The International Writers Magazine: US Radical Hearings

The Cake has been Taken Pack Your Sanity In Your Old Kit Bag And Puke, Puke, Puke • James Campion If you had a dime for every time a government official has used national security to railroad some segment of society, you'd never have to work again. The pitiable history of humanity is ripe with this kind of stench. The only question that needs to be asked is why it keeps happening, or more to the point, why it keeps happening in a purported constitutionally mandated republic which grants liberty to all.

Long ago, before I completely gave up on the ambiguities of democracy, human decency and the evolution of free thought and traded it all in to comment on what is obviously a fucked game of slobbered knuckle-dragging claptrap, I used to laugh out loud at the barbaric notions of the McCarthy Anti-American hearings of the 1950's. It was a surreal scene, to say the least; as if the whole fiasco was less horror show than sick joke. It is still hard to fathom that you could find two people, even those from the South, who would buy such a load of crap, much less allow it to happen in latter 20th century America. It was so unconscionably bizarre it didn't even appear to feign rationale. It was as if there had been a mass hallucination or the Scopes Monkey Trial had been recast as a kangaroo court of gray-flannel Neanderthals posing as absolute authority on who was American or un-American, as if comic book villains had taken over the shop and were peddling this pathetically infantile shit as law.
    I'm was never quite sure how anyone could recall that era and be the least bit proud to be American or a human for that matter. It's not like this was the 1850s; it was the 1950s. But then you think, hell, no one would ever get away with that crippled logic today; blathering incoherently about hidden radicalization and questioning the loyalties of certain citizens based on hunches. It's bad fiction, much less decent reality.
    So now we have another Republican legislator with another lame reason to drag an entire community, religion, culture, whatever through the muck as a chairman of another bloated government over-reach program that was as useless as tits on the proverbial bull nine years ago when it was dreamed up. The man says, "I have no choice" and that his hearings on the radicalization of Muslims are "absolutely essential" when none of it is remotely true. There is "a choice" and nothing is "essential" except food, water and breathing.
    King says; "There are elements in that community that are being radicalized, and I believe that the leaders of that community do not face up to that reality. Too many cases are not cooperative, not willing to speak out and condemn this type of radicalization."
    What the fuck is going on?
    Why isn't whatever is left of the flaccid mainstream press, which is supposed to be wildly liberal, not calling for New York Senator Peter King's arrest for subverting the constitutional and the civil rights of our citizenry in this most egregiously haphazard way? Why isn't this new-fangled, next-generation president of ours not stepping in and closing down this ignominious sideshow and call it what it is; a fascist pogrom? And where are all these fancy "Keep government out of our lives" Republicans during this?
    Yeah, I thought so.
    Because as stated in this space for nearly 14 long years now, the whole thing is fucked. You're fucked. I'm fucked. The system is completely and utterly fucked. You wonder why we're a broke, indebted, war torn, backwards, sub-intellectual, fat, distracted, lazy-ass sucker of a nation? When Wall Street marauders pilfer freely with no repercussions and gigantic health care bills are voted on by legislators that still fail to understand its scope and the most interesting thing we can think of is watching a cokehead rant like a twelve year-old on the Today Show over and over and over?
    The only "controversy" I've read from the press is that King was once a supporter of the Irish Republican Army and a member of the terrorist group, Sinn Fein. But what the hell does that matter? I don't care if King donates his salary to the Klu Klux Klan. King has nothing to do with this. He can call for all the hearings he wants or demand everyone from every walk of life come clean on anyone they might know who is a "radical", whatever the hell that is? It's like this incessant liberal bashing of Sarah Palin, as if she counts for anything. Ignore it and it will go away. That's my motto. But allowing this xenophobic publicity whore to cobble together a nonsensical circus on our dime is a whole other animal.

