Monthly Archives: September 2005
“Take my love, take my land, Take me where I cannot stand. I don’t care, I’m still free. You can’t take the sky from me. Take me out to the black, Tell them I ain’t comin’ back. Burn the land and boil the sea, You can’t take the sky from me. There’s no place I can be Since I found Serenity, But you can’t take the sky from me…” Those words, from the theme song of Firefly, perfectly capture the … Continue reading
In San Francisco, California, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton has ruled compulsory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional. Next, the case will go to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled against “under God” in the Pledge a few years ago, and then to the United States Supreme Court, which ducked the “under God” issue before, but now won’t be able to do so. The last time the American court system grappled with “under … Continue reading
I’ve resisted assigning blame for the Hurricane Katrina disaster because I don’t believe kneejerk and partisan responses, especially after a tragedy, are appropriate. I question the humanity of imbeciles who, within a day of Katrina’s assault, used the devastation and death to make political points against President George W. Bush and the United States. Basic decency says we help the victims of a cataclysm and pay respects to the dead before thinking of how to blame our political opponents. Two … Continue reading
In my other screed from today, I asked whether the immense demands Americans place on their government might have slowed the response to Hurricane Katrina. Now, I must ask another question: Do we set up the American government to fail in our eyes? In the modern era, we expect the federal government to solve all our problems. Americans perceive their government officials not as maintainers of law and order, but as wizards who can ameliorate every difficulty. One of the … Continue reading
Ever since the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, American citizens have demanded more and more things from their federal government. They expect the government to, amongst other things: Regulate morality and decrease vice. Fund arts and sciences, no matter how trivial. Prevent individuals from harming themselves. Root out offensiveness in society. Make certain everyone can get a job. Ensure those who don’t have jobs don’t suffer too much. Manage the economy in futile efforts to end the cyclical occurrences of … Continue reading
