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Monday, January 08, 2001

I was fingerprinted, photographed, and received a laminated masseuse license

ÒThere were businessmen, travelling from who-knows-where, not high-ranking enough with their clients to warrant an actual hooker. There was a ship full of young Dutch sailors, who made me blush. There were cops. Then there was a paraplegic Vietnamese man, a challenge in a wheelchair. He needed help disrobing. I could manage his awkward movements as he got onto the table, held no repugnance for his useless legs, and the language barrier was surmountable, but what he made known horrified me: He wanted a handjob.Ó —The Fray"

1955: Atomic tests in the desert outside of Las Vegas

ÒThe truth is, there isn't the slightest proof of any kind that the 'fallout' as a result of tests in Nevada has ever affected any human being anywhere outside the testing ground itself.Ó ÑTomPaine.com"

What motivates terrorists?

“The extensive number of incidents of terrorism linked to U.S. foreign policy implies that the United States could substantially reduce the chance of catastrophic terrorist attacks if it lowered its military profile overseas.” —Washington Post

A surprising absence of rich immigrants

ÒAt the same time we tell foreigners we don't want them here, this country with huge power has never closed the borders. Policies go up and down. For a while, we made a big show of saying employers would be prosecuted for hiring illegals. That lasted a month, maybe.Ó ÑArizona Republic"

Hacked to death by bad columnists or even just indignant ombudsmen

“If there is one particularly offensive category of modern columnist, it is the syndicated ideological hack Ñ the non-journalist, usually a political refugee of one kind or another, who spends his or her time lobbing propaganda grenades at the opposition.” —The American Prospect"

This is the personal weblog of Grant Barrett, editor of the Double-Tongued Dictionary, a collection of words from the fringes of English. More about this site...

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