Enemy of the State...the issue isn't whether you're paranoid, but whether you're paranoid enough...

Islam vs. Wikipedia

2008-02-07T03:18:00.000+01:00

Wikipedia is a friend of freedom

One of the earliest surviving depictions of Muhammad from Rashid al-Din's Jami al-Tawarikh, approximately 1315, illustrating the episode of the Black Stone

Desperate times call for...

2008-02-06T02:00:00.000+01:00

Luckily, I don't have to resort to these desperate tactics. Since I was born before December 1st, 1964, I'm considered to be mostly harmless (at least until 2017).

Too late!

2008-01-29T03:24:00.000+01:00

Naomi Wolfe says that it's time to hold democratic leaders of the House in contempt...too late, I already do. Next!

Could Harry Reid be MORE useless?

2008-01-27T02:12:00.000+01:00

I don't think so!

Apparently the overwhelming Republikkin ~~major~~ minority in the Senate has stymied the poor democratic leadership who might possibly maybe want to allow more debate and maybe perhaps some amendments to S.2248. Damn those Republikkins for not just giving up and doing what you want Harry.

Just a thought Harry...go find 41 Democrats (excluding that asshole Rockefeller of course) who might think that Americans are already spied on enough and who think that maybe we shouldn't give a get out of jail free card to major corporations who helped our own government blatantly violate our civil rights and get those 41 Democrats to vote to allow more debate and amendments.

If you can't do that Harry, then you truly are useless and should resign your Senate leadership and support someone who can stand up to the Republikkins.

Help me Chris Dodd. You're my only hope!

This T**d...

2008-01-27T01:39:00.000+01:00

"THIS turd, THIS turd really pisses me off!" ™

The National TERROR Alert Response Center has a Live Threat Condition TERROR Alert that you too can add to your website:

Homeland Security Live Alert

Are you terrorized yet? You won't be after you spend some time shopping in their store! They have MREs, and astronaut food, and flashlights, and NukAlert Personal Radiation Monitors...ooohhh freeze-dried ice cream. Yay! (I bet a lot of their merchandise would also be useful when the zombies attack!...Double Yay!)

Oh noes...what can we do?

2008-01-26T17:10:00.000+01:00

I'm not quite sure what to make of this news report: "As many as 1,500 white Britons are believed to have converted to Islam for the purpose of funding, planning and carrying out surprise terror attacks inside the UK, according to one MI5 source" [my emphasis].

"There could be anything up to 1,500 converts to the fundamentalist cause across Britain. They pose a real potential danger to our domestic security because, obviously, these people blend in and do not raise any flags. The exact figure of those who have converted to Islam and turned to terror is not precisely known. Not everyone who converts becomes radicalised and it may be that just two-fifths go down that path, but it remains a significant and dangerous problem" [also my emphasis].

Oh yeah...and then there's this: "The trend is well established in the United States. American-born Adam Gadahn is one of the FBI's top 10 most-wanted terrorists after converting to Islam and rising through al-Qaeda's ranks to become a prominent spokesman" [again...my emphasis].

So, here's what I get out of the article:

Some white Britons have converted to Islam.
They blend in! However will we stop people who might be terrorists and who look like everyone else? After all, those IRA boyos looked so different. Someone might actually have to think!
Some number from 0 to 1500 converted for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks. because they certainly couldn't have gone around blowing things up and killing random people if they were not affiliated with Islam.
An American-born muslim working his way up through the ranks of al-Qaeda is a trend.
Did I mention they BLEND IN!!!

The most sensible comment came from Bashir Maan who said: "I agree that the security services must be vigilant and keep their eye on everybody, but I think in this case they seem to be over-reacting." (And even that's not that sensible...keep their eye on everybody?)

A classic example of an undercount...

2008-01-24T03:55:00.000+01:00

I think they must have just said "Fuck it" halfway through. Only 935? C'mon you guys, you can do better than that!

Whew! That was a close one...

2008-01-24T03:41:00.000+01:00

Luckily, we've freed oppressed Afghanistan and helped them establish a ~~reluctant puppet state~~ pro-western government. If this journalism student had crossed the Taliban...then he really might have been in trouble

Prevent Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism

2008-01-07T04:24:00.001+01:00

Quicksand

2007-12-24T00:07:00.000+01:00

Once you give someone the power to do something (even if they don't have the right), it's hard to take it back

And this is from a defense attorney: Citizens do have the right to say no. "They could say no and not have to worry about getting arrested," defense attorney Jackson Main said. "On the other hand, I'm like everybody else. When a police officer tells me to do something, I'm going to do it whether I have the right to say no or not."

"Stop filming"
"No pictures"
"Show me your papers"
"Talk!"

Know Your Enemy

2007-12-23T04:38:00.000+01:00

That's right...the United States Congress, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate are your enemy (enemies?). Not everybody (probably). I still have some hope that there might be some Friends of Freedom ™ present (Dodd?, Kucinich?, Paul?). And of course, there are some very specific enemies of the state that I'll be singling out in the future. (That means you Rockefeller!, You too Reid!).

"What is it," you ask, "that could result in such a round condemnation of an entire group of people, most of whom you've never heard of?" "Just this," I say, "as one of the three branches of government, at best they're useless as either a Check or a Balance, and at worst, they actively assist the Enemy in Chief in his actions against the American people."

How low have our expectations sunk when we think that the Democrats have grown a spine just because they find someone who lives down the street and is willing to come in and bang a gavel for 2 minutes every morning in order to prevent the Enemy in Chief from making recess appointments. I don't know...somehow, I was just hoping for...more.

And then there's:

The USA PATRIOT Act
SCHIP
Torture
Warrantless wiretapping
Katrina
Gonzalez
Mukasey
Habeas Corpus
Retroactive immunity for telecoms
Walter Reed
Body armor
Humvee armor
No-bid contracts
The Military Commissions Act
House Resolution 847
The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act
CIA "Black Sites"
Extraordinary Rendition
Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast
Tax cuts + record budget deficits + "war on terror" = WTF?
Donald Rumsfeld
Samuel Alito
John Roberts
Medicare Part D
The Pension Protection Act of 2006
National Security Letters
Watchlists
The Real ID Act of 2005
Earmarks
Port security
The Help America Vote Act of 2002
...yadda, yadda, yadda...

And there was one other thing...lemme think...oh yeah, I remember...

STOP WASTING LIVES AND MONEY ON THE FUCKING WAR IN IRAQ YOU FUCKING 'TARDS!

I think I'll be okay for a couple of minutes now.

What was she on?

2007-12-21T20:41:00.000+01:00

She's probably a 'tard too.

I'd Say This Falls Into the Category of Irony

2007-12-21T19:58:00.000+01:00

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX-6) has expressed some concerns to Google about privacy. This is the same Rep. Joe Barton who voted "Aye" on the USA PATRIOT Act and voted "Aye" on H.R. 1955, The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007

Maybe he thinks Google won't invade our privacy enough?

A Brief Glimmer of Hope...

2007-12-21T18:36:00.000+01:00

...snuffed out of course. I happened to end up on the TSA web site today, looking for example pictures of shoe bombs (shoe bombs are so common these days, it's good to know what to look for), anyway, I noticed a link at the bottom of the page titled "No FEAR". Could it be that the TSA actually had a program to let the public know that isn't necessary to live in fear? No. (What could I have been thinking?)

One of the objectives of the Terrorizers is to keep us terrorized.

Bizarro-World

2007-12-21T05:21:00.000+01:00

Anyone who takes advice from this man on how to be a good president just hasn't been paying attention. (bottom half of the story)

Newspeak

2007-12-21T04:42:00.000+01:00

I'm afraid that the man actually believes what he says. I can't escape the conclusion that the man is a 'tard

[Revisionist History: This post was previously titled "Looking-Glass*". As applied to words, this is a phrase implying that what is spoken or written is to be accepted in the reverse sense or turned upside-down. Thus, as spoken by some, "We are prepared to negotiate" really means "We are willing to accept all our demands in full and concede nothing in return." Similarly "We believe in freedom of speech" really means "Only as you are on our side and say what we want to hear." The allusion is to Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. But I like "Newspeak" better and think it's at least as appropriate.]

(* from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Centenary Edition, Revised)

What the...?

2007-12-18T04:04:00.000+01:00

I mean, what the fuck? There are just so many astonishing things in this story that I almost don't know where to begin.

