Tuesday, March 26, 2013

More Than 'Just' Humans


I've worked A LOT of shitty jobs.

I mean, A LOT...

I mean, A LOT of shitty jobs!

In fact, the shitty jobs FAR outnumber the “decent” jobs... and I don't think I'm alone in saying that... I know a lot of people who have floated from one miserable experience to another, hoping to find something where they just feel valued in one way or another; only to find themselves repeatedly in a place where they just get shit on all day, for shitty pay, with a shitty boss, and shitty customers, and shitty conditions, and a shitty atmosphere, and absolutely no recognition for good work... you get the point...

which begs the question... what exactly DEFINES a “shitty job?”

Well, let's see here... some people might see it as the job, itself... cleaning port-o-potties or outhouses, for example... or cleaning up blood-splattered crime scenes... or cleaning roadkill off the pavement...



Some people might see it as bad working conditions; be it safety or climate related.



Some might see it as a job where there's no chance of advancement.

There are those who might suggest it's a hostile work environment; maybe you work with an ex; or maybe you just work with a dick, or a few dicks; or maybe it's because you CAN'T KEEP YOUR DICK IN YOUR PANTS.

Some might say it's a job with shitty pay, or a job where you're not paid what you're worth.

Some might see it in the “Horrible Bosses” sense.

Some might compare it to “Fight Club” or “American Beauty.” You know... a job where you're miserable just because the job is a bad fit for you... you just hate what you do.

I've had all of these scenarios... some where I had several of these issues at once.

I've had shitty bosses that screamed in my face for taking five seconds to hang up my coat, after clocking in AHEAD of time.



I've had jobs where the company was so big that nobody had any kind of voice.



I've had jobs that would really be better positioned if they burned to the ground.



I've had a job where “part time” was 39 ½ hours; but you were still expected to work as many as 84 hours a week (seven twelve-hour shifts), if the deadlines called for overtime (translation: they didn't have to pay for benefits... cheap bastards).



I had a job at a movie theater where we had a RAW SEWAGE LEAK behind the concessions stand. I was wading through three inches of shit and piss while serving popcorn, candy, hot dogs, nachos, and soda to people who wanted to save a few bucks by going to a “value” movie theater. Then, they decided to vacuum up the mess with a shop vac (with a frayed power cord), and told us all to get back to work before the 9:00 rush.



I had a job where I was getting paid EIGHT DOLLARS A DAY, working FULL-TIME! (fuckin' telemarketing... I'll never do THAT again...)



and that's just scratching the surface...

The common theme: the people at the top didn't give a shit about any of the rest of us. The size of the company didn't matter... one of them only had about 150 employees. But while WE were just scraping by, the douchebags who ran the company were gallivanting around the world collecting their rare hunting trophies from every continent (which had their own HOUSE... yeah... a whole HOUSE... just for their hunting trophies... every room made up to be a different continent... doesn't it just make you sick?).

They hide themselves from us in their gated communities and on their yachts. They go places where they don't even have to look upon the poor. They isolate themselves completely from us, so they can maintain their delusion that they're better than the rest of us!



Mitt Romney's 47% comments (and really, the entire tape) illustrates this fact in spades. They simply don't see us as humans at all. They see us as rodents and cockroaches. They see us as scavengers, who are always trying to take from the REAL humans... (that being the rich, of course)

and you know what?

they're right (in a way)...

we're NOT humans anymore...

we're something MORE than 'just' humans...



We're not SOFT, like them... we haven't been PAMPERED our whole lives... we don't have the cleaning staff, or the cooks, or the drivers, or the butlers... we do OUR OWN work! We clean OUR OWN houses! We cook OUR OWN food! We drive OUR OWN cars! We maintain OUR OWN lawns! We shovel OUR OWN walks and driveways! Those wealthy fucks are SOFT ASS PUSSIES because they've never actually had to do any WORK!

WE possess COMPASSION... something they lack entirely. We possess HUMILITY! We possess the HUMAN qualities that THEY DON'T!

Here's the fact, people...

We're the ones who've been hardened by our work!

We're the ones who've earned our muscles and callouses the HARD WAY; rather than in some cushy gym!

We're the ones who endure the harsh conditions in the warehouses, and in the factories, and on the roads!

We're the ones who've taken EVERY STINKIN' PILE OF SHIT they've shoveled at us, and WE'RE STILL STANDING!!!

That shows that we're resilient... It shows that we can't be stepped on that easily!

