{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith","title":"Blank Page","subtitle":"J","author":{"name":"J"},"link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"service.feed","type":"application\/x.atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom","title":"Blank Page"}}],"updated":"2007-04-07T16:19:16Z","entry":[{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:23844","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/23844.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=23844"}}],"title":"Twilight: Civilizations","published":"2007-04-05T20:07:39Z","updated":"2007-04-07T16:19:16Z","content":"Hello!  I'm running a new Twilight game, not unlike the one I posted about a year and a half ago<\/a>.  That game lasted almost a year and everyone involved seemed to have enjoyed themselves thoroughly.  I sure did, which is why I'm doing it again.  This time, I'm running it with an assistant via a messageboard, in order to keep all of the information more neatly organized and accessible.

Twilight is a game of gods- of partially omnipotent beings who shape the world to their whims.  Players will have the opportunity to create a god and people from their imagination and steer their people from nothing to virtually anywhere they'd like to take them.  There are currently a few openings left if anyone is interested in participating.
Right now, we're in pre-game setup and have created a game setup questionnaire that (should you be interested in participating in the game) we'd like to have applicants look over.  The game setup questionnaire (and more information about the game) can be found in the Twilight of the Gods Board<\/a>.  Because there are a limited number of openings, some applicants may not get in.  We're going to take responses to the questionnaire, complete the initial game setup, find out who still wants to participate, and then winnow down if we have to based on order of application with some allowance for having the right balance of player types.

Now... a little about Twilight: Civilizations so far:

------------------------------<\/wbr>-----------

Mission Statement<\/u><\/b>

Twilight: Civilizations<\/b> will focus on the development of different cultures and civilizations over a large time scale. Players will play two roles: divine entities that embody the core concepts of the culture of their people and the the civilization itself.

Things We Value<\/u><\/b>

Creativity<\/b>
Few (if any) things are as important in Twilight as creativity. Establishing a unique civilization and dealing with the diverse creations of others virtually requires it.

Inter-Player Interactions<\/b>
The deeper and more complex the interactions between both divine entities and civilizations, the better.

A Fighting Chance<\/b>
No character should ever be in a position where they are simply impotent in the face of a greater force.

Great Drama<\/b>
Things with dramatic sweep and grandeur and intensity in general. Going out with a bang, rather than a whimper. Risking everything, because that is what it takes, and damn the consequences.

Being Cool<\/b>
Everyone should be able to Be Cool in their own particular way.

Real Consequences<\/b>
The things that you do should mean something. If you win, the outcome should be distinctly and clearly different than it would have been had you lost. Choices should mean something. If someone is doing better because they made better choices, so be it.

<\/span>------------------------------<\/wbr>-----------<\/span>
<\/div>
The Questionnaire is divided into four sections, each dealing with different aspects of the game:<\/div>
- Mortal Plot<\/a><\/div>
- Divine Plot<\/a><\/div>
- Divine Nature<\/a><\/div>
- Miscellaneous<\/a>
 <\/div><\/span>
We also have a thread in the same forum for Discussion and Suggestions <\/a>.  If you have any thoughts or ideas you'd like to contribute or make a pitch for, feel free to do so.  Also, feel free to give feedback on the ideas other players have put forward for consideration. <\/div>
<\/span>------------------------------<\/wbr>-----------

If you're interested in the game, please feel free to create an account on the message board and join in on the pre-game discussion. <\/span><\/div>
Cheers!<\/span>"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:23692","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/23692.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=23692"}}],"title":"Can I really make a post?","published":"2007-03-06T19:06:14Z","updated":"2007-03-06T19:06:14Z","content":"I use LJ rarely. When I use it, the primary purpose is to keep up with the goings on of other folks. I do try to post at least one thing every... six months it looks like.

I'm alive, well and happy. Work and graduate school are pleasant. Personal life is rather more than pleasant.

Intercon G was this weekend. Playing in four LARP games and running a fifth LARP game makes for a busy weekend. I enjoyed myself thoroughly (of course).

I was:
- Felicio (Felix) Gonzales in World's End.
- Numerius in SPQR.
- A GM in Fire on High.
- Iunius in Orgia.
- Horde in Collision Immanent!

I appreciated the generally quiet, but constant internal workings of Felix the most. It was a fun role in a great game. I generally enjoy plot-light, character-heavy games, though they tend to be relatively few and far between.

I couldn't honestly complain about a single game though. From the rather less introverted Numerius to the frantic Iunius to the madness of a multitude of horde characters, I had a great time."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:23344","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/23344.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=23344"}}],"title":"Grad School","published":"2006-07-16T14:28:50Z","updated":"2006-07-16T14:30:04Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"work"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"school"}}],"content":"*bounce*

I finally received word that I have been accepted into Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science<\/a> for the Fall. Two application misfiles and one accidentally shredded document later, it is finally official.

Oh, and while I'm at it, I might as well mention that I'm working for Harvard's Widener Library and Google over the summer as part of the Google Book Search<\/a> project."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:23229","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/23229.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=23229"}}],"title":"Intercon F: Detailed Analysis: A Question of Faith","published":"2006-03-07T15:13:26Z","updated":"2006-03-07T15:40:37Z","content":"I'm going through the games I played at Intercon F in order and giving a more detailed analysis. Behind the cut are my thoughts on A Question of Faith, which I played Friday evening from 7:00 pm - 1:00 am.



As Byron Detente, my goal was to get some more respect for the Mages of the Tower. Despite being the High Mage, I had surprisingly little in the way of magical capabilities and cast only one spell over the course of the game.

My role in the game was almost entirely political. There were several problem-solving things I had to deal with, but those were either secondary or subsumed within the political aspects of the game. I suppose one could argue the reverse: there was a problem (the chaos going on) that could only be solved by stability in the Tower (election of a new and reliable Archpriest) and the solution was through political maneuvering. Either way, most of the game was putting the best spin possible on myself and my ideas.

I dealt with a wide variety of folks and managed to earn at least a grudgring respect for being intelligent, stable and practical with most of them. That left me in a good position to accomplish my primary objective.

I succeeded in my goal by becoming the Archpriest. I think that it would only be on days like that one that High Mages become Archpriests.

(This analysis is not yet complete. Expect more soonish.)

<\/a>"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:22306","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/22306.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=22306"}}],"title":"Back to WA for two weeks","published":"2005-12-22T13:22:16Z","updated":"2005-12-22T13:22:16Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"travel"}},"content":"This is just a short note to announce that I'll be back in Bellingham, WA between December 28th and January 10th. This will be my first trip back since I moved to the Boston area almost two years ago. Anyone that will be in the area and feels like saying hey is welcome to drop me a line."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:22159","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/22159.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=22159"}}],"title":"Science Update","published":"2005-09-29T02:49:39Z","updated":"2005-09-29T02:49:39Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"science"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"technology"}}],"content":"
Jefferson Scientists Design Method to Fight Artificial Implant Infections with Antibiotics<\/a>
Researchers create functioning artificial proteins using nature's rules<\/a>
Researchers kill resistant bugs one bandage at a time<\/a>
<\/a>"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:21971","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/21971.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=21971"}}],"title":"Home again","published":"2005-09-06T03:09:21Z","updated":"2005-09-06T03:09:21Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"recovery"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"study"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"school"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"kitten"}}],"content":"I'm out from my 9 day lock up. I spent yesterday evening and most of today recovering. We have a new kitten. Life is good. School starts tomorrow. Time for me to be busy again."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:21682","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/21682.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=21682"}}],"title":"Sleep Study","published":"2005-08-27T14:26:21Z","updated":"2005-08-27T14:26:21Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"study"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"sleep"}}],"content":"I'll be locked away without time cues or contact with the outside world for the next 9 days. I'll be back in touch with the world again sometime in the afternoon of 9\/4."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:21314","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/21314.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=21314"}}],"title":"Twilight: A PBEM game of deities","published":"2005-08-17T21:58:24Z","updated":"2005-08-18T02:59:57Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"twilight"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"games"}}],"content":"There is a particular type of play-by-email games that I got hooked on eight years ago that all but disappeared over the past couple of years. These games were known as Twilight games, though I have no clue why they were initially called that.

The gist of the games are that each player creates and portrays a deity. At the onset of the game each deity creates a species. From there the deities direct the path of their followers and the world they inhabit. The greater the belief in each deity, the greater the power at their disposal. The game is mostly free-style storytelling with the person running the game providing brakes and reality checks where it is appropriate.

