I'll jump into this message by addressing the assertion that suffering is related to sin. I understand that this is what the Bible says, and during the infancy of the human species, when religion was our first attempt at making sense of the world, it might have made sense to attribute suffering to violating the will of a god. However, to make such an assertion in 2016 seems rather ridiculous. Nine million children die every year before they reach 5 years old. Remember that tsunami in 2004 that killed 250,000 people? Imagine one of those every ten days, only killing children under the age of five. We're talking about a thousand dead children per hour, or about 17 every minute. This means that before you reach the end of this paragraph, some few children will likely have died in terror and agony somewhere in the world. The parents of these children almost certainly believe in God, and are praying at this very moment for their children to be spared. You and I both know that these prayers will go unanswered. The classic position taken by nonbelievers is that any god who would allow children by the millions to suffer and die in this way, and their parents to suffer and grieve in this way, either can do nothing to help them, or doesn't care to. This conception of a deity is therefore either evil or impotent.
The program of rejecting logic in order to accept mutually contradictory beliefs is not, however, just a harmless, whimsical hope that somehow logically incompatible beliefs can both be true…it results in nothing less than the destruction of any and every concept we could possess. Even the concept of rejecting the law of non-contradiction depends on assuming and using that law, since without it the concept of rejecting it could neither be thought nor stated.
Roy A. Clouser, The Myth of Religious Neutrality: An Essay on the Hidden Role of Religious Belief in Theories (Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame Press, 2005), 178.
We will venture into how this challenge is void of "thoughtfulness" — which is why I italicized this word in the first sentence at the top of this post. The main laws of logic will show that if the skeptics viewpoint is "true," then "truth" does not exist. But I digress ingress.
So we see that by using logic found in philosophical principles that the challenger alluded to, especially in his last sentence, saying "This conception of a deity is therefore either evil or impotent," that the challenge is defeated.
Not only that however, is, HOW does the challenger come to a conclusion that he can judge something to be wrong, outside of his personal opinion that is. In other words, he is saying that an action or inaction constitutes evil. He uses this moral presupposition bound up in "evil" to insert into a syllogistic formula to disprove God (at least God in the Judeo-Christian sense… for "evil" being negative is absent from every other religious viewpoint).
He, the challenger, is saying that I, that my neighbor, someone in Bangledesh, or Papua New Guinea [etc.] should see this formula, understand what "evil" action or inaction is, and agree with him. He is – in other words – inserting an absolute principle in the formulation. This is where I want to challenge such an idea.
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it? A man feels wet when he falls into water, because man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet. Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too–for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist–in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless -I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality–namely my idea of justice–was full of sense. Consequently, atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be a word without meaning.
In other words they have to BORROW FROM ethics the worldview that they are trying to disprove (again referencing CS Lewis and Ravi Zacharias' work above).
Nihilism can take more than one form. There is, for instance, passive nihilism, a pessimistic acquiescence in the absence of values and in the purposelessness of existence. But there is also active nihilism which seeks to destroy that in which it no longer believes. And Nietzsche prophesies the advent of an active nihilism, showing itself in world-shaking ideological wars. "There will be wars such as there have never been on earth before. Only from my time on will there be on earth politics on the grand scale.
Frederick Copleston, S.J., A History of Philosophy, Volume VII (New York, NY: Image Books, 1994), 405-405.
And so, the Twentieth Century was indeed the bloodiest ever. In fact, non-God [atheistic] governments killed more people in 100-years than all religion did the previous nineteen. See my "Religious Wars" post for more.
Again, even truth is called into question, as the many quotes in the above link show, if God is extant from our discussion about reality.
C. S. Lewis, God In the Dock (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970), pp. 52–53.
Frank Turek, Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2014), 46-47.
★ If God is all-powerful, He can prevent evil.
★ If God is good, He would want to prevent evil.
★ Therefore, the world contains evil.
The conclusion that the world contains evil has no explanatory power on why it does or even if this impacts the existence of God in any way.
Andy Banister, The Atheist Who Didn't Exist: Or, The dreadful Consequences of Bad Arguments (Oxford, England: Monarch Books, 2015), 13-20. More of the book can be accessed here at Amazon!
"Only four pints," Tom replied indignantly.
Later, back in the comfort of a nearby pub, I did a little research. It turned out that the bus advertisements had been sponsored by The British Humanist Association along with a group of secular celebrities, including the well-known Oxford atheist Richard Dawkins, and represented, in their words, an attempt to provide a "peaceful and upbeat" message about atheism. The advertisements promoted a website where those who browsed could while away their journey on the number 137 bus to Battersea reading about the joys of life without belief in a god.
The atheist bus is a good place to begin our journey, because it illustrates two reasons why this book exists. First, because the slogan, despite its friendly pink letters, is a perfect example of a really bad argument. An argument so bad, so disastrous, in fact, that one has to wonder what its sponsors were thinking. More on that in a moment. But, second, it illustrates how quickly bad arguments can disseminate, spreading like an infestation ofJapanese knotweed into popular culture. For while many critics — including many atheist critics — were quick to point out the flaws in "There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life", it has nevertheless continued to pop up on the sides of buses not just in London but also around the world.
The bus advertisement typifies what's come to be termed the "New Atheism", a phrase coined back in 2006 by Wired magazine to describe the group of media-savvy atheists — men such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and the late Christopher Hitchens — whose books attacking religion in general and Christianity in particular have sold by the truckload. What's new about the "New Atheism"? As many have pointed out, not so much its arguments, which tend to be old ones, as its tone — which is one of apoplectic anger. Why the anger? Well, I suspect partly because God was supposed to have disappeared a long time ago, as the Great Secular Enlightenment trundled inexorably onward. As far back as 1966, Time magazine could slap a question like "Is God Dead?" on the cover (with the strong implication that the answer was "Yes"). Today, however, religion is alive and well and shows little sign of disappearing. The failure of God to roll over and die on cue has led to the denial, disappointment, and anger that can be seen underpinning much of today's more popular form of atheism.
And, my word, has the New Atheism become a popular movement Richard Dawkins's book The God Delusion alone has sold several million copies. Atheism has gained a voice and a confidence, and that's fine — in the past, it was tough to be an atheist, when most societies were overwhelmingly religious. Recently, however, there's been a cultural volte-face in many Western countries, with atheism now seen as the default position. Many people assume that atheism is, indeed, the only position for somebody who wishes to be considered educated, sophisticated, urbane, and rational. This is precisely the way the media often treats the issue too: atheism is portrayed as scientific, contemporary, and for those with brains, whereas religion is characterized as stuffy, outmoded, and irrational, something for old ladies or fuddy-duddies.
But there's a problem. Well, several problems. Chief among them is this: that much of contemporary atheism thrives on poor arguments and cheap sound bites, advancing claims that simply don't stand up to scrutiny. Like a cheaply made cardigan, they're full of loose threads that, if tugged firmly, quickly begin to unraveL Let me demonstrate what I mean by returning to that notorious bus advertisement, "There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life". Let's ask a few critical questions about that claim for a moment. What's wrong with it? Well, one might begin by noting the preachy, condescending, and hectoring tone. I've known many atheists over the years whose chief beef with religion has been that they can't escape it. If it's not televangelists with perfect teeth, it's church billboards with dodgy graphic design or giant advertising hoardings warning of hellfire and damnation. "You religious types insist on preaching at us" is the complaint Well, now the boot is very much on the other foot and the New Atheism is zealously evangelistic, not merely content with denying deities but offering health benefits at the same time (No worries! Enjoyment! Good hair!).
There's Probably No Loch Ness Monster. So Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life.
I'm sorry — enjoy your life? Enjoy your life? I'm not making some kind of neo-puritan objection to enjoyment Enjoyment is lovely. Enjoyment is great The more enjoyment the better. But enjoyment is one emotion. The only things in the world that are designed to elicit enjoyment and only enjoyment are products, and your life is not a product … To say that life is to be enjoyed (just enjoyed) is like saying that mountains should have only summits, or that all colours should be purple, or that all plays should be by Shakespeare. This really is a bizarre category error.
In other words, there is considerably more to life than just enjoyment Indeed, the full gamut of human emotions spans the alphabet To be fully, authentically human is to have experienced anger, boredom, compassion, delight, expectation, fear, guilt, hope, insecurity, joy, kindness, love, malice, nonchalance, obligation, peace, queasiness, relief, sensuality, thankfulness, uneasiness, vulnerability, wistfulness, yearning, and zealousness. Given all this, why does the atheist bus advertisement zero in on "enjoyment"? Now obviously I'm not privy to the interior mental state of those who penned the slogan, but I do wonder if it's a symptom of a more general trend in our culture — one that says that the purpose of human life is simply to be happy, to flit merrily from one experience to another in an effervescence of ecstatic enjoyment Product after product is sold to us this way: buy this coffee, take that holiday, wear this shade of lip gloss, and you'll be successful, popular, and joyful. The atheist bus is simply riding the cultural wave — think like this, it says, and you'll be happy.
But what if you're not happy? What if you're like my earlier example — jobless, friendless, penniless, and hopeless? What if you're at a point in your life where all is smelling not of roses, but rather suspiciously like a sewage farm on a hot afternoon? Indeed, half the world's population lives on less than $2.50 a day and that amount is not going to keep you in lattes, lipstick or trips to Lanzarote, which means that, if the advertisers are correct about where enjoyment is located, you're in trouble, so you'd better pull yourself together. I stress you, second person singular, had better pull yourself together, because, if the atheist bus slogan is right and there is no God, there's nobody out there who is ultimately going to help with any pulling. You're alone in a universe that cares as little about you (and your enjoyment) as it does about the fate of the amoeba, the ant or the aardvark. There's no hope, there's no justice, and there's certainly nothing inherently wrong with poverty, incidentally, so quit protesting. Life favours the winners; some get the breaks, and others get the sticky end of the stick. Still others get to make millions selling books on atheism, enough fora lifetime of lattes. Enjoy your life? Nice work if you can get it.
Sam Harris recently said that he wants to correct every error he's ever made, and that people should send him any errors they find in his works. One of Sam's errors was made on "The Colbert Report," where he insisted that, according to the Quran, anyone who believes in the virgin birth of Jesus will spend eternity in hell. Since Islam affirms the virgin birth of Jesus, we can only wonder how much Sam really knows about the religions he discusses in his books.
UPDATE: Sam Harris responded: "I meant that Quran asserts Jesus wasn't divine. I misspoke." Odd to give a reply about Jesus' deity when Colbert was talking about the virgin birth, but it's entirely possible to misspeak while the cameras are rolling and you don't have much time to think about what you're saying.
Sam Harris claims that Jesus ordered his followers to kill his enemies in Luke 19:27. But is this what the text says? Only if we ignore the fact that the command is part of a story that Jesus is telling, and that it's a king in the story who issues this command. Can we take the leaders of the "new atheist" movement seriously when they make such blunders? David Wood answers.
This post is a response to a question posed to me via my email by an atheist.
I see that you do some apologetics. Here are a few sincere questions that I've tried to get answered from Christians like Greg Koukl, but I never seem to get a response. I'm not baiting you by sending you these questions. If you have any thoughts on these issues, I'd appreciate getting to read your opinion.
1. The New Testament makes it clear that its only through faith in Jesus and his sacrifice that humans can enter heaven. Anyone who lived before Jesus started his ministry had no way of having faith in Jesus. Maybe the people of ancient Israel could piece together what they needed to believe to achieve salvation, but for the gentiles or even humans who lived in North America before the birth of Jesus, they would have no knowledge of the nation of Israel. And most certainly they would have no knowledge of a coming messiah or a future person named Jesus and his sacrifice. What I can conclude is that God allowed humans to be born that would have absolutely no chance of avoiding eternal torment in the fires of hell. I've been told that human morality proves that God must be a moral being. However, we have an enormous contradiction here. The God in this scenario is not worthy of respect or love because he is not moral. Hitler and Stalin would have to be quite envious of the amount of torment this God would have allowed.
He explained that the tribes that were very "war-like," like the Comanches, acted in rejection of what they knew to be God's creation and how they should treat their fellow man and nature via the attributes they could clearly interpret via nature. The Sioux were at other times feared as well.
Peaceful tribes – not perfect mind you, but they had a deep understanding of their Creator and how to care for their own and other Native-American tribes they encountered — would interpret nature's revelatory aspect of Whom they were to worship, and how. The Hopi tribe is one example.
To be clear, when theologians say that God is ultimately sovereign in his decisions over his creation, I am down with this. God — in classical understanding — IS the "Good" and would have a larger view of the panoply of history (since God would be outside of it and viewing it as a whole… the Eternal Now type stuff). So His judgement would necessarily be a Just one. I am not questioning this. I am saying that there are views within orthodoxy that struggle with the boundaries of those who have lived by law seeing that redemption of nature and themselves was somehow woven into nature and never hearing the Gospel (Hebrews 11:9-11). …continuing….
So using the Romans understanding of "The Book of Nature," and the basis for "unsaved" people seeing – yes, even God's attributes – something metaphysical and not just material, and looked forward to this hope. Also, these stories of creation and serving a God were handed down from the beginning of mankind. Some people across the earth held close these ancient stories although changed with time.
Combine this with the story of Abraham's Bosom (Luke 16:19-31) and what Peter tells us about Jesus preaching to these lost souls (I Peter 3:18-20). I would posit — staying within the lane-lines of orthodoxy — that those in the world [pre and post Calvary] who have not been afforded a good explanation of the Gospel message may be afforded an opportunity to respond. This is not me arguing for universalism, but for justice being metered out in some form that was communicated to the Hebraic peoples that is hinted to in the New Testament.
This verse raises the two most difficult questions in the letter. When did Jesus preach to the spirits in prison, and who were they? Some take the verse to refer to the chronological sequel to Jesus' death, when his spirit passed into the realms of the departed. Then, with Acts 2:31 and Eph. 4:9, this verse establishes the clause in the Creeds about Jesus' descent to the dead. In that case he must have preached to all the dead in one of three ways: to offer them a second chance of salvation; to proclaim his victory over death and triumph over the power of evil and so confirm the sentence on unbelievers and announce deliverance for believers; to proclaim release from purgatory to those who had repented just before they perished in the flood (a popular interpretation among Roman Catholic writers).
Neither the first nor the last of these can be supported from Scripture, but the second has been held by many commentators as fitting in with the NT evidence above. E.G. Selwyn (The First Epistle of Peter [Macmillan, 1949]), and others see the spirits in prison as the fallen angels of Gn. 6:1–8 referred to in 2 Pet. 2:4–10 and Jude 6 as well as in the apocryphal 1 Enoch. Peter's aim in this context is to demonstrate that God's purpose is being worked out even in times of suffering. So it would seem best to understand the preaching as a declaration of Christ's triumph, in order to assert (22) that all angels, authorities and powers [are] in submission to him. Grudem (TNTC) in an appendix summarizes the views and claims that the spirits were Noah's contemporaries who rejected the preaching of the Spirit of Christ through Noah (see 2 Pet. 2:5) and are now in the prison of the abode of the dead. The interpretation of made alive by the Spirit (18) as a reference to the resurrection, and the spirits in prison as a reference to the fallen angels is cogently argued by R. T. France in New Testament Interpretation, ed. I. H. Marshall (Paternoster Press, 1979), pp. 264–281. He claims that NT and contemporary usage favour this understanding of the word spirits when used by itself, rather than applying it to men and women who had died before Jesus came to bring the gospel.
No view is free of problems, but the use of a verb implying steady and purposeful progression (went  and has gone  are both the same Gk. word poreutheis) suggests that Peter is recounting what Jesus accomplished between his death and exaltation.
D. A. Carson et al., eds., New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1380–1381.
The doctrine of Molinism seeks to reconcile God's sovereign predestination with man's free will. Through His divine middle knowledge, God can know all possible outcomes of any world that is feasible for Him to create, including all the circumstances required for an individual to come to a saving knowledge of Him. But what if the saving of one individual means the loss of another? Does Molinism provide answers to such a dilemma? In this article, Dr. Craig answers questions on the how God would act if his choices were bound by damning either person A or person B arbitrarily.
And it is the same question[s] I struggled with and struggle with. This does away with the contradiction you see. I do wish to note however, that you are taking a moral position in your premise, Saby. And without God, this cannot be the case. Jesus would HAVE to be intimately involved in all of the above scenarios… intimately. None of the above take away from this fact.
Paul Copan and William Lane Craig [Mark D. Linville], eds., Contending With Christianity's Critics: Answering the New Atheists & Other Objections (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2009), 70.
Mitch Stokes, A Shot of Faith: To the Head (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012), 44-45.
"Some atheists do believe in ethical absolutes, some don't. My answer is a bit more complicated — I don't believe that there are any axiological claims which are absolutely true, except within the context of one person's opinion.
From the video description: Atheists Trying to Have Their Cake and Eat It Too on Morality. This video shows that when an atheist denies objective morality they also affirm moral good and evil without the thought of any contradiction or inconsistency on their part.
 Michael Polanti and Harry Prosch, Meaning (Chicago, IL: Chicago university Press, 1977), 162.
 Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design (London, England: Bantam Press, 2010), 34.
Determinism is self-stultifying. If my mental processes are totally determined, I am totally determined either to accept or to reject determinism. But if the sole reason for my believing or not believing X is that I am causally determined to believe it I have no ground for holding that my judgment is true or false.
J. P. Moreland & William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2003), 241; Quoting: H.P. Owen, Christian Theism (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1984), 118.
Although I risk inciting to disaffection many of the people who have expressed admiration for some of my previous articles, I must now focus my 'Probing Mind' upon the question, "Can will be free?" Let me answer the question straightaway with a firm "no," and then attempt to support my conclusion.
We should doubt the little god of free will on the very same grounds that atheists doubt the big god of traditional religions: there's no evidence for it.
Finally, it is objected that the ultimate loss of a single soul means the defeat of omnipotence. And so it does. In creating beings with free will, omnipotence from the outset submits to the possibility of such defeat. What you call defeat, I call miracle: for to make things which are not Itself, and thus to become, in a sense, capable of being resisted by its own handiwork, is the most astonishing and unimaginable of all the feats we attribute to the Deity. I willingly believe that the damned are, in one sense, successful, rebels to the end; that the doors of hell are locked on the inside. I do not mean that the ghosts may not wish to come out of hell, in the vague fashion wherein an envious man "wishes" to be happy: but they certainly do not will even the first preliminary stages of that self-abandonment through which alone the soul can reach any good. They enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded, and are therefore self-enslaved just as the blessed, forever submitting to obedience, become through all eternity more and more free.
C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York, NY: Simon & Shuster, 1996), 113-114.
Janet Mefferd interviews Norman L. Geisler on his new book The Atheist's Fatal Flaw: Exposing Conflicting Beliefs. In his book, Geisler deals with New Atheist's members Richard Dawkins (author of The God Delusion), Sam Harris (author of Letter to a Christian Nation), Dan Barker (author of Godless), Christopher Hitchens (author of God Is Not Great), Michel Onfray (author of Atheist Manifesto), etc.
Stephen C. Meyer shows evidence of Intelligent Design in physics, astronomy and biology. This lecture is in response to Richard Dawkins and the New Atheists.


