has grown over the years and has begun to rival some of the bigger film festivals here in the States, with many A-list actors descending upon Indianapolis, including Jeff Daniels, Dakota Fanning and other scores of highly talented individuals.

The festival started today (Oct. 16) and goes until the 24th. If you have never attended the festival, I would highly recommend it. Their tagline captures the experience, for you are sure to relish what are always "truly moving pictures".

McCain, Obama, and the most famous plumber you've never heard of

...until now. Who's ever heard of Joe Wurzelbacher, or as he has come to be known, "Joe the Plumber"? 'Ole Joe the Plumber from Toledo,OH had an exchange with Obama earlier this week which has vaulted him into the public eye. Little did he know where that conversation would take him. :)

In last night's final debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, I think we heard more about Joe the Plumber than all other policy differentials combined. In between appealing to Joe, it was evident early that John McCain came out swinging.

When Obama tried to link McCain with President Bush, for example, McCain responded, "I'm not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago." And that confrontation early in the exchange set the tone for most of the night (with some considerable help from the moderator, who did his best to make sure that each candidate was poking the proverbial stick into the other's hornets nest). In that regard, it made for a much more interesting presidential debate than the previous two. :)

No matter the subject, McCain didn't back off, which was to be expected. After all, the political winds have seemed to shift a bit, forcing his hand in these final days. His decision to press Obama further on a variety of issues revealed some very sharp contrasts between Obama and himself (including their philosophical differences on economic issues--Obama's "spread the wealth" approach versus McCain's more conservative free market approach, abortion--Obama = pro-abortion versus McCain = pro-life, and Supreme Court appointments--McCain's "strict constructionist" approach of appointing justices who interpet legal decisions according to the original meaning of the Constitution versus Obama's "judicial activism" approach which appoints justices who are more inclined to "legislate from the bench", etc...)

Each candidate managed to make their points and counter-points. Given McCain's more aggressive approach, he seemed to have Obama playing much more defense than in their previous encounters. In that sense, my sense was that he just edged Obama in this final debate. But not enough to regain the kind of momentum he needs to capture the nomination. Of course, anything can happen in a matter of weeks (After all, just three weeks ago our current economic tsunami was hardly a blip on anyone's radar screen.)

I will say, there was an aside by Obama which nearly escaped my attention. During his response to the last question on education, he said directly to McCain, "We can't say we're going to do things and then not give specifics about how we're going to pay for them." Given the unending promises that Obama made to the American people during his acceptance speech at the DNC and the massive government spending that he has determined to engage in, the irony of that statement was palpable.

And who knew that the average Joe from Toldeo would be the one to bring these compelling issues to our collective consciousness? I'm sure he didn't see it coming. From all of us out here in the hinterlands, let me say,"Thanks, Joe, for raising some much needed issues in this race."

UPDATE: By the way, the exchange Joe the Plumber had with Barack Obama brought to light Obama's "share the wealth" philosophy, a reality which wasn't lost on Joe. In fact, as Mark Whittington wrote about the exchange, "When asked whether his exchange with Obama made him want to support him, Joe Wurzelbacher replied, "No, not at all. His answer actually scared me even more. He said he wants to distribute wealth. And I mean, I'm not trying to make statements here, but, I mean, that's kind of a socialist viewpoint. You know, I work for that. You know, it's my discretion who I want to give my money to, it's not [for] the government [to] decide that I make a little too much and so I need to share it with other people. I just -- that's not the American Dream."

It seems 'Ole Joe has picked up on a reality which escapes many other American voters. Maybe Joe should run for president? He's well on his way, as the media interviews pour in. Keep at it, Joe!

Sarah Palin 1, Heckler 0

Emily, one of our TDD readers from over in the Buckeye State, sent me this video clip of Sarah Palin's impromptu exchange with a heckler who was attempting to disrupt her speech at a recent campaign rally. I have to hand it to her. She expressed an often-unspoken truth--that it is our American soldiers who make the sacrifices necessary to allow protesters to protest. Ironically, however, this reality is often lost on them in the midst of their disruptive diatribes.