After being disappointed by a recently started version of one of these games, I have decided to start my own. Some of the basic information about this can be found here.<\/a>

If you are interested in playing read over the information and contact me with the information requested on the page. If you have questions you can leave a message here or contact me by email."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:20870","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/20870.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=20870"}}],"title":"New home","published":"2005-08-04T14:36:05Z","updated":"2005-08-04T14:36:05Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"moving"}},"content":"The move is over. I'm now dwelling in a wonderful abode in Somerville. The move went surprisingly well and I'm 90% of the way unpacked. I suspect I'll be living here a few years, which means no more moving for awhile. Life is good."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:20503","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/20503.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=20503"}}],"title":"simplewordsmith @ 2005-07-03T08:37:00","published":"2005-07-03T11:44:59Z","updated":"2005-07-04T00:32:55Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"liberty"}},"content":"If you'd like to you can sign a petition to the Weare Board of Selectmen here.<\/a> These five people will determine whether or not to seize Justice David Souter's New Hampshire farmhouse in Weare through eminent domain so that Lost Liberty Hotel<\/a> can be built."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:20237","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/20237.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=20237"}}],"title":"Free tickets!","published":"2005-05-26T18:20:39Z","updated":"2005-05-26T21:07:35Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"movies"}},"content":"I acquired six free movie tickets that need to be used by the end of this month. Despite hearing mixed reviews, I would like to go see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The tickets didn't cost me anything, so I figure it's worth my time. I'm taking one of the tickets and <\/a>emp42ress<\/b><\/a><\/span> will be taking another. That leaves four tickets that are up for grabs. I am inclined to make use of the tickets either Friday evening, early Saturday afternoon, Sunday evening, or Monday evening. Is there anyone that would be interested in grabbing a free ticket and joining us in the outing? What times would you be available?"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:20221","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/20221.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=20221"}}],"title":"Science Update!","published":"2005-05-17T02:50:02Z","updated":"2005-05-17T02:51:58Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"science"}},"content":"

 Monkeys Adapt Robot Arm as Their Own <\/a>

 Robot walks, balances like a human <\/a>

 New \u2018Nuclear Battery\u2019 Runs 10 Years, 10 Times More Powerful <\/a>

 Research Shows Babies Use Their Names To Help Learn Language <\/a>

<\/a>"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:19747","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/19747.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=19747"}}],"title":"Time? What is this Time thing?","published":"2005-05-05T13:35:39Z","updated":"2005-05-05T13:35:39Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"studies"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"summer"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"school"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"time"}}],"content":"So...

Today I will be taking my last two finals for this semester. I work tomorrow, plan on using Saturday to recover from this week, and have game on Sunday. After that, because I have yet to find meaningful employment, I will once again have this thing called Time. It will exist and I will not know what to do with all of it. Suggestions on what to do with it are most welcome.

On a side note, because I have yet to find meaningful employment for the summer, I will likely be relying on various studies for income. The big one will likely be a 32-day sleep study for which I would receive $6230. My acceptance into this study is still pending, so the timeline for it is as of yet unknown."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:19617","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/19617.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=19617"}}],"title":"Science-fiction","published":"2005-04-08T22:09:58Z","updated":"2005-04-08T22:11:05Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"science"}},"content":"The things that we can do continues to amaze me. I think one of the most fascinating things about living in this time period is seeing parts of the science-fiction stories come true. We have transparent aluminum. We have computers linked into people's brains. We can regrow teeth.

Next we have:

Ability to Detect Explosives Boosted One Thousandfold by New Device <\/a>
 DNA with Three Base Pairs\u2014A Step Towards Expanding the Genetic Code <\/a>
 Researchers use laser light to remote control flies <\/a>
<\/a>."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:19356","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/19356.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=19356"}}],"title":"Science Update","published":"2005-04-06T01:12:01Z","updated":"2005-04-06T03:43:31Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"science"}},"content":"

 Ophthalmologists and physicists team up to design 'bionic eye' <\/a>
 IU Researchers Closer to Helping Hearing-Impaired Using Stem Cells <\/a>
 Biologists discover why 10% of Europeans are safe from HIV infection <\/a>
 NASA Tests Shape-Shifting Robot Pyramid for Nanotech Swarms <\/a>
 Iowa Baby Is World's First To Receive Life-Saving Robotic Surgery <\/a>
 Understanding biological foundation of human behavior critical to improving laws <\/a>

<\/a>"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:19087","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/19087.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=19087"}}],"title":"Advance directives","published":"2005-03-31T01:06:48Z","updated":"2005-03-31T01:06:48Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"death"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"politics"}}],"content":"I suspect that there are a number of people out there who are interested in finding out about advance directives<\/a> (living wills and health care proxies). The link is to a site where you can find the forms you need as well as information on how to complete them and have them registered for free or for a low fee. I found the site helpful so I thought I would share it with others."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:18749","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/18749.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=18749"}}],"title":"Boston","published":"2005-03-22T02:31:09Z","updated":"2005-03-22T02:31:09Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"school"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"time"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"moving"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"scheduling"}}],"content":"To whom it may concern,

