Here's The Government Is Pathetic Exhibit #11,223:

Revealed: Hundreds of words to avoid using online if you don't want the government spying on you (and they include 'pork', 'cloud' and 'Mexico')

The Department of Homeland Security has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor social networking sites and online media for signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S.

The intriguing the list includes obvious choices such as 'attack', 'Al Qaeda', 'terrorism' and 'dirty bomb' alongside dozens of seemingly innocent words like 'pork', 'cloud', 'team' and 'Mexico'.

Released under a freedom of information request, the information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats.

I can't resist. Let's use some of the words right now.

Assassination. Attack. Domestic security. Exercise. Cops. Authorities. Prevention. Response. Recovery. First responder. Homeland security. Threat. Standoff. SWAT. Lockdown. Facility. Hazmat. Nuclear. Cloud. Plume. Radiation. Infection. Exposure. Burn. Outbreak. Virus. Flu. Center for Disease Control. Wave. Pandemic. Infection. Strain. Quarantine. Vaccine. Airport. AMTRAK. Metro. BART. Delays. Drug cartel. Violence. Cocaine. Marijuana. Juarez. Narcos. Meth lab. Drug trade. Terrorism. Al Qaeda. Iraq. Iran. Pakistan. Target. Jihad. Yemen. Pirates. Plot. Nationalist. Islamist. Emergency. Hurricane. Tornado. Twister. Tremor. Flood. Warning. Watch. Aid. Cyber security. DDOS (dedicated denial of service). Malware. Phishing. Rootkit. China. Worm. Social media.

Should I start watching out my windows for black helicopters? Will I wake-up to a SWAT raid? The way things are going in our former "land of the free," I shouldn't joke. I may literally end up shot in an early morning botched raid.

The list has been posted online by the Electronic Privacy Information Center - a privacy watchdog group who filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act before suing to obtain the release of the documents.

In a letter to the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence, the centre described the choice of words as 'broad, vague and ambiguous'.

They point out that it includes 'vast amounts of First Amendment protected speech that is entirely unrelated to the Department of Homeland Security mission to protect the public against terrorism and disasters.'

A senior Homeland Security official told the Huffington Post that the manual 'is a starting point, not the endgame' in maintaining situational awareness of natural and man-made threats and denied that the government was monitoring signs of dissent.

Yeah that's it. They're not "monitoring [for] signs of dissent" … No, not at all …

• Obama Makes Free Speech a Felony
• Stripping Free Speech Rights in the Name of "Protecting America"
• Internet piracy bill: A free speech 'kill switch'
• Gingrich: Free Speech Should Be Curtailed To Fight Terrorism
• An Important Free Speech Case for Bloggers
• More to Say About Possible Government Censorship of Alternative, Dissenting Political Websites

'Free Speech' Zone

King George III wasn't so bad after all.

Was he?

H/T - Now You Can Have It.

Free Speech for the Dumb (Government) is a post from: The Classic Liberal Blog

"That's how the DC tapeworm feeds itself."

Ron Paul's Push For Full Fed Audit Slated For House Vote

A Mainstream Economist Who Changed His Mind and Became Austrian

More Green Tyranny: Los Angeles Bans Plastic Bags

Irresponsible Americans and our Government

Escalating Bank Runs, Many Banks Will Not Survive

Deflation Isn't the Enemy

Money printing to the max

Currency Wars – The Making of the Next Global Crisis

Now those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth, and let me remind you they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyranny. -- Barry Goldwater

The Ten Principles of a Free Society

Iranians Save a US Ship From Pirates at Sea: Not in the US War Script

A User's Guide to Smoking Pot with Barack Obama

Total Absorption, man.

Barack Obama - Damaged Goods

An Open Letter to the Troops: You're Not Defending Our Freedoms

Romney and Obama: Identical Foreign Policy

The Rape of Delaware County, Oklahoma

Another Big Lie from the Authorities: Innocent People Don't Plead Guilty

" ... many have forgotten that marriage belongs to the church."

As a rule of thumb, Congressional legislation that is bipartisan is usually twice as bad as legislation that is partisan. -- Thomas Sowell

Of Environmentalism, Golden Calves and Other False Gods

Does Your Rep Really Believe the Troops Are Fighting for Freedom?

Another good argument against SWAT teams

He's Lying

Bush Babies 'Debunk' Obama 'Smirk Fests on MSNBC' (Liars All)

FBI quietly forms secretive Net-surveillance unit

Torture and the CIA

So who is our Keeper, Mr. President?

Obama's Campaign Sop to Women

The "Golden" Days Are Just Ahead

Printing up extra money – with no backing – used to be the sort of thing only counterfeiters did. Now it is done by the central bankers and Treasury Secretaries themselves. They don't apologize for it. They don't hang their heads and contemplate blowing their brains out. Instead, they're proud of it … announcing that they 'saved civilization,' or some such claptrap. -- Bill Bonner

"Futile Care" Duty to Die May Be Coming to a Hospital Near You

Overzealous license rules can deter entrepreneurs

Every Crime Needs a Victim

Why It Doesn't Pay To Cooperate With Police

Number of the Week: Half of U.S. Lives in Household Getting Benefits

House to examine plan for United Nations to regulate the Internet

Interventionism and the Elites

America's 23-Year War

Bacon Lover In Piggly Wiggly Rampage

Loophole In Curse Lets Archaeologist Off The Hook

When a new source of taxation is found it never means, in practice, that an old source is abandoned. It merely means that the politicians have two ways of milking the taxpayer where they had only one before. -- HL Mencken

How the DC Tapeworm Feeds Itself is a post from: The Classic Liberal Blog

How Many Minutes Are We From Total Tyranny?

The Doomsday Clock, maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, is meant to indicate how close the world's chieftains are in bringing the experience of bright, white flashes and enveloping mushroom clouds to a neighborhood near you.

Even though the Bulletin's clock has merit, I propose that we adopt a new clock that foretells a different kind of doomsday: a time when we live under Total Government, which means Total Tyranny. History teaches us that the closer we get to Total Tyranny, the closer we get to the breakdown of society, pervasive poverty, slavery and war (including nuclear war).

My version of the clock is divided into twelve five-minute slices, and the hands sweep towards midnight as follows:

1. Private property ownership: Presently, the state claims ownership and control over all private property through its self-appointed powers of taxation, eminent domain and regulation. Private property ownership is now only an illusion, a historical artifact. (+5 minutes; Clock at 11:05 p.m.)

2. Personal privacy: The state is now employing an ever-increasing, omnipotent, spy apparatus to single-out threats to its power. However, there are still pockets of privacy and it is possible to escape the information dragnet. (+4 minutes; Clock at 11:09p.m.)

3. Freedom of movement: Increasingly, citizens are randomly stopped in their travels on public and/or private property because every person is now considered to be a potential enemy of the state. Efforts are underway to make it illegal for some people to leave the country, though such restrictions are not yet the law. (+4 minutes; Clock at 11:13 p.m.)

4. Freedom of the family: Children are now considered to be the property of the state and can be legally kidnapped. Parents are increasingly arrested for failing to meet arbitrary government criteria on the raising of children including how they are fed and disciplined. However, most parents still have the freedom to legally home-school their children. (+4 minutes; Clock at 11:17 p.m.)

5. Morality of the justice system: Everyone knows that the judicial system is bought and paid-for by the ruling elite. Rarely are laws overturned or opposed even though the laws may be corrupt and immoral. Occasionally, justice is dispensed based upon moral principles, but it is becoming increasingly rare. (+4 minutes; Clock at 11:21 p.m.)

6. The rule of law: The smokescreen of public law is used as a means to allow the state to get away with crimes for which private individuals would be arrested. State bureaucrats and police are rarely, if ever, charged with criminal acts and they literally can get away with murder. Today the rule of law is essentially dead. (+5 minutes; Clock at 11:26 p.m.)

7. Victimless crime: Most laws on the books today make criminals out of non-criminals. No longer is harm required to constitute crime. Also, laws are so complex that it's no longer possible to know if a law is being broken. Anyone can be a criminal without knowing it. The arbitrary will of the bureaucratic class now reigns supreme. (+5 minutes; Clock at 11:31 p.m.)

8. Economic freedom: Citizens are presently taxed at a total rate that far exceeds that of medieval serfs. The state mandates the use of its monopoly currency which it continually devalues to fund its pet projects and to enrich its politically-connected friends. The government is on the path of tracking every bit of money that changes private hands, though cash exchanges and barter can still go unnoticed. (+4 minutes; Clock at 11:35 p.m.)

9. State control over business: The decisions made by businessmen are entirely within the purview of government bureaucrats. Every enterprise is highly regulated and hampered by red tape. Free market competition has taken a back seat to government-corporate fascism. Being politically connected is required to get ahead and corporate welfare is pervasive. The state has taken over major segments of private industry, including health care. Small private enterprises can still succeed, but it is becoming more difficult. (+4 minutes; Clock at 11:39 p.m.)

10. The police and society: The local police are becoming increasingly politicized and militarized. Military outposts that once operated overseas now operate in your local shopping center parking lot. Drones buzz overhead. Torture with Taser guns is now viewed as acceptable police enforcement. Thankfully, most police encounters don't end with torture or death at this time. (+4 minutes; Clock at 11:43 p.m.)

11. Perpetual war: The state is in a perpetual state of war engaging in a multitude of invented battles that cannot be won. They have no definite end. The enemies are contrived on an as-needed basis. We are now the Oceania of Orwell's 1984. (+5 minutes; Clock at 11:48 p.m.)

12. War on the citizen: Anyone who opposes the will of the state is said to be a traitor. Indefinite time in jail in the absence of supporting evidence and a public trial can be a reality for any individual. Citizens can be imprisoned or murdered at the whim of a bureaucrat or political leader, though today the murdering is limited. (+4 minutes; Clock at 11:52 p.m.)

According to my clock, then, we have eight minutes before the hands strike midnight. Would your version of the Doomsday Clock of Tyranny look much different? The good news is that it's still possible to turn-back the clock once the average voter realizes how dark things have become. At least now we have a clock against which we can measure our progress.

"A New Doomsday Clock: How Many Minutes Are We From Total Tyranny?" by Roger Toutant is reprinted from LewRockwell.com.

Roger Toutant has practiced electrical engineering in private industry for more than 20 years and is currently licensed in Ontario.

Hayley Marie Norman (born March 3, 1989) is an American actress and model.

Hayley Marie Norman and the New Doomsday Clock is a post from: The Classic Liberal Blog

Tea Parties, Libertarians and, Paulites: America's Only Hope

Approximately a year ago, I opined … that Conservatives and Libertarians should join forces … that the areas where the two factions agree were more important than the areas of disagreement. Off and on since then, I have engaged with several conservative and libertarian bloggers to see if I could drum up some interest in pursuing a dialog on the fusion of the two groups. I was disappointed to find very little interest. The majority if both camps wanted nothing to do with the other.

It's true that libertarians and conservatives have large areas of agreement on which they could build a coalition. In fact, libertarians and conservatives have done just that. Indeed, the fusionist spirit is alive and well! You can find it among bloggers such as Old Rebel and myself, and even in the more highbrow joints like The American Conservative and LewRockwell.com. So, yes, fusionism is realistic and possible.

But here's where it gets interesting … Fusionism may be alive and well, but only among the traditional libertarian and conservative strains. It falls apart, I'd even argue it's impossible, among those who adhere to neoconservative ideology and/or those who are only interested in what Jack Hunter calls (correctly, I think) "identity conservatism."

Even though traditional conservatives and libertarians have important philosophical differences, they are compatible. The same, however, cannot be said regarding neoconservativism - an ideology greatly at odds with both libertarianism and traditional conservatism. Call us the Remnant, because unlike neocons, we certainly haven't made peace with the New Deal (or any other part of collectivist statism for that matter).

Instead of seeing the American electorate as Republicans, Democrats, Independents and, a smattering of small third parties, I now see the electorates as being made up of two groups. The biggest group, in my opinion, are those that promote and believe in Big Government (BG). To my way of thinking, the BG includes the so-called independents. Independents vote either for BG Republicans or BG Democrats. The second and smaller group of the electorate support the constitution and the rights of the individual. In essence they support Small Government (SG).

FWIW, I consider myself an independent, because life has taught me there is no reason whatsoever to identify myself with any given political party. Even the most casual reader of this blog will quickly come to the conclusion that I'm thoroughly anti-state and that I passionately despise "BG Republicans or BG Democrats." So be careful when adopting mainstream media (left or right) definitions. Think about it. Can the word "independent" even be logically applied to a BG sycophant?

I've always seen the political divide as between collectivists and individualists, but I think a better way of describing the divide is between liberty and power. Which is also the divide between libertarians and neoconservatives. To paraphrase Russell Kirk - a traditional conservative if there ever was one - knowing human nature for a mixture of good and evil, a libertarian does not put his trust in politicians. Instead, as Jefferson said:

It would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights: that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism -- free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence … In questions of powers, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.

This goes a long way toward explaining the irreconcilable differences between neoconservatives and the Remnant. Neocons heart power. The Remnant is suspicious of it.

The PATRIOT Act, for example, was an abomination regardless of which "team" supported it and whatever "benevolent" reasons they gave. The TSA … Well, being that it spits in the face of the Declaration of Independence, no matter which "team" supports it, said team can shove it up their ass*.

But the real problem is tribalism.

Identity vs. Philosophy

Most voters do not think in philosophical terms. This is not to say they don’t have political philosophies. It’s just that they arrive at their politics—first and foremost—according to which politicians they like most.

I'd go further and say it's simply what "team" they like most.

Much like Obama Democrats and their hero—conservatives love Palin first and foremost because they recognize her as one of their own. Palin is the purest example of what I like to call "identity conservatism" in that "who" she is — a self-identified and widely recognized conservative — is far more important than "what" she believes specifically.

For the Remnant, what a politician believes trumps everything else. Who they identify with matters little (if at all). Seriously, why should it matter to me that Mitt Romney is a Republican when only his rhetoric is different, while philosophically he's the same as Barack Obama? Yes, Republican statism is every bit as bad as Democratic statism.

But, but … here's where the fights start. The Remnant won't support a statist for the good of the party tribe. Worse, they support someone who genuinely believes in rolling back leviathan - Ron Paul. And "identity conservatives" not only HATE Ron Paul, but HATE his supporters as well. You can't build a coalition with hate anymore than you can make friends by bombing people's homes.

The best current opposite example of Palin on the Right is Ron Paul. Ask the average Paul fanatic what they like about him and all you will hear nothing but specific policies: "Follow the Constitution!" "End the Fed!" "End the War!" Paul is the purest example of what I like to call "philosophical conservatism" in that what he believes — strict adherence to limited government and Constitutional principles — is more important to him and his followers than how his party perceives him. In fact, the problems Paul has had with Republican voters at the national level have always been to what extent identity conservatives have welcomed him as one of their own.

And the party today is now far more welcoming.

Well, sort of.

Many conservatives are coming full circle back to their roots, finding themselves in agreement with libertarian principles. Others are catching on to the fact that a central bank is the antithesis of a free market. Against Rove. And even that democracy is no panacea and that nation-building is just another utopian nightmare. According to one study, "71% of conservatives overall, and 67% of conservative Tea Party supporters, indicate worry" about the costs of war, while only "24% of conservatives believe we should continue to provide the current level of troops."

Yes, times are changing indeed. Until, that is, we get back to tribal partisan politics, where philosophy gets thrown out the window in the name of cheap, unsubstantiated pot shots. Then guys like me will call them out on it and the Internet will light up with posts about how Paul supporters ruin everything by sticking up for the one guy in DC who actually wants liberty … and there will be no "fusion."

The Liberty Movement isn't going to support a statist. Period. Experience has taught us that the "lesser evil" is still evil. Our guy, Paul, isn't our "leader" either. Top-down politicking is as nonsensical to us as identity politics. Paul represents an idea - liberty. So when you attack him, we take it as an attack on us personally. On what we believe. On the very idea of liberty itself.

