The Silent Enemy

Trey Smith

We have previously discussed how Congress and the White House continues to spend hundreds of billions on foreign wars without pause but have failed to address an emerging global threat to humanity: antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. It is part of the lunacy that governs this nation. We spend wildly on wars while largely ignoring a threat that could endanger the entire population. Recently, Thomas Frieden, director of the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, put it in the starkest terms to try to get someone to pay attention. Indeed, Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, has warned that we are moving into a “post-antibiotic era.” That means “an end to modern medicine as we know it. Things as common as strep throat or a child’s scratched knee could once again kill.”

The CDC has been presenting data on the rise of bacteria resistance to carbapenems, the most powerful antibiotics that represent our final line of defense. CDC is reporting the appearance of the bacteria now in every state and what it describes as the realization of the “nightmare” scenario for the medical field. Frieden puts the estimate now at over 2 million Americans with infections each year that are resistant to antibiotics. Of those, at least 23,000 people die as a result. To get perspective, we have been waging wars for over ten years at a cost of over a trillion dollars after 3000 were killed by Islamic fanatics. Almost ten times that number are dying each year from this crisis and we are looking at an exponential increase. Yet, few members of Congress have even mentioned this threat or the need for a “war on resistant bacteria.” It just doesn’t get you the same popularity and votes as demanding more defense appropriations. While money has been gradually increased in recent years, it is still a fraction of our appropriations given to pork projects and war efforts.
~ from The End Of Modern Medicine: CDC Reports Millions Faced With Drug-Resistant Bacteria And Rising Death Toll As Washington Ignores The Emerging Crisis by Jonathan Turley ~

You want to know one of the primary reasons WHY there are antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria? It is because we overuse antibiotics! Instead of only using them when needed, the marketplace is flooded with them.

The meat industry is largely to blame. Cows, chickens and pigs that are destined to be served on American dinner tables are force-fed antibiotics. That keeps them healthy enough -- often in unsanitary conditions -- to pass inspection and to become the meat that you meat-eaters eat! Meat producers follow this strategy because (surprise, surprise) it cuts costs and increases profits.

Health advocates have been warning for years that this doomed strategy would lead us to where we find ourselves today, but the powers that be didn't care. As long as those short-term profits kept rolling in, our political leaders and the corporate meat industry was more than willing to turn a blind eye. And now, it doesn't matter if you are a meat-eater or not; this vexing problem can strike A-N-Y-O-N-E at any time. Even worse, there's not a whole helluva lot you can do about it!

Straight To the Dump!

Trey Smith

As I'm sure you are aware, the federal government is in shutdown mode. We have reached this point not only because the rabid right loathes Obamacare (as I have noted before, I'm not a big fan of it either), but they keep demanding more and more draconian cuts from the federal budget. With this in mind, take a look at this blog post from Jonathan Turley.

We are buying huge planes at $50 million a pop only to roll them directly from the factories into mothballs because no one wants them. To make this even more incomprehensible, we are not even making the cargo planes. Like the Russian helicopters that the Afghans cannot fly, we are buying the cargo planes from Italy . . . and we are continuing to order more as we struggle to find places to dump them.

The dozen Italian-built C-27J Spartans have been shipped to an Air Force facility in Arizona dubbed “the boneyard.” We are ordering five more, which are expected to be immediately sent with the others into mothballs. The Air Force has spent $567 million on 21 of the planes which will join some 4,400 other aircraft and 13 aerospace vehicles at the boneyard — more than $35 billion of unused airplanes.

Is that crazy or what? We have wasted $567 million dollars on airplanes we have no use for! If the rabid right genuinely is concerned with wasteful spending, why don't they target purchases like this?

Of course, we all should know the answer to that question. Those wasted dollars serve a corporate purpose and that's all that really matters.

More Than Pocket Change

Trey Smith

A-n-y-t-i-m-e you want to figure out WHY the US continues this insane state of perpetual war, all you need to do is to follow the money trail! I know a lot of people view this as a simplistic way of looking at things, but hey, money makes the world go around. When it comes to all the negatives inherent in war and the national security state, somebody -- several somebodies -- are making out like bandits!

Jonathan Turley helps to identify some of the bandits in regards to our attack on Iraq.

