Sunday, December 28, 2014

A Very Buy Nothing Christmas

Christmas is over and guess what? I didn't set one foot in Walmart to make it happen, I never do. After all the celebrating was over and all the dishes were done, I wondered how we're all suckered into believing that there was a virgin birth that no one seems to question? I know my parents believed every word of it so all us kids had to believe it too, I am sure they still do.
About that tree in the living room...Wtf? I don't know anyone who knows why they do it. History of the Christmas Tree
We know Jesus wasn't born in December, so we celebrate, close to the solstice, a Pagan holiday.
Biblical Evidence Shows Jesus Christ Wasn't Born on Dec. 25 - Good News Magazine | United Church of God 
So why not a zombie Nativity?                               One thing you better not do is mess with Christmas. Because it's ok to be a rugged individual in the good old U.S.A. as long as you don't mock the strangle hold Christianity has on this country. The cops will come and you will be told to take down your zombies or pay a fine. Zombie nativity scene owner defies township deadline, leaves display up | Local News - WLWT Home
 Land of the free, but you better have the money to pay. "Christmas is typically the largest economic stimulus
for many nations" Christmas generated over three trillion U.S. dollars during the holidays in 2013.
 Does anyone remember O. Henry's  The Gift Of The Maji? A heartwarming story of a young couple living in poverty, the wife sells her hair to buy a gift for her husband and he buys combs for her hair. No one questions why someone should be poor in a land of plenty. Capitalism has failed us time and again, but we still haven't got the memo. It's winner take all at Christmas.
Despite the lessons that A Christmas Carol taught us, I find greed is bigger than ever. Our failure to identify the greed that is so celebrated in our culture by handing our economy over to the 1% is just the beginning of this country's downfall. Ultimately we will probably drown under a tsunami of cheap Chinese crap, that Americans will camp out in front of Walmart to buy.
I haven't been into Christmas for awhile now, especially since I'm not much of a consumer. I don't have a TV anymore since cable became so expensive and they get to dictate when content will be shown and we're all managed by corporations that tell the media what to report and more importantly what it won't.
 I shop regularly at thrift shops and get insane deals on next to new Levis.The proceeds go to animal welfare and other charities. I have opted out of an economy where only some can succeed and more are left by the wayside. I am not alone.
 I have never bought anything on Black Friday. Buy Nothing Day + Buy Nothing Christmas #OCCUPYXMAS | Adbusters
 

I hardly do anything most American consumers do, any time of the year, let alone at Christmas. This year was the best Christmas ever. We were all together. That's what mattered. I hope you all had a wonderful day! I can't wait to say goodbye to 2014, I am looking forward to the new year and all the exciting new changes it will bring!

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Corporate Cuban Takeover


I like Cuban people. I love their music and their food. You know who else will like Cuba? Corporations that are just like people. It's going to be a Corporate Takeover. Wonder how they'll like Walmart? When I heard about this whole Pope Francis brokering detente between Cuba and the U.S. all I could do was wonder what kind of profit was going to be made? Cuba should run from anything the U.S. is suggesting.
President Raul Castro says America must respect Cuba's communist system, America has no respect for any system. Good luck, Raul.
"Obama has said his government will push Cuba on issues of human and political rights"
Yeah, about that. We just had a "torture report" that seems to have  fallen by the wayside. So I am not sure where we get off having anything to say about human rights. Since we no longer even have a democracy, not sure what kind of political rights the U.S. will be pedaling. 
What we will be pedaling is some way of extracting profit from Cuba. 
"the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donohue, also traveled to the forbidden island and met with entrepreneurs and called for greater economic reform in Cuba."
"The letter also called for greater opportunities for telecommunications connections with the famously isolated island."
 U.S. to let telecoms set up shop in Cuba
I hope they get more of a choice than the monopoly Comcast has on us here in the U.S.
There's supposed to be an Anti-Castro Lobby in this country made up of the usual GOP suspects and it's extra scary because it's made up of Marco Rubio (R-FL) who's of Cuban heritage and Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Bob Menedez, (D-NJ) also of Cuban ancestry. So furiously googling where the Cuba lobby is coming from and what the angle is, here we go, 
US-Cuba Democracy PAC Summary | OpenSecrets  
The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce has been lobbying "the federal government to ease the embargo in recent years. Cuba is a rare case which puts some establishment Republicans at odds with the Chamber."
I also had the idea that with the way things are going for Putin, this would be just the thing since in August  "Putin agreed to write off $32 billion in Russian debt to Cuba, leaving just over $3 billion left to pay over the next 10 years" Why Russia and Cuba Are Partying Like It's 1962
"Moscow is also now exploring for oil and gas in Cuban waters, right in the U.S.’s backyard."
Interesting right? I thought this was interesting too, Vladimir Putin invites Kim Jong-un to Moscow | World news | The Guardian
Now what would Cuba have in common with say North Korea? After decades of sanctions against them too, we now have this hacking situation. Sony will lose millions. It looks like "The Interview" may be a bad investment and with information from the Daily Beast that " leaked emails from the Sony hack which show that the United States government was involved at high levels with the content development of The Interview, especially its controversial ending depicting the assassination of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-Un."
I was never interested in going to see "The Interview" anyway. But one thing that really interested me about opening up relations with Cuba and the Sony hack by North Korea was how tied to corporations our government is “Sony Emails Say State Department Blessed Kim Jong-Un Assassination in ‘The Interview.’” The emails also reveal that a RAND corporation senior defense analyst who consulted on the film went beyond “blessing” and outright influenced the end of the film," The RAND Corporation. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who was thinking this film was some weird propaganda tool to disappear the"Dear Leader". Aftrer all the Rand Corporation was so successful with the Vietnam War.
RAND in Southeast Asia: A History of the Vietnam War Era - Mai Elliott - Google Books
After the  'Anti-Propaganda' Ban Repealed, Freeing State Dept. To Direct Its Broadcasting Arm At American Citizens | Techdirt
It should be no surprise that movies, television, news, whatever, will be controlled by our corporation owned government and now we've set our sights on Cuba.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Crimenibus

Guess who else works on Saturday besides me? The Senate! How crazy that they actually worked on a weekend, which hasn't been done since the last "fiscal cliff" problem. This new $1 trillion bill is brought to
you by Wall Street, since the Dodd-Frank Act language was changed in order to let banks trade in derivatives, it's a so-called "cromnibus" but maybe it should be called a "crimenibus."
What's in it? Gotta keep the war machine going, "The bill provides $5 billion for fighting ISIS, compared to $5.6 billion the President requested."
 "While cutting military benefits, the bill includes a spending spree for defense contractors, including an additional $479 million to purchase four F-35s for the Air Force and Navy (two each) that the Pentagon didn’t request, as well as an additional three Littoral Combat Ships."
Thank God, I was worried there wouldn't be more useless, polluting, wasteful junk we need to purchase so we can use it on other countries we police. Because you know, DEMOCRACY!
How about more problems from the banks? Thank goodness we're over that little mess they made in 2008, everything's great now so; "reform of the Dodd-Frank law which would remove some of the separation between financial derivatives and traditional bank accounts protected by FDIC. This would weaken protections that were supposed to help prevent another financial crisis like the one that spurred the Great Recession." Cool.
You can read more about it here; What's in a Cromnibus?
I guess now we can forget all about the Torture Report that came out and go straight to the other torture provided by our non-representational government we have, because really, does anyone believe any of these "representatives" are working for us?
Ultimately what is really funny is Ted Cruz and his Tea Party strategy. Which no one seems to be sure that there even is one. Which doesn't surprise me because Ted Cruz was a domestic policy adviser, advising then-Governor George W. Bush, Cruz assisted in assembling the Bush legal team for the recount, Cruz recruited future Chief Justice John Roberts, to the Bush legal team."
Thanks a lot Cruz, for torturing us with that.
At least some kind of hilarity ensued when Harry Reid got to push through a bunch of Obama's nominees which I don't think Cruz saw coming. But mostly what it seems he wants to do is stop the President's immigration executive order. Which is just plain weird since Cruz is Cuban-American, his father was from Cuba, making him an immigrant. You just can't make this stuff up!
I guess it's good so far that the government isn't going to close down. But the gift they gave to the banks will probably bite us all in the ass. A government for the banks, by the corporations in the land of the free.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Welcome To Room 101

"We never tortured anyone."
I never thought I'd see the day when I would actually see a Torture Report in this country.
 Part of the reason I started blogging was so I could call out Bush and his henchman and name what they were;
 War Criminals.
 But I don't suppose the Torture Report says that.
Dick Cheney said the report was "a bunch of hooey" I think he should be first in line for a "rectal hydration"
Wonder what Bush has to say about it? George W. Bush Knew He Was Too Stupid to Keep the CIA's Torture Secrets
Not shocked!
So where do we go from here? If past behavior can predict future behavior, President Obama will just say "we can't look back." 
It looks like The U.N. Human Rights Committee, has already said that international law had been broken and it's suggested that "The U.S. Attorney General is under a legal duty to bring criminal charges against those responsible."
I'm not holding my breath. Our entire justice system is caught in a corporate choke hold.  
More to the point, after sinking so low and torturing individuals what exactly did we get? Earth shattering information? I'll say, how about this? $80 million went to a contractor made up of 2 psychologists who formed a company, with no experience in interrogation."CIA chose two clinical psychologists who had no intelligence background whatsoever, who had never conducted an interrogation... to do something that had never been proven in the real world." 
These psychologists were, Bruce Jessen and James Elmer Mitchell, Mitchell joined the Air Force in 1975,  
Bruce Jessen and Captain Michael Kearns
 a hostage negotiator at Lackland AFB in Texas. I don't know of any relationship between him and good old "W", both were in the Air Force, although Bush was a pseudo pilot.
Later, Bruce went on to try and become a Mormon and looks like after a week of finding religion as a Bishop, he left the church. Maybe his conscience bothered him?
"History won't judge this kindly" - Jon Ashcroft
 How will history judge Diane Feinstein and her husband's, $600m defense contract in 2002, and  received  "a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms, profiting from war and the misery caused by the Great Recession? Where did the "audacity of hope go"? Now what we have is the audacity of criminals who torture and profit. Like the bankers they are "too big to prosecute."
Torturer's will go unpunished, bankers will go unprosecuted and cops will continue to kill unarmed citizens.
I would like to say I am glad this report came out, but I am more sorry than anything. This report cost $40 million that should have been used for reparations to people who's lives were destroyed by this bogus war  and torture to stop "terrorism." Where did it get us?

“The object of terrorism is terrorism. The object of oppression is oppression. The object of torture is torture. The object of murder is murder. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?” 
George Orwell, 1984











 

Sunday, December 7, 2014

The System Is Secure

It's getting to the point where I don't think there's any facet of government that Mitch McConnell doesn't have his dirty fingers in. It just gets weirder and weirder.
The other day, I'm on my way to work listening to the radio and I hear that the Senate still hasn't filed it's campaign finance paper work to the FEC. Archaic Senate still manually files campaign finance reports - Washington Times
I know, it's boring right?
There's about 10,000 pages in this report that has to be typed and scanned and typed back into a data base and it costs about $430,000 to do this and takes a lot of staff etc. for this onerous task since it can't be done electronically because that's gonna take some legislation to change and any sort of regulation for the FEC (or legislation in general) usually dies.
We know how things work in Russia, Washington.
So I am thinking that's not an accident, somethings going on.
My first thought is oh, somebody is protecting some family member or what have you's job, you know, the usual. So I start poking around trying to figure out who's in charge at the FEC. So first I come up with Alec Palmer, a dude who's worked in various industries including oil and gas. Then a woman named Ann Ravel, who got traded from Governor Jerry Browns administration . So finally there's a guy named Lee Goodman, I guess this is common knowledge but this guy was recommended to President Obama by Mitch McConnell, are you kidding me? This Goodman guy, was on the Bush-Cheney recount team. Why in the world would the President listen to that blow hard and take his advice, but ok I get it, maybe he did Mitch a favor, but I am not sure about why.
Mitch McConnell doesn't like campaign finance rules, shocker! Mitch's pal Karl Rove and his super PAC American Crossroads is one of his biggest backers and helped him get re-elected. He's been running since 1984, but it's seems like there's no end to this old white dudes time in office.
So the FEC is supposed to be a "watchdog" but looks like it's just there to look like it's actually doing something while it doesn't do anything. Chinese hackers perpetrated  " what may be the worst act of sabotage in its 38-year history." "The government had furloughed all 339 agency employees, save for the presidentially appointed commissioners," It just goes on and on the lack of credibility and accountability, read it all here, How Washington starves its election watchdog | Center for Public Integrity
So it looks like the FEC watches a whole lot and then doesn't do anything.  I guess some people are worried about the 2016 election coming up, but not me, since President Obama is taking Mitch McConnell's advice it doesn't seem to matter who's elected. They're working for the same corporate masters, they have the same end game. People get all upset and up in arms about people who have given up on the voting process and don't vote and here we have one of the reasons why, between the corruption and the indifference. I am guessing there will be record numbers of the disenfranchised sitting the next election out. Can't say that I blame them when a system is this broken. It's all about maintaining the status quo. We can't even indict a police officer for using an illegal choke hold. Seriously, why should anyone believe a government agency would be able to do it's job? Just wait until next Thursday when these idiots get another chance to shut down the government again, maybe they're onto something.
 

