Saturday, September 12, 2009
New photos soon!
Photos from Flying Patriot just minutes away. Check back. They're going to be good!
First-hand on-the-ground view of 912 Tea party
9-12-09
by the Flying Patriot
We arrived in Ft. Worth this morning for the 9/12 rally with great expectations and enthusiasm, we quickly realized we had underestimated the weather... it was a steady rain with lingering bursts of high winds and heavier rains. As we approached the event site we realized we had underestimated something else... the human spirit and the depth of patriotism in our fellow Texans. As we rounded the corner where the TV vans were setting up and news crews were frantically trying to keep rain off of equipment we were met by several thousand fellow ralliers. The brightly colored umbrellas seemed to stand out the most, some wore ponchos, while some had nothing at all to protect them from the rain and all of them with signs. Some signs were covered in clear plastic bags taped at the bottom, some were hand written but laminated and others were already beginning to give way to the elements. Even through rain drops and running paint, the message was clear... they were all here today to be heard, to be a voice against big Government and to fight for our Constitutional freedoms and rights.
Two hours before the march through downtown Ft. Worth was going to begin the energy around the Ft. Worth Convention Center was electric. As I walked around taking photos of the ever increasing numbers of soggy ralliers I was struck by one thing... true hope. I gazed upon the faces in the crowd, all ages, all races and all smiling, all encouraged by what they were seeing. I don't think any of us came today with an expectation of a crowd this size and this joyful. Every where I looked there were people laughing, engaging perfect strangers in conversations about the Constitution. Some were telling stories of a past Tea Party or revealing that this was their first ever protest at the ripe age of 77 years young. I myself have never attended an event of this size and was ill prepared physically for all the walking and emotionally for the raw patriotism that I encountered. I have often mused over the past few days in the build up to 9/12 that I wish I could have been in DC, I am now glad that I wasn't. My place was here today, with my fellow Texans and heartfelt patriots.
The crowd was as diverse at it was large. There was a group of naturalized citizens that had come from Cuba. Their signs read "I didn't escape Cuba to again find Marxism". There was a group called "Latinos for Liberty" that were handing out pocket Constitutions to anyone who would take one. I saw many Veterans from both Vietnam and Korea and one from WWII whose sign read "I have fought for this nations Freedom before and I will fight again now if I have to", the back side read "Don't make come out of this walker Obama!!" I have attended numerous Tea Parties and several Town hall meetings over the past few months and I continue to see the same thing... diversity. There were children of all ages with signs, teenagers, twenty somethings, thirty somethings with small children, grandparents, great-grandparents and all of them Patriots. All of them with a feeling deep in their hearts that they must stand up now before it is to late. Ronald Reagan said "Freedom is always only one generation away from extinction" and that fear resonated with this crowd today. One Vietnam Veteran held up a sign that read "Socialism? NOT ON MY WATCH".
As the march kicked off with Judge Andrew Napolitano leading the charge in a horse drawn carriage, it is Texas after all, we got under way. Through the blowing horns you could hear chants of "USA! USA!" or a group would pass by singing "The Eyes of Texas are upon You" or "God Bless America". As the people moved down the main streets of Ft. Worth, an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 people, it seemed there was no end as the beginning of the march was reaching the event site while the end of the line still wasn't past the starting point. That's 12 blocks and a full street width worth of people wide, 3/4 of a mile to be exact (TX exact ;) ). All were holding flags, carrying signs, waving and smiling. Such an "Angry Mob"and one I would like to spend more time with any day!
Once the march had ended the real program began, the National Anthem was sung so perfectly by a young woman that literally brought the house down with her voice and delivery. A local Pastor spoke and gave a moving speech, a few local politicians spoke as well, Judge Napolitano was up next and gave an igniting speech about Freedom, Liberty and what it means to be an American and the 9 principles and 12 values that are the 9/12 movement. I must note that while some left after the march, there were twice as many coming in for the actual rally itself at 3pm. Our numbers continued to increase as the day went on, not decrease.
Attending this event today has changed me. I have never served in the military though many in my family have and many have served their local communities as law enforcement officers, Constables, Mayors and Politicians. Growing up in a political family left me a bit jaded. I can bear witness today that either being hopeful or being jaded is a CHOICE. We as Americans have a choice everyday, we determine how our voices will be heard and how loud they will be. So many today when I asked them if they were a Republican or a Democrat answered me simply with "I'm an American". We are American's, we have a choice in how our country is run and who runs it. The men, women and children that braved the rain and wind today to send a message to Congress and everyone else in America chose to speak up, to stand up and to be heard. This movement, once a mere spark, is now a glowing ember of patriotism and a continued fight for freedom in this country.
It will not end here, this is only the beginning, America.
More photos from our friends at the DC 912 March
Parks and Recreation in DC gave a low estimate of 1.2 million people.
These photos from our friends at saveourcountrynow.net
Crowd figures for DC tea party
Redstate.com is reporting a final figure of two million people at the DC Tea Party. This estimate is close to an estimate received by folks on the ground earlier today, who were speaking to the DC police. That estimate was 1.5 million. CNN and ABC reported two million as well.
First pic of 912 demonstration
Our first hazy pic of the day in DC. Better stuff coming soon from others.
Picture by saveourcountrynow.net
Flying Patriot update on 912 event will be up soon
Our friend, The Flying Patriot was out there at the 912 event today, climbing around with cast on foot, getting us the good pictures. Some of those will be coming to us later tonight. Right now, they are putting some special thoughts down on paper for us to read. I'll have those for you very soon.
Nicest crowd ever according to DC police
Our folks on the ground have spoken to the DC police. They've been told this is the nicest, most decent crowd they have ever had. Pictures will be coming soon, hopefully to the Jolly Rogers!
Another update
DC police are estimating that there are more people at the 912 gathering in Washington than were there for Barrack Obama's inauguration -
So where is Obama today?
So where is Obama today?
Two gutsy politicians
Jim Demint (R) South Carolina, and Mike Pence (R) Indiana, are out there on the Capital mall. At least two congressmen with some guts - where are the rest?
More 912 tea party update
It's about a mile out to the monument on the Mall, and the crowd is now stretching beyond that, it seems like 1.5 million to 2 million people may be on the grounds now. One sign reads "Can you hear us now?"
Where's Obama?
Where's any significant member of the government?
Will they still make the mistake and ignore even this?
Any President worth his salt would be out there to make some statements - anyone else with guts would meet this movement head on and get behind it.
I predict they will do neither. And that alone highlights their need for removal from office. They are gutless and careless and now useless.
Where's Obama?
Where's any significant member of the government?
Will they still make the mistake and ignore even this?
Any President worth his salt would be out there to make some statements - anyone else with guts would meet this movement head on and get behind it.
