We have a wide range of stories to discuss this week; see Program Notes, below, for all the stories, etc., we plan to discuss.
Join in live at our new time, either by phone or in the chatroom!
The show can be accessed here.
To access the show’s page at BlogTalk Radio, which will allow you to check out a past episode or to subscribe via iTunes and other services, use this link.
To access the iTunes store page for “Don’t Let It Go…Unheard,” where you can find past episodes, subscribe, and leave ratings and reviews (pretty please!), use this link.
Finally, if you would like to support the podcast financially, please donate using your Pay Pal account or Credit Card here.
Program Notes
Friday won in last week’s poll
Cease-fire collapses between Israel, Hamas; Israeli soldier captured
Why I unfollowed Glenn Greenwald:
Of all the barbarism seen in Gaza the last month, isn't capturing an enemy soldier from an invading/occupying army lowest on the list?
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 1, 2014
This time, Gaza fighting is ‘proxy war’ for entire Mideast
U.N. Condemns Israel’s Latest War Crime: Not Sharing Iron Dome with Hamas HT Bosch Fawstin
Jackie Mason Goes Off on Anti-Israel Celebrities
To YB: Why are so many Libertarians anti-Israel?
Response to a photo I shared on FB re: Hamas and Israel
Emails reveal IRS colluded with State Department to target pro-Israel groups HT Rodger Howard
China confirms new generation long range missiles: report
Russian deputy PM mocks Obama by tweeting ‘unmanly’ photo of president
In words spoken hours before 9-11, hear Bill Clinton say why he could have, but didn’t, kill bin Laden HT Bosch Fawstin
Obama blames House GOP for congressional dysfunction
U.S. Ebola Patients Will Fly Into Georgia Air Force Base
Let Patients Decide How Much Risk They’ll Take HT Cary Gossett
Police: Do not call us if Facebook is down
Americans Demand New Form Of Media To Bridge Entertainment Gap While Looking From Laptop To Phone HT Bosch Fawstin
DNC Chair Makes Painful Admission About Obama’s Work Ethic HT: Rob Abiera
EFF asks court to find NSA internet spying a violation of Fourth Amendment HT Rob Abiera
How original sin led to a western obsession with self-help HT Rob Abiera
Regarding the story about someone calling the police when Facebook was down, I’ve seen similar stories in the past. In fact, I’ve seen enough to regard this as a (disturbing) pattern. In the cases I have seen, what happens is someone gets frustrated or feels slighted, and reaches out to the police to resolve the problem even though, like the Facebook example, there is no emergency, nor are they under attack, etc.
I think it is a by-product of the increasingly authoritarian welfare state: again and again, when some group has a grievance of some kind (e.g. not getting “their share” of available jobs, not earning enough money, being alleged victims of some type of discrimination), the government steps in to “resolve” the grievance by means of the initiation of force (e.g. establishing quotas, increasing welfare handouts, nationalizing healthcare). This is a long established and pervasive pattern. So, it is not too surprising to see that some people — and we’re not talking about towering intellects here — have taken from that the lesson that if they feel slighted or frustrated, the thing to do is to get the authorities involved. Specifically, the police, who are armed and authorized by government to use force. Why not, if the government is here to take care of them? It is disturbingly reminiscent of a bratty child crying angrily to his parents that his sibling won’t share her toys with him.
Also, there is the fundamental fact that when reason is abandoned, force is the only other means by which men can deal with one another in cases of disagreement. So if a mother is angry because Burger King messes up her kids’ order, and the employees don’t address the situation in the way she wants, it’s time to bring in the guns. But she doesn’t want to go to jail so instead of becoming violent herself, she reaches out for an armed proxy, the police.
Here are some examples:
Yes, I remember hearing about these kinds of stories. I wonder if cases like this are really on the rise, or it’s just easier to hear about them because of the internet and social media. That would be an interesting dissertation idea for someone doing, say, a PhD in psychology or sociology.
Justin Amash trounces the establishment.
Wait, is that Craig, posting positive political news about the United States? 😉
I thought about adding this comment below it: “This almost gives me hope.”
Dinesh D’Souza
Obama Wants to Reduce America’s Influence Globally