Even in my darkest recollection/there was someone singing my life back to me
– Neko Case
How times change…
John Adams, yesterday, a thorn in the side of the current administration.
Wandered around the city centre yesterday. Found the Waterstones and galloped right up to the Mind, Body, Spirit section like I always do. I’m drawn toward that otherwise dingy section of books because there usually tends to be a diamond buried amongst all that New Age dogshit. In other words that’s where they usually tend to stock the late, and greatly missed Robert Anton Wilson’s books — along with the latest stuff about Crystals and Chakra healing, and activating your inner goddess, etc. And thankfully I wasn’t to be disapointed on this visit either. There in the “W-Z” section, sat a shiny new copy of ’Emails to the Universe’ — basically a selection of bits and pieces RAW authored over the years,(a lot of which you can find over at rawilson.com, or rawilsonfans.com). Happy and excited, I shelled out the £11.99 the book cost, and later having done the rest of my shopping , sat at the bus stop waiting for the next bus home I turned to the first piece. Entitled ”The Passion of the Antichrist”, it was written in 1965 and detailed the tribulations of Madalyn Murray. What immediately caught my eye about it tho was the funny little extract introducing the article taken from the US treaty with Tripoli of 1796 and authored by an American diplomat but endorsed by John Adams, second president:
As the Government of the United States of America 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 Mussulmen [i.e., Muslims]; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Muslim] nation [LOL, I think they can Tipp-ex that part out now], 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.
Mmmmmmmmmm, interesting, I bet they’re now regretting that was ever written — or as is in fact the case completely ignoring it.
Paida huaa vakeel, to Iblees nay kahaa:
‘Allah nay mujhey Sahib-e-awlaad kar diya.’
(The day a lawyer was born, Satan exulted:
‘Allah has blessed me with progeny of my own.’)
– Akbar Ilahabadi
(Apologies to the nice lawyers out there, and there are one or two, I think.)
