We must draw a clear line between ourselves and the enemy.
-Mao
We are not believers in armed or violent struggle. Throughout this conflict, a conflict that has ebbed and flowed for many hundreds of years between the powerful and the meek, a conflict that began its dramatic escalation during a period of industry and profit, we have seen many factions, rebellions, militias and radicals that have taken up arms and violent forms of protest against the pigs that oppress and murder in order to line their own pockets. While we cheer on the ideology and are sympathetic toward the plight of our comrades in Palestine, Europe, the Africas and Latin Americas, we do not believe that armed or violent resistance is either productive or effective.
The pigs have the media and the subdued conscience of the masses at their disposal. Violent acts committed by the people are easily manipulated by those that pull the strings and as history has proven, what may be rooted in heroic and noble motivations, what may stem from a deep sorrow of the suffering of the world's proletariat...this is in the end only seen by the masses in the terms in which the pig presents them. The struggles of the people are so easily compartmentalized and rationalized into descriptions of "terrorism", "radicalism", "communism", "socialism", etc. when the vehicle to present their grievances is one of violence.
We reject violent acts, but do not consider ourselves neutered or insignificant. We believe that by taking up no arms and proceeding with the struggle with organized, structured and vocal civil disobedience and peaceful protest that much more may be accomplished. We believe it is possible to facilitate extraordinary social change without the MP-5 or the AK-47 or the bomb.
To those that question or may scoff at the idea of an un-armed struggle, to those that consider relinquishing the fire arm or the Molotov Cocktail for the pen and the march to be acts of cowardice or compromise, we ask that the peaceful means in which institutionalized oppression have been taken on throughout history to be considered. We ask that the futility and counter-productive nature of violent acts and how that has played out througout history to be considered. We ask those that doubt to consider how effective and resiliant and what good has emerged from prison cells and caves in the wake of acts of terrible violence. We say to you that more times than not, what has been accomplished through violence has better served the pig than the oppressed, in that the pig convinces the masses that we are a source to be mightily feared and rejected lest a wicked society emerge in our wake. Violence is the tool of the pig, not the oppressed, and should be understood accordingly.
The crisis isn’t the result of the stagnation of development, but of development itself. Since the aim is to increase profit, development encourages parasitism and waste, harming whole social sectors, multiplying needs that it cannot satisfy, and accelerating the disintegration of social life. A monstrous apparatus is necessary to control, by means of manipulation and open repression, the tensions and revolts which it itself often provokes.
-Il Manifesto: The Necessity of Communism, extract from Thesis 33
We subscribe to many of the fundamental ideas of Marx and Mao, King and Gandhi, Meinhof and Arafat, Blanqui and Fawkes. We see the struggle of the oppressed. We see their displacement, their death, their enslavement and their suffering. We understand the nature and the reasons for their struggle, and we know who is to blame. We intend to hold the pig accountable and to dismantle their rotten, corrupt system and promote tangible equality, the re-distribution of wealth and human rights for all. We consider imperialism, apartheid, racism and misogyny to be our enemies. We consider those that rape and exploit the people of the world and their resources to be our enemies. We consider it to be our obligation and our duty to face such enemies and expose them to the face of the world and to be held in judgment of their crimes. Our aim is Justice. Our aim is global Liberty.
Consider how the pig has so effectively and thoroughly convinced the masses to blame the victim. The apartheid occurring in Palestine, for instance, and those that have fought the oppression bestowed upon them by the agents of a Western financed, hostile and religious government are almost universally considered by the Western public to be little more than brutal, animalistic and bloodthirsty figures whose goal is some kind of dark Islamic world domination. While some of these descriptions may be justifiably attributed to some that have fought such an oppression, it does not serve their cause in any case to inflict death and terror to voice their grievances or meet their goals.
We consider death and terror to be the weapons of the pig, employed by his bombs and invasions and his footsoldiers. We see a time in which the masses accurately perceive the true enemy and the true threat to their welfare and Liberty as the brutality of the State and their corporate masters, not the misguided or desperate act of the starving father. We see a time in which the masses accurately perceive the bombing of a neighborhood or the invasion of a city with deadly airstrikes and tanks and M-16's as acts of death and terror, not the perpetual cry of the impoverished or the tears of a motherless child. We see a time in which the nature of the State is exposed as the truly barbaric one, the real animal and the inevitable creators and source of bloodthirsty figures whose goal is indeed a dark world domination...not the exploited and manipulated masses or those that stand for their Liberation.
We consider the path to such a reality to be best accomplished through the revolution of the public conscience, rather than the violent, cumbersome armed revolution of the flesh, which has again, been proven to be vulnerable and susceptable to the lies of the pig. We consider the truth to be our weapon, rather than force or aggression. We see that in this era, the passages of information and truth can be realized with ease and stubborn persistance. We realize that we have the tools to speak, and speak loudly to the people of the world to both those that are oppressed and those that would choose to grind a boot-heel onto the throats of the oppressed. We realize that we should not take action that will lead us to be feared by our comrades or potential comrades...but rather take action that will lead us to exposing the pig...whose only real source of fear is the notion that the trough he sucks from to fatten himself may not be as full tomorrow as it is today. We indeed intend to create circumstances that will deplete their overflowing troughs.
We intend to spread truth, but we will not do so carelessly or with half-measures. We must be persistent, and we must be consistent. We ask our comrades and those that would participate in our struggle to understand that lies, deception, terror, greed and temptation are the tools and the weapons wielded by the pig. In return, we shall employ the use of truth, intellectual courage, altruism, selflessness and goodwill to sear through their weapons, disarm them and expose them for the paper tigers they are.
We ask our comrades, particularly those in the West and enjoying the fruits of an industrialized State, to consider the terrors they toil under daily. We ask them to consider to what extent they have become numb to their oppression and have had their perceptions subdued and co-opted. The pig quietly and deviously presents a low-grade threat to the Liberties of all, shackling the docile citizens of the West into perpetual servitude. From the glowing screens of monitors emitting from the cubicles...our prisons...we are told to participate, to serve the pig. To feed the pig. To be an agent and accomplice to the greed of the pig...or else. Or else you will lose your health care. Or else we will take your home. Or else you will end up in prison. Or else you will be impoverished. Or else you will sacrifice the welfare of your family and children. Or else you will be outcast. Or else you will not be beautiful. Or else you will not get fucked. Or else you will not be happy. Or else you will be ugly. Or else, or else, or else.
Justice is the justice of the ruling class. Faced with a justice system that speaks in the name of the ruling class—and speaks dishonestly—we can’t be bothered defending ourselves."
All power to freedom! Faced with a justice system that defends property and possessions better than it does human beings, we can’t be bothered defending ourselves.
Faced with a justice system that makes laws against the people rather than for them, we can’t be bothered defending ourselves.
...faced with a justice system that doesn’t see crime as a social phenomenon and which passes sentences that serve no social function...we can’t be bothered defending ourselves.
...faced with such a justice system, I can’t be bothered defending myself, and we can’t be bothered defending ourselves. Imprison the state prosecutors. Where is the state prosecutor who will indict the state?
Workers of the world unite!
Venceremos!
-Thorwald Proll
We have spent long enough accepting a status quo that terrifies the masses into submission through such means. We reject being beaten any longer at the end of a corporate leash that promotes the consumption of their worthless products as the only path to normalcy. We reject the universities and the intellectual communities of the West that have turned their institutions into slave mills for the banking cartels. We reject the exploitation of home owners living in fear of their homes being repossessed, and the deceptive, serpentine manner in which the pig has manipulated such fears into the subjecation of the people. We reject an unsustainable system of debt that currently dominates our culture and grips millions by the throat like an iron vice. We reject the circumstance of our health and welfare being wielded over us like weapons, the idea that only the burgeoise are deserving of adequate medicine, clothing and shelter.
Further, we reject the violent exploitation of the third world and its people by the military industrial complex of the West. In most cases, the people of the third world do not have the luxury of the distraction and hypnosis enjoyed by the people of the West. Their enslavement is not veiled or placed upon them through manipulation or deceptive maneuvers. The people of the third world feel the physical lash of pig's whips and the cold steel of the pig's chains. The face of the pig is unmasked and the true brutality of his nature is revealed on the backs of millions...perhaps billions that would otherwise dwell peacefully on the soils of their homelands. We reject the terrorism of Western military installations and warthings that poc the landscape of the planet. We call for the collective voice of our comrades to cry out against this terrorism, this exploitation, this enslavement...this ongoing travesty.
Never believe us! (lol) ...or any information we share, as truth without checking the information independently! We ask to be proven wrong, as we subject ourselves to the light and scrutiny of truth and truth alone.
-GAF, December 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Great American Fraud; Part II
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In 1913 the congress of the United States passed what is known as the Federal Reserve Act. This act was signed into law by president Woodrow Wilson, and its purpose was to grant authority to a central banking system to print and issue legal tender, regulate the economy (broadly speaking), and provide financial services to banks, the US government, and foreign institutions.
Prior to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, the United States had no central banking system. Before 1913, monetary policy, while often flawed, still presented mechanisms for issuing loans and distributing wealth and money that were for the most part, anchored in tangible, real assets, such as gold. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was in fact not the first time the United States had tried using a centralized banking system. Attempts were made during the Washington administration, prior to the Constitutional convention of 1787, to centralize the banking and monetary policies for the United States, and then again a centralized banking system was implemented from 1791 to 1811, ending with president Madison's refusal to renew the charter. Then, between 1816 and 1836, yet another manifestation of a centralized banking system was employed, and then eradicated in similar fashion by president Andrew Jackson. In his veto statement, president Jackson eerily predicted the following:
"The entire control of the institution would necessarily fall into the hands of a few citizen stockholders, and the ease with which the object would be accomplished would be a temptation to designing men to secure that control in their own hands by monopolizing the remaining stock. There is danger that a president and directors would then be able to elect themselves from year to year, and without responsibility or control manage the whole concerns of the bank during the existence of its charter. It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people...
...Is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a bank that in its nature has so little to bind it to our country? The president of the bank has told us that most of the State banks exist by its forbearance. Should its influence become concentered, as it may under the operation of such an act as this, in the hands of a self-elected directory whose interests are identified with those of the foreign stockholders, will there not be cause to tremble for the purity of our elections in peace and for the independence of our country in war?" [emphasis is the author's]
[http://politicalinquirer.com/2008/04/06/andrew-jacksons-veto-of-the-central-bank-1832/]
...and this is precisely what has been happening since 1913 when the Federal Reserve Act was passed.
