I commend to all an excellent essay by Gus diZerega, from his blog on Beliefnet: Twelve Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Pagans.
He covers the basics very well. Commentary is welcome here or there.
Archive for the ‘Franklin Evans’ Category
Twelve Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Pagans
Posted in Culture, Education, Franklin Evans, Gods, tagged Beliefnet, Gus diZerega, pagan, religion on November 11, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Modesty and the male-female dynamic
Posted in Arts, Commerce, Culture, Ethics, Franklin Evans, Lifestyle, Man, Sex, Woman, tagged cosmetics, modesty, fashion, sexual attraction, sexual signals on November 5, 2009 | 4 Comments »
I thought to put a little punning in the subject line, but this is such a basic and important topic that I went (perhaps too far) toward the scholarly tone. Dear reader, I am not a scientist… but I have read and do read, and I have a substantial advantage over many of my gender: [...]
Zero Tolerance version 2.1
Posted in Community, Culture, Ethics, Franklin Evans, Lifestyle on October 21, 2009 | 7 Comments »
I don’t have a good reason for calling it “version 2.1″, though as an IT professional I guess I have to have a number in there somewhere.
Things I’d like to see given zero tolerance:
The use of statistics in support of an argument.
Reckless driving before it causes injury and death.
Skateboarding on sidewalks when pedestrians are present.
Skateboarding [...]
Most fecund maker of American slang
Posted in Culture, Franklin Evans, Humor, Language, Media, tagged cat's pajamas, slang, Tad Dorgan, Words on October 3, 2009 | 2 Comments »
My daughter the linguistics major, like myself and her mother, has a keen ear for usage and meaning, particularly the opportunities to take advantage towards perpetrating a pun or three.
She was chatting with me about how some of her generational peers seem to be ignorant of past lexicon even though it is still in common [...]
Do people think? New studies are inconclusive…
Posted in Culture, Education, Franklin Evans, Language, Mind, Nature, Science, Self, World on October 3, 2009 | 9 Comments »
I enjoyed our own Lynn’s post about doggie intelligence (second half of post; first half is a cautionary and timely tale about keeping your medical records current.) We always had a dog while I was growing up, and less so a cat (though cats’ tendency to think of their humans as convenient rest stops might [...]
Today is Crankie Frankie Day!
Posted in Franklin Evans, Self on September 30, 2009 | 16 Comments »
Because I can, and because people do ask…
When I was around 8 years old I hit my right hip on the edge of a concrete block — it was all in good fun, the block was right behind home plate of our softball field and I just had to do my idol Bill Freehan proud [...]
Health care of my dreams
Posted in Commerce, Ethics, Franklin Evans, Health Care, Health Care Proposals, Politics on September 24, 2009 | 5 Comments »
In a previous post, The Case Against (more) Profit in Health Care, I offer (with the first reply post) some background and rational support for the notion that making a profit from caring for the sick and injured is immoral. I’ll reiterate a clarifying point before continuing: I am not saying that no one should [...]
The Help Desk I Want To Be (or not to be)
Posted in Arts, Education, Franklin Evans, Humor, Language, Technology, tagged help desk, parody on September 13, 2009 | 3 Comments »
This should need no further introduction other than to suggest that you watch it in full-screen mode. The sub-titles are not as large as they could be for elder eyes.
Obama’s Prepared Remarks to America’s Students
Posted in Education, Family, Franklin Evans, Nation, Politics on September 7, 2009 | 9 Comments »
White House Media Resources website with the full text of Obama’s intended remarks to America’s students.
For the purposes of this thread, I request that criticisms of the remarks include direct quotes from the officially posted text. Copy and paste are our friends, just as we require Mr. Tongue and Mr. Lips to form words.
Obama Addresses the Nation’s Children: for the lazy
Posted in Education, Ethics, Family, Franklin Evans, Nation, Politics, tagged conspiracy, idiots don't become smart when they have children, never trust a man who speaks for more than 30 seconds, no need for education just fear everything, satire on September 5, 2009 | 13 Comments »
The brief summary of the kerfuffle over Obama speaking to children while they sit in their classrooms, with teachers prepped with an outline of how to use it as a learning moment:
Obama: “I will ask children to see school as a positive value.”
Fear mongerer of your choice: “Obama is going to proselytize your children into [...]
Public Education Rewrite
Posted in Community, Education, Ethics, Family, Franklin Evans, tagged education mandate, public education, unfunded mandate on September 1, 2009 | 10 Comments »
Public education in the US has a long and checkered history.
Rewrite the public eduation system from the ground up, stomping on professional, bureaucratic and political toes with hobnailed boots.
Well, okay, I’ve got a multi-decade head of contempt-steam built up, so it really would be less vindictive than that.
General: Fully fund the programs. Pay the professionals [...]
