I’m no genius…

But Albert Einstein was.

And he defined insanity as: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

So here’s the thing. The global financial meltdown and all the subsequent mass unemployment was a direct result of the rampant deregulation driven by Republican policy. Republican fiscal principals (as well intended as they may have been) created the problem.

And now, a couple years of Fox News sound bites later, the American voters have been convinced to throw more Republican policy at a problem created by Republican policy. We’re trying to extinguish a fire by throwing buckets of gasoline on it.

I’m not saying that the other party has all the answers, or that they haven’t made any mistakes… But come on. After the airplane spent 8 years in a nosedive, you’re bound to scrape a few mountain tops no matter how hard you pull back on the controls.

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

- Albert Einstein

“It’s not my problem”

… The Grand Old Delusion

For years now I’ve been talking about the right wing rejection of reality. Here’s how my point on that applies to: the far right take on personal responsibility; the way in which they relegate all social programs as being wasteful acts pandering to the “lazy”; and basically the whole Tea Party mentality.

They actually start with some very valid points which they blindly proceed to warp into self-righteous overgeneralizations which completely lack any consideration of big picture realities.

Here’s the thing. We live in a capitalistic society. Yes. Those two words do go together. Capitalistic. Society. It’s okay to put them together. The idea that one is the evil antithesis of the other is partisan rhetoric, designed to produce divisive prejudice, mistrust, and hatred.

There is what you have been convinced… And then there what's real.
Just because people like Bill O’Reilly have convinced you that chocolate only exist to destroy your peanut butter, it doesn’t make it true. Simply because one does not choose to worship capitalism as a religion, does not mean that they wish to abolish capitalism in favor of some absolute form of “socialism” (or whatever the current buzz word is that conservative talk radio has demonized as the symbol of the liberal enemy).

Point being: that all of these extreme ABSOLUTES which get pounded into your head are nothing but divisive distractions from reality. Absolutes have very little place in reality - and no place in a society of people. This idea that we’re a bowl of jelly beans which must be divided into those which are absolutely capitalist and those which are absolutely socialistic is pure [to put it in technical terms] bullshit.

Here’s what’s real. We live in a capitalistic society. A society of people. We the people. Not we the bottom line. Capitalism is great. But it’s not perfect. And it’s really not sacrilegious to mention the fact that it’s not perfect. Don’t freak out. It’s okay. No system is perfect. Everything is a work in progress. Icebergs aren’t stationary. If you don’t make course corrections, you hit them and sink.

But it truly seems to me that all the galloping herds of Palinoids have arrived at a deep and absolute belief that capitalism is perfection - and that it is “Anti-American” to say otherwise. Like capitalism actually is our national religion. They genuinely seem to believe that the only adjustment which should ever be made to capitalism is to drive it to a more PURE form of capitalism. As if reaching the PUREST form of capitalism will transform our Country into some sort of nirvana.

Well… I know it’s an overdone cheap shot and completely cliché to compare your political opposition to anything Nazi… But the fact is that the last time a political movement got this deeply focused on things like: branding ABSOLUTE labels on various factions of society; DEMONIZING their opponents; and rallying there base around an idea PURIFYING their nation… It didn’t turn out to be such great idea.

And to draw a more contemporary comparison – all of these aspects of American right-wingers basically amount to a W.A.S.P. image of radical Islamic extremists. The American extreme right has gotten so lost in their obsession to identify us lefties as “the enemy” that they’ve failed to notice that their tactics have made them the Anglo Saxon versions of our Nation’s real enemy. And I’m not just talking about the tone of their rhetoric. It’s their actions as well. Have you noticed that every time a domestic terrorist gets caught in America, it just happens to be an anti government right wing extremist?

Anyhow, returning to the point of “Not my problem”. Typically, when you engage a right wing devotee on subjects like: public school funding; or domestic poverty; or you challenge them on their kneejerk tendency to broadly categorize all misfortunates as being “too damn lazy to help themselves”; and when you talk to them about social programs designed to help those whom are disadvantaged by prohibitive mental or physical limitations. …Eventually you’ll get to the part where they whip out the phrase: “Not my problem”.

And that is the grand old delusion of the grand old party.
When you've buried your head in the sand, you have not eliminated the problem. You have only blinded yourself to its effect, and exposed your wallet to its fingers.

