George Rebane
Right after 9/11 when we declared war on something mislabeled terrorism, I pondered about that new war and how it would be fought, and more importantly how could/would it be won. Being of the analytical bent, I came up with an effective metric and communicated it to the editors of the Wall Street Journal (more here). The metric was based on the established notion that when your enemy resorts to terror, his objective is to cause you to defeat yourself through the self-infliction of internal defenses (regulations, liberties removed, checkpoints, searches, etc) that would grind down your abilities to communicate, travel, conduct commerce, and, in general, carry on a normal productive life style. Over the last twelve years we have all come to know the drill on how our lives have changed as the ragheads count victory after victory.
My metric was essentially a thermometer that would go up with the number of all the restrictions, laws, prohibitions, … that the state would pass in the name of assuring our security against these then unidentified terrorists. (Since then the DHS has identified American veterans and tea partiers as the most likely terrorists, and anyone yelling ‘Allahu Akbar!’ before killing/maiming dozens of Americans is just committing “workplace violence”.)
Anyway, the metric would similarly record the deleted number of such anti-terror prohibitions, laws, agencies, etc. These would be easy enough to keep track of since our benevolent and protective government has announced each of these so-called measures before chucking another bucket of sand into the gears of our modus vivendi.
But most Americans instinctively know that these armaments and tallies of our every move are way beyond what is a reasonable response against any terrorists, even if they attacked in company strength within our borders. In short, the implementation and public display of my metric would be a constant and stark reminder that not only are we even close to winning any ‘war on terrorism’, but that something much more sinister is being put in place while we go on with our daily lives and worry about the economy.
Such a response to terrorism is finally being picked up by some senior national correspondents. In the 7aug13 WSJ Ted Koppel of NBC News and NPR provides some historical perspective on terrorism and writes in ‘America’s Chronic Overreaction to Terrorism’ –
At home, the U.S. has constructed an antiterrorism enterprise so immense, so costly and so inexorably interwoven with the defense establishment, police and intelligence agencies, communications systems, and with social media, travel networks and their attendant security apparatus, that the idea of downsizing, let alone disbanding such a construct, is an exercise in futility.
Koppel is no rightwing conservative, far from it, yet he too sees that we have constructed more barriers and controls than are necessary to preserve our pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. He concludes –
But there is no way to completely eliminate terrorism. … The challenge that confronts us is how we will live with that threat. We have created an economy of fear, an industry of fear, a national psychology of fear. Al Qaeda could never have achieved that on its own. We have inflicted it on ourselves.
Over the coming years many more Americans will die in car crashes, of gunshot wounds inflicted by family members and by falling off ladders than from any attack by al Qaeda.
There is always the nightmare of terrorists acquiring and using a weapon of mass destruction. But nothing would give our terrorist enemies greater satisfaction than that we focus obsessively on that remote possibility, and restrict our lives and liberties accordingly.
[update] The President’s propaganda on his accomplishments to have Al Qaeda “on the run” is now beyond laughable to all but the most dedicated oblivians in the country. If anything, under Obama Al Qaeda has grown in both power and scope as the administration’s current shut down of US embassies demonstrates. A revealing article in the 8aug13 WSJ, ‘How Al Qaeda Made Its Comeback’, from an FBI insider Mr Ali Soufan, FBI supervisory special agent, who interrogated ragheads at Guantanamo spells out how we have misapprehended the most successful Islamic terror organization in the world.
[11aug13 update] Here's something relevant about our impending police state. It seems that police will soon have available the ability to turn off our smartphone recording functions (audio, video, stills) where and when they consider it necessary. My longtime pal and fellow blogger Professor Larry Press reports (here) on Apple's latest patent that covers this new 'kill switch' functionality.
[12aug13 update] Yesterday Sen John McCain (R-AZ) was criticizing Obama’s anti-terror foreign policy in the mid-east when he again brought up the prudent advice that we have to balance our security policies against the need to preserve our freedoms. These sober shibboleths regarding national security are now coming from all sides and shades of politicians. The truth of the matter is that we have already forsaken the liberty side of that long-gone balance and there is no going back. Such statements serve to salve those who have not been keeping track of our progress toward a complete autocracy.
Our minds are kept off the topic of maintaining our freedoms by the new culture of ever more intense entertainments and widely available diversions based on accelerating technology. No one notices that these circuses are to be ‘enjoyed’ in ever narrower confines, corridors of movement, and reduced access to our surroundings. Throw in the bread component (a la SNAP) and no one will think to look behind the curtain. The corralling of compliant populations and constraints on commerce continue in the developed nations with every new set of regulations and global goals (e.g. A21) sold under the expanding banner of protecting the environment and ‘saving the earth’.
This combined with militarizing of the police, constructive repeal of the 2nd Amendment, and growing assaults on posse comitatus – under the complaint that we need the military to protect us from domestic terrorists – brings to mind the cocooned lifestyle that was humanity’s destiny in the movie Matrix. The ‘war on terror’ is truly a crisis that has not been wasted by our central planners.
I agree with you on all of this except on a couple points. The raghead remark doesn't help you position and makes you just as bigoted as those who propagandize recruits to take action against the US Government. Violent action begets violent action.
The second place is making it sound like only right wing conservatives have been sounding the alarms on this with you Koppel remark.
Our current "War On Terror" was created by right wing neo cons and blindly supported and defended by the Republican Party and their voters. It was the so called left Democratic Party voters (I would call them center right) who opposed everything you are talking about. We have come to realize that most of them it was partisanship driven outrage as we see today from Republican Party voters on the Obama administration carrying out the policies from the Bush administration that they once supported.
Progressives and libertarians have been the consistent defenders of our civil liberties throughout the 13 year reign of fear and I would appreciate it if you gave those who have been standing alone on conviction some credit.
Posted by: Ben Emery | 08 August 2013 at 07:16 AM
The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, by Emmanuel Goldstein.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_and_Practice_of_Oligarchical_Collectivism
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Posted by: Ryan Mount | 08 August 2013 at 07:38 AM
I think the terrorists have won in that we have restricted the freedoms of our own p[people in many ways. I recall when Bush responded to the shitheads (that iis my replacement for BenE, like it BenE?) that we had to live our lives as if nothing happened. But, our saviors in the government have decided to put into place a gazillion rules to "save us" from the shitheads.
So I must ask BenE, please tell us who and when and where are the "progressives" who have been fighting the battle of terror here in our country? I would like to know as it has been evident to me the "progressives" have been pretty silent. Also, how do you square the in-country laws and regulations your ilk has on eco and property right restrictions as well as your PC rules at free speech. Just curious how you can be so "outraged" at the loss of freedom through the "Patriot Act etal" and love those that take someones private property. Crickets will be the response to all those questions I am sure.
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 08 August 2013 at 07:51 AM
Progressives andLibertarians have been the consistent defenders of our civil liberties throughout the 13 year reign of fear and I would appreciate it if you gave those who have been standing alone on conviction some credit.Fixed that for you Ben.....no charge.
Posted by: fish | 08 August 2013 at 07:52 AM
My apologies, I forgot to cite my use of 'ragheads'. It is corrected.
As argued here for years and vindicated by worldwide evidence, we are in a war between civilizations. Ragheads conducting terrorist operations against us and their own sectarian foes are just one of the weapons used in this war. The other is blatant colonization which is being abetted by our own politically correct progressives out of their profound ignorance, since Islam stands counter to all their stated ideals.
Posted by: George Rebane | 08 August 2013 at 08:15 AM
BenE, you are an infidel according top the Islamic holy book. Here is the definition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel
Guess what they do to infidels? Read it and then get back to us.
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 08 August 2013 at 08:30 AM
Todd,
You're right about Abrahamic religions being violent especially towards those who don't accept their version of faith. Islam learned from Christianity just as Christianity learned from Judaism how to treat those who are not necessary non believers but different believers.
I always find it funny that those who proclaim or imply to being devout Christians are so afraid of dying and going to their heavenly bliss.
