Shocked? Me too.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NATIONAL_SECURITY_LETTERS?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME

I am shocked....SHOCKED..that the Patriot Act would be misused this way!!! Wait. No I'm not. I actually am surprised that it was reported though. I figured it would be swept under the rug, at least until a Democrat took office.

What we're really seeing with this report is a commentary on the depths of how unpopular President Bush and his administration has become. There was no way this would have come out two years ago, or maybe even one year ago. While it's nice to see some oversight and some disclosure, I'm willing to bet a great deal on the fact that the report suppresses a lot more violations of civil liberties than it exposes. Don't get me wrong, Americans have no need to know everything that government does. In fact, most people couldn't "handle the truth".

The difference here is that the erosion of our constitutional rights is happening at a disturbingly rapid rate. This administration has used terrorism as a platform to bully America into accepting things that have been "against democracy norms". The Patriot Act (which no patriot would accept sight unseen, and even fewer would accept as written when seen), Wiretapping, circumventing the War Powers Act (linking Iraq to 9/11), no warrant for search and seizure, declaring citizens "enemy combatants" on American soil effectively stripping any hope of due process, Habeas corpus (only considered a hallmark of democracy), etc.

Maybe this can be a call to people to stop rolling over every time another constitutional right of a law abiding citizen is stomped on.

Martyrdom for the goose....

This article I read had a couple of passages that struck me:

"(Muqtada) Al-Sadr said in an interview with an Italian newspaper published Friday that the crackdown had already begun and that 400 of his men had been arrested. La Repubblica also quoted him as saying he fears for his life and stays constantly on the move"

Fear for his life? Why should he, the most faithful and submissive servant to Islam, fear for his life. Why wouldn't he stand and welcome martyrdom? Why wouldn't he "fight until his last breath for the glory of Islam" (gotta love the rhetoric that these guys are able to improvise right off the cuff.) while awaiting his reward in paradise?

He goes on to say, "Let them kill us. For a true believer there is no better moment than this to die: Heaven is ensured...after Muharram, we'll see."

So you move to make sure you cannot be killed, yet you puff out your chest and spout this false bravado. What you really meant to say was, "Let them kill my men. They can rest assured they'll be going to heaven.....I think, I mean um, yes....they'll be in heaven."

He doesn't believe the things he preaches enough to face his enemy. Yet to the young men he brainwashes to fight for him, he assures eternal paradise. This is no different than Bush sending our young men and women over there to face the dangers of war. He is his enemy.

Islam has been twisted by these "holy men" and terrorists into something that is a reason for constant violence and hatred of fellow man. Islam was created out of both Judaism and Christianity. It is a religion of peace, and tolerance. These fundamentalists' cause has little to do with Islam, and everything to do with hatred, and envy. These men hate the western culture while at the same time envying it. The hypocrisy of the above statements, and the way they live their lives hiding and ducking the danger while sending young men into certain death with bombs strapped to them, will hopefully open those militiamen and hopeful martyrs eyes who believe they are fighting for a just cause. Make no mistake, most of the rank and file of these militias and organized militant groups believe they're fighting against injustice from America and the "other" Muslims (Shiite vs. Sunni). Others believe that they are fighting for their independence. They see themselves much in the same way early Americans saw themselves when they joined the minutemen during the American revolution.

Truth is, they are fighting for their "leaders" greed. The clerics want the power in Iraq, and they'll send in their followers as cannon fodder to get it. It's a fight that can't be won. These clerics will go on to blame America and the west.

And as far as the running and hiding, I guess they don't have proverbs in Arabic that equate to "Practice what you preach".

Now be nice to the "pursuit of happiness" guy.

This is in response to Renegade Eye's post about Chavez calling for a united socialist party in Venezuela (linky). Scares the shit out of me, but I'm a crazy democracy lover. I tried to leave a message on his blog, but I'm not sure if it posted because of this crazy new blogger/google baby (bloogler?). Anyway, if it didn't post, here it is again:

This is the first step towards communism. It won't end well, never does. I cannot stand two party politics, but if there's anything I dislike more, it's one party "politics".

I still can't understand how someone can support socialism in practice. If socialism worked the way it was intended, it'd be utopia. But we all know it can't work in it's purest form. Somewhere, someone is looking to get over and "beat the system", or to do as little as possible and still reap the benefits of others work, while someone else still looks to rise above the rest and hold the power. That is the ugly truth in everything from pure democracy to sharia.

The beautiful truth is that there are people who will rebel against being a "cog in the machine" no matter where you go. There are those with ambition and a desire to be the best at what they do that cannot sit back and watch their lives pass them by for the promise of the government taking care of their basic needs (and history shows that communist states usually fail at that to a large degree). Sometimes the artist needs to starve.

