Drinking Liberally meets again tonight (and every Tuesday) at 8pm at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Ave. E., and author David Neiwert of the blog Orcinus will be there to discuss his books, old and new. David has written about hate-crime policy, the roots of the Northwest’s “Patriot” movement, and most recently, Bellevue’s Japanese-American community that was destroyed by WWII interment.
I may be a little late, but I definitely plan to attend.
UPDATE:
Great turnout last night, and even greater conversation of with Dave Neiwert. As I emailed him afterwards, I’m going to have to start reading his books, instead of just reading about them.
I also had the opportunity to meet prolific HA commentator Dubyasux, and a couple unknown lurkers. Good beer, good conversation.
If you’re a no-show again, Goldy, I ain’t going anymore. I wanna meet you.
I’ll definitely be there.
I’ll see you there.
I wonder if Democrat liberal “progressives” like Goldy [et al]tip, or do they stiff the waitress like Hillary Clinton did in NY City. [I guess she just “forgot” about the “little people”!]
Meeting Goldy tonight confirmed a suspicion I’ve had ever since I discovered HorsesAss.org. Goldy makes NO MONEY from this site. HA is a labor of love; and like Mom, apple pie, and Old Glory, Goldy is the real thing. Not a Fake-N-Bake Patriot in it for money. Now, I’m not mentioning any names … oh hell, I will too mention names. Ann Coulter is a mercenary. I doubt she believes her own tripe, but she’s smart enough to know political smut sells, and not one to argue with market economics while pushing wheelbarrows full of money to her bank. I don’t know about Stefan Sharkansky but I recall reading somewhere that he lives in an $800,000 house, which I’m sure he finds a better deal than, say, working for the government for 30K a year to explain to citizens how to fill out forms. I’ve never met the BIAW’s Tom McCabe, but anybody who would stoop to using L & I taxes intended for injured workers to pay for Rossi’s election contest probably doesn’t mind getting paid six figures to believe that property owners should have a right to dump their used motor oil in their backyards if they want to — and if you think otherwise you’re a fucking communist! I’m not too sure about Rossi himself, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that somehow he’s in this for money too. His track record certainly points in that direction. I doubt Mary Lane would shill for Rossi if she wasn’t getting paid. But Goldy is doing it for free, because … well … because he loves America.
That’s more than any of the “patriots” can say. They won’t do anything unless there’s money in it, and the more they get paid, the more “patriotic” they’ll be!
Somebody send Don a good hangover remedy for tomorrow, quickly before he passes out!
zip @ 5
Isn’t it past your bedtime? Where’s your mother? Is she out carousing?
Glad to see you’re a mean drunk.
You’re right Don, I better call it a night. I’m all tired out from reorganizing my gold bar storage vault. I earned them all by posting comments in response to yours on this site! Maybe if you pass the hat at yuor next drinking party and up the ante I’ll change my stripes like a true mercenary.
zip @ 7
If you’re conscience is bothering you, you could always become a Democrat and serve your neighbors and nation for free. Our door is always open to repentant sinners. God loves reformed sinners too! :D
THE ONLY GOVN’T WORKER THAT MAKES $30K/YR are the low level clerks and assistants. My sons kindergarten teacher makes $59k/yr, not exactly poor. But what don doesn’t tell us is the never ending supply of Govn’t workers, elected officials that make WAY over $100k. all anyone has to do is check out lbloom.net or the states web site to verify.
there are at least 10 people on the monorail staff making $100k to $172,000/year. and that is a new project that has not even begun.
ironic as well that the $30k per yr workers are the ones that take the fall for the Gregoire types.
char @ 9
You’re right, there are elected officials and government managers who make over 100k a year, but I don’t know what it’s like to breathe that air. In the public agency my wife works for, the managers deny raises to the workers so they can give themselves bigger raises and hire more 120k managers. That’s why the workers in that agency need a union. Same bullshit every year when they do a new budget. More workers get laid off and the department heads buy new cars.