When I saw this, I was reminded of a discussion I was a part of in one of my doctoral classes a few years ago. One of my classmates launched into the tired anti-American cliche that this country was founded by a bunch of racist, Eurocentric, old white men--all without realizing that it was because of the genius of our founding fathers (warts and all) that made it possible for this young woman to lambast the very people who established her right to do so. It boggles the mind. 

Sifting fiction from fact in this political season

I'm not sure how you all in pivotal states like Iowa, Ohio, and Florida make it, but here in central Indiana, we're getting bombarded with the campaign commercials. And even this political junkie's saturation level has nearly peaked (and we're still 3 weeks out!). Literally, during the primetime hours we've been pummeled with 3-4 Obama campaign commercials per hour for the last month. The latest tally I heard this week from local radio is that the Obama campaign has spent over $11 million in television/radio ads here in Indiana alone (combined with over $40 million in places like Florida)--kind of makes you wonder where all of that money came from, especially since they have touted their grassroots donor base of people who give in $100 increments. That's ALOT of Benjamins!

Up to this point the McCain counter message has been largely silent, but there is talk that will change soon. In the meantime, the Republican National Committee has started running ads, including one which addresses Obama's personal and political associations.

Naturally, the Obama camp has been quick to put out an ad attempting to refute the claims about these questionable, even dangerous, associations. But these associations have continued to dog Obama. And the latest allegations of voter fraud by groups like ACORN (with whom he used to work very closely) haven't helped his cause.

In the midst of all of the political posturing, it's difficult to know what is true and what is not. Thus, one must evaluate the mud-slinging and promises through a critical lens. This means looking beyond the promoted message and attempting to determine the facts (which at times may seem impossible).

Take the RNC commercial for example. It's difficult to know exactly what the relationship has been between Obama and the group of sordid characters to which he has been tied. But Obama's relationship  with them has been undeniably established--people like Tony Rezko (who has been convicted of racketeering and other political corruption), unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers (who was part of the radical lefist group, Weather Underground, which bombed a variety of government buildings including the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon in the 1960's and 70's), Dr. Cornell West (who has recently praised the policies of communist firebrand Hugo Chavez), William Daley (part of the infamous Chicago political machine), and Rev. Jeremiah Wright (whose hate-filled diatribes make "Bull" Connor seem like a Sunday School teacher).

Again, the average voter doesn't have the information to know the intimate details of exactly how closely tied Obama is to these folks. But continuing revelations indicate that the relationships have been much closer than Obama originally admitted. Regardless, there is enough of a connection to raise a couple of points in one's mind.

First of all, Obama himself has been quick to play the ignorance card when it comes to knowing what some of these folks were about. For example, when Rev. Jeremiah Wright became a political liability, Obama quickly distanced himself from Wright, suggesting that during the 20 years that he attended the church, he didn't know who Rev. Wright really was. This ill-conceived line of reasoning raises two options: Either Obama did know who these people were and what they were about (and presumably endorsed their ideas/actions), and he wasn't willing to own up and be truthful about it. Or, he actually didn't know what was going on, which is equally unnerving. For someone to spend such considerable time in relationship with anyone and not know them raises serious questions of competency.

Secondly, these associations are difficult to overcome, particularly given the fact that Obama has asked us to trust his character and judgment (in light of his sparse experience). If these kinds of relationships are an indication of his judgment, there is cause for concern. These are not the kind of folks you want as character witnesses in court, let alone a presidential election.

Consider, for example, if you were to discover that Yours Truly has known relationships with corrupt politicians, domestic terrorists, and racist preachers. It might make you think twice about spending this much time at The Daily Detour. Now, imagine if I were running for president of the United States. Kinda' makes ya' think...

A little Catalyst creativity

One of our TDD readers sent me this compilation of the highlights from yesterday's post on Catalyst. This "word cloud" comes from the Wordle website. (You can visit the site and create a "word cloud" of your own):

Here's my first "word cloud", thanks to others much more creative than I. :)

Final thoughts on Catalyst '08

Friends, my apologies for the delay in getting back in action after Catalyst. My best of intentions over the weekend ran straight into a wall. Apparently, my body couldn't keep up with all of the activity from Catalyst. I slipped into a coma for most of the weekend, waking up only for church and to watch the Colts systematically dismantle the Baltimore Ravens. As you can see, the length of this post is making up for my absence.

