Monday, November 30, 2009
Continuing the Hate
Yeah so I'm a hater ... bite me ... oh wait ... not if I have to deal with this:
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Turkey day countdown
I've had my day out there amongst you ... and let me say ... whew .. can we be done yet? The tide rises against me ..... somehow I'll rise against it .. in the mean time .. take this from brother De La Rocha
Cell phone inspired stupidity ... or why I hate shopping
As the holidays approach, my patience is in rapid decline. Usually because some idiot or asshole in front of me (whether driving or walking) is on their cell phone stopping for no apparent reason, driving or walking too slow, or just fucking oblivious that ANYONE ELSE ON THE FUCKING PLANET exists besides them and their conversant. If you know me ... are friends with me or are an casual acquaintance with me, you KNOW that I loathe people that are like this. My feeling is that if you own a piece of equipment that requires you to
1. Think while operating
2. Slow down your central nervous system to a slug like capacity
3. Brings out the idiot in you
Guess what ... DON'T USE THAT DEVICE IN VIEW OF OTHERS.
My example ... I was shopping for my holiday meal yesterday .. at Whole Food's ... (there's a whole other story about my feeling about this bastion of insanity ... but we'll get to that later) and a woman with her husband in tow were in front of me in the aisle. If you're at all familiar with Whole Crack, you'll know that the aisle's are not very wide. There was a box on the floor in front of said woman and she simply had to maneuver around the box and go on her merry way. All the while she's on her cell, talking to some idiot child or other adult somewhere about something no one but her and it would have even the most slight interest in. Rather than move around the box, she stopped blocking the aisle and stood there. OBLIVIOUS to the fact that she was now blocking traffic in BOTH directions. I said ... loud enough for her to hear ... "It's like being in fucking traffic with IDIOTS on their cell phones." I KNOW that she heard me.
Anyway ... enough about that ...
devices to operate once you spend a small amount of time with them, but there are certain rules of etiquette regarding their usage that should be obeyed:
1) Location: There are places where it is dangerous or simply inappropriate to use a cell phone (or even have it turned on ready to receive calls). Your judgment is your best guide in these cases, but three places spring to mind as no-cell areas: any performance venue (opera, music hall, movie theater, etc.), the inside of a vehicle which you are driving, and inside certain areas of hospitals. The reasons behind the first two should be very obvious to any but the dullest members of society. The latter is due to the fact that certain kinds of emissions can interfere with some medical instrumentation (such as is present in emergency rooms and near operating rooms).
2) Time: There are some times when whatever you are doing is more important than whatever may come over the air waves to you on your phone. An example would be when you are having an important discussion with a business partner, customer, or significant other. Interrupting the conversation to chat with a friend about the weather and gasoline prices is inappropriate at best and very rude at worst. Once again, your own judgment should be the best guide.
3) Volume: Most people seem to raise their voices when speaking on cellular phones. Perhaps it is because the phone's speaker apparatus is quieter than they are used to, but for whatever the reason this is no excuse to project your end of the conversation to every ear within ten paces. The party on the other end of the line can hear you quite well, and you should speak in a tone of voice appropriate to your surroundings until your caller asks you to do otherwise (at which point you should retreat to a private spot as much as is possible). Mastering this component of proper cell phone etiquette seems to be the most difficult for many, as it requires that they focus on their surrounding ambient noise level as well as their conversation.
As a responsible cell phone user, you should be aware of the aural space of those around you and the environment you are in before placing or receiving a call. Your judgment is, as always in matters of social behavior, your best indicator to what is proper. As a final note of inspiration, consider the recently enacted law in the city-state of Singapore that dictates that drivers caught conversing on a cell phone face not only stiff monetary penalties but prison time as well after the first offense.
1. Think while operating
2. Slow down your central nervous system to a slug like capacity
3. Brings out the idiot in you
Guess what ... DON'T USE THAT DEVICE IN VIEW OF OTHERS.
My example ... I was shopping for my holiday meal yesterday .. at Whole Food's ... (there's a whole other story about my feeling about this bastion of insanity ... but we'll get to that later) and a woman with her husband in tow were in front of me in the aisle. If you're at all familiar with Whole Crack, you'll know that the aisle's are not very wide. There was a box on the floor in front of said woman and she simply had to maneuver around the box and go on her merry way. All the while she's on her cell, talking to some idiot child or other adult somewhere about something no one but her and it would have even the most slight interest in. Rather than move around the box, she stopped blocking the aisle and stood there. OBLIVIOUS to the fact that she was now blocking traffic in BOTH directions. I said ... loud enough for her to hear ... "It's like being in fucking traffic with IDIOTS on their cell phones." I KNOW that she heard me.
