MUBARAK IS GONE! EGYPT IS FREE!!!!!

We now cut live to the celebrations, already in progress:

The Case for Al Jazeera in the U.S.A.

THIS is the Al Jazeera English: Live Stream.

As I post this, they are doing virtually 24/7 coverage about the revolution in Egypt. It is simply amazing!

For the past week, I've gotten my first actual look at Al Jazeera. In America, the network is often portrayed as al-Queda's voice, a way for their message to get out and radicalize Arabs. The reality, after what I've seen, is the complete obvious. It is smart, they ask tough and incredibly hard questions, and they don't take the government line at any time.

While CNN and MSNBC will simply cow-toe to their guests, rarely doing their job of fishing out the truth in a sea of lies, Al Jazeera actually does non-stop. I haven't seen any pointless stories about a squirrel on water-skis, nothing about some pointless sports game... just NEWS. Non-stop news!

The sad thing is that virtually no one in the United States carries it. In fact, except for a few places, including Washington D.C., there is a virtual black-out of it. Like I said before, its been portrayed as a terrorist network. This, despite the fact that multiple U.S. politicians have appeared on this network in the past week alone!

Look, it's basically just good TV. It's smart, its interesting, and the graphics are neat, too. The case for Al Jazeera in the USA is actually very simple; They're covering the things no one else does, and what many networks  are afraid to cover. They're fair, they're honest, and to a large degree entirely balanced. If they are the anti-Fox News, its only because of their nearly tireless pursuit of the truth!

If you agree, PLEASE come out to a meetup dedicated to getting it in the USA! February 10th!

Remember Your Freedom! Part 1 - Don't Tread on Me!

This is the first in a series of posts about US History and Patriotism. It is nothing short of a coincidence that now, the week leading up to my nations birth, that I have rediscovered my love for all things America. Its great timing. The series of posts is focused on simply reminding people of the history of their nation and trying to give a sense of modern-day relevance to it.

The Gardsden Flag bears the famous and timeless motto of "Don't Tread On Me", a Diamond-back Rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike at all those who would dare to mess with it!

To me, this was the first, and best, symbol of the American ideal best put forth by, of all things, Rage Against the Machine: "F*#K YOU, I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!"

The flag and imagery was inspired by a political cartoon that appeared in a 1751 copy of the Pennsylvania Gazette drawn by Benjamin Franklin called "Join Or Die", a stark message to all 13 Colonies that in order to defeat the British, petty differences had to be set aside and united these Colonies could win. It was designed by Christopher Gadsden, the flags namesake, in 1775, and was even one of the official flags of America at he country's birth.

In a more modern context, it could be seen as a way to support those around the world today.

I was at a protest against the actions of the Iranian government towards their people not too long ago and, to me, its easy on some levels to see a lot of similarities to their struggle for freedom against a tyrannical "democracy" and how they are suppressed to those of our ancestors, who fought and died in order to achieve their ideals. I decided there was no better way to show support than to fly this flag.

The coiled snake, ready to strike... to me, it was a perfect symbol of the people in Iran, ready to strike back and fight back against a corrupt election and leader.

To me, its a little disheartening to see my fellow American's seem to take their freedom for granted when you have people halfway across the world simply struggling, even dying, for the same type of freedom and liberty we have. Its even more disheartening to see people OK their government taking them away... but that's another day, and another post.

CZAR CLARKE AT IT AGAIN!!

Ill be honest: It's getting to the point where the lack of attention I'm getting is annoying. I've written every friggin blog I could, as well as newspapers and City Council members about how Clarke is trying to take away freedoms by tracking purchases of Cigarrettes, Beer, and Sharpies, but it's constantly ignored. So when he tries something big, it FINALLY gets noticed. I just wished people would actually listen to me sometimes.

Ranting aside about that, lets get to the point: CLARKE IS AT IT AGAIN!

No longer content with simply tracking your purchases and banning "offensive" images, he now wants to personally oversea where restaurants go. I'll simplify the bill for you; If you have a take-out restaurant, then your going to be zoned just like if you were a strip club! In order to get a variance from the city, you would need to talk to your City Council rep. And, oh look, Clarke is in control of half of Center City! Namely, the WESTERN HALF! Considering that means everything west of City Hall, the business district and the places where the most revitalization has happened, it's obvious that this bill is here to make life hell for anyone running a business.