Not surprisingly, the architects of the Fed were in fact powerful commercial bankers with obscene lobbying and political influence.
Look up the astonishing and quite public historical record of one Nelson W. Aldrich, United States Senator from Rhode Island, leader of the Republican party during the early 20th century, architect of the federal income tax amendment and visionary of the Federal Reserve Act. Senator Aldrich indeed had very close ties to powerful commercial bankers such as J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller.
In (jaw-dropping) fact, Aldrich's daughter married the son of John D. Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Aldrich and Rockefeller Sr.'s grandson, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (I mean...are you kidding me?!), was the Vice President of the United States of America under Republican President Gerald Ford.
The economic and legislative influence of Senator Aldrich is but one clear example of an increasing culture of political/corporate incest in the United States power structures throughout this era. It is viewed by an increasing number of us as an example illustrating the establishment of a loosely governed, corporate-central oligarchy.
Others may view these historical circumstances as what for all intents and purposes were the beginnings of an aggressive "economic coup d'état". We are hard-pressed to find any distinguishable difference, either way.
Regardless, what is more than apparent is that the Fox is undoubtedly guarding the hen-house.
Andrew Jackson's warnings have been so hauntingly and so fully realized, that one may actually guess as to whether or not his veto statement unintentionally became a sort of an ironic, historical blueprint for the imminent and eventual takeover.
Since the Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913, the dollar has lost over 96% of its value, or buying power. This is because the Federal Reserve and its function is an inherently inflationary mechanism.
We view such central banking cartels as systems clearly implemented to ensure the scarcity the world's resources. When resources are scarce, they are valuable, and precisely as Jackson warned, the wealth of the world is today managed and passed between the hands of a very few. It is bewildering to listen to capitalist apologists describe the Fed's function. They frequently use the analogy of the Fed as some kind of economic "water faucet", increasing and decreasing a sort of financial valve. It's amazing how appropriate and accurate that analogy actually is. It's a tremendous insight, really.
Here is an excellent summary of how the Federal Reserve and huge banking corporations swindle us and keep all of us within their grip. We urge every part of our audience to watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmPchuXIXQ&feature=related
What's so bewildering about it is that despite the fact they seem to understand that the banking behemoths are very much opening and closing the valves of economic resources at their whim (and with less and less incentive to widen that valve), they for unfathomable reasons support this system, by and large. And systems such as the Fed and its function of controlled scarcity regulates global demand, and demand, as a result of a capitalist free enterprise system, creates debt...and debt, is what turns the gears of the whole fucking thing.
Another word for debt is "slavery", and this is an appropriate comparison of terms because it is debt that creates mammoth, consolidated industries that otherwise would have no need to exist, employs millions, and keeps millions chained to their cubicles, steadfastly performing the labor demanded by their masters.
The ongoing marriage between this corporate empire and the functions of the US government are apparent in both circumstance and in personnel. The CEO's of the nation's largest businesses, particularly in banking and finance, move through a revolving door of government positions and appointments and back into the private sector, with each instance strengthening and ensuring the oligarchy that the people endure, seemingly without batting an eyelash.
We advocate, first and foremost, for the people to truly begin accessing the information that is readily available in which the details of these unfortunate circumstances are plotted.
We have found that when the economic history of the United States is thoroughly researched, what you discover, particularly throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, is that our government has become less and less a government "for the People by the People", and has increasingly become a government "for the Kennedys, Bush's, Rockefellers, JP Morgans, Paulsons, Clintons, Citibanks, AIG's, Chases, Wall Street Elites and Reagans, FOR the Kennedys, Bush's, Rockefellers, JP Morgans, Paulsons, Clintons, Citibanks, Merrill Lynches, AIG's, Chases, Wall Street Elites and Reagans."
In what essentially amounts to the representatives of little more than 1% of the population, we have seen quite clearly that their opinion of us is one of contempt. To them we are little more than figures of labor and the driving investors behind the 85% slice of the "wealth pie", in which they arrogantly and unabashedly will never, ever share with any of us...
Expropriate their wealth! If you have a bank account with Citibank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America or Morgan/Chase CLOSE THE ACCOUNT and open an account elsewhere (if you must have a bank account). If your home is financed by any of these conglomerates, re-finance. Boycott to the best of your ability funds or wealth that goes to these entities.
Additionally, if you consume network news of any kind, from MSNBC to Fox, STOP! You have in front of you at this very moment a portal to nearly every shred of information in the world. Disconnect from the gate-kept, corporate propaganda distributed by these very forces and independently discover and verify this information on your own. Take ownership and responsibility of the information you consume. This is impossible if you are a disciple of Fox News, CNN or MSNBC, for each of these "news" outlets are mere henchmen to the forces that hold all of us, and to a large extent the world, in their well designed, intentional and greedily established slavery...
And finally, at all costs, protect the freedom of information that can be attained via the Internet. Powerful forces such as in every way described above are as you read this contemplating how to limit your access to the Internet and the wealth of information it provides. Protect this free flow of information and access to the globe's full story above all. It is essential that we keep unlimited access to the Internet and the information that it can provide.
-Green Army Faction, 2010
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In 1913 the congress of the United States passed what is known as the Federal Reserve Act. This act was signed into law by president Woodrow Wilson, and its purpose was to grant authority to a central banking system to print and issue legal tender, regulate the economy (broadly speaking), and provide financial services to banks, the US government, and foreign institutions.
Prior to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, the United States had no central banking system. Before 1913, monetary policy, while often flawed, still presented mechanisms for issuing loans and distributing wealth and money that were for the most part, anchored in tangible, real assets, such as gold. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was in fact not the first time the United States had tried using a centralized banking system. Attempts were made during the Washington administration, prior to the Constitutional convention of 1787, to centralize the banking and monetary policies for the United States, and then again a centralized banking system was implemented from 1791 to 1811, ending with president Madison's refusal to renew the charter. Then, between 1816 and 1836, yet another manifestation of a centralized banking system was employed, and then eradicated in similar fashion by president Andrew Jackson. In his veto statement, president Jackson eerily predicted the following:
"The entire control of the institution would necessarily fall into the hands of a few citizen stockholders, and the ease with which the object would be accomplished would be a temptation to designing men to secure that control in their own hands by monopolizing the remaining stock. There is danger that a president and directors would then be able to elect themselves from year to year, and without responsibility or control manage the whole concerns of the bank during the existence of its charter. It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people...
...Is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a bank that in its nature has so little to bind it to our country? The president of the bank has told us that most of the State banks exist by its forbearance. Should its influence become concentered, as it may under the operation of such an act as this, in the hands of a self-elected directory whose interests are identified with those of the foreign stockholders, will there not be cause to tremble for the purity of our elections in peace and for the independence of our country in war?" [emphasis is the author's]
[http://politicalinquirer.com/2008/04/06/andrew-jacksons-veto-of-the-central-bank-1832/]
...and this is precisely what has been happening since 1913 when the Federal Reserve Act was passed.
Not surprisingly, the architects of the Fed were in fact powerful commercial bankers with obscene lobbying and political influence.
Look up the astonishing and quite public historical record of one Nelson W. Aldrich, United States Senator from Rhode Island, leader of the Republican party during the early 20th century, architect of the federal income tax amendment and visionary of the Federal Reserve Act. Senator Aldrich indeed had very close ties to powerful commercial bankers such as J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller.
In (jaw-dropping) fact, Aldrich's daughter married the son of John D. Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Aldrich and Rockefeller Sr.'s grandson, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (I mean...are you kidding me?!), was the Vice President of the United States of America under Republican President Gerald Ford.
The economic and legislative influence of Senator Aldrich is but one clear example of an increasing culture of political/corporate incest in the United States power structures throughout this era. It is viewed by an increasing number of us as an example illustrating the establishment of a loosely governed, corporate-central oligarchy.
Others may view these historical circumstances as what for all intents and purposes were the beginnings of an aggressive "economic coup d'état". We are hard-pressed to find any distinguishable difference, either way.
Regardless, what is more than apparent is that the Fox is undoubtedly guarding the hen-house.
Andrew Jackson's warnings have been so hauntingly and so fully realized, that one may actually guess as to whether or not his veto statement unintentionally became a sort of an ironic, historical blueprint for the imminent and eventual takeover.
Since the Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913, the dollar has lost over 96% of its value, or buying power. This is because the Federal Reserve and its function is an inherently inflationary mechanism.
We view such central banking cartels as systems clearly implemented to ensure the scarcity the world's resources. When resources are scarce, they are valuable, and precisely as Jackson warned, the wealth of the world is today managed and passed between the hands of a very few. It is bewildering to listen to capitalist apologists describe the Fed's function. They frequently use the analogy of the Fed as some kind of economic "water faucet", increasing and decreasing a sort of financial valve. It's amazing how appropriate and accurate that analogy actually is. It's a tremendous insight, really.
Here is an excellent summary of how the Federal Reserve and huge banking corporations swindle us and keep all of us within their grip. We urge every part of our audience to watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmPchuXIXQ&feature=related
What's so bewildering about it is that despite the fact they seem to understand that the banking behemoths are very much opening and closing the valves of economic resources at their whim (and with less and less incentive to widen that valve), they for unfathomable reasons support this system, by and large. And systems such as the Fed and its function of controlled scarcity regulates global demand, and demand, as a result of a capitalist free enterprise system, creates debt...and debt, is what turns the gears of the whole fucking thing.
Another word for debt is "slavery", and this is an appropriate comparison of terms because it is debt that creates mammoth, consolidated industries that otherwise would have no need to exist, employs millions, and keeps millions chained to their cubicles, steadfastly performing the labor demanded by their masters.
The ongoing marriage between this corporate empire and the functions of the US government are apparent in both circumstance and in personnel. The CEO's of the nation's largest businesses, particularly in banking and finance, move through a revolving door of government positions and appointments and back into the private sector, with each instance strengthening and ensuring the oligarchy that the people endure, seemingly without batting an eyelash.
We advocate, first and foremost, for the people to truly begin accessing the information that is readily available in which the details of these unfortunate circumstances are plotted.
We have found that when the economic history of the United States is thoroughly researched, what you discover, particularly throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, is that our government has become less and less a government "for the People by the People", and has increasingly become a government "for the Kennedys, Bush's, Rockefellers, JP Morgans, Paulsons, Clintons, Citibanks, AIG's, Chases, Wall Street Elites and Reagans, FOR the Kennedys, Bush's, Rockefellers, JP Morgans, Paulsons, Clintons, Citibanks, Merrill Lynches, AIG's, Chases, Wall Street Elites and Reagans."
In what essentially amounts to the representatives of little more than 1% of the population, we have seen quite clearly that their opinion of us is one of contempt. To them we are little more than figures of labor and the driving investors behind the 85% slice of the "wealth pie", in which they arrogantly and unabashedly will never, ever share with any of us...
Expropriate their wealth! If you have a bank account with Citibank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America or Morgan/Chase CLOSE THE ACCOUNT and open an account elsewhere (if you must have a bank account). If your home is financed by any of these conglomerates, re-finance. Boycott to the best of your ability funds or wealth that goes to these entities.
Additionally, if you consume network news of any kind, from MSNBC to Fox, STOP! You have in front of you at this very moment a portal to nearly every shred of information in the world. Disconnect from the gate-kept, corporate propaganda distributed by these very forces and independently discover and verify this information on your own. Take ownership and responsibility of the information you consume. This is impossible if you are a disciple of Fox News, CNN or MSNBC, for each of these "news" outlets are mere henchmen to the forces that hold all of us, and to a large extent the world, in their well designed, intentional and greedily established slavery...
And finally, at all costs, protect the freedom of information that can be attained via the Internet. Powerful forces such as in every way described above are as you read this contemplating how to limit your access to the Internet and the wealth of information it provides. Protect this free flow of information and access to the globe's full story above all. It is essential that we keep unlimited access to the Internet and the information that it can provide.
-Green Army Faction, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The Great American Fraud; Part I
Fraud:
1. deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.
-http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fraud
For 30 years or so, the citizenry of the United States of America has endured a major deceit, a breach of confidence that has been perpetrated for profit and to gain an array of economic unfair and dishonest advantages.
As a result, and this is ongoing, the citizens of the United States, as well as millions of people world-wide, have suffered an extraordinary collapse of the globe's financial stability and has witnessed an unprecedented economic down-trend. Millions have lost jobs. Millions have been impoverished. The global gap between the wealthy and the poor has been exponentially widened.
There are forces that are entirely responsible for having in fact committed the greatest and most globally harmful human tragedies since the mid 20th century. And those responsible, what they did and how they did it, is all astonishingly, a matter of historical, undisputed, and verifiable record.
While the "middle classes" of the people of the world, from an international perspective, have been noticeably and empirically dissolved over the last three to six decades, either by banking, clandestine or military forces...by 2008, the unabashed and arrogant parasitism behind all of it had finally extended into the wallets and into the pocketbooks of ordinary American citizens.
By 2008, the last year of the Bush II presidency, the wealth and resources of the world had been egregiously concentrated from an already unsustainable pocket of the few to an even less sustainable percentage of the world's population. This fact has exasperated and fueled the fire of global popular outrage. Millions, perhaps billions, across the planet began to stand with determined resentment and cast blame upon those that have exacted this crime.
While movements that seem to have found their way into the popular conscience such as what is known by some as the "Tea Party" movement are entirely warranted...the outrage expressed by such regimes has proven to be entirely, factually, and often comically misguided.
Unfortunately and perhaps tragically, the very institutions that have warranted such outrage by the USA citizenry have without question co-opted and commercialized their anger. They have succeeded in convincing masses of citizens that the entity responsible for their suffering and misfortune, the culprit behind their stagnant wages, their steadily more hazerdous and hostile work environments, the lay-offs, and the shrinking power of their dollar is all because of the New Scary Black President who was Born in Kenya and sent from an Alien Terrorist Regime from the Communist Red Planet of Socialism.
These characterizations are of course, entirely preposterous. But they serve a purpose. It's an embarrassing indictment to the integrity of the human ability to think critically, but it nonetheless is the burning coal that churns the inferno of deceit and fraud.
Barack Obama is a fantastic marionette, and has really not done much since inaugurated but to in every substantial way support the status quo.
When viewing the Obama presidency through a prism of intellectual courage and honesty, it's difficult to cite any tangible policy or ideological shifting or change that has taken place at the presidential hands of Obama vs. Bush, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, or Truman. With the possible exception of Jimmy Carter, each of these "Leaders of the Free World", have been instruments and tools, to one degree or another, used by the ever growing and consolidated grip of a corporate empire.
What? What are the differences? Have the policies of Obama's presidency eradicated the two wars of aggression in Afghanistan or Iraq? Has the 'Patriot' Act been over turned? Have we stopped extraordinary rendition and torture? Is GITMO still open for 'business'? Have entities such as AIG, Goldman-Sachs, Citi-Travellers and the Federal Reserve, these entities that have criminally robbed the entire fucking planet, have they been held accountable for the crimes they have committed or the global suffering they have cultivated ? No, they haven't... in fact they were 'Bailed Out'.
In fact, an entire generation of US citizens has by now been subjected to a contrived lifestyle that inherently demands they mortgage their entire lives...and in turn indenture themselves...by way of a long-spun and corrupt spider's web of banking credit schemes. All three branches of the US government have been and remain purchased and culpable, along with much of the US system of higher education, mega-corporations, mega-churches...and perhaps worst of all...a corporate driven, consumer culture in which a bizarre social imperative is placed on one's ability to match commercial peacock feathers with the likes of fictional, neatly packaged hour-long advertisements such as Tony Soprano and Carrie Bradshaw.
...and there is no "American" reason that you shouldn't be able to match that coveted identity.
Tracks of McMansions were built...quickly, shittily and profitably. The value of the homes in huge swaths were, however, less than worthy, and as a disturbing percentage of the people in the United States became unemployed, and were faced with an 'adjustable mortgage rate', student loan payments, credit card charges, cell phone bills and HBO...those that have been playing "Wall Street Casino" with what has ultimately turned out to be OUR tax dollars decided to cash in their chips.
A number of 'toxic loans' were possible and were the direct circumstance of financial de-regulation. The disaster was in fact a direct and verifiable result of allowing various lenders to invest in risky and low-percentage yield prospects. It allowed for an honest loan to be sold many times over and ending up in the back pockets of predatory individuals. These individuals, ultimately, viewed betting against US citizens of all stripes as (potentially, but they can bet on that, too...) more profitable than counting on a mortgage, loan or a credit card payment.
Of course, the reason it became more profitable for Wall Street to count on disclosers and bankruptcies and repossessions is because they were allowed, legally, as a direct result of the feverish dismanteling of any kind of regulation, to make exotic bets on the value of, well, everything...because they were insured by companies such as AIG, and AIG became insolvent.
What it was, in fact, was the largest global Ponzi Scheme in the history of the world. De-regulation allowed for the prestige allocation of credit ratings, AAA in many cases, to be plastered onto institutions that were criminally broke, had no assets to back their risky investments, and this was largely because the people they promised loans to were (from the start) unable to keep up with their payments...especially after the rate is hiked by 30-90%...
Wall Street found themselves, in early to late 2008, being in the hole on their bets to the tune of 700 billion+. In the past, this was something that could never happen because local banks and financial institutions weren't allowed, due to regulation, to take the capital of their clients and literally "bet" on derivative and exotic market trends that end up benefiting, either way it goes, to parasitic capitalists.
Tea-Party members are absolutely and in every way justified to cast outrage toward Barack Obama. We join them in their dissatisfaction regarding his policies, legislation, and perpetuation of the status quo. We stand in solidarity with them in their movement, passion and committment. However; the reason we salute their outrage is not because of any absurd and entirely dismissable idea that "the entity responsible for their suffering and misfortune is the New Scary Black President who was Born in Kenya and sent from an Alien Terrorist Regime from the Communist Red Planet of Socialism." Our outrage stems from Obama's apparent commitment to maintaining and funding an unacceptable status quo.
We believe a beginning is respecting the American's right NOT to vote. By participating in this detrimental excercise, you are supporting corruption, despite which side of the two-aisle swamp you think you support. We must recognize that in the United States, even from the most local and insignificant political positions, each level of governance is gate-kept by corporate sentinals, and the higher one ranks in this nation politically, the more vetted one is by a round-table of business-banker-financial industry-profit-usurpers.
Stop the vote. There are other ways. Stop participating in an inheretly corrupt system of governance. Stop believing the lie that one side of the aisle in any way has different interests than the other. We can move beyond that, we have what it takes to have a different way of living our lives. A choice exists, it is simply up to us to make it.
-Green Army Faction, 2010
1. deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.
-http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fraud
For 30 years or so, the citizenry of the United States of America has endured a major deceit, a breach of confidence that has been perpetrated for profit and to gain an array of economic unfair and dishonest advantages.
As a result, and this is ongoing, the citizens of the United States, as well as millions of people world-wide, have suffered an extraordinary collapse of the globe's financial stability and has witnessed an unprecedented economic down-trend. Millions have lost jobs. Millions have been impoverished. The global gap between the wealthy and the poor has been exponentially widened.
There are forces that are entirely responsible for having in fact committed the greatest and most globally harmful human tragedies since the mid 20th century. And those responsible, what they did and how they did it, is all astonishingly, a matter of historical, undisputed, and verifiable record.
While the "middle classes" of the people of the world, from an international perspective, have been noticeably and empirically dissolved over the last three to six decades, either by banking, clandestine or military forces...by 2008, the unabashed and arrogant parasitism behind all of it had finally extended into the wallets and into the pocketbooks of ordinary American citizens.
By 2008, the last year of the Bush II presidency, the wealth and resources of the world had been egregiously concentrated from an already unsustainable pocket of the few to an even less sustainable percentage of the world's population. This fact has exasperated and fueled the fire of global popular outrage. Millions, perhaps billions, across the planet began to stand with determined resentment and cast blame upon those that have exacted this crime.
While movements that seem to have found their way into the popular conscience such as what is known by some as the "Tea Party" movement are entirely warranted...the outrage expressed by such regimes has proven to be entirely, factually, and often comically misguided.
Unfortunately and perhaps tragically, the very institutions that have warranted such outrage by the USA citizenry have without question co-opted and commercialized their anger. They have succeeded in convincing masses of citizens that the entity responsible for their suffering and misfortune, the culprit behind their stagnant wages, their steadily more hazerdous and hostile work environments, the lay-offs, and the shrinking power of their dollar is all because of the New Scary Black President who was Born in Kenya and sent from an Alien Terrorist Regime from the Communist Red Planet of Socialism.
These characterizations are of course, entirely preposterous. But they serve a purpose. It's an embarrassing indictment to the integrity of the human ability to think critically, but it nonetheless is the burning coal that churns the inferno of deceit and fraud.
Barack Obama is a fantastic marionette, and has really not done much since inaugurated but to in every substantial way support the status quo.
