May 01, 2008
Mobile propaganda unit
I noticed a few unlucky school children being waved into this thing which is presently sitting outside the Colorado History Museum:
See here for more on this breathtakingly inspiring exhibit.
Cleveland on the Hawaii "annexation"
It was really more of a coup engineered by a cadre of well-connected Americans, but "annexation" sounds much more pleasant.
In 1898, the repugnant corporatist William McKinley ordered Hawaii stolen from the Hawaiians in repudiation of Cleveland's earlier attempts to keep McKinley's pals from seizing control of the Islands.
Cleveland wrote in 1898: "Hawaii is ours...As I look back upon the first steps in this miserable business, I am ashamed of the whole affair."
A month later, "the same flag Cleveland had ordered hauled down was raised again in token of American sovereignty."
--From Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character by Alyn Brodsky
Grover was right about Hawaii too
Lew, a Hawaiian delegation was just in Buffalo to honor Grover Cleveland who opposed annexation. This is discussed in Bill Kauffman's great book, Ain't My America.
Secession!
Hawaiian patriots want their country and their monarchy back from the imperialists who stole and looted them.
PR Play of the Decade
This story should go down in history as a premier example of implausible deniability. It should be a case study in PR textbooks for years to come.
The White House swears that the "Mission Accomplished" sign strategically placed behind Bush as he delivered his speech had nothing at all to do with the Iraw war, or anything else mentioned in Bush's speech.
Bush's spokeswoman actually said: "President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific, and said, 'Mission Accomplished For These Sailors Who Are On This Ship On Their Mission,'"
Yes, even though Bush's speech declared the war in Iraq over, that sign had nothing to do with the War. Heck, they didn't even notice the sign was there until it was too late. The soldiers put it there without asking the White House. It's all just a big mix-up.
Well, some people have fallen for that Nigerian bank account scam, so I guess some people might actually believe this explanation.
Islam vs. Paper Money
Thanks to Daniel Spaulding for another reason for the prejudices of neocons and other pro-Fed types.
Genetic Anti-Discrimination?
Via Dr. Mercola, I came across this. This statement is mind-boggling:
"Like discrimination based on race and gender, genetic discrimination is based on the unchangeable and -- because the information must be sought out by the offender -- is equally offensive,'' Snowe said (Senator Olympia Snowe).
Senator No-Swim said this bill is "'the first major new civil rights bill of the new century." The message is that private companies like health insurers and employers will have to abide by federally-mandated equality decrees. I understand the health insurance companies supported the bill. Free market, not.
Of course, the most notable aspect of this debacle will be how "genetic disease" will be defined.
The State Punishes Mom/Wife/Peaceful Individual for Escaping Government's Dungeon
This is the kind of story that leaves you hating the state and its insane system of mass lockup. Her crime was escaping a hellhole known as the Detroit House of Corrections in 1976, along with family members who assisted her. Of course, at 19, any average girl - who was not a product of the street - would not have survived the harsh, gang-infested environment of a women's prison. Her "crime" that landed her in a Detroit prison? She was caught with heroin and given a maximum sentence of 20 years. No violence, no destruction of property, and no aggression against any others.
LeFevre said she agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and violation of drug laws in hopes of winning leniency, but received the maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years.
Instead, some puppet enforcers for the state tossed a 19-year-old kid behind bars for 20 years. Upon her escape from hell, she had moved to California, changed her name, married, raised children, and was committing the other crime of leading a life of financial security with a husband who made a fine living. The hairspray crew on FOX this morning kept sniping that she was "driving a Lexus" and "living in a $2M home." How dare she! One commentator even commented that she was, "doing nothing.....she was just a housewife, walking around and doing nothing...." ???
But as a Department of Corrections spokesman says, "She has a prison sentence to fulfill," Marlan said. "We can't, even if we wanted to, negate that prison sentence. What kind of message would that send to 50,000 other prisoners in Michigan? If you escape and live clean, you can have your sentence dropped if you're caught?"
Thus it's not about being peaceful and not committing crimes, for that's not what the state actually desires in the end, though its propaganda will tell us otherwise. It's all about falling into line with the rest of the herd and setting a good example for acquiescence to the state and its collective prescriptions for determining how you will live your life.
It always makes me wonder what kind of people - unfortunately, the majority of people - can hear this stuff and believe that a lifetime lockup from the government is some kind of logical solution?
Gold Currency and Islam
Writes Omar Hossino: "You are right when you say that Islam blesses gold currency. In fact, many early Islamic writers did not even consider fiat as truly 'money.; Ibn Khaldun, an Islamic theologian and historian, writes that the beginning of the downfall of civilization is when the government transgresses against the property rights of others, which is unjust. Fiat currency does this by being continually debased. As Ron Paul says, no nation survives the debasement of its currency.
"Gold is thus considered blessed as true currency. The Prime Minister of Malaysia tried to encourage the implementation of an Islamic gold-based currency throughout the Islamic world as a common monetary base. The other states did not accept the idea. To their peril..."
Time To Give Sabrin A Look
Especially in a time of financial crisis. A good piece on the Senate race Ron Paul (a Sabrin supporter) calls the most important in the country.
Despite Cheney's Threats of Mayhem
The Gulf oil states are still hoping to end their currencies' link to the plummeting greenback, despite the recent threat tour by Cheney. This weakens US hegemony, but as Burt Blumert says, even the US regime can't repeal the law of gravity, and it can't repeal the laws of economics. The horrific monetary spewing of the Federal Reserve since 9/11 especially has done vast damage, which affects even the most powerful empire since the world began. A pillar of US global power is the dollar as reserve currency, but even US satellites now want the euro. But I am told that Islam blesses a gold currency. Come on, guys, that is the path to take. (via Drudge)
re: Paul in my School
Max, I'd look at it the same way Ron Paul looks at earmarks. The money has already been budgeted for book purchases, so why not direct it toward a good end?
Babies Dropped Fifty Feet in Indian Ritual
This video shows an Indian practice at a shrine in Solapur where infants are thrown off a fifty-foot tower and caught in a large, white sheet; according to the video, no injuries have ever been reported. The practice, which has existed for over five hundred years, is thought by the faithful to strengthen the infants. And while many will look at this and immediately condemn this as uncivilized heathenism, if a stranger to Christianity were to look at the practice of baptism, would they not see men drowning children?
The libertarian lesson of cultural relativity is that all rituals are permissible so long as they are voluntary and cause no harm. The issue does get more complex with children, but given that no one is harmed, it seems unreasonable to condemn the practice.
Paul in my School
I'm not sure how this squares with my libertarian belief that no one has the right to tax someone else to pay for his own interests, but after talking with the librarian of my (public) high school about The Revolution: A Manifesto, she asked if I thought she should order some copies for the library, and I suggested she buy as many as possible.
I Love 'Top of the Ticket'
Sure, there's the usual MSM eye-rolling at the Ron Paul Movement, but the LA Times's political blog has covered the campaign well, Andrew Malcolm is a snappy and interesting writer, and, well, they like getting hits, so they write about Ron.
Ron Paul in US News & World Report
Slightly snarky, but given that the mag is neocon, the piece on Ron's book could be far worse.
Ron Paul on Drudge
Reports Matt, linking to the CNN story: "RON PAUL'S BOOK HITS #1 ON AMAZON..."
Ron Paul In Indiana
Just a notice for those who don't follow the official campaign site. Ron Paul will be speaking this Monday, May 5, at Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne at 7:00pm. Details here.
'Human Smoke' Interview
Writes Scott L. Field: "Thanks for the reference. The one paragraph that stood out to me was the following:
I've had interesting reactions from historians, who seem to understand (for the most part) that I'm not trying to write a comprehensive history of the beginnings of the war. I've had some very good reviews and some very bad ones. The bad ones seem to follow the teeter-totter school: that if a dictator and the nation he controls is evil, then the leader of the nation who opposes the evil dictator must be good. Life isn't that way, of course. There is in fact no "moral equivalence" created by examining coterminous violent and repulsive acts. The notion of moral equivalence is a mistake, because it undermines our notions of personal responsibility and law. Each act of killing is its own act, not something to be heaped like produce on a balancing scale. One person, as Roosevelt said, must not be punished for the deed of another--though he didn't follow his own precept.
"In my own way, I've said the same things to friends. Basically, it's incredibly arrogant of us to think we have the only correctly functioning moral compass in the world."
'Human Smoke'
So far, this important book by Nicholson Baker, Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization, reviewed by Tom DiLorenzo today, is at #562 on Amazon. That is not bad for a highly unfashionable but significant and serious work (even if it is 35% off). But it should be far higher, for the sake of mankind. See also the Amazon interview (scroll down) with the author.
Thoughts on the Bestseller List
Ron Paul may benefit from the fact that brick-and-mortar stores didn't stock many of his books because that means the purchases will take place over a period of weeks instead of all at once, possibly keeping the book on the bestseller list longer.
Rush Limbaugh, for example, had two bestsellers. The first one had a very small first printing. Therefore, it sold out quickly and then kept selling rapidly as more books were printed, keeping it on the bestseller list for weeks and weeks. His second book sold about as many copies as the first one, but because the initial printing was so much larger, anticipating the demand, most copies were sold in the first few weeks. Thus, the book was only on the bestseller list for a few weeks, which made it appear to be less popular than his first one when in reality it wasn't.
The first Limbaugh book scenario could play itself out with Ron Paul's book. This is actually a good thing because it will make the book appear to be even more popular than it actually is (not an easy feat given how popular it is already) for a long period of time, which should lead to more, and longer-lasting, media coverage.
New Orleans And The State
Though the population of New Orleans seems to be recovering, what is most definitely recovering faster there is the power of the state.
A new plan would give the government more control over the New Orleans airport in exchange for the financing of a "a $500 million bond issue designed to jump-start the city's recovery by reinventing a huge swath of downtown stretching from the Mississippi River to Broad Street." Good old redistribution of income from the taxpayers to the already statist airport bureaucracy.
The next story has to do with that little problem called the levee. Due to evolving standards, the Army Corp of Engineers may have to rebuild sections of the wall along the lakefront. The state steals money to build a levee, which dissolves under Katrina. Then the state steals more money and rebuilds the wall, "fixing" it. Will this madness ever end?
