Psychopathic Privileges v Life Affirming Principles: The Young Are Reclaiming Their Lives in America

I am not a parent of high school students but I am living with someone who is.  I know many of you are parents and teachers, and I too have been a teacher in high schools where safety was an issue. 

In just over two years of living in Washington, my partner Dale and I have had to process three shootings involving the schools his children attend.  To hear a young person cry in the middle of the night while we all sit on twitter live with her, tracking posts to see if there is anyone else she knows who was shot, is not something you soon forget.  But this of course was not an isolated incident, thus the task force subsequently commissioned to conduct comprehensive student/teacher training sessions and drills as the new norm. 

The day before the Florida school shooting, an eighteen year old was apprehended in my little town of Everett. His grandmother, disturbed by his behavior, read his diaries and found terrifying entries of his plans to “get the biggest fatality number”. He wanted to make it “infamous” by using his semi-automatic AK rifle at one high school,  while triggering strategically placed homemade timed explosives at another (where, incidentally Dale’s son currently attends).  This would-be shooter apparently studied the “past shooters/bombers mistakes”, intending for his chosen date of attack - set for April 19th, to rival those of the Oklahoma City Bombing (04/19/1995) and the Columbine High School attack (04/20/1999).

The grandmother reported her grandson to the police and turned in his diaries - and thank God, because she potentially saved scores of children by making that call.  The lucky part here is that he was caught before he killed. The frightening part is that he was armed to do it, planned to do it, and - that his story hit the news the same morning as the shooting on the far opposite end of the country. The cops were all over the schools, with bomb sniffing dogs; the kids all on lockdown. The usual.  Or I should say, full blown epidemic.  

This young man played online video games with Dale’s son; and he should be freaked out of his mind by this, but like us, he is apparently numb from the shock...and why, because he's been through this before. His sister, prior to her graduation, had been through this before. Their friends have all been through this before.  It is to be expected. This is life for high school kids in America. And this cannot be stereotyped by city or State, because Washington is a state (along with Oregon and California) renowned for a broad and progressive local legislative portfolio which much of the country has yet to catch up to.  And yet, for unfortunate contrast, Washington is an open carry State with less than preferable gun control measures. We have at least 11 gun and ammo shops within a 10 mile radius of our suburban home, where with relative ease Dale and I could purchase semi-automatic weapons if we wanted to - and that includes two Wal-Marts.  

 signage on glass gun cases at nearby Wal-Mart store

Last year while traveling in Canada, during a time when I was researching gun violence for a related article, I discussed at length the vast difference in gun control legislation there with my gun-owning uncle who all but spelled out how difficult it is to get one, much less multiple guns even as a “responsible” citizen. 

Based on categories of "prohibited", "restricted", and "permitted" guns in Canada, he informed me of legally mandated articles per gun type when applying for a permit: 

You must get references to apply, permits must state specific use of the weapon, and permit-checks are regularly enforced; there are rules for assembly, and double and triple lock storage and transportation; signed spousal agreement is required for guns to be present in the matrimonial home; mandatory courses in usage and safety procedures must be passed along with thirty to sixty day waiting periods before permits are issued for purchase; and, repeated psych-assessments are conducted to ensure you continue to be a responsible owner at licensing, and for every subsequent renewal. 

You cannot just openly carry weapons, nor is there a lifetime guarantee that you will be granted renewed permits to carry them.   And of course there is a logical list of people who just cannot get one at all - like the mentally ill, substance abusers, and domestic abusers. No free-for-alls there.  And how many mass/school shootings does Canada have? Far fewer than us!  And keep in mind they have a robust gun owning culture too - which makes them the best comparison for what the culture of prohibitive gun laws can prevent.  

Culture and Dangerous Optics

There is nothing new here. We know the numbers, we have over 300 million guns out there.  The threat of this was contextualized thoroughly in an important work made 16 years ago by Michael Moore after the Columbine shooting in Littleton, Colorado - which was the sister school of one of my best friends.  The heartlessness of years of disregard by our leaders after every school shooting since, (especially Sandy Hook - given the number and age of the victims) has left a nation nearly paralyzed in fear and confusion, feeling undervalued and helpless. I know I lost hope after Sandy Hook in particular - because it confirmed in a gruesome and dissonant way for me as an immigrant of color, that if little white children were treated as less valuable than gun sales, then these lobbyists and every old white guy official paid by them certainly cared nothing for anyone else in this country.  That incident alone showed the transcendence of their greed beyond any racial reasoning we often put on our many social troubles.  They value only their profits and no one else - which attacks the very mythology of exceptionalism they wish this nation to uphold.  And when you combine this with Trump’s bill reversing gun control measures for the mentally ill last February, in a nation that has, in the same 16 year period since Columbine, defunded mental health programs nationwide, we see how this has all run amok  - and there is nothing but absolute cruelty to blame this on. 

