UncommonSense

6/7/02

In what has to be the most bone-headed idea to come down the pike in a long time, John Ashcroft has announced plans to fingerprint and register visitors to the US who come from so-called terrorist nations, including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria. Apparently, he consulted with Ann Coulter before making this announcement.

"Under rules adopted in 1998, only visitors from Iraq, Iran, Libya and Sudan had to go through the process that includes registering with federal authorities, photographing and fingerprinting." So, this big announcement is that we are adding Syria to the list? Or is the point simply to make it look like the government is doing something, a meaningless gesture meant to appease those red-staters who point furiously at the Middle East and say "It's the rag heads who are the terrorists!"

Funny, I don't see Saudi Arabia on that list. 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, all here on legal visas. So this measure would not stop or even detect 15 more Saudi hijackers arriving legally in the country. As a matter of fact, according to the previous statement, all 19 hijackers entered the country under the very rules that Ashcroft says will help protect us.

And let's not forget that War Emblem, who is running for the Triple Crown this weekend, is owned by a man from Saudi Arabia. I wonder if he is a terrorist. Go War Emblem! You gotta root for anybody who tries to bite Katie Couric on the Today Show.

Zacarais Moussoui was French-Algerian. This measure didn't stop or detect him. Remember that guy caught several days after 9/11 trying to get on a plane with a backpack full of knives? He was Malaysian; this measure didn't stop or detect him. The mastermind of the first WTC bombing was Egyptian... again, no good there. The guy caught at the Canadian border, who they say was planning to bomb LAX? He was Algerian, wasn't he? The shoebomber? Oops, he was, what? English/Jamaican? And Ramsey Yousef? Nobody really knows where he is from, or even if that is his real name.

Timothy McVeigh was American. Hell, he was even in the military. That missionairy killed yesterday was held by Filipino terrorists. Again, this measure wouldn't stop or detect them.

But let's just say some terrorists from Sudan, Syria, Lybia, Iran or Iraq decided to try something here. You think they are going to hop aboard Air Iraq and fly into Miami international? No, they'll probably get themselves some ID from a country not on the watch list, then waltz right through customs. Welcome to America, Mr. Smith. Enjoy your stay.

So all this measure will do is harrass peaceful people trying to enter the country for legitimate means. Funny, for a man who buys so heavily into the NRA argument that gun laws only punish legal gun owners, he sure doesn't seem to apply the same logic to immigration policy.

The terrorists are beating you, Mr. Ashcroft. How much money, how many resources will you expend in a fruitless search that the terrorists can easily avoid because they forced you into this reaction? Read the Art of War, Mr. Ashcroft. It will tell you that your opponent has chosen the ground, the time of his attack, he knows you, he knows himself, and you know nothing about him. That's called losing the war.

So I'll say it again. I'll say it until I am red, white and blue in the face.

The ONLY effective means to battle terrorism is to eliminate the causes of terrorism - fear, greed, hopelessness, injustice, hunger. This isn't giving in to terrorists. It is called 'doing the right thing.' If doing the right thing is the same as giving in to terrorists, what the hell does that tell you about terrorism? You think people will blow themselves up if they have other choices? Choices like a justice system they can trust, equal rights under the law, food for their children, a roof over their heads, and something to look forward to.

Just do it.

6/6/02

Short post today. I am waiting for something to happen.

I'm hearing a noise. Maybe you hear it, too. It's deep, deep down in the ground, a rumbling noise just at the edge of hearing. The cat has run under the bed, birds have taken to the air. There, a pebble, dislodged, rolls down the hill. Here, dust drifts down from the rafters. It's quiet, too quiet. Something is about to happen. Just a feeling I have.

It's a proverbial noise, not a real noise. A proverbial cat, and proverbial birds. And proverbial feces about to hit the proverbial fan.

Hopefully, it will wait until I can get to the grocery store.

