ThirstyFish

This official looking street sign, "Attention: Local Statutes Enforced by Drone", is the work of an anonymous 28 year old Army veteran who had worked with drones while serving in Iraq, and, who now is a radical NYC art student. About a dozen of these signs have been posted around New York City to raise awareness about the domestic use of drones by police departments across the country. This one was spotted in DUMBO.

Military use of drones overseas has been a controversial issue for some time, raising serious ethical and legal questions. In February 2012, the domestic use of drones was authorized with the signing of the FAA Reauthorization Act. Federal Aviation Administration has already issued 300 current Certificates of Authorization to law enforcement departments around the country. The ACLU and other groups have expressed concerns about the domestic use of "armed" drones, which some police departments have been pushing for. Drone proliferation is about to explode worldwide, with many countries already possessing or developing armed drones. A new culture of robotic warfare is born!

Looks like both Aldous Huxley and George Orwell - Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four - nailed it simultaneously. We are Amusing Ourselves to Death, while Big Brother is Watching Us. And President Eisenhower was right to be concerned about the Military Industrial Complex.

Rachel Maddow, in one of her monologues, eloquently summarizes how much politics has shifted since the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961). N.B. I don't agree with her conclusion about BHO.

Song of the Day: Stripped - Depeche Mode (1986)