This simply must be seen to be believed. They’re geniuses, the headline writers over there at Fark, and I’d blogroll them if only I could be arsed to make it through their tedious sign-up process (same goes for you, too, Wheaton, although come to think of it, I DID blogroll you. You’re cuter than Drew, though).
The Official raincoaster blog Headline o’ the Day:
Okay, so this is an oldie; it’s still a goodie. From the Memory Hole, which I miss dearly; not gone, just stagnant.
“The danger to political dissent is acute where the Government attempts to act under so vague a concept as the power to protect ‘domestic security.’ Given the difficulty of defining the domestic security interest, the danger of abuse in acting to protect that interest becomes apparent.”
Yes, that’s the quote the Justice Department attempted to suppress.
Anybody who has read many official documents—including those making headlines in the last year or more—has seen plenty of redactions (those portions that are blacked out or otherwise made unreadable). This, we’re told, is for legitimate reasons, such as “national security” or “protecting intelligence sources and methods.” But now we have absolute, incontrovertible proof that the government also censors completely innocuous material simply because they don’t like it.The Justice Department tipped its hand in its ongoing legal war with the ACLU over the Patriot Act. Because the matter is so sensitive, the Justice Dept is allowed to black out those passages in the ACLU’s court filings that it feels should not be publicly released.Ostensibly, they would use their powers of censorship only to remove material that truly could jeopardize US operations. But in reality, what did they do? They blacked out a quotation from a Supreme Court decision…The mind reels at such a blatant abuse of power (and at the sheer chutzpah of using national security as an excuse to censor a quotation about using national security as an excuse to stifle dissent).
When I began blogging at WordPress, I had few goals. To become googleable. To amuse people. To inform people. To rant about any fucking thing I want. To discuss Squid at endless, tentaculian length.
And to become more popular than the What Not to Crochet blog.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It is an amusing blog, one whose entries I have covered here in the past. I have nothing against the blogger, nor any dispute about what she says is and is not to be crocheted. Such things are indisputable.
Particularly the pasties.
And it is a blog that the world dearly needs, for lo, have you seen the shit they’re crocheting lately?
Still.
I am happy to report that yesterday, for the first time in recorded history, raincoaster beat out What Not to Crochet on WordPress’s top blogs. I can now die vindicated; useless inanities and rants are more popular than crochet-specific fashion advice.
Are we all so very sure that the Swastika isn’t becoming more and more appropriate? Several years ago, The Memory Hole reported on an American who was thrown in jail for days, simply for taking a photograph of a major chain hotel in which Dick Cheney was staying.
Note that this is not, in fact, against any law.
Now BoingBoing reports that an American libertarian has been thrown into maximum security for sending leaflets to IRS agents.
Homeland Security nabs Free Stater
Anonymous says:A member of the Free State Project, Russell Kanning, was arrested recently for attempting to distribute a flyer to IRS agents in his home town asking them to quit their job. The flyers contain anti-war content, criticism the Bush administration for its erosion of civil rights, and a form resignation letter addressed to President Bush, which he is asking IRS agents to sign.
Kanning remains in a maximum security and will not be allowed visitors.
And just in case anyone thinks I’m playing favorites here, I’m not a fan of the Free State Project (they are the types who are the worst bores at parties) but even I don’t think they should be thrown in prison. Check it out:
A new strategy for Liberty in our Lifetime
Are you frustrated at the loss of freedom and responsibility in America, while the growth of government and taxes continues unabated? Do you want to live in strong communities where your rights are respected, and people exercise responsibility for themselves and their dealings with each other?
If you answered “yes” to those questions, then the Free State Project has a solution for you.
What the Free State Project is…
The Free State Project is an effort to recruit 20,000 liberty-loving people to move to New Hampshire. We are looking for neighborly, productive, tolerant folks from all walks of life, of all ages, creeds, and colors who agree to the political philosophy expressed in our Statement of Intent, that government exists at most to protect people’s rights, and should neither provide for people nor punish them for activities that interfere with no one else.
raincoaster 