This is true!
Dec. 15th, 2001 12:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theducksOk, so you often see ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
singularity and I talking about This is True. This weeks has some very good bits of snide commentary in it, so I feel you should all ready it and get a laugh ;) However, I'll be nice and LJ-cut it
Dispatched this week to readers in 195 countries and to the medical laser
specialists at IRIDEX in Mountain View, California, it's...
THIS is TRUE for 9 December 2001 Copyright 2001 www.thisistrue.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE, AMERICAN STYLE: The new chaplain at Wisconsin's
Waupun Correctional Institution is a Wiccan. The Rev. Jamyi Witch's
hiring was defended by the state Department of Corrections, which says
Witch -- and that is her real name -- met the job requirements, and
barring her based on her faith would be illegal. "I minister to
everyone's needs. I have no interest in converting anyone," she says.
"That would be wrong." Another full-time chaplain at the facility is
Protestant; only about a third of the inmates are Christian. Outraged
State Rep. Mike Huebsch, who represents West Salem, promises to strip
funding for Witch's position, even though he previously argued for more
chaplains in state prisons. Rep. Scott Walker agrees. "It might
actually put inmates in a position that talking to her is contrary to
what some of their own religious beliefs might be," Walker says.
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) ...Scott, how worried have you been about
Catholics talking to the Protestant chaplain?
RELIGIOUS IN/TOLERANCE II: County Commissioners in Leavenworth, Kan.,
have revoked the land use permit for the interdenominational 168-acre
Gaea Retreat Center over religious rituals performed there, effectively
closing it down. The action was in response to a petition by residents
which accused the Center of allowing witches and pagans to dance naked
around bonfires at night who "may be weaving magical spells." A
spokeswoman for the retreat says the county admits there has been no
illegal activity at the facility, and Gaea has filed suit claiming
religious discrimination. The Reuters news service noted that "Before
its current incarnation, the sprawling site was a church camp."
(Reuters) ...It still is.
----------==========**********O**********==========----------
A GIFT SHE'S PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF...ONE SHE'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER.
The Tear Bottle, the symbolic gift of love and friendship that expresses
feelings of joy, sorrow, and thanks. Let this holiday be the time to
share your feelings, in all their depth, with those who have touched
your life. Tear bottles communicate feelings that few other gifts can.
Learn the legend of an ancient tradition. http://www.tearcatcher.com
----------==========**********O**********==========----------
MAKES THEIR HAIR STAND ON END: Pensacola, Fla., school crossing guard
Dale Rooks said he's tried yelling at drivers and using hand signals,
but was never able to get speeders to slow down through the school
zone. Then he got an idea: he wrapped an old hair dryer with black
electrical tape to make it look like a radar gun, and points it at
speeding cars. "It's almost comical," Rooks says. "People are slowing
down, raising their hands at me apologetically. It's amazing how well
it works." Police say they have no problem with the tactic. (AP) ...And
if the speeders give him any trouble, he can threaten to blow them
away.
A BIG ONE THAT GOT AWAY: McDonald's attempts to keep any other business
from using the prefix "Mc" or "Mac" in its name received a major
setback when London's High Court allowed Frank Yu Kwan Yuen's
registration for "McChina" as a British trademark over the restaurant
chain's strong objections. "It appears to me on analysis that
McDonald's are virtually seeking to monopolize all names and words with
the prefix Mc or Mac," Judge David Neuberger ruled, and that there was
an "absence of any evidence of confusion" among the public from the
Chinese restaurant's name. Yuen successfully argued that in Scottish
tradition, "Mc" simply means "son of". After hearing the decision, Yuen
said he was "as happy as a drunken prawn." (Reuters) ...Hey: that's a
great menu idea.
DOESN'T ANYONE WANT NEW STUFF FOR CHRISTMAS ANYMORE? "TV Station to
Auction De Niro's Kidney Stone", "Bogart's Casablanca Cigarettes to Be
Auctioned", "Mel Gibson 'Disturbed' by Hair Auction" -- PA headlines
AFTER THE 9/11 TERRORIST ATROCITIES, my first post-attack issue featured
the inane comments by The Revs. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, whom I
then dubbed the "American Taliban". I mentioned that "there have been a
couple of complaints about it, as I expected, including one today about
how the reader is tired of my 'regular attacks on Chrisitanity'." I
said I wanted "to make something clear: I do not attack Christianity, I
attack the stupid rantings OF *some* Christians -- just as I attack the
stupidity of *some* lawyers, politicians, school officials, cops, etc.
