The Morning Roar: Silicon Valley Artists Parody Obama with "iSnoop" Art, U.S. Arms Israel for Gaza Offensive, and the Rutherford Institute Defends Mother Arrested for Allowing 7-Year-Old at Playground Alone
Welcome to the Thursday edition of The Morning Roar! Silicon Valley Artists Parody Obama with "iSnoop" Street ArtTechnology isn't the only innovation coming out of Silicon Valley nowadays. Some innovative street art sprung up earlier this week in response to President Obama's fundraising visit to the area. The images parody common Apple advertisements with an image of a silhouetted Obama and a logo which reads "iSnoop", an obvious reference to the mass surveillance being conducted under and defended by the current administration. A sample of the photos below thanks to ThisWeek.com:
It's certainly a positive thing when people are skeptical and critical of those in power, and it's great to see the creative methods artistic activists can use to point out abuses of power such as those being conducted by the NSA.The focus on Obama, however, is a bit of a distraction. The NSA's massive spying apparatus represents a problem much deeper than one man, especially considering that much of this has been put in place over decades and multiple administrations.Ultimately, we must foster a society where individual rights are respected, at which point the idea of government spying on their own citizens will seem as outdated as that of owning other humans as slaves.U.S. Arming Israel for Gaza OffensiveEvery time an Israeli missile lands in Gaza, keep in mind that there is a good chance the tax dollars appropriated from your own salary (at least if you are an American) paid for it. Israel is the top recipient of foreign aid from the United States, and a vast amount of it is tied to contracts with American military contractors in a sort of geo-political crony capitalist scheme.If the current level of American taxpayer money being doled to Israel weren't enough, now the U.S. is graciously donating grenades and mortar rounds by allowing Israel to "tap into" a local supply of U.S. arms in order to directly aid in the assault on Gaza. Newsweek reports:
The munitions were located inside Israel as part of a program managed by the U.S. military and called War Reserves Stock Allies-Israel (WRSA-I), which stores munitions locally for U.S. use that Israel can also access in emergency situations.Israel, however, did not cite an emergency when it made its latest request about 10 days ago, the defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The United States allowed Israel to access the strategic stockpile anyway to resupply itself with 40mm grenades and 120mm mortar rounds to deplete older stocks that would eventually need to be refreshed."They didn't ask for it from there but we gave it to them so we could rotate our stocks," the official said.
After all, what's a few grenades and mortar rounds between friends?Israel is surely committing many violations of individual rights through its attacks in Gaza. At the same time, there are elements in Gaza who are indeed committing similar violations by launching rockets into civilian areas of Israel.The biggest problem surrounding this conflict is the lack of respect for individual rights and by extension property rights. As long as people in that region - as well as many of the citizens of U.S. Empire which funds much of the conflict - think in terms of nation-states and collective rights as opposed to individual rights, the cycle of violence will likely continue.At the very least, advocates of liberty should call for the United States government to cease its involvement, as it has more than proven with its actions both domestic and abroad that it has no concern for individual rights.I spoke to Code Pink's Alli McCracken about the middle east conflict on a recent episode of the Lions of Liberty Podcast.Rutherford Institute to Defend Florida Mom Who Allowed 7-Yeard-Old Alone at PlaygroundIn yesterday's Morning Roar, John Odermatt discussed the case of a mother, Nicole Gainey, who was arrested for allowing her 7-year-old son to play in a park about a mile from their home. Yesterday, the Rutherford Institute announced that they would come to the defense of Ms. Gainey. From the press release:
For the so-called “crime” of allowing her son to play at the park unsupervised, Nicole Gainey was interrogated, arrested and handcuffed in front of her son, and transported to the local jail where she was physically searched, fingerprinted, photographed and held for seven hours and then forced to pay almost $4000 in bond in order to return to her family. Gainey’s family and friends were subsequently questioned by the Dept. of Child Services. Gainey now faces a third-degree criminal felony charge that carries with it a fine of up to $5,000 and 5 years in jail.Insisting that parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children, which includes determining when their children are mature enough to play outside or walk to a neighborhood park by themselves, Rutherford Institute attorneys plan to demand that the charges against Gainey be dropped.“What this incident and others like it taking place across the country make clear is that the theater of the absurd that passes for life in the American police state grows more tragic and incomprehensible by the day,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. “While we all want to ensure that our young people are safe and protected, the government cannot usurp a parent’s right to determine what is appropriate for their children. Unless we put a stop to this ‘government-knows-best’ nanny state mindset now, we may soon find that we have no rights whatsoever in a society that is increasingly bureaucratic, legalistic, politically correct, self-righteous and unconcerned about individual rights.”
The Rutherford Institute is one of the finest, most unheralded organizations out there, coming to the aid of everyday people in defense of their rights from government abuse.Of course, true parental abuse of children - be it physical, mental, or purposeful neglect - should be condemned. But the trouble with letting government arbitrarily define terms like "neglect" is that the enforcers of government edicts can interpret the term in ways that stretch far beyond what most reasonable people would use it.If Ms. Gainey is guilty of "neglect" for letting her son play in the park, then my parents and the parents of almost everyone I grew up with is equally guilty.I spoke with John Whitehead, President of the Rutherford Institute, in an interesting (and frightening) episode of the Lions of Liberty Podcast where we spoke about the encroaching police state in America.Read The Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
