Litterbox: Karma

Litterbox: Immigrants & Karma

Native Americans know a thing or two about illegal immigration.

In other news:
Michelangelo might have drawn a brain stem in to the Sistine Chapel. The artist had a (un)healthy fascination with anatomy and was known to dissect people for his studies.

Also, advocating for peace might make you a terrorist, according to the Supreme Court.

Does that make me a terrorist?

Capitalism, children and sex

Stephanie Mencimer over at Mother Jones wrote yesterday that lobbyists and interest groups are pushing for regulation (IE: Censorship) of porn because of its exploitative nature, and how easily children can access it.

Porn makes a lot of money for people involved, otherwise they wouldn’t do it. Not just the performers, either. Lots of ancillary jobs are involved: Hotels, Photo/Videographers, Editors, IT Managers, Accountants, Lawyers, Costumers, Props, etc.

Can it be violent, exploitative and unhealthy? Sure, but so can unregulated capitalism.

Porn is just another industry in the free market. What have all you haters got against that? Do you get up in arms about environmentally-exploitative industries? What about those employing children? What about industries whose sole purpose is the manufacture and sale of weapons? You’re okay with those, too, right?

This is business, and America means business. You must hate America.

Child porn hurts children immediately and in the long term, and should remain illegal, even though it is also big business. The difference between that and adult porn is informed, legal consent. And it’s gross.

If there is no consent, then it’s already a crime and should be investigated and prosecuted. We already have laws for that by people we voted for.

Instead, why not vote with your wallets? Why not take responsibility for what you and your kids are exposed to?

Don’t like products that sexualize children (just about anything marketed to teens/tweens these days)? Don’t buy them.

Don’t choreograph your 7 year-old to gyrate to “All the single ladies.”

Have you seen the trashy dolls in the toy stores? Don’t buy them for your kids.

Finally, talk to them. If you fill their heads with how the world should be – how women should be treated with respect, dignity and reverence – then when they see porn, they’ll see it for what it is. If you let TV and the Internet raise your kids, then you get what you pay for.

Spend quality time with your kids because the investment is priceless.

Coffee Party’s common grounds

Will the Coffee Party be a civilized answer to the Tea Party’s aggressive rhetoric? Time will tell…

Choosing a better future

America faces some pretty big problems.  These range from pollution related problems caused by consumption, to poverty and a tattered social safety net that bears the burden of record numbers of our citizens.

These problems are pretty big, but there’s more than just blaming “the other team” at fault.  It’s sole reliance on the government, itself.

If we demand the government “fix it,”  the government raises taxes to address the problem, creates a new bureaucracy to handle it, and the effort gets watered down through interests and infighting – if it ever gets addressed at all.

Where is the call for personal accountability?

-Americans CHOOSE to consume so much that produces so much garbage.
-Americans caught up in a “support our troops” fervor CHOOSE not to resist a massively polluting and murderous military-industrial complex that treats our soldiers so badly.
-Americans (with means) CHOOSE to not grow any of their own food in gardens on their property.
-Americans CHOOSE to consume whatever prescription their doctor thinks they need today without looking for alternative treatments.
-Americans CHOOSE not to turn part of their individual talents and skills towards small business entrepreneurial endeavors.
-Americans CHOOSE to support the sexualization of our youth by watching it on TV and buying their sponsors’ clothes and products.
-Americans CHOOSE to jump on any chance at ownership (of homes, cars, etc.) without thinking long-term if they really can afford it.
-Americans CHOOSE to split their families apart and not help take care of older generations that helped take care of them growing up.
-Americans CHOOSE to follow emotional responses to conflicting political views instead of saying, “what can I do to help?”

I’m guilty of it too, and do support the government having a certain role in our society. It cannot, however, be everything for us.

We have enshrined (and rightly so) the ideals of our nation’s founding fathers that came from a time when “the government” as we understand it was barely there. What made our country great back then really was The People; helping ourselves, helping each other. We knew our neighbors. We knew the shops we chose to buy from, and we knew the consequences of our choices would last for generations.

