Tube-tied

“Why should they be allowed to use my pipes?”

Axing online poker was just the first of many small steps, folks. It is yet another “benefit” of the marriage between monolithic corporate entities and our government. The only regulations being laid down are those that protect and increase profits, not to enhance public knowledge or welfare.

Why won’t Congress sign a Net Neutrality bill into law?

Why is the FCC holding private meetings with bankers?

The above links are simply primers that will hopefully pique your interest on this subject--you should be VERY interested because this WILL effect you.

I work with this stuff—believe me when I say that QoS, while certainly having legitimate usefulness, will become the bane of your existence if this is not stopped.

I’ll likely be posting massive commentary of my own on this subject in the near future, but this post should get you started down the path of doing your own research.

Will you let these people legislate chains around what is arguably the last truly free space in our world just so you can have DRM-laden TV programming on your computer? Are we people so frightened and childlike that we need this parenting from corporations and governments skipping hand-in-hand through rainshowers of our money?

As goes Texas, so goes the nation

Follow the link and then watch the video....

KVUE news

Response to StB, Part I

"Criticizing and questioning our government is the responsibility of every patriot" - Theodore Roosevelt

Response to StB: Part I

Hitler Youth? I have read that article a couple of times. How that one
sentence suddenly inspires the kids of the Third Reich is mysterious. What
about these sentences:
“The entire program is designed for teens who may be teenage parents,
juvenile delinquents, low income, or coping with a learning or other
disability.”
“There is no tuition, and the campers, mostly 11th and 12th graders, are
paid minimum wage so that they can spend these hours learning instead of
flipping burgers.” “
“When the eight-week program ends Aug. 23, graduates will be certified in
first aid, CPR (both human and animal), and what organizers call "terrorism
response."”

What about these sentences-- What about them? I have no quarrel with kids being certified in first aid or CPR, a point I specifically addressed in my first response which evidently bears repeating:

Do I think that volunteering to help out one’s community is evil? Certainly not. In bringing up the subject of Hitler Youth, do I mean to imply that the children of our country that want to do good works are Nazi’s? Most. Certainly. NOT.

My assertions were not an indictment of volunteer work. Rather they were and are meant as an indictment of government run and/or funded volunteer service programs in the context of the horrifically aggressive government and intelligence apparatus of the last six years (minimum).

StB continues…

Sounds like the kids are being taught skills that they may be able to use
later in life. In fact that is what is happening. The program is funded by
the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training. Not Homeland Security.
Fact is, the Department of Homeland Security has nothing to do with the
camp. Neither would I consider learning CPR or first aid part of a
“horrifically aggressive government and intelligence apparatus”. It is just
camp. Why read into it?

Again, my reason for reading into it has been stated. I specifically pointed out in my first response the following sentence from the original article, a sentence and point that you failed entirely to address in your rebuttal:

And those skills include math: "If I have 40 acres of forest," runs a typical problem, "how many search dogs will I need to find a fugitive?"

Call me nuts if you like, but I’m not particularly comfortable with the idea that a camp ostensibly promoting volunteer service and community outreach has within its curriculum instruction on enforcement methodology. I’m also pretty uncomfortable with the fact that said enforcement is being taught to juvenile delinquents and the learning disabled. Intellectual prowess is not a trait generally associated with either of these groups (and yes, I freely acknowledge that there are exceptions--perhaps many, but not enough-- to this, as there are exceptions to most groups or subjects). It is an abuse of the volunteer youth civil service concept (of helping people, not hunting them), and has great potential to become nothing more than a breeding ground for a force of intellectually devoid and wholly indoctrinated stormtroopers for the future War on Terror.

What is next? Are the Boys Scouts part of the conspiracy? After all, they
learn the same skills that these campers are being taught. Maybe computer
camp should be banned so the next generation won’t become minions of
Microsoft. If you aren’t meaning to compare these kids to Nazis, then why
bring up the Hitler Youth to begin with? The inference has been made.

You’re right, an inference has been made, but not the one you assert, as evidenced in my previous specific statements. I am not comparing the kids to Nazi’s; I am inferring the programs themselves have a growing Nazi stench about them. I don’t see how I can be much more specific than I have been already. In the same way that Hitler took advantage of impressionable youth (many of which, no doubt, joined the group with the best of intentions), so also do these programs show increasing potential for the same.

**********

There is another part of your response I would like to deal with more specifically.

The program is funded by the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training. Not Homeland Security. Fact is, the Department of Homeland Security has nothing to do with the camp.

Of course these are not being funded by DHS directly—they already tried that with the TIPS program and people were so pissed off about it the government was forced to rein it in. Bush and pals have shown respect for no law other than their own whims. Do you really think they gave up on the original aims of the program?

The Kentucky Office for Employment and Training is an agency of the Education Cabinet.

Now, take a look at the Education Cabinet budget sheet and see Federal funds under Expenditures by Fund Source.

And in other "benign volunteer program" news…

Page 7 displays Homeland Security funding—take note of the column headers.

Citizens Corps is coordinated by FEMA. FEMA is directly under the umbrella of DHS.

Read about Citizens Corps affiliate programs:

Department of Education
Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools
OSDFS administers, coordinates, and recommends policy for improving the quality and excellence of programs and activities that are designed to provide financial and technical assistance for drug and violence prevention and to promote the health and well being of students in elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education. Additional areas of focus include student-led crime prevention; health, mental health, environmental health, and physical education programs; crisis planning and emergency planning, including natural disasters, violent incidents and terrorist acts; and programs relating to citizenship and civics education.
Learn more by visiting www.ed.gov/offices/OSDFS.

And finally, take a look at this org chart for the Federal Government.

(By now everyone has a headache and is wondering what the hell is my point, so I’ll get to it.)

The federal government, per the org chart and the few above financial examples, is a massive, sprawling, and powerful beast of a thing that spreads around a metric fuckton of money. It is increasingly complex in its inter-agency dependencies and roles, and this goes double when it comes to government financials and accounting. Not a single one of us will ever find a sheet of paper simply stating that DHS has given x amount of dollars to so-and-so’s civic volunteer organization. The system is specifically set up so that the average citizen becomes completely discouraged and fails to care due to their not having personal team of forensic accountants at their disposal (and this is assuming complete governmental transparency, which is only believed by fools to exist).

