Via Gary Johnson Grassroots Forums:

by Alex Fidel

Jason Becker had a concert at Slim’s in San Francisco to remind the world that he’s not dead yet!

Jason Becker’s story starts out when he first picked up the guitar as a little kid. He would play Bob Dylan tunes, then Jeff Beck, and right around the age of 16, Paganini. This landed him a deal with Shrapnel Records, the famous shred guitar label, which was a partnership with Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) in a band they called Cacophony. Their first record, Speed Metal Symphony, was a neo-classical progressive metal breakthrough, and was released when Jason was 17. Soon after, Becker and Friedman recorded two separate solo albums, Perpetual Burn and Dragon’s Kiss (respectively). They did guest appearances on each others works, and then recorded a second Cacophony album, Go Off! They toured, and Cacophony disbanded. Marty Friedman went off to join Megadeth, and Becker joined David Lee Roth. Unfortunately, this was right around the time Jason started to feel a limp in his leg. He got it checked out during the first week of DLR rehearsals. The biopsy revealed that Jason had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis- ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He would soon lose the movement of his entire body. He did manage to finish recording on David Lee Roth’s A Lil Ain’t Enough record, which went gold. Jason was not able to tour, so he went back to writing and recording mode.

He began to lose the movement in his legs, and was confined to a wheelchair. He played, recorded, and composed what he could on guitar until he couldn’t even lift it with his hands anymore. He then switched to a keyboard. When he lost use of both of his hands, he used the movement in his head to compose the rest. His friend and producer Mike Bemesderfer set up a motion sensor visor, in which Jason would move his head to move a mouse on the computer, and use his jaw to click. He did that until he finished composing the remainder of his album Perspective.

After that, doctors had told Jason he had 3 years to live. Three years later, Jason was still going strong. He could no longer move any part of his body, and had to have a breathing tube installed. His dad came up with a form of communication, an eye-geometry system for Jason to communicate with his eyes. There are two eye movements- one for a box, and one for a letter in each of the various boxes (VIDEO).

He soon began composing again, only this time he had to communicate his ideas directly using this eye communication method to a translator. This ended up being three tracks on his latest release, Collection, in which Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Steve Hunter, and Marty Friedman, to name a few, played what Jason had composed, which were “River of Longing”, “River of Longing (Reprise)”, and “Electric Prayer For Peace”.

It was soon announced that Jason would be planning an event in San Francisco with some guitar giants, and that some filmmakers were starting to plan a documentary about Jason. This turned into Jason Becker’s Not Dead Yet Festival at Slim’s and Perpetual Burn: The Story of Jason Becker.

I got into SF right before 5PM, as that’s when the limited access meet & greet was supposed to start. As I was driving past Slim’s, there was Jason going along the sidewalk into the front entrance. That was unreal! I almost swerved into oncoming traffic, but I soon went looking for parking. I wasn’t the best driver in the Costco parking lot either, I was so excited. I then ran like hell, but we weren’t let in until 5:30. In the meantime, I got to say hi to Mike Varney (owner of Shrapnel Records) as he was helping Jason’s father park the handicap van in front. You want to talk about an awesome dude, Gary Becker is right there in the dictionary definition of ‘awesome dude.’ Then Dave Lopez (of the band Flipsyde) directed us to the back entrance, where we’d get a chance to talk to Jason and take a picture with him in a whole professional studio setup.

As soon as I got to the front of the line, a huge grin burst out across my face. I get to meet my all-time hero. I got to have a heart-to-heart moment with Jason, and someone from his family translated for me. I then took a picture and was off on my way. I got a free special edition Jason Becker tin filled with JB guitar picks, when all of a sudden Marty Friedman pops in. I had a feeling he was going to come, but it was unannounced. Either way, I didn’t know what he was going to be doing there.

I had to leave the club because they were setting up. I was waiting in line for will call, when I noticed this figure standing in front of me. He had long hair, was pretty hefty, and had a distinguishable goatee that continued down his neck. I thought this figure was Gene Hoglan, drummer from Death (Individual Thought Patterns and Symbolic)!  But he was wearing this Charlie Chaplin-esque Fedorah hat, and a black suit jacket. Not the type of threads you’d consider a metal legend to wear. He walked down the street and disappeared.

In line, the people from the Jason Becker documentary started to film people in line, and I got to say a few words for Jason, and I hope they were profound enough to be movie-worthy. I signed my release form, and the will call line opened, and I got my ticket. I was in the entrance line, when Jason Becker’s girlfriend walked by. She’s a super-gorgeous sex therapist, to give you an idea. Anyway, she says “nice sweatshirt,” since I was wearing my JB sweatshirt. A small event, but that definitely fit with the flow of the night, encountering all these great people from Jason’s life.

The line starts moving finally, and I look forward to not freezing my ass off and enjoying the show.

The first band to come on is a Van Halen tribute band called Hot For Teacher. The drummer looks braindead, and the singer is all fat, but somehow they put on an excellent show. I’m not much of an EVH fan, but I had a blast. I sang along to “Panama”, to give you an idea of how fun these guys were. The guitarist was using one of Jason’s guitars- the Peavey whose design was used in the new Jason Becker signature guitar made by Paradise Guitars. They closed the set with a cover of one of the David Lee Roth songs that Jason wrote, called “It’s Showtime!”

The second band to come on was called Flametal. The name comes from what they sound like- flamenco metal. They put on a killer performance. The first song they did, the drummer played on a box percussion instrument, and two beautiful flamenco dancers in nothing but flamenco skirts and flameno tops came out and gave a whole new dimension to the songs. Among their songs was an actual classic flamenco piece which originated in Spain.

Thought my Gene Hoglan anecdote was random? Think again! The next band to come up was Kehoe Nation, a sort of biker-type chicken-pickin’ country/hard rock band with the smallest hint of psychobilly with none other than Gene Hoglan of Death on drums. I was floored! I was standing two feet from him, and I didn’t even inquire to see if he was Gene Hoglan himself! They were a pretty energetic band and were really fun to watch. During a short period of silence, I yelled out “Rest in peace Chuck!” and Gene tipped his hat in recognition.

Jeff Watson played, and then Michael Lee Firkins took the stage. He’s a bit more blues oriented, but he played on Becker’s “End of the Beginning” tune since by then Jason couldn’t play guitar and could only compose what he had written prior to his illness (there are various demo recordings of Jason playing many of those licks himself when he was able to play). Firkins played two Hendrix tunes, “Purple Haze” and “Voodoo Child”. He played “Voodoo Child” almost entirely with a slide guitar tool (not an actual slide guitar, but the accessory you put on your finger), which gave it a very different feel and was a completely unique approach to Henrdix’s classic.

Greg Howe took the stage with his more straight-ahead rock style. The guy can shred, no doubt about it. His demeanor was very humble, which added a down-to-earth vibe to his tunes. He played one of his early songs as a tribute to Becker, since they all started out around the same time period.

Richie Kotzen had a brand of laid back rock with a pinch of Alice in Chains, and of course in a shred guitar manner. He did not use a pick, which was quite unique in a line-up of lightning fast players, although he did play quite fast.

Steve Lukather played a very beautiful song, which was sort of Vai-esque in that it was melodic soloing with a lot of feeling. It made me a bit drowsy, since it was getting late, but I enjoyed his skill and feel on the guitar nonetheless.

At this point, I do not know who was going to come on, since Marty Friedman showed up earlier, and I didn’t know what he was going to do there. Well, we were waiting for a while and then we hear the MC introduce Marty Friedman. He comes out, and gives a heartfelt speech for Jason, and then plays a beautiful solo with a pre-recorded background track. It was short, but very sweet. Marty Friedman is definitely a true talent.

It was about time for the Satchsquatch to come out and boogie for us. Joe Satriani tore up the stage, with his energetic stage presence, and his signature shaved head/sunglasses look. Him and Marty Friedman definitely gave me a second wind of energy, and to top it off, blues/rock guitar legend Steve Hunter came out and joined Satch for a few songs and guitar duels, which were all jawdroppingly amazing.

They then closed and the room cleared, and Jason was still there in the crowd meeting fans. I got a chance to talk to his father, Gary, and take another photo with Jason, this time taken by his mom, Pat (Jason blinked in this one, but it’s OK).

This concert left me with a whole new perspective on life, and I’m glad everyone supported Jason in the way they did. The show was completely sold out, and all proceeds from the show and the merch go towards Jason’s medical funds as well as a trust fund for his future medical security. You could see how excited Jason was by the look in his eyes, and by the small facial expressions he is still able to make.

If this story moves you, please donate to Jason through PayPal at pat.becker@intres.com or click here. You can also donate to ALS TDI. Visit Jason Becker’s official site, and be sure to purchase his albums!

by Alex Fidel

“We should drug test every high school student.”

-Dick Morris

I may just be restating what Peter said, but I don’t think Dick Morris would support such a policy if he knew the real implications of it. Would he really support police pointing their guns at teenagers, forcing them to piss in a cup for a drug test as a condition of existing as a citizen in America? I’m sure he doesn’t think in those terms, since it is libertarians’ jargon that laws rest on the idea that if you break them, somewhere down the line a cop will be pointing a gun to your face, if you resist arrest enough.
…Which gets me to thinking if such a law were to be imposed, what happens if they resist drug testing? Are we going to arrest them? Shoot them? Kick them out of school even though they are forced to pay for it through taxes? What about the innocent kids who don’t do drugs, are we going to violate their privacy and dignity, and turn America into a country where everyone is guilty until proven innocent? All socialist countries have the guilty before proven innocent legal framework, Mr. Morris. So if you truly want to repeal Obama’s socialism (as the title of your book suggests), don’t be so quick to unknowingly replace it with a different form of socialism, even though your intentions disregard that. I don’t think he would actually support such a brutal police state, but such a policy that he advocates may have such unintended consequences. All the sort of rhetorical questions I ask above simply address the notion that government is force. I don’t think Dick Morris thinks in those terms, since that notion is typically libertarian jargon, so if he were to read this, I would hope my rhetorical questions would get him to think about the issue.

by Alex Fidel

First I forget to post about Freethought Radio coming back, then I forget to mention that I have a band… and I thought I was a champion of shameless self-promotion.

Anyway, I do what ever small amount I can to shift the entertainment biz away from economic indiscipline through my music. My band is called Obsequy (pronounced ob-si-kwee, meaning funeral …in English), and we are a jazz/fusion-influenced progressive metal band. And yes, my lyrics often concern the ideas of liberty and common sense and the follies of statism and groupthink. Now, I don’t consider my band as a vessel for evil capitalist propaganda, since I put the music first and lyrics second. I write the songs before I put lyrics to it, and I’m a pretty big fan of complex show-off type music, so I spend a lot of time coming up with complex riffs and solos before I even title the song.

The first EP we put out is called Thoughtcrime, and is out on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon MP3, etc. A few of the songs have nothing to do with liberty, but those that do have some great one liners, such as “the blind follow the false messiah / that preaches hope and change,” referring to “The Messiah” Obama.

As of right now, I’m writing a concept album called Reason, which is based on Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand. The music part still comes first, I have just decided in advance what the lyrical material will consist of. Most of the songs will deal with reason and metaphysics and all the really trippy stuff, but there should be a few long songs with clear, concise arguments for liberty.

This does have an effect. At two different shows, we played one of the new songs from what will become Reason, and both times people came up to me after the show saying they liked the ideas of an Ayn Rand concept album, in fact, one guy bought Thoughtcrime specifically to support supporters of Ayn Rand (my tip to Barstools readers who are musicians: make at least one Ayn Rand song and make sure your audience knows it’s an Ayn Rand song).

I will keep you all updated on the status of Reason. I’m planning on demoing all the songs before we make any recording plans, so follow us on Facebook, where we post all of our music.

by Alex Fidel

Here is Frank Zappa’s Senate hearing regarding censorship of music in the 1980’s:

The Senator’s phrase “voluntary policing” almost makes me want to puke, and that the free enterprise system should make the artists “clean up their act.” “That’s hardly voluntary,” responds Zappa.

Watch all the parts, you’ll even hear from Al Gore! At the end, a female Senator tries to vilify Frank for making a profit off of his music.

by Alex Fidel

A little late, as you might have missed the first episode, which was yesterday.

Anyways, my radio show Freethought Radio is back, at a new time of Wednesdays at 8PM-10PM PST, only on www.ksunradio.com

As always, we have the Dueling Barstools On-Air segment, where the publician-in-chief himself, El Dueling Barstool calls in and we discuss the issues of the day.

The special guest schedule is as follows:

Feb 23- Jimmy McMillan of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party
Mar 2- Tim Aymar, singer of Control Denied (last brainchild of the late Chuck Schuldiner) and Pharoah
Mar 9- Ken Schoolland, author of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey
Mar 16- Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pac/Ron Paul’s 2008 campaign economic advisor
Mar 23- Gary Johnson, former NM Gov and badass truth-teller

Working on getting Howard Kaylan (aka Eddie of Flo & Eddie), who is the vocalist for The Turtles, and was the vocalist for Flo & Eddie as well as Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention. Unfortunately Mark Volman (aka Flo of Flo & Eddie) didn’t want to, my guess is media shyness because they are still together performing with the Turtles. They were in The Mothers from 1970-72, starting out in 200 Motels all the way up till Chunga’s Revenge, The Fillmore East June 1971, and Just Another Band From L.A. before Zappa had his stage injury and they took a long hiatus and it would just be Frank Zappa, no Mothers.

Anyways, tune in to my show every Wednesday at 8PM PST!

by Alex Fidel

Jimmy McMillan at the New York Governor's race debate, 2010

The very vocal and eccentric founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, Jimmy McMillan, joins KSUN’s own Freethought Radio this Wednesday, Feb. 23rd at 8PM PST.

Now to my surprise, he did not advocate rent controls. Usually people with little knowledge of economics with throw in the idea of rent/price controls, without knowing the unintended consequences of such policies. Maybe Jimmy is just ideologically all over the place. But let me explain as to why the rent is too damn high (fuck yes, that rhymes!).

I’m self-educated on economics. My mentors (who are probably dead) are Frederic Bastiat, Henry Hazlitt, F.A. Hayek, and Milton Friedman. Naturally, I think the crop of SSU economics professors are sub par, but then again, I can’t think of a single college besides George Mason University that aren’t shills for John Maynard Keynes.

Rent prices are meant to show the most productive use of that land, whether it be residential, commercial office space, or torn down to make a farm. Prices are there to make the risk of investment worthwhile. No one is going to invest in real estate if they aren’t going to get a return, although this principle was overturned thanks to Congress, Fannie, Freddie, and the Federal Reserve completely absolving all risk in the real estate market through regulations, diminishing lending standards, and artificially low interest rates, causing the housing bubble that precipitated in the 2008 recession (more on why the housing bubble was caused by the unintended consequences of government policy in our interview with Peter Schiff on March 16th).

The consequences of artificially lowering the price of rent leads to added fees, such as the ability to charge for use of the key, to various other regulate-and-evade cat and mouse games. The lack of financial reward to the landlords’ risk/investment leads to taking away the incentive to provide for basic upkeep; they therefore choose the renter who would accept the most meager accommodations.

