…and Republicans want to make sure we don’t miss it. I received this newsletter from my representative, Congressman Hayes. It prompted the following response:

Dear Congressman Hayes,

I just read your most recent newsletter in which you stated, “Speaker Pelosi decided to adjourn the House last week and send Congress home despite the fact this critical security authority had expired.” This is simply not true. Only the expanded powers have elapsed. Similar claims were made when the Protect America Act expired in February, even though provisions in that act continue for a year after its expiration.

I am severely disappointed that my representative would propagate a falsehood for the purpose of scoring political points. Worse yet, this biased spin uses the tactic of fear mongering! Though little power actually changes, your newsletter makes it sound as if we are somehow less safe now then last week.

The fight over FISA is part of a larger, ideological battle taking place in our government. The debate is over which liberties we, as a nation, are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve more security. Unfortunately, the reaction to 911 has been severely disproportional to the true threat. Americans are three thousand times more likely to be killed by firearms than by terrorists. Yet all of our restrictions on liberties have not been on firearms, but on fighting the small threat of terrorism. This is indefensible.

When it comes to whether I’m willing to give up my liberties for more security, Read the rest of this entry »

I’m back! And I brought home a 100% genuine, souvenir Philadelphia sinus infection. I can now answer the last TITMT I posted before I left. First here are my favorite senses:

Taste
I’ve already wrote about my favorite foods. Also, one’s experience of food is multi-sensual. Taste, smell, and texture plays major roles and sight plays a minor one. We really only have four taste senses: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Of those, my favorite used to be sweet, but is now definitely salty. I’ve also developed a strong appreciation for sour and bitter, if done well.

Smell
I don’t have a strong memory when it comes to smells. Sure, certain smells bring back memories, but I cannot recall those easily. I can recall one clearly right now, but I’ll get to that in my ‘least favorites’ section. The best I can come up with is definitely a best-loved: the smell of camp fire. I’ve been camping since I was young and have always loved it. The smell returns me to the outdoors.

Touch/Texture/Sensation
Other than the obvious, sexual sensations, I love the feel of water, especially warm, dark water. The best is if I am in contact with nothing else, just suspended in an ocean of nothing but water. Floating just feels so comfortable, so free, so safe. Once I have the expendable income, I fully intend to take up scuba diving.

Sight
My wife. To sentimental? Have you seen her? I mean…WOW. Well there’s the hotness, and then there’s the flood of positive associations I have with her. Okay, okay, I guess I’ll give something that’s a little more satisfactory to my readers. I love complex patterns. I especially like them if they have some kind of broken symmetry. Here is an example of the sorts of images that appeal to me.

Sound
Read the rest of this entry »