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politicaltheatre · 5 years ago

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Rock Bottom

We have a problem.

That's the first step, right, admitting it? Everybody knows that. But is that enough? Have we reached a tipping point? Have we, in our long addiction, finally hit rock bottom?

Probably not.

That’s the thing about addiction. The whole world can see the addict and his addiction for all they are, but until the addict sees it himself and realizes at long last that he has no choice but to break it he will keep on going, lying to himself and others that it is not what it is and that they have nothing to fear.

Of course, we do.

To be clear, our addiction is a psychological one, not a chemical one. None of what you read from here on out is meant to denigrate physical addiction or to suggest that beating that is as simple as beating a psychological one, which itself is neither easy nor fast.

If only this was as simple as a single man's psychological addiction to one thing. Even then, the variables of how he slid into it and why are his and his alone. It's the constants of addiction, the root needs and ultimate ends, that we need to focus on. They are the same for everyone - that's why they're constants - but getting past the fog of the wheres and whens of addiction's start and end takes an effort few can bring themselves to make.

So, instead, we end up focusing on variables; in this case, guns and violence and revenge. These are the manifestations of our addiction, not the addiction itself. A step further, a level beneath those, we find the root cause. That is, we find it if we dare to look.

Our addiction is to avoiding accountability.

We've had it easy for so long. We have so many options, so many excuses, so many others to blame. When everything’s good, when we have no worries, the ride is so much fun. It never feels like it’s going to end.

And then it does, and it feels so bad. We must pay our bills. We must accept that others have a right to what we want, that we must be accountable to them, too.

To go from that feeling of certainty to an equal and perhaps even greater feeling of uncertainty is terrifying. Give us a fix, we beg, take care of us and make it better. The fantasy isn’t real, we know that, but we’ll take it.

Just looking at this past weekend, there are so many examples at play, all showing how we are locked in our worlds of fantasy:

• There is the world of the shooters, fetishizing guns and the rush of violence and revenge against invented enemies, foreign and domestic. They get to dream up a story, placing themselves at the center as hero or villain, always in control, never wrong. The killing is a means to that end, and to an end to their story they believe they can control, either by living or dying as martyrs to their cause.

• There is the world of the Trump and NRA supporters, who have invested so much of their identities in these external authorities that they don’t dare reject them for fear of rejecting themselves. Does anyone really doubt that Trump or one of his latest mouthpieces don't understand this? The racism is a means to gaining and maintaining control, just like the millions the NRA pays to politicians to toe the line and spread their talking points. A rational mind knows this, but an addict's mind has its own logic and that couldn't be easier to exploit.

• There is the world of those opposing them, stuck cycling through the same rituals of anger because they, too, want quick and easy solutions, not that they can admit it. The hard work, personal sacrifice, and patience required are more than they can bear, or maybe just more than they literally can afford. It's easy being angry. It's easy staying angry. It's easier still if that's all you ever do. You get good at it. It becomes a safe place, one you never have to leave.

• There is also the world of those trying to make that change, taking the risks, pushing and pressing the world around them to try to take any small step it can to save just one life. These are the ones investing themselves in hard work, personal sacrifice, and patience until they have exhausted all three. They burn out because the audience they needed to reach, the addict and those around him fearing risk themselves, just weren't ready.

• And then there is the world of the rest of us, slowly numbing ourselves to the pain and suffering of others because we tell ourselves that the power to solve it is beyond us. It's the kind of acceptance that friends and family members of addicts know all too well. It is well practiced and so common we barely give it a conscious thought, if we do at all.

If you know addiction then you must see excuses and evasions for what they are. It’s always some other thing, a thing over which nobody could possibly have any control. It’s always someone else’s fault, some easy scapegoat already an outsider, be it someone who is different or something, such as the government, which is untouchable.

They're all variables. They always will be. Take away one scapegoat, you find another. Take away one focus of your addiction, you find another. If there is always another thing, there is never control, and if there is never control then we don't have to feel shame for the damage done.

There is no high like having to be accountable to no one. There can be no low like crashing from that high.

What we do know is this: We don’t think of our country as a family. We don’t even think of it as a community. For far too many of us, sharing space and resources with each other is considered an inconvenience at best and an invasion at worst.

We lie to ourselves, choosing to believe that crime happens to others, that the heat and storms of climate change are happening to others, that lack of adequate health care is happening to others, and that economic inequality is happening to others.

