That’s why they don’t mind the Circus.

One opinion I can say for sure has changed of mine in the past 3 years is my opinion about Obama as a President. I dislike how he runs things. Very hands off, pandering to the power structure. Doing things behind the backs of the public and waving the magic Democrat wand – as if to tell us (and not even as if, very definitely!) that if we don’t understand the WHY of how things are done, then we’re too ignorant to be told. That we should sit down and shut the fuck up because he’s “got this, motherfucker.”

What he’s GOT is a very solid chance at getting unseated. And after what I’ve seen with NDAA and SOPA and PIPA and ACTA and and and… I have to say it would definitely be happening to a deserving President.

But if you think for a second, that Obama doesn’t know how to move a crowd?! That he is not, or has forgotten how to be, the Jay-Z of Politics… you’re just flat out delusional.

Proles

EDITOR’S NOTE: I actually wrote this a few months back, and didn’t publish it by accident. How fitting now, considering the Wall St. occupation that NO ONE is covering. Please read, ponder, and comment. Thanks! -RT

If there is hope, wrote Winston, it lies in the proles.

If there was hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there in those swarming disregarded masses, 85 per cent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated. The Party could not be overthrown from within. Its enemies, if it had any enemies, had no way of coming together or even of identifying one another. Even if the legendary Brotherhood existed, as just possibly it might, it was inconceivable that its members could ever assemble in larger numbers than twos and threes. Rebellion meant a look in the eyes, an inflexion of the voice, at the most, an occasional whispered word. But the proles, if only they could somehow become conscious of their own strength, would have no need to conspire. They needed only to rise up and shake themselves like a horse shaking off flies. If they chose they could blow the Party to pieces tomorrow morning. Surely sooner or later it must occur to them to do it? And yet-!

I’ve been thinking a lot about the proles among us as of late. Watching the whole of American society crumble makes one consider the bleak future in a new light. There is so much naked treachery and corruption in our tarnished streets paved with gold, yet we 85% walk about with earphones glued to our heads, with the greatest hits from our local iTunes store blocking out the cold and crushing reality of The United Police States Of America .

Oh, you haven’t heard? The Senate changed the name last month.

Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.

Herein lies the rub: Americans have become the predominant consumers of entertainment on the planet. Of all time. We are so busy crafting our own worlds and living out our fantasies through them that we pay no attention to what is being done to our brother, or in our names.

Regardless of your political bonafides, it’s easy to agree that our government is corrupt, and allowing (even actively engaging in) state-sponsored terrorism. That may sound harsh, but only because you haven’t allowed the reality of Modern America to permeate your bubble. Let’s be clear:  United States military professionals are no-knocking civilian residences and shooting to kill (no remorse if they get the wrong address) both at home and abroad, world leaders are talking about deploying climate weapons and nuclear weapons to wrest mineral rights away from sovereign nations, the petrodollar economic pillars are crumbling under their own weight, it’s now considered within the rule of law that we go to war at nothing more than the behest of the CIC/Unitary Executive, the federal government wants to defund education and health care (while continuing to allow the rich to ignore their part of the ‘shared sacrifice’.) unilaterally, radiation is leaking all over the place and the majority of detection safety nets are being taken off-line, and people are getting arrested and beaten for protesting all of this in public.

Most importantly, the coming election of a new President is so clearly fixed, even at this early date, that all of Obama’s strongest opposition is just flat out refusing to run.

We The People need to abandon the idealistic residual self-image built during the halcyon after glow of “winning” the Cold War and face some hard truths about what we’ve come to represent and what we allow to occur for the sake of being able to install iPod docks in our Titanic branded deck chairs at competitive prices. If Americans are going to continue to talk about how they are the greatest people in the world, then we need to lead by example and do as so many others in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria, and elsewhere have done; we MUST fight the corrupt regime here at home if we want to have any hope of defeating corrupt regimes abroad.

Or even expect to survive as better than a third world nation past the next half decade.

Why Jingoism Will Slay Humanity

True Believer

I am not trying to be antagonistic when I ask this next question, I just am honestly curious as to your answer. If you believe there are more appealing countries out there, why do you not chose to live in them? I absolutely believe there are many countries out there doing positive things, I just wonder if there is a reason you chose to stay here if you don’t agree with how things are run?

