From Columbine to Sandy Hook from Scott Tyson on Vimeo.

VOTE!

I love Sarah Silverman! Talk about using a potent mixture of facts, logic, and a liberal dose of naughty language, to make a very important point. There is no epidemic of voter fraud in this country. All of these state voter ID laws are designed to make it more difficult for people to vote. Specifically, voters that are perceived as being more likely to vote Democratic.

Now, for those who think that sounds like a "conspiracy theory", keep in mind the fact that the Romney/Ryan ticket is currently polling at 0% amongst African-Americans. So, it doesn't exactly require an advanced degree in political science to assume that blacks are going to voter overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. The GOP knows that. They knew that in 2000, and that is why Florida used those error-filled voter suppression lists to depress the black vote. And, they are doing it again, only it's a dozen or more states this time around.

Share this video, people. This is important.

Southern Strategy

Here is the dishonest ad Romney has been running accusing President Obama of "gutting" Bill Clinton's 1996 welfare reform bill. Not too difficult to figure out just what bloc of voters the Romney campaign is trying to reach with this appeal

.
The ad features a white worker wiping the sweat off his brow in one frame, and the next shows President Obama with the words "Obama guts work requirement" superimposed over him. More images of workers follow, as the narrator ominously intones lines like "you don't have to work, or even train for a job" and "they just send you a check".

Unfortunately, there is a receptive audience out there for this sort of thing. Decades of conservative rhetoric have seen to that. Whites who have seen their own economic security undermined by forces beyond their control, or even comprehension, will find the racist messaging in this ad dangerously seductive. And that is exactly what Romney is banking on.

Longest War

I had a very difficult time reading this article through to the end. The demented "War on Drugs" that our government has been waging relentlessly for nearly four decades now, has fundamentally corrupted our law enforcement agencies. They are no less dependent on the income stream from illegal narcotics, then are the actual dealers.

 

“The cops, they get federal funding by the number of arrests they make—to get the money, you need the numbers,” he explained, alluding to, among other things, asset-forfeiture laws that allow police departments to keep a hefty portion of cash and other resources seized during drug busts. “It’s a commercial enterprise,” he went on, citing a view shared by many legal scholars and policy critics. “That’s how they pay for their vans, for their prosecutors—they get money from the war on drugs. They put zero dent in the supply."

There would be an outcry in this country if it were reported that Chinese, or Russian, law enforcement agencies were using Juveniles to bait dangerous criminals. Given the draconian drug laws, the cops have an enormous amount of leverage to bring to bear on these young offenders. Who typically enter into these high-risk agreements without the benefit of legal counsel, and frequently end up murdered. This is a national disgrace.

Romney and Bain

Thank You For Not Shooting Me

So, this moron decided he would test the law permitting the open-carry of handguns in Tennessee state parks. To that end he dressed up in camo, and entered a park armed with a Draco AK-47 pistol with a 30-round magazine. As the name implies, this "handgun" is nothing more then a sawed-off AK-47 with a barrel length just barely under the legal 12-inch limit for handguns. Obviously Mr. Embody here studied the law before setting out on his stunt.

Frightened people started using their cell phones to report a man in military gear with an assault rifle in the park. A brave park ranger confronted Embody, disarmed him, and made him lie down while help came. After a few minutes, it was decided that he was indeed carrying a legal handgun, and was Embody was released. Having achieved his immediate objective, Embody then filed a lawsuit claiming that his constitutional rights were violated.

This case has had the remarkable effect of actually uniting people from both sides of the gun control debate. Embody got no support from Second Amendment advocates, who immediately realized that Leonard Embody's foolish behavior has handed a priceless gift to their opponents. What an asshole. It almost makes me wish he had gotten gunned down, but a gunfight would have put innocent people at risk. And no one wants that.

Mobsters and Mormons

When ethnic "gangsters" do business the way that Bain Capital does, they are labeled as "public enemies" and prosecuted. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is running for president. 

