writer, journalist, commentator

Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Director of Google Ideas Jared Cohen recently wrote in their book The New Digital Age that “What Lockheed Martin was to the 20th century, technology and cybersecurity companies will be to the 21st.” Indeed, the transition is already taking place. Google now spends more money lobbying congress than the military industrial giant they seek to replace.  They argue that unlike their violent and destructive predecessors, technology will only help to improve democracy and allow governments to better serve their people.

This is of course an updated spin on the typical propaganda provided by Washington DC: that America is interested in promoting democracy abroad, only now they promise to do so through surveillance technology rather than napalm, white phosphorous, drone strikes, cruise missiles, and of course, the United States Marines.

Cohen is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and before joining Google, he worked in the State Department under Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton.  Despite his move to the private sector, Cohen’s focus is still on contributing to US foreign policy, namely managing the activities of foreign populations. In an interview with Foreign Policy Magazine, Cohen says that “Google Ideas do something very similar” to his role at the State Department. “[T]he range of challenges that it may focus on include… counter-terrorism, counter-radicalization, and nonproliferation.”

Cohen’s arguments in support of widespread surveillance technology do consistently warn of the dangers it might present in the hands of autocratic regimes. Cohen and Schmidt admitted in the WSJ last year, “Dictators and autocrats in the years to come will attempt to build all-encompassing surveillance states, and they will have unprecedented technologies with which to do so. But they can never succeed completely.” They seem sincere, but hopelessly naive.  Read More »

In 20th century science fiction, there is one particular story format that is often employed and is usually a fan favorite — the alternate or parallel universe, where the characters are the same but the roles are switched. In the alternate universe, the good guys are bad and the bad guys are worse. This idea of entering a darker, more sinister reality with no escape has been explored in television series like Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, and even comedy sitcoms like Seinfeld for years. It’s an idea most of us are familiar with. As a literary device, it is useful for examining our darker sides. What would we be like under more difficult circumstances?

You don’t need to be a sociologist or an anthropologist to realize that our society has undergone a shift in tone, particularly in the last five years as the disintegration of the economy has accelerated. While many Americans are learning to deal with a stagnant economy, others are struggling to survive and keep from being homeless. This isn’t America. This is Dark-America, our shadowy underside where our more aggressive and perverse instincts are nurtured.

Briefly, lets recall just a few of our current economic problems. Medical bills account for 62 percent of bankruptcies in 2007, up from 48 percent in 2000. Over 78 percent of those individuals actually have health insurance. In an attempt to come up with quick cash, many Americans are selling their burial plots — quite literally digging into their retirement funds. Roughly 20 percent of Americans are currently struggling to afford food, just under the all-time record set back in 2008. A stunning 50 million people are on food stamps. And on and on it goes.  Read More »