Chamblee54

There is a lively feature today, A brief history of four letter words. It deals with the evolution of profanity. HT to Andrew Sullivan. Examples of wirty dords will be used in this feature. If such language offends you, please skip the text, and enjoy the pictures. These pictures are from The Library of Congress. These pictures were taken on the USS Brooklyn, where the men would swear like sailors.
“Golly! Zounds! Gadzooks! These are the kind of things Captain Marvel would say. Almost any other superhero would be too mature for such, childish silly words. And yet, during Shakespeare’s time, they made him one of the more edgy writers out there. They’re not just random sounds, but contractions, meant to make absolutely shocking sentiments less outright obscene. Golly, zounds, and gadzooks were, in order, G-d’s body, G-d’s wounds, and G-d’s hocks.” The spell check suggestion for Gadzooks is Bazookas.
The body of G-d, or Jesus, is a big deal to some varieties of Christians. When Shakespeare was in business, it was even more so. Religious profanity is less and less explosive, as bumper sticker’s about G-d’s last name might indicate. When Europe was fighting wars about the best way to worship, this talk about God’s Ham was explosive.
The third commandment refers to the proper use of sacred names. It’s application is in the ear of the beholder. PG thinks that a pledge of allegiance to a political symbol is not a proper use of a holy name, and almost no one agrees with him. And PG is notoriously non Christian.
There is a book, “The Whisper of the River , about a baptist reared young man who goes to college. A yankee neighbor says “good G-d a mighty”. The raised right young man calls him out about “using the name of the Lord in vain”.
In another real life, PG worked for many years with a professional Jesus worshiper. The experience severely  PG from Jesus. One of the favorite sayings of the PJW was “good G-d a mighty”,
Some people think they are being righteous by not using certain words. The truth is that profanity is a social standard. G-d has better things to worry about than what words people use to describe procreation. All of the Carlin seven appear in the Bible, in one of the many languages used.
Bitch and ass are two words that used to refer to animals. “Ass is actually two words blended together to become an obscenity. Ass, the swear word, started out as irs, which meant the back end of anything, not just animals.  It became arse, and eventually rounded out and emerged as an ass.”
“Bitch started out, ” and remains, a female dog in breeding condition. From there its meaning expanded to anything female in breeding condition, and eventually it expanded to become promiscuous women, angry women, angry or promiscuous homosexual men, or anything “especially disagreeable.” Sliding between the slightly sexual, the slightly referring to sexuality, and the literal meaning of the word got bitch into general conversation, and most television shows. It also helps that being “especially disagreeable,” rather than meek and accommodating has become a point of pride for both women and male homosexuals, and so even at its most insulting, the word has lost the power to shock as society has moved on.”
Both bitch and ass have become more acceptable. Ass has a suffix, hole, which describes a (hopefully) functioning body part. This word is a serious insult. Names for genitalia also function, with remarkable versatility, as cuss words.
At the start of the Carlin seven is piss and shit. These created using onomatopoeia … a word that sounds like what it describes. They refer to excretion, both as noun and verb. Excrete is seldom used as profanity, even though it means the same thing. As time goes down the toilet, both piss and shit have acquired multiple meanings.
Which brings us to the F bomb. It is similar to the German Ficken or the Dutch Fokken. It almost certainly is NOT an acronym. Technically it is not one of the Carlin seven. If it is, then mother is a super cussword. With a profitable holiday in May, mother will always be said on television.
There is another forbidden word. It *triggers* strong reactions. If Mr. Carlin had used this word in his monolog, his career would have ended. This word was used by Mark Twain. It is used today by millions of people. Many people who use this this word are described by it. Our culture might be better off without this word,  but America is stuck with it.

The post before this is about Arizona SB1070, a controversial measure dealing with illegal immigration. One of the men quoted is the Sheriff of Pima County, which lies on the border.
Pima County is named for the Pima Tribe, whose land was in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. Their name for the “river people” is Akimel O’odham. According to Wikipedia, “The short name, “Pima” is believed to have come from the phrase pi ‘añi mac or pi mac, meaning “I don’t know,” used repeatedly in their initial meeting with Europeans.”
Many of the Mexicans crossing the border are Native Americans. They did not agree to the Gadsden Purchase , or the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . In other words, they were here first, and the white man (and black associates) are the uninvited guests. Maybe the natives should ask the English speakers for their papers.
The second part of this feature is a repost. One of the best known Pimas was Ira Hayes. He was one of the Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima.
One of the enduring images of World War II was raising the flag on Iwo Jima. Three of the six men raising the flag died on the island. A fourth, Ira Hayes, became a casualty after the war.
The story of Ira Hayes is well known, but needs to be told again. A Pima Indian, his people had not been treated well by the conquerors. Nonetheless, when the War against Japan started, men were needed for the struggle, and Ira Hayes joined the Marines.
Iwo Jima was a steppingstone to the main island of Japan. After Iwo Jima and Okinawa were in Yankee hands, preparations could be made for the invasion of the main island. However, the stepping stone islands proved to be incredibly tough to secure. There were more American casualties on Iwo Jima than on D Day.
On the fourth day of the battle, a picture was made of six marines raising the flag on top of Mount Suribachi. A month of sticky, treacherous fighting was ahead for the fighting men. Of 21,000 Japanese soldiers, 20,000 died. Still, the image is inspiring. The photographer fiercely denied having staged it.
The flag was raised on February 23, 1945. Germany was all but defeated. The “explosive lens” for the atom bomb had been successfully tested. Viewed from the standpoint of 1945, it seems inevitable that the costly island hopping needed to continue, to be followed by an invasion of the Japanese mainland. From the view of 2009, one wonders if the fight for Iwo Jima, in retrospect, was really needed. War is fought in the present tense.
