Friday 29th of March 2024

the confederates versus the union, once more...

 

norris texas

A bizarre conspiracy theory about a military takeover of the US state of Texas has surfaced after the US military announced it would be taking part in a training exercise there.

The military exercise, called Jade Helm 15, will be a two-month operation beginning in July and taking place across seven US states, including Texas.

But some online right-wing conspiracy theorists say it is really a plan to invade Texas.

A man who calls himself Freedom Fighter 2127 posted his fears on YouTube.

"Texas will be the first state, according to our military source, these are not just drills. Texas will be the first state to be under martial law," he said.

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-07/jade-helm-15-prompts-texas-takeover-conspiracy/6452810

 

fighting for the cactuses in video games...

 

Ironically, for a president who once ran for office promising “transparency” in government, the dreaded associated “a” word, “accountability,” has been somewhat difficult to discern. Even if government actions were transparent, which they are not, the ability of senior bureaucrats and politicians to make multiple bad decisions goes unchallenged when there is no accountability .

The recent killing of two foreign captives in an errant drone strike in Pakistan has raised some serious questions about the government’s employment of what has become its principal offensive weapon in its global war on terror (which the White House now prefers to call its overseas contingency operations). While President Obama, who has claimed that drones strikes only take place when there is “near certainty” about the target, took personal responsibility for the mishap, it does not require much understanding of Washington’s ways to realize that the gesture is in reality quite empty since the Chief Executive is unlikely to bear any actual consequences.

As the government acts in loco populi in its increasing use of drones as the end game in a policy that includes kill lists, assassinations of American citizens and military action in countries with which the United States is not at war, there should be at least a modicum of both transparency and accountability to the process. In reality, there is neither and many Americans have no idea what is being done in their name. Most would be shocked to learn about the U.S. using drones for so-called double-taps in which a group on the ground is hit and the drone hovers while rescuers rush to the scene. The rescuers are then killed by a second wave of missiles. Apart from anything else, targeting those assisting the wounded is a war crime.

The serious questions that should be raised about the use of drones have most often been successfully deflected by both government and an accommodating media which have diverted the narrative into an all too frequent technical discussion of the weapon’s capabilities. Drones are cheap as weapons systems go, they are versatile, they can hover for hours or even days. They have unparalleled technical intelligence sensors and they can spot, assess, and kill targets with some precision. They are a Hollywood-plus-video game vision of warfare, American-style, with an operator sitting in air-conditioned comfort while he or she searches for a target, acquires it, and zap, a hellfire missile makes the bad guy wish he had not messed with Uncle Sam. Best of all, as in a video game, no American servicemen are actually placed in harm’s way in the process.

read more: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/obamas-unaccountable-drone-war/

 

As Edward Dahlberg once wrote: "Every decision you make is a mistake."

 

ted cruz texas vs new york values...


Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is catching a lot of heat from New Yorkers for his now infamous remark about Donald Trump having “New York values,” which to a Texas conservative means Trump might as well have leprosy. The comment was reminiscent of Sarah Palin’s preposterous claim about small towns being “the real America,” as some conservatives like to denigrate specific parts of the country in this way for political gain. When it’s not “New York values” being derided, it’s something about “San Francisco values,”or “Chicago-style politics,” or “Taxachusetts” and “Massachusetts liberals.”

Cruz’s jab was reminiscent of the time in 2013 when then-Governor of Texas Rick Perry released an ad touting Texas’ status as a haven for businesses. It specifically took aim at New York and all of our regulations, which have apparently has made this place an uninhabitable hellhole.

Thankfully, Perry’s ad drew the ire of Lewis Black, whose counterattack on the governor still contains some very valuable lessons for Ted Cruz:


https://vimeo.com/70914835


Now that Cruz has publicly denounced our values, I guess this means he won’t be coming to New York anymore to beg our gay millionaires for money.

http://thedailybanter.com/2016/01/lewis-black-reminds-us-why-new-york-is-better-than-texas/

 

See also: ten green bottles...