Anyway ... enough about that ...
devices to operate once you spend a small amount of time with them, but there are certain rules of etiquette regarding their usage that should be obeyed:
1) Location: There are places where it is dangerous or simply inappropriate to use a cell phone (or even have it turned on ready to receive calls). Your judgment is your best guide in these cases, but three places spring to mind as no-cell areas: any performance venue (opera, music hall, movie theater, etc.), the inside of a vehicle which you are driving, and inside certain areas of hospitals. The reasons behind the first two should be very obvious to any but the dullest members of society. The latter is due to the fact that certain kinds of emissions can interfere with some medical instrumentation (such as is present in emergency rooms and near operating rooms).
2) Time: There are some times when whatever you are doing is more important than whatever may come over the air waves to you on your phone. An example would be when you are having an important discussion with a business partner, customer, or significant other. Interrupting the conversation to chat with a friend about the weather and gasoline prices is inappropriate at best and very rude at worst. Once again, your own judgment should be the best guide.
3) Volume: Most people seem to raise their voices when speaking on cellular phones. Perhaps it is because the phone's speaker apparatus is quieter than they are used to, but for whatever the reason this is no excuse to project your end of the conversation to every ear within ten paces. The party on the other end of the line can hear you quite well, and you should speak in a tone of voice appropriate to your surroundings until your caller asks you to do otherwise (at which point you should retreat to a private spot as much as is possible). Mastering this component of proper cell phone etiquette seems to be the most difficult for many, as it requires that they focus on their surrounding ambient noise level as well as their conversation.
As a responsible cell phone user, you should be aware of the aural space of those around you and the environment you are in before placing or receiving a call. Your judgment is, as always in matters of social behavior, your best indicator to what is proper. As a final note of inspiration, consider the recently enacted law in the city-state of Singapore that dictates that drivers caught conversing on a cell phone face not only stiff monetary penalties but prison time as well after the first offense.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Stories about my past
This video was one of the first videos that I'd ever seen that made me question what I was doing. I was a young lad, about 16. Watch, shudder, learn.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Twitarded
Ok so I was going to post some rantings about the new Twilight movie today, since all of the talking heads are all agog over it, but decided instead to post what's below from the Huffington Post. I'll come back to Twilight, don't you worry.
(I'm posting this verbatim from Huffington Post.)
I'm not sure what I have more contempt for. Sarah Palin's pathological lying or the people who can say with a straight face that Sarah Palin is qualified for anything other than a reality show contestant or the the Edie McClurg role in a remake of Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
What's even more alarming is the constant reporting from the cable news people this week: Sarah Palin is famous! Wow! But no one is digging into exactly why she's famous.
And that's the heart of the matter here. She's nothing more than an overrated celebudoof. She's the equivalent of an ex-reality show star that's somehow tricked enough people into believing that a convention speech and a series of embarrassing winks qualifies her to be a national political leader -- even president -- when, in fact, she's only really qualified to be famous. She's famous for being famous.
I have yet to hear a pitch from her supporters that elevates her in any substantive way to a level beyond that of the other Republicans in the current field of potential candidates. She's famous. And. Hmm. She's famous. That's about it. Oh, and she can repeat hard-right ideology without swallowing her own tongue in the process.
It's very possible that Bill Kristol and whoever Palin's ghost-handlers happen to be are cynical enough to believe that Sarah Palin could ride a celebreality rocket ship into the White House.
They've taken a hard look at the present climate of celebrity gossip and reality television ratings and they've identified an opening in America's obvious infatuation with chewing-gum superficiality -- and they're ready to exploit it for political power. Where Ronald Reagan was a celebrity in the old-Hollywood framework, Palin is a celebrity in the talentless, Balloon Boy, reality show, Prejean, new-Hollywood framework.
Suffice to say, this strategy further devalues what it means to be considered "presidential." It chips away at all of the basic but necessary prerequisites for the gig, replacing them with nothing but the base notion of fame. Not even popularity as it applies to fame, but merely the quality of being known.
Consequently, this can only contribute to a future when we choose a president based solely upon his or her ability to achieve the most real life drama, irrespective of any sort of inherent talent for leadership, natural intelligence or any notable skills whatsoever.
A reality show president.
