WURSTWRITER

Tom's blog of whatnots and other stuff

Tag: Politics

  • Do As The Romans Do In Flint Michigan

    cosmos

    Yesterday morning I was catching up on the situation in Flint, MI. A few hours later, while preparing dinner–as part of my dinner-making ritual–I streamed a TV series. Somehow bingeing on TV shows is my newest thing, no thanks to the convenience of digital streaming. Newest binge? I started watching the new-fangled Cosmos series, a continuation of the 80s series that I remember watching once or thrice back in the day. Although the show is a bit winded, I found myself getting hooked after the second episode. But it wasn’t until the 7th episode that Neil deGrasse Tyson, the shows narrator, really caught me. While explaining how the age of the earth was found through the discovery of there being too much lead on the surface of the earth–which wasn’t naturally occurring–Tyson segways to a sub-story where he mentions that one of the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire was the simple fact that they suffered under the debilitating side-effects of lead poisoning. As stated in the show, it was the Roman’s use of lead in those infamous aqueducts that was one of the reasons they were poisoned. It was also the Romans that really started mining for lead in a big way. Of course, they were clueless at the time to the horrendous side-effects of lead poisoning on humans. It took until the discoveries of Clair Patterson in the 20th century for mankind to finally figure out the dangers of lead. Suddenly, while chopping onions and garlic and ginger (for my asian wok base) I thought of the articles I read earlier in the day about Flint, MI. I also thought: what a coincidence. The origin of the fall of Rome is known, the origin of the unnatural appearance (due to human greed) of lead on the surface of the earth is also known, and yet,  Flint, MI, so it can save a few rich guys some tax money, has poisoned itself. Yeah! The fall of Rome. Rant on. -Tommi

    Links that motivated this post:

  • The Authoritarians

    obey

    After (proudly) watching (left-wing biased) highlights on the youtubes from the latest freak-show aka the republican party debate, a new thought popped into my head this morn. Well, actually, two thoughts popped in. The first: Winners. Not winners in the sense of winning but winners in the sense of everyone wants to be winners when there is no winning anymore. To be really, really honest, I don’t know if there ever was winning in the system that political populists have curated over the past thirty (or so) years, but certainly a few people have profited from the freak-show. What does it mean these days to be a WINNER? It almost reminds me of Charlie Sheen’s WINNING period (see vid link below). The whole country is running around hiding its AIDS (of the mind) but proselytising that it can’t lose. It’s so obvious listening to republican candidates blab on and on and on that the thing they are selling, while embodying the complete opposite, is the fact that everybody is and still can be a winner in this system if yet another republican is elected. The candidates and the voters are so clueless to the level of failure that they espouse it’s as though they were on top of a crowd of people stuck in a well in the middle of a barren desert and no one below them can give it a second thought whether or not they’ll get out. §The second thing that crossed my mind: Authoritarians. I know. I know. It’s an adjective so it doesn’t need to be capitalised. But go with me for a sec here. Among other (political) things, America is an authoritarian system. The authority in that system is not specifically a person, though. I mean, America doesn’t have a Putin or a Franco or a Mugabe (see link below). No. America has something better. In fact, America’s something-better is so powerful, omnipotent, that people give in to it as though they need it to breath. Now don’t get me wrong. I can’t emphasise this enough. Americans and the American way of life, say what you will about their/its destructive nature, probably has the best thing out there–compared to other countries. Yet the people of America bow so deeply to this authority that one need not even ask the question regarding who it is they bow to. It’s obvious the people of North Korea bow to a supreme leader. Even Russians love the mystique of Vladimir Putin. But do Americans love these republican candidates? Did they love Dubya? Do they really hold Ronald Reagan on such a high perch? Americans might feel some passion for The Donald but do they really want to be below him as he tries to get them out of the well and onto the barren desert? Oh wait. The Donald wasn’t even in the debate last night. Or was he? Listening to the top polling candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio is a mind boggling thing. These bed-wetter men represent better than anyone before them, even dipshit Dubya, the potential to bow before authority as if there is no tomorrow. Yet, it’s still not a person that Americans submit themselves to. Indeed. Ideas are powerful things. And so. I’ve concluded in my morning thoughts–perhaps a form of therapy after listening to republicans–that Americans are ALL Authoritarians. But. Again. I’m not using the word as adjective. No. Americans are nouns. And that’s not all. What I got out of watching the debate–together with what I’ve seen from the other republican debates and listening for years at how liberals are demonised–is that Americans want few things above and beyond money, money, money. In order to get any of that money, Americans want to be subservient to (an) authority. They want an authority to rule over them–because there’s some money it. It is the only way for (republican) Americans–especially those whose brains are so tainted from right-wing-talk and conservative ideology–to be able to grasp the world that they have subjected themselves to that is solely defined by money–and that they clearly cannot understand. And. Again. It is not a person that Americans want to worship as an Authority. It is something much simpler than a living, breathing, corruptible sinner that they lust for. Indeed. Americans are Authoritarians because they want to be ruled, controlled, guided by the almighty greed-dollar. What is clear after all these years of conservative rule (considering that conservative rule has dominated government for more than thirty years irrespective of who is president), it must be extremely difficult for people to accept so much failure. Following conservative ideology, whether given by talk radio on things like taxes, small government or abortion, etc., or facilitating the election of people who are just like the ones on last night’s debate stage, it must be noted that it takes much longer to burn this house down. In that vein, I guess it’s good thing there are so many ditch-diggers who still vote after listening to Limbaugh and faux news twenty-four-seven. The people who will continue steering America on its steadfast path will go down with the ship, they will burn down the house, they will destroy the school yards sandbox before they give up what they’ve done. Yes. They will burn the fucking house down. And with that in mind, I should take better care about thoughts popping into my head in the morning. Now it’s time to say something about democrats. Or? Rant on. -Tommi

    Links that helped with this post:

  • Hammer Sickle Podcast

    fourth international.png

    Listening to comrade Wolff again. Luv this nutty professor. And that says a lot. Of all the teachers I’ve had in this (my) useless-eater life, few (if any) teachers have left an impression on me. And that’s an odd thing to admit if you consider the fact that by the time I was finished with college I had finally figured out what I wanted to do. Yeah. I wanted actually be one of them–one of the ones who fails to leave an impression on someone. Yeah, I thought, be a teacher and you can have three months out of the year off to smoke weed and maybe learn how to sail (a dinghy). Of course. Having been reared in #americant, in suburban hell, it didn’t matter that I knew what the future held. I knew it held what we have now. Boy do I feel sorry for teachers. What a bunch of shmucks. Talk about getting duped. Now they all have to work those off months in order to pay their (land)lords all those serfdom-fees. But I digress.

    Today’s podcast, dear worst-reader, covers four things.

    1. Health Care, aka Obamacare
    2. Banking and Finance
    3. Pension looting
    4. Subsidizing Religion

    Of the four issue covered by comrade/professor Wolff, the fourth is the funniest. That fact that #americants tolerate the free-ride given to “churches” (they don’t pay any tax) and yet can’t find ways to finance education says a lot. Obviously the other issues covered are funny, as well. But then again: the podcast featured has nothing to do with comedy. Or does it?

    Listening to a winded professor try to explain to #americants what capitalism is–and more importantly how it’s failed everyone–just seems like such a mute issue that one can’t help but laugh/giggle. Or? Still. With that in mind, it’s fascinating how the professor does such a great job explaining it all. I suppose that’s due to his ability to be so obviously partisan. I don’t mean partisan in a Dem vs Repub way. He’s partisan in a truth vs lie way. And that should be a good thing. Well, I suppose it would be good if the professor didn’t come across as a comrade. But, again, I digress.

    Hail the fourth international. Or maybe not.

    At this point, I should probably provide a warning. Be careful if you listen to what the professor/comrade has to say. Or should I say: Danger Something Might Be Learned.

    Rant on. -Tommi

    Links that motivated this post which includes a podcast:

  • May Um Save The Planet Um

     

    tim christopher on bundy takeover.png

    Seriously. I just dented my refrigerator. I hit it. Right out of the blue I hit my fridge as though it were taunting me, as though it were asking for it. Yes. That’s exactly what happened. It (my fridge) was taunting me like a sheep-lamb in hell that recites Milton’s Paradise lost and Redd Foxx‘s last stage show. And. Luckily. I’m almost sure. Hitting my fridge will not be part of tomorrow’s therapy session on anger management. Reason? If it wasn’t for the amount of times this guy (see link below, pic above) uses the filler-word “um” as he talks I wouldn’t have picked a fight with my refrigerator. He uses the filler-word “um” so much that I almost hit my wife’s new sewing machine. Why? Oh why? Oh well. What can I say? It’s not all as bad as it sounds. Or is it? No. It all justifies anger and the fact that I had to bleed-off that anger.

    Um. Um. Um. Sentence. Um. Sentence. Um. Um. Sentence. Um. Etc.

    And so. I thought. A simple frustrated swing will help me get over how (obviously) educated people use filler words. And this guy used um so many times that my head almost exploded. So I swung my left fist in the air. I don’t know what I was thinking at the time because um was everywhere. Swing here, swing there, swing lower, swing higher, swing chariot. And with a sudden jolt I felt my fist land. It landed right on the front aluminum door of my fridge. Now my fridge has what I like to call a dent. But at least my fridge doesn’t have the word um on it or in it anymore.

    dented fridge.png

    And by-the-bye, what this um-guy talks about is really, really cool. Save the planet um guy.

    Rant on. -Tommi

    Source: Tim DeChristopher on Bundy Takeover: Gov’t is More Afraid of Civil Disobedience Than Armed Militias | Democracy Now!

  • Maine Subtext Drugs Promiscuity And Nice Shirts

    el chapo.png

    The traffickers—these aren’t people who take drugs. These are guys by the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty. These type of guys that come from Connecticut and New York. They come up here, they sell their heroin, then they go back home. Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave. Which is the real sad thing, because then we have another issue that we have to deal with down the road. –Paul LePage, Governor of Maine, USA

    Where does it go from here, dear worst-reader? Obviously Trumpism is having an effect on my beloved United Mistakes of #Americant. Trumpism and the tea party combined will have an even bigger effect. Look at the state of Maine. Or has it already happened to every US state? Nomatter.

