Volvo with a gun rack

As I read through some of the debate dialog, from Republican hopefuls to the Senate Resolution, an old memory of Robin Williams' voice put a smile, albeit a weak one, on my face. "Compassionate conservative? That's like a Volvo with a gun rack."

Back in the day, 'compassionate conservative' was an actual term, a tongue-in-cheek way of noting certain right wingers un-right wing affinity for government sponsored social organizations and subsidies. It was a snide remark back then, descriptive of few. Now, it's damn near ludicrous and imaginary.

At last weeks debate, Wolf Blitzer from CNN posed a question to Ron Paul about a hypothetical 30 year old man with no health insurance who had fallen very ill. In order to survive he would need 6 months in the ICU. Should, he asked, "we just let him die?" Before Ron Paul could answer, several Tea Partiers in the crowd yelled, "Yeah!" followed by cheers, jeers and applause. Ummmmmm...

Let me put it this way, if I beat the ever loving shit out of you, not kill you (because then I know we'd go with death penalty), but just beat you to the point where you need a fingerprint to prove it's actually you - society should pay for me to sit in jail, get three meals a day, learn how to shank and become a drug dealer, but you, you, the victim - society should let you either die in a gutter or, pay medical bills for the rest of your life...

Hmmmm - justice?

Now, let me go ahead and say that I don't think this country could EVER become a socialist nation. It's simply not in our DNA. However, I do think that a socialized republic is a lofty but ultimately attainable goal. That is of course, if we can get up off our asses and do something about it. But that's another soap box I'm not getting up on right now.

Right wingers seem to think that simply by cutting down government, everything from the market to humanity will even itself out to its best full potential. For fucks sake people - I mean, come on! Daniel Foster actually wrote in the NationalReview.com that the best way for people to get through tough times is to lean on family, friends and the church, not government. OK - well let's say all your friends and family are shit poor too - and the church? Oh, blow it out your ass Foster. The only thing the church is good for in times of need is to remind you how fucked you are by having to pay taxes they skirt because of some guy nailed to a pair of sticks.

Wanna know what I see here in downtown LA? On the average day, just going out for simple errands: walk to the bank, post office, coffee shop, the car - I see on average 20 homeless people. Wanna know what else I see? I see people outside of government subsidized missions and homeless shelters, waiting in line for food and blankets. Guess whose stoop is empty? The church.

It sounds nice and philanthropic but this utopia where a band of family, friends and make believe deities is always there with the right amount of cash, love and guidance just isn't fucking reality. Forgive me for entering into the realm of depressive realism, but reality blows sometimes.

That being said, reality can blow a lot less with a buffer against the harsh, biting winds of bad times. That buffer is called a government for the people, by the people and of the people. A government that works on behalf of the people it governs. It does not sit, laissez-faire while its people beg each other for loose change and a hand out. However, it does not hand out needlessly or without self interest. Interestingly enough, when a well formed government acts in its own self interest, that self interest is your self interest - hahaha, wow! Follow along with me for a second...

It creates and maintains a system of give and take. You put in an appropriate amount of your earnings knowing that should you need that buffer, it's there for you. You realize that when you go into the hospital or when you send your kids to school, it's your money that's paying for it, but also that of your friends, family and neighbours (not the church tho - they don't pay dick). You can feel proud and ironically, free, knowing that you are part of a strong, people drive system, working for the people, by the people. It is a colossal behemoth of human ingenuity and drive - progressively moving forward without leaving everyone behind. It cares without coddling. It sets up rules and regulations based on the interests of many, not the prized few. It takes into account well being, not accounts. And in so doing, it has a healthy account, both monetarily and in the hearts and minds of those it governs.

Sounds Utopian? Probably. But these tenets are tenets taken from the ideas and dreams of the founding of this country. If the constitutionalists behind people like Ron Paul really wanna feel patriotic, consider stepping outside the confines of bottom lines and extremist propaganda.

There's no such thing as a free market that works. There's no such thing as a non-existent government that works. And there's no such thing as a free people under either.

Drop your extremist ideologies, and come see what the center feels like. I promise, if you look back at our country's history - it looks pretty damn healthy, happy, successful, and...free.

and we're back with a random post...

Sorry it's been so long dear blog...life is a strange series of ups, downs, rights and lefts and now I'm back again...that is of course the abridged version. If you're interested in the fuller version, just lemme know.