Two of the twelve hands holding the flagpole belonged to Ira Hayes. Ira Hayes did not adjust to peacetime well. He became a drunkard. On January 24, 1955, he passed away.
Ira Hayes was a native American. Thousands of African Americans have returned from foreign wars, to be treated poorly. Until a few months ago, if a man, or woman, is accused of being gay, the service is forgotten. On this Memorial Day, we should struggle to ensure that all future veterans are treated with respect, all year long.
Thank you Wikipedia, luxunsghost, and The Library of Congress, for the pictures.

Chamblee54 is normally a profanity free blog. However, for this piece, certain words are essential to the free flow of information. In other words IF YOU DON’T LIKE CUSS WORDS, YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ THE TEXT.
This text is going to be gender insensitive and use the male form throughout. Just remember, when you read he, it also means she and it. Or, she it. If you are from the south, you will enjoy that last comment. Unless you are a Sunni.
Recently, a radio whiner said that one third of all people were not qualified to have opinions. He did not say why. Possible reasons would be lack of education, or inability to think critically. Maybe these people have a disturbing tendency to disagree with the person doing the study.
When it comes to opinions about opinions, there are several classic lines. There is the crowd pleaser “opinions are like assholes, everybody’s got theirs”. This is missing the mark. Opinions have more in common with the shit that comes out of an asshole. Feces is the result of the food that is fed into the digestive system. Opinions are the result of information fed into the thought system. Doodoo is influenced by the digestive system. Opinions are influenced by the attitudes of the individual. They both stink. Only one can be used as fertilizer.
Another golden oldie is “Four Jews, Five opinions”. The numbers in the formula change, but you get the idea. There is also “You are entitled to your opinion”. This is usually said when you disagree with what you have just heard.
When the Supreme Court issues a ruling on a case, It is called an opinion. Sometimes, a justice will write a dissenting opinion. When getting an insurance company to pay for a procedure, you often need to get a second opinion.
Opinions are frequently more valued by the giver than by the receiver. Some opinions are best kept to the owner. You should be wary of someone who feels that his shit does not stink. He will usually feel the same way about his opinions.
Opinions are seldom humble, no matter what the owner of the opinion might say. The act of holding an opinion is often self aggrandizing, and contrary to humility.
You don’t have to have an opinion about everything. Many things are beyond your control. Some do not interest you. You should be wary of those who try to “fire up” your opinions. Often these people do not have the best of motives.
Opinions are a way of asserting one’s individuality. Many people have lives of quiet desperation, full of struggle and turmoil. Often, what the individual thinks is not valued by the powers that be. Having opinions can restore a sense of self worth to the individual. I am somebody. I have my opinion.
This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

Cynthia McKinney is back. The former congresswoman is running for her old seat in Georgia’s fourth district. She will be running with the Green Party.
While Miss McKinney is known for her goofy behavior in the past, perhaps this is the time to forgive. This may be an opportunity to damage the two party system. The Republicans and Democrats have a duopoly on power in America. Many say they just take turns in office, while raking in the bribes campaign contributions from the one percent. While one seat in congress is not a big deal, it is a start.
This is the first election after the district lines were drawn again. If you have a strong stomach, here are some details of the Atlanta area. The fifth district was designed to be a black district, and is the one formerly represented by Miss McKinney. She enjoys wide name recognition. The fact that much of it is negative is irrelevant. There is no bad publicity. McKinney is easy to spell correctly.
There are some more factors in play here. When she lost to Hank Johnson in 2008, Miss McKinney enjoyed wide support in the black community. Many of the white voters who voted for Mr. Johnson are in other districts now. Another thing to consider is the chaos in the Georgia Democratic party. If Miss McKinney can get on the ballot, there is a chance.
The downside is the ballot access laws in Georgia. The Republicans and Democrats are dedicated to maintaining their duopoly. To quote a press release: “In addition to securing the support of Delegates to the June 2nd Convention, in order to appear as Greens on the Georgia ballot, these partisan candidates are also required to file petitions with signatures representing 5% of the number of voters who are registered and eligible to vote in November’s General Election. This ballot access standard is ten times the national average and according to Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, constitutes the highest barrier to participation in the world, when comparing all countries which conduct contested elections. The filing deadline is in 76 days.”
Peach Pundit estimates that the Green Party will need 25K-40K signatures to get Miss McKinney on the ballot. This is going to be a tall order. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

Listening to the news shows that came on before the cartoons, PG heard the phrase “President Eisenhower”. As a friends explained to him, G-d made everything, but the President is Eisenhower.
When he was six, PG moved to a new house, and started first grade. There was an election that fall, and someone named Kennedy became President. PG wasn’t old enough to pay attention to the news yet, except when it looked like the Russians were going to kill us all in 1962.
The first news story that PG clearly remembers was the day when his fourth grade teacher, Miss McKenzie, told the class that President Kennedy had been shot. One of the worst moments that weekend was the moment when a plane landed in Washington, and the new President spoke on television. THAT was the new President? Yuck.
Lyndon Johnson was a larger than life figure, and was ultimately hated by millions of Amuricuns. While there was some good done by LBJ, it was overshadowed by the War in Vietnam.When he left office in 1968, the voters had possibly the worst choice ever…Hubert Humphrey or Richard Nixon.
Tricky Dick Nixon is another larger than life figure, with millions of Americans screaming for his impeachment. For some reason, there were others who passionately admired the man.
