This afternoon Albert Mohler reposted on his blog an article he penned in early May, right after the birth of Trig Paxson Van Palin. In that article Dr. Mohler wrote:

Trig made news long before he was born, as Alaska’s citizens learned that their governor was pregnant. Then, for the Palins, the story got more complicated.

This past December, Sarah Palin was told that her baby was likely to have Down syndrome — just one extra chromosome. …

When he was told, Todd Palin quickly said, “We shouldn’t be asking, ‘Why us?’ We should be saying, ‘Well, why not us?’”

The Palins never considered aborting the baby. That means that Trig Palin is now in a very rare group of very special children, because it is now believed that the vast majority of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome before birth are being aborted.

Be sure to read Dr. Mohler’s complete article here.

ADDENDUM: Here’s a link to Dr. Mohler’s radio show from May 9, where he “explains why Trig’s very existence defies the Culture of Death and gives us all hope.” He plans to repeat this show on Monday’s broadcast.

Here’s what several prominent evangelical leaders are saying about the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate:

Richard Land: “[Palin is] straight out of veep central casting.”

Gary Bauer: “[McCain hit a] grand slam home run. … [her selection is] guaranteed to energize values voters.”

James Dobson: “[A]n outstanding choice that should be extremely reassuring to the conservative base. … [the ticket] gives us confidence [McCain] will keep his pledges to voters regarding the kinds of justices he would nominate to the Supreme Court.”

Mathew Staver, dean of the Liberty University School of Law: “It’s an absolutely brilliant choice. This will absolutely energize McCain’s campaign and energize conservatives. … [Palin's] a woman of faith who has a strong position on life, a consistent opinion on judges. … She’s the complete package.”

When it came to vice presidential possibilities, not many people had Sarah Palin at the top of their list—or even on their list. One young man, however, did, and he started promoting her place on the ticket in late February 2007. That’s right, a year and a half ago. In one of the first posts of his Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President blog (dated Feb. 27, 2007), Adam Brickley, an early supporter of Rudy Giuliani for president, wrote about how his research on potential VPs that winter led him to Palin:

I decided that Sarah Palin had actually compiled a rather astounding record of achievements in her 42 years, and was more than capable of making the jump to the national level. So now I ask you who you would rather have as your Vice-President. You could accept conventional wisdom and choose from the lineup of old men currently being bantered about, or you could choose an inspiring leader like Sarah Palin. As for me, I’m going with “Sarah Barracuda”, a candidate who will help us win the election and then deliver solid results.

Brickley, a 21-year-old political science major at the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs and an intern at Townhall.com, has been given a lot of credit for the Alaska governor being selected as John McCain’s running mate. And last night he received a nice “thank you” phone call from the GOP VP pick and her husband, Todd.

“Human speech is like a cracked tin kettle, on which we hammer out tunes to make bears dance when we long to move the stars” (Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary).

Who has ever been able to empty the contents of his heart to his lover? And similarly, in sorrow, “The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy” (Proverbs 14:10).

Yet God, who is infinitely wise and for whom “nothing is impossible” (Luke 1:37), chose human speech as the vehicle of communication to us. Was He grasping at straws? Was He working with a handicap? A blunt instrument? Had He miscalculated? Is He, as Woody Allen put it, “an underachiever”?

But God is the one whose power is made perfect in weakness. I must assume, then, that He uses the very “weakness” or limitedness of our language to achieve a purpose that would not have been achieved by other means. After all, “This God— his way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30).

The Infinite speaks to the finite of the fount of our salvation, sometimes calling it “grace,” at other times “love,” or “mercy.” He commands “faith,” but elsewhere will call it “obedience.” Words like “hope” and “trust” overlap in meaning. His Spirit produces the fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, and self-control,” but we have the sneaking suspicion that under the surface they converge. Every commandment is an alternate doorway to a deeper knowledge of Christ.

A variegation of approach to Reality is somehow the best way to communicate it. We have as yet no idea of all the reasons why this is so. It may be something about the Trinity. But human speech is like a cracked tin kettle on which we hammer out tunes that, by the Spirit of God, do move the stars.

Just in case you didn’t Rant! & Rave! enough yesterday, here’s the promised weekend thread. Same rules apply…

Happy Saturday!

Today’s quote is from a theologian: “Patience is the companion of wisdom.”

In her speech earlier today, John McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin acknowledged both Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton for what they’ve done for women in politics. In response, Clinton issued the following statement:

“We should all be proud of Gov. Sarah Palin’s historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Sen. McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Gov. Palin will add an important new voice to the debate.”

The staff at an interesting new website called Culture11 has compiled “The Top Eleven Things Hillary Clinton Did Upon Hearing Sarah Palin Got the Veep Nod.” One of the masterminds behind this new site is our former blog editor, Joe Carter, who’s also known for his popular Christian blog, The Evangelical Outpost.

Good luck with the new site, Joe.

On “The Dennis Prager Show” today, Focus on the Family’s James Dobson said:

“I have only endorsed one presidential candidate in my life and that was George Bush in the second term after I had watched him for four years. I did not do that in his first term. So I’m very reluctant to do that. You marry a politician you can be a widow pretty quickly. …

“But I can tell you that if I had to go into … the voting booth today, I would pull that lever [for McCain-Palin]. …

“[W]hen I look at the choices that are ahead and what the implications are for this country, and now especially with this selection, with just an outstanding VP candidate as a running mate, I tell you what I am relieved and very excited.”

Well, we’ve been on the WorldMag site for a week, and it’s time to announce a couple of changes designed to complete our transition to our new, newsier home. First off, you’ll notice some changes in our regular features:

1) Rants! & Raves! will now appear on Saturdays in place of the culture-related features we have been posting. We will continue to post Whirled Views on Saturdays as well, thus providing two essentially open threads for weekend fellowship. In addition, we may open threads for discussion of breaking news.

2) Personal Note, which has been appearing every Wednesday, will now be an occasional feature.

3) Something Light — our chance to just have fun together — will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

4) Whirled Views will continue Monday through Saturday.

With WorldMagBlog now located on the WorldMag site, we have no need for two formally titled ”managing editors.” As the Web Managing Editor for all of World Magazine, Mickey will now manage WorldMagBlog as well.

I will still be hanging out with you, retaining the honorary title of Benevolent Dictator, annoying Luke, and bonking with the Scepter when necessary. Mickey, meanwhile, will take over managing the site, including technical issues, questions, suggestions and, of course, enforcing the rules.

Thanks for your terrific participation here, and we look forward to continuing this journey with you

Who is Sarah Palin? WORLD’s Mark Bergin introduces us to John McCain’s running mate, someone many Americans are not familiar with. Here’s a sampling:

She is a signal to red-meat conservatives. The Alaska governor’s ascension from the Wasilla City Council to her state’s highest office moved forward on a commitment to efficient, accountable government. She famously quashed Alaska’s infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” project and shut down the steady flow of federal pork to her state, even that supported by fellow Republicans. What’s more, she’s a lifelong hunter with an appetite for moose burgers and hobbies like ice fishing and snowmobiling

Read all of Mark’s report here.