    If anyone is wondering what will come of all the batsh*t–we only need to begin the study of subtext and have a look at what Maine’s governor recently said. I, for one, love subtext. Without it I could have never written all those awful (stuck in amateurism) plays of mine. Of course, at the time, I had no idear what subtext is/was. So let’s define it now, shall we.

    subtext |ˈsəbˌtekst|, noun, an underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation that is not explicit.

    Which brings me ’round to the subtext I’ve been reading in the newz lately. Would you believe that a sitting US governor spilled the beans of what’s on/in his mind? (See quote above–which, btw, is missing the name El Chapo as one of the dealers that enter the state.) Paul LePage, Governor of Maine, said, in front of small crowd, that citizens of Maine are all heroine addicts and that the state’s women are overly promiscuous with all the drug suppliers that regularly visit from Connecticut and New York. Or did I miss something in the (sub)text?

    Obviously there is a drug problem in the US. Nothing new there. But what kind of drug problem? Has the war on drugs had an effect on #americants lust for narcotics? You bet it has. For the most part the war on drugs has legalised what was once illegal. Which brings me to the following question: has the war on drugs been a good thing or a bad thing? Wait. It’s #americant. There is no good or bad. Just money. Money. Money. And lots of profit for a select few. Indeed.  The long-lasting war on drugs has had an effect on something. Yeah.

    I, for one, will never forget sitting in PHL Airport bar waiting for a flight and watching two complete strangers exchange pharmaceutical drugs as I gulped at my glass of Yuengling. To say the least, I was shocked at both their wit and knowledge of the pills they were exchanging and also the expertise one expressed to the other about how to take the pills during the flight. And. Of course. I couldn’t help but think about what those drugs are made of. Yes. Like the subtext of words spoken, dear worst-reader, there is the unspoken, the unspeakable of the legal drug trade in the US.

    Ultimately, all the pharma drugs that #americant is addicted to are derivatives of illicit drugs that we hear about every day. The only difference being the pharma drugs generate huge profits for corporations and the illicit drugs simply provide Sean Pean an interesting interviewee partner. Ironically (or not) drugs, e.g. cocaine and heroin (opiate) are the basis for most of the pharmaceutical drugs #americants ingest daily. Which brings me full-circle to the governor of Maine and the subtext of what he said the other day.

    Btw, the great thing about subtext is that you can come up with your own.

    Good luck suckers. Rant on. -Tommi

    Links that motivated this post:

  • Boardroom Gender Quotas vs Cologne On New Year's Eve vs The Meaning Of Freiwild

    what is freiwild.png
    Left: a band. Right: police making sure no one enters the church.

    What a grand opportunity Germania has right now. Will it act on this opportunity? Of course not. And why not? Well, the answer is simple. There’s no money or taxes to be had in acting on a human failing that, up to now, cannot be made financially exploitable for the centralised state. Misogyny and (mafia) patriarchy are fundamental to the Germania lie–the lie of a social-market-economy. I suppose one can give Germania credit for at least trying. The land of wurst, kraut, autobahns that require drivers of awesome cars to drive all the time with their brakes and cleavage did pass a law last year that requires the centralised corpo-state to add females to its roster of corpo-managers. The idear of actually having some female corpo-leadership is, indeed, a fine one. The problem, though, is that requiring females to be corpo-state-managers means that you first have to have conditioned females that can actually do it. I mean, “conditioned” is the only way to get ahead in a corpo-state, in a centralised economy, among automaton comrades that all must share elbows and cubicles–aka the western (white) world. That would also mean, since most Germania females aren’t all that interested in engineering or banking, the corpo-state would have to do more than just provide tampons in advisory board bathrooms to get Germania females to actually do it. Germania simply doesn’t have enough females that think like the males that have made the country what it is today. And so. As the saying goes: Germans aren’t funny… but some of the laws they make are. Which brings me to the article below. Germany enacted a law last year that is supposed to help change the German mindset–that got the country to where it is today. Ist das dein ernst (are you serious), asked the one-eyed, red-haired pirate born and reared in Saxony. Du spinnst (you’re an idiot) responds his Westphalia rival. Both men tap the bottom of their Kölsch glasses, kiss with their eyes, and sing Kölle Alaaf in front of an audience that doesn’t know which way to sway or get out of the arm-lock they are in. Indeed. §I couldn’t help but snicker as I read the article below. Nomatter what the subject, nomatter what the issue in Germania today, it all boils down to one thing and one thing only: Money. And so. There are two mindsets in the western world battling over (Kölle Alaaf and) money.  On the Anglo side that fight evolves around this: it’s all mine and you can’t have any, i.e. the haves and the have-mores. On the Germania side of doing things the fight evolves around this: it’s all mine and you’ll get what I feel like giving you when I’m ready and my tax revenue allows it. Yeah, baby. Long live centralised, pseudo-communist states faking it (the economy and capitalism) like a drag queen selling out for a drinki-poo. And since I’m on the subject of drag queens. What about Freiwild. It’s all over the place right now. I suppose a naked supermodel with a protest poster in front of the Cologne Cathedral helps spread the word. But to be honest, I had to do a double-take on the word because I hadn’t used it in such a long time. It means something like “fair game”. But I suppose in the context of what’s currently going on in Germania, especially old Colonia, it means something much more specific. And to be honest, one of the reasons you have words like Freiwild means that you also have words like Karnevalsflüchtlinge. Karnevalsflüchtlinge is a word that describes all the people that leave Germania because they fear all the touchy-feely that comes with a corpo-centralised, mafia-patriarchy state that MUST party when the bell rings–which is all that Karneval is these days. Well, it’s that and lots of drinking. But I digress. As I worst-wrote at the beginning of this post: Germania faces a grand opportunity right now. I wonder what it will do with it. Prosit! Alaaf! Maach et joot! Rant on. -Tommi

    Source: Boardroom Quotas: The Slow Pace of Gender Equality in Corporate Germany – SPIEGEL ONLINE

  • Who Eats Who And What Is On Third

    the devils chessboard cover.png

    “We Kennedys eat Rockefellers for breakfast.”

    Imagine Robert Kennedy saying that. Imagine the vehemence that could fill the air once those words were published. Imagine the Kennedy and Rockefeller families with a slight twist: they are the Hatfields and the McCoys. Or just just forget all that and go back to third grade (or maybe fifth or sixth or seventh–or, at the least, never graduate above the sophomoric). In a system that has thrived on greed and allure–both being the catalyst for the economics of trickle down–it’s a wonder that more #americants haven’t slaughtered themselves as trickle down withers to zero. But then again, with what’s going on in Oregon these days, maybe there is something out there that might cause a mass wake up. Most certainly the death (slaughter) of the Kennedy family woke no one up. Yet, worst-writer can’t help but question where all this nonsense comes from. Nonsense being best defined through the behaviour of people, the behaviour of a nation. It is said that a persons true character comes through in a time of crisis. Does the same apply to a nation? But I digress. §I came across the book The Devil’s Chessboard through an interview I watched with the author here back in October. Recent travel meant I had to fill my Kindle and this book made the list. Of course, I was skeptical about buying it but something did stand out based on the above referenced interview. The interview did give off a hint of conspiracy-theory but David Talbot was able to convince me that this piece of work had something more to it. In my quest to maintain as rational a mind as possible, it’s hard at times to sift through the nonsense that is #americant without falling prey to conspiracy theory. The advent of faux newz on the one hand and the long standing mindlessness of conspiracy-theory on the other, it’s a wonder that the country hasn’t fallen prey to some blonde blue-eyed dictator. Or has it? I, for one, never thought much about the conspiracy to kill JFK but the Warren Report didn’t make much of an impression either. Yet the movie by Oliver Stone changed all that. Now don’t get me wrong. The JFK assassination isn’t the same conspiracy-theory as the moon landing. The Zapruder film saw to that. But there is something about all the unanswered questions regarding JFK that the government covered up. I mean, “cover-up” is really the only thing we know that happened. Or? Nomatter. §David Talbot does something different. He’s actually explaining a mindset in this book. He takes a new angle on trying to explain a mindset, a rationale, of how certain people within the upper echelons of government and (big) business actually think. That such a way of thinking could lead to the assassination of Kennedy is a bit far-fetched–and Talbot doesn’t make that direct link. But what he does make clear is that JFK did represent a new way of thinking in America. And that way of thinking was counter to how a few other people thought. Is that then the reason he was killed? What exactly was JFK’s way of thinking? §Enter Allen Dulles, the CIA and a bunch of old, conniving white men who are stuck in the mind of a ten year old that has Howitzers sticking out of every orifice. What to do with those Howitzers, eh? I guess–so goes their rationale–one has to put them to some kind of use otherwise they’d just be a waste. And so. The mindset of adult-children with cannons sticking out of their arses has taken over a once great nation-state. Which means all we can say now is: it was fun while it lasted. Or? Indeed. The Devil’s Chessboard is a bit of a bore to read–if you know anything about American history and American foreign policy. Yet I stayed in the book because of how the author was able to weave a single thread through it from beginning to end. That thread is the idea that a certain way of thinking is what rules the show. It’s not so much about politics, parties or individuals running things. America is run by a way of thinking. And not only is there one way of thinking but a different way of thinking will not be tolerated. This is how the system conspires, how it perpetuates. And since most Americans have fallen for the lie of trickle-down no other way of thinking can prevail. Which brings me to #americant. If anything is true/real about David Talbot’s book, it’s the fact that America still has a chance. It has a chance to break free from the singularity that rules it today. And even though Talbot doesn’t go anywhere near trying to explain that, he does masterfully explain the mindset of one of the rulers, one of the powers-that-be, a man who’s way of thinking is the reason there is so much demagoguery, right-wing batshit, faux newz, and/or militiamen fighting for “rights” they never had in the first place. Or maybe not. Rant on. -Tommi

  • In Praise Of Dr. Capital And His Ism

    Special leg room economy class
    Got kinda lucky the other day. Extra leg room in economy class. Along side some good conversation.

    Disclaimer: Names and some of the issues discussed but not places referred to have been changed in this blogpost to protect the innocent. §I told him right before we exited the plane at the terminal in PHL that I found our open and at times heavy inflight conversation fascinating. And then I thanked him with as much sincerity as I could muster and I put my hand out. Indeed. I was a bit flushed, a bit embarrassed, it was a long flight. §But before that, a bit on the travel. Flying over the Atlantic I sat in row 18D, the aisle. My new soon to be friend sat next to me inside the row at seat 18F. We were on LH426, an Airbus A340, departure Frankfurt, Germany. My new friend was connecting from Beirut. He was on his way back to school, and not just any school. He attended The University of Pennsylvania and during our conversation took the time to school me on Ivy League. But, wait, I wanted to worst-write about the plane. §We were on a discontinued Airbus—not unlike how a company may discontinue making a vacuum cleaner or a toaster. It seems that the airline manufacturing industry is getting away from four engine planes. Yet Airbus seems to have put a lot of their hopes in the A380, the successor of our A340. I had the pleasure of flying an A380 a few years back while traveling from Bangkok to Dubai. “Big” doesn’t begin to explain the size of this aircraft. But, as some people tend to note, size doesn’t matter. I’m not one of those people. I prefer the size of the greatest plane ever made: the 747. The problem is, last I read, Boeing hasn’t sold a 747 in two years. Everybody who is still fyling four engines buy the A380. But that’s another post. Oddly, or not, our A340 had a strange seating configuration. First, the cabin had no seats labelled E. Is that the same as skyscrapers not having floors labelled 13? Is the letter E a skeptical, mystical, ghostly letter? Second. The reason for the odd seating configuration–beyond the letter E–was due to the seats directly in front of me. Unfortunately I didn’t capture it in the pic above. But because the seats are from Lufthansa’s new premium economy class, which look like a cheap subset of business class seats. There are only three seats in the middle row and compared to sheople economy they are roomy as hell. Row 18 is where regular economy begins. Hence the pic shows the extra leg space I lucked out in getting. Oh. How ’bout those shoe laces! Ok. Enough about the plane. §On this 8 hour transatlantic flight I sat next to an ivy league grad student who just finished a semester in the middle east learning Arabic. If I had to place this kid somewhere to be able to size him up, I’d place him right in the middle of Occupy Wall Street–even though his elite demeanor could have placed him somewhere else. He wore his beard well, he exuded privilege, and he clearly had a big heart. And since I was sitting next to a millennial, I couldn’t help but be curious, the more and more we talked, about how his generation is destined to be the first generation that will end up in the historic dustbin named: wrong place, wrong time. Whatever. §After we reached cruising altitude and got our first round of cocktails, our transatlantic conversation started when I asked about the type of iPhone he was using. I was planning on getting a new iPhone once I landed where I would cross the border from PA to DE. DE has no retail tax, which means when purchasing the phone without contract you can save fifty friggin’ bucks. That started us talking about technology, Apple Computer and the legacy of Steve Jobs. It turns out we are both fanboys. He was impressed when I told him that my Apple experience goes back to owning two Newton devices. Eventually, though, it was inevitable that he notice how I used certain terminology combined with a cynical bent in most of what I had to say when it came to any discussion that required either depth or emotion. For example, he took notice of me using the term The Homeland whenever talking about the US. He also noticed how I always praise corporations for turning automatons into the consume-to-survive slaves occupy wall streeters didn’t know they were protesting against. And then there was the issue of the patriot act and the subsequent government expansion under the Dubya administration that rivalled the government expansion of FDR. Alone this act is a major determining factor for the welfare of millennials–and I don’t think, after this conversation, they are aware of that. Which means, it never crossed my new friend’s mind to refer to his world as Disney World, i.e., the united mistakes of America, or… The Homeland. Obviously, dear worst-reader, talking about Apple always leads to talk about politics, policy and #americant. With it all the company would never be the greed monger monster its become. Which brings me to another worst-writer term that caused him to blink more than thrice. §My young friend was sharp. I wish I was as experienced in and of the world at twenty-three. In order to cool down a potentially heated debate—during sleep-time of the flight—he wanted to know why I referred to it as The Homeland. I responded thus: “I also call it #americant.” (Pronounced: hashtag-american’t.) But he wanted to focus on The Homeland. This gave me the opportunity to switch from the frivolity of Steve Jobs—and his drug-ridden tech delusions and obsessions—to a subject that was closer to my heart: talking about the downfall of… we’re #1. Or, at least, the downfall of the pseudo middle class that is as much at fault as the upper class for all the demise. But the young collegiate whipper-snapper was not very enthusiastic about the subject matter. I can only assume that was due to his youthful optimism–which is a much his bent as mine is cynicism. This brought us to the issue of education and not because he was right in the middle of it. “Education serves no purpose, it is pretty much useless these days,” I said. “Look at The Homeland and how it’s run,” I continued, closing off his attempt at rebuttal. “All the managers, executives, pawns, automatons, etc., they are all higher educated. From the president, to cabinet members, to CEOs, the middle class, all educated to the hilt. Yet the only thing they have learned is how to cheat, lie, steal and cheat again. Where does that come from?” My young friend would not be disillusioned. He believed whole heartily in the American way of life albeit without considering how it got that way. For him–and I can only assume this was due to his proximity to one of #americants most notorious neo-liberal business schools–American capitalism was in turmoil but there was a way out (of that turmoil). And then I added, “You know, dear grasshopper, Das Volk can’t differentiate between politics and economics. That’s a real problem. It’s one of the reasons I call it #americant. Seriously. It cant differentiate. Cant. Cant. It’s not Ameri… can.” (Short pause.) “So it doesn’t matter,” I said. “Capitalism isn’t only in turmoil it is the essence of being American–and it doesn’t even exist. There is a difference between capitalism being an economic system and democracy being a political one.” (Shorter pause.) “Btw, get this, it’s almost 2016 and where I’m about to go after we land there are still front yards with “Bush/Cheney” signs on them, not to mention all the polished bumper-stickers bearing the same nonsense.” My little friend got a word in. He said that he was aware of the twisted politics in America. But then he added that regulation could somehow prevent a lot of the turmoil. Regulation? Yeah, he said regulation. A young man from an ivy league school used, with utmost sincerity, the word regulation in the context of a discussion about how to change the world. The only response I could come up with was to s
    mirk and show-off more cynicism. Indeed. My cynicism vs youthful twisted optimism–regarding capitalism. And so, for a few hours of the flight we went down that road–we talked about capitalism, Marx and how it all can be fixed–with regulation. And I couldn’t help but notice that there was this growing monster in the form of a pseudo neo liberal from the Wharton School of Business. To say the least, worstwriter was freaking out about the youth that will assume the roll of rulers of a world I wasn’t about to consider leaving. (Unless, of course, a terrorist act takes us down. But I digress.) Somehow I couldn’t help but connect our talk about capitalism with education. “Look what these places of higher education have given us,” I said in a demanding way. He responded with the names of Wharton alumni. Which brought me ’round to The Donald who was business schooled there. Indeed, this young whipper snapper might be a study in the confusion of neo-liberalism and drunken optimism–devoid of reality. §With that I’ll end this worst-post. Except for one last thought. When we landed and were about to depart the aircraft we said our goodbyes. I introduced myself as worstwriter and he smirked unsurprisingly. Then he introduced himself as Dr. Robert Ism Capital. And with that, I entered Pennsylvania and it was good to be home.

    Rant on.

    -Tommi

  • Luxury Airlines, Funny Shoe Laces And Constitutions

     

    bus vs first class
    Left: business class. Right: first class. To which I can only add: my feet are much, much happier on the right than on the left but they are also humble like dodos in spring.

    Going for broke. Travel broke. Just one more trip. Trip to take me away. Away from what? Xmas? Responsibility? Btw, this is the first time I’ll be without my better-half on Xmas since she took me in and became my better half twelve years ago. And I’m sad about that. But when families are stretched on both sides of the Atlantic pond where winters can be bard on the heart, I appreciate the tolerance, the compromise, the understanding. Oh, the prices we pay. Compromises for love, for shoe laces. Wait. Get back on subject. I’ll get to shoe laces in a sec. Focus first on travel. §Precisely planned to end where it all started just before the end of the year after which it can all begin again. Where do we go? Home? Which home? Nomatter. Again. Back to subject. §After all these years of travel something really cool happened recently which I tried to capture in the pic above. As you’ll note, my very comfy shoes with the funny laces are in two different places on board a luxurious airliner. The left pic is travel to destination. The right is travel from destination. Left is also business class. Right is one crazy-cool, gnarly, step beyond… First f’n class. Yeah, baby. Finally made it! Of course, these two seating positions have nothing to do with the place I normally sit while traveling. You know what I mean: coach, economy, humble-class, sheople travel. No. These two seats are quite different than what I’m accustomed to. And before I go on, allow me to qualify this a bit. It is not my intention to toot my own horn here. Both these seats were not afforded me by my own hand (which would warrant tooting). No. They were afforded me as a gift–of sorts. Of “sorts” because it was a gift that does not require (re)payment but does require renumeration. But I don’t want to get too deep into the details of how worst-writer gets his seats on luxury airliners–nor do I want to explain the nuances of neo-feudalism–that worst-writer is able to exploit. Also. As I dabble into this/a world of duality, of dichotomy, poles, opposites, republican and democrats, is jet-lag better flying in a easterly or westerly direction, etc., etc., it is worth noting that there is something else out there that shares a commonality with seating arrangements on luxury airliners. After all is worst-said & worst-done, after all the krappy seats on airlines have been tried, it all comes back to one thing. When I end 2015’s travel itinerary it’s time to save again. For there is so much travel planned for 2016–if the neo-feudalists allow it. At least I think there is. Or? I know. I know. I know what you’re thinking, dear worst-reader. Save what? Save for what? You mean save money? For travel? Well, my answer to all your nitpicking, dear worst-reader, is simple: don’t worry your cute little head because if you plan well and you keep smiling and you are not a threat to the neo-feudalists, than travel will come as easy as the money they allow to grow on (my) trees. And in that vein, the vein of funny shoe laces or duality–or the same pair of jeans and shoes and laces on opposing flights–let’s give a bit more worst-writing a go. §While all get hot & bothered over Constitutions and how they are written–not unlike how Deist’s books were written by men from the friggin’ bronze-age–no one sees through what some people do to facilitate misinterpretation of old, old, really old words. And speaking of old words! So the 2nd amendment gets mixed up with the 14th amendment. Or shouldn’t states be able to decide what to do about their–with their–“well regulated Militia”? Again. Nomatter. §This post is a confusion of another kind. For example, instead of addressing the true cause of The Gun Problem (of #americant) change the entire discourse to immigration and terrorists and then all can be swept under the rug. Add to that a complexity of The Donald and an upcoming election that already resembles are farce that must someday be topped… Well, it’s no wonder I decided to seek out a life of luxury airline travel and funny shoe laces. Or maybe not.

