The Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 2892) is a perfect example of why we need to limits bills to “one subject at a time”: the prisoner abuse cover-up legislation it contained had absolutely NOTHING to do with the funding or activities of the Department of Homeland Security.

What makes it worse is that there was no urgency to even pass this bill. Congress could have simply approved DHS funding at current levels with a continuing resolution. That’s why I think a vote for H.R. 2892 was really a vote for the prisoner abuse cover-up.

Representative Tiberi, by voting for this bill, you failed in your duty to uphold the law; you have instead chosen to side with those who wish to legislate the obstruction of justice. Have you forgotten whose interests you were elected to represent out there in D.C.?

Such behavior is completely unbecoming of a representative of the citizens of Ohio.

She who first began the practice of tearing out her tender progeny deserved to die in her own warfare. Can it be that, to be free of the flaws of stretchmarks, you have to scatter the tragic sands of carnage? Why will you subject your womb to the weapons of abortion and give dread poisons to the unborn? The tigress lurking in Armenia does no such thing, nor does the lioness dare destroy her young. Yet tender girls do so—though not with impunity; often shoe who kills what is in her womb dies herself.

Ovid, Amores, 2.14 (selections).

We’ve been making the same arguments for 2025 years.

I’ve been reading (and commenting at) Dan Edelen’s blog, Cerulean Sanctum for years. And it’s no wonder: he writes about Jesus, the Church and agrarianism—all topics I enjoy reading about.

Anyway, he and his family in Columbus a few days back, and he suggested we meet over a meal. I picked Bob Evans (yeah, baby!) and we had a great time talking about life, family, and European board games.

I teased him about how there’s so few photos of him on the web, people can get the impression that he’s really a 60-year-old woman in New Jersey. So he let me provide this corroborating evidence that he is who he claims to be on his blog:

Could you keep Dan in your prayers? He’s having surgery today, and it sounds like his recovery is probably going to take a while. He works as a freelance writer/editor, and I can certainly appreciate how stressful it can be to have to take a month off (without pay, of course) when you work from home.

In the clip above, Rep. Alan Grayson (FL-8) asks the Federal Reserve Inspector General about the trillions of dollars lent or spent by the Federal Reserve and where it went, and the trillions of off balance sheet obligations. Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman responds that her office does not know and is not tracking where this money is.

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 (HR 1207) would require an audit of the Federal Reserve. The map below shows which Representatives (by District) have cosponsored the bill as of June 16, 2009:

(Map created using a public domain image available at Wikimedia Commons and the Library of Congress’ list of cosponsors.)

So now I learn that the Federal Reserve is actually seeking to hire a lobbyist to fight against this (and similar) legislation. And I’m left wondering, “if you don’t have anything to hide, then what’s the problem with an impartial audit?” Our children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren are going to be saddled with enormous debts as a result of this massive inflation (that is, an increase in the money supply). If such spending is truly justified, then it’s a painful hardship we’ll have to deal with. But if it’s not justified, then it needs to stop!

If your Congressional District isn’t lit up yet, send a message to your Representative and Senators telling them you want them to support the Audit the Fed bill (HR 1207 in the House, S 604 in the Senate). Then show your neighbors the YouTube clip above and get them to write your Representative and Senators, too.

But as the weather started getting nicer, we came out of our hibernation! Memorial Day weekend in particular was beautiful, and we were all over the place. On May 21, we made our first visit to Graeter’s Ice Cream in Bexley.

Then on the 23rd, we drove out to see what they had at the Worthington Farmers Market. We didn’t really buy anything, but we browsed a lot.

The next day, we went to the 2009 Asian Festival at Franklin Park. The kids loved it:

After such a crazy weekend, Nicole needed a little “pregnant momma” time to recuperate. But after hanging out with the Grace Central crowd this past Sunday, I was able to convince her that it’d be a great idea to swing out to The North Market for lunch!

Nicole got a Greek Salad from Firdous Express, I got Lamb Curry from Flavors of India, and the kids picked off of both. Afterward, I picked up a downright amazing Buckeye Latté from A Touch of Earth! Seriously, I’m not kidding: peanut butter, chocolate and coffee all together in a single cup? YES PLEASE!

I’m going to be at WordCamp Columbus today! If you’re on Twitter, I’ve got it set to pass direct messages on to my cell phone (I’m *gasp!* not going to have a computer with me at the event). Just “D TravisSeitler” if you want to meet up… or if you notice some food between my teeth.

Last Monday, I went to return a few books to the library and our car wouldn’t start. So I jumped on the unofficial Oldsmobile Aurora forums, asked around on Twitter, and learned all about alternators on YouTube—but when we couldn’t even jump-start the thing Tuesday night, I admitted defeat and called for a tow truck.

(BTW, if you have any “in” whatsoever, get insurance coverage with USAA! They are, hands down, the absolute best when it comes to customer service.)

Anyway, on Wednesday I had the car towed to a shop that USAA recommended. The lead service tech there told me that they weren’t busy; they would have it looked at the same day, or by Thursday at the absolute latest.

When they closed for the weekend on Saturday afternoon, they still hadn’t even begun their diagnosis.

I was told that they would get back to me with a diagnosis by Monday, but I was told this by the same person who originally said Thursday… so I’m thinking it may be a while before we get our car back.

Meanwhile, food and diapers don’t replenish themselves (at least not here, and I don’t want to know if they do in your home), so I’ve found myself walking more this past week—including a 4-mile round trip to Walmart, with an ice-pack-filled backpack to keep the milk cool on the 40-minute trek back.

Then there’s some books that need to get back to the library, my very pregnant wife has an appointment with her midwife on Tuesday, and WordCamp is this weekend. There’s only so much in this city that we can accomplish by walking—or riding COTA—from this side of Whitehall.

In other words, this week is shaping up to be an interesting one.

“I have been picking on Christians because I am one, and see no reason to pretend we are better that we are.” — Philip Yancy #

That just says it all right there.

This card only has five dollars, and after that you can’t buy anything anymore. # But Daddy’s card is plugged into the bank, so he *always* has money! #

If only, Katie… if only.

Well, I fell victim to what the telephone industry calls a “crammer”: basically, due to deregulation phone companies are required (by the FCC, or the FTC… something like that) to add other companies’ bills to your phone bill if those companies tell them to. It’s supposed to make it easier to get your long-distance bill from Company B tacked onto the end of your local bill from Company A. The problem is it’s rife with abuse. #

Case in point: someone set up an account with “Email Discount Network, LLC” using my phone number, so their $15/month membership fee was charged to me on my phone bill. # I didn’t pay attention last month and paid it; this month I noticed how high the bill was and discovered this little gem.

So I followed the instructions on my phone bill, and I called “Enhanced Services Billing, Inc,” who then redirected me to EDN. The EDN representative apologized, and agreed to issue a credit to my AT&T account. # Apparently someone named “Donna Osmond” (yeah, right) set up an account through their web site and entered my phone number by mistake (uh huh). Supposedly this happens from time to time… and given the fact that no effort was made to call that number and verify account creation before billing it, I’m not surprised in the least.

I made sure to get a reference number (which came in handy later).

Once that was all done, I called AT&T for a few reasons: first, to make sure it was in their records that I was “officially” disputing the EDN charges; second, to let them know why I wasn’t going to pay that portion of my bill this month; third, to make sure they wouldn’t penalize me with a late fee if I didn’t pay the disputed charge on my bill. # The AT&T representative (Hector) asked if I had a reference number from EDN (so it’s a good thing I got one—the EDN rep didn’t volunteer it, so it would have been my word against theirs if I’d failed to get it). I gave it to him, he filed a report and said there would be no late fees for the unpaid portion of my bill. #

Then after a brief sales pitch (which I turned down, because a family without a TV doesn’t need Digital TV service), he offered me a free 4-month DSL upgrade and told me he’d send along a $5 Starbucks card, too. # WIN!

And that, dear friends, is what a little kindness & patience (and a calm voice) can get you in frustrating situations like this! #

“A good name is more desirable than great riches” (Prov. 22:1). So when people feel wronged by you, do what AT&T did here: more than make it up to them. #

Larry Douthwaite is a pastor in my old hometown of Littlestown, PA. He’s also spent the past fifteen years serving the local public school district as a crossing guard. He can usually be spotted at the corner of North Queen and East Myrtle streets, and he usually is spotted… because he has a propensity to wear some pretty crazy hats.

Not only does this help drowsy drivers pay attention to the school crossing in the morning, but seeing him in some zany headgear had a way of cheering even the grouchiest commuters.

All that may be changing, though, thanks to borough manager Linda M. Hess.

