Racists Use This Fake Quote From Aristotle

Last year, I spent a lot of time writing in support of Liam Hogan, a historian who has opposed the fake Irish Slavery meme. Here’s an example of another piece of fakery used by the right-wing to justify their intolerant, half-baked nonsense, which I have reblogged from the excellent Sententiae Antiquae. Enjoy!

SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE

“Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society”

The character of this quotation is alien to Aristotle and ancient Greek ideas including using “tolerance” in this way and “dying society” (see the quora discussion). I poked around a bit through Aristotle, changing some of the ideas (an ancient Greek might think of “sick” or “corrupt” society”) but there is nothing close to this.

While searching, I found the variation “Tolerance is the last virtue of a depraved society” attributed to Dr. James Kennedy (an Evangelical preacher) and then Hutton Gibson (father of Mel Gibson and Holocaust Denier). Some of the mis-translations and fake translations can be found in quote books from the 19^th century. This one does not appear in any books older than a decade or so and mostly in self-published racist texts whose titles and authors I will not print.

One…

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A Disaster Waiting to Happen

This is an interesting site about fake qualifications. This is a subject dear to our heart on CassidySlangScam because Cassidy was not only a fake linguist but also a fake academic who somehow became a professor in spite of flunking his BA at Cornell in 1965 and never acquiring any other qualifications.

Is suíomh an-spéisiúil é seo a bhaineann le cáilíochtaí bréige. Is ábhar sin atá in aice lenár gcroí anseo ag CassidySlangScam, mar ní teangeolaí bréige amháin a bhí sa Chasaideach, léachtóir bréige a bhí ann fosta, ar éirigh leis ollamh a dhéanamh de féin, in ainneoin gur caitheadh amach as a chúrsa BA ag Cornell sa bhliain 1965 é gan céim a ghnóthú agus in ainneoin nach bhfuair sé cáilíochtaí ar bith eile ó ollscoil ar bith eile ina dhiaidh sin.

Prospects Hedd

An interesting take by a judge last week when jailing Simon Macartney for fraud and using fake documents. Judge Andrew Goymer also condemned the employer for failing to make proper checks on a job applicant’s qualifications.

Get Surrey reports that Macartney was employed as the Driving Standards Manager for the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) for four years, earning more than £200,000. His job required him to assess whether paramedics were qualified to drive ambulances. He lied about his career as a police traffic officer and then produced fake certificates when challenged about his qualifications. He is now serving a three year sentence in prison.

The judge said SECAmb’s system of checking employees’ qualifications was a ‘disaster waiting to happen’, and the recruitment process used by the Trust ‘left much to be desired’ and ‘was thoroughly lax’.

Managers did not ask for original proof of qualifications when jobs were offered to applicants.

The judge…

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muggy

According to the late Daniel Cassidy, muggy comes from the Irish múchta but this theory, like the rest of Cassidy’s theories, is about as useful as a chocolate teapot, as Stan so ably demonstrates in this post.

Sesquiotica

I wore the wrong shirt today, I’ll tell you that right away.

You know how sometimes some people will say “Well, dressed like that, you were asking for trouble”? I’m not generally sympathetic to these judgements, but oh boy, today it was real for me. That thin cotton shirt decorated with a riot of colourful tropical flora was… a bad idea.

I got mugged.

By the weather.

OK, I got outside and found the weather was muggy. Very muggy. I wound up as soaked and woozy as a sot, and my shirt stuck to me like so much muck. Yuck. A rolling stone gathers no moss, perhaps, but a walking son of rock in a floral shirt may be a fecund site for flora to take root.

Why would anyone make a tropical shirt in a clingy fabric? I have a few others that are made with coarse weaves, and…

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Life, The Universe and Everything Else

I have just discovered this set of podcasts. It’s maybe not everybody’s cup of tea, but it certainly appeals to me. It consists of a slightly nerdish but very good-humoured debunking of various misconceptions, conspiracy theories and pseudoscientific claims. So far, I’ve listened to three of them and really enjoyed them, so give it a try!

LUEE

In this episode of Life, the Universe & Everything Else, Ashlyn is joined by Lauren, Laura, and Gem to discuss some common misconceptions (and maybe some that aren’t so common).

Life, the Universe & Everything Else is a program promoting secular humanism and scientific skepticism that is produced by the Winnipeg Skeptics.

Links:Misconceptions (xkcd) | List of common misconceptions (Wikipedia) | Horned helmet (Wikipedia) | List of common false etymologies of English words (Wikipedia) | Anglo-Saxon runes (Wikipedia) | Thorn (Wikipedia) | What Are Paper Towns? (John Green) | Fictitious entry (Wikipedia) | Argleton (Wikipedia) | Not a Word (The New Yorker) | Heat death of the universe (Wikipedia) | Hyperactivity and sugar (MedlinePlus) | Busting the Sugar-Hyperactivity Myth | Episode 77: Coffee & Tea (LUEE) | Not Enough Evidence the Internet of Things Botnet Actually Exists | New toolkit seeks routers, Internet of Things for DDoS…

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Capturing History Challenge – Week 3

Source: Capturing History Challenge – Week 3

This is a reblog of a photography challenge from Ed Mooney’s excellent blog. As you can see, one of my photos is on it! Check it out, and stay to have a look at the rest of Ed’s blog. You’ll be glad you did!

