Hey Oprah, Who’s Looking Out For You?

Bill O’Reilly is a cool cat. I saw a few minutes of Oprah’s show, and he was concise as always. Whether you agree with him or not, you must concede he’s not afraid to say what he thinks.

RPD Asked That His Post Be Brought To The Front Page

The opinions expressed here are not necessarily the opinion of MSTiggy.

From RPD:

Yesterday when I woke up it was a warm and sunny 80 degrees outside. This morning it was
around 35 degrees, overcast, and dreary. The mood is somber. Perhaps the weather could be
used as a metaphor to describe what has happened in our once great country in the last 24 hours.
Yesterday was a day which someday will live in infamy in our hearts and our minds. It was a day
that changed everything we have based our culture and pride on over the last 230 years. It was
the day we officially lost our moral high ground (although in reality we gave that up the day we
invaded Iraq). What concerns me more than what happened yesterday, is the fact that I see it no
where in the print media. I see it no where on the major news sites on the internet. I see no
mention of it on television. Yesterday, the foundations on which this nation was built were
destroyed, and no one seems to care. I feel it my duty as an American to say something about it,
regardless of what others may say or do.

The catalyst for what happened yesterday began some years ago, but climaxed on September 11,
2001. On that date, 19 hijackers, who hated American freedom and our lifestyle, who hated
everything we stood for, set out to destroy the fabric of our society. They set out to destroy our
phyche. They set out to forever change the world. They set out to destroy America. I would
submit to you, that yesterday, October 17, 2006, five years after their deaths, they succeeded.
Only in their wildest dreams could they have imagined the effect they would have. Only in their
wildest dreams could they have imagined that we, as Americans, would actually do away with
that which we hold so dear VOLUNTARILY. They could never have imagined that by crashing
4 planes into their eventual targets, that our Bill of Rights would for all intents and purposes
cease to exist. You see, yesterday, President Bush signed into law, the Military Commissions
Act, which having already been passed by Congress, granted to the President the right to declare
any person, citizen of the United States or otherwise, a military combatant. This law gave the
president the right to arrest any person and hold them for any reason. Anyone can now be held as
a detainee, with no right to habeus corpus, no right to a speedy trial, no right to see all the
evidence presented against him, and no right to even be tried at all. The president can now arrest
his enemies by simply calling them enemy combatants. I fully understand that by speaking out
against him I could probably be arrested as a traitor, and I would have no right to the due process
once guaranteed by our constitution. With the signing of this law went all that we hold dear as
Americans. Does no one else see the irony here? Terrorists set out to destroy us, and in the end,
it is us who are destroying ourselves. Congratulations everyone.

Let’s review. The First Amendment grants us the right to assemble, speak freely, practice our
own religion, to have a free press, and to petition the government. Let’s see. The FBI, under the
current administration, has labeled anti-war demonstrators as possible terrorists in the last few
years. There goes the right to assemble and speak freely. Muslims must now be fearful of
practicing their faith in this country, for fear they will be arrested as a terrorist. There goes
freedom of religsion. Habeus corpus no longer exists. There goes the right to petition the
government. Reporters are now thrown in jail for not revealing sources. Non-right leaning
journalists are stripped of their White House credentials. There goes freedom of the press.

Let’s skip ahead now to the fourth amendment. The right against unreasonable searches and
seizures. It grants to us the right to be secure in our person and our papers, effects, and homes.
This new Military Commissions Act allows torture. Even waterboarding is allowed. There goes
my right to be secure in my person. If the President determines I am a traitor, his minions can
search me based on nothing more than a hunch. There gomy rights against unreasonable
searches and seizures.

Fifth Amendment: Right to a speedy trial, right against double jeopardy, etc. Well, now the
government can hold people in perpetuity without even leveling charges against them. The
statute “SPECIFICALLY” provides that the accused can be tried for the same offense a second
time. I think the analysis on this one is self explanatory.

Sixth Amendment: Trial by jury. The government now determines what the tribunal will consist
of. I may be wrong on this one, but I don’t see where a jury of one’s peers is provided under this
law. Even if it is, only 2/3 of the jury need to find one guilty.

Seventh Amendment: Right to civil trial by jury. Obviously, this one needs no further
commentary. The very name of the act is the Military Commissions Act.

Eighth Amendment: Prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. By invalidating the
Geneva Convention, I think this one too is self-explanatory. Torture is condoned by the new act.

The Ninth and Tenth amendments are not really relevant here, since they do not provide specific
rights and create a “federal” form of government.

Now, back to the Third Amendment: The right against the quartering of troops in one’s house.
Well, since I can be arrested for no real reason, and kept in prison for my entire life without ever
being charged with a crime, how would I ever know if troops were in my house? I guess that
amendment goes out the window.

