Do you want justice? Get government out of the police business.

Throughout modern history it seems that the first thing a society does as it is being formed is to establish a central, compulsory (through taxes) "Monopoly of Defense".  In other words, the first thing Dodge City did was hire a Town Marshall.

The business of policing the growing country was very much a local and State affair.  Only with the establishment of the FBI were federal agents granted police power (except for very narrowly defined jurisdictions like border control and customs).

In the 100 years or so since then, the federal government has grown into a many-tentacled beast, running roughshod over state and local laws and jurisdictions, and ruthlessly militarizing, training and bribing local law enforcement until they are for all practical purposes, accountable not to those they are hired to protect and serve, but to the national agenda.

The result?  We now incarcerate a higher percentage of our population than any other country in the world, we have ruthlessly created a permanent underclass of people branded as felons for life, and our families and communities bear the dual burdens of both paying for it in taxes and having to fear their own police every time they leave their homes.

If you want to see what getting the federal government involved in making and enforcing criminal law, look at this graph.  When the feds began to lobby and force new laws into existence and mold local law enforcement policies during the expansion of the "War on Drugs", everything changed.  Just look at this graph:

It becomes painfully clear that the problem isn't the war on drugs, it isn't the war on terror or any other specific policy that has caused this terrible rise and made America into the world's leading nation in terms of incarceration and punishment - it is the rise of federal influence in law enforcement.

Do you want justice?  Do you want to secure a future of freedom and liberty for the generations that follow? We have to get the federal government out of the business of writing and forcing into place state and local laws, enforcing the law except under very tightly controlled circumstances, and manipulating law enforcement at the local and state level.

Haven't we suffered enough to make this obvious?

Life imitates Art - Urban Hunters roaming Detroit for Food

Years ago I ran across this youtube video that I thought was an absolute hoot.  A couple of intrepid hunters exploring the bounty of a major American city:

Then just a little while ago I ran across THIS guy.  Meet Mr. Beasley:

 Detroit - "When selecting the best raccoon carcass for the special holiday roast, both the connoisseur and the curious should remember this simple guideline: Look for the paw.

"The paw is old school," says Glemie Dean Beasley, a Detroit raccoon hunter and meat salesman. "It lets the customers know it's not a cat or dog."

Read the complete article from The Detroit News by clicking HERE.

It all reminds me of a great little promotional video for Cleveland, Ohio.  It extolls the many (if questionable) virtues of living on the mighty Cuyahoga river - and ends with the motto:  "At Least We Aren't Detroit.

It is hilarious precisely because it is so true.  'Murica!

Needed: A "Fair Witness"

Fair Witness is a fictional profession invented by Robert Heinlein.  (Stranger in a Strange Land)

A Fair Witness is an individual trained to observe events and report exactly what he or she sees and hears, making no extrapolations or assumptions. An eidetic memory is a prerequisite for the job, although this may be attainable with suitable training.

In Heinlein's society, a Fair Witness is a highly reputable source of information. By custom, a Fair Witness acting professionally, generally wearing distinctive white robes, is never addressed directly, and is never acknowledged by anyone present.

While Fair Witnesses may hold jobs, at all times they must honor the traditions of the Fair Witness and do their best to avoid any possibility of bias when wearing the robes and repeating the truth of what they have seen, done or heard.  

Fair Witnesses are prohibited from drawing conclusions about what they observe. As a demonstration, in the novel a Fair Witness was asked to describe the color of a house in the distance. She responds, "It's white on this side"; whereupon Heinlein explains that she would not assume knowledge of the color of the other sides of the house without being able to see them. Furthermore, after observing another side of the house she would not then assume that any previously seen side was still the same color as last reported, even if only minutes before.

Here is an excellent article about what the future may hold   simply due to technology.  Imagine if an entire profession of qualified, independent observers were to rise up to provide accountability everywhere from Fukushima to your back yard.

Think of it - people who simply will not lie, cutting through the fog of spin and disinformation..  I want to see a future like that.  

Who cares about Edward Snowden? We all should.

The following essay is an opinion post from reddit.com .  It is the clearest and best answer I've read so far about why Edward Snowden and the current revelations about the NSA and CIA should matter to each and every one of us.

