Okay, so this may not be the great debate, as I really don't feel I represented myself too clearly. But hey, it was ayami ha and I spent the morning discussing the role of a spiritual being as a dissenter in the face of oppression, specifically concerning the Baha'i faith and their role of non-participation in politics surrounding the Israeli occupation of Palestine. I was intellectually wiped out for the day. I made some arguments that I don't feel I gave proper context for, but such is life.
Here is the discussion, held with myself, Janet Shahn of www.blackpoliticalthought.blogspot.com, Mitch Berg, conservative talk radio host, and the militant moderate middle musher, Marty Owings.
Also, tonight I was in Columbia, MO to interview Norman Finkelstein, which I did, and was pleased. I also ran into some cats of the highest caliber, calling themselves the Mischievous Gnome Collective. I interviewed them as well and will be posting both in the near future.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Radio Free Nation!
I was interviewed tonight by Marty Owings on his broadcast blog, Radio Free Nation. Marty stumbled upon one of my other blogs, found in pockets, a collaborative blog I do with an Aussie Blogger known as Skanky Jane. Our blog made the "blogs of note" recently and has been viewed by hundreds of people a day since. He took interest in the blog, I think partly because of the dada-ist absurdity of the blog and also because of the unlikely popularity of such a blog. So he contacted me and asked for an interview. After going to his blog, and listening to a couple of his shows, I was excited to say yes.
I think often about the idea of media and the functionality of independent media sources, i.e. blogs, livejournal, myspace, youtube, npr, and how they can maintain a certain level of sincerity not found in corporate media, but are still stifling in format. Not everyone has the time or interest to read three thousand word blog posts, and npr became suspect when they crumpled under the weight of the fraternal order of police and declined to air Live From Death Row, a series of conversations with death row inmate, political prisoner, and journalist Mumia Abu Jamal. Then, through Marty, I discovered Radio Free Nation, and am pleased to find that shows like this one exist. These are non-corporate radio broadcasts, dealing with everything that affects us, as humans. You might not get the most up to date Market reports, but you will get honest radio, unfettered and uncensored.
Marty is doing a great thing, and I commend him on it. I encourage everyone to listen to his blog and write in with comments or ideas, and possibly even start your own radio blog.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
so i am a dealer now
angela and i have decided to start a book distribution, tabling local events with books we feel are great and selling them at prices that make capitalism look stupid. go to the new blog that i will be using for event postings and inventory as well as reviews and stuff.
sticks&stones
books
sticks&stones
books
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
The music you are hearing right now.
This is David Rovics. I first heard David on Saturday at the Black Bear Bakery in St. Louis, and I have the indigenous people's of the southern Mexican village of Chiapas to thank for this meeting. You see, I am a coffee whore.
I realize that most of the people in the U.S. are also, and I know that wherever I may roam, within these great states, I will be able to find a ridiculously priced cup of exploitation brimming with third world rape and ecologically damaging goodness. It is a concession most of us make daily, to not allow the truth we demand in our lives from big government and big business to be reckoned in the coffee houses we all adore. However, there are exceptions to this rule of pillage, and Zapatista coffee is a great one. Black Bear Bakery, a worker ran, wage free wobbly cafe serves up Marcos Mocha daily, at an affordable price. So I set off to get coffee on my way to a poetry reading on Saturday.
Usually, the shop closes at 5, but that night there was a musician on tour, a man I had never heard of, named David Rovics. You should be half-way into one of his songs, supposing you didn't turn off the sound in fear of losing your job for stealing from the boss your precious time to read my blog....you crazy anarchist you. At any rate, you are hearing what I heard and compelled Angela and I to collectively offer up our cash to cover the door charge, okay, part of the door charge. We were not aware that there was going to be an $8 cover to get in, and we really just wanted to get some zapatista coffee and be on our way to the poetry reading, but the door guy insisted we stay for no cover and I felt blessed and knew then that it was of our ilk and plopped my last $11 bucks on the table. Angela had some cash and ordered us coffee and we took our seats. David took to the stage, ( a rug laid out in front of the bread case) and armed only with guitar, sans microphone, took us on journey's through Palestine, Columbia, Iraq, New Orleans, into the depths of an ego driven anarchist's mind on his daily bike ride, and even into the thoughts of a suicide bomber the moment before they pulled the chord. I was laughing and tearing up at nearly every song.
After David finished, I approached the door guy and tried to give him more money that Angela had, and he declined. I wanted some of the music for myself and David told me I could download everything for free from his website. Finally, people who live the way they talk. I bought a cd anyways, as a gift for someone I love that will really appreciate his music, and picked up a 7" by Bad Folk, a local group that opened for David that we missed. It is a great record as well. It just made me really happy to find people like this here. In Tucson I had many people around me who were fighting for the same things as I was, but in the last few years, I have given much suspicion to anyone who dares speak of revolution. I have doubted sincerity, probably because I daily doubt my own. But I think maybe we all doubt our dedication. It is hard not to when so many people are dying daily from causes that are directly linked to MY consumerist habits.
I drive more than I should because I want to get a cup of coffee at a more interesting cafe than the one I can walk to in ten minutes or less. Sure I recycle, but if I ever take time to look at my recycling bin, there are cans from shit I don't need and bags from stores that sell shit I don't need, and overall, waste from a life lived using what I DON'T NEED.
But again, I must know that I am not the answer, I am merely a smaller part of the question, and together we can find solutions to help each other out. So I am not perfect yet, and neither are you, but maybe tomorrow we can do a little better.
So I missed the poetry reading, but had a great cup of coffee and made a friend in David Rovics. Not a bad day for the revolution, if you ask me.
I realize that most of the people in the U.S. are also, and I know that wherever I may roam, within these great states, I will be able to find a ridiculously priced cup of exploitation brimming with third world rape and ecologically damaging goodness. It is a concession most of us make daily, to not allow the truth we demand in our lives from big government and big business to be reckoned in the coffee houses we all adore. However, there are exceptions to this rule of pillage, and Zapatista coffee is a great one. Black Bear Bakery, a worker ran, wage free wobbly cafe serves up Marcos Mocha daily, at an affordable price. So I set off to get coffee on my way to a poetry reading on Saturday.
Usually, the shop closes at 5, but that night there was a musician on tour, a man I had never heard of, named David Rovics. You should be half-way into one of his songs, supposing you didn't turn off the sound in fear of losing your job for stealing from the boss your precious time to read my blog....you crazy anarchist you. At any rate, you are hearing what I heard and compelled Angela and I to collectively offer up our cash to cover the door charge, okay, part of the door charge. We were not aware that there was going to be an $8 cover to get in, and we really just wanted to get some zapatista coffee and be on our way to the poetry reading, but the door guy insisted we stay for no cover and I felt blessed and knew then that it was of our ilk and plopped my last $11 bucks on the table. Angela had some cash and ordered us coffee and we took our seats. David took to the stage, ( a rug laid out in front of the bread case) and armed only with guitar, sans microphone, took us on journey's through Palestine, Columbia, Iraq, New Orleans, into the depths of an ego driven anarchist's mind on his daily bike ride, and even into the thoughts of a suicide bomber the moment before they pulled the chord. I was laughing and tearing up at nearly every song.
After David finished, I approached the door guy and tried to give him more money that Angela had, and he declined. I wanted some of the music for myself and David told me I could download everything for free from his website. Finally, people who live the way they talk. I bought a cd anyways, as a gift for someone I love that will really appreciate his music, and picked up a 7" by Bad Folk, a local group that opened for David that we missed. It is a great record as well. It just made me really happy to find people like this here. In Tucson I had many people around me who were fighting for the same things as I was, but in the last few years, I have given much suspicion to anyone who dares speak of revolution. I have doubted sincerity, probably because I daily doubt my own. But I think maybe we all doubt our dedication. It is hard not to when so many people are dying daily from causes that are directly linked to MY consumerist habits.
I drive more than I should because I want to get a cup of coffee at a more interesting cafe than the one I can walk to in ten minutes or less. Sure I recycle, but if I ever take time to look at my recycling bin, there are cans from shit I don't need and bags from stores that sell shit I don't need, and overall, waste from a life lived using what I DON'T NEED.
But again, I must know that I am not the answer, I am merely a smaller part of the question, and together we can find solutions to help each other out. So I am not perfect yet, and neither are you, but maybe tomorrow we can do a little better.
So I missed the poetry reading, but had a great cup of coffee and made a friend in David Rovics. Not a bad day for the revolution, if you ask me.
Monday, January 28, 2008
On Ron The Republican
Look, I realize Ron Paul most likely will not be president. That however is not what concerns me when speaking out against this guy. He has somehow managed to turn my otherwise thoughtful, intelligent friends, into rabid supporters of his campaign. Does no one remember Reagan? He ran parallel platforms that Paul runs. Need some proof of the Run Ronnie Run relationship? Hear it from the mouth of the shithole himself....Ladies an Gentlemen....RON!
Compromised integrity in support of a candidate, is worse than blind support of a candidate. We need to hold ourselves accountable for the choices we make, and the idea we support.
Now, to clear this up. I am not a democrat, or republican, or libertarian. I am an anarchist with socialist tendencies. I do not give a shit who the puppet is this term, it is the control structure I work to stand against. So, then, why trash or support the puppets?
Well, when I hear my friend support an idea that goes against everything I know that friend to believe, I challenge it, as I would hope any friend or enemy would do for me. To quote the greatest punk band of the 90's, Propagandhi, "i'll call you on your shit, please call me on mine. Yeah then, we can make this shit hole planet better, in time
Compromised integrity in support of a candidate, is worse than blind support of a candidate. We need to hold ourselves accountable for the choices we make, and the idea we support.
Now, to clear this up. I am not a democrat, or republican, or libertarian. I am an anarchist with socialist tendencies. I do not give a shit who the puppet is this term, it is the control structure I work to stand against. So, then, why trash or support the puppets?
Well, when I hear my friend support an idea that goes against everything I know that friend to believe, I challenge it, as I would hope any friend or enemy would do for me. To quote the greatest punk band of the 90's, Propagandhi, "i'll call you on your shit, please call me on mine. Yeah then, we can make this shit hole planet better, in time
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
a spirit rebelious
In all gathering of information, we look for but one thing...affirmation. When we look into matters of politics, we tend to accept information that confirms our existing beliefs. The same for our physical awareness, for instance, dietary studies, and how certain diets can lead to different ends. Or what history states as fact, though one sided it may be, to back an argument. It is then, no different when matters of the spirit are concerned.
We try so hard to separate spiritual matters from our daily lives, some even going as far to deny their spiritual existence. To this I say, if you are to commit spiritual suicide, then your body and mind in part are also dying, and will suffer the pains of death and loss all the rest of your breathing life. Otherwise thinking, caring individuals, will masque their spirit in the cloak of religion, as if to say that religions are not the words of other spiritual beings, rather the infallible word of the spirit itself. This allows for security and safekeeping of a spiritual slave. To condemn one's own spiritual knowledge to restriction of input and of course output, is spiritual slavery. Slavery is a kind of death that we abhor and fear, and therefore never can recognize in ourselves. As "free" people, we will refuse to admit that we either are slaves or maintain slavery. Then we continue to allow our own spirits to be broken in the name of capital gain, or social acceptance.
We hide behind the words of men dead a thousand lifetimes ago and never therefore never truly give voice to our own lives. This subtle idolatry leads to a confusion of the self so chaotic that one may never truly recover. When a person, from the age of being a child, learns only that they are to obey, they learn only that which they accept. A select few will will discover that only rebellion is freedom. A spirit rebellious is an awakened spirit.
Of course, where does one begin? Do we have to internally unlearn all that we have been taught, under the presupposition that any truth mingled with lies is suspect? Or is it possible to build truth upon a foundation of lies, making use of the knowledge of deceit as a defense against it in the future? I think both.
