posted by The Vidiot @ 11:33 AM Permalink
Love him, hate him, whatever, I don't care. What I do care about are gross misrepresentations of anybody's viewpoints.
The media are reporting, after this interview of Ron Paul by Chris Matthews, that Ron Paul wouldn't have voted for the Civil Rights Act. The media narrative that they're trying to construct is that Ron Paul is a stealth (or not so stealth) racist. They know full well that the easiest way to discredit anybody these days is to call them a racists or an anti-Semite or some other sort of bigoted fool.
Paul's real stand on the Civil Rights Act is, judging from what he actually said, that governments are the ones that first implemented policies of segregation and racism. He simply wants to repeal those laws that systematically segregate people on the basis of race, ethnicity, etc., and not codify so-called non-discriminatory laws. He trusts that people will do the right thing and they don't need any laws to tell them to do it. What the media is trying to do is go back in history and say oh well, Ron Paul is advocating a return to our racist past. What Ron Paul is really doing is he's looking towards the future. He knows the world wouldn't return to a racist past.
Bottom line, the laws that the US government has passed in the form of the Civil Rights Act did little to end segregation and discrimination. And here's where it become complicated.
Culturally, the American people are not racist. The few who are are irrelevant because racists are generally ostracized by civil society. What is true is that despite whatever laws the government wants to pass or has passed, American apartheid is still very much alive in the United States. Black and other minority groups remain spatially and geographically isolated and, as most sociologists would agree, hyper-segregated from the rest of US society. Hyper-segregation is a term to describe how black and minority groups are segregated -- not just spatially, but culturally, economically, politically, and socially -- from the dominant society. And don't forget, that it's the American government that created laws that segregated and discriminated against people and what Ron Paul understands is that their laws to end their mistakes did not curtail the problem. It was the American people, not the beloved nation state that ended segregation. It wasn't casting votes that ended it, it was the will of black, white and women revolutionaries that took to the streets and demanded government end their racists and discriminatory ways. It was the people that ended it. Not the government.
Ron Paul gets this and so other critical thinkers like Chomsky and Zinn, et al. They, Chomsky, Paul, et al, advocate the end of government interference, whether it's creating racist laws or laws to ameliorate racist laws, because the American people can handle it from here. The government can go home.
When we look at the so-called objective nature of government policies, the managing of all our human social institutions, we can see, under closer inspection, that government laws are far from neutral and objective. In fact, under the cloak of objectivity, lies overt racism. In our educational policies, we see eurocentric, white-dominant, bourgeoisie values that take precedent over values that exist in the many different heterogenous populations and minority groups in the US. We see white-dominant values in our legal system over the values of our hispanic, black, native american and women groups. We see laws of all kinds situated within all our institutions that instill dominant white values that uphold the dominant class at the expense of all other groups. There is nothing objective or neutral about any of our laws.
These laws support an obvious dominant class in the name of democracy, but democracy is far from what we have. The proof is who commands the dominant institutions and how those laws and ideas and values perpetuated by government economic elites make laws that serve their own interests and legitimate their own power. As its very essence, government cannot pass laws that are against its own self- interest. Its preservation is its first priority; the preservation of the status quo and the preservation of the commanders of the dominant institutions.
Though Ron Paul's ideas are progressive, they're not perfect, but at least they are a start.
But those ideas sure as hell don jibe with the media narrative.
And that's my point. Take him or leave him, I don't care, but at least be honest about what they guy says.
posted by The Vidiot @ 8:51 PM Permalink
I can't post much yet. Just got back and had to go straight to work. Still haven't sorted my photos yet.
In addition to what Bill said, we did a road trip in Mexico: Guadalajara to Mazatlan via Tepic (yuck) and Tequila, back to Guadalajara, then to Guanajuato, then off to Morelia and back to Guadalajara. We rented a car and took both the pay roads and the free roads. My advice? DON'T RENT A CAR. Use the bus system which is awesome. You'll get to where you're going and you don't need a car when you get there. Though, driving on a road where you have to dodge the occasional iguana and chicken is a trip.
We left Teen Vidiot with his mom for the summer and Pet Vidiot stayed with Dr. Vidiot's folks at what we now call the "dog spa."
And no, we didn't bump into anybody with the swine flu nor did we see any drug cartel related shootings. It's all a bunch of media hype. To be sure, it's a problem and a seriously criminal one, but the killings themselves are pretty targeted. Just don't fuck with the cartels and all will be well.