"I live in a country generally assumed to be a dictatorship. One of the Arab spring countries. I have lived through curfews and have seen the outcomes of the sort of surveillance now being revealed in the US. People here talking about curfews aren't realizing what that actually FEELS like. It isn't about having to go inside, and the practicality of that. It's about creating the feeling that everyone, everything is watching. A few points:

1) the purpose of this surveillance from the governments point of view is to control enemies of the state. Not terrorists. People who are coalescing around ideas that would destabilize the status quo. These could be religious ideas. These could be groups like anon who are too good with tech for the governments liking. It makes it very easy to know who these people are. It also makes it very simple to control these people.

Lets say you are a college student and you get in with some people who want to stop farming practices that hurt animals. So you make a plan and go to protest these practices. You get there, and wow, the protest is huge. You never expected this, you were just goofing off. Well now everyone who was there is suspect. Even though you technically had the right to protest, you're now considered a dangerous person.

With this tech in place, the government doesn't have to put you in jail. They can do something more sinister. They can just email you a sexy picture you took with a girlfriend. Or they can email you a note saying that they can prove your dad is cheating on his taxes. Or they can threaten to get your dad fired. All you have to do, the email says, is help them catch your friends in the group. You have to report back every week, or you dad might lose his job. So you do. You turn in your friends and even though they try to keep meetings off grid, you're reporting on them to protect your dad.

2) Let's say number one goes on. The country is a weird place now. Really weird. Pretty soon, a movement springs up like occupy, except its bigger this time. People are really serious, and they are saying they want a government without this power. I guess people are realizing that it is a serious deal. You see on the news that tear gas was fired. Your friend calls you, frantic. They're shooting people. Oh my god. you never signed up for this. You say, fuck it. My dad might lose his job but I won't be responsible for anyone dying. That's going too far. You refuse to report anymore. You just stop going to meetings. You stay at home, and try not to watch the news. Three days later, police come to your door and arrest you. They confiscate your computer and phones, and they beat you up a bit. No one can help you so they all just sit quietly. They know if they say anything they're next. This happened in the country I live in. It is not a joke.

3) Its hard to say how long you were in there. What you saw was horrible. Most of the time, you only heard screams. People begging to be killed. Noises you've never heard before. You, you were lucky. You got kicked every day when they threw your moldy food at you, but no one shocked you. No one used sexual violence on you, at least that you remember. There were some times they gave you pills, and you can't say for sure what happened then. To be honest, sometimes the pills were the best part of your day, because at least then you didn't feel anything. You have scars on you from the way you were treated. You learn in prison that torture is now common. But everyone who uploads videos or pictures of this torture is labeled a leaker. Its considered a threat to national security. Pretty soon, a cut you got on your leg is looking really bad. You think it's infected. There were no doctors in prison, and it was so overcrowded, who knows what got in the cut. You go to the doctor, but he refuses to see you. He knows if he does the government can see the records that he treated you. Even you calling his office prompts a visit from the local police.

You decide to go home and see your parents. Maybe they can help. This leg is getting really bad. You get to their house. They aren't home. You can't reach them no matter how hard you try. A neighbor pulls you aside, and he quickly tells you they were arrested three weeks ago and haven't been seen since. You vaguely remember mentioning to them on the phone you were going to that protest. Even your little brother isn't there.

4) Is this even really happening? You look at the news. Sports scores. Celebrity news. It's like nothing is wrong. What the hell is going on? A stranger smirks at you reading the paper. You lose it. You shout at him "fuck you dude what are you laughing at can't you see I've got a fucking wound on my leg?"

"Sorry," he says. "I just didn't know anyone read the news anymore." There haven't been any real journalists for months. They're all in jail.

Everyone walking around is scared. They can't talk to anyone else because they don't know who is reporting for the government. Hell, at one time YOU were reporting for the government. Maybe they just want their kid to get through school. Maybe they want to keep their job. Maybe they're sick and want to be able to visit the doctor. It's always a simple reason. Good people always do bad things for simple reasons.

You want to protest. You want your family back. You need help for your leg. This is way beyond anything you ever wanted. It started because you just wanted to see fair treatment in farms. Now you're basically considered a terrorist, and everyone around you might be reporting on you. You definitely can't use a phone or email. You can't get a job. You can't even trust people face to face anymore. On every corner, there are people with guns. They are as scared as you are. They just don't want to lose their jobs. They don't want to be labeled as traitors.

This all happened in the country where I live.

You want to know why revolutions happen? Because little by little by little things get worse and worse. But this thing that is happening now is big. This is the key ingredient. This allows them to know everything they need to know to accomplish the above. The fact that they are doing it is proof that they are the sort of people who might use it in the way I described. In the country I live in, they also claimed it was for the safety of the people. Same in Soviet Russia. Same in East Germany. In fact, that is always the excuse that is used to surveil everyone. But it has never ONCE proven to be the reality.

Maybe Obama won't do it. Maybe the next guy won't, or the one after him. Maybe this story isn't about you. Maybe it happens 10 or 20 years from now, when a big war is happening, or after another big attack. Maybe it's about your daughter or your son. We just don't know yet. But what we do know is that right now, in this moment we have a choice. Are we okay with this, or not? Do we want this power to exist, or not?

You know for me, the reason I'm upset is that I grew up in school saying the pledge of allegiance. I was taught that the United States meant "liberty and justice for all." You get older, you learn that in this country we define that phrase based on the constitution. That's what tells us what liberty is and what justice is. Well, the government just violated that ideal. So if they aren't standing for liberty and justice anymore, what are they standing for? Safety?

Ask yourself a question. In the story I told above, does anyone sound safe?

I didn't make anything up. These things happened to people I know. We used to think it couldn't happen in America. But guess what? It's starting to happen.

I actually get really upset when people say "I don't have anything to hide. Let them read everything." People saying that have no idea what they are bringing down on their own heads. They are naive, and we need to listen to people in other countries who are clearly telling us that this is a horrible horrible sign and it is time to stand up and say no."

I find it very interesting that the original of this post was deleted from reddit without explanation within 24 hours of it appearing - despite the fact it had received almost 3000 positive 'votes'.  It is also somewhat revealing that the author of this essay chose to use a 'throwaway' account - obviously he or she is trying to have a certain amount of anonymity.

Sometimes heroes don't even have to have names to be heroes - they just have to speak up.

12th and Vine, Kansas City - Urban Renewal Gone Wrong

During the late 19th and for most of the 20th century, one of the most notorious, fun and culturally important places in the United States was the neighborhood in Kansas City so wonderfully described in the iconic song "Kansas City" by Fats Domino.



The lyrics say it all:

I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City here I come
I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City here I come
They got some crazy little women there and I'm gonna get me one
--------------------------------------------------------------
I'm gonna be standing on the corner
12th Street and Vine
I'm gonna be standing on the corner
12th Street and Vine  
With my Kansas City Baby and a bottle of Kansas City wine
--------------------------------------------------------------
Well I might take a plane I might take a train
But if I have to walk I'm going just the same
I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City here I come
They got some crazy little women
there and I'm gonna get me one

The reason Fats immortalized this place in one of his most popular songs was the neighborhood in which that famous intersection is centered was known for decades for rough and rowdy crowds, bars and fighting, jazz music and barbecue, cowboys partying with african americans, brothels, seedy flophouses and dives.

Before, during and after prohibition, through the 50s and early 60s, the area known more popularly as just "Vine Street" or "18th and Vine" was the heart of african american culture and good times for the entire region.  Here is an excellent article on the history of the street and musical heritage from the University of Missouri-Kansas City's website.

Today, while there are still traces of the original neighborhood around 18th street, the heart of the party culture that used to flow like blackstrap molasses through the area has been wiped completely away.

Here is a picture of 12th and Vine as it exists today (click on photo to view full size):

Like so many interesting, culturally significant and just plain fun neighborhoods in America, what used to be the heart of a cultural mecca that spawned some of the most creative music, food and entertainment in the United States has been "Cleaned to Death."

Why do you think cities like Berlin, Munich, Paris and Amsterdam have such rich heritage and culture?  Their political leaders were never allowed to gut whole neighborhoods in the name of 'safety' and civic improvement.  Between fire codes, building codes and just plain selective application of code enforcement and the law, America has pretty much lost most of the fun spots in urban America.

While you could argue whether or not our cities are actually safer as a result, one thing is clear - this is self-induced cultural genocide, and sadly, the loss of this neighborhood and countless others like it make the USA a much less interesting and enjoyable place to live.

Looking at the picture above, all I see is a lack of cultural respect and understanding among our political elite and the companies that dictate and profit from their actions.  

What has happened to 12th and Vine is a crime - it has robbed us all, not just in Kansas City but also in countless cities and towns across America.  Isn't it time we stood up and stopped letting "our" representatives use laws and regulations to destroy our American heritage?

With or without economic recovery, the issue is a jobless world.

If any country in the world is unprepared for the future of "George Jetson" jobs or no jobs at all (for the majority of people), it is the United States of America.

From the moment the first Pilgrims stepped foot on Plymouth Rock, the American dream has been all about work - hard work in most cases, and lots of it.  From birth till death we are bombarded by the message that only hard work matters, that the more you work the better person you are, and that there is nothing about the European system or anywhere else in the world that can compare to the industriousness of the American worker and the opportunities afforded by the American system.

How many times have we listened as our fellow citizen laugh at and ridicule countries that mandate five weeks or more of paid vacation, short work weeks or other methods to spread the work around?

The entire structure of this social construct is falling apart all around us.  Current estimates are that nearly 50% of all existing jobs will be made obsolete by automation, computer intelligence and real honest-to-god robots within the next generation - certainly by 2050 if not sooner, the idea that everyone needs a job to be considered a full and productive member of society will be functionally obsolete.

If you look around, you can already see evidence of the current value system falling apart at the seams.  Youth unemployment is at record highs, we are surrounded by Baristas with college diplomas, and the mature unemployed often have given up on ever finding work.  These people represent just the tip of this iceberg of social change.

Ask yourself - what would happen if you were unemployed and simply could not ever find another job?

Looking outside the USA we can see some solutions - but they aren't going to be easy.  Add in the famous American "work ethic", and it looks pretty much impossible.  Here are the main problems in a nutshell:

• How do you distribute wealth and provide income for people if they do not have paid work?
• What can you offer as a work alternative for people that will support their self esteem and provide the level of healthy social interaction that we currently receive from the workplace?
• Who will buy the cars and washing machines and houses and electricity necessary for a healthy and robust economy when only the luckiest and best prepared among us can find a job?

Perhaps more important than these issues is the overall effect that a jobless America will have on the entire moral and cultural climate here in the USA.  Can we really afford a future where those few who have jobs are held up as the only people of value?

The time to begin preparing for these changes is right now.  

An Open Letter to Congressional Staffers

Dear Sir, Madam;

On behalf of the American people, I implore you to examine your conscience and begin thinking very seriously about the person you work for.

If your Congressman is willing to sabotage the economy and the reputation of our Nation to push his or her own agenda, are you really working for the right person?

If your Congressman strictly votes the 'party line', and obviously cares more for big donors, PAC priorities and the interests of big business then they do for the citizens of their district, are you OK with that?

If your children or a group of schoolkids would ask you about your job, could you really be honest that in assisting your Congressman you are truly being a decent, loyal American?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, you should express this truth to your employer.  I ask that you openly announce that you are not willing to work for someone who is violating their oath of office and not working in the best interests of the American people.

Try to remember what drew you into politics to begin with.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't to assist people who trade their votes for 'donations', rely on corporate bribes to get elected, and who routinely ignore the needs of ordinary people to implement the will of their corporate masters.

Think about it, and take action.


John Hubertz
Indiana, USA

Ode to a Lesbian Beagle

It isn't your fault, not really.  I don't like boy dogs much either.  Too aggressive but they always give up.

You never had a chance to like boy dogs - you went to the vet when you were only 5 months old.

Holly is your name, but it might as well be Butch or Killer or Spike.  You are the bravest living thing I have ever met.

Cars I owned from 1976 - 1981.  I worked at a gas station and a shoe store, I graduated from High School in 1977.

Here's the list:  

1951 Studebaker Champion starlite coupe

1955 Hudson Hollywood Wasp

1957 Buick Super hardtop

1965 Volkswagen Dune Buggy (rail type)

1965 Jeep Commando pickup with 289 mustang GT motor

1965 Ford Econoline hippy van flower power/shag carpet

1966 Chevrolet Impala convertible (x2)

1966 Pontiac Lemans Sprint OHC convertible

1966 Thunderbird Town Landau 428

1967 Pontiac Bonneville hardtop

1967 Ford Torino 390 GTA hardtop

1969 Toyota Corona

1969 Buick Skylark convertible

1969 Volkswagen Van

1969 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia coupe

1970 Toyota Corolla sport

1970 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham

1970 Triumph TR6

1970 Mustang Mach 1

1970 Dodge Dart Swinger 340 GT

1970 Volkswagen

1973 Capri V6 (x2)

1973 Dodge Dart

1974 purple Gremlin

1976 Capri 2.3

1976 Mazda Cosmo twin rotor

1976 Mustang Mach 1 V6 four speed

 - and of course Dad's car, the car I learned to drive in, a 1970 Mercury Grand Marquis with the big 429 Marauder V8.

Born at the Right Time - The Cars of my Youth

Note:  Pictures are not period-original, but the colors and cars are correct.  Page down to see the complete list if you want to skip the essay.

Born at the Right Time.  This title was used by my Uncle in a book he wrote a few years ago to describe growing up on an Indiana homestead farm.  The same title applies to me.   I'm 16 in 1977, I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I loved cars, cars and more cars.  I worked at a gas station, and used my money to indulge my car hobby.

Between 1977 and 1982, before I turned 21 years old, I personally bought and sold over 20 cars.  

In the 70's and early 80's, cars didn't last like they do  now.  Once a car was a few years old it was nearly worthless.  The most I ever paid for a car in that era was $1500.

I wasn't buying them to fix up and sell and make money, I bought cars to drive, and drive them I did.  I drove them hard, and with the exception of Dad's poor old Mercury, was fortunate to never have a serious accident.

Do I miss those halcyon days of my youth?  Yes I do.  But my memories are priceless, and every once in a while I'll be carving down a country road with my wife or my grandchildren, and I remember... and smile.

 

Here's the list:  

1951 Studebaker Champion starlite coupe

1955 Hudson Hollywood Wasp

1957 Buick Super hardtop

1965 Volkswagen Dune Buggy (rail type)

1965 Jeep Commando pickup with 289 mustang GT motor

1965 Ford Econoline hippy van flower power/shag carpet

1966 Chevrolet Impala convertible (x2)

1966 Pontiac Lemans Sprint OHC convertible

1966 Thunderbird Town Landau 428

1967 Pontiac Bonneville hardtop

1967 Ford Torino 390 GTA hardtop

1969 Toyota Corona

1969 Buick Skylark Riviera Convertible

1969 Volkswagen Van

1969 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia coupe

1970 Toyota Corolla sport

1970 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham

1970 Triumph TR6

1970 Mustang Mach 1

1970 Dodge Dart Swinger 340 GT

1970 Volkswagen

1973 Capri V6 (x2)

1973 Dodge Dart

1974 purple Gremlin

1976 Capri 2.3

1976 Mazda Cosmo twin rotor

1976 Mustang Mach 1 V6 four speed

 - and of course Dad's car, the car I learned to drive in, a 1970 Mercury Grand Marquis with the big 429 Marauder V8.

http://politicalconservative.net/r-i-p-boy-scouts-of-america/

[quote]t’s a sad day for both Scouting and for freedom. Indeed, it’s a sad day for  America. The century-old Boy Scouts of America (BSA) – created in 1910 to  “prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes” –  has betrayed its own constituency, mission, oath and law.[/quote]

Shhhhh. Oh my, I think we have a conservative in our midst. Don't frighten it. They are vicious when disturbed, distrust everyone and won't share food even though they always have too much.

They are considered a pest and a nuisance almost everywhere in the world, but in the USA they seem to have some sort of protected status - probably because they so rarely breed.

One Blue Door - The Story of Dave Dripps' Torino

The year was 1988.  The sun was savage that year - a lot of windy clear days that could peel hair from your arms.  From Minnesota there arrived a man.  A young man, with a plan.  A young man's plan.

His name was David Dripps.  David T. Dripps.  Once I asked him what the "T" stood for, and he glanced at me with that feral wolverine look of his and said; "It stands for "The".  He had a job, this David Dripps - an important job by the look of it.  New cars were the trade; working for the Ford motor company as a corporate complaint manager.  Good pay, good benefits. 

But you see, this David Dripps fellow was a frugal man - fresh off the frozen tundra of Minnesota farmland.  He stunk of potatoes and fear.