Our nation has become so caught up in consuming “the moment” that we don’t stop to think about tomorrow – or our neighbors or children that will have to share tomorrow with us.

Turn off the TV, step away from the Internet, and go outside to meet your neighbors and see how you can start changing the world for the better right here at home.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

TSA porn and you

It will only be a matter of time before your naked body, posed hands up in surrender, winds up on the Internet. Or perhaps that of your children.

Officials have time and again assured the public that images won’t be stored or transmitted; they will be immediately deleted after they are looked at.

Of course they can store and transmit the images, and will. They have to.

Think about it: If something happens on a flight, why would they destroy potential evidence that a passenger had something (or conversely evidence that clears them)? Like robbing a convenience store, what’s the first thing detectives do? Check the security tapes, which are stored for some period of time.

It may be that the images are deleted after said passenger lands without incident, gets their bag and goes on their way, but what sense does it make to destroy potential evidence before they are out of the system? They may not be kept forever, but certainly at least while they are still a risk (or at risk). Which means your body scan will be linked with your name and other personal information – easy to do.

An article at Rawstory said

On its Web site, the TSA explains that “this state-of-the-art technology cannot store, print, transmit or save the image. In fact, all machines are delivered to airports with these functions disabled.”

The last part of the quote here is key — the machines will be delivered with those functions disabled, not without those functions at all. The TSA’s procurement guidelines (PDF) for the body scanners state that the machines will have two modes, a “test mode” and a “screening mode.” The machines will not be able to store and transmit images when in “screening mode,” but will be able to do so in “test mode.”

Which also means, yes, if you’re taking, storing and transmitting naked images of people under 18, you are violating child pornography laws. Will individual TSA agents get a waver to victimize children, or can anyone with a badge have a go? Remember, if you’re consenting to these scans and you’re over 18, you’re consenting to have your naked image taken, stored and transmitted. How long do you think it will take for your image to hit the net?

If the scanners are put on any network, they can be hacked, and likely will – just for fun, if not for nefarious reasons.

An unsigned editorial at the Washington Post said, essentially, “Don’t worry. You can trust the TSA”

According to the agency, the machine’s ability to store, print, transmit or save the images is disabled when it is delivered to the airport. And here’s one last precaution: Officers in that remote screening room are prohibited from bringing in cellphones, cameras or any device with a camera.

This comes as little comfort to anyone who has ever had something stolen from their luggage.

Will the TSA officers have to pass through their own security scanners before entering the “viewing room” or will it just be a rule they are expected to follow when they’re all alone with the monitor?

Feel safe yet? I don’t. If my out-of-shape nakedness ends up on the internet, the least the TSA can do is give me a cut of the royalties.

economic coal for corporate stockings

I was sent an email suggesting ways to fix the economy. I’m sure it was satire (Dear God, let it be satire!) but here is the meat of it

“Patriotic Retirement Plan”:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.  Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire.  Forty million job openings – Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new American CAR.  Forty million cars ordered – Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage – Housing Crisis fixed.

It can’t get any easier than that!!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their taxes…

So the suggestions are:
-Discriminate against the aging, and completely wipe out Social Security.
-Print money and give it to a failed auto industry that uses ever-scarcer, polluting fuels.
-Printing MORE money, and giving it to the banks that have resumed risky bubble-building trading and speculation without significant regulation or oversight.

You know who else prints money to solve their economic woes? Zimbabwe.
According to the Cato Institute, Zimbabwe’s inflation rate (of Mid-November 2008) 79,600,000,000%. Prices effectively doubled every 24 hours. (http://www.cato.org/zimbabwe)

Imagine starting Monday with a $2.50 loaf of bread being $5 on Tuesday. $10 on Wednesday. $20 on Thursday. $40 Friday. $80 Saturday. $160 Sunday. By the time you need to buy another loaf next Monday (kids gotta eat, right?) a single loaf of bread is $380.

My solutions:
-Bring our troops home from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Japan, and Germany, and shutting down those bases.

