Independence Day

Not to worry. I am not going to wax poetic or puff pompous, pretentious prose on how awesome we are as a nation.
Nope - just going to throw out some interesting facts, questions and ponderings, a few things to mull over with a side of beer and BBQ, something to think about and discuss as we head into our 236th year.

• If our national security budget were its own economy, it would be the 19th largest in the world at $931 billion.

• $64 billion is slated for education.

• 1 in 5 children live below the poverty line

• The average US household carries $75,000 in debt and takes in an average of $26,000 a year.

• $25,000 of that debt is tied to student loans.

• One-third of all college graduates end up taking jobs that don't require a college degree:

• Only 55.3% of Americans 18-30 were employed last year. That's the lowest since WW2.

• More people voted for American Idol than for president in 2004.

• Only 56% of Americans are covered under employer-provided health care. 44 million Americans are uninsured all together.

• You know someone who is unemployed. You know someone who has served in the military. You know someone who can't pay for health care, housing, food and a proper education.

I hate to be the buzz kill of the party but lady liberty ain't doin so good in her teen age (relative to other countries)

Of course there are more facts than ones I chose to include here. Yes, there are good things as well. I am and always have been proud to be American.
But pride does not equal contentment.
I am not content.
And you shouldn't be either.
Whatever ideologies you call your own, this country is fucked up.
And that's not something we can continuously project as "their" fault - our country is not separate from us - we ironically treat it like some foreign object we can complain about, take pride in but never actually invest real time in - like a dead beat dad.
If our country is fucked up, we're fucked up. If it fails, we've failed.
It's that simple.

So, this 4th of July - wave the flag, have a few drinks, enjoy yourself. Hell, you probably got the day off so take advantage of that.
But let's not forget to take advantage of what it means to have this day, to be a US citizen, to actually live here and be a part of this.

The unruly teenager needs to be reigned in - that begins with knowledge, understanding and giving a shit.
Let's toss the apathy out with the moldy hot dog buns and have some truth and action with your potato salad.

Happy 4th.
Happy Birthday - here's to living up to our ideals.

A reflecting nation

I remember when I went to my first meditation club meeting (I went to college in Santa Barbara - of course there was a meditation club). The man leading us in meditation was a philosophy professor, specializing in eastern philosophies. I recall him saying that, before we begin, flood your mind with thought - allow the gates to open, hold nothing back and reflect. Reflect upon those thoughts, the good, the bad and the ugly. Allow them to move around your mind however they want. Then breathe...you get the point.

As I read about the protests today in Spain, I couldn't help but chuckle. Elections take place tomorrow and by law, no protesting or campaigning is allowed the day before elections, as it is to be a day of "reflection." News media typically run stories and ads of candidates hiking or performing other hobbies as a way to wind down after two weeks of intense campaigning. How charmingly Mediterranean.

The joke wasn't lost on the Spaniards either, as many held signs reading such things as: "We're reflecting. Please don't bother us."

Some would say the Arab Spring hopped the Mediterranean and has come now to "civilized" nations. With an unemployment rate of 21.3% (over 40% for youth) and a corrupt political and financial system, most say it's been a long time comin.'

I know I've said this before, but fuck that sounds familiar!

One protester Natividad Garcia said, "They want to leave us without public health and public education. Half of our youth is unemployed and they have raised the age of retirement."

Um...did I drink bleach or could that easily be an American discussing the issues with this country? Only exception is that there really isn't a "retirement age." You can technically retire at 65, but fuck if most people actually can. With an economy so deep in shit, you need scuba gear to find a dollar, the overwhelming majority keep working til they die. Uplifting isn't it?

The Spanish don't think so - a record 10,000 people have camped out, some since May 15th protesting the current situation in Spain. Elections will be held tomorrow, but the Madrid square, Puerta del Sol shows no signs of being cleared out by morning. In fact, many protesters have confirmed that the plan is to stay through the elections.

Juan Lopez, a spokesman for the protest said, "Now on Monday, we have to see how this develops and what the answer is. The best-case scenario, which is the one we would like, is that they will come down here as citizens to hear us, and to make a new and better Spain, a new and better democracy with all of us are together."

That certainly does sound like a best-case scenario. But with tens of thousands of people in Madrid alone, demanding change, it's hard to ignore. Even though the current protests are illegal, no police have shown up, no military. The peaceful protests have gone on without much interference from the government, suggesting there may be more than just a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The conservative parties are expected to over power the socialist party, now in power.

