A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

• Not only has Bush remarked that his job would be "much easier" if the US was a dictatorship, but also we are under a rule in which the ideals of this party will go unchallenged, because they all have the same agenda. "If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier - just so long I'm the dictator."
• Suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship reminds me of both the Patriot Act, and Dick Cheney's quote "...because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States."
• Belligerent nationalism and racism - The national unity that Bush EXPLOITED in order to initiate this "War on Terror", and discrimination against homosexual's rights.

    I couldn't think of an appropriate title, so I tried to think of something at least mildly random. [edit] Apparently I already tried this with my last post. Sorry for the lack of originality[/edit] Any rate, I haven't updated in a while and decided that this would be as good as a time as any, avoiding Troche's reading. Other than the normal activities I partake in (working, school and sleep)

    I visited Montana State University during the first two days of our four day weekend. My dad and I left at 4 a.m. on Thursday morning, and began the almost 13 hour drive to Bozeman, Montana. We ended up arriving at 5:30 p.m. their time (lost an hour). That evening we stayed in a "interesting" motel. The place was retro '70s and had needed some serious renovating, but the room was decent, and because we only stayed one night nothing else really mattered. The next morning we took a tour of the campus, seeing the different buildings and activities offered at MSU. After, we met with the head of the Electrical Engineering department, and discussed different course required, and the different majors offered, namely Electrical Engineering vs Computer Engineering. Then we met with a person dealing with the financial aspect, and talked about costs and the WUE program. The entire tour ended up being around 3-4 hours, and we concluded around 11 a.m. we decided that instead of waiting for the dorm tours that we would bail and begin the 12 hour drive back to Portland so that I could be at work in the morning. We ended up making decent time and got back to Portland around 11:30pm

    The next morning I got up around 9 to be at work at 11. Went to work, which happened to be a giant waste of time because I finished approximately 0 computers and was able to bring in 0 dollars in revenue. However for this fact I believe that I am showing my social disobedience, costing Best Buy approximately 11 dollars an hour for me to do nothing. After my six hour shift, I went home and gave a call to Nikki because I promised I would take her out to dinner, and I hadn't had lunch that day so I was pretty hungry. Amy decided to come with us to the Olive Garden, which I might add, is really busy on a Saturday Evening. After a fourty-five minute wait we were able to be seated and enjoyed an excellent meal. Afterwards we headed to John's house because it was his birthday party, and everybody was playing poker. After hanging for about an hour, I got bored and moved on to practicing my drifting out by Albertsons. I was driving up the hill, and made a wrong turn to a gravel road, looking for a place to turn around I noticed that there was a very new black truck blocking the roadway. I thought to myself, that doesn't look right, and about that time the truck kick on its lights and started chasing me, well needless to say I got out of there pretty quick, and so far I have not heard anything from the police, however I have no idea what they were doing up there.

    Lately I have been showing the attitude that I was taking at the end of last year, I'm not sure if it is depression or just part of my personality, but instead of doing work, I just sleep or browse the internet, which is going to be a fairly major issue for my current course load. However so far I have managed to stay on top of the majority of my classes. This may have something to do with the issue that I always feel sick, however manage not to show any symptoms of it. In my more youthful days I would have believed that this was due to some sort of sleep depravity; however I have been sleeping on average 10-12 hours a night which is approximately 7 or so hours more than I usually do. Also it might have to do with the issue that there is no way in hell I'm ever going to graduate, not because I'm not capable but because I don't feel physically motivated to. Fuck.

    As far as classes go, I'm doing alright in the majority of them, AP Phys, AP Bio and SSE, there are two which I'm doing very well in, Political Issues (uhh.) and Advanced Linux Administration (duh) and two in which I am barely keeping my head above water Humanities. The really sad thing behind the entire situation is I know I am capable of doing well in these classes, but cannot put in the hard work to do well. However I am really looking forward to the end of the bullshit, assuming I live through this year, college should be a nice relief, assuming I actually get to go.

    As far as the political aspect of my life goes, I have given up, there is no point arguing with the opposition. No matter the logical aspect of the "left" argument, those committed to the beliefs of the right wing propaganda have been too brainwashed to see through to the logic. I have come to the harsh realization that we may have another four years with this joke of a President simply because the American people are so desperate for a feeling of safety that they will elect and re-elect a man who will stand unwavering even when he and the world knows that he is wrong. As far as my belief on Measure 36, I feel as though I am at a loss, and it hurts to think about it, however I believe that Measure 36 will pass, my reasoning for this belief is that every time that it has stood as an Amendment, it has passed, and although Oregon is fairly liberal, we cannot escape the vice like grip of the fear of religion. I have talked to many different people about this issue, ranging from people like Ben Seale, whose opposition lies in the fact that it destroys the sanctity of religion. People like Nick Fernald, who believe that they will be affected because of the financial aspect of it and people who are just plain ignorant about the situation, people who go to church, and are told that this is bad, unholy and if they vote No on 36, God will personally come down and strike them down. I fear that the pessimistic Framers of the Constitution were right, the public at large is ignorant to the issues and cannot be trusted to make an informed decision, the same reason that we have an Electoral College.

    The scariest thing about Bush being re-elected, is that he may have the opportunity to nominate Justices to the Supreme Court. As you may know, most of the Justices currently presiding are fairly old, and may resign when Bush is re-elected and their position would be given to a Judge who would be more conservative. If this does indeed happen, and Same-Sex Marriages are taken to the Supreme Court, something I believe which will happen if states continue to add Amendments relating to this issue, the court will be more conservative on the issue instead of interpreting the Constitution.

    Well, after this really long post, that was going to start up as a brief update about everything, I am going to add a fairly random review. For all of those who enjoy some good punk music, I would recommend listening to the "new" Rise Against album. Unlike many punk bands which have managed to loose their punk roots, Rise Against has another truly kick ass CD. Revolutions Per Minute is a hard act to follow, and I believe that they did a great job.