We need to USE that resilience to CRUSH THESE FUCKERS!!! We need to show them that WE'RE NOT THE INSECTS THEY THINK WE ARE!

Why am I writing this?

Why am I saying all the things I've said 10,000 times before?

Why am I repeating all this again?

because I want a better world...

because I see the powers that need to crumble... and it's not the government, as many have been deceived to believe...

it's the shitwaffles that are CONTROLLING government!



To solve ANY problem, it's best to attack it DIRECTLY at the root; and my friends, the root is all that dirty money that's being shoved at the people we elect by sub-human, narcissistic, worthless, elitist, fuckers with bank accounts that could be featured on an episode of “Hoarders!”



and WE'RE the ones that have to do it! They're not just BUYING government; they ARE government! You can't seriously expect the rich to regulate their own income, can you???

Then again, why not? I mean, we allow Monsanto to regulate itself, and oil companies to regulate themselves, and banks to regulate themselves... I mean, they have members on all the regulatory boards, so I guess we DO expect them to regulate themselves... wow... they're doing a REALLY shitty job...

WE have to take the initiative to fuck 'em! WE have to do it, because nobody else is gonna!

and we have to do it...

because we're SO MUCH MORE than 'just' humans!

Monday, March 25, 2013

Actually, Yes... You ARE a Bigot...


Some topics are unavoidable when they're prominent in the news. Lately, one of these topics has been that of marriage equality. One common theme keeps popping up, and it BOTHERS THE SHIT OUT OF ME! One such discussion happened recently at a local bar. It went something like this...



I'm not a bigot; I just don't think gays should marry...”

Actually, yes... you ARE a bigot.

NO I'M NOT! I have friends who are gay...”

and yet, you think they're less of a human than you are?

Why would you say that?”

Well, you don't think that they deserve to have the same rights that you do. If we, as humans, are supposed to have equal rights, then why do you think they don't deserve the same rights you do, then that would suggest that you see them as less human.



But the Bible says it's wrong...”

Actually, the OLD TESTAMENT says that, and a lot of other crazy things... you left your ex-wife after she cheated on you... did you slaughter a fatted calf after stoning her? CHRISTians are supposed to look to the words of CHRIST; and in Matthew 19:12, he says (in the language of his time) that some PEOPLE are born gay.

If they are, indeed, people, as Jesus said, then don't they deserve to live under the umbrella of the words “Love thy neighbor?”

It doesn't say:

Love thy neighbor*”
*Unless they're gay

But the Church opposes it...”



The First 10 words of the First Amendment read “Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of Religion.” The position of your Church is irrelevant. Religious doctrine can't become law.

But the next part says 'nor abridging the free-exercise thereof.' Laws can't discriminate on my religion.”

If you don't support gay marriage, don't have one. Your religious beliefs aren't being oppressed. However, if you're telling other people, who believe differently than you; that marriage is about love, rather than gender; that their religious beliefs can't be expressed, just like your's, because of YOUR beliefs, then aren't their religious beliefs being oppressed by yours?

So just because someone chooses to be gay, they should be allowed special laws?”

When did you choose to be straight? Furthermore, how is that a “special law?” It seems to me that more laws have been created to DENY people this right... simply removing those laws, to make the current laws apply to EVERYONE sounds more like we're REMOVING “special laws,” going the other way; just like the repeal of the 3/5 clause in the Constitution.

"I didn't choose to be straight.  I just know I am."



So I guess, then, it's outrageous to think that other people might be born different than you.  I guess, then, everybody must be born with brown hair and blue eyes.  I guess, then, everybody must need glasses.  I guess we're all just born the same?

"Well, no... obviously not... but..."

So then, it's perfectly possible that someone else might grow up KNOWING they're gay... glad we settled that...

But marriage is a religious pact. If the Constitution can't tell us how to worship, how can marriages be regulated by law?”

Actually, marriage is a contractual agreement with the State and Federal government. If it weren't, marriage status wouldn't affect taxes. If marriage weren't a legal contract, then everybody would have to file taxes individually, rather than as a married couple.



But it'll hurt the economy...”

How will more weddings hurt an economy? That means more officiants, more cakes and bakers and bartenders and caterers and limo drivers and dove handlers and event planners and event centers (which may need to be built or renovated) and more gift registries (which means more gift buying... stuff needs to be made when stuff is bought) and more traveling and more hotel stays and eating out and more flying and driving and Amtraking and Busing... that all sounds like MORE jobs to me, and a BETTER economy...

