Should Ron
Paul be the 2012 Presidential Candidate of choice for active duty
service members?
---
why would professional warriors vote for someone who promotes non-
interventionism?
yeah ... they'll be looking for another job
On May 28, 7:51 am, Aaron TYT <aa...@tytnetwork.com> wrote:
> Watch here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOTEWbWFrj0
>
> Do video games like Call of Duty and other military-based first person
> shooter games trivialize, and desensitize people to, war? Should Ron
> Paul be the 2012 Presidential Candidate of choice for active duty
> service members? Do veterans get the appropriate health care and job
> opportunities when they get back home? Michael Shure (host of
> TwenTYTwelve) leads this weeks panel to discuss these issues and more
> with Michael Prysner (Iraq war veteran, co-founder of March Forward),
> Sheryl Shaffer (host of Veterans Helping Veterans), and Robert Vaughn
> (CA State Coordinator of the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign).
> Special thanks to Kevin Rooney (Emmy Award Winning Comedy Writer), and
> Adam Kokesh (activist and former marine, host of Adam Vs The Man) for
> sending in points.
>
> Subscribe:http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=townsquare
--
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Monday, May 28, 2012
Re: GREAT SPEECH!!!!!!
Boortz is a muzzy hating zionist warmonger who supports an aggressive
interventionist policy in the middle east for israel.
His followers are almost extinct and his show is aired on borrowed
time.
On May 27, 9:12 pm, THE ANNOINTED ONE <markmka...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Neal Boortz is a Texan, a lawyer, a Texas Aggie (Texas A&M) graduate,
> and now a nationally syndicated talk show host from Atlanta . His
> commencement address to the graduates of a recent Texas A&M class is
> far different from what either the students or the faculty expected.
> Whether you agree or disagree, his views are certainly thought
> provoking.
>
> "I am honored by the invitation to address you on this august
> occasion. It's about time. Be warned, however, that I am not here to
> impress you; you'll have enough smoke blown up your bloomers today.
> And you can bet your tassels I'm not here to impress the faculty and
> administration. You may not like much of what I have to say, and
> that's fine. You will remember it though. Especially after about 10
> years out there in the real world. This, it goes without saying, does
> not apply to those of you who will seek your careers and your fortunes
> as government employees.
>
> This gowned gaggle behind me is your faculty. You've heard the old
> saying that those who can – do. Those who can't – teach. That sounds
> deliciously insensitive. But there is often raw truth in
> insensitivity, just as you often find feel-good falsehoods and lies in
> compassion. Say good-bye to your faculty because now you are getting
> ready to go out there and do. These folks behind me are going to stay
> right here and teach.
>
> By the way, just because you are leaving this place with a diploma
> doesn't mean the learning is over. When an FAA flight examiner handed
> me my private pilot's license many years ago, he said, "Here, this is
> your ticket to learn." The same can be said for your diploma. Believe
> me, the learning has just begun.
>
> Now, I realize that most of you consider yourselves Liberals. In fact,
> you are probably very proud of your liberal views. You care so much.
> You feel so much. You want to help so much. After all, you're a
> compassionate and caring person, aren't you now? Well, isn't that just
> so extraordinarily special. Now, at this age, is as good a time as any
> to be a liberal; as good a time as any to know absolutely everything.
> You have plenty of time, starting tomorrow, for the truth to set in.
>
> Over the next few years, as you begin to feel the cold breath of
> reality down your neck, things are going to start changing pretty
> fast… Including your own assessment of just how much you really know.
>
> So here are the first assignments for your initial class in reality:
> Pay attention to the news, read newspapers, and listen to the words
> and phrases that proud Liberals use to promote their causes. Then,
> compare the words of the left to the words and phrases you hear from
> those evil, heartless, greedy conservatives.
>
> From the Left you will hear "I feel." From the Right you will hear "I
> think." From the Liberals you will hear references to groups — The
> Blacks, the Poor, the Rich, the Disadvantaged, the Less Fortunate.
> From the Right you will hear references to individuals. On the Left
> you hear talk of group rights; on the Right, individual rights.
