Monthly Archives: September 2004

Bat Mystery Solved

September 26, 2004
Sara called me at work a few days ago to tell me that the mystery of the vanishing bat had been solved. One night last year while Sara and Lucy were on a weekend vacation, I heard Ben yelling from his room, “Daddy, daddy, there’s a birdy in here!” My first thought was that he had been struggling to fall asleep and decided to come up wth a creative way to quit trying. When I arrived at his room and asked him where it was, he said…
Posted in family | 3 Comments

Kerry Fumbles, Republicans Lie, Bush Smiles

September 24, 2004
In a New York Times Op-Ed, Stanley Fish discusses his writing class’s analysis of recent speeches given by Bush and Kerry. Guess whose message has more rhetorical force? …
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Three Cool Web Tools

September 22, 2004
Every once in a while I come across a cool little tool that makes life on the web just a little easier, or a bit more fun. Here are three that I use fairly often…
Posted in technology | 3 Comments

Shocking News: Bush and Kerry Both Change Their Minds

September 16, 2004
Finally, someone in the mainstream (i.e. conservative) media came out and stated the obvious: Bush has done his fair share of flip flopping. Four years ago the Republicans pinned the same flip-flop label on Gore, so I was a little surprised that they would try it again with Kerry, and even more surprised that it seems to have stuck…
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Did God Choose Bush?

September 13, 2004
An article published today in Slate.com catalogs the carefully scripted public statements by Bush supporters suggesting that Bush’s presidency is the direct result of God’s intervention. The final three paragraphs are absolutely brilliant…
Posted in society | 6 Comments

Where’s Osama?

September 12, 2004
In an article I read about the Republican National Convention, the writer noted that while Saddam Hussein’s name came up over a dozen times, none of the speakers mentioned Osama bin Laden. Now, I have no idea why they wouldn’t even mention the guy’s name, but I just might have figured out why we haven’t captured him yet…
Posted in society | 2 Comments

A Walk to Work

September 11, 2004
Yesterday I took my camera along to work in the off chance that I would have time to snap some pictures of people milling around outside during lunchtime with all the booths set up for Celebration on the Grand, the last hurrah of the summer in downtown Grand Rapids. But since the bus dropped me off a half hour before work started, I decided to slow down the usual 10-minute walk and snap a few on my way to the office. Here is what I came up with…
Posted in photography | 5 Comments

Conventional Wisdom

September 3, 2004
It appears that conventional wisdom, at least of the Republican sort, doesn’t hold up well to scrutiny. Two articles in Slate.com do a particularly nice job of exposing the lies, half-truths, deceptions, and misdirections that speakers at the Republican National Convention tried to pass on to the American public
Posted in society | 5 Comments