It all "happens", a beautifully passive word. It allows us to be passive. It allows us to tell the lie that its cause is beyond our complicity and its solution beyond our ability. And so, the cycle continues.

For the shooting in Dayton, racism and white supremacy don’t seem to have been a motive, but right there we run into trouble with another word, "motive".

Racism and white supremacy are means to an end, that end being a feeling of control and a denial of accountability to others. However different they may appear on the surface, the shooter in Dayton had his own means to those same ends. That those ends have become normalized is what made both shooters dangerous. That they had access to automatic and semi-automatic firearms is what made this a tragedy.

Which brings us to "the party of personal responsibility”. They demonized the term "gun control" because a well paid marketing firm found a way to make it sound evil. The truth is everything we choose to do or not do about firearms qualifies as gun control.

We, the people, who elect others to represent us and our best interests, we have control over guns. Any law passed or not passed is done through that representation. Any law currently on the books, even one stating that a certain class of guns cannot be regulated, is gun control because, in fact, guns are regulated by that law.

So, let's skip distracting ourselves with that. Whatever we do next, it will control guns in some way. We just have to decide what we want from that control and who we should trust to exercise it.

Which brings us to Donald Trump.

For the shooting in El Paso, we can and should blame Donald Trump. Whatever official statement he put out yesterday or may put out today, he has used racism and the violence of white supremacists as a means to gaining and maintaining power. The evidence is so far past overwhelming that our inaction in the face of it is shameful.

Trump's defense-by-omission of the gun lobby and scapegoating of mental illness not only put the lie to any condemnation of hatred and bigotry, they bring unpleasant reminders of demagogues of the past stoking racism and scapegoating the mentally ill.

Is that what it will take for us to hit rock bottom? Must we, like Europeans and South Americans before us, fall fully and completely into the abyss of fascism and civil war before we learn what we must learn? The next election will answer that as well as anything.

The Democrats may win back the White House and the Senate in 2020, but it’s looking more and more like it will be the result of Trump, McConnell, and the rest of the Republicans in Washington finally going too far, or finally being seen for how far they refuse to go, than anything the Democrats have to offer.

But hasn’t that always been the pattern?

The right wing, the pushers in this analogy of addiction, offer short term thinking with easy solutions to difficult problems. They use division and bigotry as means to gaining and maintaining power. Finally, as society collapses, they point the finger at anyone else, not just to avoid their own accountability but because it enables those clinging to what they offered to avoids their own.

The left wing, the sober grownup at the party, demands accountability in all things, including from themselves. Thinking long term, they get shunted aside in the short term, a canary in the coal mine listened to only to gauge the threat but not to avoid it. Only when the threat is so near, when there are no more others on whom to cast blame or burden, do we finally ask them for help.

That’s when we elect the left wing, to clean up our mess. Are we ready? Have we hit rock bottom? We're close, and it seems getting closer everyday.

- Daniel Ward

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dcnativegal · 7 years ago

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Does the Federal Government act in its citizens’ best interest? Discuss.

(written in January 2018)

Tomorrow is the State of the Union. Roads all around the Capitol building will be lined with police and traffic around there will be gridlocked. My friend Farrar, who is the Curator of the House of Representatives (and the least pretentious person you’d ever meet) will be sitting at the base of the podium as she must. The Awful Man who is our president by electoral but not popular vote, will lie and distort. What he says will be dissected by the left and praised by the right. Two years ago, I would have written, The Wonderful Man who is our president by electoral and popular vote will tell us things. What he says will be dissected by the right and praised by the left.

I also know that Obama deported more immigrants than previous presidents and stepped up the murder of other nations’ people by using drones. I’m having trouble finding something to praise about The Donald, just to be fair … um, most of my clients in Christmas Valley love him? (There must have been ONE thing he’s done that is beneficial and good. I’ll have to dig…)

Meanwhile, I’ve been reading articles about the relationship between the Oregon Ranchers and the federal government in articles like this one from the NYTimes.com:

Fear of the Federal Government in the Ranchlands of Oregon (https://nyti.ms/2Deywit), and this one from the other side of the aisle as it were: Fractured West: In Oregon and elsewhere, rural residents increasingly balk at Democrats’ progressive governance (https://www.city-journal.org/html/fractured-west-15611.html).

