Wuh-hoo, I just used the experience bot to write my first experience in years — although by the time I post this, I suspect it will have already been done moderation. People seem to like the experience, nobody has voted no yet, and seem to be saying nice things (hopefully it's not just because they know it's from me).
I got an email from an old friend today that maybe some of you know — Angie/sKwirl… She's the editor of an online BMX zine and that's what the email was sent to tell me about. Anyway, I'm flipping through the site and I come across a page with photos that I took! That also reminded me that I should post an update about Dennis and DMT — DMT no longer exists as a custom jewelry company and is now focusing on bike parts and advanced tooling. All DMT orders are now being filled by Steelwerks in Montreal (so contact them if you want a kooky Prince's Wand).
And now, the bad news.
If you are in the US, let me recommend that you get out. A few of you have passed me this information, and it definitely needs to be repeated. Lawyer/client confidentiality no longer applies in the US. It wasn't enough to erode civil liberties, now they are destroying the legal system so even people with lawyers can't get fair trials any more. Seriously, that's fucked. I can't believe that Americans haven't revolted against the government yet? Is the average American such a trembling coward that they'll give away all their rights because they think it'll keep them safe from terrorists? How far will this go on?
Let me recommend something to everyone: buy a gun. The revolution is coming, and you don't want to be unarmed. When you buy the gun, do it with no paperwork if possible — you don't want to be made a target over it.
First of all, the Style III shirts are in stock and selling, so if you want one, best to grab them now before they disappear. I just got back from checking out the Rosco Kid's Club design — it looks good, and we're just fiddling with the screens a bit to get it perfect. I saw the Team BME silver print (which is being shipped today, so it will be in stock on Monday or Tuesday)… WOW! It got hit three times, so the silver front looks like a sheet of metal…!
I got a sample in stock, and have options on a half dozen more. If you would like one, please let me know. I'm going to see if Bill wants some, and I'm sure that for the more “tribal” oriented studios they might be worth getting.
I understand that it's disturbing to some people that I would encourage the trade in human body parts, as, especially given the context, it could seem deeply disrespectful, as well as desecratory (is that a word?). My feeling is that without people taking the past, and using these physical icons to cherish and remember our collective past, that our history becomes forgotten.
It's not like most of us get to meet a person with a reshaped skull. Sure, we can look in a book and see a picture, but it's just not the same as seeing it “for real” or even handling it. I believe that this physical connection to the past outweighs the ethical complications.
Thursday, November 8, 2001
Sedition charges are back!
It's illegal to criticize public officials again!
To sum up, this means that you can get 20 years if you write or speak things that the government doesn't like, that it feels are politically threatening. Officially the law targets people who “conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the government of the United States, or to levy war against them.”
It was originally written by the North during the Civil War to jail Confederate sympathizers in the North… Problem, is it's written broadly enough that, in the recent past it has been used to jail Marxists for nothing more than spreading communist manifestos (not bombs).
You've got to love the fact that it's perfectly legal to publish holocaust revisionism, but it's illegal to publish anti-government manifestos. What's even better is that not only is it illegal to publish them, you can't even talk about the concepts or think about them either… Is this really what we're fighting for? Is this really worth dying for?
I was under the impression that free speech was valued in America, but I guess I was wrong. I suppose the world is a better place though if you ban politicians that don't support war from gathering though right? And it's best to expell students that wear anti-war t-shirts from public schools? Do the people enforcing these laws believe that Americans won't be patriotic if they're not legally required to?
Thursday, November 8, 2001
The new deep blue ear piercing 101 shirts are on the presses right now (for those of you that found the “jade dome” color a little bit garish). I'm spending the afternoon working on the Church site — I'll post here again about it when I do…
