Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“When society serves human beings, there is liberty. When human beings serve society, there is tyranny.”
Russell Longcore

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.”
William Pitt the Younger

“A statesman is merely a politician who keeps his gun well hidden and does not discuss it in mixed company.
In the end, politics is about the savaging of human beings through violence, misdirection and the glorification of the physical boundaries of tax jurisdictions. Nothing less and nothing more. It is about the wholesale forced appropriation of wealth, time and resources from vast swaths of humanity through either chicanery or implied and explicit use of violence. It is involuntary surrender to thuggery on a mass scale.”
Bill Buppert

“The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent.”
George Orwell

“The illusion that government protects us, that it is designed and structured in a way to do so, is everywhere. Liberals believe that it shields us from economic inequality and dangerous consumer products, despite all evidence to the contrary. Conservatives believe it upholds moral virtue, the absurdity of politicians being moral role models notwithstanding. Everyone believes it protects us from violent crime, regardless of its horrific record in doing so, and the greats costs to our liberties inflicted by the criminal justice system. But probably no myth is more pervasive than the myth that U.S. national security policy keeps us safer than we otherwise would be, that even when it fails in particulars, its general composition is aimed toward achieving this goal effectively. It is a bunch of hogwash. The wars and homeland security state do nothing to diminish the terrorist threat and indeed in many ways enhance it, and the politicians in both parties are either to dense to notice or they do notice but are too wicked to change approaches.”
Anthony Gregory

“It should come as no surprise to us that, when systematic violence is introduced into the economic sphere, it is the rich and powerful rather than the poor and powerless who ultimately profit. Although concern for the impoverished and for the worker are today associated with advocacy for an omnipotent, total state, the state has never truly been the ally of the disadvantaged and victimized.
The state is rather an organ of the power elite, of a grouping of economic interests that aspire to close off options outside of the statist economy. Whatever the state does that seems facially to aid the poor is done only to keep the labor engines of the economy running so that the oligopolistic corporate economy doesn’t destroy itself.”
David S. D'Amato

“In theory, the Left focuses on compassion; the Right on limited government – on ‘restrained aggression,’ in other words, rather than on non-aggression. But, even aside from the aggression involved, neither Left nor Right can ever be a healthy whole by itself, because both love and freedom are equally necessary. Like a deprived child who grows into an adult who can never get enough,* the public is constantly dissatisfied with the results of political action and so always wants more. This is partly because government policies and programs do the opposite of their stated aims and partly because any action that leads to over-emphasis of one side of the Duality while under-serving the other must create imbalance and lead to discontent.”
Glen Allport

“Truthfully, real criminals aren't back alley types, but rather the policymakers who spread fear and paranoia in the name of justice. They cloak their crimes in good deeds while building a brainwashed class of future Thought Police.”
Simon Black

“Fundamentally, without governments’ propaganda and distortions, most of us love peace and liberty, except those who benefit from war and those who adore power. As long as fear exists in our minds, we will put up with war and coercion out of fear and hatred. Peace and Liberty will be only realized when we have no fear other than the fear of not having them.”
NguyenKhaPham Thanh Chuong
“Those who value liberty should keep on seceding until the only political formations that exist are voluntary and get all powers from the consent of self-governing individuals.”
Darian Worden

“Scratch a military man and you will often find a zombie. Or you’ll get punched in the mouth.”
Bill Bonner

**************************************************************************

From the Darkness:
“I do not understand what I think is the maligning and maliciousness [directed at] this president [Obama]. Why is he different? And in my community, that is the question that we raise. In the minority community, that is the question that is being raised. Why is this president being treated so disrespectfully?”

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

“I’m not ready to tell you that I’m ready to announce that I’m in. But I’m getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I’ve been called to do. This is what America needs.”
Gov. Rick Perry, discussing his presidential plans [“Called?” Oh, God, here we go again.]

"You can say it's extreme to start medications in pregnancy, but what gives you the most bang for your buck—educating kids later or changing something in the womb for a short period of time that will have an effect for years and years?"
Brian Iriye, on a study, sponsored by the U.K. government, aiming to use medication to change the environment in the uterus of pregnant women in order to improve the child's health later in life, a concept known as fetal programming.