In 1973, the oil companies tried to say there was an oil shortage. Later that year, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan attacked Israel, and the Arab oil producers cut oil to the USA. After this embargo, OPEC was in charge of the oil supply, and the price of gasoline increased 200%. The era of big money oil was on. What a convenient war.
After the ethical shortcomings of Mr. Nixon became too obnoxious to ignore, Gerald Ford became President. On a policy level, Ford was like all the other Presidents…some things he got right, some things he got wrong. On a personality level…the show business part…Ford excelled. His family provided harmless fodder for the gossipmongers. He was a likable man, a welcome break from the meanness of Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson.
When PG was a kid at Ashford Park School, there had never been a President from Georgia. It seemed impossible. When Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter announced he was running, it seemed like another ego tripper running for President. The funny thing is, he won. It still seems a bit unreal, like having the Olympics in Atlanta.
Jimmy was a Democrat, with attack Republicans fighting him every step of the way. This is a problem later Democrats in the Oval Office will have. On the policy level, he did better than many realize. Many of his achievements only bore fruit after he left office. On the show biz front, his down home Georgia routine did not appeal to many Yankees. He was trounced in 1980,  beaten by an actor.
PG was worried when Ronald Reagan took office. With America’s nuclear arsenal, and the Soviet Union wheezing it’s threat, many thought that Ronnie would start the war to kill us all. The good news is, this war never happened. Whatever tough talk came out of Washington was not matched by military adventurism abroad.
Reagan was the master of show business. He was an actor, playing the greatest role of his career. It was said that if America had a figure head monarch, Reagan would have been terrific. On the policy front, taxes were cut, and the budget increased. The national debt went over a trillion dollars, which was seen as a horrible moment. (The annual budget deficit is now over a trillion dollars.)
When Mr. Reagan’s two terms were over, George H.W. Bush took over. This was an era where the Democrats could not do anything right on a national level. Bush presided over a war, and brought the troops home when the mission was over. His show business image never really took off, though, and the whiners were not pleased. A geek named Ross Perot decided to run as a third party candidate.
In the winter of 1992, PG had a little job downtown. One day, there was a rally at the CNN center for a little known Presidential candidate. PG went, and said to a friend, If this guy gets elected, you are going to regret not going to see him. At the time, War Winner Bush seemed unbeatable, and PG said that with high sarcasm.
When he got to CNN center, it was obvious that a big money event was unfolding. The place was packed, with school children bussed in to fill all the seats. Finally, the speakers blared “Twist and Shout” at top volume, and Bill Clinton walked on the stage. PG was not especially impressed.
Clinton inspired toxic hatred, but managed to keep the boat floating. He won reelection, with the Republicans seeming to self destruct. The economy was going good, the budget was balanced, and the haters went wild. After a entertaining sex scandal, the Clinton years were over.
A couple of weeks before the 2000 election, PG liked neither candidate, and did not think it made much difference. (With Georgia’s electoral votes certain to go Republican, PG did not have a vote.) He listened to someone talking, who thought that it was important that Gore won. PG remembered that conversation often during the next eight years.
George W. Bush was a disaster. It is possible that 911 was a personal vendetta against the Bush family, and would not have happened if Gore was President. The reaction of Bush to this tragedy was to start two wars. The war in Babylon is technically over, while Afghanistan has been escalated.
Finally, we have Barack Obama, the first dark skinned President. He has continued the war happy ways of the Bush regime. BHO will probably be reelected in 2012, and given four more years to wage war. Pictures for this feature are from the The Library of Congress.
This is a repost. BHO will be up for re-election this fall. His opponent will be Mitt Romney, a dreadful person. The outcome of the race is in doubt. Mr. Obama has not performed miracles with the economy. He has lots of blood on his hands. In some ways, race relations in America are worse than ever. This election is another choice between bad and worse, and will be highly unpleasant.

On Wednesday, July 21, 2010, there was a debate, with the topic being “Does G-d exist?”. The opponents were Christopher Hitchens vs. Dr. William Lane Craig. The host was Biola University, a Christian college in La Mirada, CA.
Those who have endured religious debates will be intrigued by the lack of interruptions. With one exception, the two participants were allowed to finish their statements without interruption. The two did seem to have different ideas of what the topic of the debate was.
It is not known who won. There were numerous logical fallacies performed. Stray men were persecuted, and positions were misrepresented. The language was semanticized to the point of no return. This is to be expected, considering that it was beliefs that were being debated. There was self satisfaction at having “this most important of all discussions.”
PG has listened to the debate twice. The second time he followed the transcript, and took notes. His opinion did not change. PG suspects that G-d exists. The world might be a happier place if she did not exist, but we might be stuck with her. Where PG differs with conventional wisdom is on the matter of belief. Is belief the correct way to approach G-d? Is there a better way to “know” G-d?
One problem with Christianity is the emphasis on life after death. It is the only game in town. If you do not agree with the scheme for life after death, you have little reason to follow the Christian religion. The obsession with life after death is not discussed in this debate. In fact, Dr. Craig lists the resurrection of Jesus as being evidence of the existence of G-d.
In terms of tone, Mr. Hitchens is more pleasant to listen to. Dr. Craig speaks with the rhythms of a pulpit preacher. His message could be recycled as a sermon, including this part of his final statement: “And so, I want to invite Mr. Hitchens to think about becoming a Christian tonight.” Dr. Craig played the victim.”First, have we seen any good arguments tonight to think that God does not exist? No, I don’t think we have. We’ve heard attacks upon religion, Christianity impugned, God impugned, Mother Teresa impugned, but we haven’t heard any arguments that God does not exist.”
