THE POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IS DESTROYING AMERICA RANT

     I am particularly, wilfully, and purposefully ignorant when it comes to the topic of sports – professional or otherwise – in this country which makes me I’m sure something of an oddity.  Once I effectively stopped playing some decades ago, my interest in the topic flagged precipitously.  I have no favorite team or teams, I couldn’t possibly tell you who won last years’ World Series or Super Bowl, this thing called the Stanley Cup does absolutely nothing for me, and the entire NBA phenomenon is a total yawn.  I do not watch sporting events, don’t discuss them, and would certainly never bet money on them.  I despise large crowds, don’t like noise, and traffic renders me virtually apoplectic so the prospects of my actually attending a live sporting event are less than nil.  I am viewed by my peers, not to mention my family, as something of a misfit in this regard but somehow they manage to put up with me as that old guy who’s just a bit off.

     I do, however, find the concept of the sports “fan” to be not only fascinating but one of life’s unfathomable mysteries. The idea that there exist out there so many individuals whose passions are so aroused and inflamed by watching others perform, in my view, a completely meaningless endeavor is something I’ll never be able to comprehend.  When I hear about Yankee and Red Sox fans literally beating the living snot out of one another over an umpire’s call leaves me scratching my head.  When I read about riots and arson occurring after a team actually WON a major sporting event and took home the coveted trophy, I am left speechless and for me this is no small feat (for some reason the cesspool of a city called Detroit comes to mind).  When I learned some years ago that a soccer goalie was actually murdered by fans because the poor Bastard let one get by him thus causing the team to lose some damned fool championship or other, I am bewildered.  When enjoying a libation at my favorite watering hole, and fights break out because some fan wandered in guilty of wearing the wrong jersey I am forced to wonder at the utter shallowness of the lives led by those participating in the mayhem, bruising, and bloodletting.  But hey, that’s just me.  Suffice it to say that when someone like myself actually hears about and even remembers something that is sports related, it must have made quite the impression and goes far beyond the significance of the silly game under consideration.  Whatever occurred to grab my attention made it far past the sports pages of the local tabloids and probably became the lead offering on our Eyewitness News for more than just a few days.

     What in the Hell, you may be asking, does any of this have to do with the topic under consideration?  Well, I’ll tell ya.  I am a complete and total news and current events junkie.  I’m addicted to this stuff.  Whether it’s local, national, or international I must have my daily fix and not to do so would be akin to a crack addict who misplaced his pipe.  It just ain’t pretty.  While those around me are engrossed in baseball stats, I’m looking to investigate the latest bone-headed blunder committed by John (I served in Vietnam) Kerry.  While most folks this time of year are thoroughly engaged in which team will take the NBA title, I’m interested in finding out about the current plans our Socialist-in-Chief (Old Hope & Change) has to further destroy my country.  While so many are preoccupied with such weighty and lofty issues as the NFL draft, I lose sleep over the prospect of Hillary (stand by your man) Clinton becoming out next Commander-in-Chief!

     So when I kept running across the name Donald Sterling, I was completely flummoxed!  Who in the Hell is this guy and what in the Hell did he do to garner so damned much negative publicity?  It must have been something so outlandish, bizarre, and atrocious as to rise to the level of genocide, cult murder, or child molestation.  This guy must represent nothing less than evil incarnate and should at the very least be banished from the realm never to be seen or heard from again!  Who in the Hell is this guy and why does everyone hate, loathe, and despise the Bastard?  He seems to be held in the same esteem as villains like Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and in some circles George W. Bush!

     Well as most folks know, it turns out that he is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, a professional basketball team.  In fact, I discovered that he has held that esteemed position for something over thirty years which I’m told is some sort of a record. Bully for him!  He’s also an octogenarian and, of course, a billionaire.  Sounds to me like a rich guy who needed a hobby with which to amuse himself.  Well, I suppose owning a professional sports franchise could be amusing and take up enough time to keep busy in life’s so-called “Golden Years.”  What terrible crime, horrific fopa, could this old rich guy have committed to draw such attention to himself and his team?  It seems that in the privacy of his own home – not in public – he told his extremely attractive and very young girlfriend (hey, ain’t that always the way?) that he preferred that she not bring any black folks to the house.  From the admittedly little research I have done, that was it.  He used no pejoratives, the dreaded “N” word did not pass his lips, and he did not demand the repeal of the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th Amendments to our Constitution.  He also did not opine on the various Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s.  In the privacy of his own abode, he expressed a personal preference to his mistress who I subsequently learned is of mixed race and had taped the remarks at his own request.

     Well apparently the Broad (Oops – hope the Now Gang doesn’t get wind of this!) couldn’t keep her mouth shut and that was, as they say, all she wrote.  The shit hit the fan big time and this poor, old white Schmuck (oh, did I mention that Sterling is a white guy?) found himself engulfed in the firestorm of the ages!  He has been banned from the NBA for life, fined millions of dollars, and has become the nation’s number one pariah, outcast, and anathema.  I guess the old fool’s about to find out who are and who are not his real friends because the rats are deserting the ship in droves!  I don’t know how many thousands upon thousands of pages and perhaps millions of words have been penned excoriating, castigating, and vilifying this big-mouthed old idiot but suffice it to say he is roundly and universally despised and loathed.  Old Vlad Putin is busily reestablishing the former Soviet Union, our Destroyer-in-Chief continues to completely wreck the finest health care system ever devised in planetary history, our economy is still lodged firmly in the crapper and yet we have an entire nation completely mesmerized in the peccadillos of some used up old white guy expressing a personal and private preference and opinion!

     Let’s suppose for a moment that the particulars of the situation could be slightly altered.  Let’s imagine that this old, rich, white, big-mouthed asshole had suggested to his lady-friend that he didn’t want any white guys brought into his house.  Do you think that would have caused such a giant brouhaha?  Let’s further hypothesize that a black team owner had expressed a preference that no white folks be allowed to cross his threshold.  Do you think that would have even raised an eyebrow or warranted an outraged op-ed somewhere?  Let’s really go off the deep end here and suggest that the aforementioned theoretical black team owner objected to the presence of other black guys being brought to his home.  Do you really think that this scenario would have resulted in the ultimate shit-storm that our Mr. Sterling now has to endure?  We all know the answers here.  And please don’t misunderstand me.  I agree that the gentleman in question has thus far deserved all the notoriety and criticism he faces.  Why?  Perhaps because his remarks were insensitive and maybe even racist or bigoted?  Nope.  How about because he violated a long-standing rule that any savvy ten year old kid has thoroughly learned:  KEEP YOUR BIG FUCKIN’ MOUTH SHUT!  Had our Mr. Sterling observed said rule, the resulting silly shit would never have come to pass, the Jacksons, Sharptons, and other race hustlers would have had nothing to glom onto, and peace and quiet would have reigned supreme.

     But noooo, The Mouth That Roared let ‘er rip and here we are relearning one of the most basic lessons of 21^st Century America:  if thou art white, thou shalt not in any manner or form criticize or otherwise disparage any minority, person(s) of color, or member of any allegedly oppressed group or class.  Just don’t fucking do it!  It matters not that expressing such views, especially in private, is in no way illegal and does not violate any statute anywhere.  Forget the fact that people – even misguided idiots – are no longer free to freely speak for fear of (GASP) hurting someone’s feelings, and don’t worry even just a tad that this will initiate or precipitate some action or measure by our government which has already become far too large, intrusive, and unwieldy.  There is no law against insulting people or hurting their feelings.  There is no law against disliking certain groups and having no desire to associate with them and there aren’t even any laws that prohibit people from holding racist views.  The law, of course, should kick in when those who hold such views act upon them and actually harm those they dislike or even hate.  To outlaw discrimination may be worthy and perhaps even necessary, but to outlaw prejudice is just not possible.  To outlaw dark thoughts is the height of arrogance whereas outlawing dark deeds is absolutely necessary for the continued existence of anything even remotely resembling a civil society.

