Can games actually "simulate" the experiences of, say, tactical combat? What it is really like to drive a tank or fly a F-4 Phantom?
Yes or no- and why?
Friday, August 7, 2009
Important Side Topic
This week has been one of the most frightening weeks in my life as an American- more frightening than 9-11 to be honest. Everyone, regardless of who they voted for in 2008, should be equally outraged and concerned about what has occurred this week in our country.
Why?
1) American citizens who showed up to congressional and senate town hall meetings with their representatives were referred to as a "angry mob" brandishing "swastikas and nazi symbols", shouting down people in a "orchestrated" or "organized" effort to derail the Health Care Reform Bill.
2) The White House (yes, THE White House) on its blog requested that people e-mail them information regarding e-mails and web sites (like blogs) who disagree with the bill (i.e. contain "fishy" information). It is unknown why The White House would want to collect this information and what they plan to do with it.
3) At the request of the Administration, actual organized political action and community groups who support the bill (and receive billions of dollars of government money via the Stimulus Bill) were "encouraged" to show up at town halls to counter those nasty, angry, swastika-carrying mobs.
This is a very, very disturbing turn of events in American history- almost unprecedented and reminiscent of how totalitarian governments handle internal dissent. It is very un-American.
Let's deal with each point:
1) The cries of outrage and recrimination by supports of the bill come from the very same people who over the past 8+ years on a almost daily basis protested the actions of the previous administration as per "free speech", "questioning authority" and "dissent is patriotic" argument. Hillary Clinton even spoke out on this that it is not unpatriotic to dissent and question policy of a sitting administration. You can find that speech on YouTube along with speeches on the same topic from Dick Durban, John Murtha and even our current President.
This is also the same crowd that disrupted political events and congressional/senate hearings by shouting down people, rampaging through the streets destroying private property and burning the former president in effigy. They constructed weapons to use against police during the RNC Convention in Minneapolis, tried to drop objects from overpasses onto buses carrying RNC delegates and carried urine bombs to pelt people who they disagreed with.
So far I have not seen or heard of any behavior close to that at ANY town hall meeting- but some how what occurred this week was considered the actions of an "angry mob"? There were no urine bombs, nail weapons, tear gas, destruction of property, no one sabotaging of people's cars, no burning of President Obama in effigy.
The standard of "patriotic dissent" is now not what you say or do, but based on who/what you are protesting. This is clearly hypocritical. If progressives demonstrate or speak up it is "patriotic", if conservatives do the same it is "angry mob". One is not a more "patriotic" form of free speech than the other.
2) Imagine if the previous administration has posted something similar on the White House web site to gather information on e-mails and blogs against its policies- the outrage would have been deafening. This current flash@whitehouse.gov program smacks of Richard Nixon collecting an "Enemies List" back in the early 1970s. We now have a administration that is requesting that citizen forward information to them regarding their fellow citizen's opinions (which is protect free speech) which are at odds with the President. How Orwellian, fascist and UNAMERICAN!
The former administration was referred to as a "fascist, nazi police state" and the former president as "Chimpy McBush Hitler" for running a legal NSA wiretap program where members of both the House and Senate were regularly briefed on. If that is "fascist", how do you classify what the current Administration is doing with this "snitch" program?
3) Those political action groups are posting "want ads" on web sites like Craig's List to pay people to attend town halls to counter those opposing the bill. You tell me if this doesn't smell "fishy" when groups that support the administration (and receive billions of dollars of funding) send paid protesters to town halls. This is more in line with "The Gangs of New York" than "free speech".
Combined with government "investment" into banks, car companies, financial institutions, industry and possibly health care- these attempts to chill free speech and collect information on citizens makes our country more like Fascist Italy or Communist Cuba than America. It is athoritarian, creepy and dangerous.
And you can report this posting directly to the White House at flash@whitehouse.gov .
Why?
1) American citizens who showed up to congressional and senate town hall meetings with their representatives were referred to as a "angry mob" brandishing "swastikas and nazi symbols", shouting down people in a "orchestrated" or "organized" effort to derail the Health Care Reform Bill.
2) The White House (yes, THE White House) on its blog requested that people e-mail them information regarding e-mails and web sites (like blogs) who disagree with the bill (i.e. contain "fishy" information). It is unknown why The White House would want to collect this information and what they plan to do with it.
3) At the request of the Administration, actual organized political action and community groups who support the bill (and receive billions of dollars of government money via the Stimulus Bill) were "encouraged" to show up at town halls to counter those nasty, angry, swastika-carrying mobs.
This is a very, very disturbing turn of events in American history- almost unprecedented and reminiscent of how totalitarian governments handle internal dissent. It is very un-American.
Let's deal with each point:
1) The cries of outrage and recrimination by supports of the bill come from the very same people who over the past 8+ years on a almost daily basis protested the actions of the previous administration as per "free speech", "questioning authority" and "dissent is patriotic" argument. Hillary Clinton even spoke out on this that it is not unpatriotic to dissent and question policy of a sitting administration. You can find that speech on YouTube along with speeches on the same topic from Dick Durban, John Murtha and even our current President.
This is also the same crowd that disrupted political events and congressional/senate hearings by shouting down people, rampaging through the streets destroying private property and burning the former president in effigy. They constructed weapons to use against police during the RNC Convention in Minneapolis, tried to drop objects from overpasses onto buses carrying RNC delegates and carried urine bombs to pelt people who they disagreed with.
So far I have not seen or heard of any behavior close to that at ANY town hall meeting- but some how what occurred this week was considered the actions of an "angry mob"? There were no urine bombs, nail weapons, tear gas, destruction of property, no one sabotaging of people's cars, no burning of President Obama in effigy.
The standard of "patriotic dissent" is now not what you say or do, but based on who/what you are protesting. This is clearly hypocritical. If progressives demonstrate or speak up it is "patriotic", if conservatives do the same it is "angry mob". One is not a more "patriotic" form of free speech than the other.
2) Imagine if the previous administration has posted something similar on the White House web site to gather information on e-mails and blogs against its policies- the outrage would have been deafening. This current flash@whitehouse.gov program smacks of Richard Nixon collecting an "Enemies List" back in the early 1970s. We now have a administration that is requesting that citizen forward information to them regarding their fellow citizen's opinions (which is protect free speech) which are at odds with the President. How Orwellian, fascist and UNAMERICAN!
The former administration was referred to as a "fascist, nazi police state" and the former president as "Chimpy McBush Hitler" for running a legal NSA wiretap program where members of both the House and Senate were regularly briefed on. If that is "fascist", how do you classify what the current Administration is doing with this "snitch" program?
3) Those political action groups are posting "want ads" on web sites like Craig's List to pay people to attend town halls to counter those opposing the bill. You tell me if this doesn't smell "fishy" when groups that support the administration (and receive billions of dollars of funding) send paid protesters to town halls. This is more in line with "The Gangs of New York" than "free speech".
Combined with government "investment" into banks, car companies, financial institutions, industry and possibly health care- these attempts to chill free speech and collect information on citizens makes our country more like Fascist Italy or Communist Cuba than America. It is athoritarian, creepy and dangerous.
And you can report this posting directly to the White House at flash@whitehouse.gov .
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