October 20

08
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Back on track. Issue 10 brings some interesting and promising new contributors. Fortunately, as
has always been the case, our reader base continues to slowly spread, even crossing some of those
imaginary international lines. This is bringing about some revelations.

Lattitude Zine is and always will be an independent publication. We want to provide the ideas of
freedom and liberty along with other randomness to as many people around the world as possible.
If you like Lattitude and the ideals behind it, please consider offering your support. For this, the
Lattitude Zine Welcoming Committee has been started. Two dollars a month is all we’re asking.
To be completely clear, we’re just asking. If you can’t afford it, please don’t do it. Keep reading and
enjoying the zine and website for free, we still appreciate you. If you can afford it, below are a couple
things that will come from your hard earned dollars:

Reduced advertising
You pick up a copy of Lattitude for the words, not the ads and we don’t like flipping through pages
of ads anymore than you do. The more support dollars we have coming in, the less advertising we
have to rely on.

Larger print runs

The more hard copies we have out and about the more random readers we are able to pick up,
therefor getting everyone’s ideas and stories spread further across the globe. It is very simple to get
new distribution sites throughout the world for free publications - it’s just a matter of having the
postage and copies available.

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Google AdWords and additional high-traffic sites get more traffic to the Lattitude site and in turn
provide new readers.

All of these things and more will come from your increased support. If you have any ideas of your
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Thanks for reading,

jimmy

Lattitude Zine is published 12X a year, monthly give or take, in Louisville, KY. Lattitude is
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Contents
05 • News & info
06 • In Government We Trust?
Ron Paul