There is a sad, yet tragically ironic, quiz put forth by some professor (someone who writes for the Mises Institute) as to whether his students could tell whether a picture of an apartment complex has either been bombed or subjected to rent controls. The similarity is stunning. That leads to the question, which is worse for a country- war, or the bad consequences of good intentions?

As we see in all areas of commerce with little government “help,” competition improves quality and lowers price. As small-businessman and former NM Governor Gary Johnson puts it- ‘best product, best service, lowest price.’

What people often don’t realize is that regulations are often supported by big businesses- they can bare the costs of meeting these requirements, while their competitors, both big & small, cannot. This ends up placing a huge burden on small businesses.

My mom once helped rebuild a burnt down building in exchange for a reserved apartment, where the rent was very low. Today, you would have to do a ton of meaningless paperwork and probably have to pay a fee to some government agency. These have very little effect on the quality of apartments; it only scares away entrepreneurs, causing shortages and raising prices.

A very prominent member of Congress (House or Senate I’m not sure) Jim McGovern left his position to go home and start an inn. However, the cost of meeting fire safety regulation requirements (which he argued had little to no effect on real fire safety, but were just lobbied to be passed by established businesses to keep out people like him) caused him to close up shop. He then returned to the Congress, and warned his fellow liberals about the dangers of over-regulation. While they have the best of intentions, their lack of economic knowledge and obligation to their special interest buddies have many perverse consequences.

The answer is not to get rid of lobbying so that regulations are “pure” and without steering from established businesses/labor unions, because the problem still lies in the absence of economics 101 in the minds of politicians. The answer is to get rid of regulations so that big business/labor never get a chance to get their hands on the direction of regulations in the first place. “Evil” Wal-Mart was in favor of ObamaCare, and now they’re trying to please the Obama administration with their selling of healthier foods as a quid pro-quo for not coming after their non-unionized labor practices. That’s not capitalism. Big businesses would not have to rely on their political connections and subsidies, but rather if they provide the “best product, best service, at the lowest price.” Anyone can emerge from there. Even today, with our heavily regulated, small-business crushing economic environment, boutique shops in all industries can survive, but unfortunately, as Bastiat’s principle of the unseen states, we cannot see all the businesses that haven’t formed because the regulatory framework is so burdensome, it is an ultimate protection of big businesses.

So, if you don’t like big business, support free markets. Now I’m not sure if Jimmy “Rent” McMillan would like to hear that or not… no, really. I don’t know where he stands, because he’s so out there, that he’s not very consistent and is a really tough character to talk to because he blathers on about nothing. But once you’re done, and you listen back to the conversation, it is definitely entertaining to listen to. Tune in this Wendesday at 8PM PST at www.ksunradio.com to hear the man himself. If only someone would tell him that the rent is too damn high because the government is too damn big… I tried, but he just keeps talking and talking and talking and talking…

by Alex Fidel

Frank Zappa has been the subject of government force for more than one occasion. In the 60’s, he was prosecuted by the San Fernando Valley police for producing a “pornographic” audio recording. In the 80’s he was brought to a Senate hearing by the unelected “Washington Wives,” namely Tipper Gore. They wanted to tax offensive music, force businesses to hide offensive music under the counter (similar to modern cigarette legislation), among other Soviet-style draconian free speech/commerce violations. You can find those hearings on YouTube, and a very creative track made out of the hearings by Frank Zappa himself, called “Porn Wars”, off of his album Meets the Mothers of Prevention, where he turns the politicians’ voices into pigs (rightly so).

Anyways, here’s a top 10 list of my favorite Zappa albums for all you DB readers to check out:

1. Just Another Band From L.A.

2. Studio Tan

3. Apostrophe (‘)

4. Weasels Ripped My Flesh

5. Hot Rats

6. Waka/Jawaka

7. The Man From Utopia

8. Sheik Yerbouti

9. Zappa in New York

10. Freak Out!

He has two movies, 200 Motels and Baby Snakes, which are the weirdest things I’ve ever seen. 200 Motels is has a very drug-induced feel to it. Baby Snakes has some very weird claymation, so I would refrain from viewing whilst under the influence.

Did I mention that Frank Zappa never did drugs?

by Alex Fidel

Gary Johnson placed 3rd in the CPAC 2011 straw poll. That may seem like the short end of the stick, but think of the little recognition Johnson got, and how little in advance he scored the speaking position. This just goes to show that people are ready for bold spending cuts, which Gary made sure to mention amounted to $1.5 TRILLION; a balanced budget tomorrow.

I’m glad Ron Paul won, I’d obviously support with full effort a Ron Paul 2012 campaign. But I have to think in real terms. I know it’s hard to say this, I’m just as big of a Ron Paul fan as all of you are, but Ron Paul is not immortal. He’s going to be around 77 in 2012, and has to lead for 8 years. I’m sure he’d rather live stress free with his family rather than the tremendous job of president. Gary Johnson is younger, an extremely fit athlete, and has held a similar position on the state level as governor of New Mexico. That’s just my 2 cents on why I think Ron Paul should not run for president again, even though I’d support him 110% if he did. Now, I’d love to see him really do a lot of significant spreading of the “brushfires of liberty” in the minds of men. R3VOLution of the mind is where it’s at. And even though Gov. Johnson isn’t as philosophical as Ron Paul, you know that he’d go further than just a balanced budget. He’s said time and time again that he supports ending the Fed, and it’s not like he’s 100% cost/benefit. In one of his State of the State speeches, he said “Man is superior to government, not the other way around.” Definitely a consistent belief in the philosophy of liberty, just he also prefers to take it from a business standpoint. It’s easier to sell vetoes to the public when it’s in terms of cost/benefit rather than just pure philosophical. That’ll beget the idea that government can do better with much less, which will lead to an increase in limited government philosophy throughout the nation. Gov. Johnson did shift public opinion on school choice in NM significantly.

If the 3rd place is an indication of anything, it is to not underestimate Gary Johnson one bit. He could’ve been down in the percentage ranks with Donald Trump for saying “legalize marijuana” at a conservative conference. Think about it… Johnson ‘12.

by Alex Fidel

At 17, Jason Becker had already attained the status of guitar god. He had released a neo-classical progressive metal breakthrough album with Cacophony, a band he formed with ex-Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, called Speed Metal Symphony. While showing much musical dexterity, they also displayed an immense amount of feeling, many instances of Japanese style (Marty Friedman now lives in Japan), and ability to write catchy licks and listenable solos, setting themselves apart from the generic wash of shred guitarists who just seemed to play scales up and down without doing anything noteworthy with them. They both put Cacophony on hold to simultaneously record solo albums; Becker’s Perpetual Burn and Friedman’s Dragon’s Kiss. Once again, Becker displayed an ability to shred like no other, but also had a great deal of feeling, as can be heard in the first section of “Altitudes,” and his guest appearance on Friedman’s “Jewel.” He also demonstrated many uses of complex and odd progressive style licks, utilizing odd timing and unorthodox note/chord/scale/harmony choices.

They came back together for the second Cacophony album, Go Off! The instrumental title track demonstrated their ability to write crazy riffs, with the intro consisting of very complex syncopated phrasing, but the rest of the album is a bit more of an attempt to have better songwriting, and less showing off.

Cacophony then split ways when Jason tried out for David Lee Roth’s band, as Steve Vai, former Frank Zappa guitarist (Zappa called him his “little Italian virtuoso”), had just quit the band to pursue solo work. Jason then recorded a home demo of Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher,” in which he threw in a few sweep-picking techniques as to ‘one-up’ Van Halen. Jason got the gig, and then they began work on Roth’s A Little Ain’t Enough.

