Good AM, folks!
Well, I found out what one of us will be doing this weekend. School starts on Monday. Susan will be readying her lessons and classroom. Why isn't she more ready, you may ask, especially since she was in the building as soon as it was open some weeks ago? Meetings. The school system remains obsessed with time-wasting meetings. I am compelled to sit thru a 1-hour meeting once a week. I don't know how teachers stand it.
Speaking of getting the classroom ready: Susan had to move to a different classroom in a different building. Bob has helped her several times with moving and setting up. Our thanks to him.
Word watch: "take-away," as in tasl or conclusion derived by the end of the meeting. This is a buzzword here at Aon. Some take-aways are "action items," another wearying business BS buzz phrase.
Just in case anyone thinks that meetings are a new fangled idea, according to the Old Testament (that is abbreviated OT, hmm…whose initials are those?), the first meeting went something like this:
ReplyDelete27 So God created man in his owne Image, in the Image of God created hee him; male and female created hee them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said vnto them, Be fruitfull, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and haue dominion ouer the fish of the sea, and ouer the foule of the aire, and ouer euery liuing thing that mooueth vpon the earth.
Genesis 1:27-28
At this point, the guy and the gal did not have names, but they really liked the part where God told them to be fruitful and multiply and got right to work on that. So the first meeting was a big success.
But almost immediately, things went wrong. You know the story, the snake, the apple (some of us prefer to think of it as a big, juicy mango), Eve and Adam. Oh my.
8 And they heard the voyce of the LORD God, walking in the garden in the coole of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselues from the presence of the LORD God, amongst the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8
Somehow Adam and Eve knew that this second meeting was not going to go well. So like many of us today, they tried to avoid the meeting, to no avail.
9 And the LORD God called vnto Adam, and said vnto him, Where art thou?
10 And he (Adam, who Eve had begun calling Addie Cuty) said, I heard thy voice in the garden: and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid my selfe.
11 And he (God, technically Yahweh) said, Who told thee, that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldest not eate?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gauest to be with mee, shee gaue me of the tree, and I did eate.
Genesis 3:9-12
Adam was obviously the first Republican…blame all your failures on the women.
13 And the LORD God said vnto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The Serpent beguiled me, and I did eate.
Genesis 3:13
Representative Akin of Missouri would love this one. Was this a "legitimate rape"? Or did Eve let the snake have his way, then falsely accuse him? Whatever, Yahweh wasn't having any of it.
(continued next)
(continued from previous)
Delete14 And the LORD God said vnto the Serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed aboue all cattel, and aboue euery beast of the field: vpon thy belly shalt thou goe, and dust shalt thou eate, all the dayes of thy life.
Genesis 3:14
This was the beginning of the Republican war on science. Anybody who knows anything about anything knows that snakes do not eat dust (not enough protein), but the fumblementalists still believe it.
15 And I will put enmitie betweene thee and the woman, and betweene thy seed and her seed: it shal bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heele.
Genesis 3:15
A great piece of writing. You've got to love the "bruise his heele" part. If I stomp your head, you bruise my heel. Meat for Mel Brooks.
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorowe and thy conception. In sorow thou shalt bring forth children: and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and hee shall rule ouer thee.
Genesis 3:15
Here Yahweh invents a new concept, sorowe. Whereas before children just popped happily out of the womb at unexpected times, now women will have to suffer for 9 months just to get one. And at the same time, the man can kick her ass anytime he wants…the invention of wife abuse.
17 And vnto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened vnto the voyce of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commaunded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eate of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake: in sorow shalt thou eate of it all the dayes of thy life.
18 Thornes also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee: and thou shalt eate the herbe of the field.
Genesis 3:17-18
Until now there had been nothing but plump fruits and vegetables. But here Yahweh invents weeds, the bain (Capital) of all gardeners ever since.
19 In the sweate of thy face shalt thou eate bread, till thou returne vnto the ground: for out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and vnto dust shalt thou returne.
20 And Adam called his wiues name Eue, because she was the mother of all liuing.
21 Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the LORD God make coates of skinnes, and cloathed them.
Genesis 3:19-21
Here Yahweh becomes the first merchant tailor. No doubt, Eve got a sexy leopard skin dress and Adam got a leather bomber jacket. We are not told whether the requisite Porsche sunglasses were also provided. The price that Yahweh charged has gone unrecorded, but you can be sure that it was high…the first designer outfits.
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of vs, to know good & euill. And now lest hee put foorth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eate and liue for euer:
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him foorth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence he was taken.
