The Rant - By Captain B
This month's (july) topic - "The number of the beast"

You know, as a self-proclaimed atheist, I don't put much stock in religion or
the bible. In fact, I suspect that religion is probably just another form of
controlling the will of the mindless masses, known collectively as "sheep". Of
course, take this for what It's worth, I guess, seeing as how It's coming from a
fiercly independent thinker. Or, as I prefer to call myself, a "hardcore,
free-thinking individualist". But, there is one part of the bible I find
somewhat intriguing, (albeit, in an uncomfortably creepy sort of way) and that's
The Book of Revelations. In particular, the talk about things like "the number
of the beast", and how money will become non-existent, or about how people "wont
be able to trade without the mark". Well, not all that long ago, I didn't used
to make the connection between that part in Revelations, and our own reality.
But now, any time I hear talk on TV, or read anything about "the chip", (Perhaps
that should've been written as "THEE chip") I see now that these prophecies are
getting to be more eerily similar to life as we know it here in American
society. Also, I can't help but notice how heavily people have come to rely both
on technology, and on credit and debit cards, rather than traditional paper
money. In fact, the amount owed collectively by American consumers is quite
astronomical. I think it was somewhere in the double digit millions, last I
heard. And, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this doesn't bode
well for a private citizen who values anonimity. I mean, credit cards leave a
personal trail that cash doesn't, since the credit card company gets your
personal info when you sign up. And, why so many so-called "hackers" focus so
much on getting, or generating, valid credit card numbers is beyond me. After
all, since credit card fraud became so big in our nation, this is exactly the
thing the feds stay watchful for. But, the truth of the matter is that those
people aren't truly hackers. They just like calling themselves that. And
unfortunately, the mainstream media has a bad habit of calling them that too. A
true hacker is all about the learning process, gleaning info about all the ins
and outs of a given branch of technolgy, or of various technologies. And, a real
hacker doesn't do this to steal stuff, or defraud anyone out of anything, or
becuase of what's in it for him. But rather, for the sole purpose of gaining
knowledge. And, It's a fact that knowledge is power. For the average Joe
Taxpayer, he'll just stare endlessly at his VCR blinking "12:00" and, wonder
what to do about it. And, please realize something else here. Not all learning
happens inside a classroom. Also, some things just aren't taught in any school
anyway. For instance, there's no course called "Common sense 101". Some prefer
to learn things how and where they choose. And of course, it still all qualifies
as learning. I think it can be truly said that that's also part of the true
hacker spirit. Getting back to the subject of the ever growing loss of privacy
due to technology, I still remember that even an episode of the TV show "King of
the Hill" made some references to "The Beast". At one point, Hank Hill's
neighbor tells him that "by now, your name has been entered into every desktop,
laptop, and mainframe computer in the country, known collectively as The Beast".
And, if anyone reading this is unfamiliar with the true meaning of the phrase
"Big Brother", then I DEFINITELY recommend renting the movie "1984", or reading
the book. Just remember though, library book and movie rental info can also get
fed into "The Beast". And no, that's not paranoia talking there. Also, I think
it should be known by now (for those who were paying attention nowadays) that
major corporations have agreed to share the info in their customer databases
with big government in the wake of 9/11 legislation, such as the "Patriot Act".
By now, It's probably difficult at best, to maintain any level of anonimity as a
private citizen in America. And, I would think that by now, even die hard
optimists have to realize somewhat how bad things have come to be, and keep
continuing to become. I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm not comfortable
with the direction we're going in as a society. It goes directly against what
we're supposed to be all about. Certainly, there has to be a better way. There
just has to. I'm all for getting those who would harm or kill our American
citizens, but is it REALLY necessary to walk all over our people's right to
privacy and civil rights in the process? Where's the ACLU when you need them?
Also, why must die-hard gung ho "love it, or leave it" types repeatedly harass
anyone who expresses an opinion that just so happens to be the opposite of their
own uninformed, biased, one-sided views? It really makes me wonder sometimes,
just exactly what's so "united" about the United States? Also, Isn't it ironic
that the abbreviation for United States is "US", considering that we are very
much a self-absorbed society? Everyone always figures everyone does, and should,
think like them. Well, not all of us are such midless shepp like that. Some of
us would rather think for ourselves, rather than simply regurgitating all the
hype of all kinds the mainstream media, and the status quo in general, tell us
is the right way to think. Or, as they sometimes seem to call it, what's
"Politically correct". I say to hell with what's "politically correct". I
despise all these idiotic politicially made terms like that, and "left wing",
and all that other beauracratic nonsense. When will the day ever come when the
common man is revered, and the overbearing, big brother tactics of big
government and mega corporate giants be despised and truly seen for what they
are? In closing, I say up with the every man, and down with those who seek to
opress our free thinking individual ways!