connecting*the*dots

Another milestone in Iraq has come and gone. As of yesterday, America’s occupation in Iraq has officially eclipsed the length of time America spent in World War II.

No matter your personal view on the potential of terrorist tactics, we’re not at war to stop an advancing fascist or an existing genocide dead in its tracks (such as modern-day fascist Kim Jong-il of North Korea or the current genocide in Darfur).

There’s only one similarity between WWII and the occupation of Iraq; in both cases, it took an attack on US soil to rally and motivate the American public to back entering an armed conflict. Of course, the attack on Pearl Harbor directly emanated from the ongoing conflict of WWII, whereas the emotional ties between the events of 9/11 and the perception of Iraqi leadership remain simply that — emotional.

Iraq has never been an immediate threat to our nation; no weapons of mass destruction ever threatened our safety from afar. Could that situation have changed for the worse over time? Sure, but so could any number of scenarios in the world, which is exactly why the tactic of preventive war is considered state-sponsored terrorism in many people’s eyes.

Fact: The combined death toll from all major, classically defined terrorist activities over the past twenty years pales in comparison to the loss of life at the hands of the Nazi fascist state.

This administration twisted false stories of Iraq hunting for yellow cake in Niger into a narrative that fit our administration’s desire to go to war in Iraq and delivered this false case to Congress to justify an invasion.

In a post-9/11 America still freshly licking its wounds, we all should have known what would happen within our political arena:

Who Lied To Whom?: …”Two days later, Secretary of State Colin Powell, appearing before a closed hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also cited Iraq’s attempt to obtain uranium from Niger as evidence of its persistent nuclear ambitions. The testimony from Tenet and Powell helped to mollify the Democrats, and two weeks later the resolution passed overwhelmingly, giving the President a congressional mandate for a military assault on Iraq.”…

When that cover was blown by, well, reality, our government simply began to whisper false ties to 9/11 to go after a client-state that refused to play nice anymore, all beginning with its 1991 invasion of Kuwait.

What we have “accomplished” in Iraq since the occupation began in 2003 is quite amazing, actually. A Shi’ite majority has now been voted into power — something that no US planner would have hoped for, but constitutes a perfect example of what democracy at the end of the barrel of a M-16 will get you.

Essentially, we’ve backed the formation of a government and a constitution that leans in the opposite direction from modernity and strengthened the potential for a collaborative, radical mid-east region, at the cost of more than 2 billion dollars per week, while losing close to 3,000 US patriots and killing at least 50,000 Iraqi civilians.

One can only imagine how that loss of life is going to be avenged.

America Supports You: Sesame Street Teaches Troops’ Kids Coping Skills

[…]

“Military children are not the only ones who are involved in separation and deployments and the like,” he said. “One of the benefits that you get by doing something like this is that you’re also able to reach, say, kids from the State Department, kids from oil and gas companies, people whose parents are moving around and deploying all the time and undergo excessive absence much the same as military kids do.”

(via Neatorama)

Remember that slippery slope?…

(originally uploaded by cjsylvor)

(originally uploaded by Von Hutchins)

“Terrorists can be defeated simply by not becoming terrified — that is, anything that enhances fear effectively gives in to them.”
- John Mueller, Ohio State University

(originally uploaded by celebdu)

(originally uploaded by jamarju)

“I am worried that I have a finger-pointing President who quite possibly does more damage to more people every day than any traditional terrorist could do in a lifetime and most likely won’t be happy until he completely isolates America from the rest of the world, throwing all of us into a third World War.”
- Alex Sandell, Terrorists in Business Suits 2: The Second Coming

WashingtonWatch (feed | page)

Why? It’s about time we have a real-time feed for bills on the floor of Congress. A few early concerns with the service:

1. the methodology for generating cost/saving figures is very weak flawed
2. public incentive to participate is nil
3. if public participation is nil, Congress won’t pay much concern to the echo chamber of comments

It’s strange how you’ll pause to investigate something as innocuous as a mention of your own name used elsewhere. I’m glad I did, otherwise I would’ve never come across the story of Sean Farrell (and in many ways, the story of all of us).

[…]

Sean’s casual commentary on everything from smoking pot to living with speed freaks was delivered in simple sincerity throughout the soon-to-be famous 15-minute film. This First Child of the notorious decade may have shaken the audience with his simple sentence — “Sure, I smoke pot” — but it was his barefoot impishness which would encapsulate the hope that lay in front of the nation: a promise of infinite possibility.

Thirty years, three generations, and a lifetime later, Arlyck has returned to San Francisco in search of who the adult Sean might have become. And what he finds, to his surprise, tells him as much about his own east-coast migration as it does about the Californian life he left behind-that the choices we’re handed and the choices we make are, very often, quite odd bedfellows.

Anyone know where I can get a copy of Ralph Arlyck’s 1969 student film, Sean?

Editor & Publisher Staff
Iraqi Death Toll Over 50,000, ‘L.A. Times’ Reveals

At least 50,000 Iraqis, mostly civilians, have died violently since the 2003 U.S. invasion, according to statistics from the Baghdad morgue, the Iraqi Health Ministry and other agencies, the Los Angeles Times reports today. This is “a toll 20,000 higher than previously acknowledged by the Bush administration,” the newspaper declares.

“The toll, which is dominated by civilians but probably also includes some security forces and insurgents, is daunting: Proportionately, it’s as if 600,000 Americans had been killed nationwide during the last three years,” the Times observes.

In the same period, at least 2,520 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq, including four today and 18 or more this week.

“Many more Iraqis are believed to have been killed but have not been counted because of serious lapses in recording the number of deaths in the chaotic first year after the invasion, when there was no functioning Iraqi government, and continued spotty reporting nationwide,” the Times relates.

Health Ministry figures for May shows the rate of war-related deaths nearly tripling nationwide, from 334 in May 2004 to 1,154 last month.

“The documented cases show a country descending further into violence,” the Times concludes.

“At the Baghdad morgue, the vast majority of bodies processed had been shot execution-style. Many showed signs of torture — drill holes, burns, missing eyes and limbs, officials said. Others had been strangled, beheaded, stabbed or beaten to death.”

Am I the only one blown away by that proportionality statement? To the rest of the world, and any American with a soul not obfuscated by their political or sovereignty lens, the number serves as the exact degree to which the US has responded to the 3,000+ death count of 9/11/2001. 200 times over…

And we’re in for The Long War?

It’s sick.

(click for entire .pdf)

Current independent broadcasting channels, production houses, distribution centers, etc. all sweat to compete with the Big 6 for advertising dollars and market reach. If they are struggling, imagine what would happen to the still-developing ecosystem of independent bloggers if net neutrality isn’t supported in the next phase of legislation on the senate floor.

Representative David Obey (D Wisconsin) just made an impassioned speach on the house floor about our decision to build 14 bases in Iraq while not choosing to help provide clean drinking water for 1/10th of the impoverished world. Now, Jim Leach (R Iowa) is supporting his stance to improve the human condition rather than focusing more on strategies of warfare to provide stability.

And, of course, the drinking water ammendment offered by Earl Blumenauer (D Oregon) was voted down, even after he pointed out the fuzzy math used by Jim Kolbe (R Arizona) to bean count the bill.

C-Span: A front row seat to the most important game in the world.

Artist: Public Enemy (Featuring Paris)
Song: Coinsequences

==========

[Intro/Chorus: Paris]
Is it a, coincidence that we ain’t taught truth
A, coincidence that they target the youth
A, coincidence everything is the same
That a message in the music ain’t a part of the game
A, coincidence that we livin a lie
A, coincidence that we only get by
A, coincidence that so many are lost
And do prison time ‘fore we notice the cost

