I ran across this story over on Marko’s blog. Things like this make me absolutely sick, but it’s true… people are developing Christian-themed subdivisions. Two excerpts are puke-worthy:

Near the entrance, before the road turns to reveal new homes starting
at $400,000, a restored chapel sits under the shade of trees. [Read the article]

It’s good to know that Christians aren’t mixing with the riff-raff that buy houses under $400,000. I mean, if you can’t swing a mortgage payment of $3000 or more, God isn’t blessing you. Excuse me while I run to the bathroom.

But their developments seem to be trying to sell a certain way of life.
They’re mixed-use developments, meaning commercial businesses will go
in with the homes, but there are restrictions as to what can go in
these areas. Banks and gas stations are going up, but don’t expect to
see anything that caters strictly to vices.

"Of course we’ll
have some restaurant locations here, but no bars. No massage parlors.
Nothing like that that would be damaging to people’s character, as part
of our restrictions," he said.

This type of mixed-development is just a bad idea. Forcing American-Christian morality and sensibilities, notice I didn’t say Biblical morality, into a society just doesn’t work. After all, Jesus wouldn’t want anyone associating with people who frequent bars or massage parlors, would he? Let’s be real… developers develop subdivisions, not the New Jerusalem. It didn’t work for the Puritans and it won’t work in Tennessee. You cannot create sin-free zones where people will make the right life choices. As if Christianity were merely a lifestyle choice? Even if it were a lifestyle choice, this clearly isn’t a God-honoring choice. We know that Jesus was not impressed with the Pharisee’s who did exactly this. Jesus clear does not want his people separating from the world, how come people continue to think this is a good idea? I’m dry heaving here for again.

Of course Joe Swanson, the developer mentioned in the story, got his start as a Jesus-junk peddler. His son now runs Swanson Christian Products where you can buy such essentials of the faith as the Plan of Salvation Band, fish tie tacks, and "I have Jesus in my heart" stress balls. So I suppose this is just a large scale Jesus-junk scheme. To steal a line from John Stassel, give me a break!

This just in, Dog Chapman… as in Dog the Bounty Hunter has been arrested.

TV reality star Duane "Dog" Chapman and two
co-stars on his show were arrested early Thursday in Hawaii on charges
of illegal detention and conspiracy in an alleged kidnapping three
years ago in Mexico, U.S. Marshals said.

Chapman,
53, his son Leland Chapman, and associate Timothy Chapman were taken
into custody in an operation involving 15 officers, said Mark Hanohano,
U.S. Marshal for the district of Hawaii. They did not resist arre
st, he
said. [Read the rest]

I don’t care what they say, that man is one of my heros.

I watched the President’s address last night. Of course, his speach brought up all sorts of memories of September 11th, 2001 when he gave a similarly timed address to let the nation know we would respond. Much of what he said reminded me of how strong he was during those days immediately following the attacks.

He re-enforced some strong reasons for continuing on with what we’re doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know that some people see it as a purely political issue, but I really think that this strategy, and all of the terror plots that have been thwarted in the last severa, have proven that if we had done nothing… we’d be far worse off than we are currently. I don’t catch a lot of speaches by the President, but this was the strongest I have heard in quite a while.

Across the broader Middle East, the extremists are fighting to prevent such
a future.  Yet America has confronted evil before, and we have defeated it
— sometimes at the cost of thousands of good men in a single battle.  When
Franklin Roosevelt vowed to defeat two enemies across two oceans, he could
not have foreseen D-Day and Iwo Jima — but he would not have been
surprised at the outcome.  When Harry Truman promised American support for
free peoples resisting Soviet aggression, he could not have foreseen the
rise of the Berlin Wall — but he would not have been surprised to see it
brought down.  Throughout our history, America has seen liberty challenged,
and every time, we have seen liberty triumph with sacrifice and
determination.

At the start of this young century, America looks to the day when the
people of the Middle East leave the desert of despotism for the fertile
gardens of liberty, and resume their rightful place in a world of peace and
prosperity.  We look to the day when the nations of that region recognize
their greatest resource is not the oil in the ground, but the talent and
creativity of their people.  We look to the day when moms and dads
throughout the Middle East see a future of hope and opportunity for their
children.  And when that good day comes, the clouds of war will part, the
appeal of radicalism will decline, and we will leave our children with a
better and safer world. [See the full transcript or watch the video]