Proof of Reincarnation: Michele "One L" Bachmann

Greetings, Dear Reader. As you probably have heard, Joseph McCarthy is back from the dead. And he's taken a hint from his good friend, J. Edgar Hoover: life is better as a woman. Shit, if I knew that drag was going to be "in" this election season, I would have bought more skirts. That's right folks, Michele Bachmann has declared that McCarthyism is back in vogue. All jokes aside, this can only go to show how desperate things are getting for the Elephants. I only hope America doesn't buy this crock of shit. People dislike politics because they claim that there is no difference between either side. To these people I would like to say one thing: WAKE THE FUCK UP. WAKE THE FUCK UP. WAKE THE FUCK UP. I am a new born when it comes to American politics, but considering the amount of shit being thrown at Obama, I realize that this is far more serious than just another presidential election. The McCain campaign has certainly take the gloves off; but they have shown a touch opposite of the Midas touch. I think I will call it the "Palin Touch." The Palin Touch has forced the Repubs campaign to turn to the dirtiest, sleaziest tactics. Even Lee Atwater threw up in his mouth when he saw "One L" on Hardball. I hope that you, Dear Reader, realize how important this election is, if anything, by looking at the "Palin Touch." This infamous tactic uses fear-mongering and bald-face lying as its main principles. While most of America is worried about their 401k, a real war rages between weltanschauungen. The world views in the squared circle are that of relativism, Leo Strauss, and "War is Peace" and of Truth, Justice, and dignity. How can anyone who makes such claims as Michele Blechmann sleep at night? To say that an eight year old was a friend of the Weathermen is a lie. What was Obama doing? Riding his bike around after these guys? After he flew by himself, without his mother's knowledge, from Indonesia? The efforts to create a relationship between Barack Obama and William Ayers through syntax is god damn fucking ridiculous. Just because you put the two names next to each other in a sentence doesn't mean that such a relationship exists. This is the sort of relativism I am talking about. And this is the relativism that the McCainiacs cleave to so strongly: that because there is no absolute truth to anything in the world, Science, Religion, Language, one can assert whatever one desires on the weakest of evidence and no one can argue against this assertion because all assertions are equal. Earth to Bachmann et alii: reality does not work that way. One cannot simply look at a hole in the ground and say, "That hole does not exist because at its edge, one can look on a level more microscopic than the last and see that there is no empty space between the air and the soil." To that man I say, "Either pass me the doobie or try walking over that hole, friend." One cannot mold reality to one's own desired shape. It seems to me a very childish tendency to refuse to accept the world as is and attempt to force it to be something else. The Greeks figured this out a long time ago: nothing begets nothing and something can only arise from something else. This is the death knell of the Bush Republicans. 2006 told us that America was awakening from its blood drunk slumber. 2008 will tell us that the beast is dead.

Chicken Little WAS Right

I really should be asleep, but I can't help but think that we have seen the beginning of the end. The big investment banks have all shit the bed. Trillions of dollars have been lost. From what my pea-sized brain has gathered, the Fed keeps bailing people big investment firms out (why not me? I only need $30,000 to pay off my creditors) only to see the money get paid out to cover bottomless debts. The economic growth of the past 20 years has been completely fabricated. And who are the people fucked in all of this? Us. The public. We now have the responsibility of paying back these debts for these assholes who made these ridiculous financial decisions. Most of what the "analysts" are saying is over my head because it's in a language I can't understand. This lady does a much better job than I do. Companies that were once worth billions are now worth less than this blog. The last drop of blood has been squeezed from the lower and middle classes. Poor people were sold a bill of goods which said that, despite their lack of money, they too could have a small piece of the "American Dream." Now these people are on the street. Don't believe me? Go to some of the homeless shelters in Cleveland and see how many crazy people/drug addicts you find there. Or just watch this. The good news: the super rich have gotten richer. Those worth more than $30m sans property worth added more than 100,000 to their ranks. I need to find me a patron.