Many of us who opposed the continuing Iraqi and Afghanistan wars, it has been difficult to imagine how politicians and others in Washington could continue to sacrifice lives and hundreds of billions in these conflicts. Now there is a report giving an insight into just how profitable these wars are for key companies. For just Iraq alone, some $138 billion went to private companies with an army of lobbyists eager to keep the pipeline of cash flowing. What is rarely striking however is that some ten contractors received 52 percent of the funds and one company received $39.5 billion. That company is Houston-based KBR, Inc., which is an extension of its parent, Halliburton Co. in 2007. That of course is Dick Cheney’s firm.

Many of those contracts going to KBR lacked any competitive bidding process.

As should be obvious, we didn't attack Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction. We didn't do it to liberate the Iraqi people or to usher in democracy. While possession of Iraq's oil reserves played a role, this gambit was more a smokescreen to hide the real stars.

This is something you need to keep in mind as many of our leaders talk of the US becoming militarily involved in Syria or Iran. You might hear talk of nuclear weapons development or the use of chemical weapons on civilian populations. Most likely, it's all rhetoric. There may be small grains of truth there, but it is more likely a pretext -- like those nonexistent WMDs -- to funnel taxpayer dollars to many of those same behemoth corporations.

Remember, follow the money.

The Bungling ATF

Trey Smith

The ATF continues to struggle in the aftermath of its moronic Fast and Furious operation where they allowed powerful weapons to walk into the hands of gangs. One of those guns led to the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. However, in true lunacy, a more recent operation would seem to demand similar ridicule. In Milwaukee, ATF agents ran an operation using Chauncey Wright, a brain-damaged 28-year-old man with a low IQ in the 50s to set up gun and drug deals. They then shutdown the operation and, you guessed it, they arrested Wright.

Wright approached ATF agents passing out fliers in a parking lot and was given a job. For six months, the ATF paid Wright with cigarettes, gifts, and money to get him to promote “Fearless Distributing” by handing out fliers on his bike around town. Wright was not aware that this was just a front by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The store sold legitimate items but had catalogues with guns. Wright was reportedly told that the store did not sell guns, but bought them.

I have represented individuals with low IQ including one with a 51 IQ. They are treated as disabled in most states. The record shows ATF agents manipulating Wright in a way that shocks the conscience. In the meantime, ATF agents showed incredible incompetence in losing ATF guns, including a machine gun, to theft as well as a ballistic shield. They also reportedly left behind sensitive documents after they shut down the operation.
~ from ATF Uses Brain-Damaged Man To Set Up Gun and Drug Deals Then Shuts Down Operation And Charges Brain-Damaged Man by Jonathan Turley ~

What has happened to our federal law enforcement agencies? Is it that they are under so much political pressure to catch the next terrorist that they simply manufacture them to make themselves appear indispensable? Over the past few years, the FBI has foiled several "plots" that they themselves engineered, so maybe the ATF just wanted to get in on the act too.

I did a little research. It took me all of 2 or 3 minutes. If you take a look at the Blue Book of the Social Security Administration, you will find that Chapter 12 deals with Mental Disorders. To be more precise, 12.05 deals with mental retardation.

12.05 Mental retardation: Mental retardation refers to significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning with deficits in adaptive functioning initially manifested during the developmental period; i.e., the evidence demonstrates or supports onset of the impairment before age 22.

The required level of severity for this disorder is met when the requirements in A, B, C, or D are satisfied.

A. Mental incapacity evidenced by dependence upon others for personal needs (e.g., toileting, eating, dressing, or bathing) and inability to follow directions, such that the use of standardized measures of intellectual functioning is precluded;

OR

B. A valid verbal, performance, or full scale IQ of 59 or less;

OR

C. A valid verbal, performance, or full scale IQ of 60 through 70 and a physical or other mental impairment imposing an additional and significant work-related limitation of function;

OR

D. A valid verbal, performance, or full scale IQ of 60 through 70, resulting in at least two of the following...

Now it seems that there is general agreement that Chauncey Wright's IQ is in the 50s. According to the standard outlined above, this easily would qualify him to be categorized as "mentally retarded." As it turns out, Wright received disability payments for this condition as a child and the sole reason these payments did not continue into adulthood is that he failed to sign some papers.

So, how can the federal government -- in good conscience -- charge him with anything? Why haven't the ATF agents who manipulated him been charged with abuse of the disabled? An even more pertinent question is: Why is this government going after Chauncey Wright when they refuse to prosecute corporate criminals?

This is absolutely disgraceful all the way around!

Before and After

Trey Smith

One of the fantasies that liberals like to tell themselves is that the dirty tricksters of politics are Republicans. You can't trust a member of the GOP as far as you can throw them! They are masters both of misinformation and disinformation. If a Republican thought he/she could steal an election illegally and get away with it, he/she would do it in a heartbeat and not lose as much as one night of sleep.