It is quite simple. Some things have no hidden meaning. Just a job program
helping kids attain skills that may help them later in life. They are not
becoming secret minions to be called into service at a later time.

In the face of this ever-increasing governmental complexity our politicians and media encourage thinking in simple terms, and this flies directly in the face of our duties as American citizens. In this unbelievably politically charged climate, rare is the occasion when the action of any agency or department won’t have something to do with the current (and never-ending) War on Terror. Anything to do with the War on Terror will certainly have a path leading to DHS or one of its attendant agencies—to think that any agency, regardless of sector, will not cow to DHS dictates(by way of the Executive) displays maximum foolhardiness and perilously blind trust. Agencies that take money from the federal government to support their own bureaucratic machines are expected to comply with Federal rules, regulations, dictates, and laws—that they would not suck the Federal tit isn’t even a consideration today.

In its sheer size, complexity, corruption, secrecy, and growing brutality, the Federal government is a testament to our true downward spiral as a society. Wallowing in our ignorance, laziness, and fear we have begged for government to take control and they have been only more than happy to oblige. It is now at the point where states are merely extensions of an increasing Federal arm; an arm that grows day by day in scope and power, leaving state and individual citizen independence far, far behind.

(Part II forthcoming)

StB's Response

(Note: The following response from StB is posted without edit. For those just joining the discussion, start here and work your way forward. My own response to this will likely come in two or three parts, the first of which I hope to have posted this afternoon or evening.)

Hitler Youth. Not at war. And inferring that 9/11 was an inside job,
supported by a link to a group that is largely a joke.

Hitler Youth? I have read that article a couple of times. How that one
sentence suddenly inspires the kids of the Third Reich is mysterious. What
about these sentences:
“The entire program is designed for teens who may be teenage parents,
juvenile delinquents, low income, or coping with a learning or other
disability.”
“There is no tuition, and the campers, mostly 11th and 12th graders, are
paid minimum wage so that they can spend these hours learning instead of
flipping burgers.” “
“When the eight-week program ends Aug. 23, graduates will be certified in
first aid, CPR (both human and animal), and what organizers call "terrorism
response."”

Sounds like the kids are being taught skills that they may be able to use
later in life. In fact that is what is happening. The program is funded by
the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training. Not Homeland Security.
Fact is, the Department of Homeland Security has nothing to do with the
camp. Neither would I consider learning CPR or first aid part of a
“horrifically aggressive government and intelligence apparatus”. It is just
camp. Why read into it?

What is next? Are the Boys Scouts part of the conspiracy? After all, they
learn the same skills that these campers are being taught. Maybe computer
camp should be banned so the next generation won’t become minions of
Microsoft. If you aren’t meaning to compare these kids to Nazis, then why
bring up the Hitler Youth to begin with? The inference has been made.

It is quite simple. Some things have no hidden meaning. Just a job program
helping kids attain skills that may help them later in life. They are not
becoming secret minions to be called into service at a later time.

Have you been having drinks with GeorgeSoros lately? Seriously, to say there is no War on Terror is silly.
There are people out there that would like to kill you just because you are
a citizen of the United States. The don’t care that you are a good guy.
They want to kill you. Unless you will change to their ways life under sharia law and dhiminitude.
To prevent this we need more actions like the MilitaryCommission Act. Unlike how you would like to interpret the Act, I agree with the side that says habeus corpus is not being removed from American citizens. While our enemy is slitting throats of prisoners, we get them fat.
Sounds like pretty solid torture, eh?

Same with the wiretapping and bank wires. Unlike how others would like you
to believe, they were not taping conversations between you and your Aunt
Milly. It is illogical. Thus, unless I talking with someone in a terrorist
nation, have made trips to jihadi military camps, and were on the verge of
change your religion, citizenship and name to Bahtenda al-Needabeer, they
are not listening to my calls. It is impossible. It would be very nice if
reporters who have their own agenda to put forward would not put you and me
at risk. Not every law that is passed is going to affect law abiding
citizens.

It would be nice if the media would work with the government, instead of
against it. They would everyone to think it is ugly all over Iraq. I am
not saying it is pretty but it would be nice if they would actually have
reporters there, on the scene instead of relying on the enemy to report false news.
How about the good the American soldier has done? The country will be much
better off for having him out of power.

The link to the nutballs at the Scholars for Truth had to be for comedic
effect. Any group that has lots of infighting and believes some kind of Star Wars death ray brought the
towers down is funny.

I am sure some of this sounds pretty naive to you but it shouldn't.
Actually it is just seeing things for how they are. Not all things have a
hidden meaning indicating the government is out to get me, nor are they
stripping me of my rights. Well except to spend money as I see fit in
online poker rooms.

Give it a name

(I know I’m biting the Glenn Greenwald's style, but I cannot help myself at the moment)

Can someone please tell me why, for the love of holy pete, there is still so much frenzied and grandstanding rhetoric surrounding Michael Richards and his breakdown on stage?

(NOTE: YouTube insists you to login to watch so the delicate children can’t view the “horrific” scene)

From earlier today on CNN:

At the press conference, comedian Paul Mooney said he has used the "n-word" numerous times during stand-up performances but will no longer do so after watching Richards' rant.

"He's my Dr. Phil," the black comedian said. "He's cured me."


This is sad news and I will miss you, Negrodamus.

I will miss you in this cosmopolitan age when we love our bread and circuses every bit as much as the societies that rose and fell before we came along. In a time when every day brings its own special brand of depressing insanity and inanity, this day stands out as interminably sad among them.

**********

The word nigger is being unofficially and unequivocally outlawed. Look at that, I didn’t even use stars to blot out the “power” of the word. Such is the depravity of my innate inconsideration of others and their massive sensitivity.

Earl Hutchinson is the kind of guy who (now, this is a guess) would disagree with my sentiments. I never heard of the man before today, but his statements deserve a response.

“During a panel discussion at the Summer Television Critics Association tour in 2005, Aaron McGruder, creator of the popular comic strip Boondocks[*], defiantly told the audience that he'd use the N-word as much as he pleased. If folks didn't like it, well, tough.

