Archive for July, 2009
Saturday, July 25th, 2009
Obama, Sergeant Crowley and Professor Gates: three’s a company
Expressing regret for the prickly comment that Sgt. James Crowley had behaved stupidly in his rough treatment of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, the president has now admitted that his off-the-cuff remark was a mistake.
“I obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up,” the president said in an appearance in the White House briefing room. “I […]
Comments Off - Posted in Religion and Politics by Robert "Voluptuous" Thompson
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
Japanese, Imperialists, and The Other
Last week, I completed a writing project on Japan’s experience with imperialism, just two hours before the deadline. Finished, I felt exhilarated. Free!
The writing itself, by contrast, had depressed me. I love my country; trying to explain the way Americans in the mid-1800s forced a weak nation to sign treaties that we knew to be […]
1 Comment » - Posted in From Belief Systems To Relief Systems by James Huffman
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
Is there one true religion?
There is nothing more insufferable than a new convert to—just about anything. When you are a new convert you are convinced that you have found it and anyone who doesn’t see it your way is at best, ignorant—at worst, living a life of futility.
My last conversion occurred fifteen years ago when I became a vegetarian. […]