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May 29, 2007
Restrooms behind Slave Quaters
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| From Arlington Nat... |
Looking up that hill- if you don't know better, and don't have a map- you (or, at least I) naturally think that this must be the tomb of the unknown soldier. So I took the long walk uphill in the oppressive heat. Every time I was tempted to complain-- even to myself-- about the weather, I forcibly reminded myself that some people didn't even get a grave...
Imagine walking miles to visit the UN building. On arrival, you finagle your way to the entry way of the Security council, there to see the famous tapestry rendition of Guernica. Instead, you discover that it has been replaced with a video clipping from triumph of the will. Damnit! We put the National Cemetery at Arlington specifically so that the Traitor Lee could never return. Honoring his memory there seems like dishonoring all those who died so that men might be free...
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| From Arlington National Cemetery |
I'll post pictures and stories tomorrow. Right now I just want to say that I am utterly disgusted by the idea that at the very tip top of Arlington National Cemetery-- the tomb given pride of place-- is the arch-traitor Robert E. Lee. Lest anyone forget, Lee was the man who, in a craven act of treason, ordered the deaths of more Americans than even Osama bin Laden. This act of treason, these deaths, were caused defending the holy principle that one man ought to be able to own another. Honoring such a man makes me sick...
Posted by Andrew at 05:18 PM | Comments (0)
May 28, 2007
Memories and memorials
Posted by Andrew at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2007
I hate mimes.
Oh! But a sexy, funny, magician mime? Sign me up...
(nsfw)
Posted by Andrew at 11:07 AM | Comments (2)
May 24, 2007
Go aggies!
Posted by Andrew at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)
Big thoughts first thing
The existence of a few Christians or even some groups of them that reject this type of thinking is no longer enough, in my opinion, to hold nonbelievers accountable for not believing. The truth of the matter is that religion in this world is so messed up, so far from what it could and should be, that I wonder if Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus is not himself an atheist.Because I don't think he believes in the bullshit god of the religious fanatics either.I will still believe, and will still try to do my small part in keeping Christianity from completely falling into the abyss of hate and fear. But my theology says that those who attempt, at least, to live dedicated to love, acceptance, peace and justice, will be accepted by God, even if they intentionally reject belief in Jesus Christ - because the Christ they know is not Christ as he really is, and so they reject not him but a false belief in him, a lie. And though they reject the name, they embrace the person.
ThinkeryLet's be clear, it is this type of christianity he's rejecting:
Let me be the first to say: I ALWAYS agreed with the Rev. Falwell.Actually, there was one small item I think Falwell got wrong regarding his statement after 9/11 that "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians — who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle — the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.'"
First of all, I disagreed with that statement because Falwell neglected to specifically include Teddy Kennedy and "the Reverend" Barry Lynn.
Second, Falwell later stressed that he blamed the terrorists most of all, but I think that clarification was unnecessary. The necessary clarification was to note that God was at least protecting America enough not to allow the terrorists to strike when a Democrat was in the White House.
(If you still think it isn't Christ whom liberals hate, remember: They hate Falwell even more than they hate me.)
Ann CoultePosted by Andrew at 04:15 AM | Comments (1)
May 23, 2007
BUSH ADMITS AL-QAEDA NOT IN IRAQ BEFORE US INVASION
Is there any other fair way to read this:
the president mentioned declassified intelligence that said bin Laden discussed sending a top lieutenant in 2005 to Iraq to set up a base from which to launch attacks in the United States.So, we invade in 2003, and two years later bin Laden sends someone into Iraq to set up a base.
To quote the President:
"There's a reason bin Laden sent one of his most experienced paramilitary leaders to Iraq," Bush said. "He believes that if al Qaeda can drive us out, they can establish Iraq as a new terrorist sanctuary."So, we invade in 2005, and two years later Al-Q sees an opportunity. The sort of opportunity which did not exist before 2005, and thus not in (say) February 2003...
I guess what I don't understand about all this is why the Iraqi people aren't so grateful to have been liberated...
Posted by Andrew at 06:25 PM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2007
Giving it up for UCD!
Posted by Andrew at 09:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 18, 2007
Just got my Diploma today!
Despite having been out of school for 14 months, I just got my diploma today. Apparently, I did a double minor: religion and history. Who knew? Anyway, I'm a happy man...