Today in the sixth of June. The anti-Christ is in the White House. Is that a chorus singing in Latin that I hear? Yesterday, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a bus... in Meggido. Apparently, the bus was driven by Longinus, the immortal Roman soldier who speared Christ on the cross. Israel retaliates against Arafat's compound. India, Kashmir, Pakistan. Bush to make big Homeland Security announcement tonight. Enron and 9/11 sit like twin demons on his shoulders, eyes glowing red.

Send someone to Monster Island. We need Godzilla's help.

6/5/02

Ixnay on the eechspay.

Due to the fact that Tennessee has no money to pay for schools, Memphis faces the prospect of Laying Off 900 public school teachers. That's nine hundred teachers! There isn't going to be a reduction in the number of students. They're just going to stick them in bigger classrooms. And then they'll wring their hands and complain bitterly about the drop in test scores and increase in violence, drop outs, and pregnancies.

This is largely thanks to: "Tennessee's fiscal nightmare (the state has a legal mandate to balance its budget by June 30) is a reminder of how much easier it was for Republican governors to crusade against taxes when the economy was buoyant." Source.

White House still stalling on handing over the Enron documents. How high would the pitch of Tim Russert's voice be, if this was Clinton stalling instead of Bush? Security, my eye. Security from being discovered, from being exposed for what they really are.

The president of Harper's Magazine says, "We need a new government."

6/4/02

Zoo day. And time to plant the peas.

6/3/02

Sometimes courts get it wrong, oh, so wrong. But sometimes they get it oh so right. Decisions like this give me hope for humanity. Which means John Ashcroft will probably find a way to circumvent the court decision entirely. We must protect the children. After all, it's all about protecting the children, isn't it? Whether you are a Crisco-annointed lunatic like John Ashcroft, or the self-annointed cultural sensitivity police, there are just some things a child shouldn't see - like great literature, aluminum boobs, honest discussion, or anything approaching the reality of the human condition.

It's good to see that somebody in the mainstream media has finally mentioned FBI agent Robert Wright's stunning press conference last week, in which he accused the agency of thwarting and ignoring investigations, and of threatening him if he talked about what he knew. In response, John Ashcroft said that the FBI needs more freedom to be able to gather more information so that it can be ignored, too. Call me crazy, but it seems to me that Ashcroft is more interested in catching people who are critical of the government.

Another example of Republican mores - when the evidence of global warming is too substantial to continue to deny, admit that it is happening, but propose that adaptation to climate changes is the proper course, since reducing greenhouse gasses now won't have any effect for decades to come. (Well, duh!) Ignore the future, just make sure you are rich enough that global warming doesn't impact your life. Global warming will stop eventually, because eventually there won't be any more fossil fuels to burn. Why bother? Screw you, buddy, I got mine.

Memphis is swiftly becoming the land of bizarre stories. There was the death of noted microbiologist Dr. Don Wiley in a mysterious plummet from the Hernando-Desoto bridge, ruled an accident or something very much like an accident by medical examiner Dr. O.C. Smith. Then there was the mysterious death of a driver's license examiner who was about to be indicted for helping five middle-eastern men obtain drivers' licenses under false pretenses. In a few days, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis will fight (and maybe bite) each other inside a large pyramid. The prospect seems to have some effect on Tyson, who stopped his SUV in front of a group of protestors angry about his homophobia, stepped out, and promptly hugged one of them, thus proving he still doesn't realize that he isn't fooling anyone. (Does this guy look scared, or what?)

But friends, this has to be the strangest story of them all. I doubt you'll see a stranger one for a long time. Remember Dr. O.C. Smith, the man who fobbed off the most ridiculous explanation of a man's death that you'll likely ever read? This weekend, someone ambushed him, wrapped him in barbed wire, strapped a bomb to his chest, and left him in a stairwell. Fortunately, the bomb failed to detonate. This is the second time someone has left a bomb for him. A few months ago, a similar bomb was discovered in the same stairwell where they found Dr. Smith early Sunday morning. Usually, I can come up with some kind of conspiracy theory, but this one is quite beyond my capabilities.