O_o

How do they...never mind.

Ryan Lizza on Michele Bachmann

"There may “be occasions when Christians are mistaken on some point while nonbelievers get it right...Nevertheless, the overall systems of thought constructed by nonbelievers will be false—for if the system is not built on Biblical truth, then it will be built on some other ultimate principle. Even individual truths will be seen through the distorting lens of a false world view.”--Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth as quoted in in Ryan Lizza's "The Transformation of Michele Bachmann," The New Yorker

Now I understand why she's crazy. She believes in ideologues who want to wage the equivalent of a Christian jihadist war on non-believers. So what happens to non-Christians in a Christian-run state where all non-Bible based beliefs are not tolerated? Disturbing.

But She IS Crazy...

Maybe Newsweek did go a bit overboard, but what can you expect from the media? They're relentless.

As tempted as I am to keep pointing out everything that is wrong with the Tea Party blogging about politics, I should stop for now. It causes me too much stress and I need to minimize the number of wrinkles on my face. Every time I think about the current way of things in Washington, another one forms.

Anarchy

I read this piece in The Hindu about the Cultural Revolution. If there's moments in history to pick out that best characterize pure anarchy, this would be one of them. Anytime I read about the CR, I'm always amazed by how senseless everything was during this time. It was such a distinct period in China's history, yet there is absolutely no acknowledgement given to it in modern-day China. So eerie.

The Hindu : Arts / Magazine : “People want justice”

The best source I've come across so far addressing the Cultural Revolution is Roderick Macfarquhar's book, Mao's Last Revolution. It's super long, but extremely detailed and reads beautifully, like a story.

David Foster Wallace on Life and Work

"But of course there are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious you will not hear much talked about in the great outside world of winning and achieving and displaying. The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. That is real freedom. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default-setting, the "rat race" -- the constant gnawing sense of having had and lost some infinite thing."--David Foster Wallace, "On Life and Work," Wall Street Journal

Imagine a world where everyone lived for the sole purpose of someone else. At what point did the human population reach a tipping point where it became a struggle to see the world from a more human-centric perspective? Must have been when we settled down and decided to become farmers.

RIP Mr Wallace. If you were alive, I would ask you, Freedom, perhaps, but whose idea of freedom besides your own? Is freedom, in the sense of DFW, meaningful and worth striving for if everyone else is too shackled to realize that is what true liberation is? What does it matter if you are the sole fish who knows you are swimming in water and the other fish don't care?

I guess that was 3 questions.

Conflict

Have you ever been to an animal shelter? If you have any place in your heart for dogs (and even cats), it's a jarring experience. The smell, the pairs of eyes behind wired pens--pleading, imploring, hostile, hurt, desperate, confused--the whines, the barks. I almost wish they would be euthanized soon so they don't have to go through crests and troughs of hope when a human walks by, thinking this might be the one to save them, that they might be adopted and be able to leave this hellhole, only to be disappointed because they are deemed too big, too furry, too ugly, too old, too whatever else that makes them unattractive, to be adopted.

I hate that place. I only went there a few times with my mom in the hopes that we might be able to rescue one. Nina might not have died so much in vain if the reason was to save another canine's life.

Ugh. Now I'm disgusted with what I'm doing. I'm looking through listings of purebred miniature pinschers because my dad can't find a pet at the shelter that satisfies all his requirements. I don't understand his fixation on finding a doppelganger Nina. Does he really like min pins? Or he really liked Nina and misses her so much he's pinning his fondness for her on one who can replace her and fill the missing pet gap? There are so many poor strays at the shelter who are going to be euthanized in days' time and we're looking for purebred min pins online that cost hundreds of dollars.

Sigh.

Only People Who Troll Stay Up This Late At Home

Omg I have never felt this awake at 2 52 AM. My strategy to go to sleep super early (10 00 PM) failed >_<

This has got to be the most mundane weekend ever. I cooked a yummy pot roast that took me the whole day (but it was worth it) and watched my K-drama. I should stop being addicted. I put my life on hold for these things. No more after this one!

Erghhhhh hopefully I fall back asleep. I think I just screwed up my sleeping pattern more.