The difference of course is that Bain has the rule of law on their side. They do not need to resort to violence to get what they want. Bain can acquire companies, strip them of all their assets, layoff the workers, burden the companies with debt, and then walk away with millions of dollars in profit. This business model is typically described as "venture capitalism".

The mob operates in exactly the same fashion as this video demonstrates. The scale is much smaller of course. Usually, it is a restaurant they take over. But the ends, and the means, are identical. Except for the use of overt violence. The mobsters cannot appeal to the law to enforce contracts the way that Bain does. So, they resort to violence. Otherwise, the business model is exactly the same.

Muddy Waters

They gun nuts are frenetically throwing out one thing after another to muddy the waters, and sow confusion. They are quite good at that, having much experience. It comes from constantly having to defend positions that are basically indefensible. This shooting in Aurora is about as clear-cut an argument for sane gun laws as you will ever find. Yet those opposed to reforming the laws refuse to recognize facts, or even reality. Hence, the widely-repeated comic-book scenario, involving an heroic armed theatergoer, who would have miraculously stopped James Holmes in his tracks. That is, if only the movie theater didn't force it's customers to disarm themselves before attending a show.

Such an appeal, as absurd as it might be, resonates strongly with a lot of Americans who grew up absorbing a popular culture diet chock-full of such nonsense. In particular, men are prone to fantasize about performing a deed so heroic that it would instantly erase all of their feelings of impotent rage. Feelings which stubbornly persist no matter how well-armed they become. All those guns and no place to go. And, as we now know, the only heroes in this colossal tragedy were the men who were themselves unarmed, but sacrificed their own lives to save the lives of those they loved.

Holy Habeas Corpus Batman!

The indications are that the first audience member to announce his intention to sue, is planning on suing the owners of the movie theater, the producers of the Batman movie, and a doctor who is alleged to have treated and medicated James Holmes' before the shooting.

No mention of any plans to sue the gun manufactures though. What about the people who sold Holmes' 6000 rounds of ammunition over the internet? How about suing the clerks at the two stores where he bought the guns? Why not sue the stores themselves? What about all of the accessories he purchased, and used during his killing spree? Shouldn't the people who sold him body armor, a gas mask, tear gas, etc. be held accountable?

Why not sue the state of Colorado, and the city of Aurora? Quite obviously, the respective governments failed miserably in preventing James Holmes from acquiring a deadly arsenal and using it to kill or wound 70 people. I would think a lawsuit against the federal government would be in order as well, on the same grounds.

Why not sue the fucking NRA? Has anyone tried that approach yet? You won't win, but the lawsuit would certainly have more merit then the ones actually being considered. And it would attract some very unwanted attention to the gun lobby. Why not file a class-action lawsuit against the NRA, on behalf of every American who has been impacted by gun violence? Something along the lines of the Tobacco lawsuits.

If the government is not going to protect us, then another approach is needed. And I'm not talking about going to Gander Mountain and buying out their inventory.

High Water Mark of the Confederacy

This reenactment is invaluable for the visual images it provides of the doomed Confederate assault on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg. However, a reenactment is exactly what it is. Meaning the film used thousands of men whose hobby is reenacting the Civil War. They were quite convincing in the role of rebel soldiers, albeit perhaps a bit too-well fed looking. The tattered, and very "un-uniform", uniforms that they wore were historically accurate. In fact, their appearance made me think of the quote attributed to some European military theorist who dismissed the American Civil War as bring fought by "armed mobs". The Union troops, on the other hand, were smartly turned-out in their regulation blue uniforms.

I fully understand why the film's producers decided to go with a remarkably "bloodless" depiction of an event that was quite literally drenched in blood and gore. Graphic depictions of bodies being blown apart by cannon fire would have been a jarring counterpoint to the overall mood of the film. Still, that was the reality of the thing. All that metal flying through the air did horrible things to human bodies. But, in the film, all of those bodies hurled up into the air by exploding shells come down fully intact.

Reading the accounts of participants in the actual battle, conveys a much better impression of what was going on as those roughly 12,000 men moved across that field under withering fire, then does this visual presentation. In fact the buildup to the assault is much more effective then the engagement itself. The viewer has that awful feeling in the pit of his stomach, knowing what's about to happen to all of those men, but the charge itself is anti-climactic. In my opinion, it could have used a dose of realism.

HMS Romney

The only thing that would make this fascinating bit of history better, would be the HMS Romney having been a French, rather then a British, ship. Even so, there is some rich irony in the fact that the British dispatched the Romney to Boston in 1768 to help enforce the Townshend Acts, which were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament to raise revenue in the American Colonies. In other words, these were taxes.

The Colonists reacted very strongly to the passage of the Townshend Acts. All of that fiery rhetoric about "no taxation without representation" would eventually lead to the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the American Revolution. The Romney was involved in such things as impressing local sailors into the Royal Navy, providing a refuge for tax commissioners who were fleeing the mob, and the Romney even seized a vessel belonging to John Hancock. Yes, that John Hancock.

The Obama campaign should commission a reproduction of the Romney, in the form of a parade float, and send it around the country. JFK's campaign did something similar with his famed boat the PT 109. Of course, the intention there was to celebrate the heroism of the commander and crew of the PT 109. In this case, it would be to draw attention to the fact that a British warship named HMS Romney was, in effect, a tax enforcer during the American Revolution. It would be a clever, and intelligent, way to educate the voters about their own history, and that of the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

NOT MILK

Ah, Monica Lewinsky. The raven-haired vixen who almost brought down a sitting president. Or, should that be "went down on a sitting president?" Either way, she represents an simpler, and more innocent time. Wait, scratch that last sentence. Let me try again. Monica the young lady who proved that even if you can't grow up to be president, if you play your cards right, maybe you will grow up to blow the president. Hmm. Don't think that last one would work in a Middle School Social Studies Textbook. Definitely not in Texas, anyway.

In all seriousness, I'm surprised more attention hasn't been paid to the possibility that Monica Lewinsky was a GOP plant. Remember that hideous woman who Monica confessed all to? Wasn't she a Republican? It just makes sense. The Republicans were desperate to destroy Bill Clinton ahead of the 2000 presidential election. They knew they couldn't run on the economy because it was running strong. The country was at peace, and Al Gore would have a solid record of accomplishment to run on.

But, Gore instead ran away from that record as fast as he could. Because that's what his harpy of a wife told him to do. Tipper Gore was oh so outraged at the Monica Lewinsky scandal that she told Al Gore to distance himself from Clinton during the campaign. As well, Gore picked someone who was quite possibly the worst running mate imaginable in the person of Joe Lieberman. Supposedly, the so-called "conscience of the Senate" would help erase the stains of the Clinton presidency from the voter's minds. What he ended up doing was costing Gore a half-dozen or more states.

Even with all of that, Al Gore still won the fucking election. But, it ended up being close enough for the bastards to steal it.

Rails-to-Trails: A video history of the Putnam Division

White Man's Burden

An article that I read earlier today inspired me to write about with a bit more depth then my usual facebook posts. The story concerned a jewelry store in Brooklyn that is selling earrings in the shape of the swastika symbol, and the ensuing controversy. The Jeweler explained that the earrings are imported from India, and have nothing to do with Nazi ideology. That explanation did not satisfy Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who demanded that the store remove the offending item. Stringer had this to say:

Let me be clear--a swastika is not a fashion statement. It is the most hateful symbol in our culture and an insult to any civilized person."

I will certainly concede thatthe Nazis took a venerable religious symbol of an ancient culture(s), and perverted it for their own purposes. But, only for a grand total of 12 years. Does it seem reasonable to only view the symbol through that lens?

