The Firstborn of the Slave Girl
You have to wonder what the poor slave girl did to deserve this kind of treatment from Yahweh. Not to mention the cattle.
Robert Caro on Democracy in Texas in the early 20th century
Mueller Confirmed Barr Memo Was Accurate
If this new report about the telephone conversation Mueller had with Barr is correct, then it confirms what we suspected and what the conclusions of the redacted report demonstrated – that the Barr 4-page memo was not inaccurate.
When Barr pressed Mueller on whether he thought Barr’s memo to Congress was inaccurate, Mueller said he did not, but felt that the media coverage of it was misinterpreting the investigation, officials said.
Mueller and Barr are old colleagues and friends. Regardless of what you might think of Barr, it always seemed unlikely to me that he would inaccurately portray the findings of the report.
Of course, I don’t expect this to change the minds of the True Believers. This whole Russiagate affair demonstrates once again how people let their political ideologies become like a religion. Facts be damned.
Update 2019-05-02: We now have a copy of Mueller’s letter.
Excellent Ralph Nader Podcast
Nader recently gave some kind of talk to college students. He explains about what’s broken with the US democracy and then details a number of very simple things college students can do about it. Excellent stuff, well worth a listen.
Shaming Women
So sayeth Saint Paul. When he wrote this, in the late 40s or 50s CE, women in the Roman Empire were still respected in religious rites, such as the all-female Bona Dea cult and of course the Vestal Virgins. In Judaism, their role was much more limited. I find it interesting, though, that Paul, the founder of Gentile Christianity, who claimed to speak directly to the ghost of Jesus, took such a harsh tone towards women. Why would it be shameful for them to speak, I wonder? From my Random Bible Quotes Facebook group.