24 So he droue out the man: and he placed at the East of the garden of Eden, Cherubims, and a flaming sword, which turned euery way, to keepe the way of the tree of life.
Genesis 3:22-24
Many southern towns are divided by a railroad line. It is striking that in most cases, the east side is the "wrong side of the tracks". Those who doubt the verity of my word, the OT, should consider that fact.
As to the overall effect of this second meeting, is it any wonder that humans have ever since been trying to avoid as many meetings as possible? But there are many Yahwehs among us who love the control that meetings give them over other people's lives.
Above quotes are taken from the original 1611 version of the King James Bible. You can read the entire chapter of Genesis 3 in an image of the original pages of the first printed version here:
Printed by Robert Barker, London, 1611
I might mention that Pat Robertson and John Hagee and many others have been peddling facsimile versions of this book for years at around $5,000 per copy…a major ripoff. Here you can see the same thing for the astonishing low price of…free.
This truly put my "middle English" skills to the test.
DeleteAt Haverford all students were required to take two units of religion. I chose a two semester course in which we read the entire 1611 King James and discussed it as literature.
DeleteOf course, I was brought up on this edition. My grandmother had no use for that "newfangled" 1620 Cambridge edition. And you can imagine what she had to say about the Revised Standard Version.
I have always loved the language: "Therefore the LORD God sent him foorth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence he was taken."
Beautiful language.
Truly beautiful indeed though a bit "liberal" with the over use of vowels. One of the best courses I took was an elective simply called "Shakespeare" and was taught by a man utterly immersed in the subject, time period and language. I thoroughly enjoyed it to the point that the prof suggested I consider participating in stage performance. Not me, unless those Elizabethans could enjoy their craft spoken in a Piedmont accent.
DeleteI can hear it even as we speak. Instead of "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears..." we get "Y'all listen here now..."
Deletesuch a bawdy bard was he: “Graze on my lips, and if those hills are dry, Stray lower where the pleasant fountains lie”
DeleteI hope there is not a time limit on the text as it would take the other actors a while to adjust to the new cadence. Gotta keep it G rated lest there be those easily blushed in the crowd.
Deleteyes, the above quote doesn't translate well into southern.
DeleteA friend of mine raises miniature pigs. One is called Hamlet. He just became a father of 6.
DeleteTruly a worthy effort and a good time had by both parties? Cigarettes afterward?
Deleteif I had just become the father of 6, I'd be going: "O, woe is me."
DeleteEverybody knows that anytime Rush starts quoting the Bible, he getting ready to say something really stupid.
DeleteI imagine that at this moment, piggy Hamlet is surveying his new brood and reciting the piggy version of "To be, or not to be..."
DeleteFCWW.calm (wes watch not whitewall) reports that a common thread in Wes's facebook friends is the Gospel Light Christian school in Walkertown, Liberty University, and Bob Jones.
ReplyDelete"Anyone ready for the Psalm 83 prophecy to unfold? Egypt, Hamas, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria, N. Iraq, Jordan... they are all aligned against Israel and priming for conflict. And, they match the locations named in Psalm 83 (with name changes, of course, but the specific locations fully align)."
"Also notice that Turkey was formerly aligned with the "Axis of Terror", but has recently pulled out. Again, this is more in line with Psalm 83 prophecy, as Turkey is not involved in that prophecy, but is later involved in the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy, along with Iran and Russia."
My friend at the library was a USSF soccer referee for many years. He was assigned to referee the 1st soccer match at Gospel Light. When he got there, he found that there was a telephone pole standing within the playing field.
DeleteHe also found a piece of plywood lying on the ground near one of the goals. When he moved it, he found that it covered a hole in the ground. In the center of the hole a capped off iron pipe was sticking up.
He declared the field unsafe for play and canceled the game. For this he received several curses, not of the biblical type.
These same folks who spend much of their time demonstrating against abortionists apparently have little concern for the welfare of their own living children.
GLCS was founded in 1972 which is also the same year that busing began for WSFCS.
DeleteWhat an amazing coincidence.
DeleteWP is a member of Parkway Chapel on Buchanan Street. It is some sort of non-denominational outfit.
DeleteYou can attend his website here: Wes Patterson Is My Best Friend
There is all kinds of hilarious stuff there. Wes has traced his ancestry to biblical royalty (not actually possible), so you better not get him riled.
For someone who doesn't post on this forum, Wes sure commands a lot of attention? But then since I don't bother with the journal anymore, it is a help to read about those who do.
