Man, I Sure Miss Frank Zappa

Over 20 years ago, back when MTV was worth watching, there was a certain group of busybody cunts who wanted to tell everyone else how to live. They called themselves the PMRC and wanted to rate musicfor the rest of us according to their personal tastes. Ordinarily, they would have been told to fuck off, but unfortunately for us, their husbands happened to be U.S. Senators. This meant that legislation equating to censorship was closer to reality than a lot of smarter people were comfortable with. It also meant that there were hearings on Capitol Hill, regarding music & the rating thereof.

I'm not going to give the PMRC members or their husbands' names here, if you're curious, look it up, I will, however, tell you that I watched part of those hearings on TV, and I was floored by the diverse group representing the music industry that sat before those hearings to try to bring reason & intelligence to the proceedings.

Picture this group, if you can: John Denver, Ice-T and Frank Zappa. I'm pretty sure Rob Halford from Judas Priest was there too, but I didn't see his testimony. Anyway, John Denver was threatened with censorship over his song "Rocky Mountain High" when it first came out, because since it has the word "high" in it, it's obviously about encouraging poor defenseless children to abuse drugs. I loved the I-can't-believe-I-have-to-explain-this-to-fucking-adults look on his face when he asked the panel if they actually listened to the song before they condemned it. Ice-T was, of course, far more intelligent and articulate than they expected, and he sounded like he was talking to a Special-Ed class, too.

But Frank Zappa was fucking mezmerizing. He gave such compelling testimony, and also compared the PMRC & their ilk to fucking Nazis, which they basically are. You can read the transcript of one of his testimonies in the link at the end of this post. It's sad that Amerika has so few people like Mr. Zappa today, or we might not be in the giant shithole we're in now, thanks to people like George W. Bush & his "Emperor's New Clothes" regime.

http://home.comcast.net/~jaypfunk/trading/fzpmrc.html

Also take some time to see this video and you'll know what I'm talking about:

http://robert.accettura.com/blog/2006/06/16/frank-zappas-senate-judiciary-committee-hearing-testimony/

I sure do miss him, not only as a genius musician, but as a Real American.

Another Lesson in Differences

OK, the election is finally over, and the American sheeple at least showed a bit of common sense for a change. Although I still don't feel Obama is the best man for the job, he was certainly the best choice we were presented with. I happen to agree with the thought that the man who wants the job the least deserves it most. Hopefully Obama can live up to his obvious promise, but (almost) anyone would be an improvement over a semi-retarded evangelical cunt like Bush.
I just couldn't imagine the Antichrist as VP, either. Just the fact that she thinks we're in the end times and would do everything in her power to accelerate the coming Apocalypse is more than enough reason to vote against the Republicunts. I feel that people like Palin & Mike Huckabee should be excluded from holding any meaningful elected office just to enforce the separation of church & State anyway. I am so fucking sick of narrow-minded ignorant fuckstains making decisions that affect my life.

Anyway, that's not really the purpose of this post. I really want to educate & inform people of important differences between what they think about certain things. As a previous post dealt with the differences between Rights and Privileges, this post will deal with the difference between Nationalism and Patriotism.

Let's start with Nationalism. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, nationalism is: loyalty and devotion to a nation ; especially : a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups. That's definition #1, and will suffice for the purpose of this post.
That is what most people in Amerika consider patriotic: unwavering support for their country & its leaders, regardless of what those "leaders" think, do or say. A bunch of drunk fratboys bleating out chants of "U S A" & "We're Number One" while certainly embarrassing, is neither true or patriotic. Blind faith in anything just means you're willing to abdicate responsibility for your actions to someone you don't even know. That doesn't make you anything but a fucking sheep, which explains the repetitive bleating.

