Sharp as a Marble - Count me in with Bill Quick on this

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War on Terror

I, too, am beginning to believe Wikileaks is a beneficial tool for a republic

I am finding the likes of WikiLeaks more and more necessary. In the Great Secrecy State, we duh sheeple are never given the option of seeing the evidence and making up our own minds.

…

I want to see the Dead Osama pictures. You government types don’t need to approve of my reasons for wanting to, but if you’re interested, I want to gloat, and then I want to print out the pic of the bastard with a big, gaping hole in his melon and piss on it.

And then I may do a happy dance.

Doesn’t matter. I don’t need to kiss the ass of your sensibilities in order to exercise some basic elements of liberty.

Bingo. Even if the probability of offending someone’s sensibilities reaches 100%, that’s not enough of a reason to restrict liberty. I always thought the Internet would tear apart any major secrecy from governments, corporations, or large entities because the ease of getting information would be too great. Politicians can no longer hide behind microfiche archives, every bill they’ve voted on, every word of every speech, what they had for lunch on Tuesday – all of it is online and as easy to find as typing in they URL of your favorite search engine.

But no – it’s for our own good! We are too stupid to make our own decisions. What might upset someone’s delicate constitution and make them possibly soil their unmentionables is kept out of sight, hidden from the populace because we can’t really handle the liberty thing.

I dealt with this during the Open Carry debate. Someone might not be comfortable seeing someone doing something they don’t approve of, so it’s for the better that we simply restrict freedom. Can’t have those ~~horrible gay people showing affection~~ ~~interracial couples holding hands~~ gun owners openly carrying in public because the sight of that might upset someone.

As far as ‘putting our troops into harms way’, that’s bullshit. I signed up for it, so did my brethren. We knew when we put our John Hancock on the dotted line that we were volunteering to risk our lives to save the liberty of our fellow countrymen. Instead, they’re out there putting their lives on the line so you and your own can be given the most comfortable set of chains that are non-toxic, biodegradable, and made from only recycled materials. Oh, and they’re freely provided.

posted @ 5/4/2011 2:29:54 PM

Incoming Links

All this bluster about not releasing the photos | Pithy Title Goes Here on 5/4/2011 4:34:19 PM

Comments

Speakertweaker says:

on 5/4/2011 2:51:06 PM

That last paragraph? Yeah. That. That's brilliant. Very, very well said. Now, if'n you'll excuse me, I'mma post it all over Facebook.

tweaker

Stuart the Viking says:

on 5/4/2011 2:57:06 PM

"As far as ‘putting our troops into harms way’, that’s bullshit. I signed up for it, so did my brethren. We knew when we put our John Hancock on the dotted line that we were volunteering to risk our lives to save the liberty of our fellow countrymen. Instead, they’re out there putting their lives on the line so you and your own can be given the most comfortable set of chains that are non-toxic, biodegradable, and made from only recycled materials. Oh, and they’re freely provided."

Count me in COMPLETE agreeance. I did 6 years in the USMC, and I was ready and willing to go wherever they told me to go, kill whomever they told me to kill, and brave whatever 'harms way' that needed to be braved so that fat stupid Jerry Springer addicted assholes (and the rest of Americans too) would have liberty, for the asking, handed to them on a silver tray (or something like that). I believed in it that much. Now, I wonder if the Liberty that I believed in is more akin to Santa or the Easter Bunny.

As Americans, those pictures, taken by our military persons, or CIA persons (or whomever it was on our payroll) are OURS. OBAMA, QUIT KEEPING WHAT IS OURS FROM US!

s

Rabbit says:

on 5/4/2011 3:27:45 PM

Americans paid good money for those photographs, as well as paid with blood.

I want my copies, and we want a receipt.

TinCan Assassin says:

on 5/4/2011 4:16:43 PM

Hear hear! I learned from experience that the only reason for secrecy in Government is to cover up embarassment and/or incompetence.

wfgodbold says:

on 5/4/2011 4:48:17 PM

Forget the photos; put the video on a movie reel and sell tickets.

armed partisan says:

on 5/4/2011 5:20:22 PM

Absolutely, completely agree.

I for, for one, signed up before 9/11 just HOPING to be put into harm's way (also USMC,BTW, but you won't hear any of that moto shit from me) at some time for some great reason. I found myself in Iraq when the Iraqis were still happy to see us and were dancing in the streets and shaking our hands and giving us whole cartons of cigarettes, and I though "Hmm... this is not what I was expecting..."

But I was glad to get a chance to do it. Fortune favors the bold, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have gotten to experience moments like that...but the rest of it sucked! GOD! Did it suck!

RobertM says:

on 5/4/2011 6:15:20 PM

Bingo.

Gun Shy Tourist says:

on 5/4/2011 6:21:56 PM

I concur Robb.

http://aroundotown.blogspot.com/2011/05/inflaming-islamic-sensitivities.html

http://aroundotown.blogspot.com/2011/05/now-come-threats.html

JWright says:

on 5/4/2011 6:41:59 PM

I'm sick of the Beltway, and Obama particularly, being so concerned with the sensibilities of radical Muslims at the expense of my National Pride.
I wanted the photo(s) so I could hang bacon strips on them, place them on my target stand, and make them drip with .45ACP FMJ rounds. Good old American bacon and Good old American ammo.

