Since no one else has commented on this, and since Ken doesn't seem to have comments enabled in his blog, let me say that was one of the most interesting articles on Scottish history that I've read in a long time. I wish my mom were alive so I could share it with her. (That's not the only reason I wish my mom were alive, but Mom's mum was born in Scotland, as were some of my dad's ancestors, so Scottish history was a big topic in our house.)
Belle's reminiscences of her ancestors was also fun.
Re Tavella's information:
So the Pentagon or the NSA or the CIA should hire people to watch television? Where do I sign up?
The first written response to 9-11 I saw that came from a New Yorker mentions having first worried about this possiblity in the Seventies
After the B-25 hit the Empire State Building in 1945, I'm sure many New Yorkers had such thoughts. (Even though the 1945 incident was an accident.) IIRC the World Trade towers were built with the possibility of such an incident in mind, though thinking of planes of the late 1960s when they were designed, not taking into account that later planes might be bigger and hold more, hotter-burning fuel, much less someone hitting both towers on purpose.
When I first heard on the radio that morning that a plane had hit the WTC, I remembered the B-25 and thought it was something like that, though that would have been bad enough. But I was still half asleep. Then I turned on the TV and woke up quick!
Surely in Bizarro World, people *add* vices instead of giving them up for Lent. Maybe that explains why we seem to be gettiing even more untruths than usual.
Happy anniversary to you both!
And thanks for posting the full text of that prayer. I think I'm going to print it out and put it somewhere that I can read it more often.
With a dentist attached? I need one of those; my dentist couldn't give me an appointment closer than two weeks away. And my tooth aches now (a filling fell out)!
Back to the main topic. Since terrorism is a stealth activity, many of the successes in the war against it are by definition going to be stealth victories, ones that mere mortals like us are not going to see -- that there *wasn't* a bomb at LAX, or during the millennium celebrations, or (likely target here), for example. Yes, anyone responsible enough to be Vice President, or President for that matter, should realize that, and its sad that partisan politics keeps that from happening.
The phrase "part of a personal loyalty network, rather than part of the government" reminded me of
Barrayar, where everyone takes oath to the Emperor who *is* the government, and the honesty and efficiency of the government depends largely on the honor of the Emperor (or his Regent) and the people around him. This is not how a democracy, or a republic, should work, though it seems to explain much about the Bushies.
Meanwhile, this morning while watching a snatch of the 9/11 commission hearing before coming to work, there was a headline about a suspected bomb found under the subway in Paris. "Is there an election in France?" I thought. Then I realized that wasn't the point, because democracy is not the point to al-Qaeda. Democracy is not even the problem, just a symptom of the problem, which is that we all aren't living in Islamist theocracies. So they don't care about elections, or who wins them, because whoever wins is still going to be part of the problem. (Makes Ralph Nader look like an optimist by comparison.) And what happened in Spain, by this logic, was probably just a coincidence.
Am willing to listen to feedback on that last bit. It may distract me from the toothache.
I think the first person who devises a way to re-use an AOL CD should be rewarded with riches and prestigious honors.
I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.
This may not be quite what Kip had in mind, but it's a fun and useful craft idea. A couple of years ago I took a bunch of AOL and other useless (freebie or outdated) CDs, attached magnets to their backs (label side) and something over the holes (little appliques from the sewing-goods store mostly) and then gave them out as stocking-stuffer-like Christmas presents. They're shiny and decorative for your fridge (or in my case the little cupboard here in my cubicle at work) and in a pinch can serve as mirrors, too!
More on the mayors' revolution:
Right there in New York State, the mayor of New Paltz has "mayor performed wedding ceremonies for at least 20 same-sex couples" today.
"The Village of New Paltz's Web site called the ceremonies 'gender-neutral' marriages. And a lawyer for the mayor ... contended that under New York State domestic law, a marriage is valid once it is solemnized by an official or judge."
Reported in, among other places, the New York Times [whence the above quotations], Associated Press, and my LiveJournal.
Tina, it's not always a third-party vote. I was told I was wasting my vote in 1972 when I voted for McGovern.
Do what you think is right; that's what democracy is about. But please, if you don't want Bush for another four years, think *carefully* about voting for anyone other than the Democratic candidate. After all it will be the Democrat (probably Kerry but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for Edwards*) who will have the best chance of beating Dubya. And, with luck, even being inaugurated next January.
*and yeah, it's hard to type that way!
It is strange, isn't it? I may need to quit using the old Will Rogers line about not belonging to an organized political party.
I had a dream last night about Girl Scout cookies. It was not a happy dream: there was only one box of Thin Mints! I was upset because that would go fast in my house. Whoever it was in the dream (it was pretty vague, but possibly my mom) should have bought me three or four boxes of them!
Normally the only thing that annoys me about Girl Scout cookies is that in recent years I have not been able to buy them -- I haven't been approached by anyone selling them.
Well, that and the price. When I was in Scouts, they were only 40 cents a box, instead of whatever they are now. (Two dollars, I think, last I heard.) Of course, that was forty years ago.
And (via Gramina) now, Rhode Island!
I've also referred to this sonnet in relation to this topic, but it looks so much nicer with those photos!
"…of making many books there is no end" – Ecclesiastes 12:12
All politics is local.
"States' rights," nothing! This is the reverse of "creeping federalism" -- instead of change being forced on states by the national government, it's coming from the county and municipal governments!
The line from "Alice's Restaurant" keeps creeping into my brain, "And friends they may thinks it's a movement."
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Rich Daley's dad is probably having fits in whatever level of Purgatory he's at.
Just thought I'd point out, for those who might like to see the famous semicolon in context, that the complaint is at http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/documents/hdocs/docs/glrts/ccfsf21304cmp.pdf
And the mayor's letter to the county clerk about gender-free marriage licenses, which started the current hoohaw, is at http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/documents/hdocs/docs/glrts/sfmayor21004ltr.html
Jonathan, they had Olivia Harrison, George's widow. She spoke before Yoko did; maybe you missed her. But I thought that was nice parallelism. I even had the fleeting thought that maybe Barbara and Heather would speak instead of their husbands, too.
What disappointed me was that Ringo and Paul, though both apparently in London, spoke from separate locations. Seeing them together would have been nice.
Tea leaves and cookies. Why do all threads eventually turn to food?
Seriously, I like the new changes (as per recent post on Making Light), especially the no popups!
The Hapsburgs finally justified their existence.
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| 2002 | 6 |
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