"No big financial institution in any country [should] be allowed to fail."
Larry Summers

"The [UN] security council should join the general assembly in recognising climate change as a threat to international peace and security. It is a threat as great as nuclear proliferation or global terrorism."
Marcus Stephen, the president of Nauru

“Rather than subsidizing the production of unhealthful foods, we should turn the tables and tax things like soda, French fries, doughnuts and hyperprocessed snacks. The resulting income should be earmarked for a program that encourages a sound diet for Americans by making healthy food more affordable and widely available.

Simply put: taxes would reduce consumption of unhealthful foods and generate billions of dollars annually. That money could be used to subsidize the purchase of staple foods like seasonal greens, vegetables, whole grains, dried legumes and fruit.”
Mark Bittman, NY Times

ZAP- It's So Easy.........

........a child can understand it:

Potential Terrorist Caught

In the post, Delta Gives Discount to Terrorists, I claimed how military slaves shouldn’t even be allowed to fly, let alone get discounts. I outlined the reasons why they are justifiably a high risk, considering their occupation, blind obedience to orders, unstable personalities, and penchant for violence.

MSNBC reports, “Police in Arizona have arrested a U.S. soldier after he attempted to board a flight to Los Angeles with a small amount of high-velocity plastic explosive in his baggage.” Easy access to explosives, of course, is another good reason any such slaves attempting to fly should be given extra security consideration.

The report states, “Authorities found no evidence that he intended any harm with the small amount of explosives in his possession.” Well, of course. If your intent is to do harm and you are caught before you can do so, you sure as hell don’t admit to it. If this were a civilian who was caught with such an explosive do you believe he would have been given such consideration? He, of course, would be rotting in some gulag somewhere or at the very least, put on a no-fly list. You can be sure though that this idiot will not suffer such a fate, but rather can look forward to future discounts!

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“While members of both groups would likely be loath to admit it, Constitutionalists and communists are united by a shared delusion: the belief that their preferred system would work wonderfully if only ‘the right people’ were in charge.

The problem is that within the confines of any system of domination and exploitation, 'the right people' simply do not exist.”
R.K. Blacksher

“….In regard to the so-called social contract, I have often had occasion to protest that I haven’t even seen the contract, much less been asked to consent to it. A valid contract requires voluntary offer, acceptance, and consideration. I’ve never received an offer from my rulers, so I certainly have not accepted one; and rather than consideration, I have received nothing but contempt from the rulers, who, notwithstanding the absence of any agreement, have indubitably threatened me with grave harm in the event that I fail to comply with their edicts. What monumental effrontery these people exhibit! What gives them the right to rob me and push me around? It certainly is not my desire to be a sheep for them to shear or slaughter as they deem expedient for the attainment of their own ends.”
Robert Higgs

“To be GOVERNED is to be kept in sight, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so. To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, trained, ransomed, exploited, monopolized, extorted, squeezed, mystified, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, despised, harassed, tracked, abused, clubbed, disarmed, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and, to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.”
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

“Today's democracy is nothing more that pseudo-authoritarian rule by an elite few, executed by legions of self-deluding freeloaders who have convinced themselves that their current bureaucratic roles are both necessary and honorable... as well as a stepping stone into the next job which will be even more necessary and honorable. 
With each successive position up the bureaucratic ladder comes more power, more privilege... until they actually expect to be called ‘The Honorable…’ so and so, or ‘His Excellency’ so and so, etc.
Simon Black

“What apologists for U.S. wars and the military really believe is that American soldiers and security forces are exceptions with a license to kill. Foreign killers are evil unless they do our bidding. It is only Americans who are heroes for obeying orders and killing on command.”
Laurence Vance

“In the end, ALL governments seek to maim and kill the non-compliant because obedience is the signal contribution of ANY citizen in a tax jurisdiction yesterday, today and tomorrow.”
Bill Buppert

“When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion.”
C.P. Snow

“A people incapable of leaving their neighbors alone cannot be expected to leave the world alone.”
Eric Peters

******************************************************************************

From the Darkness:

"We're within reach of strategically defeating al-Qaida."

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta

"The reason you guys [US military] are here [in Iraq] is because of 9/11. The US got attacked and 3,000 human beings got killed because of Al-Qaeda. We've been fighting as a result of that." 
 Leon Panetta, speaking to about 150 soldiers at the Camp Victory US base

"The IRS has a job to do, so I'm not going to hold it against them.”
Christian Lopez, referring to his future tax bill for accepting free season tickets from the NY Yankees

“The climate crisis knows no political boundaries. Ferocious storms and deadly heat waves are occurring with alarming frequency all over the world. We are living with the reality of the climate crisis every day. The only question is, how soon can we act?”
Al Gore, The Climate Toad, keeping his scam alive.

