Thursday, July 03, 2003
Happy Independence Day!
On July 4, 1776, America's Continental Congress finalized and adopted a Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, which outlined a theory of government based on the inherent rights of mankind.
Conceptually, it was a radical theory. Legally, it was an act of Treason against the Crown. 56 signers committed treason by pledging to support the declaration with "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor". Read their fates here.
Sometimes I wonder how many of the people involved understood the full implications of what they were doing, the implications of a system of goverment recognizing equality, and guaranteeing the rights of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" to everyone. I can't help but think many of these men just wanted to escape British taxes! Regardless, we owe these men. They risked everything, and because they did, we are free today.
Yes, I realize I'm a day early. I'll be offline for a couple of days. Allow me to suggest some other stuff to read, blogs I read at least sometimes, some of which I read often. They're in no particular order:
Syaffolee, Lost in Vancouver, Eureka!, www.thepoorman, High Times Dick Cheney Blog, the reverse cowgirl's blog, green fairy dot com, Bloggy Mountain Breakdown, History Girl's Hypothyrodic Brain, Musings & Migraines, Life is a B-movie, Attention Please, G. In Baghdad, Driver 8, Present Attention and The American Sentimentalist.
All the Friends and Favorites links on my sidebar, I read every day. I recommend each one of them.
Have a beautiful and safe weekend!
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
— Mohandas K. Gandhi
Posted by Me at 14:57 link
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
Pre-long-weekend Consciousness Stream
Music in my Head:
- Philip Glass — Einstein on the Beach
- John Phillips Sousa — "Stars & Stripes Forever"
- Paul Oakenfold — Voyage Into Trance
- Joni Mitchell — "Big Yellow Taxi" (Miles of Aisles "live" version)
- 50 Cent/Lil' Kim — "Magic Stick"
Those sounds are competing for space in my head; Glass and 50 Cent seem to be winning. Totally involuntary. If I could choose, I'd keep Oakenfold, ditch the rest and add...I dont know. Maybe Abbey Road. Clearly I need more important things to worry about.
Tropical Depression Bill came through here late yesterday and today. Rainrainrainrainrain — 2.5" today. Didn't see any flooding or anything. Did get thoroughly soaked when the rain slacked up this afternoon and I decided I'd rather bicycle than drive the 2 miles over to Mom's. About halfway there, fine misty drizzle morphed into tropical torrent. Good thing I was wearing synthetics!
The name "Tropical Depression" seems well chosen. Everyone seemed bummed-out today. Soggy humid unhappy people.
Humid. I ran the dehumidifier all day. Emptied the 2.5 gallon bucket three times. 7.5 gallons of water, pulled out the air. And still (according to my trusty temperature/humidity gauge) 70% humidity at 78° F in here (outside it's 66° F). De-motivating weather. Mold allergy weather. A-choo!
When I was a kid, and my mom coughed, it sounded like cup-a-coffee. Which made sense, she always had a cup of coffee handy. And a cigarette. Now I know the cup of coffee didn't cause the coughing.
Do you do that? Turn sounds into words? The birds in the neighborhood chirp out stay here, stay here and, bizarrely, burger and tea, burger and tea.
Before the rain, something in the yard smelled Really Good. Jasmine? Whatever it is, it comes out every year about this time, but hangs around only for a few days. Maybe it'll be back after things dry out. I want to figure out what it is. And plant more of it.
Yesterday and today were dog-wash days. Haven't bathed either of them in months. We go to the mountains a lot, where they bathe themselves. At least Sage does. Girlie only dives in on hot days. Sage doesn't care if it's 25° F, he'll find unfrozen water and go for a swim. And then shake himself off all over me. And then I have to get the liquid water off him quickly or he turns into Scary Icicle Dog.
Bathing them wasn't so bad, though both would have been happier not to have been bathed. Why does dog shampoo have to smell like some kind of medicine? I'm not sure I don't prefer the smell of dog. Saw doggy cologne in the store today. Supposed to smell like "Giorgio". Smelled good, I almost bought it.
I do wish Philip Glass would leave me alone. onetwothreefouronetwothreefouronetwothreeonetwothreefour; onetwoonetwothreeonetwothreeonetwoonetwothree. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Wait! I've got it! ABBA! "Take a Chance on Me". It'll work. It always works. It has to work. Please, God!
Posted by Me at 22:26 link
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Truth From Iraq
From "moja", an American soldier (and blogger) in Baghdad:i may be cynical...but i'm still a soldier...i know when to keep my mouth shut...i know when to follow orders...i will not hesitate when given a mission...and i will work until its completion...but i may look back and question it later...after the fact...
that's the glory of america...i don't have to agree...and i don't have to fear...but as a soldier i do have to do...i live with that...and i don't regret it...i am proud of my service no matter what the government has me doing...
...
more and more people are coming to my attention who feel that to not support this war is to be unpatriotic...to not support the war means that you do not support the troops...i highly disagree..."supporting the troops" should equal "bring them home"...believe me...we won't be offended...we hate it here...
and to be unpatriotic because you do not wish to speak up against a thing that is inherently wrong!!!
again i disagree...the glory of america...of being patriotic...lies in the people of america coming forth and taking a stand in something they strongly believe in...anything at all...no matter its premise...no matter its reward...because that is america...
those who sit and barely pay attention to the decisions that are made for them in the capital are the ones who are not patriotic...loving your country enough that it makes you sad and distressed when you feel it is screwing up makes you patriotic...doing your duty in war no matter your beliefs makes you patriotic...and knowing deep down that for all of your country's many colossal faults, it is still one of the best nations in the world (trust me...i've seen a lot of the others) makes you patriotic...
america is my home...it always will be...but that doesn't mean i can't get mad at it...
moja is a seriously good writer and thinker. I recommend him highly. Right now, he and Salam Pax (Salam also has a new photoblog) are about the only sources of Iraq information I trust.
Peace in the Middle East
Let's all suspend our disbelief and pray that this time's for real.
Posted by Me at 22:49 link
Monday, June 30, 2003
Sex & Violence!
Here's a sample of what you're missing if you're not spending time at FARK.com.
Someone posted a link to an article about an unduly harsh police response to an annual college tradition: streaking.
From the article:
The four Penn State students arrested during the yearly "Mifflin streak" this past spring are now making their way through the judicial system.
James Rounds (junior-letters, arts, and sciences) was one of the four students arrested and charged with open lewdness and disorderly conduct by Penn State Police Services.
Open lewdness is classified as a sex crime. All criminal convictions appear on background checks done by employers.
Rounds, however, said he would probably not have to go to court because he filed for an Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition, which will expunge the arrest from his record in late August or early September. Penn State put him on probation for the fall semester. The punishment was decided by Judicial Affairs in the spring.
Rounds said about 30 people participated in the streak at the end of spring semester. They stripped under the cover of bushes, wearing shoes and holding their clothes while they ran. About 1,000 spectators were lined up to watch. The purpose of the streak was to relieve stress before spring finals, Rounds said.
Several university police officers followed behind the streakers. He said the spectators pressed the streakers into a single-file line as they ran.
As the streakers continued to run, university police officers on bicycles blocked their way. Rounds said he made it past one bike, but was stopped by another officer and handcuffed.
I posted the following comments on the subject:
Streaking doesn't hurt anyone. Sounds like the crowd who wanted to see shielded the "innocent bystanders" from seeing anything offensive anyway.
Stupid laws have got to go.
Maybe American culture, with its Puritan roots, is the problem. Please don't misinterpret! America is a wonderful country, but in some cases -- and this is certainly one -- we have our priorities seriously confused.
Violence? No problem, according to Joe Moralizer. The average American sees (someone correct me if I have the figure wrong) 30,000 murders by their 18th birthday. Result? Desensitization to violence, reduced respect for life. Is that harmful? I think so.
Nudity? Forgetaboutit. Female nipples or anyone's genitalia are a big problem, according to JM. What would be the result of more nudity? Desensitization to what? Sexual objectification? This would be bad how?
Honestly, I'd like to understand the other point of view. Someone please enlighten me.
To which a fellow from Texas replied:
30,000 murders? I have yet to see one murder and I'm 31.
Unless you are referring to SIMULATED murders in movies/TV and even then I can't believe the 30K figure - and I've seen plenty of R rated movies. As far as being desensitized, I'm not one to strongly correlate fantasy and entertainment with reality - so I have just as much inhibition to murdering someone in cold blood and violence in general as I did when I was a child.
To which I replied:
I have just as much inhibition to murdering someone in cold blood and violence in general as I did when I was a child.
Your impression is understandable. I doubted the 30,000 figure myself, so I looked it up.
Here's what I found about violence: Most of us are seemingly unaffected by it [simulated TV violence].
Even though we can't establish a simple, direct, cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and violence in our society, we can draw some conclusions from the data.
Studies show that people who watch a lot of TV violence not only behave more aggressively, but are more prone to hold attitudes that favor violence and aggression as a way of solving conflicts. These viewers also tend to be less trusting of people and more prone to see the world as a hostile place.
In case you don't feel like reading the linked page, the actual figure was 32,000 murders.
Here's what I found about sex:It is just assumed that the effects of explicit sexual imagery are negative. Thus, it is reasoned, society is obliged to take measures to control access to these images.
But, there is a problem.
Contrary to popular opinion, empirical research does not support a relationship between nonviolent sexual imagery (including adult pornography) and sex crimes.
These were not the only things I found, but they were the least apparently biased.
No reply. Oh, well.
I should have, but didn't, link to part II of this article, also from cybercollege.com:
According to Phyllis and Eberhard Kronhausen who are the authors of several books on sex and morals, sexual curiosity awakens early in a child and if it's discouraged, distorted or suppressed, it may produce a more general intellectual inhibition which can set up blocks to learning and lay the foundations for personal limitations on creative potential, achievement and efficiency.
The Kronhausens, who have both specialized in the sexual-psychological problems in youth, state that it's in the younger age groups that problems, due in large measure to our prevailing unhealthy social attitudes about sex, are known to result in "tragic and devastating consequences."
....
In a rather controversial suggestion, the Kronhausens say that it would be advantageous to introduce a certain amount of healthy social nudism in group swimming, gymnastics and similar classes for youth.
Contrary to the general attitudes and prejudices in this connection, if such practices were introduced early and naturally into the life of children, it would go a long way toward reducing the false shame, morbid curiosity, and unhealthy attitudes that now are evident with respect to the nude human body.
Experiences in other cultures indicate that such practices would reduce the inclination toward sex perversions and sex crimes in this country.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of streaking, or of pornography. Both are kind of juvenile, but ultimately, both are mostly harmless. Yeah, violent pornography is harmful; so is violent streaking!
But gratuitous violence is clearly a much bigger problem than gratuitous nudity. Why isn't it generally regarded as such? Let me know what you think. I'm still hoping and waiting for enlightenment.
And obviously, I'm spending too much time at FARK.com.
Posts lightly edited.
Posted by Me at 23:10 link
Sunday, June 29, 2003
Hey — Cool New Stuff
I've added some features to the site; I thought you might like a quick tour. Follow me!
You'll notice I've added a comments feature. Feel free to speak your mind. Opposing viewpoints welcome. Like-minded viewpoints welcome. Humorous and intelligent viewpoints especially welcome! I will delete hateful, needlessly obscene or redundant comments. Don't like it? Get your own blog!
I've added a guest map, where you can tell me where you're from and whatever else you'd like to say.
I've joined another Carolina web ring, this one called The Carolina Crew. Check 'em out; if you're from the Carolinas, you can apply to join this ring and/or my older affiliation, Carolina Bloggers. One thing common to both rings: we're a diverse bunch of folks! Welcome, one and all.
Do let me know what you think. As I cruise the web, I'm always noting what I like and dislike about various sites. One thing still lacking from mine is a search feature. As soon as I have time to figure out how to implement that, I'll add it. In the near future, I'll also create a separate archives page, to reduce the clutter in my sidebar. I've considered migrating to MoveableType, but the simplicity of Blogger suits me fine for now. If I had more bandwidth/webspace, I'd definitely have more pictures. A digital camera would help, too (maybe I need a PayPal tip jar).
Moralizers Regroup
Bill Frist isn't so sure about this Pursuit of Happiness thing. He wants to make sure it doesn't get out of hand.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said yesterday he supports a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages in the United States.
Frist said the Supreme Court's decision last week on gay sex threatens to make the home a place where criminality is condoned.
<full story>
Fortunately, before this can become law, two-thirds of US Senators and Representatives must vote for it, along with a majority of voters in 38 States. I don't think we as a Nation are that afraid of freedom.
Posted by Me at 22:11 link