Ronin Tetsuro

As I am not a binary thinker, for me stating that it’s okay to acknowledge that this country has problems does not automatically equate to my having another country I wish to live in. Nor should it.

It is the very definition of Patriotism to question what you see wrong with the world around you. Especially where there are clear indicators that something is very wrong in DC. This isn’t a matter of where I would rather live or what place is better to live. For right now, we both live in America. Is it not a matter of self preservation to question what is being done in our name? Especially when it is so vile, so crass, so brazen, so self-destructive, and so mortally wounding to the entirety of the Human race?

Look, Humanity exists on one planet, and one planet only. Our capability to do otherwise is in a distant, and perhaps alternate future. That said, we also have no concrete measurable proof that some cosmic force is out there watching over us. We don’t even know if there are any MORTAL forces other than humans in the whole of the known Universe, and trust me, we’ve mapped a FUCKTON of empty space. Let’s for the sake of this particular argument accept that all these things are Universal Truths, regardless of your orientation on a variety of topics. All of these things considered, don’t you think we should be taking care of one another? I don’t even mean in a fiscal sense that has come to be defined by HMO’s and lawyers, I mean in the sense that we have NO WHERE ELSE TO GO. We Have To Work This Out. Only humans can save humans. Period.

And we’re too busy making SILVER the first endangered precious mineral on the planet to create BOMBS to drop on the people of Libya? We’re wasting our own liberty at home to occupy a sovereign nation? Millions of people in The Greatest Damn Country In Existence are starving and homeless because some prick with tee-time and modest little place in Dubai needs his “performance” oops, sorry… “retention” bonus to carry on his doomed lifestyle of excess and gluttony? All I’m asking is can we agree that This is Now Officially Class Warfare, and we need to rethink everything about how we live, who we consider enemies and friends, and how we fundamentally understand and treat our planet?

Am I the ONLY one that sees 7 Trillion people looking to us for an answer, and turning around to look at the people who stand with me… and really question if we’re up to the task of saving the Universe? Anyone? Bueller?

Facts and Truth VS Propaganda and Deception

I’ve stated very clearly for some time now, that America has raised a nation of children. As such, and only because of such, it has become okay to believe that “all opinions are valid”. This in and of itself isn’t a problem. As with all concepts, humanity will ever find a way to evolve it into something suited to his individual needs. Hence, “All opinions are valid” for some people became “All opinions are FACTUAL”, much to the delight of corporations everywhere. Yet another subsection not only believed this, but began to believe it is a RIGHT to have an opinion AND that opinion no matter what it is, is always factual.

Just by virtue of it being thought by that person! Such is the American super-ego, that just by springing forth from an American citizen’s mind a concept can also be immediately factual. Even if only in that single citizen’s sphere of influence, and even if only then. STILL as factual as anything else that can be factual in the world.

This is (Clearly) a high-level way of saying there are people who believe something as fundamentally ridiculous as The Global War On Terror is as valid as stating that “the sky is blue” and “water is wet”. So I think the case for Propaganda being as successful as Truth is well made. I might even go so far as to say that is an understatement. Since 137% of reality is Perception, what people choose to perceive is their ideal. And their ideal is a function of how they were raised, their life experiences, their religious cant, their general health, level of popular culture consumption, level of social narcotic consumption, and so on.

Yet another level simpler: People believe what makes them comfortable. Regardless of contrary inputs.

So the ideological schism we are seeing endemically in America, is a direct result of overt forces seeking to (and succeeding in) further splitting the political divide in this country. That’s not a conspiracy or a theory, it’s a fact that this happens amongst populations all the time. There are even documented cases of this happening where a third entity is influencing this schism for it’s own gain. I think the most popular and instructive example of this will become what has happened to Americans in the past three decades. We’re staring down a long barrel of social progrom here, and it is in fact called Propaganda.

It’s better than truth. It’s got wi-fi, bluetooth, real-time updating, mp3 player, sunroof, and 45 speed settings.

