The One About...: June 2009

Monday, June 29, 2009

The One About The Song Says It All: Lives In The Balance By Jackson Browne.

The Song Says It All, is one of the new regular features I'm launching. The idea is to take a song that has a great deal of meaning to me, and share it. Sometimes I'll just present the song, but usually I'll try to find an interesting video, and also offer a transcript of the lyrics. And of course I'll tell you a little bit about my relationship to the song and why it means something special to me. Sometimes it will be personal, sometimes political, and every once in a while it will just be because I think the song is neat.

This weeks entry is Lives In The Balance by Jackson Browne.

Image via Wikipedia

I first found this song thanks to The Love Of My Life. She's a huge fan of Miami Vice, and had picked up one of the two albums originally released during the show's heyday that compiled some of the best of the songs featured in various episodes. This piece of melodic protest music was on the disc and it immediately captivated me. Musically it's incredibly haunting with it's use of woodwind. Lyrically it is very moving and very true. Sadly it is every bit as true today as it was twenty some years ago.

Lives In The Balance - Jackson Browne

Ive been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that youve seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war

And theres a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest
runs

On the radio talk shows and the t.v.
You hear one thing again and again
How the u.s.a. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends--
These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally cant take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

Theres a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we cant even say the names

They sell us the president the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But theyre never the ones to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

I also found a live version of the song, which someone used to create an excellent video showcasing the many sins of the most recent Bush administration. Sadly I suspect that some day someone will be able to create a new video using the Obama administration, which seems largely to be following in it's predecessors imperialistic foot prints.

Ultimately, as long as the United States continues to pursue activities like the ones outlined in the song, I hope people will keep discovering this incredibly beautiful and moving piece of protest music.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The One About Some Important Changes Coming To This Blog.

I think that it is important for any blogger, to understand as completely as possible what their blogs core values are. What those are of course, will differ, sometimes greatly, from blogger to blogger. For me the two core values of The One About... are authenticity, and consistency.

Authenticity, means giving you my honest, and original thoughts on the subjects I write about, not merely parroting what I hear and read others say and write. It also means trying to give you a sense of important subjects as I've come to understand them. It does not mean that the information I gather is going to be without error, or the opinions that I offer are always going to be the best ones available in the whole of the Internet. But I can promise you that I will do my best to prevent any errors I can, and to correct any that I discover later. Also I can promise you that the opinions I offer to you, will be the best that I can come up with.

Consistency, means creating a publishing schedule and sticking to it, come hell or high water. It's just that simple.

Recently, I have had a number of things happen that has made keeping to both of those values, more than a little bit of a challenge.

What those things are, really aren't germane. What is germane is that after taking a long hard look at the state of my non blogging affairs, I have come to the conclusion that I could either attempt to keep to my two articles a day requirement, and in so doing churn out barely thought out crap, or even worse fail to publish consistently, or I could step back, figure out a more reasonable publishing cycle and then go forward.

To me it is much more important that I am offering quality work, then the specific amount. Towards that end I have decided to ease up, and only publish one article per day. Plus to make it a little easier on me, three of those articles will be regular features that are a little less writing intensive.

The three regular features will be The Blunt Report, The Antidote, and The Song Says It All.

The Blunt Report, will sometimes be a round up of the week's news, sometimes it will focus on one particular topic, and I will offer my take on it, in the bluntest, one might even say crudest fashion possible. The idea is not to be vulgar, although sometimes I will be, put rather to put my thoughts forward in the most direct fashion I can, to cut through some of the tap dancing that can take place in the blogoverse.

The Antidote, will publish on Sundays. In it I will take a particularly egregious piece of garbage, quite often from the aforementioned blogoverse, and I will offer a bit of common sense, and perhaps a less narrow minded than some of what is out there, from both the Conservative, and from the Liberal and Progressive sides.

Finally The Song Says It All, will be a chance for me to share, one of my greatest loves, namely music. Each Monday I will be sharing a song that has had an impact on me, whether it is political, or personal, or every once in a while, just because I think it's really neat.