N-word users and apologists serve up the lame rationale that the more an African American person uses the word, the less-offensive it becomes. They claim that they are cleansing the word of its negative connotations so that racists can no longer use it to hurt African Americans.

The apologists tick off an endless storehouse of defenses to justify use of the word. Some claim it's a term of endearment or affection. Others use it to convey anger or disdain. Still others are defiant. They say they don't care what a white person calls them because words can't harm them.

They forget, ignore or distort one thing: Words are not value-neutral. They express concepts and ideas. Often, words reflect society's standards. If color-phobia is a deep-rooted standard in American life, then something as emotionally charged as the N-word will always reinforce and perpetuate stereotypes. It can't be sanitized, cleansed, inverted or redeemed as a culturally liberating word. It can't be made acceptable, no matter whose mouth it comes out of or what the excuse is for using it.”

*The Boondocks is a fantastic cartoon. Thank you, Aaron, for not being an idiot.

Mr. Hutchinson would have us all believe that it’s a given that the word nigger is now, and has always been, the most offensive word imaginable. He adopts the phrasing “N-word users and apologists” as though any association with that word should be frowned upon and reviled in any and all curcumstances. Using the word “apologists” yet again in the very next paragraph, he is tireless in his attempts to make sure that we all realize just what bad people we are should we decide to say something (in anger, or otherwise) that might offend someone else.

Mr. Hutchinson rolls on.

He admonishes us that “Words are not value-neutral”, preceding this admonishment with the sentiment that if anyone thinks otherwise “they” are forgetting, ignoring, or distorting—if someone is of any other opinion, they are automatically to be associated with these less than desirable qualities.

“They express concepts and ideas.”

Yes, and they also cannot be taken in a vacuum. They must be taken in context along with tone and a host of other smaller variables that most people don’t take the time to consider anymore, including you. It is generally not in dispute that Michael Richards used that word in the most hateful and ugly way time and again during his tirade. We can all say that we know this by not only his words but by taking into account (whether we realize it or not) the tone with which he used them and the circumstances involved. People react when that word is spoken not due to the word itself, but because of the easily perceived hate that, unfortunately, often lies behind it.

I’m going to skip Mr. Hutchinson's next sentence for now and be back to it in a moment. Continuing on...

“If color-phobia is a deep-rooted standard in American life, then something as emotionally charged as the N-word will always reinforce and perpetuate stereotypes. It can't be sanitized, cleansed, inverted or redeemed as a culturally liberating word. It can't be made acceptable, no matter whose mouth it comes out of or what the excuse is for using it.”

It is so emotionally charged due to the fact that you and all of the other broken record media mouthpieces hype it as such and look to promulgate the irrational hate that is many times along for the ride. If you had expended even the slightest bit of effort to be complete or harbored even a bit of true intent to help “heal the racial divide”, you would have peeked into the history of the word and its use in our past and made sure that everyone who might hear you is reminded of these facts. You fail to consider a subject before you begin parroting the thoughts of others who have failed to do the same. Such ill-informed rhetoric is the embodiment of GroupThink, the triumph of baseless assertion over reason.

“It can't be made acceptable, no matter whose mouth it comes out of or what the excuse is for using it.”

(From the Wikipedia article under Usage)

“A striking example is in televised coverage of a march in Birmingham, Alabama, when protesters, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, were met with attacks from dogs and fire hoses. A white woman from another Alabama county was interviewed. Visibly upset, she said, "It's not right. We don't treat niggers like that here."

Pat Buchanan has made past reference to the fact that if you would have called a black person in the 60’s “African-American” you would have just as likely been punched as not. While I certainly can’t speak from personal experience given I wasn’t alive at the time, I’m inclined to believe him when taking in his statement with some history.

There is a massive unnoticed horror in the eye of this media-officiated storm--we are now expected to self-police en masse, and indeed we are promoting the concept amongst ourselves. Any use of the word nigger should now be vilified to the extreme, regardless. It, alongside other unpleasantness has been expunged in favor of the kinder, gentler Newspeak, and Zero Tolerance is back on the scene with a pretty new dress. All we need to go with that is a side of ‘pain compliance’.

It does well to note here that all of it—all. of. it.--is so someone, somewhere won’t get their increasingly sensitive feelers hurt. Someone somewhere might get their “dignity” taken away. Dignity is what a person makes it. Is it so difficult to imagine that it is possible to be dignified when confronted with what may oftentimes be the polar opposite? Dignity is a characteristic that is visible only in those who truly value themselves—if it can be taken away by a word used in a hateful manner then perhaps not enough dignity exists there in the first place.

Crackers and niggers everywhere! It’s time to play Crabs in a Bucket! This time tested media-sponsored game show has reached the height of ridiculousness and it’s about time we begin to sit out instead of clamoring to play. Michael Richards is surely not undeserving of a public rake through the muck for his temporarily unmitigated bile, but to have the issue drawn out in such an extended and blatantly stage-directed manner is beyond the pale.

Now what about the sentence I skipped earlier? Hutchinson says, “Often, words reflect society's standards.” These five words contain a measure of ironic truth that I am sure was unintended because I read the rest of the article. Words (always, not often) do reflect our standards. The problem is that we don’t like what we see and instead of having the courage to face it, we tacitly ignore it—We seek the help of government in outlawing the very words that afford us the opportunity to reflect on who and what we are as an American people.

In a recent interview, Gore Vidal brings up Tiberius—

“Tiberius, when he became Emperor, the Senate sent him a message saying that whatever he wanted enacted would become law. And he sent it back to them and he said, 'Now don't be stupid. Suppose the Emperor has gone mad. Suppose he's ill. Suppose he's been replaced secretly. You can't give such powers.' And they sent it back to him, and he sent back a message, 'How eager you are to be slaves.'”

If words are taken or given up, the standards are forgotten as there are no more reflections to remind us of who we are. If we forget who we are we cannot define who we will be. If we cannot define who we will be, someone will define it for us and dignity will no longer be part of the equation because it has effectively ceased to exist.

Political correctness makes niggers of us all.

If I cover my eyes, they can't see me

An interesting tidbit for today, my friends.