About a week into rehearsals, Jason started to feel a numbness in one of his legs. It began to become a concern to him, so they went to a hospital and ran some tests. It turned out to be Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. At only 19, and at the beginning of a journey into major rock stardom, Jason would start to lose his ability to move. He was able to finish recording the album, which went gold. He could not join the tour, as he was starting to feel weakness in his hands.

He then begun composing and recording what he could. He eventually moved to a keyboard; with both hands, then with only one. Once he could no longer lift his arms, his friend Mike Bemesderfer developed a motion sensor system, in which Jason would wear a visor with two devices on it, that detected motion, which moved a mouse on a keyboard. A device under his chin would be where he would use his mouth to click.

Once all the compositions were gathered, he hired musicians to play what he couldn’t record. Those and the songs he recorded before he lost his ability to play guitar were released in the album Perspective, the first album in music history to be released by a person with ALS.

Doctors told Jason he only had a few years to live, but Jason kept on keepin’ on. He eventually lost his ability to move his head, to breathe, and to speak. His father developed an eye geometry system, allowing Jason to communicate with eye movements.

He took a break from composing for a while, but then began to compose using his eye method to communicate ideas to a person. This resulted in three new tracks on a best of release, Collection. Guitarists who played on these new songs included Steve Vai, Marty Friedman, and Joe Satriani.

Nowadays, there is a documentary in the works, and this Spring, there will be an event at Slim’s in San Francisco, called Jason Becker’s Not Dead Yet Festival, where Jason Becker himself will be in attendance, and Joe Satriani and Richie Kotzen are among the musical acts performing. This will be on March 26th.

Jason’s set on reminding the world that he’s not dead yet!

Jason Becker links:

Official Site
Facebook
Jason Becker Movie
Jason Becker Movie IndieGoGo Fundraising page

by Alex Fidel

Obama has smoked pot (and inhaled) in his life, yet in his position of power does not support legalization. Do I need to say anything more than that to demonstrate his hypocrisy? No. He’s a progressive. Progressives like big government, even in liberal issues like drugs, war, and marriage.

by Alex Fidel

So the US Department of Agriculture is responsible for the massive/mysterious bird deaths. For real, this isn’t some wacko Alex Jones thing. They left out poison bait to protect some farmer’s animal feed:

Inhabitants in Yankton were surprised when they found hundreds of starlings lying frozen on the streets and in the city’s Riverside Park, MSNBC reported. Some people thought the birds had simply left it too late to fly south for the winter.

Now, the USDA says it set out poisoned bait for the birds after a local farmer complained that they were defecating in his animal feed.

Well, all the more reason to abolish the USDA and save taxpayers lots of money. Oh and protect birds too, I guess…

by Alex Fidel

Pension bubbles are about to burst. CA Gov. Jerry Brown declares a fiscal emergency, saying that he will need to raise taxes (bad) and cut spending (good). Unfortunately, the cuts do not touch pensions since they are obligated by law. The state will soon need to jump through hoops in order to meet these obligations, since the pensions are very underfunded (because they were overpromised).

One way they could help fund these unfunded liabilities is to lease or sell off wildlife preservation lands owned by the state government. That would mean putting those poor endangered species/habitats in danger, since it could be used for productive purposes. Best case scenario, it could become a fee-based public park, but still littering and ignorance of preservation/conservation by people who would attend these parks might do damage to an endangered species. Worse, these lands could become retail environments.

The unintended consequences of liberals’ advocating massive state spending will to lead the state selling these lands to fill their contractual obligations. State spending leads to many new programs, new programs leads to new agencies, new agencies leads to new state employees. Unfortunately, agencies are not run like businesses, so they overpay their workers beyond what is worth the value of their labor, and also beyond what is sustainable. Not to mention that they hire more than what is needed. Thus, you have this pension crisis.

So, if you are a liberal (I would also ask how you found out about this blog ), the next time you consider spending increases, consider this- public sector unions don’t care about their workers. They just care about power and leverage. They promised their workers pensions that aren’t even 100% funded- when they protest, they’re protesting for money that isn’t even there, and never will be. They are putting the state into a fiscal hole, which will require state legislators to take drastic measures. They can either a) grow a pair, and cut government where it needs to be in a common-sense business way, ala Gary Johnson, which would actually improve services by reducing inefficient agencies, programs, and the bloated defined benefits that go along with their employees, etc, or b) cut out of education without touching teachers and other edu-employees defined benefit plans, raise taxes, and yes, sell off lands, including environmental preserves, which liberals care oh-so-much about.

Oh, and before you throw an ad hominem/strawman my way saying I want state workers to work for ’slave wages,’ I’m not against employees having benefits. They just have to be affordable and sustainable (100% funded from the getgo if it is defined rather than a pay-in). As per public sector wages/benefits, let’s tie it to average private sector wages/benefits. That way, they’ll lobby state legislators to pursue policies that grow the private sector, rather than diminish it. It’s a pipe dream, but hey, it’ll certainly make CA more business friendly.

The point I’m driving at is that the state can still offer basic services like police, fire, etc. at all the same efficacy but at a much, much lower price tag. Gary Johnson did it in New Mexico, and I hope he gets the chance to do it for the whole country.

*This post inspired by Damon Root on yesterday’s episode of Judge Nap’s Freedom Watch when he talked about state governments having to sell of these wildlife preserves.

by Alex Fidel

As I completely expected, an element of the failure of Prop 19 was due to the impact of vicious rumors and propaganda spread by growers and dealers who want to protect their monopoly.

…most of the growers from Northern California’s fertile Humboldt and Mendocino counties were against Prop. 19. … “People will want something faceless and easy,” one grower told me. “They want their fucking Big Mac. In order to make something of quality, you have to deal with a lot more labor and a lot more time. Just use machines, turn out crap, sell it cheap.”

Now the article also points out that the whole growing community amounted 65,000 ballots cast in the 2010 election, but the rumors they spread about how it will jeopardize medical marijuana patients’ legal status may have added to a lot more No votes than just the 65,000. That coupled with people who still believe the tired, old D.A.R.E. mantras lead to the death of Prop 19. A large number of conservatives and Tea Partiers supported Prop 19. Radio talk show host Roger Hedgecock, as well as one of his fill-ins, supported Prop 19. So it’s really a fault of party-line Republicans who don’t really want to open their mind to Tea Party, limited-government, and libertarian ideals and virtually people of all political ideologies who still see pot as the devil’s lettuce. Combine that with grower propaganda and you have the death of Prop 19 (though I’m no statistician, just an observer).

But whether it is a grower wanting to protect their monopoly or a family who is not willing to look outside the box on this issue, they fail to see the unintended consequence of their beliefs, which is that they are subjecting millions of otherwise law-abiding Americans to the criminal justice system. I don’t care what argument growers and social-conservatives throw at us. ‘It’ll shrink our market share,’ they will say, but they can always innovate out. If they refuse to meet the needs of their customers, then they shouldn’t be in the business in the first place. Americans don’t have a choice when a cop fines or jails them for smoking pot. They can’t innovate out of that. Non-violent behavior among consenting adults should not be subject to the will of the government or the votes of the majority, that’s why we are a republic and not a democracy, because we have certain liberties which are to be left untouched, even if the will of the majority says otherwise.

So let’s not just let Tim Lincecum smoke, or Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus, Gary Johnson, or Michael Phelps. Let’s let America smoke.

by Alex Fidel

This great video was shown on the John Stossel show recently, and it was very inspiring. I hope it inspires you:

by Alex Fidel

Cost/benefit analysis FTW.

by Alex Fidel

A 68-year-old grandfather was shot and killed during a drug raid by a SWAT team, as Reason reported recently. The man had no drug charges levied against him:

Eurie Stamps was not the target of the search warrant, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, and his death at the hands of police is under investigation.

