My brother has always tickled us with his sense of humor, with the things he plucks out with his unique, very intelligent perspective. He told us once of a National Enquirer-type story he saw in the grocery store once about an incident in which an unborn child was ‘sought’ for complicity in a serious crime. The picture with the article showed something like law enforcement officers in attendance in what was purported to be a delivery room, guns drawn, with a caption of something like: "Come out with your hands up!"
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Yes, of course it sounds ridiculous. But, though that was many years ago, in some respects maybe we have not come that far. This CNN article, posted last Friday, tells of a real incident in which an 18 month old toddler and her family were removed from a commercial aircraft because, the airline claimed, the toddler’s name appeared on a ‘no-fly’ list. It makes sense when you think back to all the terrorist attacks conducted by 18 month olds in the past few years.
First, there was the attack in ... umm, no, wait, that was an adult terrorist. But, then there was the attack against ... well, no, that, too was an adult, come to think of it, not an 18 month old. Hmmm. But maybe the attack at ... nope, that was an adult, too, several of them, in fact, older than 18 years each, never mind 18 months.
I guess the attacks conducted by 18 month olds have yet to receive the publicity that attacks by adult terrorists realize. The bottom line is that there have probably been many that are being covered up for nefarious reasons, and certainly, the likelihood of terrorist attacks planned and carried out by 18 month olds goes up exponentially if we let down our guard to the possibility, or worse, that we buy into the delusion that it could never happen.
I guess this is the thinking that airline personnel used in determining the threat level posed by an 18 month old whose name was purportedly on the no fly list.
The article suggests that the real responsibility for screening passenger lists falls to TSA, which did not exclude the child, and even then TSA does not typically remove passengers from aircraft, it prevents them from ever boarding to begin with.
Think about this for a moment. Airline personnel were so rigid in their paranoia about the no-fly lists that they disengaged their brains, which MUST have told them that their information HAD to be incorrect. In the history of the world there cannot have ever been a list which really identified an 18 month old toddler as a bonafide terror threat. Yet, mindlessly, airline personnel removed the child and her family from the flight, to the family's great and understandable humiliation.
This is the insidious kind of problem we get when there is political advantage to be had by one political party in cultivating paranoia in the society at-large. In cultivating and reinforcing fears and phobias. In hypnotizing vast swaths of the populace that their safety and well-being could be challenged at any moment by forces outside their control. That it is important to so rigidly accept the magnitude of the threats that it is reasonable to conclude that 18 month old terrorists are being trained to circulate among us and victimize us from a direction we never expected.
In his book, Dune, Frank Herbert wrote:
Fear is the mind-killer.
But, it isn’t the only mind-killer. Jealousy is a mind-killer, selfishness can be a mind-killer, contempt can be a mind-killer, Schadenfreude can be a mind-killer, hatred
IS a mind-killer. Is it any wonder we see these employed EVERY day and in every way by our political adversaries? Their path canNOT stand the scrutiny of mind, so mind has to be turned off, turned aside, muted, subverted, negated. All of their policies and strategies are for the purpose of rendering the electorate reactive, compliant, subordinate to their agenda and irrational 'arguments.'
Mind-killers render their subjects vulnerable to easy manipulation and direction. Worst of all, they render it ever easier for those receptive to mind-killing political practices to KEEP their minds turned off, for them to sleep onward, oblivious to the reality of the things that are happening.
They can even be oblivious to the impossibility of there being an 18 month old terrorist, passing innocently as a normal, harmless toddler. Common sense has no chance as long as they embrace mindlessness so completely.
And it is important to note that ... revelations which heighten the ‘fear quotient’ in our society always benefit the party of the mind-killers more than ours. It may work for them, that doesn’t mean it should work for us. Or that it ever really would.
From Wikiquote (the Marshall McLuhan page):
There is absolutely no inevitability, so long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening. [A chapter sub-heading attributed by McLuhan to Alfred North Whitehead]
Our community is almost always willing to contemplate what is happening, theirs accepts whatever Fox News tells them is happening. It is a wide gulf, indeed.