DeleteTrue. Wes commands a lot of attention like Todd Akins has commanded a lot of attention.
DeleteMakes me wonder why the two should command such attention in light of the future this nation may soon face. Maybe our troubles are too much to contemplate.
DeleteI can agree with that. Looks like we've created a world that's way to complex to manage.
DeleteToo much! Y'all have made my day...this is hilarious.
Delete"First-rate Miami University"
ReplyDeleteWe usually don't respond to idiocy in the letters column in support of President Obama, but when one attacks our alma mater ("Sum It Up," Aug. 17), we must set the writer straight.
Miami University is one of the oldest public institutions in the country. Miami has an impressive lists of graduates. To name a few:
Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prize winner and the first African-American U.S. poet laureate, graduated summa cum laude, and Chung Un-chan, former prime minister of South Korea, received his master's degree in economics.
William Holmes McGuffy wrote his famous reading textbooks while teaching at Miami from 1826 to 1836.
Miami has the distinction of graduating a former president (Benjamin Harrison) along with a Super Bowl-winning quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger). In 2010, Business Week ranked Miami's undergraduate Farmer School of Business as 16th among U.S. undergraduate business schools and sixth for public universities. Richard Moll in his book about premier public universities described Miami as one of America's original eight "public ivies" (UNC was among those eight).
Lastly, Miami is known as "the Cradle of Coaches," giving us such greats as Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian and Paul Brown, to name a few.
This is a very condensed list of the achievements of Miami graduates.
Miami is far from a second-rate school, and we are proud to be alumnae and have such a brilliant young Miamian as Paul Ryan running for vice president.
MARGARET GIESER (class of 1958)
Clemmons
MARY McCANDLESS (class of 1983)
Winston-Salem
"No second term"
The author of the Aug. 19 letter "Caring" says she will vote for President Obama because he "cares about America." She further does not understand why many are fearful of his having a second term.
Obama's record of caring is worth looking into: greater unemployment, huge increase in the number of families on food stamps, no government transparency, the Middle East — a powder keg ready to blow up. I am afraid, and rightly so.
We desperately need a president who has the financial acumen and the will to put our country back on track to fiscal solvency. We cannot survive four more years of Obama's reckless spending, radical executive orders, crony capitalism and divisive rhetoric. The Romney/Ryan ticket is the answer to the problem that is Obama/Biden.
MARY LOU WILSON
Winston-Salem
"No good result"
DeleteThe writer of the letter "Ryan's Christianity" (Aug. 19) allowed his political beliefs to spill over into theology.
To no good result, in my opinion. Based solely on the presumptive Republican vice-presidential nominee's budget proposal, the writer casts doubt on Paul Ryan's Christian faith. But surely during his stated "close reading of the New Testament," he came across the admonition to judge not, which I take to mean a warning against the presumption of one man judging another man's standing before God, which the writer certainly has done.
If, however, political behavior were to be the test of one's religious fidelity, a better argument could be made on behalf of Ryan, who at least has made an honest effort at lifting the country out of its fiscal mire to the general benefit, including the poor, as opposed to the approach of President Obama and his party, who seem content to blame others and demagogue the whole issue.
DON GORDON
Clemmons
"Bowles has spoken"
Finally, a voice of fresh air amid all the rancor about taxes and the deficit. Erskine Bowles could not be more clear and concise in his Aug. 17 column, "Romney's tax plan wouldn't cut the deficit." He points out that both candidates have taken steps in the right direction toward stabilizing our debt (e.g., proposals to reduce long-term government spending), but neither has gone far enough in terms of tax-code reform.
Obviously, they have their reasons, with the election upon us, to deflect such proposals, but with the sequester mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 looming to kick in on Jan. 2, now is the time to act. Put aside the partisanship.
According to Bowles, citizens across America have expressed that they are ready to do their part — as long as the sacrifice is shared and everything is on the table (and no playing favorites). Republicans and Democrats need to come together and reform the tax code as recommended by the Bowles/Simpson bipartisan fiscal commission.
They have our support. Are they hearing us?
DAVID WANUCHA
Mocksville
"Finish the Thought"
Briefly complete the sentence below and send it to us at letters@wsjournal.com. We'll print some of the results in a few days. Only signed entries, please — no anonymous ones.
"Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan can win large numbers of women voters if they ....
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNo second term. Mary Lou could have just said that the Aug 19 letter writer did not completely understand her president...which she clearly does not---or maybe does which would be truly terrifying. The divide here about this man is irreconcilable. And should stay that way.