Authorities said Stamps lived at the house with a woman whose son and another man were arrested in the raid on drug charges…

The War on Drugs is an atrocity. And that’s an understatement… Let’s end it already.

by Alex Fidel

Yahoo/Drudge reports that the FCC is asking app developers to create apps that help users see if their internet service provider is blocking content:

“Our goal is to foster user-developed applications that shine light on any practice that might be inconsistent with the free and open Internet,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said.

The challenge also tries to boost useful research into ways to measure, preserve and track the openness of the Internet.

The FCC said apps could provide real-time data to an individual experiencing a slow Internet connection speed, test networks for Internet service providers and aggregate network data for academics and policymakers.

Now if only there was an app showing when the government blocks websites thanks to new FCC net neutrality regulations…

by Alex Fidel

I’m sure some of you are familiar with the RLC. Well, I decided to start up the RLCCA SD. Basically the duty includes showing up to Republican Party meetings and affecting change. If you are a registered Republican in San Diego County, you can vote on measures, bylaws, and whatever those stuffy establishment types do at those meetings.

The Republican Party of San Diego County meets at the Town & Country Resort in San Diego on the second Monday of every month at 7 PM. For January, that would be the 10th. I’m going to be there.

A lot of Libertarian Party people would consider this taboo. But think of it this way- do you make a bigger statement by talking to a small group of libertarians who already agree with you or by talking to party-line Republicans and social conservatives who never really hear clear and concise arguments for liberty? I would think the latter. Besides, I would get a kick out of making party-line Republicans feel uncomfortable. And who knows, you might even be able to change some minds.

Please follow the RLCCA SD Facebook page, and if you can, show up to the meeting on the 10th. You don’t even have to be a Republican, but if you want to vote on things, you have to be registered Republican in San Diego county.

by Alex Fidel

Today marks 9 years since Chuck Schuldiner, the driving force behind his bands Death and Control Denied, passed away from a brain stem tumor. Death started out in 1983 as Mantas, arguably the first death metal band. They later evolved from a bare-bones simplicity into incorporating deep melodies, progressive complexity, and powerful lyrics. No Death album is truly the same, as the lineup has changed from album to album. Many Death veterans include Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, guitarist/vocalist and drummer of Cynic (respectively), guitar virtuoso James Murphy, and Howard Stern Show host and drummer Richard Christy. Chuck had the kind of integrity that you Dueling Barstools readers find familiar in someone like Gary Johnson; very real, down-to-earth, and an affinity for integrity, despite the cutthroat nature of the music industry.

After completing the first Control Denied album in 1999 (after putting Death on hold in 1998), Chuck began to feel a sharp pain in his neck. It turned out to be a rare form of brain stem cancer. He underwent surgery and radiation therapy, and eventually regained health and began writing and recording for the second Control Denied album. He recorded all of his guitar parts, as well as Richard Christy’s drum parts, before he began to get sick again. This time he did not beat the cancer.

A legal battle ensued between the Schuldiner family and the record label. This lasted up until about a year ago, when it was announced that Relapse Records was to pick up the completion of the second Control Denied album, as well as reissue classic Death and Control Denied material and merchandise. So far, Control Denied’s The Fragile Art of Existence has been reissued in deluxe 2CD/3CD editions, and the entire Death catalog is available on iTunes for the first time.

Please take the time to check out Death and Control Denied. If you’re into more brutal metal, I suggest you check out Death’s Scream Bloody Gore, Leprosy, and Spiritual Healing. If you are into more melodic/complex metal, check out Death’s Human, Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic, The Sound of Perseverance, and Control Denied’s The Fragile Art of Existence.

Check out Death on:

Facebook
iTunes

Check out Control Denied on:

Facebook
iTunes
Fragile Art… on Relapse Records

Also check out the Death/Control Denied/Chuck Schuldiner official website.

R.I.P. Chuck

*contrary to popular belief, death metal musicians do not hate animals

by Alex Fidel

Judge Napolitano recently announced that Jon Schaffer, guitarist of metal legends Iced Earth, will be on Freedom Watch on Dec. 10th.

/m/

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Schaffer is a 9/11 Truther… but I’m not gonna hate. Iced Earth still is pretty good.

by Alex Fidel

Download a podcast of the episode here in case you missed it. Once again we had another weekly installment of our new segment, Dueling Barstools.com On Air, where Ryan and I talked about WikiLeaks, the Teapot Party, private property, and the Fed. And of course excellent music throughout.

by Alex Fidel

Willie Nelson has started a new political movement, called Teapot Parties, as celebstoner.com reports:

All 50 states have started Willie Nelson-inspired Teapot Parties since the singer called for a new political party that “leans a little to the left” after his marijuana arrest  in Texas on Nov. 26. “Tax it, regulate it and legalize it,” the singer says. “And stop the border wars over drugs.”

There’s also a poll on the page as well, with Gov. Gary Johnson as a contender for the “next top CelebStoner.” Vote in the poll!

by Alex Fidel

Download the full episode here.

We introduced our new segment, DuelingBarstools.com On-Air, as well as payed tribute to Leslie Nielsen, and played Frank Zappa’s Apostrophe (‘) album from front to back in honor of FZ’s would-be 70th birthday (Dweezil Zappa is playing Apostrophe from front to back in his current Zappa Plays Zappa tour).

DuelingBarstools.com On-Air will be a weekly segment appearing on the show, which airs every Tuesday at 8PM-10PM PST, only at www.ksunradio.com

We went on for an hour this episode, but we’re going to cut the time down to about 20 minutes going forward.

Add the Freethought Facebook page, too.

by Alex Fidel

Julian Assange of WikiLeaks is now on INTERPOL’s wanted list.

Although he is Australian, I do consider Assange an American hero (although I hear that he is less than likable as a person), not a criminal. And charging him with sex crimes? Are they that desperate?

Oh, and Stossel FTW.

by Alex Fidel

I am working on putting together a long needed Republican Liberty Caucus chapter in San Diego county. Despite Prop 14 killing primaries, hopefully we can bring up an opponent to Brian Bilbray next election cycle. We’ll try to attend Republican Party meetings and bring up the fact that we are hacking off the youth vote as well as the potentiality of losing the Tea Party vote as they read more and become more aware and less tolerant of fiscal indiscipline, and therefore should seek an alternate candidate to Brian Bilbray; to nominate someone who is [truly] fiscally conservative and socially tolerant.

Here’s a link to the Facebook page.

by Alex Fidel

We watched this today in my biology class.

Sorry, ‘InfoWarriors,’ I don’t believe in “New World Order.” There is a difference between global government and governance. Global governance is like the U.N., which constantly shits on everyone else’s sovereignty without dictating all of the laws of everyone’s lands.

But this is your tax dollars at work, brainwashing impressionable college kids into thinking that green technology, redistribution of wealth, and global governance causes population sustainability. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start teaching us about population control, much like Obama’s advisors Cass Sunstein and John Holdren do.

by Alex Fidel

Tune into my radio show, Freethought Radio, this Tuesday Nov. 30th at 8PM PST at www.ksunradio.com, because Ryan Nohea Garcia, the head honcho over here at DuelingBarstools.com, is going to be calling in for our new segment called the ‘Dueling Barstools Power Hour’ (yeah… the title needs work). We’ll try to make it weekly, but it will be a recurring segment, weekly, biweekly, or sporadic. We’ll discuss the issues of the day, Gary Johnson, etc.

by Alex Fidel

I am 30,000 ft in the air as I type this on Virgin America/Google Chrome-powered free WiFi (ahh free market innovation, I love it). But in order to enjoy this innovation in customer service, I had to go through a body scanner. This isn’t the first time I’ve been through one, and certainly not the first time I’ve been outraged by it. The first time I went through one I said ‘big brother, eh?’ This time is different, because I’ve had a bit more time to ponder, as well as all the recent events making me even more outraged.

