spookybarn dot com

darmok and jilad at tanagra

The Obama administration hasn't even taken office, and already they are building the All-Thing.

People who follow Obama online have become a community that the president-elect can tap into, said Andrew Raseij, founder of TechPresident.com, a Web site that tracked the online operations of the 2008 presidential campaigns.

"He now has his own special interest. He has a group of people he can go to and ask them to participate in helping him pass his legislative agenda," Raseij said.

He also predicted that Obama will use online video and interactivity to revolutionize the way the commander in chief communicates.

"I think the days of just a Saturday morning radio address and an occasional press conference as the way the president speaks to the American public are over," Raseij said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Barack Obama starts doing a weekly YouTube video and also fireside chats for the 21st century by allowing people to filter up questions to him that he might answer."

The president-elect already has said he'll have a five-day online comment period before signing any nonemergency legislation, so Americans can be part of the process.

He's also planning to appoint a chief technology officer and has pledged to get true broadband to every community in the country.

(http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/11/10/obama.wired/index.html)

I don't remember drinking the Obama kool-aid, and I can't pinpoint when it happened.  I still disagree with a lot of his policies.  That said, for the last week or so I've had this very unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling.  They say it is something called "hope."  Actual, honest-to-god "change" that I'm dangerously close to believing in.  My inner skeptic is grumbling in the corner, feeling rather betrayed.  I don't know if I am ready for this.

re[love]ution, phase two

campaignforliberty.org

matters of substance

let the revolution begin

Just finished reading Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto.

Maybe it is hyperbole, but I believe this is an extremely important book.  Please read it.  If you'd like to, I have an extra copy.  All I ask is that, after you've read it, you hand it off to someone else, or release it into the wild.  You're also welcome to borrow my personal copy as well, or even pass that around to others, as long as I get it back eventually.  If you'd like either one, just let me know in the comments, via phone, whatever.

My brief review:

Whether you agree or disagree with Ron Paul's views, this book serves as an important political primer on the real issues facing America today: civil liberties, the economy, the failing dollar, foreign policy.... issues mostly ignored by a national media obsessed with superficial catch-phrases and meaningless scandals. Primarily a concise collection of the views and ideas expressed during Ron Paul's 2008 Presidential campaign, this book also contains an extended reading list for "a free and prosperous America."

Please read this book. It's short and sweet, informative and inspirational. Realize that there is a difference between the way things are and the way they could be.

That's it for now.  Back to The God Delusion. (Thanks, John! I'm feeling heathen-er already!)

inspiration

I may disagree with many (if not most) of his policies, but watching Obama's recent speech discussing racism in America, I couldn't help but admire the man, or at least his ability to hire speech-writers.  Now, I've just read that he wrote the whole thing himself.  The cynic in me begs for skepticism, this is politics after all, but the honesty and downright balls displayed therein lend a certain amount of support to the idea.

There are a lot of things I'd like to see happen with this country, but the biggest of them all is to have a decent, intelligent human being in the White House... someone who I can have a certain amount of faith in and respect for, regardless of the policies they are pushing.  My candle still burns for Dr. Paul, but I think we could do a hell of a lot worse than Obama.  (worse being McCain or Clinton, just for the record)

Speech after the jump, in case you haven't seen it yet:

i am legend(arily apathetic)

Here's the thing, I'm a total pussy.  I look at the state of the world, watch the news, talk to friends and coworkers, and all I really feel is dread at the future of this country.  Maybe it's the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, or just the ignorance of youth, but what happened to the world I remember growing up in?  Is this complete distrust and disgust with American government a new thing, or was I just ignorant of it? Speaking of ignorance, I seem to recall learning about evolution in high school, without the "benefit" of disclaimer stickers on my science books or lawsuits against my teachers.

So, yeah... I'm pissed off and scared shitless.  What do I do about it?  Zip.  I put up a Ron Paul sticker on the side of my website.  Woo-hah.  It isn't much... it is the least possible effort.

What do I do when they turn my driver's license into a RFID National ID?  Do I accept something that clearly and profoundly goes against my core beliefs? Do I reject it and make my life incredibly difficult as a result?  I'd like to believe the latter, but I know it is far from likely.  I know myself, and I'm a pussy.

So, what will it take?  What has to happen for me to stand up?  When we're all sitting through Two Minutes' Hate, putting on our best show for Big Brother, do I do my best to play along?

I don't know the answer... or maybe I do, but it is too depressing to admit.  Have you ever watched Children of Men and wondered if maybe, in some way, you wouldn't be happier in that kind of world?  Have you ever wished for things to go so wrong that you have no choice but to throw your life at some cause that means everything to you?

I've got many goals for the new year.  Get into shape, physically and fiscally. Write more.  Appreciate more.  Live more.  All good things, and things that I want and need to do.  Important things, on a personal level, but when all is said and done, pretty much irrelevant to the world at large.  Aren't we all, though?  Why do I care?  Why don't I care? So on and such as....

The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

 

At least Ron Paul kicks ass....

Paul/Kucinich '08? Yeah, I'm guessing reality will be a little bit less inspiring.