Thomas Jefferson; Renegade Genius

Reddit has me digesting quotes faster than I can refresh the page but I thought I'd post some of my favorites...

"Shake off all the fears and servile prejudices under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear." --Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1787. ME 6:258 Papers 12:15

I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country. -Thomas Jefferson, 1812

"Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence, and deem them like the ark of the Covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human, and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment... laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind... as that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, institutions must advance also, to keep pace with the times.... We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain forever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

"I sincerely believe... that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale." --Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, 1816. ME 15:23

"An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens."

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."

Real Yankee Fury: Rebellion comes to the Motherland

The same forces responsible for Proposition 8 in California in 2008 have made their way into the very depths of Vactionland and are now trying to repeal the rights of homosexual unions by way of referendum. I'll make my call up front. The bright spot that was Prop 8 in 2008 is going to be eclipsed in 2009 and its highly likely that the backlash starts in Maine.

For one thing, anti-gay forces have used the same consulting firm, and the same message they did in California - which explicitly cites "the homosexual agenda already being taught in Massachusetts."

For obvious reasons, that plays differently in CA than it will in ME because I'm betting these west coast foreigners don't realize how tightly knit New England is. I suspect they also don't know how vicious the gay community is going to be over what they saw as a sandbagging in California, and if you don't think money won't pour in from all over the country think again.

Homosexuals have often been refered to as D.I.N.K.s - Double Income, No Kids. They stereotypically are big city liberals with at least one member of the house hold occupying a 6 figure income. This is now being presented in direct competition with heartland values, and more pointedly heartland paychecks. The chances that Maine will overturn their vote are growing increasingly slimmer. The Media likes to use the term “galvanized” for what Prop 8 did to the LGBT community, but that’s a “safe for television, objective” word, and what’s closer to the truth is they’ve furious for the past 11 months that they are being devalued as humans and Americans.

So what else doesn’t Schubert Flint Public Affairs, the firm representing the anti-gay proposition, understand about where they are doing battle? Politics.

California might be an exposed state, on camera, high profile, exciting. But Maine is, as Mark Steyn always refers to them, crotchety (he would, he’s a NH resident). They vote for who they want, and what they want, and they very much don’t like outsiders sticking their nose in its business. Just to give you an idea of who Mainers are; Lower 3 plates (Ma, Ri, and Ct) are routinely pulled over, the locals find us arrogant, mean, and we’re within 1 border. They also use the term “from away” to refer to anyone who’s ever had residency outside of the State. Meaning if you weren’t born there, you’re “from away” and no length of time repeals that idea. Maine also refers to some of their own as “Down Easters” (not sure if it’s one word) to denote where the rich folks of the state live.

They are, for the most part, highly resistant to outside influence. And unlike in MA (correct me if I’m wrong), in Maine Gay Marriage was a bill presented to the state legislature. It was signed by an elected Governor. There was no unilateral move to “force” gay marriage on the people of Maine. If its going to be repealed they want that to be up to them and I can put hard money on the fact that these outsiders are going to been shown to be the same crop from California, and that’s going to go horribly wrong for the anti-gay forces out there.

As it stands, I believe only 1 New England state does not allow Gay Marriage to happen, and that’s Rhode Island. The walls are coming down fairly consistently for a couple of reasons.

For one thing, Big City conservatives tend to be fiscal conservatives with more of a libertarian streak than a social/compassionate conservative bent. They don’t feel “saving” marriage is a big issue, and as die-hard free market people, the monetary output of legal gay marriage is both lucrative and befitting their deregulatory philosophies.

Secondly, all sides are on board now. This seems like a Liberal issue, but the reality is, on this one at least, Liberals are holding fast to Constitutional precedents, and how this mess began was Big Government Republicans attempting to regulate Morality.

It doesn’t fit Reagan-ites to use the government to regulate things like morals, and you know damned well the democrats didn’t do this.

The fight is going to be filthy. I don’t think, even if I’ve presented it that way, that it’s going to be a cake walk. But the homosexual community is more than likely seething, prepped for battle against the exact same group who made them second class citizens in, of all places, California.

Best of Luck to my Yankee brothers up in North Country. We always did know how to throw a revolution, I hope and expect that won't change now.

My review of Knockemstiff

“if I wanted to read books I liked I’d have been a math major, and I’d have read at home.”

Ian was a man made for books, and like everyone I’ve known, he had a piece of him I admired. His was a patience and a discipline to read through the worst of novels with an analytic mind, giving a more due credit to books than I ever could.

Life can be about overcoming obstacles, and how you go about doing it. Mine, in this case, is the bus. Required for transit, good for little else save for being a roving flu box that spreads a pandemic like gas on a fire. But it does force me to read. There’s no one to speak to, and it prevents me from being approached by vagrants and street-corner salesman.

I’m a man of non-fiction. I love reading political material or at the very least analytical pieces. But I force myself into fiction because it’s good to tackle something from all angles, even if one of those angles is only 10% of your total. Fast forward to me reading Knockemstiff. I wanted to finish it so badly so that my review would pack more of a punch, that maybe I could cite decent strokes of the pen, or great plot directions…

But Knockemstiff for all its many sub-stories, for its umbrellas reach over a small county in Southern Ohio can be summed up thusly: Faulkner’s first book from 8th grade, when he realized he could write profanity and still get an A.

