so many things to touch on today

background entertainment: the Monday Stargate SG-1 marathon

First of all, I've been meaning to mention for a while that what used to be known as "The Learning Channel" (TLC) still lives up to its acronym, but not with the same words: now it is more properly called "The Lame Channel."

The first hint of this was many years ago on the Simpsons, when Lisa (the brilliant second grader) was home sick from school. She was watching TLC on TV, and her mom Marge came into her room and saw what she was watching. "Oh no," Marge said, "you're to sick to be watching The Learning Channel." Lisa came back with, "but I'm hardly learning anything!"

These days, you learn nothing from TLC. "Trading Spaces" is their stock in trade. Once upon a time, TLC and The Discovery Channel actually had some kind of competition going. No longer. Even Discovery has waned - the dumbing-down of America.

When I turn on my television, I switch to The History Channel first. Then, if I've seen what is there a few too many times already, I check online to see what is on all of the channels (it takes too long to wade through the crawl on The TV Guide Channel).

Sad to say, on Labor Day weekend the best thing that was on was The World's Funniest Animals on Animal Planet. Oh, how I wished that I still smoked ganja that weekend.

On to the next subject ...

One of the recent brou-ha-ha-s is about the Pledge of Allegiance.

It is eminently that none of the Americans who are blowing a gasket over the idea that some people want to remove the words "under God" from The Pledge are aware that those two words were only added under the Eisenhower administration. Specifically, they were added in response to the Great Red Scare of the 1950s, to demonstrate that America was God-fearing (unlike our Red foes).

Prior to that, we only pledged "... Allegiance to the Flag of The United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."

Nothing particularly offensive about that. Very patriotic, in fact. It brings tears to my eyes, even without the mention of God. I know that He watches over us, whether or not He is explicitly mentioned.

It was the Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic organization, who pushed for the "under God" clause.

And finally ...

There is a particularly obnoxious Nevada law that goes directly against the Miranda ruling. Fortunately it has just reached the United States Supreme Court.

It seems that in Nevada, you can be arrested if you refuse to give your name to the police.

This appears to me (caution: I am not a lawyer) to be contrary to the "right to remain silent" clause of the Miranda ruling.

Seems like an open-and-shut case, though.
Nevada:0
Citizens:1