It might be a good bedtime story for progressives, but it's far from the truth. Dishonesty is part of the political toolbox for Republicans AND Democrats. If you don't believe me, check out the two snippets below from Jonathan Turley's blog.

Cortland County District Attorney Mark Suben, 69, recently secured reelection after a tough campaign. Nothing strange there. District Attorney positions are often much sought-after positions. However, Suben was hounded by media questions of whether he was previously known as Gus Thomas, a porn star in at least 12 films, such as “Devil’s Due,” “Bedroom Bedlam,” “Deep Throat 2,” “Lecher” and “The Love Witch.” He vehemently denied the allegations . . . until he was reelected. He now admits that he repeatedly lied to the public and the press but he refuses to resign. In “Devil’s Due,” he played an actor who tricked women into bondage.

~ from “The Devil’s Due”: New York District Attorney Admits To Lying During Campaign And Previously Starring in Porn Movies ~

Many civil libertarians refused to vote for President Barack Obama given his dismal record in the expansion of the security state, surveillance law, and assertions of unchecked executive power. The Administration went into radio silence on such issues during the campaign in an effort to win back liberals (as they did on medical marijuana) only to announce after the election that they would resume the same policies. The Democratic leadership has shown the same duplicity on civil liberties for years — including hiding knowledge of the Bush torture program and surveillance programs as well as blocking any meaningful investigations into those alleged crimes. Now, some Democrats have reportedly put that hypocrisy on public display again. Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the bill which, as originally written, required warrants for the reading of emails and was heralded by Democrats during the campaign as their showing of fealty to privacy and civil liberties. The Justice Department then took the bill and flipped it to serve as a sweeping denial of privacy rights . . . and some Senators are pushing on passage now that the election is over. The bill includes warrantless access to university email systems.

~ from Democrats Introduce Privacy Bill Before Election . . . Obama Administration Reportedly Opposes Privacy Protections After Election ~

You see what happened there? Say one thing during the campaign and then, once elected, say and/or do the exact opposite!!

Stick Your Finger Wherever You Like!

Trey Smith

In past columns, I have lamented how our government has not only stripped away core civil liberties from citizens, but that citizens have become increasing passive and accepting of the loss of such freedoms. A new poll conducted by Harris Interactive offers a particularly chilling measure of just how passive and accepting citizens have become to the new realities of our internal security system. The poll found almost one third of American adults would accept a “TSA body cavity search” in order to fly. Moreover a majority believes that it is reasonable to criminalize the act of disobeying any TSA agent.

The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Infowars from November 5-7 among 2059 American adults. People were asked: “Given the recent reports concerning the threat posed by terrorists who plan to implant bombs within their own bodies, how willing, if at all, would you be to undergo a TSA body cavity search in order to fly?” Thirty percent said yes.
~ from Poll: One-Third of Americans Would Accept Cavity Searches By TSA by Jonathan Turley ~

Gosh, I'm almost speechless! You can't get much more invasive than that.

I'm trying to think of something cogent to write here...

Giving New Meaning to a "Blow" Job

Trey Smith

A Virginia woman has filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, its bishop, and an anti-abortion ministry for what she alleges was sexual assault during an exorcism. The woman claims that the Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, then president of Front Royal-based Human Life International Inc., made her repeatedly take off her clothes and then caressed and kissed her — saying that he was “blowing the Holy Spirit” into her. She said it gradually dawned on her that this was not your standard exorcism. The case will apparently explore the difference between showing why “Jesus Loves You” and showing how “Jesus loves you.”
~ from The Rogue Exorcist Defense: Priest Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Woman During Exorcisms by Jonathan Turley ~

You see, this is one of the problems with hierarchical organizations: the higher ups can make almost ANYTHING sound legitimate and the flock will go along with it, some never questioning it at all. At least this woman came to her senses at some point!

The Ever Expanding Shroud

Trey Smith

President Barack Obama today asserted executive privilege over documents long sought by Congress in the investigation of the “Fast and Furious” operation. The assertion in my view is facially over broad and excessive. It is the latest example of sweeping claims of executive power and privilege by this Administration. Congress has ample reason to investigate this operation, which involves alleged criminal acts that may have resulted in the death of third parties, including a U.S. agent. The Justice Department is accused of complicity in one of the most ill-conceived and harmful operations in recent years. The very officials and agency accused of wrongdoing is claiming that it can withhold documents from a committee with oversight responsibilities.
~ from Deliberative or Evasive? Obama Asserts Privilege Over “Fast and Furious” by Jonathan Turley ~

At the rate the Obama administration is going, we might as well disband Congress. What purpose do they serve anymore (other than sopping up campaign contributions)?