Browsing around the Intarweb tubes with the help of ‘the google’ I happened upon the following story (published yesterday, 11/25/06) from Reuters by way of the Washington Post:

“The Transportation Security Administration said yesterday that it will charge $28 a year to process background checks on each airline passenger who joins a privately run traveler registry.

Congress created the Registered Traveler program after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in response to complaints about long security lines that became common at airports with stepped-up passenger and bag screening.

The program is mainly aimed at frequent fliers, which include premium-paying business travelers on major airlines at busier airports.

The fee, charged to the private companies that run Registered Traveler, would cover the TSA's costs for performing the checks and overseeing the program, the agency said.

Previous TSA fee estimates of up to $100 had generated a backlash from airports and companies interested in the program. They said higher cost would sap passenger interest.

Supporters say Registered Traveler will lead to a faster and easier trip through airport security for those who sign up and agree to submit personal information for background checks and fingerprints or other biometric information to be embedded on an identity card.

The program has been slow to get going and so far is in place only at the Orlando airport. There, passengers pay $99.95 for a one-year membership, which covers expenses for TSA vetting. Verified Identity Pass Inc. said it has registered more than 30,000 people for its registered traveler programs, most from the effort in Orlando.

The company, which is privately held, , said it plans to expand the service to Cincinnati, Indianapolis, San Jose and the British Airways terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport by January.”

[Let’s seeee, $99.95 x 30000 = 2,998,401. Not bad for the first launch at the first airport. Not too bad as an annually replenishing passive income stream, either. As this becomes more intertwined with the airline and DHS way of doing things, one can’t help but wonder how high this fee will eventually rise, what with inflationary concerns, more stringent security requirements as time goes on, and new measures deemed necessary to protect future data after an invariable “data loss”. What happens to someone who joins and then doesn’t want to renew? Is that person now “suspect” as trying to avoid this thing that “is for our own good”? Just some questions worth pondering…..]

Security and Convenience for just a bit more cash. Who wouldn’t want that? I decided to dig a wee bit deeper to check for “monsters under the bed”, if you will.

First, a trip to the website of Verified Identity Pass, Inc. The main page greets potentials with fantastic news, namely that it has the backing of Michael Chertoff. If it’s good enough for Chertoff and the Ministry of Truth DHS, it good enough for me.

Moving on.

A search of the address listed on the website reveals some information that should be of note. In looking at the list of associated businesses, one name in particular jumped out:, Kroll (in its many forms). Severely underwhelming, you say? Who cares, right?

Indeed, who cares, except for one small detail. Kroll was the company responsible for security up to the attacks that illuminated the imminent, ever-present, and “for the foreseeable future” terror threat. Boy, thank goodness they’re in our corner. (Also enjoy, with compliments, these tasty morsels from The Center for Public Integrity or Demopedia)

What about the folks at the top? Such people will surely have no motivation other than the altruistic sort. In the interest of time let’s take a brief look at the two persons at the top of this latest venture to contribute to the public well-being.

In the first Director Chair we have Samuel Berger, who happens to be a former National Security Advisor. He also happens to have been recently convicted of a misdemeanor. It is the details of said misdemeanor from a Justice Department document that are of particular note—yet another innocuous coincidence in a world filled with so many, no doubt.

(While certainly no law expert, I have the sneaking suspicion that had you or I been the ones removing, destroying, and/or otherwise altering National Archive documents, much more serious charges and penalties would have been levied and enforced. Congratulations! You’ve won a free trip to a secluded and rustic location of our choice!)

In the second Director Chair we have Steven Berkenfeld. Mr. Berkenfeld is a managing director of Lehman Brothers. He is a Director of RSI Holding Corporation (who acquired Employment Solutions, Inc. in 2002, who are “…in the business of locating and providing labor to industrial companies.”), and is a Member of the Corporate Financing Committee at the NASD. (this information comes from Tiger 21, itself an interesting site).

Start reading. Begin recognizing the chains that increasingly bind.

***********

Just what is all this trying to imply? That it’s all a big shell game? Perish the thought.

We are informed, ad nauseum, by our elected parents that these monsters under the collective bed do not exist. Who to believe? Our dependency on the ‘rents is strong. Will we grow up and learn to depend on ourselves once again or will we regress further still? Will we continue to retreat to the fake comforts of a televised reality that says what we so desperately want and need to hear because glimpsing the beginnings of truth means facing an ugliness we never really thought possible?

I wonder why our media ringmasters think it unnecessary to let us know these things. I wonder why digging for said information never seems to have occurred to them in the first place.

Okay, that’s a lie. I don’t wonder at all. If these “little” bits of information were actually sought after and reported in the main, it just might lead people in a truly informed democracy to think that they might not need all of these new measures, costs, and restrictions in order to be safe in the almighty scam that is the War on Terror. People just might be very averse to the idea that this is yet another way to extract from them more flesh, less in pounds, but more in survivable and sustainable ounces. It is the bar mitzvah of our new microfleshcash economy, transforming people into the new and improved, more frightened and easily controlled, money machines they always knew we could be.

Basil, this coffee smells like shit.

It *is* shit, Austin.

Oh, good, then it’s not just me.

November 23

Let me preface the following by stating that this post in response to his comment is not the beginnings of a massive flame war or “blogger drama” between StB and myself. We have spoken, remain friends, and both look forward to a couple of beers (likely it will be many more than that) together during the upcoming WPBT festivities in Vegas. It is with no bile that I write the following. I am merely using the comment as a tool to try and further explain the wholly massive change that has taken place within me over these last weeks

So without further ado or qualification, here goes.

**********

The best way I know how is to take this in parts.

“You will link in a Republican who suggests people help each other, but not link Democrat Charlie Rangel call for reinsituting the draft?”

I didn’t think that it was altogether necessary to link Rangel’s call for a draft because (at least for these few days) it has been all over the news and to me it is an assumed that everyone already knows about it, at least in the sense that the issue has been brought up (again), and they likely know who brought it up. In retrospect, it’s true that I may have assumed too much (cue folksy wisdom about assuming. Ass, u and me, and so on), and in the interest of being as complete as possible here is a link to Congressman Rangel.