I will be in Boston for at least the next five years."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:18390","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/18390.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=18390"}}],"title":"Science\/Technology Update","published":"2005-03-09T03:52:56Z","updated":"2005-03-09T03:53:16Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"science"}},"content":"
Artificial Muscles Get a Grip on Human Hand<\/a>
Scientists Regenerate Optic Nerve for the First Time<\/a>
Young Blood Revives Aging Muscles<\/a>
Worms, Slugs Inspire Robotic Devices<\/a>
<\/a>"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:18109","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/18109.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=18109"}}],"title":"Our Godless Constitution","published":"2005-03-04T14:23:53Z","updated":"2005-03-04T14:25:06Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"religion"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"politics"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"liberty"}}],"content":"I am storing a well-written news article for future reference.

Our Godless Constitution<\/a>




This article can be found on the web at
http:\/\/www.thenation.com\/doc.mhtml?i=20050221&s=allen<\/a>
Our Godless Constitution

by BROOKE ALLEN

[from the February 21, 2005 issue]

It is hard to believe that George Bush has ever read the works of George Orwell, but he seems, somehow, to have grasped a few Orwellian precepts. The lesson the President has learned best--and certainly the one that has been the most useful to him--is the axiom that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it. One of his Administration's current favorites is the whopper about America having been founded on Christian principles. Our nation was founded not on Christian principles but on Enlightenment ones. God only entered the picture as a very minor player, and Jesus Christ was conspicuously absent.

Our Constitution makes no mention whatever of God. The omission was too obvious to have been anything but deliberate, in spite of Alexander Hamilton's flippant responses when asked about it: According to one account, he said that the new nation was not in need of \"foreign aid\"; according to another, he simply said \"we forgot.\" But as Hamilton's biographer Ron Chernow points out, Hamilton never forgot anything important.

In the eighty-five essays that make up The Federalist, God is mentioned only twice (both times by Madison, who uses the word, as Gore Vidal has remarked, in the \"only Heaven knows\" sense). In the Declaration of Independence, He gets two brief nods: a reference to \"the Laws of Nature and Nature's God,\" and the famous line about men being \"endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.\" More blatant official references to a deity date from long after the founding period: \"In God We Trust\" did not appear on our coinage until the Civil War, and \"under God\" was introduced into the Pledge of Allegiance during the McCarthy hysteria in 1954 [see Elisabeth Sifton, \"The Battle Over the Pledge,\" April 5, 2004].

In 1797 our government concluded a \"Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli, or Barbary,\" now known simply as the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 of the treaty contains these words:

As the Government of the United States...is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion--as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity of Musselmen--and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

This document was endorsed by Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and President John Adams. It was then sent to the Senate for ratification; the vote was unanimous. It is worth pointing out that although this was the 339th time a recorded vote had been required by the Senate, it was only the third unanimous vote in the Senate's history. There is no record of debate or dissent. The text of the treaty was printed in full in the Philadelphia Gazette and in two New York papers, but there were no screams of outrage, as one might expect today.

The Founding Fathers were not religious men, and they fought hard to erect, in Thomas Jefferson's words, \"a wall of separation between church and state.\" John Adams opined that if they were not restrained by legal measures, Puritans--the fundamentalists of their day--would \"whip and crop, and pillory and roast.\" The historical epoch had afforded these men ample opportunity to observe the corruption to which established priesthoods were liable, as well as \"the impious presumption of legislators and rulers,\" as Jefferson wrote, \"civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time.\"

If we define a Christian as a person who believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ, then it is safe to say that some of the key Founding Fathers were not Christians at all. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Tom Paine were deists--that is, they believed in one Supreme Being but rejected revelation and all the supernatural elements of the Christian Church; the word of the Creator, they believed, could best be read in Nature. John Adams was a professed liberal Unitarian, but he, too, in his private correspondence seems more deist than Christian.

George Washington and James Madison also leaned toward deism, although neither took much interest in religious matters. Madison believed that \"religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprize.\" He spoke of the \"almost fifteen centuries\" during which Christianity had been on trial: \"What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry, and persecution.\" If Washington mentioned the Almighty in a public address, as he occasionally did, he was careful to refer to Him not as \"God\" but with some nondenominational moniker like \"Great Author\" or \"Almighty Being.\" It is interesting to note that the Father of our Country spoke no words of a religious nature on his deathbed, although fully aware that he was dying, and did not ask for a man of God to be present; his last act was to take his own pulse, the consummate gesture of a creature of the age of scientific rationalism.