DeleteBowles has spoken. Yes he said all that but my guess is by the time the Charlotte convention comes around, his remarks will be amended, revised and extended. Bowles and Simpson did some good work in good faith and was well ignored.
DeleteSorry Mary Lou, but that is not a legitimate and forcible argument.
ReplyDeleteFinancial "acumen"? Somebody must've bought her a thesaurus.
DeleteYeah, we're all dummies except you liberals. Hee hee...and if you believe that...well you know the rest.
DeleteWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The former U.S. Navy SEAL who authored a soon-to-be-published book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden is now facing threats against his life in addition to possible criminal prosecution.
ReplyDeleteAn official al Qaeda website on Friday posted a photograph and the name of the former Navy commando responsible for the book, calling him "the dog who murdered the martyr Sheikh Osama bin Laden."
Way to go FOX NEWS for making public the real name of the author.
With news organizations like that, who needs enemies?
DeleteTwo wrongs do not make a right.
DeleteNo, but two wrongs do make a Left, according to the Right.
DeleteR-i-i-i-i-i-g-h-t.
This SEAL book business is a total mess.
Delete1. All SEAL ops are above top secret. He shouldn't have written the book in the first place.
2. He is required by his contract with the Navy to present any manuscript that is to be published for examination re national security issues. He can be prosecuted for not doing that. He also can be prosecuted if the Navy decides that anything in the book is classified information.
3. Fox, as always, shows their butt by publishing his name. That endangers him and his family. Al Qaeda will use this as a recruiting tool by offering a bounty to kill him and others.
4. You can be sure that Al Qaeda has downloaded his Facebook page and will be sorting through his friends list looking for other members of his SEAL team.
5. The publisher, Dutton, a subsidiary of Penguin, has announced the official publication date as 9/11. Apparently there is no limit to what people will do for money. Disgusting.
Former Defense Sec. Gates summed it all up pretty well months ago re this SEAL mission etc "shut the ---- up".
DeleteYes. There should have been a two sentence announcement and nothing more.
Delete"Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US special operations troops. He has been buried at sea."
The SEALs and others who carried out the mission were thoroughly debriefed after the mission was over. A part of all such debriefings is a reminder that the mission was highly classified and is not to be discussed with anyone.
You are right and in addition, those remarks should have been given by the Defense Dept only as well as any other remarks. Dangerous territory.
DeleteStab....that is the difference between public education and public education system. Parents expect the former, the entranched establishment demands the latter.
ReplyDeleteSo Todd Akin is on the Science and Technology Committee and Michele Bachmann is on the Intelligence Committee. Well now, if that doesn't put the moron in Oxymoron.....
ReplyDeleteI thought the Republicans had changed the name of the Science and Technology Committee to the Rumors and Superstitions Committee.
DeleteEven before Michelle arrived, the Intelligence Committee was an oxymoron.
We still know which end, is the good end, unlike liberal Democrats.
DeleteFinish the thought-"Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan can win large numbers of women voters if they? That's a thought? How 'bout Obama/Biden can win a large number of men voters if they? Why just half? Maybe Charlotte can be all about social issues and Tampa can be all about economic issues. Our troubles are big.
ReplyDeleteA B-25 flanked by two F-5 Freedom Fighters just flew over my roof. I think it is the Iranian air force. WW III is on.
ReplyDeleteGet thee to a cellar
DeleteYou guys get really out there when I'm not around.
DeleteI went out to 'Bongos' last night. Of course, Rush wouldn't have a clue where that is, because he is always stuck in his pathetic little loft.
ReplyDeleteHee...Hee...you gotta love it.
Le Bec-Fin
DeleteI just threw that out there, Rush. I knew you'd take the bait.
DeleteYou know I've got your number-0.
I somehow missed LTE #1. I can understand how Ms. Gieser and Ms. McCandless would take umbrage at having their alma mater referred to as a second rate school…unfortunate terminology.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is a clear pecking order for schools in the US, and several long running attempts to rank them. It is an iffy business, but all of the legitimate rankers pretty much agree on who belongs where.
For my purposes, I use the US News & World Report numbers. A school might be one or two places different under the other systems.
Miami University of Ohio is classified as a "national university" because it is a university that is racially and geographically diverse, as opposed to, say, Methodist University or High Point University, schools that are mostly white and draw their students from a regional base.
National universities are generally seen as being divided into three groups; the top group being the best of the best; the second group being just a bit below the top; and a third group that goes up to about 190,and then pretty much all the rest.
The military academies are not usually included in national university rankings. If they were, Annapolis and West Point would probably make the first group, with the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy high in the second group.
