(youtube link)

Rad Geek shared an incredible video on the vastness of space, and some comments on the civilization that lets us view it.

I cannot watch it without reflecting on how awesome life is.

The drive for more discovery, more life, and the hubris that enables it will take us to where gods were once the only ones permitted.

Concerns have been raised over the Obama administration soliciting reports of “fishy” information regarding health care proposals. The blog post that announced the program appears to have been amended, but it previously said:

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

Many critics called this a snitch line for the building of an enemies list. True, there is a sinister power motive behind every government action, but a deeper analysis is necessary.

The Obama administration has numerous means at its disposal to note enemies on more issues than health care. The flag@whitehouse.gov initiative is really a way to include more people in policymaking and give the White House a heads-up in responding to criticism.

Obama’s system of governance works through participatory tyranny. Individual desires for empowerment are taken in by the political system. Control over life is co-opted and activism is channeled into efforts that suit authority. This is by itself more dangerous than a restructuring of the corporate-state health care establishment. As I noted in The Strategy of Propaganda:

Let’s take a moment to think about what authoritarian movements offer people. Desires that people have are co-opted, influenced, and/or manufactured by those who want to be in charge. Leninism and Nazism promised followers a part in building a better future. This future was meant for those whom the leaders chose. To foster unity behind the leader, the act of joining the followers was presented to individuals as a method of empowerment and those who were not followers or who were designated as enemies were attacked. United States imperial expansion after September 11 worked in a similar manner. The overwhelming mass murder of people Americans identified with left many feeling vulnerable. The state promised security, and many individuals felt empowered by getting behind the state as they were now part of something that they thought did heroic deeds. Similarly, the Obama campaign profited from the sense of historical significance that it inspired in voters. By supporting the political ambitions of one black man, the voter was told that he would himself be sitting with Rosa Parks, marching with Martin Luther King, and putting his own hands into building a new tolerant and enlightened nation.

The above paragraph should certainly not be read as examples of what to do. Authoritarian ends are served by authoritarian means. They are examples of what we must undermine.

Brown Shirts and Red Guards operated on a similar principle of decentralized groups carrying out the wishes of the leader. Of course, Obama’s leadership kills far fewer people and his domestic supporters are less likely to take the violence that the state institutionalizes into their own hands.

The right wing of statism is catching up to the more modernized participatory tyranny of the democrats. Sure, their base buys guns with the intention of securing their faction’s control (they call it “freedom”), but I doubt the Republican leadership wants a shooting war that would lower their constituents’ property values. They have tried to channel frustration into right wing politics, and put activism where they can control it – witness the partisan control of many Tea Party rallies.

As politics becomes more overtly a media spectacle and mainstream media becomes more overtly a partisan hackfest, the political media uses a similar strategy to gain followers. It is all “us versus them” factionalism and you have to pick one of the sides they give you. Glenn Beck has surpassed even Bush and Giuliani in using mass murder as a marketing gimmick.

Government is based on the principle that some people have the right of authority over the lives of others – Death Panels, All the Way Down. And yes, we should prepare to build liberty in the worst of likely scenarios. But if we look for a death camp behind every blog post, we can easily be mislead.

The question remains: who will send volumes of Carson and Von Mises to White House lackeys?

In related news, Mike Gogulski posted a very quotable piece on health care today.

[cross posted at fr33agents.net]

darianworden.com

I wanted to use Overkill’s Bats In the Belfry for this week’s Metal Monday post, but this was the closest thing to a video I found.

(Youtube link)

New merch is in my store, The Department of Horrible Stuff. Buy or die.

I plan to add a mug and another shirt design next week.

The Win:

A well-written look at Bash Back in Details magazine? Yes. It’s a win. (H/T William)

The Fail:

A Facebook ad asks viewers to become cybernetic killing machines.

Here is a very old Iron Maiden video. The YouTube description says it’s from 1980 and that looks about right.

(YouTube link)

darianworden.com

I’ve been doing some research and planning for Trade War, my novel-in-progress. One of the downloads I had was a copy of Field Manual 3-24: Counterinsurgency. It is surprisingly readable. Though there are definitely sections that non-military people can skim through, FM 3-24 is certainly worth reading for anyone interested in 21st century politics. So I uploaded it to tradewarbook.com and you can read it by clicking the link above.

Other possible sources of information that I haven’t looked into yet are:
Mao Zedong On Protracted War
War and Social Guerrilla Struggle in Iraq
FM 7-8 Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad

The Win:
Bosco’s Alliance of the Libertarian Left Anthem. In this entirely factual and not-at-all sarcastic video, Comrade Bosco presents a moving tribute to our struggles without once rhyming anything with ALL. The song doesn’t actually say what ALL stands for either. That’s conspiratorial.

The Fail:
Detroit Checkpoint Charlie. While touring Detroit, the Motorhome Diaries Crew made a wrong turn. No big deal, right? Not according to the border guards of Canada and the United States. No U-Turn was allowed without a complete Authoritarian Figurative Cock Measurement Ritual. Even more fail-filled are the excuses presented for this behavior: “Did you know that 18 of the 19 9.11 terrorists had lived in the Detroit area?!” September 11 might be good for the security-industrial complex’s business, but the reality is that the government makes attacks on Americans more likely while making it harder for Americans to defend themselves.

At least a picture containing a dangerous amount of win came out of the situation.

Lightning? Check.
Explosions? Check.
Hoverships? Check.
Video Gaming? Check.
Barren Wasteland? Check.
All that’s missing from Dragonforce’s Operation Ground and Pound video are swords. Plus it’s not the full song.

(Youtube link)

darianworden.com