I predict they will do neither. And that alone highlights their need for removal from office. They are gutless and careless and now useless.
The 912 march has begun!
We have 1.5 million people in the streets in Washington DC. Hundreds of thousands are currently gathering together out there - the full force is not year there, but they're coming! Our stringers from saveourcountry.com are currently standing in the Mall trying to hear the speakers and performers, but there are so many people, there. They report that they are in front of the Capital building.
450 tour buses are on their way to the event!
The members of the group we spoke to are excited. They've already done their march and are meandering around the packed mall area.
We will hopefully have more updates coming in.
450 tour buses are on their way to the event!
The members of the group we spoke to are excited. They've already done their march and are meandering around the packed mall area.
We will hopefully have more updates coming in.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Special reports to be published tomorrow
The Jolly Rogers will be your source for on-the-ground coverage of the 912 event in DC tomorrow. All day we'll be publishing updates from the "Flying Patriot." And if we're lucky, maybe a few more. Let no one have any doubt - tomorrow is the beginning of a new era for our Republic. We will take our country back!
Tomorrow we are all coming home!
Tomorrow we are all coming home!
The 911 memorial print.
This is a special lithograph of a painting and piece of poetry I did the week following the 911 attacks. Recently I pulled it out and added a new element to it - all the names of the dead, listed in the background. If you would like a copy of the print, contact me. It won't cost you much. These are all museum-quality, archival prints - poster-sized. They won't fade or discolor for more than 70 years.
I did the piece of poetry immediately after finishing the painting. I do all my poetry that way - and then change nothing. This is the only piece of art i have ever gone back to and added material - in this case, the names of the dead. Adding the names last month brought all the feelings of that terrible time back to me. It was very hard to work on this painting the second time around.
-dave
Blackstarfish@cableone.net
------------------Dreams and Loss----------------
Written years ago -
by Dave Rogers..........................................................
I was asleep when the Shuttle Columbia returned to Earth as a falling star.
I was asleep when the World Trade Center took thousands to the next world.
Although I was dreaming during those times, the real nightmares were making themselves known in the world. It's funny how dreams can change things; change our perspective - change how we live and where we live.
It was because of warped dreams that the terrorists became who they were - and probably due to those dreams, they boarded those planes and set out to kill.
It was certainly because of dreams that there was a space shuttle. Someone fueled by Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers - and maybe even Star Trek, birthed the plans for that vehicle, and a nation followed that dream into space.
The crew of the Columbia felt the pull of that dream, and answered the lonely call of the cosmos. Perhaps we all answer that same call on a multitude of different levels. We all, after all, dream.
Some days though, I can't reach that understanding.
It slips through my fingers like sand. I stare up at it uncomprehending, like an ant would view algebra equations in some musty Ivy-League classroom - on some chalk-smudged blackboard.
On those days, I wish I could be that ant - simply and quietly carrying out tiny ant chores. Following some invisible trails to mundane locations.
Mostly, though, I only share the questions the ant likely has - who am I? where are we going? What is this place? How far do we have yet to travel? What is the goal - the purpose - of it all?
Sometimes, when I paint, I know these answers.
Sometimes I can feel the beauty that's out there - the very call of that impossible cosmos.
Dreams twist their fingers through the fine hair of the night and leave behind images of other places and other times. The images push at the back of my mind; a grainy pressure like the press of a massive stone. They require light. They call for ink and paper.
So I paint.
There was once someone who was a soldier, a protector, a writer - a teacher.
These identities melted and blended into some kind of modern day lost soul.
I paint.
But I wish I could be Lord Byron - my prose absorbing everything, leaving behind either truth or madness. I long to be those Shuttle astronauts - seeing at least for a moment, the great full disk of the Earth - the endless sea of stars.
I wish I could be a soldier again - a man with purpose; with the truth of duty; with the orders to hunt - to take terrible vengeance on those who worked to destroy the trade center - who helped craft the dreams which guided the acts of killers that September day.
But I am just an artist. Everything else has boiled away - burned and blown - lost like Autumn leaves of some long ago year.
I have also been a father - but more in name than in purpose. I would like to have understood the way of the parent better - more completely. But like many of us, I just spent my time guessing. Too often making the wrong calls.
Now I will stop using the word "I."
Today there was a man who came to talk to us.
He has become a replacement for an exceptional administrator to a loose organization of state offices. The old administrator was released by the new governor.
Today's visitor was very impressed with himself. He wore his new office like a rookie police officer displays his badge - cleanly and perfectly; as if he'd spent the morning polishing it and was trying to work out how he was going to arrange it on his shirt.
His talk was laced with so many lies, it was obvious he'd long ago parted with truth and lost it in the mists blanketing the sea of politics.
He strutted and posed and preened like some kind of fancy parrot and used examples and analogies as if he was speaking to a roomful of drugged-up psych-ward patients - or a group of very clever circus dogs.
It was obvious he didn't care about anyone but himself. He was a person of questionable character.
This man came to fire the current director - but also to soften the blow with the people he saw as simple circus dogs. Inconsequential animals that run back and forth, and bark pointlessly at the moon hanging in the sky just outside the walls of their facility.
Questions were asked of him and he pulled out the ignorance card, not realizing, like some unwitting magician, the whole deck he carried was chock-full of the same card.
There are people like this everywhere. Starched shirts smelling of cologne or expensive perfume; cufflinks glinting, they stalk the earth, flashing teeth in seamless, simulated smiles. The same words droning on in the same tones; their assurances are as empty as their hearts. They are automatons who've forgotten to cloak themselves in human skin before stepping out from beneath their rock into the sunlight of the world.
You're certain upon meeting one of these that their glossy, lintless appearance is camouflage for what's beneath - some kind of twisted, greasy, clutching thing, holding to the shadows, grinning malevolently as it sucks the eyes out of hapless humans it has caught in hidden, sticky, medieval traps.
There's a black hole in the universe of morality. It's intense, heated gravity tugs at our sleeves, pulls at our pant-legs and tries constantly to turn us to the heart of darkness. But it is no Darth Vader - nothing so focused or concrete. It makes its home in the lack of commitment. It thrives in the empty world of meetings and studies and planning. It reaches out to us from the darkened corners of boardrooms and paper-choked offices. It feeds on honesty and integrity. It bleeds despair and frustration. It builds nothing and seeks to devour everything.
It cannot be fought or held at bay - except through compassion.
Only empathy can resist the pull of this terrible singularity. If we breathe, if we live, if we strive for kindness and understanding, the great and terrible power of this thing is undone.
If we lose compassion, we are turned down different paths - some not so well lighted; some lit brightly with the flaming ruins of civilizations, of communities, of sad, lost individuals turned to empty husks, good for nothing more than the flames.