Gay marriage will threaten traditional marriages...”

So, if gays are allowed to marry, would you leave your new wife for a man?

No... I'm not gay...”

Then YOUR marriage won't be threatened. Why should it matter to you?

Well, it doesn't matter to me, but it might affect other people...”

And why is that your business?

Well, it's not...”

Then it shouldn't matter...

But marriage has ALWAYS been between one man and one woman.”

No it hasn't. In Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, some Native American tribes, Mormons, and many Muslim current countries, marriage is between one man and SEVERAL women, or two people who love each other, regardless of gender. The Roman Emperor, Caligula, married his horse. Clearly, marriage has NOT always been between 'one man and one woman.'



And Ancient Greece and Rome fell; the Native Americans don't have many people left; the Mormons abandoned polygamy; and the Muslims are... well... Muslims...”

Greece and Rome fell because their empires got too big to maintain, and they collapsed beneath their own decadence and arrogance. Gay marriage had nothing to do with it; furthermore, it's largely because of CHRISTIANS that there aren't many Native Americans left; and after your comment about Muslims, how can you say you're not a bigot?

Well, I was talking about gays; not Muslims...”

Should Muslims be allowed to marry?

Well, of course they should.”

So why is it ok for Muslims, but not gays?

Muslims believe in a God, just like I do.”

So Atheists shouldn't be allowed to get married, either?

I didn't say that...”

Yes, you did... you said that the reason Christians and Muslims should be allowed to marry, is because they believe in God. Alternately, if someone doesn't believe in God, they shouldn't be allowed to marry.

I didn't say that. There's no reason Atheists shouldn't marry...”

as long as they're not gay...

Right...”

Tell me again, how are you not a bigot?

... uhhhhh...”


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Bile-boilingly Revolted


Somehow, “disgusted” just doesn't seem to cut it... I think I'll have to invent a new word to truly express my thoughts right now.

In light of the news reported yesterday, irrefutable PROOF that our government... all the way up to the President, himself... KNEW that the invasion of Iraq was built on LIES! There were no “WMDs” in Iraq... Saddam Hussein had NOTHING to do with 9-11... AND THEY KNEW IT!!!



I'd like to start by asking the Republicans a question: How can you trust your party, when they LIE to you so blatantly? They claim to be “fiscal conservatives,” but they just got done handing a couple trillion dollars to their billionaire buddies, and LIED TO YOU to make you let them.

… and that's just the money...



… so, if they lied us into war... which is beyond reproach... what ELSE were they lying to you about??? How the hell can you POSSIBLY trust them???

I think, though, that there are a lot of us who DID see through the lies. Some of us were fooled at first but caught on later, as more evidence was revealed (which is understandable... we'd LIKE to be able to TRUST our government to AT LEAST not do THIS).

Here's what I'd like to know, though... how far down the timeline do the lies go? If they were lying about Iraq, then they MUST HAVE lied about other things as well; to make their “big lie” more believable... so where does the chain begin?

Well, let's see here...

We now know that they lied about the intelligence leading us into Iraq. Is it possible they lied to us about Afghanistan, too? I mean, at one point, George Bush HIMSELF said he really didn't spend much time thinking about Bin Laden... which, after all, was SUPPOSED to be the reason we were in Afghanistan IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE!!!



… but then, why the fuck WOULD he? I mean, he knew it was really only a stepping stone into the place he REALLY wanted into... which we now have PROOF of!



We know that this was done about seven months before 9-11, so they HAD to know that we were going to invade before then.

What about the Supreme Court decision that put him in the White House?  Could that have been part of the lie?  I mean, we know that there are OBVIOUSLY corrupt members of the Supreme Court... who could have been paid to put Bush and Cheney there by people like the Koch brothers.



Of course, there were other revelations, as well... but those are the big ones that we know about... it starts to build a timeline.

So, as far as we know, the lies could have started as far back as 1999... they had to make a lot of things line up, for them to make a full-scale invasion of an innocent nation seem justifiable.

Let's be honest, here... this isn't going to be settled in American courts... this will ultimately fall to the World Court to decide. The trials will go on for YEARS; just like they did after WWII.

Let's be clear, here... we're witnessing a landmark in world history. Genocides are usually reserved for Religious zealots. This may be the first time, though, that genocide was committed in the name of corporate profits. Is there ANYTHING MORE CONCEIVABLY DISGUSTING than war purely for greed?

