Immediately after the 9-11 terrorist attack various measures were adopted in hopes of decreasing the likelihood of such an attack ever happening again.
Despite the cost, and inconvenience to the public those measures were both embraced, and believed to be in place by the vast majority of the citizens of the U.S. Adoption of these measures was viewed as a demonstration that the Bush Administration had competently employed new broad sweeping federal police powers, and billions of dollars in additional funding in the war on terror.
Stronger cockpit doors would keep the terrorist out of the cockpit, the TSA would prevent weapons, and suspicious people from boarding flights, and most, if not all, flights would include an armed air marshal. The public accepted a new reality of long lines at airports, higher ticket prices, and higher taxes in the belief that they were safer - both in the air, and on the ground.
Smoke and Mirrors
Nearly seven years has past since that dreadful day in September of 2001, and fortunately the U.S. has not seen another such attack. The absence of such an attack is viewed by the public, and touted by the Bush Administration that the new safety measures adopted after 9-11 are working.
Periodic testing has shown that it is possible to sneak explosives, and weapons past airport security screeners. A recent incident in which a passenger managed to bust into a cockpit despite the "toughened" cockpit door indicates that those doors are still not tough enough. Calls to end profiling at airports also pose a very real threat at airports. And now it has been revealed that practically no flights include an Air Marshal make it obvious that many of the so called safety measures are in reality based upon smoke and mirrors - an illusion of safety meant to keep the public confident enough to fly.
The Federal Air Marshal Service promotes confidence in the nation’s civil aviation system through the effective deployment of Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) to detect, deter, and defeat hostile acts targeting U.S. air carriers, airports, passengers, and crews.
Federal Air Marshals must operate independently without backup, and rank among those Federal law enforcement officers that hold the highest standard for handgun accuracy. They blend in with passengers and rely on their training, including investigative techniques, criminal terrorist behavior recognition, firearms proficiency, aircraft specific tactics, and close quarters self-defense measures to protect the flying public.
Federal Air Marshals have an ever expanding role in homeland security and work closely with other law enforcement agencies to accomplish their mission. Currently, air marshals staff several positions at different organizations such as the National Counterterrorism Center, the National Targeting Center, and on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces. In addition, they are also distributed among other law enforcement and homeland security liaison assignments during times of heightened alert or special national events.
Successful accomplishment of the Federal Air Marshal’s mission is critical to civil aviation and homeland security.
The TSA Believes that Federal Air Marshals are critical to homeland security!
One pilot who crisscrosses the country and flies internationally told CNN he hasn't seen an air marshal on board one of his flights in six months. A federal law enforcement officer, who is not affiliated with the air marshal service and who travels in and out of Washington every week, said he has gone for months without seeing a marshal on board.
Neither individual wanted to be identified because neither is authorized by his employer to speak.
Yet another pilot, who wanted to protect his identity because he carries a weapon in the cockpit, said he regularly flies in and out of New York's airports and almost never encounters an air marshal.
"I would have to guess it's fewer than 1 percent of all my flights," the pilot said. "I'm guessing by the coverage of when I go to those cities, fewer than 1 percent."
Air marshals who spoke with CNN anonymously in order to protect their jobs are especially troubled by the lack of coverage on flights in and out of Washington and New York, the two cities targeted by the 9/11 hijackers. Marshals, pilots and other law enforcement officials told CNN these flights are protected by far fewer air marshals than in the past.
That's fewer than 1% which is actually a lower percentage than before 9-11. The Bush Administration has been so transfixed on Iraq, a war which it started on false pretense, that it now risk another real attack upon this nation.
Conservative Ideology Denys Americans True Safety
Hopefully the next administration that takes control of the Federal government can do more than the smoke and mirrors shuffle which the Bush Administration has substituted for real security.
The lesson for the public is this: elect a group of right wing ideologues who are antagonistic to the role of good government (conservative Republicans) and you will get the poor service, the lies, and a lack of true national security which you will still be forced to pay for.
What if I said that I, or even you, could you set up an anonymous blog and then write a post which included a harmless looking link which would result in the arrest, conviction, and incarceration of anyone unfortunate enough to simply click on that link?
Sound Impossible?
Read on - because it's possible in the United States of America.
Somewhere out on the darker side of the Internet, and remember 80% of the Internet is Porn, is a link created by the FBI. The link goes nowhere that actually provides illegal content - it's there for one reason - entrapment of those sad enough, curious enough, stupid enough, or even just unlucky enough to press the link.
