Pimping the Culture War

Bill O'Reilly's got a new book coming out, where he's proclaimed himself a "Culture Warrior".

From an online conservative bookseller: "Bill O’Reilly is the very embodiment of the idea of a Culture Warrior—and in this book he lives up to the title brilliantly, with all the brashness and forthrightness at his command. He sees that America is in the midst of a fierce culture war between those who embrace traditional values and those who want to change America into a “secular-progressive” country. This is a conflict that differs in many ways from the usual liberal/conservative divide, but it is no less heated, and the stakes are even higher.

In Culture Warrior, Bill O’Reilly defines this war and analyzes the competing philosophies of the traditionalist and secular-progressive camps. He examines why the nation’s motto “E Pluribus Unum” (“From Many, One”) might change to “What About Me?”; dissects the forces driving the secular-progressive agenda in the media and behind the scenes, including George Soros, George Lakoff, and the ACLU; and dives into matters of race, education, and the war on terror. He also shows how the culture war has played out in such high-profile instances as The Passion of the Christ, Fahrenheit 9/11, the abuse epidemic (child and otherwise), and the embattled place of religion in public life—with special emphasis on the war against Christmas. Whatever controversies are roiling the nation, he fearlessly confronts them—and no one will be in the dark about which side he’s on.’

Culture Warrior showcases Bill O’Reilly....an unrelenting fighter for the soul of America, and in this book he fights the good fight for the traditional values that have served this country so well for so long."

The culture war is a sham perpetuated by people who can profit from it and those who use it to keep us divided & disempowered.

I live side by side with Democrats, Republicans, Christians & non-Christians. We coexist peacefully even if we do occassionally disagree idealogically. For most of us, no matter our religious or political affiliation, the only war we are fighting is to get by. We are trying to raise kids (and in some cases our own selves), keep a roof over our heads & food in our fridges, stay healthy, and live peacefully & spiritually.

I'm sure most of you have the same experience.

Why is it that some are so afraid of allowing other people to have their opinions & beliefs & holidays? People different from me do not threaten my values. There is enough room in this country for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Ramadan and more. We are all children of God, he created us all, so why do we elevate ourselves above our brothers & sisters? Jesus himself said, "the Greatest Commandment is LOVE." He wasn't saying to love only those who are similar to ourselves or who we consider "good". In fact he said that it is the sick who need doctors, not the healthy. From love comes love. If you love yourself you will be kind to those around you. People with mental baggage or who hate themselves, tend to do harm. If we all loved, we could leave behind our emotional baggage & then the sins of fathers/mothers would not be visited upon our children. We need to start practicising love, not just toward others but first & formost to ourselves.

The U.S. does not have a homogenous culture. Christians themselves have splintered into many different sects & traditions. Even our founding fathers came from varying Christian backgrounds. Later immigration has further created our melting pot culture. We can be proud of our country's Christian heritage without having to shove it down everyone's throat & disclaim others beliefs. People who shove their values onto others are hate themselves and are insecure in the veracity of what they are preaching.

Our Founding Fathers wrote the main driving document behind our Republic, The U.S. Consitution, giving everyone the right to have & share varying opinions, as well as the right to practice any religion. These were intellectual, well-read men, they had to know of religions beyond Christianity, so I don't believe they were saying you can be any religion as long as you are Judeo-Christian. You can have your beliefs & religion. And I keep mine.

So many people are hypocrites. They talk about Christian values but don't follow them. I myself have known Chrisitans who say Catholics and Mormons are evil, even though those religions are Christian. Then there is our supposedly Christian President who has no problem TORTURING prisoners of war because they are non-americans & apparently sub-human.

It isn't about values, it is all about personal power and glory. Jesus must be weeping in heaven that his words have been so twisted.

The true threat to our culture is the seductive, mind-numbing din of consumerism, corporatism, and entertainment. We have nobody but ourselves to blame if we are losing our souls. It's we who vote for the "lesser of evils" rather than demanding moral politicians. We do not take people to task when they lie or cheat or abuse. We are serving two masters: the Dollar first and God second.

If our music, television & literature are immoral then we can take the advice of 1950s TV host funnyman Jack Paar, "I have never seen a bad television program, because I refuse to. God gave me a mind, and a wrist that turns things off." If we stop buying it, people/media/companies will stop selling it because it's not making money.

Do not believe it when THE MEDIA & POLITICIANS (the kings & queens of sound bites) tell you there's a culture war; however, I do plan to keep my eyes open & I'll fight (Care Bear Power!) against the forces that want such a war. We must get to know our neighbors: Republicans, Democrats, Progressives, Muslims, Mormons, Jews, people of color, or anyone who's different. We are more similar than we are different.

Attention bookworms: books by mail (it's like netflix)

For my book loving friends (or books on tape/cd/mp3), here's a way to save $ by not buying all the books you want to read or if you're too busy or live too far from the library.

Check out Books Free.

Air Force Chief wants to test weapons on U.S. Civilians

The Republic continues to further devolve into fascism before my very eyes. I saw this piece on CNN.com Wednesday evening.

See full article on CNN.com: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before being used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday.

The object is basically public relations. Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions from others about possible safety considerations, said Secretary Michael Wynne.

"If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation," said Wynne. "(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press."

The Air Force has paid for research into nonlethal weapons, but he said the service is unlikely to spend more money on development until injury problems are reviewed by medical experts and resolved.

Nonlethal weapons generally can weaken people if they are hit with the beam. Some of the weapons can emit short, intense energy pulses that also can be effective in disabling some electronic devices."