I will say upfront and for the record that I do not understand the whole rancher/ timber/ spotted owl/ Bundy tangle for a single second. I will keep trying. Around here, the closing of mills wrought economic devastation decades ago. Was it the ending of logging thanks to that endangered owl, or was logging waning as an industry anyway? Coal is waning and there was no owl or canary to blame. I hope that healthy economies and wise environmental policy go hand in hand. Okay, call me a tree hugger.

What I do want to express is my own point of view on the goodness, the stupidity, and also the evil of the federal government, based on my life in the Capital City, the District of Columbia. As a social worker for the past 30 years I give thanks for the Older Americans’ Act, Social Security and other federal programs. I also have many friends who have worked for the government. I think the federal government is all three things: good, stupid, and evil.

I will be learning for a very long time the particulars about how my understanding of government intersects with the understanding of the conservative people amongst whom I live, move, and have my being. Their experience is very different, although their reliance on the safety net is the same as urban folks’.

Valerie told me a story. One of the longtime rancher families have been using a gravel road through federal property right next to the Forest Service compound in Paisley. About once a year, this family rolls a big dump truck along the road to another part of their property to pick up several loads of gravel. Some whippersnapper, yes from D.C., figured this out and told them they couldn’t anymore: they were trespassing on federal property without legal right of way. The family stood up against this silliness and the regional manager stepped in. He has some age and wisdom on him and he told the young whippersnapper that the best way to get along with the ‘locals’ is not to be a rigid, bureaucratic dumbass. Either give them the right of way legally, or just leave the whole situation alone. Locals 1, D.C. Dumbass 0.

Top of the list of governmental evil is the work of “The Agency”, known to non-agency people as the Central Intelligence Agency, where my own dear father worked most of his adult life. The CIA did the following:

· Used LSD on government workers and soldiers. (Watch Wormwood on Netflix for a positively chilling multi-part documentary on how callously the CIA threw one of their own under the bus after giving him LSD. In fact, they murdered him, and covered it up for decades.)

· Hatched plots that failed, like trying to overthrow Castro with exploding cigars.

· The CIA also masterminded seven coups, each of which toppled democratically-elected governments like that of Salvadore Allende in Chile and Patrice Lumumba in Congo. (Here is the map: http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/20/mapped-the-7-governments-the-u-s-has-overthrown/.

We are learning that the Russians interfered far more than we could even imagine in the election process of 2016 and before. Ha, we are collecting karma. Our outrage should be tempered with the knowledge that we did the same stuff, more violently, and pre-Internet.

I have said more than once that the key, that is, the entire solution to the swamp of lobbyists writing the bills and pulling the puppet strings of our congresspersons and senators (thank you NRA, Big Pharma, Northrup Grumman….) is campaign finance reform. If the American public was willing to pay a tax, a progressive tax so that richer paid more, to help candidates get elected, the swamp could return to a protected area of wetlands, and our congress could follow the will of constituents instead of corporations and organizations like the National Rifle Association.

In the absence of campaign finance reform, we have competing interests which establish public policy, and thus we get… the stupid and the evil.

Let us for a moment consider the good. My friend Bonnie Milstein helped to establish the Americans with Disabilities Act. Her friend Sara Pratt enforced the Fair Housing Act which made a big difference in pushing against racism in rental housing. The Family Medical Leave Act allows people to take time to be caregivers or get extensive treatments without losing their jobs.

The Supreme Court finally allowed same sex couples to wed and therefore benefit from the more than 1,000 federal benefits that previously only accrued to straight people.

As a social worker, I am grateful that every jurisdiction in the United States has an agency dedicated to the welfare of people 60 and over. (Go to www.eldercare.gov and type in your zip code to find out which one is yours.) That the government, or ‘the state’ becomes the guardian of people 60 and over or younger than 18 who are not cared for properly by family. That there is a safety net, however shredded and stigmatized by wealthier people who think all who ask for help are malingerers.

Another act of good government was the Voting Rights Act of 1965. When my kids, their dad and I were visiting South Africa some 15 years ago, Jonah did some math in his head. He knew that the Voting Rights Act finally allowed black folks to vote, since the right to vote had been hogtied by rules that only applied to black folks following the passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870. Jonah also knew that apartheid ended in 1994. We visited in 2004. He says, so Black South Africans have been allowed to vote for 10 years (by then), and Black Americans for 40, right?

