tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85101952011-08-16T19:11:22.994-04:00"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go." Musings on politics and spirituality from a decidedly rogue Christian perspective.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.comBlogger3451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-85194522488119017832011-07-27T10:45:00.004-04:002011-07-27T11:25:27.648-04:00

What follows is the unedited, long-form version of my story that ran last week in The Colorado Springs Gazette.CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Late in the morning of July 8, an estimated three-quarters of a million onlookers scattered throughout Florida’s space coast cast their eyes toward an empty, cloud-saturated sky. They were waiting anxiously for NASA to give the go ahead for the launch of space

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-89918783354779902332009-02-12T07:23:00.002-05:002009-02-12T07:24:18.106-05:00

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-5688640810247793962009-02-09T00:30:00.003-05:002009-02-09T00:34:13.216-05:00

25 Random Things About Me1. My parents nearly named me Alexander.2. The first thing I ever wanted to be was an ambulance driver. This was before I knew that meant you had to be a paramedic. I just wanted to drive fast and turn on the siren and lights.3. I am an insane Star Trek fan. Yes, I even go to the conventions. 4. Living in Europe gave me a rabid wanderlust. Most people thought that after

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-87529334070624885082009-02-03T17:01:00.004-05:002009-02-03T17:14:09.675-05:00

It's official. The S-3 Viking, an anti-submarine patrol aircraft, has flown its last. It was time. The airframe is as old as I am. Most people know the S-3 (if they know if at all) as the jet President George W. Bush used to deliver his infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech (it was the only naval aircraft to ever be given the designation Navy One). For me, the S-3 is my "old office" when I

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-16771383017936106382009-01-29T09:31:00.001-05:002009-01-30T06:57:45.829-05:00

.cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:#868686;text-decoration:none;}.cc_links a:hover{color:#67bee2;text-decoration:underline;}The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10cNeil deGrasse

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-1164484681857791142009-01-19T02:57:00.029-05:002009-01-26T11:40:00.841-05:00

My pictures of the inauguration follow a wee bit of commentary…I had an entire entry written and ready to go. It was set to post last Monday, President Bush’s final day in office. It went on for several pages about the abomination that was the Bush presidency.About how a man propelled into office by the slimmest margin in history immediately began governing as if he had an overwhelming mandate.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-44078444871754417552008-11-20T12:00:00.003-05:002008-11-20T12:08:30.018-05:00

Kathleen Parker, the conservative columnist who raised the ire of many Republicans during the election by eviscerating Sarah Palin in print, publishes a very interesting article today on the Republican Party's lack of church/party divide, claiming that if they want to return to prominence, the G-O-P needs to "dump" G-O-D.The entire text is below or can be read at its original Washington Post

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-5379802358231120542008-11-14T16:30:00.008-05:002008-11-14T16:47:55.329-05:00

The satirical political website 23/6 recently ran a story too hilarious not to share. I've cut and pasted an excerpt below. To read the whole thing, click here.In an interview on Veterans Day, President Bush was asked to reflect on his regrets over his two terms in office. Bush said he regrets, "saying some things I shouldn't have said, like 'dead or alive' and 'bring em on.'" Bush also said he

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-17263323881755220952008-11-11T23:44:00.003-05:002008-11-11T23:45:24.177-05:00

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-84000153850330055022008-11-11T10:43:00.000-05:002008-11-11T10:44:04.577-05:00

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-1554478163983952192008-11-06T10:05:00.001-05:002008-11-06T13:00:03.721-05:00

OK, I lied. I'm back after a break of less than 24 hours. But only for a moment. And without any sort of commentary. I leave you now with a few pretty pictures and one incredible tidbit from today's Politico:"With unofficial tallies of the popular vote past 64 million (and still counting, as Georgia and other states tally the paper), Obama won more votes than any president in history."Now the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-73511562882892235812008-11-05T16:50:00.005-05:002008-11-05T17:01:55.738-05:00

I have come full circle. More than a year ago, at a small (they were smaller then) gathering in Brooklyn, New York, I shook the hand of the man who, last night, was lauded as this country’s 44th President of the United States.I hope Ronald Regan will forgive me for appropriating his line for a Democratic presidential victory, but for me and millions like me, it finally feels like “morning in

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-30752870473438470222008-11-04T10:55:00.004-05:002008-11-04T10:59:27.985-05:00

It’s only a matter of hours now, and even Karl Rove is predicting an Obama blowout. The polls taken the day before the election are always the most accurate, and nearly every single poll is in agreement — Obama has the majority of the vote. Of the 30 most respected polls, 25 give it to Obama, four to McCain, and one predicts a tie. Over-sampling of Democrats, to what degree it has occurred, is

