Exercise Your Mind - 11/08/06

Election 2006

• You have your marching orders…. — Nicole Belle @ Crooks and Liars reminds us of the Republican’s “Contract with America” when they took control of Congress in 1994.
  

  This year’s election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public’s money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.

  Like Lincoln, our first Republican president, we intend to act “with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right.” To restore accountability to Congress. To end its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free people govern themselves.
  

  Let’s hope that the Democrats learn from the Republicans’ mistakes.

• A Remedy for Negative Political Ads — Paul Silver @ Donklephant has a remedy for all of those negative, deceitful ads since there’s not likely to be any law regulating truth in political advertising anytime soon.
  

  Perhaps the solution lies in changing the geometry of the question. Instead of trying to regulate the content of ads, we use public funds (or funds from the Parties) to run a frequent public service message that corrects the inaccuracies of any recent ads - perhaps produced by the Factcheck.org folks. Since a candidate would not want to have the airwaves filled with objective criticism they would be inclined to stay as reasonable and civil as possible.

• A Remedy for Election Tampering– Paul Silver @ Donklephant also thinks there should be a reward for information leading to a conviction in crimes related to election tampering.

Travel In (and Out of) America

• Here’s just a taste of what’s at stake today — Jill @ Brilliant at Breakfast talks about Homeland Security’s new plan to create a database of American Citizens which would track suspicious activity and could leave Americans stranded without notice either here in the States or even overseas whether they have valid Passports or not.
  

  What this means is that your U.S. passport which proves you are a citizen, will be meaningless. Suppose you go on a Caribbean vacation. The government, under the pretense of “homeland security”, will now be able to refuse you entry back into the country FOR ANY REASON. Have you given money to Democrats this year? That may be sufficient reason to deny you entry. Have an anti-war bumper-sticker on your car? Stay out. Think this is far-fetched? Look at how paranoid this Administration is. Look at how they have decided that anyone who doesn’t support them 100% “loves the terrorists.”

  Homeland Stupidity has more.

• The TSA Follies — Michael Hampton @ Homeland Stupidity talks about TSA doing wrong again. First, a television station in Florida ran an investigative report at the Orlando Internation Airport, leaving unattended bags at various obvious locations and vigilant TSA employees didn’t notice. Second, tn Portland, Ore., an unsecure USB flash drive containing the personal info of 500 TSA employees has gone missing. Third, last week in New Jersy, The Star-Ledger revealed that tests at Newark Liberty International airport showed that TSA screeners missed 20 or 22 test items, including guns and bomb-making components, but rather than work on improving the security holes, they’re more worried about who leaked the story. Lovely. Want more examples?

Fighting Homeland Stupidity

• Private Citizen — Piny on Feministe tells us the bizarre story of Hasan Elahi who is fighting back against Homeland Stupidity’s surveillance of him by broadcasting his every move to the world…online…his life is the most open book ever.
  

  So he hacked his cellphone into a tracking bracelet which he wears on his ankle, reporting his movements on a map - log onto his site and you can see that he’s in Camden. But he’s gone further, trying to document his life in a series of photos: the airports he passes through, the meals he eats, the bathrooms he uses. The result is a photographic record of his daily life which would be very hard to falsify. We all know photos can be digitally altered– but altering as many photos as Elahi puts online would require a whole team trying to build this alternative path through the world.

  Elahi also puts other apsects of his life online, including his banking records. This gives a record of his purchases, which complements the photographs. He doesn’t put the phone records online, because it would compromise the privacy of the people he talks with, and some friends have asked him to stop visiting, but he views the self-surveillance both as an art form and as his perpetual alibi for the next time the FBI questions him.

Mental Illness

• Thursday Thirteen Edition # 9 ~ Ways to Help — Brony @ Parenting with a Mental Illness put together a helpful list for caregivers and supporters of those with friends and relatives who suffer from mental illnesses. It’s excellent advice on how to handle oneself, the sufferer and the situation. I sent it on to my parents, in particular my father, hoping he picks up a few hints.
  

  1. Understand and accept anxieties and anger. Understand that the individual may not be able to do certain things. Know that the individual should not make any major decisions. Realize that the anger is not directed at you. See the behaviours as part of the illness.

  […]

  9. Set personal limits. Know when you need help. Also be clear in what you expect from the individual.
  10. Treat the individual with respect. Do not belittle the individual or the individual’s thoughts/feelings. Talk to the individual at an age appropriate level. If he/she is an adult, then treat him/her like one.
  11. Help the individual to set and achieve realistic goals. Start with short term goals then slowly focus on longer term ones.

• Thirteen Reasons Why I Imagine Depression Could Be a Good Thing — Douglas Cootey @ The Splintered Mind starts off NaNoWriMo with a Thursday Thirteen meme on one of his usual topics — Depression, but it’s a tongue-in-cheek look at why it could be a good thing.
  

  1. It helps me seem really sensitive when I’m watching chick flicks with my wife.
  2. Nobody ever has to tell me to not get my hopes up.
  3. I don’t have to worry about putting together mismatched outfits because all my clothes are black.

tags: 2006 election, Republicans, Contract with America, Contress, ethics, scandal, Democrats, negative political ads, election tampering, politics, factcheck.org, DHS, TSA, passports, Hasan Elahi, FBI, mental illness, anxiety, depression

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