SCOTUS and Obamacare

I haven't a fucking clue what is going on.

Brief peek at the current situation

On the international front:

The EU seems to have declared total war on its member states. Debt bailouts in exchange for sovereignty is the strategy. I could go on and on about this, something I barely understand. The one thing I do know is more countries are seeking bailouts, and one of them will default. Again, domino theory comes into play. Spain, a major economy and large population, could bring the whole shit house down.

Syria now engulfed in a full-fledged civil war, with Turkey arming its borders and Saudi Arabia declaring it will provide salaries for opposition fighters. Lebanon, who shares a border like Turkey, has also seen the violence spill into the country and they aren’t too thrilled about it either.

The big three – Russia, China, and the US - are not jumping into the fray tenaciously, each holding firm but cautious stances. Russia, an arms supplier and ally to Assad, doesn’t want to lose that business, especially as they have a major naval base there. China seems to remain relatively silent, save dampening any aggressive progress by the UN. The US vacillates from calling for Assad to step down to silence.

Then there is Iran, the current lynch pin in the whole mess. They answer to Russia and China, as confidential front man, while bringing Venezuela into the alliance. The concern being expressed by prognosticators now is: 1) Syria will continue to deteriorate. 2) Outside forces will align with rebels / regime. 3) Regional war will result along the lines of allegiance. 4) Iran becomes the main target of opportunity.

The only thing standing between Iran and Syria is Iraq, with Afghanistan on the other side. Pincer move seems inevitable. The shot that started WW I, killing Archduke Ferdinand, may have been fired in this case when Syria shot down a Turkish fighter without considering the recognized rules regarding stray aircraft over sovereign territory.

This is a very possible, if not likely, chain of events. The Arab Spring countries (Egypt, Libya) are not too fond of the US. Afghanistan and Iraq have been trashed. Pakistan hates us. The violence, mostly ethnic or religious, has ignited across the middle of Africa.

To call this a dangerous neighborhood would be the understatement of the century. All it is going to take is a cross border fire fight to blow up the entire region. I think NATO used its only trump card in Libya. To try that maneuver again seems laden with unintended consequences, none of which are very palatable.

The US has a tremendous force presence in the region right now. Israel, as it has for decades, appears to be hanging on by its fingernails. Undoubtedly, should a full blown conflict erupt on a regional level, they would be a first target for the “bad guys” early on. The world is waiting on a match to strike and light the fuse.

Historic wildfires in Colorado. Tens of thousands evacuated near Colorado Springs and Boulder, including the USAF Academy.

"Today is one of those days when you understand what the early parts of the global warming era are going to look like," McKibben says. "For the first time in history, we managed to get the fourth tropical storm of the year before July. ... These are the most destructive fires in Colorado history, and they come after the warmest weather ever recorded there. ... This is what it looks like as the planet begins — and I underline 'begins' — to warm. Nothing that happened [at the United Nations Rio+20 summit] will even begin to slow down that trajectory." Dr. Bill McKibben

The gulf coast has been inundated twice in the last few weeks, first by a band of rain that wouldn’t leave and this weekend by TS Debby. Some communities got flooded to the extreme, sinkholes opened in areas affected.

Homage to the Boxwood

An Homage to the Boxwood

The boxwood (Buxus sempivirens) is one of my all-time favorite plants. Right now, their beautiful, fresh green new growth is emerging. Seeing this transformation from dark evergreen always sends me down memory lane. Yes, I daydream about boxwoods I have known. From the smallest “box ball” to some of the monsters around campus, I have come to know and love the personalities of many boxwoods both locally and abroad.

Local specimens are easy to find. The large shrub thrives on the mountain. Two plantings on University Avenue come immediately to mind, each exemplifying the range of uses of which box are capable. The box lining the front walk to Willie Cocke’s are majestic, at least 15’ tall. I often see children from the elementary school marveling at hollow interior of the box tunnel, the gnarled branches seen exposed underneath. At Kathryn Varnell’s home, a few doors closer to campus, the driveway is lined with substantial, well clipped box, adding a more formal feeling to the approach.

The community garden gazebo also boasts some 15’ tall beauties. They nestle against the stone and timber gazebo, an arts and crafts type affair, creating a spot of intimacy amidst the neighboring gardens. I spent some time last summer cleaning them out with the help of Nate Wilson, Domain Manager, and other University folks. By “cleaning out”, I mean removing 4”-6” diameter intruders like hackberry, poplar, and poison ivy. This generated vast amounts of brush. Only with the coordination of Nate and the University in the hauling of brush was the project feasible.