[Paris]
It really ain’t difficult to break the mold
And take a close look at the lies we’re told
Wipe away the facade, see we got to know
See the plot to control and to rot the soul
You can make anybody that don’t read believe
anything that they see on the TV screen
That a lie is reality, the sky is green
That there’s weapons in Iraq, and the President’s clean
When it’s on, thinkin you can trust police
Every black is a beast and our women are cheap
And that brothers gettin murdered is the way of the streets
That it’s normal to die when we still in our teens
And that’s the way it is, what’s the use to try
That school is a motherfuckin waste of time
Slang yay, die young, maybe get rich rhymin
And prison if you black is just a part of life
And that all of America support the Pres’
Religion is the way, and we all full of sin
That it’s better after death if we suffer and pray
Even though they fuck us off in this life today
And that white Jesus hangin on the wall in church
ain’t a part of a lie to keep a brother subservient
And that the whole world need the word “Amen”
Got troops overseas gettin murdered for free
If you buy that shit, I got a bridge to sell
Like I said I’m a rebel, so I must re-bel
And lies be the truth now, war is peace
Like corporations don’t dictate the streets
Like brothers don’t die for the diamond or bling
Like brothers don’t die over songs we sing
Like patri-ots act like the Patriot Act
While we swing on this bitch ’til we break it in half

[Chorus: Paris]
Is it a, coincidence that we ain’t taught truth
A, coincidence that they target the youth
A, coincidence everything is the same
That a message in the music ain’t a part of the game
A, coincidence that we livin a lie
A, coincidence that we only get by
A, coincidence that so many are lost
And do prison time ‘fore we notice the cost

[Paris]
You guilty if arrested and niggaz are thugs
Only good for welfare, murder and drugs
The media is true, with no bias at all
And Fox News ain’t on the President’s balls
That Lacey and O.J. and Kobe and Mike
ain’t bullshit and really do matter in life
That you shouldn’t be insulted they give ‘em the time
but never talk about all this corporate crime
That they generatin news stay loose with facts
Relate fake views that’ll keep us attracted
like sheep so we don’t think, never react
Never question authority, never suspect
Never trip off of why what matters to us
always seem unimportant, and never get love
Why it’s never any money for the school support
But it’s fallin out the sky for these corporate wars

[Chorus: Paris]
Is it a, coincidence that we ain’t taught truth
A, coincidence that they target the youth
A, coincidence everything is the same
That a message in the music ain’t a part of the game
A, coincidence that we livin a lie
A, coincidence that we only get by
A, coincidence that so many are lost
And do prison time ‘fore we notice the cost

[Paris]
They never give real shit space to shine
Just donkey-ass niggaz on assembly line
Cookie cutter pop-slutter make music designed
to pedal Coca-Cola, Motorola and Sprite
No love for the Enemy with video play
But they give Flav a show to take the focus away
from the realest group ever made, whaddya say
when to them it’s Eminem that’s goin down as the greatest?
When the plan is a shame like we makin a choice
Understand it’s a scam who get handed a voice
And it’s only a few and they decide in advance
Like votin for the President and both of them fam
All that “God bless America, and nobody else”
But I can smell racism, however it’s dealt
Know the real shit never miss, see how it’s felt
All around the world, hear the people cryin for help

[Chorus: Paris]
Is it a, coincidence that we ain’t taught truth
A, coincidence that they target the youth
A, coincidence everything is the same
That a message in the music ain’t a part of the game
A, coincidence that we livin a lie
A, coincidence that we only get by
A, coincidence that so many are lost
And do prison time ‘fore we notice the cost

[Outro: Paris]
A, coincidence ex-cons can’t vote
A, coincidence they can’t get no work
A, coincidence that they can’t hold heat
Now they know that they enemy don’t look like me
A, coincidence that we shit out of luck
The consequence of coincidences all add up
When you never know the reason and you’re set up to suffer
The offense is coincidence is never the cause

With the massacre of Haditha already drawing comparisons to the My Lai massacre — where up to 500 unarmed Vietnamese men, women and children were killed in cold blood by American forces — proponents of this war are holding fast against this incident becoming the tipping point of complete anti-war sentiment.

Local blogger, Joe Guarino:

[…] We cannot take these unfortunate events, and then somehow generalize and amplify the Big Message they convey to suggest that the overall war effort is unworthy. We cannot make general assessments of the war in Iraq (or in Vietnam, for that matter) on the basis of tragic events that do not reflect the overall pattern.

The media would be wrong to muster a drumbeat on these stories, but if they do in stereotypical fashion, the public should ignore it.