09 • Q&A with Scott Ritcher

Jimmy Flaherty

15 • Sun, Sea, Sand... and ANTI-Terrorism

The Pleb

16 • Review - Open Grave

Jimmy Flaherty

17 • Stop Voting
David Ker Thomson

18 • Existence
Sly Paradox

19 • Tyranny on Display at the Republican Convention

Chris Hedges

20 • RNC 8
Friends of the RNC Welcoming Committee

21 • Paintings
Kali

23 • Triztoons
Bill Trizcinski
 News, information & random crap
info@lattitudezine.com
Fuck Gas, part Lattitude Zine, part Shitluck
Clothing, have set out promote bike riding as
opposed to oil and gas consumption. The first
event, the 40oz Fun Run, went off with enthu-
siastic attendance and zero complications. In
continuing fashion, Fuck Gas is hosting their
second ride labeled the Gutter Ball Bonanza
on Friday, October 3. The ride will leave from
On Your Left Cycles’ new home at 618 Baxter
Avenue (next door to Spenellis) and finish at
Executive Strike and Spare for some bowling.
The grill gets lit at 8pm (potluck anyone?) and
the ride takes off whenever everyone’s belly is
full. For additional info go to:
fuckgas.wordpress.com
Speaking of On Your Left Cycles/City BMX,
they have moved. The new shop is located just
around the corner at 618 Baxter Avenue. If
you’re bad with addresses, it’s the big orange
blob right next to Spenellis. This new space
will allow Derek and Drew to provide a much
better experience for everyone as it won’t be
the assholes to elbows fest the old shop was.
Additionally, they still get to keep the “smallest
bike shop in Louisville” tag which is nice.
Had enough bike info? Too bad, here’s one
more... Saturday, October 4 brings the Mondo
Alleycat 2.0 here in Louisville, taking off from
the Pinkdoor at 6pm. What’s an alleycat you
ask? Alleycats are generally informal bike races
of sorts, where the participants race to a series
of check points and who ever makes it first
wins. Check it out at:
myspace.com/louisvillealleycat
05 LattitudeZine.com
We (Lattitude) want your written, photo-
graphed and drawn contributions! What do
you get in return? A good feeling in your heart
knowing you helped keep this thing going.
This “thing” being an open forum of sorts
where anyone can express themselves. You
provide some content, we provide a vehicle
making it available to the public.
As well, we’re trying to get an education issue
together. What we would like to see for this
is: stories, essays or what have you providing
individual experiences as to how people liked
or disliked the type of schooling they received
and how it has or has not helped shape who
they may be today. Be them, home, alternative
or traditional school. Additionally, experiences
from parents about how their own children
were educated would be good too. All ages,
opinions and experiences are more than wel-
come. Please spread the word.
Got some weird or interesting shit going on?
Let us know and it could land here in next
months news. Deadlines for submissions are
the third Friday of every month.
Send whatever you’ve got regarding anything
you like to: info@lattitudezine.com
Congratulations to our favorite guitar player,
Brian Venable. He and Sam, have given birth to
a baby boy down in Memphis. Well, Sam really
did the given birth part, Brian was probably
just waiting with some gross ass Man United
jersey to disgrace the poor guy with.
 In Government We Trust?
Ron Paul
Many who agree with me on a lot of other
issues do not understand my enthusiasm for
gold and sound money or why I spend so much
time studying and talking about monetary
policy. It’s true that I talk about money differ-
ently than most, but the fact is sound money
offers many benefits. For example – peace.
Can sound money really bring about peace?
Actually, it plays a big part in peaceful interna-
tional relationships. Money based on commodi-
ties, rather than paper, is not subject to govern-
ment manipulation, and is a key component
to free and honest trade. History shows that if
countries engage in trade with each other, their
governments tend to find ways to get along for
the same reason you do not kill your customers
at your place of business, even if they occasion-
ally annoy you. If someone outright cheats you,
however, you may engage in “war” by taking
them to court, for example, and the relationship
will sour. Governments and central banks with
unfettered power to manipulate currency also
have the ability to cheat their creditors. One way
they do this is to simply create enough currency
to pay off debts. This devalues the currency and
“cheats” the recipient out of what they are owed.
It would not be fair if you watered down your
product the way our government waters down
its currency, so it is not hard to understand,
in these simplified terms, why loose monetary
policy contributes so much to ill will and war
around the world.
Sound money, on the other hand, simply is
what it is. Removing governmental power to
manipulate money removes the temptation for
government to spend, print and cheat. Sound
money ensures that our government’s spending
priorities would be brought into sharp focus
and reduced to only what we can afford.
Sound money also limits the ability to wage
wars of aggression. Imagine how much more
careful Washington would have to be about
starting a war if they did not have this financial
sleight of hand at their disposal! Fiat currency
allows government to do expensive things they
should not be doing while paying the bills with
cheap money. The Federal Reserve has lately
been auctioning off large amounts of treasury
bills as a way to finance the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and our crushing entitlement
burden. The resulting devaluation of the dollar
is quickly eroding our image as a good trading
partner in the world. As a consequence, there is
therefore more talk of economic isolation and
war.
This vicious cycle of spending, fighting and
inflating is not what Americans want. It is what
the government wants, and it has had to deceive
the citizens into allowing and supporting it.
Sound money curbs the government’s ability
to engage in these shenanigans and reduces the
wars we fight to only truly defensive ones, for
which Americans are more than willing to stand
and fight. So in these ways, sound money is very
conducive to peace.
October 2008 • LATT!TUDE 06
 Q&A, Scott Ritcher
Q - Jimmy Flaherty
A - Scott Ritcher
(ed. note: I really wasn’t sure how Scott would respond
to a lot of these questions, if at all. However, I have to
admit, I have a new found respect for him as a politi-
cian. Sure, I don’t agree with damn near everything
he stands for, but I’d be willing to bet you couldn’t get
another politico in the city to be as straight forward
and honest as Scott was in his responses. A big thanks
to Scott for taking the time to thoughtfully consider
and respond to everything you’re about to read.)
For those who don’t know, could you give us a brief
background of who the hell you are?
I am 38 years old and I was born in Louisville.
My occupation is a mix of lots of different
efforts. As a writer, I have been a contributor
to LEO Weekly, Louisville Magazine, public
radio’s “This American Life,” and I’ve writ-
ten two books. As a graphic designer, I have
worked for companies such as The Cou-
rier-Journal, Hasbro, CityScoot, and I have
designed more than 100 compact disc packages
including albums by The Get Up Kids, Face to
Face, Koufax, and Saves the Day. I write,
design, and publish a magazine called K
Composite which consists primarily of
interviews of my friends. I sometimes play
music in bands such as the Metroschifter and,
more recently, Best Actress. For nine years in
the 80’s and 90’s I ran an indie record label
called Slamdek.
You’re registered Independent. Do you choose to
affiliate yourself with any particular party?
No. I usually vote for Democrats, but not
always. I don’t think they’re the bad guys, but
in a lot of cases they’re just not good enough.
The lack of choices in American politics is one
that fascinates people in other countries where
there are multiple parties running in most
races. I used to be active in the Reform Party
which was started by Ross Perot, but the party
faced a lot of defections and dilution of its
07 LattitudeZine.com
effectiveness about eight years ago. I became
an independent shortly thereafter.
As far as your campaigns have gone, I’ve got to ask
- why Mayor and now Senator? Why not start with
something a bit more attainable such as Metro
Council? Is this something you have considered if
this campaign doesn’t go your way?
In 1998, I ran for Louisville Mayor with the
Reform Party for several reasons. As you may
know, in Kentucky, if you’re not a Republican
or a Democrat, you have to collect signatures
from voters in order to get your candidate’s
name on the ballot. If your minor party’s presi-
dential candidate earns a significant percentage
of the votes in the state, your party then gains
the ability to nominate candidates to the ballot
by convention for the next four years. Because
of Ross Perot’s general election performance in
1996, the Reform Party earned ballot access in
Kentucky and was able to nominate candidates
without collecting signatures in 1998. It was
the first time in decades that a third party had
been able to achieve this.
In the Louisville race for mayor, I was sup-
porting Tom Owen, but he lost the Democratic
primary to Dave Armstrong by just a few votes.
I felt there were a lot of issues Louisvillians
needed to be more aware of and at the same
time the Reform Party had no candidate in the
race. I decided to run for mayor to satisfy both
of these concerns. There was never a chance
nor expectation that I would win the race.
My campaign budget was less than $1000 and
Armstrong’s was over $300,000. However, it got
some people involved in the process who may
have otherwise been ambivalent and it helped
spread the word about some issues I felt were
important. Armstrong ended up pleasantly
surprising me in his term as mayor and I have a
great respect for him now.
As to why I’m running for Kentucky Senate
now instead of Metro Council, there are several
reasons. First, I think people in Kentucky as
a whole need a lot more help than people in
Louisville. One in six Kentuckians lives in
poverty, while the people in Louisville are
much better off. Secondly, a candidate must
run for office from the district where he or she
lives, so much of my impetus for running is my
dissatisfaction with our district’s current state
senator Denise Harper Angel. If I felt she were a
model Democrat and doing a great job, I would
be just as happy sitting at home watching “The
Colbert Report” and enjoying some snacks. On
the Metro Council, my district’s representative
is Tom Owen, who as I mentioned earlier, is
someone I think does a good job. And again, I
don’t think Louisville’s needs are as critical as
the state’s.
Louisville Metro Council districts and
Kentucky State Senate districts have roughly
the same number of voters, so really, they’re
equally attainable. But the decisions of the
Metro Council and the State Senate influence
much different areas of life and at different
scales. It comes down to a matter of where my
efforts are best applied to bring the most
attention to the concerns I have.
Would you be willing to, or have you signed the Small
Government pledge? (if you’re unfamiliar you can
check it out at: http://centerforsmallgovernment.
com/sgpledgecand.htm)
I agree with the sentiment of this pledge, but I
don’t think I can sign it. I don’t think the size
of government is nearly as relevant as its effec-
tiveness. Proportional to their population and
GDP, some other countries have much larger
governments than we do, but they are much
more effective. These people also pay much
higher taxes than we do, but they get a lot more
in return. Denmark has a comparatively huge
government and one of the highest tax rates in
the world, but the Danes are also some of the
healthiest, happiest people on earth. Also, I
think any legislator needs to leave their options
open. “Every issue. Every time. No exceptions.
No excuses.” ... that kind of statement just
doesn’t allow for the flexibility to weigh every
measure on its own merits, based on the situa-
tion at the time.
So Denise Harper Angel has filed suit to have you re-
moved from the ballot for District 35, in hopes of her
being the only option for voters to choose from come
November. Would you mind elaborating and sharing
your thoughts on this move by her campaign?
Basically, Denise Harper Angel’s lawsuit claims
some voters who signed my ballot petition live
outside the boundaries of District 35, a require-
ment for signing those documents. The state
has certified my candidacy and will not revoke
it or remove my name from the ballot based on
the errors. Ballot access can only be overturned
through a lawsuit if Ms. Angel can convince
the court to disqualify enough signatures.
Like I said earlier, Republicans and Democrats
are not required to collect these signatures
to get on the general election ballot. Only
independents and third-party candidates are
forced through this process, and once they have
completed it, the major parties can challenge
their petitions in court. That’s what she’s doing.
In fact, Kentucky Democratic Party chair-
woman Jennifer Moore told the LEO that they
go through the effort of checking every petition
for every such candidate in the state. In this
case, 83% of the petitioners they are seeking to
disqualify are their fellow Democrats. So there
seems to be some disconnect between what
their voters are asking and what the party is
doing. I have even given them another petition
with three times more signatures than those
disputed, but I guess it hasn’t made a difference
in communicating what voters want. I think
it’s clear that people want more choices. Even if
the options provided are ones that people don’t
agree with, I think people want to preserve the
right to choose.
Obviously, I understand her desire to run
essentially unopposed. It seems like the easiest
way to win an election. You don’t even have to
leave the house to win. I also understand her
desire to get me out of it and to shut me up. I
don’t really have anything positive to say about
October 2008 • LATT!TUDE 08
all the corporate and special interest money
she raises or some of her actions in the senate.
While this lawsuit is only a week old right now,
from my perspective, her efforts to quiet me
or to have my arguments removed from the
debate have had decidedly the opposite effect.
The hits on my website, requests for yard signs,
and contributions to my campaign have all
gone way up since her lawsuit hit the papers.
It should be noted that our district is registered
70% Democratic and she’s a Democrat. That’s
why I don’t understand the effort to remove
me from the ballot. The Republican in the race
is basically out following his arrest on felony
wanton endangerment charges. This election
was hers for the taking. Maybe she wasn’t so
confident about that. I don’t really know.
Let’s get back to your campaign objectives. I’m just
running down the list here... You’ve stated you want
to provide “free” health care for all Kentuckians that
would be paid for by our taxes. Is it really free when
I’m being taxed for it? How would this all work?
You’re right, it’s not free, it’s included in taxes.
It is, however, furnished without the patient
being charged at the point of care or billed
based on the type of care provided.
The simple fact is that Kentuckians are not
healthy people when compared with people
in the rest of the world. We pay significantly
more for health care in Kentucky than they
do in Norway, France, Switzerland, and other
places known for superior levels of care. The
reasons for this disparity are also simple. So
many people here are either uninsured or
underinsured that no preventative health is
practiced. Primary care conditions deteriorate
when neglected until they become expensive
emergency situations. People can’t afford basic
care and easily manageable conditions rage
out of control. Kentucky’s infant mortality
rate is higher than that of Cuba, Lithuania, or
Thailand. Furthermore, for those who do have
coverage in Kentucky, the costs of that care
enormous because it includes the costs of
advertising, executive salaries, profits, denials