It sure was nice to not hear the news for 12 days or so. No fabricated black vs. white crap on TV. What the hell? I get back and some woman was forced to resign by a pansy assed white house (or perhaps a white house hell-bent on manufacturing a black/white tension for the November elections) for saying something in the 1980s that was taken out of context by FOX news and Brietbart? What a silly, stupid, fabricated pile of crap. (And just for good measure, in case people ignore the news, there's always Mel Gibson!)
BP seems to have done something positive in the Gulf, but I don't believe it for an instant. We flew over the Gulf and saw the slick. We also saw the oil soaked barrier islands. Not pretty. Not pretty at all. (And WTF? Another spill in China?!)
posted by Bill Arnett @ 11:55 AM Permalink
…that their reliance on the new law they have enacted regarding the forcing of citizens to "present their papers" on demand based on their appearance is very likely going to be ruled unconstitutional.
Long ago in California there was a man named Edward C. Lawson, a man of color who wore Rastafarian-like braided dreadlocks and who enjoyed taking late night walks in enclaves reserved for the wealthy and "elite" of society, and whom was arrested fifteen times for failing to provide identification upon demand of a peace officer in accordance with California Penal Code Section 647(e).
Edward didn't like that and took his case through various courts which upheld that the rights of a citizen exceeded those of a peace officer arresting a person for merely failing to show identification. It was held, within the framework of that legal term of art, that this was unconstitutional:
A California statute requires persons who loiter or wander on the streets to identify themselves and to account for their presence when requested by a peace officer. The California Court of Appeal has construed the statute to require a person to provide "credible and reliable" identification when requested by a police officer who has reasonable suspicion of criminal activity sufficient to justify a stop under the standards of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 . The California court has defined "credible and reliable" identification as "carrying reasonable assurance that the identification is authentic and providing means for later getting in touch with the person who has identified himself." Appellee, who had been arrested and convicted under the statute, brought an action in Federal District Court challenging the statute's constitutionality. The District Court held the statute unconstitutional and enjoined its enforcement, and the Court of Appeals affirmed.…
The statute, as drafted and as construed by the state court, is unconstitutionally vague on its face within the meaning of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to clarify what is contemplated by the requirement that a suspect provide a "credible and reliable" identification. As such, the statute vests virtually complete discretion in the hands of the police to determine whether the suspect has satisfied the statute and must be permitted to go on his way in the absence of probable cause to arrest.…
JUSTICE O'CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court…
Individual who had been arrested and convicted for violating a California statute requiring persons who loiter or wander on the streets to provide a "credible and reliable" identification and to account for their presence when requested by a police officer, brought suit for declaratory and injunctive relief challenging the statute's constitutionality. The District Court held the statute unconstitutional and enjoined its enforcement. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 658 F.2d 1362, affirmed and California officials appealed. The Supreme Court, Justice O'Connor, held that the statute was unconstitutionally vague by failing to clarify what was contemplated by the requirement that a suspect provide a "credible and reliable" identification. Affirmed.
Justice Brennan filed a concurring opinion.…
Merely to facilitate the general law enforcement objectives of investigating and preventing unspecified crimes, States may not authorize the arrest and criminal prosecution of an individual for failing to produce identification or further information on demand by a police officer.…
"a person who is stopped on less than probable cause cannot be punished for failing to identify himself." -- Lawson v. Kolender, 658 F.2d 1362 (9th Cir. 1981)…
In Lawson v. Kolender, for example, the plaintiff had been arrested 15 times under a California vagrancy statute which "require[d] a person to provide reliable identification when requested by a police officer who has a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity . . . ." 658 F.2d at 1366. The Ninth Circuit concluded that such a statute violates the Fourth Amendment because it "subverts the probable cause requirement" in that it "authorizes arrest and conviction for conduct that is no more than suspicious." Id. at 1367, quoting in part Powell v. Stone, 507 F.2d 93, 96 (9th Cir. 1974), rev'd on other grounds, 428 U.S. 465 (1976). As the court explained, "as a result of the demand for identification, the statutes bootstrap the authority to arrest on less than probable cause, and the serious intrusion on personal security outweighs the mere possibility that identification may provide a link leading to arrest." Lawson, 658 F.2d at 1366-1367.Edward Lawson
It should be noted that Mr. Lawson himself, in Pro Per, [generally speaking this means he brought this action himself, without benefit of an attorney. Bill] spit right in the eye of California and had its Penal Code Section 647(e) ruled unconstitutional, and that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld all decisions to that effect in lower courts.
