There's a lot of questions, comments, and philosophy about how to let everyone know you're smart, well connected with reality, and not gonna say grace this year.
When you're at dinner, and Uncle Kiddietoucher starts to pray, instead of cringing as his spittle moistens the overcooked turkey, try any of the following:
* Jump up, smack someone sitting beside you, and yell "Fuck You, God-Lover, I is for REAL!" and once they all look at you, try expanding your thesis: "Seriously, I'm all about reality, and that reality doesn't include any god, gods, or goddesses. Instead of attempting to poison my ability to rationally and objectively view the world, how 'bout you shut your shit spewer and join in, with me, living in the here and now?"
* Join with others, don't sit back, come out as a non-theist (whichever terminology you enjoy), and show your solidarity.
Read More...
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Today
I've taken to calling Santa, "That big scary pedophile, who rewards kids that sit on his lap."
You figure out what I think about today. Read More...
You figure out what I think about today. Read More...
Monday, December 22, 2008
Gay Marriage
Separate but Equal. Remember that? Remember what the Supreme Court said about it? If you don't support Gay Marriage, shut the fuck up.
Read More...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Story Time
"The mercury destroys their brainy stuffs, and makes them drool more! There is no cure for it, and these, so-called, "Doctors"- who actually went to school for 12 years past the 12 years I had to suck and fuck my way through- FORCE our children to ingest MERCURY!" Sloth's face was red from exertion and she stood, panting, surveying her audience. Heads were nodding accent.
"Autism is a plague, brought on by 'science', 'reason', and a general inability to accept a death rate of greater than 50% for anyone over thirty! These vaccines have got to go! I have lived with autism for six years, and as a mother," she adopted the teary-eyed look that had always worked on daddy, "it was the most horrible thing ever! To know my son was a squishy headed half-tard with no prospects for ever not mooching off what I've sucked and fucked my way to- I picked my nose on TV, for Zombie Jebus's sake- was unbearable! But.. But, I am one of the lucky ones." The tears dried up, she smiled awkwardly. "My son was a slightly-sickly-blueish-green Child. He, as a member of the next evolution of mankind, has healed himself of- what modern medical practitioners might misdiagnose as- 'autism'." There are cheers, and Sloth's heart swells. No one ever cheered that hard when for her when she wasn't showing boobies, she thought. This is way better than double penetration, she added.
"Even though my child is not autistic, and I'm not a doctor, or a scientist, and I obviously don't understand simple aspects of evolutionary biologists... Even though more than 15 major studies, throughout the world, run under verifiably reasonable, sound, and trusted experimental modalities totally discount what I say... I know what caused the not-autism my not-human son once sorta had: VACCINES!" There are angry cheers and jeers from the crowd.
"She's right, she's right, she's right," adds Sloth's boyfriend Monkey, as he stares contemplatively into his hand full of feces. "Sex now?" Monkey stage whispers, and the crowd cheers even louder; his gaze barely drifts from the odiferous contents of his hands to the pronounced swell of Sloth's bussom.
There is a loud, momentary, squeal across the speaker system, then the tried and true swooshing of someone blowing into a microphone. "Test, Check. Oh, okay! Uhm. Hello." says Owl. Owl has been told that putting the crowd at ease, making them comfortable, will win them over to his side. 'Hello' was his ace in the hole, and as the crowd hasn't started rioting, or shouting at him to do anatomically impossible things, it seems to have worked. Check and mate, he tells himself, I got this. "I am Doctor Owl, a neuro-surgeon at Princeton Plainsburrow Teaching Hospital." Owl's chest swells with pride, and he sees heads nodding in approval. "What Sloth said is false for any number of reasons, one:" and as that's where the majority of the audience stopped listening, I won't bother you with repeating Owl's diatribe of facts, reality, and- that stubbornly repeatable, verifiable, and objective- truth. Instead, this being an accurate recitation of events, we'll pick back up where most of the audience did. "Therefore, Sloth has no proof of what she's saying because there is no proof. She's wrong, anyone who does the research knows she's wrong, and she's endangering the lives of everyone by perpetrating these lies onto the unsuspecting masses! Autism is not linked, and has never been reliably linked, to vaccines. Thank you." Some jeered, some cheered, most were still transfixed by Sloth and Monkey's obvious sluttiness.
Many in the audience, for whatever reason, believed if they were pushed far enough, either one or both of Sloth and Monkey would gladly flop onto their back and encourage a type of train that only much older, scarier, and often Japanese, boys think about as fun. Some in the audience secretly hoped Owl was of a similar bent. Of course, there were about six or seven- of the hundreds in attendance- who actually cared what was being said, too.
"You're a shill for Big Pharma," accused Monkey, the words mimicing the metabolic process he was simultaneously using to refill his hand. "We're actors, and we've talked to psychics, and our Chiropractic friends agree." The crowd cheered. Owl responded with a list of highly regarded, peer reviewed, scientific medical journals that published equally reliable studies discounting any claims that autism was linked with, as Owl put it, "chemicals that haven't even been in US vaccines for years!"
"Shill!" Sloth chanted, and Monkey echoed. "Shill!" The crowd chanted, too.
Owl shook his head, and waited. He flashed a shiny mirror at the crowd. The short attention spans of the chanters were instantly focused on the mirror, and on Owl. The chant was forgotten. "There is no link. There is no evidence that even suggests a link, other than those people who say there is such evidence. Everytime they're asked to produce evidence they cannot. Anytime they've suggested some 'likely candidate' as the culprit, it's been thuroughly tested and shown to be harmless- as far as autism is concerned. Each time their favored vaccination component is debunked, they invent a new one out of whole cloth! That is not science, that's, at best, guessing; and more akin to witch hunting."
"He supports witchcraft! You heard him, he's a satanist!"
"Actually, though my personal beliefs shouldn't matter, I don't believe in any gods, devils, demons, or ghosts."
"EVEN WORSE! He's an ATHEIST!" The crowd gasps. "Let's hit him until he believes in our professed mythologies!" The crowd cheers. Owl swallows, and eyes the exit. The crowd, still jeering and cheering stand up. Owl knows his time is short.
"Do the research for yourself, don't trust what others tell you, look it up. Go to.." but someone cuts the microphone before he can finish. The crowd is starting toward the stage. It's now or never, Owl thinks, and tosses the mirror. As it flies, the various lights cause the mirror to glint and shine, casting brilliant rays at random. The distraction is complete. As one the crowd, Sloth, and Monkey, stare transfixed as the mirror arcs up and crashes down, shattering. When it breaks, they immediately return to Owl; but he is gone, disappeared.
"See," says Sloth. "He's a sorcerer. Who would you rather believe? A devil worshipping atheist sorcerer doctor, or these?" She flashes two of her teats at the admiring crowd. The crowd cheers. Read More...
"Autism is a plague, brought on by 'science', 'reason', and a general inability to accept a death rate of greater than 50% for anyone over thirty! These vaccines have got to go! I have lived with autism for six years, and as a mother," she adopted the teary-eyed look that had always worked on daddy, "it was the most horrible thing ever! To know my son was a squishy headed half-tard with no prospects for ever not mooching off what I've sucked and fucked my way to- I picked my nose on TV, for Zombie Jebus's sake- was unbearable! But.. But, I am one of the lucky ones." The tears dried up, she smiled awkwardly. "My son was a slightly-sickly-blueish-green Child. He, as a member of the next evolution of mankind, has healed himself of- what modern medical practitioners might misdiagnose as- 'autism'." There are cheers, and Sloth's heart swells. No one ever cheered that hard when for her when she wasn't showing boobies, she thought. This is way better than double penetration, she added.
"Even though my child is not autistic, and I'm not a doctor, or a scientist, and I obviously don't understand simple aspects of evolutionary biologists... Even though more than 15 major studies, throughout the world, run under verifiably reasonable, sound, and trusted experimental modalities totally discount what I say... I know what caused the not-autism my not-human son once sorta had: VACCINES!" There are angry cheers and jeers from the crowd.
"She's right, she's right, she's right," adds Sloth's boyfriend Monkey, as he stares contemplatively into his hand full of feces. "Sex now?" Monkey stage whispers, and the crowd cheers even louder; his gaze barely drifts from the odiferous contents of his hands to the pronounced swell of Sloth's bussom.
There is a loud, momentary, squeal across the speaker system, then the tried and true swooshing of someone blowing into a microphone. "Test, Check. Oh, okay! Uhm. Hello." says Owl. Owl has been told that putting the crowd at ease, making them comfortable, will win them over to his side. 'Hello' was his ace in the hole, and as the crowd hasn't started rioting, or shouting at him to do anatomically impossible things, it seems to have worked. Check and mate, he tells himself, I got this. "I am Doctor Owl, a neuro-surgeon at Princeton Plainsburrow Teaching Hospital." Owl's chest swells with pride, and he sees heads nodding in approval. "What Sloth said is false for any number of reasons, one:" and as that's where the majority of the audience stopped listening, I won't bother you with repeating Owl's diatribe of facts, reality, and- that stubbornly repeatable, verifiable, and objective- truth. Instead, this being an accurate recitation of events, we'll pick back up where most of the audience did. "Therefore, Sloth has no proof of what she's saying because there is no proof. She's wrong, anyone who does the research knows she's wrong, and she's endangering the lives of everyone by perpetrating these lies onto the unsuspecting masses! Autism is not linked, and has never been reliably linked, to vaccines. Thank you." Some jeered, some cheered, most were still transfixed by Sloth and Monkey's obvious sluttiness.
Many in the audience, for whatever reason, believed if they were pushed far enough, either one or both of Sloth and Monkey would gladly flop onto their back and encourage a type of train that only much older, scarier, and often Japanese, boys think about as fun. Some in the audience secretly hoped Owl was of a similar bent. Of course, there were about six or seven- of the hundreds in attendance- who actually cared what was being said, too.
"You're a shill for Big Pharma," accused Monkey, the words mimicing the metabolic process he was simultaneously using to refill his hand. "We're actors, and we've talked to psychics, and our Chiropractic friends agree." The crowd cheered. Owl responded with a list of highly regarded, peer reviewed, scientific medical journals that published equally reliable studies discounting any claims that autism was linked with, as Owl put it, "chemicals that haven't even been in US vaccines for years!"
"Shill!" Sloth chanted, and Monkey echoed. "Shill!" The crowd chanted, too.
Owl shook his head, and waited. He flashed a shiny mirror at the crowd. The short attention spans of the chanters were instantly focused on the mirror, and on Owl. The chant was forgotten. "There is no link. There is no evidence that even suggests a link, other than those people who say there is such evidence. Everytime they're asked to produce evidence they cannot. Anytime they've suggested some 'likely candidate' as the culprit, it's been thuroughly tested and shown to be harmless- as far as autism is concerned. Each time their favored vaccination component is debunked, they invent a new one out of whole cloth! That is not science, that's, at best, guessing; and more akin to witch hunting."
"He supports witchcraft! You heard him, he's a satanist!"
"Actually, though my personal beliefs shouldn't matter, I don't believe in any gods, devils, demons, or ghosts."
"EVEN WORSE! He's an ATHEIST!" The crowd gasps. "Let's hit him until he believes in our professed mythologies!" The crowd cheers. Owl swallows, and eyes the exit. The crowd, still jeering and cheering stand up. Owl knows his time is short.
"Do the research for yourself, don't trust what others tell you, look it up. Go to.." but someone cuts the microphone before he can finish. The crowd is starting toward the stage. It's now or never, Owl thinks, and tosses the mirror. As it flies, the various lights cause the mirror to glint and shine, casting brilliant rays at random. The distraction is complete. As one the crowd, Sloth, and Monkey, stare transfixed as the mirror arcs up and crashes down, shattering. When it breaks, they immediately return to Owl; but he is gone, disappeared.
"See," says Sloth. "He's a sorcerer. Who would you rather believe? A devil worshipping atheist sorcerer doctor, or these?" She flashes two of her teats at the admiring crowd. The crowd cheers. Read More...
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Mallard Fillmore, the Right, and the Prius.
I thought Mallard Fillmore was a political commentary comic strip; recently, I've been reminded it is a right-wing political commentary comic strip. Obvious political bias, especially when it's lame ass rehashings of party talking points from months ago- like today's strip in The Huntsville Times, in which Obama is lambasted for kicking a reporter off his plane during the campaign. Have we forgotten that kicking reporters off planes is somewhat standard practice? Have we forgotten that Bush did it, Clinton did it, McCain did it, and others have surely done it? Generally, though, it irritates me to see anyone lambasting the president-elect for things he should/shouldn't/could do once he's the President. It's childish, it's counting the chickens before the baskets hatch from the eggs, and it's stupid. Let the motherfucker fuck up before we roast his ass. Why artificially concoct bullshit, now? How many infallible politicians do we have in this country that so many people are scared if they don't constantly throw mud there will come a time when mud throwing isn't allowed/wanted?
The Right of US's political divide has been pissing me off, more than usual, lately. First, the talking heads that squawk on and on about how "this recession isn't any worse than any before it", or how "[some financial thing] doesn't need to be further regulated", or how other countries are blaming the US, entirely, for the current world woes. That last isn't a "right-wing" thing per se, but it fits in the general theme, and that's good enough for me. (Though, I'll deal with it separately later). First, the average length of a Recession since WWII: 8-10 months. Current length of this Recession: 12 months, and counting. Last time we were in a recession that lasted this long? Either the early 90s or the early 80s depending on if you take into account "depth" and to whom you listen.
Once again, this world wide problem came about in a number of ways. Partly, the US economy has been bolstered over the last 5-8 years by debt, as has most of the world's economy. In fact, modern economics is the manipulation of debt- in a very real way. There was a huge glut of global money looking for a place to be invested. The first place it found was gas. Oil always goes up, just like the value of a house, or so the wisdom went. The only negative had been how slow those rising values happened, but the global pool of money didn't want risk, so slow growth was seen as the perfect solution. This led to rising fuel costs as futures were invested in, and demand from the emerging economies of China, Brazil and Russia far outpaced supply. Investment + Demand = Skyrocketing Oil value.
