Random

> NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY about the way things are going in Arizona. Some in the south want to secede to form a new state -- Baja Arizona. I suspect that most southerners just want to make it clear that they think and see the world differently than those in Alta Arizona. ~ KTAR

> I'VE NEVER BEEN much of a gum chewer. But the new "Extra Dessert Delights Sugarfree Key Lime Pie Flavored Gum"from Wrigley's may change that. You know that I have this weakness for key lime pie.

> SOME VOTERS really do think for themselves. ~ Chicago Sun-Times

> ANYONE WITH a 5th grade education in American civics would rule this unconstitutional -- "Tennessee bill would jail Shariah followers." Don't expect it to pass -- just a bunch of good ole' boys blowing off steam -- unhappy with their inability to control their world. ~ USA Today

> THE US government is paying an Army veteran $400,000 for wrongfully detaining him for seven months as an illegal alien. Paperwork mix-up -- the consequence of poor spelling skills and inattention to detail. ~ LA Times

> THERE WERE 10.8 million unauthorized immigrants living in the US in January 2010. That's down a million from the same month in 2007. ~ link (.pdf)

> SAID MUSA has been freed from prison and Afghanistan. ~ CT

> FREE ONLINE BOOK -- Value Networks, and the True Nature of Collaboration by Verna Allee with Oliver Schwabe ~ link

> GUAM has adopted legislation protecting sharks. ~ AFP

> I'M HIGHLIGHTING more of Eugene Peterson's new book The Pastor: A Memoir than I'm leaving unmarked -- at least in the non-narrative sections. He's so good at telling the pastoral story.

> DAVID FITCH says that he has been converted by Launching Missional Communities: A Field Guide. ~ link

> BILL KINNON, self-described "Christian gadfly," tells the fascinating story behind his now 6-year-old blog. He's always a good (and challenging) read. ~ link