In a story that has garnered national attention, with Larry appearing on FOX & Friends two days in a row (this past Wednesday and Thursday), Linda apparently saw a driver swerve near Larry’s intersection one morning. She then decided Larry’s crazy hat was to blame, and sent a letter off to Littlestown Chief of Police Don Baker to order the end of the “crazy hat” era. (Ironically, Chief Baker doesn’t seem to have a problem with the hats.)

“I’ll get you, my pretty… and your crazy hat, too!”

I’m wondering a few things, not least of which is this: why did Linda Hess write a letter to the Police Chief and have him speak to Larry, instead of first speaking herself directly with Larry… or at least with the school superintendent? It really seems like a passive-aggressive power play to me. And it’s in stark contrast to Larry’s response, which was to immediately schedule a meeting with Ms. Hess to try and hash things out mano-a-mano.

Larry’s been beyond reproach in the whole thing, to the point of urging others not to criticize Linda for her decision. But he didn’t say anything against criticizing her for her approach to the situation. Personally? If I had to guess, I’d say it sounds like the hats have irritated Ms. Hess for a while now, and she finally got her chance to order their permanent removal. Makes me think of Miss Almira Gulch, if you know what I mean.

So feel free to send an e-mail to her at lmhess@littlestownboro.org (according to Littlestown’s official web site), and let her know what you think about the crossing guard who went the extra mile to make sure motorists paid attention.

This is another of rediscovered writings from 1999. I actually read this over the air during one of WJTL’s Youth Group Nights. “Radio Friend” Phil Smith let me read it on-air without looking over it first… and he seemed a bit unnerved when I was through.

A chilling darkness fills the sky,
a cold and sinister screen.
Grotesque, demonic shapes fly ’round
with eyes of glowing green.

You feel them breathing down your neck,
but frozen there, you lie.
While blazing, white hot lightning
all around you fills the sky.

Slowly you perceive their forms
with bloodlust in their eyes,
And at that very moment you
know they have found their prize.

They laugh at, mock and taunt you.
They take pleasure from your pain.
And even though you try to flee,
your struggle is in vain.

But then you find your Holy weapon,
just before they pounce;
A sword of shining silver with
which they will be renounced.

You strike ten, nay, a hundred beasts,
with thousands left to slay.
The nearest standing makes it clear
he’ll not be chased away.

“I’ve known you your entire life,
I’ve made you what you are.
Although, I am surprised that you
have gotten quite this far.”

The words that pass ‘tween slimy lips,
they fill your heart with dread:
“The game is over now my child,
in other words, you’re dead.”

The battle rages quite some time,
good swordsmanship you show.
But then he brings you to your knees
with a near-fatal blow.

“I said that you would never win,
and very soon, you’ll die.
For you have passed up every chance
to join the Prince of Lies.”

With every bit of energy
still flowing in your blood,
You raise the sword above your head
and stick it in the mud.

You close your eyes and bow your head,
you pray to God on high,
To send His mighty warriors,
swords lighting up the nigh.

The clouds recede into the sky,
a beam of light streaks down.
Ten thousand Holy warriors step
onto the battleground.

You suddenly wake up with a start
and scan your dim-lit room.
You sense an evil presence,
makes the dark feel like a tomb.

You’re out of bed and on your knees,
you pray with all your might,
That from this day until the last
you’ll carry on the fight.

And as you climb back into bed
this thought you start to feel:
“Was this all just in my head,
or was that battle real?”

HT: Photo Basement via io9.

If you’re on Twitter, post your answer there and include the #ifelected hashtag. I’ve got a few in there already, but it’d be more fun if somebody else was playing with me! Make it funny, serious and/or insightful… just don’t be bland. (And make sure you’re following hashtag on Twitter if you want yours included in their index.)

Anybody who’s trying to get a handle on the current economic free-for-all should check out The Real Great Depression, which does a great job explaining how the depression of 1873 mostly happened because too many banks approved too many bad mortgages in the commercial real estate sector, and so it’s a better analog to what we’re seeing today.

More generally, the Ludwig von Mises Institute put together a collection of articles to help you understand the bailout and everything related to it (Freddie Mac, short-selling, etc.). Lew Rockwell put together a similar collection of “I told you so” articles.

