Been reading some political blogs on the right and left today. As usual, am pissed off at both sides.
I can't claim to have researched any of these quotations. That credit belongs to the link above. But I have been trying to find in particular the second quote from Theodore Roosevelt which I think more people should keep in mind. Particularly since it is coming from a revered Republican president.
"It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from the government.
- Thomas Paine
"A President is impeachable if he attempts to subvert the Constitution".
-- President James Madison
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither."
- Ben Franklin
"If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."
- Samuel Adams
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it."
- President Abraham Lincoln
"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce and brave man, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."
- 'Mark Twain'
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President."
- President Theodore Roosevelt
"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly as necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."
- President Theodore Roosevelt, 1912
"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."
- James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son
"So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy."
- Roger Baldwin
"Disobedience, in the eyes of any one who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion."
- Oscar Wilde
"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it."
- George Bernard Shaw
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
- Dr. Martin Luther King
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph."
- Haile Selassie
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
- Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
21 September, 2005
11 September, 2005
Perfect Definition of Intelligent Design
I'm Too Dumb To Figure It Out So It Must Be God.
For more on this see Creationism's Trojan Horse:
The Wedge of Intelligent Design
For more on this see Creationism's Trojan Horse:
The Wedge of Intelligent Design
10 September, 2005
What's up with me
Well, here is what is going on.
Besides slowly moving into the apartment I have been paying rent on since July (but not living in), job hunting, and dealing with all of the normal every day things I need to do, I've been dealing with the reaccurance of my Mother's cancer, and getting her to and from Boston for all of the scans and doctor's appointments she needs. Between that, and not having a computer that really wanted to stay operational, time to spend thinking, writing and blogging has been few and far between.
However, I'm hoping once I have a refrigerator, and I get Debian Linux installed on my old clunker computer, I can start spending more time here just writing things out.
I have to say, I'm very impressed with two of blogs listed on "Blogs I Read". 'Mimi in New York' in particular amazes me. I don't always agree with every decision she makes, or her point of view, but she never fails to force me to look at things from a different perspective. I think she is an amazing writer. Her book is going to be a show stopper when it finally is done and published.
'Girl with a One Track Mind' turns everything on its head as far as what nutter like me with an ultra-conservative Mid-Western almost Bible-Belt-small-town-small-minds background tends to think about women and sex. She pulls no punches on herself, the men (and women) who become part of her exploits, and what she sees about others and sex.
Interesting that both of these women are British.
Anyway, this much neglected blog will probably be neglected further, but at some point it will be called back from the dead, or at least comatose, and put back into play. There is a lot I want to write about, and it is obvious I need the practice. So why not make use of it, eh?
In the mean time, go hit that "Next Blog" thingy up at the top right, and see what else comes up. Amazing what you find out there.
Besides slowly moving into the apartment I have been paying rent on since July (but not living in), job hunting, and dealing with all of the normal every day things I need to do, I've been dealing with the reaccurance of my Mother's cancer, and getting her to and from Boston for all of the scans and doctor's appointments she needs. Between that, and not having a computer that really wanted to stay operational, time to spend thinking, writing and blogging has been few and far between.
However, I'm hoping once I have a refrigerator, and I get Debian Linux installed on my old clunker computer, I can start spending more time here just writing things out.
I have to say, I'm very impressed with two of blogs listed on "Blogs I Read". 'Mimi in New York' in particular amazes me. I don't always agree with every decision she makes, or her point of view, but she never fails to force me to look at things from a different perspective. I think she is an amazing writer. Her book is going to be a show stopper when it finally is done and published.
'Girl with a One Track Mind' turns everything on its head as far as what nutter like me with an ultra-conservative Mid-Western almost Bible-Belt-small-town-small-minds background tends to think about women and sex. She pulls no punches on herself, the men (and women) who become part of her exploits, and what she sees about others and sex.
Interesting that both of these women are British.
Anyway, this much neglected blog will probably be neglected further, but at some point it will be called back from the dead, or at least comatose, and put back into play. There is a lot I want to write about, and it is obvious I need the practice. So why not make use of it, eh?
In the mean time, go hit that "Next Blog" thingy up at the top right, and see what else comes up. Amazing what you find out there.
29 January, 2005
Early Morning Thoughts
Well, the computer clock says it is 0512 (5:12am for international format challenged Americans) and I'm up after having taken an early morning whiz. Hemingway evidently felt "whiz" was not a masculine enough word and insisted all men piss, and women whiz, but at the peril of being considered to be less of a man, I have chosen whiz as it makes it sound almost like something fun to do. While piss to me conjures images of foul tempered beasts all marking out some sort of territory, and none of the territory here is anything I would want to claim anyway, though I have been referred to as a foul tempered beast from time to time.