However, what bothers me more than the sentence itself is the distinct mention of Republican and Democrat, as though I may be biased or party leaning in one direction or the other. For anyone who might be of this opinion, let me state as clearly as I can to all who will listen that it does not matter one iota to me whether or not the person or link in question is Democrat or Republican. The only reason I link to anything is in support of the things I am trying to get across.

Democrats and Republican are only slightly differing sides of the same broken and destructive political coin.

**********

“You are right. "helping out at homes, health care, nurses, etc.". How evil!”

Again, call me an ass for assuming and you would likely be right. Here was the part of the article I had hoped would jump out:

And those skills include math: "If I have 40 acres of forest," runs a typical problem, "how many search dogs will I need to find a fugitive?"

Before going further, here is an excerpt from Wikipedia on Hitler Youth:

“In 1940, Artur Axmann replaced Schirach as Reichsjugendführer and took over leadership of the Hitler Youth. Axmann began to reform the group into an auxiliary force which could perform war duties. The Hitler Youth became active in German fire brigades and assisted with recovery efforts to German cities affected from Allied bombing. The Hitler Youth also assisted in such organizations as the Reich Postal Service, Reichsbahn, fire services, and Reich radio service, and served among anti-aircraft defense crews.”

Do I think that volunteering to help out one’s community is evil? Certainly not. In bringing up the subject of Hitler Youth, do I mean to imply that the children of our country that want to do good works are Nazi’s? Most. Certainly. NOT.

My assertions were not an indictment of volunteer work. Rather they were and are meant as an indictment of government run and/or funded volunteer service programs in the context of the horrifically aggressive government and intelligence apparatus of the last six years (minimum).

The point is that these programs are being used by Homeland Security as a more “public friendly” tool to line up with the Terrorist Information and Prevention System (TIPS) they tried rolling out with full force in ’02, which sought to create more citizen informants than were employed by the Stasi in East Germany. The similarities between these government and "private" programs and those of the Hitler Youth programs should not be ignored simply because our government programs have a more polished veneer, or the programs aren’t “there yet.” Nor should anyone ignore the similarities merely because the mention of Hitler, whatever the context, now seems to be verboten. We are not immune to being completely overtaken by the same religious-in-nature and wholly misguided nationalistic fervor that once took hold of German society.

Hitler said Jew. We say Terrorist. Both are supported by the same irrational and reactionary fear. You say potato, I say potato. Both are, and have been (in their inherent irrationality), equally effective in duping entire peoples.

**********

“I guess you believe we are not at war.”

(Note: I take this as referring to not so much the literal war in Iraq, but our broader war on the “terrorists”—If I am wrong and the reference was to the actual war being currently fought, my apologies. In my defense, though, I can’t see how the actual war would have anything to do with it in the context of the article in question)

That’s correct, I do not believe that we are at war, not in the way that our “leaders” and media would have us believe in order to whip largely ignorant masses of Americans into a fearful frenzy.

We have the War on Drugs.

We have the War on Poverty.

We have the War on Terror. (All new and continually improved!)

None of these “wars” are, nor have they ever been, successful on the grand scale to which they are often referred. In fact, they are continually unsuccessful and steadily lose ground. These “wars” are not designed or fought to be won. They are promoted as never ending continual struggles, paid for by us, in dollars and in blood, while our great leaders and their attendant family dynasties profit personally and politically the entire time. Drop the incessant war moniker and start refusing to be the fuel in this engine that drives their aspirations of power and control.

*********

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on our blessings, and I am well aware that many might find the above unpleasantness to be distasteful on such a holiday when we should be focusing on the good things our lives. In a contextual vacuum, I would agree with this. However, given the fact that we are currently in the midst of a great global upheaval largely of our own creation, this narrow view taken during the holiday is escapist at its core.

We must rediscover that it is possible to celebrate in a sober fashion, acknowledging and considering these circumstances that are of great public and global moment. We must remember that today, American troops will die. We must remember that today, a great many innocent Iraqis will die. We must remember and contemplate the fact that for all of these, turkey and trimmings (or, if you like, insert particular cultural or religious celebration here, as not everyone eats, or enjoys for that matter, turkey) with family and friends is truly a world away.

There exists little joy in our own blessings when we deny others the same on a basis of lies (ties to terorism, WMD's, liberation). I have no doubt that Americans and Iraqis alike would be thankful on this day to know that there still exist people who are thinking of them and making all efforts, in thought and in deed, to end this elective war (and its attendant death and destruction) for geopolitical gain. Political face-saving, be damned.

It is with great thanks in my heart that I say cheers to all of you, have a Happy Thanksgiving.

(thanks again, StB, for the comment)

Citizenship for Service!

Break out your copies of Starship Troopers and witness the future.

"Put us on a war footing."

Have the kids do the police work.
(It's fun to catch the bad and scary terrorists when Homeland Security points them out and trains us to find them.)

Force the rest.
(Don't worry, the richest will still be in school training to pick up where their fathers left off so you can keep fighting the good fight abroad)

Just think, if it wasn't for visionary science fiction we would have no idea just how great the future of perpetual war will be under the direction of our wise elites as they regale us with tales of our own bravery and astute "security-oriented" wisdom.

Decisionating

It was with big smiles that I read this morning about senators Leahy and Dunn in their efforts to repeal major offending portions of the odious Military Commissions Act. My first thought was, “Damn, I hope they can get that passed.”

Using my day off to cruise news outlets that report something other than “Tom Cruise may be getting fat and how come Oprah wasn't invited to the wedding, OMFG” my thoughts incessantly turn to nagging questions. What if they are able to get these revisions passed? How long would it take for such a thing to actually happen? Once it actually happened, what would be the immediate and direct consequences? Would there be any, or, would we set up another committee to begin another round of investigations, all built around the ostensible “cooperation” of the administration? Would any of these “setting things to right” actions lead to the upheaval and consequences that the shredding of the Constitution so richly deserves?

Wait, though. Even if such a thing makes it through all of the various committees and debates, comes up for a vote, and passes, it still goes to the President’s desk for a signature. Do you think he will sign after all of that work he's put in to get the things he wants “legalized”? Or, will he sign with his Super-Decisionater 3000 pen, gutting the legislation with his signing statement superpower*?