In between, I will continue to offer my thoughts on various events of the day, trying to make some kind of sense out of what is going on in the world. My hope is that by reducing my self imposed work load some, I will be better able to more clearly gather and organize my thoughts, to present them to you.

So that's where things stand now. Thank you for your patience during this time my dear readers, and I hope to see you in the comments sections.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The One About President Obama Is No Ronald Reagan, At Least Not Yet.

Human beings love to compare things. Especially people. It helps us to understand something new, by comparing it to something familiar. Sometimes the comparisons are spot on and other times, well they require more than just a bit of stretching. But sometimes there are comparisons to be made, that either no one does see, or perhaps more precisely no one wants to see. Until it's much too late. Such a comparison came to me recently while I was reading two articles, that on the surface didn't seem to have much at all to do with one another.

While conceding that some of Reagan's economic plans did not work out as intended, his defenders - including many mainstream journalists - still argue that Reagan should be hailed as a great President because he "won the Cold War," a short-hand phrase that they like to attach to his historical biography.

Obama has inspired a collective fawning. What started in the campaign (the chief victim was Hillary Clinton, not John McCain) has continued, as a study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism shows. It concludes: "President Barack Obama has enjoyed substantially more positive media coverage than either Bill Clinton or George W. Bush during their first months in the White House."

This got me to thinking. If any President in recent memory should serve as a warning of the dangers of the press giving a free ride to a leader, it should be Reagan. But it is starting to look with Obama as if there is considerably less scrutiny than there should be, at least of the type there should be. I'm not talking about the "I hope he fails" rhetorical bunkum of Rush Limbaugh, but rather, the kind of scrutiny that simply looks at the facts and when they don't add up, says so. And while there are sources for that kind of reporting (The Nation comes immediately to mind) they largely get ignored by so called "Middle America" because of their openly progressive stance. So long as the main stream media continues to give the President an almost totally free ride with regards to things like his refusal to expend political capital for things like the Employee Free Choice Act, or ending legal and morally questionable practices with regards to imprisoned suspected terrorist, it will only get easier and easier for Mr. Obama to act without feeling that he is answerable to anyone or anything save his own conscience.

And while I would like to believe that Obama's conscience is still a damn sight better than the last few people we've had in the White House, at the end of the day, I'd still much prefer that his actions be kept in balance, by a healthily, reasonably skeptical press.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

The One About I'm Sick Of The Misuse Of Homeless Heroism.

We Americans just love our myths. Especially the heroic ones. Even when they serve a less than noble purpose. One of the most pervasive in modern times is the myth of the heroic poor. The mother who works three jobs to keep her kids clothed and fed. Or the man who works two jobs and then goes to school at night. Such people are held up to us as paragons with the smug underlying message of "See, they did it. They over came odds that others say are impossible. So who are you to whine, or expect any help from the government."

I came across yet another example of this, just recently.

Homeless and without a job, Toni Clark saved her unemployment checks only for the barest of essentials -- meals, and her college education.

On Friday, Clark was one of almost 1,100 graduates at the largest commencement in Essex County College's 40-year history. While many of her classmates faced down their own adversity, Clark's entire college career was completed without having a place to sleep at night.

"I lost my apartment and my job, and I didn't want to stay with family, so I went on the street, but God put me right in school," she said Friday, moments after the ceremony at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The path to higher education was rocky for the 50-year-old Clark, who earned her degree without books, a computer or a proper place to study. She walked almost everywhere she went, often pushing a shopping cart and dragging along luggage.

"It's been hard. I was staying in (Newark) Penn Station, the airport," Clark said. "But you know, I was taking care of business and everything, but I just didn't have a home."

Officials said the college had no idea Clark was homeless while she was attending classes.

At one point before she completed her degree, the college did have issues with her showing up to school with luggage, and denied her access to the computer lab and library, Clark said. Undeterred, she down-sized to one small bag. Clark said she finished her course work with a grade point average of about 2.77.

Clark's descent into homelessness was as sudden as it was painful.

Soon after she was laid off from her job as a certified nursing assistant, she lost her East Orange apartment in December 2007.

Now, before I go any further I want to be absolutely crystal clear. I have absolutely nothing but the deepest respect for Ms. Clark and her accomplishments. She, deserves all the praise the article offers her. My problem is to the people who want to hold up the Toni Clark's of the world as a shining example. Every time anyone dares to suggest that maybe there should be social programs to help the unemployed further their education, instead of just going back on the merry go round of low paying go nowhere jobs some people like to pick up their Toni Clark's and wave them at us. "See what she did. With no help from her family and barely any help from the government. How dare you ask for more when this woman had next to nothing." And then of course we're supposed to slink away feeling dirty and ashamed of ourselves. After all if she could do it and we can't then surely the failing must be ours. Right?

Well frankly I call bullshit.

This nonsense is based on the idea that everyone is really just the same. And if someone fails at something that another can do it's because they just didn't try hard enough. But why is it that we make an assumption about

Image via Wikipedia

Will that we generally don't make about other things? Is it because Will is invisible. After all you can kind of gauge a person's Strength by looking at them. The same with their Agility, and Speed. But Will tends to be largely internal. So, while one person may look all together, in fact when the pressures on they fold quickly. While another person might look like a daisy but is actually all steel inside.

It's all well and good to tell ourselves stories of heroism. But sometimes we don't stop and consider, "Should this situation require a heroic effort?" If the situation is getting a family out of a burning building, then I can see how the answer would be yes. But when it is things like having a decent job that pays a living wage, or good food, or a clean decent place to live, or an education, then in my opinion the answer is an emphatic "No!"

None of those things should require the Twelve Labors Of Hercules.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The One About A Radical Strategy For Dealing With The Murder Of Doctor Tiller.

Ever since the news broke about the murder of Doctor George Tiller, I've been thinking. Thinking about what if anything of value I could add to the conversation. At first I couldn't think of anything. Another angry voice, seemed redundant. And then after reading yet another person, proclaiming their disgust with the so called "Pro Life" movement that could possibly encourage murder, I realized that those of us on the pro choice side are making a huge mistake. We should be borrowing a page from the enemies play book. But not the one you think.

The problem is that the minute the abortion issue is brought into it, the pro lifers immediately high jack the conversation. They are very good at that. They at best offer up platitudes about how while it's not their place to judge that perhaps the murderer was being used by "God" as "His" instrument. At worst they coldly say that what Dr. Tiller has reaped, is what he had sewn.

Image via Wikipedia

The solution is to re frame the debate, and to stay "on message" with the same laser like efficiency as our opponents.

What should be the only point that we allow to be discussed is this, "George Tiller was a fully licensed physician and member in good standing of his community. He was entering his chosen house of worship when he was murdered in cold blood by someone who believed that his sense of 'Right and Wrong' trumped the laws of this country."

That's it. Period. End of discussion. And every time they try to start carrying on about abortion this, or child murderer that, simply go back to the message. Dr. Tiller had done nothing to provoke the person who murdered him. It's just that simple.

Give it a try and see how they like being on the receiving end of their own tactics for a change.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

The One About Arianna Huffington The Moses Of So Called New Media.

Apparently Isaac Chotiner doesn't think much of Arriana Huffington. At least that is the sense one gets from reading his review not only of some of her many books, but also of her history itself.

Arianna Stassinopoulos is now Arianna Huffington, and she is best known as the proprietor of The Huffington Post, and as a personification of the hyperactive up-to-the-nanosecond news-and-opinion universe of the web. Her fame now approaches her immodest ambitions. And more than Huffington's name has changed since she wrote those early premonitory words. She is now a steely--"bleeding heart" somehow does not fit--liberal, rather than a politically incorrect conservative. She has been, as Americans like to say, on a journey. Her historical timing has always been exquisite. If she is herself some sort of institution, she is an exceedingly adaptable one.

The author goes on to give a very detailed account of her history as a Conservative, and her transformation into a Liberal and Progressive. He also discusses her creation of the blogcentric news aggregator, The Huffington Post.

Many of his points are well presented and thought out. I will confess that I was more than a little surprised to discover that the woman who the last time her name had caught my attention was such a staunch Republican, was suddenly very far on the other side of the fence. But I cannot agree with the authors tone, which seems to want to damn her for the crime of daring to hold different opinions today, than she did yesterday. And while I can see where his suspicions that the change of heart is more for reasons of staying in the spotlight than because of a true epiphany may have some grounds, on the whole what I've seen of Ms. Huffington, has never struck me as any where near that cynical and calculated.

Frankly it is when he goes on the attack against the Huffington Post that I find the author more than vaguely offensive,

For the blogosphere and the news aggregators that dominate cyberspace are completely reliant--completely parasitic--on the very institutions they are driving to bankruptcy.

Wow. Completely? Really you mean it? Hmm. Well I'm insulted. Really. I would have been alright if he'd stopped at reliant. I would have been okay if he'd used the more accurate (in my opinion) term symbiotic. But no instead we're all parasites. And of course the attention we help draw to the work of journalists is of no value I'm sure. Meanwhile and in addition it's us horrible, awful, parasitic bloggers who are responsible for the death of traditional news papers and magazines. There they were, as innocent as little lambs, and we big bad blogger wolves, just swooped down and gobbled them up. My aren't we just all ebil and shit.

What a crock.

Now I can't entirely disagree with his point that HuffPo as it's know amongst its fans, can get overly focused on well, crap, and I'll admit that not every person who is famous in neccesarily interesting to read their thoughts. Although if Mr. Chotiner, were to have kept a more open mind he might have found that sometimes one can get surprised, and rather pleasantly so.

What I find most interesting in his detailing of Ms. Huffingtons history, and many sins, is that at no point while he is pillorying her for daring to champion a "new" form of media, and for daring to suggest that it might have something of value to offer the "old" does he bother to mention, the recent initiative to help fund investigative journalism. An effort that I suspect is going to ultimately be just one of many, as online "publishing" begins to be seen as more and more normal. I think that the kind of journalism we currently see in news papers and magazines is not going to disappear, but rather move increasingly online.

And serving as part leader, part prophet, and part cheerleader, I imagine will be Arriana Huffington. Out front leading with her passions, mutable though they may be. Will she get shots taken at her, both deserved and undeserved? I'm sure. But I suspect that she'd rather be damned for trying something new, rather than damned for simply doing the same old thing until it's too late to do anything.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The One About A Possible Explanation For North Korea's Recent Actions.

I generally do my best not to worry about things that are outside of my direct control. The actions of various world leaders, would be one of those things. But every once in a while something happens, that quite frankly scares the shit out of me. Usually, the reason for my fear is because I cannot come up with an immediate, rational, or at least fairly rational explanation for it.

North Korea and their nuclear insanity has been one such time. The idea of someone as fundamentally unbalanced as Kim Jong Il deciding to just go for it, with the nukes, is more than a touch frightening. Especially in this day and age. Let's face it, we've used up our good will around the world, and we are stretched thin as it is. Even if we had the resources to attempt a military solution, I don't think it would be wise, and certainly the world would not support us.

But more than that I just had trouble understanding why all the loud braying from North Korea. And suddenly an idea struck me. That idea with a little cooking turned into a theory. Now I'm not saying it's absolute, but I think I may be on to something.

It's a well established fact that Kim Jong Il's health has not been the best in the last few years. And it was recently announced which of his son's is going to succeed him. I suspect a transfer of power may be in the offing. It might be official, or it might be behind the scenes, as long as Jong Il is alive. But either way I suspect it's the heir who is going to be running things soon, if he's not already. Now it's a fact that North Korea's leaders are paranoid, and view themselves as surrounded by enemies. So if you were undertaking a transfer of leadership, what would be the best way to keep your enemies from taking advantage of the situation? How about doing something to terrifying and outrageous that they'd be focused on that, rather than on the transfer? Personally that's what I suspect this is all about. Show a little nuclear muscle, make some aggressive statements, and suddenly every one is focused on the danger, and there fore less likely to attack you during a possible moment of weakness.

Now as far as I'm concerned the problem is in the mind of North Korea's rulers. I think they could have had an open transfer of power and nothing would have happened. Because the simple truth of the matter is that North Korea doesn't have anything we want that badly. So it's easier to just let them be for the most part. But there's no telling that to a paranoid. They believe everyone is out to get them and so they react according to that not reality.

Now I just hope I'm right. Because if I am then things will in time, settle down. And if I'm wrong? Well then we may be dealing with a situation that hasn't really been truly likely since the end of Communist Russia. A group of people with more concern for ideology than the welfare of their people, with their finger on the big red button. I for one would be just fine without ever having to experience that fear again.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

The One About The Death Of David Carradine.

There was an old man who was dying. As he lay on his deathbed, all of his loved ones came to see him. Finally his eldest son came in. "Son" The old man exclaimed, "Once I am gone I want you to promise me that you, and you alone will write my obituary to give to the paper, and that you will select the reminisces for the memorial." The man's son agreed but was more than a bit puzzled. "Of course father, but why?" The old man took a sip of water and a deep breath. "When I was younger, I had the thickest most beautiful head of hair on any man in five counties. But am I known as John who once had a gorgeous head of hair? No, I am not." "And for over seventy years I farmed. Worked the land and made it grow. But am I known as John the farmer? No, I am not." And over fifty years I was a kind and loving husband, and a wise and patient father. But am I known as John the family man? No, I am not." Suddenly the old man rose up from his bed in a fit of rage, "But you fuck One sheep!"

Sadly it looks like something similar is shaping up, with regards to the death of David Carradine. There is a kind of mental tic, that almost guarantees that we will think of certain deaths as "good" or at worst "tragic" and others as "shameful". For example to die in the course of saving someone's life is a "good" death. To die because of an accident, that is no fault of the deceased's is "tragic". But to do, by ones own hand, or by suicide, is considered "shameful".

And so it is with the death of actor David Carradine. I fear that in the hoo haw surrounding the rather bizarre circumstances of his death (And while the idea of tragedy as a genetic legacy may seem silly, if you look at the course of not only his life, but his siblings and their father John, one does have to wonder)we will, as we so often do, focus on the trivial, losing sight of what is important.

Did Mr. Carradine have an unusual sexual fetish? Perhaps. Goodness knows he wouldn't be the first. Was he alone or not? I don't know. Was his death an accident, suicide, or murder? Again I don't know. I hope it was not suicide. But ultimately none of that is really germane.

The thing to keep focus on, is that a person is dead. Someone who for all his troubles always struck me as striving to become better than he was. I read the published version of the journal he kept while making Kill Bill and he struck me as someone that had I known him I probably would have liked him a lot. I certainly enjoyed his acting.

It was as much because of his playing Cain in Kung Fu, as it was Leonard Nimoy playing Spock in Star Trek, that I started to look at Eastern ideas.

David Carradine via last.fm

In later years when they did Kung Fu: The Next Generation... er I mean The Legend Continues, I was over joyed. And when one of my favorite writer/director's Quentin Tarantino cast him as Bill in Kill Bill, I was over the moon. It was one of his finest performances ever. I was glad that he finally got some of the recognition that he deserved as an artist.

The bottom line is that movies and television have been deprived of a genuine talent. His wife has been deprived of her husband. His children, of their father, and his siblings of their brother. Next to all of that, the "mystery" or "scandal" of his death should not even rate our attention.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

Monday, June 8, 2009

The One About Marilyn Mansons New Album.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover last week that I was able to listen to all of Marilyn Mansons latest album The High End Of Low.

The album is still very uneven compared to his very best from the late nineties, but I felt it was a massive improvement over his last album. One song that really caught my attention is called "We're From America" in which he highlights some of our worst excesses in classic Manson style.

Were From America - Marilyn Manson

And for those with a slower connection are the lyrics...