Personally, I have rescued three boxwoods for my home, and I have only just begun. Sally Krebs provided me with some root stock from 100 year old plants which had been removed. These had lined the side of her house, stretching high enough to get into the eaves. For better or worse, she decided to remove them, resorting to chaining them to a pickup truck and yanking them out, a method I have used in other circumstances, with other plants.

The carcasses were heaped near the house. When I went by one day to pick up Myers, best friends with her son, I noticed the tangled roots and branches of the pile, and the great void left behind by the house. How long they had been there, I do not know, but I investigated regardless. Lo and behold, a few still had life left in them. I whacked them to about a foot and heeled them in at Natural Bridge for about a year before planting them here on Prince Lane about 3 years ago. They have fully recovered.

Another one, found at the brush dump, is putting on new growth. I found it and its partner lying in the sun last July. The partner, as predicted, did not make it. The survivor was more than ½ dead. Now, the remaining ½ of the plant is putting on substantial new growth. Yes, I babied it. After coming home during a dry time, I had a load of compost mulching it and watered frequently.

My first Christmas on the mountain, in 1998, saw a pretty fair ice storm. Upshire Puckette called soon thereafter, asking me to clean up the impressive box which had taken a substantial hit along the front of her home. I spent several days working on the cleanup. My goal was to remove the damaged and broken limbs while leaving the plants looking as best they could.

Of course, this meant a vast amount of trimmings. I can remember a January evening, freezing in the dark, sticking cuttings from the trimmings in a propagation bed. Now, after they have lived in Midway, Jump-Off, on Natural Bridge Rd., and here in Bobtown, they are two feet tall and ready for transplanting into the landscape.

I had intended to plant them along the fence by the drive, ultimately creating a 6’ hedge to block out the real world. Granted, I would be lucky to live long enough to see this. However, I can remember a Thanksgiving with my cousin Billy, at the farm his father purchased early in the 20^th century, marveling over the towering box he had planted as a boy. Billy was 72 at the time. The box are by far as big as any I have ever seen in the US. So, maybe there’s hope.

Then, I received some news which was a blessing in disguise. The house across the street, which the University owns, is slated for removal ahead of building a new dorm. This house has some of the prettiest boxwoods on campus, and I have managed to claim salvage rights to them. So, IF I can find someone with a back hoe to help me, for free, I will have a fairly instant hedge. They will face the chainsaw soon, whacking them from their current 10’ to something more manageable, like 5’.

Flashing back to the rejuvenation of the boxwood at Cheekwood, I remember how ferocious one can be with the box. The box there had grown scraggly, had a lot of dead in them, and needed rejuvenation. A specialist came from Monticello to oversee the project, and whack they did. Several of the stumps left were several inches in diameter. These stumps were left from branches eliminated to get light into the heart of the plants, from the plants being topped at about 6’.

This is a task which I have, to a degree, executed a multitude of times – crawling “inside” the plant and removing dead wood is the beginning, followed by removing rubbing, diseased, and exceptionally long branches. I am always amazed at how much wood can be removed from a plant, each twig removed allowing more light.

All of this is but blather when compared to one of the greatest privileges of my horticultural career – pruning Rosemary Verey’s knot garden, an epic task of microscopic precision. Before getting into that, a thorough definition of “knot” is required.

Boxwood is very tolerant of pruning, as described above. Topiary, the training of plants into various geometric or animal shapes, is fascinating to me, especially when I consider how long it takes for these plants to grow. Parterre, the shearing of box to form tight designs, is another use of box. The French and Italians used this extensively during the Renaissance for the sculpted look it provides.

However, clipped box does not a knot make. As Mrs. Verey explained, a true knot has over and unders, as would rope tied in a knot.

Alamy Images

A sculptural green-on-green knot garden by Rosemary Verey

This knot, at Barnsley House, Mrs. Verey’s home garden, is two distinct knots next to each other. One, “the true lovers’ knot” is in the rear in this photo. Both designs are from medieval tapestries. They are featured in plan view in her book “The Making of a Garden”, about the 40+ years she spent developing her estate. The knots are next to a patio attached to the late 17^th century manor house.

When assigned the task, I followed Mrs. Verey to the tool shed. Reaching for a 6” electric shear, Mrs. Verey gave me her trademark skewed grin and, eyes twinkling, queried “And what are those for?” I assumed this would be the tool of choice for clipping the knots. The Yank was, once again, operating on American tactics. I was soon informed, in elegant detail, how wrong I was when clipping her knots.

