Habeas Corpus

Habeas Corpus
Current mood: angry

Folks--

I'm sure many of you are just as concerned about this issue as I am, so I wanted to point you toward an excellent resource for the current court cases and international conflicts dealing with the United States' practice of "Extraordinary Rendition" (shipping people picked up as "enemy combatants" to countries like Syria where there are no laws against torture) as well as secret CIA prisons in Europe and the overall suspension of the core right of habeas corpus (right to a fair trial), even for US citizens, in the arena of the so-called "War On Terror."

www.democracynow.org

This is a fabulous, aggressive, independent media organization dedicated to covering the issues that matter, and which the mainstream media largely ignores. They've also recently started podcasting their daily hourlong show, so sign up through Itunes if interested. I highly, highly recommend Amy Goodman and the folks running democracynow. They are truly committed to the kind of indepedent, take-no-prisoners investigative journalism which is in shorter and shorter supply these days (but is needed more than ever as the media is further consolidated and homogenized).

Today and through the weekend they've done a special investigation into the issue, and I must say it has really broadened my knowledge of what I already felt was a much bigger and wider problem---the slow erosion of some of the most basic rights protected by the constitution.

When I hear the prez and folks talk about "spreading freedom," all I hear is blatant hypocrisy. While they preach to the world about this, the past 5 years have seen a definite downturn in our country's philosophy on freedom. Normal, average US citizens can now be wiretapped without a warrant; they can be arrested without charge; they can be held indefinitely without any evidence; and they can be thrown in shady prisons such as the one in Guantanamo where the Geneva Convention is largely ignored and torture is commonplace.

While many people think, "Well, this doesn't apply to me---I'm a good guy" I would respectfully suggest that you pull your head out of your ass. These basic constitutional protections apply to EVERYONE and if we allow them to be taken away, they will only continue to be abused further and further. I guarantee that one day we'll look back on this period in history and wonder how we could have been so ignorant.

One of the most depressing things I've noticed over the past 5 years is how willingly we as citizens have given up our freedoms. It's not the government's fault---it's OURS for allowing it. When I flew back from Salt Lake City after Xmas, I actually had to stand in a big chamber, right before the metal detector, that proceeded to blow air all over my body (presumably to detect explosives). This, of course, in addition to taking off my shoes, giving up my liquids, and being wanded. What's next? A pre-flight piss-test and polygraph?

All I could think after this ordeal was that the terrorists have already won. They've scared us so shitless we're more than happy to give up thousands of years of human progress in order to feel "protected." Well, I give that point of view the BIG middle finger. They haven't scared me yet. I will fight tooth and nail for my freedom, all of it, and they will only take it away over my dead body.

Check out the website and read the myriad of stories posted today on the subject. Post a response if it gets your blood boiling like it did mine.

(On a completely different-yet-related subject, why is a country that is so obsessed with the afterlife so afraid of death? How deep does our "faith" really run if we need George Dubya to protect us instead of Jeebus? A future blog post, I'm thinking.)

Currently listening :
Peng!
By Stereolab
Release date: 10 March, 1998

Ecological Footprint Quiz

Ecological Footprint Quiz
Current mood: determined

So, we took this test last night in Env Sci class.

http://www.myfootprint.org/

It measures some simple consumer habits over 18 easy questions to give you a pretty good idea of your "Ecological Footprint" (in other words, how much actual impact you have on the earth, measured in acres).

---The US average is 24 acres per person (highest in the world)

---I came in at 11 acres, and I don't even own a car or a house! My large footprint was mostly due to food---how often do you think about how far your food has travelled to reach your plate? Turns out it's an average of 1000 miles! And think of all the energy you're burning transporting it.

---Ideal is 4.5 acres or less. It would take some MAJOR lifestyle adjustments to get to that. Take the quiz for yourself and feel free to leave a comment on this thread about your results. Be honest! Nobody's grading or judging you here. I think it's really just a wake-up call in general, as we don't generally think about most of the things that pop up on the quiz.

