Drudge this morning has links about a new global warming study that comes out Friday. If people don't believe the scientists, it's the scientists fault for cranking out so much hokum the past 50 or more years. The ordinary people who buy into global warming the most normally don't know whether the evidence is accurate. They just read the scientists who have proven unreliable in the past. It's a question of authority: how much and what type of authority do you need? Have you looked through the telescope to see the thinning ozone? If so, have you personally gone through the evidence to determine whether such thinning is cyclical? I'm not saying a person has to do these things in order to form an opinion. I am saying, however, that proof in any area is a tricky thing and especially so in science where there are myriads of factors to consider. If we don't have an authority to trust, it's virtually impossible to know or trust anything.
It may sound odd (or stupid), but I'll rely on the Vatican statements on this issue. Although the Vatican has no special graces when it comes to science (its binding authority on Catholics is limited to faith, morals, and discipline), it has some of the best scientists at its disposal, and it normally (not always) has no agenda to protect when it comes to scientific questions.
Another person has decided to address the great embarrassment that is American Christianity: pornography among the faithful. Reminds me of the Christian men's conference at a hotel. After the weekend was over, the hotel manager revealed that the most-watched in-room movies were pornographic. Hypocrites? Weak men? Illogical (I love Christ, but this stuff isn't inconsistent)? Simply twisted in the head? Beats me. I think it's a mix of illogic and twistedness, a tendency to simply ignore the obvious sin.
I don't have much more time for blogging, so I give you this little denim Elvis snippet:
"[I]n 1956 Levi Strauss tried an experiment, releasing a line of black denim pants it called Elvis Presley Jeans. It was the perfect endorsement. ... Upon the release of Elvis' [1957] hit movie 'Jailhouse Rock,' writes James Sullivan in 'Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon' ... 'black jeans became the rage of the season.' That transition would eventually make undreamed-of profits for Levi Strauss and its many competitors. ...
"Elvis actually disliked denim. To him, as to most people from real working-class backgrounds, it was just a reminder of working hard and being poor. The less denim Elvis wore, the happier he was."
