Look! The Internet was predicted in the 18th Century!

"Every absurdity has now a champion to defend it: and as he is generally much in the wrong, so he has always much to say; for error is ever talkative."
— Oliver Goldsmith (1730-1774) Irish poet, playwright, novelist
The Traveller: Or, A Prospect of Society (1764)

The more things change …

(via http://wist.info/goldsmith-oliver/26321/)

View this post on Google+

56 view(s)

One thought on “Look! The Internet was predicted in the 18th Century!”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Categories

***Dave Does the Mastodon

3 days ago

Chive/Lilac Blossom Vinegar https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/chive-lilac-blossom-vinegar.html

2 weeks ago

I have to say, my first question was "How the hell do I *avoid* getting a Trump Passport?"

Here's the apparent answer.

https://gizmodo.com/how-to-get-a-passport-without-president-trumps-face-on-it-2000752195

2 weeks ago

GOP: Parents, there are scary people out there who might do #gunviolence to your #kids. So buy them a bullet-proof backpack and tell them to cooperate with active shooter drills.

Also GOP: Nation, there are scary people out there who might do gun violence to our #DearLeader. So build him a yuge bulletproof bunker / #ballroom covered in gold with lots of security so that he can dance the night away safe from mingling with the dangerous hoi-polloi.

2 weeks ago

"Image of Trump to be featured inside new passports to mark America’s 250th"

There is no limit to the narcissistic ego of #DonaldTrump. We will be decades in erasing the self-serving graffiti of this creep.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/28/us-passports-trump-image/

2 weeks ago

New post from Popehat.com!

The Comey Threat Indictment Is A Grave Embarrassment To The United States Department of Justice And The Rule of Law
The Department of Justice Is Dead; Long Live The Department of Trump

3 weeks ago

Garlic Herb Cream Cheese Dip or White Stuff https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/garlic-herb-cream-cheese-dip-or-white-stuff.html

3 weeks ago

Jalapeño-Corn Dip https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/jalapeno-corn-dip.html

3 weeks ago

Roasted Fresh Tomato Soup https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/roasted-fresh-tomato-soup.html

3 weeks ago

"FBI's #KashPatel to sue The Atlantic for #defamation over report on heavy #drinking"

That embarrassing moment when you don't want to seem like a snowflake, but the performative bullying culture you operate in insists you bluster and sue, even as your lawyers try to tell you about defamation law (and the Streisand effect) and all you want to do is go out and do shots with your buddy Pete.

https://share.google/UykyIKN9MJ21zMt8s

4 weeks ago

Ready to take a gander at "Come From Away" at the #ArvadaCenter. #theater #stage

4 weeks ago

Donald's first impulse is *always* to shoot the messenger of bad tidings. Suggest that the Dear Leader has no clothes? That he's made a mistake? That he's not the most popular kid in the room? Then you're a liar. A phony. A failure. Ugly. Stupid. Unpopular. Radical. Criminal. Traitorous.

And if it's a woman doing it, he quickly leans extra-hard on that "ugly" part.

I won't comment about the outside. But #Trump sure is ugly on the *inside*.

https://www.inquisitr.com/trump-reacts-after-fox-news-host-reveals-his-low-poll-numbers/ot cos

4 weeks ago

RE: https://toad.social/@wdlindsy/116416679367392910

Makes me feel a bit of pride, being an #Episcopalian (part of the Anglican Communion). Thanks, Archbishop Sarah.

4 weeks ago

"To Protect and Serve and Incite and Arrest"

An #Arizona #cop is on administrative leave (with pay) after showing up at a peaceful student #protest, with a visible gun and multiple magazines, a face covering and Trump shirt, and with the intent (as he conveyed to other #police officers) of inciting an assault on himself so that the other cops could arrest everyone.

https://theintercept.com/2026/04/15/high-school-ice-protest-arizona-armed-cop/

4 weeks ago

"Justice Department moves to dismiss Proud Boys and Oath Keepers’ seditious conspiracy convictions"

Words cannot express my anger and disgust at the brazen, shameless disdain of these assholes for
law, order, democracy, history, truth, the Constitution, and justice.

I just can't even.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/14/politics/justice-department-vacate-seditious-conspiracy-convictions-proud-boys-oath-keepers?cid=android_app

4 weeks ago

J D #Vance is trying to draw a weird line between "public policy" and "matters of #morality," claiming that the #Pope should stick to his lane in only commenting about the latter.

Given that the Right has insisted that *all* public policy should be driven by their morality for as long as I can remember, and that #Trump and his minions have constantly painted the #Iran war as blessed by God, Vance's suggestion doesn't even pass the laugh test.

https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2026/04/14/popes-politics-policy-morality-and-lanes.html

Legal Lingo

The views expressed by me on this weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, my church, my party, my candidate, my community, my wife, my friends, or, on occasion, myself.

Views expressed by others are, well, theirs. I reserve the right to delete them, but it’s usually better to let the marketplace of ideas hold sway, even if some packages are long past their expiry date.

Stuff I link to? Sometimes it’s because I agree with it. Sometimes because I disagree with it, but want to point (mockingly, in some cases) to my sources regardless; I have a liberal arts background; I believe in citations. And linking to stuff is what the Internet is about.

Related

One thought on “Look! The Internet was predicted in the 18th Century!”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply