I've already forwarded the offending message to SpamCop. I wish I could do something else. All I can do is tell anyone reading this that if you get the same message, forward it to SpamCop, and hopefully the bastard will be shut down.
After reading that, I just can't bring myself to do any more surfing tonight, so that's it for now. Argh.
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I noticed while I was watching the BBC feed yesterday on TLC that the anchor seemed to believe that the U.S. might adopt a more isolationist foreign policy. To him, I pose a question often heard by transplanted Yankees (like myself) from native Southerners: "You're not from around here, are you?"
Something I heard on the radio this morning (and also read over at The Other Side) was the quotation attributed to Japanese Admiral Yamamoto after Pearl Harbor: "All we have done is awaken the sleeping beast." There's no way the U.S. retreats into a shell after this. The beast is awake, and it's pretty pissed off.
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And this is perhaps the most remarkable realization for me. I've long been rather anti-war, anti-military. I didn't agree with our "war" in the Persian Gulf or the tiffs in Grenada, etc. Had I been 18 years old at the time of Vietnam, I probably would've applied for conscientious objector status, because I just would not have agreed with the purpose of the war. But this is an attack on American soil. My country and way of life is being threatened. This is not about oil, or "protecting democracy" in a far-away land. This is an afront to everything I've been taught about America and freedom. It's an insult to my country and my pride. And while the military would likely never accept me into active duty for my poor eyesight and age, were conscription to be re-enacted, I would seriously consider signing up.
And I don't think I'm alone.
Damien is not alone. Except for the age and eyesight comments, I could have written that. I'm still not sure if I could actually go into combat, but the fact that I'd consider it speaks volumes.
I had come to the conclusion during the talk about Timothy McVeigh's execution that I was anti-death penalty. I felt that there were too many innocent people put on death row, that we shouldn't sink to the level of those who murder others, that life in prison could be a fitter punishment than a quick death. Today I learned how far my principles go. I realized today that if we had the primary person responsible for organizing today's tragic events, brought them here, gave them a fair trial and convicted them, I would want them to be put to death.
I was on hiatus for the McVeigh execution and never got to comment on it. I have very mixed feelings about the death penalty in most cases. I have trouble supporting it, but I can't fully oppose it, either. Not in this case. I have no qualms whatsoever about executing those responsible. I will say one thing: Good luck getting a "fair trial."
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But terror can't be understood. That's what makes it terror -- it is irrational, dark, confusing and frightening. It freezes you into silence and stillness when what you most want is to scream and flail about. It is the sound at the window that makes you cringe as you climb the stairs to go to bed. It is the feeling on the back of your neck as you walk in a dark city alone. Terror cannot be understood or processed.
But it can be fought. You can resist the urge to cringe and ignore the feeling on your neck. You can go about your daily life just as you did before. Your eyes may betray some sadness, your heart may be heavy and your steps slow. But your daily routine doesn't have to change.
It's not going to be easy, getting back to "normal" when the definition of normal has been changed forever. But it's something that must be done. If we don't do it, we lose.
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I have trouble writing well about much less important things, so I think I'll leave it to Steve and Cam and everyone else. Back to the TV for me. Oh, by the way, TLC is carrying a feed from BBC World, which is a nice alternative to Dan, Peter, and Tom.
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Monday, September 10, 2001
Colts 45 Jets 24. Ugh. I'm starting to get a little bit concerned. I didn't expect the Jets to win, but I didn't expect them to lose like that. Next week at Oakland is probably going to get ugly.
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Google 2.0. (Found via Mr. Barrett. Fascinating idea. I'd love to see it happen, but I'm not holding my breath.
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OK, this is very, very, very uncool. The Security Systems Standards and Certification Act, or SSSCA. (Found via every intelligent weblogger out there, but I think I saw it at Genehack first.) Bad idea. Maybe the mother of all bad ideas. Right now, it's only proposed legislation, but if it became law, it would be "...unlawful to manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide or otherwise traffic in any interactive digital device that does not include and utilize certified security technologies that adhere to the security system standards adopted..." And, in case you were wondering, "The term 'interactive digital device' means "any machine, device, product, software, or technology, whether or not included with or as part of some other machine, device, product, software, or technology, that is designed, marketed or used for the primary purpose of, and that is capable of, storing, retrieving, processing, performing, transmitting, receiving, or copying information in digital form." Think about this for a second. The government (or in this case, big business) wants to set security standards in hardware and software. Oh, this is bad.
I did find this petition you can sign. If nothing else, it made me feel a little better. I'll be keeping an eye on EFF. Nothing on their website yet, but I'm sure they'll have something to say about it. Of course, I should have been keeping up with EFF for a while now, but that's another story.
If nothing else, I've found something that will actually get me involved again. I had kind of dropped out of this stuff after the election. I needed a good kick in the pants to get going again. Well, I can't just idly sit by and let crap like this happen. I'll be following this one closely, and fighting it every step of the way.
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N.C. State 35 Indiana 14. Woohoo! It wasn't really that close, either, since Indiana got their two touchdowns late in the game. The defense looked excellent. Philip Rivers has one of the ugliest throwing motions of any quarterback that I've ever seen, but he can thread a needle with his passes, so I'm not going to complain. And the one thing that never seems to change, no matter who's the coach and who the players are, they are great at blocking kicks.
There were a few areas that I'm concerned about. Kickoff and punt coverage didn't seem to improve much from last year, but then again, it was usually Antwaan Randle El doing the kick and punt returns, and he's one of the best return men they'll see this year. The kicking and punting seemed a bit shaky as well. But since the next two games are against Ohio and SMU, the Wolfpack has some time to improve before September 29, when they host hated arch-rival North Carolina.
I don't envy Indiana coach Cam Cameron. Randle El will probably only make it in the NFL as a wide receiver. But the only way Indiana has a decent chance of winning is if he plays quarterback. And if they don't win a bunch of games this year, Cameron will probably be fired. Bummer.
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On the plus side, the Yankees still won the game, ended up with a sweep of the series, and increased their lead over the Red Sox to 9 games. Still, I missed a chance to see the end of a perfect game. I've never managed to catch the end of one live. Sure, the last pitch of Don Larsen's perfect game is permanently etched in my mind, and I'm sure I've seen replays of the endings of other perfect games. But I've never gotten to see one myself. Oh well.
There's one thing that really bugs me though. Why did it have to be Carl Everett, my least favorite player on my least favorite team, that broke up the perfect game?
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