“Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
-Benjamin Franklin

I would guess that most, if not all who are reading this are not homegrown terrorists, or any type of terrorist for that matter. Well, just to be sure, our bloated and power hungry government is going to try to make sure that it stays that way.

On October, 23, 2007 the House of Representatives quietly and unanimously passed H.R. 1955: Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. At first read, this bill may make sense. Who wouldn’t want to prevent those evil Islamic fundamentalist terrorists from setting up shop in the US? I am almost certain that this is the enemy our representatives had in mind when drafting and voting for this piece of legislation. After all, this is the enemy we are fighting right now, right? Think again! This bill is worded so vaguely that it would not be a stretch to think that you or I could be labeled as terrorists for simply expressing opposition to the government or standing up for your religious/non-religious beliefs.

While I would encourage everyone to read the bill on their own, I will break it down for you:

The purpose of the bill is to establish the National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism. So what does this mean? Let’s start with a couple of definitions as defined by the bill.

Violent Radicalization - The process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.

Ideologically Based Violence - The use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual’s political, religious, or social beliefs.

Homegrown Terrorism - The use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

The bill calls for the implementation of “methods and processes” for preventing this radicalization including trying to understand the motivating factors involved. It points out that this commission is necessary to find the self-radicalized and unaffiliated individual homegrown terrorists that would be acting on their own without any direction from a larger organization. It also specifically blames the internet as a facilitator to this radicalization and violence.

So you are probably wondering what is wrong with this. I was also quick to ask the same question. It seems logical that we would want to go after people plotting against our government, right? Besides the $1,000,000,000 + (yes, nine zeros) price tag, let me elaborate on a few things that I think are wrong with this bill.

The first of which is the bill’s definition of ideologically based violence as the “use of force or violence”. What is force? Dictionary.com has many definitions of force including but not limited to “power to influence, power to convince, and any body of persons combined for joint actions.” By these definitions of force, you could argue that our rights to influence our elected representatives through protest would be targeted by this bill. Or even to contact them via phone, email or letter for that matter as this would absolutely be an attempt to influence or convince them. And this is just the political portion. It also focuses scrutiny on religious and social causes which one might want to actively participate in. In my opinion, this alone is enough to scrap this bill.

Second is the targeting of those with an “extreme belief system”. Who will define what an extreme belief system is? God forbid, bureaucrats in Washington define what is extreme, else all of us trying to live a debt free life void of greed and corruption are deemed extreme. Or would it be Hollywood? Now all of us who believe in the second amendment, traditional marriage and the right of an unborn child to live are considered extreme. Or better yet, would it be someone who thinks exactly the way I do? While I may choose to live a conservative lifestyle, I have no desire to force my beliefs on others.

This brings me to my last point, the second amendment. I do not and would never advocate violence as a means to accomplish one’s goals. However, I hardly believe that Madison had non-violence in mind when writing this part of our Bill of Rights. There is little doubt that this amendment was intended to give citizens a right to defend our nation and keep our government honest by means of a militia.

To be fair, HR 1955 also states that “Any measure taken to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence and homegrown terrorism in the United States should not violate the constitutional rights, civil rights, or civil liberties of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents.” I am not an attorney, but this statement alone nullifies the entire bill.

This bill has been sent to the Senate as S. 1959 and will likely be up for debate soon. I would hope that all twelve readers I have will read this bill and think not only about how it would affect them now, but how in time, in someone else’s hands will affect them in the future. I obviously disagree with the necessity of this bill and I have expressed this to my Senator. If you agree with me, I would encourage you to do the same while you still have the right.

I have not experienced, nor can I imagine on this earth any greater joy than watching your child grow.

On occasion, while driving home from work, I like to listen to Michael Savage. While I can only handle him in small doses, I find that I agree with him on ALMOST everything. It is his presentation style which albeit sometimes entertaining, makes me only able to handle him for 15-20 minutes at a time. One of his claims which he has written a top ten best selling book on is that “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder”. I have never read this book and have often just chuckled when he says this. I can imagine that those on the left would claim the same of those on the right. This makes sense as we all think differently and just can not fathom why the other side thinks the way that they do. I would hypothesize that the right thinks logically, while the left tends to think emotionally, hence sometimes not really thinking at all. Please allow me to make a case for the latter by discussing some recent events that have taken place in my adopted second country of Venezuela.