I OFTEN get letters complaining when I 'attack' religious stupidity,
but I RARELY get them from cops when (say) I 'attack' something stupid
a cop does. I'm called 'anti-Christian' but never 'anti-cop'."
I asked my Premium readers why they supposed that is, and I got some
interesting replies, such as "there are a lot more Christians than
cops", "there's an intelligence test to be a cop", and "cops are
trained to deal with criticism from the public". Even if all those are
true, that doesn't explain "school officials" and "etc.", but what the
heck. Anyway, since I knew while writing this week's issue that it was
bound to bring more irate mail calling me names, telling me I'm going
to hell, etc., I thought it was time to reflect on that question. I'll
run just a few of the letters, and NEXT week I'll get back to your
letters on Zero Tolerence. Meanwhile, my "Falwell page" is still up at
http://www.thisistrue.com/taliban.html
Eric in California: "Christians who base their Christianity on their
behavior rather than their beliefs, even though they may share beliefs
with the 'true believers,' probably never attack you as 'anti-
Christian.' I think many charges of anti-Americanism are hurled against
patriotic Americans for much the same reason."
Clayton in Minnesota: "I think it's because many Christian sects have
thrown Jesus out of the church. Wishing for greater certainty than
Jesus himself ever promised, some Christians-in-name-only prefer the
Paulist view that humankind can only be redeemed by subservience to the
church itself. You criticized someone who identifies himself as a
Christian; I identify myself as a Christian; the object of your
criticism and I share an affinity for a set of beliefs and an
organization that institutionalizes those beliefs; therefore, you have
just attacked him, me, and all our people. You could call this
phenomenon 'zero tolerance for criticism.'."
Bill in Alabama: "Those who disagree with a righteous Christian (e.g.,
Rev. Foulwell) must *be* anti-Christian because they are disagreeing
with the Voice of Christ as interpreted by such a learned scholar.
[You] are dangerous because [you] are 'trying to lead people astray'
and even the slightest deviation from the Word of God (as translated by
whomever) is a one-way ticket to hades, where even your GOOHF cards*
are not accepted. They must be branded as anti-Christian so no one will
listen to anything they have to say, and no one will think I could
possibly be in league with the blasphemer(s). What it boils down to is
fear that, maybe, just maybe, they don't really have the faith that
they wish they had. This is disguised as the arrogance they show toward
those who don't beleive the exact same thing their denomination does,
arrogance that can even lead to murder 'for God, Queen, and Country'."
*(This refers to my "Get Out of Hell Free cards". Indeed when this
issue came out in the Premium edition, the most common response was
"you better stock up on GOOHF cards!" So I have; you can order some if
you wish at http://www.thisistrue.com/goohf.html ).
So my bottom line is that I know what I feel, what I believe, and what
I stand for, so being called names means nothing to me. And when I have
something to say, I'll continue to say it, even though I know I'll be
attacked. I've argued passionately for true religious freedom for all
(e.g. at http://www.thisistrue.com/rfree.html ), so if some wish to
argue from their own feelings that I am somehow wrong, without having
any real idea about what I think, I'll just do what I've always done:
look for any *reasonable* suggestions or criticisms -- and ignore the
rest. But I know saying that won't stop it from coming.
----------==========**********O**********==========----------
THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF -- FIND THEM AT THE YAWNSHOP!
My sister likes frogs, so I typed "frog" into the search field at
Yawnshop.com. Up popped over a dozen gifts that she would love.
If someone in your family likes a special type of gift, try the
YawnShop for ideas that will make their holiday just as wonderful
as you'd like to make it. Clothes, gifts, toys...
the stuff dreams are made of. Visit http://www.YawnShop.com
----------==========**********O**********==========----------
IF YOU HAD A PREMIUM subscription you would have ALSO read about: Fire
marshal warns pagans to be careful with fire after ritual burns down
house. Lutheran minister in trouble because he dared to pray for Sept.
11 victims with a different kind of Lutheran minister. Man lives up to
his unusual name when he's sentenced to 60 years in prison. Researchers
develop way to screen for Alzheimer's with automated telephone system.
For details, send a blank e-mail to Upgrade@thisistrue.com or see
http://thisistrue.com/upgrade.html
THIS WEEK'S HONORARY UNSUBSCRIBE goes to Jerome "Jerry" Morse. A physics
professor at the Colorado School of Mines, Morse previously worked for
the Martin Co., in Baltimore, Md., where he helped develop a tiny
nuclear-powered electrical generator. The top-secret project was made
public on January 16, 1959, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower
demonstrated the 5-pound, 5-watt generator on television. "We were
dumbfounded," Morse said in an interview more than 40 years later.
