Things That Piss Me RIGHT Off.

There was a recent dust-up over a local blogger who resigned his position at a university over a local alternative weekly newspaper alerting the public to the fact that he, in a moment of questionable judgement, posted an entry into a "Mohammed cartoon" contest. I'm not going to repeat what you can find on this all over the web -- whether the contest was real or imagined, or whether he just thought he was presenting high comedy for a certain audience, I don't know. It's gotten enough play all over the blogosphere, locally and nationally, that I honestly don't care -- I don't care why he did it, I don't care that he did it, and I really don't care that he and his employer have parted way.

What I do care about is running across complete, utter horseshit, such as I what I quote, below, when reading accounts about a trivial, non-event, such as someone resigning over what amounts to a simple error in judgement:

The Nasvhille Scene “pile on” is just another example of how David Horowitz is right–namely that an “unholy alliance” exists between the liberals in this country & our media and the radical Muslims who seek to wipe Israel, infidels, and the West off the face of the map.

That's an excerpt of a post by another local blogger -- Terry Frank. Later, in the comments of that same post, she went on to spout:

An alliance doesn’t mean that both American liberals and terrorists are strapping on bombs–it means that they both share a hatred for America.

If Terry Frank loved America as much as this liberal, she'd be a hell of a lot more worried about what Bush supporters are willing to cede, without the slightest hesitation, in the name of fighting a "war" on terrorism, than about some nebulous, imaginary, undefined "unholy alliance". I'm talking about Constitutional rights that our forebearers fought, bled and died for -- not some abstract symbol, like a flag, or a magnetic ribbon. I mean actual fucking rights -- such as the freedom to be secure in one's person, home and effects. I sure as hell didn't surrender any of that, but now my phone can be tapped and my e-mail monitored without a warrant, and my home can be searched without my ever being notified. I never surrendered my right to an attorney, or to a speedy trial... and yet American citizens can now be held, indefinitely, without access to an attorney, and without being charged -- all on the word of the executive branch of our government, all the while, hiding behind "executive privilege," and "national security," not having to show a court any evidence that you've committed these crimes that ostensibly justify your imprisonment. If you're innocent, hey, maybe in a few years, the Supreme Court might hear your case. If you're lucky, you'll get relief -- if not, it's back to the gulag, boy!

And where are the checks and balances described by our Founding Fathers, to insure that citizens are not deprived of their liberty without due process? The Preznit doesn't need 'em! "Inherent powers," "unitary executive," and reams of other legal posturing that essentially means, "The law is what I say it is."

I do NOT live in the America I learned about in 8th grade Civics class. Do you?

In spite of that sad fact, I don't hate America. I do hate, with the heat of a thousand suns, that the current administration has urged America to abandon its most basic principles, though.

Benjamin Franklin said, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety," yet that is exactly the Faustian bargain so many citizens are willing to make with the current U.S. administration, today. Look at the electoral map of this country in 2000, and 2004. You'll note that areas that are far more likely to be terrorist targets voted not with their fears, but with their hopes and convictions. Then, ask yourself -- what is America? Is it land? Is it people? Or is it ideas?

Then, ask yourself: Who hates America?
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