Fast Blast: News 9.18.11

So, again - there's just too much going on for my coffee laden mind to focus on just one news story. I had contemplated discussing the jobs plan but it just makes me too angry. Not the plan itself - although you'll be hard pressed to find actual layouts of the plan amongst all the useless political deliberation and verbal excrement clouding the points of the bill. And therein lies the catalyst to my anger. What the fuck people? Can I get through one article about possibly desperately important legislation without getting into a dick measuring contest about 2012, and this party and that party and he said this and they did that. If everyone's so fucking frustrated by government ineptitude, why the fuck do we keep feeding into it?! WE NEED jobs, WE NEED an economic boost. All other conversations hold no place in the discussion of the JOBS plan. This incessant child like interpretive dance around issues and solutions fuels a downfall already in rapid motion. Our own apathy, ignorance and arrogance don't help either.

On that note...the news:

Bathroom time limit: An F16 fighter jet escorted a Detroit bound Frontier Flight to ground on 9/11 (paranoid much?) when flight attendants became concerned at the length of time three passengers (separately) spent in the bathroom. One was an Arab/Israeli woman who subsequently complained of racial profiling and the other two were Indian men, one of which was apparently sick. So, word to the wise: if you gotta go, I mean really go - try to take care of it before you get on the plane. Because apparently longer than 5 minutes denotes you in there with the anarchist cook book and a pipe bomb kit.

Give me your poor...: According to the latest Census Bereau data, 46.2 million Americans now live in poverty - defined as an income of $22,314 for a family of four. The median income also dropped to the lowest levels since 1996: $49,445.

Commonwealth Ave vs. Wall Street: Outspoken Wall Street critic, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advocate and Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren announced that she will run for US Senate in Massachusets next year. She was originally slated to head the CFPB (whose duty is to protect consumer rights against banks and large financial corporations) but the Republican response disallowed Senate approval...big fucking surprise there. So, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I hope for, but as always, can't dare to expect big things from her...

Sick man: Speaking of corporations, Rick Perry fell into some hot water when information surfaced detailing his very close ties to the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. ; for example, mandating the use of Merck's HPV vaccine on young girls. In return of course, Merck contributed upwards of $30,000 to his campaign, a bit more than the $5,000 he admitted to at a debate. Beyond that chunk of change, Merck has also contributed more than $380,000 to the Republican Governors Association, an Association that has in turn contributed over $4 Million to Perry's campaigns over the years...oh, isn't corporatocracy fun?!

Racism is racism: A popularized protest song in South Africa called "Shoot the Boer" has been banned by a Johannesburg court. The song, about killing white farmers was a favorite by activist Julius Malema, leader of the youth wing of the ruling African National Congress. The ANC complained that the court was "trying to re-write South African history." Ummmm, bullshit. Just because I don't go around singing songs about how great slaves are doesn't mean that I am pretending slavery never happened. While the banning of anything under the banner of free speech is a tricky subject, racism is racism. There's no such thing as reverse racism or the idea that racism is an appropriate form of retaliation for former trespasses. How can you move forward if you're still stuck in the back and forth? Hate breeds hate. Quit copulating past ills.

Civil War: The threat of civil war in Iraq's Anbar province is certainly not forgotten, and it looks as though it's not gone either. Last week, gunmen attacked a Shiite bus on a pilgrimage, forcing women and children off, only to slaughter the 22 men on board. It's marked as a response to several attacks on Sunnis in Anbar. Both sides complain that the government is doing little, Sunnis in particular, feeling that the Shiite-led government is too laissez-faire in regards to violence against them. Ah, glad we have our guys in there handling this one.

Speaking of Middle East quagmires...: The US embassy in Kabul was attacked this past week, along with the NATO headquarters. 16 people died and newfound fears at the capabilities of insurgents were fostered anew - people left wondering how 10 attackers were able to construct and carry out such a plan in one of the most heavily guarded and secured areas in the Middle East. Meanwhile US Ambassador Ryan Crocker quotes "It's not a very big deal." Well, I'm glad we can downplay it whilst simultaneously keeping the fear factory churning out the hits. Again, glad we have our boys and girls over there handling this one. May not be a big deal to you Crocker, but to the men and women and broken economy and infrastructure, it is a very, very big deal.

2,000 years ago: Looks like the feuds of old are just aching for a come back. Egypt and Israel are back at it - last week, a mob of Egyptians destroyed the Israeli embassy in Cairo, apparently a response fueled by the killing of Egyptian soldiers by Israeli soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula last month. Not to mention that most Arabs aren't big fans of the Israeli occupation and just outlook in general on their culture, in particular the Arab Spring. Stubborn boar Netanyahu doesn't make matters any better, from his banter with Turkey to his pig-headed response on the Gaza issue. As with most altercations, it's a two way street. But if you wanna find your way forward, you're gonna have to embrace change, something Israel is historically shitty about. Egypt is going to have to simmer down too - let the revolutionary guise fall to diplomacy. Let the fires go out boys, lay down your swords and try talking - it's not popular these days, but hey, you never know what kind of revolution you could set off by not being stereotypically revolutionary.

Now that you've seen...

Can you tell which one is Syria? Libya?

Wanna know who's burning that flag? That would be Libyan students condemning the Western air assault on Libya...so much for winning hearts and minds.

Guess we're just too damn good at breaking hearts and raping minds of not only our own people but the people of the world - sharing is caring.

