Dear Editor,
Is it only me or does the weather feel weird these days. In late May, we had temperatures in the 40's accompanied by rain and strong wind. Usually, cold temperatures in late May are associated with clear weather and high pressure- not wind and rain. We had a few very hot days followed by 2 weeks of heavy rain-one storm after another. But instead of the wind being from the south, it's coming from the north and west. Currently, on the evening of June 11, temperatures are in the low 50's; it's windy and wet. Getting cabin fever in June, I went for a walk and there were large numbers of fireflies! It's too early and too cold for fireflies. Things just don't feel normal. Maybe I'm primed to find abnormal weather or maybe the weather really is weird.
Confined to my house by the rain and a spring head cold, I listened to NPR. The announcers take on the Edward Snowden story is how the government will catch him and what his punishment should be. Snowden provided documentary evidence to the Manchester Guardian that our government spies on every American, everyday. NPR is not disturbed by that revelation; that's not the story. The story for the corporate media is all about punishment for the leaker. When did the media take on the role of running interference for the government? There is a huge story there. The government is violating our nation's constitution each and every day on a massive scale and doing it with our money. Imagine a person escapes from his kidnappers. To get away, he steals $20 from his captors. You would think the story would be about the welfare of the victim and catching his captors. But in this case, the story seems to be what kind of punishment should be meted out for the theft of the $20. What is the greater crime- violating the constitution billions of times/day or revealing that this is taking place? If you're the perpetrator of this crime, you hide your own culpability and motives by going after the messenger,with some extremely heavy lifting by the captive corporate media.
Following the embrace of the government's line on Edward Snowden, an announcer, without a trace of irony, reported that sales of the Orwell's chilling book, 1984, have soared. To avoid a paper trail, people are walking into brick and mortar stores and paying cash. People get it; they know that something is wrong. There's something wrong with the weather and there's something wrong with our country. Information is power. In the next great crisis to come, whether it be our making or nature's, our government will choose the course that best protects the elites; There will be dissent. And the government will be ready and waiting to round up the trouble makers, and opposition will be impossible. Governments have always used fear to control people and push through a self-serving agenda. In the words of the Nazi general, "It works the same way every time."
Obama is worse than Bush on violations of the Constitution and his policy of targeted assassination. The Wall Street criminals got away scot-free while hapless immigrants trying to feed their families are rounded up and deported in record numbers. Obama charges whistle blowers with aiding the enemy and espionage, rather than giving them the thanks and protection they are entitled to. Public school is an endangered institution under Obama. If we continue up this road, a decent education will come with a price tag for every American family; those that have the money will buy one; those that don't will be permanently confined to the underclass. As I. F. Stone said, "All governments lie." Trust your government to do the right thing while violating the law and your rights- at your peril.
Matt Frisch
Todd Mt.
