Friday, September 25, 2009
War On Terror, R.I.P.
Aside from the snark of the last post, this story which we referenced earlier has an array of impacts actually, which we hope to get to, soon.0 comments
But, first and foremost, we can now clearly say that the "War On Terror" as a concept can officially be declared dead and buried. This currently is, always has been and will continue to be, a large-scale police matter—as the Bill Clinton era specialists always contended. It was the neo-con global crazies under George W. Bush/Dick Cheney, and the media conglomerates who love them, who decided to turn this into the Crusades. And got a whole lot of people killed in the process.
The Bushies and the GOP also muddied the discussion sufficiently to use their phoney "War" to create a universal atmosphere of fear in order to hide their pushing through their elitist, corporate agenda to steal all the money, all in plain sight: "Hey, look over there! Is that a terrorist??"
There is no way/has never been a way to stop a terrorist act, unless you happen to get lucky and stumble across a particular scenario that leads you to the individual. That's just luck and solid police work.
Other than that, we have too big a land mass, too many people and a long enough history of demanding open access to all this country provides that we will always be an easy target for an individual who is crazy enough to want to commit murder or mayhem—whether that individual is a U.S. citizen crazy or a foreign national crazy. You can't stop crazy, you can only hope to slow it down. Or, hope that it gives itself away in time to thwart it. And then pray for a whole lot of luck.
The whole idea of "terror" is that you lose your safety zone, that you have no idea where harm may come from. To put you on edge, so you fear everything and everyone and begin to act erratically. There is no "face" to that foe, so there is no "campaign" that can be waged successfully, as in a real war.
These guys are no different than all the murderers currently sitting in prisons across this nation—only with a demonically wackier sense of scope and size. They're individuals who have a taste for blood and a deluded sense of umbrage.
What's really the difference between Yousef Ramzi or Timothy McVey and James Earl Ray or Charlie Manson or Son of Sam?
Scope, nothing more.
And what, really, is the difference between all those men and George Bush and Dick Cheney?
Scale, nothing more.
posted by Gotham 1:32 PM
It's Rudy!
They Keep Going After Rudy!
0 commentsWell, hell, if that's all they want...
Maybe we should just hand Rudy over and let them have the putz, hell, WE don't want him. They can HAVE him.
Dallas Morning News: Man to be arraigned in Dallas skyscraper bombing plot
Heady police work and a staggering degree of luck saved the day in Dallas, if this report is true at all. If true, we can truly be relieved and grateful.
But I loved seeing the real nitty-gritty of this event, buried at the bottom of this story:ABOUT FOUNTAIN PLACE
Address: 1445 Ross Ave.
Height: 60 stories
Construction: 1984-86
Architect: I.M. Pei & Partners
Major tenants:
•Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
•Bracewell & Giuliani – On March 31, 2005, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani joined the firm as a name partner.
•U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
•Fidelity National Title Insurance Co.
•Tenet Healthcare announced in August that it planned to relocate to Fountain Place.
Looking at that list, it seems like either this guy was pissed about a home foreclosure, or he was after Rudy.
Hmmmm, let's see...
The first WTC bombing was in 1993 when Rudy was running for Mayor; the second attack in 2001 brought down Rudy's brand new Emergency Command Center/bachelor pad, which he stupidly put inside a major target; they missed him the last time (see these infamous pictures of Rudy hauling ass away from the tower to save himself, dragging along the Police and Fire Commissioners whose jobs dictated that they be back at the towers coordinating the mission, not riding shotgun with their patron, the Mayor); upon leaving City Hall, Rudy hires out as a security/terrorism maven/consultant/expert, since no one knows how to run away from a fight like Rudy.
Well..., yeah, I guess that must be it.
Say: Let's just give them Rudy and be done with this whole terrorism thing.
posted by Gotham 12:45 PM
WTF?
0 comments
This story in The Daily News is just nuts!
Can the general underlying anger across the land play out in any stupider way?
10 Cherry trees downed: Vandals at root of growing problem around Queens
My lawd...
posted by Gotham 11:07 AM
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
When TV's Child Stars Go Wrong...
...They go Christian.2 comments
Crooks and Liars: Evangelist Kirk Cameron Plans To Distribute Darwin's Origin Of The Species With Creationist Introduction
I like the idea of printing a run of 50,000 Bibles with a 50-page introduction alerting people to the incredibly happy horseshit inside the rest of the book and handing them out freely right outside of Regent and Liberty Universities.
This woman does a perfectly good job of pointing out the flaws in Cameron's philosophical Growing Pains:
That about sums it up. Well done, miss.
posted by Gotham 4:55 PM
Neh-Ver Miiiiiind!
Just as we were thinking, "...uh..., can't get fooled again!" here comes more of the same crap—Terro-style.0 comments
Media hypes terror plot, despite the fact no one is charged with terror
Oops.
Looks like the Bush-era holdovers in Eric Holder's Justice Department are fully focused on Business-As-Usual.
Either that, or we're left assuming that folks in a Barack Obama administration are simply the same useless schnooks the George W. Bush boys were.
It's sad that we no longer can believe ANYTHING our government tells us. The loons on the Right are correct about that. It's just that their focus is a tad off the mark. But, they're closer to the truth, it seems, than they know.
Yesterday, it appeared that Holder's troops were doing the right thing—actually bringing a case before a judge instead of shipping some poor moroon off to a Black prison in Poland and touting it on FOX. That's good, we think; progress.
Ummm, but in this ABORTED TERROR PLOT case ("BE AFRAID, BUT WE SAVED YOU—THIS TIME..."), the charges filed were not for terrorism. Or terrorist acts or conspiracies. They were for lying. To an agent. Something we can assume every agent's teenage child does on an ongoing basis.
Oh.
Or perhaps the perp accidentally stepped on the agent's donut. The star's slowly dimming here...
It's looking increasingly as if this is simply a planted story to help law folks look good on a slow news day. Complete with innuendo and blind, unattributed sourcing. Which is always a great mix for Banner Headlines!
As the man once said, "Ya got nothin', copper, nothin'!"
It's true. The Feds appear to have nothing on these guys aside from photo ops of "strong law enforcement in action!"
BOR-ING! That's SOOOO Bushie. So police state.
If this is a real case, we'll assume that real charges will be filed against real suspects in a real court, leading to a real trial in front of a real jury, leading to a real conviction or acquittal.
American people memo to Law Enforcement: Please stay out of the headlines. Your job is to go about your business quietly, without grabbing TV face time. At least, please stay out of the headlines until you've got something. Until you can indict someone on serious terror-related charges, at a minimum. Actually having enough evidence to build a case that's strong enough to get a conviction for a change would be admirable. That way you'll again look like heroes and not like the usual glory-grabbing, incompetent fools.
And the Rule of Law that you swore to uphold would be maintained.
posted by Gotham 12:35 PM
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
What America Looks Like
Whether this is real or bogus, it's nice to see a case brought through legitimate channels.0 comments
Feds seek people in terror investigation
If this were the Bushies, they'd miss these guys altogether, find another bunch of big-talking guys in a bar and sweep the blowhards off the street into indefinite detention with great fanfare. And never try them, so the world couldn't see that there was no case, ever.
Here, in our legal system, this case will work itself out properly we hope, with the presumption of innocence for these men. If they are, in fact, guilty of anything, it will be the job of the prosecution to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt.
You know, just like in "America."
So, to all the Tea Bag loons and all the Republicrats, this is MY America. This is the America I want back.
posted by Gotham 3:11 PM
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The New GOP
Back in the day, say..., 2007 or so, Republicans merely cheated on their wives and lovers, then made them stand next to them during the ensuing scandal's initial press conferences.0 comments
McClatchy: Prominent Kentucky GOP pol charged with murder in ex-fiancee's death
Now, they just kill them.
posted by Gotham 10:57 AM
Monday, September 14, 2009
Wow! Who Knew???
Stunning. By reading this article, I just found out there are actually a couple of Republicans still left in Congress. Wow! I thought they were extinct. I'm stunned to find a few still exist. The poor babies, what do they do all day?0 comments
GOP Sen. Snowe urged Obama to take ‘public option off the table’
Say, we could start a Republican nostalgia craze! Hey, kids, remember when Republicans had any say in anything, and had some power, and ran things? Yeah! Then, we can all take oxycontin and cheat on our wives.
posted by Gotham 12:39 AM
GOP: An Ancient Symbol...
...Meaning, "Make shit up."0 comments
ABC fights back against Tea Party protest size falsehoods
posted by Gotham 12:31 AM
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Fascism: Do It For The Children!
0 commentsNot-So-Great Britain continues to party like it's 1984!
Raw Story: UK readies largest ‘anti -pedophile’ database on Earth
Drag the word "child" or "children" into the conversation, and you can literally get away with the murder of the entire system of laws that great nations have thrived under for centuries.
Because, as Adolf Hitler proved in Germany, when people are afraid enough they will lose their humanity, and can easily be turned into blinded, murderous animals, who can then be easily manipulated to do the bidding of whomever feeds and stokes their fears.
It's bad enough that every Brit is now on camera almost every waking hour once they leave their home. Today, the bleak world of Terry Gilliam's 1985 film Brazil is coming to pass. One giant Db with all of your particulars, open for any interested party to look at. Job? Housing? Life? Death? Taxes? Credit? It will all be based on your info (maybe correct; maybe not correct, who cares?) in those files.
Rot's a ruck, Charlie, as they say...
posted by Gotham 1:27 PM