At the moment, I'm in lovely Stockholm, Sweden, enjoying midsummers eve in the clean air and under a utopian blue sky.
Sweden is known for their eco-friendly stance in this shit storm of trashing our planet and raping her resources. In January 1999, an Environmental Bill was passed including many laws penned to protect the natural Sweden for this generation and those to come. However since then, many amendments have taken place that according to the Swedish EPA has greatly weakened the bill.
Mikael Karlsson, the speaker for the Swedish EPA suggested that Parliament has several times been a doormat to companies that trampled the laws with the pretense that they just wanted to make the laws simpler. Even though, the laws barely effect the companies' bottom line and stimulate competition amongst manufacturers.
A Swedish environmental lawyer said that she is disappointed with how the environmental laws have slipped, under two successive governments, both Alliansen (the Alliance) and Socialdemokraterna (Socialists).
I might add just to the reader who isn't stuck into Swedish politics that those two groups are quite on opposite sides...one might say, quite like Democrats and Republicans...hmmmm, drawing parallels...reminds me of math class.

As much good as I have to say about Sweden, this article that I read on Svenska Dagbladet (a popular newspaper) leaves me sad and irritable. If you've read any of my posts you know that I am not an extremist, whether we be talking of right or left. In Sweden, I am not a socialist nor a conservative. I believe in getting things done, regardless of what your voting card says.
The continued fucking over of our planet by big corporations is not just something that hails from the land of the free and home of the brave. This is an international problem, because corporations work globally.
For anyone who didn't think we live in a global world, wake up and smell the stench of 6 billion people crowded in your back yard...b/c that's basically where they are.

While Sweden may be a ways away from "oops, is that my oil spill?" and "we must strike before stricken," these trends of government laying down their justice and morals to the full pocket books of corporate interest is a striking and scary one. And it is one I don't intend to accept...it's good to be back.
Happy Midsummer.

The good, the bad and the rally

Yesterday was the Answer LA sponsored march from Hollywood and Vine to Hollywood and Highland, about six blocks, all told. A friend of mine and I got some really great footage, and interviewed some interesting people. We passed out about 60 fliers highlighting our group and prompting interest and thought with the question: What is your American dream? There were some incredibly dedicated and devoted citizens out there marching for change.
Now that all the positives are clear, let me get down to the negatives. Over all, it was crap. Let me explain why:

6 blocks on empty streets is not enough. The only people reading those signs and hearing those slogans are the people already there and the cops paid to be there. Many protesters used images and hearkened back to times like Vietnam, Civil Rights, 8 hr. work day, etc. Those were all more than 40 years ago. There has been no significant new legislation in over 40 years. Those people effected change because they walked past the barricades and made law makers uncomfortable. It's easy to ignore what you can't see and don't hear about. There were no big news people there and as I said, the streets were barracaded for blocks and blocks surrounding the protest. People wore shirts with peace signs, tie-die signs and all I could think is "what's new?" The Vietnam Era CREATED ideas, thoughts, demands that we're only recycling, and not even recycling in a productive way.
All the protesters stayed neatly inside the assigned areas, waving their signs and speaking their slogans, as if they were at a nice event put on by a friend that they'd later refer to as "lovely." The march was not organized, or streamlined. People were carrying signs and mock coffins, but in no orderly fashion. Everyone there had a separate agenda. I spoke with anarchists, socialists, communists, veterans, feminists, latinos, palestinians, all with separate goals and reasons for being there. That's fine, but when everyone is shouting something different, when everyone is pushing their own ideologies instead of a common goal, it becomes a shit storm of nonsense as opposed to an actual protest. A bystander asked what the march was protesting. I looked at him and said, take your pick. It made everyone there look like a complete idiot. Not only are we marching to no one but we're also marching for nothing. The only point in the whole protest that I felt emboldened was when the mother of a dead soldier came up to the mic and complained that this was not enough, that she'd been going to protests for 6 years since her son's death and nothing was changing, we needed to step it up. So, the people in the first few rows started shouting "step it up" while the people behind continued with whatever drivel they'd thought up.
Another thing that truly bothered me was that there were no American flags. What country are you supposedly fighting to change? The coffins were all draped with Iraqi and Palestinian flags. My friend asked me, "What about my friends that died?" No one seemed to have an answer for that. I had my customary American flag wrapped around my face and the only thing I got was "Why are you wearing that?" Well, first of all, it's our flag. Secondly, it marks the metaphor of how this march is reaching no one, how people that genuinely care for this country are not allowed to voice their opinions. Every true form of protest is illegal in this country. I don't wanna pour gasoline on a dying flame, but fucking come on! Wave your flag and be proud of it. Go out into the streets and protest without asking corporate government if it's ok with them.
So many people at that rally seemed more concerned with freeing Palestine and waving Iraqi flags, it makes me wonder if they even mentally live in this country. The Palestine/Israel conflict is none of our business. It is not our place to choose sides. These people choose sides merely because the American government chose the opposite. They are no farther above the left/right rift than the lobbyists and pundits in Washington D.C. I agree, let's get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and all the other countries we push our way into. Let's concentrate on our own issues, our own problems.
What I was hoping from this march was a form of togetherness, of moving forward, but all I got was a bunch of divisive groups, using the blocked off streets as an excuse to come and voice their opinions to empty streets and deaf ears.
The main good that came from this march is that it revitalizes my belief and my need to continue with this group and this idea of unified forward movement. If you're a socialist, fine. If you're a feminist, fine. If you're latino, fine. But if we want anything to get done, we have got to pick some issues, and goals and fight for them. It will take time, it will take hard work, but it will be worth it, if we can unite as one people and fight for what we deserve, what we believe in. It is better to move slowly in a deliberate direction than to move quickly in all directions. See you there.

