Archive for 6/4/2008 - 1 Sivan, 5768

I thought Republicans were supposed to be in favor of a free marketplace.

But apparently a few are dislodging threats if George Soros is allowed to purchase the Washington Nationals. Apparently they feel only a conservative should be allowed to purchase a baseball team. According to this article, one of the threats dislodged is a review of Baseball’s anti-trust exemption.

It’s not like I have the money to purchase a team, but I would like to think if I did, I wouldn’t be precluded just because I have made my political opinions clear.

Interestingly, it appears the same Reps who are trying to stop Soros, are supporting a Conservative, Fred Malek, who is a large GOP fundraiser. Malek has an interesting skeleton in his closet:

When he was White House personnel chief, he was summoned by Nixon to discuss a “Jewish cabal” in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nixon believed Jews in the bureau were tilting stats to make his policies look bad. He wanted to know how many Jews there were in the bureau, and he wanted Malek to count them. Malek eventually complied and produced a list. Some of them were later demoted or transferred.

I found this on Luke Ski’s journal.

“Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me. It can only be one word. No more. Then copy & paste this in your journal/blog so that I may leave a word about you.”

Some may claim this isn’t a meme, but I feel it meets the definition.

The origins of the Starbucks logo.

And for those who think this is urban legend, here is the

1976 Trademark record and the 1988 Trademark Record — courtesy of uspto.gov (the US Patent and Trademark Office)

And here are the logos, in order from original to current:
(Follow the links at top of this post to see a larger version)

Hotel Lost Liberty

A plan to build a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road, Weare, New Hampshire.
Eminent domain will have to be used to obtain that property.
Who lives there? Justice David Souter.

If one were to predict on the odds, one would predict the Board of Selectmen will turn the idea down. But I am going to go out on a limb here…what do I have to lose…I’ll only make my record worse. I predict Justice Souter will be looking for a new home by the end of the year. (And I also predict at least 4 more similar letters. I don’t know the addresses, or the cities, but they’re probably not too difficult to look up.)

Here’s a PDF with a picture and description of the Supreme Court Frieze

Here’s a list of all historical figures displayed in the frieze
Menes (c. 3200 B.C.)
Hammurabi (c. 1700s B.C.)
Moses (c. 1300s B.C.)
Solomon (c. 900s B.C.)
Lycurgus (c. 800 B.C.)
Solon (c. 638–558 B.C.)
Draco (c. 600s B.C.)
Confucius (551–478 B.C.)
Octavian (63 B.C.–14 A.D.) or Augustus.
Justinian (c. 483–565)
Muhammad (c. 570–632)
Charlemagne (c. 742–814) or Charles I (the Great).
King John (1166–1216) born John Lackland.
Hugo Grotius (1583–1645) or Huig de Groot.
Sir William Blackstone (1723–1780)
John Marshall (1755–1835)
Napoleon (1769–1821)

Anybody who suggests Moses’ presence in that frieze is religious, as opposed to historical, is, in my humble opinion, smoking weed. One could equally claim that the frieze suggests we are an Islamic nation. (Muhammad is portrayed) or perhaps a French one, since Napoleon is the youngest member, and thus it must be emphasizing him.

The artist was Adolph Weinman, who was born in Germany in 1870, and immigrated to the US at age 10.

I’m not sure what my prediction accuracy rate is now at.

The Supreme Court has barred the 10 commandments
from courthouses in its usual 5-4 manner. I predicted they would allow them if they are in a neutral environment, and basically they have still left that open, only declaring the Kentucky displays unconstitutional.

(The decision on the Texas display hasn’t been reported yet.)

So I will claim I now have 11 predictions incorrect, 2 correct, and 3 outstanding.

Update
The Texas Decision is in…and its the reverse.
Ten Commandments monuments are allowed on government property. (Just not in courthouses.)

I’m going to have to read the text of the decision, but I so did not predict this, so it looks I am at 12 and 1.

And even more important than my prediction record, it appears there will be some celebrations in some religious corners (not mine.) I epect there will be several monuments added across the country in the near future.

There’s a new Progressive Christian group called The Christian Alliance for Progress, trying to reclaim Christianity from the Religous Right. The more who are vocal, the better. Some news articles are suggesting the Religious Left is something new. Not so.

Here’s an article by Rabbi Michael Lerner on how Democrats need the Religious Left

Lerner is editor of Tikkun Magazine (A bi-monthly Jewish critique of Politics, Culture and Society) “Tikkun” means “to heal, repair, and transform.”

A few other sites from the Religious Left

Center of Concern
Call to Renewal
Sojourners

I was at a family event Friday night where there was a Rabbi who spoke briefly on this week’s parasha. It was a strange feeling. In the past when this happened, I had never read the weekly parasha beforehand. I said to myself, “this should be interesting, I wonder what she will say?”