So it's not difficult to imagine a blurring of the line between the quality of being famous and the quality of being presidential -- an eventual time when these traits become totally interchangeable. It's already happened in Hollywood with the rise of unscripted reality and game show personalities slowly replacing actors and filmmakers, and the calculation coming from the Palin camp seems to be that this programming formula can be applied to presidential politics.
Here's how it works: Take a not unattractive rube with a screwy family and mix in some drama. Add cameras and POOF! We have a candidate/show.
Is there any other formula to explain the obsession with, say, Jon & Kate? Or the Balloon Boy family? The Sarah Palin Show is nothing more than a confessional interview with poorly articulated politics tossed into the mix.
Speaking of the confessional interview, she hasn't proved herself to be especially articulate, bright or well-informed. Even after a year on the air. Which is alarming because being on television is supposed to be her strong suit. See, Palin's most glaring inadequacy isn't necessarily her lack of work experience. There's just nothing else concrete enough to compensate for her weak resume. It's not like her supporters can say, "Yeah, well, she's only been a small town mayor, and she resigned before her first term as governor was over. But damn! She's crazy smart when it comes to economy and foreign relations -- you know, because of her education and travels abroad." There's not even that. She comes up empty on everything.
And what makes this utter lack of substance far worse is that she can't even articulate her very simplistic thoughts without using staccato sentence fragments strung together as if she's reciting abbreviated notes illegibly scrawled on the backs of barroom napkins, and selected on-the-fly using a dart board.
Even on the question about the role of the vice president last year, she failed to properly articulate an answer, and, instead babbled incoherently about something to do with "position flexible."
Fact: When a job applicant at any level is given repeated chances to explain the job for which he or she is applying, and, even after several tries, still can't nail the answer, that person is unqualified for that job. But her inability to explain the vice presidency (even after several tries) underscored that it's not just about her lack of experience or leadership or general knowledge, it's that she was (and remains) simply incapable of grasping the basics. In this case: grade school level civics, and a description of the job for which she was nominated.
Again, what does that leave us with? A reality show novelty. A tabloid hero. Not a world leader.
Somewhere along the line, her advisers recognized her ineptitude and twisted the "going rogue" description into a positive way to explain it all. Rewinding again to the vice presidential debate last year, she made it very clear that she didn't intend to directly answer the questions. She just plowed forward and answered the questions that she prepared for, even if they were totally unrelated to the topic. Why? She explained that she was, in essence, going rogue.
Early in the debate she said, "And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also."
But it was clearly just an excuse for the fact that she's a policy nincompoop and could only recite from the script she memorized. This rogue mantra lives on with the theme of her book, along with her ongoing refusal to confront the growing syllabus of unexplained inconsistencies on even the most basic of details -- like whether or not she held a family vote before she accepted Senator McCain's kneejerk offer. Even on this very simple question, she refuses to correct the record.
In Sarah Palin's defense, there's no doubt that she's relatable to a certain demographic of Americans who are unconcerned with advanced education and the subtleties of policy. But if you dig down into the reasons why Palin people like her, it's obvious that they're simply "fans" who can, perhaps, relate to Palin's ordinary background and easy-to-repeat ideology.
Ultimately, there's a certain element of the Republican Party that's excited to have yet another stab at the Bush 43 idea, and, to that end, they've certainly found their empty vessel. But this time, they've tapped into an American obsession that goes beyond cowboy swagger and plainspoken southern twangery. They've identified and are cultivating one of our most addictive opiates: a genuine made-for-TV spectacle. And it's dangerous for America. Idiocracy dangerous.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
All I can say after this is ... Amen brother, amen.
(I'm posting this verbatim from Huffington Post.)
I'm not sure what I have more contempt for. Sarah Palin's pathological lying or the people who can say with a straight face that Sarah Palin is qualified for anything other than a reality show contestant or the the Edie McClurg role in a remake of Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
What's even more alarming is the constant reporting from the cable news people this week: Sarah Palin is famous! Wow! But no one is digging into exactly why she's famous.
And that's the heart of the matter here. She's nothing more than an overrated celebudoof. She's the equivalent of an ex-reality show star that's somehow tricked enough people into believing that a convention speech and a series of embarrassing winks qualifies her to be a national political leader -- even president -- when, in fact, she's only really qualified to be famous. She's famous for being famous.
I have yet to hear a pitch from her supporters that elevates her in any substantive way to a level beyond that of the other Republicans in the current field of potential candidates. She's famous. And. Hmm. She's famous. That's about it. Oh, and she can repeat hard-right ideology without swallowing her own tongue in the process.
