In further Chicken Little behavior, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush II have further set the country on edge, for what I believe is purely political gains. It is unfortunate that such vague warnings and proclamations happen when they can serve no valuable purpose other than to scare people, and convince them not to change anything in the government, because that might put them at risk.
In the months since 11 September 2001, we have watched our liberties erode, and “leaders” of this once great nation make proclimations [look near the end] that are chilling in the least, and honestly Orwellian in their strive for complete domination of the thought of the American public. We have forgotten in a few months what it took 200 years to discover—-that our strength is our diversity, and our pursuit of an ideal of freedom that is not the “Freedom to spend,” but the Freedom to pursue life in whatever means will bring happiness.
Benjamin Franklin once said “they that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety,” and in a short sentence encapsulated both the striving for liberty, but also the burdon of it. Freedom does not come without a cost, and in a society where personal responsibility has been torn assunder, and burried like some antiquated idea, given only lip service when it suits the political needs of a power monger, and where there is a McDonalds on every street, and the definition of Freedom is the ability to choose between 10 radio stations controlled by 2 companies, playing 40 songs on repeat chosen by “hit makers,” the idea that Freedom has a cost is long since lost.
There was a day when people would take up arms against their oppressors, and pursue them, run them out of the country, but that time is nothing more than a lesson in a history book, but never an archetype to which today’s childeren aspire. To do so would require forgoing perhaps some of the comforts of a pre-planned life, whose primary freedom is the freedom to consume, and the freedom to spout ideaology that is radical—-so long as its radical in the current accepted vein.
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OK, I’ll bite… I have no idea why you’re looking for information about me, but since you’re so curious, I suppose I can reveal a few details…
First, to dispell a common misconception, I was born on this planet, though there are some that I might dispute that Texas is part of the United States. In fact, I was born in Austin, which holds the interesting label of “Live Music Capitol of the World,” which, having grown up there for 20+ years, I can honestly say is at least as close to truth as any other marketing slogan, and probably more than any proffered by a computer company.
Growing up in Austin, actually in a small affluent suburb, though without its own post office, was an interesting experience, different from anywhere else in Texas, and most likely in the rest of the US. Austin sits at the cross-roads of high-tech, hippies and red-necks, and it’s not unusual to see all three at the same table having a Celis (the local brew, a fine thing). This can lead to all kinds of bizarre blends of personalities, and has instilled within Austinites—-at least those native born, or of long lineage—-a very “live and let live” attitude that doesn’t get upset about what you do, so long as it doesn’t hurt a tree.
Caught the “tree” comment huh? Well, Austin, at least when I was there until 1994, was definately tree-hugger central, and I myself considered myself part of that subset of the society. Austin has a natural beauty unlike most anywhere else in the country, a combination of the rolling hills, the Edward Plateau, and steep cliffs and 7 regional lakes. Add that to Zilker Park and the second largest spring-fed pool in the world, and you have a city that really thrives outdoors, whether it be playing volleyball in the park, hiking along the miles and miles of trails, or just reading a book in the shade of an oak. I miss it, no doubt about it. DC is much more rushed and obsessed with the appearance rather than the substance, although I’d hazard Austin is less what it used to be due to the influx of California hires at the high-tech companies.
So I graduated school, went on to college—-choosing to stay in Austin with friends and family, and go to the University of Texas, where I found out that many things were not what I was expecting… regardless, I learned a lot, mostly in classes that had nothing to do with my major—-Architecture. I left before I finished my degree, even though at the time I was working for the Petroleum Engineering department.
Having spent some time with Lockheed Missle & Space, as well as Apple Computer (who had just opened their Austin facility), I decided I needed a change of pace, and when a job at Sprint’s Internet group was offered to me, I snapped it up, and moved to nothern Virginia (Herndon to be more exact). This was eye opening, and the first time I’d been away from all my friends and support system, even though I’ve built one up here, it’s never quite been as strong. Perhaps it’s because of the huge influx and turnover of people in the area. Perhaps it’s the fear of ending up on the front page of the Washington Post.
So there you have it, it’s not that interesting, but it’s all there is… perhaps in due time, I will work on more information about me, and my interests, but not now… if you want to know more you can contact me.
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So here we sit, November 14, 2000, a week after the 2000 elections are “over,â€? and we’re still not totally sure who won. This presents an interesting opportunity to look not just at the process, but more importantly the people who ran as well as the people who vote.
What does it say about our country and political system when the best two candidates we could find are Al Gore and George W. Bush? Is this really the best this country has to offer the world?
On the one hand we have a rather arrogant politician, in all the poorest sense of the word, continually changing his position to dodge and parry the opponent and try and nullify the differences. So bland that you almost feel the need to reach for a salt shaker every time he comes on television to tell you what you want to hear.
On the other hand, we have an ill-informed, badly educated and rather underwhelming “intellectâ€? who claims to be a “compassionate conservativeâ€? all the while having his twitchy trigger finger on the execution switch of Texas. How does one rationalize the two? Or does one not bother when one can’t understand that the two are countermanded by the one thing that does matter to the man—power. The accidental success story. The failure up until 40. The man who thinks that DUI is a “youthfulâ€? issues. If a boy can be tried as an adult at 16, then 30 is no longer youth.
And so through all the election “process,� a term I use in its loosest form, we receive these two examples: mediocrity in excess. We are left, the populace, to choose someone not because of who they are, but for who they are not. This is not the decision of a democracy, but of a system bent on its own purpose, not the direct reflection of the political feelings of a nation as diverse as the planet it exists on. I hear on the streets the rantings of “No more Clinton/Gore� next to the shrill cries against Bush, all campaigning against the opponent, but never able to build a case for their own candidate. A sad state indeed.
And so we vote, a people tired of the droning of hundereds of millions in advertising, and the politicians wonder “what is the will of the people?� The will of the people is obvious: We have no will. In a country where voter turnout sometimes is as low as 10%, and rarely passes 50%, can we really know what the people want? Apathy is a vote, no less valid than a vote for Nader, but does anyone listen? Give us passion, give us something and someone to believe in.
So where does that leave us? A country adrift in mediocrity. A country led by individuals without the strength of character, nor the will of vision to take the country anywhere. It is as if the ship is adrift in the sea, and the captain simply stands there saying “it is the will of the sea that we go there.� It is not the will of the sea, it is the will of the people that must be followed. Democracy is a precious cargo, one that should not be entrusted to a mediocre captain, and yet it is the people who find their captain, and so it is, in the end, we who fail.
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Picture this: A young guy, riding his plastic crotch-rocket along the roads at excessive speed, wearing nothing more protective than a pair of shorts and flip flops, not even a pair of gloves to protect his hands from the dangers of road impact. You see this often, and those of us who ride have a name for them… “squidsâ€? and it’s not in reference to their ability to multi-task with multiple hands. These “peopleâ€?—a term that is generously applied in this case—give the rest of us a bad name, create a hazard for other riders and generally dilute the gene pool with their faulty sense of self-preservation. What drives otherwise potentially viable humans to do this? What makes them think it’s “koolâ€? and what makes them think that the rest of us don’t laugh at them?
The other day, I was walking through Georgetown, on my way to some tasty BBQ at Old Glory, and walked past a gaggle of these squids, flailing about trying to impress one another with their stupendous acts of unadultered stupidity. I could hear one talking about how he’d just gotten his bike out of the shop, having had to replace all the plastic on his (at most) 6 month old Yamaha R6, and how he’d narrowly missed an oncomming car when trying to pass a car on the way into the city. Now what exactly possesses these people? I want to know, so that I can erradicate it from the planet.
My only wish is that eventually, they will all be dead, and that hopefully they will manage to do it in a way that doesn’t take anyone else with them, doesn’t burden an already swamped healthcare system, and more importantly, doesn’t manage to destroy the joy of motorcycling for the rest of us—those who always ride with full gear, ride safely and manage to not hit
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