And the thing is, this isn’t only about being scared for your child being at risk of being killed. There is also the fear of your child  being the killer?! A frightening contention.  What about helping out those parents and family members, who certainly are not aided by an open market for weapons! The shooter in Florida was on watch lists, yet he was able to get weapons.  Conversely, this young man in our town was not on any watch lists, neither was he suspected by even his own friends!  No one saw it coming - except grandma.  I do not know his mental condition - compared with the Florida school shooter, as some may debate, but one thing is clear, he was disconnected and very angry.  And he was able to get advanced weaponry to work that anger out just as easily, because leadership failed again to make that difficult. 

And let’s look at that - we have a very young generation who sees through every promise society has broken.  

Leadership has failed to propose any new gun control laws much less getting any passed - after all these deaths - in every facet of our so-called free lives.  And in that time a whole generation has grown up knowing their leadership does not value their lives, our lives.  

When you teach kids this, then you say to them that they are powerless, and the more violent or angry among them unravel and reach with ease for weapons that give them what they think is power.  They fear nothing.  They have no innocent bubble to burst.  This is not only about immediate safety, this is about a deeply rooted cultural value for LIFE.  

Worst still, this culture exports, and can infect the thinking of children elsewhere who look to America as the arbiter of power in the world. 

As James Baldwin said:  “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

In any other context the NRA and organizations like them would be called a terrorist group or at the very least, sympathizers to terrorists.  In ANY other context. And this includes anyone in their profit stream - especially too as it pertains to jurisprudent action to support their function. But no, in the American context it is called a right as a citizen.  Touting the 2nd amendment alongside your semi-automatics makes you patriot.  

Gun violence in the name of ‘self-defense’ cannot be defended as a culture, it is a violent dogma that is ABSOLUTELY and murderously insane.  

The Youth Revolution of Safeguards

I would LOVE to see every student, teacher, and parent from coast to coast in this country take to the streets, ON A WEEK DAY, or a whole school week to march on their respective Capitols - LEAD by the YOUTH to scare the shit out of these assholes to change this madness. And it is coming. 

A nation of children marching in defense of their lives is the most powerful thing that can happen, and who can deny them this? These kids and educators cannot live this way, and parents should not be helpless and terrified to send their children to school. We should not be terrified to go out with our friends to see a movie, dance at the club, watch our favorite musicians on stage.  This is a sure way to sink this place into total incivility...into civil war.  Yes I will say that - again.

Congress and lobbyist thugs, if you will not protect the children of your nation, you will have not nation. This could actually be a moment when our NRA funded so-called President could create sound, enlightened, historical legislation in his dark destructive portfolio. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said: “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

This is an awful burden leaders have placed on the backs of their young. It is not fair to them, but these young, articulate, and impassioned teenagers are about to take this country back and they have their own leading voices to guide them. And, they will be old enough to vote soon.   

THIS MOMENT IS POWERFUL.
It is the most hopeful moment I have felt in years. 

Thank you #EmmaGonzalez, you brave #SoulJah

#StudentsDemandAction
#StudentsStandUp 

#WeCallBS 

#TimesUp

#thework

#theywontsleep

#midterms2018

#votethemout

#calledit

#castlestormers

#studentwalkout

#nationwide

#newgunlaws

#guncontrolinAmerica

#gunregulationsnow

Important sites: 
Moms Demand Action

Everytown for Gun Safety

Everytown Research 



Updates: 
Feb 20 - Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/20/how-rightwing-media-is-already-attacking-florida-teens-speaking-out

#NeverAgain

Justice Reform discussions with NAACP and POTUS: Long Game

Back to the grassroots of community organizing to address Justice Reform.  "Back to" I say -  if you actually thought Obama ever left.  I've always thought he was busy gathering and establishing and clearing grounds of power to check some political mates.  Impatience always obscures the view of many and often creates disconnected forgetfulness or... selective memory. But for a few there is that thing called The Long Game.




And here we are now…tackling the problem of the School to Prison Pipeline.  Going down the VERY long list of judicial issues and injustices visited upon the Black and Latino population in particular.  We cannot expect any effective change in equalizing opportunity for education, growth, or sustainable success - or at least a shot at it, if the way we apply law and punishment isn't also equalized.