That basically leaves us with what is evidently the King of all Amendments. No. 2. The right to
keep and bear arms. The only amendment the convervatives care anything about obviously. At
least before I am arrested for no reason, I have not been told I can’t have a gun. Phew. Now I
feel better.

So, in closing, the Bill of Rights has now become the Bill of Right to Bear Arms.

This is truly a sad day in the history of what was once the greatest power the world had ever seen.
We have become exactly what we used to despise. We once tried Nazis for torture. Now we use
their same techniques. We used to think freedoms were important. We are after all the Land of
the Free, or at least, we were. That used to be followed with “Home of the Brave”. Well,
frankly, what we have done over the last five years is not brave. It’s the exact opposite. We gave
in to the terrorists. We changed who we are to defend ourselves from them, and as a result,
became our own enemy. The terrorists are not the ones who will destroy this country. We are
the ones who will destroy this country, by eroding our rights. By being paranoid. We have
become our own worst enemy, and in the end, this great country will go the way of all of history’s
great dynasties. Self defense isn’t what our war mantra should be. Defense against self is more
apt. So long Geneva Convention. So long my right to be comfortable in my own nation. So
long all we hold dear. The terrorists have won, and we aided and abetted them in doing so. I
implore you to go to the polls in November, and not vote based on party affiliation, or political
philosophy, but rather based on national affiliation and American philosophy. Without our Bill
of Rights we are like everyone else. That isn’t what we should be about. It’s not too late to get
them back. Or I suppose, all good things must come to an end….

More on this later.

Sincerely,

Ryan P. DeArman

If You’re Prude, More Power To You

Is it still protocol for a girl to wait until marriage to have sex? It has long been acceptable for guys to be sluts. But I’m not thinking at that extreme. I’m talking about a woman being in an exclusive relationship with a guy. It seems perfectly acceptable for a girl to have sex now.
People have been saving themselves for marriage for decades, but that seems to be a thing of the past. Women are still viewed as easy if they’re having sex with every guy on the block, but are they looked down on for having a sexual relationship with their boyfriends?
Personally, I think it’s no one’s business, but mine. But lets be realistic. People talk. I talk with my friends about sex. It’s an interesting topic which brings me to my question:
Would it wrong to be a nymphomaniac? The dictionary defines nymphomania as “excessive sexual desire in and behavior by a female.” I guess I need a more detailed definition because I wonder… Is there a guy on the planet that thinks that’s a problem?
I know people who claim it is. And while I’m not making any admissions, I think they’re nuts. I’m not saying sex is a requirement. If you know me, you know I think that’s untrue. But its part of most adult relationships and it’s fun. So what’s the problem?
People try to so hard to act like they’re doing everything right. I was just as self-righteous as the other girls in my church youth group, but the reality of marriage and family is different for some. Most girls I considered my friends during that time are married and have been married for a few years. I’m sure it is easy to wait until marriage if you’re married at 20.
I’m officially in my mid-twenties. I think at this point, I’m old enough to have sex as often as I’d like. Am I a nymphomaniac? Probably not, but I don’t know why I’ve always thought of this word with such a negative connotation. It doesn’t seem like a bad thing. Does anyone disagree?

I Think This Is Appropriate After The Previous Post

 

Big Box Mart

 

If You Need Further Evidence That Wal-Mart Sucks – Here It is…

Wal-Mart is “phasing out lay-a-way because people have found alternatives to pay for merchandise (i.e. gift cards, credit cards.) I fail to see that as an alternative. Low interest, even low interest credit cards is a terrible way to replace an option which costs nothing for the buyer or the seller.

Lay-a-way was designed so people could make interest free payments for items that were currently in stock. It won’t do much good if I add 5 dollars, 20 dollars, etc. to a gift card, each time I go to the store if the item is sold out in December.

Wal-Mart is taking away the opportunity for someone who wants to wait to buy something until they can afford it. It costs Wal-Mart nothing to have a lay-a-way system.

This nation is full of people who have come to expect immediate gratification, regardless of the after effect. But for the few who still choose to buy things, only after they can pay for them, another opportunity is lost.

Enlightened

Last week I stumbled across three bands that have all rocked my world. J introduced me to The Features and E told me to listen to Blue October. Apparently Blue October is even cooler than I knew last week. They’re from Houston and their biggest musical influence is Pearl Jam.

I realized I’m further out of the loop than I thought because I just heard Snow Patrol and they ROCK! How did I manage to miss them so long?

Note to self: turn off the iPod once in a while and listen to something new.

It’s Good To Be A Texas Fan…

Ahh, bliss…That being said, I think the Red River game is going to be exciting in the next few years as these boys get older and more experienced. Did anyone hear, at the beginning of the game, that “Paul Thompson always wanted to be the quarter back at Texas?” Who could blame him?

I was surprised to see Auburn get worked by Arkansas. Maybe Arkansas was underrated, but come on. Auburn is better than that, aren’t they?
On different note, USC can’t seem to lose a game even if they try…