Upon first discovering that it is possible that I had been fed God from a tarnished spoon, I reacted with a basic reaction of denial. First denial of the possibility, then eventually denial of the God. This then led to a sort of awakening of the spirit, that led me down paths of self discovery and eventually self destruction. It was necessary for me to destroy a part of my own spirit, and part of my own body and mind, before I could truly claim ownership of it myself. I had to, essentially, torture myself into a confession of ignorance and innocence. I needed to believe it when i plead not guilty, and once that was established, I needed to then begin to take full responsibility for any and all matters of my spirit. It was mine to build or destroy, but from that point on, I was to blame. It was the most frightening revelation of my life.
You see, a spirit awakened is a dangerous thing. It craves action, and unleashes truths so powerful that to deny them, physically hurts. You learn quickly of the inseparable connection of body, mind, and spirit. There are those in the world of metaphysics that believe a tender balance need be maintained, and at no time can any person excel in all three aspects. To this I call bullshit. This is a fear mechanism, used to rationalize apathetic behavior as a natural occurance, and must then be accepted as a part of being human. No, being human is just that, BEING. It is a VERB. A communication must take place internally and externally at all times. Everything that happens in your life has an affect and an effect upon yourself and the world. Your actions and lack thereof are ingrained in the universal conscience and must be treated with respect and responsibility. Do not let your spiritual dogshit fill the lawn of the world consciousness.
In my own spiritual journey I have taken on many rolls. I have been the lover, the thief, the king, the beggar, the criminal and the cop. I have explored as many aspects of myself that I know of. I am sure there are more quests ahead, but for the time I am resolute in pursuing a life of positive action. I will paint and write and sing and dance and scream when needed. I have and will continue to study the life of Jesus, notice I said the life not the death. Dwelling and relying upon the death of that man to save your soul is ludicrous and sinister. No death has ever brought salvation to anyone's soul except the one of the person dying. Period. It is life that concerns me, as my spirit lives and my body lives and must then live according to the belief that creation is the only proof of god's existence. The ability to create, and the necessity of it, is the only way to work in the image of god. Love is not a destroyer of things, or of life.
I study also the works of great poets/prophets such as William Blake, Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, Pablo Neruda, Bob Marley, John Lennon. These are gods in that they exemplify god in all that they do. They create. Put down the bible for a while and read some Rumi. You will then learn that god has as many voices as there are sounds in the world and in this knowledge you can find that your voice is an important voice, therefor your life is an important life and your actions are important actions. It is all connected.
I write this tonight in some form of a quest for more knowledge. I write this knowing well that I may be wrong, but I also know that I am learning this as I go.
We try so hard to separate spiritual matters from our daily lives, some even going as far to deny their spiritual existence. To this I say, if you are to commit spiritual suicide, then your body and mind in part are also dying, and will suffer the pains of death and loss all the rest of your breathing life. Otherwise thinking, caring individuals, will masque their spirit in the cloak of religion, as if to say that religions are not the words of other spiritual beings, rather the infallible word of the spirit itself. This allows for security and safekeeping of a spiritual slave. To condemn one's own spiritual knowledge to restriction of input and of course output, is spiritual slavery. Slavery is a kind of death that we abhor and fear, and therefore never can recognize in ourselves. As "free" people, we will refuse to admit that we either are slaves or maintain slavery. Then we continue to allow our own spirits to be broken in the name of capital gain, or social acceptance.
We hide behind the words of men dead a thousand lifetimes ago and never therefore never truly give voice to our own lives. This subtle idolatry leads to a confusion of the self so chaotic that one may never truly recover. When a person, from the age of being a child, learns only that they are to obey, they learn only that which they accept. A select few will will discover that only rebellion is freedom. A spirit rebellious is an awakened spirit.
Of course, where does one begin? Do we have to internally unlearn all that we have been taught, under the presupposition that any truth mingled with lies is suspect? Or is it possible to build truth upon a foundation of lies, making use of the knowledge of deceit as a defense against it in the future? I think both.
Upon first discovering that it is possible that I had been fed God from a tarnished spoon, I reacted with a basic reaction of denial. First denial of the possibility, then eventually denial of the God. This then led to a sort of awakening of the spirit, that led me down paths of self discovery and eventually self destruction. It was necessary for me to destroy a part of my own spirit, and part of my own body and mind, before I could truly claim ownership of it myself. I had to, essentially, torture myself into a confession of ignorance and innocence. I needed to believe it when i plead not guilty, and once that was established, I needed to then begin to take full responsibility for any and all matters of my spirit. It was mine to build or destroy, but from that point on, I was to blame. It was the most frightening revelation of my life.
You see, a spirit awakened is a dangerous thing. It craves action, and unleashes truths so powerful that to deny them, physically hurts. You learn quickly of the inseparable connection of body, mind, and spirit. There are those in the world of metaphysics that believe a tender balance need be maintained, and at no time can any person excel in all three aspects. To this I call bullshit. This is a fear mechanism, used to rationalize apathetic behavior as a natural occurance, and must then be accepted as a part of being human. No, being human is just that, BEING. It is a VERB. A communication must take place internally and externally at all times. Everything that happens in your life has an affect and an effect upon yourself and the world. Your actions and lack thereof are ingrained in the universal conscience and must be treated with respect and responsibility. Do not let your spiritual dogshit fill the lawn of the world consciousness.
In my own spiritual journey I have taken on many rolls. I have been the lover, the thief, the king, the beggar, the criminal and the cop. I have explored as many aspects of myself that I know of. I am sure there are more quests ahead, but for the time I am resolute in pursuing a life of positive action. I will paint and write and sing and dance and scream when needed. I have and will continue to study the life of Jesus, notice I said the life not the death. Dwelling and relying upon the death of that man to save your soul is ludicrous and sinister. No death has ever brought salvation to anyone's soul except the one of the person dying. Period. It is life that concerns me, as my spirit lives and my body lives and must then live according to the belief that creation is the only proof of god's existence. The ability to create, and the necessity of it, is the only way to work in the image of god. Love is not a destroyer of things, or of life.
I study also the works of great poets/prophets such as William Blake, Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, Pablo Neruda, Bob Marley, John Lennon. These are gods in that they exemplify god in all that they do. They create. Put down the bible for a while and read some Rumi. You will then learn that god has as many voices as there are sounds in the world and in this knowledge you can find that your voice is an important voice, therefor your life is an important life and your actions are important actions. It is all connected.
I write this tonight in some form of a quest for more knowledge. I write this knowing well that I may be wrong, but I also know that I am learning this as I go.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
editorial in the local rag.
I recently have aligned myself with those that wish to tarnish the image of historic saint charles, by protesting a bill that would "preserve the history of Saint Charles" by banning profanity in bars and cafe's in the form of music, entertainment, literature, or any other public display. I spoke at city hall and received confused looks from the council, some in agreement, and a few in shock that a tattooed, self professed poet, could have such a grasp of law. Don't they realize that criminals know law better than perhaps anyone else? Here is the latest of my attacks on wholesomeness, published in the paper that everyone in this damn town reads. READ IT HERE!
Monday, January 14, 2008
i made the news.
Some St. Charles Bar Owners Have Issues With New Ordinance
Created: 1/14/2008 11:08:30 PM
Last updated: 1/14/2008 11:25:02 PM
VIDEO  | |||||||
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By Alex Fees
(KSDK) - At a St. Charles City Council public input session, Monday afternoon, council members made opening statements regarding proposed Bill 9527, which would regulate behavior such as drinking contests, table dancing, and obscenity.
Mayor Patricia York said after the measure was made public, last week, city officials began surveying similar ordinances in other "college towns." York said city officials are trying to curb two main problems.
"Number 1 is under-age drinking," said York. "I don't think anybody in this room is going to argue that we want to be known as a town that lets under-age drinking go on, on a regular basis. And drinking to excess."
Council member Larry Muench said, "We do want to keep St. Charles a very safe and secure place. But yet, we do want our businesses to operate and make money."
City Council member Laurie Feldman said, to the crowd of more than sixty people who turned-out, "None of us believe that we should be managing your business."
Council member Dave Beckering said, "We're going to attempt to do that in a fair and equitable business. We're not trying to put anybody out of business. We do have the bars impacting some long-time businesses in that area."
Then council members sat back and listened to St. Charles residents, many of them bar and restaurant owners, about unintended consequences of the measure.
Michael Franklin, who identified himself as a poet and a performer, approached the podium and said, "I am a proponent of civil liberties and free speech, and I would hate to see the city of St. Charles be negligent."
Franklin also felt city laws were being unfairly enforced.
"The casinos should not have special provisions that other bar owners in the city do not have," said Franklin.
One business owner told the council, "We fed 110,000 people last year. They walked through our doors, on Main Street, and no one was accosted, no one was mugged, raped, or murdered."
After the council's public input session, council member Richard Veit held a news conference, where he explained that the portion of the proposed bill that may violate Constitutional rights has been deleted. He read the deleted section, out loud.
"Nor shall any licensee or his/her employees allow any indecent, profane or obscene language, song, entertainment, literature or advertising material upon the premises."
Veit read from a statement. "We remain concerned that this same language is still contained in the Missouri Code of State Regulations and applicable to our establishments in St. Charles as well as throughout Missouri. We join in asking the Attorney General of Missouri to give an official opinion...." that determines if
the language in question violates Constitutional rights.
Veit was asked if the issues regarding freedom of speech got caught-up in efforts to curb underage and excessive drinking.
"It's interesting," said Veit, "when you get accused of trying to violate someone's
First Amendment rights to cuss... it's interesting the kind of e-mails that you get."
Veit added this hypothetical situation.
"On historic Main Street," said Veit, "we have a family walking down the street. You got drunken patrons... which we don't have, by the way, shouting profanity at them. And a bar owner says, 'Hey, that's my First Amendment right, my patrons can do whatever they want to....' That's something we'd like to feel like we'd be able to regulate."
(KSDK) - At a St. Charles City Council public input session, Monday afternoon, council members made opening statements regarding proposed Bill 9527, which would regulate behavior such as drinking contests, table dancing, and obscenity.
Advertisement |
Mayor Patricia York said after the measure was made public, last week, city officials began surveying similar ordinances in other "college towns." York said city officials are trying to curb two main problems.
"Number 1 is under-age drinking," said York. "I don't think anybody in this room is going to argue that we want to be known as a town that lets under-age drinking go on, on a regular basis. And drinking to excess."
Council member Larry Muench said, "We do want to keep St. Charles a very safe and secure place. But yet, we do want our businesses to operate and make money."
City Council member Laurie Feldman said, to the crowd of more than sixty people who turned-out, "None of us believe that we should be managing your business."
Council member Dave Beckering said, "We're going to attempt to do that in a fair and equitable business. We're not trying to put anybody out of business. We do have the bars impacting some long-time businesses in that area."
Then council members sat back and listened to St. Charles residents, many of them bar and restaurant owners, about unintended consequences of the measure.
Michael Franklin, who identified himself as a poet and a performer, approached the podium and said, "I am a proponent of civil liberties and free speech, and I would hate to see the city of St. Charles be negligent."
Franklin also felt city laws were being unfairly enforced.
"The casinos should not have special provisions that other bar owners in the city do not have," said Franklin.
One business owner told the council, "We fed 110,000 people last year. They walked through our doors, on Main Street, and no one was accosted, no one was mugged, raped, or murdered."
After the council's public input session, council member Richard Veit held a news conference, where he explained that the portion of the proposed bill that may violate Constitutional rights has been deleted. He read the deleted section, out loud.
"Nor shall any licensee or his/her employees allow any indecent, profane or obscene language, song, entertainment, literature or advertising material upon the premises."
Veit read from a statement. "We remain concerned that this same language is still contained in the Missouri Code of State Regulations and applicable to our establishments in St. Charles as well as throughout Missouri. We join in asking the Attorney General of Missouri to give an official opinion...." that determines if
the language in question violates Constitutional rights.
