Goodbye Civil Liberties

Many average Americans are more than willing to give up their civil liberties and privacy, to one degree or another, if it means they will be 'safer'. And they would certainly be reasonable in doing so in light of the fear mongering and general paranoia that has become part of the collective consciousness of this country since 2001.

What we in the United States must come to realize is that this surrender of civil liberties-- fundamental rights on which this country was founded-- truly is the slippery slope to fascism. Fascism doesn't happen overnight and it is not necessarily obvious to a population when it does occur. Many average Americans believe that they would certainly notice if their government began to reflect the qualities of fascism- it would be quite obvious, would it not?

The language and rhetoric of the Bush administration (and the political elite in general) does not seem-- at least to the average American (*)-- to be the language of fascism. But if we are to understand the motives of the Bush administration, if we are to look beyond the rhetoric and peer deeper into the forces and influences that drive them to do what they do, to say what they say, and, more importantly, to say what they say in the way they say it, we must have historical context (see my previous entry, The United State of Amnesia).

The average German in 1939 did not consider the language of the Third Reich to be the language of fascism. It was the language of nationalism-- patriotism-- and a language that was quite appealing to the average German. Many parallels can be drawn between the erosion of civil liberties in Nazi Germany following the Reichstag Fire of 1933 and the erosion of civil liberties we are facing today in the United States following the terrorist attacks of 2001. Both the Reichstag Fire and the September 11th attacks are invoked again and again by the Third Reich and the Bush Regime, respectively, in a calculated method of fear mongering with the goal, whether consciously or subconsciously, of achieving a consolidation of power within the executive (see my previous entry, Signing Statements).

The surrender of our civil liberties is not a solution to terrorism. If we wish to take the problem of terrorism seriously, we must examine why we were attacked. We must take an honest, objective look at the world and how we exert our influence on it. Military aggression and a 'war on terror' are not the answer-- this only stokes the fires of American resentment. The attacks of September 11th were 'blowback', a direct result of American influence and foreign policy.

I challenge the reader to look beyond FOX News and the Bush rhetoric to find a deeper historical context for the current condition of the United States and our position in the world. Maybe surrendering our civil liberties now will lead to a safer tomorrow, but we must look beyond tomorrow. We must look to next week, to next year, to the next generation. We need long-term solutions and ideas, and it is up to each of us to educate ourselves. FOX isn't going to do it for us.

---

* I use this phrase 'average American' persistently not to be condescending, not to put myself in any way above the 'average American'. Quite the opposite, I believe the average American is more than competent but that it is the mainstream media, the rhetoric of the Bush Regime, and lack of historical context (again, see my previous entry, The United State of Amnesia) that lead to a general misunderstanding of the position of the US in today's geo-politcal climate.

The Real News is Coming!

I urge anyone who is concerned about the state of the media in the US and around the world to spend a few minutes with The Real News.

Also, Stephen Colbert's performance at Saturday's White House Correspondents Association Dinner was phenomenal.

I was surprised (and excited) to see that Democracy Now! covered Colbert's speech. Click here for today's episode.

Bill-O, Bill-O, Bill-O

From mediamatters.org:

During the April 18 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Bill O'Reilly asserted that homeless people will "not support themselves" because they "want to get drunk, or they want to get high ... or they don't want to work [because] they're too lazy." Although drug and alcohol abuse is prevalent among the homeless, most cases of homelessness are the result of a variety of factors. According to the National Resource and Training Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness (NRTCHMI), among the leading causes of homelessness in America are debilitating mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and manic depression, physical and sexual abuse, abject poverty, and other involuntary health conditions such as diabetes and cancer. Nearly 39 percent of the homeless report mental health problems, and nearly 25 percent of them meet the criteria for serious mental illness. In fact as many homeless people report mental illnesses as report problems with alcohol use, and similarly as many people report sexual and physical abuse as report drug use problems. In addition, 25 percent of the homeless population is reportedly under the age of 18.

O'Reilly added that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a "hidden agenda" to "force society to house people who will not support themselves." O'Reilly's comments came in response to an April 15 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that police officers cannot arrest people for loitering in homeless encampments in the section of Los Angeles known as Skid Row.

From the April 18 edition of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

O'REILLY: OK, and that's exactly what happened in Los Angeles. The ACLU sued, saying that the police could not arrest or remove any homeless person on the street. Sleeping on the street, blocking the street, urinating or defecating on the street or anything. Now, they sued because the ACLU knew that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco would eventually hear the case, which it did. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, as you may know, the most liberal court this country has ever seen. Its rulings are overturned by the Supreme Court 75 percent of the time. But you take it there and you'll get probably a loony ruling, a loony ruling.