Happy New Year

2007. The year of the spy?? Maybe someone can put out a decent "Bond" film this year. Let me tell ya, it's been a long while since I've seen one I've liked. Then again , I haven't seen Casino Royale. Probably doesn't matter...



Anyway. Welcome to a new calendar. Hope you picked one you like.

Truth is easy to defend

I'm not sure who this woman is, but I'd sure love to thank her for fighting the good fight in an impossible situation. It's hard to debate against Islam extremism when you're talking AT an Imam.

Basting in Capitalism

It's the day after Christmas, hope all went well for your holiday. I'm sitting in a sea of consumer glut (not a bad thing, since capitalism is my personal favorite), there are new electronic devices everywhere. We went out of our way to try and limit the amount of gifts this year, but in return we bought better gifts. Almost every toy the kids got for the holiday plug into the computer. It's amazing to think of the difference in the toys I got when I was their age, and the things they get. Both kids got an ipod (one a shuffle, and the other a "recycled" nano 1G). Both got digital cameras made for kids. Both got video games or video game systems. Beats the pants off a Stretch Armstrong or a fire engine with "real working lights". It's almost enough to make you a tad jealous, but then I remember, I'm the Dad now. I get to play with their toys after I send them to bed. I know my parents did it too...so it's pretty cool to be the grown up.

Sometimes a solution is so obvious it screams to be heard

There's one easy way to solve all the potential problems in this article.
Make public officials take their oath on a copy of the United States Constitution.  That's the document they should be governing from anyway.

It was almost like church

I went to the University of Virginia today and saw Richard Dawkins speak. It was an experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. I found Prof. Dawkins to be highly entertaining, modest, and most surprisingly willing to entertain a broad range of (intelligent) points of view. It was nice to see a very diverse group people there. There were obvious faculty and staff, there were Young Republicans, and atheists, and socialists, and then there were those who; like me, weren't "in a club". Everyone was greeted and welcomed in the same exact way, and I personally appreciated that.


I won't go into the discussion points, as that's several new posts within themselves. I didn't agree with everything Dawkins said, but I do respect the man and his opinion. I will also point out that I could have listened to him read excerpts from his book for hours. So much so that I hope he releases an audio version of his latest work (with him narrating), so I can pick it up. That's significant, as I hate books on CD.

Some of the day's magic may have been in listening to him speak in the Dome of the rotunda on the campus of UVA. I love the campus and could have roamed the Academical village for longer than I did. It was almost like church for me being there. All the things I hold dear are represented by the institution. Democracy, reason, higher education, and the belief that a secular government is the only moral and correct decision. All those values are embodied in that very building, and in it's creator. At the risk of sounding like an even bigger cheeseball, it was inspiring.

Anyway, I recommend you catch Prof. Dawkins if you have the chance. He's a staunch atheist, so if that offends you, stay away. He is also; however, a man of science and a brilliant one.

Virginia is for slingers

I live in the great commonwealth of Virginia. Home to one of the ugliest Senate races in all the land. I've been watching the candidates closely, and the mud came out very early. The Democratic candidate James Webb took full advantage of a large mistake by the Republican incumbent George Allen. He called one of Webb's staffers (who is a Virginian by birth) Macaca and welcomed him to our great state and country. Ouch.

Of course this scandal was over a month ago and now holds very little in the way of political influence. First Allen attacks Webb's tenure as a senior officer and some of the opinions he held at the time about women in the military. Webb thought that women were only trying to gain access to the military academies to "meet husbands". Chauvinistic and narrow minded to be sure, but this was twenty years ago when the military was still quite the boy's club (it might still be, who knows). So that didn't really cause the uproar Allen had hoped for. Then Allen desperate to dig something up on Webb, uncovers some "immoral" writings from James Webb. These writings were fictional novels based on war and overseas deployments Mr. Webb had experienced. Granted there are some very questionable passages (things like a father greeting his son with a little "genitals in the mouth" action, or women chopping fruit with their pelvic muscles, you know....Bedtime stories for the kids.). I wonder though, is a twisted sense of artistic expression enough to label the guy "immoral"? Does it make him a bad candidate for Senate? Maybe, but personally I couldn't care less.

My point? Has anyone heard anything about platforms above all this nonsense? Nope. No one knows what they're voting for or against. Interestingly, the Democrats may have ruined their best chance to take back the Senate by coming out of the gate slinging mud instead of focusing on the policy changes they'd implement. They leaned on the change for changes sake and that's a flimsy platform at best. That doesn't give near enough credit to the voters. We WANT to know where you stand on the issues that matter. Although it's fun from a gossip standpoint, we don't care about all the seedier crap. We know your opponent is a slimeball. He/She is a politician. As long as the activity isn't criminal and they aren't molesters/abusers, we don't care that much. Look at Clinton. America LOVED him.

