Stealin ur Megahurtz

I can’t express my feelings about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell any better.

Filed under: Rants, politics by rfdeshon

As many people know, I am a graduate of Michigan Technological University. I’ve always been a proud one at that. The school is not an easy one to graduate from and they expect a lot from their students.

Today, my pride in that institution has diminished. During my time at MTU, I was a member of one of the longest lasting and most storied living communities on campus, La Maison de Gaite (colloquially named, Maggot Hall). I met some of my best friends in college through Maggot Hall and various events that we put on. We have been one of the most well known (though not always well behaved) halls in history at Tech and we’re damn proud of it. One of our many long standing traditions is the Maggot Hall chant. An adaptation of a George Carlin skit, passed down from generation to generation for some time now. It goes something like this.

Rat shit, bat shit, nasty old twat;
69 assholes tied in a knot;
Eat, suck, fuck, gobble, nibble, chew;
We’re from La Maison so hey, fuck you!

Not exactly the most eloquent of chants, but hey, it’s our tradition it’s only words and if you don’t like it you don’t have to listen to it. Sometime this week, however, the administration of Tech finally decided they have had enough of that whole 1st amendment thing, they didn’t like our chant so they were banning it under threat of punishment.

From: Ryan H <address removed>
To: Hall Maggots <mailing list removed>
Sent: Thu Sep 10 12:54:06 2009
Subject: [lamaison-l] Hall Chant and Incident Reports

Hey guys,
I have some bad news. As of now if you are caught saying the hall chant
by a michigan tech staff member(Residents Assistant, Program Coordinator,
Community Coordinator, Assistant Director, Director or any other staff
member) you will get an automatic INCIDENT REPORT. As you may remember me
saying at our second hall meeting this type of report is REALLY REALLY BAD.
As far as I know it will be on your school record for two years after you
graduate. This matters because a potential employer my contact the
University to see if you have anything on record and then they might hear
about it.

Just trying to look out for you guys,
-Ryan

Now then, if this were a private institution then that would be the end of it, private institutions can ban speech if they so choose, however, Michigan Tech is a public university. It is government funded and it has decided to dictate what it’s students can and cannot say. That is a blatant and flagrant violation of the civil rights of the students and alumni of Maggot Hall. You can argue that the chant is inappropriate, sure maybe it is, but that by no means gives a government funded university the right to tell us we can’t say it. The chant doesn’t incite anyone to violence, it’s not shouting fire in a crowded (or, more likely the case in Houghton, nearly empty) theater, it’s not racist, homophobic or any other form of hate speech. It doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s just words, words some people don’t like perhaps, words that some people find distasteful even, but that’s what the 1st amendment is there for. To protect people who have something to say that others, even the majority, might not like.

Recently, this follow up email was sent to our hall mailing list.

Hey Guys,

So it’s come to my attention that our freedom of speech has been infringed upon by the university by not allowing us to say our chant that has been a hall tradition for many years.

I recommend all of maggots past and present raise hell.

I’ve already filed a complaint http://www.thefire.org/ which is a Civil Liberties association regarding this incident and intend to contact Susanna Peters in the social sciences department who specializes in Civil Liberties law and will soon contact the ACLU about this incident.

I would recommend all maggots submit complaints and emails to the following;

http://www.thefire.org/cases/submit/

http://www.aclu.org/affiliates/michigan.html
Michigan ACLU Dept. Contact Information:
ACLU of Michigan
Executive Director: Kary Moss, Esq.
2966 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201
Phone: 313-578-6800
Fax: 313-578-6811

http://www.social.mtu.edu/people/speters.htm
Susanna Peters
Office Location: 218 Academic Offices
Office Phone: 906.487.2391
Email: speters@mtu.edu

Maggots, don’t stand for this. This is your First Amendment Right that MTU is trouncing upon. Please do your part and contact the above groups. What the university is doing is illegal.

Sincerely Pissed Off,
-Justin W

——
Mr. Justin W
Michigan Technological University

I stand behind his sentiment as well as his call to action. I encourage anyone who reads this and is appalled at a public institution pissing on the 1st Amendment to please, do anything in your power to help spread the word and fight back against this injustice. Threatening college students with disciplinary action if they say something the administration finds distasteful is downright un-American, and I will not stand for it. Oh, and to Michigan Tech, I’m from La Maison so hey, fuck you.

Note: I attempted to remove the personal information from the senders and recipients of the emails I have listed for their protection in case MTU decides to further crack down on students for expressing themselves. If I missed something, please feel free to let me know at rfdeshon[at]stealinurmegahurtz[dot]com and I’ll do my best to fix it.

