tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368184512011-11-01T21:36:14.470-04:00"You really shouldn't talk about paralepsis, and we're not going to start now." --ZachrielHermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.comBlogger631100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-78386985154342742342011-05-28T17:21:00.003-04:002011-05-28T17:45:58.236-04:00

They don't really: not in a direct way. Most of what he writes seems to sink without a ripple. A writer both prolix and pointless, kairosfocus produces an impact-per-word number that must be so small as to be homeopathic. It's hard to imagine people changing their minds based on the writings of kairosfocus; at best, he may reinforce already-held beliefs. Rhetorically, this makes his work (

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-42770412675441962332011-05-28T10:10:00.000-04:002011-05-28T10:13:19.033-04:00

I'll accept your characterization of Saul Alinsky as "Neo-Marxist" if you accept that Intelligent Design is "Neo-Creationist." The relationship between ID and creationism is at least as close (I'd say much more) than between Alinsky and Marxism.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-24853945234846079972011-05-28T10:06:00.003-04:002011-05-28T10:09:31.020-04:00

[reposted from Intelligent Design is not Science]I have been reading William James' book Pragmatism and came across a really interesting passage. I post it here because I can't recall its being used in the ID debate before. Back in 1904, James anticipates some issues about the identity of the designer. This is from Lecture III, entitled "Some Metaphysical Problems Pragmatically Considered

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-87495083937571422462011-05-27T17:58:00.006-04:002011-05-27T18:29:55.259-04:00

Just a brief note to respond to kairosfocus, who claims regarding Saul Alinsky:For those who came in late, Alinsky was a neo-marxist radical who saw cultural and community subversion as the means of communist revolution. I cut my critical thinking eye-teeth on Communists, messianistic charismatic pols and cultists, and have wariness about all three.(All quotes in bold are emphasis added.) Truth

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-59444443576936148982010-10-05T21:35:00.011-04:002010-10-06T09:44:44.815-04:00

It's been a long time since I've posted here, and especially in the Rhetoric of Now series, but I think this election season seems like a good time to return. The specific occasion for this post is the recent online activity of one Bruce W. Griffin, who tutored nutjob Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell a decade ago in a three-week course that O'Donnell falsely claimed was an Oxford

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-52301187911980919342010-03-09T23:07:00.002-05:002010-03-09T23:12:38.536-05:00

This is converted from a GIF animation made by my son Thomas, age 13. I thought it was pretty cool.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-75943062708139662292009-07-01T21:45:00.001-04:002009-07-01T21:45:24.277-04:00

Synopsis: Mark Sanford and John Edwards hitchhike to Argentina. He's a Republican! He's a Democrat! They're both horndogs! Buddy-movie hilarity ensues. In Costa Rica they meet with the ex-President of Honduras and decide to stage a counter-coup, but they end up just making a sex tape. Should I pitch it?

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-80034661408887304262008-09-09T05:38:00.009-04:002008-09-09T06:02:42.883-04:00

Here's what:No matter what they say, the Bush administration will always, always, ALWAYS use any authority Congress gives them.Chris Dodd should have known better:In the mortgage rescue bill, the Treasury Department was given authority to buy major stakes in the two mortgage giants — if it had to. But Paulson, until recently, predicted that the government would not need to get federal money

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-24180828363176963252008-09-07T14:12:00.004-04:002008-09-07T14:15:32.543-04:00

Sent today: So Charlie Gibson has scored the first interview with Palin after the GOP convention. Congratulations! But I wonder why they chose Gibson. Today on Fox News, a McCain spokesman said he will only release Palin to the media when he's convinced they will be "deferential" to her. If you are at all deferential, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Charlie Gibson's pre-convention

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-88079866237925771402008-05-23T20:10:00.002-04:002008-05-23T20:12:44.813-04:00

I'm just a heartbeat away from the presumptive nominee.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-52086283507547390922008-05-21T13:47:00.003-04:002008-05-21T13:55:18.706-04:00

for the folks at MyDDBarack Obama did not raise your gas prices.Barack Obama did not ship your job to Mexico.Barack Obama did not write your sermons.Barack Obama did not deny your habeas corpus.Barack Obama did not cast your primary voteand Barack Obama did not dismiss your primary vote.Barack Obama did not raise your interest rates.Barack Obama did not send that letter you wouldn't open for

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-72809410104224168762008-05-06T18:26:00.003-04:002008-05-06T18:31:43.246-04:00

Why are the evil Darwinists so much more popular than me?

