Peace Between People

Remembering Lenny

2011-07-20T08:41:00.004-05:00

Note: I started writing this for his guestbook, but it ended up really long and I'm not sure it's gonna post. So, here it is. Feel free to share any memories you don't feel are appropriate for the guestbook.

I've never met anyone like Lenny. He was one of those rare people who brought laughter everywhere he went. I’ll never forget his sense of humor or his contagious smile. No matter what was going on, no matter how sad you felt, if Lenny was around, you could look over at him and he’d make some goofy face to make you bust out laughing.

I’ll never forget the way he could take over a room (it’s hard to believe that we’ll never see him do the lawnmower or the worm again). Just a few weeks ago, all of our old buddies from high school went to Cincinnati for a road trip. The highlight of the trip was when we accidentally stumbled into a bar where we were the obvious minority. Some people left, but Lenny, Jimmy, Matt, and I stayed. I’m glad I stayed. By the end of the night, there was a giant circle on the dance floor around Lenny. Everyone in the place was cracking up. He was the type of guy who could make any night memorable. It was a common occurrence to laugh until your jaw hurt when you were around Lenny.

I’ll never forget his loyalty. When we were sixteen, I crashed my car with Lenny in the back seat. He broke both of his arms. It was a pretty traumatic event for all of us, but Lenny got the worst of it. He had casts on both of his arms all summer. A few weeks after it happened, I finally got the nerve to go over and see him to apologize. I was so nervous, but Lenny acted like it was no big deal. He made a few jokes, we laughed a little, and it was good again. He wasn’t angry at all. I don’t think many people would be so forgiving. I think that was when I knew we’d be good friends for a long time. From there on, he was always there when I needed him.

Most of all, I’ll never forget the way he lived his life. It seems cliché, but anyone who knew Lenny, knows that he followed his own rules. Lenny, Jimmy, and I roomed together our first semester of college. Although, college wasn’t really Lenny’s thing, we crammed a lifetime of experiences in that semester. Some of my favorite times were speeding in the Topaz down Highway 55 with Lenny and Jimmy singing Chili Peppers at the top of our lungs filled with the excitement of what was to come. He wasn’t afraid to try something and fail, then move on to something else.

Lenny made the most of every day. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. He was fearless. He has had, and will continue to have a huge impact on my life. I wouldn’t be the man I am today if we hadn’t been friends. I am so thankful that I was fortunate enough to be close to Lenny the past sixteen years.

For the rest of our lives, there will be a void where Lenny was supposed to be, where we expected him to be. It would be easy to be saddened by this, to shed tears over it, and curse the injustice of it all – I know I’ve spent the past two days doing exactly that – but in the end, I always picture Lenny across the room making some weird face at me and smiling that huge smile, and I feel a little better. In the end, we all just have to be thankful that we knew him when he was here—that we have so many adventures to tell our children about—so many memories to make us smile when the world seems like such a horrible place.

Keynote Address -- Fern Ridge High School, 2011

2011-05-25T18:10:00.007-05:00

Editor's note: This Friday, May 25th will be my last day as a teacher. I am officially retiring. It's been a great run, and I gave it my all, but I'm ready to try something new--preferably something that does not involve teenagers.

Recently, I was excited to add a bunch of recent Fern Ridge graduates on Facebook. As I was looking through my list of Fernie friends today, I realized the amazing people I've been fortunate enough to meet in the classroom.

Two weeks ago, I had the honor of speaking to our most recent grads and their families at the wonderfully unique Fern Ridge High School graduation ceremony (Fern is the small, alternative high school I've taught in for the past three years). I want to share this with my family and friends, and all the Fern Alumni out there, because I know a lot of people are struggling right now. We live in a thankless world, and it's easy to get lost and forget what's important in life. Hope you enjoy it.

Fern Ridge Keynote Address, 2011

Chris Oliver

Ms. -----, Ms. -----, members of the Board, Fern Ridge and Missouri Options faculty and staff, parents, friends and family, underclassmen and future graduates, graduating seniors…Mom…I am honored to have the chance to speak to you today. As many of you know, this is my last year as a teacher. Yes, I am officially retiring from the classroom. This group of individuals in front of me had a lot to do with the timing of that decision. It’s not what you’re thinking Jake; your classroom behavior played almost no role in my decision. No, I’ve always known that teaching was just one stop in my journey.

Over the last three years I’ve grown very close to these graduates. I’ve never felt more proud of a graduating class in my eight years of teaching. As I watched you guys sprinting to the finish line, I realized that it was my time too. Seeing you all here today, this amazing and talented group of young adults, I feel a natural sense of closure and an overwhelming excitement for what the future brings for us all.

Thinking about what I wanted to say today has made me realize the many ways I identify with this senior class. I, too, am embarking on a new and unpredictable journey. I, too, am leaving a place and saying goodbye to people that have made a significant impact on who I am today. I, too, don’t know what I’m going to be when I grow up.

When I came here three years ago, I didn’t think I wanted to be a teacher anymore. I originally got into teaching because I hated my high school teachers, and I hated high school. I wanted to give students what I didn’t have. After five years teaching at a so-called “traditional” high school, I realized I had become one of the very teachers I hated. My classes were overcrowded, my curriculum was prescribed, and my creative freedom was undermined on a regular basis. By the time I got to Fern, I was disillusioned, burned out, and dreading another year as a cog in a hopelessly flawed machine. I no longer believed as I once had that I could change the system from within, so I wanted out.

I will never forget my first day of class at Fern. I was hired very late in the summer and only had a week to prepare, but I was ready. I had my first semester all planned out, all I needed was the students. As the first bell approached I anxiously went over my lesson, making sure it was perfect. I looked with pride at my posters and bumper stickers and thought excitedly about everything I had planned.

Then the bell rang. I stood at the door with a huge smile admiring the beautiful ceiling tile art, the unique, but welcoming green carpet, the pictures of past graduates hanging on the wall. I stood with that goofy smile and waited….and waited…and waited some more. No one showed up. I had a roster of ten, and not a single student showed up on the first day. I thought I had made a huge mistake.

I was wrong though. And the students did show up, eventually. As they slowly trickled in, one by one, and the days passed, I began to get to know them. I quickly realized, just as every new Fernie does, that I didn’t need to play the part anymore, I could just be myself. As the days turned into weeks, I began to understand how special this place is, and that spark was lit again. Fern Ridge restored my passion for teaching. The classes were small enough that I could get to know each one of my students. I could teach what I wanted to teach. I could say ridiculous things without fearing an angry phone call from a parent. I could have fun.

What really makes Fern Ridge great though, is its students. Sitting to my right are some of the most unique and talented individuals in the district. They may not blow you away with their test scores or wow you with their attendance, but I can guarantee you this right now, they will be among the most successful students to graduate from Parkway this year.

I have always been a Fernie. I think that’s why, from my first day, I felt like I fit in here.
When I was in high school, I always felt lost in the crowd. I felt miserable and alone. Nobody cared what I thought. Nobody valued my voice. I was just another face in a sea of faces and I got lost. It wasn’t until college that I learned what many of the students sitting here today know. Many of you here may not know what it means to be a Fernie. If you’re sitting here you probably know one though and some of this will probably sound very familiar.

A Fernie marches to a different beat. Unafraid of what others think, a Fernie will walk down the hallways singing at the top of their lungs. A Fernie will hold protests, and write letters and schedule meetings when they feel something is not right. A Fernie is PROUD to be a nerd. A Fernie creates amazing works of art, and isn’t afraid to call themselves an artist. A Fernie will tear up reading a poem in front of the whole class, or the whole school. A Fernie lends a hand to a fellow student when they need it. A Fernie fights for social justice. A Fernie is brutally honest. A Fernie tells you how it is. A Fernie tells you who they are, sometimes very loudly. A Fernie knows how to use the darker side of the English language, both for good and for evil. A Fernie will take the stage alone and without fear and dance or sing or act or play the ukulele. A Fernie will be a perfect angel for a week, just for a blowpop on Friday. A Fernie is a leader in community service, even if they can’t sit still in the classroom during the week. A Fernie isn’t afraid to fight for their beliefs, whether that fight come in the form of the marines, the college classroom, or the workplace.

So I say to you graduates here today, be thankful for the opportunity you were granted by the district to attend a school that allowed you to be yourself. Go out and live your life like a Fernie. Then, tell people about your experiences. Stop a board member and shake his or her hand. Write a letter. Speak at a meeting. Every year this place has to fight for its survival and it’s a horrible shame. Every year administrators and educators are forced to quantitatively justify the need for a small community like this.

As I said before, I came here disappointed because I failed to change the system from within, but what I didn’t realize was that some parts of the system don’t need to be changed at all, people just need to open their eyes and see them. Fern Ridge should be a model, not just for alternative schools, but for all schools. A school should be small enough to give each and every student a voice. The staff should be compassionate enough to make sure each and every student feels like someone cares about them. The classroom communities should be tight enough, that each and every student feels capable of doing the extraordinary. Nobody should EVER feel invisible and alone in their school.

We live in a society that has forgotten the value of creativity, compassion, independence, and standing up for what you believe in, even in the face of punishment. It is no longer acceptable to forge your own path. We are asked to submit, bend our morals, and chase money and material possessions over our dreams.

But success is not about money and possessions. Success is about living a full life. It’s about finding something you love, and putting your entire soul into it. And when that thing no longer makes your heart race with excitement, moving on to something else. Who said we had to stay in the same place for twenty years to be successful. Success is about finding someone you love. Listen to me now, that person is out there for each of you. Be patient. Surround yourself with people who make you feel beautiful and smart and amazing. No matter what, remember that success is about following your dream, whether that dream is fixing cars, teaching school, performing stand up comedy, or becoming the first female president of the country. Happiness has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with being proud of who you are and what you do.

You all come here today at the end of a journey. For some it was relatively easy. For some it was long and trying. No matter what your experiences and memories of high school are, go out into the world confident—without fear. Believe me when I say this, you can do anything. No matter what problem gets thrown at you, you can figure it out. You’re ready.

I want to take a minute talk a little about fear. Everyone, regardless of how successful they are, regardless of how experienced they are, regardless of how brave they are—everyone—knows the unforgiving face of fear. It’s that little voice that plants a seed of doubt in everything you do.

It starts when we are young. Don’t paint during reading time, you might get sent to the corner. Don’t draw during math class; you might get a call home. Don’t speak without raising your hand, you might get yelled at.

It’s still there as we get older. Don’t ask her out, she might say no. Don’t take that class; you might not be smart enough. Don’t read that poem, they might make fun of you.

By the time we’re in high school, sometimes that little voice grows to angry yell. Don’t act like that, they might laugh at you. Don’t dress like that, they might not hang out with you. Don’t speak in class, they might embarrass you.

By the time you get to senior year, it can be hard to even get out of bed in the morning. But now, your decisions matter. Don’t go for that scholarship, they might reject you. Don’t choose that major; it might be too hard for you. Don’t go into that career, you might fail.

We all hear that voice every day. It’s the source of everything we didn’t do, everything that we wish that we had done. It doesn’t matter what you choose to be when you grow up, as long as you don’t submit to that angry little voice of doubt. To be successful, you have to live without regret. The only way to do that, is to go out into the world defiant and unafraid.

So my message to you today is go out and fail. Nobody succeeds in everything. We are a society obsessed with winning. We cry when we lose. We get angry. We turn to television and video games and partying to forget. Don’t forget. Instead, reflect on your failures. Write in a journal. Create a website. Run a marathon. Paint a painting. Sing a song. Build an engine. Do something that allows you some time to reflect. To learn. To grow.

These ceremonies are important, and it is an honor to speak today, but this is such a small moment in the amazing adventures you are about to embark on. Each of you has an important story to tell, a verse to contribute to this powerful play.

Take the lessons you’ve learned here at Fern and apply them to your lives. Don’t conform. Stand up for what you believe in. Don’t be afraid to have an adventure. Take risks. Change the world. And if you ever wake up one day and look back over the past two, three, five, ten years and every day seems the same, and you don’t like where you’re heading, RUN! If you feel trapped, just realize that you hold the key. All you have to do is open the door and walk away.

Thank you.

I'm Sick of Living in the United Corporations of America

2009-12-14T22:56:00.002-06:00

It looks like the Democrats might strip Medicare expansion out of the health care bill. No public option, no Medicare expansion, and MILLIONS of new clients for the insurance companies.

If this past year has proven anything, it's that we only have one political party in power, the corporation. The revolving door from Congress to K Street, the housing crisis, the health care reform debacle, the military industrial complex, the failure of corporate media to inform the public on anything, Big Oil and Big Coal's influence on global warming and alternative energy legislation, etc., etc., etc.—all evidence that the elected officials in the House of Representatives and United States Senate represent corporate, not public interest. They are in it to maximize profit, not run a country.

Each election, we go through a sham process. The discourse is kept at an eighth grade level so that all issues can be avoided. The news cycle bounces from distraction to distraction. In the end, we get a corporate representative at least three quarters of the time. Just a different flavor of the same kool-aid. And it all tastes like aspartame.

Kucinich and Paul are good examples of the possibilities outside of a corporate run government on both sides of the aisle, but obviously they are in the super-duper minority…and that’s not working out too well for the country.

I like Nader. I would vote Green every election if I could. The Green Party brand has failed though. Green with a capital G has taken on a meaning almost completely outside of the political party.

My new Party would be similar, but with a huge emphasis on anti-corporate governance. The primary platform would be based on the goal to eliminate corporate interests from government influence ENTIRELY. I'm still thinking it through and debating it with good people, but let me know if you have any ideas.

I've never been a Democrat, but I vote with them most of the time because, well, look what happened the last time the other guys were in power. This next election, I might begin casting protest votes. It would be nice if I didn't have to write in a candidate.

Health Care Reform...It's Gonna Happen!

2009-07-16T13:54:00.011-05:00

Whoa...where am I??? This place is kind of scary. No wonder nobody likes to come around. Anyway, I was going to blow this entire place into cyber-oblivion, but since the Summer of George has officially ended, I decided to ease my way into politics. My only rule has been no cable news. I'm just not ready for all out stupidity yet.

It's going well so far. No hyperventilating. I haven't punched any walls, and I only verbally assaulted one person (sorry Doc). I'm planning a head-first dive into FOXMSNBCCNN in a week or so. For now, I'm sticking with the Times, Rolling Stone, HuffPo, and Reddit; and I'm starting each day off with a little Stewart and Colbert.

The reason I'm getting back into this mud fight is because we're living in a very important period in the political history of the United States. Health care reform is only going to happen once. There will be college classes covering it. Books will analyze it. And, just like with welfare reform in the 90s, we will be living with the results for the next generation. Unlike many who are allowing themselves to be brainwashed by the steady chorus of fear mongering from the Right, I'm excited about the possibilities. There is a real chance we can finally fix one of the most morally inexcusable failures of this broken country we live in. I don't care how much money I have to throw in, if we can provide the 50 million uninsured with coverage, I'm on board. If we can free the middle class from the slavery of employer-provided health insurance, I'll turn over seventy-five percent of my paycheck. I'm not kidding.

The last few days, I've been trying to educate myself as much as possible on the ideas they're throwing out there. For those of you who don't want to wait for me to make sense of it and put my biased opinion out there, here are two great resources you can go to. First, Talking Points Memo just posted the Congressional Budget Office's Analysis of the House Health Care Bill. It's worth the hour or so it will take skim through it. I guarantee that you'll be able to better follow the complex Health care debate over the next month after reading this document.

For those of you who don't have the time to read through a 14-page report, watch Jon Stewart's interview with Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius from The Daily Show last night. Almost everything she says makes a lot of sense no matter how terrified you are of socialized medicine (I'm writing this small so as not to alarm you).

Part I:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Kathleen Sebelius Pt. 1

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Joke of the Day

Part II:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Kathleen Sebelius Pt. 1

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Joke of the Day

I hope you learned something. Feel free to explain to me why you're so afraid of a public option or what sense you've made of this 1000 page document that the Senate is reading over. I don't want to hear any bullshit socialism/communism fear mongering. Think with your brain for once. Buzz words and talking points are for the weak minded and uninformed.

Peace.

Fox News is Scared Shitless and So Should YOU!

2009-01-23T20:12:00.003-06:00

Okay, I had to share this. Fair and balanced Faux News wants you to be afraid--very, very afraid. So, lock up the house, turn on the alarm, arm yourself to the teeth, and hide under the bed 'cause Obama's comin' for yuh!

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Fox News Fear Imbalance

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

The next eight years are going to be fun.

People Who Don't Walk Their Dogs are Oppressors!

2009-01-07T16:58:00.012-06:00

A couple of months ago I was walking my dog, Asher. He's a 7-year-old black lab. He grew up down in Cape Girardeau where I rented a house next door to a huge fenced in chunk of land owned by my fraternity. He was raised without a leash around a lot of people. His best friend growing up was a goat named Duke (a goat I ultimately got stuck taking care of). He's completely socialized and has never so much as growled at anybody or anything. The rabbits that hang out in our South City yard rarely even flinch when he comes lumbering out the back door. I know everyone says this type of shit about their dog, but ask anyone who's ever met Asher, the most violent thing he's ever done is accidentally knock over a beer with his whip-like tail.

KBO and I like to take him on walks without his leash. He never goes more than ten feet ahead of us and doesn't chase after animals or people when he sees them. It's pretty safe. Anyway, Asher and I were minding our own business listening to some Ryan Adams (Jacksonville City Nights...one of the best albums of the decade and closest I've ever gone to embracing country music), when some dude pokes his head of his house. The yard was littered with pink bikes and large plastic things of varying degrees of obnoxiousness.

"Hey! Hey you!"

Asher stopped and turned around, so I took off my headphones.

"Excuse me!" The voice behind me was definitely hostile. I hate assholes.

"Yes?"

"You know there are leash laws!"

"Don't worry, he's harmless. I've had him for seven years and he's never bit anyone or anything."

My words echoed deep within the corridors of this dude's icy stare.

"Okay, yeah...sorry."