Right.

Eventually, the federal government corrects injustices. I wonder when reparations for slavery will come about.

There is much that is good in federal law and policy.

Then there’s the stupid. Like enacting Medicare Part D without limiting how long Big Pharmaceutical companies can keep their new drugs as patented, and making the American taxpayer pick up all drug costs once a recipient hits the other edge of the donut hole. If that flew over your head, just know that Medicare Part D covered medications but ultimately was a huge giveaway of bazillions to pharmaceutical companies, much of which was footed by the American taxpayer. Thank you, President Bush. Funny how it is such a sin for a person on food stamps to be supported by the taxpayer, and totally fine to support big corporations that already make huge profits.

I think that the area of stupid government policies and regulations are a big catchall for complaints of my neighbors, especially ranchers, former loggers, and the unemployed. I don’t understand how, yet. Valerie says that places like Lake County tends to get the young and the clueless federal workers and thus, the regulations handed down did not fit at all. I will keep listening.

The evil is distressing and much of it is ignored by the conservative capital P Patriots. There’s the internment of Japanese citizens during World War 2—an exhibit and documentary just came through Paisley last week. There’s the turning away of ships filled with desperate Jews. There’s the entire Vietnam War. The murder of the Black Panthers’ leadership by the FBI. Did you know that the Panthers acted as a crucial social service provider in its day? They even used my old church to give out food.

I do agree with the capital P Patriots that federally waged war in Waco against the Branch Davidians (1993) was nuts. As was the killing of the black movement called MOVE in Philadelphia in 1985, which was less important to the capital P Patriots because, who cares about Black people. But it was the same government impetus: these particular folks are wrong and therefore it’s better to just kill them.

Let me say one more thing about the goodness of government that is important for not only the federal government but all democratically elected and appointed civil servants. It is designed to be fair. You are hired on the basis of talent and not who you know or how you voted. The current president thinks that bringing business practices to government will some how make it more efficient. What business practices introduce is cronyism and corruption. Every time Trump asks someone in the government whether they are loyal to him or not, he tears at the very basis of fair government.

I think that the reds and the blues can agree on so many things, and I believe we all want good government, not stupid or evil government.

I’m going to contemplate some more on bridge building, since I have to do that here in Lake County Oregon. I have no choice. It is not optional.

Meanwhile, my definition of patriotism remains the same as James Baldwin’s: "I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."

#federal government #rural #patriotism CIA

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victoriajohnson-posts-blog · 5 years ago

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Let’s get real.

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“ Her life took a shocking turn on the afternoon of Feb. 14, when 17 students and teachers died in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. González was in the auditorium attending a class when the fire alarm went off. Students spilled onto the campus to find SWAT teams swarming and authorities screaming, “Code Red!” González and her classmates were rushed back into the auditorium, where they took cover on the floor between the folding seats. Holding the hands of friends on either side of her, González focused on keeping those around her calm as many began frantically searching the internet for any news that could explain what was unfolding on their campus.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” recalls González. “I didn’t want to go on my phone to check and see if anything was real because I was in a complete state of denial,” she tells me in her first-ever solo magazine interview. It wasn’t until days later that she would learn the full extent of the tragedy, when she read a story in the Miami Herald and saw the names of all the students and faculty members who had died.

Just three days after the massacre, González mustered remarkable resilience and courage when she transformed her anguish and heartbreak into unabashed activism. She delivered an impassioned speech at a gun control rally in Fort Lauderdale, calling “B.S.” on President Trump, other politicians and the NRA for not tightening gun laws that could prevent “the hundreds of senseless tragedies that have occurred.” Her speech was broadcast nationally, and her name began trending on Twitter that afternoon. She created the @Emma4Change handle to promote stricter gun laws, and along with other Parkland survivors she founded March for Our Lives, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization pushing for stricter gun laws and registering young voters. “ https://variety.com/2018/politics/features/emma-gonzalez-parkland-interview-1202972485/

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“My father was a teacher and ran a girls’ school in our village. I loved school. But everything changed when the Taliban took control of our town in Swat Valley. The extremists banned many things — like owning a television and playing music — and enforced harsh punishments for those who defied their orders. And they said girls could no longer go to school.

