A Lie For Our Times

“…Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

DHS has redefined the term Terrorist. . . to include us all

According to the Department of Homeland Security any act of dissent against the US government either physically or written is now considered an act of terrorism. I am, right now, by simply writing this post, am committing an act of terrorism against the US government.

Long before Homeland Security ever came into existence, voicing our displeasure against the government, or putting it into writing was considered free speech protected under the Bill of Rights. Clearly Secretary Janet Napolitano, is not a fan of James Madison, who is considered to be the ‘Father of the Constitution’ and the ‘Father of the Bill of Rights’.

Since so many of you have lost the true value of what Americans should hold most dear, let me remind you of the rights that the Bill of Rights grants every one of us:

• freedom of speech,
• a free press,
• free assembly,
• free association,
• the right to keep and bear arms.

Janet Napolitano is using the contrived terror threat as justification for the announcement that your every activity is being sent to federal fusion centers, those same fusion centers have been busy defining peaceful assembly, non-violent protest and criticism of the government as domestic terrorism. According to the government’s own definition of what constitutes terrorist activity – you are a terrorist.

Homeland Security is building a gargantuan database of every website you visit, every email you send and every phone conversation you have in order to genuinely hunt down terrorists. They are doing this without our permission, they are doing this because they think they are protecting us.

The driving force behind DHS desire to define domestic terrorism is to chill political dissent and, even more sinister, to justify their funding. Their zeal in pursuing this ridiculous endeavor is labeling some very American behaviors as terrorism. Behaviors such as flying American flags, wearing Levi jeans, being nice, looking “normal” and going scuba diving have all been redefined as signs of domestic terror.

They are taking a page out of George Orwell’s book1984 by encouraging Americans to “report suspicious activity” that includes such behavior. They figure that by making people afraid to exercise their constitutional rights then the only people who do exercise their rights must be terrorists.

Did you know that law enforcement across the country are being told that informed Americans who know their rights are dangerous? Check this out for the details.

Here are just a few ‘potential signs of terrorism’:

• Displaying bumper stickers and other paraphernalia associated with the Constitutional, Campaign for Liberty, and Libertarian parties
• Supporting Congressman Ron Paul
• Supporting former presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin
• Supporting former Congressman Bob Barr
• Opposing the implementation of a North American Union
• Owning gold bullion
• Displaying historical U.S. flags
• Opposing abortion
• Talking about the documentary Zeitgeist

How ridiculous is this list? This list is much longer and is populated with so many stupid entries that it doesn’t even warrant serious consideration.

Under the new definition of what constitutes a terrorist your neighbor will be acting perfectly reasonably when they inform on you to the authorities because you rented a hotel room, used a large amount of cash, or possess a significant amount of alcohol.

This stuff has nothing to do with the defining of a domestic terrorist. It has everything to do discouraging Americans from engaging in any kind of dissent. And this is a very real and clear danger to our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and assembly.

To those of you out there who believe everything this government tells you concerning the definition of a domestic terrorist and say things like ‘If you don’t do anything wrong you don’t have anything to worry about’, I want to slap some sense into you. Under the paranoid and distrustful guidance of Homeland Security, America has become a decrepit and decaying banana republic where the government tells its people to spy on each other, where everyone is a potential terrorist and will come under suspicion if they don’t rigidly conform and ensure that their behavior displays the maximum amount of fealty and subservience to the state.

Little by little citizens are surrendering their liberty to the state. Until one day it seems perfectly reasonable for us to be herded off to internment camps, for our own protection naturally. The terrorists are coming. We'll be safe under the watchful eyes of Homeland Security.

Beware ladies and gentlemen, we are all now the enemy.

Judge Napolitano on Tactical Tower in Walmart parking lot

This video was taken in Hickory, North Carolina, population 40,000. It is video of what is called a Tactical Tower, purchased by the Hickory Police Department and placed in a Walmart parking lot.

Why on earth would a small town, or any American town, need a tactical tower?

Everyone needs to see this. The thought process that would allow a police department to think they need something like this can only come out of a deep distrust of the American people.

This kind of thinking is sweeping across American city police departments and we the American people are not going to fair well from the police acting on it.

I am not an alarmist by any stretch of the imagination, but seeing this is sort of thing become a reality in a small rural town is a far cry from just hearing rumors of the coming police state.

Small town America is no place for this thinking.

People, this is chilling. This is scary stuff.

For those of you non-military types who don’t understand what tactical refers to, the definition of tactical equipment is, as a broad rule, classed as vital equipment that helps defend, protect and keep safe law enforcement officers or military personnel in ordinary and extraordinary situations.

This is in a Walmart parking lot!! Really?

This is an indication of how the American public is being thought of. We are now the enemy.

Where has the American revolutionary spirit gone?

All American citizens are losing our freedoms while being seduced by fake reality shows and the latest electronic gadgets. While we sit in front of our televisions, blissfully lulled into a false sense of security, our federal government is planning its next tyrannical power grab. Where are our priorities?

High school graduation for me came in late 1960’s while society was undergoing some major attitude changes. With great curiosity and delight I witnessed and was swept up in the changes taking place in music, art, fashion, politics, technology, and lifestyle. People’s voices were beginning to be raised demanding an end to the unfair treatment of black citizens, an end to the war in Vietnam, and to demand full equality for women.

I became especially interested in the war protests, the marches, and the gathering numbers of counter-culture revolutionaries determined to break the bonds of their ‘oppressor masters’. Never mind that my sheltered Mid-West upbringing cushioned me from the sting of oppression, I felt a part of the problem if I was not going to be part of the solution. The energy emanating from the force of these protesters convictions and their sheer numbers, was almost palpable. They were on the front line in the battle against no less a daunting and deeply entrenched foe than the military-industrial complex, and everyone under the age of 25 were at once full-fledged brothers-in-arms and were expected to do their part in bringing down this unrepentant beast.

