Ronnie Earle, Tom DeLay, and Grand Jury Shopping.

I’m helping run a youth retreat this weekend. (PRAY!) So I’m a bit busy, but I can’t let pass the latest on D.A. Ronnie Earle’s unethical vendetta against Tom DeLay.

It’s now come out that one grand jury declined to indict DeLay (Dallas Morning News article – registration may be required) on money laundering. So Earle found a more pliant grand jury and had them issue a rushed indictment. And calling it rushed is putting it very nicely. The new grand jury hardly had time to find out where the bathrooms are.

This can only be called grand jury shopping and a serious breach of legal ethics. It even goes against the spirit of constitutional prohibitions against double jeopardy.

Ronnie Earle is Exhibit A in my frequent contention that few things are worse than a D.A. who is more interested in scalps than justice.

The Captain’s Quarters is again on top of this. And I agree it may be getting close to time to disbar Ronnie Earle, especially since the liberal idiots voters in Austin won’t do the right thing and get rid of him.

William Tyndale

Today is the 469th anniversary of William Tyndale’s martyrdom.

William Tyndale and others who suffered to get the Bible into the hands of the common people in their own language have been heroes to me almost as long as I’ve been a Christian. And those who burned them have always been great villains. I still shake my head when I consider that the church so strove to keep the Bible out of the hands of the people.

Titusonenine brings a collect for this day to my attention:

Almighty God, who didst plant in the heart of thy servant William Tyndale a consuming passion to bring the Scriptures to the people in their native tongue, and didst endow him with the gift of powerful and graceful expression and with strength to persevere against all obstacles: Reveal to us, we pray thee, thy saving Word, as we read and study the Scriptures, and hear them calling us to repentance and life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen!

Avian Flu, Lawyers, and Me

I’m not going to rehash all the news (panic?) about Avian Flu and a possible pandemic. There’s plenty on that out there and more coming. But there’s an important angle that is being ignored, and there’s a (much less important) personal angle as well.

First, we are not in a good position to prepare for a flu pandemic. The U. S. just doesn’t have much ability to produce needed flu vaccines. And a big reason why is the lawyers.

Vaccines are not risk-free. After all, a vaccine does consist of the virus you are trying to protect people from. People have gotten sick and even died from vaccines. And there are other ways they are far from foolproof, especially when aiming at moving targets such as mutating flu viruses. Combine these scientific facts with a legal environment that rewards ambulance chasing trial lawyers, and the lawsuits have gotten so bad, there is at best one or two large vaccine makers left in the U. S. Our courts are simply too hostile to such a risky, if needed enterprise.

There are been modest legislative efforts to protect vaccine makers from unscrupulous trial lawyers. But those efforts have been too slow in coming.

So if we run out of flu vaccine this winter, you know one group of jackals to thank.

On a personal note, in the past few days, I’ve been wondering if a pandemic might put a crimp on my plans to travel to England for Advent. Now I see the possibility of travel restrictions is entering conversation in the news media. CNBC has been talking about Avian Flu a lot today, by the way.

I sure hope the UK keeps Avian Flu out, especially between now and Christmas. I suspect it won’t spread that far that fast, but who knows. It may only take the wrong guy taking the wrong flight.

Harriet Miers Profile

There’s an interesting profile of Harriet Miers over at Ethics Daily.

Reading it makes me feel better about her nomination for the Supreme Court than I did yesterday.

Plus I seriously doubt President Bush wants to risk appointing another Souter.


Hat tip to titusonenine.

Tony Campolo clarifies remarks on the omnipotence of God.

I’m very pleased to have received an e-mail from Tony Campolo this morning clarifying his post-Katrina remarks on the omnipotence of God:

Dear Mark,

Thanks so much for your thoughtful e-mail in relation to what I wrote on BeliefNet.

The problem becomes a simple one, and that is that if God is all-loving and all-powerful, why doesn’t He prevent such tragedies? My hope is that God has chosen to limit Himself. That seems to be the meaning of Philippians 2, in Christ God took upon Himself the form of a servant. That passage talks about God emptying Himself of power in order to express love. I think that’s the way it has to be. We would not have freedom if God controlled everything, and thus He limits Himself in order to provide us with free will. One day God will reassert Himself and establish absolute dominion. Between now and then the powers of darkness are operative in the universe. To me that means that God does not control everything that happens. I hope this provides some clarification of my views.

Sincerely,
Tony Campolo

At the risk of seeming to nitpick, a couple issues of note:

I don’t know if I agree that God has emptied himself of power in order to express love. Certainly as Philippians 2 teaches, Christ in a very real way emptied Himself in the Incarnation. (Of course, of what and to what extent Christ emptied Himself is a matter given to much discussion.) But to say that the whole Triune God emptied Himself and today remains emptied to some extent is a different matter.

I would also say God is in control, but realize that more traditional view creates problems that many, including Dr. Campolo, have wrestled with through the centuries.

Of course, God does restrain his power. There’s no question about that. And thanks be to God!

But reluctantly putting those issues aside for now (as they do provide food for thought), I’m very glad to see Dr. Campolo state that “God will reassert Himself and establish absolute dominion.” To me, that certainly suffices as a clear enough affirmation of the omnipotence of God. And I’m glad and satisfied to see it.

And as I e-mailed him in reply, I appreciate his succinct and gracious clarification.

(And my post of September 27th is now inoperative. I will amend that post accordingly. And I apologize to any, including Dr. Campolo, who found that post overly harsh.)

Reflections on Fr. Eric Dudley’s sad letter.

Last night, I was struck by Fr. Eric Dudley’s letter of resignation as rector of St. John’s Episcopal, Tallahassee, Florida.

It reminded me of several points I’ve made on this blog. First, that a number of good, faithful men feel compelled to leave ECUSA is yet one more indicator not only that something is very wrong with it, but that its condition is getting worse.

Which brings me to the second point. Although leaving ECUSA (or any mainline denomination) is not a decision to be taken lightly, neither is a decision to stay. No matter how good one’s motives may be to stay in ECUSA, the costs can be great. Fr. Dudley’s account of the costs to him personally and to his family reminds me of Fr. Al Kimel’s account. (In fact, note Fr. Kimel’s comment #56 on the above link.)

And I think good men like Frs. Dudley and Kimel leaving should make orthodox people think twice about staying.

Eric+ also notes the potential spiritual costs to upcoming generations, as well as the very practical costs of striving for the Faith in a denomination headed for utter apostasy. That’s like praising the virtues of Auburn in an Alabama booster club. There may be better things to do. As he says, “I would much rather pour my life and ministry into building a strong Anglicanism in America based on the solid Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Finally, having an orthodox bishop does not give one immunity. The Diocese of Florida had a staunchly orthodox bishop, only to have him succeeded by a “moderate” loser – an apparent factor in the timing of Fr. Dudley’s departure.

In any case, it is another sad day in the Episcopal Church USA, and one that should give those who remain pause.

Hurricane Otis

Now there's a Hurricane Otis off Baja California. It might go into Arizona of all places as a depression after it slams the Baja hard.

I find Otis a funny name for a hurricane. Sounds kinda like Hurricane Leroy, or Hurricane Billy Bob.

On the other side of Mexico, Tropical Depression 20 is supposed to become a tropical storm in the Gulf. No, I won't evacuate.