Category: Uncategorized

John Derbyshire of National Review writes: Jonah, Ramesh: Seems to me these libertarians e-mailing in saying “let’s get govt. out of the marriage business” might as well call themselves Anarchists. Their line seems to be: “We don’t need no steenkin government to tell us what marriage is. We got our churches to do that for us.” The logic here is:

—Marriage is a private thing between two people.

—The govt has no business messing in our private lives.

Both are tenable, just about. Problem is, they throw 2,300 yrs of conservative thinking down the trash chute. Come on. We are being invited to join a revolution here. And it’s not a conservative revolution.

I feel like Maverick in Top Gun. The amusing thing is that I have been saying for years that I am not a conservative. Finally, someone agrees! I still laugh every time a left-liberal wets himself because of something I’ve written and accuses me of being an arch-conservative. However, I’m a little disappointed with Derb’s rhetoric here. I know he doesn’t actually believe that the government does nothing but manage society through its laws relating to marital status. And anyone who argues that the church defines marriage is far more likely to be a Christian Libertarian than one of our secular brothers-in-intellectual-arms, if you want to know what to call someone of this persuasion. Anarchist isn’t even a near miss.

After some gentle persuasion, I finally watched Matrix Reloaded this week. I’d avoided doing so primarily because I liked the first movie so much that I knew the sequel couldn’t possibly live up to it. I was pleased to find that it was a pretty good movie after all, although I am informed that the fact that an interruption caused me to miss a good portion of the scenes set in Zion may have enhanced my enjoyment. I particularly liked the Merovingian, although the fact that I know of the Merovingian kings as well as their mythic connection with the cadet line of Jesus Christ – alternatively, with the sea-goat Makaru – left me with the impression that the writers a) are doing something very thematically complex that I can’t follow; or b) have found themselves in a little over their heads and are throwing in everything but the kitchen sink to disguise this.

I think (b) is more likely, but I’m open to the notion that I’m wrong. Neo is a strange sort of Christ figure – if you can’t pick that up by now, you are in serious denial – as he doesn’t seem to follow any destiny so much as direct orders from pretty much everyone he encounters. This strikes me as suboptimal thriller writing, but the effects and the overall setting for the story are intriguing enough that it held my interest throughout. Still, it will probably be another two years before I bother seeing the third.

I will, of course, be at Return of the King on opening night.

Don’t mess with Chucky. I was impressed with him before, and I felt that Tampa made a reasonable deal in trading two-first rounders for him before he won a Super Bowl. But Jon Gruden has established himself as a coach apart, proving that he will do anything he feels is necessary to improve his team. Axing Keyshawn, a solid possession receiver, for his distracting off-field antics, is a bold move that no one in the NFL except possibly Marvin Lewis would make. It will be interesting to see if the move works.

Chucky is clearly one of those people, who, when you meet their eyes, make you realize that you’re going to have to knock him out if you’re going to win. Maybe you can beat me, but I’ll never quit. I like that. No, I admire that.

Death toll rises to 26, 450 injured in coordinated suicide car bombings in Istanbul Thursday that destroyed part of London-based HSBC bank branch, damaged adjacent Metro City shopping mall in Levent residential district, tore down part of British consulate and much of narrow street. British consul general Roger Short among 14 killed at and outside British consulate. Some consulate staff unaccounted for.

Remember, World War I started over much smaller acts of terrorism.

I wasn’t surprised that a surprising percentage of the Harvey Milk School for Gays or whatever it’s called have turned out to be rather less than law-abiding. If you reject both Judeo-Christian morality and societal norms, what are the chances that you’re going to have a significant respect for the law? It’s not impossible, but it is rather less likely.

I couldn’t help but notice that the Texas journalist who quoted my statement of homosexuality as an “Apollonian death cult” omitted the “Apollonian” bit. Apparently he wasn’t too eager to bring Camille Paglia into the discussion, – if he even understood what I was saying – but simply wanted to make my position look as extreme as possible. I’m not complaining, as it was a fair rhetorical device on his part, but for those of you who wanted to know why I never responded to his piece, it’s because I very seldom bother responding to rhetorical sound-bite slingers.

I’m working on next week’s column now, so I’ll get to the two best atheist critiques of last week’s piece either tomorrow or the weekend. Good stuff, for the most part, especially the guy who picked up my little Classics cheat. He didn’t understand why it was there, but he definitely noticed it. I’d thought it was fairly obvious, but apparently not.

If you’ve noticed there are often little things in various columns that seem somewhat odd, remember two things. 1. I’m a game designer. 2. According to Space Bunny, I have a strange sense of humor.

Patrick Davis of the National Bread Leadership Council said that it was unclear whether the fall in bread sales was a temporary blip or indicative of a more permanent change in eating habits. The average American eats 54lbs of bread a year, barely a third of the quantity consumed by the French and Italians. But the Italians and the French are not notably obese, Mr Davis said.

I lived in Italy for over a year. They do eat more bread, but significantly less carbohydrates, especially in the form of sugar. It’s hard to find proper cookies and cake over there – after all, who wants a second helping of marzipan? It also doesn’t hurt that the normal portions are about one-third the size of American servings.

Finally, you can actually go and get things done by walking to the corner post, or the local farmacia. I think weightlighting is a much better way to burn fat, but Atkins is probably a lot easier for most people.

She went shopping recently. New little black dress, knee-high black boots. We were out in public, mingling with friends, and I saw her from across the room. All I could think is that I am an extraordinarily fortunate man.

And yes, I thank God for her. If that makes me “stupid” or an “ignoramus”, it’s a burden I bear lightly.

What is up with the Mensa obsession? The latest offendees in particular seem to have some issue with this, as they keep dropping words like “claims” and “so-called” Mensahood. Let me put it this way. Mensa is not the only IQ society for which I am qualified, but as it is the only one of which most people have heard, it serves very well to put my would-be critics on notice that they will unlikely be able to get away with the usual “I disagree with you and I’m a [fill-in-the-blank] so therefore you are stupid” line of argument.

Which, doubtless, is why I seldom hear it. And, lest I be accused of vaingloriousness through implication, no, I am not qualified for Mega. Now, here’s my question. Why do you care anyhow?

John Derbyshire of NRO notes that the Massachusetts judges who have authored the latest judicial absurdity were appointed by the following governors:

Michael Dukakis (Democratic) 1983-1991

William F. Weld (Republican) 1991-1997

Argeo Paul Cellucci (Republican) 1997-2001

Jane M. Swift (Republican) 2001-2003

Mitt Romney (Republican) 2003-

Enjoy Goodridge, folks. That’s what putting pragmatism before principle gets you.

I’d personally prefer to see the Christian churches separate marriage before God from marriage before the State. But, given the realities of American politics, Goodridge has now shown why the Defense of Marriage Amendment is both necessary and inevitable. Still, conservatives should take note: Goodridge and gay marriage are the direct result of attempting to use state power for conservative and traditional ends. It’s the old good king/bad king problem. Investing power in the crown ensures that it will one day be worn by a man of evil intent.

Let them have their state marriages. Let men marry men, women marry golden retrievers and whatever other combinations those of diverse inclinations will be pushing next. In any case, the Church must break off its collusion with the State, which, in my opinion, is a desirable thing anyhow.

And by the way, congratulations, George Bush. Goodridge just assured his re-election. Hillary can’t run now, as gay marriage and DOMA just became a major campaign issue, and anyone opposing DOMA will get slaughtered.