Tom Paine, a polemicist rather than a politician, could afford to be perfectly honest about his religious beliefs, which were baldly deist in the tradition of Voltaire: \"I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life.... I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.\" This is how he opened The Age of Reason, his virulent attack on Christianity. In it he railed against the \"obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness\" of the Old Testament, \"a history of wickedness, that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.\" The New Testament is less brutalizing but more absurd, the story of Christ's divine genesis a \"fable, which for absurdity and extravagance is not exceeded by any thing that is to be found in the mythology of the ancients.\" He held the idea of the Resurrection in especial ridicule: Indeed, \"the wretched contrivance with which this latter part is told, exceeds every thing that went before it.\" Paine was careful to contrast the tortuous twists of theology with the pure clarity of deism. \"The true deist has but one Deity; and his religion consists in contemplating the power, wisdom, and benignity of the Deity in his works, and in endeavoring to imitate him in every thing moral, scientifical, and mechanical.\"

Paine's rhetoric was so fervent that he was inevitably branded an atheist. Men like Franklin, Adams and Jefferson could not risk being tarred with that brush, and in fact Jefferson got into a good deal of trouble for continuing his friendship with Paine and entertaining him at Monticello. These statesmen had to be far more circumspect than the turbulent Paine, yet if we examine their beliefs it is all but impossible to see just how theirs differed from his.

Franklin was the oldest of the Founding Fathers. He was also the most worldly and sophisticated, and was well aware of the Machiavellian principle that if one aspires to influence the masses, one must at least profess religious sentiments. By his own definition he was a deist, although one French acquaintance claimed that \"our free-thinkers have adroitly sounded him on his religion, and they maintain that they have discovered he is one of their own, that is that he has none at all.\" If he did have a religion, it was strictly utilitarian: As his biographer Gordon Wood has said, \"He praised religion for whatever moral effects it had, but for little else.\" Divine revelation, Franklin freely admitted, had \"no weight with me,\" and the covenant of grace seemed \"unintelligible\" and \"not beneficial.\" As for the pious hypocrites who have ever controlled nations, \"A man compounded of law and gospel is able to cheat a whole country with his religion and then destroy them under color of law\"--a comment we should carefully consider at this turning point in the history of our Republic.

Here is Franklin's considered summary of his own beliefs, in response to a query by Ezra Stiles, the president of Yale. He wrote it just six weeks before his death at the age of 84.

Here is my creed. I believe in one God, Creator of the universe. That he governs it by his providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is doing good to his other children. That the soul of Man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever sect I meet with them.
As for Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think his system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity; though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble. I see no harm, however, in its being believed, if that belief has the good consequence, as it probably has, of making his doctrines more respected and better observed, especially as I do not perceive that the Supreme takes it amiss, by distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of the world with any particular marks of his displeasure.

Jefferson thoroughly agreed with Franklin on the corruptions the teachings of Jesus had undergone. \"The metaphysical abstractions of Athanasius, and the maniacal ravings of Calvin, tinctured plentifully with the foggy dreams of Plato, have so loaded [Christianity] with absurdities and incomprehensibilities\" that it was almost impossible to recapture \"its native simplicity and purity.\" Like Paine, Jefferson felt that the miracles claimed by the New Testament put an intolerable strain on credulity. \"The day will come,\" he predicted (wrongly, so far), \"when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter.\" The Revelation of St. John he dismissed as \"the ravings of a maniac.\"

Jefferson edited his own version of the New Testament, \"The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,\" in which he carefully deleted all the miraculous passages from the works of the Evangelists. He intended it, he said, as \"a document in proof that I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.\" This was clearly a defense against his many enemies, who hoped to blacken his reputation by comparing him with the vile atheist Paine. His biographer Joseph Ellis is undoubtedly correct, though, in seeing disingenuousness here: \"If [Jefferson] had been completely scrupulous, he would have described himself as a deist who admired the ethical teachings of Jesus as a man rather than as the son of God. (In modern-day parlance, he was a secular humanist.)\" In short, not a Christian at all.

