Tolerance is not God

2003-10-29T18:46:00.000-05:00

[COUGH] I guess I am going to have to shake off a little bit of the ol' cyber dust. Henderson was right when he said that UVM Blogs are often imitated and never updated. I wonder if Private Henderson is out there?
-GFM

2003-05-10T17:24:00.000-04:00

The end of exams. The coming of spring. Many things have happened since I last updated this, my only, sad blog. This summer promises to be quite busy. Instead of a political commentary, I am going to make this a journal of my day-to-day life for the summer. I will be participating in a Navigators summer training program here in the PROB. I am sure I will have all kinds of insights and such to share with folk as the summer progresses. The first thing I need to do is find a summer job. I'm willing to work at McDonald's, but I'd rather not if I can avoid it. I met the family of Matt Ross, a friend of mine who has just graduated from Champlain College. I won't post a comments link, because I realize I have probably lost all my readers. I will also be renaming my blog, most likely to "Guillaume's Fabulous Summer" or some such thing.

2003-03-04T19:01:00.000-05:00

Town Meeting Day in the Peoples' Republic of Burlington

I went to Mater Christi school to perform my civic duty, and this man from Channel 5 interviewed me because I was the only one there. I sounded okay on TV tonight. I was saying my piece on Act 60 (a byzantine statewide controlled property tax) explaining why I had voted against the school budget. They did a good job of catching my key phrase and turning it into a soundbite. I videotaped it so Mom could see her son being articulate. The last time I was filmed by a local station, the results weren't quite as good. It shall forever be known in my mind as the "Death to America" incident. I should be on again (if you live nearby) on WPTZ channel 5 at 11pm, during the very first report.

In other news, the election in ward 1 of the PROB (pronounced 'probe') was very boring, not a single office being seriously contested. I entered the names of Bob Fulton, Sanjeev Yadav, and Anthony Gierzynski in the write-in lines of my ballot, and I voted against the Burlington school budget and two measures that would make it even more difficult for a landlord to evict a tenant. (there is already a 60 day waiting period). All in all, the PROB remains a single party state. I wonder why the other parties don't step in to unseat the socialists, uh, I mean Progressives. Meanwhile, there is a white-hot race for mayor in my hometown of Newport, VT. Probably won't find out who their new mayor will be for a few days. I'd like to see Burlington hold an actual Town Meeting, and I'd love the chance to speak my mind there. Burlington's just too big a city for that.

2003-03-03T20:49:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, (tuesday) is Town Meeting Day, and there will be no school. The next day there is going to be a "student strike", and I am getting pretty excited. All the XYZ groups on campus (a tip o' the hat to Mr. Henderson) and a few trade unions are planning "massive" antiwar demonstrations. I hope there is a picket line in front of each building on campus, so I can break each one. I am searching, and I hope to find my hippy stick. If not, I'll just have to bring a bottle of shampoo to fend off the putrid progressives. I'd love to hear your suggestions for how to, um, observe the occasion.

2003-03-01T15:18:00.000-05:00

The Turkey Question

Fueled by the question of Kurd nationalism, the Turkish people have overwhelmingly polled against basing US Troops in their country. They are afraid that, should Saddam fall, Kurds on both sides of the Iraqi/ Turkish border would rise up in revolt and attempt to form their own nation-state. Interested only in the problems of today, the Turkish people and the Turkish Parliament have put their own future in jeopardy. It would be nice to use Turkey as a base in this war, but I don't believe it is at all necessary. Iraqi troops are massing in the northern no-fly zone, and those skies will become extremely unfriendly once American jets re-establish air superiority. Of course, air power alone cannot win a war. I believe that instead of two broad east-west fronts moving toward each other to converge on Baghdad, there is a better strategy. We can have our airborne units harrass all of Iraq while ground forces make a clockwise circle run inside the Iraqi borders, starting from Kuwait, passing Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, and Iran, sanitizing the countryside from its Iraqi military presence, paying special attention to taking out scuds, taking Baghdad last of all. Having won the war without Turkey's "help", we could then completely end our aid program to them. After all, bribed allies are not allies at all.

2003-03-01T00:25:00.000-05:00

The Left is Crumbling

I came across the following letter recently and it shows precisely how divided the Left are. Meanwhile, I have added FNC so I can be sure to watch the very first cruise missiles fall on Baghdad. I still remember that night when I was in the sixth grade and the bombs fell on Baghdad. We were eating dinner, it began during the evening news. The ghosts of Vietnam were exorcised from America in the following months. Those were heady days, but not without costs. More British soldiers were killed by Americans than by Iraqis. Thankfully, they have remained our allies, truly our only ones.
1ST stop Afghanistan
2ND stop Iraq
3RD stop FRANCE!!

and now, the delightful "split left" letter:

Friends,
I apologize for harping on the Patriots for Peace controversy, but the
latest developments are the last straw. We met last night to try to work out
our differences, and operate effectively as a democratic coalition. Basically,
we wanted to simply get the poster made up that we had decided upon doing A
WEEK AGO! Mind you that the only reason that publicity for this event has
already been delayed so long is because of Patriots for Peace's refusal to
abide by the decisions voted on democratically BY THEMSELVES INCLUDED!
At last night's meeting we thought we had it all squared away, with Patriots
for Peace volunteering to make up the poster that we had decided upon the first
time (our mistake for allowing them another chance, i guess), and once again we
find out today that our decision had been vetoed by the CEO of Patriots.
Therefore, we have gone an entire week without a poster or any publicity
because of them. This is either stalling, sabotage, or simple childish
selfishness. With a war looming almost imminent, for a so-called pacifist
group to stall on an anti-war event simply because they are not the "leaders"
of it and "bigger" than the rest, is simply destructive.
As it is said, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
This is not meant as a simple diatribe against Patriots, but simply so that
other activists and anti-war groups may take heed that, to put it bluntly, they
do not play fair.
They have said that they are going to send a poster tonight showing exaclty
what we had voted on, but this will only be after repeated calls and e-mails to
them telling them that if they do not "play fair" and democratically, and that
if they do not want to work with the coaltion on an equal basis, then they
shouldn't--they should leave.

Sincerely,
Keith Rosenthal

2003-02-24T08:02:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about the latest campaign in the dorms? GLBQTUVWXYZ students are trying to get the American Red Cross flyers appealing to people to give blood taken out of the dorms. This is because the ARC has a policy of not accepting blood from people who have recently had multiple sexual partners. This apparently excludes a large section of the gay population from being able
to give blood. Apparently these signs asking people to donate blood offend those who are disqualified because of their choice of lifestyle. Well, guess what? Choices have consequences! If you don't like being reminded of the consequences, maybe it's because you've made bad choices. Let me play out another scenario to you folks: I lived in England for a year. There is a miniscule chance that I was exposed to Mad Cow Disease. There is no reliable test for Mad Cow disease, because it has a long dormant period. Because of my lifestyle choice to live in England, the American Red Cross will not accept my blood. I am proud to have spent time in the British Isles. The minor hardship of not being able to give blood really doesn't bother me. I wasn't aware of it
when I went to the UK, but the information was there for me to see had I chosen to. I think the reason some GLBQTUVWXYZ students feel oppressed by the innocuous Red Cross signs is because they have a guilty conscience. My
conscience is clean about living in the UK. Shouldn't theirs be clean about their homosexuality? Listen to your conscience. It may very well be God trying to tell you something.

2003-02-14T23:00:00.000-05:00

That was a long week. It is hard to retain the discipline necessary to expand my weblog daily. I have been thinking about the state of the world in terms of systems theory. Most readers of this site are aware of the difference between unipolar, bipolar, and multipolar world systems. The 1980s and 1990s have been a transition period between a bipolar world, where the US and Soviet Union were the two predominant powers, and whichever system will emerge from this time of flux. France, Germany, and many intellectuals in the United States and Europe have strongly advocated a multilateral approach to Saddam Hussein. There are lots of people who want to see a multipolar world, where the power and influence of the United States are balanced out by European powers and China. I think what this world would benefit from would be unipolarity under US domination. Call it "empire" or any other names that cast aspersions; the best thing that ever happened to Germany and Japan was being conquered by us. Let's not shrink from our responsibility to maintain world order.

2003-02-09T21:06:00.000-05:00

Mr. Tom Mazza has joined the ranks of blogging folk. He is a man of intergrity, and he knows people... If you get my drift.

2003-02-09T15:20:00.000-05:00

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of an American Empire. The actions in Afghanistan and Iraq are the coalescence of what I believe will be a very long period of American monopolarity. With the possible exception of China, there is no power who will step up to the plate to pose a serious rivalry with us. The classic critique of American foreign policy has been dual and duplicitous in nature. On the one hand, in the case of WWI, WWII, Rwanda, and the Balkans, we are too slow to get involved, and should have gotten in on the fight much earlier. On the other hand, in the case of Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Iraq gain, we are too quick to get involved; we should let diplomacy run its full course. We are called cowards when we don't get involved in world affairs, and branded imperialists when we do. In my opinion, the world is a better place under American Imperialism than it will ever be under American Isolationism. Perhaps I should not shrink back from being branded an Imperialist. It is not so bad as I originally thought.