    Rant on.

    Tommi

  • Kahn And The Donald

    Kahn And The Donald

    Multiple monitors inject (their) information into my brain every morning. The fun usually begins before six a.m. but on this particular morn it began at five. The information, of course, is the freak-show known as (the current iteration of the grand social, national, greed-show) #americant. Most of this information comes to me in the form of news. I get this news from either reading (what remains of RSS feeds, various news aggregators, blogs, etc.) or watching podcasts or krapptube… youtube. As I was catching up on the top-rated freak show of the century, aka The Donald running for the republican party’s nomination as president, a scene and a character popped into my head from a Star Trek film as demagoguery has been elevated to new levels in American politics. The film? The Wrath of Kahn. Remember it? Of course, I’d seen that movie before but it had been a while. So I gave the film another look and then realised that the scene I was looking for wasn’t in the movie. Keep in mind, dear worst-reader, I’m a pseudo trekkie. I own all the Star Trek movies, all three seasons of TOS (the original series), TNG (the next generation) and Voyager. Obviously “pseudo” applies because I don’t own, nor have I ever seen any of the other instalments from this sci-fi universe. Even though I like all the films, except, maybe, The Final Frontier or The Undiscovered Country, The Voyage Home and The Wrath of Kahn are my favourites. But, as usual, I’m off subject again. Nomatter. The subject is #americant demagoguery and what scene in what movie it all reminded me of. And so. On this particular morn the right monitor was catching me up on the madness of The Donald. The left monitor was showing me “Space Seed”, i.e. S01E22 of Star Trek (TOS). For there was my error, dear worst-reader. The scene I had been looking for was not from the movie but instead from the TV show. And after much-much deep thought and tv-soul searching I had finally found it. Indeed. The Donald freak-show that #americants are lapping up got me thinking about the origin of Kahn. Not the origin of the movie but the origin of the character himself and the humanity that created/fostered him. I knew that the movie was a continuation of one of the shows from the original series–but it took me a bit longer to get to the actual scene that was so deep in my memory. Which brings me to Khan Noonien Singh, The Enterprise and the transcript/scene below. Kahn was the product of late 20th century eugenics in which a few of the “last tyrants” ran various parts/countries of earth. Eventually these tyrants were all defeated but Kahn managed to make a spectacular getaway. He and his crew of fellow supermen and superwomen made it to some new fangled space ship. There they (somehow) put themselves into suspended animation and, well, they were found two hundred years later. Keep in mind, this particular episode of Star Trek was written in the late 1960s. I can only assume that the generation of writers that were working at the time in Hollywood were well aware of the eugenics madness that came out of Europe in an earlier part of the same century. And so. After watching it, it hit me like a rock the thing that connected a character from a 1967 TV show with Donald J. Trump of 2015 #americant freak-show politics riding on the edge of societal danger. For your worst-reading pleasure, the transcript is below. For those of you with easy access, the scene takes place at about 29min into the episode.

    Star Trek – “Space Seed”, Season 1, Episode 22.

    The scene is a briefing room on Enterprise. Seated around a table are Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scott. They are drinking (coffee?) out of cups. A picture of Khan is on a large screen behind them.

    KIRK: (Picture behind him is that of Kahn when he left earth.) Name, Khan, as we know him today. (Spock changes the picture Kahn of now.) Name, Khan Noonien Singh.

    SPOCK: (Abruptly.) From 1992 through 1996, absolute ruler of more than a quarter of your world. From Asia through the Middle East.

    MCCOY: (Obviously aware of this part of earth’s history.) The last of the tyrants to be overthrown.

    SCOTT: (Ditto awareness.) I must confess, gentlemen. I’ve always held a sneaking admiration for this one.

    KIRK: He was the best of the tyrants and the most dangerous. They were supermen, in a sense. Stronger, braver, certainly more ambitious, more daring.

    SPOCK: Gentlemen, this romanticism about a ruthless dictator is…

    KIRK: Mister Spock, we humans have a streak of barbarism in us. Appalling, but there, nevertheless.

    SCOTT: There were no massacres under his rule.

    SPOCK: And as little freedom!

    MCCOY: No wars until he was attacked.

    SPOCK: Gentlemen.

    (All but Spock laugh.)

    KIRK: Mister Spock, you misunderstand us. We can be against him and admire him all at the same time.

    SPOCK: Illogical.

    KIRK: Totally. (He moves to activate ship communication system.) This is the Captain. Put a twenty four hour security on Mister Khan’s quarters, effective immediately.

    -end of scene-

    Here’s the thing, dear worst-reader. This scene reminds me of the mindset of #americant right now as it dabbles so energetically and naively in right-wing extreme politics thanks to one political party and the power of its propaganda. And just like Spock, only a few people can actually see what’s really happening both within the party and with those that vehemently support it. While #americant giggles and ogles over how, for the first time ever, a national figure rises out of the ashes of an obviously broken political system, no one recognises what’s really going on. With that in mind, does The Donald sound familiar? Or does this mean that the only cure for #americant is a rational and logical thinking Spock who tries to understand how/why humans romanticise the way they do.

    In closing. Let’s not forget how this particular Star Trek episode ended. The threat of the demagogue Kahn was thwarted only after quoting Milton: It is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven. How fitting for what my beloved America has allowed itself to become. Now go buy something and enjoy The Donald show you have earned.

    Rant on. -tommi

    Links that helped with this post:

     

  • Former US Intelligence Chief Has A Funny Nose

    rudolf
    This is who should be our new intelligence chief 363 days a year.

    Today is a day of oxymorons, dear worst-reader. We have US Intelligence and Too Dumb. Or it’s a day of dumb rearing its true face and what we see is Kim Kardashian’s left tit superimposed on the red, white and blue which is also superimposed on a xmas tree that has just exploded out of a sewer system that none of us knew was underneath the living room where we sit and watch hi-larry-us stop motion tv shows. So is the place some call the house of hell right in the middle of Walt Disney’s dreamboat. Or. Tis the season to be jolly. And. Think not of all those children that were riddled with bullets by a “mass” shooter that no one can seem to top. But I digress. It’s time to focus on more joyous things. Speaking of joy! My favourite stop motion xmas character is Rudolf (the communist-nosed) Reindeer and US Intelligence. Again. We’re combing the sands of kill-man-jar-oh in the hopes of finding promise and truth. And to think that another shooter is waiting in the wings as thought yesterday can never happen. Indeed. It never did. The only thing that happened is that Rudolf (the communist nosed) Reindeer said: “But. But you fell off that cliff.” And his budding chief of economic and military affairs responded: “Didn’t I ever tell you about Bumbles? Bumbles bounce!” And since we’re on the subject of quoting things. How ’bout the Der Spiegel article below. Check it out. And while doing so don’t forget the righteous premise of this worst-post: oxymoronic. Or something like that.

    SPIEGEL ONLINE: In February 2004, you already had Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in your hands — he was imprisoned in in a military camp, but got cleared later as harmless by a US military commission. How could that fatal mistake happen?

    Flynn (former US intelligence chief): We were too dumb. We didn’t understand who we had there at that moment. When 9/11 occurred, all the emotions took over, and our response was, “Where did those bastards come from? Let’s go kill them. Let’s go get them.” Instead of asking why they attacked us, we asked where they came from. Then we strategically marched in the wrong direction.

    Rant on. -T

    Link that motivated this post:

    Former US Intelligence Chief Discusses Development of IS – SPIEGEL ONLINE

    Quotes from the US Xmas TV show Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer | IMBD

  • By Definition We Are

    psycopath v sociopath
    Don’t worry. This pic is a modified cut & paste picture that worst-writer made while fiddling around on the Internets. So there!

    psychopath |ˈsīkəˌpaθ|
    noun
    a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior.

    sociopath |ˈsōsēōˌpaθ|
    noun
    a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.

