Civil Liberty and The US

How do we know our government is a bad government?

When people begin to think and talk like this

What country is this? The president is claiming the right to keep his aides from testifying for Congress about the U.S. attorneys scandal; hundreds of men -- according to a Seton Hall study, many of them innocent -- are in legal limbo in Guantanamo Bay; U.S. agents are kidnapping people off the streets in Italy and Macedonia and `rendering' them to be tortured; the president and his lawyers claim the executive has the right to call anyone -- U.S. citizen or not -- an `enemy combatant' -- and the person who should decide what that means is the President himself; civil rights organizations say peaceful citizens' groups are being infiltrated and put under surveillance; and a new bill just made it easier, as Senator Patrick Leahy warned, for the president -- any president of whatever party -- to declare martial law.

She is calling in her post for a civil rights movement and for the record I join her in that call. To Bush; you'r not the ultimate "Decider." That's our job.

Michael Moore Subpoenaed by Bush Admin

If that just hasn't put the cat among the pidgeons. I know you haven't asked me.... well maybe you sort of have as your reading this blog ... but subpoenaing M Moore is one the most desperate and silly things to have done. For one thing, it shows people just how desperate they are if they're going to go out and make an effort to "investigate" some film maker about his opinion. For another thing, this is Michael Moore they are targeting and he isn't exactly known for being spineless or stupid.

A sign of the Bush admin. unraveling in the face of all the heat they've been under? I hate to sound overly optimistic <3

New Foto

I found a great foto from Reuters.



Here's the full caption:

Animal rights activists, dressed up as dogs, attend a protest against the eating of dog meat in central Seoul July 25, 2007. In the summer, many Koreans traditionally eat dog meat for good health to overcome hot weather. (SOUTH KOREA)

REUTERS/Yonhap

Prisonville USA

The United States now has the dubious distinction of incarcerating more people per capita than any other country in the world. Yet this astonishing jailing of America has been little noted because many of the prisons have opened in remote areas like Susanville.

This was from a PBS POV film, Prisonville, USA .

Fairly telling of the times in which we live, if you ask me. Others will have their own opinions.

Harry Potter 7

I have just finished reading the last Harry Potter book. The ending was satisfying to me - so Rowling stays in my good books and I don't chuck the series out of the house.

I have seen better writers, in terms of style, technique, and message, but for some reason JK Rowling was able to put together a group of characters and enough imagination to create an astounding and thoroughly memorable story.

It ain't Tolkien but I'm glad she published it!

In related news, one friend of mine (she gave me a lot of candy today, she must be a friend! O.O) told me that CNN spoiled a bit of the HP7 plot. When i pressed her what she told me informed me that they only "spoiled" to mislead - but still, poorly done CNN. Bad mass media corporate money grubbers.

The Meaning Of Life: 42

"If there is no meaning attached to it, I ascribe no value to it." - I don't know, but I like it!

Whitehouse Makes A Big Power Grab

Via Boing Boing and via FDL we have the WH making some very authoritarian (I'll say it) moves. Everyone, please spread the word. The presidency should not get away with this if we wish to continue on with democracy.

I like our country the way it is, George - mitts off.

The latest Executive Order from the War Criminal Administration facilitates and sanctions the taking away of property of anyone who is deemed to be "undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people". Left in those terms, it isn't too much of a stretch to envision this Administration deciding that any particularly vocal critic of the Iraq occupation is "undermining efforts" and thus a target for seizure of property or assets, Fifth Amendment be damned.

Big news indeed, and yet it has received scant little attention in the media. Shameful in every regard, but it troubles me even more that this latest criminal act has crossed a new threshold in reckless disregard for the US Constitution, and yet hardly a soul even knows about it.

Free Will and Monsters

I choose to have free will whenever I have the opportunity.

Also, I'm up to Beowulf in Monsters, Gods, and Heroes (see below).
I think after I'm done with this bit I will slap on my Beowulf audio CD and get more familiar with it.

Monsters, Gods, and Heroes

I've just started the Monster's, God's, and Heroes Series that I bought a long time ago from Barnes and Noble. I'm quite enjoying it.

Here's a advert (they should pay me)

From the Publisher

PORTABLE PROFESSOR^TM is a series of exciting and informative lectures recorded by some of today's most renowned university and college professors. Each course introduces listeners to fascinating, and sometimes startling, insights into the intellectual forces that shape our understanding of the world. Each package includes 14 riveting lectures presented by notable professors as well as a book-length course guide.

