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All the TIME covers from the past year featuring Obama, McCain and Palin.

(Note: Updated to include November 3 cover.)

One of my commenters asked me yesterday about the coverage of Obama vs. McCain on the cover of TIME Magazine. I found conflicting reports online, so I decided to compile the information myself. There have been fifteen issues of TIME Magazine in the last twelve months with pictures of the current presidential and vice-presidential candidates on the cover. Here is the numerical breakdown of total appearances. (Note: On some of the covers two candidates appear together.)

• Barack Obama appeared on 12 covers (all but three)
• John McCain appeared on 5 covers
• Sarah Palin appeared on 1 cover
• Joe Biden appeared on zero (sorry Joe!)

I don’t know that this means anything other than TIME appears to be more interested in Obama than in McCain, Palin or Biden. But I did notice a few interesting things going through the various covers. For example, the May issue with Obama and Clinton on the front is titled There Can Only Be One: was this before or after people started calling Obama “The One?”

It is also interesting to compare the most recent October issue (Does Temperament Matter?) with the March 10 issue (Does Experience Matter?). The March issue contains two cover articles defending Obama’s lack of experience, one from a historical vantage and the other from a scientific viewpoint. Both articles argue that experience is not necessary to be president and may even be harmful! Of course, this makes for very interesting reading seven months later now that much of the media has accused Sarah Palin of lacking the necessary experience to be Vice President.

Here are all the covers. You can click on the title to go to the online issue or click on the thumbnail for a larger picture. If you find anything interesting, be sure to share it in the comments.

December 10, 2007 – The Contender
Barack Obama

February 4, 2008 – The Phoenix
John McCain

February 18, 2008 – The Struggle For the Soul of the Democrats
Barack Obama (with Hillary Clinton)

March 10, 2008 – How Much Does Experience Matter?
Barack Obama

April 21, 2008 – Raising Obama
Barack Obama

May 5, 2008 – There Can Only Be One
Barack Obama (with Hillary Clinton)

May 12, 2008 – The TIME 100 (The Most Influential People in the World)
Barack Obama and John McCain

May 19, 2008 – And The Winner* Is
Barack Obama

August 11, 2008 – The Economy
Barack Obama and John McCain

September 1, 2008 – Special Issue: The Democrats
Barack Obama

September 8, 2008 – Special Issue: The Republicans
John McCain

September 15, 2008 – The Education of Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin

October 20, 2008 – Why the Economy is Trumping Race
Barack Obama

October 27, 2008 – Does Temperament Matter?
Barack Obama and John McCain

November 3, 2008 – 7 Things That Could Go Wrong on Election Day
Barack Obama (tiny, but he’s still there in the upper corner)

 

Related post: TIME Magazine Says Experience Not Necessary to be President!

And for those of you who need a break from politics, here’s this:

            German Police Seek Speeding British Muppet

Looks like Animal to me.

I am not a big Simpson’s fan, but I thought this was pretty funny.

(Video length: 1:20)

(HT: Althouse)

This reminds me of a hilarious interactive online “ballot” during the 2000 Bush/Gore election. It was basically a flash animation with a picture of Bush on the right and a picture of Gore on the left. The instructions said to click on the one you wanted for president. If you clicked on Gore’s face, you got Gore. But if you moused over Bush’s face to click on him, the faces would switch places. So then you would mouse over to Bush on the left to click on him, but the faces would shift again. If you tried too many times, both faces turned into Al Gore. There was no possible way to vote for Bush.

I have looked for it online since, but have never been able to find it again. Does anyone remember this or know where to find it online today?

By the way, I was living in Fort Lauderdale, FL in 2000, home of the hanging chads and butterfly ballots. There were a lot of funny things posted online at that time about the election. There must be a collection of it all online somewhere. Again, does anyone know where?

HIGHLY PARTISAN POLITICAL EDITION.

• How the Press Reported the 2008 General Election. The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, a nonpartisan journalism watchdog organization, reports greater unfavorable press coverage for McCain’s campaign than Obama’s.

• Redistribution of Wealth Experiment. A restaurant diner “spreads the wealth” by redistributing his tip to a homeless person outside.
• Chuck Norris : I’m Voting for Those Not Yet Born. Chuck Norris speaks up on behalf of the unborn.
• An Instructive Candidacy. Victor Davis Hanson reflects on what Sarah Palin has taught us about ourselves during this election cycle.
• The Obama Temptation. “Fainting audience members at rallies. Special Obama flags and an Obama presidential seal … Young school children singing songs praising Obama. Teenagers wearing camouflage outfits and marching in military order chanting Obama’s name and the professions he is going to open to them. An Obama world tour, culminating in a speech in Berlin where Obama proclaims we are all citizens of the world.”
• Deregulation: The Big Lie. “The current crisis was not caused by a deregulated ‘anything goes’ market, but by liberal intervention in the market, i.e. forcing banks to make high-risk loans or face costly lawsuits.”

SMALL HOUSE EDITION.

A House Divided. The divorce settlement for a Cambodian couple entailed sawing their house in two. “Very strange, but this is what my husband wanted,” said the wife. “He brought his relatives and used saws to cut the house in half,” she said, adding that she now owns the other half that is still standing.

Walking House. This 10-foot high home is solar and wind powered and can stroll at walking pace across all terrains. It has a living room, kitchen, toilet, bed, wood stove and mainframe computer which controls the legs. Designers say it provides a solution to the problem of rising water levels as the house can simply walk away from floods (or annoying neighbors).

Downsizing. Bill and Sharon Kastrinos moved from their 1,800-square-foot home into this 154-square-foot home on their daughter’s property. The home has wheels and can be pulled behind their vehicle and plugged into any RV park in the nation. The downstairs has a sitting area, tiny kitchen and bathroom in a space that’s 98 square feet. The upstairs loft has a bed in 56 square feet of space. They keep extra clothes in their car.

What do you think? Could you live in a small house like this, or would that just be too much downsizing for you? (Or do you already live in a small house?)

Yesterday’s message in the Called series was titled Called to Contribute, taken from various scriptures. The main idea of the message was that we must all work together in the body of Christ in order to achieve God’s purposes. Here is a brief outline of the message:

    I. Give of your time and talents. (Ephesians 4:7-13)

    II. Give of your finances. (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7)

    III. Give of your love. (John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 13:3)

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.

Michael Rex spoofs Margaret Wise Brown’s classic children’s book Goodnight Moon with his new creation: Goodnight Goon.

Goodnight tomb.
Goodnight Goon.
Goodnight bones
    and black lagoon.

Goodnight moans.
Goodnight groans.
Goodnight creature,
Goodnight goo.
And goodnight to the werewolf whispering “BOO!”

Ray Pritchard encourages us to pray for ‘the other guy.’ “Who is the ‘other guy’? It’s the guy I’m not voting for on November 4. Doesn’t matter what his name is because I’m not voting for him. I’ve made up my mind, and I can’t be moved away from my decision. Let me say frankly that your ‘other guy’ may be the guy I’m going to vote for … I propose … starting today, say a prayer for ‘the other guy’ and his running mate every day between now and November 4. And don’t use prayer as a weapon against him. Pray for him, for his wife and children, pray for God’s blessing upon him. Pray for God to guide his steps. Pray that God will speak to him and that he will listen.”

Andrée Seu reflects on Narnia and Bible study. “‘Here on the mountain the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind.’ (The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis). The mountain is my morning Bible study. The drop to Narnia is life as I find it the rest of the day, and the air gets thick indeed.”

Claudia Riiff Finseth reflects on reading Tolkien in the winter. “My own epiphany reading Tolkien in winter is this: that all is not right nor ever shall be right in the world, yet still there is much that is lovely and worth our efforts. Each person’s responsibility is to make their contribution in their own time–in their own part of the story. And just maybe, somehow, I’ll be able to find within me what is needed to do my part.” Quoting Gandalf:

Other evils there are that may come; for Sauron is himself but a servant or emissary. Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule. (Gandalf, in The Last Debate, Part III)

A nonprofit organization is offering a $10,000 prize to an engaged couple that will agree to abstain from premarital sex — and no one has entered the contest!

