Fortelling the Future

"There is a civil war in the United States that starts in 2005. That conflict flares up and down for 10 years. In 2015, Russia launches a nuclear strike against the major cities in the United States (which is the "other side" of the civil war from my perspective), China and Europe. The United States counter attacks. The US cities are destroyed along with the AFE (American Federal Empire)...thus we (in the country) won. The European Union and China were also destroyed. Russia is now our largest trading partner and the Capitol of the US was moved to Omaha Nebraska."

The above is an exsert from a blog I discovered while blog surfing. The premise appears to be, this is a blog about a man who calls himself John Titor or Timetravel_0, who started posting, sometime around November 02,2000, on a public forum that he was a time traveler from the year 2036.
On March 24, 2001, John Titor said that he would be leaving our time and returning to 2036. After that, he was never heard from again. Speculation and investigation about who John Titor was and why he was online continues to this day.
Although it may be easy to dismiss all this as science fiction, most people who read his posts agree that there is something very haunting about John Titor and what he said.
I am finding much of this intreguing to say the least.
The part about a civil war within the United States doesn't sound all that far fetched. With the growing anger and hate between the two major political parties, and a highly charged election on the horizon. Should this election mirror the previous one I can easily envision a civil war breaking out. Especially if the Repugnicans Republicans loose.

Read more about The Time Traveler

ps: If you're interested in my thoughts on the death of Paul Johnson, you can read all about over at the Just Breathe ,(editors page) my personal journal.
posted by wanda at 3:59 PM

Shades of Gray

"You are either with us and against the terrorists, or you are on the side of the terrorists"

I worry that there are so many who do not spot the flaw in this pseudo-logic. Why do so few understand that it is possible to not be on the side of the terrorists, and also not subscribe to the Bush Administration's foreign (or even domestic) policy? As fanatical things go, the above statement is remarkably similar in its "Black OR White" construction to this:

"The world is now clearly divided into two - the world of the followers of Islam against that of infidels and unbelievers."

So, one can only choose to be black or white. No room for shades of gray.

Fanaticism is old hat. They're both - George Bush, and Osama Bin Laden, just repeating arguments that Ronald Reagan advanced, more than twenty years ago (and Joseph McCarthy 30 years before that, and before him, Adolf Hitler) Reagan was talking about totalitarianism rather than terrorism or Imperialism (or whatever Bin Laden and his merry band of followers are hell bent on stamping out). Same dance, new partners: opposing Communism, he said, was nothing less than,

"...the struggle between right and wrong, good and evil."

Why do so many forget that we live in a technicolor world, where black and white are only the beginning? There are so many shades of gray. Grays stained with the red, red blood of those who are forced to fight the wars of fanatics.
posted by wanda at 10:41 PM

HEIR TO AN EXECUTION

"... is the story of a family torn apart on June 19th, 1953 when Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for "conspiracy to commit espionage." When their names were seared into history that day, as both martyrs and "Atom Spies," the young Jewish couple left behind two orphaned boys - Michael, ten years old and Robert, six years old. Ivy Meeropol, the eldest granddaughter of the Rosenbergs, and Michael's daughter, embarks on a remarkable journey into her family's past that sheds new light on a chapter in American history and provides a personal perspective on the iconic event."

As I watched this documentary tonight, there were times when I almost cried. There were moments when I felt my blood run cold.
For the first time in my life I truely understood McCarthyism and all that it encompassed. [a mid-20th century political attitude characterized chiefly by opposition to elements held to be subversive and by the use of tactics involving personal attacks on individuals by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges.]
I listened as Joseph McCarthy talked about not just Julius and Ethel Rosenberg as if they were less than humans, but of anyone who dared to defend them or support them. I watched as Richard Nixon spoke of killing these two people as if they were no more than flies on the wall.
I listened as they were called traitors,communist, un-American,cowards and spies (today that would be terrorist sympathizers)who would betray their country.
What frightened me is that what I saw playing out before me in that documentary is what I see and hear being played out before me in our society today. Then you were a communist if you disagreed with the government. Today you are at best a Liberal and at worst a terrorist, or terrorist sympathizer.
Neo-conservatives across the country are following in McCarthy's footsteps. They are calling Liberals and Democrats every vile, hateful name they can think of. Implying that by not supporting the President and his administration you are a traitor, that you are un-patriotic, un-American. They condem genuine war veterans. Question their service to their country. When they themselves did not have the will nor the courage to make the sacrifice required by volunteering to go and fight. Their hate for all things not conservative or Republican spews forth and infects all they come into contact with.
One only has to look at the days of McCarthyism to know what we have to fear if these people are allowed to continue to control the Congress, and the Presidentcy of this country.
When you go to vote this November, think about this, we don't know what Kerry will be like as President. But based on his tenure as a US Senator we know he will do no harm. On the other hand based on his performance as Gov. of Texas and as President for the past four years we know all too well what harm George W. Bush is capable of bringing about.
HEIR TO AN EXECUTION
On HBO,
Thursday, June 17 at 4:45 PM CST
Saturday, June 19 at 1:00 PM CST
Just watch it.
posted by wanda at 12:18 AM

That Vast Left Wing Conspiracy

Don't worry, your eyes aren't deceiving you. It really says Left Wing Conspiracy. I was beginning to think I was alone in my belief that certain top Democrats were hoping that Kerry would not be able to unseat Bush in the upcoming election. That in fact they were working diligently behind the scenes to insure that he did not succeed. At the top of that list is none other than Hillary (and by association Bill) Clinton. There has been some speculation that former President Clinton would use his book tour to assist Kerry in anyway he can. I disagree. I think this book tour is being timed to coincide with the Democratic convention, so as to take some of the attention OFF Kerry. To put the focus squarely right back on the Clintons.
Finally I see that I am not alone. Someone other than myself has been pondering the same conspiracy theory.
Allow me to introduce Steve from Just Talkin.
Seems he has some strong ideas himself...
"...The New York Times claims that Bill Clinton is going to "assist Kerry whenever possible" while on his book tour. I don't believe it for a second.
In fact I believe the Clintons are intent on not allowing Kerry to win the presidency. I fully believe it and it becomes more obvious to me every day. For Kerry to win, the Hildabeast must not only allow it, but must also give in to the fact that she will never become president.
Think about it for a moment. If Kerry wins, Hillary won't be able to run in 2008 (unless she runs as a Republican or independent), and if Kerry wins in 2008, his Vice-President will the the shoe-in for the nomination in 2012. This means that Hillary would be too old to run by the time she had the opportunity, not to mention it would make her have to run for reelection at least two more times. That in itself could be tough, especially if Rudy Giuliani decides to run against her at any time. Call me crazy, but I just don't see the Clintons allowing it to happen."

Apparently great minds DO think alike.


posted by wanda at 10:31 PM