‘While in the desert,” she said, “G-d sent 12 spies to scout out the land. Ten returned and said the land was filled with giant peoples who would surely obliterate them. But two, named Caleb and Joshua, said if we did everything right, and made peace with the peoples, all would be fine.”

Luckily, I was behind the video camera at the time, so no one saw my jaw drop. I must agree, I like her Torah better. But that’s not the one I’ve got. Sure, there were lots of impressionable kids in the room, ranging from ages four through ten. That might be a reason to refrain from mentioning certain things in the Bible, but is that a reason to make things up?

Here are the pertinent quotes:

The Ten: “This is what they told him: “We came to the land you sent us to; it does indeed flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who inhabit the country are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.”

Caleb: Caleb hushed the people before Moses and said, “Let us by all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.”

The Ten: But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot attack that people, for it is stronger than we.” Thus they spread calumnies among the Israelites about the land they had scouted, saying, “The country that we traversed and scouted is one that devours its settlers. All the people that we saw in it are men of great size; we saw the Nephilim there — the Anakites are part of the Nephilim — and we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.”

Caleb and Joshua: “The land that we traversed and scouted is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into that land, a land that flows with milk and honey, and give it to us; only you must not rebel against the Lord. Have no fear then of the people of the country, for they are our prey: their protection has departed from them, but the Lord is with us. Have no fear of them!”

Where did the Rabbi see anything about “making peace” in “they are our prey”?

I think there may be some readers who are looking at me funny. “Look at what you are doing with your poetry. You are creating new characters, and they are disrespecting the events in the Torah. What did the Rabbi do that was wrong, compared to that?”

I feel by creating new characters who were there, this gives me the right to let them view the events as a modern-day reader might. In the scenes I have covered so far, the Torah doesn’t list every individual who was there.

However, the events occured as the poetry has described them, unless I have misinterpreted some of the text. The only thing I have made up is character reaction and involvement in the events.

—-

I am long accustomed to seeing the ‘prettification’ of the prayerbook. This began with the gender-neutral movement which changed every King, Father, etc. In one particular prayer that mentions Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it also added Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel.

But the only problem I had with this was that I could read Hebrew, and I noticed they only made the change to the English translation. If the Hebrew version of the prayer is sacred, and can’t be changed, the English translation shouldn’t be either. I later saw newer versions that changed the Hebrew too, so this made me happy. The prayerbook isn’t the Torah. And the meaning really hadn’t been changed anyway.

In college, in the local Jewish Student Group, we had a weekly Shabbat Table where we sang songs. One of these songs was called, “Eli, Eli.” It quickly became my favorite Hebrew song, for two reasons. 1) It is sung in both Hebrew and English, so it is obvious what it means to any listener. 2) It is a beautiful song. Here are the English words:

O Lord, Our G-d, I pray that these things never end: the sand and the sea, the rush of the waters, the crash of the heavens, the prayer of __. (see below)

While singing the English, it was the group tradition to sing the Hebrew “Eli, Eli” instead of “O Lord, Our G-d”. (Lord is masculine.) Grumble, grumble, but I accepted this. They also sang the last words as “the prayer of the heart.”

The Hebrew word is “Adam”. Look familiar? It doesn’t mean, ‘the heart’, it means ‘man’. They continued to sing it correctly in Hebrew. And I sang it correctly in English.

—-

While I don’t mind this with the prayerbook, I do have a problem with modifying the Bible. I may not follow all the commandments, but that doesn’t mean the commandments should be changed. And while I may be unhappy with the way G-d gave the promised land to the Israelites, that doesn’t mean I should change it so they make peace with the inhabitants instead of destroying them.

When I get to Exodus, you won’t see Moses coming down from Mt. Sinai with 3 tablets, and 1 of the 3 breaking. History of the World was hilarious. Mel Brooks probably is one of my inspirations. But you can trust that the events in this series of poems I am writing are accurate portrayals of the actual events in the Torah.

This week’s installment came out as prose, rather than poetry. I can’t really explain why.

Numbers 13-15: Sh’lach

Osiris would feel at home in camp today.

G-d may not appreciate that thought, but due to His recent wrath, the green bearded Egyptian mummy deity comes to mind. Many of us have died, and the rest of us have received a death sentence. Some are wondering what the point is in continuing.

Sure, we don’t know whether we will die tomorrow, or in 39 years. The latter is a significant length of time to have children, and raise a family. But still, we know we will never reach the Promised Land. The rest of our lives will be spent in this &%$!# desert.

Please forgive my Egyptian. Let me start at the beginning.