"If you are a parent, then you know there are times when boys and girls are gonna act out in school. So the question is: are we going to let principals and parents deal with one set of kids while we call the police on another set of kids? That's not the right thing to do." - President Obama




I find it interesting that we live in a country and a time where much of the fodder around this latest headline speech is that our President is becoming what we feared he'd become... Huh?  

#schooltoprisonpipeline #stopthecycle #newdayslavery #disciminatoryincarceration #massincarceration #mybrotherskeeper #juvenilesentencing #futurecitizens #notsustainable #HumanRights #EqualRights #mandatorydiscretion #JusticeReform
#logic

Pride and The New Norm: Equal Rights

I grew up IN JAMAICA in an African/British influenced household run by two lawyers; one, an atheist and the other, a practicing Catholic. We had a constant influx of visitors from around the world, many of whom hosted us in their homes when we traveled.  Among our guests were committed gay couples who are together to this day. 

Because of how my parents socialized me - it frankly never occurred to me that there was anything different or untoward about "Auntie and Auntie" or "Uncle and Uncle" compared with "Auntie and Uncle".
(Note: In my culture - out of respect we address our elders as "Auntie" and "Uncle"  even when they are not blood relatives.) 
They were our family of friends and THAT was THAT.

In all the years that followed when living out in the World and encountering other view points - I was constantly shocked that anyone saw my Aunties and Uncles any differently because they were gay.  Being a total ham and hag - I amassed my own gay friends, and many, and frankly felt no need to explain this to the few confused objectors in my life - except to point out that their philosophy of love was flawed if they missed the beauty of a soul based on righteous principle. 

Without realizing that I had inherited a wide emotional girth of activism from my parents, this issue almost immediately spilled onto the pages of the first college papers I wrote with indignant vehemence. (Along with issues of global acceptance of multiculturalism and the legalization of weed.)  I argued that couples in the #LGBTIQ community had the right not only to marry, but to adopt children.  I smile at this now, as adoption was at issue for gay couples in the late 90s; just this year I attended the baptism of two beautiful natural children of a gay friend…just to illustrate our growth since then. 

Every #pridemarch I've gone to in different cities, or to conferences I've been lucky enough to attend, I strongly believed of course in the fight for #equalrights and supported it with a clear heart, but I must admit that I wondered how this would work in a World so bent on the isms and religions which pronounce what is right or wrong.  In the last year especially, I confess to an unusual phase of quiet that came over me from the numbing shocking wave of fear-induced violence and hate in every sphere across this globe.  And no doubt there is a lot of work still to be done. But I am sucker for reinforcements.  We all are.  I weep ecstatically that I am now old enough to speak like my parents have in saying -
"I never thought I would live to see the day that the World could shift this significantly while I am energetic enough to participate in the new norm." 

The New Norm. 

The fact that THIS in ways unseen opens further rights and protections to the full extent of the law for people, for families... is what was at stake here!! Families!! The  fact that this shall become so ordinary a truth and way of life that the Labels we separate each other and ourselves with can, must, and will fall away. That our differences will only be details of delightful interest to be celebrated.

Yes.

WE are on our way.
On our way back.
To the beginning.
To ourselves.

I congratulate and celebrate EVERY HUMAN BEING. 
What we see evidenced before us, WE can manifest again and again if we just reMember to Love.

#LOVEWINS along with mutual #RESPECT.

#enlightmentisabigbang #offwego  #tippingpoint #criticalmass #letskeepthisgoing #loverevolution #theonlyway
#excusemewhileIlightmyspliff

Taking A Piss, part deux

And who knows how many more examples there will be.  No matter - as long as it's this good I'll take it. 

Remember the stupid saga of Donald Trump demanding the President provide the long-form proof of birth ...which ended with the hysterical shaming by our said President at the 2011 White House Correspondents dinner?  Well the Donald couldn't stop there could he?  I would have.  Most of us would.  This idiot then moved on to demanding the President prove his university attendance!  Now of course none of this is worth of our time...if it wasn't so damn funny!  If you're looking to procrastinate a bit with some light entertainment - follow the trail below - all the way to Bill Maher's most excellent take down Real Time monologue ever. 


some background on Politico with all relevant video clips here. 
 

Report of filed suit by Trump against Maher on Gawker:

Maher pushes”the Donald” up to the stupidity podium like none other.  5 minutes of BRILLIANT comedic writing and delivery that should end the nonsense...right? Too late either way - the Donald's idiocy is of general acceptance apparently that even MacArthur Fellow Michael Dickinson recently alluded to it his in TEDTalk presentation on "How A Fly Flies"[at 6:10...] - lol!!!