Some might argue that this is great. Why not toss anyone interested in child porn in prison, but this new entrapment racket by the FBI is scary stuff to anyone who fears the state - and all who love freedom should fear the state.
Let's look at how easy it would be to abuse the power of the state
Just by tracking down that forbidden link, and copy/pasting it into an anonymous blog site would be all that might be necessary to ruin the lives of hundreds, even thousands of completely innocent people.
Wouldn't it be simple to rewrite the text associated to the forbidden link so that it said: "Get Your Free Disney Video Here", or "Get Your Free Carton of Cigarettes Here"?
People would surf to the forbidden link believing they'd be getting a free video, or free cigarettes only to find themselves confronted by a group of heavily armed jackboots one morning on the way to work.
But getting the evil child molesters is worth trading in civil liberties
Back in the day it was witches, and then there were minorities, the communist, and then the evil terrorist. Now it's the child molesters which are used to justify the erosion of privacy, and anonymity on the Internet. There simply is no aspect of human activity outside the control of the state at this point in human history.
Each new bogey man has resulted in an ever more powerful state, one with the power to:
1. wiretap phones 2. wiretap computer networks 3. break into homes 4. spy on church meetings 5. infiltrate grass roots political groups 6. access bank records 7. access library records 8. access credit card records 9. access travel company records 10. access hotel records 11. access atm machine and bank surveillance videos
And now to use entrapment techniques which can easily be used to set people up
As technology seeps into every room of every house, as the modern home becomes a "smart home" with microphones, and ccd cameras in every appliance and every wall, as telephone systems become "Internet Phones", as every cellphone call is recorded by the NSA, as we recreate, communicate, vote, work, pay our bills, purchase our goods and services, organize politically, and even worship over the Internet is it a comfort to the populace of a free people to know that their every move is being watched?
Is this the society we want?
Think you live in the land of the free, and home of the brave?
In a dramatic turn of events local Springfield, Illinois blogger, Palmer Blevens has chosen to follow the path of Dave of The11thhour, and call it quits!
"Personally, my life is in a tail-spin right now. It seems every time that I turn around there is something new trying trying to drive me insane; and it is working. There comes a time in a man’s life when he must accept defeat, say fcuk it, and just quit.
For over a year, I was at the pinnacle of happiness; now, I am at a point in my life where the struggle just does not seem worth it. I cant fight anymore. Thank you to everyone in the blogosphere who has sent me words of encouragement, who have visited this site, etc. But I must go. I always vowed that I would never let “them” win, but even I know when it is over. I will be shutting down this site in a couple days.
Peace.
Palmer Blevins"
Palmer Don't Do It!
First Dave, and now you?
Oh well, you'll be back - and so will Dave - just come back soon!
I have a friend who has a medical condition. His health was seriously affected by this condition, and he was quite certain he would be needing some rather scary surgery to deal with this problem. But he was given a prescription for a hormone, a steroid, and his condition has been alleviated - not cured, but alleviated enough so that he doesn't have the symptoms anymore, and he can go on and live his life, for now, without surgery.
Everyone was really happy at this positive turn of events.
However, there was a little problem.
Though the steroids were not the kind usually associated with body building and "roid rage" they did in fact have an effect upon this friend of mine.
He had been a gentled middle age guy. He was even tempered, and considerate, and kind. His wife, his children, and he lived in a nice home, and everything seemed wonderful.
But something began to happen.
I noticed it at first last Fall. An odd comment or two.
It just wasn't him - not the person I knew.
I tried to ignore it, but I knew something had changed.
He had somehow become more aggressive.
When I say this I mean to say, dangerous sounding. He had made this really odd comment. We were at the store together and we were over in the section where all the axes and sledge hammers were, and he picks up this tool that's half sledge hammer, and half Ax and puts it in his cart.
I asked him what he was going to use that for, and he said if he ever needed to remove some tree roots he had the perfect tool. I asked if he had a spot in his garage for it, maybe on the wall between his sledge hammer, and his ax, and he said, "No. I'm going to keep it in the house".
I asked, why in the house, and that's when he said something most scary, "No. I want to keep it where it's needed". And he let out this evil little laugh - but not a laugh which consoled me at all, but a frightening little laugh, like a - I'll get even kind of laugh.
I was most disturbed by this, but let it slide, because well, everyone makes a really bad joke, or at the worst everyone has has a really bad day - still it was disturbing.
