There's irony when Bush and Blair are saying that the Downing Street memos are a distortion...
"don't let apples fall too far from the tree..."
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Friday, June 24, 2005
The P.C. Debacle...
Oh – now it’s time for being politically correct…
It appears when Dick Durbin makes a reference to Gitmo as some sort of gulag – it’s horrifying. Yet when Rove complains that Democrats want terrorists to get therapy – that’s somehow okay..
Several years ago (back in the ol’ college days) – I recall having a discussion over the ramifications of having a politically correct society.. In that discussion – it was revealed that no matter what was said or done, it was a certainty that it would royally piss off *someone* regardless of how mundane or unequivocal the comment was crafted..
I was reading a local story this morning – about some sort of negative reference to James Dobson and Focus on the Family.. The chief complaint was that some group drew parallels of Dobson and his group to an Americanized version of the Taliban.. The group issued an apology, there were repercussions and the damage was done..
Wow..
What on earth has changed our ability to have independent thoughts, disagreements and criticisms?? Contrary to what a lot of people think, this is *not* a republican or democrat issue.. It’s not a Christian versus Islamic versus Muslim.. It’s the basis of having the freedom to compare Bush to whomever anyone wants to.. It’s the basis of calling Clinton any given name in the book.. It’s the basis to say when you’re pissed off or when you agree with someone..
Inflammatory?? Absolutely.. It can be.. So when the Republicans call for Durbin to apologize, and the Democrats call for Rove to resign – it’s leading us back to a sandbox squabble between infants.. But it doesn’t stop with politicians, everyone is doing it.. (I’ll throw myself into that mix as well..)
This vicious cycle of tit for tat is excruciating.. The mud-slinging capabilities by both sides are obvious, apparent and increasing on an continual basis..
Let’s face it: we have a lot of fucking upset people in the world..
But what if the complaints actually founded on a basis of truth?? Despite the rhetoric or other substantive comments made to draw conclusions or illustrations from the incorrigibles throughout history, what if there is a basis of fact in the parallel or the comparison?? Are we so polarized that we cannot see the truth for what it is??
Absolutely..
Whenever something major happens, or when someone says something – don’t we almost always seek out to hear what others are saying about it?? I’ve listened to Rush.. I’ve listened to Air America.. O’Reily, Hannity, Savage, Franken, Garafallo.. Any given topic – they churn out a series of talking points.. Those little niblets which causes us to jump on the bandwagon or shake our pointed finger..
But what everyone does – and I don’t care if this is a personality, a movie star, a columnist or a politician – is that they take the nibblet that is important for their argument and they run with it.. The substantive nature of the issue becomes fragmented and further distorted..
So when Hannity says that liberals are scum, is he right?? No.. When Garafalo banters of whether conservatives are pigs, is she right?? No.. They are fanning the flames to get people riled up for the causes that matter to them, their constituents, their sponsors, their crowd.. How about when Durbin refers to Gitmo as a nazi camp??
Does it offend me personally?? No.. I studied history – I draw upon unpopular conclusions all the time.. And you know what – I don’t care.. True historians leave bias from their findings.. True historians allow readers to draw their own conclusions based on the findings of the evidence.. True historians consult multiple sources that can accurately paint a true and responsible picture of a given topic..
Does Gitmo really resemble a gulag?? I don’t know.. I certainly do not believe the people who have been reporting it so far.. I certainly do not trust the administration because they are constantly reversing, traversing, readjusting, realigning, ultimately distorting the facts of any given subject.. I don’t trust the Dems for that matter either.. I certainly do not trust the press because they have a marketability bias.. ”That which sells, is printed or aired..”
There’s no real understanding of an event unless you have the capability of seeing it first hand.. Unless there are multiple sources that can paint a wide-breadth of the incident in question – then there’s no way to juxtapose an appropriate perception of the event.. Finding trusting, reliable sources in this day and age is next to impossible..
We shouldn’t be afraid to draw unpopular, politically incorrect parallels to anyone or anything – regardless of how popular, how important or how right or wrong consensus believes.. I don’t care.. Yet despite the parallels me, or anyone might draw, will be scrutinized and cast in an unpopular light.. Sometimes the truth sucks.. Slavery sucked.. The Nazis sucked.. Bin Laden sucks..