Although I am very conservative, I also don't believe in voting according to ANY party lines. I am making my choice based on a few key things we are facing in this state.

One...An amendment to the state constitution "protecting" or "limiting" the definition of marriage as one man and one woman.
You can guess which side is for and against this measure.

Two...The war in Iraq. Who's going to side with the current administration and who's going to "fix" the problems.

Three..Taxes. Who's going to cut them, or raise them.

There are major problems with both sides. I agree with both sides on different subjects. I wish there were a candidate who was a true conservative and not a neo-con and a bleeding heart big government liberal. Although I suspect that Webb is a lot more conservative than he'll let on during the run up to the polls. That's unfortunate, because a moderate liberal is a lot more likely to win in this state than a way left liberal.

My biggest gripe with the Republican platform is the whole "Gay marriage ban" as it's become known. I don't see the point of legislating who someone loves. As long as they don't interfere with my day to day freedom, you can love/marry/screw whoever the hell you want. Republicans always want to legislate morality, which is impossible and goes far beyond the limits of where a government should be in my life. It actually starts to border on fascist.

My biggest gripe with the Democratic platform is the fact that they want to turn us into a collectivist state. NO THANK YOU. Keep your tax and spend ass away from my world. More government is not the answer. Government cannot fix all your problems. If you think it can, please move to Cuba, Venezuela, DPRK, or China immediately. They're great places to lose weight, and live a good simple life with no chance of becoming a materialistic person.

My biggest gripe with the Libertarian platform is that no one knows what it is. There has to be some big money/big special interest lobbyists that are Libertarians or Constitutionalists. PLEASE STEP UP AND GIVE US A REAL CHOICE IN THIS COUNTRY.

I still don't know how my vote is going down on Tuesday, but I do know that I'll be voting against the Gay marriage amendment. I will not stand idly by and let the government push a Christian agenda on me without some sort of protest.

I'm Brik D and I approved this message.

Germany's McHale's Navy

This cracked me up. There's so many possible captions it boggles the mind.

Fascism on the rise

Cheney's SS are Dicks too

While I find the article interesting and the arrest of this man an affront to all things American, I'm not surprised. I wish I were shocked. The Patriot Act at it's only logical conclusion. Also, what interested me more than the article though was the comments that were left by the readers.

It amazes me how any political discussion always turns to the topic of
religion. Why? My theory is that because religion, like politics,
concerns a set of rules that people think they should live by.

First off, let me just say, there is no way I can, or should ever consider
trying to, dictate someone's personal morality to them. If it follows the one rule
that it doesn't infringe on my freedom, do what you feel is right. People
should live the best way they know how. Maybe the rules they pick are the
best for them. Just don't preach tome about how I should live my life.
That's where both religion and politics fail miserably. The only
difference between the two is that religion is a personal matter and should
be left as that (thank you President Jefferson). Politics involves
creating laws that everyone must live by and because of that needs to be a
matter of public record and scrutiny. Political issues like this need to
be exposed, debated, and hashed over again and again and again. We should
exercise our freedoms, lest we lose them. People should also STFU about
religion, plain and simple. Unfortunately, people will continue to argue
about who's right and who's wrong out of two very human emotions: arrogance and fear.

Roll Tape...

I have a hobby that doesn't involve worrying about the state of politics in any way shape or form. I enjoy editing films (and making music, but that's a different story.). Of course with no one beating my door down to edit their footage (which is what you'd call "good"), it means I have to shoot footage as well.

I have graduated past the Windows movie maker stage, but I feel I may have reached my very limited potential. I hope that's because of pedestrian equipment and no training whatsoever. I'm in a bit of a conundrum. To get to the "next level" of my hobby, it's going to take a rather substantial investment. The camera that I'd like to have is almost $2,000 on it's own. Let's be honest, the camera I'd REALLY like to have is probably about $5,000 with all its HD and cinematic featurey goodness. Then the editing computer/software will total over $3500.00 if I get the good stuff. The question is, is it worth spending that much money on a hobby? Is there any potential for it to ever pay itself back? Does that even matter?

On the one hand it fills a creative need. I enjoy it, and I feel like I'm accomplishing something when I finish a project. Of course, I can continue with my current setup and still get fairly quality home movies. Which honestly, is the reason I started messing around with editing. It's not like I don't have kids to think about and all the ways they can find to spend my money. I guess I could take the medium route and take a class and play it by ear from there. I don't know...I just wanted to write it out to help me reason this out. So if you've read this far...you must be bored.

Why did I hit "Publish"? Cause I'm a narcissist. Bweeeeeeeeee!

Al Franken may have hit a nugget of truth.

I accidentally caught some of Rush Lumbago's (Yeah I know it's spelled that way) radio program for the first time in at least 5 years on the way home from work yesterday, and man...is that guy a sheep for the neo-cons or what?

Normally I don't care, he has as much right as anyone to his opinion, and the opportunity to express it. What puts me off is the arrogant, self righteous manner about which he dismisses all other viewpoints. Case in point, he makes it a point to mock Senator McCain anytime he mentions his name, and insists that McCain is a bully. Why does he do this? McCain had the unmitigated gall to disagree with the President on the "coercive questioning" (or torture, whatever helps you sleep at night) issue. How dare you Senator!?!!? You're supposed to be in the same party! FALL IN LINE AND PRAISE THE MACHINE.

McCain, apparently, is supposed to tow the company line and never ever ever ever EVER supposed to actually go with what he believes. He thought for himself. Nope. Can't do that in the GOP. Typical "Republican party stance is absolutely right, and all Democrats (regardless of what they say) are individually wrong" fare from this overly medicated, popcorn peddling, regurgitator of spin.

ferchrissakes, can I get some real choices in my political process?

Ahh, Fall is in trhe air...

I'm happy it's football season. This one goes out to my Stepdad, a Clowns fan.

The US is not a military regime.

I was taking part in a discussion about miltary regimes and thier advantages and disadvantages when someone used the opportunity to state the following:

"Is the US a military dictatorship? Yes, to a certain extent. The current administration has complete control over the military. This has never happen[sic] in the history of this country."

Now, I don't agree with this administration on many things, but when someone talks about one of the most enduring democracies on the planet, I get a little defensive. Plus, this person was just plain wrong, and thier comment came from left field. So here's my reply: "The current setup of power has been in place as long as their has been a Constitution. The President has always had the right to veto Congress, and has always been Commander in Chief. While I may disagree with the current administration's penchant for limiting our civil liberties (which is unprecedented in this country),this President has no more power over the military than any other. What he does have is a Secretary of Defense with his finger on the trigger at all times."

See how I still get my digs?? Does anybody agree with this person? If you do, can you please present a slightly stronger argument for this position?

Libertarian Patriotic Promotion

Cheesy music aside, this advertisement sums up why I believe in the Libertarian Party. Pay specal attention to President Lincoln's quote in this piece cause it's happening. For those of you not in the US, the ideals are still true. Personal liberty should not be limited as long as the individual doesn't use force or fraud as a means to an end; therefore limiting someone else's freedom.

Beatboxen Bush

Okay, maybe this is old, but it's new to me, and I find it damn funny. Hey we all got hidden talents huh?

The Justice department is trying to earn back it's name

As anyone who knows me might have expected, I was delighted that a judge (who was appointed by Carter, hmmmm) ordered an immediate stop to the wiretapping program that allowed the government to tap into someone phone line without a warrant. Under this program no warrant had to be obtained before or after the tap was put in place. It was ruled, rightly so, as unconstitutional.

Of course, the Bush administration reacted immediately. "We're going to do everything we can do in the courts to allow this program to continue," U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said at a Washington news conference. Well duh.

Liberty is dying. Every move to resuscitate it is met with the resistance of a bureaucratic brick wall. Big Brother is coming for you whether you deserve it or not. Apparently, we're all terrorists now.

A Thousand Words?

Yeah, so I saw this and thought it spot on. Not really funny though. It might be if it wasn't true:

I hate a game of cowboys and Indians

Dear President Bush II

Stop mindlessly supporting whatever Israel does. When they're wrong, hey they're wrong. Three kidnapped SOLDIERS is not a reason to start a regional conflict that could easily knock the small semblance of democracy that has taken root right outta the box.

This is also an opportunity to accomplish two goals. Show some International diplomacy AND create an inkling of goodwill in the middle east. Lebanon isn't an enemy......yet. Nothing else has brought crude prices down, maybe some good old fashioned morality will. They're already burning the US flag in Lebanon and Palestine imagine what they're planning in places where we've been nothing but the cocky aggressors.

I'm fairly certain this won't be read, much less answered. But I must try. I should've written someone who can actually interpret the Constitution and believes that civil liberties means more than taking away all our freedoms with a smile on their face. Dammit. Oh well, I'll still be here wishing for a Libertarian with a chance.

Cordially,
Common Sense