>
> That about sums it up, really: Liberals feel. Liberals care. They are
> pack animals whose identity is tied up in group dynamics.
> Conservatives think — and, setting aside the theocracy crowd, their
> identity is centered on the individual.
>
> Liberals feel that their favored groups have enforceable rights to the
> property and services of productive individuals. Conservatives, I
> among them I might add, think that individuals have the right to
> protect their lives and their property from the plunder of the masses.
>
> In college you developed a group mentality, but if you look closely at
> your diplomas you will see that they have your individual names on
> them. Not the name of your school mascot, or of your fraternity or
> sorority, but your name. Your group identity is going away. Your
> recognition and appreciation of your individual identity starts now.
>
> If, by the time you reach the age of 30, you do not consider yourself
> to be a conservative, rush right back here as quickly as you can and
> apply for a faculty position. These people will welcome you with open
> arms. They will welcome you, that is, so long as you haven't developed
> an individual identity. Once again you will have to be willing to sign
> on to the group mentality you embraced during the past four years.
>
> Something is going to happen soon that is going to really open your
> eyes. You're going to actually get a full time job!
>
> You're also going to get a lifelong work partner. This partner isn't
> going to help you do your job. This partner is just going to sit back
> and wait for payday. This partner doesn't want to share in your
> effort, but in your earnings.
>
> Your new lifelong partner is actually an agent; an agent representing
> a strange and diverse group of people; an agent for every teenager
> with an illegitimate child; an agent for a research scientist who
> wanted to make some cash answering the age-old question of why monkeys
> grind their teeth. An agent for some poor demented hippie who
> considers herself to be a meaningful and talented artist, but who just
> can't manage to sell any of her artwork on the open market.
>
> Your new partner is an agent for every person with limited, if any,
> job skills, but who wanted a job at City Hall. An agent for tin-horn
> dictators in fancy military uniforms grasping for American foreign
> aid. An agent for multi-million dollar companies who want someone else
> to pay for their overseas advertising. An agent for everybody who
> wants to use the unimaginable power of this agent's for their personal
> enrichment and benefit.
>
> That agent is our wonderful, caring, compassionate, oppressive
> government. Believe me, you will be awed by the unimaginable power
> this agent has. Power that you do not have. A power that no individual
> has, or will have. This agent has the legal power to use force, deadly
> force to accomplish its goals.
>
> You have no choice here. Your new friend is just going to walk up to
> you, introduce itself rather gruffly, hand you a few forms to fill
> out, and move right on in. Say hello to your own personal one ton
> gorilla. It will sleep anywhere it wants to.
>
> Now, let me tell you, this agent is not cheap. As you become
> successful it will seize about 40% of everything you earn. And no, I'm
> sorry, there just isn't any way you can fire this agent of plunder,
> and you can't decrease its share of your income. That power rests with
> him, not you.
>
> So, here I am saying negative things to you about government. Well, be
> clear on this: It is not wrong to distrust government. It is not wrong
> to fear government. In certain cases it is not even wrong to despise
> government for government is inherently evil. Yes, a necessary evil,
> but dangerous nonetheless, somewhat like a drug. Just as a drug that
> in the proper dosage can save your life, an overdose of government can
> be fatal.
>
> Now let's address a few things that have been crammed into your minds
> at this university. There are some ideas you need to expunge as soon
> as possible. These ideas may work well in academic environment, but
> they fail miserably out there in the real world.
>
> First is that favorite buzz word of the media and academia: Diversity!
> You have been taught that the real value of any group of people – be
> it a social group, an employee group, a management group, whatever –
> is based on diversity. This is a favored liberal ideal because
> diversity is based not on an individuals abilities or character, but
> on a person's identity and status as a member of a group. Yes, it's
> that liberal group identity thing again.
>
> Within the great diversity movement group identification – be it
> racial, gender based, or some other minority status – means more than
> the individuals integrity, character or other qualifications.