Veit was asked if the issues regarding freedom of speech got caught-up in efforts to curb underage and excessive drinking.
"It's interesting," said Veit, "when you get accused of trying to violate someone's
First Amendment rights to cuss... it's interesting the kind of e-mails that you get."
Veit added this hypothetical situation.
"On historic Main Street," said Veit, "we have a family walking down the street. You got drunken patrons... which we don't have, by the way, shouting profanity at them. And a bar owner says, 'Hey, that's my First Amendment right, my patrons can do whatever they want to....' That's something we'd like to feel like we'd be able to regulate."
KSDK
they didn't mention however, that i pointed out that the city was lying when they reported deleting the section of the bill banning profanity, clearly loopholed when they added a provision that allowed the city to enforce state regulations as laws. this is criminal. but at least they took note of something. democracy fucking rules!
they didn't mention however, that i pointed out that the city was lying when they reported deleting the section of the bill banning profanity, clearly loopholed when they added a provision that allowed the city to enforce state regulations as laws. this is criminal. but at least they took note of something. democracy fucking rules!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
response to a teacher
this teacher is concerned of his students rampant support for america as an empire, stating they believe that if not us then russia or china will take over the world. this is my response.
the issue of an american empire is not a political issue, concerning governmental power and assertion of control over foreign peoples. the issue at hand, in truth, is a corporate empire. we live in world not run by politics but by commerce. politics is merely the stumbling blocks which corporate tyrants trip over and inevitably buy out or eliminate. this can be shown in hundreds of instances, ranging from the strangling of economies, both at home and abroad, to the brutal treatment to citizens of allied regimes to maintain control, using mercenary force, often times being the military complex itself.
american corporations are definitely major players in the global empire, however we must look further than that. i would suggest having your students research the g-8 committee and the economic policies that spring forth from the eight richest nations in the world, affecting the world over. it is obvious that these nations wish only to profit and doing so will use any measure.
i do not believe that america can sustain ourselves in this climate as we stretch ourselves too thin with military debts to corporations whose major share holders are foreign governments. yes, governments can and do invest, as corporate entities on the global market. for instance, the u.s. invested heavily in the aircraft industry in post WWI america, assuring the profits with the inevitable coming of great wars, such as korea, cambodia, laos, vietnam, and iraq. also look at saudi interests in investing in american oil companies, and the following oil wars in iraq, despite the fact that a number of the terrorists responsible for the attack on the u.s. were saudi in origin. this is proof of an economic empire that goes beyond american borders, but is not mutually exclusive from american foreign policy.
any student that denies the existence of the empire is to be told they are short changed in the information they receive. any student in support of american empires needs to be reminded that empires serve the purposes of the wealthy elite that can only grow smaller in size in a free market, expanding the number of poor, which will lead to mass suffering and revolt. remind your students who they are and who they are not, and let there be no mistaking the two. debt is not wealth.
the issue of an american empire is not a political issue, concerning governmental power and assertion of control over foreign peoples. the issue at hand, in truth, is a corporate empire. we live in world not run by politics but by commerce. politics is merely the stumbling blocks which corporate tyrants trip over and inevitably buy out or eliminate. this can be shown in hundreds of instances, ranging from the strangling of economies, both at home and abroad, to the brutal treatment to citizens of allied regimes to maintain control, using mercenary force, often times being the military complex itself.
american corporations are definitely major players in the global empire, however we must look further than that. i would suggest having your students research the g-8 committee and the economic policies that spring forth from the eight richest nations in the world, affecting the world over. it is obvious that these nations wish only to profit and doing so will use any measure.
i do not believe that america can sustain ourselves in this climate as we stretch ourselves too thin with military debts to corporations whose major share holders are foreign governments. yes, governments can and do invest, as corporate entities on the global market. for instance, the u.s. invested heavily in the aircraft industry in post WWI america, assuring the profits with the inevitable coming of great wars, such as korea, cambodia, laos, vietnam, and iraq. also look at saudi interests in investing in american oil companies, and the following oil wars in iraq, despite the fact that a number of the terrorists responsible for the attack on the u.s. were saudi in origin. this is proof of an economic empire that goes beyond american borders, but is not mutually exclusive from american foreign policy.
any student that denies the existence of the empire is to be told they are short changed in the information they receive. any student in support of american empires needs to be reminded that empires serve the purposes of the wealthy elite that can only grow smaller in size in a free market, expanding the number of poor, which will lead to mass suffering and revolt. remind your students who they are and who they are not, and let there be no mistaking the two. debt is not wealth.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
a short bit on russell means
This posting is in response to a list serve of anthropology professors and students to a stream of remarks surrounding the Republic of Lakota, and the announcement made by Russell Means that they are withdrawing from treaties made 150 years ago with the U.S. These are treaties that have never been kept.
This event, which is historic and a major one in it's implications for the peoples of the Lakota nation, has been, for the most part, kept out of main stream media. You can learn more at: www.republicoflakota.com
I will be interviewing Russell Means on Friday January 25th, immediately following an interview i am also conducting with Howard Zinn. The evening is an event I am producing called, The Crowded Fire. Here is the response to the anthropologists...
I am not a professor or student, but I am concerned that the same old action is beginning to take place within the intellectual community. That would be the action of in-action. I can listen to the great debate of diplomacy and "working within tribal council" versus direct action and support there-of, for only so long. The greatest downfall of the intellectual community is there inevitable breach of trust with the world. The world today looks to this community for direction, for historical reference. Unfortunately, it rarely delivers, rather spends time debating over small details, while ignoring the stark truths that are before them.
Truth: tribal governments that are not showing solidarity with the peoples of the nation are in breach of natural law. This is not unheard of, as most governmental conglomerates rarely represent the most disenfranchised of their own constituency.
Truth: Russell Means has a rich history of dissidence, which should be recognized as courageous and not written off as a publicity stunt or everyday rabble rousing. This man has put his person in the line of fire in the name of freedom for most of his life. We herald the memory of Che, or support the efforts of Marcos, but marginalize and write off the revolutions of our own people. This is most likely due to our own embarrassment of letting people be treated as poorly as we have allowed our system to treat the Indians of America(s).
Truth: Without wide scale support and multiple voices speaking out about this matter, we will see a quiet genocide. People are asking why there is no media coverage as if they have never known about media compliance with business as usual. They will quietly murder as many Indians as they feel fit if the cameras are not on. Granted they will most likely pull a "Waco" distortion of truth if they are seen, but with a large number of voices in the intellectual community speaking in support, there is more of a chance that these people will have some level of safeguard.
Truth: While we debate safely from our offices, homes, and cafe's, 97% of the Pine Ridge Valley lives below the poverty line, without clean water, ample food, heat and housing. If that is not reason enough to revolt, then I do not know what is. I am forced to also make a comparison to Nazi behavior. The Warsaw ghetto. The thought is hard to conceptualize, Holocaust slums in modern US, but then I am reminded of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and feel that there is hope here.
Bottom line is, solidarity amongst all poor people's is the last revolution, and the one that the feeble control structure fears. I do not call it a power structure, as true power needs to assert no control, and the vast numbers of the poor will tell of our power, as a people.
here is a documentary concerning an incident with the FBI and their war on the freedom fighters known as A.I.M. the american indian movement.
part 1.
part 2
This event, which is historic and a major one in it's implications for the peoples of the Lakota nation, has been, for the most part, kept out of main stream media. You can learn more at: www.republicoflakota.com
I will be interviewing Russell Means on Friday January 25th, immediately following an interview i am also conducting with Howard Zinn. The evening is an event I am producing called, The Crowded Fire. Here is the response to the anthropologists...
I am not a professor or student, but I am concerned that the same old action is beginning to take place within the intellectual community. That would be the action of in-action. I can listen to the great debate of diplomacy and "working within tribal council" versus direct action and support there-of, for only so long. The greatest downfall of the intellectual community is there inevitable breach of trust with the world. The world today looks to this community for direction, for historical reference. Unfortunately, it rarely delivers, rather spends time debating over small details, while ignoring the stark truths that are before them.
Truth: tribal governments that are not showing solidarity with the peoples of the nation are in breach of natural law. This is not unheard of, as most governmental conglomerates rarely represent the most disenfranchised of their own constituency.
Truth: Russell Means has a rich history of dissidence, which should be recognized as courageous and not written off as a publicity stunt or everyday rabble rousing. This man has put his person in the line of fire in the name of freedom for most of his life. We herald the memory of Che, or support the efforts of Marcos, but marginalize and write off the revolutions of our own people. This is most likely due to our own embarrassment of letting people be treated as poorly as we have allowed our system to treat the Indians of America(s).
Truth: Without wide scale support and multiple voices speaking out about this matter, we will see a quiet genocide. People are asking why there is no media coverage as if they have never known about media compliance with business as usual. They will quietly murder as many Indians as they feel fit if the cameras are not on. Granted they will most likely pull a "Waco" distortion of truth if they are seen, but with a large number of voices in the intellectual community speaking in support, there is more of a chance that these people will have some level of safeguard.
Truth: While we debate safely from our offices, homes, and cafe's, 97% of the Pine Ridge Valley lives below the poverty line, without clean water, ample food, heat and housing. If that is not reason enough to revolt, then I do not know what is. I am forced to also make a comparison to Nazi behavior. The Warsaw ghetto. The thought is hard to conceptualize, Holocaust slums in modern US, but then I am reminded of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and feel that there is hope here.
Bottom line is, solidarity amongst all poor people's is the last revolution, and the one that the feeble control structure fears. I do not call it a power structure, as true power needs to assert no control, and the vast numbers of the poor will tell of our power, as a people.
here is a documentary concerning an incident with the FBI and their war on the freedom fighters known as A.I.M. the american indian movement.
part 1.
part 2
Saturday, December 29, 2007
imigre! imigre!
immigration is on the top of the debate list for every major candidate, and for that matter, or due to that matter, rather, on the top of the list for most americans. the continuing media war on the poor has found a new face, and it is a lighter shade of brown this time. the use of our borders as a possible threat of terrorism is the cause championed by nearly all right wing media and candidates. the threat of losing work to illegal mexican immigrants has every white american working class citizen on the full defensive. i have seen otherwise intelligent, thinking individuals, turn into neo-conic fascists, with a direct result of racist intention, and self instituted ignorance to the real issue.
MEXICANS ARE NOT STEALING YOUR JOBS! THE CEO'S ARE GIVING THEM AWAY! and they are all to happy to do this. the use of undocumented workers in this country is simply a tool used by companies to avoid labor laws, environmental policy, taxation and of course, alleviates them from providing health care, all at a fraction of what they would have to pay american laborers. it is a way for the rich to remain rich, and at the same time, offer an enemy to the working class, so as not to have them focus on the real danger.
enemies are necessary for power to remain in power. they have convinced the working class americans that the bosses are needed, that they have our interest at heart, when history and even a little inspection into present matters show us quite the opposite. power and control are synonymous. therefore, when the power remains in the hands of the elite, the wealthy few, who are not the workers, then control is dictated by this power and asserted over the dominated working population. when power, which could be obtained through information, the realization of the truth, is asserted by the people, the elite class have few other options than to strangle the economy until the poor are subservient to their needs.
a powerful tool in this process of control is to separate the poor into warring classes, used historically through racism. at the turn of the century, the ghettos in our largest cities were swelling with poor, multiracial, communities. the communities, for reasons of preservation and security, segregated out into neighborhoods, each neighborhood being populated by immigrants of similar origin. irish neighborhoods, italian neighborhoods, black neighborhoods, etc. if these populations were to unite, in a struggle against the wealthy dominating class, there is no question as to the outcome. the sheer numbers alone tell us that the wealthy elite would have had their asses on a platter in time for dinner. this, however, has not occurred, not on a large scale anyway. white anglo puritans, or mayflower whites, were encouraged to fear the italians and the irish, that they might take their jobs, steal food from the mouths of their children, and eventually destroy their culture by inseminating it with hedonistic ideologies. then, when a great war, WWI, comes along, the first people enlisted to go defend out freedoms, was of course, the poor irish, italian and black populations.
this is no different from today. there have been many instances of an undocumented mexican american, entering a recruiting station, and leaving an american soldier. no one is up in arms over this aspect. "let them die for us! but for god's sake, do not let them live with us."
growing up a child of working class factory workers in the eighties, let me experience firsthand, a thing or to about econo-tics (economics + politics). my mother an father were on strike, repeatedly, causing our family to go on public assistance. this would not have been an issue had my parents not been subject to the great amount of shame associated with the welfare system. it was decided that my mother would go to work with a family of migrant workers that she had befriended, and work the corn fields of indiana and ohio, for two dollars an hour. ten hours a day, she would walk through muddied corn fields, hand picking corn. we could not afford a baby sitter for me, so i had the opportunity to go with my mother.
we would arrive at the house of her friend, lydia, an organizer of pretty much any and everything in the mexican migrant community in area. it would be 4:30 in the morning when lydia would be handing out paper cups of "cafe con leche" and tortillas to about forty men women and children, in her back yard. she gave the younger kids, like myself, pan dulce, sweet bread and juice. after about ten minutes of eating, we would climb into trucks and vans and drive for forty minutes to the fields that they would be working that day. the younger children would play around the trucks and play hide and seek in the corn, while the adults and older children would work, in long lines, walking down the rows of corn taller than themselves, stripping away strands of leaves from the husk. they would break at noon and everyone would come back to the trucks where lydia would pull a grill and a cooler out for lunch.
it was the most amazing thing i had ever seen and affected me deeply. that these people worked tirelessly, six days a week, and for next to nothing, and would come together for lunch and there would be nothing but smiles and laughter. i did not speak spanish, and neither did my mother, but it was not necessary. every person i can remember, would struggle to speak broken english and would try so hard to communicate with us. it was not a matter of "lazy mexicans not anting to learn english" as the status quo would have you believe. these people were kind, hardworking people, and my mother was one of them.
many years later, i lived in the northern california town of big sur. big sur is a small community of wealthy people and working class. the workers tended to the land and whims of the rich, on a very concentrated level. there is no middle class there. we lived in room next a mexican family that lived 5 to room. every day they would cook and share food with us and stories and struggle at english while i struggled at spanish. they were the best neighbors i have ever had.
about forty five miles to the north of us were the cities of monterey and carmel. this is the area of california where strawberries are farmed. just below napa valley. driving through this area, on highway 1, north to san francisco, you will find beautiful landscapes of hills and beaches, wild birds of at least 100 species migrating through, small town shops, still surviving the sprawl of san fran and l.a. you will see great pastures of strawberry fields, and in those fields, you will see lines of hunched over workers. sweating and protecting themselves from the sun with only ball caps, and handkerchiefs. rows of shirtless men, bent to back breaking positions, filling baskets with red strawberries. at the end of the row of migrant workers you will find a man, on a horse, overseeing the operation, wearing a full chemical protection suit, with respirator and hood. this is the place famed for being the home of john steinbeck. author of the grapes of wrath.
these people were working for dollars a day to provide strawberries on the plates of americans, whiteout protection from the chemical spray, or the cancerous sun. these are the people that take the blunt end of our aggression. these are the ones credited with stealing american jobs. these are people i know to be good. they are america, goddammit.
MEXICANS ARE NOT STEALING YOUR JOBS! THE CEO'S ARE GIVING THEM AWAY! and they are all to happy to do this. the use of undocumented workers in this country is simply a tool used by companies to avoid labor laws, environmental policy, taxation and of course, alleviates them from providing health care, all at a fraction of what they would have to pay american laborers. it is a way for the rich to remain rich, and at the same time, offer an enemy to the working class, so as not to have them focus on the real danger.
enemies are necessary for power to remain in power. they have convinced the working class americans that the bosses are needed, that they have our interest at heart, when history and even a little inspection into present matters show us quite the opposite. power and control are synonymous. therefore, when the power remains in the hands of the elite, the wealthy few, who are not the workers, then control is dictated by this power and asserted over the dominated working population. when power, which could be obtained through information, the realization of the truth, is asserted by the people, the elite class have few other options than to strangle the economy until the poor are subservient to their needs.
a powerful tool in this process of control is to separate the poor into warring classes, used historically through racism. at the turn of the century, the ghettos in our largest cities were swelling with poor, multiracial, communities. the communities, for reasons of preservation and security, segregated out into neighborhoods, each neighborhood being populated by immigrants of similar origin. irish neighborhoods, italian neighborhoods, black neighborhoods, etc. if these populations were to unite, in a struggle against the wealthy dominating class, there is no question as to the outcome. the sheer numbers alone tell us that the wealthy elite would have had their asses on a platter in time for dinner. this, however, has not occurred, not on a large scale anyway. white anglo puritans, or mayflower whites, were encouraged to fear the italians and the irish, that they might take their jobs, steal food from the mouths of their children, and eventually destroy their culture by inseminating it with hedonistic ideologies. then, when a great war, WWI, comes along, the first people enlisted to go defend out freedoms, was of course, the poor irish, italian and black populations.
this is no different from today. there have been many instances of an undocumented mexican american, entering a recruiting station, and leaving an american soldier. no one is up in arms over this aspect. "let them die for us! but for god's sake, do not let them live with us."
growing up a child of working class factory workers in the eighties, let me experience firsthand, a thing or to about econo-tics (economics + politics). my mother an father were on strike, repeatedly, causing our family to go on public assistance. this would not have been an issue had my parents not been subject to the great amount of shame associated with the welfare system. it was decided that my mother would go to work with a family of migrant workers that she had befriended, and work the corn fields of indiana and ohio, for two dollars an hour. ten hours a day, she would walk through muddied corn fields, hand picking corn. we could not afford a baby sitter for me, so i had the opportunity to go with my mother.
we would arrive at the house of her friend, lydia, an organizer of pretty much any and everything in the mexican migrant community in area. it would be 4:30 in the morning when lydia would be handing out paper cups of "cafe con leche" and tortillas to about forty men women and children, in her back yard. she gave the younger kids, like myself, pan dulce, sweet bread and juice. after about ten minutes of eating, we would climb into trucks and vans and drive for forty minutes to the fields that they would be working that day. the younger children would play around the trucks and play hide and seek in the corn, while the adults and older children would work, in long lines, walking down the rows of corn taller than themselves, stripping away strands of leaves from the husk. they would break at noon and everyone would come back to the trucks where lydia would pull a grill and a cooler out for lunch.
it was the most amazing thing i had ever seen and affected me deeply. that these people worked tirelessly, six days a week, and for next to nothing, and would come together for lunch and there would be nothing but smiles and laughter. i did not speak spanish, and neither did my mother, but it was not necessary. every person i can remember, would struggle to speak broken english and would try so hard to communicate with us. it was not a matter of "lazy mexicans not anting to learn english" as the status quo would have you believe. these people were kind, hardworking people, and my mother was one of them.
many years later, i lived in the northern california town of big sur. big sur is a small community of wealthy people and working class. the workers tended to the land and whims of the rich, on a very concentrated level. there is no middle class there. we lived in room next a mexican family that lived 5 to room. every day they would cook and share food with us and stories and struggle at english while i struggled at spanish. they were the best neighbors i have ever had.
about forty five miles to the north of us were the cities of monterey and carmel. this is the area of california where strawberries are farmed. just below napa valley. driving through this area, on highway 1, north to san francisco, you will find beautiful landscapes of hills and beaches, wild birds of at least 100 species migrating through, small town shops, still surviving the sprawl of san fran and l.a. you will see great pastures of strawberry fields, and in those fields, you will see lines of hunched over workers. sweating and protecting themselves from the sun with only ball caps, and handkerchiefs. rows of shirtless men, bent to back breaking positions, filling baskets with red strawberries. at the end of the row of migrant workers you will find a man, on a horse, overseeing the operation, wearing a full chemical protection suit, with respirator and hood. this is the place famed for being the home of john steinbeck. author of the grapes of wrath.
these people were working for dollars a day to provide strawberries on the plates of americans, whiteout protection from the chemical spray, or the cancerous sun. these are the people that take the blunt end of our aggression. these are the ones credited with stealing american jobs. these are people i know to be good. they are america, goddammit.
are you fucking kidding me?
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where have all the good journalists gone dead?
this is an interview with benazir bhutto, shortly before her assassination, where in she explains a letter sent to musharaf, fingering her assassins in the case that she would die by political assassination. she makes an interesting, casual statement about the murder of osama bin laden.
and, just a thought, if we changed the name of french fries to freedom fries when france failed to comply with our demands to enter and support an oil war, why don't we change the name of afghan quilts to freedom blankets? not as sexy but i bet they would sell a shit ton of them! i happen to know a great knitter! here is a beautiful afghan...i mean freedom blanket, she made for us.
and, just a thought, if we changed the name of french fries to freedom fries when france failed to comply with our demands to enter and support an oil war, why don't we change the name of afghan quilts to freedom blankets? not as sexy but i bet they would sell a shit ton of them! i happen to know a great knitter! here is a beautiful afghan...i mean freedom blanket, she made for us.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
thoughts on non-violence as a revelation
there have been many times in my life that i have raised two fingers and uttered vague understanding of peace as gospel. there are also times when i have raised fists and brought about, or participated in activities with violence being the end measure. when called out on my hypocrisy, i would rationalize my violent behavior as being shared aggression, which in no way compares to indiscriminate bombing of villages in the name of a cause, and not actually, then, breaking my belief in peace. i was alright at the art of bullshit.
i thought peace was a reaction to war, a reaction to unwanted aggression. i thought peace was a request, even a demand made of others to cease and desist their grotesque destruction of life on this planet. it is not. peace is what becomes when one creates it, when one lives it. not when one simply suggests it, passively. it is revolutionary. which, by definition, requires change within. a true revolution changes not only society, but first and greater, changes the revolutionary.
ideas grow, and change as the understanding of those ideas increase. people change, circumstances change, therefore ideas must allow change, must in fact demand it. if any idea is to be progressive, neither stagnant or regressive, it must evolve. i have evolved. i am now taking the understanding of myself to be that of non-violence. to be peace. do not confuse this with passive, they are in fact enemies, ideologically. passivity breeds complacency. complacency is the root of injustice. when just people are complacent to unjust acts, a war upon truth has begun.
i read reports of the zapatista army, a group in chiapas, who have been fighting oppression in their southern mexico homeland since 1994. this oppression against indigenous peoples of chiapas, and the world over, is led by militaristic force with support of the u.s. military complex. now, i support the ezln (zapatistas) in all of their resistance. they do however wield guns and use violence in their revolution. their violence is in fact a counter-attack, but it is still violence. how can i support them ethically? i am not sure, but i do know that i do fully support them and the people of chiapas, in their struggle to remain free.
i know that my heart tells me they are right, and just in their cries for freedom. my heart also tells me that i can not join them in battle. i can not, at this time, join any battle with the use of violence. i can offer my support by giving voice to their plight. every voice of justice, according to subcomandante marcos, the leader and spokesperson of the zapatistas, is the voice of the zapatista, as they are too the voice of every person oppressed by injustice. if i figure out the answer to the philosophical question of support of violence in the name of non-violence, i will share it.
i think we must distinguish non-violence from non action. we live in a culture that equates action with violence, because we are a culture of violence. the birth of our civilization is built upon the graves of lives of lesser value. we have given value to lives and are now paying the price with our disease of addiction to blood. we are addicted, as a people, to violence. when the earth is sewn with blood, the bitter flowers of hatred and shame will cover us, and remain with us for eternity. we must uproot violence to its core. this cannot be done through ignorance, but only through sharing of ideas. me must ignite one another, and do so until the flames of understanding engulf us entirely.
so then, how does it work. well, i believe that if non-violence is your stance, then it must also mean that you are not only speaking when being YOU are being threatened but also hen others are in the path of violence. we must stand between violence and it's victims and stop it. howard zinn says that to use war to fight tyranny, you kill the victims of the tyranny itself. this is taken in stark truths in vietnam, WWI & II, and currently in iraq. we who believe in peace, not as an idea but as a truth, have committed treason against our own integrity, and the cost has been in the countless victims of this war. not only the dead, but those who are dead and breathing still. those whose life is tragically taken in trade for memories of massive destruction and violence. those who lost limbs can show scars but those who lost the core of their morality in the name of war are also dying. they are suffering a death of the soul, of the spirit. wwhen a life is taken, it takes with it the life that surrounded it.
i thought peace was a reaction to war, a reaction to unwanted aggression. i thought peace was a request, even a demand made of others to cease and desist their grotesque destruction of life on this planet. it is not. peace is what becomes when one creates it, when one lives it. not when one simply suggests it, passively. it is revolutionary. which, by definition, requires change within. a true revolution changes not only society, but first and greater, changes the revolutionary.
ideas grow, and change as the understanding of those ideas increase. people change, circumstances change, therefore ideas must allow change, must in fact demand it. if any idea is to be progressive, neither stagnant or regressive, it must evolve. i have evolved. i am now taking the understanding of myself to be that of non-violence. to be peace. do not confuse this with passive, they are in fact enemies, ideologically. passivity breeds complacency. complacency is the root of injustice. when just people are complacent to unjust acts, a war upon truth has begun.
i read reports of the zapatista army, a group in chiapas, who have been fighting oppression in their southern mexico homeland since 1994. this oppression against indigenous peoples of chiapas, and the world over, is led by militaristic force with support of the u.s. military complex. now, i support the ezln (zapatistas) in all of their resistance. they do however wield guns and use violence in their revolution. their violence is in fact a counter-attack, but it is still violence. how can i support them ethically? i am not sure, but i do know that i do fully support them and the people of chiapas, in their struggle to remain free.
i know that my heart tells me they are right, and just in their cries for freedom. my heart also tells me that i can not join them in battle. i can not, at this time, join any battle with the use of violence. i can offer my support by giving voice to their plight. every voice of justice, according to subcomandante marcos, the leader and spokesperson of the zapatistas, is the voice of the zapatista, as they are too the voice of every person oppressed by injustice. if i figure out the answer to the philosophical question of support of violence in the name of non-violence, i will share it.
i think we must distinguish non-violence from non action. we live in a culture that equates action with violence, because we are a culture of violence. the birth of our civilization is built upon the graves of lives of lesser value. we have given value to lives and are now paying the price with our disease of addiction to blood. we are addicted, as a people, to violence. when the earth is sewn with blood, the bitter flowers of hatred and shame will cover us, and remain with us for eternity. we must uproot violence to its core. this cannot be done through ignorance, but only through sharing of ideas. me must ignite one another, and do so until the flames of understanding engulf us entirely.
so then, how does it work. well, i believe that if non-violence is your stance, then it must also mean that you are not only speaking when being YOU are being threatened but also hen others are in the path of violence. we must stand between violence and it's victims and stop it. howard zinn says that to use war to fight tyranny, you kill the victims of the tyranny itself. this is taken in stark truths in vietnam, WWI & II, and currently in iraq. we who believe in peace, not as an idea but as a truth, have committed treason against our own integrity, and the cost has been in the countless victims of this war. not only the dead, but those who are dead and breathing still. those whose life is tragically taken in trade for memories of massive destruction and violence. those who lost limbs can show scars but those who lost the core of their morality in the name of war are also dying. they are suffering a death of the soul, of the spirit. wwhen a life is taken, it takes with it the life that surrounded it.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
amazing book deal
four great books for one great price from seven stories.
http://www.sevenstories.com/book/?GCOI=58322100796970
http://www.sevenstories.com/book/?GCOI=58322100796970
the end is near.
we are closing in on Bush's final year in office, but ding dong the witch is not yet dead. democrats and liberals the world over are beginning to celebrate, quite prematurely, this lame-duck president's departure, with countdown calendars that proclaim the end of an era that most of amerika will inevitably deny existed or claim ignorance to it's force upon the world. much like the the reagan administration and their great gift of apathy towards the aids epidemic and the introduction of crack cocaine into our ghettos. now the man has a postage stamp and the consideration for a dollar nomination bearing his resemblance. why not a pablo escobar day as well?
what we are doing in these last moments is forgetting just how potentially dangerous this administration has shown themselves to be. this final year for g-dub could bring about our greatest fears and be his most damaging year to date.
"I'm going to work hard to the finish. I'm going to sprint," Bush said in October. and with his historical track record, he seals our doom in this short sentence alone. with the passing of the patriot act, being in and of itself the introduction to american homeland fascism, and the more recent assault on civil liberties, the military commissions act, bush has shown us that he means business and business is mean.
so far, by most accounts, including statements from whitehouse correspondents, bush plans to spend his final year as most lame-ducks do, traveling the world in the name of foreign policy. this would show the world that bush is striving towards peace keeping efforts and the maintaining of good business practices. this also seems to say that he has no great plans for the passing of legislation in his final year, being that he is opposed by a majority of dems in congress, it seems that he would be useless at home. however, according to jake siewert, the final white house press secretary for clinton, "There is certainly a fair amount of planning that goes on into the last year. "
this most conniving of administrations has not put their agenda on the back burner, that is to be noted. however, according to the white house, they have achieved so little in his second term. quote: "Mr. Bush now enters the final year of his presidency without major legislation passed in his second term. He still hopes to revive Middle East peace talks and build on signs of progress in Iraq, all the while resisting suggestions that he is increasingly irrelevant."
White House Correspondent Scott Stearns
stearns seems to ignore the passing of the military commisions act on october 17, 2006. this was indeed in his second term and probably the most significant law enacted by a u.s. president in the last 40 years. if this is not considered major legislation by the white house, then i fear what is to come.
meanwhile, back in tv world, we are focusing on the next election. hilary's aging face and obama's comic ears, versus guiliani's lisp and fred thompson's maid. this is exactly the distraction needed to indeed get away with murder, which is precisely what g w and his crew have been doing for years.
"I've never felt more engaged and more capable of helping people recognize - American people recognize that there's a lot of unfinished business," said Mr. Bush. an idea which i can only interpret as, there are still a few liberties remaining unfettered. but if you still believe that bush is relaxing in his last year, just ask karl rove, the man credited as bush's brain in the first term of his occupation.
"He is a bold leader who is going to be milking every single moment that he has got in this office," he said. "He knows the powers of the office. He knows the levers that he has got. He didn't come here simply to occupy it. He came here to do things. And he is going to keep doing things right up to the moment that he leaves January 20, 2009." rove stated about his former boss.
this year will provide us with further attacks in the middle east, that is to be assured, both in iraq and also in the newly appointed arbiter of wmd's, iran. we are picking fights before finishing ones we have started. bin laden ring a bell? and now with iraq in total disarray, we have provided the perfect fodder for hatred and attack of american people, not to mention the thousands of iraqi people who will also be suffering the onslaught of military occupation and resistance this year.
keep in mind that, when speaking of nuclear weapons, the us is a crucial member of the group of eight committee. Four of the G8 members United Kingdom, United States of America, France and Russia together account for 96-99% of the world's nuclear weapons. also, in use of the great scare tactic used to destroy civil liberties, terrorism, The G8 officials also agreed to pool data on terrorism. terrorism has reached new and broader definitions with the passing of the patriot act and the military commissions act, as being those that may pose a threat to homeland security by standing in the way of military action or opposing military force. all peaceful people of the world, who oppose war on principal, are then terrorists and will make the list for the G8, since 2005.
by thew way, in his final year, bush plans to attend the G8 committee meeting in japan, and why not, it is held at a spa/resort and all of this dutiful work against americans and citizens of the world really can put stress on a man. he needs a massage. and if you think the G8 is about producing a foreign policy that ill help to more evenly spread the wealth of the world and open new lines of communication, think again. The eight countries making up the G8 represent about 14% of the world population, but they account for 60% of the world's economic output. that is a number that has a lot of leg-room.
all of this is ahead of us this year and i expect many many surprises by this administration, none of them being favorable to any thinking, feeling, rational, peaceful human being.
good night and good luck.
what we are doing in these last moments is forgetting just how potentially dangerous this administration has shown themselves to be. this final year for g-dub could bring about our greatest fears and be his most damaging year to date.
"I'm going to work hard to the finish. I'm going to sprint," Bush said in October. and with his historical track record, he seals our doom in this short sentence alone. with the passing of the patriot act, being in and of itself the introduction to american homeland fascism, and the more recent assault on civil liberties, the military commissions act, bush has shown us that he means business and business is mean.
so far, by most accounts, including statements from whitehouse correspondents, bush plans to spend his final year as most lame-ducks do, traveling the world in the name of foreign policy. this would show the world that bush is striving towards peace keeping efforts and the maintaining of good business practices. this also seems to say that he has no great plans for the passing of legislation in his final year, being that he is opposed by a majority of dems in congress, it seems that he would be useless at home. however, according to jake siewert, the final white house press secretary for clinton, "There is certainly a fair amount of planning that goes on into the last year. "
this most conniving of administrations has not put their agenda on the back burner, that is to be noted. however, according to the white house, they have achieved so little in his second term. quote: "Mr. Bush now enters the final year of his presidency without major legislation passed in his second term. He still hopes to revive Middle East peace talks and build on signs of progress in Iraq, all the while resisting suggestions that he is increasingly irrelevant."
White House Correspondent Scott Stearns
stearns seems to ignore the passing of the military commisions act on october 17, 2006. this was indeed in his second term and probably the most significant law enacted by a u.s. president in the last 40 years. if this is not considered major legislation by the white house, then i fear what is to come.
meanwhile, back in tv world, we are focusing on the next election. hilary's aging face and obama's comic ears, versus guiliani's lisp and fred thompson's maid. this is exactly the distraction needed to indeed get away with murder, which is precisely what g w and his crew have been doing for years.
"I've never felt more engaged and more capable of helping people recognize - American people recognize that there's a lot of unfinished business," said Mr. Bush. an idea which i can only interpret as, there are still a few liberties remaining unfettered. but if you still believe that bush is relaxing in his last year, just ask karl rove, the man credited as bush's brain in the first term of his occupation.
"He is a bold leader who is going to be milking every single moment that he has got in this office," he said. "He knows the powers of the office. He knows the levers that he has got. He didn't come here simply to occupy it. He came here to do things. And he is going to keep doing things right up to the moment that he leaves January 20, 2009." rove stated about his former boss.
this year will provide us with further attacks in the middle east, that is to be assured, both in iraq and also in the newly appointed arbiter of wmd's, iran. we are picking fights before finishing ones we have started. bin laden ring a bell? and now with iraq in total disarray, we have provided the perfect fodder for hatred and attack of american people, not to mention the thousands of iraqi people who will also be suffering the onslaught of military occupation and resistance this year.
keep in mind that, when speaking of nuclear weapons, the us is a crucial member of the group of eight committee. Four of the G8 members United Kingdom, United States of America, France and Russia together account for 96-99% of the world's nuclear weapons. also, in use of the great scare tactic used to destroy civil liberties, terrorism, The G8 officials also agreed to pool data on terrorism. terrorism has reached new and broader definitions with the passing of the patriot act and the military commissions act, as being those that may pose a threat to homeland security by standing in the way of military action or opposing military force. all peaceful people of the world, who oppose war on principal, are then terrorists and will make the list for the G8, since 2005.
by thew way, in his final year, bush plans to attend the G8 committee meeting in japan, and why not, it is held at a spa/resort and all of this dutiful work against americans and citizens of the world really can put stress on a man. he needs a massage. and if you think the G8 is about producing a foreign policy that ill help to more evenly spread the wealth of the world and open new lines of communication, think again. The eight countries making up the G8 represent about 14% of the world population, but they account for 60% of the world's economic output. that is a number that has a lot of leg-room.
all of this is ahead of us this year and i expect many many surprises by this administration, none of them being favorable to any thinking, feeling, rational, peaceful human being.
good night and good luck.
something to think about- brought to you by hitler and the such
If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.
Adolf Hitler
so the lesson was learned, and enacted in purpose:
Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
- Dick Cheney, speech to VFW National Convention, Aug. 26, 2002
Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.
- George W. Bush, speech to UN General Assembly, Sept. 12, 2002
No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
- Donald Rumsfeld, testimony to Congress, Sept. 19, 2002
The world is also uniting to answer the unique and urgent threat posed by Iraq.
- George W. Bush, Nov. 23, 2002
If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, Dec. 2, 2002
We know for a fact that there are weapons there.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, Jan. 9, 2003
What we know from UN inspectors over the course of the last decade is that Saddam Hussein possesses thousands of chemical warheads, that he possesses hundreds of liters of very dangerous toxins that can kill millions of people.
- White House spokesman Dan Bartlett, CNN interview, Jan. 26, 2003
Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve agent…. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
- George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003
We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more.
- Colin Powell, remarks to UN Security Council, Feb. 5, 2003
We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons - the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have.
- George W. Bush, radio address, Feb. 8, 2003
If Iraq had disarmed itself, gotten rid of its weapons of mass destruction over the past 12 years, or over the last several months since [UN Resolution] 1441 was enacted, we would not be facing the crisis that we now have before us.
- Colin Powell, interview with Radio France International, Feb. 28, 2003
So has the strategic decision been made to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction by the leadership in Baghdad?….I think our judgment has to be clearly not.
- Colin Powell, remarks to UN Security Council, March 7, 2003
Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.
- George W. Bush, address to the U.S., March 17, 2003
The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder.
- George W. Bush, address to U.S., March 19, 2003
Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly…..All this will be made clear in the course of the operation, for whatever duration it takes.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleisher, press briefing, March 21, 2003
There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. And….as this operation continues, those weapons will be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who guard them.
- Gen. Tommy Franks, press conference, March 22, 2003
I have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass destruction.
- Defense Policy Board member Kenneth Adelman, The Washington Post, March 23, 2003
One of our top objectives is to find and destroy the WMD. There are a number of sites.
- Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clark, press briefing, March 22, 2003
We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat.
- Donald Rumsfeld, ABC interview, March 30, 2003
Obviously the administration intends to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction U.S. forces find - and there will be plenty.
- Robert Kagan, The Washington Post, April 9, 2003
But make no mistake - as I said earlier - we have high confidence that they have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about and it is about. And we have high confidence it will be found.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, April 10, 2003
We are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi scientists and people within the Iraqi structure, that perhaps he destroyed some, perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them.
- George W. Bush, NBC interview, April 24, 2003
There are people who in large measure have information that we need….so that we can track down the weapons of mass destruction in that country.
- Donald Rumsfeld, press briefing, April 25, 2003
We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so.
- George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, May 3, 2003
I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it just now.
- Colin Powell, remarks to reporters, May 4, 2003
I'm not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam Hussein – because he had a weapons program.
- George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, May 6, 2003
We said what we said because we meant it…..We continue to have confidence that WMD will be found.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, May 7, 2003
Before the war, there's no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical. I expected them to be found. I still expect them to be found.
- Gen. Michael Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps, interview with reporters, May 21, 2003
Given time, given the number of prisoners now that we're interrogating, I'm confident that we're going to find weapons of mass destruction.
- Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, NBC Today Show interview, May 26, 2003
Do I think we're going to find something? Yeah, I kind of do, because I think there's a lot of information out there."
- Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton, Defense Intelligence Agency, press conference, May 30, 2003
You remember when Colin Powell stood up in front of the world, and he said Iraq has got laboratories, mobile labs to build biological weapons....They're illegal. They're against the United Nations resolutions, and we've so far discovered two [the labs were later judged to not contain any such weapons, that they most likely were used for weather balloons]. And we'll find more weapons as time goes on, But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong. We found them.
- George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, May 31, 2003
It is not truth that matters, but victory.
Adolf Hitler
Mission Accomplished!
G W Bush
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
bread and circus
tonight i watched a documentary, as often nights i do. this particular film was titled "manufacturing dissent" and billed as the film michael moore does not want you to see. it begins as a sweet, fan based bio pic on moore, showcasing his history as a journalist of sorts, writing and editing an indie paper in the eighties called the flint voice, and moving on to edit the internationally distributed and loudly controversial, mother jones. a job from which he was relieved after only four months. slowly the focus turns from his achievements to his indiscretions as a film maker.
now, i would like to make two things perfectly clear here, the first being that i am a fan of michael moore's work. while i have witnessed his muck-raking tactics first hand, and was not particularly impressed with them, i still believe that he is, and this will lead to my second point, a highly entertaining man, with a knack for pushing buttons not often pushed by mass media. that brings me to my second point of interest...
HE IS AN ENTERTAINER! period.
joining the ranks of moore are other highly entertaining, politically focused entertainers, john stewart and steven colbert. both of which contend that they are not news sources, rather satirists and comedic commentators on the news infrastructure that has both embraced and condemned these three men, and also mangaed to severely betray the american public, time and again, in their haphazard and slanted reporting of distracting and irrelevant "news". almost a true, and rare, definition of irony is boiling up here. we go to our "news" sources, cbs, abc, nbc, cnn and the dreaded fox news network and find reports on the happenings of hollywood's drunken starlets, and go to our hollywood comedians, stewart, colbert, lewis black, michael moore, to get the scoop on our political affairs. this is a sad commentary in and of itself, worthy of interrogation and ridicule by the men in question.
do we hold a higher moral standard to our entertainers than we do to our elected officials, or to those whose job it is to report, truthfully and unbiased, on the actions of our elected officials? what could this possibly say for our collective intelligence?
i watch michael moore because i want to laugh, the same reason i religiously watch programs such as the office. granted, i am aligned for the greater part with the views expressed by moore, but i am also aligned with the views expressed by the family guy. do i need to fact check the sarcasm and snide remarks on society made by the family guy to enjoy it? will it change the way i vote? no.
there is a fourth orwellian truth that needs to be added to big brother's campaign, "distraction is education". we seem to crave distraction from the harsh realities of our world so much so that we have decided to call these distractions informative.
every time i see a bold headline, indicting a hollywood star with capital fraud, or discovering a cum covered blue dress, i race to page fourteen to find out what third world country we bombed that morning. fox news offers us bill o'reilly, an editorialist with a professed agenda not of truthfulness but of thwarting the efforts of the so-called liberal media, and let's us believe that this man is somehow reporting to us, the american public, accurate and true news. meanwhile, on comedy central, through the guise of comedy, we are discovering that even more illegal arms deals by our government in the 60's to israel could be fodder for the supposed terrorist attacks in our own country. now, here it comes.
did he say supposed terrorist attacks? yes, and here is why. this is not a conspiracy theory. if, in fact, we were attacked by nineteen saudi's on that famous date so often repeated by the bush administration, then it is clear that it is not a terrorist attack, rather a declaration of war. the only terrorists that i can see are john ashcroft, dick cheney, g w bush and every major news organization in america. for the last six years we have been force fed the idea that we are most certainly in harms way. terrorists have move din next door and powder our krispy kremes with anthrax. the only true safe escape is a vacation to florida, to disney world, where we can sun bathe our blues away.
we are now told of those evil illegal aliens who get drunk and drive through our peaceful cities, running down our children and clocking in at our jobs in the morning. the welfare moms sucking off the teat of the good old american taxpayers. they are the new commies, the new russians, the new japs, the new resistance to our way of life.
according to news sources, we need our military here, and now, armed and firing at our neighbors. we are so scared of one another that we forget the bogey men behind the curtains of corporate america. i know, i know, why would the media lie? who stands to profit? good question, in which lies the answer.
those media conglomerates, at one time, survived on advertising money. they needed to fulfill a certain agreement to sell ideas to consumers in order to provide the people the programs they wanted. not so much anymore, as clear channel takes over most air waves and all media outlets are controlled and monitored by a small group of corporate hustlers. these same hustlers also own stock and or sit on boards of major military contractors and big oil. hmmm. these same board members sit in office and dictate who gets bombed and why. hmmmm. then telling the american people to get behind it or "shut the hell up" as bill o'reilly so eloquently put it on his show when addressing the american public about the war effort.
get behind it or shut up!
now, do you think it is at all possible that, if bill o'reilly can say that to us, the consumer, that someone can say that to fox news? hmmmm. interesting. it is also interesting that very very little was reported on the Military Commissions Act, a clearly unconstitutional bill that strikes down upon dissenters of this corrupt administration as war criminals. this is beyond the wettest dreams of on senator joe mccarthy, who could only have hoped that someday the american people would all be on trial for thoughts against the american system. thought crime? there goes that orwellian bell again.
i am tired for now, and will touch on this a lot more but for any further inquiry, check out keith olbermann. he is right on. here he is discussing the MCA.
now, i would like to make two things perfectly clear here, the first being that i am a fan of michael moore's work. while i have witnessed his muck-raking tactics first hand, and was not particularly impressed with them, i still believe that he is, and this will lead to my second point, a highly entertaining man, with a knack for pushing buttons not often pushed by mass media. that brings me to my second point of interest...
HE IS AN ENTERTAINER! period.
joining the ranks of moore are other highly entertaining, politically focused entertainers, john stewart and steven colbert. both of which contend that they are not news sources, rather satirists and comedic commentators on the news infrastructure that has both embraced and condemned these three men, and also mangaed to severely betray the american public, time and again, in their haphazard and slanted reporting of distracting and irrelevant "news". almost a true, and rare, definition of irony is boiling up here. we go to our "news" sources, cbs, abc, nbc, cnn and the dreaded fox news network and find reports on the happenings of hollywood's drunken starlets, and go to our hollywood comedians, stewart, colbert, lewis black, michael moore, to get the scoop on our political affairs. this is a sad commentary in and of itself, worthy of interrogation and ridicule by the men in question.
do we hold a higher moral standard to our entertainers than we do to our elected officials, or to those whose job it is to report, truthfully and unbiased, on the actions of our elected officials? what could this possibly say for our collective intelligence?
i watch michael moore because i want to laugh, the same reason i religiously watch programs such as the office. granted, i am aligned for the greater part with the views expressed by moore, but i am also aligned with the views expressed by the family guy. do i need to fact check the sarcasm and snide remarks on society made by the family guy to enjoy it? will it change the way i vote? no.
there is a fourth orwellian truth that needs to be added to big brother's campaign, "distraction is education". we seem to crave distraction from the harsh realities of our world so much so that we have decided to call these distractions informative.
every time i see a bold headline, indicting a hollywood star with capital fraud, or discovering a cum covered blue dress, i race to page fourteen to find out what third world country we bombed that morning. fox news offers us bill o'reilly, an editorialist with a professed agenda not of truthfulness but of thwarting the efforts of the so-called liberal media, and let's us believe that this man is somehow reporting to us, the american public, accurate and true news. meanwhile, on comedy central, through the guise of comedy, we are discovering that even more illegal arms deals by our government in the 60's to israel could be fodder for the supposed terrorist attacks in our own country. now, here it comes.
