Power Asses

I can't travel freely, I cannot live where I choose, I have to get a job where there are jobs and pay rent where there are jobs.  I can't grow my own food because I don't own property.  I don't "own" property because I don't have enough money and it takes quite a lot to own.  If you do own property, regardless of how you came to own it, even if you were born into it, you can make money purely from that ownership.  I will never have that much money because I'm not at the top of society.  Rents and property 'values' increase but wages do not.  And most Americans live within some form of serfdom.  


Historically, there's almost always been a group of folks circulating within the same power pool.  "Power" is power over other people.  But how do these Power Asses keep their thrones?

1. Make people think they're just like you.
Because the "terms" have changed over time and "anyone" can be king.  No longer are there serfs, required to work the lord's land, mines and roads in return for protection and the ability to grow food, there are free workers, able to move between jobs and climb metaphorical ladders!

There's a huge difference between modern workers and serfs.  Having a job is no longer required - modern workers should be grateful to have jobs - thank you so much for giving me a job in your factory/business/house/restaurant/field!  And no longer is there a "lord of the manor", there are several to choose from!  And because those lords made decisions to cheat, swindle and steal from the public, there are now fewer jobs then there are people that 'need' them.

Workers do not have job choices, but they don't fully realize that.  If they don't get a job, if they don't pay to rent property, they will be sent to jail (for 'tax evasion' at the very least) and have their natural rights taken from them, just for choosing to not be a part of the system.  So, again, especially with the top-earner-induced recession (it wasn't the fault of the poor), the workers will be grateful to have whatever shit job is thrown at them.

The American Dream is still alive in the hearts of the masses and therefore people don't admit they've been swindled.  Oh yes, The American Dream!  People still believe that they no longer have to officially be "born" into a class to be in that class and that it's still technically possible to move between classes!  In practice, however, class immobility is the norm, especially if you are born into a poor family.

And education, as a method to improve social status, is becoming more and more prohibitive.  Costs of education are increasing drastically, in private and public institutions.  Student loan debt, which has topped a trillion dollars and cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, has become a shiny new form of indentured servitude.

2. Make people too broke to care.
If wages are kept low, many people have to take extra jobs or work longer hours to keep up with increases in rent and goods.  Productivity has been increasing steadily in recent decades which means that more money is being made with the same amount of labor and virtually lower wages.  But if people are scared into believing that there will be fewer jobs if wages are increased by those who 'create' jobs, more and more workers will be forced to take on more jobs while more and more money goes to 'them'.

In addition, people are forced to incur debt for necessary things like medical bills.  America is the only industrialized, wealthy country with no national health care.  And over half of all bankruptcies in America are due to medial bills or illness.  So, if you're poor, you can't afford health care and you're therefore more likely to have outrageous debt if something does go wrong.  And that debt will be made more outrageous by the fact that insurance companies can negotiate for substantially lower costs on medical bills than an individual can.  So you uninsured poor person are likely picking up whatever slack the insurance companies are negotiating - additionally, non-profit hospitals aren't in your area, sorry.

3. Distract people with shiny things.
Scandals!  Sports!  Reality TV!  Encourage "voting" along lines of religion or social issues that have nothing to do with what politicians actually do once they're in power!

4. Make people scared for their lives.
Jail is little more than a holding tank for government threats.  If not, why are there so many drug possessors and angry, disenfranchised young men in jail and very, very few bankers?  Why else would America, with 5% of the worlds population, incarcerates 25% of the world's prisoners?  Why else would squatters, who are otherwise homeless, be sent to jail?

As a very literal holding tank for angry young men, Gitmo holds prisoners that aren't charged or confessed to charges under torture.  But these people cannot be released because of the security threat they pose, among other freedom-loving reasons.  Anyone perceived as anti-American can be classified as a security threat.

When I was growing up, I naively believed that people were born with certain rights, inalienable rights even.  These included the right to not be shot in the back by an unmanned aerial vehicle because the vehicle operator's government secretly determined that a person is a threat to them.  But if enough people are killed, including American citizens who are expressly protected from such extrajudicial killings by one of the few explicit social agreements in American society, the population will be too scared to rebel.

And so the world turns around the Asses of Power.

New Life, New Adventures, New York

I don't write enough on the inter-blogs.  I see that it's almost been a year since I wrote my last post and, privacy be damned, the government information-collecting servers needs to know how I'm feeling about my life!!  And under CISPA, the Office of the Second Children could see my data!  MY data!  How flattering is that?!

This article, posted today, Why I’m Attending the Dedication of the Bush Lie Bury, coincides with the recently-passed 10-year anniversary of the Iraq War.

Not only have we learned that Powell, Cheney and Bush all lied to us about WMDs and many in the country (maybe most) believed, through press briefs and official statements, that Saddam was directly linked to the 9/11 attacks, but we've recently be inundated with news of Nixon's "treason" with disruption of the Vietnam / Paris peace talks.  History is repeating itself, it seems, but there is a lot the country seemed to have learned from the Vietnam War, especially when it comes to trusting the United States government.

When did the government earn the 'should never be questioned' status that it enjoyed in this War, especially in the beginning?  Grag Mitchell, in So Wrong for So Long, which I'm currently ingesting, the author rehashes articles written for Editor & Publisher (a media trade publication) before and during the war that constantly question the media's role in promoting the government War Agenda without (substantial enough) question.  He does allude to 9/11 being a huge factor in silencing dissenters, as many people were angry and wanted to lash out at someone.  An interviewee on the movie Why We Fight, whose son was killed in the towers, is an amazing example of this reaction.  He's also a major example of the WTF reaction to the later-emerging facts that do not link the terrorists with Iraq at all (they were mostly from Saudi Arabia?).

Ultimately, our media and government have failed us.  The lies and ensuing manipulation to support those lies are abhorrent, at the very least.  The 'embedded' journalist scam, the prevention by the military/government to publish images of the dead (let's not have another Vietnam, or anti-Vietnam on our hands!), the cowardice of journalists to stand up to bullshit press conferences and to jeopardize their careers...sick fucking shit.  How many people died?  How many people's lives were ruined?  And, for what?  Lining of pockets?  A vendetta?  Sick. Fucking. Shit.

These people are psychopaths and they have to be stopped (you read that correctly, CIA, I'm advocating for an overthrow of the government because it has become tyrannical - suck it).

On that note, moving from the DC Liar's Den to the LA Entertainer's Den to the NYC Rich Funding the Liar's Den (whatever...)... it's going to be a fun year.

Rise Up, Rebel, Revolt.

Day #38

I just had a weird the-future-is-now moment. While waiting for the internet to load, specifically my blog editor, just now, I was worried that the words in my head would be forgotten because dear GOD, how can one type or otherwise exhibit their thoughts without the INTERNET-WEBS,

So, I will use that as an excuse to pop the cork on another bottle of wine. Why not.

Day #38 in paradise.


We moved here 38 days ago. We found a pretty cool apartment, with nice neighbors and an avocado tree or two. Thinking is hard when the neighbors play loud music. All day.

Alrighty / therefore / so, here we go, this is my community service: I will translate law so that everyone can understand not only the letter of it, but the spirit as well.


Today's translation is inspired by the rapscalions next door:
...
B.  It is determined that certain noise levels and vibration are detrimental ("Clubby siren and bass music sucks and, if too loud, also effects") to the public health ("the way people feel physically."), welfare ("You are violating their space by making loud noises in it and that is aggressive") and safety ("and how much of that wouldn't piss someone off.") and contrary to public interest, and therefore the board of supervisors of the county does ordain and declare that creating, maintaining, causing or allowing to be created, caused or maintained any noise or vibration in a manner ("So, be warned: if you make loud, stupid noise") prohibited by or not in conformity with the provisions of this chapter is a public nuisance("you are pissing a lot of people off") and shall be punishable as such ("and the state will make you pay money for being a dick."). (Ord. 11778 § 2 (Art. 2 § 201), 1978: Ord. 11773 § 2 (Art. 2 § 201), 1978.)
...

Political agreements

We aren’t being truthful with ourselves.  We’re blaming our government for the problems we perceive in the world – the wars, the warming, the lack of resources, the tension and hate – like Frankenstein blaming his monster for the destruction he caused.

A government is an agreement.  Idealistically, we are in an agreement with ‘officials’ or ‘politicians’ to run the show for us.  Please, we say, make decisions in the best interests of mankind and of Americans.  We will pay you to be experts – tax us, take our money and place it where it is needed most.  Help make policies to keep us healthy and safe.  And comfortable.

And we all know how that goes.  Power corrupts and those put in charge don’t act in the best interests of mankind.  Or so we think.

Actually, these politicians are doing exactly what we want them to do.  As evidenced by our massive, massive consumption and greed, we are not willing to change our lifestyles and change what we need.  We are not willing to live without electricity or easy food.  We are not willing to give up extensive travel, air conditioning, cars, cheap products – this is our heritage, is it not?  We are the Gods of the Earth and we cannot be contained!  Our lust cannot be contained!  We should not be contained as it is our right to travel freely, eat what we want and do what we please.  Just make sure I am comfortable – anything less is uncivilized!

So, why should we expect our politicians to be our moral compasses?  If we demand a lifestyle that, at the very least, requires so damn much of the Earth’s resources, why shouldn’t we go to war for that demand?  Why shouldn’t we have 1000+ military bases all over the world to ensure our domination?  Why shouldn’t we turn a blind eye to labour practices that ensure cheap consumer goods?  Why should we wait until we can create safe, non-destructive energy to have luxury?  Why should we wait to take our places as Earth-kings?  Why shouldn’t we demand that all resources (shale oil, arctic oil, water) be made available to satiate our immediate lust, to the point of our own destruction?