     So what dark deeds did our Mr. Sterling commit?  What evil did he perpetrate?  Whom did he actually and literally harm?  You got it, absolutely nobody.  Did he evince a bucket-load of insensitivity?  Yep.  Did he perhaps insult an entire race of fellow human beings?  Absolutely!  Can his remarks be considered outrageous?  You bet.  All of this, however, begs the question.  Did he violate any statute, law, or ordinance?  None that I can think of.  Isn’t his freedom of speech, his First Amendment rights, as inviolate as anybody else’s in this country?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Not in 21^st Century America where the concept of POLITICAL CORRECTNESS reigns supreme and must never be violated under any circumstances.  Does this loud-mouthed old fool deserve the notoriety and utter contempt he currently receives?  Hell yes!  He completely failed to gauge or comprehend the climate in which we currently live in the United States in 2014 and he is certainly guilty of not thinking before speaking.  He has been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion for basically shooting himself in the foot, for having an extreme case of verbal diarrhea!

     Or maybe, just maybe, he knew exactly what he was doing and was supremely aware of the shit-storm his lack of discretion would evoke.  Maybe, just possibly, this is no more than a case of just one more white guy who became thoroughly fed up and disgusted by having to watch  his P’s and Q’s as well as his L’s. Z’s, X’s, M’s, C’s, F’s, and every other fuckin’ letter of the alphabet!  Maybe this rich, old, tired white guy just said FUCK IT!  I’ll say whatever I want, whenever I want, to whomever I want and the consequences be damned!  Is that a possibility we should consider?  I think so.

     There exist a lot of folks out here who are thoroughly sick of living in this Politically Correct atmosphere where something we say might invoke the dreaded and fearsome charge of RACISM!  There exist literally many millions upon millions upon millions of white people running around out here who are actually scared to death of speaking their minds for fear of offending some minority thereby being branded as racists.  It seems to be a combination of fear, cowardice, and self-preservation that causes the majority of those living in America to talk in hushed tones and look furtively around to make sure who is listening and who is not.  The converse, however, simply does not apply.  Apparently, the minorities among us can and do say exactly what’s on their minds without fear of being, “Sterlingized.”

     Make no mistake.  Political Correctness is indeed helping to fundamentally transform America (to coin a phrase) and it is harmful in the extreme.  When we live in fear of what we may say or think it forces us to self-censure, creates an atmosphere of distrust and even paranoia, and literally changes the way we behave.  Do you have any idea, for example, of how many white Americans voted for that disgrace who now occupies the White House?  Neither do I, but the numbers must run into at least the tens of millions.  These folks were afraid of being accused of racism if they admitted voting for the white candidate.  This is no more than Political Correctness rearing its ugly head and yet it is such a powerful force in our country that a completely inexperienced, irrelevant, and wrong-headed “Community Organizer” twice got elected to the highest office in the land.  It absolutely boggles the mind until we remember that since at least the 1960’s, this nation has been taught to cow-tow and cave to our nation’s minorities for fear of being labeled. We have been conditioned, brainwashed if you will, into making all sorts of excuses and caveats for those among us who have achieved the exalted status of the “oppressed”, while white America cowers and cringes at the prospect of being deemed the “oppressor”.  I wonder who in the Hell this guy Sterling ever oppressed?

     There is no question that Political Correctness is a contributing factor in the destruction of the United States as historically founded and presently constituted because it is, in the end, an attack on our freedom and liberty.  We are no longer free to speak our minds for fear of recriminations and sanctions that will be heaped upon us by the Politically Correct Fascists in our midst.  And make no mistake, Political Correctness is indeed a form of Fascism-Totalitarianism.  It is an undisguised attempt to control language in the United States which is an essential requirement and prelude for the next logical step:  controlling what we think.  If the PC crowd can successfully force us to limit our speech, then how free are we?  For examples of this phenomenon, one only has to look at what one of the most accomplished, brightest, and productive women in American history was recently forced to endure.  The students and faculty at Rutgers University refused to allow this Conservative black woman to speak at that supposedly renowned institute of higher learning.  Those authoritarian assholes apparently could not tolerate hearing anything or anybody who strayed even slightly from the sanctioned and approved PC-Liberal rhetoric and mindset.  That’s uniquely un-American and yet it is accepted practice at virtually all of our colleges and universities where I thought freedom of expression and thought were highly prized commodities.  Want to try an experiment?  Walk into any college cafeteria or student union and out loud in front of God and everybody criticize – even slightly – President Barry Boy.  You’ll be run out of town on the proverbial rail!  Our colleges and universities, it appears, are no longer interested in the quest for truth or enlightenment but rather in the creation of a PC world in which only the Far Left Orthodoxy is permitted and tolerated.

     An article entitled, "The Role of Educators in Destroying (http://capitalismmagazine.com),"  author Thomas Sowell explains that American educators have played a leading, “role in creating a mindset that undermines American society.”  Whereas schools, “were once thought of as places where a society’s knowledge and experience were passed on to the younger generation,” the role of the teacher has morphed into, “an agent of change – someone strategically placed, with an opportunity to condition students to want a different kind of society.”  He continues that, “we are seeing schools across America indoctrinating students to believe in all sorts of politically correct notions.  The history that is taught in too many of our schools is a history that emphasizes everything that has gone bad, or can be made to look bad, in America – and that gives little, if any, attention to the great achievements of this country.”

     Sowell notes that educators have been, “poisoning the minds of millions of students in schools and colleges against their own country,” and that while teachers actually believe themselves to be agents of change there exists not even the, “slightest accountability for whether that change turns out to be for the better or for the worse – or indeed, catastrophic.”  The writer goes on to note that, “even in the face of mortal danger, political correctness forbids us to use terms like ‘terrorist’ when the approved euphemism is militant.  Milder terms such as illegal alien likewise cannot pass the political correctness test, so it must be replaced by another euphemism, undocumented worker.”  He concludes his piece by correctly pointing out that, “some think that we must tiptoe around in our own country, lest some foreigner living here or visiting here be offended by the sight of an American flag or a Christmas tree in some institutions.”

     A piece entitled, “Politically Correct Education:  The Power of Political Correctness (http://www.probe.org),” also examines the effects of current-day pedagogy as it relates to Political Correctness, multiculturalism, and diversity.  Whenever, by the way, you see these three terms routinely bandied about be aware that you are in the presence of a True Believer and a member of the Far Left Elite who thoroughly despise anything and everything about this country.  The author correctly notes that at the foundation of the PC movement in America, “is the belief that all education is political.  Nowhere in the curriculum can one find a hiding place from race, class, or gender issues.”  Additionally, author Don Closson cites the dependence upon moral relativism that is one of the underpinnings of Political Correctness in our country.  The PC among us truly believe that, “All systems of thought, all cultures are equal in value,” and that to, “assume otherwise is politically incorrect by definition.”  This is no more than an attempt to denigrate and disparage Western and American culture which the Left has been engaged in for at least half a century.  If the young and impressionable can be convinced that our culture is no better than any others that exist out there, then the Politically Correct Mob has won the battle of both hearts and minds.  Our schools for decades have been engaged in belittling and demeaning our distinctly American culture and have succeeded in creating generations of young ‘uns who actively dislike and disparage their own nation.  I am firmly convinced that this is the Hope & Change that old Barry Boy is looking to foster and his promise to fundamentally transform America is well on the way to being fulfilled.

