Daltrey Was Right

Well, as most of you are probably aware of, our Congress is currently reviewing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays serving in the military. Now, the people who made this policy during the Clinton years believed that gays, if allowed to serve openly, would be ostracized and abused by their superiors, and disrespected by their subordinates. At the time, this may have been true. However, society has changed since then. People have become much more tolerant towards the LGBT community.

Now, this would be a good time to introduce my "glass cocoon" theory. Basically, this states that as soon as someone receives a position of power in government or the military, they enter a sort of shell where few of the changes on the outside reach them. This effect can be held off by frequent trips to actually talk and listen to the constituency. Exhibit A: David Obey. Elected in 1969 in a special election to replace Melvin Laird (Nixon's Secretary of Defense), this man is the prototypical career politician. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1962, and immediately started campaigning for an Assembly seat, which he won. He was only seriously challenged twice, in 1972 when redistricting left his hometown of Wausau in a district held by a 15-term Republican, and in 1994 when he won by 7 points. When Sean Duffy began gaining major momentum to unseat him late last year, Obey realized that he had no clue how to use the Internet to campaign. Noting the severe disadvantage he was at, he announced his retirement, effective in January 2011. Even when he was running for reelection, he was rarely seen in his district, but we kept voting him in because we believed that the devil we knew was better than the other guy.

Where the hell were we? Oh yes, gays in the military. The blowhards in Arlington and the wingnuts in Washington don't realize that we, as a people, don't care about someone's sexuality anymore! The only constant in society is change, and one of the defining characteristics of monolithic institutions is that they take years, decades, or even centuries to follow suit. The "elder statesmen" believe we are still in the 70's, the top military brass see America as it was when they enlisted in the 80's, and most of Congress thinks we're still the same country that we were before 9/11. We're not. In the past decade, we have grown from a country spoiled by two decades of uninterrupted success to a people who are sick of being lied to and are ready for real change. We thought we were getting that in 2006 and 2008 when we voted in a set of progressive Democrats who were going to give us "hope and change". Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

We have one more chance to get this right
One more chance to win this fight
For the world is crumbling at every turn
And the leaders fiddle while we burn
The only thing that can save us all
Is a surge of truth to break their walls

My Podcast List

Alright, not much happening now with the semester over, so here's the list of podcasts that I subscribe to right now.

Bill O'Reilly: the Talking Points segment from his show
Buzz Out Loud (video): a daily CNET podcast about the day's tech news, hosted by Molly Wood, Rafe Needleman, producer Jason Howell, and various guest hosts
CNET's Top 5 (video): a weekly tech top five list hosted by Brian Cooley
Around the Horn (audio): an audio version of the ESPN show (5:00 pm ET)
PTI (audio): an audio version of the ESPN show (5:30pm ET)
ESPNsoccernet (audio): twice-weekly, hosted by Adriano Russo, Jon Harris-Bass and Dan Mason
The Official Mark Levin Show Audio Rewind: the ENTIRE THREE HOUR SHOW with very limited commercials
Red Eye (video): the Halftime Report and two or three segments from the Fox News show
Stuff You Should Know: twice-weekly from HowStuffWorks.com, hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W. Bryant
Tap That App (video): a weekly CNET podcast with the best apps for iPhone or Android, hosted by Brian Tong
TechStuff: twice-weekly, dedicated to demystifying technology and discussing its impact on society, hosted by Chris Pollette and Jonathan Strickland.

Now, I'm going to shake up this blog a bit. I'll try to be here once a week, with a regular journal of sorts. The People's Voice segment will be turned over to Brian Ross, who also runs the "It's All Audio" blog detailing his quest for an Out of Body Experience. He is an aspiring author who wants to see this country returned to greatness, and he truly believes that our current government is leading us into a spiraling whirlpool of debt...not unlike Liverpool Football Club.

9/11 and Today: Where I've Been and Where We're Going

I was only 11 years old on 9/11, and I didn't realize exactly what had happened until I got home from school. That's when I saw my mom frantically trying to call my uncle, who was an IT guy working for a civilian contractor at the time. Turns out, he was supposed to be working in an office just three windows down from the crater in the side of the Pentagon, but by some quirk of fate was on the other side of the building when the plane hit. He says that he was just as lucky as he's always been, but you could also say that God was watching him that day, keeping him safe.

My family doesn't blame Islam or the average Muslim for the attacks, and we sure as hell don't think it was America's fault. This was the act of a few terribly misguided individuals who saw the world leaving them behind and tried to bring us back down to their level.

They failed, but we can't let our guard down too much.

Our country is being taken to the edge of the abyss, bringing the rest of the world along for the ride. Will we be the passengers who stay sleeping in our chairs, not even knowing that we are about to go over the edge? Will we be the people who accept our fate, calling our loved ones to say goodbye? Will we be the people who scream in terror, or are numb from shock as we can't find a way out?

Or will we be the people who made this country the greatest power that the world has ever known? Can we still be the people who rush the cockpit and take over the plane, possibly sacrificing ourselves to save countless others? I know that this is still within us, that we can still lead the world to a bright future. Let us hope that we can find ourselves, as Americans, before it's too late.