And that other picture of Libyan rebels praying on a road side, I just put that in there to show how little we understand our supposed friends and enemies. We educate ourselves in the art of destruction, corruption and profit. We do not look into the circumstances we fly into. We do not take time to understand the situations we fire upon. This is not our war.

Meanwhile, in Syria - protests continue with security forces firing on their own people, killing and wounding demonstrators. According to Syrian authorities, demonstrations of any kind are strictly prohibited, due to 48 year old emergency law...a cozy dictatorial decree.

Despite the iron hand of the Syrian government, even bigger protests are planned for this coming Friday.

So...should we march in there too? I mean why the fuck not? Obama doesn't even go to congress before sending troops so really all it takes is a laid back phone call from the Oval Office and you've got more little green men suited up and ready to go - taking their corporate check lists with them: profit, kill, profit, kill, profit, kill...you get the two-step.

The ironic civil war

Rumor has it that the Right isn't playing nice. So, what's new, you might ask? Well, I'm talking about the in-fighting that has escalated between the good ole boys at the GOP and the new blood of the Tea Party movement. Here's the basic rundown as I see it: The republicans of the GOP put up people like Tea Partiers as figure heads, the Tea Partiers just put them up as actual candidates. In other words, the GOP makes a poster with the hard working average American and puts it up on their wall next to their Harvard degrees, family tree and pictures of their yacht. The Tea Party takes that poster and makes it a poster for a candidate. The result: a civil war brewing between the elite right and the lowlier, uncouth variety. Ironic, considering who the Republicans usually count in their constituencies. Take Christine O'Donnell for example. She has about as much political background as any other "average American" and will mostly likely prove to be just as ineffective in governance. Aside from apparently being a witch (google it, I'm serious), she barely scraped through a nondescript college, had heavy economic problems and has recently landed a long coveted Republican seat with a dumb smile on her face and not much upstairs. Why is she so popular? The same reason people supported Bush. "I could see myself having a beer with him."
Unfortunately many Americans can not separate politician from drinking buddy, or church from state or Satan from fossils...pardon my tangent. I don't want my senators to go drinking with me, I want them to fucking get things done. On one of my previous posts, I shared a video of a man video taping supporters outside a Sarah Palin book signing. When asked what policies of hers they supported and agreed with, not one person could answer, or even tell what her policies were. It made my soul hurt and my brain cry. The uneducated American public think this way. It's an evolutionary (yep, evolution, I'm a demon seed) need to fit in. If you feel you're a part of a group, a pack, it gives you a sens of belonging and purpose. Now, why the hell you'd vote for someone when you don't even know what they're gonna do when they get into office is a whole other story. However, that's how the Tea Party works, and they are quite successful with their "block party" mentality of likable candidates that can play at the heartstrings of the average American.
But if you look at their agenda and compare it to the GOP agenda, there's not a lot of open air between them. Except for a few issues that push the Tea Party closer to loony-land, the GOP and Tea Partiers are cut from the same political cloth. The problem lies in the social cloth. It's really a class war. The elite GOP slither and scheme, whisper and make back door deals while the Tea Partiers are uncouth and palpably insane in full view. Very few people in the senate are just senators (democrats and republicans alike). Their back door deals with corporate lobbyists and private interests balloon their pay checks and their status in the social elite. There's not really such a thing anymore as public service, it's career politics and business is good. As we saw from Karl Rove's condescending comments on O'Donnell, there's no attacks on the issues, there's the good old fashioned "checkered background" attacks. Karl Rove and his political idols, the Bush's don't know what foreclosure means (maybe because it's a three syllable word), they never had to scrape by. When the average American with bills, a shitty job or no job, looks at two candidates on the right, they are more likely to go with the one they feel can "relate." This was also the case with Clinton. His southern drawl and lower middle class background was cause for pride and support in the typically right wing areas of America.
So where is this civil war headed? Will their be a right wing Appomattox where both factions can come to terms and celebrate with a BBQ atop Darwin's "Theory of Evolution?"
Only time will tell. Political experts are a little splintered on that question. Some say that the in-fighting will prove costly for the GOP, who is looking to gain seats this November. Moderate Republican voters may begin leaning to the left when confronted with the "proud to be extremist" mentality of the Tea Party candidates running. However, the split may give right-leaning voters touched by the Tea Party's grass roots, mom and pop feel, the extra push to head out and vote on the way to Wall Mart. As O'Donnell said, "We cannot elect any more liberals to Washington, D.C., especially ones who wear the banner of being a Republican. It is an honor to be a Republican." The patriotic pride could injure Democratic chances at holding on to seats. The outcome of this right wing tiff is very much up in the air. The Democrats need to jump on it and do their best to point out the absurdity, inexperience and unprofessionalism of the Tea Party candidates while maintaining that the right is not right for America. Republicans need to stop shoving the Tea Party away as if it were an annoying fly. It's escalated into a hornets nest and shooing will only make 'em more pissed off. They need to be dealt with and recognized as a worthy adversary, by both parties. And unfortunately, while I too can appreciate a grass roots, working man organization, the Tea Party is a sad excuse for a remedy for the broken two party system. They are for the most part, uneducated, bigoted, racist, extremist religious, hateful and inexperienced.
As I say in almost every post, unless you educate yourself, unless you study the system, it's pros, cons, history and present, you will be unable and unfit to contend with it. An overhaul is needed but the Tea Party is more of the same, more of the problem, not the solution.