These creatures are a step away from crashing airplanes into buildings. They only need direction and commitment to leap from the ranks of humans to the legions of devils we are certain, as children, live in the closets of our bedrooms at night.
I believe every living thing dreams, because I meet them all when the Sandman comes to sit by my bedside. And if all these wonderful living, breathing, moving masses can dream, then how much compassion can there be in the world?
How much understanding?
How much acceptance?
How much love?
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Still the shining city
The other day caused me to think about Cleo.
Cleo – who’s last name I won’t use here – was an amazing young woman in the Air Force Security Police. She once took down nearly seven teams of aggressors – by herself during training in a Ground Launched Nuclear Cruise Missile System exercise at RAF Greenham Common, which used to be located outside of Newbury, Berkshire, in the U.K.
Greenham is gone – as is the 501st Tactical Missile Wing - as I think, is Cleo. The system was traded, slated for destruction and finally dismantled so that the Russians would in-turn destroy their SS-20 missile system. Cleo was seriously injured in an accident on the British M-4 roadway. One day she was there with us - the next she was gone.
Cleo and all the folks like her, were just military people caught in the big political shell game that was being played at the time – a shell game we as a society basically won due to the actions of President Ronald Reagan.
But we were part of something special. There were moments when I could feel history flowing around me. When I was called out for field exercises, I operated usually as a Listening Post / Observation Post (LPOP). I was good in that role. Basically camouflage, watch, listen and report back in on suspicious movement.
I know. It doesn’t sound hard, but try remaining completely still, perfectly concealed and totally alert for 14 hours in freezing British winter temperatures, then get back to me on how that worked out for you. It was OK, though, because on the other end of that field phone, was Cleo. When things really sucked, you knew she would be there – on the line.
Throughout my time in, there were a lot of folks who had my back, like Cleo. I think about the many great officers and enlisted guys I worked both for and with, during 1992-1993 in Somalia. I remember it all. And I remember what it was for. I remember why we were sent there – a humanitarian mission to feed the starving people of that country. I still could feel the tide of history, even then.
And I remember a September 10 not unlike this one, where, I went to sleep and was awoken the following morning by my young daughter telling me a plane had hit a building in New York. I was thinking Cessna – but when I saw the pictures on the TV, I knew history had always been flowing around me, and had now taken a darker turn.
I look back on each September 11 with the same feeling, but I am not the man I was when I wore the uniform – and I would give so much to be able to wear it again. Now, other young men and women, like those of my memories, are joining and going to the hard places. They are going on your behalf and mine – because we won’t or can’t.
History passed me by. It’s waters I haven’t felt for a very long time.
And today our young people leap into the current to protect us from a repeat performance of that September 11 of so long ago. They sacrifice the chance to be with their families and see their kids born or grow up – they are injured and maimed and killed on our behalf; to protect our way of life. To give you and yours a fighting chance to grow up in a country where freedom and opportunity comes before everything.
And the best we have to offer to their future and the future of their children is massive inflation, unemployment, and a government, which, like a malignant tumor is growing into every facet of day-to-day life? We would give them this?
But this year is different. September 12 this year marks the beginning of a political movement to take the country back. I call it the beginning, because this morning I felt the tug of history – faint, but there. It was the same feeling I had watching Reagan say "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall," on a TV in the dining hall at RAF Greenham Common. We can all still make a difference. We can do it for all the Cleos who are out there – our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, who despite what the administration says, are still fighting a war on terrorism.
And who want to come home – to the shining city on the hill.
Reagan said what follows, at the end of the "city on the hill" speech; and if we want it to be, it can be still true today. But we must truly want it, and work for it, and believe. We must care enough and fight enough and not set aside our responsibilities to our younger generations:
“We are not a sick society. A sick society could not produce the men that set foot on the moon, or who are now circling the earth above us... A sick society bereft of morality and courage did not produce the men who went through those years of torture and captivity in Vietnam. Where did we find such men? They are typical of this land as the Founding Fathers were typical. We found them in our streets, in the offices, the shops and the working places of our country and on the farms.
“We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall of Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, “The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America, God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.”
“We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.”
Cleo – who’s last name I won’t use here – was an amazing young woman in the Air Force Security Police. She once took down nearly seven teams of aggressors – by herself during training in a Ground Launched Nuclear Cruise Missile System exercise at RAF Greenham Common, which used to be located outside of Newbury, Berkshire, in the U.K.
Greenham is gone – as is the 501st Tactical Missile Wing - as I think, is Cleo. The system was traded, slated for destruction and finally dismantled so that the Russians would in-turn destroy their SS-20 missile system. Cleo was seriously injured in an accident on the British M-4 roadway. One day she was there with us - the next she was gone.
Cleo and all the folks like her, were just military people caught in the big political shell game that was being played at the time – a shell game we as a society basically won due to the actions of President Ronald Reagan.
But we were part of something special. There were moments when I could feel history flowing around me. When I was called out for field exercises, I operated usually as a Listening Post / Observation Post (LPOP). I was good in that role. Basically camouflage, watch, listen and report back in on suspicious movement.
I know. It doesn’t sound hard, but try remaining completely still, perfectly concealed and totally alert for 14 hours in freezing British winter temperatures, then get back to me on how that worked out for you. It was OK, though, because on the other end of that field phone, was Cleo. When things really sucked, you knew she would be there – on the line.
Throughout my time in, there were a lot of folks who had my back, like Cleo. I think about the many great officers and enlisted guys I worked both for and with, during 1992-1993 in Somalia. I remember it all. And I remember what it was for. I remember why we were sent there – a humanitarian mission to feed the starving people of that country. I still could feel the tide of history, even then.
And I remember a September 10 not unlike this one, where, I went to sleep and was awoken the following morning by my young daughter telling me a plane had hit a building in New York. I was thinking Cessna – but when I saw the pictures on the TV, I knew history had always been flowing around me, and had now taken a darker turn.
I look back on each September 11 with the same feeling, but I am not the man I was when I wore the uniform – and I would give so much to be able to wear it again. Now, other young men and women, like those of my memories, are joining and going to the hard places. They are going on your behalf and mine – because we won’t or can’t.
History passed me by. It’s waters I haven’t felt for a very long time.
And today our young people leap into the current to protect us from a repeat performance of that September 11 of so long ago. They sacrifice the chance to be with their families and see their kids born or grow up – they are injured and maimed and killed on our behalf; to protect our way of life. To give you and yours a fighting chance to grow up in a country where freedom and opportunity comes before everything.
And the best we have to offer to their future and the future of their children is massive inflation, unemployment, and a government, which, like a malignant tumor is growing into every facet of day-to-day life? We would give them this?