We don’t really care about the future or other people or the fact that we’re all dying and taking the world with us.  If we did care our actions would reflect it.  If we estimate the reasonable, tangible consequences of our individual actions, multiply that by 7 billion and the resulting figure still kills the world - why do we act so?  Because someone else in the schoolyard is doing it?  Has a bigger toy?  Makes us feel unimportant?

We don’t really care.  If we did, we’d spend some time considering real change, beyond (or in spite of) politicians and policies.  The world is dying and it’s our fault.

Desk Jockey Shit Hole

So, here's my 300-word essay on the desk jockey shit hole.

What's less human than the hell of an air-conditioned, sanitized room where you're paid to sit still and move and talk and feel minimally while bright information is forced in your face in the most efficient (read: least fun) way possible?  In fact, the more boring it seems, the better!  

Not much is less human.  Not much feels less human.

Why is it considered wrong to want to satisfy your body and mind in the course of daily living?  Culture tells me that, unless I sit behind the same desk at the same fucking time every fucking day, doing something that bored the shit out of me while watching the sun course through the sky in a filter of UV-deflective glass, I will not be able to live a decent life.  I will not be able to afford health insurance, dental work, decent food or a good place to live.  Why not?

How would I like to live, then?  At the rate I'm "figuring it out", I may never know know, but I do know that there are certain ways that I don't want to live.  I don't want to sit on my ass all day - it doesn't feel good and it's so fucking boring.  I mean, what's the point of it?  You sit, you can't even think meaningful or interesting thoughts, you sit upright in the same place for 8 hours each day, move your fingertips and virtually move things around but what are you doing?  You're literally a cog in a very unforgiving machine.  Your body and your mind rot so that someone else can sit around and think?  Is that true?  Does it matter?  Does it matter why you're rotting?  - whether there's a cultural excuse for the loss of your freedom?  What did you do?  What did I do?

Don't be in a desk jockey shit hole.  It will kill you while you breathe - and dying is no way to live.

Narrative #34, This One's For You, Jess.

Feelings feelings, feelings.

What is life?  Feeling the importance of every moment?  Realizing the most fun thing you could possibly do and then do that a lot?  Depriving yourself of the fun things?  What is the meaning of it - is it fun to think about?

Why do I love doing this stuff so much?  Love like I love music and all things that are awesome.  I don't know that I want to entertain people, it's more like I want people to adore me.  Damn, that felt good to get out there.

That's it.  That's everything.  I want everyone, everywhere to affirm my existence.  That's depraved.  It's like I'm everyone's bitch!  How did that happen?  How did this happen?


Well, what then is me to admire?  What am I?  And who?  Am I the way I look?  Am I what I say, and to whom?  Maybe a set of lenses, or TVs, looking around?  Some sort of robot, taking notes and keeping logs?  Scary.

What about thinking, then?  What the shit does that mean?  How do you think?  What is thinking - is it the voice-over narrative of everything?  Is it more, that's unexplained in words?  And when I'm sitting here, "thinking", I mostly feel insane because I can't concentrate on anything and then at some point I find that I'm thinking about sex and I feel a little guilty because I was trying to think of something serious.

The shower is a great place to think, by the way.  And a great place to have sex.  Which makes it an even better place to think.  Win-fucking-win.  Have sex in the shower, ladies and gentlemen - GOOD NIGHT!

Global Embracement, Age of Empires style

We know this is false, we've seen it before.

We're not in other countries to promote 'democracy' the ideal, we're there fighting to sustain 'democracy' the way of life for some.

And that means America is King.  It's true, it's disgusting.  Since WWII and the fear of another Depression, we've "embraced" a global economy.

Let's explain it in terms of a successful Age of Empires campaign.  If you haven't played this game before, it's pretty much played like you'd think from the title.  You build up an empire as a certain race of people and then either fight people to total annihilation or create treaties with them.  One way to guarantee your future empire-awesomeness is to spread out on the limited map early.  Get miners to mineral sites, loggers to forests and barracks anywhere you can.  This way, you ensure that you have the most wealth and therefore strength, even when it means encroaching on some other race's natural resources.  That is how you win quickly.

This is how America works.  Want to interfere in Latin American markets without being afraid of native populations revolting against American corporations stealing their shit?  NAFTA.  Want to start a war over oil in a country struggling to combat its own internal conflicts?  Weapons of mass destruction.  Want to spruce up the ol' economy, line the pockets of your politicians and give jobs to your contractor friends? Reinvigorate the idea of American Supremacy and go fight in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan.  Want to reneg on the American contract of life, liberty and property because it threatens your economic status?  Domestic terrorism.

All so we can feel better about the size of our dicks.