Filed under: Rants, politics by rfdeshon

The following two videos are not for the weak of heart (or stomach). Both of these excerpts from the documentary “Outlaw” were featured on BoingBoing TV. I felt that they tied in nicely with my last post so I’m posting them here. I urge anyone that feels that the torture that the Bush administration engaged in to watch these videos. Imagine that you were these people, detained for no reason, indefinitely, tortured and denied even the most basic human rights. This is the kind of thing the Nazis did leading up to and during WW2. What makes us think that we should be able to do this kind of thing?

Filed under: Videos, politics by rfdeshon

We are currently almost 1 week into the Obama administration. It has been quite the busy week for this administration as they move to undo the damage of the last 8 disastrous years. While I understand that 1 week in Washington is a very short time, I feel that there are quite a few things that need to be discussed about this historic first week, both good and bad.

The Impeach Obama movement

Seriously guys? Get a life. You’re the same people that threw a fit when people suggested impeaching Bush for lying to the American people and leading us into a war based on those lies. You’re the same people who said “He’s the president and if you don’t support him you’re unpatriotic.” Either take your own advice or shut the fuck up. The state of Hawaii has already certified that Obama is a natural born US citizen and won’t release his birth certificate only because it would create the potential for a privacy of information lawsuit. All credible sources have dropped that stupid argument. As for the swearing in flub on inauguration day? The Constitution clearly states that the president-elect becomes president at noon on January 20th regardless of the swearing in. Also, they re-did the swearing in and didn’t flub it as a handful of previous presidents have had to do for the same reason. Also, as for the “he wasn’t sworn in on a Bible the 2nd time” bullshit… that doesn’t matter! There have been previous presidents that weren’t sworn in on a Bible as well, the Bible doesn’t matter. This isn’t a Christian nation (as Bush made so plainly clear with many of his policies), it’s a secular nation. He could of been sworn in on a copy of Lord of the Rings and he would still legally be president.

Guantanamo

I have to give kudos to the Obama administration on this one. You promised to close it and it looks like you’re going to deliver.  This will be a huge help in repairing the American image abroad. I know there’s a lot of whining about the people being held there being let go and rejoining the fight against America. All I have to say is this, one, there has been no credible evidence presented that this will happen in anything but the rarest of cases and every count of the number of released detainees that have returned to the fight has been shown to be made up and have no credibility at all backing it up. Two, most credible intelligence sources have concluded that Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and other prisons that we have been running like them are being exploited by extremists to recruit new soldiers.  Even if a few of the detainees that are released return to the fight, that number will be much smaller than the massive number of new recruits we would aid our enemy in gaining by leaving the prison open. That’s really the problem with the Republican strategies over the past few decades really. It’s short-sighted and they end up creating more problems than they solve. Recall, it was Republicans that gave Saddam Hussein nerve gas and many other weapons in the first place. That worked out real well didn’t it?

The economic bail-out

This is the point where I start to ask what you think you’re doing Obama. You were not elected by a questionable margin like your predecessor. This country said overwhelmingly that we wanted you to lead us and a large part of that was because of your ideas on how to fix the economy. Now, I have no problem with bi-partisanship as long as both sides are bringing good ideas to the table. The right-wingers, however, are NOT bringing good ideas to the table about the economy. They simply want more of the same handouts that got us into this economic sink-hole in the first place. “More tax cuts!” they scream, seemingly oblivious to the fact that over the past 8 years that mantra has continuously failed to produce a stable economy. In times like these, people don’t spend… they horde. Giving more tax cuts to people will not stimulate the economy. Most economists agree on the fact that the way to jump-start this economy is a huge government investment in infrastructure. Our roads, power grids, sewer and water systems and public transit systems in this country are a joke. They are crumbling all around us. You can kill two birds with one stone by simply scaling back the tax cuts and investing that money in infrastructure instead. Not only will you be repairing the backbone of our country and ensuring it’s long term viability but it will create jobs and ensure that the money actually goes into the economy because it will be going directly into buying goods and services instead of padding peoples bank accounts. I’d be more than glad to not get a giant tax cut if it meant that my power or Internet didn’t get cut out the next storm we get and the roads and bridges I travel over aren’t in a constant state of decay. I’m pretty sure a lot of America would agree with me on that point too. There’s a reason that you were elected and that Democrat margins in the House and Senate grew and it wasn’t because we wanted the Republicans influencing policy more.  It’s because we wanted you to do what is right to get this country back on track.  I believe you understand this considering that you told Republicans “I won” when discussing the bail out with them. Now show us that you do by doing the right thing instead of the same old thing.

Lobbyists

One of the biggest things you did this week was put some of the strongest restraints on lobbyists in history. I applaud you for that. Too long has corporate America run wild through the halls of power influencing every decision of our lawmakers. What was the next thing you did though? You made an exception for William Lynn, former Raytheon lobbyist. What is the point of setting restrictions if you are just going to make exceptions like that? There are a lot of people in the U.S., surely there is at least one other person who wasn’t a lobbyist with credentials as good or better than Lynn’s? Raytheon already has too many tendrils in Washington and now you’re letting them in on this one? GIVE ME A BREAK! This has to be one of the most disheartening things I’ve heard this week. I though you were a man of principle Mr. Obama. Reading this news makes me question that. Do everyone a favor, sack Lynn and find someone who wasn’t a corporate sleazebag for one of the most influential defense contractors of all time… or at least hide it better.

Torture

You know, I thought you, being a lawyer, would get this one right. The talk is that you won’t be prosecuting people for torture. As I’m sure you know, being a lawyer, this will set a precedent which can be used in the future to defend people committing atrocious acts such as torture. I understand your desire to “look forward,” however, part of looking forward has to be accounting and making up for the mistakes of the past. If we don’t condemn these things as wrong then what is to stop us from repeating those mistakes in the future? Furthermore, how would it look to the world if we don’t hold those responsible for breaking international law accountable? What happens if the Hague decides to try them and finds them guilty? Yes, it would be unpopular with their supporters to hold them accountable for their crimes but it is the right thing to do. From an international relations point of view, nothing good can come from letting Bush & Co. get away with war crimes. We could be declared a rogue State, lose even more clout with the international community, your entire presidency could be tarnished by the fact that you let your predecessor violate international law. I implore you, save our countries reputation, investigate the possible war crimes of the last 8 years and prosecute them if the evidence is there. It may be unpopular in the short term but it is the first step in recovering our lost standing as the beacon of light for the free world.

Filed under: Rants, politics by rfdeshon

This was written by my good friend (whom I don’t hear from often enough),  Ben.  I’ve reposted it here in all it’s glory with his permission.

To: George W. Bush
From: Your Biggest Fan
Re: The Beginning of Your Unemployment

Greetings, Mr. Bush. I was sorry to hear about the passing of your cat, India. Eighteen years is a long time for a cat – my old neighbor has one that’s 20 and still going strong, if you can believe it – and I’m sure India had a comfortable, caring life with your family.

Before class today I ran into an old friend of mine. He’s around 25, and he’s also a soldier who recently rotated back from a tour in Fallujah. He just had a baby daughter, and he will be sent to Afghanistan before too much longer. He did his duty in Iraq, dealt his share of death and saw his friends die or be ripped to shreds right in front of him.

He was hollow in a lot of places that had been full before he went to Iraq. He was not the same person I’ve known since the age of eleven. But he was alive, and if he survives his upcoming Afghanistan tour, maybe he will get the chance to have a long, comfortable, caring life with his family, just like little India.

At present, my friend’s life is the polar opposite of comfortable, and he still has Kabul waiting for him just over the horizon. His life is the way it is because of you, Mr. Bush. You have been the single greatest influence upon his time in this world; you put him over there and hollowed him out, and because of you, it’s about to happen again. You were the single biggest influence upon the lives of every person he knew over there, every person he saw over there, and every person he killed over there.

It’s funny. I was thinking the other day about the footage of one of the first large-scale post-inauguration protests against you in Washington, DC. It was May of 2001, it was The Voter’s Rights March to Restore Democracy, and it was a few thousand people shouting down the unutterably ruinous Supreme Court decision which unleashed, just as we then feared, everything that has since come to pass. “Not my president!” they bellowed. “Not my president!”

It’s funny because that memory seems quaint to me now. A stolen election? Pffft. To paraphrase a different president, Americans get scarier stuff than that free with their breakfast cereal nowadays.

My All-Time-Hell-Yeah-Gold-Medal-Winning Top Five list of what you’ve done, in no particular order, and in my own humble opinion:

1. You were warned by the outgoing administration when you first took office. You were warned by the Russians. You were warned by the Israelis. You were warned by the Germans. You were warned in a memo given to you by your own National Security Adviser. You were warned by men like Richard Clarke. You were warned all those times that Osama bin Laden intended to strike the United States, and still the Towers came down.