     Author Closson notes that at our so-called institutions of learning, “Curricula, admissions policies, the hiring and promotion of faculty, and the freedom to debate issues have all been modified by those who currently define political correctness.”  Indeed, “There is a growing body of evidence that quota systems are now in place in many admissions offices across the country,” and that, “Textbooks are being written and courses changed to promote multiculturalism at the expense of teaching about Western Civilization.”  Freedom of speech at our colleges and universities only exists if said speech and speakers are deemed Politically Correct.  Just ask Condaliza Rice, Anne Coulter, or perhaps Sarah Palin if you have any doubts here.  The author points out that at the University of Michigan, restrictions on freedom of speech have been codified and institutionalized.  We note that a, “new policy on discrimination and discriminatory harassment has been approved.  It defines as punishable, “any behavior, verbal or physical, that stigmatizes or victimizes an individual on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, creed, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, handicap, or Vietnam-era veteran status.”  Message from those fine folks at the good old U of M?  Shut The Fuck Up!!  Unless, of course, you feel like picking on white males for then you are on solid, unimpeachable PC grounds.  The piece concludes by stating that the upshot of the PC movement, “has been to encourage people to find some reason to declare oppression, for it seems that only those who are oppressed are in a position to determine what is politically correct.  White, middleclass males are the great Satan incarnate – even the most repentant among them must be watched closely.”

     Once the youth of America have had their minds made right, the war for Far Left supremacy in this nation is all but over and they have emerged victorious.  As the young grow and mature, they too will have children and grandchildren who will be dutifully taught only the “correct” ways to think and express themselves.  By the time they become adults, they will have lost any ability or even desire to think for themselves and evaluate situations based on the concepts of merit or common sense.  Political Correctness will have robbed them of the ability to think creatively, objectively, or independently.  They will have been transformed into soldiers of the Left who seek to destroy all those who fail to pass muster ideologically or politically and will have become the most intolerant among us.  And yet it begins so innocently.  Teach the young to be tolerant and nonjudgmental.  Teach them to never be insensitive to others and to accept and applaud the differences among us rather than those unifying factors that made this nation the greatest country in the history of nations.  Make sure they never offend and instill in them an overwhelming and overriding fear of being criticized or being critical.

     They must be made to understand that what used to be deemed normal and appropriate language is now verboten because it may, in fact, offend someone somewhere.  When I was young, for example, the simple phrase and salutation of “Merry Christmas” was commonplace, raised not an eyebrow or an objection anywhere, and offended absolutely no one. Not so anymore.  After decades of Politically Correct education and indoctrination, we have been “taught” that this simple and heartfelt greeting at a particular time of year may be offensive to those non-Christians among us who are a distinct minority in America.  Better we should water down the phrase to a mushy and meaningless, “Happy Holidays,” or, “Seasons Greetings,” so as to make sure no minority feathers are even slightly ruffled.  Public displays of Christmas trees or nativity scenes must also be suppressed for the same reason. We must conform, cow-tow, and appease the minorities in our midst rather than insist that they get on board with the rest of the nation.

     In similar fashion, we must remove all references to God from the public domain for fear of offending the miniscule percentage of atheists among us or of angering those who don’t believe in the same God as do most Americans.  Phrases like, “In God We Trust,” or, “Under God,” must be expunged and the Ten Commandments must never be displayed for fear of being branded insensitive or intolerant.  To folks my age, it’s all a bunch of Silly Shit but when generations of our young are taught this stuff it has a transformative effect and one that can only harm America.  Its purpose is to divide us as a people and a nation and thereby tear asunder the ties that bind and unify us.  Its purpose is to create disunity, discord, and friction where none need exist and has, in fact, never existed until the Far Left Politically Correct Mob began to use it as a tactic to purposely weaken our country and create as much division and distrust as possible.

     A piece entitled, “19 Shocking Examples Of How Political Correctness Is Destroying America (http://www.infowars.com),” is highly illustrative in this regard.  The author begins with the simple but accurate statement that, “Political correctness is running rampant, and it is absolutely destroying this nation.”  The article notes that according to Wikipedia the whole idea is the establishment of, “a reduced language created by the totalitarian state as a tool to limit free thought, and concepts that pose a threat to the regime such as freedom, self-expression, individuality . . . .” and that, “any form of thought alternative to the party’s construct is classified as a thought crime.”  Well now, that’s just a little bit extreme don’t you think?  Am I suggesting that this is exactly where the Far Left in this country wants to take us?  Damned Skippy, I am!

     Once the Politically Correct in our midst can effectively control what comes out of our mouths, controlling what goes into our heads can’t be too far behind and if our school systems are used as a measuring rod and teachers are now perceived of as agents of change, then thought control is all but a given in the United States and freedom and liberty are indeed at risk.  Writer Michael Snyder offers up numerous examples of the dangers that political correctness poses to our nation.  He notes that a rodeo clown was permanently barred from performing at the Missouri State Fair because he wore an Obama mask while on the job.  All such clowns are now being forced to undergo sensitivity training.  Yeah, I guess we musn’t make fun of the nation’s first Brother-in-Chief for fear of being deemed offensive, politically incorrect, insensitive, or racist.  Yet I notice no one raising a stink when some Liberal Puke runs around on Halloween sporting a Reagan or George W mask.

     The same piece informs us that government workers in Seattle may no longer use the words “citizen” or “brown bag” because non-citizens and non-whites may find them offensive.  Additionally, Obama and the Boys have banned government agencies from producing material that links Islam to terrorism and even the venerable FBI has removed references to Islam and terrorism from older documents.  In fact, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against criminals because that might have an overly negative impact on minorities in this country.  The author informs us that U.S. Army Chaplains are now forced to perform gay marriages even if that violates the very core of their faith, and that according to a new Army manual our soldiers must avoid any criticism or negative comments on the subject of pedophilia.  It seems that a student at Sonoma State University was forced to remove a cross she habitually wore because it might offend someone and a student at Florida Atlantic University was banned from attending class because he refused to stomp on the name of Jesus which was apparently a mandatory part of a course he was taking.

     When taken as isolated instances, the PC examples proffered thus far seem utterly ridiculous, petty, and even childish.  When taken as a whole, however, they are anything but.  They represent an undisguised attack on our First Amendment rights and a totalitarian-authoritarian mindset that will brook no behavior or attitude that violates the tenets of Political Correctness.  The price to be paid for overstepping the bounds can lead at the very least to a loss of standing in one’s community, a loss of employment, and certainly to a loss of freedom and opportunity.  Political Correctness, then, is a direct frontal assault on cherished American traditions like individual responsibility, freedom of expression, and freedom from fear. It is an attempt not only to change this country but to destroy it from within.  It erodes that sense of confidence and optimism which are cornerstones of the American experience.  They are replaced, instead, with self-doubt and guilt which serves to undermine a peoples’ belief in the goodness of their own country even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.  This attack is being purposely perpetrated upon us by the Far Left in America in its relentless attempt to destroy the very foundations that made us a great and exceptional nation.