2003-02-07T10:46:00.000-05:00

I know this is insensitive of me, but the irony here is too compelling. NASA changed the formulation of the insulating foam for the main fuel tank of the space shuttle, so that it would be CFC Free. If speculation is correct, it is very likely that this new reformulation of foam is what caused the shuttle disaster. It rained for several days before the shuttle launch, and as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are very cold materials, it has been theorized that the foam coating on the fuel tank could have been impregnated with ice. An ice-laden chunk of foam hitting the wing would have weighed far more than "two pounds" and could easily have dealt Columbia the death blow. So here's the irony: Because NASA put the environment ahead of safety, design changes caused problems that took out the Left Wing of the shuttle first, ultimately dooming the whole thing. They had launched dozens of shuttles successfully without any foam-related issues whatsoever. If there wasn't a problem, why did they make the change to begin with? Will Vermont learn from NASA?

2003-02-07T09:27:00.000-05:00

Regarding my piece on thoughtcrime, I read a news item yesterday which I found highly relevant. Cincinnati wants to increase the penalty for violent crimes if they seem to have been motivated by sexual orientation. This is becoming a dangerous country when a man's ideology determines his punishment. It is distasteful for me to say, especially in the light of my prior opinion piece, but I hope some court strikes down the law. A strict-constructionist court would, because the law stands in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Given the Democrat hold on the judiciary, I see it as being unlikely that the courts in this case will do their job, which is to scuttle bad laws, but will continue on their course of judicial activism elsewhere, making up worse laws as they go.

2003-02-06T16:53:00.000-05:00

Wouldn't it be nice if the Democrat party acted democratically? (judicial nominee) Miguel Estrada's confirmation hopes appear dim, thanks to a Filibuster threat. I really hope the Republicans don't back down, and allow the Democrat party to show their true colors in a huge way. Most major Democrat victories have been by non-democratic means. From Roe v. Wade to Bush v. Gore, the Democrats have sought to circumvent and thwart democracy. The Democrats complain that the Florida election was settled in court, but it was they who brought the case to trial.

In Vermont, when the case was decided that brought about Act 60, Democrat Peter Shumlin is alleged to have declared, "We [dems] now control the property tax". Also in Vermont, it was yet another court case that mandated the wildly controversial civil unions legislation. The courts are the least democratic bodies in our country and in our state, and the Democrats seem to have a firm grasp upon them. It is Democrat disdain for democracy that explains why they want to block as many Bush nominees as they possibly can, because they know that their base of power rests not with voters, but with judges who do far more than simply interpret the law.

If the Democrat Filibuster lasts long enough, the American people will have to stand up and take notice. Between that and hardcore Leftwinger Nancy Pelosi at the helm in the House, I have high hopes for a Republican electoral landslide in 2004.

2003-02-06T08:55:00.000-05:00

Jacko seems to be in trouble once more. This time, as it has been each time, Jackson has nobody to blame but himself. Will this end his career completely? Probably not, they still love Michael Jackson in Taiwan.

2003-02-05T09:23:00.000-05:00

When I read the following Letter to the editor in the Chronic, I got pretty upset. I suggest you click the link and read it for yourself, then read the rest of today's posting.

Ms. Rivera, the author of the letter, describes herself as "Liberal and open minded" with one exception: the abortion debate. Doesn't sound that liberal or open minded to try to end the debate while it still rages. She says we are ignorant and oppressive for being pro-life. I'd like to show just who is ignorant and oppressive.

I agree with Ms. Rivera that this is one of the most obnoxious debates of your time. After forty million lives have been snuffed out directly, (multiply Hitler's 'final solution' by seven) 'pro choice' folks still put higher value on their own convenience than on a human life. By saying you are pro-choice, you are saying that human beings should not have the freedom to live, grow up, fall in love, and have children of their own. By saying you are pro-choice, you are denying to girls and boys alike the most basic right of all: their right to exist.

What makes you think that you have the right to end the life of somebody who had done you no wrong? What makes you think your so-called inconvenience or indignity has greater value than a human life? What can possibly be more obtrusive that to be killed? How can the pro-death side be so cheeky?

In the case of incest and rape pregnancies (which account for very few aborted pregnancies), why should an unborn child be punished for the crimes of the father? Please be so kind as to humor me with a reason why we shouldn't execute the rapist instead? Not killing an innocent person is sufficiently beneficial to justify forcing a rape victim to carry her child to term. What is gained by adding another victim to the crime?

You may call her a fetus, you may call him a product of incest, you may call her part of the mother's body, but abortion still entails ending the life of a separate unique individual human being.

If a baby being part of its mother's body justifies killing it, then why don't pro-choice folk fight to be able to kill a newborn infant whose umbilical cord has not yet been cut? How about the example of what has been sanitized as 'late term abortion'? You know, where the physician (under oath to save human lives!) induces labor and literally sucks the brains out of the baby's exposed skull? If you were to keep turning this example over in your mind, Ms. Rivera, you would realize just who in this debate is being oppressive, and who is oppressed.

Why don't all of you pro-choicers open your eyes and recognize the Holocaust you have condoned and perpetuated. Step over to the bright side, the living side, and you will be greeted with open arms.

--Guillaume F. McDowell

In all honesty, I believe that those who stand by silent as millions of unborn are slaughtered each year are as guilty as those who stood by silent as trainload after trainload of people were hauled like cattle to the nazi extermination camps. Those who provide abortions are as undeniably guilty as nazi war criminals, except these people can't claim that they were just following orders. People committed to their cause have carried each of the more than forty million abortions out in cold blood. I do not support vigilante justice, we have to work within this very flawed court system, (the same system which gave us the Dred Scott decision) and this flawed legislative system to end the 21st century Holocaust. History will judge us for not doing enough to stop the murder. I guess this is how it felt to be an unwilling German citizen during the Nazi days. I want to vomit.

2003-01-28T10:23:00.000-05:00

Most call it an injustice when two individuals commit the same act, but only one is punished. For the University of Vermont, it is called 'Equity' or 'Social Justice'. When the "N-word" is spoken on campus, sung on the radio, or played in a music video by a person who happens to have elevated melanin levels in his skin, nobody bats an eye. Were it ever to be uttered by someone with a deficiency of melanin, there would be "bias incident" outrage up and down the campus. Posters with letters four inches high would declare "HATE HAPPENED AGAIN" and "$500 REWARD FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE BIAS INCIDENT(S)". This society is becoming less concerned with what people do and more concerned with what people think. It is not the action, rather it is the thought which is condemned. The very concept of a university prosecuting thoughtcrimes is completely in opposition to the principles of academic discourse. At this university, it is okay for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual students to have Queer Visibility Week, but should a student who is not of the homosexual persuasion use the same "Q-word" in any other context he too would be convicted of bias.

Don't get me wrong here: racism, sexism and homophobia are ugly things. What I am calling for is proportional response to "bias incidents", and an acknowledgement that even the worst thoughts and prejudices and biases are protected under the constitution. There is no such thing as an illegal thought. This is not George Orwell's 1984. How do we apply these principals? We must judge people by their actions, and by their actions alone. That is what blind justice is about. If we decide that it is wrong to use certain words, then we must be consistent and prosecute everyone who utters them, regardless of skin color, religion, creed, sexual orientation, shoe size, favorite color, et cetera, ad nauseam. If a racist individual commits an act of violence against a visible minority, we can and should prosecute him for his violent act, because violence is a threat to everyone's life and liberty. We cannot and should not condemn him for his thoughts. The next time a racist/ sexist/ anti-gay piece of graffiti appears, should the perpetrator be found, he should be convicted of defacing public property, because graffiti makes a hostile environment for everyone. He should not persecuted because of the content. But logic and reason have no place at UVM. So much for blind justice.

2003-01-23T18:21:00.000-05:00

I have changed the name of my weblog. I saw a tragic poster today in Billings. Across the top was written, "Twister & Lube". On the poster was drawn a tube with the letters "KY" printed on it, and a long rainbow strip across the bottom, above a declaration of "free condoms". This poster was not some sort of demented joke, it was sponsored by Free2b, a Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual student group on campus. This was a public event, held in the GLBQTA office in Billings. Now, I can't be sure about what went on at the event, I saw the poster a day after. What I do know is that the poster was highly suggestive of negative homosexual stereotypes. Upon first reading it, I thought it was a hateful attack on the entire GLBQTA community. This was apparently not the case, and I have made a link to the free2b events page here which seems to prove that. I was unbelievably shocked by the posters all around Billings, which are highly offensive because of their suggestiveness. Have we gone too far, UVM?