This is what appeals to Americans. Not the hoary old truth that is a real conversation killer at the water cooler. So we tune out and succumb to the noise. But we’re getting lost in it. Even on this forum. Even me. The constant background fuzz of terrorists and cop chases and desperate housewives and talented idols and stupid human tricks has us loosing our edge. I think we should be wary of everyone and anyone that feels propaganda is the Lord God come to save them from a banal existence. I think it’s a great way to ensure we stay a bunch of dumb, filthy apes trudging around on this dying rock and slaughtering one another until there’s nothing left to do but die.

You ask me what I choose, I choose truth. And I welcome anyone and everyone to expose me to large doses of it, regardless of what I might think about it. I EXPECT truth out of others, and I think that’s a lot of the time why I get a bad rap for being dickish or blunt. We’re constantly pummeled by propaganda from all these inanimate glowing devices all day, why wouldn’t I want to feel like I can expect some truth from flesh and blood? Why wouldn’t I hope others would feel the same way?

There’s not enough time left to keep choking on Uncle Sam’s bilge pipe of lies. You ask why propaganda is partisan, it’s not. Propaganda is human, and we have to start thinking about it that way.

America, lend me your ears.

I just watched Charlie Sheen’s interview with ABC. He really laid it bare. He marched into that interview fully knowing this was his Tiger Woods moment. He knew it was his chance to apologize for whatever he did, and that’s what the public (some of them) were expecting. But Charlie, Charlie did what Tiger should have done. Charlie did what lots of celebrities should have done. He told the entire world, “this is who I am, I’m not making any apologies for it.”

This, in a nutshell, is what America needs to do. Right goddamn now.

As an infant nation, we fought for our ideals and a freedom for the common man to pursue his inner Charlie Sheen, so long as he or she is productive and not a general nuisance to the public. We grew, and took that mantle internationally, fighting the wars we felt were just for our interests. And the American empire grew.

We enjoyed prosperity, we enjoyed peace in our time at home. We enjoyed a lot of consumer goods at the expense of other nations. We grew our debt to maintain defense across the globe and defeat the threat of ideals that stood to disrupt the program of ‘prosperity at the end of a gun’ named Capitalism. We were cowboys, and we were good at it.

But like all things, it soured. And like all peoples who have enjoyed the fruits of the land, we’ve grown complacent.

We know some certain truths about our modern world and nation:
- We know that our government is inherently corrupt, perhaps beyond repair

- We know the media has been co-opted through the mechanisms of corporations.

- We know that there is a distinct agenda to increase wealth disparity in whatever direction that further weakens the dollar.

- We know that we owe amounts of debt to other countries that are astronomical and ever growing.

- We know that our only true method of defense (the monetary system) is manipulated by and owned by the Federal Reserve Bank.

Regardless of what petty partisanship we’ve collected like dust on the bottom of our shoes during our journey through America, We The People all know those things to be true. The recent uprisings in the Middle East are a sign that the proletariat is awakening to a world wrested from them.

And there’s a growing desire to take it back.

America, we have to end those things that separate us, and unite under a banner that shows the world that the concept of America isn’t a false one. That while we have the right to disagree, we can come together and say “This is who we are, and we reject your judgement of us. We can not and will not rest until those responsible for the destruction of our homeland are conquered and destroyed.”

Many eyes are watching us, and they deserve to see something that proves we are truly on the side of right like we always claim to be. Support those who speak up and out about what’s happening in our country. Whatever they are speaking up about. We need voices, not drones.

Additionally, it is the information age. Familiarize yourself with researching your viewpoints and talking points. Review your history, it always repeats itself. Learn some basic camping skills. Fire a gun if you’ve never fired one. Take self-defense classes. Meet your neighbors. Get involved in your neighborhood. Stop shopping at the big box store. Get in shape. Stock up on basics. And get ready. America is about to finish it’s adolescence with one hell of a burst of hormones. We need every one ready to fight those that want to take our lives from us; financially, spiritually, and physically. We have to accept that the enemy already is domestic, and more powerful than we can imagine.

And since it’s everyone’s first night at Fight Club, We have to fight.

Notes on 10 year olds not Pledging Allegiance

Foreword

I’ve been following this story about the 10 year old boy who has been doing something flatly patriotic.

He has decided, presumably of his own accord, to cease reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in the mornings at school, until homosexuals have equal rights in the United States. And I quote,

“I’ve always tried to analyze things because I want to be lawyer,” Will said. “I really don’t feel that there’s currently liberty and justice for all.”

