The internet connection at the house was borked today, so I eventually gave up and went downtown and paid $6 for half an hour at an internet cafe. Then I walked back and found people using the newly-fixed internet at the house. posted by Stentor Danielson at 19:28 -- link --
"Minä tapaan sinut huomenna means 'I'll see you tomorrow' whereas Minä tapan sinut huomenna 'I'll kill you tomorrow'." posted by Stentor Danielson at 17:03 -- link --
21 And they asked him [Jesus], saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? 24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's.
25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's.
26 And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.
And yet people can say "but if we take 'under God' out of the pledge, we'll have to take 'In God We Trust' off our money!" as if it's an argument for having both these phrases.
Although I'd probably consider leaving the country if our money said "In Caesar Bushicus We Trust." posted by Stentor Danielson at 08:54 -- link --
When we were fighting the godless commies, we put more God into our government. Now that we're fighting religious fanatics that kill people in the name of God, we put more God in our government.
I keep having these fantasies where I'm a powerful Senator and I propose a Constitutional amendment making Protestantism our state religion, just to create a violent backlash in favor of separation of church and state. posted by Stentor Danielson at 08:38 -- link --
27.6.02
"For they that keep holiness holily shall be judged holy..."
- apocryphal book of Wisdom, 6:10. This is what you get from reading leftover Bible books. posted by Stentor Danielson at 15:33 -- link --
"Can" is a weird verb. It works in the present tense (I can, you can, they can) and the past (I could, you could ...). But in the future tense it doesn't work -- I will can? (Unless you're talking about putting things in aluminum containers, which is a totally different verb.) There's no infinitive either -- to can. Or a gerund -- I am canning. Aside from those two specific tenses where it works, you have to fall back on "to be able." Today I can, yesterday I could, tomorrow I will be able. "May" is the same way, although it doesn't even have a past tense. Weird. posted by Stentor Danielson at 13:37 -- link --
New item in the sidebar -- my summer reading list, with brief reviews. posted by Stentor Danielson at 13:31 -- link --
It's kind of scary how nobody seems to support the court ruling yesterday declaring the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. And all the major newspapers' editorials (New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Portland Oregonian, San Fransisco Chronicle, San Diego Union-Tribune, Arizona Republic ... I'm forced, for lack of a better option, to applaud the Detroit Free Press for almost opposing it) seem to be using the same logic -- "what's the big deal? The government invokes God all the time." If the government jumped off a bridge all the time, would it be ok? posted by Stentor Danielson at 11:25 -- link --
"Federal Labor frontbencher Mark Latham said today he would continue to describe Prime Minister John Howard as an arse-licker if he failed to protect Australia's interests.
Mr Latham, who in today's Bulletin magazine described Mr Howard as an arse-licker on his recent visit to the United States, said he was merely using old-fashioned Australian vernacular.
He said Mr Howard should have used similar language when talking to US President George W Bush about American farm subsidies and the damage they would do to Australian farmers."
I can think of some American vernacular that we should call Bush (and the rest of Congress) because of the farm subsidies, but I'll try to keep this blog PG-13. posted by Stentor Danielson at 11:18 -- link --
"A team of Chinese scientists is to head out to the far west of the country to investigate a mystery pyramid that local legend says is a launch tower left by aliens from space, Xinhua news agency said.
Nine scientists would probe origins of the 165 to 198-foot tall structure -- dubbed "the ET relics" -- in the western province of Qinghai this month, the agency said last week."
So first a Chinese paper bases a story on The Onion, and now they apparently base one on Erich von Däniken. Next week's headline: "Bat Boy Found in Shanghai." posted by Stentor Danielson at 09:04 -- link --
"Civil libertarians are justifiably alarmed at such an ominous shadow over the constitutional rights of all Americans. But there is another aspect that has received less attention even though it is equally alarming. It is a truism that civil liberties have suffered in most of U.S. wars. But in all of those earlier episodes, there was a certainty that the conflict would end someday. A peace treaty would be signed, or the enemy country would either surrender or be conquered. In other words, the United States would someday return to normal and civil liberties would be restored and repaired.
The war against terrorism is different. Because the struggle is against a shadowy network of adversaries rather than a nation state, it is virtually impossible even to speculate when it might end. Mr. Bush's initial comment that it might last "a year or two" was long ago consigned to the discard pile."
For once, a column in the Washington Times that's right on the mark. posted by Stentor Danielson at 11:41 -- link --
12 Then said I unto him, It were better that we were not at all, than that we should live still in wickedness, and to suffer, and not to know wherefore. 13 He answered me, and said, I went into a forest into a plain, and the trees took counsel, 14 And said, Come, let us go and make war against the sea that it may depart away before us, and that we may make us more woods. 15 The floods of the sea also in like manner took counsel, and said, Come, let us go up and subdue the woods of the plain, that there also we may make us another country. 16 The thought of the wood was in vain, for the fire came and consumed it. 17 The thought of the floods of the sea came likewise to nought, for the sand stood up and stopped them. 18 If thou wert judge now betwixt these two, whom wouldest thou begin to justify? or whom wouldest thou condemn? 19 I answered and said, Verily it is a foolish thought that they both have devised, for the ground is given unto the wood, and the sea also hath his place to bear his floods. 20 Then answered he me, and said, Thou hast given a right judgment, but why judgest thou not thyself also? 21 For like as the ground is given unto the wood, and the sea to his floods: even so they that dwell upon the earth may understand nothing but that which is upon the earth: and he that dwelleth above the heavens may only understand the things that are above the height of the heavens. posted by Stentor Danielson at 11:18 -- link --
There's a copy of FourFourTwo, a soccer magazine, on the floor of the bathroom in my suite. Every kicker headline on the cover ends in an exclamation point. Emphasis is kind of pointless when you emphasize everything. posted by Stentor Danielson at 09:25 -- link --
23.6.02
One thing I've noticed about DC is its conspicuous lack of lewd publications. When I was in LA, on every streetcorner there was a series of newspaper machines. There was the LA Times, USA Today, some free real estate and job market fliers, and then at least one publication with a scantily clad woman on the cover and more than one X in the name. But in DC I haven't seen any such thing. The typical lineup is the Washington Post, Washington Times, Washington Blade, and CityPaper. Maybe the Times has a centerfold I don't know about... posted by Stentor Danielson at 21:01 -- link --
I think Nietzsche is just Jesus with an Oedipus complex. posted by Stentor Danielson at 20:58 -- link --
29.6.02
The internet connection at the house was borked today, so I eventually gave up and went downtown and paid $6 for half an hour at an internet cafe. Then I walked back and found people using the newly-fixed internet at the house.