December 13, 2011

  • Year End Cynicism: It's a Gift

    With each passing year I seem to dislike Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's Day a little bit less. This year the cynicism is still there, as is the disappointment as the turn of the year rapidly approaches. It doesn't help that we are looking at another election year full of useless political rhetoric that will pollute the airwaves and tie up Internet bandwidth that could be used for more trivial pursuits. Face it, I am not a person who enjoys winter and has yet to find what he is looking for on too many levels.

    Nearly 30 years ago I was a student considering law enforcement as a career path, but by December of 1988 I decided to change my major. I got into journalism and eventually finished that degree. I grew up on police shows like "Dragnet" and "Adam-12." Later on I was hooked on "Hill Street Blues" and "Homicide: Life in the Streets." I didn't like "NYPD Blue." It was lacking something. I also read non-fiction books focusing on what it meant to be a police officer. One lesson I learned early on was "people lie."

    Last week I followed up on an Internet rumor concerning the militarization of the American law enforcement. The Dept. of Defense has been arming the civilian police departments with M-16 rifles, grenade launchers, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, among other things. In the "other things" department we can add to the list Predator drones. Remotely piloted vehicles are now used by some of the larger cities in the US to monitor everything you can think of, from major traffic routes to the cows on your neighbor's farm. A story out of North Dakota is about how a family was arrested following the theft of six cows from a neighbor's farm during a standoff with police. A Predator used for surveillance detected the theft.

    The Intel Hub reported that in 2010 the DoD gave $212 million worth of equipment to civilian law enforcement. This year the amount was estimated at $500 million. Next year it is believed that $2 billion will be given away. Next year is an election year. Obama should be asking "should I stay or should I go." Meanwhile, Ron Paul is the only candidate who seems to have the heart of the People. Until then we are watching to see what happens with Senate bill 1867, which will make the continental US a battlefield and give the military authority to detain without charges or a trial any American citizen for an indefinite period of time. It also affects the Uniform Code of Military Justice concerning sex with animals, which has animal rights activists wondering what is going on.

    For a season that was once known for "Peace on Earth, Good Will to all Mankind," things certainly have changed. How generous of the DoD to give the gifts that keep on giving to local police departments who face challenges of peaceful protests and the resulting violence that comes out of it when they attempt to break it up. Will civil unrest continue on next year? I say "YES." Will it be as bad in the US as it has been for Iceland, Greece, Spain and other countries that are still experiencing political corruption at its finest? I say "PROBABLY."

    I don't see much good coming out of 2012. I think that the Republicans will throw another election, just like they did with John McCain and Sara Palin. Obama, who does not deserve another four years in the White House, should be sent on permanent vacation to a country where people like him can happily coexist. I think he would be at home hanging out with Bobby Mugabe of Zimbabwe. They seem to be political birds of a feather. What they have done to their countries are somewhat comparable. It took Mugabe longer to do his damage than it did for Obama to do his.

    Unfortunately, Obama will not be vetted to see if he is constitutionally qualified to run for president, just like he wasn't vetted four years ago. And his political record will be "modified" to make him smell like a sixty-day air freshener to the voters who can't handle the losing scent of the candidates the Republicans finally anoint to be their Messiah. In the meantime, those of us who love a good mystery will just have to sit back and wait to see what Sheriff Joe turns up in his investigation into the forged documents that came out earlier this year claiming Obama was born in Hawaii. At least one thing will prove to be interesting in February. Let's see if the investigators live to tell about it.