Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

And now to see whether I can align my sleep cycle with anything useful ...

"Now we're going to get snow penises popping up all over town." -- New Windsor (NY) police Chief Michael Biasotti, 2005-12-(13?)

Heard on the radio a few minutes ago in a report about the debate in Congress over renewing the PATRIOT act: "A nation in fear cannot be a nation that's free." -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

But that's exactly it. A nation in fear can be pushed to pass (renew, extend, magnify) laws like the PATRIOT act which make us less free. And the role of folks like Frist is precisely to play fearmonger.

These people aren't trying to keep us free. They're trying to keep us afraid so we can be manipulated. (Not because they want to make us less free, specifically; because they don't give a damn about our freedom and therefore don't care whether it's a casualty in their own striving for power.)

Terror is as much the tool of people like that as it is of the folks who blow things up. Don't let the ah, y'all know how that goes. Probably better that I say instead, "Don't be fooled again."

[Edit: it didn't pass today (*whew*) but if I'm reading correctly another proposal to extend it could come up in the next two weeks ... ? The idea that the PATRIOT act is so blindingly crucial for security is undermined, I think, by this: "White House allies said they preferred to let the provisions expire and hold Democrats responsible in next year's midterm elections rather than let opponents whittle away at the law." -- that is, it's more useful as a political football to score rhetorical points with, than important to our safety, even to the folks who think it's a good idea. Either being able to point fingers and accuse their opponents of making us less safe is more important than doing what they can to keep us safe anyhow, or the PATRIOT act isn't really important to keeping us safe to begin with. My personal guess is both.]

Lunch was pink going into the skillet; kind of orangey on the plate.
I am now out of paprika.

I finally got arround to applying the can of Fix-A-Flat to my tire. Will see how it holds up. And I got the new brake light in with only cosmetic damage to the recalcitrant lamp-holder. Alas, my transmission is doing some rather unnerving things.

Woke after too little sleep, dealt with the car, showered, thought I'd run errands in the afternoon before moving the car back to my side of the street (it's a street-cleaning day, and though I knew the street sweepers would not be out, I wasn't so sure about the ticket-writers); instead, I am falling over. Dunno whether I'll wake in time to go visit anyone this evening or not; will see. Not holding my breath. Still haven't bought groceries -- also a maybe-later.

Partial success getting the sesame seeds to stick to the outside of my lunch. That's something.

Crash now. Babble about transmission later. Odd unnerving things, which reveal previously hidden aspects of the implentation.