I was proud to be a part of a generation that was instrumental in forcing this nation to face its moral obligations towards its citizens, and in reminding our public officials that they served at our pleasure. This major shift towards taking more responsibility for each others welfare shook the very fabric of society.

The fire, that internal spark, that was necessary to drive an entire generation to stand up against the power elite has cooled in this generation. It has been dying for some time now and as a result members of our federal government, emboldened by our inattention, are being seduced by the corruptible nature of absolute power.

Our generation fought hard, some died, to get them to listen. Now, it is up to this current generation to recapture their attention and remind them that they serve us, not the other way around.

In 2006, campus police tasered an unarmed UCLA student while he worked at the computer lab. They did this because he did not show them his student ID card. While these ‘guardians of our safety’ crushed this man’s rights for failing to show ‘proper respect’, the entire library full of college students stood around and simply watched. Oh, someone happily took video of it and immediately put it on YouTube so they could brag about being there. If this scenario had played out in the 1960s, given that violent clashes with police took place every weekend over the Vietnam War, I think it is safe to assume these cops would have been pissing their pants.

Another bit of proof that the police do not fear the public or respect our rights: an unarmed man, on his stomach, who was restrained, with his hands behind him was shot execution-style by a police officer, in front of witnesses. Remember this? His name was Oscar Grant and the murder took place at a train station in Oakland. Look it up and try to muster some outrage that this police officer so callously devalued this man’s life. Will you only get pissed off if this happened to you or a friend? Once again, people standing around who witnessed this tragedy videotaped it with their cell phones, but did nothing. Not a single fellow officer raised their gun at the cop who just murdered a person who was in custody. Instead, the cops banded together and tried to collaborate and create a story that would justify the murder.

Really? When your chance came to make a stand, you could do nothing but video it and stay out of the way? God forbid anyone would actually put themselves out there. You will fight tooth-and-nail for a $199 flat screen TV on Black Friday, beating your fellow citizens senseless for something you don’t even need, but when it comes time to protecting your civil liberties you won’t even open your mouth to voice some opposition. And I thought the priorities of the government were screwed up.

How many more of these incidents are we going to witness, do nothing but walk away as we shake our heads and go home and talk on the Internet about what we witnessed, but ultimately did nothing about?

The generation before this one would have rushed the officers in both of these events, rendered them powerless, and let the police know that they won’t stand for abuses of power, excessive force, and murder of citizens.

Why is there no compassion for a stranger who is murdered by those sworn to protect us? We are all Americans. This government has already placed themselves squarely against us, as evidenced by every supposed non-partisan investigation into police aggression being ruled as ‘justified’.

What is it going to take to get people fired up?

This unchecked grab for power, especially under the GW Bush administration, has translated into a net loss of our personal privacy and individual rights to the extent that our standard of living has plummeted and we can no longer afford to live a basic middle-class life. To add further injury to our situation, when the economy tanked in 2008 our financial institutions were the first in line to be bailed out and none of that bailout money has ‘trickled down’ to the very people who foot the bill. We are so far in debt that our American Dream is to make next month’s payments.

The steady erosion of civil liberties, the blatant violations of the Bill of Rights, the complete disregard for the limits put in place by the US Constitution, are all taking place right under our noses. All the while, our military and police forces run around exerting their will, ultimately accountable to no one.

Many of these very issues are what triggered the revolution of the 1960’s. Is there any hope that the youth of today will stand up to our abusive police force, our corrupt and incompetent politicians? It is doubtful.

When did everyone forget that we invaded Iraq and killed civilians under false pretenses? There never were any so-called “WMDs” to justify going in there. Yet we did, and our military killed their citizens, and we completely destroyed a sovereign country. Why haven’t the perpetrators of these crimes been brought to bear for their actions? Where is the justifiable fury over these blatant and atrocious acts against humanity? Right, there were a few token permitted protests following a marching path they got approval for from the city. And like good little citizens, this generation stayed within the lines, went back to their jobs, back to their televisions, back to their toys and patted themselves on the back for ‘taking a stand’. Pathetic.

Let’s look again at the actions of the previous generation. How about the millions of people that marched in the Vietnam Moratorium? Millions of people all over the US stopped going to work and took a real stand. Protests and marches were held in every city, all over the entire country, attended by everyone from student activists, to the 9-5 corporate ladder climber. In Washington DC alone 500,000 showed up without a permit, didn’t follow the designated protest route, and surrounded the capital. They had the government trembling, as they knew they could no longer contain the will of the people. Another example of people who got together, fought for what they wanted, and despite violent and sometime deadly opposition from the government, they succeeded.

Do you all fear that success cannot be repeated? Do you not think marching today on the capitol would lead to anything worthwhile? The power elite are able to get away with crapping on us because we let them. The old saying ‘You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything’ is proving true right now. They will continue to walk all over us if we don’t show them we are tired of it.

The hand of our government is reaching too far. It is up to us to slap it back and force them to remember that the power lies with the people and that they rule by the consent of the governed, not the other way around.

Our liberties are being violated through tyrannical and illegal maneuvers signed into law by our federal government or simply carried out in secret behind our backs. Remember the illegal wire tapping made possible by the cooperation of telecoms?

