Tag: United States of America

One of my daily hits on the internet is Cryptogon.   The site is run by a fellow who was lucky enough to be able to leave the country and set up a self-sustaining farm out in the middle of nowhere in New  Zealand.  Now did he pull this off?   Well, he married a woman from New Zealand.   That’s step one that not everyone can do of course.  🙂  

He has a knack for finding the out-of-the-way story, and has a unique perspective on the world.

Usually he posts articles and information with just a few comments, sometimes none, but today he has a post which is pure commentary.   And I just have to share it because it’s brilliant.

A few people seem surprised that the U.S. is a police state.

Oh the cops. Oh the poor students. Oh boo hoo, we just want to wave our signs.

The don’t taze me bro generation is obviously going to have to figure this one out the hard way.

My position has always been that people who wave signs at fascists are clinically nuts; holy roller, speaking in tongues, batshit crazy nuts.

Sign waving is not resistance. Sign waving is part of the problem in the same way that voting is part of the problem. How’s that Change working out for the Obama supporters? (Some of those bozos are already talking about how they’re going to get it right in 2012…)

In the few video clips of the G20 protests that I watched, I saw a bunch of zombies with iPhones, running around like chickens with their heads cut off, as the Legion of Doom tested out its new sonic weapons and tear gas lobbing skills.

WTF is the matter with these people? Where does someone get the idea that the way to deal with Darth Vader is to wave a sign at him? Maybe a few, “Fuck the police” tweets will do the trick? Send out invites to join revolutionary sign waving groups on Facebook?!

The Twitbook aspect of this is, frankly, bizarre. Maybe I’ve been out here in the bush too long, but it looks like powerlessness is manifesting itself into a sort of flaccid, me-too technophelia, crossbred with a hamster wheel. This is more embarrassing than anything else.

The U.S. is no longer a country. It’s a company town. If waving signs at the company’s goon squad just makes people look stupid, what does twitbooking about it amount to?

Here are some other ideas:

Eliminate your debt. Take your money off the table. Stop buying stuff that you don’t need. Live well on very little. Grow your own food. Participate in alternative and/or outlawed food economies for what you don’t produce yourself. Barter, or use cash. Support people who do good work. Finally, draw a line in the sand. Don’t tell anyone where that line is, or what the consequences will be if it’s crossed. Don’t wave a sign about it. Don’t twitbook about it. Let the fascists figure it out the hard way.

The U.S. is no longer a country. It’s a company town.    That’s just stating the obvious so perfectly that I wish I’d thought of it.  

Just had to share.    

Liberals are coming to a country near you!

Well, perhaps not liberals in the sense that you and I consider them, but certainly liberal thinking is progressing in our Caribbean Island neighbor.

From BBC:

Cuba’s President Raul Castro says nearly all death sentences are to be commuted to prison terms of between 30 years and life.

It is the latest in a series of liberalising measures. Mr Castro said the decision was humanitarian and not due to international pressure.

Three people charged with terrorism will stay on death row for the time being. Their cases will be reviewed.

While Cuba plans to keep the option of the death penalty on their statute book, this is a very promising move by the Raul Castro administration towards joining the 21st Century in the arena of human rights improvements.

I’m not saying that Cuba is all of a sudden a world leader in promoting Human Rights, but this does bode well as a beginning.

Via Dar Al Hayat (Lebanon):

Nicknamed “the Fox” by his colleagues, he was renowned as one of the best strategists in the US military, and the most diplomatic – the “voice of reason in the administration” according to Hillary Clinton. When President George Bush appointed him Commander of the US Central Command, he had hoped to rely on him in the confrontation with Iran. He is Admiral William Fallon, who submitted his resignation two days ago, generating a whirlwind of interpretations as to the reasons behind it, despite the clarity of the resignation text itself.

Crossposted at Daily Kos

Just as trouble was brewing in Fort Sumter, South Carolina — and consistent with her style to explain complicated issues to the nation and soothe inflamed passions — President Hillary Clinton made an important announcement from her weekend retreat just across the Patawmack River in the beautiful Ballston section of Arlington County in the State of Virginia.  

According to the Disassociated Press

Washington, DC, March 4, 1861 — After careful deliberations, President Hillary Clinton has concluded that the designation of United States as presently comprised of Northern states, Southern states, and Territories is not what the founding founders of the country intended.

She will address the United States Congress tonight at 9:00pm to give her reasoned, well thought-out, and intellectually coherent speech.

Several surprises are expected.  Her supporters are calling it the ‘A-House-Divided-Against-Itself-Can-Stand Speech.’

The Disunited States of America in 1861

One of the terms I use for my various sigs is “Never trust any organization bigger than two, and even those are suspect.”  I’ve never read it anywhere, so I think it’s an original (if not, please send me the citation).