Friday, July 16, 2004

NADER
 
Yesterday I got a call from by buddy Lliam, telling me that Ralph Nader was going to speak at our local Vroman’s bookstore (the same store, incidentally, that hosted Hilary Clinton for her book signing last year) in a few minutes.  Coincidentally, I was headed into the area of that particular book store at the time, and for some reason, I decided to go hear what Mr. Nader had to say.
 
First off, let me tell you that I am extremely unhappy with the current set of so-called “candidates” we have to choose from for the upcoming Presidential election.  As far as I’m concerned, Mr. Kerry is no better than Mr. Bush, seeing how they are both members of the same secret society (Yale’s Skull and Bones).  Regardless of what their “platforms” say, these guys both answer to the same corporate interests, and I am convinced that even if Kerry were elected, the changes to this country would be minimal.
 
Yet at the same time, I was wary of the potential “spoiler” role that some say Nader is determined to play.  I have a lot of intelligent friends who sing the “Anybody but Bush” song loud and clear, and they are truly concerned that a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush, in that it takes away another much needed vote for their man John Kerry.  They may have a point.
 
But I decided to see for myself what Ralph had to say.  I arrived to see a fairly large crowd (not Clinton-esque by any standard, but still large), and I immediately scanned the room for free food and drinks.  No deal.  Just as I was about to complain to my friend, a hush settled over the room as four tall men walked through the crowd to the podium.  Dang, Ralph Nader is taller than me!  I don’t know why this matters, but it was pleasant surprise number one.  Warm, sustained applause greeted Ralph Nader’s Pasadena appearance.
 
After quickly thanking the crowd, Ralph got right down to business, making a very moving and eloquent case for a third party candidate.  He correctly pointed out that growing apathy among progressive voters is leading to their acceptance of substandard presidential candidates, the whole “lesser of two evils” mindset that many of my pro-Kerry friends have firmly adopted.  Nader focused on the fact that the duopoly that currently governs the country is fully funded and controlled by big business interests, and that’s why important issues like health care and a decent living wage for all Americans has been totally ignored by the Democrat and Republican rivals.
 
Pleasant surprise number two: Ralph Nader made me think.  And that’s a whole hell of a lot more than what Kerry/Bush make me do, with their clever speech snippets and carefully orchestrated campaign stops.  As I mentioned earlier, I am already unhappy with what we have to choose from in November.  In fact, I was seriously considering beginning a write-in campaign, urging other similarly-frustrated voters to write-in “I demand a better choice” on their ballots.  Yes, I realize that is in essence throwing away my vote, but my conscience will not allow me to just pick one because he’s not as bad as the other.  Say you were traveling across country, and during a particularly long stretch across the wilderness you stop in the only diner for miles, and the choice for dinner is rat or maggot soup.  What would you do?  Would you really try to convince yourself that there are appetizing qualities when none actually exist?  Or would you choose to leave without eating, and let your stomach growl and boil for the rest of the night?
 
I won’t vote for Bush.  I can’t vote for Kerry.  I am independent of either party, and I support an alternative choice.  I will vote for Ralph Nader in November, because I think he’ll make a better President than either Kerry or Bush.
 
More later…
Paul

Friday, July 09, 2004

Beating up on 6 year olds?

Former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, in a PUBLIC APPEARANCE, called a six-year-old student a "stupid, dirty girl": sacbee.com -- Politics -- Furor grows over Riordan's remark to girl.

Hey, I'm trying to stay positive here, but these guys keep throwing softballs!

Read that crazy article. It goes on to state that a black assemblyman gets so up in arms about it, he schedules some type of NAACP press conference...only to cancel it when he learns that the little girl is white! Naturally, all outrage is now focused on the assemblyman, while Riordan stumbles along, with Arnold's full support and confidence. Unbelievable.

Shouldn't the man just apologize to the kid?

Hold the phone! I've just seen the video of the entire event, and while it was an ill-advised comment (to say the least), it was reasonably clear to the little girl and her classmates that Riordan was just teasing her. According the The Smoking Gun website, he even apologized later on...so I guess I got caught up in the media hoopla, passing judgement before I understood the whole deal.

Dick, I'm sorry...

More later...
Paul

Monday, July 05, 2004

The Rocket’s Red Glare

It was the second of July in Altadena, California (year of the lord 2004, etc, etc), one hour after sunset, when I was rousted from watching motocross DVD by the sounds of cannons going off a few blocks away.

Well, not really cannons…I know, after four decades of experience, what recreational artillery sounds like. Some of my fondest memories of growing up in the Nation’s Capital, Washington, D.C., involved a yearly visit to the fireworks street vendors.

The vendors always seemed like mysterious gypsies to me, a semi-organized cult that would suddenly appear to spread cheap fireworks across the city, pawning boxes of explosives to kids young and old, out of rickety, hastily-thrown-together plywood shacks.

But the Fourth of July in D.C., as far as fireworks were concerned, was all about seeing (and hearing and FEELING) the Nation’s Fireworks Extravaganza on the Mall (I’m not sure if that’s trademarked)….40 years of that and one gains the ability to discern the subtle differences in the audio signatures between a Glorious Golden Shower Sparkler shell and a howitzer (or maybe not).

My point, though, was that there were fireworks going off in my neighborhood. REAL recreational artillery. At first I thought it was just some crazy neighbors a few blocks away, blasting off a few consumer grade shells. After a particularly extended fusillade, though, I reconsidered: either I had more crazy neighbors than I first thought, or perhaps something else was going on.

