“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.”

-Martin Niemoller

I did something today I’ve been meaning to do for years: joined the ACLU. It’s a small thing, but it means a lot to me. I’m unhappy it took me this long to do it. I was struck when visiting their site to sign up that their symbol is the Statue of Liberty (note jaw-dropping splash page). I would encourage anyone dismayed at the scary turn this country has taken to consider joining up with me.

I must say I’ve been a little amused by how the right is so outraged by Michael Moore. I’ll admit that I get a kick out of how much he gets under their skin. They just can’t “get over it,” as they say about, well, pretty much every criticism leveled at Bush.

Apparently Moore’s film “Bowling for Columbine,” which focused on the very real problem of gun violence in this country, was so vile, so evil, so wrong, they just can’t stop talking about it. That Oscar he got was a slap in the face to every flag-waving American – the final straw! And then he gave a stupid speech, got booed, and then tried to say only a couple of people were booing! Oh my god the humanity. We should take away his Oscar! Send him to Iraq! Or better yet, France! And he’s fat!

If this is the most you have to complain about from the left, people, best pack it in. If liberals got as upset about the junk coming from, say, Ann Coulter’s mouth, you’d get your wish and we’d all collapse from massive strokes.

More cures for a crappy day

Puppies. And more puppies. Also, I find getting your car washed can help, too.

Happy Tax Day!

Feel free to post your frustration, etc. in the comments. Personally, I’m a little irritated that because I made so little last year, most of my taxes will go to Social Security, which I’m sure I won’t see when my time comes around. I joked with John and Nik today that my taxes will probably be diverted into the “statue demolition” fund. But it was a bitter sort of joking.

Unsolicited advice

Cure for a crappy day? Etta James. Lots of Etta James. (2MB MP3)

(Thanks to Amanda for the inspiration. Getting a call from a good friend can also help with your crappy day.)

I’m in a technological bind. Today, my trusty Mitsubishi VCR I’ve had for, well I don’t know, but maybe 15 years, finally gave up the ghost. It doesn’t rewind, fast-forward or play. I’m going to call repair places tomorrow, but I have a strong suspicion it will cost more to fix it than it would to buy a new, cheap, planned-obsolescence VCR. But just about the only thing I do with my VCR is record a program here and there, so I don’t even particularly want to buy a new one. Still, there are times when you want to record something.

(That Mitsubishi was a workhorse. It was expensive when I bought it, but look how long it lasted! It weighs about four times the Sony VCR I saw at Best Buy tonight. That puppy was made to last.)

If I wanted to strain my credit card even further, I could go all high-tech. But recordable DVDs are still way too expensive, and the TiVo/Replay market is still in flux (ReplayTV’s parent just went bankrupt). Plus there’s the monthly fee, the phone/internet connection, etc. – hassle and expense. It’s a weird market right now, because VCRs are already almost extinct, but without a mature, affordable product to replace them.

Ideas? Advice?

Shell game

Wired: The Iraq war is about liberating the oppressed Iraqi people.
Tired: The Iraq war is about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
Expired: The Iraq war is about Iraqi links to al Qaeda.
Try to stay up on the current trends, will ya?
-from a comment on Scott Rosenberg’s Salon blog

As the fighting dies down in Iraq, I’ve been continually floored/amazed/impressed by the right’s ability to change the focus constantly. Andrew Sullivan’s latest on child prisons and how lefties marched to keep Saddam in power was a great example of the new “aren’t we great because we brought democracy to those wonderful Iraqis” focus. Well, here’s a news flash, Andy: we didn’t bring democracy to the Iraqis. The most we brought them was the brief opportunity to loot before we turned the lights back on. The rest comes later – remember Afghanistan?

Another triumph was the endless footage of tearing down the Saddam statue. Impressive symbolism. How wonderful that we can watch, over and over and over, the jubilation of thousands of free Iraqis celebrating their liberation. The truth was a little different: a couple dozen Iraqis, painfully aware of the western TV cameras, cheering while American troops used a large chain and a tank to pull down the statue.

Then there’s the “where’s the WMD” question. My favorite response to this is, hey, give us some time! This is a big country! I’m sure we’ll find tons of bad stuff eventually! Which is hilarious, considering that these are the same people who didn’t want to give U.N. inspectors more time. But mostly they just ignore it, change the focus, and crow about those happy scrappy liberated Iraqis (see above). Which again is brilliant. We just spent $75 billion, and killed 7,500 Iraqis. In our own minds, we are willing to help the administration put a good face on this, because the alternative is too horrible to contemplate.

The other stock answer to “where’s the WMD” is the most brilliant of all: they’re in Syria! Yeah, that’s the ticket! It’s a masterstroke because it’s not only just as unverifiable as the claims that led to this war, it provides a perfect staging ground for the next one.

Unlike most of us, Winston Smith worked at the Ministry of Truth. We just get to watch it in action.

Quote of the week

“I’m not crabby. I’m pensive.”

-Fred Tate, “Little Man Tate”

My dear friend Becky paid me the best compliment the other day, and I wanted to share it with everyone. I was telling her that I was trying to stay away from the war coverage, since it made me crazy, but I kept coming back to it. I said something like, there should be a support group for people like me. She responded:

“I think the support group is your weblog — a really fine bunch of web & other friends you have — for their political views and their humor and their intelligence.”

Thanks, Becky.

Saw the “Matrix Reloaded” preview on Entertainment Tonight yesterday. Ever since the “Matrix” sequels have been announced, I’ve been worried that nothing could possibly surpass (or even equal) the original, and that these movies would go down the “Star Wars” route – giant messes that everyone would go to see anyway, no matter how bad they were. But I was impressed by the preview, unlike my reaction to the, say, “Attack of the Clones” trailer, which filled me with (as it turns out, understandable) dread.

“Reloaded” is just a month away. I’m cautiously excited.