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Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Frank Morsani by clicking on the video player above!
Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of automobile dealers who still pine for the return of Joe Isuzu… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!
Frank Morsani is one of the finest men, bar none, with whom I've ever had the pleasure to spend time.
That's noteworthy because I got to know the Tampa Bay auto dealer at one of the lowest points in his business career, yet he always held his head high.
Somewhere around 1989, I started working on my first nonfiction book, Stadium For Rent, the story of Tampa Bay's decades-long – and enormously frustrating – quest for a Major League Baseball team.
Many local business leaders had risen up and been cut to pieces by the ongoing, Quixotic mission, none more memorably than Frank Morsani. He committed and lost millions of dollars trying to convince a string of existing baseball teams to relocate to Tampa – and later, St. Petersburg – to no avail. When MLB announced, in 1993, that it would add two expansion franchises, he seemed a shoe-in.
But you know what made it all the worse?
Frank Morsani wasn't then – and certainly isn't now – a baseball fan.
He was just a kid from Oklahoma who had found a home in Tampa, Florida, a community that welcomed him – loved him, frankly – and if baseball was what his adopted neighbors wanted, he wanted to help them get it.
Courtesy Clay Bennett and the St. Petersburg Times. All Rights Reserved.
For a lot of people the Morsani story began and ended with car dealerships and baseball.
Florida Panthers logo, courtesy Frank Morsani. This was the logo for Morsani's proposed Major League Baseball expansion franchise in 1990.
But this kind and gentle soul – and his wife of more than half a century, Carol – have meant so much more to their community, thanks to philanthropic efforts that have included giving millions to the University of South Florida, University of Tampa, Tampa's Straz Center for the Performing Arts, and the Dali Museum. Most recently, the Morsanis gave $20 million to USF for construction of the Morsani College of Medicine soon to rise in downtown Tampa.
Morsani – with the help of my friend Dave Scheiber – just published his memoir, To Be Frank: Building the American Dream in Business and Life. It is my great pleasure to help introduce the man and his message to a new audience.


