I heard the news today, oh boy

Since this post is sort of about bathrooms, here's one fact:Most toilet flushes are in E Flat.

According to the London Assembly of Liberal Democrats, London has been outfitted with over 500,000 surveillance cameras. Other put the number much higher at 1.4million cameras but nobody is telling what the real number is. Another few 10,000 cameras have been installed in taxis and police cars as well.
America Blog reported this and added: You can imagine my surprise after I paid my 50pence to use the public bathroom, walked in and found myself staring at not just one but three ceiling mounted video surveillance cameras. I had to get real close to their enclosures to convince myself that I wasn't seeing things. Not only was it really there, but it was a Pan-Tilt-Zoom model with a microphone to top it off. Must get some great noises coming from there. It has also been reported that London officials are now installing cameras with speakers to allow them to talk as well as see and listen. Perhaps its just me, but I had absolutely no idea that this was legal anywhere, let alone in downtown London, UK. Sure I knew that London has more cameras per square mile than any other country on the planet, but in bathrooms?! How are they getting away with that one? It is appalling!
But the iPhone has an ap for the noise part, You can call up 30, 60 or 90 seconds of flushing sound. Don't you love technology?
Next bathroom issue to tackle, as the blog No Parental Discretion notes, is people who don't flush.

Questioning some "family's values"

I just took a break from a two-hour-a-day e-mail habit that was sucking the joy from my life by causing feelings of anger, unease and frustration at our current state of political division. I would read, provide stories in an email with some comments and share with a group of readers who asked to get the daily post. Just as I noted why I was taking a break, I then read the following on one of the sites I still visit:
Pam's House Blend: Gay Teen in Georgia Kicked Out by Parents Over Bringing Boyfriend to Prom: Derrick Martin, a gay teenager from Georiga who was inspired by the Constance McMillen cancelled Prom story in Mississippi, asked to bring another boy to prom. His request was approved by the School Superintendent.
A happy ending for the Bleckly County High School student, right?
Wrong. Derrick has been kicked out of his home by his parents now that his story has hit the media:
because of the media attention, Martin's parents have kicked him out and the teen is staying with a friend, he said.
It's appalling this is happening to a brave, bright young man who simply wanted to take his boyfriend to prom. Derrick seems to be remaining strong and is proud of the stand he took, saying:
Maybe (other gay students) will think if Bleckley County will let them, maybe my school will.
I can only say how proud I am of Derrick Martin for the stand he is making and how angry I am at his parents for kicking him out.
I have to agree with Pam, the boy took a stand and, for those who say gays cannot be compared to other groups that face discrimination, I ask how many other minorities do you know who are sometimes rejected by their own families.

Going too far (hat tip to Huffington Post)

Protests continue, and make me look back on the protests I took part in as tame and whimsical frolics, compared to what is now happening:
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Wednesday that officials from the FBI and Capitol Police briefed Democrats on how to handle perceived security threats.
Hoyer said at least 10 lawmakers who feel that they are at risk of harm are getting attention from the proper authorities.
"Tea Party organizer" posted what he thought was Tom Perriello's (D-VA)home address, encouraging people to harass the lawmaker at home. The address ended up being the home of Perriello's brother's family, but the activist, Mike Troxel, took it in stride, saying, “I was a journalism major in college, so I have every reason to believe my research is accurate.” Laugh if you want, but this is precisely how the "journalism" works, circa 2010.
CBS News reported: "Congressman Stupak, you baby-killing mother f***er... I hope you bleed out your a**, got cancer and die, you mother f***er," one man says in a message to Stupak.
"There are millions of people across the country who wish you ill," a woman says in a voicemail, "and all of those thoughts that are projected on you will materialize into something that's not very good for you."
Health Care Reform opponents reacted with dignity and maturity by calling for a fatwa on socialist windowpanes. The call went out from some "militia leader" named Mike Vanderboegh, who said: "“We can break their windows...Break them NOW. And if we do a proper job, if we break the windows of hundreds, thousands, of Democrat party headquarters across this country, we might just wake up enough of them to make defending ourselves at the muzzle of a rifle unnecessary.”
Station WHAM (Rochester, Niagara Falls) reported: "Last Thursday [Louise Slaughter (D-NY)] received a chilling recorded message at her campaign office. 'Assassinate is the word they used…toward the children of lawmakers who voted yes.'"
Representative Louis Gohmert (R-Tex.) was apparently disturbed enough by this past weekend's events that he decided to call for the repeal of the 17th Amendment and return to state legislatures the right to appoint Senators.
Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyom.) got a little bit ahead of himself when he accused Representative Jim Matheson (D-Utah) of casting his vote for health care reform in return for his brother Scott Matheson getting appointed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The only problem with Barrasso's logic is that Representative Matheson voted against health care reform.

Wiley Drake, a pastor from Orange County sent an email out to his parishoners "telling them that all 219 Democrats have been placed on the “imprecatory prayer list.” That means that these churchgoing folks will be asking for God to kill those who voted for the reform package, in accordance with Psalm 109, which reads, "May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership...May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow."

Sarah Palin has suggested targeting Democrats in swing districts. Her map of the U.S. is decorated with crosshairs as to where those districts are.

A Twitter post on Sunday,by a Solly Forrell became internet famous for tweeting: "ASSASSINATION America, we survived the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy. We'll surely get over a bullet 2 #BarackObama's head." He followed that up with "The next #American with a #clear #shot should drop #Obama like a bad habit."
A series of tweets by Jay Martin lead off with 11 F-Yous followed by "You should be assassinated @ Barack Obama" and other posts, as noted by Gawker: http://gawker.com/5498712/meet-the-obama-death-tweeter-who-will-be-arrested-today

Going too far . . . and now further

Vandals hit at least five Dem offices nationwide, threaten to ‘assassinate’ children of pro-reform lawmakers.

Yesterday, ThinkProgress reported that several Democratic offices around the nation had been vandalized in the days surrounding the House health care vote. Vandals have struck the Tuscon office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), the Monroe County Democratic Committee headquarters in upstate New York, Rep. Louise Slaughter’s (D-NY) Niagara Falls office, the Knox County Democratic headquarters in Ohio, and the Sedgwick County Democratic Party headquarters in Wichita, KS. The local Rochester ABC affiliate now has more information on the upstate NY vandalism, including an assassination threat against the children of lawmakers who voted for health reform:

No one was inside when the brick was hurled through the Democratic Patry Headquarters on University Avenue. Attached was a note quoting conservative Barry Goldwater: “Exremism in defense of liberty is no vice”.

Slaughter has been at the center of the push for reform. Last Thursday she received a chilling recorded message at her campaign office. “Assassinate is the word they used…toward the children of lawmakers who voted yes.”

I am amazed how angry, frustrated people can be manipulated by demagogues.

I want my country back

Tea Party protesters were in town. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a "nigger." Henry Waxman (D-CA) was called a "liar and crook." James Clyburn (D-SC) received racist faxes and a noose at his office. And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. The escalation of threats of violence as noted in the sign to the left, seen being held aloft by more than one protester at the rally, while Republican Reps. Steve King (IA), Michele Bachmann (MN-the banner on her campaign Website read, ""Michelle Bachmann - Amaricas Congress Woman." Hopefully a dictionary was found and a correction made), and Mike Pence (IN) spoke to the tea party crowd, along with actor Jon Voight. I have nothing against protests, having taken part in a few myself over the years, but if you want to make statements, use your voice to talk about the politics not the race or sexual orientation of the politicians.
The Web site Free Republic carried a number of the reactions to the Capitol Police closing the capitol and Congressional office buildings. Most notable to me among the comments was this one:
"We are now oppressed by a tyrannical oligarchic government. These potentates will ignore every aspect of the Constitution, which they recognize in name only."
I guess the idea of the government reforming health care was the proverbial straw for these people after warrantless wiretaps, screened attendance at public political events, torture, and rendition.
I wonder if they have any concept of civility in government or even interest in a democratic process?
Then Bill and I watched the Patricia Neal/Andy Griffith movie "A Face in the Crowd" and I saw that the time is ripe for an updated remake. If you've never seen the movie, a nobody gains public attention, realizes his entertainment value has an affect on people, uses it to advance his career and then becomes a demagogue, attempting to manipulate and control people he really thinks are ignorant sheep. I can think of a few people who fit that description in today's political media.

Am I Murray Burns or Austin Powers

I started this blog some time ago, after a few years of perusing the Web for news items and posts that caught my eye. Somehow the daily email I send out that contains articles about politics, spirituality or culture never migrated to here.
Then a crisis of creativity came up in my life -- mainly the lack there of. As a graphic designer, I have always enjoyed my career but find the limitations of it constrictive -- focus groups, design by group, etc. I still enjoy my job but, watching Bill create videos, Web pages, etc. with a real opportunity to express himself makes me realize what I miss (and what I am jealous and frustrated about).
This boiled over when I started writing something to put here (Bill was redesigning his Web page and putting in a link -- OMG, I haven't updated this since December of last year, even a quarterly blog makes this due NOW!).
As I started to write, I felt more like I was creating a trauma list (something a therapist had me do to help me focus on the impact of events in my life), and two figures came to mind: Austin Powers and the idea of wanting my mojo back and Murray N. Burns (A Thousand Clowns: whose line "Neighbors, I have nothing to say." makes me worry -- what if that is me?
Hopefully it isn't so this and other personal and creative aspects of my life are a new focus (hey, resolutions made at the new year often are dropped, but has anyone studied the longevity of March resolves?
Of course, I am still me, so as I try to be a more consistent blogger, politics might creep in every now and then.