On the face of it, this is beyond ridiculous. It seems that almost every time Congress or the judiciary requests information and documentation from Team Obama, they are told, "No dice. Our stuff is off limits."

This from a man who promised better transparency as a candidate!

How's that working out?

Another Brick in the Wall

Trey Smith

The Obama Administration again waited for a Friday afternoon to announce a major new policy change — repeating its practice of timing important announcements to reduce media and public attention. The latest change is obviously controversial. The Administration will no longer deport illegal aliens under 30 who came to this country as children — effectively negating part of the federal law. It raises some troubling questions, again, about President Obama assertion of executive power. While liberals again celebrate the unilateral action, they ignore that danger that the next president may also simply chose to ignore whole areas of the federal law and criminal code in areas ranging from the environment to employment discrimination. It is one more brick in the wall of the Imperial Presidency constructed under Barack Obama — a wall that may prove difficult to dismantle for citizens in the future.
~ from Obama Administration Declares It Will Not Deport Young Illegal Immigrants by Jonathan Turley ~

This is a subject I have been harping on a lot lately. If President George Bush did x, Democrats were up in arms. Yet, if Barack Obama does x or something similar, there is no uproar at all. This is crass partisanship! Anything is fair game as long as your guy is doing it.

What I find so infuriating is that the majority of progressives refuse to look at the important point that Turley makes above. President Obama has been creating a slew of precedents, ones that may become more ominous than they already are in future America.

Every time a presidential administration thumbs its nose at federal law or the constitution, it sets the stage for next presidential administration to move further away. At the rate we're going, the office of the president will soon become a total autocracy. Once ensconced in office, presidents will rule by decree like a king or dictator and they will use the precedents being established today to prove the legitimacy of such actions.

And don't misunderstand me. Unlike a lot of people, I'm not saying that things could become far worse if a Republican were to become president in the next few years. The party affiliation of future presidents isn't all that important. Based on precedents like the one Turley outlines above, a future Democratic president just as easily will lead us down the same road.

It has been said that absolute power corrupts absolutely and our current president, in many policy areas, has been advancing the notion that he has absolute power. If the American people do not stand up now to reject this notion, then total and complete corruption is soon to follow.

KKKick 'Em to the Curb?

Trey Smith

The Georgia Department of Transportation has denied the application of a Ku Klux Klan group to join the state’s Adopt A Highway program. The denial of the International Keystone Knights of the KKK to adopt part of Route 515 in the Appalachian Mountains raises some serious first amendment questions. While popular, the denial could could face a successful challenge under existing case law.

In a statement Tuesday, the agency seemed to go out of its way to say that it rejected the application out of opposition to the group’s beliefs. The letter of denial from Department of Transportation Commissioner Keith Golden said that “promoting an organization with a history of inciting civil disturbance and social unrest would present a grave concern.” It further said that allowing the group to take care of a stretch of highway and could “have the potential to negatively impact the quality of life” of people in the county and state. It added that “encountering signage and members of the KKK along a roadway would create a definite distraction to motorists.”
~ from Georgia Bars KKK from Adopting-A-Highway by Jonathan Turley ~

It should surprise no one that I absolutely loathe what the KKK stands for. We would live in a much better world if this group and its various incarnations did not exist. I find their stated philosophy to be vulgar and repugnant.

With all that stated, this is a TERRIBLE decision. It punishes this group for their [distasteful] beliefs. I personally may detest the KKK and all it stands for, but they should be afforded the same rights as any other sociopolitical group. If the State of Georgia allows other such organizations to adopt-a-highway, then they damn well should approve the KKK's application.

This is what freedom and democracy is all about. It means granting equal rights to viewpoints that you and I may vehemently disagree with. If we only grant equality to those who agree with us, that ain't freedom.

Admitting a Truth That We Already Knew

Trey Smith

We previously saw how Orthodox Jews in New York prevailed upon the government to get rid of bike lanes in their neighborhoods to protect them from the sight of women on bikes. Now almost 40,000 men gathered in Citi Field to call for an end to the Internet as a danger to their faith. Women, of course, were not allowed to attend because that would also be an affront. They were allowed to watch...you guessed it...on the Internet.