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-74264295824810709422008-11-03T09:49:00.002-05:002008-11-03T10:02:20.850-05:00

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-85069966413959891292008-11-02T11:26:00.004-05:002008-11-02T11:46:11.094-05:00

FiveThirtyEight.com has an interesting diagnosis of the electoral map heading into the home stretch. Colorado may be something of a decider in the election.The website, which accumulates and analyzes polling and political data, does not believe the race is tightening as the McCain campaign contends. However, it is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.FiveThirtyEight gives North Carolina,

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-28303026004615750162008-10-29T16:34:00.005-04:002008-10-29T17:03:58.873-04:00

My friend Jeff does the math for The Weekly Standard. He says it's all uphill for McCain. If he doesn't win both Florida and Ohio, he's done. Jeff also goes for Obama's jugular at Human Events.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-6740561763065768872008-10-29T15:24:00.005-04:002008-10-29T15:33:53.110-04:00

Gotta love Janet Porter. In her latest article to WorldNetDaily, she warns all Christians who plan to vote for Barack Obama that they should also plan on a one way trip straight to hell.She doesn't mean a collapsed economy, or increased socialism or any other such hyperbole. She literally means hell. As in fire and brimstone.Some extracts:To all those who name the name of Christ who plan to

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-56458646425412502582008-10-29T12:48:00.003-04:002008-10-29T12:54:48.868-04:00

I don’t hear many conservatives talking very much about the ever-growing defections within the GOP. Not that I would if I were in their shoes. “We’re fighting a civil war,” is how one GOP operative put it this week. It seems that every day more and more Republicans are abandoning the sinking ship of the Grand Old Party. No, that’s not right. Not simply abandoning ship. Jumping, swimming the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-45964570690448441702008-10-28T14:53:00.003-04:002008-10-28T14:56:31.625-04:00

After Sunday’s New York Times Magazine story detailing the McCain campaign’s throw-anything-on-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks version of campaigning, it seems something may have finally found its mark: socialism. Or at least it has with the conservative readers of this blog. Too bad it’s a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.I’m wondering if anyone watched “Meet the Press” this Sunday?

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-44621600670006820692008-10-28T06:47:00.000-04:002008-10-28T07:00:08.738-04:00

I find that some of the most vocal objections to Socialism (especially Socialism as laid at the feet of Sen. Obama) come from my Christian friends.This to me is the height of irony. The Book of Acts is held up as the paradigm of the Christian utopia. It describes exactly what Christianity looked like following Christ’s resurrection as the fledging religion tried to form itself into a something

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-36569556266504713342008-10-27T10:21:00.000-04:002008-10-27T12:38:51.433-04:00

For those of you not raised in the church, particularly the Pentecostal church, you may not be aware that many people believe that God, even today, continues to speak to His children. Some claim this occurs audibly, while others hear God only as a still, small voice within them — like a conscience or their own thoughts. While most of the time God “speaks” to an individual for their own

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-24475942341377877562008-10-27T09:17:00.000-04:002008-10-27T12:21:10.143-04:00

The mega para-church organization, Focus on the Family has a time machine and they’ve used it to send a message back from 2012!In the letter, a Christian from 2012 paints a bleak picture of America: terrorists have struck numerous American cities leaving catastrophic death tolls. Russia is blitzkrieging across Eastern Europe. Israel is enveloped in a nuclear winter. Christians are brutally

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-29275451496262797662008-10-26T07:17:00.000-04:002008-10-27T07:21:40.979-04:00

Obama drew his largest crowd yet today, in my home state of Colorado. Police estimated the crowds in Denver at more than 100,000!

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-75729332257587998942008-10-24T09:26:00.000-04:002008-10-24T14:14:16.099-04:00

"Science consists in discovering the frame and operations of Nature, and reducing them, as far as may be, to general rules or laws — establishing these rules by observations and experiments, and thence deducing the causes and effects of things." – Isaac Newton Earlier this week, Politico.com ran a story about media outlets “preparing for the possibility that their Election Day surveys could be

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-67986166672481358072008-10-23T09:29:00.000-04:002008-10-23T09:34:54.691-04:00

“There are two Americas. One is the America of Lincoln and Adlai Stevenson; the other is the America of Teddy Roosevelt and the modern superpatriots. One is generous and humane, the other narrowly egotistical; one is self-critical, the other self-righteous; one is sensible, the other romantic; one is good-humored, the other solemn; one is inquiring, the other pontificating; one is moderate, the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-53637057811989623042008-10-22T15:48:00.000-04:002008-10-22T16:01:50.214-04:00