But there are some mildly important lessons buried in these areas.. One cannot fathom just how long slavery and rights for all Americans have gone this long, this unabated throughout our history.. One can’t imagine how incredibly talented of a speaker Hitler was.. One can’t imagine what it took to mastermind the 9/11 hijackings, the dedication and the process it took to make it happen..
History sucks..
But we can learn..
And this is what the American people has to realize at some point..
We can learn that the oppression of people is wrong.. We can learn to watch for those people who can stir hatred into a carefully woven righteous blanket that appeals to a segment of people.. We can learn that people can be motivated to die for a cause they believe in – when we have it within our capability to thwart such behavior if we just listen..
But we live in a society where these lessons are buried under a blanket of security and politically correctness.. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be sensitive, but we can’t forgo these important lessons if we can’t say what they are, how they are and what they mean.. The truth has to be correct; regardless of who it offends..
It appears when Dick Durbin makes a reference to Gitmo as some sort of gulag – it’s horrifying. Yet when Rove complains that Democrats want terrorists to get therapy – that’s somehow okay..
Several years ago (back in the ol’ college days) – I recall having a discussion over the ramifications of having a politically correct society.. In that discussion – it was revealed that no matter what was said or done, it was a certainty that it would royally piss off *someone* regardless of how mundane or unequivocal the comment was crafted..
I was reading a local story this morning – about some sort of negative reference to James Dobson and Focus on the Family.. The chief complaint was that some group drew parallels of Dobson and his group to an Americanized version of the Taliban.. The group issued an apology, there were repercussions and the damage was done..
Wow..
What on earth has changed our ability to have independent thoughts, disagreements and criticisms?? Contrary to what a lot of people think, this is *not* a republican or democrat issue.. It’s not a Christian versus Islamic versus Muslim.. It’s the basis of having the freedom to compare Bush to whomever anyone wants to.. It’s the basis of calling Clinton any given name in the book.. It’s the basis to say when you’re pissed off or when you agree with someone..
Inflammatory?? Absolutely.. It can be.. So when the Republicans call for Durbin to apologize, and the Democrats call for Rove to resign – it’s leading us back to a sandbox squabble between infants.. But it doesn’t stop with politicians, everyone is doing it.. (I’ll throw myself into that mix as well..)
This vicious cycle of tit for tat is excruciating.. The mud-slinging capabilities by both sides are obvious, apparent and increasing on an continual basis..
Let’s face it: we have a lot of fucking upset people in the world..
But what if the complaints actually founded on a basis of truth?? Despite the rhetoric or other substantive comments made to draw conclusions or illustrations from the incorrigibles throughout history, what if there is a basis of fact in the parallel or the comparison?? Are we so polarized that we cannot see the truth for what it is??
Absolutely..
Whenever something major happens, or when someone says something – don’t we almost always seek out to hear what others are saying about it?? I’ve listened to Rush.. I’ve listened to Air America.. O’Reily, Hannity, Savage, Franken, Garafallo.. Any given topic – they churn out a series of talking points.. Those little niblets which causes us to jump on the bandwagon or shake our pointed finger..
But what everyone does – and I don’t care if this is a personality, a movie star, a columnist or a politician – is that they take the nibblet that is important for their argument and they run with it.. The substantive nature of the issue becomes fragmented and further distorted..
So when Hannity says that liberals are scum, is he right?? No.. When Garafalo banters of whether conservatives are pigs, is she right?? No.. They are fanning the flames to get people riled up for the causes that matter to them, their constituents, their sponsors, their crowd.. How about when Durbin refers to Gitmo as a nazi camp??
Does it offend me personally?? No.. I studied history – I draw upon unpopular conclusions all the time.. And you know what – I don’t care.. True historians leave bias from their findings.. True historians allow readers to draw their own conclusions based on the findings of the evidence.. True historians consult multiple sources that can accurately paint a true and responsible picture of a given topic..
Does Gitmo really resemble a gulag?? I don’t know.. I certainly do not believe the people who have been reporting it so far.. I certainly do not trust the administration because they are constantly reversing, traversing, readjusting, realigning, ultimately distorting the facts of any given subject.. I don’t trust the Dems for that matter either.. I certainly do not trust the press because they have a marketability bias.. ”That which sells, is printed or aired..”
There’s no real understanding of an event unless you have the capability of seeing it first hand.. Unless there are multiple sources that can paint a wide-breadth of the incident in question – then there’s no way to juxtapose an appropriate perception of the event.. Finding trusting, reliable sources in this day and age is next to impossible..