“Someone asked me, ‘Is anyone going to respond?'” said contest organizer Phillippia Faust, director of an abstinence education program for Rockdale, DeKalb and Newton counties. “In our society, it is going to be hard to find [a couple who has not had premarital sex]. … But the standard is the standard.”

The prize also includes free flowers, invitations and other bridal goodies. I am sure there must be some eligible Christian couples who have already taken a stand on this issue. But if you want to enter, you had better move fast. The deadline is October 31.

CONTEST DETAILS

• What: Marriage for a Lifetime wedding essay contest
• Requirements: Bride and groom must agree to undergo premarital education. Must agree not to serve alcohol at reception. Couple either agrees not to have premarital sex or at least acknowledge it’s preferable not to. At least one of the couple must live in DeKalb, Newton or Rockdale counties.
• To apply: Submit 600-word essay to the Mature Project, Rockdale Medical Center, 1412 Milstead Ave., Conyers, GA 30012. Deadline: Oct. 31
• More information: 770-918-3659

Related posts: Living Together Before Marriage Series

Are you having trouble promoting small groups (home groups, growth groups, life groups, etc.) in your church? Perhaps Yoda can help. In this video Yoda shares about his first experience at a small group. May the Force be with you!

(Video length: 1:39)

“Who wants some Cheetos?” (Mace Windu)

Related posts:

• Star Wars Pumpkins
• Tim Keller and Darth Vader
• Darth Vader Plays a Mean Harmonica
• Jedi Squirrels
• George Lucas Syndrome

Veggie Tales is celebrating its 15 year anniversary. Our children range in age from 12-17 so, as you can probably guess, Veggie Tales have been a big part of our house over the past 15 years. Here are my two favorite Silly Songs with Larry (the part of the show where Larry comes out and sings a silly song).

I Love my Lips! (Video length: 3:22)

“My friends all laughed and I just stood there until the fire department came and broke the lock with a crowbar and I had to spend the next six weeks in lip rehab with this kid named Oscar who got stung by a bee right on the lip, and we couldn’t even talk to each other until the fifth week because both of our lips were so swollen and when he did start speaking he just spoke Polish and I only knew like three words in Polish except now I know four because Oscar taught me the word for lip — OOSTA!” (Larry the Cucumber)

The Dance of the Cucumber (Video length: 3:17)

HT: Big Idea

We have had a beautiful fall here in New England this year. Enjoy the great word pictures Cheryl Wheeler weaves together in this song while checking out some of the pictures my wife, Rose, took around our neighborhood this fall.

Click “►” button to play | Length: 3:16
[audio:CherylWheeler_WhenFallComesToNewEngland.mp3]
Cheryl Wheeler: “When Fall Comes to New England” (Available on the following CDs: When October Goes and Driving Home)

    Across our driveway

    Looking down our street

    Front flower garden

    Butterfly

    Up close

    Spread wings

    Neighbor’s house

    Carpet of leaves

International Justice Mission (IJM) has asked for prayer for a slave rescue operation tomorrow.

There will be a major slave rescue operation tomorrow at a rice mill in South Asia offices (precise location not being disclosed for security reasons).

It is night in South Asia right now. Our staff will begin the raid with the local police at 10am their time. They will not sleep until the operation is complete and the slaves are in safety and perpetrators arrrested. This could take one day or it could (more likely) take many.

Please pray that the work is swift, that all slaves are rescued, that the authorities are compliant, and that justice is delivered. Pray for healing for these victims of violent injustice, and pray for safety of our staff.

If you have ever read Gary Haugen’s book Terrify No More then you know just how daring and dangerous these rescue attempts can be. Please keep the IJM staff and this particular operation in prayer.

Update: Bethany Hoang reports from IJM: “For those of you who have been praying for the major rescue operations this week, I want to let you know that these operations were successful. I cannot give more detail due to security necessities, but if you have questions please contact me directly.”