George Orwell: the Greatest Political & Social Prophet of All Time

Following are just a few bits of evidence supporting the assertion in the title above.  This all applies throughout the Western World, but especially in the Land I love, the USA.

1.  The word "war" no longer means war.  Instead, it means "leading the world", or "fighting terrorism", or "protecting our allies", or "spreading democracy", etc.  More importantly, war now can be waged at the sole discretion of the Executive Branch in the USA...a direct violation of the Supreme Law of the Land.  They say it's not war.  That's very Orwellian...any time our Gov't bombs another country, anyone with any common sense at all knows that's an act of war.  Congressional approval is no longer sought.  The concept of Unitary Executive Power reigns supreme in our Orwellian Gov't; it has for years & years.  As in Orwell's novel, 1984, the meanings of key words are being manipulated/changed by the highest levels of our Gov't and by other Elites.

Very recently, our President gave an anti-terrorism speech to the Sunni rulers of Saudi Arabia.  The extremist Sunni Sect of Wahhabism (adhered to by ISIS & Al Qaeda), which is spread around the world by "True Believers", is Saudi State-sponsored.  Trump then announced billions of dollars in military hardware sales to the Saudis...pretty much on the heels of Obama's similar action when he was President.  Then The Don joined in some kind of silly, celebratory "sword dance" (or something).  All of this is Orwellian to the max.  On top of that, our military is helping the Saudis (logistics, targeting, & equipment) in their devastating war in Yemen.  The Saudis are bombing schools, hospitals, public water facilities, and civilians in general.  The country is on the verge of famine, cholera is spreading, and hundreds upon hundreds of children have been killed by bombs.  This is a Sunni-Shia war; it has little or nothing to do with terrorism, that is to say, the type of terrorism Trump claims to be fighting.

2.  For some time now in the USA, due to CIVIL Asset Forfeiture, a person's property (perhaps certain tools, or a "large" amount of cash, and other things) can be seized by the Authorities without any warrant or arrest just because the items seem SUSPICIOUS.  Law Enforcement people will say, yes, but if everything turns out to be innocent, then you can get your property back.  Try that sometime.  See how much time, effort, and money it takes.  Sometimes the property is auctioned off before your months-long quest to retrieve it is completed.  Often you are stalled in your efforts into infinity, and nothing ever gets resolved.  Local and regional governments are so strapped for income that they resort to exorbitant fines, asset forfeiture, and outrageous fees in order simply to survive.  That's primarily because their manufacturing tax base has moved out of the country.  Local governments often are just as dictatorial as the Fed Gov't sometimes is; that's especially true of County governments.  1984.

3.  Presumption of Innocence until proven guilty, especially in the international arena, is pretty much dead.  One example:  the gassing of civilians in Syria.  It has not been proven that Assad was responsible.  Some people simply assumed it because, by most accounts, the guy is a brutal dictator.  Trump then fires missiles, attacks a sovereign country...an act of war...without any Congressional approval.  By the way, about half the missiles missed the airbase, and the other half hit nothing of critical importance.  Most planes were not hit, the runway was undamaged, and planes flew out of there the very next day.  Nevertheless, none of it should have happened; it was all illegal.  Plus, where's the proof that Assad was the culprit in the gas attack?  The Unitary Executive concept rules.  That's totalitarian absolutism.  Just because it was exercised against a supposedly bad apple does not excuse it.  The President is not above the Law, regardless of what the elite government lawyers claim.

4.  On the domestic front, due process has been disappearing for years.  Without any proper warrant, our private data can be mined, our property sometimes can be seized, and we can be spied upon at will by the Fed Gov't.  Americans don't seem to understand that it isn't only the suspicious people who are being spied upon by the Feds...it's everyone.  Orwellian.  To top it off, high officials such as James Clapper are allowed to lie while testifying before Congress about this spying...with no penalty.  Lying while testifying before Congress is a felony.  Where is the Rule of Law?

In addition, too many people (suspects) are being shot in the back, TASED & then shot, handcuffed & then TASED repeatedly, forced to die of thirst while being held in jail, beaten to a pulp after surrendering, repeatedly harassed for exposing wrongdoing by authorities, arrested on bogus charges which the authorities know will be dismissed, etc., ad nauseam & ad infinitum.  Orwellian.
.......................................................................
If we are to have any chance of overcoming all this, then it seems to me we should consider doing the following.
1.  Start with the premise that most Elites (public & private) are not working in favor of Main Street.
2.  Stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid coming from the Elites on the political Right and Left.
3.  Shun the disastrous, dictatorial, so-called Two-Party political system in the USA.  It's a sham.
4.  Shun Corporatism whenever possible.
5.  Understand that effective Propaganda always has some elements of truth in it.  That doesn't mean any conclusions put forth are accurate or logical.
6.  Think critically.  Don't be gullible, and beware of great-sounding catch phrases.
7.  Hold all politicians not only to the Rule of Law, but to high ethical standards as well.
8.  Speak out.  Be a whistleblower.  Governments are not above the Law...except in an Orwellian world.
9.  Abraham Lincoln once said, "Factions destroy republics.".  Instead of Red or Blue, consider Purple.  Be an Independent.
10.  Boycott.
....................................................................
Not only my opinion.  Be Well

At Last, Obama is Being Sued by an Army Officer

Captain Nathan Michael Smith, an Army Intelligence Officer stationed in Kuwait, is suing the President for violating the War Powers Act and the U.S. Constitution in relation to the Iraq-Syria ISIS War.  It's about time someone did...kudos to Captain Smith.

Months ago, the New York Times Editorial Board came to the same conclusion:  that war is illegal; Obama does not have Congressional Authorization to prosecute the war.  No one seemed to care.  It took Captain Smith, who believes the war needs to be fought, to bring the issue once again to the forefront.  He, like all significant public servants, took an oath to "preserve, protect, & defend" the Constitution.  He stated that his conscience bothered him when he realized that the ISIS War is not legal.  He's correct...it's not.  Any 12th-grader of average intelligence who has read the Constitution from stem to stern knows that.  Anyone with an ounce of common sense and a cursory knowledge of the 1973 War Powers Act knows, despite what Obama claims, that the Authorization from the Dubya Bush 2003 Iraq War cannot be used to fight the current ISIS War.  ISIS had nothing whatsoever to do with the 9-11 attacks and it didn't even exist in 2003.

I don't expect Captain Smith's lawsuit to gain any traction at all for the following reasons---

1.  War is BIG Business...and a great distraction from our crashing economy.
2.  The Powers-That-Be don't appear to give a damn about the Constitution; they seem to view it as an anachronism.
3.  Our Judicial System seems to be corrupt a good deal of the time.
4.  Oligarchs usually get what they want...and they usually want war.
5.  Very few in Gov't dare to challenge the ongoing expansion of Executive Branch Power.  The Executive already has Power today approaching that of a Monarch or dictator.
6.  Edward Bernays style Propaganda seems to have convinced most of our citizens that ISIS is a grave threat to the USA.  It isn't.  Very few people in-the-know, such as retired Colonel and Boston University Professor Emeritus Andrew Bacevich, have stated--- as has Colonel Bacevich ---that ISIS is not any significant threat to our country.  People believe the Propaganda to the contrary, and thus the legality of that war seems to be unimportant.

The Rule of Law in this country is on a downhill slide at the speed of light...and not just regarding the Constitution.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Extraordinary Rendition (ER)

This makes one wonder: how does ER compare to ordinary rendition? Not that it matters much.

I just finished watching the DVD movie, "Rendition"---well acted, well directed, thought-provoking, and a nice little twist to it. Of course, it was Hollywood fiction; however, there was a very interesting documentary in the "Special Features" section. The documentary detailed the cases of two Muslims, one a British citizen and one a German citizen. Devastating stories---both were kidnapped, flown to several overseas prisons (one after the other), and tortured---both physically and mentally. The German was finally released (after many months) in the middle of nowhere, in the dark of night, on foot. After about eighteen months, the Brit was sent to Gitmo where he still has not had a trial.

The longer fictional movie and the short documentary caused me to wonder what has happened to the ethics of ordinary citizens in all countries and the rule of law in general in this country... that we ordinary people allow our governments to kidnap and torture people (whether guilty or not) with barely a peep of protest.

ER is the forceful kidnapping and torture of SUSPECTS, without any regard to the rule of law. One can claim, and many do, that it is necessary for various reasons...and that it saves lives. In other words, a good end justifies the most foul means. That should never be the case, because if we make it so, then the rule of law is meaningless AND there is no end to the use of foul means. A truly civilized society would no longer exist.

Apparently we citizens of the U.S. allow the CIA to conduct ER for one (or more) of the following reasons:
1. we think it is necessary [thus implicitly agreeing that a good end justifies foul means, and that the rule of law sometimes needs to be set aside];
2. we think the victims of ER are guilty...of something...and so kidnapping and torture are justified [never mind that the victims have not been proven guilty in a court of law];
3. it isn't us being kidnapped, so we let it slide [and we cling to the belief that it could never happen to us...unless, of course, a genuine terrorist MISDIALS our phone number...or we know someone who knows someone else who knows still someone else who is a suspect];
4. we believe that there is little or nothing we can do to stop the practice [apparently disregarding the cases where massive protests and boycotts have in fact changed government policy].
5. [there is some other reason of which I am unaware].

Have we lost our minds? This country once stood foursquare against things that we (or more accurately, members of our govt) now do with little or no regret. If we do not have the rule of law, due process, and the guarantee of our day in court, then we truly have very little.

ER is an outrageous affront to a free society. We should be protesting en masse in the streets in every major city in the country. We should be on general strike...we should be shutting down the Fed Govt through boycotts. We should be standing up for the rule of law.

Instead, we let it pass. After all, we have jobs, families, lives to live. Sure, some of us send protest emails, or write letters to the editor, etc. That'll get 'em to stop. Or, we just don't care---it's not important to US as individuals.

[I think I know how McCain & Clinton feel about ER. I wonder how Obama feels about it?]

I find all this incredible. "God" help our children and grandchildren.

Just my opinion.