I called Asher, he came running and sat down next to me, I put his leash on, and we walked quickly away. Looking back on it now, I wish I had something more clever to cut this guy off his "I have four kids so I'm better than you" pedestal. But I didn't.

On the way back we walked up the ally. It runs right aside old Leash-Law's fenced in back-yard. His dogs freak the fuck out. He has three of them and they bark like they want to rip your throat out when you walk past. There's a gap in the fence where these caged Cujo psycho-beasts broke through in a desperate lung for the blood of some poor innocent leash-less dog-walker. Fuckers.

I remembered this sequence of events when I walked past the yard today, Asher fully leashed, and tried to discard some poo in the ally dumpster. As I stared into the eyes of the crazed creatures, I began to feel sorry for them. And all of the other dogs in South St. Louis that are permanently imprisoned in their back yards. Leash-Law never walks his dogs. He lives twenty feet from my house and I've never seen his dogs outside of his yard. I mean, the dude has four kids at the perfect age to walk their three dogs. Why don't you walk your dog Leash-dude?

South city folks love dogs. Not just one dog, but three or four. Between the house next door and the one right across the alley, there are a combined SEVEN dogs. All of them bark with passionate intensity at any movement. I'll be working in my backyard for hours and they will bark and bark until the neighbor sprays them with a hose. These dogs are never walked either.

I know we have more important matters to attend to with Israel on a genocidal rampage in Gaza, and the economy recovering from eight years of irresponsible conservatism, but this is something I really need to get off my chest. Dogs need to be walked. They need to be socialized. They should be taken to the park. They should be allowed to run around. Anyone who buys a dog just to imprison in a small backyard or chain to a tire should be sent to asshole rehab. Fucking oppressors.

So, the next time you cringe at the site of a leash-less dog, Dude-on-the-Corner, you better recognize. Not all dogs have been caged to the point of insanity. Chill the fuck out.

Why Did You Vote Republican?

2008-12-15T16:31:00.013-06:00

We all have our reasons for the votes we cast. Some vote out of fear. Some vote out of hope. Some vote out of ignorance. While some don't vote at all. Sometimes it's hard to understand why people vote with such idiotic intensity. It's great when someone can come along and make sense of it all.

This nice little video really helped me understand the oft misrepresented men and women of America who decided to cast a vote for a Republican in November.

In the spirit of Ralph Waldo Emerson who once said, "speak what you think today in words as hard as canonballs, and tomorrow think what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today," I have an apology to make.

Republicans, I was wrong about you. See, I thought you were voting against your own self-interest out of sheer ignorance and blind faith in a paradoxical ideology. It's turns out you just enjoy the suffering. You sly devils, you knew the votes you cast were bad for the country. You fully realized the policies of your beloved party drove the country into the ground. You long ago grasped the reasons religion is separated from government. Yet, you can't help yourself. Once that seductive red-white-and-blue elephant starts to whisper in your ears, you melt. So much more could be ruined if we just had four more years. Just think of the possibilities. Mmmm...corporate despotism.

Anyway, I'm sorry. All is not lost though. Now is a perfect time to reexamine the way you look at the world and this country. Take a look around at some new ideas. Social justice, environmental responsibility, compassion--these are not ideas to fear. Who knows, maybe you'll find you enjoy watching your neighbors and your country prosper. It's a thought. Next time you're feeling down because President Obama is doing something that makes sense and benefits you in some way, instead of cursing and getting angry, recall the wise and timeless words of Mr. RW Emerson, and go with what tomorrow thinks. We won't hold your past affiliations against you.

Why did you vote Republican? Go ahead, let it all out. We're here to listen.

*Check out the fine folks that made the video.

Abstinence Only Education = Kids Making Dumb Choices

2008-12-14T21:00:00.000-06:00

Don't know if you got the memo, but anal sex is the new cool thing. Yep, kids are all about the two-hole these days. While there's nothing inherently wrong with this, a study out of Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center in Rhode Island revealed that this increase is the result of a general lack of sexual knowledge among teenagers. Most striking was the fact that many didn't realize you could get an STD from anal sex and only 29% said they used condoms. This is not good.

What the hell did we think was going to happen? In another edition of Yet Another Thing Bush Fucked Up, adolescents are not properly educated about sex. Well, that's what happens when you base public policy on religious dogma rather than scientific studies. For eight years schools have had to forfeit any sex-ed funding if they didn't implement abstinence only programs.

They call it abstinence only education but let's be real, it's not education. It's the opposite of education. We're telling kids not to have sex because it's bad. That's it. You're going to hell, so don't even think about it. Ever. Don't talk about it. Don't read about it. Don't acknowledge its existence. That's the only way to save your soul and prevent a life of degradation and promiscuity.

Needless to say, there are problems with this. First of all, the more taboo you make something, the more enticing it is to a teenager. They're wired to rebel. You just tell them what not to do, and they'll do it. You learn this quickly as a teacher. This may not be true of every student, but it's true of the majority. Even the best of students search for ways to rebel.

Second, human beings are wired to desire sex. The #1 thing on the mind of every teenage boy is that smart girl with braces who sits in the front row in Biology class. They're bombarded by images of sex everyday. Just turn on MTV for a few hours and you'll quickly see what it means to be "cool." One's worth as a person is defined by the amount of girls he can hook up with and the amount of money he spends on them. Every day, teenage boys are pushed to prove their masculinity and live in fear of homophobic taunts and public emasculation.

With all of this going on, kids desperately need someone to educate them about the complexities of sex. They need help understanding the emotional, psychological, and physical risks that go along with it. While parents should play a role in this education, we cannot simply assume it's going on at home. This is a public health issue. The government should play a role in eliminating unwanted teenage pregnancies and preventing abortions. Isn't that what the Christian right wants? Doesn't everybody win with a comprehensive sex education program? If anything, we should create an new sex-ed position in all high schools staffed by a specially trained counselor.

Never fear though, in just over a month, at long last, we will have a president that will use reason and scientific evidence to make decisions. It won't take much to bring about dramatic change on this issue. With just a little common sense, schools will be able to fund much needed sex education programs; comprehensive education will be a strong part of AIDS assistance programs in Africa without attaching abstinence only strings; and we will no longer be wasting $204 million spent in the US on a method proven to be ineffective.

Watch Out!

2008-12-12T18:38:00.008-06:00

I'd like to take this opportunity to personally thank the outgoing shithead Republican Senators for screwing us over one last time. Glad to see you handling the defeat with class guys. Good luck on K Street!

At least now we know what to expect from the GOP assholes still lucky enough to be clutching to their Senate seats: eight years of whatever it takes to fuck the country over. We know most of them will blindly cling to their ideology no matter what direction common sense may point. We know power is more important to them than the well-being of the country. And they know that a successful Obama administration might signal the death of their kind. They have no message, no leadership, no new ideas...all they have left is desperation. It ain't gonna to be pretty, my friends.

In a preview of future douchebag behavior, Senate Republicans blocked the auto industry bailout last night. Why? Apparently, middle class blue-collar workers are making too much money. Let Ms. Maddow break it down for you.

Yes. You heard her right. They are so ideologically opposed to everyday American workers who organize and fight for their rights, they would rather see the industry collapse than pass up an opportunity to cripple the evil unions. Never mind that the income gap is wider than ever. Never mind the massive layoffs occurring all across the country. Never mind the fat pockets of CEOs all across the country. Never mind the fact that the collapse of the auto industry IS NOT Joe the assembly line worker's fault. Never mind the fact that these very Senate Republicans are more responsible for the collapse of the economy than ANYBODY ELSE. None of that matters. It's the union's fault because Rush said so. After all, these Grand Old Pieces of shit love nothing more than blaming people who work two jobs to support their family.

I'm not going to lie, I was skeptical of the auto bailout for a while. There is nothing that makes me angrier than the arrogance American car companies displayed in the late 90s and early 00s. The endless bombardment of testosterone-pumped commercials for giant SUVs and trucks made me nauseous. When I see a Hummer, I want to throw something through it's window. The demise of the EV1 is one of the greatest tragedies in the history of industry. The guys who have been running the show for the past 10 years are idiots, and they need to go.

But the more I hear from people on the ground in Detroit, the more I understand why action is so important. People need jobs right now. The economy cannot grow if the current job loss trend continues. Manufacturing has almost completely dried up in the US. Now is not the time to watch more jobs head overseas. Republicans have been gambling taxpayer dollars on Wall Street for the past eight years, why not gamble on the middle class for once.

Ultimately, this is a gamble. It might not work. We have to accept this fact, grab our collective nut sack, and have faith in the people. At least this time we are betting on something we believe in. As we have found out many times in the past, when we invest in hardworking Americans, they come through. It's the only way we'll get out of this recession alive.

*I stumbled upon the Maddow clip at Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!, so you should check it out.

Scapegoats and Scoundrels

2008-12-11T18:30:00.009-06:00

In September 2007, a group Blackwater USA ~~mercenaries~~ contractors opened fire on a busy Baghdad street killing 17 innocent Iraqis and wounding numerous others.

AP:

"None of the victims of this shooting was armed. None of them was an insurgent," U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor said...
...the slain included young children, women, people fleeing in cars and a man whose arms were raised in surrender as he was shot in the chest.

Twenty others were wounded in crowded Nisoor Square, including one injured by a grenade launched into a nearby girls' school. Another 18 Iraqis were assaulted but not wounded.

After over a year of outrage and protest from the Iraqi victims of this slaughter, five Blackwater ~~mercenaries~~ security guards were indicted earlier this week. A sixth plead guilty and in exchange will testify against his former colleagues.

CNN:

The 35-count indictment charges each of the former guards with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.
If convicted, the defendants would face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each manslaughter count, seven years in prison for each count of attempted manslaughter and a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence for the firearms charge.

While this may distract and pacify the masses, if we are serious about real justice in Iraq, this cannot be the end of the investigation. What these men did was horrible, but they did not act alone. Huffington Post's Lee Stranahan made an excellent point a few days ago at BobCesca.com:

We're again haunted by the ghosts of Abu Ghraib - kids gets hauled into court and blamed for being part of a situation that wasn't really entirely of their making. Old men and war profiteers say tsk-tsk and cash their paychecks. It's only partial justice, which is almost worse than no justice.

Fucking right. I'm tired of this shit.

While the men who fired upon and threw grenades into that crowd of innocent people should be investigated, just like the men and women who committed the atrocities at Abu Ghraib were investigated, there is more to the story than the actions of those at the bottom of the command structure. People are capable of horrible things when brainwashed to believe that the "enemy" is less than human. Dehumanization is a huge part of creating any killing/war machine. If you are taught that your "enemy" is shit, you don't hesitate to follow orders that require you to kill or torture. The United States has openly embraced this type of training for years, and there is no reason to believe that US military-trained Blackwater guards were trained any differently.

Veterans from Iraq and Vietnam can help to add some perspective to the wider picture. After watching listening to Iraq veterans testify about some of the things they witnessed in combat, this Vietnam veteran recalls the methods of dehumanization and their effects on the soldiers he served with and the civilians they encountered:

A critical part of this training involves dehumanization. The idea here is to make trainees think of the enemy, not as opposing soldiers but as less than human. Animals if you will. There is far less of a possibility that an American soldier will balk at the order to kill when he believes that what he is killing is not a person at all, but a lower form of life deserving only disgust and hate. The problem with this training is that it does not stipulate a difference between enemy soldiers and local civilians. All are lumped into one category, given derogatory names and on the battlefield are ultimately treated the same.

It gets worse:

Those of us who were trained to go to Vietnam learned that the Vietnamese, whether they were civilians or combatants, were Dinks, Gooks, Slopes or Slopeheads and Slants. They were just little bastards that lived like animals in the jungle and it was ok to treat them accordingly. There was no place for respect for any member of the population and thus, the civilians became victims, not only of the VC, but of the American forces as well. The result was the same as in Iraq today. Greater numbers of civilians were killed than the actual enemy. And no matter what the military public relations folks say, this is condoned and encouraged behavior.

He goes on to give some examples of the blatant disregard for life that he observed in Vietnam. You should read it.

I'm sure you're familiar with stories like his from Vietnam, but this is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan right now? In November, several Iraq and Afghanistan veterans traveled to Washington to testify before Congress about the injustices they witnessed while deployed. Democracy Now! aired several of the testimonies on their November 28th program. One of the most revealing testimonies came from Vincent Emanuele who served in the Marine Corps from September '02 to January '06. He was deployed to Iraq in August 2004.

Another mission our platoon was tasked to take on was that of transporting prisoners from our detention facility on base back to the desert. The reason I say the desert and not their town is because that is exactly where we would drop them off, in the middle of nowhere. Now, most of these men had obviously been deemed innocent, or else they would have been moved to a more permanent detention facility and not released back into the local population. Our unit engaged in punching, kicking, butt stroking or generally harassing and abusing these very prisoners until the point at which our unit would be take them in the middle of the desert, miles from their respective homes, and at times throw them out of the back of our Humvees, all the while continually punching, kicking and at times even throwing softball-sized rocks at their backs as they ran away. This, once again, was not an isolated incident.
Possibly the most disturbing of what took place in Iraq was the mishandling of the dead. On several occasions, our convoy came across bodies that had been decapitated and were lying on the road, sometimes for weeks. When encountering these bodies, standard procedure was to run over the corpses, sometimes even stopping and taking pictures, which was also a standard practice when encountering the dead in Iraq—this, along with neglecting to account for many of those who were killed or wounded. On one specific occasion, after I had personally shot a man attempting to flee while planting a roadside bomb, we drug his body out of the ditch he was laying in, and we subsequently left that body—slide please—we subsequently left that body to rot in the field, where we saw this man up to a week later.
These are just a few of the disturbing and unacceptable stories I could share with you from my time in Iraq. Others would include continually dehumanizing Iraqis by referring to them as “hajis” or “sand niggers.” Even the racist and sexist nature that exists within the military itself, which was obviously—overtly obvious on a daily basis.

Go to the DN! link above and listen to the entire show if you want to get a full picture of some of the widespread abuse going on over there. For testimony from more Iraq veterans at March's Winter Soldier gathering in Maryland, click here and here.

Whether it be Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Bagram, or the streets of Iraq, when trained killing machines go too far, it's a direct result of the policies set by commanding officers. The trainers, along with the executives/cabinet members/vice presidents that approve the training and create the conditions that result in the crimes, should be investigated and prosecuted. These prosecutions should follow the trail all the way up the power structure, and punish those proven guilty. The true criminals of this irresponsible war of on terror must be exposed and brought to justice if we are ever to restore our credibility at home and throughout the rest of the world.

UPDATE: Ironically, just minutes ago, AP ran a story on a newly released bipartisan Senate Armed Services Committee report that DIRECTLY links the BUSH ADMINISTRATION widespread use of torture in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo. More to come soon.

Photo: Reuters

Is Blagojevich a Sociopath? Scandal in Six Minutes

2008-12-10T17:32:00.020-06:00

Editor's Note: I've been working on a couple of posts that have gone Skynet on me. Pride is the only thing standing between me and the self-destruct button, but never fear, I will do what has to be done to save the planet from a hostile cyborg takeover. I hope to get back to long angry rants soon. I promise.

So the governor of our friendly neighbors to the northeast is a scumbag. So what? We're pretty used to it by now. It sucks that he's a Democrat, but, as we learned from the brief politic al career of Jerry Springer, corruption don't discriminate. I always knew he was kind of a dick from the snippets of news that would trickle down to Missoura occasionally, but good lord, what a fucking idiot. I'm sure there are many reasons for his reckless arrogance, blatant disregard for the rule of law, and obvious emotional immaturity, but I'm going with a full blown mental illness.

Not only does this guy possess the moral and ethical compass of a whipworm, but he's in complete and total denial. Let's take a look at how Governor Rod Blagojevich stacks up against some of the warning signs of Sociopathy.

+Superficial charm - Have you seen that haircut? Check.

+Manipulative - He tried to use political leverage to get a sweet job for his wife? Check.

+Grandiose sense of self - He is refusing to step down even after the President-Elect and ALL 50 Senators call for his resignation? Check.

+Pathological lying - The day before his arrest after a wire tap revealed he tried to sell a Senate seat to the highest bidder, he told the country, "if anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it. ... [W]hatever I say is always lawful."

Check.

+Lack of remorse, shame, or guilt - His lawyer the day of his arrest: "He didn't do anything wrong." Uhhhh, did you hear what they recorded with that wiretap? Check.

+Seeing others as targets and opportunities, not people - When speaking about President-Elect Obama, he said, "They're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. Fuck them." Check.

+Irresponsibility - Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery? Check.

+Criminal Versatility - They didn't even need the Senate seat talk to bust him. Check.

I could go on, but my soul hurts. Can we stop talking about this now? No? Fine.

As entertaining as it is, you're probably too busy to sift through the 76-page document detailing the charges against Blagojevich. Never fear! Rachel Maddow was kind enough to sum it up for us in six hilarious minutes. Her recap is complete with voice actors playing Rod and his wife Patricia. Very nice Rachel. Very nice.

Oh, and one final note of beautiful poetic justice that not enough people are talking about...he had to go before the judge in sweat pants. Can someone please find a picture of this? Please?

Morning Peace of Mind: Best Montage in the History of Montages

2008-12-05T19:50:00.001-06:00

You're the best! Around! Nothin's gonna ever keep you down!
-Joe Esposito

I'm here to brighten your day. Nothing else. I bring joy to those around me. I just can't help it. Don't you wish you were hanging out with me right now? Here is a little something to start you off right this morning. You can thank me later.

Blow-by-Blow Montage Recap

:01 – The montage starts with a close-up of the sweet Cobra Kai logo. Perfect.

:04 – Sweep kick. I think that’s an automatic win according to karate rules. Daniel-San looks very nervous. Miyagi looks pissed.

:16 – Whoa. Cobra Kai meathead ‘roids out. Steroids probably weren’t too prevalent in U-17 karate back in the eighties, but if they were, I guarantee Sensei Kreese would make them mandatory for his team. Fucking psycho. John Kreese was a Republican. I’m certain of it.