Another thing I noticed was that he was collecting things - to be prepared.
To be prepared?
To be prepared for some kind of event - some disastrous future event.
I figured it was a guy thing, but it did sound a bit obsessive, a bit more macho than he had been in the past. Most guys probably would collect tools, and survival related gear if they could afford it money-wise, and space-wise, but he had become much more concerned about it.
I shrugged it off. I figured he must be hanging out with an old buddy of his again who is in the military.
The next time I saw him - there was a definite change.
What had been a beautiful night was spoiled by some back and forth comments between my friend and his spouse. I had NEVER heard even one impolite quip between these two before, but there it was hidden within their most civil exchanges.
Still such things happen in marriages, but from that point on I knew something very definitely had changed.
Then not long ago I was shocked and saddened to hear of their break up.
And it centered around an incident.
I won't go into the incident, but it didn't involve violence, so much as it did rage.
I told this friend that I was concerned that he might not be aware of the subtle but very real side effects that steroids have on personality.
I pleaded with him to get some help, but he completely denied that steroids had anything to do with the rapid disintegration of his life since taking them.
He called steroids a miracle drug - a miracle drug that had changed his life.
Now he lives in an apartment complex, all alone, in contact with his wife only to plan their upcoming divorce.
In one year of steroid use this rather remarkable gentle intelligent middle aged man's life was turned completely upside down - destroyed really - and he's in total denial about it.
That's quite a miracle really, but not the kind one hopes for.
I'm hoping and praying that all those taking steroids take the time needed to learn of the subtle, but real side effects such drugs can have upon personality - while the gentler steroids which doctors prescribe for inflammation may not be associated to "Roid Rage" they do in fact have significant psychological side effects. Side effects which can ruin relationships built over the course of a lifetime.
We're granted one moment One fleeting chance to see But instead choose to chase a false and distorted reality
Out hot molten blood sets fire to our hearts Rushing with hate and pounding its fate Setting our course toward damnation and rape.
We see ourselves at the pinnacle now Yet running and scampering away with the crowd We're thinking and scheming, believing and dreaming Telling ourselves it all matters somehow
Betrayers of self and selves yet unborn We red blooded beast we're weary and worn We'll destroy all we have in the name of our gods It's all for the taking the stealing and raping
One precious moment built upon greed We gather and gather more than we need And then we return to darkness and mud Believing ourselves immortals and good. . .
"Grant thou me a peaceful life, for I am truthful and just. I have uttered no falsehoods nor acted deceitfully." -Egyptian Book of The Dead- . . .
Springfield, Illinois blogger "Dave" of The11thhour announced yesterday, March 20th, 2008, his decision to retire from the local blogging scene. For over three years (2005) Dave's blog had become a local stop for those interested in his unique mix of humor and skepticism.
Most of Dave's posts consisted of portions of local, state, and national news stories often quoted from the Illinois State Journal-Register with which he mixed short, but entertaining personal comments. Dave's experience as a former news producer, reporter, and radio talk show host was evident in his style of writing - often time inviting reader comments.
Dave often shared snippets of his personal life revealing that he was married, had a young son, and two daughters. He also revealed that he lived on Springfield's prosperous West Side, which he advocated calling New Springfield, but never revealed where he was employed.
He occasionally wrote of a former spouse, with whom he appeared to have a negative relationship - stating that she was one of the factors behind his decision to remain an anonymous blogger.
Dave wrote often of his concerns for the U.S., and was highly critical of the Bush Administration, and the Iraq War. Although admitting that he voted in the recent Republican Primary he recently endorsed Democratic presidential candidate and Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
Dave's final post hints that he may resume blogging at some point spurring several of his regular readers to post comments pleading for him to resume posting.
Dave's final post gives no hint as to why he chose to stop posting, but a recent post reveals that Dave has been suffering with the chronic, and for some debilitating, disease Eosinophilic Esophagitis.
He had also revealed his sense of betrayal by a lifelong friend JeromeProphet another Springfield, Illinois blogger. A link to JeromeProphet, which had appeared on Dave's blog since June of 2005 was removed only days before Dave's announcement.
UPDATE: Dave has left a comment in which he states that his health was not the reason behind his decision to cease blogging. Other corrections appear within his comment, and this post has been updated to reflect those corrections. No bad intention were behind the errors. And I only speculated that health might be the reason. And of course I wouldn't be so foolish as to believe that anything I could ever write would trigger a decision on Dave's part to cease blogging.