I wanted to provide some final highlights from the last day of Catalyst. The all-star line-up started with Tim Sanders (former Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo). He challenged the audience with the idea of what he called "contagious compassion", that we should take our values to work and create a ripple of love through our compassion toward others. And he finished his talk with compelling questions, "If not you, then who? And if not now, then when?"

(Before financial guru, Dave Ramsey, took the stage, the Catalyst team brought a live elephant into the arena in a light-hearted effort to address "the elephant in the room". The elephant was then joined by a donkey, in keeping with the Catalyst theme of "Together". Fortunately, neither the elephant nor the donkey spooked. Otherwise, it could have been very ugly for the hundreds sitting down on the floor of the arena, mere feet from the great beast. :)

Dave Ramsey then brought a voice of calm and reason in the midst of the current economic crisis. In fact, he opened his talk with the message, "The world is not coming to end. God is still on the throne, and He's still crazy about you." He then went on to provide some very practical leadership and financial insights. (He did mention that the current crisis has provided his organization a much larger platform upon which to promote sound financial principles. In fact, over the last 3 weeks, he's given over 50 interviews, and the requests keep coming. By the way, if you could use some sound financial advise, be sure to visit Dave Ramsey's website.)

A couple of other highlights from the Friday afternoon session at Catalyst included singing by the Daraja African Children's Choir, and the surprise entrance of an unexpected guest. To set the mood for the guest, the children's choir launched into an accented version of the chorus from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" while none other than the most famous redneck ever, Jeff Foxworthy, made his way up on stage. It was quite the clash of cultures, but entertaining nonetheless. :)

The other major highlight of the afternoon was hearing from Franklin Graham. He came to Catalyst as a speaker and also to accept the Catalyst Lifetime Achievement Award for his father, Billy Graham. (The famed evangelist was originally scheduled to make an appearance, I believe, but was unable to do so because of his health. In fact, the entire Catalyst audience of 12,400 leaders gave Billy Graham two standing ovations after watching a brief bio. video about his life and ministry. I hadn't realized that he has preached to nearly 215 million people in person in more than 185 countries and territories--not including those who have watched him on television--the most in human history, and quite likely, given the advances in technology, a benchmark which will never be surpassed by anyone else.). Franklin Graham gave a challenging reminder that we cannot and should not hesitate to share the Gospel message. He reminded us of the apostle Paul's charge, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). As he reminded us, there is power in the Gospel. So why are we hesitant to proclaim it? In answer to the question, "What are you going to do with your life?", he answered, "I'm going to go down fighting for the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Andy Stanley capped the event with a final talked entitled, "Recent Random Thoughts on Leadership". Because it was random, I'll just include the quotes he used to frame his talk. They are worth some thought.

"To reach people no one else is reaching, we must do things no one else is doing." - Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv (a multi-site church based in OK)

"The Next Generation product almost never comes from the previous generation." - Al Ries, Focus

"What do I believe is impossible to do in my field...but if it could be done would fundamentally change my business?" - Joel Barker, Future Edge

"If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what would he do? Why shouldn't we walk out the door, come back in, and do it ourselves?" - Andrew Grove, Only the Paranoid Survive

"When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near." - Michael Hammer

The "elephant in the room"

The crowd gets fired up.

Yours Truly and D.J. Payne getting ready to head for home.

The boys breaking into their goodie bags from Catalyst. It's Christmas in October. (This was my failed attempt to win "Parent of the Year". I will never be able to compete with their mother. :)

One final shout-out to Dave Ramsey with our new t-shirts. You can't tell, but we're shouting, "Dave Ramsey!" ('Course with Mark's lack of verbal ability, we're not sure exactly what he's yelling. :)

For any of you leaders out there, you can see that the content was deep and varied, from a wide range of very competent sources. I would highly encourage any of you to come to Catalyst. D.J. and I already bought tickets for next year, so if you do, we'll see you there. :)