The three accomplishments Jefferson was proudest of--those that he requested be put on his tombstone--were the founding of the University of Virginia and the authorship of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The latter was a truly radical document that would eventually influence the separation of church and state in the US Constitution; when it was passed by the Virginia legislature in 1786, Jefferson rejoiced that there was finally \"freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammeden, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination\"--note his respect, still unusual today, for the sensibilities of the \"infidel.\" The University of Virginia was notable among early-American seats of higher education in that it had no religious affiliation whatever. Jefferson even banned the teaching of theology at the school.

If we were to speak of Jefferson in modern political categories, we would have to admit that he was a pure libertarian, in religious as in other matters. His real commitment (or lack thereof) to the teachings of Jesus Christ is plain from a famous throwaway comment he made: \"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.\" This raised plenty of hackles when it got about, and Jefferson had to go to some pains to restore his reputation as a good Christian. But one can only conclude, with Ellis, that he was no Christian at all.

John Adams, though no more religious than Jefferson, had inherited the fatalistic mindset of the Puritan culture in which he had grown up. He personally endorsed the Enlightenment commitment to Reason but did not share Jefferson's optimism about its future, writing to him, \"I wish that Superstition in Religion exciting Superstition in Polliticks...may never blow up all your benevolent and phylanthropic Lucubrations,\" but that \"the History of all Ages is against you.\" As an old man he observed, \"Twenty times in the course of my late reading have I been upon the point of breaking out, 'This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it!'\" Speaking ex cathedra, as a relic of the founding generation, he expressed his admiration for the Roman system whereby every man could worship whom, what and how he pleased. When his young listeners objected that this was paganism, Adams replied that it was indeed, and laughed.

In their fascinating and eloquent valetudinarian correspondence, Adams and Jefferson had a great deal to say about religion. Pressed by Jefferson to define his personal creed, Adams replied that it was \"contained in four short words, 'Be just and good.'\" Jefferson replied, \"The result of our fifty or sixty years of religious reading, in the four words, 'Be just and good,' is that in which all our inquiries must end; as the riddles of all priesthoods end in four more, 'ubi panis, ibi deus.' What all agree in, is probably right. What no two agree in, most probably wrong.\"

This was a clear reference to Voltaire's Reflections on Religion. As Voltaire put it:

There are no sects in geometry. One does not speak of a Euclidean, an Archimedean. When the truth is evident, it is impossible for parties and factions to arise.... Well, to what dogma do all minds agree? To the worship of a God, and to honesty. All the philosophers of the world who have had a religion have said in all ages: \"There is a God, and one must be just.\" There, then, is the universal religion established in all ages and throughout mankind. The point in which they all agree is therefore true, and the systems through which they differ are therefore false.

Of course all these men knew, as all modern presidential candidates know, that to admit to theological skepticism is political suicide. During Jefferson's presidency a friend observed him on his way to church, carrying a large prayer book. \"You going to church, Mr. J,\" remarked the friend. \"You do not believe a word in it.\" Jefferson didn't exactly deny the charge. \"Sir,\" he replied, \"no nation has ever yet existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man and I as chief Magistrate of this nation am bound to give it the sanction of my example. Good morning Sir.\"

