Saturday, December 26, 2015

2015 A Year Of Fear

When I think about the past year, I think about John Lennon's words, that society is being run by insane people with insane objectives. To think that basically nothing has changed since then, except John Lennon is dead, killed by someone who was insane. Oh the irony.
It's been a year of fear.
ISIS, ISIS, ISIS! We need a war and it looks like ISIS will provide the excuse and one politician has a plan to "take back the internet" I guess now that ISIS has it?
We started the year with the Charlie Hebdo attack, if that wasn't crazy enough we ended it with the attacks in Paris.
Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland and the list goes on of scared cops shooting African Americans, birthing the BlackLivesMatter movement. Then we have this;
This is just the one who was caught, which begs the question, how many more like him are out there?
Finally on June 27th, the Supreme Court came through with the Marriage Equality Act, suddenly, there's a "war on faith" be afraid, be very afraid, basically of Ted Cruz. That dude is scary. Scarier than him; that would be Chris Christie, who doesn't stand a chance against the Trump brand and his only means now of getting elected is using guilt to goad people into voting for him. It's game over for Jeb! He's a zombie politician. Makes no sense to elect another Bush, unless of course you want another war. All of these candidates are so bad, that people I know actually want to vote for Trump! What's even better will be a debate between Hillary and Trump. That is going to be hilarious.
Here in the Northeast we have "freakishly" warm weather, which is fine with me. I guess we're supposed to be afraid of climate change, but I'll take this over snow any day. Don't look now but Winter Storm Goliath is on it's way so everyone get your milk, bread and eggs. Stay tuned for update after update of chaos and mayhem. brought to you by the weather or terrorists or both. Which is why I don't have TV any more. It's a fear medium. I can't completely avoid Fox News because it's on in restaurants and bars and it's always on where I work, they believe it all, everything they see on TV they think is true. There's no difference between Fox and CNN, it's all the same ISIS story all the time.
 It's been about four years since I've had cable and Comcast representatives keep knocking at my door trying to convince me to take them back, like an ex-boyfriend who refuses to just go away. My life has improved because I don't have fear porn constantly bombarding me. 2015 was a good year, despite all the bad news, don't believe everything you see.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Another Day, Another Debate

Here we are, another day another debate. I have a friend who can't wait to vote for Trump or Trumpet, as I like to call him since he's so loud. The Washington Post leads with this story; "Debate's Focal Point, Who Can Keep The Country Safe?" Now that is funny. The idea that our country could be made safe at all with the staggering amount of daily shootings we endure, it's a joke.
They don't care about anyone's safety. Wait, it gets even better.
The city of Flint, Michigan is under a state of emergency, not because of gun violence, but pollution. Specifically water pollution; http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/12/flint-michigan-lead-water-toxic/420654/
That's right toxic water full of lead, irreversible damage done to children. Not only that, but the people of Flint, had the pleasure of paying to poison their children. I know what you're thinking, so, that's what's wrong with Michael Moore, but I digress. The life long effects of lead poisoning and the years spent litigating this mess and millions of dollars, mostly going to lawyers. According to The Center Of Public Integrity, Michigan is the most corrupt state in the country and can you guess what will happen as a result of the Flint water mess? Privatization of what should be a basic human right to water. The moral of this story is no one will be held accountable for poisoning the water, like no one is accountable for starting a war based on lies. But hey, lets all stay glued to the TV, stay tuned for more Donald Trumpet, maybe he can keep the country"safe" like he keeps his money safe, bankruptcy after bankruptcy. His "free market" deal included a "40-year tax abatement for rebuilding a crumbling hotel at Grand Central Station—a deal that in the first decade cost taxpayers $60 million" 
It's good to know where Trump stands on illegal immigrants since, his company employs them.
According to Chris Christie, "people are scared to death" because "everywhere in America is a target for terrorists" the real terrorists are these politicians, married to bankers and hedgefund managers. Ted Cruz's wife worked for Goldman Sachs. Chris Christies wife was a hedge fund manager and worked at Cantor Fitzgerald
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/ted-cruz-wall-street-heidi-cruz-goldman-sachs-116381
http://heavy.com/news/2015/06/chris-christie-wife-mary-pat-foster-christie-children-kids-photos-wall-street-job-age-bio-college-cantor-fitzgerald-salary-angelo-gordon-leave-quit/
Don't think I have any love for Hillary Shillary Clinton either and no it's not because of Benghazi, it's the State Department favors she did for her hedge fund manager son-in-law, who also worked for Goldman-Sachs. It's amazing how the banks influence and oppression is everywhere in politics. Why vote for a politician? Just vote for a bank. Go to a local branch and fill out a ballot and deposit it. It's way more convenient than racing to your local poll on a Tuesday in November after work. Face it, if they really wanted you to vote, they would give you the day off or you'd do it on a weekend like other countries. Which brings me to the point of why bother voting? If you think there's any difference between any of these twits and their BS, good luck to you. There is no choice, there is no difference between Republicans, Democrats, Trump or Hillary, they are all the same. Casting a vote won't change that, Remember "hope and change"? They are no different.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

"The Big Event"

For me, the first act of terrorism I can remember, isn't 9/11, it's the assassination of President Kennedy. I remember the black and white TV delivering the terrible news and my mother crying. It was probably the first time I ever saw my mother cry, I was too young to understand anything and was bewildered by what was going on. This feeling of complete confusion, of things just turning upside down is one which would become very familiar to me later in life. It seemed as though my childhood was littered with bodies of men who may have changed the future, so they never got the chance. These things never made sense to me. Some random dude shoots the President, then another random dude shoots the dude who shot the President in a police station. Makes sense, right?
Now we know that it makes no sense, it doesn't take much digging to find the CIA connection to the Kennedy assassination. Oddly enough, a CIA plot to kill the President makes a whole lot of sense.
The deaths of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, not accidents. These killings didn't just "happen", they were orchestrated. I am not alone in the belief, that there was a CIA plot to kill Kennedy, the last poll says 62% of Americans believe the same thing.
When I was a teenager, Watergate was everywhere and always on TV. My mom would set up her ironing board and watch the hearings. Then the President resigned and President Ford pardoned him, so, ya know, there wouldn't be any long drawn out proceedings. People going to jail for a joint, but something of this magnitude, nope. This reminds me very much of how "we can't look back" at the economic meltdown and bank bailout. How no one is responsible for two wars, based on lies. We know that there were warnings, yet, hijacked planes, on 9/11, just flew into buildings and there was no military response. On that day, I remember that same feeling I had when President Kennedy was shot, the complete confusion of that attack, then I didn't have the knowledge I do now.
When I first heard about the Paris attacks, I got that same bewildered feeling, then I had the thought, oh, it's Friday the 13th. Not some random date. Then I read that the police had the so-called mastermind Salah and let him go. You're kidding. That's no accident. I just don't believe in coincidences anymore. I am not making light of the loss of life, the heartbreak and grief going on in Paris, but it's not lost on me that now there's even more bombing in Syria, what's it gonna be? Another war? It's kind of getting old, but here's something that never get's old, co-opting the tragedy in Paris to call for more surveillance here in America, home of the freaked out, Fox News watching morons. Our economy has been in the doldrums for some time and there's nothing like war power to enrich weapons makers to prop up our "free market" economy. So it goes, more war creating more terrorists and more terror.
I don't watch TV anymore, in fact, I threw it out, besides cable being so expensive it's the amount of crap we're being fed and all the fear mongering. I am sure the footage of the Paris attacks were being shown over and over, that's something I just don't want to see. I have opted out of corporate control of what comes into my home. I opt out of being told stories and more propaganda. I believe very little of what I read, facts and logic seems to have been thrown out of daily discourse. You get to the point where you know that things are never what they seem. When the all too familiar call to arms and blame on some disenfranchised group flares up in a never ending war scenario, the only thing you can do is turn away, I am sorry about what has happened in Paris, but I am sorrier still that there is nothing that can be done, because profit and corruption drives it all and I refuse to play by those rules.




Friday, November 13, 2015

#PorteOuverte

I am making a quick post about the horrible attack in Paris. In case it can help. Please share so French citizens may find shelter if they are in need

                                                               #PorteOuverte



                                     

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Dubya's Doddering Old Dad

Donald Trump was on SNL,who cares? Why anyone pays an attention to that blowhard is beyond me.
Here's a blowhard that got some attention this week. It was 41, yes, that's what he's called in his family. He's a number.The 41st president of the United States and he decided to out his son as being bullied by Cheney and Rumsfeld, poor little Dubya was served badly by his aides. 
What gets me so mad about the Bush's is the total denial that a war was fought on the basis of lies, for profit and thousands have died. The Middle East is a nightmare because of Bush's meddling but it's all Cheney's and Rummy's fault. There's enough blame to go around, but the fact that no one has been accountable for the spying on the American people, the torture, the lying. That is the real problem.  Now dear old Dad has a book coming out and he decides the time is right to keep it real, to bad he didn't do that with his son. Thanks for that!
Another problem for me is that I remember when this whole Iraq War went down, I knew it was all bullshit, but God forbid you said so, just look at how the Dixie Chicks were crucified.
But hey, we can't look back. We aren't supposed to have a memory I guess.
History will be Dubya's judge, because there's no political will to bring a war criminal to justice. Jebby's run for the presidency has been nothing more than a joke since he backs his brother all the way, explaining to us that getting rid of Saddam Hussein was a "pretty good deal" was it? Was it a good deal for all the veterans who fought that war and are now committing suicide in droves?  Was it a good deal for all the families who lost their sons, daughters, husbands and wives? I can't even imagine their pain. To describe that war as a "good deal" as if it was a business transaction, which I'm sure it pretty much was, Cheney's Halliburton profited mightily, as well as all the other defense contractors. The Bush's have been in the business of war for profit for a long time and that includes George H.W. Bush, "good deal" doesn't even come close to describing it. I guess 41 think's it's all Destiny and Power. I think it's corruption and greed, but who cares what I think.
                                             
                                             

Sunday, November 1, 2015

A Matter Of Time

Once upon a time, there was a war, this war used a lot of fuel, there was a lot less for the people, so, it was decided to utilize Daylight Savings Time and people wouldn't need as much fuel. When the war was over, Daylight Savings Time ended, the people rejoiced, their clocks could stay the same forever! Sadly, there was another war and another shortage of fuel, another Daylight Savings Time was reinstated. When the war was over, there was no more Daylight Savings Time, unless a state felt like keeping it.
In 1966 the government mandated Daylight Savings Time for everyone, so all around the country there would be a standard uniform time. Because they had extended light at the end of the day the people could shop and go to Home Depot and spend money because more light means more consumers consuming.
Daylight Savings Time started as a way to save energy, even thought there is no evidence that this is so. However, the Chamber of Commerce says sales go up, so Daylight Savings Time must go on! Despite the fact that nobody gives a crap about it and now they have to go all around the house changing the alarm clocks and digital appliance clocks and the coffee maker clock. The Chamber of Commerce has their people do this for them, therefore, they aren't bothered by the inconvenience. If they like Daylight Savings Time so much, why don't they make it permanent?
One reason is little Johnny and Jane would have to walk to the bus stop in the dark. Because schools start at an hour when most children would probably just be waking up. The horrendous early hours school system is not conducive to learning, but is conducive if you like tired children at school laying their heads down on their desk and sleeping, because it's too damn early to be at school. But I digress.
The other reason? An act by Congress, not much hope there, since they all take money from the Chamber of Commerce lobby. We the people, don't get any money from the Chamber of Commerce lobby, so what people want doesn't matter and we just have to go along with nonsensical, illogical rules like changing our clocks when you don't want to, after having been convinced that it's for the peoples good because they are saving so much energy. Which is all a sham, so the people will be busy changing all the clocks, sometimes people miss one and don't discover it for a day or two. No one at work has time to change the clocks so they will be off too. For some reason or other, some clocks won't be changed and people may see a clock while driving around, that hasn't been changed, maybe at the local Chamber of Commerce. One day, maybe the clocks won't have to be changed and it will always be Daylight Savings Time and the people will all live happily ever after. As long as there's daylight, people will spend even  money on cheap crap from China, they buy at Walmart, all is right with the world, no matter what time it is.
                                                                         



Sunday, October 25, 2015

Weird Weekend

What a weird weekend, starts out with Hillary Clinton and yet another Benghazi hearing, that people are sick of and we know why it's going on;
                          Thanks for that Congressman Cummings, but actually, no, we are not "better than that." America is not better than that. Politicians are not better than wasting millions of American taxpayers dollars, hell bent on Benghazi or Planned Parenthood or whatever stupidity that can be conjured.
I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton and I won't be voting for her and it has nothing to do with Benghazi.
Then there's this bit of weird, Tony Blair apologizing, but not apologizing about some mistakes in the Iraq War and he's trying to spin  his way out of the mess George Bush made. It seems that an inquiry into Iraq has been made in Mr. Blair's country and it's probably not looking good for him.
 I want to know where's the Inquiry on the Iraq War in America? If Blair made some mistakes what about George Bush? We have all this excruciating minutiae on Benghazi, however, no one seems to be interested in exactly how we were lied to and the country was led into a disastrous war and now the Middle East is a shambles. Russia has been asked by Iraq to bomb ISIS, how does that happen?
Twelve years later Americans are still dying in Iraq.
But I guess we can't look back? We can't look back at torture, wait, we did look at torture, the person who went to prison? whistleblower John Kiriakou, who provided information to reporters. Not a torturer. So maybe Blair jumped the gun, no need to apologize, nothing will happen to him anyway. Just like nothing has happened to George W. Wonder why he's not campaigning for his brother Jeb!?
What a great speaker he was; he made up a word, recrudeiments! Oh, and he and Jeb! had crabs, sorry to say.  After watching that video, it pretty much sums up how we are not, "better than that" There's not much that's weirder than watching that idiot President Bush speak the way he did and know that he was elected twice. He never admitted the Iraq War was a mistake, but the his own party did; http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2015/05/26/gop-agrees-bush-was-wrong-to-invade-iraq-now-what




Sunday, October 11, 2015

America On The Brink

I am not sure if chaos is the right word for what is happening in the U.S., but it's close. What do you call it when there's shooting after shooting and in the last one an eleven year old boy shot his eight year old neighbor now he's in jail and a family is never going to be the same, plus this shit will probably happen again, tomorrow or the next day. Thousands of shootings and thousands are dead.
Nothing will change.
In Washington, it looks like chaos too, Kevin McCarthy decided he didn't want to be the Speaker of the House, why not? In 2013 congress got 239 days off. Sounds like a good gig to me. Plus, he'll get a raise to $223,500 and that doesn't even include all the bribes and kickbacks from lobbies and corporations. The dude can't even speak a coherent sentence and he was the front runner. Who knows if Paul Ryan will jump in and save the day? Who even cares? All they want to do is shut down the government, oh, and Planned Parenthood, of course.
I know, lets talk about Syria. Looks like Putin will takeover, good for him, he can have it. We have no business being there, the American people are tired of war. Whatever CIA experiments that went down in Syria have failed and probably made things worse. We're number one, when it comes to carnage. Afghanistan anyone? Here's an idea, let's bomb a hospital, then change the story about how that happened three or four times. It was just a "mistake" after all, and now we must pay, also, congress will have to authorize additional payments. That could be a problem, since congress can't do much about anything except abortion, oh and birth control.
If all this wasn't enough, we've got Donald Trump running for president.
There seems to be a collapse of order, millions of refugees are fleeing the Middle East, mainly because of American meddling, however, Europe is dealing with the flood of people, I don't know how many refugees want to come to America, my advice would be to stay away. You'd have to be crazy to come here, even crazy Randy Quaid doesn't want to come back here, but that's a whole other story.
Take a look at Germany, thousands of Germans protested against the TPP deal President Obama wants to ram down our throats. Even Hillary Clinton is now saying she's changed her mind, fancy that! That doesn't mean she wouldn't change it again once she's elected.
Americans did protest the TPP back in June and predictably, they were arrested. This thing will probably be fast tracked and made into law. It's a win-win for corporations, what trade deal did the average American benefit from?
 The American government runs like a well oiled machine. Look at our great economy, everyone's so well paid, there's always extra to purchase guns and bullets! We have the finest, most expensive military in the world, what could possibly go wrong? Not to mention our super friendly police, here in the land of the free. If you believe any of these statements, I've got some fabulous land to sell you, after all, that's what America is famous for.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Just Another N.R.A. Day

Photo by Beatlesbible
Another shooting and one of the first things I thought when reading about the shooter, was how much he had in common with Adam Lanza and the Sandy Hook shooting. Both of these indivduals had poor social skills and very protective mothers. I don't know for sure if Harper Mercer had Aspbergers, like Lanza, However, Harper Mercer graduated from a school that teaches kids with special needs. Also it seems that Harper Mercers mother was unstable herself, or at least completely stressed out trying to keep her adult child under control. Like Adam Lanza's mother it seems she also knew he had firearms or even helped him get them.
Another thing that I noticed was that an aquaintance of his said he was always moving around and unsetteled, that's a huge red flag. His anxiety must have been quite overwhelming and suggests maybe a co-morbid disorder, could be involved and I wondered if his mother tried to get help for him? If she did it was probably an uphill battle, if you don't have money you may as well forget it.
Then there's the strange Army stint that didn't take and no one knows why. But he's wearing military garb and blousing his pants over his boots, and what is with the IRA and Nazi fetish/obsession? That's scary,
I saw that President Obama got on TV and made a speech and is pissed off that nothings changed, shooting after shooting. He hasn't got the memo that gun laws will not be changed. The best way to counteract mentally ill people doing this is having a national healthcare system that includes mental healthcare for ALL. Obama blew it years ago, with the Obamacare giveaway to the health insurance industry. Every civilized country in the world has decent healthcare for it's people, including mental healthcare plus strict gun control.. Here we can't have either of those things.
What I am getting at is that once people like Adam Lanza or Chris Harper Mercer leave the school system, there's very little in the way of help for them. They are adults who obviously can't function on their own, so it's up to the parents to keep them under lock and key, that is, if they can. If they can get a diagnosis, they may be able to go on disability and then more help could be available, that is a long process. So if  President Obama really cared he could band together his democratic cohorts to craft some legislation or resurrecting Jimmy Carters Mental Health Systems Legislation, the footprint is already there.
The real irony is that Chris Harper Mercer was born in the UK and had he stayed in that country he would probably have received the care he needed, also he wouldn't have had such handy access to guns.
Here in America, you are on your own, but you can get a gun to keep you company.
In another few weeks there will be another shooting and then another, nothing will change, 9,958 people have died from guns this year.



Saturday, September 26, 2015

Bye Bye Boehner

John Boehner. Really? Stepping down, "life changes, plans change"...right. A man with the kind of power he had is just stepping down, everyone is blaming the far right crazies. I doubt it. Something tells me there is something forcing him out, something like maybe kiddie porn on his computer or he has a profile on Grindr. Maybe a pregnant girlfriend? Now the story is be careful what you wish for, someone worse is going to takeover. Probably, but to me they are all so bad, they waste so much time repealing Obamacare and of course there will be another government shut down. All Republicans want to do is defund everything, meanwhile they are on the corporate gravy train.
What about Boehner's legendary crying? WTF is up with that? Seriously? If Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi cried like that, I can't imagine what would be said or written about them. But Boehner's tears, are treated as normal, which they certainly are not. Good old Mr. Sentimental and all his feels, it's BS. Maybe he's mentally ill and is having a breakdown.
This about says it all. I'm not much for the Democratic Party either, but Boehner has to be the worst and I just wonder what kind of scandal will be left in the wake of his exit? For some reason he's being touted as the only Republican capable of compromise. Seriously. In what universe does the media live in where Boehner is seen as someone who was this great statesman or a public servant carrying out the will of his constituents? Why is it that the day after the Pope gives congress the smackdown that he resigns? Is he hoping that the Pope will be getting all the media attention and no one will be looking at the reason for stepping down? He goes into a basement meeting with Republicans and sings "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". What kind of professional does that? That's the kind of person that's supposed to be leading congress. I can see a visit to rehab in his future. It's good to know that when Boehner steps down in October he'll at least have created one job.
Remember this Mr. "Compromise" Boehner?



Monday, September 21, 2015

Chinese Puzzle

There's so much hype over the Pope. Now he's in Cuba and soon he'll be here! That's not what I'm looking at, I'm looking at Xi JinPing's visit. While everyone's hoping for the sight of a white pointy hat, I'll be watching what the White House will do and so far, we've really screwed up when it comes to China. 
The FBI arrested a Temple University professor, for espionage, 
 https://www.fbi.gov/sanfrancisco/press-releases/2015/chinese-professors-among-six-defendants-charged-with-economic-espionage-and-theft-of-trade-secrets-for-benefit-of-peoples-republic-of-china
Whoops! Looks like the FBI made a mistake and that professor has been released.
 Then there's the Obama "Asian pivot" an excuse for "The Pacific theater of U.S. military operations to maintain the balance of power. "It is expected that when the 'rebalancing' or 'pivot' of forces from the Atlantic to the Pacific is complete, 60 percent of the U.S. Navy will be based in the Pacific"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asian_foreign_policy_of_the_Barack_Obama_administration\
Let's be clear, the Pentagon, the State Department and all those military contractors need friction with China.So it doesn't surprise me when there's a lot of huffing and puffing about Chinese hacking. We need an excuse to treat China poorly. Somehow I don't think the Wall Street big banks want that.They want access to China's markets, and if Jinping is smart
he'll keep them out.Just like Obama's exclusion of the Chinese in his horrendous TPP deal he wants to ram down America's throat and everyone else who's nutty enough to enter into the negotiations.
The real story I think, will be the corporations that the Chinese President will be meeting with in Washington State. Jinping will probably be more successful with IBM and Amazon, Apple, also they love our cars for some reason, so GM will be there. According to what I've read our CEO's like investing in China, they don't want any of Obama's sanction threats pissing China off.
I'm thinking that Xi Jinping's visit to Seattle will be the real deal and then there will be a State dinner for Xi Jinping, in Washington D.C. Just think how cool it would be if they used Chinese finger traps at the State Dinner as favors!
 Some people are angry that the exact same effort made for the head of The People's Republic of China, has not been made for the Pope. It seems that people don't understand that the leader of a country is different than the leader of a religion. Shocking, that it could happen here in America! Just wait till the Pope meets transgender activists and a gay Episcopal priest, also a nun who has criticized the Pope on abortion issues. Hopefully this chill Pope will just want
to hang out with a glass of wine. It's going to be an exciting week, something for everyone!  

Friday, September 11, 2015

Profit From 9/11, It's the American Dream!

9/11 has become an event, where everyone says what they were doing when the planes hit the twin towers and how they found out. It's sort of like the assassination of JFK, except so many more people died. It left many of us shocked and sad and damaged the families of loved ones lost, for years to come. However, for some it was an opportunity, to declare war on something called "terrorism" a war we will never win and an excuse to invade a country on a lie, leaving more families grieving and our country in a perpetual state of war.
Iraq, is also in a perpetual state of war, even though that country did nothing to harm us, it will never be the same. I didn't know one person who actually wanted a war with Iraq, but that didn't matter, defense contractors did and our economy, which has never recovered from the Bush years, is now a debt ridden mess, that will probably fail again.   Where will the next war be? Another war based on bullshit so that capitalism can drag us all kicking and screaming along with it, that's my take on 9/11. It was an excuse to use so people could profit from other people's misery and so it goes...
Here we are fourteen years later, while we never directly invaded Syria (the CIA did the dirty work) millions are fleeing and no one seems to want them. Just to show how bankrupt we are as a country, President Obama says the US will take only 10,000 refugees (out of an estimated 3,000,000) and the most telling thing to me? That the UN is financially broke. not only that but the financial responsibilities that the US is supposed to maintain with the UN, are in such a mess, I can barely make out how much we are in arrears and still owe to them and what we pay. In 2005 it was $1.246 billion, I'm not sure what we pay them today, but, The UNHCR budget for 2015 stands at about $5.1 billion, with the US contributing more than all the other countries. http://www.rt.com/news/314679-Refugees-UN-bankrupt-syria/
I am sure there is a whole load of corruption and waste at the UN, just like everywhere else, so refugees that are supposed to be getting help aren't, while someone's drinking champagne at a five star restaurant. I saw this video yesterday, and it pretty much sums up the way we treat people, who are poor and starving and need help.
This asshole "journalist" kicking children and tripping a man carrying a child. Notice she is the only "journalist" wearing a mask on her face. Who the hell acts like this? Cops, that's a given, thanks to the militarization of the police and all the lovely leftovers they were given from the  Iraq war. Which brings me back to 9/11 and the Middle East in chaos, for so many reasons, but the main ones are Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. Blackwater and Halliburton and all the other moneymakers that profited from 9/11 and the Iraq war build up of bullshit. Still we are bombing the crap out of Iraq, I doubt we will ever leave a country that has oil or access to it. 
For most people, 9/11 is a sad and somber day, for those who lost a family member in that carnage, the anniversary must always be a sad reminder. When I think of 9/11, I think of how our shock and sadness was twisted and used by the government so the rich could be made richer. The behavior of that woman kicking refugees, using them to create some kind of narrative is no different than what Cheney and his cronies did to the American people, to get a war for profit. This is common knowledge, yet no one has been charged with any crime, and they never will

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Hard Times

 America is one hot mess. How do you get a weird mash up like Sarah Palin interviewing Donald Trump trying to convince us all that he's "avant-garde"? A mentally ill man shoots three people and it's broadcast live, nothing will change. China is melting down and the stock market crashed, however, the rich won't pay a price for a rigged "free"market. It's common knowledge that greed and corruption rule the day in the USA, God only knows what they will think of next to prop up the stagnant financial times most of us are dealing with.
I didn't study economics in school, I was terrible at math. I am an artist and what I was taught was to observe. To look at what's around you, whether it's a landscape or still life or people. What I see, are people struggling, not recovering. People working for less, not more. I work for a failing company, a free publication that sells advertising for the auto industry and no one is buying cars. As a matter of fact, most of the people I work with don't have cars, it's too much of a money suck.
They live with relatives or with their parents. They can't afford an apartment or a house. They are not consumers, they are not buying furniture or dishwashers.
In an economy that depends on consumer spending, there's no way from what I see, that things are getting better or "it's coming back" whatever the hell that means. However, I hear it from the hopeful all the time, even though nothings improved for them. There's continued apathy by most people I know, unless you are a senior citizen, then the story changes, there are too many "giveaways" and "people don't want to work", when I report to them real statistics about how many people in this country are living in poverty, they just scoff. Since they grew up in the Great Depression, they think we have it good and maybe we do, it just doesn't seem like it. They tell me they had "to make do" and so should we. There is no idea in their head that maybe things don't have to be that way. They profited from the biggest economic boom this country has ever seen. What they don't see, is an entire generation has been left behind, they demonize them as lazy, even though they are working more than one part time job because that's all they can get. Young people dying in droves from heroin overdoses and despair. It's not an accident that this is happening. It's the result of a country in decline, when people feel as if there is no way for them to succeed. They know cronyism and corruption is the only way to get ahead and Donald Trump exemplifies that, from his real estate mogul father, he inherited everything from and his four deferrals he received so he wouldn't have to fight in Vietnam, to his brothers high school buddy who got him into the Wharton School of business.
 http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/8/the-real-reason-pundits-want-donald-trump-to-disappear.html
 Seriously, this is the way things work in America, very likely it's the way things work in China and everywhere else. America works for the well connected, the con artists, the wealthy and snake oil salesman. If you are honest, hard working and just trying to pay back your student loans, well good luck, It's make do now in this depression, according to shadow stats, our unemployment rate is upwards of 20%, if China continues on it's current course, we may be in for worse. While we ponder what is actually going on versus the narrative we are been sold about this "recovery" why don't we watch something more uplifting?
                   Yes, if you can afford investments, you too can dance and go to the mall, life is just one big happy feet dance.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Chasing Money

I have been working so much I barely have time to keep up with all the political crazy going on. Why, oh why is Biden considering running for president? Jeb Bush is okay with torture, small Paul is trying to get away from staff indictments running his SuperPACs, Hillary and her emails, Trump, really? Who the hell would trust him with a nuclear bomb? These are our offerings.
All it is, is a money grab. Chris Christie has no hope of winning anything, but that won't stop him from trying to sweep up as many donations as he can get. Maybe that's why Biden wants to run, but seriously, doesn't he have enough money?
Which one of these candidates hasn't sold out? Maybe Bernie Sanders?
Yes, we are all being sold this privilege, of democracy, being dazzled by all these amazing candidates. Only in America where you have a hundred kind of cereals for breakfast and 10 different brands of toilet paper to choose from can you also expect a overpowering array of  potential presidents.
Weirdly, candidates like Clinton and Bush, which in real life, I don't know anyone who would vote for, are probably pushing Trumps popularity. Bernie Sanders has pulled off an "astonishing feat" he's ahead of Hillary. It's been reported that Hillary still has a comfortable lead. I am not so sure of that, with the kinds of  crowds Bernie has been drawing, you can see why, because he actually makes sense. Trump says illegal immigrants have to go! He's also going to build a big wall. That's the big problem to Trump, not black people being murdered by cops day after day. A few of my non-voting friends do have a lot to say about illegal immigrants and all the benefits they receive, like free healthcare, I hear this all the time. "They can receive schooling and emergency medical care, but not welfare or food stamps" http://www.tolerance.org/immigration-myths
Pass me a roofie next November.
So here we have the resentment against illegal immigrants, they can receive emergency medical care for pregnancy and surgery. What this means is that Medicaid will reimburse hospitals for an illegal immigrants emergency procedures. "undocumented parents may apply for public benefits for their U.S. citizen children. When applying, be clear that you are applying only for your children
This is another complaint I hear. A person born in this country is American, but most people moaning about illegal aliens don't understand this. They complain all the time about illegal aliens having big families so they can get free benefits. What this shows me is how many people are struggling, because the economy is so bad that anyone perceived to be getting a free ride, even if they are Americans, they are seen as gaming the system and bankrupting the country. Whatever people may think, it's completely legal and if any of the people I know could meet the criteria, they would be able to get benefits too. Trump is riding this wave of resentment that wouldn't even be there if we had a single payer healthcare system where all Americans would be covered. When a candidate like Trump can get this much attention by grinding down the poorest of the poor, in order to pander to people who are economically strangled and disenfranchised, that's pretty disturbing. There are 11.5 million illegal aliens in this country, many of them I am sure have children who are American. I'd like to know how Trump is going to manage to make them go? He sure isn't worried about getting the Latino vote. Maybe that's the point, who would vote for any of these people? With the exception of Sanders, he's the only one who is saying anything that makes any sense and you can bet we won't be allowed to vote for him.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Welcome To The Amerikan Gulag Comrade

This is what has been happening in my country. Home of the "FREE". You won't read this in the New York Times;
 http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/05/homan-square-chicago-thousands-detained
Thousands jailed. I am talking, THOUSANDS!
 In an American gulag and it sickens me. 82% percent are Black, yeah I said it!
Held in this disgusting "warehouse" Logic defies me at this point. How is it that thousands of my COUNTRYMEN are held in a place, where they just disappear?  But hey, Donald Trump and Chris Christie will debate. Guess what? This is only ONE! ONE of these horrendous places, when was the last time you ever heard about a place like that?
Round 'em up and just send them to a place where no one knows where they are. Due process?  When will we say enough is enough? I am so angry about this, I can hardly type. It feels like Nazi Germany. only we don't need yellow stars or pink ones, for the Jews (my late husband was one) or the gypsies or artists, (that would be me)  No, persecute black people, brown people, put them in "secret facilities" I have tried, but I found no American publication that reported this,
Where is  the outrage?
They are all watching Fox News, I am disgusted. Propaganda rules.