The way Christianity became so large in its followers was by violent force so your outrage against religious violence is a bit hypocritical.
Here is a very brief overview of a 300 year history of the beginning of the Christian Church. The violence perpetrated by the Christian Church over the last 2,000 years would takes days of maximum space allowed per comment on RR. The amount of death, destruction, and all around oppression by the Christian Church is immeasurable.
This doesn't mean all Christians or even a significant % of Christians through out history are bad it just means the centralized establishment of the religion is not good and definitely has not practiced the teachings of Jesus Christ.
What happened after the Council of Nicaea?
314 Immediately after its full legalization, the Christian Church attacks
non-Christians. The Council of Ancyra denounces the worship of Goddess
Artemis.
324 The emperor Constantine declares Christianity as the only official
religion of the Roman Empire. In Dydima, Minor Asia, he sacks the Oracle of
the god Apollo and tortures the pagan priests to death. He also evicts all
non-Christian peoples from Mount Athos and destroys all the local Hellenic
temples.
325 Nicene Council. The god-man gets a promotion: 'Christ is Divine'
326 Constantine, following the instructions of his mother Helen, destroys
the temple of the god Asclepius in Aigeai Cilicia and many temples of the
goddess Aphrodite in Jerusalem, Aphaca, Mambre, Phoenicia, Baalbek, etc.
330 Constantine steals the treasures and statues of the pagan temples of
Greece to decorate Constantinople, the new capital of his Empire.
335 Constantine sacks many pagan temples in Asia Minor and Palestine and
orders the execution by crucifixion of "all magicians and soothsayers."
Martyrdom of the neoplatonist philosopher Sopatrus.
341 Constantius II (Flavius Julius Constantius) persecutes "all the
soothsayers and the Hellenists." Many gentile Hellenes are either imprisoned
or executed.
346 New large scale persecutions against non-Christian peoples in
Constantinople. Banishment of the famous orator Libanius accused as a
"magician".
353 An edict of Constantius orders the death penalty for all kind of worship
through sacrifice and "idols".
354 A new edict orders the closing of all the pagan temples. Some of them
are profaned and turned into brothels or gambling rooms.
Execution of pagan priests begins.
A new edict of Constantius orders the destruction of the pagan temples and
the execution of all "idolaters".
First burning of libraries in various cities of the empire.
The first lime factories are organized next to the closed pagan temples. A
major part of the holy architecture of the pagans is turned into lime.
357 Constantius outlaws all methods of divination (astrology not excluded).
359 In Skythopolis, Syria, the Christians organize the first death camps for
the torture and executions of the arrested non-Christians from all around
the empire.
361 to 363 Religious tolerance and restoration of the pagan cults is
declared in Constantinople (11th December 361) by the pagan emperor Julian
(Flavius Claudius Julianus).
363 Assassination of Julian (26th June).
364 Emperor Jovian orders the burning of the Library of Antioch.
An Imperial edict (11th September) orders the death penalty for all those
that worship their ancestral gods or practice divination ("sileat omnibus
perpetuo divinandi curiositas").
Three different edicts (4th February, 9th September, 23rd December) order
the confiscation of all properties of the pagan temples and the death
penalty for participation in pagan rituals, even private ones.
The Church Council of Laodicea (Phrygia - western Asia Minor) orders that
religious observances are to be conducted on Sunday and not on Saturday.
Sunday becomes the new Sabbath. The practice of staying at home and resting
on Saturday declared sinful and anathema to Christ.
365 An imperial edict from Emperor Valens, a zealous Arian Christian (17th
November), forbids pagan officers of the army to command Christian soldiers.
370 Valens orders a tremendous persecution of non-Christian peoples in all
the Eastern Empire. In Antioch, among many other non-Christians, the
ex-governor Fidustius and the priests Hilarius and Patricius are executed.
The philosopher Simonides is burned alive and the philosopher Maximus is
decapitated. All the friends of Julian are persecuted (Orebasius,
Sallustius, Pegasius etc.).
Tons of books are burnt in the squares of the cities of the Eastern Empire.
372 Valens orders the governor of Minor Asia to exterminate all the Hellenes
and all documents of their wisdom.
373 New prohibition of all divination methods is issued. The term "pagan"
(pagani, villagers, equivalent to the modern insult, "peasants") is
introduced by the Christians to demean non-believers.
375 The temple of Asclepius in Epidaurus, Greece, is closed down by the
Christians.
380 On 27th February Christianity becomes the exclusive religion of the
Roman Empire by an edict of the Emperor Flavius Theodosius, requiring that:
"All the various nations which are subject to our clemency and moderation
should continue in the profession of that religion which was delivered to
the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter."
The non-Christians are called "loathsome, heretics, stupid and blind".
In another edict, Theodosius calls "insane" those that do not believe to the
Christian God and outlaws all disagreement with the Church dogmas.
Ambrosius, bishop of Milan, begins the destruction of pagan temples of his
area. The Christian priests lead the hungry mob against the temple of
goddess Demeter in Eleusis and try to lynch the hierophants Nestorius and
Priskus. The 95 year old hierophant Nestorius ends the Eleusinian Mysteries
and announces "the predominance of mental darkness over the human race."
381 At the Council of Constantinople the 'Holy Spirit' is declared 'Divine'
(thus sanctioning a triune god). On 2nd May, Theodosius deprives of all
their rights any Christians who return to the pagan religion. Throughout the
Eastern Empire the pagan temples and libraries are looted or burned down. On
21st December, Theodosius outlaws visits to Hellenic temples.
In Constantinople, the Temple of Aphrodite is turned into a brothel and the
temples of the Sun and Artemis to stables.
382 "Hellelujah" ("Glory to Yahweh") is imposed in the Christian mass.
384 Theodosius orders the Praetorian Prefect Maternus Cynegius, a dedicated
Christian, to cooperate with local bishops and destroy the temples of the
pagans in Northern Greece and Minor Asia.
385 to 388 Prefect Maternus Cynegius, encouraged by his fanatic wife, and
bishop 'Saint' Marcellus with his gangs, scour the countryside and sack and
destroy hundreds of Hellenic temples, shrines and altars. Among others they
destroy the temple of Edessa, the Cabeireion of Imbros, the temple of Zeus
in Apamea, the temple of Apollo in Dydima and all the temples of Palmyra.
Thousands of innocent pagans from all sides of the empire suffer martyrdom
in the notorious death camps of Skythopolis.
386 Theodosius outlaws the care of the sacked pagan temples.
388 Public talks on religious subjects are outlawed by Theodosius. The old
orator Libanius sends his famous epistle "Pro Templis" to Theodosius with
the hope that the few remaining Hellenic temples will be respected and
spared.
389 to 390 All non-Christian calendars and dating-methods are outlawed.
Hordes of fanatic hermits from the desert flood the cities of the Middle
East and Egypt and destroy statues, altars, libraries and pagan temples, and
lynch the pagans. Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, starts heavy
persecutions against non-Christian peoples, turning the temple of Dionysius
into a Christian church, burning down the Mithraeum of the city, destroying
the temple of Zeus and burlesques the pagan priests before they are killed
by stoning. The Christian mob profanes the cult images.
391 On 24th February, a new edict of Theodosius prohibits not only visits to
pagan temples but also looking at the vandalized statues. New heavy
persecutions occur all around the empire. In Alexandria, Egypt, pagans, led
by the philosopher Olympius, revolt and after some street fights they lock
themselves inside the fortified temple of the god Serapis (the Serapeion).
After a violent siege, the Christians take over the building, demolish it,
burn its famous library and profane the cult images.
392 On 8th November, Theodosius outlaws all the non-Christian rituals and
names them "superstitions of the gentiles" (gentilicia superstitio). New
full scale persecutions are ordered against pagans. The Mysteries of
Samothrace are ended and the priests slaughtered. In Cyprus the local bishop
"Saint" Epiphanius and "Saint" Tychon destroy almost all the temples of the
island and exterminate thousands of non-Christians. The local Mysteries of
goddess Aphrodite are ended. Theodosius's edict declares:
"The ones that won't obey pater Epiphanius have no right to keep living in
that island."