It's very possible that Bill Kristol and whoever Palin's ghost-handlers happen to be are cynical enough to believe that Sarah Palin could ride a celebreality rocket ship into the White House.
They've taken a hard look at the present climate of celebrity gossip and reality television ratings and they've identified an opening in America's obvious infatuation with chewing-gum superficiality -- and they're ready to exploit it for political power. Where Ronald Reagan was a celebrity in the old-Hollywood framework, Palin is a celebrity in the talentless, Balloon Boy, reality show, Prejean, new-Hollywood framework.
Suffice to say, this strategy further devalues what it means to be considered "presidential." It chips away at all of the basic but necessary prerequisites for the gig, replacing them with nothing but the base notion of fame. Not even popularity as it applies to fame, but merely the quality of being known.
Consequently, this can only contribute to a future when we choose a president based solely upon his or her ability to achieve the most real life drama, irrespective of any sort of inherent talent for leadership, natural intelligence or any notable skills whatsoever.
A reality show president.
So it's not difficult to imagine a blurring of the line between the quality of being famous and the quality of being presidential -- an eventual time when these traits become totally interchangeable. It's already happened in Hollywood with the rise of unscripted reality and game show personalities slowly replacing actors and filmmakers, and the calculation coming from the Palin camp seems to be that this programming formula can be applied to presidential politics.
Here's how it works: Take a not unattractive rube with a screwy family and mix in some drama. Add cameras and POOF! We have a candidate/show.
Is there any other formula to explain the obsession with, say, Jon & Kate? Or the Balloon Boy family? The Sarah Palin Show is nothing more than a confessional interview with poorly articulated politics tossed into the mix.
Speaking of the confessional interview, she hasn't proved herself to be especially articulate, bright or well-informed. Even after a year on the air. Which is alarming because being on television is supposed to be her strong suit. See, Palin's most glaring inadequacy isn't necessarily her lack of work experience. There's just nothing else concrete enough to compensate for her weak resume. It's not like her supporters can say, "Yeah, well, she's only been a small town mayor, and she resigned before her first term as governor was over. But damn! She's crazy smart when it comes to economy and foreign relations -- you know, because of her education and travels abroad." There's not even that. She comes up empty on everything.
And what makes this utter lack of substance far worse is that she can't even articulate her very simplistic thoughts without using staccato sentence fragments strung together as if she's reciting abbreviated notes illegibly scrawled on the backs of barroom napkins, and selected on-the-fly using a dart board.
Even on the question about the role of the vice president last year, she failed to properly articulate an answer, and, instead babbled incoherently about something to do with "position flexible."
Fact: When a job applicant at any level is given repeated chances to explain the job for which he or she is applying, and, even after several tries, still can't nail the answer, that person is unqualified for that job. But her inability to explain the vice presidency (even after several tries) underscored that it's not just about her lack of experience or leadership or general knowledge, it's that she was (and remains) simply incapable of grasping the basics. In this case: grade school level civics, and a description of the job for which she was nominated.
Again, what does that leave us with? A reality show novelty. A tabloid hero. Not a world leader.
Somewhere along the line, her advisers recognized her ineptitude and twisted the "going rogue" description into a positive way to explain it all. Rewinding again to the vice presidential debate last year, she made it very clear that she didn't intend to directly answer the questions. She just plowed forward and answered the questions that she prepared for, even if they were totally unrelated to the topic. Why? She explained that she was, in essence, going rogue.
Early in the debate she said, "And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also."
But it was clearly just an excuse for the fact that she's a policy nincompoop and could only recite from the script she memorized. This rogue mantra lives on with the theme of her book, along with her ongoing refusal to confront the growing syllabus of unexplained inconsistencies on even the most basic of details -- like whether or not she held a family vote before she accepted Senator McCain's kneejerk offer. Even on this very simple question, she refuses to correct the record.
In Sarah Palin's defense, there's no doubt that she's relatable to a certain demographic of Americans who are unconcerned with advanced education and the subtleties of policy. But if you dig down into the reasons why Palin people like her, it's obvious that they're simply "fans" who can, perhaps, relate to Palin's ordinary background and easy-to-repeat ideology.
