over the last two days i feel like i've become more politically thoughtful. everything about anything they're showing on TV has contributed to developing emotions. the thing about Virginia Tech is, you pass hundreds of kids on a campus everyday, even on a smaller campus like VT. here at the U, there are about 50,000 students and with faculty, and the hospital and the commerce, who knows how many people actually float within the campus boundaries. more than anything, i've been more in tune to who i'm passing on the street, between buildings and in hallways. i wouldn't say it's paranoia, but it's a strong awareness. and it's weird. if i start thinking if my brother would have been in Norris Hall, or a friend, how that would feel, how violated i would feel. i couldn't even sleep very well Monday night because i kept thinking how i would react if someone walked into my journalism lecture and opened fire.

today, a couple of hours after the bomb threat made on our campus, i took a stroll towards the mall area, past the yellow tape. there was an eerie silence and it looked awkwardly deserted minus the hovering helicopters, police authorities and canines. my aunt had phoned me asking if i was OK - she had heard the news on a lunch time news broadcast all the way in Seattle. my mom was texting me every seven minutes asking if i was off campus yet (for the record, i wasn't). i had a feeling come over me that i was having my privacy invaded.

college is supposed to be the four most liberal years of a person's life. mass murderers, bomb threats and the naive are contributing to the slow disappearing act of our liberties, and i admit i'm easily to blame too. there are no assault weapon restrictions in the state of Virginia. you don't even need a permit to purchase a rifle, shotgun or pistol. and i don't know about anyone else, but i can't watch the news anymore. i mean, i do. i can't not watch the news. but everytime President Bush is speaking (mumbling) of getting more funding for the war, more support, more troops, more more more..... he's putting more where we don't need anymore. he needs to be putting that 'more' in other places, like gun control. it probably wouldn't have prevented what happened at VT. what matters is that the government would acknowledge that it is aware of what is going on in our country. and did you know, the government reported an increase of 3.7 percent in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention in the first half of 2006 when compared to figures reported for the first six months of 2005 ALONE. the situation in Iraq has turned into a civil war - even though our media is hushed by the government to refer to it as that. but i shouldn't get started on how the government bitch slaps the media, and even worse - why the media takes it - which, if you care, is the underlying reason why i can never be a reporter. our country has been so beat up over the last 8 years, it makes me sick. we need practical things at this point, like bandages, vacuums, tissue and hugs. obviously that's the most liberal thing i've said yet - we clearly can't fix things that easily. but i am 150% confident that the next president will be able to.

and today - the partial birth abortion act went into effect (which i do understand). but it's reported that this is the first step to outlawing abortion entirely. there goes another liberty.

so let's recap - the death toll is higher. it was the deadliest day in Baghdad. women lost a portion of one of their rights. the University of Minnesota, only one of the dozens, was threatened............. we NEED to ask more questions. we need to be more opinionated. we need to know what we stand for and why, and we need to start fixing ourselves, our country, and our disintegrating Earth.

but Greta and i did go rollerblading together at sunset. it was romantic, but i must say - killer hills!