There was a campus protest today — pro-lifers at the “preacher’s pulpit” (outside of the Hawkins Hall entrance near the Brick Street cafe) put up photos, and apparently pro-choicers gathered on the hill above them. I only got a glimpse of the whole shabang as I left Linthicum Hall around 2pm, but I thought: “Isn’t it a tactical advantage to have the high ground?” Apparently, according to a chick in my Chaucer class, pro-lifers kept running up the hill to beat up pro-choicers, but I don’t know how reliable her information was.
As Dr. Mancini wisely said when a girl in my Rock & Roll class inquired if he was aware of the protests, “Now that is one subject I won’t touch with a ten foot pole!” (Speaking of, did you know “rock and roll” was slang for sex back in the day? If you knew that and I didn’t, where the fuck have I been?)
Guess who gets to write a paper on the “folkways” of pizza delivery drivers for extra-credit?!
ME!!!!!
(Guess who came from Bateman’s where he had a cider?! I’m at the round table, top of the stairs 2nd level 7800 York if you want to stop by and say hi. Dell XPS laptop. Green backpack. Mockneck. Buzz cut. Sweaty.)
Boo, I say, boo.
New Zealand’s high school students will be able to use “text-speak” - the mobile phone text message language beloved of teenagers - in national exams this year, officials said.
Text-speak, a second language for thousands of teens, uses abbreviated words and phrases such as “txt” for “text”, “lol” for “laughing out loud” or “lots of love,” and “CU” for “see you.”
A-fucking right they should sue:
The widows of two combat veterans sued the government Monday for not allowing Wiccan symbols on their husbands’ military headstones.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs allows military families to choose any of 38 authorized headstone images. The list includes commonly recognized symbols for Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, as well as those for smaller religions such as Sufism Reoriented, Eckiankar and the Japanese faith Seicho-No-Ie.
Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves “white” or good witches, pagans or neo-pagans. Approximately 1,800 active-duty service members identify themselves as Wiccans, according to 2005 Defense Department statistics.
Attorneys for Americans United, a group advocating separation of church and state, argued in legal papers that it makes no sense for Wiccans to be excluded. The Army allows Wiccan soldiers to list their faith on dog tags, Wiccan organizations are allowed to hold services on military installations and the Army Chaplains Handbook includes an explanation of the religion, attorneys said.
Stewart, whose husband was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, has sought federal government approval to affix the pentacle to the Veterans’ Memorial Wall in Nevada. Veterans officials denied the request but Nevada officials said they would erect a plaque with the symbol.
I think this is a no-brainer: you serve in the military, you get a military headstone, you earned your religious icons on your military headstone.
Right?