We're from america,
we're from america,
where we eat our young
We're from america,
we're from america,
it's where jesus was born

We're from america,
we're from america,
where they let you cum on there faces
We're from america,
we're from america,
we speak american

We don't believe in credibility,
because we know that were fucking incredible (x2)

I want to be a martyr don't want to be a victim,
Be a killer with a gun so they call me a hero,
Want to be a martyr don't want to be a victim,
Be a killer with a gun so they call me a hero

God is an excuse (x7)
So sing it with me

We're from america,
we're from america,
we're from america,
you can sing it with me
We're from america,
we're from america,
we're from america,
you can sing it with me

We're from america

We don't like to kill our unborn,
we need them to grow up and fight our wars (x2)

We believe in everything we say,
we say it because we believe it (x2)

We're from america,
we're from america,
we're from america,
you can sing it with me
We're from america,
we're from america,
we're from america,
you can sing it with me

We're from america,
you can sing it with me,
We're from america,
you can sing it with me,

We're from america,
were from america,
we turn literature into litter
We're from america,
were from america,
we believe in being a quitter

I'm in recovery (x3)

We're from america,
we're from america,
from america, so sing it with me,

We're from america,
we're from america,
we're from america,
you can sing it with me (x2)
We're from america,
you can sing it with me (x2)
We eat our young (x12)

Now obviously he's focusing on just the negative, but that doesn't make what he's singing about wrong. Especially in light of what has taken place in this country over the last eight years.

Bottom line, the album was very enjoyable to listen to, and I for one am glad to see Manson, back on track musically after his last effort which felt shallow, self indulgent, and under written.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

The One About I Hate Smoking More Than The Next Guy But This Is Just Ridiculous.

There is apparently a group of concerned citizens that think that any movie that contains smoking, regardless of context, should automatically get handed an R. Well right there I have to disagree with them. Personally I think that it depends a lot on how much, and context, and what kind of movie etc. But it is the tone they are striking in trying to spread there message that I really have a problem with.

The American Medical Association Alliance, hoping to draw studio executives' attention, hired a mobile billboard to drive around the major studios this week.

"The billboard shows a teenage girl asking the question, 'Which movie studios will cause me to smoke this summer?' " Frost said.

Now, I personally am an ardent non smoker. I have been my whole life. I for one look forward to the day when smoking is almost unheard of. But I can't support these people, or their line of attack because, they are implying that if kids smoke it is all the fault of a movie studio. What a bunch of bullshit. At this point if people smoke, when it is so commonly known what the dangers are, then that is a choice they've made and made badly. Frankly though if blame outside the individual is going to be layed, how about laying it at the feet of American culture that tends to talk in rhetoric rather than honest facts. A culture that has tried for decades to treat marijuana as if it were the most dangerous drug on the planet, when it is not. As a result a lot of people try pot, discover it's really not that bad, and they start to wonder if maybe they've been lied to about other things as well. Once that credibility is gone, it makes it nearly impossible to be heard and believed about things like smoking, or harder drugs that do often have across the board negative consequences.

Plus let's not forget the parental factor in all this. Some people make an honest attempt to parent their children, and some people are content to let them do whatever they want so long as they are not bothering them.

Perhaps the billboard should more accurately read, "Which inattentive parent is going to allow me to smoke this summer?"

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

The One About Atheists Theists And All In Between Finding Common Ground.

I've given the matter a lot of thought and I've decided that I think that things would be a lot better in this world if people would only be willing to set aside the need to define everything in the narrowest of terms, in light of their beliefs. Rather I think that we should all give up on the "God" issue. Whether for or against who cares? If you're right, then you're right. And if you're wrong? Well then you'll still think you're right. Either way, nobody is going to know for certain until they're dead. So how about taking the portions of secular humanism that any reasonable person regardless of spirituality should be able to agree on, and build from there. Taking from the Wikipedia article on Secular Humanism, the points that I think any rational person should be able to agree to are,

Fulfillment, growth, creativity – A primary concern with fulfillment, growth and creativity for both the individual and humankind in general.

This life – A concern for this life and a commitment to making it meaningful through better understanding of ourselves, our history, our intellectual and artistic achievements, and the outlooks of those who differ from us.

Ethics – A search for viable individual, social and political principles of ethical conduct, judging them on their ability to enhance human well-being and individual responsibility.

Building a better world – A conviction that with reason, an open exchange of ideas, good will, and tolerance, progress can be made in building a better world for ourselves and our children.

See how much sense those make? I personally don't see how anyone who is not a zealot of either camp could possibly have a problem agreeing to just those principles.

