This Is My Rifle: I Always Feel Like, Obama’s Watching Me Posted by Jason James on 06/19/13 | Filed under Opinion, This Is My Rifle, Politics

As regular readers of my column may have noticed, I haven't had much to say about the political side of things lately. It's not that I haven't been conscious of it- in fact one look at my Twitter feed shows that I've been doing an above average amount of research into the current scandals surrounding the American government and it's affiliated agencies- but it's just that I've felt a bit uncomfortable discussing the current political climate.

During the past 12 years I've done a lot of research on a vast variety of subjects and through this research I've discovered a lot of information that ultimately became songs and journal entries, then eventually articles on RefinedHype. There was, and is, some information that I've kept to myself out of fear of losing what credibility I have, but for the most part, no matter how unbelievable the story, I made it my duty to share what I knew to be true with people in hopes that they would be inspired to dig and discover the lost fragments of light trapped beneath the dark blanket of the Anglo-American Empire.

As a writer, I have the unique privilege of being heard. Whether it's one person or a community of millions, I have the ability to convey an idea and alter the perceived status quo for brief periods of time. Although I'm sure many of you reading this will return to your daily lives as you've planned them once you close this window on your computer screen, I know that a few of you may reconsider your direction or latch onto a previously unfamiliar concept that may be useful to you at some point in the future. It's because of this that I do my best to be as accurate as possible and I try to filter out what biases I have when presenting my opinion.

That being said, it's hard for me to write about current events right now. I want to be the one to come forward and say, "I knew it" or, "I told you so" but this isn't a time for boasting. What all of us "conspiracy theorists" spent years warning people about is coming to fruition- and it's a terrible feeling.

I first read about the NSA's access to Google years ago but there wasn't enough information available to make a justifiable claim of any wrongdoing. Then, early on in my stint as a writer for RefinedHype, I revisited the subject briefly but still couldn't find anything beyond what I already had so once again the topic was put on the back burner indefinitely. As much as it may surprise some of you reading this, I don't just go crazy with accusations if I read a random document on the Internet. Unless it's a subject I've researched extensively for the sake of personal interest, I'll spend at least a week immersing myself in as much information as I can find and then diligently picking the bullshit away from the facts. Sometimes it takes a day, sometimes it takes a month- the more shit I have to pick away at, especially if it's dry, the longer it takes for me to organize the information into an article.

So as the weeks have gone by, and as the Obama administration has come further unraveled, it's felt like I've been stepping on landmines. Oh look, the Benghazi cover-up- BOOM. Oh shit, the IRS has been unfairly targeting conservative groups- BOOM. The Department of Justice has been wiretapping reporters for FOX and the Associated Press- BOOM. The NSA has been wiretapping everybody - BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM.

With all that is going wrong (or going right depending on who you ask) with the American government it’s nearly impossible to sufficiently dig into a story and write about it accurately. Every day another whistleblower steps forward and another revelation is made. The Internet is awash in articles and simply googling words like, “Obama”, “IRS”, “NSA” or “DoJ” will bring up at least a handful of editorials covering these stories- but what a lot of journalists aren’t doing is talking about how this applies to you.

Until recently most of us had forgotten about Bradley Manning - and some of us had never heard of him at all. For those of us who were following the story, we knew that these next few months will result in a pivotal moment in American history because Bradley Manning, former First Class Private in the United States Army, was going on trial; accused of “aiding the enemy”, which carries a potential sentence of life in prison or even the death penalty.

Despite having yet to prove that Bradley Manning’s actions resulted in the loss of even one American life- leaking upwards of 700,000 classified documents to Julian Assange of Wikileaks, which includes this video that shows innocent people, including 2 Reuters photographers and 2 children, being gunned down by an Apache Helicopter in Iraq- Manning was kept in solitary confinement and tortured for what could be anywhere from 11 months to 3 years. Aside from the obvious injustices Bradley Manning has endured thus far, he is being crucified by the American government, and mainstream media, for exposing atrocious war crimes that he absolutely could not ignore in good conscience. Perhaps Wikileaks was not the best route to take with such information, but where else was Private Manning supposed to go? Does anybody honestly believe that the White House would’ve taken action had he have gone to them first? My bet is that Bradley Manning wouldn’t have been thrown into solitary confinement- he flat out would’ve disappeared.

Bradley Manning isn’t the only person currently feeling the wrath of a pissed off Obama administration. Julian Assange of Wikileaks is holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is fighting extradition to the United States from New Zealand and whistleblower Edward Snowden is hiding somewhere in Hong Kong in fear for his life after blowing the lid off of the NSA secret spy program, PRISM. So why is the American government so focused on computer nerds and whistleblowers? Why have these people become public enemy number one in the eyes of the greatest military power in the history of the world?

We are in the age of information and now, unlike ever before, we have access to information when we want it and we can choose our sources freely. What this means for the United States is that their criminal behavior and outright corrupt political system can no longer operate behind closed doors. As more documents leak, and as more whistleblowers come forward, writers and journalists will sift through, research and share the information with the rest of the world, and this is exactly what will shift the balance of power. As the people become more informed, the establishment is forced into a defensive position and the banks and corporations who have pulled the geo-political strings for decades will slowly lose control. From there, as people turn away from the television networks and turn towards the independent outlets for their information, the mass media machine begins to break down and no longer serves a purpose. They can say that Bradley Manning was a weirdo, or gay, or a stupid teenager, or whatever else they can dream up, but we aren’t listening. The intelligent members of our society are focused on the real issues and not the fodder spewing out of the idiot box and into our living rooms via MSNBC, FOX, CNN or any of the other steaming propaganda shitbags the mainstream refers to as “news programs”.

And this is where it gets dangerous for people like me. No, I don’t write for Huffington Post or The New York Times, but I have no idea how many of my articles have been caught in the NSA’s net or how many of my emails have been flagged by the American government. Yes, I’m Canadian but 90% of my communication is to and from the United States and as somebody who frequently travels to the US I’m constantly aware of what it could mean if the ball drops while I’m down there. As the American government attempts to tighten its grip on the throat of human consciousness, there may come a day where I get on a plane and never come home. The NDAA for FY 2012 was written for people like me and judging by what the Obama administration defines as “espionage”, I could very well be perceived as a foreign spy or a terrorist someday in the future.

This is how it applies to you. If the NSA is tracing your calls and intercepting your emails then you are parallel with me. You think, “Yeah, but I’m not saying or doing anything illegal” and that’s where you’re wrong. You can be flagged for anything on any given day and not even know it. The American government can wiretap you and monitor you for years based on a vague suspicion that you may be communicating with “enemy combatants”. Then one day a bomb explodes somewhere and you’re gone in the blink of an eye. Just like that.

Do yourself a favor and read up on pre-World War II Nazi Germany. You’ll be surprised how relevant it is, trust me.