nausea

when is a tinfoil hat not a tinfoil hat? right now.

from the ny times (emphasis mine):

The measure would broaden the definition of enemy combatants beyond the traditional definition used in wartime, to include noncitizens living legally in the United States as well as those in foreign countries and anyone determined to be an enemy combatant under criteria defined by the president or secretary of defense.

It would strip at Guantánamo detainees of the habeas right to challenge their detention in court, relying instead on procedures known as combatant status review trials. Those trials have looser rules of evidence than the courts.

It would allow of evidence seized in this country or abroad without a search warrant to be admitted in trials.

The bill would also bar the admission of evidence obtained by cruel and inhuman treatment, except any obtained before Dec. 30, 2005, when Congress enacted the Detainee Treatment Act, that a judge declares reliable and probative.

"Senate Approves Broad New Rules to Try Detainees" 9/29/06

see also "We are now officially living in a dictatorship": http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2006/09/we_are_now_officially_living_i.php

calling orwell...

apparently some recent alterations have made it so that the "compromise" bill on torture "does not distinguish between foreign nationals and American citizens. It applies to anyone who “supports hostilities” against the United States. Anyone can be arbitrarily declared an ‘enemy’ of the United States, subjected to torture, and locked away for life. No legal charges necessary; the President just has to decide that you’re a bad guy." (http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/?p=395)

WTF.

democracy in this country is seriously screwed.

in which the protagonist asks, "what is the point?"

i have found it very freeing, over the course of my not-terribly-long life, to disregard, as often as possible, the Way Things Are Done(tm). yes, i eat cheerios for breakfast and watch tv and do christmas even though i'm an atheist. but as far as the prescriptive american life plan, for the most part i'm having none of it. this means i feel no great urge to move to a big house in the suburbs, or buy an suv, or be the blushing bride in a white wedding (putting aside for rhetorical puposes the whole gov-hates-fags situation, not to mention some serious gender incongruities). i have no interest in the traditional trappings of femininity, or hyper-capitalism, which isn't to say that i've managed to somehow live outside those overwhelming societal machines, but rather that i don't actively work on fitting into them. mostly, that crap doesn't matter to me, so i do my best to ignore it.

this means that in a lot of ways i have more flexibility than i would if i were a less contrary sort of person.

the problem is, those schedules and dime store novel plots by which many people order their lives are not just restrictive, but also comforting and supportive. if you know and accept that it is your duty in life to have a white wedding, buy a mcmansion on a golf course, and spend all your money on gas guzzlers and satellite dishes, you're relieved of the stress of having to figure out what in the hell to do next.

this, you might have guessed, is where i am right now. what next?

since no obvious next step is readily apparent, i've been going over in my mind what i've accomplished so far, in search of clues. i'm pretty happy with what i've done so far. i have a graduate degree, a career, a relationship, a dog, a cat, a hybrid. i've published some poetry. i have a cool tattoo, and a lot of books. but now what?

the culural dictate for my particular age group is: wed & spawn. or, failing that, get ahead. none of these things is really all that relevant to my life. i'm as wed as i'm going to get, kids aren't going to be in the picture any time soon (if at all), and i'm not so sure i want to get ahead in my current profession. still, i keep having this feeling that i want to Do Something. and, in the great tradition of my dna donors, i have no idea what that something might be.

argh.

remember the handmaid's tale

this is disgusting: http://bitingbeaver.blogspot.com/2006/09/morality-clauses-ec-and-broken-condoms.html.

this woman cannot get a prescription for emergency contraception today, in ohio, because she wasn't raped and she's not married. this situation is fucking unacceptable.

when EC goes over the counter in january, then we'll just have to fight with pharmacists instead of doctors.

in case you were wondering...

i have nothing nice to say.