:29 – Intimidating stare from DS’s nemesis Johnny. He does some crazy double kick combo—another automatic karate winner. Damn, that dude used to scare the crap out of me. Now, that skinny headband just makes him look like a douche.

:40 – DS’s first fight of the tourney against the token black dude of the movie. Cheap win for the good guys. Elizabeth Shue likes it a lot. Mr. Miyagi seems unimpressed.

:53 – Sweep kick to the chest. Take that motherfucker.

1:00 – Things speed up a bit for the 2nd round. Wins for DS and Johnny.

1:10 – Fat dude gets knocked the fuck out.

1:20 – Anyone notice that every ref in the tournament has a mustache? Was that a conscious casting decision?

1:35 – Kreese gives a sweet fist pump after another CK victory.

1:39 – DS’s first face off with a CK foot soldier. I always hated this weasely fucker. Just when you think all is lost, the kid sneaks in a sly little jab. This move impresses the judges enough that he awards him instant victory. Weasel-fuck doesn’t agree.

2:02 – Close-up of another sweet ref ‘stache.

2:10 – First look at the world’s most awesome tournament brackets as LaRusso is hoisted into the semifinals. The tournament brackets of my youth were made with poster board and a sharpie. Bullshit.

2:13 –Intense pep talk from Miyagi. It doesn’t help. Why does Ralph Macchio always look like he’s about to keel over, curl up into the fetal position, and weep openly?

2:24 – The Cobra Kai cokehead steps in against DS with a creepy smile. Kick to the face temporarily stuns the kid. Cold stare from Miyagi. Counter kick by DS for the win! Larusso to the finals!

End montage. Joe Esposita. Thank you for your inspiring song.

Don’t worry…I won’t leave you hanging. After Mr. Miyagi does some crazy magic on Daniel-San's leg, he's out and ready to fight. Here is the epic and unforgettable championship match between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso. "Sweep the leg!"

Oh, sweet nostalgia.

If you're impatient, the crane kick is at 4:05. They just don't make triumphant music like that anymore.

"Hey, Mr. Miyagi! We did it!"

RFT Blogger o' the Week: KBO

2008-12-04T16:38:00.010-06:00

I guess the Riverfront Times decided to class up the joint a bit. My beautiful and talented wife earned the honor of seeing her words printed in the finest alternative newsweekly in St. Louis. This pretty much means she's famous. Next stop, riches! I'll be quitting my job as a teacher and focusing on my housecleaning in two weeks time. Bet.

I thought the excerpt they used was hilarious, but I guess I'm biased. She wishes they would have found a better one. To help them out next time, here are my favorite five South City Confidential posts (in no particular order).

1. You Do Not Suck At All You can't go wrong when you mix karaoke, Hot Damn, and a middle-aged Pakistani named Ali Baba. This may be my favorite SCC post of all time. If you haven't read it, you're in for a treat. Here's a preview:

By the grace of God, my first visit was someone’s bachelorette party. Not only did I hear the incendiary “Gangster’s Paradise” performance, but saw what elevates Ali Baba from “funny guy with accent” to “totally audacious character who regularly exhibits borderline illegal behavior”. In case you were wondering, Ali Baba has no problem with public displays of affection. With relative strangers. On this particularly cherry-poppin’ visit, I witnessed Ali Baba effectively dry-hump the bride-to-be on the dance floor. I also, luckily, saw the bride’s skirt hiked up around her waist and her lack of both underwear and public hair. To this day, I believe it was the closest I’ve ever been to another woman’s vagina.

2. What a Long Strange Trip... to Lawrence, Kansas. Wakarusa '08. It was quite a time, and it inspired this description of a fellow concert goer we encountered:

My favorite person I saw the whole weekend was a middle-aged dude in acid-washed jeans, a tye-dyed Chiefs t-shirt, and a fat mustache that made me ask, “Developmentally delayed, or just on meth?” No joke, this guy danced like a four-year-old girl in a field of puppies and unicorns. It was so great.

3. I Had A Dream Ed Best showing off his large tomatoes to Obama? Priceless. Plus, it includes a rant about John McCain after the RNC. Very nice.

DID YOU KNOW HE WAS A POW? OMG pee myself while waving an American flag with an eagle perched on my shoulder, talons ready to tear through an “Islamofascist” as I draw a cross in the dirt outside my house that I built MAH-SELF with my own god-willing sweat and tears.

4. Leaves of Three: Suck on These If there is a god, why did he put poison ivy on this earth? Tell me. Why? Perfect description the moment I dread most:

I should have known when I was itchy all over that it was not chigger bites, or eczema, or fleas. I actually considered fleas when the obvious was staring me in the face. It came to me last night when I scratched my back and felt the sweet, sweet relief of getting right to the core of an itch: wait a minute…that feels like when you scratch…oh MOTHERFUCKER! Because at that point, I had been scratching my body for two days. Unrestrained, glorious, relief-inducing scratching.

5. Validation. She's gonna hate me for this one, I had to include a serious one. And this one makes me feel good about being a teacher. It's sure to warm the heart. One passage can't really do it justice, so you'll have to read it for yourself.

Hope you enjoyed.

Doggone It, People Like Me

2008-12-02T17:20:00.009-06:00

Al Franken may just pull this thing off! Can you believe it? Only in Minnesota. FiveThirtyEight.com's Nate Silver, who correctly predicted EVERYTHING, broke it down today:

The second piece of cheery news for Franken is that officials in Ramsey County have "discovered" a stack of 171 ballots that were never counted in the first place; those ballots returned a net of 37 votes for Franken. This is a very big deal; a net gain of 37 votes makes a huge amount of difference in a race that could easily be decided by a small, double-digit margin. If the 37-vote gain in added to the 50-vote margin that the Franken campaign estimated that it trailed by at the start of the day, that would put them just 13 votes behind with 8-9 percent of the state's votes still left to be counted.

Senator. Al. Franken. How's that sound when you say it out loud? Now picture Rush Limbaugh saying it. Oh, sweet justice. This could be the ultimate vindication for eight years of political frustration and anger. So, suck it Rush! I can't wait to listen to you bitch about this one.

Franken wrote two awesomely-titled books: Rush Limbaugh's a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations and Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Since the Right MUST pay attention to him now, I think I'll pick both of these puppies up at Left Bank Books this weekend.

Here's Franken doing what he does best--calling out liars:

Questions of the day: How long will this thing be held up in court if Franken pulls ahead after the recount? Coleman is a spiteful bastard. He'll file fifteen more lawsuits before he concedes. I hope those 187 ballots that magically appeared are legit. Could Republicans throw sand in the gears and hold this thing up for months?

Job Creation

2008-12-01T20:58:00.007-06:00

It's probably a bad idea since you are technically my competition, but I feel obligated to inform you of an excellent employment opportunity. If you have ever thought about pursuing a job with the government, it looks like you might finally get the chance. The Obama-Biden administration is accepting applications for "non-career positions - whether in the White House or in any Federal Department, Agency or Commission." I think I'm going to shoot for the Bureau of Arms Control. That sounds pretty badass. Pick your agency here and apply now!

Does anyone know if this is standard White House transition procedure?

The He-man Helping the Skeletor?

2008-11-28T12:48:00.003-06:00

I know this is from last week's SNL, but it's fucking hilarious, so I thought I'd share. If you've heard Arianna Huffington before, you'll probably laugh. Compare the performance with an interview on November 17th with Bill Maher on the Rachael Maddow Show after the jump. It's spot on. Michaela Watkins--so far, so good. The rest of the show was beyond mediocre. Go ahead and delete it off the Tivo.

The real Arianna Huffinton:

Harvey Milk, Hope, and Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T12:06:00.013-06:00

A while back KBO posted a trailer for the new Sean Penn movie "Milk," a biopic about San Francisco politician and activist Harvey Milk. Well, it's finally in theaters, and I'm reminding you to go and see it. Here's the trailer:

If all goes well, we'll be at the 8:30 or 9:45 show tonight at the Tivoli. I'll let you know what I thought of it in a few days.

If you want to get a grasp on the scope of the Harvey Milk tragedy, watch the NBC newscast from the night of the assassination. The most heartbreaking part is at 2:20 of the video when then president of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco, Dianne Feinstein, makes the shocking announcement that Mayor George Mascone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been assassinated. The reaction of the reporters in the room speaks for itself.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I'm going to be thinking about Harvey Milk and people like him who refuse to be silenced by hatred and bigotry. He was assassinated 30 years ago, just before Thanksgiving on November 27th, 1978. Here is a man with courage. He was the country's first openly gay elected official. Here we are THIRTY YEARS LATER and we're still passing blatantly anti-gay and discriminatory legislation. Imagine what it was like back then? I mean, a man who assassinated two elected officials was let off with a voluntary manslaughter charge! Are you fucking serious? The Twinkie defense? More like the homophobia defense. It takes balls to lead a movement with such irrational and hateful opposition. And even though he knew people wanted him dead, he kept fighting. Here are his last words. He recorded them to be played in the event of his assassination.

Harvey Milk was a great man. He was a pioneer of a new civil rights movement. Though we have made great strides that Milk would be proud of, we still have a long and difficult journey ahead of us. It's time to stand up and fight. I hope this story inspires a new generation of LGBT leaders with the fearless determination that it's going to take to change this country.

I don't think I could say it any better than the man himself though:

"Somewhere in Des Moines or San Antonio there is a young gay person who all the sudden realizes that he or she is gay; knows that if their parents find out they will be tossed out of the house, their classmates will taunt the child, and the Anita Bryant's and John Briggs' are doing their part on TV. And that child has several options: staying in the closet, and suicide. And then one day that child might open the paper that says "Homosexual elected in San Francisco" and there are two new options: the option is to go to California, or stay in San Antonio and fight. Two days after I was elected I got a phone call and the voice was quite young. It was from Altoona, Pennsylvania. And the person said "Thanks". And you've got to elect gay people, so that thousand upon thousands like that child know that there is hope for a better world; there is hope for a better tomorrow. Without hope, not only gays, but those who are blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us's: without hope the us's give up. I know that you can't live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you, and you have got to give them hope."
-Harvey Milk, 1978, shortly before his assassination.

Morning Peace of Mind: I Don't Know How You Did It...But I'm Glad You Did!

2008-11-26T11:07:00.006-06:00

There are some rumors going around the Internets via the New York Post that Ann Coulter may have been effectively silenced for a while. Apparently, she broke her jaw. While I would never wish physical harm to anyone, if this is going to stop Coulter from spreading her hatred around, I'll chalk this one up to karma and say a little thank you prayer tomorrow. Not because she got hurt, but because people won't have to hear her voice for a few months. Think of collective sigh of relief on January 21st when the country is free from the voices of George W. Bush and Ann Coulter. The moment may be fleeting, but that doesn't make it any less wonderful. I guess dreams do come true for those who wait.

Hey, remember when Coulter reacted to war protests in Canada by saying they should be thankful we don't "roll over one night and crush them one night." Watch her squirm as she mistakenly claims that Canada sent troops to Vietnam. Awesome!

Naomi Klein: Pick of Summers and Geithner, "A Profound Disappointment"

2008-11-26T02:00:00.004-06:00

This is no secret to KBO, but I have a bit of an intellectual crush on Naomi Klein. I love everything she writes. Seriously. There were times reading The Shock Doctrine when I got so worked up, my hands started to shake. I found myself screaming obscenities at the bathroom walls and ripping pages as I furiously underlined the shit that blew my mind. MK-Ultra? What? Fuck no! I finally had to take a break from the book for my family's sake.

Anyway, Klein was on Democracy Now! yesterday talking to Amy Goodman. If I got to choose any two political minds to have dinner with, it would Amy Goodman and Naomi Klein. Hands down, two
of the smartest progressive voices in politics today. Klein does not like Larry Summers or Timothy Geithner...but mainly Summers. People forget that Clinton drank the free market/deregulation kool aid all through the 90s. Klein wants me to remind you that free market ideology has been guiding the economic policy of this country for well over 25 years. Yes, that's THROUGH the WJ Clinton administration. Like global warming to Republicans, this is a dirty and inconvenient truth a Democrat can never admit. Klein contends that right now, we are paying for "the intellectual dishonesty of the progressive liberals during the Bush years." Part of the reason these appointments have been widely seen as acceptable is that we "have not been honest about the legacy of the Clinton years."

Ouch. Nothing like Democracy Now! to kick you in the nuts with a little perspective. (If you ever want a sobering and honest take on any item in the news, go straight to DN!, but please, mentally prepare yourself). Klein goes on to conclude that Summers (former Treasury Secretary under Clinton) is not only a follower, but "a propagator of the very ideology that Obama ran his campaign against...He's been preaching the doctrine...he's a dyed-in-the-wool privatizer, free trader. And he along with Tim Geithner, his deputy, play[ed] key roles during the economic crises." This gives me heartburn.

It's important to understand that, in the past, when someone on the left like Obama had a "centrist economic policy," it meant that they accepted Milton Friedman's economic philosophy as "simple economics." You've probably had friends with an MBA chastise you about not understanding these simple principles. They can't comprehend anything outside of the free market realm. It's insanely frustrating. Ever since Friedman got hold of the Chicago School of economics and the hijacked the entire of the field of economics, we've been on a crash course towards this very moment. Well, the shit finally hit the fan. It turns out they were all wrong. When Alan Greenspan, the perennial god of the market admits that he had a "flaw in his ideology," you know it's over. The system collapsed and so should the theory.

This is why there is no need to panic. First, Barack Obama is our president now. He is in charge, and I don't see him just going along with an idea without getting several dissenting opinions. He is not an ideologue. He has repeatedly insisted that he wants the best solutions, no matter where they come from. One of the many reasons I voted for Obama was his his ability to view a problem in a comprehensive and reasonable way. I trust that he can analyze this crisis, sift through the many alternatives, and choose the plan that makes the most sense for the country. We can't ask for much more.

Second, in September, EVERYTHING changed. All assumptions now have to be reexamined. As DN's second guest Robert Kuttner reminds us, it is not politically viable to follow any of the ideas of Milton Friedman or the 90s version of Larry Summer. Obama ran his campaign on the promise of deregulation. If he wants any shot at being reelected, he'll follow through.

In the end, Obama chose to go with people who know and understand the steps that got us into this mess. Yes, they know and understand what got us into this mess because they helped create it, but you're not going to find a whole lot of qualified candidates out there who can claim otherwise. What matters most right now is that we have faith in the leadership skills and intellect of our newly elected government. It's never wrong to dissent, but in that dissension (especially if you voted for Obama), we have to avoid being bogged down by pessimism.
__________________________________________________________________

Keith Olbermann does a great job summarizing the Shock Doctrine theory as proposed by Naomi Klein. In the interview that follows, Klein gives several specific examples when this strategy has been used by free marketeers to plunder cities and countries. Watch it for your own good!

Morning Peace of Mind: Chinese Democracy? Not in My China!

2008-11-25T08:31:00.023-06:00

I don't know if you heard, but with the release of the not-so-anticipated 14 year project Chinese Democracy, Guns N' Roses is officially a cooperating faction in the American conspiracy to "grasp and control the world using democracy as a pawn." While I can certainly understand the paranoia coming out of China's state run newspaper after eight years of George W. Bush, I'm not sure if W is the type to conspire with the likes of Slash and Axl.

Chinese Foreign Minister spokesman Qin Gang took the attacks on GNR to a personal level by contending, "As far as I know, many people don't like this kind of music. It's too noisy and clamorous."

The album has been banned in China.

No word yet on whether Axl Rose plans to travel to China to throw a flying forearm at Mr. Gang for his comments.

Watch more Megavideo videos on AOL Video

Guns N' Roses riot at Riverport Amphitheater in St. Louis. Sorry about the quality of video. You can see Axl burst out of the crowd and run around like a mad man at :30. Then, the fire hoses come out. It's worth a look.

Big Props to Mayor Francis Slay

2008-11-24T17:27:00.017-06:00

Editor's Note: I've got a much longer, angrier post brewing in response to the passage of Prop 8. Stay tuned.

Yeah, I know. Missouri went to Old Man McCain. This is depressing for two reasons: 1. Missouri is no longer the ultimate bellwether state, and 2. Missouri went red, again, for the third election in a row. Shoot me. Thank god Obama won. Vancouver was seriously close to gaining a couple new citizens.

No need to get down though. St. Louis City went overwhelmingly blue (as expected), and we have a mayor who strongly supports the LGBT community in St. Louis and around the country. He's all about gay marriage, and that takes courage in these dark times.

KBO and I decided to support our brothers and sisters in Cali, Arkansas, and Arizona last Saturday at a Prop 8 protest at the Old Courthouse Downtown. While the results of these unconstitutional votes made me furious and depressed, I felt much better after walking up on the 1,400 St. Louisans who joined Mayor Slay, St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed, State Senator Joan Bray, Angry Black Bitch, and many other great speakers to speak out against state-sponsored discrimination.

It was unbearably cold outside, and the traffic made it hard to hear at times, but it was well worth it. The passionate intensity of the speakers reverberated throughout the crowd. Eyes filled with tears, signs and flags were held high, people booed and cheered and laughed, loved ones held each other tight, and people came together. Listening to the stories of normal LGBT people and the families they love really helps to put the issue into perspective. We're talking about law-abiding, tax-paying, real-life citizens who want nothing more than the simple rights afforded to their neighbors. Marriage, adoption, family health benefits--these are not ridiculous expectations. This is a civil rights movement. And we will not rest until all people are granted them.

So, I commend Mayor Slay along with every politician across the country who has the balls to stand up for what is right and just.

Enjoy the pictures. My camera died halfway through the rally, so these are mostly of the first half hour.

Morning Peace of Mind: Pink Sari Gang

2008-11-24T08:04:00.002-06:00

Driving down 270 today, I caught the tail end of a story on NPR that grabbed my attention. An impassioned female voice came over the speakers. Her words were translated from into English:

"A man will never have enough guts to raise a hand against me. I would just slap him back into place. If a woman really wants to, she can put a man in his place."

