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Wednesday, June 16, 2004 |
"What, then, is expected of him? The answer is given in this sentence: 'Seven qualities avail before the Throne of Glory: faith, righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, mercy, truth, and peace' (ARN XXXVII). These represent the crowning virtues, and first place is assigned to faith which, indeed, is declared to be the principle upon which the whole relationship of man with God ultimately rests."
8:05:02 PM 
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Sunday, June 13, 2004 |
'[Wittgenstein] did more than any philosopher before him to wean us from our common tendency of thinking in terms of labels, or rather of seizing on labels as an excuse for terminating thought. "Do not say: "They must have something in common; else they would not be called "games""-but look whether all of them have something in common." If we do not seize upon the label as a welcome opportunity to stop thinking, we are likely to discover "a complicated net of similarities which overlap and intersect"; and for this Wittgenstein suggests the name "family resemblances".'
7:54:08 AM
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Serve or Fail. "Colleges should require students to volunteer. By Dave Eggers." [New York Times: Opinion]
I would suggest a much stronger support for volunteer work at universities, by setting up volunteer fairs and sponsoring competitions. But no one should be forced to volunteer. More appropriate might be a federally instituted 'draft' where all serve for 1-2 years and the service could be military or public service.
7:27:34 AM
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Friday, June 11, 2004 |
"Commonly, people think of philosophy as a quest, however ill advised, for truth. John Dewey called it the quest of certainty. But it is more illuminating to say that, at its best, philosophy is the quest for honesty."
9:15:35 PM
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Diminishing America's Meaning. Richard Cohen (Washington Post): A Plunge from the Moral Heights. The Bush administration constantly reminds us that there's a war on. That's wrong. There are two. One is being fought by soldiers in combat, and the other is being fought for the hearts and minds of people who are not yet our enemies. However badly the administration has botched the first war -- where, oh where, is Osama bin Laden? -- it has done even worse with the second. It has jutted its chin to the world, appeared pugnacious and unilateralist, permitted the abuse of POWs and others at Abu Ghraib, and now toyed in some fashion with torture. The Bush administration has shamed us all, reducing us to the level of those governments that also have wonderful laws forbidding torture, but condone it anyway. Even if there wasn't a moral issue, you'd imagine that even this crowd would grasp the practical necessity of treating prisoners with decency. If we declare license to do this to other nations' combatants, other nations will do it to ours.
But the issue is deeper. As Michael Froomkin, professor of law at the University of Miami, notes on his blog, the adminstration's rationale is truly frightening. Of a redacted copy of the Justice Department memo Ashcroft won't give Congress but which has been leaked widely to the media, Froomkin writes: (It) sets out a view of an unlimited Presidential power to do anything he wants with “enemy combatants”. The bill of rights is nowhere mentioned. There is no principle suggested which limits this purported authority to non-citizens, or to the battlefield. Under this reasoning, it would be perfectly proper to grab any one of us and torture us if the President determined that the war effort required it. I cannot exaggerate how pernicious this argument is, and how incompatible it is with a free society. The Constitution does not make the President a King. This memo does. Will this be the catalyst that helps Congress find its spine? [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]
8:57:12 PM
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Wednesday, June 9, 2004 |
"To the mind of the Jew mitsvah bears more reality and is a term more frequently and more prominently used than averah [sin]. In the Christian vocabulary the frequency and importance of the two terms is just the reverse. Christianity has not taken over the idea of mitsvah and, as we have seen, there is no precise equivalent for it in Western languages. On the other hand, the term "sin" has assumed the connotation of something substantial, a meaning not implied in averah."
7:55:41 PM
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"Abusing Morality and Law. Washington Post: Legalizing Torture. The Bush administration assures the country, and the world, that it is complying with U.S. and international laws banning torture and maltreatment of prisoners. But, breaking with a practice of openness that had lasted for decades, it has classified as secret and refused to disclose the techniques of interrogation it is using on foreign detainees at U.S. prisons at Guantanamo Bay and in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is a matter of grave concern because the use of some of the methods that have been reported in the press is regarded by independent experts as well as some of the Pentagon's legal professionals as illegal. The administration has responded that its civilian lawyers have certified its methods as proper -- but it has refused to disclose, or even provide to Congress, the justifying opinions and memos. The Bush administration believes that law -- domestic and international -- is what the Bush administration says it is. Now we have lawyers' justification for torture, but under a less harsh name.
I keep wondering what so-called conservatives would be saying if Bill Clinton had asserted such sweeping powers in this and other ways, or had consistently stiffed the Congress and American people with secrecy and arrogance. My guess is they'd be insisting that the law, or maybe even national honor, should mean something. Not this crowd. [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]"
7:39:06 PM
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Tuesday, June 8, 2004 |
Finally, some information for women who might suspect ovarian cancer or have a family history of the disease. "Symptom Patterns May Suggest Ovarian Cancer. In a prospective, case-control study, symptoms that warrant further investigation for ovarian cancer were better defined." (CME)
Medscape Medical News
Laurie Barclay,Charles Vega [Medscape Today Headlines]
8:59:11 PM
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Here are some great ideas on how to break through. uiweb: How to survive creative burnout. What was once fun and challenging feel stupid and annoying. Or perhaps the things that used to motivate or move you don't resonate at all. You feel nothing for them. It all just seems like so much more crap to deal with. If this sounds familiar, or you fear that this day is in your future, this essay is for you.
8:52:47 PM
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Interesting evening! My wife, middle son and I went to an awards ceremony for my son, who received a scholarship from the local Retired Officers Association. The guest speaker was Leonard Rose. Leonard is the current Executive Director for the Indiana State Dept. of AXPOWs. This is an organization dedicated to supporting the 800 POWs residing in Indiana (of the 36,000 nationally). Leonard gave an impressive speech on POWs in general and the problems they face returning to civilian life. He also gave us a brief tour of his life as a prisoner of the Nazis. He left the US in 1944 weighing 155 lbs. and returned weighing 92 lbs. One can't imagine the hardships he and his fellow prisoners suffered. Leonard is an amazing man with a desire to help others who have suffered as a POW. He was made a Sagamore in 1989, the highest honor one can achieve in Indiana. My hat is off to Leonard!
8:43:45 PM
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Reagan raised taxes twice during his eight years in office. The first time in response to his own first tax cut that failed to meet the budget office predictions. He saw his mistake, admitted it and fixed it. The second increase was to fund social security and medicare. Reagan swore this money was earmarked only for this purpose. This is the same money that Bush no longer sees as sacrosanct and wants to use for his own ends.
7:05:39 AM
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Rumsfield is responsible for a memo citing White House attorneys that it is legal for Bush to authorize torture as needed. The memo claims he is not bound by treaties even though they were signed by former Presidents of the US. It has been clear from the first release of Iraqi prisoner torture scenes that the responsibility resides in Washington.
6:59:57 AM
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Monday, June 7, 2004 |
"To know God and to do right have thus become synonymous in prophetic speech; each has become a commandment. ... This has always been the beginning and the aim of the Jewish religion. Whoever walks in the ways of the Lord is wise, for he is doing right; this conviction of Judaism throughout the centuries has even been shared by its mysticism. Religion and life are thus intimately bound together--religion to be proved through life and life to be fulfilled through religion. There is no piety but that which proves itself in the conduct of life, and there is no valid conduct of life but that in which religion is realized."
9:52:58 PM
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Sunday, June 6, 2004 |
"In the bible the word "stranger" takes on a special meaning, since man, bound by mortality, is called the pilgrim, the stranger upon earth. God says: "For the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me" (Lev. 25:23), and man replies in prayer: "A stranger am I with thee, and a sojourner as all my fathers were" (Ps. 39:13). These words are commented on by an ancient talmudic passage which declares: " 'Ye are strangers with me'; that is to say: do not behave as though you were the only people who matter."
Sifra on Lev. 25:23"
7:22:38 AM
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© Copyright 2004 John McDonald.
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