     By now, most of us who have reached a certain age can recognize the phenomenon of Political Correctness when confronted by it for we were around long before the PC Mob took the ascendancy in America.  We see it for what it is and are aware of its negative ramifications.  Those, however, who grew up with it, went to school with it, and have been brainwashed by it do not view it as anything but normal.  They cannot possibly understand just how dangerous and stultifying it is and the negative effect it has on the human spirit and psyche.  They will never know the freedom of thought and expression experienced by those of us who have been around for a while and can’t possibly imagine how it has helped to ruin this country and turn a once proud and fiercely independent people into sniveling, frightened, and pusillanimous wimps, wussies, and abject cowards.  Our fear of offending some minority or other has outweighed our fear of losing our sense of independence, autonomy, and freedom.  It produces a loss of confidence in our heritage, traditions, and institutions that can only serve to harm this country in immeasurable ways.  It serves to destroy all that America has stood for and represented over the centuries, it emboldens our enemies both at home and abroad, and has impeded if not destroyed this country’s ability and desire to act in our own self and best interests.

     Certainly, one very clear example of the negative effects of political correctness comes to mind when we recall the name of Major Nidal Hassan and his murderous rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, not all that long ago.  Here was an individual who described himself as a militant Muslim and even carried business cards which read, “A Soldier Of Allah.”  His fellow comrades in arms as well as his superiors knew of his Islamist tendencies and predilections but took no preemptive action for fear of offending the Muslim minority that resides in the United States.  We must never offend for fear of being labeled insensitive, intolerant, or perhaps even racist.  A piece entitled, “A Nation of Pansy Assed Wusses (http://palin4america.com),” notes that our, “overwhelming obsession with not saying or doing anything to offend anyone or any group has compromised our nation’s security in countless instances, but one of the most egregious examples is the Ft. Hood shooting where an avowed Islamic terrorist sympathizer gunned down 13 people and injured 32 others.  The U.S. Government still refuses to refer to this massacre as a terrorist attack.”  Yet it most certainly was a terrorist attack perpetrated by a terrorist who was a high ranking member of our own military.  Why won’t our President identify it as such?  Political Correctness, of course, and its attendant fear of offending any minority groups in this nation.  The same insane and inane standard applies when it comes to the fear of offending our country’s Hispanic minority.  The article continues, “Then there’s the epidemic of illegal aliens, who are not to be dissed and offended by calling them illegal, so the media and the government calls them undocumented.”  Well, I call them illegal and a threat to our country’s way of life and security and I don’t give a FLYING FUCK who’s offended by my calling a spade a spade!  How’s that for Political Correctness?

     One certain method of showing just how ridiculous and dangerous political correctness can be is by illustrating the absurd by employing absurdity (an old but very effective and illuminating Rush Limbaugh tactic).  The same piece referenced above uses two versions of Christmas greetings – one traditional and one deemed to be Politically Correct.  It clearly exposes the destruction of our language coupled with the complete bastardization of our culture and heritage.  Ready?  Here we go.

“To My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or tradition of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.  I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year of 2014, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great.  Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere.  Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preferences of the wish recipient.”

Wow, now that’s a mouthful but the author of the piece offers up an explanation of this PC gibberish which succinctly and simply translates into, “Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and may God Bless You!”  Absurd isn’t it?  Yet this is where we are headed if the PC crowd is not stymied and stifled by those of us out here who still have even of modicum of common sense left.

     Okay, okay, so big deal.  The Politically Correct leftists in our midst have managed to screw up a traditional, Christmas-New Year’s greeting and have thereby illustrated just how laughable and pathetic they can be.  Does this, however, justify getting my shorts all in a twist and predicting doom and gloom for America’s future?  You bet it does!  Political correctness does far more than merely alter and pollute language.  It serves to undermine and warp our judgment in comprehending very real threats to our way of life and our ability to recognize an enemy.  It destroys that all important survival instinct for it prevents us from acknowledging real and concrete danger until it is too late to effectively react.  Political Correctness enables us to ignore a threat until it has literally consumed us.

     A piece entitled, “Political Correctness and the Sunset of American Power (http://pjmedia.com),” speaks directly to these issues and pulls absolutely no punches.  The article begins by stating that, “something is now happening in the West that may truly spell the end, not of the world, but of Western Civilization’s long historical trajectory.  A plague is spreading far and wide that may be described as an intellectual bubonic taking its dismal toll among those it has infected.  It is called political correctness.”  Furthermore, Political Correctness, “is not just an abomination.  It is a danger, clear and present.”  The piece also predicts that, “political correctness will be the death of western civilization because unlike our earlier forms of pluralistic tolerance, PC is willfully blind to the lack of reciprocal tolerance in other cultures.”  Indeed, PC “takes tolerance to a culturally suicidal degree,” and in fact, “we welcome and extenuate those whose most profound desire and intention is to destroy us.”  Do you begin to get it?  Do you understand?  Those who advocate and champion Political Correctness are involved in a real and substantive effort to destroy this country and everything it stands for.  They are deadly serious about their hatred for America and will stop at nothing to do us harm.  Unfortunately and tragically, they are for the most part fellow Americans.

     More than this, however, Political Correctness evinces a, “disturbing element of self-hatred, cultural masochism, and delusions about the difference between social tolerance and political tolerance – and an elevation of tolerance over the principle of justice.”  You see, PC and its Liberal champions are not about justice but rather about power.  They see Political Correctness as a weapon with which to club perceived enemies into silence and submission.  These guys don’t give a flying rat’s ass about freedom of speech or expression nor do they even give half a hoot about the rights of the American people.  They care only about their overriding agenda of transforming our nation and turning it into something it was never intended to be.  In fact, political correctness, “is without doubt one of the most effective weapons in the real unacknowledged war that is being waged today, the war of self-subversion.”  This relies on, “the strategy of specialized euphemism to avoid naming things or events honestly and directly, gutting the vocabulary in order to avoid giving offense or to dodge the labor and inconvenience of confronting unsettling circumstances.  What one recoils from naming, one cannot identify and adequately combat.”  Political Correctness is essentially the, “idiom of cowards who, by refusing to name things candidly and unequivocally, will ironically bring upon themselves precisely what they wish to escape.”

     This is particularly true when it comes to any discussion of our current Disaster-in-Chief.  To criticize anything said, done, or not done by this sorry-ass excuse for an American President is deemed politically incorrect in the extreme.  Honesty and objectivity simply will not be tolerated when it comes to the subject of Barrack Hussein Obama.  To find fault with this saboteur is to leave oneself open to charges of racism, intolerance, and bigotry.  To criticize The Exalted One is to impugn an entire race rather than just one self-loathing American, and very few of us out here are willing to undergo the utter scorn, ridicule, and hatred that are heaped upon those folks who dare to violate the unwritten law of never, ever criticizing or condemning those deemed to be members of a protected class.  It matters not that such criticism may be accurate and deserved.

     The article explains that this is exactly the case with the majority of Americans, “who persist in regarding him as someone who has drunk from the well of wisdom rather than the gutter of Chicago politics.”  He is continually portrayed, “as anything but the man who has clearly revealed himself in action and executive fiat – a man who by temperament and conviction – is deeply hostile to the welfare of his country and whose policies threaten to plunge the United States into debacle and collapse,” cannot be tolerated by those on the Far Left.  To honestly and openly criticize the Supreme Leader is to be automatically deemed a racist, intolerant, and a Conservative.  The article points out that our President has removed the word terrorism from the political lexicon and replaced it with the Politically correct, “man-made disasters.”  The Booby-in-Chief constantly apologizes to the world for American action and initiatives, and unabashedly supports dictators and totalitarian thugs like Manuel Zelaya, Vladimir Putin, Hugo Chavez, and Bashar Assad.  Yet, Political Correctness leaves him all but immune from effective criticism.