did he say supposed terrorist attacks? yes, and here is why. this is not a conspiracy theory. if, in fact, we were attacked by nineteen saudi's on that famous date so often repeated by the bush administration, then it is clear that it is not a terrorist attack, rather a declaration of war. the only terrorists that i can see are john ashcroft, dick cheney, g w bush and every major news organization in america. for the last six years we have been force fed the idea that we are most certainly in harms way. terrorists have move din next door and powder our krispy kremes with anthrax. the only true safe escape is a vacation to florida, to disney world, where we can sun bathe our blues away.
we are now told of those evil illegal aliens who get drunk and drive through our peaceful cities, running down our children and clocking in at our jobs in the morning. the welfare moms sucking off the teat of the good old american taxpayers. they are the new commies, the new russians, the new japs, the new resistance to our way of life.
according to news sources, we need our military here, and now, armed and firing at our neighbors. we are so scared of one another that we forget the bogey men behind the curtains of corporate america. i know, i know, why would the media lie? who stands to profit? good question, in which lies the answer.
those media conglomerates, at one time, survived on advertising money. they needed to fulfill a certain agreement to sell ideas to consumers in order to provide the people the programs they wanted. not so much anymore, as clear channel takes over most air waves and all media outlets are controlled and monitored by a small group of corporate hustlers. these same hustlers also own stock and or sit on boards of major military contractors and big oil. hmmm. these same board members sit in office and dictate who gets bombed and why. hmmmm. then telling the american people to get behind it or "shut the hell up" as bill o'reilly so eloquently put it on his show when addressing the american public about the war effort.
get behind it or shut up!
now, do you think it is at all possible that, if bill o'reilly can say that to us, the consumer, that someone can say that to fox news? hmmmm. interesting. it is also interesting that very very little was reported on the Military Commissions Act, a clearly unconstitutional bill that strikes down upon dissenters of this corrupt administration as war criminals. this is beyond the wettest dreams of on senator joe mccarthy, who could only have hoped that someday the american people would all be on trial for thoughts against the american system. thought crime? there goes that orwellian bell again.
i am tired for now, and will touch on this a lot more but for any further inquiry, check out keith olbermann. he is right on. here he is discussing the MCA.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
left without leaving
i haven't written because, well, i haven't really been working in the garage. being that this blog is supposed to be about the daily life of an american artist, i felt i needed to post as i progressed in my work. i realize now that it is about the breath too.
history has the ability to condense itself. by this, i mean the way we perceive history in context of artifacts versus chronology. we can look in a room of thirty some odd paintings and believe we can see the life of the artist. we believe wholly in the struggle and the romance of the paint laden lips of a van gogh and forget that time is the factor unseen in between the canvases. some artists, myself included, work in great and sudden orgasm. we lay dormant for months, sometimes years, and then it just clicks. i have been known to stay awake, without drugs, for three to four days working it all out. the chore of living seems to have reward in the sheer amount of production in a short time, and it is all so natural, unfettered with forethought and post thought. pure. and in it's ugly simplicity, the long breath without pause, page-length paragraph and sincerest of memories in full color, i find truth. i find repose. my brain stops humming and my body falls out. that is the greatness, the sunflower days, the blue period. but really, it is impossible to sustain this current of energy and have output of pure work.
this is the art of non-creation. to know that you have a purpose, but to know that you cannot manifest this purpose, is by far the hardest failure to accept. but it is in these meditations that challenge the ego in it's need to produce, that the art truly begins. it is hard, though, to convince yourself that it is okay to do nothing for a while, to be nothing. we spend the first years of our lives building in relative silence. our bodies create movement, our minds create relations, our mouths create words, and once this starts, it seems we never return to the silence of creation without a sense of loss in hand. this is the struggle. this is the trial.
history has the ability to condense itself. by this, i mean the way we perceive history in context of artifacts versus chronology. we can look in a room of thirty some odd paintings and believe we can see the life of the artist. we believe wholly in the struggle and the romance of the paint laden lips of a van gogh and forget that time is the factor unseen in between the canvases. some artists, myself included, work in great and sudden orgasm. we lay dormant for months, sometimes years, and then it just clicks. i have been known to stay awake, without drugs, for three to four days working it all out. the chore of living seems to have reward in the sheer amount of production in a short time, and it is all so natural, unfettered with forethought and post thought. pure. and in it's ugly simplicity, the long breath without pause, page-length paragraph and sincerest of memories in full color, i find truth. i find repose. my brain stops humming and my body falls out. that is the greatness, the sunflower days, the blue period. but really, it is impossible to sustain this current of energy and have output of pure work.
this is the art of non-creation. to know that you have a purpose, but to know that you cannot manifest this purpose, is by far the hardest failure to accept. but it is in these meditations that challenge the ego in it's need to produce, that the art truly begins. it is hard, though, to convince yourself that it is okay to do nothing for a while, to be nothing. we spend the first years of our lives building in relative silence. our bodies create movement, our minds create relations, our mouths create words, and once this starts, it seems we never return to the silence of creation without a sense of loss in hand. this is the struggle. this is the trial.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
the pre-cursor to the BAMN manifesto, yet to be disclosed
BOB KAUFMAN
ABOMUNIST MANIFESTO
ABOMUNISTS JOIN NOTHING BUT THEIR HANDS OR LEGS,
OR OTHER SAME.
ABOMUNIST SPIT ANTI-POETRY FOR POETIC REASONS
AND FRINK.
ABOMUNISTS DO NOT LOOK AT PICUTRES PAINTED
BY PRESIDENTS AND UNEMPLOYD PRIME MINISTERS.
IN TIMES OF NATIONAL PERIL, ABOMUNISTS, AS REALITY
AMERICANS, STAND READY TO DRINK THEMSELVES
TO DEATH FOR THEIR COUNTRY.
ABOMUNISTS DO NOT FEEL PAIN, NO MATTER HOW MUCH
IT HURTS.
ABOMUNISTS DO NOT USE THE WORD SQUARE EXCEPT WHEN
TALKING TO SQUARES.
ABOMUNISTS READ NEWSPAPERS ONLY TO ASCERTAIN THEIR
ABOMINUBILITY.
ABOMUNISTS NEVER CARRY MORE THAN FIFTY DOLLARS
IN DEBTS ON THEM.
ABOMUNISTS BELIEVE THAT THE SOLUTION OF PROBLEMS
OF RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY IS TO HAVE A CATHOLIC
CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT AND PROTESTANT
CANDIDATE FOR POPE.
ABOMUNISTS DO NOT WRITE FOR MONEY; THEY WRITE
THE MONEY ITSELF.
ABOMUNISTS BELIEVE ONLY WHAT THEY DREAM ONLY
AFTER IT COMES TRUE.
ABOMUNISTS CHILDREN MUST BE REARED ABOMUNIBLY.
ABOMUNIST POETS, CONFIDENT THAT THE NEW LITERARY
FORM "FOOT-PRINTISM' HAS FREED THE ARTIST
OF OUTMODED RESTRICTIONS, SUCH AS: THE ABILITY TO
READ AND WRITE, OR THE DESIRE TO COMMUNICATE,
MUST BE PREPARED TO READ THEIR WORK AT DENTAL
COLLEGES, EMBALMING SCHOOLS, HOMES FOR UNWED
MOTHERS, HOMES FOR WED MOTHERS, INSANE ASYLUMS,
USO CANTEENS, KINDERGARTENS, AND COUNTY JAILS.
ABOMUNISTS NEVER COMPROMISE THEIR REJECTIONARY
PHILOSOPHY.
ABOMUNISTS REJECT EVERYTHING EXCEPT SNOWMEN.
[1959]
Kaufman, Bob, Abominist Manifesto (broadside), San Francisco, City Lights, 1959.
ABOMUNIST MANIFESTO
ABOMUNISTS JOIN NOTHING BUT THEIR HANDS OR LEGS,
OR OTHER SAME.
ABOMUNIST SPIT ANTI-POETRY FOR POETIC REASONS
AND FRINK.
ABOMUNISTS DO NOT LOOK AT PICUTRES PAINTED
BY PRESIDENTS AND UNEMPLOYD PRIME MINISTERS.
IN TIMES OF NATIONAL PERIL, ABOMUNISTS, AS REALITY
AMERICANS, STAND READY TO DRINK THEMSELVES
TO DEATH FOR THEIR COUNTRY.
ABOMUNISTS DO NOT FEEL PAIN, NO MATTER HOW MUCH
IT HURTS.
ABOMUNISTS DO NOT USE THE WORD SQUARE EXCEPT WHEN
TALKING TO SQUARES.
ABOMUNISTS READ NEWSPAPERS ONLY TO ASCERTAIN THEIR
ABOMINUBILITY.
ABOMUNISTS NEVER CARRY MORE THAN FIFTY DOLLARS
IN DEBTS ON THEM.
ABOMUNISTS BELIEVE THAT THE SOLUTION OF PROBLEMS
OF RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY IS TO HAVE A CATHOLIC
CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT AND PROTESTANT
CANDIDATE FOR POPE.
ABOMUNISTS DO NOT WRITE FOR MONEY; THEY WRITE
THE MONEY ITSELF.
ABOMUNISTS BELIEVE ONLY WHAT THEY DREAM ONLY
AFTER IT COMES TRUE.
ABOMUNISTS CHILDREN MUST BE REARED ABOMUNIBLY.
ABOMUNIST POETS, CONFIDENT THAT THE NEW LITERARY
FORM "FOOT-PRINTISM' HAS FREED THE ARTIST
OF OUTMODED RESTRICTIONS, SUCH AS: THE ABILITY TO
READ AND WRITE, OR THE DESIRE TO COMMUNICATE,
MUST BE PREPARED TO READ THEIR WORK AT DENTAL
COLLEGES, EMBALMING SCHOOLS, HOMES FOR UNWED
MOTHERS, HOMES FOR WED MOTHERS, INSANE ASYLUMS,
USO CANTEENS, KINDERGARTENS, AND COUNTY JAILS.
ABOMUNISTS NEVER COMPROMISE THEIR REJECTIONARY
PHILOSOPHY.
ABOMUNISTS REJECT EVERYTHING EXCEPT SNOWMEN.
[1959]
Kaufman, Bob, Abominist Manifesto (broadside), San Francisco, City Lights, 1959.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
guest book - please use this
i have noticed a lot of people are logging onto my blog from all over the world. i am curious about how and why and who they are. here is a guestbook to tell me what you think and who you are. simply use the "back talker" feature under the post to sign the book. if you are not a blogger user, then please put your name and a link to your blog, site, myspace. i would love some discourse here.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
"fuck you, i just buy what you sell me."
burning monk made from oreo cookies by artist phil hansenafter a seven year break, rage against the machine return to the stage, just in time to catch the bush administration in their last, and potentially most dangerous year. zack de la rocha, while playing a headlining spot at coachella music festival, called for the trial, hanging, and shooting of every member of the bush regime. scary stuff considering the number of people who have faced prosecution since the passing of the patriot act for saying much less in regards to the most evil corporation on the planet. still though, rage is under contract with EMI, through a series of conglomerations. EMI, besides producing a large portion of the music you and i hear on clear channel stations, also makes a few bombs on the side. hmmm. actually they are one of the largest producers of war materials. their product was the preferred weaponry used in the decimation of central american revolutionary armies in the late seventies and early eighties. see chomsky's "culture of terrorism".
so what is to be said about this? is rage a tool of the power structure, used to instill a sense of anger in youth that is poorly directed? to tell you the truth, i think zack, and tom morello, rage's guitarist, are well aware of their corporate parentage, but see also the benefit of selling 14 million albums world-wide. i was 13 when i first heard the band, and it changed the way i lived, forever. i was a growing up in a sheltered, whitewashed town of greenville, ohio. steelworker father, nurse mother, went to church, smoked a little pot, felt a little out of place. the year before i had read the autobiography of malcolm x, and soul on ice, by eldridge cleaver. i was a precocious little fuck, but reading these books only informed a sense of injustice, the music of rage validated it.
