PulpLit.net

vomitous nausea

Once again, I am forced to consider the possibility of applying for some other citizenship, though I suppose the lies and deceit uncovered from the wretched and horrifying administration over the last month might have been enough to send me screeching in another direction entirely. Today's news is too much to be handled. It's too much, really, to believe.

The New York Times reports today that the Pentagon has proposed a futures market on terrorist attacks. Yes, that's right. And no, this is not The Onion.

Ok, disgusting enough, or, as the senators that called them out on this called it "morally repugnant" enough, that they are betting on people dying. The bigger shocker is that this is potentially a self-fulfilling funding source for terrorists. Anonymous participants bet something awful will happen; if it does, they get $1 per future to fund future attacks. So they have incentive to make them happen, and they have the cash to make more happen afterwards. What the hell is wrong with this administration? What is wrong with this department at the Pentagon? Who is in charge? How is this happening? How is this not being screamed across every major headline in every major newspaper in every country around the world?

It is unclear to me how it is going to prevent anything from happening in the first place. I can't see the proposed events myself (the article reports: "The White House also altered the Web site so that the potential events to be considered by the market that were visible earlier in the day at www.policyanalysismarket.org could no longer be seen." Altering websites when people find out about the project! Sweet!). But if they are things like, as the article reports "a biological attack on Israel", with no further details, then how is this market going to help stop anything? Is the predictive power going to be like the ever so helpful colored alerts in the States?

And what if some terrorists get together to bet against some event happening, or bet in favor of some crackpot idea to distract the idiotic Pentagon from some other possibility that they are actively working on? It's just about money! That is all this soul-sucking administration cares about! It makes me want to throw up!

I feel the administration has just cracked in their intense and undying adoration of the power of the free market to solve everything under the sun. They've turned into deranged sickos, betting on people's lives for the benefit of terrorists. How could they possibly stoop lower? My only hope is that I won't have another post just like this one or even worse next week.