*For those who may not know, said signing statement superpowers are given to he who is deemed worthy of wielding The Super-Decisionator 3000 which contains the magical Executive ink. Barbara asks that we be gentle as we break the news to George that his pen is not actually “super” and that his ink is not infused with a super-ingredient called “Executive” meaning that if he writes it, it is so. She simply told him that so he would practice his cursive, and just feels awful that it has caused so much trouble.

Of course, these questions and many more are simply offshoots from the root. The root question is, “Will any of it make a single bit of actual difference when real accountability is “off the table”?

There still hasn’t been a whisper about the damaging John Warner Defense Authorization Act. There hasn’t been a peep about the massive election fraud we just experienced only a couple of weeks ago. Everyone is still following the piper off the cliff as we witness the run-up to a change in strategy that sounds an awful lot like the one we had before, just with more troops and money. The rhetoric against Iran hasn’t really slowed down; perhaps if we can topple that government everything will right itself in the region.

The government consultant told me, “More and more people see the weakening of Iran as the only way to save Iraq.” (The New Yorker)

Fantastic. Hey, if you walk away from the table you walk away almost broke, but if just double down a few times you can leave with a profit!

Really? Okay, then.

“The Pentagon is considering $127 billion to $160 billion in requests from the armed services for the 2007 fiscal year, which began last month, several lawmakers and congressional staff members said. That's on top of $70 billion already approved for 2007.” (USA Today)

Changing 200 billion! Sirs, do you need any silver for the bonus bet?

Mission Accomplished

It is with great relish (and no mustard) that I am able to finally report and fully commit. The Heads will be joining the assault on Las Vegas poker tables and bars, to begin upon our arrival sometime during the evening of 12/7.

To be sure, it was a long fight against the HR Generalists, but one they could never hope to win in the end due to my inter-department shock and awe campaign, where vast swaths of cubicle farm were bathed in the holy fire of bombs filled with political capital. Our arrival in Vegas represents true victory for The People. BG is right, and does well in making the larger point, which is that we must fight HR departments everywhere, because they hate our freedoms.

I just hope I don’t get bogged down in a quagmire that sees me throwing hammers on video poker machines that will never submit.

Mission Accomplished. See you there.

Another scrap on the pile

Here is an article to give the scene below some context.

This is what now happens in America, land of the free, when you don't have ID, forget your ID, or simply decide that you shouldn't be compelled, at random, to produce your papers.

I first saw this clip on MSNBC before I left work this morning. The clip they showed had little/no sound and was only a couple of seconds long.

There is so much to say about this it is difficult to know where to begin, so I won't. I shouldn't need to go on at length--pictures are truly worth thousands of words. Here is the entire video, and indeed, witness freedom and our fucking Patriot Act at work.




6:40 PM--Much credit goes to Keith Olbermann for giving this issue the proper attention on Crossfire, a far cry from the regulat "news". It's nice to see the ratings trending away from the trash that is Bill-O toward something much closer to reality.

Testing our Limits

Originally attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoller because of the lack of action from German intellectuals during the Nazi rise to power:

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came... )

There are many variations of this poem, but all have the same underlying theme. They all speak to the killing off of freedom by the state, by the government. They will tell you when it’s okay to play poker, they will tell you when it’s okay to travel, they will tell you how and why to fear—no need to decide for yourself.

Alas, I am going into familiar digression and will cut it short for now. The following is the “why” of today’s post.

The 2006 Military Commissions Act is now law. Let's try this baby out and see how it works.

Are you really going to accept that the concept of your individual liberty is nothing but a memory? It’s only immigrants, you say? Ignoring, for now, the general moral depravity of such a sentiment, I challenge anyone to read the actual text of the new law. American citizens, not just immigrants illegal or otherwise, can be declared enemy combatants, ask Jose Padilla.

Does it not prompt in you even the smallest sense of foreboding? If it does, please see the links below and start finding out why. If you have no sense of foreboding about this, see the links from posts below (ignore the ReviewMe) anyway, and stop taking so much from the state on faith.

See the truth, even if it is ugly and frightening, and begin to glimpse how being truly free can feel.

Kicked in the Junk, indeed.

Time and time again over the last couple of years I have gone on at great length and with great sarcasm about anything smacking of the sentiment Save the Children. It's no secret that I'm generally annoyed by children for all sorts of different reasons, some definitely more valid than others.

Today I realized something. I don't hate kids at all. The reason that I cannot stand the thought of having children is that I cannot stand the thought of something so essentially innocent not even having a chance.

Sit down, close the poker table, shut down the iPod, radio, TV, and listen to what is being ignored and has been woefully underreported.

John Yoo, one of the architects of U.S. legal policy on torture in a public forum debate with Doug Cassel, International Human Rights expert. Please make sure you are paying very close attention to the last 1/3 of the six minute clip.

Now look at your kids. What if anyone ever calls you a terrorist? It doesn’t matter whether or not it’s true, it just has to be “put out there”. Perception is the only reality now, substance doesn't even enter into the debate. It’s not like there needs to be a warrant, or charges, or evidence, or anything even close thanks to the (now signed into law) 2006 Military Commissions Act. Ask yourself, if Democrat leadership is so effective and decent as compared to the big bad neo-cons and Republicans that were just swept out, how come they have not uttered the word “repeal”?

Maybe there are bigger and better things to do, like shoving an Amnesty Plan through for people here illegally. Is this how problems are dealt with? Declare them non-existent? Is that something you get to do under a continually increasing tax/debt burden as you make less and your money becomes even more worthless? Do you teach your children to declare things non-existent? Also worth remembering *again* is that the Republicans rejected Amnesty—So now that those guys are out, has Bush really lost anything? Oh yeah, he’s losing the dead weight of Cheney and Rumsfeld. They’ve helped start the wars they needed to; he can take it to Iran without them.

Do you really think they’re trying to avoid war? You need do some real research. You better wake the fuck up. These are the people who can conceive of crushing your kid’s testicles if they decide you are terrorist enough. Don’t be afraid of the terrorists you can’t see, be afraid of the one’s that you can.

I hate the all of the Save the Children mantras out there just as much as I ever did. It’s because they are not saving anyone or anything. They are using your natural instincts and emotions to blind you, and they are perverting the entire concept of saving children, making many (including myself up to now) discount or hate it, when fundamentally it is good.

