Bookfilter is a blog devoted to books and all things book related. It’s a rich, though text-only, site which I found while browsing over at I Will Dare.
I love books and bookstores, and so far during my quick visit to the site I feel like I’m in a large, wondrous bookstore, with many alcoves and odd shaped corners full of treasures I might never have found, save for this site.
Of all the random links I might have selected on my first visit, I somehow chose this story, which is both somewhat absurd and moving at the same time. Only after I finished the story did I notice the context of the page that hosted it …
Teresa, over at Making Light, takes an extremely insightful view into the management style of our current president.
What initiated her well written rant was this quote from a recent 60 Minutes show:
“Bush:
This is a great site; sure to be enjoyed by anyone who likes the music of the Beatles.
Here you will find a full discography of their work, including solo recordings. Each song entry has detailed notes covering date(s) and location(s) performed, producer and musicians, and what instrument each musician played. In addition, there are notes regarding the song itself; what it means, or how it came to be written, etc.
The site also offers the ability to view the Beatle’s work in chronological order, going back to the late 1950’s. All in all, it’s quite easy to get lost here, looking up first one song, then remembering another … “in my life”
The following quote, found over at the Testify! blog, adds to the evidence that starting a war without support from other world leaders is not only wrong, but quite likely criminal.
“We must make clear to the Germans that the wrong for which
their fallen leaders are on trial is not that they lost the
war, but that they started it. And we must not allow
ourselves to be drawn into a trial of the causes of the war,
for our position is that no grievances or policies will
justify resort to aggressive war. It is utterly renounced
and condemned as an instrument of policy.”
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Jackson
Chief U.S. Prosecutor
at the Nuremberg Tribunals
August 12, 1945
Emphasis added. Additional note: the above is speaking to nations acting in a singular manner, or perhaps w/one or two allies. Coalitions of a majority of countries of the world are often a quite different matter.
The full statement is available.
Do you think I’m exaggerating or engaging in excessive hyperbole with respect to this topic? Well, keep reading and then see what you think.
I’ve written about the US government’s planned Patriot II legislation, and despite weak denials from government officials, it’s apparent that they are just waiting for the right time to try and get this “update” hustled through congress.
The Village Voice has an insightful article that outlines a variety of constitutional protections that would be greatly weakened (if not removed outright!) if this bill passes. Some of these include: the ability for the government to strip one’s citizenship, the ability to arrest someone and not disclose that fact — nor where they are being held (why does that remind me of communist Russia and East Germany?), along with a host of other such assaults against the constitution. The article also has a couple of good links to sites that provide a more detailed review of the consequences of this proposed legislation.
Warning against a repeat of history, the article concludes with this cautionary note, reminding folks of how Patriot I got passed, with virtually no review, during the immediate aftermath of 9/11:
Ashcroft deflected angry Senate queries on Patriot Act II, saying “it would be the height of absurdity” to imagine the administration’s hustling through a law without congressional review. Yet on October 25, 2001, 98 out of 99 voting senators hurriedly passed the 342-page Patriot Act I
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