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Archives
but wait! there's more!
I had a lot more links but Zoe and I left for the other side (that's island talk for going off island) for a doctor appointment for Zoe. I used the time she was at the doctor to pick up a vaccum cleaner left for repair the last time we were on the other side and to make a whirlwind shopping spree at Costco. Picked her up to find out she has been diagnosed with a bad case of carpal tunnel in both hands and the doctor recommended surgery. (If it isn't one thing, it's another.) There was a two boat wait at the ferry and when we got home I ate and crashed on the couch. I hope to have the rest of the links up tomorrow.
things are developing
Both Blaine and Ken have been encouraging me to develop my own black and white film even though I don't have any plumbing set up in the basement where I will be doing my film processing. I have some ideas on how to do it with the aid of a garden hose and a claw foot bathtub. Here is a site Ken pointed out to me that is a wealth of information on developing film. And a lot of other stuff. I plan on using Pyrocat HD for my Efke25 and am torn between Rodinal and D-76 for Tri-X. Now I need to clear a space in the basement. The clearing has started.
Unblinking Eye
democrats
Unfucking the Donkey
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It's simple. Barack Obama put it exquisitely in his victory speech: "Government can help provide us with the basic tools we need to live out the American dream."
Here's a dirty little secret. The Republicans know this. Nothing scares them more than us returning to our simple answers.
Here's Bill Kristol, in a famous 1993 memo I'm sure you're all familiar with: "Health care is not, in fact, just another Democratic initiative . . . the plan should not be amended; it should be erased. . . . It will revive the reputation of the . . . Democrats, as the generous protector of middle-class interests."
I'd say this memo is the skeleton key to understanding modern American politics, if it didn't make me yawn. There's nothing here that's unfamiliar to historians who've read Republican secrets going back 25, 35, even 70 years. You can sum them up in 10 words: "If the Democrats succeed in redistributing economic power, we're screwed."
They have reason to fear.
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thanks to Eschaton
photography
Photographs — D. R. Cowles
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jesuschrist!
The Christian Paradox
How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong
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Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This failure to recall the specifics of our Christian heritage may be further evidence of our nation’s educational decline, but it probably doesn’t matter all that much in spiritual or political terms. Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin’s wisdom not biblical; it’s counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.
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Ye Shall Know the Truth: Profits of the New World Order
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The cry of many Christians today is a cry to return to the teachings of the Bible and to have a society which is righteous. I am in total support of a righteous society and have tried to imagine what it would be like. One of the first changes we would need to make is at the foundation, our banking system. Exodus 22 says that if you lend money to poor people you can not extort money from them in the form of interest. In Proverbs 28:8 the message is very clear, He says that getting rich by charging interest is wrong and that God will take his wealth and give it to the poor. Psalms 15 says that Yahweh will dwell with those who are righteous and do not charge interest on their loans. In Deuteronomy 15 it describes how all debts are forgiven every 7 years in the year of Jubilee. There are 22 times in the Old Testament which speak of the sin of charging interest on a loan. The sweat of one's brow is to be the measure of one's wage.
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things are starting to get back to normal — whatever normal is
It looks like the invasion of the trojan horses has been defeated. That's done with. Jenny and William left for California last Monday. I saw them off just as the packers arrived to pack and move their household. I spent Monday and Wednesday watching packers and movers. Their stuff is on the way to Colorado. Jenny and William are in Barstow, CA, getting William's mom's stuff together since she will be moving with them to Colorado. They are young to be taking care of an aging parent but they are up to it. I'm proud of them both. Slowly catching up on home and work. Much has been happening.
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