Just wait till they come after the old and sick, oh, hold on, Wake up White People, you're next. There is no  doubt, we are living with Fascism.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

This Is What Happens When You Call The Cops

 If you have a problem and you call the cops, you now have two problems. This video was made exactly a year ago and this year in July, 120 people were killed by the police. How much video needs to be collected before this changes? I finally found a database called Killed By The Police, have a look.
There are lawful murderers in uniform able and willing to kill people for no reason. now what is that reminiscent of? The Wild West? Nazi Germany? Native American genocide? What exactly is going on here when people are targeted and I'd venture a guess that they are all poor and have no means to fight back with expensive lawyers.
Cecil the Lion was killed this week and there was a lot of crying and carrying on. It was a damn shame that someone got away with that, but for some reason, people have a staggering amount of empathy for an animal and barely any for the human beings killed in the latest wave of police brutality. Something tells me that rich Dr. Palmer, Cecil the Lions murderer, wanted for questioning, won't have a bunch of trigger happy police ready to hunt him down and maybe give him a Russian mouthwash. Lucky for him. But people of color just minding their business can be chased, hassled and shot on the spot.
So, more people being killed than ever and no laws passed to do anything about it. How is this situation going to change when there's so much money to be made keeping cops in business, corrections officers employed and a war on drugs that is so profitable. Why do you think Chris Christie said he was gonna use military style SWAT teams to hunt down those evil and violent pot smokers? Seriously, it's a moneymaker. Plus, he wants all the twinkies for himself, he doesn't want to share with stoned people who have the munchies. But this sorry situation is no joke.
For years now in America, people just get away with it. Banks defraud the country and we bail them out, no questions asked. America tortures people and we punish the people who out them, we jail the whistleblowers but not the torturers. Our leaders lie about why we need to start a war and then they just go back home and paint really bad paintings, No one is accountable and that trickles down to the local police, who then decide it's okay to piss all over the local citizens, they are lucky if that's all that happens to them.
                               Have a safe weekend, and whatever you do, don't call the cops.


Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Unwarranted

When a cop stops you for failing to have a front license plate, expect to get shot. If a cop stops you for a seat belt violation, expect to get shot. Failure to signal will get you a trip to jail and you may never come out alive. Routine traffic stops have never been more dangerous and oddly enough after all the protests in Ferguson and Baltimore, the killing continues. The best part is? We haven't kept track of these statistics since 2009.  Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, we don't know how many this has happened to. The Guardian began a project called "The Counted" the total is 664. What is so damning about this sorry part of American cop culture is that you would think, with more scrutiny, there would be some sort of training program, something being done to stop this violence before it starts, which leads me to believe it's been going on for so long and this problem is so out of control that no one knows where to start. No one even wants to start.
Where I live, cops are a great revenue stream for the township. I witness people getting pulled over right and left. The beginning and end of the month are always the worst because cops need their quotas. I'm lucky I'm a white lady, but my black friend Kirk isn't so lucky, he's always getting pulled over, for no damn reason.
 There's 365 days in a year and already 664 people are dead.
Now everyone is begging for people to keep calm but the cops don't have to.
When the punishment for not having a front license plate is murder, people tend to feel upset. When the prosecutor calls this murder "senseless" and "asinine" that this police officer shouldn't even be one, well, it doesn't take an algebra major to equate that there's probably thousands more murderers in uniforms pulling people over when their trigger finger feels a little itchy. Worst of all this cop was wearing a cam and it didn't do anything to curtail his murderous nature. Thank God he was wearing one, however, just because there was an indictment doesn't mean there will be a conviction.
In the words of Mr. DuBose in the video, "I didn't even do nothing" doesn't matter, he didn't have a front license plate. I hope my friend Kirk does, he could easily be next.

Good to know, but that didn't stop Mr. Tensing from killing a man, I would really like to know how many of the people these cops murder had a weapon? I am guessing none, or close to none. In that case we should stop arming police officers. But nooo, we can't have that thanks to our insane gun culture. Unwarranted killings will continue and "The Counted" death toll will continue to rise.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Brother Can You Spare A Non-Profit Foundation?

I work in a company, a company where the Vice President sleeps in his office with the door open on almost a daily basis. People have taken pictures of him doing it too. His brother started this company, where he has installed many inept family members. They pay people poorly, but not the family members. Family members and other family favorites get big Christmas bonuses, but not the rest of the employees. We are all under surveillance on the floor, we are being watched so we're not sleeping on the job. Kind of ironic, don'tcha think? In a dynastic company, such as mine, I see many things that look like the American political system. In my company the managers are told they have to work x amount of hours. The manager in charge of the schedule prints it out and gets it approved by the head manager. After it's approved to what she's been told she has to work, she whites out whats been written and writes in what she wants her schedule to be, she leaves 15 minutes early every day and since she is salaried, she manages to get paid for the hours she doesn't work. The schedule is an illusion. It doesn't mean anything. Just like the words politicians say, doesn't mean a thing. Like a congress that only works 126 days a year, while the rest of us are damn near working all 365 days.
The Clinton's are an example, they have a foundation, called the Clinton Foundation, where they employ their daughter, Chelsea, the CEO is Donna Shalala, anyone remember her?  She was the Secretary of Health and Human Services, under President Clinton and Bush. This is a non-profit foundation, that's a job creator for friends or family. It is taken for granted that this kind of nepotism and cronyism occurs and it will continue to occur. Just  like in my company where many family members and friends of family are employed, it doesn't mean you are getting the sharpest knife in the drawer, You just get the easiest most convenient employee. Which is why my company will soon be going out of business because they've run it into the ground with their brand of stupid.
Speaking of stupid, lets look at another dynasty, Jeb Bush, surprise! He's got a non-profit too, the Foundation For Excellence in Education, I guess his idiot brother really affected him, but I digress.
Guess who's the Board Chair? None other than WMD liar Condoleeza Rice. Ya know, maybe she is one of the reasons why, he made that statement, even knowing what we know now, he still would have invaded Iraq and Hillary would too, nice touch there. Also Jebs daughter Noelle was busted for crack, spent 2 weeks in jail and works for one of her daddy's businesses. Lucky for her, because people aren't in the habit of hiring those who have been arrested on drug charges. Kind of like in my company, the Vice President's son was arrested for dealing narcotics, but he's got a golden parachute when he gets out of jail and so it goes.

