JERRY
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Neocons to Condi: You Gotta Go, Girl
The neocons are said to extremely unhappy with what they perceive as Condoleezza Rice's newfound preverence for diplomacy over belligerence and her seeming lack of fervor for unleashing the dogs of war on Tehran and Damascus now. This afternoon, if possible. Having learned absolutely nothing from the misguided Iraq adventure, the crazies are--the Carpetbagger Report reports--using Reverend Moon's lunatic fringe Insight magazine to circulate articles questioning Condi's competence and character and to suggest that she will be dumped after the midterm elections.
Sounds like wishful thinking to me. 9/11 gave the crazies a singular opportunity to test their democracy at the point of a gun theory in Iraq and the Bush administration blew it. Big time. Most Americans agree with the newly re-centered Condi; it's time to give reality a chance. posted Jerry Bowles 11:44 AM
Friday, July 14, 2006
The neocons are said to extremely unhappy with what they perceive as Condoleezza Rice's newfound preverence for diplomacy over belligerence and her seeming lack of fervor for unleashing the dogs of war on Tehran and Damascus now. This afternoon, if possible. Having learned absolutely nothing from the misguided Iraq adventure, the crazies are--the Carpetbagger Report reports--using Reverend Moon's lunatic fringe Insight magazine to circulate articles questioning Condi's competence and character and to suggest that she will be dumped after the midterm elections.
Sounds like wishful thinking to me. 9/11 gave the crazies a singular opportunity to test their democracy at the point of a gun theory in Iraq and the Bush administration blew it. Big time. Most Americans agree with the newly re-centered Condi; it's time to give reality a chance. posted Jerry Bowles 11:44 AM
Friday, July 14, 2006
Even Christians and Commie Fighters!! The Patriot Act Disaster known as “Material Support”
Guest post by Evelyn Keyes
Someone should just take away the crayons and colored pencils used by the neandrathal Repug bill writers who crafted the 2001 USA Patriot Act, who no doubt after great consideration and judicious review with their more experienced colleagues threw into the legislation a provision known as "material support."
Basically, "material support" is the provision that denies political asylum to any individual who gives "material support" to armed terrorists.
Leaving aside the fact that the definitions for "material support” and "terrorist" could include anyone in this country who sent a dollar to the NRA, or fed the cat of a drug dealer, the consequences of the application of this qualification nullifies the eligibility of just about anyone who is escaping armed conflict, just the kind of person, in fact, for whom the U.S. has been in the business of providing asylum for oh, the last seventy years or so.
This piece in TNR this week by Anna Husarska makes a compelling case for overturning the provisions. I also just returned from visiting Burmese refugees in Thailand, who basically live in hopeless conditions with--since 2004--diminished expectations of ever returning to their mined and dangerous homelands. Resettlement to a third country offers their best hope for a future, and traditionally, this country has been the largest provider – and arguably – beneficiary of worldwide refugee resettlement. From Einstein to Andy Grove, to a large part of the graduating classes of Ivy League schools, refugees and their descendants have used their talents and energies to contribute mightily to our nation.
But in yet another example of paranoid wingers eating their own, "material support" is being used to exclude even Cubans, CIA-supporting Montagnard tribespeople, and Christians like the Burmese, which may be the best hope for having this onerous exclusion at least getting some attention on the Hill. But if you are a refugee waiting for your family to join you, don’t hold your breath. posted Jerry Bowles 4:20 PM
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Guest post by Evelyn Keyes
Someone should just take away the crayons and colored pencils used by the neandrathal Repug bill writers who crafted the 2001 USA Patriot Act, who no doubt after great consideration and judicious review with their more experienced colleagues threw into the legislation a provision known as "material support."
Basically, "material support" is the provision that denies political asylum to any individual who gives "material support" to armed terrorists.