But this year is different. September 12 this year marks the beginning of a political movement to take the country back. I call it the beginning, because this morning I felt the tug of history – faint, but there. It was the same feeling I had watching Reagan say "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall," on a TV in the dining hall at RAF Greenham Common. We can all still make a difference. We can do it for all the Cleos who are out there – our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, who despite what the administration says, are still fighting a war on terrorism.
And who want to come home – to the shining city on the hill.
Reagan said what follows, at the end of the "city on the hill" speech; and if we want it to be, it can be still true today. But we must truly want it, and work for it, and believe. We must care enough and fight enough and not set aside our responsibilities to our younger generations:
“We are not a sick society. A sick society could not produce the men that set foot on the moon, or who are now circling the earth above us... A sick society bereft of morality and courage did not produce the men who went through those years of torture and captivity in Vietnam. Where did we find such men? They are typical of this land as the Founding Fathers were typical. We found them in our streets, in the offices, the shops and the working places of our country and on the farms.
“We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall of Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, “The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America, God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.”
“We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.”
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Clarity
How many times can you say the word clear?
For Barrack Obama – that number is not yet clear. But we here at the Jolly Rogers newsroom are trying to keep ahead of it all, because we know good propaganda when we see it. This subject is a dark one, though. It squats in the hidden places and avoids the light, because it is itself made of shadow.
It is the world of PR and marketing and it is never more perfectly outlined than in the choice of specific words. So we looked at the words - a lot of words.
In preparation for the President’s speech to Congress and the American people, to ostensibly argue for the massive health care reform bill, we went through 200 Barrack Obama speeches to try to get a glimpse of what exactly is being sold to the American public. Here is what we found:
229 uses of the word clear – sometimes as much as ten times in one speech.
31 times he was talking about transparency.
71 uses of the word, honest – almost exactly one use in each speech it appeared.
137 times using the word “open,” albeit, those were not all instances where “honest” and “transparent” were in the same sentence.
159 times he used the word fundamental or fundamentally.
But the prize goes to the concept of “opportunity.” That word Obama has now used more than 291 times.
Oddly, the word socialist or socialism has only been used 14 times – mostly during the campaign and always paired in the same sentence as his opponent’s name.
So what is real – and what isn’t – especially in-light of the upcoming speech? Kathleen Sebelius recent audio preview of Obama’s “case for what is at stake for the American people,” uses some interesting phrases.
For example, according to Sebelius, Obama will “provide a CLEAR direction for what a true reform plan is: A plan that will bring stability and security to Americans...he’ll discuss what health insurance reform means and what it doesn’t mean – for all Americans.”
Essentially dear reader, we are about to be educated. So, knowing this, the Jolly Rogers went to the educators and looked at what was out there on the use of words in forming both choice and decision.
A paper writen by James W. Pennebaker, Matthias R. Miehl and Kate G. Niederhoffer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas, outlined how particles (parts of speech that include pronouns, articles, prepositions, conjunctives and auxiliary verbs) can serve as markers of emotional state, social identity and cognitive style.
According to Pennebaker, Miehl and Niederhoffer, people’s use of words can hint at motives and are diagnostic of their mental, social and even physical state. Sigmund Freud, the famous psychologist in 1901 also talked of this concept in the terms of parapraxes (slips of the tongue). To Freud, common errors in speech betray people’s deeper motives or fears.
To the UT trio of researchers, however, specific word use can be just as telling.
“The words a person uses clearly have an impact on the listener or reader,” they wrote. “Just as the words people choose when talking or writing may betray their thoughts and feelings, those words may be processed at a low or unconscious level by the listener or reader...the presumed power of the media or of great speakers or writers may ultimately reside as much in how they use words as in what they say.”
You see, dear reader, words can be more than they seem. In September of 2007 an article detailing research conducted by Nobel laureate and Princeton University psychologist Daniel Kahneman, and his collaborator, Psychologist Amos Tversky, identified some very human weaknesses when it comes to speech.
We do not have or maintain preferences – at all, despite what the world may seem to be. We are influenced in making choices by how questions are presented. Kahneman’s and Tversky’s studies were statistical in nature, and showed that when making a choice – even one that was between items which were totally equal, people would always focus on avoiding loss, rather than securing a gain.
If we apply this to our current situation, it is easy to see the dynamics at work. When presented with the bank meltdown and subsequent bailouts, people were caught by surprise, panicked and facing the potential loss of Western civilization, as they knew it, allowed the ridiculous spending plans to be passed.
What are the actual gains from those huge money-dumps? So far...almost nothing.
So, when the government proposed the immense health care reform package in all its’ glory, it first came on the heels of some very hard lessons for the American people – lessons which taught them that maybe the nation’s leadership isn’t out there to look after their best interests, after all.
And when the question was put to the American people in countless town hall meetings, it was presented as – “look what we will gain from Big Brother health care,” and largely not “look what we are about to lose.” Of course, when the PR folks got around to rephrasing the whole debate, it was by then, too late. People had decided, in large numbers, that health care reform meant “loss” not “gain.”
And loss really tips the scales.
The two Princeton researchers went further, however. According to their work, leaving a matter unspoken, also guarantees greater participation. In other words, it is like saying “the public insurance option of the heath care plan would trigger if the private market does not meet certain cost savings targets.”
Lastly, the research showed that by presenting a comparison – basically a choice between two things, showing the unmistakable worth of the first choice versus the second choice, people will jump.
Lev Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist who developed a unique approach to the development of thought and concepts. His work was published following his death in 1934 and suppressed in 1936. Thus, Lev Vygotsky’s writings were unavailable to Westerners until 1958.
Vygotsky wrote that “word meaning is a phenomenon of thought only in so far as thought is embodied in speech, and of speech only in so far as speech is connected with thought and illumined by it.”
To Vygotsky, the entire affair of using and understanding words is “a phenomenon of verbal thought, or meaningful speech – a union of word and thought.”
But Vygotsky is interesting in another way, because if you believe that our politicians and their handlers do not pay attention to this kind of research, you are wrong. In recent years, linguists and teachers have been examining Vygotsky's work. What they are seeing according to the Encyclopedia of Marxism, is “a superior understanding of the relationship between the educator and the educated, in which the educator must ‘negotiate’ with the child or student who is credited with an active role in the learning process. (Does any of this sound familiar? Was any of this in the President’s most recent speech to schoolchildren?)
The Encyclopedia of Marxism goes on to say that “especially in the United States, Vygotsky has found a following among Community Development workers who value his concept of a ‘Zone of Proximal Development,’ in which leadership is able to facilitate intellectual and social development in struggles by communities to change their circumstances, leading to a subsequent benefit in an all-round development of conceptual ability.”