The economy is very bad, but not for the 1% with "non-profit" foundations, with all kinds of behind-the-scenes shenanigans going on, just like at my dynastic company where the relatives are treated like gold and everyone else is treated like garbage, which is why I refuse to tie my self to any one employer, it's why I refuse to vote anymore. These people have it made, they rake in the tax free cash and hand out positions to their kids and friends while the rest of us just scrape along. This system will not change and no amount of voting will change it. The economy will continue degrade, but insulated politicians and their kids won't ever have to worry about that. Go ahead and vote for these selfish, corrupt candidates. They probably fall asleep in their chairs at the office with the door open too.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Feel The Bern

I have listened to more than a few people tell me they want to vote for Donald Trump. I doubt they will get the chance, The choice will be Hillary or Jeb, that is, the illusion of choice I mean. Bernie will become coopted and probably embrace Hillary. It's pretty obvious that hope and change never happened and it's not going to. If anyone actually believes in the American political system, they aren't paying attention. I thought Greece was a very good example of a place where Democracy was born, they voted in a referendum against austerity and their leaders turn around and give them more austerity.
Bernie Saunders had 11,000 people at his rally in Arizona yesterday, but all the reporting I read is, Trump putting down McCain, because Trump doesn't think he's a war hero, also Bill Cosby's deposition. He drugged women and raped them. I wish Hillary or Jeb would hand out Quaaludes before they rape us.
 How is it that all we are offered are dynasties or clowns?
Because it's a joke.
The only thing keeping the political system from collapsing is Koch brothers money and the corrupt politicians thriving while doing nothing, cycling in and out of office to lobbies to corporations and back. The people in this country hate congress, they have turned their back on a political system that works for the 1% and the status quo. This is why people like Donald Trump or Bernie Saunders, But in the end I doubt that people will be voting for them. Will Bernie even get to debate anyone? Will Trump? He can't just fire his opponent.
At this point, Bernie Sanders seems to be getting a lot of traction, but so is Donald Trump, I guess this is a good example of this country being a nation of extremes. I can't imagine what the world must think of this country with a blowhard like Donald Trump as a Republican front man, I doubt that either Trump or Bernie will be on any ballot in 2016.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Pick Your Poison

Only in America could you have an assclown like Donald Trump stating the obvious, "This country's  bankrupt" thanks for that. He should know, he's filed for bankruptcy four times. He  had all of 200 people show up in New Hampshire to see him, that's really big news. Bernie Sanders (I-V) had
almost 10,000 show up in Wisconsin, that's pretty telling.
After the "hope and change" of Obama, it's going to be a hard sell for Bernie, but a harder one for Hillary. No one wants a Clinton or for that matter a Bush in the White House again. Recycling can be a good thing, but not in this case. Then again all these people seem to try to recycle themselves, like Chris Christie, the epic fail from New Jersey, was invited to a "sleepover" at Mitt Romney's house. There probably isn't a S'more left in Massachusetts. Please, spare us. There's no need for Christie as a candidate, ask the people of New Jersey what we think of him. All it seems to be is a big SuperPAC money grab for all these politicians, there's also confusion over whether Bernie has one or not.
It's very expensive here in the "land of the free" to run for office or just run your household. People like Donald Trump don't have to worry about that, he always lands on his feet and is able to burn his way through another fortune. Average Americans don't have that luxury and we aren't interested in a TV celebrity who thinks he can run a country. It's a joke. Now that all the fireworks are over and the dust has settled, what the hell are we really celebrating? How many of these candidates are owned by corporations? I'm guessing that this election is going to be another "lesser evil' election.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Dixieland

I wrote about my old neighbor before. How do you like his door? That flag isn't there anymore and neither is he. That doesn't mean there aren't more like him, with Confederate flags on their cars or hanging like curtains in their bedroom windows. I live in New Jersey, that doesn't seem to matter to these people, they like to let their freak flag fly. It's disgusting but completely acceptable. It's weird to me to live above the Mason-Dixon line and see so many confederate flags.
I am pretty sure they know that flag is a symbol, and it isn't a good one.
When nine people die in a mass murder, with evidence left behind that the person responsible liked to wave the Confederate flag around and the same flag is waving next to the states capitol, you don't need any more evidence to know the stubborn worship of that flag and what it stands for is ignorant and insensitive. I don't care if Uncle Jeb was a damn general in the Confederate army. He fought on the wrong side, get over it.
That's the problem right there. The war is still going on in their minds. If you look at the amount of police shootings of unarmed African-American people, it sure looks like they might be onto something.
The "just a good ole' boy" mantra, sung by Waylon Jennings, describes the experience southern white law breakers have, never mind any mention of the problems black people everywhere in the U.S. have just trying to survive an encounter with the police.
 The Confederate flag is in peoples living rooms and in movie theaters. It's like Dixieland is La La Land, completely devoid of the reality that; "It is no accident that Confederate symbols have been the mainstay of white supremacist organizations, from the Ku Klux Klan to the skinheads. They did not appropriate the Confederate battle flag simply because it was pretty."
and "The Confederate flag, we are told, represents heritage, not hate. But why should we celebrate a heritage grounded in hate, a heritage whose self-avowed reason for existence was the exploitation and debasement of a sizeable segment of its population?*
You can't separate the flag from the hate, however, everyone seems to turn a blind eye to the real meaning of that flag and the gun problem we have in this bipolar country. Everything is spin. Like Rick Perry's accidental accident comment.
I doubt anything will happen when it comes to Confederate flags or guns. There's just too many of them and too few people with the will or just plain common sense to change. So we are stuck with the reality that more people will die in schools and now churches or at the hands of  out of control police. America, home of the fearful and the free to fire away.
*Flags of the Confederate States of America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunday, June 7, 2015

