TRI: Commentary

Is Tweeting Now a Felony Under Federal Law?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Say you want a revolution.
We better get on right away.
Well you get on your feet
And out on the street.
--John Lennon, "Power to the People"

The ominous rise of the surveillance state continues unabated. With each passing day, hope fades that the Obama administration will diverge from George W. Bush's erection of a police state.

The government's treatment of Elliot Madison is a case in point. Madison, a 41-year-old self-styled anarchist and social worker, was arrested on September 24, 2009, and charged with violating a federal anti-rioting law. Madison allegedly listened to a police scanner (which, according to the New York Times, is legal) and blogged about it on Twitter to help fellow protesters avoid law enforcement at the G-20 summit taking place in Pittsburgh that same month. (Ironically, just months earlier, the U.S. government called Twitter a boon to democracy after Iranian protesters used it to organize an...

Mr. President, You Need to Represent All Americans—Not Just the Democrats

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"Remember during the campaign when John McCain attacked Obama for acting like a celebrity and we all laughed at the grumpy old shellshocked fool? Well, it turns out he was right."--Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher

President Obama seems to be having the time of his life, rubbing shoulders with celebrities, hosting star-studded parties at the White House and jetsetting to far-flung destinations. Unfortunately, the rest of America has yet to be invited to the party.

Fifteen million people and counting are currently out of jobs, banks are folding at a record rate, businesses are going under, homes are being foreclosed on, and the looming deficit is worrisome. All the while, our new president is having a ball at taxpayer expense.

For example, during his brief time in office, Obama has:

entertained NASCAR Sprint Car racers on the White House lawn and talked shop about racing with the drivers;
thrown the f...

Why Your Representatives Should Make You Mad as Hell

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

“I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell, ‘I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.’ Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!...You’ve got to say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Then we’ll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it.”—Howard Beale, Network (1976)

Imagine a world exempt from parking tickets, where gym membership is free and health care is second-to-none. In order to receive these benefits, you also only have to work two, maybe three days a week—a time period during which you will be shuttled around in a nice car. The other days of the week you can spend at home with your family. Luckily, every weekend is a long weekend and you won’t have to be back at work until Tuesda...

Can You Really Get the 'News' from Watching TV?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree."—James Madison

Truth is often lost when we fail to distinguish between opinion and fact, and that is the danger we now face as a society. Anyone who relies exclusively on television/cable news hosts and political commentators for actual knowledge of the world is making a serious mistake. Unfortunately, since Americans have by and large become non-readers, television has become their prime source of so-called "news."

This reliance on TV news has given rise to such popular news personalities such as Keith Olbermann, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Wolf Blitzer and Lou Dobbs, among others, who draw in vast audiences that virtually hang on their every word. In our media age, these are the new powers-that-be. Yet while these personalities often dispense the news like preachers used to dispense religion, with power and certainty, do they really deliver up objective reporting about the news? Or are...

Is Glenn Beck the Future of Television 'News'?

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the "fear chamber" or "doom room," home to Fox News Channel's political commentator and television news host, Glenn Beck.

Beck has become a media phenomenon. The radio DJ-turned-television host has attracted a remarkable following, resulting in a popular radio show, three New York Times best-selling books and a television program that has made him the object of scorn and praise alike.

No scripts or teleprompters seem to be necessary in the "doom room." Beck's off-the-cuff, extemporaneous and emotive style have rocketed his 5 pm, EST, television news show on the Fox News Channel to the third-most-watched cable news show running over all.

If the medium of television has the unique ability to capture viewers' attention, then for better or worse, Glenn Beck has mastered the medium. And as the ratings make clear, audiences find his show to be compelling, entertaining and engaging.

What exactly makes Glenn Beck's show so appealing t...

Why Aren't Schools Teaching Our Children Their Rights and Freedoms?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government."-- Thomas Jefferson

According to President Barack Obama, making school days longer and extending the academic school year will increase learning and raise test scores among American children. However, it's not the length of the school year that is the problem so much as the quality of education being imparted to young people, especially when it comes to knowing American history and their rights--what we used to call civics.