Anyway, my thoughts as I was laying in bed just a short time ago were on what links I should have for this blog. It would appear that links are a rather important thing. Gives others something to jump to and read after they get tired of reading soliloquies on the difference between pissing and whizzing. Also, gives Google something else to index so perhaps the link people are looking for is found on page 33 instead of 45. This may or may not be a good thing.
But probably what is most interesting, is what you link and save in your bookmarks and on your blog probably says quite a bit about yourself. I save most of my bookmarks on Backflip ( www.backflip.com ) and Spurl ( www.spurl.net ) because I find more often than not when I'm on the web I usually not on my own computer. And I've been around long enough now to have three or four computers die on me. Particularly in the age of pre-easy backups with dedicated USB back-up drives. However, I digress.
Anyway, unlike my fellow Americans who inhabit the "Red" states, counties, townships, precincts and neighborhoods, I find points of view different than my own to be non-threatening (though at times disturbing) and to some degree interesting. So reading Tracy Quan, author of the novel "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" is a good place to start. Her blog, much like mine, is updated on an irregular basis, but I find it and the rest of her site to be quite engaging. Tracy is a former prostitute who argues very forcefully and I think effectively for the de-stigmatization and for legalization of sex work. A topic I think is very hard for most of us to come to grips with. I can't say I agree with her in many respects, but that doesn't mean the point of view is not valid, or not important. Moreover, they way she writes makes me think she would be some one to spend a very long afternoon with at some coffee shop just exchanging ideas with. Her blog is at http://www.tracyquan.net/gossip/blog.php3
Another New Yorker I find fascinating, if a bit more uncomfortable to read, is that of Tristan Taormino,, a writer for the Village Voice. Tristan I think has a very fresh and interesting perspective on human sexuality. She isn't afraid to walk on the wild side, and still has enough of a sense of wonder to ask after walking there, "what does this all mean?" Her tongue is appropriately firmly tucked in her check (when not being some place else), but not with Playboy's smug frat boy attitude. If she was to lecture at my old stomping grounds in Tiffin Ohio, I am sure there would be riots and they would call for her to be burned at the stake. However, I'm not so sure that after running her out of town they wouldn't all be sneaking back to their bedrooms to give some of what she talks about a try. And Tristan being Tristan, I'd suspect there would be a few midwestern farmer's daughters of virtue sneaking out of town after her. Anyway, Tristan's site is www.puckerup.com and her blog is at http://www.puckerup.com/blog/?&=
Rachel Kramer Bussel was formerly Tristan's assistant, and now has quite a publishing history in her own right. I can't say I read her as much as I used to, being as I was quite turned off by her rather glowing words for Monica Lewinski. But am getting over it. Her blog is at http://lustylady.blogspot.com/ and her site is http://www.rachelkramerbussel.com/
My last blog that will upset some and titillate others is that of the retired porn star Asia Carrera. Those of you who just see her as an exceptional beautiful woman of asian descent will miss out on the fact she is a member of Mensa with a degree in both Japanese and Physics. So we aren't talking about the usual disposable bleach blonde inflate-a-titted Barbie doll porn star. I'm not saying Asia always is critical in some aspects of the porn industry as I think she could be. But she has published what I think is a very insightful diary on her, her life, and what was her job. She publishes at http://www.asiacarrera.com/bulletin.html
I wanted to put sex up at the top because once you read it, it is sort of done and over with. I know quite a few people are going to judge myself and this blog on just the fact that I mention these people and read about them. For those that do, so be it. I make no apologies for being interested and reading about thoughts, experiences and even morality different that what I run into day to day. Some of what these people write about challenges me, disturbs me, even scares me. Nevertheless, what I value about it is that it does make me think, consider, and wonder about issues in a way that I probably would not have approached before. So, if you are one of my former classmates or some other red state (in mind or body) moralist inflamed that I dare mention the existence of these people and the thoughts and ideas they present. I'm sorry, but we are the species Homo Sapiens and that means we have the ability to think. I don't find it a crime to do so, though John Ashcroft may disagree.
Okay, have left this post sitting in "Drafts" for about 9 months now. Time to let it see the light of day. There is more on this subject to be said, but that will have to wait for later
Anyway, my thoughts as I was laying in bed just a short time ago were on what links I should have for this blog. It would appear that links are a rather important thing. Gives others something to jump to and read after they get tired of reading soliloquies on the difference between pissing and whizzing. Also, gives Google something else to index so perhaps the link people are looking for is found on page 33 instead of 45. This may or may not be a good thing.
But probably what is most interesting, is what you link and save in your bookmarks and on your blog probably says quite a bit about yourself. I save most of my bookmarks on Backflip ( www.backflip.com ) and Spurl ( www.spurl.net ) because I find more often than not when I'm on the web I usually not on my own computer. And I've been around long enough now to have three or four computers die on me. Particularly in the age of pre-easy backups with dedicated USB back-up drives. However, I digress.
Anyway, unlike my fellow Americans who inhabit the "Red" states, counties, townships, precincts and neighborhoods, I find points of view different than my own to be non-threatening (though at times disturbing) and to some degree interesting. So reading Tracy Quan, author of the novel "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" is a good place to start. Her blog, much like mine, is updated on an irregular basis, but I find it and the rest of her site to be quite engaging. Tracy is a former prostitute who argues very forcefully and I think effectively for the de-stigmatization and for legalization of sex work. A topic I think is very hard for most of us to come to grips with. I can't say I agree with her in many respects, but that doesn't mean the point of view is not valid, or not important. Moreover, they way she writes makes me think she would be some one to spend a very long afternoon with at some coffee shop just exchanging ideas with. Her blog is at http://www.tracyquan.net/gossip/blog.php3
Another New Yorker I find fascinating, if a bit more uncomfortable to read, is that of Tristan Taormino,, a writer for the Village Voice. Tristan I think has a very fresh and interesting perspective on human sexuality. She isn't afraid to walk on the wild side, and still has enough of a sense of wonder to ask after walking there, "what does this all mean?" Her tongue is appropriately firmly tucked in her check (when not being some place else), but not with Playboy's smug frat boy attitude. If she was to lecture at my old stomping grounds in Tiffin Ohio, I am sure there would be riots and they would call for her to be burned at the stake. However, I'm not so sure that after running her out of town they wouldn't all be sneaking back to their bedrooms to give some of what she talks about a try. And Tristan being Tristan, I'd suspect there would be a few midwestern farmer's daughters of virtue sneaking out of town after her. Anyway, Tristan's site is www.puckerup.com and her blog is at http://www.puckerup.com/blog/?&=
Rachel Kramer Bussel was formerly Tristan's assistant, and now has quite a publishing history in her own right. I can't say I read her as much as I used to, being as I was quite turned off by her rather glowing words for Monica Lewinski. But am getting over it. Her blog is at http://lustylady.blogspot.com/ and her site is http://www.rachelkramerbussel.com/
My last blog that will upset some and titillate others is that of the retired porn star Asia Carrera. Those of you who just see her as an exceptional beautiful woman of asian descent will miss out on the fact she is a member of Mensa with a degree in both Japanese and Physics. So we aren't talking about the usual disposable bleach blonde inflate-a-titted Barbie doll porn star. I'm not saying Asia always is critical in some aspects of the porn industry as I think she could be. But she has published what I think is a very insightful diary on her, her life, and what was her job. She publishes at http://www.asiacarrera.com/bulletin.html
I wanted to put sex up at the top because once you read it, it is sort of done and over with. I know quite a few people are going to judge myself and this blog on just the fact that I mention these people and read about them. For those that do, so be it. I make no apologies for being interested and reading about thoughts, experiences and even morality different that what I run into day to day. Some of what these people write about challenges me, disturbs me, even scares me. Nevertheless, what I value about it is that it does make me think, consider, and wonder about issues in a way that I probably would not have approached before. So, if you are one of my former classmates or some other red state (in mind or body) moralist inflamed that I dare mention the existence of these people and the thoughts and ideas they present. I'm sorry, but we are the species Homo Sapiens and that means we have the ability to think. I don't find it a crime to do so, though John Ashcroft may disagree.
Okay, have left this post sitting in "Drafts" for about 9 months now. Time to let it see the light of day. There is more on this subject to be said, but that will have to wait for later
09 January, 2005
A Long Time Coming
Well, after an extended hiatis, I'm publishing again. Though what I will publish, I am not quite sure. There is so much going on, and yet nothing going on. So I remain in the crossroads of paralysis.
The entire purpose of starting this blog, was to attempt to work on my writing. I continue to have people in email letters tell me that I am a good writer. And I have ideas I would like to write about. But when I try to sit down and put them together, I find what I write not good enough. Perfectionism to a fault.
Anyway, now that I have linked this to Friendster, I best put something here. Even if it is painful to do so.
Off to work in a little bit, which is where I tend to be the most literate. Perhaps I can come up with something of interest once I'm there.
Til next time, whenever that may be!
The entire purpose of starting this blog, was to attempt to work on my writing. I continue to have people in email letters tell me that I am a good writer. And I have ideas I would like to write about. But when I try to sit down and put them together, I find what I write not good enough. Perfectionism to a fault.
Anyway, now that I have linked this to Friendster, I best put something here. Even if it is painful to do so.
Off to work in a little bit, which is where I tend to be the most literate. Perhaps I can come up with something of interest once I'm there.
Til next time, whenever that may be!
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