I haven’t posted in awhile.  In fact, I’ve again been considering taking down this blog and closing my twitter account (again).  Part of the problem is one of scope.  I keep thinking I should pretend I’m a corporate drone and try to hide that fact that I have opinions and a personality.  Other times, I think perhaps I should be myself and let the chips fall where they may.  If a future prospective employer doesn’t like something about me and is willing to act on it then perhaps it’s better to weed them out as early as possible.  I’ve been called idealistic before, obviously.  There are also questions to be asked about what the value of blogs, in general.

The truth is that I do a fairly good job of white-washing my identity.  I don’t share a lot of life details with others, even those I know in meatspace.  Why, then, blog and twitter?  I do not know.

I finally finished installing soffit venting yesterday which should improve the ventilation in my attic which should reduce the load on my HVAC which should reduce the power we use. That isn’t my point, though. When I finished and cleaned myself up I really felt like having a sandwich. It was a beautiful day and I thought I’d go to the local neighborhood grocery store, Kings Red and White, for bread. I could have easily walked the extra half block to Compare Foods, which is much larger but non-local. Or, I could have walked the opposite direction and gone to a panaderia or one of the other tiendas on Roxboro. I talked to a couple of neighbors on the way there, read some fliers on King’s local events board, and walked home with a couple of neighborhood kids. The algorithm at Walk Score seriously underestimates my neighborhood.

That little hike to the store reminded me of house hunting. We bought the house we did, in the neighborhood we did, partly for the ability to walk to stores and restaurants. Another important factor was proximity to the regional mass transit stop so I could catch the bus to work. I was reading the Atlantic this morning and The Next Slum? seemed to sum up perfectly why we didn’t want to live in a cul-de-sac suburbia.

We have friends who live in a giant, sprawling suburban McMansion development of enormous houses and it’s always so surreal to me. I’ve been in their neighbors houses and always had the impression that they’re just squatters. To a household, they all seem to have 1,000 square feet of furniture in their 5,000 square foot homes. With soaring ceilings and yards of the same paint throughout the houses I always have an unsettling feeling and can’t imagine how the occupants find it comfortable. On the edges of their development the houses are going to rent and crime is starting to rise. The article above could have been written about their completely un-walkable ‘neighborhood’.

I was just ruminating with a colleague about Ron Paul supports and how, on average, they seem to be sort of obnoxious.  This is something that’s been bothering me for awhile.  I wondered if perhaps libertarians were generally obnoxious, self interested people.  That may be so, but my friend pointed out something very important- anyone passionate about any candidate is likely to be obnoxious.

That made sense to me.  I think some candidates are better than others while some are outright horrible, but am not in love with any of them.  I mean, I wouldn’t think of attacking anyone who didn’t support my candidate.  Obnoxious though I may be, I try not to be obnoxious about my politics.

And, on a related note, Ron Paul is done.  Give it up.

I’ve been waiting to see a US precedent concerning forcing a suspect to divulge encryption passwords. The UK passed the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) in October of 2007 which provides for a two year imprisonment for failure to produce an encryption key regardless of any other charges. The RIPA has been used once against an animal rights activist. Now, a Vermont judge has ruled that, under the Fifth Amendment, a suspect cannot be required to produce evidence including an encryption key. Here is some interesting blog commentary by an attorney.

This is a particularly interesting case in a couple of ways. First, officials opened his laptop and started poking around as he was being processed at a Canada-United States border crossing. Second, it brings up some interesting questions concerning rights of accused. The particular crime he is accused of, possessing “animation depicting adult and child pornography”, is one that inspires extreme emotional reactions, it seems. People then tend to forget why the Fourth and Fifth Amendments were included in the Bill of Rights, namely that American citizens weren’t protected by the Magna Carta and searches and seizures illegal in England were commonplace in the colonies.

Of course, if Bruce Schneier is right, the government may be trying to place a backdoor in new encryption standards to avoid this sort of mess. It wouldn’t be the first time, though. See the clipper chip, or mandatory key escrow. I’m sure this isn’t over, but it’s a nice turn of events.

After 7 years of bigger government, astronomical offense spending, Haliburton/Blackwater/Exxon profiteering, and just general outlandishly illegal behavior, I find it easy to understand the appeal of Ron Paul.  I kind of like him.  In debates, anyway.

