things of which the founds could not possibly conceived

A population this size.
The kind of violence we see in the entertainment industry.
Hate crimes.
Glorification of violence among children
Outright hate directed towards fellow citizens. Obviously people were alienated because of poverty, illness\disability, ethnicity, gender, certainly if known homosexual preferences.
I was born in 1969 in my lifetime, I don't remember a time when people would publicly, and shamelessly express the kind hate we see now.

But, I have read about scarlet letters, stocks, "Sinners In The Hands of an Angry God," witch hunts, etc. but the kind of vitriol and hate we see seems to have escalated within a very short time. I remember when Reagan and John Lennon were shot, and it seemed that no one questioned the idea that there was a problem with the fact that Mark David Chapman and John Hinckley were able to acquire guns.

Congress was angry during the Clinton years, but eventually did work together at times.

The Bush administration managed to start 2 wars with little domestic objection. It wasn't hard to get people on their side given the circumstances. But, those were obviously unfortunate hands to be responsible during that time. They capitalized on an idea that we are hated all over the world. Terrorism is hate, terrorism is everywhere, we should fear terrorism. With time, did a kind of terrifying fear become synonymous with hate?

They implemented policies that made us afraid of our neighbors and anyone who looks like they could be from the middle east. The hate seems to have escalated as the threat has subsided. Is hate a sense of empowerment for people who have been most fearful?

Thousands Gather to Remember SPC Sterling Wyatt

The state owns your DL or state ID

It can be revoked or police can confiscate it. That, I think, is one of the most convincing reasons to oppose photo ID laws.

Has anyone else paid attention to this military dog thing?

A part of the proposed legislation is for the government to provide lifetime veterinary services.


Looong history of animal cruelty laws

http://www.animallaw.info/historical/articles/ovushistory.htm



While child labor laws were passed, laws addressing child abuse were not passed until 1962

http://family.findlaw.com/child-abuse/child-abuse-background-and-history.html


I am not suggesting animals should not be protected, just pointing out a disturbing prioritization.

Reading "A Singular Woman" - biography of pres. Obama's mom

It's very interesting. The author talked with Ralph Waldo Emmerson Dunham- Obama's great uncle. He said that they are distantly related to Jefferson Davis. What poetic justice!!
Aside from that, I am learning that their family is unusually well educated. The great uncle mentioned above has a PhD. in educational psychology. There are two aunts who studied Anthropology.
She also included a lot of interesting history about Kansas to provide some context. "To the stars through difficulties" is the KS state motto.

Feds: Sheltered Workshops May Violate Disabilities Act

This is so long overdue!!


The Obama administration is coming out in support of a group of adults with developmental disabilities who say they’re being relegated to sheltered workshops even though they’re capable of working in the community.....

Now, the Justice Department is weighing in saying that limiting people with disabilities to sheltered workshops is no different than segregating them in institutions.

“The unwarranted placement of persons with disabilities in sheltered workshops similarly perpetuates ‘unwarranted assumptions’ that such persons are ‘incapable or unworthy’ of working in competitive employment or interacting with non-disabled co-workers or customers,” wrote Justice Department attorneys in the statement of interest.

“Thus, the placement of persons with disabilities in segregated sheltered workshops on even a part-time basis, when they could be spending these hours working in the community with appropriate supports and services, is sufficient to state a claim under Title II (of the ADA) and the integration regulation,” federal officials continued.
Individuals with disabilities who are named in the suit have experience working in the community at McDonald’s, Safeway and other companies. Nonetheless, without supports they have no choice but to work at sheltered workshops where they earn less than the state minimum wage of $8.80 per hour, according to the initial complaint filed in January.

Having the Sisters’ Back

For all his faults, I'm glad to see support coming from this unlikely source. That he used the word "attack" is particularly encouraging to me. We need all the allies we can find when it comes to poverty, healthcare, etc AND in making clear that this attack on women is real.
It's a step in the right direction.

Springsteen’s Ode to Conservative Values?

"Death to my hometown" (also an ode to OWS)

So listen up, my sonny boy, be ready when they come
For they'll be returning sure as the rising sun
Now get yourself a song to sing and sing it 'til you're done
Yeah, sing it hard and sing it well

Send the robber barons straight to hell
The greedy thieves who came around
And ate the flesh of everything they found
Whose crimes have gone unpunished now
Who walk the streets as free men now

"Jack of All Trades" is one of the saddest songs I think I've ever heard filled with what could again interpreted as rugged individualism as opposed to desperation. He wraps up anger, mourning and hope into one song. Amazing.

Here we stood the drought, now we’ll stand the flood
There’s a new world coming, I can see the light
I’m a Jack of all trades, we’ll be alright
So you use what you’ve got, and you learn to make do
You take the old, you make it new
If I had me a gun, I’d find the bastards and shoot ‘em on sight
I’m a Jack of all trades, we’ll be alright
I’m a Jack of all trades, we’ll be alright

Back in the early days of "The Pill"

Some country music was banned in the south...