ANARCHY FOR ANYBODY
"Anarchism does not mean bloodshed; it does not mean robbery, arson, etc. These monstrosities are, on the contrary, the characteristic features of capitalism. Anarchism means peace and tranquility to all."
--August Spies, Haymarket anarchist
THOUGHTS
If you're looking for something that used to be on the front page (but isn't, anymore), check LEFT FIELD or the ANARCHIVES, where I put the old stuff.
STEALING JESUS: HOW FUNDAMENTALISM BETRAYS CHRISTIANITY
The book, "Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity" by Bruce Bawer (ISBN 0-609-80222-4) is a must-read for anybody concerned about the increasingly visible role played by fundamentalist Christians in American politics. While Bawer is himself a liberal Christian (he's no anarchist!), he issues a broad and devastating examination and critique of the fundamentalist movement, and I strongly urge anybody who is annoyed by the fundamentalist movement to read this book.
RESOURCES
PEACE DIVIDEND?
Do you even remember that term? Right after the collapse of the USSR, the press briefly talked of a "peace dividend" -- basically, with the Cold War pretext for America's huge war budget suddenly gone, there was a smidgen of talk about decreasing the military budget. But that talk quickly evaporated as new boogeymen were conjured up -- narcoterrorists, drug lords, muslim extremists, so-called rogue nations -- anything to keep the Pentagon gravy train on track. And it worked. Now we have politicians talking uniformly of more money to the war (aka, "defense") budget.
HISTORY
NEW WORLD ORDURE
"If we have to use force, it is because we are America."
--Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES
US SOUGHT TO NUKE THE MOON TO BOOST NATIONAL ESTEEM
I will never apologize for the United States of America -- I don't care what the facts are.
--George Bush I, commenting on the shooting down of an Iranian airliner by the U.S. warship Vincennes, killing 290 passengers. Quoted in Newsweek, August 15, 1989
A kinder, gentler nation? Hmmm.... Guess his "thousand points of light" were in Iraq, after the US bombed the Iraqi civilians into the Stone Age. And now his son wants a turn at bat? Like he can even find Iraq on a map....
Educating Americans through the means of the library service could bring about a change of the political attitude quicker than any other method. The basis of communism and socialistic influence is education of the people.
--Rep. Harold Velde, former HUAC chair
RANDOM HOSTILE THOUGHTS
Isn't it pretty sick and twisted that the CIA has a Web page for kids? As if this murderous, secretive organization was some cuddly lil' agency you'd be happy to let near your kids? Sheesh. Basically, the page attempts to sanitize (and propagandize) the CIA, to get kids used to its existence and accepting of its mission -- after all, they're the next generation of taxpayers!
Since some of the CIA's spooks have been kind enough to visit my page over the years, I'll return the favor by putting the link to their CIA Kiddy Page here and let you come to your own conclusion about their little PR effort.
Too bad they didn't put anything on their page about assassinations, or overthrowing democratic governments, or torture techniques? Maybe that'll come out in their CIA Teen edition or something.
[Update: the NSA and FBI also have kiddy pages. Look for them on the NSA and FBI Web pages.]
This is an ever-growing list of words used by the press to sculpt and frame newscasts to create the appearance of objective reporting to disguise propaganda. Why "buzzwords?" Simply imagine a quiz show "wrong answer" or warning buzzer going off when you hear them used in the news.
Note that a buzzword doesn't mean what you think it does (see examples below). A buzzword becomes conspicuous by its repetition in the media. Check out LEST WE FORGET for an example of newspeak in action.
Please send me buzzwords you've spotted, as well as an example of how they've been used. Here are a FEW I've noticed.
(NOT SO) NEW BUZZWORDS
Relax: To remove unwanted progressive legislation without saying that. Ex: President Bush wants to relax restrictions on logging on public lands.
Active defense: Assassination. The Israelis have been using active defense against Palestinian leaders.
Move beyond: To violate, abrogate, or nullify, without explicitly saying so. Example: (NYT, June 8, 2001, emphasis added) "He said it was inevitable that the United States was going to move beyond the ABM Treaty."
Environmental contaminant: Pollutant. This one is used to remove the actor (the one who pollutes) from the action (pollution). By calling it a "contaminant" it makes it seem more natural -- that area isn't polluted, it's merely environmentally contaminated.
SOME PR JARGON
Message discipline: Staying on a given PR theme.
