Op-Ed
In an agony of stupidity, the government shuts down.
Only some of it shuts down, of course. The part that stays open is the part that’s at war. “Those of you in uniform will remain on your normal duty status,” the president said. “The threats to our national security have not changed, and we need you to be ready for any contingency. Ongoing military operations, like our efforts in Afghanistan, will continue.”
As I once observed, there’s no such thing as a relaxed nation. It can shut down what it does right, if clumsily, like feeding people, educating them and helping them through difficulty, but it will only shut down its predatory sense of identity in a state of total defeat by a bigger predator. Not letting that happen is its endless obsession.
This is the sly, primitive, irrational part of government: its reptile-brain function. That’s still in full operation. We’re continuing to raid, bomb and terrorize Fourth World countries and pointlessly harvest global metadata. We’re still “completing our mission” in Afghanistan. We’re just phasing out the government functions that have value. Perhaps what we should talk about is a rationality shutdown.
Only some of it shuts down, of course. The part that stays open is the part that’s at war. “Those of you in uniform will remain on your normal duty status,” the president said. “The threats to our national security have not changed, and we need you to be ready for any contingency. Ongoing military operations, like our efforts in Afghanistan, will continue.”
As I once observed, there’s no such thing as a relaxed nation. It can shut down what it does right, if clumsily, like feeding people, educating them and helping them through difficulty, but it will only shut down its predatory sense of identity in a state of total defeat by a bigger predator. Not letting that happen is its endless obsession.
This is the sly, primitive, irrational part of government: its reptile-brain function. That’s still in full operation. We’re continuing to raid, bomb and terrorize Fourth World countries and pointlessly harvest global metadata. We’re still “completing our mission” in Afghanistan. We’re just phasing out the government functions that have value. Perhaps what we should talk about is a rationality shutdown.
This article is the Introduction to the new book War No More: The Case for Abolition, published in October 2013.
As I write this, in September 2013, something extraordinary has just happened. Public pressure has led the British Parliament to refuse a prime minister's demand for war for the first time since the surrender at Yorktown, and the U.S. Congress has followed suit by making clear to the U.S. president that his proposed authorization for war on Syria would not pass through either the Senate or the House.
As I write this, in September 2013, something extraordinary has just happened. Public pressure has led the British Parliament to refuse a prime minister's demand for war for the first time since the surrender at Yorktown, and the U.S. Congress has followed suit by making clear to the U.S. president that his proposed authorization for war on Syria would not pass through either the Senate or the House.
To the people in control of the Executive Branch, violating our civil
liberties is an essential government service. So -- to ensure total
fulfillment of Big Brother’s vast responsibilities -- the National
Security Agency is insulated from any fiscal disruption.
The NSA’s surveillance programs are exempt from a government shutdown. With typical understatement, an unnamed official told [1] _The Hill_ that “a shutdown would be unlikely to affect core NSA operations.”
At the top of the federal government, even a brief shutdown of “core NSA operations” is unthinkable. But at the grassroots, a permanent shutdown of the NSA should be more than thinkable; we should strive to make it achievable.
NSA documents, revealed by intrepid whistleblower Edward Snowden, make clear what’s at stake. In a word: _democracy_.
Wielded under the authority of the president, the NSA is the main surveillance tool of the U.S. government. For a dozen years, it has functioned to wreck our civil liberties. It’s a tool that should not exist.
The NSA’s surveillance programs are exempt from a government shutdown. With typical understatement, an unnamed official told [1] _The Hill_ that “a shutdown would be unlikely to affect core NSA operations.”
At the top of the federal government, even a brief shutdown of “core NSA operations” is unthinkable. But at the grassroots, a permanent shutdown of the NSA should be more than thinkable; we should strive to make it achievable.
NSA documents, revealed by intrepid whistleblower Edward Snowden, make clear what’s at stake. In a word: _democracy_.
Wielded under the authority of the president, the NSA is the main surveillance tool of the U.S. government. For a dozen years, it has functioned to wreck our civil liberties. It’s a tool that should not exist.
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Dear House Republicans:
Well, ya done did it. You shut down the government. Congratulations! Although I'm not exactly sure for what. But let me take a stab at it.
Maybe it's because you don't think the Republican Party is irrelevant enough. Or maybe it's because you want to speed up your complete obsolescence. Perhaps it's because you think your 10 percent approval rating is too high. Or maybe it's because you want to prove to Newt Gingrich that you're more reckless, irresponsible and crazier than he was back in '95. Or maybe you're all just too stupid to understand the economic implications of your unconscionable behavior. My guess? It's all of the above.
Celebratory cries of "Yay!" and "Yippee!" could be heard throughout the Republican caucus at midnight last night as Speaker John Boehner turned into an even bigger pumpkin. But let's be clear: this is no Cinderella story. There's no Prince Charming to save the day.
So now what, geniuses? Do you realize that the "Obama" of "Obamacare" is never going to throw his signature health care reform under the GOP bus? You do realize that you're at an impossible impasse, don't you?
On October 11, we'll learn whether the Norwegian Nobel Committee is interested in reviving the Nobel Peace Prize or putting another nail in its coffin.
Alfred Nobel's vision for the Nobel Peace Prize created in his will was a good one and, one might have thought, a legally binding one as well.
The peace prize is not supposed to be awarded to proponents of war, such as Barack Obama or the European Union.
