Isn't Democracy neat?
In case you haven't heard, the Obama administration is trying a very nifty experiment in open democracy called "We The People" - a government website where you can draw up your own petition of talking points you would like to see discussed by the administration and have people sign it from all over the country. The Obama administration promised to use this tool to determine which issues were really at the heart of most American concerns, and to use this information to bring about positive change for Americans.
Sounds almost Utopian - a service in which you can raise any topic of concern to your representative political body with the promise that it will receive a detailed look if there is enough national interest. The basic rules of the service were that any petition that received over 25,000 signatures within 30 days of originally being posted would receive an official tailored response by a member of the White House staff.
Indeed, when this website was first announced, it seemed like Obama and his team were making an honest attempt at testing the waters regarding American's feelings on a lot of contemporary issues. That is until some of the responses started being released.
Unsurprisingly, supporters for change regarding marijuana legislation teamed together and gathered a staggering number of signatures for their petition - topping the threshold that would demand an official response in its first day. For half a heart-beat, stoners and sobers sympathetic to the cause shared a brief unifying moment of hope, holding on tenaciously to the dream that maybe someone in power would finally lend an interested ear. That is until the site posted their official response from Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In his response Gil basically says "Fuck You, hippies. These are the rules." Which of course is the perfect response for anyone hoping to set the stage for constructive democratic discussion. You can read Gil's response here.
Of course, the legalization efforts for marijuana are not the only petitions receiving lip service from the White House. The website also recently published a response to a petition requesting government transparency regarding decades of insinuation that the government is involved in a coverup regarding the presence of extra-terrestrial life. This time the response was tailored by Phil Larson, who works on space policy and communications at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. Phil's response was much the same as Gil Kerlikowske's - Fuck Off. Of course, the White House liasons were much more diplomatic in their announcements of a refusal to investigate topics which had received enough public support to elicit an official response.
These are not the only two topics to be glossed over by the Obama administration. Petitions seeking a removal of the words "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, repealing the Defense of Marriage Act - which federally defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, have both tactfully been swept under the rug as a problem for the next group of patsies to seclude themselves in their ivory tower of inaction. Hell, the response to one petition calling for an "Investigation into Allegations of Prosecutorial & Judicial Misconduct in the Case of Sholom Rubashkin" refers the petitioners to a piece of fine print in the terms of participation for the White House's responses, simply saying "We won't comment on this one."
So basically, the timeline goes a little something like this.
*White House launches petition site promising to offer constructive response to any topic that proves to have enough public support
*Americans collectively marvel at the combined wonder of technology and democracy as they begin to believe that politicians may actually start listening
*We the People is flooded with petitions and signatures by the thousands
*White House officials with fancy titles and job descriptions collect a paycheck for sitting down and throwing together what amounts to the same level of effort required by a third grader for an essay assignment (though more likely, these responses were typed up by an unpaid intern and merely signed by those claiming authorship)
*American public once again realizes that their voice and opinion have no strength in the halls of power.
*Life, sadly, goes on.
Three Monkeys Say: Oh Shit! Is Gladiators on??
Monday, November 7, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
I Think I'm an Alright Guy
Happy Sunday Morning, freaks.
Hope you all enjoyed that extra hour of sleep today. Doesn't Daylight-Savings kick ass? Thanks, Ben Franklin!
Make sure you take a little bit of time for yourself out of the day. Hell - it's Sunday - take the whole damn day for yourself. You've earned it!
Hope you all enjoyed that extra hour of sleep today. Doesn't Daylight-Savings kick ass? Thanks, Ben Franklin!
Make sure you take a little bit of time for yourself out of the day. Hell - it's Sunday - take the whole damn day for yourself. You've earned it!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
There Be Dragons
Looking for something to amuse yourself with on this Saturday afternoon?
Try this video discussion with author Daniel Pinchbeck and Hollywood actor Russel Brand - There Be Dragons: Daniel Pinchbeck Talks with Russell Brand
Enjoy it, kids.
Try this video discussion with author Daniel Pinchbeck and Hollywood actor Russel Brand - There Be Dragons: Daniel Pinchbeck Talks with Russell Brand
Enjoy it, kids.
Friday, November 4, 2011
There has to be a Greek term for something this fucked up
It's not Oedipal...
And it's not Electra-esque...
From DailyMail.com: Engaged couple discover they are brother and sister when their parents meet just before wedding
Life seemed to be going perfectly for a young South African couple. With the engaged couple's wedding date right around the corner, and her expecting a little bundle of joy, it seemed like they couldn't have been happier. Until the pair introduced their parents to one another and discovered - they're brother and sister!! Holy Fuck!!