She handed me some grass shears, as they are called on this side of the Atlantic. A downscaled version of the typical hedge shear, these 8” scissor blades were operated manually with handles like the average secateurs. Then, rummaging in the potting shed, she dug up a few empty plastic bags which had contained soil or some such. “Follow me,” she said.

I had discussed the knot and my enthusiasm for the form multiple times with RV. She, in turn, had directed me to various gardens with excellent examples of ancient British Box of all shapes and sizes. One garden had rooms divided by extraordinary walls of sheared box, topped with crenulations such as one would find on an ancient castle. To me, it was an honor and a privilege to clip RV’s knots. The head gardener saw it as more of a fence white washing a la Mark Twain.

Little did I know at the time, but I was entering a 4 day Zen journey with the Buxus. By this point in life, Mrs. Verey didn’t move as swiftly as she did once on the tennis court, her ankles swollen and arthritic. Following her was an exercise in patience by itself. We arrived at the knot and the lesson began.

First and foremost, I was forbidden electric shears because they throw clippings all over the place, making a proper, tidy job impossible. What’s more, she stressed, one goof with “electrics” and you could screw up the slow growing knot for years. The hand shears would prevent excess damage from a mistake or slip up. The plastic bags would be placed along either side of the base of the plants, keeping the tiny clippings out of the impeccably clean gravel framing the knots, leaving the space totally free of unsightly debris.

The hand shears, she explained, will also slow me down, making me think about what I am doing as it is a very intricate undertaking. The “overs and unders” must be precise for the shape to have the contrasts needed. “Do you have your book?” she asked, referring to her latest, “The Making of a Garden”. The drawing of the knots, a watercolor in plan view, showed the subtleties of the knots, mapping the over and unders clearly.

After going down the lane and across the street to the cottage she lent me, I retrieved my book. Returning to the knots, I placed the book, opened to the knots’ picture, on the box to be damn sure I didn’t screw this up. Of all parts of the garden, this was one of the most photographed and replicated. I would later find an attempt at the design in Nashville.

She was a woman of few words, all of which were inordinately important, always delivered with the expectation they would be followed to the letter, and God save the man who veered from them. I saw her retribution once. It was not pretty. A 78 year old woman violently scolding a young horse of a man who had transposed step one with step two.

So, taking all of this very seriously, I set to with the clipping of the knot. The other gardeners laughed at how serious and deliberate I was with the task, but I was oblivious. I was in hog heaven. The exercise required total attention, taking me to an out of body type sensation, an “in the zone” feeling shared by few other experiences. Sand sculpture, drawing, or a Grateful Dead concert are the only other activities I can describe as having the same effect.

The process, at the beginning of the day, started out as tedious. As time went by, and hours turned to days, the subtle magic of the knot unveiled itself to me. Since I was a young child, I have been fascinated by the manipulations of boxwood. Now, I was participating in a centuries’ old practice, an art form dating back to the 1300s at least. Once “in the zone”, time not only stopped, it ceased to exist. My progress was etched in razor sharp corners and fluid over and unders. Never had I felt so close to a plant.

As I was finishing up the trimming, at the end of a day, a woman emerged from behind the house and stood silently, studying the knots. I did not notice her for a second and gasped with surprise when I did. She asked if I were finished, and complimented the work. I said that, yes, I was just about to finish. I worked until well after the usual quitting time to knock out the project. The next day, working on the herb garden knots, I saw the woman again, just after starting work.

She had arrived at the patio knots at sunrise to capture the knots at the utmost of drama. The slanting pinkish sun colored the surrounding gardens in surreal beauty and exaggerated the contrasts in the knots. It turned out she was a photographer who was often featured in gardening publications. She had been working with RV, photographing the gardens. She relayed that RV made several comments praising my job of trimming, quoting her as saying it had “never looked so well”. Over the following couple of years, I actually saw some of these photos in various magazines.

I still have precious memories of the experience, a talisman of which are the clippings, now preserved for 17 years, which fell in the crack between the pages of her book, where the knots are mapped and which I used as a guide. Inscribed inside the front cover are her compliments on a job well done.

Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, Occupy Oakland, and the dreaded NDAA

1/30/12

Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, Occupy Oakland, and the dreaded NDAA

I wanted to start this post with a line from the now almost cliché, or as some would say prophetic, apropos, and just damn good “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. However, I couldn’t pick out just one line because each of them is relevant right now. The lyrics to this song could run as headlines globally for the indefinite future. I fell in love with the song when in college and a friend’s band played it one sunny spring day after comps, outside, with daffodils blooming everywhere. Enough of the 80’s flower child resurrection - if you don’t know the song, at least read the words. They are profound. If you have the inclination, find a live version from 1967 “American Bandstand” on YouTube. You have probably never seen Neil Young looking so healthy. Otherwise, skip down for another installment of the “Here ‘tis” chronicle of America’s demise.

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

And here’s why this absolutely smacked me in the face, with 2”x4” devastation.

Yesterday, as I sat doing one of my many media perusals of the day, I caught this line in the Huffington Post: “Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente… said that what was going on amounts to ‘domestic terrorism.’" My first thought – they have shown their hand. Today, I am even more inclined to ask, plead even, that we “Stop, children, what's that sound, Everybody look what's going down”.

So here’s the deal: The NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), the “Indefinite Detention” act, was “reluctantly” signed by our dear POTUS on New Year’s Eve, 2011. I tried to stay abreast of the legislation’s revisions and progress through the legislature. From first read though, I had tremendous reservations about the fungible language used to define exactly to whom this detention applied. Simply put, terrorists are the target, domestically or internationally. The rub is defining terrorist – there is no definition included, nor are the parties beyond the POTUS outlined as to who can make this determination.

Now, we have seen what I believe, is the first application of the word to Occupy Oakland, an occupation which has seen the most, and most blatant, police violence of any occupation in the country. I’m not defending the actions of the occupiers and protestors.

An estimated 2,000 people, a formidable force, marched on City Hall Saturday, broke in, and did physical damage to the building and its contents. They invited police attention in my opinion. Had the action taken place during normal business hours, and the occupiers peacefully, steadfastly refused to leave or be removed from the building, that would be an entirely different story as far as tactics, legitimacy, and public perception.

However, I also have to cut Occupy Oakland some slack as they have seen true battlefield conditions during their tenure. And, the city’s populous as a whole has been living on close to a war footing for a long, long time.

Back to the quotation – an occupation defined as domestic terrorism. NDAA is applicable. Over 400 were arrested on questionable grounds as of December 30, 2011, but today the arrests are totally appropriate. No, indefinite detention is not likely, but a complete disregard of previous, standard arrest procedures is now made legitimate. Good luck on those class action lawsuits, guys, this may be the first court challenge of the act.

As the great, anonymous, infomercial barker says, “But wait! There’s more!”

This, all of this, was the news yesterday. Today, the victors have obviously written their own history.

When I sat down to write today, I googled the quotation. The search delivered 2,620 hits, verbatim. I went to the Huff Post article and scanned it, looking for quotation to make sure I read it right, quoted it right. After three concentrated readings, I realized it was nowhere to be found.

Then, on to LA Times, a Kansas City, Kansas paper, and eventually to USA Today before I saw the article I saw yesterday. The original sources, and many more, had the quotation in the search results, but upon reading the articles, it was nowhere to be seen. Many of the details were also missing. Basically, the articles from yesterday, the ones which showed the quote in the search, had been edited (to be polite) or totally rewritten.

Yesterday’s ABC News website quotes the councilman as saying “It’s an escalation that in my opinion, basically amounts to domestic terrorism where people start taking buildings”.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

I am not paranoid, just well armed. (Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, esq., fellow Kentuckian).

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro (HST) and move to Sewanee (BHG).

Yet another NDAA / Indefinite Detention Blog. Where I stand.

12.15.11

“I’m not paranoid, I’m just well armed.” Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Today is:

The 220^th anniversary of the Bill of Rights’ ratification.

The day the National Defense Authorization Act FY 12 (NDAA) goes to the President’s desk.

Prepare yourself for a rant which may lose coherence at times. Along with a deep sadness, and overwhelming confusion, comes no small dose of angst.

MSM had little to say about it, and the blogosphere / social media was exploding with dissent on the matter. “Oh, it doesn’t effect our Bill of Rights…Americans are exempt…it says so right there!” vs. cries of “POLICE STATE!!”

I personally wondered if the very foundation of our way of life had just slid out from under us. I imagined having a conversation with my now 8 year old son, maybe 5 years down the road, and trying to explain what the US had stood for, what life was like once upon a time, while preparing him for life to come under the new regime. After a lot of deep reflection, and a little bit of distance, I feel like I can have a quasi-rational, semi-detached discussion on the matter.

So, what’s the hubbub, bub?