When viewing the Obama presidency through a prism of intellectual courage and honesty, it's difficult to cite any tangible policy or ideological shifting or change that has taken place at the presidential hands of Obama vs. Bush, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, or Truman. With the possible exception of Jimmy Carter, each of these "Leaders of the Free World", have been instruments and tools, to one degree or another, used by the ever growing and consolidated grip of a corporate empire.
What? What are the differences? Have the policies of Obama's presidency eradicated the two wars of aggression in Afghanistan or Iraq? Has the 'Patriot' Act been over turned? Have we stopped extraordinary rendition and torture? Is GITMO still open for 'business'? Have entities such as AIG, Goldman-Sachs, Citi-Travellers and the Federal Reserve, these entities that have criminally robbed the entire fucking planet, have they been held accountable for the crimes they have committed or the global suffering they have cultivated ? No, they haven't... in fact they were 'Bailed Out'.
In fact, an entire generation of US citizens has by now been subjected to a contrived lifestyle that inherently demands they mortgage their entire lives...and in turn indenture themselves...by way of a long-spun and corrupt spider's web of banking credit schemes. All three branches of the US government have been and remain purchased and culpable, along with much of the US system of higher education, mega-corporations, mega-churches...and perhaps worst of all...a corporate driven, consumer culture in which a bizarre social imperative is placed on one's ability to match commercial peacock feathers with the likes of fictional, neatly packaged hour-long advertisements such as Tony Soprano and Carrie Bradshaw.
...and there is no "American" reason that you shouldn't be able to match that coveted identity.
Tracks of McMansions were built...quickly, shittily and profitably. The value of the homes in huge swaths were, however, less than worthy, and as a disturbing percentage of the people in the United States became unemployed, and were faced with an 'adjustable mortgage rate', student loan payments, credit card charges, cell phone bills and HBO...those that have been playing "Wall Street Casino" with what has ultimately turned out to be OUR tax dollars decided to cash in their chips.
A number of 'toxic loans' were possible and were the direct circumstance of financial de-regulation. The disaster was in fact a direct and verifiable result of allowing various lenders to invest in risky and low-percentage yield prospects. It allowed for an honest loan to be sold many times over and ending up in the back pockets of predatory individuals. These individuals, ultimately, viewed betting against US citizens of all stripes as (potentially, but they can bet on that, too...) more profitable than counting on a mortgage, loan or a credit card payment.
Of course, the reason it became more profitable for Wall Street to count on disclosers and bankruptcies and repossessions is because they were allowed, legally, as a direct result of the feverish dismanteling of any kind of regulation, to make exotic bets on the value of, well, everything...because they were insured by companies such as AIG, and AIG became insolvent.
What it was, in fact, was the largest global Ponzi Scheme in the history of the world. De-regulation allowed for the prestige allocation of credit ratings, AAA in many cases, to be plastered onto institutions that were criminally broke, had no assets to back their risky investments, and this was largely because the people they promised loans to were (from the start) unable to keep up with their payments...especially after the rate is hiked by 30-90%...
Wall Street found themselves, in early to late 2008, being in the hole on their bets to the tune of 700 billion+. In the past, this was something that could never happen because local banks and financial institutions weren't allowed, due to regulation, to take the capital of their clients and literally "bet" on derivative and exotic market trends that end up benefiting, either way it goes, to parasitic capitalists.
Tea-Party members are absolutely and in every way justified to cast outrage toward Barack Obama. We join them in their dissatisfaction regarding his policies, legislation, and perpetuation of the status quo. We stand in solidarity with them in their movement, passion and committment. However; the reason we salute their outrage is not because of any absurd and entirely dismissable idea that "the entity responsible for their suffering and misfortune is the New Scary Black President who was Born in Kenya and sent from an Alien Terrorist Regime from the Communist Red Planet of Socialism." Our outrage stems from Obama's apparent commitment to maintaining and funding an unacceptable status quo.
We believe a beginning is respecting the American's right NOT to vote. By participating in this detrimental excercise, you are supporting corruption, despite which side of the two-aisle swamp you think you support. We must recognize that in the United States, even from the most local and insignificant political positions, each level of governance is gate-kept by corporate sentinals, and the higher one ranks in this nation politically, the more vetted one is by a round-table of business-banker-financial industry-profit-usurpers.
Stop the vote. There are other ways. Stop participating in an inheretly corrupt system of governance. Stop believing the lie that one side of the aisle in any way has different interests than the other. We can move beyond that, we have what it takes to have a different way of living our lives. A choice exists, it is simply up to us to make it.
-Green Army Faction, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
M V P
"I think it's important sometimes that we stand up for what we believe in. I don't want to alienate anybody. Those people that disagree with me is fine. I think that discourse is what democracy is made on.
***
"...my beliefs: our team stood up for that part of our community because I think that's the one targeted by the side of this bill that could open a door to racial profiling and racism, and I'm talking primarily about American citizens who are Latino, who could now...their quality of life and freedoms could change because of this bill."
***
"I'm proud of our owner for taking a stand...we want this to be all about loving our community and our people regardless whether or not they agree with us, or myself, or not...We have a love for everybody out there. We'd just like to get to a consensus that everyone can live with that isn't an enfringement on, or a POSSIBLE infringement on Human Rights..."
-Steve Nash
_____________________________________________________________________
Enough. Said.
THanks for joining me, fireside
-GA
***
"...my beliefs: our team stood up for that part of our community because I think that's the one targeted by the side of this bill that could open a door to racial profiling and racism, and I'm talking primarily about American citizens who are Latino, who could now...their quality of life and freedoms could change because of this bill."
***
"I'm proud of our owner for taking a stand...we want this to be all about loving our community and our people regardless whether or not they agree with us, or myself, or not...We have a love for everybody out there. We'd just like to get to a consensus that everyone can live with that isn't an enfringement on, or a POSSIBLE infringement on Human Rights..."
-Steve Nash
_____________________________________________________________________
Enough. Said.
THanks for joining me, fireside
-GA
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
BREAKING: ARIZONA PASSES ANOTHER CRAZY LAW
PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers approved yet another sweeping bill Tuesday aimed toward beefing up law enforcement efforts. Critics again complain that this new legislation may lead to racial profiling and other abuses.
The state Senate voted almost completely along party lines to send the bill to the governors office. Gov. Brewer has not taken a position on the measure championed by opposing progressives. The House approved the bill April 24.
"This bill does a lot to continue to establish an environment of law and order to the state of Arizona," said Jesus Medoza, citizen of Guadalupe, who cited costly crimes committed by the wealthiest citizens of Arizona and the recent economic collapse as the reasoning behind the movement.
The new measure would mark the latest in a series of drastic measures taken by the Arizona legislature, which has an estimated 460,000 white collar criminals in its ranks of higher class individuals.
Along with recently passed immigration laws that have caused a swirl of controversy across the nation, Arizona also passed legislation in 2005 making human smuggling a state crime and in 2007 passed laws prohibiting employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
The latest bill would make it a crime for upper class individuals to not have a white collar registration document. It also would require police to question people about their wealth status if there's reason to suspect they're purchasing designer or illegally obtained prescription drugs, cheating on their taxes or swindling investors on Wall Street.
When asked what measures or assurances law enforcement officials could take to prevent the racial profiling or the abuse of certain individuals due to this new legislation, citizen of Nogales and proponent of the bill Juan Escobar had a quick response, stating;
"It's got nothing to do with the color of their skin...we can target individuals for questioning and search based on typical white collar crime behavior," Escobar continued, "patterns such as driving expensive cars, dining at expensive restaurants and living in wealthy neighborhoods warrant taking an extra look at potential criminal behavior. If you're not cheating on your taxes, then you have no reason to fear law enforcement officials looking through your tax documention...if you're not using illegal prescription drugs, then you have nothing to hide in your medicine cabinet and have no reason to object to a professional search conducted by police...all we are asking for is that the law be upheld, why do you hate the law? Why do you hate America?"
Other provisions allow citizen lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of white collar laws, and make it illegal for people to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them.
Hector Padilla, who also favors the bill, said it will take the constraints off the hands of police and put the handcuffs on white collar criminals. "Enough is enough," Padilla said.
U.S. Sen. John McCain said on Tuesday that the bill was a "tool that I think needs to be used."
[His office later said that wasn't an endorsement...]
Thanks for joining me, fireside.
The state Senate voted almost completely along party lines to send the bill to the governors office. Gov. Brewer has not taken a position on the measure championed by opposing progressives. The House approved the bill April 24.
"This bill does a lot to continue to establish an environment of law and order to the state of Arizona," said Jesus Medoza, citizen of Guadalupe, who cited costly crimes committed by the wealthiest citizens of Arizona and the recent economic collapse as the reasoning behind the movement.
The new measure would mark the latest in a series of drastic measures taken by the Arizona legislature, which has an estimated 460,000 white collar criminals in its ranks of higher class individuals.
Along with recently passed immigration laws that have caused a swirl of controversy across the nation, Arizona also passed legislation in 2005 making human smuggling a state crime and in 2007 passed laws prohibiting employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
The latest bill would make it a crime for upper class individuals to not have a white collar registration document. It also would require police to question people about their wealth status if there's reason to suspect they're purchasing designer or illegally obtained prescription drugs, cheating on their taxes or swindling investors on Wall Street.
When asked what measures or assurances law enforcement officials could take to prevent the racial profiling or the abuse of certain individuals due to this new legislation, citizen of Nogales and proponent of the bill Juan Escobar had a quick response, stating;
"It's got nothing to do with the color of their skin...we can target individuals for questioning and search based on typical white collar crime behavior," Escobar continued, "patterns such as driving expensive cars, dining at expensive restaurants and living in wealthy neighborhoods warrant taking an extra look at potential criminal behavior. If you're not cheating on your taxes, then you have no reason to fear law enforcement officials looking through your tax documention...if you're not using illegal prescription drugs, then you have nothing to hide in your medicine cabinet and have no reason to object to a professional search conducted by police...all we are asking for is that the law be upheld, why do you hate the law? Why do you hate America?"
Other provisions allow citizen lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of white collar laws, and make it illegal for people to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them.
Hector Padilla, who also favors the bill, said it will take the constraints off the hands of police and put the handcuffs on white collar criminals. "Enough is enough," Padilla said.
U.S. Sen. John McCain said on Tuesday that the bill was a "tool that I think needs to be used."
[His office later said that wasn't an endorsement...]
Thanks for joining me, fireside.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Superman Ain't Black (but he shoulda been...)