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Business As Usual

In the same week protests went down in Ferguson after Darren Wilson was not indicted by a grand jury,  Black Friday protests and Black Lives Matter protests went on here in the U.S.

 Protests in  Egypt flared up as Mubarek was cleared of charges of killing protesters in 2011.
 Mexico is protesting too, 43 students went missing after police opened fire on them.
Protests in Hong Kong are occurring right now, demanding free elections. Thousands have taken to the streets in Greece in a general strike against austerity. Belgium citizens also protested against austerity   two weeks ago.
On Tuesday Nov. 25, demonstrators were baton charged by police  in Spain, they were
© Nevit Dilmen
demanding a new constitutional process. In Turkey there have been protests from 2013 until Sept. this year against the actions and plans of the government of Turkey. This gave birth to the "standing man and woman" protests in Taksim Square.
It's hard to believe there is so much unrest worldwide and so little progress.
While everyone here is gearing up for the retail extremism of Christmas there's little thought of protests as long as one isn't interfering with peoples mall visit. There's barely any thought given to the reality that millions of people are fed up world wide. All I know is most of the people I saw couldn't wait to go shopping and lot's of them did it to flee from families they can't stand being around during the Thanksgiving holiday. It was such a wierd disconnect listening to people brag about their purchases, no one said anything about donating even one can of food to a charity. While so many get by with so little, others can't wait to stand in line for a TV at Walmart. I don't know if people are so busy running from one sale to another they have no idea what's going on or they just don't care. Trust me, I have tried to talk to people about what's going on in Turkey and they ask me how much it weighs, because there's no other turkey but the one on the table. People in this country are blissfully unaware of anything going on outside of their own neighborhood. They see through a lens crafted by Fox & Friends, they buy cheap Chinese crap and hoard it all waiting for the big day they can throw it all under their fake tree. The whole world could be on fire and I doubt any one would notice, because they have a 20% off coupon at Kohls. The yoke of bondage people in other countries are sick of carrying is eagerly taken up by true believers in this broken capitalist system, where black men are shot for walking in the road and everyone goes about their business as usual.




Sunday, November 23, 2014

Thanksphobia

Cartoon by Gary Varvel, Indianapolis Star
Well, isn't this a switch. White people serving Thanksgiving turkey to immigrants.
There's been a big brouhaha over the Indianapolis Star's cartoon which started out when a dude with a mustache climbing through a window, then they edited out the offensive 'stash, then they removed it altogether.
The Indianapolis Star had to apologize for their racist cartoon.
I don't know where white people get the idea that we somehow just ended up here in America, even though few people I know ever identify themselves as American.We're either saying we're Italian or Irish or some of us just say we're Jews or Catholics. It's confusing. Adding to the confusion is the whitewashed (pun intended) history of a Happy Thanksgiving that just magically happened and the country it happened in wasn't already occupied by Native Americans, making Pilgrims the illegal immigrants. Which is why I call the coming holiday "Thankstaking"
There's nothing like a big disconnect and supreme panic over millions of undocumented immigrants hardly being helped by executive action, since this issue hasn't been revisited since the time of Reagan.
It's not lost on me that there have been times in the past that other immigrants have been the focus of racism.
I know Reagan didn't have much of a memory, however his great-grandfather and great-grandmother were  Irish immigrants you have to wonder what kind of effect this had on him? Was the amnesty he put into effect 30 years ago a result of his own heritage? According to one politician, Reagan's amnesty act is directly responsible for President Obama's election.
There's a history of anti-Italianism starting with mass lynchings in New Orleans to the tragic Sacco and Vanzetti trial and Italian-American internment camps during World War II. We weren't very nice to Germans either, and not just during World War II.

 Then there was the phrase "Yellow Peril" used in association with Chinese immigrants, which was transmitted to Japanese immigrants too. "mass immigration of Asians threatened white wages and standards of living, and the fear that they would eventually take over and destroy western civilization, replacing it with their ways of life and values."
Sound familiar? Doesn't any of this get old? 
Underneath all of this wierd outrage over undocumented workers is a history of Americans using immigrants as cheap labor or forcibly taking human beings and using them as slaves.
It's not lost on me that on our sacred national holiday of Thanksgiving, a day of feasting and giving thanks, millions of workers all over the country are being forced to work or get fired.
It's not that we aren't very nice to immigrants, we aren't very nice to our own people either. They seem to have one thing in common. They are working class. There's seems to be a lack of gratitude, to immigrants or ordinary American people who are working at Walmart, working jobs that barely sustain a person. If these people figure out that they have common ground, despite a language barrier or the color of their skin and decide to form a more perfect union, Then there really will be something to celebrate. 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

There's Battle Lines Being Drawn, Ferguson.