    Seriously, people, I was going to do my usual "Hey, great, let's all hear it for Peter King! He's going after the myopic loons who inhabit organized religion! I propose we begin hearings on fundamentalist Christians and Hasidim and put the Hindus on trial and make Buddhists crawl, and how about the snake charmers, Voodoo priestesses and Wiccan chieftains? We can begin by investigating the tax evading cretins who run these magic shows." Yeah, I was going to have fun mocking the whole thing in the detached, goofy way I always do, but this, well, this sort of criminal affair turns the stomach like nothing else.
    First it was months of moronic debate about allowing an Islamic center to be built in New York City, as if being upset by the location of a religious building held much weight. Then we're overrun with assholes actually going out in public -- many of them elected officials and journalists saying, "We know these people have the right to do it, but hey, have some sentimentality."
    What the motherfuck does sentimentality have to do with rights? While we're at it; what does morality have to do with civil union rights? Or what does the survival of our social fabric have to do with outlawing plant life?
    The press might be hypnotized by the dog & pony show, but we know what's going on here; an assault on civil liberties and a systemic urination on the constitution; pure and simple.
    You know the jerk-offs who cry like Glenn Beck every time someone takes a butane to an American flag? Well it's time they wake up and realize this is the real thing; only instead of just some meaningless cloth smoldering, actual live citizens are being rounded up and asked to answer for the inept, asleep-at-the-wheel federal government, CIA and FBI, all of which dropped the ball and left this country wide open for what went down on 9/11/01, leading to the tax sinkhole that is Homeland Security and its current vapid freak of a chairman.
    As much as I hate to admit, I am embarrassed to even write about this, and if you've read this space for one week you would know that embarrassing me is not an easy task.
    Well, what did you expect from this farce of a government representing the farce we've become?
    Enjoy the show.
© James Campion March 2011-03-11
realitycheck@jamescampion.com

Responses to: The Tea Party Man
Rand Paul's Maverick Battle For The New Right
James Campion
Rand Paul is a dangerous man. The thing is it's difficult to tell whether the Freshman Senator from Kentucky is more dangerous to the Left or the Right.

READERS LETTERS March 20th 2011

This is an excellent piece. (THE TEA PARTY MAN ) It does an excellent job explaining Rand Paul, the dilemma of the Republicrats, and how it will affect government in the future. I'm just pleased that we have one principled person in DC, even if he is libertarian. I'd take a principled progressive over the corporatist in DC.

Jim Catch

You are almost there but not quite. Rand's enemies will not be left or right but more of true reformer versus status quo. Rand Paul is the real deal much like Reagan was (whether you want to credit Reagan or not). Rand is governing exactly how he campaigned. This is quite refreshing to fiscal conservatives like me, and absolute horrors to people who like to campaign on fiscal conservatism but while safely parked in Washington they go for their share of the federal trough.
    Rand Paul is a Godsend for those of us who believe in Reagan-esque small government, fiscal conservatism. Rand Paul will not go it alone, there are 39 Tea Party members in the House who maybe not possessing the same will and determination of a Rand Paul their desire for fiscal restraint in Washington is just as real.
    James, the Tea Party is for real, ignore or impugn them at your own peril. The Tea Party is not going anywhere and feel they are nowhere near reaching their "high water mark" and feel the American people (who largely identify with the Tea Party) will rise up in 2012 holding Barack Hussein Obama accountable for his debt and spending and will thusly send him back to his prior career of community organizing.
    Interesting column you have this week and it is clear your disdain for Reagan is deep seated. It's a shame you feel that way because without a Reagan there is no booming 80's, no balanced budget in the 90's and we are dealing with a Soviet presence in places we can't even imagine.

Bill Roberts

Thank God someone, not entirely in the bag for the left, has seen fit to poke holes in the absolute LIE of Ronald Regan's "conservative" presidency. Tea Baggers would never stop throwing up at Reagan's expansion of Social Security and his consistent raising of taxes; which they conveniently either ignore or blame on the Democratic congress, yet hilariously take credit for the great economy under Clinton by handing the credit this time to the Republican 90s' congress. Fancy doings!
    Does your readership realize that the tax rate is far lower now (35%) than during Reagan (50%) and way lower during the time these sub-morons want to return to -- the 50s' under Eisenhower (90%). Rand Paul would be trashing Reagan as a phony and a poser, which is what he was, just like Obama is a liberal poser; his pro-Wall St., pro-geo-politics prove this without debate. (Actually I think your apt comparisons of Obama to Reagan are spot on and was backed quite brilliantly in a recent Time magazine piece, which came nearly two years after your original observation)
    In fact, according to Tax Policy Center historical data, the Obama rate of 4.32 radically lower than during the Reagan years, when average rates for a median-income family of four ranged from 11.79 in 1981 to 9.30 in 1988. By comparison, rates during the Bush administration ranged from 6.71 percent in 2001 to 5.91 his last year. And according to Williams of the Tax Policy Center, the current rate for those earning a combined household income of over $250,000, which is 15 percent under Obama, (The Socialist, big-government Lib) is lower than the 28 percent capital gains rate that Reagan signed into law in 1986.
    Get educated people.