His big platform position, that he will only support things in the constitution, is pretty absurd. I was reading Imagining a Ron Paul Presidency and was again stuck by Paul’s vision of the role of government.  No Department of Health and Human Services, no Department of Commerce, etc.  Paul lays out a compelling argument for disposing of most of the government and I can understand it’s appeal.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of government vis-à-vis a nanny state versus Paul’s minimalist government.  It’s pretty obvious that the federal government is ridiculously untrustworthy and largely inept, but I can’t image that reducing the government to Paul’s core functions will improve the quality of life in the US.  Just as important, I can’t imagine Paul having much success trying to slash agencies that, as he points out, seem to exist solely to enrich corporations (DoE, for one).  I expect the government would grind to a screeching halt if Paul won the presidency.  Perhaps some Paul supporters think that is an acceptable situation.  What do I know? Maybe it is.  Luckily, I’ll never have to decide since there is only the tiniest, most remote chance he’ll make it to the general election.  Instead, I’ll get to choose between a bible quoting, right wing, corporate shill and some equally appalling republican candidate.

I was reading Romney: President needs prayers of people of all faiths and was pleased to see Romney was quoted as saying “religious tolerance would be a shallow principle, indeed, if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.” I would expect, given that statement, he would be more open minded about religious views and be more, I don’t know, tolerant. It’s clear that he isn’t and doesn’t, though.

Romney said religion is essential to freedom, without pointing to any specific faith.
“Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone,” the GOP contender said.

I’m sure Romney doesn’t get the irony that religion is in diametric opposition to freedom. Besides being demonstrably incorrect, this statement paints a pretty intolerant portrait. Perhaps being an unfree atheist is a step in the right direction. It wasn’t long ago that Bush said “I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”  Religious freedom indeed.

Unlike Hillary, who is in the pocket of big pharma and mega insurance companies, the rest of the Democrats who aren’t much different, and the Republicans, who profess to care about the lives of the unborn but wouldn’t bother stepping over a dying kid in the street, Kucinich makes sense on health care. A not-for-profit health care system. Watch his ABC interview. Sicko is a pretty good start to making a comparative analysis of health care in various countries. Don’t like Michael Moore? Talk to a Canadian and ask them what they think of our health care disaster.

Here’s the funny thing- I’ll probably never have to worry about health insurance. I’m white, have an excellent education, a 401k, live in household with two incomes and no kids, and have a pretty good resume. Perhaps I should, like the Republicans I know, worry about taxes more than I worry about things like health care for others, the environment, and a sustainable economy. But I don’t. I’d rather we were all better off than just me being better off. Dennis Kucinich obviously feels that way, too.

Watch this video of his responses in the November 15 debate. And, by the way, I’ve seen UFO’s, too.

And that’s why I like Dennis.

I haven’t seen this video for years. Severn Suzuki spoke at the 1992 Earth Summit called by the United Nations. I find it incredibly sad how little progress we’ve made on any of the points she made- environmental custodianship, biodiversity, hunger, and homelessness. I always marvel at how so many people value profit, prestige, and property so much and life so little. The US government, by any measure, is morally bankrupt, fiscally and environmentally irresponsible, and has increased world suffering immeasurably. The saddest truth, though, is that in a republic it is the duty of it’s citizens to oversee the government. I imagine it’s not so much that we, the citizens of this republic, are negligent in our duty, though we clearly are, but that the moral deficiency in our government is a reflection of it’s citizens.

I was surprised to see a reply from my congressman, David Price, of North Carolina’s 4th district.  He is, as far as I can tell, the only sane, rational representation I have.  Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, my senators, have an uncanny knack for opposing me on every single vote.  In fact, Burr once said that Usurper in Chief Bush is “right 96% of the time.” Yeah, that sounds pretty likely.  Anyway, here is a letter I received from Congressman Price this week:

October 19, 2007

 

Mr. Jim Tuttle

Cascadilla Street

Durham, NC 27704

 

Dear Mr. Tuttle:

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding a letter circulated in the House to Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Administrator Karen Tandy related to research on the potential medical uses of marijuana. I am pleased to report that I am one of the 45 members of Congress who signed this letter.

 

I share your support for biomedical research and agree that the DEA should approve the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s application to produce marijuana for research on the potential medical uses of marijuana. Currently, the University of Mississippi, under contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has the sole authority to produce marijuana for research purposes in the United States.

 

I am hopeful that the licensing application will be approved quickly so that privately-funded sponsors of FDA-approved research will have the opportunity to conduct studies with a strain of marijuana of their own choosing. As noted in the letter to DEA, I believe licensing University of Massachusetts Amherst Professor Lyle Craker’s research facility would be in the public interest. I have attached a copy of the letter for your reference.

 

Thank you again for contacting me, and please continue to keep in touch on issues of concern.

 

Sincerely,

DAVID PRICE

Member of Congress