Crunch Time

So the broken clocks and conspiracy theorists are right - it is 11:59. Obama may soon sign the National Defense Authorization Act into law. This would make the United States a battlefield and allows the military to occupy the Land of the Brave.

Now, don't be fooled into looking at #NDAA in isolation. There are several forces in synchronicity : the aggrandizement of political power to finance, the locking down of the Internet, the co-opting of the media and the rise of manufacturing by private prisons labor. All these forces feed each others push us toward a new normal. America will become a corporatocracy, the Fascist nation with the iPods.

But there is still hope, we are not too far gone. But the solution requires blood and treasure. Our blood, our treasure.

If you are brave, look at American history and ask yourself, what major social changes that benefited the common man was acquired by violent means? We are going to need the courage of the Civil Rights movement, because the corporatocracy will turn the whole country into the Deep South.

Inglorious Bastards

Worked on Christmas. I said WORKED on Christmas. My family and friends bemoaned it, but they are looking without context. Seven million Americans are unemployed. 4 million of them have been looking for work for a year or longer.

That being said it still sucks to work on the holidays. I even apologized to the coffeehouse folks as I walked in to pick up breakfast.

There was a time when working Christmas or New Year's meant double time and a half. Thanks to unions, workers were at least honored for the sacrifice. Honor..

I would say honor is missing in many places in America right now. Where's the honor in freezing workers' pay and rewarding management? Where's the honor in police officers being ask to crush descent? Where's the honor in bringing soldiers stateside and asking them to crush descent as well?

Where's the honor in voting for brands instead of candidates? Where's the honor in not attempting to keep them accountable? Where's the honor in complaining when you didn't write, call or occupy?

We can restore our country's honor one citizen at a time. We can make efforts to restore national integrity by managing our lives the way we'd want the govt to manage its affairs: responsibly and with a care as to how it would affect our neighbors.

If you can't occupy, call. If don't call, then email, tweet or post on blogs. Just make an effort to resist dishonorable persons hiding behind corporations destroying this country. Watch policy not parties. Watch out for your neighbor.

Blood & Treasure

Participated in TwitterBomb against the Stop Online Piracy Act (#SOPA) recently. Tons of participants. I get sense there was impact on the Judiciary Subcommittee that meets on #SOPA. 

But TwitterBombs are just letter writing campaigns in this new era. They assist the people in the street, but not a replacement for civil disobedience.

So I don't consider myself a revolutionary. I make small financial donations to #occupy, tweet & blog. I guess I'm a sympathizer. 

The only language empire understands is blood and treasure, I'm there on treasure...

Boots on the Ground

Police officers are the boots of the corrupt and wealthy. They grind the poor and the visionaries beneath their soles, batons, water hoses and tear gas, so they can sleep on the back porch of the masters.

Not all officers are the Dogs of the Rich. Not all sheriffs hunt the foreclosed middle class like wounded ducks. Not all. But, if you don’t stop the boot from grinding, if you don’t stop the baton from striking, you are participating in the violence. You must do your part.

There will always be slave catchers, there will always be people who break the law for freedomsake. Conscience and history tends to favor one of the other. Which one are you?

1 Marine vs. 30 Cops (Marine Wins)

Anwar al-Awlaki Describes Post-9/11 Mood in U.S.: Watch the Interview

Democrat or Obamacan?

My children were surprised when I told them how much I love this country. They, like some conservatives that see things in black & white terms, confuse a detailed critique with being unpatriotic. A common mistake. Fact is, I love this country and want to see it and me prosper, so changes must be made. Can't make changes unless you point them out. Which brings me to Mr. Obama.

Just because I criticize our president doesn't mean I am anti-Democrat or anti-Obama. I am pro-policy. I am pro-education funding, pro-military spending cuts, pro-universal heart care (european-style). If Obama doesn't fight for these policies then HE is out of step with democratic-liberal ideals not I. We should call him on it on vote accordingly. Let us not redefine what it means to be a Democrat based on Mr. Obama, rather let's give him the incentive to realign with the base that brung him.

photo: MacBook Pro taken with iPhone 4GS, Hipstamatic app (Salvador 84, Ina's 1935)