Photo of the Day: Afghanistan After the Taliban

An Afghan villager stands in front of the ruins of his home, bombed by the Taliban. A neighbor boy jumped into the picture. From my 2006 trip and story.

Photo of the Day: Battle of Carthage Marker

(Most viewed on Flickr yesterday.) Jasper County Courthouse, Carthage, Missouri. "Battle of Carthage In memory of the men in blue and gray who fought here on July 5, 1861. Dedicated by the United Veterans of Carthage who fought side by side in four foreign wars, on July 4, 1961." The sign below is at the site, outside of town: Battle of Carthage State Historic Site

Photo of the Day

Eastern Cottontail Rabbit - Sylvilagus floridanus. Photographed in Springfield, Missouri.

Influential Reformer Oecolampadius

Protestant Reformer Oecolampadius died this date in 1531. He was the first notable person to suggest that laypeople have a say in their congregations. Clergy dominated before this. Some Reformers warmed up to his suggestion and a large percentage of Protestantism later embraced it. Oecolampadius also challenged clergy to be leaders, not tyrants. "Your mission is to evangelize, not to curse," he wrote to William Farel. "Prove yourself to be an evangelist, not a tyrannical legislator. Men want to be led, not driven." You can thank Oecolampadius for having major influence in bolstering the recognition of the value of laypeople that we enjoy today.

William Penn Cabin 1837, Everton, MO

Yesterday this photo received a one-day record number of views on my Flickr stream — 780. Not sure why. It's a photo of a historical cabin in a Dade County community I pass by on my way to fish Stockton Lake, my favorite fishing grounds. One day I went into town and found this great cabin. It is not the William Penn of Pennsylvania fame, but another. The cabin functioned as Dade County's first courthouse. Here's the info: "In accordance with the foregoing laws, Gov. Thomas Reynolds appointed and commissioned Nelson McDowell, William Penn and David Hunter as justices of the county court, and Asa G. Smith as sheriff of the county. In further compliance with the law, these justices met on the first Monday of March, 1841, at the residence of William Penn (on Pennsylvania Prairie), and then and there organized their court, and appointed Joseph Allen as clerk, and thus completed the organization of Dade County." From HISTORY OF DADE COUNTY AND HER PEOPLE From the date of the Earliest Settlements to the present time By THE PIONEER HISTORICAL COMPANY, R. A. Ludwick, Manager, A. J. Young, Editor-in-Chief Note the 2 fledgling American kestrels sitting in the window.