Leaving aside the fact that the definitions for "material support” and "terrorist" could include anyone in this country who sent a dollar to the NRA, or fed the cat of a drug dealer, the consequences of the application of this qualification nullifies the eligibility of just about anyone who is escaping armed conflict, just the kind of person, in fact, for whom the U.S. has been in the business of providing asylum for oh, the last seventy years or so.
This piece in TNR this week by Anna Husarska makes a compelling case for overturning the provisions. I also just returned from visiting Burmese refugees in Thailand, who basically live in hopeless conditions with--since 2004--diminished expectations of ever returning to their mined and dangerous homelands. Resettlement to a third country offers their best hope for a future, and traditionally, this country has been the largest provider – and arguably – beneficiary of worldwide refugee resettlement. From Einstein to Andy Grove, to a large part of the graduating classes of Ivy League schools, refugees and their descendants have used their talents and energies to contribute mightily to our nation.
But in yet another example of paranoid wingers eating their own, "material support" is being used to exclude even Cubans, CIA-supporting Montagnard tribespeople, and Christians like the Burmese, which may be the best hope for having this onerous exclusion at least getting some attention on the Hill. But if you are a refugee waiting for your family to join you, don’t hold your breath. posted Jerry Bowles 4:20 PM
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Kill 'em All. Let God Sort Them Out.
The loonies have come up with a way around all these Geneva Conventions and Supreme Court niceties--just don't take any prisoners. Kill every last person standing on the battlefield even if they have dropped their arms and are waving a white flag. Presumably, the same rules would apply to Americans who were trying to surrender on battlesfields of the future. If you didn't already think that John Hinderaker was one psychotic motherfucker, this should do it for you. posted Jerry Bowles 3:40 PM
Monday, July 10, 2006
The loonies have come up with a way around all these Geneva Conventions and Supreme Court niceties--just don't take any prisoners. Kill every last person standing on the battlefield even if they have dropped their arms and are waving a white flag. Presumably, the same rules would apply to Americans who were trying to surrender on battlesfields of the future. If you didn't already think that John Hinderaker was one psychotic motherfucker, this should do it for you. posted Jerry Bowles 3:40 PM
Monday, July 10, 2006
The Aspirational Terrorist
In the stampede to embrace social media as a great tool of individual empowerment, we sometimes forget that there is a dark underside to the web and that these obstentibly neighborly technologies can also be used for evil purposes. The announcement that the FBI had gotten wind of a half-baked plot to blow up a tunnel between Manhattan and mainland America by listening in on internet chat room conversations is a reminder that the web is equalitarian in its gifts; it empowers both good people and bad.
The fact that this plot–like the one that snared the hapless homeless guys in Miami a couple of weeks ago–was what the government has been calling “aspirational” and what the rest of us might call “bananas” is telling, but nobody can fault the Feds for an abundance of caution. After 9/11 and the bombings in Madrid and Bali and London, all such threats have to investigated, even those made by terrorist-wannabes who are so dumb they make plans in an internet chat room or think that terrorists wear uniforms.
What doesn’t have to happen, of course, is the huge ballyhoo that is made over these arrests which only encourages other crazies–the “aspirationals,” let’s call them–to channel their fantasies and prejudices toward the now fashionable meme of jihad. But, the mind control games of Washington are another topic.
The larger point is that if we are going to use social media to build online relationships we–the good guys–are going to have to develop some safeguards that protect the innocent and the merely curious from the predators and the plotters. You don’t hear a lot of talk about it from the industry booster side but we all know the “undernet” is filled with thieves and pedophiles and those who want to use technology to make their particular crimes more efficient. If we don’t find better ways to police ourselves, then politicians and big businesses will do it for us. In fact, it is fairly obvious that a lot of law enforcement resources are already being directed toward the web and especially toward social media. This is not a good thing. Like most people of a liberatarian bent, I am absolutely convinced that explicit formal government regulation would be the beginning of the end of the participatory media movement. To paraphrase Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, “we gotta look out for each other more.” posted Jerry Bowles 7:43 AM
Friday, July 07, 2006
In the stampede to embrace social media as a great tool of individual empowerment, we sometimes forget that there is a dark underside to the web and that these obstentibly neighborly technologies can also be used for evil purposes. The announcement that the FBI had gotten wind of a half-baked plot to blow up a tunnel between Manhattan and mainland America by listening in on internet chat room conversations is a reminder that the web is equalitarian in its gifts; it empowers both good people and bad.
The fact that this plot–like the one that snared the hapless homeless guys in Miami a couple of weeks ago–was what the government has been calling “aspirational” and what the rest of us might call “bananas” is telling, but nobody can fault the Feds for an abundance of caution. After 9/11 and the bombings in Madrid and Bali and London, all such threats have to investigated, even those made by terrorist-wannabes who are so dumb they make plans in an internet chat room or think that terrorists wear uniforms.
What doesn’t have to happen, of course, is the huge ballyhoo that is made over these arrests which only encourages other crazies–the “aspirationals,” let’s call them–to channel their fantasies and prejudices toward the now fashionable meme of jihad. But, the mind control games of Washington are another topic.
The larger point is that if we are going to use social media to build online relationships we–the good guys–are going to have to develop some safeguards that protect the innocent and the merely curious from the predators and the plotters. You don’t hear a lot of talk about it from the industry booster side but we all know the “undernet” is filled with thieves and pedophiles and those who want to use technology to make their particular crimes more efficient. If we don’t find better ways to police ourselves, then politicians and big businesses will do it for us. In fact, it is fairly obvious that a lot of law enforcement resources are already being directed toward the web and especially toward social media. This is not a good thing. Like most people of a liberatarian bent, I am absolutely convinced that explicit formal government regulation would be the beginning of the end of the participatory media movement. To paraphrase Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, “we gotta look out for each other more.” posted Jerry Bowles 7:43 AM
Friday, July 07, 2006
Blow Up the Holland Tunnel? Ho Hum.
I live about a half mile from the Holland Tunnel but I can't say I'm much concerned by the news that our crackerjack FBI has thwarted a "plot" to blow up one of our main arteries to New Jersey. In fact, would it be cynical of me to suspect that this announcement might be part of a carefully orchestrated plan to rachet up the fear factor before November's elections. Would it be a terrible of me to suspect that New York Republican representative Peter "Send the New York Times to jail" King was fronting cheap political points for Karl Rove? Would I be a horrible person if I suggested that maybe there is less than meets the eye to this story and the people involved were about as hapless as that incredibly scary gaggle of homeless people they rounded up in Miami a couple of weeks ago? posted Jerry Bowles 11:55 AM
Thursday, July 06, 2006
I live about a half mile from the Holland Tunnel but I can't say I'm much concerned by the news that our crackerjack FBI has thwarted a "plot" to blow up one of our main arteries to New Jersey. In fact, would it be cynical of me to suspect that this announcement might be part of a carefully orchestrated plan to rachet up the fear factor before November's elections. Would it be a terrible of me to suspect that New York Republican representative Peter "Send the New York Times to jail" King was fronting cheap political points for Karl Rove? Would I be a horrible person if I suggested that maybe there is less than meets the eye to this story and the people involved were about as hapless as that incredibly scary gaggle of homeless people they rounded up in Miami a couple of weeks ago? posted Jerry Bowles 11:55 AM
Thursday, July 06, 2006
As If People Mattered
In the process of teaching myself how to work with Word Press (with the thought of maybe switching this site over from Blogger sometime because WP is so far superior), I built a new site called Practical Widgets. I wrote a piece there today called Small is Beautiful: E.F. Schumacher and Web 2.0. If you like geeky leftist polemics, you might enjoy it. posted Jerry Bowles 4:06 PM
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
In the process of teaching myself how to work with Word Press (with the thought of maybe switching this site over from Blogger sometime because WP is so far superior), I built a new site called Practical Widgets. I wrote a piece there today called Small is Beautiful: E.F. Schumacher and Web 2.0. If you like geeky leftist polemics, you might enjoy it. posted Jerry Bowles 4:06 PM
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Tell 'em Kenny Boy is Dead