In January 2008 when I was just 11 years old, I said goodbye to my classmates, not knowing when — if ever — I would see them again. I spoke out publicly on behalf of girls and our right to learn. And this made me a target. In October 2012, on my way home from school, a masked gunman boarded my school bus and asked, “Who is Malala?” He shot me on the left side of my head.I woke up 10 days later in a hospital in Birmingham, England. The doctors and nurses told me about the attack — and that people around the world were praying for my recovery. “ https://malala.org/malalas-story

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“ So what are animal rights activists – and should you maybe be one, too? Let’s dive deep into this subject and figure out what animal activism really means for people who love animals.What Are Animal Rights Activists?An animal rights activist is someone who believes in justice for all animals. They don’t condone animal testing, factory farming, and other systemic mistreatment of animals, nor do they believe in using harsh animal training methods or other pursuits that cause animals pain or discomfort. A key concept is in the name – rights. Animal rights activists recognize much higher rights for animals to exists and live than the current society in general does, and they work to change this.Most animal rights activists are either vegetarian or vegan, and many consider themselves environmental activists, as well. Their primary goal is to end speciesism and create a world in which humans and other animals can live with one another in peace and without one species dominating another. “ https://sentientmedia.org/animal-rights-activists/

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“ The current political climate has provided Martinez with an ample number of causes to protest and reasons to fight. The Earth Guardians represent a mindset not reflected or supported by the current executive branch, making their representation crucial for environmental well-being, as well as the future of tomorrow’s youths. While their actions will not replace those in executive positions, it requires the work of relentless non governmental organizations to demand and incite change. In recent months, Martinez has been vocal about a number of issues such as the fight in Standing Rock, North Dakota. Not only has Donald Trump pushed forward with plans to finish the pipeline while ruining sacred lands but he also made clear his intentions to rid of eco-driven legislation such as Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan. “ https://www.scu.edu/environmental-ethics/environmental-activists-heroes-and-martyrs/xiuhtezcatl-martinez.html

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“ Since September, blazes have killed at least 30 people, destroyed over 2,000 homes and burnt through 10 million hectares of land - an area almost the size of England.

The crisis has been exacerbated by record temperatures, a severe drought and climate change.

'Need to remain vigilant' On Monday, Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews said recent rain had proved "very helpful" to bushfire-affected communities.

But he added that storms had also hindered some fire- fighting efforts, and caused a landslide on a highway.

"Ultimately, we need to remain vigilant. It's 20 January - the fire season is far from over," Mr Andrews told reporters.

Mr Andrews said there was still a "massive fire edge" of more than 1.5 million hectares from blazes which had flared up in the state's east on New Year's Eve.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51170994

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“ In 2010, Mougin enlisted a French computer-aided design (CAD) company, Dassault Systèmes, to use the latest satellite tracking and computer modelling to test the idea of a trans-Atlantic tow: a 3D-scan of a real seven-million-tonne iceberg, and the previous year’s weather data and sea currents, produced a computer model of a theoretical tow from Newfoundland to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. “The model was using one very powerful oil rig towing tug, about 6,000 horsepower, far more powerful than the tugs available in the 1970s and 80s”, says Wadhams. Other technological upgrades in the intervening years included live satellite tracking, and an insulating fabric mesh or “geo-textile skirt” – all 3km of it – designed by Mougin to wrap around the iceberg to reduce the melt-rate. The same material is used on ski slopes in the Alps to stop snow from melting. After fitting the ‘skirt’, the tug would tow the iceberg using a large fishing trawl net. “ https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180918-the-outrageous-plan-to-haul-icebergs-to-africa

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“ US President Donald Trump has decried climate "prophets of doom" in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where sustainability is the main theme.He called for a rejection of "predictions of the apocalypse" and said America would defend its economy.Mr Trump did not directly name the teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was in the audience.Later, she excoriated political leaders, saying the world "in case you hadn't noticed, is currently on fire".Environmental destruction is at the top of the agenda at the annual summit of the world's decision-makers, which takes place at a Swiss ski resort. In his keynote speech, Mr Trump said that it was a time for optimism, not pessimism, in a speech that touted his administration's economic achievements and America's energy boom.Speaking of climate activists, he said: "These alarmists always demand the same thing - absolute power to dominate, transform and control every aspect of our lives." “ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51189430