i began to research the books they talked about, learned about noam chomsky, and then howard zinn. saw zach wearing a los crudos shirt in the video and found their music. i was then introduced into a world of underground music and politics that literally covered my entire body. i began to think more critically. i was vegan, then straightedge. i did anything i could to become a more effective revolutionary. ironically, i even sore off corporate music, such as rage against the machine, and opted for the fringe. seeing 30 frat boys, on date rape detail, sing along at a party on the campus of the university of arizona, repeating "fuck you, i won't do what you tell me!" and then quickly directing their aggression to the suspect fag (yours truly) at the party, was enough for me to call it over. the revolution had been homogenized. you could see the seal in every hot topic across the nation. when a che guevara shirt is commonly mistaken as a rage against the machine logo, i question the effectiveness of their campaign strategy.
years later, i am living as a father of two, chainsmoking, meat eating, socialist, fat fuck, and i decide i want to hear some rage. i heard they got back together and starting looking up videos of recent performances. it is great stuff, really. after a decade of learning about humans and their ability to somehow always disappoint, especially when thinking is involved, i have learned to empathize with groups like rage against the machine. can they be blamed for the fucked up mental state of millions of their fans. they did their job, and did it well. who else, in the media at least, was telling millions of teenage americans about zapata, and subcomandante marcos? who else listed noam chomsky, howard zinn, and mumia abu jamal, as key literary influences, and still managed to go platinum. they are messengers, not leaders.
i was nothing more than a pissed of kid when rage taught me the center of my anger. showed me the proponents of greed and fascist thought. taught me how to focus my rage and who to focus it on. now, as i sit in my studio, sometimes at three in the morning, i reach over and turn up the music when i start to hear, fuck you, i won't do what you tell me. i sit back, light a smoke, and rejoice in the gospel of dissidence.
i recommend using isohunt or some other bittorrent search for rage's discografia, and stealing that shit today. i read an interview where tom morello speaks out against pirating, but hey i also read a book where abbie hoffman reminds us that even christ said in the kingdom of heaven, all things are provided and the kingdom of heaven is now. speaking of abbie hoffman, watch "steal this movie". it is fucking great and vincent d'onofrio plays hoffman.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
sink or swim
for the past three weeks, my personal output of art has been nill. i have been working on commissioned works and just have not had any ideas for my own pieces. money has been short which of course leads to stress. then there are days like today.
angela and i went to st. louis to sell some of her bags to a local green store, home eco. on the way to the city, we stopped at our local cafe for a quick coffee. while there, the cafe received a phone call from a person who had met me there nearly two years ago, inquiring about my contact info. strange, since i haven't worked there for so long, but she knew that i still frequent the shop and was using some investigative skills to track me down. i just happened to be there when she called so they just gave me the phone. this person, moira, has always seemed to take an interest in my art, ever since my first show at picasso's two years ago. she had invited me to participate in a contest that i dropped the ball on, and so i assumed she thought i was flaky. which i guess i am sometimes, so no feelings hurt. then, nearly two years later, i am talking to her about an upcoming bike race, tour de winghaven.
she is offering me the opportunity to design the poster for the event. this may not sound like much, but it is huge. she wants me to paint a picture that will then be used for promotions for this race, which is on it's way to becoming quite a large event, entering into the arena of international cycling events. posters, wine labels, print ads are just part of what this image will be used for. on top of that, i get paid for the job and am allowed to keep the original. this is amazing. now, i am not a cyclist, so why the excitement?
well, it is simple. every person i know that is a cycle enthusiast claims to feel a transcendental experience at one time or another on a bike. it is a form of meditation. in fact, everyone i know who cycles seems to become some sort of junkie for it. which is something i know a little about. so, on this level i can connect to cycling. it is much like painting. a solo effort that challenges not just the body but the mind and spirit of a person. at any rate i am excited for this job. i already started working on a large scale piece that will develop into something that i will consider for the job.
the other great thing about this is, i get to have a sort of art show in conjunction with the race. there will be literally thousands of people at this event and it's surrounding events, most of whom will be interested to see what the artist who designed the poster is up to. this is a great chance to introduce my work to a whole different group of people than have ever seen what i do.
i also met a great opportunity while in the city. across the street from home eco, in south city saint louis, there is a great corner building that is for rent. the location and size is perfect for a gallery. so i ent to an ajjoining italian imports grocery store that is ran by the same man who owns the space. i spoke to him briefly about the possibility of a gallery and he seemed sincerely interested. he also makes the best meatball sandwich i have ever had from any restaurant. turns out he is the president of the neighborhood business association and they are looking for artists to bring into the neighborhood. it is nice to know that people are starting to see the benefits of having local artists. we bring business and a sense of self, of culture, wherever we are.
historically speaking, anytime a large group of artists move into an affordable area, the neighborhood is quickly transformed into a hotspot. look at the bowery in new york, chelsea, lower east side, northeast portland. all of these areas were once rundown and thus affordable for artists to live and work. no they are some of the most prized real estate in the country. well, apparently people are getting the hint that art is a necessary and vital part of life, and not just for artists. so i am going to work hard at making this work out and this time next year i may be running my own gallery.
i also scored one more commission for some coffee bag paintings for a local minister. what a strange day. here is an example of a coffee bag painting. painted on recycled burlap coffee bags. this one is a portrait of a dear friend, kevin francis xavier callahan.
angela and i went to st. louis to sell some of her bags to a local green store, home eco. on the way to the city, we stopped at our local cafe for a quick coffee. while there, the cafe received a phone call from a person who had met me there nearly two years ago, inquiring about my contact info. strange, since i haven't worked there for so long, but she knew that i still frequent the shop and was using some investigative skills to track me down. i just happened to be there when she called so they just gave me the phone. this person, moira, has always seemed to take an interest in my art, ever since my first show at picasso's two years ago. she had invited me to participate in a contest that i dropped the ball on, and so i assumed she thought i was flaky. which i guess i am sometimes, so no feelings hurt. then, nearly two years later, i am talking to her about an upcoming bike race, tour de winghaven.
she is offering me the opportunity to design the poster for the event. this may not sound like much, but it is huge. she wants me to paint a picture that will then be used for promotions for this race, which is on it's way to becoming quite a large event, entering into the arena of international cycling events. posters, wine labels, print ads are just part of what this image will be used for. on top of that, i get paid for the job and am allowed to keep the original. this is amazing. now, i am not a cyclist, so why the excitement?
well, it is simple. every person i know that is a cycle enthusiast claims to feel a transcendental experience at one time or another on a bike. it is a form of meditation. in fact, everyone i know who cycles seems to become some sort of junkie for it. which is something i know a little about. so, on this level i can connect to cycling. it is much like painting. a solo effort that challenges not just the body but the mind and spirit of a person. at any rate i am excited for this job. i already started working on a large scale piece that will develop into something that i will consider for the job.
the other great thing about this is, i get to have a sort of art show in conjunction with the race. there will be literally thousands of people at this event and it's surrounding events, most of whom will be interested to see what the artist who designed the poster is up to. this is a great chance to introduce my work to a whole different group of people than have ever seen what i do.
i also met a great opportunity while in the city. across the street from home eco, in south city saint louis, there is a great corner building that is for rent. the location and size is perfect for a gallery. so i ent to an ajjoining italian imports grocery store that is ran by the same man who owns the space. i spoke to him briefly about the possibility of a gallery and he seemed sincerely interested. he also makes the best meatball sandwich i have ever had from any restaurant. turns out he is the president of the neighborhood business association and they are looking for artists to bring into the neighborhood. it is nice to know that people are starting to see the benefits of having local artists. we bring business and a sense of self, of culture, wherever we are.
historically speaking, anytime a large group of artists move into an affordable area, the neighborhood is quickly transformed into a hotspot. look at the bowery in new york, chelsea, lower east side, northeast portland. all of these areas were once rundown and thus affordable for artists to live and work. no they are some of the most prized real estate in the country. well, apparently people are getting the hint that art is a necessary and vital part of life, and not just for artists. so i am going to work hard at making this work out and this time next year i may be running my own gallery.
i also scored one more commission for some coffee bag paintings for a local minister. what a strange day. here is an example of a coffee bag painting. painted on recycled burlap coffee bags. this one is a portrait of a dear friend, kevin francis xavier callahan.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
margaret kilgallen
I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.
-gilda radner
i came across an, apparently old, episode of art:21 tonight. this was a clip on two artists whom i had never heard of and decided to watch. barry mcgee and margaret kilgallen, two san francisco based artists, who i later learned were married. both have a sense of folk art, and claim this to be their greatest influence, though from two different times. margaret is heavily moved by traditional folk art. art that doesn't know itself as such. hand painted signs, typography, advertisements. barry is a graffiti artist. the modern folk art. i call it folk art because it serves the purpose of public viewing. sure, it is seen as an eyesore to most people, and is illegal in all fifty states, but it is still the most vibrant art form alive today. there is no payment for it's work, there are stiff penalties for it's implication, and modern ad agencies exploit the shit out of it as a way to reach the youth of today.
entrepreneur
criminal
so to the point of this spillage of thought: margaret kilgallen.
she is brilliant in the video, skilled with ingenuity. she is clearly going to become a great artist someday. she is dead. she died a couple of weeks after the birth of her daughter, from complications of breast cancer. this fucked me up.
now, death is something i have come to know intimately in my life. a lot of my friends and family have died, some of "natural" deaths and some of drug overdoses or violence. i accept death and in fact herald it as a beautiful part of life. i usually don't mourn in the traditional since but celebrate the life. then i read that a woman i do not even know, would never have known, died so young and it fucked me up. she just seemed so alive in the video. so maybe the thing fucking me up is that she is so vibrant, and now dead, and there are so many who are alive and will be alive for a very long time that never grace upon that level of living. i question myself and my own life. am i living it.
here i am at 2 am, typing a fucking blog entry with a studio full of paint and canvas and i am here, typing. not that this isn't somehow a creative endeavor, but seriously, i am staring at pixels, watching a life on youtube, and there goes another rubber tree plant.
-gilda radner
i came across an, apparently old, episode of art:21 tonight. this was a clip on two artists whom i had never heard of and decided to watch. barry mcgee and margaret kilgallen, two san francisco based artists, who i later learned were married. both have a sense of folk art, and claim this to be their greatest influence, though from two different times. margaret is heavily moved by traditional folk art. art that doesn't know itself as such. hand painted signs, typography, advertisements. barry is a graffiti artist. the modern folk art. i call it folk art because it serves the purpose of public viewing. sure, it is seen as an eyesore to most people, and is illegal in all fifty states, but it is still the most vibrant art form alive today. there is no payment for it's work, there are stiff penalties for it's implication, and modern ad agencies exploit the shit out of it as a way to reach the youth of today.
entrepreneur
criminal
so to the point of this spillage of thought: margaret kilgallen.
she is brilliant in the video, skilled with ingenuity. she is clearly going to become a great artist someday. she is dead. she died a couple of weeks after the birth of her daughter, from complications of breast cancer. this fucked me up.
now, death is something i have come to know intimately in my life. a lot of my friends and family have died, some of "natural" deaths and some of drug overdoses or violence. i accept death and in fact herald it as a beautiful part of life. i usually don't mourn in the traditional since but celebrate the life. then i read that a woman i do not even know, would never have known, died so young and it fucked me up. she just seemed so alive in the video. so maybe the thing fucking me up is that she is so vibrant, and now dead, and there are so many who are alive and will be alive for a very long time that never grace upon that level of living. i question myself and my own life. am i living it.
here i am at 2 am, typing a fucking blog entry with a studio full of paint and canvas and i am here, typing. not that this isn't somehow a creative endeavor, but seriously, i am staring at pixels, watching a life on youtube, and there goes another rubber tree plant.
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