Brandon Tandy

So what if Rand Paul is a robot? Look at where caving to the "emotional or endearing aspects of issues" has gotten us. Sadly most people's understanding of American History either begins with the 1960's or at best the 1930's, never realizing the country existed just fine for 150+ years prior, surviving a Civil War no less. Yet when someone proposes eliminating, for example, the Department of Education or the EPA - both of which having only been around since the 1970's, were classic liberal solutions to problems we DIDN'T have, and have since done absolutely NOTHING for the country except redistribute wealth to the politically well-connected - they're the crazy ones. The EPA just classified cow milk as an environmental hazard like oil. COW MILK for Christ's sake! And let's not forget the government's plan to fine and/or possibly jail citizens for NOT participating in interstate commerce, which a Federal Judge has recently ruled unconstitutional, but the government plows ahead anyway setting aside billions of our future tax dollars for Obamacare. Yeah, Rand Paul is fucking nuts?
    And I'm getting sick of these mindless comparisons between the Republicans' game plan today and the smack down they got in '95 during the government shutdown. It's apples and oranges! First of all, media coverage was one-sided back then, as it had been for 50+ years, since the mighty Fox was basically only known for "The Simpsons" and "Married With Children", not the powerhouse megaphone for the conservative right it is today. Second, the Internet had not taken off to clue even the most shut-in of shut-ins as to what's going on in the country (with the unfortunate downside of giving every fucking moron their own soapbox from which to spew their intellectually-challenged and needless opinions, mine included). Third and most importantly, we weren't on the brink of financial collapse, which the majority of the country understands today and for which 16-20% of us have experienced first hand. Maybe once it reaches 30% or higher will Paul's "insane" cuts start to make sense.

Ken Eustace

Thank you for this article.
    Rand Paul is not a career politician. He is a doctor that went to the Senate because he wants to save this country. If we get 50 or so more senators like him, we might stand a chance.

Littlegrr

I think people should be re-evaluating what their opinion of who Rand Paul is. He's not the run-of-the-mil Republican. He'll bring an honest debate to the Senate floor where he and progressives can work together on important matters such as corporatism, banking transparency, war and civil liberties.

Doctor Jones

Farm subsidies for sugar that is killing us is the very first place for Rand Paul to start. Read about it online how they do no one - not consumers, not workers, not the environment, and not farmers any good; only the owners of corporate farms or the landlords of farmers, which are not many people.

Michael A. Bedar

Not a big All-Amerikan "Tea Bagger" fan, JC, but you gotta have balls with personal true politico convictions like his father, Ron Paul to go after the Massive, unchecked, U.S. Military Appropriation K Street lobbyist, sponsored by the biggest predatory Red, White, and Gold, "Too BIG to Fail - Too BIG to Nail" Wall Street war profiteers in Washington DC, under the biggest Public Consumer Bankruptcy Buzzards for Foreclosure Gates with "Missing" Swiss Black Eagle Bank Accounts for U.S. supported Dictators and Royal Sovereign Kingdoms  in the secular Middle East and around the world:  [i.e. Mubark, Suharto, Marcos, Lon Nol, The Golden Triangle, BCCI, BNL, Nugan Hand Bank Intl, et al]:  BROKEN TRUST GOLDMAN SACK$ BLOWBACK!  AIPAC TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION? "RULERS. AND RULED IN THE U.S. EMPIRE"  [James Petras].

Shaloha!

Hapa1234


Jobs,Jobs,Jobs
James Campion
Jobs is the word of the year. It was the word last year. Everything from the price of wheat and oil and fabric and milk shifts on it.
Glo-America on Parade
James Campion on The Kings Speech & The Social Network
The Oscars is the only award show worth watching, an annual fury of unchecked wagering (some larger than others) on the outcomes of Best Costume, Most Likely to Gaffer or some such.

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