We shouldn’t be afraid to draw unpopular, politically incorrect parallels to anyone or anything – regardless of how popular, how important or how right or wrong consensus believes.. I don’t care.. Yet despite the parallels me, or anyone might draw, will be scrutinized and cast in an unpopular light.. Sometimes the truth sucks.. Slavery sucked.. The Nazis sucked.. Bin Laden sucks..
But there are some mildly important lessons buried in these areas.. One cannot fathom just how long slavery and rights for all Americans have gone this long, this unabated throughout our history.. One can’t imagine how incredibly talented of a speaker Hitler was.. One can’t imagine what it took to mastermind the 9/11 hijackings, the dedication and the process it took to make it happen..
History sucks..
But we can learn..
And this is what the American people has to realize at some point..
We can learn that the oppression of people is wrong.. We can learn to watch for those people who can stir hatred into a carefully woven righteous blanket that appeals to a segment of people.. We can learn that people can be motivated to die for a cause they believe in – when we have it within our capability to thwart such behavior if we just listen..
But we live in a society where these lessons are buried under a blanket of security and politically correctness.. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be sensitive, but we can’t forgo these important lessons if we can’t say what they are, how they are and what they mean.. The truth has to be correct; regardless of who it offends..
Monday, June 20, 2005
"and we want to be respected in the world..."
Let's consider this:
1.) Bush is threatening to use the July 4th recess to appoint John Bolton to the UN..
2.) Bush is pushing Bolton to make the UN more accountable..
3.) Yet, Bush is refusing to release information about Bolton's past -- to determine exactly *how* accountable Mr. Bolton is..
4.) Yet, this administration is refusing to be accountable on:
-The War
-The Economy
-Social Security
-Taxes
-Homeland Security
-Healthcare
-Forcing the morals of the church
-Encouraging the government involvement into the private affairs of Americans
But even Bolton is appointed - it's the beginning of something really bad.. Like has been stated over and over already: Bolton is a bully.. Even though he does fit the mold of this administration like a fine Italian-leather glove, his actions are going to further splinter our reputation and assistance in the world.. But this administration has a very interesting belief:
"When you don't get your way, just move things out of the way and make them happen.."
It's irresponsible..
It's wrong..
It's Bush..
There's a reason why there are multiple points of view.. There's a reason why there's debate.. There's a reason why there are compromises.. There's a reason why we don't have a singular party that rules the nation.. There's a reason why we need to have two voices..
What this administration simply cannot grasp is the fact that they have alienated our country in a time of war.. Allies are continually dropping like flies.. Britain is waking up.. If Bush is truly interested in winning the war on terrorism - manhandling the United Nations is *not* the answer..
The war will expand..
It's indicative of the blinders that this administration continues to run.. I really hope and pray that other conservatives see the issues for what they are and will split away and vote for what's right.. Unfortunately I don't feel we're going to get many conservatives that will vote for the country and not for the party..
Hang on -- the ice berg is just ahead.. Get a good spot on the life raft, it's going to get a little choppy....
1.) Bush is threatening to use the July 4th recess to appoint John Bolton to the UN..
2.) Bush is pushing Bolton to make the UN more accountable..
3.) Yet, Bush is refusing to release information about Bolton's past -- to determine exactly *how* accountable Mr. Bolton is..
4.) Yet, this administration is refusing to be accountable on:
-The War
-The Economy
-Social Security
-Taxes
-Homeland Security
-Healthcare
-Forcing the morals of the church
-Encouraging the government involvement into the private affairs of Americans
But even Bolton is appointed - it's the beginning of something really bad.. Like has been stated over and over already: Bolton is a bully.. Even though he does fit the mold of this administration like a fine Italian-leather glove, his actions are going to further splinter our reputation and assistance in the world.. But this administration has a very interesting belief:
"When you don't get your way, just move things out of the way and make them happen.."
It's irresponsible..
It's wrong..
It's Bush..
There's a reason why there are multiple points of view.. There's a reason why there's debate.. There's a reason why there are compromises.. There's a reason why we don't have a singular party that rules the nation.. There's a reason why we need to have two voices..
What this administration simply cannot grasp is the fact that they have alienated our country in a time of war.. Allies are continually dropping like flies.. Britain is waking up.. If Bush is truly interested in winning the war on terrorism - manhandling the United Nations is *not* the answer..
The war will expand..