     He has allowed, “his personal animosities to intrude upon his public comportment and has acted like a rank amateur in the field of international diplomacy.”  Additionally, he constantly violates our Constitution and literally bows to foreign kings, emperors, and potentates.  The author correctly maintains that, “if this man is not frustrated in his efforts, the United States will see the end of its tenure as the world’s leading power and may never recover its primacy on the world stage.”  This is exactly and precisely the end Obama strives for because he despises the United States but too many of us are too afraid to say so for fear of being labeled racist.  This is the very real danger posed by Political C.dorrectness and the Far Left in America counts on it to keep most citizens docile, quiet, and afraid.

     The author concludes by asking, “Has political correctness successfully shielded a ruinous President from public disclosure and, in so doing, ensured the approaching dusk of a once great power and the Western world along with it?  Will tolerance trump justice?  Will the deception win?  Is America about to enter the third status?  Is this how America disintegrates, not with a bang and not with a whimper, but with the presumption of false grandeur and the rhetoric of cant and doublespeak?”  Political Correctness is indeed destroying the United States and when it all comes crashing down, we will only have ourselves to blame because we let it happen.

Much Luv Y’All and Have a Great Day!

The Fifth Horseman

(Dr. David M. Rich, Ph.D.)               

        

                               

              

                     

REX 84, FEMA, And The Conspiracy Crazies Rant

     Over the years, we’ve all come across what some have dubbed the “Conspiracy Nuts” among us.  They’ve always existed and it appears that they are indeed a permanent fixture upon the American landscape.  At times, these folks seem ludicrous and are seen as at best a fringe element situated at the very periphery of the American philosophical and historical spectrum.  They are, of course, never to be taken seriously and any discussion of such individuals and groups must take into account their overwhelming and utter paranoia.  They deeply distrust government, warn us of nefarious plots to destroy our freedom and enslave us, and maintain that they have a direct and linear connection that goes back to the very first freedom fighters of the Revolutionary War era.  That’s right, they view themselves as modern-day Minute Men whose roots can be traced directly back to such fabled and patriotic organizations as the revered Sons of Liberty.  They see themselves as direct descendants of those brave souls who sacrificed and died at places like Bunker Hill and the Battle of Lexington and Concord.  They are the modern-day incarnation of Paul Revere whose battle cry is not, “the British are coming,” but rather, “the government is coming!”  They have a deep and all-consuming distrust of government and its ability to make slaves out of free men.  They are absolutely and irrevocably convinced that as government grows ever larger, more intrusive, and more powerful the rights and freedoms of American citizens are increasingly threatened and at risk of disappearing.  They claim that it is the very nature of government – all government - to garner more and more power unto itself at the expense of individual liberty and freedom.

     Yeah, I guess that’s pretty far out there alright.  Those folks are obviously in need of a severe reality check and simply must get a grip, a life, and perhaps some gainful employment that might more usefully and productively redirect their energies and emotions.  Do they actually believe that our government which was initially created to protect individual rights and freedoms now has as its main goal a mission to destroy them?  Do they truly feel that government has become the “enemy” with dictatorial designs on America’s fabled and cherished liberty?  Well, the short answer to these questions would be an unqualified, unmitigated yes.  The long answer, by the way, would be the same.  They really do believe that these things not only will happen but indeed are happening and that unless the American people wake up to this reality we will one day live in a tyranny no less drastic than that of old King George or any present-day totalitarian dictatorship.  They are absolutely serious about this and hearken back to the very words and fears of our Founding Fathers who thoroughly distrusted government, even the one they created.

     Thomas Paine, for example, wrote that, “It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”  Did you get that?  From its own government, not some foreign enemy bent on conquest.  Thomas Jefferson correctly noted that, “The greatest calamity which could befall us would be submission to a government of unlimited powers.”  John Adams admonished that to, “nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.”  He went on to state that when the, “people give way, their deceivers, betrayers, and destroyers press upon them so fast, that there is no resisting afterwards.  The nature of the encroachment upon the American constitution is such as to grow every day more encroaching.  Like a cancer, it eats faster and faster every hour.”  Adams’ next warning seems to have a particularly ominous ring for those living in America in the year 2014.  He argues that revenue, “creates pensioners, and the pensioners urge for more revenue.  The people grow less steady, spirited, and virtuous, the seekers more numerous and more corrupt, and every day increases the circles of their dependents and expectants, until virtue, integrity, public spirit, simplicity, and frugality become the objects of ridicule and scorn, and vanity, luxury, foppery, selfishness, meanness, and downright venality swallow up the whole society.”  (Note:  all quotes from the Founding Fathers are taken from www.walterewilliams.com) It appears that Mr. Adams is describing 21^st Century America as though he were actually living through it, especially under the administration of our America-hating Socialist – in – Chief!

     It would behoove us to heed the warnings of these long-dead white men for their words are just as relevant today as they were a few centuries ago.  Our overly centralized government has indeed become far too powerful, the states much weaker than envisioned by the Founders, and the concept of Federalism has virtually been destroyed.  It has gotten to the point where our Chief Executive decides which laws to enforce or ignore and has all but eliminated the historic and crucial role of Congress by governing according to Executive Order or fiat.  The Brother – in – Chief behaves arbitrarily and capriciously as he willy-nilly tramples all over our beloved Constitution and other Founding Documents.  He seems to feel that there is nothing the American people can or will do about his unconstitutional and seemingly endless power grabs for he views those he governs as irredeemably stupid, incompetent, and feckless.  It seems, unfortunately, that he is correct in his assessment and by his actions he has proved the complete accuracy of Mr. Adams’ remarks referenced above.  He has mastered the art of the “freebie” and continually placates the masses by giving them “stuff.”  You need health care that you can’t afford?  No problem.  Can’t afford a cell phone?  Hey, nothing could be simpler.  Your unemployment benefit is in danger of disappearing?  Not to worry.  The list goes on and on ad infinitum and dependency on government grows with it.  As people become increasingly dependent, they become increasingly less free and as they lose their freedom they also lose any sense of self-reliance or self-respect they may have had.  This tactic of mollifying the masses has been successfully employed by every tyrant throughout history and old Barrack and the Boys have certainly learned their lessons well.  What was it that Adams said about the people growing less steady and virtuous while the takers grow ever more numerous and corrupt?  The next time I hear some lame-ass, condescending Liberal Puke tell me how irrelevant our Founding Fathers have become, I’m gonna grab him and slap him silly!

     There are those out there, however, who indeed recognize that our government has become something it was never intended to be by its creators.  There are those among us who take the warnings of the Founders seriously and can’t fathom why so many sit complacently by as we see our precious liberties and freedoms slipping away at an alarming rate.  These are the guys who take our Constitution, Declaration, and Bill of Rights seriously.  These are the folks who know that without the protections provided by these documents the idea and reality of American Exceptionalism is destroyed along with our freedoms and we will become no more than just one more country with nothing to set us apart from all the others that have come and gone before us.  These are the folks who jealously guard our hard fought for freedoms, are willing to express their concerns about an over-bearing government, and are proud of America’s history and accomplishments.  Yeah, they are the ones the rest of us derisively refer to as Conspiracy Nuts, Freaks, and Crazies.  They seriously believe that our own government is out to “get us.”  They are the ones that constantly refer to Ruby Ridge and Waco (no, you look them up) as but two examples of our government run completely amok, out of control, and dangerous to the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

     Well, then, who are those that see our government as an enemy, as an entity never to be trusted and always to be feared and guarded against?  Are they perhaps members of the National Rifle Association – gun nuts?  I mean, really, any group that advocates preserving and defending our Second Amendment must truly be way the fuck out there!  Oh, wait, I’m a member of that organization.  Maybe they are affiliated with those zany, whacked-out Tea Party types whose radical agenda includes such outrageous planks as a return to the limited government of our founding, a strict interpretation of our Constitution, drastically reduced taxes, and fiscal responsibility.  Oh, hold on, I’m a member of that outfit as well.  Does that make me, then, a Conspiracy Nut who sees a government plot to destroy my freedom behind every bush and boulder?  You know, I’m beginning to wonder.

