Government and Sanity

[Jamie Michelle]

Despair, Inc. ( http://www.despair.com ) is a company that makes demotivational posters, which they call Demotivators.

Below is their poster entitled Government:


Government: If You Think the Problems We Create are Bad, Just Wait Until You See Our Solutions

"A Brand New Demotivator: 'Government,'" Despair Inc. Blog, July 28, 2008 http://site.despair.com/blog/2008/07...or-government/

"Government," Despair, Inc. http://www.despair.com/government.html

When some bamboozled etatists wrote to Despair, Inc. complaining about the Government poster, below was the poster created in response, entitled Sanity:


Sanity: Minds are Like Parachutes. Just Because You've Lost Yours Doesn't Mean You Can Borrow Mine.

In the below blog post one can read about how the Sanity poster came about:

"Minds are like Parachutes ...," Despair Inc. Blog, August 6, 2008 http://site.despair.com/blog/2008/08...ke-parachutes/

"Sanity," Despair, Inc. http://www.despair.com/sanity.html

[Jamie Michelle]

Interestingly, Allison, the power-mad totalitarian writing from a .gov email address whose email is quoted on the Dispair Inc. Blog ("Minds are like Parachutes ...," August 6, 2008 http://site.despair.com/blog/2008/08...ke-parachutes/ ), mentions the U.S. government round-up list Main Core.

Main Core is the current U.S. government round-up list. Below are previous U.S. government round-up lists. Some of the below lists have actually been used against U.S. citizens, e.g., in rounding up Japanese Americans into concentration camps during World War II.

- Custodial Detention Index (C.D.I.; 1939-1941), name eventually changed to Security Index (1941-1971).

- Rabble Rouser Index, renamed the Agitator Index in March 1968.

- Communist Index, renamed the Reserve Index in 1960.

- Administrative Index (ADEX; 1971-1978), when started in 1971, it was made up of people who were formerly on the Security Index (previously the Custodial Detention Index [C.D.I.; 1939-1941]), Reserve Index (previously called the Communist Index), and Agitator Index.

- Main Core (circa 1980s-current).

Research also Rex-84 Alpha Explan (Readiness Exercise 1984, Exercise Plan; April 5-13, 1984).

For documentation on the older round-up lists, see:

"Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans, Book III, Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities," United States Senate, April 23 (Under Authority of the Order of April 14), 1976 http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointe...reportIIIg.htm

"FBI Central Records System," Federation of American Scientists, August 18, 1998 http://web.archive.org/web/200512171...fbi/is/crs.htm

For documentation on Main Core, see:

"The Last Roundup: Is the government compiling a secret list of citizens to detain under martial law?," Christopher Ketcham, Radar, May/June issue http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:...e_01-print.php
http://www.radaronline.com/from-the-...in_core_01.php

"Exposing Bush's historic abuse of power: Salon has uncovered new evidence of post-9/11 spying on Americans. Obtained documents point to a potential investigation of the White House that could rival Watergate.," Tim Shorrock, Salon.com, July 23, 2008 http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20...omm/print.html
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20...ew_churchcomm/

"Main Core: New Evidence Reveals Top Secret Government Database Used in Bush Spy Program," Amy Goodman interview of Tim Shorrock, Democracy Now!, July 25, 2008 http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/2...ce_reveals_top

[hippifried]

Well thanks for being so upbeat.

The optimist sees the glass half full.
The pessimist sees the glass half empty.

The rest of us just finish it & go for the refill.

[Jamie Michelle]

Well thanks for being so upbeat.

The optimist sees the glass half full.
The pessimist sees the glass half empty.

The rest of us just finish it & go for the refill. ;)

That wasn't the point of my posts. While the company which made these posters is named Despair, Inc., and their demotivational posters they call Demotivators, the above posters are quite veridical, even if funny. My above posts weren't a commentary on optimism or pessimism, but rather on the destructive insanity called government.

[hippifried]

Well, we've all seen what happens without one.

There's no government to stop anyone who wants to from moving to Somalia.

[Oli]

There's no government to stop anyone who wants to from moving to Somalia.

Nice line Hippi

[thx1138]

The problem is that over time government becomes more and more preoccupied over its own survival than the survival of its citizens. Ever increasing vindictiveness is a sure clue a subtle transformation is occuring.

[thx1138]

where's chef mike: aren't you going to give jamie a tin foil hat award?

[trish]

The problem is that over time government becomes more and more preoccupied over its own survival than the survival of its citizens.

Whatever could you mean by this? From its very inception, every government is concerned with its survival. I would agree that it is a problem when those governments are monarchies or tyrannies. On the other hand, the survival of a government of, by and for the people is by definition synonymous with the survival of the freedoms and rights of its citizens.

Perhaps your emphasis was on the word, “preoccupied.” If a citizenry becomes preoccupied with their own survival, they become paranoid of imagined threats from without and within (not unlike some tinfoil hatters we know and love). I agree, that’s a problem too.

[thx1138]

They become preoccupied when their lives are threatened by an ever increasing despotism.