>
> Brace yourself. You are about to move from this academic atmosphere
> where diversity rules, to a workplace and a culture where individual
> achievement and excellence actually count. No matter what your
> professors have taught you over the last four years, you are about to
> learn that diversity is absolutely no replacement for excellence,
> ability, and individual hard work. From this day on every single time
> you hear the word "diversity" you can rest assured that there is
> someone close by who is determined to rob you of every vestige of
> individuality you possess.
>
> We also need to address this thing you seem to have about "rights." We
> have witnessed an obscene explosion of so-called "rights" in the last
> few decades, usually emanating from college campuses.
>
> You know the mantra: You have the right to a job. The right to a place
> to live. The right to a living wage. The right to health care. The
> right to an education. You probably even have your own pet right – the
> right to a Beemer for instance, or the right to have someone else
> provide for that child you plan on downloading in a year or so.
>
> Forget it. Forget those rights! I'll tell you what your rights are.
> You have a right to live free, and to the results of 60% -75% of your
> labor. I'll also tell you have no right to any portion of the life or
> labor of another.
>
> You may, for instance, think that you have a right to health care.
> After all, President Obama said so, didn't he? But you cannot receive
> health-care unless some doctor or health practitioner surrenders some
> of his time – his life – to you. He may be willing to do this for
> compensation, but that's his choice. You have no "right" to his time
> or property. You have no right to his or any other person's life or to
> any portion thereof.
>
> You may also think you have some "right" to a job; a job with a living
> wage, whatever that is. Do you mean to tell me that you have a right
> to force your services on another person, and then the right to demand
> that this person ...
>
> read more »
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
interventionist policy in the middle east for israel.
His followers are almost extinct and his show is aired on borrowed
time.
On May 27, 9:12 pm, THE ANNOINTED ONE <markmka...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Neal Boortz is a Texan, a lawyer, a Texas Aggie (Texas A&M) graduate,
> and now a nationally syndicated talk show host from Atlanta . His
> commencement address to the graduates of a recent Texas A&M class is
> far different from what either the students or the faculty expected.
> Whether you agree or disagree, his views are certainly thought
> provoking.
>
> "I am honored by the invitation to address you on this august
> occasion. It's about time. Be warned, however, that I am not here to
> impress you; you'll have enough smoke blown up your bloomers today.
> And you can bet your tassels I'm not here to impress the faculty and
> administration. You may not like much of what I have to say, and
> that's fine. You will remember it though. Especially after about 10
> years out there in the real world. This, it goes without saying, does
> not apply to those of you who will seek your careers and your fortunes
> as government employees.
>
> This gowned gaggle behind me is your faculty. You've heard the old
> saying that those who can – do. Those who can't – teach. That sounds
> deliciously insensitive. But there is often raw truth in
> insensitivity, just as you often find feel-good falsehoods and lies in
> compassion. Say good-bye to your faculty because now you are getting
> ready to go out there and do. These folks behind me are going to stay
> right here and teach.
>
> By the way, just because you are leaving this place with a diploma
> doesn't mean the learning is over. When an FAA flight examiner handed
> me my private pilot's license many years ago, he said, "Here, this is
> your ticket to learn." The same can be said for your diploma. Believe
> me, the learning has just begun.
>
> Now, I realize that most of you consider yourselves Liberals. In fact,
> you are probably very proud of your liberal views. You care so much.
> You feel so much. You want to help so much. After all, you're a
> compassionate and caring person, aren't you now? Well, isn't that just
> so extraordinarily special. Now, at this age, is as good a time as any
> to be a liberal; as good a time as any to know absolutely everything.
> You have plenty of time, starting tomorrow, for the truth to set in.
>
> Over the next few years, as you begin to feel the cold breath of
> reality down your neck, things are going to start changing pretty
> fast… Including your own assessment of just how much you really know.
>
> So here are the first assignments for your initial class in reality:
> Pay attention to the news, read newspapers, and listen to the words
> and phrases that proud Liberals use to promote their causes. Then,
> compare the words of the left to the words and phrases you hear from
> those evil, heartless, greedy conservatives.
>
> From the Left you will hear "I feel." From the Right you will hear "I
> think." From the Liberals you will hear references to groups — The
> Blacks, the Poor, the Rich, the Disadvantaged, the Less Fortunate.