There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear, there's a man with a gun over there.
  Before a judgement has even been handed down, a "State of Emergency" has been declared. When has that ever happened? The Rodney King beating comes to mind Los Angeles Riots Fast Facts - CNN.com
 "video shows King being struck by police batons more than 50 times" too bad for Michael Brown there was no video. 
The entire state of Missouri has been declared a state of emergency. Executive Order 14-14 | Governor Jay Nixon It looks like Barney Fife in Missouri will have back up and The National Guard will be pointing weapons at citizens, there will be nothing to see here, just move along. What could possibly go wrong? I am not sure how things in Ferguson could get any worse.
What I wonder is if someone already knows what the verdict is going to be? Since there is "widespread expectation that officer Wilson will not be charged" Ferguson: St Louis mayor predicts 'widespread civil disobedience' over verdict | US news | The Guardian
History will probably repeat itself and there will be a lot of unrest, due to the fact that people feel they aren't getting justice. Welcome to third world America, police corruption, police militarization, excessive force, and no recourse for the victims is what you see in the developing world. Combine that with a small rich plutocratic group controlling everything, and a large majority that is barely getting by. It looks like war is being declared on the people in Missouri. I hope they will be ready for pepper spray and tear gas and that may be the least of their worries.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

All's Well, That ENDS Well?

My friend calls them the "Kartrashians" so the trash bag Kim popped out of is apt. The entire ass controversy is so crazy to me, I think we have descended into another level of Dante's Inferno. Sex sells and nothing says profit like a giant ass.
Papers profits must be through the roof. 
This carefully constructed image tells me a lot. It's not about Kim's ass, or the pose, or feminism, or sexism. It's more about capitalism. Because no matter how stupid you are, if you work really, really hard and you do all the "right things," go to a good school, you will be successful. Seriously, isn't Keeping Up With The Kardashians what we all aspire to? Isn't it the American Dream? Thank God, Kim's parents didn't waste thousands of dollars sending her to college, since being besties with Paris Hilton and famous for making a sex tape, that's what being successful is all about!
If I look back in history, it wasn't that long ago when women tried to look exactly like Kim. 
Look familiar? Like a lot of our life in the year 2014, resembles something out of a Dickens novel, the American Empire is dying, and we exist in a state of ignorance. We aren't that different than Great Britain of that era, economically stressed and militarily extended. The sun may have set over the British Empire, but here in America, the moon is rising.
It's no wonder so many people are taking the Prozac, but back then the drug of choice was opium. Supposedly the "horrors of addiction weren't understood" I don't think for a minute we know exactly what Prozacs side effects are, because no one understands exactly how it works, sometimes you have to take even more than one antidepressent. That's got to be depressing. People are in despair
because they can't make ends meet, here in the "greatest nation on earth."
There's been a lot of blame going on in the recent election about how the democrats lost. What hasn't been addressed is that Americans have lost faith.
Even Prozac can't fix that. Americans know that they are living with economic inequality not seen in a century.
Bigger isn't necessarily better. 
Oversized corporations have coopted our government, the employees of these companies wages are so low they require food stamps to survive. Any power
workers had is gone now. There are few full time jobs, the industrial revolution is gone, now we have a tech revolution, no one really knows where a working class American is going to fit, things aren't looking good.
We have bigger banks, causing bigger problems and if they tank the economy they get a big bailout.
You know what else seems to never go out of style? Spying!
Sidney Reilly
Check out this dude, he was known as The Ace Of Spies. He doesn't look like Snowden, he spied for four countries and collected a lot of data and was the basis for James Bond. Those movies were a lot of fun, but the NSA is no joke. No one thinks it's funny to have their personal data collected.
Another thing we have in common with the Dickens era. PRISONS! Dear Lord they had a lot, debtors prisons, work houses. It used to be that Britain sent their prisoners here, when they couldn't do that anymore they got themselves a Prison Industrial Complex.
I don't think they can hold a candle to us, we do prisons BIG time. "7 million persons are under the supervision or control of correctional services in the United States"
That much incarceration can be a serious problem when trying to Keep Up With The Kardashians!
I guess in Victorian times that would be like trying to keep up with the Queen of England. 
But what really bit England in the ass? War, just like it's ruined our country. If anything we've created more instability. Our perpetual state of war has fatigued our citizens and drained our resources and our inept bureaucracy can't even take care of our veterans right.This doesn't bode well for average Americans whose extra large asses are never going to pay off for them, not like Kim's does for her. We all have to work till we drop as Social Security fades away and we return to a Dickensian hell that we worked so hard to escape from. We were a super power, but those days are over and we can all watch that giant greasy moon rise over the dark night of America's soul.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Stuck On Stupid

I watched the media frenzy of the past weeks elections, all the Chicken Little "the sky is falling" routine, because now the Republicans have all the power! Really? Exactly what will they do with it? Not holding my breath to find out.
There's some hysteria about McConnell (R-Ky) making a commitment to bring up a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks. I am trying to work up some kind of panic over this. It's just the same thing over and over and here we go again with these dudes obsession over what women do with their bodies. Then the obsession with healthcare. Probably they will vote 50 more times to get rid of the evil "Obamacare" because, women aren't allowed to have access to birth control and reproductive healthcare and basically if you can't get affordable healthcare, just go broke trying to stay alive. Plus, it's the only thing President Obama came through with, even though he promised a single payer system.
This is just theater, what we have here, Wall Street and Big Oil. So we'll see what happens with the Keystone XL Pipeline. Because it's been suggested that the Democrats are gonna be filibustering just about everything Republicans try, but they are just as beholden to the corporations. So what exactly is going to happen once all these Republicans get into office?
Probably nothing.
Unless there's a vote for something corporations or the 1% want, nothing's going to get done. Maybe they'll shut down the government a few more times? I predict they will help big business get more tax breaks and there will be more money for the Military Industrial Complex. Two parties working for the same corporate interests means the sky will only fall on working class people.
 Americans are so distracted by Chicken Little politics here, I doubt they noticed over 100,000 people in Belgium took to the streets protesting austerity cuts to public services and raising retirement age. Things that have already happened here that just gets a big yawn. A few weeks ago there was a massive march for climate change in New York City, that did noting to stop fracking or change carbon output in America.
We really have a duopoly in this country, there are no alternatives, I think they should just call themselves the Republican Corporation and the Democrat Corporation, but that would require honesty.
Fundraisers won the day, here in the U.S. and to the victor corporations go the spoils, same as it ever was so don't worry, nothings going to change, because the 1% don't want anything to change, they like things just the way they are. Our political parties are paid to keep things that way.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

