Shaun Kenney | Politics and Religion in Virginia's Public Square

Wednesday, December 25, 2002

Merry Christmas everyone!

Monday, December 16, 2002

Guess who made the Washington Post this weekend?

"God will not suffer man to have the knowledge of things to come; for if he had prescience of his prosperity he would be careless; and understanding of his adversity he would be senseless."

You are Augustine!

You love to study tough issues and don't mind it if you lose sleep over them. Everyone loves you and wants to talk to you and hear your views, you even get things like "nice debating with you." Yep, you are super smart, even if you are still trying to figure it all out. You're also very honest, something people admire, even when you do stupid things.

What theologian are you?

I've always taken myself to be more of a Saint Thomas Aquinas sort of gentleman myself. Augustine will do very nicely though.

Friday, December 13, 2002

OUTRAGEOUS! Fredericksburg Mayor Bill Beck and Councilmen Scott Howson and Matt Kelly have all been found guilty of violating Virginia's FOIA in e-mail coversations held during the summer! Now I can understand from a jurisprudence perspective that such a ruling is necessary to maintain the spirit of the law. But were these guys really guilty of breaking the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act? The entire conversation was centered around how to prevent future FOIA abuses from the former City Council.

Don't get me wrong - I still stand by my past op-ed in the Free Lance-Star, but for the life of me I can't see the justice in this. The lawsuit is frivolous, and a complete abuse of the FOIA.

Regardless of how disgusted I am that Beck, Howson, and Kelly were found guilty, the case for open and honest government indeed took one more step today. I can still think of no greater supporters of this than those convicted.

Tuesday, December 10, 2002

I just found the most ignorant political activist website on the web. . . dubyadubyadubya.com. Aesthetically its tasteful, but like most liberal hogwash less filling than most. I really wish the America-Lite crowd would keep its promises and move to Canada.

Friday, December 06, 2002

The Mary Washington College-Community Symphony Orchestra will present their annual "Pops" concert tonight at 8 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium as scheduled. The program, a tribute to Leroy Anderson titled "Once Upon a Sleight Ride," is open to the public without charge.

That is, if you can dig out!

Thursday, December 05, 2002

As most folks know, I am a Civilization III fanatic. In fact, if Sid Meier produces the item (or even randomly comments on it in a fashionable manner), I am on it in seconds.

So of course it would interest me when the idea of Civilization comes into it's own field as a new discipline - digital game studies. Seemingly, it's not a hoax. Christopher Douglas of the Furman University has written an article for Postmodern Culutre entitled "You Have Unleashed a Horde of Barbarians!": Fighting Indians, Playing Games, Forming Disciplines. Very interesting.

And for all of you not from the Mid-Atlantic United States, yes we are under six inches of snow with a 1-inch crust of ice. You are more than welcome to come and help me dig out.

Wednesday, December 04, 2002

If you are interested in the effects that physics has on philosophy (and vice versa), then take a quick look at thebigview.com and see what they have. Lots of interesting stuff for contemporary philosophers.

And regarding the new assistant Dean of Admissions at Mary Washington College, this article appeared in the Free Lance-Star:

Rita Thompson never thought she'd cause an uproar by becoming Mary Washington College's assistant dean of admissions.

But a previous job as national spokeswoman for Concerned Women for America, a conservative Christian women's group that actively opposes such things as abortion, pornography and gay rights, recently has raised some professors' eyebrows and sparked a flurry of e-mails.

"It was definitely a surprise to me," said Thompson, a former member of MWC's board of visitors who worked in admissions at the Georgetown University Law Center for seven years.

"They don't know who I am because I'm so new. Nobody even called to ask, 'What is your philosophy?'"

Amazing how 'open minded liberals' really show their colors when presented with the opposing viewpoint. Of course, the fact that she hails from Georgetown . . . I might hold that against her.

More importantly, just what is a Protestant minister doing working with the admissions department of a Catholic school of learning? Oh that's right, G-Town Law is a JESUIT school, not a Catholic school. You just can't get away from those liberals, can you . . .

Monday, December 02, 2002

Since I am more than likely to hear about the RAND analysis concerning marijuana, I would like to restate a few of the paragraphs from the press release, namely the first and fifth-from-last:

A new study by the RAND Drug Policy Research Center casts doubt on claims that marijuana acts as a "gateway" to the use of cocaine and heroin, challenging an assumption that has guided U.S. drug policies since the 1950s. However, the study does not argue that marijuana should be legalized or decriminalized.

However, the study does not conclude that marijuana should be legalized or decriminalized. "Even without the effects of a marijuana gateway, relaxing marijuana prohibitions could affect the incidence of hard drug use by diminishing the stigma of drug use generally, thereby increasing adolescents' willingness to try hard drugs," Morral said. "Moreover, marijuana itself can be a serious problem for those who become dependent on it."

In short, the problem is the drug culture - not marijuana per se. The full report will be published in the December edition of the British journal Addiction.

JEFFERSONIAD POLL: Whom do you support for Virginia Attorney General?

1) John Brownlee
2) Ken Cuccinelli

View Results

About

ShaunKenney.com is one of Virginia's oldest political blogs, focusing on the role of religion and politics in public life. Shaun Kenney, 30, lives in Fluvanna County, Virginia.

Contact

E-mail
RSS/Atom Feed