of eligibility, and even the cost of hiring lobby-
ists to keep the pressure on our government to
do nothing about it.
09 LattitudeZine.com
A health care safety net that would provide a
basic level of coverage for every Kentuckian
would certainly not be free, but the bottom line
is that it would cost less than what we’re paying
now.
Not only would it serve to make us healthier,
it would give Kentucky a competitive edge and
attract new families and taxpayers. It would
remove the burden of health care from our
business owners, allowing them the options to
cut costs, increase wages, reinvest, and offer
additional incentives to workers.
Medical bankruptcy is a truly American dis-
grace that does not have to exist and should not
exist in a civil society. I believe access to health
care and child care are necessities and rights,
not “benefits.” They should be as universally
available when needed as the fire department.
Everyone needs them at some point and we
should never think of sending someone a bill
for something they can’t live without.
There are a lot of ways this system could work.
The great advantage we have in trying to do
something like this now is that so many other
countries have already worked out a lot of the
kinks. I’m not an expert on medical care, but
anyone can look at the simple statistics on this
issue and see the way health care in Kentucky is
provided now is clearly not the most beneficial
way.
Say you’re elected and you are able to institute the
health care plan. Would you be willing to provide a
provision in which I could opt-out of the health care
plan and be taxed less?
I think we need to move away from the model
that treats people differently than each other
and denies care to patients. I’m proposing
a basic level of care for everyone that covers
necessities and emergencies. If you want more
than that, you could still get that from a private
insurance company or your employer could
provide it as an incentive. There would really
be no reason for someone to want to opt-out of
a system that is more cost effective and covers
most conditions. They would then run the risk
of not being able to get state services if they
need them.
Also, if every Kentuckian paid taxes at the
same rate, and an exemption was provided for
those not earning a substantial living wage, the
tax rate for most Kentuckians would be lower.
Such a system would be fair to everybody and
generate more revenue for the state. The rich
and super rich are not currently paying a rate
proportionally on par with the rest of us. It’s
only fair to close that gap. If we were to replace
Kentucky’s current multi-tiered income tax
system in this way, most Kentucky taxpayers
would pay less taxes and the state would have
more resources available to provide services.
When we start providing exemptions and opt-
out clauses we lose sight of our common needs,
however, I don’t see a problem with provid-
ing a voucher or deduction option if there are
enough people who insist on not participating
in the state program.
On elections or representative democracy in general,
how do you feel about democracy being related to the
situation of two wolves and a sheep deciding what’s
for dinner? Seriously.
It’s easy to think of democracy in this way,
especially when there are so few regulations
governing corporate influence in government.
If we can get corporate-backed contributions
out of our elections and have clean campaigns
funded only by individual voters, that’s a major
move toward restoring a truer democracy. If
paid lobbying were eliminated, I think that
would be an even bigger step toward remov-
ing the wall that exists between voters and
their government. It might sound idealistic,
but I think both of these steps would help our
democracy start resembling shepherds rather
than wolves or sheep.
You are proposing more money be provided to schools
and teachers, year round attendance (although the
same amount of school days) and even starting school
1 year earlier. If I may, I would like to argue that we
already spend too much money on public schools,
have children attend too long and start too early.
Have you ever considered the Swedish system? In a
society (that of Sweden) recognized for quality in
everything they do, surely schooling must have some
effect on this. A child cannot even begin school until
the age of seven, and the Swedish system lasts only
nine years as opposed to the thirteen you are sug-
gesting. Reason being is that the Swedes don’t want
to have the social problem that comes from forcing
children away from their parents and community so
early in life. Why advocate the compulsory Prussian
system from the 1800’s?
I have almost nothing bad to say about the way
they do things in Sweden. I’ve spent a lot of
time there and the people I know in Sweden
are some of the best-educated, well-informed,
healthy, happy, friendly people I know. I’m
always eager to look at their successful systems
for most applications, in fact, I usually look
there first. Kentucky is certainly not Sweden,
though, and we’re starting from a completely
different set of challenges and a much smaller
set of resources with which we can work.
I think the argument that we’re already spend-
ing too much on public schools may be a hard
one to win. I know that teachers in Kentucky
do not feel they have the tools or facilities they
need to improve the lives of children as much
as they would like. Kentucky’s schools just
don’t receive the funding that schools in other
states do and our results show that.
As you suggested, the quality of schools can
make a difference for nearly everything else
in society. Crime, productivity, innovation,
co-existence, personal responsibility, progress;
they’re all related to the quality of one’s
education.
While this isn’t Prussia or Sweden, I think we
can never underestimate what relevance our
schools have to the quality of life we are able
to enjoy. We can learn a lot from other ways of
doing things, but ultimately, our challenges are
uniquely Kentuckian and I think funding is
one of the main areas our schools are in need.
Trying varying approaches in different places is
also a proven way to pilot-test and develop new
methods. I think any strategy that provides us
with a more informed way of revising and im-
proving our schools should be considered. Edu-
cation is just too important to be underfunded
or to have its significance underestimated.
I appreciate your views towards renewable energy
and the coal communities and companies that
operate in them. However, how do you plan to get the
extra money you are proposing these companies pay
be directly funneled into the communities in which
October 2008 • LATT!TUDE 10
they operate instead of being absorbed by the state
bureaucracy?
Funny you should ask, because that’s exactly
what happened last year. States with substantial
coal mining operations, like Kentucky, collect
what is called a Coal Severance Tax from the
companies that run the mines. This tax is
levied on the value of the coal removed from
the ground. The money collected is intended
to be used by the state to clean up mining
sites and reinvest in the communities where
mining happens. Kentucky is the third-larg-
est producer of coal in the United States and
our severance tax is one of the lowest. Mining
corporations pay just 4.5% of the value of their
coal back to our state.
Last year, in trying to lure a coal gasification
plant and a few dozen jobs to Kentucky, the
state legislature voted almost unanimously to
raid this fund. Denise Harper Angel and every
other state senator except one voted “yes” to
giving the world’s largest coal company, Pea-
body Energy, $300 million in incentives and
tax breaks. They essentially took $80 out of the
pocket of each Kentuckian and handed it over
to Peabody in a year when that company was
posting record profits. And they did so under
the guise that somehow coal gasification is a
clean, forward-looking alternative energy.
Kentucky’s Coal Severance Tax could be dou-
bled or quadrupled and these companies would
still be swimming in money. Furthermore, the
fund this tax creates must be off limits to any-
thing except what it is intended to do; reinvest
in mining communities. The free ride mining
companies have in Kentucky must end. They
must be held accountable for the devastating
effects mining has on our landscapes and the
lives of our miners. Coal is getting increasingly
harder to find and these companies are literally
moving mountains to get it. When the coal is
gone, so too will these employers be. If we don’t
take every opportunity to collect billions in the
process, we’re being played for the fools they
obviously think we are.
You would like to mandate a living minimum wage
calculated to provide “sufficiently reasonable” neces-
sities. Who determines what is “sufficiently reason-
able” and isn’t this just one size fits all hegemony?
11 LattitudeZine.com
As well, given I run a business and a potential
employee agrees to work for $2 per hour, like servers
at restaurants, isn’t that voluntary interaction? After
all, they don’t have to come work at my restaurant.
People don’t have to work at your restaurant
but they have to work somewhere. If the low-
est of wages are determined by market forces
instead of by some larger sense of fair compen-
sation, we’ll simply see wages plummet and
the overall purchasing power of workers in our
society deteriorate. This is what happens in
countries without fair labor laws. There’s an
old saying, “If the company owes you some-
thing morally but not legally, they will give you
nothing.”
So if the living wage is “one size fits all hege-
mony” then I would think the minimum wage
- or no wage restrictions - must be even more
apprehensible. Living wage laws enacted in
other places in the United States are indexed to
inflation and, honestly, for Kentucky’s cost of
living, would not be much different than the
Federal minimum wage. A primary difference
is that the living wage changes annually and
automatically, whereas the minimum wage is at
the mercy of legislative action, which can take
years to catch up to true costs. Struggling peo-
ple just can’t wait around for somebody to take
action. Ironically, the salaries of Kentucky’s
legislators update automatically but those for
other workers do not.
The main opponents to the living wage aren’t
restaurants or small businesses, they’re big-box
retailers like Wal-Mart. They can save billions
simply by paying every worker 50-cents less
per hour. Wal-Mart all but packed up and left
Chicago when the city council worked to pass a
living wage bill there. Even then, Mayor Daley
quickly vetoed it after Wal-Mart ran a multi-
million dollar marketing campaign attacking
him and the effort.
While this issue certainly has widespread
economic considerations, I don’t see the liv-
ing wage as a matter of economics. I see it an
issue of morals. No civil society should expect
workers to work for less than what they need to
comfortably survive. In a country as rich as the
United States, there should be no such thing as
“low-wage workers.”
In true socialist fashion, you want to regulate noise
levels and pollution emissions of motor vehicles,
but provide assistance to drivers who cannot afford
to keep their vehicles up to standards. Why should
I have to pay for the upkeep on someone else’s car?
Why can’t they ride a bike or take the bus?
This is a matter of everyone pitching for the
greater benefit of society. Everyone benefits
when levels of noise and air pollution are
reduced. But to your point of why you should
pay for it, the cost of this could be included in
the price of gasoline. In that case, if you ride a
bicycle there is a lesser chance of you sharing
this nominal burden which would amount to
less than a dollar a year.
We should also recognize that in a state as large
as Kentucky, and even in a city as spread-out
as Louisville, not everyone has the option or
ability to uses buses, bicycles, or their feet for
transportation. I agree those modes of trans-
port are preferable because they reduce noise
and pollution, but they’re not always practical
or available.
Could you elaborate on the idea to have the commu-
nity vote on, as you put it, “propositions to legalize,
regulate, and significantly tax casino gambling,
marijuana products, or any other controversial issue
which is legal elsewhere”? I like legalize part, but I
am curious, why only the issues that are legal else-
where? As well, what is the harm in all this voluntary
interaction?
This might be a misunderstanding of the larger
point of what I’m saying. I don’t think anything
necessarily needs to be legal somewhere else
to be considered here. I was just trying to il-
lustrate that Kentucky may be behind the curve
on some of these issues. Certainly not a revolu-
tionary statement considering there are places
in our state where you can’t legally buy beer.
One of the main impediments to progress
in Kentucky law is the absence of a ballot
referendum process. Many states have systems
which allow voters to place statute revisions
on the ballot for a public vote. Kentuckians,
however, are at the mercy of a part-time legis-
lature which meets only a few weeks out of the
year. It is just not responsive enough to keep
up with the pace at which reform is needed. If
the legislature isn’t aware or willing to act on
a particular issue, it can take many years for
Kentuckians to get the message through that
changes are needed. Creating a voter-initiated
ballot referendum process in Kentucky would
give citizens a more direct route to their own
governance.
With your proposed banking regulations, I’m a bit
put off. I know when I got my checking account I spe-
cifically signed an agreement that stated if I overdrew
my account I would be charged $33 per overdraft. I
have allowed the bank to charge my account if I don’t
handle my own finances properly. Instead of regulat-
ing how private businesses operate wouldn’t we be
better off teaching our citizens how to handle their
finances correctly in the first place?
Absolutely. There should be practical classes in
high school that teach students useful life skills
such as how to balance a ledger and how inter-
est is compounded. But Jimmy, you also have
to remember that not everyone is as intelligent
or informed as you are, nor are they able to be.
The main point I’m trying to make is that over-
drawing one’s account is illegal and banks have
the technology to prevent electronic overdrafts.
Use of this technology was standard industry
practice and historically protected banks from
overdrafts until its creative use for extra profits
began to grow in the past decade. About 50%
of all income in the banking industry is now
generated from fees. The Center for Respon-
sible Lending says 46% of overdrafts today are
caused by instantly-verifiable transactions, that
is, debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals.
That’s more than any other type of transac-
tion. A practice among many banks now is to
keep transaction-stopping technology on hold
while allowing a customer to run up overdraft
fees and only alerting the customer by mail,
which can take days. The bank will eventually
implement their ability to decline transactions,
but only after the negative balance grows to the
point where it becomes a collection risk.
In the same way that institutions are able to
instantly verify whether a customer is over-
drawing their account, they can also allow
customers to view their recent activity in real
time. Many banks don’t do this. Instead, a
customer’s online account access may
October 2008 • LATT!TUDE 12
LattitudeZine.com
deceptively not reveal recent transactions until
several days after they occur. These banks are
generating huge profits by deliberately taking
advantage of confusion and providing inad-
equate information to the consumer.
I agree that everyone should be responsible for
their own finances and banks should be able to
freely enter into agreements with consumers,
but just as with the living wage issue, if market
trends dictate what is to prevail as standard
practice, 99 out of 100 times that practice
will favor the corporations, not the people.
Corporations are interested in delivering
results to shareholders and that typically does
not provide a lot of room from them to refrain
from profitable practices regardless of how
