War. Wah. Blah. Go Git em boys: The Sock Puppet Parade.

Time for another round of Facebookland.

But before I start, here's a book, you should read it:  Ronald Brownstein: Second Civil war (2007).

I haven't read it.  It probably sucks.  But YOU should read it.

You should read it because it probably reads like its forebears in the genre.  Probably a spittin' image. These books, you know, the books about how the doodoo is about to hit and the whole hell in a handbasket moonbattery.  I'm pretty sure the big houses used to limit the gloom and doom Civil War 2 type books to one per decade.  Not anymore.  They'll be everywhere soon.  Just watch, you'll see.

And it's not just books, either, is it?  It's been illustrated in movies.  It's in the papers.  It's in video games.  It's cable news media--all of them. And the internet. Oh...the internet! It's ... all ... over ... the ... internet. The "violent" protesters at Tea Party rallies are scoffed at and ridiculed while the "peaceful" WTO protesters tip over cars and throw burning trash cans through windows.  There is that side.  There is this side.  They are both violent.  They are going to clash.  Civil War 2.

That's what they tell us.

And, like the good little sock puppets we are, we fan the flames ourselves.  For the record, I am "me" on facebook.  Chris Lostaglia.  I'm "me" on this blog.  C.T. Lostaglia.  And I am me on Newsvine, Examiner, on every political blog I write for and respond to.  I'm no sock puppet blogarazzi.  I have nothing to hide.

But these people on Facebook,--the ones who hide under the guise of nom de plume sock puppetry--they say whatever they want without personal consequence.  Their names are Liberty this and Thinker that.  They write blogs under completely different nom de guerre's, further padding their limp wrists with more layers of
argyle anonymity.  And no, I'm not talking about good blogs with titles such as Cameron Jordan's blog.  I'm not even talking about the people who make their "name" under the see-through fish-net stocking of "fill-in-the-blank Pundit".  Those people simply lack imagination, or didn't care to come up with a coy title under which to house (pardon the obvious) their opinions. 


I am talking about the people (if they really are people and not some Orwellian government conspiracy of hired propagandists...I'M KIDDING!) who engage in anonymous Facebook rhetoric such as this:

• I just wonder when the people will exchange their "Don't tread on me signs" for "Lock and Load" signs.
• The blood of tyrants and patriots, people!
• Civil War is coming.  It's unstoppable at this point.
• It's alright we got guns, they've effectively legislated themselves into a corner they can't shoot their way out of!
• F*** it.  Let's roll on D.C.
• Forget the koran, let's burn washington. 

And on.  And on.  And on.  From the "left" and the "right".  These people want a civil war.  They are egging it on.  Not like the warning issued by most (see Cameron's re-post I linked above--a valid cry for diligence and change through--wait for it--VOTING.  Duh.).  These are dangerous times.  I get that.  I do.  American civil liberties are at risk.  They are.  Our penchant for hegemony is putting us all at risk, as well.  Dire risk.  But to bait people, to goad people into violent insurrection is 100% asshattery...and when done under the blanket of anonymity, it's cowardice.

Ok, so part of this is my fault for accepting friend requests from people I do not know.  Granted.  You have to expect that you'll find some cracked nuts via the process of social networking.  You are networking, it'll happen.  And heck, some of the people I've known since college think I'm the whack job for condoning liberty and peace.  Yep.  Those vile principles of peace and liberty...surely I must be ignorant or uneducated to believe in such nonsense.  If only I'd worn my sock puppet, I could be an ignorant, uneducated pundit with no consequences...

So what are the consequences?  Well, there's the obvious, self-policing process on both sides, of course.  That's the way I like it.  You say something vitriolic and inane, I can move along.  If I say something you don't like, you can move along. That's great.

But, there are other consequences as well.



But that's just the way the Chinese control attitudes and opinions online, right?

Maybe. But it is coming to America. It is true that Sunstein has re-thought his initial opinion on U.S. internet regulations, but this is how it always works. The presidents men, be they Wilson's brownshirt banker elitists, or the current Wilsonian-Jacobite Obamaniacs with PHD's, take both sides of the issue, so you never know what you're going to get. If you don't know this happens, the sock puppetry of the establishment iron hand has got you gazing at the cardboard cutout mini-stage of American politics like an amused pre-schooler, doesn't it? Look mommy! A donkey!

If you do know this happens, it seems to me, you can take two roads to a solution. You can spew crap on Facebook, or Myspace or wherever about how you're just drooooling over the idea of Civil War 2, or, you can do what real anonymous patriots did in the past: engage in civil discourse, police yourself, maintain some decency and stop the moonbattery.

If you do not, I guarantee you, some future Mao-loving czar will. I guarantee it.

So shut up out of fear? Is that what I'm saying? No. Shut up out of respect, you asshat. The only thing you're doing is fanning the flames of an already raging idea. A very, very bad idea.

Isn't the reason why we hate big government because we are capable of what my aunt used to call "a little self-control". Hey, keep your socks on, I don't care. Whatever. But if we don't know who you are and you are a stuffed sock flapping your fingers with the words of war and civil disobedience and insurrection and crap like that, I won't protect you. And I won't fight any battles on your side. Because you're a coward. An out of control coward who actually needs someone to come along and knock your socks off.