Mr. Hitchens, speaking before cancer and chemotherapy took it’s toll, was gracious, thanking his hosts repeatedly. His arguments were presented in the manner of a lecture, rather than a sermon. He piled facts on top of facts, and built his case in an entertaining style. What remains of his British tongue is employed to great effect. Whatever one thinks of Christopher Hitchens (and his appalling opinions about the war in Babylon), one cannot deny that he is a master user of the english language.
The debate began with both men giving twenty minute opening statements. Dr. Craig presented a five point argument. (the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, the moral argument, the resurrection of Jesus, the immediate experience of G-d) He likes to use big words. Dr. Craig said something in the cosmological section that made PG take notes.
“Typically atheists have answered this question by saying that the universe is just eternal and uncaused. But there are good reasons, both philosophically and scientifically, to think that the universe began to exist. Philosophically, the idea of an infinite past seems absurd. Just think about it: If the universe never began to exist, that means that the number of past events in the history of the universe is infinite. But mathematicians recognize that the existence of an actually infinite number of things leads to self-contradictions. For example, what is infinity minus infinity? Well, mathematically you get self-contradictory answers. This shows that infinity is just an idea in your mind, not something that exists in reality. David Hilbert, perhaps the greatest mathematician of the twentieth century, wrote, “The infinite is nowhere to be found in reality. It neither exists in nature, nor provides a legitimate basis for rational thought. The role that remains for the infinite to play is solely that of an idea.” But that entails that since past events are not just ideas but are real, the number of past events must be finite, therefore the series of past events can’t go back forever.”
A foundation belief of Christianity is the idea that if you have the correct thoughts about Jesus you will live forever. The phrase “eternal life” is repeated, well, eternally. The thing about eternity that you never hear is, is something does not have an end, then it does not have a beginning. To hear about a human life, with a beginning and no end, this is only half of eternity. Getting back to Dr. Craig’s sermon, this does not add up. If life can be said to go on eternally in the future, should it not go on eternally in the past?
The fourth argument … the resurrection of Jesus … is not going to convince some people. If you believe this happened, then you probably believe in G-d already. Dr. Craig said something that would come back to haunt him… “He carried out a ministry of miracle working and exorcisms.”
Mr. Hitchens had a reply. “But there came a time, probably about 180,000 years ago, when, due to a terrible climatic event, probably in Indonesia, an appalling global warming crisis occurred and the estimate is that the number of humans in Africa went down to between forty and thirty thousand. This close, this close—think about fine tuning—this close to joining every other species that had gone extinct. And that’s our Exodus story is that somehow we don’t know how because it’s not written in any Scripture, it’s not told in any book, it’s not part of any superstitious narrative but somehow we escaped from Africa to cooler latitudes was made, but that’s how close it was. You have to be able to imagine that all this mass extinction and death and randomness is the will of a being. You are absolutely free to believe that if you wish. And all of this should happen so that one very imperfect race of evolved primates should have the opportunity to become Christians or to turn up at this gym tonight, that all of that was done with us in view. It’s a curious kind of solipsism, it’s a curious kind of self-centeredness”
“Now it’s often said, it was said tonight, and Dr. Craig said it in print, that atheists think they can prove the nonexistence of God. This, in fact, very slightly but crucially misrepresents what we’ve always said. … Here’s what we argue: We argue quite simply that there’s no plausible or convincing reason, certainly no evidential one, to believe that there is such an entity, and that all observable phenomena, including the cosmological one to which I’m coming, are explicable without the hypothesis. You don’t need the assumption. And this objection itself, our school falls into at least two, perhaps three sections. There’s no such thing, no such word though there should be, as “adeism” or as being an “adeist” but there if was one I would say that’s what I was. I don’t believe that we are here as the result of a design or that by making the appropriate propitiations and adopting the appropriate postures and following the appropriate rituals we can overcome death I don’t believe that and for a priori reasons don’t. If there was such a force, which I cannot prove by definition that there was not, if there was an entity that was responsible for the beginning of the cosmos, and that also happened to be busily engineering the very laborious product—production of life on our little planet, it still wouldn’t prove that this entity cared about us, answered prayers, cared what church we went to, or whether we went to one at all, cared who we had sex with or in what position or by what means, cared what we ate or on what day, cared whether we lived or died. There’s no reason at all why this entity isn’t completely indifferent to us. That you cannot get from deism to theism except by a series of extraordinarily generous, to yourself, assumptions.”
“Now, then he goes on to say the Bible says all men are without excuse: “Even those who are given no reason to believe, and many persuasive reasons to disbelieve, have no excuse but because the ultimate reason they do not believe is that they have deliberately rejected G-d’s Holy Spirit.” That would have to be me. But you see where this lands you, ladies and gentlemen, with the Christian apologetic: You’re told you’re a miserable sinner, who is without excuse; you’ve disappointed your G-d who made you and you’ve been so ungrateful as to rebel; you’re contemptible; your wormlike; but you can take heart, the whole universe was designed with just you in mind. These two claims are not just mutually exclusive but I think they’re intended to compensate each other’s cruelty and, ultimately, absurdity.”
It should be noted that this post is an attempt to condense a two hour discussion into a length that will not scare off readers. Many parts are being left out, some of which might be important. If the reader has the time, curiosity, and patience, here is the video and the transcript. Be sure to put fresh batteries in your BS detector. Use alcohol, drugs, or prayer at your own risk.