Whoa. I like her style. Instead of working this morning, I looked up the story on NPR.org and listened to the entire thing (don't worry, it's only seven minutes long).

I found out that the defiant words are those of vigilante bad ass and leader of India's gulabi (pink) gang, Sampat Pal Devi. As you can tell by the above quote, these ladies do not fuck around. Armed with pink Sarees, pink sticks, and a wealth of self-confidence, Sampat and her gang make it their business to bring the corrupt men of a very patriarchal society crying to their knees--literally. They're pissed about the conditions for women in their communities, and heads are going to roll because of it.

They serve the often oppressed women of India by, among other things, moderating land and business negotiations, shaming dirty politicians and corrupt officials by assaulting them with their pink cricket bats, speaking out against and even stopping arranged teenage marriages, and forcing police officers to follow up on crimes against women. Most have little to no education, but don't underestimate them--they're smart and fearless. And they roll deep. In one demonstration against a corrupt police outfit known to take bribes, several hundred members of the Pink Sari Gang surrounded the police station and beat and tied up the officers as they came out. Hell. Yes.

The Pink Sari Gang is a great example of the power of organization. Women in India, though they've made many strides socially and politically, are often exploited and seldom empowered. Instead of accepting the horrible conditions in the overcrowded towns and cities around India, Sampat Pal Devi and her peeps decided to do something about it.

The Pink Sari Gang should serve as a positive lesson for young girls all around the world. It's a lesson I hope to teach my yet-to-be-born daughter(s) one day:

You deserve respect, happiness, and the right to make your own choices; and if some old dude ever tries to tell you anything different, beat the shit out of him with a pink stick!

Photos courtesy of BBC News and World Prout Assembly.

New Republicans...Get to Work!

2008-11-23T01:45:00.000-06:00

Lee Stranahan over at HuffPo has an interesting pitch for the Republican party and the disciples of Ron Paul, and it got me thinking.

While I don't believe in many of Mr. Paul's ideas, his brand is much better for the nation as a whole than the seething madness we witnessed at the Republican National Convention this year. I'm tired of debating with crazies. You can't get anywhere in a conversation with these guys. A person consumed by an ideology can never step back and look at a decision objectively. It's never about what's best for the country or the world, because they believe that no matter how crazy something seems at the moment, the future will all work out because their God/Limbaugh/Friedman said it would.

As long as we have religious nuts like Palin, neocons like Bush, and war hawks like Rudy controlling half of our political discourse, this country is going to teeter on the brink of disaster. GET THEM OUT. Let's have a opposition party based on what's best for the COUNTRY AND THE WORLD, rather than what best fits a set of ideological principles. While I'll probably never vote for a Paul-like candidate, at least I could have a conversation with my Republican friends that was rooted in reason.

Okay, Paul wants to dissolve the federal government as we know it, he worships the small government gods, he doesn't really have much of an environmental plan, and on and on. Yes, I know these things.

So, maybe we should take this idea a step further. I propose a brand new, post-Rovian Republican party. Take those Ron Paul folks and give them a new type of candidate--one in Paul's mold, but a little less radical.

Ron Paul started with the idea that we need to end the War in Iraq, now. His appeal was rooted in a very liberal idea: peace. This new Republican candidate needs to seize on this and realize what Ron Paul did--the United States is a center-LEFT country.

I've been contending for years that a Republican with a true environmental policy would be embraced by many on the right. Social Justice doesn't necessarily have to be reserved for bleeding-heart liberals, either. Why can't a Republican believe in small government and care about poverty and equality? Why can't a Republican embrace family values and the constitutional truth that ALL people have the right to marry and pursue happiness, regardless of sexual orientation? Can't we lower taxes and promote ethical treatment of workers at the same time? Don't you think it's smarter to promote peace and hope, rather than bombs and fear? Maybe this new wave of Ron Paul Republicans would respond to a positive and honest campaign. You never know. This is a new age. Let's think outside of the box people. What do you have to lose?

The greatest lesson we can take from Ron Paul and Barack Obama is that there is a new nation of young voters out there craving a more responsible type of politics. While I would love to watch a slow, pathetic, bloody, and complete collapse of the Republican party, I fear that when the dust settles, we might be dealing with the 21st century version of Insoc. So let's get creative people.

I'm not a Republican, but I would like to see some major changes in our political system. This takes more than simply electing the right guy at the right time. The pendulum will inevitably swing back to the other side. It always does. I would just like that other side to be less crazy. That's all.

Meet the New White House Press Secretary

2008-11-22T20:49:00.000-06:00

It's official. Robert Gibbs is his name, and I like him! Watch him take Sean Hannity to school.

Hey crazies at Fox News, be very afraid. This guy does not fuck around.

This Woman is Crazy.

2008-11-20T20:52:00.000-06:00

Seriously. Insane. She has absolutely ZERO respect for animals and thinks nothing of it. The cameraman asked her if she wanted a turkey getting its head ripped off as the background, and she replied, "No worries."

Just imagine for a second if McCain won. How would you be feeling about the future of this country right now?

Misery...I Mean Missouri

2008-11-18T20:36:00.001-06:00

Editor's Note: If you voted for McCain, I must urge you to stop reading now. This post can do nothing but harm to your psychological well-being, and I don't really feel like reading your hateful comments.

It's November 18th, and the presidential vote in Missouri has yet to be called. Out of almost 3 million votes (2, 914, 866 to be exact), McCain leads by 4,393. That, my friends, is close.

This is my formal request to President-Elect Obama that he ask for a recount.

Here's why--I worked my ass off for Obama in St. Louis City all summer and fall. We knew we had a great chance before it was even considered a battleground state. I took the day off on election day and knocked on almost 400 doors. Thousands of volunteers sacrificed more than a small percentage of their free time to help close the gap in Missouri. A lot of field organizers I met worked 20 hour days for weeks without a day off. We DESERVE this recount.

I know it doesn't matter in the end, but I'd like people to think about this guy I met the last weekend of the campaign. He flew all the way from London the Friday before the election just to help get Obama elected. He spent hours upon hours knocking on doors and making phone calls with us until the polls closed on Tuesday.

The Obama people threw a huge watch party that night at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, and this guy bought a bottle of champagne to open when they called Missouri for Obama. I last saw him as we were leaving around 1 AM. The champagne had long since gone warm, but he vowed to stay true to his word and keep it corked until we heard the good news. I don't know if they let him take it on the plane back to London, but giving this guy's conviction, I'm sure he found a way.

I urge those who think a recount in Missouri is over the top or unnecessary to remember that guy from London and the rest of us here who dedicated everything we had to turn this red state blue.

So, here is the message I'm forwarding to Chicago:

Dear President-Elect Obama,

I know you have a lot on your table what with cabinet appointments, saving the country from financial collapse, tackling climate change, dealing with Joe Lieberman, ending the war, and everything else, but I guarantee you there are thousands of volunteers around Missouri willing to work a few more hours to get this thing done. We'll donate more money if that's what it takes. Hell, I'll count all three million votes personally. Just give us the thanks we deserve by asking for a recount. I'm sure it would take little more than a phone call.

Sincerely,

Some dude who worked his ass off to help get you elected.

President Elect Barack Obama

2008-11-05T00:52:00.000-06:00

Say that a few times. I still can't believe it. What a night! Remember it, because your grandchildren will one day ask you where you were when we turned this country around.

To my Republican friends. Watch his speech, abandon your anger for a moment, and think about the possibilities. You are an American. You can be proud. It's okay. If you give President Obama a chance, you can still be a part of this defining moment in history.

OBAMA WINS PENNSYLVANIA

2008-11-04T19:31:00.000-06:00

My day started at 6:45. I went to my Obama staging location. Drove around to a bunch of polling locations delivering things and getting phone numbers. At 9:30 I went out to bang on some doors. Did that until 1:00. Ate a sandwich. Went to bang on more doors. Did that until 5:00. My feet felt like they would fall off. Hung out at Iron Workers for a while. Went to my polling location to get vote count. 1400 out of 1600 voted at Mount Taber in the 23rd Ward. Hell yes! Now I'm watching the results come in.

McCain spent the last two weeks in Pennsylvania and they called it twenty minutes after the polls closed. IT'S GONNA HAPPEN!!! FUCK YES!

I'm heading up to the Royale, then Chase Park Plaza for the Obama (knock on wood) VICTORY PARTY! Prediction: Missouri is called for Obama at 9:28.

My Argument for Barack Obama

2008-11-04T02:00:00.000-06:00

***
I keep a journal. My journal writing, like my blogging, is sporadic at best. In both cases, I wish I could be more diligent. Reflection is an important part of growth. It helps you understand and learn from the mistakes you've made in the past. Everyone should keep a journal of some sort, and I kick myself every time I look at my journal and realize that it's been three months since I last wrote. The other day I took out one of my old journals and realized it had entries from 2000-2004 in it. I checked the entry for November 4th, 2000. It's funny reading through the journals and watching how my political awakening occurred.

I was 20 years old and more or less apolitical. As a teenager, Bill Clinton never really impressed me when I paid attention (it probably didn't help that my dad is a RAVING conservative). Gore just seemed an extension of the legacy. Bush seemed like an idiot AND an obvious extension of a legacy. I thought both men were power-hungry cowards.

So, I didn't vote. And I watched George W. Bush win. And I didn't care too much.

When I woke up on September 11th though, something changed in me. I began to realize the importance of our leaders. I began the realize the consequences of destructive ideology. With each speech that Bush gave, I became more unsettled. I couldn't believe the things coming out of his mouth. The threats and cries of blood-thirsty revenge. I watched as anger gripped the country. I didn't feel angry though. I just remember a feeling of dread and sadness. War was coming. People were going to die. The balance of the world would be shaken. Then, war. And another war. When they didn't find any WMDs in Iraq, I vowed to leave the world of the passive bystander and do something to stop these assholes ruining our country. Ever since, I've been a political junkie.

Bush's reelection was a dark time in my life, but in 2006, I began to feel a tinge of hope. Bush continued to do stupid things and systematically dismantle the constitution, but we had this group of potential presidential candidates. And I liked them. When Obama announced he was running, I was excited (I remembered his speech at the convention and had looked up his speech in '02), but I didn't think he had a chance. I thought he had a better chance putting another 8 years in the Senate before making his run. Then, Iowa. That speech made me feel something I had never felt before, pride in my country (yeah, I said it).

Republicans want to pretend that we have some sort of obsession with Obama. It's nothing of the sort. He is a good speaker, but it's much more than that. It's his vision of America. He sees an America of optimism and promise. He sees an America where fear is countered with reason, not stoked by anger. He sees an America that embraces all cultures and faiths, not one that scapegoats and marginalizes those who look or sound different. He sees an America where there is hope for the future, trust in the goodness of ones neighbors, and sacrifice for the greater good. He sees an America where we celebrate compassion, not selfishness. This is an America of peace and prosperity and one I can't wait to see realized.

Here are my 7 reasons you should vote for Barack Obama:

His plan for the economy. Many conservatives would like for you to believe that this economic crisis was inevitable. That the stars were just aligned against Bush. This is typical. The republicans haven't taken credit for any of the disasterous crises created by their dangerous, irresponsible, and blind faith in a tired and broken ideology (see Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, the housing crisis, the banking system collapse). The truth is that we are seeing the failure of ALL tenants the neoconservative ideological platform. I'm sorry Mr. Reagan, but trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK. Greed does not trickle down. Executives pocket those tax cuts while lowering wages, stripping benefits, cutting jobs and shipping them overseas, and plundering the earth.

Barack Obama's plan eliminates Bush's tax cuts for corporations and restores them to the SAME LEVEL THEY WERE IN THE 1990s. He's going to give a TAX CUT to ALL people who make under $200,000 annually and most people who make under $250,000 (those who will not receive the cut will remain at their current tax level). McCain likes to argue that 23 million small businesses would have to pay more in taxes, but Factcheck.org debunked that claim long ago: "McCain has repeatedly claimed that Obama would raise tax rate s f or 23 million small-business owners. It's a false and preposterously inflated figure."

READ MORE ABOUT THE ECONOMY

2. Barack Obama's Plan to End War in Iraq and His Proven Foreign Policy Judgment. Barack Obama was absolutely right about the invasion of Iraq. From the beginning. If you have any doubts about Obama's even-handed and pragmatic grasp of complex foreign policy issues, READ HIS 2002 SPEECH AGAINST THE INVASION OF IRAQ! Don't vote McCain until you read this. He gave this speech October 2, 2002 in Chicago. Here is the best part, and the first indication that Barack Obama had the potential to be our next great leader:
Obama giving '02 Speech
"I don’t oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income — to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

READ MORE OF SPEECH MORE ABOUT IRAQ
The Principles of his Foreign Policy Vision. Two words: direct diplomacy. It works. Unilateralism, isolationism, and threatening rhetoric has failed President Bush every step of the way. The more extreme your threats, the more credibility you lend to the extremists on the other side. President Bush was the best thing to happen to Al Qaida and Osama Bin Laden. His response to the war played right into their hands. Their stated goal is to bankrupt the United States by provoking unsustainable and endless wars. Today, we're spending $10 billion in Iraq EVERY WEEK and our economy is in serious decline. This is not a policy we want to continue. Yet, McCain is as much of a warhawk as Bush. Just listen to him talk about Russia, China, or Iran. His foreign policy platform is no different from that of George W. Bush. Take a look at it. Why do you think he won the endorsements of Dick Cheney and Al-Qaeda? Does this make anyone else nervous as hell? Anyone?

Obama will restore our credibility in the world by creating a more responsible foreign policy agenda. Along with direct diplomacy with friends and enemies alike, he will expand our diplomatic (not military) presence around the world, strengthen NATO, and seek out new partnerships in Asia. I know the far right has many people scared of direct diplomacy, but every president (including W lately) has sat down and had direct talks with the leaders of foreign threats. Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt. It's not a new concept. It's what responsible presidents have always done.

READ MORE ABOUT FOREIGN POLICY VISION
He has the Ability to Motivate and Mobilize People at a Grassroots Level. Think about it. If Barack Obama can motivate and organize millions upon millions of people to sacrifice their time and money for his campaign, just think of what he can do for the country. I love his emphasis on encouraging young people to serve the country in other ways besides killing people and dying. Why don't we have more programs like Teach for America, Peace Corps, and AmeriCorps that reward service to country by forgiving student loans or paying for post-graduate degrees? Why not offer young people, eager to give back, the opportunity to serve their community? I'm telling you, this could have a tremendous impact on eliminating the overwhelming and disheartening apathy of young people across the country, while doing amazing things for impoverished communities.

There's only one candidate talking about this type of service. That's Barack Obama.
Refreshing Answers in Education. As an educator, No Child Left Behind is the absolute bane of my existence. It is has undermined the true goals of education by forcing teachers to analyze meaningless data and waste time teaching to unfair and biased tests. It has also created funding gaps for schools not seen since the segregation era. Barack Obama has promised to reform NCLB in two major ways. He's going to improve the assessments used to measure success, and reform the accountability system so that we are "supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them." He is also going to fully fund the program--something Bush never did. These improvements will not fix the system, but they're a step in the right direction.

The next thing I really like about his education platform is it's emphasis on early childhood education. I taught lower-level readers for five years. These were kids that read at levels as low as the 2nd grade--in 9th grade. There are two main reasons for kids who fall through the cracks in the system without learning to read properly, and both have addressed been addressed by the Obama campaign. First, access to early childhood education. Most of these students were from lower income areas without access to Pre-K programs. They start behind, and never catch up. Second, many of these kids were never read to as kids. Obama has made an emphasis on parenting a major part of his education platform regularly suggesting that they, "turn off the TV-set. Put the video game away. Buy a little desk. Or put that child at the kitchen table. Watch them do their homework. If they don’t know how to do it, give ‘em help." These are both common sense ideas that could bring about major changes in education (and make my life easier).
The Environmental Revolution. The minute McCain and Palin started inciting crowds to chant "Drill, baby, Drill," he discredited manyof his environmental promises. While he's a DRAMATIC improvement on Bush, he's still in the pockets of the same industries trying to get in the way of the dramatic changes we need to reverse global warming trends. Obama's plan, titled "New Energy for America" is ambitious, responsible, and comprehensive.

If Obama is elected, I predict that this document will become one of the most important in the modern history of the United States. So read it now. If not for yourself, so you can tell your children you were a part of something important. We're talking about energy independence. We're talking about five million new jobs. We're talking about one million cars that get 150 mpg. We're talking about changing the gluttonous American paradigm. This is huge.

I know that sounds scary to those of you who cling to the status quo like it's the steering wheel of your Hummer as you cut off a poor teacher in a station wagon, but just once, think with your brain instead of your penis as you read this thing. Please. Then compare Obama's ideas to the simplistic solutions of McCain (drill, drill, drill or nukes, nukes, nukes). If nothing else, you have to admit that Obama and his people have put a little more thought into this than McCain and friends. If that isn't a reflection of who is better prepared to lead right now, I don't know what is. If that isn't a reflection of a candidate with substance, I don't know what is. Don't listen to the bullshit anymore people.

READ MORE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVOLUTION
He Understands the Complexities of Race Relations. I know many readers of this blog don't care about this issue, but it is important. Barack Obama has a unique background that allows him to understand all sides of the extremely sensitive and volatile race relations in this country. If we can start now, to work towards his vision for "A More Perfect Union," we could finally move towards truly achieving the dream Martin Luther King Jr. had many years ago. He gave this speech on March 18th amid the media's obsession with Reverend Wright. It took courage to give this speech. It's the most honest assessment of race in this country by a politician I've ever heard. Here is my favorite part of the speech:
"That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election."

***Barack Obama as "A More Perfect Union", ink on Bristol, John Sokol, 2008

Scarier than ACORN?

2008-11-01T18:42:00.001-05:00

No way, right!?!

