NetLibrary: The Andersonville Diary by John Ransom **Excellent**

My local library allows me to check out audio books from NetLibrary. My first download was ‘The Andersonville Diary‘.

John Ransom was a young Union soldier when he was captured by Confederate forces and taken to Andersonville, the worst of the brutal Civil War prison camps. Insightful, adventurous, and powerful, his diary preserves a rare portrait of the harsh life of the Confederate prisons. Yet it also sings with the hope of a man who loves life and manages to keep his sense of humor and compassion even as he suffers.

The book is truly fascinating. Ransom is an excellent writer and his story is one worth knowing. Next up is ‘The Education of Henry Adams‘.

How Food Finds its Way to Your Plate

Currently listening to an interesting interview (click here) with Michael Pollan. If you search NPR for Michael Pollan you will find quite a bit of content. Christian Hamaker recommends listening to Pollan’s latest book ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma’. My local library has it on CD so I put a copy on hold. Basically what I have learned so far is that everything we eat (and I mean EVERYTHING) is made from corn!

Technorati Tags: agrarianism

MYTH: More Foreign Aid Will End Global Poverty

Watching some of the 20/20 video related to foreign aid here. This post by Philip Greenspun is also interesting.

John Stossel’s ‘Stupid in America’

Read/Watch here.

According to Stossel the primary reason is lack of school choice. You can tell the woman doing the interview doesn’t buy it.

Link above allows you to see a short portion of the video, you can see the whole thing here (this is a MUST WATCH!). Many of the comments by the kids affirm exactly what JohnTaylor Gatto writes about, read it here!

Weather Channel Climate Expert Calls for Decertifying Global Warming Skeptics

The Weather Channel’s most prominent climatologist is advocating that broadcast meteorologists be stripped of their scientific certification if they express skepticism about predictions of manmade catastrophic global warming.

Read it here.

Interview with Wayne Grudem

This is a great interview with Wayne Grudem about his book ‘Evangelical Feminism: A New Path to Liberalism’. Very easy to listen to and informative. You can download the book here.

Click here and look for “Vocal Point Radio Interview”. You can download the mp3 or listen in Real Media format.

Technorati Tags: Christianity

Are Car Seats More Dangerous Then Seatbelts?

Read here.

You’d think that in a car crash, infants in their cozy car seats would be the most protected passengers of all. But you’d be wrong, our tests reveal.

Cars and car seats can’t be sold unless they can withstand a 30-mph frontal crash. But most cars are also tested in a 35-mph frontal crash and in a 38-mph side crash. Car seats aren’t.

When we crash-tested infant car seats at the higher speeds vehicles routinely withstand, most failed disastrously. The car seats twisted violently or flew off their bases, in one case hurling a test dummy 30 feet across the lab.

Parents to Stunt Growth of Disabled Child

This is just sick. Anything in the name of pragmatism.

Listen here.