Archive for April 4th, 2013

This is probably going to shake a few people up.

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

“Being Gay at Jerry Falwell’s University”.

When I think of Jerry Falwell, I don’t think about him the way Bill Maher does. I think about the man who would wear a huge Blue Afro wig to our school games, or the man who slid down a waterslide in his suit, or the man who would allow himself to be mocked during our coffeehouse shows. I think about the man who reminded us every time he addressed our student body that God loved us, that he loved us, and that he was always available if ever we needed him.

I never told Dr. Falwell that I was gay; but I wouldn’t have been afraid of his response. Would he have thought homosexuality was an abomination? Yes. Would he have thought it was God’s intention for me to be straight? Yes. But would he have wanted to stone me? No. And if there were some that would’ve wanted to stone me, I can imagine Jerry Falwell, with his fat smile, telling all of my accusers to go home and pray because they were wicked people.

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Obit watch: April 4, 2013.

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Roger Ebert has passed away.

Their servers appear to be overwhelmed at the moment, and I have not seen this reported elsewhere. I’m going to give this a bit of time, and will probably have more to say later on.

Posted in Clippings, Movies, Obits | Comments Closed

“…jackass legislation”

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

I am a great admirer of H.L. Mencken. I have been since I was in high school (mumble mumble) years ago.

But I had not previously encountered this particular essay.

The new law that it advocated, indeed, is one of the most absurd specimens of jackass legislation ever heard of, even in this paradise of legislative donkeyism. Its single and sole effect would be to exaggerate enormously all of the evils it proposes to put down. It would not take pistols out of the hands of rogues and fools; it would simply take them out of the hands of honest men. The gunman today has great advantages everywhere. He has artillery in his pocket, and he may assume that, in the large cities, at least two-thirds of his prospective victims are unarmed. But if the Nation’s proposed law (or amendment) were passed and enforced, he could assume safely that all of them were unarmed.

Also noted:

What would become of the millions of revolvers already in the hands of the American people if not in New York, then at least everywhere else? (I own two and my brother owns at least a dozen, though neither of us has fired one since the close of the Liberty Loan drives.)

I would be very interested in knowing what revolvers Mencken and his brother owned. I’d be even more interested in owning one of Mencken’s revolvers, but I suspect the associational value puts that out of my price range.

(It does not come as a great shock to me that Mencken was pro civil rights: his “A New Constitution for Maryland” included a provision establishing the right to keep and openly carry arms. But encountering an essay of Mencken’s that I haven’t previously read, and is relevant to my interests…that lights up my whole day.)

(Hattip on this one to the amazing Roberta X.)

Posted in Books, Clippings, Guns, History, Law | 1 Comment »