G-d decided to send a dozen representatives to go ahead and gather intelligence. They returned with good news and bad news. The good — the land was flowing with milk and honey. The bad – the land was filled with giants. Caleb, one of the spies, insisted the others were exaggerating, and we could take them on. But he wasn’t very persuasive. Another of the spies, Joshua, joined him, but I admit I was among the many who considered returning to Egypt and begging the Pharaoh for forgiveness.

An instantaneous plague selectively wiped out all the spies except Caleb and Joshua. We got the message. G-d then handed down his Great Decision. It would take 40 years before we entered Canaan. And none of us over the age of twenty would reach the Promised Land…except for Caleb and Joshua. (Caleb and Joshua instantly found themselves with several women interested in them who were never interested before. If it weren’t for a few of the commandments G-d had recently handed down, they would have been two happy dudes.)

What happened next is hard to explain. There was a group so depressed about their failure in front of G-d, they decided they were going to leave camp, and enter Canaan on their own. Now—not in 40 years. My friend, Bob, was among them. I tried to stop him. Without G-d’s support, there was no way they could stand against the Amalekites and Canaanites. But he was despondent, and followed the others. None returned.

Osiris would feel at home in camp today.

I just got finished shopping for a birthday present for a nephew.
I went into the store, into the section for kids - books, educatational toys, etc.
I picked up an item that looked appealing. Looked at the front, back, sides — nowhere did it give me an age range.
What idiot created this packaging? I put it back on the shelf.
I refuse to buy a gift for my nephew that’s either too young for him, or too advanced.
Am I supposed to know?
The gift may have been appropriate, but they lost a customer, because they didn’t tell me.

This rant would have been a lot angrier, but I had to drive from the store, to an open mic, and that involved Hwy 40, and there was an accident that bottled up traffic, and my anger was displaced before I reached my free wireless.

I think the government needs to have a little talk with Public Enemy.

They recorded a song entitled, “9-11 is a joke”

And not only do they think terrorism is funny, they recorded this in 1990, 11 years before it happened. They knew it was going to happen 11 years beforehand, and they did nothing! Told no one! All they did was laugh.

Arrest’em

I believe this was the last time I agreed with Rehnquist and Scalia in dissent.

High court OKs personal property seizures

It’s hard to believe I agree with an OConnor-Rehnquist-Scalia-Thomas dissent.

Why a Constitutional Amendment banning US Flag desecration Won’t stop flag burning.

Actually, it will probably increase it, all in a constitutional manner. How? People will create flags that look like US Flags, but which legally aren’t US flags. A US flag is defined minutely in the legal code, down to the shade of red and blue, and the pattern of stars. Make a small change (remove a star, for example), and it’s no longer a US flag. And is burnable, even with a Constitutional Amendment.

(And while the linked post doesn’t mention this, since you’re generally arrested after you’ve done the burning, all you need is evidence that you’ve purchased a US Flag Substitute. As there will be no evidence left whether what you burned was the real McCoy or not.

In the great American tradition, all Congress will be doing is creating a new business…the creation of Flag Substitutes. Of course, this too will probably be shipped overseas, just as the creation of the real US Flag has been.

I mentioned a few posts back about PoesyBeat.org where poets can upload poems, or musicians can upload music, and even though these musicians and poets have never met, they can collaborate together on a combined creation.

I also mentioned I uploaded a poem. Two users have downloaded the poem, and created something with it. (And two users, I’m guessing the same ones, though that might not be the case, have also rated my poem highly. One 4 out of 5, and one 5 out of 5.) I have no reason to believe I know them, or they know me.

I’ve downloaded the two “PoesyBeats”. Neither were what I was expecting — but I’m not sure what I was expecting. I’ve told people I don’t like my own voice, but with music in the background, it’s not as bad.

I remember as a kid, I went to six flags with my school class, and I rode the jet scream 13 times in a row. Lots of my classmates moved on to a different ride before 13 repetitions. I think my ability to listen to these tracks over and over might be similary unique.

For those who think the Bible is boring and lacks humor, here is a paper on: Humor in the Bible It appeared in the “International Journal of Humor Research”

A couple examples:

We also learn much about the character of the Israelites from their way of asking Moses for help seven days after their triumphant exodus from Egypt. They saw Pharaoh’s army approaching behind them, and all that loomed ahead was the sea. The nascent Jewish nation asked Moses (Exodus 14:11): “Was there a lack of graves in Egypt, that you took us away to die in the wilderness?” This impudent remark made when all seemed hopeless for the Israelites sheds much light on their character. It would seem that humility and prayer might have been a more appropriate response in a time of great danger than sarcasm.

and

When David found out that King Saul wished to kill him, he fled from Israel and went to Gath. Fearful that Achish, King of Gath, would have him killed, David pretended to be insane. David scribbled on the doors of the gates and allowed saliva to dribble down into his beard…

and

Many view the entire book of Jonah as a parody…Jonah was sent by God to announce to the residents of Nineveh (capital of Assyria) its imminent destruction by the Lord. Jonah, unlike other prophets, refused to go and even tried to flee from God by taking a ship from Jaffa to Tarshish…Jonah was the reluctant prophet, unlike other prophets such as Jeremiah and Isaiah. His entire reluctant prophecy consisted of but five Hebrew words (Jonah 3:4): “In another forty days Nineveh shall be overturned.” This prophecy had its desired effect and the people of Nineveh proclaimed a fast, and even the cattle and sheep were made to fast. The reluctant Jonah accomplished in five words what numerous eloquent prophets could not accomplish in thousands of words, and all this without even trying.

