Some Local News With National Implications (Updated)

I live in the country outside of a very small town in Illinois. On Sunday, FBI, Homeland Security, and local police officials raided a local meat packing plant which is operated by Muslim owners. The plant specializes in goat, sheep, and beef which is slaughtered in the customary way of Halal which is needed to follow Islamic customs. It has been around since before 9/11 and everyone who works there, who were not taken into custody, have no idea why the raid took place.

According to FBI spokeswoman Cynthia Yates, this was "part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation." No charges have been made and there have been no arrests. Local newspaper, The Joliet Herald News, begins the story by asking "Was an al-Qaeda cell lurking in the Grundy County village about 20 miles west of Morris, residents asked?" How about we ask this instead? Why was there a raid in a small town with no arrests or charges being filed with such secrecy?

While I admit, I do not know everything about this story, but neither does anyone else. All that is known are that federal, state, and local police raided the business, took people into custody and confiscated computers. So once again I ask, why the secrecy? Being a history teacher, I hate to pull back into history for a comparison, but the Gestapo pulled the same thing under Adolf Hitler. I refuse to accept the common talking point of "We will have more to comment later" from police officials.

Where I live is a very, how do I say this nicely, white area. Part of me cannot take out of this aspect of the story when trying to draw conclusions on why this raid happened. The Morris Daily Herald has a quote from a worker who used to work at the slaughterhouse stating “Who works there is a good question. Three or four Mexicans. The rest are Muslims. They pray together, 5 to 7 times a day (in a nearby building). They’re always saying, ‘I’ve got to go pray.’ When it’s a big holiday, they set it up in the meat locker and do their prayers there.” While some may view this as someones description, myself knowing the people who live in that community, there are usually undertones which cannot be expressed in text.

Part of me wonders why the race or nationality is even an aspect of the story. Could the story still have the same impact is they stated that men were taken into custody by a raid. Yes, but then people would be asking why only taken into custody? However, by stating all the details of the slaughterhouse as one done in the custom of Halal, operated by Middle Eastern men, who when arrested were wearing "Middle Eastern" garments, who pray 5 times a day. Was this done to silence the people in asking why? I think so. This is a rural, conservative area and by making mention of these details, is used to infer terrorism charges. For if it was not, they would have focused on the fact that there were "Mexican" workers, so must have to do with illegal immigration and labor.

This story has taken the idea of the destruction of the Constitution to my doorstep. What happened to due process of law? We have people living in this country being taken into custody without being charged with any crime because no charges have been filed. I honestly do not know what to do at this point to raise awareness about these events which occurred only yesterday. To me, spreading the news of this is necessary to make the public informed about what has happened, especially if this has been done under false pretenses or discrimination based on ethnicity. The more I learn, the more I will write, but for this moment what I see in my backyard is the "land of the free and the home of the brave" becoming the land of the imprisoned and enslaved through fear. I will keep this story updated as it progresses.

***UPDATE***

Turns out that the raid was in response to "immigration irregularities" according to the Chicago Tribune, not terrorism. I have sent letters to the editor for all local newspapers which covered the story to either apologize or retract what was said in regards to the idea that this was related to terrorism while alienating those of Middle Eastern origin.

Capitalism: My Personal Love Story

In recent years Michael Moore has become the butt of many jokes from both the left and the right for his sensational tactics in approaching documentary film-making. From blowing himself up in Team America: World Police or having Fakes News consider him one of the worst American's alive, Michael Moore never ceases to disappoint. His most recent work goes directly at the source of many of his films, capitalism.

In Capitalism: A Love Story, Moore looks at the most entrenched special interest in Washington, D.C. Business itself has become a lobbying firm where congressman and women are up for sale to the highest bidder. Take your pick and you can get your own personal democracy for a nominal fee. He tackles many issues which are still on minds of Americans from foreclosures, to bailouts, CEO bonuses, and workers taking back their places of employment for the workers.

As someone who lives in Illinois and has close connections to the Chicago area and central Illinois, this movie had a personal connection to myself as I am sure it would to most people living the in state. One of the first families we meet in the film is from Peoria, IL and they have become victims of the sub-prime mortgage lending scheme, because lets be honest, there was no way it was a legit aspect of the lending business. Also, there was a focus on Republic Windows and Doors and the work in which they did in restoring their dignity as workers when faced with a bank who received public bailout funds and then closed the business down.

Looking back at his first major work Roger and Me, Moore hearkens back to a time in the late 1980's when many conservative capitalists would consider the glory days where we had it right. However this film brings his original vision of Roger and Me full circle where we the viewer see the consequences which that first film foretold 20 years ago. Moore also takes a very hardline approach in looking at the policy makers who perpetrated this quagmire as well as those who were bought and sold like derivatives on the open market.

While Moore's bias is already known, this film is probably one of the more unbiased films he has made since this is an issue which affects 95% of the population, regardless of political party. We look at the everyday worker who struggles to get by, only to find a CEO who basically inherited the company making money off their labor and devotion to their work. Feudalism has returned but this time it has been hidden behind the veil of profit margins and CEO's while the peasants toil for their daily bread.

This film will make you mad, confused, saddened, but also hopeful to some degree. Near the end of the film Moore takes a look at how the economic landscape has begun to change in the United States to where people realize that capitalism is not the perfect system which we have been indoctrinated through education. He looks at the campaign of Barack Obama, who while still receiving large amounts of money from corporate banks in an attempt to calm his "socialist" talk, could not stop him from telling "Joe the Plumber" about spreading the wealth.

Many times Moore has been prematurely criticized for his views but by looking at his last 2 films in perspective, he was right about Iraq just as he was right about the current state of our healthcare system. Now he takes the leap into the ever so holy doctrine of capitalism which has caused the film to see such a small release. This mindset of distributors and theater companies in my view only perpetrates the bias in which the business world has for new ideas. Moore does not ask for a complete revolution of the current economic system but a refinement to a time where the worker had rights from their employer the same way we as citizens have rights from our government.

This 2 hour and 7 minute film on economics has in my eyes should become a wake up call for the entire nation to realize that cheaper is not always better and that just because you are doing well does not mean you are doing good. There needs to be revolution though for the people to realize that they themselves are not workers with free choices but slaves stuck to their masters in which in many cases there is no freedom or underground railroad for you to travel.

Capitalism: A Love Story delivers as that wake up call for a new generation of Americans to reevaluate the choices in which they will make later in life to not only do better for themselves, but for society as a whole. Perhaps in a few years the majority of people will look at this film with the same sense of reflection as many now view Fahrenheit 9/11 or Sicko. While I went into this film looking to become angry at the "Evil Empire" on Wall Street and look for a revolution I realized that each person can hold their own personal revolution in which we just chose not to participate in their system. Because their system requires obedience and participation and I willingly accept the challenge to refuse their ways of living.

Balloon Boy and the End of Corporate Media

Yesterday was a rare day in media history, the truth came out. But perhaps not the truth in which most would hope for; weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, a picture of Dick Cheney signing an order to torture, or Rush Limbaugh eating children for lunch. Instead it was a bit of truth which most have known, but refused to accept because it would mean disaster for the way in which they thought they became informed on the world.

As I drove home from a long day of teaching, I was listening to NPR and the news made a brief mention about a young boy in Fort Collins, CO who maybe disappeared in an experimental balloon which was released. Then they moved onto the next story in which they were discussing Barney Frank's committee in the House passing a bill onto the floor to regulate derivatives, which I will return to shortly. I came home, turned on the Weather Channel to see what it was going to be like tomorrow, only to find they were covering the story about the boy in the balloon. Ok, so it may have been a weather balloon, I could understand a mention. So I waited for a forecast, only to hear 20 minutes of "weather" related questions about this national tragedy which was ensuing.

I flipped channels to find all networks covering this story with the same intense devotion as election day or 9/11. I was just waiting for Wolf Blitzer to call on CNN's resident balloon expert Slink-O the Clown who has experience with kids fascination with balloons. It was at this moment of sheer terror that I realized I had been duped. This non-news story which would be reserved for the Onion if it was fake had the entire corporate media by its throat and they could no longer let go. As it turns out, the whole story was pretty much the biggest prank in US history next to the election of Bush II since the kid was hiding in a box in his attic. So either this was the biggest OOPS ever, or this kid is amazing at Hide-and-Seek because his ability for deception is phenomenal.

Now I don't want to devote any more time to the 6 year old Criss Angel who magically went from airborne balloon to attic box, so instead I'll turn to the responsible adults in the room, the media. Lets begin with that as soon as this happened the parents called the local TV station, then the police. Red flag in my eyes. Second, for hours they kept looking at the same images of the Ft. Collins UFO crashing in the barren CO landscape asking the same dumb questions to different dumb people who know idea why they actually get a paycheck. Third, when it was discovered that balloon boy was really attic-box boy, they kept on it, becoming the home for fair and balanced places for politics while being the most trusted name in news, into Comedy Central.

This story brought about a red flag in the psyche of Americans that they have been spoon fed for 24 hours of everyday "news" which holds no real relevance in their lives. The news desks of "Run It!" have fallen for the news desks of profit margins and ratings. In other words, where has the responsibility gone? With only a select few companies controlling the majority of of the information which is distributed to the public, those few companies have a responsibility to give the truth on stories which matter in the lives of the people. And by people I mean the masses, the majority, not the select few who have no lives but to flip from channel to channel searching for the latest gossip.

The country has become a nation of fast food gorging people which only 5 second attention spans. We have been trained to accept only instant satisfaction from everything around us. To steal from Louis CK, we have people complaining about how long it takes for the cell phone call to connect. Its going up to space and back, just wait for a second. Drive-up windows in fast food restaurants have clocks timing employees which are a matter of "quality control" for their cooked so fast its undercooked meat which will give you E. Coli but as long as I get it within 2 minutes while speeding down the highway while talking on my phone, its ok.

The media has become the same entity which focuses on the mile a minute society of news with tickers, side bars, and stories so brief you barely even know who was involved with the story. They look at something which will give the audience flashy lights and sirens to keep them entertained until they can find the next midway attraction to sell to them. This has no longer become news for the masses, it has become propaganda for the advertisers to keep people watching between commercials.

So what may have been missed by the harrowing tale which became the farce of the week? Well as I mentioned before, the House Financial Committee past a bill out of committee to regulate derivatives for the first time in history. What does this mean? Stock brokers can no longer use the same rules (which did not really exist) when placing bets on your investments failing. AKA, stuff which caused this mess as derivatives on the housing market only added fuel to the fire. Also the House passed a bill onto the Senate which would finally allow Gitmo prisoners to be tried here in the US to finally start restoring some credibility to our justice system.

Here is only a list of two, but two stories which I find to have great affect on the lives of all Americans. However, you cannot really sell Coors Light to stories about politics, but a kid in balloon in Colorado, I can almost see the mountains turning blue as we speak.

At what point do we as a nation begin to realize that the media is not a tool for us to become informed about the world, but that we have become tools for corporate America as we are fed the stories they want us to hear while telling us what products to buy and use. I am sure most people who will read this understand this point as well as anyone else, but it has become the duty of the people to take back the information systems of the country and the airwaves back for the people. For until we do, all we will see are fluff stories which are meant to distract the people from the real issues. Regardless of your politics, anyone can relate to desire for our media to begin working in a way which can be summarized in one word, responsible. For until that happens, America will continue down a hell-storm of lies, deceit, and greed until we are left with an oligarchy of corporate news in which there can be no return.

An Eye Opening Day

Some days are just meant to happen. Not in a Calvinistic pre-determination BS sort of way, but one where you make decisions that at first seem a little out of place or out of your comfort zone, but then you grown because of it. This morning I woke up cold because it was 32 degrees outside, went to my computer and figured, "Lets see what movies are playing" Wanting to see Capitalism: A Love Story I found it playing, at a theater 45 minutes away, at 10:15. All of which seemed like, why would I want to do that? But I decided to get ready and go for the early showing.

I won't write my review for Capitalism here, but let me just say these few words about it. This is by far one of the most important films of the decade. Regardless of your political beliefs, religious beliefs, economic beliefs, and any other dogma which has been fed to you; you will come out of this movie mad and ready to see things changed. I looked at the world from a little better of a perspective that moment actually being able to synthesize the message which was portrayed in the film.

After the movie I stopped to pick up some supplies for my classroom since some punk kid stole all of my grading pens. After that I went to Barnes and Noble since it is Teacher Appreciation Week and they were having a huge sale for educators. Couldn't find anything I really cared for, but mostly stuff I already own. However I did run into someone I knew from back home who wanted me to come speak to a couple of her students about the Peace Corps. She knew I was going in and really wanted someone to speak to these students about the program and what to expect. She teaches at an alternative school where many of these students have little or no opportunity to leave where the come from and any chance I could have at helping these students along would be well worth it.

I decided then to go to the mall for some lunch and outside of the mall was a homeless man asking for some change. I asked him if he wanted to get some food and out of the cold. He said yes and as we were entering a mall security guard stopped him and said he cannot loiter inside the mall. I told the cop we were going to get some food and he is not loitering if he is a patron if the mall. He stepped aside and we went to Panera to eat. We got out food and I had one of the greatest conversations in my life. Found out this man's name was Dave, lost his job 2 years ago and had been searching ever since. He lost his home in the housing crisis, and his wife left him and took the kids. I talked to him about what I was doing with my life and what I would be doing in the future. That was about it for me, but I let him talk and after a couple cups of coffee and him telling me stories about his life since he lost his job I could see it was taking its toll.

I could see in Dave's eyes something I had never really seen before, total hopelessness. To this man America had failed him. He went to work everyday for 25 years at a plant only to be laid off because the board of directors weren't making enough money in his eyes. He tried and tried to find a job to sustain his family and mortgage but eventually that was a futile effort because in October of last year, the last plank in the floor supporting he and his family was taken out beneath him and his world crashed. I can never know that feeling but today I came the closest I have ever been to feeling that same mindset of total loss. I will never forget today's lunch by the window where I learned more about the area that I live in than from anything I have experienced in my life to this date. Most importantly, I will never forget Dave and what he taught me today.

I woke up today feeling cold and wanting to stay shut in all day and just watch a couple movies and finish up some school work. Instead I decided to go to that early showing and because of that I had probably one of the most educational days of my life. If I wasn't at the right place at the right time, I may have never ran into that person from my hometown, I would have never had the possibility of going to that school and hopefully getting those two girls on the right path to serve in the Peace Corps. And if I did not decided to go to lunch up in Joliet and just go home and eat, I would have never met Dave and heard the story of someone who lost it all. Hopefully to him today meant a tenth of what it meant to me because maybe that could give him just a little bit more hope to keep fighting and trying to find work.

When I left Panera today and Dave stood outside the door with his cup of coffee, I shook his hand and told him "Just go for whatever it is you want, because you're the only one who can do it". I don't know whether or not he took to heart what I had said, but I hope he is willing to take things into his own hands and get back the life he, and every person in the world, deserves.