The reason I didn't indicate how many daughters Dave has is because I wasn't sure if he ever indicated just how many he had from his post, and was too tired at the time to search his blog to confirm. Also, while I knew he had written about having a daughter I felt that it was better to err on the side of safety, and not give away any facts that had not already been published.
Thanks to Dave I have added the letter "s" to the end of the word "Quits" which I misspelled. I have been criticized for having pointed out similar mistakes on Dave's blog, and I only did so to help Dave, but it appears my good intentions have been interpreted along with every other aspect of my blogging as some sinister attempt to bring Dave down.
The word debilitating was used to describe the disease, which it often is for those who suffer from it, not to describe Dave's personal condition, and the original wording of the sentence was structured in a way which could have been misinterpreted, I have modified the sentence to prevent that - except in the case of those most determined to find malice where none has ever existed.
As for those who have spewed their uninformed bias, and hatred, even referring to me as the Devil, I could respond in kind, but I can only suggest that you find other activities in your life to fill the void that so obviously exist so as to motivate you to comment in such a way.
I have no need to apologize for any of my posts, the long list of false accusations directed at me which were included in Dave's recent post about his health problems constituted one of the most obviously "passive aggressive" examples of blogging I have ever seen in text.
To drop that bomb, and then close up shop, instead of staying around long enough to cite sources for his allegations in fact makes a matching bookend for the post that Brian Pierce ended up retracting.
I call you to task Mr. Dave. Cite your sources, or be revealed for what you have done.
Show me a post in which I accused you - specifically - of being a racist.
As to your problem about me writing about the West Side - learn to live with it. Not all bloggers live in the same economic class, and not all see things as you do. What you have done is to take comments I make about class in the U.S., and locally, and have decided it's all about you.
I write about race, and it's about you. I write about class and it's about you. I write about gas guzzlers and it's about you. It's all about you. Get this, it's not all about you. My post are about what I want them to be, and they're rarely with you in mind.
And that is my last word on this. There were years where you and your first wife and three sons lived in town where I never heard from you or saw you, and we did just fine. We never see each other now, but the expression familiarity breeds contempt can sometimes prove true. Maybe if we never knew about each other's blog we'd still be alright with each other? And maybe that's the lesson here. Because no matter how good the group, be it the Beatles, or the Who, eventually egos tend to flare, and it all comes to an end. I hope that's not the case, but I'm requesting for the sake of what remains of our "friendship" that you cease from reading my blog.
Love and peace to Dave, his wife, one ex-wife, two daughters, four sons, and any pets too.
Reason 452 why my life hasn't been entirely fabulous (despite what a grossly uninformed and judgmental "friend" thinks): I have Eosinophilic Esophagitis. I've suffered with it for a long time and am now, finally, getting some good treatment for it.
I wish this on no one, it can be hell.
Of course, this thing will not prevent me from laughing at the self-proclaimed Po' Man over gas prices while simultaneously being a bad parent, bad blogger, bad voter, owner of an evil truck, occasional typo scofflaw, someone completely undeserving of my income or the home in which I live, racist white-flighter, etc, etc. Cuz, you know, I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
Note: Sorry about that last paragraph but I'm using my blog (arrogantly and because I'm filthy rich) to call someone whose been acting like a complete asshole lately an, well, asshole. I'm sure he can take as well as he dishes. Apologies sincerely welcome.
Update: Yes applying for sympathy before going on the counter-attack is a cheap ploy but this blog, like the Bush administration, is not bound by the Geneva Convention.
Many years ago I was quite fond of reading paperbacks. Paperbacks were very popular back in the 1970s. Censorship in America had for the most part come to an end, as far as most books were concerned, and the paperback was the means by which authors could reach an eager public.
Before 200 channel cable television, or Internet there were magazines, AM/FM radios, and books.
For an impressionable boy with a strong interest in Science Arthur C. Clarke held tremendous sway with me. Reading his short stories, and books was a way to see a future too distant for me to live long enough to actually experience.
Of course Arthur C. Clarke is known for writing 2001 A Space Odyssey, and for his "invention" of the geosynchronous communications satellite, but for most of those who listened to, and read his futuristic pronouncements we will know him for his faith in the potential for human beings to create a more prosperous, and peaceful world through the careful use of technology.
Thank you Arthur C. Clarke for entertaining me, for teaching me, and inspiring me. You are not forgotten sir.
There's something there. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there. A mixture of intellect, and competence. Of moral vision, and purpose. Of desire for change, yet absence of irrationality. And get this - of honesty - in a politician of all people.
