Welcome to 1984 in 2016

Here's but one example; Obama has his pen and his phone, and he's going to do what he wants, Congress and the Constitution be damned.

Obama Readies Flurry of Regulations - WSJ

Perhaps you're okay with the government trying to control every aspect of your life, from what your kids can eat in school, to what kinds of cars you can drive. I'm not, I'm perfectly capable of making decisions for myself and my children, without the government sticking its snout where it has no business.

Leave me alone. Seems simple enough.

 

How about the whopper that Benghazi was a grass roots uprising in response to a YouTube video? You've commanded troops Rich, ever leave any of the to die out of convenience? Maybe caught a game of golf the next morning?

 

All of that is true.

But countless private contractors made boatloads of money so it wasn't a total loss.

Should we have a military to defend ourselves? Of course. But what we have instead is a war machine with branch locations all over the world. What would have been the impact of us not getting involved in Vietnam? Well, South Vietnam would have fallen sooner. That's about it. The South Vietnamese government was a repressive dictatorship that persecuted non-Christians. We could have saved a lot of U.S. bloodshed.

Korea? Hey, North Korea is definitely no friend of mine. But a lot of Americans died protecting a piece of peninsula that is inconsequential to the average American.

Those wars affected everyone because they involved a draft. Some kid in Oklahoma who never heard of Korea or Vietnam had a very real risk of being sent there to...what, "defend our country?"

But we ended the draft so now no one cares. Go and bomb Iraq. Destroy their infrastructure completely. Send throngs of Americans into a blender and then we can wash our hands of any culpability because they were all "volunteers."

That's another argument for another day. To this Orlando business...

The fact is that a lot of what is said about Muslims today was said about Italians, the Irish, Jews and, most recently, Mexicans and African Americans. The massive waves of immigration around 1900 brought a lot of different people with a lot of old world ideas. Some groups came to be associated with violence. The Italians, for example, still live with associations to the Mafia. Now we (society) think it's kind of funny because the movies made it a popular romantic notion. You go to Little Italy in New York and they sell "Leave the Gun, take the cannoli" T-shirts. It probably wasn't so funny in the 1920s through around the 1960s when refusing to pay extortion could mean death or serious injury with very little recourse.

The vast majority of Muslims are non-violent. If this wasn't true then we'd all be dead. If 3 billion people were fanatically involved in a jihad against all things Western then the west would be no more. I doubt this guy was actually a jihadist. It sounds more like he was probably gay and really didn't want that to be the case so he lashed out. Were he a Christian doing the same thing then the media would say he was a "disturbed young man." Because he's Muslim, well, it gets used to paint an entire religion with a very broad brush.

This whole craze will pass. Time will go on, immigrants will assimilate, religious tastes will become a bit more liberal. Just like a Reform synagogue being vastly different from a black hat orthodox synagogue in New York we'll see the same sort of shift with Islam. It's already started. Progressive mosques all around the country. Women wearing pants and shorts and everything!

But not to worry. Some other group of marginalized immigrants will make their way to our doorstep in droves and we'll have a new enemy.

 

Of course, this isn't happening. And that's the point.

 

Thankfully, that didn't actually happen.

 

The fastest-growing religious group, they'll pass that figure in about 40 years.

 

That would be terrible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HZ3Tjohwqo

 

Thanks for the correction. I overshot my uneducated guess. Still, I feel like a 1.6 billion strong horde could overtake us.

I am always a bit surprised by how quickly Islam seems to grow. In syracuse there is a decent sized Muslim community. But I've also noticed that I'm running into far more converts to Islam then I ever have before. Part of that might be that running around saying you converted to Islam in the early 2000s might not have won you any friends. Part of it might be that with the initial furor of 9/11 fueled war mongering wearing off somewhat people are a bit more open minded. Hard to say. But if history is any indicator then this too shall pass.

 

"The fact is that a lot of what is said about Muslims today was said about Italians, the Irish, Jews and, most recently, Mexicans and African Americans."

The Mexicans. Hmmm. Mr. Trump is a bit more modern, he actually says "Mexican", rather than "Mescan" like in the old timey days. Is Trump an racist? I don't think he knows what he is. He is an opportunist, a shape shifter if you will. But when he brings up the fact that a judge is "Mexican", he is code talking, he is inciting his followers to play a game of "get the Mexican". A game of racial division. You see, I played plenty of "Get the Mexican" games when I was a boy. My family was the first to move in to an all white neighborhood. "We were not brought an apple pie, so to speak. My dad always told me to play on my own property, "NEVER GO ON THE NEIGHBORS PROPERTY". Then, the neighborhood kids would come around in a little mob, and try to disrupt me while I was playing. Well, for some reason, I have always been blessed with fighting abilities. I have always been stronger than the average person of my size and height. In college, I was bench pressing 405 pounds, at a weight of 160. So, I guess you could say I am genetically inclined towards fighting. But I digress, the bullies would come on to my yard calling me names while I played. So I would finally lose my temper, and do things like take my toy "Rifleman" (parts of it were made out of metal back then) and start beating the shit out of those bullies. There were other instance, but for the sake of brevity, I will cut to the chase. My mom watched from the kitchen window, and she did not stop me or chastise me. Why? She knew that I had to learn to stand up to bullies, and not be a life long victim.

So what am I try to say. Uttering things to people who are already susceptible to things like scape-goating is not a good thing. Name calling does not work on me, because I have heard every racial slur there is, and when words are used over and over again, they lose their meaning. Plus, people don't use certain words on me because, quite frankly, I can handle my shit. But I am offended for those who are offended. I am offended for the thousands of Mexican/Mexican Americans who have fought for this country with honor. The estimates of how many Mexicans have served are actually probably higher than estimated, because in the days of old, Mexicans were classified as "whites". I am offended for all my brothers and sisters. And if I hear a minority saying something bad about a "white" person, I am offended as well, and I shall speak out against it.