That's all.

Burning Books and Stuff

I have degrees in literature and writing so it goes without saying that I write and read more than the average person.  I guess you could say I'm well read, and no, I don't want to get into any bookworm pissing contest with anyone.  I'm just saying, I've read some stuff.  I'm a good reader.  I'm a close reader.  All that stuff.  And yes, I write--might not be the next Cormac McCarthy, but I do write...

You know, I can't imagine what it would be like if someone took it upon themself to hate my work so much that they amassed a heap of my *best* work and lit it ablaze.  Jeez, that would hurt my feelings, for sure.  I might even think about going into fetal hibernation under my bed.  Maybe I'd think about changing my name and moving to...somewhere that was not here.   I might think about a lot of stuff.  Yeah, I might think about it.  I wouldn't do it. Wouldn't do anything except keep writing.  That's what I would do. Well, ok, I might jump off a bridge if it were someone like my mother or my daughter doing the burning, that would shut me down, for sure.  But anything short of familial disparagement is just going to get chocked up to status-quo-class criticism.

Why is that?  Why wouldn't I freak out and throw incendiary bombs (linguistic or otherwise) at the people burning my book?  Because I live in a world of diverse opinions, with diverse perspectives and diverse attitudes.  That's why.  I'm used to criticism.  Americans are used to that.  If you're not, you're leading one helluva sheltered life, or you live with your mother.

You know what?  Check this out.  I actually did have a guy crumple up something I wrote once and toss it in the garbage can on the way out of class--a class full of students who were listening to me read my story as they were following along.  Boink.  In the trash.  Deep sixed.  I mean this guy was a blatant lefty and he didn't even think about recycling it.  Trashed.  Actually, when he first tossed it he missed the garbage can so he bent over and picked it up with his index finger and thumb as if it were a hardened dog turd and only dropped it into the wastebasket after dangling it there for a few seconds.  He smiled while he dangled it.  Right at me.  Right at my face.  Ugh.


Ok, that sucked.  But then again, so did what I wrote.  It sucked for him at least.  Pissed him off even. Whatever.

See?  This is why my writing sucks, I'm too tangential.  I've got no rigid structure, no...program, as someone once called it.  Maybe my writing style is just "diverse".  Nah...


So, I wonder about this Quran burning episode that will take place on 9/11/10.  And I wonder about Americans.  What is it about Americans that they put up with people burning the flag and the Bible even though they hate that it happens, but Muslims will supposedly kill an extra 10,000 infidels if we burn the Quran?  I don't know.  I'm just thinking...there aren't a lot of Christians in Mecca or Medina.  In fact, there aren't any at all.  No diversity.


Diversity.  God knows I hate that word so much.  It usually precede a lecture about how I suck for being a rich, white heterosexual male who enslaves entire races and eradicates other races from the face of the Earth.  Well, it does.  For the record, I'm not rich.  I'm not Caucasian.  I've never owned a slave, nor has anyone in my family. And I've never killed or condoned the killing of any human being.  Not even Saddam Hussein.  Not even Hitler.  Not even Kenny Rogers.


Oh, sorry.  Writing got diverse there again, didn't it?  It's actually working out good, let's keep it up.

More diversity:

I love chocolate cake with cherry flavored frosting.  /diversity


Have you ever read the Acts of the Apostles?  Did you know that Christians, 2,000 years ago burned books in protest?  Did you know this?  Act 19:19.  Go check it out.


So, what you're telling me is that it's NOT ok to offend the Muslim religion and their tradition by burning their book, but it is ok to offend the Christian religion and their tradition by telling them they cannot burn a book.  Hmm.  Maybe I was wrong about our "diversity".  Wait a second.  We don't get the benefit of our own diversity do we?  We're expected to be accepting--and particularly accepting of the idea that we're not expecting to be accepted.  That's not diversity, now is it?  That's writing yourself out of your own story! That's like...like...martyrdom.  That's the cultural equivalent of a self perpetuated fetal hibernation.  That's death.  Suicide.  Jumping off the bridge. 

Do yourself a favor and go burn a Quran.  At least you'll know you're alive.

Feel free to print this out, just so you can toss it in the trash.

Me?  I'm going to burn it. 

That's all.

The Sunday morning smackback: Is Glenn Beck a Libertarian? Not so fast.

Twice last week, on Thursday and Friday's television shows, Fox News' Glenn Beck referred to himself as "libertarian". On Thursday he said "a Libertarian", implying of course that his political affiliation lies with the Libertarian Party. On Friday he used the less associative "libertarian", absent the determinate article "a". So what's the difference? Well, a big "L" Libertarian is a member of the Libertarian Party, usually these people are fairly highly active in politics on varying levels and degrees. A little "l" libertarian is someone who is either unaffiliated or is registered to vote under any political party including the Libertarian Party and share some common beliefs with the big "L" folks. Usually the little "l" people aren't very politically motivated or activated. Usually...

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