If you don’t pay now to improve public schools, you will pay exponentially later, coping with the inevitable results of undereducated masses. i.e. More cops – More courts – More prisons – etc. And while you’re (indirectly, with your head in the sand) paying for the criminal result of a poorly educated society, you can enjoy the additional expense of its effect on public health. Have you noticed that diseases like AIDS and H1N1 just happen to be born in countries filled with poorly educated people and massive class separations? When the uninsured go to emergency rooms for free healthcare, do think that expense doesn’t get passed on to you?

So much truly efficient work has gone into demonizing the whole concept of taxation that it’s created a pandemic of delusion! A delusional belief that if you’ve eliminated the tax, you've eliminated the problem. An idealistic delusion implying that you can actually will away the expense by eliminating the social program.

It’s a mindless act of cutting off one’s nose to spite their face. If you refuse to spend two dollars cleaning your wound, just because the government told you to clean it, you’re going to spend two hundred dollars later coping with the infection.

The Golden Teapot calling the kettle “elitist”

The day after Ronald Reagan’s former economic advisor went on 60 Minutes and soberly articulated on the subject of this micro-tunnel vision anti tax movement being a completely unrealistic delusion, I looked it up on the web and immediately came across a Tea partier’s comment on it.

This guy was carrying on about how the top 5% should not be punished for their achievements. And that anyone who wants to tax that top 5% should instead work harder to become part of that top 5%. And anyone who fails to do so is just too lazy. He went on to say things like if we don’t tax the top 5% we will be rewarded by those wealthiest of wealthy “showering us with charity”. I had to laugh out loud at that point.

Anyhow, here’s the thing. First of all never mind this guy’s asinine assertion that the uberwealthy are going to magically feel compelled to “shower” us “lazy” 95% with “charity”. I’ll forgive that comment because I have compassion for the mentally handicapped. Let’s just focus on, or rather (for the tunnel vision afflicted) broaden our perception to the reality of all us “lazy” folk in that 95%.

5% of about 310.6 million is always about 15.5 million. And 95% of 310.6 million is always about 295 million. You can’t argue with the math. No matter which people move into that top 5%, that 5% will always equal just 15.5 million compared to the 295 million of the rest of us.

This is a classic example of right wing hypocrisy. The right wing propaganda machine is constantly slapping the “Elitist” label on everyone left of center. While from the same pulpit, they proclaim that 95% of Americans are just too damn lazy for not working hard enough elevate themselves to that (elite) top 5%.

I get the basic argument. I believe in personal responsibility. While I observe the horror and sheer lunacy of the far right worshiping capitalism as a religion, I still don’t disagree with capitalism as a system of government. But you have to be realistic. Yes, a certain portion of truly lazy, no good bastards will always be out there, wrongfully taking advantage of social programs. But they only represent a small fraction of those benefiting from social programs. Proportionally, the no good bastards at the other end of the spectrum, those whom gained the most from events leading to the financial meltdown, took far more from all of us than any amount of fraudulent food stamps could ever add up to.

But my point is really about the unrealistic nature how extreme the right wing presents everything. All of these nonsensical absolutes:
If you’re not in favor of an absolutely pure form of capitalism, you must be a “socialist”
If you criticize the war effort you must be an “anti-American” flag burning “troop basher”

None of this type of rhetoric has any place in reality, because reality is a balance of all factors. No matter how deeply you bury your head in the sand, all factors still exist. No matter how far you lean off the starboard side of the ship, the port side never stops existing.

Like it or not, this facet of reality applies to the right wing approach to personal responsibility. Regarding the vast number of honest people who simply lack the mental or physical ability to just work out of their need for social services, I could very easily indulge in the tunnel vision attitude of “They’re not my problem”. But that’s not reality. If we were living in a Tea partier’s perfect world with zero taxes and zero social service, operating under an absolutely purified form of capitalism… Guess what? All of those “not my problem” people would still be out there. They would just be poorer, far more desperate, less educated, and spreading disease at an exponentially higher rate, while likely procreating in much greater numbers.

It’s the kind of extreme class division that results in societies that look like really bad parts of Africa, and countries like Mexico. Is that what we want to turn America into?

When in Rome

Well, I've got some mixed feelings about this Arizona thing.

First off, I’m a realist. So I understand that racial profiling is a necessary evil, to a point. It’s just idiotically idealistic to be completely against racial profiling.

But again to a point... Or a point at a time, in thoughtful increments. In the case of Arizona’s new law, what I mean is: Let’s try out B and C, before jumping directly to D or E. You know? Before leaping to a place on the verge of World War II style internment camps for brown people (State wide), how about picking some low hanging fruit to see how that works first: Like perhaps limit this type of law to within 20 miles of the boarder; or Home Depot parking lots. Something! I don’t know. But as a full state wide position to take, it just seems like an excessively broad stroke, at this point.