Start taking back the country and life that’s being stolen from you.

Join a real Save the Children campaign.

The State of My Union

“….of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants.”
--Alexander Hamilton, No. 1 General Introduction, The Federalist Papers

The helicopters are buzzing around my house and neighborhood again this morning. It is now a more constant and common sound, one that I find I do not like and cannot get used to.

It sounds like the beginning of some paranoid Orwellian post-apocalyptic sci-fi inside look at possible paranoid schizophrenia while struggling against the tyranny that has always existed at various points throughout the course of human history --type of novel. (I'd like to buy some comma's please, Pat)

But it’s not from any novel or movie. It is an increasing and encroaching reality.

No, I do not think I’m being followed and yes, police and television helicoptors are nothing new. It is their constant droning for half an hour out of every two as they constantly gaze and sweep my area that weighs heavy on me, reminding me with increasing frequency that I could “legally” be surveilledghostedrenditioned, and for the most ambiguous and ill-founded of reasons. Reasons that have no accountability and that I am no longer allowed to be aware of. We The People, “officially” reduced to little more than bit players in an elitist ant-farm spectator sport.

I’m reasonably sure that anyone reading posts here within the last month has already picked up on the fact that my knowledge and acceptance of what is truth has been changing drastically, and I have been struggling in many ways to come to terms with it.

To look directly upon the approaching tyranny and force myself to see it for the insidious thing that it is, and to confront the innermost part of myself that doesn’t want to believe it has been extremely unpleasant. Devastating, if I may use the word, is the freezing water realization that if we seek to preserve our national soul then we as citizens cannot stand idly by while pretending the horrors committed in our name and in the name of our noblest concepts don’t exist or aren’t as awful as all that. The fix has truly been in for a while now. Devastating is the fact that the people of the world, who used to look at us in large part with admiration or envy, now pity our apathy, our laziness, and our general national stupidity. Most Of Our Children Are Going To Be Left Behind is our new unspoken and unacknowledged legislation. The fact that our broken government or complicit, spineless mainstream media does not show us the truth as it is, and the fact that we have collectively used this as an excuse to believe blatant lies in trade for our next quick shot of gratification rends me to my core every time I consider it.

**********
I did not accomplish anything heroic during my term of service in the U.S. Air Force. It’s a fact that always disappointed me just a bit when I thought about it, as I was always enamored to a certain extent by the likes of Audie Murphy, Sgt. York, and other military heroes. I came to accept the fact that, more than likely, I was never going to be thrust into any Medal of Honor situations save those brought to me by the programming sweatshop leaders at Electronic Arts, and that all-in-all this was a good thing, a blessing. In spite of essentially hating the monster bureaucracy that was government, there was great comfort in the fact that I was still a tangible part of something larger and nobler than myself. On my second deployment to Saudi Arabia, when Saddam decided to lob a few scuds in our direction, I could begin to relate (even if it was in the most miniscule way) to the ones who went before me, who suffered, died, and gave up what was most precious so that I could have it. Crouched in a bunker, in a ridiculously unweildy chemical warfare suit, enduring the miserable torture of a gas mask in 120 degree weather, waiting, you think on these things. Even though you know that scuds are notoriously inaccurate and will likely miss you by twenty miles, you wonder, and you think on these things. While extents and durations may differ in each case, I believe that you would have extreme difficulty finding many military members who haven’t done the same. For goddamn sure, every one of your children, our people, on the other side of the world have thought on these things.

I’m telling you so you will know where I come from.

***********

When I was in the sixth grade, Mrs. Campbell taught our Government/History class. There was a particular issue being discussed (I wish I could remember exactly what it was, but alas, I cannot), and many of us in the class began running away with said issue, shooting ideas around and beginning to explore possible solutions to an ongoing societal problem as only “almost teenagers” who are naively 11 years-old can. While everyone excitedly carried on, I stopped because I noticed that this was the point where my teacher would usually quiet everyone down and we would continue our ride on the education train down curriculum track. However this time she just sat there, with a wry smile on her face and her head shaking back and forth a bit. When things finally died down and she spoke it was in a smaller tone, and our class unintentionally became near-death quiet in our efforts to listen. (Perhaps if she had been a more reflective personality type, she would have realized that in her softer tone there was power to shut us up where other efforts had failed, but that is neither here nor there I suppose) She said, “The thing you guys are so excited about is called idealism. It’s great when you’re 11 or 12, but you’ll realize when you get older that none of these things will ever happen. None of these ideas will ever really work.” That is a direct quote that I will not forget it as long as I live. It ran contrary to everything I had been taught up to that point. I knew about Dr. King, I knew about Ghandi, I knew about our founders, all forward thinkers who gave much and achieved more in pursuit of man’s unalienable right to Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness. The concepts we stand on are a noble product of honest and critical thought. During 17 years in the confines of (or protected by, depending on your viewpoint) my super-Baptist household, I doubted much and questioned even more throughout my formal and informal education. Basic truths that are common through all major religions were increasingly ignored in favor of the competing dogmas of the moment. But I never doubted the fundamental ideas or documents of our country on which we based all. I knew.

I’m telling you so you will know where I come from.

**********

Turn off your Consumer Training Device, if only for a little while. Read what our founders wrote. There is a great deal of wisdom and truth there, history validates it and makes every effort to remind us if we will only take the time to look. The telescreen talks very little about things which will truly benefit a person, taking us from shallow human interest spectacle to empty and staged political debacle and back again, all in a wonderfully convenient 5-7 minute formatted package before it’s time for the Product Hymns once again. .

Oh no! The issue is Black and White! Look we’ve added Mexicans! All new! It is not.

Oh no! The issue is Christian and Muslim! Wait, Christians and Extremists! It is not.

Oh no! The issue is Red and Blue, Asses and Pachyderms! It is not.

Oh no! The issue is Gay usurping Straight! Child Predators! Oops, that's us, never mind!

Jedipublican's wave their hands.....(these are not the Congressmen you're looking for...)