> From the Right you will hear references to individuals. On the Left
> you hear talk of group rights; on the Right, individual rights.
>
> That about sums it up, really: Liberals feel. Liberals care. They are
> pack animals whose identity is tied up in group dynamics.
> Conservatives think — and, setting aside the theocracy crowd, their
> identity is centered on the individual.
>
> Liberals feel that their favored groups have enforceable rights to the
> property and services of productive individuals. Conservatives, I
> among them I might add, think that individuals have the right to
> protect their lives and their property from the plunder of the masses.
>
> In college you developed a group mentality, but if you look closely at
> your diplomas you will see that they have your individual names on
> them. Not the name of your school mascot, or of your fraternity or
> sorority, but your name. Your group identity is going away. Your
> recognition and appreciation of your individual identity starts now.
>
> If, by the time you reach the age of 30, you do not consider yourself
> to be a conservative, rush right back here as quickly as you can and
> apply for a faculty position. These people will welcome you with open
> arms. They will welcome you, that is, so long as you haven't developed
> an individual identity. Once again you will have to be willing to sign
> on to the group mentality you embraced during the past four years.
>
> Something is going to happen soon that is going to really open your
> eyes. You're going to actually get a full time job!
>
> You're also going to get a lifelong work partner. This partner isn't
> going to help you do your job. This partner is just going to sit back
> and wait for payday. This partner doesn't want to share in your
> effort, but in your earnings.
>
> Your new lifelong partner is actually an agent; an agent representing
> a strange and diverse group of people; an agent for every teenager
> with an illegitimate child; an agent for a research scientist who
> wanted to make some cash answering the age-old question of why monkeys
> grind their teeth. An agent for some poor demented hippie who
> considers herself to be a meaningful and talented artist, but who just
> can't manage to sell any of her artwork on the open market.
>
> Your new partner is an agent for every person with limited, if any,
> job skills, but who wanted a job at City Hall. An agent for tin-horn
> dictators in fancy military uniforms grasping for American foreign
> aid. An agent for multi-million dollar companies who want someone else
> to pay for their overseas advertising. An agent for everybody who
> wants to use the unimaginable power of this agent's for their personal
> enrichment and benefit.
>
> That agent is our wonderful, caring, compassionate, oppressive
> government. Believe me, you will be awed by the unimaginable power
> this agent has. Power that you do not have. A power that no individual
> has, or will have. This agent has the legal power to use force, deadly
> force to accomplish its goals.
>
> You have no choice here. Your new friend is just going to walk up to
> you, introduce itself rather gruffly, hand you a few forms to fill
> out, and move right on in. Say hello to your own personal one ton
> gorilla. It will sleep anywhere it wants to.
>
> Now, let me tell you, this agent is not cheap. As you become
> successful it will seize about 40% of everything you earn. And no, I'm
> sorry, there just isn't any way you can fire this agent of plunder,
> and you can't decrease its share of your income. That power rests with
> him, not you.
>
> So, here I am saying negative things to you about government. Well, be
> clear on this: It is not wrong to distrust government. It is not wrong
> to fear government. In certain cases it is not even wrong to despise
> government for government is inherently evil. Yes, a necessary evil,
> but dangerous nonetheless, somewhat like a drug. Just as a drug that
> in the proper dosage can save your life, an overdose of government can
> be fatal.
>
> Now let's address a few things that have been crammed into your minds
> at this university. There are some ideas you need to expunge as soon
> as possible. These ideas may work well in academic environment, but
> they fail miserably out there in the real world.
>
> First is that favorite buzz word of the media and academia: Diversity!
> You have been taught that the real value of any group of people – be
> it a social group, an employee group, a management group, whatever –
> is based on diversity. This is a favored liberal ideal because
> diversity is based not on an individuals abilities or character, but
> on a person's identity and status as a member of a group. Yes, it's
> that liberal group identity thing again.
>
> Within the great diversity movement group identification – be it
> racial, gender based, or some other minority status – means more than
> the individuals integrity, character or other qualifications.
