Safe Haven

5 Random, Loosely Connected Thoughts for Today 5. If the Bush administration had been really prepared to make the argument that waterboarding wasn't torture, why did they hide the fact it was being used? 4. In my view, the warantless wiretapping program in use at the time was perfectly legal, within the war-waging authority granted the president under Article II of the Constitution. If that is even possible, why did they claim the Authorization for the Use of Military Force granted after 9/11 as the special case which grants such authority? It looked like a power-grab, and gave President Bush extra unnecessary political headaches. 3. Consequently, I do not think former Attorney General Gonzales is very politically intelligent, and he was possibly corrupt. 2. I believe President Obama is an American citizen. I also believe he's on his way to one term and one term only as president. 1. Yes, I believe waterboarding is torture.

5 Points of Random Blather for Today (how very Calvinist of me, for once) 5. I saw That One Girl and said, "Hello,"--and didn't die. 4. Everyone should be part of A Triumvirate of Awesomeness at any given time in life; that is, have two friends that with you, bring joy to all three of y'all. In all frankness, this ought to be all-male if you're a dude, as the name implies. A rant on this is forthcoming. 3. She didn't mean to do it, but she is walking heartbreak, dude. 2. Sisqo of Dru Hill can sing a song fo' real. But the "Thong Song" is the end of being taken seriously ever again. 1. Pepsi, I still revile thee, like the platform of Eugene V. Debs .

5 Random, Disconnected Thoughts for Today 5. The band Say Anything might be offensive and immoral because they, well, say anything, but they know how to make a catchy melody that one is likely to remember. 4. John Henry Cardinal Newman really knew how to write an English sentence. 3. Though I can hear a professor in counseling remind me that adultery isn't always about looks, I think adultery when your wife is a model (or something close) is mind-blowingly nonsensical. It's wrong anyway, of course, regardless. 2. I'm staring at a two-liter bottle of Pepsi on my desk that I was enjoying last night--even though I hate Pepsi--because my beloved Coke was unavailable. 1. Thank you, Bobby Bowden .

For your consideration , I am amenable to the Catholic position on justification because: [The 5 Reasons I Might Agree With the Papists On Justification] 1. Love/Charity. If you asked me, "Could a person be wholly acceptable in the sight of God, welcomed into His presence (justified) knowing truths about God, without love for Him and others?" I'd be like, "Um, no, read 1 Cor 13 and 1 John 4." We all know this. But I can totally imagine someone saying, "Synergism! Works! Papist! Arrghh! Nooooo!" at the thought of it all. :) One might try to do it systematically, but why? Why make your systematics a pretzel, when life so obviously teaches otherwise? 2. History. Noone believed Sola Fide until Luther. And I refuse to believe that the people of God were out of luck and incapable of being saved from AD 95 until 1517. 3. James 2. The Catholic way of harmonizing James with Paul is more convincing than the Protestant "What James Really Meant Was..." D...

5 Reactions To Brett Favre's 60 Minute Torturing of the Chicago Bears 5. Without the penalties, it would have been worse. 4. How many primes does this guy have? 3. Are the receivers great, or does he make them great? 2. 392 yards, and I swear he was holding back. 1. If the season ended today, Favre is your MVP, winning his fourth (surpassing his current record 3) MVP 12 years after his last.

5 Points of Truth About "The Ugly Truth" 5. Ladies: Gerard Butler 's piggish character is a caricature...but barely so. I'd say about 87 percent of what he says men think/do is accurate. 4. I thank God I don't know too many ladies who look like Katherine Heigl. That "I'm completely unattainable to you" vibe really sucks. 3. The man would be more believable as a jerk if he was American. I thought European tools acted like Hugh Grant/Colin Firth or whoever. 2. Butler's "Women only want a resume" speech in an otherwise predictable romantic comedy resonated with me more deeply than I might care to admit. 1. When I was able to tear my gaze away from the living piece of art that is Katherine Heigl, I realized that the girl who played her assistant ( Bree Turner ) is an understated beauty.