Tomorrow, 13 out of the 17 regional presidents and parliaments will be elected along with mayors for Spain's 8,000 cities and towns. Needless to say, there's a lot of voting to be done. Protesters hope to keep momentum going until the national elections, due before March of 2012. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that he felt particularly singled out in the protests against Spain's political system. Well yeah, I can see that. However, as we know, it's not just the tip of the iceberg that's to fault for a sinking ship. It's a collective effort (or lack thereof) to throw a country into economic despair.

Regardless of whether the Arab world is contagious or Facebook's activist power is insurmountable, I'm cheering for the Spanish.

Any people that takes an interest in their country, any people who takes the initiative to make their voices heard can effect change. It's only US vs. Them until Them becomes a representation of US. Of course there's no utopia where everyone is happy and kumba-ya is the national anthem (although I don't find that song very Utopian) but an engaged people is the biggest threat to a corrupt government. An educated, involved people is the birth place of democracy. Corruption loves a stupid mass...US.

Viva España.

Pics for thought...

New video blog will be up by the morning. Check it out on YouTube and the underground music and media mecca, Atomic Visions...in the meantime...

Pussy footing

So, I'm a very straightforward person. If I have an opinion on something (which I usually do), I will voice it, and I realize that not everyone shares my views. The problem comes when people compromise their views to appease others. It is impossible to make all people happy, and the greatest offender of this is the Democrats.
As I said in my last post, Obama isn't doing enough to combat major issues. He has fallen into the typical Democratic bog of "oh, what do you think?" While this is an important point in politics, it should not be taken to the extreme of not getting anything done because you wish to make sure all are pleased. Take a look at Poland, for example, due to the need that votes must be unanimous, they never got anything done, they never mobilized as a country. Politics is a difficult game of compromise and resolve. You must stand for what is right, but be willing to work with others. It's a tough line to walk.
I'll give the two best examples of those who have walked successfully: Dwight D. Eisenhower and Bill Clinton. Regardless of how you feel about them, the facts are that they got things done. The economy was soaring by the time they left office. With Clinton, unemployment decreased each of the eight years that he was President. What did they do?
Maybe it's what they didn't do. They didn't pussy foot. At the same point, neither one was blindly ideological, stating that their parties interests came above those of the entire country. They walked the line between that, constantly moving, constantly examining the current status quo and changing.
Here is what we currently lack. We don't need or honestly have the time for a president who is dead set on pleasing everyone. We don't have the money or the will power to sit through while Washington argues with itself about what to do about us 'little people.' Now is the time to square off against tough issues, and you can't do that by pussy footing.

It's the economy, stupid

Although, I was more into GI-Joes than into politics in 1992, that phrase could certainly use a resurrection today. It seems that the people, whether they be gun-toting Republicans or tofu-eating Liberals can agree that the economy is crap. However, our constituents, on both sides seem to be doing nothing. The right continues it's ever entertaining quest to defile the name of Obama and his supporters, seeming to forget that to defile the name of an elected official is to defile the name of the American people...tricky. The left seems to be suffering once again from the teetering, I-want-to-please-everyone syndrome of being too vague, too slow and too indecisive as to what needs to be done.
So, where does that leave us?
No other political issue is as pressing as the economy. The right screams and shouts like a paranoid grandmother that there are terrorist on every corner. Obama seems wrapped up in the bloody gauze of healthcare bill that has yet to make clear anything other than its own disabilities to reach a clear consensus and heal an ailing system.
As if trying to avoid the giant dollar sign in the room, Obama has yet to speak out decisively on any economic issues, such as unemployment. As many politicians do, he got that over with on the campaign trail and now seems quite content to enjoy the white house, where men in Boss suits are wined and dined at the expense of those eating ramen noodles for dinner.
Speaking of campaign trails and dashed hopes, consider that many of Obama's biggest supporters during the campaign were bankers and lobbyists from the very institutions which the people are now suffering at the hand of. Thanks to the Supreme Court, big corporations now have even more leeway in ensnaring politicians into their web, giving them huge piles of cash for their political souls. I wonder how much the Supreme Court judges got for that decision. I hope enough to retire to a nice little island where the people, if they ever wake up, can't rise up and slay them.
And yes, I do blame us. I blame politicians for their uncanny ability to skirt issues, sell their souls and fight amongst themselves. However, we watch it all as if it's a particularly entertaining episode of Jerry Springer.
We must act. We must force those who represent us to act. There can no longer be apathy. This is our country and we have to save it from itself. A government FOR the people, BY the people, OF the people, not FOR big banks, BY lobbyists and OF paid off pawns.