Sharp Gears In Motion

Today, being the Sunday closest to Independence Day, is one of two occasions in the church year (of the Episcopal Church, at least) upon which a national day is recognized, the other being Thanksgiving. We used a special litany of prayers this morning, and there was mention of our nation during the celebrant's preface to the Eucharist, but that's about it — pretty low key.

As our dismissal hymn, we sang "America the Beautiful", which is the national hymn of the United States — something I didn't know until today. I love this hymn, I always have enjoyed singing it, and, like most Americans, I know the first verse by heart. But I hadn't sung this hymn since the invasion of Iraq. It wasn't anything conscious — it just hadn't come up.

This morning, I abruptly found myself getting choked up during the organ introduction, something I have never done. I could only sing a few words here and there during the first verse as my voice cracked with emotion and my eyes filled with tears.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
for amber waves of grain,
for purple mountain majesties
above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
and crown thy good with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea.

My tears were not tears of joy or gratitude, but tears of sorrow for what we have become, tears of sorrow for what we are not, tears of sorrow for so much potential discarded like glitzy wrapping paper. This hymn, I realized, is begging God for grace. "America! America!" is a cry, not a triumphant shout.

I thought it would get better with the next verse, and that I might actually be able to sing. But, like most Americans, I hadn't paid much attention to the second verse, especially the words of the chorus:

O beautiful for heroes proved
in liberating strife,
who more than self their country loved,
and mercy more than life!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
confirm thy soul in self-control,
thy liberty in law.

I don't think I was able to croak more than a few words, as I openly wept — as I am doing now.

Mend thine every flaw...
Self-control...
Liberty in law...

My God, my God, what has happened to us???

I did not know how much I loved my country until today, until I wept in realization of what we Americans have lost, how much we continue to lose, and just what is at stake in our Great Experiment. Is this what patriotism feels like — love of country, rather than pride of country? It must be, because this hurts in a way that only love can hurt. Oh, this hurts....

Many times when I write essays, I try to prod people into action. There is no call to action today — except this:

Weep with me. Weep for America, and pray for a better birthday next year.

I've just added to my neighborhood, and I encourage Oregon cyclists and pedestrians to do the same so that you can keep up with the progress of this effort to pass a vehicular homicide law in Oregon.

Take a look:
http://alawforlonny.vox.com/

I have written to my Congressional Representative on several occasions in the last six years regarding my support for the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

My support for impeachment has not changed, and I urge you once again to vote to impeach.

Impeachment is NOT a partisan issue. It is an American issue.

These two men have trampled the Constitution and violated the public trust. "Of those to whom much has been given, much is expected." As two of the most powerful individuals on the planet, much has certainly been given to these men.

It is not sufficient to write off their high crimes and misdemeanors by saying they'll be out of office in a few months. That is not sufficient. That is not just. That is not right. That is not in the best interests of the People.

We are a nation of laws, not of men. And as a nation of laws, we rely on the ancient legal principle of precedence. Allowing these two men to go unpunished for their abuse of the public trust sets a horrifying precedent for future presidencies--Republican or Democrat.

G.W. Bush and Dick Cheney must be impeached to send a clear message to all future presidents, including candidates McCain and Obama, that this abuse of power, this abuse of the public trust, these high crimes and misdemeanors, will not be tolerated.

Please support Rep. Kucinich's articles of impeachment. Lobby the Speaker of the House. Congress will not grind to a halt. Go beyond party politics and do the right thing.

Impeach, try, and convict George W. Bush and Richard Cheney for high crimes and misdemeanors. And if the evidence warrsnts, turn them over to the Hague for indictment for war crimes. 

If there was ever an argument in favor of companies outsourcing their customer support to India, this is the one:

The companies make money hand over fist.

Not on labor savings, but on (non-)refunds. I have been trying for several months now to get the charges reversed on two transactions. My work (a tiny little nonprofit fencing studio) purchased a one-year subscription to Intuit's QuickBooks Online Backup for $49.95 last year.

Intuit charged our debit card three times for the same transaction. So, they should refund us $99.90, right?

(Yeah. This is going to go well....)

I am stunned at just how many different ways this corporation has managed to say no:

1. The first customer service number I tried was only open until 3 p.m. EST (which counts as a "no" right off the bat).
2. Yes, we see that you were charged three times. What's the problem? (Sort of a reverse "no".)
   
3. No, you need to call this number. (Another classic.)
   
4. No, you need to go to this website and fill out this form to request a refund. (This was a new one!)
   
5. No, you need to fill out this other electronic form and then someone will call you back within ten minutes and issue you a refund. (Oh, really?)
   
6. No, you are six months into a one-year subscription, so you cannot cancel it. (But you charged me for three subscriptions, not one!)
7. No, it has been too long since the charges were posted. Too bad. (WTF?)
   
8. No, we cannot find your account. (Funny, you certainly managed to find it easily when the money was going to you....)
   
9. No, I am very sorry that we cannot... <click> (after thirty minutes on the phone).
10. No, we cannot find any evidence that you ever purchased this product. (Stunned silence.)
    

I think this may be a conscious choice on the part of Intuit Corporation to simply hope that I will go away and just forget about the $100. What's really sad is that we have never been able to get the Online Backup thing to work due to some incompatibility with our firewall.

So, I have given up on Intuit's obsequious babbling customer service. Now we'll see if PayPal's customer service can do a chargeback to our debit card this long after the transaction.

Unfortunately, PayPal outsources their support, too....

Justice Dept. 'Cannot' Probe Waterboarding, Mukasey Says

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...

The attorney general yesterday rejected growing congressional calls for a criminal investigation of the CIA's use of simulated drownings to extract information from its detainees.

Okay, so let me get this straight.

1. The President appoints the Attorney General, who is in charge of the Justice Department and is the de facto top lawyer in the land.

2. The AG issues an opinion giving the President the green light on some action—like, say, torturing foreign nationals whom we have imprisoned without charge.

3. Word of the President's actions gets out, and Justice is asked to open an investigation into what is widely perceived to be a war crime.

4. No can do, says the AG, as we already told the White House they could do it.

Did I mention that the President is the Attorney General's boss???

So, we've come a long way from Nixon's "If the President does it, it's legal" to today's statement that if the President does it and the Attorney General says it's okay, then it's legal. Wow.

And apparently we have completely forgotten a series of post-War events in a German city called Nuremberg, as well as civilian prosecutions and military courts-martial for other Americans who have used waterboarding as an interrogation/torture technique.

How silly of me. I thought the word "justice" in "Department of Justice" actually meant, well... justice.