but they are contributing to more people becoming accepting of police brutality. From the very beginning, when these first started showing up on the force, I was afraid this would happen. People argued with me, saying they were an alternative to clubs and guns, and so it was a good thing. But, that was my point. Because they will be seen as less aggressive and less damaging as a gun or a club, the will be more freely used, and our police force will become a more aggressive police force. I felt minorities would particularly be vulnerable. I wish more people had listened to that point of view in the beginning, because now that Tasers are so prevalent, and now that some people are so inexplicably accepting of this, I'm afraid there will be no looking back. Welcome to a more aggressive police force, everyone.

"That crowd resists the idea of certain classes of people acting with any volition, as if all their actions are somehow caused by outside factors." Do you have any examples of this? Because of all the progressive minded people I've ever known, read, or heard, I've never heard one person ever say anything remotely like this.

The structure of society defines the range of available personal choices. It is not true that there is always a good choice available to everyone. It is also not true that one bad decision should doom a person forever. Racism, sexism, and class are not figments of our imagination. They do constrain the available ranges of choices for people every day. Invoking the personal responsibility fairy does not change that reality. Invoking the personal responsibility fairy does not alleviate us from the moral questions and the practical consequences to society of making a person and all connected to them forever pay the price for one bad decision, which is what ignoring societal consequences and responsibility does.

It isn't disempowering people to acknowledge the reality that things outside of people's control very often affect their lives. It certainly isn't empowering them to ignore them. Using the fig leaf of personal responsibility to deny everyone opportunity because a few might abuse that opportunity is neither morally acceptable or practically efficient. We are much better as a people by trying to help everyone because in the real world, the number of people who abuse that help are far outweighed by the number of people who take advantage of it and the benefits that those people provide society. Even people who sometimes take second, or third, or fourth chances, are still worth the effort because when they do finally take full advantage of the opportunity, the payoff for society is great. The welfare queen is a figment of Republican imagination, and I have generally found it bad to make policy decisions on the basis of what Republicans imagine.

You want to know how you can tell who is serious about poverty and personal responsibility? It is the side that attempts to remove the distortions of societal responsibility. It is progressives that fight for day care so that people can go to work and know their children are safe. It is progressives that fight for universal access to education, so that people have an opportunity to do everything their intellect can allow them to do. It is progressives that fight for universal health care so that no one has to choose between their child's health and a shitty job. It is progressives who fight for a safety net so that the person who lost a job through no fault of their own isn't financially destroyed before they can find a new one. Those people aren't sitting back and whining about personal responsibilty.

I'm not going to take the middle position on providing safety nets when society is nowhere near the middle to begin with in providing them. Unless and until conservatives are willing to do exactly those things I mentioned above, unless and until conservatives are willing to absolutely level the playing field, then blathering on about personal responsibility is nothing more than a disingenuous dodge. Because when some people have advantages and privilege that others do not, then the matter of personal responsibility doesn't really enter into the equations when discussing what programs to cut. When we live in a society where a man like George W. Bush, who has failed at everything he has ever done, can become President, but a single mother in the Army Reserves can lose her home because she was called away for 18 months and then lost her job, this fetish for personal responsibility is nothing more than the defense of George W Bush and a direct attack on that single mother.

There was no warning. We were outside just minutes before it hit. We heard rumbles of thunder and went inside. I then looked out the window and noticed the sky was turning green. As the storm approached, I saw what looked like a rotating wall cloud. I thought it was strange since there were no warnings. I know that rotating wall cloud may mean tornado, so I told my family to get away from the windows and run to the hallway. Then I saw a wall of white rushing towards the house, and a brilliant flash of green as the power went out. That's when I decided it would be smart to join my family.

Power was restored this afternoon, and that is when I went online and found out it was a tornado. A local storm survey team assessed the damage as caused by an F1 Tornado. It was 50 yard wide and stayed on the ground for 500 yards. I don't think I saw the actual tornado, but that rotating wall cloud was like something out of a chaser's video. It was quite a thrill for a weather geek like me to see. No injuries, but a few houses in our subdivision had some moderate damage (none to our house, thankfully). Here's how close it came to us:

http://www.bravia-advert.com/commercial/br...

My husband had the day off and we went to the zoo. It was almost empty, it was 70 degrees out and the big cats were really out and active. The two tigers that are normally lazing around in the sun were batting and playing with each other just like overgrown house cats. Then they stopped, head butted each other affectionately and started grooming each other. I just stood and watched for a long time, and got tears in my eyes thinking about what happened to all those tigers in India that were discovered missing, as well as all the other endangered tigers. How can anyone slaughter these beautiful animals? It really took my breath away, and it was awhile before I realized my family had already moved on without me. A zookeeper saw me, and I think he could tell what I was thinking, and we talked for awhile. It's such a shame what is happening to them.

Sigh.

I had no idea there was such a thing.

http://home.earthlink.net/~jhiller/stock.h...

This is me with my littlest blowing out his first birthday cake


My little dragon

My big bear

A spoof thread and a chance to brag about my son. When we were at the art fair earlier this month, he carried around his new Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker with pride. And, his commentary on the debates was excellent Our soon to be 12 month old looks promising as well .

Either way, they're great kids, and I want them to come to their own conclusions, but I won't be too upset if they share some of mommy's political sensibilities.

At his little cousin's first birthday party.