Posted by Andrew at 09:06 PM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2007
I will no longer say an unkind word about Jerry Falwell.
Not merely because he is dead. I wish this had been brought to my attention sooner:
(from Mr. Falwell's autobiography)There were times that Dad's pranks bordered on cruelty. One of his oil-company workers, a one-legged man he nicknamed "Crip" Smith, complained about everything. Dad and Crip's co-workers got tired of the old man's bellyaching and decided to take revenge. One morning Crip called in sick and Dad volunteered to send by lunch to his grateful but suspicious employee. Dad and his chums caught Crip's old black tomcat, killed it, skinned it, and cooked it in the kitchen of one of Dad's little restaurants. They called it squirrel meat and delivered it to Crip on a linen-covered tray. When Crip returned to work the next morning, Dad and his co-conspirators asked him how he liked his meal. They knew he would complain even about a free home-cooked lunch, and when Crip called it "the toughest squirrel meat" he had ever eaten, they were glad to tell him why.This enters into Titus Andronicus territory. Yet Falwell's upbringing was so stunted that he saw it only as "bordering on cruelty". I find it impossible to hate such a man. Indeed, I can only thank the gods that I was awoken from my path before it became his...
Posted by Andrew at 10:33 PM | Comments (2)
May 16, 2007
How did we let it get this bad?
I’m not really a healthcare wonk. I’ll let Ezra Klein deal with that. I do, however, know a thing or two about sanity and insanity. Insanity is, as a society, making the decision that because someone is born to a mother who cannot afford an eighty dollar dental visit, that child should die. Sadly, our society has made that decision...
I won’t make arguments about efficiency. I simply refuse to insult anyone’s intelligence enough to pretend they believe the best we can do is leave 1/5 of our population vulnerable. We’re spending 15% of our GDP-- approximately 1.9 trillion dollars—and not even covering everyone. This is absurd, unconscionable—bizarre!
Lance Armstrong, for obvious reasons, cares about cancer. He wants your help at the local and national levels. Let’s go advocate for the poorest among us, shall we?
Posted by Andrew at 02:06 PM | Comments (0)
Real True Christianity.
So, there’s this guy. He is homeless, looks.. bad. He stands outside my workplace (supermarket) with his cup. I make just enough money to keep me from standing next to him...
While it is true that I did eventually come to recognize my nonbelief in Christianity, I did receive 4 years of Catholic education. Things like that tend to stick with you. Things like this: "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' It’s the part that makes me want to do more. So I do the most I can; I look that man in the eye and smile at him, acknowledging our common humanity...
Two days ago I saw a man do more than that. He (the customer) came into my store, bought a sandwich and some juice, and gave it to the homeless man. I don’t know if anyone can call themselves Christian if they’ve never done that...
A better person wouldn’t seek to contrast that behavior with the behavior of the man in yesterday’s news. I have, however, long wondered what “speaking out against” gays, Teletubbies, pagans, feminists, ect have to do with the basic requirements of neighborliness...
Posted by Andrew at 10:23 AM | Comments (1)
The Best YouTube video I've seen all day...
Posted by Andrew at 09:39 AM | Comments (1)
May 15, 2007
RIP Rev. Falwell
ABC News: Moral Majority Founder Jerry Falwell Dead at 73
May the gods have mercy on your soul. Perhaps without you fanning the flames of culture war, our nation can be a more peaceful place...
Posted by Andrew at 11:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 14, 2007
History Lessons
Kevin Drum writes:
Extremely longtime readers may recall that I once suggested that history could be made more interesting to high school students if it were taught backwards (see here)
At my Community College (Hawks Rule!), American history was broken into a pair of 1 semester classes. The first half was taught "traditionally": 1492-1865. Anyone who doens't know why those dates ought to retake American History! The second half (1866-2001) was taught in 5 sections. We mixed things up quite a bit, though. Day 1 was about the Vietnam war, the next section was "Present". Then we went backwards. I recall vividly how, on 10 September 2001, the entire class laughed at the idea that we would be engaged in a major war, and that a draft would even be thinkable...
I don't recall exactly what the breakdown was. I do recall that the class was both interesting and engaging-- we were given enough context that historical connections were easy to form. Other schools ought to try this approach...
