Category Archives: essays, editorials, fisks, and rants

WTF?! Wednesday: “It’s Late. Deal With It.” Edition

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I’ve been busy.  I’ve had a lot on my mind.  And I’ve been on the losing side of my battle with TMJ for the past few weeks. Because of all of this, I haven’t been sleeping much or well, and whenever that happens I’m usually able to stave off the crashing exhaustion with naps.  Power naps strategically placed throughout the day got me through a decade of my life, but every once in a while I can’t get to the hallowed nap zone.  I don’t have time, it’s inconvenient, or I just have to suck it up and stick it out until I can get home and crash on my couch.  When long periods of time have passed and I’m incredibly busy and don’t get proper sleep or naps, I can turn into a cranky 2 year old.  Just. Like. That.

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Maybe Next Time

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This is disappointing, if you are hoping the United States will not slip into fascism:

Three years ago, Congress gave Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff an unusual power to “waive all legal requirements” that could stand in the way of building the fence. These requirements included the nation’s environmental protection laws. The same congressional action took away the authority of judges to review Chertoff’s decisions.

Last year, after Chertoff waived at least 20 laws and regulations to complete a section of the fence in Arizona, two environmental groups sued. They said it was unconstitutional to give a Cabinet secretary such sweeping power.

But a federal judge rejected that claim. And on Monday the Supreme Court without comment declined to hear a petition submitted by Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club.

(Yes, I mentioned this once before.) When the Supreme Court denies certiorari, it doesn’t usually say why. At least a denial carries no precedential power, so if a more attractive version of the issue came before the Court, they might be interested in addressing it and telling Americans whether Congress has the power to give people like Michael Chertoff the power to break any laws he feels like.

Who would have thought that Americans would use the specter of “terrorism” to keep Mexicans out?

Elementary Graduations are Ridiculous

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Somehow in the last few years it has become popular to have traditional graduation ceremonies—caps, gowns, Elgar—for increasingly younger students at increasingly inconsequential stages in their education. Apparently this idiotic tendency has also taken up the traditional valedictorian and speech.

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WTF?! Wednesday: Coincidence?

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Let’s just get one thing clear.  I don’t claim to be some world class psychic (”Call me now for yer free readin’!”), but sometimes things that happen to me poke at that uneasy, subconscious feeling of connectivity to the universe and other people in ways that trouble me.  Some people call it coincidence or intuition.  I don’t think it’s that easily dismissed.  Or, at least, I don’t think what I’ve been experiencing over the past few days has been coincidence.  I don’t believe in “Coincidence,” and I haven’t for a long time.  This post is just a glimpse as to why. There are a lot of things going on with me and people I love in my life, and I don’t know if any of those things will warrant a future post here or not, but there are lots of things pressing on me from different directions.  I’m still trying to find words for most of them.  These latest bouts of connectivity aren’t helping much, either, and they seem to happen the most when I’m emotionally taxed. Continue reading →

Consider the Source

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Wow. This guy in Michigan who was denied admission to the bar there sounds a little nuts:

“I have faith in the Supreme Court, and in particular Justice John Paul Stevens, who is the true guardian of our constitutional rights.”

Whenever somebody whips out that word “true” in a context like that, it makes me cringe a little. Sort of like when people start talking about “true believers.”

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