Best Post Title of the Week -- "And when I say that the groundhog is Jesus, I say that with great respect." (Any guess at what the post is about? Hint: It's a reference to one of the greatest religious movies of the modern age.)

Crux Launch -- Remember when print magazines would add a blog to establish an online presence? That’s the old way. Now magazines put out blogs before they even launch the print version. That is, at least, the strategy of the new alternative quarterly Crux. The paper version hasn’t hit the newsstands yet but they’ve already started three different blogs: New Adventures in Sci-Phi (commentary on the latest advances in science and philosophy), Situation Critical (pop culture reviews), and Sign of the Times (general cultural commentary).

With an impressive editorial advisory board that includes our friends Francis J. Beckwith, Hugh Hewitt, and John Mark Reynolds as well as J. Budziszewski, William A. Dembski, Greg Koukl, and J.P. Moreland, the prospects for finding thought-provoking content look promising. (My buddy John Coleman who runs the excellent blog Ex Nihilo will also be a co-blogger for the magazine.)

Above the Law? -- Should lawmakers be expected to obey the laws they pass? If so then there are a numerous members of Congress who need to give back some of their paychecks. According to a study released last week by the National Taxpayers Union, an obscure federal statute (2 U.S.C. § 39) requires Senators and Members of Congress who are absent from work to forfeit their pay unless they or a family member are ill. The statute reads:

The Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives . . . shall deduct from the monthly payments (or other periodic payments authorized by law) of each Member or Delegate the amount of his salary for each day that he has been absent from the Senate or House, respectively, unless such Member or Delegate assigns as the reason for such absence the sickness of himself or of some member of his family.

The Top 5 Congressional absentees were John Kerry (146 days missed, $90,933 owed), Richard Gephardt (131, $81,363), John Edwards (102, $63,543), Joe Lieberman (63, $38,829), and Luis Gutierrez (42, $26,198). (HT: TaxProf Blog)

Still a Scandal? -- Mark Sides from Stones Cry Out ponders the role blogs might be able to play in recovering the evangelical mind.

25. If your opponent is making a generalization, find an instance to the contrary. Only one valid contradiction is needed to overthrow the opponent's proposition. Example: "All ruminants are horned," is a generalization that may be upset by the single instance of the camel.