Why I hate the Patriot Act, the two party system, and Nazis

I lifted this article from shoutwire.com. I very accidentally came across this while cruising around the web looking for funny video clips. Yes, I was very bored.

Article

This article, while going to extremes in some cases to make a point, does get the message across as to why the Patriot Act is the worst thing to happen to the United States since, well I can't think of anything worse than this. Americans are willingly giving up their liberty. That's unprecedented. It's not supposed to happen. It's downright un-American.

Patriot Act is such an ironic name.

Ah yes indeed it's fun time.

Go here:

http://partialthoughts.ning.com/

Ning is kind of like MySpace for people with IQs. The app is ugly and underdeveloped yes, but I'm tired and it's late. I swore one day I would write a book of all the totally out of context ending of conversations or sentences I hear everyday that makes me snort a little. This is the closest that dream may ever come. If you haven't noticed, I write for crap.

Add to the fun. You know you want to.

The propaganda machine must be broken

Here is a story that actually puts the US military in a  favorable light. A US naval vessel noticed an Iranian shop adrift and altered course to rescue those Iranian sailors.  Turns out they had been adrift for 10 days and were in dire straits.

This is the kinda of thing that should be getting more press.  I found it
buried deep on the local rag's website.  You'd think the US government
would want this story spread around like a low-fat butter substitute.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=100416&ran=151336

The insurgency is dying

The "insurgents" have now turned to attacking fellow Muslims in Iraq. It's more proof that the extremists have no idea what or why they're fighting, they are fighting because it's all they know. What good does it do to destroy the icons of the religion you claim to be so true to? The good news is that the insurgency is indeed turning on it's own and that can only mean that they can no longer claim it's about flushing out the infidels.

The bad news is that some people in the country somehow still thought of this as an opportunity to chant anti-American/Israeli slogans and burn the American flag. This was, in all likelihood a Sunni Muslim attack against a Shiite Muslim mosque. "When in Basra" I guess. It's easy to hate an entire country when you were born and programmed to be brainwashed, effortless to use logic and reason to think for yourself.

The ironic thing is that American (And other coalition) soldiers are there dying every single day to make sure they are afforded the right to chant "Death to America" anytime they want to. It's a twisted world we live in sometimes.

My dogma can beat up your dogma!

This was a response to another blog. The post was about the first homosexual Episcopalian bishop admitting to being an alocoholic. The post went from a peice about a drunk bishop into a propaganda peice for why the ultra-conservative catholics have the inside road on all that is right and just. Oh, and they're better than you too. Oh and God hates fags.

That article and the responses can be found by clicking the title of this post. Let me preface this by saying I truly do respect the person who wrote the article. She is steadfast in her opinion and she writes well. I really just wanted to post my thoughts here as well:

Hello, I'm brand new to this blog, and while I consider myself conservative I must also say that the Ultra-Conservative, Christian stance of self righteousness is an affront to actual morality.

Morality and religion cannot be assumed to be the same thing. There are plenty of people who use religon as a veil to mask immoral lives. If you rely on any ancient poorly translated text to live every small detail of your life, then you really shouldn't "cast the first stone" at anyone.

The Bible is a wonderful reference for a framework of morality, but let us not forget that the people who translated the works into the current version had their own agenda. The Catholics (as it was the only brand of Christianity for a long, long time) used the dogma of the church as a tool to keep the uneducated masses in line. It worked. It's documented that some words that were translated from Aramaic to Hebrew to Greek to Old English and to modern English, etc. have had several meanings and the translators went with the "best fit". To this day, the Nicene Creed continues to be "re-translated" to fit the language of the day. While it may not change the meaning, it does change the words. What will those words mean to the human race in 1000 years? What if a new language is developed in that time and this one dies?

Morality at the end of the day is in how you treat another human being. Can you really look at yourself in the mirror and feel good about the way you treated your fellow man. Hate mongering and basking in the glow of another's failure is not moral behavior.

Oh, and has it ever occured to those who accept the explaination that the Catholic priests who abused children were all "gay priests", that the church has labeled them as such to promote a further atmosphere of discrimination against homosexuals. This also served a second purpose of redirecting blame away from themselves for covering those same "gay preists" butts for decades? Plus, anything to satisfy the tithing congregations. The bottom line is Catholics are no better (or worse) than any other group from which you take a large enough sample.

With that said, I love the fact that I live in a place where we have the right to debate these things ad nauseam. Thanks.

Freedom of Speech? Not in Austria

This post is dedicated to Renegade Eye. Thanks for caring. Your my favorite (and pretty much only) reader.

So this story really pissed me off. Author states holocaust deaths were more from disease than extermination. He also says the Nazi's weren't as bad as advertised. He then writes books stating that Hitler probably had no idea what was happening. This pisses off people and makes this guy look like a heel. Austria (champion of democracy that they are) convicts him under a very vague law and seeks to jail him for up to ten years.

I have to ask, "Where's the crime"?

Is he a racist? Maybe, but the last time I looked, it wasn't a crime to speak your opinion. This leads me to what I'd like to fancy as logical questions...

1. Shouldn't the books published under his name be banned?
2. Should those publishers be tried and charged as well?
3. Should we start surveying our citizens and charging them when they don't bend to popular opinion?
4. Should we all get our firesuits ready for the Bradburyesque book roast that surely awaits?

I think the only immoral thing he may have done is tried to concede anything to the Austrian courts in the eleventh hour. He kind of redeemed himself with the quote, ""Of course it's a question of freedom of speech, the law is an ass." That sure made me giggle a little.

I don't agree with the guy, but he has as much right as anyone else to his opinions as long as he's not infringing on the rights of others. No matter what the Simon Wiesenthal Center says, freedom of speech should be protected even if it goes against your convictions.

Now for something completely different....

Something I've never mentioned on this blog is that I'm a huge Pittsburgh Steeler fan. I have been for nearly 25 years, and football season is the best time of the year. So, I must take the opportunity to say, Let's go Steelers. Let's get that elusive fifth Championship ring. Plus I'm happy for Bettis. He's a throwback kind of guy, and he deserves one.

That's a nice trophy, but I'm more of a fan of the tall one with the football on top.

We come in peace, unless we attack your homeland

It's about damn time Osama bin Laden (OBL) released another tape. Funny how it happened right as American Idol was starting. The man just can't stand someone else getting the spotlight. I think he might have a legitimate shot at the final 12 this year...

But seriously. He went on and on about things and then he offers a truce. Again. He also spoke directly to the American people and tried using some jedi mind trickery by turning the population against President Bush. Too late OBL, that ship sailed some time ago, people have been a tad upset with W for a while now. It's for more reasons than just the "war on terror" though.

But those comments were interesting to say the least. Think they don't speak volumes to what's really going on in Iraq and Afghanistan? Yes, coalition forces are coming under attacks from terrorists, but the evidence points to the overall success of the mission. The recent Iraqi elections were huge success by all accounts, with no real violence at or around the poll. That's pretty good for such a fledgling democracy with outside forces trying to force conditions that would allow the institution of Islamic rule. It's not going to be quick or pretty, but overall the citizens of Iraq aren't behind al-Qaida. They are physically fighting them, not necessarily side by side with coalition forces, but they are firing on terrorists and not "our guys". Don't believe me? Try this article from Christopher Hitchens. Love him or hate him, he makes sense here: It's Curtains for al-Qaida

By and large, Iraqis want all foreign influence out of their country. They want their freedom. The coalition forces should give them exactly that when it's relatively secure. However, Iraqis are well aware that getting the terrorists out is a lot more imperative than getting out the Western troops. It's also harder. The steps towards a strong independent nation are being made. Their government is making strides in the lawmaking body, as are the Iraqi courts. Ambassadors are being named and relations are being opened with neighboring Arab nations.

Make no mistake though, this doesn't absolve the western governmental leaders of their crimes against the people they were elected to protect. It just means our military leaders and soldiers are committed to successfully helping the nations who need it.

Happy New Year

The holidays are over, and the dog days of winter are about to descend on those of us in the Mid-Atlantic. Here's to a great 2006. We're almost there, only two more years of big brother, and civil liberties stomped upon.

Iraw War?

I happened onto a news stations website which had a list of comments posted on the "Iraw War" (I assumed it was Iraq). I was surprised to see so many comments that really had nothing to do with the actual military operations in Iraq. Most comments focused on the Bush administration's admitting to illegally gathering intelligence on US citizens and/or residents. Some interesting comments though.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news&id=3765777

Russia, putting the Communist back into "Free Society"

Russia has been quite busy trying to convince themselves that it's suddenly 1955 again, and "Big Red" should again rule Eastern Europe.

