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~ Potter's Editorial ~
9-22-99




Paranoid?




Sorry if I go off on a tangent here, ....and perhaps manage to grapple with a little bit of frustrating paranoia on the way.

I'm sure that beginning an essay with an apology is not de rigueur in the politically correct maelstrom that has become our public arena, ....however, I will make no apology about that. A little paranoia is a good thing nowadays, I think.

With today's "been there, done that" kind of blasè

(and while I'm at it, I'll make no apologies for the inaccurate and/or heavy-handed use of accents, runes, squiggles, and/or other fun keys, or errors in spelling and grammar, either!)

....with today's blasè level of universal consciousness, anybody that asks any questions, ....or heaven forbid, ....doesn't agree with the official line, as ordered by our benevolent government, ....is threatened with fines, judgements, jail, and death, for non-compliance–––you're damn straight, paranoia's a good thing!!

What do you mean, "Not in this country?" Boy, have you ever got the blinders on....you been watching that damn tv again?

Gees, I hate to break the bad news to ya, ....but tv, and all the big papers and magazines are owned by the big boys–––who want you to be blind!

So you say it couldn't happen here? Well, lemme tell ya a little story about this fella, George Hansen, a seven time U.S. Representative from Idaho. Brace yourself, 'cause this is ....

ONE MUTHA OF A STORY. [ ed. note: read this link and then you ask, "....if they can fry a decent and popular dude like George Hansen, whaddaya think they kin do to uppity unknowns like me?....or you? ........Man, ....oh Manischewitz!!!]

Hansen, a staunch and principled leader in the freedom movement and one of my heroes in the early 80's, had the unmitigated gall to demand accountability in congress, calling for the business of the legislature to be opened to public scrutiny, ....and he wrote a scathing exposè on the underhanded and criminal modus operandi of the much loathed and tyrannical IRS of the era entitled, "To Harass Our People."

In retaliation, Hansen was ironically charged by the political machine with a wave of trumped up and fabricated charges stemming from the labyrinthine, convoluted, and largely cosmetic public disclosure requirements being passed into law at the time. In the wake of Lyndon Johnson's oligarchically bent administration and it's Great Society, any and all, and more and more legislation, was the new darling of the controlled media, ....incrementally regulating, licensing, and parcelling away natural rights which were granted to humans by God, ....and supposedly guaranteed by the Constitution.

This bureaucratic blitzkrieg was likely the heralding of the pernicious and subtly pervasive new age of mediocrity, decreed by the power brokers and spun by their willing and ingratiating minions at Media, Incorporated.

....Oh, yeah, ....George Hanson.

....Well, ....the feds finally managed to make one of the charges stick long enough to get old George's foot in the door of the vast and ever growing national gulag–––and then suck him in and literally lock the door and throw away the key. For four solid years of torture and incarceration was Hansen medievally handled ....and this in spite of George's exoneration in the court system of any and all charges.

....Yeah, right, ....it couldn't happen in this country! Tell that to George Hansen, ....and to all the innocent folks all over the country that are now being regularly blasted, ....shot in the back, defenseless in the their beds in the middle of the night, ....by macho, tank driving government bureau-goons and drooling, gung-ho local SWAT regiments run amok. ...Tell those folks that third world injustice and dictatorial travesties are strangers to the golden shores of "The Great Republic," ...."The Light of the World." [ed.note: read about this anywhere, ....it's practically happening every week ....yeah, this is what they could do to an uppity like me or you..]

The truth is, that in this once great country, ....right now, ....the government can and will do anything it wants to with impunity and total disregard for the rule of law, to crush real debate and meaningful opposition.

Just look at that corn pone in the White House ....and his wife/accomplice. The trail of dead bodies lying in the wake of this twosome is approaching 80 in number–––and those are only the documented cases! Why just today, I came across the case of one of Clinton's personal victims who survived, albeit without his testicles. You can read the shocking story yourself at the newyorkpost online, ....if you can bear to know yet more details of this pariah's unparalleled dark and evil deeds.

....Of course, these examples comprise only a portion of the mayhem he has spawned, ....not even considering the death and destruction this corrupt and tragic figure of a president and his sycophants have generated on a world wide scale–––in their official capacities.....okay, now I'm getting depressed again, ....and paranoid. You know, I firmly believe that Bill Clinton is actually every bit as evil and slimy as James Carville looks.

....Now, ....given that governments are comprised of ordinary people (possessing all the faults and predilections to err or stray as anyone), ....think about how irrational it is to entrust your own personal health, happiness, and well-being to let's say, ....someone as disinterested in you, as, ....your buddy Joey's cousin's roommate's boyfriend, ....from Fairfax, Virginia.

