"A Canticle for Liebowitz"! Great book!

Emily had a gold tooth.

Disclaimer: I have not read the petition.

I am not a resident of Washington State, but I might have signed this JUST BECAUSE it deserves to be in the public consciousness, whether I was in favor or opposed.

<opinion>
I'm an evangelical Christian. I'm also a libertarian. This means that I hold personal views about behavior and morality that are different from my opinions about behavior and legality. Things I consider immoral may or may not be illegal, and the converse holds as well. But the state is about LEGALITY, not MORALITY.

I don't think the state should sponsor gay marriage, because I don't think the state should sponsor heterosexual marriage.

From the state's point of view, these should be considered as contracts between individuals, and the participants in the contract (NEITHER of whom is the state!) can call their relationship whatever they want. All the "benefits" applied to the contractual partners by the state should be applied indifferently to the gender of the participants in the contract.
</opinion>

Great movie!

My personal experience is that the part of your thesis that isn't happening is Step 4:

It seems to me that blockbusters are getting bigger, AND the tail is getting longer. More money is being spent at both ends of the curve. This would imply that the curves in the New Scientist article graphic are incorrect: the long tail isn't stealing dollars from the blockbusters. It's not a zero-sum game.

Of course, throw in a tanking economy and all bets are off...

I think that the Free University of Amsterdam is a "theological school" in approximately the same way that Harvard University is a "Congregationalist seminary"; i.e., not much any more. Of course, I've never been to either.

Besides, his doctorate is not in theology, and his C.V. seems to indicate that his peers approve of his work. As for "falsifiable tests or evidence", I wouldn't expect to find that in a news service article in the Vancouver Sun.

And while non-accredited degrees can be obtained quickly and easily on the Internet, most ThD/DD candidates spend just as much time in earning their degrees as you seem to imply they don't.