Bringing our soldiers home from the sandbox alone would save about $1 million dollars per soldier per year. Put them to work rebuilding major infrastructure projects that the Army Corps of Engineers says are crumbling, or insufficient (New Orleans’s levies come to mind).

-Legalize, regulate and tax marijuana and prostitution.

Not only would that create jobs, bring in millions in tax dollars, there would be billions in savings for Federal and State governments who don’t need to put people in prison for petty crimes. Mexican drug cartels would not have a major source of income, dropping violence at the borders and in parks -saving more money in police/security.

-Nationalize energy and gas utilities, and make an immediate infrastructure switch to Wind, Solar, Nuclear, Geothermal power, and hydrogen-electric vehicles.

Millions and millions of jobs would be created. We proved we can do massive economic switching and retooling in WWII, when we went from producing thousands of cars to producing thousands of airplanes, jeeps and tanks in a matter of months. The middle east -a major source of problems and our oil- would not hold our economy by the balls, and fuel prices wouldn’t spike just because of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. It would require a lot of spending to do, but long term environmental impact not happening would save us a ton of money, and keep us healthier. Speaking of health…

-Single-payer health care.

Either make all health service providers non-profit (Canadian style) and set up the government to run insurance on a 21st century digital platform, or make health care providers government employees (UK style) and set up a standardized-across-the-

country 21st century digital platform for records and sharing information. Make these services available free of charge for everyone in the United States legally and with proper documentation.

-Steep tariffs on goods not produced inside the US.

Every other country does this to encourage people to “buy local” and they have more manufacturing and distribution jobs. We outsource everything, for free. We sometimes provide “tax incentives” to companies that hire domestically, but that is not the same as making it more expensive not to. Don’t confuse FAIR trade with FREE trade. Imagine how much happier and more confident American consumers would be if they called customer support and got an American that spoke American English.

This is not isolationist policy. This is leveling the playing field and giving American workers and the American military a fair chance. We’ve been calling it “National Defense” without doing any defending here at home. You can’t attack to defend. That’s called aggression.

Admittedly, it worked really well for the Roman Empire. And the Holy Roman Empire. And the Ottoman Empire. And the Austro-Hungarian Empire. And the British Empire. And the Japanese Empire. And the Nazis. And the Soviet Union. They’re all still around, right?

If you want to cry “Socialism,” go ahead. Just remember we have also socialized (government owned) the Police, Fire, Rescue, Military, Postal and Railroad services and our primary and secondary schools. People can use private security, fire protection, ambulances, FedEx/UPS and freight companies, and private primary and secondary education if they want to and can afford it.

However, isn’t it nice to know there’s a “strong public option” for the rest of us?

On Columbus Day 2009

Observations of Columbus Day have split in to two camps: One of celebration and one of mourning. Those celebrating the discovery of the “new world” – which tells you exactly for whom it was “new” – and all the richness of progress the Americas have made for freedom, independence and equality for all. As long as “all” of you are Christian god-fearing, land-owning white males. But, you have to start somewhere. The other camp is one of sadness and anger, mourning the deaths of innumerable people, the loss of culture, land, and marginalization of a slow-burning American holocaust.

One cannot deny the contributions to the story of humanity the Americas have made. Out of the post-colonial western hemisphere have come people of ingenuity, compassion, sacrifice, and courage. Some music, art, science and ideals of liberty and freedom are uniquely American and invaluable today. Of pre-colonial Americas, we know little about. Which brings me to the other camp…

History is written by the victors, and the survivors whom the conquering have not yet silenced. Some indigenous peoples of the “new world” were wiped out – not just killed off by disease or violence – but erased from history. Of those that remained, their cultures have been mixed up and caricatured. They have been removed from their ancestral homelands, and had tribal governments gutted and replaced over and over because they were not “friendly” enough to the assimilationist interests of colonizers.

The scars on native America are so deep, so ugly, that they cause some observers to turn away the critical eye and instead fantasize about pan-Indian ideals, or co-opt what is found comfortable or novel. The very notion of what it means to be native has caused once united peoples to turn on themselves, challenging who is, and who isn’t part of the tribe.