As I pulled into SFO, I began to think about the argument that the TSA workers just want a job and that they’re just following orders. The Nazis followed orders, too. Now I know what you’re thinking, I’m crazy. My reasoning is that they are doing something so grotesque as to molest people, including children, against their will without standing up or quitting is akin to the Nazis ‘just following orders.’ I do not identify myself with the crazies that call our troops Nazis. Yes, there are some atrocities committed, as revealed by various WikiLeaks documents, but it is nowhere near the level of the Nazis. It is perfectly excusable for the troops to use the ‘following orders’ excuse; they aren’t committing major atrocities. Our politicians are the ones to blame in that realm.

Then as I went up to the security checkpoint, I saw a metal detector and a body scanner. I felt a sigh of relief, that they were sending people through the metal detectors. WRONG, WRONG! The TSA workers arbitrarily put people through either the metal detector or the scanner. The guy in front of me got to go through the metal detector, while I went through the scanner. Arbitration is a characteristic of totalitarian governments; rule of law is one of limited governments.

I really was about to burst into tears as I went through. I felt like a prisoner. I was treated with no respect; like cattle. As I left I had to stand in place as the other person went through, then I was cleared to leave. As I left, I tried to be all badass and chant ‘fuck tha police’ (like the N.W.A. song) but it came out really bad so I stormed off and got breakfast.

I didn’t expect to get that shook up, but this is one brick in the road to serfdom. I don’t think it’s that far-fetched to compare TSA workers to Nazis just following orders, though while still hideous, sexual molestation doesn’t come close to genocide. Nazis were definitely worse.

Fuck tha police, and by police, I mean the TSA.

*Side note: Please don’t compare me to Alex Jones for using the word ‘prisoner,’ ‘cattle,’ and referencing facist regimes. I don’t particularly like Alex Jones; I’m not talking conspiracy stuff here.
Oh and props to Virgin for having a good Frank Zappa collection in their music player.

by Alex Fidel

Many presidents in our history have talked about balancing our budget and cutting spending, including even FDR in his first race against President Hoover.

But the walk never matched the talk. Continuously budgets rose, administration after administration. A few like Coolidge cut back a lot, but the trend is there. The talk remained the same, but once in office everyone flipped flopped to some degree, including Reagan. No modern president has ever cut spending in a serious way.

Will anyone ever mean what they say in this area? I say yes. And his name is Gary Johnson.
Will we get the ideal? Maybe, maybe not. There’s a lot to scale back, and government growth will drop. But when that will sum up to a balanced budget depends on the annual rate of decrease in spending. It depends how much Congress is willing to co-operate on scaling back. They’d have to scale back by at least 43% of the budget and sustain and expand upon those cuts annually.

by Alex Fidel

I recently designated December 18th as National Drink a Caffeinated Alcoholic Mixed Drink Day, to protest the FDA’s ban of caffeinated alcoholic drinks like Four Loko, ushering in a new precedent in alcohol prohibition. Just go for a vodka & Red Bull or an Irish coffee, anything with caffeine and alcohol to satirize this ban (be responsible, of course). (Click the link to RSVP to the Facebook event)

by Alex Fidel

I figure I aught to suggest some classic albums to DuelingBarstools readers, because it is apparent that I am a metal fan. Now, this isn’t your conventional metal. A lot of it is very abstract and weird. I’m into a lot of jazz, like Mahavishnu, Holdsworth, and Weather Report so that might be why a lot of it is quite ‘out there.’ (I’ll post my top 10 jazz/fusion list soon…)

1. Cynic- Focus

2. Death- Individual Thought Patterns

3. Control Denied- The Fragile Art of Existence

4. Atheist- Unquestionable Presence

5. Death- The Sound of Perseverance

6. Watchtower- Control and Resistance

7. Cynic- Traced in Air

8. King Diamond- Abigail

9. Toxik- Think This

10. Pestilence- Spheres

by Alex Fidel

The fundamental problem with most discriminatory laws is that their foundations are in group rights, otherwise known as ‘collectivism.’

Laws based on collectivism have no baseline rule of law; rights are given arbitrarily based on what group you belong to (i.e. groups based on race, color, religion, sexual preference, income, political views, etc.). This also implies that rights come from men, which is clearly not the case. Rights come from our existence as humans, and are not delegated by the will of any man. Collectivism implies that an authority exists to designate which rights you have (most of which have nothing to do with freedom). Without a baseline rule of law, the tyranny of the majority generally decides what rights certain groups of people can have. Examples include Soviet Russia (groups based on income and political views) or the Jim Crow South (groups based on race/color).

Individual rights have a baseline rule of law, such as the freedom of speech or the right to contract, which applies to all humans equally, regardless of what group you belong to. It also gives authority the purpose of protecting these rights, not designating them. It cannot take them away, because the rights exist whether there is a charter for them or not. You have rights, because you exist as a human. You can’t have more or less rights based on some group you belong to. Examples include United States (which was perfected when slavery was abolished and the 14th Amendment insured equal protection).

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a law based on group rights. It tells individual humans they have different rights because they are homosexual, and anyone with a brain knows that homosexuality is not a choice. It does not meticulously judge each individual person by their merit and ability to perform various tasks necessary to their employment condition. You could have a gay Rambo and he’d be denied.

If the military were a 100% private entity, this would not be the case, because anyone can go to another firm looking for a job (would you want to work for a homophobe anyways?). But since this is the case of government, and government has a legal monopoly on force, they aren’t supposed to discriminate based on some group you may or may not belong to.

DADT restricts speech for only certain people who belong to an arbitrary group. I could openly say I’m a libertarian, and that could irk someone who doesn’t like libertarians. But free speech protects offensive speech, as long as it is not accompanied by violence. If anything, homophobes (or libertyphobes) should recieve penalties based on merit, because they’d be straying from the task at hand which is a term of their employment. Now if they were penalized for being homophobes, that’d be wrong; freedom is a two-way street, as long as there is no violence. Now if a gay member of the military was to sexually harass someone, that should be penalized in the same way if a straight guy were to harass a female member of the military (and vice-versa). Individual rights and equal protection also implies that punishment shouldn’t differ based on groups either (such as politicians getting away with tax evasion).

Haven’t we always been taught that we always don’t end up working with people we don’t like? DADT reverses that age old idea. What if there was a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy for people who whistle abnoxiously when not doing important work-related tasks (such as during lunch or in the parking lot), and talked about his hobby of whistling openly to some people? In any private sector job, it would be stupid to report that to your boss. You should ignore it and focus on your job is what he or she would say. But in the military, what you do in your private life and choose to express to people (in whatever context) could get you fired, simply because some other member can’t get over an arbitrary fact and focus on their job. I think people’s rational self-interest will take over and realize if they focus on such absurd things like the sexual orientation of their colleagues, that it will endanger them in the battlefield. I think they’d be more concerned with staying alive on the battlefield.

Besides, does being gay automatically make you a sexual abuser? That logic seems absurd. If someone does, they (once again) shouldn’t be punished for the gay part, they should be punished for the fact that they initiated force upon another individual, same as if a guy did it to a girl.

