(no subject)
Forcing myself to write something here today. It's easy to fall back into old habits, particularly when you research and write a fair amount during the day. I'm also dealing with some brain fog today, a side effect of some medication I took last Thursday. (It's once-a-year; I was worried the symptoms would be horrible for a few weeks, like last time, but it's been a better experience this second time around.)
The last few weeks have been good, no complaints, at least on the local level. Of course, I can complain about the devolving state of our federal government or worry myself about the unusually mild winter. There's plenty to get worked up about, but a huge chunk of it is not particularly in my control. I work with I can in the meantime. This includes donating money to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, etc. and protesting, writing letters...
Oh, and there's that March for Science in D.C. on April 22. Just looked at prices for airfare and train. Train is cheaper, but not by a whole lot, and travel time is nearly 24 hours. Flights are a bit more, but quicker; though with all this travel bullshit that Trump and Co. has been messing with lately, I really am not excited about flying these days. In truth, I have white, male privilege and really don't have much of anything to lose versus so many other's whose lives are turned upside down. Still, there's all this phone privacy crap, with agents asking for phone passwords, though that's not entirely new either. Still:
In fact, US Customs and Border Protection has long considered US borders and airports a kind of loophole in the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections, one that allows them wide latitude to detain travelers and search their devices. For years, they’ve used that opportunity to hold border-crossers on the slightest suspicion, and demand access to their computers and phones with little formal cause or oversight.
Even citizens are far from immune. CBP detainees from journalists to filmmakers to security researchers have all had their devices taken out of their hands by agents.
Oh, and there's that issue with how the Constitution gets strained at the 100-mile are of the U.S. border, as the ACLU points out:
In practice, Border Patrol agents routinely ignore or misunderstand the limits of their legal authority in the course of individual stops, resulting in violations of the constitutional rights of innocent people. These problems are compounded by inadequate training for Border Patrol agents, a lack of oversight by CBP and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the consistent failure of CBP to hold agents accountable for abuse. Thus, although the 100-mile border zone is not literally "Constitution free," the U.S. government frequently acts like it is.
Anyway, I digress or progress; I'm not sure which. I was saying life is pretty OK for the moment, which it is. There are other minor bugaboos, but many of them are nothing new, just the same ol' Shawn thoughts about what he should be doing vs. what he is doing. *shrug*
The last few weeks have been good, no complaints, at least on the local level. Of course, I can complain about the devolving state of our federal government or worry myself about the unusually mild winter. There's plenty to get worked up about, but a huge chunk of it is not particularly in my control. I work with I can in the meantime. This includes donating money to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, etc. and protesting, writing letters...
Oh, and there's that March for Science in D.C. on April 22. Just looked at prices for airfare and train. Train is cheaper, but not by a whole lot, and travel time is nearly 24 hours. Flights are a bit more, but quicker; though with all this travel bullshit that Trump and Co. has been messing with lately, I really am not excited about flying these days. In truth, I have white, male privilege and really don't have much of anything to lose versus so many other's whose lives are turned upside down. Still, there's all this phone privacy crap, with agents asking for phone passwords, though that's not entirely new either. Still:
In fact, US Customs and Border Protection has long considered US borders and airports a kind of loophole in the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections, one that allows them wide latitude to detain travelers and search their devices. For years, they’ve used that opportunity to hold border-crossers on the slightest suspicion, and demand access to their computers and phones with little formal cause or oversight.
Even citizens are far from immune. CBP detainees from journalists to filmmakers to security researchers have all had their devices taken out of their hands by agents.
Oh, and there's that issue with how the Constitution gets strained at the 100-mile are of the U.S. border, as the ACLU points out:
In practice, Border Patrol agents routinely ignore or misunderstand the limits of their legal authority in the course of individual stops, resulting in violations of the constitutional rights of innocent people. These problems are compounded by inadequate training for Border Patrol agents, a lack of oversight by CBP and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the consistent failure of CBP to hold agents accountable for abuse. Thus, although the 100-mile border zone is not literally "Constitution free," the U.S. government frequently acts like it is.
Anyway, I digress or progress; I'm not sure which. I was saying life is pretty OK for the moment, which it is. There are other minor bugaboos, but many of them are nothing new, just the same ol' Shawn thoughts about what he should be doing vs. what he is doing. *shrug*