Updated Travelogue

Places I've been:



Countries I've both stayed in and remember:

PSA:

NEVER BUY A QUAKER PARROT.

You will regret it for the rest of your lives.

That is all.

Immigration

While I'm at it, what about immigration? What are we really saying when we say that people should be allowed to immigrate to the US but only legally? What if the legal option is not available to them? Why is the immigration process so complex, why does it have quotas, why does it take so long, etc.? It seems that this fact invalidates the claim that we shouldn't have amnesty because it encourages the illegal route at the expense of the legal one...the legal one may not even be available. So you make people who had no other means of getting what they want (a living wage) felons for merely crossing an imaginary line (not even physically or intentionally hurting someone)?

Why do we even have borders (in terms of freedom of movement around the globe, not in terms of electing an official to represent a certain area)?

Why do we have to keep people out? Racism? Jingoism? Entitlement? People CAN move up in the world, if the American Dream is a reality, so is there any excuse for people that can't get a job because it was given to an uneducated immigrant who's willing to work for less money? (And wouldn't some say that that is capitalism at its finest? Are we treating people like products...a capitalistic competition between price and quality? And is that wrong, if we are? Is it survival of the cheapest?)

This one seems even more difficult than polygamy...

Polygamy?

A quick post...

People use the slippery slope argument that we shouldn't let gays marry because then we'll have to allow polygamy. Problems with that argument aside, what's wrong with polygamy exactly, on a 'pursuit of happiness' basis? I understand the feminist argument and I agree with it. I also understand there are difficulties with health insurance and so forth, but that is a secondary issue. So, if women are happy with the situation, were in no way pressured into it, and aren't forced to stay, who are we to say they cannot do it? It is legal to cohabit in said situation, so why can't they have a certificate acknowledging the arrangement too? It's not as if polygamy is a peversion of Nature as homosexuality could be considered; in fact it is more consistent than monogamy. Homosexuality is not evolutionarily beneficial, but the male sex having many partners can be. Furthermore, polygamy is rampant in the Bible. So what gives?

I am still divided on the issue, mostly for the feminist argument. After some introspection, however, I think the situation may be that I, like homophobes, have a negative gut reaction to the situation, even though I can have no legitimate legal or moral complaint about it as long as all parties are willing and able to give consent. The feminist argument is only legitimate if we are to restrict free speech on its basis; equal treatment is mainly a requirement of governmental and institutional behavior, not individual behavior.

So enlighten me. Who are we to say that this is so wrong that it must be made a crime? Who is it hurting (given that the wives are content and there of their own free will)? Is my reasoning sound and my perception of my reaction correct? Is there anything I'm failing to consider?



Disclaimer: I write this, and other things like it, merely to get my thoughts down and clarify them in my mind, and ultimately (hopefully), to determine my position.
Furthermore, there are many things behind my allegations that I have not articulated...my view of morality and government domain and religion, for example. I realize this makes it difficult to see where I am coming from, but perhaps someday I will have time to rectify that.

...because UW's minor mismanagements are more important than healthcare, war, and introspection

It is not the case, as some college guides suggest, that one can
stand in front of Bascom Hall and look all the way down State
Street to Wisconsin’s capitol.
Because of a slight crook in how the hill aligns with the street, the view doesn’t quite work out, leaving the capitol’s granite dome off in the periphery. Some say it’s an accident of poor planning.
Others claim that whoever placed UW-Madison’s administration
building got it just right, reflecting the fact that Wisconsin’s lawmakers
and its flagship university are eternally looking past each other,
never quite seeing eye to eye.

http://www.uwalumni.com/media/images/photography/onwisconsin/pdf/State.pdf


I suspect lawmakers are engaging in misdirection; with all the corruption and mismanagement pervading our state legislature, it's no wonder they are pointing their fingers westward. "Move along, nothing to see here."

Europe

I'm for sure planning a trip to Europe now for mid-May. Hopefully I will be able to stay a month. I will almost certainly be visiting Italy, the UK, and France, but also maybe Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Spain or the like.

Very exciting, but I'm a little nervous about the language barrier because there may be some time when I am traveling alone.

Pandora

Thanks Steve, for introducing me to Pandora. It's not perfect (disco and Culture Club???), but I'm already addicted.

Travelogue

Places I've been: