whichwayup.org

09/05/08 01:04 PM: Hanna

So it looks like Tropical Storm Hanna might become a hurricane any hour now. It’s on track to hit DC sometime tomorrow afternoon/evening, but with Tropical Storm conditions beginning tomorrow morning.

We’re under a Tropical Storm Warning now, with an expected 5-8 inches of rain on Saturday. Wind gusts up to 45 mph, but that could increase (or decrease).

I’m not terribly concerned about it, other than the potential for serious annoyances. Thankfully I don’t live in a low-lying area, or own a house anywhere near the Potomac. I live in an apartment building on a hill… flooding hopefully won’t be too much of a concern. However, the building does have a tendency to leak when it rains a lot… so I might end up with some water damage. I’ll just have to move everything away from the spots that are known to leak and set up buckets and towels. I’m a little concerned about losing electricity, but there’s nothing I can really do to prepare for that other than have flashlights and batteries on hand.

Having grown up in the Midwest, hurricanes were a very foreign concept to me. I remember hearing about them on the news… especially Hurricane Andrew back in the day. It wasn’t until 2005, though, when I experienced my first real hurricane with Isabel.

So we’ll see how we fair with Hanna. It looks like Josephine, if it keeps together, might head up this way as well.

09/02/08 02:40 PM: Election '08

The last time I wrote about politics on this site was prior to the 2006 midterm elections. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I was pretty on the dot about how the Senate and House would end up.

Since then, aside from the year-long hiatus, I had avoided the topic of politics. At the time, I felt like I had nothing to contribute, given the vast numbers of “professional” political bloggers out there.

Lately, though, I’ve been rethinking this. For one, while I am not a “professional,” I have been blogging about politics for nearly eight years. In various capacities I have covered political stories, whether as a blogger, for my old high school radio station, or for my college newspaper.

These credentials are often more than any “pro” blogger has, aside from the fact that they get paid to write about politics. Also, I’m interested in politics, and really that’s the only qualification anyone should ever need to write about the subject.

So I’m going to get back on track here, and write more about the 2008 election. We’ll see where I go with it, but it should be fun.

08/29/08 12:20 PM: McCain-Palin

Eventually I’m going to move away from politics on this blog, but since this is a huge topic of conversation, let me say a few things.

First off, I really have to ask if McCain has lost his mind. Well, no, I think we already knew the answer to that question. He lost it ages ago. I suppose the better question to ask is how did he end up with Sarah Palin as his choice?

I see two possible answers:

1. McCain thinks women are stupid.
2. Everyone else said no.

I think it’s probably a little from column A and a little from column B. Does McCain really think women who supported Hillary will support him simply because Palin is on the ticket?

And just, by the way, let me pause and again ask just who the hell is Sarah Paulin? Oh, that’s right, a former mayor of a tiny little village in Alaska who somehow managed to become governor.

So this is who will take over when/if McCain is no longer able to perform the duties of President? Really?

Really?

McCain/Granddaughter ‘08!

08/28/08 09:12 AM: I'm Back, Again

Hi there.

It’s been over a year since I updated this site, and I’d say that’s probably the fourth or fifth hiatus I’ve gone on in the nearly 8 year history of the site.

In the last year, I mostly dropped off the face of the Internet. Unfortunately this resulted in me losing my registration of my favorite domain name ever, lastgoodcountry.com. I’m contemplating buying lastgoodcountry.org, but we’ll see.

I’m going to revive this site, and potential try to revive Last Good Country at a new domain. I want to get back into writing, or rather I need to get myself back into writing. It’s something I’m good at, and it’s something I absolutely love.

I originally said I wanted this site to outlive the Bush presidency. It looks like that will indeed happen. However, I can’t promise another four years of blogging if McCain wins.

I’ll be updating more soon, but I wanted to let everyone know I am back.

07/04/07 04:31 AM: On this date, 1776.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

06/06/07 11:32 PM: Lack of updates

I know there has been a recent lack of updates. I’ve been busy getting the first issue of Last Good Country ready to go, and I’ve been working and continuing the job search.

05/16/07 01:05 AM: Design update

So I’ve completed the template, and am working on translating it all over to Textpattern-land. This is proving to be a bit of a headache.

If you want a sneak peek, here’s a glimpse. Nothing is complete yet, and of course none of it works.

Give me some time. I’m also launching a new site in a few weeks. Keep your eyes peeled here.

Cheers.

05/03/07 07:44 PM: Redesign coming

Wow, I swear I typed up an entry about a new site design. I must have overlooked hitting the submit button.

In any case, I’ve been plugging away at a new design for the site. I think it’s coming along well, and I would like to push it live in the next week or so. I’ve got to incorporate all of the proper Textpattern tags and whatnot, so it can actually function. Right now it’s just living as a static HTML mockup. It will be cleaner, more “professional” looking, and will allow me to show off more photography without having to worry about a narrow page width.

I’m hoping that this design will also encourage me to write lengthier, more thoughtful pieces. The new design trumpets increased text readability. I hope that, if anything, my own ability to go and re-read my posts in an easy manner will provide encouragement.

I’m also going to rework the navigation of the archives. I’ve got to do some thinking as far as how that will work, though. So keep your eyes peeled, but I have a feeling nothing will go live until the middle of next week (at the earliest).

05/01/07 04:37 PM: As we all know

The war in Iraq could be over with one signature.

At 6:10PM EST, the president will veto funding for the Iraq war. He will announce that withdrawing troops would create a “cauldron of chaos.”

Mmmhmm. Defying the will of the American people, the Congress, most of the world, and the Iraqi people. Why can’t we have a Fearless Leader™ who would stand up like this for things that are actually rational, sane, and productive?

04/20/07 04:56 PM: Evil don't look like anything

So we have debates about gun control, with plenty of people quivering at the thought that maybe they could have prevent the shooting, had they just been there, with their gun. Maybe so, maybe some of the deaths could have been prevented had there been someone with a weapon near the shooting. I don’t know. Maybe it would have been worse, with armed bystanders getting into shoot-outs with each other in the confusion. Maybe the campus should have been completely shut down after the first shooting, maybe that would have saved some lives. Maybe the shooter should have been removed from school a year ago, when there were some indications he had problems. We can second guess all day long. As the cliche goes, hindsight is always 20/20.

This whole thing is just so incredibly tragic, innocent lives lost—taken by a killer who slipped through the cracks. Maybe we’ll learn something from all of this, but probably not.

Now, with all these cameras focused on my face
You would think that they could see it through my skin.
Looking for evil, thinking they can trace it but
Evil don’t look like anything.