The McCain camp wants you to be scared of ACORN. Maybe you are. Let my tell you why you shouldn't be. ACORN is a group that dedicates itself to protecting the rights of poor people. They run multiple campaigns to help families in low to moderate income areas. According to their website:

"ACORN members across the country work to raise the minimum wage or enact living wage policies; eliminate predatory financial practices by mortgage lenders, payday lenders, and tax preparation companies; win the development of affordable housing and community benefits agreements; improve the quality of and funding for urban public schools; rebuild New Orleans; and pass a federal and state ACORN Working Families Agenda, including paid sick leave for all full time workers."

Terrifying, I know.

They don't make a lot of money, but they do a lot of good. They should be applauded, not demonized. Every presidential candidate should work with them to help rebuild out country into a healthy, participatory democracy.

The far right wingnuts are up in arms because some of the people they hired this year, instead of doing their job and actually registering voters, wrote in fake names to make some easy money. The percentage of ACORN employees who do this is minuscule, and according to Factcheck.org, "no evidence has yet surfaced to show that the ACORN employees who submitted fraudulent registration forms intended to pave the way for illegal voting." They are not destroying the fabric of our democracy.

These guys could though.

Diebold (now Premier Election Solutions) are the guys who won Ohio for Bush last time. They make voting machines. They donate to Republicans. And they have the power to rig elections. Huffington Post's Michael Carmichael wrote an eye-opening article called, "Arc of Darkness" that you should all take a look at. It takes a comprehensive peek at the lengths desperate Republicans are willing to go to in order to win an election.

Here's a Democracy Now interview of Mark Crispen about Diebold and 2004. You should watch if you still aren't convinced:

___________________________________________________________________

A lot of commenters on Carmichael's article made calls for revolution if the GOP steals this one.

Dear these people,

Be careful with the revolution talk. Violence only breeds more violence. It does nothing be lend credibility to the extremists on the other side (see Bush's response to 9/11 and the spreading of Al Qaida).

I hate to even consider this, but how terrifying would it be if the election was stolen again and there was a violent reaction? This is exactly how it would go down.

McCain declared winner despite overwhelming inconsistencies. People (whites and blacks alike) go nuts, hit the streets in record numbers to protest. Violence breaks out in a few areas. Mainstreammedia media shows image after image of these few instances. Limbaugh and friends rally the racists and stoke the flames of fear, making it look like the public wants the government to "restore order." President Bush finds some loophole to bypass Congress and declare Martial Law. Troops and tanks hit the streets. Funerals for American democracy held throughout the country. I move to Canada.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little, but I couldn't resist a scary story for Halloween. And though this scenario is unlikely (see state-by-state polls), it IS possible.

If you are not insane, and you want to prevent even the remote possibility of this nightmare, I have the following recommendations:

VOTE. The only way to make sure this doesn't happen is if it's a landslide. EVERY vote in EVERY state is important. I don't care if you live in Illinois and Obama's up 30.
VOTE WITH A PAPER BALLOT!!! It takes a little longer, but at least you don't have to rely on software that could easily manipulated.
VOTE. Obama will win Missouri if there is a large turnout in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Sincerely,

A guy who's concerned about people who talk about revolution and shit like that.

Whoa!

2008-10-15T22:06:00.000-05:00

As of 10:07, it seems that even Foxnews readers thought Obama won the debate. How about that? More reasons why to vote for Obama to come soon.

Ignorance is Strength

2008-09-16T17:46:00.001-05:00

Note: This post was inspired by the article "McCain says Obama is 'making up facts'" over at Politico.

Wow...it's amazing how conservative robots will adopt the mantra spewed by their radio prophets and pathetic candidates. The irony in everything these people say and is almost beyond belief. And I'm getting tired of it.

They have to be doing it on purpose. Come on. They have to. McCain accuses Obama of distracting the public from the economy when the economy is Obama's strength right now. Are you serious??? McCain accuses Obama of mudslinging when he flat out lies about Palin's bridge to nowhere and flat out lies about Obama's plan to educate kindergartners about dealing with sexual predators. Really??? McCain says he's the agent of change but his entire economic platform is based on the same disasterous neoconservative free market deregulation policies as George W. Bush, and the same strong handed simple minded fear fear fear cowboy foreign policy as George W. Bush.

This is doublespeak. Plain and simple. War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.

The Republicans have been using fear to get elected as long as I've been alive. They tell us to be afraid of the evil that's out there. But, what about the evil right in front of our faces. Wake up people. We are the oppressors. We invaded a country unprovoked and justified it with lies. We destroyed an entire nation. We are responsible for the deaths of over a million innocent people and thousands of young American soldiers. Iraq will never be the same. Despite the rosy picture created by the failures at foxcnnnbc, it is NOT a better place than it was. Just ask an Iraqi still living there. We are the oppressors.

I say we, but I really mean our neoconservative government. And with the Palin pick, McCain showed that, just like George W. Bush, he is enslaved to the radicals in the far right (he's gotta think about reelection, right). Bush's team has been prepping Sarah "the Barracuda" on foreign policy since her appointment. Did you watch the interview? Miss I'm-qualified-because-of-my-approximation-to-Russia didn't think twice about using force against Russia if it came down to it. Have we learned nothing about using threats and bombs to solve our problems?

If another puppet in the pockets of the neocon think tanks is elected, there will be a war in Iran. Now, that's scary. Palin may have even hinted at the new PNAC strategy to "rebuild America's defenses" (aka fight "theater wars" to prepare for a "large-scale war" while fattening the pockets of your future employers along the way). Since lying our way into war is somewhat unpopular these days, they'll just fight wars in the name of defending our allies. Everyone knows Israel is chomping at the bit to drop bombs on Iran. We'll secretly advise them to let 'em fly and simply "support our allies" by following right behind them. Former Soviet territories are itching to join NATO to protect themselves from Russia. McCain is elected and continues Bush's Russia taunting be making this happen. Russia reacts by invading Georgia again. Just like that, the neocons will, at long last, have their "large-scale war." Horray! It's all in that PNAC document I linked to. That vicious thing explains most of the seemingly idiodic decisions of the Bush/Cheney administration. And it terrifies me to the core.

Let me make this clear...McCain has the same foreign policy as Bush. He's in the pockets of the same guys. He drank the same Kool-aid. He'll make the same threats. He'll start the same wars.

Get used to the doublespeak from his team. War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.

Read some Orwell...and if McCain is elected, watch in horror as this country becomes Oceania.

Conspiracy Theory?

2008-08-29T19:51:00.000-05:00

Interesting stuff...AP and Yahoo News both made the article about Joseph Dwyer (see prior post) disappear. I'm not sure how long articles usually last in the AP archives, but it's been a little over a month. Hmmm.

I'm sure PTSD is a drag for the Army's marketing department. It's probably best for our national security if this whole "disorder" and the so-called "veterans" suffering from it just go away.

I 'm just saying.

Here's an updated link (let's see how long it takes this one to disappear).

Pay your Debts

2008-07-20T16:18:00.001-05:00

Since I haven't posted in over a year, I don't expect many people to read this. So, I guess this is more for my own mental stability than anything. This story was so tragic, I broke down into tears before finishing.

On June 28th, Former Army Private First Class Joseph Dwyer died of an accidental overdose after an excruciating battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. You may remember him from a picture taken days after United States forces invaded Iraq in 2003. AP writers Allen Breed and Kevin Maurer describe the photo and Pfc. Dwyer's story in this heartbreaking article published today:

As the sun rose along the Euphrates River on March 25, 2003, Army Times photographer Warren Zinn watched as a man ran toward the soldiers carrying a white flag and his injured 4-year-old son. Zinn clicked away as Dwyer darted out to meet the man, then returned, cradling the boy in his arms. "

The photo was published all across the United States and Dwyer was celebrated as a hero. But just like may other heroes coming home from Iraq, Dwyer's battle continued for five more years. I encourage you to read every word of the story before even finishing this post. We owe brave men like Joseph Dwyer that much. Every American should be required to understand the true and complete destruction of the Iraq War.

___________________________________________________________________

This mindless, catastrophic, unjust, and disgusting war is going to continue to claim lives long after the future President Obama brings it to an end twenty months from now. We must...let me repeat that...WE MUST learn from the horrible regime of George Bush and Dick Cheney. We cannot allow this to ever happen again. Ever. America's amnesia is unacceptable. We owe it to Joseph Dwyer. We owe it to every single casualty of this war. We owe it to all of the soldiers fighting while we sleep in our air conditioned homes at night. We owe it to the soldiers at home waiting to be sent back. We owe it to the millions of veterans suffering from the physical and emotional damage irresponsibly inflicted upon them. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to make sure this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN.

We have to learn from this mistake. Read each story about a veteran struggling to adjust to civilian life. Read about the heroes who have lost their lives and those still serving. Read about the mistakes that brought us to this point and think about it for a while. Then act. Speak out. Call you Senator and Congressman. Sign Petitions. Participate in protests. Vote in November.

With all of the focus lately on the economy and people complaining about filling up their wasteful SUVs with $4 a gallon gas, the war and those devastated by it has shoved to page 2. The everyday American has not paid his and her debt to the world for voting George W. Bush and Dick Cheney into office so they could commit this crime. We all must pay this debt. Go out and get started. We have a war to end and an election to win.

Globo Warming

2007-06-27T18:28:00.000-05:00

I’m so sick of ignorant and pathetic assholes (like this guy with Focus on the Family) spreading blatantly false and irrational arguments about the so-called "debate" on global warming. It’s time for people to wake up. The ballots are in. You lost. There is not, nor was there ever a debate. If you still are hanging onto the Right’s irresponsible and fabricated view of global warming, please read this. The article (and it was written in 2004...I can’t believe we’re still talking about this) follows one of the first reports by the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPC) about climate change consensus.

"In its most recent assessment, IPCC states unequivocally that the consensus of scientific opinion is that Earth's climate is being affected by human activities: "Human activities ... are modifying the concentration of atmospheric constituents ... that absorb or scatter radiant energy. ... [M]ost of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations" [p. 21 in (4)].”

For those of you who think that the IPC, Science Magazine, and every other scientist ever mentioned by a crazy liberal is on crack, they surveyed 928 papers on “climate change” with the following results:

"The 928 papers were divided into six categories: explicit endorsement of the consensus position, evaluation of impacts, mitigation proposals, methods, paleoclimate analysis, and rejection of the consensus position. Of all the papers, 75% fell into the first three categories, either explicitly or implicitly accepting the consensus view; 25% dealt with methods or paleoclimate, taking no position on current anthropogenic climate change. Remarkably, none of the papers disagreed with the consensus position."

But, because my dad sent me an email with a link to that dumbass above’s home video about how global warming is a hoax with the message, “It would be great if you could answer these 5 questions,” I’m going to go ahead and try to answer the five questions.

1. The question was something about renting a condo in Siberia...I’m not sure what the hell he’s talking about there, but the claim was that since the North Pole has melted before, there’s no problem if it melts again.

This is probably the most ridiculous argument I’ve heard from anyone. You know what? We dropped an atomic bomb on a country before, why not do it again??? Well the problem is that MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL DIE!!!!!!! If Greenland alone melted (a glacier much smaller than the North Pole) as has been predicted in the next fifty years, (don’t forget to look at the map of Florida), Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and the entire Florida Coastal line would be eliminated. Think about how many would die or be displaced. And that’s in one state, in one country. Now, multiply that by every coastal city in the world. We’re talking about New Orleans times a million. But, go ahead and just write the science off as doom and gloom hogwash. Listen to this dude so you can buy hummer, crank your AC down to 60, and vote for a Republican. Ice caps melt all the time...no big deal.

2. Global temperature has always gone up and down, why should we assume that the temperature in 1900 was normal? Why should we assume that the era in which we live is the optimal temperature for the planet to thrive?

Yes, global temperature has always gone up and down, but what about when it just goes up? We have witnessed unprecedented rises in temperature in the past one hundred years. This dude’s home video is even willing to admit that. One of the main sources of concern is that this change in temperature directly coincides with the rise and fall of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We are using alarmingly more amounts of CO2 every year and it’s not difficult to predict that the temperature will rise along with it. Here are a few graphs that highlight the increase in both temperature and carbon dioxide.

As to the second question, I actually agree with him. The planet will definitely thrive as a result of temperature rises, but that will be because humans will be gone. After all, “humans are responsible for the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs.” The world thrived without the dinosaurs, it will definitely thrive without us.

3. What are the odds that NBC will ever an unbiased report on global warming?

The problem with the so-called unbiased reporting going on with global warming is that there is no sound scientific other side. As they put it in the previously mentioned Science Magazine article and backed up by the analysis of 928 peer reviewed scientific journal articles, “politicians, economists, journalists, and others may have the impression of confusion, disagreement, or discord among climate scientists, but that impression is incorrect.” But, once again, the administration, most of the Republican Party, and big corporations (the oil and coal companies in particular) are not satisfied just having the news (or scientific consensus) reported. They have to create their own news. News that fits suits their bottom line and gets them rich. And they do this by paying their own think tanks to create the idea that there is a debate when there is no debate (or by hiring former Exxon executives to run the EPA).

4. Weathermen can’t even predict when it’s going to rain, how can we possibly predict the global climate 50-100 years in the future?

The climate and a weather forecast are two different things. This is simple faulty logic. It’s like saying that there is no way the Cardinals are going to win a World Series because the Blues can never get it done in the playoffs. When this is one of your five big questions about global warming, you just haven’t done your homework. With that said, we rely on predictions from scientists to evacuate cities during all natural disasters. These people save hundreds of thousands of lives. Even though they aren’t one hundred percent sure that a storm is coming, they’ll let us know when to get the hell out. Climatologists are now telling us that the storm is coming and we need to do something about it now. Sure, we could ignore them and call them alarmists like we did when Katrina was coming, but we all know how that turned out.

5. Why don’t advocates of the environment ride a bike and live in a tent?

It’s true that many politicians and advocates of drastic changes in our reliance on carbon rich fossil fuels contribute greatly to the problem. This is true of every American. It is also true that carbon offsets are not the answer to this problem (even though offsets go far to advance renewable energy programs, they’re really just a way for lazy people to deflect guilt and shitty companies to give the illusion of being more green). In most environmental circles it is well known that Al Gore is sugar-coating the situation because he is afraid people will give up when they realize how drastic the situation is. Most experts believe that small changes are not enough. We don’t have to go as far as living in tents but as a culture, we have to make some tremendous transformations in our personal and political lives if we are going to prevent the catastrophic tragedies that scientists are predicting could occur in less than fifty years.

Just buying an SUV that gets 25 MPG instead of 15 isn’t enough. We need to work on building communities that are more bike and pedestrian friendly, using public transportation, living closer to where we work, shopping locally, closing feedlots, conserving energy, replacing regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones, regulating carbon emissions in coal plants and eventually replacing all fossil fuels with renewable energy, and passing laws that drastically increase the minimum fuel economy in cars and that require big businesses to completely stop emitting carbon into the atmosphere. And that’s just a start. The most important thing that anyone can do is to simply pay attention. Stop believing the bullshit myths and open your eyes to the world you are leaving to your kids and grandkids. You fucked the world up enough people, start doing your part.

Links:

The most terrifying trend in all of this is not the drying up of lakes and scarcity of fresh water, it’s not even the rise in sea level and the catastrophic global diaspora that would follow; it is the changes that are projected in the ocean currents if the Arctic glaciers continue to melt. The last time the ocean currents dramatically shifted we headed into an ICE AGE. I don’t think anyone wants that. This article is straight from NASA (and it was written in 2004…once again, I can’t believe we’re still talking about this). Now that’s freaking scary.

For the first time EVER, there’s a hole in the ice at the North Pole large enough for ships to safely travel across the tip of the earth. Not good.

Big surprise, Bush and Cheney have lied to us the past six years about climate change. Also check out the people they gave jobs to and where those guys worked after they were done in the government. A revolving door of assholes revealed (actually anyone could have looked it up) by Tim Dickinson at Rolling Stone.

Irony and Infamy

2007-05-15T13:47:00.000-05:00

Irony

It's Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 and I'm sitting at home listening to The Doors’ "Five to One", watching a peaceful thunderstorm and enjoying the smell of the rain. No, it's not summer vacation yet—still seven days until freedom. And even though global warming has made snow in May a believable possibility, no snow day.

This morning, I was getting prepared for class (I have first hour off) when a coworker comes in and asks, “Where do you think the safest place in the building is?”

“Well, it depends on what you want to be safe from: a nuclear holocaust, a tornado, a gunman, or a principal?”

“Didn’t you check your email yet? Someone called in a bomb threat.”

Ten minutes later, our fearless leader announces that the school will be evacuated and that school is canceled. I’m not going to lie, my first reaction was to high-five the two teachers in the room with me. But as I walked into the hall and waited for the students to be unleashed, I got a horrible feeling in my stomach. I remembered that most school shootings I have read about were usually accompanied by a bomb threat at some point. I imagined a black-clad, semi-automatic-tech-9-wielding sniper opening up on the students as they poured out of the building. I don’t know what I would do if this happened, but my adrenaline was definitely pumping. I had all but convinced myself that I was going to grab a desk leg and charge straight at the shooter.

But, of course, nothing happened. Unless you count the fact that there were at least fifteen police officers (local county and state troopers) strategically placed around the small campus. The most disconcerting of these was the one leaning against his car on a hill a few hundred yards in the distance. He didn’t have a sniper rifle pointing at us, but he might as well have. There was a bad vibe in the air. I noticed a small ninth grader being comforted by an SSD teacher as she tearfully awaited her ride. This was not good a good situation.

All of the kids who lived to far to walk had to wait on the practice
football field for about an hour as the buses were rounded up. I decided to hang out with them so they didn’t feel this was an opportune time to punch someone in the face. It is spring after all. Then the helicopter came. We’re not talking about a news helicopter either. It was army green and circling around the building. I kept picturing the side door to slide open to reveal one of those manned machine guns with the smoking bullet shells flying everywhere, like in some old Vietnam movie. The buses eventually came, we were informed that the drug sniffing dogs found nothing and the building was more or less “cleared”, and
the teachers slowly and aimlessly disperse, uneasy but relieved.

And guess what I had planned in class today? After reading Lord of the Flies and watching Bowling for Columbine we were all set to debate violence in society and school shootings in particular via Socratic seminar. This irony was not lost on my students as several made a point to track me down as they fled the school and comment on the ominous coincidence. I wonder what this will do to my debate. Will they be scared? Angry? Upset? After watching the images from the Columbine shooting, were any of them terrified at what could have happened? If nothing else, I know they will be engrossed in tomorrow’s debate. We’re discussing things that directly impact them. The bomb threat may have helped them realize that they are not just bystanders in this world; they are a living part of it. If they can cut through the muddled haze of apathy and actually care about something, I feel I’ve done my job. We need more citizens out there that aren’t just here to enjoy the scenery.

Infamy

I was all set to write about all of the hope I see in the world. Then the LAPD decided to march through a park holding a peaceful protest firing rubber bullets and tear gas at unarmed men, women and children. I don’t know if those fuckers got the memo, but this is the United States. It is our constitutional right to hold public demonstrations. In my lifetime, I have never watched such a blatant example of inappropriate force. I don’t care how it was provoked. In this country, the police have no right to march towards a group of peaceful citizens firing weapons and swinging clubs.

There are no words to fully describe this incident. You just have to watch it. Here are two links to videos that show the brutal and unethical lengths this government will take to silence the opposition.

In this first one, a local FOX reporter and her cameraman are assaulted and thrown to the ground amid the chaos.

This second one is of a citizen journalist and his cameraman as they are pursued through the park and into the streets on the other side.

This is just an extension of the attitude of this current administration. No, Bush and his cronies didn’t get on the phone and call in this attack, but it fits right into the pattern of behavior we have come to expect out of them. In a country run by people who remorselessly lie to start wars, detain prisoners without charge, condone torture, unconstitutionally tap the phones of law-abiding citizens, blatantly distort science, and fire US attorneys who will not comply, it's no wonder that we have abuses of power that extend all the way down to our police forces. The administration sets some kind of example. The next logical step is to declare the entire country a police state. If you are planning to protest, demonstrate, or march peacefully for a cause that doesn’t fit in with Mr. Bush’s agenda, be sure to bring a gas mask and full body armor. Those rubber bullets leave a welt much larger than a paintball. Let's just hope it doesn't take anotherKent State Massacre to get the media and the public alike to wake up and hold the government accountable. __________________________________________________________________

Response to BRS

2007-04-27T19:15:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, politically, I am a pretty positive person. I truly and wholeheartedly believe that there is great hope for our country. Unfortunately, I am in complete disgust every time I turn on the TV and every time I listen to the leaders of this country speak. It's hard not to be cynical when the country is stuck in a two-party quagmire in which both sides are corrupted by special interests that care nothing for the well being of the country as a whole. Nothing ever gets acted upon because nobody demands it because everyone is too distracted by the media and disillusioned by the bland and corrupt choices they face every two years. It can and must be fixed, but people have to wake up to the harsh realities we have created by sitting on our hands for twenty years. There is hope…I’m just not sure how to go about saving the country just yet. I’ll get back with you when I figure it out. In the meantime, I’m going to call all the bullshit I see.

The link between bullying and capitalism lies in the very way we live our lives. The cut-throat, dog-eat-dog, take-no-prisoners, it's-either-him-or-me mentality has pervaded every aspect of life in the current social structure and it does way more to destroy than to help. Look at the way many "model" businesses are run. Because of their limited liability, their enormous size, and their enslavement to the bottom line, they are willing to destroy everything in their path--workers, wildlife, the environment...hell, we're at the edge of extinction ourselves. That is the model kids grow up following. They see their parents living their lives the way they do, they watch vapid and materialistic shows like "My Super Sweet Sixteen", and “Deal or No Deal”, and they are viciously and callously attacked every moment of their adolescence with ads that claim that their product represents freedom or integrity or courage. They are taught to care little for their fellow person. So they treat each other like garbage. Just like Cho was treated his entire life.

I agree that you have to hold every murderer accountable for his or her actions. They decided to pull the trigger. Without people willing to commit cold blooded and horrible acts of violence, we wouldn't need this discussion. But the fact remains that this is something that continues to happen. By calling him evil, we are taking the easy way out. There is no good or evil out there. We are all capable of both. He did a very evil thing. But we cannot deny that the way he was treated throughout his entire life had a direct role in the way he chose to end it. And yes, I am claiming that capitalism is to blame for horrible way people treat each other and the irresponsible and gaping gaps in our (physical and mental) health institutions—especially those that should provide for the poor and minorities. We practice a form of unbridled capitalism that trumps democracy, takes power from the people, and gives it to a small minority of rich white dudes. This feeling powerlessness pervades the entire population, all the way down to the students I teach (talk to a young black high school student for a couple hours and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about). I think there is room for a strictly regulated form of capitalism, but the minute the wealthy become more powerful than the elected, democracy has been rendered helpless.

Finally, the utopia I refer to is one that existed before our collective memories. One that has become extinct because it did not believe in global dominance. One that never truly made it into our history books. People used to live in harmony with the earth rather than at war with it. Ishmael called them The Leavers. We may never be able to live that way again, but with more emphasis on people and less on things, we can take a major step in that direction.

We are the Ass-Whores of Capitalism

2007-04-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

For the inexcusably uninformed, the drugged up and detached, the oblivious and transient, and the reclusive and withdrawn, I have some disturbing shit to break to you. Another confused and tormented young person decided to take out his frustration/anger/fear/pain/sadness on many of his fellow young people. Then he turned the 9mm Glock 19 handgun on himself. He left a “manifesto”. The manifesto was sent to NBC. NBC released the manifesto and proceeded to play it over and over and over again. All media outlets followed in like manner. It revealed the disturbing mind behind the shootings and instantaneously sold a hundred thousand alarm systems, over five hundred thousand handguns, a million cans of mace, ten thousand SUVs, and twenty-five gas masks. I can’t back that up, but I will not deny the utter terror I felt watching it. It is permanently branded in my long term memory. I know it. I’m doomed to flashback to the sound of his voice when I’m eighty-five living in a post-apocalyptic fallout shelter. Fuck.

There have been three questions troubling me about this so-called manifesto, the second of which reveals much about the nature of this tragedy, the third of which reveals even more about the underbelly of our prosperity.

Why did I watch it?

That I have always known the answer to this question does not make it any less disconcerting. The truth is that I have an intense fascination with death. Combine that with an insanely obsessive personality, and you’re in my brain. The three people I have studied the most in my life (in order of initial obsession): Jim Morrison (died in a bathtub of heart failure after years of heavy drug use), Hunter S. Thompson (died of self-inflicted gun shot wound after decades of heavy drug use), and Elliott Smith (died of self-inflicted stab wounds to the chest). Six Feet Under is one of my favorite TV shows. I love eulogies. I wrote one for my grandfather. I feel most at one with the world during a funeral. I married the granddaughter of a funeral director. How fucked up is that? I’m sure everyone has a different reason for watching that video. I wouldn’t doubt if the majority of the people who have seen it stumbled upon it accidentally. When they show clips of it TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY, it’s hard to avoid—even if you don’t have cable…which brings us to my next question.

Why did NBC release “selected pieces” of the “multimedia manifesto”?

First of all, Cho Seung-Hui is not Karl Marx so don’t call his rambling (but tragically successful) attempt at infamy a freaking manifesto. Please—he did not change the world on Monday. He did something horrifying and unthinkable, but he is nothing more than a tormented individual with easy access to a destructive and unnecessary weapon of mass destruction (sold legally). He did not write one of the most influential pieces of political theory in the history of literature. He pulled the trigger of a semiautomatic pistol many, many times and played God for two hours to satisfy his psychotic delusions of grandeur and his primal desire for revenge after a lifetime of embarrassment, torture, and self-loathing. The simple fact that NBC called it a “manifesto” reveals the true irony of the entire twisted series of events that began early morning and continues at this very moment.

A manifesto implies overtones of political and social importance. The only thing political about what Seung-Hui sent NBC was the decision by NBC to immediately put it on the air. And why did they do it? Money. Why else? In this twisted dystopia we were handed by our parents, money trumps everything. Money is more important than people, it’s more important than the planet we live on, it’s more important than God. We are talking about paper with pictures of dead white dudes on it. Think about that for a second.

They glorified the killer. They gave him his fame. That’s what sensationalist journalism has come to. Glorifying a mass murderer for profit. Let’s not confuse it with anything else. They showed it because they knew people would watch. I’m sure the TV movie is right around the corner. It’s the same reason they committed to twenty-four hour coverage of Anna Nicole Smith’s death and the diaper-wearing astronaut, and conveniently forgot that the IPCC had just published a historic and definitive scientific report that cast humanity as the major cause of global warming trends. Only this time hundreds of families were affected. And hundreds more have been put in danger as a direct result of their careless and greedy actions. In their blind ratings scramble, the corporate vultures in the media have provided self-absorbed and demented young people a pedestal upon which to prop their destructive and false sense of importance. Cho made reference to the Columbine killers as if they were his heroes. He clearly thought of their glorification as he meticulously prepared his plan. There have been numerous threats in schools across the country since the tape was released.

And we have not seen the last of it.

The worst part about it all will be the fallout surrounding teenagers in schools across the country. Despite the finger pointing in the media now raging, the youth of America will be the ultimate scapegoat. Every time something like this happens, the answer is to take more rights away from young people. Install metal detectors, build walls around our playgrounds complete with razor wire and watch towers, put up cameras in every hallway, hire armed guards, board up all of the windows, more structure, less freedom, more suspicion, less acceptance—let’s go ahead and make teenagers feel like criminals. That will make them less violent. Our jails do such a great job rehabilitating violent criminals; we should apply the same logic to teenagers. Shit, people have even suggested arming teachers. Are you kidding me? That’s your answer. More guns? In the wake of the NRA Convention in St. Louis, I’d ramble on about this country's irresponsibly lax gun laws, but I couldn’t say it any better than KBO did in this post.

Guns may be the most physically dangerous of products shoved into our ears, but you have to dig much deeper to find the root of the carnivorous weed of capitalism. So...

What don’t they want us to think about?

In our attempt to continue America’s economic dominance of the world, we have written a blank check to capitalism. A few blind and confused politicians have sold the collective soul of an entire nation. We have been hollowed out by a model of thinking that places all value on things and things alone. There is no value to the individual. There are no more values. Everything is extrinsic. Do whatever you can to get as much stuff as you can as fast as possible no matter who or what you have to destroy in the process. People are insects. We step on them everyday without second thought. How do we live with ourselves after trampling so many innocent people to get our things? Well, it’s easy when you have seven hundred channels of mindless distraction at your disposal.

We have become the ass-whores of capitalism. They have been penetrating our psyche for so long that we can’t feel it anymore. We have been fucked in so many psychological orifices that we are numb to all sensation. To make it worse, we are also junkies to their drug. We can’t stop. We need more. More violence. More death. More porn. More food. More drugs. More humiliation. More gluttony. More atrocity. They keep cramming it down our deadened throats as we stare blankly into the television set. The more we see, the more we want, until reality becomes so dulled that mass murder is the only real event that gets the dopamine flowing. The people who starve or freeze or get blown up each day as a result of our consumption seem so distant. So out of reach. So…artificial. And whenever we are reminded of them, and those blurry images begin to come into focus, we quickly change the channel.

We sold our souls to a system that by its very nature relies entirely upon greed to function. It is self destructive and uncontrollable. It relies upon the consumer to care more about money than people. This way of life erodes the inherent compassion that we once had as children.

Everyone is always quick to point out the undeniable role that bullying plays in almost every rampage. Politicians and administrators are quick to beef up security, add cameras, and train teachers in bullying prevention. But once again, no one is willing to look into the driving force behind almost every act of bullying.

So many people in all walks of life and at all ages have been identified as freaks, treated like outcasts, and then tossed aside like insignificant pieces of garbage. We sometimes unknowingly teach our kids that the only way to be “successful” is to exploit and belittle others for their own personal gain. (It’s not necessarily our fault either…for many of us [especially the generation of kids in high school now) it’s the way we've been raised--it's all we know.

And how is success valued in an extrinsic society? Growing up, it's grades, awards, letters, wearing the most expensive clothes, sitting at the “cool table”, etc…and once you get to the adult world, it’s who has the biggest house on the block, or the biggest SUV, or the highest paying job, or the most “successful” kids. Notice, this capitalistic definition leaves no room for integrity, courage (in the standing-up-for-what-you-truly-believe-in sense), kindness, generosity, selflessness, charity, or any of the other values that once epitomized humankind. All of the things that once were the true measure of success are now just catchy phrases exploited to sell the products that we buy to distract ourselves from the harsh realities of the unjust world we have created. Every day I witness good kids give up the fight for what they’ve always known is good and honest and just and adopt a new set of principles driven by the desire to fit into an unnatural and selfish model of living—a model of living that relies upon conformity and punishes individuality.

This devolution towards materialism and away from empathy has corroded the decency and geniality for which we used to strive. It has turned us into an ugly people who do and say ugly and hurtful things. Cho Seung-Hui, Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Osama Bin Laden, and every other twisted mind to commit mass murder on American soil in the last twenty years are little more than a manifestation of our ugly and evil addiction.

Our collective insides turned out for all to see.

____________________________________________________________________LINKS:

LINKS:

+There are an estimated 200 million guns floating around the United States. I think it's safe to say that we have a gun problem. If you don't think so, read this article which features an interview with the dude who owns the firearms store that sold Cho the Glock 19. He actually said this: "I've sold 160,000 guns, and out of those, half a dozen have been used for homicides or suicides...I know it's a tiny percentage, but it just absolutely tears me up every time it happens." Could he be any more oblivious in his roll of the violence in this country?

+If you want a carefully researched and well rounded account of the events of April 17th stop watching the shit spin on the 24 hour news channels. I recommend the the Special Report in latest issue of Newsweek titled "Making of a Masacre" by Evan Thomas. It 10 pages long, but that's because it is real news without spin and without knee-jerk perspective. Though the entire article is terrifying and heartbreaking, I was most affected by section that described how Cho got the guns. Evans writes:

"Buying a gun is easy in Virginia, a state with a strong gun-loving population. There is NO WAITING PERIOD and only MINIMAL BACKGROUND CHECK. On Feb. 9, Cho walked across the street from the Virginia Tech campus to a pawnshop, where he picked up an Internet-purchased Wather .22...He began buying ammo at stores like Wal-Mart, and on March 13, he went upscale. At Roanoke Firearms, he used a credit card to purchase a
Glock 19 and a box of 50 cartriges for $571. The semiautomatic, lightweight Glock, a
favorite of police and gangbangers alike, can fire five rounds a second. A magazine of ammo, holding up to 33 hollow-point bullets (effective at tearing internal organs), can be swapped out for another in under two seconds." (I added all caps for emphasis)

Yeah...no problem with any of that at all. We have the right to bear arms that are "effective at tearing internal organs," right?

+Read "Story of a Gun" if you are interested in educating yourself about the effects of irresponsible gun-lobbyists from the NRA and the Republicans who they pay off.

+Every single person who has followed the shooting has a moral obligation to read "Lost Lives", a special report written by Andrew Romano. It remembers all thirty-two of the victims.

+In case you forgot, we are also in the middle of a bloody civil war in Iraq. Listen to Keith Olbermann's podcast (via Quicktime) on the day of the shooting and you may understand how numb we have become to the violence that we hear about each day. That's right, 32 young Americans died in the ten days before the Virginia Tech shooting and we didn't bat an eye. After pointing this out, Olbermann appropriately asks, "why isn't our flag permanently at half staff?"

+And finally, Bill O' Reilly's defense of playing the Cho tapes explains yet another insightful reason for releasing the tapes: to affect policy by scaring the shit out of people.

O' Reilly begins, "I ran the tape last night and I’d run it again.”

“Evil must be exposed and Cho was evil. You can see it in his face, hear it in his voice. All of us who saw the tape will never forget it. And it made me and millions of others angry. Once evil is acknowledged, steps can be taken to contain it. And once anger is in the air, policy can change...public policy must make it more difficult for evil people. It's a lot harder for terrorists to kill Americans today than it was before 9/11. And that's because new laws and better security have been imposed."

He goes on to talk about how the tape could help people to become more active in fighting for stricter gun laws, and I'm glad he's willing to admit that despite his conservative bias, but is he suggesting that the tape was necessary to make that happen? Seriously, 32 people were killed.

He continues by explaining the old conservative mantra, “public safety trumps privacy," and explaining how he believes the "greater good was served by protecting people from the likes of Cho."

So there you have it. He admitted that he and his colleagues at Fox played the tapes to scare and anger the public. They know that we will watch if we are scared and angry, and thier ratings will soar. Their employers know that we will buy lots of shit if we're scared and angry. And Bush knows that we will not question his wars or his assault on our civil liberties if we are scared and angry. Just like 9/11 and every other sensationalized story that the media has spewed since.

The Politics of Fear

2007-04-26T20:57:00.000-05:00

I. HUAC and Junior Senator Joseph McCarthy

So back in the days leading up to the Second World War, the United States Government established the Special Committee on Un-American Activities Authorized to Investigate Nazi Propaganda and Certain Other Propaganda Activities (the SCUAAINPCOPA for short…not really…they just called it the McCormack-Dickstein Committee). In case you didn’t catch it by the ridiculously long and unnecessarily specific title, this committee was charged with the super-fun task of locating Nazi spies in the US. It eventually grew into the more widely remembered House Committee on Un-American Activities or HUAC.

In the late thirties and through WWII, HUAC investigated, and essentially turned a blind eye to the heinous (and very “un-American”) crimes of the Ku Klux Klan and the hypocritical detention camps used to pacify potential Japanese-American spies (i.e. every Japanese- American they could find), while working to find and question anyone suspected to have been in the same room at any point in their life of a copy of Mein Kampf (before 1945) or The Communist Manifesto (after 1945). The true nature of this committee was not brought into the American public eye though until they began orchestrating hearings exploring the accusation that many in the motion picture industry were spreading Communist propaganda. From 1947-1958, HUAC was responsible for blacklisting the “Hollywood Ten” and publicly interrogating hundreds of other entertainers, government employees, lunch ladies, etc. The members of this committee are largely to blame for creating much of the anti-communist hysteria during the Cold War (even though Joseph McCarthy gets most of the credit).

The reason I bring all this up is because HUAC and its predecessors, along with Senator Joseph McCarthy, introduced a new brand of government sponsored fear mongering that has been assaulting free speech for over seventy years. The 21^st century version of this strain of politics has mutated into a steroid pumped and media driven monstrosity that has people fleeing to guarded and gated communities, locking all four deadbolts on their front door, activating the alarm system, and hiding under their beds in the middle of the afternoon in anticipation of the next suicide bombing to ravage the bloody streets of Ladue.

II. Fear and Loathing in the Rubble at Ground Zero

Since 9/11, we have been under attack. They’d like us to believe that we are under attack from suicidal heathens who want nothing more than to see every American dead (see “Fade to Black and White”). They’d like us to believe that the world is at an apocalyptic crossroads—that we are on the verge of the cultural and religious crusade of our time—that now is our time to stand up for freedom and fight the ultimate enemy. Sounds exciting doesn’t it? I’d go see that movie. The only problem is that we are not living in a freaking movie! Bush, you are NOT Aragorn, the rightful heir to the kingdom of Gondor. Go back and reread his speeches—they are terrifying, but also darkly hilarious. I really think he has convinced himself that we are in a battle for Middle Earth against a bunch of Orcs. Seriously.

The real attack is being waged against the American public is the same one that McCarthy and friends used during the red scare—the attack on dissidence. The formula for this sort of assault on everything truly American is very simple. All you need is an ideological scapegoat, and a citizenry that is, above all other things, blindly patriotic and senselessly terrified. That’s it.

During the Cold War, these ingredients conveniently fell into place and set into motion Senator McCarthy’s lifelong dream of conducting the political witch-hunt of the century. Patriotism comes naturally after you kick the shit out of a bunch of genocidal Nazis. There’s really no need to discuss it further than that. Finding a scapegoat was almost as easy. There were plenty of members of the Communist party right here in the United States (McCarthy first claimed there were 205 Communist spies in the state department alone) just ripe to be persecuted and prosecuted, labeled as “un-American” and filed neatly and voicelessly in a jail cell or, after they ratted out all of their friends, the witness relocation program. And the Communists were an easy propaganda target with the arms race going on, the ideological differences, the poverty, and of course the ominous symbols (a hammer and a sickle…really…that’s what they chose).

Creating the fear was just as effortless. People all over the world and in the US were still reeling from the destruction and aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When it came out that the Russians had nukes just as powerful, people were so petrified that they moved to the suburbs and started buying as many appliances as possible to get their mind off the impending doom of the apocalypse. The McCarthyists knew they could use the public’s irrational fear to ensure that they had the license to wage whatever proxy wars (foreign or domestic) they wanted under the pretense that they were fighting communism. In the meantime, it was a perfect opportunity to beef up military spending to create a permanent armaments industry and as Eisenhower put it, invest in “an immense military establishment.” And if anyone said anything that they didn’t like, they could easily shut them up by playing the Commie card. The duel effect of these policies of terror did much to scar the American people. They were not only afraid of a nuke falling on their head, they were also afraid of being labeled a Communist and shunned by their neighbors. Fortunately, with the help of courageous journalists (wow, I wish we had some of those!) like Edward R. Murrow (go watch Good Night, and Good Luck right now if you haven’t seen it yet) the dangers of this type of fear mongering were temporarily defeated and McCarthy and his henchmen were dishonored (even though the arms race and proxy wars continued well into the eighties).

Does any of this sound at all familiar to you?

Bush didn’t drop any nukes, but he didn’t have to. Bush also didn’t need to look far for a scapegoat. Bin Laden killed both stones with one bird (four really) when he decided to get 19 of his friends together and fly some planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And just like in the fifties, people were scared. When people are scared, they get paranoid. The lens with which they view the world becomes a deeper shade of red, and instead of smiling at the light-brown-skinned, unfamiliar bearded dude that passes them in a quiet hallway, they look down, fist clenched around their keys, breath held, wondering if the strange man looks “American” enough. It goes without saying that when a country finds itself in a situation where a large majority of people are behaving as if they were on an acid trip in Las Vegas with Hunter S. Thompson, it is headed down a very dark road.

Today’s media-machine doesn’t help either. I mean, just after 9/11 they had reporters on camera dressed in those bright yellow biohazard suits complete with gas mask and the scary international symbol. They KNOW that the minute most of us see those suits we are naturally going to think about that freaky scene in E.T. when Elliot and posse escape from the evil yellow-suit-wearing-government agents via flying bicycle. I don’t know about all of you, but this scene gave me vivid nightmares for years. Now CNN has their reporters dressing like them? What the fuck. If I EVER see ANYONE walking down Arsenal wearing one of those suits, I am moving to Canada the next day. You can hold me to that. Fox News, CNN, MSNBC—they bathed themselves in that fear like pigs in feces. Ratings soared and people couldn’t change the channel. The tune-in-or-else-you-and-your-family-will-die-in-a- horrible-death-at-the-hands-of-the-terrorist-policy adopted by the 24 hour news stations kept us on the edges of our seats, shaking our heads, and wondering if we should go to confession before the Red Horse of War darkens the sky the neighborhood Walmart.

So, of course we were willing to sacrifice some civil liberties. Tap my phone, read my emails, install cameras in the street lights, hell, you could put one on my front door if you think it’s going to help. Send to FBI to tail law-abiding citizens if you think they hate America, set up secret CIA prisons around the world, torture anyone with that terrorist look in their eye. And while you’re at it, hold them without charge and deny them legal council—you know what, just get rid of habeas corpus all together, it’s outdated anyway. A suspected terrorist is as bad as an actual terrorist, and we’re better safe than sorry. Do what you have to do Big Brother, because we’re at war, and I have a yellow ribbon sticker on my car, and a flag flying outside my house, and I love America enough to make a sacrifice or ten so that you can save us from the terrorists. I’ll sacrifice my fucking country for America if you ask me to.

When this sort of suspicion is ambient, people feel it necessary to overcompensate. It’s like the big car/small penis theory. If you’re constantly looking at everyone and wondering whether or not they love America enough, you naturally feel like everyone is wondering the same thing about you. So you break out the American flag and fly it proudly everyday instead of just on holidays. You buy a little flag for your car window, and a red, white, and blue ribbon magnet to put opposite your yellow one. You order a “these colors don’t run” t-shirt off ebay, a bumper sticker with an eagle on it, and maybe even a patriotic bandanna. This behavior is the nonverbal equivalent to standing in the middle of the street and yelling at the top of your lungs, “I AM NOT A TERRORIST.” And you feel it necessary because you have turned your suspicion inward upon yourself. You are afraid that you are a terrorist. Whoa.

An ideological scapegoat.

A citizenry that is blindly patriotic and senselessly terrified.

III. Thanks for Letting the Terrorists Win, Asshole

We are turning into a nation of whimpering slaves to Fear — fear of war, fear of poverty, fear of random terrorism, fear of getting down-sized or fired because of the plunging economy, fear of getting evicted for bad debts, or suddenly getting locked up in a military detention camp on vague charges of being a Terrorist sympathizer.
-Hunter S. Thompson

In post 9/11 world you’re either with us, or you’re a terrorist. The ‘us’ represents America as a whole around the world, but here in the US, it embodies the administration, the radical right, and the glut of corporate elite slithering in and out of Bush’s revolving cabinet door. Bush claims to be fighting in the name of freedom and democracy, but his actions expose the inherent hypocrisy oozing from every gaping crack in his failed administration. This is an administration that has no problem distorting and manipulating the news by leaking false information and/or blatantly lying—outing CIA agents to send a very loud message to political opponents—or using wire taps and FBI agents to identify and then harass the opposition within this country. When these types of things happen again and again, it becomes clear that they have something to hide. Their agenda is so full of holes that they know an informed American public would be outraged if they were to find out the truth. And EVERYTHING comes back to their loosely defined “War on Terror.” They may have been wrong once or fifty times, but they will leave no stone unturned whether that stone be in Baghdad or Baltimore. There are terrorists amongst us after all.

Meanwhile, as the administration works on the political front to silence any resistance, they leave the right-wing media machine to say what they know they can’t say. Just as Rove Inc. learned about the damage the media can wreak on executive power during Vietnam, they also learned from the mistakes made by McCarthy in the fifties. They learned not to conduct a media-driven witch-hunt yourself, allow your puppets…I mean pundits to do it for you. While those in Washington are very careful not to fall into the McCarthy trap, the Limbaughs and O’Reillys of the country have free reign to point fingers and create labels and let their listening/viewing audience know that there is no reason to pay attention to what all those “crazy libs” are saying. It’s all black and white—us and them. They love the terrorists and hate America. We are spreading freedom and protecting the country from the forces of evil. They want the terrorists to win—hell, classified sources inside the White House say that many of them are actually on Bin Laden’s payroll. We’re securing the borders and bringing terrorists to justice. They have tailor-made responses for every issue. If a liberal starts attacking you with questions that would require you to (gasp) think, just click here and we’ll tell you exactly what to say to make the bad people go away.

So, dissenters are accused of not supporting the troops and antiwar politicians are accused of being weak on national defense. Scientists are labeled as kooks and the critics within the military are labeled as cowards and traitors. This ‘us or them’ rhetoric is extremely dangerous. What kind of America does the right want? An America without dissent? One with only one right way to do things? An America where the citizens never question anything the government does? An America in which people live in fear of expressing their opinions? An America in which there is no need to justify any war or any decision made by the government? Now that, my friends, sounds just as much like Fascism than anything the terrorists are doing or have done. The right might respond that this does not apply because we are not killing innocent people like the terrorists. Last time I checked the civilian death toll in Iraq was at the lowest estimate 61,000 and at the highest estimate 67,000.

Next time Bush starts to throw out ultimatums, or his pundits make claims about who is with ‘us’ or against ‘us’, think about the ‘us’ he is referring to. Are there really only two sides? Us or them? Cannot ‘us’ have more than one opinion? Is there any danger in debate? Dissent? I constantly teach my students to question authority, not so they become terrorists, but so they become concerned and empowered citizens. But I guess that is exactly what people like President Bush fear the most. Because with a concerned and empowered citizenry, people like him would never get elected.

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LINKS

Awesome history of the fucked up HUAC hearings

2003 article about the current trend of censoring Hollywood dissenters

What happens when people protest in America (click on picture gallery)

Letters section of September 23, 2002 issue of The Nation that features this letter by some guy named John Zavales:

“I was in the Pentagon on September 11. Our office was on the opposite side of the building, and as we filed out none of us guessed how horrible it was until we saw, from the parking lot, the columns of smoke. That first evening, amid the shock and sense of loss, I thought, "This is what blowback really means." No one can excuse Al Qaeda's murderous hatred, but I now realize that this terror network was made possible by the arms and money we provided the Afghan mujahedeen during our demented anti-Soviet crusade. Those Americans who supported these thugs and psychopaths should be ashamed. Whenever I see that antidrug ad that claims that buying pot helps terrorists, I am reminded that our own cold war "patriots" helped to slaughter 3,000 people, and tried to kill me at my desk.”

Bush is at it again, accusing Democrats of “undercut[ting] the troops” and “giving our enemies the victory they desperately want.” What he doesn’t mention in his radio address is that he left the Iraq War funding out of his budget so he wouldn’t freak out the American public. He knows that everyone is concerned about the unthinkable deficit in the national budget (see the graph here and an article about the deficit here). He knows that if his budget truly stated how much money he is pouring into this disaster of a war, he would be dealing with an even more outraged public. Now, he wants Congress to pass his “emergency war spending bill” as if this war is some disaster that hit us out of nowhere. We’ve been in there for four years buddy; don’t act like you couldn’t put this into the budget. America voted to get out of Iraq Mr. Bush, not just to “change the course” (although that would have been an excellent idea in 2004, but you were too stubborn to listen). You ignored the critics who told you to change your failing strategy three years ago, you ignored the voters in November, you ignored the Iraq Study Group Report, you ignored the Congressional resolution against the troop buildup plan, and now you claim that Democrats are hurting the troops. You forced the Democrats into this situation because of your constant refusal to listen to anyone who doesn’t say what you want to hear. They are trying to do what you do not have the backbone to do. You can pour all the money you want into this war, and give the troops all of the equipment they need, but the only way that they are going to stop getting killed, is if we bring them home.

The Politics of Fear (Conclusion)

2007-04-15T11:22:00.000-05:00

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LINKS

Bush is at it again, accusing Democrats of “undercut[ting] the troops” and “giving our enemies the victory they desperately want.” What he doesn’t mention in his radio address is that he left the Iraq War funding out of his budget so he wouldn’t freak out the American public. He knows that everyone is concerned about the unthinkable deficit in the national budget (see the graph here and an article about the deficit here). He knows that if his budget truly stated how much money he is pouring into this disaster of a war, he would be dealing with an even more outraged public. Now, he wants Congress to pass his “emergency war spending bill” as if this war is some disaster that hit us out of nowhere. We’ve been in there for four years buddy; don’t act like you couldn’t put this into the budget. America voted to get out of Iraq Mr. Bush, not just to “change the course” (although that would have been an excellent idea in 2004, but you were too stubborn to listen). You ignored the critics who told you to change your failing strategy three years ago, you ignored the voters in November, you ignored the Iraq Study Group Report, you ignored the Congressional resolution against the troop buildup plan, and now you claim that Democrats are hurting the troops. You forced the Democrats into this situation because of your constant refusal to listen to anyone who doesn’t say what you want to hear. They are trying to do what you do not have the backbone to do. You can pour all the money you want into this war, and give the troops all of the equipment they need, but the only way that they are going to stop getting killed, is if we bring them home.

Interlude

2007-04-10T22:37:00.000-05:00

If you don’t believe me when I write about the striking parallels between the current administration and those in power during Vietnam, read Matt Taibbi’s interview with Seymour Hersh in the new Rolling Stone. Wow. I think we sometimes forget that the Roves and Cheneys and Rumsfelds have been around for decades. I almost fell out of my chair when I read the opening two paragraphs of the article. Cheney and Rumsfeld were around during the Nixon era? Are you kidding me? And there are primary documents proving that Cheney (as Rumsfeld’s aid) took notes about possible responses to a scathing Hersh report about the administration that included obtaining a “search warrant: to go after Hersh papers in his apt”? And he’s still using the same tricks? We wonder why the American public is so apathetic. We wonder why our government officials haven’t learned any lessons from our history. We wonder why corruption is still rampant in Washington. It’s the same crooked story every time they get one of their Republican puppets elected. By the time Bush II is done, twenty out of my twenty-eight years here on earth will have been under a Republican president. I hate to bring up such a downer, but that interview really threw off my equilibrium.

Read at your own risk because Seymour Hersh has been around, and he is not very optimistic about the direction our country may be headed in the last two years of Bush’s reign.

The Politics of Fear (Part I)

2007-04-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

Editor's note: This post has been plaguing me for over a month. It started as a response to a forward that arrived in my inbox sometime in late February. It morphed into something that required way too much research and way too many words. I still haven't gotten to my response to that forward (sorry Polihan). I will someday. At this point I just want to purge it from my entire being. It's really long, so I'm going to post half of it right now, and half next Saturday. I don't want you to think that you have to set aside an hour every time I post something. Peace.

I. HUAC and Junior Senator Joseph McCarthy

II. Fear and Loathing in the Rubble at Ground Zero

Does any of this sound at all familiar to you?

An ideological scapegoat.

A citizenry that is blindly patriotic and senselessly terrified.

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Intriguing shit I came across researching for this post:

Awesome history of the fucked up HUAC hearings

2003 article about the current trend of censoring Hollywood dissenters

What happens when people protest in America (click on picture gallery)

Letters section of September 23, 2002 issue of The Nation that features this letter by some guy named John Zavales:

Fade to Black and White

2007-03-05T20:46:00.000-06:00

Islamic fascists, radical jihadists, extremists, terrorists—these are all terms that our current administration has used to describe the modern “enemy” of the United States. They are shifty and flexible labels that can be manipulated to work well with any political agenda interested in promoting welfare or global polarization. One of the only ways that a president can get a rational majority to support a war is if the enemy is dehumanized. The targets of aggression must not only be identified as a threat, but as faceless demons whose sole purpose is to destroy us. Fear is a powerful tool. It can drive the honest to lie, humble to cast blame, and the nonviolent to strike. The use of this irrational fear is a time tested tactic that has been successfully implemented throughout the years by American presidents in most modern wars. We fought the fascists, the Nazis, the communists, and now we are fighting the terrorists—each enemy more terrifying than its predecessor, each campaign of propaganda more aggressive. History has revealed some of these fears to be justified, while others have been proved to be baseless.

It is vital that citizens and leaders avoid using these blanket terms as an excuse to be lazy. It is easy to tell yourself that our soldiers are dying to defend us from the evil terrorists—to fight for democracy. It is not as easy however, to ask yourself, who are these terrorists? What drives them to such horrible extremes? What would make anyone feel it necessary to attach themselves to a bomb and detonate it, killing themselves and hundreds of innocent people? The government (with the help of the media) makes it easy to just think of them as irrational “evil-doers” who hate freedom and want nothing more than to destroy everything that we love. Is that the truth though? We MUST force ourselves to examine these questions. Why not try to understand what we are doing to radicalize this new generation of terrorists and see what we can do to stop the trend? It is irresponsible for political leaders and citizens alike to ignore this core issue. Ignorance only leads to needless violence.

