Thursday, May 3, 2018
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Social Engineering is the Opposite of Freedom
Fortunately, the canny can confound it.
Whisky shops in England braced for Scottish booze cruisers as minimum alcohol pricing hits
Scottish politicians, some of whom I went to school with and should know better, have just created a black market, all in the vain hope of controlling human behavior. Och, aye.
Whisky shops in England braced for Scottish booze cruisers as minimum alcohol pricing hits
Scottish politicians, some of whom I went to school with and should know better, have just created a black market, all in the vain hope of controlling human behavior. Och, aye.
[Not a] Newsflash: Teens are Sneaky
I raised four and taught 4000, so this isn't a surprise. Heck, when I was in high school we had a designated smoking area behind the school to keep it out of the bathrooms.
Teens have figured out how to be sneaky while vaping in school
Teens have figured out how to be sneaky while vaping in school
It Makes the State into the Parent, Thus Removing the Burden of Individual Responsibility for...Anything
Seriously, What Is The New Love Affair With Socialism All About?
The average American family has more food, leisure, and access to shelter than did the royalty of Europe during the Middle Ages. It wasn't socialism that did that.
However, given the mental/emotional state of university students, I can see how having a government mommy would be appealing to them. Moral agency is scary.
The average American family has more food, leisure, and access to shelter than did the royalty of Europe during the Middle Ages. It wasn't socialism that did that.
However, given the mental/emotional state of university students, I can see how having a government mommy would be appealing to them. Moral agency is scary.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
An Obituary of Note: James Cone
James H. Cone, 79, Founder of Black Liberation Theology, Dies
Cone's A Black Theology of Liberation (1970) was a must-read book back in my seminary days. This was before liberation theology was hijacked by the suburban Bolshies.
When I was taking my General Ordination Examination, the standard test given to all hopefuls during the final semester of seminary, I was working on a take-home essay that was to be completed in an 18-hour period. I had remembered something from Cone that I wanted to include, but couldn't find it in any of the books in my collection or in the library.
So, glancing at the clock and figuring "What the heck?", I found Cone's office number [he worked at Union Theological and I was attending General Theological, both in Manhattan] and called him.
I more or less assumed he wouldn't be there, or would hang up on me, but he answered, listened to my question, and responded to it. He even laughed at my audacity. "Good luck, young man. I hope it goes well for you."
It did; it does. Thanks, Dr. Cone.
Cone's A Black Theology of Liberation (1970) was a must-read book back in my seminary days. This was before liberation theology was hijacked by the suburban Bolshies.
When I was taking my General Ordination Examination, the standard test given to all hopefuls during the final semester of seminary, I was working on a take-home essay that was to be completed in an 18-hour period. I had remembered something from Cone that I wanted to include, but couldn't find it in any of the books in my collection or in the library.
So, glancing at the clock and figuring "What the heck?", I found Cone's office number [he worked at Union Theological and I was attending General Theological, both in Manhattan] and called him.
I more or less assumed he wouldn't be there, or would hang up on me, but he answered, listened to my question, and responded to it. He even laughed at my audacity. "Good luck, young man. I hope it goes well for you."
It did; it does. Thanks, Dr. Cone.
A Pungent Observation
Paganism is still with us. It's found in the narcissism of the Age of the Selfie. Instead of spirits, sprites, and ghoulies, the current pagan worships the mirror.
Yet, I Still Miss Australia
Stinky fruit has led to the evacuation of a university library in Melbourne's Central Business District
When I was there I saw a spider eating a bird. That's right.
Wishful thinking: Australia doesn’t exist! And other bizarre geographic conspiracies that won’t go away
[Hat tip to Jeanne.]
When I was there I saw a spider eating a bird. That's right.
Wishful thinking: Australia doesn’t exist! And other bizarre geographic conspiracies that won’t go away
[Hat tip to Jeanne.]
Monday, April 30, 2018
The Apocalypse, It Comes
Abba to release first new material in 35 years
[An embarrassing admission: I always found "Waterloo" to be catchy and I sometimes hum it to myself.]