As for Drum's specific article:
But then, the school district forbade him from teaching that way any longer. The school's consultant said it was "not logical, does not contribute to effective teaching or monitoring of progress, and puts students at a disadvantage" with newly instituted statewide tests, according to a paper on the subject by Professor Nancy Patterson of Bowling Green.This makes some sense, actually. I recall reading in Lies My Teacher Told me that traditional American History classes (1492-2007) rarely get past 1945. If the tests are constructed similarly, then loading kid's with information about the Cold War, Civil Rights, and the Culture War would put them at a distinct disadvantage in passing the test. The fact that they would become better citizens is rendered irrelevant...
Posted by Andrew at 02:07 AM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2007
Great. Just... Great.
Why are we led by these idiots? As we all know by now, some "terrorists" tried to kill Americans at Fort Dix. Apparently, the FBI put together a team who went roving for American Muslims who might be coercible into plotting Terror. This seems like a legally questionable, though tactically not-unreasonable, way to catch would be terrorists. Having said that, these guys aren't it:
Also, one of the men, Tatar, called a Philadelphia police officer in November, saying that he had been approached by someone who was pressuring him to obtain a map of Fort Dix, and that he feared the incident was terrorist-related, according to court documents.
MSNBC
One of the "terrorists" called the police on one of the "FBI agents" to report suspicious activities! There is less here than meets the eye...Posted by Andrew at 11:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Best Headline Ever!
(Via Larry the Labrat)
Posted by Andrew at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2007
Leeroy Jenkins!
Posted by Andrew at 06:06 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2007
37.5hrs in DC
Washington District of Columbia is a wonderful berg. It is the capitol of the most powerful nation on Earth—a nation which developed an entire continent. Everywhere you go there is a little plaque saying "something happened here". It has history all out of proportion to its size...
Historical note: the bits Northern Virginia that we think of as being "part" of DC (Arlington Cemetery, the Pentagon) were once part of DC. I find it amusing that the District is reclaiming its own...
Did I mention history? Even some of the monuments have monuments on them—Here’s one denoting the building in which the US/Canadian border was fixed. Over there, on the Lincoln Memorial, you will find a plaque showing where MLK JR spoke. Perfect...
I spent a lot of time complaining about the weather. Until I met a man who had done his duty in Korea. Apparently, Korea is even more humid than Hawaii, and temperatures can fluctuate between 85F and 0F in a single 24hr period. I still don’t know how do deal with humidity, though. I’m just trying to shut up about it...
I am definitely a California boy. There were lots of black people. And white people. But there wasn’t anyone else. I didn’t see any Americans who were not either black or white. Where were all the Hispanics? Chinese? Japanese? Indians? Similarly, while I heard a lot of people speaking other languages, I didn’t hear many people speaking English with a foreign accent. I did hear a bunch of US Southern, Midwest, and North-East accents-- “Old America”, rather than “New America”, to play with Rumsfeld's phrase. It wasn’t bad, just different...
One other note, while I’m on the subject. A Secret Service member told me that if I wanted a White House tour, I would A) need to sign up 6 months in advance, and B) talk to my congressman. I snapped at him, and I don’t think he knew why. His implication that only men were in Congress rankled—In my decade of voting, I’ve only ever cast 1 vote for a male congressional candidate. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sure it was just a linguistic tick in the way he was raised. Still, his use of language delegitimized—even somewhat—my choices in congressmembers...
The Constitution and Declaration and Magna Charta are as grand as I recall. I kind of get how Christians feel about seeing the Shroud of Turin...
I wasn’t there for pleasure, however. I had an interview to attend. It went well, I think. I start on 21 May...
Posted by Andrew at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2007
Reminder: Al Qaeda wants us in Iraq
“This bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap,” al-Zawahri said, according to a transcript released by the monitoring group SITE. The bill is evidence of American “failure and frustration,” he added.“We ask Allah that they (U.S. troops) only get out of it after losing 200,000 to 300,000 killed, in order that we give the spillers of blood in Washington and Europe an unforgettable lesson,” he said.
Al-Q is using Iraq to bolster its numbers, using the conflict there as both training ground and as a warning against American power. They'd love us to stay in Iraq. And the President wants to oblige them. Thank the gods I voted Democratic...
Posted by Andrew at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)