Most of us on Kos get our news from the web - the MSM no longer suffices. We have our list of sites and we, in effect, make our own news channel. Through mechanisms like diaries, we are able to make and respond to news. By doing so, we are able to pass along our own views, adding a personal bi-directional mechanism which, again, adds to the revolutionary qualities of the internet and makes Kos a force that is even recognized by the MSM (often unkindly, curiously).
When I discovered DailyKos, I thought, "the internet might be democracy's saviour." Open networks for ordinary citizens to share and disseminate information around the globe was, and still is, revolutionary. With a competent search engine, we are able to harness the collective knowledge in new and exciting ways. Disruptively, real time communications over the internet is quickly taking over turf formally held by telephone companies.
But, I had a startling realization - we are already in a passive police state. The internet may actually, eventually, play a role in ending democracy as we know it. Our diaries, our collection of personal views and thoughts could be used against us - without a court of law.
America's fascist tendencies [1] are becoming more overt and there is no better example than AT&T's willingness, illegally, to give our information to the government [2]. This, it would seem, is harmless. We are not the bad guys - why would we care? If we've learned nothing from this administration, it is their willingness to politicize government institutions - and that is why we should care - a lot.
Honestly, in my opinion, we tend to give the administration a pass on too many things, attributing them to incompetence. Their ability to protect us pre-911 ("doing nothing", as Bill Clinton put it. With ZERO accountability [3]). The debacle in Iraq. AG Gonzales, etc, etc, etc. In my opinion, the perception of incompetence is a well oiled, relied upon and trusty tool. At our peril, we allow them to use it again and again. I see the incompetence card played, even here on Kos, to gratuitously hand the administration a get out jail free card.
But they are not incompetent, make no mistake, they are cunning and cold and calculating. The 'right wing conspiracy' is no Oz, it is real, and the unseen men behind the curtain should scare the living daylights out of every one of us. They are playing Chess while the Democrats play checkers and I don't mean that as an insult to Democrats - I mean it to highlight motives and initiative on the right. They have the luxury of hiring consultants to sit around in oak laden boardrooms conspiring to have their way. The democrats, by and large, simply want the system to work as the founding fathers envisioned. Especially since the end of the cold war, they don't - a democracy, to them has become a liability. It reminds me, learning to drive, of my father telling me to look further down the road to avoid making choppy steering adjustments. The republicans have not only looked further down the road - they've paved the way to where they are going (pulling us along). If you look at where we've been over the last 6 years and project that out to where we are heading, if you are like me, a chill will run down your spine. They desire more (unitary) power and they've been doing their homework. [4]
Listen to the chatter on the MSM. We are being warned of a coming event. AQ is stronger - all of a sudden. Chertoff's incomprehensible gut feeling. Saber rattling and, indeed, downright action toward a confrontation with Iran. (did you know a forth carrier will soon be there. I used work on a carrier. This is odd.) Obtuse observations that suggest Iran has pockets of terrorists in the US waiting to unleash hell. Executive orders that curtail dissent of any kind, especially war [5]. And more ... and it is getting louder. There are even republicans sounding the alarm. [6]
So the crux of this diary is this : This administration is well aware of (in fact, is counting on) the internet and are busily building a huge volume of indexed and cross-referenced data to use against us when we move into an active police state. Liberals blogs/sites, much more popular than conservative ones, draws us to them like bees to honey. This information, collectively, has more clarity and fidelity than any poll to gauge 'the will of the people' (not only liberals of course). Right now, the will of the people is (at least) 70% against this war and especially another one with Iran. If something happens, and we find ourselves at war with Iran, this repository of data will be used against us. For example, if you are an avid anti-war liberal, you might find that you have some outstanding parking tickets or forgot to pay some taxes - anything to get you in their clutches. If they don't have one, one will be made up. And you will have no recourse.
Diabolically, they are not only using the internet, they are actively honing it to a sharp point. This realization slowly dawned on me while visiting popular news sites like Digg [7] and interacting on more wide open, wild places like Bill Maher's forum [8]. They are not only using it passively, I now believe they are actively propagating propaganda and manipulating the news sites, especially those that use rating systems. This insidious realization crystalized the other day and scared me enough to get off my butt and write something about it. I'm going to show you a link to a flash cartoon that quickly made it up the ranks on Digg (meaning people liked it). But I'm here to tell you, if you trace the origins of this video, you'll find a nefarious and insidious entity bent on scaring and dividing people.
Beware, this is a cartoon and may be construed as a comical cartoon game. It is not, imho. [9]
http://digg.com/...
Seemingly, the video 'has gone viral' but I suspect it was not for its goodness but was propagated and manipulated (pushing up the ratings) by people with malevolent intent. I suggest to you that a real investigative reporter would find a huge story if they look into the origins of this video. (I have not)
Before I ran across that video, I had started my own investigation because I thought I was witnessing a pattern that suggested there were teams of individuals bent on a certain agenda [10]. Working together (on both sides of the argument) they frame the issue and heard unwitting individuals in a particular direction. They use the classic 'good cop bad cop' technique except with more than two cops. People are set up by the good cop and then knocked down if their position is not complimentary to their agenda. Often they use a rabid, non-reputable individual on 'the good side' to undermine, cutoff or redirect a particular point. They use well honed and documented propaganda techniques like shooting the messenger or framing the debate in such a way as to take away ground they have no right to. (for example, if you are against the war you are with Al Qaeda) What tuned me into the scheme, the pattern, was an lack of personality (on both sides), dogged tenacity and a clear agenda. I've accumulated circumstantial evidence (that goes a bit beyond identifying this pattern) and have shared it with others. We are continuing research because I think this is important - even crucial.