Ultimately, there's a certain element of the Republican Party that's excited to have yet another stab at the Bush 43 idea, and, to that end, they've certainly found their empty vessel. But this time, they've tapped into an American obsession that goes beyond cowboy swagger and plainspoken southern twangery. They've identified and are cultivating one of our most addictive opiates: a genuine made-for-TV spectacle. And it's dangerous for America. Idiocracy dangerous.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
All I can say after this is ... Amen brother, amen.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
For the Love of Bacon
First let me explain something, I'm a vegetarian. About as close to vegan as you can get. I don't eat meat. I'm perfectly happy and quite sane that way. I'm ok with the fact you may not feel the same way that I do. We're all supposed to try to get along here. I just have different sensibilities than you do and as long as you're ok with .. then so am I, BUT ... with that said ... what the fuck is the fascination with bacon?
Get my point?
Wanna know where bacon comes from? Here's a little video to help you out in your neanderthal thinking:
Some more facts about how you get that nice bacon on your plate:
A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation reveals unconscionable cruelty to mother pigs and their young piglets at a Hatfield Quality Meat supplier - "Country View Family Farms," in Fannettsburg, Pennsylvania. The hidden camera video provides consumers with a jarring glimpse into the nightmarish world of factory pork production.
MFA's investigation uncovered:
* Workers grabbing piglets by their fragile ears or legs and throwing them across the room and slamming them into transport carts.
* Workers tattooing sows by repeatedly driving sharp metal spikes into their flesh.
* Sows with untreated rectal prolapses and deep, infected sores and scrapes from constant rubbing against the bars of their stalls.
* Workers cutting off piglets' tails with dull pliers and castrating them by ripping out their testes with their bare hands - all without anesthesia.
* Thousands of pregnant pigs confined in two-feet wide metal stalls so small that they could only take one step forward or backward and could not turn around or lie down comfortably.
* Injured, sick and runt piglets being tossed into overcrowded gassing kill carts, slowly suffocating from CO2.
* Workers firing steel rods into sows' heads, sometimes as many as four separate times, before the sows fell and died.
Numerous veterinarians and animal welfare experts have harshly condemned the conditions documented at this "family farm" - which confines nearly 3,000 breeding sows. Dr. Nedim C. Buyukmihci, Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, asserts, "I can state unequivocally that the pigs in this facility suffered immensely...These people showed complete disregard for the welfare or well-being on the pigs."
The findings of MFA's newest investigation are consistent with those documented at pig farms across the country in recent years - illustrating that animal neglect and abuse are the pork industry norm, not the exception.
Not only are the abuses documented at this facility standard within the industry, they are legal in the state of Pennsylvania. Like most states, Pennsylvania's anti-cruelty statute exempts farmed animals from legal protection. Pigs, like all farmed animals, also lack federal protection during their lives confined on factory farms.
As consumers we can choose compassion over cruelty at every meal. Adopting a compassionate vegan diet is the most powerful action we can take to put an end to needless animal suffering and the conditions documented during this investigation.
More about this atrocity can be found here.
Any questions?
Wanna know where bacon comes from? Here's a little video to help you out in your neanderthal thinking:
Some more facts about how you get that nice bacon on your plate:
A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation reveals unconscionable cruelty to mother pigs and their young piglets at a Hatfield Quality Meat supplier - "Country View Family Farms," in Fannettsburg, Pennsylvania. The hidden camera video provides consumers with a jarring glimpse into the nightmarish world of factory pork production.
MFA's investigation uncovered:
* Workers grabbing piglets by their fragile ears or legs and throwing them across the room and slamming them into transport carts.
* Workers tattooing sows by repeatedly driving sharp metal spikes into their flesh.
* Sows with untreated rectal prolapses and deep, infected sores and scrapes from constant rubbing against the bars of their stalls.
* Workers cutting off piglets' tails with dull pliers and castrating them by ripping out their testes with their bare hands - all without anesthesia.
* Thousands of pregnant pigs confined in two-feet wide metal stalls so small that they could only take one step forward or backward and could not turn around or lie down comfortably.
* Injured, sick and runt piglets being tossed into overcrowded gassing kill carts, slowly suffocating from CO2.
* Workers firing steel rods into sows' heads, sometimes as many as four separate times, before the sows fell and died.
Numerous veterinarians and animal welfare experts have harshly condemned the conditions documented at this "family farm" - which confines nearly 3,000 breeding sows. Dr. Nedim C. Buyukmihci, Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, asserts, "I can state unequivocally that the pigs in this facility suffered immensely...These people showed complete disregard for the welfare or well-being on the pigs."
The findings of MFA's newest investigation are consistent with those documented at pig farms across the country in recent years - illustrating that animal neglect and abuse are the pork industry norm, not the exception.