This Ain't America

This again? Pic from Daily Show
There's a lot of empty houses I see on my drive to and from work. I see them in my neighborhood too, when I go for my work out run. There are 5 on just one street. It doesn't look like a recovery to me. It's not unusual to see these lonely houses with no people in them, it's just taken for granted it's a foreclosure. I remember first noticing them probably around 2007, I said to my friend "somethings not right, this is like The Great Depression, when was the last time you saw empty houses"?
Fast forward to 2015, look what we've got, another Bush for President or another Clinton?  It should be comedy, but I think they are serious. They are the American dream, corrupt and well connected, they brought us war and The Great Recession, since Clinton unraveled Glass-Steagle. People are supposed to just keep voting for the same tired retrocycled versions of political whores who don't give a damn about the empty houses or the crap jobs that pay minimum wage, if you can get one.
What I'm getting at is things weren't always this way. It seems we lack any sort of problem solving skills and no one seems to want to call a spade a spade, because it doesn't have to be this way. Empty house ghettos don't have to exist, neither does a random minimum wage, that used to be reserved for high school fast food workers, now forced on adults raising families, supplemented with food stamps. I see a lot of resentment and anger in my co-workers, most of whom live with family members because they can't afford to live on their own. The friends I have that live in McMansions are struggling too, it looks like they are better off, but their debt load says different, the pressure cooker of this broken economy is being felt by so many, opportunities continue to dry up, the free market is open to some, but not all, it's free to the connected and  the nepotistic.
America doesn't look like America anymore. I often wonder what country I am living in? I think the American dream has been outsourced and we've been left to bootstrap it on up, but to where?
Meanwhile, militarized police shoot unarmed fleeing people and no one bothers to hold anyone responsible or keep any statistics that may show that cops are out of control and are killing innocent people so it gets to the point where the last thing you do if trouble arrives at your doorstep is call the cops, because when they show up you now have two problems.
Probably no one I know will be looking at the G7 summit. We'll be ginning up another cold war over "Russian aggression" ignoring our obsession with the Middle East and the trillions we've spent on our own aggression. Obama is going to trot out the truly awful TTP deal, that won't do squat for the average struggling American, but will be awesome for multinational corporations, of course.
Here at home congress finally did something, of course it had everything to do with them and their cash cow, NSA, the spying will continue with the Freedom Act.
Americans are the only people in the developed world without a single payer heathcare system. We have a war on drugs that costs billions, while other developed countries have no such thing. Addicts are treated with compassion, not as income streams for corporate incarceration. Most people know something is wrong, but they don't have time to do the research it takes to figure out that you've been had and the country you used to know has been stolen by banks and corporations who own the government. I guess we're all supposed to get used to this slide into oblivion, where you and now your kids, all struggle, because the controls on the citizenry will clamp down on rebellion, unless you have the means to leave and live somewhere else, trouble is, I doubt anyone wants us.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Let It Die

On December 4, 1981, authorized by Saint Ronnie Reagan;
Executive Order 12333,  "regarded by the American intelligence community as a fundamental document authorizing the expansion of data collection activities."
Whatever happens tonight, and I do hope that Section 215, goes quietly into the dark night, there is still an apparatus in place. The Obama administration is urging passage of the USA "Freedom" Act, after The "Patriot" Act, I am sure the USA "Freedom" Act is going to keep us free, right.
It doesn't matter what they call it, or what they say they will do, there is money to be made and that will not be so easy to give up. Let's take a look at this, Utah Data Center - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Originally it was supposed to be called,  "the Massive Data Repository but was renamed to Mission Data Repository due to the former sounding too "creepy". What do you suppose they will do with that?
                                           Now, what do you think will become of this facility?
Mission data accomplished?
There is no way this Utah NSA employment program will just go away. Think about it. The junior Senator from Utah, Mike Lee pleads for the USA Freedom Act to be passed, Pass the USA Freedom Act - The Washington Post
Really?
Meanwhile, in no American media have I read about this, More than 10,000 websites 'blackout' Congress in protest of NSA surveillance laws | US news | The Guardian
Rand Paul is threatening another filibuster, I hope he does it. I hope I can get up tomorrow and read that at least this miserable chapter in American history is over. But there is still a facility in Utah, that Senator Mike Lee has to justify. Executive Order 12333, which has never gone away will probably keep him and  his Mission Data Repository alive.
 Let the NSA’s mass surveillance program die.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Owned By The NSA

Mitch McConnell had an epic fail at 1 am. It was pretty much like I thought it would go. Our government is paralyzed, they failed to do anything about Section 215 of  The Patriot Act. This will not stop McConnell from trying again next week on May 31st at 1 a.m. because his dirty work has to be done while everyone is sleeping. This isn't just about collecting everyone's phone records illegally, this is about money. It's always about money. The Blackstone Group, Sen. Mitch McConnell: Campaign Finance/Money - Summary - Senator 2014 | OpenSecrets  Booz Allen, (former employer of Edward Snowden) there are very high stakes in this game of spying, that is the main reason that McConnell doesn't want this cash cow to die. Millions, if not billions of reasons. It's a cash cow when over 70% of the NSA's budget goes to contractors. Who then donate to the various committees
The names no one even utters when it comes to this so-called "Patriot Act" are Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld. The notion that this oppressive violation of Americans rights that was instigated by these liars and war criminals even needs to be debated or otherwise extended is ludicrous. It needs to stop and it looks like it will despite Mitch McConnell's insistence that there is a "consensus" in favor of the extension. Our government thinks it's ok to break the law and hoover up our phone records, but when it's their turn to hand over information, suddenly there's just crickets, In the Same Week, the U.S. and U.K. Hide Their War Crimes by Invoking "National Security" - The Intercept
We all can be spied on in the name of the War On Terror, no place to hide for us, but the government isn't about to share their private information with it's people. You can't have it both ways.
Kudo's to Rand Paul for a 101/2 hr. theatrical filibuster. Rand Paul calls it a night after 10 1/2 hours - Seung Min Kim and Alex Byers - POLITICO
I still wouldn't vote for him. I won't vote for anyone anymore.
The tracking and control of the American people has to stop, but my fear is now that the apparatus is already there it will just go deeper and darker.
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
This NSA program has to end and hopefully it will die on May 31st, when like so much legislation, it just languishes with no action taken. A victim of my own country's inertia, maybe on June 1st I'll be thankful those clowns in Washington can't get anything done.
Have you ever gone to the NSA's website? it's creepy as all hell. Check out that Barbie girl on the lower right advertising for career opportunities, that's not the worst of it, check out the CryptoKids® America's Future Codemakers & Codebreakers Um ok, look at where the NSA is actually telling kids to protect themselves online, when we all actually need protection from them! WTF? June 1st can't get here fast enough.