Not Alice's Tea Party

I've been trying to wrap my head around the Tea Party for quite some time. As I said, I used to be a member until I found out that they had taken a bus to loony-ville and weren't coming back any time soon. The idea for the basis of this movement seemed good: concerned citizens pissed off about the fact that their government was spending money they didn't have on issues their constituents didn't profit from, monetarily or otherwise. That sounds like a good start to me.

There can be books written on the derailment of this good idea but I'm not gonna be the author. I just want to point out some things that alarm and concern me.
The movement is not fully coherent, there is not one leader, there are small groups of people that run their own versions across the country. They do not have a clear cut goal, unless you consider their blatant hatred for anything not outlined in the constitution a goal. Their ideology is based on right wing extremism, with a popular shirt sold at rallies stating: "Proud Right-Wing Extremist." They seem to have no ability to see or care about an opposing viewpoint. It's the good old fashioned, "You're either with us or against us" motif.

Now, I have a fear of any extremist, whether it be religious or secular. The reason being is that, like I said above, they offer no place for opposition, for questions to be raised. How do you know God exists? He just does Timmy, get your ass to church. Same thinking here. What's wrong with this country? It's a corrupt socialist money sucking liberal hot bed! Where's your proof? Shut up, I have a gun!

I wish that last bit were just a joking exaggeration. At a recent Tea Party rally, Richard Behney, a Republican Senate candidate, told Tea Party supporters his plan if the 2010 elections didn't swing in his favor: “I’m cleaning my guns and getting ready for the big show. And I’m serious about that, and I bet you are, too.”
On ResistNet.com, a Tea Party supporting blog, "fellow patriots" are encouraged to "grab their guns." Just one day after Stack crashed a plane into an Austin IRS office, Minnesota governor, Tim Pawlenty, told a group of Tea Partiers to take a page from Tiger Woods’s wife's book and “take a 9-iron and smash the window out of big government in this country." Tea Party hero and Minnesota congresswoman, said she wanted “people in Minnesota armed and dangerous." In Texas, the Tea Party gubenatorial sweetheart, reminded folks at a rally that “the tree of freedom is occasionally watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.”

These are just a few examples. Now, this scares the shit out of me already. But just wait, the plot thickens.
“I voted twice and I failed political science twice,” said Darin Stevens, leader of the Spokane 9/12 Project, Glenn Beck's pet project closely tied to the Tea Party.
Another Tea Partier, Leah Southwell’s admits that “I knew zero about the Constitution," having until recently been a top Mary Kay sales rep.

Ok, so here's how I'm reading this. Let me know if you think I'm off: Tea Partiers are turning to increasingly more violent rhetoric with increasingly less knowledge of their country or its past and what brought it to its current state of affairs that they are so ready to overthrow. Hmmmmm...They don't even seem to realize that one of their champions (Palin) used to be the running mate of a man they think is way too liberal (McCain)!

If you check out a previous post of mine, it shows a link to a video of a man interviewing some of Palin's supporters outside of a book signing. They know DICK about ANYTHING. It is absolutely amazing that they stand outside waiting to meet someone they know nothing about yet blindly support.

We are royally fucked (even more so than now) if the Tea Party movement ever reaches a place where it is legitimately considered a viable political party and not a cult.
Do we have no answer to this? Do we have no response to the "Proud Right-Wing Extremists?"