The epic is one of the foundations of Western literature. These sweeping tales of bitter trial and fantastic adventure have given the world its most celebrated heroes and most reviled villains, and the great epic themes—love, death, and the interplay between the human and the divine—are universal. In this lively and engrossing course, Professor Timothy B. Shutt takes us on a tour of some of the greatest examples of the form, illustrating why they remain as compelling today as in centuries past.

Other than this there's not a lot to report. I've also started reading a novel called Dragonspell that has had a promising beginning. I like the way the author has dealt with her characters. Very vivid and entertaining.

I hope she can keep it up. Here's a blurb from that;

From the Publisher

One Dragon Egg Holds the Key to the Future.

Once a slave, Kale is given the unexpected opportunity to become a servant to Paladin. Yet this young girl has much to learn about the difference between slavery and service.

A Desperate Search Begins…

A small band of Paladin’s servants rescue Kale from danger but turn her from her destination: The Hall, where she was to be trained. Feeling afraid and unprepared, Kale embarks on a perilous quest to find the meech dragon egg stolen by the foul Wizard Risto. First, she and her comrades must find Wizard Fenworth. But their journey is threatened when a key member of the party is captured, leaving the remaining companions to find Fenworth, attempt an impossible rescue, and recover the egg whose true value they have not begun to suspect…

Weaving together memorable characters, daring adventure, and a core of eternal truth, Dragonspell is a finely crafted and welcome addition to the corpus of fantasy fiction.

Categories = Human

Today while I was wrestling with the laundry and buying the dog food and the groceries a sudden stupid "aha" moment struck me. I say "stupid" because it's something that's straight forward and perfectly obvious - except it wasn't to me.

Having to wait in a number of lines today I noted that the check out assistants always called people sir or ma'am while hardly looking at the people they were serving. This is not to say that every assistant always treats every customer this way (some are very attentive) but enough do this to make me realize that the "sir" or the "ma'am"s were not representative of who the customers actually were but rather the nice, neat, little category that the assistants could quickly use to seem polite without having to be polite so that they could shuffle the clients out the door as rapidly as possible.

Then, it struck me that most of us do this in our day to day lives. Perhaps not as roughly as the assistants did but still often and as a matter of necessity as well. Most of us learn that people fall into certain types while we're in high school. There are nerds, jocks, preps, kickers, lamers, etc. As we get older those categories get more sophisticated but my bet is that we still have them. We're just more flexible with them.


Add to that fact - Modern life doesn't have time for people in transit.

If your not in transit and safe at home or at your place of work you have time to get to know people. But if you're doing chores and getting from point A to B most people just ignore everyone else for the most part until the tasks are done.

No, I'm not going to try to render a judgment based on these two observations. I'm just going to present them and let them stay in the back of our minds.

Bill Moyer's Journal

This was a rocking episode ( i plan on watching it again) that I want to share. Should we impeach Bush? If we should then why did Nancy Pelosi take it "off the table?"

Politics Above All

The best way to sum up what's going on in American politics is ---> politics above all.

Bush is refusing to budge an inch concerning the troops and has threatened to defy congressional orders for withdrawal if they come. Congressional witnesses are stonewalling, not showing, or being downright flippant in their refusal to cooperate in congressional hearings.

It's just one big "we want our way and to hell with the rest of you" moment in our national life.

Friday the 13th

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' I chortled in my joy* It's Friday the 13th and this day would not be complete without being paid homage to by Bright Creature.

Most people, I think, have at least some pale vestige of superstitious fancy left in their natures. It's human nature after all...and western humans of late have taken to paying homage to this day of ill-fated fortune by worshiping it in films like Friday the 13th and in taking contrary/morbid delight in intentionally frightening themselves and others on this day.

Well, I'm no different, really, but my own particular way of sublimating my fears on this day is to contrarily celebrate the day as a day of good luck. All of you poor hapless creatures who are falling down stairs and bemoaning your piteous drop into the depths of horrendous fortune shall, on this day, give all of your luck to me!

..and if that doesn't work..

...

Oh, well !

* Line shameless co-opted from Jabberwocky

Pictures for The Blog

At the bottom right hand side of the right hand column I've added pictures from film's that I like. I chose them because they are a little bit twisted and interesting. Expect more to follow as I come across them and they strike my fancy.

Please feel free to suggest pics i could add <3

Endangered Wolves

Looks like the powers that be are at it again. This time the "it" are the American wolves that are endangered by new proposed legislation.

From the "learn more" tab I'll give you this little snip;

Over the past 3 years, Alaska has engaged in a barbaric annual aerial wolf kill whereby wolves are tracked and gunned down by aircraft. More than 550 wolves have been killed in this manner since 2003.

I Just saw this in my email box and I thought I would share. We just gotta help look after our fellow creatures

Sicko

The other night I managed to see "Sicko."

This is a very tricky film.

It's tricky because it's an issue that desperately needs attention. However, Moore presented his film as viscerally as possible. It was designed to punch you in the guts with the facts and show you his argument as forcefully as possible. So, I fear people are going to dismiss it as unbalanced. He made it easy for critics to poo-poo "Sicko" as more Moore malarkey.

On the other hand, perhaps he'll grab enough attention that enough people will do solid investigations within our health care system. After all, the film did a great job of ramming home the issue on an emotional level. Also, Michael Moore didn't have as much time as he needed to be able to fairly address the issue. To do the subject credit 3 extra hours added to Michael's 2 would still be skimpy treatment. In this light, perhaps a polemic was all he could manage within the time available.

At any rate, let's hope this film will help the situation.


As an aside: concerning the issue of health insurance - I feel that it's a sham. People shouldn't have to be in the position of being objectified in this way. If you have a possession, like a work of art, a house, or an automobile, that you wish to insure so that if you lose it because of theft or catastrophe you will not be out too much, then that's a sensible use for insurance. However, if you get sick you should just be cared for. Period.

Let's leave insurance to deal with the world of things and leave health care to the world of caring for our fellow creature.

EDIT:

A friend of mine pointed out to me that this is M Moores POV and as such is his side of the argument. Those that claim it's not "fair and balanced" basically want people to argue against their own POVs. So, far I can't think of a thing wrong with that reasoning.

Dog Days of Summer

At last I know why they're called "dog days of summer." It's not simply because dogs and people are all under the patios fanning themselves.

Today I got out and did a few thing and at the end of it I was panting. Literally. My tongue was actually hanging out as I was trying to suck in all the coolest particles out of the air.

Ironically, TXU Electric dropped the ball, so when i came back home it was to a darkened house. I think i was on my fourth or fifth hop in a hopping mad fit when the lights finally came back on. TXU obviously could not handle all of those air-conditioners being switched on at once.

Guerilla Warfare (Cat Style)

We have one sweet-heart kitty named Mitsy here (I didn't name her) who loves to be around people. She especially seems to like me since I will pet her just about anytime she wants it. Normally, she is quite mature and sensible about it and only leaps up into my lap occasionally to extort her cuddling. However, there are days like today where she'll leap up into your face and dangle herself in front of you in all sorts of poses to demand her fair hour of non-stop lovin'. She will drape herself over the monitor, perch on the back of the chair, and place herself on your lap with all claws extended until her just demands are met.

I just thought I would share this in case people started to wonder why every so often a claw mark appeared on a post or two.

You can just bet that was a day she thought I had not sufficiently complied.

Liberal or Conservative

Calling yourself either a liberal or a conservative is just a bad idea. Yes, I know that this is ironically a pretty "liberal" thing to do in itself but it's not without a bit of reasoning. For one thing, when you choose to call yourself liberal, or conservative, or even moderate, you are drawing lines in the sand and declaring yourself as a member of a particular class.

Once you've finished categorizing yourself you feel even more compelled to define yourself based on the stereotypes of that class as you defend the other members of your category against the members of the now opposing other category.

Now, this is objectionable. If i choose to choose then I choose to no longer be able to choose to a certain extent. What does this mean; it means that once you declare "I'm a liberal" you begin to try to prove it, which means adopting at least most of all the other things people associate with liberal. You are not really able to cherry pick your positions fully and decide that "I want to be a conservative here and be a liberal here." Not unless you want to be labeled a moderate.

However, say you're OK with being a moderate! Fine. Then you choose moderate bedfellows and follow moderate agendas and you run over to the class of people called the moderates and have tea and scones and throw moderate parties and play moderate games. However, what you never, ever,
do is walk next door to the conservatives party, or the liberals party at the door to the other side of you, and drink their kool-aid or eat their chips. You must always drink your own.

Try Try Again

I've tried my hand at blogging before but without a lot of success. We'll just have to try it again, wont we?

There is no theme here.

At least, if there is a theme that develops and it changes abruptly I do hope no one becomes overly upset.

The problem is that I'm interested in too much. For example, I'm interested in politics but I have no real desire to choose sides - and I'm just as likely to start thinking about self-awareness and art and philosophy in the middle of whatever I'm saying about politics and forget whatever main point it was I was trying to make in the first place.