Patriotism, Beetles, and Cruelty

I've been a good little political dissenter of late. On Tuesday night I attended a debate on efficacy and legality of the USA Patriot Act. A Muslim ACLU board member debated the local terrorism expert from the U.S. Attorney's Office. I was hoping that I would hear a more intelligent argument from the pro-Patriot Act side, considering that national politics are dominated by sound bites and generalizations. I was confident that at the local level, the U.S. Attorney's representative would cut right to the meat of the Patriot Act and why he believes it is necessary for our country. Unfortunately for pro-Patriot Act people, it seems that even at the local level there is no logical, intelligent argument in support of our police state. The U.S. attorney sounded like Bush's mini-me with a Hispanic flair, referring to suspected terrorists as "bad guys" and attempting to prove his point by fear-mongering. The ACLU representative was cool, calm, collected, sharply-dressed, and dead-on with all of his points. I think the crowd of 130 people left the room pissed off at the government and adamantly opposed to renewal of the Patriot Act's sunset clauses, which was a liberal's dream come true.

Tonight I will attend a speech by a representative from the National Rifle Association, which promises to be highly charged. I'm confident the speaker will attempt to dodge references to America's exhorbitant hand-gun murder rate by saying that "gun owners, not guns, are the problem." I plan to ask him then if Americans are inherently less intelligent than citizens of other nations: clearly our nation is full of gun owners with problems, so should they be entitled to own weapons if they are clearly so irresponsible? When a 6 year-old murders a 4 year-old with his daddy's hand-gun, is that child an irresponsible gun user?

3 new beetle species have been named after George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Don Rumsfeld. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4443263.stm) The conservative scientists who named the species claim to have done it out of respect and reverance for these asshole politicians. However, how many of YOU believe that naming a mold-eating beetle after George Bush is a sign of respect? I think not.

Do you think the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment? What about lethal injection? Those inmates look so serene when their body is paralized prior to the stoppage of their hearts. However, are they experiencing excruciating pain beneath this paralyzed visage? Survey says YES. You will be shocked and appalled. A must-read for all conservatives (and liberals too!):
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/hsn/20050414/hl_hsn/usexecutionsbylethalinjectionmaynotbehumane

Finally, how about some fun! Are you a better public speaker than George Bush? Think you could do a better job as U.S. president? Robbie Williams thinks he could: (this is hilarious)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4021969.stm

Music of the Moment: "lunchtime"