Because, I seriously doubt that the swastika conjures up the same connotations, for people of Indian ethnicity (both the country of India, as well as Native Americans), that it does for westerners. The Jewish Holocaust was an example of Europeans murdering other Europeans within the context of a world war. A war that inevitably effected the people of the lesser-developed world, but one in which they were largely relegated to "off-screen" roles. It was a war fought largely between first world nations, that had the unintended effect of ultimately liberating the third world.

As strange as it may sound, Adolph Hitler may well have accomplished something that Ghandi was unable to do. Namely, break the British grip on India. By 1947, the year that India achieved Independence, the British Empire was entering it's death throes. Great Britain was left exhausted, and bankrupt, by the war. There was neither money, nor popular will, enough remaining to put into the effort of holding onto the "Crown Jewel", as India was called by British imperialists.

Also important to keep in mind is the example of the Japanese who, although ultimately defeated, conclusively demonstrated that the white man was not invincible. During the early stages of the Pacific War, the Japanese ran amok conquering Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and a whole host of other places ruled by white imperialists. There would be turning back the clock after that, as was demonstrated in the jungles of Vietnam during the postwar years.

To conclude, while we in the developed western world view the Holocaust, and Nazi Germany, as the ultimate expression of evil here on earth, not everyone on the planet necessarily shares that viewpoint. In fact, for the many millions toiling under the British, French, and Belgium thumb, the Germans may very well have been looked upon as the good guys. Because, after all, Germany attacked, and in some instances conquered, the countries that enslaved them. And, in the process, paved the way for their ultimate liberation.

Israel and the Map

"Rumsfeld said there aren't any good targets in Afghanistan. And there are lots of good targets in Iraq," Clarke said on Sunday's 60 Minutes. "I said, 'Well, there are lots of good targets in lots of places, but Iraq had nothing to do with it.'

The vast nation of Iran, with a population of over 70 million people, is effectively reduced to one man: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Who is endlessly quoted as having said something awful about Israel and a map, but no one really knows for sure what he actually said. Or, if he even said it at all.

But, no matter. He has been photographed in a white lab coat, surrounded by shiny things, and we are told that proves Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon. And such a thing simply cannot be allowed to happen. In fact, we must go to war to stop it from happening. If you ask why that is the case, they will tell you about Israel and the map again.

And, if you are rude enough to point out the fact that the United States has thousands of nuclear weapons, and Israel likely has hundreds, you will quickly learn what it means to be a pariah. Friends will insult you, and block you on facebook. You will be called an "anti-Semite" for daring to suggest that bombing Iran might be more for the benefit of Israel, then for the security of the United States.

Ron Paul 2012. I don't want him to become the president, but I'm damn glad he is running.

An Inconvenient Truth

Fuck Al Gore, and his patronizing dismissal of Ron Paul's candidacy. The man who actually won the 2000 presidential election deserves a fair share of the blame for the predicament we find ourselves in today. Why? Well because Gore's craven surrender to the forces behind George W Bush dealt a mortal wound to our democracy. Prior to that infamous moment, most Americans were "silly" enough to believe that the candidate who got the most votes actually won the election.

At the point in time when he conceded the election to Bush, Gore still had plenty of options remaining to him. Instead, he meekly stood by and allowed the Supreme Court to install Bush as president. Gore had the legitimacy bestowed upon him by a half-million vote lead in the popular count. But, for reasons still unexplained, he unaccountably let the Republicans gain the moral high ground in the disputed election. Anyone remember the signs that the very well-organized GOP ground troops displayed?

"SORE-LOSERMAN" they read, and that was the perception that took hold in the public mind. Bush supporters even went so far as to protest outside of Gore's official residence as vice president chanting "Get out of Cheney's house!" over and over. Actually, I did find that rather amusing at the time.

But, where were all of Gore's ground troops while this was going on? Nowhere to be found for the simple reason that Gore never granted permission for them to rally to his cause. The Bush people hired family retainer/attack dog James Baker to lead the fight. Gore countered with a man whose demeanor positively screamed "kick my ass all over the state of Florida", Warren Christopher.

Personally, I believe that Gore was in on the fix. He was never supposed to win that election.

But, he did.