The Blether Region

I recently found an interesting item on a Northern Irish-based blog called The Blether Region. I have tried to reblog it but for some reason it hasn’t worked, so here is a link: http://scots-anorak.blogspot.co.uk/2014_02_01_archive.html The author is attacking Brendan Patrick Keane’s idiotic article on IrishCentral about Cassidy’s ‘research.’ Check it out, but here is a little bit of the article!

“The article draws on the book How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads (Counterpunch) by Daniel Cassidy, which has been roundly condemned by serious linguists. Perhaps the most annoying aspect of such claims is the serial refusal to present etymologies plausible to an Irish-speaker (Mr. Cassidy evidently not being one himself). The variant “Gee whilikers” is glossed as deriving from Dia Thoileachas, or “God’s will”. But ask an Irish-speaker how to say “God’s will”, and the answer is likely to be something like Toil Dé.

Once again, how annoying that Irish Central has seen fit to publish such claptrap.”

Absolutely right! Anyone who supports this rubbish should hang their heads in shame.

How Daniel Cassidy invented Etymology (léirmheas)

An-jab déanta agat anseo, a Eoin! Tá sé athbhlagáilte agam anseo thíos. Tá mé fíorbhuíoch díot as an chuidiú!

Tuairisceoir an Dúin

Tháinig abhaile an lá cheana gur aimsigh mé leabhar toirtiúil romham. Bronntanas a bhí ann. Cé go raibh trácht cloiste agam air ní fhéadfainn a rá go raibh mé sásta leis mar bhronntanas. How the Irish Invented Slang le Daniel Cassidy a bhí ann. Is éard a chuireann Cassidy roimhe sa leabhar seo ná gur ón nGaeilge a thagann stráicí móra fada de bhéarlagair Béarla Mheiriceá, agus an domhain ar fad da bhrí sin. Dar leis go raibh uisce faoi thalamh ann ag lucht an Bhéarla a chuir an t-eolas seo faoi chois.

Cuirfidh seo iontas ar go leor againn ó ní cheaptar go bhfuil mórán níos mó ná ‘smithereens’ agus ‘banshee’ tugtha don Bhéarla againn. Don té a bhfuil leathspéis aige i sanas focal tiocfaidh amhras air go mear an bhfuil aon bhunús le tuairimí Cassidy. Éinne le smeareolas faoi shanas tuigfidh siad gur gá bheith in amhras i gcónaí…

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Kiss your Heritage Goodbye

Cassidyslangscam is about challenging Daniel Cassidy and his supporters, a group of Irish-American cronies who vandalise our linguistic heritage and treat it with contempt. However, this is a worse bit of cultural vandalism than Cassidy’s. At least the dictionaries are still safe from Cassidy’s nonsense. But this ‘sure it’s only a hole in the ground’ mentality is disgusting. Thanks to Ed for pointing it out and shame on the people responsible for this.

Ed Mooney Photography

Coolbanagher Castle via Google Street Veiw

Please forgive me for this post as I may rant quite a bit. Words cannot describe how angry this has made me. On 24th Febuary 2014 after suffering damage during a storm 10 days earlier, Coolbanagher Castle  an early Medieval Tower Hall, built in the early 13th century was completely demolished. Many of you will already know how passionate I am about the preservation of these sites, in fact one of the main factors which influenced my photography was to preserve in images as many sites as possible. Unfortunately I never got to shoot the castle whilst it was still standing, so I guess this is the first casualty in my quest. The reason I have not written about this sad turn of events sooner was because I wanted to see the site for myself, and what a sad sight it is. The entire…

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The Wizard Earl

As I have already said, Ed Mooney’s blog is well worth a visit and always full of beautiful images and great stories. Check it out!

Ed Mooney Photography

The following tales has been handed down through the ages from Lord Walter Fitzgerald and concerns a Garrett Oge or Gerald (the younger) Fitzgerald whom became the 11^th Earl of Kildare and the sole male heir of the Kildare Geraldine’s at the age of twelve, after his half-brother, Silken Thomas, the tenth earl, was executed at Tyburn in 1537 with five of his uncles. Gerald spent the next few years on the run in Ireland under the protection of his Aunt, Lady Eleanor McCarthy. Eventually the young Earl had the opportunity to escape Ireland, where he received protection from Henry VIII and his assassins, by both Francis I of France and Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire. Gerald was said to have been educated at a monastery in Liège, and he spent some years in Italy with the Bishop of Verona, the Cardinal of Mantua, and the Duke…

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Cinnamon Raisin French Toast Casserole

I am not really sure what reblogging is as I am new to these things but I’ll give it a try and see what happens. With a clear conscience. That cinnamon French toast looks absolutely delicious and should be shared …

Simply Made Kitchen and Crafts

Not far from our home, there is a Pepperidge Farm Outlet that we often visit when going to a nearby mall. One of the items I usually stock up on is the cinnamon raisin bread that is always marked down to a reasonable price. I bring the loaves home and tuck them in the freezer for lots of different recipes.
This is a tasty casserole that takes minutes to put together. It’s such a treat to put a big pan of French toast in the oven rather than standing in front of the stovetop making slices in small batches. This makes for more time to enjoy early morning conversation with the family while savoring the awesome combination of cinnamon, raisin, pecans and maple syrup with a piping hot cup of coffee. I often make this the night before serving so that when I wake up there is no prep time…

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