Of course, there are other top schools that are not classified as universities, but instead as national colleges. The best of those, such as Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Haverford, Pomona, Davidson, etc would easily qualify in the upper to middle part of the top group.
Here is the top group of national universities, comprising 16 schools. Note that all eight Ivy League schools are included in the group:
1 Harvard
1 Princeton
1 Yale
4 Columbia
5 Chicago
5 Cal Tech
5 MIT
5 Stanford
5 Penn
10 Duke
11 Dartmouth
12 Northwestern
13 Johns Hopkins
14 Washington U, St. Louis
15 Brown
15 Cornell
The highest ranked schools not included in the top group are Rice & Vanderbilt, tied for 17th, then Notre Dame and Emory.
The second group comprises 25 schools, including the following ACC schools:
Virginia 25T
Wake Forest 25T
UNC 29T
Boston College 31
Ga Tech 36
Miami FL 38T
So there is a Miami in the second rank, but it is not Miami of Ohio. In fact Miami of Ohio ranks a distant 90th, roughly equivalent to SUNY-Binghamton or Missouri. Both Alabama and Auburn are several notches above them.
And Miami of Ohio may have once been included in the list of "public ivies", but that is no longer the case. Today's "public ivies" include Cal Berkeley (21), UCLA (25T), UVA (25T), Michigan (28), UNC (29T), William & Mary (33T), NYU (33T) and Georgia Tech (36).
Cal-San Diego, Cal-Davis, Miami (FL), Cal-Santa Barbara, U. of Washington, Wisconsin, Penn State, Cal-Irvine, Illinois, Texas, Ohio State, Maryland, Texas A&M, UConn, Florida, Pitt, Purdue, Georgia, Clemson, Rutgers, Minnesota, Michigan State, Iowa, Virginia Tech, Colorado School of Mines, Indiana, Alabama, Cal-Santa Cruz, Delaware, Auburn, Denver and Vermont are other public schools that rank ahead of Miami of Ohio.
So sorry ladies, but if we apply terms like "second rate", your alma mater finishes no better than "third rate". Which, considering his pitiful record in the House and "Bob Jones U" (unranked and unaccredited*) mentality, is just about right for Congressman Ryan.
* About 9 months ago, BJU (you know what that stands for…all those obedient little southern Baptist girls and boys) announced that they would seek accredition with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. We'll see if they make it.
I generally don't go for argument points through rank pulling, but those two ladies were kind of asking for it...if only for calling Obama supporters "idiotic".
DeleteNor do I. There is no way to rank colleges in any meaningful way. What we're really talking about here is two different things.
Delete1. Which school is the best fit for you?
2. Which school's diploma will do the best for your career?
The rankings that I discussed have to do mostly with #2. A degree from UNC will help you locally, but there is no doubt that a degree from Columbia or Swarthmore goes much farther on the national and international level.
The problem for #1 is that it takes a lot of effort to find the right school for you. And much of that effort must be made by your parents. Unfortunately most parents do not have the time, the will or the knowledge to help their children choose.
Too bad, because as stated below, the right college can change your life forever.
OT, I would add Middlebury and Kenyon to the list of colleges you cite.
ReplyDeleteAgree. I was trying to shorten a very long post, so just gave examples. We have so many outstanding small colleges...even one, Trinity, in Texas. The two St. Johns, one in Annapolis and the other in, Minnesota are extraordinary, as is Reed College (which has had some recent problems, but seems to be recovering) in Oregon.
DeleteBowdoin, in Maine, and Carleton, in Northfield, Minnesota (the Waterloo of the James/Dalton gang) are excellent. Both were on my short list at one time. And having since visited Northfield as an adult on several occasions, I wonder if maybe I should have gone to school there.
California is loaded with excellent colleges. I cited Pomona, which is part of a five college consortium known as the Claremont Colleges, including, in addition to Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Scripps, Harvey Mudd and Pitzer. Students at any of the schools can take classes, eat, join organizations and do pretty much anything else at the other member schools.
Haverford and Swarthmore are members of a similar consortium on the Philly mainline which also includes Bryn Mawr. At one point, the food at Bryn Mawr was so much better than at the other two that they had to start rationing Bryn Mawr cafeteria visits until the others could catch up. They did it equally, so the Bryn Mawr girls had to eat a certain number of their meals at Haverford and Swarthmore...they were not happy.
My friend Fam and I, having both graduated from small, excellent liberal arts colleges, are hard core evangelists for small colleges in general. All other things being equal, you will get a better education there, and it will change your life forever.