Now, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-to-1 that Los Angeles' policy of arresting homeless people for sitting, lying, or sleeping on public sidewalks violates the Eighth Amendment, protection against cruel and unusual punishment, ladies and gentlemen. Cruel and unusual punishment. An estimated 80,000 homeless are in L.A. County on any given night. An estimated 12,000 homeless live in Skid Row, a 50-block area in downtown L.A., the highest concentration of homeless in the USA. OK? Now, this lawsuit will be overturned by the Supreme Court if they hear it, and I believe they will. Because, just think about it, and the, and the [Los Angeles city] councilwoman, Ms. [Jan] Perry, made a very interesting point. This could happen anywhere in the United States.

[...]

The ACLU wants to force society to house people who will not support themselves, who will not do it, because they want to get drunk, or they want to get high, or they want -- they don't want to work, they're too lazy. They say, "OK, that's a person's choice. The government should give them a house, and food, and walking-around money, and everything else." That's what it's all about. This is the hidden agenda.

NRTCHMI reported that people who are homeless frequently report health problems:

38 percent report alcohol use problems.
26 percent report other drug use problems.
39 percent report some form of mental health problems (20-25 percent meet criteria for serious mental illness).
66 percent report either substance use and/or mental health problems.
3 percent report having HIV/AIDS.
26 percent report acute health problems other than HIV/AIDS, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, or sexually transmitted diseases.
46 percent report chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or cancer.
Also, according to NRTCHMI, homeless adults also have high rates of other characteristics:

23 percent are veterans (compared with 13 percent of the general population).
25 percent were physically or sexually abused as children.
27 percent were in foster care or institutions as children.
21 percent were homeless as children.
54 percent were incarcerated at some point in their lives.

Tears

Each day I shed a tear for our men and women in uniform, many of whom have unwittingly become the Bush Regime's pawns in its' not-so-hidden policy of economic imperialism.

Each day I shed a hundred tears for the Iraqi people, who have become the victims of a devastating war of aggression. I weep for the dead, the wounded, the tortured. Why don't we hear their stories in the media?

But, most of all, I weep for the future. Will the United States continue to expand its' global economic empire, enriching the rich and exploiting the poor? Where is the U.N.? Why haven't they charged the Bush Regime with high crimes of war? What are they waiting for? Plain and simple- the Bush Regime has violated the Geneva Convention- not to mention the basic human rights of the Iraqi people- and they must be held accountable.

Where do I live?

So I just got home- haven't been home since Thursday. Or maybe it was Friday morning, I can't remember. I didn't intend to be gone that long, but Allston really sucks you in. Heh...

What the hell am I doing in Norwood? Anyone? Kelly? Nothing wrong with Norwood, but right now my heart is in Allston. That's where all the action is kids. Don't take my word for it, see for yourself.

Anyway, I finally saw Why We Fight tonight. Definitely worth seeing, but good luck if you don't live in a major market. You might have to wait for the DVD if the film doesn't make it to all theaters.

The film really takes a step back from the 'America-as-savior' dogma and examines modern economic imperialism through a removed, un-embedded, objective, historical lens- the kind of presentation we are likely to see in a history text centuries or even mere decades from now.

The corporate elite and the political elite are quickly becoming one and the same in the United States- a sort of post-democratic aristocracy to rule the post-democratic pseudo-facist global economic empire of America. Now there's a mouthful...

Let's just call it the rich-old-white-guy-club for short.

These 'American aristocrats' are war profiteers- imperial conquerors- and the United States military is their mercenary army. We must denounce the unprovoked invasion and imperial occupation of the sovereign nation of Iraq and wars of aggresion in general. We must voice our objections to the ongoing establishment of permanent garrisons in Iraq.

Do you find my choice of words a bit zealous or excessive? Maybe you've been watching too much FOX News.

Oh and while we're on the subject, I want to again recommend "Killing Hope" by William Blum. You might be surprised at how frequently the United States intervenes (and has done so for decades) around the world to protect and promote the economic interests of our corporate establishment, all at the expense of countless lives and endless suffering.

The Cartoons And The Neocon

Let me tell you a few things about blasphemy. Been there, done it. Got expelled from high school for it.

That was a few decades ago, and for those seeking titillation, I'll give you the details at the end of this screed. First I have to tell you about a massive propaganda coup. You've been had by some of the most bigoted people in the world -- and I'm not talking about Muslim fundamentalists.

Continue reading...

The Solution To Our Media Problems?

Everyone should really check out Independent World Television. These guys are really on to something and we should all do what we can to support them.

-g-