    In the wake of recent “mass” shooting in my beloved #americant, I got to thinking about one of the deeper issues involved in it that could also be considered a cause. This issue, of course, as with other mass shootings, is never addressed in a public forum. The reason for that is simple. If the cause for this or any other mass shooting were to actually be addressed in a public forum, I think the lights would go out and hysteria would be the new norm. (That’s right. There is lots of potential for even more hysteria!) Heck, things would be so bad that Americans might actually think twice about going out and buying something for holy consumer day–i.e. xmas or black monday or the last Tuesday before the vernal equinox. With that nonsense in mind… §The issue I’m worst-writing about is the fact that an already ignorant voting populace that consistently supports republicans, conservatives and neo-fascists, cannot differentiate between a sociopath, a psychopath and a snake oil salesman. And I’m not talking about knowing the difference between all the killers that are running around with their high-powered rifles, their extended clips and their semi-automatic hand guns. No. It’s now time for Americans to start seeing through the people that somehow, in their own perverse, self-righteous, amoral way, have stoked the crazies. Just get a load of what Cruz and Fiorina have said (see linked articles below). Carly Fiorina, a formative presidential candidate for 2016, goes so far as to equate #blacklivesmatter protestors with pro-life protestors. Now. I don’t know about you, dear worst-reader, but that blows my mind. Conservative and neo-fascists have been attacking abortion clinics, shooting people, blowing things up for years. What has #blacklivesmatter protestors ever done to anybody? But I digress. Good luck suckers. And. Rant on. -tommi

    Links that motivated this post:

  • It's Like The Moon Disappearing. If The Middle Class Joins It, Will You Miss It?

    Not sure why I care about this. But I do. Having said that… Having grown up in the suburban hell of lower middle class #americant and now hearing academics describe (that) hell’s demise, I sit back with a dopey grin on my face and sing the lost torrent song that was once an anthem, an anthem beloved by druids, goths and subjects of Beowulf. The anthem is called Hell Yeah Bitch! I mean. Seriously. What’s with the golden pedestal a certain part of society has to be put on? Is this the only way to implement a particular political mandate in a failed democracy? It’s all (supposed to be) about the middle class? Wow. That’s pretty heavy stuff, dude. So heavy, in fact, I think I need to kneed it a bit in my brain. So. Let’s say it again and at the same time tap our ruby red slippers. The middle class. The middle class. The middle class. (Full stop.) What does it all mean, Johnny Cum Lately? Well. I’ll tell you what it means. It means nothingness. It means mean. It means uselessness. It means stupefied procreation that satisfies the needs of rotten wombs and severed manliness. It means… It means come on. Come on. Come on and ask the question. What the f’ has the middle class actually done? I’ll tell you what’s it done. It’s given the world the most vile, corrupt, greedy group of humans this planet has ever seen. The middle class is nothing more than the perpetrator of the lie of the mind that is The Dream. The grand American dream. The dream of what? Star spangled banners? Bombs bursting in air? Did it give truth through the night, you cock sucker, that your flags were still covering your naked ass as you ran away from your university brothel and pharmaceutical day job? Or should I just say that the f’n middle class gave the world consumerism? Yeah, that’s the ticket Johnny Cum Lately. Consume. That’s the middle class. In all its glory and essence. Which means, in turn, if the middle class goes away what difference will it make? Oh yeah. The middle class will do to itself what it’s also done to all the others that it walked over in order to think it was part of being, in its own way, rich. Indeed. The middle class will make a choice between working for what it created or starving. That’s exactly what it deserves. It is the middle class of the world’s greatest lie that deserves, more than anyone else on this planet, exactly what its getting. Now go vote for some dipshit who will make you feel better while you consume your coffee or hamburger or equity financed yacht with a credit card you’ll never pay off. Rant on. -tommi

    You know, America was the first middle-class society. We’re about to become the first society that ceases to be a middle-class society. -Stiglitz

    Source: Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz on “Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy” (Part 2) | Democracy Now!

  • Jimmy Carter: A Five-Nation Plan to End the Syrian Crisis – The New York Times

    While worstwriter tries to figure out the meaning of birds tangled up in whatnot, our 39th president has a few things to say. Even though I’m not quite sure what he’s saying, it’s pretty amazing that he’s still on top of things. Go Jimmy! Rant on. -t

    “Bashar and his father, Hafez, had a policy of not speaking to anyone at the American Embassy during those periods of estrangement, but they would talk to me. I noticed that Bashar never referred to a subordinate for advice or information. His most persistent characteristic was stubbornness; it was almost psychologically impossible for him to change his mind — and certainly not when under pressure.” -Jimmy Carter

    Source: Jimmy Carter: A Five-Nation Plan to End the Syrian Crisis – The New York Times

  • What Lies Under Your Doms

     

    cologne dom

    “We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.” (-not sure but I think this is from Goethe)

    What will they say in the comings days, dear worst-reader? Not sure. Or am I sure? As usual, there will be comparisons to various acts of violence elsewhere in this confused world. With that thought in mind: I suppose it’s a good thing that Germanians (Europeans!) can’t get guns as easily as Americans. Hopefully the shunning and the misgivings regarding this (most) recent example of amok-society won’t be lost in translation. Indeed. The confusion of pseudo luxury that is the land of Oktoberfest, Autobahns and Milky Weiber won’t cease anytime soon. Yet. All worstwriter knows is this: I drive my bike through the part of Cologne this under achieving attacker is from; I drink the same Kölsch they all drink; I get that dizzying feeling that everyone gets when standing within viewing distance… of that Dom. Heck, I was even considering voting in this local election. (For, yes, it is one of the very few privileges this non-citizen expat has–to be able to vote in local elections–or to collect Hartz IV.) Yet this act will do nothing more than fan the flames of all the confusion that is so cleverly avoided in Germania. Yes. Cleverly and collectively avoided. The happy, optimistic flames of confusion help the balloon of nevermore rise above middle and north Europe’s reality. All is well in the land of the golden stars in the foreground of forgotten blue. All is well at your upcoming Weinachtsmarkt. Germania is a confusing place–that burns and burns underneath her Doms where marshmellow days fold into Mehrkornbrötchen. Inhabitants linger around the good life of the collective as all are health insured, some get to lease a new “clean” diesel every few years, some get to plan those mandatory government sanctioned vacations, and most just linger in the reality of austerity and Hartz IV that is oh so compelling. This is a place where function melts into the massive bureaucratic dysfunction of great cars and hugo-boss. And everybody is as happy as peaches just before they fall from the tree. If it weren’t for those knives being wielded around certain social and political statements nothing could go wrong. So which is it? The statements or the knives that get your attention? He said he did it for us. He did it because we weren’t able to stop him. He did it out of pure confusion conjoined with mass hysteria hidden behind the skin-walls of someone’s Prussian namesake. His confusion and his statement are beyond conjoined, though. Have they merged? Just up the street from where I live is a migrant facility. It’s clean and orderly. It’s nothing more than turquoise painted, reupholstered shipping containers on the grounds of an abandoned school. (An abandoned school in Germany?! Seriously!) The facility is fenced in and guarded. It’s also surrounded by trees, shrubbery and a village. Before the migrants came, as they were building the facility, German flags hung from village houses. Since the facility took on its inhabitants, the national flags have all disappeared. Where did they go? Who told the collective to remove them? Oh my. These facilities are not few and far between in this Germania’s fourth largest city. The people that live here are confused enough as their lives are overwhelmed with this world’s economy. And now you (yes, you!) bring all these refugees in disguised as migrants because, politically, migrant is a less dangerous and costly word? Wow. One can only wonder at the decision making process here. Perhaps not unlike the decision making process of lying about emissions in order to keep 600k people (among the millions and millions around the country that are un and under employed) working at VW? And so. This is a place where a leader, reared by the likes of Margot Honecker, makes decisions about accepting the ramifications of the lie of productive luxury–as a psychotic painter can’t find work. Yeah. We see it in how the Dom’s people react to the Greece buy-out and we also see it in how VW managers sell it. But the worst sight is how Germania sees the comings and goings of Syria thereby forgetting its own downtrodden. Talk about confusion. How well has Margot… I mean… How well has Merkel handled all this? How well has she done? Indeed. Someone stabbed her party yesterday–and the balloon lie of “social-market-economics” flies on and on. Which can only mean: prepare yourself Germania. Or get rid of all your knives that could bring down your balloon(s). Butter knives are OK, 40cm Rambo knives are not. Wow. Merkel has convinced most of the world that Germania is more than just a player in the realm of cheap labour, cheap production and even cheaper software controlled diesel emissions. This is a place that will bow before the fight that is mass confusion–and during that fight the few and far between will be hiding in the wings of aristocrats and plagiarised PhDs and Margot. Yeah, baby. Alles (wird doch nicht so) gut(e)! Oder? Rant on. -tommi

    Source: German Mayoral Candidate Stabbed In Anti-Refugee Attack

  • The Cherry Bat v. Coincidence v. Coordination

    coincidence dictates
    Just kidding!

    Is it me, dear worst-reader? Am I the only one to worst-write about conspiracies? Wait. It’s important to note here–for the sake of posterity–that I don’t worst-write about conspiracy theories. Reason? There’s a difference, you know, between conspiracy and conspiracy theory. Just as there’s a difference between coincidence and central planning–as in central planning of a Big Brother state. But I’m wheezing around the subject-tree. Nomatter. Let me just put it out there this morn. After spending the last two days in awe of news galore, last night something hit me. It didn’t hit me like a baseball bat on the back of the head, which is normally what causes the bleeding. No. It hit me like a cherry bat that lingered around my silent room, the shine of my computer screens causing it to swirl and twist around my head until it finally found the time and effort to give me one good slap. Its wing claws dug into my scalp and I could feel it inserting its needle teeth only to be repelled by the thick skull bone protecting my brain. They say the blood around the brain is the best. But bats rarely get to that. At least they don’t get to it among the living. Still. Its incision was deep enough and the blood began to ooze and I could hear its tiny little tongue lapping up my skull blood. It was obvious that it didn’t taste as good as brain blood. But I digress. Here’s the thing. The whole time while I was reading and convincing myself not to itch that thing stuck in my head, something (else) was bothering me. It was something that didn’t fit in the landscape of what I was reading and/or trying to wrap my head around. Luckily. Eventually. The adorable little bat was full. So I went to bed. And then I woke around 5am. And I realised: The Intercept has nailed it. Or have they? Just get a load of the fancy website featuring their latest “journalism” coup d’état (see link below). And wouldn’t you know it! This latest phenomenon in the world of informing a dumb-downed public is due to another… Get this. Wait for it. Yes. It’s due to yet another whistleblower. Indeed. The world needs another whistleblower. The world needs it right at the moment when we thought we didn’t need another. Wow, eh. But all kidding aside. There is one thing that really gets under my skin here–other than that damn cute bat. Indeed. And it goes like this: is it coincidence or is it coordinated that The Intercept releases its newest journalistic find via (insert # here) whistleblower just as Barry O announces the US is staying in Afghanistan? Or maybe not. Rant on. -tommi