Barack Obama has begun to inspire me - and for anyone to inspire me now, at my advanced age, is quite rare indeed.
Nearly eight years of tolerating the bumpkin fool, the dishonest clown - George "W" Bush - has nearly broken my faith in the political process. I say "nearly", because to give up only enables the "W"s of the world, and that is something that must never be done.
So soon will be the end of our long national nightmare - the army of crooks that slither about K Street, and the halls of the White House will soon be gone - o.k I'm being overly optimistic here, but at least we should expect significant improvement.
That is my hope.
Somewhat jaded, and tarnished with age, but I still recognize it for what it is. It is hope. Hope for a better deal for the American people, and hope for a better world.
Hope that We The People, the real people, and not just the upper two percent of income earners, or the Washington lobbyist, will be represented in the White House.
I've voted for Barack Obama twice now, once during his Senate race, and once in the Illinois Primary, and I hope to vote for him again this November. I'm proud to support Barack Obama.
GoBama!
The following is the full text of Barack Obama's speech on Race, titled, 'A More Perfect Union'. The video appears above.
Oh, and don't forget to check out the official Barack Obama site at mybarackobama.com.
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union'
Philadelphia, PA | March 18, 2008 As Prepared for Delivery
"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.
Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution - a Constitution that had at its very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.
And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part - through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.
This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.
This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.
I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.
Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.
This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.
And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.
On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.
I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.
But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.
As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.
Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way
But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:
"People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters....And in that single note - hope! - I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories - of survival, and freedom, and hope - became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about...memories that all people might study and cherish - and with which we could start to rebuild."
That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.
And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.
Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.
But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.
The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.
Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.
Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.
Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.
A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.
This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.
And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.
But I have asserted a firm conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.
For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.
Ironically, this quintessentially American - and yes, conservative - notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.
The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen - is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope - the audacity to hope - for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.
For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.
We can do that.
But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.
That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.
This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.
This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.
I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.
There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today - a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.
She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.
She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.
Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.
Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."
"I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.
But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.
The Red State Christian Right only votes for candidates whose faith in the central tenants of Christianity is paired to a literal interpretation of the Bible. However, in order to garner support from the Christian Right candidates must also oppose abortion, drug use, the equality of women, sexual freedom, and Science.
Due to this list of conditions few Blue State Democratic Party candidates could ever expect support from members of the Red State Christian Right.
Ignorance - Origins of the Red State Christian Right
Blue States with large multi-racial urban populations have developed economies which are dependent upon large numbers of well educated workers - workers proficient in the use of high technology, and who possess communication skills. This type of urban workforce is valuable for those businesses which are based upon international commerce.
Ignorance, irrationality and superstition, all hallmarks of the Red State Christian Right, are the stock and trade of the international anti-modernist movement. This movement is evident in less economically developed regions and nations such as the United States (rural), Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
Anti-Modernism justified by "Old Time Religion" is the reaction to the demands of an increasing technological world by hundreds of millions of people who are ill prepared to survive and succeed in such a world - usually those who are poor, and less educated.
Instead these Conservatives yearn for the simplicity of a previous era, an era in which decisions about who would succeed versus who would fail were based essentially by the color of one's skin, and the type of genitalia one possesses.
Reduced to its most essential ingredient Red State Christian Conservatism based its entire pecking order of who is most good upon the amount of melanin in and the shape of a few ounces of flesh between a person's legs.
Northern Pakistan & Southern U.S. - Brothers At Heart
In Pakistan large cities in the south are dependent upon a higher level of education, commerce, and International trade. Acceptance of western science, progress, and western economic practices has been crucial in developing Pakistan's economy. Millions of Pakistanis use cell phones, watch color television, own ipods, drive automobiles, live in homes with modern facilities, and can expect an increased standard of living because they have embraced western modernism.
The northern interior of Pakistan, however, is significantly underdeveloped, rural, less educated, poor, with high levels of religious fundamentalism being present - just as in the rural southern U.S.
Similarly, the so called Red States of the southern United States are what they are today due to their commitment to slavery, and apartheid. Slavery is a rejection of worker and consumer rights, and it anti competitive.
While the northern states in the U.S. embraced rapid industrialization to generate wealth the Rich White Men of the South desired to Conserve the practice of owning human beings so that they could force those human beings to work for nothing. Owning human beings was their means of generating economic growth, but in the end it led to a stagnant economy, and a culture doomed to fail.