It's indicative of the blinders that this administration continues to run.. I really hope and pray that other conservatives see the issues for what they are and will split away and vote for what's right.. Unfortunately I don't feel we're going to get many conservatives that will vote for the country and not for the party..
Hang on -- the ice berg is just ahead.. Get a good spot on the life raft, it's going to get a little choppy....
Friday, June 17, 2005
It's wrong to be right...
Newsweek got it right, but yet they are still considered "wrong" after the premature leakage of the Koran (or Quran - depending how you spell it) issues in Gitmo Bay.. After an abomination and public lashing from administration officials - guess what?? They actually got it right.. (hm, imagine that...)
But the more I start looking at other recent events, there's really a lot of things that this administration was wrong and yet they go after those that try to expose it for what it is.. Real - Right - Truth.. Concepts that I realize may seem foreign, but it's time to wake up..
The obvious "duh" event in this administration: Iraq.. While they may think in retrospect that they had all the right intentions, looking for all those mean WMD's, then claiming the freedom of all Iraqi people as almost an after thought once they realized that no weapons were ever going to be found.. Clearly Saddam wasn't the enemy he was hoping for, but at least Bush had his heart in the right place..
Schiavo ... come to find out the courts were right.. Moreover the doctors were also right.. Bush, Frist and the other pundits who batted for the family in Florida were all wrong.. Yet even as the press conference revealed the investigation into Teri Schiavo, this administration maintains that they did nothing wrong by "siding with life.." Problem with that argument is the fact that Bush and "life" simply do not belong in the same sentence (ala all those he's sent to death in Texas and beyond...) Right intentions - sure but guess what?? They were still wrong..
Patriot Act ... 9/11 ... Terror terror terror!! Run for the hills!! Laws that make it safer for Americans.. Um.. Not so fast.. Most recently - a report came out that said that we are no safer than we were on 9/10.. Ouch.. What happened?? (more on this in a bit...)
Social Security ... Now I have a conflict here.. I've long since believed that there's no way I'm going to see much of any relief from my contributions to Social Security.. It's not due to mis-management, but simply resolving the reality of a growing cost of living and a seemingly very slow paced payment for contributions to the kitty.. As one part of the chart is soaring off into oblivion, the other part looks like an overweight 747 that is trying to take off or something.... It's unreasonable to expect both lines to even come close much less become more parallel.. It's not happening..
Bolton & our role in the world ... I have no defense to offer for this administration's lack of credibility.. They are doing it to themselves in ways that we can't even begin to say on here.. Administration policy - wrong.. Anything come from a box of Lucky Charms would venture a better chance at world stabilization than what this administration has offered......
And the list goes on and on for what seems like forever.. Taxes.. Education.. Censorship.. It seems like everything anymore slips into the yin/yang debate.. What bothers me more than anything is that we have a President who has no regrets for doing any of them.. In fact, you could say that he's running downhill with blinders on ....
.... with a continually growing steaming heap of hypocrisy dragging on behind him.....
At a time when the President advocates that every American is to be responsible - he still claims no responsibility for any of his actions.. Even Clinton apologized.. C'mon!! Instead, there is an irresponsible persistence that simply cannot be explained..
Frankly, I'm still at a loss.. At least when one is denial - there are conditions which support the logical reason why the person simply doesn't acknowledge the error.. When it grows to this kind of level - there has to be something else going on..
*sighs*
Ask anyone who really likes Bush - "Why do you like him?" and you'll get the standard confounding answers: People feel more protected under his watch.. People felt they needed a cleansing shower after the Clinton administration because of what happened during "the scandal.." People feel desperation because the world is in some sort of moral decline and they are looking to Bush as being some sort of savior that will deliver the world from the toils and pain..
Wow.. And here I was at a loss before; imagine my disbelief now?!?!?!!?!!
Alright.. It's no mystery that The Rove Mystery Machine is working overtime trying to keep the dam from breaking.. But when they have fundamentally failed on nearly every attempt at governing - I'm really afraid to consider what would it would take to institute a wide-spread mis-information campaign in order to further govern the way they want..
The Downing Street memos are really interesting.. Even if they hold an eighth of truth in them.. It clearly shows how the conspiracy to manipulate facts and other information for whatever political gains they wanted..
But is this really unique in our history??
Remember how propaganda was spread in order to further the causes of whatever rhetoric or other issues that needed to gain public support for?? The war posters?? Songs?? Rallies?? War Bonds?? Rationing?? All in support of the war effort.. Sounds almost like your average, run of the mill Iraqi insurgency..
But instead of being reflective, we are accused of drawing insignificant parallels and only attempting to incite some sort of evil, un-American sentiment.. Wow.. We can't even go back in our history, cite that which our country has already gone through - because it's somehow un-American..
Well, I'm going to do it anyway..
I remember the day when we feared, hated, and otherwise were weary of the Soviet Union.. The portrayal in movies, the endless barrage of speeches and other opinions carefully churned the right mixture of information with propaganda.. Too sweet - and the public would see right through it.. Too sour and the message would be lost..
It became an artform..
It became a ballet of excruciating painful precise movements..
Things were controlled..
Until..
"Gore invented the internet.."
The spawn of truth mixed with fiction grew in proportions no one could control.. There was no containment.. No direction.. People could now say what they wanted without malice, without facts, without ethical standards and with considerable bias.. The message gets swarmed by an avalanche of conjecture, conspiracy and mis-information.. Blogging has taken this idea and expanded it in ways that we cannot underestimate..
In an act of desperation, the media has responded..
The media companies were bought, conglomerated, and merged into outlet giants that would remain under the tight reign and control of a chosen few.. These people would remain the shepherds serving at the will of the Empire.. Carefully doting and guiding flocks to dangerous cliffs, the *word* is manipulated into an unrecognizable form..
Any dissent.. Any disagreement.. Any hint of splitting from the ranks meant a mounted campaign to punish you or your company.. The slightest protest, satire, or thought is derided as being un-American or a threat to national security.. CBS, Dan Rather, Newsweek to mention those in recent memory....
Think about that..
When the message.. When the thought.. When the voice is muted.. When government silently controls the strings guiding our thoughts, information and beliefs -- what is that??
Control..
Governmental Control..
Look into the world history of the last century.. What did we call it in the 70's and 80's?? Communism.. What was it in the 30's and 40's?? Socialism..
When Russia and Germany sought control of what information was being conveyed.. When those governments, under the guise of being a "proper citizen" or for the protection of the country, use the purges and other remedies to remove dissent within the citizenry, their rights were profoundly discarded..
"Remain in line, or suffer the consequences.."
This week, the House of Representatives shot down new provisions to the Patriot Act that would've allowed agencies to wantonly investigate what books you read from the library, what videos you rent, or what content you're reading.. Under the guise of preventing the next 9/11 attack .... I re-raise my own personal doubts of the effectiveness of the Patriot Act..
Imagine this.. One of the searches that the government was interested in was whether anyone had done a search on Bin Laden's biography.. Now imagine a typical Social Studies teacher in high school that assigns a current events paper.. An innocent student checks out a book on Bin Laden so that they can prepare their report for class.. Now imagine that this innocent student will now show up on the radar screen of Homeland Security..
This is absolutely insane!!
I believe that the next coronation of the Patriot Act really means that our government has lost its effective capability of gathering relevant, concise and on point intelligence using the existing means at our disposal.. What I adamantly disagree with is this Administration using the "perceived threat" of more terroristic activities to bolster the effectiveness of the Patriot Act.. It's not a revelation that this Administration has perfected the ability to utilize threats in order to push whatever agenda they so choose..
But the Patriot Act really does not address the intelligence gathering capabilities outside the United States - and let's not forget that.. We've heard testimony within the last several months that say that we're no more protected than we were before 9/11.. Now how in the hell does that happen when we've already sacrificed a nice thick layer of governmental intrusions on our own soil??
Instead, the newly found Patriot Act addendums are going after our children's social studies book reports and lord knows what else.. Cookie recipes?? Reading up on Melville, Plato, or Ginsberg?? If anything, it's another tragic reminder of how our government has lost the intelligence wars on our home field.. Now we're left with the fact that our government can't track of those terrorists that are already walking among us..
Yet, they are making sure we're reading the "right" reading material that suits the policy....
.... just like the daily media buffet offerings..
It's scary contemplate that this administration wanted to install a new set of rules that alleviate the need for judicial oversight so that they can conduct surveillance of one's behaviors and habits without any level of judicial oversight.. Meaning - no one checks to see whether they have a valid cause to check out my library records.. The Patriot Act already has given law enforcement more powers without oversight -- and they wanted more....
.... this after being told that we are faring no better than we were 9/10..