Real Time With Bill Maher Episode 271 New Rules (by Buzz Sourse)








RELATED JOURNEY POST:

Taking A Piss (May 2011)

With an apathetic (or jaded) audience you must "Slow Jam The News"

God bless this country.  See this is what I was talking about a couple years ago. Who is to blame here - the media, or us?   Why...WHY is it that we live in such times where our public servants (ie. politicians) have to resort to such gimmicks to make us care about the state of our nation? 

That said - it was kinda funny...lol

[Barack Obama on Late Night with Jimmy Falon]

My Lifetime Crush on a Quirky Scientist

My astonishment cannot wane when I think of this person;  resident in one being was such a gifted scientific mind,  further and exponentially expanded by the limitless reach of his heart and love for humanity: Albert Einstein was, is, and will always be the one famous being with whom I wish I could wine, dine, and chat til the wee hours.

I have recently gone back to his writings - eating through one of my favourite books on my shelf, Essays in Humanism  [Philosophical Library, New York, 1950], a compilation of a few essays and letters Einstein wrote between 1933 and 1949.  Not a single word written there is without profound wisdom and beauty, without pure and innocent hope, without earnest urgent concern for the state of  international relations; and so, not a single sentiment therein has lost its relevance in such relations today.  

It is truly awe-inspiring, and both intellectually and spiritually provocative to read his excited addresses to the United Nations, fellow thinkers and scientists, or to the citizens of the world on matters of technological and scientific progress and developments, and his concerned appeals on the unfortunate misuse of these advancements for the leveraging of power at the expense of us all.  His appeals on how power is divided, how money is spent in politics, how the world is partitioned and guarded more by a system of fear, war, and a race for destructive armaments  - rather, than as a common goal of inspiring, educating, and erecting systems for a paradigm of peace. Insisting on the latter's necessity for a truly secure future as the only way to save us all.  His words on class warfare, discrimination, and prejudice; his unabashedly humble praise of any one who has lived their lives in service of such noble goals of peace, advocacy, inclusion, and equality; this all from the man who helped us understand the Universe by devising the Theory of Relativity! Most operative on all accounts.

A cheesy high school girl though I may seem in saying this - I just love him! 

Foto: Low Density LifeStyle Blog: The Masters of Enlightenment: Albert Einstein

I worked for a short time administratively at the International Rescue Committee - an exposure that connected better my philosophical beliefs to what I have yet to do actively with them.  The IRC was founded at the request of Albert Einstein in 1933 as an American chapter to his already established European based Emergency Relief Association, focused singularly on the rescue and resettlement of displaced Jews.  This was of course a historical fact not missed by me, and fed my determination to be associated with the IRC in any way.  Today the IRC is a non-governmental volunteer organisation singularly focused on work with displaced victims of war, famine, or natural disaster; and providing resettlement assistance to refugees, while offering education in life sustaining practices suitable for their environments - from farming, building, crafting, and cooking methods, to reading, writing, language lessons,and healthy reproductive practices. Their workers are located worldwide in the hottest locations of difficulties, working with large populations of displaced peoples - and they are often on the site of new emergencies before the UN or similarly focused agencies as they have no governmental/political affiliations. 


Now isn't this such a wonderful idea - and one that I think all governments should aim to adopt as quintessential to foreign relations?  Why do I ask this? Because the IRC is a privately funded organization.  No, I'm not going to ask you to donate - I'm #justsayin - it's a wonder that our leaders don't put this same kind of effort into caring for their human family as they do in arming up to kill whole sections of it - as is the central incredulous rhetoric in many of Einstein's essays, speeches, and jottings.    

“What is the situation? The development of technology and of the implements of war has brought about something akin to a shrinking of our planet. Economic interlinking has made the destinies of nations interdependent to a degree far greater than in previous years.” —Albert Einstein, Essays in Humanism, "Towards A World Government"

It seems to me we have lucked out in that we now have a world leader who demonstrates such breadth of intellect and heart.  I have to say the recent State of the Union Address (#SOTO) inspired in me many of the same feelings that Mr. E=mc2 does in his passages.

“If we want to resist the powers which threaten to suppress intellectual and individual freedom we must keep clearly before us what is at stake, and what we owe to that freedom which our ancestors have won for us after hard struggles.” 

