logos redux

He came out with both barrels blazing, a pleasant surprise.

Disappointing to hear him make hay of No Child Left Behind. I have never met a teacher that thinks this is a good or helpful, much less sufficiently nuanced program. Just more federal interventionism.

Where were these veto promises for the last 7 years. Amazing.

Disturbing to hear him refer to Columbians, Panamanians and South Koreans as customers not people.

Under what reading of the Constitution is it the Federal Government’s job to help people learn new skills and find new jobs?

So Congress should save Social Security. How?

Good statements on immigration.

Does he believe in the fallenness of human nature? People will choose freedom and the good if they are just given the opportunity? Seriously?

Freedom = the American civil religion, without a doubt.

Good use of improvements in Iraq over the last year. I still want to know what success in Iraq looks like, and why we think it will last if we leave.

“A free Iraq will deny Al-Qaeda a safe haven.” Is this self-evident to everyone but me?

Israel = the Holy Land? This is weird from a president.

‘Big Brother allows us to catch terrorists, therefore if you don’t support Big Brother you’re supporting the terrorists.’ This logic seems problematic.

It never hurts to throw a bone to veterans. Or two.

Confidence in freedom? That’s sort of like In God we trust.

God Bless America - Just in case we can’t do it ourselves.

You know I really do like Bush as a person, and he certainly could have done worse, but I remain baffled by large portions of his political thought. Big government Republicans/neo-cons just strike me as walking contradictions. How can you basically bow before the altar of freedom speaking of it in terms that evoke gospel messages and at the same time condemn opposition to the Patriot Act and call for hosts of new programs and federal government expansion in the face of massive debt, unconstrained inflation and gross disregard for the rule of law as laid out in the Constitution, even as you call for approval of strict constructionist Supreme Court nominees?

I’m reading Nevill Coghill’s translation of the Canterbury Tales at the moment because it’s part of the curriculum for the class I teach. Tonight I came across this little jewel from the description of the Doctor in the Prologue:

“In his own diet he observed some measure;
There were no superfluities for pleasure,
Only digestives, nutritives and such.
He did not read the Bible very much.”

Marc Forster, director of Stranger than Fiction (great film), The Kite Runner, Monster’s Ball, etc. is directing Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond flick (#22 for those who are counting). This baffles me. First, how good can a Bond film be, from a creative perspective? (Edit: Perhaps better than I thought. See the comments.) Second, according to NPR’s Sundance Correspondent the film is going to pretty much totally ignore the writer and creator of Bond’s short story of the same name (which actually seems to have some substance) and go in the direction of a typical, action-packed, smooth and debonaire, against all odds, hero story. A bit of a let down.

I find this appalling. If you can sit through it then watch the second one. The whole thing is about a) how we just want to make sure everything is easy and fun and cool enough for you, b) how totally authentic and relevant and real we are (not like all those other churches that do all that churchy junk and thus must be fake), and c) how we are obviously so much better than the other 150 churches in town that haven’t managed to get you sold on going to church. The implication here is that, ‘We understand why you don’t go to church. We wouldn’t either if all we had to choose from were the other 150 churches in Auburn, but now we’re here and we’ll make it worth your while,’ (at this point I envision a slimy used car salesman putting his arm around my back).

This is the height of ecclesiastical arrogance, disdain for one’s elders and forebears, contempt for the kind of quiet, confident faith lauded in the New Testament, subversion of authority and tradition, and embrace of the idea that the church is primarily an institution that sells some sort of sacred product. I can’t help but think about the Medieval Catholic Church with regards to treating grace as if it were something to be dispensed for a price. But at least the medievals knew enough to know that if that were the case they were the ones with a corner on the market. They had the monopoly and could charge whatever they wanted for it. These folks actually seem to be competing with the mainstream culture on a market level as if Jesus has about the same economic value as a viewing of the latest James Bond movie. And I won’t even go into the parallels with regards to performance-style worship.

My roommate, his girlfriend, another friend and I went down to the Schlafly Tap Room tonight as is our custom on Burn’s Night for a bit of Scottish music, kilt viewing, and enjoyment of the just released seasonal Scottish Ale. A good time was had by all. I have some videos that I’ll try to post tomorrow.

Address To A Haggis

Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o’ the puddin-race! Aboon them a’ ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace As lang’s my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies like a distant hill, Your pin wad help to mend a mill In time o’ need, While thro’ your pores the dews distil Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight, An’ cut you up
wi’ ready sleight, Trenching your gushing entrails
bright, Like ony ditch; And then, O what a
glorious sight, Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an’ strive: Deil
tak the hindmost! on they drive, Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve, Are bent lyke drums; Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive, “Bethankit!” ‘hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout Or olio that wad staw a sow, Or fricassee wad mak her spew Wi’ perfect sconner, Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash, As feckless as a wither’d rash, His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,His nieve a nit; Thro’ bloody flood or field
to dash, O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed, The trembling
earth resounds his tread. Clap in his walie nieve
a blade, He’ll mak it whissle; An’ legs an’ arms,
an’ heads will sned, Like taps o’ thrissle.

