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Reacting to Osama bin Laden’s death

I’m filled with all kinds of mixed emotions about Osama bin Laden’s death and the subsequent reactions in the media and my social network feeds. Anything I might say wouldn’t do justice to the many aspects of what is an extremely complicated situation from all angles; instead of this blog’s usual role as my personal soapbox, I’ll opt to respect the weight of the topic by choosing to spend my time in contemplation instead.

This poem was written on September 11, 2001 and published the next day. It touched me then, and it’s far more worth sharing than anything I’d have to say myself:

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George W. Bush pulled out of an appearance in Denver scheduled for tomorrow upon learning that WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange had been invited to appear at the same conference via video.

I wonder if this policy would apply to those who ran his torture program. Or those who ran his program of extraconstitutional kidnappings. Or all the politicians that tore constitutional rights apart with the PATRIOT and FISA acts.

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“How Long? Not Long:” My Favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech

I know you are asking today, “How long will it take?” (Speak, sir) Somebody’s asking, “How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?” Somebody’s asking, “When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?” Somebody’s asking, “When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, (Speak, speak, speak) plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, (Speak) and truth bear it?” (Yes, sir)

I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, (Yes, sir) however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, (No sir) because “truth crushed to earth will rise again.” (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because “no lie can live forever.” (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (All right. How long) because “you shall reap what you sow.” (Yes, sir)

How long? (How long?) Not long: (Not long)

Truth forever on the scaffold, (Speak)

Wrong forever on the throne, (Yes, sir)

Yet that scaffold sways the future, (Yes, sir)

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow,

Keeping watch above his own.

How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. (Yes, sir)

How long? Not long, (Not long) because:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; (Yes, sir)

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; (Yes)

He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword; (Yes, sir)

His truth is marching on. (Yes, sir)

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; (Speak, sir)

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat. (That’s right)

O, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant my feet!

Our God is marching on. (Yeah)

Glory, hallelujah! (Yes, sir) Glory, hallelujah! (All right)

Glory, hallelujah! Glory, hallelujah!

His truth is marching on.

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Schneier on the TSA: “This is a stupid game, and we should stop playing it.”

Security expert Bruce Schneier concisely describes our broken approach to airport security:

It’s not even a fair game. It’s not that the terrorist picks an attack and we pick a defense, and we see who wins. It’s that we pick a defense, and then the terrorists look at our defense and pick an attack designed to get around it. Our security measures only work if we happen to guess the plot correctly. If we get it wrong, we’ve wasted our money. This isn’t security; it’s security theater.

Read the whole thing at The New York Times.

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Let’s take back our rights and our flights from the TSA.

The TSA has outdone itself this time with its invasive new searches: if selected, travelers must choose between having pictures of them naked taken via x-ray, having their genitals very aggressively handled, or not flying.

Republican Congressman Ron Paul has introduced the American Traveler Dignity Act to the House of Representatives. (Read his announcement of the bill here.) The legislation simply clarifies that security must not abridged:

My legislation is simple. It establishes that airport security screeners are not immune from any US law regarding physical contact with another person, making images of another person, or causing physical harm through the use of radiation-emitting machinery on another person. It means they are subject to the same laws as the rest of us.

Please call or write your Congressional representative today and ask them to cosponsor Congressman Paul’s bill.