[An embarrassing admission: I always found "Waterloo" to be catchy and I sometimes hum it to myself.]
For Some, "Celebrating Diversity" is Merely a Pretty Expression That One Uses to Signal Virtue
Mostly white parents don't want "low-income" children in their Upper West Side school.
The most liberal new priest I knew [in The Episcopal Church, that's going some] was being assigned to an urban parish with which I was familiar. I told him he would enjoy it, as the congregation was mostly West Indian and that's a devout and faithful demographic in our tradition.
What was the response from this champion of the oppressed? A surprised and somewhat panicked, "What's a West Indian?"
The most liberal new priest I knew [in The Episcopal Church, that's going some] was being assigned to an urban parish with which I was familiar. I told him he would enjoy it, as the congregation was mostly West Indian and that's a devout and faithful demographic in our tradition.
What was the response from this champion of the oppressed? A surprised and somewhat panicked, "What's a West Indian?"
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Another Misplaced Warning
A leader in The Episcopal Church told us of this "hate crime" the other day, offering it as an example of the Trump-encouraged anti-Semitism that is rampant, RAMPANT in our society.
Yeah, about that:
Is our society more coarse? If so, in part it's because clergy are quick to blame, in service to a secular political ideology, rather than offer words that heal societal division.
Yeah, about that:
Police said Harris confessed in a recorded interview that he knocked over around 130 gravestones at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery. The estimated damage was over $30,000. The incident came at a time when bomb threats were being phoned into Jewish community centers across the country.
According to our news partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a friend dropped Harris off near the cemetery after an argument that evening. He told authorities that he took his anger out on the monuments at Chesed Shel Emeth and was under the influence of drugs.
Is our society more coarse? If so, in part it's because clergy are quick to blame, in service to a secular political ideology, rather than offer words that heal societal division.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Needlehooks: Alfie
This Is The Real Reason Britain Won’t Release Alfie Evans To Italy
This whole story is heartbreaking, infuriating, and puzzling. I'm glad my wild tribal forebears drove the 18th century British off their land and that my British grandfather had the sense to become an American.
We're not perfect, far from it, but we're still better than even the best of British bureaucrats.
This whole story is heartbreaking, infuriating, and puzzling. I'm glad my wild tribal forebears drove the 18th century British off their land and that my British grandfather had the sense to become an American.
We're not perfect, far from it, but we're still better than even the best of British bureaucrats.
More from the Institutional Bughouse
Emotional support animals proliferate at Yale
Combined with this story from the other day, I'm beginning to question the health of the admissions staff.
This was also the place where the product of Fairfield County privilege had a profane, public temper tantrum a few years back.
Seriously, what was done to this generation? Are we seeing the "benefits" of the post-Christian, neo-Marxist age where outrage is a narcotic and everyone must bear the label of either oppressor or oppressed? Are we now lost in an age unhinged from classic wisdom because the authors of such bear the wrong label; an age where historical faith is rejected as outdated and strange?
If being able to attend a university that costs $260,000 to earn a simple bachelor's degree, to be taught by some of the most accomplished in their fields, to make contacts that ensure a lifetime of gainful employment, and to become a credentialed member of America's elite class makes one mentally and emotionally disturbed, then there can never be an effective treatment.
Related: The Therapeutic Is Our Ultimate Terrorist’
Combined with this story from the other day, I'm beginning to question the health of the admissions staff.
This was also the place where the product of Fairfield County privilege had a profane, public temper tantrum a few years back.
Seriously, what was done to this generation? Are we seeing the "benefits" of the post-Christian, neo-Marxist age where outrage is a narcotic and everyone must bear the label of either oppressor or oppressed? Are we now lost in an age unhinged from classic wisdom because the authors of such bear the wrong label; an age where historical faith is rejected as outdated and strange?
If being able to attend a university that costs $260,000 to earn a simple bachelor's degree, to be taught by some of the most accomplished in their fields, to make contacts that ensure a lifetime of gainful employment, and to become a credentialed member of America's elite class makes one mentally and emotionally disturbed, then there can never be an effective treatment.
Related: The Therapeutic Is Our Ultimate Terrorist’
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