It's not just that they've stomped all over free political speech. It's not only the point that they've "nationalized" every important industry inside their borders (i.e. Energy, communications, media, etc.). It's also about the way they've handled foreign relations with former Soviet states, namely Ukraine.

Refer to any article or statement quoting Russian officials, and the language is very aggressive, and quite unapologetic about it. The article Putin Economic advisor offers Resignation offers a few glimpses into the current mindset of the Kremlin. Also the current argument over natural gas prices gives us an even clearer view of the coming "policy shift" Russia targeting Ukraine for natural gas rate hike.

Now, they want to loan the Ukraine billions of dollars so they can afford to pay the inflated gas prices. So they get the money doubled, with interest. While that's the most capitalistic thing I've heard from Russia's government in a while...It doesn't add up to anything more than an easy "We tried to help" when they shut off the gas supply to their neighbors. Why does the Ukraine get asked to pay prices 4 and 5 times higher than countries who are more amiable with Moscow? Simply put, the Ukrainian people are being punished because the new administration in Kiev wants to strengthen Western ties while backing away from the "little brother" role it's played for Russia for hundreds of years.

Good thing they're not trying to back away from Washington. That might get their "regime" changed.

I digress... One thing clearly left out of these articles is that these moves are pushing Russia right into becoming a socialist (more accurately communist) nation again. Putin has steadily and methodically stepped (nay! Marched in parade dress) right back in that direction since taking office. State controlled television and radio are now the only viable choices. Any corporation that is making a dent in the economy is immediately acquired by another state run corporation, even if the leader of the public company needs to be jailed to do so. This begs two different questions..

1. Why isn't anyone visibly concerned, especially with socialism taking hold in South America, and US politics looking more fascist all the time?
2. Hasn't communism already failed in Russia?

If this is a glimpse into the future, I'm looking for a hidden valley. (to those who know that reference, join me won't you?)

I can't wait for the "I told you so"

So everyone at work is getting just giddy over the holidays. Secret Santas as far as the eye can see. I've dodged that bullet this year, or so I thought.

So at a meeting the other day when the boss asks "What are we doing for the holidays?". I'm silent hoping someone else says the words "Retaining my dignity and not participating in a stupid "festive" f'ing office hell." No one does. Cowards.

So, the boss then suggests a team lunch. Not a bad idea. Everybody hangs out away from the office, talks a little and gets a free meal out of it. Sweet. Then the standard "where?" discussion starts. So finally someone opens the metaphorical door and asks, "Where can they seat us all at one table in case we exchange gifts?". If I could have legally bored a hole in that person's head using only a spoon and my displeasure, I'd be a much happier man today.

So then someone (the supervisor) suggests we exchange gifts, but with a twist. Did anyone see the recent Christmas episode of "The Office" on NBC (The US version, I know all about the UK version and it's superiority, so save it). It featured a little practice called "Yankee swap". I actually tried to stop it. I said out loud...No. It's a recipe for disaster. I, of course, was drowned out in a sea of contrived enthusiasm because it was the boss' decision. For those who don't know what a Yankee swap AKA White Elephant Gift Exchange is, I'll give you the definition according to a quick google:

"Traditionally, a "White Elephant" is something lying around the house that you don't want (some horridly ugly item that someone gave you as a gift or some other item unwanted for some reason). I am of the belief that in most parts of the country, if you tell someone to bring a White Elephant gift it will almost certainly be a gag gift and not something genuinely useful or desirable." - Thanks to http://www.santalady.com/xmasgame/whiteelephant.html

Sounds fun, huh? Can't wait for the first racially, or politically insensitive or just plain stupid gift to be unwrapped. I'm telling you, when this all goes wrong I will laugh like a smug, smug bastard. At least I'll have a good seat.

Talk about coming to the party a little late.

Bush finally took the blame for going into Iraq based on bad intelligence. To his credit he did take sole responsibility for the mistakes in Iraq. Thanks for that, but this admission would have been a lot more effective had you not waited 1,000 days and over 2,000 soldiers' deaths later. Of course, he couldn't just take the blame. No he still tried to defend his decision, proving he isn't remorseful. Probably looking to up his approval rating a few points so he can keep campaigning for the GOP.

