Independence = Freedom

“Decide yourself who was right: you or the one who questioned you then? Recall the first question; its meaning, though not literally, was this: ‘You want to go into the world, and you are going empty-handed, with some promise of freedom, which they in their simplicity and innate lawlessness cannot even comprehend, which they dread and fear—for nothing has ever been more insufferable for man and for human society than freedom! But do you see these stones in this bare, scorching desert? Turn them into bread and mankind will run after you like sheep, grateful and obedient, though eternally trembling lest you withdraw your hand and your loaves cease for them.’”
--from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

50 Years Ago

I used to watch this film every day. I can still watch it anytime, anywhere.

I especially love when Gene Hackman's FBI Agent gets called "Mr. Anderson" by Willem DeFoe's "Mr. Ward". I wish it would catch on as a meme more than that Matrix asshole.

Ward: Just don't lose sight of whose rights are being violated!
Anderson: Don't put me on your perch, Mr. Ward.
Ward: Don't drag me into your gutter, Mr. Anderson!
Anderson: These people are crawling out of the SEWER, MR. WARD! Maybe the gutter's where we outta be! 

 That's sheer poetry, ladies and gentlemen! The true events that inspired this film happened 50 years ago now. It would be naive and silly to go on about how anything's better now than before. I just really like the film and think everyone should watch it and decide what's what for themselves. So sayeth the King of Funny Faces!

Quote of the Day

"Nothing is more common,than for a free people, in times of heat and violence, to gratify momentary passions, by letting into the government principles and precedents which afterwards prove fatal to themselves. Of this kind is the doctrine of disqualification, disfranchisement, and banishment by acts of the legislature. The dangerous consequences of this power are manifest. If the legislature can disfranchise any number of citizens at pleasure by general descriptions, it may soon confine all the votes to a small number of partisans, and establish an aristocracy or an oligarchy ; if it may banish at discretion all those whom particular circumstances render obnoxious, without hearing or trial, no man can be safe, nor know when he may be the innocent victim of a prevailing faction. The name of liberty applied to such a government, would be a mockery of common sense." 

Alexander Hamilton - ‘History of the Republic of the United States‘

9/11/11

I was with my father 10 years ago today. I was getting ready for work upstairs when I saw the towers begin to fall. I ran down crazily to tell him "The twin towers are collapsing." He couldn't believe it until I turned on the TV and there they were. He told me to go to work. I worked in Secaucus, New Jersey, just across the river. My shift started at 11 am. Many of my co-workers watched the second plane hit from their window. I never made it to work, though. The roads were closed. I went to a Blood Bank to see if I could donate blood, but the line was already 40 or 50 people long, so I decided just to go to a car dealership and get some work that needed to be done on my car since I had the day off. I sat in the waiting room watching the news by myself for a long time.

A few weeks later, I remember walking in on my dad. He was crying terribly. I learned that he had just read a story in a magazine or something about a little girl who was never going to see "daddy's funny faces" again. I mentioned this as part of his story at my father's memorial service. It is the origin of the phrase "The King of Funny Faces".

Terror Directed at Everyone

"Evil is the process of a simulacrum of truth. And in its essence, under a name of its invention, it is terror directed at everyone." -Alain Badiou

STAND UP w/ Pete Dominick - 12/27/2010

This is very exciting, but I felt completely rattle brained for over an hour after this phone call. Pete cut me off unexpectedly. I was startled, and a little disappointed. I understood right away, it's nothing personal; but instinctively it felt like a punch in the gut. Like my friend who works in Hollywood says, nobody is ever completely happy with their performance. Just gotta do it, and move on to the next thing.

I am so glad I was able to hear the replay, and record it on my new digital voice recorder. It was a pretty good call and Pete was a true gentleman, as always. He is a real breath of fresh air. Most of the political talk show hosts that in America for the past 20 years are just plain jerks.

Listen on my Myspace music player here:

Find more artists like King of Funny Faces (MUSIC) at Myspace Music

standupwithpetedominick.com
www.grasp.org
www.aspennj.org

Where I've Been

War & Peace - Volume II, Part II, Chapter 25, Again

War is not being nice to each other, it's the vilest thing in human life, and we ought to understand that and not play at war. It's a terrible necessity, and we should be strict about it and take it seriously. It comes down to this: no more lying, war means war and it's not a plaything....

And what is war, what is necessary for success on the battlefield, what is the moral basis of a military society? The aim of war is murder, the weapons of war are spying, treachery and the fostering of further treachery, the destruction of people, looting their property and stealing from them to keep the army on the road, falsehood and deceit, which go by the name of clever tactical ploys, and the moral basis of the military class is the curtailment of freedom through discipline, linked with idleness, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery and drunkenness. And in spite of that, its' still the highest class, universally respected.<sup>1



1</sup> Tolstoy, Leo. War & Peace. Anthony Briggs Trans. London: Penguin Books, 2005. p861 First published 1865.

Congressman Garrett is "More Appropriate Than Thou"

Update: Garrett debate canceled amid security concerns

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY OCTOBER 28, 2010, 2:16 PM 

BY HERB JACKSON - THE BERGEN RECORD - STAFF WRITER

A scheduled debate today featuring Rep. Scott Garrett was abruptly cancelled by a Warren County radio station last night because of what the news director said were "security concerns."

Joyce Estey, news director for WRNJ, would not provide details about what happened, but she said station management decided to cancel the debate.

A spokesman for Garrett, R-Wantage, would not respond to a call and email for comment, but his office has had run-ins in the past with Mark Quick, an independent candidate in the race who was scheduled to participate.

Quick, a mason and landscaper from Frelinghuysen Township in Warren County, has been a vocal critic of Garrett. He has complained he cannot grow his business because competitors can hire illegal aliens with impunity.

Read more about what not to say when running for Congress (ex. "I'm the biggest...threat he's ever faced.")

Viva la France!

"The majority of the guns fired on the British at Saratoga were French. Four years later, when the British set down their muskets at Yorktown, they surrendered to forces that were nearly equal parts French and American, all of them fed and clothed and paid by France, and protected by de Grasse's fleet. Without French funds the Revolution would have collapsed; by a conservative estimate, America's independence cost Franch more than 1.3 billion livres, the equivalent of $13 billion today."
-Stacy Schiff

And how do Republican lawmakers repay them?

Know Your Rights

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Title II Technical Assistance Manual

II-2.2000 Physical or mental impairments. The first category of persons covered by the definition of an individual with a disability is restricted to those with "physical or mental impairments." Physical impairments include --


1) Physiological disorders or conditions;

2) Cosmetic disfigurement; or

3) Anatomical loss


affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs (which would include speech organs that are not respiratory such as vocal cords, soft palate, tongue, etc.); respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genitourinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine.


Specific examples of physical impairments include orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, HIV disease (symptomatic or asymptomatic), tuberculosis, drug addiction, and alcoholism.

Mental impairments include mental or psychological disorders, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.


Simple physical characteristics such as the color of one's eyes, hair, or skin; baldness; left-handedness; or age do not constitute physical impairments. Similarly, disadvantages attributable to environmental, cultural, or economic factors are not the type of impairments covered by title II. Moreover, the definition does not include common personality traits such as poor judgment or a quick temper, where these are not symptoms of a mental or psychological disorder.


Does title II prohibit discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation? No. The phrase "physical or mental impairment" does not include homosexuality or bisexuality.

Be Patriotic This Independence Day

Become a Fan of the B. Bruce Anderson Memorial Flag on Facebook!