We are living in a time of tidal political and financial forces, which could sweep our republic away without even an afterthought. We could be – as Orwell wrote in his classic 1984 – “lifted clean from the pages of history.” The freedoms we enjoy, the pride in our democracy and our will to fight for it can be chipped away until we hold nothing. Like Vygotsky, our work, our lives and our existence can be buried, co-opted, absorbed or completely erased – and also like Vygotsky, only true freedom can give us shape and meaning and color and give us back our voice.
We face potential repression and obliteration of our way of life. We will become the forgotten – our histories rewritten, our lives forgotten, our children and grandchildren indoctrinated into a new way, hearing us recount our fading memories and believing that the words we speak are just the meanderings of age. They will believe what they have been taught in school. And we have seen what largely those words and teachings may be based upon.
But even as I write this, a political movement makes its’ first march on Washington. Only days away from September 12, I wonder what change such a united stand could force. Tonight our President will once again deliver another speech onto the airwaves – this one meant to convince the Congress to pass his massive health care reform package. It is a moment, which is being seen by most of the media as his greatest challenge. If he wins the day, he may win ultimate power and reshape America into whatever his vision really is. If he fails tonight, it may end any chance he has to continue effectively in office.
Whatever occurs, we lucky few who are alive and awake in this moment, will be able to press forward and choose what words will influence us – what will we allow to shape our decisions and form or reform our way of life?
We can still choose the brilliant, artful truths of our Constitution. We can make a difference. We can choose the higher road and the purer thought. We can discard the marketing and the public relations and the political correctness, and see the psychology for what it is – shadows and tricks from darker places, forced on a half-asleep public.
We can live and love and care again with intensity and passion.
And we can be free.
For Barrack Obama – that number is not yet clear. But we here at the Jolly Rogers newsroom are trying to keep ahead of it all, because we know good propaganda when we see it. This subject is a dark one, though. It squats in the hidden places and avoids the light, because it is itself made of shadow.
It is the world of PR and marketing and it is never more perfectly outlined than in the choice of specific words. So we looked at the words - a lot of words.
In preparation for the President’s speech to Congress and the American people, to ostensibly argue for the massive health care reform bill, we went through 200 Barrack Obama speeches to try to get a glimpse of what exactly is being sold to the American public. Here is what we found:
229 uses of the word clear – sometimes as much as ten times in one speech.
31 times he was talking about transparency.
71 uses of the word, honest – almost exactly one use in each speech it appeared.
137 times using the word “open,” albeit, those were not all instances where “honest” and “transparent” were in the same sentence.
159 times he used the word fundamental or fundamentally.
But the prize goes to the concept of “opportunity.” That word Obama has now used more than 291 times.
Oddly, the word socialist or socialism has only been used 14 times – mostly during the campaign and always paired in the same sentence as his opponent’s name.
So what is real – and what isn’t – especially in-light of the upcoming speech? Kathleen Sebelius recent audio preview of Obama’s “case for what is at stake for the American people,” uses some interesting phrases.
For example, according to Sebelius, Obama will “provide a CLEAR direction for what a true reform plan is: A plan that will bring stability and security to Americans...he’ll discuss what health insurance reform means and what it doesn’t mean – for all Americans.”
Essentially dear reader, we are about to be educated. So, knowing this, the Jolly Rogers went to the educators and looked at what was out there on the use of words in forming both choice and decision.
A paper writen by James W. Pennebaker, Matthias R. Miehl and Kate G. Niederhoffer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas, outlined how particles (parts of speech that include pronouns, articles, prepositions, conjunctives and auxiliary verbs) can serve as markers of emotional state, social identity and cognitive style.
According to Pennebaker, Miehl and Niederhoffer, people’s use of words can hint at motives and are diagnostic of their mental, social and even physical state. Sigmund Freud, the famous psychologist in 1901 also talked of this concept in the terms of parapraxes (slips of the tongue). To Freud, common errors in speech betray people’s deeper motives or fears.
To the UT trio of researchers, however, specific word use can be just as telling.
“The words a person uses clearly have an impact on the listener or reader,” they wrote. “Just as the words people choose when talking or writing may betray their thoughts and feelings, those words may be processed at a low or unconscious level by the listener or reader...the presumed power of the media or of great speakers or writers may ultimately reside as much in how they use words as in what they say.”
You see, dear reader, words can be more than they seem. In September of 2007 an article detailing research conducted by Nobel laureate and Princeton University psychologist Daniel Kahneman, and his collaborator, Psychologist Amos Tversky, identified some very human weaknesses when it comes to speech.
We do not have or maintain preferences – at all, despite what the world may seem to be. We are influenced in making choices by how questions are presented. Kahneman’s and Tversky’s studies were statistical in nature, and showed that when making a choice – even one that was between items which were totally equal, people would always focus on avoiding loss, rather than securing a gain.
If we apply this to our current situation, it is easy to see the dynamics at work. When presented with the bank meltdown and subsequent bailouts, people were caught by surprise, panicked and facing the potential loss of Western civilization, as they knew it, allowed the ridiculous spending plans to be passed.
What are the actual gains from those huge money-dumps? So far...almost nothing.
So, when the government proposed the immense health care reform package in all its’ glory, it first came on the heels of some very hard lessons for the American people – lessons which taught them that maybe the nation’s leadership isn’t out there to look after their best interests, after all.
And when the question was put to the American people in countless town hall meetings, it was presented as – “look what we will gain from Big Brother health care,” and largely not “look what we are about to lose.” Of course, when the PR folks got around to rephrasing the whole debate, it was by then, too late. People had decided, in large numbers, that health care reform meant “loss” not “gain.”
And loss really tips the scales.
The two Princeton researchers went further, however. According to their work, leaving a matter unspoken, also guarantees greater participation. In other words, it is like saying “the public insurance option of the heath care plan would trigger if the private market does not meet certain cost savings targets.”
Lastly, the research showed that by presenting a comparison – basically a choice between two things, showing the unmistakable worth of the first choice versus the second choice, people will jump.
Lev Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist who developed a unique approach to the development of thought and concepts. His work was published following his death in 1934 and suppressed in 1936. Thus, Lev Vygotsky’s writings were unavailable to Westerners until 1958.
Vygotsky wrote that “word meaning is a phenomenon of thought only in so far as thought is embodied in speech, and of speech only in so far as speech is connected with thought and illumined by it.”
To Vygotsky, the entire affair of using and understanding words is “a phenomenon of verbal thought, or meaningful speech – a union of word and thought.”
But Vygotsky is interesting in another way, because if you believe that our politicians and their handlers do not pay attention to this kind of research, you are wrong. In recent years, linguists and teachers have been examining Vygotsky's work. What they are seeing according to the Encyclopedia of Marxism, is “a superior understanding of the relationship between the educator and the educated, in which the educator must ‘negotiate’ with the child or student who is credited with an active role in the learning process. (Does any of this sound familiar? Was any of this in the President’s most recent speech to schoolchildren?)
The Encyclopedia of Marxism goes on to say that “especially in the United States, Vygotsky has found a following among Community Development workers who value his concept of a ‘Zone of Proximal Development,’ in which leadership is able to facilitate intellectual and social development in struggles by communities to change their circumstances, leading to a subsequent benefit in an all-round development of conceptual ability.”
We are living in a time of tidal political and financial forces, which could sweep our republic away without even an afterthought. We could be – as Orwell wrote in his classic 1984 – “lifted clean from the pages of history.” The freedoms we enjoy, the pride in our democracy and our will to fight for it can be chipped away until we hold nothing. Like Vygotsky, our work, our lives and our existence can be buried, co-opted, absorbed or completely erased – and also like Vygotsky, only true freedom can give us shape and meaning and color and give us back our voice.
We face potential repression and obliteration of our way of life. We will become the forgotten – our histories rewritten, our lives forgotten, our children and grandchildren indoctrinated into a new way, hearing us recount our fading memories and believing that the words we speak are just the meanderings of age. They will believe what they have been taught in school. And we have seen what largely those words and teachings may be based upon.
But even as I write this, a political movement makes its’ first march on Washington. Only days away from September 12, I wonder what change such a united stand could force. Tonight our President will once again deliver another speech onto the airwaves – this one meant to convince the Congress to pass his massive health care reform package. It is a moment, which is being seen by most of the media as his greatest challenge. If he wins the day, he may win ultimate power and reshape America into whatever his vision really is. If he fails tonight, it may end any chance he has to continue effectively in office.
Whatever occurs, we lucky few who are alive and awake in this moment, will be able to press forward and choose what words will influence us – what will we allow to shape our decisions and form or reform our way of life?
We can still choose the brilliant, artful truths of our Constitution. We can make a difference. We can choose the higher road and the purer thought. We can discard the marketing and the public relations and the political correctness, and see the psychology for what it is – shadows and tricks from darker places, forced on a half-asleep public.
We can live and love and care again with intensity and passion.
And we can be free.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Brave and Free
So Van Jones is gone.
I go on vacation for seven days and I miss a great opportunity. I was going to describe to you, my dear reader, the despicable actions and comments by the “Green Czar.” I was going to rail against the insanity of having not only an avowed Communist as advisor to the President, but also a guy you wouldn’t trust to collect your mail while you were away, let alone, determine the course of the nation as it applies to environmentalism.
And I really missed the best bit of all – when it was discovered that he signed a document requesting an investigation into 911 – because it might have been a government conspiracy. Yep. Did I mention how very smart this guy was supposed to be, and how White House officials just gushed over how lucky they were to have him on board?
Then, just like that, he’s gone. Resigned – jumped or thrown over the side, with a new set of concrete shoes – destination; Davy Jones’ locker.
But this should come as no surprise. There’s more than 30 of these people – unaccounted for as far as their backgrounds are concerned. The administration is chock full of “hired guns,” who no one is keeping track of – except for possibly the Fox News guy, Glenn Beck.
But I felt a need to add my two cents on this one, and was thinking about it during the past several days in which my wife and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary, so here it is:
We are the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” And I think a lot of people simply forget that. Fat, lazy, dismissive Congressmen forget it when they wave aside questions and tell people they “make the rules, because this is THEIR town hall meeting.” Really?
Our president forgets it when he has to change his entire speech and presentation to our young people still in school, because the original tack – which is evidenced by the propaganda materials sent out to those same schools in advance, is met by angry parents – and even some schools who refuse to use any of it. And Obama perhaps forgets the freedom part when he tries to push outrageous transformation onto the rest of us, through massive, unwanted, unexamined government programs - a Big Brother country.
That special line is certainly forgotten by these Czars who prance and preen in front of the cameras, and yet wield the full-power of the Executive Branch, without ever having to be vetted.
Our leadership certainly forgets the “brave” part when they duck meetings with their constituents, but forget they are sending our sons and daughters into harms way, so that they can keep their plush offices and fat-cat paychecks and benefits.
Our media forgets the “freedom” part when they adopt bias and deliver only the story they are being “paid” to deliver. They forget we have lived free because of old-school newspaper, radio and TV reporters who were unafraid to bring the real story – who developed sources, chased down real facts and made a difference. They forget the “freedom” part when they air video of a dying soldier – one of the very soldiers who stand on “the line” to protect their right to live – to actually draw breath, eat, have a job, raise a family in peace and prosperity.
And I think some of the other folks in our population; the environmentalists, the bankers, the big business GE-style folks and even some of the regular people are forgetting both words as they accept big government payouts and do their deals in the dark places where there are no witnesses.
But the light is coming.
If you’re shocked by the brief history of Van Jones on the U.S. Government roles, just keep watching. The avalanche has started. The whole political landscape is about to change, because “We the People” did not forget those words, and we still believe in them. We have lived and will always live by them. We have fought for them, sacrificed for them and our parents and grandparents have lived and worked and fought for them.
Freedom and Bravery.
You out there who believe this is trite, meaningless babble – well, you’ll probably never understand. You’ll never internalize any of it. You won’t feel it in your blood, you won’t hear it in the wind, and you won’t ever be willing to trade your blood or breath for these things. Your words are hollow. Your voice is thin. Your actions are more deserving of pity than fear.
For those of you who do believe in these two words, however, don’t think that decay and destruction are not still on the plate, simply because one Communist was struck from the list of Czars. We must continue to fight. We must have the same bravery of our troops who are out there on our behalf.
And we must make sure the country they come home to is a free one.
Truly free.
Forever Brave.
I go on vacation for seven days and I miss a great opportunity. I was going to describe to you, my dear reader, the despicable actions and comments by the “Green Czar.” I was going to rail against the insanity of having not only an avowed Communist as advisor to the President, but also a guy you wouldn’t trust to collect your mail while you were away, let alone, determine the course of the nation as it applies to environmentalism.
And I really missed the best bit of all – when it was discovered that he signed a document requesting an investigation into 911 – because it might have been a government conspiracy. Yep. Did I mention how very smart this guy was supposed to be, and how White House officials just gushed over how lucky they were to have him on board?
Then, just like that, he’s gone. Resigned – jumped or thrown over the side, with a new set of concrete shoes – destination; Davy Jones’ locker.
But this should come as no surprise. There’s more than 30 of these people – unaccounted for as far as their backgrounds are concerned. The administration is chock full of “hired guns,” who no one is keeping track of – except for possibly the Fox News guy, Glenn Beck.
But I felt a need to add my two cents on this one, and was thinking about it during the past several days in which my wife and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary, so here it is:
We are the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” And I think a lot of people simply forget that. Fat, lazy, dismissive Congressmen forget it when they wave aside questions and tell people they “make the rules, because this is THEIR town hall meeting.” Really?
Our president forgets it when he has to change his entire speech and presentation to our young people still in school, because the original tack – which is evidenced by the propaganda materials sent out to those same schools in advance, is met by angry parents – and even some schools who refuse to use any of it. And Obama perhaps forgets the freedom part when he tries to push outrageous transformation onto the rest of us, through massive, unwanted, unexamined government programs - a Big Brother country.
That special line is certainly forgotten by these Czars who prance and preen in front of the cameras, and yet wield the full-power of the Executive Branch, without ever having to be vetted.
Our leadership certainly forgets the “brave” part when they duck meetings with their constituents, but forget they are sending our sons and daughters into harms way, so that they can keep their plush offices and fat-cat paychecks and benefits.
Our media forgets the “freedom” part when they adopt bias and deliver only the story they are being “paid” to deliver. They forget we have lived free because of old-school newspaper, radio and TV reporters who were unafraid to bring the real story – who developed sources, chased down real facts and made a difference. They forget the “freedom” part when they air video of a dying soldier – one of the very soldiers who stand on “the line” to protect their right to live – to actually draw breath, eat, have a job, raise a family in peace and prosperity.
And I think some of the other folks in our population; the environmentalists, the bankers, the big business GE-style folks and even some of the regular people are forgetting both words as they accept big government payouts and do their deals in the dark places where there are no witnesses.
But the light is coming.
If you’re shocked by the brief history of Van Jones on the U.S. Government roles, just keep watching. The avalanche has started. The whole political landscape is about to change, because “We the People” did not forget those words, and we still believe in them. We have lived and will always live by them. We have fought for them, sacrificed for them and our parents and grandparents have lived and worked and fought for them.
Freedom and Bravery.
You out there who believe this is trite, meaningless babble – well, you’ll probably never understand. You’ll never internalize any of it. You won’t feel it in your blood, you won’t hear it in the wind, and you won’t ever be willing to trade your blood or breath for these things. Your words are hollow. Your voice is thin. Your actions are more deserving of pity than fear.
For those of you who do believe in these two words, however, don’t think that decay and destruction are not still on the plate, simply because one Communist was struck from the list of Czars. We must continue to fight. We must have the same bravery of our troops who are out there on our behalf.
And we must make sure the country they come home to is a free one.
Truly free.
Forever Brave.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Smelts are yummy
I like wine, but not as much as I like rum.
But I must say, I could be convinced to change that preference by some California vineyard products. Unfortunately, there’s going to be a lot less of those if the Feds are allowed to continue their water cutback to the Sacramento Valley.
For those not following this story very closely, it is yet another example of placing the welfare of other animal life over that of humans.
Because of a two-inch minnow, which was listed on the endangered species list, the “delta smelt,” California’s Central Valley is dry. Real dry.
Already 37,000 jobs have been lost due to the fish and the number continues to rise. According to the California Department of Water Reclamation, combined state and federal water cutbacks could idle more than 1 million acres of fields, orchards and vineyards. This, according to the DWR, will cause losses of at least $1.15 billion. The pumps which had delivered water to the now parched area were shut down after environmentalists won a federal court case to protect the minnows from untimely deaths in the irrigation pumps.
Does anyone else think this is a bad idea?
These farmers affected by this shut-down are third-generation farmers. They are now in lines at the food banks. So are those who have worked to get the pumps shut down eco-activists or eco-terrorists? And those who are obeying orders to shut the pumps off - are those really orders they should be following, knowing that they are wiping out the lives of others?
Smelts are also known in the U.S. as “whitebait” a term which started in England where a variety of these fish were caught in the Thames and used as bait. By the eighteenth century, they were considered a delicacy. You can find them in the supermarket still today. They are crunchy and yummy if done right – and I’ll even go so far as to say a nice smelt dish would go well with some California produce and a nice California wine.
According to thewinetaster.com, the key to pairing food and wine is in balancing “the flavors, the intensities, and the weights of the foods and the wines.” The website seems to suggest zinfandel in this case.
The key, of course, to surviving in the world, is also balance – in this case, to balance the lives of people against the lives of smelts.
It really shouldn’t be a tough call to make.
Prosecuting the CIA - the Jolly Rogers Polls
What are the odds that Obama would give a comforting speech to members of the CIA, then the Attorney General would attack this same agency, trying to nail them to the wall for over-the-top interrogations?
Don’t know. Not sure it matters a whole lot with everything that’s happening in today’s world.
But I do know it’s ripe for a now-famous Jolly Rogers poll.
So here we go. These were complicated questions, so I’m just going to hit on the highlights:
First, our massive polling audience determined that terrorists are pretty much whack-jobs who don’t deserve to be treated as common criminals. Only one person wanted to read them their Miranda rights. Whoever you are, I would recommend becoming an Obama volunteer – they could use you for that job. Really.
Second question in our polling marathon referred to the method we should use in interrogations. Being a good reporter, I wanted you to have as many options as possible. Forty-four percent of those asked believed interrogations should be left with the CIA (just get results, they don’t want to know what’s going on). Twenty-two percent of those polled, however believed that torture is useless and we shouldn’t engage in it at all. Eleven percent were a bit more specific in their wishes, and wanted to go with the whole fingernail thing, although I believe this group of folks would be open to adventures in dentistry. Another 11 percent believes that we should give some of the oldies a try – rack-em or scourge em, and another 11 percent went with another great oldie – the stocks (it’s public and fun!)
But friends, as is often the case here in the Jolly Rogers newsroom, things do get serious. We have to ask the question “should we prosecute people for actions now considered to be over-the-top by the current administration. Forty-four percent of the people out there believe this kind of action only happens in countries where the leopard fez is a popular fashion statement. Twenty-two percent believe we should investigate everyone for everything and 33 percent said it just all makes their head hurt – and please make it go away.
Lastly, we need to know if we should just stop with the whole health care thing and focus on the horrifying interrogation problem. Eighty-eight percent believe we need to stay focused on health care – so my apologies to the other 11 percent who just want more interrogations – of the interrogators. They don’t think we should use enhanced interrogations for that round of questioning, though.
Don’t know. Not sure it matters a whole lot with everything that’s happening in today’s world.
But I do know it’s ripe for a now-famous Jolly Rogers poll.
So here we go. These were complicated questions, so I’m just going to hit on the highlights:
First, our massive polling audience determined that terrorists are pretty much whack-jobs who don’t deserve to be treated as common criminals. Only one person wanted to read them their Miranda rights. Whoever you are, I would recommend becoming an Obama volunteer – they could use you for that job. Really.
