- This story is about the best and brightest leaving Russia. It has nothing to do with the U.S. — except that my email brings me daily reports about American ex-pats that sound just like this.
- “The leader of the unfree world.”
- Not long ago, this sort of privilege, with its cruel disregard for the “little people,” was granted only to puffed-up Oriental potentates and pashas in lands of the notably unfree.
- You already knew you were a terrorist in the eyes of “your” democratic, representative, passionately liberty-loving, and devoutly transparent government. Now read the criteria, such as they are, secretly used to terror-list you. Good work from the new Omidyar/Greenwald team and their contacts at The Intercept. (H/T jed)
- And speaking of the land of the we don’t feel quite so free any more …
- But worry not! Your safety is in expert hands! (Seriously, it would be hard to imagine how a public shooting could be handled worse than the one at the Navy Yard.)
- On the lighter side: Darth Vader is more highly regarded than all potential 2016 presidential candidates.
The thing with the pregnant lady must have happened millions of times by now. Decades ago I was in a plane stuck on a tarmac for over an hour in Boston while Clinton’s plane decided what it wanted to do.
I was in downtown Detroit one time when Bush I was flying in for some event – preceded by Apache gunships. That was sobering. Detroit has some rough neighborhoods, sure, but Apaches? Really?
When our masters wish to travel, they do not wish to be inconvenienced by commoners. This lady was lucky the advance team didn’t cover her with a tarp to spare our masters the sight of her gross physicality.
Something I could never understand…..Why is it everyone I have ever met puts their pants on the same way…one leg at a time. So……why/now is it that no matter where one looks or goes elected officials as well as appointed ones get the “special treatment”. My time and yours are just as valuable and important to out lives. Not only that…..but this almost feudal way of addressing them…..Mr. President, Congressman so and so….senator so and so…look….we elected the person…..they OWE us we do not owe them. But….it is almost considered a crime to call them some derogatory name….wait…I guess it is a crime according to what I’ve recently read or heard. They say one gets the gov’t one deserves….well….we must have one hell of a lot of stupid people voting, not to mention fraud and graft in the electoral process.
[ this almost feudal way of addressing them…..Mr. President, Congressman so and so….senator so and so…look….we elected the person…..they OWE us we do not owe them.]
My favorite is “the Honorable” (snicker).
BTW I suppose you are saying they SHOULD owe us. Certainly the reality is that they don’t; they owe the special interests that wrote the campaign checks, and the fascist media that vetted them and called them “electable”.
Actually it’s not the best and brightest leaving Russia. It’s the best and brightest that are left.
We already have Oleg Volk, the Volokhs, and many many more.
The bothersome part is that they aren’t coming here any more.
I had happened across this summation of “how-to-get-on-a-watch-list-activities” the other day (http://www.dailydot.com/politics/how-to-tell-us-terrorist-watch-list/) And this particular one caught my eye:
“Damage a protected computer used in interstate or foreign commerce, by a financial institution or by the U.S. government.”
It just made me wonder about all of those poor IRS hard drives that sacrificed themselves. Good thing it wasn’t caused by anyone at the IRS… That would get them on the list!
How to get on a list?
I gather there’s a special list for all of those super stealthy individuals, who’ve managed to avoid appearing in all of the lower level lists.