     In 2009, the disgustingly Liberal organization known as the Anti-Defamation League (I gave up on those bozos when they decided to defend the rights of Neo-Nazis to march through Skokies, Illinois, way back in the 1970’s) published a report entitled, “Rage Grows in America:  Anti-Government Conspiracies,” which details in extremely unflattering terms groups it deems to be conspiratorially anti-government.  They cite, for example, the Tea Party Movement, Town Hall Meetings, the Birther Movement, the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, and the Militia Movement.  The introduction to the screed notes that since the, “election of Barrack Obama as President of the United States, an undercurrent of anger and hostility has crept across the country, creating a climate of anti-government fervor and activism that manifests itself in ways ranging from incivility in public forums to acts of intimidation and violence.”  According to the ADL, “Many Americans have been taken aback by the sudden rise and strength of the anti-government animosity that has swelled in the first year after the election.”  Boy, I’ll tell ya – nothing gets past these Far Left Looney Tunes!  Of course Americans are angry about what the Fascist-Wannabe is doing to the country they love and yet these Leftist Goons seem surprised!

     The piece goes on to state that what. “characterizes this anti-government hostility is a shared belief that Obama and his administration actually pose a threat to the future of the United States.  Some accuse Obama of plotting to bring socialism to the United States, while others claim he will bring about Nazism or fascism.  All believe that Obama and his administration will trample on individual freedoms and civil liberties, due to some sinister agenda, and they see his economic and social policies as manifestations of this agenda.”  Anyone who doesn’t see the threat that Obama and his sycophants pose to this nation as historically founded and presently constituted is either completely blind or thoroughly brainwashed.  These so-called anti-government groups, these Conspiracy Nuts, are absolutely correct in their assessment and fear of what Obama represents and they are even more accurate in their concerns over an increasingly powerful and centralized national government.  Obama and the LFE (Liberal Fucking Elite) have every intention of destroying this nation and turning it into something none of us would even recognize as the country of our birth.  When the Huckster – in –Chief swore he would fundamentally transform our country, he damned well meant it but not too many Americans took him all that seriously.  It is absolutely axiomatic that the bad guys out there will, in fact, tell you of their nefarious intentions if you only know how to listen.  Well, it seems that our so-called Conspiracy Nuts have been listening very closely and take old Barrack Hussein at his word.  Maybe the rest of us would do well to heed their warning.

     The ADL piece singles out a number of groups that it apparently deems as particularly dangerous and worthy of attention.  It claims that one, “manifestation of the ideology of resistance to the government was the creation of the Oath Keepers group in March, 2009.”  That group actively recruits police officers and military personnel for membership and its, “basic pitch is to remind such people that they swore an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.”  The Oath Keepers maintain, “that now is the time to live up to that oath by resisting an allegedly tyrannical government.”  Allegedly?  Allegedly, my sorry old ass!!  Another outfit identified by the Anti-Defamation League goes by the name of the Three Percenters, a reference to the proportion of the colonial population that actually fought against the British in the Revolutionary War.  These guys seem to be motivated by defending our Second Amendment (see the Second Amendment Rant of 2/3/09) to the Constitution.  The group states that the, “Three Percent today are gun owners who will not disarm, will not compromise and will no longer back up at the passage of the next gun control act. . . .”

     Additionally, “We will not obey any further circumscription of our traditional liberties and will defend ourselves if attacked.”  This group maintains that it, “is committed to the restoration of the Founders’ Republic, and are willing to fight, die, and if forced by any would-be oppressor, to kill in the defense of ourselves and the Constitution that we all took an oath to uphold against enemies foreign and domestic.”  I don’t know about you, but these folks seems damned serious about not backing up another step when it comes to matters of defending our nation, our rights, and our freedoms.  If push ever comes to shove, I have no doubt that they’d do both.  The ADL report also identifies the resurgence of the Militia Movement as further evidence that there really do exist anti-government elements among our population.  It states that, “Militia groups are armed paramilitary groups of varying sizes that organize and train in preparation for possible future armed resistance to an encroaching New World Order conspiracy that seeks to render the American people disarmed, defenseless slaves.”  The report treats these and other groups like them as total nut-jobs who exist only on the fringes of American society and reality.  It sees them as merely disaffected types, misfits, and ne’er-do-wells who should probably be institutionalized by the men in white coats so that they be properly and regularly medicated.  Well, maybe so – but maybe not.

     It seems to me that these folks have every reason to fear this behemoth of a government that is quickly destroying the rights and freedoms of American citizens.  Perhaps these “Conspiracy Nuts” are the vanguard, the tip of the spear so-to-speak, whose warnings should be more attentively heeded.  The ADL admits that there’s a lot of anger out here and that if unchecked, “such anger is likely to have negative consequences.  At minimum, it tarnishes and impedes civil discourse.”  Wait just a damned minute here.  Have you ever tried to engage in civil discourse with a full-blown, committed Liberal?  Trust me, it’s an impossibility.  Furthermore, “at most the attacks on the legitimacy of the government could be destructive.  The fact that these attacks are coming from such a broad spectrum makes it more likely that some of the individuals who are in the mainstream camp will become so inflamed with anti-government anger, they may move further toward the fringes.  This could result not only in the swelling of the ranks of anti-government extremist groups and movements, but could give rise to individuals who are willing to act out on their anger.”  Sounds like the Liberals among us are just a tad worried especially when they openly admit that anti-government sentiment is coming from a very broad spectrum of our population.

     Well then, what are we supposed to think about these guys out there who are thoroughly convinced that our government has become dangerous to our freedom?  What are we supposed to do about them anyway?  Under our First Amendment, aren’t they allowed to rant, rave, and let rip as long as they are not a danger to the rest of us?  If their speech is unpopular, isn’t that all the more reason that they be afforded their First Amendment protections?  We have always had a tradition in this country of constitutionally protecting those not in the so-called “mainstream” and that tradition has always been one of the mainstays of immigration to this nation.  People have historically come here desperately seeking the freedom they didn’t have in their home countries.  Millions upon millions have arrived here to escape government tyranny, abuse, and persecution.  If those so-called Conspiracy Nuts among us see a government that has become destructive and anathema to liberty and freedom, don’t they have an absolute right to say so?  In their minds, it seems they have an actual responsibility to do so and yet when we hear what they tell us we do not even take them slightly seriously.  We mock and ridicule them and turn them into outcasts.  After all, how can the rest of us go about our daily lives with any semblance of normalcy or regularity if we are convinced that our government is plotting to do us harm?  How can we go to work and raise families if we are forever looking over our shoulders wondering what plots and schemes our government has in store for us today?  Of course, these Conspiracy Types must be taken with the proverbial grain of salt and while they may make for an interesting Bullshit Session at the local watering hole, let’s not go off the deep end here.

