it's been a while..

I hope to post much more consistently as soon as finals are over..

1. senior thesis seminar is today. symmetry in mechanics.
basic idea: symmetries of a system preserve the solution space. the conjugate momentum to a Lie symmetry's canonical translation coordinate is a resulting invariant up to a gauge-correction term.

2. prase God! He has given a place to live next year. a really nice place on lake union. a place close enough to walk back and forth from uw. a place where I could kayak every morning on foggy waters before class. a place to bring folks and host them next year.

God's grace and provision are humbling things. childlike revelry in the goodness of our Father glorifies Him, but sometimes when we realize the humiliation we put Him through as He gives those gifts.. praise be to the God who by all rights should obliterate us, but instead washes our feet and gives new life.

3. in lieu of the "bush lied! people died!' mantra that pervades any liberal campus like UPS, I thought it might be nice to see the democratic party's stance on WMDs up until michael moore.

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"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998.

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face." Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998.

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18,1998.

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998.

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999.

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies." Letter to President Bush, Signed by Joe Lieberman (D-CT), John McCain (Rino-AZ) and others, Dec. 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them." Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002.

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002.

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reiterating the twenty-three item list (one of which pertained to WMD development) drawn up by a bipartisan senate to justify war in iraq would simply be unnecessary.

but oh right, I forgot, our nation exists to serve oil interests. golly.

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God will hold our nation accountable on the Day of Days. we will not stand without guilt, and we will know both the works God has accomplished through our country and the miseries internal and external. praise Him that He will judge with perfect wisdom, justice, and grace.

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"Therefore, death first; you must first die to every merely earthly hope, to every merely human confidence; you must die to your selfishness, or to the world, because it is only through your selfishness that the world has power over you; if you are dead to your selfishness, you are also dead to the world. But naturally there is nothing a human being hangs on to so firmly, indeed, with his whole self!" - Soren Kierkegaard