The second part of the evening was a twelve minute rebuttal by both sides. Dr. Craig said that Mr. Hitchens did not refute his claims. Mr. Hitchens said:” There is a terminological problem here which may conceal more than just terminological difficulty: The proposition that atheism is true is a misstatement of what I have to prove and what we believe. There’s an argument among some of us as to whether that we need the word at all. In other words, I don’t have a special name for my unbelief in tooth fairies, say, or witches, or in Santa Claus. I just don’t think that they’re there. I don’t have to prove “atoothfairyism”; I don’t have to prove “asantaclausism”; I don’t have to prove “awitchism.” It’s just, I have to say, I think that those who do believe these things have never been able to make a plausible or intelligible case for doing so.”
“probably dying agonizingly of their teeth, poorly evolved as the teeth are and from other inheritances from being primates such as the appendix that we don’t need, such as the fact that our genitalia appear to be designed by a committee, other short comings of the species, exaggerated by scarcity, by war, by famine, by competition and so on and for 98,000 years or so heaven watches this with complete indifference … heaven watches this with total indifference and then with 2,000 years to go on the clock thinks, “Actually, it’s time we intervened. We can’t go on like this, why don’t we have someone tortured to death in Bronze Age Palestine? That should teach them; that should give them a chance at redemption.” You’re free to believe that, but I think the designer who thought of doing it that way is a very, or was a very cruel, capricious, random, bungling, and incompetent one.”
The next section is where the debaters cross examine each other. In this section, Dr. Craig displayed Christian courtesy… he interrupted Mr. Hitchens repeatedly. Here is a key section from the first part (Where Dr. Craig asks the questions)
CRAIG: What is your view exactly? Do you affirm G-d does not exist or do you simply withhold belief?
HITCHENS: I think once I have said that I’ve never seen any persuasive evidence for the existence in something, and I’ve made real attempts to study the evidence presented and the arguments presented, that I will go as far as to say, have the nerve to say, that it does not therefore exist except in the minds of its…
CRAIG: Alright, so…
HITCHENS: Except in the Henry Jamesian subject of sense that you say of it being so real to some people in their own minds that it counts as a force in the world.
CRAIG: Alright, that it’s objective. Ok, so you do affirm then that G-d does not exist. Now, what I want to know and and do you have any justification for that?
HITCHENS: [Thinking his microphone has come undone] I think I’ve come unwired.
The second part… (Where Mr. Hitchens asked the questions) got bloody.
HITCHENS: Ah, well, I’d like to know first: You said that the career of Jesus of Nazareth involved a ministry of miracles and exorcisms. When you say “exorcism,” do you mean that you believe in devils?
CRAIG: What I meant there was that most historians agree that Jesus of Nazareth practiced miracle working and he practiced exorcisms. I’m not committing myself, nor are historians committing themselves, to the reality of demons but they are saying that Jesus did practice exorcism and he practiced healing.
HITCHENS: So you believe that Jesus of Nazareth caused devils to leave the body of a madman and go into a flock of pigs that hurled themselves down the Gadarene slopes into the sea?
CRAIG: Do I believe that’s historical? Yes.
HITCHENS: Right. That would be sorcery, wouldn’t it though?
CRAIG: No, it would be an illustration of Jesus’ ability to command even the forces of darkness and therefore an illustration of the sort of divine authority that he was able to command and exercise. This, as I say, is illustrative of this unprecedented sense of divine authority that Jesus of Nazareth had that he even could command the forces of darkness and that they would obey. So, whether you think he was a genuine exorcist or that he merely believed himself to be an exorcist, what is historically undeniable is that he had this radical sense of divine authority which he expressed by miracle working and exorcisms.
HITCHENS: Right. And do you believe he was born of a virgin?
CRAIG: Yes, I believe that as a Christian. I couldn’t claim to prove that historically, that’s not part of my case tonight. But as a Christian I believe that.
HITCHENS: And I know you believe in the resurrection but…
CRAIG: Yes, that I think we have good evidence.
HITCHENS: As a matter of biblical, what shall we call it, consistency, it’s said in one of the Gospels that at the time of the crucifixion all the graves of Jerusalem were opened and all the tenants of the graves walked the streets and greeted their old friends. It makes resurrection sound rather commonplace in the greater Jerusalem area.
CRAIG: That’s in the Gospel of Matthew and that’s actually attached to a crucifixion narrative.
HITCHENS: That’s what I said, it says at the time of the crucifixion.
CRAIG: Yes, that’s right, at the time of the crucifixion it says that there were appearances of Old Testament saints in Jerusalem at the time. This is part of Matthew’s description of the crucifixion .
HITCHENS: I mean, do you believe that?
CRAIG: I don’t know whether Matthew intends this to be apocalyptic imagery or whether he means this to be taken literally. I’ve not studied it in any depth and I’m open minded about it. I’m willing to be convinced one way or the other.
HITCHENS: You see the reason I’m pressing you is this: Because, I mean, we know from Scripture that Pharoahs’ magicians could produce miracles. In the end, Aaron could outproduce them, but what I’m suggesting to you is even if the laws of nature can be suspended and great miracles can be performed, it doesn’t prove the truth of the doctrine of the person who’s performing them. Would you not agree to that?
CRAIG: Not necessarily, I think that’s right.
HITCHENS: So somebody could be casting out devils from pigs and that wouldn’t prove he was the son of God?
CRAIG: I think that’s right. In fact, there were Jewish exorcists. The only point that I was trying to make there that this was illustrative of the kind of divine authority that Jesus claimed, especially since He didn’t cast them out…
HITCHENS: But if…
CRAIG: …in G-d’s name or He didn’t perform miracles by praying to G-d, He would do them in His own authority, so that Jesus exercised an authority that was simply unhard of at that time and, for which He was eventually crucified because it was thought to be blasphemous.