detrimental or unethical those practices may
be from the consumer’s point of view. A 2006
study also found that the overwhelming major-
ity of these fees, nearly three-quarters, are paid
by financially-distressed customers who live
“on the margins of solvency.” And with the
shift toward consolidated ownership of banks,
media, food, and energy, I feel government
must take a role in protecting the consumers
from the prospect of unfair practices becoming
unavoidable standards.
Lastly, I want to note that it should be apparent I am
coming from a stance of completely despising govern-
ment intervention in any part of my life whether it
be local, state or federal. I would really like to know
what makes you (or any politician for that matter)
a better candidate for making decisions on how I
should live my life, i.e. manage my finances, educate
my children, care for my health or run my own busi-
ness, than myself?
We might be on the same page on this one. I
don’t think anyone is better equipped than you
are to make these decisions about your life.
But I think as a society, we have an obliga-
tion to provide for those who are unable to
provide for themselves and to protect those
who cannot protect themselves. This can often
be accomplished only through government. I
see government as the collective pooling of our
resources to accomplish goals we are unable to
achieve individually. The dissatisfaction with
government is usually the result of disgust at
people who have unfortunately bastardized its
objectives and monopolized it for subversive
purposes.
I don’t claim to have answers, I only have
suggestions, which I feel is what we need a lot
more of. I know that taxes can be collected and
services can be provided without the obscene
levels of intervention that government has in
our lives. I know the quality of health care,
education, and life in general can be improved
if we try new things. But I also know that I
am just one person. My hope is that other
people will hear what I’m saying and add their
own ideas and perhaps become inspired to do
something. Nothing will get better through not
voting or not being involved. We’ve definitely
seen the results of leaving it to someone else.
So I agree with you that we are all responsible
for ourselves, but I also think simple compas-
sion dictates that we have an obligation to try
to make things better for other people as well.
It may take a small sacrifices here and there,
but our own selfish demands so far have proven
to be less than advantageous or admirable than
the chances we take by doing nothing.
Scott Ritcher for Kentucky State Senate,
District 35
2342 Grinstead Drive No. 4
Louisville KY 40204
www.ScottRitcher.org
www.BallotRevolution.org
Vote November 4, 2008
October 2008 • LATT!TUDE 14
Fuck Gas is a collective effort, part Lattitude Zine, part Shitluck Clothing, working to
illustrate the retardation of gas and its effect on the american culture all while having a
hell of a good time doing it.
Get FREE propaganda by sending a self addressed, stamped envelope to:
P.O. Box 197535
Louisville, KY 40259
fuckgas.wordpress.com ~ myspace.com/fuckgasrideabike
 Sun, Sea, Sand… and ANTI –Terrorism
The Pleb
Who’d be a Hero?
If you stopped a handbag being snatched,
would you expect a word of thanks? Or if you
prevented a Bank robbery, would you expect a
reward? So if someone goes out of their way to
prevent Terrorism, where would they end up??
A) Daytime TV shows.
B) Prison.
C) Solitary confinement then massive prison
sentences under maximum security.
Well if you’re Cuban and subject to the U.S.
“Justice” system then the answer is C.
They probably taught you this at School, but
here it is again. Since the Cuban Revolution of
January 1st 1959 (50th Anniversary here we
come!) a bunch of nutcases basing themselves in
Miami have been attacking Cuba in every way
they could think of, with the help of a few
Agencies and powerful friends (!)
Whether it was bombing an Embassy, Hotel, or
airliner, or using the more extravagant biologi-
cal weaponry, that darn Revolution just would
not break.
So what does this have to do with
Anti-Terrorism???
Well the Cubans aren’t stupid, and they don’t
actually like being subjected to Terrorism, so
they sent people to Miami to gather information
about the dodgy groups operating there. This
would enable Cuba to have a heads-up on future
terrorist acts and thus give them a better chance
of stopping them.
The task given to these Cuban anti-terrorists
was not without risk (just how brave did they
have to be!), but nobody predicted what
happened next…
15 LattitudeZine.com
After gathering information and passing it to
the Cuban authorities the FBI was invited to
Havana to receive the info.
So, the FBI is given the details of terrorist
organizations operating from U.S. soil…Perry
Mason or Jessica Fletcher would have had this
one sorted before the first advert break!
The FBI returned to Miami and arrested the
messengers…not the terrorists.
The men now known internationally as the
Cuban 5 (aka Miami 5) were arrested and held
in solitary confinement for 17 months, followed
by a trial where the jury were tailed by the Mi-
ami Mafia (who have a bloody history when it
comes to what they see as being “soft” on Cuba).
So what do you get for trying to prevent
Terrorism?
Gerardo Hernández: 2 Life sentences plus 15
years.
Ramón Labañino: Life plus 18 years.
Antonio Guerrero: Life plus 10 years.
Fernando González: 19 years.
René González: 15 years.
The Cuban 5 have now been in prison for 10
years.
Perhaps one day there will be a United States
where terrorists go to prison and anti-terrorists
are given the respect they deserve…there are 5
heroes hoping that day arrives soon.
Visit www.theplebsite.com for cartoons, poetry
and other random creativity.
 Review
Open Grave
In full disclosure Jeani Rector has been paying
for advertising in Lattitude for a few months
now. When she offered us a copy of the book
for review this thought did come to mind, but
at the same time - it was a free book. My opin-
ion is honest and true, if you still feel I may be
biased, I really don’t give a fuck. Too bad.
Open Grave - The Book of Horror, begins
with 9 short stories and concluding with a
26 chapter novella to which the book itself
derives it’s name - all horror or thriller stories
to some extent. I may not be the best person
to have reviewed this as I am not a big fan of
fiction, I tend to opt for more reference based
literature. However, I can honestly say I truly
enjoyed reading these stories and even found
myself questioning what would happen next as
the drama unfolded, even without the book in
hand. Because I don’t want to spoil anything
for anyone, I’ll just note that my favorites were
“Open Night Dive,” for tipping its hat, in a
sense, to a different way of life and the ending
novella, “Open Grave.”
Dive, went a completely opposite direction
than what I expected at every point, and left
me with a smile after the read. It was entertain-
ing all while preparing me for the worst. Open
Grave on the other hand was as much as I hate
to use the term - a roller coaster. This damn
story never stops, and that’s a good thing, as
well as adding in one more twist as soon as you
think there’s nothing left. Good stuff.
More good news is there really aren’t a lot of
negative things I can say about the book. In my
opinion, cover art as a tad middle schoolish
- if that makes any sense, which really has zero
effect on the readability and enjoyment of the
book.
All in all, I thought this was an enjoyable read.
I find this to be meaningful coming from
myself, as like I mentioned before, I am no fic-
tion fan. Jeani seems to have put a lot of work
into this book and I think if you get a copy for
yourself, you won’t be disappointed.
To Pick up your own copy visit
www.opengravenovel.com
October 2008 • LATT!TUDE 16
 Stop Voting
David Ker Thomson
Just drop the vote and step quietly away from
the vehicle.
We hope you’ll join us. We are a multitude, and
we have been on the increase for forty years.
Forty years, and now our time is at hand.
You looked for us when you sought an object
for your ill-conceived charity, but we quietly