At the same time, two things were happening in the financial sectors of the US, the UK, and several other countries with large, valuable, housing markets. First, growth was steady and rising, and seen as reliable and safe. Second, Credit Default Swaps- unregulated, non-transparent, financial instruments handled exclusively by large financial institutions- became a source of speculation, instead of a sort of insurance policy on low risk bonds. Technically, these things happened first, as they started in the late 90s and early 00s; but the problems snowballed when fuel costs ran rampant.
The financial obligations of CDS's spread risk, and investment in debt, over huge swaths of the financial industry, by linking bond payouts. A Credit Default Swap being an obligation to pay out on a company's bond if that company should default- these were then "netted", causing there to be (basically) 50-60 trillion US$ of obligated insurance on 5 trillion US$ worth of bonds. Bonds, CDS's, fuel futures, all of it is betting on debt, and the repayment of that debt.
The housing market was primed for some of that huge pool of global money. It was already seeing returns from oil futures, and experts understood that those returns were going to slack off as gas prices climbed higher, causing consumers to cut back. In other words, the growth of that sector was forecast to plateau. This made investors hungry for more of the overwhelming growth they had been experiencing and grown accustomed to; and the only other market with slow steady growth was housing.
The problem with housing was that it grew based on the debt in the system. When a homebuyer gets a loan, his debt enters the system as a mortgage, and can be bought up. Bundle a bunch of those debts together and it's a Mortgage Backed Security- another financial instrument, like a bond or CDL, and like them based solely on debt. Mortgages default on a regular basis, always have. If each person had a base 10% chance to default, bundled mortgages of 10 people had a 100% chance that one of them would go bad. But the other 9 wouldn't, statistically. That's safer than buying one mortgage, where if it goes bad your investment is shot. It's even safer to buy up 1,000 where 100 will probably go bad, but 900 will make their payments back to you.
Seems simple and straight forward, right?
The problem was lack of consumer protections. Think about this: according to the Bell Curve, if you're above the median intellect (and if you're reading this, it's a safe assumption that statement is true) the majority of people are dumber than you. That's understandable, of course, you encounter many morons in your day-to-day. The additional fact is, though, that someone dumber than you, but also above median, is smarter than the majority of people. Imagine that guy or gal, and then imagine the person behind him. Call that person "X".
The banks knew they could make large profits off bundling mortgage loans together and "selling" them to investors. The more loans they made, the more bundles they could sell. Lawmakers, at the time, knew such deals would improve the economy, and in times of plenty those in power stay there. Lawmakers encouraged the businesses; and the Businesses, not really needing encouragement to make every cent they could, happily ran full steam ahead. Banks gave out more and more loans, ignoring previously held economic principles on "acceptable risk". Meanwhile, they were also obligated to pay off potential debts, through CDSs.
Our freindly dumbass "X" gets told that it doesn't matter how much he makes, what his credit history is, he can "HAVE THE AMERICAN DREAM!" and own a house. "X" is also being told, by popular entertainment, it's easy to "flip a house" and make some quick cash. "X" knows he's smarter than most- who isn't? - and he goes to his bank. The Bank doesn't check his credit history, they don't check his employment history, they give him a mortgage and sell it down the line before "X" has left the building. "X" has seen on the paper how his payment is only $500/mo, whereas his apartment payment was $550/mo (he lived in the cheapo roach infested shit apartments). He goes to his nice house, makes the payments for a month or two, and then something happens. His variable rate mortgage causes his interest rate to adjust higher and his payment to go up to $550/mo. Well, he managed that before, and he can do it again- but gas is up to $3 a gallon from $2 a gallon when he lived in his apartment. He's paying bills late, but still paying, then the rate jumps again and he's paying $600/mo and gas is at $4/gal and projected to hit $5/gal soon. He starts missing payments. The rate goes up "X" gets more and more behind and forecloses because he was fooled and a fool. When he bought the house, he could pay for it; and the Bank man assured him the rate wouldn't adjust for a year or two or more and it wouldn't adjust by much. Unfortunately, it adjusted twice in six months and adjusted by more than a point each time.
So now, the default rate is 20% instead of 10%. That hurts, and causes some companies to issue more bonds to cover immediate cash needs, but everything is stable. The lenders have already lent to everyone remotely worth lending. The Housing market follows oil and plateaus. Except, the lenders haven't stopped lending. The stupid people agree to loans they couldn't POSSIBLY afford; and the greedy businesses continue to make more loans and sell them to global investors because they can pull in hundreds of thousands (instead of hundreds of millions, but still good money, right? Right? RIGHT!?! AMIRITE!!111). Finally, one too many people default.
A solid company, invested in low risk markets like oil and housing starts to issue more bonds to cover some of its debt. Those bonds get insured by CDSs and those CDSs are covered by further CDSs. The solid company becomes shaky, more bonds, fewer CDSs- but more profitable for CDS speculators (so long as the compnay doesn't collapse, and it's been stable for 200 years, it would NEVER coll...). One too many defaults and the company collapses inside 6 months of being stable. Now those CDSs come up.
The company that went under had CDSs on some other companies. Some of those companies, less historically firm, have hit their one too many mark and crashed as well. Now, CDSs are being called in. The money isn't there. Yadda Yadda Yadda, Today.
That's where we find ourselves, and there's a single simple perpetrator. A slimy, greasy, suspect, motherfucker, who deserves nothing but our contempt, our hatred, and our rage. The perpetrator is: Damn-near-every-fucking-body. Greedy Businesses, Stupid and Greedy People, Government Regulators, Politicians, Banks, Investors, everybody. It's not a US problem, it's not a Europe Problem. It's a World Market Problem. The reason it's a World Market Problem, is because- and correct me if I'm wrong- WE'RE A GLOBAL ECONOMY! Everyone's business is intertwined with everyone else's. If shit goes south in Japan in the 90s, it hurts us here, if it hurts us, it hurts Europe, if it hurts Europe it hurts Asia, guess where Japan is? Asia, a part of the world you MAY have heard of...
The Prius has taken a hit- one down, now if iAnything would be shown, conclusively, to cause ovaries development in men and cancer in anyone with ovaries I'd be able to smile once in a while. November sales for the Prius have dropped 48%, according to Toyota. Everyone's blaming the dramatic fall in gas prices from $4/gal back to ~$1.60/gal. Uhm... I have a thought on this... could it be... maybe.. that we're in a RECESSION? Could it be that people are losing their jobs, scared of losing their jobs, still nervous from how $4/gal gas came outta nowhere [Mention Peak Oil and I'll hunt you down, remove your sexual characteristics with a rusty spoon, and force you to watch Maddow, or O'Reilly, while listening to "It's a small world" on infinite loop.], hurt from the loss of 50% of their retirement plan's value, and in a million other ways not buying $40k cars? Show me 1 single car over, let's say $20k that hasn't seen a drop from last year. I'd bet, you can't. And I'd bet that the more expensive the car, the bigger the drop in sales. Gas being "cheap", if it has ANYTHING to do with it, is probably not responsible for more than 3% of the decline, I'd bet. (Complete supposition there, based on how "environmentally" conscious everyone got when they could afford to be................. ahem........) . . . . . .................. . . ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
Right.
One last thing: Nade-off-with-the-money. First off, Jewish people who say they have it rough in Florida should be forced to have it exactly as rough as they try to say. Secondly, British Cry Babies who boo-hoo American Regulation should try and think before they speak. American Regulators fucked up, they were warned about this douche bag a couple times, sure. Yet, I keep coming abck tot eh NPR interview I heard with a money manager who had decided not to invest with the guy. The Manager said if the person controlling the money isn't willing to tell us how he's making his profits, we're not willing to trust him with our money. He also said that consistent 1% monthly growth was unreasonable. In other words, He said "We use common fucking sense, and so we didn't get burned by this shithead." The fact that the guy is Jewish and a lot of Jewish investors and Charities got swindled, that means nothing. He didn't target them for being Jewish, he's a fucking criminal and saw a mark.
The thing that should be talked about, isn't the 50 billion he screwed people out of, it's how extremely rare is such a con-job. A year ago in France, this same sorta fraud happened for $7 billion. One person was saying that this wouldn't be the last fraud. Hedge Funds are, like the CDSs that spread the financial crises out from US housing and across markets/the world, sorely lacking in regulations.
"But regulation is bad."
The regulations I am a HUGE proponent of, are TRANSPARENCY and DISCLOSURE. You want a free market? Okay, open your books. Your system of correctly guessing isn't a trade secret. It's a system of guessing. Research can make the guessing more accurate, more likely to make money; but it's still guessing. Fuck you, show us EVERYTHING.
And that goes for all financial EVERYTHINGS. Show us the money. Where is it? Who is promised to? How's it being made? Account for where it is currently!
Accountability, Transparency, Disclosure. If they don't have them, don't do business with 'em. And you, Jewish or Gentile, won't get bilked. Read More...
The Right of US's political divide has been pissing me off, more than usual, lately. First, the talking heads that squawk on and on about how "this recession isn't any worse than any before it", or how "[some financial thing] doesn't need to be further regulated", or how other countries are blaming the US, entirely, for the current world woes. That last isn't a "right-wing" thing per se, but it fits in the general theme, and that's good enough for me. (Though, I'll deal with it separately later). First, the average length of a Recession since WWII: 8-10 months. Current length of this Recession: 12 months, and counting. Last time we were in a recession that lasted this long? Either the early 90s or the early 80s depending on if you take into account "depth" and to whom you listen.
Once again, this world wide problem came about in a number of ways. Partly, the US economy has been bolstered over the last 5-8 years by debt, as has most of the world's economy. In fact, modern economics is the manipulation of debt- in a very real way. There was a huge glut of global money looking for a place to be invested. The first place it found was gas. Oil always goes up, just like the value of a house, or so the wisdom went. The only negative had been how slow those rising values happened, but the global pool of money didn't want risk, so slow growth was seen as the perfect solution. This led to rising fuel costs as futures were invested in, and demand from the emerging economies of China, Brazil and Russia far outpaced supply. Investment + Demand = Skyrocketing Oil value.
At the same time, two things were happening in the financial sectors of the US, the UK, and several other countries with large, valuable, housing markets. First, growth was steady and rising, and seen as reliable and safe. Second, Credit Default Swaps- unregulated, non-transparent, financial instruments handled exclusively by large financial institutions- became a source of speculation, instead of a sort of insurance policy on low risk bonds. Technically, these things happened first, as they started in the late 90s and early 00s; but the problems snowballed when fuel costs ran rampant.
The financial obligations of CDS's spread risk, and investment in debt, over huge swaths of the financial industry, by linking bond payouts. A Credit Default Swap being an obligation to pay out on a company's bond if that company should default- these were then "netted", causing there to be (basically) 50-60 trillion US$ of obligated insurance on 5 trillion US$ worth of bonds. Bonds, CDS's, fuel futures, all of it is betting on debt, and the repayment of that debt.
The housing market was primed for some of that huge pool of global money. It was already seeing returns from oil futures, and experts understood that those returns were going to slack off as gas prices climbed higher, causing consumers to cut back. In other words, the growth of that sector was forecast to plateau. This made investors hungry for more of the overwhelming growth they had been experiencing and grown accustomed to; and the only other market with slow steady growth was housing.
The problem with housing was that it grew based on the debt in the system. When a homebuyer gets a loan, his debt enters the system as a mortgage, and can be bought up. Bundle a bunch of those debts together and it's a Mortgage Backed Security- another financial instrument, like a bond or CDL, and like them based solely on debt. Mortgages default on a regular basis, always have. If each person had a base 10% chance to default, bundled mortgages of 10 people had a 100% chance that one of them would go bad. But the other 9 wouldn't, statistically. That's safer than buying one mortgage, where if it goes bad your investment is shot. It's even safer to buy up 1,000 where 100 will probably go bad, but 900 will make their payments back to you.
Seems simple and straight forward, right?
The problem was lack of consumer protections. Think about this: according to the Bell Curve, if you're above the median intellect (and if you're reading this, it's a safe assumption that statement is true) the majority of people are dumber than you. That's understandable, of course, you encounter many morons in your day-to-day. The additional fact is, though, that someone dumber than you, but also above median, is smarter than the majority of people. Imagine that guy or gal, and then imagine the person behind him. Call that person "X".
The banks knew they could make large profits off bundling mortgage loans together and "selling" them to investors. The more loans they made, the more bundles they could sell. Lawmakers, at the time, knew such deals would improve the economy, and in times of plenty those in power stay there. Lawmakers encouraged the businesses; and the Businesses, not really needing encouragement to make every cent they could, happily ran full steam ahead. Banks gave out more and more loans, ignoring previously held economic principles on "acceptable risk". Meanwhile, they were also obligated to pay off potential debts, through CDSs.
Our freindly dumbass "X" gets told that it doesn't matter how much he makes, what his credit history is, he can "HAVE THE AMERICAN DREAM!" and own a house. "X" is also being told, by popular entertainment, it's easy to "flip a house" and make some quick cash. "X" knows he's smarter than most- who isn't? - and he goes to his bank. The Bank doesn't check his credit history, they don't check his employment history, they give him a mortgage and sell it down the line before "X" has left the building. "X" has seen on the paper how his payment is only $500/mo, whereas his apartment payment was $550/mo (he lived in the cheapo roach infested shit apartments). He goes to his nice house, makes the payments for a month or two, and then something happens. His variable rate mortgage causes his interest rate to adjust higher and his payment to go up to $550/mo. Well, he managed that before, and he can do it again- but gas is up to $3 a gallon from $2 a gallon when he lived in his apartment. He's paying bills late, but still paying, then the rate jumps again and he's paying $600/mo and gas is at $4/gal and projected to hit $5/gal soon. He starts missing payments. The rate goes up "X" gets more and more behind and forecloses because he was fooled and a fool. When he bought the house, he could pay for it; and the Bank man assured him the rate wouldn't adjust for a year or two or more and it wouldn't adjust by much. Unfortunately, it adjusted twice in six months and adjusted by more than a point each time.
So now, the default rate is 20% instead of 10%. That hurts, and causes some companies to issue more bonds to cover immediate cash needs, but everything is stable. The lenders have already lent to everyone remotely worth lending. The Housing market follows oil and plateaus. Except, the lenders haven't stopped lending. The stupid people agree to loans they couldn't POSSIBLY afford; and the greedy businesses continue to make more loans and sell them to global investors because they can pull in hundreds of thousands (instead of hundreds of millions, but still good money, right? Right? RIGHT!?! AMIRITE!!111). Finally, one too many people default.
A solid company, invested in low risk markets like oil and housing starts to issue more bonds to cover some of its debt. Those bonds get insured by CDSs and those CDSs are covered by further CDSs. The solid company becomes shaky, more bonds, fewer CDSs- but more profitable for CDS speculators (so long as the compnay doesn't collapse, and it's been stable for 200 years, it would NEVER coll...). One too many defaults and the company collapses inside 6 months of being stable. Now those CDSs come up.
The company that went under had CDSs on some other companies. Some of those companies, less historically firm, have hit their one too many mark and crashed as well. Now, CDSs are being called in. The money isn't there. Yadda Yadda Yadda, Today.
That's where we find ourselves, and there's a single simple perpetrator. A slimy, greasy, suspect, motherfucker, who deserves nothing but our contempt, our hatred, and our rage. The perpetrator is: Damn-near-every-fucking-body. Greedy Businesses, Stupid and Greedy People, Government Regulators, Politicians, Banks, Investors, everybody. It's not a US problem, it's not a Europe Problem. It's a World Market Problem. The reason it's a World Market Problem, is because- and correct me if I'm wrong- WE'RE A GLOBAL ECONOMY! Everyone's business is intertwined with everyone else's. If shit goes south in Japan in the 90s, it hurts us here, if it hurts us, it hurts Europe, if it hurts Europe it hurts Asia, guess where Japan is? Asia, a part of the world you MAY have heard of...
The Prius has taken a hit- one down, now if iAnything would be shown, conclusively, to cause ovaries development in men and cancer in anyone with ovaries I'd be able to smile once in a while. November sales for the Prius have dropped 48%, according to Toyota. Everyone's blaming the dramatic fall in gas prices from $4/gal back to ~$1.60/gal. Uhm... I have a thought on this... could it be... maybe.. that we're in a RECESSION? Could it be that people are losing their jobs, scared of losing their jobs, still nervous from how $4/gal gas came outta nowhere [Mention Peak Oil and I'll hunt you down, remove your sexual characteristics with a rusty spoon, and force you to watch Maddow, or O'Reilly, while listening to "It's a small world" on infinite loop.], hurt from the loss of 50% of their retirement plan's value, and in a million other ways not buying $40k cars? Show me 1 single car over, let's say $20k that hasn't seen a drop from last year. I'd bet, you can't. And I'd bet that the more expensive the car, the bigger the drop in sales. Gas being "cheap", if it has ANYTHING to do with it, is probably not responsible for more than 3% of the decline, I'd bet. (Complete supposition there, based on how "environmentally" conscious everyone got when they could afford to be................. ahem........) . . . . . .................. . . ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
Right.
One last thing: Nade-off-with-the-money. First off, Jewish people who say they have it rough in Florida should be forced to have it exactly as rough as they try to say. Secondly, British Cry Babies who boo-hoo American Regulation should try and think before they speak. American Regulators fucked up, they were warned about this douche bag a couple times, sure. Yet, I keep coming abck tot eh NPR interview I heard with a money manager who had decided not to invest with the guy. The Manager said if the person controlling the money isn't willing to tell us how he's making his profits, we're not willing to trust him with our money. He also said that consistent 1% monthly growth was unreasonable. In other words, He said "We use common fucking sense, and so we didn't get burned by this shithead." The fact that the guy is Jewish and a lot of Jewish investors and Charities got swindled, that means nothing. He didn't target them for being Jewish, he's a fucking criminal and saw a mark.
The thing that should be talked about, isn't the 50 billion he screwed people out of, it's how extremely rare is such a con-job. A year ago in France, this same sorta fraud happened for $7 billion. One person was saying that this wouldn't be the last fraud. Hedge Funds are, like the CDSs that spread the financial crises out from US housing and across markets/the world, sorely lacking in regulations.
"But regulation is bad."
The regulations I am a HUGE proponent of, are TRANSPARENCY and DISCLOSURE. You want a free market? Okay, open your books. Your system of correctly guessing isn't a trade secret. It's a system of guessing. Research can make the guessing more accurate, more likely to make money; but it's still guessing. Fuck you, show us EVERYTHING.
And that goes for all financial EVERYTHINGS. Show us the money. Where is it? Who is promised to? How's it being made? Account for where it is currently!
Accountability, Transparency, Disclosure. If they don't have them, don't do business with 'em. And you, Jewish or Gentile, won't get bilked. Read More...
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Word of the Day
Fucked.
Definition:
Having been, or about to be, in an untenable situation.
Use it in a sentence:
Fucked, definitely fucked.
Related terms:
Rejected. Read More...
Definition:
Having been, or about to be, in an untenable situation.
Use it in a sentence:
Fucked, definitely fucked.
Related terms:
Rejected. Read More...
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Stuck in my head
Now, stuck in yours...
Yes, it is that song from Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Isolated by Chiasm.
Enjoy. Read More...
Yes, it is that song from Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Isolated by Chiasm.
Enjoy. Read More...
Monday, December 08, 2008
Island Songs
There is an island, in a calm blue sea, where the beaches are white and it's warm all year long. The trees of the inland jungles provide shade, sustenance, and shelter; the seas provide everything else. Walking the trails, the sandy routes, and the roads, it's hard not to taste citrus, fresh seafood, and rum. In the south of the island, sits a shack with a history.
The shack was built in the late 1970s by a local. It has a window, a stable door he found on the beach days before- and that inspired the construction project- a cistern on the tin roof, and a small wood stove. The man, called Coconut Bobby by most people, lived in the shack for eight years before he vanished one day. The story is that he was taken by the sea for being so glum all the time; but, in reality, he probably moved to Canada like he always said he would.
It had been a particularly hot week, and Coconut Bobby was doing a project for a local European transplant. It was landscaping in the heat and the sun, but Coconut got paid enough to have a pocket full of dollars and a hand full of rum. Coconut's job was clearing trees and underbrush, then laying sod that had been shipped in from other islands. After a long week in the hot, Coconut was in need of some relief.
Terry's Bongo Bungaloo was an ironically named shed- barely bigger than Coconut's- cum bar; and after a quick swim to wash off the day's sweat, Coconut made his way to the popular local spot. The night started off well, with some fresh fish local beers and liquers; and steadily got worse. As the booze flowed, the care free celebration of another week finished faded, and became, to Coconut, more and more a bunch of people trying desperately to forget that it was all still there, nothing different, to be done again the next week.
Coconut often helped Terry shutter up the Bungaloo at the end of the night, and that Friday was no different than most, in that respect. Terry, though, had noticed Coconut's dour mood and the steady downward trend in his friend's expression throughout the night. Once it was quiet, and the pressing demand of paying customers had mostly subsided, Terry asked Coconut what was wrong.
"It's the same old thing," lamented Coconut Bobby. "Every week, we work int he sun, sweat in the sand, and at the end we come here and act like that was the end. Then, come Monday, it all starts again. Tomorrow, Maria will knock on my stable door and ask if I want to go for a swim and lunch. We'll have a good time, until she has to leave for work. Then I won't see her again until Wednesday, when she comes by for a quick romp after work. Sunday, Mrs. Baker will pop by after church and ask why I wasn't there, I'll see some of the Rastas and they'll take their turn preaching at me, and if I need to goto the store I'll be prayed for by an old rich white woman who thinks my 'eternal soul is in peril'." He sighed, drank his beer, and dragged on his cigarette. "And Monday it all starts again." He shook his head, sad and weary.
Terry told Coconut it was that way every where, every when. "Different places, different faces, same ol' game. Always and forever." He asked why Coconut was thinking about that, now.
"The heat. Every day, sunny, warm, hot, a breif shower, or a few days of rain, warm into the night, cool while you sleep, then the same thing again and again. I can't even take the time to love Maria because it gets too sticky, it's always already too hot, and I'm exhausted from the heat by the time we're done with our little sprints, anyway." He shook his head, that same sad and weary gesture. "Too hot, man."
"Where would jah go?"
"Canada, man. They have seasons there. It snows. At least the weather would change." Coconut stood, and took in the island. The salt smell of breakers from the nearby beach, the taste of saltwater in the air, the fading odors of lemon and shellfish from Terry's last batch of shrimp. His belly was full, but not cumbersomely so, there was a warm, fuzzy, enjoyable glow about his experiences- obviously due to drink. It was paradise, he'd been told that by everyone all his life; and he was fed up with it.
The next day, Coconut wasn't there when Maria stopped by; nor was he there the day after when Mrs. Baker came calling. The shack sat empty for a month before a new soul filled its vacancy. That, however, is a story for a different time. Tonight, though, on the island in the calm sea, with music wafting lightly on the salted air, the lemon and seafood fragrance making the rum and the beer taste better, and each causing the other to flow more free, there is still a shack in the south; and in a better world, there's a happy Coconut Bobby freezing in the Canadian winter. Read More...
The shack was built in the late 1970s by a local. It has a window, a stable door he found on the beach days before- and that inspired the construction project- a cistern on the tin roof, and a small wood stove. The man, called Coconut Bobby by most people, lived in the shack for eight years before he vanished one day. The story is that he was taken by the sea for being so glum all the time; but, in reality, he probably moved to Canada like he always said he would.
It had been a particularly hot week, and Coconut Bobby was doing a project for a local European transplant. It was landscaping in the heat and the sun, but Coconut got paid enough to have a pocket full of dollars and a hand full of rum. Coconut's job was clearing trees and underbrush, then laying sod that had been shipped in from other islands. After a long week in the hot, Coconut was in need of some relief.
Terry's Bongo Bungaloo was an ironically named shed- barely bigger than Coconut's- cum bar; and after a quick swim to wash off the day's sweat, Coconut made his way to the popular local spot. The night started off well, with some fresh fish local beers and liquers; and steadily got worse. As the booze flowed, the care free celebration of another week finished faded, and became, to Coconut, more and more a bunch of people trying desperately to forget that it was all still there, nothing different, to be done again the next week.
Coconut often helped Terry shutter up the Bungaloo at the end of the night, and that Friday was no different than most, in that respect. Terry, though, had noticed Coconut's dour mood and the steady downward trend in his friend's expression throughout the night. Once it was quiet, and the pressing demand of paying customers had mostly subsided, Terry asked Coconut what was wrong.
"It's the same old thing," lamented Coconut Bobby. "Every week, we work int he sun, sweat in the sand, and at the end we come here and act like that was the end. Then, come Monday, it all starts again. Tomorrow, Maria will knock on my stable door and ask if I want to go for a swim and lunch. We'll have a good time, until she has to leave for work. Then I won't see her again until Wednesday, when she comes by for a quick romp after work. Sunday, Mrs. Baker will pop by after church and ask why I wasn't there, I'll see some of the Rastas and they'll take their turn preaching at me, and if I need to goto the store I'll be prayed for by an old rich white woman who thinks my 'eternal soul is in peril'." He sighed, drank his beer, and dragged on his cigarette. "And Monday it all starts again." He shook his head, sad and weary.
Terry told Coconut it was that way every where, every when. "Different places, different faces, same ol' game. Always and forever." He asked why Coconut was thinking about that, now.
"The heat. Every day, sunny, warm, hot, a breif shower, or a few days of rain, warm into the night, cool while you sleep, then the same thing again and again. I can't even take the time to love Maria because it gets too sticky, it's always already too hot, and I'm exhausted from the heat by the time we're done with our little sprints, anyway." He shook his head, that same sad and weary gesture. "Too hot, man."
"Where would jah go?"
"Canada, man. They have seasons there. It snows. At least the weather would change." Coconut stood, and took in the island. The salt smell of breakers from the nearby beach, the taste of saltwater in the air, the fading odors of lemon and shellfish from Terry's last batch of shrimp. His belly was full, but not cumbersomely so, there was a warm, fuzzy, enjoyable glow about his experiences- obviously due to drink. It was paradise, he'd been told that by everyone all his life; and he was fed up with it.
The next day, Coconut wasn't there when Maria stopped by; nor was he there the day after when Mrs. Baker came calling. The shack sat empty for a month before a new soul filled its vacancy. That, however, is a story for a different time. Tonight, though, on the island in the calm sea, with music wafting lightly on the salted air, the lemon and seafood fragrance making the rum and the beer taste better, and each causing the other to flow more free, there is still a shack in the south; and in a better world, there's a happy Coconut Bobby freezing in the Canadian winter. Read More...
Friday, December 05, 2008
Obama's Change
Part of me wants to say "Leave Obama Alone!" The more savy of you should see an image of a whiny emo fucktard shitbag, mascara running, hands to red cheeks, crying, and screaming at you from the youtube. And that's an apt picture, because that's where the sentiment comes from: the whiny emo shittard fuckbag piece of me. Don't laugh, you have one too; and the more you deny it, the more we're sure that's the majority of the corny jokes and old sight gags, and favored talking-head recitations, you try to call a personality.
"Obama's recycling Clintonians. That's not change!" some people shout. Yet, Obama never specified what change he would usher in, as he is a good politician and therefore vague/ambiguous/disingenuous/whathaveyou. Clintonians are a change from the overwhelming flood of insane business, and social, conservatives Bush has coddled to his presidential teat. They're not a change, too, for obvious reasons.
The more thoughtful piece of me, that part that those of you who know me personally hate- because it won't leave anything alone, and demands I seek out more information about it- makes me consider other possibilities. This is the piece that makes me think the guy who couldn't feel his hand probably has either upper neck and shoulder trouble or very high back problems, or both. This is the piece that makes me comment on everything, as a way of trying to "sound it out", understand it fully, "grok" it for those Heinlein fans among you.
First, I consider that President-elect Obama has had his hand forced because of the economic problems helped along by Bush's "deregulation", "no government interference in the free market", and inability to fundamentally understand key concepts about reality, like calling a group of people- or their concerns- the "reality based" initiative/movement is the exact opposite of a derogatory comment. (Note that it was meant as such, and many took it to be so). Also, take care to read my wording, I said helped, not caused. Clinton and the demo-prats helped it along too; but I would like to throw back some comments I heard early in Bush II (pt1).
When the economy tanked in the early part of this decade, it was blamed on Clinton. Clinton's mismanagement caused that mini recession, due to his appointments, etc etc; and it couldn't be Bush's fault because he'd only been president for less than a year. Many people agreed that, if a president's policies could effect the economy it would be at the end of his term into the next president's. Ahem... well... Eight years after Bush's start we see where we are on that score.
But that's tangential, really. Obama's Change is the point of this- seeing as that's the title, it's sorta neat, AMIRITE?!?!!1 Maybe it's not the economic pressures that are forcing his hand, that made him run to tried and true and keep Gates- for the moment. Maybe he was lying about real change, and just wanted his demo-pratic cronies, instead of the repulican'ts currently in Washington. That is, at least, what I suspect some people are saying/thinking.
And that's the real issue, to me. Did he "intentionally mislead"? Did he lie? I'd say we'll know in 8 years. Not that Obama is ensured a second term, he's not- especially if the economy remains in the tank. But that will put us at the end of his presidency or four years after, and we;ll have a bit more perspective. For every thing someone may point to as evidence of their side (he's lying/he's not), there's one on the other, as well.
It comes down to, as so many things seem to, interpretation. Interpretation is a very touchy kind of thing. The Austrian Economists will tell you that Alphabet Agencies caused the Great Depression to be longer. It was reported in my local newspaper some time ago as fact. What they won't tell you is that Austrian Economics are an interpretation with their own problems. Interpretation is a very subjective experience, it asks a person to take some (at its best) facts and jiggle them around inside their dinkum-thinkums until an answer plops out. That is the essence of interpretation, and the EXACT reason anything that is concluded due to interpretation should be viewed with suspicion, and taken with a grain of salt.
There are interpretations that can be trusted, rather easily, too. These would be include such scientifically accepted ideas as the Theory of Relativity. Theory, sorta, means it's an interpretation of the way the universe works; BUT as a scientific theory, it also means there has been objective testing done that confirms predictions made by the theory. Take evolution: it's a theory not because it's unprovable; but because we can't actually go back and see evolution take place. Other than that one detail, it makes predictions, all of them have been true, and the only thing that is currently disputed is the mechanisms of how it happens (not if it happens- which it does).
Obama is going to be watched 24/7 in a way that other president's have not. Clinton felt some of this, with the dawnings of the internet, Bush got more of it, as the internet (and the blogosphere) really prospered [despite some of the laws that went into effect under him]. Yet, Obama is the first black president- or will be on January 20th (depends totally on when you read this). Add the economic crisis, that's been here since December 2007, and the changing status of America in a world/superpower context, add Obama's commitment to be the most wired presidency yet; and you're starting to get the picture.
When people tell me Obama is just another huckster bullshit artist politician, I squint at them, and try to make sure I'm seeing them clearly. There's only two types of people that seem to truly believe it- and a third that loves to say it: (1) the true believer, who thinks only the Repulican'ts are capable of really truly running America "well", (2) The cynical jackass who really and truly hates when anyone else is happy/optimistic/not-a-jackass, (3) The Vacuous idiot, or chicken little douchebag, who is simply spouting the verbal diarrhea of the talking-head they jerk-off to the most.
I'm not saying "Give Obama a chance". Fuck it, if you've already made up your mind, let me know- so I can ignore you for the next four years. What I am saying is, it's too early to tell, yet. Know how you can tell THAT? Because he's not even the president- not until January 20, 2009. There's a saying that every one of you has heard, and it's apt here; it's about eggs and baskets. Obama might only be a change because of his skin color, which would be the saddest thing, in my opinion; but even if that does prove to be the case, it's still change, and that means he didn't completely lie. Read More...
"Obama's recycling Clintonians. That's not change!" some people shout. Yet, Obama never specified what change he would usher in, as he is a good politician and therefore vague/ambiguous/disingenuous/whathaveyou. Clintonians are a change from the overwhelming flood of insane business, and social, conservatives Bush has coddled to his presidential teat. They're not a change, too, for obvious reasons.
The more thoughtful piece of me, that part that those of you who know me personally hate- because it won't leave anything alone, and demands I seek out more information about it- makes me consider other possibilities. This is the piece that makes me think the guy who couldn't feel his hand probably has either upper neck and shoulder trouble or very high back problems, or both. This is the piece that makes me comment on everything, as a way of trying to "sound it out", understand it fully, "grok" it for those Heinlein fans among you.
First, I consider that President-elect Obama has had his hand forced because of the economic problems helped along by Bush's "deregulation", "no government interference in the free market", and inability to fundamentally understand key concepts about reality, like calling a group of people- or their concerns- the "reality based" initiative/movement is the exact opposite of a derogatory comment. (Note that it was meant as such, and many took it to be so). Also, take care to read my wording, I said helped, not caused. Clinton and the demo-prats helped it along too; but I would like to throw back some comments I heard early in Bush II (pt1).
When the economy tanked in the early part of this decade, it was blamed on Clinton. Clinton's mismanagement caused that mini recession, due to his appointments, etc etc; and it couldn't be Bush's fault because he'd only been president for less than a year. Many people agreed that, if a president's policies could effect the economy it would be at the end of his term into the next president's. Ahem... well... Eight years after Bush's start we see where we are on that score.
But that's tangential, really. Obama's Change is the point of this- seeing as that's the title, it's sorta neat, AMIRITE?!?!!1 Maybe it's not the economic pressures that are forcing his hand, that made him run to tried and true and keep Gates- for the moment. Maybe he was lying about real change, and just wanted his demo-pratic cronies, instead of the repulican'ts currently in Washington. That is, at least, what I suspect some people are saying/thinking.
And that's the real issue, to me. Did he "intentionally mislead"? Did he lie? I'd say we'll know in 8 years. Not that Obama is ensured a second term, he's not- especially if the economy remains in the tank. But that will put us at the end of his presidency or four years after, and we;ll have a bit more perspective. For every thing someone may point to as evidence of their side (he's lying/he's not), there's one on the other, as well.
It comes down to, as so many things seem to, interpretation. Interpretation is a very touchy kind of thing. The Austrian Economists will tell you that Alphabet Agencies caused the Great Depression to be longer. It was reported in my local newspaper some time ago as fact. What they won't tell you is that Austrian Economics are an interpretation with their own problems. Interpretation is a very subjective experience, it asks a person to take some (at its best) facts and jiggle them around inside their dinkum-thinkums until an answer plops out. That is the essence of interpretation, and the EXACT reason anything that is concluded due to interpretation should be viewed with suspicion, and taken with a grain of salt.
There are interpretations that can be trusted, rather easily, too. These would be include such scientifically accepted ideas as the Theory of Relativity. Theory, sorta, means it's an interpretation of the way the universe works; BUT as a scientific theory, it also means there has been objective testing done that confirms predictions made by the theory. Take evolution: it's a theory not because it's unprovable; but because we can't actually go back and see evolution take place. Other than that one detail, it makes predictions, all of them have been true, and the only thing that is currently disputed is the mechanisms of how it happens (not if it happens- which it does).
Obama is going to be watched 24/7 in a way that other president's have not. Clinton felt some of this, with the dawnings of the internet, Bush got more of it, as the internet (and the blogosphere) really prospered [despite some of the laws that went into effect under him]. Yet, Obama is the first black president- or will be on January 20th (depends totally on when you read this). Add the economic crisis, that's been here since December 2007, and the changing status of America in a world/superpower context, add Obama's commitment to be the most wired presidency yet; and you're starting to get the picture.
When people tell me Obama is just another huckster bullshit artist politician, I squint at them, and try to make sure I'm seeing them clearly. There's only two types of people that seem to truly believe it- and a third that loves to say it: (1) the true believer, who thinks only the Repulican'ts are capable of really truly running America "well", (2) The cynical jackass who really and truly hates when anyone else is happy/optimistic/not-a-jackass, (3) The Vacuous idiot, or chicken little douchebag, who is simply spouting the verbal diarrhea of the talking-head they jerk-off to the most.
I'm not saying "Give Obama a chance". Fuck it, if you've already made up your mind, let me know- so I can ignore you for the next four years. What I am saying is, it's too early to tell, yet. Know how you can tell THAT? Because he's not even the president- not until January 20, 2009. There's a saying that every one of you has heard, and it's apt here; it's about eggs and baskets. Obama might only be a change because of his skin color, which would be the saddest thing, in my opinion; but even if that does prove to be the case, it's still change, and that means he didn't completely lie. Read More...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Hate
They gather together, groups of like-minded individuals, huddling in their communal dens of anger, hate, and decisive ignorance. When they speak, the inability to empathize is not there, instead the vitriol covers the fear. The bluster works, and entices their audiences, their facade repeated at them ten, a hundred, a thousand,a million fold. They see their lies accepted and encouraged, and so, they lie more; convincing themselves as they convince each other.
The stink of fear covered by a sleazier smell of the excited, the poor, the con-men, and the rapture of absolute faith, permeates their gatherings- alerting their brethren to the places of succor. Their long mental bondage to the obviously untrue has bent their thoughts to credulity. The seeds of doubt, fear, and intolerance- bred into us during times of famine, to ensure the protection of the familiar over the foreign- have been given empty words, the most conducive fertilizer. Warned to be obedient, craving to be led, they have fallen for a lie foisted upon them from without, fed by the laziness and ignorance of their forebears, and reinforced by rational, cognitive, reasoning- up to a point.
Their bonds make them stronger. They fake it, and seeing it convincingly faked on the faces, in the words, and from the deeds of their ilk, they are convinced of their own sincerity. The cycle continues, and they force their spawn into it, as they were forced, a tradition of hate, a ritual of intolerance, and a wholesale denial of objective reality. Nevermind those who leave.
Nevermind those who falter. Nevermind those who repent. They were weak. They were not the truly righteous. Each tells a story, in the popular tradition, of how- once- they too did not understand. Once, they too did not believe. Yet, the universe reveals itself, and here they stand, telling the story of how they too saw the light. It is inevitable, undeniable, and conclusively right to believe the same. Anyone who does not is suspect.
Anyone who does not is untrustworthy. Anyone who does not should be shown the light! No righteous person can deny the truth, when confronted with it! No righteous person would dare give false credence to the popular lie, the obvious hidden reality behind reality. Simply look, and it is obvious that the secret lies just behind the surface. Simply look, and it is obvious all of society secretly feels the same.
The facts support their cause. There is no other way of reasonably interpreting the information. Nevermind that the information cannot speak for itself. Pay no attention to the interpretation behind the curtain. They remind themselves of their righteousness, of their infallibility (except when perfection would be an affront). Everything reinforces, everything backs them up, everything points to the inevitability, to the futility of rebellion.
It is easier to believe. It is easier to conform. It's lonely to be alone. It's lonely to buck the trend. Their friends, their families, everyone they know believes. It is easier to accept than think. The outside is scary, cold, and hostile; and when it's not is when it's the most insidiously evil and threatening.
They huddle together, in their dens of ignorance. Each alone in their doubts, most incapable of voicing what angers them about the opposition. The lies, the facades, the fakery, it all weaves together, forming a comforting blanket of assurance. There's time enough tomorrow to think, but today it's too disheartening. Belief feels good, feels comfortable, and the opposition- the presumed oppression of their side- gives them strength of conviction.
They gather together, groups of like-minded individuals, huddling in their communal dens of anger, hate, and decisive ignorance. When they speak, the inability to empathize is not there, instead the vitriol covers the fear. The bluster works, and entices their audiences, their facade repeated at them ten, a hundred, a thousand,a million fold. They see their lies accepted and encouraged, and so, they lie more; convincing themselves as they convince each other. Read More...
The stink of fear covered by a sleazier smell of the excited, the poor, the con-men, and the rapture of absolute faith, permeates their gatherings- alerting their brethren to the places of succor. Their long mental bondage to the obviously untrue has bent their thoughts to credulity. The seeds of doubt, fear, and intolerance- bred into us during times of famine, to ensure the protection of the familiar over the foreign- have been given empty words, the most conducive fertilizer. Warned to be obedient, craving to be led, they have fallen for a lie foisted upon them from without, fed by the laziness and ignorance of their forebears, and reinforced by rational, cognitive, reasoning- up to a point.
Their bonds make them stronger. They fake it, and seeing it convincingly faked on the faces, in the words, and from the deeds of their ilk, they are convinced of their own sincerity. The cycle continues, and they force their spawn into it, as they were forced, a tradition of hate, a ritual of intolerance, and a wholesale denial of objective reality. Nevermind those who leave.
Nevermind those who falter. Nevermind those who repent. They were weak. They were not the truly righteous. Each tells a story, in the popular tradition, of how- once- they too did not understand. Once, they too did not believe. Yet, the universe reveals itself, and here they stand, telling the story of how they too saw the light. It is inevitable, undeniable, and conclusively right to believe the same. Anyone who does not is suspect.
Anyone who does not is untrustworthy. Anyone who does not should be shown the light! No righteous person can deny the truth, when confronted with it! No righteous person would dare give false credence to the popular lie, the obvious hidden reality behind reality. Simply look, and it is obvious that the secret lies just behind the surface. Simply look, and it is obvious all of society secretly feels the same.
The facts support their cause. There is no other way of reasonably interpreting the information. Nevermind that the information cannot speak for itself. Pay no attention to the interpretation behind the curtain. They remind themselves of their righteousness, of their infallibility (except when perfection would be an affront). Everything reinforces, everything backs them up, everything points to the inevitability, to the futility of rebellion.
It is easier to believe. It is easier to conform. It's lonely to be alone. It's lonely to buck the trend. Their friends, their families, everyone they know believes. It is easier to accept than think. The outside is scary, cold, and hostile; and when it's not is when it's the most insidiously evil and threatening.
They huddle together, in their dens of ignorance. Each alone in their doubts, most incapable of voicing what angers them about the opposition. The lies, the facades, the fakery, it all weaves together, forming a comforting blanket of assurance. There's time enough tomorrow to think, but today it's too disheartening. Belief feels good, feels comfortable, and the opposition- the presumed oppression of their side- gives them strength of conviction.
They gather together, groups of like-minded individuals, huddling in their communal dens of anger, hate, and decisive ignorance. When they speak, the inability to empathize is not there, instead the vitriol covers the fear. The bluster works, and entices their audiences, their facade repeated at them ten, a hundred, a thousand,a million fold. They see their lies accepted and encouraged, and so, they lie more; convincing themselves as they convince each other. Read More...
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Transparency
Capitalism doesn't work without Transparency. Don't believe me? Go read up. I'll let you read whoever you want. Go ahead, I'll wait...
Done?
Didn't do it, did you? Lazy fuck.
Here's the gist: No one will say that lying, obfuscation, and bullshitting is good for capitalism and the free market. The only time anyone gets close to saying that is when they have an agenda- like transparency hurting their bottom line. That's when you hear things like "Sausages and Laws". (The idea being both are such horrible things to make that no one should be forced to know what goes into them.)
And, to be fair, I'm not- always- talking about knowing 100% about how something is made. Though, current research into things like Creative Commons, GNU, and Open-Source strategies are showing that 100% transparency is viable.
Let's start over.
The Financial Crisis is wholly due to a lack of transparency in a number of systems. The Arcane Economics of Banking meant that no one outside the industry- and few inside- could understand what was happening. More to the point, the absolute lack of transparency involved with Credit Default Swaps spread the housing collapse into almost every other sector of the world and the economy.
Banks were allowed to make these Swaps with each other, and no one (including the banks making the swaps) knew or had to be told ANYTHING!
Pork belly projects, signing statements, and line item vetoes along with energy strategy meetings, White House leaks of covert CIA personnel, etc etc
Neither Democracy nor the Free Market work well without informed consumers. The voters are the consumers of the government. Back door deals, bribery, extortion, no-bid contracts, all of these things can happen easily when no one has the power or ability to see what's happening. And all of them become infinitely harder when everyone can see everything.
Banks would have never been allowed to take out 60 trillion worth of Credit Default Swaps on 5 trillion worth of bonds if the public would have been aware of what was going on.
Take your favorite government scandal or screw-up and imagine if everything that your elected officials did was available for the purview of the constituency.
Are there times in government when transparency is a potential risk? National Security, for instance?
Sure, I'll grant that- though I'm sure arguments can be made against the idea. So maybe government needs some protections; but I'd challenge any libertarian to show that "smaller government" or "closer government" is significantly better than "open" or "transparent" government.
Consumers must be allowed to make informed decisions. Not because they all will; but because some will, and those few will influence a few more and a few more and a few more, until there's a critical mass. When was the last time a company tanked because they did something out in the open that everyone could see? Enron? Nope. Worldcom? Nope. The Banks? Nope. All of 'em were hiding things behind closed doors.
Imagine if you weren't allowed to see the price of a beverage.
Imagine if you knew purchasing a beverage would cost 2 $US, but you had no idea how much of that was the actual price, and how much was markup/taxes/whatever.
Imagine you were hired but the company you worked for didn't have to tell you how much you were making. Imagine they just said "We'll pay you enough for room, board, and a vehicular allowance." Is that millions for a benz, mansion, and caviar, or hundreds for an economy apartment, some ramen, and the occasional taxi?
Transparency is a must.
I suggest we convey that to our legislatures, our judges, and our businesses. If the current economic problems aren't enough incentive, I have no idea what would be... Read More...
Done?
Didn't do it, did you? Lazy fuck.
Here's the gist: No one will say that lying, obfuscation, and bullshitting is good for capitalism and the free market. The only time anyone gets close to saying that is when they have an agenda- like transparency hurting their bottom line. That's when you hear things like "Sausages and Laws". (The idea being both are such horrible things to make that no one should be forced to know what goes into them.)
And, to be fair, I'm not- always- talking about knowing 100% about how something is made. Though, current research into things like Creative Commons, GNU, and Open-Source strategies are showing that 100% transparency is viable.
Let's start over.
The Financial Crisis is wholly due to a lack of transparency in a number of systems. The Arcane Economics of Banking meant that no one outside the industry- and few inside- could understand what was happening. More to the point, the absolute lack of transparency involved with Credit Default Swaps spread the housing collapse into almost every other sector of the world and the economy.
Banks were allowed to make these Swaps with each other, and no one (including the banks making the swaps) knew or had to be told ANYTHING!
Pork belly projects, signing statements, and line item vetoes along with energy strategy meetings, White House leaks of covert CIA personnel, etc etc
Neither Democracy nor the Free Market work well without informed consumers. The voters are the consumers of the government. Back door deals, bribery, extortion, no-bid contracts, all of these things can happen easily when no one has the power or ability to see what's happening. And all of them become infinitely harder when everyone can see everything.
Banks would have never been allowed to take out 60 trillion worth of Credit Default Swaps on 5 trillion worth of bonds if the public would have been aware of what was going on.
Take your favorite government scandal or screw-up and imagine if everything that your elected officials did was available for the purview of the constituency.
Are there times in government when transparency is a potential risk? National Security, for instance?
Sure, I'll grant that- though I'm sure arguments can be made against the idea. So maybe government needs some protections; but I'd challenge any libertarian to show that "smaller government" or "closer government" is significantly better than "open" or "transparent" government.
Consumers must be allowed to make informed decisions. Not because they all will; but because some will, and those few will influence a few more and a few more and a few more, until there's a critical mass. When was the last time a company tanked because they did something out in the open that everyone could see? Enron? Nope. Worldcom? Nope. The Banks? Nope. All of 'em were hiding things behind closed doors.
Imagine if you weren't allowed to see the price of a beverage.
Imagine if you knew purchasing a beverage would cost 2 $US, but you had no idea how much of that was the actual price, and how much was markup/taxes/whatever.
Imagine you were hired but the company you worked for didn't have to tell you how much you were making. Imagine they just said "We'll pay you enough for room, board, and a vehicular allowance." Is that millions for a benz, mansion, and caviar, or hundreds for an economy apartment, some ramen, and the occasional taxi?
Transparency is a must.
I suggest we convey that to our legislatures, our judges, and our businesses. If the current economic problems aren't enough incentive, I have no idea what would be... Read More...
State of the World
Wall E and a Lack of Transparency
My nephew was one of, presumably, millions of children who recently acquired the Wall E DVD. I caught the last 30 minutes, while eating lunch. Wall E appears to be the latest in a string of popular entertainments that focuses on two things: The Bad Side of Technology and The Environment.
Let's not mince words, here: Global Warming may be happening. What? "May be"? Don't scoff. The facts aren't at all convincing. Oh, the proponents will tell you all sorts of things; but the facts must be interpreted to see those things. Which is fine, except that those exact same facts lend themselves to the exact opposite interpretations, as well. The general consensus is "Global Warming is happening" but anything, anything at all, more than that is controversial- though, often, popular. The temperature rose, roughly, 1 degree over the last century. The hottest year on record was 1998- that's a decade ago, now- and there are indications that 2008 may end up being "less warm" than 2007.
But the (potential) controversy of Global Warming is a backdrop. The important issue is that the climate, in general, is extremely popular- much like Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys once were. Wall E supposes that (1) The Earth becomes too polluted to live on [notice, that it's not too warm or too cold, thereby avoiding a potentially laughable concept should either prove true/false in coming decades], and (2) technology will lead to the fat-assed immobility of all of humanity. Convenience equals laziness, apparently.
This sort of "now sucks and the future isn't gonna be all that great comes from a number of places. The first, and most obvious, is the "Those Were The Days" mentality that everyone has. Look to the names of generations for a clue: "The Greatest Generation", "The Baby Boomers", "Gen X", "Gen Next". Words for modern society are just as telling "Slacker Culture", "Nerd Couture", etc. References to how the hardy generations of yesteryear overcame their struggles, while subtly or overtly criticizing the current generation(s), are almost daily features in newspapers and online- in light of the current financial Ragnarock.
We like to talk about how good it was yesterday, back in the "good ol' days", and we often do this while utilizing the technology and advances of today- like computers and the internet. It's so common most people do it without even thinking about the implications of their statements. "They don't make 'em like that anymore," is a common refrain.
Damn right they don't, I say! Good Riddance!
The world has more people on it today than ever before. This is due, in no small part, to better technology. Better efficiency, better knowledge, and better convenience; and there's nothing wrong with any of that!
100 years ago, the Billions of people alive today wouldn't have had enough food, water, shelter, or other basic neccessities. There are those today who don't have any of the modern conveniences, as well- most of those through no choice of their own. Do they look happy to you?
Progress is a good thing. The future sucks, mainly, because by the time we get there the little steps we took along the way will make the giant leaps seem so much more mundane and uninspiring. 100 years ago most people didn't have cars, tvs, indoor plumbing, electricity, and they'd never been on an airplane. You are viewing this on a machine that an optimistic futurist, 100 years ago, might not have conceived as possible. We've put men on the moon, and there are 10 people something like 300 miles above your head floating in an international space station funded by the US, Russia, Japan, Italy, The UK, Canada, etc.
You've probably tasted food from Southeast Asia, Mexico, Italy, Spain, France, and many other countries- something your grandparents' parents probably didn't ever get a chance to do (at least, not regularly). I can remember when they paved the street in front of my house. My father can remember when his grandpa got indoor plumbing and electricity.
Progress is a good thing, and inspiring. If you don't believe me, take a look at what the Hubble telescope has recently shown us, and keep in mind that just 20 years ago these images were impossible. Photo of the Orion Nebula's Trapezium cluster, "more than 300 fledgling stars and brown dwarfs surround the brightest, most massive stars [center of picture] in Hubble's view of the Trapezium cluster's central region."
Humans are naturally inquisitive, naturally warlike, and naturally social creatures. Unless women and men collectively start really digging fat lazy shitbags, the human race isn't going down the toilet. As a matter of fact, look back through old pictures. Today we're healthier, taller, better fed, and smarter than those sorry saps of yesteryear.
It's only been 30 years since we've had a reasonable expectation of adequate nutrition in the US. In the 60s, in rural America, you may not have gotten all of the vitamins and minerals needed for healthy development. The Internet allows us to instantly accumulate information our parents had to go to the library to find. Not to mention our better understanding of damn near everything, which is then reflected in what we're taught.
I know, I know, Wall E is just a movie- and a kid's movie, at that!
But it's symptomatic of our culture, today. The Earth isn't going to 'splode. Yes, we need to watch out for pollution, especially, because it (by definition) poisons our environment. But these ideas that humanity isn't natural (what are we, then, supernatural? subnatural?), that we're dooming ourselves and our planet with every step forward. This silly nostalgic bullshit where we gloss over the bad things that happened yesterday (part of how our memories work) and remember only the good, exciting things, is about as useful as tits on a bull.
Today, despite what you might think, is objectively better for the whole than was yesterday. We're moving into the future, and we're dragging all you bastards with us. Read More...
My nephew was one of, presumably, millions of children who recently acquired the Wall E DVD. I caught the last 30 minutes, while eating lunch. Wall E appears to be the latest in a string of popular entertainments that focuses on two things: The Bad Side of Technology and The Environment.
Let's not mince words, here: Global Warming may be happening. What? "May be"? Don't scoff. The facts aren't at all convincing. Oh, the proponents will tell you all sorts of things; but the facts must be interpreted to see those things. Which is fine, except that those exact same facts lend themselves to the exact opposite interpretations, as well. The general consensus is "Global Warming is happening" but anything, anything at all, more than that is controversial- though, often, popular. The temperature rose, roughly, 1 degree over the last century. The hottest year on record was 1998- that's a decade ago, now- and there are indications that 2008 may end up being "less warm" than 2007.
But the (potential) controversy of Global Warming is a backdrop. The important issue is that the climate, in general, is extremely popular- much like Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys once were. Wall E supposes that (1) The Earth becomes too polluted to live on [notice, that it's not too warm or too cold, thereby avoiding a potentially laughable concept should either prove true/false in coming decades], and (2) technology will lead to the fat-assed immobility of all of humanity. Convenience equals laziness, apparently.
This sort of "now sucks and the future isn't gonna be all that great comes from a number of places. The first, and most obvious, is the "Those Were The Days" mentality that everyone has. Look to the names of generations for a clue: "The Greatest Generation", "The Baby Boomers", "Gen X", "Gen Next". Words for modern society are just as telling "Slacker Culture", "Nerd Couture", etc. References to how the hardy generations of yesteryear overcame their struggles, while subtly or overtly criticizing the current generation(s), are almost daily features in newspapers and online- in light of the current financial Ragnarock.