HITCHENS: Well, it was though to be blasphemous to have claimed to be the Messiah, to be exact. I mean, the people who got the closest look at him, the Jewish Sanhedrin, thought that his claims were not genuine so, remember, if you resting anything on eye witnesses, the ones who we definitely know were there thought he was bogus. But ok, I think I’ve got a rough idea—asuming you make that assumption of his pre-existing divinity, that it’s a presuppositionalist case, I can see what you’re driving it.
CRAIG:: Well no, I’m not a presuppositionalist.
In the rest of the debate, both men rehashed the points made earlier. Both men probably thought himself to be the winner. Pictures for this commentary are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.

PG was directed to a post, Why Is There Pee on the Floor?. It was *aimed* at a problem that has existed since man has urinated into a device. This is an issue which *pisses off” a lot of people.
For those who ask “What Would Jesus Do?”, or more properly, Did, the answer is not known. If men, in those times, used a recepticle for urine, the odds are the Jesus missed it from time to time. If he was outdoors, this was not a problem. Does walking on water make you need to pee? What if he had changed the water into beer?
Once, PG was working in a small office. There were two carefully marked restrooms. Once, the ladies were working, the men’s room was occupied, and PG did not think it would hurt to use the ladies room. He was not as careful as he should have been. A few minutes later, there was an uproar from one of the ladies. If looks could kill, PG would have died that day.
The post is written from the POV of educating women about men’s habits. “Sometimes I forget that women do not have penises, not even a little bit. It’s true! Where boys have flesh hoses down there, ladies have I don’t even know what—is it like a butt but more complicated? So women don’t understand the everyday experience of having this dangly fella around and don’t understand stuff like “adjusting” or “shaking”.
Joseph Rosalie Doherty-Bailey “Everything about this is great, except that your opening sentences sort of totally ignore the fact that trans people exist. I don’t at all think you meant to do this, but maybe just keep in mind for future reference that some ladies do have penises and some boys don’t have flesh hoses :) the rest of the post is amusing and swell.”
One possible reason for failing to hit the bullseye would be having two pee holes. PG thought this was an urban legend, so he asked Mr. Google. The query “men with two pee holes” yielded about 42,200,000 results (0.27 seconds). Apparently, someone else wondered the same thing.  Wiki answers had a gem: “How does it feel for a man to get his pee hole licked? It feels good for the man but if he peed and then they licked it they would just have sex every day.”
The most accurate discussion was at steadyhealth, 2 holes on penis. (This discussion is sponsored by Edy’s Strawberry Fruit Bars). Norrie asks the seminal question: “Hi. I am a girl 19 years old and, this might sound funny, but I noticed that my boyfriend has two holes on his penis. I know male anatomy, and an average human male has only one hole on his penis. And my boyfriend has two! How can that even be possible? I haven’t asked him about it, because it is an unusual question. Could you explain this to me because I simply do not understand what is the deal.”
Caroljean “Well, not to worry, that is a thing that happens sometimes (one in a thousand), and it is often surgically corrected before the school age. So your boyfriend has probably only one functional hole, and the other (pseudo hole) that doesn’t work. This condition is called Hypospadias. But really, that is nothing of importance, because it isn’t anything unusual, but at the same time not so common.”
Some-Teenage-Dude ” ….O__O… kool!”
jlg_shes ” My boyfriend also has two holes, and he seems to think that, urine comes out of the top hole and sperm out the bottom. Can anyone verify that?”
Guest “hey, i am a male and i have two holes side by side at the center tip of my penis. what usually happens is an extra x chromosome if they are both on top which mine are. one hole is for urine and the other for sperm. we are just more genetically enhanced than most. NOW IF the two holes are not together but spread apart then its a defect and should get fixed. Now most people who have two holes on top, only one of them is usually functional. To have both holes functional and both secreting different fluids (urine and sperm) is an evolutionary advancement. The bacteria from the pee wont be mixed with the sperm when it goes through the tube to be release. SO BE THANKFUL!!! DONT THINK ITS A DEFECT ITS AN EVOLUTIONARY ADVANCEMENT”
Guest “All of this about evolutionary advancement is hog wash. Here’s what happened…. when you were developing in the uterus your goods started to develop. Your urethra wasn’t forming correctly and your body recognized the problem and formed another. One is a dead hole. Nothing comes out of it. Nothing. The other one is the functioning urethra and both urine and semen pass through this hole. You were born with two rather than be born with one that wasn’t fully formed. End of story. ”
Bubbles wrote to yahoo answers “about three years ago”. The question was “How do gay guys pee when the pee hole always on the side?”
Dreamland Angel “they will go to women restroom if they dress like a girl but they won’t look unless people want them to see they will pee the same way that men pee unless they already had surgeries to remove that thing to become a woman”
Jonathan “Most of the time, yes. But it depends on whether or not he is a “top” or a “bottom.” Once you have that information it will be easier to determine where his pee hole is actually located. Source(s): nurse md doctor.”
Hexxis “They turn upside down so it looks like a rainbow fountain. Recent studies show if you shove food up your butt you poop out of your mouth.”
Mariners<3 “What the F*ck ARE you talking about?!?!?!!!! A penis is a penis, whether it’s attached to a gay man or not!”
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

PG and his neighbor DA went out to drink beer and shoot pool. The destination was a place called the Watering Hole. The Watering Hole used to be a VFW. There was a TV repair store next door. When the county legalized bars, the VFW went somewhere else.  The TV repair store became the game room. You could see on the floor where the counter used to be.