I would have thought I was doing much better than 11 acres. I'm aware of the issue, walk or bike everywhere, and try to consume as little as possible. But this quiz woke me up and showed me I've got quite a ways to go. My next step is to focus more on purchasing food grown locally.

Currently listening :
At the Gate of Horn
By Odetta
Release date: 14 October, 1997

Uh, I Think, Um, Bush, Uh

Uh, I Think, Um, Bush, Uh
Current mood: embarrassed

I don't know if anyone caught the Shrub on 60 Minutes last night. I couldn't get my jaw off the floor as I listened to OUR PRESIDENT methodically mangle the English language to the point of no recognition.

You know, I've dogged on the man a lot in the past 6 years. He is, after all, the worst president in our nation's history, hands down. But I've began to go beyond that---after all, in a republic, he is simply the elected face of our nation. It's not his fault he's an idiot---IT'S OURS. And looking at it from that point of view, we've got a hell of a long way to go as a nation.

Here is a link to daily kos, which transcribes the actual words from last night's elementary school English lesson. There is also a link there to a more generous transcription, but you should read the actual words to get that same jaw-dropping reaction that I did.

Also, note the bolded section below in which Bush speaks of the president of Iran. He just as easily could be talking about himself.

PELLEY: What would you say right now in this interview to the Iranian president about the meddling in Iraq?

BUSH: I'd say, first of all, to him, "You've made terrible choices for your people. You've isolated your nation. You've taken a nation of proud and honorable people, and you've made your country the pariah of the world. You've threatened countries with nuclear weapons. You've said you want a nuclear weapon. You've defied international accord. And you're slowly but surely isolating yourself." And secondly, that "it's in your interest to have a unified nation on your border. It's in your interest that there be a flourishing democracy." And thirdly, you know, "If we catch your people inside the country harming US citizens or Iraqi citizens, you know, we will deal with them."

Currently listening:

Elliott Smith: Either/Or

Escalation by Blackadder

Escalation by Blackadder
Current mood: distressed

From the awesome BBC TV Show Blackadder:

General: Now, Field Marshal Hague has formulated a brilliant new tactical plan to ensure final victory in the field.

Captain Blackadder: Ah, would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy, sir?

Captain Darling: How could you possibly know that Blackadder? It's classified information!

Captain Blackadder: It's the same plan that we used last time, and the seventeen times before that.

General: Exactly! And that is what is so brilliant about it! It will catch the watchful Hun totally off guard. Doing precisely what we've done eighteen times before is exactly the last thing they'll expect us to do this time! There is, however, one small problem...

Captain Blackadder: That everyone always gets slaughtered in the first ten seconds?

General: That's right. And Field Marshal Hague is worried that this may be depressing the men a tad. So, he's looking to find a way to cheer them up.

Captain Blackadder: Well, his resignation and suicide would seem the obvious.

Currently listening :
Alright, Still
By Lily Allen
Release date: 01 August, 2006

My Respects

I just read this interesting article about President Ford and the way he chose to keep his strong religious beliefs private.

In a time when the current president won't shut up for a second about how he's been "born again," how he talks to Jeebus every day, and how close he is to the big man upstairs, it's relieving to see that our country did have, at one point, an effective leader who didn't feel compelled to prop himself up all the time.

He understood that, in order to lead effectively, one needed to listen to both sides, and to keep one's personal beliefs from becoming polarizing. He understood, better than any American president before or since, that our constitution is a secular document, not a spiritual one, and that our leadership should reflect this. He saw our country as a safe haven for practicing one's beliefs, and felt there was room enough in the tent for people of all faiths (or lack thereof!)

On the day of his funeral, I remember his commitment to secularism, and hope that our political climate will one day allow more like him to flourish. With all the problems our country is facing, we need to be focused on the issues at hand, not on the afterlife.