reading material

You know, I cannot, in good conscience, surf the blogosphere without sharing the cool stuff I find along the way, so here's the latest list...

• Read and answer this questionaire from Spoonfighter. Think of it as a theological consumer satisfaction survey.
• @ spastic, musings on wit and the modern lack thereof.
• An enlightening article on why home-made bombs are overcoming shock and awe. (courtesy of Semper Gumby)
• Ha! Mad Mustard shows the solution to White House scandals. Why didnt they think of that?
• The Skeptical Observer describes the pansiefying of America.
• Missed this one, but Jerry Falwell is apparently setting up something called "assault ministry"? I dont know what it is either, but before googling it, read this cartoon.
• Read Ray Bradbury calling for monorails instead of subways in LA. (props to Boing Boing)
• I've read the book, but now you can read the website.
• Here's an article on a study from the UK on educational failure and test-taking called "Failure to teach" or some such, just read it, OK? Then read this, the 6 Lessons of School. (props to Ran Prieur)
• Check out the Discordian Coloring Book.
• Then there's this article on Jake Ryan, which explains a few things.
• And a pretty cool little house here.
• And lastly, but certainly not leastly, my Evil Twin speaks!!!

some time at the park

So the other day I was sitting around at the park, doodling in a sketchbook while my daughter played on the monkey bars (or whatever they call them these days), and I drew God. Not in his aspect as my brother, but in the traditional manner: robes, flowing hair and beard.
I wished it was better, then drew a bird, for no particular reason, other than because it was, after all, a sketch book.
Then I looked up, and saw God. He was walking across the playground, His long white beard and hair streaming in the wind that had come up with His approach (I think that was what made me look up from the sketchbook). The same wind was swirling through the silken folds of His robes in a manner to make a Renaissance painter weep with joy. As He walked His arms swept out in the kind of movements you would expect to see only on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He sat down on the bench beside me.
"Nice entrance", I said.
"Thanks," He said, "Every artist enjoys his crafts, even if he rarely practices them. You ought to know that."
I thought of the corner of the garage stuffed with photographic equipment. Oh boy, dont I know it.
"Yes" He said.
Suddenly, my daughter appeared in His lap, seemingly from thin air, grinning that little grin of hers, eyes a-twinkle. "Hi God!" she said.
"Hello, how are you?" He said, in a sober manner that was somehow playful.
"I'm four." she replied, with equal gravity.
"Icee-pop?" God asked, the long, thin tube of orange ice in His hand.
"Yes, please." She grabbed it from His hand, then sat down next to Him to eat it. A car pulled up to the park, and mother and her two children got out. I noticed God's hair and beard, in addition to being much shorter, was now a salt and pepper color. His robes had become a pair of jeans, a t-shirt from some New Orleans crab place, and a windbreaker. He was also a rather distinguished shade of brown.
"Nice shoes." I said, pointing to His Chuck Taylor All Stars.
"I see you prefer the low-top." He said, gesturing at mine.
Two more cars pulled up, spilling children and mommies. My daughter, Icee-pop abandoned, ran out to join them.
"It must be time for someone's play-date", I said, watching another car pull up.
"No, no," He said, "This always happens when I visit a park. If you ask them, they wont know why they came, but I think they sense that I would never let anything bad happen to the children while I'm here."
We sat for a while, watching the children play.
Finally, I asked, "So... what brings You here today?"
"You drew Me in."
"In what? My sketchbook? That made You come here today?" I was dizzied slightly by the implied power of my action.
"Well, images certainly can carry a lot of power, but no, nothing like that. I could tell that you were kind of bummed out, so I came to see what I could do."
"How about a rain of shit on the Capital?" I said, though without much hope.
He narrowed His eyes at me, and suddenly all the children in the playground booed. Mothers looked up concernedly.
"No, I guess not." He has told me, repeatedly, no wrath of God stuff. I keep asking though, and I think it's starting to irritate Him.
We watched the children some more, then He made a gesture towards the playground. "That doesnt make you feel better? It always works for Me."
I looked at the children. "It's them I worry about more than anything. What kind of world are we leaving them? Pretty fucked up, I know that."
"Oh, it's not so bad." God replied. "I have to look back only a hundred years and I can tell you of a world much, much worse." I suppose He meant that part about looking back literally.
"But we could, we should, do so much better."
"Yes, yes, you could."
I was not feeling better at this point.
"You really should lighten up some." He said. "You dont need to be serious all the time. You need a balance of the two, and you, my son, are out of balance."
"But we're killing the planet!"
"You cant kill the planet, you can only kill yourselves. The planet will live on, even if the human race turns out to have been only a filter."
We watched the children some more. They were playing a strange little game where each would shake anothers hand, and then say, "What an interesting point, I'll have to think about this", in a somber voice. Then both would giggle. I had no idea what they were doing.
I told God that He wasnt making me feel any better. He told me it wasnt His job.
"Go read a good book," He said, "or see a funny movie. Do you even read the comics anymore?"
He sighed.
"Listen, Dave, think about this: Remember in the 50's when everyone thought there'd be a robot in every kitchen and a helicopter in every driveway? Did that happen?"
I looked at Him. "I'm sure it did on some dimension."
This smart-ass response was rewarded with one of His beatific smiles. All the children on the playground whooped in joy. "You're getting better at this." He said, giving a measured look that made me nervous for some reason.
Then He stood up. "Nothing ever works out the way you think it will. Ever. For anybody. I gotta go now, but We'll talk again later."
After He left, the mothers and their children filtered away almost as quickly as they had come, so I collected up my daughter, and went home to file the drawing somewhere safe, and to find my copy of the Holy Grail.