Gun Shy Tourist says:

on 5/4/2011 6:47:37 PM

Robb said:
"As far as ‘putting our troops into harms way’, that’s bullshit. I signed up for it, so did my brethren. We knew when we put our John Hancock on the dotted line that we were volunteering to risk our lives to save the liberty of our fellow countrymen. Instead, they’re out there putting their lives on the line so you and your own can be given the most comfortable set of chains that are non-toxic, biodegradable, and made from only recycled materials. Oh, and they’re freely provided."

And then Stu responded:

"Count me in COMPLETE agreeance. I did 6 years in the USMC, and I was ready and willing to go wherever they told me to go, kill whomever they told me to kill, and brave whatever 'harms way' that needed to be braved so that fat stupid Jerry Springer addicted assholes (and the rest of Americans too) would have liberty, for the asking, handed to them on a silver tray (or something like that)."

And while Obie and pals are trying not to offend anyone, an imam is calling American Warriors 'dogs':

http://aroundotown.blogspot.com/2011/05/dogs-should-not-rejoice-too-much-for.html

Yu-Ain Gonnano says:

on 5/5/2011 8:56:59 AM

So...

If the plans to capture/kill OBL had been WikiLeaked the day before the raid and he had gotten away, you all would be cool with that too?

You guys would be cool if, during WWII, it was WikiLeaked that we had cracked The Enigma?

I agree that there's a whole lot of $h17 that's kept private that ought not to be, and you're sensibilities are too delicate is not a good enough reason, but I'm not prepared to say that the gov't should have no secrets at all and I'm really not prepared to say that any old staffer with a grudge and a camera phone is the best arbitor of which is which.

Robb Allen says:

on 5/5/2011 9:15:45 AM

If the plans to capture/kill OBL had been WikiLeaked the day before the raid and he had gotten away, you all would be cool with that too?

There's talk that Wikileaks forced our hand, so... yeah, perfectly ok with that.

I believe there are exponentially more instances of malfeasance than true security needs. I'm also OK with the fear of discovery causing the gov't to expend the appropriate amount of security on the items that require it and less on the "Crap, we screwed up" or "Don't let the people know about this" stuff.

It's the same tack I take with guns. I believe the added risk of accidental injury is far outweighed by the benefits provided. I think our gov't has become too intrusive and too dangerous to trust with secrets at this time and have no problems with exposure. The gov't we had during WWII didn't violate American's rights like they do now.

It's a shitty situation, nonetheless. There are definitely security concerns with some information, but sadly it's overshadowed by what our gov't has become.

Yu-Ain Gonnano says:

on 5/5/2011 9:42:35 AM

There's talk that Wikileaks forced our hand, so... yeah, perfectly ok with that.

See, I see that leak as the same as "aiding and abetting" if not outright treason, not as "saving the republic" from our own gov't.

The analogy to guns falls flat to me. Workign within that analogy, it's not a case of that leaker having the right to keep and bear arms. That SOB shot at us. That he missed doesn't make it OK.

Jake says:

on 5/5/2011 12:18:46 PM

The gov't we had during WWII didn't violate American's rights like they do now.

While I agree with your basic premise, I think this point is wrong. The WWII US .gov certainly did violate American's rights as a matter of policy, but it's a difference of kind, not degree. Rounding up entire populations of a certain race and placing them in prison camps with no due process whatsoever and for an indefinite period of time is a far, far more severe violation than anything the .gov is doing right now, but it's also far less subtle and far less liable to grow to be considered "normal".

See, I see that leak as the same as "aiding and abetting" if not outright treason, not as "saving the republic" from our own gov't.

And when such leaks that do directly endanger our troops or operations happen, they should be prosecuted as what they are - treason in time of war (i.e., a death penalty offense). But this crap about the diplomatic cables or these photos is ridiculous.

These leaks should be evaluated and prosecuted (or not) based on whether the information leaked should have even been classified in the first place, rather than the court system simply rubber-stamping the administrations decisions.

There are definitely security concerns with some information, but sadly it's overshadowed by what our gov't has become.

This. Our government is no longer keeping secrets simply for national security (which I would have no issue with), they're keeping secrets for their own personal gain and to maintain or expand their power as rulers. They are slowly becoming an oppressive and incompetent regime, and the unquestioned ability to hide any information they want from the voters is enabling them.

Crotalus says:

on 5/5/2011 12:24:32 PM

He won't show these pictures because it shows an American triumph. He only wants to show Abu Graib-style pictures in order to embarrass America.

Or, maybe they didn't really get Osama, and this is a cover-up. They can lie to us about the DNA, so we wouldn't know.

If it's all about not offending Muslim sensibilities, then Obama's a coward, and probably a closet Muslim. Nobody in this administration seems to care about the American or Christian sensibilities here, that's for sure.

Yu-Ain Gonnano says:

on 5/5/2011 6:01:43 PM

And when such leaks that do directly endanger our troops or operations happen...

But you can't prosecute for releasing secrets if the .gov has no "right"* to have secrets in the first place.

*yes, I'm well aware that gov't don't have rights they have powers...

Comments have been closed on this topic.