YAY FREEDOM!
Last night was spent mostly waiting out tornado warnings. My roommates and I are safe, there was a little water on the basement floor, but it wasn't anything we couldn't get cleaned up last night. Fortunately, it looks like it can be easily remedied with a little fill dirt around the windows.
I created a comic book for my dad for Father's Day. He got it in the mail and opened it right away, which surprises me because he's usually one of those people that waits until the actual event he's supposed to be celebrating before he opens anything. I was really surprised when he called, because he was really excited about it, he kept telling me how cool it was and that he'd read it twice already and that he thought it was really neat. I don't think that I've ever heard him sound so pleased about something I've made him. I ended up getting all choked up because he was so happy with it.
I love the fact that the Supreme Court has stated that the Guantanamo Bay prisoners have rights. Why? Because it's in direct contradiction to all of the crap that W has been pulling since 9/11. I realize that as a young person in my twenties, I was very niave to think that my country was better than the garbage that's been going on concerning our suposedly inalienable rights. Why no, I'm NOT a supporter of the Patriot Act. It has nothing to do with wanting to hide anything, it has everything to do with the fact that I am an American Citizen and part of my rights include free speech, which means, to me, that I ought to have ACCESS to the materials that I need to RESEARCH effectively so that I can create good, informed, intelligent free speech. My view of books has always been that they are a safe way to explore walks of life that you wouldn't EVER necessarily be involved in, as well as gaining insight into things that interest you. A person able to use a library without fear of having the list of materials that they have checked out released to any government agency that asks, or to purchase legitimate media from reputable sources without having to worry about being flagged as someone in need of investigation are freedoms that US citizens have enjoyed for a long time and they deserve to be allowed to continue enjoying that freedom. I was horrified at the total disregard that W's administration has shown for the founding documents of this country, and especially at the implications of what is going on at Guantanamo Bay. I'm an average citizen, with no designs towards harming anyone or anything, but should someone in our government decide that I am a terrorist and, in this time of war, decided to detain me as such, it's a very short step to declaring me an enemy combatant and stripping away all of my rights in the interest of gaining whatever informatino they think that I might have. I'm less concerned that the Supreme Court only barely passed the decision, because it IS a controversial issue, but at least it shows that the Court is a govermental check that balances out W's general lunacy while also demonstrating that they aren't W's lapdogs. It's comforting to see part of our government does appear to be working correctly. It also demonstrates just how important those three branches of government really are. For an idea that's over 200 years old, there are parts of our government system that still function beautifully!
Yes. I'm very happy to be an American right now. I have the freedom and resources to make posts like this, and even though there are parts of my government that I dislike, I have recourse, both through voting and freedom of expression, to share my opinions, get more and better information, and legally and ethically make changes.
I created a comic book for my dad for Father's Day. He got it in the mail and opened it right away, which surprises me because he's usually one of those people that waits until the actual event he's supposed to be celebrating before he opens anything. I was really surprised when he called, because he was really excited about it, he kept telling me how cool it was and that he'd read it twice already and that he thought it was really neat. I don't think that I've ever heard him sound so pleased about something I've made him. I ended up getting all choked up because he was so happy with it.
I love the fact that the Supreme Court has stated that the Guantanamo Bay prisoners have rights. Why? Because it's in direct contradiction to all of the crap that W has been pulling since 9/11. I realize that as a young person in my twenties, I was very niave to think that my country was better than the garbage that's been going on concerning our suposedly inalienable rights. Why no, I'm NOT a supporter of the Patriot Act. It has nothing to do with wanting to hide anything, it has everything to do with the fact that I am an American Citizen and part of my rights include free speech, which means, to me, that I ought to have ACCESS to the materials that I need to RESEARCH effectively so that I can create good, informed, intelligent free speech. My view of books has always been that they are a safe way to explore walks of life that you wouldn't EVER necessarily be involved in, as well as gaining insight into things that interest you. A person able to use a library without fear of having the list of materials that they have checked out released to any government agency that asks, or to purchase legitimate media from reputable sources without having to worry about being flagged as someone in need of investigation are freedoms that US citizens have enjoyed for a long time and they deserve to be allowed to continue enjoying that freedom. I was horrified at the total disregard that W's administration has shown for the founding documents of this country, and especially at the implications of what is going on at Guantanamo Bay. I'm an average citizen, with no designs towards harming anyone or anything, but should someone in our government decide that I am a terrorist and, in this time of war, decided to detain me as such, it's a very short step to declaring me an enemy combatant and stripping away all of my rights in the interest of gaining whatever informatino they think that I might have. I'm less concerned that the Supreme Court only barely passed the decision, because it IS a controversial issue, but at least it shows that the Court is a govermental check that balances out W's general lunacy while also demonstrating that they aren't W's lapdogs. It's comforting to see part of our government does appear to be working correctly. It also demonstrates just how important those three branches of government really are. For an idea that's over 200 years old, there are parts of our government system that still function beautifully!
Yes. I'm very happy to be an American right now. I have the freedom and resources to make posts like this, and even though there are parts of my government that I dislike, I have recourse, both through voting and freedom of expression, to share my opinions, get more and better information, and legally and ethically make changes.