Another thought I have on the matter is: Hey, you’re choosing to live in a politically conservative state, so by that choice, you’d better be prepared to be subject to a politically conservative rule of law. Just like when I say to hard core righties: If you don’t want to be a member of a society, move your little inbred family to a deserted island and sit on yurr porch with yurr shotgun and take care’a yurrs.

Seriously! I believe this strongly - and the door swings both ways. If Tea Party conservatives are so passionately against the basic mechanics of what makes a society function, then they should get the fuck out of our society. And if people who typically fall subject to racial profiling want to avoid the burden or humiliation of such encounters, then they should think twice about living in a goat fucking hillbilly state like Arizona.

Video game violence protected by the 1st amendment

So um, just an observation here… Remember Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction”? …And all the public outrage and congressional hearings which ensued? I’m just wondering if some of the same people who were OUTRAGED!!! about their kids being subjected to Janet’s nipple are among those ushering the 1st amendment to the rescue of violence in video games.

Is this really our position as a society? Do we really believe that perpetually desensitizing our children to violence on a daily basis is less damaging to them than a glimpse of a bare breast?

Just checking.

I wonder…

I wonder if I were a republican, eager to jump on the latest anti-democrat bandwagon, would I so blindly and deeply be choking down these hooks lines and sinkers.

Would I have stock piled firearms prior to Obama’s election, because Rush convinced me that the democratic agenda was to abolish the 2nd amendment? Now that I mentioned it… What happened with that? It’s been over a year. …And Barack still hasn’t exhumed Charlton Heston’s grave to sort out that “cold dead hand” business.

Hmmm… I wonder how many other Rushstradamus predictions simply aren’t happening. If I blindly hated all things to the left of 16th century social standards, perhaps I would be too consumed with the latest anti-progress campaign to notice that the last one turned out to be baseless.

And now the healthcare thing. I’ve been hearing the hysteria on the news, which has become more than a little bit dramatic. Now as we all know, republicans never denied that it was politically important to them for Obama to fail at bringing about health care reform. So it was no surprise to anyone when they stuck to their usual political strategy and chose an element of the healthcare plan to demonize in news and radio campaigns. …Turned out to be the mandate piece.

So I wonder how convinced I would be. If I were a right wing devotee, would I believe that a health insurance mandate would bring about the end days??? …That these evil commie congressmen on the left are agents of Satan, here to destroy my life with health insurance? Would I become so passionate in this belief that I would feel compelled to threaten a politician’s children?

Okay. I’m done wondering about it…

Now that I’ve given it some thought, I’m entirely certain that I lack the ability to cram my head that far up my ass.

Dos Equis Redux (AKA: "A Nice Merlot")

Anytime a conversation turns to the subject of a TV show; she quickly calls attention to herself, and takes a quiet moment to look down her nose at everyone in the room, just before boldly boasting the intellectual elitist battle cry: “I don’t have a television!”

In a facebook comment she announced that rather than milk and cookies, Santa would be having stake and martinis at her house.

Where cinema is concerned, she only watches documentaries… but still cannot resist the impulse to say “The book was much better”

Regardless of the widely accepted convention of Capitalizing the First Letter of most Non-conjunctive Words which appear on a Posted Sign, she is suing Caltrans for gross grammatical violations.

She actually goes few places and does nothing which is beyond her very narrow zone of comfort. But don’t bore her with the details of anything, because in most cases she has somehow “been there” and “done that”.

She is… The most pretentious bitch in the world.

“I do not always drink wine… But when I do, I prefer a nice merlot.”

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I’m amazed at what stupid shit people get up in arms about so that they can get on the news

About that kid who got suspended for the Swiss army knife…
All the "wnaaa wnaaa wnaaa" about how the kid was so overly punished. And the school this and the kid that.

What about the parents! Yes, the “camping tool” had a fork and a spoon in it - and every Cub Scout in America has one. But guess what? I don’t care if that “camping tool” had a lolly pop and a bottle of sun tan lotion in it, the fact remains that it had a fucking knife in it.

The parents sent their kid to school with a knife. Regardless of how many harmless bells and whistles and confetti and balloons and condoms were wrapped around it, it’s still a knife. The parents sent their kid to school with a knife. And if the school had reacted any differently than they did, then they would no longer have a rule against bringing weapons to school, because they would have just created a gaping loop hole.

duh.

