So, in light of this whole Facebook ordeal (Facebook website changing its policy and user agreement to say they pretty much own anything you put on their site) I have been thinking about privacy rights and our rights as Americans. Being an American means you lend the government the right to control various aspects of your life under the belief that this government is of the people, by the people and for the people. Therefore, we oughtn’t have reason to believe that the government, which technically is ourselves, has anything but our best interest at heart. Sadly, this does not seem to be the case.
My attention has also been drawn to news reports of police charging teenagers (as in, high school age kids) with child pornography and solicitation of a minor and a myriad of other serious crimes and even felonies for sending nude photos of themselves to other teens. Now, I have no problem with them being charged with something more like a misdemeanor count or something, but felony charges? Really??? One of the articles mentioned that these charges would go on their “Confidential Permanent Record”. That’s what really hit me. Why the &(#$ do we, as Americans have “Confidential Permanent Records”? Who said THEY could keep tabs on US?
Now I can understand, somewhat, the need to catalog someones criminal past up to a certain extent. But notice I use the word “criminal”. Misdemeanor misconduct like sending a nude shot of yourself to someone else (solicited or otherwise) should not constitute being marked so that you can’t get certain jobs, you have to announce to the world you are a sex offender when you change residences, etc. etc. It’s an outrage and it is a clear violation of our rights as Americans. This is almost as insulting as the NSA wire-tapping that took place following 9-11. Unfortunately, no one is standing up to this the way some of the telecom giants stood up to the feds.
To borrow some words from an excellent article I read on The Guardian’s website, “In their book Born Digital, John Palfrey and Urs Gasser review the characteristics of “digital natives,” those who were born (after 1980) into the digital age – those who have never known life without the internet. These kids have “digital dossiers,” which begin with their first ultrasound and continuing throughout their life. By the time they reach adulthood these children will have rich digital files, ripe for privacy violations and information mining. The authors liken aspects of the dossier to a tattoo, something personally identifiable and often regrettable, perhaps a racy photo a teen posts on MySpace. Palfrey and Gasser ask, will “digital natives” worry about privacy as we know it? Or do they have a completely different view of what privacy is, shaped by the societal changes wrought by the digital age?”. The whole article can be read here : http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/feb/17/privacy-children-internet-digital. I think that’s a very good point and something a bit eerie to consider. It is never a good thing to have so much personal information be so very public. What will the future be like when you can simply google someone’s name and get all their information, life history even baby pictures? The idea of poor choice pictures posted on the internet being available to anyone and everyone is a frightening thought. Especially here in the US where a picture on a web-based community website can prevent you from getting a job or even get you fired as has been the case in several instances in which the pictures ranged from sexy (albeit clothed) pictures of a school teacher to (yet another teacher) brandishing a fire arm. What is really harmful is that no one seems to be concerned about the context in which the photos are taken and I don’t expect there will be any change in that in the future. I think all in all, it’s just safer to try and be as opaque and as invisible as possible when it comes to the internet.
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Okay, time for a brief update before I break into another rant. I am all moved in to my new place and I like it for the most part. There are things about it that annoy me (like the apparently INSANE guy living upstairs who opens and closes his sliding glass door 24/7 over and over and over again!) but for the most part it feels like home. Sort of. I’m working on the finishing touches- wall coverings, plants, etc.
I am also getting some schoolwork done these days. One class is more or less a dissertation course and the other is a class solely on Chaucer which makes me want to eat paint and dive in front of moving vehicles.
The weather here is unseasonably warm- mid70s- and we are expecting snow next week. This is why I hate this state so much. My sinuses have been on a roller-coaster ride from hell.
Ok, now that that’s out of the way…
I was on facebook today (I hate social networking sites, but its not a bad way to keep touch with people) and I saw some posts from a friend of my cousin who is a raging republican. His posts addressed (essentially) Media Bias and Government Spending Bills to recover the economic fallout which he tied to a comparison between the current US situation and the Japanese economic failure in the 90s. I already rebutted his statements, but it got me thinking and this blog is where I do most of my thinking in writing… so here we go:
First off, media bias. I hate to break it to everyone out there, but if what you are reading has any advertisements in it, then it is biased. That is just how it works folks. That’s why when you cite sources of research in school most of your sources are academic journals, professional journals or the like. They are reputable sources because they are not influenced by the threat of some other company that is paying the bills pulling out their dollars because they didn’t agree with something that showed up in print. You can’t get any real opinions or any news that might be controversial from regular newspapers because most of them don’t want to print something that might cause a sponsor to pull out.