It is not supposed to be awarded to good humanitarians whose work has little or nothing to do with peace, such as most other recent recipients. As with the Carnegie Endowment for Peace which works for almost anything but, in violation of its creator's will, and as with many a "peace and justice" group focused on all sorts of good causes that aren't the elimination of militarism, the Nobel has become a "peace" prize, rather than a peace prize.
Alfred Nobel's vision for the Nobel Peace Prize created in his will was a good one and, one might have thought, a legally binding one as well.
The peace prize is not supposed to be awarded to proponents of war, such as Barack Obama or the European Union.
It is not supposed to be awarded to good humanitarians whose work has little or nothing to do with peace, such as most other recent recipients. As with the Carnegie Endowment for Peace which works for almost anything but, in violation of its creator's will, and as with many a "peace and justice" group focused on all sorts of good causes that aren't the elimination of militarism, the Nobel has become a "peace" prize, rather than a peace prize.
Dear Lady Monster,
My husband is obsessed with anal sex. At first, my attitude was “It's for exit only,” but I'm beginning to think more about it and want to tell him it's OK. Is it guaranteed to hurt? What can we do to make it feel as good as possible?
Sincerely,
Brown-Eyed Susan
Hello Susan,
Thanks so much for posing a wonderfully intimate question.
You are being cautious and smart, asking the best way to make anal sex pleasurable.
In the words of Nina Hartley, “You must earn butt, you cannot be given butt.” You obviously feel your husband has earned butt. This should be a great moment. Let me provide some tips.
Lube. The anus has no natural lubricant, so you must provide it. Many people use silicone-based lube. Water-based lube is also good, but will become sticky more quickly than silicone. Crisco shortening is considered by many as the best lube for anal play. It is heavier, thoroughly lubricating the area for a long period of time, but will stain towels, sheets and blankets. Use ½ cup of Dawn liquid dishwashing soap in your regular laundry to remove the stains.
When using condoms, use silicone or water-based lube. Crisco will disintegrate latex condoms.
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Cheryl Shuman. If you are unsure who she is, that will soon change. In some circles, she is already an icon. Coined the “Martha Stewart of Marijuana,” Shuman may be one of the most recognized faces in the burgeoning Cannabis industry. And an industry it is. In the report, “The State of Medical Marijuana Markets, 2011,” See Change Strategy estimated that, “A national market for medical marijuana is worth $1.7 billion in 2011 and could reach $8.9 billion in five years.”
As an architect of this industry, Shuman began with a subject she knew well: the media. A master at media relations, Shuman has built the largest Cannabis media source in the world, producing content for such outlets as CNN Piers Morgan Live, Katie Couric's show, Katie, The View, Good Morning America, Fox Business News and many other international media outlets, taking them from $150,000 in gross revenues when she started to more than $6.5 million in revenue within a mere 18 months.
To Governor Kasich and Respected Leaders of the State of Ohio,
On this momentous day, September 28th, 2013 as Ohio residents gather at the historic Malabar Farm State Park for the 37th Annual Heritage Days and the unveiling of the Big House renovations, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the true value of Malabar Farm and the invaluable lessons that Louis Bromfield taught us decades ago and that still hold true today. The $500,000 in improvements were announced late last fall and came with a promise not only for cosmetic improvements but also a return to “healthier soil and water, two things that Bromfield always strived to maintain on his farm,” according to Director Zehringer in a news report published last fall.
Ohio soil and water is under siege and gravely threatened by the introduction of flowback waste created by the process of hydraulic fracturing in the attempt to extract fossil fuel resources from deep shale deposits. Last year in Ohio, almost 600,000 gallons of toxic, radioactive liquid waste was injected into Ohio soil via Class 2 Injection wells. Approximately 60 percent of this fracking flowback waste came from outside Ohio.
Don't ask, please, why I decided to do it, but I did. I started my own business on the side. Truth be told, I have an abundance of idle time in my work here at the Free Press (please don't say anything to Mrs. Peaves or the nasty little cuss who is the managing editor, neither of whom read what I write).
And so, with that time, I went into business for myself. What that business is, isn't important. It was the motions I had to go through to start that business that is at issue.
Like any new business owner, I assumed I would need a business phone and, of course, a calling card. I believe you Americans refer to them as business cards. Either way, I needed some, or so I thought.
An acquaintance designed and printed my card, though not exactly in the timely manner he had described. Eventually he proudly delivered them to me.
At the time he brought them around, I was on hold with the telephone company, had been for 20 minutes.
America just celebrated the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s great “I Have a Dream” speech. Everyone says that they “love” Dr. King (now), but the media did notice that no top Republican Party leaders attended any of the main anniversary events.
Maybe it was this line of Dr. King ’s that they don’t like: “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification…”
What is nullification? It’s one of the last-ditch philosophical stands of the slaveholders, the historically disreputable — and thoroughly discredited — concept that a state could “nullify” a federal law by declaring it null and void. The idea of the Slave Power was that the Southern states would “interpose” themselves between the national government and the slaveholders, and prevent our laws from being enforced.
Maybe it was this line of Dr. King ’s that they don’t like: “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification…”
What is nullification? It’s one of the last-ditch philosophical stands of the slaveholders, the historically disreputable — and thoroughly discredited — concept that a state could “nullify” a federal law by declaring it null and void. The idea of the Slave Power was that the Southern states would “interpose” themselves between the national government and the slaveholders, and prevent our laws from being enforced.