Daily Archives: September 7, 2008

Time to Read Voltaire? Is Sarah Palin’s Rise Signalling the Coming of an American Middle Ages?

John McCain’s wrecklessness in not vetting VP-pick Sarah Palin adequately, combined with her inexperience, her fundamentalism, and her populist ability to move people to resentment against urban dwelling intellectuals and elites, makes one wonder if her nomination signals an entrenched period of right-wing … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Many are Called but Few are Chosen”: A Poem by Santi Tafarella

              Petition: Scarcity, saith the preacher, all is scarcity, for the earth stays the same size, and the dark oils of its womb do not, like us, multiply. Reply: Verily, God says, verily offspring vary! Verily … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Would VP Pick Sarah Palin, if She Became President, Oppose Independent Judicial Processes and Support Torture?

One of Sarah Palin’s big applause lines in her 2008 Republican Convention speech was this: Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America . . . [Obama’s] worried that someone won’t read them their rights! This is … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“I must have been out of my f—ing mind.” Lisa Marie Presley on Her Marriage to Michael Jackson

Lisa Marie Presley turned forty in 2008. And at forty, things look different. Presley on her marriage to Michael Jackson: That was probably the biggest mistake of my life. I was really naive at the time. I was in la-la … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Creation v. Evolution Metaphor Watch: Do We “Know” That The Earth Is Old, and That Plants and Animals Have Changed Over Time, or Do We Just Have a “Theory” About These Two Things? The Problem of Factive Verbs.

In June of 2006, when 68 national and international science academies, including the US National Academy of Sciences, put out a strongly worded statement saying, in essence, that we know that the earth is old and that plants and animals … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“She Lived”: A Poem by Santi Tafarella

Like a banner twisted upward   in a violent wind   the carcass of a cypress   unleaved by lightening.   Gone the fragrant sap   that used to seep from knotty   breasts.   Gone the blue-grey bark.    A … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment