As IF Times

link Ferguson Decision Protesters Target Black Friday Sales.

One of the most useful techniques employed in the influencing of public perception is the shrewd use of language.  As we all know by now, nobody ever calls a spade, a spade.  It’s called a personal dirt removal apparatus, or a suit other than hearts, clubs or diamonds as the case may be. When you go to rent a car these days, the “mid size sedan” is actually a Mini Cooper.  It’s hard to buy a plain hamburger anymore, the entry level is always the “deluxe” burger. The Rolling Stones go on their farewell tour…number 4.

In politics, the labelling of policies with Orwellian gibberish is standard operating procedure.  Take for example, the “Affordable Care Act”; “Global Warming”; “man caused disaster” and of course, “Democratic Party”.

The recent violence in Ferguson, Missouri erupted after a grand jury verdict found no fault with the police officer involved in a deadly shooting of a black man.  This provided the news starved media with 24 hour coverage that has been shamelessly portrayed through their prism.  Despite overwhelming testimony by eye witnesses that Mr. Brown was shot dead because of his criminal actions and not because of his race, the narrative has morphed into a case of institutionalized racial oppression.  What’s amusing is that the perpetrators of burning buildings and police cars and destroyers of businesses are benignly labeled as “protesters”.  This is akin to calling the thugs who went on the riotous tear through Vancouver after a loss in a Stanley cup game years ago, hockey fans.  In labelling the thugs who are destroying their community, “protesters”, they dignify the jerks who happen to enjoy a good wilding under pretext of a legitimate cause.

I’m not so sure that the public would be so accepting of their actions if they were labeled as what they actually are: criminal activities.  What if the headlines read “Missouri town invaded by looters and hooligans”?  Or how about “All you can smash day declared for Ferguson”.  Or they could simply rename the town of Ferguson; call it Mad Maxville.

What if people had a bad meal at PF Chang’s and decided to ransack the town— and towns all over the country? What about annoying people who are only doing their Christmas shopping? People have cut these “protesters” lots of slack because the media has portrayed them as exponents of a festering racial issue.  But they’re not; they’re simply criminals being allowed to run amok. I wonder if the media can be sued for aiding and abetting?  It’s also going to be curious to see how long the thugs can go on creating havoc under cover of their cause.  We’re  not sure what the statute of limitations is on legitimate protest versus garden variety breaking and entering.  I wonder if people can still run around causing havoc in “protest” over the O.J. Simpson verdict.

link Taliban Mocks Shutdown: Lawmakers ‘Sucking The Blood Of Their Own People’ « CBS DC.

You know it’s not good when the widely acknowledged scourge and enemy of the western world makes fun of you…and it’s accurate.  Somewhere in the middle eastern moonscape, Taliban leaders must be huddling together after suddenly reaching an epiphany.  They conclude that if they do nothing, the U.S. will destroy themselves from within!  No need to send suicide bombers and mount expensive terror campaigns, unless of course it’s for amusement.

As the U.S. government ‘shuts down’ because of congressional impasse, stories of hysteria and woe, many absurd, are making the media rounds.  By now we know that the furloughing of government employees has ‘forced’ the shutdown of heretofore public facilities.  Even the war memorial in DC was closed to the public, which is amusing because it’s essentially a plaza.  It’s unclear why a large public standing area needs to be closed.  It’s unclear why national parks like the Grand Canyon need to be closed.  Is the government operating the views?  Does someone have to turn on Old Faithful at Yellowstone?  Trying to rope off the Atlantic ocean in Florida is the best one.

If you think about it, the fact that the government shutdown even matters at all is scary; after all, why should the government be involved in so many aspects of people’s daily lives anyways?  This is the issue that no one is playing up.  If you can’t operate through a day without having to navigate some kind of government bureaucracy, THAT is the problem.  Over successive generations, much of what should be private sector stuff has been ceded to government oversight. The notion that the government makes a citizen a law breaker just for trying to access something that the public owns is outrageous.  Instead, all media coverage is spent finger pointing at (mostly) one side or the other.

The flashpoint for all of this recent kefuffle is The Affordable Care Act, affectionately dubbed Obamacare.  If the government is prepared to deny people access to things they already own such as parks and monuments, what makes anyone think that government control of healthcare is a good thing?  What if you needed a mole removed and someone at the clinic turned you away under threat of tazering?  As usual, low information voters think they are getting something for nothing.  They need Obamacare like they need a third nipple, but since they’re giving them away, may as well get one.

The Taliban may as well sit back and smoke hookah pipes until the U.S. just collapses from their citizens’ own collective stupidity.