Unfortunately for Joe and his agenda, the American public will discuss the role this atrocity plays in the overall war effort.

Whether Haditha represents an accurate assessment of the US military’s tactical MO or not, it has marked a clear shift in our collective perception of modern warfare. No longer do we live in a fantasy world of surgically precise operations; we’ve all awoken to the reality that combat-stressed groups of men and women in a war zone are capable of murdering civilians on their own accord.

That 21st century, smart-bomb warfare meme is kaput; we’re now all aware that the US is knee-deep in a grudge match.

But in the end, it truly doesn’t matter if this one incident is indicative of the pattern to the entire war effort or not, because to the Iraqi people — the people on the other end of the gun barrel in any circumstance — it signifies a terrifying escalation of chaos, murder and occupation that cannot be erased with clarifying words.

Not that our words would do any good anyways.

The Overall Pattern In Iraq

From pg. 39 of the September 2004 Strategic Communication report, by the Defense Science Board — a federal advisory committee established to provide independent advice to the secretary of defense:

2.3 What is the Problem? Who Are We Dealing With?

The information campaign — or as some still would have it, “the war of ideas,� or the struggle for “hearts and minds� — is important to every war effort. In this war it is an essential objective, because the larger goals of U.S. strategy depend on separating the vast majority of non-violent Muslims from the radical-militant Islamist-Jihadists. But American efforts have not only failed in this respect: they may also have achieved the opposite of what they intended.

American direct intervention in the Muslim World has paradoxically elevated the stature of and support for radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the United States to single-digits in some Arab societies.

• Muslims do not “hate our freedom,â€? but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the longstanding, even increasing support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Gulf states.
• Thus when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy. Moreover, saying that “freedom is the future of the Middle Eastâ€? is seen as patronizing, suggesting that Arabs are like the enslaved peoples of the old Communist World — but Muslims do not feel this way: they feel oppressed, but not enslaved.
• Furthermore, in the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering. U.S. actions appear in contrast to be motivated by ulterior motives, and deliberately controlled in order to best serve American national interests at the expense of truly Muslim self-determination.
• Therefore, the dramatic narrative since 9/11 has essentially borne out the entire radical Islamist bill of particulars. American actions and the flow of events have elevated the authority of the Jihadi insurgents and tended to ratify their legitimacy among Muslims. Fighting groups portray themselves as the true defenders of an Ummah (the entire Muslim community) invaded and under attack — to broad public support.
• What was a marginal network is now an Ummah-wide movement of fighting groups. Not only has there been a proliferation of “terroristâ€? groups: the unifying context of a shared cause creates a sense of affiliation across the many cultural and sectarian boundaries that divide Islam.
• Finally, Muslims see Americans as strangely narcissistic — namely, that the war is all about us. As the Muslims see it, everything about the war is — for Americans — really no more than an extension of American domestic politics and its great game. This perception is of course necessarily heightened by election-year atmospherics, but nonetheless sustains their impression that when Americans talk to Muslims they are really just talking to themselves.

Thus the critical problem in American public diplomacy directed toward the Muslim World is not one of “dissemination of information,� or even one of crafting and delivering the “right� message. Rather, it is a fundamental problem of credibility. Simply, there is none — the United States today is without a working channel of communication to the world of Muslims and of Islam. Inevitably therefore, whatever Americans do and say only serves the party that has both the message and the “loud and clear� channel: the enemy.

That last sentence (with my emphasis) represents the overall pattern that I see in the Iraq war.

We’re a 100,000 strong force of monolinguistic, armed men and women on a foreign soil.

Our soldiers have little to no training in the local customs of the Iraqi people, and practically no one can verbally communicate with either civilians or the enemy.

Essential building blocks of communication with Iraqi’s — humane, personal connections via idle chat during a convoy exercise, supportive conversation in local establishments, calming direction provided during a house raid — all become lost opportunities to gain a semblance of trust or credibility.

This simple inability to communicate waters the fields of insurgent seeds.

So when an atrocity such as Haditha occurs, the Iraqi people’s understanding of the act can’t be contextualized or messaged into obscurity by our military.

