If Apple Made Water
Monthly Archives: February 2011
When Democracy Weakens – NYTimes.com
In the main I think most Americans are glad to see the people of Egypt (and Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria, Jordan, and Iran) stand up for their rights and demand greater freedoms.
The only folks I can imagine who do not are those who hate Muslims (though not everyone in those nations ARE, not that i should matter) and those who hate all brown people (the same folks presumably). Oh, and all those who get rich from the suffering of others.
As Bob Herbert reminds us, while we champion freedom in other nations, we are letting our democracy slip away.
We already have one political party – the Republicans – who actively advertise that the United States is NOT a democracy. Granted, they do this to childishly avoid anything tying our liberty to the Democratic Party (which gave you civil rights, Social Security, the weekend, etc.) but there is a much more evil lesson there. The party mostly known for bombing brown countries, bombing black churches, and torturing people they don’t agree with, not to mention taking their votes, health care, etc. away is actively working to kill democracy. Corporations are now people. You can’t run one over with a car, but they have “rights”, maybe more than you or me.
Yes, some of this is dogmatic. It smells of scare tactics. But it exists and this nation is growing less free because of it.
Keep Your Government Hands Off My Government Programs! – NYTimes.com
People who hate government programs dail to realize how many government programs they actually use.
In short, these people are idiots.
Make: Online » Skill Set: Understanding the Lathe
The ongoing project to teach woodworking this month provide knowledge on how a lathe works.
msnbc video: How the right explains Egypt
Republicans are already on record that they don’t like democracy. And we all know they really, really don’t like Muslims. Here’s more proof:
Map: Has Your State Banned Sharia? | Mother Jones
Guess which states are led by Muslim hating religious bigots?
Yeah, the South, the Plains, Indiana and the Aryzona/Utah wedge of child sex lovers.
Make: Online » Skill Set: Tuning Planes and Chisels
It isn’t enough to have good tools. Properly preparing them is even more key.
Make: Online » Skill Set: Understanding Basic Woodworking Tools
An introductory post on woodworking tools to start Make’s month of skill sets for woodworking.
The rise of undersea champagne: ‘I have never tasted such a wine in my life’
Early 19th century beer and champagne found off the coast of Finland. Apparently the beer might be brewed once they figure out what the recipe might have been.
I’ll try it for damn sure.
Miss. license plate proposed to honor KKK leader – Boston.com
The Sons of the Confederacy in Mississippi thinks it’s a great idea if that state issues a commemorative license plate honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest.
In short, they want to honor a traitor, racist, and terrorist. A man who led armies against the United States, who butchered black soldiers who surrendered at Fort Pillow, and the man who created the Ku Klux Klan.
The very fact that evil bastards like this are held up as heroes to many in this nation 145 years after the Civil War is a dark stain upon every citizen in this country. We should not stand for this. We should call it out for the evil that it is. We should quit apologizing to people proud that their ancestors committed treason and that some were slave owners. What the hell could be possibly have to apologize to them for?
Call it the evil that it is. Call it the pride on unpatriotic sedition. Call it un-American for that is what it most surely is.
My favorite – and most unhelpful – comment on this came from this related story:
I wonder how they’d feel if OH, birthplace of General W. Tecumseh Sherman, proposed a license plate depicting Sherman on a horse with a torch in hand and a silhouette of Atlanta in the background?
– commenter Tinsk