Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Nanny State
An American expat returns to Washington and files a "trip" report.
posted by The Cunning Realist at Thursday, August 30, 2007
AN OASIS IN A WORLD OF HACKS, HUSTLERS, AND HIRED SPIN
posted by The Cunning Realist at Thursday, August 30, 2007
12 Comments:
Oooh, oohh, Fred on Everything. The red-neck libertarian.
I read him regularly. He is an equal opportunity offender, having written columns sure to infuriate anyone, from the dogmatic Left to the dogmatic Right. And then some.
He has written variations on this theme before, but usually it's a very pleasant read. See:
http://www.fredoneverything.net/Cultural Psychiatry.shtml
http://www.fredoneverything.net/National Character.shtml
http://www.fredoneverything.net/AmericaRogue.shtml
http://www.fredoneverything.net/SecurityHokum.shtml
http://www.fredoneverything.net/BushPower.shtml
http://www.fredoneverything.net/Athens.shtml
http://www.fredoneverything.net/TheWarrior.shtml
http://www.fredoneverything.net/WarsAftermath.shtml
"When I am dictator, I will strap the mothers of the graduating class of Harvard to the front bumpers of Humvees in Baghdad, and see how long support for the war lasts."
Classic line. I spent a long year in DC, and can assure anyone this piece is not filled with hyperbole.
Me, I just love the Pink Floyd reference in the title. It fits the story too, because Fred keeps referring to DC as an acid trip gone bad. Apropos I might say.
Thanks, CR. Never heard of Fred before, but will keep in touch now. Looks like something for everyone, one way or another.
Everybody should read "Socialized Medicine" and ask themselves what their answer is to the question. I'm forwarding it to some friends and we'll see how long that "friends" thing lasts.
My favorite was, "You know, eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, rather than a good way to lose it."
Well put. I am amazed and disappointed at how terrified we have become as a nation. We do this or that to make sure the "terrorists" don't win. But they already have!
I was reading somewhere recently (was it here?) that there is a good chunk of the population that literally thinks that Al Qaeda wants to take over the US and impose sharia law. How ridiculous is that? Even of they wanted to (which they don't) how could they possibly have the means?
It is incredible how one event, albeit huge and shocking, could shake this country to the core. I grew up in NYC and still have family there. So I am, of course, concerned for their safety. But let's get a grip, shall we? Especially when the vast majority of the country has almost nothing to fear from terrorism. What a bunch of bed wetters...
I live in NYC and people are scared here as well. I'm surprised how happily people allow cops to search their bags prior to entering the subway.
Anyway, it's worse in the heartland i imagine. A few years ago during the "duct tape" scare, a friend from the rural OK told me his neighbors were busily duct taping plastic over their windows.
Hysterical in both senses of that term.
Thanks for the link. It really struck a chord.
I live in the DC area, and every time I drive the Beltway I have to go under a pixellated sign reminding me to "Report Suspicious Activity", i.e., "Deounce Your Neighbors". Another sign of the madness: One of the local NPR stations (all of which have taken serious dives in quality over the last several years) now runs an evening program called something like, "What's New in Homeland Security". It's like an infomercial for fear-mongering. And now the Smithsonian museums are all getting swathed in "security" gadgetry....
Golly, maybe if we didn't go out of our way telling big chunks of the world how to live, we wouldn't have to worry so much about "security"?
I wonder if folks out in the provinces have any clue about what a goldmine this "Homeland Security" bullshit is? (Not that their opinions are especially wanted, here.) Anyway, taxpayers,SAIC and Lockheed Martin and Blackwater and Booz-Allen doing really, really well -- so fuck you very much!
-- sglover
As best I can tell, Homeland Security thought, or pretended to think, that a wily terrorist might put a bomb in the trash cans. So they built blast-proof cans after taking out the vulnerable old cans.
Apparently the Metro Standard Garbage Can lobbying group is much weaker than the airline industry lobbying group. Nobody can convince airlines that bomb-resistant cargo containers--even on passenger flights--are a good idea. And Congress has been well paid not to bother nagging the industry with the pertinent legislation.
Why are you anonymous?
Well this certainly explains a lot of political decisions of the last 6 years. Everyone in DC seems to be piddling themselves with fear. It's not really that bad here in flyover country, or at least I don't see it.
An amorphous enemy of the state is on the offensive. No front lines exist, only the constant reminder to stay true to the cause. The attack is imminent. Anxiety and the overwhelming need for protection rein supreme.
Welcome to 1984 or Fahrenheit 451. Take your pick.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qdrGKwkmxAU
I live in the heartland. It is not worse here. It is better. Way better. I do alot of traveling. Nobody in the heartland gets scared of LED signs (Boston Scare). I think a few idiots went out after 9/11 and bought duct tape for their windows...but the duct tape came of before the end of 2001 and hasn't gone back up since. People have (for the most part) come back to their senses. The die hard Republicans get a bit worked up still but most recognize that it is ridiculous to think they are a target of terrorism.
Post a Comment
<< Home