On the other side of this historic collapse is the incredible political turmoil that is brewing just below the surface. Sure, a few bubbles have popped here and there, showing what could be just another ugly election or what might be something more. One of my avocations is learning about fascism, as it was THE political invention of the 20th century. I can't say I came to this interest on my own. Recently, however, I've been trying to really understand what constitutes a fascist movement. Thanks to this handy-dandy little book, Mr. Payne has shown me a few of fascism's facets. I was worried previously that the religious wing of the Republican Party, with its desires for a biblically based government and law, the elevation of a new elite, and its "alternative" education desires, was a protofascist movement. The one thing missing was the violence of previous fascist movements. In the eyes of a fascist, violence is a "creative force." Let that sink in for a moment. Violence. Creative. Destruction. Formation. Death. Birth. Mussolini and Hitler both advocated party violence as a means for creating a new world for both Italians and Germans. Upon reading about the vitality of violence, I thought that I was worlds away from ever seeing a fascist movement in my backyard. Boy was I wrong. If you ever listen to Michael Savage, you can hear him channelling Hitler. And he's a Jew. He disparages the "multy-culty melting pot of America," clamours for an America for Americans (personal note: I came up with that as my political slogan when I wanted to run for public office as a 7 year old. I couldn't understand why White America didn't have it's own political voice. I now do), and claims that liberals are for bird rights, tree rights, air rights, but not true liberty. I have seen Bill O'Reilly get furious on his show and threaten to kick his guests' asses, but I always thought it was an act, a ploy to boost ratings and his own infamy. I was wrong. I dare you to think that the outspoken voices on the Right don't mean what they say. Also, according to the growing apocalyptic eschatology of the Religious Right, end times are around the corner, and true believers will do whatever it takes to usher in the Rapture, including kicking colon cancer's ass. If you haven't seen it already, a video on youtube shows Reichsfurher Todd Bentley kicking a man with stage IV colon cancer in the stomach to cast out the demons causting his cancer. If that isn't "violence as a creative force," I must be living on the planet Zarlakian 9C. Remember, dear Reader, any thoughts, criticisms, and donations you might have are more than welcome.

Police to Protesters: Come for the Protest, Stay for the Beating!

Man, this blog is behind the times. I spent my first week after writing the first post (pounded out so patriotically thanks to ADD's nemesis, Adderall) pondering what to write about, when I really should have just written. The most fascinating appalling aspect of the Republican National Convention was the preemptive strike against protesters of all breeds. Over 800 arrests were made, but eight were of particular interest to me. 8 members of the "Republican National Convention Welcoming Committee" were arrested on charges of "Conspiracy to Commit Riot in the Second Degree in Furtherance of Terrorism," according to the Ramsey County felony complaint. Check out the statement of probable cause; it's pretty juicy stuff. The sheriff's department, those sly dogs, infiltrated the RNCWC with confidential informants and an undercover investigator and tracked the activities of these "terrorists." From some of the descriptions, this group seems pretty well organized and set on causing real destruction and preparing for clashes with the police. But if you keep reading you find gems like this from 21-year-old Erik Oseland:

Oseland wanted others to promise that St. Paul isn’t like Denver stating, “it’s going to be magnified 725% . . . promise we will not fuck around and will actively do something . . . we are the ones who are inciting people.” Oseland discussed that they should make it so chaotic that people will not let the delegates through. Oseland said they have an arsenal of tools and they should hide “crafty shit” all over St. Paul.

"Crafty shit," eh Erik? That definitely smells like terrorism to me. As one continues to read the complaint, a lot of the meetings sound quite violent. But that's the thing: all these people like to talk about how they were going to disrupt the RNC, but actually had very little stuff with which major damage could be caused. Now, having read the complaint, look at the definitions, straight from Minnesota's criminal code, which these anarchists were charged with:

Riot second degree. When three or more persons assembled disturb the public peace by an intentional act or threat of unlawful force or violence to person or property, each participant who is armed with a dangerous weapon or knows that any other participant is armed with a dangerous weapon is guilty of riot second degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.