"Men argue. Nature acts.” Voltaire

There's a midterm election coming up Tuesday, and no, I don't know anyone who's going to vote in it. People just don't care and I can't say that I blame them. There's all kinds of leftover Halloween scary going on and you better vote Democrat or the Republicans will take over the Senate and really? Then what? This country has been paralyzed since 2010 and I don't see that changing any time soon. But something is changing;
Effects of climate change ‘irreversible,’ U.N. panel warns in report - The Washington Post I know that one of the biggest climate deniers Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), a senior member of the environmental committee, is up for reelection and he'll probably win thanks to all the bribes donations from the energy sector. I think back on President Obama and the Democratic Platform in 2008," to defeat the epochal, man-made threat to the planet: climate change" In 2013, in his Inaugural address, "urging that Congress take action on a market-based solution like the one Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on a few years ago" What he was talking about was the 2003 Climate Stewardship Act. A decade is hardly "a few years ago" also this legislation was defeated, it finally morphed into the 2007 Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act and was killed as surely as we are killing this planet. So yes, McCain and Lieberman worked on some "market-based approach" and it failed. The planet doesn't give a damn about "The Market" and climate change will take it's course. But I do like that there's always some "FREE Market" response that's supposed to save the day, because that's been just so effective especially when it comes to the economy. Why shouldn't it save the climate too?  It's just strange to me that it seems that almost everyone elected, either does not have to deal directly with the weather or gets paid off, so the wind is always at their back and there's no evidence that will convince them that things are changing, specifically the climate. Our planets existence is up against institutions with powerful ideologies, run by wealthy elite owners. They don't want anything to change and are willing to pay to do so. I'd like to believe that Democrats are different and they aren't as guilty of being allied with the oil industry, but that just isn't true. "King Coal" McConnell is up for re-election in Kentucky, his father in-laws boat got busted for cocaine, any publicity is good publicity.  Are we supposed to believe that if we vote for the right candidate, the fracking's going to stop? Corporations have all the power and government isn't going to do a thing about it." the oil-and-gas industry received a total of $446 billion in government subsidies" While the Arctic melts and we continue to spend $1 on renewable energy for every $80 a barrel on oil, things are going to get a whole lot warmer. What we are going to do is burn every last drop of oil to prop up the free market. Then when the "irreversible" situation gets out of hand, there won't be a free market or any market.

"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard, and too damned cheap." Kurt Vonnegut



 

 

 

Sunday, October 26, 2014

#Ebowla Is No Joke

A doctor came down with Ebola in New York City. This dude decided it was okay to ride the subway, go bowling and now authorities are trying to retrace his steps. Some people think he went to a bowling alley on purpose for all the twitter puns, #ebowling.
We were told that Dr. Spencer "acted appropriately and responsibly".  It doesn't sound like it to me and this dude writes that he's ok with being lied to and we should be ok with it too. Cuomo, de Blasio Lied About Craig Spencer's Ebola. That's OK. | New Republic Because we're all going to have terrible anxiety now and we're all going to rush to the emergency room if we get a damn cold. Seriously?
So, if they'll lie to us about this, who knows what the hell else politicians lie about?
What really surprised me is that Cuomo and Christie just  let loose with the whole, we're not following CDC guidelines because they clearly aren't working. "Cuomo said voluntary quarantine is not sufficient, and that it is "almost an oxymoron."
A big concern are civil liberties, but after the Patriot Act, it's a little late for that, anyway the ACLU wants a legal reason for Christie putting a healthcare worker under quarantine, I doubt he cares. Personally I wish he'd put Snooky under quarantine so she would stop procreating her brand of stupid. But I digress, or do I? Donald Trump (I wonder if he's related to Snooky?) tried to blame President Obama, some people tried to blame Obamacare,
"Ebola has been confirmed in N.Y.C., with officials frantically trying to find all of the people and things he had contact with.Obama's fault"
Read the Frightwing freakout here; Here are the craziest responses to New York’s first Ebola case - Salon.com
I am an hour and a half ride from NYC, I'm guessing that between the bowling alley that got cleaned up and this guys apartment, there's no trace of Ebola left. I wonder who has to pay for that clean up? I sure would like it if someone would clean my house for free, but my friend at work pointed out that there would probably be nothing left in your house and they'd throw everything away, so guess that's not a perk after all.
I am trying to find a silver lining in this situation, I can think of several politicians I would like to see quarantined. But none of them would be brave enough to go to a country with an Ebola outbreak and actually do something selfless.
Oh snap, did you see that picture of President Obama  hugging that nurse who had Ebola? Scandal!
Pic from time.com
That's not going to go over too well I guess. Unlike Ebola, there's no cure for republicans, it's a death sentence. I heard you could contract it from watching Fox News!
Check it out! Nothing like an epidemic to get a consumer to part with a buck. Don't you just love capitalism?
How about an Ebola party? As infection toll passes 10,000, websites cash in with 'sexy Ebola nurse' costumes and even Ebola PARTIES  | Daily Mail Online
 What a party pooper,  this woman says the #Ebowla jokes need to stop! The #Ebowla Jokes Need to Stop | TIME
 Because every person who's been treated for this virus, became infected because they helped others, fair enough. But you can't blame people for having a laugh.

I guess it's ok to bust on the Black Plague, but leave Ebola alone for a few centuries.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Double Bind

I heard about the new Ebola Czar Ron Klain, on the radio during  my morning commute to work. My first thought was oh, he's connected to some lobby and that turned out to be true. He lobbied for Fannie Mae. I guess that's the kind of experience we need in this country for coordinating a response to a complicated public health situation. No experience in medicine or healthcare, but plenty of experience in Washington D.C. It's at the point now where some of the people I talk to are convinced that our government and our inept healthcare system want an Ebola epidemic. True story. I don't want to give in to "hysteria or fear" but I am really afraid that the only thing we have to look forward to are a bunch of hacks running  the government, their only qualifications are going in and out of the revolving door where incumbents and lobbyists trade places. I don't even wonder anymore why nothing gets done except for an exceptional amount of bombing of other countries, there's always money for that, while everyday American's are on a downward spiral and no one cares.
Janet Yellen made a speech about rising inequality and she's awfully concerned about it. According to what I've read she actually has tools she could use to alleviate this situation but has failed to do so. She did work for Ben Bernanke and helped engineer the bailout, so I have no doubt as to who's side she's on and it isn't ours. To that end, Russell Brand says he's on our side by marching down to Wall Street and doing a bunch of talking about revolution and promoting his upcoming book. Johnny Rotten called him out because he's telling people to stop voting. Which I can't say as I blame him when all you are voting for are corporations. I think it's a little to convenient that some joke telling guy, with a messiah complex, is now running around, trying to be the next messiah. "The last time this country was taxed by an elite group that didn't represent them, there was a revolution and they threw those people out. That is what you should do on this occasion." Thanks for that Russell, maybe you could try that in your own country.
Meanwhile, in this country we have an election coming up and plenty of money is involved in our government sell out, only now we don't know where the money is coming from, maybe from big oil companies who don't want anything done about climate change. When court rulings favor big money it doesn't matter what party you vote for. In America, there is this illusion of "freedom" and the rugged individual against what has to be some of the most repressive times we've ever known. There is an ongoing situation in Ferguson, where, after  an unarmed man was shot by a cop, riots ensued and police in paramilitary gear showed up.
We are free, but we are not free.
Our government is bought and sold. If you vote you are screwed, if you don't vote you are screwed.

"Double binds are often utilized as a form of control without open coercion—the use of confusion makes them both difficult to respond to as well as to resist"
 Double bind - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Indigenous People's Day

Truly, something to celebrate.
Columbus was never here. He made it to the Bahamas, a destination that seems very popular to this day. However, North America he never set foot on. It seems that wherever Columbus went, slavery, rape and pillage were to follow. There is evidence that "Columbus knowingly aided the rape of captured indigenous people." Great guy, I can see why we celebrate him. Still, most of America persists with this "tradition" of Columbus Day. Seattle wised up. In Seattle, Columbus Day now 'Indigenous Peoples' Day'
 California created Indigenous People's Day back in 1992.
Seeing that there is a big lull in consumer opportunities, this federal holiday is a retail gold mine. So I guess  Columbus Day will be with us for years to come, despite the fact that history shows, why we celebrate this day in the first place isn't really true.
Less than a month ago I read about a $554 million settlement the Navajo Nation won from The U.S. The BIA and through them the U.S. government mismanaged and lets just say ripped off the Navajo Nation for decades. Yes, we're #1 all right, we excel at exploitation. This settlement does not include water rights claims and health issues from  uranium mining.
This is only a guess, but I am pretty sure we won't be hearing about the landmark Cobell v. Salazar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia settlement of $3.4 billion, the largest class action lawsuit against the U.S. government. The government removed the judge from this case, a Judge Lamberth, Reagan appointee, because he had lost his "objectivity," he "repeatedly ruled for the Native Americans in their class-action lawsuit." Well, we can't have that can we?
I am very happy that the Navajo people finally got justice, however, it doesn't make up for what these people have lost and the way they have been treated. Maybe this money will help them with basic services they so desperately need.
Meanwhile, there will be a parade tomorrow, to celebrate Italian Americans contributions to New York City.
Where's the parade for the Native Americans contributions? I guess we'll continue to live in denial and sweep all that under the rug, then we can get ready for what I so fondly call "Thankstaking." Just in case you have kids, here's something helpful; What to tell your kid on Columbus Day (Opinion) - CNN.com
It's pretty bad when there's so much misinformation and just plain obfuscation, thanks to the miseducation system. Don't count on the U.S. school system to teach the truth, you're on your own. I think Indigenous People's Day would be a good place to start, while your on your way to that mattress sale.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Only The Insured Can Afford Ebola

I've often wondered what it's going to take to wake people up, say, a bucket of ice water? While the ice bucket challenge for ALS seemed to catch on and create a life of it's own, I don't see anyone calling for a race for the cure for Ebola. There's no ribbon color designated that we can wear to show our support for it's victims.
What I saw was a dangerous and inept healthcare system in a country that boasts of having the finest healthcare in the world, releasing a contagious victim of Ebola into the general population. Then when the man is finally rushed to the hospital in a very serious condition, who is now critical, his family is quarantined and forced to share space with the aftereffects of their Ebola afflicted relative, exposing them to more danger. Naturally, there are no protocols as to who exactly is going to clean up the mess.
If Mr. Duncan could evade what ever hodge-podge system we've patched together to supposedly keep Ebola out of the US, it's probably more of an epic fail than we think, because there's probably more Duncans out there, or should I say, in here?
Obviously the biggest problem is that Duncan got into this country in the first place, but come on, what the hell is up with that Quack, er, doctor, or nurse not "fully communicating"? Not shocked, not at all.
 From what I've experienced, when it has come to my family members being hospitalized I saw so many mistakes, errors in judgement and outright neglect that I had to email ombudsmen and JAHCO, regarding the poor quality of care my father received in a teaching hospital, one of the supposed BEST  in the Philadelphia area. If that can happen to someone with the BEST healthcare insurance, in the best facility, what the hell happens to someone without any?
I guess maybe something like what happened to Mr. Duncan? 'Mistake' in how hospital handled U.S. Ebola case? - CNN.com
 From what I can gather, our healthcare system has been in crises for a very long time. Probably due to resources being funneled into shareholders profits. What I see is such a breakdown of so many systems in this country, that it doesn't surprise me that maybe the idiot nurse or moron doctor didn't think that this man might be infected with Ebola risking an outbreak here in the US, but were they even held responsible in any way? I mean are they still employed? Because these people have no business doing what they are doing, who knows if they are even capable of flipping burgers?  I mean, did Mr. Duncan have an accent? Wouldn't you have picked up on that and at least ask where he's from or been a little curious? Then an equation of being from Africa + Ebola outbreak = Infected? It's not rocket science!  This is only a guess, but I am thinking Mr. Duncan had no health insurance, meaning here's your antibiotics, now stop wasting time and money and move along....then the other part of me thinks that Mr. Duncan knew he was exposed to Ebola and didn't have a tinkers chance in hell of surviving the illness in Liberia, judging from the victims he witnessed dying there. So he lied and "answered “no” to a question about whether he had had contact with any person who might have been stricken with Ebola" before getting on a plane, then admitted to the nurse in that ER that yes, "he did respond that he was in Liberia" This tells me a whole lot. I think he colluded with what ever family he had in Texas to high tail it out of Liberia and escape the conditions there and if on the chance he did contract Ebola, he'd be in a better place to survive it, what he didn't count on was the amount of stupid he'd encounter in that hospital. Then the best part? My favorite, Rick Perry! He's wearing some nerdy glasses, really makes him look more intellectual don't you think? "Texas is one of the few states certified by the CDC to conduct Ebola testing." You don't say?
However, that test might be very expensive. Something probably only the insured could afford.
When you have insurance, you can take advantage of every life saving screening your doctor can write a note for. Then you too can enjoy invasive procedures and false positives, leading to stress and pills and more painful procedures. Afterwards, you might be able to sigh with relief when they figure out all you went through was for nothing, because there wasn't anything wrong in the first place. Not so for people without insurance, they go without and they do without and for three days Mr. Duncan probably took his antibiotics to no avail, probably with the knowledge that he had Ebola and it was only a matter of time until his symptoms became serious enough to warrant a second try.
Even though Rick Perry tries to reassure us that Texas is prepared for this kind of virus, it seems to me that it's woefully unprepared and underfunded. Governor Perry has made sure that Texas has "the highest uninsured rate in the nation" So no, Rick Perry, it doesn't seem that Texas or maybe anywhere in the U.S. is a good place for any kind of illness if you are uninsured, like I wrote about previously, The Polygon: The Politics Of Ebola it will be these very people, that would be most likely to spread this disease. But still we will deny our citizens a national healthcare system. We do so at our own peril.