I don’t think anyone would argue with me that Danny Glover and Sean Penn are devout liberals. Both of these men have recently taken it upon themselves to visit with the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. Shortly after his most recent highly publicized visit, Glover, now a “close friend” of Chavez accepted $18 million from him to Produce a movie about “Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the epic 1791 slave uprising that helped make Haiti the first black nation to throw off the yoke of European colonialism”. While a slave uprising is certainly a great and noble story, I would hardly reference Haiti as a political success story. In any case, whenever people make high profile relationships or take up causes with great fanfare and media attention, you should always take a close look at the money trail. This is certainly no exception.

It appears as though Sean Penn was intrigued by this outpouring of generosity from this oil-rich president and wanted to get in on the action when he decided to visit Chavez himself. He claims that he went because Pat Robertson said that Chavez should be assassinated, and anything that Pat Robertson says, he should think opposite. This is the first item that supports my hypothesis above. If Sean’s statement is true, someone should start a campaign to encourage Pat Robertson to hold a press conference urging Mr. Penn to make more movies and to make his profound opinions even more public.

The point I want to make here is that these guys are both actors. And even though actors don’t really create anything and are just imitators of others, I believe they are considered artists. While I would not consider myself an artist by any means, I know that art is based on self expression and can not thrive when it is limited. Despite the fact that Chavez has clamped down on his opposition’s freedom of speech by having journalists fired or imprisoned and closing down television stations that oppose him, these guys continue to praise him. Granted, arguments could be made about whether RCTV’s actions warranted the non renewal of their license, but shouldn’t liberals generally want to err on the side of free speech? Besides, Chavez is no stranger to coup attempts.

The latest is a story of a fellow artist who is being silenced by this “fascinating guy”. Grammy Award winning Spanish singer, Alejandro Sanz has been banned from performing in the state run Poliedro because in 2004, he said, ”I don’t like your president. I don’t like those from other places either.” This was hardly advocating a coup or assassination attempt, but Sanz has still been forbidden to perform. Could you imagine if Bush had forbidden all of his detractors from performing in publicly operated venues? Right or left, I don’t think anyone would argue that this is the epitome of stifled freedom of speech.

These are just a couple of examples of suppression of speech that have made international headlines. Having family and friends in Venezuela, I hear many stories about the apprehension of people to express their opposition to Chavez’s policies in fear of the consequences. Corruption is still rampant and the blessings are many for the Chavistas. Danny Glover can surely attest to this.

The Alejandro Sanz story is still relatively new, but I would hope that Sean and Danny would stand up for this fellow artist and denounce the actions of their friend. However with millions of dollars at stake, I see this as highly unlikely. I can not conclude this for all liberals, but I have certainly concluded that in the case of Sean Penn and Danny Glover that at best, they suffer from a lack of common sense and at worst as Mr. Savage would say they may indeed suffer from a mental disorder.

Part I – Maylene and the Sons of Disaster - II Album Review

Recipe for Disaster

1. Take six lean strips of hardcore and dip in batter
2. Deep fry until crispy
3. Serve with gravy and a side of greens
4. Wash down with a large mason jar of ice cold sweet tea

This is Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Nothin’ but down and dirty hardcore, served southern style. I first heard of this Birmingham, AL based band in the March/April 2007 issue of HM Magazine. The description of their sound and The Legend of their name got me interested so I checked them out on Myspace. After listening to the four songs on Myspace which included a couple songs from each of their two releases, I immediately went out and bought their second album simply titled II.

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster are a concept band and both of their albums follow suit. II is the second chapter of the Ma Barker and son’s story. I have read in an interview with their lead singer Dallas Taylor that this CD is much more personal to the guys even though they maintain the Ma Barker story.

The CD immediately gets right in your face with Dallas’ raspy vocals on Memories of the Grove. And continues smashing your face in southern style all the way through Don’t ever Cross a Trowel which is one of the more personal songs. To me, it seems to be about getting serious with their faith and in true southern style they give some credit to Mom by stating “Cause you know Momma didn’t raise no fool”.

Raised by the Tide is another one of the more obvious personal songs on II. It reflects their appreciation of living in Alabama where Dallas growls “I’ve covered this country far and wide BUT I’LL ALWAYS BE A SON OF THE SOUTH”. In the same track, they give some more props to Mom when the whole band sings “We can’t help but be blessed, When you’ve been raised by God’s Finest”.

The CD winds down with Tale of The Runaways and the instrumental track The Day Hell Broke Loose at Sicard Hollow. These are considerably more mellow tracks, but still very southern rock none the less.

This CD has quickly become one of my all time favorites. I will be picking up their debut CD titled I as soon as I get a chance and look forward to what is to come. It is obvious that II portrays the end of the Ma Barker and son’s story. I only hope that it isn’t the end of MATSOD’s story.