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-53843678985405206162008-04-14T12:33:00.002-04:002008-04-14T12:57:38.998-04:00

As a short counter to the recent exercise in triviality, how about I encourage us all to do something of consequence? Namely, help free Sami Al-Arian, an actual political prisoner in America, currently held in Howard County, Maryland. I first heard of Al-Arian because I briefly encountered his son Abdullah, who was a student at Duke when I taught there. Back in 2002, Abdullah Al-Arian was

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-62380025949834181952008-04-14T01:08:00.005-04:002008-04-14T10:35:37.130-04:00

Added: Wow, this post got long. It's like kairosfocus gives everything he touches a proximate case of his own logorrhea.Warning: do not read this post. It is by definition without consequence, as it's about a character what goes by the name kairosfocus, whose blog, though astonishingly voluminous, is even less important than mine.Although his own blog is but a filibuster in an empty room,

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-87318431817801349342008-03-26T15:25:00.002-04:002008-03-26T15:33:44.470-04:00

I must have recorded this some years ago. Found it on microcassette and transcribed. One daya flying lizard was goingin a fierce place called Fierce Desert,and it heard somethingvery very fierce. What are you doing with that? I’m just — OK, done. And then it woke up a sleeping lizard. The sleeping lizard was grunting. And — can you record that again? I’m recording, I’

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-87868792608436669972008-03-08T10:48:00.016-05:002008-03-10T20:03:06.670-04:00

On NPR's Weekend Edition this morning, Scott Simon delivers a commentary about the recent exposure of gang-banger "memoir" Love and Consequences by Margaret Jones (actually Margaret Seltzer). Simon observes that "the book is a fraud, but Ms. Seltzer came within hours of of being on NPR." Wrong. In fact, Jones/Seltzer did make it onto NPR's syndicated show "On Point," and the show followed

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-60133788363038095152008-01-20T12:39:00.003-05:002008-02-16T20:45:52.552-05:00

My brother lives in Singapore, where I spent a lovely Christmas. We're twins, so we look alike (except that he's in shape, so I look like my brother in a funhouse mirror). He's been learning Chinese and singing Chinese songs in Singapore karaoke bars. Here is is singing an acoustic version of the pop song Xiao Wei:Also, if you don't know it, tune in to Radio Otherfunk. Their Darwin Day

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-80404372173097812922007-12-09T17:41:00.000-05:002007-12-09T17:42:05.458-05:00

I love this guy.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-18142144140524689532007-12-09T17:36:00.000-05:002007-12-09T17:39:21.282-05:00

Mitt Romney has the tie, the white shirt, and the smile. All he needs is a name tag and a bicycle.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-85733800199606256652007-11-28T21:13:00.000-05:002007-11-28T21:41:49.114-05:00

So Dr. Dr. Dembski has notpologized for plagiarizing stealing using the Harvard-produced video "The Inner Life of the Cell." It's all very touching, how mean old Harvard refused to sell him the DVD (as though that would have given him the right to use it) and so he was forced to plagiarize not the original, but someone else's mangled version:A few months after announcing the video at

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-86285641467103837542007-11-20T15:51:00.000-05:002007-11-20T18:32:28.377-05:00

Plagiarism and intelligent design: two of my favorite topics. Turns out they taste great together.Intrepid grad student blogger and creationism-whacker ERV has discovered an interesting factoid: Dr. Dr. William A. Dembski, whose co-authored Darwin-destroying textbook has just been vanity published, has been poaching a legitimate animation while lecturing about Intelligent Design around the

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-88348590312293159592007-10-07T19:53:00.000-04:002007-10-07T20:17:56.478-04:00

Just a little post about Norman Finkelstein, who is briefly alluded to at Respectful Insolence. I responded in the comments, and of course the conversation became hijacked, as it does when someone like Finkelstein is discussed. So I won't comment further over there beyond pointing people here. So: If you surfed over here from there, I'm responding to this comment from SLC:I agree with Dr. Orac