Like Jefferson, every recent President has understood the necessity of at least paying lip service to the piety of most American voters. All of our leaders, Democrat and Republican, have attended church, and have made very sure they are seen to do so. But there is a difference between offering this gesture of respect for majority beliefs and manipulating and pandering to the bigotry, prejudice and millennial fantasies of Christian extremists. Though for public consumption the Founding Fathers identified themselves as Christians, they were, at least by today's standards, remarkably honest about their misgivings when it came to theological doctrine, and religion in general came very low on the list of their concerns and priorities--always excepting, that is, their determination to keep the new nation free from bondage to its rule.
<\/a>"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:17845","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/17845.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=17845"}}],"title":"Science\/Technology update","published":"2005-02-28T04:02:34Z","updated":"2005-02-28T04:02:34Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"science"}},"content":"
Research represents big step toward development of brain-controlled artificial limbs for people<\/a>
Brain region learns to anticipate risk, provides early warnings<\/a>
Robots that simulate life by walking with close-to-human efficiency<\/a>
Seeing the invisible. First dark galaxy discovered?<\/a>
Signaling protein builds bigger, better bones in mice<\/a>
<\/a>"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:17423","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/17423.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=17423"}}],"title":"Banned books meme","published":"2005-02-27T16:05:32Z","updated":"2005-05-26T18:48:13Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"books"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"liberty"}}],"content":"List of the top 110 banned books (of all time). Bold the ones you\u2019ve\nread. Italicize the ones you\u2019ve read part of. Underline the ones you\nspecifically want to read (at least some of). Read more. Convince\nothers to read some.
\n
\n
\n
\n#1 The Bible<\/b>
\n#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain<\/b>
\n#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes<\/b>
\n#4 The Koran<\/i>
\n#5 Arabian Nights<\/span>
\n#6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain<\/b>
\n#7 Gulliver\u2019s Travels by Jonathan Swift<\/b>
\n#8 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer<\/span>
\n#9 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne<\/b>
\n#10 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman<\/i>
\n#11 The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli<\/span>
\n#12 Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe<\/span>
\n#13 Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank<\/b>
\n#14 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert<\/span>
\n#15 Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens<\/span>
\n#16 Les Miserables by Victor Hugo<\/span>
\n#17 Dracula by Bram Stoker<\/b>
\n#18 Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin<\/span>
\n#19 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding<\/span>
\n#20 Essays by Michel de Montaigne<\/u>
\n#21 Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck<\/span>
\n#22 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon<\/span>
\n#23 Tess of the D\u2019Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy<\/span>
\n#24 Origin of Species by Charles Darwin<\/i>
\n#25 Ulysses by James Joyce<\/span>
\n#26 Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio<\/span>
\n#27 Animal Farm by George Orwell<\/b>
\n#28 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell<\/b>
\n#29 Candide by Voltaire<\/span>
\n#30 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee<\/b>
\n#31 Analects by Confucius<\/i>
\n#32 Dubliners by James Joyce<\/span>
\n#33 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck<\/span>
\n#34 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway<\/span>
\n#35 Red and the Black by Stendhal<\/span>
\n#36 Das Capital by Karl Marx<\/u>
\n#37 Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire<\/span>
\n#38 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle<\/span>
\n#39 Lady Chatterley\u2019s Lover by D. H. Lawrence<\/span>
\n#40 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley<\/b>
\n#41 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser<\/span>
\n#42 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell<\/span>
\n#43 Jungle by Upton Sinclair<\/b>
\n#44 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque<\/b>
\n#45 Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx<\/b>
\n#46 Lord of the Flies by William Golding<\/b>
\n#47 Diary by Samuel Pepys<\/span>
\n#48 Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway<\/span>
\n#49 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy<\/span>
\n#50 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury<\/b>
\n#51 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak<\/u>
\n#52 Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant<\/i>
\n#53 One Flew Over the Cuckoo\u2019s Nest by Ken Kesey<\/b>
\n#54 Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus<\/u>
\n#55 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller<\/b>
\n#56 Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X<\/span>
\n#57 Color Purple by Alice Walker<\/b>
\n#59 Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke<\/i>
\n#60 Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison<\/span>
\n#61 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe<\/span>
\n#62 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn<\/u>
\n#63 East of Eden by John Steinbeck<\/span>
\n#64 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison<\/span>
\n#65 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou<\/b>
\n#66 Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau<\/u>
\n#67 Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais<\/span>
\n#68 Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes<\/u>
\n#69 The Talmud<\/i>
\n#70 Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau<\/i>
\n#71 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson<\/b>
\n#72 Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence<\/span>
\n#73 American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser<\/u>
\n#74 Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler<\/i>
\n#75 Separate Peace by John Knowles<\/b>
\n#76 Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath<\/i>
\n#77 Red Pony by John Steinbeck<\/span>
\n#78 Popol Vuh<\/span>
\n#79 Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith<\/span>
\n#80 Satyricon by Petronius<\/i>
\n#81 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl<\/b>
\n#82 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov<\/span>
\n#83 Black Boy by Richard Wright<\/u>
\n#84 Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu<\/i>
\n#85 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut<\/b>
\n#86 Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George<\/span>
\n#87 Metaphysics by Aristotle<\/i>
\n#88 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder<\/b>
\n#89 Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin<\/span>
\n#90 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse<\/span>
\n#91 Power and the Glory by Graham Greene<\/span>
\n#92 Sanctuary by William Faulkner<\/span>
\n#93 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner<\/span>
\n#94 Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin<\/span>
\n#95 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig<\/span>
\n#96 Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe<\/u>
\n#97 General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud<\/b>
\n#98 Handmaid\u2019s Tale by Margaret Atwood<\/b>
\n#99 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown<\/b>
\n#100 Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess<\/b>
\n#101 Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines<\/span>
\n#102 Emile Jean by Jacques Rousseau<\/u>
\n#103 Nana by Emile Zola<\/u>
\n#104 Chocolate War by Robert Cormier<\/b>
\n#105 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin<\/span>
\n#106 Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn<\/u>
\n#107 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein<\/b>
\n#108 Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck<\/span>
\n#109 Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark<\/span>
\n#110 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
\n<\/a>
\n<\/b>"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:16853","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/16853.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=16853"}}],"title":"A delightful amusement","published":"2005-02-10T14:16:17Z","updated":"2005-02-15T21:18:56Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"religion"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"politics"}}],"content":"<\/a>xlii<\/b><\/a><\/span> has a cunning plan<\/a> that everyone should take a look at.