Conspiracy to commit crime. Whoever conspires with another to commit a crime and in furtherance of the conspiracy one or more of the parties does some overt act in furtherance of such conspiracy may be sentenced as follows:
(1) If the crime intended is a misdemeanor, by a sentence to imprisonment for not more than 90 days or to payment of a fine of not more than $300, or both; or
(2) If the crime intended is murder in the first degree or treason, to imprisonment for not more than 20 years; or
(3) If the crime intended is any other felony or a gross misdemeanor, to imprisonment or to payment of a fine of not more than one-half the imprisonment or fine provided for that felony or gross misdemeanor or both.

CRIMES COMMITTED IN FURTHERANCE OF TERRORISM.
Definition. As used in this section, a crime is committed to "further terrorism" if the crime is a felony and is a premeditated act involving violence to persons or property that is intended to:
(1) terrorize, intimidate, or coerce a considerable number of members of the public in
addition to the direct victims of the act; and
(2) significantly disrupt or interfere with the lawful exercise, operation, or conduct of
government, lawful commerce, or the right of lawful assembly.
Furtherance of terrorism; crime described; penalty. A person who commits a felony crime to further terrorism is guilty of a crime. The statutory maximum for the crime is 50 percent longer than the statutory maximum for the underlying crime.

Starting with the conspiracy to commit riot in the second degree, I don't think that this charge can be proved against all of anarchists. In (more) plain English, this is the charge against the anarchists/dumb asses: they must have BOTH intended to commit an act where either they were armed with a "dangerous weapon" or knew that someone was armed with a "dangerous weapon" AND committed some overt act to further such intentions. I'm not sure that attending a meeting where they talked about rioting and pretended to riot with water bottles as Molotov cocktails counts as an overt act. At least to me, the question is what constitutes an "overt act in the furtherance of such conspiracy." The thing that could change this analysis is whether or not the conspiracy part extends to the terrorism charge. Terrorism as defined above as a felony AND "is a premeditated act involving violence to persons or property." Now, if this is a conspiracy charge which states that those charged intended to commit riot, how can it be an premeditated act which involves involves violence? The definition of terrorism involves the perpetration of an act of violence, and unless these anarchists have a time machine, I'm pretty sure that they cannot both INTEND to riot and RIOT with dangerous weapons at the same time. These prosecutors really need to work on their grasp of verb tenses. There are definitely instances where some of those charged were caught red-handed (Max Specktor and his car full of riot gear). I am neither saying that a crime did not occur nor that those who perpetrated this crime should not be punished. The law is the set of rules by which we all agree to live in this country. And those who break the rules should be subject to some sort of punishment commiserate with their offence. But if I were a defense attorney for any of these kids (I'm not, but I did stay at an Holiday Inn Express last night), I would feel pretty good about getting my client at least a reduced charge from the statement of probable cause. Now, if anyone was the terrorist in this stand-off between protesters and the police, read this. And this.

Now, the coup de grâce: if you read the last paragraph of the complaint, you find a list of all criminal acts committed during the riots on September 1 and 2. One does not find, however, any mention that these acts were perpetrated by the RNCWC or any of the defendants in this case. This paragraph makes it appear like the anarchists are being charged for the actions of other, unrelated protesters. Doesn't this smack of a crackdown on dissent? And this doesn't even cover the arrest of members of the press attempting to document these protests or the house raids on independent press organizations.

One more point of interest: the RNC took out an insurance policy which stated that they'd cover the first $10 million in legal costs to the county if they are sued for their actions against the protesters. The RNC co-opted the municipal government through this insurance policy, essentially saying that they will foot the bill for lawsuits which occur from the GOVERNMENT'S actions. I can only imagine that the RNC's actions would encourage the police to use whatever means necessary to quell and disburse any dissenting assembly, even extralegal. The municipal government has NO FINANCIAL EXPOSURE for their behavior. Perhaps the RNC watched 'Fargo' one too many times and assumed that the cops in good, ol' Minnesota were as nice as Marge Gunderson. A lot of cops are already engorged with power, and giving them a blank check to stamp out 'crime' only encourages reckless expression of that power. And they certainly aren't going to arrest themselves for beating some punk kid's anarchist ass. While I have heard of some instances of some officers stopping others from acts of violence (most notably one horse-mounted unit preventing another from beating a Code Pink protester), most of what I've heard and read reflects no police restraint. Also, I've heard accounts that the police, contrary to law, did not clearly wear badges which display both their name and badge number. This prevents any specific complaints from being filed against the officers involved in these actions. I'm sure that deals between political interests and government is not a rarity in our nation's history, but a political group using a government agency to stamp out dissent in this particular fashion is both brazen and terrifying. These protests and riots are public matters to be handled by the agencies whose jurisdiction these acts occur. They are not and should not be underwritten by any political group.

We're moving closer and closer to the political breaking point. Honestly, I am not enamored with the anarchists and the principles for which they stand. Their desire to use violence to achieve their ends and as a state of being is reminiscent of fascism, as is their hope to establish a new political and social order. The Christian Dominionists also scare the bejesus out of me, with their hopes to establish a biblical government (don't laugh, they're serious), their willingness to re-write history, and their blatant rejection of rational thought (Palin to congregation: "pray for a plan that is God's plan." WHAT!?! Pray for a plan for a plan?!?!).

Like Dylan says, "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right/here I am, stuck in the middle with you," dear reader.

And to think this doesn't even touch upon the impending depression.

Palin to Repubs: I know laying pipe!

Some of you may have been watching the conventions over the past few weeks. And some of you saw the Republican VP candidate give a stirring (please, hold the laughter) speech to a fawning audience. While her abilities to read from a teleprompter are second-to-none and her sarcastic delivery makes Bill Maher blush, her grasp of reality is tenuous at best. Among the more ridiculous claims made from the stump was her assertion that the North Slope has "a lot of [oil]." This, as her good friend Ted Stevens knows, is not true. According to a report released by the EIA in May 2008 at the request of Sen. Stevens, the total amount of oil available in the region 1002 of ANWR ranges from 1.9 billion barrels to 4.3 billion barrels. To put this in perspective, the US consumes approximately 20.7 million barrels of oil a day, roughly 7.5 billion barrels a year. In 1998, USGS estimated that ANWR contained between 5.7 and 16.0 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil. This figure pales in comparison to the estimate that the total amount of technically recoverable, undiscovered oil on the outer continental shelf is 120 billion barrels. It must also be noted that the upper estimate of the above figures represent a one in twenty chance that ANWR contains this much recoverable oil. Mrs. Palin might be right, there could be a lot of oil in ANWR. But the question remains: how feasible is it to drill in ANWR? According to the same EIA report, the first oil field in ANWR will start producing oil in 10 YEARS. And the potential decrease in oil prices during the peak production of these gushers tops out at $1.44 per barrel (2006 dollars) in 2027. Based on per capita oil consumption in 2004, the savings to a family of 4 will be $148.42 in 2027 if the government opens ANWR to drilling. Of course, this is in 2006 dollars, so by the time 2027 rolls around, the happy American family of 4 will save approximately a googleplex of dollars, or enough to buy a loaf of bread. At that point, I think the lira will be more valuable than the dollar. Read the report yourself. It's not very long. Please do not buy what Mrs. Palin and Mr. McCain are selling. The solution to our energy independence and hence our national security is not drilling for more oil. One does not help a junkie kick his/her habit by giving them diluted junk. One helps a junkie by hand-cuffing them to a bed, closing up all exits (including the vents), and watching to make sure withdrawal doesn't kill them. Unfortunately, I do not know the solution to this problem. Fortunately, I walk everywhere.

Welcome to the Terrordome...

This is the first post of my blog dedicated to fighting fascism in America. Fascism is on our doorstep, waiting to crush all liberties and freedoms we take for granted. I doubt anyone will read this first post. I proclaim this as my first step towards fighting back and restoring the rule of law in America.

I aim to stimulate conversation about the current state of American politics and social life. I aim to illuminate this conversation with historical comparison which I find fitting. I aim to be wrong, to be corrected, and to find common ground on which our society can move forward. I aim to fight for the poor and voiceless. I aim to encourage those who have never spoken up to finally raise their voice in dissent. I aim to culminate this blog in action towards restoring progress toward the future, not to achieve victory at all costs. I aim to restore hope among the disenfranchised, cynical, and hopeless. Most of all, I aim to stimulate people to action to improve themselves, their communities, and the future of both.

The fight starts here. The fight starts now.