Opposition to modernity was an important part of the Southern Way of Life. Even in the midst of the U.S. Civil War while the Northern States were installing thousands of miles of telegraph lines the South didn't see the point in networking their society. Southern Red State White Men believed that networking was a threat to their isolation - an isolation which favored their abusive means of controlling their population.
After the devastating loss of the American Civil War whites in the South continued to oppose progress, believing that by keeping a large sector of their population uneducated, underemployed, and impoverished would somehow Conserve their "Utopian" society.
Universal education, fair housing and fair employment practices may seem like good ideas to most of those living in the U.S. today, but for Conservative White Christians in the Red States such ideas met with absolute opposition.
Red State Christian White Men believed themselves to be the natural rulers of society, and white women would never be equal, but most important of all was skin color. The darker the skin, the less human. This Red State Conservative Christian Value was central above all others.
NAZI Germany Ends White Penis Supremacy In United States!
It was precisely because of this White Penis Supremacy that the economy of the Southern Red States were more than a century behind those of the Northern Blue States one hundred years after the end of American Civil War. This economic disparity might have remained up until this very day if not for the Great Depression and World War Two.
The incredible turnaround for the Red States took place during the industrialization of the South during World War II.
NAZI Germany brought an end to legal apartheid in the United States! Years of pressure to reform only brought about Jim Crow Laws. It was only World War II which forced the South, kicking and screaming, into the Twentieth Century.
Now two generations from those days of legal apartheid we still see a nation run by wealthy white men. If you have any doubts please look at the color and gender of the members of the boards of directors of most Fortune 500 companies, and also look at the race and gender of the U.S. Senate.
As a white man it is possible for me to blog about this uncomfortable reality in American society, but for some reason it is considered controversial for Barack Obama's former pastor to say this - even from the pulpit.
While I disagree with many of the statements made by Pastor Jeremiah Wright I can understand why many black people in the U.S. would agree with him.
My take on Jeremiah Wright's Rant
Is the U.S. run by rich white men? - Yes. That's slowly changing, but overall it's still true. Do cab drivers refuse to pick up black men?Yes. They're afraid to be robbed. Did the U.S. support apartheid in South Africa? - Yes. During the Cold War out of "necessity".Have police officers planted evidence to frame blacks (and whites)?Yes. They do, but rarely. U.S. Govt. created HIV to wipe out black people? - No. - Use Condoms and stop blaming others. White people using drugs to oppress black people? - No. Blacks are doing this to themselves. War on Drugs failing to help blacks? - Yes. It has been a dismal failure. Hurting more than it helps.Do police profile people based on race? - Yes. More cops would result in less need to profile. Did the Bush Administration lie about WMD in Iraq? - Yes. The dirty bastards! The Bush Administration lied about an Iraq-Al Queda link? - Yes. Our soldiers die for their lies. Would U.S. Operatives plant WMD in Iraq? - Yes. If ordered to do so. Has the Clinton Campaign slyly played the race card? - Yes. Shame on You Hillary Clinton! Do some whites use the N-word to slur blacks? - Yes. Mostly when they're afraid or angry. Does the U.S. support the Israeli Occupation of Gaza and West Bank? - Yes. Reluctantly. Was Jesus Black? - Yes. Palestinians at that time were much darker than today. Were Romans White? - No. They were brown skinned people too, but "classified" Caucasians. Did Truman Bat an Eye About Hiroshima? - Yes. It was total war, and saved a million lives. Did the U.S. deserve 9-11? - No. Two wrongs are never right. The pastor should know that! Is Jeremiah Wright a racist? - Yes. He appears to be heavily infected with racism. Is Barack Obama under Wright's spell? - No. Democrats go to church because it looks good.
In a nutshell Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a racist. He is no better in his racism than would be a member of the Ku Klux Klan. His various attempts to blame the white ruled U.S. government for all of the maladies which affect blacks is irresponsible, paranoid, and based upon hate. Instead of blaming whites for drug use, and HIV in the black community it is time to face the reality that what is to blame is the transition from a religion based family structure to chaos.
The demise of the black family was fueled by welfare checks, and segregation, and it was also counter intuitively helped by the flight of over half the black community into the suburbs with whites. Those blacks who could left urban centers, leaving poorer blacks behind. Intergenerational poverty is to blame, more than any other factor. Addressing poverty is the solution, not racist name calling, and paranoid conspiracies.
