2007

I especially like the part where he says "No more ignoring the law when it's inconvenient."

Liar.

Friday Relaxation Brought To You By...

My How Things Have Changed. Not. Updated: 6:34 pm

January, 2008, Barack Obama campaigning:

"My job this morning is to be so persuasive...that a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany, and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Barack," he told a crowd of about 300 Ivy Leaguers--and, by the looks of it, a handful of locals who managed to gain access to what was supposed to be a students-only event.

For one thing, under an Obama presidency, Americans will be able to leave behind the era of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and "wiretaps without warrants," he said. (He was referring to the lingering legal fallout over reports that the National Security Agency scooped up Americans' phone and Internet activities without court orders, ostensibly to monitor terrorist plots, in the years after the September 11 attacks.)

Forward to June, 2013

The Obama administration on Thursday acknowledged that it is collecting a massive amount of telephone records from at least one carrier, reopening the debate over privacy even as it defended the practice as necessary to protect Americans against attack.

That would be in reaction to the revelation that the NSA has a court order requiring Verizon to turn over ALL telephone data daily for all customers both foreign and U.S. 

And before the stupids start with the BOB defense - it was wrong then, just as it is wrong now.  But I know the BOBers think that if one person does something wrong that makes it OK for another to do it.

And if the we've won the war on terror, since Bin Laden is dead and GM is alive and Al Qaeda is on the run, why is spying on every American citizen necessary?

Oh, and happy birthday to 1984, first published 64 years ago today.

Update  - There's now a report that NSA is tapping 9 top internet servers for e-mail messages, photos, etc.  Sorta knew this was happening.  Looks like it will be confirmed.  h/t Weasel Zippers.

Can we say "Police State"?  And can we say .... well, that wouldn't be nice.  And possibly not physically possible. But the gun registry people can bugger off.

Homeland Security Threat Words

One of the things I blasted Jay Rockefeller for was his "no gun owners were placed on government registries" statement.  I asked him if he thought I was so stupid as to believe that information wasn't being culled from my e-mails to him, or if I was one of the two people left in the U.S. who didn't know that the IRS has been used to target conservative groups - a process that requires lists, i.e., registries.  Or if Nixon and Obama didn't have enemies lists.  Or if there aren't conservative bloggers with enough tech savvy to see when they get regularly pinged by Homeland Security.

And we ARE being monitored.  A FOIA request has forced DHS to release the list of key words that they search for as they monitor social media.  And they DO monitor social media.

If you look at it closely what do you NOT see?  That's right:  their search words do not include words like "jihad", "Muslim", "Middle East", or any common words that could be used in social media by those who at war with us.

Our government is increasingly at war with its own citizens.  It has seen the enemy and we - you and I - are it.

h/t WCBM

Spot On!

I heard at least three home runs yesterday - this is one of them.  Congressman Bridenstine hits it out of the park.  I think I'm in love.

Rockefeller's Response

I wrote our Senators months ago concerning gun control.  Rockefeller just answered today.

Knowing of your interest in issues related to the Second Amendment and gun safety, I wanted to be in touch to update you on recent action in the Senate.  
            
            Making sure our children, families, and communities are safe from harm has always been one of my top priorities.  The unspeakable crimes in places like Blacksburg, Newtown, Aurora, and Tucson have served to remind us of the terrible fact that American families lose loved ones every day as a result of gun violence.  
 

Over the last several months, parents, educators, police officers, hunters, and elected leaders have worked hard to find common ground and come up with new solutions to solve the very real problem of gun violence.  Too many lives have been taken from us too soon, and I believe strongly that we can do more to keep everyone safe while also protecting the important Second Amendment rights and traditions valued by West Virginians. 

 

I believe we should consider ideas that have worked in the past as well as new ideas.  I have been disappointed that some of my colleagues have not kept an open mind about solutions, but I'm hopeful that we still might be able to have honest conversations about next steps.  

 

We should tackle all important aspects of gun violence – expanding mental health services, studying the impact of violent media on children, aggressively going after gun traffickers, reinstating previous laws on assault weapons and high capacity magazines, and closing the loopholes that exist today in the background check process.

 

Two of those issues that I have long supported are better mental health support services in our communities and a better understanding of the impact of violent images on our youth.  I have introduced bills on both of these issues this year.  

 

Another measure that I have supported in the past and think we should reinstate today, is the law that was in effect in from 1994 to 2004 that prohibited new purchases of a limited number of assault weapons and high capacity magazines.  It's important to note that when the prohibition was in place no one had to give up any of the guns they owned, no gun owners were placed on any government registries, and thousands of guns were exempted.  

 

Finally, the loopholes that exist in today's background checks are something I believe we need to work together to address.  Right now there are too many ways for violent criminals and the mentally ill to buy guns, especially at gun shows – and we have to fix that.  This wouldn't result in any type of registry.  It would simply mean that those who want to harm others couldn't avoid background checks by going to gun shows.  

 

Thank you for sharing your views with me on these critical issues.  I want you to know that I work hard every day to protect West Virginians' rights, safety, and well being.

 

I wish you the very best.   

 

With Warm Regards,

Jay Rockefeller

My response to this did not involve warm regards and started by quoting the part about assault weapons and high capacity magazines, followed by "Twaddle".  It ended by telling him how disgusting I find it when politicians use a tragedy to jump on a band wagon.  I didn't close with warm regards, because I have none. 

Stupid Purple Pill

Because of the chance that I may have an ulcer, the doctor put me an an acid reducer, Nexium.  You know, the purple pill with the dumb commercial where people are driving around in a purple truck preaching its virtues to Americans suffering from indigestion.  The last couple weeks were, at times, miserable.  I managed to perk up enough to enjoy time with my family in Detroit, but I was feeling sicker and sicker.  Light-headedness, weakness, nausea,  a weird metallic feeling/taste in my mouth.  It was getting a little scary - gastric cancer does not have symptoms until it's too late and that was much on my mind.  Then, finally, Thursday night I thought to look up Nexium side effects.   Oh.  Good. Grief.

I feel so much better since I stopped taking that stuff.  Something is still wrong, but at least that layer of misery is gone.  I suppose it helps many people, but right now it has been replaced with a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water a couple times a day and that will have to suffice until the surgeon takes a look at my innards.