(All those people working on that Legacy Project of yours should go back to bed, by the way; they are trying to salvage the unsalvageable. You protected us, they claim? Ha. You’re 0-1 on terrorism and 0-2 on war)

2. Less than a month after those Towers came down, a reporter asked what you thought we should do. “We need to counter the shockwave of the evildoer,” you replied, “by thinking about tax rebates.” I happened to be watching television and heard you say that live into a camera. The only reason I didn’t throw up on myself is because my teeth were clenched too tightly for the vomit to pass. I wrote down what you said and when you said it. It was October 4, 2001, just after nine in the morning. You’d like people to remember you standing on that pile of rubble in Manhattan with the bullhorn and the heroic pose. I, however, will always remember you pitching tax cuts to a devastated nation while a cloud of poison smoke still hung in the air over Ground Zero.

3. A few years later, you wanted hundreds of billions of dollars diverted into your war in Iraq. You took more than $70 billion out of the budget used to fund the repair and maintenance of the New Orleans levee system. Katrina struck soon after you took that money and poured it into the sand, and the levees failed for lack of funded upkeep. Through this, along with your disinterested disinclination to help your own countrymen in their hour of darkest need, you played the very last note for that amazing American city.

4. You let Antichrist Cheney do whatever the hell he wanted to whomever he wanted whenever and wherever he wanted, and be damned to the damned old Constitution anyway. Cheney once said the vice president’s office was not part of the same branch of government as the president’s office. Why? He didn’t want to give any of his official papers over to the National Archives, as mandated by at least two federal laws. Nope, he said, my office is in Congress today, sorry about that, but be sure to come on back after you fuck off. Or words to that effect. That’s about one zillionth of a percent of what he did, because you let him pick himself to be your boss.

5. Also, you defied lawfully issued subpoenas and potentially set a precedent that could shatter the separation of powers. You told the American people Iraq was in possession of 26,000 liters of anthrax, 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, 500 tons – which is one million pounds – of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent, 30,000 missiles to deliver the stuff, mobile biological weapons labs, al-Qaeda connections and uranium from Niger for use in a robust nuclear weapons program, even though all of that was a lie. You made a joking video about not being able to find any of it. You outed a deep-cover CIA agent who was running a network designed to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists, and you did so because her ambassador husband told the truth about you for once.

You gave away our right to privacy by sending the NSA to spy on us. You turned us all into torturers and butchers in the eyes of the world with your decision to use Abu Ghraib prison the same way Saddam Hussein once did. You tried to appoint Henry Kissinger to lead the investigation into 9/11. You turned the entire Justice Department into a carnival of political hackery. You championed the economic policies and deregulation fantasies that have left the financial stability of millions in ashes. You used the threat of terrorism against your own people in order to give yourself political cover. You killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who did you nor us no harm.

You did all this, and so much more.

From a certain perspective, one could argue that you have been the most successful president the country has ever seen. Think about it, because according to your definition of “success,” it’s true. You came into office looking to make your friends richer, and to fulfill as best you could your most overriding personal belief: that government is the problem, so government must be damaged to the point of impotence. Through your tax cuts and your two vastly expensive bullshit wars, you made your friends rich. By unleashing Mr. Cheney and your other minions, you tore the Constitution to shreds and tatters. You have achieved both goals in smashing style, so from that certain perspective, you have triumphed.

Could you also, from the proper perspective, be considered our greatest president?

It will be in the best interests of many powerful people if we, as a nation, simply dismiss you and forget you ever happened. A lot of media people want us to forget you, because we would forget their vast complicity in your actions and misdeeds. A lot of rich people making new fortunes from war profiteering and defensecontracts want us to forget they even exist, as it would bepossible for them to do it all again someday. A lot of politicians who stapled themselves to you would simply adore it if we forgot about you. The Republican Party would be forever in our debt if we forgot about you.

No. We will not forget you. We will remember.

We the people are going to save you from oblivion. We will remember. You could be the president who doomed America, the worst president of all time, but we must not, will not let that happen. You will be remembered differently, because we will hold the memory of you high, and say, “Never again.” We’ve seen how fragile our government is when placed in the hands of low men such as you, and because of that, you will be remembered for all time.

Your greatness will be defined by how we rise to overcome what you’ve done. Your greatness will stand forever if we never, ever forget the bitter lessons you taught us. We are responsible for this republic, for our Constitution, and for each other. You nearly destroyed us, but here we stand, and we defy the place in history you would relegate us to.

Something like you must never again be allowed to happen to this country, and if we save ourselves by preventing it, your greatness is assured. You are the tallest of all possible warnings, and a promise all of us must keep. If we can damn you to the past, we will save our own future.

May you live forever, you pigfucking son of a bitch.

Filed under: Rants, politics by rfdeshon

Filed under: politics by rfdeshon