—Albert Einstein, Essays in Humanism, “Science and Civilization”

To hear the sound of fair reason, and to witness its fearless and heartfelt demand for it, is something that inspires and governs both my spiritual and social aspirations of how to live a connected, compassionate, and gracious life. Depending on how things go in the next year, or few,  maybe Obama may come close to sharing space on my list of folks I wish I could meet.  He's being watched.  So for now,  Einstein is the only one.  :)

RELATED JOURNEY POST:

Einstein Stuff (Oct 2007)

  

URGENT REPORT ON DARFUR: You too, from where you sit, can act like a humanitarian! (March 2009)

Hail A Wall of Accountability

This from MOVEON.org:

"How we can hold Wall Street accountable

Reports are out that within the next 24 hours, President Obama
could make the call on whether to hold Wall Street accountable and open an
investigation into the banks' role in the housing crisis, or agree to a
sweetheart deal that lets them off the hook.

The greed and fraud of Wall Street banks caused the loss of millions of homes and billions of dollars in the housing crash. 

Now we need President Obama to take a strong stance for homeowners, and for accountability, by opening a federal investigation into big bank fraud.

This is something the president can do on his own right now, without fighting Congress. And millions of Americans can be helped if banks are held responsible and forced to compensate homeowners for their wrongdoing. 

A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to President Obama."

How do you feel about the idea of signing a petition to urge Obama to move forward with an investigation of Wall Street Bankers?  I feel alright about that actually.  I mean if memory serves, he's been cussin' about them since his Senator days right?  Long before the now worldwide OCCUPY WALL STREET movement.  So...now it's time for action yah?

If you feel apathetic about it - let recent results of the riZe of the people encourage you.  What you do or say, sign your name to, or act on has real effect and that's no rhetoric.  All you need to do is look at the recent SOPA and PIPA squash, done by the people and for the people, to understand where the power of your voice lies.  Need more - read this article from Mike Lux of the Huffington Post to excite you a bit more:  Shaking Their Windows and Rattling Their Walls - it's awfully inspiring:

"As Bob Dylan would put it, the times they are a-changin'. There's a storm outside and it's raging, baby. We really are shaking their windows and rattling their walls. Done deals are not getting done. Dead appointments are acting like Lazarus and rising from the dead. The establishment is getting very, very nervous. And grassroots activists, from the occupiers to the netroots to those chaining themselves to the White House fence or sitting in at the Wisconsin Capitol last year, are shaking and rattling things all over."

 

                      As he also notes in his article, Obama would be wise to align himself with the grassroots movement - I say REALIGN as lest we forget it is from whence he came.  It's time to stop the bullshit.  24 hours folks. 
 

ACT, to make our leaders ACT.  Here's the link if you feel inclined to get a real investigation going on this 'recession' matter: 

Move On Petition LINK: http://pol.moveon.org/bankfraud/?r_by=&rc=pac_bankfraud.email.g0

                                                    Extra Reading Class :)  

-Constitutional Amendment Not Needed: Congress Already Has a Remedy

-President Carter on the Supreme Court's decision to legalize private funding for political campaigning,"It's legalized bribery"

*Photos from Occupy Denver 2011


RELATED JOURNEY POSTS: 

->The e-Con Highway (Nov 2010)

Beautiful Ironies

A persistent belief of mine, even in the most trying of times is that unexpected beauty in life shatters our monument to suffering.  When we experience an unlikely turn of events in the last minute of fitful desperation, or  witness a just reward for sacrificial work of an underdog, we cannot help but be inspired; yet to hold on to this inspiration requires a williingness to release the often irresistable need to hold blame.

While I've been busy in my little cocoon these past months, trying to figure out which way to turn next and how to get there with confidence and gratitude as my companions (because it's been a bit challenging to hold the road with them lately...) I have been slapped back to reality with three most inspiring and ironic things over the past days.

As we see a historic end to the Oprah Winfrey Show today (so many of us grew up with this woman-with-a-message, whether we watched all along or not), I tuned into one of her farewell shows last week, and she did me in AGAIN!!   It was a rainy, gloomy day and I was feeling particularly sapped of motivation - and boy did her show bring me to my senses.  She highlighted the lives of two incredibly 'unlikely' beacons of hope and true purpose (Oprah being one too, if we recall this billionaire's beginnings):  

Photo: Oprah Winfrey Website

Mattie J. T. Stepanek - Thirteen years young and centuries old in wisdom, this wheel chair bound prophet spent his very short life from the age of three, spreading messages of love, peace, joy, and delight with life.  A boy who had every reason to sing only woes of his very trying physical existence with muscular dystrophy, but chose (or was chosen) instead to guide his experience here on earth as one of consistent and constant gratitude and wonderment with life. He shared this message with millions through his writings, and by the end of his life, Mattie had 6 New York Times bestsellers of his poems and one of his essays.  He is currently being considered for sainthood!