With both camps having some truth, and as each clamors for the spotlight today, I instead  choose to acknowledge the courage and sacrifice that native peoples have made in making America what it is. It is easy to forget that all the “Indian names” of places scattered around the country came from somewhere, that the different tribes were actually different cultures, and that many of them are still living, still native, today. Every year, then, I shall acknowledge the people that have shaped native America. I will praise those who, in the tumultuous post-contact years, have been examples of courage, ingenuity and compassion to preserve precious native ways, and make contributions to fledgling America, and beyond. I will address different tribes, time periods and the men and women that are the heroes of “Indian country,” to put in print stories that will hopefully create a new camp that serves the memory of those that came before, and does not try to seek revenge in their name.

I will start this new tradition in print with a native hero of print itself: Sequoyah of the Cherokee. Although it is not known exactly when he was born, author Tom Underwood wrote that “he was old enough to fight in the Creek war of 1812 in a company of Cherokee volunteers.” Four years later, he was a signatory on a treaty (of the many) that ceded large swaths of Cherokee land. What is known, is that he was fascinated by the European’s “talking leaves” (books).

Sequoyah understood the power of the written word. He saw the potential for communication, government and sharing ideas. Through hard work, ridicule and some setbacks -including his wife burning every one of his notes in frustration- he crafted an 86-character syllabary, representing all of the sounds of the Cherokee language. In just a few years the Cherokee had gone from a completely illiterate people to one that could read and write in their own language, thanks to one man. That single act of creation may have been what saved Cherokee culture from complete annihilation.

In 1824 the council recognized Sequoyah’s achievement and voted him a medal of honor, the one he is often seen wearing in portraiture. By 1825, a Cherokee was translating the Bible into the new writing, and by 1828, a Cherokee printing press was made. In 1828, The Phoenix, the first bilingual newspaper of the United States was printed in English and Cherokee. Although under more recent scrutiny, the content of the paper’s “native culture” was brought into question, the interest that remained in preserving Cherokee language and culture has never faded.

In 2009, under the leadership of Principal Chief Chadwick “Corntassel” Smith, every employee of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma has to learn how to speak, read and write the language. Every government program and document has Cherokee translations in Sequoyah’s characters. Even The Phoenix, which is still in print today, has stories in English and Cherokee. There are many other bands of Cherokee around the United States -some recognized by the Federal government, some not- that are all united by the common script.

Thanks to one man, a warrior and a scholar, the Cherokee forever have their own “talking leaves,” and this time in their own native tongue. Happy Columbus Day. Never forget where you come from.

William Kostric brought a gun to Obama’s town hall and nobody reported on it

You might not have heard of William Kostric before today, but today you still might not have heard about him at all.  He was the man who brought a loaded semi-automatic handgun, strapped to his leg, and waited along the route for President Obama to arrive. In addition to the firearm, he carried a printed sign that said “It’s time to water the tree of liberty,” a reference to the Thomas Jefferson quote, “The tree of liberty is periodically watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.”

See this video on Rawstory for the brief MSNBC coverage this morning, along with an interview later with Chris Matthews where he is questioned about his political affiliations and his motivations for bringing the gun. Be sure to watch both videos in succession, both from MSNBC.

The Rawstory article said:

Portsmouth police chief told [local anchor Ron Allen]the man’s gun is legal, because he is on private property — he is on the grounds of a nearby church. Police say his gun is registered and he can keep it on him as long as it is not concealed.

In addition, it was reported that the church gave him permission to be on their property. In theory, Kostric violated no laws, save common sense. It was simply a man bringing a sign, and expressing his right to the first and second amendments.  But is it ever really that simple?

This event raised more questions than it answered, even after Kostric was interviewed by MSNBC’s Matthews.  For the following, please refer to the video linked through RawStory – specifically the “developing news” by Carlos Watson.

1:05-1:07 – You see a government style radio earpiece (clear plastic coil) in Kostric’s right ear. The lead bulges out when he turns his head to the right.