The seven hour event cost $1.5 million and featured prominent Jewish leaders who railed against the Internet as corrupting the faithful by exposing them to outside ideas and influences. One participant is quoted as denouncing “unadulterated freedom” as a threat to religion.
~ from The Evil of “Unadulterated Freedom”: Roughly 40,000 Orthodox Jewish Men Gather In New York Stadium To Denounce The Internet by Jonathan Turley ~

It's refreshing to see a religious zealot admit to a truth that most of us had already caught on to. Fundamentalists -- of any creed, ideology or "brand" -- are terrified of the free-flow of information!

Conservative belief systems, by their very nature, are all about controlling people. The powers within said belief systems believe that they alone should get to tell their followers what to think, say and do. As long as they are able to operate a closed system, the faithful follow their every command and dictate like lobotomized sheep.

This is why they fear "unholy" things like the internet! One of the sheep may wake up from their slumber to start thinking for themselves! They might start asking questions the powers can't or don't want to answer. They might put forth different ideas. If one sheep can do this, a few more may do it as well. In time, if you don't stamp out the free-flow of information, the sheep might get together to start an insurrection!

So, to avoid this potentiality, the leaders go out out of their way to keep people as ignorant as humanly possible...because ignorant people are more easily controlled.

A Little Zap Could Do Ya

Trey Smith

The ACLU has posted an interesting study that could have profound implications for criminal and torts cases involving injuries or deaths from tasers. We have been following such cases for years (here and here and here and here and here) now a study published by the American Heart Association refutes the claim that tasers are “nonlethal.” The AHA study shows that a rising number of people are dying after being hit by the 50,000 volt shocks (followed by 100 microsecond pulses of 1,200 volts). Since 2001, more than 500 people in the United States have died after being hit by police tasers.

A study appearing in the AHA’s Circulation Journal confirms the lethal record of tasers. It also details how they have been used against children, pregnant women and the mentally ill.
~ from Don't Taze Kill Me, Bro: New Study Refutes Claim That Tasers Are “Non-Lethal” by Jonathan Turley ~

Here's what bothers me about the frequent use of tasers. Let's say some the peaceful OWS protesters decided to use tasers to help ward off police brutality. Once the protesters were arrested, do you think the state would argue that tasers are non-lethal? As Cenk Uygur would say, Of course not! No, it is far more likely that prosecutors would argue that the officers' lives were in mortal danger!

But that's how our two-tiered justice system works these days. Actions that would get you and me thrown into jail don't cause the same consternation when utilized by the police, government or corporate big wigs. If you or I went on a robbery spree targeting senior citizens, we would be labeled Public Enemy Number One. If a hedge manager or a corporate CEO robs senior citizens blind, not only will he not be arrested, he'll probably earn a big fat raise!

Oh Come On!

Trey Smith

William Wink insists that he was just trying to throw away a rotten orange to the squirrels from his balcony. However, when the orange landed a few feet from a construction worker, he looked up and saw Wink in his boxer shorts. Wink, 68, was arrested for aggravated assault with an orange.

Wink was a former school teacher and a former political candidate before he became a citrus felon. He insisted the orange was “squishy” and wanted to “give it to the birds and the squirrels. I just lobbed it over the edge.”

However, the police investigated and concluded “the orange was found not rotten but ripe.” Call it CSI Florida.

So let me try to recap. Wink threw an orange that did not hit anyone, but was charged as aggravated assault because it was only ripe but not rotten.

Here is the Florida criminal provision:

784.021 Aggravated assault.–
(1) An “aggravated assault” is an assault:
(a) With a deadly weapon without intent to kill; or
(b) With an intent to commit a felony.
(2) Whoever commits an aggravated assault shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

Since an orange is not a deadly weapon to anything other than a cold, there must be an intent to commit a felony, but what is the felony? If the felony is battery with an orange, it becomes rather circular. I suppose if his boxers were Fruit of the Loom, he might be charged with terroristic threats of additional citrus attacks.
~ from Orange You Glad I Missed? Florida Man Arrested For Aggravated Assault With Orange by Jonathan Turley ~

In one sense, this just seems downright goofy. It's the kind of "news story" that we can all laugh about and make fun of. On the other hand, it is very disquieting. Our police state is getting to the point in which, if you look at someone sideways, you're liable to be arrested for some offense.

And here's something to think about. Owing to a recent US Supreme Court decision, once taken into custody, Wink legally could have been strip searched...for throwing an orange over his balcony to birds and squirrels.

Still think that ruling is benign?