The pagans revolt against the Emperor and the Church in Petra, Aeropolis,
Rafia, Gaza, Baalbek and other cities of the Middle East.
393 The Pythian Games, the Aktia Games and the Olympic Games are outlawed as
part of the Hellenic "idolatry". The Christians sack the temples of Olympia.
395 Two new edicts (22nd July and 7th August) cause new persecutions against
pagans. Rufinus, the eunuch Prime Minister of Emperor Flavius Arcadius
directs the hordes of baptized Goths (led by Alaric) to the country of the
Hellenes. Encouraged by Christian monks the barbarians sack and burn many
cities (Dion, Delphi, Megara, Corinth, Pheneos, Argos, Nemea, Lycosoura,
Sparta, Messene, Phigaleia, Olympia, etc.), slaughter or enslave innumerable
gentile Hellenes and burn down all the temples. Among others, they burn down
the Eleusinian Sanctuary and burn alive all its priests (including the
hierophant of Mithras Hilarius).
396 On 7th December, a new edict by Arcadius orders that paganism be treated
as high treason. Imprisonment of the few remaining pagan priests and
hierophants.
397 "Demolish them!" Flavius Arcadius orders that all the still standing
pagan temples be demolished.
398 The 4th Church Council of Carthage prohibits everybody, including
Christian bishops, from studying pagan books. Porphyrius, bishop of Gaza,
demolishes almost all the pagan temples of his city (except nine of them
that remain active).
399 With a new edict (13th July) Flavius Arcadius orders all remaining pagan
temples, mainly in the countryside, be immediately demolished.
400 Bishop Nicetas destroys the Oracle of Dionysus in Vesai and baptizes all
the non-Christians of this area.
401 The Christian mob of Carthage lynches non-Christians and destroys
temples and "idols". In Gaza too, the local bishop "Saint" Porphyrius sends
his followers to lynch pagans and to demolish the remaining nine still
active temples of the city.
The 15th Council of Chalcedon orders all the Christians that still keep good
relations with their non-Christian relatives to be excommunicated (even
after their death).
405 John Chrysostom sends hordes of grey-dressed monks armed with clubs and
iron bars to destroy the "idols" in all the cities of Palestine.
406 John Chrysostom collects funds from rich Christian women to financially
support the demolition of the Hellenic temples. In Ephesus he orders the
destruction of the famous temple of Artemis. In Salamis, Cyprus, "Saints"
Epiphanius and Eutychius continue the persecutions of the pagans and the
total destruction of their temples and sanctuaries.
407 A new edict outlaws once more all the non-Christian acts of worship.
408 The emperor of the Western Empire, Honorius, and the emperor of the
Eastern Empire, Arcadius, order all the sculptures of the pagan temples to
be either destroyed or to be taken away. Private ownership of pagan
sculpture is also outlawed. The local bishops lead new heavy persecutions
against the pagans and new book burning. The judges that have pity for the
pagans are also persecuted. "Saint" Augustine massacres hundreds of
protesting pagans in Calama, Algeria.
409 Another edict orders all methods of divination including astrology to be
punished by death.
415 In Alexandria, the Christian mob, urged by the bishop Cyril, attacks a
few days before the Judeo-Christian Pascha (Easter) and cuts to pieces the
famous and beautiful philosopher Hypatia. The pieces of her body, carried
around by the Christian mob through the streets of Alexandria, are finally
burned together with her books in a place called Cynaron.
On 30th August, new persecutions start against all the pagan priests of
North Africa who end their lives either crucified or burned alive. Emperor
Theodosius II expels the Jews from Alexandria.
416 The inquisitor Hypatius, alias "The Sword of God", exterminates the last
pagans of Bithynia. In Constantinople (7th December) all non-Christian army
officers, public employees and judges are dismissed.
423 Emperor Theodosius II declares (8th June) that the religion of the
pagans is nothing more than "demon worship" and orders all those who persist
in practicing it to be punished by imprisonment and torture.
429 The temple of goddess Athena (Parthenon) on the Acropolis of Athens is
sacked. The Athenian pagans are persecuted.
431 Council of Ephesus ("Robber Synod"). Promotion for the god-man - "Christ
is complete God and complete man."
435 On 14th November, a new edict by Theodosius II orders the death penalty
for all "heretics" and pagans of the empire. Only Judaism is considered a
legal non-Christian religion.
438 Theodosius II issues an new edict (31st January) against the pagans,
incriminating their "idolatry" as the reason of a recent plague!
440 to 450 The Christians demolish all the monuments, altars and temples of
Athens, Olympia, and other Greek cities.
book burning
448 Theodosius II orders all non-Christian books to be burned.
450 All the temples of Aphrodisias (the City of the Goddess Aphrodite) are
demolished and all its libraries burned down. The city is renamed
Stavroupolis (City of the Cross).
451 Council of Chalcedon. New edict by Theodosius II (4th November)
emphasizes that "idolatry" is punished by death. Assertion of orthodox
doctrine over the 'Monophysites' - 'JC has single, divine nature.'
457 to 491 Sporadic persecutions against the pagans of the Eastern Empire.
Among others, the physician Jacobus and the philosopher Gessius are
executed. Severianus, Herestios, Zosimus, Isidorus and others are tortured
and imprisoned. The proselytizer Conon and his followers exterminate the
last non-Christians of Imbros Island, Northeast Aegean Sea. The last
worshippers of Lavranius Zeus are exterminated in Cyprus.
482 to 488 The majority of the pagans of Minor Asia are exterminated after a
desperate revolt against the emperor and the Church.
486 More "underground" pagan priests are discovered, arrested, burlesqued,
tortured and executed in Alexandria, Egypt.
full body baptism 515 Baptism becomes obligatory even for those that
already say they are Christians.
The emperor of Constantinople, Anastasius, orders the massacre of the pagans
in the Arabian city Zoara and the demolition of the temple of local god
Theandrites.
523 Emperor Justin I outlaws the Arian heresy and campaigns to suppress
Arianism everywhere.
528 Emperor Justinian outlaws the "alternative" Olympian Games of Antioch.
He also orders the execution-by fire, crucifixion, tearing to pieces by wild
beasts or cutting to pieces by iron nails-of all who practice "sorcery,
divination, magic or idolatry" and prohibits all teachings by the pagans
("the ones suffering from the blasphemous insanity of the Hellenes").
529 Justinian outlaws the Athenian Philosophical Academy and has its
property confiscated.
532 The inquisitor Ioannis Asiacus, a fanatical monk, leads a crusade
against the pagans of Minor Asia.
542 Justinian allows the inquisitor Ioannis Asiacus to forcibly convert the
pagans of Phrygia, Caria and Lydia in Asia Minor. Within 35 years of this
crusade, 99 churches and 12 monasteries are built on the sites of demolished
pagan temples.
546 Hundreds of pagans are put to death in Constantinople by the inquisitor
Ioannis Asiacus.
556 Justinian orders the notorious inquisitor Amantius to go to Antioch, to
find, arrest, torture and exterminate the last non-Christians of the city
and burn all the private libraries down.
562 Mass arrests, burlesquing, tortures, imprisonments and executions of
gentile Hellenes in Athens, Antioch, Palmyra and Constantinople.
578 to 582 The Christians torture and crucify Hellenes all around the
Eastern Empire, and exterminate the last non-Christians of Heliopolis
(Baalbek).
580 The Christian inquisitors attack a secret temple of Zeus in Antioch. The
priest commits suicide, but the rest of the pagans are arrested. All the
prisoners, the Vice Governor Anatolius included, are tortured and sent to
Constantinople to face trial. Sentenced to death they are thrown to the
lions. The wild animals being unwilling to tear them to pieces, they end up
crucified. Their dead bodies are dragged in the streets by the Christian mob
and afterwards thrown unburied in the dump.
583 New persecutions against the gentile Hellenes by Emperor Maurice.
590 In all the Eastern Empire the Christian accusers "discover" pagan
conspiracies. New storm of torture and executions.