Just like in government dubya. WA democrats have created the exact bureaucracy they claim to deplore. Where is the win for your side?
char @ 12
Hmmm, this is a federally funded agency being run by a bunch of Republican assholes …
It is ironic that liberals always try to portray coservatives as beer swilling oafs with half an ass on the bar stool. Looks like that describes the liberals.
Fraudy @ 14
Where have any of us here on HA portray conservatives as “beer swilling oafs with half an ass” on the bar stool? Show me a thread, or even a post, where we did that. For one thing, it’s a physical impossibility, because Republicans are such big asses they couldn’t begin to get half of it on a bar stool. Most of you drink Chivas or martinis (we admire your taste but we don’t like you doing it with our money), and where the “half” comes in is that’s the portion of the bar tab you deduct on your tax returns as a “business expense.” Beer isn’t deductible.
Ok, for one the negative Dubya moniker is beginning to wear a little thin. Especially where people are drinking beer. Why not something with a little Al Gore or Clinton in it? Something a little more liberal, more positive. Like maybe
ClintonistaBarista
AlGoreInventedtheInternetYeahRight
IamLiberalWouldYouLikeFriesWithThat?
LyingCheatingFesteringLiberalCankerSore(WithAttitude)
IDidNOtHaveRelationsWithThatMonkey
ILoveAstroTurfInTheBackOfElCaminos
BeNiceToMeImADerangedLiberalWithShotgun!
and my personal favorite:
DrunkJudgeDontNeedNoStinkinAA
Whatzamatter zap, is my screen moniker getting on your nerves? Dubya DOES suck! Let’s see, how do I count the ways?
1. Started a war on false pretenses.
2. Condones torture.
3. Most fiscally reckless president in history.
4. Most environmentally irresponsible president of modern times.
5. Habitual liar.
6. Corporate corruption as far as the eye can see.
7. Thin-skinned chickenshit who has his critics arrested for showing up at his public appearances.
8. Tried to wreck Social Security.
9. Policies favor ultra-rich at everyone else’s expense.
10. Shameless pandering to wacko-religious lobby.
There’s more, but that’s enough to get you started.
And his ratings are sinking like the titanic!
Gwdummy is also a very accurate description.
That’s what happens to pols who touch the “Third Rail of American Politics.” Bzzzztttttt — zaaaapppppppp!!!!!
I cant think of any more deserving.
Don, You were someone that I looked up to, your Judgeship honorific Sir. My disgust with you has nothing to do with the POTUS. Putting on a name like that just makes me think that you are a bitter reprehensible gutless indoctrinated tool. Shucks. Go have another beer Dubya. Your brain cells won’t know the difference.
RDC,
”Liberals, you know. They just can’t come to a decision about anything.”
Ah! So THAT is the secret! Would a beer help you make a decision?
I have kept an eye on a number of politicians who have graduated to higher office. Most are the same or worse than before. This guy seems different, and I noticed it well before this article was written. While some thought he was a party hack as a Representative, he has taken what appears to be a different tack as a Senator. The weirdest thing about it is the fact his seat is considered safe simply because it is the deep South. I do not wonder whether this is a cynical affectation by the good Senator, but others might.
In the NYT Brian Greene has a “spooky” article on quantum physics:
”Can it really be that the solid world of experience and perception, in which a single, definite reality appears to unfold with dependable certainty, rests on the shifting sands of quantum probabilities?”
The equations I use daily are absolutes. They have been tested and verified to the nth degree. The formula does not lie. The PN junction that is the core of solid-state electronics takes a “pure” material and dopes it with an impurity. The material, its physical construction, and the amount of it used will dictate the conductive properties. Yet at times, an idea will not work in the manner expected. In most cases, the math is wrong; a variable is not taken into account. Perfection is not achievable when mistakes are made, but sometimes the mistake is what leads to an advancement. Many large chipmakers employ engineers that look at those mistakes to see if they can apply the error in some new way.