>
> Brace yourself. You are about to move from this academic atmosphere
> where diversity rules, to a workplace and a culture where individual
> achievement and excellence actually count. No matter what your
> professors have taught you over the last four years, you are about to
> learn that diversity is absolutely no replacement for excellence,
> ability, and individual hard work. From this day on every single time
> you hear the word "diversity" you can rest assured that there is
> someone close by who is determined to rob you of every vestige of
> individuality you possess.
>
> We also need to address this thing you seem to have about "rights." We
> have witnessed an obscene explosion of so-called "rights" in the last
> few decades, usually emanating from college campuses.
>
> You know the mantra: You have the right to a job. The right to a place
> to live. The right to a living wage. The right to health care. The
> right to an education. You probably even have your own pet right – the
> right to a Beemer for instance, or the right to have someone else
> provide for that child you plan on downloading in a year or so.
>
> Forget it. Forget those rights! I'll tell you what your rights are.
> You have a right to live free, and to the results of 60% -75% of your
> labor. I'll also tell you have no right to any portion of the life or
> labor of another.
>
> You may, for instance, think that you have a right to health care.
> After all, President Obama said so, didn't he? But you cannot receive
> health-care unless some doctor or health practitioner surrenders some
> of his time – his life – to you. He may be willing to do this for
> compensation, but that's his choice. You have no "right" to his time
> or property. You have no right to his or any other person's life or to
> any portion thereof.
>
> You may also think you have some "right" to a job; a job with a living
> wage, whatever that is. Do you mean to tell me that you have a right
> to force your services on another person, and then the right to demand
> that this person ...
>
> read more »
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
Re: Abolish Memorial Day
The neocon clique, and any number of politicians of both parties who
fulsomely supported that war, today act as if they have nothing to
apologize for, and nothing to regret: far from being repentant, they
are, if anything, proud of their advocacy
---
the interventionists should fund their own charities and businesses
On May 28, 7:43 am, MJ <micha...@america.net> wrote:
> Abolish Memorial DayWhen memory goes, what is there to memorialize?byJustin Raimondo, May 28, 2012
> We might as well get rid of Memorial Day, for all the good it does us. Originally "Decoration Day," the last Monday in May has been the designated time for us to remember the war dead and honor their sacrifice – while, perhaps, taking in the lessons of the many conflicts that have marked our history as a free nation. In line with the modern trend of universal trivialization, however, the holiday has beenpaganizedto mark the beginning of summer, when we get out the barbecue grill and have the neighbors over for hamburgers and beer. As for contemplating the meaning of the day in the context of our current and recent wars, that is left to those few pundits who pay attention to foreign policy issues, or else to writers of paeans to the "Greatest Generation" – World War II being the only modern war our panegyrists deign to recall, since it is relatively untouched by the ravages of historical revisionism.
> Indeed, as far as our wars are concerned, the very concept of historical memory has vanished from the post-9/11 world. It seems the earth wasborn anewon September 11, 2001, and only ragged remnants of our mystified past – mostly from World War II and the Civil War – survived the purge. In the new version our victories areexaggeratedandglorified, while our defeats – e.g. Vietnam, Korea, our nasty little covert wars in Central and South America – are not even mentioned, let alone considered in depth.
> The abolition of historical memory is one of the worst aspects of modernity: it is certainly the most depressing. For the modern man, it's an effort to recall what happenedlast week,never mindthe last century. The news cycle spins madly and ever-faster, and the result is that we are lost in the blur of Now: for all intents and purposes, we are a people without a history, who recall past events – if we remember them at all – as one would summon a vague and confusing dream.The Vietnam warwas the last major conflict that caused us to reconsider our foreign policy of global intervention for any length of time, and at this point it has been thoroughly buried in the public imagination. For a brief moment the so-calledVietnam Syndromewas bemoaned by the political class, who complained it prevented them from indulging their desire to intervene anywhere and everywhere at will. And the memory of that futile crusade did have a restraining effect for some years – untilthe passage of time,the collapse of Communism, and – finally –the 9/11 terrorist attackswiped the slate clean.
