Stacy London This ad is not approved by The Harbour League.

Save the Date: May 13, 2008.

"Stacy London is co-host of The Learning Channel's What Not to Wear and has been with the show since its first season. After growing up in Manhattan, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College with a double degree in 20th-century philosophy and German literature."

Stacy London is a very bright young woman with a father almost as famous, Herb London.

[Stacy] began her career as a fashion assistant at Vogue magazine and later returned to Conde Nast as the senior fashion editor at Mademoiselle. She has styled fashion photos for other editorial publications, including Italian D, Nylon and Contents.

The Harbour League is hosting a star-studded event on May 13th in Baltimore, Maryland. Make plans to be there. Eli Gold runs the non-profit think tank and writes,

I want to make you aware of a very special evening that The Harbour League will be hosting. It is an evening that will give you a chance to meet and chat one-on-one with leaders of today's conservative movement.

America's Secular Challenge
Stacey Herb London

On May 13th, 2008 The Harbour League will host an evening with the board. This will be the first time that our entire board will be in one place at one time to answer your questions regarding today's conservative movement, where we are and where we are headed.


The Harbour League's Board of Trustees includes: Eli Gold, Chairman; Herb London, President of the Hudson Institute; Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform; David Keene, President of American Conservative Union, as well as various other leaders in the movement.

The evening will begin at 7 pm (doors open at 6:30pm) with a talk given by Dr. Herb London entitled, "America's Secular Challenge: The Rise of a New National Religion". Dr. London will suggest that the rise of secularism in the United States is a flaccid response to the challenge presented by the fanaticism of radical Islam.

In the so-called war of ideas we are handicapped in our ability to thwart the inroads of fanaticism by a reflexive belief in relativism, one dimension of secular humanism.

The rise of secular humanism not only challenges the traditional antecedent of the nation, it is an ineffective response to the challenge of Islam.


The result? If you don't know what you believe in, you are unable to defend what is worthwhile. Something that if understood can change Maryland for the better.

Following the talk and question and answer session, there will be a dessert reception that will give you a chance to talk with any member of member of the board regarding the movement.

I also would like invite you to a private VIP dinner prior to the evening's event. For the first time we will open the board's pre-event reception and dinner to the first fourteen reservations.

The cost for dinner is $200 per plate (dinner is discounted for members). This is an opportunity to have an intimate dinner with these opinion leaders. So reserve your spot soon! Dinner reservations can be made by calling The Harbour League at 410-753-4560.

The presentation and dessert reception is free for Harbour League members, $5 for non-members. Please feel free to forward this invitation to your colleagues. A RSVP is highly recommended since seating is limited. Media covering this event should contact The Harbour League in advance.

I hope to see you at the event on May 13th.

Sincerely,

Eli Gold
Chairman

When you RSVP click "America's Secular Challenge."

Stacy London will not be there. Sorry for the bait and switch: Terrible marketing. My bad.

But her father, Dr. Herb London, will be there. Meet the proud papa and get a hint on why she is a success. And buy his book.

More on Stacy London at the jump

Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine and one of the Penta-Posse will attending -- we hope to see you there!

UPDATE: Alert Readers noticed that Your Business Blogger(R) originally spelled Stacy as "Stacey." Error corrected and she provided a nice pub shot -- a class act.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 7:33 AM | Permalink
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The Harbour League
Presents

America’s Secular Challenge

Herbert London Addresses The Rise of Secularism In The United States

(BALTIMORE, MD) – Herbert London is the president of the Hudson Institute. London is a noted social critic, whose work has appeared in every major newspaper and journal, including The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, National Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Investors Business Daily, and Forbes.

London is editor of 21 books, including Myths that Rule America (with Al Weeks). London shows that while secular humanism has it’s saints, sinners, and even its quasi-religious rituals, it is too anemic and self-centered a philosophy of life to serve America and the West in its battle against the threat of radical Islam.

WHO: Herbert London

WHAT: America’s Secular Challenge

WHEN: Doors Open 6:30 PM, Tuesday, May 13, 2007
Presentation 7:00 followed by dessert reception

WHERE: Baltimore

Dr. London will suggest that the rise of secularism in the United States is a flaccid response to the challenge presented by the fanaticism of radical Islam. In the so-called war of ideas we are handicapped in our ability to thwart the inroads of fanaticism by a reflexive belief in relativism, one dimension of secular humanism.

The rise of secular humanism not only challenges the traditional antecedent of the nation, it is an ineffective response to the challenge of Islam. The result? If you don’t know what you believe in, you are unable to defend what is worthwhile.

