And one more thing...

Just so everyone knows, while it says there are 2 contributors to this blog (at least for now) the astute among you will realize that it's just me posting from 2 different accounts. I'm currently working on consolidating them so that I can hopefully remove the older one eventually.

Also, the audio links on the earliest posts (the ones that say "read this to me!") no longer work. This is largely because I'm no longer a UD student, so I don't have that hosting space anymore. I know I have the original audio files around somewhere, so hopefully I can get them stored someplace else in the near future. Until then, sorry about the broken links.

Apart from that, nothing much else new. Time for me to finish my nightcap and go to bed.

So...It would seem that it's been awhile...

Well, once again it seems I've let this particular part of my online life linger unloved for a long time...About 3 and a half years long, in fact. I'm still liberal (even more so now, in fact), if a little less vitriolic about it (Being a productive member of society will do that to you). In particular, with all the hateful political rhetoric that's been all the rage over the last few months and year or two, and especially with yesterday's tragic events in Arizona, I think it's a good idea for people to just calm down and take a step back.

We've become rather mean-spirited as a nation, and not just politically. Violence has been increasing in any number of arenas in American life. The shooting in Arizona yesterday which killed six people is only the latest in a string of events over the last few years which I feel are symptomatic of the spirit of hate and divisiveness which has infected the national discourse of the United States. Hate crimes against Muslims, the LGBT community, Democratic politicians and their supporters, and many others have been steadily increasing in recent times.

When did this become okay in this country? What happened to the idea that "all men are created equal"? What happened to it being okay for anyone to speak their mind, without it being seen as justification for someone else to try and kill them? When did it become acceptable for national politicians to call out for the assassination of foreign nationals who have not only not been found guilty of any crime, but have not even been CHARGED with any crime?

The degradation of rights and protections long held sacrosanct in this country has been a long on-going process which has accelerated in recent years. Where does it all end? When will the general public finally wise up to the horror lurking at the fringes of our society? Will they ever? I don't have any answers to these questions, and I don't know if anyone does.

What I do know is that I've let this blog sit idle for too long, and I need to start up once again. I'm certainly not going to have something political to say EVERY day (though I'm sure I could find something easily enough!) I do hope to at least post SOMETHING here every day. For now, I think I've had enough of a day as it is. It's time for bed.

Incidentally, green apple vodka and sprite is a quite tasty nightcap. Just FYI.