This is just a quick entry to pose a question: Are we, as a race, getting too smart for our own good?

I ask because right now, I feel like every day brings news of another chemical with side effects the creators of the product never planned on. Today I learned there's some concern over Bisphenola-A, also called "BPA". Apparently, this organic compound leaches out of polycarbonates under certain conditions. The link I put in there is to the Wikipedia article on the compound, the research and the risks. (And yes, for those of you more informed, I do tend to ignore much of the "media circus" and "talking heads".)

It's cool that scientists are constantly looking for newer, better ways to carry on the business of life. It really is. Some of the research will be used (one day, I hope!) to get us off this little earth and expand our horizons to new planets---maybe even new stars. But along the way, we who are here now, must be ever vigilant for our own protection.

It feels like our drive, as a species, for knowledge isn't keeping up with our sense of caution! And I can't help but wonder if one day, we're going to out-smart ourselves into a corner that will be the end of Homo Sapiens.

Okay, if you don't want to read a rant on State-issued photo IDs, then just pass this one by.... I can't promise to be eloquent either.

I've put off getting a South Carolina driver's license since we moved here in 2005. The longer I put it off, the more I am reluctant to do it since I really really want to go back to Arizona. But, getting a SC license seemed the fastest way to get registered to vote in time to vote in the January primary for South Carolina.

We got up way too early to get to the DMV. I was armed with my laminated birth certificate (a cool thing more states should do, though I doubt SC still does it---yes, I was born in this gestapo state), two Social Security cards (one with my maiden name, one with my married name), my Arizona driver's license and a copy of my electric bill proving residence in South Carolina. (The Social Security number was never supposed to be used for identification other than for Social Security [1].)

It turns out that even with all of this... I need my marriage license to prove my name change. I asked, "Even with my Arizona driver's license in my married name?" Yep. South Carolina won't take Arizona's word that I am who I say I am.

So, in order to pay this gestapo state to issue me a driver's license (and therefore be registered to vote), I need to unearth my marriage license. I can look at my moving database and discover which box it's in---I always note the "important paperwork" box with searchable terms for just this sort of stuff. I *could* fill out a voter registration application, photocopy my electric bill and send both in---but do I want to trust the United States Postal Service not to lose my application?

Yes, I really needed this gestapo crap this week.... *sigh*

A free society requires freedom of speech. We need to be able to challenge ideas, to share ideas and to criticize ideas. But we've evolved the concept of Freedom of Speech to also recognize that your right to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater should be infringed----you could cause harm to others. Physical harm. My right to Freedom of Speech ends when it creates physical harm for another.

That's reasonable. But exactly how far can one go in their cry for Freedom of Speech? Take a look at this video:

Freedom of Speech. Who has it? Where does it end? It looks to me like Andrew Myers (despite being an attention-seeking jack-ass) is paying for exercising his Freedom of Speech---with physical harm and an arrest record. I watched several different videos of this incident. Yes, he was annoying. But I'm not entirely sure it was reasonable for the (campus?) police to escort him from the room. That alone is a tough call.

At one point, a large black cop bodily lifted Mr. Meyers to the back of the room. So why were there at least six police officers surrounding him (one pointing her finger in his face!)? Why didn't they escort him completely from the room? Why the use of force? I thought police officers were only supposed to resort to force if threatened. I doubt anyone can tell me this single, unarmed student was threatening six or more police officers. Furthermore, I never saw him make an aggressive move, only wiggling and struggling. He never attacked, never threw a punch. But they tasered him anyway. And what was the result? He was still struggling and making as much noise after the tasering, as before. And then the ushered him from the room. Any scene the police were trying to prevent, they instead created.

By trying to remove Mr. Myers from the room, the incident escalated beyond reason and appeared (to me) to become an issue of power: the police officers had it and no one wanted to cross that line to challenge their right to physically harm Mr. Myers. Even Senator Kerry continued his attempts to answer the questions posed by Mr. Myers. Like the guy is really listening while the cops have him pinned down and are tasering him!

I watched the video, knowing what was coming, so his cries for help early on affected me. But, sitting there, having listened to some jerk rant at the public microphone, yeah, I probably would have applauded his removal as well. That doesn't make what happened next right.

It escalated so quickly after that, what could I (had I been there) have done and when? I was taught that the police are "officers of the law" and "here to protect you". I don't have the right mental thinking to consider police as the aggressors. I've only just begun to consider them as a law unto themselves (especially when I read about their Thin Blue Line stickers).

In a couple of videos, you can hear the people near the tasering say things like, "Police brutality!" and "Stop it, he's down!" It's hard to hear, but you can hear that people nearby are somewhat upset at this happening.

But no one acted. Would you?

Please leave a comment---anonymous or otherwise---and share with me your thoughts on this incident. I'm truly surprised at the number of articles I've already seen attacking Mr. Myers and praising the tasering.

Most people have two topics they will avoid like the plague: religion and politics. Me, I have a tendancy to poke those topics in social groups---not because I'm a masochist, but because I get bored "arguing" with people who think the way I do. It's more interesting to talk religion with someone who believes differently than I do. And it's more challenging to discuss politics with someone who would solve things differently than I would.

But when it comes to that moment most Americans take for granted, when they pull the curtain closed behind them and they stand, alone, with the ballot, what do people do? They probably screw their faces up in various expressions of pain and anguish and try to decide the lesser of two evils. Is that any way to decide who will run this country?

For the first time in... ever, I have found a candidate I believe in enough to make a campaign contribution. If you'll look to the left, you'll see a new link above the Crafting Ferrets ring link. That's my candidate: Dr. Ron Paul.