A more current example of the rape of our civil liberties is taking place at our nations airports in the form of ‘enhanced pat-downs’. Over our objections to full-body scanning the TSA offered an Opt-Out-Day which was their way of heading off an ugly revolt that would have crippled a major industry. This so called “revolt” is just another example of how pathetic the American people have become with regard to confronting authority. But, that ‘victory’ was only temporary. Janet Napolitano has made it clear that the groping and scanning is slated for the American streets. Naturally, it will start at Federal buildings and major public events, and then slowly but surely find its way onto buses, trains, at highway checkpoints, etc.  It seems that these checkpoints have actually already begun. Will this finally be enough to show the American people how threatened our freedoms are?

It’s true that life has become hard for all of us who don’t have daddy’s trust funds or wealthy connections and it is not going to get easier, because the rich are not going to share anything. We are all too eager to crawl into our comfy electronic-gadget caves with our blinders on so we don’t have to deal with how bad off we really are. This type of escapism is not the answer to improve our condition.

Now is the time to take a stand. Our government is hoping we don’t. They are strengthening their positions because they think they are more important than us. Let’s show them they are wrong.

Anti-War Activists Are Not Terrorists

The FBI on Tuesday added four more names to the list of antiwar activists subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury as part of an investigation into whether members of the peace movement provided "material support" for terrorism.

In all, 23 people have been subpoenaed since September 24, when the FBI raided the offices and homes of prominent activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. None has been charged with a crime. Several have also refused to testify in what they say is a witch hunt aimed more at intimidating those who dare speak out against U.S. foreign policy than uncovering actual ties to terrorists.

Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling this past June, the definition of "material support" for terrorism is now so broad as to include any sort of "advice" to a State Department-designated terrorist group, even if that advice is "stop engaging in terrorism and embrace nonviolence." Former President Jimmy Carter and groups such as the ACLU and Human Rights Watch have spoken out against the ruling.

This harassment of individuals exercising their right to speak out is illegal and immoral.

If the FBI would acknowledge what is granted every American citizen as a legal right they would see that their actions have propelled them across the line from defenders of American civil liberties to become enemies of a free state. In effect, they themselves have become terrorists.

Dreamin’

Does Our Leadership Know What is in the Constitution?

Ever stop to consider what our leaders swear to when they are sworn into office? I have and I have questions, concerns really.

Here, in part, is the oath of office that each congressman takes: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same … ."

My question is: If our leadership takes an oath to uphold and defend, and bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution, at the minimum, shouldn't they know what they are supposed to uphold, defend and be faithful to?

Congressmen, judges, the president and all other government officials take this oath. On an almost daily basis, we hear of one or more of them misquote or otherwise misuse the Constitutions powers, the Bill of Rights’ granted freedoms, and/or the well-documented intentions of very founding fathers.

If this misuse and abuse were merely ignorance of our Constitution, there'd at least be some hope because ignorance is curable through education. But, these people in Washington see themselves as our betters and rulers. They consistently show their contempt for the limits that our Constitution places on the federal government envisioned by James Madison, the father of our Constitution, who explained in the Federalist Paper 45:

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. … The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives and liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State."

The way I see it, anyone who wants to represent the American people in a position of leadership should have more than a basic understanding of our Constitution. Immigrants are required to know this stuff before they can be sworn in as American citizens. Why aren’t our leaders required to know it as well?

Guaranteed First Amendment Rights

Free exercise of religion,

Freedom of speech,

Freedom of the press,

The right to peaceable assembly,

The right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Let’s take advantage of them. . .

before they are taken away

“The best of my ability. . .”

Any time I hear a politician say “I have to lead first by example…” I quickly prepare myself for the smelly load that is heading down the chute. The latest load of feces oozing down that chute comes from Mitch McConnell when speaking about spending earmarks.

A senator, when asked to defend his use of earmarks after admitting they are outrageous, says he doesn’t have to.

These guys have become so emboldened by the public’s lack of willingness to do anything about their actions that they can actually speak publicly about how earmark spending is an outrage and then walk into chambers and load up any available bill with millions in earmarks.

They have become quite proficient in the use of political double-speak in order to avoid answering embarrassing questions. This is all the proof necessary to show how little respect politicians have for the voting public.

That same senator when repeatedly asked by another reporter if he was wrong for asking for millions in earmarks states that he has tried to answer to the best of his ability.

The way I see it, if truth is not a part of the ‘best of his ability’ then he should not be an elected representative.

Corporate civil rights struggle

As reported in the Huffington Post, the Supreme Court is considering a case on a corporation’s right to privacy to prevent the government from making public information about the corporation. The company in question, AT&T, wants to prevent the FCC from releasing information it gathered on the company while investigating it’s participation in a Federal program that helps schools and libraries get internet access.

The administration wants the high court to rule that corporations may not claim a personal privacy exception contained in the federal Freedom of Information Act. The exception may be used only by individuals, the administration said in a brief signed by Elena Kagan, the newest justice who served in the Justice Department until last month.

For the record, Justice Kagan will not take part in the case.But here’s what I’m wondering.  Corporations are crying for a right to privacy, but they don’t respect their customers’ privacy as reported by Homeland Stupidity in 2006.

On January 31, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit against AT&T alleging that the company cooperated with the NSA in violation of law and spied on the communications of innocent Americans.

This week, Mark Klein, a retired AT&T technician, submitted an affidavit in the case, stating that he was involved in the installation of the surveillance and data mining equipment that NSA used to implement the terrorist surveillance program that President George W. Bush authorized by secret executive order in October 2001.

 

Seems they champion personal privacy ONLY when it benefits them.

Thomas Jefferson on Banking

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property – until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

A Bit of Perspective

Neo-Nazi couple learn they are Jewish

How odd would it be to grow up convinced that another person is of lesser value then you based on their ethnicity only to learn you are of the same ethnicity? Can your beliefs suddenly change so drastically?