The same friend who sent me the previous post just sent me this one. Enjoy. I plan on discussing something along these lines tomorrow... Dear Red States,OK, we have had enough. We just can't get along. We have decided to go it alone. We in California have decided to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon,

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-784333814617966032008-10-22T08:20:00.000-04:002008-10-22T19:05:18.028-04:00

A friend recently sent the following to me with the note: “A perceptive assessment of how race still matters in politics in ways that go unspoken.” Very insightful.What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review?What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said "I do" to?What if Obama were

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-16453933607668451582008-10-21T16:39:00.000-04:002008-10-22T19:05:46.228-04:00

Aside from, perhaps, the Clintons themselves, I don’t know anyone who thinks that either Hillary or Bill have even remotely gone out of their way to campaign for Barack Obama. Sure, they’ve done some perfunctory stuff here and there, but they certainly haven’t bent over backwards to get the Democratic nominee elected. They’re the O.J. Simpson of stumpers — they say they’re going to leave no stone

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-42310192509438200402008-10-21T15:15:00.000-04:002008-10-21T15:15:00.433-04:00

I want to be respectful in this political season and allow people the time necessary to process what is, admittedly, a wide gamut of policies and principles. That having been said, we’re down to just over two weeks now.Are you seriously going to sit there, as some people I know do, and tell me you’re still undecided? Are you going to say to me, with a straight face, that after two years of

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-2476328935007850472008-10-21T12:24:00.000-04:002008-10-21T15:22:35.069-04:00

Barack Obama’s campaign reported a staggering $150 million dollar haul for the month of September. Obama spent more on advertising in that month than Bush did in the entire 2004 election. Democrats are outspending the Republicans as much as five to one this year. Normally, I’ll gag at those sorts of numbers. I think we spend far too much money on presidential campaigns, converting them into rich

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-2329923869001259502008-10-20T01:39:00.000-04:002008-10-19T10:52:34.329-04:00

I think it’s impossible not to look on your younger siblings without seeing them forever stuck, like insects in amber, in the time and place of your childhood. You share so much history together, that every time you look at each other, you see the cross currents of so many memories. For the older sibling, time stops exactly when you leave home to strike out on your own. In many ways, you half

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-57518108714910602382008-10-19T10:52:00.000-04:002008-10-19T11:34:52.976-04:00

Just minutes ago, in a sprawling and eloquent monologue on Meet the Press, Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.), former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, overseer of the first Gulf War under President George Bush Sr., National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, and longtime McCain friend and admirer endorsed Barack Obama for President of the United States.Calling

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-53725935396697743772008-10-18T21:04:00.000-04:002008-10-19T11:14:32.932-04:00

More people came to hear Barack Obama speak in St. Louis today than attended his August acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver. The crowd was estimated at 100,000 people. That makes it the largest crowd yet for an Obama gathering, second only to the 200,000 people who turned out for his speech in Germany. Previously, an estimated 80,000 people attended both his Democratic National

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-65260744062460779572008-10-17T16:30:00.001-04:002008-10-19T11:20:52.417-04:00

"On Nov. 4 we're going to elect a president to lead us through a perilous time and restore in us a common sense of national purpose. The strongest candidate to do that is Sen. Barack Obama. The Tribune is proud to endorse him today for president of the United States."With those words this afternoon, The Chicago Tribune, which was founded in 1847, endorsed its first ever Democratic nominee for

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-32999420807426272642008-10-17T15:17:00.001-04:002008-10-17T15:28:18.042-04:00

Both John McCain and Barack Obama attended the Al Smith Dinner, a respected Catholic charities benefit in Manhattan last night, where traditionally, the candidates are expected to roast one another. Both men good-naturedly attacked each other and themselves. It’s been a serious campaign. We need all the laughs we can get. While both men were funny, I think this was one evening McCain walked away

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-42203409149782385282008-10-17T14:39:00.000-04:002008-10-18T00:30:52.730-04:00

I had planned to write some grand, lengthy piece about the third and final presidential debate but work and life conspired against me and rather than wait any longer than I already have, allow me to simply toss a few, seemingly unconnected thoughts and impressions your way:• I think Schaeffer did the best of any of the moderators — he was fair, demanding and specific.• Ah, the oft extolled Joe

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-91878936369235480722008-10-14T13:51:00.000-04:002008-10-14T13:53:14.093-04:00

Just three weeks to go!In the few days since the long, holiday weekend began, several new fascinating items have come to light.• More and more political observers are predicting something resembling a landslide.• Obama now leads in three of four key bellwether counties that President George W. Bush won handily in 2000 and 2004. Each resides in a crucial battleground state through which the path