I'm passionate about quite a few topics, but I don't yet feel I can speak as powerfully as he has so far on the issues. I was reasonably sure I liked this man---on paper he sure looked good---but it was his Candidates@Google interview which really cinched it for me.

Dr. Paul has a refreshing way of answering questions. I felt I could see him thinking, when a question was posed. If it wasn't an obvious question for which he could possibly have a prepared response, he went back to his basics: Constitution first. In the few places I disagree with him (and frankly I can only think of one issue in which that's true), I feel he brings a sensibility to the table that has been missing in American politics for my whole lifetime.

I've grown up in a world where the "President of the United States" wasn't a respected figurehead (like the position might have been for my parents and grandparents). Instead, I've had a President who felt he had to share the answer to "boxers or briefs" to capture the younger demographic. I've had a President who has made "bumbling idiot" the mark of his Presidency---and I don't say that to "sling mud" but to say that President Bush (Jr.) has made an effort to cultivate the "country bumpkin" image (some have said it's so we'll forget about his wealthy oil-connected family).

I am excited about Dr. Ron Paul running for President of these United States. He remembers that it was always supposed to be "these united states"----a collection of states in unity, not a single state of power, seated in D. C. He believes in the Constitution of these United States and he refers to it.

I'm probably more aware of my rights than the "Average Joe" in this country---but I'm still not as aware as I need to be. I know I have Freedom of Speech, but I have to check to see which Amendment to the Constitution that is. In fact, for a number of years, I've wanted a DVD copy of the Don Johnson/Melanie Griffith/John Goodman remake of Born Yesterday because of the dinner scene where Billie shows how she learned the first Amendments to the Constitution. It reminds me of the old School House Rock clips.

I wonder how hard it would be for me to put together a little match-up for the Amendments and their summary and let you all test how good you are---it might give me a chance to brush up too!

Anyway.... (sorry, it's late and I'm off on a tangent now....) I just couldn't sit quiet any more without sharing my excitement with you all. I'm actually eager for a Presidential election! I'm watching the campaign with hope for the first time---ever!

Check him out. And if you decide he's the right man for the office of President, would you let me know in the comments?

I don't normally go all political here, but I've got to make an exception. And no, it's not about the State of the Union address... I didn't record it and haven't downloaded video yet. *sigh*

Instead, I want to vent a little spleen on the way the Democratic Primaries are shaping up! In one Democratic corner we have Hillary Clinton. In the other Democratic corner we have Barack Obama. Can anyone see the political dead-end coming? Can anyone see the potential for none of the real issues to be discussed? I can already see the comments coming from "dumb America":

"I think it's time we had a woman running things." (Never mind that Hillary wouldn't know "woman" if it slapped her upside the head.)

"It's about time the white man was ruled by a brother." (Never mind that Barack Obama is more privileged than a significant percentage of "brothers" out there and probably couldn't care less about the problems those brothers face!)

What are the odds the Democrats will expect these two candidates to actually talk about the issues? About how to get our men (and women) home from the Middle East? About how to get the government out of our lives and let us handle things?

And things are likely to be just as pathetic on the Republican side. I'll most likely continue voting libertarian (after investigating them all!), but where is that candidate who stands out, who doesn't pander to public wishes and simply runs on what he believes?

I want to see a candidate who'll come straight out and say, "I stand for/against abortion, gay marriage, the death penalty, etc. If you feel I'd run this country well with these views vote for me." But I'm dreaming. It always comes down to catering to the aging Baby Boomers and their worries that they might have to actually sacrifice something in their pampered lifespan. It comes down to catering to large corporations who pay big money into campaign funds so the candidates can saturate the media with lies and half-truths. (And in return, the candidate will see to it that legislation which hurts those corporations doesn't pass and tax breaks for them do.)

I want a candidate who'll say what he believes, despite its lack of popularity. I want a candidate who will say what he believes in the rich towns and the poor towns. He'll keep saying it in the white neighborhoods and the Hispanic neighborhoods. He'll say it to the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines and the college graduates.

Don't spend a speech listing all the things you'll do. Use each speech to talk about one item and detail your plan. In this era of internet and virtually instantaneous reporting, we're all "present" for every speech, every ribbon cutting, every handshake. So quit repeating yourselves and say something new!

To the voters: if a candidate visits your area, listen to what he says. Then go to your local library or to the internet and read what he said in the other towns he visited. Did he just contradict himself, to get your vote? Stand up this time for a candidate who stands by his words, by his actions. And no matter how "common man" any candidate makes himself appear, consider how much money he's had for how long before having the influence to run on a major ticket. How long has it been since that candidate had to worry about the medical bills you worry about? How long has it been since he had to consider how to pay the mortgage, the car payment, the mandatory insurance, the electric bill, the gas for the car (!) and the groceries? How long has it been since he went grocery shopping for himself? (Have you seen the price of milk lately????)

Voters, don't fool yourselves and don't let the candidates fool you into believing they are "the common man". They may not have the money of the Bushes or some other oil-and-politics family, but they most certainly don't have the tight budget you're dealing with. They most certainly don't worry about the quality of education their kids are receiving (in their private schools, no doubt) and they surely don't worry about theirsons (and daughters???) facing the draft.

As the Presidential campaigns get going and we get through the primaries, keep these things in mind. And if the cards line up to put Clinton and Obama together as a team (the Universe forbid it!), please don't let it be about making history, about proving one sex or race better than another... Please look at their records, their stance on the issues and how they are going to get this country out of the crap-toilet it's in!

(And while I'm ranting about politics, did anyone else catch the bullshit being spread by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales? I guess a law degree requires a lobotomy these days?)

Fed up. That's me.