short notes:
will brady's ruminations
will brady's ruminations
2005-10-14
blips + updates
• If you can Convert the Athiest it could be worth a thousand dollars. See if you are up to the challenge.
• Conservative pundit William Kristol [whose had a 40 year career promoting the NeoCon / ReThuglican "stop-taxing-the-rich-but-spend-everybody-else's-money" ethos] expresses shock and surprise that so many conservatives are crooks.
• Maybe you don't have to be a "born again" to get a job but it seems to be a qualification. Here's how easy it is to get hired by the Bush Administration. I sent in the application entering nothing! and I start work at the White House on Monday. You might try this too! [NOTE: Not applicable in some states of mind]
• With that out of the way, it helps to reflect on Charlie Reese's "We're Revolutionaries" ...or at least we ought to be. He starts:
• Conservative pundit William Kristol [whose had a 40 year career promoting the NeoCon / ReThuglican "stop-taxing-the-rich-but-spend-everybody-else's-money" ethos] expresses shock and surprise that so many conservatives are crooks.
• Maybe you don't have to be a "born again" to get a job but it seems to be a qualification. Here's how easy it is to get hired by the Bush Administration. I sent in the application entering nothing! and I start work at the White House on Monday. You might try this too! [NOTE: Not applicable in some states of mind]
• With that out of the way, it helps to reflect on Charlie Reese's "We're Revolutionaries" ...or at least we ought to be. He starts:
Some people seem to be under the erroneous belief that the Constitution grants us our rights. It does no such thing. To understand the Constitution, you have to remember the Declaration of Independence, which preceded it by several years. It is the Declaration that contains the philosophy of the American Revolution. The Constitution merely implements that philosophy.• Find a zip code's district. Want to know what your zip zode area's boudaries are? Trying to find your cousin's zip code in East Jabroo? This site will help you with that.
The philosophy of the American Revolution contains three basic premises. One is that rights come from God and are unalienable. Two is that men create governments to protect those rights. Three is that when government fails to protect those rights and becomes abusive of those rights, men have a right and even a duty to overthrow that government and create a new one.
Some Americans have so neglected their study of American history that the idea of violently overthrowing a government strikes them as, well, communist or some such. Of course, if the Founding Fathers had not violently overthrown the colonial government of Great Britain in North America, we would not be an independent nation.
If you read the Constitution with those three premises in mind (and both documents were written to be read by ordinary folks, not legal scholars), it makes perfect sense. The main part of the Constitution simply establishes the framework for the federal government and its three parts, defines their respective duties and establishes what the federal government can do and what the states can do. None of that has anything at all to do with individual rights or with social issues. read the whole story
CARTOON CREDIT: The New Yorker | Thanks to Crooked Timber for the Kristol comment, Bob Crook for "We are Revolutionaries" and Dahi for the Job application at the White House.
¶ 07:20
2005-10-13
new day a dawning
The Connecticut River after the storms. There's a wall of water rushing past us, cosing down the Hadlyme Ferry, putting a temporary halt to the bridge paint project [see the entry below] and yet we're still shy of water in the well, not 30 meters from the riverbed. Ahhh! But so beautiful to gaze upon.
¶ 02:49 0 comments
The Connecticut River after the storms. There's a wall of water rushing past us, cosing down the Hadlyme Ferry, putting a temporary halt to the bridge paint project [see the entry below] and yet we're still shy of water in the well, not 30 meters from the riverbed. Ahhh! But so beautiful to gaze upon.
cyber voyeurs
stes who bring somone to me right as we speak... or rite, as the case may be.
Angela Marvel's Daily Life A young mother and a scrapbook keeper.
Slatherpuss: Music and pop culture.
Bygglobben. A Swedish blogger who takes fuzzy pictures of what's around him. Cell phone photo art? Who knows. ¶ 02:38 0 comments
Angela Marvel's Daily Life A young mother and a scrapbook keeper.
Slatherpuss: Music and pop culture.
Bygglobben. A Swedish blogger who takes fuzzy pictures of what's around him. Cell phone photo art? Who knows. ¶ 02:38 0 comments
playing with words
We were discussing words, Milan and I. It's always a challenge having conversations about concepts behind the words with someone whose native [and first ~ the language one thinks in] language is not American English. And we were talking about people and the doltishness of many. We came up with four words that seem to cover a lot of ground.
• STUPID: "lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity." A person who can't be blamed for his or her limited understanding. Others can be more forgiving of mistakes made by a stupid person.
• IGNORANT: "lacking general education or knowledge." In contrast, anyone with a modicum of intelligence can learn what they do not know. When one who is ignorant takes extra effort to refrain from learning, particularly from learning the truth, they can and should be held accountable for any difficulties they cause or create as a result of willful ignorance.
• IDIOT: "something notably stupid or foolish." We digressed on the purer definition here, looking at the foolish element of the word. We concluded that one could be both ignorant and idiotic, resulting in decisions being made that boggle the senses and even raise questions as to whether or not an ignorant idiot is actually...
• INSANE: "afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement." At this point in the conversation we considered the actions of someone who might be not only ignorant and idiotic, but also of a disposition that they concern themselves not one bit about the consequences of their actions. We speculated whether or not this potent trio of, um, qualities [of one could call them such] results in the outcomes of actins taken by some [if not actually many] people in power who forfiet their responsibilities of being leaders and elect to be ignorant, idiotic and insane, yet nevertheless, holding firmly to being at the helm, the ship of state.
• We decided that this was, indeed, not only possible, but plausible and [yes] utterly senseless.
• Scary, that! ¶ 02:35 0 comments
• STUPID: "lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity." A person who can't be blamed for his or her limited understanding. Others can be more forgiving of mistakes made by a stupid person.
• IGNORANT: "lacking general education or knowledge." In contrast, anyone with a modicum of intelligence can learn what they do not know. When one who is ignorant takes extra effort to refrain from learning, particularly from learning the truth, they can and should be held accountable for any difficulties they cause or create as a result of willful ignorance.
• IDIOT: "something notably stupid or foolish." We digressed on the purer definition here, looking at the foolish element of the word. We concluded that one could be both ignorant and idiotic, resulting in decisions being made that boggle the senses and even raise questions as to whether or not an ignorant idiot is actually...
• INSANE: "afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement." At this point in the conversation we considered the actions of someone who might be not only ignorant and idiotic, but also of a disposition that they concern themselves not one bit about the consequences of their actions. We speculated whether or not this potent trio of, um, qualities [of one could call them such] results in the outcomes of actins taken by some [if not actually many] people in power who forfiet their responsibilities of being leaders and elect to be ignorant, idiotic and insane, yet nevertheless, holding firmly to being at the helm, the ship of state.
• We decided that this was, indeed, not only possible, but plausible and [yes] utterly senseless.
• Scary, that! ¶ 02:35 0 comments
madness? or is it rebirth?
when is the dream a mental illness?
when is the nightmare visionary?
when is the dream a mental illness?
when is the nightmare visionary?
Global Vision asks the questions as to what occurs when the human race goes berserk on the world. Is "schizophrenia" merely a shattered set of delusions, or are those identified as "schizophrenic" tying into a collective consciousness that sees the horror of human wrought destruction as a physical metaphor for the seizures of new birth.
Those managing the mental illness industry would do well to reflect upon the insights presented at Global Vision
¶ 01:39 0 comments Those managing the mental illness industry would do well to reflect upon the insights presented at Global Vision
human rights abuses
Bush will veto anti-torture law after Senate revolt. The Bush administration has pledged to veto legislation banning the torture of prisoners by US troops after an overwhelming and almost unprecedented revolt by loyalist congressmen.
The recent Senate vote saw the measure forbidding torture passed by 90 to nine, with most Republicans backing the measure. Most senators said the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and similar allegations at the Guantanamo Bay prison rendered the result a foregone conclusion.
The amendment was attached to the $440 billion (£247 billion) defence spending bill and if Mr Bush vetoes the amendment, he would have to veto the entire bill.
That would leave America's armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan short of cash as early as the middle of next month.
Bush will veto anti-torture law after Senate revolt. The Bush administration has pledged to veto legislation banning the torture of prisoners by US troops after an overwhelming and almost unprecedented revolt by loyalist congressmen.The recent Senate vote saw the measure forbidding torture passed by 90 to nine, with most Republicans backing the measure. Most senators said the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and similar allegations at the Guantanamo Bay prison rendered the result a foregone conclusion.
The amendment was attached to the $440 billion (£247 billion) defence spending bill and if Mr Bush vetoes the amendment, he would have to veto the entire bill.
That would leave America's armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan short of cash as early as the middle of next month.
THANKS TO: Morons, who ain't that stupid. And Joanne Mariner discusses why a veto against torture is a vote for terrorism.
¶ 01:23 1 comments
hometown news
We don't have a lot of headline news going on these days so the bridge closing next week is a big event. | Here's the specifics:
On October 17, 19, and 21, 2005, the East Haddam Swing Bridge carrying Route 82 over the Connecticut River, will be closed. During this time all vehicular traffic will be detoured. There will be no bridge openings for marine traffic. Marine traffic that does not require a bridge opening will be allowed to pass through, Times for the closures are as follows:
October 17th from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.
October 19th from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
October 21st from 10:00 p.m. to 6 00 a.m.
October 19th from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
October 21st from 10:00 p.m. to 6 00 a.m.
These closures are necessary for paint crews to complete work on the ends of the moveable span. Alternate routes over the river, via the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown and the Baldwin Bridge in Old Saybrook, should be used. Arrangements are being made with the Towns of Haddam and East Haddam to ensure the availability of emergency services during the closure.
¶ 00:45 0 comments
2005-10-10