"Apparently the president wasn't told the project was classified. Or he
did it to show up the Russians. I couldn't even tell my wife about it."
His "System for Auxiliary Nuclear Power" radioisotope thermoelectric
generators have been used on many deep-space missions to power
spacecraft far from the sun, where solar power cannot be used. The
devices are secure enough to survive an explosion of the rocket
carrying them; the first time that happened, the RTG was recovered and
rebuilt for another mission. Before he died, Morse worked to bring war
veterans to schools to talk to students. "Kids are learning about this
aspect of our history through textbooks written by people who heard
about it but never experienced it," he said. "Teachers should invite
these guys to reflect on what the war was really about by people who
experienced it." He died December 10 from lymphoma at age 90.
SUBSCRIPTIONS to "This is True" are FREE. Just send a blank message to
join-this-is-true@lyris.net or see our web site. Published weekly by
Freelance Communications, PO Box 17326, Boulder CO 80308 USA since 1994
(ISSN 1521-1932). TRUE is available to newspapers as a regular feature
column. "This is True" is a registered trademark.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE: see the end of this message
FOR INFO on TRUE subscriptions, our book collections or other products,
see http://www.thisistrue.com or e-mail TrueInfo@thisistrue.com
TO COMMENT TO THE AUTHOR: e-mail arcie@thisistrue.com
COPYRIGHT 2001 by Randy Cassingham, All Rights Reserved. All stories are
completely rewritten by Randy Cassingham using facts from the noted
source(s). ALL broadcast, publication, retransmission to e-mail lists,
WWW or any other copying or storage, in any medium, online or not, is
STRICTLY PROHIBITED without PRIOR written permission from the author.
MANUAL FORWARDING by e-mail to friends is allowed IF 1) the text is
forwarded IN ITS ENTIRETY, from the "Dispatched to" line on top through
the end of this paragraph and 2) NO FEE is charged. We REQUEST that you
forward no more than three copies to any one person -- after that, they
should get their own FREE subscription. We ALWAYS appreciate people who
report violations of our copyright to us.
singularity and I talking about This is True. This weeks has some very good bits of snide commentary in it, so I feel you should all ready it and get a laugh ;) However, I'll be nice and LJ-cut itDispatched this week to readers in 195 countries and to the medical laser
specialists at IRIDEX in Mountain View, California, it's...
THIS is TRUE for 9 December 2001 Copyright 2001 www.thisistrue.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE, AMERICAN STYLE: The new chaplain at Wisconsin's
Waupun Correctional Institution is a Wiccan. The Rev. Jamyi Witch's
hiring was defended by the state Department of Corrections, which says
Witch -- and that is her real name -- met the job requirements, and
barring her based on her faith would be illegal. "I minister to
everyone's needs. I have no interest in converting anyone," she says.
"That would be wrong." Another full-time chaplain at the facility is
Protestant; only about a third of the inmates are Christian. Outraged
State Rep. Mike Huebsch, who represents West Salem, promises to strip
funding for Witch's position, even though he previously argued for more
chaplains in state prisons. Rep. Scott Walker agrees. "It might
actually put inmates in a position that talking to her is contrary to
what some of their own religious beliefs might be," Walker says.
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) ...Scott, how worried have you been about
Catholics talking to the Protestant chaplain?
RELIGIOUS IN/TOLERANCE II: County Commissioners in Leavenworth, Kan.,
have revoked the land use permit for the interdenominational 168-acre
Gaea Retreat Center over religious rituals performed there, effectively
closing it down. The action was in response to a petition by residents
which accused the Center of allowing witches and pagans to dance naked
around bonfires at night who "may be weaving magical spells." A
spokeswoman for the retreat says the county admits there has been no
illegal activity at the facility, and Gaea has filed suit claiming
religious discrimination. The Reuters news service noted that "Before
its current incarnation, the sprawling site was a church camp."
(Reuters) ...It still is.
----------==========**********O**********==========----------
A GIFT SHE'S PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF...ONE SHE'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER.
The Tear Bottle, the symbolic gift of love and friendship that expresses
feelings of joy, sorrow, and thanks. Let this holiday be the time to
share your feelings, in all their depth, with those who have touched
your life. Tear bottles communicate feelings that few other gifts can.
