Month: April 2006

I contacted Comedy Central about their decision to censor South Park through their website. While I don’t have enough time right now to provide any real commentary or analysis, I thought I’d at least share what I sent to them, and the response I received. First, here is what I sent to Comedy Central: I’m…

Here’s some computer annoyance news for geeks. I decided to purchase some pay-as-you-go dialup time, only to discover that I was unable to connect with my cheap PCI modem, or with my better USR Sportster external modem. The external would give me a “no dial tone” while the internal would get me online, then abruptly…

I’m glad to be back in Berkeley, but I have had zero time for blogging. I’ve only been online twice in the past three days to check email. Now that I have a few minutes, precious time is wasted with the incredibly slow connection speeds which always plague me on the road. (If only there…

When two bloggers of ill repute both spontaneously decide to post on the subject of Thomas Jefferson, I take notice. Why, you ask? That’s just what I do. Ace (not his real name), posting at, get this, Ace of Spades HQ (not a real HQ), has a few comments related to a memorable quote of…

I’ll be traveling today, and for the next week I’ll be busy and on the road — which means blogging will be spotty. This isn’t a vacation from blogging, but I won’t be able to write posts in my usual manner. (In fact, I’ll be lucky if I manage to sneak in just a few…

Attention gay readers, and gun nuts! I just heard about a new term — “batfags” (already at 651 Google hits) — which is being used as a slur against the notorious BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Enforcement) agency. Here’s a libertarian blogger using the term in its typical manner. I wonder what my…

Tim Spalding, a prolific web presence who has helped to make a lot of material related to classical literature and history available on the web (and much more), runs one of my favorite sites on the internet, LibraryThing. It’s a great site for cataloguing and keeping track of your books (I have over a thousand,…

I know that smoking doesn’t have much to do with immigration, but that last post reminded me that in Mexico, they don’t much care about things like banning smoking. People smoke in public places like bars and restaurants, and if you don’t like it, just go away. (A little like avoiding walking into holes in…

Good news, from New Jersey? Is such a thing possible? Well, in a twisted sort of way (the way I like to look at the news), it is. New Jersey is one of those places where the democratic process is polluted by people who have a penchant for voting to get rid of their own…

That’s right! I said I had video, but my geekiness had never extended to the ability to stream Quicktime files until this afternoon, when I finally took the time to learn how. I don’t know how many readers have Quicktime or how well this will work, but I have managed to edit and upload what…

The stuff that passes for science these days is unbelievable. Here’s a news report about a “study” which (so it is claimed) shows that violent video games make young men smoke marijuana! “Parents have been told the message that violent video games and violent media in general can influence the likelihood that their kids will…

A few days ago, blogger Stefan Sharkansky noticed a major glitch in an online election which allowed people to vote for their favorites design for what would become Washington’s State Quarter: Unfortunately, like all other Washington elections, this one is on the honor system and appears to be hijacked by those who do not follow…

Recent events bring to mind a famous political maxim, “Never interfere with your enemy when he is in the process of destroying himself.” While I’ve often seen the quote attributed to Machiavelli, Sissy Willis (in a comment here) traced it to Napoleon, who first said it in war: never move when your enemy is destroying…

In a great post called “Where Are the Muslim Moderates?,” Cliff May describes the mechanism of Stalin’s rule by fear: In 1956, Nikita Khrushchev addressed a closed session of the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party. For nearly four hours, he spoke about the unspeakable: the crimes of his predecessor, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.…

What the hell is going on? Newt Gingrich attacks the war in Iraq, while Hillary Clinton attacks the American Dream?? I hope this debate isn’t intended to shape our “choices.” But Newt and Hillary are philosophical leaders of their respective parties as well as historical opponents. When voters face two choices, they usually end up…

The Love Park immigration demonstration I posted about yesterday was reported in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia Managing Director Pedro Ramos told the crowd: “This is a city that welcomes immigrants. This is a city that appreciates immigrants. This community is much better, much stronger, with all of us in it.” Yesterday’s demonstrations followed a weekend…

Acting on a tip that International A.N.S.W.E.R. might be sponsoring a bigtime commie demo in Philadelphia, I found the organizers’ web site, which in turn directed me to the local web site which coordinated the Philadelphia demo, held today by this organization at Love Park. I’m sorry to disappoint anyone, but I don’t have anything…

People who think librarians are boring might want to take a look at this: A 300-year-old book that appears to be bound in human skin has been found in northern England, police said Saturday. The macabre discovery was made on a central street in Leeds, and officers said the ledger may have been dumped following…

On Sunday I was gonna write about the Marcionites, but I didn’t have time. Just as well, as the word looks too much like “Mariconites.” (A word that didn’t need inventing; just misspelling.) But it’s Monday now, and the Marionites seem to have faded from the scene and the screen. I enjoyed Dave Kopel’s post…

Andrew Sullivan (whom I critized earlier) makes a good point about the cooptation of the word “Christian”: People who believe in the Gospels of Jesus Christ are Christians. People who use the Gospels of Jesus Christ for political gain, and for a political program of right or left, are Christianists. And Christianism, like many “isms”,…