I stepped out on my porch just as another barrage began. Coming from what was probably the Altadena Country Club’s golf course was the real deal. Fireworks. The show continued, the “whumps” occasionally becoming “WHUMPS” and even a few “WHUMPS!!!”, the night skies lighting up in luminous colors as the gunpowder ignited and spread burning remnants through the atmosphere. And I began to think about the fact that it was the start of the Fourth of July weekend in American, again…and here I was, watching a fireworks display, again. And here we go, again, as all over this fine country, Americans will celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence…by shooting off a whole hell of a lot of rockets.

We love rockets. Americans love rockets. And explosions. But we especially love rockets that explode. We even wrote a song about a rocket and made it our National Anthem. Okay, “The Star Spangled Banner” is really a song about a flag…a flag that the songwriter could see only because it was illuminated by an exploding rocket, accompanied by a violent soundtrack of “bombs bursting in air.” During a war, of course. Americans love war, too, and it’s fitting that we do so, because of our love of exploding rockets. However, we prefer shooting these rockets AWAY from us, sometimes just up in the air, sometimes just at people we don’t like. The latter usually meaning during a war.

How many displays of artfully burning powdered chemicals will exist as the centerpiece and/or climax of the Nation’s 2004 Independence Day festivities? The count has to be in the thousands, maybe even hundred thousands. It looks like my annual renewal of retina-tracing by fire streaking across the sky occurred two days early…and it had the added “benefit” of having a large red “Jack In The Box” sign (I’m pretty sure that IS trademarked) in my direct field of view during the entire display. At one point in the bombardment, the fiery bursts created a sort of “halo” effect around the huge advertisement, further strengthening, I’m sure, a subliminal argument in favor of that particular brand of fast fried food (I ate there the following afternoon. Coincidence?).

I gotta tell you, it all came together for me as I watched this scene. I recalled some of the more vividly gruesome scenes from our country’s current war (scenes that I had to pay to see in a commercial movie theater because the Nation’s “free” media refuse to air them), and I wondered if Iraqi people have the same view of recreational artillery that we Americans do? I wondered if they respond to the sound of cannons in their neighborhoods the way we Americans respond? Of course, this was all rhetorical wondering; I knew the answer. We all know the answer.

I count myself lucky to have been born in a country where I was able to grow to middle age without ever having the experience of being on the receiving end of military grade bombs and rockets. In fact, I am quite proud that I live in a country that lets us choose for ourselves if we want to experience such things. This country goes so far as to give us the opportunity to feel what it’s like to be targeted by bullets, grenades, mortars, rockets and missiles among other things, while we give people who live in other countries the very same opportunity. That, I’m not so proud of.

So this Fourth of July, as the news readers and newspapers and talking heads continually remind us to give thanks and warm thoughts to our troops as they put themselves in harm’s way in order to preserve our exploding-rocket-loving way of life, do not let yourself lose sight of the FACT that our wonderful fellow citizen-soldiers do NOT have to be at war. This proud Nation NEVER need be at war, with any country, cult, tribe or substance. We CHOOSE to be at war, because we love our rockets and what they do for us.

More later…
Paul

Friday, July 02, 2004

Get Down, Bill!

I can't vouch for CNN's sense of fairness or balance, but I did like this particular article:CNN.com - Bill Cosby has more harsh words for black community - Jul 2, 2004.

I think it's very interesting, not that Bill Cosby has something to say and is not afraid to say it, but that the mainstream press considers it "news". Here is a guy who is NOT an elected official, nor is even considered to be a so-called "black leader" (e.g. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton), but just a normal black person who happens to be a well-liked international celebrity. And when asked to speak, he speaks the truth as he sees it. Why is it "news"? It's more like gossip: "oooh, didja hear what Cosby said the other day? He said black people are stupid!"

On the face of things, as far as I'm concerned, Mr. Cosby was telling it like it is. I love hip hop, but despise rap songs that insist on using the "n" word, or tell degrading stories of women, or glorify immoral behavior...unfortunately, that describes most rap that's heard on the radio these days. I am also concerned by the illiteracy rate in the black community, and the social problems that are caused by poverty, joblessness and ill health. I also agree that it all comes down to personal choice...which is a matter of personal responsibility. And I think that's what Cosby is getting at. However, this article, and the ones that will surely follow, are signaling much more.

Look at the first sentence of the article: "Bill Cosby went off on another tirade against the black community..." Note the words chosen by unnamed Associated Press reporter (if I had written that, I wouldn't want my name on it, either). "Went off" is an implied negative; bombs "go off". "Another", implying that he's done it many times before, even though the article admits that he's done it only once before. "Tirade" means "a speech of violent denunciation". The subliminal message of this line: well-known black man violently denunciates his own community, again and again. The supporting quotes that follow strengthen and verify Cosby's statements.

So what's wrong with that? On the face of it, nothing at all. It's no secret that there are problems in the black community. Heck, there are problems in every ethnic community. Gangsterism, illiteracy, alcohol-, drug- and spousal-abuse are problems not limited to the black community. But the subliminal message in this news story is the suggestion that many if not most blacks are inferior, and they do it to themselves and then try to blame it on others. Since it's subliminal, it secretly reinforces a mistaken societal impression...a prejudice, if you will. The opposite, of course, is true.

That explains why the Associated Press/CNN/and all the other mainstream news outlets that will run with this "ball" display it as "news": to use subliminal messaging to reinforce negative impressions.

What? You don't think they would do something like that? Please, wake up.

More later...
Paul