Althouse: "I’ve been near God, but I’ve also been near the devil."

October 13, 2010

"I’ve been near God, but I’ve also been near the devil."

"God won."

20 comments:

Unknown said...: The old line about foxholes and non-believers still holds.; 10/13/10, 9:51 PM
Synova said...: It's not a contradiction to praise God and to say that we, and our capabilities, are His most wonderful masterpiece.

Some triumphalism is well called for.

Viva Chile!; 10/13/10, 9:58 PM
SteveR said...: A great story and the United States played an important role. Hopefully the miners will tansition well, they obviously kept a positive environment and deserve all the accolades they can get.; 10/13/10, 10:03 PM
Robt C said...: Say what you will about foxholes and non-believers, but this episode shows what folks are capable of. On the miners' part, lots of pluck, discipline, leadership, and faith. On the surface, you have technology, determination, know-how, and luck. What a compelling story. People will be writing about this for years.; 10/13/10, 10:04 PM
Rialby said...: Clinger; 10/13/10, 10:05 PM
Freddy Hill said...: "The decision by Mr. Piñera, Chile’s first right-wing leader in 20 years, to stake his young presidency on an unbridled push to rescue the miners was an extraordinary political calculation. But it has paid big dividends, bolstering his popularity at home and propelling him onto an international stage often dominated by other large personalities in the region."

What a despicable NYT-ish paragraph. According to them, for a right-wing politician like Piñera it's all a "extraordinary political calculation" that "has paid big dividends."; 10/13/10, 10:14 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Today's date adds up to 33.; 10/13/10, 10:15 PM
William said...: There were an awful lot of moving parts, and it could have ended badly. There's something truly grand when an operation this complicated ends happily for all concerned......My only political comment is that this kind of thing happens mostly in democracies.; 10/13/10, 10:21 PM
traditionalguy said...: Men on this globe need a faith in a supernatural God who loves them enough to send out a rescue team for them. The Psalmist David said it many times over from personal experience, and later the Son of David told his audience that he had been anointed by God with the Holy Spirit to bind up the broken hearted and to set the captives free. Why faith in God is arrogantly considered to be the enemy of men, like Hitchens thinks, is a mystery to me.; 10/13/10, 10:42 PM
AST said...: Praise God!

TG, I think there's a real difference between God and a lot of people who presume to speak for him. The Crusades were driven by the claim that "God wills it." The First Amendment made the distinction between religion and clergy. In the former we have a protected right, but a prohibition on sharing government power with the latter.

The use of that new style of drill, made me wonder if BP was just unable to think outside the box in fixing their blowout. It's been reported that they solved it after a letter from a plumber caught somebody's attention.; 10/13/10, 11:49 PM
Fred4Pres said...: I thought this was the Hitchens on Hitchens debates again.; 10/14/10, 12:34 AM
Fred4Pres said...: I happened to turn on Glenn Beck this morning on the radio and he had some theory that the Founders (founding fathers) were into Divine Providence, in a humble lack of hubris way, but that Andrew Jackson turned that into a more Divine Right of America thing (which later became Manifest Destiny). Beck is claiming that Jacksonian politics is where the country started down the wrong path.

I do not believe that is entirely true, historically, but it is an interesting way of looking at things.; 10/14/10, 12:38 AM
Methadras said...: edutcher said...

The old line about foxholes and non-believers still holds.

True that. True That.; 10/14/10, 12:48 AM
Methadras said...: May God bless the Chilean miners and every other miner out there in the world. It is a tough ass job that requires tough ass people.; 10/14/10, 12:49 AM
Palladian said...: Mirabile visu! They all made it out alive and well! May the spirit that protected them down in the earth continue to protect them up on the surface, that they not be torn to pieces by the media.; 10/14/10, 2:20 AM
Clyde said...: It was wonderful to have a news story that was all good news. I have to admit that I smiled and applauded along with the people on site as I watched the miners emerge. It was the perfect palate cleanser to the small-minded bitterness of the current political season.

Oh, well, that was nice. We now return you to your regularly scheduled bad news.; 10/14/10, 6:53 AM
lemondog said...: According to local news, 2 Schemmer drills used. First to drill grapefruit-size hole to allow supply of food, water and medicines until rescue. Then 2nd drill to create opening for actual rescue.

US equipment used when others failed.; 10/14/10, 8:39 AM
Phil 314 said...: And leave it to Chris Matthews to politicize it.; 10/14/10, 10:12 AM
lemondog said...: ...2 Schemmer drills...

Correction: Schramm drills.; 10/14/10, 10:55 AM
Anonymous said...: And the standard group of haters show up to try to trash atheists just because someone somewhere said "God won".; 10/14/10, 2:45 PM