“It’s going to be–it’s going to feel very hard, harder than anything they’ve experienced in their lifetime now, for some time to come. And that–but that is because that is the tragic effects of a crisis this deep and this bad caused by a long period of lost opportunities to do things to make the country stronger."
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner speaking about the coming Greater Depression

“No.”
Ben Bernanke, when asked by Ron Paul if gold is money

“If you want to believe that the public debt is immoral and that taxation is theft, go right ahead and believe those things. But acting on them in a world that does not agree with you is a different matter. I can believe that driving on the left side of the road is a superior method of locomotion, but if I try it on the way in to work in the United States, I’ll be a public menace, endangering myself and my fellow citizens.”
Michael Tomasky, The Daily Beast

"We are extremely careful and cautious in identifying legitimate military targets and avoiding civilian casualties [in Libya]. And actually we have no confirmed information about NATO being responsible for civilian casualties."
NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

“It is an infringement and an abuse of our freedom of religion. And I don't agree with what's happening, because this isn't an innocent mosque. It is another example of why I believe in American laws and American courts. This is just another way to try to gradually sneak Shariah law into our laws, and I absolutely object to that."
Herman Cain, commenting on plans for an Islamic center in Murfreesboro, TN

“I am announcing today that, until an interim authority is in place, the United States will recognize the TNC [Transitional National Council (i.e., Al Qaeda)] as the legitimate governing authority for Libya.’’
Queen Hillary

"The Beckhams, and others like London mayor Boris Johnson, are very bad role models with their large families. There's no point in people trying to reduce their carbon emissions and then increasing them 100% by having another child."
Simon Ross, chief executive of the Optimum Population Trust

The Message and Myths Stay the Same….

…only the names of the evil-doers change.

The state can only successfully plunder your wealth if it can convince you that such action is not only for your benefit but necessary for your very survival. Want to stay alive and “free?” Then work hard and feed The War Machine! This piece of state propaganda was issued in 1943. Notice how the same message is preached today, though often in a more subtle and sophisticated manner.

Here Come Still More Drones

Homeland Security “officials” announced this week that a second drone (UAV) will begin flying the skies along the Texas/Mexico border “to better fight drug and immigrant traffickers along the sparsely populated border in South Texas.” In other words, it will be used to protect Texans from honest business transactions originating from south of the border and brown, sub-humans lacking proper, authorized-deeds-of-ownership-by-the-US-Empire who wish to migrate north.

Surely, these two drones will eventually grow in numbers to scores of spying monsters, eventually being armed as the death machines now operating in foreign war zones. We also can look forward to sharing our once free world with these little buggers:

According to Reuters, “The mission is to develop microaviarys (MAV’s) that can find, track and target adversaries [meaning you] while operating in complex urban environments.” Ghastly new anti-human technologies are always first used in foreign war zones to test their effectiveness and to allow time for people to be accustomed to their existence. Only then, are they turned against the Empire’s own subjects. What a wonderful future to look forward to.

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
"The only conceivable merit relating to majority rule lies in the fact that if we obtain monopoly decisions by this process, we will coerce fewer persons than if we permit the minority to coerce the majority. But implicit in all political voting is the necessity to coerce some so that all are controlled. The direction taken by the control is academic. Control as a monopoly in the hands of the state is basic."
Robert LeFevre

"From a structural, legal perspective, the ratification of the Constitution arguably represented an endorsement of some of the least libertarian ideas that were on the table at the time. Assume, for a moment, that United States military action against Libya is perfectly legal. Then what? Are we as anti-imperialists who want to see an end to murder and occupation to simply throw up our hands and concede that if it’s legal, it’s permissible?"
David S. D'Amato

"Forcing people to obey an ethical structure against their will may provide an illusion of a free society for a short while, but the force needed to make them conform is unethical. When means do not align with ends, the end will not be reached. Means are ends in progress, and so if unethical means are utilized, unethical ends will be reached. That is failure, and that is not the Voluntaryist goal."
Tzo

“When the belief in either-good-or-evil is wedded to the force and fraud inherent in politics, along with the infantile narcissism and simplistic thinking inherent in the Mob, it is no wonder politics has slaughtered more people than everything else in the world put together.”
Bob Wallace

“The law is the whim of the state and its ‘interpreters’ – and, of course, its enforcers.”
Eric Peters

