Ten Minute Hate
Here's what I'm angry about.
I'm angry that Bush is sending my neighbors' kids off to die for oil.
That having made the decision to go to war, he has not provided our
troops with the tools they need to do their jobs.
That he has no reasonable plan for getting them out, except in body bags.
That Bush has invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and has no hope or plan to
set up secular democracies.
That the only government agency to do its job properly during and after
Hurricane Katrina was the National Weather Service.
That Brown was ever head of FEMA.
That Brown is ever allowed to have a government job of any sort, ever again.
That there are ten thousand trailer-homes sitting in Hope, Arkansas,
designated for refugees from Katrina -- and none of them are occupied
or being used in any way.
That Halliburton has been awarded no-bid contracts.
That any company has been awarded no-bid contracts.
That 45 million Americans have no health care coverage.
That health insurance premiums rise an average of 11 percent a year.
That health insurance companies are making record profits.
That when Bob Barr asked an audience of conservatives "Do we truly remain
a society that believes that . . . every president must abide by the
law of this country?" they did not cheer him.
That Google is aiding and abetting Chinese censorship efforts.
That Cisco is aiding and abetting Chinese censorship efforts.
That any US company is helping out the Chinese censors.
That there is a No-Fly List.
That once you are on the No-Fly List you cannot appeal, you cannot be
removed from it. Even if you are a four-year-old boy.
That American citizens must show government-issued ID to move about the country.
That it took fifteen years to decide what sort of high-definition
television would be allowed; that now that it is here, program producers
want to abolish the right to record programs for later viewing.
That copyright has been extended and extended and extended... and works
out of print but not out of copyright will never be available.
That the right to fair use is being eroded and made technically impossible.
That a Bush political appointee -- a college dropout -- tried to censor
a NASA scientist talking about evidence for global warming.
That Bush claims the right to eavesdrop on all Americans without a warrant.
That the RIAA has been suing people who have never owned computers,
who have never used file-sharing programs, who are minors, and inducing
witnesses to lie under oath.
That Sony produced music CDs with software that would automatically
install itself and open up security holes in Windows machines.
That the MPAA's member companies produce awful movies that no one wants
to see, then complain about falling theater profits.
That essentially every movie theater is showing commercials before the movies.
That the RIAA and MPAA produce advertisements telling us that copyright
infringement is "piracy" -- a crime that for thousands of years has ranked
as high as murder and rape.
That the US is the cheapest place to buy high-end bandwidth ($13 per
megabit per second per month) but consumer prices remain sky-high and
availability is terrible, even on the outskirts of major cities.
That Slovenia will have a higher percentage of its population with broadband
services than the US. The US is number 19 in the world.
That the top 5% of US households own 57% of its net worth.
That the top 20% of US households own 81% of its net worth.
That 54% of prisoners were convicted of drug-related offenses.
That 15% of drug users are black, but 63% of those convicted of drug
offenses are black.
That 724 per 100,000 of the US total population is in prison, the highest
ratio of any nation in the world.
That 393 per 100,000 whites are in prison, but 2531 per 100K blacks.
That in 1993, South Africa imprisoned 851 per 100,000 black males. In
2004, the US imprisoned 4,919 per 100,000.
That I don't know who is imprisoned in Guantanamo, or why, or for how
long, and neither do they.
That the national average rate of reversals in death-penalty cases is 68%.
That in Mississippi, 92% of death-penalty cases are reversed.
That SWAT teams are now used to serve warrants on non-violent drug offenses.
That this list could go on and on and on.
I'm angry that Bush is sending my neighbors' kids off to die for oil.
That having made the decision to go to war, he has not provided our
troops with the tools they need to do their jobs.
That he has no reasonable plan for getting them out, except in body bags.
That Bush has invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and has no hope or plan to
set up secular democracies.
That the only government agency to do its job properly during and after
Hurricane Katrina was the National Weather Service.
That Brown was ever head of FEMA.
That Brown is ever allowed to have a government job of any sort, ever again.
That there are ten thousand trailer-homes sitting in Hope, Arkansas,
designated for refugees from Katrina -- and none of them are occupied
or being used in any way.
That Halliburton has been awarded no-bid contracts.
That any company has been awarded no-bid contracts.
That 45 million Americans have no health care coverage.
That health insurance premiums rise an average of 11 percent a year.
That health insurance companies are making record profits.
That when Bob Barr asked an audience of conservatives "Do we truly remain
a society that believes that . . . every president must abide by the
law of this country?" they did not cheer him.
That Google is aiding and abetting Chinese censorship efforts.
That Cisco is aiding and abetting Chinese censorship efforts.
That any US company is helping out the Chinese censors.
That there is a No-Fly List.
That once you are on the No-Fly List you cannot appeal, you cannot be
removed from it. Even if you are a four-year-old boy.
That American citizens must show government-issued ID to move about the country.
That it took fifteen years to decide what sort of high-definition
television would be allowed; that now that it is here, program producers
want to abolish the right to record programs for later viewing.
That copyright has been extended and extended and extended... and works
out of print but not out of copyright will never be available.
That the right to fair use is being eroded and made technically impossible.
That a Bush political appointee -- a college dropout -- tried to censor
a NASA scientist talking about evidence for global warming.
That Bush claims the right to eavesdrop on all Americans without a warrant.
That the RIAA has been suing people who have never owned computers,
who have never used file-sharing programs, who are minors, and inducing
witnesses to lie under oath.
That Sony produced music CDs with software that would automatically
install itself and open up security holes in Windows machines.
That the MPAA's member companies produce awful movies that no one wants
to see, then complain about falling theater profits.
That essentially every movie theater is showing commercials before the movies.
That the RIAA and MPAA produce advertisements telling us that copyright
infringement is "piracy" -- a crime that for thousands of years has ranked
as high as murder and rape.
That the US is the cheapest place to buy high-end bandwidth ($13 per
megabit per second per month) but consumer prices remain sky-high and
availability is terrible, even on the outskirts of major cities.
That Slovenia will have a higher percentage of its population with broadband
services than the US. The US is number 19 in the world.
That the top 5% of US households own 57% of its net worth.
That the top 20% of US households own 81% of its net worth.
That 54% of prisoners were convicted of drug-related offenses.
That 15% of drug users are black, but 63% of those convicted of drug
offenses are black.
That 724 per 100,000 of the US total population is in prison, the highest
ratio of any nation in the world.
That 393 per 100,000 whites are in prison, but 2531 per 100K blacks.
That in 1993, South Africa imprisoned 851 per 100,000 black males. In
2004, the US imprisoned 4,919 per 100,000.
That I don't know who is imprisoned in Guantanamo, or why, or for how
long, and neither do they.
That the national average rate of reversals in death-penalty cases is 68%.
That in Mississippi, 92% of death-penalty cases are reversed.
That SWAT teams are now used to serve warrants on non-violent drug offenses.
That this list could go on and on and on.