I will concede the fact that Donald Rumsfeld used Bible Verses in his Iraq briefings to “President” Bush leading up to the war; although, while there were religious themes (and some people STILL see it as a war against Muslims), this was not necessarily a holy war.



So, what word or phrase should one use to express the outrage, nausea, heartache, and pure vitriol that come with such a revelation? May I recommend “Vomit-raged”... what about “en-swine-trified” (unable to cope with the swine you've been forced to cope with)... perhaps “bile-boilingly revolted?” I think that sort-of covers it... it comes closer than anything else I can think of...

George W. Bush's true legacy:

Genocide for profit.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Django, VICTORIOUS!!! (Part 2 of 2)


Are you angry yet? Aren't you pissed off? Now that you realize that you're all seen as slaves by the people who own our government, don't you want to do something to fix this? Don't you want to take those fuckers down? If Part 1 left you excited and blood-thirsty, then here's the one you've been waiting for... here's the one with the answers... the way forward to a new future, where WE have the power!

Now, here we are, fresh from our understanding of the most common form of modern slavery; in which Wal Mart is the newest incarnation of “Candieland,” and the role of Leonardo DiCaprio's character is played by the Walton family, Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson, and all the other billionaires and greedy plutocrats who have the ability and the will to simply BUY our government!

So, with all that in mind, how can we POSSIBLY fix this shit???

Well, I'm here to say that all is NOT lost. There are a SHITLOAD more of US than there are of THEM, and that's where our strength lies! We have a voice, and the numbers to make it LOUD! All we need is a little direction...

So, in what direction should we go?

I believe that the first thing we need to do is strike directly at the heart of their power... their money!

How do we do that? What can peons like us POSSIBLY do to threaten the accumulated wealth that comes from over 30 years of corrupt purchases of government? Moreover, can we do it without talking about “raising taxes?” 

I mean, the second we mention that, heads explode and the whole thing becomes a partisan fight. So, if we can avoid ideas that are already blindly and ignorantly rejected by people on “one particular side” of the aisle, then it loses it's partisan sound, right?

Yes... and yes, we can do something it in such a way as to speak to the injustice without raising taxes even ONE PENNY on anyone...

in fact, it'll cost very little to accomplish, and the amount that gets PAID BACK into the system will FAR eclipse the cost; meaning, it will CUT THE DEFICIT!!!

Once their power to buy government has been circumvented, they won't have the ability to control the messaging in the same way that they do now; which means that the lies they've paid to spread won't have the financial backing they need in order for the lies to continue to be spread.

If they can't afford to spread their lies, then we actually have to have a debate on the FACTS, which means they will inevitably lose the argument; giving the power back to the rest of us cool, informed, smart people.

People will be forced to look plainly at the lies they've been told, as the money behind them comes crashing down.

Going back to Part 1 of this series, I would like to re-entertain the question asked by Calvin Candie: 

“Why didn't they rise up?”

Well, we will... and here's how we can do it...

I've been saying that we need to break the backs of the bastards who buy the government by taking away their resources; and there's already a law on the books that will allow for such a dramatic and meaningful change... it's called the “RICO Act”

The “RacketeerInfluenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act” was enacted to combat the influence of organized crime (such as mafia families and drug cartels) over elected officials. Given the level of corruption among the wealthy, with regards to their moneyed “contributions” to Congress, Presidential campaigns, judges, and regulatory agencies; it seems painfully obvious to me that we've simply stopped enforcing the “RICO Act.”

Where's my proof? How about this...

Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino tyrant who largely funded Newt Gingrich's Presidential Primary campaign and Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign, was recently paraphrased as saying, “It's getting harder to buy Congress.” Now, to people like you and me, it's PAINFULLY obvious that he ADMITTED TO BRIBERY!!! If he hadn't been bribing our lawmakers, how could he make such a remark?


Now, consider the fact that he's JUST ONE BILLIONAIRE... and the vast majority of billionaires have been doing exactly what he has; paying legislators to make the laws they want Congress to make.

So, why the fuck do THEY get to get away with this shit? We wouldn't let the Gambino crime family do it, or a litany of other criminal enterprises; so why is it ok for “legitimate” businessmen to do it; if their intent is to subjugate the rest of us?

Obviously, these narcissistic fucks shouldn't be running around in society, if they're not going to follow the rules that the rest of us have to... right? If they're going to resort to bribery and extortion to get their way, then they should be behind bars; just like any two bit crook who attempts to bribe a police officer or a juror... shouldn't they?

So, why the fuck aren't they sitting behind bars?

Are they “too big to jail?”

Are they somehow BETTER than the rest of us?

You and I know that they're not... we understand that what they're doing is BLATANTLY illegal (or at least, it SHOULD be)... but they're not prosecuted for their crimes against humanity... in fact, they're REWARDED for their corruption, just like the douchebags that ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE BOUGHT!!!

Now, here's the cool thing about the RICO Act... according to the law, any “ill-gotten gains” that come unto a person as a result of their corrupt actions are TAKEN AWAY!

This means, if we were to start ENFORCING the RICO Act, then all the corrupt assholes who bought government, and the Congressmen who allowed themselves to be corrupted would end up in Federal prison, WHERE THEY BELONG!!!

Not only that, but the power is taken away from the money... it sends a message to all those shitwaffles that we are NO LONGER THEIR SLAVES!!! It tells them, “It's ok for you to run your business and be successful, but you can't do it by suppressing the voice of the people, and lying to make them believe what you want them to, and circumventing elections by simply purchasing legislators!”

They would be forced to operate as LEGITIMATE businessmen; rather than narcissistic, corrupt douchebags!

Once the money's out of the messaging and the government, then WE have the power to influence the people WE elect with our VOTES, without the slavery-steeped BILLIONS of dollars getting in the way!

It tells those motherfuckers, “FUCK YOU!!! Buy a Congressman, lose your fortune!”

That's the message we need to send to those ass-hats!

The corruption has gone TOO FAR!!!

Maybe this IS a “radical” solution to this problem; but it's no more radical than is necessary to restore our democracy to THE PEOPLE! This IS a class war, and WE'RE LOSING!!! I believe that the RICO Act is our “Patriot Missile;” the ammunition we need to regain our power and voice!

We need to start putting pressure on our US Attorneys and Attorney General, Eric Holder to start taking these worthless narcissists down! We should have a national campaign of hate, directed at the ROOT OF THE PROBLEM!!!

Yeah, I said the magic “four-letter word”... and I MEANT it! We SHOULD be hateful of the billionaires! We SHOULD use that hate against them! We SHOULD be pissed; and most of us are! We need to use that to take our country back!

I realize that 'hate' has been used for some VERY despicable things in the past; but I believe that it can be channeled into the right places to affect more positive outcomes! 'Hate' doesn't necessarily have to be EXCLUSIVELY used by bigots and homophobes; the rest of us have plenty of hate, and if it's pointed in the right direction; at the billionaires, rather than at black people as seen in “Django Unchained”; then hate can be used as an effective tool to eradicate the disgusting use of money in politics!

Bear in mind, these assholes aren't just corrupting AMERICAN politicians...

Consider the fact that corporations like Goldman Sachs (among others, including Wal Mart) have been right at the center of the downfall of several European and other major economies as well, including Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland. If we can destroy their influence over American politics, then it may have a big impact on the global economy, as well. If WE start jailing the corrupt billionaires, then maybe the rest of the world will follow suit; or, possibly, by jailing the bankers here, it solves the problems there, as well... which would have a dramatic positive effect on the world's economy; not just ours!

The end result is, those motherfuckers will have to face the fact that we're not buying their bullshit anymore! They will have to realize that their ego is not a reasonable basis on which to take away our voice, freedom, workers' rights, economic rights, and voting rights!

They may THINK they're better than the rest of us, but it's time to SHOW THEM that they're wrong about that! It's time to take away THEIR freedom, and show them what their corruption ACTUALLY buys... a trip to Federal Prison and an empty bank account!

RICO Act... learn it, know it, scream it, proclaim it, and ENFORCE IT!!!

Call your State Attorneys General, Eric Holder, and (if you have a legislator friendly to the cause, like Bernie Sanders, Diana DeGette, Alan Grayson, or Barbara Boxer) your members of Congress... tell them to pressure the Government to start enforcing the RICO Act, like we SHOULD BE!!!

Our future and our prosperity depends on it!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Django Re-Chained (part 1 of 2)


So... anybody seen “Django Unchained” yet?

Well, I hope so, because...

SPOILER ALERT!!!

If you haven't seen the movie yet, I highly recommend it! Simply put, it's one of the greatest movies I've ever seen (as well as Quentin Tarantino's best work), and had the same impact on my perception of the world as “Schindler's List” did, all those years ago.

