Tracking unemployment and Freedom and Free Will, oh my!

I have some randomly assorted tidbits for your perusal today.

Perhaps you've heard, but there's a bit of concern about unemployment in America these days. So the brilliant guy over at Political Math came up with this graphic that tracks unemployment since 1979. HERE. Wow.

An perhaps you've also heard that, well, there was an important vote in the House this past weekend, and there's a large percentage of the population who isn't very crazy about it. I'm one of those, and I offer up a couple of well-written essays for your perusal.

The first comes from Doctor Zero, called What Freedom Demands:

Freedom is not a gift. It is not given to you by the government, in a precise dosage that can be adjusted to match a politician’s diagnosis of what ails the body politic. Your forefathers won an impossible Revolution against an invincible foe to declare the self-evident truth that your rights descend from your Creator.

The second is from Bill Whittle who writes "Eject, Eject, Eject" on Pajamas Media, titled Free Will and Destiny...

But it seems to me that they have ... done nothing less than awoken from its long and deep slumbers the American Giant, who in attempting to sit upright discovers the Lilliputian threads that have been staked into the ground with finishing nails and who looks around, blinking and disoriented, fatter and softer and much, much poorer than he was when he last opened his eyes back in 1941, but possessed now as then with a terrible anger and capable still of mighty exertions.

I didn't post this to get into arguments with folks, so please no flames. I posted this because it's something I feel very strongly about. I think we've been openly mislead by what's in the bill, and that terrifies me.

My final offering is House Minority Leader John Boehner's speech to Congress just before the vote.

We have failed to listen to America. And we have failed to reflect the will of our constituents. And when we fail to reflect that will – we fail ourselves and we fail our country.

What we need is an open, honest, transparent Congress. What we need is a bi-partisan Congress working for the people. That's not what we have now. But that's what America needs, if she is to stay "the land of the free and the home of the brave".

It's not a train, I hope....

This semester has been a tough one. Not only has it been a cold, brutal winter (Really. It's been the fifth coldest winter in recorded history in these here parts!) but it remains a very uncertain time in our house. We're not sure where we're going, or what we're going to do, or even if we're going to plant a garden this spring. (I did get some free trees from the Alabama Forestry Service giveaway, however, so baby river birches and redbuds are growing happily in the yard, and I've got two tiny Japanese maples getting strong in their pots. But I digress...)

Anyway, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. (At least, if it doesn't turn out to be the Atlanta-to-New Orleans AmTrack barreling through...) I'm taking next week off of work, and that should renew my spirits a bit, and give me a chance for some rest and relaxation. I ordered the newly-released DVDs of my Most Favorite TV Show Ever last week,which I will happily indulge in while the philosopher labors to catch up on grading. To make it even better, the *reason* he's trying to catch up is that we're going on a mini-vacation at the end of the week. We're going to Atlanta, staying at a bed and breakfast near Candler Park, and catching King Lear at the American Shakespeare Tavern. We're also hoping to indulge in a great meal at one of the local tapas restaurants - our favorite kind of "fun" dinner!

Oh, and did I mention that it might be a celebration trip, too? I have an interview next Monday as well. ::grin:: Yup. I emailed my packet on Wednesday morning of last week, and by Wednesday afternoon they'd called and set me up for an on-campus interview. I'm not sure what will happen, but I've been praying for God to open a door and make clear a path... and this feels a bit like God's giant wiffle bat at work, getting my attention. I'm listening, God. I'm listening!

My Cat is Trying to Kill Me

But then again, I wonder if she's trying to kill me, or I'm just picking up the evil vibes she's sending the philosopher. In that case, then I'm probably perfectly safe.

But you never know.....