This morning, the family and I checked out the the Fourth of July parade in downtown Ypsilanti. And, as always, I was struck by the how delightfully bonkers it all was. From the evangelical puppetry to the elderly ladies taking turns behind the Jeep-mounted M60 machine gun, like they’d just rolled off the set of […]
Posted in History, Mark's Life, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged abortion, Frederick Douglass, Hare Krishnas, Impulse, parades, Patrick Colbeck, patriotism, Ypsilanti |
I marched in the Ypsi 4th of July parade this morning. If I didn’t wave back to you, I’m sorry. I had my hands full making sure that Arlo didn’t get too close to the SUV in front of us, which I believe contained someone seeking elected office. Here we are, fulfilling our patriot obligation. […]
In spite of the warrantless phone tapping, the daily drone strikes, and the fact that wealth is rapidly concentrating in the hands of just a few, I actually love America. For all of its flaws, I think we’ve created something truly unique and beautiful here… something worth fighting for. It’s an extremely fragile thing, this […]
Sadly, I didn’t get video of him actually pointing his gun at the small kids lining the parade route, pulling the trigger, and strafing the crowd with simulated machine gun fire. This photo was taken by a friend, right at the end of the parade, once he’d decided to end his imagined killing spree. UPDATE: […]
On the Fourth of July, people around the country will be joining together to protest the illegal domestic spying activities of the American government at what are being called “Restore the Fourth” rallies… The reference, of course, is to Amendment IV of the Bill of Rights, which guarantees “the right of the people to be […]
Posted in Civil Liberties, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged big brother, Bill of Rights, Carl Levin, Christopher Jon Sprigman, Debbie Stabenow, domestic spying, Fourth Amendment, James Clapper, Jennifer Stisa Granick, NSA, Obama, Patriot Act, privacy, Ron Wyden, Stanford Center for Internet and Society, surveillance, Surveillance State, warrantless searches |