A Duke study finds that prayer doesn’t do a body good. The researchers conducted a study on patients with half praying for the patients, the other half receiving no prayers. Apparently, there was no significant difference.

This study seems to be a waste of money and time. After all, most people who think that prayer will help, believe as a matter of faith. It only gives more ammo to those who believe science explains all.

I still pray to God. I know there is no factual basis for it, but I do anyways.

In other news, a recent study finds that saying “Good Morning” has no significant effect on whether a person will have a good morning.

Yara and I went to a baseball game and received a little flag for being one of the first 5000 fans. There was a kickin’ fireworks show after the game. During the game, Yara asked me whether I knew if there was a special way that flags were supposed to be discarded. I didn’t know, but I knew that the Internet would. Here’s the answer: Flags should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning when they are no longer fit to serve as emblems of our nation. I found this at the Betsy Ross website. She’s the lady who is supposed to have done the first Stars and Stripes. Now we all know how to get rid of our flags when all the July 4th hoopla is over. Also, another curious fact is that proper etiquette dictates that a flag should never be used for advertisement or have words or designs printed on it. So all those Power of Pride bumper stickers are actually an affront to our nation’s emblem. Shame on them.

The people Iraq today are outside, standing free in their own country. Their dictator is defeated, thier children free from tyranny for tomorrow. They set out to destroy the images that remind them of Saddam Hussein.

As the Iraqi people rejoice, I wonder if they will cherish a freedom that was handed to them. A freedom that foreigners shed their blood for. A freedom that their own people opposed. How precious is freedom when it is handed to you freely? No toil or sacrifice to make freedom more precious. Will the blood of Americans we spilt on foreign soil be as precious to them as it is to us. Will they remember the names and sing songs of the saviors who lost their lives in freeing them? Is it possible for us to instill in them this preciousness?

We at home mourn the loss of every life lost. Some of us wonder if this conflict was necessary, if truly righteous. Most celebrate our show of might, the strength of our steel and conviction. I can only hope that our quick success in Iraq doesn’t make us thirsty for more foreign blood.

UPDATE: Damn, we even took down the statue for them. We even managed to insult the Arab world by putting the US flag over the face of Saddam. That Marine was quickly reminded ours was a liberation force, not an invasion force and a pre-Gulf War flag was put up in its place.

UPDATE 2: Hume An drops some knowledge in the comments section. Take a peek, then you’ll know why Hah-vad wants him. Here’s his website. Be sure to read his thoughts page, it’s well written.

It’s been a long time since I visited the land of Hyrule and used the power of the triforce, but that time has come again. I started playing Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Wow, what a great game.
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Note: this entry was originally written on January 5th. I’m finally publishing it because I’m starved for content and it just won an Oscar for Best Documentary.

This Saturday, I caught the newest Michael Moore movie, “Bowling for Columbine“. This documentary of America’s gun culture was a provocative and evocative (thanks NFA) look into why America is such a violent nation, with over 11,000 gun-related deaths in a single year. It brings up a lot of really good points and made some strong arguments with key figures in the debate. Before this movie, I really strongly considered buying a gun and keeping it in my house, I won’t now. I may one day own a rifle for skeet shooting or long distance shooting, but I wouldn’t keep it at home.