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Monthly Archives: February 2008
Trust Your Government
From: Why We Do What We Do: Additional Screening for People with Hip Replacements
The TSA has a blog. Kudos to them for putting one out there. So far, I’ve enjoyed reading it and learning the hows and whys of their job. However, I would suggest staying away from the “Trust us, we’re the government” stance:
This is a true story: a passenger told a security officer that he knew he was going to set the metal detector off because he had a pin in his hip. He hoped the officer would give him a pass on additional screening. Instead, the security officer followed TSA guidelines patted down the passenger. Guess what? He found a gun strapped to the passenger’s leg. So, if the security officer had just taken his word for it, a gun would have gotten on the plane—and maybe even been in the seat next to you. Things like this happen all the time, more than you would think.
Bloggers want facts, not statements that suggest we should trust a government agency. Do not assume you have any credibility. Your big boss has no credibility and he keeps telling the nation to trust him.
Earn our trust. Be more specific.
Jack Bauer is NOT REAL
Dear Justice Scalia
24 is not real. It is action-drama for people who aren’t smart enough to appreciate the nuances of a show like Knight Rider. Using Jack Bauer as a justification for torture and violatingthe Constitution is probably frowned upon by serious jurists.
Wait, it IS frowned upon by serious jurists.
Your interview on the BBC scares the hell out of me. Gitmo is not on US Soil, so the Constitution doesn’t apply? I thought the US has a permanent land-lease of Guantanamo Bay–doesn’t that mean that since it is a US territory, US laws apply? Can you explain to me why it doesn’t?
I think you should retire. Seriously, you’ll get a wonderful federal pension and benefits and I’m sure that Fox will hire to write for 24. Hell, they’d even use you as a legal correspondent. Enjoy your golden years and spare the country your TV-based jurisprudence.
Sincerely
Marty
—
As an aside, when my dad was sworn in testify to the US Supreme Court Bar, my brother got his picture taken with the justices. My mom, who took the picture, said, “tony look over here!” Both Scalia and my brother turned to look at the camera. My dad got a kick out of that.
Technorati Tags: 24, JACKBAUERISNOTREAL, Jursiprudence, FOX, Rant, Rightwing, Television, Wingnuttery
I am a bargain
I did some quick math today on how much I could be charging if I was in private practice. Given my recent numbers regarding group and evaluations, I did approximately $81,600 worth of “treatment.”
This is a low-ball estimate.
I got paid just a hair under 60k.
At these rates, I’m a goddamn steal!
Technorati Tags: Money, Evaluations, Rant
So not doing work today.
From: Saying Yes
You’re One Hundred Years of Solitude!
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Lonely and struggling, you’ve been around for a very long time.
Conflict has filled most of your life and torn apart nearly everyone you know. Yet there
is something majestic and even epic about your presence in the world. You love life all
the more for having seen its decimation. After all, it takes a village.
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
Technorati Tags: QUIZ
An Aside from Politics
My downstairs neighbor, in addition to having super-human hearing, has in her possession the worst temperament of any city dweller I have had the misfortune of knowing. Considering I know murders, rapists and high ranking gang bangers, I believe this should carry a certain amount of weight.
She has complained to me personally, about the noise, on one occasion. She asked if the floors were insulated because, “she could hear EVERYTHING.” I told her that they passed inspection. Twice. She has called to complain for me:
Walking on my floor too loudly.
Listening to my iPod on the balcony.
“too much bass”–this one I can’t argue with.
Watching the BBC Office at 2 am.
I have not had a party in my place in three years, because of her temperament. I used to have fantastic little parties. Now I have a fantastic bill with my condo association. I guess that is acceptable, since she is a fantastic example of cranky-middle-aged-under-sexed Cobags. I don’t talk to her, except to say hello, and I keep trying to keep the noise down to mouse levels.
Last night, she cornered me in the elevator. I had my laundry with me, she had a box full of candy stolen from the mouths of screaming children. She proceeded to tell me she was at her Wit’s End with the noise. When i politely suggested that we shouldn’t talk about these things, since we don’t get along, she threatened to take me to the board.
