May 2009 Archives

There may be no doubt in some minds that the four fools arrested for trying to blow up a synagogue in the Bronx intended harm. I'm sure they did. But by what measure do agents of the state critically examine real threats versus manufacturing and enabling desperate individuals who shared some time in the klink ?

A local talk show guy had an ex-FBI dude on the show this morning and it was all about amping up the fear and possible threat to the country etc. I can understand how and why people get afraid of this stuff. The official sounding guy talks with the earnest helpful host and facts of the case lead to the logical conclusion of do anything to protect the community kind of thing. It's too bad there isn't a go to type of guest who could be brought in as a credible denier of such tripe.

These guys probably couldn't have put together a meaningful plot without the FBI's willing and helpful hand. Now we suddenly hear about a plan to hold possible terrorists on a preventative basis by the big O himself . . . you don't even have to put the cheese in the trap any more, it comes in five pound blocks.

The folks over at Reason clipped Libertarian VP nominee, Wayne Root, pretty hard during the last cycle. Just as the final stretch was unfolding in the campaign, the boys caught him at the Republican bar yammering on about Obama being a radical militant when they served together at Columbia. Apparently Wayne didn't check his political 'id' at the door and felt unencumbered by any implied journalistic promise of confidentiality or libertarian camaraderie. What went on the record should have been enough for any self described big L libertarian to take umbrage of their candidate's lack of self awareness while on the attack amongst assumed allies.

Root's description of the gaffe at the LNC meeting in San Diego in December shrugs the whole affair off as meaningless and a deception by Reason. Just a couple beers with the boys kinda thing. While the LNC and it's audience got to their feet after his presentation, my own response was less forgiving.

While controversy with the impending arrival of what is sure to be only be a shrill unforgiving rehash of fiscal conservatism and social 'tolerance' Vegas style, in the form of a new book, might be considered good marketing in some circles, it only intensifies the pain amongst those of us unable to be on constant libertarian tour because we have real jobs/businesses. Root is taking some real heat from Reason's own Radley Balko about appearing on the Michael Savage radio show. Root has subsequently defended himself in a letter back to Balko. I'm not sure if it's been publicly released, so I'll only leak a small segment that gets to the root of the problem . . .

Henry Rollins and I will never hangout and smoke pot together. But in the dream I had the night after seeing him perform a two hour 'spoken word' at the Bearsville theater near Woodstock NY, we got along marvelously and I seemed to be in charge of his coat and ride as he bopped in between black clad aesthetes reveling in his innate coolness.

Up close live, he's a bundle of anger, humor and uneasy energy that doesn't belie an almost fifty year mortal coil. A simple gray t-shirt and pair of dickies are testament to an underlying physical presence that houses a set of tatooed pipes attached to a taught chest. The only thing I recall from a Rolling Stone interview over a decade ago was how annoyed he was at the reporter for being late and messing with his workout regimen. Fortunately he just met the ten minute late rule, so as not to rouse my own internal ire of the moment. I didn't start laughing and buying his schtick the moment he graced the stage however.

Instead I was waiting to pounce on whatever political he revealed after expressing his relief at being in front of the enlightened Woodstock set.

Most conservatives and liberals that I know are unrepentant about their ostensible xenophobia when it comes to calls for border control. The thinking goes that we have a sovereign 'right' to control our borders and the only one that matters is Mexico. A conservative colleague concludes in a recent rather conflicting missive ;

The failure to secure the border in a time of emergency in order to protect the health and welfare of American citizens is a sign that this administration has chosen political correctness over the safety of its own citizens. It's sad to say, but I don't believe a Republican administration would take the necessary steps either.

I am sure that by mid-May the whole Swine Flu scare will be over and the hype will have died down. The American borders will remain wide open for illegal immigrants and terrorists to enter the country; the pharmaceutical companies will have made billions; the media companies will have made hundreds of millions from pharmaceutical company advertising and the administration will take credit for a job well done. Thank God it wasn't a real emergency!

While the rhetoric may not be as incendiary, my own Libertarian Party released a similar statement last week to the alarm of many members, leaders and hardcore activists. It may not be politically popular to advocate an 'open' border, but certainly consideration over the reality of immigration and subsequent public policy is something not being considered without the attendant fears of 'pandemic' by either 'side' that controls this issue.

" Kirk was a man who marveled and greatly appreciated the endless surprises presented to him by the universe...He didn't take things for granted and, more than anything else, respected life in every one of its weird weekly adventure forms." - William Shatner

A filibuster proof Senate should assure the big O a complete romp for this upcoming appointment. Why not do something daring with a nominee and appoint someone not so invested in gender, race or ethnicity ? The ultimate ambassador to free will, honor and decency. Someone like James T. Kirk, the fictional Captain of the space vessel Enterprise depicted on TV and the big screen.

We need someone who can appeal to a sense of justice beyond our current federal hegemony. Someone who could check that power with say the United Federation of Planets. Perhaps this fresh new hot Kirk could inure us with a sense that the Universe wasn't completely absurd and beyond our daily control. Much like the current courts have done for decades upon decades. Rather, we might get something akin to the Prime Directive.