That’s a 10 year old. Maybe there’s hope for us yet. That said, while discussing it at my local political forum, the reality based community has discovered that the apologists who are all up in arms about this boy expressing his right to Free Speech (naturally, because he’s not doing so for the right side, you see.) don’t really know why they are condemning this boy.

It’s been an interesting, if not expected development. So after we rounded them all up and boxed them into a corner, we asked and asked and asked, but no one seemed to have any answers. Finally one exasperated voice put it simply hoping for results:

“So where and what is the ‘error’ of his ways for simply refusing to say a few lines?

I have said before that we dont say any kind of pledge like you folk do(because she’s not from the US. -ed.), so I cant work out why it is such a big for some that he refused. What is so offensive about it?”

And it was such a great setup, just begging for attention, I took a deep breath, selected the best catch-as-catch-can hayseed voice I could make believable, and waded right in…

————————————————————————————————————

The Mental State of The Union

I’ve come to some very disturbing conclusions lately, covering the Birther/Town Hall Mobster beat as I have.

I’ve been covering it from the seedy backroom of the unsung Internet political forum, the true Pantheon of Modern Rome. Any story worth getting is worth getting from the front line, and for months I’ve been witnessing the very savage and brutal punch-for-punch ground combat, and let me tell you… let me deliver the message out to Peoria – It’s brutal out there.

Thompson reaches from the grave.

The noisy B terminal of Memphis International is busy for a Monday evening. A man in fatigues sits with his wife and they argue between frantic phone calls about how to get to Daytona before their sanity runs out. Their back and forth is a lyrical battle; between no nonsense midwestern from her and lilting carribean from him. Their child is a happy, free spirit constantly trying to run off and escape his overly-stressed parents. Like clockwork the little boy runs off and makes new friends wherever he goes, his energy seemingly indispensible in a place where the adults have long run out. She returns, out of breath from chasing him, snatching him up from over by the ticket agent, saying to no one in particular “He’s insisting on flying the plane”.

My attention barely diverted, I return to Hunter S. Thompson’s “Kingdom Of Fear” (purchased from MKE’s impressive bookstore) to read:

No sir, not a chance. Mr. Jones does not even pretend to know what’s happening in America right now, and neither does anyone else.

We have seen Wierd Times in this country before, but the year 2000 is beginning to look super wierd. This time, there really is nobody flying the plane…. We are living in dangerously weird times now. Smart people just shrug and admit theyre dazed and confused.

How very true. Most of us are left to wander shell shocked like a rape victim after the events of the past decade. Truly we’ve been exposed to the possibility of the end of the American Century. By hook or by crook, it matters not. The deep tissue trauma has been done. And little boys want to fly this plane to destinations that don’t exist outside of their own minds, leaving the rest of us starving and maybe even secretly hoping for a crash landing so we can get the hell away from these animals and zealots.

Slow slide to the end.

It’s a very interesting time in history to be alive.
Everyone seems to know the end is coming. If you stop trying so hard to ignore it, the signs are everywhere. Business drying up, people who havn’t been deemed “too big to fail” going belly up under the crushing weight of the market and it’s downward spiral. There’s naked hate in the streets, and a general acceptance that the last gasp is now, to enjoy it while you can.

It’s just a matter of time and what’s gonna spark off the sharp decline into full time, third world American living.

A lot of talk about succession and marriage rights and immigration and a devalued dollar means pressure is coming at Joe Sixpack from all sides. Lots of utterings that sound like Civil War. Important changes happen every day, hardly anyone knows about it thanks to a complacent dinosaur media. No one knows where the money is coming from but they sure as hell aren’t asking questions. Yesterday’s conquerors are todays brow beaten oppressed, they’re not shy about taking advantage of their victimhood to harvest pity from the ignorant and uninformed. Pack minded humans in survival mode are likely to do anything. I know that first hand.

Dark days ahead in the land of freedom. Here’s to you and yours, keep fighting the good fight.

Election 08′: Taking a stress break.

So. I’m doing my best not to obsess over election coverage. I’ve been forcing myself to take breaks. I got a link to something that I felt I should share, since we could all use a good laugh right about now.