1:08-1:12 – You see him display the sign which has been professionally printed and attached over his home-made sign on yellow material. The bottom of the sign (1:12) shows “This message brought to you by RestoreTheRepublic.com”

I got a phone number for the Restore The Republic’s Washington office off their website and called it, trying to get information on who this guy was, how he got their sign and why, and if they had anything to say about it, assuming they knew.  The lady that answered the phone (didn’t get her name) seemed confused about what I was talking about and said “we don’t make those signs” and didn’t seem to know anything about it, even after I pointed out the “brought to you by” on the bottom of the sign.  She was polite and the conversation was civil and friendly, but unhelpful, so I said thank you and hung up.

Mere seconds later, I get a phone call back from them, and talked to a gentleman who gave his name as “Gary Franchi, National Director“. I did not give my number to the lady, but I assume they have caller ID.

He was polite but very, very direct about asking the usual “Who sent you? What’s your agenda?” questions.  I asserted that I am an unaffiliated, unpaid writer, who just thought it was odd someone would bring a gun to this type of event, and he remarked with the snappy talking point of “don’t you believe in the 2nd amendment?”

Yes, of course I do. I’m still not going to bring my heater around the Commander in Chief. Ever. Ever. Ever.  The Secret Service are very good at what they do with our tax dollars, and I don’t want them to have any motivation to do it at me.

I pressed Franchi about the sign, with which he was equally unhelpful. “We gave away lots of those signs,” and generally seemed reluctant to affiliate his organization with Kostric in any way other than a general sentiment of “we support Americans expressing their rights.” Over the course of the conversation, I directed him to RawStory, and the video, and pointed out exactly what I was seeing.

Franchi then enquired about my writing, my political affiliation (“Vehemently Independent”), and asked if I would be interested in writing for him.  I said that I did not know enough about his organization, and had to look over it more; I have to be very careful about who I affiliate with. He understood.

So, conversation ended, I still have a few questions that nobody has answered to my satisfaction:

• Why did Kostric feel it necessary to bring a loaded firearm to proximity of the President just because it was within his right to do so? What was he trying to prove, and how did he think it related to the conversation of Health Care (bullets don’t cure anything)?
• If he was not implying violence, why did he choose a violent quote, instead of something like “Dissent is a lesser evil than the lethargy of despotism” (also Jefferson) or my favorite “We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we will all hang separately?” (Franklin)?
• Did the church specifically give Kostric permission to be there with his gun?
• If so, who at the church actually gave the OK?
• What was Kostric doing wearing a government style radio earpiece? Franchi said it was for his cell phone, to which I responded, I have never, never seen an earpiece like that. It’s no Motorola I know.
• How did Kostric acquire the sign, and what is his affiliation with RestoreTheRepublic.com?
• What did his original sign say, and why did he cover it up?
• Why is the only coverage of this on MSNBC and the blogosphere, when every other “bring your gun to church” or “bring guns to dinner” public statement is covered on multiple networks?  This wasn’t on Washintonpost.com, WTOP, C-SPAN, CBS, ABC, FOX or even NBC. Why the silence?

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/08/11/protester-seen-with-gun-outside-obama-town-hall/

Makings of a Police State in America

There are two ugly words that nobody in the media or government wants to say, but Colbert I. King, columnist for the Washington Post has  alluded to in this column: police state.

n. A nation whose rulers maintain order and obedience by the threat of police or military force; one with a brutal, arbitrary government. (police state. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/police state (accessed: August 08, 2009).)

I will be the first to admit that our police are not outwardly “brutal”, but there is a thin, hazy blue line between excessive force and self defense. Those of us without a badge are not allowed to defend ourselves against anyone who has one. In fact, any attempt to protect yourself from an officer that is using force against you, even for the most specious of reasons is considered “assault” on said officer.

Undoubtedly, law enforcement officers need to protect themselves, thus most have issue kevlar vests, semi-automatic sidearms, pepper spray, tasers, batons, and hand to hand combat training. Most civillians do not.