Credit where's Credit Due, City Council President Anna Verna is also sponsoring the bill.

If your mad as hell about this, WRITE CITY COUNCIL:

1st FRANK DiCICCO Dicicco-1st-District@phila.gov
2nd ANNA C. VERNA verna-2nd-district@phila.gov
3rd JANNIE L. BLACKWELL blackwell-3rd-District@phila.gov
4th CAROL ANN CAMPBELL cambell-4th-district@phila.gov
5th DARRELL L. CLARKE Clarke-5th-district@phila.gov
6th JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI krajewski-6th-district@phila.gov
7th DANIEL J. SAVAGE savage-7th-district@phila.gov
8th DONNA REED MILLER miller-8th-district@phila.gov
9th MARIAN B. TASCO tasco-9th-district@phila.gov
10th BRIAN J. O'NEILL oneil-10th-district@phila.gov

Councilmembers-At-Large
W. WILSON GOODE, JR. goode-at-large@phila.gov
WILLIAM K. GREENLEE greenlee-at-large@phila.gov
JACK KELLY Kelly-at-large@phila.gov
JAMES F. KENNEY Kenney-At-Large@phila.gov
JUAN RAMOS Ramos-at-large@phila.gov
BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN brown-at-large@phila.gov
FRANK RIZZO rizzo-at-large@phila.gov

Also, feel free to buy some Czar Clarke Merchandise. I would love to make some cash off his incompetence!

http://www.cafepress.com/larrysshop/4278795

An Open Letter to City Council

Dear City Council Member:

I am writing to you today in regards to three bills that will be presented tomorrow at the City Council Meeting by Councilman Darrell Clarke of the 'Licenses and Inspections' Committee. These bills are:

Bill No.: 070875 - The bill that would track sales of cigarettes and beer.
Bill No.: 070876 - The bill that would track sales of spray paint, indelible markers, and etching acid.
Bill No.: 070914 - The bill that would ban showing the image of a burning cross, noose, or swastika in public.

I am asking you to NOT pass these bills!

These three bills would limit the civil rights of the citizens of Philadelphia and impose unnecessary barriers in order to fight crime and racism, respectively.

These bills would allow the Government of the City of Philadelphia to violate the right of privacy to buy beer and cigarettes without having the government know. At the same time, tracking the sale of indelible markers would also include tracking when you bought even a Sharpie marker. What, exactly, is the point of that? Considering the large number of Sharpies sold in the City of Philadelphia, along with Spray Paint, it seems that tracking each and every sale will not lead to a crackdown on crime and being able to catch the criminals, but instead a backlog of useless information that seems more intent on harming the public rather than protecting it!

For those reasons alone, I am asking you not to pass Bill's 070875 and 070876.

As for Bill No. 070914, this bill has one intent and one harmful side-effect; in an effort to defeat racism and protect everyone, the First Amendment Right to freedom of expression is hampered! While the bill specifically state that it would be forbidden to show them with "intent... to incite violence", what that covers is a very large area. In essence, some forms of these symbols are meant to incite anger and hatred, but sometimes also to think. Would a teacher discussing racism being arrested for showing these symbols to provoke a reaction from their class to show them racism is wrong? Would someone wearing a shirt showing a Swastika to show their disapproval of something they see as fascist be banned as well?

The First Amendment is called into question with Bill No. 070914. While I understand and agree with the intent, we already have Hate Crime laws in effect doing the same thing. For a municipal government to create laws such as this is a step in the wrong direction and, in my opinion, a step toward limiting freedom and rights.

I urge you to NOT pass these three bills! They do not seek to help Philadelphia and Philadelphian's, they only exist to impose more useless legislation and barriers in a society built on freedom that slowly seems to be loosing them.

I thank you all for your time and consideration into this matter, and wish you a wonderful fay, the bet of luck in your meeting, and a happy holiday season!

Sincerely,
Larry West

Darrell Clarke STILL Hates Your Civil Rights!

Saw this in the Metro Blog today, Thanks! More on it tomorrow!

It's been, in no short terms, a weird day. I woke up to protest against Darrell Clarke's bill. The idea for the protest was very simple: Clarke wants to ban being able to display nooses, burning crosses, and swastikas in public. Being a fan of the First Amendment, as well as belonging to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a First Amendment group, I oppose it with every American bone in my body. It doesn't mean I entirely agree with these symbols, but at the same time, let's consider that the Swastika alone has a VERY long history of non-violence before the freakin' Nazi's bastardized it.

Here is the proposed Bill No. 070914.

So to protest, the plan was to draw these three symbols. Not just "draw" them, but make them interesting and put them into some cool contexts. I won't lie, it wasn't a well thought-out plan since I had no clue what to draw and no signs to tell people why I was out there. Plus, I didn't know the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony was tonight, so they were getting that done while I was out there as well.

The best part? On the subway ride to City Hall I came up with an idea based on the Anthrax song "Startin' Up A Posse". In it, Scott Ian sings about how Censorship is a cancer, and goes against what America stands for. The entire song is just a cartoony rip and tear of Tipper Gore, and I decided that that was the best way to go with this protest.

Now, my plan was to not only show the picture, but also make flyers to hand out at City Hall WITH the drawing on it, and explain why it was done and what you could do if you felt the same way about censorship as me.

Now, I learned that two other measures he wants (Both which would create electronic tracking of beer, alcohol, spray paint containers, indelible markers and etching acid) are on the docket FOR THE SAME MEETING!

Bill No.: 070875 - The bill that would track cigarettes and beer:
http://www.hallwatch.org/councilnotices/bills/1192803462538

Bill No.: 070876 - The bill that would track spray paint:
http://www.hallwatch.org/councilnotices/bills/1192803462937

The meeting is scheduled for Dec 5, 2007 10:00 am at Room 400, City Hall from the Licenses and Inspections Committee.

Now, I'm sure that a LOT more people agree that all of these measures are, well... INSANE! Czar Clarke, this isn't Oceania and we are not the Proles from Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four! This is the USA in 2008, Councilman, and before you decide to take more rights away from us and start tracking up like cattle, realize a few things!

1. WE ALREADY HAVE HATE CRIME LAWS! Your entire proposal to "ban" these images violates the First Amendment! Not only that, but anyone with some basic legal knowledge knows that it is incredibly difficult to prove intent, and in a case like this, where you can not always tell the intent of an artist who uses any of these symbols, your are going to cost the city millions in lawsuits!

Councilman, why create a new law that can hurt the city to create this awareness that this is already a crime to do in order to commit hate? There is hate crime legislation already that covers this!

2. WE ALREADY CHECK IDS! Clarke's legislation to "electronically scan ID's" come down to tracking these legal purchases. There are already laws in effect to make sure that this doesn't happen, so why the extra move? Why track law-abiding citizens?

In essence, everything Czar Clarke wants is MORE government in your life! Is that what you and I need?

What we NEED, Councilman, is more ENFORCEMENT OF EXISTING LAWS! We need to make sure that the citizens of Philadelphia are aware that we do have these laws. Your selective laws and enforcement (I can only suspect your behind the recent run of shut downs of First Friday) have hurt Philadelphia and continue to do so!

If YOU oppose these ideas just as much as me, feel free to contact him:

5th DARRELL L. CLARKE
Clarke-5th-district@phila.gov

Philadelphia City Council Member Darrell Clarke hates the First Ammendment

Did you ever get so angry you can't think straight? That's the case for me...

Whatever happened to the saying, "I may not agree with what you say,but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."? Day after day, I'm left asking this question as I see more and more people deny the right of letting others express themselves. Today, I learned that Czar, pardon, City Council Member Darrel Clarke is trying to ban the image of burning crosses, swastikas, and hanging nooses.

http://willdo.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/2007/11/city_council_to_1.html

While many of us will agree that those symbols are linked to years and years of racism and oppression, so are the following:

The Southern Flag
The Cross
Black Face
Pentacles and Pentagrams
Satan
Mohamed
Jesus
Whips
Chains
Swords
Guns
The Bible
The Koran

Ask yourself if you can say for a second that anything in that list hasn't meant someone didn't felt excluded. Ask yourself if anything on there, when you saw it in real life, didn't make you recoil a bit because you had to look at it, hear about, was told about it, or knew about it.