**
For the past year or so we've seen a lot of angry faces, haven't we? Huffin' AND puffin'! Lots of signs being held up with ugly words on them, lots of harsh words and surly, furrowed brows...lots of fear...lots of hate. We've seen swelling movements of the majority culture in this country watching the status quo slip away, again...and like every time before, we've been watching them frantically grasp and clutch and flail about in their same sad way, desperate to maintain it (hopefully this time around they'll keep the white-sheet terrorism and the firehose and the noose and the bombs and the guns and all that viciousness in the dead hearts of the their rotting grandfathers, where all of that crap belongs...). I recently saw a picture of a man holding up a sign that read: "Obama's Plan = White Slavery"...
Wow.
But I gotta say, I'm tired of disparaging a fearful white majority culture in USA, Inc...let's talk about something else. Something better...
I was watching an NBA game the other night, and despite being a Phoenix Suns fan, I was admiring Carmelo Anthony's extraordinary talent. What an amazing athlete! His prowess on the court, his game IQ, his toughness...his awareness of everything around him and his uncanny, unhesitating ability to execute...fantastic! Except when playing against my beloved Suns, man! do I love me some 'Melo!
The whole thing got me thinkin'...
I am not color blind, nor do I try to be. Every one of us has developed in and are part of a culture and an identity here in USA, Inc, much of which, for good or ill, is the result of what color we are. Is this circumstance necessary, or even desirable? No, not really...but it's the way that it is due to unavoidable socially and historically influenced circumstances.
That's not to say I would judge a man by the color of his skin. Not at all. What it means is that I recognize that because I am a white male I've had more opportunities, fewer hardships and a social free pass in a myriad of instances and circumstances throughout my life than have many of my fellow minority citizens.
I also recognize that I do not understand what it feels like to see a man cross to the other side of the street as I approach him. I don't pretend that I understand what it's like to be a perpetual suspect, or to watch a mother pull her children closer to her as she sees me walk into a grocery store. I don't pretend that I relate to what it feels like to hear jokes being told about the color of skin I was born with, or to be expected by default by many to be an agent of servitude in this country, nor do I know what it feels like to open a history book or turn on the television and see that nearly every hero presented is a man that does not look anything like me.
Above all, I recognize that I have no idea what it must feel like to know that my entire existence in this country is the result of a terrible thievery...that my being, who and where I am today, is indeed a living, breathing legacy of centuries of the worst crime against humanity short of total genocide...chattel slavery. I also do not relate to the sense of pride and honor that must come from knowing that my forefathers overcame and attained liberty from such a persistent and long-lasting tragedy.
So to you, Angry White Guy, shaking your "Obama's Plan = White Slavery" sign in our faces...allow me to remind you that no matter what your prejudices are, no matter how badly it burns you up, no matter how insipid, shallow and insulting it is to carry such a sign, allow me to remind you to what extent this country is black... remind you what the African American means to this nation, to what degree that Black culture and history is America's backbone, to what extent the heart and soul of this country would be empty and hollow without the African American, and remind you of a REAL American Dream...one realized from the very depths of an oppression the likes of which should make you as ashamed of that sign you're waving as you justly should be...
How would America sound without the the sweet, smooth voice of Billie Holiday singing Strange Fruit? It would seem to me to be a nation without a voice. The way she could wail out with those closed eyes and that tortured heart...Lady Day in a smoky club, New York City, 1936, being that song...When I hear that magnificent voice singing that song today, I can hear it shining like a beacon, in harmony with the cries and the struggles of millions through centuries of a horrible darkness.
The words of Fredrick Douglass are written on the face of America. He wrote many wonderful things, but my favorite is his impassioned autobiographical account of the humiliation of slavery, his struggle, escape and eventual passage to freedom. It's a read that should not be lost on the millions of Americans today, many of which have grown in a world of privilege and comfort while decrying some fictional loss of their own "freedom". For those that make this claim it would do them well to visit this heroic and true adventure of refusing to live the life of an animal, possessing the true will of humanity and emerging triumphantly from the dark catacombs of a life unimaginable and into the light of liberty.
What would America look like without the art of Aaron Douglas? What masterful hands created the masterpiece Building More Stately Mansions...those hard-edged images, the African launching the towers in which history's fat Lords rest their backsides, raising the palaces up from their backs, boldly reminding the world just who it was that built so much of it...
Would America have the heart it has today were it not for Langston Hughes' beautiful poetry? Consider his words from Freedom's Plow:
Again, those words say a lot about to what extent the African American truly understands the term, "freedom" and holds it close to her heart, and cherishes it completely.
I can't imagine this country without men such as the good Sgt. "A", a soldier I knew while stationed in Baghdad. He was a man that would risk his life for mine (and did so), without hesitation and without question. Through the longest hours and most maddening terror, he was my friend. When the only thing in the world I needed was to smile, he made me laugh, and when the only thing in the world I needed was to cry, he offered his shoulder.
Black is beat, the cool jazz and genius of Miles Davis blowin' on that horn from the bottom of his guts...it's the smell of the sawdust in the air of shanties throughout the deep South where music and dancing pressed away the poverty and the hunger, even for just a few hours...it's the complete reinvention of the guitar many times over, given birth to by the Great Robert Johnson and perfected by the hands of Jimi Hendrix and at best, only duplicated by those that followed...it's the timing of Dave Chappel's punchline, the deep insight and bitter satire of Aaron McGruder's Peabody Award Winning the Boondocks...it's the friendly charm of the wonderful man outside of University of Phoenix Stadium after the Cards took a trouncing to the Colts last Fall, and let my 6 year old daughter sit on his lap and play his bongo drums to her absolute delight...
But most of all, it is the tightly woven threads of beauty, honor, strength, perseverence and liberty as expressed through the art, literature, poetry, music, comedy and content of character of the African American that make up so much of the beautiful tapestry that is this country. It would be a lessor place without it.
Thanks for joining me, fireside...
For the past year or so we've seen a lot of angry faces, haven't we? Huffin' AND puffin'! Lots of signs being held up with ugly words on them, lots of harsh words and surly, furrowed brows...lots of fear...lots of hate. We've seen swelling movements of the majority culture in this country watching the status quo slip away, again...and like every time before, we've been watching them frantically grasp and clutch and flail about in their same sad way, desperate to maintain it (hopefully this time around they'll keep the white-sheet terrorism and the firehose and the noose and the bombs and the guns and all that viciousness in the dead hearts of the their rotting grandfathers, where all of that crap belongs...). I recently saw a picture of a man holding up a sign that read: "Obama's Plan = White Slavery"...
Wow.
But I gotta say, I'm tired of disparaging a fearful white majority culture in USA, Inc...let's talk about something else. Something better...
I was watching an NBA game the other night, and despite being a Phoenix Suns fan, I was admiring Carmelo Anthony's extraordinary talent. What an amazing athlete! His prowess on the court, his game IQ, his toughness...his awareness of everything around him and his uncanny, unhesitating ability to execute...fantastic! Except when playing against my beloved Suns, man! do I love me some 'Melo!
The whole thing got me thinkin'...
I am not color blind, nor do I try to be. Every one of us has developed in and are part of a culture and an identity here in USA, Inc, much of which, for good or ill, is the result of what color we are. Is this circumstance necessary, or even desirable? No, not really...but it's the way that it is due to unavoidable socially and historically influenced circumstances.
That's not to say I would judge a man by the color of his skin. Not at all. What it means is that I recognize that because I am a white male I've had more opportunities, fewer hardships and a social free pass in a myriad of instances and circumstances throughout my life than have many of my fellow minority citizens.
I also recognize that I do not understand what it feels like to see a man cross to the other side of the street as I approach him. I don't pretend that I understand what it's like to be a perpetual suspect, or to watch a mother pull her children closer to her as she sees me walk into a grocery store. I don't pretend that I relate to what it feels like to hear jokes being told about the color of skin I was born with, or to be expected by default by many to be an agent of servitude in this country, nor do I know what it feels like to open a history book or turn on the television and see that nearly every hero presented is a man that does not look anything like me.
Above all, I recognize that I have no idea what it must feel like to know that my entire existence in this country is the result of a terrible thievery...that my being, who and where I am today, is indeed a living, breathing legacy of centuries of the worst crime against humanity short of total genocide...chattel slavery. I also do not relate to the sense of pride and honor that must come from knowing that my forefathers overcame and attained liberty from such a persistent and long-lasting tragedy.
So to you, Angry White Guy, shaking your "Obama's Plan = White Slavery" sign in our faces...allow me to remind you that no matter what your prejudices are, no matter how badly it burns you up, no matter how insipid, shallow and insulting it is to carry such a sign, allow me to remind you to what extent this country is black... remind you what the African American means to this nation, to what degree that Black culture and history is America's backbone, to what extent the heart and soul of this country would be empty and hollow without the African American, and remind you of a REAL American Dream...one realized from the very depths of an oppression the likes of which should make you as ashamed of that sign you're waving as you justly should be...
How would America sound without the the sweet, smooth voice of Billie Holiday singing Strange Fruit? It would seem to me to be a nation without a voice. The way she could wail out with those closed eyes and that tortured heart...Lady Day in a smoky club, New York City, 1936, being that song...When I hear that magnificent voice singing that song today, I can hear it shining like a beacon, in harmony with the cries and the struggles of millions through centuries of a horrible darkness.
The words of Fredrick Douglass are written on the face of America. He wrote many wonderful things, but my favorite is his impassioned autobiographical account of the humiliation of slavery, his struggle, escape and eventual passage to freedom. It's a read that should not be lost on the millions of Americans today, many of which have grown in a world of privilege and comfort while decrying some fictional loss of their own "freedom". For those that make this claim it would do them well to visit this heroic and true adventure of refusing to live the life of an animal, possessing the true will of humanity and emerging triumphantly from the dark catacombs of a life unimaginable and into the light of liberty.
What would America look like without the art of Aaron Douglas? What masterful hands created the masterpiece Building More Stately Mansions...those hard-edged images, the African launching the towers in which history's fat Lords rest their backsides, raising the palaces up from their backs, boldly reminding the world just who it was that built so much of it...
Would America have the heart it has today were it not for Langston Hughes' beautiful poetry? Consider his words from Freedom's Plow:
Some were slave hands
Guarding in their hearts the seed of freedom
But the word was there always:
Freedom
Again, those words say a lot about to what extent the African American truly understands the term, "freedom" and holds it close to her heart, and cherishes it completely.
I can't imagine this country without men such as the good Sgt. "A", a soldier I knew while stationed in Baghdad. He was a man that would risk his life for mine (and did so), without hesitation and without question. Through the longest hours and most maddening terror, he was my friend. When the only thing in the world I needed was to smile, he made me laugh, and when the only thing in the world I needed was to cry, he offered his shoulder.