For those of you who haven't yet seen the movie and who want the basic synopsis, read on; but understand that I will be discussing parts of the movie that might tell you more than you want to know. If, however, you HAVE seen the movie, please either bear with me, or jump ahead to where I start to make my point.

DjangoUnchained” is the story of a slave who comes into the employ of a German-American bounty hunter, in order to identify certain specific bounties he wants to collect. The two enter into a pact. Django (the slave, played by Jaime Foxx) agrees to help the bounty hunter find the men he's after, and the bounty hunter agrees to help Django track down his estranged wife (who had been sold to another plantation), once the winter months have passed.

This movie is an exquisite example of Quentin Tarantino's ability to simultaneously tell an amazing story and shock viewers with harsh reality and extreme violence. The script and it's portrayal are equally engaging, which makes the three hours you're sitting in the movie theater pass as quickly as a commercial break.

The Academy Award given to Christoph Waltz, while appropriate, fails to demonstrate the captivating nature of both the character and the performance of the character. I hold this character and corresponding actor in the highest regard. I believe that his is one of the greatest performances in cinematic history.

but I'm not here to talk about the movie, itself...

I'm here to talk about the movie as a reflection of society and history... I just wouldn't be “me” if I didn't put it into a greater context, now, would I?

Perhaps I should include a little personal context, as well...

This movie held a very personal meaning to me, because I know slavery from first-hand experience.

I was held as a slave by my ex-wife for over four years (of the six and a half that we were together). Until I saw the treatment of the slaves in the movie, I failed to fully see the reality of my own previous situation. While sitting in that movie theater, I found myself confronted by ghosts of my own past; which may have had an impact on my own personal feelings about the movie.

Aside from my own history, I also saw frightening correlations to modern American society, as well... things that angered me... things that disgusted me... echoes of the past that are re-visited in the modern future.

Let me put it this way... rich, white assholes haven't changed much. They still seek to own slaves; and the fact of the matter is, they've been widely successful in doing so; with a few caveats. Let's be honest, here... the only thing that's changed is the fact that slavery isn't confined to one race anymore. If you've been working for one of the corporate giants that rule America, then you are either one of the slaves, or you're one of the slave masters (if you're one of the executives in charge of these criminal enterprises).

I don't think a lot of the people in the workforce realize that fact. I don't think a lot of people realize that they, themselves, are slaves to the billionaires and executives who have the ability to simply buy our government in order to change the laws to fit their own narcissistic whims.

Where's the proof?

Well, let's start with the lack of balance with regards to wealth distribution. The rich keep getting richer, while the rest of us are drowning. The executives get raise after raise, and massive bonuses, and other benefits that they don't seem to think they can afford the rest of us. Their wages have gone up while ours have gone down... that says to me that we're doing all the work while they're reaping all the rewards of our work...

sure as fuck SOUNDS like slavery to me...

We're threatened with termination if we get sick...

We're threatened with homelessness if we lose our jobs...

We're threatened with disease and death because our meager wages can't afford visits to the doctor...

We're threatened with termination if we speak up about what we perceive to be problems in the workplace...

so, if our very existence is threatened by the way these douchebags run their companies, and we have no choice but to bow to their narcissistic whims, and our lives are in constant jeopardy due to their lack of accountability regarding working conditions, and we have no voice as to the way things are, then doesn't that make us all slaves?

Yep, it does.

Sure, it doesn't FEEL like it; because we DO have the freedom to live where and how (to a point) we want, and we do receive SOME pay (however insufficient). But the wages we receive aren't really very different than the cost of upkeep for the slaves owned by the honkey plantation owners before the Civil War (as adjusted for inflation). They still reap all the benefits of our labor, and we get little more than we need to afford basic housing and food... but no more than that.

Maybe our employers CAN'T whip us or beat us; but they would, if they could... gotta keep us peons in line, you know. Believe me, I've had more than a few jobs where I knew the bosses wanted to hold us hostage to their greed (American Web Printing, I'm looking at you)!

So, when a company decides that they DO want to be able to beat their workers into submission, then they just move their operation overseas somewhere that WILL allow them to do so; as seen by Apple (and other technology companies like Hewlett Packard), with regards to their manufacturing operation at Foxconn factory in China.




all of this, just so you can have your shiny, new iPhone... don't you just LOVE the injustice you've bought just so you can stay current in technology?

