21st December, 2005
And so it begins.
Ran across two op-eds so far today regarding W’s grab for unchecked power.
Oh, and now I see that a FISA judge has resigned as well.
Posted at 3:59 pm | Comment (0)
20th December, 2005
Thought for the Day
Semi-related to my previous post, here’s a little something that was stamped to the back of a Christmas card from a friend:
Without Art, we are but monkeys with car keys.
Now go out and prove your un-monkeyness.
Posted at 5:08 pm | Comments (2)
20th December, 2005
One Small Step…
From a NY Times article:
A federal judge ruled today that a Pennsylvania school board’s policy of teaching intelligent design in high school biology class is unconstitutional because intelligent design is clearly a religious idea that advances “a particular version of Christianity.”
That’s two good (and correct) things to come out of the Feds in the last week. If this pace keeps up, I’ll start forgetting I’m an American.
Posted at 1:48 pm | Comment (0)
16th December, 2005
Good news?
Time extensions to the “Patriot Act” were rejected by the Senate today. At least some people are starting to wake up.
Posted at 2:12 pm | Comment (0)
16th December, 2005
Stupidity
Sales of pseudoephedrine products topped $580 million in 2004 and have not grown appreciably in recent years, suggesting that any diversion of the product for methamphetamine production is a relatively small part of overall sales.
This is so fucking stupid. US lawmakers have submitted a proposal that would require medicines containing pseudoephedrine (you know, the stuff that gajillions of people a year use as a safe, effective nasal decongestion for the relief of colds and allergies) to be “under lock and key in stores. Buyers would have to sign a sheet and show a driver’s license. Purchases would be limited to one box a day and three boxes a month.” Now take a look at the statistics above and then try and figure out how these “anti-drug use” policies will help curb methamphetamine use. Uh huh. Just another useless piece of legislation for the “war on (some) drugs”.
p.s. The idea of signing a log book is beyond laughable. What, exactly, is the point? I can easily just walk into another store and buy another box. Or have my druggy friends do it. And why are there such restrictions on this medication when, at the same time, I can buy all the cigarettes and alcohol that I want, as often as I want? Ridiculous.
Posted at 10:50 am | Comment (0)
14th December, 2005
Corps.(e)
It’s the end of the year, so it’s time for happy, happy, joy, joy top-ten lists! Only this list has fourteen. And it is not at all happy nor joyous. The “Most Wanted” Corporate Human Rights Violators of 2005. The report can be a bit extremist at times, but still contains alot of good information. Dig in.
Posted at 7:50 am | Comment (0)
13th December, 2005
Perspective
Part of my job here at Library Central requires me to interact with building contractors; after all, when new office space goes up, someone has to be around to spec out the quantity and location of data drops and electrical recepticles, right? For varied lifestyle-related reasons, I don’t get to interact with the so-called “blue collar” crowd all that often, but when I do get a chance, I look forward to it because it allows me to gain a broader perspective of the world around me. For instance, while recently having lunch with some HVAC techs, the discussion ranged from opinions on WalMart (ChinaMart, Sam Walton is spinning in his grave), unions (the auto workers killed the unions for the rest of us) and the best place to buy a .22 rifle (Sears). Lots of stuff I probably would never think about while in my circle of friends.
I guess this is one of the reasons I am so happy to be living in the age of the Internet. Despite all the problems in this country, as well as those abroad, I really believe that information is much more free than it has ever been. And I’m not just talking about music and video (although the list of new media that I’ve been exposed to via the magic of the ‘net is pretty long); I’m talking about differing perspectives on news stories, news stories that don’t even get published in this country, and perhaps most importantly, viewpoints from “ordinary” people around the world. (As an aside, as I’m writing this, I’m noting that the majority of people I have met on the Internet have been from wealthier nations, mostly located in Western Europe, Southeast Asia and Australia. I do hope that the day comes when people from all nations have a voice that can be heard around the world.) With this in mind, I thought I’d take a second and point you to a few blogs that I’ve been paying attention to as of late:
Random Acts of Reality. The blog of an EMT in the U.K., filled with commentary on the trials and travails of being an EMT, judiciously interspersed with humorous/sarcastic/satirical quips and phrases from the Queen’s English. I do so love the dry, acerbic wit of the British. If the weather there wasn’t so damn piss poor, I’d consider emigrating.
RazorbladeRunner. Music blog from an up-and-coming Canadian musician (I suck at the genre thing, so I’m not even going there). While his musical tastes are often dissimilar to mine, his written commentary on the tracks can be comedy gold.
WaiterRant. I never worked as a waitstaff person, but I did serve some time in the fast food industry back in the day and some of this stuff is frightfully reminiscent of what I went through. Lots of well-written stories here.
Check ‘em out. And if you have any enlightening sites that you’d wish to share, remember that this is the season of giving. Or something.
Posted at 9:58 am | Comment (0)