What do we have left to protect ourselves with? The Law? If an officer is accused of excessive or criminal conduct, he (or she) is put on paid, administrative leave – not counted against their vacation – until the matter is “internally investigated”. If it were you or I, or a Harvard professor, we are put in jail, until the investigation is complete.  If we are lucky, and it’s minor enough, we can “post and forfeit” and be on our way, like this lawyer allegedly arrested for saying “I hate police”. “Those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear” does not, and has not been true for some time.

The simple charge of ‘disorderly conduct’, whatever that may mean to that officer at that moment, is being used as a tool to threaten and intimidate, not just maintain “order”. It’s just a little reminder that people need to be kept in line, “or else”, while the arbitrary arrests are used to justify ever-inflating police budgets. Is crime going down as much as budgets go up?

The issue is broader than street-level. Privatized prisons make incarceration a for-profit venture. The more laws that are made to criminalize larger sections of the population – the most vulnerable being already-disadvantaged poor and minority demographics – the more people go in to these prisons. The more people in the prison, the more money the prison’s parent/holding company makes. Laws that give end-user drug crimes tougher sentences than high-level distribution and trafficking crimes are perfect examples. Why are crack and meth (and once-vilified pot) users given disproportionally harsher sentences than those that sell or traffic it? Because they can, and the hapless users likely cannot afford an expensive lawyer to fight on their behalf. They are to do time “as an example” to others. One “example” after another, and another, and another… until it seems the prisons are full, and more need to be built.

Federally, the public can only but watch as they are told their phones may be tapped, they may be indefinitely held (and possibly tortured) as “enemy combatants”, or simply “threats”. We have yanked people off the streets in foreign countries, tortured them, and held them for years without trial – and even when we have told them and each other that they are innocent of wrong, they are still “too dangerous” to let go. Watch as the rhetoric of “homegrown terrorism” starts up and see who is yanked off the streets, what socio-economic demographic they come from, and how transparent their proceedings are.

The government is beholden to “defense contractors” that have their hands in all the military branches, the alphabet soup of secretive security and intelligence agencies, and even state and local police departments. Who do you think provides the military-style equipment and uniforms that have replaced Barney Fife’s patrol car and six-shooter? They make a lot of money perpetuating conflict and fear, and selling new systems and new security and enforcement practices to “protect” us.

Are some changes to security and police practices necessary? Of course. Threats from abroad and at home are changing, and the genuine need for protection and self-defense of the nation and its people needs to change with it.

What’s missing is the critical, open, transparent discussion of what those changes mean, whom they will affect and how they will be implemented. Hiding behind the veil of “security” makes more and more law enforcement actions “secret” and ultimately arbitrary, especially when the police and military have the same gear, guns and training provided by the same contractors.

Sounds like the makings of a police state to me.

Alabaman National Guard may be called to police civilians in budget crisis?

http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/08/troops-may-be-deployed-to-alabama-county/

This RawStory article looks at an Associated Press story by Jay Reeves about how the Alabama National Guard may be called in to “assist” police in the cash-strapped Jefferson County.

This quote from Reeves’ story mentions the Alabama National Guard’s involvement:

A spokesman for Hale, Randy Christian, said the sheriff told Riley after the ruling that state assistance may be needed to perform basic law enforcement tasks once the department’s current funding is exhausted in early September.

“We will certainly be looking at calling in the National Guard,” said Christian.

The RawStory article does not go into the details of the “assistance” all, only mentioning that it is a possibility. If Governor Riley, who is the Commander in Chief of the Alabama Guard orders (or allows) them to deploy to Jefferson County, then some precedent-setting questions will be raised:

• Even assuming everyone means well and tries not to purposefully run roughshod over the mostly-unarmed civilian populous, will the Alabama National Guard be trained well enough to protect the population’s legal rights while performing police duties?
• If they mess up, what kind of recourse will civilians get?
• If fiscal crisis = security crisis, what is the threshold for calling in the Guard when other states have a lot of red ink? What kind of precedent will this set?