A used Volkswagen Golf that had belonged to Pope Benedict XVI is for sale on Ebay. My translations of questions from potential buyers, and the seller's answers:
| Q: | Do you really want to sell the car? | |
| A: | Yeeeeesssss!!!! | |
| Q: | Can it be used with holy water in the windshield washer? | |
| A: | There are no limits to creativity in this regard... | |
| Q: | ... You write, that the original seats are still available. Are they leather seats, and if yes in what color? ... | |
| A: | They are cloth seats in the Highline series. In gray/black | |
| Q: | Does black or white smoke come out of the exhaust? | |
| A: | That's a good one ;-) | |
| Q: | The Pope had a powerful stereo installed ;-) That isn't the stock radio in any case... | |
| A: | No, I swapped out the stock radio. Cardinal Ratzinger made do with the original VW radio. | |
| Q: | Is it a nonsmoker car? | |
| A: | Yes |
Tuesday 04.26.05
Tommyjournal hasn't been updated much lately. Sorry 'bout that. As soon as I can think of interesting stuff to say, I'll write some more.
In the meantime, try this.
Thursday 04.21.05
The time has come that the American people know exactly what their representatives are doing here in Washington. Are they feeding at the public trough, taking lobbyist-paid vacations, getting wined and dined by special-interest groups? Or are they working hard to represent their constituents? The people, the American people, have a right to know. I say the best disinfectant is full disclosure. -Tom DeLay, 1995
Wednesday 04.20.05
I'm not a fan of Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI), but I will give him credit for having made his views clear--in particular about the uniqueness and preëminence of his church:
With the coming of the Saviour Jesus Christ, God has willed that the Church founded by him be the instrument for the salvation of all humanity (cf. Acts 17:30-31). This truth of faith does not lessen the sincere respect which the Church has for the religions of the world, but at the same time, it rules out, in a radical way, that mentality of indifferentism "characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that 'one religion is as good as another' ". If it is true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation. Dominus Iesus (ch. 22)
Monday 04.18.05
Politicianspeak at its best:
| Interviewer: | Have you ever crossed the line of ethical behavior in terms of dealing with lobbyists, your use of government authority or with fundraising? | |
| Tom DeLay: | Ever
is a very strong word. [...] |
(from an April 12 interview; more at Language Log.)
Tuesday 04.05.05
News of a survey on "blog consumption", as reported in The Blog Herald:
The survey found that gay people read blogs more often than their non-gay counterparts, with 27% of GLB adults frequently or occasionally seek out blogs versus 18% of heterosexual adults, and only 44% of GLB adults stating that they never read blogs as compared to 59% of heterosexual adults.
Whether the results have any great consequence in the great scheme of things is yet to be seen, but the statistics should provide some solace to bloggers who actively target the GLB market.
Provide some solace--as if this were a burning question, keeping bloggers up at night.
Tommy hastens to point out that he does not blog to target a "market", and does not regard the act of reading as "consumption".
Eleven or so years ago, this letter to the editor appeared in the Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco):
I see that the Vatican has just released a new catechism (the first complete revamp of its kind in 400 years) with statements of faith about all sorts of new sins.
About pornography the Church says: "It gravely offends the dignity of those who submit to it ... It plunges all of them into the illusion of a make-believe world."
Funny, I thought that described the Catholic Church.
Aaron Travis
Berkeley
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