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-42513998305745470022008-10-10T12:06:00.001-04:002008-10-11T19:49:13.422-04:00

David Brooks has a fascinating piece in today’s New York Times. Titled “The Class War Before Palin,” the columnist attempts to give a bird’s eye, snapshot view of how conservatism came to be so anti-intellectual.It wasn’t always thus. Modern conservatism, Brooks contends, began as a movement of dissident intellectuals. The urbane and sophisticated William F. Buckley, hardly an intellectual

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-59235798192568645372008-10-10T12:02:00.001-04:002008-10-10T12:06:30.454-04:00

Colorado Springs may be the best barometer the country has for how the presidential election will swing next month. If Colorado is one of the country’s most contested swing states, the Springs, my old hometown of nearly two decades, is a true swing city.Colorado Springs sits within El Paso County, once described as the most conservative county in the nation. Colorado Springs is home to the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-3848832940338913042008-10-09T08:46:00.001-04:002008-10-09T08:48:05.886-04:00

Now there's a narrow demographic (though admittedly, close to my heart!)

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-5776281975028751582008-10-08T12:43:00.000-04:002008-10-08T16:59:46.893-04:00

Barrack Obama won last night’s debate, not because he K.O.ed John Mccain (he didn’t), but because in order for McCain to have been declared the winner, he needed to gut his opponent and leave his entrails all over the stage floor. And that never remotely happened. This morning, nearly all the polls, including those polls that gave the last debate to McCain, agree — Obama was the victor by a

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-65417503421876787552008-10-06T15:58:00.000-04:002008-10-06T16:05:42.111-04:00

I thought the Republicans hated the New York Times. I thought it was a hot bed of liberalism, a den of democratic iniquity, a sounding board for all things Obama.But now, McCain and Co. seem to be in love with The Times again, or at least in love with a story that ran over the weekend about Sen. Barack Obama’s links to Bill Ayers, the 60s radical who helped found the militant group The Weather

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-58530982517614109942008-10-04T16:33:00.000-04:002008-10-04T16:55:12.675-04:00

Recently I realized that the time had come for me to I put my money and my time where my sizable mouth (i.e. this blog) is.The past several weekends I’ve been canvassing for Barack Obama, going door to door to ensure people are registered to vote and, of course, encouraging them to vote Democrat. With only 30 days to go until the election, I plan on taking every weekend until November to get the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-885174930931485102008-10-03T14:46:00.000-04:002008-10-05T11:27:06.424-04:00

What a topsy-turvy political season we’re living through when the most hotly anticipated vice-presidential debate in this country’s history was also the one in which the leading lady went in beneath a cloud of the lowest expectations of her career.Things haven’t been going so well for McCain/Palin. The American people are moving toward the Democrats in these uncertain economic times. Three weeks

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-90699762268690559742008-10-01T13:56:00.000-04:002008-10-01T13:57:26.196-04:00

Click to enlarge so you can enjoy all the fine print!

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-66859246530442670542008-09-28T12:20:00.001-04:002008-09-28T12:20:56.908-04:00

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-8560235981151436312008-09-28T10:13:00.000-04:002008-09-28T12:19:59.894-04:00

SNL hasn't been that funny thus far this season...except in the case of their political skits. Check them out.Sarah Palin and Hillary ClintonKatie Couric Interviews Sarah PalinMcCain Approves AdsFirst Presidential DebateBill Clinton

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-68861472139626748822008-09-26T23:59:00.000-04:002008-09-28T12:22:54.010-04:00

The debate just ended. I was struck, from the first moments, that a black man was standing on a stage in Mississippi, running for President of the United States. Extraordinary.It was a pretty even exchange I thought. This was the Goldilocks debate—Obama needed to avoid coming off too cold and calculated, and McCain needed to avoid appearing too hot tempered. There were mixed results on both sides

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-64337223426619737742008-09-26T23:48:00.000-04:002008-09-26T23:59:07.906-04:00

More and more Republicans are expressing concern about Sarah Palin. Her recent uneven, awkward and muddled performances in what few media appearances she's been allowed are showing her true colors.But none have been more critical than columnist Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, who wrote in the conservative standard bearer, The Weekly Standard, that Palin should step down immediately.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-1981678053270929412008-09-24T17:28:00.000-04:002008-09-25T08:59:31.233-04:00

Only minutes ago, Sen. John McCain suspended his campaign and asked that Friday night’s presidential debate be postponed. Claiming that it was crucial that he return to Washington to participate in the nation’s $700 billion Wall Street bailout, McCain called on Obama to do the same.McCain has a point. He is a sitting senator who hasn’t exactly been doing his elected duties for some time now. In

