take a crazy ride through time: July edition

What were they saying one year ago?

"Your views will likewise end up on the dungheap of history, it will happen sooner than you think, and this will all be a very good thing. It's not the end of America, it is the fulfillment of the promises and the principles that once gave rise, and continue to give life, to our grand experiment in freedom."

Ed Brayton, Dispatches from the Culture Wars

"I never met a real troll before the internet era, though I read about them in many fairy tales. They are large lumbering creatures, looking like boulders from a distance, and quite deficient in intelligence. They eat humans by the bucketful and one of the obvious hero-tests is to outwit a troll. Why this would make you a hero I never quite understood as the trolls are dumber than a plank of wood. Maybe the tests increase in severity as one goes on: beginning with successful looping of the shoelaces and ending with trying to actually live with the princess for a lifetime? If so, the troll-test must be placed somewhere early in the curriculum."

Echidne, Echidne of the Snakes

"Remember, after all, that in these days it is the darkest enemies of democracy we face, and in the war to defeat them, we cannot let democracy stand in the way."

Medium Lobster, Fafblog

"Staggering with this knowledge, I went off and got a coke, and the machine returned one of my lost quarters! Hawking was right! Of course it’s still 25 cents up on me; I’ll probably have to wait for the heat death of the universe to get it all back."

Dawn, Lean Left

"It isn't easy being a professional historian. In part, this is because history isn't a glamorous subject for most people. No one comes to it voluntarily; it's not like learning a foreign language or getting an expert yoga trainer. It's not even compulsory, like an accountant or a lawyer can be. For the great unwashed masses, history is both tedious and optional. Why would anyone pay for that?"

Jason Kuznicki, Positive Liberty

"Anyway, if you're a creationist, and you think you have the right to demand a private consultation with me, consider this a formal notice: you don't."

PZ Myers, Pharyngula

"Newsflash to the Left: We are all selfish and ruthless, just some of us are less successful at acquisition."

Theomorph, Theomorph