    Links that motivated this post:

     

  • Digging The Ditch Of Irony

    hoover quote

    There is, of course, a horrid irony about recent scandal of a US congressman unable to take the job of the 2nd man in line to the presidency of the united mistakes of #americant. And my liberal ass is laughing so hard at this one that I might bust a gut. With that in mind, let’s go there, shall we dear worst-reader. But first… § Some historians say that the whole purpose behind the founding of the FBI was to have a government organisation with the outer appearance of law enforcement but the inner capacity to wield and control the halls of democracy. The powers-that-be were fed up with “democracy” at the beginning of the 20th century. They knew that something had to change in order to protect real power. And what is the easiest way to protect power? J. Edgar Hoover was notorious for his clandestine tactics in collecting all sorts of information on public figures, most of which has never been published due to “national security”. How convenient, eh. Elected officials, both state and national, union leaders, corporate heads, etc., they were all “watched” by Hoover and he had dossiers of info regarding their personal lives, affairs, drugs, womanising, sexual orientation, etc. One could say–and worstwriter most certainly will–that the political ideology that has overcome the republican party today has its roots in the likes of Hoover. I mean, come on. If the 2010 mid-term elections and the rise of tea party proved anything, it proved that there was no end to how low things could get. With that in mind, what tactics are being deployed to prevent Kevin McCarthy–who is viewed in his party as a moderate–from getting the Speaker of the House position? Good ole’ tactics, eh! §Without getting too deep into the confines of explaining American conservatism, let’s just assume that certain aspects of Newton’s law of motion apply. And America is still waiting for an opposing force. Or? § Let’s face it, republican (first) and conservative (second) policies of the last thirty years have amounted to disaster. States are bankrupt (see Michigan, Kansas, Alabama, etc.) and many more on the verge of bankruptcy. Gun violence is redefining the word epidemic. America is being laughed at by rational thinking people the world over when one juxtaposes the war on terror with white policeman shooting black men on city streets. Need I mention America’s debt situation, most of which is financed by China? Obviously “failure” is relative unless you’re in the so-called top 1% society or if you’re batshit and have fallen for the ideology. § Keep in mind, we’re dealing with nothing more than plane and simple ideology. It is ideology that has gotten America into the mess it’s in. Americans are holding tight to that ideology as though it is a comforter or a long lost teddy bear. The recent scandal about Kevin McCarthy is only significant in how it shows the strings that are being pulled. As significant as that is, it all seems to be part of a never ending narrative about the demise of a once great nation. § Kevin McCarthy can only talk the talk when it comes totting republican ideology. For example, his district is dependent upon cheap and illegal immigrants for agriculture—yet he gets elected as a republican. Have you listened to how republicans talk about immigration lately? Have you listened to The Donald? Republican ideology and its adherence to economic neoliberalism, i.e. centralised capitalism, i.e. the lie of Reaganomics has done nothing but dig the country deeper and deeper into a ditch. This ditch is not only filled with armchair economists and keepers of the faith that the south will rise again but also religious nuttery on a scale not seen since the inquisition. The tea-party-types, the Sarah Palins, something like 30-40 republicans elected to the House and Senate since 2008, are all leading the ditch digging and they don’t even look up to see how deep they’ve actually gone. And that’s not even the worst part. The worst part is America is following them into the ditch. Say what you will about the two political parties in America. But it is because of this level of ideology that I refuse to make false equivalences. Indeed. Kevin McCarthy is just another dimwitted (have you heard him talk?) nut job opportunist able to sell snake oil to willing buyers that elect him to office but he can’t sell it to other snake oil salesmen. The irony is so thick here that there are times I wish I could taste it or at least spread it on a piece of bread toasted with a Jesus image. J. Edgar Hoover and lots of other like-minded conservatives of yesteryear laugh and turn in their graves. But they are also a bit shocked in their graves. The real irony about McCarthy’s scandal is the fact that, according to the MarketWatch article below, it was Homeland Security that was part of the leak regarding his inappropriate behaviour, i.e. an affair with a congresswoman. So I guess, with post nine-eleven government expansion that rivals FDR’s expansion, it’s not enough that the FBI plays its games. There’s a new player in town. Oh my! Good luck (ditch digging) suckers. Rant on. -tommi

    Links that motivated this post:

  • Nasty Rant Against Hillary Clinton Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things Or Maybe It's Something Else

    hillary vs ingsoc

    Things fly by when one is perched upon a thirty-thousand foot expatriate stool looking down at the new-old world (order) with gusto and admiration and interest. Indeed. The show that is #americant politics is as good as any show there is. Yet some moments even turn my head–with or without The Donald. For the life of me, dear worst-reader, I cannot wrap my mind around the vehemence and hatred for Hillary Rodham Clinton, best exemplified in the link below. There is a video in the link, as well. Check it out. In the video a political pundit is spewing atypical batshit hate for Hillary. But the clinger is, there is no substance for that hate. It is just unadulterated hate. I mean. Isn’t there usually a substantive reason for hate? For example. Did the person commit a crime? Did the person kill somebody? Or did the person partake in a real-estate scandal? In the case of Hillary, of course, one can point to her unsubstantiated email crime. Or what about her running the State Department while Americans died in Benghazi? And then there’s Whitewater. The thing is, she hasn’t been prosecuted for any of these issues–yet so many despise her as though the US judicial system has run amok. Oh! Wait. Maybe she’s hated so much because she forgave her husband for a personal transgression he committed with an intern. Wow. Seriously? Again. I live perched upon a high stool and I look down with expat eyes and my gleaming tears shed upon the wasteland of wanting to go home. The only problem is there is a thread between my will to return and my thirst for knowledge and truth. It is a strong thread–perhaps woven from the great spider womb. How does one return to such blatant and wanton ignorance and hate? But I’m off subject again. Nomatter. The question is simple. Why is Hillary Clinton so hated? One would think that half the human population would at least respect her and praise her for her achievements and even for her ability to forgive. Yet that half seems to be part of the hate. Or am I the only one who remembers her explosive appearance on the world stage during her husband’s first term back in the nineties? I said then, say it now–I even pass it on as wisdom to young men when I get the chance–men should always find a partner that is smarter than they are. Bubba certainly found that in his partner. But to what avail? With all that worst-non-sense in mind, there is one thing that has shaken me a bit about Hillary of late. Get a load of the symbol she’s using for her 2016 presidential campaign. For shits and giggles I dabbled her symbol next to another symbol that I first thought of when she announced in April 2015 that she was running for president. I looked long and hard at her symbol. In fact, it kinda looked long and hard back at me. I started to change the colours, the background, etc., of it. I started to feel the monotony and breath of collectivism all the while waiting for big brother to appear on some flatscreen that is able to pop up out of the ground on a whim. Hillary, oh Hillary, Hillary the tattooed lady. Rant on. -tommi

    Source: Andrew Sullivan’s Nasty Rant Against Hillary Clinton Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

  • Talking The Walk

    talk the walk

    What’s that saying? Oh yeah. Walk the talk. Indeed. A tried and true American idiom. It is, in fact, a great saying because it goes so well with all the bullshit of consuming-to-survive in America these days–a country that for many is in a perpetual state of being caught up with buying your life from a slimy, greasy, used car salesman. But it’s also the perfect idiom for corporate/automaton linguistics. Yet, like so many other things in life, there’s is something misleading about this saying. It’s supposed to mean one shouldn’t talk about stuff that one cannot back up with action. Some also modify this saying with money talks and bullshit walks. But something has happened in recent years that trivialises if not voids this great American idiom. There are two parts to this saying. I suppose, having used it so much, perhaps even worn it out a bit, now only one part of this saying works. In fact, no one questions whether or not someone talking too much can walk too much. Enter the current iteration of GOP politicking. Have you listened to Kevin McCarthy talk? I mean, if you thought Dubya was a dipshit just get a load of this guy. The funny thing is, though, when I hear McCarthy talk I then see the talking points printed out in front of him on a yellow or pink sheet of paper. He’s eating his morning bowl of fruit-loops, prepared, of course, by his passive/submissive republican wife, and at the same time he’s memorising those talking points. He’s actually pretty good at memorising but that’s neither here nor there. This elected official then, after throwing his milk ridden bowl of cereal in the sink for others to clean, goes off to his day job in the united mistakes house of mis-representatives where he shares with the world the things he’s memorised–as best he can. My worst-point is this, dear worst-reader: if you thought things couldn’t get worse, welcome to your world. Which brings me to another great American idiom–that has changed. It goes something like this. A democratically elected government represents the people. Which means, you are what you elect. Here’s the talking-the-walk of what America elects to represent it:

    “We have isolated Israel, while bolding places like Iran.”

    “The absence of leadership over the past six years has had a horrific consequences all across the globe.”

    “It defies belief that the president would allow the ban on Iranian oil exports to be lifted. And also stand by while Russia blackmails an entire continent, all the while keeping the place of the band on America.” (see last link below for more talking the walk)

    Wow. And one last great idiom before I go get another drink. You can’t write this stuff.

