Bread and Circuses

If you are familiar with Roman history, then the phrase might immediately make sense.

Bread and Circuses.

Food and entertainment.

Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.

- Juvenal, Satire 10.77–81

What does this mean and how does it apply to modern times? Directly quoting Wikipedia, "Juvenal here makes reference to the Roman practice of providing free wheat to Roman citizens as well as costly circus games and other forms of entertainment as a means of gaining political power." This was written within 100 years of Rome becoming an autocratic state. 

The parallels to modern life in the US is rather disturbing. What has happened to society in the last 40, 50, 60 years? People have become completely self absorbed and incapable of focusing on anything of significance. Entertainment dominates all public media. We care solely about who won the last major sporting event, we know all the intimate details of Hollywood's residents, and the number of people who are unemployed, on welfare, and receiving food stamps has never been higher (2008: 28 million people @ $35M; 2012: 46 million people @ $75M). Try to talk politics, religion, or other serious topics of discussion and people literally shut down. While in the background, we have a machine that is moving into high gear that is in the process of redefining this country. 

The citizens of the US are happily letting the government control their lives. Parents afraid to have the "sex talk" and wanting their kids to "just be happy" are becoming more and more willing to let public schools define the moral compass for their children. Obamacare, aka Affordable Care Act, is redefining the government's knowledge of the intimate details of your personal life (HIPAA limits medical institutions to only sharing information as necessary to provide treatment... and the government will be one of those parties now...) but at least they have a safety net if they lose their job! Let's not forget that the NSA is acting in complete violation of the 4th Amendment by gaining information about every single phone call, email, credit card transaction, and who knows what else for every single American they can all in the name of "security" (and a surprising number of Americans have no idea that is a bad idea).

Americans, in general, know more about what is happening on their favorite reality tv program than they do about the government's activities. Worse, I think they prefer to stay ignorant. People have been turned into mindless zombies. Everyone gets a trophy at school! Don't have an opinion because you might offend someone! Go to college to get a useless degree! ... My vote doesn't count... both parties are the same... I can't do anything about it... what difference will it make... 

Apathy is going to be the downfall of this country. Unless the populace takes notice that the government is becoming a monster soon, it will be too late. The Judiciary and the Legislative branches will become pawns of the Executive... Look at FISC... Look at the rumors that Justice Roberts was bullied into changing his vote about the constitutionality of the ACA... Look at congress's inability to pass a budget and yet the government keeps on functioning...

Bread and Circuses. Keeping the people distracted by reality television shows, nude celebrities, and great sporting events. Giving us "free" health care, food stamps, welfare, 99+ weeks of unemployment benefits. Providing amnesty to all those illegal immigrants. Taking our freedoms. Taking our privacy. Becoming our masters.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-Benjamin Franklin

Rep Gowdy to IRS: Start Over

I encourage you to watch this segment of the hearing Congress is having over IRS spending habits. Too bad nothing will come of it! We need more congressmen like Trey Gowdy to have any real accountability.

Where are Obama's Columbia Classmates?

There is an interesting story on The Blaze written by Wayne Allyn Root. He graduated from Columbia in the same class as Obama ('83) and had the same major, Political Science and Pre-Law. And he says that he never, nor did any one else in his graduating class, met or saw Barack Obama during his time at Columbia. Here's an excerpt:

So I asked every classmate I met at our 30th reunion, many of them Political Science majors, if they ever met, or saw, or heard of Obama. The answer was a resounding NO from every one of them. I asked if they found this strange, or worried how this was possible? They all answered YES. I asked if they thought it was possible to be a Political Science major and never meet a fellow major in our small classes? They all gave me a very strange look and answered NO. So I asked, “How could this be possible? Can you explain this?” No one had an answer.

Small graduating classes always know each other. Some how, some way. Take for instance this story about my mother-in-law and my parents. I moved 1500 miles and met my future wife. When talking to her mother I learned that she went to the same small college as my parents and knew them, not well or in any personal way, but knew them none the less. The chances of this coincidental meeting is amazingly small, yet there it is. In college, you are not anonymous. Even in the early 80's. Someone in your class would be able to stand up and say, "Yea, we were study partners once."

But not with Barack Obama.

I like Mr. Root's closing statement:

Now I know somewhere in America is an Obama defender that will accuse me of lying. But are all those classmates at our 30th reunion lying too? And if I wanted to lie, wouldn’t I better off saying I knew the future President well? If I wanted to malign the President, shouldn’t I be saying he was my close buddy and I witnessed all kinds of terrible things? But I can’t say that. Because I never witnessed anything. Neither did any of my classmates. We didn’t know him. Never met him. Never saw him. My story is simply the truth- and it’s the same consistent story I’ve told since 2007. 

There is something wrong with Obama’s story- that much I know. He is either the ghost of Columbia, or the perfect Manchurian candidate. But something smells rotten at Columbia.

iPhone Rumors

I was searching around and saw more images of the poly-carbonate (plastic) iPhone. Everyone is claiming that this will be for the new, entry level (i.e. cheap), iPhone.

It would be hilarious if the next top tier iPhone is actually this plastic one. Just saying.

You can seem them here.

Older plastic shell pictures here.

Rumors about colored bodies here and here.