So Julie’s already written an article on plastic bags, but I had no clue how bad they really were. Salon has a scary article on it. The Chronicle also has a good comic on this subject (I couldn’t find it online though), about the plastic vs. paper people duking it out.

I nearly had a melt down on Wednesday night, when the clerk insisted on putting our two items in a plastic bag even after I asked her not to. Julie and I had a nice little fight about this. I was having a bad day with the moving and stuff, but it still just gets to me. There are these tiny things we can do to improve the world, and it feels nearly impossible to make them happen. Julie did use the plastic bag for packing material though. And we’ll recycle them when we unpack. So I really shouldn’t have flipped out.

I guess I feel so passionately because it’s an issue in my life that I have control over. An issue that I can easily have a real impact. And there are so many other places where I’m fat and lazy and horribly detrimental to the environment. I feel so powerless when I can’t even have an impact with the small things I try to do.

I really think this latest move is starting to solidify something in my mind. Bush is not just a bad president. He’s not just incompetent. He really and truly wants to kill us. He wants to knock as many of us off as possible. Bush said he wants to “eliminate roadblocks” and “cut through paperwork” in rebuilding the collapsed I35 bridge. The only conclusion I can draw is that’s he’s not completely insane and that he is trying to kill us.

While Bush is out of the office Congress should impeach Cheney. Charge him with all the crimes they supposedly can’t charge him with because he’s vice-president. This is a golden opportunity! He’s said he’s outside the law because he’s the veep. Well he’s gonna be president. Do it America!

Talk about burning the bridges behind him:

And Thomas said, “Simply putting students together under the same roof does not necessarily mean that the students will learn together or even interact. Furthermore, it is unclear whether increased interracial contact improves racial attitudes and relations.”

Welcome back to pre-1950s America ya’ll. I’m guessing those “Quiet Riots” aren’t going to stay quiet for another generation. The “I pay my taxes to send my kids to a good school” folks have won. We’ll have our semi-private schools (barrier of entry – ability to afford a 200k+ house, and not be red-lined by real estate agents), and we’ll have our “public schools”. I can’t even write how angry this makes me. Every kid deserves to go to a “good school”. If the school in your neighborhood is not “good”, then it is your duty as an American to go in, and help improve it, not to transfer your kid to a “good” school. Otherwise, pay for the privilege to be a racist asshole and send your kid to a private school. Public schools are socialism. And part of the deal for your child to get a fantastic education, is that you make sure other kids can get a fantastic education. That’s how socialism works. Everyone has to do their part. If you want to opt out, opt out and send your kid to a private school, but don’t ruin it for the rest of us.

On the subject of social security… shouldn’t it really be a system where the amount you get after retirement is based upon how much your kids (and grandkids) currently earn rather than how much you earned during your life?

I really hate the conservative rhetoric machine that is always putting words in the mouths of liberals. This all started with this article:

Thomas Sowell Just Another Backwards Cracker

and the original article it came from.

Just got an email from the Family Research Council (because I like to know what the wackos are up to), and they lead off with this line:

President Bush has courageously sent a letter to both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowing to veto any legislation that would force U.S. taxpayers to fund the destruction of human life.

I guess that’s why he vetoed the Defense Spending Bill.

(And just in case you think I’m being unfair, they add the following line at the end of the email “U.S. taxpayers should not be forced to fund the killing of human beings.” Their words. Not mine.)