Blagojevich is right until...

There have been nasty allegations against Blagojevich and while apparently leaked - alleged recordings. I've not heard an actual audio of his voice but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. In the current state of the political world he is probably tainted, but certainly not the only one.

From the Drudgereport on 12-30-2008



I admire his tenacity and going forward with his plans in the face of adversity. Were it that serious maybe he should have been arrested or maybe a swat team should have busted into his house as if he were poor.

Until then the job he was elected for continues.

The Main Stream Media of Today and Yesterday

There are often negative blogs written about the current state of the Main Stream Media (MSM) about their lack of objective journalism and reporting. I would have to agree with this general observation commented on by so many on the Internet.

It is said there was a time in the history of radio and television news that the broadcasters were much more objective and factual in reporting the news. It seemed a simple one or two person show that presented the days news absent the "stay tuned through this much too loud and obnoxious commercial" break to hear the rest of this important story.
The important story most likely being an Alert or Breaking News which now seems incessant no matter how long or important a story has been in either state in reality. George Orwell (1984) is probably laughing and crying as this is happening today, or maybe he was more insightful about the history of mass media news, its end purpose, and was only being pragmatic in his novel.

So I wondered about the MSM of the 19th century and early 20th century, the non radio and television sources being the state of the art of the day. Newspapers carrying both local stories and telegraphed or word of mouth information for politics and national information.
One of the first things I learned was that 19th century newspapers were very political and biased toward or against political parties very openly. One case in point is the New York Tribune (1864) which spoke for the Republican Party.



Later in time, William Hearst's The New York Journal published a hard approach to the U.S.S. Maine sinking. Later in 1900 the same newspaper was devoted to supporting the Democrats in the election of 1900.
The Hearst dynasty was of course a very wealthy and influential entity and to lots of people has had a very dubious impact on certain freedoms.





The Federalists, Republicans, Democrats and other political parties all used the MSM to spread and influence the populace with their own ideas and propoganda since the dawn of America and the 1st Amendment. There is no constitutional demand that MSM be unbiased and accurate - in fact the MSM is free to slant political opinion in any way they wish from a legal point of view I suppose.
For some reason the MSM seems to obscure that fact and present themselves as unbiased, presumably thinking it is lending more credibility to their propaganda.

Thankfully the Internet has become an important avenue for differing sources of news and information. I hope the world will be very vigilant in keeping it that way.

I also hope the Internet continues to keep more people away from the MSM strategists, experts, analysts, and that ilk who invariably work for institutes, foundations, lobbyists, and others like them who have a strong interest in the status quo.

For an excellent writeup of the History of American newspapers visit Wikipedia.

Ron Paul on the Bailout

Ron Paul speaking the truth about the bailout.

read more | digg story

Gordon Kahl - Patriot or Outlaw?

It seems to me that I first heard about Gordon Kahl in the mid 1980's on a local radio station. Further down the road the movie In The Line of Duty: Manhunt In The Dakotas (1991) was made and Rod Steiger played the role of Gordon Kahl.

For my taste I thought that Rod Steiger did an excellent acting job. Later in the early 21st century I had the pleasure of hearing some interviews with Joan Kahl, the wife of Gordon Kahl, on the American Freedom Network radio station out of Johnstown, CO. It was her impression that the movie did not do justice to Gordon.

Later in life I was able to visit Gordon's Grave near Heaton, North Dakota. I had never visited North Dakota before and found it to actually be a wonderful state with many things to see of importance and beauty.

After stopping in Medina and traveling north from Medina I believe this view may be the place and the view just before Gordon and his family were ambushed in February of 1983.



From an alleged typed note by Gordon Kahl written that very day.

As we came over one of the hills just north of Medina, I saw on the top of the next hill what looked like two cars parked on it. About this time they turned on their red lights, and I knew the attack was under way.

Later, in June of 1983 Gordon was killed in a shootout with federal authorities in Lawrence County, AR. A local sheriff by the name of Gene Matthews was also killed, some say by a bullet into his back.