"Owning" History

Trey Smith

The great American selloff continues with cities and states selling parks, government buildings, and other sites (here and here and here and here and here) to raise money — as we continue spend billions in Iraq and Afghanistan where our allies have called us “demons” and sought to create governments that deny basic rights to citizens. Even national parks are being pushed on the chopping block. The latest such example is Baltimore which is preparing to selloff over a dozen historic sites.
~ from Baltimore Moves To Sell Off Historic Sites by Jonathan Turley ~

Nothing seems to be sacrosanct anymore! Almost everything in the world has become a commodity. Symbols of our shared history can now become someone's private possession. Parks, paid for and maintained by the public for 100 years or more, can now become private paradises. Seeds that have existed in the public commons for centuries can now be patented. Genes and portions of DNA from a wide variety of creatures and plants can be outright owned as well.

For those of you who defend capitalism as a moral economic model, please explain to me how the commodification of life benefits the public. And you better offer your opinions quickly BEFORE someone swoops in to patent, copyright or buy them too!

Ignoring the Reflection in the Mirror

Trey Smith

Every year, the State Department issues reports on individual rights in other countries, monitoring the passage of restrictive laws and regulations around the world. Iran, for example, has been criticized for denying fair public trials and limiting privacy, while Russia has been taken to task for undermining due process. Other countries have been condemned for the use of secret evidence and torture.

Even as we pass judgment on countries we consider unfree, Americans remain confident that any definition of a free nation must include their own — the land of free. Yet, the laws and practices of the land should shake that confidence. In the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, this country has comprehensively reduced civil liberties in the name of an expanded security state. The most recent example of this was the National Defense Authorization Act, signed Dec. 31, which allows for the indefinite detention of citizens. At what point does the reduction of individual rights in our country change how we define ourselves?

While each new national security power Washington has embraced was controversial when enacted, they are often discussed in isolation. But they don’t operate in isolation. They form a mosaic of powers under which our country could be considered, at least in part, authoritarian. Americans often proclaim our nation as a symbol of freedom to the world while dismissing nations such as Cuba and China as categorically unfree. Yet, objectively, we may be only half right. Those countries do lack basic individual rights such as due process, placing them outside any reasonable definition of “free,” but the United States now has much more in common with such regimes than anyone may like to admit.

These countries also have constitutions that purport to guarantee freedoms and rights. But their governments have broad discretion in denying those rights and few real avenues for challenges by citizens — precisely the problem with the new laws in this country.
~ from 10 Reasons the US is No Longer the Land of the Free by Jonathan Turley ~

I have noted before that, in many ways, the US is following the blueprint of Nazi Germany. Instead of eviscerating our hallowed civil rights in one fell swoop, our leaders are doing so incrementally. By doing this slowly, but surely, far too many of our fellow citizen don't realize what's happening and it won't dawn on them what's going on until no civil rights remain.

At that point, it will be far too late to do much about it.

As with any nation, we have been conditioned to embrace a certain image of ourselves. America is the land of the free and the brave. We always take the moral high ground. We are the good guys in the white hats who ride into the scene to rescue the damsel or the wagon train from bloodthirsty savages bent on murder and mayhem.

The myth has been told to schoolchildren for generations. It is drummed into our heads by the mainstream media, the educational system and both our political AND religious leaders. So, when we look in the mirror, we see the image we have been taught to see. And it makes us feel good and proud to be Americans.

But the image reflected in the mirror is nothing like the conditioned image we have been brainwashed to see. As Turley points out in his fine essay, we aren't half as free as we use to be! Not only are we not as free as yesterday, but our leaders already are plotting the next salvos to remove even more of our once vaunted freedoms.

Another aspect of the genuine reflection in the mirror -- one that too many refuse to acknowledge -- is that the US almost never takes the moral high ground. We charge into war even when peaceful solutions are on the table. We expect other nations far and wide to toe the line, but we rarely do. We demand that other nations deal with us in an honest and straightforward manner, but we lie and use trickery as frequently as we breathe air!

Worst of all, in far too many situations, we are the ones wearing the black hats, not the white ones. We are the aggressors who threaten the damsels and wagon trains with murder and mayhem.

It only is when we can look at ourselves in the mirror without preconceived notions that we can see the seething monster we have become. We must be able to recognize the gargoyle staring back at us if we ever hope to begin to repair the damage...before our national soul is lost forever.

Six Thousand Reasons Why

Trey Smith

Periodically, a reader here and there wonders why a good number of my posts focus on fundamentalist Christianity. Let people believe how they want to believe, some urge. Others defend the Christian faith by suggesting that the fundamentalists only represent a portion of the faithful.