So what do we do?
- I recommend voting with your wallet. Cancel all AT&T stuff. Picket outside their offices. Make known to everyone you know the devious nature by which they share every last piece of information that goes through their network. (a significant portion of total network traffic, by the way)
- Intent trumps incompetence. Hold them accountable [11]. Get the congress to pay more attention to the matter of AT&T allowing the administration to spy on us all. Pass some legislation to stop, or, at least, shed light on it.
- Don't by an iPhone. I know, it kills me to say that but did you know they also may be in cahoots with the government ? And, of course, use AT&T's network. Did you know there may be an illegal GOVERNMENT trojan horse on your iPhone, sending information to a central database [12]? Same with OS X and Windows [6]. I've seen only tangential evidence of this but the real good stuff is not being shed light upon because of 'national security'. Unfortunately, I don't have even circumstantial evidence of this - it is only an educated guess. But I'd bet a lot on it.
- Simply be aware. Good people, I've noticed, have the propensity to underestimate the badness of others. Don't give the administration credit where it is not due. Pay attention to what they say and see how that diverges from what they do. Expose the big lies. Out of necessity, they are good liars. Why a Democrat, for example, has not come out and said "they hate us for our freedom", is intellectually dishonest, if not totally wrong, is beyond my understanding. It is a propaganda statement meant to hide the fact, more and more, the world sees the US as a rogue nation. When we say "spreading democracy and freedom" they really mean aggressive, take no prisoners, capitalism. Those outside looking in are more acutely aware of this because they are the victims of our gaze - they see our fascist corporatist stripes, which are cleverly camouflaged to us. The fact that a prominent Democrat is not exposing this will keep me independent, to be honest.
- Make contact with and get to know your neighbors. Get to know others here on Kos (besides of a username/ online persona).
- Our reaction to an event will be the most important time America has ever faced, imho. They will try to divide us. [16] The internet will be 'temporarily unavailable'. 'Us against them' will be a domestic agenda. Our patriotism will be called in question. Liberal against conservatives. Muslims against Christians. Pro-war against anti-war, etc. Don't let them. The best indication that our worst fears have arrived will be in the form of people, good Americans, disappearing - not radical muslims. They'll go to great lengths to keep this sweep under wraps. Non-intuitively, it will not be folks like Kos and Bill Maher and Keith Olbermann who will be the first to 'go'. It will be us small fry dissenters. And, likely, a lot of us.
- Take responsibility for our democracy or it will be taken from us. Vote. Be active. Myself, I've been an irresponsible American. I'm changing that and I hope you will join me.
Finally, I'd like to tell you this diary was not written by an alarmist but that would be dishonest, because I'm alarmed - even scared. The sequence of events that have led us to the circumstance we find ourself in the world, and domestically, left me looking uncomfortably down a road I have no desire to travel. It is a road that many groups, in the past, have succumbed to. Our founding fathers saw this and provided the tools to counteract man's relentless search for power and domination. If we are to stop this progression, we must consider their motivation and put their actions in context. We've got to be able to get in front and setup a road block. Now it is the responsibility of 'we the people', like never before. We can only do this together. We have to reach out to each other and confront this cancer, which is whittling away at our constitution, head on, fearlessly, with solidarity and intent or this experiment, democracy, our constitution, is just a god damn piece of paper [15] and it will soon be a part of history. History is absolutely littered with examples of tyranny overcoming the people. As OPOL [17] says, we've come to a cross-roads, which road do you prefer?
FYI: I'm an internet guy (10 years) and make my living harnessing the network to help businesses and individuals. I have a Bachelors degree in Information Systems.
PS : Are there many out there who have recieved a jury summons of late? I just got one recently - out of the blue. Never before in 5 years living here.
[1] 14 Points of fascism
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/...
[2] Spying on the homefront - whistle blower who deserves the Metal of Honor
http://www.pbs.org/...
http://newstandardnews.net/...
[3] Wallace falsehood: said in Clinton interview that he asked Bush admin officials "plenty of questions" about failure to catch bin Laden
http://mediamatters.org/...
[4] PNAC
http://www.newamericancentury.org/
[5] The alarm being sounded by a republican.
http://www.counterpunch.org/...
[6] Executive orders
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
[7] Digg
http://digg.com
[8] Forum for Bill Maher's show
http://boards.billmaher.com/...
[9] Beans
http://www.simonpanrucker.com/...
http://digg.com/...
[10] Rent-a-troll
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
[11] The church of limited liability
http://www.dailykos.com/...
[12] iPhone - Vulnerability or trojan?
http://www.tuaw.com/...
http://forums.macrumors.com/...
[13] Other spying via trojans on OS X and Windows ... Google?
http://www.health-sky.com/...
http://arstechnica.com/...
http://apple.slashdot.org/...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
[14] Domestic 'us against them'
http://journals.democraticundergroun...
[15] Constitution - piece of paper?
http://www.gnn.tv/...
[16] The Weekly Standard's "9/11 Generation"
http://www.salon.com/...
[17] OPOL - A patriot and inspiration to many
http://one-pissed-off-liberal.dailyk...
Others:
How to create an Angry American
http://www.youtube.com/...
New world order quotes
http://www.freedomdomain.com/...
A time for another revolution
http://www.mises.org/...
Bush will not leave voluntarily
http://www.dailykos.com/...