Enough quoting from this professor’s paper, if you’re interested in more examples, go follow the link.

Blogger claims son got suspended for reciting the following pledge of allegiance:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United Federation of Planets, and to the galaxy for which it stands, one universe, under everybody, with liberty and justice for all species. ”

If true, Trekkies 3 will undoubtedly include an interview with the kid.
Even if a work of fiction, humorous.

Some people think “political correctness” has gone too far in the US. Apparently in Britain, Parliament is voting on a bill to outlaw religious jokes.

So, the Independent has an article today, telling all their favorites.

Found a cool website: PoesyBeat.org.

Poets can upload poesy. (More commonly referred to as poetry after 1700)
Musicians can upload beat.
Poets can download beat, and add poesy.
Musicians can download poesy, and add beat.

Internet collaboration. When one downloads, they have the right to listen for their own enjoyment…add poesy/beat and listen to the combined work for their own enjoyment.

But permission must be obtained if 1/2 wishes to do something with the combined work beyond personal gratification.

I did upload one poesy.

Sen. Joe Biden wants to seek Democratic nomination for president.

It turns out the words he used to make this announcement were originally used by Mario Cuomo two decades ago.

(rim shot)

Back in 1988, Biden ran for President, and withdrew after charges of plagiarism. Arguably, the evidence was circumstantial. He had credited British MP Neil Kinnock for the words in other speeches, but had failed to do so in one….the staff of fellow contender, Michael Dukakis, created an attack video comparing Kinnock’s and Biden’s words, and handed it off to the media, letting them take it from there.

Opponents also dug up an incident from his law school records where he had footnoted 5 pages of material with one footnote, which was considered plagiarism by school standards, but he explained he hadn’t understood those standards when he wrote the paper.

Successful candidates have been accused of far greater things. I was pretty high on Biden’s chances 20 years ago. Out of homestate loyalty I had voted for Gephardt in the primaries, but I liked Biden back then too. He is now in his sixties, and this is probably his last chance if he is going to run.

With his experience in the Senate, he does have name recognition, but also a paper trail. There’s a reason JFK was the last sitting Senator to be elected President. Of course, his biggest competition so far for the nomination (admittedly, it’s way way way early) is also a sitting Senator. Though with the amount of passion Hillary is able to generate, she might have a better chance. And if the final race is between a Senator and a Senator (which is a distinct possibility), a Senator must win. (not exactly the most insightful observation)

It seems in Hollywood, Scientologists are more of a threat than Jews for Jesus are on college campuses.

Tom Cruise tried to convert Scarlett Johansson, but “the force was strong” in her, and she resisted. So Cruise went in search of easier targets.

She slips completely under the radar of the “name game”, due to her Danish father. She even has a half brother named Christian, according to the IMDB bio. But several sources identify her as a “member of the tribe.”

No, not Mamie Van Doren, whose weblog I mentioned a few weeks ago.

I was gaming last night with a few friends from my writer’s group, and the DM chose the Two-fisted tales pulp fiction universe. From the options given, I chose the character Mamie Bennigan. Fashionably dressed, Mamie Van Doren dimensions, Red hair, and the loyal girlfriend of an Intrepid Explorer. Adventure made me excited, and every sentence out of me was supposed to be filled with double entendres. And while I looked soft, I had pretty good gunfighting skills. When the game was over, several told me they thought I played the role too well.

There was a lot of gender-switching last night, which was somewhat appropriate perhaps, since next weekend is PrideFest. I’m not, nor do I believe any of my fellow gamers are, not that there’d be anything wrong if they were. Starting in 1999, I have attended several PrideFests under the Rev. Niemoller philosophy.

The Further Adventures of Bob the Levite

Beha’alotheka
Numbers 8-12

I: Because I was a Levite

When they took a knife,
and shaved me from head-to-toe,
I wished for parents

with different parents,
but still I was grateful
the hand with the knife

remained steady.

II: Never Complain About Manna

I too remembered
The fish, melons and garlic
We ate in Egypt.

I didn’t complain
As I also remembered
the pyramids.

So, when it rained food
I smelled something
“Fishy in Alexandria.”

While those who complained
gathered and feasted on quail
I held back and watched.