The cemetery where Gordon rests has two markers. One of the markers represents both Gordon and his wife Joan, at the bottom of this stone reads "He Loved His Country".

The other stone is a military marker representing his service in WWII.

A few links to read further about Gordon are at the end of this blog as I cannot do better than what those pages have to say.

What I can say is that Gordon was a tax protester and had deep concerns about the direction of where the government was taking us. He had concerns about the individual farmers and small towns that were disappearing before his eyes.

What I can tell you about Heaton, North Dakota that I visited in the summer of 2004 was that it is a virtual ghost town with no apparent prosperity of any individual farmer or store evident.

There are also the infamous tax protesters of The Boston Tea Party and most of us know the phrase Taxation Without Representation.

So, was Gordon a patriot or outlaw? Certainly he was an example that was made to be either a Patriot or Outlaw.

His resting place represents history now much in the same fashion of George Washington, Patrick Henry, Doc Holiday, William Bent, maybe even the James Gang Brothers and Billy The Kid.

Gordon was not advocating for the rich or for the companies - just for people he had empathy for.

Here are more links if you wish to read further

Gordon in his own words

Wikipedia entry on Gordon Kahl

Uncensored Gordon Kahl

Observations on wars

There are many definitions of war and causes for a war. No matter the source for an exact definition, or a definition that one accepts it can generally be understood that war is a condition of human existence that is best avoided.

The wars briefly discussed in this blog shall be limited to wars that began and continue to occur in my lifetime. These wars have many traits in common as well. Most had their genesis prior to the birth of most of the people reading this. Many if not most started with a well intentioned government to improve the quality of American Life during the industrial revolution and the population increases of the early 20th century.

What happened along the way?

• The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was a well intentioned act that provided clearly labeled drugs and food and other products in this time when products were undergoing more durable packaging and transport to further reaches of the country - as well as keeping dubious sellers from selling inferior and counterfeit or tainted products.
• The Harrison Narcotic Tax Act 1914 a form of control of opium and coca in their various forms and thus possibly provided the beginning of legislative control of what Physicians could provide for their patients.
• Prohibition of Alcohol 1920-1933 Much of this drive came from religious ideology (temperance).
• Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 Maybe the most recognizable Act of the 1930's

The sum of these and many more historical steps led President Nixon to officially use the term War On Drugs in 1972.

___

Another noble idea that most people would agree on would be to eliminate poverty. So, in the State Of The Union Address given by President Johnson on January 8th 1964, he was to declare a War On Poverty.

___

As legislative evolution does, these ideas, laws, enforcers and the forces of warriors refine and get tougher when wars are not won in a reasonable amount of time. Soon more agencies are established, think tanks and religion adopt the cause and Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition songs are written. Although from a different kind of war this was an actual song from World War II.

When the word war has such a negative connotation one wonders why there cannot be other words to use for these ideas - after all it is the American People and lots of collateral damage and national treasure has not reversed the trend.

How has the War On Drugs gone? Any end in sight?
How has the War On Poverty gone? Any end in sight?
How will the War On Terror go? 100 years?

The war on terror has been with us for some time now and what would be one's next guess as to a war on something?

As an aside, all of the wars mentioned here seem to occur in nations other than America in the same time frame - not always, but enough that it seems odd.

POTUS 2009 - Where is our salvation?

BUSINESS AS USUAL IN 2009

Hillary dodges bullets in Bosnia and will 'provide' everyone with health care (business as usual)

McCain will follow Bin Laden to the Gates of Hell and save America (business as usual)

Obama will heal and bring America together (business as usual)

A Patriot SOBS at the ( Same Old Bull Shit )

Sunrise

America needs a group of people that stand for what the Founding Fathers created. So that we may have an American Class that stands above 'World Class'. The below video is 65 minutes long but if one is serious about the future of this country -please give it a view.




If you don't have the time - just read about Ron Paul here.