I have some questions... do they tell people they are testing new weapons? How do they define who in the crowd these "non-lethal weapons" are used on? What kind of reimbursement do the "victims" of this test get if it has unexpected or unforeseen side effects or is not-so-non-lethal? We've already seen how some Cops get trigger happy with tasers...I'd expect there'd be some of that too.

Don't get me wrong I'm all for human testing (especially in the medical field) where it's voluntary. But in all likelihood, they aren't going to tell the crowds upfront that they are testing new non-lethal weapons for the Air Force.

I have a better idea. Police officers are tasered in training, maybe the Air Force should test "non-lethal" (I mean come on, it is non-lethal) weapons on themselves.

Quotable

"I'm just trying to be a good Christian. You know, there are different kinds of Christians. There's preaching Christians, Church-playing Christians, and there's practicing Christians - And I'm trying very hard to be a practicing Christian.

If you take the words of Jesus literally and apply them to you everyday life, you discover that the greatest fulfillment you'll ever find really doeslie in giving."

--Johnny Cash

When asked if he had any regrets, Johnny Cash replied "I used to but I forgave myself. When God forgave me, I figured I better do it, too. So everything is all right now."

I hope I can do that some day!

The war against our Constitution (S.2453)

Have any of you heard about this? It's barely been on the news here. I only know about it because of this morning's KBOO news. This is ridiculous!!! We can't allow this to happen.

From the Washington Times on August 8 (written by Bruce Fein):

The Cheney-Specter National Security Surveillance Act of 2006 (S.2453) constitutes a virtual declaration of war on the Constitution. It would mutilate constitutionally protected privacy, cripple checks and balances, and inhibit political dissent. The bill's profoundly anti-constitutional philosophy is that "trust the president" should be the measure of our civil liberties.
The Fourth Amendment protects American citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, i.e., the right to be left alone unless the government can demonstrate a strong law enforcement or intelligence need to a neutral magistrate. Its centerpiece is particularized suspicion. The government is not permitted to search willy-nilly in the hope that something may turn up. If that were not the case, the police could ransack every household in America on the theory that at least a handful will reveal evidence of crime. The amendment was not motivated by sympathy for criminals or enemy terrorists, however, but from recognition that a police state exposes citizens to harassment or retaliation for voicing dissent or being personally obnoxious to government officials. Without the amendment, citizens would be soon cowed into docility.
The Cheney-Specter bill promotes that evil. It would authorize the NSA to intercept all e-mails or international communications of Americans without warrants. It would authorize data mining that informs the government of the parties to every phone call made in the United States without warrants. It would give congressional endorsement to the theory that the president enjoys inherent constitutional power to ignore any federal statute regulating the collection of foreign intelligence, including prohibitions on mail openings, torture or breaking and entering homes. And the bill would authorize unprecedented program warrants to conduct electronic surveillance against Americans without any suspicion that the individual targets are implicated in terrorism or other wrongdoing.
The Constitution, of course, is not a suicide pact. Congress and the president have collaborated to enact the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), amended on six occasions since September 11, 2001 to endow the commander in chief with muscular authority to gather foreign intelligence against al Qaeda or other enemies of the United States. The National Security Agency (NSA) may target suspected terrorists abroad for electronic surveillance or physical searches without judicial warrants. If a terrorist calls an American citizen in the United States, the NSA is not required to hang up. The United States Supreme Court has held that aliens abroad are unprotected by the Fourth Amendment. For 15 days after war commences, electronic surveillance of Americans in the United States does not require a warrant. Nor is one required for up to 72 hours in cases of emergency.
In sum, all but a tiny crumb of foreign intelligence is assembled without FISA or constitutional constraints. And not a scrap of evidence suggests September 11 might have been averted in the absence of FISA.
The statute regulates the president's authority to target American citizens on American soil for electronic surveillance or physical searches. The NSA must obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court based on probable cause to believe the American target is implicated in international terrorism or activity on behalf of a foreign nation or foreign terrorist organization. Moreover, so-called "minimization" procedures must be followed to ensure that the inadvertently intercepted, innocuous communications of non-suspect Americans are destroyed. Big Brother files on every American citizen would dampen dissent by engendering fear of government retaliation through leaks or otherwise. Think of the message sent by the Bush administration's covert efforts to discredit Ambassador Joseph Wilson over Iraq's suspected initiative to purchase uranium from Niger.
As recently as July 31, 2002, President Bush's Department of Justice testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that FISA was nimble and effective in combating terrorism. The department opposed a proposal by Sen. Mike DeWine, Ohio Republican, to relax the standards needed to obtain a warrant.
Unknown to the committee, President Bush had been flouting FISA since the immediate aftermath of September 11 by targeting American citizens for electronic surveillance on his say-so alone. The president hoped to keep the NSA's illegal domestic spying secret forever by refusing to inform Congress or the American people. That ambition was foiled last December by the New York Times after apparent leaks from the executive branch. The attorney general has conceded other secret spying programs that have not yet leaked. But as father of the Constitution, James Madison admonished, popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is a farce. Further, no evidence has been forthcoming from the White House showing that violating FISA for five years has yielded much if any useful foreign intelligence.
The Cheney-Specter bill turns the wisdom that the Constitution is not a suicide pact into the folly that the Constitution is whatever the president says it is. And the folly is compounded by the convincing evidence that the bill will accomplish nothing non-trivial to defeat international terrorism.

Bruce Fein is a constitutional lawyer and international consultant with Bruce Fein & Associates and The Lichfield Group.