This is exactly what happened to two Polish neo-Nazis who were childhood sweethearts and later became skinheads. They discovered their shocking family secret, that they are both Jewish, a few years ago after going through records at the Warsaw’s Jewish Historical Institute. Both their families had escaped Nazi Germany and hid their true identities in order to escape persecution.

Before they learned of their true roots, they both practiced the belief “that Jews were the biggest plague and the worst evil of this world".

They've now embraced their Jewish identity and are active in their local orthodox synagogue.

When I read this story I was struck with the obvious very deep lessons to be learned here. Not the least of which is that all people want basically the same thing, we just have differing ideas on how to get it. And who is to say that one idea can be judged as better ot more value than another?

Before these two ex-skinheads learned they were Jewish they would have never stepped into a synagogue and now they worship in one. The basic concepts of their belief system can not have drastically changed, they just focus them in a different direction within a different frame f reference. They are still the same people.

Plus, we can see how we are shaped by ideas and stereotypes. Now that they have learned they are Jewish, surely, they no longer believe “that Jews were the biggest plague and the worst evil of this world".

CNN did a documentary about Poles rediscovering their Jewish roots generations after their ancestors hid their religious identities to escape persecution during World War II. You can read more about it and watch excerpts from the documentary on CNN.

America Got Dick Roll'd

Cheney will also shoot you in the face.

Judge in Virginia Strikes Down Federal Health Care Law

As if any thinking intelligent person thought this bill was going to viewed any differently, a federal judge rejected a key provision of the Obama administration's health care law as unconstitutional Monday, ruling the government cannot require people to buy insurance.

This is exactly what should have been on the minds of every politician working on this bill. How can any politician possibly think they can force the American public to pay for something they don’t want? Well, I’ll tell you what allowed them to think this was going to pass. Arrogance.

Politicians have become so entrenched in the wasteful process of writing new legislation, solely for the purpose of justifying their positions, that even though they knew this law was not going to fly they would rather waste taxpayer money in writing this legislation, debating it, and then voting on it.

Falling From High Horses and Journalism As It Should Be

Two things that came about because of WikiLeaks. Journalism and diplomacy have both been given higher standards. What the American public expects from each is slightly different but very much the same thing.

We expect transparency from our public leaders. We expect not to be lied to. We expect journalists to not pander to special interests and to present all of the truth about everything that affects every aspect of our lives.

Our political leaders have been given the opportunity once again to listen to what the voters think about a very important issue. We want them to end their policy of keeping things hidden from public view.

Far too many politicians believe they are the wizard behind the curtain and that we should pay them no mind. They put themselves above the public and consider themselves too important to be replaced. They are neither.

What WikiLeaks unveiled about U.S. diplomats and foreign leaders is something that U.S. citizens have known for ages. It is refreshing to see that people in these positions make mistakes just as the rest of us do. However, the people in these positions remain indignant that this simple truth has been revealed about themselves. My advice to these people is to get over yourselves. So you have been embarrassed by the same human traits the rest of us suffer. Correct your blunders and get on with doing the job your are tasked with doing.

Another bit of advice, and trust me I feel it is ridiculous that this even needs to be said to adults, keeping secrets from the American public only makes you look worse for having kept the secret in the first place.

You politicians must think we view you as infallible. Well, you are sadly mistaken. Just as mistaken are you if you believe we think you are above the law. Truth be told, we don’t believe that you are ‘privileged’. We do believe that if and when you are caught committing a crime and you are then determined to be guilty of that crime you should not get to keep your salaries and your pensions. We don’t get to keep ours, why on earth should you?

Concerning your outrage over WikiLeaks, who do you people think you are fooling? The American people see who these leaks have hurt. We would never condone the leaking of secrets that brought death and destruction to anyone. Nor would we accept the malicious telling of secrets that would bring down legitimate governments.

WikiLeaks did neither of these things and yet the federal government views him as a traitor of the highest degree. Again, I say to our political leaders, get over your embarrassment and get on with life. Hopefully, you can do a better job with the knowledge that we know you all make mistakes, just like us.

Here’s something for all of you to think about, the Society for Professional Journalists, in regards WikiLeaks, after addressing issues such as ‘is this journalism, is it responsible and have news organizations responded ethically’ has deemed that the action of WikiLeaks did fall within the ethical guidelines of good solid journalism. In fact it is my guess that a vast majority of journalists are crying in their afternoon mixed drinks that they themselves did not uncover those secrets.

Journalism, needs to be informative. Journalism needs to investigate issues and report on them ot just report on them. Journalism should confront every issue with the sole determination of presenting all of the facts. Allow the public to determine what is important and what is not. We do not need or want to be pampered or protected from the truth. If anyone tries to prevent the truth from being reported then that person needs to be put out in front of the public eye so we can deal with them.

WikiLeaks has shown us finally what journalism can be. Responsible. Hard-hitting. Truthful.

The Next Step in Losing Our Freedoms

From Digital Journal comes a dark and dire warning that freedom loving Americans cannot afford to ignore.

The very freedoms that have been granted by our Bill of Rights are slowly slipping away from us. We will not lose our freedoms in one fell swoop at the passage of a law. We will not relinquish democracy at the end of a gun barrel. Our freedoms will only disappear if we freely give them away.

Currently, our own Homeland Security, and its Machiavellian policies, under the guise of protecting us against terrorism, is the agent of the demise of our freedoms and we are blissfully going along with it. The heavy-handed treatment by the Transportation Security Administration towards law-abiding citizens is in deference to political correctness. We have given up our dignity for fear of offending an ethnic group who has overwhelmingly been behind every terrorist threat against America.

So far, the invasive body scans and pat-downs only take place at U.S. airports, but rest assured, we will soon suffer this indignity at seaports, train and bus stations, and border crossings, and before you know it road blocks are going to be set up outside major cities.