“A pledge of allegiance better fits a totalitarian regime like North Korea than any nation deemed the land of the free. Those who reject the Pledge are on the side of America’s founding principles of liberty and constitutionally limited government, whether or not they know it. Those who put it on a pedestal are unwittingly embracing an alien ideology of nationalist statism.”
Anthony Gregory

“The United States is a political thing, one heir to the typical failings of politics, and the almost imperceptibly slow decay of republican virtue into nanny statism and imperial hubris.
America, however, is something different. It is not the same thing as the United States that seek to overlay it and to smother it. America is an idea that precedes the US and, we like to believe, both transcends the nation-state and will outlive it.”
Gary Gibson

“Government is the enemy of resiliency for its constituents and will always elevate the most despicable in human instincts and ennoble the worst greed of all: the sociopathic need of all politicians and their sycophants to paint humanity into a corner and kill it after impoverishing their works, minds and souls. Politicians are the core evil of a system which over time always ravages the productive and empowers the parasite and the looter to live at another’s expense. This is the system that most modern journalists embrace and champion, whether they are aware of it or not.
History is nothing more than philosophy in action.”
Bill Buppert

“We are masters of the universe as customers and as compliant as lambs when acting as citizens. And perhaps that's easy to understand. The government has a gun pointing at our heads. The merchant is trying to persuade us to part with our money in exchange for goods and services. One won't take no for an answer; the other sees no as just part of daily life.”
Jeffrey Tucker

“Regrettably, America has largely ceased to exist, having been replaced by the United States.”
Doug Casey

*********************************************************************

From the Darkness:

"You raised your right hand and said 'Send me,' and today you raised your right hand again and said 'Send me again, if needed.' I cannot say how impressive your action is. It is the most meaningful display of patriotism possible."

Gen. David Petraeus, speaking to American military slaves during a re-enlistment ceremony in Afghanistan

“We praise our Founders annually for revolting against royal rule and for creating an exceptionally durable system of self-government. We can wreck that system if we forget our Founders' purpose of creating a representative form of national authority robust enough to secure the public good."
E. J. Dionne

“Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands and protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.”
From Texas Conservative Digest

"….The project of reversing the Great Society, the New Deal and progressive reform is not ideological purity; it is socially disruptive radicalism."
Michael Gerson, Washington Post

To Refuse is to Resist

In the post, “To Petition is to Beg” I pointed out the futility of political action in the cause to end war. My example given was the petition effort by Veterans for Peace to impeach Emperor Obama for his illegal actions. VFP has another weapon in their arsenal which I see as far more useful and the type of approach that can ultimately end the obscenity of mass, state sponsored war. This program is Truth in Recruitment/Alternatives to Military. Veterans speak to young people about the truth of military recruiting and offer alternatives to military service as a career path.

I can scream all I want to young people to dissuade them to not join the military and help them purge any reverence or respect they may have for this institution. I can explain to them how the military has nothing to do with “defending” anyone (except the ruling regime) and is instead a tool of US imperialism. I can point out how if they join this institution, they will not be “fighting for their country” but killing to satisfy the demonic, self-serving goals of ruling oligarchs and predatory world banksters.

However, that message is much more effective when the testimony comes from someone who was once enslaved and now has the wisdom and courage to speak out against such a decision. Not having been previously enslaved (one of the few correct decisions made as a young man) my opinions would ring hollow and weak to those already hell bent on “serving.”

Such testimony could plant enough seeds of doubt in young minds to give them pause. Shattering the myths they have been indoctrinated with since birth may just convince them to redirect their futures elsewhere.
War cannot occur without willing participants. Tyrants without armies are impotent. With no willing, obedient slaves to carry out the mission of war, power mad tyrants (politicians) become isolated and exposed for the babbling, authoritarian despots they are.

War will continue as long as someone is deranged and/or brainwashed enough to feel an obligation to obey orders to execute such action. Remember, the politicians only give the orders to commit acts of war. The military does the actual damage.

Too many individuals are still lost in the paradigm of reverence and respect for the military as an institution. Until that critical element changes, the killing will continue. Until military supporters are marginalized and ostracized to the outskirts of civilized society (where they belong) the carnage will continue. Until people associated with and supporting of the military learn to think as empathetic human beings rather than loyal, faithful, nationalistic subjects, the destruction will continue. As long as people maintain an allegiance to a criminal state and its obedient, standing armies, the murder will continue.