 

See a short tribute clip of his life: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/A-Tribute-to-Mattie-JT-Stepanek

Your heartsong is your inner beauty.  It's the song in your heart that wants you to help make yourself a better person, and to help other people do the same. Everybody has one.

~Mattie J.T. Stepanek, 1990 - 2004~

photo: Oprah Winfrey Website

Dr. Tererai Trent, Ph.D. -  From a poor rural farming village in Zimbabwe and denied an education simply because she was girl, set her dreams of earning the highest academic credentials in the unimaginably distant United States of America.  She wrote these dreams on a piece of paper and buried them under a rock. Then proceeded to be challenged at every step - sold into marriage at 11 years old, mothering 4 children by the age of 20, being severely abused by a husband who refused her any space to learn anything let alone go to school. But she persevered against these impossible odds to see the suffix 'Ph.D.' follow her name.

Photo: Oprah Winfrey Website

I remember very well my father pointing to my brothers and the other boys in the village and saying: 'These are the breadwinners of tomorrow. We need to educate them. We need to send them to school. The girls will get married.'

~Tererai Trent~

See Tererai's story here: http://www.oprah.com/world/Tererai-Trent-Returns-to-Zimbabwe-to-Share-Her-Story-Video

Then, just yesterday we were given near unimaginable video footage to add to the unfolding shift in inspiring relationships in our world today, when Michelle and Barack Obama were greeted MOST ceremoniously by the Queen of England, complete with a 41 gun salute from antique muskets and canons by the Scottish Guard on the Buckingham Palace grounds.  I needn't wax on about the historical complexity of this image except to express my exact thoughts upon watching the footage - that seated at the 'highest' table were the most elite lineage of our collective  ancestors of slaves and slave masters toasting each other and their 'special' relationship in basically ruling the world.  I felt so awed, inspired, utterly amazed and filled by the meaning of this.  It's no small matter, and irrespective of how we may or may not feel about these people as individuals, this was a sight to behold and one that I know our parents and elders (regardless of race, culture, or social standing) would never have imagined, and unfortunately that my father, one of the first black Queens Counsel attorneys in England, never lived to see. And it got me thinking...

When people can no longer be blamed, or historical atrocities, past indiscretions, or other external circumstances can no longer utilized as reasons for the real or perceived inadequacies of our lives, it simply means we must now take real responsibility for what we dream of, where we invest our energies, and how we work to fulfill our purpose - our 'heartsong'. This is the paradoxical manifestation of desires fulfilled  - individually AND collectively; as the old adage cautions, "Be careful what you wish for..."  

One personal example of a wish, and embarrassing gripe: I keep wishing for money to purchase new camera so I can get on with my work.  But I already have a camera - it may be old, but it still works beautifully, so what do I think will change in my creative process by getting a new one??  It cannot be denied - I AM, we ARE starting at the same line of possibility each day we awake, and the attitude and energy we bring to it will determine how the race is run.  Funny how nothing could be more terrifying, or more exciting.  And how beautifully ironic.

For more footage of this, see BBC links below:

Obama toasts the Queen

The Queen toasts Barack and Michelle Obama

footage updates (may 26th) - Obama becomes the first US President to address the UK Parliament in Westminster, and was introduced most admiringly with the famous quote, so apt for this post and all the people spoken of here:

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~Abraham Lincoln

 

comment from youtube:

 "Great Speech. I am an American who lives in the UK and it feels so good not to have to apologize for my president anymore. President Obama has returned dignity, thoughtfulness and intelligence to his office."

The e-Con Highway

Money or the lack of money fuels fear, power, fear, greed, fear, control, then fear again, and thus the need to be released from all these things via distraction, and preferably inexpensively and free of consequence.  Welcome to the convergence of the information highway and the super-cause way of acceptable corruption of our minds, imagination, politics, media - de facto - our society.  The loafers often found at this intersection are 'we' the addicted apathetic consumers of the 'have it your way right away' gimmick that holds no truth for anything worth a fuck in this world; but if packaged correctly and flashed before our eyes quickly enough with as few informative words as possible, won't  be unwrapped or checked for ingredients, but rather gobbled up at the drive-up window before speeding off again to the next.

Everything is about economics - everything in this world whether we want to believe it or not, is about money.  And while there are streams of exits we could jump off on in response to that remark, I mean only to focus right now on the economic con of politics and the frightening reality, that it is now nearly entirely driven by private funds/interests/agendas that all boil down to getting more of OUR money whilst giving us less, and, less of an explanation for the shit deal. 

