In this particular case, the former abbot had been convicted of anti-soviet agitation (he had spoken with other Orthodox Christians about Christians being arrested) and counter-revolutionary activities (he met with other monks that had previously been under his rule when he was abbot before the soviets disbanded the monastery). The speaker had been able to get his hands on the secret file and did a bit of on the fly translation of the transcripts of his interrogation. It was pretty powerful stuff.

It also puts into context the present slate of problems the US is facing. While the present administration has done some very troubling things, we in the US are still a long, long way from facing the sort of totalitarian state that so many others have had to suffer under. From the west coast to the east coast, not only US citizens but also foreign visitors can travel freely without having ``their papers in order.'' One can also denounce the villainy of the federal government without having to worry about a goon squad showing up on your doorstep and beating you until you name all your acquaintances who listened to you proclaim said villainy without reporting you.

It is true that the present administration is trying to change some of that. And that is of some concern. But there is also a rather boisterous group in congress resisting on many levels and I suspect that over the next few years, as more court cases go forward and new evidence comes to light, that liberty will win the battle at the end of the day.

After coffee hour, I helped a friend bury his dog. The death of a good pet is never fun. But, so far as I can tell, no tears were shed. It was a very matter of fact process. Regular running has certainly helped increase my already formidable ditch digging prowess. I need to find a way to break into the lucrative ditch digging labor market. I find ditch digging far more rewarding that IT work.

After burying the dog, my friends neighbor wanted to stop by MicroCenter to price large monitors. He settled on a 28" HP monitor with absolutely stunning color and brightness for $500. I'm sorely tempted to buy one for a replacement television. Alas, it had no tuner and I'm not willing to shell out for digital cable with its set top box tuners or one of those newfangled HD video players with built-in tuners. I think I'll wait until I can get a 32" screen with tuner for $350 or so.

But, holy smokes, that thing had a nice picture.

After dinner and much washing of dishes from the previous night, my daughters and I made a lemon/poppy-seed cake for them to cut up into individual pieces to take to school in their lunches. It turned out quite nicely. And the cookbook we snagged the recipe from had an excellent tip for zesting lemons. If you put a piece of plastic wrap against the bottom surface of the grater, most of the zest will stick to the plastic wrap instead of getting stuck in the holes.

Come evening, Miss E came over to partake of our cable subscription. Living on the ground floor downtown, her television reception is pants. As a Jane Austin fan, she's been coming over every Sunday at 9 as the BBC is airing its movie renditions of every single book Jane Austen wrote. My eldest daughter is now getting sucked in. If only, I can get her to start reading Austen instead of the bubble-gum crap she tends toward. While I do think it fair to say that Jane Austen could be argued to be bubble gum, just from a different era, it quality of the writing is vastly superior to the bubble gum of today and fewer of the plot lines involve fifteen year old girls giving hummers to their boyfriends in the boy's room at school like the latest Meg Cabot my daughter bought for herself.

Speaking of my eldest daughter, she's having a friend who happens to be a boy come over for dinner. She's claiming that he's just a friend, but she's wearing a guitar pick of his on a necklace around her neck and wants to buy him a Valentine's day present. She didn't like my suggestion that I take him out onto the back porch  to smoke cigars and drink martinis while the womenfolk of the house wash up after dinner. I'm presently debating whether I should time my warning that I'll break his legs if he breaks her heart for before or after dinner.

And that is all. I need to go take my first Latin test of the quarter.