In spooky terms, there are times when I really hope we know what the hell we’re doing, and I do not mean just in my laboratory…
Zap @ 21
Would you feel better if I type it in CAPITAL LETTERS? Does it help if I explain WHY Dubya sucks? Oh … I already posted that. See #17 above. Let’s try reason #11:
Are you better off now than you were four years ago, before the Texas silver-spoon frat-boy idiot was appointed? Be honest now.
What HASN’T this administration fucked up? They can’t even run a little war against a tinpot dictator without getting bogged down. Part of their problem is they don’t know how to treat people — especially the ones dying for them. Remember the guy who complained to Rumsfeld about scrounging in trash heaps for vehicle armor? I wonder what remote province of Afghanistan he’s guarding a foxhole in right now. This week we saw a court ruling that says G.I. Shmuck’s enlistment is up when the government feels like it, not when his contract says it’s up, which probably guarantees the death of the volunteer army — who’s going to enlist, when everyone realizes the enlistment is for life? A draft can’t be far away now.
But hey, there’s always next week, so let’s appoint Bolton to the U.N. and Wolfowitz to the World Bank, and see how long it takes those guys to fuck that up!
Yep, Dubya sucks. Big time.
Marks….
I tried red wine instead. Didn’t work; all I got was a hangover. All I am certain of this morning is that you are a bitter tool, a reprehensible tool, an indoctrinated tool, a gutless tool, a tool so utterly devoid of any redeeming qualities that you make a pitchfork look like a harp.
I think Graham is on the up-and-up…I just don’t care for his political views. Forty years ago he would have been considered nearly out there with the John Birchers. I’m sure you noted that he made a lot of money by being a dirty, slimy, lying dog trial lawyer.
More than 100,000 Americans bought The Elegant Universe. My wife was one; she gave it to me as a present. About twenty-five Americans actually read it. I was one of those. About five people actually understood it. Don’t look for me in this group. I haven’t read the article in yesterday’s NYT yet, but have saved it for later in the day, if my head clears. If you didn’t notice, there was a good article in the business section about our trade deficit. There is another article on trade in this morning’s paper. Maybe they are doing a series. At last night’s get-together, a friend insisted that China was our biggest trade partner. I argued with him, citing the NYT article, but he told me I must have read in incorrectly (isn’t it maddening when someone says that? I’m going to cut out the article and send it to him.).
The times aren’t spooky if you take the long view. We’re doomed. In the history of time, will it really matter if we commit suicide or are executed by an uncaring god? As I see, the only question is what form our doom will take…will we bake, or freeze, or suffocate?
I’ve studied a bit about sub-atomic particles. It’s clear to me that all the world’s ills can be blamed on two sources: GWB and random fluctuations. Perhaps the former is the result of the latter and they are in a reality only some of us exist in are unified.
So tell me, are you in the forefront of the nascent movement to have the just buried pope beatified?
Still thinking about that philosopher…let’s see…maybe…no…hummm. This is tough.
Perhaps the former is the result of the latter and they are in a reality only some of us exist in are unified Told you I had a hangover. Try this: Perhaps the former is the result of the latter and they, in a reality only some us of exist in, are unified.
“…you are a bitter tool, a reprehensible tool, an indoctrinated tool, a gutless tool, a tool so utterly devoid of any redeeming qualities that you make a pitchfork look like a harp.”
Ah! Despite! I earned that for…what? Why does it sound familiar?
“So tell me, are you in the forefront of the nascent movement to have the just buried pope beatified?”
No. My gut reaction is simply that the pope leads the Church. Having a subsequent pope bestow sainthood may lend the new pope credibility with the flock, but not me. Saints in my book need to do something extraordinary, and JPII was extraordinary only in his length of service (and cheating death a couple of times).
I would suggest habenero peppers for curing your hangover. Actually, they don’t cure it, but you notice your aching head much less…
Kind of like morphine, I guess. It does nothing to address the source of pain, it just makes your brain not care.