Regardless of what an agency might think, I'm not an anarchist.. I am a very proud American who believes differently than this administration.. Whether that's an act of deviance, or simply exercising the right to have freedom of thought, freedom of expression - this defines an absolutely bitter divide and subsequent gray area..
I cannot say if we're no better off, but I can say that I'm still deeply concerned over the information flow of our government and what it means in the shortrun and in our future..
But the more I start looking at other recent events, there's really a lot of things that this administration was wrong and yet they go after those that try to expose it for what it is.. Real - Right - Truth.. Concepts that I realize may seem foreign, but it's time to wake up..
The obvious "duh" event in this administration: Iraq.. While they may think in retrospect that they had all the right intentions, looking for all those mean WMD's, then claiming the freedom of all Iraqi people as almost an after thought once they realized that no weapons were ever going to be found.. Clearly Saddam wasn't the enemy he was hoping for, but at least Bush had his heart in the right place..
Schiavo ... come to find out the courts were right.. Moreover the doctors were also right.. Bush, Frist and the other pundits who batted for the family in Florida were all wrong.. Yet even as the press conference revealed the investigation into Teri Schiavo, this administration maintains that they did nothing wrong by "siding with life.." Problem with that argument is the fact that Bush and "life" simply do not belong in the same sentence (ala all those he's sent to death in Texas and beyond...) Right intentions - sure but guess what?? They were still wrong..
Patriot Act ... 9/11 ... Terror terror terror!! Run for the hills!! Laws that make it safer for Americans.. Um.. Not so fast.. Most recently - a report came out that said that we are no safer than we were on 9/10.. Ouch.. What happened?? (more on this in a bit...)
Social Security ... Now I have a conflict here.. I've long since believed that there's no way I'm going to see much of any relief from my contributions to Social Security.. It's not due to mis-management, but simply resolving the reality of a growing cost of living and a seemingly very slow paced payment for contributions to the kitty.. As one part of the chart is soaring off into oblivion, the other part looks like an overweight 747 that is trying to take off or something.... It's unreasonable to expect both lines to even come close much less become more parallel.. It's not happening..
Bolton & our role in the world ... I have no defense to offer for this administration's lack of credibility.. They are doing it to themselves in ways that we can't even begin to say on here.. Administration policy - wrong.. Anything come from a box of Lucky Charms would venture a better chance at world stabilization than what this administration has offered......
And the list goes on and on for what seems like forever.. Taxes.. Education.. Censorship.. It seems like everything anymore slips into the yin/yang debate.. What bothers me more than anything is that we have a President who has no regrets for doing any of them.. In fact, you could say that he's running downhill with blinders on ....
.... with a continually growing steaming heap of hypocrisy dragging on behind him.....
At a time when the President advocates that every American is to be responsible - he still claims no responsibility for any of his actions.. Even Clinton apologized.. C'mon!! Instead, there is an irresponsible persistence that simply cannot be explained..
Frankly, I'm still at a loss.. At least when one is denial - there are conditions which support the logical reason why the person simply doesn't acknowledge the error.. When it grows to this kind of level - there has to be something else going on..
*sighs*
Ask anyone who really likes Bush - "Why do you like him?" and you'll get the standard confounding answers: People feel more protected under his watch.. People felt they needed a cleansing shower after the Clinton administration because of what happened during "the scandal.." People feel desperation because the world is in some sort of moral decline and they are looking to Bush as being some sort of savior that will deliver the world from the toils and pain..
Wow.. And here I was at a loss before; imagine my disbelief now?!?!?!!?!!
Alright.. It's no mystery that The Rove Mystery Machine is working overtime trying to keep the dam from breaking.. But when they have fundamentally failed on nearly every attempt at governing - I'm really afraid to consider what would it would take to institute a wide-spread mis-information campaign in order to further govern the way they want..
The Downing Street memos are really interesting.. Even if they hold an eighth of truth in them.. It clearly shows how the conspiracy to manipulate facts and other information for whatever political gains they wanted..
But is this really unique in our history??
Remember how propaganda was spread in order to further the causes of whatever rhetoric or other issues that needed to gain public support for?? The war posters?? Songs?? Rallies?? War Bonds?? Rationing?? All in support of the war effort.. Sounds almost like your average, run of the mill Iraqi insurgency..
But instead of being reflective, we are accused of drawing insignificant parallels and only attempting to incite some sort of evil, un-American sentiment.. Wow.. We can't even go back in our history, cite that which our country has already gone through - because it's somehow un-American..