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Welcome everyone, as we gather to create a vessel of light, love and healing for all in the circle, all in the web of life and for our beloved Moriah. This is the time to Remember all that she has given us and taught us.
We are each being forced to learn how to surf the waves that life brings us and how to navigate these turbulent waters. I want us all to take a deep breath, release all our concerns, smooth out our energy and find a place of balance.
We are experiencing such tremendous heart pain, to the point of shattering, breaking down old walls, old structures and it all comes tumbling down and in the ruins are pieces of sweetness.
Now is the time to break through Separation Beliefs: for something is going on at a very deep spiritual level.
In our honoring of Moriah we are to further the work that she has devoted her life towards: Be the light in the world and function on a day to day level bringing in the Divine light and love on the Earthly plane. Be the Extraordinary .
We are all in different places moving through our grief; some in pain, anger, sorrow and sadness; others sensing the ecstatic excitement of Moriah's new frontier. She was always the pioneer, charging forth into the higher realms of consciousness, bringing back to us her Genius interpretation of the new cosmic day. There are parallel realities that are existing simultaneously, and we are each being propelled to move through our Earthly limitations and grasp the larger dimensions that abounds us; the lifting of the veils.
She has given us all the building blueprints to open ourselves to the higher planes and go beyond our earthly consciousness.
Moriah has always honored other's emotions; allow yourself to cry and release your sorrow; accept it and allow these tears to take us on the other side, crying for the loss feeds our inner garden; helps us keep the door opened and with our tears this door opens wider; we feel that our hearts are shattered and paradoxically, it opens and expands beyond our consciousness. Now is the time for us each to cultivate a rich inner garden; allowing our tears to irrigate our soil; enrich the earth to sprout new seeds of growth. Allow the joy and laughter to fertilize our inner garden.
Open to the love that flows around us; we are each to connect with the Divine Source; We honor spirits that guides us with love, for only love heals; and we heal through the power of love.
Let us give thanks to the helping spirits and our helping ancestors who support us, protect us and guide us in our lives. We honor the Helping spirits who are with us now and who we will be needing over time; We honor with our heart. Know that as long as there is light and love all is possible.
When Moriah was in the throes between life and death, I stepped outside, to walk the dogs it was 3:30 in the morning; and I started a conversation letting her know of all the things that I will miss doing with her and about her: such as our walks with the dogs; our dream time, our Tuesday night dinners; her laughter and radiant smile; her authentic interest in my life and most importantly my process. At that moment she instilled an image of her and I walking up a steep mountain. She came to a point and said, I must continue on alone, just know that we will meet at the top of this peak. And there she was lifted up to the heavens in dazzling light. I saw her smiling at a high peak with a glorious brilliant light around her, waving to come join her in our corporeal forms; the task each of us must pursue, is to pull upon the roots of our old pains; our old diminished selves; Yet the last leg of this path is steep and slippery; will the old roots of disconnections, old wounds hold us up from reaching that peak. Will we slip by our own limitations? Yet, she beacons us all to join her and re-connect in a more glorious profound way.
Moriah's initiation has propelled each of us upon our own initiations; one of dismemberment, shattering breaking down all that we have known; and ironically, out of this dismemberment; comes a rebirth a time of remembering that we are strong, that we can still find joy and love and reconnection with a deeper aspect of ourselves and with one another. Know that we each have the strength deep within and the courage to go forward on our evolutionary path. This is the time for us to embrace our new expansive self. This is the time for us to honor the work that Moriah has instilled within us each to go forward, to get in touch with the deeper self, a time of rebirth and rejuvenation. Remember the only way out of this dismemberment is through; call upon your helping spirits to lead you out into the new day. Remember our connection with Moriah, remember our connection with Love and Light.
I send you each much love and light; a big thank you for all of your generosity, your support and the deep love you have each shared.


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SUNLIT UPLANDS
Faith, Family, Freedom, Renewal of the Culture
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God and Dick Scaife
By Paul G. Kengor
Editor's note: This article first appeared in The American Spectator.
I was saddened to wake up the morning of July 4 and learn that Richard Mellon Scaife, Pittsburgh billionaire, conservative philanthropist extraordinaire, and spearhead of Hillary Clinton's ominous "vast right-wing conspiracy," died at age 82. How appropriate that this patriot bid goodbye on July 4. It's fitting, too, that his death comes within a year of the deaths of his two principal lieutenants at his foundation, Dan McMichael and Dick Larry. Together, these three men established numerous conservative programs, institutions, and even individuals. They made a huge impact.
I got to know Dick Scaife pretty well. About three or four years ago, he read my book Dupes. It's a lengthy account of how the communist movement has long hoodwinked and exploited American leftists—many of whom Dick Scaife had battled and loathed. Scaife loved it. It was the last full book that he read. I learned that he was recommending the book to his friends. Soon enough, I learned he wanted to meet with me.
We met at his nice but modest home in the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh. I was taken aback to encounter a sick, weakened man who seemed to be on his deathbed even then. He had trouble with his voice, his breathing, his hearing. I had to speak loud. Nonetheless, we got along. Both of us were lifelong Pittsburghers, born at the same hospital just down the road in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. The big difference, we laughed, was that Scaife's relations funded the hospital. His relationships and experiences with our common places were always a little different. We both vacationed in Nantucket, for instance, though he had a big house there with a cook and his own private air transportation.
For whatever reason, Dick Scaife liked me. He lived the history and names that I researched and was writing about. He enjoyed reminiscing and sharing information on them. At the end of that first meeting, this supposedly calloused man that many detested asked me in a gentle, sweet way if I would please continue to visit him. I did. These were often long meetings, and it was never easy to leave. He wanted to keep talking. The conversations were usually enlightening, enjoyable, entertaining. We'd talk about his upbringing, his wild youth, his drinking days, his parents, a scandalous remembrance here or there, his encounters with Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy Jr. (who he thought was a tremendous young man of great potential), and even the Clintons—who he actually personally liked, though he certainly rejected their politics. Like other close older friends of mine who recently died, he was very concerned and dispirited by the direction of the country he loved, and seriously disappointed in Americans for twice electing Barack Obama. He didn't think Americans would ever vote for a president so far to the left.
Here are a few remembrances worth highlighting:
Dick Scaife was deeply proud of his family. He adored his mother and father. Dick became so interested in politics, and especially the Cold War, because of his father's work for the OSS confronting communists during World War II. That brought Dick Scaife into politics. He gave money to the likes of the Heritage Foundation and Hoover Institution precisely because of this battle.
Dick Scaife funded a remarkable breadth of organizations. One was The American Spectator. There's a perception that his support of The American Spectator caused him problems he regretted and for which he was bitter. I heard no such thing. He glowed when he talked about The American Spectator and Bob Tyrrell. He likewise had nothing but kind words for Dick Larry, the chief liaison in the Spectator relationship. When I handed him the latest copy of the Spectator a few months ago, he got a giant grin.
Dick appreciated being thanked by those he supported. He once told me about a certain Pittsburgh group he wrote a check to—a non-political one. (He gave huge sums to non-political things as well.) "You know what?" he asked me. "They never thanked me. So screw them!" He never wrote them another check.
I would ask from time to time what accomplishment he was most proud of. It was unquestionably his newspaper, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Off the top of his head, he could rattle off the precise circulation numbers for the daily and weekend editions, particularly vis-à-vis his main competitor, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He managed to significantly increase the circulation of the Tribune-Review at a time when print newspapers moved in the exact opposite direction.
During these get-togethers, I often found myself almost in the role of confessor, with Mr. Scaife volunteering a lot of private information. He was candid, and I wasn't afraid of asking him about certain controversies. What did I have to lose? He was, after all, deep down inside, just another person, plagued with frailties, insecurities, and weaknesses like the rest of us.
Conservative friends and associates who learned of my relationship with Scaife (I didn't tell many people) usually brought up two things: For one, they knew he was a big pro-choicer on the abortion issue, having supported Planned Parenthood in the past. They knew I was just the opposite. The subject did come up, and Dick told me flatly, "I'm in favor of abortion."
The other elephant in the room was his faith. He was widely believed to be an atheist. "Talk to Dick Scaife about God, Paul," friends urged me. "This man is a walking scandal. He has led an immoral life. He has some serious sins on his soul, and he doesn't believe in God."
One day, we did talk religion. It came up the way it needed to, naturally, with no pushing or preaching. I scribbled down what he said in the book I was holding. I jotted down every word.
It was February 21, 2013, a Thursday afternoon. We met around 3:00, our regular time. In fact, only now, at this moment, does it occur to me that that time happens to be the hour of divine mercy, as we say in the Catholic Church.
He told me with no hesitation whatsoever that he was not an atheist. I asked him point-blank. He said he didn't go to church, hadn't in years. Yet, he said that although he was not very religious, "I certainly believe in God and Jesus." He added: "The older I get, the more religious I become. I'm definitely not an atheist."
The subject came up because we were talking about the great Andrew Mellon—the late uncle of whom he was enormously proud—and the Mellon family presence in the Shadyside and East Liberty area of Pittsburgh. He told me that East Liberty Presbyterian is known as "the Mellon church," because of all the money the Mellons pumped in. He told me his father was Episcopalian and mother was Presbyterian, "as were all the Mellons." When Dick was 18, he was given the choice of being Episcopalian or Presbyterian. He chose Presbyterian.
Scaife told me that he even served on the board of the East Liberty Presbyterian church, though he said the meetings were terribly boring and he always fell asleep, especially if he had been drinking at dinner beforehand. He bolted the church when the new pastor, Charles P. Robshaw, "came out in favor of Fidel Castro."
I cannot confirm whether Robshaw was pro-Castro, but if one thing really upset Dick Scaife, it was people on the Religious Left who were sympathetic to or duped by atheistic-totalitarian communists. And so, with that, Dick bolted and never went back to the church.
But the big picture is this: Dick Scaife told me he was not an atheist. This is something that will not be discussed in obituaries of the man, but it is most definitely something on the minds of many who knew him.
And in the end, when it comes down to it, despite everything else Dick Scaife supported with his billions, this truly is what matters most. A mere 82 years is nothing compared to eternity.
Dr. Paul Kengor is professor of political science and executive director of The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. His latest book is 11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative. His other books include The Communist: Frank Marshall Davis, The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mentor and Dupes: How America's Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century.
Posted by Daniel J. Cassidy
Labels: Paul G. Kengor, Richard Mellon Scaife
Welcome to Sunlit Uplands.
This website is dedicated to a renewal of Christian culture. It is inspired by Sir Winston Churchill, a valiant defender of Christian civilization, who believed "we have a great treasure to guard; that the inheritance in our possession represents the prolonged achievement of the centuries." With Churchill, we believe that a "fraternal association" of the English-speaking peoples must "for their own safety and for the good of all walk together in majesty, in justice and in peace."
Our website's title is taken from the great man's Finest Hour speech.
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Q: for Kubuntu: how to get a working pdftotext I am running Kubuntu 20.04. Therein is installed pdftotext based on poppler-utils, version 0.86.1-0ubuntu1.
This pdftotext does not work. I have tried very many different pdf files. It gives no output, no error message.
On my other computer with KNOPPIX,  pdftotext does work.
In Internet there are articles about working pdftotext version 0.90.
How can I get a working version of pdftotext, and one normal, i.e.  non-poppler version, and a newer one as I have.
My aptitude, apt-get, apt-file, dpkg all are of no help.
Regards
antondhidh