Bush said, "It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As president I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq, and I am also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities and we're doing just that."

I wish he would have stopped right there. I would have applauded his speech, and my respect for him would have increased. But no, he went on to say this, "My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision", and "We are in Iraq today because our goal has always been more than the removal of a brutal dictator"

How was the decision to remove Saddam Hussein the right decision? Iraq was a stable (in the sense they were a known quantity), terrorism free sovereign state before our "war on terror". We may not have agreed with Saddam's politics or his methods of government, but there was no reason for the US to get involved. Now the country is one of the most unstable in the Middle East in all areas. The Iraqis have gained some freedoms, but at the expense of personal safety (at least for now). As to Saddam's human rights violations, those violations that the former dictator is on trial for happened well before Bush (W.) was in office. Bottom line, Bush had nothing, so the administration created the opportunity to go into Iraq for reasons known only to a few.

The latter statement sure does poke at the truth more than anything else that's come out of his mouth in the past 5+ years though. Just think in another 3 years or so, we may get the real reasons this administration decided to target Iraq. Oil is an easy answer, but it seems way too obvious. Vendetta is a fun one to throw out there, but I have to believe that there is more. If not, then Americans truly need to rethink some things.


Of course all these admissions came on the same day as the Patriot Act was passed for another four years. (note: 'the framework of fascism' is my little nickname for it. I'll probably get wire-tapped and record searched because of it.) Is that a coincidence? I don't know. I'm not much into the conspiracy theories, but not much is coincidence inside the beltway.

"My lips hurt real bad."

My other half says she needs some "chopstick". That's our daughter's way of saying lip balm. She's fairly nutty, but she's fun.

Look at her moustache...


I just don't know why she was so happy about the blue marker on her face...
Meh, it's probably Lazytown's fault.

I love people

We just took the kids to go see that infamous fat man today. Of course, nothing makes me happier than capitalism at work, but I loathe the mall. I'm not one for all the ruckus. I like my experiences to be as calm and orderly as possible. Not a possibility today...

The mall must have had 2.2 trillion people in it. It might not have been so bad if 2.19999 trillion of them weren't inconsiderate mouth breathers. I swear people need brake lights and turn signals, cause you just never know when they're going to stop or take a hard left right into your seven year old. Then there were the several young men that felt a need to look at me (and all the other males under the age of 50) as if they were gonna shank me in the rec yard. Yes, I know your from the streets of suburbia, and I'm nervous of you, your practiced hard look, and your knowledge of all the lyrics of 50 cent's (That's fitty if you're from the streetz, yo) new song. Your glare just makes me wanna to piss all over myself. You are obviously the Alpha male.

What I thought was a good idea was they were giving those restaraunt pagers to all the parents who were there to see Santa. Instead of staying in line for 2 hours (literally how long it would have taken), you can roam around the mall for that time and spend money. Really a good idea for all involved. The beauty of it was that the better half offered to go to the mall first on a recon mission of sorts. She went and got the pager, and then called to tell me how long the wait was. I then waited at home for most of the 2 hours, and then brought the kids. She rocks sometimes. REALLY cut out the annoyance factor for me. She knows me, and she didn't want me yelling something vulgar and insulting to random people in the middle of the mall. I get to that point with stupidity sometimes. I think she'd make me wear a warning sticker if I'd agree. BEWARE OF HUMAN, or something like that.

Of course, when we answer the call to duty, the lady says. "Weren't you already here?". I couldn't answer with the answer with the first thing that came to mind, so I just stared at her as if she were speaking Mandarin Chinese.

All in all, we got the task of seeing Santa done. It only took about 1.5 hours total, so it wasn't that bad I guess. Still, shopping online sure beats the pants off that mall crap anyday.

Yeaaaaa, Christmas.

Leave the press alone

Bush may not like the growing criticism he faces, but it's warranted

First, the Patriot Act. I could go on about that for about a year. It sets the course towards making 1984 a reality at best, and setting the ship on a full throttle course towards facism at worst.

Second, the attempted (and successful) overthrow of enemy governments for purposes of well....just cause he doesn't like the leader(s). Even in the face of the aforementioned criticism, it appeared he was angling towards expanding the "war on terror" to Iran or Syria. You know cause they are hotbeds of terrorist activity. Just like Iraq was in the Saddam regime.

Thirdly, the still (and probably always) uninvestigated Downing St. memo's. He had a very good idea the intellegence was exagerrated. You'll never convince me otherwise.

Now, there's the allegations that Bush wanted to (and may have) targeted a media outlet for bombings.

There are a lot of problems with this scenario if it's true. First it stomps all over the first amendment. I don't care if the media outlet was in another country or a war zone. Our smart bombs are smart enough to avoid entire buildings when they are readily identified as being television stations. Secondly, that's a terrorist act isn'it it? Targeting civilians.

Hypocrisy?

Sadly, there are still those who refuse to see the reasons behind the anger with the current administration at home or abroad.

Maybe Terrorism needs a Spin Doctor?

Well, it's finally starting to happen. People in parts of the Middle East are tired of being randomly blown up. I wish I could hug the people of Jordan for standing up and saying what everyone else wanted to but didn't want to be singled out as "wicked lapdogs of the infidels" by the fundamentalists.

People in Jordan massed to a crowd of approx. 100,000 and held a rally. Not surprising. They had just been subjected to a terrorist attack that killed 59 people. 30 of them were at a wedding of a Palestinian and Jordanian couple.....All Muslims. The difference is that the people of Jordan actually were blaming the bombers for the dead. They didn't fabricate ways to blame Israel (for being Jewish and oppressors of Palestinians), or America (for being in Iraq, and of course for the quality of life Americans enjoy), or Christians (for being...Well, not Muslims). They chanted "Al-Zarqawi, you coward,'' and carried banners that read, ''Al-Zarqawi, you are the enemy of God.''

The same rhetoric terrorists use to whip their supporters into thoughtless, western world hating, gonna show them by blowing myself up at a bus stop thus ending my chance at ever making a real difference frenzies. Interesting.

Then if that weren't refreshing enough (to see logic and reason taking a more prominent hold where mysticism seems the prevalent thought pattern), then came the tapes. The terrorists trying to justify their actions and statements that actually sounded apologetic. I swear this must be "opposites day" or something.

Here's the thing. You can be pissed at Bush and his administration for Iraq. I get it. I don't think that "war" should have ever happened either. I want Bush to own up to his lies of WMD and pay for his dishonesty as much as the next guy, but if you keep killing Muslim innocents (and even foreign innocents), eventually your rhetoric won't help you justify your actions. While I hate that it happens, I understand when you attack coalition military forces. You view them as an occupying force. America helped Afghans (and others) fight occupation when it was against a common enemy. Don't think that Americans with the capacity for reason don't see the hypocrisy.

With that said, enough with the civilian attacks already. People, no matter how loyal or galvanized for a cause, can stand only so much. Case in point "Contributors to militant Web forums -- who generally lionize al-Zarqawi and praise his attacks -- criticized the bombings." With the situation getting no better for the average Arab, your promises of ousting the wicked, unholy, and Zionists from the holy land start to sound more and more like lies. You will probably see more people start to embrace a Western way of life with it's freedoms and security. Your basically taking a shit where you eat. That's not real smart.

Work Work Work

Note: This is a rare personal post. I may be turning into a selfish bastard!

I am currently employed by a large bank. I don't have anything to do with the actual money. People all around me help the bank to make a load of money, and then I crunch numbers, and analyze data, and report those figures up the chain. I hate reporting. Always have. Always will. I'm someone who likes to do get actual work done. While analyzing past performance is absolutely valid and is a useful tool, it's just not my gig.

Therin lies the rub. I took over a couple of reporting processes when I started a new position within my company. Because I do these tasks fast, error free (99.9999% of the time) and create processes to do them as automatically as possible, I get all the reporting. FRUSTRATING. I even mentioned to my supervisor that I would do them if asked, but it's the one task I cannot stand.

Now I feel as if I'm being overlooked for other projects that I would not only be excited and motivated for, but projects that actually fit my skillset better. I'm analytical but not a number cruncher. I'm more technical and technology-based. Of course, I have no time to display those talents as I've been labled "the report guru". Fucking yuck.

So now comes the dilemma I deal with (internally) everyday. Do I move on to another company where they would hopefully remember why they hired me in the first place (hint: resume showed strong technical knowledge and background), and lose some very beneficial perks (stock options, excellent 401K, etc,)? Or do I stick it out in this position hoping the situation changes or a new opportunity presents itself within the same company?

I'm not looking for advice, I just needed to write it all down. No one's reading this anyway!

Am I wrong?


Okay. Sometimes I actually go back a day or two later and read my own writings to see if I am ever disagree with myself on a given subject. You know the step back and give it a day thing. Usually, I still agree with myself on the whole. Big surprise, n'est pas?

The thing I'm wondering now is...Do I think that much differently than everyone else. The things I say in this blog are the same as I say in my everyday life. Yet, it seems no one really agrees with me on the whole. A lot of people agree with me on one subject, but then think I'm absolutely off my pills on any other subject. It's quite odd really.

Here's what gets me: Most people who are willing to engage in political debate seem to want to tow the party line for the Fasc....GOP or the Hippi...Democrats. No one really has their own opinion completely independent of what Limbaugh, Matthews, O'Reilly or whichever "expert" tells them to think. The only person I've seen demonstrate anything close to an independent thought pattern is Bill Maher. Sometimes he says the smartest things I've heard in years. Unfortunately it's usually followed by something so far out in left field (only for the sake of making a guest look intellectually inferior) that it makes me want to chew a brick. Dennis Miller usually made sense to me. But look where that got him.

Then there's the whole sociology of today. People are unbelievable how far they'll carry this "there are no wrong answers, no failing grades, no harshness in the world" crap. YES THERE IS. You can be wrong, and it's mostly okay, because it's how you get to the right answer. Keep doing it though and the herd should give you up. You can indeed fail a test. It's not the school board's fault you can't write your name, you need to study harder. There are a lot of bad people and things in this world, and they will take you as soon as given the chance. Please don't leave me or anyone I care about unprepared to deal with them, the law only works adter a crime. An ounce of prevention folks, that's what I say. That brings me to why no one ever want to take responsibility for anything. Stand up, take the hit and fix the problem. That's what moral and righteous people do. They are fixers. The blamers can all get bent, cause they were there too, they just won't admit it.

Am I some kind of revolutionary to be shunned and burned at the stake of the status quo? It all seems fairly straightforward to me. Where's my voice these days? Maybe I'm too old school. The current state of the world really makes me wonder if everyone else is sane and I'm the crazy one.

Nah.

"Let's burn our town down cause white supremacy is wrong!"
AKA "Logic in Toledo"

Let's see, the national socialist movement (I refuse to capitalize that because a true party has political ambitions, not just a hate inducing one) wanted to march in Toledo in the name of white power. Wow. I dislike Socialism with a fervor most men never know, but I think I may actually hate people who claim they're born better than anyone else. I hate them as equally as I hate people who think the world owes them something because they were born into wealth or stature, or because they "feel oppressed". I hate people who think either of these things because of skin color just a tiny bit more. Let's get this straight so we can all move on and live our lives: You are no more special than anyone else, and no one owes you jack. You want something? Work for it. You want to feel important? Accomplish something worth feeling proud of. It's real simple. Personal responsibility and ambition will give you all you ever need to live a worthy and respectable life.

But I digress, as I often do. So Toledo puts the "kabosh" on the march by denying the . They threaten to gather anyway (without the march) on the streets (which Constitutionally is their right, as long as there are no disturbances of public order). So in order to protest this people who are against racists gather. So far, so good. Then the nazi's, err...sorry, socialists decide not to show at all. Probably the only wise move anyone in this situation made. So instead of dispersing peacefully and reflecting on a moral victory, the protestors riot in their own city. They decide they should flip cars, burn businesses, and pelt the police force (who was there to protect them) with rocks and garbage. How is that even an option? Congratulations concerned citizens, you've just given the nazis a very early Xmas present. You've given them fuel to spew their rhetoric. You've given them another reason to call people who don't think they as they do inferior. They've won because they didn't have anything to do with the actual violence and they can now point to the crowd that did show up and say, "You see, we're not the bad guys here". The worst part is you've given them the fuel to move on to another city and try the same thing.

Maybe we should revoke the right to assemble, because Americans seemingly cannot handle the whole "peaceable" part. I don't believe that, but you can bet your sweet GOP that's how the Neo-conservatives are going to angle it. You want to lose your liberty? That's a fantastic way to start the process.