If you look as what has happened since 9/11 from the standpoint of someone living in any country in the Middle East, it becomes easier to understand what might make people believe that radicalism is a justifiable option. After watching the documentary Why We Fight, you might remember a part of the film that recalled the unifying effect that the attacks had on the world. In Iran, thousands of citizens hit the streets and held candlelight vigils. A stadium of sixty thousand observed a minute of silence for the victims. This was in Iran—a country that we haven’t had a diplomatic relationship with in over twenty-eight years! People of all countries, languages, and beliefs came together to denounce the attacks and support the United States. Bush even acknowledged the demonstrations across the world in his post 9/11 address to the nation. We had the opportunity to mend our reputation throughout the world and become the type of global leader that embraces multilateralism and diplomacy. We finally had a chance to shed the cumbersome skin of imperialism and war mongering by responding in a responsible and rational way a horrible tragedy. Those around Bush must have recognized the opportunity. It’s written all throughout his speech.

In his post 9/11 address, Bush's empty gratitude is immediately undercut by the harsh and egotistical tone that the world would soon grow very accustomed to, revealing his true message. In a showing of Texas arrogance and pride, his underlying point was simple and loud: someone must pay. He used America at its most vulnerable period and turned grief into rage—thoughts of compassion were turned into thoughts of revenge. He manipulated the masses and stirred us into such a frenzy of blind vengeance and blood lust that we didn’t care who was bombed, so long as they looked like the 19 hijackers. He insisted that our “grief [had] turned to anger” and “whether we [brought] our enemies to justice, or [brought] justice to our enemies, justice [would] be done.” It’s all frighteningly Shakespearean and unthinkably irresponsible in hindsight (seriously, read the speech), but at the time, we swallowed every twisted word he spat at us, and for that, we are just as responsible as he.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world began to recoil as the administration’s propaganda and military machines flexed their grotesque muscles. It wasn’t the act of invading Afghanistan, but the arrogance with which we did it—and everyone knew that was just the beginning. Then came the unilateral and reckless campaign to oust Saddam Hussein. To those in the Middle East, it must have seemed as if the administration set up a map of their region and started throwing darts. In his speeches, Bush made it clear that any of the “60 countries” harboring terrorists could be a target. He chose intimidation instead of diplomacy. Rumsfeld seized his opportunity to show off his sophisticated “shock and awe” strategy of precision bombing and small ground forces. Cheney seized his opportunity to get the American public to buy into the idea of preemptive warfare. Fight them over there, before they get a chance to get us over here. If Iraq went as planned, he knew he would have a blank check to “democratize” any Middle Eastern country he wanted to. The result of the combination of these visions put into action: the world had become utterly terrified of the United States just two short years after they were willing to support her in any way necessary.

Now, think about this: if the United States can convince its own citizens to rationalize preemption, why wouldn’t it make sense for citizens of countries living in the Middle East to take preemptive action against us? If we looked at the situation objectively, wouldn’t we expect to create more terrorists by invading a country for reasons that still remain unclear? After all, Bush did make it a point to insist to the world that “our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.” Bush was to pursue terrorists at any cost: “Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” If I lived anywhere within a thousand miles of Baghdad, I’d be scared. Not only are the actual countries under attack, but their culture and religion as well. The word Islam was mixed with the word terrorist like the two were synonymous. How can we expect any self-respecting Muslim to be with us after all of this?

So, Bush’s counterparts, the bin Ladins out there, used his logic. They agreed—if you aren’t with the Americans, you are with the terrorists. They also used Cheney’s ideas of preemption. They told the young and impressionable that they must fight a holy war and defend Islam from the Americans. Fight them over there, before they get a chance to get you where your family lives. It was just as easy for them to demonize us. They said, look at what happened in Iraq. Look at how they allow and support Israel as it occupies territories in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. Look at how they try to spread their ideology to other countries using force. Then, once they have them, they use these young men and women as human bombs to kill innocent people.

Besides the reaction of the terrorists, the problem with a Bush’s simplistic reaction to the 9/11 attacks is that he made it impossible for the rest of the world to support us. And after Iraq, he made it impossible for the world to trust us. It doesn’t bother me that his administration no longer has credibility in the United States, but it does bother me that our country no longer has credibility in the world. Bush represented us poorly. He gave the world an ultimatum and it backfired.

Now, we as the citizens of the United States have an obligation to fix the mess Bush created. We must demand that our politicians look into the true issues that have led to the rise of radicalism. We must demand that they begin to mend our broken relationship with the people of the world. There are other ways to fight terrorism that do not involve bombs and threats. We must start listening to the objective voices of academia instead of the biased and misguided voices of the media. We must not get pulled into the idea that we good and they are evil. We must set an example of peace and tolerance because we are the most powerful democracy in the world and people will notice. We must stop giving the bin Ladins ammunition necessary to convert more young men and women into extremists. We must not allow ourselves to lazily fade into the blind generalizations of a black and white world, because there is no such thing.

The Rabbit Hole

2007-02-24T14:30:00.000-06:00

When my car was stolen, I was tempted to take a baseball bat and go find the person responsible and break both of his kneecaps. I imagined myself dressed in camo, wearing a blond mullet wig, and storming into the thief-dudes house like Dog the Bounty Hunter and scaring him right back into his tenth grade classroom. It is easy to be angry. How effortlessly does rage come upon us in a situation when we feel it necessary to find someone to blame? We are all human after all. Revenge is a natural form of self-preservation—an extension upon our natural instinct to defend ourselves from harm. What does this rage accomplish in an age of security systems and deadbolts though? Does it repair the thirty ruined CDs that thief-dude so callously tossed around the car like Frisbees and grinded into the mess of spilled soda, calcified french fries, and dirt on my floor mats? Does it reduce my $1000 deductible? No. So, I no longer pray for the demise of thief-dude. I understand that there were many unfortunate events in his life that led him to my car on that unusually warm October afternoon. I understand that if our childhoods were reversed, I’d probably be stealing cars and ditching school (I’m sure I’d have a raging meth addiction as well). Because of this understanding, I have forgiven thief-dude.

Most of my empathy is a result of my experiences in education. As a teacher, I witness unthinkable irresponsibility and selfishness on a daily basis. In order to keep hold of my cherished sanity, I must believe in the innate goodness of mankind. I must believe that even the worst of students can be reached. Even Rush Limbaugh had a soul once. People can find the compassionate voice that the capitalistic hum silenced long ago. It is possible. And I witness this on a daily basis as well.

My students are just begging for something to believe in. They want so badly to be opened up to any alternative to the cutthroat bottom line existence of their mothers and fathers. They are screaming inside for a promise that doesn’t involve a cubicle and a computer. And for the kids living in poverty, it is amazing to see them on the edge of their seats when I suggest anything other than the traditional you-can-do-anything-if-you-put-your-mind-to it cliché that they long ago identified as bullshit. It is natural for people to want an opportunity to do something that important—something that can make the world a better place (And no, becoming a millionaire or a movie star is not important, nor is it meaningful). The models of success in America today just don’t provide the types of purposeful options that appeal to teenagers. Don’t get me wrong, there are many opportunities to change and affect the world out there, but between CNN’s 24 hour coverage of the death of Anna Nicole Smith, MTV’s devotion to programs like My Super Sweet Sixteen, and the models of leadership at the highest levels of government, kids today just aren’t aware that they exist. And the result is predictable—we have a generation whose main tool of rebellion is apathy.

So I try my best to show them these windows into the truth of the world. I teach them that everything they have learned is wrong. I teach them that they need to reexamine every truth outlined for them by their preachers, their parents, and their teachers. I teach my tenth graders to question everything and learn the truth for themselves instead of mindlessly swallowing the nonsense spoon-fed to them by people whose only interest is to take advantage of their ignorance and to keep them in line. I do this not because everything they know is a lie, but because it shows them the power of critical thinking (and because they do find that many of the things they have been taught are false). Most importantly, I teach them this so they learn how to identify the destructive myths they are living and stop living the ones they do not agree with.

Ah…the power of education—but how do we, as adults already trapped in the monotonous cages of capitalism, educate ourselves in a world filled with so much misinformation? I know it’s hard to find time to read anything not written by Dan Brown or endorsed by the Oprah Book Club. I know we’re all busy watching two hour episodes of 24 and researching for the upcoming fantasy baseball draft. You are not a bad person because you like to watch Jack Bauer rip someone’s jugular out with his teeth every once in a while. I refuse to feel guilty for these things.

Luckily for our languid generation, the art of documentary filmmaking has become one of the most popular forums for the sharing all of the controversial, oft-censored or conveniently overlooked information out there. The following are a list of my favorite documentaries. Films I guarantee will change the way you look at yourself, your country, and your planet. Watch at your own risk. These films can open the window of critical thought inch by inch. Once you crack that window open, I encourage you to do exactly what I encourage my students to do, question everything you see. Look up the statistics. Read the criticism. Educate yourself! But be careful. Once you begin down the rabbit hole, it’s hard not to get lost. And when you return your entire world may look differently.

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1. An Inconvenient Truth

This Academy Award nominated documentary provides a glimpse into the dangers we face if we continue to deny our impact on the current trends of global warming. Al Gore outlines the issue in a very user-friendly way. The film is free of jargon and easy to follow. Gore keeps your interest by including powerful images of the very real and immediate impact we are having on the planet. He fearlessly delves into the urgency of our irresponsible lifestyles, identifies the reasons we have let it get to this point, and provides hope for the future if we act now. Everyone with a soul owes it to their children to watch this film.

This documentary will change the way you look at our impact on the environment.

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2. The Corporation
With interviews from over 40 corporate insiders and critics, this film sets out with the ambitious task of exploring the dark corners of the most powerful institution in the history of the world. The film begins with the early 20th century interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that gave the corporation the status and legal rights of a "person". As the film explores the rise of the pride of American capitalism, it asks the question, "What type of a person is the corporation?" The answers to this question are nothing short of disturbing. Today, the corporation as infiltrated every corner of America, from our government to our schools.

After we read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, my tenth grade students debate the implications of absolute power without boundary or remorse. I encourage you to do the same.

_____________________________________________________________________ 3. Why We Fight

On January 17th, 1961, Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell speech to the nation. He chose to focus on what he believed to be the biggest threat to the principles of our democracy. He begins by recalling that "[America's] basic purposes have been to keep the peace, to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity, and integrity among peoples and among nations." He continues by reminding the country that "any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension, or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt, both at home and abroad." Eisenhower then warns that we must we must "guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex, and adds that "the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

Guess what? Eisenhower was right about the persistence of this industry, and his darkest fears have come true.

The "military-industrial complex" is the subject of the documentary Why We Fight. The film, using Eisenhower's speech as a backdrop, explores the collusion between the government and private arms manufacturers that exists today. The frightening answer to the question proposed in the title is outlined in agonizing detail.

This documentary is not for the weak hearted. Watch at your own risk and prepare to be shocked.

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Other excellent documentaries I don't have the time to explain

4. Bowling for Columbine

Subject: School violence; violence in the media; crazy gun-toting libertarians.
Website
Quicktime trailer

5. The Future of Food

Subject: What's in the food we eat; the crazy world of genetic engineering; Monsanto's frightening attempt to buy the rights to our genes
Website
Quicktime trailer

6. Juvies

Subject: Juveniles tried as adults; our twisted system of punishment without rehabilitation; why are jails are overcrowded and our streets are filled with crime
Website
Trailer (Click on preview)

7. What the Bleep Do We Know!?

Subject: Quantum Physics and how we control our personal reality; complicated physics breakthroughs that will blow your mind explained in simple way.
Website
Trailer

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I tried to pick documentaries that would cover a wide range of topics that many different people might be interested in. There were several more that I left off because I have been at this for about three hours and I'm hungry. I'll be sure to add more in future posts. I hope some of these films inspire you to become a more active citizen and critical thinker. Let me know what you think.

Our Protest

2007-02-17T14:30:00.000-06:00

In 1970, Howard Zinn (my personal hero) and one hundred others were arrested for sitting in the middle of a road at the Boston Army Base and blocking "the road used by buses carrying draftees off to military duty." The judge found them guilty and sentenced him and eight others who refused to pay to two days in jail. They were given forty-eight hours to reconsider and pay the fine. Zinn did not reconsider, and he didn't show up after forty-eight hours. Instead, he flew to Baltimore to debate the war at Johns Hopkins (The Zinn Reader, Seven Stories Press, 1997).

The following is an excerpt from the opening statement of that debate. It can also be found in The Zinn Reader. He spoke these words twenty-seven years ago, but just like most other things in this foul year of 2007 when compared to the late sixties and early seventies, they ring just as true today. I want to include them before I begin posting so that those who decide to read this blog will know the direction of my thoughts.

I start from the supposition that the world is topsy-turvy, that things are all wrong, that the wrong people are in jail, that the wrong people are in power and the wrong people are out of power, that the wealth is distributed in this country and the world in such a way as not simply to require small reform but to require a drastic reallocation of wealth. I start from the supposition that we don't have to say too much about this because all we have to do is think about the state of the world today and realize that things are all upside down.

Zinn goes on to give examples of thwarted protests and jailed protesters and of the war criminals allowed to continue the course of their unjust war. Today, we still have the war criminals, but where is the dissent? Where are the protesters? Where are all of the people who care?

If you take a close look at the parallels between the current Iraq war and the war in Vietnam, you may start to believe your a part of some twisted historical/sociological experiment gone wrong. Could Orwell have written of a more ass-backwards plot of perfect symmetry? Everything is there, from the misinformation campaign to start the war, to the denial that plagues every speech made to the American public as the war continues to rage. Communists are now Terrorists, and The Soviet Union is now Anycountryharboringterrorists.

There is no denying that Bush drank from the same cup as those who orchestrated the war in Vietnam. There is one striking difference though. As that cup was passed down the presidential line, they learned from their mistakes in Vietnam. But, instead of learning what they should have learned about the horrifying consequences of unjust and unjustified wars, they learned that the only way to pacify the public is to control the media. In Vietnam, there were no protests until the media began to uncover the horrors of what was going on over there. They showed pictures of the carnage and wrote stories about the numbers of casualties. They questioned the government. They did their job. And people responded. And the war was ended.

Today, the media is spoon-fed every sound bite and leaked every bottom line. They spin the facts to paint whatever picture gets them the most ratings. They are controlled by money and a carefully worded agenda. And instead of an outraged public, we have an apathetic one. Instead of activism, we have a couch, a remote control, and a three hours of mindless indifference. We are fed up with news stations that devote twenty-four hours to hearing themselves talk. We're so fed up that we have decided to stage a protest. Only, this one is much different than those of the sixties and seventies. We protest by not paying attention. Not voting. Not caring. And just like during Vietnam, we are sending a message with our protest. But, this message does more to start wars than to end them.

They're All Gonna Laugh at Me!

2007-02-17T13:25:00.000-06:00

Last night, my mother got the family together for my younger sister's birthday (she's 23) and I found myself rambling on and on about everything from CFL light bulbs to the misinformation campaign that got us into Iraq, and I realized that I am so desperately starved for a place to debate, I have resorted to my mom's dinner table. Now, there's nothing wrong with having a spirited discussion at the same table upon which, twelve years ago, your mother dumped a shopping bag full of pot paraphernalia she found in your top dresser drawer, but there has to be a healthier place to vent. Later on in the night, as I contemplated the reasons for my existence, I realized that I have to get some things out of my head before I have an aneurysm or throw a student out the classroom window or crane-kick a republican.

My conundrum is pretty simple. I can't disclose my political beliefs to my students because their parents would go to my boss and cry about the crazy-hippie-liberal teacher corrupting their poor children's minds and making them, of all things, think critically! And they'd fire my ass. I can't discuss matters of political importance with most of my friends because the last thing they want is to listen to another one on my rants on a Friday night when they there's a hockey game on. I can't talk to my colleagues because most of them are old and bitter and shouldn't be teaching anyway, and the younger teachers are so overwhelmed with grading and classroom management, that they can't talk about anything but school. I can talk about things with my wife, but the problem with finding someone perfect for you is that you have such common beliefs, it's more or less like preaching to the choir. And she has a life, and entertaining another one of my psychotic tirades is not always on the top of any of her seven to do lists.

So, here I am. I've tried this before, twice, both times resulted in my entire posts being deleted because I was too stupid to figure out how to post them. Deep down, I know I subconsciously deleted them in fear that everyone was going to laugh at my feeble attempt to record the incoherent thoughts that go through my head. My goal, wake up every Saturday morning, put on my sweet blue robe and Homer Simpson slippers, take four Excedrins for my hangover-induced migraine, and write all of the things that I didn't have a chance to say to my brainwashed and cultureless tenth graders throughout the week. We'll see how it goes.

Peace Between People

Remembering Lenny

Keynote Address -- Fern Ridge High School, 2011

I'm Sick of Living in the United Corporations of America

Health Care Reform...It's Gonna Happen!

Fox News is Scared Shitless and So Should YOU!

People Who Don't Walk Their Dogs are Oppressors!

Why Did You Vote Republican?

Abstinence Only Education = Kids Making Dumb Choices

Watch Out!

Scapegoats and Scoundrels

Is Blagojevich a Sociopath? Scandal in Six Minutes

Morning Peace of Mind: Best Montage in the History of Montages

RFT Blogger o' the Week: KBO

Doggone It, People Like Me

Job Creation

The He-man Helping the Skeletor?

Harvey Milk, Hope, and Thanksgiving

Morning Peace of Mind: I Don't Know How You Did It...But I'm Glad You Did!

Naomi Klein: Pick of Summers and Geithner, "A Profound Disappointment"

Morning Peace of Mind: Chinese Democracy? Not in My China!

Watch more Megavideo videos on AOL Video

Big Props to Mayor Francis Slay

Morning Peace of Mind: Pink Sari Gang

New Republicans...Get to Work!

Meet the New White House Press Secretary

This Woman is Crazy.

Misery...I Mean Missouri

President Elect Barack Obama

OBAMA WINS PENNSYLVANIA

My Argument for Barack Obama

Scarier than ACORN?

Whoa!

Question of the Day

Who won the final presidential debate?

Ignorance is Strength

Conspiracy Theory?

Pay your Debts

Globo Warming

Irony and Infamy

Response to BRS

We are the Ass-Whores of Capitalism

The Politics of Fear

The Politics of Fear (Conclusion)

Interlude

The Politics of Fear (Part I)

Fade to Black and White

The Rabbit Hole

Our Protest

They're All Gonna Laugh at Me!