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-48987999662664599952007-09-03T14:14:00.001-04:002007-09-03T14:14:57.193-04:00

I am very glad that scordova has done the right thing:My third loose end which I would like to tie up is that I would like to apologize to Ms. Smith if I have said anything that may be construed as an accusation of dishonesty on her part. Some concern has been expressed that any suggestion of dishonesty could be damaging to her career and I do not wish to damage Ms. Smith’s career as I’m in a

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-35666902609449935062007-07-09T22:02:00.001-04:002007-07-09T22:49:39.954-04:00

Below is a totally accurate, police-sketch level Simpsons version of me. (Note the presence of Blinky, the three-eyed mutant fish from Season One, on my T-shirt.) You can create your own avatar over at The Simpsons Movie site. (HT, Omnibrain).

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-11527841428848784212007-07-05T21:37:00.001-04:002007-07-05T22:12:18.423-04:00

Courtney Queeney was an undergraduate student of mine in a modern American poetry class at Duke. Later I was her advisor for her creative writing honors thesis. Her first book of poems, Filibuster to Delay a Kiss, is just out, is from a major publisher (Random House!), and looks great. Go read a couple of poems here. Courtney, if you're out there, drop me a line, will you?

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-13091368080512180732007-06-30T13:15:00.000-04:002007-06-30T22:30:32.250-04:00

I asked for a tag, and I got it. Thanks Kristine!We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.Don't forget to leave them a

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-32316931586252631832007-06-29T12:11:00.000-04:002007-06-29T16:16:28.095-04:00

Welcome, Uncommon Descent members! For the record, I don't ban users or arguments (I will delete threats and suchlike.) As long as you're here, you might check out the reality behind ICON-RIDS (if you haven't heard about this before). A letter to GilDodgen, responding to this:I, Hermagoras, am banned at Uncommon Descent but apparently still discussion-worthy. Indeed, a whole post devoted to

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com84tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-65918228236166275292007-06-21T13:29:00.002-04:002007-06-21T13:36:45.692-04:00

"Pixie is no longer with us."That's a comment on Uncommon Descent, the intelligent design (and global warming denialist) blog. Apparently the user "Pixie" was kicked off the comment board for saying terrible things like this:Tribune [another commenter], there is some ambiguity in both those cases; we do not know for certain why Gonzales failed to get tenure (maybe Iowa State did want anyone

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-68793098516507967692007-06-18T00:24:00.000-04:002007-06-18T01:37:41.522-04:00

Just following up on the previous post: the first parody comment on Dembski's link seems to have made it past the censors (though really, it's hard to tell what's not parody). I thought I'd link to it here before Dembski et al. erase it along with the whole embarrassing episode. The poster calls him/herself "NoeticGuru," and writes: Heh, long time lurker, first time poster here. But I’m

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-13591367808094767532007-06-16T16:20:00.000-04:002007-06-16T19:52:23.844-04:00

From time to time, I surf over to Uncommon Descent to keep tracks on the intelligent design folks. They're an odd bunch over there: constantly proclaiming that this or that study is the stake in the heart of Darwinist OrthodoxyTM -- but then, nothing changes, and so a new stake must be discovered next week.I commented there for a while but then I got banned, I guess -- anyway, my comments

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-48790672253123677562007-06-08T12:05:00.001-04:002007-06-08T12:06:37.892-04:00

Check out this picture from a Flickr set of the creationist museum. Then look at the first comment. I got the giggles and just could not stop.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-51345760144459311632007-05-27T23:40:00.000-04:002007-05-29T15:50:25.559-04:00

Update: In the comments, John points out (rightly) that I've misremembered some details of the Simonides legend. Specifically, although there's a forensic aspect to the case, it's really about identifying the bodies. Thanks to John for alerting me to this. Corrections are marked below: deletions are marked by strikethrough and additions with underlining.Apologies for the long delay since

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-83677180685791151052007-05-21T16:46:00.000-04:002007-05-21T16:49:09.760-04:00

I saw this at Talking Points Memo.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-22174245671980711432007-05-17T21:01:00.000-04:002007-05-17T23:13:09.651-04:00