Not only are the abuses documented at this facility standard within the industry, they are legal in the state of Pennsylvania. Like most states, Pennsylvania's anti-cruelty statute exempts farmed animals from legal protection. Pigs, like all farmed animals, also lack federal protection during their lives confined on factory farms.
As consumers we can choose compassion over cruelty at every meal. Adopting a compassionate vegan diet is the most powerful action we can take to put an end to needless animal suffering and the conditions documented during this investigation.
More about this atrocity can be found here.
Any questions?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Think you can handle the truth?
Here's a nice little piece written by one of the producers of Keith Olbermanns show. Before you start your inner dialogue ... cease and desist. This is NOT about politics, forget that it's someone from the MSM (or whatever you want to call them) and IMAGINE for a minute that it was a friend, or a loved one, or even you either at the clinic or maybe even volunteering:
"Eighty-three percent of the patients they see are employed, they are not accepting other government help on a large scale, not "welfare queens" as some would like to have us believe. They are tax-paying, good, upstanding citizens who are trying to make it and give their kids a better life just like you and me.
Ninety percent of the patients who came through Saturday's clinic had two or more diagnoses.
Eighty-two percent had a life-threatening condition such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or hypertension. They are victims of a system built with corporate profits at its center, which long ago forgot the moral imperative that should drive us to show compassion to our fellow men and women."
The full article appears here.
The question that's asked in this article is the same that I find myself asking over and over and over again. To the point of insanity. How can a country of such "wealth" stand by and let this happen? People are DYING because of this. Forget about the fact that there may be an "agenda" in here ... just stop that arguement right now. This is NOT about agendas, messages or politics. When I started this blog I swore that I wasnt going to make it about politics but about things that pissed me off ... and friends let me tell you ..... on a scale from 1 to 10 ... this one is a 25. I am livid with rage, ready to snap the head off anyone who calls this some call to arms for any number of idiot conspiracy theories, socialist healthcare plans, Obama being any kind of "ist" or another rant from Glenn Beck. Again let me point this out in VERY simple english. Politicians and their indifference are KILLING americans. While access to health care is NOT a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution, it should be and should start now.
Further Insanity
No sooner did I post my last post than I find the following:
Rage Grows in America: Anti‑Government Conspiracies
Introduction: A Year of Growing Animosity
Since the election of Barack Obama as president, a current of anti-government hostility has swept across the United States, creating a climate of fervor and activism with manifestations ranging from incivility in public forums to acts of intimidation and violence.
What characterizes this anti-government hostility is a shared belief that Obama and his administration actually pose a threat to the future of the United States. Some accuse Obama of plotting to bring socialism to the United States, while others claim he will bring about Nazism or fascism. All believe that Obama and his administration will trample on individual freedoms and civil liberties, due to some sinister agenda, and they see his economic and social policies as manifestations of this agenda. In particular anti-government activists used the issue of health care reform as a rallying point, accusing Obama and his administration of dark designs ranging from “socialized medicine” to “death panels,” even when the Obama administration had not come out with a specific health care reform plan. Some even compared the Obama administration’s intentions to Nazi eugenics programs.
Some of these assertions are motivated by prejudice, but more common is an intense strain of anti-government distrust and anger, colored by a streak of paranoia and belief in conspiracies. These sentiments are present both in mainstream and “grass-roots” movements as well as in extreme anti-government movements such as a resurgent militia movement. Ultimately, this anti-government anger, if it continues to grow in intensity and scope, may result in an increase in anti-government extremists and the potental for a rise of violent anti-government acts.
Part One: Anger in the Mainstream
The Tea Parties
The rapid growth of anti-government anger in the wake of Obama’s election first became apparent in the spring of 2009, when conservative groups and grass-roots activists organized a nationwide series of anti-government rallies dubbed “Tea Parties.” At these events, and later sequels, anti-government sentiments and conspiracy theories proliferated, with a common theme being that somehow Obama had “stolen” the country from Americans.
The Town Hall Meeting Disruptions
More evidence of anti-government animosity appeared in the summer of 2009, when a variety of anti-government protests and disruptions occurred at town hall meetings organized by senators and representatives across the country to discuss healthcare reform. These events became a fertile ground for anti-Obama protests and stunts, with some protesters angrily launching verbal attacks against the president as well as other officeholders. A number of protests explicitly compared the Obama administration and its policies to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
A Building Anger
The angry protests at town hall meetings seemed to give a “green light” to expressions of anti-government and anti-Obama hostility, as when South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!” to Obama himself during a speech to Congress in September. Tea Party events in September, especially a large rally in Washington, D.C., itself, were characterized by extreme sentiments, including Nazi imagery, racist imagery, and imagery that implicitly or explicitly promoted violence. Other events, such as a “How to Take Back America” conference in Missouri and the rally against health-care reform held by conservatives in D.C. on November 5, 2009, saw similar expressions of anger.
