Archive | September, 2013

De Spectaculis

In a debate with George Smith over the merits of pagan Rome versus the Christian period that followed, Ralph Raico writes: “Men openly carried amulets of the male genitals around their necks and touched them often, for luck.”

Thank goodness that dreadful practice was replaced with amulets of a half naked man being tortured to death.

He's not the Vicar of Christ, he's a very naugthy boy!

He’s not the Vicar of Christ, he’s a very naugthy boy!

Ralph also writes: “One may be excused for sympathizing with G.K. Chesterton when he wrote that, given the moral standards prevalent in the Roman Empire, a period of cleansing of society was called for.”

It would have been nice if the ‘cleansing’ had targeted only the perpetrators, and not also the victims, of Roman oppression.

Ralph further writes: “The major Christian denominations were also oppressors, with the notable and noble exception of the Baptists ….”

As a resident of North Carolina for eight years and of Alabama for fifteen, I have the sad duty to report that the Baptists have managed to find their way into the oppression business.


Greek Coffee

The AU Philosophy Club’s series of caffeine-fueled public fora continues tonight at 5:00 in a new venue: Mama Mocha’s new second location in the Hound restaurant, located here. The panel (including your humble correspondent) will discuss the topic “Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.” Drop by if you’re in the area!


It’s That Time of Year Again

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the eleventh anniversary of the Molinari Institute’s founding (happy birthday!), and also the eleventh anniversary of this blog.

Not much new to add since last year’s post. The u.s. empire continues to flail about fecklessly but aggressively in the Middle East (though happily the momentum toward war with Syria has been somewhat slowed by recent events). The Molinari Institute and its partners and/or avatars (C4SS, ALL, ALL Distro, The Industrial Radical, and the Molinari Society) continue to fight the power. Join us!


Black Boxes

The NSA headquarters and the Kaaba in Mecca -- separated at birth?

The NSA headquarters and the Kaaba in Mecca — separated at birth?


I Am Oz the Great and Terrible

So, Cranston reads it well, of course – except that that pause in the middle leads me to suspect he’s misunderstood the grammar and taken “survive” to be intransitive, rather than transitive with “the hand that mocked them and the heart that fed” as its object.


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