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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PMC"s proposed development on 23rd Street would have a 54-foot-high, solid garage wall at the corner of Cherry Street, one block from the Schuylkill River Trail.
One of the happy lessons to come out of Philadelphia's long-running building boom is that urbanism sells.
Developers — the smart ones, anyway — have increasingly come to recognize that this generation of city dwellers prefers to live and work in buildings with lively ground floors studded with restaurants, retail, and services. Not every project gets the details perfect, but we're seeing fewer towers hiding behind blank walls.
But just when you think it's safe to put your Jane Jacobs back on the shelf, along comes a design from a developer who must have skipped the chapter on neighborhood placemaking. The latest proposal from PMC, the Philadelphia apartment giant, would set a pair of skyscrapers atop two massive garages along the Schuylkill waterfront in the Logan Square neighborhood. Though the compound has intermittent openings for retail, most of the perimeter would be sheathed in a screen made from perforated metal panels. In certain places, those unrelenting metal walls would rise five stories above the sidewalk, taller than some nearby rowhouses.
In its general outline by PMC, the project has the potential to be transformative for the city and its booming Schuylkill waterfront. The complex would fill in Logan Square's last big surface parking lot, a site that spans two city blocks along 23rd Street, between JFK Boulevard and Cherry Street. That unattractive asphalt expanse has long been a no-man's-land separating Center City and Logan Square, and PMC's elegant towers promise to close the gap by adding 612 apartments to the neighborhood.
The huge Schuylkill waterfront site proposed for high-rise apartments by PMC would be surrounded by a five-story parking garage. This is the view from Rivers Edge Condominiums, looking south to JFK Boulevard.
The key to its success is the corner of 23rd and Cherry. Ideally, that intersection should be PMC's gateway to Logan Square. But instead of greeting the neighborhood with a friendly storefront or an apartment entrance or some other sign of human habitation, PMC's project turns its back with a 54-foot-high wall of steel. As bad as that metal wall will look from the river, the impact on the neighborhood's collection of high-rises and rowhouses would be even worse.
City planning officials have reacted to this deeply flawed design with a strange mixture of horror and resignation. At last week's session of the city Design Review board, its members were sharply critical of the garage and instructed PMC to make substantial revisions to deal with its blank walls. But after the meeting, several Planning Department staffers predicted the twin towers on the Schuylkill would end up being built exactly as PMC's architect, Gensler, designed them.
If that happens, it will be a major setback for the Planning Department, which has made big strides over the last decade. Besides adopting a new zoning code and a citywide master plan, the Planning Department spun off the Design Review board as a means for raising the bar on urban design.
Unfortunately, the review board is merely advisory. It can nudge developers, as it did with PMC, but it cannot compel them to do the right thing.
That leaves the Planning Department staff to do battle with developers.
Oddly, this project seems to have gotten little attention, despite its size and prominence. Most of the hard negotiations fell on volunteers from the Logan Square Neighborhood Association. Unlike their counterparts on the Delaware waterfront, which has been the focus of a decadelong planning effort, the Logan Square volunteers had no design guidelines to support their effort. There is no master plan for new construction on Center City's portion of the Schuylkill, even though a new skyline of glass skyscrapers is springing up before our eyes.
Logan Square's volunteers were able to extract some concessions from PMC, particularly related to traffic circulation, but they were clearly outmatched by the developer. Once a local management company with a portfolio of older apartments, PMC has been aggressively constructing buildings, most recently One Water Street and 1900 Arch.
The company has also become a force on the Schuylkill waterfront, where it is overseeing the construction of the new headquarters for Aramark at 2400 Market. It acquired the Logan Square site in 2015 from another developer, NPI.
Even as the Logan Square area was exploding with new construction, the 3.5-acre site had continued to challenge developers. Part of the problem is that the low-lying parcel is entirely in the floodplain. That makes construction expensive and limits what kind of uses can be on the ground floor. NPI, however, managed to secure a zoning upgrade to allow taller buildings and, more significantly, second-floor retail. After hiring Gensler to work up a design, it flipped the site to PMC.
Now the plan is effectively a fait accompli that neither the civic association, the Design Review board, nor city planners have the power to change.
This plan shows how PMC's two proposed towers would be arranged on the 3.5-acre site. Both towers are set on garages and are perpendicular to the Schuylkill.
Gensler's design calls for two, 300-foot-tall, wafer-thin towers that would sit perpendicular to the river to preserve the views. They would rest on large parking podiums, one north of Arch Street, the other south. A landscaped space between the two buildings would be open to the public, but it is more driveway than plaza.
Thanks to the variance allowing retail on the second floor, PMC says it has been able secure a major supermarket as a tenant. The store would be in the north garage, with a modest entrance at Arch Street and a 100-foot run of windows along 23rd Street. PMC also plans to install a small cafe in the south garage. The rest of the ground floor will be an impenetrable jumble of blank walls, garage doors, and loading docks. PMC insists this is the best it can do given the constant threat of flooding.
Though it's hard to argue for underground parking given the challenges of being in the floodplain, the fortress walls aren't the only design option. PMC is receiving a lot of public benefits for this project: a zoning variance and the property-tax abatement. It has an obligation to give back to the public realm.
This earlier proposal for the site, prepared by Gensler for the developer NPI, showed townhouses wrapping the garage. They appear to be elevated to avoid flooding.
One way to do that would be to open up the crucial Cherry Street corner to bring life into the neighborhood. It might be a retail space for a tenant that can deal with a bit of occasional flooding; a garden store was suggested by a member of the Design Review board. But it could also be a small park or playground.
If PMC isn't sure how to proceed, it should look next door at the Rivers Edge Condominiums tower. That high-rise forms a traditional edge along 23rd Street. Its main entrance faces the street. And there are two retail tenants occupying spaces with large windows. That tower was built in 1980. Even back then, some developers understood what makes urban buildings work.
PMC's proposed apartment project on 23rd Street calls for a 54-foot-high, solid garage facing the Schuylkill River Trail.


