Woohoo! Buckeyes beat Michigan!

Buckeyes win!

OSU 42, UM 39

That is all.

"Last night I shot a burglar in my pajamas"

Of course, the punchline is "what he was doing in my pajamas, I'll never know".

Learn fallacious arguments for fun and profit! Learn to speak like a polititian! Equivocate and conduct ad hominem attacks with impunity! Don't know what a strawman argument is? Find out.

But he is just one man ...

I found this on the Huffington Post. Glenn Beck is asking the first Muslim congressman elected why he should be trusted: that he prove he isn't "working for the enemy". I have to ask the obvious damn question: Since Rep. Ellison was elected by the people in his district, shouldn't we simply trust that they knew what the hell they were doing when they elected him? Would he be asking this if Ellison was a Republican?

Glenn Beck is way, way out of line, because this man is an American, and he was duly elected to public office. I don't care what politucal party, religion, color, or sexual orientation he is--those things are up to his constituents to decide upon. And since they are OK with the particulars, let me suggest we should be, as well.

Besides, he is just one man in Congress.

If this keeps up, I predict riots on college campuses

I found this via BoingBoing. Go read the article: it's short. Can anyone say "egregious abuse of power"? Sure, I knew you could.

In my opinion, the campus cops involved should be charged and tried for assault. Firing won't cut it. I don't care if the student was uncooperative and unruly--he is certainly not presumed guilty of anything (like not being a student). He may also have grounds for a very expensive civil suit against the university.

In the future, whenever a lame-ass neo-con says "if you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about", I will remind them of incidents like this. Sounds to me like we all have plenty to worry about.

I see 1960's style civil unrest coming. This time, though, Kent State will look like a picnic. Freedom is expensive, so don't stand up unless you are prepared to go all the way.

Update: I found the YouTube video courtesy The Huffington Post. I tried to watch it, but couldn't.

Via BoingBoing, again: Turns out the student didn't have his ID, and university rules state that students must have their IDs (and be prepared to show them to authorities) after 11 PM (the incident occurred after "zero hour"). At least now we know the penalty at UCLA for failure to have your student ID ...

The university's chancellor thinks this policy is for the protection of students. Boy, does he have a strange idea of what the word "protection" means!

Sadly, (yeah, I say that a lot) I must also revise my dire predictions of vast civil unrest--people today are just sheep, and I'm too farking tired to keep on fighting. Sue me.

Interesting--read the comments

I stumbled across this short blog post, Payback Time: Who the Democrats Will Target. As I said above--it's interesting, but only because of the many comments people felt compelled to make.

I am struck by the lack of basic writing skills.

I am struck by the number of folks that still believe in the President's agenda. They are vocal, at least.

I am struck by the hate displayed by so many ... Republicans (I guess). Democrats are displaying schadenfreude toward their wayward opposing political party (that's finding pleasure in of the difficulties of others). An all too human trait.

I am further struck by the complete lack of trust that average Americans display toward each other. 60% of Americans aren't wrong. Not about the evil being done to them, and in their name. America may be up for an another attack of some kind, I couldn't possibly say, but if America is attacked, it will not be the fault of the Americans who voted Democrat this time around. Some of us may have drunk the koolaid, but the rest of us aren't buying it.

I am also concerned about the following comment left in the post:

Having served in Iraq and having seen the positive results we are achieving (which never seem to get reported in the media), I am worried my brothers and sisters still in harms way will not get the support to finish the job.

This election result is a direct signal to the American soldier that the American people do not care about them.

I am proud I served my country, but considering the signal sent by the American voter, I doubt I'd do it again. Not because Iraq is the wrong war, or because of the administration. Because of the lack of support voters are showing the military.

First off, I can respect this man's opinion. He would see we keep doing the things we're doing in Iraq, ultimately "finishing the job". But his assessment that the American people don't care about the American soldier is simply wrong. We do care about our sons and daughters, that's why we want them out of Iraq. Despite the good things our men and women are accomplishing, there are more important missions waiting for them. Yes, these soldiers will be sent into harm's way--just not in Iraq.

The other point he makes that I must disagree with is his apparent abandonment of America as a country worthy of his service. He's turning his back on this country because we, as concerned parents, want to bring him and his comrades home. I would ask: Is America just the people, or does America stand for more than just political opinion? Americans should serve because they believe it's the right thing to do, and not just because people are telling them what they want to hear. In a pluralistic society such as ours, there will be people who despise the military and what it stands for, but those people are not the majority that voiced their opinions yesterday.

This man is entitled to his protest of the election. I see parallels between his disagreements and the protests of John Kerry when he returned from Viet Nam. Agree or not--these men earned the right to say their peace. No one should question their patriotism, and I am not questioning his. I would just ask that we all open our ears and listen to what's being said. We still may not agree, but 60% of Americans are not wrong.

A final postscript to the election: I have been against the prosecution of the Iraq war for quite a while. I am in opposition to President Bush and his administration. I believe we were lied to and misled, and that is a serious charge. I am also completely apalled that many people are so quick to stomp our precious civil liberties into the ground, all in the name of "national security". I remind you that these rights exist precisely because they matter, and they matter for everyone. We cannot be the beacon of law, liberty, and freedom unless we believe the law extends universally. Every exception we are willing to make to deny others their rights only further erodes our own.

I voted Democrat because I wanted to send a message to Washington that I want change. I just didn't think so many would agree with me.

A final post-postscript: I voted against Jimmy Carter, but later did vote for Ronald Reagan. I voted against George Sr., but not for Clinton the first time. Yes, my vote was wasted on a crackpot, but I thought he couldn't be worse than the others. I voted for Al Gore because I believed George W to be an inarticulate idiot, and even though I thought Kerry wasn't the best candidate (as is so often the case), I voted against George W the second time, as well. I don't think I wasted my vote that time--someone else wasted it for me. I am truly sorry I was right about W, because we have all paid for that.

I am surprised ...

... By the results of yesterday's election. I had hoped Americans would unseat members of an arrogant and uncompromising political party in favor of those who might be willing to discuss important, necessary, and badly needed changes. I just didn't think it would be so clearly stated.

I am still very concerned by the President's comments that "a win by Democrats is a win for the terrorists". I am not a traitor, nor are my family and friends. We're just Americans, as loyal and patriotic as anyone--red or blue. In light of the results that made it clear majority of Americans disagreed with his sentiments, I wonder what manner of apology he is planning?

But I am not fooled--he never apologizes for his mistakes, and he never accepts responsibility, either. Sadly, as some have already speculated, everything that happens from here on out will be blamed on "the Democrats", and Bush, et al, will leave office in two years claiming they had nothing to do with the sad state of things. They won't need to blame Clinton anymore, they'll have new Democrats to blame.

I don't understand how a party can be in control for so long, and dictate policy so ... effectively ... and yet not be responsible for the failures that happen along the way. Particularly since the American people, by a measurable majority, have just told them they're wrong. The Democratic Party hasn't had a clue since the early 90's for how to deal with Republicans, and I wonder if they even have one now. I am surely not alone in this cynical assessment. So, we have to wonder aloud how in hell so many of these clueless bumblers got elected?

It's simple: the evil we don't know or the risk of incompetence was deemed preferable to the evil we have and know so very well. Wow. None of us knows what's going to happen now, we're all just hoping that something changes. And that is what all this upheaval was about: it's time for a change. I, for one, am sincerely hoping that the administration hears this, and comes to the table with a new spirit of rationality and compromise. If that is possible, then in two years, win, lose, or draw, both parties will have the credibility to say they deserve to be elected. Because right now, the people think it's only the Democrats. And as we have discovered, too much one-sidedness is a Bad Thing. For everyone.