The Next American Revolution...

Brewing under all the self-confidence regurgitated by American government officials lingers the lies that span the greater part of half a century. Some of these lies are documented or subject to conjecture in the media. However, Americans are an unwitting public who consume the spin supplied by lobbyists, news agencies, religion, and politicians. They then make decisions in a rash and undereducated manner. We write off things like paying taxes, but can't seem to figure out how the Federal Government retains a national debt in excess of 8 and a half Trillion dollars. Clearly, the Government is taking us for a ride, especially if a Congress that only worked a combined total of 200 days last year but still make $165,000 for their effort. If the wool can be pulled over our eyes so easily in order to obscure what we know, could it not happen in a more perverse way in the future that would destroy the American Union?

The next American revolution needs to start now, and must be lead by regular Americans. Not every American Court will defend us from an abusive government. The 2006 election will hopefully be a start of a chain reaction that will bring our government and society back to what the founders envisioned at its inception. It can only happen if the people take action, so that maybe this time the revolution won't just be televised.

Goodbye Liberty

Apparently, Newt Gingrich thinks that we have too much freedom and its keeping us from effectively fighting terrorism. That's funny, I was unaware that Republicans were out to get the American people by debasing the foundation of liberty and democracy. The statements he made at this function supporting people who fight for free speech rights were also contradictory. We need to limit speech so that Terrorists can't spread their message, but we need to make sure people feel free to express their religious beliefs. To some degree, Mr. Gingrich is for supporting terrorists more than supporting Americans. It's paradoxical to think that limiting speech will assist in fighting terrorism when many terrorists believe eradicating the world of other faiths is a fundamental tenant of their religious beliefs. There is that other notion, you know, that freedom of religion only extends to those who aren't terrorists. However, the rhetoric used in the debate won't support this position either since there are non-Islamic terrorists too.

Before we give into what the terrorists want, i.e. destroying America by making us so afraid of them that we lose our freedom and destroy our nation, we should try to protect what makes this country great. This includes protecting the fundamental right to discuss political issues that make the democratic process possible. Way to destroy America Republo-fascists.

Good Things Come in Threes

It has been a long time since I posted twice in a day. I don't think I have ever triple posted. World be warned...

The third post of the day concerns the possibility of the President's impending impeachment. Don't believe the hype, this trend could literally end the hope of preserving Republican veto power. The Republicans think the American people lack the fortitude to weather another impeachment. They weren't concerned with this when they held the legislative majority and impeached Clinton. If the majority wants it, we can probably survive. It looks like there is a
growing list of Constitutional and statutory violations that could lead to this impeachment.

Dictator and Chief

It's no surprise that a majority of the country is dissatisfied with the Republicans, and it is equally no surprise that the President's policies have gone to the extreme in damaging American international good will, democracy, and character. The light on top of the hill continues to dim, and Americans should be aware why this is the case. Consider the Vice President's perspective on the issue of Presidential power. The reality of the situation is very different, regardless of what the Vice President may think.

Looking at the general breakdown of powers in the Constitution, it stands to reason that Congress retains the dominant amount of power in our governmental system, the President deals with international issues, and the judiciary has the ultimate authority to determine when either of the other two branches are overstepping their constitutional limitations. Article I, section 8, attributes 18 specific powers to the Congress, leaving the remainder to the states unless specified otherwise. Conversely, Article II, section 2, provides the President with only 4 specific, articulable powers. Moreover, the language of Article II does not provide the President with a blanket power, like it does with the Legislation through the necessary and proper clause in Article I. Historically, Congress has created laws that limit or expand the powers of the President, usually with regard to appropriations or the use of the military. In addition, the drafters of the Constitution expressed concerns about having an overly powerful President, especially after the end of the Revolutionary War. Someone needs to inform the leaders of this country about the way things are supposed to work, and give the people their country back.

Technomoment

While my blog routinely deals with social and political issues, I am a linux user and also follow technology news. Many companies have tried to tackle the digital music arena in an effort to unseat the Apple dominated market. Microsoft is the biggest fish to take a crack at Apple's iPod monopoly with their new product, the Zune. Though a solid bid for power in the market and likely a contender for the anti-Mac crowd, it's unlikely that Microsoft will be able to put a dent in Apple's substantial market share. In addition, it's unlikely the Zune will sell well in the event it receives more bad press.

This review makes a salient point, the Zune targets the part of the market place that Apple has yet to capitalize on, acquiescing to the demands of the music business. While music production companies make out like bandits from single song sales on iTunes, the Zune solicits the benefits of being in the pocket of the RIAA. For those willing to sacrifice freedom and usability for abusive corporate tyranny, buy one. Otherwise, keep your respect and buy something else, even if it's not an iPod.

Unsubstantiated Postulation

Many pundits and Republicans were surprised when former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigned from his position days after the 2006 midterm election. This political contingency is no doubt a response to the change of power in the legislative branch. Now it appears that Rumsfeld is being thrown to the dogs. Fear over prosecution under the War Crimes Act no doubt has the sharks looking for a scapegoat over the Iraq War debacle and the resulting questions about rendition prisons and whether the U.S. Military is prosecuting the war in violation of international laws of war. Rumsfeld easily becomes the one making all the policy decisions, and provides the Republicans and the President with someone to point to in the event public scorn for the travesties of the past 5 years focus on the Executive branch.

Sad Impact of the Law

This was the shocking headline from last week. This is the insightful comment on the law that permitted this terrible event. More often that not, the law seems to forget that normal people may be stuck in the middle. It's as though, at times, the law forgets who it serves and we are left with the sober reminder of the pragmatic affect of statutes and judicial decisions.

Still Not Funny...

Here is an interesting update on the last story...Interesting.

Not-so-funny Joke

By now, almost everyone has heard about Michael Richards' racist outburst while performing at the Laugh Factory this last weekend. In case you missed it, you can find the full video here (very not safe for work and disturbing). Last night, Richards apologized on David Letterman's show in an attempt to rectify the situation. The Laugh Factory has issued their official statement on the issue as well. Regardless of the negative adjectives that can easily be ascribed to this event, it raises an interesting social and legal issue. At the Laugh Factory's press conference on the incident, Paul Rodriguez stated that though the comedy club does not condone this kind of malicious language, they will not institute a policy prohibiting the use of racist words.

As far as the First Amendment is concerned, no speech with social or political value should be proscribed. The key is value. No one can argue that Mr. Richards' words carried value in the sense that ideals of free speech is meant to protect. Few people would argue that comedy, in the American tradition, serves as commentary. For those who think otherwise, consider the premise of the Daily Show on Comedy Central. Though questionable in content, comedic acts like George Carlin's Dirty Words monologue offer commentary on aspects of American life. This kind of comedy, even if dealing with language insulting language, should not be limited provided it has a productive goal. In situations where the language is used solely to insult or degrade another, the speech has no value and should not be respected or protected by the law. There is no question that in this situation, Mr. Richards' language was meant to insult and degrade the object of his anger and should not be tolerated. However, this incident should not keep society from engaging in a productive discourse on language and racism.

The MCA, G'tmo...A Real American Story?

Today's news release says that the tribunals set up through the Military Commissions Act (the MCA) are working to effectively to release the innocent detainees. Empirical evidence seems to indicate otherwise. A new paper by Mark Denbeaux shows that the real operations of these tribunals aims to insure that every detainee is labelled an enemy combatant. It is no surprise, then, that some detainees are already mounting a frontal attack on the constitutionality of the MCA. If we are lucky, Congress will amend the law before these constitutional disgraces are permitted to take place. Food for thought, what the Pentagon releases as news versus what's really going on.