Playing around with racial tensions for the sake of political gain is a very risky proposition. Once you open up a Pandora's box, it is mighty difficult to shut the lid again. Racial disharmony in a society is never, ever a good thing. History teaches us that.

 

"I doubt this guy was actually a jihadist. It sounds more like he was probably gay and really didn't want that to be the case so he lashed out."

I saw something about that on a new channel late last night. I really don't feel like looking it up, nor do I really have the desire to. I guess this shooter liked Latin fellas. He was fascninated with "brown" skinned people. That is about all I caught. Oh well, we will find out more soon.

 

Really? Are you sure about that?

I guess this is just a figment of my imagination;

https://web.archive.org/web/20160121155916/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/govt-obtains-wide-ap-phone-records-probe

Or maybe this is worthy of breaking out the tinfoil hats;

Feds to Fine Schools for Not Following Michelle Obama's Lunch Rules | Fox News Insider

If the government is hell-bent to fine schools over what they serve for lunch, do you really think they don't want to maximize their control of the private lives of citizens?

"It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere" - Voltaire

 

Until they were actually found to be there.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/14/world/middleeast/us-casualties-of-iraq-chemical-weapons.html?_r=1

 

The Bush Administration claim was that Iraq was actively producing WMDs. You remember, mobile chemical laboratories, secret weapon factories?

The article cited says that the weapons found were:

That's a very different scenario. It's also one which absolutely does not justify the invasion and occupation of a country. And before we start our flag waving about how Saddam was a no good, very bad man, let's remember that the U.S. has never had a problem propping up repressive dictators when they suit our needs.

 

I'm a firm believer that how we perceive the world--the story we tell ourselves--has a tremendous impact on what we make of things. There are very few, if any, objective "truths."

If you see bogeymen around every corner, danger at every turn, and a vast conspiracy out to get you and yours, then that's how you'll interpret most things and events. As a result, it is very difficult for a phenomenon to break through that filter and appear otherwise. When in doubt, keep it out.

Conversely, if your world view i one of openness, optimism, hope, etc. If you embrace change and diversity, and see most things as chances to make life better, you'll be likely to interpret new phenomena--things and events--along those lines instead.

The value I embrace--and postulate--is that the latter is much more healthy and fulfilling than the former. There are bad things in the world, sure, and they can be perceived despite having a positive overall outlook. (No rose-colored glasses, thanks.) But the world isn't filled with it, I don't have to peek under every rock looking for the next horrible thing, etc. Life can be light, not dark. Light, not heavy.

I really believe this is a huge factor in disagreements over a lot of issues. Each of us sees the exact same phenomenon differently--sometimes in stark contrast--and it comes from how we are disposed to see the world around us. But it's a distinction we choose--not one we're burdened with. How will you choose to experience the universe?

 

I agree with Rich.

I recall an event that occurred in central Pennsylvania some years ago. A white supremacist was arrested following a raid on his house. The press was pretty damning and the initial reporting made it sound like they had just thwarted the next Beer Hall putsch. They said that the house was filled with Nazi paraphernalia and weapons. Later reporting, when the charges were dropped, indicated that the weapons found were all antiques purchased legally and many of them completely non-functional. Also, only around 1/3 of the "paraphernalia" seized was Nazi in nature. The bulk of it was German but from WW1. Much of it was, if memory serves, rank insignias, medals, uniform components and a handful of bayonets.

Of course, it should be noted that it isn't illegal to possess (legal) weapons, Nazi "paraphernalia," or to be a white supremacist. Yet the average person on the street felt that it was a good thing that this guy had been arrested and that we were all safer because of it. The police, naturally, had probable cause to search the guy's house. They had a warrant. The guy was a racist whose internet ramblings called for the killing of almost everyone who wasn't a redneck living in rural PA. But what he was, in the eyes of the law, was a sad old man who admired a fallen regime. He wasn't a threat and, at least based upon the "evidence" uncovered, he certainly wasn't a criminal.

But for a lot of people this was just more evidence that there was a monster lurking in the shadows. My grandmother (of blessed memory) even commented at the time that unless we arrest all of the people "like that" and seize their stuff we run the risk of another Hitler. Hey, it kind of makes sense. Just arrest and suppress the people with really messed up political ideologies and we can avoid another Holocaust. But for people who look at it through a constitutional lens that's a pretty appalling thought.

 

You bring up some good points. In college, I went to a fellas house, and I noticed he had a copy of "Mein Kampf". He wasn't a racist (at least that I know of), he just found Hitler to be fascinating. I like reading stories, and if you stop to think about it, Hitler is quite fascinating. I say this, well, because I guess you could say I am an observer of human nature, I guess you could say. That's how I was trained. I don't like what he did, but his rise was very interesting.

And with that, I will post a music video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKRNJDJGON4

Oh, I think I will throw this one in to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrLhn_xDmww

Have a great day everyone!!!!!! I have a great day ahead of me! :smile:

 

That's a nice, gentle philosophy, but I'm afraid that it's incompatible today, unless you're okay with the government trying to control every aspect of your life. I posted but 2 examples, I could have easily posted lots more, including the ridiculous number of Federal regulations imposed by this administration.

I'm a clear-thinking, rational adult. I'm perfectly capable of deciding what's best for me and my children, I don't need the Federal government involving themselves in my life. Perhaps someday there will be a majority of Constitutional constructionists on the Supreme Court, who respect personal freedoms and can actually read the 10th Amendment.

"Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom" - Thomas Jefferson

 

Interesting that you would respond with talk of the government. My post had none of that.

I struggled with describing the darkness--I don't exist there and it is strange to me. Your example is much more spot-on. Thank you.