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-44223358616249704832008-09-24T17:27:00.000-04:002008-09-25T23:41:27.501-04:00

Sen. John McCain took questions from the press yesterday. For a whopping seven minutes. It’s the first time he has done so in weeks, perhaps even months. McCain’s handlers, fearful that a single gaffe could be disastrous, have imposed a near media blackout on the candidate once known and beloved of the press for his lengthy repartee and willingness to take interviews.His running-mate, Gov. Sarah

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-61920901203236175402008-09-23T00:22:00.001-04:002008-09-23T00:26:02.252-04:00

Click on the image to enlarge.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-16459652271755795702008-09-16T08:56:00.000-04:002008-09-18T07:01:44.490-04:00

This has been making the rounds lately and it was too good not to share:I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight...If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."If you grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, yours is a quintessential American story.If your name is Barack, you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-62122181086325801012008-09-15T16:05:00.000-04:002008-09-16T00:04:02.570-04:00

Americans divide pretty equally into Jeffersonians and Hamiltonians.Thomas Jefferson believed that the people were the ultimate arbiters of wisdom. Only the people could be trusted to make prudent, shrewd decisions concerning their future and the future of the nation. The people were, ultimately, always right.Alexander Hamilton couldn’t have disagreed more. He believed that the people were dumb,

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-57755557755738819802008-09-13T16:05:00.001-04:002008-09-13T23:12:26.672-04:00

Earlier this week, I promised to return and share my thoughts on Gov. Sarah Palin’s “performance” before the television cameras a few days ago. Let me say at the outset that I think Governor Palin did rather well. That is if you judge her success by how she got through her series of interviews with ABC’s Charles Gibson without falling on her face. It was a mixed bag, to be sure, but there were no

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-80604123064633688942008-09-11T11:18:00.000-04:002008-09-11T11:25:24.394-04:00

Tonight, two weeks after she was revealed as Sen. John McCain’s GOP running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will sit down for her first media interview with ABC.It’s about time. It’s well past time.When not drawing massive crowds (it remains to be seen how large these crowds will be now that the two have gone their separate ways; I imagine McCain’s numbers will fall while Palin’s remain steady),

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-70679999125039952622008-09-08T22:07:00.001-04:002008-09-09T09:03:28.154-04:00

Keith Olbermann needs to go to church more often.Last night, on “Countdown,” he asked if America was ready for a Vice-President who speaks in tongues, is preparing for the apocalyptic end times and rapture, believes you can pray gay away, and thinks God is interested in her public works programs (“I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-82756659782500242492008-09-07T13:11:00.000-04:002008-09-07T13:37:36.251-04:00

As usual, no media outlet covered the Republican convention better than...The Daily Show. Statistics show that 75 percent of Americans live in large, urban settings. Only a quarter of this country's citizens live in small town America. So the claims that small town American values drive the country are, at the very least, inaccurate.Think McCain is a maverick? Think his rhetoric is so different

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-26699100390912349062008-09-05T13:33:00.001-04:002008-09-05T13:49:02.742-04:00

If I had to sum up the final evening of the Republican National Convention in one word it would be (borrowed from a Republican friend): “snoreville.” Graham was boring, Ridge was boring, Cindy McCain was oh-so boring (and scary), and McCain, as usual, was, well, boring…and long. He didn’t give a speech — he gave a series of soundbites linked together, more attacks than facts.McCain’s language and

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-20224936766536016512008-09-04T09:47:00.000-04:002008-09-04T19:50:23.832-04:00

Sarah Palin, now the official Republican Vice Presidential nominee, certainly hit it out of the park last night. It was a brilliant speech. For those concerned about whether or not the governor of Alaska would fold under the pressure, she certainly alleviated those fears in quick order. She was an authentic, white, working-class voice, and an effective messenger for Republican ideals. There is no

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-17306143258578339602008-09-03T23:48:00.001-04:002008-09-03T23:57:47.206-04:00

I’m not sure if you’re aware of it or not, but I’ve been astonished to learn this week that John McCain was a POW! I know he never mentions it, but it seems to be the only thing all the speakers in Minneapolis/St. Paul can get out. Bush, Thompson, Huckabee, Giuliani, Palin — each of them seem to have nothing better to talk about. Wait a second. Come to think of it, maybe I have heard this refrain

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-68107237409452331412008-09-01T07:46:00.000-04:002008-09-02T11:46:58.051-04:00

I know, I know...where in the world have I been? Obama picks a V.P. The Democratic National Convention. McCain picks a V.P. And nary a word from me.I've simply been too busy. Work. Screenings. Heck, I haven't even had a decent night's sleep in nearly a month. Between two weeks of the Olympics, the Dems in Denver and now McCain and Co. kicking it off in the Twin Cities, I've been lucky to go to