Worse even, the sheer brutality of such an incident doesn’t need to be framed or spun by operatives of al Qaeda or the leaders of local insurgents to build a greater resistance to American forces.

The atrocity speaks for itself, with a clarity of message delivered via a deafening tone of dead relatives, neighbors and friends, all never to be seen again.

Iraqi citizens have lived with the fear of a potential Haditha massacre for years now. Their daily lives are filled with various degrees of similar experiences with American forces as we consistently sweep through house after house in the middle of the night, searching for insurgents. A Haditha massacre does only one thing: it confirms their worst fears, leading to more fear and more aggression towards our troops.

No matter what we want to tell ourselves, perception is reality.

The DoD knows we’ll never be able to control the perception of Iraqi’s, so this cry of the right to look at the big picture of the war is a nothing more than panicked attempt to control the perception and reactions of Americans that might question this war effort.

To suggest that the American public should “ignore” the “media mustering a drumbeat on these stories” — these atrocities — in order to protect the overall pattern of the war in Iraq is a failed intellectual position. This incident might only be one data point in the overall pattern of war, but it’s a glaring one — one that exposes more elements going wrong over there than going right.

The Role Of The Media

Iraqi war planners aren’t overly concerned with critical journalism, such as the March 2006 Time magazine exclusive on Haditha, affecting the average American’s take on the state of the war.

Sure, it’s a concern, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

If not managed, the mainstream media can become a major threat to war efforts because it is exists via the same capitalistic infrastructure as the government it supposes to watchdog.

In other words, when media institutions begin climbing onto editorial limbs, foregoing their inherent responsibility to the interests of corporate advertising, it clearly signals a shift in times to American corporations who become placed in a position to make certain decisions they’d rather not have to make:

• They can remove themselves from media buys that are beginning to serve the reflected will of the consumer (poor PR) or
• They can keep their advertising in place as a public relations strategy, while implicitly distancing themselves from our government’s effort to wage war

See, the real concern isn’t with the common people in as much as it is with the flow of money, for once the majority of corporations are off the bandwagon of a war effort, its future becomes rather short-lived.

An Example Of The Power Of Media

Lieutenant William Calley — the American officer in charge at the My Lai massacre — faced the scrutiny of the much more centralized, mainstream media of 1970. Advertising legend George Lois provides context to the media exposure of the atrocity at the time by describing the decision and experience of placing Calley on the November, 1970 cover of Esquire magazine :

“Lieutenant, this picture will show that you’re not afraid as far as your guilt is concerned. The picture will say: ‘Here I am with these kids you’re accusing me of killing. Whether you believe I’m guilty or innocent, at least read about my background and motivations.’” Calley grinned on cue, and we completed the session.

When I sent the finished cover to (Esquire editor, Harold) Hayes he called to let me know that his office staff and Esquire’s masthead bureaucrats were plenty shook up.

“Some detest it and some love it,” he said. “You going to chicken out?” I asked. “Nope,” he said. “We’ll lose advertisers and we’ll lose subscribers. But I have no choice. I’ll never sleep again if I don’t muster the courage to run it.”

The notion that some editors might feel a sense of duty to a global community — and not just to a sovereign position or a bottom line — marks the potential for transforming the media into the greatest, political equalizer on the face of the earth.

In 1970, the attack on the “liberal” media — outlets that didn’t explicitly recognize corporate interests over human interests at every turn — was eerily similar to the conservative banter of today. From Into The Dark: The My Lai Massacre:

[…]

On April 1, 1971, just two days after the verdict, Nixon ordered Calley to be placed under house arrest while his appeal worked its way through the courts. “The whole tragic episode was used by the media and the antiwar forces to chip away at our efforts to build public support for our Vietnam objectives,� he wrote.

Across the nation, there were many demonstrations of support for Lt. Calley. The American Legion announced plans that it would try to raise $100,000 for his appeal. Draft board personnel in several cities resigned in groups. Several politicians spoke out in public criticizing the government’s prosecution of the soldiers at My Lai. “I’ve had veterans tell me that if they were in Vietnam now, they would lay down their arms and come home,� Congressman John Rarick told the New York Times.