> Never mind remembering the lessons of Vietnam – we've repressed even the bitter lessons of our most recent "past" conflict, thedisastrousinvasion and occupation of Iraq. No sooner had we fallen into that quicksand then we promptly forgot whopushed usin – which is whythe authorsof that disastercontinueto function as foreign policy mavens and political seers whose reputations are considered sterling. Theneocon clique, and any number of politicians of both parties who fulsomely supported that war, today act as if they have nothing to apologize for, and nothing to regret: far from being repentant, they are, if anything, proud of their advocacy, secure in the knowledge that "everyone" believed Iraq possessed "weapons of mass destruction," and smug in the certainty that no one of any consequence has anything to gain by raising the subject.
> Who really remembersthe Kosovo war– that is, the war as it unfolded? We were told as many asa hundred-thousandKosovars were being exterminated, and yet at war's end we founda few thousand– Serbs and Kosovars in equal number – had been murdered. The trial of a man namedRatkohas the War Party mythologizing that conflict, as is its wont: unfortunately for them, the kangaroo court known as the Hague Tribunal has been adjourned in that case,perhaps permanently, on account of the prosecution's withholding of evidence. That's par for the course: withholding evidence, suppressing truth, editing the historical record has been their modus operandi from the start, but apparently the judges had an attack of conscience in this case, and it looks like the NATO-crats won't get their show trial after all.
> Who really remembersthe Korean war? Not even writers whose major interest is foreign policy are capable of recalling it as it was actually fought. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC anchor and liberal voice, recently wrotean entire bookbased on the premise that Republicans are primarily responsible for "the unmooring of American military power" from either constitutional or political restraints – forgetting (if she ever knew) it wasHarry Trumanwho set that precedent when he sent US troops to Korea without bothering to ask Congress first.
> I don't blame Rachel: history is a forgotten discipline, practiced selectively when it is invoked at all. These days it is best not to contemplate the past too much, or too intently, because comparison with the present is bound to depress us. An ice-cream cone bought for a Memorial Day picnic used to cost a dime: todaynothingcosts a dime, not even alms to a beggar.
> To recall past wars is to recall their folly, and no one wants to be reminded of their moral and cognitive shortcomings: so we resort to mythology that valorizes the victors and paints the defeated in various shades of black – and when that's not possible, amnesia is our last resort.
> So I say: let's rid ourselves of Memorial Day, and at least be honest with ourselves in this one instance. Let's acknowledge we'd much rather forget our history of mass murder, and rename the last Monday in May in honor ofsome pagan holiday– because Memorial Day is an oxymoron in a nation of amnesiacs.http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2012/05/27/abolish-memorial-day/
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
fulsomely supported that war, today act as if they have nothing to
apologize for, and nothing to regret: far from being repentant, they
are, if anything, proud of their advocacy
---
the interventionists should fund their own charities and businesses
On May 28, 7:43 am, MJ <micha...@america.net> wrote:
> Abolish Memorial DayWhen memory goes, what is there to memorialize?byJustin Raimondo, May 28, 2012
> We might as well get rid of Memorial Day, for all the good it does us. Originally "Decoration Day," the last Monday in May has been the designated time for us to remember the war dead and honor their sacrifice – while, perhaps, taking in the lessons of the many conflicts that have marked our history as a free nation. In line with the modern trend of universal trivialization, however, the holiday has beenpaganizedto mark the beginning of summer, when we get out the barbecue grill and have the neighbors over for hamburgers and beer. As for contemplating the meaning of the day in the context of our current and recent wars, that is left to those few pundits who pay attention to foreign policy issues, or else to writers of paeans to the "Greatest Generation" – World War II being the only modern war our panegyrists deign to recall, since it is relatively untouched by the ravages of historical revisionism.
> Indeed, as far as our wars are concerned, the very concept of historical memory has vanished from the post-9/11 world. It seems the earth wasborn anewon September 11, 2001, and only ragged remnants of our mystified past – mostly from World War II and the Civil War – survived the purge. In the new version our victories areexaggeratedandglorified, while our defeats – e.g. Vietnam, Korea, our nasty little covert wars in Central and South America – are not even mentioned, let alone considered in depth.