Janet Napolitano has announced a despicable program by which U.S. citizens will be asked to spy on one another and rat them out to law enforcement. The act of having Americans turn on each other is another in a series of steps to allow an out of control government to crack down on our freedoms.

We are already painfully aware of how the arrogance of our political leadership has demonstrated their willingness to override what the public wants beginning with George W. Bush’s illegal declaration of war against a sovereign nation. Even though information backing his decision was found to be a fabrication we still send our fighting men and women into harms way. We have but to follow the money trail to see why this illegal war continues.

For the first time in America’s history, our leadership has denigrated itself by allowing the use of and participating in the barbaric act of torture. And still those individuals responsible have not been punished nor have any charges been brought against them. What more proof do we need that the phrase ‘human rights’ is nothing more than an empty banner to be brought out and dusted off whenever it suits us?

When a nation can so callously override civil rights and freedoms by pretending to ‘protect’ us, when a nation can so blatantly lie to the voting public without fear of punishment, that nation is on its way down the slippery slope of abandoning democracy.

The sad truth is that this new program will find eager ‘citizens’ who will gladly turn on their fellow man out of a misguided sense of patriotism. Thinking they know what’s best for this country by denying freedoms to another person is an abomination of our rights and it allows law enforcement to begin accusing citizens of crimes they may not have committed.

Once this nation begins turning on itself the descent into paranoia will lead big brother to decide that, for the good of the country, martial law needs to be imposed, curfews implemented, and citizens rounded up and placed in detention camps for an indefinite period. This has already been done during the last two presidential elections.

It is now only a matter of time before we are living under dictatorial rule, something that the Founding Fathers would have found as repulsive as it is oppressive.

Historical markers with a social bite

Don Waisanen at Thick Culture highlighted Norm Magnusson’s I-75 project. The project involves installing historical markers with a primarily political instead of historical message. Some examples:














About the project, Magnusson writes:

…unlike most artworks on social or political themes, these markers don’t merely speak to the small group of viewers that seek out such work in galleries and museums; instead, they gently insert themselves into the public realm. ”Are they real?” is a question viewers frequently ask, meaning “are they state-sponsored?” I love this confusion and hope to slip a message in while people are mulling it over.
These markers are just the kind of public art I really enjoy: gently assertive and non-confrontational, firmly thought-provoking and pretty to look at and just a little bit subversive.

Internet Access or Food and Shelter?

Many of you may not be aware of yet another serious threat to our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech. This time the threat concerns access to the internet. Large telecoms, through their license as Internet Service Providers, and their forever insatiable 'need' to make more money, are planning on creating a tiered internet access system much the way they currently use for cable television.

A tiered charging system may work fine for access to entertainment, but access to information, news, and forums for the exchange of opinions should not be hindered in any way, let alone charged for. Charging a higher fee for internet access in effect dictates how much access you have to the flow of news and information. This restriction will result in slowing down the very growth of the internet and is tantamount to controlling the free flow of ideas and opinions which is one of the tenets of Fascism.

If only a few can afford access to news and information then those few will be the ones who determine what passes for news and information. A free society cannot survive under this type of control. An open internet is a form of checks and balances to what politicians as well as corporations are allowed to say and do publicly. Can you imagine a world without unbiased news sources? This is what tiered pricing will lead to.

As we are forced to pay more for the amount of data we are accessing and posting, i.e., opinions, we will most likely begin not expressing those opinions thereby narrowing the rich, diverse free flow exchange of ideas that has allowed the internet to grow at such an exponential rate.

Internet access should be viewed much like our system of public libraries: free access to all. Information in a society as large as ours demands that all individuals be given access to the latest news and views in order to keep us all informed concerning what our political leaders are up to.

Write your congressperson and demand that the internet be unfettered by greedy corporations. Explain that if their plans are allowed to go forward the free flow of information and creativity will dry up and the very foundation of our great nation will suffer bringing us ever closer to Fascism. We, the general public realize that their pursuit of more money is at the heart of the destruction of the United States of America. We simply must pull together and allow everyone the right to voice opinions and keep up to date on world and national events, without having to choose between spending our after tax dollars on data or food and shelter.

Net Neutrality – Another Tool for Republicans Lies

Interesting insight into how Republicans see reality. A Republican spokesperson has come out against the net neutrality proposal claiming that the FCC decision is insulting and nothing more than a government takeover because it restricts unfair business practices that deprive consumers and providers equal and unfettered access to the Internet.

FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski’s recently released draft proposal on net neutrality states the proposal is intended to keep the Internet free of control and manipulation by any public or private group. In short, it will put regulations in place to protect consumers and innovators so the Internet remains a free and open means of communication. Genachowski says that, “The proposed framework will bar unreasonable discrimination of lawful Internet traffic.”

Here we have the GOP claiming the consumer will lose if the proposal passes and the FCC chairman saying it’s passage is in the best interest of the consumer.

These guys are all, regardless of party affiliation, suppose to be looking out for the best interest of all consumers so how can these two opposing views both be accurate?

Simply put, the draft proposes that consumers and innovators have a right to send and receive lawful Internet traffic, and it prohibits blocking of connections, content or devices by any public or private entity. And that no central authority should have the right to pick which ideas or companies win or lose on the Internet, and it should be the role of the marketplace and free market to dictate consumer’s and innovators choices.

To me this sounds like a full on protection of internet access for all consumers.

Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) sees it differently. She claims this proposal is insulting and claims that net neutrality is nothing more than government takeover of the Internet.

Excuse me Ms. Blackburn of Tennessee, but if my access to the internet will be protected from control by any group, please explain to me how this is insulting? Please lay out your views on how this proposal is a government takeover of the internet.

Also, how is it in your warped sense of reality that the Federal Communications Commission has no right to regulate communications?

Your claim that “tepid support of the FCC proposal by Internet Service Providers is in fact proof that no one wants Obama to control the Internet”, is flawed by simple common sense. Allow me to enlighten you madame R-TN, Internet Service Providers make money off of their control of Internet access, namely through the gluttonous concept of tiered pricing. This unabashed scheme to bilk as much money as possible from the very consumers who keep them in business is shameful, and I am trying to be as kind here as I possible can.

No other nation in the world so strangles the innovation and consumer access to the Internet by adhering to this Machiavellian means of control of Freedom of Speech. Internet access should be guaranteed for all people, much the same way in which libraries and news media is.

ISP’s dictate the speed at which the Internet can reach consumers by following the same business model as that used for cable television. The Internet is not cable television. To decide that only the rich can have the greatest access to information, news, entertainment and a forum to voice our opinion is to draw the same hard line of division that King Louis IV maintained which lead to the French Revolution.

This is representative of a growing Republican mantra, when a government agency tasked with protecting consumers makes and enforces regulations; Republicans scream ‘government takeover’ or another Obama power grab. Even though the attempt by government is to enforce protection of free speech, unfettered access and to prevent control and manipulation by any public or private group.

Witnessing their continued blatant corporate protectionist tactics at the cost of consumer protection, I think it’s obvious who Republicans are really looking out for.

Net Neutrality is not government takeover. Nor is it in any way near socialism. It is as much about equal rights for everyone as was the Womens Suffrage Act of 1920, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The bottom line here is that Republicans hate any regulations that do not favor the wealthy, banks, or corporations, and their deregulation mantra is predictable. It has been Democrats who advocate for consumers and put in place regulations that protect every American, including Republicans.

Blackburn’s lies that Genachowski’s proposals hinder access to the Internet are meant to garner support from voters who have no idea what the proposals mean for consumers.

Education is what is needed for the ultimate in consumer protection.

It is clear that Republicans will go so far as to prevent access to education if it will aid in furthering their lies about regulation as a means to frighten voters.

Please get the word out that Net Neutrality is a step towards better Internet access not an attempt to take it away from us.

There is no flag large enough

Another Advertising Lie: 4G

The International Telecommunication Union, the global wireless standards-setting organization, has stated that 4G is defined as a network capable of download speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps). That's fast enough to download an average high-definition movie in about three minutes.

None of the cell phone networks meet that standard.

Sprint was the first to launch a network called 4G earlier this year. Then, T-Mobile launched its 4G network and Verizon plans to launch its 4G network by the end of the year. Each claims to be the fastest or largest, but it all amounts to smoke and mirrors.

The speeds of these networks, theoretical at best, are a mere one fifth to a half that of the official 4G standard. And actual speeds are just a tenth of "real" 4G.

So why are they lying to us? And more than this do they really think we won’t find out?

As usual, it’s a matter of PR. They are each, quite simply, trying to get our money by claiming they offer more than the next guy. Even if they have to lie to do it. Why do we consumers put up with this level of disrespect from these guys? Or from any company?

Sprint and Verizon have new, faster networks that are still technically not 4G, while T-Mobile has an old, though still faster network that is actually based on 3G technology.

Companies need to be honest with what they are actually selling us. Waiting for us to find out after the sale that we are not getting what was promised is patently wrong and only leads to malcontent from the very people that keep them in business.

Give us what you promise and have faith that we will make the right decision.


For more details on this story check out CNN.

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Hillary Clinton and the U.S. government in general should concern themselves more with what WikiLeaks reveals instead of huffing and puffing that they were so easily accessed and leaked at all. The ‘stolen cables’ highlights the poor performance of every top ranking diplomat and political figure associated with the fiascoes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

These leaks serve only to underscore truths that the educated American public already know. That the half brother of Afghanistan’s President, Ahmed Wali Karzai, truly is as corrupt as past reports have stated, and his corruption and drug trafficking is being financed by the millions of dollars we taxpayers are throwing at him. With these ‘revelations’ can we truly expect to reach any kind of ‘success’ in Afghanistan? And just what is this so called successful goal we are trying to achieve? At this point, putting an end to the endless outflow of money to this untamable country will be a huge success. The American public should be outraged at being forced to support such a corrupt regime while we are also forced to financially support efforts to curtail drug trafficking across the Mexican border.

The American public has already figured out that al Qaida was not an issue, nor were they America’s enemies, until after we illegally invaded the sovereign nation of Iraq under George W Bush’s orders. The U.S. government’s overthrow of Saddam Hussein directly allowed the growth of Iran’s influence in that area. If any politician or military leader claims ignorance of the possibility of such a serendipitous side effect they should be fired from their position immediately. How could the supposed greatest military and political minds that America has to offer not have seen the possibility of such a shift in power? We should be outraged over our leaders unexplained short-sightedness.

We already knew that the largest financial backers of the 9/11 attack were from Saudi Arabia and we should be outraged by our governments continued feigned ignorance of Saudi Arabia’s part in financing terrorist activities against the U.S. We Americans should be outraged that we are blatantly lied to and manipulated as if we are not intelligent enough to see what is going on.

Our governments claim that these leaks will bring harm to our troops is nothing more than an attempt to direct our attention away from the politically embarrassing truths that the leaks have revealed.

Instead of ‘shooting the messenger’ over revealing stuff we already know, Hillary Clinton and other top ranking politicians would do well to correct what it is that make these leaks embarrassing.

Random Fact of the Day

By the end of the twentieth century, over 300 motion pictures were made about vampires, and over 100 of them featured Dracula. Over 1,000 vampire novels were published, most within the past 25 years.