     Sure, that sounds like solid advice except that men like Benjamin Franklin would have completely disagreed.  Old Ben unequivocally stated that, “I am a mortal enemy to arbitrary government and unlimited power.  I am naturally very jealous for the rights and liberties of my country, and the least encroachment of those invaluable privileges is apt to make my blood boil.”  Thomas Jefferson explained that the, “Natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”  You know, if we keep going back to the words and warnings of our Founding Fathers, those Conspiracy Nuts among us begin to sound less and less like nuts.  Instead, they seem to be relying on history, precedent, and experience with regard to their deep distrust and fear of an all-consuming, all-powerful government.  Maybe, just maybe, we should take these guys a bit more seriously and not be so quick to scoff and ridicule.  Hmmm?

     Oh come on here.  Am I really suggesting that our freely elected government is a danger, a threat, to American freedoms and liberties?  Do I really stay up at night worrying and fretting about how the government is planning, plotting, and scheming to destroy my unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  Seriously, for myself, no.  I’m just too damned old for that.  But for my little granddaughters?  You bet your damned ass I do!  I’m already far less free than I was in my wild and woolly youth.  Hell, just last year alone the Federal Government issued 81,000 brand spanking new regulations that must be obeyed. There are so many rules and regulations that nobody can keep current and, therefore, most of us are in a perpetual state of noncompliance with something or other at all times.  After all, if you don’t know what the law is then you can’t possibly know if you’re breaking it.  Hey, maybe that’s a government conspiracy in and of itself.  Inundate us with so much fucking paper that we’re always guilty of some damned thing or another!

     With this mindset, then, I came across something I’d never heard of and I take not just a little pride in keeping current and up to date.  I began asking friends and acquaintances if they’d ever run across it.  One hundred percent of those I queried answered in the negative.  Nobody had ever heard of a thing called Rex 84.  Have you? No, I thought not.  Roughly speaking, it is a plan for declaring martial law here in the United States and it is a government plan.  Martial law in the United States of America?  Alrighty then, this is just way too far out there, right?  I mean, let’s get serious now.  Are the anti-government conspiracy theorists out there seriously suggesting that a secret plan exists to declare martial law in our country?  Are we talking military rule of civilians in the land of the free and the home of the brave?  What about such safeguards as the Third Amendment?  How about your old Posse Comitatus?  Is there really a government plot to trample on our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and our Bill of Rights?  Are we actually talking about the cessation of American liberty here?  As the patriot Judge Learned Hand proclaimed, “Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.”  Additionally, John Adams in a letter to his wife insisted that, “A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored.  Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”  Martial law?  Liberty lost?  Am I really talking about the United States of America in the year 2014?

     So then, exactly what is Rex 84 and why has no one ever heard of it?  Perhaps because we’re all so busy going about our daily lives that we just can’t stay on top of everything emanating from our nation’s capitol.  Or perhaps it is something that if most Americans knew about, it would make their blood boil and we’d see a run on gun stores that would dwarf what we witnessed after 911.  According to a piece entitled, “Rex 84:  FEMA’s Blueprint for Martial Law in America(http://www.globalresearch.ca), we are, “dangerously close to a situation where if the American people took to the streets in righteous indignation or if there were another 9/11 – a mechanism for martial law could be quickly implemented and carried out under REX 84.”  The article further notes that the plan, “would accommodate the detention of large numbers of American citizens during times of emergency.”  Martial law?  The detention of large numbers of American citizens?  At this point, I’m hearing the theme from the old TV show The Twilight Zone going off in my head.  Are there really those out there who think that this kind of thing is an actual possibility?

     Rex 84 apparently stands for Readiness Exercise 1984 and through it, “an undisclosed number of concentration camps were set in operation throughout the United States, for internment of dissidents and others potentially harmful to the state.”  Concentration camps?  Dissidents?  Additionally these, “these camps are to be operated by FEMA should martial law need to be implemented in the United States and all it would take is a presidential signature on a proclamation and the attorney general’s signature on a warrant to which a list of names is attached.”  You know, it seems that we’re talking about dictatorial power here that completely by-passes and undercuts our Constitution, tosses the concept of the rule of law onto the compost heap, and grinds the idea of American liberty under the heel of some totalitarian regime.  Well, let’s see.  Our sorry-ass excuse for a President is no more than a dictator wanna-be who has shown nothing but contempt for our Constitution and the rule of law while his racist, jack-booted Attorney General is nothing more than an Obama lap dog who would actually salivate at the slightest prospect of mortally wounding the United States of America in any manner possible.

     It appears that this thing called Rex 84 is tailor made for these two would-be tyrants.  Additionally, according to a piece entitled, “What is the REX 84 program(http://answers.yahoo.com)),” it is a directive that establishes under the office of the President, “a new national continuity coordinator whose job is to make plans for National Essential Functions of all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president’s directives in the event of a national emergency.”  You know, this is beginning to sound like some kind of end-of-the-world scenario that one might see in a made for TV movie.  Independence Day comes to mind, but to my knowledge no significant alien threat or invasion has yet to show up on the radar screen.

     According to Yahoo, a catastrophic emergency is loosely defined as, “any incident regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damages, or disruption severely affecting the U.S.” and that it allows the President, “to use federal troops or the National Guard in federal service in a wide range of emergencies including natural disasters, epidemics or other public health emergencies, terrorist attacks, insurrections, or domestic violence, including conspiracies to commit domestic violence.”  This is pretty far reaching stuff and not just a tad bit troubling.  Who defines exactly what a national emergency is and how much the power of the Federal Government should be expanded in order to deal with it?  Will the people of the country have no say or voice in the declaration of a national emergency and how to best deal with it and who is to say when the so-called national emergency is over?  How many of our rights and freedoms will be sacrificed to deal with such an emergency, and once the danger is past, will we ever again get them back?  Remember the warning of John Adams referenced above that, “Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”

     You know, I’d really prefer not to believe that there is even a remote possibility that these folks who see our own government as a real and credible threat to our country and way of life are even close to the mark.  I would much rather believe that they are no more than disaffected, dissatisfied “Nut Jobs” whose lives are so devoid of meaning and fulfillment that they simply lash out and blame others for their shortcomings and failures.  I would much rather believe this than have to come to grips with the concept that they may be correct and they are merely the messengers warning us of an approaching calamity, an Armageddon, if you will.  I and I’m sure most Americans would prefer to see our government as an exception to the old adage that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.  It is difficult for me to fathom the idea that my own government is Hell-bent on destroying what so many have bled and died for over the centuries and yet, one has to wonder.

     Could these “Conspiracy Nuts” really be onto something here?  Could those Militia Groups who arm themselves and train in remote mountain regions really be the first – or last – line of defense against a government that has become corrupt, venal, and destructive?  If these guys are even anywhere close to the truth in their paranoid ranting and raving then even a cynical old Son of a Bitch like me is going to have to recalibrate my naiveté meter and understand that I have been far too trusting and passive when it comes to the question of the individual’s relationship to and with government.  If the Conspiracy Guys have it right, then our Great American Experiment has failed and the belief in American Exceptionalism has been nothing more than a false myth and hope.  If these folks have it right while the rest of us have been hoodwinked and bamboozled into accepting and believing in the greatness and uniqueness of the American experience, then we have indeed stepped through that looking glass and will find no way back.  I hope for the sake of my kids and grandkids that this is not the case, but sometimes I have to wonder.

