Wednesday, November 29, 2006
The Tao of Bart
Bart Simpson: Church/cult, cult/church. So we get bored someplace else every Sunday. Does this really change our everyday lives?
What for Liberty?
A few very interesting posts have made me think more deeply about what Americans should be ready to sacrifice in the name of safety. First, this report: http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Gingrich+raises+alarm+at+event+honoring+those+who+stand+up+for+freedom+of+speech&articleId=d3f4ee4e-1e90-475a-b1b0-bbcd5baedd78
The relevance of Third Reich Germany to today's America is not that Bush equals Hitler or that the United States government is a death machine. It's that it provides a rather spectacular example of the insidious process by which decent people come to regard the unthinkable as not only thinkable but doable, justifiable.
http://www.slate.com/id/2154567/nav/tap1/ Overlooking the author's unfortunate name, this article made me re-examine why it is that I believed nothing in modern-day could ever be compared to Third Reich-style tactics.
Perhaps it is more American to die that future generations may also experience freedom of speech than to live in an America that supports repression of such freedoms. I am not a parent, but it constantly amazes me that parents of young children today do not fight harder against aspects of modern society that would devastate their children as they grow. Why do moms drive their children in environmentally hurtful SUVs? Why don't they work to petition their governments to control pollution emissions? Why does it seem that I, a childless DINK, am more concerned about a future where breathing and excercising freedom than parents today?
The relevance of Third Reich Germany to today's America is not that Bush equals Hitler or that the United States government is a death machine. It's that it provides a rather spectacular example of the insidious process by which decent people come to regard the unthinkable as not only thinkable but doable, justifiable.
http://www.slate.com/id/2154567/nav/tap1/ Overlooking the author's unfortunate name, this article made me re-examine why it is that I believed nothing in modern-day could ever be compared to Third Reich-style tactics.
Perhaps it is more American to die that future generations may also experience freedom of speech than to live in an America that supports repression of such freedoms. I am not a parent, but it constantly amazes me that parents of young children today do not fight harder against aspects of modern society that would devastate their children as they grow. Why do moms drive their children in environmentally hurtful SUVs? Why don't they work to petition their governments to control pollution emissions? Why does it seem that I, a childless DINK, am more concerned about a future where breathing and excercising freedom than parents today?
Saturday, November 25, 2006
The Daily Show on Religion
The Daily Show on Scientology
At the beginning of this Christmas season, let me just say..."Hooray for Holy Wood!"
At the beginning of this Christmas season, let me just say..."Hooray for Holy Wood!"
Friday, November 24, 2006
We've Got a Lot...
I ran across this posting from my favorite online publishing, The Huffington Post. Thanks, Bob Cesca.
For those who don't know (everyone but my husband, with whom I discuss Senator Stevens with purplexing regularity) Ted Stevens is one of my guiltest pleasures and, seeing as he made into Cesca's "to be thankful fors", he must be included here:
"In a world that grows exponentially more complex by the second, it's nice to know that we can still bullshit our way around actual information. This goes especially for the kids. Take the advice of Senator Ted Stevens, kids. If your teacher asks you a question you're unprepared for, just go batshit loony and reply, "It's a series of TUBES!" For example, how does the Pythagorean Theorem work? Answer: it's a series of TUBES! If Senator Stevens can get away with it -- and he's the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee in charge of regulating the internet -- then so can you. Thanks, Senator Stevens, for making gibberish awesome again. And a bonus thanks for giving America another reason to support term limits on U.S. senators."
Formerly-fourth-in-line-for-the-Presidentcy Stevens is my batshit hero. Good times.
Check out the rest of Cesca's post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/thanking-the-shit-out-of-_b_34746.html
For those who don't know (everyone but my husband, with whom I discuss Senator Stevens with purplexing regularity) Ted Stevens is one of my guiltest pleasures and, seeing as he made into Cesca's "to be thankful fors", he must be included here:
"In a world that grows exponentially more complex by the second, it's nice to know that we can still bullshit our way around actual information. This goes especially for the kids. Take the advice of Senator Ted Stevens, kids. If your teacher asks you a question you're unprepared for, just go batshit loony and reply, "It's a series of TUBES!" For example, how does the Pythagorean Theorem work? Answer: it's a series of TUBES! If Senator Stevens can get away with it -- and he's the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee in charge of regulating the internet -- then so can you. Thanks, Senator Stevens, for making gibberish awesome again. And a bonus thanks for giving America another reason to support term limits on U.S. senators."
Formerly-fourth-in-line-for-the-Presidentcy Stevens is my batshit hero. Good times.
Check out the rest of Cesca's post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/thanking-the-shit-out-of-_b_34746.html
Friday, November 10, 2006
Dismembered Memories
Children, children/
Don't you worry 'bout this/
Children, children/
I've promised you bliss.
Don't you worry 'bout this/
Children, children/
I've promised you bliss.
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