That's the message you send when you attack either Paul or us directly - you hate liberty. Maybe that isn't true, but if it isn't, I suggest you work on your "messaging." Because that's what we hear.

The Liberty Movement is making a lot of headway too. Paul changed the Republican debate. Paul supporters are, quite literally, taking over the Republican machinery. Rand Paul is now a popular Senator. The Liberty Movement backed Thomas Massie is now the Republican Party candidate in Kentucky's 4th Congressional district. The Federal Reserve is under fire. Gary Johnson's campaign looks to be the most successful Libertarian Party bid ever. And btw, leviathan is dead frickin' broke.

Fusionism is alive and well among the Remnant. The question is, when will the rest of the right join us?

*Conservatives who are still (???) sympathetic to the Republican Party need to understand what I'm about to say, clearly. Republicans own the police state. The Remnant hates the police state. To the Remnant, the DHS and TSA are treasonous. And this spy center … pure evil. We hate the police state more than you hate Democrats. Think about that for awhile.

Conservatives and the Liberty Movement is a post from: The Classic Liberal Blog

Senate Banking Investigation of JPMorgan to be Headed by Former JPMorgan Lobbyist

The Problem with the Sun

Fed Flying Blind

Oh Look, A (Backhanded) Admission Of Fraud!

Bonds Are NOT a Safe Place to Be – Here's Why

Secret Central Bank Aid Props Up Greek Banks

$1 Trillion for Defense: The real cost of America's war machine and security state

Scary Chart: Taxmageddon

Civil War In Wisconsin?

The majority cannot reason; it has no judgment. It has always placed its destiny in the hands of others; it has followed its leaders even into destruction. The mass has always opposed, condemned, and hounded the innovator, the pioneer of a new truth. -- Emma Goldman

Brett Kimberlin Saga Takes a Bizarre Turn, Forcing Me to Leave Maryland

Free speech moment: Standing with Stacy McCain, Patterico, Liberty Chick, and Aaron Walker

Fire John Boehner!

US Citizens Now One Step Closer To Becoming Permanent Tax Slaves

Land of the drones

The Police State Is Here

Homeland Security in the (formerly) Land of the Free

Prepare to pay twice the price to get raped by the TSA

Legislating Morality: Marriage Amendment

Democracy Is Not Freedom

Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war … But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along … That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. -- Hermann Goering

The Delusions of Interventionists

White House officials shaped pending bin Laden movie

Refuting "Conservatism = Interventionism"

The New Professionalism

Now They Are Going to Arm Domestic Drones With Bullets and Tear Gas

Better run for your life if you can

No More Anonymity for Blog Posts in New York State

Most Americans want US troops out of Europe

Health Care Costs, the Deficit Problem and No-​​Fault Medical Error Insurance

Obama's war on coal bears fruit: NJ electricity rates could octuple by 2015

The Big Lie is a major untruth uttered frequently by leaders as a means of duping and controlling the constituency. -- Adolph Hitler

The NWO Elite Don't Want You to Know.

The Government Lying to Us — What Else is New?

Cultural Marxism

Governments Don't Keep Agreements

Seriously, This Is What Our Elite Journalistic Institutions Are Writing About

Washington County (PA) Children and Youth Services Accused of Abetting Child Abuse and Neglect

Low-Tech Solutions To High-Tech Tyranny

35 Awesome Secret Passageways Built Into Houses

The Most Disturbing Thing You Will See Today

Free To Choose: Refusal is the Ultimate Liberty

The career of a politician mainly consists in making one part of the nation do what it does not want to do, in order to please and satisfy the other part of the nation. It is the prolonged sacrifice of the rights of some persons at the bidding and for the satisfaction of other persons. The ruling idea of the politician - stated rather bluntly - is that those who are opposed to him exist for the purpose of being made to serve his ends, if he can get power enough in his hands to force these ends upon them. -- Auberon Herbert

The Elite Don’t Want You to Know is a post from: The Classic Liberal Blog