The cost of the London presentation and Dessert is free for Harbour League members, $5 for non-members. An RSVP is a must since seating is limited. Media covering this event should contact The Harbour League in advance.

Posted at 5:30 PM | Permalink
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Chuck Colson Zondervan, the publisher of Chuck Colson's latest book, The Faith, Given Once, For All has invited Reasoned Audacity to offer questions. Later this week, on Thursday, March 6th, Colson will be considering what Charmaine and Your Business Blogger have submitted. Please email us your thoughts -- Colson will also review blog comments.

UPDATE: Here are questions and Colson's responses -- please email us with your impressions.

A few years you said that America is no longer a "Christian Nation." Can you expand on this statement?

America is not a Christian nation in the sense that it is dominated by Christian values. It has become largely post-Christian. We still have a strong Christian heritage; in effect we live off of that in many respects, because it provides the moral undergirding that allows our free society to continue. In God & Government you’ll find I deal with this in some depth, as I do also in How Now Shall We Live? I didn’t in The Faith, simply because The Faith is really about the fundamental doctrines all true Christians share, not about whether America is succumbing to secularism.

Also, in The Faith, you identify secular atheism and militant Islamism as the two main threats to Christianity today. If you had to pick between them, which do you think presents the greater threat and why?

As to the two threats to Christianity today, the greatest and most immediate is militant Islam. Islamo-fascists want to destroy us, and have access to weapons of mass destruction. So fortifying us against the assault of extreme Islamists is critical. But it’s a hard choice, because secularism is rotting us out from within. I guess it’s simply a question of which is the more urgent.

Email your thoughts.

A number of years ago Colson remarked that, "America is no longer a Christian nation." I've asked Colson to expand on his observation.

Colson's tag line is What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters. Colson reminds the Alert Reader that Christianity is a world-view that seeks out truth -- and believes that truth is knowable. Colson gently takes on Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens and Chris Hedges and Barry Lynn. Colson uses winsome argument. With a subtlety that Your Business Blogger has yet to master...

Colson notes that a majority of Christians do not believe in absolute truth and 60% cannot name 5 of the 10 commandments.

Knowing Jesus is a start. But is this really enough? A baby Christian should grow in knowledge. Bill and HIllary Clinton and Barack Obama might very well be able to say "Jesus is Lord" and believe in their hearts that He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. The book of Romans would say that this is enough. Is Obama saved? If he passes St. Paul's litmus test, he would be. But Colson explains,

"Christians must see that the faith is more than a religion or even a relationship with Jesus; the faith is a complete view of the world and humankind's place in it. Christianity is a world view that speaks to every area of life, and its foundational doctrines define its content. If we don't know what we believe -- even what Christianity is -- how can we live it and defend it?"

Get The Faith
by Chuck ColsonMy second question for Colson would be, "Can a person be a mature Christian and permit abortion; to be pro-choice?" Is the Christian who believes in abortion "rights" practicing "Faith without works..."?

"Be ye transformed by the removing of your minds..." goes the old Bible study joke. Colson writes that we indeed become new creatures, renewing the mind. Taking on new habits; discarding the bad. Colson is a living testimony to this transformation. But it's not what many might think. My third question for Colson, "How on earth did you stop smoking cigarettes?"

Colson continues, "Christians do not impose; they propose a vision of a culture of life, to educate and persuade..." In academia and in business we call this continuous learning. Christians would call this growing in faith. To move from milk to meat. And Colson lives this out. At a mature age he changed his position on capital punishment after visiting mass-murderer John Wayne Gacy in prison. Colson also did a thorough study of C.S. Lewis's essay "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment." Colson's book is worth reading if only to learn of a man's journey to a compassionate defense of capital punishment. (Pages 189-190.) Any reader over 50 -- or teenager, to state the obvious -- will marvel at a man over 50, who can change his mind...

Colson closes his book on the spread of the good news in China. Rick Warren, who also wrote a blurb for Colson, once said that Christianity is being run out of Europe and Islam is rushing in to fill the vacuum. The religion of Marxism has been ruled out of China and Christianity is blossoming forth. China may very well become a "Christian Nation" as South Korea has become.

Colson points out that the variable for America's success is Christianity. He quotes an American journalist who reported on the Chinese study of American financial prowess. "We have realized," said the Chinese researcher, " that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. That is why the West has been so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics."

Aslan's On The Move. In China, anyway.

Thank you (foot)notes:

In Colson's footnotes he credits reporter Aikman for his writing, Jesus in Beijing. In consulting in China, Your Business Blogger was amazed to learn that the Christian society-change agents were...the lawyers. Imagine, lawyers who go to church. This is why there is hope for China.

And less for American politics. Obama said that,

"I think that it is a legal right that [homosexuals] should have that is recognized by the state. If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans."

There is no mention of same-sex hook-ups in the Sermon on the Mount. The Book of Romans is hardly obscure. The passage Obama refers to is from the first chapter,

Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Obama gets the Bible wrong. He's got lots of Christian company. He should read Colson's book.

Other blogs on the tour:

March 3 - One Year Bible Blog

March 4 - Acton Institute PowerBlog

March 5 - The Dawn Treader

March 6 - Reasoned Audacity

March 7 - Challies.com (thank you to Tim for this book blog tour model)

March 10 - Adrian Warnock

March 11 - Tall Skinny Kiwi

March 12 - Mark D. Roberts

March 13 - Rebecca Writes

March 14 - Jolly Blogger

Please email your thoughts.

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The William Oncken Corporation

3522 Gus Thomasson, Suite 112
Mesquite, Texas 75150-6243

Phone: 972-613-2084

Fax: 972-613-3182

Website: www.onckencorp.com

CONSULTANTS TO MANAGEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jack Yoest

Management Training of DC, LLC,

Arlington, Virginia

202.215.2434

Jack@Yoest.org

THE WILLIAM ONCKEN CORPORATION ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH

MANAGEMENT TRAINING OF DC, LLC

Dallas, Texas, July 4, 2007 – The William Oncken Corporation (WOC) is pleased to announce it has signed on Management Training of DC, LLC, (MTDC) to launch an initiative to broaden the world-wide reach of WOC’s leadership training products.

Monkey Business
ManagementSince 1961, The William Oncken Corporation, a management consulting company, has trained more than one million managers and leaders. Our flagship seminar, Managing Management Time™, was specifically designed for those individuals in an organization who are valued as much, if not more, for their judgment and influence than for their time and personal effort. WOC is best known through the article, Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?, which appeared in the Nov-Dec 1974 issue of the Harvard Business Review. That article has been one of the two most-requested reprints in the history of the Review and has been declared an HBR Classic.

Accenture reports that 30 percent of organizations are “mismanaged.” Which means that judgment and influence skills are being allowed to atrophy. And this results despite billions of dollars being spent annually on training and “employee learning and development.”

In a move to address this need and opportunity, Jack Yoest, President of MTDC, states, “We are honored to have become a licensed agent for WOC. This affiliation will allow us to bring the Managing Management Time™ series to more global leaders. It is exciting because MMT is the proven gold standard in creating an environment where managers can most effectively lead their organizations. We recognize that the imperative today for leaders at all levels of the organization is to be in control of events!”

Jack draws on his background in business, government and the military with expertise in sales and marketing, and senior management development. He has managed entrepreneurial start-up ventures, including medical device companies, high technology, software manufacturers, and business consulting companies.

For additional information on Management Training of DC, LLC call or email Jack Yoest or visit www.Yoest.com

Thank you (foot)notes:

And be sure to visit the new business blog at Management Training of DC.

Posted at 9:23 PM | Permalink
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Gun Deck
USS Constitution Last night at the Center for Military Readiness Celebration, Charmaine and I had the honor of having dinner with our dear friend Cynthia Grenier. Alert Readers will know her as a frequent contributor to The Weekly Standard. Many will remember her interviews with Faulkner, Moshe Dyan, Ingmar Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney and Hugh Hefner. And many of our Alert Readers will have actually read her many articles in Playboy... where she made her reputation as a gifted writer. As an ink-stained wench. Not the normal career path for women in that organization.

Yes, she interviewed Faulkner.

We remember her husband Richard who passed on and is still deeply missed, but his many works live on. His eulogy was given by Senator D. Patrick Moynihan. Richard is proof that good did once come from Harvard. He buried in Arlington National Cemetery, not far from my dad. One of Richard's books The Marrakesh One-Two is Cynthia's all-time favorite.

Anyway, Your Business Blogger was still processing the rich background of Cynthia Grenier (pronounced "Gren-yeah") when I found this email in my box this morning. It was about a recent ceremony to acknowledge Medal of Honor awardees; and Cynthia Grenier writes,

Am impressed and touched to read of the ceremony aboard the USS Constitution. The CONSTITUTION is the vessel my great-grand father Mad Jack Percival commanded on its first round-the-world voyage April 1845 to September 1846. He was quite a character, and one with whom I am deeply proud to share some DNA.

Cynthia Grenier is an American Beauty, an American Treasure.

