I was Wikipedia surfing tonight, and ended up at (among other things) the article on Benjamin Franklin. Ben Franklin opposed slavery later in his life, and one of the last things he wrote before his death was a letter to the editor of the Federal Gazette in 1790, satirizing the most popular arguments in favor of slavery and the slave trade. I ( Read more... )

Well, my car isn't quite dead just yet -- my dad got it going again. He replaced the starter, but he machined one edge of it down a bit, so the starter's gear would make better content with the worn-out ring gear on the engine. The long-term prognosis is still not good -- the same problem will eventually happen again, so I'm keeping an eye on the ( Read more... )