Black is beat, the cool jazz and genius of Miles Davis blowin' on that horn from the bottom of his guts...it's the smell of the sawdust in the air of shanties throughout the deep South where music and dancing pressed away the poverty and the hunger, even for just a few hours...it's the complete reinvention of the guitar many times over, given birth to by the Great Robert Johnson and perfected by the hands of Jimi Hendrix and at best, only duplicated by those that followed...it's the timing of Dave Chappel's punchline, the deep insight and bitter satire of Aaron McGruder's Peabody Award Winning the Boondocks...it's the friendly charm of the wonderful man outside of University of Phoenix Stadium after the Cards took a trouncing to the Colts last Fall, and let my 6 year old daughter sit on his lap and play his bongo drums to her absolute delight...
But most of all, it is the tightly woven threads of beauty, honor, strength, perseverence and liberty as expressed through the art, literature, poetry, music, comedy and content of character of the African American that make up so much of the beautiful tapestry that is this country. It would be a lessor place without it.
Thanks for joining me, fireside...
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Sarah Palin for President
Sitting around getting from one day to the next can be boring.
As a very wise person once said, "the years go fast, and the days go so slow"...
I'd like to talk about how I'm personally tired of the crappy movie that the world's been showing me lately.
I've been thinking, out of boredom, that likely one of the most exciting things that could happen...really...would be for Sarah Palin to get elected president of the USA, Inc.
I'm fuckin' serious.
[hahaha, no I'm not]
Think about it...
All new and different, decidedly exciting events would happen for all of us! They would without question finally peel all of us away from American Idolt and the Desperate Survivors of Orange County and give us some real REAL drama...
...which is precisely what we ALL need. Drama. Humor. Action. Excitement. These things truly do make everything bearable and tolerable. I mean, Jesus Christ, if I hear the phrase, "today, another uber-rich billionaire on Wall Street has been given billions more to rescue said billionaire from becoming a mere millionaire...meanwhile, child in Alabama starves for no reason..." ONE MORE TIME on MSGBC, I'm going to actually die of complete monotony and boredom.
Palin '12!
I'm not kidding.
[yes, I am]
Consider for a moment what Faux News could do with a war or three commandeered by Sarah Mutha Fuckin' Palin...
...it would be like, as cool as Striptease meets Rush Limbaugh's little red Corvette...crossed with Commando (starring Arnold) mixed with Birth of a Nation greets NASCAR with a dose of Star Wars.
[because I'm certain that Sarah would end up involving outer space somehow...don't ask me how I'm so certain, but trust me...I am]
Just imagine...Alaska would take on a whole new, twisted identity among all of us. What we all once considered to be merely a State found in the corner of a map (likely within viewing distance of Russia, by the looks of it), would suddenly represent a morose and dark source of bad things...kind of like "Mordor" from the Lord of the Rings.
Now, I'm sayin...I've read the Lord of the Rings books AND seen the movies, and hear me when I tell you that a world full of poisonous swamps, giant-spider infested caves and a gargantuan, menacing flaming red eye over-lording out upon all the land is definitely a more exciting world than the bullshit we actually have.
I have no doubt that Ms. Palin would bring all of that and more to the table.
Bonus!: Saturday Night Live would be funny and relevant again!
SO...I'd like to begin personally campaigning for Sarah Palin to be elected President of the United States in 2012.
Just little me, from my blog...
Now you may ask, "what difference is a voice as small as yours going to make, Greg?"
...and I'd respond like a true American, "It won't."
(lol)
Thanks for joining me, fireside. See you next time...
As a very wise person once said, "the years go fast, and the days go so slow"...
I'd like to talk about how I'm personally tired of the crappy movie that the world's been showing me lately.
I've been thinking, out of boredom, that likely one of the most exciting things that could happen...really...would be for Sarah Palin to get elected president of the USA, Inc.
I'm fuckin' serious.
[hahaha, no I'm not]
Think about it...
All new and different, decidedly exciting events would happen for all of us! They would without question finally peel all of us away from American Idolt and the Desperate Survivors of Orange County and give us some real REAL drama...
...which is precisely what we ALL need. Drama. Humor. Action. Excitement. These things truly do make everything bearable and tolerable. I mean, Jesus Christ, if I hear the phrase, "today, another uber-rich billionaire on Wall Street has been given billions more to rescue said billionaire from becoming a mere millionaire...meanwhile, child in Alabama starves for no reason..." ONE MORE TIME on MSGBC, I'm going to actually die of complete monotony and boredom.
Palin '12!
I'm not kidding.
[yes, I am]
Consider for a moment what Faux News could do with a war or three commandeered by Sarah Mutha Fuckin' Palin...
...it would be like, as cool as Striptease meets Rush Limbaugh's little red Corvette...crossed with Commando (starring Arnold) mixed with Birth of a Nation greets NASCAR with a dose of Star Wars.
[because I'm certain that Sarah would end up involving outer space somehow...don't ask me how I'm so certain, but trust me...I am]
Just imagine...Alaska would take on a whole new, twisted identity among all of us. What we all once considered to be merely a State found in the corner of a map (likely within viewing distance of Russia, by the looks of it), would suddenly represent a morose and dark source of bad things...kind of like "Mordor" from the Lord of the Rings.
Now, I'm sayin...I've read the Lord of the Rings books AND seen the movies, and hear me when I tell you that a world full of poisonous swamps, giant-spider infested caves and a gargantuan, menacing flaming red eye over-lording out upon all the land is definitely a more exciting world than the bullshit we actually have.
I have no doubt that Ms. Palin would bring all of that and more to the table.
Bonus!: Saturday Night Live would be funny and relevant again!
SO...I'd like to begin personally campaigning for Sarah Palin to be elected President of the United States in 2012.
Just little me, from my blog...
Now you may ask, "what difference is a voice as small as yours going to make, Greg?"
...and I'd respond like a true American, "It won't."
(lol)
Thanks for joining me, fireside. See you next time...
Thursday, April 8, 2010
On Atheism; Part Two
Chapter four of Richard Dawkins' brilliant book the God Delusion is titled "Why There Almost Certainly is No God".
As I stated in the Part One of this essay, what it is that really gets me about that statement by Dawkins is the inclusion of the word "almost".
Atheism is nothing more than a declaration to remain within the boundaries of reason.
There is a vast difference between the statement, "there certainly is no god" and the statement, "there almost certainly is no god".
That single word, "almost", is instrumental in illustrating the ways in which an atheist thinks, and is quite powerful in its context. It represents the line that is drawn between reason and absurdity, in that it is indeed absurd for anyone to claim that there "certainly is no god". It's also absurd to claim that there "certainly is a god".
No one knows with complete certainty whether or not there is any sort of god. Neither the most devout clergyman nor the most ardent atheist could make such a claim within the boundaries of reason.
Reason and absurdity.
Atheism and faith.
There are those that believe completely in the existence of dragons. Though they have never actually seen a dragon, believing in them fulfills some kind of emotional void...they cling to their belief in dragons without blinking, without questioning and without a shadow of a doubt, so help them Smaug.
Why? Well, perhaps as children they were enchanted by the idea of dragons...perhaps they read a book or a heard a story told to them in which dragons were presented as such amazing, fantastic creatures that they were sold one hundred percent on the concept. Perhaps the idea of dragons brought to them such dramatic splendor, such a thrill and wonder that the impact the event had on their susceptible, fragile and easily manipulated little minds was nothing short of tremendous, and therefore the idea that dragons may not exist would to them be devastating and heartbreaking, even into their adulthood.
There are also those that don't necessarily believe in dragons, but consider the jury to be still out on the matter. They, just as the dragon faithful, have seen no evidence one way or the other as to whether or not they actually exist. Maybe these individuals, too, were enchanted by the idea of dragons as children. Maybe they had read the Hobbit or played a role playing game of some kind; but as they grew older, alas! their faith in the existence of dragons was shaken. They consider the existence of dragons to be quite possible, and may think to themselves, "how nice it would be if they were really out there somewhere", but for the most part they reside atop a fence of faith regarding the existence of dragons, waiting for the winds of whatever it may be to cast them onto one side of that fence or the other.
Then there are those that don't really ever consider the existence of dragons at all. While even these individuals may have had an extraordinary experience as children in regard to dragons, they just don't really think about dragons at all anymore. While they, too, just as everyone else, have never seen a shred of actual evidence indicating that dragons may exist, this type of person considers it to be a complete waste of time in general to even consider the matter. They know that in all likelihood, dragons almost certainly do not exist...and the question of the existence of dragons is not ever going to impact their lives in any way. To them, their time is better spent thinking about things that verifiably exist within the observable, living world around them.
Now, those in this latter category, when pressed with the question, "do dragons exist?", what you will likely receive as an answer is the following:
"Dragons almost certainly do not exist."
Let's stay on the topic of dragons, here...
Let's pretend for a moment that someone has given to me their newborn infant to care for for the rest of its life for the sole purpose of conducting an experiment..
Let's pretend that I immediately begin to rear this infant to believe in the existence of dragons. I center it's life around...let's call it "Dragonism"...and bestow upon this infant a structured and dynamic belief system featuring an endless string of dramatic, scary and wonderful stories about "the Great Dragon". The Great Dragon is everywhere. The Great Dragon watches over you. The Great Dragon made all of us and created the world from its fiery breath. The Great Dragon loves you and watches over you. The Great Dragon punishes those that don't believe in the Great Dragon. The Great Dragon will cast you into the Dungeon of Suffering if you have not devoted your life to the service of the Great Dragon.
I think that there's a pretty good chance that said infant is going to reach puberty and early adulthood with a rock solid belief in Dragonism.
This is especially likely if as much as possible I decide to isolate the child in an environment in which he or she is exposed to "non-Dragonists" as little as possible. After all, exposing the child to the unfaithful may influence them to become Dragon-less heathens...which of course would be tragic, right?
Yes, I think my audience gets my point.
There's no difference between god and dragons. There are those that believe faithfully in "god", and there are those that believe faithfully in "the Great Dragon".
Both are equally absurd.
As an atheist, when considering the world around me and how or why it exists, I simply place both the idea of god and dragons, jesus and outer-space teacups, yahweh and jim jones, mohammed and the flying spaghetti monster, ganesh and the magic toaster all on equal footing with regard to the possibility of their actual existence and relevance to the living, observable and verifiable world around me:
Each of them almost certainly do not exist.
Part III to come...
