Bill Maher's new rules are, as Johnny Carson would say, funny stuff, really funny stuff... though the words are much funnier when heard with his sarcastic delivery, some are great in print too, especially if you imagine a sarcastic delivery and pause at just the right poignant moments as you read... if you are not sure of the right moments to pause, you probably don't get it... if you are offended or otherwise disturbed by Bill's words, you have the wrong attitude, perspective, moral code, and you're just pain wrong, but don't worry, you have the right to be wrong... change your deodorant, change your diet, and change the channel... you're probably not interested in an honest exploration of the issues anyway, no less truth...

the rest of you, continue reading and laughing along with me...

this opening thought was brought on after listening to the closing few minutes of Bill Maher's show this week, his new rules and most especially, his final commentary on the loss of privacy in the USA... he called us a nation of exhibitionists and proved his point so well, I could only laugh with the pleasure of hearing the truth articulated with intelligent simplicity...

in order not to miss the ever building layers of practical truth in his words, I could only hold my breath to keep from laughing until he was finally done at which point I searched his site for a transcript to read and share here... unfortunately, it's not up yet so we'll have to wait... but the commentary was so true, and so funny because it was so true...

and it inspired...

we are a nation of exhibitionists (and voyeurs) and to pretend we are offended by the loss of our privacy is about as hypocritical as to pretend we really believe in thou shalt not kill...

here I am, exposing everything to you, to anyone who reads...

why should I pose offended if the government reads this?...

I believe it is wrong on principle to be looking for dirt, to be looking for something wrong, to be assuming I might be breaking the law, to be manipulating the law to gain or maintain political or economic power - and on these grounds I oppose government wiretapping and big brother laws...

do not tell us you are doing it for our own protection and then act as though you fear or suspect us...

if the government listens in on my telephone conversations or puts bugs in my bedroom for the same reasons you come here to read about my life in black and white, then no problem, may they enjoy their voyeuristic pleasures and maybe care to know me...

but if they act as big brother, as if they know how to live better than I do, as if they have some higher moral ground, as if they are somehow better than me and must supervise my life for any reason...

if they, strangers in government suits, decide I should be monitored based on some national security pretense, questioning thoughts or ethics or actions on moral or ethical grounds as if they are somehow superior and have the right and need to judge me based on their own paranoid delusions or power trips, then they are wrong, big time wrong,, and I will stand with the founders of this country against their fascist actions and oppressive prejudices...

this country was founded on principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness... this country was founded on the principle of freedom from oppression, especially freedom of oppression from tyrants, monarchs, dictators of any sort, social, economic, political, or religious... and most especially freedom from governments that would restrict our freedom...

how is it that the party that demands smaller government is almost always the party that demands the governmental right to intrude on our privacy, to restrict our freedoms, to preach their religion at our children, to tell us how to live, what to think, and what is right and wrong in our personal lives?...

how is it that the party that condemns big government is almost always the party that demands more money from us for government projects in other countries, to expand our government into other nations, to forcibly take power over other nations and tell them how to be free?...

how is it that any political party or governmental entity can be allowed to take some higher moral ground as if it is better than it's people, as if it, by some divine providence, has the right to dictate to the people how to best live this life?...

how can a country that was founded on freedom of speech can allow it's elected government to tell us what we can or can not say?...

how can a country that was founded on freedom to gather and speak freely about the issues of the day allow it's elected government to tell us that exercising such freedom is somehow a risk to the strength and security that is, at it's heart, that very freedom?...

how can a country that was founded on freedom to gather and worship in the spiritual way of their choice allow it's elected government to tell we the people or any people in the world how they should live, by unilateral force at their whim, therein violating the most fundamental principles of our constitution?...

when the elected government of this country violates the principles upon which this country was founded, it is time to step up and call them on it...

if the elected government opposes our freedom to call them on their actions, it is time to change the elected government by any means necessary meeting rhetoric with the constitution, meeting moral oppression with the bill of rights, meeting psychological oppression with intelligent discussion of the facts, and if necessary, if the elected government goes so far as to use force to oppose the principles of our constitution, meeting force with force...

let us not pretend that the very freedoms of speech and religion that made this nation the great power that it is in this world today are somehow endangering our security...

let us not convolute the power of truth with paranoid delusions or lies...

let us not forget that it is when we pretend that we have something to hide that we become no better than those fear-based governments we so loudly point at with righteous indignation...

let us not forget that when buy into fear and allow those in power to use our fear to strip us of the freedoms and rights stand upon as a nation, rights and freedoms we state so boldly that all men are entitled to, freedoms and rights we dare to demand that governments of other nations grant their people, we lose credibility, we become our own worst enemy, and we start eating away at ourselves as a people...

we are entitled to a government of the people, by the people, and for the people...