This conversation actually happened (more or less) on a message board Nicole and I dual-admin for her digital scrapbooking creative team. I’m not much of a digital scrapbooker, so all I end up “contributing” is goofy, geeky stuff (like Dinosaur Comics). It’s all good, though, because Nicole’s CT is chock-full o’ nuts like the two of us, so they (usually) appreciate the geeky things I toss in there.

Anyway, I thought I’d share this one with everybody (especially maybe Ryan?). Also, in this comic Utahraptor’s reading my lines. I know y’all were dying to know that, so you’re welcome.

HT: Myself on Twitter. (Can I get more lame than that? LET’S NOT FIND OUT, MMMKAY?)

Matthew 15:7-9 (ESV)

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

"'This people honors me with their lips,
      but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
      teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

Of course, it makes a difference when the person preaching asked for someone to read the passage.

Nicole and I took the kids out to Longs Park on Sunday afternoon. We had a good time just relaxing, goofing off at one of the playgrounds, and hanging out at the petting zoo. Yes, I said “the petting zoo.” At a park!

This is just one of the many reasons why I love Lancaster County.

1. Isn’t a 501(c)(3) state-authorized nonprofit organization?
2. Isn’t filled with a bunch of theological fruitcakes?

Because it seems that every time I express distaste with either of these two things, I’m told some variation of “you’ll never find the perfect church on this earth, and if you do you’d only ruin it by joining.”

Why can’t the “regular assembling” look more like a family reunion?

Maybe I’ll get back in the groove once Sugarplum Paperie 2.0 launches. Until then, most of my web activity is divided between Facebook and Flickr.

Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said that an individual right to bear arms is supported by “the historical narrative” both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted.

The Constitution does not permit “the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home,” Scalia said. The court also struck down Washington’s requirement that firearms be equipped with trigger locks.

(Source: The Evansville, Indiana Courier & Press)

Of course, it’s the stereotypical 5-to-4 ruling… which basically means half of the current judges presiding over the Supreme Court are complete idiots. (Really: if you have a feeling the vote is going this way, isn’t this like telling every potential “freak militiaman” to start gunning for you? It doesn’t make any sense to me… because now you don’t have gun bans to hide behind. I just don’t get it.)

“A cult is a group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control (e.g. isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of [consequences of] leaving it, etc) designed to advance the goals of the group’s leaders to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community.”

(HT: Wikipedia)

That’s it—only one question long! So what’s your answer?

(HT: Adventures in Legal Land)

(This is a sort of update to my Summer 2008 Blockbusters post from earlier in the week.)

This is brilliant! Perhaps not helpful for every video search you’d ever run, but many searches would be aided by this sort of results display. Google’s already testing a timeline-based search results system; they need to get on the ball and add this functionality to YouTube (and/or Google Video).

This past weekend, Nicole and I took the kids to see Horton Hears a Who! It was Joshua’s first time in a movie theater, and he did okay. (He got a bit whiny toward the end, so I took him over near the door and held him a bit, and he calmed down.)

Anyway, the movie was a lot of fun. I had trouble keeping track of whether Horton and the kangaroo represented “mainstream culture vs. evil, close-minded fundamentalists” or “believer vs. atheist.” It was a little too disorienting to try and embrace both models at the same time—maybe due to my taking personally the homeschooling dig early in the film.

As with previous Dr. Seuss theatrical adaptations, a number of additions were made to convert the 72-page book into an 86-minute film. Unlike previous live-action Seussian projects, however, these additions (for the most part) added something to the story without mutating it into a children’s book version of Ace Ventura. Even the anime fight sequence worked! The main exception in my mind?

“In my world, everyone’s a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies!”

At first glance, Katie seems to have been intended to play the part of the cute toddler who sometimes makes strange remarks. She ends up just being creepy, though. Her character is so dissonant in relation to the rest of the movie that she doesn’t just seem out of place… she seems like a saboteur, intentionally seeking to derail the story.

Aside from Katie, the movie just works. So, since she doesn’t have much screen time, I’d give the movie 4.5 (out of 5) stars!

I took Katie with me this morning (she’s almost a bigger Ron Paul supporter than I am; she says he’s her “favorite President ever”) out to my local polling place. Now I think it’s weird that the State government is using a religious institution’s building to run a government function, but hey–I’m one of those weird “separation of Church and State”rs. Outside the building was a table where a guy had a sample Republican ballot, as well as this handy-dandy little reference card:

FYI: 100% of the identified Ron Paul supporters (three of the four candidates in each list) are “NOT ENDORSED” by the Republican Committee of Lancaster County, PA. Those candidates are listed at RonPaulPA.com.

You know, this just seems odd to me. I can see a special interest group endorsing certain GOP candidates before the GOP primary, but why would the GOP itself be endorsing particular candidates before the primary election?

Why should their a priori endorsement matter to me? Isn’t that a little bit backwards?

Sorry, I’m just a little bit angry about this. If they’d given reasons for the endorsements (or lack thereof), I might feel better about it. But when they do something like this, aren’t they implicitly saying “those candidates aren’t ‘Republican’ enough”? Fine, make that claim… but support it if you want me to take you seriously!

Just handing over this card, though… party officials are literally dictating to area residents how to vote?! How would it look if your county’s Democratic party was telling all the Democrats to vote for Obama? That’s what this looks like to me.

The purpose of a primary is for me to tell you who to vote for, “Party Officials”; not vice-versa.

Ooh… it just burns me up!

Well, I’ve taken the plunge.

I backed up my database, disabled my plugins and upgraded to WordPress 2.5. With almost zero trouble, I was up and running—and let me tell ya, I like it!

I’m going to give the new admin interface the benefit of the doubt, but I have Fluency, a new Admin Theme on standby in case I get tired of the softer tones.

Well, this one gave me pause. Then it confused me. Then I was convinced that I had a moral obligation to share it with all of you!

This is an e-mail I received from Clair. Or maybe it’s from Kristina:

Here’s some Very Interesting Things that jumped out at me:

1. She claims to have “closely read [my] profile” (only God knows what profile she’s referring to), yet has somehow gotten the (wrong) idea that I’m either unmarried or willing to cheat on my wife. (“I looking for serious relations.”)
2. She’s under the impression that I’m dirt-poor. (“For me are not necessary money.”)
3. She called me ugly! (“The external beauty for me too is not important.”)
4. Here’s the kicker, and it’s what made her request for “the man will concern to me” so gosh-darned tempting: people, at the free time she likes to go to DISCO!

But nope! Sorry, Ms. Whoever-you-think-your-name-is… I already got a wife off the Internet.

Numb3rs wouldn’t have an audience if it weren’t for Square One TV’s MathNet. I think it’s only fair for them to write an episode guest-starring Joe Howard and Beverly Leech (George Frankly and Kate Monday, respectively).

They don’t have to be law enforcement officers; but the stronger their connection to solving crimes with math, the cooler it would be.

And speaking of Square One actors making guest appearances, Larry Cedar would make a perfect brother to LOST’s Ben Linus (Michael Emerson). Just sayin’.

Katie got to do some pretty cool things this morning:

• take part in her first “community” Easter egg hunt
• meet Lisa Landis
• make her first-ever request for the Kids Cookie Break request hour

So she’s a happy camper.

“And ye, O peoples, to whom God gave the liberty to choose your own magistrates, see to it, that ye do not forfeit this favor, by electing to the positions of highest honor, rascals and enemies of God.” — John Calvin

So according to John Calvin, you forfeit your God-given freedom to vote if you elect anyone but Ron Paul.

If it doesn’t have a tail it’s not a monkey—even if it has a monkey kind of shape—if it doesn’t have a tail it’s not a monkey! If it doesn’t have a tail it’s not a monkey… it’s an ape.

Have you ever wondered how to tell the difference between the two? Larry the Cucumber comes to our rescue once again in this Silly Song from The Wonderful Wizard of Ha’s:

The kids love listening to WJTL’s Kids’ Cookie Break every Saturday morning, and this song has gotten frequent airplay. Joshua’s been walking around saying “monkey” over and over again. Especially pointing to Jakey, our stuffed gorilla (which is an ape).

Oh, and I guess since this is St. Patrick’s Day (BTW, today I’m wearing red—the anti-green!) I ought to send you off to watch Big Idea’s St. Patrick flannel-graph biography.

I also can’t help but notice that a far greater proportion of my posts focused on Gemstone Publishing’s Disney comic books. Nowadays I’m far more likely to talk politics. (Hey, I found it interesting!)

But you know what I found even more striking? Back then, I would tend to just post a quote from a book, article or sermon. You know, the way Josh Sowin likes to blog. These days I tend to feel guilty if I don’t inject some of my own commentary.