We like to talk about how good it was yesterday, back in the "good ol' days", and we often do this while utilizing the technology and advances of today- like computers and the internet. It's so common most people do it without even thinking about the implications of their statements. "They don't make 'em like that anymore," is a common refrain.
Damn right they don't, I say! Good Riddance!
The world has more people on it today than ever before. This is due, in no small part, to better technology. Better efficiency, better knowledge, and better convenience; and there's nothing wrong with any of that!
100 years ago, the Billions of people alive today wouldn't have had enough food, water, shelter, or other basic neccessities. There are those today who don't have any of the modern conveniences, as well- most of those through no choice of their own. Do they look happy to you?
Progress is a good thing. The future sucks, mainly, because by the time we get there the little steps we took along the way will make the giant leaps seem so much more mundane and uninspiring. 100 years ago most people didn't have cars, tvs, indoor plumbing, electricity, and they'd never been on an airplane. You are viewing this on a machine that an optimistic futurist, 100 years ago, might not have conceived as possible. We've put men on the moon, and there are 10 people something like 300 miles above your head floating in an international space station funded by the US, Russia, Japan, Italy, The UK, Canada, etc.
You've probably tasted food from Southeast Asia, Mexico, Italy, Spain, France, and many other countries- something your grandparents' parents probably didn't ever get a chance to do (at least, not regularly). I can remember when they paved the street in front of my house. My father can remember when his grandpa got indoor plumbing and electricity.
Progress is a good thing, and inspiring. If you don't believe me, take a look at what the Hubble telescope has recently shown us, and keep in mind that just 20 years ago these images were impossible. Photo of the Orion Nebula's Trapezium cluster, "more than 300 fledgling stars and brown dwarfs surround the brightest, most massive stars [center of picture] in Hubble's view of the Trapezium cluster's central region."
Humans are naturally inquisitive, naturally warlike, and naturally social creatures. Unless women and men collectively start really digging fat lazy shitbags, the human race isn't going down the toilet. As a matter of fact, look back through old pictures. Today we're healthier, taller, better fed, and smarter than those sorry saps of yesteryear.
It's only been 30 years since we've had a reasonable expectation of adequate nutrition in the US. In the 60s, in rural America, you may not have gotten all of the vitamins and minerals needed for healthy development. The Internet allows us to instantly accumulate information our parents had to go to the library to find. Not to mention our better understanding of damn near everything, which is then reflected in what we're taught.
I know, I know, Wall E is just a movie- and a kid's movie, at that!
But it's symptomatic of our culture, today. The Earth isn't going to 'splode. Yes, we need to watch out for pollution, especially, because it (by definition) poisons our environment. But these ideas that humanity isn't natural (what are we, then, supernatural? subnatural?), that we're dooming ourselves and our planet with every step forward. This silly nostalgic bullshit where we gloss over the bad things that happened yesterday (part of how our memories work) and remember only the good, exciting things, is about as useful as tits on a bull.
Today, despite what you might think, is objectively better for the whole than was yesterday. We're moving into the future, and we're dragging all you bastards with us. Read More...
Friday, November 14, 2008
problem
in the preceeding post, I realise I am falling into a common error: saying it, but not proving it.
This will be corrected, expect further, more thought out ramblings on the topic to be forthcoming. Read More...
This will be corrected, expect further, more thought out ramblings on the topic to be forthcoming. Read More...
The Anti-Theist
Fuck the fourth wall, for a minute.
I'm not sure who, if anyone, really reads this. I don't know what each of you think about science, religion, society, et cetera. What I can assume, unless this is the first time you're reading my blog, is that you know my thoughts on many things. Particularly about religion. The short of it is: I am a militant anti-theist.
Why "militant"? Because the whole idea of religion grates on me, and anywhere it crops up, I have an (impossibly) hard time not attacking it. That's not to say I support, advocate, or encourage such things as genocide, church burning, or other equally offensive attitudes: I most certainly do not. However, I am a very (physically) large, very loud, voice who refuses to be silent about how I feel. I refuse to remain silent about the hypocrisy, childishness, insanity, idiocy, and generally reprehensible nature of religion; and due to my insane need to always point out the fallibility of religion, I say "militant".
I am anti-theist because I believe the world would be better off without religion. That's not to say I think that there should be thought-crimes, that personal private beliefs should be banned, or anything so draconian. That is to say, that I believe the whole of humanity would be far better served if no one "fell" for the con that is religion- and supernatural belief. I know this will never happen; but I also know that it is worth working towards. If 1% of 1% of the entire population of the Earth, today, would put away the nonsense and start living rationally that's an additional 650,000 people (roughly); and that's a worthwhile goal.
Okay, and?
There's a lot of chatter about being "good", "kind", "friendly" atheists. This is an aspect of an outreach initiative championed by many non-theistic communities. Huh? There's been studies that show, given an otherwise satisfactory voting record, people in the US are most likely to NOT vote for someone if they are an atheist. Atheists are the least trusted minority in the US, yet we make up something like 10%- or more- of the population. This is, partially, why words like Brights, Secular, Humanists, Non-theists, and others are thrown around. The atheist community is trying to re-brand itself, a la the Homosexual community that adopted the word "Gay" and made itself less frightening to Heterosexuals.
What happens, is groups like The Atheist Alliance, Minnesota Atheists, CSI (formerly CSICOP), and others talk about being generally less aggressive. The consensus being that we're misunderstood, and people of faith are scared we're out to kill their children and rape their farm implements. Which isn't totally wrong, of course; though, we prefer consenting relations with shovels, obviously. The idea is: "let them see you're a friendly face, and basically just like them", with the hope/faith/hypothesis this will engender understanding and less fear. And the assumption that such things would cause more listening to our points of view.
The opposing side- which I sit on- says "Fuck you, and fuck that!" (Feel free to insert comment about guiding atheists being similar to herding cats). This is, in my opinion, partially due to a need for revenge. Revenge for what? Wasted time/lives, hatred, discrimination, lost opportunity (see time/lives), so on and so on. In other words, the usual human motivations for oppressing the oppressor.
Which side is "right"?
Obviously there's no 100%, black or white, solution. Neither side is right, neither side is wrong. The Kinder Gentler Post-religion-ists make very valid points about inclusion, etc, etc. My side is viscerally appealing, very human and sympathetic for that, etc, etc. We're wrong because of ethics/morals. They're wrong because not "sitting down" and "taking it" are always wrong. Notice how easily these things can be argued for/against? Notice, also, that neither side has much objective proof for their position? That's a good indication that both sides are wrong/right.
And let's get something straight: They are right. The Kindler Gentler Side is absolutely correct about most of their points, but especially about the effects such positive, kind, gentle, thoughtful outreach would/could/does have. We're absolutely wrong, we on the side of yelling and throwing shit.
But we're punk rock, so fuck them.
The problem is that both things are needed, and they need to remain separate. The KG's, as I will henceforth call them, will win more hearts and minds, and further the goals of all of us; but there are assholes out there on the side of religion who will continue to rant, lie, rave, lie, scream, lie, accuse, lie, and generally annoy the shit out of me- most often by blatantly lying.
Here's the solution:
The KG's and Us represent extreme viewpoints. Extremes NEVER work, if they did statistics wouldn't be NEARLY as important when discussing society(s). A moderate viewpoint is needed, and- according to the statistics- is expressed/held by the majority of people already. So, we're good there, anyway. But, there's more.
I promise- and I can only speak for myself (if you think that atheists in general are hard to herd, try my side of the moral divide)- to focus my vitriol at those who obviously deserve it. I will not walk up to someone and start yelling at them for no reason because 90% of the time they will be religious and therefore deserving of my anger. I will, however, aggressively attack anyone who even slightly deserves it. (I am militant, remember?) In return for this, KG's, I will not interfere should you be talking kindly and gently to people I'm not currently yelling at; and I will (sometimes) accept it if enough of you tell me I'm wrong to yell at a certain person.
I will continue to rail against tax-exempt churchs, christian day care facilities, the 700 club, anyone who doesn't sarcastically refer to themselves while using the title "Reverend" (or similar), the fuckstick priest who is saying Catholics shouldn't get communion if they voted for Obama, and the like.
Aggression actually does have its uses. Meekly "turning the other cheek" is a bunch of bullshit that has never worked for ANYONE. (Not even Ghandi, and you probably want to do a little research that doesn't involve drinking the kool-aid before you try thinking next time). Meekly turning the other cheek while there is an obvious, demonstrative, threat of violence/aggression has worked for nearly everyone- most especially anyone generally named as "non-violent".
And no, violence doesn't always have to be physical. In fact, I particularly enjoy inflicting psychological violence upon people, where the scars are far less obvious and far more debilitating.
So, I agree to do my best to only assault those who, in the parlance of Louisiana, "Need [Assaulting]". And you should simply ignore me, saying only "The views of a minority of radical and extreme elements, obviously, do not represent the sophisticated bullshit we're totally prepared to massage between your asscheeks should you just turn around and spread 'em for us..." Read More...
I'm not sure who, if anyone, really reads this. I don't know what each of you think about science, religion, society, et cetera. What I can assume, unless this is the first time you're reading my blog, is that you know my thoughts on many things. Particularly about religion. The short of it is: I am a militant anti-theist.
Why "militant"? Because the whole idea of religion grates on me, and anywhere it crops up, I have an (impossibly) hard time not attacking it. That's not to say I support, advocate, or encourage such things as genocide, church burning, or other equally offensive attitudes: I most certainly do not. However, I am a very (physically) large, very loud, voice who refuses to be silent about how I feel. I refuse to remain silent about the hypocrisy, childishness, insanity, idiocy, and generally reprehensible nature of religion; and due to my insane need to always point out the fallibility of religion, I say "militant".
I am anti-theist because I believe the world would be better off without religion. That's not to say I think that there should be thought-crimes, that personal private beliefs should be banned, or anything so draconian. That is to say, that I believe the whole of humanity would be far better served if no one "fell" for the con that is religion- and supernatural belief. I know this will never happen; but I also know that it is worth working towards. If 1% of 1% of the entire population of the Earth, today, would put away the nonsense and start living rationally that's an additional 650,000 people (roughly); and that's a worthwhile goal.
Okay, and?
There's a lot of chatter about being "good", "kind", "friendly" atheists. This is an aspect of an outreach initiative championed by many non-theistic communities. Huh? There's been studies that show, given an otherwise satisfactory voting record, people in the US are most likely to NOT vote for someone if they are an atheist. Atheists are the least trusted minority in the US, yet we make up something like 10%- or more- of the population. This is, partially, why words like Brights, Secular, Humanists, Non-theists, and others are thrown around. The atheist community is trying to re-brand itself, a la the Homosexual community that adopted the word "Gay" and made itself less frightening to Heterosexuals.
What happens, is groups like The Atheist Alliance, Minnesota Atheists, CSI (formerly CSICOP), and others talk about being generally less aggressive. The consensus being that we're misunderstood, and people of faith are scared we're out to kill their children and rape their farm implements. Which isn't totally wrong, of course; though, we prefer consenting relations with shovels, obviously. The idea is: "let them see you're a friendly face, and basically just like them", with the hope/faith/hypothesis this will engender understanding and less fear. And the assumption that such things would cause more listening to our points of view.
The opposing side- which I sit on- says "Fuck you, and fuck that!" (Feel free to insert comment about guiding atheists being similar to herding cats). This is, in my opinion, partially due to a need for revenge. Revenge for what? Wasted time/lives, hatred, discrimination, lost opportunity (see time/lives), so on and so on. In other words, the usual human motivations for oppressing the oppressor.
Which side is "right"?
Obviously there's no 100%, black or white, solution. Neither side is right, neither side is wrong. The Kinder Gentler Post-religion-ists make very valid points about inclusion, etc, etc. My side is viscerally appealing, very human and sympathetic for that, etc, etc. We're wrong because of ethics/morals. They're wrong because not "sitting down" and "taking it" are always wrong. Notice how easily these things can be argued for/against? Notice, also, that neither side has much objective proof for their position? That's a good indication that both sides are wrong/right.
And let's get something straight: They are right. The Kindler Gentler Side is absolutely correct about most of their points, but especially about the effects such positive, kind, gentle, thoughtful outreach would/could/does have. We're absolutely wrong, we on the side of yelling and throwing shit.
But we're punk rock, so fuck them.
The problem is that both things are needed, and they need to remain separate. The KG's, as I will henceforth call them, will win more hearts and minds, and further the goals of all of us; but there are assholes out there on the side of religion who will continue to rant, lie, rave, lie, scream, lie, accuse, lie, and generally annoy the shit out of me- most often by blatantly lying.
Here's the solution:
The KG's and Us represent extreme viewpoints. Extremes NEVER work, if they did statistics wouldn't be NEARLY as important when discussing society(s). A moderate viewpoint is needed, and- according to the statistics- is expressed/held by the majority of people already. So, we're good there, anyway. But, there's more.
I promise- and I can only speak for myself (if you think that atheists in general are hard to herd, try my side of the moral divide)- to focus my vitriol at those who obviously deserve it. I will not walk up to someone and start yelling at them for no reason because 90% of the time they will be religious and therefore deserving of my anger. I will, however, aggressively attack anyone who even slightly deserves it. (I am militant, remember?) In return for this, KG's, I will not interfere should you be talking kindly and gently to people I'm not currently yelling at; and I will (sometimes) accept it if enough of you tell me I'm wrong to yell at a certain person.
I will continue to rail against tax-exempt churchs, christian day care facilities, the 700 club, anyone who doesn't sarcastically refer to themselves while using the title "Reverend" (or similar), the fuckstick priest who is saying Catholics shouldn't get communion if they voted for Obama, and the like.