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-25903823555352800712008-08-18T14:13:00.001-04:002008-08-18T14:19:25.760-04:00

This weekend, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain joined megachurch pastor Rick Warren on the stage at his Saddleback Church, in California, for what was dubbed a forum on faith.Warren, who is a bit of a rouge evangelical in that he has repeatedly called for Christians to broaden their limited scope of moral outrages to encompass poverty, climate change, AIDS and African relief, succeeded

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-17679119507872182462008-08-15T14:25:00.000-04:002008-08-15T16:45:59.212-04:00

Oh thank God they cleared that up.Turns out Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, authors of the popular Christian "Left Behind" novels, a series based on a literal interpretation of the book of Revelation in which the end of the world is dramatized, have been deluged with e-mails and letters inquiring if Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ.Before everyone panics, rest easy. Those two deans of the apocalypse

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-76484597535266114712008-08-14T17:07:00.000-04:002008-08-15T19:46:11.850-04:00

According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas than has Republican John McCain. And all this despite McCain's status as a decorated veteran and a historically Republican bent among the military. Think the troops have had enough!?Click here for the rest of the story.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-10414454169405780122008-08-12T09:17:00.000-04:002008-08-12T09:19:43.078-04:00

Can I pray for fire? Do you think it’s ok? Not a huge fire. Not a raging inferno that kills dozens and chars bodies and that sort of thing. Just a good, basic fire. That burns buildings, like, say, someone's headquarters to the ground. Can I pray for fire?(To their credit, some employees of Focus on the Family are the ones that demanded this ridiculous video be yanked).

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-63668319933322690992008-07-30T03:01:00.000-04:002008-07-30T03:01:01.957-04:00

While I hear and even sympathize with my Republican friends’ complaints that Barack Obama is being given a nearly free ride in the press, I also have to question the impact of the media (and the quarter million Obama has spent introducing himself to the world) as well as the intellectual permeability of the average American when I keep running into people who don’t seem to have turned on a radio

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-67932609700228688242008-07-25T03:00:00.000-04:002008-07-30T00:04:44.428-04:00

(with apologies to Thomas L. Friedman) Technology has not only fundamentally altered information dispersal — a revolution greater than that of the printing press — but it has made it possible to instantaneously connect to and do business with any one of 6.1 billion people across the planet. The world is literally at our fingertips. In so flat (i.e. connected) a world, what does it mean to be an

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-87183487761870071422008-07-22T20:04:00.000-04:002008-07-22T21:41:01.646-04:00

You know the type of parent. They flood your e-mail inbox with dozens of pictures of their children, saturate their blogs with funny stories about their kids that only they care about, perpetually send Christmas family portraits conspicuously missing adults, and generally make cutesy nuisances of themselves. You know the type. I thought I knew the type, until the type became me.No, there aren't

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-71666053245581830132008-07-19T12:51:00.000-04:002008-07-19T12:52:07.460-04:00

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-47466565463890967762008-07-15T22:28:00.000-04:002008-07-16T00:13:07.770-04:00

This story originally appeared at Christianity Today Movies. To read this story at its original source, click here.Dan Merchant has an agenda, and he doesn't care who knows it."I want us all to have a conversation," he said while weaving his car through traffic, sandwiched between events promoting his new film, Lord Save Us From Your Followers. "My agenda is for people outside the faith to come

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-56362633950637586232008-06-30T04:00:00.000-04:002008-06-30T06:08:54.838-04:00

This weekend, the last of the Fibbs kids was married off. On Saturday, my sister Gabrielle and her girlfriend Helen took advantage of California’s recent Supreme Court ruling striking down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage and together with thousands of other couples, joined their lives together. How do I feel about it? I suppose, given the environment in which I was raised, that I should be

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-68698445778041254192008-06-19T08:43:00.000-04:002008-06-19T09:07:55.697-04:00

Recently, a friend asked me to write a post on how I could be a supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign while, simultaneously, be an advocate of the pro-life position. Allow me a few words to address his request — I know he is not alone in asking the question.The truth is, with some exceptions during the first, pro-life Bush Administration, abortion has been on a steady decline over the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-39264586900503802812008-06-15T18:13:00.001-04:002008-06-15T18:31:40.306-04:00

BY BRANDON FIBBSSpecial to The GazettePhotos by Harlan Taylor and Tom KimmellJune 14, 2008WASHINGTON, D.C. - Colorado Springs, or one version of it, took the national stage this week, as a documentary-style musical about the city's evangelical movement premiered in the Studio Theatre. Turns out, for many Washington theatergoers, "This Beautiful City" was a comedy and a horror show. Chloe West,