Agenda control: Not letting your corporate strategy get derailed by outside forces. Example: (NYT. May 10, 2001, emphasis added) "Emotionally, there's a lot of suspicion about the oil companies' motives" and that energy executives are Bush's "pals making money -- and he's not going to crack down on them. It really throws his message discipline and agenda control out the window. This is going to be a really significant test because all of a sudden education doesn't matter as much."
Reputation management: Public relations, propaganda.
THEORY
RIFFS AND RANTS
"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore! Things have got to change!"
--Howard Biehl (character from NETWORK)
Something on your mind? Anything I haven't covered that you'd like to see discussed? Anarchism should represent a diversity of opinions, so e-mail me your short essays (<500 words) and maybe I'll put them up. Keep in mind I said "maybe" there; I am pretty picky, and won't simply rubber-stamp stuff coming my way, but if they're good, and relevant to anarchism, I'll tag them up (eventually). Also, give me a title for the piece, or I'll make one up, and let me know if it's okay to put your e-mail address on there or not.
I've already got a few stockpiled from the past that I'll be adding once I tag them up. Here are a few of the more intriguing ones I've received:
THOUGHT FOR THE MOMENT
Right now, I'm thinking the American government's going to be at war with somebody soon, whether Iraq, North Korea, Yemen, Colombia, Iran, or the American people, or all of the above, we shall see. I think 2003 is going to be a rough year for peace.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to the US Census Bureau, the median income of male workers, adjusted for inflation, was 3.8% LOWER in 1998 than it was in 1974!! That blows. And the latest reports show that median household income has dropped for the first time in nearly 10 years. To paraphrase an old GOP slogan, "Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?"
COMMENTS
Questions, meaningful comments? Drop ME a line sometime if you're interested in anarchism and want to learn more.
SHORT READING LIST
If you haven't already, please read these books:
- "Anarchism" by Daniel Guerin
- "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn
- "Manufacturing Consent" and/or "Necessary Illusions" by Noam Chomsky
- "Propaganda" by Jacques Ellul
- "Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity" by Bruce Bawer
WAR ON TERROR
The despot's dream: permanent war. This is going to be huge and enormously destructive, either of the government or else the country as a whole, and the world, for certain. I think the War on Terror is really World War III, it's just a different kind of war than we're used to seeing, which is why that hasn't quite sunk in yet for most people. It's a war of American hegemony against anybody the government decides it wants to thrash -- anybody the US doesn't like can simply be branded a "terrorist" and the ruthless machinery of the State can go to work on them. It's not going to end until the US itself ends. War without end, Amen. God Bless Amerika.
911
The seeds of American-style fascism were sown in the early 20th Century, with the rise of corporations, the FBI, and right-wing hate groups like the KKKLan. Those seeds first sprouted in the 1950s, with McCarthyism, the Pentagon system, the National Security State, and the Cold War. By the 1970s and 80s, there was COINTELPRO, the rise of the Religious Right, the proliferation of right-wing think tanks, the prison industry, the War on Drugs, and the ongoing rollback of 1960s reforms. And now, with the post-911 power grab by George II called the War on Terror, we see the first real blooms of it across the land and the world. Using freedom as the rallying cry, freedom will be destroyed. Dark times are ahead for the US. It can only yield disaster.
GULF WAR II?
Is George II going to start a preemptive war with Iraq, to gain control of Iraqi oil fields -- errr, I mean, to overthrow a brutal dictator and free the Iraqi people? Sure looks that way to me. Too much political capital is being spent for there NOT to be another Gulf War. Who will we invade after that? Yemen? Sudan? Egypt? Syria? Canada?
Last Updated: 1 January 2003 (First Created: March 8 1996)
, the Internet retriever. Bad dog!
My site is NO LONGER on the CyberNot list, but I will keep the following banner up as a show of solidarity to those who ARE banned unjustly and a reminder that, due to the carelessness (and laziness) of a Cyber Patrol researcher, some 15% of anarchist sites were (are?) wrongfully banned by their censorware. Abolish censorware from the public sector!!!
If you're looking to make bombs or drugs, do yourself a favor and DON'T; why poison yourself or blow your hand off when you'd be better off learning what anarchism is really about? Avoid the Anarchist Cookbook; it's junk -- anarchy isn't about blowing people up, about terrorizing or killing people; it's about working people organizing against illegitimate authority, which is a lot more fun than sitting in your basement making bombs or growing weed in your bathtub!
NOTE
As you may have noticed, I haven't updated this page lately; my sincere apologies. I am working on some other projects right now, and a4a is taking a back seat at this point. I still answer e-mails, if you have questions.