I was glad I did,
As G-d, He showed no mercy
On the ungrateful.

III

For seven whole days
Miriam sat outside camp
with the lepers, for

Aaron and Miriam
had dissed G-d’s right hand, Moses
for marrying Cush.

I found a dead guy;
Beautiful Miriam, had
become leprous white.

Fortunately, at
the end of the seven days
G-d released his curse.

Let’s try this NYTimes Registration-Free Link generator (referred to below).

Here’s a NYTimes Movie review comparing Star Wars Episode III and Batman Begins.

It starts off by looking at two similar scenes. Anakin Skywalker and Bruce Wayne are both given a similar opportunity: behead your enemy. They make opposite choices. The article continues with references to how battles between good and evil are appropriate and timely in America today.

Yes there is a method to link to articles at the New York Times that doesn’t require registration, and won’t expire after a certain amount of time. Apparently, they have a deal with a place called RSSuserland.

Brad explains the details (along with a few other HTML tips useful for bloggers.)

Back in 1976 there was this comedian touring the US wearing an arrow through his head, and singing about a museum display from Egypt that had made its way to America.

King Tut is back.

Sigh, I wish that zany comic were still around.

It appears Elizabeth Taylor has snagged another celebrity for the Hollywood Kaballah Cult: Michael Jackson apparently was wearing a red Kaballah string bracelet during the trial..

Michael Jackson, of course, is the singer who put the following lyrics into his song, They Don’t Care About Us

Jew Me
Sue me
Everybody
Do me
Kick me
Kike Me
Don’t you
Black or white me

After complaints, he recorded the phrases “Do me” and “Strike me” over the original lyrics. He either did an extremely horrible job of recording over, or the version I downloaded from Apple Itunes during the first Pepsi/Itunes campaign was the original.

I’ve made reference to my history of faulty predictions. I thought I would do a little research. Here’s what I think is a comprehensive list:

Jun 18, 2003
I predict Cho Chang or Hagrid will die in Harry Potter Book V.

Wrong on both counts

April 13, 2004
I predict at least one LA Dodgers player will go insane by the end of the season.

I don’t believe it happened. (They were listening to William Hung’s CD prior to every game)

June 29, 2004
I predict Neville will be the Half Blood Prince in Harry Potter Book VI

I get roundly ridiculed in the comments by fans who insist we know he’s a pureblood. However I am sticking to my guns. We know both of his parents were aurors…but we only need 1 grandparent a muggle to call someone Half-blood. We’ll see in a month.

Oct 8, 2004
I predict Dumbledore will die in HP Book VI

We will find out in a month

Oct 22, 2004
I predicted the Cardinals would beat the Red Sox in 7 games.

Red Sox in 4.

Nov 2, 2004
The 2004 Election Prediction:

* 269-269 electoral tie (popular vote irrelevant, so I won’t predict).
* The New US House gets to decide President. There will be more Republicans than Democrats in the new US House, so they will pick Bush.
* The New US Senate gets to pick VP. Democrats will pick up enough seats, they will pick Edwards.
* We’ll have the first Split-Executive since Adams-Jefferson.

Bush will say or do something incredibly stupid.
Something new incredibly stupid, but this time it will be noticed.
And impeachment proceedings will begin by the end of February.

I count 6 predictions above. None came true.

Feb 2, 2005
I predict Paramount will have a new Star Trek television show in the fall of 2005, and it will be based on Starfleet Academy

This prediction doesn’t look good.

Feb 8 2005
I predict Deep Throat was William Safire (Nixon’s speechwriter)

If we are to believe W. Mark Felt, this isn’t the case.

March 1, 2005
I make a prediction about a Supreme Court decision on the 10 commandments

We should hear any day now.

Counting my Michael Jackson prediction, sixteen total predictions.
1 correct.
11 incorrect.
4 outstanding.

If I get 3 of those 4, I’ll have 25%. Most likely I will only get 1 or 2.

Thanks to Greg, I know that the House and Senate are voting once again on their annual attempt to amend the Constitution.

But this year, the Vote on flag desecration may be ‘cliffhanger’. Usually passing in the House, and failing in the Senate, there may be enough support this year to pass the Senate as well, and from there it is considered a safe bet it will pass enough State legislatures.

Orrin Hatch says, “it’s important that we venerate the national symbol of our country.”
I disagree.

“venerate: verb. To regard with great awe and devotion: adore, idolize, revere, reverence, worship.”

I venerate G-d. I idolize/worship nothing else. I’m absolutely shocked the senator, known to be as religious as he is, suggests otherwise. I thought this was a Judeo/Christian nation.

Senryu: Haiku
concerning humanity,
with added humor.

No seasonal word,
also known as a kigo,
is necessary.

Some diss senryu
as more shallow, less timeless
than its elder kin.

I beg to differ.
Humanity hasn’t changed
as much as nature

In the past millennia.
Tectonic plates shift;
humans act the same.

Because it’s appropriate again, here’s a poem I wrote back in November of 2003:

Wacko Jacko

It’s been awhile since I conducted a google search on political poetry. I knew this page was high up, but this is ridiculous. I think I need to update this page.

An American flag that toucheth the ground, need not be burned.

The Urban Legends Reference Pages shatters another American myth.

We will know in 20 minutes (3:45 Central) what the Michael Jackson Jury verdict is.

In the long series of predictions I have made…almost all failures…I predict the only thing the jury will find him guilty on, if anything, is furnishing alcohol to a minor.

They will find him not guilty on all other counts.

(If I am wrong with this prediction, I don’t think there’s a way for him to avoid at least a year in jail under California law.)

UPDATE Yeah! I finally get a prediction correct! (Acquitted on all 10 counts)

A Seed From Ancient Judea Sprouts

Back in 73 CE, 960 Jewish men, women, and children committed suicide, rather than be captured by Romans and turned into slaves. A date seed discovered at the Mount Masada excavation — believed to come from a date one of the 960 may have eaten — has been planted…and has sprouted.

Dates need 30 years to grow to maturity (at least modern dates) — so if this seed happens to be female, and able to produce fruit, it will be a few years before anyone gets to eat from the plant.

Nasso
(Numbers 4:21 - 7:89)

I.

Yesterday, I was sitting by some cacti
Thinking about this girl –
She’s in the Tribe of Benjamin,
Has a huge pair of stone tablets,

And she knows how to carry them.
It was inopportune timing –
This schlemiehl walks by
carrying a dead guy to be buried.

I wasn’t paying attention,
didn’t quickly get out of the way,
and apparently the stiff’s arm
brushed against my shoulder.

Moses and Aaron were patrolling,
and they saw it happen.
I’ve been forced to sit outside the camp
Until I’m deemed clean again.

II.

I’m told, while I was outside the camp
Shooting the breeze with the lepers and gravediggers
G-d made one of his cooler pronouncements.

It figures I’d miss it, but apparently
If a guy suspects his wife’s been cheating on him
He can now take her to a Priest
And the Priest can curse a cup of water

And if she’s been unfaithful
When she drinks the water
Her belly will swell. Sweet.

—
additional commentary.

The text does use the word ‘curse.’ Magic appears to be condoned, and encouraged, as long as one is a descendent of Aaron. Nothing is said about what a woman should do if she suspects her husband has been unfaithful. Perhaps I’ll find this in a different chapter. Somehow, though, I doubt it.

Michael Smerconish speaks about a planned ‘desecration’ at Ground Zero.

I tend to agree with him that the planned International Freedom Center, while a good idea, doesn’t belong at Ground Zero. There are a few things he says, though, that I have issues with.

A few years from now, our children – my three sons – are going to get on school buses and take trips to Ground Zero as they have already done – as we did - to visit the Statue of Liberty. When they get there, what is the lesson they should learn? I say the honest and simple truth – that on 9/11, radical Islam committed an unprovoked attack on the greatest, most freedom loving nation on earth, and killed 3,000 innocent Americans.

First, Radical Islam did not attack us. A group of radical Muslims attacked us. If we are truly the greatest, most freedom loving nation on earth, we must not attack an entire religion for the actions of some. And while Smerconish (and others) attempt to cover this up by inserting the word ‘radical’, they are still saying it is the religion’s fault, as opposed to the group which attacked us. This of course provides a reason to attack Iraq, and others, who weren’t involved in 9/11, but who are still composed of radical Muslims.

I do think we may be the most freedom-loving nation on Earth. Most of the competitors for this title in Europe limit speech and press in ways we do not. Ways we should not. There are those on the Left, and those on the Right, who are trying to enact restrictions. We must not give up freedom for security.

Unless there were any children in the building, the Religious Right who hold our President in their pockets would argue there were no innocents who died. But that is arguing semantics.

This isn’t about teaching a red or blue state lesson. It’s not a Republican or Democratic thing. It shouldn’t be about conservatives or liberals. It is about honestly presenting what occurred on the single most important day in American history in my lifetime.

To “honestly present” requires a viewpoint on what the “truth” is. And obviously Smerconish and I disagree, and there are probably others who do too. (Should the memorial include a video of our President reading to a group of children while the nation waited action? Should it include a reference to the Patriot Act, or TIPS? How about copies of all the warnings the administration had beforehand something might happen? Would leaving this out, or putting it in, be dishonest? Your answer depends on your vision of the truth.)

I don’t know how old Smerconish is — but personally, I don’t rank September 11, 2001 higher than July 20, 1969. I was only six months old, but why focus on the negative?