The board–imagine a council of old cranky rich folk. That’s who she’s going to take me to. That’s awesome. I propose that I get to drag her self-important ass to a room full of my peers–or maybe What Not To Wear–and have her judged by my standards. I believe that I would win my case in front of 30-something, broke, liberals who have lived in the city for most of their adult life.
I think my neighbor should apply for a position with the FBI or NSA. She’s got super-human hearing, a strict, rules minded disposition and she has no qualms about getting up in someone’s face at 11:30 at night. Her hatred of all things good and nice (and me) makes her the perfect tool for oppression.
I could totally godwin this rant, but I won’t.
Technorati Tags: neighbor, Noise, city living
On Obama (draft)
This past weekend, while Shannon and I visited friends in Boston, I made a promise to not talk about politics. I wasn’t asked to keep my yap shut. I volunteered this action because I did not want to ruin anyone’s birthday or make an ass out of myself (more importantly, out of Shannon). I have lost my temper (while stone cold sober) while talking politics one too many times recently–and If I can’t keep a civil tongue when I am talking to my godmother, I truly fear what will tumble out of my mouth when I am in another city in another person’s house.
This weekend, I didn’t really talk about politics. I resisted as best I could when I was baited–by lots of people, all in good fun of course–and I only clarified a few things when I knew I wouldn’t lose my temper. Now that I am home, writing on my blog, I can be more expressive. I can be blunt.
If you want Change, Vote Obama.
There is no other viable candidate on the field who can inspire more change than Obama.
To quote Will, “Working for change for 35 years is supporting the status quo.” We need a different tactic, a different way of looking at the nation’s problems. We also need a different style of addressing these problems. Barack can do this–I’m not sure Hillary can.
If you hope, Vote Obama.
“Politics is what we create by what we do, what we hope for, and what we dare to imagine.” Paul Wellstone wrote that in his book “The Conscience of a Liberal.” It was the first book with this title–when I read Paul Krugman’s I’ll tell you which is better–and it is a field manual on grass roots organizing. Obama has been addressing hope and change since before the campaign started. Obama, in my opinion, can do more for the Wellstone Legacy than Hilary can. Obama inspires people. Given how jaded and cynical the average person appears to be, the ability to inspire action in others cannot be overrated. We need inspiration.
Obama has proved his viability, electability and vitality in regards to the campaign. He represents change at a pace that, I believe, most American’s can accept. I believe Obama can take us into a direction that we, as a nation, so desperately need.
Technorati Tags: endorsement, Obama08, Political Rant, Politics
Am I a Left-Wing Extremist?
I believe in the Separation of Church and State.
I like Social Security.
I want Universal Health Care.
I want to close Tax Loop Hole for corporations and the über rich.
I want the due-process of law for everyone in this county, be it legal or less than legal.
I want to abolish the death penalty.
I think the only time government should be in the bedroom is if it is a couple’s “safe word.”
I want to live safely and in harmony with my neighbors.
I want to be safe from Zombies.
I want a policy that addresses global warming.
I want more money for science and science education.
I want more money for the arts.
I want to go abroad and not say, “No, I’m from Toronto!”
I want civil discourse and debate.
I don’t want the rights of majority trampled by the few.
I don’t want the few to be trampled by the majority.
I don’t want to see any books burned.
I don’t want congress to investigate baseball.
I want congress to be held accountable.
I want the phrase, “I take responsibility” to mean something again.
If I have kids, I want them to worry about friends and grades, not air and water.
I want to struggle with my faith, not have it fed to me by a Director of Faith Based Initiatives
I want choices.
I want the government to protect everyone’s Right to Chose.
Do these wants make me an extremist?
An Endorsement from Making Light
From: Making Light: Endorsement:
Because he seems to know something extraordinarily important, something so frequently missing from progressive politics in this country, in this time: how to hearten people. Because when I watch him speak, I see fearful people becoming brave.
That’s not enough.
But it’s something. It’s a real something. It’s a start.
One of the many reasons why I voted for Barack this morning.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Barack Obama, endorsement
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