Friday, June 28, 2002

 

Raise your hand if you're a little bit afraid of Dick Cheney being president, even for a little while.

posted by Anne 6/28/2002 07:51:00 PM (0) comments

 

There are many things that make living in the U.S. better than living in any other country (in my opinion). One of those things is the freedom to express your opinion, whether it be political, social or religious. I think that's also one of the things we take for granted or, in some cases, try to change. We should do more than remember that. We should revel in it, because that's part of what makes the U.S.A. the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. (That sounded a little more patriotic than I intended.)

With that said, I'm once again going to rip on parents who need to remember that education doesn't end at school. They, too, have a responsibility to teach their children. For example, if a child doesn't want to say "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, that child's parents should help her come up with a reasonable and well-thought-out explanation that she can use should her classmates notice her not saying "under God." Her classmates' parents should be open to questions from their children on that matter should their children need more of an explanation. I would think if that happened, no one would feel alienated, confused, left out, whatever. Of course, that's only going to happen in a perfect world.

Because we're far from perfect, I'm not going to say anything else on the subject. From now on, I'm taking Hoopty's stance on the issue.

posted by Anne 6/28/2002 07:42:00 PM (0) comments

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

 

I'm so disgusted by this. What's next? Does he try to get "In God We Trust" taken off our currency? If he's so morally opposed to the government forcing religion on us, I think he should stop using money. Wouldn't want him to go against his principles, ya know? And when there's a terrorist attack in California I have to wonder if the phrase "Oh my God" will cross his lips.

The phrase "under God" in the pledge is not condoning religion. As Ghandi said, God has no religion. "Under God," to me, means whatever God you believe in and, I'm sure the number of believers is astronomically higher than the number of non-believers in this country. I suppose the fact that this guy could get away with this kind of nonsense is a testament to how great the U.S. really is. But I think this has gone way overboard.

I'll probably write more about this later, when I've had time to think about it a little more, and when I'm a little less angry. But, for now, I'll find comfort in knowing that the 9th Circuit is the most liberal and the most overturned appeals court in the country.

posted by Anne 6/26/2002 02:40:00 PM (0) comments

Thursday, June 13, 2002

 

I go through phases in which I get really sick of the news. All of it. I'm in the middle of one of those right now. I don't care about "dirty bombs" or John Doe #2 or John Ashcroft. I just want to play around in my new rock/cactus garden. I wish the laptop had the software for the digital camera so I could show you pictures of what I've been up to instead of obsessing over the news. Oh well. I'm sure I'll be back to normal soon.

posted by Anne 6/13/2002 02:27:00 PM (0) comments

Thursday, June 06, 2002

 

I think I posted this, or something like it, sometime before but I'm not exactly sure when or where. But I've been thinking about all of this lately, so I guess it bears repeating.

The Internet's been around for a while, but it's still relatively new. The people using the 'net right now are the people defining what it will be in the future. Whether it's a senior citizen showing off pictures of her grandchildren or a junior high school student fawning all over Buffy the Vampire Slayer or a 30-something geek trying to make a living, we're all the first generation to be online in a way that it really affects our lives.

A lot of issues pop up every day that make people realize the world as we know it can't be defined the way it's been for decades. The Internet has changed all that. For example, copyrights used to be an issue that was cut and dried and very simple. But now, although it should remain that simple, it really isn't. Haven't we all come across someone blogging his/her apology to someone for "borrowing" something on another site. Maybe this person just wanted to use a quote from another blogger. What one person sees as a harmless form of flattery or adoration, another person may see as a copyright infringement.

Another issue that's going to have to be redefined is stalking. While it's pretty well defined "IRL," I think the definition in relation to cyber space is a little cloudy. Can unwanted e-mails be considered stalking? Can myriad visits to a Web site in one day be considered stalking? Can joining online groups another person belongs to be considered stalking? It's hard to say, isn't it? I think in the online world what defines stalking is how these actions make the person on the other end feel. If any of the actions, or a combination thereof, make someone feel uncomfortable, confused, scared, violated, whatever, I think there's a strong case for stalking.

What I'm getting at it is, we have to remember that a lot of the things we, as the first 'net generation, are experiencing are brand new. We can't be too hard on each other if we make "mistakes." We're all learning here, and sometimes the learning process can be painful.

Think I'm being too melodramatic or reading too much into what's happening online in chat rooms, blogs, message boards or whatever venue you choose? Remember that there are pioneers in every medium. The people involved in developing television couldn't possibly have envisioned DirectTV and HBO and 500 channels digitally transmitted. We (except for Bill Gates, maybe) can't possibly conceive of what the Internet will be like 50 years from now. We just have to remember we're the pioneers and whatever we do, good or bad, will make it better for generations to come.

posted by Anne 6/06/2002 09:24:00 PM (0) comments

 

I'm back. Kind of. I'm still using Nick's laptop instead of the big 'puter, so it's kind of a pain in the neck. But it's better than nothing. Anyway, it's good to be back.

I'd planned on posting on entirely different subject today, but I got sidetracked when I was watching the news to see what's new about the wildfire we could see from our front yard last night. During the news, I noticed the "LIVE" thingy during Brenda Van Dam's tearful testimony, so I decided to switch over to Court TV and watch the trial. I'm still not saying the Van Dam's directly had anything to do with their daughter's kidnapping and death. But I do believe their actions/lifestyle could possibly have lead to the events of Feb. 1. At any rate, Brenda's gonna have some pissed off friends when they get arrested for things she testifying to (i.e. selling drugs). Oh well. I suppose that's the least of her concerns right now.

posted by Anne 6/06/2002 01:21:00 PM (0) comments