we are not to be silenced by government, we are not to be told by our government how we should live, we are to tell our government how to represent us...

let us not allow our fears to blind us to this truth, that all men are created equal, that all people are endowed with inalienable rights... that we have nothing to hide, nothing to fear but fear itself...

and let the enemies of freedom come to us and face us as we are meant to be, strong, standing tall and proud to be a nation of free people... not as a people cowering, paranoid, suspicious of each other and divided on the principles upon which we based our way of life...

let the enemies of freedom come to us and find us living our freedom for that freedom, our freedom is truly the most precious possession of this rich land...

let the enemies of freedom not come from our own government...

let us have no doubt about our constitution, not the constitution of paper and ink forged in the blood of our forefathers - and not the constitution of will and determination to demand liberty or death, to fight for the freedoms and rights that make us the greatest civilization in known history...

let the word patriot not be poisoned by paranoia...

let the word patriot not be patronized by political rhetoric...

let the word patriot not be redefined by people afraid of freedom..

let the act of freedom, the patriotic act of living freely, not be condemned by those who fear honest social discourse about the best way to insure we can live our freedoms...

let the act of freedom, the patriotic act of being free, be the inspiration and pride that inspires our cheers as we raise our flag high for all the world to see...

let us not just talk about freedom, let us live freely...

let us keep talking freely and living freely and let our voices and lives be heard...

let us exercise our freedoms without fear of oppression by our own government...

let us demonstrate, not just orate how freedom is the best foundation for government, for civilized society, for moral fortitude, for spiritual elevation, for intellectual enlightenment, for living life...

and when anyone opposes freedom, when anyone dares to tell us we must give up our freedom for any reason, do not sit idly by and let them take it, do not stand aside and give them what so many have found and died for, do not go quietly into the night of repression without challenging to oppressor...

stand up and exercise your freedom before it can be taken from you... speak out, ask questions, question any authority that claims to know what is best for you when what they think is best for you is for you to give them your freedom...

do not rest, do not be silent for a moment...

gather together and pass the baton of inquiry, the gift of freedom from voice to voice with pride and fortitude that the freedom gives to you...

demonstrate the power of freedom by demanding evidence that proves the claims of those who would force their will upon you...

give no pause to the will of those who would tell you it is in your own best interest to allow them to create a privileged class to which they and those they choose belong based on what they believe...

render unto government what is government's, the power to represent the people, not the power to rule as a monarch or dictator or parent would rule...

demand that all people of government right to the very top follow the laws of the land that the people have written...

demand that all people at all levels of government be held accountable for any violations of the laws of the land that we the people have written...

remember that all people of government work for us, that even The President is a government employee answerable to the people, to you and me...

do not let the lofty positions of power intimidate you...

do not let the wealth and status of high office impress you...

do not let the vast physical, social, and economic separation afforded elected officials from the menial work of the common man fool you into believing that you are powerless to take the role that the law provides in a government of the people...

do not let the vast power of the government prevent you from acting in your best interests, in the best interest of the people...

demand full disclosure of information so that we the people can decide what is the best course of action to ensure our continued freedom and security...

do not be dictated to by your government for that is the very definition of dictatorship...

in this world that seems never at a loss for power hungry leaders, if we are to remain safe and securely free, we must stand up and take responsibility for ourselves, for the gift of freedom and the power it has bestowed upon us...

we must vote, yes, but we must do much more than cast a ballot... we must first and foremost speak out any time there is a whisper of fear or repression or hypocrisy...

we must demand clarity...

we must demand the whole truth...

we must demand accountability...

we must continue to stand up as long as we are able to breath the word freedom and when we must rest we must pass the flag of freedom on to the next voice who will take responsibility for the gift and exercise the freedom to question fear, repression, or hypocrisy and until it is rooted completely from the nation, continue to demand clarity, the whole truth, and accountability...

this is the baton I pass to you every time I pause, every time I close my eyes to sleep in this blessed land of the free...

this is the gift I trust you to enjoy, exercise, and protect by using it, speaking it, doing it, living it...

never let those who would take this gift of freedom from us think for even a moment that we might succumb to their reasons, no matter how well expressed their attempt to usurp our freedom may be, no matter how eloquent their rhetoric, see the truth in their actions, see the truth in the outcome they seek...

ask yourself, if their way is accepted, will I be more or less free?...

ask yourself, if their way is made law, will I be better able to live as I choose, go where I please, worship as my spirit moves me, express myself as freely and securely as I could without their proposed law...

ask yourself what you will give up if you follow them...

ask yourself what they will gain...

this is the honor of inquiry I pass on to you with my last breath...

this is the flag of freedom I sleep under tonight...

I give it to you...

please don't let anyone take it away...

thank you.

. o O ( NOTES ARE THE NEW HAPPY PILL ) O o .
(just let me know you were here)