This was a weeknight. The other customer was already past his limit. The drunk was fussing at the bartender when PG and DA walked in.
PG got lucky and hit a good shot on the pool table. He got a bit cocky, and said “and now for my next trick”.The drunk staggered into the game room and lay down on an empty pool table. DA replied, “Is that your next trick?”
Before long, it was time to go home. As PG and DA were leaving, the drunk was arguing with the bartender. He wanted to buy a twelve pack to take home. The drunk won the argument, and started walking up Clairmont Road with his prize.
PG got a block or so away from the Watering Hole. He  saw the drunk sitting in front of a seven eleven store. The drunk was sitting on the curb, drinking a beer. PG drove in front of him, and stopped the car. DA got out, and walked over to the curb. She picked up the eleven pack, and walked over to the car with it. The drunk stood up and yelled obscenities. The car drove away. off. This is a repost.

In case you did not know, PG is an old fogey. He has not been hip since before Nancy Reagan said no. It is rather amazing that he would hear about World Goth Day, much less know what it meant.
It all started with a tweet. (@BibChr One-star review: and now a word from someone who HATED #TWTG (http://awe.sm/5sV85). A preacher got a bad review of his book, and his feelings were hurt. PG went over to Amazon to make a comment, but was greeted with a message… You must have purchased items from Amazon to post. PG gave up paying for reading material a few years ago, and was not going to change that just to pick on a preacher. That’s what twitter is for. ‏@chamblee54 @BibChr awwww not everyone agrees with your *perfect* understanding of the *perfect* book. While he was there, a “United States trends” was World Goth Day.
What exactly was Goth? When was it popular? Who were popular Goths? Where did they buy their lipstick? Why are you reading this?
According to the WGD web facility, “Best 80’s goth band: The Sisters Of Mercy”. In 1991, PG hosted a tacky party in his back yard. A person, who arguably had Goth sympathies, went to a Sisters of Mercy concert at the Fox Theater that night.That would date the advent of Goth a bit. In other words, the original Goths are telling their teenage children to behave now.
Getting back to twitter, the Gothoids are tweeting up a storm. Lets take a look.
‏@crocpunch I’m too depressed to celebrate World Goth Day.
@TonyCowards It’s World Goth Day and the sun is shining brightly, who says God doesn’t do irony?
@JDawgMadden World Goth Day? Do we have to dress up in black and write depressing,
Edgar Allan Poe-wannabe poetry?
@prattprattpratt Out of curiosity, what makes today “World Goth Day?”
Did the Goths lobby to have a day? Write their congressman? Who decides? Really.
@NotGaryBusey It’s World Goth Day and somewhere Glenn Danzig is cleaning out kitty litter.
‏ @LauraMcCabe “World Goth Day” Pity no goths will see this trending
as their too busy away slitting their wrists.
@LauraMcCabe_ Just to let Eurovision fans know there is a tranny singing for Croatia
on Thursday. Pretty “woman” with long hair, dress&a nice fluffy beard
@noelfielding11 I personally find world Goth day a bit gloomy.
Might spend it on my own in the cemetery x
‏@Eve_Barlow If I knew it was WORLD GOTH DAY I would’ve stayed at home and played House Of The Dead in my Beetlejuice leggings with Marmite on my lips.
The WGD facility has a forum, which asks the question Are you a true Goth?. There is one comment in the thread. Somebody is trying to generate traffic for his site, www.Vampirewebsite.net. “Keep in mind most vampires have no idea what they are, and most of them will never find out. When looking for a vampire locally probably the worst place to look is in vampire groups, they are generally over crowded with wannabes and posers. It’s best to just use this page and go basically any where, just as an example we all go to the grocery store eventually.”
Bad Goth, Bad! elevates the conversation a bit. “Goths are everywhere these days. The mall, the beach, and some have even been spotted at sports games. Listen guys, THERE ARE RULES FOR BEING GOTH. If you’re going to represent the Underworld and live in the shadows, you can’t just go around being all normy-norms and drinking Cinnamon lattes next to the Christmas Tree. I’m not going to lie- everyone loves goth style and music on some level (HELLO ALEXANDER McQUEEN and THE CURE), but if you are going to own goth, then you must abide by the goth rules, which means you are ultimately an intellectual, emo vampire (which is really actually very cool). So please act like one. Here are some goths who aren’t following protocol and so I present, BAD GOTH, BAD!”
@SkipsMcskippy So it’s world goth day, I really can’t be bothered celebrating though
@baileyhonsinger I’m totally participating in world goth day. Its my favorite day of the year!!
‏@ErinDavis88 “@zachbraff: Happy “World Goth Day”, also known as
“Where Did My Parents Go Wrong Day.””
@whitewe9 It’s world goth day. I was going to get depressed about it,
but then I remembered that would count as celebrating.
@jczreid @vairi the irony that I got sunburnt in world goth day has not been lost on me,
even though I was wearing an impressive amount of black
@SmashinBeauty I just found out that today is World Goth day! Happy Goth Day to goths..
if I had known I would have prepared something .. makeup wise
@azroth World Goth day? But everyday is Halloween.
@paulday15 Are goths happy about world goth day? If they are, are they still goths?
@ohmyblainers World Goth Day? Heeeeyyyyy Tina.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.

PG saw the physical therapist today. His banged up knee is a little bit better, but that does not help his mental state a lot. The physical therapy center should be a place of healing. While the emphasis is on the physical part, most would agree that the mental part is also helpful. Some of the other participants did not seem to care.