But tough noogies, Travis! Because as part of my plan to celebrate these past three years of blogging, I’m going to goof around get back to my roots with Quotes Week! “What is Quotes Week,” you ask? Silly human! Each day I’ll post a quote (maybe a couple if they’re closely related) and very little personal commentary. You will then be led to marvel at the intelligence of others, rather than marveling at my own intelligence (which, let’s face it, is what typically happens around here).

Hopefully y’all don’t notice this is a dumb excuse to not write much enjoy it as much as I do!

Ooh! Ooh! And there’s a special, secret surprise in the works! I don’t want to reveal too much about it right now, but something super-fun will be happening on April 10th! So mark your calendars, folks! You heard it here first… primarily because nobody else knows about it.

I feel extra goofy all of a sudden. I wonder if it’s more from the lack of sleep, the Benadryl, or the giddiness that is writing whatever the heck I want to!

Woo-hoo! Go, diphenhydramine, go!

This week’s focus is socio-political:

Common Sense

Thomas Paine

Good ol’ Tommy sits atop the pinnacle of political satire. If you’re a budding satirist (this includes anyone who likes to comment on blog posts), you need to read this work. A few times.

The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Whether you’re a budding pro-Obama Commie or a conservative who’s heard rumors that the United States’ government isn’t as democratic or republican as we’ve been led to believe, this book has something for you. Go ahead: grab it and see just how Communistic our government has already become. I’d say McCarthy lost this battle…

The Art of War

Sun Tzu and William Lidwell

Speaking of battles: if you’re going to wage a war, this is the only must-read book on the subject. Period. (Or so I’ve heard.)

There you go! Short and sweet, because these books are HUGE! You’re gonna need all the time you can get just to skim over them this weekend!

At WOWIO, readers can legally download high-quality copyrighted ebooks from leading publishers for free. Readers have access to a wide range of offerings, including works of classic literature, college textbooks, comic books, and popular fiction and non-fiction titles.

• House Resolution 924: Congratulating Iowa State University of Science and Technology for 150 years of leadership and service to the United States and the world as Iowa’s land-grant university. [full text]
• House Resolution 948: Congratulating the University of Kansas (“KU”) football team for winning the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl and having the most successful year in program history. [full text]
• House Resolution 493: Congratulating the women’s water polo team of the University of California, Los Angeles, for winning the 2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Water Polo National Championship, and congratulating UCLA on its 100th NCAA sports national title, making it the most accomplished athletic program in NCAA history. [full text]

Yep, yep… there’s lots of tough choices to make when you’re a U.S. Representative. And I’m sure my fellow 16th Districters can join me in saying, “thank you, Rep. Pitts, for congratulating those Universities and their sports teams! That is precisely why we elected you, sir. Keep up the good work.”

Oh, and then there was this silly little matter of the President vetoing HR 2082 (the House of Representatives’ ‘08 Intelligence Authorization Act). There was a House vote to override the veto, and Rep. Pitts voted “nay.” (Yawn.) Let’s get back to important stuff, like sports… okay?

By the way: you may be wondering, “why did the President veto this bill anyway? I thought our ‘War on Terror’ was crippled until this Act was approved!” Well, it seems there is a Very Important Reason. Now, his veto message includes a few reasons, but the primary one seems to be this: “…the bill would harm our national security by requiring any element of the Intelligence Community to use only the interrogation methods authorized in the Army Field Manual on Interrogations. It is vitally important that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) be allowed to maintain a separate and classified interrogation program.”

So the President doesn’t really care about you and your family’s risk from potential terrorist plots; his only concern is to be able to conduct “interrogations” (read:torture) outside of any legal restrictions or oversight.

You know, it’s gotten to where I don’t even want to go to a mall if they have a Vickie’s. They’ve gotten so brazen with their—let’s call a spade a spade, folks—pornographic window displays that Nicole and I have quietly boycotted them for nearly half a decade. I’m not the only one, either: I know of many men and women (mostly conservative Christians) who would like to shop there, but don’t want to support a store which seems more interested in selling immorality.

Now, finally, it looks like Victoria’s Secret is taking the hint:

“Victoria’s Secret… has become ‘too sexy’ for its own good, its top executive said.

‘We’ve so much gotten off our heritage… we use the word ’sexy’ a lot and really have forgotten the ultra feminine,’ said Sharen Turney, Victoria’s Secret’s chief executive.”