Learn the legend of an ancient tradition. http://www.tearcatcher.com
----------==========**********O**********==========----------
MAKES THEIR HAIR STAND ON END: Pensacola, Fla., school crossing guard
Dale Rooks said he's tried yelling at drivers and using hand signals,
but was never able to get speeders to slow down through the school
zone. Then he got an idea: he wrapped an old hair dryer with black
electrical tape to make it look like a radar gun, and points it at
speeding cars. "It's almost comical," Rooks says. "People are slowing
down, raising their hands at me apologetically. It's amazing how well
it works." Police say they have no problem with the tactic. (AP) ...And
if the speeders give him any trouble, he can threaten to blow them
away.
A BIG ONE THAT GOT AWAY: McDonald's attempts to keep any other business
from using the prefix "Mc" or "Mac" in its name received a major
setback when London's High Court allowed Frank Yu Kwan Yuen's
registration for "McChina" as a British trademark over the restaurant
chain's strong objections. "It appears to me on analysis that
McDonald's are virtually seeking to monopolize all names and words with
the prefix Mc or Mac," Judge David Neuberger ruled, and that there was
an "absence of any evidence of confusion" among the public from the
Chinese restaurant's name. Yuen successfully argued that in Scottish
tradition, "Mc" simply means "son of". After hearing the decision, Yuen
said he was "as happy as a drunken prawn." (Reuters) ...Hey: that's a
great menu idea.
DOESN'T ANYONE WANT NEW STUFF FOR CHRISTMAS ANYMORE? "TV Station to
Auction De Niro's Kidney Stone", "Bogart's Casablanca Cigarettes to Be
Auctioned", "Mel Gibson 'Disturbed' by Hair Auction" -- PA headlines
AFTER THE 9/11 TERRORIST ATROCITIES, my first post-attack issue featured
the inane comments by The Revs. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, whom I
then dubbed the "American Taliban". I mentioned that "there have been a
couple of complaints about it, as I expected, including one today about
how the reader is tired of my 'regular attacks on Chrisitanity'." I
said I wanted "to make something clear: I do not attack Christianity, I
attack the stupid rantings OF *some* Christians -- just as I attack the
stupidity of *some* lawyers, politicians, school officials, cops, etc.
I OFTEN get letters complaining when I 'attack' religious stupidity,
but I RARELY get them from cops when (say) I 'attack' something stupid
a cop does. I'm called 'anti-Christian' but never 'anti-cop'."
I asked my Premium readers why they supposed that is, and I got some
interesting replies, such as "there are a lot more Christians than
cops", "there's an intelligence test to be a cop", and "cops are
trained to deal with criticism from the public". Even if all those are
true, that doesn't explain "school officials" and "etc.", but what the
heck. Anyway, since I knew while writing this week's issue that it was
bound to bring more irate mail calling me names, telling me I'm going
to hell, etc., I thought it was time to reflect on that question. I'll
run just a few of the letters, and NEXT week I'll get back to your
letters on Zero Tolerence. Meanwhile, my "Falwell page" is still up at
http://www.thisistrue.com/taliban.html
Eric in California: "Christians who base their Christianity on their
behavior rather than their beliefs, even though they may share beliefs
with the 'true believers,' probably never attack you as 'anti-
Christian.' I think many charges of anti-Americanism are hurled against
patriotic Americans for much the same reason."
Clayton in Minnesota: "I think it's because many Christian sects have
thrown Jesus out of the church. Wishing for greater certainty than
Jesus himself ever promised, some Christians-in-name-only prefer the
Paulist view that humankind can only be redeemed by subservience to the
church itself. You criticized someone who identifies himself as a
Christian; I identify myself as a Christian; the object of your
criticism and I share an affinity for a set of beliefs and an
organization that institutionalizes those beliefs; therefore, you have
just attacked him, me, and all our people. You could call this
phenomenon 'zero tolerance for criticism.'
Bill in Alabama: "Those who disagree with a righteous Christian (e.g.,
Rev. Foulwell) must *be* anti-Christian because they are disagreeing
with the Voice of Christ as interpreted by such a learned scholar.
[You] are dangerous because [you] are 'trying to lead people astray'
and even the slightest deviation from the Word of God (as translated by
whomever) is a one-way ticket to hades, where even your GOOHF cards*
are not accepted. They must be branded as anti-Christian so no one will
listen to anything they have to say, and no one will think I could
possibly be in league with the blasphemer(s). What it boils down to is
fear that, maybe, just maybe, they don't really have the faith that
they wish they had. This is disguised as the arrogance they show toward
those who don't beleive the exact same thing their denomination does,
arrogance that can even lead to murder 'for God, Queen, and Country'."