> The abolition of historical memory is one of the worst aspects of modernity: it is certainly the most depressing. For the modern man, it's an effort to recall what happenedlast week,never mindthe last century. The news cycle spins madly and ever-faster, and the result is that we are lost in the blur of Now: for all intents and purposes, we are a people without a history, who recall past events – if we remember them at all – as one would summon a vague and confusing dream.The Vietnam warwas the last major conflict that caused us to reconsider our foreign policy of global intervention for any length of time, and at this point it has been thoroughly buried in the public imagination. For a brief moment the so-calledVietnam Syndromewas bemoaned by the political class, who complained it prevented them from indulging their desire to intervene anywhere and everywhere at will. And the memory of that futile crusade did have a restraining effect for some years – untilthe passage of time,the collapse of Communism, and – finally –the 9/11 terrorist attackswiped the slate clean.
> Never mind remembering the lessons of Vietnam – we've repressed even the bitter lessons of our most recent "past" conflict, thedisastrousinvasion and occupation of Iraq. No sooner had we fallen into that quicksand then we promptly forgot whopushed usin – which is whythe authorsof that disastercontinueto function as foreign policy mavens and political seers whose reputations are considered sterling. Theneocon clique, and any number of politicians of both parties who fulsomely supported that war, today act as if they have nothing to apologize for, and nothing to regret: far from being repentant, they are, if anything, proud of their advocacy, secure in the knowledge that "everyone" believed Iraq possessed "weapons of mass destruction," and smug in the certainty that no one of any consequence has anything to gain by raising the subject.
> Who really remembersthe Kosovo war– that is, the war as it unfolded? We were told as many asa hundred-thousandKosovars were being exterminated, and yet at war's end we founda few thousand– Serbs and Kosovars in equal number – had been murdered. The trial of a man namedRatkohas the War Party mythologizing that conflict, as is its wont: unfortunately for them, the kangaroo court known as the Hague Tribunal has been adjourned in that case,perhaps permanently, on account of the prosecution's withholding of evidence. That's par for the course: withholding evidence, suppressing truth, editing the historical record has been their modus operandi from the start, but apparently the judges had an attack of conscience in this case, and it looks like the NATO-crats won't get their show trial after all.
> Who really remembersthe Korean war? Not even writers whose major interest is foreign policy are capable of recalling it as it was actually fought. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC anchor and liberal voice, recently wrotean entire bookbased on the premise that Republicans are primarily responsible for "the unmooring of American military power" from either constitutional or political restraints – forgetting (if she ever knew) it wasHarry Trumanwho set that precedent when he sent US troops to Korea without bothering to ask Congress first.
> I don't blame Rachel: history is a forgotten discipline, practiced selectively when it is invoked at all. These days it is best not to contemplate the past too much, or too intently, because comparison with the present is bound to depress us. An ice-cream cone bought for a Memorial Day picnic used to cost a dime: todaynothingcosts a dime, not even alms to a beggar.
> To recall past wars is to recall their folly, and no one wants to be reminded of their moral and cognitive shortcomings: so we resort to mythology that valorizes the victors and paints the defeated in various shades of black – and when that's not possible, amnesia is our last resort.
> So I say: let's rid ourselves of Memorial Day, and at least be honest with ourselves in this one instance. Let's acknowledge we'd much rather forget our history of mass murder, and rename the last Monday in May in honor ofsome pagan holiday– because Memorial Day is an oxymoron in a nation of amnesiacs.http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2012/05/27/abolish-memorial-day/
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Welcome to Undernet
The new pirates are all about building a safer Internet
Welcome to Undernet
3The new pirates are all about building a safer Internet
(File Photo) The Internet will always evolve faster than government laws to control it. But that's not stopping governments all over the world from trying. Meanwhile, a sub-group of well-meaning technology experts is building a new Internet, immune from government hands.
The pirates are winning. Earlier this year, the U.S. government attempted to pass legislation that would "ban" websites that host illegal content like copyrighted videos and songs. While that bill failed to pass, technology experts like New York University's Clay Shirky believe others like it are not far away.
