In Tenure Veritas: Libations From The Ivory Tower

 Well, that'll do it.  I have a Substack up and running (free, of course).  The link is here, aquietplacetowrite.substack.com .  What's with the title?  I just needed a title.  You can read posts on the site, like a blog, you can use an app, you can subscribe and have posts emailed to you, however you choose.  All that "downtime" with In Tenure Veritas  killed off the readership (thanks, fellas), so feel free to inform anyone who might be interested in snarky and heterodox ramblings.  Or not.  I'll write anyway.  I plan to get the first substantive post up tomorrow, on the state of politics and the 2024 election.  From now on, I'll be here: aquietplacetowrite.substack.com Parliament, "I Can Move You (If You Let Me)" from Up For The Downstroke .

 July 4, 2024.  Independence Day.  This morning, I write of the concept of independence.  On July 4, 1776, the founding fathers of the United States of America declared independence, and Thomas Jefferson's statement of principle stands as a testament, like few historical documents, to unifying principles of timeless philosophy.  Truth is universal and invariant, by definition.  Moral truth, philosophical truth, and empirical truth all follow that rule.  We seek truth, and apply methods that approach it asymptotically when we cannot derive it absolutely, but we seek truth.  And we do not deny truth when we read it. We normally read the Declaration of Independence as a statement of political philosophy and place it in historical context.  We of positive disposition read the document in good faith.  We see Jefferson and his contemporaries as humans-- flawed as all humans are-- who moved history in the direction of the principles that he stated, but which he failed to meet.  We observe

 Hello again, to anyone reading.  With apologies, "tap, tap, is this thing still on?"  As I indicated in my previous post on the death and resurrection on this, the Messiah-blog, which died for your sins, this blog which is the way, the truth and the light... where was I?  Something about blasphemy.  No, that wasn't it.  Well, at least you know that this blog has not been hacked, and that I am still me.  Anyway, I indicated that I will be shifting to a different platform, since I am not happy with Google and their attempt to see, quite frankly, if there is anything beyond death. What, didn't you see Flatliners ?  Everyone in it was just one degree removed from Kevin Bacon, except for Kevin Bacon, who is zero degrees removed from Kevin Bacon. Anyway, I'm heading over to substack.  If you are unfamiliar, substack works a little differently.  You can visit an author's page, and click on posts, as with a blog or other site, or you can subscribe, and have the posts

 Look, it was either that, or The Parrot Sketch.  Either way, this post was starting with Monty Python.  How is my plumage?  Lovely.  Thank you for asking.  That was interesting.  Two months ago-- May 3, 2024, to be precise-- I logged into the blog editor for In Tenure Veritas  on blogspot-- and I was greeted by a message that the blog had been removed.  The message did not explain precisely why.  I was provided with a link to click for a review and appeal.  I dutifully clicked the link.  Lather, rinse, repeat, over the course of the last two months.  Yesterday, on July 1, 2024, I received an email from the people at Google, who own blogspot, informing me that my blog and account are, in fact, in good standing, I have done nothing wrong, and that my blog has been restored.  Gee, thanks.  After two months, during which time anyone who attempted to view the page or click a link sending a reader to In Tenure Veritas  was greeted with an error message, and hence decided that I had just tak

 Yes, In Tenure Veritas  has been revived!  I have received inquiries from many of you, and I have no idea what, precisely, happened.  Google removed the blog for unclear reasons.  After many attempts to get an answer, and many inquiries, I have managed to convince Google to bring it back!  I will have a few things to say.  Um... I was displeased.  More to come.  That was a thing that happened.  Yes, that was a thing that happened.  [Drums fingers on the table, after drumming fingers on keyboard, then deleting the inevitable and predictable results of his own silliness.] Hello again, for anyone who bothers to read.  Thanks, Google.