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5 Under-Recognized Impacts of Air Pollution
By Jessica Seddon, Seth Contreras and Beth Elliott June 5, 2019
Visible air pollution in New Delhi, one of the most hazardous cities in the world in terms of air quality. Photo by Sumita Roy Dutta/Wikimedia Commons
Most of the rising global attention to air pollution focuses on the impacts that ozone, particulate matter and other pollutants have on human health. This is natural; the numbers in the headlines are striking. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that air pollution inside and outside the home is responsible for about 7 million premature deaths worldwide. The majority of these deaths ‒ 4.2 million ‒ are associated with ambient (outdoor) pollution. It is a leading environmental risk factor affecting urban and rural populations around the world.
Growing public awareness of the health consequences is encouraging, but we need to look at the bigger picture of what air pollution is doing to our planet and ourselves. The social costs of air pollution ‒ and the social benefits of reducing it ‒ extend far beyond health, including to climate, water, renewable energy and agriculture.
Most people know how much water they should drink ‒ eight glasses per day, or about 2 liters. But do you know how much air you breathe? The average adult inhales and exhales about 7 to 8 liters of air per minute while at rest. That's a minimum of about 11,000 liters of air per day.
Breathing dirty air affects more than just lungs and causes more than premature death. Air pollution affects almost every organ in the body. A recent study by the Forum of International Respiratory Societies shows that air pollution contributes to everything from diabetes and dementia to fertility problems and childhood leukemia.
"Dirty air" can also be invisible. Inhaling soot or smoke with particulate matter ‒ often referred by size in micrometers, PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 ‒ blackens lungs and leads to respiratory and cardiac distress, and diseases such as asthma and cancer. Some PM10 is visible, but it takes a microscope to see PM2.5 and an electron microscope to spot "ultrafines." The smaller the particle, the deeper in your lungs it can go, along with the chemicals it's composed of. This kind of air pollution arises from incomplete combustion (of wood and plants as well as fossil fuel); dust; and combinations of other pollutants from various sources including agriculture.
Ozone, a gas formed by combinations of other pollutants from traffic, landfills, agriculture and other sources, is invisible. It contributed to 500,000 deaths worldwide in 2017, and as many as 23 million emergency room visits in 2015. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), one of ozone's precursors that largely comes from fossil fuel combustion, can cause respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, as well as reproductive and developmental impacts.
Often called short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), black carbon (a component of PM), tropospheric ozone and methane contribute to both the warming of the climate as well as air pollution. According to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, these three highly potent pollutants are responsible for 30-40% of the global warming to date. They must be curbed alongside carbon dioxide (CO2) to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) and prevent catastrophic climate impacts like sea level rise and water insecurity.
Black carbon and ozone persist in the atmosphere for just a few days and methane for up to few decades; it takes more than 100 years to eliminate CO2 . That means actions that reduce SLCPs can yield almost immediate reductions in their concentrations, with benefits to the climate and human health. Importantly, some particulate matter can also have a cooling effect by blocking solar radiation, but there will always be a health benefit from reducing particular matter. Decision-makers should consider this interplay when designing strategies to reduce SLCPs.
Water and Weather
From rainfall patterns to monsoon intensities, air pollution can significantly affect the water cycle. Particulate matter can reduce the amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth's surface, affecting the rate at which water evaporates and moves into the atmosphere. They also affect clouds' formation and water-carrying capacity.
For example, changes in intensity and distribution of rainfall in India and China have been linked to particulate matter pollution. Some areas experience more rain than usual, often in concentrated bursts, while others experience less. Particulate matter also affects the trajectory and intensity of monsoons in Asia, and have intensified droughts in China, North America and South Asia. European and North American pollution affect rainfall and drought in the Sahel. To the casual observer, these impacts seem to blend in with more general environmental variability, but their impacts on agriculture, water reservoirs and biodiversity are significant.
Solar energy yields also drop in areas with significant particulate matter pollution. Wiping away dust on solar panels can solve part of the problem, but the rest is more complicated: Sunlight cannot fully penetrate through smog, reducing solar panels' energy output. Studies in India and China find losses of up to 25% of potential yield in the most affected areas.
This can cut into solar manufacturers' bottom lines and has major implications for cities and countries that want to promote a quick and cost-effective transition to renewables. Overall, pollution appears to cost China about 11 GW of power annually, for example.
Food and Vegetation
Ozone can damage plant cells and negatively affect photosynthesis, while particulate matter can reduce the amount of sunlight that reaches plants and food crops. In 2000, global yield losses due to ozone amounted to 79-121 million tons, or $16-26 billion dollars' worth in today's prices. This included yield losses of up to 15% for soy and wheat, and 5% for maize. As ozone increases, losses do as well. This type of pollution has caused massive damage to food crops in India: From 2000-2010, the amount of wheat, rice and soy crops lost annually could have fed close to 94 million people. That's almost the entire population of Germany. Similar findings in Mexico showed estimated yield losses of 3% for maize, 26% for oats, 14% for beans and 15% for sorghum.
Ozone and acid rain, which is created by sulfate and NO2 pollution (largely from fossil fuel burning), also affects other kinds of vegetation, forests and even pollination.
Clean Air Is Critical
While its many and varied impacts may be daunting, we know how to reduce air pollution and significantly improve air quality. The benefits of reducing air pollution often far outweigh the costs, and air can improve much faster than most people realize if we put our minds and resources into it. These underrecognized but well documented costs only add to the tally of reasons we should act quickly and decisively to clean up the air.
We're already seeing solutions we can all learn from. For example, experts say that by reducing SLCPs now, we could slow the increase in near-term global warming by as much as 0.6°C by 2050. Global assessments have outlined a clear agenda for achieving this target by expanding access to clean energy, improving transport fuels, reducing vehicle emissions and controlling methane leaks from fossil fuel production and agriculture, among other actions.
On a local level, we also have successes to learn from. Air pollution in Beijing has fallen considerably over the past 20 years thanks to improved energy efficiency and better controls on vehicle and coal emissions. A combination of investments in monitoring, political innovation and collaboration between regulatory and science communities in Mexico City helped diagnose the metropolitan area's pollution and reduce it since the 1990s. The U.S. Clean Air Act is responsible for reducing ozone by 22% and PM 2.5 by 40% between 1990 and 2017, demonstrating that sustained efforts to tackle air pollution result in significantly cleaner air.
The question, then, is what's stopping us? We can clean up the air, and we should all have a stake in it. Clean air is a resource that affects our health, our climate, our food security and more. We need to manage it well. Look for more on these topics soon.
This blog originally appeared on WRI's Insights.
Jessica Seddon is the Director of Integrated Urban Strategy at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
Seth Contreras is an Air Quality Associate at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
Beth Elliott is the Communications Officer for WRI's International Climate Initiative.
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Tags: agriculture, air pollution, air quality, Beth Elliott, China, clean energy, Climate and Clean Air Coalition, climate change, energy efficiency, environment, health, India, Jessica Seddon, Mexico, ozone, Seth Contreras, water, WHO, World Environment Day


The HTML5 Canvas Text API allows developers to render text on an HTML page in ways that were either tricky or next to impossible before its invention. We are providing an in-depth analysis of the HTML5 Canvas Text API because it is one of the most basic ways to interact with the canvas. However, that does not mean it was the first Canvas API feature developed. In fact, for many browsers, it was one of the last parts implemented. There was a time in the recent past when HTML5 Canvas Text API support in browsers was spotty at best. Back then, using modernizr.js to test for text support would have been a good idea. However, at this historic moment, all modern browser versions (besides IE) support the HTML5 Canvas Text API in some way.
With LambdaTest you can test your website on 2000+ browser and OS combinations for cross browser compatibility issues and ensure that your webpage fallbacks are working fine on browsers that do not support Text API for Canvas.
Enabled in Chrome through the "experimental Web Platform features" flag in chrome://flags. Chrome browser version 4 to 70 supports Text API for Canvas property.
Internet Explorer browser version 6 to 8 doesn't support Text API for Canvas. Internet Explorer browser version 9 to 11 supports it completely.
Safari browser version 3.1 and 3.2 doesn't supports Text API for Canvas. Safari browser version 4 to 12 supports it completely.
Microsoft Edge browser version 12 to 18 supports Text API for Canvas.
Opera browser version 10.1 doesn't supports Text API for Canvas. Enabled in Chrome through the "experimental Web Platform features" flag in chrome://flags. Opera 11.5 to 53 supports Text API for Canvas property.


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Randy Moss won't shut door on possible NFL comeback
campussportswriter | Aug 20, 2015 2:09 pm
Randy Moss is one of the best wide receivers to ever play in the NFL, but he hasn't played in a game since the 2012 season as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
With the Carolina Panthers losing star second-year receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a torn ACL, fans immediately started mentioning the possibility of signing Moss. That doesn't appear likely at this point in time, but Moss wouldn't rule out an NFL comeback when reporters asked him about it.
"I would say never, but ahhhhh . . . let's leave it at that," Moss said in response to the questions.
At 38 years old, Moss could still have another year left in his career. He has stayed in shape and has been training with other current NFL players over the past couple of offseasons. That doesn't mean that he is in playing shape, but the answer certainly makes it sound like he would at least consider an offer if it was a perfect situation.
In 218 career games, Moss hauled in 982 passes for 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns.
Moss did mention the possibility of coming back to play one more season alongside of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning last offseason. That thought from Moss has opened him up for plenty more speculation about teams that could potentially offer him a contract.
Carolina simply doesn't sound like a perfect situation for him.
Lifestyle,SportsNFL


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Jacobsen has acquired the assets of Dixie Chopper, a Coatesville, IN-based manufacturer of zero-turn radius mowers for the commercial and residential markets. Known as the "World's Fastest Lawn Mower," Dixie Chopper mowers are capable of mowing up to 6.6 acres per hour.
Jacobsen acquires Dixie Chopper
Jacobsen has acquired the assets of Dixie Chopper, a Coatesville, IN-based manufacturer of zero-turn radius mowers for the commercial and residential markets.
"The addition of Dixie Chopper expands our reach into the consumer and commercial sectors, including municipalities, with a full range of zero-turn mowers known for their speed, quality and performance," said David Withers, President of Jacobsen. "It's really a win-win for both companies and we look forward to building customer relationships together with Dixie Chopper."
Known as "the World's Fastest Lawn Mower," Dixie Chopper mowers are capable of mowing up to 6.6 acres per hour. The company manufactures eleven models of zero-turn mowers, from the residential Zee 2M with 21 HP Kawasaki engine and 42" deck to the industrial category XCaliber M Twin with two 27 HP Generac engines and 74" deck.
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text:
This list of fossil fish research presented in 2022 is a list of new taxa of jawless vertebrates, placoderms, acanthodians, fossil cartilaginous fishes, bony fishes, and other fishes that were described during the year, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoichthyology that occurred in 2022.