sent you away. We who will not vote, who will
not gratify you with an opinion of your fool-
ish and indistinguishable pretenders to this or
that throne, we infuriated you. You called us
apathetic for refusing to play the game. Refusing
even to register. You said it was the only game
in town.
But if we’re so apathetic, why have you sought
us so desperately, coveting even our style, asking
our barbers if you are real, begging us to hold
the mirror for you while you compose yourself?
You have courted our swingers, but we have seen
your anxious eyes in the rear-view of your Volvo.
You like statistics, go see if it isn’t true: voter
turnout has been decreasing in the established
democracies since the 1960’s. You’re desperate
for a mandate, but it’s flowing away from you.
Your empire flunkies are banging at our doors,
telling us we’re red or blue, or striped with white
bars, and we should go to our color-coded sta-
tions. Greens, now there’s a hue for you. Use ’em
for a side salad while you get on with dinner. Or
get them to do the washing up. Greens are excel-
lent for washing things. And you know how they
just love to be included.
17 LattitudeZine.com
What’s driving you nuts is, we’re not even refus-
ing. We’re not saying anything. And we know
you’re nuts. We’ve seen your conventions. Also,
your good wars, and your bad ones. Your Motor
Voter legislation so you can register to kill twice
at one convenient location.
You are a computer virus. You thrive on at-
tention. Say no to you, and you preen because
someone noticed. We say nothing.
You probably think this song is about you.
Don’t you?
You have immense standing armies, and they
wish to march left, right, left, right. We are more
than forty percent of the adults in America, fifty
percent in Europe. If we would just say some-
thing, anything, left, right, left, right, you could
get a stronger mandate, get these armies work-
ing efficiently, instead of going around losing
wars to tiny countries. But like you say, it’s hard
to fight a war if we don’t all stick together.
David Ker Thomson is taking a year out from
the Centre for Comparative Literature at the
University of Toronto to write a book on American
radicalism since 1637 entitled “A.”
 Existence
Sly Paradox
The thing I love about the human existence
is our ability to constantly evolve, to pull
ourselves up from whatever trenches we have
fallen into, whatever traps we have managed to
ensnare ourselves in. Our minds and imagina-
tions are never an absolute, our potential never
finite; the only blockades we will ever come
across are the ones we put up ourselves.
Your destiny is as mailable as wet earth; you
can mold it to whatever conclusion you see fit.
You hold the power to do so, no matter what
superficial outside forces try to lead you to
believe.
Remember; the things that will try to divert
you from your chosen path are not going to be
wearing a big, flashing neon sign spelling out
“evil”. The serpent understood that long before
it dained to show up at the Tree of Knowledge
it had to lull Eve into a false sense of security
in order to convince her to take a bite of the
apple. True evil is seductive like that. It is
charming, even charismatic in some cases. It
will tell you whatever it knows you need to
hear to get what it wants.
But that is the thing. The ability to charm is
not the same as being a genuine person with
good intentions. Too many gullible people who
want to live in a certain state of denial as to
the bad things in the world make this mistake.
After all, Ted Bundy was an awfully charming
fellow who still to this day probably has wom-
en who will swoon over him. Scott Peterson
has groupies, receives fan letters every week,
even wedding proposals. Charles Manson had
women crawling on their hands and knees for
him and shaving their heads.
Evil can talk a very good game. It is perfectly
capable of gaining your trust in order to take
advantage of you. People always seem to forget
that.
It is up to us to learn how to filter out the lip
service and jive, and find the genuine souls in
this world, because they are truly becoming a
dying breed. We need to bring ourselves back
to helping our fellow man just out of good will
and no other reason. Paying it forward is what
helps sustain us and gives us momentum in
our own lives, spiritually and literally.
For more from Sly Paradox, check her blog at:
www.slyparadox.com
October 2008 • LATT!TUDE 18
 Tyranny on Display
at the Republican Convention
Chris Hedges
St. Paul is a window into our future. It is a
future where, as one protester told me by phone,
“people have been pepper-gassed, thrown on
the ground by police who had drawn their
weapons, had their documents seized and their
tattoos photographed before being taken away
to jail.” It is a future where illegal house raids are
carried out. It is a future where vans containing
heavily armed paramilitary units circle and film
protesters. It is a future where, as the protester
said, “people have been pulled from cars because
their license plates were on a database and hand-
cuffed, thrown in the back of a squad car and
then watched as their vehicles were ransacked
and their personal possessions from computers
to literature seized.” It is a future where constitu-
tional rights mean nothing and where lawful
dissent is branded a form of terrorism.
The rise of the corporate state means the rise
of the surveillance state. The Janus-like face of
America swings from packaged and canned
spectacles, from nationalist slogans, from seas of
flags and Christian crosses, from professions of
faith and patriotism, to widespread surveillance,
illegal mass detentions, informants, provoca-
teurs and crude acts of repression and violence.
We barrel toward a world filled with stupendous
lies and blood.
What difference is there between the crowds
of flag-waving Republicans and the apparat-
chiks I covered as a reporter in the old East
German Communist Party? These Republican
delegates, like the fat and compromised party
functionaries in East Berlin, all fawned on cue
over an inept and corrupt party hierarchy. They
all purported to champion workers’ rights
and freedom while they systematically fleeced,
disempowered and impoverished the workers
they lauded. They all celebrated the virtue of a
state that was morally bankrupt. And while they
played this con game, one that gave them special
19 LattitudeZine.com
privileges, power and wealth, they unleashed
their goons and thugs on all who dared to chal-
lenge them. We are not East Germany, but we
are well on our way. An economic meltdown,
another catastrophic terrorist attack on Ameri-
can soil, a war with Iran, and we could easily
swing into an authoritarian model that would
look very familiar to anyone who lived in the
former communist East Bloc.
A few of those arrested in St. Paul, including
eight leaders of the RNC Welcoming Com-
mittee—one of the groups organizing protests
at the GOP convention in St. Paul—now face
terrorism-related charges. Monica Bicking, Eryn
Trimmer, Luce Guillen Givins, Erik Oseland,
Nathanael Secor, Robert Czernik, Garrett
Fitzgerald and Max Spector could get up to
seven and a half years in prison under the ter-
rorism enhancement charge, which allows for
a 50 percent increase in the maximum penalty.
This is the first time criminal charges have been
filed under the 2002 Minnesota version of the
federal Patriot Act.
The Patriot Act, which was put in place as much
to silence domestic opposition as to ferret out
real terrorists, has largely lain dormant. It has
authorized the government to monitor our
phone conversations, e-mails, meetings and
political opinions. It has authorized the govern-
ment to shut down anti-war groups and lock up
innocents as terrorists. It has abolished habeas
corpus. But until now we have not grasped its
full implications for our open society. We catch
glimpses, as in St. Paul or in our offshore penal
colonies where we torture detainees, of its awful
destructive power.
The commercial media told us that what was
important in St. Paul was happening inside
the convention hall. The vapid interviews, the
ridiculous soap opera sagas about Sarah Palin’s

