Alfredo Deambrosi

Next month, the Alliance for Excellence will present a forum on biblical business ethics at Bob Jones University. Those who attend will profit in several ways:

• Learning from expert speakers
• Interacting with college students eager to jump into the business world
• Linking up with other Christians who are in business or have their own businesses

The conference is October 15-17.

This morning, I was an unwitting accomplice to an engagement. I drove the couple to Lake Oolenoy at Table Rock State Park, thinking that the trip was just a chance for them to try out my kayaks.

After my turn to take a kayak out for a paddle, I returned to the dock to find them engaged!

I’m glad to encourage marital bliss when I get a chance. Congratulations, Jim and Christa!

I recently learned about a delightful little concept called Godwin’s Law, which says that the longer an online discussion drags, the more likely it is to make comparisons to Hitler or Nazis.

A corollary to Godwin’s Law says that in a debate, whoever makes a comparison to Hitler or the Nazis first loses.

The idea is somewhat related to a formal fallacy called Reductio ad Hitlerum.

Members of each side of the health care debate have been comparing the other side to Nazis. Nothing stops intelligent discussion as fast as these overrused and misused comparisons.

Godwin’s Law is meant to be humorous, but go ahead and bring it up the next time someone compares liberals or conservatives to Nazis. Maybe it’ll make your discussion more civil and get it back to where it needs to be.

Watch this fun presentation by CNN iReporters about overused and misused words.

The Washington Post reports that “‘Global War On Terror’ Is Given New Name.”  The White House uses “Overseas Contingency Operation.”

Assuming that the new term is more accurate, does the accuracy justify the obscurity?  Or is the new term a euphemism that, like many euphemisms, may be an attempt to deceive?

Years ago, Ronald Reagan avoided the term “tax increases” and used “revenue enhancements” instead.  I wonder whether Obama’s new term also ignores some negative realities.

Below are some quotations from the article.

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“The Obama administration appears to be backing away from the phrase ‘global war on terror,’ a signature rhetorical legacy of its predecessor.”

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“In a memo e-mailed this week to Pentagon staff members, the Defense Department’s office of security review noted that ‘this administration prefers to avoid using the term “Long War” or “Global War on Terror” [GWOT.] Please use “Overseas Contingency Operation.’ ”

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But critics abroad and at home, including some within the U.S. military, said the terminology ["Global War on Terror"] mischaracterized the nature of the enemy and its abilities. Some military officers said, for example, that classifying al-Qaeda and other anti-American militant groups as part of a single movement overstated their strength.

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“Our strategy should be to divide and conquer rather than make of enemies more than they are,” said Nagl, now president of the Center for a New American Security, a defense policy think tank in Washington. “We are facing a number of different insurgencies around the globe — some have local causes, some of them are transnational. Viewing them all through one lens distorts the picture and magnifies the enemy.”

I can’t remember ever seeing two news stories that cover one event so differently.

One story from CBS News portrays Obama as a friendly visitor, joking with reporters, having fun, interested in making relationships.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/01/22/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4748255.shtml

It is called, “Obama Pays Friendly Visit to White House Reporters.”

Another story from Politico, a site that I often suspect leans to the left, actually portrays Obama as prickly, almost short-tempered.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17831.html

It is called, “Obama flashes irritation in press room.”

The first perhaps better represents the whole event. The second perhaps better highlights an incident that got more attention. So which article more faithfully reports the news?

I love the irony in this quotation, which I found in William Zinsser’s essay “Writing in Your Job”:

Any institution that won’t take the trouble in its writing to be both clear and personal will lose friends, customers, and money. Let me put it another way for business executives: a shortfall will be experienced in anticipated profitability.

On Monday, Holly and I went skiing for the first time in our lives.  We went to the Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, NC.

There are three parts to this video: my skiing, a random skiier’s crashing right behind Holly, and my filming Holly while I was skiing.

Although I did not get to film it, the most entertaining experience on Monday was from a guy who got a lot of attention the whole afternoon from everyone through his expressions of sheer terror.  The first time I heard him was when I heard behind me, “Oh, rats!  Oh, rats!”  I looked to my left to see him passing with arms and ski polls flailing.  “These skis aren’t working!  Help!”  His outbursts were cut short when he finally fell.  He was fine, although from his rant, you would think he had narrowly escaped death. 

The second time I heard him was when I was in the ski-lift line.  As we were moving with glacier-like slowness, everyone in line was awakened by a blood-curdling scream coming down the mountain.  A cloudy spray of snow and an audible “thump” revealed that the same terrified skier had arrived.  A fellow skier walked over to where the mountain’s latest victim was lying, leaned over, spread his arms out, and declared, “Safe!”

I had my own share of falls.  Hopefully, none of them was as entertaining as these two.

Sympathizers of the shoe thrower are demanding that he be released on the grounds of freedom of expression.

What kind of freedom of expression would this Iraqi have had under Saddam Hussein? He would have been hanged by now for such an act.

Rather than resorting to physical assault, Muntadar al-Zeidi, you can thank George W. Bush for any freedom of expression that you do have.

Americans spend amazing amounts of time and money to learn about actors, athletes, and musicians. We see them in the news all the time. They become heroes for America’s youth.

It was refreshing for me this morning, however, to read about ten Special Forces soldiers, who are true heroes. Having fought a seven-hour battle in the mountains of Afghanistan, they will be receiving Silver Stars today.

I encourage you to read their story on msnbc.com. I was reminded of how grateful I should be for these soldiers.

What would happen if America spent more time and money honoring these kinds of role models than America does on celebrities? How would it change America’s collective sense of duty and of sacrifice? Would more Americans see the importance of finding a cause that is greater than themselves and their own entertainment?

Unfortunately, I could not find this story on the front page of abcnews.com, cbsnews.com, foxnews.com, or cnn.com. I applaud msnbc.com for placing news of these soldiers on the front page today.