Jawless vertebrates

Jawless vertebrate research
 A study on the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of lampreys is published by Brownstein & Near (2022), who find Mesomyzon mengae to be a member of the lamprey crown group, and argue that living lamprey biodiversity results from diversifications extending from the Cretaceous to present, rather than gradually accumulating since the Paleozoic.
 Chevrinais et al. (2022) describe the ontogeny of Euphanerops longaevus.
 Meng et al. (2022) describe new fossil material of Pterogonaspis yuhaii from the Devonian Xujiachong Formation (Yunnan, China), providing new information on the cranial anatomy of this galeaspid, including the first fossil evidence for the position of the esophagus in galeaspids.
 The first detailed description of the complex of external endolymphatic structures in headshields of members of the genus Tremataspis from the Silurian of Estonia, with tiny platelets located within the openings of the endolymphatic duct and possibly functioning as a sieve that allowed or prevented material from entering the inner ear, is published by Märss, Wilson & Viljus (2022).

Placoderms

Placoderm research
 A study on the morphology and function of the antiarch jaw apparatus is published by Lebedev et al. (2022).
 Wang & Zhu (2022) describe the squamation and scale morphology of Parayunnanolepis xitunensis, recognize at least thirteen morphotypes of scales in P. xitunensis, and interpret their findings as indicative of the high regionalization of squamation at the root of jawed vertebrates.
 Zhu et al. (2022) redescribe the pelvic region of the holotype of Parayunnanolepis xitunensis, and report that, instead of having two large plates previously designated as dermal pelvic girdles, P. xitunensis had three pairs of lateral pelvic plates and one large oval median pelvic plate.
 Trinajstic et al. (2022) report preservation of a three-dimensionally mineralized heart, thick-walled stomach and bilobed liver from members of Arthrodira from the Devonian Gogo Formation (Australia), and interpret this finding as indicative of the presence of a flat S-shaped heart separated from the liver and other abdominal organs, and of the absence of lungs in members of Arthrodira.

Acanthodians

Acanthodian research
 A study aiming to quantify the completeness of the acanthodian fossil record is published by Schnetz et al. (2022).
 A study on the biomechanical properties and likely function of bony spines in front of the fins of members of the genus Machaeracanthus is published by Ferrón et al. (2022).

Cartilaginous fishes

Cartilaginous fish research
 Duffin, Lauer & Lauer (2022) describe chimaeroid egg cases from the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) Altmühltal Formation (Germany), probably produced by Ischyodus quenstedti, and name a new ichnotaxon Chimaerotheca schernfeldensis.
 Revision of the fossil material originally attributed to Bibractopiscis niger and Orthacanthus commailli, and a study on the implications of these fossils for the knowledge of the evolution of neurocranium in "ctenacanthiforms" and xenacanthiforms, is published by Luccisano et al. (2022).
 A study on the evolutionary history of members of the genus Orthacanthus from France and on their relationships with the other European species is published by Luccisano et al. (2022).
 Greif, Ferrón & Klug (2022) describe the first known fossil cartilage remains from the Devonian Hangenberg black shale from the Moroccan Anti-Atlas, and interpret its morphology as suggestive of ctenacanth affiliation.
 Taxonomic reassessment of a hybodontiform dental assemblage from the lower Kimmeridgian of Czarnogłowy (Poland), and a study on the implications of this assemblage for the knowledge of ecology and biogeography of cartilaginous fishes prior to the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition, is published by Stumpf, Meng & Kriwet (2022)
 Fossil teeth of sharks belonging to the groups Hexanchiformes, Echinorhiniformes, Squaliformes and Lamniformes, including the first record of Protosqualus in northwestern Pacific reported to date, are described from the Upper Cretaceous Nishichirashinai and Omagari formations (Yezo Group, Japan) by Kanno et al. (2022).
 New fossil material of Xampylodon dentatus, including more complete teeth or specimens representing teeth of different positions than most previous records, and the oldest fossil material of Rolfodon tatere reported to date is described from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of James Ross Island (Antarctica) by dos Santos et al. (2022).
 Feichtinger et al. (2022) describe isolated teeth of Protoxynotus misburgensis from the Santonian of Lebanon, representing the first known record of this species from the southern Tethyan Realm, and interpret this finding as indicating that Protoxynotus and Cretascymnus occupied overlapping or similar habitats during the Late Cretaceous.
 Herraiz et al. (2022) describe teeth of a member of the genus Trigonognathus from the El Ferriol outcrop (Miocene of Spain), representing the first known record of this genus from the Mediterranean realm.
 Revision of the fossil record of the genus Echinorhinus in South America is published by Bogan & Agnolín (2022), who consider Echinorhinus pozzi and Echinorhinus maremagnum to be valid species, and consider E. maremagnum to be distinct from Echinorhinus lapaoi.
 A study on the anatomy, growth and ecology of Cretodus crassidens, based on data from a specimen from the Turonian "Lastame" lithofacies of the Scaglia Rossa Veneta (Lessini Mountains, Veneto, northeastern Italy), is published by Amalfitano et al. (2022).
 A tooth of Cetorhinus huddlestoni, as well as gill rakers differing from previously described cetorhinids and referred to the same species as the tooth, are described from the Miocene Duho Formation (South Korea) by Malyshkina, Nam & Kwon (2022).
 A study aiming to determine whether the observed body forms of lamniform sharks are influenced by thermophysiology, and reevaluating the body form of Otodus megalodon proposed by Cooper et al. (2020), is published by Sternes, Wood & Shimada (2022).
 A study on the putative nursery areas and body size patterns across different populations of Otodus megalodon is published by Shimada et al. (2022), who report that specimens of O. megalodon are on average larger in cooler water than those in warmer water, and argue that the previously identified nursery areas may reflect temperature-dependent trends rather than the inferred reproductive strategy.
 McCormack et al. (2022) demonstrate the use of zinc isotopes to assess the trophic level in extant and extinct sharks, and interpret their findings as indicative of dietary shifts throughout the Neogene in sharks belonging to the genera Otodus and Carcharodon, and indicating that Early Pliocene sympatric great white sharks and Otodus megalodon likely occupied a similar mean trophic level.
 Evidence from nitrogen isotope ratios in fossil teeth of members of the genus Otodus, indicating that O. megalodon occupied a higher trophic level than is known for any marine species, extinct or extant, is presented by Kast et al. (2022).
 Cooper et al. (2022) create the first three-dimensional model of the body of Otodus megalodon and use it to infer its movement and feeding ecology, interpreting it as likely able to swim great distances and to feed on prey as large as modern apex predators.
 A study on tooth marks on physeteroid bones from the Miocene Pisco Formation (Peru) is published by Benites-Palomino et al. (2022), who interpret their findings as indicating that Miocene sharks were actively targeting the foreheads of physeteroids to feed on their lipid-rich nasal complexes, with the shape and distribution of the bite marks suggesting a series of consecutive scavenging events by members of different shark species.
 A study on the evolutionary history of carcharhiniform sharks is published by Brée, Condamine & Guinot (2022), who interpret their findings as indicative of an early low diversity period followed by a radiation exacerbated since 30 million years ago, as well as indicating that variations in diversification through time were likely linked to reef expansion and temperature change.
 Greenfield, Delsate & Candoni (2022) coin a new name Toarcibatidae for the family of Toarcian batomorphs previously referred to as Archaeobatidae.
 A study on the microstructure of rostral denticles of Ischyrhiza mira is published by Cook et al. (2022)
 New record of large dermal tubercles and bucklers, including tubercles similar in morphology to "Ceratoptera unios" and dermal bucklers similar in morphology to those of the extant roughtail stingray, is reported from the Lower Pleistocene Waccamaw Formation (South Carolina, United States) by Boessenecker & Gibson (2022), who interpret this findings as likely fossils of large stingrays in excess of 3 m disc width.
 A study on the phylogenetic relationships of extant and fossil rays and skates is published by Villalobos-Segura et al. (2022).
 A study on the completeness of the chondrichthyan fossil record from Florida, aiming to determine patterns in taxonomic and ecomorphological diversity of Eocene to Pleistocene chondrichthyans from the Florida Platform, is published by Perez (2022).
 Szabó et al. (2022) describe an assemblage of cartilaginous fishes from the Miocene Tekeres Schlieren Member of the Baden Formation (Hungary), including the first known records of deepwater cartilaginous fishes from the Badenian of the Central Paratethys.
 Fossil material of a diverse shark and ray fauna is reported from the early Pleistocene of Taiwan by Lin, Lin & Shimada (2022).