Jeremiah Wright is an embarrassment to the Obama campaign, but fortunately most Americans don't agree with everything their pastors say. On the other hand Mr. Wright's rant, and the reaction of those attending his sermon does illustrate just how far the U.S. has to go in terms of eliminating the racial divide - a divide created in ignorance and hate, and sustained by short sighted greed - a divide that hurts whites, and blacks - a divide that must end.
I looked in your eyes - they were frozen in tears. I heard all your lies - your love was just fear - no more than a heartache.
I am death all alone - in darkness and pain. I cry and I moan - I'm going insane. They whisper go home, return to your harms and your heart stake.
While your darkness did reign - and it's your legacy now. All I felt was your pain, asking why, but not how - filled only with heart break.
Now though my fate be despair - to no longer know care. I shall always be there. I will never return, nor be victim of you and your heart rape. . . Image courtesy of ImageSavant.Com
Gasoline Prices Expected To Increase To $4.00/Gallon in U.S.
For millions of upper middle class, and upper class U.S. consumers tacking on an extra dollar per gallon to the price of gasoline is no big deal, however, to the millions of working Americans who live from paycheck to paycheck the recent increase spells for financial hardship.
I can only speak from my own experience, and so I will.
I recently purchased an SUV. The SUV's gas tank has a capacity of 22 gallons. I fill the tank up twice a month. Adding one dollar to the price of a gallon of gasoline works out to a $44 per month increase in gasoline cost for our SUV.
We also own a coupe which tops off at 17 gallons per tank, and that tank is also filled up twice per month. Adding one dollar to the price of a gallon of gasoline works out to a $34 per month increase in gasoline cost for our Coupe.
That sums to an increase of $78 per month to purchase the same gasoline with no added benefit.
The Cost Of Everything Is On The Rise
Everything Else
A one dollar increase in the price of gallon of gasoline will effectively raise the price of everything else. Food prices are already on the rise. Inflation driven by higher energy cost will increase the cost of every good, and every service. Even when products aren't made with oil the price of oil will in some way effect the cost of that product. The cost of services are also effected directly, and indirectly by the cost of oil.
I'm not an economist but I'd guess that the indirect effects of a dollar increase on a gallon of gasoline would have an effect similar to the direct effect that increase creates. Using my estimate of the impact a dollar increase on gasoline I'm assuming that such an increase will drive up cost for everything else. I'm adding an additional charge of $78 per month in expenses for everything else.
Adding these cost together we come to an additional cost of $156 per month.
To net that $156 I have to gross about $177 dollars.
For millions of upper middle class, and upper class U.S. consumers $156 per month is a paltry amount - perhaps a night out on the town - nothing to become concerned about.
However, for tens of millions of wage earners added monthly cost of $156 take home represents several years of pay raises. For these earners a one dollar increase in the price of gasoline eliminates income increases designed to counter the effect of inflation which took them several years of hard work to earn.
While upper middle class, and upper class Americans will chuckle at a one dollar increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline tens of millions of American families will be forced to find ways to survive.
Many American families live at the very brink of self sufficiency, barely keeping up with their bills from month to month. The question is then, how do these tens of millions of working American families survive?
Cutting Back
Expect millions of Americans to cut back on purchases of every kind. For those who could afford a night out on the town on occasion it now becomes a rarity. For those who could barely afford a night out it now becomes impossible. For those who already could not afford going out to a restaurant or going to see a movie these people may find themselves seeking assistance from charities for food and clothing even though they work.
Finding Second Jobs
Millions of Americans already work two, and even three jobs, we should expect to see an increase in the number of American workers who must work several jobs in order to survive.
The Coming Recession
As the price of gasoline and everyday items increases consumers will be forced to cut back their purchases of goods and services. Slowly, but surely the effect of decreased consumer activity will lead to drops in profits for employers, which will in turn lead to workforce reductions.
As unemployment increases the vicious downward cycle will begin in the U.S. economy - an economy based upon imported inexpensive light crude oil.
For European Readers
You surely must be envious of our low gas prices, but remember that Americans drive much larger and less efficient automobiles. Also note that Americans commute a longer distance going between work, and home. Remember that mass transit systems in the U.S. are crude in comparison to those available in Europe. Americans are trapped through years of poor decisions, and short sighted greed, into maintaining a dependence upon large inefficient automobiles.
Also remember that Americans have little in the way of a social safety net. People are enslaved to their jobs to maintain their health care, if they even have it, and ultimately will pay whatever is asked for gasoline just so that they can keep their jobs.
