USA Patriot Act: Down But Not Out

Whew. Thank goodness. One of the most horrible pieces of legislation EVER, has expired. However, like the villain that keeps coming back at the end of a bad horror movie, Republicans are trying to make it permanent. Call your representatives and let them know We The People don't want it!

What's really sad, though, is the ongoing damage done via the Patriot Act, like the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA. You might feel like you're safer if someone gropes your junk when you fly, but I don't. (Personally, I think anyone that would want a job like that is a pervert of some sort.) The TSA is a primary reason why I don't fly much anymore. That hurts because I love to fly. And how do you like the treatment you receive at the hands of your local law enforcement? That's another consequence of the Patriot Act. It basically gave police at every level almost KGB-style bash-and-grab authority. For those of you who don't remember the fucking KGB, I'm not even going to put a link in. I'm going to make you put some effort into reading about the Soviet secret police and then look at what's going on in your own country. 

We are not that far from it.

Link to the news article below.

Nation & World | House fails to renew USA Patriot Act | Seattle Times Newspaper

Obama Interview: Nobody Loves Me, Everybody Hates Me ...

Seriously? People who hate you don't know you? It's neither very presidential, nor does it represent strong leadership for someone to discuss such a subject.

Let's be honest, Mister Obama, it's not you personally that people don't like. It's your continuation of the Bush Administration's policies that people don't like. We don't like that you handed the insurance agencies a windfall in a supposed "health care reform", which doesn't reform anything at all. We don't like that the military complex is humming along nice and expensively without accountability in a war that we should never have started. In two different countries. We don't like how Wall Street is still without regulation and continues to trade volatile derivatives just like they did before the stock crash. We don't like how you have done nothing to repair America's international reputation.

In a nutshell, we're past the point of being interested in you personally. That's what the campaign trial is for. Now, what we're concerned with is what you do.

Click on the title to go to The Seattle Times article.

Opinion | Sure, learn to speak Chinese — but learn Spanish first | Seattle Times Newspaper

My objection with this article is that the author acts like Hispanics are a new flavor of ice cream in the U.S. The number of Hispanics has been growing steadily and invisibly for years. And, oh, that's right, Hispanics only have large populations in Texas and Florida.

But he is right about languages. Spanish is the most important second language for Americans to learn.

Opinion Sure, learn to speak Chinese — but learn Spanish first Seattle Times Newspaper

America's changing culture war | Seattle Times Newspaper

This is an interesting article on the difference between America then and now - how views on churchgoing, marriage, who is "liberal", who is "conservative", and how it's splitting along educational lines more than economic parameters, like it did in the '70s.

Opinion America's changing culture war Seattle Times Newspaper - loop