It seems the company lost quite a bit of money over the past year, and they’re finally returning to their roots: “The chain was started in San Francisco in 1977 by Roy Raymond, who said he was embarrassed trying to buy lingerie for his wife and hoped to provide a comfortable place for men to shop“ (emphasis mine). Married men don’t like being made to feel like they’re entering a strip club when they’re trying to buy something cute for their wives to wear in the bedroom. The store’s original owner understood that, and hopefully this latest news means the current owners now understand it, too.

The world at large seems to think that sex is for anything but a happy marriage. What originally made Victoria’s Secret unique was that they celebrated the marriage bed. When they gave up that truly unique angle and instead relied on cheap titillation, the attention waned and they started losing money. Good for them that they noticed before they went bankrupt.

Me? I just hope the changes are made before Nicole’s birthday. Or at least mine.

So I Googled the number, and it turns out it’s Payless ShoeSource wanting to tell me about a “buy one, get one free” sale they’re running. And yes, I know that’s not what they’re calling it, but I absolutely refuse to call this a “BOGO.” “Buy one, get one” means exactly that: you get the one item you bought. “Buy one, get one free,” on the other hand, means you get two items when you only paid for one. (Interesting tidbit: “shoplifting” can mean the same thing, but the stores don’t typically encourage such behavior. It’s true!)

Ahem. So why did Payless call me at work (at 2:30pm, when I’m not likely to drop everything and run out to buy two pairs of shoes)? A few weeks ago, I bought a pair of boots from Payless. Where I was asked for my phone number at the cash register. I’m too nice to flat-out refuse, so I gave ‘em the number at my desk.

Here’s what really irks me about all of this: when asked for my phone number, I was never told that I would receive phone calls regarding future sales. If anything, I was given the impression that my phone number was needed because I was paying with a debit card, or to track demographics (like when other stores will ask for your 3-digit area code). I was tricked into being barraged by advertisements, just because I don’t want to be a jerk to a store clerk who’s simply doing as she was trained. I was never asked permission for this use of my phone number, and never offered it. This use was forced upon me by somebody who cares nothing for me as a person, but merely for what he can get by using me.

You could say Payless raped my phone number.

Now I like the boots I bought. I was ready to make Payless my “the shoe store” for the foreseeable future. But as happy as I was, I feel like I’d be encouraging this sort of customer disservice if I continued to buy from them. Which sucks, because I don’t want to have to find another place to buy shoes.

“Real permission is different from presumed or legalistic permission. Just because you somehow get my email address doesn’t mean you have permission. Just because I don’t complain doesn’t mean you have permission. Just because it’s in the fine print of your privacy policy doesn’t mean it’s permission either.” — Seth Godin, Permission Marketing

I won’t forget this. Payless has lost any and all trust I had in them. They may never earn it back. And all because they refused to consider others as more important than themselves.

McCain thinks the voters have no right to know a Presidential candidate’s approach to foreign policy; Cheney really did want to invade Iraq for the oil, after all—and was making plans to do so as early as six months before 9/11; and TSA officials are now confiscating baby food and divvying it up amongst themselves.

Is it any wonder why I’m happy that a guy like Ron Paul isn’t giving up?

So this morning, Mr. Sutton was talking about waterboarding, torture, etc. and basically said the military needs to do all o’ that and more to find out whatever they can to stop terrorists. I’m no good on the phone, so I sent him a few e-mails (two of which I sent in early enough for him to read on the air):

Gary,

My concern with waterboarding is a concern with torture in general being used to extract information: it’s not very reliable.

Here Gary broke in and asked, “how do you know it’s not reliable, Travis? It was reliable with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, right?” Well, maybe not. Anyway, I wasn’t on the phone so I couldn’t disagree with him there. Continuing, I quoted Ron Paul:

“Legal issues aside, the American people and government should never abide the use of torture by our military or intelligence agencies. A decent society never accepts or justifies torture. It dehumanizes both torturer and victim, yet seldom produces reliable intelligence.” — Rep. Ron Paul

Gary said he respects Paul, but called this stance “naïve.” Seems it was so naïve that he made sure to say my e-mail “attributed the quote to Ron Paul.” That’s true, but Paul really said it back in 2004.

Anyway, Gary went on to read my second e-mail (a bit of context first: a caller had asked Gary if the President swears an oath to defend the people of the United States, and Gary answered in the affirmative):

Gary,

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

The oath is to defend the Constitution, not American lives. True, “faithfully execut[ing] the Office” does include being “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States,” but this doesn’t mean he can commit Treason against the Constitution in an effort to “protect American lives.”

