more quick hits...
• Had a great weekend visiting DC. Going to the National Archives was inspirational in more ways than one. First off, seeing the Declaration of Independence and Constitution in the flesh, and early, hand-written drafts of the Bill of Rights including amendments that didn't make the cut... you realize that once upon a time, these were all just ideas, ideas hashed out in late-night discussions, and probably scribbed on the 18th century equivalent of a barroom napkin. And right there on paper, in the documents our founding fathers agreed on, is the backbone of our country. I'm getting practically misty eyed; that's my cue to move on to the next item, before I degenerate into sappyness, if it's not already too late.
• Also at the Archives, a photo exhibit on American workers through the years struck a nerve. Compared to, say, mining or working in a sweatshop, my job proofreading tedious crap all day doesn't seem so bad. At least I have iTunes and the internet to distract me from my depressing life.
• Here in New York, the local media has reacted strongly today to the news that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has slashed New York City's anti-terrorism funds by nearly 40 percent, while substantially boosting funds to terrorist hotspots like Louisville, Ky. and Omaha, Neb. Even stranger, part of the justification for the slash is that, according to a Homeland Security document, New York has no "national monuments or icons"—that's right, not one—worth protecting. Take that, Stock Exchange and Empire State Building! And screw you too, Lady Liberty. I've never liked your tired and poor masses anyway. Why are they always huddled like that? Wait a second—New York is full of liberals, foreigners, minorities, the media, the United Nations... Memo to the White House: Why didn't you think of this sooner?
• Bruce Reed's "The Has Been" column is always worth reading—if only he'd start cranking them out more often. This time around, he writes amusingly about how Republicans have been upset with the Bush administration over the search of Rep. Bill Jefferson's office.
• Also at the Archives, a photo exhibit on American workers through the years struck a nerve. Compared to, say, mining or working in a sweatshop, my job proofreading tedious crap all day doesn't seem so bad. At least I have iTunes and the internet to distract me from my depressing life.
• Here in New York, the local media has reacted strongly today to the news that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has slashed New York City's anti-terrorism funds by nearly 40 percent, while substantially boosting funds to terrorist hotspots like Louisville, Ky. and Omaha, Neb. Even stranger, part of the justification for the slash is that, according to a Homeland Security document, New York has no "national monuments or icons"—that's right, not one—worth protecting. Take that, Stock Exchange and Empire State Building! And screw you too, Lady Liberty. I've never liked your tired and poor masses anyway. Why are they always huddled like that? Wait a second—New York is full of liberals, foreigners, minorities, the media, the United Nations... Memo to the White House: Why didn't you think of this sooner?
• Bruce Reed's "The Has Been" column is always worth reading—if only he'd start cranking them out more often. This time around, he writes amusingly about how Republicans have been upset with the Bush administration over the search of Rep. Bill Jefferson's office.
posted by Zackattack at 5:43 PM
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