NDAA is a bill which covers a multitude of military / defense expenses. All that aside, it also includes two sections (Sections 1031 and 1032) re: Detainee Matters. The bill has become known as the “Indefinite Detention” bill. Here is the pdf for the whole bill, as passed by the Senate, after House approval: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s1867es/pdf/BILLS-112s1867es.pdf . I highly recommend you read the sections in their entirety. The sections begin on page 426 of the pdf.

The polarity of opinions on the bill are due to a number of things, and there is much confusion on whether this “indefinite detention” does in fact include US citizens on US soil. If you want to quit reading now, you can. We won’t know the answer to this question for a while, after many court cases, and undoubtedly a Supreme Court show down, or, when, in fact, such detentions begin.

A good deal of this confusion is due to the inconvenience of trying to find exactly what language was passed by both the House and Senate and is, indeed, headed to the President’s desk. I’m pretty fair in the thorough research department, and finding the most up to date, actual bill’s language is inconvenient at best, leaving me frustrated and lacking confidence that I am reading what I want to know.

Every pundit on the planet has weighed in on this. Many, interestingly, have claimed “progressive / left leaning” views, and defended the opinion that the bill is no threat to the Bill of Rights, as it explicitly excludes American citizens. They continue to say that the left is shooting itself in the foot by getting excited about artificial infringements on our rights.

The interpretation that these sections will substantially infringe on our rights claims a total evisceration of the Bill of Rights: indefinite detention without charges, military operating against US citizens, etc.

One side is an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, ignoring any possible expansive interpretations of the sections. The other is chicken little, once again screaming the sky is falling.

For a very balanced opinion from this morning, please see:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/16/1046030/-I-Must-Conclude-That-The-NDAA-2012-Bill-Is-Not-The-Constitution-Destroying-Measure-Claimed-By-Many

However direct the headline, this includes a very good roll call of what the author is NOT saying in the final paragraphs. He still sees the specter of abuse lurking in the wings.

So there is the unbiased part of this post, a brief description of the landscape on the issue.

Now, for my humble opinion, I begin by asking you to watch Sen. John McCain, one of the bill’s original sponsors, define the spirit of the sections:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2011/12/2011121643213177164.html

To sum up his comments, “Yes, Americans are protected, BUT…”

BUT: If you are a terrorist, you’re in deep shit.

Here is where the indefinite detention issue makes me nervous. Whether or not you are an “exempt citizen” or an “enemy combatant” is a totally amorphous definition, left to the determination of National Security.

I read George Orwell’s 1984 in the 7^th grade. It changed my perception of the world forever. Mind you, I was an Air Force brat during the height of the Cold War. I read the book through that lens, knowing the Commies were the bad guys.

Now, we have now entered the realm of true Orwellian double speak. “Of course your rights are safe and sound, it says so right in there, we are only going to get the bad guys.” But who those “bad guys” are is not so clear as during the us vs them of the Cold War superpower struggle.

One man’s patriotism is another man’s treason. One man’s patriot, is another man’s terrorist. This is something that is absolutely imperative to understand here.

If anything is for sure, it is that this legislation takes these definitions out of the hands of “We the people”, and puts them in the hands of a national security system.So what makes a terrorist? How do you pigeon hole this individual? Is it someone who takes to the streets for their voice to be heard? Someone who throws a Molotov cocktail?

As I wrote in my blog on 12/2/11 (http://bhg3.blogspot.com/2011/12/12211.html):

1) FACT: Occupations across the country have faced militaristic shut downs, coordinated from the federal level.

2) FACT: Courts across the country have dismissed charges against occupiers on 1st amendment grounds.

3) FACT: The current defense funding bill (approved by the Senate, SB 1867, awaiting House approval) allows for indefinite detainment of Americans on US soil (maybe), without charges. This eliminates relevancy of posse commitatus, severely challenges habeas corpus, and is a total end run on anything which would legitimately protect occupations.

One does not have to be an Einstein to see how 1+2=3. I should say could =3, tho I cannot see past the linkage myself.

Back to the present post.

We have seen petrol bombs lobbed at financial institutions in Western OWS occupations. We have seen tens of thousands in the streets, ports shut down, sporadic events of broken windows. We have seen a whole litany of abuses at the hands of the authorities across the country.

Let’s go abroad for a minute:

In 2011, we have seen MILLIONS of people take to the streets, face bullets meant for aircraft, and peacefully stare down snipers for change, until they could no longer remain peaceful and full scale revolutions erupt. “Oh…but that’s over there”. True, but the people are still coming to the streets, all over the world, where the bullets haven’t started flying yet. China and Russia are the most recent to the party.