Travis McRea, chief administrative officer of the Pirate Parties International and a Vancouver resident, is helping to build one of the solutions.
"When people try to legislate against the Internet, all they hurt are people who are trying to use the Internet for legitimate reasons," he said.
"The people doing bad things are on a whole different plane than this," he added, noting that the evil-doers of the Web world are using an entirely different level of infrastructure and knowledge to carry out their malfeasance.
Shutting down a website, essentially means removing it from the Internet by ensuring that when you type in www.facebook.com, all you see is "404 - Not found."
It all centres around DNS servers, which are essentially the card catalog of the Internet. When you type facebook.com into your Web browser, your computer speaks to a DNS server, which translates www.facebook.com into the IP address of Facebook's server that will send you the page and let you play FarmVille.
If you knock the entry out of the DNS server, your computer doesn't think Facebook exists anymore. And that's what governments are threatening to do to websites that don't play by their rules.
Host an illegal file? Nobody on the Internet will ever find you again. But McRea and his ilk have figured out a way around that, and it's called OpenNIC. OpenNIC is an open-source DNS server that is immune from government influence and exists for the express purpose of listing everything possible on the Internet, even the stuff that makes governments uncomfortable.
And that kind of benevolent hacktivism is increasingly important. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) — the body responsible for managing the DNS servers that most of us use everyday — recently published a help guide for government "seizures of domain names, DNS name server reconfiguration and transfers of domain name registrations" on their website.
But people using OpenNIC? "They will be able to circumvent that," McRea says. OpenNIC isn't in any one country, and isn't responsible to any one body other than the developers who work on it. It's enormously difficult to legislate. So long as their DNS servers remain intact, the sites governments have ordered taken down — and that ICANN has obligingly removed — will live on.
Telling your computer to use OpenNIC is remarkably easy, too. Step-by-step directions are available at useopennic.org and it takes the average non-technical person about two minutes to complete the three steps.
"Use alternate solutions to access the Internet and remind governments that the more they tighten their grip on the Internet, the more people are going to start slipping through their hands," McRea said.
That's what modern digital piracy looks like. It's not about stealing a Rihanna single, or a copy of The Avengers. It's about bypassing those institutions which seek to limit freedom, before threats to those freedoms are even tangible, solely for the purpose of ensuring those freedoms remain intact.
In two minutes you prove that the idea of deleting something from the web is as ludicrous a concept as you always thought it was. Welcome to the Undernet.
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War: Ron Paul, Call Of Duty, & Memorial Day - 3 Veterans Discuss
Watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOTEWbWFrj0
Do video games like Call of Duty and other military-based first person
shooter games trivialize, and desensitize people to, war? Should Ron
Paul be the 2012 Presidential Candidate of choice for active duty
service members? Do veterans get the appropriate health care and job
opportunities when they get back home? Michael Shure (host of
TwenTYTwelve) leads this weeks panel to discuss these issues and more
with Michael Prysner (Iraq war veteran, co-founder of March Forward),
Sheryl Shaffer (host of Veterans Helping Veterans), and Robert Vaughn
(CA State Coordinator of the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign).
Special thanks to Kevin Rooney (Emmy Award Winning Comedy Writer), and
Adam Kokesh (activist and former marine, host of Adam Vs The Man) for
sending in points.
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=townsquare
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Do video games like Call of Duty and other military-based first person
shooter games trivialize, and desensitize people to, war? Should Ron
Paul be the 2012 Presidential Candidate of choice for active duty
service members? Do veterans get the appropriate health care and job
opportunities when they get back home? Michael Shure (host of
TwenTYTwelve) leads this weeks panel to discuss these issues and more
with Michael Prysner (Iraq war veteran, co-founder of March Forward),
Sheryl Shaffer (host of Veterans Helping Veterans), and Robert Vaughn
(CA State Coordinator of the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign).
Special thanks to Kevin Rooney (Emmy Award Winning Comedy Writer), and
Adam Kokesh (activist and former marine, host of Adam Vs The Man) for
sending in points.
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=townsquare
--
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For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
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