Distractions, Non-issues, and Other Absurdities

Alli Town
Allitown is back up because I can't stay quiet.

What up with the flag-burning amendment? Until enough flags are being burned to contribute to global warming, Congress needs to concern itself with real problems. Personally, I am more offended by the wearing of the flag as neckerchiefs (not to mention, the very word "neckerchief"), ties, and boxer shorts than I am by flag-burning. Still, is this the kind of change we want to be making to the constitution?

Pure politics. The right wingers suffered a bit of a blow when it came to the Terri Schiavo debacle, though Frist never apologized for his irresponsible video diagnosis of the poor woman. That bandwagon was left busted down and up on blocks, so on to the new one.

This week 40 million credit card users' identities were compromised by hackers. You want a real issue everyone will get on board with, make the penalties for identity theft harsher. DUI laws are tough enough. Mandatory drug sentencing is bankrupting state budgets and propelling the USA to the top of the list of incarcerated national populations. I almost died TWICE on a 3 mile trip to the grocery store yesterday because drivers were talking on their cell phones instead of bothering to stop at red lights.

My safety is more threatened by driving cell phone gabbers than by flag-burners. Or, for that matter, than by terrorists.

Another thing that's really pissing me off this morning...the proposed budget cut for PBS and NPR. I went to Tony Perkins's ridiculous Family Research Council website where he can't bring himself to outright denigrate the Corporation for Public Broadcasting because his daughter loves Clifford the Big Red Dog and he occassionally tunes in for The McLaughlin Group. He argues that the popularity of these and other shows "supports defunding CPB and allowing PBS to successfully flourish in a free market." Mind you, this is the same man who rails against the prurient shows that are rife on network television. One of the basic rules of the free market, or as I call it, unchecked, Machiavellian capitalism, is SEX SELLS. You can't have it both ways, Tony.

In the meantime, Allitowners, read about somethng that the righties don't want you to.