Geek Drivel

Want proof? Read this. Every time the US government reacts in fear, doing a little more damage to the Constitutional rights of the people, the terrorists have won another battle.

If they manage to get another Bush Jr into office, the erosion will pick up its pace again. Destination: Fascist America. And if you think I’m being as reactionary as the Republicans are, re-read this. They’ve got a road map to it, and they seem to be taking each step as quickly as they think they can get away with it.

I used to think that Americans were too smart to let that sort of thing happen, but now I wonder.

I don’t often delve into politics here, partly because I find them distasteful and partly because I know that, realistically, any amount of good I could do would be minuscule. But I have to make an exception today.

The government of the United States is broken. Just about everyone agrees with that. And just about everyone agrees on the source of the problem: the “golden rule” (i.e. “he who has the gold, makes the rules”). Special interests: groups that push things that are in their own interests at the expense of the public good. A couple recent and particularly disgusting examples are the health insurance industry successfully preventing most health care reforms, and the banking industry fighting much-needed changes to the banking rules that got us into the current financial mess.

It has become a government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations.

What can be done about it? Individuals can’t sway congressmen, they don’t have the money to match the bribes contributions of the special interests. And groups — even large groups — can’t either, not when their opposition is fighting for its profits and possibly its corporate life. But Lawrence Lessig thinks he’s found a solution: a Constitutional Convention.

Will it work? I don’t know. But it’s about the only way I can see that stands any chance whatsoever.

It’ll be interesting to see how this fight turns out. And important as well. If North Dakota wins, it’ll put a damper on any attempts to use carbon tariffs.

(Yes, it does “unfairly” give renewable energy an advantage over coal powered energy — that’s the whole point to it. But if I read the law correctly, there’s nothing preventing that; Minnesota is perfectly within its rights. On the other hand, as everyone should know, strange things happen in courtrooms.)

Although this article hits the nail right on the head, I don’t expect Obama or anyone else to make any changes — except, perhaps, banning more ridiculous things (as the TSA has already done — correction, the restrictions have apparently been eased now). Even if Obama wanted to (which he might), he’d face huge political opposition, because the terrorist bogyman is big money. I’m certain he’d quickly decide that it isn’t worth the effort.

Mr. President, I’d be happy to have you prove me wrong.

On the plus side, the more ridiculous the restrictions get, the more likely that someone is eventually going to put his foot down and stop them. If only to save air travel, because the more onerous the restrictions get, the fewer people will travel by air, and that will directly affect the bottom line of a lot of wealthy corporate entities.

(Don’t worry, I don’t plan to write any more posts on the subject. Unless something else interesting happens, that is. )

I wonder what they’ll ban this time? Syringes? Pillows? Pants?

I’ve never been able to understand people who reject scientific evidence outright, in favor of whatever their chosen authorities dictate. (I recently saw a quote that sums it up: “[T]he problem with all the “science deniers” is they think the argument is about power and “we” think it is about what reality is.”) The book mentioned here (available as free PDF files on the site) promises a deep delving into the psychology of such people, with scientific evidence backing up every premise.

I haven’t read it yet, but quite frankly, I think such people have a mental illness and need treatment — and if they refuse treatment, or if one can’t be developed, need to at least be barred from any position of authority. Especially in government!

(This will probably be denounced as religious persecution, since the vast majority of religious fundamentalists have this authoritarian mental illness. But consider… we, as a society, don’t allow pedophiles to work in child care, so why do we allow authoritarians to run for public office? The two cases are a lot more closely related than they first appear.)

It just goes to show that no matter who you’re dealing with, or how trustworthy you think they are, it’s always a good idea to count your change.

(In other words: “in God we trust. All others pay cash.”)

Food for thought.

[... T]he global economy is a creation of the nuclear age. Major powers find ways to get along because the cost of armed conflict between them has become unthinkably high. [...]

A very thought-provoking article.

(Thanks, Ploni)

Oh, GoddessJ and several of our more feminist-leaning friends should have a field day with this one.