Apparently the almost-newly-weds were separated at a young age when their father discovered their mother was cheating on him. The father took the then 2-year old son, and the mother had custody of the 8-month old daughter. The two children were raised completely unaware that they ever had a sibling. Years later when a chance meeting at college had sparks flying, the two blissfully ignorant that something was rotten in the state of Denmark. Or whatever they call states in South Africa.
While the couple has understandably decided to call off the wedding, there is no mention in the article of terminating the pregnancy. The unnamed mother-to-be is quoted as already being quite concerned on how to explain the child's complicated lineage when it comes to age.
Christ though, can you imagine the revulsion at being hit with that kind of bombshell? My stomach is doing backflips just thinking about it. In fact, I would imagine my personal reaction would look something like this:
*insert exaggerated shudder here*
Three Monkeys Say - HOLY FUCK!!!
And it's not Electra-esque...
From DailyMail.com: Engaged couple discover they are brother and sister when their parents meet just before wedding
Life seemed to be going perfectly for a young South African couple. With the engaged couple's wedding date right around the corner, and her expecting a little bundle of joy, it seemed like they couldn't have been happier. Until the pair introduced their parents to one another and discovered - they're brother and sister!! Holy Fuck!!
Apparently the almost-newly-weds were separated at a young age when their father discovered their mother was cheating on him. The father took the then 2-year old son, and the mother had custody of the 8-month old daughter. The two children were raised completely unaware that they ever had a sibling. Years later when a chance meeting at college had sparks flying, the two blissfully ignorant that something was rotten in the state of Denmark. Or whatever they call states in South Africa.
While the couple has understandably decided to call off the wedding, there is no mention in the article of terminating the pregnancy. The unnamed mother-to-be is quoted as already being quite concerned on how to explain the child's complicated lineage when it comes to age.
Christ though, can you imagine the revulsion at being hit with that kind of bombshell? My stomach is doing backflips just thinking about it. In fact, I would imagine my personal reaction would look something like this:
*insert exaggerated shudder here*
Three Monkeys Say - HOLY FUCK!!!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Someone Call Dr. Feelgood!!
God Damn God Damn God Damn
God Damn that Pharma-Pushin' Man
From Yahoo! News: Painkiller overdose 'epidemic' strikes US
While the Feds are dispatching gangs of Men in Black armed with Patriot Act garnered warrants and supported by crooked tax-men to try and shut down the nefarious medical marijuana trade around this country, it's business as usual over at Big Pharma. Meaning just another day of sweeping deaths under the rug and shifting blame to ensure that we keep popping these pills like Pac-Man. Chomp Chomp Chomp.
The number of deaths from overdose to prescription painkillers has been on a steady rise for years. And as this new study from the CDC shows, the number of deaths now tops overdoses from both heroin and cocaine combined. With nearly 15,000 prescription pain killer based overdoses in 2008 alone, something obviously must be done.
Of course, the real problem here is the gross over-prescribing of such medications. According to a statistic from the CDC, "Enough OPR (opioid pain relievers) were prescribed last year to medicate every American adult with a standard pain treatment dose of five milligrams of hydrocodone (Vicodin and others) taken every four hours for a month."
Alright, conspiracy theorists - get ready. I'm going deep with this one.
Say you subscribe to the theory that our country is largely controlled by a small group of religious conservatives, who use their money and political influence to control the social climate of our nation. Combine this assumption with the fact that the great majority of these overdoses are found in rural and impoverished areas of the country. Then look at the article's description of the cause of death associated with an overdose of prescription painkillers - "Death typically occurs when the patient stops breathing because the drugs can cause respiratory depression." So essentially, death occurs after a long drawn out period of gradually losing the strength required to control respiratory function, until you are physically incapable of drawing another breath. Markedly similar to the cause of death from crucifixion, which kills the victim by drawing out the body until the person no longer has the strength to move their diaphragm and draw oxygen into their system. Golly, it almost sounds like there is a shadowy interest group handing out crucifixion in a can! Creepy! OK, yeah, maybe this is an unlikely scenario. But it's interesting to speculate on. I did warn you I was going deep there.
In conclusion:
Deaths from overdose on prescription painkillers in 2008: 14,800
Deaths from overdose on marijuana in history: 0
Remind me again which side of the War on Drugs we are on?
Three Monkeys Say: This shit is Funked Up!!
God Damn that Pharma-Pushin' Man
From Yahoo! News: Painkiller overdose 'epidemic' strikes US
While the Feds are dispatching gangs of Men in Black armed with Patriot Act garnered warrants and supported by crooked tax-men to try and shut down the nefarious medical marijuana trade around this country, it's business as usual over at Big Pharma. Meaning just another day of sweeping deaths under the rug and shifting blame to ensure that we keep popping these pills like Pac-Man. Chomp Chomp Chomp.
The number of deaths from overdose to prescription painkillers has been on a steady rise for years. And as this new study from the CDC shows, the number of deaths now tops overdoses from both heroin and cocaine combined. With nearly 15,000 prescription pain killer based overdoses in 2008 alone, something obviously must be done.
Of course, the real problem here is the gross over-prescribing of such medications. According to a statistic from the CDC, "Enough OPR (opioid pain relievers) were prescribed last year to medicate every American adult with a standard pain treatment dose of five milligrams of hydrocodone (Vicodin and others) taken every four hours for a month."
Alright, conspiracy theorists - get ready. I'm going deep with this one.
Say you subscribe to the theory that our country is largely controlled by a small group of religious conservatives, who use their money and political influence to control the social climate of our nation. Combine this assumption with the fact that the great majority of these overdoses are found in rural and impoverished areas of the country. Then look at the article's description of the cause of death associated with an overdose of prescription painkillers - "Death typically occurs when the patient stops breathing because the drugs can cause respiratory depression." So essentially, death occurs after a long drawn out period of gradually losing the strength required to control respiratory function, until you are physically incapable of drawing another breath. Markedly similar to the cause of death from crucifixion, which kills the victim by drawing out the body until the person no longer has the strength to move their diaphragm and draw oxygen into their system. Golly, it almost sounds like there is a shadowy interest group handing out crucifixion in a can! Creepy! OK, yeah, maybe this is an unlikely scenario. But it's interesting to speculate on. I did warn you I was going deep there.
In conclusion:
Deaths from overdose on prescription painkillers in 2008: 14,800
Deaths from overdose on marijuana in history: 0
Remind me again which side of the War on Drugs we are on?
Three Monkeys Say: This shit is Funked Up!!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Be Honest, You Expected This One
Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I am in no way surprised by this announcement out of Germany.
From GlobalPost.com: German authorities plant spyware on citizens’ computers
According to a release from a German based hacker collective, known as the Computer Chaos Club, the German government is involved in the spread of spyware that effectively turns your private computer into a tool of Big Brother.
Computer viruses, spy ware, trojans, and any other number of malicious software infections have been a problem plaguing the internet essentially since its inception. And as the capabilities of our machines escalates, so to do the functions of these hyperspace attacks.
The Computer Chaos Group says it has discovered a trojan horse designed by a private tech firm for the German government to be used in monitoring internet phone calls. Now, while such monitoring is allowed in Germany under certain extreme circumstances, eavesdropping was not the only function of the malware. The hackers found the trojan was also capable of taking screenshots of the infected machine, adding and removing files from the hard drive, and even control the microphone and webcam that now comes standard in virtually every computer on the market.
Of course, the fact that we are now hearing this story out of Germany tells us that most likely these invasions of privacy through our computers has probably been going on for a good long while, and that it is doubtful that the Germans are the only government guilty of the act. Of course, I have no tangible proof for this claim, but what does your gut tell you?
Just another fancy piece to file away in your back pocket.
Make sure you remember, friends - Just because you're paranoid...
Don't mean they're not after you
From GlobalPost.com: German authorities plant spyware on citizens’ computers
According to a release from a German based hacker collective, known as the Computer Chaos Club, the German government is involved in the spread of spyware that effectively turns your private computer into a tool of Big Brother.
Computer viruses, spy ware, trojans, and any other number of malicious software infections have been a problem plaguing the internet essentially since its inception. And as the capabilities of our machines escalates, so to do the functions of these hyperspace attacks.
The Computer Chaos Group says it has discovered a trojan horse designed by a private tech firm for the German government to be used in monitoring internet phone calls. Now, while such monitoring is allowed in Germany under certain extreme circumstances, eavesdropping was not the only function of the malware. The hackers found the trojan was also capable of taking screenshots of the infected machine, adding and removing files from the hard drive, and even control the microphone and webcam that now comes standard in virtually every computer on the market.
Of course, the fact that we are now hearing this story out of Germany tells us that most likely these invasions of privacy through our computers has probably been going on for a good long while, and that it is doubtful that the Germans are the only government guilty of the act. Of course, I have no tangible proof for this claim, but what does your gut tell you?
Just another fancy piece to file away in your back pocket.
Make sure you remember, friends - Just because you're paranoid...
Don't mean they're not after you
Monday, October 31, 2011
I Want Your Skulls!!
Hack the heads off little girls and
Put 'em on my wall!
Happy Halloween, Psychonauts!!
Go get fuckin' weird with it.
Hack the heads off little girls and
Put 'em on my wall!!
Put 'em on my wall!
Happy Halloween, Psychonauts!!
Go get fuckin' weird with it.
Hack the heads off little girls and
Put 'em on my wall!!
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