Now, they couldn't get away with treating their laborers that way, here in America; so they had to go somewhere that WOULD allow them to do it. Doesn't that say something about how THEY THINK we should be treated? Doesn't that just show the malice that they feel towards all of us, whom they deem to be “beneath them?”

Want another example? How about the garment factory in Bangladesh, who made clothing for Wal Mart, Sears, Disney, and other American retailers?


Apparently, Wal Mart doesn't think that their employees deserve such basic things as EMERGENCY EXITS in case of a fire... I guess emergency exits are simply not “cost-effective” expenditures. The factory's ownerdidn't even know that there weren't any fire exits, until they were faced with the fire and all the people dying around them as they were trampled and burned alive. What a compassionate asshole... he must REALLY care about his employees, huh?

Either way, American corporations prove, time and time again, that they really don't think their employees are worth a shit. They don't seem to think that we're human beings, deserving of reasonable lives. They don't seem to think that we're worthy of being viewed as actual “people”... which demonstrates the fact that they view us as SLAVES! If they saw us as PEOPLE, then this shit wouldn't happen!

Getting back to my point about “Django Unchained,” there was a pivotal scene near the end, where Leonardo DiCaprio's character (Calvin Candie); who ran the biggest plantation in Mississippi, called “Candieland;” posed the question as to why the slaves didn't rise up and overthrow the white people. He pointed out the fact that white people were vastly outnumbered, and nobody could possibly LIKE living in slavery, so why didn't they rise up?

His physiological explanation was racist beyond ridiculosity; but the question, itself, was valid. Sure, there were a few slave uprisings; but nothing successful until the Civil War. In truth, things didn't improve for the slaves unless they jumped on Harriet Tubman's“underground railroad.”

It seems to me that there was both a lack of ability to organize (primarily because the slave owners went to great lengths to keep them from communicating with other plantation slaves), and a deep-seated terror as to the consequences if a rebellion was unsuccessful (which was entirely warranted, as only white people could own guns; the Second Amendment was put in place, in part, to allow for enforcement of such laws by militias of racist crackers with guns).

Putting this back in a modern context, I beg the question...

well...

Why DON'T we overthrow the slave lord billionaires, bankers, and executives?

Are we blind to our own plight? Yes... most of us are.

Are we afraid of the consequences? Some of us are.

Are we lacking the organization? ABSOLUTELY!!!



In Part 2, the answers; the pressure WE can apply; the knowledge we need to share and spread to make the bastards FEAR US; like they SHOULD!

Just like slave times, there are a SHITLOAD more of US than there are of THEM... the only things they have more of is money and ego; neither of which can out-scream hundreds of millions of pissed-off, disgusted, bloodthirsty slaves seeking freedom from their untouchable masters!

I'll tell you how we can not only unseat them from their positions of power; but take every stolen penny back from those bastards and throw them behind bars where those soulless shitwaffles belong!

but it all starts with the understanding that we are nothing more than ants in the billionaires' ant farms! The sooner we understand that, the sooner we can take the bastards down!

Monday, March 4, 2013

Cultivating the Stupid


perhaps I spend too much time on social media...

perhaps I read too much...

perhaps I know too much...

or maybe I'm just delusional...

but I keep seeing something that bothers the living shit out of me...



I've been in a few “debates” with people who think public education should be eliminated because (paraphrasing their arguments) “education is liberal indoctrination.” It always comes from the same types of people... Fundamentalist Christians who either send their children to religious school or home-school them.

The bigger problem is, it's spreading. A simple Google search will reveal A SHITLOAD of articles that people have written to make people FEAR the education system! Does that make ANY sense at all???

and that's just the beginning... barely scratching the surface of the problem...

Here's the thing... OBVIOUSLY, stupid people are easier to control and manipulate than people who are competent of the world around them.

There has even been a Presidential Primary Candidate who espoused these beliefs; Rick Santorum. Don't forget, he was also the guy who said, “We will never have the elite smart people on our side.”

Yes, there are LITERALLY people IN GOVERNMENT who are asking you to retain your ignorance... doesn't that just PISS YOU OFF???

Obviously, these people are too stupid to recognize a stupid idea when they hear it.

Is there any way we could declare willful stupidity a form of insanity??? I mean, that's completely antithetical to the PURPOSE of being alive... the purpose of life is to ADVANCE THE SPECIES for the lives of those who come after!

and advancement doesn't mean breeding like rabbits... it means making a BETTER species; not a BIGGER species. If we're going to be the top of the food chain, it should be because we have the tools to survive and excel; not just because we have a large population!!!