Oh my God

Someone actually gets it.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112968197

Origins of "original" art

So I was listening to the radio dj talk about a band getting sued by another band for the similarity of a melody used in a popular song… blah blah blah. Then he continues on the general subject of musicians ripping each other off. And it gets me thinking about all the other blah blah blah that I’ve heard people accusing various artists of all the way back to the Baroque era. And people who make these sorts of criticisms seem to be so proud of themselves for pointing these things out.

So here’s the deal. Everything is derivative! Art is an expression based upon inspiration. Inspiration comes in all forms. Limitlessness is the nature of art. Art's inspiration comes from all places: from personal experience to personal fantasies to God’s creations and yes to other artist’s creations. It’s okay. Art begets art. This is also the nature of art. Really, it’s okay. Everyone can settle the fuck down and just enjoy the show.

Are you completely fucking stupid?

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If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are at best, believing some misinformation.

If you answer yes to at least (2) of these questions, you may suffer from a chronic willingness to accept urban legend as fact, for the purpose of adding comfort or support to your related political preconceptions.

If you answer yes to (3) or more of these questions, it is likely that you are completely fucking stupid.

1. Do you believe that Al Gore ever actually claimed to have invented the internet?

2. Do you believe that most of the televised comments made by politicians are based in fact and presented in non-deceptive context?

3. Do you believe that at least 25% of the comments made by talk radio hosts are based in fact and presented in non-deceptive context?

4. Do you believe that any Democratic healthcare proposal includes anything about “Death Panels”?

5. Do you believe that the President’s birth certificate is a fake?


Thank you for participating in this survey. You have done your Country a great service.
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Is your mind paralyzed by your brain?

The difference between learning and assimilating information

There are those who are undoubtedly smart individuals by various definitions of the word smart but at the same time are actually less evolved than others and are the lesser equipped to understand certain things.

Important things: such as the fact that there exists a radical difference between the progressive achievement of learning something and the lateral act of assimilating information. While a person may have a tremendous capacity for assimilating information they may have an incredibly limited ability to actually learn things which are truly new to them or even slightly beyond the scope of their comfort zone.

Where I believe a large part of their handicap lies is in their tendency to arrive at predetermined conclusions about subjects, as if to justify their actions. Or as they otherwise attach their identity to preconceived ideas which they are simply trying to prove or disprove to themselves and others. So as they harvest data, very quickly and efficiently and in great masses, they are not exposing themselves to the information for the purpose of learning new things or exploring new ideas and possibilities – but rather they are selectively gathering testimony like a lawyer at a deposition.

…Cherry picking the parts which can be slipped in a context which supports their case; to prove their point – their predetermined conclusion about the subject.

Therefore, while this guy endlessly rattles off loads and loads of information on a subject in great detail, articulating in a manner in which he is clearly impressing himself and perhaps impressing others, he is only reciting data without any demonstration of actual knowledge. And he really would be of much greater benefit to himself and to those in his proximity if he would from time to time simply shut the fuck up.

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A side bar...

…on the right wing campaign for the de-evolution of society, addressed to those whom have not yet been convinced that the Earth is flat.

With each knuckle dragging step toward its most primitive base; as the Republican Party continues to more clearly define it’s self as a seething ball of hatred - armed with nothing but manipulation, hypocrisy and a viral ability to spin McCarthyistic paranoid hysteria into urban legends, I want to take a moment to remind everyone that it’s all going to be okay.

Nature is powerful. Just as the the early monkeys could not stop the evolution of primates;



these monkeys, despite all their poop throwing and cage rattling, will not stop the evolution of our society.



So keep trudging forward

and have a nice day.

Nazi Healthcare?

It’s settled. The debate is over. There is not a shred of doubt left. The evidence is gargantuan, concrete and empirical. Now that so many conservatives so passionately believe that American healthcare reform is actually a gateway drug to the next Nazi holocaust, there is no argument left. Because with this latest campaign of uber-nonsense they have finally confessed! The Conservatives have officially, purely and unapologetically declared themselves completely, deeply, and fundamentally stupider than fuckin’ shit.
It has even been entered into the dictionary:

con·ser·va·tive  \kən-ˈsər-və-tiv\ –adjective

1. lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind.
2. slow of mind; obtuse; given to unintelligent decisions or acts; acting in an unintelligent or careless manner; lacking intelligence or reason; brutish.
3. characterized by or proceeding from mental dullness; foolish; senseless
4. tediously dull, esp. due to lack of meaning or sense; inane; pointless
5. stupider than fuckin’ shit.