If the fundamentalists simply kept their myopic views to themselves, I would be a happy camper; I would leave them alone. But conservative evangelicals simply seem unwilling to keep their views confined to their religious communities and their homes! They desperately want to recast the social, political and economic commons of this nation so that it is congruent with their worldview and that worldview can be quite loony!

Just take a look at some information Jonathan Turley posted on his blog yesterday.

A survey by the Southern Baptist Convention shows that 73% of Protestant pastors reject the concept of evolution — even when asked if they believe God used evolution to create humans. Forty-six percent maintained that the Earth is only roughly 6000 years old despite tests showing rocks that are millions of years old.

When asked if “God used evolution to create people,” 73% not only disagreed, but 64% “strongly disagreed.”

The poll of 1,000 American Protestant pastors also found that 74% believe the biblical Adam and Eve were literal people. Thus, roughly three-fourths of pastors believe that God literally began the human race with two actual people in the Garden of Eden.

6,000 years old? Adam and Eve were real people who conversed with talking serpents? Sounds like the ramblings of people spaced out on LSD!

If fundamentalists had their way, these crazy notions would be taught as incontrovertible fact in schools across the nation. Not only that, but children would be taught that Moses parted the Red Sea, a virgin maiden was impregnated by a spirit and a Jewish carpenter really walked on water.

If you think society is screwed up now, what kind of shape do you think we would be in if the fundamentalists ran the country?

A Dark Day for the Land of the Free

Trey Smith

President Barack Obama rang in the New Year by signing the NDAA law with its provision allowing him to indefinitely detain citizens. It was a symbolic moment, to say the least. With Americans distracted with drinking and celebrating, Obama signed one of the greatest rollbacks of civil liberties in the history of our country … and citizens partied in unwitting bliss into the New Year. (emphasis added)
~ from The NDAA's Historic Assault on American Liberty by Jonathan Turley ~

I both have written about and shared more than a few articles on this topic. If I had ever considered voting for Obama in 2012 (which I haven't), his advocacy and signing of this evil legislation would have led me to change my mind. I used to think that George W. Bush was the worst president in the history of this nation, but in my mind's eye, Obama has nudged ahead of him!!

While I have remarked before that I'm an outraged that this law now codifies that US citizens can be picked up without charge and held indefinitely, I should be clear that this is not my chief objection. I really don't care if an individual is a citizen or not: Due process under the law should be afforded to everyone, INCLUDING bona fide suspected terrorists.

Though never perfect in its application, the United States of America was established as a nation that respected the rule of law. We created a system in which individuals were granted certain rights. Included among these were the rights to be informed why we have been arrested and to see the evidence the state has collected against us. We also have been granted the right to challenge this "evidence" in a court of law by facing off against our accuser[s].

By removing all of these rights and more in one fell swoop, political leaders from BOTH political parties have turned their backs on the US Constitution that they are sworn to uphold. While many of these same leaders continue to mouth rhetoric about the legacy of our Founding Fathers, they concurrently are trampling on their graves with both feet!

For me, January 1, 2012, marks the day the US was transformed from a representative democracy to a neo-fascist state. The president is no longer a democratic representative of the people; he has become a dictator with unlimited and unchecked power. Far too many of my fellow citizens won't notice this change because they still get to participate in the rigged election system and they will spend the next 11 months deluding themselves into believing that they have a say.

If you end up voting for Barack Obama or ANY of the so-called democratically-elected representatives who supported this nefarious bill, then you will have no one to blame but yourselves for what most assuredly will come next!

Almost Everybody Does It

A new study from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has identified an area of young adults who have been overlooked by prior campaigns: young evangelicals. The study found 80 percent of unmarried evangelical young adults have had sex. That is virtually the same (8 percent below) the national average.
~ from Laying Hands Upon The Faithful (and Available): Study Finds 80 Percent of Unmarried Evangelical Young Adults Have Pre-Marital Sex by Jonathan Turley ~

No wonder evangelicals seem to be in such a tizzy these days. Not only can they not reach secular society, but they can't even seem to exert much influence on their own flock!!

Ya know, fornication supposedly is one of the big no-nos. It is one of those dastardly sins of the flesh. It certainly makes on wonder that, if evangelical young adults are screwing BEFORE marriage, maybe (I "shudder" even to think this) they are just as likely to do it outside OF their marriages.

