Bad Moon On The Rise...

Maybe I'm on my way to being more political in this forum. I seem to have been consistently saying recently, "I don't like to talk about politics, but..." and then, you know, discussing politics.

It's just that I get disgusted and scared when I see stuff that's going on. Stuff that makes me worried enough to talk about it in this space.

There have been a lot issues rising up from events that took place at the RNC, like Rage Against The Machine getting the plug pulled on them at their scheduled protest show. Were the police trying to incite a riot? The way the band handled it though, was in my opinion, a supreme display of class as well as political activism.

Another display of the "security measures" at the RNC.



Pepper spray a flower girl in the face, then do it again for good measure as she walks away. That'll learn her.

I think I have this supreme fear of living in a police state. And the fact that we're not too far away from being there; all we need to do is roll over and let it happen.

I recently read Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, and was mesmerized on so many levels. Essentially Little Brother is the story of a kid in San Francisco when a 9-11-style attack takes place. At the wrong place at the wrong time, the teenager is swept up into an unmarked van and whisked off to a Gitmo-style prison. Nobody knows where he is, and nobody needs to, because the Dept. of Homeland Security has that right.

The book is somewhat subversive and inspirational, sort of a cyberpunk version of 1984. And, best of all, it's young adult fiction; written for a 13-year old reading level, yet so well-written that grownups will like it, too. Just don't be surprised if a grown up reading this feels very old - the book is written to inspire a new generation. We may have already blown our opportunity.

Anyone who reads this, especially you youngsters, should read Little Brother. And, because I am not simply trying to boost Doctorow's book sales, and neither is he, the book is even available for free download through a Creative Commons license on his Web site. If you don't have the cash, download it and read it. I think it will help inspire a new generation of political activism, as well as technological awareness.

OK, I'm done plugging the book; we now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

There are other scary murmurs regarding this upcoming election; regarding a certain group who is trying to keep other groups from reaching the polls by supllying them with misinformation. In Virginia, college administrators issued a series of press releases incorrectly warning students that, should they register to vote on campus, they could lose their dependent status, as well as health insurance coverage and scholarships. Here in Detroit, local Republican Party members are reportedly planning on using foreclosure lists to prevent people who've lost their homes from being able to vote, robbing the people who need economic change them most of their voice.

Finding ways to screw people out of their votes, reacting violently to peaceful protesters, I'm not sure what's next, but I am honestly frightened to find out.