*(This refers to my "Get Out of Hell Free cards". Indeed when this
issue came out in the Premium edition, the most common response was
"you better stock up on GOOHF cards!" So I have; you can order some if
you wish at http://www.thisistrue.com/goohf.html ).
So my bottom line is that I know what I feel, what I believe, and what
I stand for, so being called names means nothing to me. And when I have
something to say, I'll continue to say it, even though I know I'll be
attacked. I've argued passionately for true religious freedom for all
(e.g. at http://www.thisistrue.com/rfree.html ), so if some wish to
argue from their own feelings that I am somehow wrong, without having
any real idea about what I think, I'll just do what I've always done:
look for any *reasonable* suggestions or criticisms -- and ignore the
rest. But I know saying that won't stop it from coming.
----------==========**********O**********==========----------
THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF -- FIND THEM AT THE YAWNSHOP!
My sister likes frogs, so I typed "frog" into the search field at
Yawnshop.com. Up popped over a dozen gifts that she would love.
If someone in your family likes a special type of gift, try the
YawnShop for ideas that will make their holiday just as wonderful
as you'd like to make it. Clothes, gifts, toys...
the stuff dreams are made of. Visit http://www.YawnShop.com
----------==========**********O**********==========----------
IF YOU HAD A PREMIUM subscription you would have ALSO read about: Fire
marshal warns pagans to be careful with fire after ritual burns down
house. Lutheran minister in trouble because he dared to pray for Sept.
11 victims with a different kind of Lutheran minister. Man lives up to
his unusual name when he's sentenced to 60 years in prison. Researchers
develop way to screen for Alzheimer's with automated telephone system.
For details, send a blank e-mail to Upgrade@thisistrue.com or see
http://thisistrue.com/upgrade.html
THIS WEEK'S HONORARY UNSUBSCRIBE goes to Jerome "Jerry" Morse. A physics
professor at the Colorado School of Mines, Morse previously worked for
the Martin Co., in Baltimore, Md., where he helped develop a tiny
nuclear-powered electrical generator. The top-secret project was made
public on January 16, 1959, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower
demonstrated the 5-pound, 5-watt generator on television. "We were
dumbfounded," Morse said in an interview more than 40 years later.
"Apparently the president wasn't told the project was classified. Or he
did it to show up the Russians. I couldn't even tell my wife about it."
His "System for Auxiliary Nuclear Power" radioisotope thermoelectric
generators have been used on many deep-space missions to power
spacecraft far from the sun, where solar power cannot be used. The
devices are secure enough to survive an explosion of the rocket
carrying them; the first time that happened, the RTG was recovered and
rebuilt for another mission. Before he died, Morse worked to bring war
veterans to schools to talk to students. "Kids are learning about this
aspect of our history through textbooks written by people who heard
about it but never experienced it," he said. "Teachers should invite
these guys to reflect on what the war was really about by people who
experienced it." He died December 10 from lymphoma at age 90.
SUBSCRIPTIONS to "This is True" are FREE. Just send a blank message to
join-this-is-true@lyris.net or see our web site. Published weekly by
Freelance Communications, PO Box 17326, Boulder CO 80308 USA since 1994
(ISSN 1521-1932). TRUE is available to newspapers as a regular feature
column. "This is True" is a registered trademark.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE: see the end of this message
FOR INFO on TRUE subscriptions, our book collections or other products,
see http://www.thisistrue.com or e-mail TrueInfo@thisistrue.com
TO COMMENT TO THE AUTHOR: e-mail arcie@thisistrue.com
COPYRIGHT 2001 by Randy Cassingham, All Rights Reserved. All stories are
completely rewritten by Randy Cassingham using facts from the noted
source(s). ALL broadcast, publication, retransmission to e-mail lists,
WWW or any other copying or storage, in any medium, online or not, is
STRICTLY PROHIBITED without PRIOR written permission from the author.
MANUAL FORWARDING by e-mail to friends is allowed IF 1) the text is
forwarded IN ITS ENTIRETY, from the "Dispatched to" line on top through
the end of this paragraph and 2) NO FEE is charged. We REQUEST that you
forward no more than three copies to any one person -- after that, they
should get their own FREE subscription. We ALWAYS appreciate people who
report violations of our copyright to us.
