Left work at 12:15 this morning, got home at about 1:30, got to sleep at a little after 3, and left coming back here at about 6:30.
On the train ride, I came very, very close to assaulting a traveling evangelist, and I'm fairly certain everyone on the car would have testified that they didn't see a god damn thing.
So.
Not.
Today.
George alerts me to the probably common knowledge that Noam Chomsky has a blog now. According to Technorati (now out of beta), the fun-loving little hatemongers at Little Green Footballs have linked it already, which may explain the fairly large comment threads. So not wandering into that mess.
And now I'll see if that document I was working on earlier this morning is actually coherent, as it seemed to be when I stopped working on it, or if it had the sort of coherence that evaporates like dew when the sun comes up.
Update: Actually, scanning that thread at LGF makes for interesting reading, from a sociological perspective. Apparently, telling your winged monkeys to troll someone else's comments is standard behavior for right-wingers.
And so far, not a single one has actually raised anything which could be confused with a rational argument against anything Chomsky has ever said or written.
They're. . . well, I knew they weren't very bright, or original, but I'm moving towards the opinion that they aren't even human.
Oh, and John McWhorter contributes to Language Log, if you're interested in what he has to say about anything.
God knows I'm not; even with my limited m4d PERL 5KILL5, I think I could turn out a Black Conservative 'bot/Generator that would churn out about the same level of rhetoric. . .
Which reminds me, I still haven't added Oliver Willis to the links list.
Deliberately.
I came very, very close to assaulting a traveling evangelist
That is something I'd pay good money to see...
When I was a freshman in college (I started at Purdue - close to home and all - before I went to Howard) back in the 80s, there was a traveling evangelist who I lunged at, and would have knocked into the next county, had one of my friends not yanked me off my feet.
"Whadda wanna do, get your butt arrested?"
I came to my senses rather quickly.
The bible-thumper was out on the yard railing on against the "Godless college students." I'm sure today he'd take up residence in Topeka with Fred Phelps.
I'm a Christian and I love God, but some people make you say just damn.
Last time I went to the Air and Space Museum, Bruce and I made the tragic mistake of trying to get in through the Mall-side entrance. It was like trying to get into an airport the day before Thanksgiving. And there was a preacher there haranguing his captive audience; to this day, I don't know why some friendly Washington Parks and Rec person didn't come and get him out of there.
Highlights:
"Jesus died for all of us! He died for you! He died for--" gets in face of small child "--you, little girl!" Girl's father looks like he's going to deck preacher if he gets any closer. Sadly, doesn't.
"If my Lord were to call me home tonight, I would be ready for him!" Someone nearby mutters, "I'll help."
I'm sure he's got a thick skin and all by now, but I still feel bad for Chomsky. I probably should've known better and just not read the comments at all. The worst part was when one woman was (in a very civil, rational manner) critical of the total immature dopeyness of the right-wing nut-jobs' comments, and they all freaked out and called her a bitch and one person made a sort of implied rape threat against her. That and the guy who said he was waiting for Chomsky to defend Pol Pot--I am just too weirded out to explain right now why that is completely bassackwards.
Susan, you're a braver person than I am. I still can't bring myself to read the comments at Turning the Tide.
Sounds like this is people who haven't actually read any Chomsky, but they've read other people's attacks on him, and are, to coin a phrase, mindlessly parroting the party line.
I'd see what, if anything, Michele has to say about this, given her low opinion of the online behavior of "the far left," but I can't bring myself to drop by her place either right now.
Instead I'm looking at Geocities fan sites for various Sanrio characters.
And that's probably for the best right now.