LukPac.org: June 2005

6.28.2005

Gahh.

I stumbled across this Santorum idiocy from a few years ago:

Like most American Catholics, I have followed the recent sex scandals in the Church with profound sympathy for victims, revulsion over priests who prey on minors and frustration at the absence of hierarchical leadership. Unlike most, I have been visited by the gift of hope; for I see in this fall an opportunity for ecclesial rebirth and a new evangelization of America. This "new evangelization," advocated strenuously by Pope John Paul II, has the potential for restoring confidence in the priesthood while empowering all American Catholics.
[...]
It is startling that those in the media and academia appear most disturbed by this aberrant behavior, since they have zealously promoted moral relativism by sanctioning "private" moral matters such as alternative lifestyles. Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm.

I wonder if he enjoys the taste of all that feces flowing out of his mouth.

LukPac.org reader contest: Come up with the best inane, nonsensical argument against the right. Defend the indefensible while spinning it to look like it's all the right's fault. The winner (as selected by me) will get...I'll think of that later.

[9:15 AM] post a comment

6.22.2005

Let's follow up that last post with some information from the U.S. Code, title 36:

(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.

Who determines when a flag is "no longer a fitting emblem for display"?

[6:25 PM] post a comment

I. Hate. People.

House approves flag-burning amendment

The House on Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment that would give Congress the power to ban desecration of the American flag, a measure that for the first time stands a chance of passing the Senate as well.
[...]
"Ask the men and women who stood on top of the [World] Trade Center," said Rep. Randy [Duke] Cunningham, R-California. "Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment."

The Right can talk about "freedom" in Iraq and elsewhere till they turn blue in the face, but they don't seem to have a clue about what "freedom" really means. Nor do they seem to have a clue what that flag they are so quick to wave actually stands for. You don't have to like it when people burn the flag. In fact you can be totally offended. But that doesn't mean you can prevent them from doing so.

At least somebody has a clue:

But Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, said, "If the flag needs protection at all, it needs protection from members of Congress who value the symbol more than the freedoms that the flag represents."

I'd really like to see how that vote broke down.

[5:06 PM] post a comment

6.18.2005

I can't believe I'm actually reading this:

As we work to deliver opportunity at home, we're also keeping you safe from threats from abroad. We went to war because we were attacked, and we are at war today because there are still people out there who want to harm our country and hurt our citizens. Some may disagree with my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but all of us can agree that the world's terrorists have now made Iraq a central front in the war on terror. These foreign terrorists violently oppose the rise of a free and democratic Iraq, because they know that when we replace despair and hatred with liberty and hope, they lose their recruiting grounds for terror.

[bangs head into keyboard]

[5:54 PM] post a comment

6.16.2005

Humble readers, a question...:

Has anyone had both soft and rigid gas permeable (RGP) contacts? I've had RGP's for the past 12 years (same pair for the past 11!) and quite like them. My eyes have been pretty red lately, something my eye doctor hasn't been able to figure out, so he gave me a pair of soft contacts to see what happens. So far, I have absolutely no interest in keeping them. They are a pain to handle, a pain to put in/take out, and my vision doesn't seem as good or consistent as with my old contacts. And they don't seem any more comfortable, either (if anything I think I notice them in my eyes *more* than my old ones). Yet it seems like everyone with contacts has soft contacts. Why?

[8:07 AM] post a comment

6.15.2005

Rick Perry thinks gays who don't like Texas' anti-gay laws should leave (bolding mine):

Texas Governor Rick Perry, at a bill-signing ceremony Sunday at an evangelical school, suggested that gays and lesbians who don’t approve of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marrages and civil unions should move to "a state that has more lenient views than Texas."
[...]
When a television reporter asked him how the proposed amendment might affect gay veterans in Texas — one of the groups protesting outside the Calvary school — Perry replied, "Texans made a decision about marriage, and if there’s a state that has more lenient views than Texas, then maybe that’s a better place for them to live."

I think all of that pretty much speaks for itself, but I did find a new quote of the moment:

Piazza added, "If religious conservatives wish to do something to save their marriages, they should read the Bible. They will find Jesus supporting a constitutional amendment to ban divorce, but they will find him completely silent about homosexuality. Clearly, this is a case of being selectively religious."

Amen.

[8:56 AM] post a comment

6.14.2005

So I realize this is a week late, but...

The world must be coming to an end. Last Monday saw 1) the announcement that Apple was switching to Intel processors, and 2) the release of Debian 3.1 (Sarge). The Debian release certainly didn't get the press that the Apple announcement did, but it been any "any time now" issue for way too long. Now maybe I can finally revamp my server.

As far as the Apple note goes...it's certainly interesting. Everyone seems to assume that OS X will run on any x86 hardware, which is really, really unlikely (at least without a hack of some sort). Apple has *always* required a custom ROM or chipset, which is why you couldn't buy just any 68k or PowerPC machine and run MacOS. And while it remains to be seen how smoothly things will go, Apple has tons of experience in transitions: 68k to PowerPC, NuBus to PCI, ADB to USB, MacOS 8/9 to X, etc.

[8:32 AM] post a comment

6.05.2005

As long time visitors (both of this site and our house) know, I've been working on the walls in the dining room for a long time. Well, that's not to say I've been *working* the whole time, just that it's been a long time since I started. My various excuses for not finishing things have included guests (both short and long-term), other projects, lack of time, and general lack of motivation.

Well, I'm not *quite* done yet, but I made some good progress today. One of my main sticking points had been taping the joints between the new drywall and the old. Today I cleaned everything up, taped the joints, and applied a layer of mud. Two more layers and that wall will be good to go.

Looking back through my archives, I noticed there was a lot of gratuitous swearing going on here. Interesting.

[9:27 PM] post a comment