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STAR TREK

The Redemption


So... I reckon a whole lot of different trekkies set the bar of expectations in a bunch of different places. For me - I set a hopeful goal for this new Star Trek movie. The goal imposed by my hopes upon the makers of this film was for it to redeem the once great Star Trek legacy from the tragic wreckage of the television series Enterprise. Now just to make sure we’re all on the same page here - raise your hand if you believe that one of the biggest mistakes in television history was the failure to kill off Captain Archer in the middle of season one. I’m sure many would respond that Archer should have been killed off in the middle of the first episode or first scene even.

Anyhow, I don’t need to spiral into an epic rant about Archerprise. The point is that so much about the legacy of Star Trek is a uniquely beautiful thing, that it would have been a truly heartbreaking tragedy if no one were to lift it from the ashes which I need not describe further. Well… Thank the slain Klingon gods, the Bejoran profits and every deity in-between, this great redemption has been achieved.

With such a steady hand this film was soberly crafted with what seemed to be the deliberate objective of conquering its vast and formidable challenges without appearing to face challenges. Leonard Nimoy’s presence was written and presented as tastefully and powerfully as his influence was felt. The portrayal of the original bridge crew characters was contemporary and fresh - without pretending that the originals did not exist. And the measure of similarities and direct references which were included was perfect: Enough to satisfy our appetite for homage but tapping the breaks before plowing into fromage. And how awesome is the parallel reality/alternate timeline? It always bothered me when things were written into Star Trek episodes that conflicted with Star Trek history. But now this is no longer a problem… Clean slate. Cheating? Sure. But as this film reminds us, cheating is Captain Kirk’s style.

And for those of us in the “Captain Archer ruined Star Trek” camp… Nicely done on the Archer’s prize beagle transporter accident. A subtle, perfectly measured and executed jab – which for me was one of many fine jewels in this spectacular crown. To the same depth of conviction that I wish for those responsible for Archerprise to have their genitalia eaten by rabid Cardassian voles, I do sincerely wish for the makers of this film to live long and prosper.

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Clip Wings or Cut Noses

No one owns the anger. All tax payers and politicians of all political persuasions are furious about the AIG bonus pay outs. Unfortunately, too many years of too little regulation have tied our hands to a train that’s headed for a collapsed bridge. Sure, we all agree that it would feel good to say fuck AIG, and let it burn… But is running the business of our nation based on our feelings the best idea? Wasn’t it our blind fury about 9/11 that kept far too many of us out of touch with the fact that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11? We could keep making the mistake of navigating by anger. We could cut off the country’s nose to spite AIG’s face. Or we could do what is distasteful but necessary now, while we endure the “feeling” that we’re rewarding the culprits, and later we can responsibly punish the culprits by clipping their wings.

If these corporations want to spit in the face of the tax payer by taking bailout money and passing it out in bonuses, let’s just remember that. We’ll keep our cool. Do what needs to be done to get through this mess… And then we’ll remember that spit in our face - and clip their wings so deeply that they will wish for nothing more so than the ability to go back in time to un-do the mistake of rubbing salt in our wounds. We can punish them plenty, by regulating the living crap out of them later. But let’s have the sense to get the tumor out of our body before we toss a grenade at it.

Touchdown!

Yeah, I know that sports analogies are done to death but I think I’m onto something here… The other day I was thinking about this inexplicable magnetism which persistently draws me toward the solution of any given situation. I was thinking about how this magnetism seems to be equal in strength to most peoples resistance to change. And as I shuffled through my general observations of strives toward solutions, something occurred to me in a powerful way.

I suddenly had a mental image of a guy running down a football field, carrying the football. And I imagined this guy weighing just one piece of evidence to determine whether or not he was actually running toward the goal. It was the singular fact that most of the people in his vicinity were trying to tackle him. And so the thought hit me – that one’s effort to arrive at the solution is very much like running for a touchdown. You know you’re headed for the solution because everyone’s trying to tackle you.

Either that or you're charging toward a cliff and your friends are trying to save you...
But hey, I guess you gotta take a chance!
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California

So, getting back to politics for a minute. I've been thinking about the Sacramento problem.

Now here's the thing. Our Governor gets it... Get to the fucking solution. Period. Unfortunately, he seems to be the only one there who gets it. We're at point A. The solution is at point B. And there are no partisan ideologies that lead to point B.

So here's what we've got to do. At our next opportunity, vote every incumbent out of the state congress. Seriously. I guarantee that if we just fired everyone in Sacramento, except for the Governor, we would see a radical improvement in the way our state is ran.

December

photo by wickline copyright 2008

Christmas Lights 08