So let's do this. Let's find common ground, and build on it. And stop wasting our time trying to convince each other that God A is better than God B, or that No God is better than any of them. Let's just find common ground and move forward. The world is dying, and haven't we wasted enough time already?

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

The One About I Wouldn't Buy Kanye West's New Book To Wipe My Ass With.

Every day there are idiots in the news. Seldom however does one of these idiots manage to do something that hits one of my few buttons so hard that I feel the need to spew in public.

Congratulations Mr. West.

Kanye West via last.fm

Frankly I've been aware of this alleged artist, and while I share his dislike, disgust, and distrust of Bushco. I've still not thought of him as much more than an under talented hip hop artist with an over abundance of talent when it comes to shameless self promotion.

But now he's gone and pissed all over one of my great loves, and proven himself a hypocrite at the same time.

Rapper Kanye West does not read books or respect them but nevertheless he has written one that he would like you to buy and read.

His book is 52 pages — some blank, others with just a few words — and offers his optimistic philosophy on life. One two-page section reads, “Life is 5% what happens and 95% how you react!” Another page reads “I hate the word hate!”

West’s derision of books comes despite the fact that his late mother, Donda West, was a university English professor before she retired to manage his music career. She died in 2007 of complications following cosmetic surgery.

“Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed,” West said. “I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book’s autograph.

“I am a proud non-reader of books. I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life,” he said.

West, a college dropout, said being a non-reader was helpful when he wrote his book because it gave him “a childlike purity.”

A "Proud Non-Reader"? What a load of crap.

How about continuing the trend and being a proud non writer too since you clearly have so little respect for the printed word.

Image via Wikipedia

I have not heard of such a self serving, cynical, hypocritical bunch of garbage in quite a while. And considering the fact that I routinely read the wargarble of Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, and Dick Cheney that's saying something.

Mr. West is a great reminder of the depths that our culture can sink to, when something like literacy is considered not "Living real life". Frankly I'm surprised he didn't trot out that most venerable of shop worn hip hop cliches and claim that he be "Keepin' it real."

Meanwhile I am still fighting to be keepin' my dinner down.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

The One About Barry Levinson Predicts The Future Of Warfare In 1992.

In the year nineteen ninety two, Robin Williams was at the beginning of the long height of his popularity, and so any project that he was in was expected to be brilliant and do huge box office. This however was not always the case. Sometimes it was simply because the project he was in was not very good, and sometimes in my opinion it was because that both the subject matter and the style were too far ahead of what was considered main stream at the time.

The latter is the case with the movie Toys. The movie is about a young dreamer played by Williams who has inherited a toy factory from his father. The factory is nearly taken over by his war mongering General uncle played by Michael Gambon. The movie is visually striking if more than a little silly. But there is a scene that is eerily prescient.

Image via Wikipedia

Robin Williams character finds a room full of children playing what looks like a video game. But what they are really doing is remote controlling mini attack helicopters.

Sound familiar?

When I first heard about drones, and about the ability to control them accurately from hundreds if not thousands of miles away, I just about crapped myself. How long now until someone with less scruples than US gets ahold of this tech? How long until there are truly children flying these remote missions?

This is why as much as I am a lover of technology, it's a cautious love. I'm more than fully aware of what these advances can wreak in the wrong hands. I'm just hoping that the wrong hands don't turn out to be ours.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

The One About Here's A Tip For You.

Sometimes I come across something from Conservative nation, that just really makes me see red. Usually it's the nonsense of Rush Limbaugh, but sometimes it's from someone who is so clearly sneering down his or her privileged nose at we working class scum, that the urge to take a swing is pretty powerful. My ire increases when the person writing is basically practicing a bait and switch. A perfect example was recently found in an article in The National Review entitled Tip Jar Nation.