But prosecutor Aubrey Daniel also did not remain silent. He wrote a highly publicized letter to President Nixon criticizing him for releasing Calley to house arrest: “How shocking it is if so many people across this nation have failed to see the moral issue… that it is unlawful for an American soldier to summarily execute unarmed and unresisting men, women and babies.�

[…]

In the end, we have to recognize that an atrocity such as Haditha is a symptom of the behavioral patterns of all warfare.

To brush it aside as a random act of violence would be to remove the complicit nature of war planners from the equation and lay it squarely on the shoulder of the brave souls that serve our country, no matter the call to duty.

Scott Rosenburg’s post, In defense of Al Gore’s history lesson, reminded me of an online project I came across the other day called, State of the Union.

The project is the brainchild of Brad Borevitz, who created it to analyze the State of the Union addresses given by US Presidents from 1790 to 2006. I grabbed two screenshots that I found interesting:

and

What did I find interesting?

• Lincoln was probably having an honest discussion about “insurgents” and “insurrection” in 1861
• Lincoln’s address spoke to a 16.2 grade level, Bush to a 9.6 grade level (although I assume the “applause” text must bias the results)
• The State of the Union has a consistent downward SMA regarding the grade level of the text, peaking with James Madison’s address on December 5, 1815 (25.7) and bottoming out with George W. Bush’s address on February 27th, 2001 (7.6)
• Bill Clinton scored just as low of a score as (9.1) as George W. Bush

Scott sees anti-intellectualism at work in today’s political and media circles.

Boris finds it at play within the patterns of speech our leaders use to communicate with the populace…

Even zefrank receives anti-intellectualism comments on his vlog nowadays.

So is our nation getting dumber? Or are the powerful simply lowering the bar of intelligent discussion to dishonestly promote a “no citizen left behind” policy while engaging in a twisted form of propaganda?

Duh, I dunno.

Jonathan Hutson, Talk To Action
The Purpose Driven Life Takers

Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission — to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is “to conduct physical and spiritual warfare”; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old. You are playing a real-time strategy video game whose creators are linked to the empire of mega-church pastor Rick Warren, best selling author of The Purpose Driven Life.

[…]

This game immerses children in present-day New York City — 500 square blocks, stretching from Wall Street to Chinatown, Greenwich Village, the United Nations headquarters, and Harlem. The game rewards children for how effectively they role play the killing of those who resist becoming a born again Christian. The game also offers players the opportunity to switch sides and fight for the army of the AntiChrist, releasing cloven-hoofed demons who feast on conservative Christians and their panicked proselytes (who taste a lot like Christian).

Is this paramilitary mission simulator for children anything other than prejudice and bigotry using religion as an organizing tool to get people in a violent frame of mind? The dialogue includes people saying, “Praise the Lord,” as they blow infidels away.

The designers intend this game to become the first dominionist warrior game to break through in the popular culture due to its violent scenarios and realistic graphics, lighting, and sound effects. Its creators expect it to earn a rating of T for Teen. How violent is that? That’s the rating shared by Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory, a top selling game in which high-tech gadgets and high-powered weapons - frag grenades, shotguns, assault rifles, and submachine guns — are used to terminate enemies with extreme prejudice.

Could such a violent, dominionist Christian video game really break through to the popular culture? Well, it is based on a series of books that have already set sales records - the blockbuster Left Behind series of 14 novels by writer Jerry B. Jenkins and his visionary collaborator, retired Southern Baptist minister Tim LaHaye. “We hope teenagers like the game,” Mr. LaHaye told the Los Angeles Times. “Our real goal is to have no one left behind.”

[…]

Freedom of speech and anti-censorship laws exist in this nation to protect our ability to hold civil discourse — even when it’s in the form of twisted, violent, crusading game narratives aimed at our children and marketed through the tenticles of the mega-church.

The redeeming factor behind the development of this specific game, is that the motive of the religous right is on display for the world to see. Too often their hatred becomes cloaked in motive numbing rhetoric — placating tales of Jesus’ love for all humanity as long as humanity devotes itself to Jesus. Over the past 20 years, such rhetoric has masked their intent, allowing them to gain a strong, political foothold in America — specifically with moderate Christians.

