Update

They aren't blocking LJ today. At least I don't think so; if you get this they're not. They are, on the other hand, blocking Yahoo Mail, at least from my desk, which I find a serious inconvenience. Well, no, a serious insult, but a minor inconvenience. I trust nothing will come in that can't wait 'till tonight. And that the girls will give me a shot at the terminal before I am terminally sleepy.

Maybe I'd best keep my head down and stay off LJ too for a while too.

Catch y'all later.

d

Fred (Reed) on Evolution

One difference between faith and science is that science allows with reasonable grace the questioning of theory. A physicist who doubts, say, the theory of general relativity will be expected to show good cause for his doubt. He won’t be dismissed in chorus as delusional and an enemy of truth.

By contrast, he who doubts the divinity of Christ, the prophethood of Mohammed, or the sanctity of natural selection will be savaged. It is the classic emotional reaction of the True Believer to whom dissent is not just wrong but intolerable. Which is unfortunate. If the faithful of evolution spent as much time examining their theory as they do defending it, they might prove to be right, or partly right, or discover all manner of interesting things heretofore unsuspected.

It's a Hell of a Town

Dear Commissioner Kelly:

There is a story in the March 2 edition of the New York Post claiming that Hate Crimes Unit supervisor Dennis Blackman ordered 20 detectives to see “The Passion of the Christ” when it opened last week; some watched the movie during working hours.

Accordingly, I would like to know the answer to the following questions: a) Is it common practice for detectives of the NYPD to watch movies during working hours? b) What prompted the request? c) What criteria are used to assess whether this is a useful function for the police to provide? d) What is the purpose of such an exercise? e) What exactly would the police be empowered to do if they determined the film constituted hate speech?

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

William A. Donohue, Ph.D., President
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

The Plot Thus Far

Someone at Payroll a couple of blocks away told my cube-mate this morning that the ax was already falling over here.

Not on 12W. At least not the North End. Not yet, anyway. I suppose the Human Resources SWAT team can only clean out one nest of terrorists, I mean, group of employees, at a time. One fellow on the South End got the word ahead of time, and has been taking his personal days. Anyone who is canned will get paid for his accrued vacation, but not for personal days. I don't know about sick time. As a part-timer I don't get any. Sick time, I mean.

Morale is not very high today, I must admit. Then again, it's lent. As the priest said to Mae West, whose townhouse opposite my more humble abode is something called Hineni, an evangelistic effort to recall Jews to Judaism. I think I would be more responsive to Ms. West, at least in her prime. I do wish I had her video of "Minnie the Moocher."

In other news I got my hair cut yesterday, for the first time in many, many months. "You have a lot of hair," said the Russian barber. "For somebody your age."

Next time it's the barber school on Third Avenue, a couple of blocks south of Hallowe'en Adventure. Where I can always buy a bald wig. So I can look my age.