Despite as a noun…there have been many millions of words that have passed by my eyes since I’ve seen despite used in this manner. Did you pick this up from Safire? I took umbrage at Zapporo using “tool” as a perjorative. You Rs must stop stealing Ds ideas and words; the left has had a lock on “tool” for generations. Not wishing to attack zapporo directly (early childhood training usually keeps me from picking on the weak), I turned my aim on his running dog lackey.
One of our dinner guests last night(a Kerry-Rossi supporter) told about his 17 year old nephew, who has been home schooled by his Christian fundamentalist parents. Our guest said that the boy is as close to being pleasant as a 17 year old male gets, and, like most home-schooled kids, has done very well on whatever tests are required. The problem, as our guest say it, is that it is bedrock solid with this kid that homeland security is the overriding issue facing America, and that non-Christians are the enemies of our nation. Not non-citizen non-Christians, but simply non-Christians. I am a bit worried about what we may be creating in the land with home-schooling by parents with such views. More recruits for the Aryan Nation? More Tim McVeighs dressed in different clothing? At the very least, this demonstrates that there is no test that can accurately gauge wisdom, or even a decent education. What kind of parents would teach their kids such a vile thing? They must have mislaid their New Testament somewhere.
Time is the only real cure for a genuine hangover…I’m about there. Maybe I’ll read Greene’s article now. Besides being an engineer in another life, I’d like to try astrophysics also (but after I author the Great American Novel).
Red wine is not a good buzz, IMO. Anytime I have overdone it the hangover is hell. I pity your predicament…
I am reminded that liberal and progressive have become pejorative. Funny, that is because of the right wing, too. On the left, using neo-con has become the precursor to spitting.
As to my word usage, I have read much on a number of subjects. I doubt I am anywhere near as prolific as you in that regard, and my memory, well…I retain less than I should. While my grammar and punctuation may not be particularly good, I have retained my vocabulary. I was introduced to this statement Eschew esoteric obfuscation at an early age, and instead of following the advice I embraced the opposite. My reports at work had been the subject of several comments, usually in the form of “What the heck does this mean???” I was told by my boss in so many words or less to practice brevity.
Home-schooling should be left to the experts, as my sister proved. My niece had to repeat 8th grade when my sister sent her back to school. A whole year wasted. Perhaps more important is the social development, as you seem to allude. The problem is that parents
arecan be control freaks; disapproving of any relationship or interaction their child has beyond the family’s social circle. As a teen my parents viewed the friends I had with repugnance, or worse. Having those friends balanced my upbringing, somewhat.I posted David Brooks article in the open thread. I think it is time Delay goes. We’ll see.
I’ll get back to you tomorrow….life is getting in the way of my computer time. I saved Frank Rich’s article in the NYT to read later…he writes well whether you share his views or not.
Frank Rich never surprises me with his seemingly callow resentment of all things Christian. Nor does his hypocritically juvenile focus on errors of anything Murdoch. Need I say Jayson Blair? Further, how many retractions are printed in the NYT in a given year? Is it surprising that a live news program has errors? I will grant that the Post trying to scoop the Kerry VP ticket was a story in which somebody should have been docked a week’s pay, at least.
So, after slapping him around on those points I disagree with, Rich described pointedly the deathwatches we went through with this gem: but as necro-porn their ubiquity rivaled that of TV’s top entertainment franchise, the all-forensics-all-the-time “CSI.” LOL
What struck me most was the final paragraph, and I am not able to refute it on any intellectually or spiritually sound basis. It runs parallel to, or even superimposed upon, your story of the 17-year-old product of home schooling.
The LaHaye/Jenkins series is an abomination. In order to set it up properly, a quick reference to Hal Lindsey’s “The Late Great Planet Earth” which was written in 1970, I think. That book sold millions as well, and became the standard for biblical prophecy-based writing. With that book and several others that were less successful, Mr. Lindsey hooked a bunch of folks (including me) into the fear of imminent doom.
