Will someone please explain to me which of our civil liberties are being lost because of the Obama administration? The pundits on Fox News are going on and on and on about it, but they won't tell us exactly which civil liberties they are referring to, just that they affect commerce, industry and security. They won't say exactly which policies are destroying our civil liberties, either.
Could it be illegal wiretapping? Could it be torturing? Could it be holding people without arresting them or officially accusing them of anything? Could it be practically abandoning the war in Afghanistan so that the Taliban has been able to make it within 60 miles of the capital of Pakistan? Could it be ignoring global warming and global climate issues?
Hmm...wait. No. That was the last guy!
I understand that Republicans and Democrats have different opinions. And I recognize that as Jed Bartlett said (what can I say...the West Wing applies to practically everything) "Every once and a while there is a day with an absolute right and an absolute wrong. But those days almost always involve body counts," and "Complexity is not a vice." (That one is courtesy of CJ Cregg). There are lots of different arguements and lots of different questions that need to be asked. But making things up isn't okay. Stretching the truth so far that it snaps isn't okay. Every report has a slant, every station has a side. But let's not get carried away here. Civil liberties are civil liberties. Illegal wiretapping is also a crime against civil liberties. At least as bad as whatever they are claiming Obama is doing, if not worse.
Note: Fox News also was hypercritical of Obama's scaled back, private approach to National Prayer Day. Because religion has a place in government? What are civil liberties again? Separation of church and state? Anyone?
In other news:
It's spring - practically summer, with all the promise that practically summer brings. 3D sidewalk chalk and iced tea and paddle boats and picnics and the way heat seeps into your skin and puts things in perspective. Because nothing is bigger than being warm and golden and alive and drinking milk and eating warm brownies on a playground and seeing movies at night. Because sand and salt water and sunglasses are still what you dream of during dry, sarcastic winters. Because life is better in a bikini :-)
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Someone want to get me a job in a private eye's office this summer?
Things I've Learned this Semester:
Karl Marx is on crack.
The sound of rain is very soothing - the sound of torrents of water coming out of your gutters is obnoxious and keeps you up at night.
You don't need your own characters to distract you in class...its perfectly okay to use other people's.
Avoidance only stresses you out. Then again, doing whatever you're avoiding is also stressful. The only thing you can't avoid...is stress.
There is no better cure for existential crises than lots of smoke, crappy beer and the pounding music of mediocre college bands.
Cleaning is highly overrated :-)
Wedge heels are just as dangerous as other kinds of heels.
Torture is evil. And apparently something that we do.
Season 3 of Veronica Mars sucks just as much the second time through. But watching someone else's expressions as they watch it for the first time more than makes up for it.
Frozen pizza and pears makes for a great dinner.
Dumplings and gelato make everything better.
Nothing is as complicated as it seems.
Decisions are made by those who show up.
Turning 20 is a lot hard than you think its going to be, and a lot easier than it seems.
Sarcasm makes friends.
People can see you when you look out your window to watch them shouting at each other at 2 o'clock in the morning. That being said, if you're outside your apartment shouting...you should expect that people are probably watching.
The individual identity in modern society is everything and anything you want it to be. Basically, Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Foucault were just making things up. I have yet to find the relevance. Maybe you'll get a blog post on it when I figure it out...
Summer is coming.
Karl Marx is on crack.
The sound of rain is very soothing - the sound of torrents of water coming out of your gutters is obnoxious and keeps you up at night.
You don't need your own characters to distract you in class...its perfectly okay to use other people's.
Avoidance only stresses you out. Then again, doing whatever you're avoiding is also stressful. The only thing you can't avoid...is stress.
There is no better cure for existential crises than lots of smoke, crappy beer and the pounding music of mediocre college bands.
Cleaning is highly overrated :-)
Wedge heels are just as dangerous as other kinds of heels.
Torture is evil. And apparently something that we do.
Season 3 of Veronica Mars sucks just as much the second time through. But watching someone else's expressions as they watch it for the first time more than makes up for it.
Frozen pizza and pears makes for a great dinner.
Dumplings and gelato make everything better.
Nothing is as complicated as it seems.
Decisions are made by those who show up.
Turning 20 is a lot hard than you think its going to be, and a lot easier than it seems.
Sarcasm makes friends.
People can see you when you look out your window to watch them shouting at each other at 2 o'clock in the morning. That being said, if you're outside your apartment shouting...you should expect that people are probably watching.
The individual identity in modern society is everything and anything you want it to be. Basically, Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Foucault were just making things up. I have yet to find the relevance. Maybe you'll get a blog post on it when I figure it out...
Summer is coming.
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