The 'Terror' is Fake, the Cage is Real

“The manufactured plot would have been a colossal attack, if carried out. The fact that is was fake doesn’t matter.”

Quotes of the Week

From the Light:
“Many people still think it is OK to join together to make up rules for other people to obey, or to impose ‘taxes’ for them to pay. This, unfortunately, makes it necessary for the rest of us, if we care about paying and obeying, to sometimes band together to try to stop the rules from changing so that we don’t become criminals or to prevent having more of our life, liberty, and property stolen from us in the name of ‘the common good.’ It is politics in self defense and it is a tragic waste.”
Kent McManigal

“To make sense of drones, we probably have to stop thinking about 'war' and start envisaging other models — for example, that of the executioner who carries out a death sentence on another human being at no danger to himself. If a pilotless drone is actually an executioner’s weapon, a modern airborne version of the guillotine, the hangman’s noose, or the electric chair, the death sentence it carries with it is not decreed by a judge and certainly not by a jury of peers.
It’s assembled by intelligence agents based on fragmentary (and often self-interested) evidence, organized by targeteers, and given the thumbs-up sign by military or CIA lawyers. All of them are scores, hundreds, thousands of miles away from their victims, people they don’t know, and may not faintly understand or share a culture with. In addition, the capital offenses are often not established, still to be carried out, never to be carried out, or nonexistent. The fact that drones, despite their ‘precision’ weaponry, regularly take out innocent civilians as well as prospective or actual terrorists reminds us that, if this is our model, Washington is a drunken executioner.”
Tom Engelhardt

“Just as the War on Terror, with its prying military imperialism, functions to galvanize potential terrorists, the War on Drugs makes cocaine and marijuana, for example, far more expensive than they would otherwise be. The result is to hand a quasi-monopoly to networks of murderous thugs who want nothing more than an ironclad legal framework for prohibition, stringent drug laws to consolidate profits in a few cartels.”
David S. D'Amato

“It is bemusing that people believe their freedom is dependent upon certain other people whom they've never met—and never will meet—solemnly navigating their way through sets of sanctified procedures in a building built by slaves located as many as a few thousand miles away from them.

Dancing around the volcano, the legislative priests—if they get all their steps correct—can channel superhuman power and ethically bind their subjects to whatever commandments they invoke. Perhaps they may deign to give the people a bit of their innate freedom back? The populace cowers and hopes. Some even take action and vote—the offering of slaughtered chickens to appease the legislative clerics so that they may look down favorably upon, and not be overly harsh with, their charges.”
Tzo

“Battles such as between the U.S. and Qaddafi are 'all in the family.' They are not the battles mythically depicted as a sharply-defined struggle of freedom vs. dictatorship. They are battles between two unclean ruling clans, neither of which has clean hands."
Michael S. Rozeff

“If we have a government, it will be human beings who will be hired to restrain the evil in others. Who are these persons who will be hired, either by popularity contests or by direct application? They will be just as human and as much disposed toward evil as those to be restrained.
If people are capable of committing evil deeds, then the people occupying the offices of government will be cut from the same cloth. They are evildoers, too. There is not a single shred of evidence that they will be otherwise.”
Robert LeFevre

“Almost any kind of legislative knavery can be justified in most people's minds if it's ‘for the children.’ Involving the state to defend the children makes about as much sense as involving a particularly stupid and unpredictable Tyrannosaurus rex to defend the children. It's a sign of how degraded our culture has become that people look to an instrument of institutionalized coercion as the first solution to any problem. People's private lives should be their private business.”
Doug Casey

"When it comes to forcing others to do what you want, the ballot box is just an indirect form of the cartridge box."
Louis James, International Speculator

“Zealots and policymakers alike need to shift away from any obsession with the concept of a Holy Land and recognize that thousands of years of worshiping real estate has only produced several millenniums of war and shameful bloodshed. If there remains any constituency for peace, then the angels of humanity’s better nature – charity, tolerance, and simple decency – must supersede the religious triumphalism that seems to be too much in evidence today.”
Walter Rodgers

“There is nothing left of the American character. Only a people who have lost their soul could tolerate the evil that emanates from Washington.”
Paul Craig Roberts

“The army is nothing more than a factory which trains once-ordinary people that it is okay for them to kill people.”
Jaime Poole

“Where this individual [Obama] was born pales to almost total insignificance, in fact, when contrasted against from whence he allegedly derives his authority? This is to say, where is the individually signed and consented to contract that supposedly allows him to control and wage war on the lives, liberty, and property of 305 million or so Americans . . . much less those of people overseas who are having an ever-increasing series of wars and police actions waged against them? Who explicitly consented to this obscene arrangement? Any takers?”
Alex R. Knight III

“The Fourth is certainly a day to celebrate the Declaration of Independence but the flag waving and celebration of patriotic gore both here and abroad is, in truth, a macabre glorification and salute to  the Gulag State. America is no longer the land of the free and home of the brave, it is instead the land of the caged and home of the collaborator. Most Americans not only are scared witless of liberty and freedom but endlessly cheer-lead the depredations of the state on their neighbors through taxation, regulation and the maintenance of a ferocious police state.”
Bill Buppert

****************************************************************************

From the Darkness:

“The TSA works with passengers to resolve any security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner.”

Sari Koshetz, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Miami, responding to reports of a 95 year old woman in a wheelchair forced to remove an adult diaper in order to complete a pat-down search

"Hope Baptist [Church of Toledo, OH] has always emphasized the importance of patriotism and an appreciation for those who have given so much to defend our liberty. Their willingness to sacrifice for American values is in perfect alignment with Biblical teachings. The World War II veterans gave us the freedoms that we have enjoyed for the past sixty-five years.”
Pastor Rick Sowell

"Last week, President Obama, such great news, he delivered on 500 million dollars for innovative early learning programs. I was proud to fight for this funding with Save the Children alongside our allies like the First Five Fund, It’s a fabulous accomplishment but it’s only a down payment. It’s still not enough to ensure that every toddler is prepared for a lifetime of success; that’s why all of this – the passage of this bill is so important.”
Actress Jennifer Garner, pleading for The Emperor to steal and borrow even more

“We're going to see an escalation of conflict in the area [of Syria]”
Queen Hillary, looking for more bloodletting

"Marijuana use and distribution is prohibited under federal law because it has a high potential for abuse and does not have an accepted medical use in the U.S. Decriminalizing marijuana will only lead to millions more Americans becoming addicted to drugs and greater profits for drug cartels who fund violence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Allowing states to determine their own marijuana policy flies in the face of Supreme Court precedent."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, objecting to a bill introduced by Ron Paul and Barney Frank to remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances while allowing states to decide how they will regulate it.

"What is wrong, is for the Republican Party to shrink from the challenges of American leadership in the world. History repeatedly warns us that in the long run, weakness in foreign policy costs us and our children much more than we'll save in a budget line item."
Tim Pawlenty

“The Fed's intervention is not driving food and energy prices. Moreover, the current levels of inflation are not nearly approaching levels where U.S. dollars will soon be worthless. To be sure, prices had been rising, but Americans aren't going to be pushing around wheelbarrows of dollars anytime soon to purchase a quart of milk.”
Daniel Indiviglio, The Atlantic

“I don’t even have to get to the Constitutional question.”
B. Obama, reacting to Congress’ criticism of his illegal war in Libya

"As an American citizen and governor of one of its largest states, I write to applaud your recent efforts to warn and discourage those who have supported or plan to support a flotilla intended to interfere with Israel's maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip. I write to encourage you to aggressively pursue all available legal remedies to enjoin and prevent these illegal actions, and to prosecute any who may elect to engage in them in spite of your preemptive efforts."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder [He’s not even president yet, and he’s already looking to shed blood.]
"We need an honest debate on how much is needed to preserve our security, but let me say this -- we can only substantially cut these programs at our nation's peril."
Senator Daniel Inouye, voicing his own concerns about defense cuts [The “nation” will do just fine. Only the war whore’s bottom line might be at “peril.”]

Need a Reason to Hate Cops?

