My Duty to My Government...

I owe you all an apology. I kind of dropped off the face of the interweb for a couple of weeks for two reasons. First, I am serving on Grand Jury in New York State which is about the most interesting and important job a citizen can do for his society short of joining the armed forces.

Naturally, I can not discuss any of it, which is a matter of law. But I can tell you that once you have done this you have learned a great number of things you may not have known before. I am, for a change, one of "The People" in "The People Vs. ....". I'm not actually referring to any case here, but rather the phrase itself.

Second, I was getting a bit unsure for a little while about what all this was for. Was it right, my ranting online about things I can not change? Was this a constructive process?

And I've come to the conclusion that yes, this IS important.

And I owe the Grand Jury service for helping me to reach my decision.

You see, in Grand Jury you are one of 23 jurors. You are NOT there to determine guilty or innocent, you are there to determine is the case worth making against the defendant in the first place. You find out quickly that the number 23 was NOT come upon randomly. It is sufficient people that it prevents an accidental grouping of like-minded people. It prevents any one person from having too much of a say.

So in many ways, I have been one of many, many bloggers out there sitting in de facto Grand Jury duty against the defendant, one Barack Obama. We can not determine his guilt or innocents, we can just review the evidence and submit it to you, the readers, and you have to make up your own mind.

And the frustration that many of us feel and write about, that is also a necessary part of the process. It is our "rat in a cage" feeling that we are only one voice, while the defendant in this case, the afore-mentioned Barack Obama, appears to have a very powerful and in-control attorney who threatens to stop the case against him. That would be the Democratic party and their strangle-hold of the U.S. Government, and the mainstream media, which is just breathlessly in love with Obama.

And I can tell you from experience, a defendant with a bit of acumen at this sort of thing can easily win over a jury even if his story has swiss-cheese level holes in it. Do NOT underestimate the power and control that a winning and sympathetic personality can have. It can make people think things that are just plain not substantiated by the facts.

And no one has done so with such flair and style and capricious damage to the country as Obama. I still find myself aghast at the idea that such hatred against our country was ever willingly installed by the people.

But then that's one of the things you learn in Grand Jury. Some people will not, can not be swayed by the facts when they have a good emotional feeling. Facts are the province of the rich balding white man. Facts represent "The Man". Facts are something that liberal-minded people think are tools to confuse them and harm them, and distract them from their feelings.

Facts.

Feelings.

Which would you rather were the governing decision-making process?

But in this country, in this time, in this political climate, it is considered poor form to use facts in your arguments. It is considered divisive and makes people suspicious of you.

Some days I almost regret that my hairline has remained intact.

I wish I could be more specific than I am, but I don't wish to find myself on the wrong side of the Grand Jury process.

I'm Dr. Calamity and I approve this message.