The Case Against (More) Profit in Health Care
Posted in Commerce, Ethics, Franklin Evans, Health Care, Health Care Proposals, Law, Nation on August 28, 2009 | 6 Comments »
In the many discussions concerning the moral and ethical implications of health care reform, I find a recurrent theme that floats around in the ether of possibility but rarely sees any explicit mention: We are discussing an industry, with all the trimmings. Ownership, investment, return on investment, profit, loss, stock prices, all the mundane functions [...]
The filters we use to see reality (or not)
Posted in Commerce, Community, Ethics, Family, Franklin Evans, Health Care, Law, Lifestyle, Media, Nation, Politics, tagged health care reform, tax reform, tea parties, corporate profit over living wages on August 25, 2009 | 8 Comments »
I often shake my head in frustration when people — often people I respect for their insight and opinions — say things like “where were they when..?” or “why now, and not before..?” I have to wonder if perhaps the line from “I, Robot” applies to me: “Does believing you’re the last sane man on [...]
Norwegian Painkiller
Posted in Culture, Franklin Evans, Gods, Humor, Language, tagged callahanians, fun with words on August 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The door to Callahan’s Saloon[1] starts to open slowly. As the door moves, a small voice of protest can be heard emanating from the hinges. The door stops, and slowly begins to close again. Muffled cursing can be heard approaching from the parking lot, getting progressively louder until it ends with a faint thud as [...]
Conservative code for “Disagree with me”
Posted in Education, Ethics, Franklin Evans, Language, Law, Nation, Politics on August 9, 2009 | 32 Comments »
My fellow Alexandrian DADvocate has an ongoing commentary in like tone to the subject title for this entry. I have, in general, a strong respect for him as a person, so I’ve decided that if I have a strong objection to something he’s written, I should offer a balancing response rather than some flavor of [...]
The corrupting pressures of politics and profit in Health Care
Posted in Education, Ethics, Family, Franklin Evans, Health Care, Health Care Proposals, Language, Law, Politics on August 9, 2009 | 8 Comments »
I thought I’d take a crack at the full context of this, using a contributor to That Other Blog posting under the moniker of ‘Jules’. Italicized text is verbatim “what I object to” statements.
Quoted source: OpenCongress helps you track all the actions by your elected officials and what people are saying about them.
Putting the [...]
Lies that we believe
Posted in Ethics, Franklin Evans, Politics, tagged lies, controversy, politicians, shouting mobs, civil debate on August 8, 2009 | 12 Comments »
I find myself with increasing frequency quoting the “Wizard’s First Rule”, from the so-titled first book in the Terry Goodkind fantasy series The Sword of Truth:
People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it’s true, or because [...]
True Science in Action!
Posted in Education, Ethics, Franklin Evans, Media, Nature, Politics, Science, tagged climate change, scientific debate, science propaganda on July 28, 2009 | 5 Comments »
True Science in Action!
Mr. Watts’ blog entry summarizes activity and debate surrounding a climate change statement published by the American Physical Society in 2007, and their subsequent move to review that statement in light of the constructive criticism it received.
As Watts put it in his conclusion:
We applaud this decision. It is the first such reappraisal [...]
Cops are people, too…
Posted in Community, Ethics, Franklin Evans, Law, Media, tagged racism, citizenship, police bashing, urban crime, witness to a crime on July 26, 2009 | 7 Comments »
They just aren’t allowed to be themselves when on duty.
Personal and anecdotal — meaning you are being told a story so shut down your assumptions and just read.
I was leaving the main entrance of a Center City* apartment building, having finished a session of contract bridge in a small room on the first floor with [...]
The ills of American Society
Posted in Community, Ethics, Franklin Evans, Nation, Politics, tagged voting, democracy, citizenship, republic on July 2, 2009 | 7 Comments »
What are the true ills of the American Society?
The rhetoric from all sides on this is vigorous and ubiquitous. It permeates every major social and political-policy issue. This rhetoric for the most part is long on conclusions and very short on root causes and motivations. It is, in short, not much more than an exercise [...]
The ills of the world fall upon children
Posted in Community, Education, Family, Franklin Evans, Lifestyle, tagged Family, education, children on June 20, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Taking a walk this morning (an ill-advised desire for coffee at the local cafe; it’s raining cats, dogs and gerbils this morning), I saw two families out walking in the wet. Both had one in a stroller (suitably covered, of course), and my pre-coffee thought was a bit confused: where could they be going at [...]
If I ran for president, what “dirt” would they sling at me?
Posted in Ethics, Franklin Evans, Nation, Politics, Self, tagged presidential candidates, spinning your dirt, media buffoonery on June 3, 2009 | 32 Comments »
Thought experiment of the week (or of the weak, if you prefer):
If you ran for President of the US, what is true about you or your background that would provide fodder for fearmongering and spin?
I am what they would call a target-rich candidate. Lots of “good” stuff to grab and run with.
I am a pagan. [...]
