Tonight, on Dish Network and Sky Angel channel 262, and streaming from Values Voter Debate, the next Republican debate will be broadcast. It promises to be an interesting debate, especially for those of us who are interested in issues in addition to what we hear about on CNN and Fox News.

The most disappointing thing about it, though, is that the so-called “top tier” candidates are not appearing. Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and Thompson are all sufficiently convinced that the event will do nothing to help them, so they will not be attending. It really doesn’t surprise me, but in such a venue, one can hardly wonder why men who speak only in platitudes would be intimidated by the prospect. It just shows me that none of them are up to the task of being President of the United States. It’s certainly no job for a coward.

Sunday, i preached from Luke 13:1-9 and Amos 4:6-13 on the message of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, MN. Of course, this was a terrible tragedy, but as Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will likewise perish.”

That God is sovereign even in tragedies like this shouldn’t be debated. At the same time, though, we should not abdicate our responsibility that God has laid upon us as moral agents in his good creation. To that end, you may be interested to see a state-by-state list of “deficient” bridges (some more deficient than others) listed by county with the rating that each has. Just thought some of you might want to check these out in your own communities so you can be better informed.