Posted by: Ben Emery | 08 August 2013 at 11:57 AM
Ben E's latest was apparently plagiarized from here:
http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/dark-age.htm
Posted by: Gregory | 08 August 2013 at 12:17 PM
Note: This was not plagiarized.
This is quickly turning into a Monty Python sketch.
- 590-1096: Not much. Muslims. Early Deaths. Starvation. Septic Shock. Good times.
- 1096 - 1272ish: The Crusades. Not a great time for Christianity, but provided much material for Hollywood during the Red Scare. Early Deaths. Starvation. Septic Shock.
- 1272 - 1478: Mostly early deaths. Some of it Black. Starvation. Septic Shock.
- 1478-1501ish: The Spanish Inquisition. Another dark time, but plenty of Monty Python material, because no one, and I mean no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. Early Deaths. Starvation. Septic Shock.
1501 --> 1968ish. Western Enlightenment, for white people. A Sense of humor, again, for white people.
1968 --> Boredom with overwhelming privilege for 1st world countries. 1%ers invented and includes all Americans* relative to those who still use open sewers. Humor disappears except for Mel Brooks and Monty Python. Mel Brooks makes a Robin Hood Movie. Humor dies.
*It's good to be the King**.
**Mel Brooks
Posted by: Ryan Mount | 08 August 2013 at 12:31 PM
The police state as we now know it did not start with 911. It was amplified and given credibility by 911 but it actually started back in the 1960's with the so called war on drugs, or if you want to go back even further, the cold war. Scare people into allowing their rights to be slowly diminished because of some unknown catastrophe just lurking around the next corner.
The war on drugs was actually cover for the war against the anti-war groups, many of whom, it was assumed, used drugs. This made it easy to search and seize for drugs on the surface while hiding the persecution of anti-war activists for exercising their first amendment rights. The public went along with more lax search and seizures because, after-all it was perceived to be a danger to society. The real fear on the inside was that the military-industrial complex would be exposed for what Ike said it would become, a rogue alliance that did not operate in the best interests of the American people. It wasn’t exposed, and nothing has changed. All that has happened is we have exchanged commies and drugs for terrorists.
As those who control governments (and I don't mean the elected stooges we call politicians) get more and more out of control, those governments, through the stooges, begin to exercise increasingly more draconian measures to protect their power. Look at any two-bit dictatorship in world and the pattern is about the same. Repression breeds revolution and eventually the little people get fed up and revolt (either violently or peacefully) and either take over or get slaughtered, in either case. The US is no different except there is more at stake than two-bits. Many folks think the world is at a major crossroad. Down one fork is global corporatism’s one world plutocratic government ala the novel “1984” and down the other is democracy.
Posted by: Joe Koyote | 08 August 2013 at 12:42 PM
Better Joe....much better! Two thumbs up.
Posted by: fish | 08 August 2013 at 01:13 PM
Joe
You can sure see the police state in action locally with the enforcement process for the Marijuana Cultivation ordinance. The Sheriffs Department can enter your property with a code warrant, not a criminal search warrant, based on a unspecified "complaint" which does not have to be revealed . The threshold for a code search warrant is much less that a criminal search warrant.
There have been reports of the Sheriffs Department going door to door in entire neighborhoods searching backyards without any warrant unless challenged.
They can later return with a criminal search warrant if they find something in the code search, which is a civil process. Once they're in the door you're subject to prosecution for whatever they find.
Posted by: Paul Emery | 08 August 2013 at 01:42 PM
Greg,
Wrong again. I gave you the title of the piece where I got if from. Since George's "spam filter" gives me a hard time with links I thought I would post the contents with the title instead of the link.
Vlasis Rassias a greek author whose focus seems to be the transition from Pagan to Christianity. I had never heard of him but when I saw the info I saw many things I have researched before, so I shared it.
It must be tough to be so sure you're right about everything and find out you are so wrong.
Posted by: Ben Emery | 08 August 2013 at 02:27 PM
So BenE, what is your punishment for adultery in your favorite religion, Islam? Why do you insist on making comparisons between present day Christianity and Judaism with Islam? I find that really odd.
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 08 August 2013 at 04:20 PM
So PaulE, do you smoke MJ? Are your concerns because you are a user or because you are now a "property rights" advocate? If you are now a "property rights" advocate, does that mean you have a dislike for general plans, zoning ordinances and the federalizing of our local South Yuba?
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 08 August 2013 at 04:23 PM
JoeK 1242pm - The police state started in the 1960s??!! There was nothing like what's going on today happening in those years. Today we have every un/imaginable government agency arming itself to the teeth and deploying its own SWAT teams in the thousand of incidents annually. Look at the picture in my post.
Almost everything the President says about what's going on in the America is a bald faced lie, and tomorrow we'll find out more about how today's statements were lies.
Leftwingers in these pages have maintained long and hard that the Obama's scandals were "phoney" and short lived. Outside the hard Left, Americans in general don't believe that. The most recent Fox News Poll (3-5 August) consisting of a sample of 1007 registered voters (+/-3% error range) assessed the scandals as "Serious" or "Phoney" respectively as follows -
Benghazi 78% 17%
NSA 69% 36%
DOJ 59% 31%
IRS 59% 33%
Administrivia - this post was updated today.
Posted by: George Rebane | 08 August 2013 at 06:33 PM
I just love those folks that cherry pick history. Police state started in the 60's? You might brush up on what the feds were up to during that famous Democrat Wilson's admin. When he wasn't cleansing the fed govt of non-whites, he was throwing good folks in the can for daring to exercise their free speech rights. In modern times I will constantly point to the 'war' on drunk driving giving rise to the worst give-a-way of our freedoms. Probable cause? Sorry - it just became a casualty to the 'cause'. The sheep will always want a comfy place to sleep before they're slaughtered.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 08 August 2013 at 06:51 PM
I agree with you Scott, the 4th Amendment has been continuously eroded in the name of good causes for decades. If not centuries.
George wrote: "The police state started in the 1960s??!! There was nothing like what's going on today happening in those years."
You are completely wrong about this George, and the reason for that is because you were troughing in the Belly of the Beast during the 1960s. The only thing that has changed is the sophistication and extremism of the technology. COINTELPRO came from exactly the same breed of Washington D.C. insider culture that fears everything outside the Beltway. I will posit that this is nothing but the same ol' same ol', and as long as we all ramp up our indignation only when our partisans are out of office, we will continue to be cornholed en masse.
BTW, this is what Ben has been laboriously talking about on this blog, to so far many deaf ears.
I was in a protest march in San Francisco in April of 2002, objecting to exactly what you state George: "[the] objective is to cause you to defeat yourself through the self-infliction of internal defenses (regulations, liberties removed, checkpoints, searches, etc) that would grind down your abilities to communicate, travel, conduct commerce, and, in general, carry on a normal productive life style..." Were you there? I didn't see you. This was a pre-emptive protest of the obvious ramp-up to the illegal Iraq War, and I held a sign that read: "US out of California." After this march of close to 100,000 people protesting the US government's obvious overreach due to 9/11, while we were chilling out in the Civic Center and some lovely young ladies approached me and asked if they could have my sign, so they could take it back to Oakland and put it in their "protest museum." I gave them my sign, thinking it would go down in history.
I asked them a few questions about it, and at first they seemed legit, but I came to find out that there was no such thing as a Protest Museum in Oakland, and I figured these delightful young ladies were most likely NSA or CIA stooges just collecting inadvertent data on the protestors.
They got some nice pics of me and my sign and I am hopefully in some database somewhere that labels me as a dissident. Again I ask, where were you George?
Great Divide, indeed.
Posted by: Michael Anderson | 08 August 2013 at 07:22 PM
MichaelA 722pm - Apparently you haven't noticed the militarization of police in America, and that now govt has the ability to monitor every fart that we cut. But yours is the progressive palliative, 'Nothing has changed folks, just go on with your business, all is well.'
Posted by: George Rebane | 08 August 2013 at 07:27 PM
No George, you are trying very hard not to listen to me.
ALL IS NOT WELL. IT HAS NOT BEEN WELL FOR MANY DECADES. YOUR PUNY MISSIVES SINCE 2008 ARE MANY DAYS LATE AND MANY DOLLARS SHORT.
We are trying to welcome you into our bandwagon, but you keep trying to claim that you invented the Kleenex, when we have been awash in an enormous amount of tissues since the end of WWII.
All is not well. I was sounding that alarm when I was a teenager in the 1960s. And now here you are braying the same donkey songs. I welcome you. I honor you. I bow down to you.
Just please stop thinking that you are the first person to have ever come up with these thoughts. It's disrespectful, inaccurate, and also annoying.
And once again, I will have to invoke my primal call...if you went to Burning Man this year, all of this would become clear to you. Your understanding of the American culture is extremely limited, but Burning Man would fill in many gaps for you. Just sayin'.
Posted by: Michael Anderson | 08 August 2013 at 07:42 PM
Never been to Burning Man and doubt I ever will, but we have a Burning Man story in our family we revisit every year during Burning Man. We had just returned from a book research trip to Salmon Idaho and stopped to empty our holding tanks in Truckee at service station near the most western edge of Truckee. There was an old Bounder RV in the dump station when we pulled up and had to wait. It was covered in desert playa dust, and when the occupants went in to the station store, they left dusty foot prints on the tarmac and the station store rug as they searched out a mens room, apparently the tanks were full to over to flowing on the Bounder.
One disheveled person in bare feet pulled a sewer house from a compartment under the RV unit and was walking around the unit searching for a place to connect it, the other two had headed for the store mens room. Finally, the guy with the hose went in the store and asked the clerk if they knew were to connect the hose to drain the sewer. She decline to participate, looking at the tracks on the floor rug that she would soon have to vacuum up. The two guys come out walked around the RV and look for the connection and went back inside the vehicle with a couple of six packs, I assume were adult beverages.
From where we were sitting in our truck we could see the sewer pipe connection under the trailer and got out and told the guy with the hose. He muttered about it being a borrowed RV, and was no longer interested and starts stuffing the sewer hose back in the compartment, and it keeps wiggling out. I retreated to our vehicle.
The guy throws the hose at the compartment and it joins some folding chairs and green water hose and then he slams the compartment door shut, kicking the door when it would not latch, breaking off one of the hinges. As they pull out of the dump station, doing a 180 in the middle of the street the compartment door pops open, hanging on one hinge and things start sliding out of the RV compartment, first the sewer house and then one of the folding chairs wedged in the hole, half out of the compartment, the door dragging along side the unit as they pulled onto the freeway overpass, the green water hose slowly inching it’s way to freedom, under the chair.
We unloaded our holding tanks and started west up toward Donor Pass on I-80. About 3 or 4 miles up the grade the Bounder was pulled over to the side of the road, the little hood up, with steam or smoke coming out, and three guys gawking at the front of the RV. We could see the compartment door hanging, but did not see the chair, or the hoses.
We passed three of four more over heated playa covered vehicles along the side of the road, most likely with clog air filters from the playa. One has to wonder, if these super smart people were typical of the Burn Man attendees or if they were the dregs after the all the smart people were already home. Pulling some nylons over the air filer when in the desert usually solves the clogged air filter problem. Checking with the owner of a borrowed RV where the sewer hose goes seems to be a smart thing to do. We came away from this experience with the idea al lot of dumb people attend Burning Man.
Posted by: Russ Steele | 08 August 2013 at 09:07 PM
Opps should be Donner Pass.
Posted by: Russ Steele | 08 August 2013 at 09:11 PM
MichaelA 742pm - RR just started in 2007, and during this interval the Left has continued to erroneously accuse me of being the first and only one to report what was known to many and me considerably earlier. This record is replete with my vain attempts to disabuse these people and cite others with similar views, that I am and have never been alone in these observations (except possibly to the local lightly reads).
Now you take the opposite tack and are calling me a johnny-come-lately in these matters while claiming Burning Man to be some kind of font of ground truth, cultural wisdom, and source of epiphanies on the American way. This sounds like a very confused commentary, however it does tie with the reports of friends who have attended Burning Man and described the goings on there.
I don't know what to make of it other than suggest that there is an extremely easy way for you stop all the suffering caused by your visits to RR. Please consider it.
Posted by: George Rebane | 08 August 2013 at 09:33 PM
Terrorist is only a terrorist to some where they are hero's to others. Nelson Mandela is a hero to hundreds of millions if not in the billions of people around the planet. Ronald Reagan, HW Bush, and Dick Cheney sided with South Africa apartheid. What despicable excuses for the leader of the free world.
Allied with Apartheid: Reagan Supported Racist South African Gvt
www.democracynow.org/2004/6/11/allied_with_apartheid_reagan_supported_racist
June 11, 2004
"Former South African President Nelson Mandela recently announced that he was retiring from public life. And Mandela will not be among the foreign dignitaries attending services for Ronald Reagan. After all, Mandela was languishing in a South African prison throughout the duration of Reagan’s presidency. But this history has been effectively re-written in the US. The dominant view is that the US was on the right side in South Africa, that it opposed apartheid. But nothing could be further from the truth, particularly when Reagan was president. Reagan labeled Mandela’s African National Congress a notorious terrorist organization, while continuing Washington’s support for the apartheid regime. In 1981, Reagan explained to CBS that he was loyal to the South African regime because it was "a country that has stood by us in every war we’ve ever fought, a country that, strategically, is essential to the free world in its production of minerals."
Posted by: Ben Emery | 08 August 2013 at 09:45 PM
Todd,
Read the history of the Abrahamic religions without bias and see if you can see similar patterns. Then you will understand why I continue to compare each of the religions.
Posted by: Ben Emery | 08 August 2013 at 09:57 PM
George -- The FISA laws, that have been pretty much canceled, were enacted because of actions of the FBI, CIA, NSA and other agencies in their effort to quell the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War. In several cases those who most pushed for violence were government infiltrators inserted into anti-war groups as spies and agent provocateurs. I personally witnessed busloads of local sheriffs, city police, and CHP officers in full riot gear wade into peaceful protesters sitting down in the street. I saw three person covert undercover crews (from which agency I don’t know) snatch students who spoke at rallies out of the crowd based on photos taken from a nearby rooftop. I worked in a sporting goods store that had a very large gun selection. The FBI came in one day and told us we had to put all handguns in the safe and cable together all the rifles and shotguns on the racks each night for fear the black panthers or somebody was going to steal them. The main difference today is technology not the inclination to subvert liberties and quiet those who disagree. To get to this point in a police state in a so-called democracy didn’t happen overnight.
Posted by: Joe Koyote | 08 August 2013 at 09:59 PM
BenE 945pm - "Terrorist is only a terrorist to some where they are hero's(sic) to others." You are citing a fairly basic tautology that has been long recognized in these pages. For example it was a main thesis 'Of Ragheads and Racism' cited above. Hope it wasn't a recent discovery.
JoeK 959pm - Yes, we read of those happenings back during the riots in Chicago and other cities. I think that local authorities will again ask gun dealers to make their weapons unavailable to rioters when those days return. Did you consider such procedures excessive or over the top?
Posted by: George Rebane | 08 August 2013 at 10:05 PM
Great comment JK 9:59 pm 8/2013
Posted by: Michael Anderson | 08 August 2013 at 10:12 PM
I gotta tell ya George, the main reason I keep coming back to RR is your unique ability to tell someone to go fuck themselves in such a tender and loving way: "...other than suggest that there is an extremely easy way for you stop all the suffering caused by your visits to RR. Please consider it."
But here's the deal...I don't suffer! In fact, the comedic release that I receive in visiting RR is a palliative that my doctor recommends on a daily basis.