    Good luck suckers. Rant on. -tommi

    Links:

  • Madness Says You're Welcome

    the madness gun

    Two worst-news issues this morn, dear worst-reader: gun control and privacy. What do these two issues have in common? Well, my guess is… Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Or? While reading through the hysteria that is the byproduct of madness on a scale never before seen, I couldn’t help but find some irony in these two stories. With that in mind. Let’s go there, shall we. § First. President Barry O asked the “media” to talk about America’s gun problem. Thankfully the media reacted. The graphs and charts are kinda mind-boggling. Of course the only thing I get out of them all is the WOW factor. Wow, I had no idear that so many people were killed by so many different methods. There’s car crashes. Doctor malpractice. Breast cancer. Suicide. And then there’s the best method of all: terrorism. Of course, it need not be mentioned that Barry O kinda opened the flood gates on that one. I mean, the US is spending trillions on fighting terrorists. In that fight we have so far slaughtered millions. How then can anyone expect the US to spend money on fighting the rampant gun deaths at home? It just doesn’t make any sense. Yet Obama’s recent call to “talk” about the gun problem might pay off. But to what end? Remember, dear worst-reader, it’s not so much the gun lobby (NRA) as much as it is years and years of conservative and batshit politicking that has brought the country to the brink. I mean. Come on. What is supposed to happen when a Democrat president calls for action on guns? I refer you to the supreme court case District of Columbia v. Heller. This case basically guarantees gun ownership under the 2nd Amendment—even though the amendment was written during times of muskets and includes “provisioner writ” regarding a well organised militia. The supreme court ruling also guarantees that you can own any gun you want–even really, really, really big and fast guns. So, again, what is supposed to happen when the president calls on the media to show a country of morons that…. shit happens? Oh yeah, we get to see graphs and charts and numbers. Of course, let there be no discourse regarding the demise of a country’s infrastructure—and I’m not referring to roads and bridges—where psychopaths, who obviously belong in psychiatric care, are instead faced with making pharmaceutical companies huge profits and then living in basements where it’s gun playtime. Obviously some form of gun control is on its way. But how that’s gonna happen with the current supreme court is a mystery to me. Keep in mind, the only supremes up for retirement are liberal ones. If people are serious about gun control then partaking in who nominates and approves of supremes should also be considered. It’ll be a long, arduous road, indeed. § Nomatter. § Let’s move on to European privacy, shall we. But before we do that, let’s set the mood. Say it thus: privasee. That’s how the British say it. Go ahead a repeat it a few times. Feels good coming off the tongue, don’t it? § What’s interesting about privasee and the recent EU ruling protecting it is how it relates to Edward Snowden. Without Snowden’s leaks the EU would have let all this slide, i.e. the moving and collection of private data from the EU to the US. Although I’m a skeptic regarding Snowden–that is, I just don’t think the info he released is very interesting because it’s more about the How and not the What regarding US spying–it seems as though the after-effect of what he’s done is starting to shine—at least in Europe. Europeans are really pissed off at the US about spying. It’s almost as though every frickin’ European has forgotten about the cold war (which spying helped to end) but still remembers the devastation of the great war (WWI+II) where they really learned how to spy on each other. Remember, Europe pretty much gave humanity industrialisation and with it the lust/need of espionage. Because Europe’s antiquated privasee laws are much stricter than in the US it’s only natural that Europeans react in this manner. Or? I suppose it doesn’t hurt matters very much that every European country has its own IP domain (e.g. .de, .es, .fr, .uk, etc.). Why doesn’t the US differentiate its states in this manner? Without using stealth proxies or any other IP trickery, digital content from Belgium or Spain can be easily traced but only within the parameters of EU law. I’m sure that plays a role whether or not US tech companies maintain EU data in the US. But in the end that doesn’t really matter because, well, the EU is just pissed off at the fact that US companies think they can horde everything and, when asked, turn it all over to the government. And that’s all fine and good. But it leads to a question. § “But, dear worst-writer, what does EU privasee law have to do with US gun law?” Well, like I alluded to above, probably nothing. On the other hand, I’ve been more interested in learning about Edward Snowden’s motivations more than anything else. I’m also curious as to why so little information is given to us about who these “mass shooters” really are–and who the hell is Edward Snowden? Is there information out there that someone or some entity doesn’t want to be public? Who are these people? Where do they really come from? What drugs are making them extra crazy? Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to cloud or discredit the issues here (privacy and gun control). But I do recall an interview with Snowden’s father that revealed an atypical mindset of these times, that of a government hating, gun totting, Amurikan. Yes. Indeed. The riff-raff wannabes are all having their time in the limelight. Some of them murder, other’s find refuge in Russia. Either way, the place many others call home continues to spiral into a frenzy of madness. § Good luck suckers. Rant on. -tommi

    Links that motivated this post:

  • Who Are You People

    supreme court justice mercy

    Of all the masterful arguments presented by Alan Shore (James Spader) in the American TV show Boston Legal, his argument in front of the Supreme Court in S04E17 has to be one of the best. Btw, I’ve been binge-watching the show for the past two weeks, as I’ve done here and here with other shows. Although I’m sure that the (real) Supremes would not tolerate monologuing as it appears in this episode, something inside me wishes this could/should happen. Shore (Spader) nails it. Calling out the The United States Supreme Court for their ideological bias–especially the conservative majority that has partaken in giving the world #americant–is brilliant. Actually, having never seen the show before, and having missed all of 1990s and 2000s tv programming in the US, I’m very surprised at the level of political and social criticism that takes place in this show–especially as it was produced by ABC, which is not a bastion of liberal/progressive programming. With that in mind, there is something missing in Shore’s speech (monologue) as he criticises the Supremes. Or let me put that another way. If I had written this episode, I would have included a bit about how conservatives have so ingeniously nit-picked their way to power since the 1970s. It wasn’t all Ronald Reagan, you know. There really are masterminds behind the scenes of the GOP and the Republican party. I for one, having seen all this take place from my expat 30k-foot high-seat, have to take my hat off to republicans. What a job they’ve done taking advantage of the stupidity of a nation. I mean. These sleaze-balls are the ones who pander to the lowest common denominator of the voting constituency of The United States of America… with gusto! They most certainly don’t pander to rational thought or rational governing. They do this by wiggling their way around the enormous political structure that is the US. Not only is there three branches to the federal government but each state has their own branches, their own constitutions, their own justices, etc. By attacking (and conquering) these various layers of politics, they have been able to maintain a stranglehold on the nation. It is an extremely successful from-the-bottom-up political strategy. Issues like taxes, big government, abortion, state’s rights, the 2nd Amendment, etc., are all basically the qualifiers of who gets appointed, who gets to run and, ultimately, who controls society. Because the complexity of this activity is too overwhelming for the stupid masses to comprehend, let alone even bother to ponder, the Republican party has pretty much run the show for well over thirty years. They do this by changing voting districts, i.e. gerrymandering. They appoint politically biased justices controlling legislation and even determining presidential elections. Heck! Conservatives have even found a way to circumvent Roe v. Wade. How? Easy, really. Some state legislatures that are run by conservative politicians (republicans) have changed the laws regarding hospital admitting privileges. Hospital admitting privileges are required of doctors who have private practices or clinics that perform invasive and/or surgical procedures. The admitting privilege is about the doctor, if he or she makes a mistake at the clinic, can then call upon a better equipped hospital to take care of any complications that may arise. That means, if a hospital is run by conservative ideologues, they can simply deny the doctor admitting privilege. Without the backup of a hospital but more importantly without adhering to the law that requires admitting privileges, the doctor cannot perform certain procedures at his/her clinic. It goes without saying that a clinic without hospital admitting privileges will not be able to provide certain services. Thousands of clinics have closed because of this. Pretty tricky, eh! But also well thought out. Indeed. Of course, I forgive the writers of S04E17 for not including my thoughts. They made up for it by having Denny Crane, the epitome of Republicanism, fart and make goo-goo eyes at the Supreme Court.

    Rant on.

    -Tommi

    Below is a transcript of my favourite scene, Season 4, Episode 17, Boston Legal. Alan Shore v Supreme Court. Underlined text from me. Enjoy.

    (more…)

  • The Bigot Meter

    ahmed clockTrillions of dollars have been spent. Habeas Corpus has been suspended–along with Bill of Rights. The government has the right to spy on you. You can be put on a no-fly list. We now have a government institution named homeland security. We also have a patriot act that cannot be dissolved which guarantees all the above. Seriously. Can it get more Orwellian? I’m sure there is plenty more to add to the list. But it all seems redundant at this point, doesn’t it? I mean, what has happened since that morning? That morning in September, 2001. I’ll tell you what has happened. They won. No, seriously. We might as well come out and admit it. The terrorists have won. The guys in those planes, the guys in Afghanistan, the Iranians, Hamas, ISIS/ISIL. Etc. All of ’em. They have won. Wanna know how I know they’ve won? Just look around. Look around as though you’ve never looked around before. Nomatter what you believe, what TV station you watch, what party you (think you) vote for, look around. The world has gone batshit. All there is, as ever has been, is profitability, greed, death, destruction and batshit. And that’s the ticket, dear worst-reader. The terrorists have won because, well, batshit rules. “But wait. Hasn’t it always been that way, worst-writer?” Ok. Maybe it has. But it seems to me that in the past, when the batshit got too thick, when the ammonia stench overwhelms, something came along to counter it. What that something is, I can’t get into here. It’s too broad, wide, over-reaching–and way too deep for worst-writer. Instead, all one needs to consider, look at, are the little things. Like how a 14 year old American citizen high school student, with brown skin, a muslim name and a small case with a bunch of wires and circuits in it, gets arrested–because batshit rules. Our minds have been so overcome with fear, so clouded with anger, so dimmed with wanton ignorance, that a boy’s science project MUST be a bomb. What! Wait. And that’s not all. Batshit is more than everywhere. You can see it in the way police departments across the country wield deadly force over communities, mainly aimed at people with dark skin. You can see it when presidential candidates get questions from “citizens” regarding the legitimacy of a dark skin president. You can see it when the Republican Party splits into factions of … Batshit. Indeed. The terrorists have won because we now officially live for batshit–thanks to them. And since we’re on the issue of thanking, I want to thank Ahmed Mohamed for providing #americant with yet another beacon of light to the truth–and for giving us the first ever BIGOT METER.

    Good luck suckers. Rant on. -t

    Links that motivated this post:

  • Combinations Prevail

    four white men of 2015 and beyondThere is no doubt that combinations like this will prevail. Look at the place and the history that makes them–these combinations. First, we have Matt Damon running his trap when he shouldn’t–securing his white supremacy position in Hollywood and playing the fantasy meritocracy card (see lampshade link below). Then we have The Donald teaming up with a fellow cheater (and for added effect fellow cheater Lance Armstrong up in the corner). And there you have it. Cheaters. White supremacists. Meritocracy is bleeding from the walls. So let’s arbitrarily combine them. Combinations–to confuse the idiotic masses who adore corporate America. Adore, indeed. Lust for. Entertain. Bank account. No future–unless you’re one of these achievers. It’s voting time next year. So don’t get confused by combinations. You have earned The Donald #americant. #fuckthemartian

    Good luck suckers. Rant on. -t

    Links:

  • The What And Not The How

    snowden ball effect.png

    No. Seriously. Here’s a question for ya, which is also kinda paraphrasing (the fabulous) Ronda Rousey: In an all-out, open fight, I bet Hillary Clinton would kick Edward Snowdens ass.

    Well, dear worst-reader, there you have it. The big Ed, the Snow(ball)den, has come out to tell us–us measly muggle-born non-techies–that what Hillary did with her private email server was dangerous. Really? But hold on a sec. Before I get to the tech/server krapp allow me this brief aside. How, for the love of integrity, does this guy live with himself? An American living in criminal exile in Russia, a country that is basically ruled by a two-bit dictator, and the audience who he is trying to appeal to is supposed to listen to him? What? Oh. I’m wrong? You say he’s in political exile? Oh. You mean in Russia? Ok. Whatever. Still. I do not know… but am somehow curious as to how he does it. And not only how he lives with himself but what’s with those glasses? Is it me or is a nose pad missing from those glasses? (Go ‘head, google nose pad and snowden.) I mean. That’s weird. Is this guy kinda weird? Nomatter.

    Opportunity abounds in this world, dear worst-reader. And if you want to get ahead in it, you’d better find your opportunity. (Btw, in #americant, opportunity is a commodity so make sure you can afford it!) I mean, we all must take what we can get, eh. Kentucky marriage licensers do it. Former military generals of Empire do it. Heck, we now have the first candidate in our history running for president who is at the same time under federal indictment. This is America, baby–even though Mr. Snowden can’t live in it. And. If the third world won’t come up to our level, than we’ll damn sure go down to theirs. The banana republic of #americant! And you can also be sure of this: while becoming a 3rd world country, at least America’s trim will be in gold–not unlike the trim The Donald has on his tacky aircraft, tacky cars, tacky penis and wife’s… tacky personality. (Hey, bet you thought I was gonna worst-write somethin’ else there, eh.) But all worst-kidding aside.

    Let’s get one thing straight when it comes to this email scandal, Hillary and a criminal locked in Russia who thinks it (i.e. Hillary) is dangerous. First. A brief history lesson. What would you have done if you found out that your husband’s womanising could be proven because of not just a stain on a blue dress but also because of illegally tapped phone line that was given to a biased, sexually repressed, (non)independent (grand jury) counsel? Would you be suspicious about using email–which is essentially no different than making a phone call? Would you do what you could do to protect your phone call, I mean emails–within the boundaries of the law? Btw. There is a way to make email secure. It’s not that hard. But that entails a slightly higher level of tech know-how. I could secure my emails if I wanted to. And there was never chance in hell that I could get a job at the state department. But then again, I did work for the same company Snowden worked for. Hey! Stop that! This ain’t about me.

    Here a few questions you might consider while swimming around in the boiling anger you feel for Hillary–because you’ve fallen for the villainization of “liberals” since Limbaugh & Co. got into your head. And be careful. Some of this stuff requires cognition.

    • What server did she use?
    • What hardware did her server run on?
    • Who had administrative privileges to that server?
    • Who had her email address?
    • How did she distribute that email address?
    • In voluntarily turning it over to federal authorities, if it was encrypted, did she decrypt it before turning it over or did she give the authorities her encryption keys?

    My point of these question is that we don’t know anything about what Hillary actually did with her emails or her server. Knowing that stuff should be part of judging whether she is/was a danger, or? Well, I guess it shouldn’t if you’re simply boiling over with hate. Instead all we have is a government agency (Justice Dept. and FBI?) combing through all her emails and then releasing certain amounts of them periodically. That said. Here is what we do know when it comes to national security breaches. As mentioned above, a major military general was prosecuted for illegally providing his lover with classified information. We also know that the US government was recently hacked and thousands upon thousands of personal, government employee information (including information of people who were only applying for work) was made public. This scandal alone proves that the US government is spending too much on guns and not enough on technology. In fact, the government cannot know how many emails are floating around with government information. So the last question is, if you don’t trust Hillary (because you hate her so much), what has she actually done wrong? She most certainly hasn’t broken any laws.

    What bothers me about this so-called scandal is that it stinks of the same tactics used by the sexually repressed republicans to bring down Bill Clinton in the 90s. And here’s a prediction for you: if Hillary does get elected, there’ll be another sexually repressed republican appointed as general counsel to investigate whether or not she lies about a personal transgression that has nothing to do with running the greatest failed-upward nation-state experiment in human history. I hope she’s  more teflon than Bill.

    And one last thought. I’m still waiting for the Snowden leaks, that are conveniently being distributed piece by piece by a profiteering entity, to show me the what and not the how of government spying on its citizenry. Which means that there is something disingenuous about  Snowden appearing along side Daniel Ellsberg. You see, Ellsberg, when he released secret documents to the public, revealed what our government was doing that was illegal during the Vietnam war. But I digress.

    Rant on. -Tommi

    Links:

  • Robespierre vs Orwell

    pledge alligiance trump.png

    I’m not really thinking of revolution but I am thinking of the consequence of those who are able, through whatever means, to take advantage of it. These are the people who stand by with white tails and gimmi-geeks and they plaster their wits on the walls of power. The owners of power, on the other hand, laugh and sneer, amused by the people that are powerless but are granted the right(s) to be in the rich man’s room(s). Revolutions are amazing things–only because of how easy they are to turn–not unlike the turning of dead flesh or milk in a jar, both sitting too long in the shinning sun. Turn things rotten indeed. It happened in France. It happened in Russia. It is, for all practical purposes, happening perpetually in the US. Yes. Our revolution of 1776 is in a perpetual state of counter revolution–and rot. Or?

    “If the French Revolution were to recur eternally, French historians would be less proud of Robespierre. But because they deal with something that will not return, the bloody years of the Revolution have turned into mere words, theories, and discussions, have become lighter than feathers, frightening no one. There is an infinite difference between a Robespierre who occurs only once in history and a Robespierre who eternally returns, chopping off French heads.” -Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

    The above quote from Kundera comes from the beginning of his book where he so brilliantly begins by orating the mood and essence of his story. I bring it up because that story is one that is being perpetually played out–even as I worst-write these words today. The essence of that story seems to be engrained in the past, present and future, as some of us are Tomas and we have written manifests that confuse our allegiances. And there is nothing we can do about it, except, maybe, sign a pledge (of allegiance). The only difference between the time of Robespierre, the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia, etc., and today is that the story changes colours, it changes rooms, it wears new & improved coats and it even changes hair styles. Indeed. The story goes on. The powerless are clueless to it, too. This amazes and confuses me in such a wondrous way that my head spins like Ray D. Tutto aka The King of the Moon.

    I reckon I’m thinking of more than revolution. Orwell comes to mind, too. The whole idear that people are indifferent to the surroundings that lead to both revolution and whatever the opposite is of revolution (counter?), has never been more prevalent. For example, the signing of the above “pledge” by The Donald. Can you believe this? How many examples of Orwellian carnage or the horror of the French counter revolution does there need to be before people get it? Too amused by The Donald, dear worst-reader? Yes. Just maybe. Too amused. But consider this:

    How do you think that worked? Donald Trump went into a room with the head of the republican party of the united mistakes of #americant and when he came out he had signed a pledge of allegiance to that party. This is very confusing to me for I am a believer in the US’s bipartisan system of governance. Seriously. I love the left-right system which seems to work so well with the Constitution. And trust me, I live where political parties grow like crab-grass. Yet powerful men in the greatest constitutional nation-state in history go into rooms and when they come out they have signed papers that are pledges of allegiance. As though Donald Trump’s counter-revolution-like campaign wasn’t a strong enough statement or threat to the established party, he has to promise to remain a member. Donald Trump appeals to the most ignorant of the ignorant and he is a TV reality star and he’s leading in all polls among republicans and he has to promise to stay in the party? Am I the only one to be afeared by this?

    Why does the republican party need pledges like this? I mean, they did the same thing with taxes. Some nut-job practically hoodwinked the party by making republican politicians sign a “pledge” to not raise taxes. Look at what this has done to parts of America (Detroit, Kansas, the entire school system, roads and other national infrastructure, etc.) Politicians and, of course, constituents have fallen for this nonsense in totality. Taxation is questioned and no one EVER questions how money is spent. Yet. If the politicians didn’t sign the no-tax pledge then they would lose campaign funding which also means they couldn’t hold their office. This is constitutional democracy? Someone’s pledge to a party wields this kind of power! I mean, what is really going on when people, in order to prove their allegiance, have to publicly sign things in order to hold public office? Isn’t that what communist party members have to do?

    By-the-bye. It wasn’t enough that Winston Smith was broken by threat of being eaten alive by rats where he denounces Julia and pledges allegiance to Big Brother, but he also had to accept that 2+2=5. Obviously Robespierre didn’t accept that equation and so the French cut off his head–and probably fed it to Orwell’s/O’Brien’s rats.

    Man oh man oh man. When you live in shit you really can’t smell the roses anymore. I guess we all better get up off our asses and… I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united mistakes of #americant….

    Good luck suckers. The day is coming when you all with have to sign that pledge, too.

    Rant on. -t

    Link that motivated this post: The 62-word pledge Donald Trump Signed | NPR