from The Gospel of Dave, chapter 5, verses 12-21

12. And on that day did Dave attend the commons with his youngest child, and with him carried pencil and paper bound. 13. And on the paper he did fashion an image of the Lord. 14. Then came a mighty wind, and the Lord appeared to Dave in His Glory. 15. Soon the park was filled with the Children of the Lord, feasting in His Presence and echoing His thoughts.

16. Again did Dave ask the Lord to smite his enemies, and again did the Lord refuse. Dave and the Lord then did speak, but yet Dave was not comforted. 17. And so the Lord did suggest "Good Omens", or some other amusing tale, but Dave remained in his funk. 18. And so the Lord bid Dave to lighten up, reminding him of the Jetsons, and how that future came to naught. But Dave was unconvinced, and said, 19. "There are other Dimensions", in which answer the Lord was well-pleased, for in it He saw the coming of Dave's wisdom. 20. And whereupon the Lord returned to His ethereal plane, Dave did partake in the Holy Sacrament of the Python King's Quest, 21. and Lo! he didst laugh righteously.

input

Hey, ya'll, guess what? Number Five is alive.

Okay, not really. As you can see, they've shaved his eyebrows, and decapitated him.

Okay, that's a lie, too. It's just life imitating art. Again.

It's built by a company called "Flir", and is specifically a model called the "Thermovision Ranger III MS". Google it, if need be.

listening to hearings

Today, I'm listening to Alberto Gonzalez defending the Presidents abuse of authority, and several things are going thru my mind...

1. Congress needs to be more careful with their wording when passing laws giving the President authority for something. Actually, when giving the President authority for anything, apparently.
2. Shakespeare may have had it right. One of Gonzales' arguements for the president having legal authority to wiretap domestically was this thing about "two possible interpretations" and how if one interpretation caused a tension between executive and legislative branches, then they had to, by law (as interpretted by the Supreme Court), go with the other interpretation. Funny thing, though, he didnt mention what happens if both interpretations cause conflict.
3. Gonzales keeps citing decisions made or actions taken by people from the "other side", such as Bill Clinton, Sandra Day O'Connor, and FDR. If the deed was wrong, the deed was wrong, regardless of who did it. Save your history lessons for the classroom.
4. In light of the information in one of my previous posts, I find reference to FDR especially troubling, for it was under Roosevelt that Japanese-Americans were rounded up wholesale and placed in detention camps, an action I'm not sure this country has yet to show an appropriate level of shame for. Dont think for one moment that the Administration hasnt reviewed all legal arguements associated with that episode.
5. We need to look at our definition of the word "war". We may indeed be involved in a conflict with extremist Islamists, and it may qualify as a guerilla action, but I dont think it qualifies as War, any more than the Cold War was a war (however many real wars it may have contained).
6. John Cornyn is an Administation Tool, and an asshat. In fact, most of the Republicans, even when giving Gonzales a hard time, seemed mostly to be asking, "how can we set things up so that the President can keep doing what he's been doing, but while keeping us, the Republican-controlled Congress, in the loop?"
7. How far will the BushCorp take section 109, authorizing "use of military force", which Gonzales used as his ultimate fall-back position during the hearings. Spying on Citizens, torture (which the administration still denies, even while defending the practice), hiding information, and God knows what else. Will that include rounding up dissenters, perhaps following the promised next attack by al-Queda?
   Hey! I got an idea, let's nationalize the countries Oil Companies! Surely huge oil profits (to the detriment of all Americans (except big stockholders and oil execs) and the military, which must buy petroleum products for its use, could justify that move, also.

Finally, the hearings are still ongoing, with the expected soft-soaping by Republicans (though not totally) and impotent vitriol by Democrats. Through it all, Gonzales has kept to the Administration line:

We havent done anything illegal, because we dont think we did anything illegal.

Could I use that next time I get a ticket?

checks and balances

In 1832, the Supreme Court, headed by the revered John Marshall, ruled in favor of the Cherokee Indians in the case Worcester v. Georgia, where Georgia was attempting to take the land of the Cherokees for use of newer, whiter settlers. According to this decision, Georgia was not allowed to take the land.

The response of the then-President of the United States, Andrew Jackson: "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it." Jackson, who was known as a "man of the people", stood by while the Cherokees were herded halfway across the country to Oklahoma, on foot, losing 25% of their numbers while doing so. Actually, since the military was used to force this removal, he obviously did more than merely stand by.

My point? No point, other than to say that I think people place too much faith in the workings of government. If those in power make a decision, and those who placed them in power sit back and accept that decision, regardless of it's "legality", then what exactly are we playing at here? What is the point of a constitution if you can set it aside and no one objects?

Quote for the Nation

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue."

Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936)

Tin-foil hat time, I hope

I was just over at Ran Priuer's site, and he had a link to an interesting article. Seems the Government has been contracting with (who else?) Halliburton (or more properly, KMG) to build detention camps here in the good old U.S. of A.

Why?

Well, for an "emergency influx of immigrants", of course. Certainly not for American citizens, you paranoid nutbag, you. That would be illegal, unthinkable. It could never happen here. Why, next you'll be implying that the Administration suspects the citizenry of terrorist activity, and is actively spying on them.

Oh wait.

Never mind. Try googling Rex 84 instead. It's the phrase "or to support the rapid development of new programs" that worries me.

unsolicited Call for entries

okay, so it's done, the 5th Carnival of the Liberals has been juried by Modem Butterfly. Check it out, it's safe. Between a dead computer and just being lame, I'm not represented this time out, so you can read without fear.

Then, ready your submission to the next Carnival of the Liberals (no. 6), being held at SlantTruth. This time round is slightly different; not a freestyle, but with a choice of three topics instead:

1. Progressive Politics? What do we mean?
2. Homophobia and the Black (or any other) Community
3. Can Art be Political, and if it is, is it still Art?

Think of it as a commission.

I respond to my own words

Well, first of all, let me apologize for going off on y'all like that yesterday.
Everything I said was true, I think, but the tone..., well, I was tired, cranky, maybe coming down with something. I'm having a bad week.

To start with, Samuel Alito was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a margin of 58 to 42, with only 4 Democrats on his side (to put this in perspective, Clarence Thomas, one of the worst Justices in decades, passed 52-48 with 11 Democrats, in a Democratic-controlled Senate). Sure, he may turn out to be just fine, and we can all hope for that. But personally, I'm just happy that Presidential term-limits are covered by the 22nd amendment, and not a law passed by Congress.
Stay tuned for true judicial activism.

As for the State of the Union speech by our fearless leader... sigh.
I'm just to tired to deal with Dubya today. He wearies me. Republicans weary me, Conservatives weary me. Americans, such as my parents, incapable of seeing the damage being done to this country by them weary me.