So to the people and right [or is it left?] thinking citizens footing the bill for their state legislators bigotry and ignorance, we folks here in California say, "Been there. Done that." It's a shame that your state will further exhaust the limited funds of your taxes, suffer the humiliation and indignity of having many, many large corporations withdrawing from Arizona or changing their minds about entering into Arizona, and suffer the derision of people who recognize bigotry, bias, and prejudice when they see it.
posted by The Vidiot @ 9:52 AM Permalink
We went to see "A Behanding in Spokane" last night for Teen Vidiot's 15th (yikes) birthday. It was, odd. Well, Christopher Walken is odd. I wasn't crazy about all the swearing (mind you, I can swear like a longshoreman and it bothered ME a bit) and some of the plot was a little ridiculous (even Teen Vidiot pointed that out). But I mostly liked it. Though, I had been warned in advance that some of the critics had panned it as too racist. Well, obviously, that's the part that made me laugh.
The first time Walken said "nigger" you could hear subtle little gasps in the audience. And that made me laugh. Those gasps were only slightly audible, of course, when the black guy called the Walken character a "crazy assed mutherfuckin' cracker" so THAT made me laugh too. (No worries. Walken made me laugh too. He's just so bloody weird.)
I think it's funny how folks are so sensitive about "those words." What they fail to understand is if they just stopped caring about them, "those words" would lose their power and ignorant, mean people wouldn't be able to use them to hurt people any more.
I saw the play's usage of "those words" less racist and more about taking the piss out of them. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just toooo liberal.
posted by The Sailor @ 9:44 PM Permalink
I'd like to point out some news today that got eclipsed by a white, upper middle class, college educated male who had a problem with the IRS and flew an airplane into a building that housed the IRS and left a manifesto behind and who matches the FBI's definition of terrorism, but wasn't a terrorist, but just happens to match a CNN poll of folks who make up the Tebaggers.
Nope, I'm not going to point that out at all. I just want to point out what CNN didn't in their article about their own poll; Teabaggers are 80% white.
Color me surprised. Not.
The teabaggers' constant claims that they cross party and racial lines has always been a cover for the facts; they didn't object to Bush trashing the Constitution, they didn't object to Bush taking a surplus and driving it into deficit due to tax cuts for the rich, they didn't object to illegal wars, they didn't object to torture, they didn't object to anything ... until the new sheriff, umm Obama, was in town
T for Texas, Tea for Tennessee ... or ... Add It Up ... and/or ... Hand Jive
posted by The Sailor @ 2:31 PM PermalinkUpdated for Colbert Report and math fix
So 600 incoherent mouth breathers show up for a teabagging convention, (quick aside: teabagging and mouth breathing seem to be incompatible, but what do I know ;-), and it makes the news 24/7. Srsly!?
Sheesh, there were more people at the my local watering hole on a Monday songwriters' night.
Let's do some math: 600 attendees @ $550 each = $330,000. The Quitta from Wasilla, Falin' Palin, AKA Moosealini, reportedly charged $115,000. So over 1/3 of the proceeds went to an already rich person. The rest went to the for-profit company that put the event, and the participants, on (minus hall rental, advertising, &c.). Nice teabagging there Clem.
Why isn't that the news?
2 notable things about this tiny gathering: 1) Former Congressman and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo's frankly racist and xenophobic opening speech. A low light from the prepared speech (that differed from the actual speech):
because we don’t have a civics literacy test to vote, people who couldn’t even spell vote, or say it in English, put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House named Barack Hussein Obama.
I remember when 'literacy tests' were stuck down. It's a good thing for him that literacy tests aren't required to have children, otherwise 'uncle daddy' and his daughter/his sister (it's Chinatown, Jake) couldn't have spawned the minuscule crowd.
His whole speech, live not prepared, consisted of dog whistles. No wonder the 600 rode into that valley of wealth.
2) My personal favorite, Caribou Barbie had to write "budget tax cut" on her palm to remember her talking points in a PRE-SCREENED Q&A after her speech!
A man beat an Army reservist in front of a Morrow Cracker Barrel, yelling racial slurs at her as he kicked her in the head, Morrow police said. The assault happened in front of the woman’s 7-year old daughter, who stood there, crying, witnesses told police.
West threw her to the ground and hit her in the head with his fists and feet, police said. During the exchange, witnesses said West could be heard screaming racial slurs towards the victim.
According to Hill's report, and confirmed by many witnesses, West screamed out racial slurs before punching her in the face. "He said, 'You're an fucking black nigger bitch,' is what he said," said Hill
Gosh, can't we all just get along? Nope. I can't. As long as racists exist in our our country I can't get along with them.
While it's progress that the police showed up and arrested him, I'm wondering why no one in the Cracker Barrel tried to intervene? Oops, my bad, Cracker Barrel pretty much describes why no one stepped up.
Update: As a commenter (from the other site) pointed out the Cracker Barrel manager said he did intervene. After witnesses saw her being punched, thrown down, and kicked in the head. Southern chivalry indeed.
The Boston police officer who sent a mass e-mail in which he compared Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to a "banana-eating jungle monkey" has apologized, saying he's not a racist.
Hey, some of his best friends are "banana-eating jungle monkey[s]."
And just because he cried when he offered his non-apology apology i.e. "I am not a racist. I did not intend any racial bigotry, harm or prejudice in my words. I sincerely apologize that these words have been received as such."
That's no reason to think he's a racist! After all, it's all the "banana-eating jungle monkey"[s] who are practicing reverse-racism that have caused this problem.
He cried because he might lose his job, health insurance and retirement. Dude, man up! You said what you think, own the words. That's what free speech is all about.
But free speech also means that citizens don't have to pay your bigoted, racist, stupid, stupid, (did I mention stupid), salary, or your retirement, or your health care.
Gosh, if Congress enacts health care reform you and your family will still have health care.
And then you can holler your bigoted screed from whatever street corner you want to.
And you and your family will still have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
posted by The Sailor @ 4:54 PM Permalink
Yesterday was great weather, great wind, so I played hooky and headed out to the lake. On the way I stopped at a chain liquor store for a 6 pack and ice. I was waiting in line behind a black couple at the cash register when I noticed the clerk give a hard time to the folks in front of me.
The clerk was just plain rude from the get-go, hassled him about his ID, made him produce 3 ID's, and then questioned his significant other about hers. The clerk eventually, grudgingly, accepted their cash.
Me, I'm thinking the clerk was just having a hard day or was habitually rude, except when I got to the counter she was all sunshine and happiness and accepted my credit card with no problem and no request for my DL or anything that would prove it was my CC.
It was obvious, blatant racism on the clerk's part.
There is nothing I could say to the clerk. There's nothing I could say to the couple.
But I know the mangers of this chain and I said something to them. It was probably an exercise in futility, (ya just can't fix stupid), but she's going to be out of a job, and probably will blame black people even more.
I really hate this crap. There's no win/win in racism, it's all just lose/lose.
Here's some brain bleach from the same band from the title of this post.
I am opening this new thread in order to facilitate…
posted by Bill Arnett @ 2:23 PM Permalink
…the excellent repartee taking place regarding my post of April 9, 2009, titled: Traitors betraying traitors among themselves. More fun, at here and I'm doing this to continue the most excellent conversation taking place on that post.
While I don't always agree with the people writing in, I am impressed with the civil nature of the conversation and the fact that we can all agree or disagree without being disagreeable.
Last excerpt:
Lifting the Klan mask revealed a chaotic multitude of antiblack vigilante groups, disgruntled poor white farmers, wartime guerrilla bands, displaced Democratic politicians, illegal whiskey distillers, coercive moral reformers, sadists, rapists, white workmen fearful of black competition, employers trying to enforce labor discipline, common thieves, neighbors with decades-old grudges, and even a few freedmen and white Republicans who allied with Democratic whites or had criminal agendas of their own. Indeed, all they had in common, besides being overwhelmingly white, southern, and Democratic, was that they called themselves, or were called, Klansmen.
Historian Eric Foner observed: In effect, the Klan was a military force serving the interests of the Democratic party, the planter class, and all those who desired restoration of white supremacy. Its purposes were political, but political in the broadest sense, for it sought to affect power relations, both public and private, throughout Southern society. It aimed to reverse the interlocking changes sweeping over the South during Reconstruction: to destroy the Republican party's infrastructure, undermine the Reconstruction state, reestablish control of the black labor force, and restore racial subordination in every aspect of Southern life.
I cannot vouch for the accuracy of Wikipedia, but it does tend to indicate that the KKK was joined and formed by many disparate groups and not just purely democrats as some have appear to have alleged.