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-61272807727426747092008-06-13T15:40:00.000-04:002008-06-15T19:53:49.674-04:00

One of this nation's finest journalists has died.Just minutes ago, Tim Russert collapsed at his NBC office and died of a massive heart attack.Anyone who knows me, knows I have a soft spot for journalists, and Russert chief among them. The 58-year-old host of "Meet the Press" and NBC's Washington Bureau Chief was a titanic giant in the industry.I am heartbroken.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-19006741413687149572008-06-12T07:59:00.000-04:002008-06-12T08:00:37.498-04:00

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-23594602123503557682008-06-11T12:50:00.000-04:002008-06-11T12:52:48.165-04:00

The following video is a compilation of newspaper covers from every state in the Union and several from overseas proclaiming Obama's historic victory.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-15984718608841919232008-06-09T09:04:00.000-04:002008-06-09T09:07:22.147-04:00

Barack has cinched the nomination. History has been made. The general election is underway. The future is bright.I know I should have something deep to say, but my busy schedule prevents me. Perhaps in a few days. For now, enjoy this...

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-71829797142698017832008-06-03T16:46:00.000-04:002008-06-04T07:08:00.216-04:00

(CLICK ANY OF THE IMAGES FOR LARGER VIEWS)This past weekend was nothing short of a dream come true for me. I had the opportunity to join my wife at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida for the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery.In ten short missions, the shuttle fleet will be permanently retired. This was one of my last chances to see America’s space program, as I had grown up with

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-49310084284040096792008-05-28T08:54:00.000-04:002008-05-28T11:03:02.214-04:00

This week’s “The New Yorker” has an interesting article titled, “ANCHOR AWAY: Katie Couric’s ill-fated voyage with CBS” by Nancy Franklin. It’s interesting not because of what it says about Couric herself (in my opinion Couric never had the gravitas necessary to succeed as a nightly news anchor; ABC’s Elizabeth Vargas is another story all-together), but because of what it says about the news

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-16123313323388101602008-05-26T07:24:00.000-04:002008-05-26T08:09:27.125-04:00

Long time readers of this blog will know of my obsession with all things space and my wife's and my lucky friendship with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, at the Rose Center at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and the host of NOVA Science Now. He is the most extraordinary mentor either of us have ever known.Neil is more than one of this

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-4950489419312203302008-05-23T15:40:00.000-04:002008-05-23T16:16:56.878-04:00

Really John McCain? Really?After Barack Obama criticized him for not supporting a bipartisan bill to enlarge the coffers of the GI Bill, John McCain shot back with what has to be his first misstep in his fledgling campaign against the presumptive Democratic nominee. Whether or not anyone realizes it remains to be seen.For me, McCain's hotheaded answer went far beyond his playful, Reaganesque

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-48730278748366757582008-05-19T12:43:00.000-04:002008-05-19T15:33:26.029-04:00

This past week I returned to my beloved New York City for New York University’s 176th commencement exercises. NYU’s campus enfolds Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park on each side and it is here that the graduation festivities are typically held, the student body entering through the famous arch. However, this year the park is undergoing massive renovations, forcing the university to look

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-73697286330367396132008-05-16T06:53:00.000-04:002008-05-16T06:57:37.731-04:00

The man needs no introduction and I'll let him speak for himself.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-81148266116510888762008-05-08T03:01:00.000-04:002008-05-08T06:54:17.738-04:00

I couldn't put this off any longer. Several of you have been begging for pictures of our new apartment and though I was planning on waiting until everything was just perfect (every picture hung, every knickknack in place), I now realize that could be weeks or even months off yet.So here it is. Those of you familiar with my post two years ago for our postage stamp of an apartment in New York City

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-38836476859111075312008-05-07T18:46:00.000-04:002008-05-07T18:57:10.823-04:00

I don't believe the latest numbers from an NBC exit poll in Indiana yesterday (I feel they are inflated by those asked the question in the hopes of getting an immediate, in-your-face effect), but they are still telling:Of those who claim Clinton, 31% said they would vote for McCain if Obama got the nomination and 16% said they would simply stay home.Since it is very obvious that McCain and

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-18970740377074303152008-04-30T09:48:00.000-04:002008-04-30T07:09:06.610-04:00

This week’s Newsweek magazine cover features a sprig of arugula and a pint of beer with the title, “Obama's Bubba Gap.” Increasingly, media attention is being given to white, working class voters who claim that one of the most important things they look for in a presidential candidate is someone with whom they’d be comfortable having a beer.Are you kidding me!?I guess the thing that disturbs me

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-63680226157667524012008-04-29T12:07:00.000-04:002008-04-29T12:17:50.754-04:00

Why won't the Rev. Wright just shut up? Out of the one side of his mouth he says he wants Barack Obama to become the next President of the United States and then, from the other side, goes on tirade after increasingly media-saturated tirade sure to damage Obama's chances with voters somehow unable to separate the minister from the parishioner. Is Wright so full of pride, so offended, so selfish,

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-20475487677586100442008-04-24T10:32:00.000-04:002008-04-23T22:33:56.017-04:00

Should it make me nervous that the best man at my wedding is so good with a gun?

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-41465003439493825052008-04-23T08:20:00.001-04:002008-04-23T08:30:19.028-04:00

The tide hasn’t turned for Clinton, as much as she’d like to think it has. What no one is talking about this morning is that, going into Pennsylvania, she was up by more than 20 points (some estimates had her lead as high as 30) and she won by only ten.Pennsylvania is a hollow victory in that the only advantage it gives her is perpetuating the race rather than moving her into the lead (and, one

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-55512726206181698712008-04-21T08:41:00.000-04:002008-04-21T08:45:10.383-04:00

Goodbye SUV, hello hybrid! Nice.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-30517954665754447862008-04-10T11:55:00.000-04:002008-04-10T16:17:13.034-04:00

Have you ever wondered what your human footprint looks like? Exactly how do you, as a single individual, impact this planet's health? This week I was invited to attend a screening of The Human Footprint at National Geographic's headquarters. Hosted by ABC's Elizabeth Vargas, the film, which premiers on NatGeo this Sunday night at 9pm ET/PT, attempts to answer exactly those questions.When I tell

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-64420823730981711212008-04-07T09:41:00.000-04:002008-04-07T09:48:48.628-04:00

I know these have both been on the Internets for some time now, but I was just recently directed to both and thought I'd pass on the laughter. The first video needs no explanation. Before watching the second one, however, make sure you've seen the original before the parody here.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-3101863662444237102008-03-25T16:30:00.000-04:002008-03-28T14:13:23.415-04:00

(Click on any image for a larger view)There was a time when anywhere in Europe was comfortable. Even a country I’d never been to before was snug and peaceful because I had lived on the continent long enough to know how it breathed. I could feel the regular beat of its pulse beneath the city streets. I understood its rhythms.When I stepped off the plane and onto German soil a week ago, it had been

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-5725416751197268722008-03-24T10:03:00.000-04:002008-03-24T11:33:04.077-04:00

This is a commentary I wrote for Christianity Today Movies. To read the original, click here.You know the adage about never discussing religion, politics or sex in polite company? Craig Detweiler and John Marks never got that memo.To understand where Detweiler, a filmmaker and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, and Marks, a journalist, author and former 60 Minutes producer, are coming from

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-83139819671028093262008-03-04T07:23:00.000-05:002008-03-04T07:30:15.931-05:00

According to SlashFilm, a website dedicated to movie news, Barack Obama's favorite films are The Godfather, Parts I and II and...wait for it...Lawrence of Arabia -- quite simply the greatest move ever made, in my...our humble opinion.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-90822064464536748002008-03-03T14:27:00.000-05:002008-05-09T14:50:17.293-04:00

I am constantly amazed by the audacious power of the short film. And I shouldn't be. I have seen numerous short films that compress, in mere minutes, the sort of muscular storytelling and palpable emotion that many feature films never come close to touching.Case in point: the “Exquisite Corpse” film series. Based on the French parlor game of the same name, this series was created by the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-4393245914662359512008-02-20T23:00:00.001-05:002008-02-20T23:15:16.581-05:00

I gave my wife a telescope for her birthday last month and we broke it in tonight watching the eclipse. It was the perfect maiden voyage. Earlier in the afternoon it snowed in D.C. and just before the eclipse began, large clouds were roiling across the sky. But as the earth's shadow fell across the the lunar surface, the clouds scattered, giving us a gorgeous view as the moon turned blood red and

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-59676507512952341612008-02-20T12:38:00.000-05:002008-02-20T13:36:40.497-05:00

Last night, Barack Obama pummeled his Democratic rival, winning his ninth state in a row over the increasingly flaccid campaign of Hillary Clinton. Recently, people have been asking me — even some here on this blog — exactly why it is that I so admire and am attracted to Barack Obama. Moreover, they’ve commented that they don’t even know what Obama stands for, further driving the earlier query as

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8510195.post-10347448653829580142008-02-14T08:31:00.000-05:002008-02-14T08:33:40.214-05:00

Colbert dropped by to pay our friend, Neil deGrasse Tyson, a visit.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00006626882906247453noreply@blogger.com1