Aggression actually does have its uses. Meekly "turning the other cheek" is a bunch of bullshit that has never worked for ANYONE. (Not even Ghandi, and you probably want to do a little research that doesn't involve drinking the kool-aid before you try thinking next time). Meekly turning the other cheek while there is an obvious, demonstrative, threat of violence/aggression has worked for nearly everyone- most especially anyone generally named as "non-violent".
And no, violence doesn't always have to be physical. In fact, I particularly enjoy inflicting psychological violence upon people, where the scars are far less obvious and far more debilitating.
So, I agree to do my best to only assault those who, in the parlance of Louisiana, "Need [Assaulting]". And you should simply ignore me, saying only "The views of a minority of radical and extreme elements, obviously, do not represent the sophisticated bullshit we're totally prepared to massage between your asscheeks should you just turn around and spread 'em for us..." Read More...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Bloody Undies
Ignore the video, it's the only one I could find with the song. This is "Zombie Girl", and it's catchy, and addictive- even if this is cut off in the middle. Watch it anyway, and try not to catch yourself humming it the rest of the day.
Read More...
Read More...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Enough Said, I think.
found via Warren Ellis, who said:
A deeply peculiar piece of video, I’m guessing clipped from a British tv documentary, purporting to be a record of an Italian priest abusing a disturbed child conducting an "exorcism."Read More...
A word to the credulous: Satan was a literary invention to give Jesus a villain. There’s no such thing as Satan. There’s no such thing as God. Jesus, like Barack Obama, was a politician.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Micheal Crichton
Micheal Crichton- author of Jurassic Park, Swarm, Sphere, Congo, Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, etc etc- died yesterday (Tuesday November 4, 2008) at 66 of cancer. His books, their movies, and ER kept science and science fiction in the popular consciousness and inspired many to further their knowledge in such subjects.
Though he was sometimes controversial- State of Fear and Rising Sun- he was vastly popular and a master storyteller. Also, he was 6'9".
I remember Jurassic Park furthered my own interest in biology, genetics, and cloning.
Though I wasn't overly impressed with the trends I saw in State of Fear and Next, I still admired anyone capable of writing such densely packed scientific thrillers.
This is a loss for future readers, who will no longer get the exciting prose of one of America's best authors.
And tall people. Read More...
Though he was sometimes controversial- State of Fear and Rising Sun- he was vastly popular and a master storyteller. Also, he was 6'9".
I remember Jurassic Park furthered my own interest in biology, genetics, and cloning.
Though I wasn't overly impressed with the trends I saw in State of Fear and Next, I still admired anyone capable of writing such densely packed scientific thrillers.
This is a loss for future readers, who will no longer get the exciting prose of one of America's best authors.
And tall people. Read More...
What I'm Seeing
I know everyone has to work, and do dishes, and pay taxes, and die; and all the other things that keeps them from reading and hearing all the different valid opinions out there; so I thought I'd compile a listing of some things about Obama that I'm seeing today.
(And why the hell is the embedded spell-checking hitting Obama as misspelled?)
Charlie Stross- English SF author- on Obama is a conservative and California's Prop 8, and why HE would have voted for him. (I'll note, because he took pains to make sure it happened this way, that he did not announce who he would have voted for until after the polls were closed).
PZ Meyers- noted atheist, biologist, professor, and blogger- on Obama's real challenge (and that he's conservative/centrist), and further context explanation of the original.
And, the ever present reality- punctuated by booing McCain supporters during the concession speech (maybe?): (via ModBlog by way of Warren Ellis)
I almost want to say that the things to do/focus on are watching who is picked as what for the admin; seeing if any bullshit comes from the Obama Camp like when Bush's admin accused the Clintons and their staff of stealing valuable pieces of art and furniture; relaxing because it's all over until Jan 20, 2009; and/or that the elections went smoothly, it was all very professional- and quick- and that McCain made a great speech as did Obama, neither deviating from basically expected prose.
However, I'm not that "bright and cheery message" guy. Instead, go look at Suburban Panic, Fafblog!, and WarrenEllis.com they all have funny, irreverent, or intentionally worrisome shite for you to waste away your days upon... Read More...
(And why the hell is the embedded spell-checking hitting Obama as misspelled?)
Charlie Stross- English SF author- on Obama is a conservative and California's Prop 8, and why HE would have voted for him. (I'll note, because he took pains to make sure it happened this way, that he did not announce who he would have voted for until after the polls were closed).
PZ Meyers- noted atheist, biologist, professor, and blogger- on Obama's real challenge (and that he's conservative/centrist), and further context explanation of the original.
And, the ever present reality- punctuated by booing McCain supporters during the concession speech (maybe?): (via ModBlog by way of Warren Ellis)
I almost want to say that the things to do/focus on are watching who is picked as what for the admin; seeing if any bullshit comes from the Obama Camp like when Bush's admin accused the Clintons and their staff of stealing valuable pieces of art and furniture; relaxing because it's all over until Jan 20, 2009; and/or that the elections went smoothly, it was all very professional- and quick- and that McCain made a great speech as did Obama, neither deviating from basically expected prose.
However, I'm not that "bright and cheery message" guy. Instead, go look at Suburban Panic, Fafblog!, and WarrenEllis.com they all have funny, irreverent, or intentionally worrisome shite for you to waste away your days upon... Read More...
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Done
West Wing Did It First. A very junior member of congress, a minority, a death, a moderate republican who must pick a staunch conservative whacko for VP (who decides to run for pres 4 years later), etc etc...
Also, looks like Alabama's Black Belt went to Obama- which is something I figured.
Happy. Anxious. Really want to talk to me-in-4-years to compare notes and see if some of the things I suspect about Obama's re-election are true. (knowing me I'll have forgotten all this stuff by then, and I don't feel like writing it down).
By the by: Howard Dean = Genius; and it's unsurprising to those of us who watched him with interest 4 years ago. Read More...
Also, looks like Alabama's Black Belt went to Obama- which is something I figured.
Happy. Anxious. Really want to talk to me-in-4-years to compare notes and see if some of the things I suspect about Obama's re-election are true. (knowing me I'll have forgotten all this stuff by then, and I don't feel like writing it down).
By the by: Howard Dean = Genius; and it's unsurprising to those of us who watched him with interest 4 years ago. Read More...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sessions Did It
Jeff Sessions (R-AL) said, recently, that the republican party is in a mess. This seems adequate. He says the Republicans were too interested in state and special interest concerns and not in a national plan. This seems true- though it also seems ambiguous enough to apply to almost any elected federal politician. Then he lost his fucking marbles, got re-infected with the Republican-Party-Lie-Till-You-Die infection that makes them not admit Sarah Palin should be forced to change her name to Sarah Pander. He said the republicans were not in trouble because they were too conservative.
Well, in a country with two political parties that have a shot at most/any elected office, that would mean they were too liberal, right? I mean, the Republicans are all conservative. The Democrats are all liberals- unless they're from Alabama where they're pro-NRA, pro-Life, federal reductionists, who never oppose tax cuts. So if the Republicans didn't get themselves in trouble by being conservative, they must have gotten into trouble being liberal. Because legislating to ban the freedoms of minorities too small/disliked to effect national elections is too pussy-ass-faggy-liberal-San-Francisco. Because lying about what "life" means, and not being able to talk about Roe v Wade without bringing up myth, superstition, and "Religion", all while keeping poor women from getting safe abortions, is too effeminate-anti-security-take-it-in-the-ass-(from-another-man)-liberal. Because de-regulating every big business supporter so they don't even have to disclose, after the fact, what bullshit they're doing; all while fucking the environment to spare polluters another 3 cents on the dollar, and dissolving the SUPERFUND ( it having been by far one of the smartest, fairest, and understandable things ever done in the name of environmental policy) is too pro-terrorist-if-you-vote-for-them-we-all-die-gay-and-communist-because-that's-even-possible-and-they're-all-gay-and-hate-jebus-and-gay-liberal.
Makes sense.
Douche. Read More...
Well, in a country with two political parties that have a shot at most/any elected office, that would mean they were too liberal, right? I mean, the Republicans are all conservative. The Democrats are all liberals- unless they're from Alabama where they're pro-NRA, pro-Life, federal reductionists, who never oppose tax cuts. So if the Republicans didn't get themselves in trouble by being conservative, they must have gotten into trouble being liberal. Because legislating to ban the freedoms of minorities too small/disliked to effect national elections is too pussy-ass-faggy-liberal-San-Francisco. Because lying about what "life" means, and not being able to talk about Roe v Wade without bringing up myth, superstition, and "Religion", all while keeping poor women from getting safe abortions, is too effeminate-anti-security-take-it-in-the-ass-(from-another-man)-liberal. Because de-regulating every big business supporter so they don't even have to disclose, after the fact, what bullshit they're doing; all while fucking the environment to spare polluters another 3 cents on the dollar, and dissolving the SUPERFUND ( it having been by far one of the smartest, fairest, and understandable things ever done in the name of environmental policy) is too pro-terrorist-if-you-vote-for-them-we-all-die-gay-and-communist-because-that's-even-possible-and-they're-all-gay-and-hate-jebus-and-gay-liberal.
Makes sense.
Douche. Read More...
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Perfect Solution
(Godwin be appeased, I did not say FINAL)...
Hi there. I want to talk to you, instead of at you, for a second. No worries, it's not to address differences in opinions of right/wrong, politics, religion, how science is the only rational approach to understanding the real world we live in, or any of the other things I usually address.
No, today, right now, just between you and me- here alone (in the cold)- I'd like to talk about something I think we all know; but that we overlook FAR too often: There are no PERFECT Solutions. Everything benefits one group more than another; and most things hurt some group.
Do you enjoy the fact that you've probably never had malaria? It's because we changed the way sanitation works, and we killed an ass ton of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes lost out, and we won, hands down.
When there's a solution that negatively effects a group- like banks, automobile makers, or the airports/airlines- but positively effects another- usually consumers- it's not the right time to start trumpeting the cause of corporations. Case in point, the 250bn Stock Injection Plan that banks and bankers oppose(d). The VAST majority of economists, the world over, support the idea AND the idea that the banks want (where we buy up toxic sub-prime mortgage backed debts) is HORRIBLE- in every way- for the consumers. Trickle down economics didn't work under Ronny Ray-gun and they don't work now.
When the airports and airlines decree auctioning off runway slots, and the arguments run into how it will hurt local business in the future because investors don't want to invest in a place without direct-to-NYC flights, take a look at the facts. (1) It doesn't hurt the vast majority of consumers in any way, form, or fashion {Aren't flights with lay overs cheaper?}. (2) The groups decrying the measures are airports and airlines. (3) Nothing is perfect.
This simple, logical approach to issues will mean we can stop spending hours repeating sob stories of the people who get hurt, and start looking at the actual issues: Does this HELP the most people, Is there a feasible way of helping MORE people?
Prognosticating on uncertain futures by espousing WHAT IF and IT COULD (as well as similarly vague terms) is pointless. When you're in the store you don't debate whether to buy toothpaste because WHAT IF or IT COULD, you buy the toothpaste and brush your teeth because it's a fact that brushing your teeth means less trouble down the road.
In economics and politics it's much harder to know for sure what will or won't work. However, it's INCREDIBLY easy to see what DOESN'T WORK. For instance, I don't know how to get the world out of the financial crisis; but I do know that de-regulation, lack of transparency, and self-oversight all helped cause the problem. Which means anything that includes those, or tries to limit how much of that can be changed, is BAD.
Yes, that means more work for banks, and more work means more workers and more stuff. That means less profits for the companies. But does it matter if a company goes from making 5 trillion in a world market valued at 60 trillion, to making 1 trillion in a world market valued at 12 trillion? Does it matter if it means they make 4 trillion in a market worth 63 trillion? What if the changes guarantee no future crisis, like this?
The point is, nothing will satisfy everyone, there's no way and we both know it. So, stop bitching about something that doesn't work for everyone, and legitimately provide a better solution, or point out flaws in the current one and how to fix them, or shut the fuck up. But, for fuck's sake, stop championing the cause of the industries and groups that fucked themselves because the solutions don't benefit them!
Thanks for listening- News Media, Bloggers, Bitchers, Moaners, Whiners, and Fuckheads.
I hope you have a nice day, before burning to death in a slow and pain-filled manner on the morrow.
-Tom Read More...
Hi there. I want to talk to you, instead of at you, for a second. No worries, it's not to address differences in opinions of right/wrong, politics, religion, how science is the only rational approach to understanding the real world we live in, or any of the other things I usually address.
No, today, right now, just between you and me- here alone (in the cold)- I'd like to talk about something I think we all know; but that we overlook FAR too often: There are no PERFECT Solutions. Everything benefits one group more than another; and most things hurt some group.
Do you enjoy the fact that you've probably never had malaria? It's because we changed the way sanitation works, and we killed an ass ton of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes lost out, and we won, hands down.
When there's a solution that negatively effects a group- like banks, automobile makers, or the airports/airlines- but positively effects another- usually consumers- it's not the right time to start trumpeting the cause of corporations. Case in point, the 250bn Stock Injection Plan that banks and bankers oppose(d). The VAST majority of economists, the world over, support the idea AND the idea that the banks want (where we buy up toxic sub-prime mortgage backed debts) is HORRIBLE- in every way- for the consumers. Trickle down economics didn't work under Ronny Ray-gun and they don't work now.
When the airports and airlines decree auctioning off runway slots, and the arguments run into how it will hurt local business in the future because investors don't want to invest in a place without direct-to-NYC flights, take a look at the facts. (1) It doesn't hurt the vast majority of consumers in any way, form, or fashion {Aren't flights with lay overs cheaper?}. (2) The groups decrying the measures are airports and airlines. (3) Nothing is perfect.