Only the Dead

Image from http://www.dweebist.com/2010/07/war/

Witness America’s Long Slide into Oblivion

Barbara Bush says she hopes Sarah Palin stays in Alaska. You and me both sister. But merely hoping for it is not going to make it so.

The Republican Party has already let this unwashed mouthpiece out of the box and they have no intention of giving up on a project that they have spent so much time and effort grooming.

It’s no accident that Sarah Palin was chosen for this project. She very closely resembles what the majority of Americans are becoming. She is a product of an educational system that has failed America. She represents the erosion of culture in this country, thereby making her easy to be handled. Her ego allows her to believe that ‘she’ is the person the public wants, when in fact she is merely a tool used by the GOP to keep their party in power no matter the cost.

She was chosen because she exemplifies the misplaced optimistic view that the American public is in control of its own destiny.

Education is what we so desperately need right now. Education…not just what to think but how to think…to give us the ability to see beyond what is being placed in front of us and deduce the true meaning of why it is being placed in front of us. The lack of this ability is why it is so easy for us to be manipulated.

And make no mistake, the American public is being manipulated. The media is being used by practitioners of what Karl Rove so expertly used to put an under-qualified George W Bush into office. Their goal is to win at all costs and the loser will once again be the American public.

The media has been speculating about Sarah Palin laying out the ground work for a run at the Presidency. No, she is not, the GOP is. Her ‘handlers’ are keeping her in the lime light for just this purpose. Mind you she doesn't need to be pushed too hard because she has enough ambition, drive and ego to push herself, but she needs the expert talent that her backers provide to know where and when and at what pace to keep her name in the public's face.

The main problem I have with the circus that the presidential campaign has become, is that the democratic process of choosing our candidates has been denigrated into a “win at all costs” mentality backed by unlimited funds. What’s best-for-America no longer has anything to do with choosing the best candidate.

When someone from her own party hopes she stays in Alaska and out of the presidential race, you just know we are in trouble.



Here’s a must read along the same line as this post:
Best of the Blogs Appaling Ignorance. The Know-Nothings of 2010 Have a Leader

The present bunch of morons who scream about “FREEDOM!!!” and “PATRIOTISM!!!” wouldn’t know what this country is all about if Thomas Jefferson hit them in the head with a rolled-up Constitution.

Don’t get me wrong-I know that Caribou Barbie is an idiot. That’s been clear from the day John McCain decided to screw this country good and hard by elevating her to national prominence. But, even given that we all understand she’s an idiot, some of the things that this stupid bimbo says STILL surprise me.

TV in 2010

Image source: Imgur

TSA Rules Should Apply to Everone

On the way home this morning, from one of my forays out into the public (this time it was a trip to the bank, post office, library and grocery store), I was listening to a local talk radio broadcast. Not one of my favorite broadcasts because I don't really care for the mannerisms of the talk show host, but he does occasionally stumble onto an interesting topic. This morning the topic was the increased security measures (demands) forced on us by our great 'protectors of life, liberty and the American way', Homeland Security.

One of the callers stated that Janet Napoiitano, secretary of Homeland Security, says they have adopted the policy of not patting down Arab women dressed in their traditional garb. My immediate question is, why not? If they choose to live in America (or use American aircraft to travel) then they should be subjected to the same rules and inconveniences that the rest of us are.

The other day, I heard Ms Napolitano state that travelers have other options to get around this country and if they choose to use airplanes they are going to be subjected to 'patting down' or 'full-body scans'. That is a very hard-line stance, but I understand it is necessary if we are to respect their authority. The one thing that undermines their authority is to begin allowing unfounded exceptions. Since Arab women have the same travel options as the rest of us, why are they allowed to bypass this very intrusive security measure?

And then, the point came to mind that before September 11, 2001 and the atrocious and despicable attack by a group of Arabs on the World Trade Center, we Americans were not subjected to any security measures. Therefore, it stands to reason that the basis of this nations increased 'need' for security measures at our airports is to prevent a repeat of that awful event or something similar to it. By the way, I agree that security measures need to be taken, and not only at airports.

Anyway, I want to make this point clear, I know for certain that not all Arabs are our enemy. I know for certain that there is a subset of Muslims that are dedicated to destroying Americans and our 'devil' ways.

Now, before you get into an uproar over what I am about to say, before you falsely perceive my next statements as racial profiling, hear me out. The only serious threats to airline travel that we Americans have been subjected to have come from...Arabs. The only actual successful and unsuccessful attacks on American soil has come from...Arabs. The only group of people that have declared war on all Americans have come from...Arabs. It doesn't take a lot of intelligence to see that the US government's primary threat level is coming from...Arabs. So, why is an Arab (woman or otherwise) allowed to bypass the very security measures put into place to protect us? And, how can we be faulted for racial profiling?

I truly wish that the trend in human society would be towards more tolerance and less divisiveness, more class and less snobbery, more equality and less elitism. But this is wishing for fantasy. What is not fantasy is, that a sub-group of Arabs (radical Muslims) are out to destroy our American way of life. This is not being racist, this is not racial profiling, this fact has been well-documented.

Every person who boards an airplane needs to be subjected to the same level of security scrutiny as everyone else. No exceptions.

Irrespective of any religious, racial, or cultural differences, it is my observation is that human society is evolving towards more aggression towards each other. More people are resorting to violence as opposed to conversation to resolve differences. We are trending towards less tolerance. We are becoming less concerned about each others right to privacy or to live peacefully. More of us are preying on each others kindness.

It is becoming easier for people to chose to lie to get what they want. More people are favoring their own selfish needs over what is best for society as a whole.

And because of these ever-increasing threats to our sense of 'personal security and safety' we are isolating ourselves further away from each other, which only exacerbates the problem.