I don't know about you, but I think that I'm going to do a helluva lot better job of making sure I'm healthy, happy, and well off than some schmuck I don't even know from the D. C. suburbs!

If perchance you are still in denial about the criminal nature of modern American government, ....wow! In the light of recent and ever escalating revelations about official misconduct at every level, ....thanks largely to that "new" free press, the as-of-yet uncensored internet, it is amazing to still hear folks gending and apologizing for felonious politicians and absolutely corrupt government.

WAKE UP, will ya?!?

Bloody Wacos at home, and criminally devastating wars waged abroad, ....Chinese spies buying politicians, ....AIDS tainted prison blood, recklessly marketed and sold with wanton disregard by Clinton and his cronies, ....the Foster murder cover-up, ....malicious misuse of the IRS against outspoken opponents, ....the shootdown and whitewash of ..Pan-Am 800.. ....the list is never-fukken-ending!!!....

....OK, ....I'm almost done. The following is a sample of some of the fluff flying around the internet on multi-layered forwards, and forwards of forwards:

    The following quotes are reported to have been taken from actual Federal (U.S.) employee performance evaluations:

  • "He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them."

  • "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot."

  • "He would argue with a signpost."

  • "A prime candidate for natural de-selection."

  • "Some drink from the fountain of knowledge; he didn't even gargle."

  • "Takes him two hours to watch 60 minutes."

This list was circulated as humor, but it's probably much closer to the truth than anyone would like to admit. Yeah, ....think about the last time you tried to get through a simple encounter with a government bureaucrat....

....And here's another thing I pilfered from my daily blizzard of inane email, that might just have some contextual value, after all.

Remember as you read this, how well today's young folks score on scholastic aptitude tests, and the recent quality of the English language as spoken and written. Ahh, ....yes, ....young people....the new generation ....the new guardians of freedom and liberty.

....Not that the following list is entirely germane to the continued existence of mankind on Earth, but remember, too, the time proven adage, "Those unable to learn from the lessons of history, are doomed to repeat them."

The excerpt:

    Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the faculty a sense of the mindset of that year's incoming freshmen.
    [ed.note: it kinda gives you a sense of the mindset of that year's staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin, too]

    Here's this year's list:  

  • The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1980.

  • They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and did not know he had ever been shot.   

  • They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.   

  • Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression.   

  • There has been only one Pope. They can only really remember one president.   

  • They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War.   

  • They have never feared a nuclear war. "The Day After" is a pill to them, not a movie.   

  • They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up, and Tiananmen Square means nothing to them.   

  • Their lifetime has always included AIDS.   

  • They never had a polio shot, and likely do not know what it is.   

  • Bottle caps have not only always been screw off, but have always been plastic. They don't know what a pull-top can looks like.   

  • Atari pre-dates them, as do vinyl albums.   

  • The expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.     

  • They have never owned a record player.   

  • They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.   

  • Star Wars look very fake to them, and the special effects are pathetic.   

  • There have always been red M&Ms, and blue ones are not new. What do you mean there used to be beige ones?   

  • They may have heard of an 8-track, but chances are they probably never have actually seen or heard one.   

  • The Compact Disc was introduced when they were 1 year old.   

  • As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 32 cents.   

  • They have always had an answering machine.   

  • Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black-and-white TV.   

  • They have always had cable.   

  • There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA is.   

  • They cannot fathom not having a remote control.   

  • They were born the year that Walkmen were introduced by Sony.   

  • Roller-skating has always meant inline for them.   

  • The Tonight Show has always been with Jay Leno.   

  • They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.   

  • Popcorn has always been cooked in a microwave.   

  • They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a football player.   

  • They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.   

  • The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII, or even the Civil War.   

  • They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.   

  • They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.   

  • They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.   

  • They never heard the terms: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for  a Camel," or "de plane, de plane!"   

  • They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is.   

  • The Titanic was found? I thought we always knew where it was.   

  • Michael Jackson has always been white.   

  • Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not groups.   

  • McDonald's never came in styrofoam containers.   

  • There has always been MTV.

    Hmmmmmn....

    ....Now, given what these youths don't know, and the obviously poor quality of their education
    (read Patricia Neill's School Free Drug Zones)
    ....don't you just have to believe you could tell these kids about anything, ....and they'd believe it? Scary, ain't it?


    Paranoid? .....You bet your ass, I am!




    ©lowell_potter ..










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