Fast-forward to “Left Behind” and we are at it again, though this series is overtly fictional! Having force-read my way through a couple of them, I could no longer handle the emetic qualities and set them aside so I could focus on living. LaHaye and Jenkins are making millions on this stuff, and that is fine. I worry about the soft minds reading it, and whether they understand the meaning of fiction when somebody peppers biblical references within it. Which is my way of saying to Mr. Rich: I agree, and keep exposing these frauds for what they are.
Going back to your 28, with no particular point to make…Home-schooling should be left to the experts.. and who might they be? my parents viewed the friends I had with repugnace I viewed my parents with repugnance, but thought the parents of many of my friends were cool. Likely my friends saw the world through similar lenses.
Majority (how that word rankles) leader Delay isn’t the virus; he’s just one very visible manifestation of the disease. Taking him out would amount to no more than cosmetic surgery. I would like him to stay a bit longer so that the American electorate can more fully absorb what they in their unwisdom have wrought. The vote of the people may over the long run be the best way to elect leaders, but on a regular basis it puts into power charlatans and worse. I think it was Andrew Jackson who warned about the two tyrannies possible in a democracy; the tyranny of the rich, who gain power and use it to make themselves even richer at the expense of the masses, and the tyranny of the poor, who take power and confiscate the wealth of the rich. He missed the third tyranny, the tyranny of the ignorant, who put into power people like Delay, who would tyrannize all who failed to adhere to a particular rigid dogma. There is a tie-in here I believe with the Frank Rich article and the books of Lahaye/Jenkins.
Before I begin my sermom, “jumped the shark” as used in Rich’s last paragraph, left me scratching my head. Perhaps you know this, but I didn’t: the expression refers to the point at which a thing which was very good or great begins to decline into something not very good. It comes from a TV program, Happy Days, and refers to an episode in which the Fonz jumps a shark while on waterskis, apparently the turning point in that series’ popularity.
Being insensitive to the sensitivities of Christians, I haven’t noticed a propensity on Rich’s part to have a callow resentment of all things Christian, but I’ll take your word for it. But drawing a comparison between the NYT and anything in Murdoch’s world is IMO emotion trumping reason. NYT has flaws, certainly, but it is one of the best, if not the best, newspaper in the world. The World. The Fox network entertainment programs, Fox News, the NYPost, et.al., are in the bush leagues, or worse, by comparison. This is more than just a matter of where NYT and Fox sit on the political spectrum. Bill Safire’s sole claim to my regard was that he was no friend of Murdoch’s.
When you mentioned that you had read Hal Lindsey’s books my immediate reaction was “Say it ain’t so Joe”. I have come to respect your thinking, even when by my lights you are mistaken, but I have no respect at all the thinking of anyone who believes Hal Lindsey is writing anything other than pap for the infantilely ignorant. He’s still at it, on one of the televangist cable TV networks. Why anyone thinks biblical prophecy is anything more than the writings of the ancient equivalents of Lindsey and his like is beyond me. Like Lindsey, those who wrote in olden times likely had something to be gained by spinning tall tales…power, wealth, influence. Unfortunately, I’ve had close acquaintance with dedicated believers of Lindsey and others. I lived with one. She was so convinced that I the scales would fall from my eyes if only I would read one of the books, so I made a bargain with her. I would read her choice of books if she would read mine. I don’t remember the title, but it was essentially a book that proved beyond any doubt that the bible said what the bible said (took tens of thousands of words to get there, though). I offered A Preface to Morals. She never read it, so I guess she triumphed. I did have the satisfaction later of watching her abortion views being completely turned around, from anti-legal to legal, by reading John Irving’s book, Cider House Rules. What this said to me was that here was a mind looking for someone to tell her what to think. I couldn’t do it because we were coupled, and when this happens, instinct acts to prevent being domination by the other (not always successfully). But I digress. Not that it matters, but you are forgiven for the folly of your earlier years. Of course I haven’t read any of the new doom-and-gloom for non-believer books now the rage among the neo-Jonestownites, but they are just the latest in a very long line of efforts to prey on the human instinct to want to believe in the supernatural. We are in a period of fascination with death. I don’t know why, but we’ve seen the phenomenon before in this country. There is a book created I think as a doctoral theses years ago, entitled Wisconsin Death Trip. It has become a classic. It chronicles a period similar to our own, the 1890s, in the midwest, during which a similar preocupation with death was widespread.