Speaking of sponsors, it s a good idea to know the chain of command in the corporate world as it relates to your news outlets. NBC is owned by General Electric. General Electric is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of nuclear power components. It then begins to make a lot of sense as to why you never see anything on the news that shows nuclear power as anything other than a “clean, renewable, green energy source”. When it comes to things like this, only the government gets to override the companies. That’s why when you hear the word nuclear on TV and it isn’t followed by a promotion as an alternative power source, it is followed by the word “bomb” or “missile”. The government still loves to play that nuclear apocalypse fear card when things get rough. Fear is the second greatest tool of control.
If you are concerned about liberal or conservative bias in your news, you should probably go stand in front of a bus as you have been effectively brain-washed and have no real opinions. If you think the republicans and democrats are separate parties, you are wrong. They are so much alike it is absurd. And where do they differ? On issues that the government has no place in being involved with such as marriage and abortion. They can oversee it as much as they want, but they have no right to tell you yes you can or no, you can’t. The only other notable difference is that the dems are honest about who they are and the republicans are not. Regan, HW and GW Bush ran as “fiscal conservatives” and then ran up insane deficits. Clinton had a surplus, but I see Obama running a deficit. The way I see it, these guys are the same party and just differ on tiny, relatively inconsequential points.
Now… the economy. Let it collapse. If you think the free market will fix it, then let the free market fix it and screw the bailouts. The way I see it, modern banking is effectively the same deal as the system of secret treaties between european nations that led to the first world war (not the cause, but the cause of its escalation). Only this time, instead of war, we are all getting drawn into poverty. As popular as the saying is, no one seems to ever learn from history.
Now, if you are one who thinks it is the government’s job to save these failing banks and whatnot, then congratulations- you are either a communist or a socialist (the same difference as republicans and democrats). I could jump off here and start a whole other rant, but I will refrain for now. The point I want to make to this group of people is, why SHOULD the government bail out these people? Because if they don’t there’s gonna be, what? CONSEQUENCES??? You’re damn right there will be, and there better be. I maintain that the proper way to have handled this is to make the companies and ONLY the companies pay for this. Those boardmembers and CEOs should have had to claim personal bankruptcy as well as commercial and the proceeds from the liquidation of their personal assets should go to pay unemployment to all the workers who lost their jobs as a result of the higher-ups’ irresponsibility. The company’s assets should have been liquidated and any loans they owned under X (say, $150,000?) amount should have been absolved. All others should have been sold to other companies still in business. The loans that were made on those crooked adjustable rate mortgages should be refinanced as fixed rate mortgages. Other than a couple weeks of unemployment, the government wouldn’t have paid a dime. Now, since a lot of local governments and other state and national owned operations got caught up in the mess, those loans should be bought out by the government and absorbed into the national debt since they are, after all, government owned. We were paying the bill for them anyway, might as well continue to do so. These would be refinanced as well.
I think that is all for now. My brain hurts.
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It is now about 1:30pm Eastern time. I am writing from Richmond, Va- a mere 2 hours from the enormous crowds that arrived to witness, in person, the historic inauguration of America’s first African-American president. As I watched the event live on the television I couldn’t ignore the feeling of a rising hope for the direction in which (hopefully) our country is now headed. I voted for Obama in the recent election. Not because I bought into the hype and not because I wanted to see an African-American president (though I admit I was interested in the difference of perspective). I saw the way his speaking inspired people. He was the most eloquent speaker of the Democratic party’s candidates. It was my personal hope that, if nothing else, his ability to inspire and bring people together under a common goal would be enough to move us forward into a more positive era. That being said, more so than at any other time up to this point, I was moved and filled with hope by his inaugural address. I felt that many things were said that needed to be said and several different aspects of this historic event were acknowledged. I appreciated that he acknowledged the significance of his being the first black president, but I also appreciated that it was not the focal point of the day. I feel that race is a minor issue in these times (though not entirely unimportant), especially in comparison to the enormity of the importance that we have a clean slate on which to start a new chapter in history and perhaps the ability to undo much of the damage that has been incurred in the past 8 years.
Moving on, there were many things about this inauguration which were memorable. From the speakers to the speeches and the performances.
The John Williams piece as performed by the quartet which included Pearlman and YoYo Ma was incredible.
Having Aretha Franklin perform was a nice touch (I would have preferred Gladys Knight or Tina Turner personally, but no complaints).