And yes, no guns for rioters (-;
-------------------
Russ, sorry to hear about your bad experience with some people who had attended Burning Man. It takes all tards, as they say. If you let me be your guide I guarantee that your tard experience at Burning Man will be nearly non-existent, plus you will learn a lot. That's how I see it anyway.
M.
Posted by: Michael Anderson | 08 August 2013 at 10:24 PM
Here is Willis Eschenbach report on the Weather at the Black Rock Desert in 2012 with pictures of his Burning Man adventure. A very interesting read:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/09/the-playa-willis-excellent-adventure/
MA at 10:24PM It was not a bad experience for us, we get a great laugh out of the experience every time some one mentions Burning Man. The story gets told around the RV camp fires when we make new friends RVing. Nothing like a good sewer hose story to break the ice around the camp fire.
Posted by: Russ Steele | 08 August 2013 at 10:59 PM
Russ....good post....and good link to the Eschenbach report! Makes me want to wade into the crowd and watch the party!
Posted by: fish | 09 August 2013 at 02:04 AM
Ben 2:27 if you gave the title of the piece, it wasn't identified as such nor was what you lifted from whatever site identified as a quote either by punctuation or by the text.
It's OK, no one thought you wrote it, but it's considered bad form to quote reams of information without attribution or, in your case, not even quotes or italics to set it off from your own words.
Sorry, not wrong this time either. Better luck next time.
Posted by: Gregory | 09 August 2013 at 09:14 AM
MichaelA is a good example of where the American culture has gone. Depravity and perversion at Burning Man is now his normal behavior example. And he praises it! I think I see why he and BenE are joined at the hip in their dislike for all that is good and pure. Too funny. And he thinks we should take anything he says seriously.
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 09 August 2013 at 09:18 AM
If there is any doubt about the depravity here are some pictures. What a hoot!
http://acidcow.com/pics/15664-burning-man-168-pics.html
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 09 August 2013 at 09:23 AM
George
Would you consider the 1953 CIA sponsored coup against the democratically elected government of Iran and its head of government Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh as terrorism? If not how do you classify it?
Posted by: Paul Emery | 09 August 2013 at 09:34 AM
Depravity and perversion at Burning Man is now his normal behavior example. And he praises it! I think I see why he and BenE are joined at the hip in their dislike for all that is good and pure.
I'm as happy as anyone here to punch Ben and Michael rhetorically....but that just doesn't make a lot of sense Todd. The photos you linked to reflect fairly accurately how the event is billed...a place for fairly creative people to get together, have fun and blow off steam in dusty conditions! Some of the "transportation" is epic!
You really believe it's a threat to Americas moral fiber?
Posted by: fish | 09 August 2013 at 09:49 AM
MichaelA 1024pm - I am pleased that RR plays a positive role in your physician prescribed mental health maintenance program - we try to contribute where we can. But one wonders, could your therapeutic visits be equally effective without leaving behind the sniffing comments of a self-adorned superiority? Would not a private condescending chuckle at these pages serve equally, or does the clinical benefit come mainly from its public exhibition?
PaulE 934am - no I wouldn't call the means of that successful regime change terrorism. Although one could call it an act of strategic imperialism at what most people then saw as the beginning of a protracted competition between the free and communist worlds, a cold war during which each side co-opted governments to bolster its hegemony.
Posted by: George Rebane | 09 August 2013 at 09:52 AM
Greg,
Strange apology of accusing someone of plagiarism. I never claimed it was mine and I gave the title above. As I mentioned I am trying to stop using links since they have problems posting.
If you would have scrolled to the bottom of the link you gave you would have seen
Inspired by: Vlasis Rassias, Demolish Them! … Published in Greek, Athens 1994
Same material different website.
I did like the Thomas Paine quote. Don't know if he actually said it but I agree with it 100%. The church can do some good things and I respect peoples choice to participate in specific religions. What I 100% oppose is specific religions proselytizing their beliefs. By example not by force is the only recruiting tool that should be needed.
"Of all the tyrannies that afflict mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst. Every other species of tyranny is limited to the world we live in, but this attempts a stride beyond the grave and seeks to pursue us into eternity." - Thomas Paine
Posted by: Ben Emery | 09 August 2013 at 10:03 AM
Todd, 09 August 2013 at 09:23 AM
What exactly do you think is morally corrupt in those pictures? Taking a guess it would be the nudity. What is wrong with the human body and consensual adults feeling secure enough with themselves and their co-inhabitants to shed their clothing?
Posted by: Ben Emery | 09 August 2013 at 10:21 AM
BenE 1003am - On RR we all "proselytize" our ideologies - socio-political, economic, and, yes, even spiritual/religious beliefs. Were you king, what part of all this would you proscribe?
Posted by: George Rebane | 09 August 2013 at 10:28 AM
Todd, 08 August 2013 at 07:51 AM
Just saw this comment. "please tell us who and when and where are the "progressives" who have been fighting the battle of terror here in our country?"
The only battle against terror is the battle not to be terrified by our government/ corporate world scaring us into complacency of preemptive invasions, occupations, torture prisons, stripping of civil liberties, and the police state here at home. Progressives have been in the streets, organizing, writing books, writing Op Eds, and running for public offices. Where have you been? I am not sure if you noticed the protest against the Bush administration wars, torture, occupations, lies, shredding of constitution, and overt cronyism. Many were outraged at the R in the White House and became silent when a D took control of our executive branch. This is where partisanship is destroying our constitution because party line D's and R's won't hold their own parties accountable. Progressives have not been silent during the Obama administrations, which I have given dozens and dozens of examples over time pushing back at George's implied progressive backing of Obama policies.
On private property there are so many issues in this realm I don't know what you are talking about.
Posted by: Ben Emery | 09 August 2013 at 10:37 AM
So George in your view if an Islamic state attempted to over through our government to control strategic recources through the same means and methods we used in 1953 that wouldn't be terrorism.
It was all about oil in '53. You know that. We used fake commies to make it look like it was a communist threat. I shouldn't have to tell you this.
According to James Risen in the New York Times " Iranians working for the C.I.A. and posing as Communists harassed religious leaders and staged the bombing of one cleric's home in a campaign to turn the country's Islamic religious community against Mossadegh's government."
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/iran-cia-intro.pdf
Posted by: Paul Emery | 09 August 2013 at 11:00 AM
sp overthrow our government
Posted by: Paul Emery | 09 August 2013 at 11:01 AM
"Strange apology of accusing someone of plagiarism." - Ben
That's because it was no "apology" for accusing you of plagiarism since your post was plagiarized. Just as thinking vermouth when you're pouring gin doesn't turn pure gin into a Martini, thinking about where you are copying text from when you're copying text doesn't turn the copied text from a plagiarism into an appropriate use. You quoted someone else as if it were your own, whether that was your intent or not. No quote marks, no words identifying the following text as words from somewhere else.
I accept the appearance of plagiarism was due to your lack of literary skill. Does that make you feel better?
Posted by: Gregory | 09 August 2013 at 11:13 AM
fish, there are many other picture albums available I just picked one. I have a tenant who went to BM a few times and he gave it up because of the perverts and the public displays of screwing and the little kids were subject to all that. The so-called adults there are a good example of the degradation of the culture. O am no prude either but there is a boundary line especially when children are involved. Hell, a 40 year old perv killed a mom and her son and kidnapped a 16 year old girl he apparently had a crush on. That is the kind of degradation that comes from this diminution of our American and Judea-Christian values.
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 09 August 2013 at 11:18 AM
O am no prude either but there is a boundary line especially when children are involved.
No argument here.
Posted by: fish | 09 August 2013 at 11:23 AM
"It was all about oil in '53."
Paul, in '53 it was all about cold war politics, and not all about oil. Until satellites were developed and launched, US spooks relied heavily on stations on the northern border of Iran for monitoring Soviet ICBM launches.
Posted by: Gregory | 09 August 2013 at 12:22 PM
PaulE 1100am - I think you may have missed the topic of my post which was about militarization of local constabularies and government agencies - please do give it another read.