We have seen massive protests in Europe, some numbering 500,000 voices. Large scale protests in Greece became street riots as the violent factions began petrol bombing the peaceful, the riot police trying to manage the mayhem between them. In Italy, The Powers That Be (PTB) have received letter bombs, bullets delivered. Italian sources fear the return of violent, internal groups conducting armed resistance.

“Well, ok, it’s not the Middle East, North Africa, or some other failed 3^rd world state, but it’s still over there”.

We have seen London burn. OWS London has been declared a terrorist group.

“Uh…but that’s not here…right?”

“It can’t happen here” – famous last words.

Looking at the letter of the law, the language in Sect. 1031 and 1032, I have not been convinced about the sanctity of or explicit threat to the Constitutional Rights of the US Citizen. I have heard some good arguments on both sides.

Listening to the spirit of the law, the speeches of the proponents, I hear nothing but double speak attempting to veil a very clear message that the PTB will be the ones writing the definitions of “the enemy”. When will the veil definitively fall?

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!

I have been called a fearmonger, a sheeple, and chicken little for “reading between the lines on things,” told to get over it by my fellows, it’s nothing, focus on the real problems – financial inequality, etc, stay on message with OWS.

But, honestly, it isn’t a great leap of logic to see where this is going. The horse may still be in his stall, but the barn door is wide open.

The PTB do NOT want to see the change proposed by OWS, do NOT want things to go any farther than they have. That much should be obvious to anybody with eyes in their heads. Surveillance / infiltration are already facts, ancient history.

“US citizens have nothing to worry about UNLESS you are otherwise determined to be a threat” is the take home message for me.

Another excellent take on the matter, from Matt Tiabbi in Rolling Stone, 12/9/11:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/indefinite-detention-of-american-citizens-coming-soon-to-battlefield-u-s-a-20111209

Let’s take a quick look at who is already on the “potential” threat list, could be a domestic terrorist:

Right wing extremists (ie racial hate groups, Aryan Brotherhood) and Left wing extremists who generally profess a revolutionary socialist doctrine and view themselves as protectors of the people against the "dehumanizing effects" of capitalism and imperialism." (http://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/the-terrorist-threat-confronting-the-united-states)

From fbi.gov current most wanted list: Members of the Environmental Liberation Front (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front (ALF).

Simply off the top of my head, I can recall homesteaders, preppers, off the grid folks, gun owners, disgruntled veterans…that list goes on forever.

Let’s not forget the homegrown jihadi.

How many of the qualifying boxes on this list can you check off? Share any facebook posts which might show your hand? Take part in any direct actions lately? Own a few guns? Keep a modest supply of food on hand?

Then, a quick look at who stands to benefit the most should the “police state” hypothesis prove out:

Again, it’s our old friends in the military industrial complex, the true 1% who have their talons in policies of the state deep enough to control policy as it benefits their bottom lines.

The militarization of the domestic police force is an exploding market, as evidenced by OWS raids nationwide and spoken of eloquently by many. Often, this legislation has been referred to as “designating the US as a part of the battlefield in the global war on terror”. It’s pretty obvious this is the case. For instance, in my little, benign community of about 2500 souls (and I’m being generous in that estimate) police officers wear body armor, under the shirt, out of sight, of course. From rapidly expanding steel batons to LRAD, the militarized police equipment sales potential is limitless.

Specifically, indefinite detention and the drone war are a match made in heaven. It is just now coming to light the extent of the existing drone presence in places like Iran and Nebraska, it is also widely publicized that the industry is expanding dramatically. Drone use and technology is being compared with the computer industry circa 1980, with nothing but explosive growth ahead. Already, small, commercial versions of unmanned surveillance equipment is out on the public market for less than $20,000 and used widely by MSM.

For anyone who would argue the NDAA flap is irrelevant as a whole, or off topic for the OWS movement, please say your piece, and let’s check in again in a year. As to the applicability to OWS, this, to me, is a front and center example of the 1%’s ways and means. This, to me, is the “real” 1%. Not the wealthy with incomes of $500k, but those who know no bounds in increasing their billions.

We have about reached the threshold of tolerance from the PTB. There will be repurcussions.

SOPA (google it) is not far behind. Will it be the “internet kill switch” as prophesied by the doomsayers? Stay tuned for that, and find out if I fall squarely in that demographic.

As Tiabbi closed his blog, so will I: “I do not see this ending well”.