Second question in our polling marathon referred to the method we should use in interrogations. Being a good reporter, I wanted you to have as many options as possible. Forty-four percent of those asked believed interrogations should be left with the CIA (just get results, they don’t want to know what’s going on). Twenty-two percent of those polled, however believed that torture is useless and we shouldn’t engage in it at all. Eleven percent were a bit more specific in their wishes, and wanted to go with the whole fingernail thing, although I believe this group of folks would be open to adventures in dentistry. Another 11 percent believes that we should give some of the oldies a try – rack-em or scourge em, and another 11 percent went with another great oldie – the stocks (it’s public and fun!)
But friends, as is often the case here in the Jolly Rogers newsroom, things do get serious. We have to ask the question “should we prosecute people for actions now considered to be over-the-top by the current administration. Forty-four percent of the people out there believe this kind of action only happens in countries where the leopard fez is a popular fashion statement. Twenty-two percent believe we should investigate everyone for everything and 33 percent said it just all makes their head hurt – and please make it go away.
Lastly, we need to know if we should just stop with the whole health care thing and focus on the horrifying interrogation problem. Eighty-eight percent believe we need to stay focused on health care – so my apologies to the other 11 percent who just want more interrogations – of the interrogators. They don’t think we should use enhanced interrogations for that round of questioning, though.
H1N1 forced vaccinations - a potential fight
Not meaning to report on something which hasn’t happened to us yet, but I for one, would love for the New Mexico legislature to adopt the same stance as Massachusetts, which has passed the new Pandemic Response Bill in their state Senate and will now be considering this in their state House.
Here’s the cool part – it suspends all constitutional rights of MA citizens and would require those suspected of being ill, to submit to a variety of official manhandling.
Yep. Catch the flu in Massachusetts, and you will have bought a one-way ticket to something between Orwell’s 1984 or maybe in a worst-case scenario, London’s “The Scarlet Plague or King’s “The Stand.”
But most likely, we’ll avoid the near-total destruction of humanity and all the goodies that go along with a “King-like” ending, and will instead just be given the opportunity to have government dictate not only what we do in our businesses, or what we do in our homes, but also what we have in our bodies – in this case, an injection or series of injections - whether you agree to it or not.
Please bring this whole thing to the Southwest. Because, I believe when you do, you’ll understand the meaning of the word “resistance.”
The new MA bill would violate the rights in an amazingly flagrant way. From illegal search and seizure (4th Amendment violations in the name of decontamination), to illegal arrest (14th Amendement violation), Involuntary Transportation (kidnapping), and Forced Quarantine (illegal imprisonment), this legislation is a lawyer’s dream.
Citizens would be also subjected to “decontamination” (and arrest if they refused), forced isolation and quarantine, destruction of property, and interrogation. I wonder if they are going to add enhanced interrogation to this legislation. Water-boarding anyone?
There is no recourse for MA citizens if this passes. But the situation is really much worse.
In 2006, former President George Bush signed the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. The act allows the HHS to declare any infectious disease a “national emergency” and subsequently force the mandatory vaccination of the whole population. Mandatory vaccination in the “national emergency” case, means that refusal may label you as a “threat.” This could cause all the wonderful items being faced by MA citizens with their shiny, new House bill.
All involved in the enforcement of the program will be granted immunity by the Federal government for any legal claims arising from the enforcement of the Act or the use of vaccine.
Remember that the country’s centennial celebrations in 1976, were marred by a swine-flu scare in which Pvt. David Lewis of Ashley Falls, MA, was killed by the flu in 24 hours. Only Lewis died of the flu, but hundreds died of the inoculation given to the public during the $135 million program put together in President Gerald Ford’s time in the White House. By October 1, 1976, the serums were ready and by December 16 of that year, the program had been suspended, but 40 million people had been inoculated for a flu, which itself, only killed one person.
But today’s swine flu is a little different. Globally, swine flu deaths have now passed 1100 since it emerged in Mexico in April and there have been more than 10,000 cases worldwide. 556 of those deaths and nearly 9,000 hospitalizations have been in the U.S. CDC officials have already begun to circulate the news that it is possible, albeit not likely, that H1N1 could kill in the range of 90,000 Americans this winter and hospitalize 1.8 million people.
So what’s the truth?
Hubba, hubba, hubba – who do you trust?
Always follow the money. If you do that in this case, you end up at the doorsteps of the big pharmaceutical companies who have been saddled with the task of producing enough vaccine for the population. These are Sanofi Pasteur, Novartis, AstraZeneca, CSL and MedImmune, GlaxoSmithKline. Their motivation is clear.
It is everyone else’s motivations that should be suspect. Even if you try to look at the statistics, it is impossible to get a clear picture. Would the vaccination be a good thing – or won’t it? Would voluntary vaccination cover enough of the population, or won’t it?
Much of the U.S. Statistical Abstract is gathered from data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau – and lately, that group is being connected more and more with the community organization ACORN. It seems unlikely that they will be welcome on the doorsteps of many people in America. But if we look at 2006 figures, it is possible to see an overall picture showing that between 78 and 98 percent of people in the U.S. get other types of vaccinations voluntarily. But is that going to be enough for H1N1, and will it be ready in time?
According to the CDC, “the 2009 H1N1 vaccine is expected to be available in the fall. More specific dates cannot be provided at this time as vaccine availability depends on several factors including manufacturing time and time needed to conduct clinical trials.”
In July, officials said that 120 million doses of the vaccine would be ready in October, but the revised production schedule has this hitting the streets with 45 million doses in October and another 20 million in the clinics each month following.
Also according to the CDC, those vaccinated in 1976 will not likely be protected and will need the new vaccination. The highest statistics for doctor’s visits for flu related symptoms were recorded in February of last year and it is expected that the H1N1 flu may follow the same course. Most H1N1 viruses identified remain susceptible to antiviral drugs, which can reduce the intensity of the symptoms.
Many people will turn out willingly for the chance to be immunized, but many also will not. I have, since childhood, avoided immunizations, except for those required by the military during my time in the Service. Would I make a different voluntary decision if offered this vaccine? I don’t know yet.
What I do know, however, is that I would definitely resist anything, which is made compulsory – and I believe many other people would resist this kind of government heavy-handedness, regardless of the alleged benefits. Ask yourself if it’s really all that smart to bring a syringe to a gunfight?
We are Americans. We don’t like to be told what to do by stuffed shirts. We don’t generally back-down. We fight and we meet such actions head-on.
What makes anyone in government think this situation is any different?
******
To see the U.S. CDC flu map, go here:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/regions2008-2009/hhssenusmap.htm
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