Fear of Facts

As a nation, we are currently living in a shadow world where suspension of disbelief is the only ticket in. In this world, Muslim terrorists attacked the United States in 2001, leading to a justified war on terror and invasion of two sovereign nations to prevent their attacking us with weapons of mass destruction. Leading us in this fight is the brave and noble George W. Bush, winner of two elections and possessor of a mandate to right wrongs and bring safety to the American people, in spite of the best efforts of liberal scum to thwart him.

Sleight of Hand

As most people know, magicians do their tricks by a technique called "misdirection." That is, if the magician's right hand is about to grasp a card or uncage a dove, the audience will have their attention riveted to the magician's left hand or foot or something, anything, but his or her right hand.

For almost six years, George W. Bush, fighting his ill-defined "war on terror," has made vague claims that this "war" is succeeding; that his tactics have saved American lives from attacks by terrorists.

Strange and Amazing Coincidences

Conspiracy theorists are a strange bunch. They see what any normal person would identify as simple coincidence, and perceive a conspiracy. Here are some facts regarding the 9/11 attacks, and their simple explanations:

Case of the Runaway Emotions

It was almost a year ago that Jennifer Wilbanks, a young woman who was about to get married, instead embarked on a cross-country journey on which she claimed to have been abducted, but in fact had merely freaked out over her impending wedding. Worse, she didn't do this on the spur of the moment; she had purchased a ticket to Las Vegas several days before and had even arranged for a friend to drive her to the bus station.

Most of us, when we heard the whole story, could have easily ticked off more rational solutions to the problem:

Language of the Heart

Today's crisis is the fact that someone has sung the United States' National Anthem in Spanish.

How Big Is Too Big?

"It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added.

Terrorists On The Line

So now that we know the NSA is building the "world's largest database" of all our phone calls—from all time, according to the source who leaked the story to USA Today (presumably not over the phone)—many of us are mentally reviewing every phone call we've ever made, wondering if one of them will eventually come back to haunt us.

And Now, Tomorrow's News

We know that all the TV networks, and virtually all radio stations and newspapers, are owned by the same, small number of global corporations—and these corporations own stock in each other, making them more inbred than any family of Ozark mountaineers. The same corporations also own major defense contractors (the guys who make money from war), major pharmaceuticals, and Big Oil. It's far more in their interest that they suppress a free press than risk exposing their own schemes.

A Right To Be Here

One day in 1926, retired lawyer Max Ehrmann awoke in his quiet home in Terre Haute, Indiana, with the idea that he should do something, create something new, and yet not new. He had awakened with notions in his head that seemed ancient and true, yet forgotten; and it seemed he might be able to return them to the public consciousness if he only tried.

Freedom

It's time to consider whether we really have independence. What are you truly free to do? Can you go where you want? Not in theory, but in reality. Can you do the work you want to, that you love? How many compromises have you had to make in your life in order to keep yourself fed, clothed and housed? If the answer is more than none, you are not truly free.