Clearly, the public schools are fostering civic ignorance. For example, a recent study of 1000 Oklahoma high school students found that only 3% would be able to pass the U.S. Immigration Services' citizenship exam, while incredibly 93% of those from foreign countries who took the same test passed. Only 28% of Oklahoma students could name the "supreme law of the land" (the Constitution), while even less could identify Thomas Jefferson as the author...

The Nurre Case: The Demise of Western Art and Culture?

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Religion and religious expression have been objects of censorship in the public schools for quite some time. However, the intolerance of anything related to religion has taken a turn for the absurd in recent years. It makes no difference that the material in question does not proselytize, or that it was presented to people who by and large do not know that it was religious, or even that it is not meant to be religious. What matters is what school officials consider to be religious.

A ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Nurre v. Whitehead, which affirms the right of school administrators to censor material that has the remotest connection to religion, illustrates exactly how outlandish things have become.

Traditionally, the senior members of the woodwind ensemble, the top performing instrumental group at Henry M. Jackson High School in Snohomish County, Wash., select a piece each year to perform during graduation ceremonies. ...

Children of the Twilight Zone: 10 Best Episodes

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It was 50 years ago on Friday, October 2, 1959, that The Twilight Zone premiered on national television. Even though it was never a top twenty show, The Twilight Zone was a jewel that captured a generation. However, it almost didn’t happen. Its subject matter troubled television executives, and the fact that the episodes often left viewers hanging went against formula.

I was barely 13 when I saw the pilot episode, “Where Is Everybody?” It left me speechless and compelled me to watch the following 156 episodes (which aired from 1959 to 1964).

The fact that children were fascinated by the show caught television executives off-guard. As Zone producer Buck Houghton recalls, “The appeal to children was a complete surprise to us. We never thought of that. I don’t think CBS did, either; it was on at ten o’clock. We got a lot of nasty notes from ...

Loving Big Brother: The Future Is Now

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"He loved Big Brother."--George Orwell, 1984

1984 portrays a global society of total control in which people are not supposed to have thoughts that in any way disagree with the corporate state. There is no personal freedom. Snitches and surveillance cameras are everywhere. And people are subject to the Thought Police, who deal with anyone guilty of such thought crimes. The government, or "Party," is headed by Big Brother, who appears on posters everywhere with the words: "Big Brother is watching you."

George Orwell's story revolves around Winston Smith, a member of the Outer Party. When Winston meets and falls in love with Julia, they begin seeing each other secretly, thus embarking on an illegal relationship. They are eventually arrested by the Thought Police and placed into reprogramming.

Much of what Orwell envisioned in his futuristic society has now come to pass. Surveillance cameras are everywhere. The government, as w...

Bureaucracy and Power Plays: The Problems with Obama's Policy Czars

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency."--President Barack Obama in a 2009 memorandum to executive departments and agencies

With all the partisan bickering clogging up the airwaves lately and obscuring the more vital news of the day, it's difficult at times to differentiate between what's a legitimate concern and mere spin. However, if you can manage to get past the political punditry of Glenn Beck and other media noisemakers who have been sounding the alarm over the Obama administration's use of so-called policy czars, there is legitimate cause for concern.

During his nine months in office, Obama has appointed an AfPak czar, an AIDS czar, a car czar, a border czar, a climate czar, a cyber security czar, a green jobs czar, a pay czar, a drug czar, a health czar, a science czar and a war czar, and that's just to name a few of the approximately 32 czars in the Obama White House. And, most likely, there's more to c...

Celebrate the Constitution by Becoming an Activist

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

“I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state; up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better to have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake.”--Thomas Paine, 1776

Federal law mandates that all high schools, colleges and universities across the country that receive federal funds host educational events about the Constitution on Constitution Day, September 17. There will also be various festivities in Washington, DC, and in some communities across America celebrating the Constitution.

Yet we would do well to do more than pay lip service to the Constitution once a year. Formally adopted on September 17, 1787, it has long served as the bulwark of American freedom and as an example for struggling nations worldwide.

Unfortunately, the rights enshrined in the Constitution are under constant attack. In fact, the protections and limitations on government power which were...

The Horrors of Sexual Trafficking, American-Style

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Jaycee Lee Dugard's case is every parent's nightmare, a troubling reminder that the evils of this world are not confined to dark alleys in big cities. Behind Suburbia's illusion of safety lurks an often seedy and troubled reality. It is a world of sexual trafficking, where children are sold as sexual commodities.

Eleven-year-old Jaycee was hurrying to catch a school bus when she was snatched off the street by convicted rapist Phillip Garrido. For the next 18 years, Jaycee was held captive in Garrido's backyard in a nondescript neighborhood in Antioch, Calif. He allegedly fathered her two children.

But this type of tortured reality doesn't stop with Jaycee Lee Dugard. For example, Debbie, a straight-A student who belonged to a close-knit Air Force family living in Phoenix, Ariz., was 15 when she was snatched from her driveway by an acquaintance-friend. Forced into a car, Debbie was bound and taken to an unknown location, held at gunpoint and raped by multiple men. She...

The War on Kids

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"Education is under siege," states Dr. Henry Giroux, author of Stealing Innocence: Corporate Culture's War on Children. "It's under siege by the marketers. It's under siege by the corporations." Most of all, says Giroux, public education is under siege in the sense that it is no longer seen as fundamental to a democracy. Ironically, America's public schools were once considered the hope of freedom and democracy, the place where young people were to be instructed in the principles of freedom so that they could someday effectively participate in the democratic process. Sadly, that is no longer the case.

Instead, for the more than 49 million students who are attending elementary and secondary public schools this fall, their time in school will be marked by overreaching zero tolerance policies, heightened security and surveillance and a greater emphasis on conformity and behavior-controlling drugs--all either aimed at or resulting in the destruction of privacy and freedo...

It's Time to Stop Carrying Guns to Town Hall Meetings

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With each passing moment, the nation grows more polarized as Washington's partisan bickering becomes ever more combative. Nowhere is this more evident than with the health care debate. It has become a touchstone for discontent over the Obama administration's aggressive attempts to push through health care reform, the government's out-of-control spending, the loss of civil liberties and the fact that government leaders are not listening. Understandably, many Americans are very frustrated.

This frustration has spawned lively--and often angry--protests at town hall meetings across the country, marked by Americans wielding protest signs and demanding to be heard. According to the Associated Press, "Many of those raising their voices and fists at the [health care] town halls have never been politically active."

Although this is a healthy sign of democracy in action, critics have denounced the protesters for their disruptive behavior and likened them to angry mobs. However...

Does Life Have Meaning or Are We Merely Bobbleheads in Bubbleland?

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"Religion is a search for the truth about man's existence and his relationship with God and his fellow man, and once you stop searching and think you've got it made--at that point, you lose your religion."--Jimmy Carter

Is there a purpose to life? Is there a meaning to life? Are we all aimless beings, mere products of chance, here merely to consume, grind out a living and die? Or is there some bigger purpose behind the stage play we call life?

There are those who view us as mindless beings trapped in a spiritual void, cut off from both reality and the outside world, chasing fulfillment in "things"--consumer zombies imprisoned in a series of shopping malls. According to author and journalist Nicholas von Hoffman, Americans are "bobbleheads in Bubbleland....They shop in bubbled malls, they live in gated communities, and they move from place to place breathing their own, private air in bubble-mobiles known as SUVs."

But are we merely bobbleheads...

A Little Rebellion Now and Then Is a Good Thing

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical....It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."--Thomas Jefferson to James Madison (Jan. 30, 1787)

Here's a breaking news alert for all Americans: if you take part in protest rallies, voice your discontent through picket signs, or disrupt events with yelling or intermittent shouts, then you are likely a right-wing extremist or a member of an angry mob, and you must be silenced.

At least that's the chilling message coming from the Democratic National Committee. It's the same "you're either with us or against us" attitude that George W. Bush loved to trot out. This time, however, the bone of contention is health care and it's Democrats who are trying to drown out any opposition.

Responding to the increasingly vocal protests of Americans who are concerned about the Obama administration's plans to o...

Charles Manson's Race War: The Beatles and Helter Skelter

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Are you hep to what the Beatles are saying? Dig it, they are telling it like it is. They know what's happening in the city; blackie is getting ready. They put the revolution to music. It's "Helter Skelter." Helter-Skelter is coming down.--Charles Manson

Every generation has its maniacs--especially racist maniacs. Such was Charles Manson. Here's his story as it unfolded 40 years ago--one that is a lesson to us today. This is especially so in light of the rise of racism in America and violent acts that inevitably follow from it.

Drenched in blood, a dead body was slumped in a car on the driveway. Two bodies, looking like mannequins dipped in red paint, lay on the manicured lawn. As police officers entered the home, they noticed the word "PIG" painted on the door in blood. In the center of the living room, facing the fireplace, was a long couch. Draped over the back was a huge American flag. It was Saturday, August 9, 1969. (Ironically, the day before in...

Obama's Health Plan: We're Being Bamboozled

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"Obama promised Americans he would hold special interests at arm's length--that it would no longer be business as usual in Washington. He pledged to open government and let the public and press hold his administration accountable.... That didn't happen."--Sharon Theimer, Associated Press (July 21, 2009)

Critics who refer to President Obama's proposed public health plan as socialism have got it all wrong. The menace we face is not a result of the introduction of socialist ideals but the triumph of corporatism--that is, the corporate state wedded to the government. A Faustian bargain has been struck in which the devil is none other than Big Business--the nation's medical and pharmaceutical complex, a $2 trillion per year industry, and Americans' medical health needs are the bargaining chips.

Despite efforts by the Obama administration to keep this under wraps, it's no big secret. When you want to know what's really going on in Washington, you simply hav...

Barack, What Happened to All the Change You Promised?

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The unemployment rate in the U.S. now stands at 9.5% and soon will top 10%. And the number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes soared by nearly 15% in the first half of this year. This has caused some economists to question whether or not the country is headed toward another economic meltdown--a point of no return. However, watching the news coverage of Barack Obama’s adventures while in office, you might be forgiven for thinking there were no problems left to solve in terms of the economy.

“It’s getting to where you can’t turn on your TV without seeing Obama,” ranted political commentator Bill Maher in a recent piece in the Los Angeles Times. “[T]here’s a fine line between being transparent and being overexposed. Every time you turn on the TV, there’s Obama. He’s getting a puppy! He’s eating a cheeseburger with Joe Biden! He’s taking the wife to Broadway and Paris--this is the best season of ‘The Bachelor’ yet!”

Within his first six month...

A Grief Observed: Remembering Carol

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"I will turn to her as often as possible in gladness. I will even salute her with a laugh. The less I mourn her the nearer I seem to her. Admirable programme. Unfortunately it can't be carried out."--C.S. Lewis

When his wife Joy died in 1960, C.S. Lewis' life crumbled. "If my house has collapsed at one blow," the famous author and Christian apologist writes in the early pages of A Grief Observed (1961), "that is because it was a house of cards. The faith which 'took these things into account' was not faith but imagination."

From there, Lewis, in his remarkable book, questions the nature of the "good" God in which he once believed, coming to the conclusion that what we humans see as good is meaningless in the eyes of God. "If His ideas of good are so very different from ours," Lewis writes, "what He calls Heaven might well be what we should call Hell, and vice versa." Furthermore:

The terrible thing is that a perfectly good God is i...