I'm in a hip coffee shop on Valencia Street in San Francisco. It's early afternoon, and I order a double espresso. I hand over the money and get my change, which is a few bills and a handful of coins. The coins I keep: The parking-meter-enforcement Stasi in San Francisco circle the blocks with unwearied commitment. But the bills, well, I'd ideally like to keep them all, but there's a tip jar on the counter beside the register, with one of those cheerlessly cheerful signs--"Hey! This is a Tip Jar! There's a recession on!"--with a happy face below it. So I slide a $1 bill into the jar, take my espresso, sit down, and wonder if my extravagant tip--it's the only bill in the jar--will mean that when I step up in a few minutes for a refill or a cookie I'll get a smile from the unsmiling girl behind the counter.

What I get is nothing--no smile, no acknowledgment that I've paid for Platinum Level service, no extra care, no nothing. It's as if the tip is part of her overall compensation package, something she negotiates ahead of time with the owners of the coffee shop, the way bankers and auto-company executives and vice presidents of AIG negotiate with the compliant members of the compensation committees of their various boards of directors.

The amount of condescension dripping from those words is just unbelievable. First of all I'm sure that if someone had parked in a private parking garage and been past their allotted time, the author would probably defend to the death their right to levy fines or what ever else. But since

Image via Wikipedia

it's a city he feels it proper to openly insult them (btw just because you don't actually use the term Nazi in your insult doesn't mean the auto Nazi fail principle still doesn't apply). But more than that, his lordship seems incensed because he gave one of us working class scum a whole dollar of his hard earned? money and she did not immediately drop to her knees in genuflection in recognition for his magnanimous gesture.

The thing that his lordship doesn't seem to realize is that he didn't give a tip. Nope not at all. And the fault lays... Well it lay somewhere. Every time I try to find exactly who was responsible for introducing the legislation that declared tips taxable I hit a wall. The bottom line is that whoever started this nonsense, they turned a tip from a reward that one is given for giving excellent service into a part of income. And then laws were revised in many areas allowing those who get tips to be payed less, with the tips being factored in to allegedly getting them up to at least the minimum wage. The idea being of course that if they don't receive enough tips to get them up to that level then the employer has to make up the difference. And of course no employer would ever lie? Would they? Surely not in this great land of ours.

So you see what should have been a private transaction between the author and the server has been turned into anything but. No wonder the server was considerably less than in awe of the tip given.

And had the author stopped there, he would have been merely annoying and contentious. But he goes on, and here comes the switch.

In the Tip Jar Nation, everyone gets a bonus. Everyone gets a little amenity, just for showing up. The girl at the counter, the vice president of a troubled insurance giant, the hotel guest (who expects a mint on the pillow)--we've created a culture with so many rewards and so many little extras that we've forgotten what's it's like just to show up, get paid, and go home.

Image via Wikipedia
But in the Tip Jar Nation, we like to dress things up. We put smiley faces on the tip jar, so it'll seem less demanding. When the children of the Tip Jar Nation play sports, they all get a trophy (the trophy is just a "bonus," in other words: expected, no matter what the score). When the students of the Tip Jar Nation go to college, they expect to get terrific grades--all A's, honor rolls, special mentions in the commencement program. When they check into hotels, they expect Premier Status upgrades, a complimentary something or other, a mint, shampoo, a small bag of Q-tips. When the generous citizens of the Tip Jar Nation go to a charity event, they expect to be thanked with a gift bag on the way out--something small and heavy and filled with expensive lotions.

The problem as I see it is that the author is not perceiving correctly. You see what's happened as I see it, is that our corporate masters realized that if they gave meaningless little trinkets to people, they could call them "benefits" and could justify paying as little as they could possibly manage to get away with. But it's much easier, and I'm sure more satisfying for him to put all the blame elsewhere. That way he doesn't have to look at his own expectations and whether or not they are reasonable. It can all be the servers problem, or our cultures, or what have you.

Personally here's my suggestion. Do what I do. In restaurants where a person is most likely to be taxed on their tips I have a minimum amount I tip and that tip doesn't get increased unless the service is really good. And for really lousy service? No tip. At places like coffee houses etc? No tip for just doing the job. Do more than that? You get a tip. I don't assume that my tip is buying anything, but rather that it is serving as a reward.

There. Easy as pie. And no ridiculously high expectations to get crushed so badly you feel the need to make disparaging comments about people in a national magazine.

Your welcome.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!