Wisdom sometimes cames with age

It has been apparent for a long time that the US mainstream media talking heads/reporters, with few exceptions, are merely repeating government propaganda. Now that we know that the NSA/ US Government has been secretly spying on US Citizens (We the People) as well as the citizens of other countries (i.e. Brazil) it is quite clear who are the truth tellers and who are the liars.

Amendment to the US Constitution Article I:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment to the US Constitution Article IV:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Cable news is mostly a lost cause — they are there merely for entertainment. Major TV Networks are also hugely biased and have largely given up their first amendment rights and responsibility in exchange for access to political and corporate power.

So for those of us who value truth telling and want the facts without the endless gossip about the rich and famous — where do we turn for real news? Right now it appears that the hands down choice for US and world news is the Guardian News online. For readers who still want some fluff — the Guardian also delivers.

Right now I am reading a book review by Henry Porter in the Guardian, Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of War by Douglas Porch. We first learn why Douglas Porch background qualifies him to be taken seriously.

Out of the blue, and right from the heart of the American military establishment – the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, California, no less – comes a coup of analysis that has a really important message for the British and American public. It is that the counterinsurgency wars of the past decade have not only been a bloody failure, but that the tactics, methods and hardware of these wars have inevitably ended up being used against the public at home. Think of mass surveillance, of drones, secret courts, the militarisation of the police, detention without trial.

It isn’t a new observation that what the military learns in controlling the masses ends up being used on the unsuspecting citizens back home. As a military brat on a growing up and living on secure military bases I was very much aware of the military creep into the civilian world and that this creep was getting much worse — post 9/11, post “Homeland Insecurity”. This is merely my gut feeling and reaction to things of the military that should never be used to control and invade the civilian world. But now there are many voice reinforcing my sense that what is now happening in America and the world is not healthy for democracy or for human life.

The Guardian’s comment sections below the articles are often as interesting as the main article. For instance here is one comment that leads to yet another book about the “Top Secret” world of the US Government and the endless spying on innocent citizens.

Many of the intelligence innovations (including the use of drones) pioneered by Gen. Stanley McChrystal & Gen. Michael Flynn to target insurgents overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan are now being turned inward on the United States. Isn’t it great to live in the “land of the free, home of the brave”? (comment by Guy Montag)

Besides the Guardian News there are also a number of blogs and news sources and I am working on a list of alternative news sources which I like to read to learn about all sides of a story. What is important to me is that the news sources understand that the story is that the US Government is spying on all of us, tracking our movements and collecting and storing our digital histories. This is a clear violation of the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Just because the US has tax payer’s money to fund the theft of our personal privacy and just because the US Government has invented “secret” courts, “secret” laws doesn’t make this behavior by the USG any less unconstitutional. The majority of mainstream news media is trying to turn this into an entertainment issue — look at that geek Snowdon and then they release information leaked by the USG about Snowdon and the main truth telling reporter, Glenn Greenwald (Guardian News columnist who first broke the NSA spying on the world story).

Right now another blog — or individuals who write for the blog Fire Dog Lake — has been covering the Snowdon whistleblower story in an even handed manner. The four main bloggers who are doing a great job of posting breaking news are: Wendy Davis (from Colorado, not Texas), EdwardTeller (from Alaska), E.F. Beall, and Kevin Goszlota. The problem with Fire Dog Lake blog is that the 0bots who infested the place are still chanting their rote praises of the greatness of Obama. To them the man can do no wrong — although Obama has thrown ALL of us under the bus repeatedly the the BossHogs or whatever will still defend him. These poor souls are just like the Bush defenders who are still loyal to their man.

For general news items — which seem to reflect a somewhat conservative tend I check memorandum because it is important to keep current with the thinking and alternative universe of the Republican/Conservative political personalities.

The Huffington Post is great for cat and animal videos along with some serious reporting. Huff Po was bought by AOL and the website is often slow and too littered with junk to be usable some days. The Kindle/Android app for Huff Po makes the website faster to navigate for the news.

Gaker.com is an alternative strange place. For instance one story being discussed is that some NYC politician wants people to notify the cops before they start their party. Let the cops know you are having a party — what? So that the cops can put your party on their appointment list — to bust? One would think that the cops can just read Facebook or Twitter like everyone else about where the top party spots for the night will be? Not that I know a thing about NYC — nor do I want to know much about the urban “life” style. Very rural of me — which is why Obama doesn’t much like us rural folks — which he stereotypes like the prejudiced man we know him to be. (See — gaker.com really brings out the ranting in all of us.)

A Brooklyn City Council member is trying to propose legislation that would require anyone trying to have a no-sleep-til-Brooklyn rager with more than 40 people notify police and their community board at least three days in advance.

Gaker also covers breaking news — for instance the runaway train and explosion way up in Canada. I find myself visiting Gaker on a daily bases for news not covered in the mainstream media — or for the unique twist that Gawker puts on headline news.

Salon.com the current lead story on the home page is about the Militarized Police — “SWAT teams raiding poker games and trying to stop underage drinking? Overwhelming paramilitary force is on the rise.” One theory for why this is happening is because of the contracts some states have with private prisons to keep the prisons full. More of our tax dollars going to support corporations?