Let's break it down shall we. The borders set up all over the world that are more heavily controlled than ever before, have more to do with controlling the movement of consumers, and the overhead costs of running countries than it has to do with...terror and those who are marketed as the purveyors of it.  Immigration control is a financial concern first and foremost isn't it?  Running a country is running a business, essentially.   Cut overheads, secure the fixed capital which includes land ownership (for majority shareholders) and its use, control distribution, keep the cogs maintained and oiled, upgrade where you can and especially in areas where wear-and-tear can break down the machine, outsource and delegate expensive industries, create cost effective partnerships and efficiency, and increase rest/rejuvenating spaces to keep customers and in-house staff and shareholders healthy...and happy to come and happy to stay without incurring debt.  These are some the basics - often spoken of politically as health care, immigration, education, infrastructure, treaties and trade, bills and legislative laws, environment, etc, etc, etc...etc.  We get emotional and rightfully impatient about these issues because the business is 'us', and the business practices must adhere to the inalienable and indisputable edicts of fair conduct and human rights - and our day to day lives incur immediate data on how well the business is serving our lives; and if the current faltering comforts of living don't change in 2.5 nanoseconds - somebody has got to go down...now. 

Well, I rant on not from a place of financial comfort - I'm an artist, and all the risk that that implies.  But I fancy myself a crude analyst as well, in that I need to distill, compare, correlate, and stratify, in order to understand the macro and the minutia so as to nullify the mind-numbing fear that would certainly result if I didn't.  And THIS my friends is EXACTLY what I'm not supposed to do.  Of course not.  Not in a world that is currently driven by a new culture of attention deficiency that keeps us apathetic rather than critical; overwhelmed from too much information rather than energized by it (guilty here - often guilty!); and thus too tired and happy with our shiny-flashy-media-filled-giggle-toys to be bothered with a thought, let alone act of revolution.

Now I'm no revolutionary.  I love my toys.  And I take lots of pictures so you can look at them on your toys!  I've never held a picket sign or attended a march.  I've been a petition signer, or a volunteer in various relief or art organizations, and ah...that's it folks.  But I do choose to create this much of a footprint here on this blog as my act of revolution - to simply say, I'm on to you funding-machine mutherfuckers!  People, let us not kid about the topic at hand, politicians don't have that kind of money, the private sector does.  I have maintained in private company for some time now that I can barely watch or read the news anymore because it has become oh-too-common, or dare I say, lazy, to blame them - or at least to blame them solely.  The real blame for me lies with the greedy land/big biz/corp owners who amalgamated this paradigm we live in to keep us brilliantly distracted, and now the politicians need them to fund their campaigns the way Zuckerberg had fun creating networks.  Do you see the connection?  We're not so powerless you know - in so far as being able to demand differently anyway. Look at the landslide win that seated a black man in the Presidential office! The trouble is we don't use this voice consistently.   We won't pay attention to any serious issue without it being packaged the same way the private sector packages the merchandise we like to buy!  And who's going to pay for that kind of marketing for financially restricted politicians?  Bingo guys!  The private sector - now having racked up nearly $2bn in campaign spending tomorrow to get your vote or to stop your vote.

Anyone familiar with third world politics, directly or indirectly, can say a thing or two about that slippery slope.  There is a type of corruption that exists in other parts of the world, that no matter what you say, I'm sorry, has never had the privilege of existing here in the US of A.  It's in fact what the nation was founded on, in part, right? Earning your fortune the new fashioned way - by working hard for it, rather than having it by connection, lineage, or sponsorship - like the old monarchies the founding fathers split ways with.  And yes, I am aware that the unfair edges and slopes have been around from jump street everywhere and will be - but that super highway I mentioned at the top of this post just got tilted to a near 72° angle in the last year and if this upcoming election and the wealthy finger-pointing-parties keep tipping it with no intervention from us, it'll hit 96°, and um...that's what you call a free fall.  How did it become so acceptable for people have to use such obscene amounts of money just to convince us to support improvements to our lives?  How did we become so fickle and short-sighted?  Where did the critical conversation go, and the analytical look at the long-sighted plan - or rather the real understanding of work, sacrifice, investment and timely care for sustainable growth?  These are the things that keep a  country evolving, and keep social activism...well...active. 

Now this is all just a general gripe, I don't have all the details of the successes and failures by our current President Obama.  But I do have enough in my noggin to know that his agenda for this country has more to do with the long view improvement plan for us shareholders.  And a personal favourite of his record is that this man holds the correct group responsible; the greedy corporations who sunk our globally collective ship, dried out the land, and sped away atop it, in their gold encrusted Bentleys.  And if you've been paying close attention and doing your cog part in this, some of that has been immediately effective.  But because everything didn't and isn't happening in 2.5 nanoseconds - we're ready to push out the folks who are helping the fella we were so wet for just a mere two years ago. And why, because we have a mid-afternoon-biscuit-and-scones party with no real or current responsibilities or accountability who can spout off risk-free criticisms without cited support and without real refute.  And why again, because they lost money when he charged their friends for greed.  And....WHY would WE side with that gripe of theirs???  It's the most incredible thing to me really.  That all said - I also worried during the elections in 2008, when we saw so many come out in droves to support Obama's proposed policies. Yes, he put a grassroots money cap on how much could be pledged to his campaign...but I wondered what we didn't see...and if he pushed forward with his plans with any integrity - surely this would piss off a few of his new rich friends.  And so...in some cases...it seems this has come to pass...

We live in a nation that should be leading in a good handful of industries, not least of all technology, manufacture, and green energy and we don't have a foothold in any of these - because that other late afternoon party with their pots of money thought it better to export...(why bother list them when the only competitive ones remaining are showbiz and the military)...nearly ALL our industries to other nations to cut overhead costs here.  Hence no jobs.  Hence no 2.5 nanosecond economic or employment rebound.  Hence our faltering infrastructure with few remaining experienced/skilled/trained labor to address it.  Hence unhappy shareholders.  Quite simple really, and not such a smart way to run a business is it?  Rather, a stupid and shortsighted way for you and me, while their pockets get longer under the cutting table in the stretch-custom-fitted-G5-winged-Bentley taking off from our barren highway for a weekend in Dubai!

Yep this is a long one, and I don't get so political usually and I know I often give you pics too (back to that next time, I promise)  - but for God's sake people, use your voice while we still have a bit of a lean on this slope.  Barrack Obama still has the office for another two years, and what he is able to do while there is quite dependent on these elections.  So yes, this started actually as a spontaneus gripe, but has turned into a plea for you to vote today. It's harder for any of us to speak up when we're piled up over the edge of any highway if it leads us to nowhere, or worse, veers 96° down.

-Voting Offices in New York   

-Voting Offices by State

-President Carter on the Supreme Court's decision to legalize private funding for political campaigning,"It's legalized bribery"

-Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (The Supreme Court Rules No Limit on Corporate Funding of Political Campaigns, Jan 2010)

Addendum provided Nov 4th, by a dear friend T.S. - thanks.  A perfect site of factoids with links to bigger chunks if you feel like informing yourself further...

- What the Fuck Has Obama Done So Far Dot Com 

 

Obama: Já taky jedině Weatherproof Garment & Co.! Hahaha

 

Photo: Weatherproof Garment Co.'s billboard in Times Square. Credit: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images

from:

White House rains on Weatherproof's Obama billboard [in Times Square] Posted using ShareThis

 Surely by now we've all heard about this right? It's so funny to me to be honest.  But in reading up on it on a couple of news sites, I happened upon a comment made by a reader of the Chicago Tribune that started out well enough, was actually quite funny in illustrating a main point, and then led in directions that were unfortunate by the end.  In drafting a response I was most disturbed though by the fact that I couldn't respond anonymously to this post, which ironically actually shed a whole other spotlight on this reader's concerns I thought.  That, and, I remembered a similar and rather hilarious photo that I took over the summer that serves as a wonderfully comical visual example to compliment a hypothesis of his. 

comment from Chicago Tribune

The current trend in our government is sinking in slowly. Apparently it is not a free country. The Weatherproof company bought the picture of a public figure from the United Press and put it in an advertisement. I don't believe that the president's control over his image, captured at a public event, is protected by copyright law. I could understand a government's complaint if a billboard had a picture of a public figure's young child or if a billboard was put up by Viagra and contained a public figure's image, along with the heading "I'm the president and when the mood strikes me I choose Viagra". We would all agree about taking down the Viagra billboard, because telling the world that our president might be impotent would be a threat to national security. Suddenly, this sort of American advertising and free enterprise is not tolerated by our government. Look at the other areas of free enterprise the government is attempting to control. For instance, look at the current government attempt to take over control of the privately owned health care industry. I thought we elected presidents in the US, not rulers. The next thing you know he'll try to change the term of office to a lifetime term!

skepticalsurfer (01/09/2010, 9:08 AM )

Taken June 2009      Loose translation: POPE "I only drink OISHI"    OBAMA "I also only drink OISHI"

Obama, along with the Pope,  apparently (and certainly unknowingly) endorsing Green Tea in the Czech Republic somewhere on the way to Prague.  But since I took the photo, and I'm not advertising anything - it should be okay to post it here right?  Heehee -  man I've been dying to post this image.  Haha!  


and I said...