Exercising Freedom of Speech

Flag Burning or Flag Waving??

Do we really need a constitutional amendment to tell us how to be patriotic? I find it ironic that the very people who have actively and cheerfully dismantled our democracy and destroyed any government "for the people" want to propose that people be prosecuted for burning the flag. These political hacks should be villified for waving flags while promoting unjust labor policies, preemptive wars, and environmental devastation worldwide. But I guess this is what our flag stands for now--it's a symbol that is now held hostage by mega-corporate interests. These same politicians have no problem when the Nascar crowd bundles up in flag jackets and red, white, and blue striped capri pants. Next time I'm at the track, I think I'll light my capri pants on fire and see what happens.

Keep on Rockin'

While cleaning the attic yesterday, I finally found the pictures of the very first Rolling Stones concert in Detroit. It was 1965--Olympia Stadium. I was in the 2nd row and there were only around 300 people there. Six months later, they "blew up"-- as they say these days. Anyway, the most interesting thing about one picture is the police officer in the foreground. He looks bored. I guess he never imagined that 40 years later Mick Jagger would still be rockin'--

We Got 'em!

This morning the news is filled with self-satisfied pronouncements by our leaders declaring we killed the leader of the terrorists in Iran. It's a little like declaring victory over kudzu (a particularly invasive plant) because you were able to yank up a few vines.

Many Americans still believe that close examination of the structural, economic, and political causes of terrorism is like blaming the victims. Even though the young woman who stayed out too late, drank too much, and was raped and murdered by the bar's security guard can't be blamed for her own tragic demise--we must begin to recognize the possible consequences of our country's naive and simplistic world view. This view can be encapsulated in Bush's declaration, "They hate us because we're free!" But how free can Americans be if we can't travel to other countries without fear of reprisals for our government's misguided adventures? How "free" are we to pursue happiness if, as our jobs are disappearing overseas, the price of gasoline eats into a family budget constricted by falling wages and a loss of benefits? This is "homeland security?"

It's a real shell game the conservatives are playing now. Quick, look over here--some gay people might want to get married! Oh yeah, and we killed a big, bad terrorist!!!! Mission accomplished, indeed.

Meanwhile, our children's futures have been mortgaged, the infrastructure neglected, jobs exported, and the environment destroyed by people who find it so easy, perhaps even laudable, to put their hands into our pockets.