Your probably thinking ‘why should Alex care about DADT, because it won’t affect him.’ True, true. It won’t affect me, because I’m straight and will never ever join the military (not even for draft). But I care because 1) I’m not selfish and 2) I can better protect my own individual liberties by protecting others’. Here’s a few examples: when Woodrow Wilson instituted the income tax, the promise was that only the rich would pay taxes, and even then it wouldn’t be that high. At the end of his presidency everyone was paying taxes (and a lot of them, too). By putting people into groups and deciding who does or does not have property rights, you leave it up to man to make decisions. The Founding Fathers understood that men are flawed, so you need to limit their power, and protect the basic rights of the individual. This is known as mission creep.

It can also work in the way where one guy can legislate collectivism from a faith-based way. People of faith will think it’s OK because it doesn’t affect them. But their guy won’t be in power forever, and the next guy will have that power structure to implement anti-faith laws. Both sides would be wrong; the authority should stay out of faith one way or the other.

Same works for DADT. Woodrow Wilson segregated the military based on skin color. The power structure implied by DADT could easily make way for a re-segregation of the military if the wrong guy got a policy making position. And be weary of the ‘common good’ argument that is made, a lot of bad things are done in the name of the ‘common good,’ no matter how well-intended. Getting rid of DADT would limit the power of the government to make policy based on groups, which would prevent the chances of such an injustice like racial segregation from happening in the military again.

We should really think twice about how it might eventually affect us if we support policy that affects people in different groups. We should support protection of individual rights, not arbitrarily designating ‘rights’ based on groups.

I think Ron Paul puts it best when he says–paraphrasing–”individual rights are the biggest enemy to racism.” It is true. Racism is a form of collectivism/group judgement, which is the antithesis to liberty.

So let’s repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and stop legislating people into groups. Rather, judge people based on the content of their character. And all this coming from a straight guy who wouldn’t even join the military in a time of draft, let alone volunteer.

“You don’t have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight.”
-Barry Goldwater*

*Harvey Milk supported Barry Goldwater for president in 1964

by Alex Fidel

I’m a huge Gary Johnson fan. I’m the opposite when it comes to Alex Jones; I can’t stand the guy. Gary Johnson was on Alex Jones’ show recently, and basically made Gary Johnson read his looney conspiracy headlines, to make it seem as if Gary believed it. Alex would go on and on about conspiracy, and then asked Gary if he was outraged by things like body scanners or the Patriot Act. Gary would answer that he was outraged, but Jones’ rant makes it seem as if the two are interconnected.

Neither Gary Johnson nor Ron Paul believes in Jones’ ‘inside job’ insanity. They believe our militarism causes attacks inflicted upon us, and that they are unintended consequences. The whole basis of libertarianism and libertarian economics is that policies have unintended consequences. In my first post here, I went on a rant about the many holes in the logic of such looney conspiracy theorists:

I’m not a fan of Alex Jones, so it gets a little frustrating when the small handful of people that show up to liberty meetings rapidly turn it into the First Church of Alex Jones. I mean really, if the whole point of libertarianism is that our militarism creates the unintended consequences of terrorism, how can these ‘truthers’ be against our military industrial complex when they think the government ’staged’ 9/11? It doesn’t make any sense. Furthermore, if our government was able to stage the 9/11 attacks, why can’t they properly run Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, Amtrak, USPS, or the DMV? They can’t do anything right; they couldn’t even do ‘Watergate’ right. There is no government conspiracy in 9/11. It was an unintended consequence of our miltary expansion. (If they were efficient enough to do all those things, why cut government? That is the big hole in their logic…) Speaking of inefficiency, the whole reason we ignored the intel we had on the hijackers is because we are so incompetent. Judge Napolitano recently did a thing on FreedomWatch where he exposed the 9/11 commissions’ attempt to cover up their incompetence prior to 9/11, not their involvement. Enough of my anti-conspiracy rant… I’m just tired of seeing infowars ‘inside job’ stuff everywhere. BUT I would never want them to shut up about it, in fact, they should speak louder, because we live in a marketplace of ideas, so as long as we speak non-violently, it’s all good.

‘Nuff said. Gary Johnson is a level-headed, rational thinker. Why reduce our military industrial complex and military presence if our government staged 9/11? Well, they didn’t stage 9/11, our military presence around the world fed the motivation for these religious wackos in the Middle East, and thus, we should remove our military from all these places.

But in spite of all this, I still support Alex Jones’ right to speak, in fact, I think he should speak louder. Even if I think it’s all insane. That’s the beauty of Americanism: the free marketplace of ideas; the good,  the bad, and the wacko.

by Alex Fidel

Reason reports that Michigan recently banned Four Lokos:

Yesterday the Michigan Liquor Control Commission banned caffeinated alcoholic beverages such as Four Loko, Joose, and Smirnoff Raw Tea. The ban gives retailers a month to get rid of 55 products the commission calls “alcohol energy drinks.” The complete list is here (PDF). The State News reports that “the commission decided to ban the [products] because of multiple recent news reports about the dangers and consequences of the drinks.” Behold the power of yellow (or, in this case, maybe lime green) journalism! In addition to the over-the-top ABC piece I noted last week (which implied that healthy young men are dropping dead from heart attacks after their first can of Four Loko), the prohibitionist advocacy disguised as news reporting has included a front-page New York Times story headlined “Caffeine and Alcohol Drink Is Potent Mix for Young.” … “Michigan’s liquor regulators explain that they have the authority to arbitrarily prohibit these products because … They say products like Four Loko (which are classified as beer because their alcohol comes from fermented malt) are intolerable because “the packaging is often misleading” and “the products themselves can pose problems by directly appealing to a younger customer [and] encouraging excessive consumption, while mixing alcohol with various other chemical and herbal stimulants.” They cite no real evidence to support these conclusions, and I’m not sure we should take the word of liquor regulators who think alcohol is a stimulant.

So, Michigan has a Liquor Control Commission (sounds like something out of 1984). Now I could have sworn my dad emigrated from the Soviet Union to escape Orwellian society, but I digress. They have effectively banned all caffeinated alcohol drinks like Four Loko, Joose, etc. I recently ranted about saving Four Lokos from bans here.

Come on you guys, you know California is next. San Francisco just banned Happy Meals. What’s going to stop them from banning Happiness in a Can? Let’s stand behind Four Lokos, even if you think they are nasty.

by Alex Fidel

I think the PMRC and music censorship brought the U.S. to the edge of Communism in the non-economic/social realm, and it was lead by right-wingers. Glenn Beck often points out that progressivism (a.k.a. big government-ism) is prevalent in both the left and the right; progressive/big government left and right. None can be more true of the so-called ‘right’ of the 1980’s.
As a musician and a big Zappa fan, you can see where my disgust comes from. My dad got into bad terms with the KGB when he lived in the Soviet Union for having albums of non-approved artists. Doesn’t sound too far fetched from what the PMRC was trying to accomplish, huh?

Not to mention that the board was made up of the unelected wives of Senators, including both Al and Tipper Gore.

by Alex Fidel

Take my advice with a grain of salt, but these are truly great movies. They may not be the best produced (although they are wonderfully done if you ever hear how much they are made for), but they make it up with the best gore, and also great writing (which is completely lacking from all modern horrors). These are mostly Italian directors’ movies from the 70’s and 80’s.

1. Suspiria

2. The Beyond

3. Zombie

4. Deep Red

5. Pieces

6. Horror Rises From the Tomb

7. Maniac

8. Cannibal Ferox

9. Tenebre

10. Phenomena

There are 2 great DVD companies that puts those types movies out: Grindhouse Releasing, which is owned by Sylvester Stallone’s son Sage, and Blue Underground.

by Alex Fidel

http://reason.com/blog/2010/10/25/have-a-drink-have-a-heart-atta

So the FDA is cracking down on manufacturers of drinks like the Four Loko. The proof is there that the ‘danger’ is overhyped; that it is not Four Lokos that are the problem, it is the people that choose to overconsume them.