Sunday, September 28, 2014

We Vote For Inequality

Photo from The Atlantic
You know, I read that Eric Holder was resigning and the first thing I thought of was, I wonder if he's going to work for a bank? The lobby he previously worked for represented Bank of America, what a surprise.
It doesn't take a genius to figure it out when you look at his record of failure regarding prosecuting the banks for the fallout resulting in bailouts and the ensuing recession that laid the economy to waste with millions losing their jobs.
Then I started thinking about Flood Wall Street, one of the things that got me was, 300,000 people could march for climate change, I didn't read anything about pepper spray or people getting arrested (correct me if I'm wrong) However, if you go marching on Wall Street, you get the bull. The pictures that I saw with a corral around that Wall Street bull and the police force protecting it speaks volumes, it's the golden calf and obviously needs protecting. Because it's ok, to march against climate change, just don't bother the hedge fund managers.
It wasn't lost on me that while people are taking to the streets, protesting climate change, now it's time to bomb ISIS or ISIL or IS. Like, is that a coincidence? It seems like the only industry we've got left is the defense industry. I guess it's ok to bring out the bombs, I didn't hear anyone threatening to cut off the funding for that. I wonder what the carbon footprint of an airstrike is?
Then it's don't look now but there was some lame apology from the chief of police in Ferguson, that wasn't an apology at all. Here, we have another incidence of people taking to the streets, and a serious amount of militarized police pushback, that was pretty mindblowing. Oh yeah, and Eric Holder went down there to straighten things out. I hope he has better luck with that than the banks. So far, a month later and still no answer what caused an unarmed mans death.
The underlying thread in all this is inequality. Yeah, I am talking about Syria too, if Bashar Al Assad's government was at all fair, there wouldn't have been a revolution there and in so many other Middle Eastern countries and yes, the U.S did our share of bleeding the oil wells dry there, spreading our "democracy" and destabilizing that part of the globe.
What really gets me is most Americans and especially the people I encounter daily have no idea that corporations are destroying the planet, steering us into more wars and making sure they aren't prosecuted for any wrong doing. Last December, President Obama called inequality the "defining challenge of our time" I am not holding my breath waiting to see if he's up for the challenge. In the meantime there's an election coming up and there will be an astounding amount of people voting against their own self interests. I talked to a woman I work with yesterday, she won't be voting and she told me the reason why was because she doesn't know who to vote for and she's not going to bother to figure it out. Which is the majority of people. I don't blame them, the only person I am remotely interested in is Bernie Sanders maybe he'll get to run for president. It seems as if this two party system we have is really a one party system, making sure things stay exactly the way they are. Short of the revolution Chris Hedges talks about nothings going to change. You might as well just vote for inequality because it seems like that's all we get.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Corporate Climate


This is why I won't be marching,
Corporate fronts.
The Climate Group, endorsing This March, among its members?  BP, China Mobile, Dow Chemical Co., Duke Energy, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Greenstone. The Environmental Defense Fund, In other words, it's bullshit. Chris Hedges: The Last Gasp of Climate Change Liberals - Chris Hedges - Truthdig
Remember this?  Obama Affirms Climate Change Goals
 Hey, read the New York Times! Here's what Maureen Dowd chose to wrote about, Willie Nelson Feels Maureen Dowd’s Pain - NYTimes.com
She wrote about Willie and Weed, but not a damn thing about climate change. Did she write one thing about Willie Nelsons's eco-friendly lifestyle? Willie Nelson still rocking biodiesel tour bus
Nope.

I wonder why?
Because...Oil, Black Gold, Texas Tea, Petrodollars. So what are we doing?  Bombing ISIS. Iraq, Syria,
That's what we do, oh yeah and fracking. Maybe if Jesus comes back and tells us we are in big trouble, our Puritan descendant's will listen. Until then, good luck U.N,. UN Climate Summit - UN Climate Summit 2014
The truth is, we would rather wage war than clean up the environment and find alternate sources of renewable energy. There is no such thing as climate change, repeat after me, there is no such thing as climate change, global warming. You can march all you want, however, until corporations stop controlling our government it doesn't matter how many people march. I wonder what the carbon footprint of all the people going to NYC to march will be?


Sunday, September 14, 2014

Are You Ready For Some Football?