Let's see if the Bushes have the common decency to send the widow a card. posted Jerry Bowles 3:50 PM
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Let's see if the Bushes have the common decency to send the widow a card. posted Jerry Bowles 3:50 PM
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
A Fourth of July Thought for Our Authoritarian Cultist Friends
Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of the government. The history of government is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is the history of the limitation of government, not the increase of it. --Woodrow Wilson posted Jerry Bowles 11:29 AM
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of the government. The history of government is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is the history of the limitation of government, not the increase of it. --Woodrow Wilson posted Jerry Bowles 11:29 AM
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Frontier Justice or Reading the Jew York Times
In a recent episode of Deadwood, HBO's cheerfully profane Shakespearian western, the seedy hotel operator and incumbent mayor E.B. Farnun opens his re-election speech by saying that he intends to draw no attention to his opponent, Sol Star's ethnicity, punctuating the statement by using his hand to draw a large, hooked nose over his own. He ends his remarks by noting that "Christ knows I'm a better candidate."
Farnum is clearly a forerunner of Republican family values. Getting re-elected by energizing the prejudices of small-minded lovers of the white, male Jesus by demonizing minorities--blacks, Jews, immigrants--is the standard operating procedure of the Radical Right and the real "secret" of most Republican success over the past 40 years. The GOP dominates the South today because Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, did the right thing. End of story
Of course, you don't openly say divisive things, you create symbols--the Rosenbergs, Willie Horton, illegal immigrants and, most recently, the New York Times. The true believers know what you're really saying.
The reason the Republicans chose to focus on the Times in its phony outrage about the leak of the not-very-secret financial records monitoring program and not the Los Angeles Time and the Wall Street Journal is so transparent that they need to be called on it. In Red State America, the mere mention of "New York Times" conjures up an image of elite, intellectual, liberal Jews. "Hollywood," by the way, means the same thing, except for the intellectual part.
Why no one ever calls these bigots on this stuff bewilders and disappoints me. Are we waiting for Karl Rove to show up in public wearing a big putty caricature nose? Jew eat yet, Karl? No, Jew?
In a recent episode of Deadwood, HBO's cheerfully profane Shakespearian western, the seedy hotel operator and incumbent mayor E.B. Farnun opens his re-election speech by saying that he intends to draw no attention to his opponent, Sol Star's ethnicity, punctuating the statement by using his hand to draw a large, hooked nose over his own. He ends his remarks by noting that "Christ knows I'm a better candidate."
Farnum is clearly a forerunner of Republican family values. Getting re-elected by energizing the prejudices of small-minded lovers of the white, male Jesus by demonizing minorities--blacks, Jews, immigrants--is the standard operating procedure of the Radical Right and the real "secret" of most Republican success over the past 40 years. The GOP dominates the South today because Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, did the right thing. End of story
Of course, you don't openly say divisive things, you create symbols--the Rosenbergs, Willie Horton, illegal immigrants and, most recently, the New York Times. The true believers know what you're really saying.
The reason the Republicans chose to focus on the Times in its phony outrage about the leak of the not-very-secret financial records monitoring program and not the Los Angeles Time and the Wall Street Journal is so transparent that they need to be called on it. In Red State America, the mere mention of "New York Times" conjures up an image of elite, intellectual, liberal Jews. "Hollywood," by the way, means the same thing, except for the intellectual part.
Why no one ever calls these bigots on this stuff bewilders and disappoints me. Are we waiting for Karl Rove to show up in public wearing a big putty caricature nose? Jew eat yet, Karl? No, Jew?
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