Please, Direct Your Hatred

For the love of God, please direct your hatred.

As long as we hate those that live in mud huts and wear rags on their heads and worship those in Brooks Brothers suits we will be safe.

Dennis A. Carroll

15 July 2009

American Assassinations, Inc

Two Pieces of Sophomoric Advice and Consent

Recently there have been stories about a secret assassination program being run, allegedly, by former Vice President Dick Cheney. One example can be found here: Lawmaker won't deny CIA program was Cheney assassin ring.

It brings back memories about a column written at The University of Montana's Kaimin newspaper, by journalism student, Jacob Baynham. Most of his opinion piece was rather benign, but his final sentence boiled my blood. "It can be messy to try to remove brutal dictators, but sometimes it is the only just option." His piece can be found here: The Picture Beyond the Frame: Bread, brutes and the sanctity of an international border

The following is what I wrote as a letter-to-the-editor for the Kaimin:

Brother Baynham’s final statement in Wednesday’s Kaimin is bold, decisive and profound, “It can be messy to try to remove brutal dictators, but sometimes it is the only just option.” It demonstrates how short sighted the Founding Fathers were when they didn’t create a cabinet-level Department of Assassination of Brutal Dictators. To be a just country we must push for that department.

The best choice for secretary of the department would be a decider—someone who is bold and decisive. Brother Baynham has those qualities, but since George W. Bush is already “The Decider,” Baynham would have to be “The Decider’s Apprentice.” In that position, Brother Baynham would be able to use his pen to tell others to use their swords.

This is great! Although Brother Baynham is probably too young to remember, it brings back those heady days of the 1970s and 1980s, when death squads roamed Africa, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. They weren’t afraid to limit assassinations only to brutal dictators. If the words of priests and nuns got in the way of political expediency, they were cut down. If a newspaper worker sharpened his pen without engaging his brain, he was removed.

Assassination is a dirty business, but sometimes it is the only just business. The problem is it addresses only the product of the product. Like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, when one is removed, it becomes two, two become four, four become eight. . .

What is more profound is that the lead in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” was Mickey Mouse, not a decider.

As I read the articles about Cheney and recalled the words of a college student, I find myself wondering who was more sophomoric? Thirty years after Frank Church lead a democratic change that brought transparency to black ops, we are revisiting the situation. It's possible that we have already gone where Church warned us not to go:

I don't want to see this country ever go across the bridge... I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision, so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return.

Compare to Solzhenitsyn's words here: Two Terrorisms

Do We Treat People Like An Unbreakable Horse?

A Hidden Parallel

Remember that horse who couldn’t be broke?

He might allow You. He might allow the halter. He may allow saddle, cinch and bridle. Somewhere along the line—no matter what—he fought.

That ole’ horse was the worst—he was smart. He eventually allowed you to ride. Given a tough situation he’d bog his head and dump you in the brush to sheepishly walk back to the crew. Impossible for even the best bronc rider to stay mounted when he’s standing the stirrups, stretched-out, swinging a loop on a yearlin’ and Ole’ horse pulls the plug.

The ultimate in irony. After being shown a better life, Ole’ horse remained a horse. Cold wind in your mane is preferred to a straw-filled shed. Wild oats overpower the lure of grain in a bucket. You accept rolling on grass easier than a human hand on your back. Your herd is safer than a corral. There is no reason to conform when the offered reward doesn’t exceed the risks.

We aspire to a stud’s powerful neck or muscles rippling through a mare’s shoulder but only if they assuage our own passions.

When Ole horse didn’t submit to our designs, we abused him. We canned him. We fed him to our dog. He was never turned-out to live.

We never addressed the “problem” of a horse being a horse. We merely twisted freedom into our being free of him.

What more could he want?

Back to Montana Elk Hunting

Spying on Surfers

They're Everywhere

The sun is shining. It is springtime in Montana, through the window I can hear a Western Meadowlark singing. My wife spotted a fresh baby antelope this morning behind the house. And, I am stuck in the office working on my computer.