We are in accord regarding Rich’s last paragraph. It is easy to say that the answer to ignorance is education, but that is not enough. The answer to ignorance is not education, because, as in the case of the 17 year old and others, education can corrupt. The answer to ignorance is the instillment of reason-derived knowledge into the minds of our citizens, young and old. That is why teaching evolution in schools is important. That is what is needed to overturn the Bush administration’s Lysenkoist approach to science. That is the best hope for reversing the decline in our democracy and economy that has already begun.
A final note: I liked your response elsewhere about gay marriage. If it is the word that gets under people’s skins, why not decide to call the state sanctioned legal union of two adults who are of the same sex a civil union, and call the state sanctioned legal union of two adults of opposite sexes a marriage. What’s in a name, Shakespeare asked. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Sorry for the lack of editing. On my computer, when I’m typing a comment, part of the sentence is not visible. This makes editing very tedious, so I don’t. Rereading the above, perhaps I should. The content I own, but sloppy text bothers me. Do you have the same problem when typing a comment?
…and who might they be? At a minimum, somebody who has a teaching background. Preferably credentialed. My sister has neither, and even if she did I still would have been against her attempt. Providing an education for your own child in this manner is limiting said child to the experiences of the parent(s). I had good and bad teachers, but most of them taught me something. The experiences of my parents were taught at home, during off-school hours. That seems proper to me, and interacting with other children is important for the same reason…
Clarification: I read Lindsey’s initial book (and NYT bestseller). He also runs a website, as I found out when Googling his name a moment ago. On the LaHaye/Jenkins books, I read two of them for reasons that I will not go into, but are related to my previous paragraph. It is sufficient to say the quality of writing found in those books is close to (but short of) what I had attained in the 6th grade. The material is, in Mr. Rich’s words, “necro-porn” coupled with twisted bible passages. I like the term “infantilely ignorant” and will have to make use of it one of these days.
On Gibson, I saw the film. Having read the relevant passages from the book it is based on, I saw nothing wrong with the movie at first. I can think of a few movies based on the Vietnam experience that held some disturbing violence, but Vietnam had little in common with the history portrayed in “The Passion.” I wasn’t sure what Mr. Rich disapproved of more, Christ shown to have died per the writings of the biblical scribes, or Gibson raking triple-digits from it? Yet after reflection, it also has the same potential for deluding pliable minds, so his point is well taken.
On civil unions, it is a testament to the effectiveness of the campaign waged by proponents of this idea. While gays are losing on the “marriage” word (for now), most people IMO have qualms about limiting anyone’s lifestyle when such is consensual (excluding the extreme homophobes, of course). The issue is the term. In 2 or 3 generations, we may see the end to that semantic disagreement.
On the NYT, I bash it because I am an indoktrinated tool. In all seriousness, why would Mr. Rich, writing for the best newspaper in the world, condescend to kicking “bush leaguers” at Fox? To answer my question with a question, is it because he caters to his audience?
I knew about “jumping the shark.” I did not know what Lysenkoism is, so thank you for the term, it has been added to my database, so to speak. Yes, Goldy’s little comment window is distracting. That is why I wish he had a “Preview” button. I am my own worst critic when it comes to making errors, or when I fail to spit my foot out of my mouth…
Dammit, now I have to grouse over my posting. I hope nothing is too misleading; if you need clarification, ask. BTW – Thanks for the compliment. I would imagine if we harbored contempt for each other’s opinions, our posts would likely have devolved into something similar to what is in the OT…
If I can call someone a nasty name in a witty way, I’ll do it, assuming the name called is apt. Otherwise, hurled insults quickly become tedious.