Ye Pow’rs wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o’ fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware That jaups in luggies; But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer, Gie her a haggis!

-Robert Burns

The Translation

Fair is your honest happy face Great chieftain of the pudding race Above them all you take your place Stomach, tripe or guts Well are you worthy
of a grace As long as my arm

The groaning platter there you fill Your buttocks
like a distant hill Your skewer would help to repair
a mill In time of need While through your pores
the juices emerge Like amber beads

His knife having seen hard labour wipes And cuts
you up with great skill Digging into your gushing
insides bright Like any ditch And then oh what a glorious sight Warm steaming, rich

Then spoon for spoon They stretch and strive Devil take the last man, on they drive Until all their well swollen bellies Are bent like drums Then, the old gent most likely to rift (burp) Be thanked, mumbles

Is there that over his French Ragout Or olio that would sicken a pig Or fricassee would make her vomit With perfect disgust Looks down with a sneering scornful opinion On such a dinner

Poor devil, see him over his trash As week as a
withered rush (reed) His spindle-shank a good
whiplash His clenched fist.the size of a nut.
Through a bloody flood and battle field to dash
Oh how unfit

But take note of the strong haggis fed Scot The trembling earth resounds his tread Clasped in his large fist a blade He’ll make it whistle And legs and arms and heads he will cut off Like the tops of thistles

You powers who make mankind your care And dish them out their meals Old Scotland wants no watery food That splashes in dishes But if you wish her grateful prayer Give her a haggis!

From the point of view of the story, it is easy to see that Dante placed the Giants here, not merely to furnish a means of transport from Malbowges to the depth of the Well, but, artistically, to provide a little light releif between the sickening horrors of the last bowges of Fraud Simple and the still greater, but wholly different, horrors of the pit of Treachery. But allegorically, what do they signify? In one sense they are images of Pride; the Giants who rebelled against Jove typify the pride of Satan who rebelled against God. But they may also, I think, be taken as the images of the blind forces which remain in the soul, and in society, when the “general bond of love” is disolved and the “good of the intellect” wholly withdrawn, and when nothing remains but blocks of primitive mass-emotion, fit to be the “executives of Mars” and the tools of treachery. Nimrod is a braggart stupidity; Ephialtes, a senseless rage; Antaeus, a brainless vanity: one may call them the doom of nonsense, violence, and triviality, overtaking a civilization in which the whole natural order is abrogated.

-From Dorothy Sayers explanatory material (”The Images”) on Canto XXXI of her translation of The Inferno. Here she is explaining the literary and allegorical meanings of the Giants that guard the well that leads down into the final level of hell and residence of Lucifer himself. I am always amazed by Ms. Sayers ability to casually make the most profound observation as if it were really nothing but common sense.

The best estimates are that Americans murder about 3,000 babies per day - and it’s legal. The government allows citizens of our country to murder 3,000 children every day with impunity. That’s a 9/11 every day. We need to let that sink in.

It is astounding to me that Americans can, with no sense of irony, lament the tragedies of Nazi Germany without considering this fact. As a postmillenialist (and thus as one who hopes for a future in which our children see more clearly than we do) I have often wondered how our children and children’s children will view us. Continue Reading…

Doug Wilson got me all stirred up so I decided to post.

With regard to political candidates: I often hear people say that the President has no authority over the abortion issue, so why make it a factor in our voting?

a.) This is not true. The President appoints members of the Supreme Court. Guess who is responsible for Roe vs. Wade? Guess who can change it? Continue Reading…

So, I’m driving home from teaching my class today and listening to NPR (which I know many of you regard as my first mistake, but I do it frequently and am not likely to stop) and I’m just blown away by what I’m hearing. I don’t know why. I’ve heard it all many times before, but today it just got me. Continue Reading…

Doug Wilson nails the abortion issue here. This may well motivate me to blog a bit about this. I generally am annoyed by evangelical rhetoric (not because I disagree, necessarily, with their conclusions, but because I am dismayed by the illogic of their arguments and the vitriol at all the wrong things), but when it comes to this issue I guess I’m just an fundy. I’ll pretty much defend anyone that is standing up and screaming that murdering our children at the rate of 3,000 a day with the full sanction of the government is evil and satanic.

This is pretty fascinating. Apparently some new studies in cognitive science and related fields are beginning to find that the link between the body and the mind is far more collaborative and interwoven than previously imagined and that behavior and action can influence thought as much as the other way around. Imagine that, Descaretes was wrong. Who knew?