A collection of photoshopped Escher images

Where are those self-righteous “moral” conservatives who branded Bill Clinton a liar based upon a single misdeed involving a personal matter and who now ignore this administration’s systematic deception of the public on grave matters of public policy?
– Robert F Kennedy Jr.

I understand that lying before Congress is a crime, and lying before the people is something all politicians do, with no exceptions. The impetus for RFK Jr.’s post to Arianna Huffington’s groupblog is The NYTimes report that the White House has altered scientific reports on Global Warming to bolster the administration’s position. It’ s certainly easier when you can just delete paragraphs from agency reports that call your policy into question.

Arianna herself writes about how this is old news; the administration’s done it before.

Let’s put this in context. Qualified scientists prepared reliable reports based on real information. Before they could be shared, however, the White House turned them over to a former lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, the largest trade group representing the interests of the oil industry, to edit to his heart’s content.

I realize this isn’t a crime. And I suspect someone somewhere will find evidence past administrations have done it too. But shouldn’t we as a nation still be more upset about this then we were about marital infidelity?

A moderately conservative colleague was saying he felt the Bush administration was more morally-based than Clinton’s. That while one might disagree with Bush’s beliefs, at least one knows he believes them. He felt Clinton would say and do anything to satisfy the polls. I certainly don’t see the Clintons (plural) as more pandering than any other politicians, or Bush any less. And I expect government to be responsive to the people anyway. Perhaps it’s “being responsive to the people” when you support the policy change, and its “pandering to the polls” when you don’t.

But on the level of morality, it is news stories such as this one that concerns me more greatly than the news reports of Bill’s infidelity.

A teen fan of JK Rowling, who created a popular fan website, has been invited to interview her. She called him and woke him up. The first words he heard was “Hello, Emerson? This is Jo”

It seems only fair that Victor Hugo should call me. But I suspect he won’t. If I want a chance to interview a favorite author, I’m going to have to pick a live one to obsess about.

Joseph Heller sent me a postcard back in 1986. But he’s dead now.

I’d love to get a “Hello, John? This is Drew/Natalie” phone call. But I suspect if it ever happened, that would be followed immediately with “’s lawyer.” And its not really their creative work that interests me. I don’t really want to interview them.

I’ve known this was coming for awhile, as I know someone who tried out for the leading role…but American Pie IV is in Post Production. All new cast.

American Pie: Band Camp

Headed straight to video…where it belongs, if anywhere.
(Now…if the individual I know had gotten the role…I’d feel differently, I’m sure.)

I’ve been telling people how much I like Diet Coke with Splenda, and from several people I’ve gotten these looks, “you know, some people have certain problems…”

I think there’s some confusion out there due to Splenda being released somewhat close to Olestra, and one similarity. Just as the body doesn’t break down the fat in Olestra, the body doesn’t break down the sugar in Splenda. But I have been unable to find any news reports outside of blogs and website forums indicating any similar problems with Splenda. (And blogs and website forums are known for inaccuracies. Yes, I know I am posting this on a blog.) If this was happening with the frequency it happened with Olestra, it would be all over the papers. And even if it were happening with a lesser frequency, I’d expect to see some reports of it.

Splenda is supposedly 600 times sweeter than sugar (Aspartame is 180 times). I can verify Diet Coke with Splenda is significantly sweeter than with Aspartame, but my taste buds aren’t fine tuned enough to verify the exact algebraic formula. I can also verify I have had no personal difficulties after ingesting Splenda.

Here are two respectable news sources:

Slate and PBS. (The latter is more on Atkins, but there is a little on Splenda.)

You scored as Anakin Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker 58% R2-D2 56% Yoda 53% Chewbacca 50% Padme Amidala 39% Darth Vader 39% Obi Wan Kenobi 33% General Grievous 31% Mace Windu 31% C-3PO 28% Clone Trooper 28% Emperor Palpatine 25%

Which Revenge of the Sith Character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

(108 questions on this quiz..by the way…so it will take a couple minutes to fill out.)

It’s common journalistic practice, if you can find more than 3 sources for information, you don’t have to credit it…but if you insist, take your pick of sources.

Kerry’s grades were nearly identical to Bush’s at Yale. I haven’t seen the complete transcripts, but the conservative slant is that Kerry got 4 Ds, and Bush only got 1 D. And the AP story mentions Kerry’s highest grade was an 89, and Bush had 3 88s. So the Conservatives are focusing on that too.

But knowing a little about averages, since Kerry got 4 Ds, he statistically needed to do better than Bush in the rest of his classes in order for their averages to work out to be the same. And he got all 4 Ds his Freshman year.

I of all people know one shouldn’t focus on grades. I graduated high school with a C+ average, and ended up being expelled from one college for low grades. I ultimately received a Bachelors’s degree with Honors, but it took a few years before I buckled down. One can get low grades because one can’t do better, and one can get low grades because one isn’t interested in the classes.