*grin*"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:16602","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/16602.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=16602"}}],"title":"I really love hearing about stuff like this.","published":"2005-02-04T18:15:57Z","updated":"2005-02-04T18:21:53Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"media"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"politics"}}],"content":"
\nI mean, it is far better to hear about it than to not hear about it. The problem is that only the big steps seem to attract any real attention. The little ones that have been going on and will continue in the foreseeable future are just beneath the radar most of the time. I sometimes wonder if the reason the big ones are attempted is to keep everyone so occupied fighting them that there is no time for the little ones.\n
\n
\n\n
\n

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Department\nof Defense plans to add more sites on the Internet to provide\ninformation to a global audience -- but critics question whether the\nPentagon is violating President Bush's pledge not to pay journalists to\npromote his policies.<\/b><\/p>\n

The Defense Department runs two Web\nsites overseas, one aimed at people in the Balkan region in Europe, the\nother for the Maghreb area of North Africa. <\/p>\n

It is preparing another site, even as the Pentagon inspector general investigates whether the sites are appropriate.<\/p>\n

The Web sites carry stories on subjects such as politics, sports and entertainment. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>\n

Information warfare<\/h3>\n

The sites are run by U.S. military troops trained in \"information warfare,\" a specialty than can include battlefield deception.<\/p>\n

Pentagon officials say the goal is to counter \"misinformation\" about the United States in overseas media.<\/p>\n

At\nfirst glance, the Web pages appear to be independent news sites. To\nfind out who is actually behind the content, a visitor would have to\nclick on a small link -- at the bottom of the page -- to a disclaimer,\nwhich says, in part, that the site is \"sponsored by\" the U.S.\nDepartment of Defense.<\/p>\n

\"There is an element of deception,\" said\nTom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.\n\"The problem,\" he said, is that it looks like a news site unless a\nvisitor looks at the disclaimer, which is \"sort of oblique.\"<\/p>\n

The\nPentagon maintains that the information on the sites is true and\naccurate. But in a recent memo, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul\nWolfowitz insisted that the Web site contractor should only hire\njournalists who \"will not reflect discredit on the U.S. government.\"<\/p>\n

The Defense Department has hired more than 50 freelance writers for the sites.<\/p>\n

Some\nsenior military officers have told CNN the Web sites may clash with\nPresident Bush's recent statements. \"We will not be paying commentators\nto advance our agenda,\" Bush told reporters on January 26. \"Our agenda\nought to be able to stand on its own two feet.\"
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Bush\nmade those comments after it came to light that the administration had\npaid several commentators to support U.S. policies in the U.S. media.<\/p>\n

Many Democrats have called for an end to what they call administration propaganda within the United States.<\/p>\n

But many lawmakers view the rules for handling information overseas as a separate issue.<\/p>\n

On\nThursday, Lawrence Di Rita, the principal deputy assistant secretary of\ndefense for public affairs, asked the Pentagon inspector general to\nexamine Defense Department activities, including the Web sites in\nquestion, to see that they fall within the guidelines Bush laid out.<\/p>\n

Di Rita said the department wanted \"to make sure that we are staying well within the lines, and I believe we are.\"<\/p>\n

Rosenstiel\nsaid there is a reason why rules exist to separate journalism from\ngovernment information. \"Anytime that the government has to assure you,\n'Believe me, take my word for it, I'm telling you nothing but the\ntruth,' you know you should be worried,\" he said.<\/p>\nLink: CNN Article\n<\/a>
\n
\n<\/a>\n
"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:simplewordsmith:16071","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/16071.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/simplewordsmith.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=16071"}}],"title":"Politics","published":"2004-10-28T16:39:37Z","updated":"2004-10-29T16:56:53Z","category":{"@attributes":{"term":"politics"}},"content":"Where does the money<\/a> go? This is a terrifying look at the College Republican National Committee.
More...<\/a>
More...<\/a>
More<\/a>
Some facts fromThe Center For Public Integrity<\/a>."}]}