In one way this post has nothing to do with Big Sky Vistas, although, if you are reading this you are probably seeing it on a computer. In that way it has everything to do with Big Sky Vistas. I'm inside with a computer and the Big Sky Vistas are outside.

A couple of days ago, I noticed my modem status meter running when my mail program was closed and I wasn't actively on the internet. I have a mac and the internet connect shows a bar graph showing send and receive information. I did a small test--probably not a scientific test and found that if I typed a word on a Word document, there was activity on the meter. My virus blocking software must not have picked it up.

I went to my other computer and surfed for other spyware removal tools, returned to the infected computer and downloaded the software. It found over 80 files that were not part of the system. The files were at the root of my system and could not be accessed by me. I couldn't even look at them. The spyware could not remove the files and I couldn't get them to delete.

It must be noted that as soon as the download of the anti-spyware was completed I got off the internet.

My only real option was to call some computer geek company and have them try to remove it or erase my hard drive and start over.

I took the second option. I don't think I lost much, but I will spend a remarkable spring weekend getting things reloaded.

I'm not sure where I picked up the spyware, or how long it had been on the drive. It is upsetting to me that there are so many obviously capable people that don't use their talents for good, but to cheat and steal from others.

There is a lot of good information about spyware, malware and viruses.

Wikipedia gets a lot of bad press, but if you want a quick overview, with links to sources it is a good start. For information at Wiki, go to Spyware on Wikipedia.

For better info go to the Federal Trade Commission, Internet Privacy & Security page, the FTCs On Guard Online source of topics, games and videos on internet security, or FTCs On Guard Online Malware Page.

I have included the following tips from the malware page:

If you suspect malware is on your computer:

• Stop shopping, banking, and other online activities that involve user names, passwords, or other sensitive information.
• Confirm that your security software is active and current. (emphasis mine) At a minimum, your computer should have anti-virus and anti-spyware, and a firewall.
• Once your security software is up-to-date, run it to scan your computer for viruses and spyware, deleting anything the program identifies as a problem.
• If you suspect your computer is still infected, you may want to run a second anti-virus or anti-spyware program--or call in professional help.
• Once your computer is back up and running, think about how malware could have been downloaded to your machine, and what you could do to avoid it in the future.

Additionally,

• Don't click on a link in an email or open an attachment unless you know who sent it and what it is. Links in email can send you to sites that automatically download malware to your machine. Opening attachments--even those that appear to come from a friend or co-worker also can install malware on your computer.
• Download and install software only from websites you know and trust. Downloading free games, file sharing programs, and customized toolbars may sound appealing, but free software can come with malware.
• Talk about safe computing. Tell your kids that some online activity can put a computer at risk: clicking pop-ups, downloading "free" games or programs, or posting personal information.

Source: FTC, On Guard Online, Malware Page, accessed 30 May 2009

I have already changed my internet habit. Because of that (and other things) my posts here may fizzle out.

This time of year a person should be outside experiencing antelope fawns, elk calves and Big Sky, not sitting at a this desk.

TTFN

Don't Buy the Hot Tub Yet!

Hip! Hip! Hurray!

All the news and business gurus are claiming the end of the recession.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average has had its biggest gains since 1933.

Should we be happy?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

It's important to recall that the recession didn't end in 1933.  

Many people who lived through the depression say that it didn't really end until after the Korean War.

If we are in tune to the Dow Jones Average we should remember that the highs reached before the crash in 1929 were not surpassed until about 1953.  Hmm.  That's about the time people say the depression was over.

Many history buffs will point to the New Deal as the prescription to the Great Depression.  Others point to World War II.  

My belief is that the only thing that brought an end to the Great Depression was a change in people.  They started to save and not depend on a sky-rocketing stock market.  They decided to quit waiting for the "government solutions." 

They returned to being Americans, relying on themselves and each other.  

Bailouts, TARPS, stimulus are just ways of doing nothing while spending money.

We have a long way to go.

Hip! Hip! Hurray!