I’m not saying I insist Kerry is smarter. Earlier stories stated that Bush and Kerry’s IQs had been estimated as being similar (low-mid 120s). I didn’t vote for Kerry because I thought he was the smarter man. I thought he would lead America in a better direction.

I just discovered this poem I wrote 3 years ago on a friend’s weblog. I believe I wrote it on the spur of the moment, so up until now, the only record of it was here.

It’s a poem with the requirement that every word in the poem must contain a specific letter. I chose the letter S.

SSSS-Snake-SSSS

Ashcroft started spy networks
suggesting citizens investigate friends
eavesdrop cousins, brothers, sisters

Stopping terrorism?
Starting terrorism?

Unsure

(The program, naturally, was TIPS, the now defunct Terrorism Information & Prevention System)

I attended Shakespeare in the Park last night, and recalled something I’d written five years ago…but not being 100% sure of my recollection, I said nothing to those I saw the play with.

However, a passage from The Tempest, comes heavily lifted from Michel de Montaigne, a French essayist of the 16th century. The Tempest was written 18 years after Montaigne died, so by today’s standards, Shakespeare would have had to have credited Montaigne, and though the words aren’t identical, he’d probably have had to get permission from the estate.

Montaigne (’On Cannibals’ - Vol I, Chapter XXXI):

It is a nation in which there is no sort of traffic, no acquaintance with letters, no knowledge of numbers, no title of magistrate or of political eminence, no custom of service, of wealth, or of poverty, no contracts, no successions, no dividings of property, no occupations except leisurely ones, no respect for any kinship save in common, no clothing, no agriculture, no metals, no use of wine or grain.

Shakespeare (Tempest, Act I, Sc II):

I’th’ commonwealth I would by contraries
Execute all things; for no kind of traffic
Would I admit, no name of magistrate;
Letters should not be known; riches, poverty,
And use of service, none; contract, succession,
Bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none;
No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil;
No occupation: all men idle, all,
And women too, but innocent and pure;
No sovereignty -

More info on Michel de Montaigne
more on the source material for The Tempest

What’s going on with my life the rest of this weekend.

(It’s amazing how little I post about what I am actually doing, as opposed to what I am thinking.)

Tonight I will look after my parent’s pet puppy. A Spring Spaniel, only a few months old, named Katie. My father’s two requirements for a dog-name were that it ended in the ie/y sound, and there had to be a song he could sing that went with the name. Poor dog — she’ll probably grow up ony responding to people who stutter.

A few friends will probably drop by and we will make use of the pool. We will depart around 10 pm to head for a Birthright campaign. Amazingly, two groups I socialize with have decided simultaneously to experiment with RPGs. This may cause conflicts. With each other, and with other things I might wish to do with my life. Of course, there’s the off-side chance I will be completely bored with the Birthright universe, and there will be no conflict whatsoever.

Tomorrow I will be at the Pagan Picnic at Tower Grove Park. (On the Grand side of the park, by Arsenal.) I will be manning a food-booth to raise money for ShowMeCon. Yes, I may actually be cooking food. I don’t do that often, and rarely ever for anybody but myself. This might be somewhat dangerous. Put me near fire, and bad things can happen. If you read about any incidents in Monday’s paper, I was probably involved.

At 2 pm I will leave the booth and listen to some friends perform music. The band is called, Atlas Dropped the Ball. I’ve known one of the band members, Mike Thompson, for 11 years, as I met him at the old Wabash Triangle Cafe. He has a sick, perverted, twisted mind for lyrics. Which is a good thing. The others in the band I’ve known for less time, but several of them have become friends over the past couple years. (One is responsible for my large comic book collection. I went from bascially 0 to 3000 in 1 day.)

My writer’s group will attend the concert in force, and then head for Ted Drewes, and Forest Park where they will watch The Tempest. (The Tempest is this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park — free Shakespeare every night except Tuesdays). I may join them for Ted Drewes, but I’m thinking I will attend Shakespeare in the Park later this summer with others. There are a few things I need to do around the apt.

Efforts to prevent the early release of movies are well-known.

But the effort to prevent the early release of the next Harry Potter novel resulted today in gunfire!

It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin’ cotton and my brother was balin’ hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And Mama hollered out the back door “y’all remember to wipe your feet”
And then she said “I got some news this mornin’ from Choctaw Ridge”
“Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge”

– Bobbie Gentry

I love The (London) Times headline: McCartney Writing Children’s bestseller.

They’re probably right. This is Sir Paul McCartney’s book, and there will be many who purchase it based on his name alone. But he just signed the deal with Penguin. It won’t be published until October. As far as I know, there haven’t been any copies pre-ordered yet.