I played football in my backyard when I was a kid with my brothers. That was pretty much it for football and
No Shit. Pic from Morningstar
me. I was really good at soccer and basketball. I got so good that boys would actually pick me first. You rarely got knocked down in soccer or basketball, if you did it was usually an accident. In football, it seemed to me that getting knocked down was the whole point. People were always getting hurt, especially my brother, he was always in the emergency room. Watching football was always a big deal on the holidays. I spent many miserable days when my husband would sulk or flip out because of whatever his football team did. I just don't like football.
The big topic at work wasn't bombing Iraq or ISIS, or as my friend would say as a joke, "is, is", it was that Ray Rice knocked out his wife with a punch in an elevator. "Did you see the video?" I kept getting asked. No I didn't and I don't want to. Here's the thing, domestic violence goes down everyday, everywhere. It's just that now with surveillance people behaving badly are caught on film. I am sure that the incident on that elevator wasn't the first time that asshole punched his wife. He'll probably punch a woman in the future. As long as men think they can get away with this behavior, they will continue to do it. Because keeping their hands to themselves isn't an option. It really doesn't surprise me that the NFL was utterly incompetent handling this situation and it did remind me of the whole Penn State affair. Because we worship these football people. They are like Gods. What is one punch worth?  Two games, which is what the NFL initially suggested.
We live in a culture of violence, football is a violent game, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a whole lot more stories or incidents of domestic violence that surface after this, what do you know? There are, only this time it's a grown man beating a 4 year old. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson faces two years in prison if found guilty of child abuse - NY Daily News
These are just the incidents we know about. It seems to me that the football industry is run by corrupt millionaires just like our government. The NFL has an image to keep polished but that image just keeps getting tarnished. Michael Vick abused animals and he's still playing. The litany of abuse is pretty bad, but then you are dealing with an organization where brain injuries and death are just part of the game. I don't know how much this could affect these players behavior but the whole culture of football is something I could never identify with. I did however, observe a whole lot of bad behavior based on a persons status on the high school team and how many women the captain of the team could use. Fights that would break out depending on which team you were cheering for. Then there's the whole insanity of cheerleading. To me football was just a huge waste of time. Being in a room full of yelling, screaming, wing eatin', beer swilling dudes, never did anything for me. The more I learn about what really goes on in football, the less I want anything to do with it.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Back To Iraq

It's pretty clear to me that President Obama can't get anything done in this country, so lets go back to Iraq.
There are plenty of people who think Hellfire missiles are the way to go and bombs away! Don't get me wrong I'm no fan of ISIS or ISIL but didn't we give them weapons in the first place? Let's extrapolate this to when we armed Afghan rebels way back, Operation Cyclone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Which gave birth to Al Qaeda, and you know the rest.  A couple of weeks ago I was reading about Chuck Hagel, who made an arms deal with Turkey. That's no accident, Turkey is going to play a major role in this new/old conflict.
Why does it seem like we are caught up in an endless circle jerk? We pedal weapons or just give 'em away like candy and what do you know? People get carried away shooting, raping and pillaging and the next thing you know it's time for more bombs and  "advisers." Don't blink because if you do there will be boots on the ground. Not shocked that this is going down again. 
Billions of dollars and ten years spent training Iraq forces to control their own country. Only to discover that isn't working out, which really, it's our fault, all of it.
I don't know, but I am just going to throw it out there that there was a disappointing jobs report two days ago. Fast food jobs ain't cuttin' it anymore and those people are striking for $15 an hour. The economy is stagnant. People are either pissed off or mired in their own misery. They don't give a damn about Iraq, they don't even understand what's going on outside of the Fox News channel in their living room. They are exhausted from working two or three jobs.Then you have this;
Pic nicked from The Guardian
The President decided to go see Stonehenge while at the NATO Summit in Wales. Putin is out of control and I am so sure all these NATO countries are going to pony up and start chipping in so they can bankrupt their countries with endless conflict. I don't have a problem with the President sight seeing. But he needs to open his eyes and look at his own people, his own country. I guess the view is better at Stonehenge.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

#ByebyeBK

 I don't know exactly what Burger King contributes to American society. Poverty wages? Tons of waste? Nutritionally deficient food? Despite all of that, people got pissed off about Burger King heading to Canada to dodge taxes. Because there's never enough for corporations. So BK decides to make a big announcement they aren't going any where, when really they are and will be able to leave the U.S tax burden, unlike the rest of us wage slaves.
Last night, after I got home from my exhausting job, I read about a woman working four jobs who died taking a nap in her car. 4 part time jobs. No wonder she was exhausted. This is normal now. People working multiple part time jobs because full time work is non-existent. Happy Labor Day weekend. Most people won't even get one. It's kind of funny to me because no one at work mentioned why we have a Labor Day or what it means and unions have gone by the wayside for being too stale, male and pale. People are confused about unions and people generally feel they are corrupt. They take your money for their "dues" and then do nothing for you. People are being screwed everyday in this labor market, with crappy part time jobs and minimum wages that keep people so
Don't think so.
exhausted they have no idea what to do or how the system of corporatocracy keeps them from earning a decent living with humane benefits. I guess that's probably the point. I don't know what it's going to take to get to the point where Americans just turn their backs on this capitalist bullshit financial system that is not in the least rewarding for most people. Life long work and drudgery isn't a goal. People don't deserve poverty. But this American culture will tell you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps or else die. That's social Darwinism.
All week long I heard the nauseating Paul Ryan "the intellectual" and how case workers are going to be setting goals for the 45 million people on food stamps. The big problem with Ryan? He's living in the past where fulltime work is plenitfull and college degrees didn't cost tens of thousands of dollars. The concept of "work" has changed. The economic crisis of 2009 has changed everything for ordinary American workers. No one seems to be acknowledging that automation has taken over, rendering millions of jobs obsolete. Factories have gone to China and people who used to graduate from high school and get a good job for 20 years don't have that option anymore. You can have all the lofty goals you want but that won't put dinner on the table. People aren't working  2 or 3 part time jobs because good times are trickling down all over them. It isn't just the appalling minimum wage people are expected to live on but also a government that manipulates inflation data so it doesn't include the prices of gas and food. So we have no idea what the real inflation rate is and politicians pat themselves on the back saying inflation is low, oh yeah and the unemployment rate is 6%, right. Because we don't really know what that is either. It isn't just that people don't know anything about Labor Day or organizing to get fair wages and hours. It's the fact that most Americans are kept in the dark about real facts that affect them daily. They are working as hard as they can and can't figure out why they can't get ahead. Because that's the point. You never will. We need a Second American Revolution. Read about it here.
The Second American Revolution | BUCKY WORLD
 Labor Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia