The ides of change and Tea Parties:

First, I would like to welcome Becky C. at Just a Girl in Short Shorts to my blog roll. I find her posts engaging and thought provoking. While I disagree with some of her politics, in many civil liberties issues, we have common ground.

Second, you may notice my Obama button is gone. That's simply because the election is over, and we need to move on with our lives. While I think Obama has done a much better job than his immediate predecessor did in his first 100 days, the bloom is off the rose, and I have some areas of concern. I'm concerned with the debt we are leaving the generations to come. That said, I also feel it reasonable to conclude things had deteriorated to a point where no good choices existed, merely varying degrees of bad. While it was not a decision on whether to attempt to save the Kobayashi Maru, the situation was, and will likely remain, quite dire.

Like anyone with a pulse and a brain, I noticed the Tea Party protests on April 15. I understand and agree with concerns about the debt we are leaving the generations to come. However, this is not a new concern for me. Currently, our national debt is roughly 70% of the GDP and growing, and much of the growth of that debt occurred under the Bush administration. Where were these Tea Partiers a year ago? Two? Six? Eight? Where was their outrage over our children being crushed with debt because of wars we should never have fought and cannot possibly win? No, instead, we saw signs saying to send Obama back to Kenya. For fuck's sake, President Obama was born in Hawaii, NOT Kenya or any other nation on another continent. Also, they're actively criticizing a President of the United States of America? Wasn't that considered "un-American" by these same arguments for birth control just a few short months ago? It is un-American to substitute bigotry and spin for the reasoned debate whose endangerment has endangered this very nation. Debate the issues. Talk in reasoned tones with those who disagree, and be willing to listen just as you hope others listen to you. This is how you learn and grow as an individual, and this is how you help restore this country. Partisanship is all well and good, as long as it is tempered with reason and an acknowledgment of the love your opponent has for this nation. I said "opponent" deliberately, for wherever you stand, those whose views contradict your own opposes you, though this does not make that person your enemy, and it is this distinction that has been lost over the years, in no small part due to Fox News (with a few notable exceptions) and other extremists on the airwaves and in our seats of government, all the way down to the smallest town hall.

To those who say to send Obama back to Kenya, I ask this: Why aren't you saying "Send McCain back to Panama?" Unlike Obama and Kenya, McCain was actually born in the Canal Zone, which is now part of Panama. Besides, he's old, and the warmth may be good for his aching joints and his addled brain. Oh, and to those who mistake President Obama for a Kenyan, I ask that you stop sucking the dicks of white supremacists. To all else, including the President of the Untied States of America (misspelling intentional), a man who has already helped restore the honor and image of this great land, I bid you good night.

As for the new logo, well, this video will show why. While I am not involved with Baylout, I am aware of their existence and respect their opinion and their actions on behalf of freedom.

There will be hell...

I read the most interesting and disturbing article today. It was also all over CNN and other major news outlets. I refer, of course, to the Supreme Court hearing a case of a 13 year old girl being strip-searched in school. I don't care what you think about the United States' drug policy. This is a clear Fourth Amendment issue. Ask any police officer what would happen if someone were suspected of dispensing prescription ibuprofen illegally, with each pill having the strength of two over the counter ibuprofen pills. Keep in mind, this is a drug that is available over the counter under several brand names and generics in most stores. This is a drug that not only is unscheduled in the U.S., but is actually on the World Health Organization's "Essential Medicines" list. What would a police officer do, someone who is sworn to uphold the law, do in this situation? Would they strip-search random passers-by? Would they strip-search someone on the word of a witness who was quite possibly trying to get out of trouble? Would they completely ignore both common sense and the Constitution of the United States of America in attempting to get this "contraband"? Or would they politely tell the complainant to piss off?

It is my opinion that, if we are to remain a free society, if we are to keep what liberties we have left, the Supreme Court of the United States of America should uphold the decision of the entire panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and rule against that school and that Vice Principal. In a just world, Vice Principal Kerry Wilson will face grave and lasting civil and criminal consequences for the actions taken on that day. In a just world, the Safford United School district will be forced into bankruptcy and utter insolvency for this heinous breach of common sense and the civil rights of an innocent child. In a just world, there will be hell to pay, and a HELL of a lot of it.

On second thought, there will be hell, regardless of the outcome of this case. There has been and will be the hell suffered by the completely innocent victim of this horribly intrusive and unwarranted search. There will also be hell suffered by one other group of individuals. The question before the Supreme Court in this case is simply this: Will the guilty suffer, or will we as a nation suffer? Will the future generations celebrate this case as we rightly celebrate Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, KS? Or will they mourn it as we rightfully mourn Dred Scott vs. Sandford? This case will help shape the future soul of this nation. I stand with that which is just, right, and fair. I stand with the generations both present and those to come. It is my most fervent prayer that the Supreme Court chooses to do the same.

"He was Edmond Dantes, and he was my father... and my mother... my brother... my friend. He was you, and me... he was all of us."