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“ Ayakha Melithafa, 17

Ayakha lives in the village of Eerste River on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. Her mother works as a farmer in the Western Cape, where droughts and severe water shortages have threatened her livelihood. These changes prompted Ayakha to act. As part of the African Climate Alliance and the Project 90 by 2030 initiative, Ayakha is mobilizing support for low-carbon development and a just energy transition in her country. In 2019, Ayakha and 15 other children around the world submitted a petition to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to hold five of the world’s leading economic powers accountable for inaction on the climate crisis. “ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/the-teenage-change-makers-at-davos-2020/

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“ Fionn Ferreira, 18

Fionn grew up on a remote island in West Cork, a seaside region in southern Ireland. Fionn spent his childhood creating science projects and paddling around the coasts of Ireland with his kayak. Through his passion for the outdoors, he witnessed the effects of microplastic pollution on the environment. When Fionn was in high school, he invented a new method of extracting microplastics from the water using his own version of ferrofluid, a liquid developed by NASA. Fionn introduced the concept at the 2019 Google Science Fair, where he won the competition for his methodology to remove microplastics from water. “ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/the-teenage-change-makers-at-davos-2020/

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“ Salvador Gómez-Colón, 17

Salvador Gómez-Colón When Hurricane María devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Salvador was told his community faced the prospect of no power or electricity for at least a year. In response, he created the “Light and Hope for Puerto Rico” campaign to distribute solar-powered lamps, hand-powered washing machines and other supplies to more than 3,100 families on the island. Salvador continues to support the implementation of smart energy systems in Puerto Rico and has launched the “Light and Hope for the Bahamas” humanitarian initiative. Salvador was named one of TIME Magazine’s 30 Most Influential Teens of 2017 and received the President’s Environmental Youth Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Diana Award for social humanitarian work in 2019. “ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/the-teenage-change-makers-at-davos-2020/

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restoreamericanglory · 6 years ago

Text

New Post has been published on Restore American Glory

New Post has been published on http://www.restoreamericanglory.com/freedoms/why-did-amazon-kick-this-conservative-site-off-its-monetization-program/

Why Did Amazon Kick This Conservative Site Off its Monetization Program?

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

William Jacobson of the website Legal Insurrection posted a detailed account of his site’s recent deliberations with Amazon, and you can’t read his story without realizing that all of the worst rumors about today’s Silicon Valley giants are true.

Whether it’s Facebook, Google, Twitter, or Amazon, there is a concerted and growing effort to marginalize conservative online voices. Sites like Prager University, organizations like the NRA, and now, invaluable resources like Legal Insurrection are the canaries in the coalmine. These tech companies have declared themselves part of the #Resistance, and we should no longer expect that they will treat conservative individuals and/or organizations as anything other than enemies.

On Thursday, Jacobson published correspondence he’s had with Amazon over the last month, demonstrating a frustrating back-and-forth wherein Amazon cuts the site off from its monetization features without bothering to explain why in any satisfying detail. In all ways, it resembles the exchange pro-Trump duo Diamond and Silk had with Facebook, a matter that was only resolved after D&S went public with their complaints. Hopefully the same will be true for Legal Insurrection because as it stands now, Amazon has really let the world know where it stands on conservatism.

On April 28, Jacobson was told that Amazon was ending his participation in the Associates program because “you are promoting your Special Links in an offline manner, such as printed material, mailing, or oral solicitation.” First of all, how would you promote something as long and convoluted as a special Amazon link in any manner other than a, well, link? Seems ridiculous. Second, Jacobson assured Amazon that he’d never done such a thing. But instead of providing him with any evidence that he’d broken the rules, they came back with a different explanation for his termination.

“You are incentivizing others to visit the Amazon Site via your Special Links by offering rebates, cashback, discounts, points, donations to charity, or other incentives, or by stating that customers can support you by shopping through your Special Links,” the site told him.

“Again, this was bizarre,” Jacobson wrote in his post. “We didn’t do any rebates, cashback, discounts, points, donations to charity, or other incentives.”

He explained this to Amazon and again requested proof that he’d broken the rules, but the site’s middlemen told him that the information was “proprietary” and thus could not be shared. Which is manifestly absurd.

As we said, hopefully a bit of publicity and pressure will convince Amazon to either change their minds about Legal Insurrection or to be more transparent about what the site did to fall afoul of the rules. Because as it stands now, one can only assume that Amazon took issue with the content at the site (i.e. with a conservative viewpoint) and nullified the agreement for that reason alone. If that’s the case, the American consumer deserves to know.

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