Also, I consider what gwb and the GOP have done by overseeing the greatest transfer of money ever from the poor to the rich a national shame. I know the republicans are embarrassed by the crushing loss at the polls last November, and that vote was mostly accounted for by the public being tired of the borrow and spend republican congress and their efforts to block the minority vote in an attempt to gain more personal and to eliminate chances of a black candidate winning by openly calling for Obama's assassination, creating the song "Barak the Magic Negro" and going even further in the case of the defeat of Harold Ford by issuing a deliberately racist commercial spot with a white woman allegedly asking Harold to give her a call (wink-wink)
So while the democrats obviously were in the mix forming the KKK, their racial hatred and desire to encourage the killing of a black presidential nominee, an act of supreme disgrace of politicians trying to remain to retain control of government, were just another attempt at signal that overt racism is just fine with the GOP.
And it would clearly seem that the republicans have picked up the mantle of the KKK and are constantly trying to disenfranchise millions of blacks without regard to the illegalities, dirty tricks, robo-call, and clear, but untrue statements that Obama has made the country less safe.
The republicans have been fighting tooth-and-nail against any legislation favoring the poor, the elderly, the unsured, and the unemployed. The unemployment rates for black now stands at 12%, naturally shaming congress and the republican "party of no," which is stifling attempts of modern day democrats to help all groups and not just rich, old white men further enriching old, white men.
It will never easy to gain and keep discrimination in check, but it is perfectly clear that the GOP doesn't stand for anything more than a party of greed that has picked up the mantle of the KKK, at least in spirit and intent, and that have acted most foul when dealing with racial issues.
Federal authorities in Tennessee announced Monday that they had arrested two alleged white supremacists who were reportedly planning a killing spree that would end with the assassination of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark., were charged in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Tenn., with the illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun, conspiracy to rob a gun store and making threats against a major presidential candidate -- the Democratic senator from Illinois.
"They said that would be their last, final act -- that they would attempt to kill Sen. Obama," said James Cavanaugh, special agent in charge at the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Tennessee. "They didn't believe they would be able to do it, but that they would get killed trying."
"Both individuals stated that they would dress in all-white tuxedos and wear top hats during the assassination attempt," Weaks said. "Both individuals further stated they knew they would and were willing to die during this attempt."[…]
Campaign officials for Obama, the first African American presidential nominee of a major party, declined to comment about the allegations or arrests. Secret Service agents began protecting Obama on May 3, 2007, less than three months after he announced he was running for the Democratic nomination -- the earliest that such protection has been authorized for a candidate.
Although it was unclear how much, if anything, the Obama camp knew about the allegations, his security personnel were certainly aware of them. "The United States Secret Service takes all threats against presidential candidates seriously and is actively investigating the allegations," said Richard Harlow, special agent in charge of the agency's Memphis field office.[…]
According to Weaks, the two men met a month ago on the Internet through a mutual friend. They claimed to have "very strong beliefs regarding white power and skinhead" leanings, Weaks said.
You would think there would be at least some decent Republicans of authority whose words would carry weight that should have advised the McCain/Palin's campaign to stop the incitement of hatred and violence, and use of "code words" towards that effort, which have no place in todays America anymore than they did in the days of history passed. America should have long ago stopped engendering hatred against persons of other races, religions, or sexual preferences, but the GOP is, and remains, the party of old white men and such discrimination will ever stop until a new generation takes over.
How does the GOP find otherwise attractive women with hearts so black…
posted by Bill Arnett @ 1:39 PM Permalink
…and full of hatred for so many things uniquely American that they seem like automatons from outer space and ugly as sin for the views they espouse. Maybe it's just me, but the manner in which people think, and the vitriol they spew, makes the most physically attractive men or women seem like dried up, blackhearted, shrunken little gnomes without a shred of decency or beauty.
Example from the Huffington Post wherein Katrina vanden Heuvel interacted with the Congresswoman from Minnesota, Michele Bachmann.
Last Friday, one of the guests preceding my segment on MSNBC's Hardball was a then-little known Congresswoman from Minnesota named Michele Bachmann.
She's not little known now.
Bachmann said of Barack Obama, "I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views." She then called on the media to "take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America?"[…]
When Matthews turned to me for my response I told him exactly what I was feeling, "Chris, I fear for my country.... This is a politics, at a moment of extreme economic pain in this country, that is incendiary, that is so debased that I'm kind of almost having a hard time breathing, because I think it's very scary, because this is a country I love."[…]
The netroots wasted no time in exposing Bachmann's ugly extremism. Within a day, a video posted on YouTube of Bachmann's comments (and my response) had over 87,000 hits. Over 55,000 people have signed a petition calling on Congress to censure Bachmann. Americans United for Change launched IamProAmerica.com in response to both Bachmann's vitriol and Sarah Palin's stumping about "pro-America areas" of our nation.
People on both sides of the aisle have spoken out against Bachmann. On Sunday, following an appearance on Meet the Press, Colin Powell told reporters, "This business, for example, we've got a congressman from Minnesota who's going around saying, 'Let's examine all congressmen to see who is pro-America and whose not pro-America.' We have got to stop this kind of nonsense, pull ourselves together, and remember that our great strength is in our unity and our diversity."
I, too, have feared for my country for some time now, as it is unrecognizable as the America in which I grew up and proudly served in its military. I'd have given my life for this country and very nearly did.
It is time to drive all these bigoted and hate-filled Republicans out into the wilderness until they learn to survive by loving and supporting all people or perish from their own perfidy.
And by the way, I'm not sexist or misogynist in the least, as I find all people with sunshine in their hearts, goodwill towards their fellow man, and who go out of their way to bring a little joy into another's life to be attractive in the extreme. These people are the true Americans with whom I grew up and in whom I place so much trust that I am sure we can rebuild and restore America to its former glory.
When Bachmann someday passes on, if she believes in heaven and hell, I am positive she will rot in hell forever.
posted by The Sailor @ 5:45 PM Permalink
OK, now that I have your attention, let's talk about race ... and sex.
In a kinda sorta follow up to SteveAudio's post about the racist Curious George T-shirt and in light of the comments on that post, I'd just like to say: Misogyny is terrible, racism is worse.
Let me re-phrase: Misogynists are terrible, racists are worse. I suggest you read the post and read the comments, and read the links to the comments on other sites. I'll wait ...
... ... ...
Yep, those were awful, sexist, misogynist comments about Hillary.
And that's really bad, but racism is about both men and women. Men and women that were kidnapped and stolen from Africa and auctioned off as chattel in our country. Men and women that were considered as property, and even enshrined in the Constitution as 3/5ths of a person so that Southern states were equally represented in Congress.
There aren't groups in our country that want to kill women just for being women but there are groups in our country that want to kill black people, just for being black.
And if I were to put on my cynical hat I would say that Hillary should take the VP job, if offered, because Obama being assassinated, (and if he's elected I put the odds of that at 50/50), is the best chance she has of being President.
And that's why misogyny is terrible, racism is worse.
posted by The Vidiot @ 8:16 AM Permalink
From Sen. Jim DeMint (R) South Carolina:
"I frankly believe that if Iraq was located any where else in the world, that a functioning democracy would likely emerge in the relatively short term."
Yeah. It's their fault. If they were white and in Europe, it would've been a democracy by now.
1.(sometimes capital letters 'V' and 'S' with no space) a style of writing or saying something using emotion and/or logic and snark, esp. in order to elucidate the obvious while pretending to be objective.
2. anything written by The Vidiot, The Sailor, Mr. Vidiot and anyone else they allow to post on the blog “vidiotspeak”
[Origin: loosely based on new + speak, coined by George Orwell in his novel, 1984 (1949)]
And for godsakes, stay away from FOX, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC.
It's ALL CRAP!!!
Watch the BBC news or ITN news instead.
"POSSE COMITATUS ACT" (18 USC 1385)
A Reconstruction Era criminal law proscribing use of Army (later, Air Force) to "execute the laws" except where expressly authorized by Constitution or Congress. Limit on use of military for civilian law enforcement also applies to Navy by regulation. Dec '81 additional laws were enacted (codified 10 USC 371-78) clarifying permissible military assistance to civilian law enforcement agencies--including the Coast Guard--especially in combating drug smuggling into the United States. Posse Comitatus clarifications emphasize supportive and technical assistance (e.g., use of facilities, vessels, aircraft, intelligence, tech aid, surveillance, etc.) while generally prohibiting direct participation of DoD personnel in law enforcement (e.g., search, seizure, and arrests). For example, Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETS) serve aboard Navy vessels and perform the actual boardings of interdicted suspect drug smuggling vessels and, if needed, arrest their crews). Positive results have been realized especially from Navy ship/aircraft involvement.