Remember too my European readers that American's have extremely corrupt State and Federal representation that take bribes, and payoffs from the oil industry. Gasoline prices are increasing in the U.S. not because taxes are being increased to fund mass transit systems, or to pay for tax breaks for fuel efficient automobiles - no, the price of gasoline is rising in the U.S. because gasoline is subject to speculation, and the corrupt representatives of the people have turned a blind eye to the illegal price fixing that takes place within the oil, and gasoline distribution system.
Available Soon - The 125 Mile Per Gallon Plug In Prius
Possible Solutions
Decreasing cost will become important. Buying fuel efficient automobiles will help keep slow the increase in gasoline, but shifting to alternative fuels will be the only true long term solution. Unfortunately, a shift to more fuel efficient automobiles will take years, and shifting to alternative fuels will take decades. A change away from fossil fuels will take more than time, it will demand a government not completely controlled by Big Oil. Is this even possible? Unlikely in the near term, but an eventuality in the long term.
I responded by writing in a comment I left on his Youtube Post that since I didn't know him that I don't really know what to believe. However, I did say that I believed that such an strange "encounter" was possible. That doesn't say a whole lot, because many highly improbable events are still possible.
I've known people who have had similar UFO "experiences", and I have a few stories of my own "experiences" to share. I'd believed the stories that I was told by those I had known personally because I felt they had no reason to lie to me. In fact with the ridicule that seemingly awaits those who tell such stories they had every reason not to share their stories, but courageously shared their stories anyway.
I also believe that the "encounters" which I myself recall having experienced actually took place, and therefore I should assume that other individuals could be experiencing similar events - whatever their underlying cause.
Therefore, in my opinion Adam's story sounds possible, and he tells his story in a believable manner. On the other hand he may just be an acting student having a bit of fun. Or perhaps he and his friends were high on adrenaline, have little in the way of scientific skepticism, and mistook Venus for a UFO.
Then again perhaps he did see something very strange indeed. Perhaps he saw some type of event based upon technology? If so, it would be a very interesting story indeed.
Assuming Adam's story is based upon technology, and not a natural phenomena, let's look at the technology, and possible motivations behind his "encounter".
Means
Very light weight aircraft. A remote controlled carbon composite airframe filled with helium (i.e., a hard shelled blimp would do the trick.
The ring of strobe lights wrapped around the airframe suggest that the RPV is meant to be seen. Therefore we'll classify this as a psy-op - a psychological operation of some type.
A loudspeaker to play the high pitched shrieks.
A very powerful Alpha, Delta, and Theta wave transmitter to induce a brain wave response (sleep) in those unknowing test subjects on the ground. Note that the Alpha, Delta, and Theta wave transmitter need not actually operate from within the RPV itself, but could be located nearby in a ground vehicle.
Motives?
Motivation I (if terrestrial): Train special ops teams to locate, approach, and subdue individuals at night through the use of advanced technology (night vision, RPVs, and sleep induction).
Motivation II (if terrestrial): Increase belief in extra terrestrial encounters which continues to act as a method of disinf0rmation for development of advanced weapons, and training.
Motivation III (if extra terrestrial): Soft Contact Operation, intended to prepare culture for an eventual First Contact.
Motivation IV (if terrestrial): Create a "UFO" encounter only so that it can be debunked as a means of misleading the public into believing that UFOs encounters are not extra terrestrial.
Who Would Possess The Means and Motivation?
The U.S. Military using state of the art technology and tactics. Extra Terrestrial Technology or Life Forms
Some BackGround
Inducing Sleep
The Following Description of the effects of Alpha, Theta and Delta Waves from PsyWeb
Alpha (8-12 Hz)
Subjective feeling states: relaxed, not agitated, but not drowsy; tranquil, conscious. Associated tasks & behaviors: meditation, no action. Effects of Training: can produce relaxation.
Theta (4-8 Hz)
Associated tasks & behaviors: creative, intuitive but may also be distracted, unfocused. Effects of Training: if enhanced, can induce drifting, trance-like state. If suppressed, can improve concentration, ability to focus attention
Delta (0.1-3 Hz)
Subjective feeling states: deep, dreamless sleep, non-REM sleep, trance, unconscious. Associated tasks & behaviors: lethargic, not moving, not attentive. Effects of training: can induce drowsiness, trance, deeply relaxed states
Effects of ELF (Extremely Low Frequencies) Upon Brain Waves
