In the latest issue of This is True, list owner Randy Cassingham linked to a piece about the Columbine massacre, written in 1999 by Dan Savage (of the Savage Love fame). I hadn’t seen it before, and I found Savage’s thoughts to be very interesting.

"The motivations of the two killers," [the cover story on Columbine in] People continued, "were hard to fathom." Actually, I had no problem fathoming Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold’s motives. While I didn’t suffer the extreme abuse some of my friends did, I was fucked with enough to spend four years fantasizing about blowing up my high school and everyone in it. I can only imagine the scenarios that must have rolled through Marty’s head on a daily basis. Watching SWAT teams inch their way toward Columbine High, I wasn’t shocked that something like this could happen in a high school. I was shocked that something like this hadn’t happened at any of mine.

Savage doesn’t aim to excuse or justify the actions of those two boys, but he does bring a perspective that was absent in the mainstream media at the time. I was lucky to not have a high school experience like his.

As you can see, this blog continues its timely coverage of current events. In the future, you can look forward to my thoughts on Y2K, 9/11, and the Bush/Gore election.

Bush supports hybrids, flex-fuel cars. “Bush has said the United States is ‘addicted to oil’ and has encouraged new technologies to reduce the country’s dependence on imported energy.” I feel like I’m reading The Onion.

Guns N Roses cancels show over booze law, because they weren’t allowed to drink on stage. Said Axl Rose: “I agree with, and ultimately take responsibility for, the end decision not to jeopardize the safety of the fans, the crews, the bands and myself as a result of the methods of these particularly draconian authorities.” I can’t even begin to understand how a sober Guns N Roses is a danger to the fans, crews, and themselves. Well, besides the music.

Dude, the world is confusing.

“Don’t think that you’re off the hook, voters! You’re the ones who made this bed, now you’re the ones who are going to have to move over so a gay couple can sleep in it! Tomorrow you’re all going to wake up in a brave new world—a world where the Constitution gets trampled by an army of terrorist clones created in a stem cell research lab by homosexual doctors who sterilize their instruments over burning American flags! Where tax-and-spend Democrats take all your hard-earned money and use it to buy electric cars for National Public Radio and teach evolution to illegal immigrants! Oh…and everybody’s HIGH!” -Stephen Colbert

This is a bed I’m looking forward to. America, congratulations on seeing through the hyperbole and rhetoric, and for electing a government that will do something to help the country.

There’s a great piece on truthout.org called The Ballad of Dumb George. My favorite part was the description of Tony Blair talking to Bush at the G-8 Summit: “[Blair] sounded for all the world like a teacher attempting to explain something to an exceptionally dull student. His tone suggested infinite patience and a touch of true sadness, as if he could not quite believe he was speaking this way to an American president.”

And yes, I know I haven’t posted my Rachel visit post. I’m working on it, really.

GM is running a promotion called GM Fuel Price Protection, which guarantees CA residents only pay $1.99 per gallon for the first year of owning a new vehicle. Based on your driving patterns (tracked via the on-board nav system), GM will add credit to your “GM Fuel Price Protecton Card”, which is a prepaid Mastercard.

The TV ad said “Chevy Fuel Price Protection: that’s an American revolution!” How very true. Rather than working to decrease our dependency on foreign oil through more fuel-efficient cars or alternat energy sources, GM is encouraging Californians to drive their new H2, Yukon, Tahoe, or Suburban (all which are eligible for the promotion) as much as they want. Good plan, GM. Our enemies in the Middle East thank you for the additional funding.

Strange thing are afoot at the… damn, I can’t think of a way to make “Ohio” sound like “Circle K”. Regardless, Rolling Stone published an article by Robert F. Kennedy about the shady dealings in Ohio. Let’s hear it for election fraud! (Thanks to Rachel for the link)

Reuters reported on Friday that the city of Los Angeles is suing Take-Two Interactive over the “hidden pornography” in Grand Theft Auto. First, the so-called “porn” exists on the disc, but is only accessible by installing a patch. So we’re upset because teenagers can download something that lets them see porn? This is the internet we’re talking about. You can download many things that let you see porn on the internet, such as… well, porn.

But this case is just a symptom of a larger problem. Americans see sex as something far more insidious and corrupting than violence. For the Mature rating: “Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language.” For the Adults Only rating: “Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.” The game was originally rated M, but now has been rerated to AO. I’m glad that I have the ESRB to explain to me that it’s quite okay for a 17 year old to beat a virtual hooker to death with a baseball bat, but it’s entirely unacceptable for that same 17 year old to see depictions of sex.

Boy, I’m glad our government doesn’t have other more important issues to worry about.

I’m not really sure why O’Reilly goes on other people’s shows. Without being able to turn off everyone else’s mic, he consistantly looks like a moron (imagine that!). Letterman plays dumb in a couple of places where I think he could have proven a point, but all in all, it’s one of my favorite Letterman moments.

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