So, when people reject something that SHOULD be the most BASIC form of rationality, shouldn't we be able to declare them to be a threat to themselves and society? I wouldn't say it, if it weren't true... I mean, they ARE a threat to themselves and society... just look at the House of Representatives... look at the gerrymandering... look at the Theocratic proposals... look at the denial of reality... all signs that their INSANITY has done great damage to society, and through their rejection of rationality, damage to themselves...

In jest, may I suggest that we re-instate the “3/5 Compromise” in the 14thAmendment; but relate it to indoctrinated morons instead of black people? Maybe then, they'll be forced to realize how stupid they are, and they'll be forced to look at what their stupidity has done to us...

a man can dream, can't he?

Seriously... it's time we stopped letting the stupidest people make all the decisions for us!!! I mean, look at all the morons who buy into douchebags like Alex Jones (who may actually be a sign that evolution CAN go in reverse)...

...look at all the people who think Michele Bachmann is smart enough for government (I swear, there is just something WRONG with that woman... maybe her parents threw her on the “Tilt-A-Whirl” too early or something... or maybe she just liked taking “clothes dryer rides” when she was a kid)...

look at all the people who think Glenn Beck knows what he's talking about...

Yes, these people are evidence that the “Dunning-Kruegger Effect” is alive and well; and that it's causing us MAJOR problems within our voting populous.

The Republicans have allowed a culture of stupidity to fester and spawn; and now that it's causing a problem, there's no turning back. They've allowed TOO MUCH stupid to fill their ranks, and now they're rapidly becoming an obsolete brand of Theocrats and indoctrinated fools.

I realize that this may be a little too harsh for some people's taste... personally, I don't give a shit...

I find ignorance to be OFFENSIVE... and when that ignorance is WILLFUL, that goes beyond offensive to despicable!

This trend can be traced back to Ricard Nixon's “Southern Strategy.” He needed votes, and he was desperate, so he decided to appeal to the Southern “Dixiecrats,” who were basically the former Democrats who were opposed to the direction that the party had taken with regards to Civil Rights (women's suffrage, voting rights, etc).

Now, we all know that bigots and misogynists are on the VERY BOTTOM of the intellectual scale, so we can start to see where this is heading.  By the time that Regan came along, the Plutocrats saw that all the dumbest people were packaged up in a nice, neat little box, so they knew they could easily control them with the fear and hate that already welled deeply within them. Furthermore, they knew that many of them had inseparable ties to their faith, which gave them another means of control.

draw the conclusion that the whims of the rich are actually “Christian values,” and they'll follow you FOREVER!

So, when it worked for the bankers, then they knew it would work for the oil industry... and the pharmaceutical industry... and any douchebag employer who thinks their employees are lesser humans (I'm looking at YOU, Wal Mart)... and the tobacco industry...

Eventually, it became EASY for douchebags to deceive and control the dumbest among us... they had people like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly to do their bidding. They could convince people of anything they wanted.

and then, along came the climate discussion...

Knowing that the base of the party was already prone to reject science in favor of their own beliefs, they knew that it would be easy to convince people that ecological studies are founded in “junk science,” so that they didn't have to worry about pesky agencies like the EPA...

I mean, if it's science, then it MUST be against the Bible SHOMEHOW, right? God made this world PERFECT, so nothing man can do has the power to break it, right? If it's “God made,” then it must be flawless...

seems legit...

Now, all these people have been so deceived that there may be no coming back from this. They've spent so much time “cultivating stupid” that there's not enough rationality left in the party to bring it back to the centrist level that it needs to be in order for our country to operate in the way that it needs to.

Translation: we're in for a few REALLY HARD decades... get your helmets on, because the repeated face-palms could, at some point, cause a concussion...

... because now, they haven't just “cultivated” the stupid... they've ELECTED it!



Once the stupid spreads far enough and seeps deep enough into the populous that enough people are willing to ELECT the stupid, then it's seeped into the foundation; which means the house has to be torn down and rebuilt from the base up...

There will, of course, be a period before the property is bought, in which the house just sits there...

condemned...

...boarded-up...

haunted by the demons of the past...

who will have to be exercised in order for rebuilding to take place...

but until then, you might want to wear waders in the basement, because the SHIT gets DEEP!!!