But in response to your sudden interest in trans-national terrorism, why would we not call a reciprocal act by Iran in the US to also be 'strategic imperialism' on their part? Terrorism per se is not a weapon or strategy for replacing governments through the promotion, manipulation, and aiding of national factions. Terrorism, as it is broadly defined, consists of acts of terror that seek to disrupt and thereby weaken the social order of a country or jurisdiction. Terrorists go and hide after their acts, and don't overtly marshal in-country factions to rule in their behalf.
Posted by: George Rebane | 09 August 2013 at 12:30 PM
RE: "report drunk drivers" -- good point about surveillance.. Much like Nazi Germany, if you can get people to rat on each other the net gets even larger. In Minnesota the signs read “report suspicious activity”. Who determines what is suspicious activity, the George Zimmerman’s of the world? Include neighborhood watch groups into the mix, sprinkle in global positioning and identification based on mobile communication devices, add security and stop light cameras and don’t forget the TV. “Nielson families,” in an effort to obtain more accurate ratings (because people lie about their TV watching) have video links in their boxes that record who is in the room whenever the TV is on and whether or not the viewing was time-shifted, so they know who was watching what and when. They also track your viewing from mobile devices like cell phones and iPads. While this technology is being used with consent, just think of the possibilities. And what about the built in camera on your computer? What kind of a hack would it take to turn it on and watch from a remote location?
1984 is upon us, just 30 years later. It’s eerily funny how often science fiction, deemed outlandish at publication, comes true. What do you think about the "Terminator"?
Posted by: Joe Koyote | 09 August 2013 at 01:15 PM
"RE: "report drunk drivers" -- good point about surveillance.. Much like Nazi Germany, if you can get people to rat on each other the net gets even larger."
Koyote, Nazis or Soviet ratting on the thoughtcrimes of neighbors is one thing, calling 911 on an obviously drunk and hazardous driver is something else entirely. If you can't stay in your lane, you're either under the influence of something you shouldn't be using while driving in the quantity being used, too sleepy to drive or just a lousy driver, alone or in combination.
It doesn't take a Nazi to call in the cops to deal with a reckless driver, whether it's due to a chemical impairment or a natural lack of talent for driving.
Posted by: Gregory | 09 August 2013 at 02:17 PM
George
My discussion points what is terrorism on is at least as relevant as Burning Man and you didn't object to that.
On the topic of local constabularies it was the the choice of the residents of Nevada County to give the Sheriffs Dept the keys to their back yard and say "come on over anytime you like". Not a peep of opposition from our local tea party or property rights crew on that one.
Gregory
You're losing it my friend. Do you honestly believe the Iran coup was about Communism? Did you read the CIA piece I posted at 11AM?
Posted by: Paul Emery | 09 August 2013 at 02:30 PM
PaulE, so you are now a property rights activist. I notice no answer to antone else's questions as usual. What a crack up, you want the Sheriff to stay out of your backyard but usher in the zoning police on your neighbors housing project. Too funny.
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 09 August 2013 at 03:34 PM
PaulE 230pm - My apologies, I was holding you to a higher standard. BTW, did you accept my 1230pm response as at least reasonable?
We've gone around the marijuana barn several times. I believe the tea partiers are more prone to sic the sheriff on pot smokers than to allow random checks for zoning violations. Not entirely logical, but it's the best I can do. People on all sides favor their own enforcement codes on everything from abortion to spying on your cell phone conversations.
Posted by: George Rebane | 09 August 2013 at 03:56 PM
Paul, my friend, I'm not sure you ever had it. What a non sequitur.
My comment was regarding your claim US policy in Iran was about Oil and nothing else. It was cold war machinations; the desire of the new Iranian government to nationalize industry that happened to be oil was a cold war red flag.
Yes, I've little doubt the CIA and friends used fake commies to whip up domestic support for the coup. That doesn't mean Eisenhower didn't think the risk of the new regime ending up as a Soviet client was high enough to warrant the meddling. That also doesn't mean I condone such efforts then or now, but cold war machinations have to be judged in the context they were made.
Posted by: Gregory | 09 August 2013 at 04:15 PM
Gregory 2:17 -- It was Scott O. in an earlier post that brought up the report drunks concept. I agree that reckless drivers should be removed from the road.. Minnesota's signs don't mention driving at all, but could refer to any type of behavior the witness sees as potentially suspect. My point is that such signs encourage citizens to scrutinize each other's behavior in a suspicious manner. Doesn't this open the door to another McCarthy like era? How many dollars will be wasted on false alarms?
Posted by: Joe Koyote | 09 August 2013 at 04:30 PM
JK, I think signs that encourage others to call 911 for drunks encourages people to help get drunks off the road.
A McCarthy-like era has already been signaled by the likes of the new Interior Secretary saying “I hope there are no climate change deniers in the Department of Interior”. There's a thoughtcrime for you.
Posted by: Gregory | 09 August 2013 at 05:17 PM
George, Gregory
I contend that organizing riots and acts of violence as part of a conscious effort to enable regime change is terrorism. You indeed contend that the goal of radical Islamists is to overthrow our way of life as part of a Jihad against the west so what's the difference in the desired end? We achieved our goal and installed the ruthless dictator the Shah of Iran to do our bidding and to protect British petroleum interests. The rest is history with the Shah's overthrow in 1979.
According to William Douglas who visited Iran before and after the coup
"For many Iranians, the coup demonstrated duplicity by the United States, which presented itself as a defender of freedom but did not hesitate to use underhanded methods to overthrow a democratically elected government to suit its own economic and strategic interests" "When Mossadegh and Persia started basic reforms, we became alarmed. We united with the British to destroy him; we succeeded; and ever since, our name has not been an honored one in the Middle East."
Posted by: Paul Emery | 09 August 2013 at 05:52 PM
PaulE 552pm - Your contentions are getting hard to follow since you are mixing means, goals, and the aftermath opinions. You want to talk about defining terrorism? or what?
As I have said countless times terrorism, consisting of the launch of clandestine acts of terror, is a means of violence that can be carried out sporadically in a distributed manner, or regularly as matter of policy by an organization to achieve a goal. Terror is always used in conjunction with other means of force and/or diplomacy to achieve an end.
What the US and Great Britain did in getting rid of Mossadegh and putting the Shah in power may well have included acts of terror. But it was the coalition of Iranians supporting the Shah that finally brought about the regime change.
Terror is what is happening in the suicide bombings around the world, 9/11, Oklahoma City, ..., all acts intended to change the conduct of the targeted populations.
Posted by: George Rebane | 09 August 2013 at 06:17 PM
Todd
As a Supervisor way back in the 1920's didn't you vote for and support zoning as part of the General Plan and everyday business of managing the government? AS a Republican in those days didn't you vote for Hoover in '28 ?
Posted by: Paul Emery | 09 August 2013 at 06:39 PM
"You indeed contend that the goal of radical Islamists is to overthrow our way of life as part of a Jihad against the west so what's the difference in the desired end?"
Paul, you're conflating me with someone else, as you'll not find any words of mine to that effect.
Posted by: Gregory | 09 August 2013 at 08:46 PM
Once again, Joe the K gets it all wrong. I never posted anything about 'reporting drunk drivers'. If I see some one driving in a fashion that endangers the others on the road, I damn well will report them. That has nothing to do with a police state or a 1984 style govt.
My complaint was about doing away with probable cause. The police and other govt agencies can now detain anyone driving down the road or just walking down the street.
And yes - the greenies and the left have supported programs that allow the govt to enter your private property and snoop around.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 09 August 2013 at 11:17 PM
Gregory 8:46
Sorry Greg. That was meant for George as a followup to his definition of terrorism.
Posted by: Paul Emery | 09 August 2013 at 11:48 PM
PaulE 552pm re 1148pm - Great illustration of why discussion is difficult in our polarized nation - "You indeed contend that the goal of radical Islamists is to overthrow our way of life as part of a Jihad against the west so what's the difference in the desired end?"
1. The liberal mind's logic equates the means if the desired end is the same. Both trains and planes get you from LA to NYC, therefore trains and planes are the same. Tough sledding.
