THE INDY VOICE HAS MOVED!!!
Topic: Misc.

THE INDY VOICE

HAS MOVED TO

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"Great Quotes!"
Topic: Misc.
"The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought." -- Emma Goldman, American anarchist and feminist, 1869-1940

GREAT QUOTES! Read 'em to the end!

GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!
Topic: Misc.
The scumbags who ran Enron, Kenny "Boy" Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, are finally going to jail!!!

That's all. Carry on.

Not quite.

P.S. The law needs to change so that scum like Lay and Skilling have all their assets seized, sold at fair market value and the proceeds returned to the hard working people who trusted these assholes with their jobs and livelihoods. (There should also be a mandatory prison gangbang law but let's keep it clean.)

It should also be said that it is crimes like these that law enforcement should concentrate on and instead of the white, middle class racists waking up in the middle of the night dreaming about a dark colored thief or some illegal immigrant, they should worry about the incredibly more likely scenario that some white, anglo-saxon, protestant millionaire is going to dissolve or outsource their job, flatten their pension, poison their parents, mutilate their religion and send their children to be maimed and killed in needless wars over oil and economics.

These crimes are the type that truly hurt large numbers of people and they go on in every industry in America, everyday.

P.P.S. I wonder how Bush is going to manipulate 9/11 after his close personal buddy, Kenny Boy, is sentenced to 45 years on September 11th. 9/11 was a horrific day but the fact remains that this type of terrorist act has only occurred once and guys like Lay and Skilling who have hurt much greater numbers of people are a dime-a-dozen in our nation's history.

Axioms
Topic: Misc.
ax•i•om A self-evident principle or one that
is accepted as true without proof as
the basis for argument; a postulate

I was prompted to write this when I received an email about illegal immigration from one of my friends. The email was just one of many that I regularly receive from friends and family that can instantly be pegged for what they truly are when read skeptically but unfortunately for most people the author's goal of eliciting a visceral response is usually attained, which incidentally causes the reader to immediately forward it on to me. If you listen closely you can hear the "ooohhh's," "ahhhh's" and "oh my god's" of people all around you who are opening email just like the one I received.

The problems is that the "facts" found in these emails are much like "facts" found in a Bush State of the Union address. They're dangerous and they can get people hurt especially when the author cobbles together cherry picked pseudo-facts that sound incontrovertible. Undiscerning readers fall into this perception trap because they have yet to learn that sometimes the words they read are written by people whose goal it is to manipulate them. The danger with this delivery of information is that it plays on the reader's "conventional wisdom" in such a way that they start to base their realities on these materially false axioms.

co-de•pen•dent Of or relating to a relationship in
which one person is psychologically dependent
in an unhealthy way on someone who is
addicted to a drug or self-destructive behavior...

It is because of this that I have struggled for quite some time with the thought of writing an article that utterly destroys the fundamental underpinnings of the popular conservative movement that is so prevalently destroying America and indicative of a much greater problem. The problem that I keep coming up against in writing this piece is that I can't seem to find a way around the obstinacy with which most people hold on to their perception of reality. I would literally have to destroy so many things that so many people hold dear and which have been indoctrinated in them by their parents, their family and their friends that they just wouldn't accept it and they certainly wouldn't accept me telling them. They would condemn me as a "radical" for destroying their precious worldview that has been cultivated over a lifetime without any attempt at objectively analyzing reality but by forming their perceptions through codependent relationships. They wouldn't believe me because reality is so contrary to their conventional wisdom that it would literally blow their minds. The main reason why I haven't written such an article is a line from the movie "The Matrix" that continues to ring in my ear like a Robert Schumann A-note,

"... That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around.
What do you see? Business people, teachers, lawyers, carpenters...
You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged.
And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent
on the system that they will fight to protect it. "

As disturbing, as evil, as devoid of compassion and humanity as their worldview is, "they will fight to protect it" and many will fight to the death. It may come as no surprise to many of you reading this that it doesn't matter how many facts you use or how tight your arguments are, they won't believe you. In fact, some of them are so smart that they can literally justify through logical rationalization, the wholesale destruction of other people's lives for their own gain.

Make no mistake about it, the only difference separating you from them is that you have taken the proverbial red pill. Never, ever, think that you are in some way better than they are. You may not have reached the end of the rabbit hole yet but you are aware that the way in which you perceive reality may not be how it actually is. You may also be aware that at times your ego directs your logic to convince you of what you want to be convinced of. The degree of separation between you and them is miniscule and can be defined simply as self-awareness. But be warned "there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path."

2084
Topic: Misc.
The following is an excerpt from a fantastical book that The Indy Voice is in the process of completing. The subject matter is a "what if" to the question posed by George Orwell in the classic book, "1984."

What follows is of an extremely sensitive nature. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Failure to heed this advisory could result in a severe psychotic break. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!.

As I stood in the garage with my fellow neighbors something suddenly dawned on me. While I was multi-processing dichotomous thoughts of how to respond to my neighbor who was in the process of regaling us with the unfortunate but rather humorous tale involving his inebriated buddy and a thrown dart and with the second question of what was I if not a proletarian, I had a breakthrough. I certainly wasn't a member of "the party" and I had access to such vices as music and porn. I must be a proletarian. That also meant that the men I was speaking with were also proles. And they didn't even know it. But I did.

So I put a question to myself, "with my newfound knowledge what should I do?" And the only thing that I could come up with had to have been divinely inspired. The task presented to me by our creator was nothing less than awakening all of humanity. My task as I see it, is to wake the rest of the proles up from their drunken stupors and lead them in an eternal battle of the Davids vs. the Goliaths. A war of good versus evil. And the ironic creator choose me of all people to lead us. Jesus, the Buddha and Muhammad, real men of strength, courage and compassion had nothing less than the same battle. But now it is my war to fight.

I know that I will probably get crucified by telling you this but I am willing to take that risk considering what the potential payout could be.

George Orwell, when he wrote 1984, was aware of his role in this mystical journey of fate and choice. Orwell was the last prophet, who, not by the power of the sword but by the mighty power of the pen, created an entire book dedicated to waking me up (and you, as you'll see later) from our collective stupors.

I guess that in order to accomplish our lofty goal I should start by telling you the story from the genesis.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

In the same way that the light and the dark and the sleep and awake tangle in a cosmic metaphor, God was intent upon giving us the freedom to choose our own destiny's even though he knew that we could choose to follow the evil one. He can do that, he's omniscient and omnipotent. Nothing is beyond the grasp of the source.

This all-knowing and all-powerful being elected me to lead you through the desert. Orwell was a mere cog in the wheel of our authority-less boss' volition. The irony was that Orwell was well aware that he, now in possession of this information, didn't have to write the book, he could have just did it himself. Then he realized the beauty of it. He was doing it himself.

You probably think me now crazy but heed my wisdom that it is you that is mad and not me because only the crazy man has failed to lose his sanity in an insane world...

Maybe more next time...

Warms The Cockles
Topic: Misc.
Out of step with my usual cantankerous self I've decided to post a light-hearted story having nothing to do with our nation (which is burning to the ground by the way, just kidding, lighten up already will ya?),

Bride calls off wedding, throws party for the homeless

Schiavo: The Final Chapter
Topic: Misc.
I never wanted to weigh in on the Schiavo case at all. I eventually did because the Republican's behavior was so self-righteously horrendous, judgmental, meddling, anti-American and downright scary that I felt compelled. Their behavior demonstrated how the Republican party is now being controlled by extreme religious demagogues who only believe in their strict interpretation of the Bible and who abhor science and forsake facts when and where it suits them.

The autopsy of Terri Schiavo has been finalized and these are the results,

- The autopsy found that her brain was so severely damaged that no amount of therapy would have helped to regenerate it

- "She would not have been able to form any cognitive thought"

- "There was a massive loss of brain tissue."

- Schiavo died of dehydration and did not starve to death

- Any fractures could be attributed to severe osteoporosis Schiavo suffered during the years after her collapse

- Schiavo could not have swallowed if she had been fed by mouth and would have choked

- Removal of her feeding tube would have resulted in her death, whether she was fed and hydrated by mouth or not

- No evidence to support allegations that Schiavo had been given poison by her husband

(Read more here, Schiavo had irreversible brain damage-autopsy)

I'm not going to harp on being right again or shove things like "I told you so" down your throat, after all this is a human tragedy exacerbated by the Republican party and making such comments would make my actions no better than theirs. As for those of you who were politically motivated in trying to deceive people into believing that this was the decision of liberals, when in fact the repeated decisions were made by a Christian conservative judge, the Florida Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court, I have just one thing to say to you:

Had you left this as a personal decision to be made by a loving husband you wouldn't look like the cold-hearted ignorant fools that you do right now.

---

Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you either hear or are about to repeat a rumor.

In ancient Greece, Socrates (469 - 399 BC) was widely lauded for his wisdom.

One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."

"Three?"

"That's right, Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it." "All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not.

Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued. "You may still pass though, because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

It also explains why he never found out that Plato was banging his wife.

Re-Confirmation
Topic: Misc.
I just wanted to thank the Catholic church for re-confirming why I will never go back. They've allowed their dogma to become their only doctrine of faith and if infallibility looks like Joseph Ratzinger I don't ever want to know what they consider fallible. Whether it's World War II, the reformation, divorce, abortion, contraception, or their gluttonous and sumptuos priestly palaces in which they allowed the savaging of innocent children to go unpunished the only thing that the Catholic church has been consistent about is its hypocrisy.

P.S. Did you notice the Bushevik (BuzzFlash's term) trick that Ratzinger pulled by choosing a Papal name used by a historically moderate Pope, when he is in fact an ultra-conservative. It's analagous to Bush's "no child left behind" which leaves millions of poor children wondering why the words "white" and "rich" were left out of the name.

---

Click on "The Raw Story" on the right-hand bottom side.

Death and Taxes
Topic: Misc.
I was having a conversation with some neighborhood friends about whether or not the lottery should be allowed in the great state of North Carolina. As is typical of conversations in politically correct America you could see the feelers being sent out by those who didn't want to give their true opinion but rather see what the general consensus was in the group before committing one way or another. I listened for a bit. Somebody was talking about morality, another about education and another about politicians ruining a good idea. I felt it was time for some common sense. "Look," I said, "if you want money for education, why create a lottery? Why not just raise taxes and pay for it?" To which one of the conspiciously silent members blurted out "NO!"

Prior to my saying what I actually said and pondering the approaches I could have taken, I fully expected a reluctant response given this tact but I didn't expect such a clear and decisive taking of one side by one of our previous fence sitters. I mean God forbid that I raise the scary specter of people using government to accomplish community priorties and goals and actually having to pay for it too. What could I have been thinking? I wondered why I received such an instantaneous reaction to something as inevitable as death. The man who made the comment is a good-natured neighborhood friend, an outward conservative Republican but surely he realizes that the tax burden in America is lower than every industrialized country in the world? Why hesitate at raising taxes for the sake of education? After all I'm pretty sure that he was educated through the public school system, why shouldn't those that come after him be afforded the same luxury? Honestly, I don't like taxes but if my money has to go somewhere I think that education should be at the top of the list.

I don't like taxes when it goes to pay for corporate welfare or some dipshit Senator's wet dream about adding a pork filled line-item to some bill in Washington or my state legislature. I don't like taxes when they go to build bombs or prisons especially when they don't go to the causes of the problems that made the creation of the bomb or the prison necessary. Basically my philosophy on taxes can be summed up by an axiom found in the most auspicious of places, the rear bumper of many a 1960's Volkswagen bug:

"It'll be a great day when our schools have all the money they need and the Navy has to hold a bake sale to buy a battleship."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can hear it now from the conservatives (I can read your minds by the way; more like a short pamphlet than a book), "but what happens if we get attacked by a rogue nation and our Navy's to busy holding a bake sale?" The answer is simple: WE DIE, which by the way if anyone hasn't told you, is an inevitability that every living being is going to have to face. But in my world we'll all die educated, knowledgeable and capable of thinking freely for ourselves, with a solid roof over our heads, with more than adequate health care that we'll so seldom need because our bellies will be full with nutritious food and these basic services will be paid for and used by all. This picture of what reality could be isn't some far out left wing utopia, but it's a good starting point.

---

I've been told that people visiting The Indy Voice don't really take a look at the "Video" "Pic" and "Story" of the week (upper left in case you missed them). I just have one question for you, WHY THE F$#@ NOT? The Indy Voice is always ahead of the curve and these links highlight what the mainstream media is going to get around to talking about. I always have them beat (with some help from my friends) by a good week. So take a look and see what you're going to be seeing.

Here's a site I found that was created by a (Great) Danish photographer who apparently spends a lot of time in America. His photographs offer a glimpse into the reality for so many millions of Americans. As these own eyes can attest the evidence is startling no matter how many times you see it.

American Reality

I stumbled on to his site through this article. Approach it with an open mind:

Everybody Pulls His Weight

---

MAKE SURE YOU PAY YOUR TAXES!!!

Discussion On Life

Topic: Misc.
The Indy Voice doesn't usually stick his nose into the business of things that don't affect all of us, after all that's why we have Republicans, to tell us how to live (or in this case die), but regarding Terry Schiavo I'm gonna let one rip.

First it wouldn't be Washington if massive amounts of irony weren't involved. In this case congressman (A.K.A. Republicans meddling and politicizing people's personal lives) who are continually yelling, in the best spoiled brat voice they can muster, that the courts shouldn't be making law, only interpreting it. So what does congress do in this case? They attempt to subvert the rulings of not 1 court but 2 courts, including the Florida Supreme Court, by issuing subpoenas to Michael Schiavo and his wife, who has been deemed by several doctors to be in a "persistent vegetative state," to keep the recent court decision from taking affect and allowing Terry Schiavo to die.

Just so there is no ambiguity as to what "persistent vegetative state" means, let's define those terms:

Persistent: continuing to exist despite interference or treatment

Vegetative: Of or relating to an impaired level of brain function in which a person responds to certain sensory stimuli but demonstrates no cognitive function.

State: A mental or emotional condition

Simply, she has an extreme level of brain impairment that is not going to change despite any interference by medical professionals. She's never going to recover. She's never going to be able to walk, talk, feed or think for herself. For all intents and purposes she is no different than a vegetable.

With that aside, let's understand the background on this case. Some people are making this into a right-to-life versus pro-choice issue. To put it into simpler terms, the politicians are trying to make people believe that Republicans (Conservatives) are the good guys and the Democrats (Liberals) are the bad guys. You can think about things in this way if you like or you can understand the facts of the case.

Now before you go jumping to conclusions let me just say that I don't believe there is a simple answer to this issue. I can't imagine my wife living under these circumstances and I don't know what I would do in Michael Schiavo's shoes. I can't imagine what it's like being in the shoes of the father or mother of this woman.

Terry Schiavo is said to have told her husband to not allow her to remain a vegetable if the circumstances ever arose. I must let you know that there was a monetary malpractice award to Terry Schiavo. Upon her death the remaining balance of which will go to Michael Schiavo. To quell any cynical thoughts you may have about the motivations of the husband, understand that there is very little of this money left following 13 years of treatment. Additionally, Mr. Schiavo claims that he is willing to donate all of this money to charity. Mr. Schiavo claims that he is just trying to fulfill the will of his wife.

And that's what this all comes down to. What were Terry Schiavo's true wishes? We may never know. Had Mrs. Schiavo had a last will and testament to testify to her wishes, the words you read now would have never been written because you and I would never have heard of Terry Schiavo because she would have already been dead 13 years ago.

I think that it's important that we have this discussion in our society. With exception of Congress and hacks like Hannity and Limbaugh turning this into a political issue, it's a great thing that many people have taken an interest in defining and maintaining the value of human life. Neither side of the political aisle she ever forget the importance of doing this.

The hierarchy of decision making ultimately left Terry Schiavo with the decision regarding her fate. With her being in a vegetative state and without an explicit last will and testament, the responsibility of communicating her will to the courts falls first to her husband and then her family. The husband has said that Terry wanted to die and the family has failed to refute those claims before 2 different courts over the course of the past 7 years. According to the rulings of the courts and their interpretation of the laws, Terry Schiavo should be allowed to die.

Our societal failure in this case is in not recognizing that we don't offer any other option for her to fulfill her will to die other than to starve her to death. That's the issue that congress should be grappling with right now.