continued from 19
daughter and the debate about whether John
McCain or Barack Obama has proprietary
rights to “Change” divert us from the truth
of who we have become. You had to search
out “Democracy Now!,” TheUptake.org, Twin
Cities Indymedia, I-Witness, along with a few
other independent outlets, to see, hear or read
real journalism from St. Paul.
It does not matter that the RNC Welcoming
Committee describes itself as an “anarchist/
anti-authoritarian” organization. We don’t
have to embrace a political agenda to protect
the right to be heard. Shut down free speech
and radicals only burrow deeper under-
ground, splitting ossified political systems into
fractured extremes. We may well end up with
the Christian right on one side, with politi-
cians like Sarah Palin providing an ideological
veneer to a Christian fascism, and embittered
leftist radicals who turn to violence on the
other.
St. Paul was not ultimately about selecting a
presidential candidate. It was about the power
of the corporate state to carry out pre-emp-
tive searches, seizures and arrests. It was about
squads of police in high-tech riot gear, many
with drawn semiautomatic weapons, bursting
into houses. It was about seized computers,
journals and political literature. It was about
shutting down independent journalism, even
at gunpoint. It was about charging protesters
with “conspiracy to commit riot,” a rarely used
statute that criminalizes legal dissent. It was
about 500 people held in open-air detention
centers. It was about the rising Orwellian state
that has hollowed out the insides of America,
cast away all that was good and vital, and
donned its skin to shackle us all.
Chris Hedges is a journalist and author, special-
izing in American and Middle Eastern politics
and society. You can find more of his work at
LewRockwell.com
CALL FOR SUPPORT
PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY
Hello to all our friends and supporters,
In the last week, eight people affiliated with
the RNC Welcoming Committee were arrested
in their homes or picked up off the streets and
charged with conspiracy to riot and further-
ance of terrorism. The Welcoming Committee
was a group that formed to facilitate logistics
(food, housing, convergence center) around
the 2008 Republican National Convention
Protests in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Most of
them were arrested in the days leading up to
the convention, and many had their homes
raided by law enforcement. They were being
held in the Ramsey County jail but as of
Thursday were all released on bail or bond.
They are now facing serious criminal charges
and the potential of a protracted and expen-
sive legal battle.
This case is potentially dangerous not just for
these individuals but for organizers and activ-
ists all over the country. It represents a seem-
ingly coordinated effort between state and
federal agencies to crack down on organizers
as a way of intimidating and systematically re-
pressing movement building in all its forms. It
now falls to all of us to fight these charges not
just for these eight people but to protect our
friends, our movements and our communities.
Currently, our immediate need is for financial
resources. We are asking for people to donate
money or set up benefits in their own com-
munities.
You can donate by going to www.nornc.org
and clicking on the “Donate to RNC Welcom-
ing Committee Legal Support” button.
To check out ongoing updates on the case visit
www.RNC8.org.
Thank you so much for your support.
In solidarity,
The Friends of the Welcoming Committee
Visit St. Paul in September 2008!
http://www.nornc.org
October 2008 • LATT!TUDE 20
 Paintings by Kali

21 LattitudeZine.com
www.kalitattoo.com

October 2008 • LATT!TUDE 22

 triztoons@gmail.com

LattitudeZine.com
October 2008 • LATT!TUDE