Each day I bite back on my tongue when I read the news. Having written this reaction to the NSA wiretapping program, I don’t think I have many more civil words to add to the public forum. I would like to extend my thoughts from that post to say the following though. While I want the terrorist scum to know that we know every word they whisper in their sleep, where every cent is spent, and when they’re going to pick their noses even before they do, I also want them to know that we live in the most confusing and amazing country around. By that I mean that they should also see that while we can thwart them at nearly every turn, we can also maintain our freedom. We can shut them down faster than a dictator shutting down a secret printing press and yet still enjoy all the benefits (and drawbacks) of an unchecked media. I want them to know that we are still the land of the free. Just not for them.
That’s not why I’m writing though. As I said, every day I have to hold back a scorching flow of words. Not just about the NSA programs, but about other political and sociological stories. In large part it is because I am focusing my efforts at creating coherent sentences on finishing my screenplay. As soon as it has been finished, printed, and bound, I do plan to weigh in heavily on the races going down here in Georgia. Particularly in regards to a certain member of Congress who almost makes me ashamed to admit I am from Georgia. So why are your synapses suddenly set aflame again by my powerful text?
Well, I watched an episode of Charlie Rose the other day with Al Gore as the guest. He was, of course, speaking about his movie and global warming. Two statements he made caught my attention and I shoved them into a fodder file. As I do feel I have been remiss in my posting duties of late, I figured at least taking the time out to post these two quotes might assuage some of my (entirely self-imposed) guilt.
First up, he declares that the whole Cold War and the idea of Mutually Assured Destruction were make believe when he says, in regards to global warming, “Never before have we faced a threat that can end all human civilization.” Just imagine how much better the last fifty years of the twentieth century would have been had we all realized that an all out nuclear war either wasn’t a real threat or wouldn’t have ended all human civilization.
Next and finally, Gore informs us that “there have been 230 cities in the United States, quite a few with Republican mayors, who have independently ratified the international treaty.” Having reread the Constitution several times recently trying to find the secret clauses that give the President unlimited power, that statement not only raised a red flag it also set it on fire (since that’s still legal). Article 1, section 10 declares, “No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation.” Granted, these are cities not states he’s speaking of, but the point is that only the federal government may ratify treaties. We tried it with the other way and it didn’t really work.
Anyway, having now “attacked” Gore (in these overly sensitive and irrational days it takes so little to constitute an attack), I go off to bed to dream of a world where Cynthia McKinney fails to win re-election, a world I will hopefully see in my lifetime.