The gentleman that gave the benediction was fantastic. He had a voice that suited the purpose and the words which he spoke. I think this was my favorite part of the inauguration. His words were wise, and beautiful and gracious. He had a perfect blend of sombreness and lightheartedness. I appreciated that he closed with a bit of a laugh.
I think HW Bush’s outfit was a bit… odd. The furry beaver hat a-la Moscow, combined with his purple scarf and (yellow?) shirt made it look like he was part of the Moscow Lakers… I couldn’t help but laugh each time I saw him.
All in all, I think this was better than we had all anticipated it to be. I think what is most important now is to look ahead and for Obama to pick his first few actions very carefully. I think it will be very important that his first several tasks succeed. I think if there are many failures early on it may shatter the image and spend the hope of all who have waited for the promised change. It will be pivotal to have some small successes right off the bat to help support the promise of hope.
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Wow. So this is starting off to be a shitty week. I don’t even wanna complain about it. I am now officially laughing because things have gotten SO ridiculous. Here’s the short list. You judge:
Burner inside our oven shorted out. Can’t bake anything and we have no microwave.
I have a cold that went from severe sore throat to severe cough in 2 days.
I bought $200 worth of books for school. Then had to switch classes and buy another $100 worth. I now own $120 worth of books that I am not using for anything.
My new class = doctoral dissertation. ( I am still working on completing my BA, thanks). This coupled with a class on the Canterbury Tales that will last 12 weeks.
My stomach seems to no longer accept beef or beef products. I loved cheeseburgers. I will now forever have “no cheeseburger face”.
Nyquil has made me late to work twice this week. I am now 0-2.
I have to ride with my mom and my sister for 8 hours in an enclosed vehicle. Originally I was just gonna pick up furniture, but they deemed it a good time to tell my grandparents that my sister is pregnant (not intentionally) and unemployed. I expect to get caught in some crossfire.
My only fan in my apartment (which I need in order to sleep- white noise) makes a very high pitched, very loud noise at random intervals during the night… interrupting my sleep. It is extraordinarily difficult to pinpoint the source of the problem when it is 3am and you are coked up on nyquil.
I haven’t gotten any since before thanksgiving. I’m ready to start biting people in half.
The people who live upstairs are apparently failing at learning to juggle bowling balls. Practice hours are from 10pm to 2am. Fortunately, they are practicing on Ave’s side of the apt and the noise on my end is fairly muffled.
I’m coughing so much my abs are going to look like Brad Pitt’s in Fight Club.
My credit card balance is waaaaaaaaay too high. I need to pay that down… now.
We have 8-10 min of hot water in our apt.
The increased stress has caused an increase in acne. I am livid. Probably not helping…
I think that’s good for now. I just… want to stop for a day or two. No luck til sunday/monday. Thanks for lookin out MLK jr.
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I need something new. Someplace new. Someone new.
I feel like things have gotten stale here. I see the same people and do the same things day in and day out. I don’t really have any way of meeting new people with similar interests and around here the people with similar interests are generally melodramatic VCU artfags with their heads up their own asses.
I’d like to leave town for a while and go someplace. Maybe by myself. Unfortunately, that takes money that I just don’t have. When I stop and think about my routines now versus what and where I wanted to be 3 or 4 years ago I feel angry and lost. When did I become a wage slave? What the fuck is my problem? I know I can free myself from the cycle, I’m just not sure how to start. I need to find someone with a similar ambition and more social connections. I need to meet someone who can teach me something new.
School. Work. Sleep. That’s all I have to look forward to. I used to have people that I enjoyed spending time with, but they don’t have time for me these days and whether or not it’s their fault or not is not the point. The point is I’m on my own again. There’s always family, I know… but over the years I’ve felt very distanced from them and I have noticed a growing desire to increase the physical distance as well. It’s almost as if I can’t stand being around them (with very few exceptions- brad and his wife, dad). The thought of that bothers me as well. I used to be very family oriented. I guess that comes from my habit of distancing myself from conflicts. There’s too much conflict in my family and I just don’t want to be around it.
I think I need a change in weather as well. Me and the cold just don’t seem to get along. I think winter depresses me. I’ll have to look into moving further south.
You know… the more I think about it, I think I am actually MAD that people I care about don’t make time for me. I’m just going to implement a new rule: If you can’t make time for me, don’t expect me to make time for you. I can only think of a few people who can’t reasonably make time to talk to me or come by once in a while. Those people have a temporary excuse. Temporary. The longer it goes on the less reasonable it becomes.
Today I hate this fucking city and everyone in it.
If you care. Say something. I’ve been the one saying it for too long. I’ll try my best not to completely ignore you.
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