Long time lurker here. Usually I just read the posts and nod my head, but this sentence. . .
"If “the arc of history bends toward justice,†it’s only because people got up off their behinds and started bending it for themselves."
. . . made me want to post agreement. That's absolutely true. The future's only going to be better if we make it better. The rest state of politics is tyranny, not justice.
[Long time lurker here, decloaking temporarily]
@ PNH, #45
I agree that entrenched power acts to further its own interests. If it doesn't, then in short order it ceases to be entrenched (society red in tooth and claw, and all that), but I don't think you need to invoke a conspiracy theory as such.
It's just that humans are addicted to social hierarchies. Those at the top want to stay on top and so act in such a way to perpetuate that state of affairs. 'Conspiracy theory' to me implies something more organized and self-aware.
@ Ethan, #45
" How is it that the crazy rightists are the ones who control the direction the window moves in? "
Because they've been much better at discourse framing than the left are. (And what's above, of course.)
Frex, 'tax relief' => taxes are oppressive and people need to be relieved from them => taxes are bad. Also, 'tax burden'.
Another example: look at the way 'patriotism' got twisted round to mean 'supporting the government'.
If the Left was more effective at this, I don't think you'd have seen so much of the rightward drift as there's been.
[Relurks]
"Dave's Insanity Sauce"
Hot? Bah. No 'hot' sauce is truly hot. If you want hot, go to a Thai restaurant and ask for 'Som Tam* Bu Pla La**, Pet Pet.***'
But think it over carefully, because I won't take any responsbility for the effects. (Blindness, insanity, addiction to fermented fish, etc.)
*Som Tam is the most famous dish of Isaan (Northeastern Thailand). It's basically a very spicy shredded papaya salad. V. good. V. healthy.
**Pla la is fermented fish sauce. Some people really like it. Others are like me.
***'Pet' means spicy in Thai. 'Pet pet' means even more spicy than that.
Shiloh sounds like a wondeful name for a child to me. Think of all the other great battlefields there are out there, just waiting to be bestowed as names on some lucky child!
Kharkov Jones--I see him as a very manly man. Probably bearded. Very muscular.
Naseby Witherington--a undoubted dandy. Weak in the center.
Gallipoli Pamuk--somewhat dense. Lacks direction. Always digging himself into tight spots.
Passchendaele Mahon--very dirty child. Always playing in the mud.
Issus Balyuzi--very decisive. Vigorous, even.
Heh. Lack of vowels is not limited to Hieroglyphs or Hebrew. Thai removes them as well. F'r instance, the name of the province I live in is written without any vowels. A rough transliteration would be "NKN PTM", pronounced as "Nakon Patom."
Mind you, Thai also has consonants that turn into vowels if there's two of them, consonants that aren't really consonants but CV clusters, and numerous consonants that have no sound at all. It's all rather messy, really.
Oops. I see I should have waited. Chalk up yet another site that Murk Yurk has gotten himself banned from.
Izzat so, Jake? Tell me, what's your opinion of people who barge into a conversation, insult everyone, and then expect people to admire them for how clever they are?
Personally, I can think of several choice epithets I'd apply to people like that, but as this is TNH's house, I won't use them. I'm sure you know what they are, though.
[Claps, cheers, settles down for next act.]
[Opens popcorn, sits back, waits for the disemvowelment.]
ISP James:
Teresa gave you some really good advice upthread. You should follow it, as you're just making you and your company look worse with everything you say.
As for Barbara Bauer, well, Internet Karma would seem to be much faster than the old kind . . .
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 3 |
| 2006 | 9 |
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