It is unfortunate that increased levels of security are becoming a necessary part of life. We need security measures that are not intrusive while not infringing upon our freedoms.

Until diplomacy and tolerance take their rightful place in the forefront of human evolution we will be forced to depend on technology to protect us, and that means everyone.

Our Fellow Americans are starving

A federal report on hunger in America raises many questions. Questions that many of us already know the answer to. In the report, as presented by CNN, we learn the number of American households fighting off hunger stayed level last year at 14.7%, that’s roughly 45 million people. It’s the old ‘good news, bad news’ report. The bad news is that the hunger rate is high, the good news is that it didn’t get any worse.


It’s no surprise that there is hunger here in America. Anyone who pays attention (and it is easier to not pay attention when you have an abundance of everything), especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas has heard the increase in requests for donations. We have also seen the signs.

The various grocery stores I visit have begun placing a large donation barrel just inside the front door so everyone walks past it as they enter and leave. The barrel is clearly marked as a receptacle for donated food destined for the food bank. Those barrels remain pretty empty. I don’t need to tell you this, you already know.

It’s a sign of the times that those barrels remain so empty so that makes it easier for us to walk past them without dropping anything into them. If everyone drops one can in (preferably stuff that you yourself would serve to your family) then hunger could be cut down at least a little bit for a little while. But I don’t need to tell you that. You already know.

The report really does nothing more than tell us that government programs, supported by our tax dollars are footing the bill for feeding the poor. But I don’t need to tell you that. You already know.

Many of these people are in their situation as a result of decisions they have made. Is this a good enough reason to turn our backs on them? Do we really believe they don’t deserve our help because they alone are responsible for where they are? Is that the reason food donations are so pitifully inadequate?

The causes for hunger are many and run deep. In September 2009, the US Census Bureau reported rising poverty, falling incomes, and growing numbers of uninsured US households. Even by the Bureau's conservative estimates, 39.8 million Americans were impoverished, the highest level since 1960, and 17.1 million lived in extreme poverty at below one-half the official threshold.

A revised October 2009 Census analysis showed 47.4 million (15.8% of the population, including one-fifth of the elderly) below the poverty line, much higher than the above figure and rising.

Despite a growing national crisis, Obama proposed less spending for the poor saying "our fiscal situation remains unacceptable," not growing poverty, homelessness, hunger and despair at levels not seen since the 1930s.

On February 1, he sent Congress a budget freezing social spending for three years, a de facto cut in real terms. At the same time, he lets Wall Street keep pillaging, plans more wealth transfers to the rich, and proposed the largest ever defense and homeland security budgets, leaving little for cash-strapped states and growing millions of desperate people out of luck and on their own.

It's morally reprehensible that we live in the wealthiest nation in the world where so many of our fellow citizens are struggling to make choices between food and other basic services. But I don’t need to tell you that, you already know.

Despite the fact that we decide who gets into office to supposedly represent us, once they get there they turn their backs on us while they sit at tables over-flowing with food. But, you already knew that too.

Since we already know these things why do we allow our fellow citizens to go hungry? Why is there still so much hunger in the wealthiest nation on earth? I wish we knew the answers to these questions and was more willing to do something about it.

US Government Continues to Hide Truth from the World

No big surprise here. But it still rankles me every time I hear of yet another cover-up. What is it about government servants, our representatives, our ‘protectors’, that allows them to believe we lowly citizens are ‘better off’ not knowing the real truth?

The latest example of our leaders’ misdirected sense of loyalty to keep us in the dark for our own good is classified military documents published on the WikiLeaks site that show the actual civilian death toll of the Iraq war to be 15,000 cases higher than previously reported.

Why keep this number classified? Keeping this number classified only leads to the public wanting to know what is being covered up, who is being protected, and who gains from keeping this number ‘classified’.

The documents show that the vast majority of slain Iraqi civilians were killed by other Iraqis. Why cover this up?

The New York Times says the documents disclosed "many previously unreported instances in which American soldiers killed civilians -- at checkpoints, from helicopters, in operations" and it said there were at least four cases of lethal shootings from helicopters.

Now, this is something I can believe in as the cause for the cover-up. Because the military doesn’t want to admit they made ‘errors of judgment’ that lead to the deaths of civilians. But what if some of these cases were not simply ‘errors of judgment’?

More questions are beginning to surface.

The Guardian said the documents detail torture, summary executions and war crimes. U.S. authorities failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, rape and murder by Iraqi police and soldiers, the documents show, it said.

A lack of action that appears to benefit the U.S. military.

War crimes. Committed by U.S. military. This is a solid reason for a cover-up. After all, our leaders don’t want the American public to have further indisputable evidence that we Americans are a bunch of heathens and will resort to the illegal and immoral use of torture. Haven’t we already been down this road?

History has shown that Americans, as well as all humans, are not above using violence against their fellow man. Not only in war zones, even here at home. Even within our own families. We have all read of reports of people brutalizing their own family members, the ones they supposedly love and cherish. What does this say about mankind?

Civilians don’t need to be shielded from war crimes. We need to know that our leaders actually care about ending the abuse of power over other people. We need to be assured that when we are told we are being protected that it doesn’t mean we are being ‘protected’ from the ‘truth’. This action only deepens the mistrust that is ever present between politicians and the general public.

War crimes need to be prosecuted. And the first step is to bring these acts out into the open, wherever they occur. This step needs to be taken so that we can begin to evolve from our animalistic and brutal ways. Pipe dream, I know, but continued cover-up never really does any good. These are truths that everyone already knows.

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange said it best: "The attack on the truth by war begins long before war starts and continues long after a war ends". Isn’t it time for a real change?