Maylene will fit perfectly into two of my play lists. My “Stuff that Rocks” list (Project 86, Killswitch Engage, Corrosion Of Conformity, As I Lay Dying, etc) and my yet to be assembled “Camping Out Miles from Civilization with a Fishing Pole and a Cooler of Ice Cold Bud” list (The Band, Lynard Skynard, Black Crowes, The Allman Brothers, Blind Melon, etc).

Part II – We Believe in Dinotours tour featuring Underoath, Everytime I Die, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and Advent, La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX

Shortly after falling in love with Maylene and the Sons of Disaster’s sound on II, I decided to check out their tour schedule. I had every expectation of being disappointed once again that a band that I like would not be stopping in Austin, TX, the self proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World”. That is of course because the self proclamation should actually include a disclaimer something like, “Unless you like heavy music, otherwise it’s just another liberal college town that has a lot of boring adult alternative concerts”.

Anyway, I was happy to see a stop at La Zona Rosa smack between San Antonio’s White Rabbit and Dallas’ Palladium Ballroom shows. Unfortunately, it was not a headlining tour and they would have to share the evening with three other bands. Two of which I had never really heard and one of which I could not stand. I went and bought my ticket anyway figuring at least I would get home at a reasonable hour on a Monday night after seeing Maylene.

Advent opened the show. Knowing these guys would be playing; I wanted to do some due diligence so I gave them a listen on Myspace. As it turns out, I checked out the wrong Advent. I had found the lame radio rock Advent (I refuse to link them to my blog) instead of the BA hardcore Advent from Kernersville, NC.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the Advent that I saw this evening. They were a very energetic bunch with driving hard beats and a vocal style similar to Jamey Jasta. They mentioned that they have a full length album coming out soon on a fairly big label so if you are fan of Hatebreed’s style of hardcore, I would definitely check ‘em out.

Next up was Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Unfortunately, “professional” cameras were not allowed in the venue, so I was forced to take pictures with my Q. Now my pictures will match the sound of Maylene, raw and dirty. It suits their sound way more than the pictures.

They came out on the stage to Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA which seemed a little cheesy, yet still amusing. They played a good mix of songs from both of their albums. All of which rocked! I have not yet heard most their first album I, so I did my best with the set list. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of these.

1. Darkest of Kin
2. Gusty Like the Wind
3. Caution: Dangerous Curves Ahead
4. Dry the River
5. Raised by the Tide
6. The Mind of a Grimes
7. Memories of the Grove

The crowd was definitely familiar with Maylene and was fully into the show. You know it’s a good show when you are a good distance from the pit and still get an elbow in the head. I am glad I was a good distance from the stage because Dallas Taylor spits high into the air a lot. Just because I like a band doesn’t mean I want to get spat upon by them.

I just can’t say enough about these guys and their live show without a doubt lived up to my expectations. My only beef was that the set was way to short. I guess this is to be expected when they are just a supporting act on a tour. I look forward to seeing them as a headliner soon and will even make the drive to San Antonio as that is likely the closest they will come to Austin.

The third band in the lineup was Every Time I Die. When I checked these guys out on Myspace to get a preview, I liked what I heard so I was definitely planning on sticking around to watch them play. Aside from their overuse of movie audio clips before songs, they put on a great show.

The best pits of the evening thus far were during their set. It had been a long time since I saw a good quality circle pit. Had I not been still recovering from surgery, I may have jumped in for old time’s sake. To me, these guys were a combination of good old fashion northeastern style dirty hardcore and metal. They even threw in a few good southern style metal riffs for good measure.

Last and absolutely least was Underoath. I have tried on multiple occasions to give these guys a chance, only to quickly shut them off shortly thereafter. I have also heard that they put on a good show so I figured I would give them one more shot. So far they had two strikes against them.

Strike 1 – I already did not like them

Strike 2 – They had keyboards on the stage. Keyboards and pianos are great in some places like your living room or church. But they have no place in any metal show that I want to see that isn’t about Christmas.

Despite these things, I was going to wait and see. They came out and I quickly realized before the end of the second song that their keyboard was actually a noise machine and that they were exactly who I thought they were (Only Dennis Green could say it better). As soon as I realized this, it was strike three and I was out of there quicker than the Tigers were eliminated from playoff contention.

I just can’t get into these guys. Maybe this means I am getting old and that there are finally bands out there that just sound like noise to me. A long time metal buddy of mine joked that maybe this will be the kind of stuff my kids will drive me nuts with. And I will desperately be trying to teach them to appreciate the classics like Pantera and The Crucified.

Happy Birthday Vanessa! We love you!

For more birthday pics, check out my Flickr page.