Ray-finned fishes

Ray-finned fish research
 A new database of the occurrences of Paleozoic ray-finned fishes is presented by Henderson et al. (2022), who evaluate the impact of fossil record biases, as well as taxonomic and phylogenetic issues, on the knowledge of the early evolution of ray-finned fishes; subsequently Henderson, Dunne & Giles (2022) use this database to study patterns of diversity of ray-finned fishes through the Paleozoic, taking the extent and impact of sampling biases into account.
 A novel mode of fang accommodation, with teeth of the lower jaw inserting into fenestrae of the upper jaw, is reported in Brazilichthys macrognathus by Figueroa & Andrews (2022).
 Redescription and a study on the affinities of Toyemia is published by Bakaev & Kogan (2022).
 Redescription of the anatomy and a study on the affinities of Brachydegma caelatum is published by Argyriou, Giles & Friedman (2022).
 Osteoderms providing evidence of presence of large sturgeons (within the upper size bracket for Acipenseridae) in early-middle Paleocene freshwater ecosystems of western North America are described from the Fort Union Formation (Montana, Unitd States) by Brownstein (2022).
 Fossil material of a member or a relative of the genus Eomesodon, representing the oldest record of pycnodonts from East Gondwana reported to date, is described from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Jaisalmer Formation (Rajasthan, India) by Kumar et al. (2022).
 A study on the tooth replacement pattern and implantation in Serrasalmimus secans is published by Matsui & Kimura (2022), who interpret their findings as indicating that serrasalmimid pycnodont fish independently acquired a vertical replacement in true thecodont implantation, i.e. a characteristic tooth replacement pattern of mammals.
 A study on the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of extant and extinct gars is published by Brownstein et al. (2022).
 Redescription and a study on the affinities of Saurostomus esocinus is published by Cooper & Maxwell (2022),  who interpret this taxon as the basalmost transitional member of the suspension-feeding clade of pachycormids.
 A study on bone repair in response to damage in Leedsichthys problematicus is published by Johanson et al. (2022).
 Redescription and a study on the affinities of Thaumaturus intermedius is published by Micklich & Arratia (2022).
 Redescription of "Diplomystus" solignaci is published by Marramà, Khalloufi & Carnevale (2022), who interpret this fish as a paraclupeid ellimmichthyiform, and transfer it to the genus Paraclupea.
 A study on cranial morphological features that diagnose known families of catfishes, and on their implications for the knowledge of the affinities of catfishes from the Paleogene of Africa, is published by Murray & Holmes (2022), who reassess the familial placement of the Paleogene African catfishes and assign Eomacrones wilsoni to the family Bagridae sensu stricto.
 Description of new fossil material of Enchodus from the Cenomanian of Ukraine, and a revision of earlier records of Enchodus from Ukraine, is published by Kovalchuk, Barkaszi & Anfimova (2022).
 Redescription and a study on the phylogenetic affinities of Protosyngnathus sumatrensis is published by Murray (2022).
 A study on the phylogenetic affinities of fossil gobioids is published by Gierl et al. (2022).
 New specimen of Mene rhombea with extensive soft tissue preservation and striking colour patterning is described from the Eocene (Ypresian) Monte Bolca Lagerstätte (Italy) by Rossi et al. (2022).
 A study on patterns of body size evolution of tetraodontiforms in relation to paleoclimate events is published by Troyer et al. (2022).
 Přikryl et al. (2022) describe a new specimen of Archaeotetraodon winterbottomi from the Oligocene Rybnytsia Member of the Menilite Series (Ukraine), providing new information on the anatomy of this tetraodontid.

Lobe-finned fishes

Lobe-finned fish research
 Review of the phylogenetic analyses of onychodont relationships, aiming to determine the sources of discrepancies in the different phylogenetic hypotheses, is published by Ciudad Real et al. (2022).
 A study on the histology of the median fin bones and life history of Miguashaia bureaui is published by Mondéjar Fernandez et al. (2022).
 Toriño et al. (2022) describe a large mawsoniid coelacanth from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay (United Kingdom), interpret its morphology as unexpectedly similar to the morphology of Mawsonia, and consider the studied coelacanth to be either an unknown Mawsonia-like form or a member of the lineage of Trachymetopon with some morphological characters previously assumed as diagnostic for Mawsonia.
 Description of cranial endocasts of six Paleozoic lungfish (Iowadipterus halli, Gogodipterus paddyensis, Pillararhynchus longi, Griphognathus whitei, Orlovichthys limnatis, Rhinodipterus ulrichi), and a study on the evolution of crania, brains and sensory abilities of lungfish, is published by Clement et al. (2022).
 Description of two well-preserved specimens of Youngolepis praecursor from the Devonian Xitun Formation (China), and a study on the implications of these specimens for the knowledge of the evolution of the specialized lungfish feeding mechanism, is published by Cui et al. (2022).
 A study on the anatomy of the neurocrania of Scaumenacia curta and Pentlandia macroptera is published by Boirot, Challands & Cloutier (2022), who report that the neurocranium of P. macroptera was at least partially ossified, while S. curta had a cartilaginous neurocranium, and evaluate the implications of their findings for the knowledge of paedomorphosis in lungfish evolution.
 A study on the histology of the tooth plates of Metaceratodus baibianorum from the Upper Cretaceous La Colonia Formation (Argentina) is published by Panzeri, Pereyra & Cione (2022).
 A study on the anatomy and affinities of Palaeospondylus gunni is published by Hirasawa et al. (2022), who interpret this taxon as a sarcopterygian, and likely a stem-tetrapod.

Other

General research
 A study on the evolution of swimming speed in early vertebrates, inferred from caudal fin morphology of Paleozoic cyclostomes (Myxinidae and Petromyzontidae), jawless stem gnathostomes (Conodonta, Anaspida, Pteraspidomorphi, Thelodonti and Osteostraci) and placoderms, is published by Ferrón & Donoghue (2022), who interpret their findings as indicating that microsquamous taxa (thelodonts and anaspids) had higher swimming capabilities than vertebrates with rigid bony carapaces (including placoderms), that demonstrating that the rise of active nektonic vertebrates long-predated the Devonian.
 A study on the morphological similarities of Silurian and Devonian jawless and jawed vertebrates, aiming to determine which groups were most and least likely to have competed (and whether competition with jawed vertebrates was likely to cause the extinction of the majority of jawless vertebrates), is published by Scott & Anderson (2022), who don't find support for overall competitive exclusion of jawless vertebrates by jawed vertebrates.
 A study on the evolution of the vertebrate spiracular region from jawless vertebrates to tetrapods is published by Gai et al. (2022).
 A study on the mandibular morphology of Silurian and Devonian jawed vertebrates, and on the functional capabilities of their jaws, is published by Deakin et al. (2022).
 Description of the ichthyolith assemblage from the Upper Triassic Luning Formation (Nevada, United States), increasing known diversity of marine vertebrates in the western United States in the Late Triassic from four to at least 14 genera, is published by Tackett, Zierer & Clement (2022), who report evidence of the presence of taxa that were previously known only from Europe during the Late Triassic.
 Revision of the marine fish fauna from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Rybushka Formation (Saratov Oblast, Russia) is published by Ebersole et al. (2022).
 A study aiming to reconstruct the fish community and oceanographic conditions off the coast of Peru during the last interglacial, based on data from sediments from the northern Humboldt Current system, is published by Salvatteci et al. (2022).
 Review of the fossil material providing information on the reproduction of extinct fishes is published by Capasso (2022), who names new ootaxa Theutonicootheca primigenia (possible egg capsule of jawless vertebrates or placoderms from the Emsian Kaub Formation, Germany), Beargulchootheca carbonifera (possible egg capsule of cartilaginous fishes from the Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone of the Heath Formation, Montana, United States), Palaeochimaerootheca browni (egg capsule of chimaerids from the Pennsylvanian Cherokee Shale, Missouri, and Mazon Creek fossil beds, Illinois, United States), and Parascylliootheca libanica (egg capsule of parascylliids from the Cretaceous Sannine Formation, Lebanon).

References

2022 in paleontology

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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