As I stated in the Part One of this essay, what it is that really gets me about that statement by Dawkins is the inclusion of the word "almost".
Atheism is nothing more than a declaration to remain within the boundaries of reason.
There is a vast difference between the statement, "there certainly is no god" and the statement, "there almost certainly is no god".
That single word, "almost", is instrumental in illustrating the ways in which an atheist thinks, and is quite powerful in its context. It represents the line that is drawn between reason and absurdity, in that it is indeed absurd for anyone to claim that there "certainly is no god". It's also absurd to claim that there "certainly is a god".
No one knows with complete certainty whether or not there is any sort of god. Neither the most devout clergyman nor the most ardent atheist could make such a claim within the boundaries of reason.
Reason and absurdity.
Atheism and faith.
There are those that believe completely in the existence of dragons. Though they have never actually seen a dragon, believing in them fulfills some kind of emotional void...they cling to their belief in dragons without blinking, without questioning and without a shadow of a doubt, so help them Smaug.
Why? Well, perhaps as children they were enchanted by the idea of dragons...perhaps they read a book or a heard a story told to them in which dragons were presented as such amazing, fantastic creatures that they were sold one hundred percent on the concept. Perhaps the idea of dragons brought to them such dramatic splendor, such a thrill and wonder that the impact the event had on their susceptible, fragile and easily manipulated little minds was nothing short of tremendous, and therefore the idea that dragons may not exist would to them be devastating and heartbreaking, even into their adulthood.
There are also those that don't necessarily believe in dragons, but consider the jury to be still out on the matter. They, just as the dragon faithful, have seen no evidence one way or the other as to whether or not they actually exist. Maybe these individuals, too, were enchanted by the idea of dragons as children. Maybe they had read the Hobbit or played a role playing game of some kind; but as they grew older, alas! their faith in the existence of dragons was shaken. They consider the existence of dragons to be quite possible, and may think to themselves, "how nice it would be if they were really out there somewhere", but for the most part they reside atop a fence of faith regarding the existence of dragons, waiting for the winds of whatever it may be to cast them onto one side of that fence or the other.
Then there are those that don't really ever consider the existence of dragons at all. While even these individuals may have had an extraordinary experience as children in regard to dragons, they just don't really think about dragons at all anymore. While they, too, just as everyone else, have never seen a shred of actual evidence indicating that dragons may exist, this type of person considers it to be a complete waste of time in general to even consider the matter. They know that in all likelihood, dragons almost certainly do not exist...and the question of the existence of dragons is not ever going to impact their lives in any way. To them, their time is better spent thinking about things that verifiably exist within the observable, living world around them.
Now, those in this latter category, when pressed with the question, "do dragons exist?", what you will likely receive as an answer is the following:
"Dragons almost certainly do not exist."
Let's stay on the topic of dragons, here...
Let's pretend for a moment that someone has given to me their newborn infant to care for for the rest of its life for the sole purpose of conducting an experiment..
Let's pretend that I immediately begin to rear this infant to believe in the existence of dragons. I center it's life around...let's call it "Dragonism"...and bestow upon this infant a structured and dynamic belief system featuring an endless string of dramatic, scary and wonderful stories about "the Great Dragon". The Great Dragon is everywhere. The Great Dragon watches over you. The Great Dragon made all of us and created the world from its fiery breath. The Great Dragon loves you and watches over you. The Great Dragon punishes those that don't believe in the Great Dragon. The Great Dragon will cast you into the Dungeon of Suffering if you have not devoted your life to the service of the Great Dragon.
I think that there's a pretty good chance that said infant is going to reach puberty and early adulthood with a rock solid belief in Dragonism.
This is especially likely if as much as possible I decide to isolate the child in an environment in which he or she is exposed to "non-Dragonists" as little as possible. After all, exposing the child to the unfaithful may influence them to become Dragon-less heathens...which of course would be tragic, right?
Yes, I think my audience gets my point.
There's no difference between god and dragons. There are those that believe faithfully in "god", and there are those that believe faithfully in "the Great Dragon".
Both are equally absurd.
As an atheist, when considering the world around me and how or why it exists, I simply place both the idea of god and dragons, jesus and outer-space teacups, yahweh and jim jones, mohammed and the flying spaghetti monster, ganesh and the magic toaster all on equal footing with regard to the possibility of their actual existence and relevance to the living, observable and verifiable world around me:
Each of them almost certainly do not exist.
Part III to come...
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
On Atheism; Part One
"...there almost certainly is no god..."
-Richard Dawkins
What it is that gets me about that fantastic sentence is the word "almost".
Recently, a friend emailed me (someone that I respect tremendously), and asked if I would write for them something regarding the "virtues of atheism".
I am an atheist. So the request made complete sense.
I read the email and was flattered to have received such a request. I jumped on the idea of having an opportunity to share what I perceived to be the "virtues of atheism" with the general public, especially when the request was coming from such a valor source.
So, I responded to this email with an amiable agreement to do precisely what had been requested:
"I would be happy to write something up. Just give me a couple of days and I'll send something to you..."
(that's paraphrased, I'm sure...)
It's been WAY more than "a couple of days."
The reason it's been "way more than a couple of days"...is because once I received the request and so hastily responded to it, I was almost immediately faced with the task of having to begin thinking about what indeed were the "virtues of atheism".
Here's something about atheists:
When you ask an atheist, "what are the virtues of atheism?", what you have done is you have unwittingly and almost certainly without malice (but quite unfairly, nonetheless) triggered a series of cerebral events...a series of events that are neither interesting nor worth going on about in this essay.
What ends up being interesting and actually worth sharing, though, to be sure...are the consequences of having asked an atheist such a question...
First of all, there isn't any such thing as any sort of "virtue of atheism".
I wrote:
"There are no 'virtues' of atheism. That would be a misnomer, at best. Atheism is nothing more than a personal declaration to remain within the boundaries of reason...Atheism neither demands nor is defined in any way by what anyone would ever consider to be a 'virtue'..."
Now, that's one hundred percent true, right there. Seriously, that's an honest statement.
People find and live by morals and virtue (with AND without religion!), everywhere. Those that live by moral values and virtues are represented thoroughly in this world by:
Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhits, Wiccans, Christians, agnostics, Satanists, Outer-Space-Teacup-ers, 12-steppers, Mormons, Scientologists, Catholics, and...believe it or NOT...atheists! (not to mention the countless OTHER religions, questions, beliefs, non-beliefs, creeds, races, cultures etc....)
SO...there's good guys, right?...I mean, just look at Mohammed Ali, Stephen Spielberg, Gosāla Maskarin, Buddha, the guys that put together "the Blair Witch Project", Jesus, my brother 5 years ago, Ozzy, ????, Doctor Bob, .5% of the Salt Lake City Population, John Travolta, Robert DeNiro's character in "Sleepers" and...believe it or NOT...Thomas Jefferson! (not to mention representatives of the countless OTHER religions, questions, beliefs, non-beliefs, creeds, races, cultures etc....)
Unfortunately, because of to what degree the above paragraphs are TRUE, you must also consider that those that stray away from a life of any sort of morals or virtue are also well represented thoroughly in this world by:
Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhist, Wiccans, Christians, agnostics, Satanists, Outer-Space-Teacup-ers, 12-steppers, Mormons, Scientologists, Catholics, and...believe it or NOT...atheists! (not to mention representative of the countless OTHER religions, questions, beliefs, non-beliefs, creeds, races, cultures etc....)
SO...there's bad guys, too...Just look at Osama Bin Laden, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Ranvir Sena, Tiger Woods (just kidding!...lol), Godsmack, Jerry Falwell (not kidding), Dave Matthews, Peter H. Gilmore, Glenn Beck, Bill W , 99.5% of the Salt Lake City population, Tom Cruise, Pope Benedict XVI, and...believe it or NOT...Josef Stalin!
The one thing that all of the above have in common is that they each have very little in common...
...the only thing they have in common is that every one of them feature some of history's biggest assholes...
...and some of history's biggest heroes.
Not one comes close to cornering any market in terms of either "virtue" or "sin".
And for me, it takes understanding that before any understanding of atheism can be realized.
Basically, the point here is, that there's no evidence that believing in anything makes anyone on Earth any less of an asshole. Those fuckers are EVERYWHERE.
So let's first toss out completely the ridiculous idea that some kind of religion or otherwise structured belief in a "god" (and of course, what I mean by that is, "whatever it is according to whatever it was that YOUR parents indoctrinated you into believing"...[if you haven't gotten offended yet, now's the time!]) is required for anyone anywhere to be a GOOD or a BAD person.
All jokes aside...
-51-
*dedicated to and written for seekingintoungues
http://seekingintongues.blogspot.com
-Richard Dawkins
What it is that gets me about that fantastic sentence is the word "almost".
Recently, a friend emailed me (someone that I respect tremendously), and asked if I would write for them something regarding the "virtues of atheism".
I am an atheist. So the request made complete sense.
I read the email and was flattered to have received such a request. I jumped on the idea of having an opportunity to share what I perceived to be the "virtues of atheism" with the general public, especially when the request was coming from such a valor source.
So, I responded to this email with an amiable agreement to do precisely what had been requested:
"I would be happy to write something up. Just give me a couple of days and I'll send something to you..."
(that's paraphrased, I'm sure...)
It's been WAY more than "a couple of days."
The reason it's been "way more than a couple of days"...is because once I received the request and so hastily responded to it, I was almost immediately faced with the task of having to begin thinking about what indeed were the "virtues of atheism".
Here's something about atheists:
When you ask an atheist, "what are the virtues of atheism?", what you have done is you have unwittingly and almost certainly without malice (but quite unfairly, nonetheless) triggered a series of cerebral events...a series of events that are neither interesting nor worth going on about in this essay.
What ends up being interesting and actually worth sharing, though, to be sure...are the consequences of having asked an atheist such a question...
First of all, there isn't any such thing as any sort of "virtue of atheism".
I wrote:
"There are no 'virtues' of atheism. That would be a misnomer, at best. Atheism is nothing more than a personal declaration to remain within the boundaries of reason...Atheism neither demands nor is defined in any way by what anyone would ever consider to be a 'virtue'..."
Now, that's one hundred percent true, right there. Seriously, that's an honest statement.
People find and live by morals and virtue (with AND without religion!), everywhere. Those that live by moral values and virtues are represented thoroughly in this world by:
Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhits, Wiccans, Christians, agnostics, Satanists, Outer-Space-Teacup-ers, 12-steppers, Mormons, Scientologists, Catholics, and...believe it or NOT...atheists! (not to mention the countless OTHER religions, questions, beliefs, non-beliefs, creeds, races, cultures etc....)
SO...there's good guys, right?...I mean, just look at Mohammed Ali, Stephen Spielberg, Gosāla Maskarin, Buddha, the guys that put together "the Blair Witch Project", Jesus, my brother 5 years ago, Ozzy, ????, Doctor Bob, .5% of the Salt Lake City Population, John Travolta, Robert DeNiro's character in "Sleepers" and...believe it or NOT...Thomas Jefferson! (not to mention representatives of the countless OTHER religions, questions, beliefs, non-beliefs, creeds, races, cultures etc....)
Unfortunately, because of to what degree the above paragraphs are TRUE, you must also consider that those that stray away from a life of any sort of morals or virtue are also well represented thoroughly in this world by:
Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhist, Wiccans, Christians, agnostics, Satanists, Outer-Space-Teacup-ers, 12-steppers, Mormons, Scientologists, Catholics, and...believe it or NOT...atheists! (not to mention representative of the countless OTHER religions, questions, beliefs, non-beliefs, creeds, races, cultures etc....)
SO...there's bad guys, too...Just look at Osama Bin Laden, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Ranvir Sena, Tiger Woods (just kidding!...lol), Godsmack, Jerry Falwell (not kidding), Dave Matthews, Peter H. Gilmore, Glenn Beck, Bill W , 99.5% of the Salt Lake City population, Tom Cruise, Pope Benedict XVI, and...believe it or NOT...Josef Stalin!
The one thing that all of the above have in common is that they each have very little in common...
...the only thing they have in common is that every one of them feature some of history's biggest assholes...
...and some of history's biggest heroes.
Not one comes close to cornering any market in terms of either "virtue" or "sin".
And for me, it takes understanding that before any understanding of atheism can be realized.
Basically, the point here is, that there's no evidence that believing in anything makes anyone on Earth any less of an asshole. Those fuckers are EVERYWHERE.
So let's first toss out completely the ridiculous idea that some kind of religion or otherwise structured belief in a "god" (and of course, what I mean by that is, "whatever it is according to whatever it was that YOUR parents indoctrinated you into believing"...[if you haven't gotten offended yet, now's the time!]) is required for anyone anywhere to be a GOOD or a BAD person.
All jokes aside...
-51-
*dedicated to and written for seekingintoungues
http://seekingintongues.blogspot.com
Thursday, February 25, 2010
How to Defeat the Forces of Evil with Aviator Shades and a Radio
My brother turned on the television this morning as I was getting ready for work.
Some USA, Inc. Senator was on some "news" network channel answering some inane questions posed by some irrelevant person. One of the questions the person asked the Senator was what he thought about statements recently made by Ben Bernanke, current Chairman of USA, Inc. Federal Reserve.
Now, this is not verbatim (forgive me, but I wasn't really paying attention as I was in the midst of some demanding hygienic maintenance...the details of which I will spare you), but the Senator responded with a statement that went along the lines of, "the Chairman is looking at the world through rose colored glasses! I'm looking at it through clear colored glasses! Except when I go into the sunlight. Then they turn dark! See? They're uh..ummm...uhh..."
Along with apparently not understanding that "clear" is in fact not a color, the good Senator was apparently having trouble remembering the word "transition" (which actually makes sense, coming from a USA, Inc. Senator...see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_stagnation_in_the_United_States).
As this crazy person that allegedly leads our nation continued to fumble around with his botched attempt at making a clever comment (that was somehow supposed to have been realized by referencing "transition sunglasses"...go figure that), in the buzzing background of my electric hair clipper, all I could think of is just what complete, monumental, utter and total deep shit that we are all in.
As USA, Inc. spirals further and faster into our leaders' collective, custom designed Super Corporate Swine Toilet-Trough-Combo 3000®, it's important for all of us to develop some skillz for survival, attributes to get through it, tools that will enable us to get from here to the septic tank we're all certainly headed toward.
"What," I am sure you are asking yourself, "are these skillz, Sal? How can I find these tools, what is it that I can do to contribute to our survival?"
Well, while you may be thinking arming yourself against these forces of evil involves "getting out the VOTE!", or informing yourself with informative information, or getting a college degree, or some kind of radical activism...it's actually none of these things that will help you. I've tried all of that and none of it works. In fact, most of those sorts of things suck, and will accomplish nothing for you but frustration...or worse...facilitate YOU in joining the dark side of all of this, which is precisely what none of us want.
I've been in recovery for politicalism now for 6 months. I had to admit that I was powerless over politicians and that my life had become unmanageable. I came to believe that a power lesser than myself could restore me to sanity, and I have turned my life and my will over to this lesser power unequivocally.
This lesser power is actually a composite...a sum total, if you will...of many other lesser powers, all of which do NOT suck and will reinforce my strong position on the heroic, good side of things as all of this horror unfolds around me. My personal lesser power is made up of things like Brown Betty Booty Blunts and beer...my comfy cotton slippers and my glass blue ADS...my morning coffee and good book. The great thing about these kinds of inoccuous, fun-filled lesser-powered things is that you can add or take away any of them any time you wish.
For instance, just this morning, after listening to Senator Knuckle-Nutz blather on about his Transition® Lenses, that dark feeling of complete outrage boiled up in me over the sad irony of a USA, Inc. Senator using $700.00 sunglasses (he probably spent WAY more than that on them) to make a point about the comments of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve during a massive recession.
The insanity began to take over me. I was headed for a relapse...I could feel that burning desire to step out into the living room (naked) and shake my fist like a 75 year old man at my confused and slightly frightened brother and yelp out my irrelevant and impotent politicoholic woes for all the world to not hear...
...and then by the power of Baseball, I took a deep breath and looked at my little pile of stuff that I carry around with me every day sitting there on the bathroom counter...my wallet, my keys, my laminated key-ringed picture of Johnny Depp, and...and..my sunglasses.
MY sunglasses are NOT Transition® sunglasses. MY sunglasses are cheap, plastic aviator shades. They have chew marks in them and a very small crack in the lenses from when my puppy got hold of them. In fact, I didn't even buy them, they were my brother's until he found the frame on the floor and both lenses nearby in between the damned dog's teeth. After they had gone through the puppy mill, he gave them to me.
They definitely serve their purpose, which is above all to make me look cool. They also block out the sun (after having replaced the lenses...yes they were obviously snatched away and saved from the Sarlacc Pit that is my dog's stomach). AND they serve perfectly as a part of my lesser power, by the grace of which I remained clean and apolitical today.
One day at a time...
Thanks for joining me, fireside. See you next time.
-SP
Some USA, Inc. Senator was on some "news" network channel answering some inane questions posed by some irrelevant person. One of the questions the person asked the Senator was what he thought about statements recently made by Ben Bernanke, current Chairman of USA, Inc. Federal Reserve.
Now, this is not verbatim (forgive me, but I wasn't really paying attention as I was in the midst of some demanding hygienic maintenance...the details of which I will spare you), but the Senator responded with a statement that went along the lines of, "the Chairman is looking at the world through rose colored glasses! I'm looking at it through clear colored glasses! Except when I go into the sunlight. Then they turn dark! See? They're uh..ummm...uhh..."
Along with apparently not understanding that "clear" is in fact not a color, the good Senator was apparently having trouble remembering the word "transition" (which actually makes sense, coming from a USA, Inc. Senator...see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_stagnation_in_the_United_States).
As this crazy person that allegedly leads our nation continued to fumble around with his botched attempt at making a clever comment (that was somehow supposed to have been realized by referencing "transition sunglasses"...go figure that), in the buzzing background of my electric hair clipper, all I could think of is just what complete, monumental, utter and total deep shit that we are all in.
As USA, Inc. spirals further and faster into our leaders' collective, custom designed Super Corporate Swine Toilet-Trough-Combo 3000®, it's important for all of us to develop some skillz for survival, attributes to get through it, tools that will enable us to get from here to the septic tank we're all certainly headed toward.
"What," I am sure you are asking yourself, "are these skillz, Sal? How can I find these tools, what is it that I can do to contribute to our survival?"
Well, while you may be thinking arming yourself against these forces of evil involves "getting out the VOTE!", or informing yourself with informative information, or getting a college degree, or some kind of radical activism...it's actually none of these things that will help you. I've tried all of that and none of it works. In fact, most of those sorts of things suck, and will accomplish nothing for you but frustration...or worse...facilitate YOU in joining the dark side of all of this, which is precisely what none of us want.
I've been in recovery for politicalism now for 6 months. I had to admit that I was powerless over politicians and that my life had become unmanageable. I came to believe that a power lesser than myself could restore me to sanity, and I have turned my life and my will over to this lesser power unequivocally.
This lesser power is actually a composite...a sum total, if you will...of many other lesser powers, all of which do NOT suck and will reinforce my strong position on the heroic, good side of things as all of this horror unfolds around me. My personal lesser power is made up of things like Brown Betty Booty Blunts and beer...my comfy cotton slippers and my glass blue ADS...my morning coffee and good book. The great thing about these kinds of inoccuous, fun-filled lesser-powered things is that you can add or take away any of them any time you wish.
For instance, just this morning, after listening to Senator Knuckle-Nutz blather on about his Transition® Lenses, that dark feeling of complete outrage boiled up in me over the sad irony of a USA, Inc. Senator using $700.00 sunglasses (he probably spent WAY more than that on them) to make a point about the comments of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve during a massive recession.
The insanity began to take over me. I was headed for a relapse...I could feel that burning desire to step out into the living room (naked) and shake my fist like a 75 year old man at my confused and slightly frightened brother and yelp out my irrelevant and impotent politicoholic woes for all the world to not hear...
...and then by the power of Baseball, I took a deep breath and looked at my little pile of stuff that I carry around with me every day sitting there on the bathroom counter...my wallet, my keys, my laminated key-ringed picture of Johnny Depp, and...and..my sunglasses.
MY sunglasses are NOT Transition® sunglasses. MY sunglasses are cheap, plastic aviator shades. They have chew marks in them and a very small crack in the lenses from when my puppy got hold of them. In fact, I didn't even buy them, they were my brother's until he found the frame on the floor and both lenses nearby in between the damned dog's teeth. After they had gone through the puppy mill, he gave them to me.
They definitely serve their purpose, which is above all to make me look cool. They also block out the sun (after having replaced the lenses...yes they were obviously snatched away and saved from the Sarlacc Pit that is my dog's stomach). AND they serve perfectly as a part of my lesser power, by the grace of which I remained clean and apolitical today.
One day at a time...
Thanks for joining me, fireside. See you next time.
-SP
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