Miscellaneous Musing #33

It's often noted that the Maya had an advanced civilization "while Europe languished in the [so-called] Dark Ages."  Why is it never noted that high civilizations flourished in Europe before the Mayan culture even existed?

Uncommon Commentary #195: A Foreign Trade

We Yanks perceive our country as widely envied, but would most foreigners really want to change places with us? Many might long for our economic and military prowess (or for our former prowess, especially in the first category), but would likely be far less eager to inherit our myriad social problems and our upwards-of-$14-trillion "national" debt.

Uncommon Commentary #194: Stress on Less Dress

I used to wonder why I'm attracted just as much to a woman in Victorian dress—in pictures only; I would prefer to have lived then, but I was, alas, born in the latter Twentieth Century—as to a gal in modern provocative styles, but I think that I've grasped the key distinction between women's fashions in the good ol' days and women's fashions today: previously, the clothes themselves were designed to be beautiful, to enhance the beauty of the woman, whereas now, they're just designed to be brief, to inspire lust in men.

Uncommon Commentary #193: Advice from One Weiner to Another

Regarding Representative Weiner, President Obombast has said: "…if it was [sic] me [sic], I'd quit."  Grammatical errors are the least egregious kind that our president has made, and so I'm not going to make too much of this; if Obama were as smart as his supporters says he is, though, wouldn't he know when to use the conditional tense and the subjective case?

Uncommon Commentary #192: Wiener Is the Wurst—I Mean, Worst

Because I don't comment on anything happening in the world unless I have something original to say, I've heretofore devoted none of this space to US Reprehensive Anthony Wiener, who has received plenty of attention from others.  I now, however, think that someone ought to note the significance of the reason that Weiner—and he certainly is a weiner—has given for remaining in office: his professed belief that he has not broken any law.  What about laws of God?  One of the great failures of the "American way of life," although I've never heard it mentioned as such, is the fact that the Law no longer punishes offences thought of as being of a strictly moral nature.  One of the few legitimate reasons that anybody has for ruling others is to enforce standards of propriety (see, for instance, the final clause of Romans 13:4), but our government is derelict in that duty.

Uncommon Commentary #191: What a Difference a Day Makes

Someone who totally lacks knowledge of the customs and cherished preconceptions of the USA (for instance, an inquirer from a civilization that has only recently come into contact with the world outside) might well think that we its citizens suffer from some sort of mass psychological disorder, since we spend all but one day of the year complaining about the corruption and incompetence of our government, and that one day (the Fourth of July) boasting of how we rule ourselves.

Uncommon Commentary #190

The "War on Terror" is worthwhile for the West to fight, even if it is, as I suspect, a war that we are doomed to lose.

Uncommon Commentary #189: Make Love, Not For-nication

People often speak and act as if being "in love" gave them the right to break a law of God by engaging in extramarital sexual intercourse, but such activity is a product of sexual passion, not of love. (Coitus is perfectly legitimate within the bounds of marriage, since it furthers the biblical primary purpose of marriage, which is procreation; in fact, the very word "matrimony" derives partly from the Latin for "mother."  Note that the biblical secondary purpose of marriage is to provide a benign means of satisfying the sexual desire that adults and adolescents feel.)  Love—true love—is no justification for fornication.