I can’t remember exactly what he said in response to this, but he essentially said I was spending too much time on particular words and phrases and missing the gist of the thing. (Gosh, if he only knew!)

The problem with this “the President swears an oath to protect the people” statement is that there’s a reason folks assert “people” instead of “Constitution”; namely, the current Administration has been acting in blatant opposition to the Constitution since 9/11 (if not earlier), and justify their unlawful acts by saying, “it’s to protect the people.”

So I sent him another e-mail as a follow-up, but couldn’t get it off before his show ended. In it, I laid out my case for why I believe the Executive Branch’s condoning of waterboarding and similar interrogation methods constitutes an Act of Treason:

Thanks for addressing my e-mails. Sounds like I need to flesh out my stance a bit.

• Under Article 6, The Constitution states that “…all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land.”
• The United States ratified the Geneva Conventions (a series of four treaties) in 1882.
• The War Crimes Act of 1996 made any grave breach of those restrictions a U.S. felony.
• In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Third Geneva Convention applies to all detainees in the War on Terror.
• Article 17 of the Third Geneva Convention states, in part:
  

  No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind.

So unless and until the Federal Government breaks these treaties, the Executive Branch is knowingly allowing its members (within the Armed Forces) to commit felonies and breach ratified treaties which are, according to the Constitution, “the supreme Law of the Land.”

Ours is a nation where the Rule of Law is supreme, so condoning acts which our Constitution prohibits makes a person an Enemy of the United States. Adhering to such an Enemy is an act of treason, according to Article 3 of the Constitution.

And that’s where I stand. The “Rule of Law” is the foundation for our country, and so we cannot tolerate anyone who would exchange that foundation for the Rule of Men.

Our nation’s continued existence isn’t nearly as important as what sort of people will comprise this nation in the future. Are we willing to become a Western imitation of Iran or Saudi Arabia or communist China, so long as we keep the “USA” brand? It would be better for the USA to be overthrown from without than for it to be gradually converted to the philosophies of our enemies.

We will not defeat terrorism by becoming terrorists. Yet that is exactly the course our government seems to be Hell-bent on pursuing.

God help us all.

UPDATE: I came across an article regarding President Bush’s admitting that waterboarding has been used as an interrogation tactic since 9/11, and the author makes some excellent points:

Describing waterboarding in the book The History of Torture, George Ryley Scott wrote:

[The torture of water] was generally adopted when racking, in itself, proved ineffectual. The victim, while pinioned on the rack, was compelled to swallow water, which was dropped slowly on a piece of silk or fine linen placed in his mouth. This material, under pressure of the water, gradually glided down the throat, producing the sensation experienced by a person who is drowning. A variation of the water torture was to cover the face with a piece of thin linen, upon which the water was poured slowly, running into the mouth and nostrils and hindering or preventing breathing almost to the point of suffocation.

The KGB, the Khmer Rouge, the Gestapo, the Vietcong, the Communist North Koreans and the Burmese Junta all used waterboarding as torture.

Japanese soldiers who engaged in waterboarding were tried for war crimes after World War II.

The author goes on to say, as I did, that “[t]orture, even when used on those that seem so transparently evil as the al-Qaeda henchmen in our grasp at Gitmo, is, simply put, a betrayal both of America’s past and her promise for the future.”

The United States is supposed to be better than this.

A few weeks back, Katie drew this picture of a bee. I love it.

Yes, you!

Our local library is running a reading contest this month: kids vs. adults. They’re doing it with the local elementary school, which is totally unfair—the teachers can force the kids to read! Apparently the adults were trounced heavily last year, so the points have been tweaked in our favor this time around. Adults get 2 points for every book read (including every early reader and board book read to a child). I read seven in a single day without even putting much effort into it.

Heh heh heh.

Nicole won’t take part in my shenanigans; she thinks it isn’t fair to the kids. I say, if one adult reading voraciously is able to singlehandedly beat every under-18 reader in the school district? …well, then those kids earned the embarrassment that’s coming. (Of course, if they don’t care about reading, will they care about my beating them in a reading contest? No matter. At the very least I might be able to shame their parents and teachers.)

And that’s what it’s all about.

(Pictured above: me reading Neil Postman’s Teaching as a Subversive Activity. It’s good stuff.)