You mentioned contempt for opinions. This is something I struggle with often. As you know, I am an atheist in the sense of believing that if there is an overarching force with what we think of as consciousness controlling the universe, that force has no particular interest in this little planet and zero concern with humanity. It is quite easy for one with my belief to become contemptuous of those who believe in what I term Christian (or Islamic or Judaic) mythology, which posit an interventionist diety. This is different from having a live and let live outlook. One can be contemptuous of another and still get along with that person. This may require a bit of hypocrisy, but I think it was Thackery who wrote in Vanity Fair about how essential hypocrisy is in the maintenance of a civil society. Of course I can not mitigate feelings of contempt by trying to convince myself that believers may be right. I know, with a certainly probably as deep as any Christian saint’s faith, that they are not. What keeps contempt in check is the knowledge that very intelligent people of good character do believe. To use religious terms, it is no sin to be mistaken in one’s beliefs, if those beliefs were honestly come by, but it is a sin to be contemptuous of someone who is or has been so mistaken. Why people believe is not beyond my understanding, so when I come across the aforesaid intelligent people of good character who views are not mine, I can usually just accept that fact and move on. An important caveat is that I get to determine who are the ones of intelligence and good character. Contempt for opinions not having to do with religious faith I consider my birthright as a citizen of the land of the brave and the home of the free.
I didn’t see Gibson’s film. I haven’t read the New Testament in some time, but don’t recall many grisly details written there about the execution. Certainly, cruxifixion was used by the Romans and was intended to be a gruesome way to send a message. The complaints I recall hearing about the movie are that it was gratuitously gory, and that it was anti-semitic. I do know that the best acting Gibson has done in his career was in the film Chicken Run.
Yet after reflection, it also has the same potential for deluding pliable minds, so his point is well taken If you believe this, why doesn’t it also apply to Rich’s attack on Fox News? The problem is, as a society we have failed to do two things…develop leaders who have enough character not to try to delude anyone, and a populace savvy enough not to be deluded. Perhaps in a nation with as many people as we have we are just going to have to suffer the occasional offerings of the Hal Lindseys and Mel Gibsons of the world, and pity the deluded pliable minds. I get nervous when, like now, there seem to be so many of both.
Speaking of hypocrisy, I’ll look for you there next. I will look for an answer to the question: How can one be hopeful and bloodthirsty at the same time?
Adept at the keyboard I’m not. Only the first sentence was intended to be in italics.
Just checked. I’ll look for you at the practitioner, rather than at the practice.
RDC @ 24
That unified theory shit is too deep for me (apparently it was for Einstein too, so I’m in good company), but I do know why the NYT prints its editorial page.
That’s the part of the paper you’re supposed to wipe your ass with.
Actually, I’m thinking of the WSJ editorial page. My apologies to the NYT.
marks @ 26
You must be one of those people who thinks (erroneously) that it was Reagan and not John Paul II who kicked the stool legs out from under the USSR.
RDC @ 35
I have defied the odds more times than I should have gotten away with, and the fact I’m still here does persuade me there is not only a divine consciousness but that it also takes an interest in this little speck that is me, but I can’t prove it empirically. It’s just a sense of things, taken on faith if you will, or a feeling. On a number of hair-raising occasions, my survival happened in a way that just didn’t seem accidental or random chance.
DS..The obvious rebuttal to is to ask how you account for those in similar hair-raising situations who did not survive, or were doomed through an unusual ravelling of circumstances? Chance happens. Evolution, for example. But I know you to be intelligent, and, based on your posts, likely of good character, so I’ll just accept that you have an honestly come by, though mistaken, belief, and move on.
I think that Reagan and the pope had little to do with the fall of communism. Both were just jackels (pick another animal if jackels offends)nipping at the flanks of an already dying beast.
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