The "Freedom Alert" Guide
Current Status: HIGH (Orange)
(see ADDENDUM below for a guide to the color codes)
Over the past couple of weeks I have been watching the Fox News Network and also viewing and reviewing many of the "Tea Party" events featured on YouTube (see October 24th blog entry below).
The common theme that seems to run through most of the Fox News reports and the "Tea Party" videos is "freedom." According to Fox News and many of the Tea Party groups, since President Obama's inauguration, we have either:
a) lost some of our freedoms
b) are in the process of losing some of our freedoms
or
c) will lose some of our freedoms soon
Well, I have always been quite fond of my freedom(s) and so I find these reports troubling.
But what I find even more troubling is that no one is keeping a record of what is going on. How will future generations know what happened to us if there is no historical documentation?
That is why I am taking this time to announce to the American people . . . The Freedom Project.
I am asking anyone and everyone to submit to me a list of the freedoms that they have lost since President Obama's inauguration on January 20th, 2009.
Here is the format for sending the information to me:
1) YOUR NAME (optional)
2) WHAT FREEDOM DID YOU LOSE (please be specific)?
3) IS IT POSSIBLE THAT YOU SIMPLY MISPLACED THE FREEDOM? (if "Yes," look around - perhaps you left it with your car keys; if "No," continue with question number four)
4) ON WHAT DAY (and at what time, if possible) DID YOU REALIZE THE FREEDOM WAS MISSING?
5) WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST NOTICED THE FREEDOM WAS NO LONGER A PART OF YOUR REGULAR REGIMEN, OR "PACKET," OF FREEDOMS?
6) DID YOU NOTICE ANY SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS IN THE AREA AT THE TIME OF YOUR LOSS?
Also, as a service to the blogging community, I will be maintaining a "Freedom Alert" color-coded guide (pictured above). Blog readers will be able to consult the "Freedom Alert" to find out the current status of their freedoms.
The current freedom status, as of this blog post, is:
HIGH (Orange)
I would like to start The Freedom Project information collecting process immediately.
Please begin submitting a list of your lost freedoms now.
While you still can.
Thank you.
ADDENDUM
Guide to the "Freedom Alert" color codes (with recommended responses):
SEVERE - Severe rise in freedoms lost (QUICK! look behind you!)
HIGH - High rise in freedoms lost (s l o w l y look behind you)
ELEVATED - Significant rise in freedoms lost (walk backwards)
GUARDED - General rise in freedoms lost (whistle, as if passing graveyard)
LOW - Low rise in freedoms lost (watch TV)
.
4 comments:
hey - you should turn THE FREEDOM PROJECT/FREEDOM ALERT service into a "PowerPoint" presentation - what with all the graphs and questionaires and what-not. you could take the show on the road.
GOOD IDEA!
i cannot speak for fox news or the tea parties, but i can say that the people i listen to and read are not mad at obama for loss of freedom, necessarily. certainly our greatest loss of civil liberty came from the patriot act. what i hear intelligent people criticize obama for are the continuation and even escalation of these despotic practices under the patriot act, like rendition and warrantless wire tapping, especially after campaigning against them in addition to a slew of other promises he's gone back on such as the issuing of signing statements and the appointment of lobbyists and donors within the whitehouse.
I would agree that Bush's Patriot Act did result in a serious loss of civil liberty. However, I have yet to see evidence that the Obama White House has continued, or escalated, practices such as rendition or warrantless wire taps. I would find it very hard to believe that either one of those practices have "escalated" under Obama. I would also strongly suspect that any of that type of activity is not *new*, but are inherited Patriot Act cases from the Bush years (so in that sense would be "continued" I suppose).
I am also disappointed that Obama is using "signing statements" to circumvent legislation, although I would argue that the frequency of the practice pales considerably in comparison to Bush.
Regarding "the appointment of lobbyists and donors within the whitehouse:" I am not sure what you mean by "appointment." If you mean appointed *official* government positions within the White House,
I was not aware of that and would like to see the evidence.
Also - not to nitpick, but I believe Obama's promise was regarding "lobbyists." I don't remember the promise including "donors" (even though I wish that it would have).
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