2. I don't "contend" the goal of radical Islamists, I believe what they have said and repeatedly demonstrated until 1683 and resumed 20+ years ago. To accuse me and others of 'contending' such notions illustrates the gulf of reason between us - Great Divide and all that.
3. Islam (both radical and the street) has no means yet to achieve its global goal through cohesive and concentrated use of overt military force. Therefore they are making advances through the means available to them - terror and colonization. The success of both depend on the blindness of the west's progressive mentality that is serving their purposes in the misguided public policies enacted to either ignore or abet their efforts.
Posted by: George Rebane | 10 August 2013 at 08:16 AM
PaulE, didn't you support NH2020? That allowed people from the government to enter your property without a warrant to inventory the species on your land. Doesn't that conflict with your position now about marijuana?
Oh, and I bought the corn dogs last night to settle our bet and you never showed. They are now cold, bit still edible.
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 10 August 2013 at 09:06 AM
Actually Todd we agree on both of these issues. I was not a supporter of NH 2020 believing it to be divisive and unnecessary. And you are a supporter of Medical Marijuana Cultivation and in opposition of the Ordinance.
Todd writes in Sierra Dragons Breath:
"Since I am mainly a libertarian in the issues of property rights, I probably agree with the growers (at least the ones not abusing the "medical" side of the issue) that maybe property rights are being imposed on here. Sure the people that abused the Proposition should be reigned in. Usually a few bad people are the reason a law gets passed. The bulk of the people growing MJ for personal use probably don't abuse the law or become a nuisance to their neighbors yet they will be affected."
http://sierradragonsbreathe.blogspot.com/2012/05/pot-ordinance-and-nh2020-both-sides-of.html
Posted by: Paul Emery | 10 August 2013 at 09:46 AM
Paul,
What I find interesting in Todd's statement is the libertarian streak stops with private property but not drug laws in general even though he admits that most people would be responsible?
It is simple, prohibition doesn't work and creates organized crime. Drug laws are arbitrary. Why marijuana but not alcohol? Why cocaine but not nicotine?
Watch the PBS three part series and we can substitute any drug with alcohol. I have heard parts of it but haven't sat down and watched the entire series.
www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/
Posted by: Ben Emery | 10 August 2013 at 10:40 AM
PaulE, I think my position is fairly mainstream. I do not think you are being honest in your denial of not supporting NH2020.
Your corn dogs await you at the booth.
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 10 August 2013 at 11:31 AM
Scott O - 11:17 --"In modern times I will constantly point to the 'war' on drunk driving giving rise to the worst give-a-way of our freedoms" That is what you did say Scott. I guess I mistakenly assumed that the "report drunk driver" signs were a part of that war.
Posted by: Joe Koyote | 10 August 2013 at 12:41 PM
Nah Todd
NH2020 was not a wise or necessary proposal. Many of us on the other side (from you) opposed it.
Todd
Since you support the growers how come you didn't speak up when it was before the Supes? Do you support the Initiative to have it changed?
You can sign the petition at the fair. Here's more about the inatitive
http://asa-nc.com/compare/
Posted by: Paul Emery | 10 August 2013 at 02:47 PM
Joe gets it wrong again. "That is what you did say Scott"
First of all - I didn't 'say' anything. I wrote it. Please go back and look at the post and you see 2 sentences that are connected. I clearly stated that probable cause was the Constitutional right that was given up due to the war on drunk driving.
"It was Scott O. in an earlier post that brought up the report drunks concept"
Clearly, I hadn't done any such thing.
It's not a big deal to me, but do try to keep the facts straight.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 10 August 2013 at 11:02 PM
George, Greg, Russ, Scott, Mickey, and my good ol' buddy Todd,
What do you guys think of Chief Kessler in PA?
http:// chiefkessler.com/
Posted by: Ben Emery | 11 August 2013 at 02:51 AM
Looks like he was 'relieved of his command'. Since he's no where near a threat to our country as Holder or Obama, when can we expect them to be kicked out of office as well?
Posted by: Account Deleted | 11 August 2013 at 02:12 PM
PaulE, your corndogs are still waiting for you at the booth.
PaulE, please supply the readers here with your public pronouncements from the time on your opposition to NH2020. Also you stated there were others from your ilk that did the same. Please supply us the links so we may marvel at the opposing words these folks said. My, I bet their will be crickets.
BenE, I have no idea who Chief Kessler is. Is he a friend of yours?
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 11 August 2013 at 03:14 PM
True to form, California continues its efforts to become a leader among the state governments that fear their law abiding citizens.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/11/latest-bills-could-make-california-toughest-state-on-gun-control/
Posted by: George Rebane | 11 August 2013 at 03:21 PM
Thanks for the link, George. If all of these laws are passed, who will enforce them?
How will these new laws stop the underground sales of guns to thugs and gang bangers? How will any of these new laws make a difference to little black kids gunned down in their homes? What is the objective? Just to piss off the NRA? How are the various 'common sense' gun laws measured in their effectiveness in achieving the objectives? Are there any elected Dems in California state legislature with even a room temperature IQ? Will the slaughter of 20 or 30 children be OK if an approved fire arm is used? What if no firearm is used? How many white kids need to be in the mix when there is a mass shooting of school children before our POTUS will get upset? What if they don't look like a certain person that the POTUS has in mind before it becomes an issue?
Posted by: Account Deleted | 11 August 2013 at 08:19 PM
The Cellphone Kill Switch.
Just when I was going to take the disposable cameras out of the car and truck glove box. We have been carrying them around with us ever since they appeared on the market, on the advice of family lawyer who was known to chase an accident or two in his law career. With our cellphone cameras handy, I was about remove the disposables for more space in the glove box. Guess I won't now.
Posted by: Russ Steele | 11 August 2013 at 09:27 PM
Russ, good call. Good backup plan.
But really, this technology to shut down the iPhone cameras is completely silly. It will be hacked, and disabled.
Horse. Left. Barn. Assange, Snowden, and Manning are the new paradigm.
Welcome to the 21st century. Got seatbelts?
Posted by: Michael Anderson | 11 August 2013 at 09:35 PM
George, 09 August 2013 at 09:52 AM:
"...could your therapeutic visits be equally effective without leaving behind the sniffing comments of a self-adorned superiority?"
Doubtful, but I'll give it a try. I was under the impression that "self-adorned superiority" was part and parcel to your own approach at RR, so I was just following suit. My apologies.
Russ, 08 August 2013 at 10:59 PM:
Great link!, that was very entertaining. As you can see, many different types of people attend this event. There are AA programs, churches, and even symposiums on the fallacy of AGW. Seriously.
Todd, 09 August 2013 at 11:18 AM:
"...he gave it up because of the perverts and the public displays of screwing and the little kids were subject to all that."
Yup. And in San Diego this week a guy killed a family friend and her young son at his house, burned it down, then kidnapped the 16-yr.-old daughter and ended up in the Idaho wilderness. Therefore, I will never go to San Diego because that is how those people roll.
Todd, you come to some completely illogical and idiotic conclusions that torture the modern mind. I have attended every single Burning Man festival since 1991--that's 22 years--and I have NEVER witnessed open sex on the playa. NEVER. I am sure that it has happened, but it just isn't something that I was trying to find. Perhaps your tenant was less circumspect?
It's still not too late for you (Todd Juvinall) to be a Huge Art Project at the airport in 2013. We have designs for a TSA presentation where you can "show yer stuff" in a Big Way. Not sure if this will involve radiation scanners, or an electron microscope. Your call, bud.
http://www.portofentry.org/
Posted by: Michael Anderson | 11 August 2013 at 09:38 PM
Switching cell phones will not work. Using disposable cell phones will no longer work:
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Technology/2013/08/01/Tests-show-every-cellphone-emits-a-traceable-digital-fingerprint/UPI-99871375388117/
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 12 August 2013 at 02:29 AM
Please see 13aug12 update above.
Posted by: George Rebane | 12 August 2013 at 11:40 AM