I was disappointed when I heard about the Supreme Court's decision yesterday overturning Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban. Not surprised - after all the Court is home to Antonin Scalia - just disappointed. On the other hand, I was surprised to hear they chose to rule against capital punishment for rapists. While I am all for coming down extremely hard on perpetrators of sex crimes, I do not think killing people for their crimes is appropriate punishment. I wouldn't have believed the Roberts Court would have delivered a decision limiting the use of capital punishment.
In all, a mixed day in the news yesterday. This morning, however, I was outraged to hear the latest statement from Barak Obama regarding these two decisions.
Those of you who know me probably know that I'm pretty far left on the political spectrum. I have never voted for a Republican in my life. Unless the Republicans go through a complete reversal of direction, I have no intention of doing so in the future. I feel it is a completely morally bankrupt party that is leading our nation toward a totalitarian police state. Which is why I found Obama's statements today so disturbing.
Senator Obama's statement that he agreed with the Court's decision to overturn the handgun ban was disturbing enough. I could forgive him for it even if I disagree. But when he proceeded to say that he opposed the Court's decision regarding capital punishment, I was shocked and appalled. Did I just hear Obama agree with Scalia? Did he just place himself to the right of the most conservative Court in decades?
To top if off, he expresses support for FISA. Oh, don't worry Senator, I wasn't using those civil rights anyway. After all, I'm a loyal law-abiding citizen who has nothing to hide. So please feel free to tap my phone and read my mail.
No no no! Just when I thought we were going to finally reverse 8 years of the race to the Right, the Left's candidate goes and does this?
Friday, June 27
Sunday, June 8
America's Democratic Collapse
Wow. This is an amazing speech made by author Chris Hedges last month: America's Democratic Collapse
Most of what he has to say I've seen elsewhere, but Mr. Hedges does a great job of piecing it all together in a cohesive whole that is both powerful and frightening. Considered separately, things like no-bid contracts, warrantless wiretaps, and the shift in measurement of inflation and unemployment. When put into context as a cohesive whole, however, a horrifying picture of growing totalitarianism starts to emerge.
Intuitively - I'm the intuitive thinker in the household, A is the logical one - I've felt that A and I are standing astride a widening chasm between "have" and "have not" for quite some time. We have been very very fortunate to keep a strong enough toehold on the "have" side when so many of our friends in the past few years lose theirs and have started to fall in. Mr. Hedges' speech confirms to me that widening chasm really does exist, and that it is likely a result of intentional action by an extremely small and powerful group of people.
There is this little voice in the back of my brain chiding me, however. Is the fact that Mr. Hedges' words match what I'm already thinking what makes it seem so "right"? Is he telling me, in a way, what I want to hear? Or is the fact that his points resonate so strongly because they are true? I'd like to think I'm intelligent enough to know the difference and that it is the latter. But even if it is the former, would it change anything we need to do to fix what's wrong? Probably not. We still need to repeal the so-called Patriot Act. We still need to stop fighting an illegal and immoral war in Iraq. We still need to reverse the flow of power away from the average working citizen toward the corporate elite.
Ugh. That's a daunting list. It's going to take more than turning out to vote to, in the oft-quoted words of Gandhi, be the change you want to see in the world. Where to begin?
Most of what he has to say I've seen elsewhere, but Mr. Hedges does a great job of piecing it all together in a cohesive whole that is both powerful and frightening. Considered separately, things like no-bid contracts, warrantless wiretaps, and the shift in measurement of inflation and unemployment. When put into context as a cohesive whole, however, a horrifying picture of growing totalitarianism starts to emerge.
Intuitively - I'm the intuitive thinker in the household, A is the logical one - I've felt that A and I are standing astride a widening chasm between "have" and "have not" for quite some time. We have been very very fortunate to keep a strong enough toehold on the "have" side when so many of our friends in the past few years lose theirs and have started to fall in. Mr. Hedges' speech confirms to me that widening chasm really does exist, and that it is likely a result of intentional action by an extremely small and powerful group of people.
There is this little voice in the back of my brain chiding me, however. Is the fact that Mr. Hedges' words match what I'm already thinking what makes it seem so "right"? Is he telling me, in a way, what I want to hear? Or is the fact that his points resonate so strongly because they are true? I'd like to think I'm intelligent enough to know the difference and that it is the latter. But even if it is the former, would it change anything we need to do to fix what's wrong? Probably not. We still need to repeal the so-called Patriot Act. We still need to stop fighting an illegal and immoral war in Iraq. We still need to reverse the flow of power away from the average working citizen toward the corporate elite.
Ugh. That's a daunting list. It's going to take more than turning out to vote to, in the oft-quoted words of Gandhi, be the change you want to see in the world. Where to begin?
Tuesday, April 29
Oh, shit
Just found out (through a bizarre non-family roundabout path involving a random LinkedIn e-mail) that my sociopath brother is moving to the Albany/Corvallis area this summer.
When I heard a while back that he was working for the Feds as a mine safety inspector in Colorado, the first thing that came to mind astonishment that the guy who was "off the grid" growing pot and living on a platform in some tree for much of the '90s is working for "The Man". The second thing that came to mind was the - apparently more salient - relief that there weren't any mines in Oregon. There was little chance I'd have to deal with him at all beyond the rare family gathering where we could remain on opposite sides of the room and pretend the other didn't exist. Apparently I was mistaken. He's headed for some gravel mine in the Willamette Valley.
Pardon me while I get this out of my system - Why the FUCK does he have to choose here of all places! There are 49 other goddamn states that probably have mines somewhere for him to work in but he has to end up in my own fucking back yard!
Maybe he's miraculously sprouted a conscience in the past 15 years. Maybe he's learned that people are not merely tools to be used and discarded when no longer useful. Maybe he's finally discovered he really does have empathy for others. Perhaps he is no longer the amoral, manipulative, abusive monster he was in his teens and twenties.
Then why do I have this sinking feeling we're going to be investigating restraining orders at some point?
When I heard a while back that he was working for the Feds as a mine safety inspector in Colorado, the first thing that came to mind astonishment that the guy who was "off the grid" growing pot and living on a platform in some tree for much of the '90s is working for "The Man". The second thing that came to mind was the - apparently more salient - relief that there weren't any mines in Oregon. There was little chance I'd have to deal with him at all beyond the rare family gathering where we could remain on opposite sides of the room and pretend the other didn't exist. Apparently I was mistaken. He's headed for some gravel mine in the Willamette Valley.
Pardon me while I get this out of my system - Why the FUCK does he have to choose here of all places! There are 49 other goddamn states that probably have mines somewhere for him to work in but he has to end up in my own fucking back yard!
Maybe he's miraculously sprouted a conscience in the past 15 years. Maybe he's learned that people are not merely tools to be used and discarded when no longer useful. Maybe he's finally discovered he really does have empathy for others. Perhaps he is no longer the amoral, manipulative, abusive monster he was in his teens and twenties.
Then why do I have this sinking feeling we're going to be investigating restraining orders at some point?
Wednesday, February 6
Thursday, January 31
In Fair Glendale, the Bard's Super Bowl Play
Oh my, was this an amusing way to wake up in the morning:
In Fair Glendale, the Bard's Super Bowl Play
Listen to the audio. The transcribed version doesn't do Sylvia Poggioli's performance justice.
TRP, for some reason this made me think of you. My apologies. ;-)
Monday, January 14
Two thoughts
This past weekend prompted two thoughts:
- Flying in at oh-dark-thirty on Saturday, attending multiple family events (including a wake with 100+ people), and flying out late Sunday night produces a Monday morning feeling remarkably similar to an all-weekend party binge. One gets to pay the price without having the fun that would have gone with it.
- California still sucks. If anything it sucks more now than it did 20 years ago.
Thursday, January 10
Fair warning
Should anyone I know decide this is a good idea, prepare to be shunned after being mocked mercilessly:
Click through on the image and you can see the whole book. It's fascinating in a train-wreck sort of way.
Yes, it really is a real product from Microsoft. And yes, I might just have go all Gordon Freeman on it with a crowbar should I lay eyes upon it in your home.
Click through on the image and you can see the whole book. It's fascinating in a train-wreck sort of way.
Yes, it really is a real product from Microsoft. And yes, I might just have go all Gordon Freeman on it with a crowbar should I lay eyes upon it in your home.
Wednesday, January 9
As if there's any doubt ...
... why the US is hated by so much of the world.
(EDIT: apologies to any of you that saw an offensive pornographic image instead of the one above. Apparently the source of the image was replaced after I posted it here. Thanks to TRP for letting me know about it.)
Saturday, November 24
Thursday, November 15
Apple web site humor
Go to apple.com and enter "virus" in the search box. The little dynamic search popup is rather amusing:
Yes, that is a real screen snap from my own desktop.
Yes, that is a real screen snap from my own desktop.
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