Downtrodden people, dead end lives, and the assumed correlation between grotesque situations and good writing. That’s the only theme I can see marching down Pollock’s deranged Main Street. That somehow, if we have some physical representation of something horrible and revolting, then we’ve perfectly summed up a character and thusly have written well.

Before you assume I just can’t handle the heat, let me explain why I took such issue with it, and moreover why I don’t recommend you buy it.

For one thing the vulgar discourse is on just about every page. It’s so ever present that by the time you get past the last trucker/hitchhiker tranny rape scene, you’re knee deep in a man marching in his own diarrhea by some dick-headed cops in some rich snobby town. And that’s, I assume, a subtle outlier as well. This is social commentary at its most inexperienced and juvenile. You can almost hear the inner teenager complain about some social ill, but do nothing but drag it out to hyperbole to prove a point, and never look in the direction of a solution.

The other issue is I’m not sure if he wants to be Faulkner (he does) or Salinger. Scenes where a newly homeless man takes refuge in a rusted-out landmark of a car, and for an ending to this story, he finds in the car the small skull of a mouse that an owl, who is thought to inhabit the car, has likely killed. The scene closes with this man putting the skull in his mouth.

I’m sure if you liked Knockemstiff you’re offended that I’m painting all of this out of context. If so, you’re probably smarter than I am, please explain this to me. I think if anything, the book serves to keep people out of Southern Ohio which, having never been, doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Thank God for Ctrl + F

Sorry. I was locked up for a bit there because I needed to keep the internet snoops out of my business. The situation should have been rectified, and having driven off enough of them, I ought to be back writing sooner and more frequently.

All the best,
Brow

A plead to reason

Dear WFNX,

I grew up on the South Coast in Taunton, MA. Being a child of 1982, we didn't see the sunny shore of your radio station until maybe 2001, give or take a year or two. In fact the fact the first time I heard you guys was your late night techno slot when I was driving up to Methuan to meet up with friends. So you can imagine my excitement when Jaxon and the Pharmacist hit Rhode Island and we could get the station. I've since moved up to the Boston area and get to enjoy FNX on its traditional 101.7 setting and until WBCN went under, I couldn't have been happier with you guys.

But its fairly apparent you bought their playlists whole sale and threw them into constant rotation. I don't know if you have Cruise as your program director again or picked up Edipus somewhere along the lines, but for the love of God, stop playing the BCN 1997 playlist. I finally finagled a radio for my office and what am I met with? Linkin Park? Lenny Kravitz? LENNY KRAVITZ? Lenny wasn't cool when his shit was new. I really don't know whats stopping you from whipping out the Kid Rock and Trapt catalogue.

I don't mean in any way to disparige Julie Kramer or the Sandbox, which I love equally, but honestly what the hell? I remember a time when Storm Zbel played the Detroit Grand Pumba's "Sandwiches." That song still disturbs me to this day, but you know what? I don't listen to FNX because its safe when my grandmothers around, I listen to FNX so i can be a snarky douche at parties with phrases like "I like their first EP better" or "their ripping off [obscure useless band]." But I can't do that because if I try that crap with Green Day and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (has no one learned antyhing from BCN's death or are you drafting off of BOS) i get lumped in with the oldies in the corner talking about how Nirvana saved them from 80's power ballads.

To be fair, you're playing Owl City and Matt & Kim so I know your soul's still there, but for gods sake, if it costs to much to hire a DJ for portions of your day, I'll come down there and play songs for free. Please help us out. I left the South Coast to be closer, and now I'm too far away to get WBRU in.

In Loving Snark,
[Me]

Is Wikipedia good for the National psyche?

I get to spend a lot of time with people. Not always speaking with them, but as a commuter, you're just around them constantly. In this situation, you can't forget people all have their pet interests, and they're going to tell you about them whether you're listening or not.

In this regard, Wikipedia might be the e-zanax this country needs.

The site takes its knocks for being unreliable, constantly changeable by any fringe group of nuts with an agenda. That true, but if you're going to Wikipedia for information on World War II, presidential administrations in the last 100 years, or science thats your own damn fault.

Wikipedia was made for the pet topic. Lets just look at the possible sales pitch, "debate the minutia of semi-colons, sea chantys from pre-1880, and the darning of socks with others who are prepared to get into the historial blood match that is [your pet topic]."

And there it is. The outlet to blather your insignificant interests into. And I have to believe the site knows this. Drop by the front page and you'll have riveting topics handed to you such as...

The Byzantine navy

Japanese settlement in Palau

or

Wilfred Buckland

And because of this, it bothers me when people say its unreliable.

"people can just go in and EDIT!"

I can't imagine how bored you'd need to be to edit anything related to the Byzantine Navy, but who am I to say. Maybe someones pet issue is complaining about how unrealiable Wikipedia is, and maybe they engage in self-preservation.

Novels have been written about stranger characters.