Myself? I'm offended more by people who don't give me room to breath on the train or bus than anything else. That, and people who click their gum. I think there should be a law banning both. Why not? Their offensive to me! Doesn't that stuff annoy you, too?

I went to Councilman Clark's office earlier today and spoke to his legislative aid. We went into a discussion about this and it came down to this conversation:

Staffer: "This is about public places. What if you had to go to work everyday and someone kept putting a noose around you?"
Me: "Well, it would be funny the first time, but it would get old fast."
Staffer: "Exactly!"
Me: "You know, back in high school, I had this guy who constantly tried to set me on fire every single day. He would take out his lighter and go, 'I'm going to set you on fire!' It was funny the first time, but it got old fast!"
Staffer: "That really happened?"
Me: "Yep. It was annoying as sin! And there's a law against that, too, right?"
Staffer: "Yeah."
Me: "So why are we creating a new law to do the same thing an existing law does?"

Yes, a classmate of mine DID try to set me on fire daily in high school. He didn't really intend to hurt me, just light my sweater on fire (It wouldn't burn, so it was annoying when he tried), and I honestly didn't care. He was more like a fly than someone out to kill me.

My point is this: There are laws on the book that ban a lot of this stuff already. The text of what Clarke wants to amend is this:

"No person shall display, with the intent to intimidate another person or incite violence, a symbol of racial or ethnic animus, such as a noose, burning cross or swastika, in a place of employment, in a public accommodation, in a public facility, on public property or in the public right-of-way."

So, in a sense, anywhere but your house. It's a bit silly, really. Let me give you another example: I have a t-shirt with a swastika crossed out on the back. Here it is on the right. It's obvious my intent is to piss off Neo-Nazi's. So, under Clarke's bill, this shirt is now banned.

If you own a Bad Religion shirt with the cross crossed-out (The "No Cross" shirt), it would be banned, wouldn't it? Your intent is to say you don't like the cross as a symbol, but someone else could simply say your intent is to piss off people. Maybe it is. Doesn't matter, IT'S BANNED!

I can also only assume that Marilyn Manson's "Last Tour on Earth" album cover would be banned, too. A flaming cross of TV's. It's a burning cross all right! Would a performance including this act be banned, too? It's done in a public space with the intent of inciting violence, although for the purpose of entertainment.

What about simple classes and lectures on this topic? Are kids now banned from learning about Nazi Germany and the Civil Rights movement because they contain these symbols? What about college courses where the teacher can use these subjects with the intent of inciting a form of violence, of making students angry about the events of the past and use it to make their communities better by eliminating hatred and racism?

The entire point of this boils down to this: You don't have a right to not be offended. In fact, you have a right TO be offended.

That's why I love democracy! It gives you a chance to be challenged, to make you ask questions, and to re-kindle why you are who you are. If I was walking down the street and someone had on a "Stop Snichin'" t-shirt on, I would be a offended by that more than someone wearing a shirt with a burning cross or a noose.

Honestly, why did the noose become racist? It's been used to kill people for centuries! Not just blacks, but everyone! What, just because a bunch of idiots in the South decide to make it racist, BAM, it's racist? One year I wanted to have skeletons hanging from nooses for Halloween, and that was when I was 10. I thought it would be scary, but I took it down because I couldn't do it right. I know I saw it at a haunted house or something.

The noose has a been a symbol for centuries, one that reminds people of execution, death, and even the lost of rights. It has a long history of making people think.

Am I trying to say all of these things are right? Not really. In this country, groups like the KKK, Neo-Nazi's, the Nation of Islam, and countless other racists are allowed to march in freedom. You may not like what they have to say, but it's safe to say we all agree that they have a basic right to say it.

We also have a right to call them idiots for it, too.

If you don't like something, you can either ignore it or call it names back. That options always open, too. I know I do! Someone doesn't like the way I dress, I just flip them off and go on my way. Its life, isn't it? Someone is always bound to disagree with you or do something to annoy you, and you either ignore them or do something.