It started out on the drive to the parking garage. PG tuned into the Dennis Prager. There was a monolog, about Arabs and their opinions about Israel. According to Mr. Prager, Arab journalists talk about nothing except Israel. This is in spite of the many problems in the Arab world. He then went on to say that this leads to Iran talking about destroying Israel, and getting nuclear weapons to do so.
Lets take this point by point. Several of the Arab states have had revolutions, which either ousted regimes (Egypt) or sparked bloody conflicts (Syria). This is not the same as thinking only about Israel. Next, Iran is a Persian country, that does not especially like Arabs. One of their officials, Mr.Ahmadinejad, made a statement about Israel. Some have translated his remarks to be a threat to Israel’s existence, while others say that he wants regime change. Since PG does not speak Farsi, he simply does not know who to believe here.
At this point, PG turned off the radio, and pulled into the parking garage. After the first visit, he learned the best place to park, and was able to find a convenient spot.
The business of rehabbing a knee is tricky. You need faith that it will get better, even when all outward signs say to abandon hope. When you are working out on a machine, it is easy for your spirits to struggle. The last thing you need is to overhear a loud conversation about a touchy subject.
There are tv sets all over the therapy room, which are tuned in to all news channels. (PG does not know which one.) While PG was stretching rubber bands with his legs, and feeling uncertain about the value of the effort, a story came on the tv about Desmond Hatchett. He is the Tennessee man who has sired thirty children with eleven different women. At least that is the story. PG suspects that a few baby daddies are blaming him for their output, so they won’t have to pay child support.
There was a loud, festive conversation about the Tennessee Babydaddy a few feet from where PG was working out. The loudest was a man who works for the center. PG could hear every word that was said, and did not appreciate the entertainment. PG was in a tough place emotionally, and his neighbors were not helping at all.
The story is a tragedy. At least thirty kids are growing up without a daddy in the house. PG imagines there are a few men who see Desmond Hatchett as a hero. It so is considered racist to discuss one aspect of this story. The story is a tragedy, and these people were having a jolly conversation about it.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

People are saying more and more about the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. TomDispatch has a fascinating paragraph about one of the key players, British Petroleum (BP): “Originally known as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (later the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, still later British Petroleum), BP got its start in southwestern Iran, where it once enjoyed a monopoly on the production of crude petroleum. In 1951, its Iranian holdings were nationalized by the democratic government of Mohammed Mossadeq. The company returned to Iran in 1953, following a U.S.-backed coup that put the Shah in power, and was finally expelled again in 1979 following the Islamic Revolution.”
If you look at the problems of the world in the last forty years, so many are affected by Iran. The 1953 revolution left great resentment, which became manifest in the 1979 revolution. Soon Iraq…whose border with Iran was clumsily drawn by the British…decides to attack Iran. A gruesome eight year war is the result, with the USA supporting both sides ( as well as possibly encouraging Iraq to attack Iran). The idea was, if they are fighting each other, they will leave Israel alone.
After this war is over, Iraq has a problem with Kuwait over it’s war debt. Another war is the result, with the USA involved. Iraq is vanquished, but some in the USA are not satisfied, and after a few years the USA invades Iraq again. That war is still raging.
The biggest winner of the US-Iraq war (aka World War W) is Iran. This new influence in Persia is very troubling to Israel, which is loudly rattling it’s nuclear saber. While Israel is making noise about Iran, it takes attention away from the Palestinian tragedy.
It is interesting to consider that during the Iran-Iraq war, Israel was the middleman in the “Iran Contra Affair”. This involved selling weapons to Iran, to use against the weapons (including wmd) that we were selling Iraq. Apparently, Iran was not an existential threat in those days.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost. This was originally published at this time two years ago, when people feared the worst about the Gulf of Mexico. There are many indications that the recovery is far from complete.

There has been a mini controversy this week about TED talks. It seems as though a talk about income inequality was recorded. A decision was made to not use it. The talker leaked an email to National Journal, and they published The Inequality Speech That TED Won’t Show You. (The NJ page is sponsored by a health insurance company. A soldier, his wife, and their baby smile for the benefit of a provider network.) The censorship story was picked up by various  outlets, who were duly outraged.
This might be a stage in the growth of the TED talks. Before now, they are almost universally loved. When you are looking for attention, you pick on the biggest target you can find.
TED curator Chris Anderson has a blog of his own, and presents his side of the story. His take is that the talk wasn’t very good, and was overly partisan. TED has a tremendous inventory to present, and only wants to release the best.
The idea of forbidden fruit makes this talk tough to resist. When people find out that something is being kept away from them, the first impulse is to consume the product. With youtube, and the transcript, this presentation is probably getting much more attention that it would have otherwise.
PG has now listened to the talk. The transcript has a lot of mistakes. The talk did not seem especially partisan. The six minutes went by quickly, and the ideas were easy to consume. There was little said that has not been said before.
The partisan charge is especially untrue. Both Democrats and Republicans wallow in money from special interests. The one percent owns both parties. If you want to get elected, you have to solicit campaign contributions from people with money. These same people with money can afford to hire PR firms to sing their praises.
Another problem with the economy today is a curious decision that was made before the invasion of Babylon. We are financing these wars with a tax cut. As if that is not enough, many of the functions of an army have been contracted out to private concerns. These current wars are more expensive than previous wars. And there was a tax cut before the invasion of Babylon. This is unheard of, and we are paying the economic price today.
The talker, Nick Hanauer, was an investor in Amazon. It could be argued that Amazon has led to the demise of many small independent bookstores. Mr. Hanauer is not a job creator, he is a job rearranger. At least he has the courage to say so.