Magic Statistics

JUDGE EDITH HOLLAN JONES
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, appointed by
Reagan, born 1949
A Texan! Nearly nominated to Souter's seat by
G.H.W. Bush. You're hoping the son follows
through! Jones is considered radioactive by
Democrats, which you (and the administration)
might consider a plus!

My favorite candidate for the Supreme Court
brought to you by Quizilla

I took the test just for a lark because, being Canadian, I obviously have no horse in this race. I'd never even heard of this judge before, but I like her already: Any sitting judge considered "radioactive" by Democrats sounds worthy to me. On the other hand, that means a bruising battle to get her confirmed and I don't know if President Bush is up for that. But maybe he'll surprise us—again!

via The Brothers Judd.

Richard John Neuhaus, editor-in-chief of First Things, has announced a new online feature entitled On the Square, found on the journal's home page. Fr Neuhaus and other First Things editors will contribute items that do not really belong in the monthly journal. It looks like a blog, and it sounds like a blog, but Fr Neuhaus pointedly rejects the blog label: "Among other things this is not . . . it is not yet another of those interactive blogs."

In his first post contribution, editor Joseph Bottum elaborates on the new non-blog:

The trouble with blogging, RJN, is narrative structure. Or maybe voice. Or maybe diction. Or maybe syntax. Or maybe I just don’t have a clue about the deep configuration of the blog entry as a literary genre. Does anything go? Does nothing go? I’ve got this really nice little thesis—the kind of thing that comes to one late at night, the perfect sort of little thought that always falls apart in any actual attempt to express it—about how the novel is being turned from an Aristotelian to a Platonic art form.
. . .
I wondered . . . whether this is a bloggable notion. Does one blog a little idea extensively? Or a big idea sketchily? Do you make a small point in numbing detail, or gesture airily at a big point? As an airy gesturer, by natural inclination and generous training in the world of opinion journalism, I hope the sketch is the right way to go.

I've pondered that myself—briefly.

Mr Bottum's second contribution is much less philosophical. He mentions Alan Jacobs's soon-to-be-released biography of C.S. Lewis and then links to a news story about the turbulent friendship between Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

If "On the Square" is half as interesting and thought-provoking as First Things, it will be a blog website to watch.

A First-Temple period seal has been found in rubble from Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The seal impression contains three lines in ancient Hebrew and is believed to be approximately 2600 years old.

The small - less than 1 cm - seal impression, or bulla, discovered Tuesday by Bar-Ilan University archaeologist Dr. Gabriel Barkay amidst piles of rubble from the Temple Mount would mark the first time that an written artifact was found from the Temple Mount dating back to the First Temple period.

Here's the whole story.

via The Anchoress.

Mohamed Kamal Mustafa, imam of a mosque in Fuengirola, Spain, wrote a book Women In Islam four years ago, in which he said that Islamic law permits the beating of disobedient wives, as long as no marks are left on her body. Last year he was fined and sentenced to 15 months in jail for inciting violence against women. But now a Spanish judge has released him after serving only 22 days "on condition that he undertake a re-education course".

The judge told Mohamed Kamal Mustafa . . . to spend six months studying three articles of the [Spanish] constitution and the universal declaration of human rights.

That'll learn him!

News item in Daily Telegraph here. Further commentary from Robert Spencer here.

Science has proved that it's impossible to sink to your death in quicksand. That's the good news. The bad news is that you can sink in up to your waist and, once that has happened, it's practically impossible to be extricated without major bodily damage.

Research has shown that it is impossible for people to sink into quicksand much beyond the waist — but it is equally impossible to pull someone out once they are stuck.

Any attempt to drag a person out with a horse or truck would put them in much greater danger than leaving them be: the forces involved would tear them apart. To pull a person’s foot out would require as much force as it takes to lift a family car, and the body would give way before the sand relinquished its grip.

Read the whole thing.

The collect for today, the day of St Michael and All Angels, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

O everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order: Mercifully grant, that as thy holy Angels alway do thee service in heaven, so by thy appointment they may succour and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Feast of St Michael & All Angels is also known as Michaelmas. The Roman Catholic Church celebrates today as the Feast of Ss. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

The name Michael is a variation of Micah, and means in Hebrew "Who is like God?"

The archangel Michael first appears in the Book of Daniel, where he is described as "one of the chief princes" and as the special protector of Israel. In the New Testament epistle of Jude, Michael, in a dispute with the devil over the body of Moses, says, "The Lord rebuke you". Michael appears also in Revelation as the leader of the angels in the great battle in Heaven that ended with Satan and the hosts of evil being thrown down to earth. There are many other references to the archangel Michael in Jewish and Christian traditions.

Following these scriptural passages, Christian tradition has given St. Michael four duties: (1) To continue to wage battle against Satan and the other fallen angels; (2) to save the souls of the faithful from the power of Satan especially at the hour of death; (3) to protect the People of God, both the Jews of the Old Covenant and the Christians of the New Covenant; and (4) finally to lead the souls of the departed from this life and present them to our Lord for judgment. For these reasons, Christian iconography depicts St. Michael as a knight-warrior, wearing battle armor, and wielding a sword or spear, while standing triumphantly on a serpent or other representation of Satan. Sometimes he is depicted holding the scales of justice or the Book of Life, both symbols of the last judgment.

Very early in church history, St Michael became associated with the care of the sick. The cult of Michael developed first in Eastern Christendom, where healing waters and hot springs at many locations in Greece and Asia Minor were dedicated to him. Michael is supposed to have appeared three times on Monte Gargano, southern Italy, in the 5th century. The local townspeople believed that Michael's intercession gave them victory in battle over their enemies. These apparitions restored his biblical role as a strong protector of God’s people, and were also the basis for spreading his cult in the West.

The photo on the right shows Sir Jacob Epstein’s statue "St Michael Subduing the Devil" on the outside wall of Coventry Cathedral. The former medieval cathedral was destroyed and over 500 people killed on the night of 14 November 1940 during a Nazi bombing raid. A new cathedral, right beside the ruins of the old, was built in the late 1950s. Sir Jacob’s enormous bronze statue weighs four tons and the figure of St Michael is over 6 metres tall. Placed next to the main door, it is said to be symbolic of the triumphant resurrection of the Cathedral despite the powers of evil and destruction.

Based on the teachings of several post-New Testament writers, James Kiefer tells us Everything you never wanted to know about angels.