I won out over BonoTo run the World BankThen Saha she said "Oh NoMy job is in the tank"I placed a few quick callsTo some old friends at StateDiplomacy's all rightOnly when it gets you laid Now it's come back to bite meMy bank life ends too soonRetirement's come earlyI'll leave the end of JuneI managed to hang onJust long enough to lanceThe boil I call multi-Lateral finance I'm Mr. No

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-29130138120510053942007-05-16T15:07:00.000-04:002007-05-16T15:29:10.393-04:00

Ron Silliman's blog is remarkably good. He just turned me on to the Eclipse archive, and for a lark I clicked on the archive label to see what I'd missed. Through this, I found two sites offering competing versions of UK poetry. Silliman compares as follows:Archive of the Now is, on day one, the most significant new site for poetry I’ve seen in well over a year. It is a perfect complement to

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-28844666844771345502007-05-04T21:17:00.000-04:002007-05-04T21:21:43.561-04:00

I really appreciate those who have commented here and at Kos about the Rhetoric of Now series. I'm pretty jazzed about it; it seems to satisfy something at the core of me, and it's profoundly moving to have so many notes of appreciation over at the Big Orange. But there will be a brief delay; I've got to wrap up another project, and so I won't be posting a new installment until at least the

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-36221562749636205982007-05-04T21:12:00.000-04:002007-05-04T21:17:28.825-04:00

Via Zuska, we learn of an excellent new website for academics: the National Clearinghouse on Academic Worklife. A description:Today, college and university faculty members face many challenges, including an increasingly diverse workforce and new models for career flexibility. The National Clearinghouse on Academic Worklife (NCAW) provides resources to help faculty, graduate students,

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-89599093030166714962007-05-03T11:29:00.000-04:002007-05-04T16:38:09.229-04:00

This is the third entry in "The Rhetoric of Now," my series on how we can change our current political climate by understanding and employing concepts from the rhetorical tradition. The first entry was on stasis or framing of questions; the second was on kairos or rhetorical time. This entry will be on ethos. Let's start with something George Tenet said on 60 Minutes this past weekend: You

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-49906173088975925472007-04-29T21:41:00.000-04:002007-05-04T14:27:18.974-04:00

Cross-posed at Daily Kos. This is the second in a series of posts on how concepts from rhetoric can be used to help transform the current political climate. For a broader context, see the first entry (on stasis theory). Today's entry is on kairos.Kairos is usually defined as something like opportunity. James Kinneavy, who has done more than anyone in modern times to revive the concept,

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-62343937234214445422007-04-27T22:11:00.000-04:002007-05-04T14:27:27.497-04:00

Cross-posted at Daily Kos and European Tribune.This is the first in a series about how concepts from rhetoric can help progressives understand -- and change -- the current political climate. It is based on the premise that the noble and ancient discipline of rhetoric is not trickery or deception, but rather that rhetorical literacy is a vital element of a healthy political community. To quote

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-43108592338830862462007-04-19T21:51:00.000-04:002007-04-19T22:08:52.565-04:00

Haven't posted in a while -- busy busy busy. But I did notice some funny bits related to the folks out in never-never-lan -- excuse me, Intelligent Design TheoryTM. But first, Inkling magazine had a contest to design a new species of Darwin fish. The total set of contributions is pretty great, as is the winner. Check it out.Meanwhile, the ID folks at the DI have been having themselves a

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-88330074030224035052007-01-23T12:21:00.000-05:002007-01-23T12:35:24.790-05:00

In the Washington Post, Liz Cheney makes the following argument for escalation (or against withdrawal, or against Hillary, or whatever):If we quit in Iraq now, we must get ready for a harder, longer, more deadly struggle later.It's worth noting that the policies of this administration brought us to whatever Hobson's Choice we now face. Are we really faced either with this unwinnable quagmire or

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-23235117378179873672007-01-22T15:40:00.000-05:002007-01-22T16:12:26.996-05:00

A few thoughts about the new report that Iraqi insurgents are planning to attack in the States. The most obvious thought is, why should they come here when they're already killing us over there? Given the number of Americans who died this last weekend (n.b. -- total subject to increase), why mess with a winning formula?Second thought: obviously we should be wary, and I'm all for following

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-12613110453052310492007-01-09T19:02:00.000-05:002007-01-09T19:10:24.324-05:00

. . . what Morrissey's Eurovision song contest entry might look like. Money lyric: Our former colonies rise as we fallIndia booms, Britain's profits appallSo let's end it all with tall bottles of poisonWe deserve itWe deserve itWe deserve it, we deserve it, we deserve itBrilliant -- in its American meaning (audio link).