The issue is Liberty vs. Tyranny. Television only speaks of these things after they have been twisted; to prompt in us the hideous DoubleThink perversion that is now reality. The latter does not spread the former. Stay the course. We’re not staying the course, we’ve never been stay the course. We’re not leaving for a while. We only need 100 billion and one year to defeat all evil, I mean find WMDs, I mean spread democracy. Don’t they know we’re “liberating” them?. Hey, buddy can I get another couple of trillion? How dare you say it is over oil! If you don’t give us the money to stay, your gas prices could go up! By the way, it’s doubtful you’re going to get this back.

Thinking quietly and privately on these things, there is no doubt that fear reaches out to squeeze the heart and keep us fixated. We must face that fear if our soul as a nation is to expand and heal. Only when we summon the courage to look into that expanse will we pay attention to where we come from, where we would like to be, and how we will get there. American people must be able to honestly admit that we will never find that destination wielding, or capitulating to, a tyrannical gun. Papers, please.

Take the time to look. Take the time to consider

Free.Your. Mind.

The more things change......

So, the Dems have control of both houses. Yippee, right? After watching three solid days of giddy post-election hype, it’s sadly obvious that the shell game in New Limited America continues. Election night was exciting for about three minutes, with several things quickly jumping to the forefront of my mind amidst the euphoric post-election haze that surrounded Democrats.

As a country, with this new power shift, we have been given a chance to take a breath, avert our current course straight into tyrannical police state hell, and regain the very fundamentals that used to give some legitimacy to the claim that America was indeed the greatest country in the world. In these few post-election days, it seems that the dangers lurking on our collective doorstep may have increased instead of swinging the other direction.

Let’s start at the top. What happened to the outcry concerning the piss-poor electronic voting machines and process in general? The Dems won control so that must mean everything is okay? Nothing has changed in the last 72 hours. Electronic voting is still outrageously easy to manipulate, with vote counts that cannot be authenticated. There is also the still unaddressed issue of the concerted efforts to, as the smarmy closet dweller Mehlman put it, “have poll workers on hand to challenge voter eligibility” which is nothing more than a direct attack on the citizenry of this country. None of these things have changed or come anywhere close to being adequately addressed, and yet what little outcry there was before the election is quickly fading away with this recent win. Democrats winning has NOT made everything okay. While there is a certain amount of hope resting with some seemingly more level-headed and thoughtful freshman Dems coming into Congress, the fact remains that they are freshman, which is going to make it much more difficult for them to accomplish anything of note, especially in the context of the many elephants currently crowding our political sitting room.

I’m still holding on to the vain hope that someone other than the face lifted Beelzebub that is Pelosi will be chosen as Speaker. Pelosi has no interest in correcting the many wrongs of the past six years. She and other senior Dems have little interest in getting us out of Iraq. The only thing they are seemingly concerned about is the placement of the troops, not whether they should be there in the first place fighting this nebulous “War on Terror.” When she stated on 60 minutes that impeachment was off the table, I paid it little mind, because I was still encouraged by the likes of John Conyers and his memo from last December, The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution and Coverups in the Iraq War. It seemed at the time that in spite of Pelosi we would see some progress on this and other important issues.

However, hope has received a couple of swift kicks to the groin during these last days. Howard Dean as a guest on The Daily Show again parroted the phrase “impeachment is off the table.” What?! And now John Conyers, joining the parrot chorus saying impeachment is off the table. Yes, you read that right, the same guy who helped put together a 350-page document laying out grounds for impeachment, a man set to become head of the Judiciary Committee, is backing away from it with the usual rhetoric about how the American people don’t need partisan divisiveness, we need unity, blah blah fucking blah. Read the document. You won't be very many pages into it before you find yourself wondering how "off the table" can possibly be uttered with a straight face by someone claiming character or integrity. Sadly for us, in a move that should deepen our national shame, the Germans are now trying to do the job we should have done some time ago. Contrasted with events of 60 years ago, the irony is truly staggering.

All of this feel good unity bullshit is what helped us into this mess in the first place. By degrees, the masses have been conditioned to see conflict as a bad thing, something to be avoided (unless, of course, said conflict involves bombing brown people) when the truth of the matter is that conflict is the only thing that will lead us out of this shameful mess. It is a shameful lack of intestinal fortitude and character on the part of senior democratic leadership. While we increasingly hear the words “Impeachment is off the table” no one takes the time to wonder, let alone ask the important and obvious question of WHY. WHY is it off the table? WHY is using an intern of legal consenting age as a humidor and generally lacking in monogamistic moral fiber an impeachable offense, but illegal secret prisons and torture, illegal wars against nations abroad in an effort to funnel the wealth of their natural resources into the pockets of a few, and waging an illegal and unconscionable war on your own citizenry are not high crimes?

The WHY of it all is very simple. Any serious investigations truly intent on cutting out this cancer will not just bring out Republican skeletons; it will bring out many Democratic ones, as well. After all, many of these Democrats blindly supported the illegal invasion of Iraq, Patriot Acts I and II, Military Commissions Act, John Warner’s Defense Authorization Act, and more, in lock step with power mad NeoCons and their continual encouragement of ill-founded nationalistic fervor. The only concern on the minds of senior members of either party is the presidential election of 2008, and how they will ascend to greater levels of power and prestige. Again, the media is there to emcee the whole production. Ooooh, we heard John McCain is going to put together a presidential exploratory committee! [insert name of random puppet “expert”] What do you think Hillary is going to do now?

The real issues are fast fading into the background. I have heard no less than five times today on different channels, from Democrat and Republican alike while talking incessantly about the 2008 elections, that a candidates success will be determined by what this war looks like in two years time. There is no mention of its end because there are no real plans for it. The shell game continues. War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery.

Has anyone even heard the word “repeal” uttered? What kind of backroom deals have Pelosi and the others made? Why are we seeing another push to throw open our borders completely? Legislation that Bush’s republican controlled Congress wouldn’t even pass is at the front of the line once again, in spite of data showing that Iraq and rampant corruption are the real issues of concern to a majority of the voters. Do a bit of googling on the North American Union and the NAFTA superhighway and then tell me I’m wrong.

Congratulations, Democrats. You have been successfully distracted from the real issues in the very same way that the sheeple contingent of the religious right is continually distracted by the wholly non-issue that is gay marriage.

……..the more they stay the same.