The “Birther” Movement
More troubling than general expressions of anti-government hostility or anger has been the proliferation of anti-government conspiracy theories. One of the newest such theories, the so-called “birther” movement, which rapidly spread during and after the 2008 election campaign, targeted Obama himself. “Birthers” claim that Obama is not a legitimate president because he allegedly was not born in the United States (as the Constitution requires), but rather in Kenya. Especially disturbing are the mainstream media figures and politicians who implicitly or explicitly endorse the “birther” conspiracy theory, or refuse to condemn it. Two attorneys, Philip Berg of Pennsylvania and Orly Taitz of California, have been particularly active in spreading the “birther” arguments, as has an on-line right-wing newspaper, World Net Daily.
The Influence of the Mainstream Media
Though much of the impetus for anti-government sentiment has come from a variety of grass-roots and extremist groups, segments of the mainstream media have played a surprisingly active role in generating such segment. Though a number of media figures and commentators have taken part, the media personality who has played the most active role has been radio and television host Glenn Beck, who along with many of his guests have made a habit of demonizing the Obama administration and promoting conspiracy theories about it. Beck has acted as a “fearmonger-in-chief,” raising anxiety about and distrust towards the government.
Part Two: Anger on the Fringe
Alex Jones, the Conspiracy King
Further out into the extremist fringe, one person in particular has been responsible for stirring up anti-government and anti-Obama conspiracy theories in the United States. Alex Jones, a Texas-based radio show host, has created a radio- and Internet-based conspiracy-oriented media empire, most of the content of which is devoted to promoting the notion of an over-arching conspiracy by malevolent globalists to take over the world and create a “New World Order” with high-tech slavery. Jones claims that the United States government itself is part of this conspiracy, building concentration camps and preparing to implement tyrannical measures such as martial law and gun confiscation. Jones has been effective in promoting his conspiracy theories and has even appeared on some mainstream media shows.
Conspiracy Theories Imagine Government Plots
One of the most disturbing trends in the rise of anti-government animosity in 2009 has been the resurrection and proliferation of anti-government conspiracy theories, many of which had their origins in the early to mid 1990s. More extreme than “birther” conspiracies, these theories allege dark, violent designs on the part of the federal government to declare martial law and end democratic government, to confiscate firearms from American citizens to render them defenseless, and to build hundreds of concentration camps to house “dissidents” and other liberty-loving Americans. Internet social media, including Web sites such as Myspace, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, have allowed these theories to spread far and wide very rapidly.
Conspiracy Theories Prompting Action: Reaction to the Iowa National Guard Training
Though many anti-government conspiracy theories seem wild and fantastical, anti-government activists may nevertheless act on them as if they were true. The Iowa National Guard experienced this in early 2009 after a planned training exercise was reinterpreted by conspiracy theorists as an exercise in confiscating firearms from American citizens.
Conspiracy Theories Prompting Action: Richard Poplawski
Conspiracy theories also play in important role in radicalizing people, drawing them further towards extreme causes, and increasing their willingness to take extreme, even violent, action. A tragic example of this phenomenon occurred in Pittsburgh in April 2009, when a young man, radicalized by anti-government and white supremacist ideologies, especially since Obama’s election, allegedly murdered three Pittsburgh police officers responding to a 911 call.
Resisting the Government
Since Obama’s election, an increasing number of people have urged that he and his administration must be resisted. Some groups have even implicitly or explicitly urged armed resistance of some sort. Many of these groups have appropriated an idealized version of Revolutionary War history for their own purposes, stressing the armed resistance of the American colonists to British “tyranny” and suggesting that Americans today should act as their revolutionary forebears did.
The Oath Keepers
One manifestation of the ideology of resistance was the creation in March 2009 of the Oath Keepers, an anti-government group that tries to recruit police and military personnel and veterans. Members refuse to obey hypothetical “orders” from the government, “orders” that speak more to their own paranoid and conspiratorial beliefs than to any realistic government action.
