Quetzal

Diana: "Imagine my surprise to learn that I had a voyeur."

You not only have voyeurs, you have an entire cheering section. Some of us just don't have much to add to your already quite outstanding posts. Now if they want to argue creationism or intelligent design, there are thundering herds of us who'd be happy to engage the target. Otherwise, I merely stand in the back row and cheer (or boo) as appropriate.

diana

Originally posted by Morpho:
You not only have voyeurs, you have an entire cheering section. Some of us just don't have much to add to your already quite outstanding posts.

Wow. Thanks. (And to all those who've voiced similar appreciation for my work. I confess I'm much better at taking criticism than I am at taking compliments--but I still appreciate them.)

Now if they want to argue creationism or intelligent design, there are thundering herds of us who'd be happy to engage the target.

I'm trying to get him to go there. He seems unwilling. Either that or he is unable to grasp the implications of the simple question, "Why do you believe this and not that?" (If this is the case, I admit he isn't the first Xn I've encountered who was absolutely lost when someone questioned why he believed. I've seen enough deer caught in headlights to recognize utter confusion and helplessness when I see it.)

But I see I'm in good company. Intelligent design and creationism are two of my favorite whipping boys, too. The only drawback is that it's almost too easy to make them bleed.

d

[ December 25, 2001: Message edited by: diana ]</p>

Danya

Diana,
I was not aware you hade a website. Where can I find it?

diana

You can access it by clicking the "homepage" icon on any of my posts. Or just click <a href="http://sezme.twistedpair.net" target="_blank">here</a>. To make it easier.

Brace yourself, though. I've been working through a lot of bitterness...

d

lpetrich

diana quoting someone else as boldface:
We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language.

We are egocentric. Hear us roar. We are not ashamed of being mono-linguistic! We are proud!

(I do agree, for the record, that English is our national language and that anyone who wants to succeed in our country must master Standard American English, but I don't find our incredible linguistic deficiencies--as compared to the rest of the civilized world--something to be proud of.)

LP:
And I wish people would get out of the mindset that one can learn only one language; large numbers of people have learned more than one.

I will concede that I only speak English fluently, but I have a little bit of comprehension of some others.

diana quoting someone else as boldface:
"In God We Trust" is our national motto.

Other popular variations include, but aren't limited to, "In Gold We Trust," and "In God We Rust."

LP:
That was added in the 1950's, during the Cold War against Godless Communism. Which would make Osama bin Laden and his followers into absolute saints.

diana quoting someone else as boldface:
Ironic, really, that we "trust God" more and sing "God Bless America" more after the 11 Sep 01 attacks? Nothing like a good catastrophe to make people cling to their faiths, is there?

(No one's given me a good answer yet as to where that God--that we supposedly trust--was on the date in question. He obviously wasn't here. Maybe he was in the shower.)

LP:
Other answers:

He was overcome with flattery as those kamikaze hijackers kept on asserting that there is no god but him and how he is great.

I'm surprised that the God-is-an-American theocrats have not converted en masse to Islam -- guess which god was more powerful that day?

Quetzal

And in a side comment inre: language:

What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual
What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual
What do you call someone who speaks one language, and that not well? American

I do agree, however, that to truly participate in the "American dream" (in which I believe strongly, having seen the alternative in a number of other countries around the world), English is de rigueur. Amazingly enough, there are quite a few immigrants - and even foreigners living overseas - who feel the same way. ESL (English as a Second Language) is a big industry. Probably the only part of your correspondant's polemic I agree with.

ChurchOfBruce

Eto pravda? Vyi ne znayetye nichevo, muy ukrainyetskiy drug. Ya amerikanyets, i ya gevaryu po-russkiy.

Hee hee hee.

Actually my Russian sucks but I *can* carry on a basic conversation. I can every read Cyrillic.


Alas, the only truly *Ukranian* words I know are "tuk" and "dyakuyu".

--Frank

Quetzal

CoB: I am thoroughly embarrassed to admit I don't speak either Ukrainian or Russian (although I did understand what you wrote - Ya nye gavaryu po-russkiy - and I can order beer in a restaurant ). My staff is bilingual, and we use professional interpreters. My languages are French (very good) and Spanish (pretty good speaking and reading, poor writing). I can puzzle out street signs if I have enough time. Slavic languages are apparently beyond my intellectual capacity.

theyeti

Hey, the lab I work in is populated by nothing but Russian speakers, two of whom are Ukrainian (the others are Belarussian -- from Minsk). It gets really old for me, though I am starting to pick up on some. They always laugh at me when I try to speak Russian, even though they say I do it without an accent.

theyeti

ChurchOfBruce

You *should* be embarrased! Actually, I thought you *were* Ukranian, not just living there.

I used to speak fluent French, but lost a lot of it when I took Russian. Apparently, trilingualism is beyond *me*.

I ran a store a few years back in a heavily Spanish city. All my employees were either Puerto Rican or Dominican, and all were blingual. The first thing one of my employees taught me in Spanish was "Dos cervesas, por favor"

--Frank
Of course, after *that* he went to the nasty stuff, like "pendejo"