Watch this video and your quest will be satisifed.  This event apparently occurred three years ago but I don't rcall hearing about it until now.  But before you feel the rage, you will be left speechless:

DVD Reviews

Crosby, Stills and Nash- Daylight Again:
This concert, recorded in 1982, shows the trio in fine, energetic form before the ravages of age and excess took their inevitable toll. Some excellent arrangements of many of their classic tunes, including a masterful performance of “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” which has to be a very difficult song to perform live.
Recommended

Quills:
Geoffrey Rush is perfectly cast as the Marquis de Sade, a man who literally couldn’t survive if denied the opportunity to write his provocative prose, considered obscene at the time, and which landed him in an insane asylum. The superb supporting cast is complemented by one of the best screenplays I’ve seen in quite a while.
Recommended

Burma VJ:
This documentary show videos, with supporting narration, shot by Burmese journalists risking their lives documenting the Burmese military’s oppression within their country. At the time these videos were shot, all outside media was banned from the country and these journalists bravely filmed rallies and protests and smuggled the videos out of the country.
Recommended

Classic Albums- The Doors:
Another fine disc in this series looks at the making of the Door’s debut album, a groundbreaking masterpiece. Interviews with surviving band members reveals how fortunate writer/vocalist Jim Morrison was to team with up with the perfect musicians to complement his poetry. It also exposes Ray Manzarek as not only a brilliant, keyboardist, but also an outstanding story teller.
Recommended

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: London Calling- Live in Hyde Park:
This 2009 concert disc finds The Boss at age 60 continuing to wow audiences. Springsteen can still put himself totally into every number performed, though he now may get a little fatigued at times. He makes up for it by being a mature, masterful entertainer in complete control of his audience. Every track on this disc is wonderful, but it’s worth viewing just to listen to Nils Lofgren’s soaring guitar solo on “Youngstown.”
Recommended

Muddy Waters- Can’t Be Satisfied:
This hour long documentary covers the life of the Godfather of the Blues- particularly, electric blues. Many interviews with family members, band mates, and music journalists tell the story of one of the premier blues influences on the next generation’s rock and roll bands.
Recommended

True Grit:
You can count on the Coen Brothers to create an entertaining remake of the classic 1960’s film. As with most all their films you will enjoy memorable, well defined characters and salty, witty dialogue.
Recommended


The Other Guys:
Any time I see that a comedy is two hours long, I don’t hold out much hope that it will be funny from beginning to end. That’s just too long a time to sustain a comedic edge for most stories. That includes this film, done in the absurd vein of comedy. A few good laughs but not enough of them throughout to keep you satisfied. This movie is a cop/buddy story but that requires a natural chemistry between the two actors. That chemistry just doesn’t seem to be there between Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlburg.
Not recommended

Evelyn:
This 2002 drama, based on a true story, stars Pierce Brosnan in the lead role. Brosnan is an unemployed father in 1950’s Ireland, who loses his children to the state/church monolith after his wife abandons the family. With help from sympathetic attorneys, he fights this tyranny against seemingly overwhelming odds. A wonderful, inspiring, well written story that should be viewed by all.
Recommended

American- The Bill Hicks Story:
A worthwhile documentary about the trailblazing comedian whose life was cut short by cancer. The film includes lots of interviews with his supportive family and large stable of comedian friends who knew him best. Looking back on his commentary about life in the world during that time, you can see he was spot on in his analysis. It’s a shame he isn’t around now to expose the absurdities of today's world.
Recommended

Front Line- Black Money:
This 2009 Frontline programs looks at bribery among international corporations and the government they do business with. Several different viewpoints are presented but all miss the fact that states exist to benefit the few at the expense of the many and bribery is just one of the tools to accomplish this.
Recommended

Bruce Springsteen- Live in Dublin:
This is a collection of several performances recorded in 2006. Instead of backing by the E Street Band, Springsteen is accompanied by a large collection of wonderful musicians called The Sessions Band which includes a dynamite horn section. The music is in the Americana vein of country, folk, Dixieland jazz and gospel. Tunes include several traditional numbers as well as rearrangements of Springsteen songs. All in all, a very delightful performance.
Recommended

The Company Men:
This drama follows several different characters after they lose their longtime professional careers after a corporate downsizing. Each character takes a different path in dealing with the disappointment and resulting difficulties.
Recommended

Mao’s Last Dancer:
This is based on a the true story of Li Cunxin who, during the 1970’s and 80’s, developed into one of China’s greatest ballet dancers. He then travels to the US where he eventually defects. A very passionate story that will have you teary eyed by the end of it.
Recommended

Wartorn- 1861-2010:
This HBO documentary looks at the history of battle fatigue and PTSD throughout the history of the United States' numerous wars. The subject matter is depressing but the individual stories told are riveting and informative. What’s depressing is the panel discussion where military bureaucrats brag about all the wonderful new ideas and programs they have in mind to treat and even prevent this aliment. Nowhere do you hear the truth that fighting wars is not natural for the human organism and a more rational approach is to simply stop participating.
Recommended