Well, I'm going to do it anyway..
I remember the day when we feared, hated, and otherwise were weary of the Soviet Union.. The portrayal in movies, the endless barrage of speeches and other opinions carefully churned the right mixture of information with propaganda.. Too sweet - and the public would see right through it.. Too sour and the message would be lost..
It became an artform..
It became a ballet of excruciating painful precise movements..
Things were controlled..
Until..
"Gore invented the internet.."
The spawn of truth mixed with fiction grew in proportions no one could control.. There was no containment.. No direction.. People could now say what they wanted without malice, without facts, without ethical standards and with considerable bias.. The message gets swarmed by an avalanche of conjecture, conspiracy and mis-information.. Blogging has taken this idea and expanded it in ways that we cannot underestimate..
In an act of desperation, the media has responded..
The media companies were bought, conglomerated, and merged into outlet giants that would remain under the tight reign and control of a chosen few.. These people would remain the shepherds serving at the will of the Empire.. Carefully doting and guiding flocks to dangerous cliffs, the *word* is manipulated into an unrecognizable form..
Any dissent.. Any disagreement.. Any hint of splitting from the ranks meant a mounted campaign to punish you or your company.. The slightest protest, satire, or thought is derided as being un-American or a threat to national security.. CBS, Dan Rather, Newsweek to mention those in recent memory....
Think about that..
When the message.. When the thought.. When the voice is muted.. When government silently controls the strings guiding our thoughts, information and beliefs -- what is that??
Control..
Governmental Control..
Look into the world history of the last century.. What did we call it in the 70's and 80's?? Communism.. What was it in the 30's and 40's?? Socialism..
When Russia and Germany sought control of what information was being conveyed.. When those governments, under the guise of being a "proper citizen" or for the protection of the country, use the purges and other remedies to remove dissent within the citizenry, their rights were profoundly discarded..
"Remain in line, or suffer the consequences.."
This week, the House of Representatives shot down new provisions to the Patriot Act that would've allowed agencies to wantonly investigate what books you read from the library, what videos you rent, or what content you're reading.. Under the guise of preventing the next 9/11 attack .... I re-raise my own personal doubts of the effectiveness of the Patriot Act..
Imagine this.. One of the searches that the government was interested in was whether anyone had done a search on Bin Laden's biography.. Now imagine a typical Social Studies teacher in high school that assigns a current events paper.. An innocent student checks out a book on Bin Laden so that they can prepare their report for class.. Now imagine that this innocent student will now show up on the radar screen of Homeland Security..
This is absolutely insane!!
I believe that the next coronation of the Patriot Act really means that our government has lost its effective capability of gathering relevant, concise and on point intelligence using the existing means at our disposal.. What I adamantly disagree with is this Administration using the "perceived threat" of more terroristic activities to bolster the effectiveness of the Patriot Act.. It's not a revelation that this Administration has perfected the ability to utilize threats in order to push whatever agenda they so choose..
But the Patriot Act really does not address the intelligence gathering capabilities outside the United States - and let's not forget that.. We've heard testimony within the last several months that say that we're no more protected than we were before 9/11.. Now how in the hell does that happen when we've already sacrificed a nice thick layer of governmental intrusions on our own soil??
Instead, the newly found Patriot Act addendums are going after our children's social studies book reports and lord knows what else.. Cookie recipes?? Reading up on Melville, Plato, or Ginsberg?? If anything, it's another tragic reminder of how our government has lost the intelligence wars on our home field.. Now we're left with the fact that our government can't track of those terrorists that are already walking among us..
Yet, they are making sure we're reading the "right" reading material that suits the policy....
.... just like the daily media buffet offerings..
It's scary contemplate that this administration wanted to install a new set of rules that alleviate the need for judicial oversight so that they can conduct surveillance of one's behaviors and habits without any level of judicial oversight.. Meaning - no one checks to see whether they have a valid cause to check out my library records.. The Patriot Act already has given law enforcement more powers without oversight -- and they wanted more....
.... this after being told that we are faring no better than we were 9/10..
Regardless of what an agency might think, I'm not an anarchist.. I am a very proud American who believes differently than this administration.. Whether that's an act of deviance, or simply exercising the right to have freedom of thought, freedom of expression - this defines an absolutely bitter divide and subsequent gray area..
I cannot say if we're no better off, but I can say that I'm still deeply concerned over the information flow of our government and what it means in the shortrun and in our future..
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