Thanks for reading tonight! Hug those little 18 month old micro-terrorists, and let them know they are loved!
Brillig here. I've tucked my micro and mini-terrorists into bed, so the world is safe until morning and I can with a clear conscience bring you the Three Tops...
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From dwayne:
In the diary by Merlin1963 Kentucky's Noah's Ark Theme Park--When a Recession, Culture and Political Pandering Collide, Anthony Page aka SecondComing had a very good question about the park.
From Seneca Doane:
Besting stiff competition, We Won comes up with the Romney joke of the day.
From bronte17:
George Hier asks an intriguing question concerning MSM coverage or lack thereof of fraud at the top echelons of our financial system:
Is this more of a "stealing from rich people" story or a "stealing from everyone else" story? 'Cause the former gets a lot of press, but the latter, not so much.
From the... as always... outstanding diary post Taibbi: Goldman, BofA Lawyers Accidentally Confirm "Naked Shorting," Disregard for Compliance by bobswern.
From Noddy:
While the whole topic is rather heated, sujigu often makes more sense than some others, and I particularly agree with this comment from his diary "You could just work at McDonald's...".
Indycam explains a feature of DKos that I like.
Doggie269 cracked me up, but not as much as SallyCat's response.
From Dave in Northridge:
In blue aardvark's diary I am left snarkless because I don't pick on the defenseless, cedwyn came up with a GEM: the big fat ones, and, as you'll see, I'm not alone! New Rule should get some credit too.
From laserhaas:
This one by George Hier is too cool.
From Chrislove:
In my diary about the public reaction of an anti-gay Colorado legislator's son after the death of the state's civil unions bill, there were a couple of very short comments that stood out to me as really nailing it. First, this one by defluxion10. Second, this one by global citizen. Taken together, these comments really sum up the whole tragic story.
From BeninSC:
In love? Want to be joined with your beloved for life, in a legally recognized union? Take your vows for a banana! Gooserock explains!
Not every boop is a Betty. blue aardvark elaborates!
Top Mojo for yesterday, May 15th, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
mik for the mojo magic!
1) I didn't realize by Delilah — 188
2) Lining up my ducks by Diane Gee — 154
3) You could have made that point more by JTinDC — 146
4) They fear hearing the truth by TomP — 122
5) I always like to tell the story of... by Mets102 — 109
6) Fuck You National Government That Supports by Gooserock — 100
7) I have added text......sorry about that by Olympia — 100
8) I don't know how God feels about them but I by Olympia — 85
9) A momument to consummate stupidity and ignorance. by rfall — 84
10) Sometimes I think by Diane Gee — 83
11) Give em hell by MinistryOfTruth — 83
12) If I was Mr. Gorzkowski... by Stwriley — 82
13) You're telling me by MinistryOfTruth — 80
14) A pattern of harassment by gchaucer2 — 75
15) I saw it by Delilah — 74
16) Apply for medicaid, medically needy. by FloridaSNMOM — 74
17) Best comment I ever heard on Sunday talk shows... by CarolinW — 73
18) What? Like are we hurrying to climb the ladder by divineorder — 72
19) What an Inspiration -- Kid Stood Right Up Next to by Gooserock — 70
20) Here's a picture by SwedishJewfish — 69
21) time for renewed calls by Cedwyn — 69
22) Would have been simpler if the legislature said: by Buckeye54 — 67
23) Donated via Vetwife's forum by LucyGoose — 67
24) Reccing this up by AnnetteK — 66
25) Get to a neuro, now. by Jensequitur — 64
26) Just as soon as I begin to feel by Damnit Janet — 63
27) If corporations are Persons, by Youffraita — 61
28) Interesting thought. by One Pissed Off Liberal — 60
29) And has beens as well by glitterscale — 59
30) Looks like diarist obliged by fcvaguy — 57
31) F** You Mr. "$2 Billion Ain't Nothin'" Dimon by jpmassar — 57
Top Pictures for yesterday, May 15th. Click any image to be taken to the full comment. Thank you *jotter for the image magic!