I can't put it more succinctly than that. Of course, the corporate media that spoon feeds most Amerikans their misinformed opinions on everything these days wouldn't dare make such a proclamation, the FCC would shut them down for disagreeing with the powers that be.
Rampant nationalism is also what allowed a fucking animal like Hitler to come to power in Germany, and he wasn't even fucking German! The same mob-mentality that brought us the Nuremburg rallies and the Holocaust has brought this once-great nation to a morally and intellectually bankrupt state. Not to mention having the Patriot Act crammed up our asses, the systematic elimination of our basic rights, and the institution in all but name of a Police State in what's supposed to be the most free country on the planet. Don't take my word for it, visit any of these links & see for yourself:

1:Looking Back in Disgust

2:Information Liberation

3:CQ.com

So the next time you're feeling Patriotic, try submitting a Freedom of Information Act request on what's really happening in Iraq or Afghanistan, waterboarding or other forms of torture carried out by the CIA & others, or any of the myriad Bill of Rights violations perpetrated by the worst presidency in history. Then let everyone know how that works out for you until the Goon Squad serves you with a no-knock warrant & "accidentally" kills you at 3 A.M.

All Too Common

It's been a while since I've posted anything, but I do have a job. At one point in my life I had actually contemplated a career in law enforcement. That's right, a cop. As things stand now, I'm glad I didn't, because I'd be associated with these gems of today's Fascist society:

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Opinion/Content?oid=oid:58248

I hope if this guy's married they showed these pictures to his wife. First of all, only the worst and most cowardly of cunts hit women. On top of that, where does the "Serve and Protect" part cover beating the shit out of any prisoner, let alone a handcuffed woman? Your Mom sure would be proud to see this, once the swelling around her eyes goes down enough for her to see anything at all. I guess those dishes aren't going to do themselves, are they? At least your Dad will have something to talk about when he's forcing himself on some teenage boy at that "one" rest area on the interstate right by his house. A quick search on Youtube will net you some graphic video. What a dick.

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Opinion/Content?oid=oid:58248

I'm sure this skilled officer is much better at threat assessment than me, because a NINE FUCKING YEAR OLD MENTALLY RETARDED GIRL could certainly be easily underestimated. I'm sure she brought it upon herself, though, being all small and "slow" and unpredictable. I can't even fathom the cowardice of anyone who witnessed this not at least saying something to this fucking thug hiding behind a badge. If I saw anyone else but a cop doing something this mortifying I would feel obligated to try to stop them any way I could. See that picture of me at the top of the page? That's a good choice for what they call an "appropriate response."

I sincerely hope these assholes lose their jobs at the very least. I also hope the inevitable (and completely justified) lawsuits bankrupt both of these departments. Fuck them, it's what they deserve for putting badges on these cocksuckers.

Not Far Off The Mark

There are three kinds of people in this world that I despise: Thieves, Liars and Bullies, and the RIAA is all three in one convenient, easy-to-loathe package.
I'm old enough to have owned (and nostalgic enough to still own) vinyl LPs and cassette tapes. My friends and I shared all our albums with each other by taking the time to record them onto cassettes, and we all had piles of homemade cassette tapes. Some of them were even labeled as well. Why did we do this? It's called "sharing" and it's how we were raised. Also because it saved us money because we didn't have to buy that particular LP. I'm sure the music industry lost money from us doing that, but twenty or thirty years ago the government wasn't completely bought and paid for by big business.
File sharing is just like spending a rainy afternoon at a friend's house turning a stack of records into a stack of tapes. It wasn't called stealing then and it's no different now, it just doesn't take as long. I now have stacks of CDs and a CD recorder, and I will gladly copy anything I have for someone.
Do I make 1000 copies of a CD and sell them? No, because that is pirating, and I have no issue with arresting someone doing that. But when the RIAA sues some little kid for a ridiculous amount of money for downloading her favorite songs I have a huge problem with that. Way to take the moral high ground and make an example out of a hardened criminal! If you are savvy enough to not have to pay for your music, awesome! If your favorite band comes to town, pay for a ticket to see them live, because at least they'll make more than a dollar from each ticket, unlike their latest CD, which, even though it still costs $18, made the record company fifteen times as much money as the artist. And why do CDs cost as much now as when they first came out over 20 years ago? Especially when you consider the cost of a CD player started out at around three grand, and now you couldn't give one away because DVD players are so inexpensive now?
I know someone who worked in a CD factory 8-10 years ago, and they told me that, including the packaging, it cost about a buck and a half to make a CD. Even taking into consideration the cost of shipping, advertising, paying the wage slaves to move it from one point to another in the store, and what the artist is being paid (minus the advance they already got, thank you), the price of a CD should be under five bucks. The only reason, and please correct me if I'm wrong, that Cds cost as much as they do is corporate greed.
So share your files with your friends, neighbors, acquaintances, online friends, even complete strangers, as long as you're sharing and not making money off of someone else's work.

If You Value Your Rights

If you value your Rights and want to keep them, there's something tangible you can do to keep them. Sign this petition and pass it on to everyone you know, or put it on your own blog. Whether you own guns or not, this issue is going to have a huge impact on defining your Rights vs. the power of the government for a long time to come. You could even write to your elected officials and ask them to support the petition in whatever way they can.
If you sit on your thumbs and let this go by, don't come crying to me when the Jackboots come kick your door in. For once, make your vote count on something infinitely more important than American Idol.

Those who would sacrifice liberty for security will lose both, and deserve neither.-
Ben Franklin

"It Can't Happen Here"

If you think, say, hear or believe this phrase, you're in for a rude awakening. Ever heard of Eminent Domain? That's what it's called when the Government does it, when anyone else does it, it's called extortion. You or I would go to prison for agreeing to attempt it. That part is called "conspiracy to commit ( insert charge here)", and it's usually thrown in for good measure when someone is charged with various crimes.
Do you like the house you live in? You better hope some developer doesn't see it as the perfect place for a strip mall or Starbucks, because you will lose your home and get nothing for it. Take a look at this news item from New York. Just because some asshole has friends in City Hall, you can be unceremoniously thrown into the street when they steal your property.
These are elected officials, people! If you knowingly support a candidate that supports government-sanctioned extortion and theft, then you are part of the problem, not to mention a cocksucker of the highest order. If you don't know where a candidate stands on this issue, find out. Every item they vote on is a matter of public record, so if you don't have the balls to ask them, you can find out by going through their files.

Here it Comes

The Dystopian nightmare envisioned by George Orwell is right around the corner, except he didn't have right-wing Nazi, bible-thumping cunts running things. If you enjoy your freedom of speech, and I certainly do, you need to be aware of the rapidly approaching Theocratic Police-State hegemony (look it up) in this country. I, for one, can't stand being told how to live, let alone how to think & speak. These Bills are as close to thought-crime legislation as it gets without coming right out and calling them that. This article from the John Birch Society even called them that. No sense sugar-coating it.
I personally don't relish the idea that some gov't goon is allowed to come to my home, paw through my stuff, confiscating whatever they want, for no better reason than I said mean things about their boss. Personally, a Ruby Ridge-style standoff with the New SS, I mean BATF, does not appeal to me at all. I have a family to worry about. (You get a good zombie outbreak, I'm your guy all the way!)
Linda Milazzo has written a very good article in the Huffington Post about it, and I think you should take the time right now and read it. Do it goddammit! For a more detailed description of the Bills, the Center for Constitutional Rights has an excellent factsheet posted on their site. And don't just read the articles, write an email to your representatives as well, because they still work for you, for the time being anyway.
Here is the letter I wrote to my Senators:

Dear Senator ____________,

I am writing to voice my concern over Resolution 1959, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. This is as frightening a piece of legislature as anything I've ever seen, including policy papers from Nazi Germany and the U.S.S.R. under Stalin. It sounds suspiciously similar to the sedition laws enacted by the British prior to the Revolutionary War.

This is a totally unwarranted attack on our Constitutional rights, specifically the First Amendment as I understand it. Correct me if I'm wrong, Sir, but isn't voicing a dissenting opinion the very definition of freedom of speech? I personally put a very high value on our freedoms, and those who protect them for us.

Please do everything in your power to persuade others that supporting this resolution is utterly wrong and counter to the Constitution they (and you, Sir,) swore to defend.

I have the utmost confidence in your ability to shone the light of rationality on this corrosive issue.

Thank you for your time,

And if that doesn't work: