rant: July 2002 Archives

You kind of get sick of the helicopcopters here. One reason or another, they're always overhead. But sometimes the definition of overhead gets a bit ridiculous.

Last night there was something, presumably a helicopter, hovering at roof level somewhere in the neighborhood.

Quite a few neighbors were at their windows as well.

This, the night after a pair of F-16 fighter jets chase a UFO across the District.

..........

"When the US goal shifts from one of moderating Hussein's behavior to the openly expressed purpose of ''regime change,'' what does Hussein have to lose? And when Hussein knows an invading US force is surely coming, does he not have to ''use or lose'' whatever weapons he has? Isn't Washington forcing him to respond with his worst?"

-- Boston Globe

When we finally do take it upon ourselves to enter Iraq, (and believe me, we will eventually) we'd better all just kiss our collective asses goodbye.

It will be the surest trigger to someone or some country to launch a major attack on the US to teach us a lesson.

Americans didn't seem to get that idea from last September. It wasn't some mental deficient intent on causing meyham just for the enjoyment of it. This was an organized movement of people, with no intention of a prolonged attack. Repeated attacks would have meant they were interested in outright destruction in this country. Don't believe it was our security that prevented such attacks from happening. As I've said here before, even here in the heart of the country, no one in power knew how to respond immediatly after the attacks, or even for days.

Those attacks were a message. The US has been behaving as an imperial force for better than a hundred years now. We justify our foriegn military assaults and occupations for economic reasons by declaring the need to spread our morality. I for one have never heard God/Allah/Jehova telling me to go forth and convert yon savages.

We armed Iran to fight our enemies. We armed Iraq to fight our enemies. We armed central american drug manufacturers to fight our enemies. We armed Afghanastan to fight our enemies.

Maybe if we stopped being the world's arm supplier, these people would stop stabbing us in the back. We're only lucky that the biggest countries on the planet have always been our enemies, or else we would really be sorry for arming them.

We have a Shrub in the Oval Office who is drawing lines in the sand and taunting the enemy. He is the worst possible person to be in office right now. His very nature is being a business man. And a bad one at that. Every decision he makes is based on a business point of view. He has neither the historical perspective nor the national morality to truley inspire his own people, much less the global audience.

He will get me killed. When we get bitch-slapped, it will be close to home. But don't worry... you can be sure he won't be in town that day.

.............

The Shrub, the man of perpetual vacations, is leaving on another. He plans to spend a month on his ranch. Does anyone wish to start a pool now on how soon we send forces into Iraq?

Disturbing.

I disturb myself sometimes.

When I heard reports about the Supreme Court's rulings involving schools a couple weeks ago, I don't like how I reacted.

I did manage to ignore the obsession people seemed to have with the more religious of the two. Timed to coincide with the Pledge of Allegience debate, I have a hard time disbelieving it wasn't intended to overshadow greateer things.

But as for the ruling that legitimized random drug testing in extracurricular high school activities, I said "Why not?"

yeah.

Why is it permissable to require drug testing as a requirement to participating in extracurricular drug testing?

The ruling was based on 'Special Needs' exceptions. The idea behind these exceptions was that some people are in positions so critical and dangerous that they should be examined that they can complete their duties safely and not endanger the public. These people are allowed to quit their jobs rather than face examination.

What does your average high school student do that fits this description?

In professional sports, athletes are often tested to ensure that they are not recieving an unfair advantage due to drug or biologicals use. These people are allowed to quit their jobs rather than face examination.

Again, how does this effect high school students? Will millions of dollars be at stake if East Bumpafuck defeats West?

But participation in extracurricular activities is often considered in college admissions. Try making it through school without participating in something? Do you believe that the definition of extracurricular activities won't eventually be extended to school dances and graduation parties?

If schools are meant to prepare youth for the real world, why are they subject to searches that no free person would submit to? Or is it more of a matter of time before you could be subject to such a test?