Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Ways in Which Real Life is Like a Dystopian Science Fiction Novel, Part 2 of Infinity



Your Department of Homeland Security has developed mobile security gateways housed in tractor-trailers that deploy to public events to "establish or supplement security facilities at points of entry." Sensors inside the gateways scan individuals for "behavioral and physiological indications or malintent--or, the intent or desire to cause harm." Someone who plans to blow people up may tend to show certain behavioral traits, say fidgeting, or physiological traits, say an elevated pulse. These sensors would monitor such things. Of course, if you just happen to be nervous, say because you're surrounded by scary cops, dogs, guns, and probes--or you're a petty drug dealer--or you're late on your mortgage payments--and you set off the sensors, that's not a problem! Just step through the door for your interrogation and search, and if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about.

This is NOT designed to detect weapons. It is NOT designed to verify your identity. Large facilities already have security in place for that sort of thing. This is new. The video says in the very first sentence: "Physiological and behavioral screening technologies." The government intends to READ YOUR MIND.

I'm sure most people will breeze through these things with no problems. They might even think it's kind of neat. But the thing is, I'm worried about getting through them myself. Because when I find myself surrounded by physical reality of the police state, when I realize that we are slaves paying the cost of our own slavery, I get very angry. I've always mustered my best poker face in that kind of situation. What am I to do now? How can I hide my ill-will toward my government when they can read my very thoughts?

Friday, July 16, 2010

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Ways in Which Real Life is Like a Dystopian Science Fiction Novel, Part 1 of Infinity

There is a plant. When a person burns the flowers and leaves of this plant and inhales the resulting smoke, the person's brain chemistry is altered, often pleasurably. Said activity is against the law. If someone is suspected of said activity, people enter the home of that person. If that person drops to the ground fast enough, he has the privilege of going on living locked in a small room. If not, the other people use complicated pieces of metal that they carry to fire other, smaller pieces of metal into the person's body, killing him instantly.

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/06/17/las-vegas-cop-killing-of-father-to-be-in-pot-raid-reemphasizes-need-for-marijuana-legalization/

Friday, April 9, 2010

Where's your liberal leader now?

Obama's executive order that he attached to the health care bill that bans federal funds for abortion also provides for $50 million per year for abstinence-based sex education. What century is this?

Well, at least he spends money liberally, even if he doesn't govern liberally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olpB-9Niu8M

Opt out of: two-party politics; left-right paradigms.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Jim Rogers: "The U.S. Government long bond is a bubble."

Jim Rogers, as far as I can tell, is the smartest man in the world.  It's in the way he speaks.

Rogers says Treasury bonds are a bubble.
If he's right, Treasury bond prices will drop.
If prices drop, rates will go up.
If rates go up, interest payments on the national debt go up.
If payments go up, the rate of new borrowing goes up--unless and until spending is cut or taxes are raised.

For you, this may mean higher taxes, fewer government services, greater national debt, and bad performance from your retirement savings.



Opt Out of:  Borrow-and-spend politics; personal exposure to US bonds.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Ben Bernanke: "Central Banking is an Art" (that is, not a science)

Bernanke: "You need some system to set the money supply... Every major country in the world uses a central bank, which must make some decision about the money supply."
Ron Paul: "But then there's no good information for the investor, unfortunately."