Here's one thing I will say. Republican intransigence, their unwillingness to compromise, their willingness to destroy checks in the system to make sure the minority retains a voice - these things will someday come home to bite them on the ass (barring some sort of Theocratic coup d'etat, of course).
I've read a lot of people slamming the Democrats for not standing up to the Republicans enough, for not philibustering, for not going to whatever extreme is required to block the Path of the Conservative Steamroller. I've said some things against them myself. But they're not so much incompetent as out of their league.
The Republicans have changed the rules. No longer is Washington (and statehouses around the country) engaging in Politics. Politics involves compromise, give and take, settling. What the Mouthpieces of the Right Wing call wishy-washy is what used to be called Statesmanship.
Remember Statesmanship? You've got a list, They've got a list. Both sides get together and try to work out a way for everyone to get as much as they can, so that everyone is happy, and things dont degenerate down into conflict.
Not wishy-washy. Compromising. That's supposed to be the Political Process.
The Conservative Movement has changed all that, though. They have reinstituted the principle of Winner Take All. A majority, any majority, means that the winners get everything. No bones will be thrown to dogs, no pennies for the poor. Our Way or the Highway.
I think the Democrats, being basically at heart people who care about the well-being of the country as a whole, are resisting this idea, because they know that it is a way of life under which a significant chunk of the country can only suffer, and that is Bad For the Country.
This is why they keep loosing so badly. They are peaceful Christians in the Political Colusseum that the Republicans have created, and the Conservative gladiator they are facing isnt concerned about anything but killing his opponent, and going back to the tent and wallowing hin his glory and prize-winnings. To the Victor Go the Spoils.
Wait. No, much as I like this analogy, it's not quite right. Because the Republicans arent interested in just victory and the prize. They want more. They want domination. They want whatever the fight is about, and everything else, too. It's not enough for Republicans to control their own Destiny (i.e., have Liberty), they must control the "liberty" of others, also. They want Prayer in School (their prayers), and so others must have it too. They dont want Gay Marriage, therefore no one else must have Gay Marriage.
Spoils? More like Spoiled. Republicans act like teenagers faced with chores. They dont want to do it, they're not gonna do it. And if they have do it, they'll do a crappy-ass job of it so you dont ever ask them to do it again. Disagree? Look at the Drug Program. Look at the Katrina Relief program.
How about taxes? Tell a teenager, if they're gonna live in this house, they're gonna help with the chores. Tell a Republican, if you're gonna live in this country, you're gonna pay taxes to help with the chores, at which point they'll start talking about property and rights and how it's their country (like they built it all by themselves).

Okay, enough rambling. My conclussion: America is a country being run by teenagers with swords. An entire generation of people who were raised by hippies and beatniks, who reacted by becoming that which their parents hated, and who now run the country without regard to the feelings or needs of anyone else.
But they've forgotten one thing.
Someday they'll be old, and their hold on power will be slipping. And their children, who will also have deliberately become that which their parents hate, will gain power. And they will be operating under the rules being established now, using the political ethics being "taught" by example now.
And while it might be fun to watch that battlefield from the comfort of Canada or someplace, I'm not looking forward to being here when it happens. Dont be surprised if, within a generation, not many other people are either.

But guess what. It'll be no more than we deserve. Democracy is not a priviledge, it is a responsibility. And everything being done in Our Government today is being done because we voted (or didnt). Our choice, our consequences. Live with it, fight it, or find something else, but dont think for one minute that you deserve anything more.

new orders

Well, they did it. Sam Alito has replaced former swing voter Sandra Day O'Connor. I hope y'all are happy in the Republican party. Because this one's gonna last, along with the other ones. Twenty, thirty years. Ready for it, America?

I'd comment on it all, make snide comments about Roe, about authority vs. people, predict doom laced with sarcasm. But I cant. I feel like crap, and this just piles it on. I cant even generate any real comment on the laughable accusation by President Oil Baron that we are respondsible for the oil crisis, other than to point out that we are the dumbasses who've put the politicians who've made the energy policies for this country into office in the first place.

We suck. We will get everything that we so richly deserve. Poverty, sickness, falling wages, a shrinking piece of the pie, in short, less and less and less of everything but cheap TVs and video players for everyone (excepting the top few who'll get the cream, the butter, the curds, the whole milk, the 2%, the 1%, and half the Skim). And because this is a Democracy, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

Congratulations.