Ten reasons to vote against Bush: Part One

neven made a call in his journal today for people to make arguments criticizing President Bush. He asked for 20, but I assembled 10 out of the many possible criticisms, to offer a detailed microcosm of reasoning against voting for Bush. I could, if I had more time and resources, assemble 20 or 30 more. But this makes a good start.

( 1. Irresponsible fiscal policy. )

( 2. Horrendous Labor Policy. )

( 3. The USA PATRIOT Act and PATRIOT II. )

( 4. The prosecution of Jose Padilla. )

( 5. Treatment of Prisoners by Coalition Partners. )

Ten reasons to vote against Bush: Part Two

( 6. An Illegal War. )

( 7. Empire-Builders in the Pentagon. )

( 8. Blatant War Profiteering. )

( 9. The Faith-Based Initiative. )

( 10. A Constitutional amendment to define marriage as ''one man and one woman.'' )

(no subject)

posted in calvinandhobbes:

State of the Union address, cogently summarized by thomryng

Yesterday, chuckdarwin posted this, which was written by thomryng

"So. I watched Mr. Bush's speech last night. For those of you who might have missed it, here were some of the high points:

• We can only achieve peace by pursuing unending war


• We can only save our freedom by giving up our liberties


• We can only fix our half a trillion dollar budget deficit by collecting less revenue and spending more money


• We can only grow our devastated economy by renewing our commitment to the principles that crashed it in the first place


• The three million jobs lost since 2000 pale in importance to the 1000 created last month


• We can only preserve the sanctity of marriage by amending the Constitution to deny rights to homosexuals


• We can only insure good medical care by limiting malpractice lawsuits


• We can only show our commitment to America's schoolchildren by denying schools funding while promoting sexual abstinence and mandatory drugs testing

"Or, to simplify only slightly:
War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength."

(no subject)

The hearthstone interview.

1. How important is spiritual community to you, and in what ways?

Generally speaking, community is an extremely important part of my spiritual life, online at least, as well as offline life. But I find that in my own life my participation in religious communities tends to ebb and flow. I am officially a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans, though I have actively participated much less this year than last.


2. You are given three wishes that must be applied to three other people. Who do you choose and what do you wish for them?

1. I would wish for good health and happiness for Dee, my ex-wife. The struggles she has to deal with on a daily basis are heartbreaking.
2. I would wish for prosperity for akaiyume.
3. I would wish that ubiquity is always surrounded by good friends and giving lovers.


3. What language (that you don't already speak) would you most like to be fluent in?

Japanese. This language is a challenge, in large part because the culture and mindset is very different from our own. Learning this language would help me to learn new ways of thinking -- as well as connecting me with a fascinating culture.

Because of my interest in classical Gnosticism, I wouldn't mind learning how to read Coptic, Koine Greek, and/or Aramaic.


4. What, to you, is unforgivable?

I try to be very forgiving when it comes to things done against me. I am much more inclined to be forgiving of a single error or sin, however big, than of a string or pattern of mishaps or abuse or deception, even if the events themselves are small. Once I reach the end of my rope, I am easily inclined to write a person out of my life. Fortunately I've only had to do this twice.


5. What trait do you most value in yourself?

My willingness to give of myself. I think this is what makes one feel truly alive, though unfortunately I tend to give of myself too much and neglect my own needs, something I need to pay more attention to.


Want to play along? Follow these rules:
1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will interview the first five people who ask.
3 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
4 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
5 - You'll include this explanation.
6 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.