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-68254631258213545102006-12-27T09:09:00.000-05:002006-12-27T09:21:35.741-05:00

As Atrios points out, Judge Robert H. Dierker uses the term "femifascist" to disguise where his thinking comes from. I'm of course reminded of Alan Dershowitz, who did just the opposite: he thought he was quoting Orwell but was really quoting his real source, the discredited Joan Peters. (Strikingly, both authors choose words -- femifascist and turnspeak -- which are clearly uglier than the

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-76573811293616366462006-12-25T23:30:00.000-05:002006-12-25T23:31:44.702-05:00

When 1000 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq, we remembered. When 2000 died, we remembered. Now, on Christmas Day 2006, another milestone has been reached: the number of U.S. military casualties has passed 2973, the number of deaths caused by the combined attacks of September 11, 2001. By two.This is the real connection between 9/11 and Iraq: Death. Of course, President Bush saw other connections:

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-67776675217548290042006-12-21T22:39:00.000-05:002006-12-21T22:44:56.057-05:00

Well who would have thought that Santa could appear in a cardiac echo? If you can't see it, a helpful reader points out the obvious.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-31416538443208157552006-12-20T21:31:00.000-05:002006-12-20T21:57:46.143-05:00

The number of U.S. soldiers lost in Iraq, as of today. In just a few more days eighteen more will have died, at which point the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq will match the total who died as a result of the September 11 attacks. I blogged about this in October, and it's playing out on its own grim schedule.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-80158956076589262342006-12-20T13:23:00.000-05:002006-12-20T14:26:43.019-05:00

Reading among the far-right blogosophere, you're always in danger of getting burned by the stupid. Example: Pam Atlas is deeply concerned about Barack Obama's middle name (WARNING: ugliest blog in the known universe). Right. She links to a crazy column by by Judi McCleod, which she calls a "must read." It is, of course, if "must read" means Hey, look how far off the rails the wingnuts can go

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-89350018919232566372006-12-20T09:53:00.000-05:002006-12-20T09:55:01.172-05:00

As though seeking the worst possible setting to make the stupidest possible comments, President Bush decided to turn a menorah-lighting ceremony into an impromptu seminar about Iran. (Thanks to Josh Marshall for the link.)President Bush and his Cabinet have seized upon the Maccabean message of refusing to give in to tyranny to reinforce Bush’s refusal to deal with Iran as a means of resolving

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1166583655707793962006-12-19T21:53:00.000-05:002006-12-19T22:07:25.953-05:00

The National Book Critics Circle blog has a post about the best poetry books of 2006. And there are some great books there: Frederick Seidel's Ooga-Booga (certainly the best title, and a superb and disturbing poet for sure -- check out the readings on his web site), Deborah Bernhardt's Echolalia, Name Withheld by Lisa Sewell. I'm definitely going to get some of the books I haven't read yet.But

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1166366417956131472006-12-17T09:39:00.000-05:002006-12-17T09:40:17.963-05:00

What EconAthiest said.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1166219915135486892006-12-15T16:06:00.000-05:002007-10-08T11:06:17.734-04:00

Oh, you've got to love this: Jimmy Carter refuses to debate with Alan Dershowitz. I don't blame him -- the whole thing seems like a setup, and even though Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky have crushed Dershowitz in the past, the man is a professional lia lawyer. But it's Carter's reasoning that really makes me happy. From the Boston Globe: "I don't want to have a conversation even

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1166124335962261762006-12-14T14:23:00.000-05:002006-12-14T14:27:30.840-05:00

So today I Google-newsed my favorite possible '08 candidate (run, Wes, run!) and stumbled across an interesting article from the New York Observer. "The Life and Death of an Iraq Plan" is about the rise and fall of explicitly endorsing partition, federal autonomy, or what is sometimes called "kinder, gentler ethnic cleansing" in Iraq. Too much attention is paid to Joe Biden, as usual, and then

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1165613921551968322006-12-08T16:33:00.000-05:002006-12-08T16:53:28.546-05:00

Derrick Shareef of Illinois was arrested Wednesday and charged with "one count of attempting to damage or destroy a building by fire or explosion and one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction." He made made a court appearance today in Chicago. The prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald (no, not that one!) said that the public was never in any danger because Shareef has been under

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1165290764177685992006-12-04T22:50:00.000-05:002006-12-04T22:58:46.760-05:00

To commemorate my last week, a poem by Theodore Roethke:DolorI have known the inexorable sadness of pencils,Neat in their boxes, dolor of pad and paper-weight,All the misery of manila folders and mucilage,Desolation in immaculate public places,Lonely reception room, lavatory, switchboard,The unalterable pathos of basin and pitcher,Ritual of multigraph, paper-clip, comma,Endless duplication of

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1165119634485800592006-12-02T23:14:00.000-05:002006-12-02T23:20:54.813-05:00

What do you do when you find out you've been identified by name in a pretty good sestina about John Ashbery? Thanks to Jeremy, by the way, for posting this on a couple of his blogs from some class or other he's teaching in Nanjing. (Nanjing!) Everybody should get a Google Alert for their own name.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1165118944874578882006-12-02T22:59:00.000-05:002006-12-02T23:09:54.140-05:00

Atrios links with a snarky comment to a terrible Nickelback video, and like a fool, I took the bait. Obviously, since it's Nickelback, it (a) sucks, and (b) is the same as every other Nickelback song. But in the video it manages to climb the Parnassus of suck. I thought it topped out when the chick in the bed turns on the remote and sees her FWB firefighter on the TV -- because what's better

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1162697907701273432006-11-04T22:21:00.000-05:002006-11-04T22:57:58.880-05:00

So here's a connection:Ted Haggard, schadenfreude case of the day, has apparently been found guilty by his church of committing "sexually immoral conduct." Not that this was surprising: the only question was how quickly the hammer would fall. (Pretty damn quick, I'd say.) Almost as rapidly, evangelical pastor Mark Driscoll's response to the drama, in the form of "practical suggestions for

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1162694675884306662006-11-04T21:18:00.000-05:002006-11-04T22:19:11.066-05:00

Blogs are interesting not really for what they say but for how they connect. Some blogs are purely informational; I go to Eschaton and to Daily Kos primarily for their rapid feed of new political developments. (Some kossacks, such as DarkSyde, Jerome a Paris, and bonddad, are quite insightful; some, like Pastor Dan, are moving; and some, like Bob Johnson, are terrifically funny. But I

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1162439980635891142006-11-01T22:51:00.000-05:002006-11-02T12:16:56.003-05:00

So the New York Times publishes an article about how military officials recognize that Iraq is a major clusterfuck, and it includes the following image:Reactions have been predictable.Over at Daily Kos, georgia10 notes that, along with the National Intelligence Estimate concluding that the Iraq war has exacerbated the terrorist threat, this picture shows "that the administration is well aware

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1162318681725475452006-10-31T12:47:00.000-05:002006-10-31T13:18:55.053-05:00

As of today, the United States has lost 2816 soldiers in Iraq. According to Wikipedia, 2973 people (excluding the hijackers) died as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks. This excludes the 19 hijackers and twenty-four listed as missing.So. Not to get too grim and all, but we're 157 deaths away from the Iraq war costing more American military lives than the total of confirmed non-hijacker

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36818451.post-1162177884559497042006-10-29T22:07:00.000-05:002006-10-29T22:11:24.570-05:00

Not exactly true. I had one of my classes (I'm a teacher) run a blog several years ago. And I've posted on a number of multi-user blogs like Daily Kos. But as Joseph Gordon-Levitt said in 10 Things I Hate About You, "I'm back in the game." Possible topics: rhetoric, the teaching of writing, poetry, politics.

Hermagorashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863777697055352607noreply@blogger.com0