What is our world coming to? ;-)

The No-Win Election

Civil libertarians have long had a dysfunctional relationship with the Democratic Party, which treats them as a captive voting bloc with nowhere else to turn in elections. Not even this history, however, prepared civil libertarians for Obama. After the George W. Bush years, they were ready to fight to regain ground lost after Sept. 11. Historically, this country has tended to correct periods of heightened police powers with a pendulum swing back toward greater individual rights. Many were questioning the extreme measures taken by the Bush administration, especially after the disclosure of abuses and illegalities. Candidate Obama capitalized on this swing and portrayed himself as the champion of civil liberties.

However, President Obama not only retained the controversial Bush policies, he expanded on them. The earliest, and most startling, move came quickly. Soon after his election, various military and political figures reported that Obama reportedly promised Bush officials in private that no one would be investigated or prosecuted for torture. In his first year, Obama made good on that promise, announcing that no CIA employee would be prosecuted for torture. Later, his administration refused to prosecute any of the Bush officials responsible for ordering or justifying the program and embraced the “just following orders” defense for other officials, the very defense rejected by the United States at the Nuremberg trials after World War II.

Obama failed to close Guantanamo Bay as promised. He continued warrantless surveillance and military tribunals that denied defendants basic rights. He asserted the right to kill U.S. citizens he views as terrorists. His administration has fought to block dozens of public-interest lawsuits challenging privacy violations and presidential abuses.

But perhaps the biggest blow to civil liberties is what he has done to the movement itself. It has quieted to a whisper, muted by the power of Obama’s personality and his symbolic importance as the first black president as well as the liberal who replaced Bush. Indeed, only a few days after he took office, the Nobel committee awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize without his having a single accomplishment to his credit beyond being elected. Many Democrats were, and remain, enraptured.

It’s almost a classic case of the Stockholm syndrome, in which a hostage bonds with his captor despite the obvious threat to his existence. Even though many Democrats admit in private that they are shocked by Obama’s position on civil liberties, they are incapable of opposing him.
~ from Obama and the Decline of the American Civil Liberties Movement by Jonathan Turley ~

The 2012 presidential election is shaping up to be a no-win situation for voters. The two main choices look to be a Democratic incumbent who, for the most part, supports conservative Republican policies and a Republican challenger who, most likely, will be beholden to the Tea Party and evangelical Christian movements. It will be like choosing your own method of execution -- disembowelment versus crucifixion!

One thing is becoming certain, though. Conservative policies will win out, regardless of which candidate garners the most votes. In a manner of speaking, the choices will be between a moderate Republican (Obama) and a reactionary Republican (whichever zany the GOP settles on). Bona fide progressives, liberals and leftists won't have a candidate to vote for.

Most people who are left-of-center will hold their noses to vote for Obama, in the belief that it's better to deal with the devil you know as opposed to the one you don't know. People like me will refuse to vote for either devil because, in my book, voting for a devil means you approve of a devil!

I don't like the choices being offered and so I refuse to pick between them.

Petty As Petty Gets

It has long been a tradition to give a dying man his last requests for dinner. Lawrence Brewer took that request to an extreme, ordering a meal fit for an entire cellblock. That produced a backlash from state Senator John Whitmire who demanded an end to the tradition in Texas. He succeeded and now death row inmates will simply get whatever is served that night at the prison.

“Enough is enough,” Whitmire insisted, “It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege. It’s a privilege which the perpetrator did not provide to their victim.”

Brewer was a man below contempt to be sure. The white supremacist was convicted in the notorious 1998 killing in which James Byrd Jr., a black man, was dragged behind a truck for several miles.

However, the tradition of the last meal has long represented an element of mercy in the application of the death penalty. I must admit that I was taken aback by the account of what Brewer ordered when I first read: two chicken fried steaks, a triple meat bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet, a large bowl of fried okra, three fajitas, a pint of Blue Bell ice cream, and a pound of barbecue with a half loaf of white bread. However, the value of such a meal is likely less than $20 at a prison facility. In states like Florida, such meals are limited to a maximum value of $40.
~ from Texas Ends Last Meal Tradition After Brewer Execution by Jonathan Turley ~

When I first read this, I thought that, maybe, it was some kind of joke. However, when I realized this was coming from Texas, I realized it was serious.

The only word that I can think of to describe this new policy is petty. So what if convicted murderer Lawrence Brewer pigged out before the state stuck a needle in his arm. When you consider all the money that state legislatures like Texas throw at their corporate donors, a $50 or $100 tab for a last meal is peanuts.

Of course, I wouldn't mind getting rid of "last meals" once and for all. If states like Texas did away with the death penalty, it wouldn't even be an issue!!