Besides, laws don’t stop stupidity, and people do the same things on normal alcoholic beverages. Four Lokos are a scapegoat.

If banning is put on the table as an option by the FDA, we must voice our opinions loud and proud (and peacefully). And this is not just because I like Lokos… this is about principle, damn it!

Besides, do you want to see these guys cry?:

Also, join the cause on Facebook: 1,000,000 Strong for Four Loko

by Alex Fidel

Gary Johnson interview

It’s about 10 minutes in… unless you like gnarly technical progressive metal, then you can start from the beginning B-)

The Jackass 3D D-box ticket giveaway goes on until next week (Oct. 26th). Works for CinemaWest theaters only, the one we went to is in Petaluma, CA in Sonoma county.

I recently linked to an article containing a number of WWII images taken in Nazi occupied Russian territory.  As an introduction to the pictures the article’s author wrote the following:

The photos are shocking and cruel, but they should teach us to respect others’ lives and dignity. We are equal and we are not born to be slaves.

Moving prose.  We are principally equal – human beings – and deserve equal treatment. We are not born to be slaves. Not to each other, not to ideology, not to States.  We should increase our principal understanding of what respect, dignity, and slavery means. We should increase the measure of respect, dignity, and liberty we give each other and demand from the institutions that govern us.

That bit of reflection prompted me to do bit of research into the series of atrocities the Armenians call the Armenian Genocide, but Ottomans Turks, the perpetrators of the aforementioned atrocities, deny was genocide. You probably know that whether to label the over one million Armenians that Ottoman-Turkey killed during the first world war is a contentious issue internationally and domestically.  For instance:

Two years ago [in 2008], before a resolution was to be put to a vote in the House, Turkey recalled Ambassador [to the US] Sensoy in protest. Its president warned of “serious troubles” and its top general said that military ties with the U.S. would never be the same. To limit further damage, the Bush administration and eight former secretaries of state then weighed in to kill the bill. It worked.

With regard to the fight over whether to officially label the Turk-on-Armenian atrocities ‘genocide’ this author persuasively argues what I believe is a more important point:

Among the ways in which freedom is being chipped away in Europe, one of the less obvious is the legislation of memory. More and more countries have laws saying you must remember and describe this or that historical event in a certain way, sometimes on pain of criminal prosecution if you give the wrong answer. What the wrong answer is depends on where you are. In Switzerland, you get prosecuted for saying that the terrible thing that happened to the Armenians in the last years of the Ottoman empire was not a genocide. In Turkey, you get prosecuted for saying it was. What is state-ordained truth in the Alps is state-ordained falsehood in Anatolia. * * *

This kind of nonsense is all the more dangerous when it comes wearing the mask of virtue. A perfect example is the recent attempt to enforce limits to the interpretation of history across the whole EU in the name of “combating racism and xenophobia”. A proposed “framework decision” of the justice and home affairs council of the EU, initiated by the German justice minister Brigitte Zypries, suggests that in all EU member states “publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes” should be “punishable by criminal penalties of a maximum of at least between one and three years imprisonment”. * * *

Let me be clear. I believe it is very important that nations, states, peoples and other groups (not to mention individuals) should face up, solemnly and publicly, to the bad things done by them or in their name. The West German leader Willy Brandt falling silently to his knees in Warsaw before a monument to the victims and heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto is, for me, one of the noblest images of postwar European history. For people to face up to these things, they have to know about them in the first place. So these subjects must be taught in schools as well as publicly commemorated. But before they are taught, they must be researched. The evidence must be uncovered, checked and sifted, and various possible interpretations tested against it.

It’s this process of historical research and debate that requires complete freedom – subject only to tightly drawn laws of libel and slander, designed to protect living persons but not governments, states or national pride (as in the notorious article 301 of the Turkish penal code). The historian’s equivalent of a natural scientist’s experiment is to test the evidence against all possible hypotheses, however extreme, and then submit what seems to him or her the most convincing interpretation for criticism by professional colleagues and for public debate. This is how we get as near as one ever can to truth about the past.

How, for example, do you refute the absurd conspiracy theory, which apparently still has some currency in parts of the Arab world, that “the Jews” were behind the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks on New York? By forbidding anyone from saying that, on pain of imprisonment? No. You refute it by refuting it. By mustering all the available evidence, in free and open debate. This is not just the best way to get at the facts; ultimately, it’s the best way to combat racism and xenophobia too. So join us, please, to see off the nanny state and its memory police.

The author’s name is Timothy Garton Ash. He has a good piece here on Europe’s illogical, illiberal, and appalling stance degrading position on civil liberty, and especially free speech.  A snippet:

So, for example, last week the home secretary pathetically and idiotically banned the Dutch MP Geert Wilders from entering the UK to show his noxious and offensive anti-Islam film at the invitation of members of the House of Lords. Result: a curtailment of free speech that gives Wilders more free publicity than he could otherwise have dreamed of. And how does the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne react? Oh, that’s all right, he says, because the film is really offensive. Well, d’oh. Call yourself a liberal? John Stuart Mill would be turning in his grave. And I shall need some convincing that the Conservative frontbench are going to be any better.

I’m not sure I fully understand all the reasons for this cravenness, but here’s one. A couple of years ago I asked a very senior New Labour politician if his government had not got the balance between security and liberty wrong. “Well”, he replied, “one thing I can tell you is that if you ask the British people they will always choose more security.” And this is where the ball comes back to us. Since our leaders are now mainly followers – following the latest opinion poll, focus group or newspaper campaign – it’s up to us, the people, to change their view of what “the people” want.

Pardon my digression. Atrocities should be be investigated thoroughly, and people free of Orwellian restrictions on speech and thought should discuss them openly to find truth. Here are some links with pertinent information about what the Turks did to Armenians during the First World War.

Images:

Here’s a m0ral-relativistic argument against labeling the Armenian atrocities as genocide.

This is a good window into the Armenian point of view.

Finally, here’s the transcript of a Sixty Minutes video clip on the matter.  Excerpt below.

(CBS) Wars are fought over oil, land, water, but rarely over history, especially about something that happened nearly 100 years ago. But that’s what Turkey and Armenia are still fighting over: what to label the mass deportation and subsequent massacre of more than a million Christian Armenians from Ottoman Turkey during World War I.

Armenians and an overwhelming number of historians say that Turkey’s rulers committed genocide, that its actions were a model for what Hitler did to the Jews. The Turks, meanwhile, say their ancestors never carried out such crimes, and that they too were victims in a world war.

Ever since, this battle over history has not only ensnared the two nations but even the White House and Congress, where resolutions officially recognizing the genocide are currently moving through the House and Senate.

But our story begins where the lives of so many Armenians ended, far from Istanbul, in the desert.

“60 Minutes” and correspondent Bob Simon took a drive into what is now Syria, to the barren wilderness, to what amounts to the largest Armenian cemetery in the world.

“As many as 450,000 Armenians died here,” author Peter Balakian told Simon.

Balakian is an Armenian American who has written extensively about what happened in this desolate place.

According to Balakian, 450,000 Armenians died in this spot in the desert. “In this region called Deir Zor, it is the greatest graveyard of the Armenian Genocide,” he explained.

Deir Zor is to Armenians what Auschwitz is to Jews. The most ghoulish thing about the place is that 95 years later the evidence of the massacres is everywhere.

Just a short distance from the banks of Euphrates there’s a dump. It’s also the site of a mass grave. It has never been excavated. All we had to do was scratch the surface of the sand to collect evidence of what had happened here.

Under the surface was evidence of bones. “It’s the hill full of bones,” said Dr. Haroot Kahvejian, an Armenian dentist who showed Simon around.