2003-01-23T12:54:00.000-05:00

I am tired of reading columns full of the same old dysfunctional claptrap. I was particularly saddened to see a column on the pages of our Illustrious Student Newspaper, which I will call the Vermont Chronic to protect its identity, where the author referred to a recent Michael Moore propaganda film for his facts. The opinion piece was a pretty typical leftist rant, attempting to link domestic violence and gun ownership to “US historical murders committed directly or by proxy” and the fact that “The United States is home to the greatest income inequality of any industrialized country.” Aside from making little grammatical sense, his column did not have an actual theme or topic, other than to invite people to the next “public” meeting of an SGA club.

Speaking of “public” meetings of campus organizations, I have taken note of the signs around campus insinuating that a war in Iraq will worsen the economy. Not only does this contradict the Left’s typical claim that Big Business is going to war in Iraq in order to get richer, it also ignores long-standing historical precedent. When America was in the throes of the Great Depression, it was not the myriad leftist policies of the New Deal that rescued the economy, not at all. It was preparation for and participation in the Second World War that reversed the Depression and led to the robust economy of the 1950s.

If this really is such a terrible country where no child of poverty has the opportunity to make a better life for himself, then why are so many of the world’s poor and destitute trying to come here? Could it be because they want to live in a country where the poor are at least sufficiently nourished for some to grow fat? You know, Canada is just a few miles north, and they have socialized medicine. Cuba has a really nice climate and, according to Michael Moore, an excellent education system. I’ve even read in the Socialist Worker about how Saddam Hussein has instituted healthcare and education programs in Iraq. Maybe we’ve “misunderestimated” Mr. Hussein as well. With so many options among so many countries that are “better” than the US, if I honestly believed that the country I called home was indeed “King of a global mountain of injustice,” I would have bought a one-way ticket to the furthest destination. Folks, these people on the Left probably don’t believe their own words. If they did, they would have wanted nothing to do with such an evil country, and left long ago.

2002-12-13T03:15:00.000-05:00

United Academics rally TODAY

Lest some of you had think that I had been struck by a patchouli-scented bolt of lightning and had been converted to hippyism, I have decided to post this evening. My post of 12/10 was actually a repeat of a rant I made to the GOP listserv several months ago, which was posted on the Dwinell Political Report about a week later. I was lampooning the naiveté of the positions of some of the people who think the people in the Towers deserved to die. This annoyed streak in me bore itself out fully on Channel 22, WVNY. Attempting to lampoon the pro-palestinian protest, I made some very stupid remarks that were televised. I resent the dearth of intellectual diversity at the University of Vermont. Without someone who is around for more than four years, who can take an active role in organizations such as the College Republicans, I fear the current thawing of this PC campus will be short-lived. That is precisely where extreme leftist organizations such as ISO have got the advantage, by employing full-time agitators to continue stirring the pot when students grow weary.

I have decided against lampooning the upcoming United Academics rally. It would help nothing. I would like to encourage everyone reading this (all three of you) to go to the rally, it will be on the steps of the Waterman building, University of Vermont Main Campus, at noon today. There they will lampoon themselves by their "hey-hey, ho-ho" chants. There they will lampoon themselves by their "have the cake and eat it too" arguments in favor of collective bargaining. I've been to two of their events. The sight of professors I've had in classes taking part in such brazen displays of stupidity made me feel sick.

2002-12-10T18:14:00.000-05:00

My parting of ways with The Man

I was at the peace protest on Church Street today, and I learned so many things I didn't know. I learned that behind McDonald's is McDonnell-Douglas, and that behind the F-15 is the Big Mac. I learned that "BUSH IS AN @$$HOLE" and that "PIGS ARE CORPORATE THUGS". I learned that Republicans and Democrats are the same thing. I learned that Diversity only takes one form: the Left Wing. Anything else is closed-minded. I learned that Ariel Sharon is Hitler, and that Israel is commiting genocide. I learned that the US is the axis of evil and that George W. Bush is actually the devil. I finally realized that Brandon Johnson and Ashley Smith are right! I have seen the light, and am ready to stand in solidarity with those brave freedom fighters who fearlessly flew planes into buildings on Sept. 11th, because we deserved it, by jingo! I can no longer be a part of the fascist military industrial machine. Goodbye UVM College Republicans. You're all nazis and I hate you. I start this very day as the first day of the rest of my life.