The Three Percenters
The Three Percenters are a loosely organized movement whose adherents portray themselves as modern-day counterparts to Revolutionary-era patriots “committed to the restoration of the Founders’ Republic” and “willing to fight, die, and if forced by any would-be oppressor, to kill…”
The Resurgence of the Militia Movement
One of the most troubling aspects of the rise of anti-government sentiment in 2009 has been a corresponding resurgence of the militia movement, an anti-government extremist movement that has had a long history of criminal activity and violence. Within the past two years, the movement has almost quadrupled in size, growing to more than 200 groups across the United States. It is also the most receptive audience for the extreme anti-government conspiracy theories and their radicalizing potential. Because of its history of criminal activity, the revival of this movement is of serious concern.
I don't normally post all another post but this one seemed to be worthy of it.
Letting It Fly
So ok ... I've been thinking about things that piss me off .. and let me be VERY specific, these aren't your normal under the skin, little irritants but things that REALLY really piss me off.
1. That Fucking TWILIGHT movie. Tweener vampires? Really? Does anyone else remember those years? Does the fact that you're an insufferable little pimply faced douche lose ANY of it's "warmth" because you're a vampire? Wasn't it bad enough that we had to deal with Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire AND Tom Cruise as Lestat bad enough? Hollywood ... give this over to the Asians' too. They understand 2 things you don't get. Plot and story. Enough. Send Joe Eszterhas, Micheal Bay and let them ruin Tokyo the way they guttered Hollywood.
2. Insurance Companies. A HUGE FUCK YOU to them. I don't deal with them often, but I had one instance that still to this day pisses me off. I had an injury to a rotator cuff earlier this year and had to visit an ER. I've spent almost the last 10 years working for startup companies that were too poor to give me insurance so I haven't had any. Therefor I may have had a "pre-existing" condition called Insura absentia. I'm sure a lot of you know this (if I'm to believe what Keith Olbermann is telling me.) So I went to the ER, filled out my paperwork and then was sent 14 cadjillion forms asking me if I'd had a pre-existing condition. Noting that on every form I filled out, if I'd had insurance in the last 10 years, to which I would reply NO! Try to disqualify me now you FUCKS! Now couple that with the fact that they're getting rich off of us. They're worse than the next people on this list but NOT by much. I'll probably spew a LOT more about these idiot savants later, I'll just save that though.
3. The media. Point of contension. Sarah Palin. Does this media whore need ANY more attention? David Gergen said that he figures that she's set to make about $10 million on a speaking/media tour. I'm going to go out write a schlock crap novel call it a "memoir" call EVERY media outlet in the US and just send a loud recording of me taking a shit and laughing. That's what they're feeding us. Here's a brief list of media WHORES I can't stand
Jon Gosslin
The Entire staff of MTV
Sarah Palin
FOX news
The Dugger Family
Anyone who thinks that having more than 3 kids is "a lifelong goal"
Nancy Grace
Anyone who is STILL talking about Michael Jackson ... he's not Elvis and we STILL want to resurrect his ghost. Something tells me that MJ's "shelf-life" will be about that long too.
(that's my short list today)
4. Lastly but not least. People who STILL think that talking on their cell phone is mandatory for being in a vehicle. Guess what it's not you douche. Get off your phone, stop talking about your brats and DRIVE. Johnny and Susie are precious but obviously not precious enough for you to stop talking on your fucking phone while you drive. Take my advice, next time you think about having another child, have another drink, masturbate and go back to sleep. The world can deal with only so many of you draining the gene pool.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Starting off with a Bang!
"Here is my final point. About drugs, about alcohol, about pornography and smoking and everything else. What business is it of yours what I do, read, buy, see, say, think, who I fuck, what I take into my body - as long as I do not harm another human being on this planet?" --- Bill Hicks
"America... just a nation of two hundred million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable."
"For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled."
Hunter S. Thompson
"This is my home. Home is where the disease is. As long as I stay in America, I'll never run out of subjects for songs." --- Jello Biafra
“Take away the right to say fuck and you take away the right to say fuck the government.” --- Lenny Bruce
Yes friends, this blog is going to be one of THOSE kinds of blogs. Some whiny pastey faced guy sitting in some dank basement ranting about how it's all fucked up and how we got here, except that I'm one of you. I have a job, I pay my bills, I do the things that all "good" citizens do, I just now have a pulpit to spew from. Let me just say this ... there will be spewing, vitriolic, vile, somewhat diseased screed scrolling from my fingers, typing as fast and as furious as the limbic center of my brain can take me. My monkey mind, feverishly working the bile that's been festering and finding a way to send it out to the etherworld of the Internet. To share with someone ... anyone ... or possibly no one. Wanna join me for the trip?
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