So when the religous right’s arrogance is responsible for removing their own metaphorical hoods, we need to gaze into their hateful, soulless eyes and take detailed notes.

The “Up In Arms” Crowd

It’s interesting to note that historically, church groups have been the most active in denouncing hip-hop music and video games for their violent content, arguing that they influence kids to become violent, misogynistic, or even worse, question authority.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces is scheduled to release in October 2006, just four months away. Where are these vocal groups now? Is “bling” and “bitch” rhetoric more deserving of protest than marketing to children a programmed, interactive virtual reality for cleansing non-Christian people from the face of the earth?

Hillary Clinton railed hard against the Hot Coffee mod, a locked, sex scene found in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (a scene that only a slight percentage of geeks even knew existed) in a move that smelled of pandering to the family values crowd. Where is her outrage?

It’ll be interesting to see how long Left Behind: Eternal Forces flies under the radar of both the church and Hillary Clinton.

It’ll actually be quite telling…

(from Nas)

Michael Duffy, TIME
The Shame Of Kilo Company

[…]

But one morning last November, some members of Kilo Company apparently didn’t attempt to distinguish between enemies and innocents. Instead, they seem to have gone on the worst rampage by U.S. service members in the Iraq war, killing as many as 24 civilians in cold blood. The details of what happened in Haditha were first disclosed in March by TIME’s Tim McGirk and Aparisim Ghosh, and their reporting prompted the military to launch an inquiry into the civilian deaths. The darkest suspicions about the killings were confirmed last week, when members of Congress who were briefed on the two ongoing military investigations disclosed that at least some members of a Marine unit may soon be charged in connection with the deaths of the Iraqis — and that the charges may include murder, which carries the death penalty. “This was a small number of Marines who fired directly on civilians and killed them,” said Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican and former Marine who was briefed two weeks ago by Marine Corps officials. “This is going to be an ugly story.”

[…]

At what point do we, as a nation, realize that our occupation of Iraq is only breeding more violent insurgents and future terrorists? And if this story is true, can you blame them for wanting revenge?

On a weekend where we remember the brave men and women who have served and/or died to protect what we know and love as America, I wonder… are we still that same America? Have we ever been?

In 1997, at the age of 93, my grandmother — Reva Patrick Coon — asked me to design the cover for her first book.

Ties & Tales is her personal story of Dunsmuir, California — the place she’s called home since the early 1920’s. While much of the content focuses on our family, the book also provides interesting context to mainstream American history.

Chris Fahey and I go back 12 years in the new media game:

• While I was designing CD-Rom games at LTI in 1995, Chris was working on a project at The Music Pen, just a few blocks uptown.
• One of the producers at his gig was a guy named Alan Robbins, who just so happened to teach with my father at Kean University.
• Alan and I became tight for a short period of time following my gig at LTI, as my father introduced us and we rapped about teaching — an interest of mine.
• My friend and colleague from LTI, Rebecca Rothstein, left the gig and took up shop at Rare Medium — one of the big bubble agencies from the mid-nineties.
• Chris happened to do the same, leaving The Music Pen for Rare Medium around the same time.
• A few months later, Rebecca referred me to Organic Online, where I took my first job as an information architect, proper.
• Chris and I both ended up up at the same information architect conventions, honing our craft, meeting new people and drinking flailing dotcom money at the free after-parties.
• Soon thereafter, we both became active participants of the SIG-IA list, participating with the IA community to solve data and interface issues.
• Last August, we had a lively discussion of my never-to-be-seen illustration for the Media Matters redesign.

After coming across one of Chris’ most recent posts regarding the government wiretapping and phone call pattern analysis programs (which was laced with some serious, righteous conviction), I left a comment along the lines that it’s our duty as trained information architects to perform a bit of Internal Affairs work — to help illustrate the potential damage these programs could do to our civil liberties.

You know, illustrate, say, the potential that crossed-path analysis has in generating false-positive relationship assumptions… such as the degree to which Chris and I kept close company over the past 12 years.

You see, we never formally met until last July.

If you get a moment, head over to his blog to review some of his recent thoughts on the matter.

This stuff is serious, folks.