 

     Still, I keep running across articles with ominous – even threatening – titles like, “U.S. Concentration Camps, FEMA, and the REX 84 Program(www.liveleak.com).”  It begins by flatly stating that there are, “over 600 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and ready to receive prisoners.  They are all staffed and even surrounded by full-time guards, but they are all empty.”  Additionally, these camps, “are to be operated by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) should Martial Law need to be implemented in the United States.”  The piece goes on to inform us that the, “Rex 84 Program was established on the reasoning that if a mass exodus of illegal aliens crossed the Mexican/US border, they would be quickly rounded up and detained in detention centers by FEMA.”  Alrighty, then.  Concentration camps?  Prison camps?  Illegal aliens?  Furthermore, the piece introduces two more terms that sound like they stem from a badly acted and conceived 1950’s Cold War spy movie.  We note that, “Operation Cable Splicer and Garden Plot are the two sub-programs which will be implemented once the Rex 84 is initiated for its proper purpose.”  Operation Cable Splicer?  Garden Plot?  Jesus, are these guys for real here?!?

     Apparently so, for it is claimed that, “Garden Plot is the program to control the population,” while, “Cable Splicer is the program for an orderly takeover of the state and local governments by the federal government.  FEMA is the executive arm of the coming police state and thus will head up all operations.”  Remember Natasha and Boris of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show from years ago?  It sounds like these “programs” come right out of that venue.  Is it possible that there are those out there who really, truly, and sincerely believe this crap?  Yep!  According to a piece entitled, “Rex 84:  Government Silently Positions for Martial Law as Financial Collapse Arrives in America(www.opednews.com),” Rex 84, “outlines continuity of government wherein the US Constitution is suspended, martial law is declared and the US military command takes over state and local governments in order  to ensure stabilization of our nation at any cost.  Any American who is deemed a ‘national security threat’ would be detained in an internment or FEMA Camp.”

     So far, the anti-government conspiracy types have focused on very little known, obscure government agencies like Rex 84, Operations Garden Plot or Cable Splicer that virtually no one is familiar with.  Now, however, these guys are taking a whack at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Now that’s got to be a low blow, uncalled for, and wrong-headed.  FEMA, as I always understood it, exists to help Americans especially in times of natural disaster.  You know, those times when old Mother Nature says nope, you puny, little insignificant human beings just don’t matter.  All those “things” you’ve built to make life easier, more convenient, and more comfortable for yourselves – just watch this shit!  Hurricanes, tornados, twisters, earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and all the rest.  We human beings are as gnats blowing around in gale-force winds.  Well, here comes FEMA to try and help us recover from the effects of these catastraphies.  What could be more benign or humane than that?  People need help and, after all, isn’t that what government is supposed to do?  Government exists to help citizens in distress so how could anyone possibly object to that?  Think back to just a few years ago when Hurricane Katrina as it ripped through New Orleans or perhaps to Super Storm Sandy which devastated wide swaths of Long Island.  There was FEMA.  True, like most government entities, it was slow, inefficient, clumsy, and overly bureaucratic but the intentions were good and noble and who could fault that?

     Apparently, those whacked out government conspiracy nuts can and do exactly that.  They portray FEMA as evil incarnate out to destroy our God-given rights and freedoms and further enslave us to an all-powerful centralized government.  A piece entitled, “FEMA – The Secret Government(http://dmc.members.sonic.net),” explains that FEMA is, “not an elected body, it does not involve itself in public disclosures, and it even has a quasi-secret budget in the billions of dollars.”  More importantly, it has, “more power than the President of the United States or the Congress.  It has the power to suspend laws, move entire populations, arrest and detain citizens without a warrant and hold them without a trial.”  Additionally, “it can seize property, food supplies, transportation systems, and can suspend the Constitution.”  Damn, and here I thought that FEMA was a fairly benign government agency.  I’m actually beginning to believe that last phrase is a gargantuan oxymoron.  The article goes on to claim that FEMA spends only about six percent of its budget on national emergencies and that, “the bulk of their funding has been used for the construction of secret underground facilities to assure continuity of government in case of a major emergency, foreign or domestic.”

     It should be noted that FEMA was created by Executive Order which has the power of law but completely bypasses Congress and the American people.  The article explains that the agency has been strengthened over time by additional Executive Orders.  For example, Executive Order 10990, “allows the government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports,” while Executive Order 10995, “allows the government to seize and control the communication media.”  Still other Executive Orders allow the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals.  The government can take over all food resources and farms and allows the government to, “mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.”  These examples barely scratch the surface of the massive power wielded by FEMA over the lives of American citizens and I guarandamnedtee you that 99.99% of us have not clue number one that we can be but a hair’s breadth away from losing our freedom should “conditions” require drastic action by our government.  Well sure, but this kind of power wouldn’t be unleashed on America unless the danger we face is so grave that the government simply has no choice, right?

     Not so, according to the article.  Apparently, “FEMA’s enormous powers can be triggered easily.  In any form of domestic or foreign problem, perceived and not always actual, emergency powers can be enacted.”  In fact, the President has broad powers to declare martial law which would start the whole FEMA thing rolling.  Martial law, “can be declared during times of increased tension overseas, economic problems within the United States such as depression, civil unrest, and in a drug crisis.”  It sounds like we’re talking about some kind of “Shadow Government” here that holds the real, actual reins of power while we have been falsely led to believe that the American people are the final authorities over what and what does not take place in our nation.  Apparently, we are living under some kind of delusion here and the, “crux of the problem is that FEMA has the power to turn the United States into a police state in times of real or manufactured crisis.”  What the Hell are we talking about here?  Are we really suggesting that the freest nation in history, the most superb Constitutional Republic ever created that guarantees individual rights and freedoms is in danger of becoming some kind of third world police state?  Are we really willing to accept the lunatic rantings and ravings of these Conspiracy Nuts while living in a country dedicated to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  At one time, I would have thought that the mere contemplation of such a remote possibility was a probable sign that someone’s mind wasn’t right.  I would have had to question that individual’s motives as well as his grip on reality.  Now, however . . . .

     The author of an article entitled, “U.S. Concentration Camps:  FEMA and the REX 84 Program (www.theforbiddenknowledge.com),” claims that once, “a major disaster occurs (whether it is a real event or manufactured event does not matter) martial law is hurredly put in place and we are all in the hands of government agencies (FEMA) who thus portray themselves as our protectors.”  The writer goes on to query, “Yet what happens when we question those in authority and how they are taking away all of our freedoms?”  He goes on to ask, “Will we be the ones detained in these camp sites?  And who are they going to round up?  Those with guns?  Those who ask questions?  Those that want to know what’s really going on?”  He ends his screed by warning that the, “time is fast approaching when we will be the ones asking, ‘What happened to our freedom?  To our free speech?  To our right to protect ourselves and our family?  To think as an individual?  To express ourselves in whatever way we wish?”  This guy’s obviously way the fuck out there, isn’t he?  Total break with reality.  La--La Land.  Who knows anymore?  Maybe he’s actually got it right.

     The above quoted “Conspiracy Nut” is doing no more than any of the rest of the so-called “fringe elements” who exist on the outskirts of American society.  He is questioning the role of government as it relates to the individual citizen and he is of the opinion – as am I – that our government has become far too large, intrusive, and powerful and that by its very nature constitutes a threat to our liberties, freedoms, and individual rights.  Think back to the remarks made by some our Founding Fathers about the nature and legitimate role of government and compare what we have today to their vision.  They were right to fear and mistrust government and so are those that still do.  Thomas Jefferson noted that, “A wise and frugal government . . . shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.  This is the sum of good government.”

     Is our government today even close to wise and frugal?  Has our government remained faithful to the one created by the Founders?  Does our government leave us in peace to regulate our own pursuits?  I don’t know about you, but I’m heading out to the compound to make sure the ammo’s fresh and the canned goods are fully stocked!

Much Luv Y’all and Have a Great Day!

The Fifth Horseman

(Dr. David M. Rich, Ph.D.)