Huckaboner's kid, David (the dog torturer), "forgot" that he had a loaded weapon in his carry-on bag. (A "silly mistake" I'm sure)
Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said it is not unusual for people to forget they have a gun in their carry-on luggage. (For reals????)
The TSA discovered the weapon as Huckabonette passed through security. (Probably the most astonishing thing of all)

The only thing that wasn't surprising is that he was fined only $100 (or 10 days community service) for trying to take a loaded handgun aboard an aircraft. He's just lucky he didn't try to sneak some bottled water through. (Can anyone say unlawful enemy combatant?)

THIS t**d...

2007-12-16T00:39:00.000+01:00

"THIS turd, THIS turd really pisses me off!" ™

In this video, David Hunt, a retired Army Colonel is cokin' and jokin' with those zany kids at Fox and Friends about how terrible torture is (specifically waterboarding)...which is exactly what makes it so great!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know that that it doesn't always work. Sometimes they just tell us what they think we want to hear...but that's okay. A dozen made up plots work just as well for consumption at home as one true plot does. Even better, because we don't even have to provide details (that stuff is SECRET you know). In fact, the more effective we appear to be, the less effective we actually have to be. (Just ask the TSA about that one!)

I do give Dave (I hope he doesn't mind if I call him Dave) credit however. He has definitely learned the lesson that everyone seems to forget. It's not the crime, it's the cover-up that gets you in trouble. Presuming that the tapes existed and were actually destroyed, does anyone actually think that Congress would have developed a spine and seriously investigated anything at all if the tapes were still sitting on Nancy Pelosi's TV stand? The democrats principled stance would have consisted of not rewinding the tapes before sending them back. (Take that!)

I'ma little confused on one thing though. Dave said: "...good men have to know how to do bad things to do good" (Corinthians something I think). I think what Dave meant to say was "...good men have to do bad things to do good...Arbeit Macht Frei!"

Pass me some of that lasagna Dave!

Capitulation

2007-12-15T06:07:00.000+01:00

From Bob Cesca's Goddamn Awesome Blog! Go!

Know Your Enemy!

2007-12-14T20:57:00.000+01:00

I tried. I really did. I was conceptualizing a post on "The Terrorizers" (still coming by the way) and have been working on what will be a semi-regular feature: "THIS t**d...", but I just can't put off writing about Richard Cheney. Now, it's certainly not surprising (nor does it particularly bother me) that when George Bush asked Big Dick to identify the best candidate for VP...Big Dick put himself at the top of the list. That's just plain old-fashioned greed and power hunger. I mean, it's gotta be tough to resist the temptation to enrich yourself and your friends obscenely at the expense of the American people...why even try? I do have a couple of personal connections to Big Dick: I attended the same high school, and my Dad was acquainted with him from his days in the House of Representatives. I never understood why, but my father always seemed proud of his acquaintance with Big Dick and (until we stopped discussing politics) seemed happy that Bush and Cheney were President.

But let's run through Big Dick's crimes against the State, and by extension against the American people.

His role in the public disclosure of the identity of a covert U.S. intelligence agent. (If he wasn't actually complicit, his continued silence and refusal to condemn this action indicates tacit approval. This alone would make him our Enemy.)
His work to fabricate a case for unilaterally invading another country and accompanying deception of the American people. (Since the invasion of Iraq, his activities as a Terrorizer alone would earn him Enemy status.)
His corruption of the Department of Justice (ably assisted by Co-President Bush, Freddo Gonzalez, and a host of others). Big Dick's has work to turn the organization that we all (Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Anarchists, Atheists, Wiccans, Llama Owners) have been able to sorta rely on to (mostly) enforce the law kinda impartially, into a politically corrupted enforcement arm for the party running the executive branch....definitely earns him Enemy status.

All you fanatical Republicans out there: Do you really think that now that Bush and Cheney have blazed the way, that some future Democratic administration won't take advantage of the "Unitary Executive" concept, executive privilege, signing statements, and, oh yeah, the fact that Hillary/Dennis/Obama/Whoever will be a "Wartime President" to run roughshod over America and impose their particular vision on us all? Keep dreaming.

Am I foolish enough to believe that our generally corrupt/incompetent Congress will actually impeach Big Dick? Hell no! All they have to do is to wait another 13 months and not only will Big Dick be out of their hair but then it'll really be their turn at the trough. They'll be able to do a better job of looting the Treasury to enrich themselves and their friends. Oh yeah, and also take us farther down the road toward their version of a police state.

Thanks Big Dick!

Never Forget!

2007-12-03T05:51:00.000+01:00

If it's not an American flag, it's probably a bomb.

Know Your Enemy!

2007-12-03T04:15:00.000+01:00

Rep. Jane Harman [D, CA-36]
Rep. Christopher Carney [D, PA-10]
Rep. Donna Christensen [D, VI-0]
Rep. Yvette Clarke [D, NY-11]
Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]
Rep. Norman Dicks [D, WA-6]
Rep. Al Green [D, TX-9]
Rep. James Langevin [D, RI-2]
Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D, CA-16]
Rep. Nita Lowey [D, NY-18]
Rep. Daniel Lungren [R, CA-3]
Rep. Ed Perlmutter [D, CO-7]
Rep. Ted Poe [R, TX-2]
Rep. Dave Reichert [R, WA-8]
Rep. Bennie Thompson [D, MS-2]
Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME]
Sen. Norm Coleman [R, MN]

The enemies listed above have done us all the tremendous favor of either sponsoring or co-sponsoring the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R.1955 and S.1959). The ostensible purpose of these travesties are (respectively) "to prevent homegrown terrorism, and for other purposes" and "to establish the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism, and for other purposes". No...of course I'm not worried about what those "other purposes" might be. Why, are you?

Can you say "House Un-American Activities Committee"? This time, instead of "commies", they want to identify the "extremist belief systems" that could someday lead to violence and homegrown terrorism. I probably have some of those beliefs, so do you, and you, and you way back in the back trying to keep a low profile. Yes, you.

Once the government starts determining which beliefs, attitudes, and opinions could lead to extremism, violence, and homegrown terrorism, I'm sure it will be pretty easy to identify which are the "dangerous" beliefs systems. Then of course, "just to be safe", maybe we should keep an eye on these folks. You know, just to see where they go, maybe find out who they talk to... Oh yeah, we should also keep track of what they buy, just in case they buy something that they might use to hurt someone. Because we just want to keep everyone safe, right? You know what? Maybe we should just,,,I don't know...keep these people away from the decent, law-abiding, trustworthy people. Because we've noticed that sometimes men and women who have "those beliefs" can be intimidating and even scary. They might even become violent and try to impose their beliefs on the rest of us. True, they probably wouldn't, but what if they did...then it would be too late.

Of course the law says that we "shouldn't" violate anyone's civil rights...but what if they don't look right (like us), or they give us some lip, or they just act like they aren't afraid? Maybe they're terrorists, or maybe they're potential terrorists. We should probably just declare them enemy combatants. There is a war on terror going on after all. Nobody has to know. Sure someone might wonder why their mother, or father, or brother, or sister, or child disappeared and was never heard from again. But it's a small price to pay in order for us to feel safer...right?

But we probably don't have anything to worry about. We can trust the government. After all, our government wouldn't fabricate an excuse to invade another country like other countries have done...right? And our President wouldn't sanction torture like the leaders of some other countries might...right? Our government wouldn't disappear people like some other governments...would it? Please tell me that you don't really think our government would detain it's own citizens indefinitely without trial...and spy on them without warrants...and monitor what they say and do.

Anyway, even if our government did do all those things...I'm a law abiding citizen, I don't have anything to worry about...right?

Oh shit.

Safety First!

2007-12-02T05:10:00.000+01:00

Don't run the risk of being mistaken for a terrorist. Wear your American Flag Pin properly! Thank the One True G-D that the Nazis... Commies... islamofac... bad 'uns aren't allowed to purchase and wear this precious symbol of our not-so-precious freedoms.

Know Your Enemy!

2007-12-02T05:08:00.000+01:00

The bestest enemy of the state (and of all of us) is George W. Bush, the 43rd President (Yay!). His contempt for the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the law of the land, and the legislative and judicial branches of government seem limitless. From the war in Iraq and the "Global War on Terror" to warrantless wiretapping, signing statements, indefinite detention, recess appointments, fiscal irresponsibility, and corruption, our President has done more to damage the foundations of this country than almost anyone could have beloeved possible at the beginning of 2001.

Oh, and let's not forget his actions as a terrorizer and his support for all the terrorizers in and out of our government. If he's not an actual terrorist, his efforts to keep the American people in a state of perpetual fear have been so helpful to the terrorists that he might as well send away for his al-Quaeda decoder ring today

Of course, he had help...but we'll get to the aiders and abettors soon enough.