Cynthia Grenier
WorldNetDaily.comHugh Hefner would agree.

Was this helpful? Do comment.
Consider a free eMail subscription or RSS for this site.

Thank you (foot)notes:

The Marrakesh One-Two is available from Amazon.com.

From WND, Cynthia Grenier, an international film and theater critic, is the former Life editor of the Washington Times and acted as senior editor at The World & I, a national monthly magazine, for six years.

Posted at 12:32 PM | Permalink
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Welcome National Review Online readers . . .

I love nothing better as a Christmas present than a good book. (Unless, of course, the present sparkles.) After all the paper has been ripped apart, discarded, and finally cleaned up. . . to sit down with a cup of tea, ignore the kids (who are fighting, hopefully, playing happily with new toys) and lose yourself in another world. . .That's Christmas cheer for me.

If that's you, or someone you love, then National Review has the list for you! Kathryn put up today NRO's annual Christmas book-buying guide.

There are some terrific suggestions from Ralph McInerny, Michael Novak, Victor Davis Hanson, Mary Ann Glendon, and, well, me.

My own suggestion is The Thanatos Syndrome, by Walker Percy. First, it's just a great story. But with Percy, there's always two more layers. He's such an unusual craftsman with words, that it's a joy to read him, technically -- to sit back and just watch the words march across the page. It's almost like watching Percy play.

More importantly, however, I called this novel "subversive" because it's not until the end of the book that the full import of the story becomes clear. He subtly pulls the reader along for a ride, then weaves a pro-life message into the book's wackiness.

I was bemused at the end -- I remember turning to Jack and saying, "Wow, how did he do that?" The book won a National Book Award!

Did I mention the underlying pro-life message??

What a hoot.

I think this Christmas, I'll reread it.

* * *

Now it's your turn. What else should I be reading this Christmas??

Cross-posted at Zeitgeist.

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I've got a piece in the Weekly Standard reviewing a book by Kent Greenawalt, Does God Belong in Public Schools?

Posted at 12:31 AM | Permalink
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I recently read the epic poem Gilgamesh for an upcoming Liberty Fund conference, organized by Frederick Turner, in Austin. (Fred is the renowned poet and author of a modern epic, Genesis, about the settlement of Mars.)

In my ongoing attempt to expand the Penta-Posse's literary horizons beyond the Adventures of Captain Underpants, I snapped up an audio reading of Gilgamesh when I saw one at the library. On our next road-trip to see Jack's mom, I felt like quite the uber-mom when the Penta-Posse became engrossed in the story of Gilgamesh, the ancient king of Uruk and his friend Enkidu, a wild man who lived among the beasts.

Problem: a key element of the story is Enkidu's transformation into full humanity . . .through seduction by a harlot.

The print version read that they "lay together" and she "taught him the woman's art." That probably would have gone over their heads. The audio version, however, translates her "welcoming" him pretty explicitly. We're riding along enjoying the story and all of a sudden we hear, "she spread her. . ." Total brain freeze! I looked over at Jack and I could see his brain racing, "Where is the off button, where is the off button?!!?"

Then, that particular phrase turned out to be a refrain in the poem. No, no! Where is the off button??!!
Finally, the story moved on to tamer things.

Total silence in the back. Jack and I were still not quite breathing.

Then, suddenly, we hear the Diva: "EWWW! That's gross!"

So, it's official: Gilgamesh is gross. On the other hand, maybe this could be a new, more classic, approach to sex ed in the schools . . .or not.

For the record, the Dude did think that Gilgamesh's fight with the ferocious Humbaba of the seven terrors, was "tight."

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The Dude (with the help of the Diva) discovered that Gandalf has something to say about audacity on PlayStation 2. They worked very hard to get the quote for mom's blog. And it's perfect:

For ourselves there is no hope. This is our final act to give Frodo time -- time to end the evil that marshalls before us.

We now give witness that the day of men faces the final test. The eye of Sauron will be upon us, mistaking our audacity for power.

We must hold his gaze long enough for the unthinkable to become real. For hope to conquer all.

At first, the Dude gave me only the part of this quote about audacity -- that evil would mistake it for power. And I was disappointed. Where is the inspiration in that?

But it's all in the context: sometimes we are powerless; sometimes we do confront circumstances and opposition that are overwhelming. I loved Lord of the Rings for the reminder that it is a great honor to give your all on the side of good, standing against evil, even if it costs you everything. And even the weakest among us has a part to play.

You just have to go with Gimli! "Certainty of death! Small chance of success. . .What are we waiting for?" There's audacity!

(Thx for LOTR transcript.)

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