This simple, logical approach to issues will mean we can stop spending hours repeating sob stories of the people who get hurt, and start looking at the actual issues: Does this HELP the most people, Is there a feasible way of helping MORE people?
Prognosticating on uncertain futures by espousing WHAT IF and IT COULD (as well as similarly vague terms) is pointless. When you're in the store you don't debate whether to buy toothpaste because WHAT IF or IT COULD, you buy the toothpaste and brush your teeth because it's a fact that brushing your teeth means less trouble down the road.
In economics and politics it's much harder to know for sure what will or won't work. However, it's INCREDIBLY easy to see what DOESN'T WORK. For instance, I don't know how to get the world out of the financial crisis; but I do know that de-regulation, lack of transparency, and self-oversight all helped cause the problem. Which means anything that includes those, or tries to limit how much of that can be changed, is BAD.
Yes, that means more work for banks, and more work means more workers and more stuff. That means less profits for the companies. But does it matter if a company goes from making 5 trillion in a world market valued at 60 trillion, to making 1 trillion in a world market valued at 12 trillion? Does it matter if it means they make 4 trillion in a market worth 63 trillion? What if the changes guarantee no future crisis, like this?
The point is, nothing will satisfy everyone, there's no way and we both know it. So, stop bitching about something that doesn't work for everyone, and legitimately provide a better solution, or point out flaws in the current one and how to fix them, or shut the fuck up. But, for fuck's sake, stop championing the cause of the industries and groups that fucked themselves because the solutions don't benefit them!
Thanks for listening- News Media, Bloggers, Bitchers, Moaners, Whiners, and Fuckheads.
I hope you have a nice day, before burning to death in a slow and pain-filled manner on the morrow.
-Tom Read More...
Politics in Sub-saharan Afribama
Shut-up.
Because the best way to entice the reader is by insulting them until they are COWED into submission and read to appease their betters!
Also, your voice annoys me- not the quality; but the fact that you have one, and aren't solely hear to provide me an audience- ready, able, and willing!
So: shut-up.
Full Disclosure: I have family members who work at Huntsville Hospital's only rival (in Huntsville), Crestwood Hospital.
Huntsville Hospital is fucking scary: A Case Study.
Like the fucking Janjawid, they have slowly expanded their way into local domination, and like a metastasizing cancer they will eventually spread to the rest of the world! This is a story of ethnic cleansing, if that were an accurate representation of highly suspect business practices, corporate greed, conflict of interest, and evil hospitals.
Huntsville Hospital is located near downtown Huntsville, and over the past 20 years has slowly bought up many of the units in the government housing projects located around it. For many years, the government opposed this; but recently Loretta Spencer- the idiot fuck who lost the Mayorial Election to Tommy Battle (the new potential Idiot Fuck)- put into effect a change to move all those horribly ugly and crime ridden projects away from the places they've been forever, and off to what it currently the furthest outskirts of town. Furthest, of course, if you live on the richest sides of town (southside, and near madison/research park/bridge street).
Why? 1, crime was bad in their parking garages. Cars were getting broken into a lot, despite security improvments it was "unacceptable". 2, for years there was a different hospital only two or three blocks over; which meant HH could expand into where the ghetto was or not at all- and one of THOSE was NOT an option. And even though HH finally bought up the site of the other hospital and expanded all over what was once a different facility, it still needed more room to grow and tumor out into- and it already owned significant portions of the projects nearby.
Okay, so this is predatory; but not really horrible. Agreed.
It's important to note that Huntsville Hospital is a CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION! They are not a business, they are here for the community, offering services; not running a business. This makes those predatory practices (understandable from a business) a bit more nefarious, don't you think? It also means they can ask for donations in the form of advertising, and provide their sponsors huge tax write-offs. This puts their competitors at serious disadvantage. Normally, this wouldn't matter to me; but HH has a bunch of shady/nefarious aspects and the free market works best when there is competition. One Hospital in 200 miles is a bit FAR from a competitive market place, and it seems to be exactly what HH wants.
Next Up: The curious case of the Little Hospital That Thought It Could, But Really Couldn't - Decatur General.
So, Decatur General couldn't afford a cardiac unit. For one, cardiac units are EXPENSIVE, for two they didn't have the docs for it. So DG makes a deal with HH to get some Cardiac specialists on loan. That way they save some money and provide residents of Decatur and other areas with cardiac care closer than Huntsville- 45 minutes or further away (down I-565). This deal REALLY pisses off DG's Obstetrics, and the OB's leave because DG can't afford to pay them enough to keep them because of how much the cardiac rental is costing. So, DG is up one Cardiac Unit, but can't deliver babies. So then, HH pulls it's docs back. DG now has no Obstetrics and no Cardiac Unit. DG was already financially strapped before the economic crisis; it's gone from being about to collapse to being held up by little more than a stubborn insistence to not admit it's already crumbled...
HH negotiated a sweet deal to supply another hospital (a hospital in an area HH has been restricted from going because it would endanger that SAME hospital and further reduce HH's competition in the local area). That hospital took the sweet deal, and lost out on a whole department. Then, reeling from the loss of a whole unit, HH pulls it's people at the first opportunity, effectively castrating DG.
Predatory? Yes, big time.
Add to it that Loretta Spencer and friends have sat, or do sit, on HH's board of directors/trustees. The local government (for the past 8 or more years, the same time coincidentally that HH has gone from one of three hospitals to owning one of the others and vastly dwarfing the remaining one) has been doing whatever it can to accomodate and appease the voracious appetite of the beast.
Seriously, Cthulhu-ian- I mean, the motherfucker spread out from it's original site to encompass about 4 square blocks worth of formerly independent medical institutions. Lovecraft would be pleased- especially with how they mistreated the poor black community that once lived in the projects.
All the doctors have big houses on southside (really the SE), while the projects are getting thrown out into the north. Zoning changed, road improvements came down the line, yadda yadda yadda. Either HH is one lucky fucking hospital, or it's needs are being met at the expense of all others.
Look at what happened to Athens-Limestone Hospital... Guess who owns it, now...
Decatur General is next.
If they can force Crestwood out- which would likely start by keeping Crestwood from getting the rights to put a small extension inside Madison City (also a tactic HH has successfull employed in the on-going Madison Hospital bruhaha)- Huntsville Hospital would be the only hospital in 100 miles.
It's a bit fucked.
Huntsville, despite it's size and prestige, is really just a small town- especially politically. And Huntsville Hospital is definitely part of the good ol' boy network, here. Read More...
Because the best way to entice the reader is by insulting them until they are COWED into submission and read to appease their betters!
Also, your voice annoys me- not the quality; but the fact that you have one, and aren't solely hear to provide me an audience- ready, able, and willing!
So: shut-up.
Full Disclosure: I have family members who work at Huntsville Hospital's only rival (in Huntsville), Crestwood Hospital.
Huntsville Hospital is fucking scary: A Case Study.
Like the fucking Janjawid, they have slowly expanded their way into local domination, and like a metastasizing cancer they will eventually spread to the rest of the world! This is a story of ethnic cleansing, if that were an accurate representation of highly suspect business practices, corporate greed, conflict of interest, and evil hospitals.
Huntsville Hospital is located near downtown Huntsville, and over the past 20 years has slowly bought up many of the units in the government housing projects located around it. For many years, the government opposed this; but recently Loretta Spencer- the idiot fuck who lost the Mayorial Election to Tommy Battle (the new potential Idiot Fuck)- put into effect a change to move all those horribly ugly and crime ridden projects away from the places they've been forever, and off to what it currently the furthest outskirts of town. Furthest, of course, if you live on the richest sides of town (southside, and near madison/research park/bridge street).
Why? 1, crime was bad in their parking garages. Cars were getting broken into a lot, despite security improvments it was "unacceptable". 2, for years there was a different hospital only two or three blocks over; which meant HH could expand into where the ghetto was or not at all- and one of THOSE was NOT an option. And even though HH finally bought up the site of the other hospital and expanded all over what was once a different facility, it still needed more room to grow and tumor out into- and it already owned significant portions of the projects nearby.
Okay, so this is predatory; but not really horrible. Agreed.
It's important to note that Huntsville Hospital is a CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION! They are not a business, they are here for the community, offering services; not running a business. This makes those predatory practices (understandable from a business) a bit more nefarious, don't you think? It also means they can ask for donations in the form of advertising, and provide their sponsors huge tax write-offs. This puts their competitors at serious disadvantage. Normally, this wouldn't matter to me; but HH has a bunch of shady/nefarious aspects and the free market works best when there is competition. One Hospital in 200 miles is a bit FAR from a competitive market place, and it seems to be exactly what HH wants.
Next Up: The curious case of the Little Hospital That Thought It Could, But Really Couldn't - Decatur General.
So, Decatur General couldn't afford a cardiac unit. For one, cardiac units are EXPENSIVE, for two they didn't have the docs for it. So DG makes a deal with HH to get some Cardiac specialists on loan. That way they save some money and provide residents of Decatur and other areas with cardiac care closer than Huntsville- 45 minutes or further away (down I-565). This deal REALLY pisses off DG's Obstetrics, and the OB's leave because DG can't afford to pay them enough to keep them because of how much the cardiac rental is costing. So, DG is up one Cardiac Unit, but can't deliver babies. So then, HH pulls it's docs back. DG now has no Obstetrics and no Cardiac Unit. DG was already financially strapped before the economic crisis; it's gone from being about to collapse to being held up by little more than a stubborn insistence to not admit it's already crumbled...
HH negotiated a sweet deal to supply another hospital (a hospital in an area HH has been restricted from going because it would endanger that SAME hospital and further reduce HH's competition in the local area). That hospital took the sweet deal, and lost out on a whole department. Then, reeling from the loss of a whole unit, HH pulls it's people at the first opportunity, effectively castrating DG.
Predatory? Yes, big time.
Add to it that Loretta Spencer and friends have sat, or do sit, on HH's board of directors/trustees. The local government (for the past 8 or more years, the same time coincidentally that HH has gone from one of three hospitals to owning one of the others and vastly dwarfing the remaining one) has been doing whatever it can to accomodate and appease the voracious appetite of the beast.
Seriously, Cthulhu-ian- I mean, the motherfucker spread out from it's original site to encompass about 4 square blocks worth of formerly independent medical institutions. Lovecraft would be pleased- especially with how they mistreated the poor black community that once lived in the projects.
All the doctors have big houses on southside (really the SE), while the projects are getting thrown out into the north. Zoning changed, road improvements came down the line, yadda yadda yadda. Either HH is one lucky fucking hospital, or it's needs are being met at the expense of all others.
Look at what happened to Athens-Limestone Hospital... Guess who owns it, now...
Decatur General is next.
If they can force Crestwood out- which would likely start by keeping Crestwood from getting the rights to put a small extension inside Madison City (also a tactic HH has successfull employed in the on-going Madison Hospital bruhaha)- Huntsville Hospital would be the only hospital in 100 miles.
It's a bit fucked.
Huntsville, despite it's size and prestige, is really just a small town- especially politically. And Huntsville Hospital is definitely part of the good ol' boy network, here. Read More...
Think Globally, Take it in the Pooper Locally!
Politics. Ah fuck, right? Wrong. Sit back down and read the whole fucking thing, or I will personally fantasize about all the sick twisted shit I'd never do to you unless you thought I wasn't capable of it and didn't hear me creeping up behind you, right this very second. That's right, just keep reading...
So, Democratic (Yeah, that's right, bitches) Representative Bud Cramer is out. He's the Congressman from Alabama's 5th District- because we don't have many people in the state(~4.5m), but we have towns (Birmingham) with bigger populations than Alaska- which includes Huntsville. His replacement fuck-ups are Wayne Parker (R) and Parker Griffith (D).
First, here are the issues for Huntsville, which means they're the issues for the vast majority of people in district 5, Defense spending, guns, anti-gays, and defense spending. It's prime Republican territory, and our Democratic representatives tend to be D in name more than policy. (Keeping the Dixiecrat tradition alive? Maybe; but not quite). Defense Spending is huge because of Redstone Arsenal, which is home to Space and Missile Defense Command. 85% of Missile components for the US military go through Huntsville at some point in time. [As an aside: Huntsville is the smartest city in the country. Per capita there are more PhDs here than anywhere else in the US; and this is LARGELY due to the above command and related industries.]
Second, the Candidates:
Wayne Parker - lost to Cramer in 1994 by less than 2000 votes, then lost by an asston in 1996. He was a lobbyist for two Alabama interest groups, for 5 years, and NEITHER of them remember him. In response to questions one referred to him as "this guy", as in "Someone told me this guy did some lobbying for us." Both groups said they didn't even recognize his name! Plus, back in 1994 he said Defense Spending wasn't important for Huntsville and that he thought they could cut some jobs and spending out on Redstone Arsenal. (Remember: Huntsville doesn't exist without Redstone. This is so much the case, that I have an unnerving {somewhat irrational} dislike for Goddard Space Flight Center because a lot of projects from here get yanked and thrown there).
Parker Griffith - Ex-Oncologist {Cancer Doctor, for both of you who don't watch House}, current freshman Dem in State Congress (since 2006). "A" rated by the NRA, doesn't support gay marriage, and says as a Christian he "knows where our values come from". This is the Democrat. THE FUCKING DEMOCRAT!
The facts:
Parker is attacking Parker (That's Wayne v Griffith) because Parker (that's Griffith) was reported by Huntsville Hospital (about as evil a charitable organization as can be) and forced out of their oncology center. Apparently some people thought Griffith (that's Parker) was withholding medication to ease the pain of his cancer patients. There was a report made, which found no fault, malpractice, nor justifiably actionable offense on the part of Parker (that's Griffith, like Andy- who supports Obama, which is possibly how and why PG is a Democrat). So, Parker (that's Wayne) has been running shit on the air, backed MASSIVELY by the GOP's financing committees, about how Parker's (that's Griffith's) patients were horribly abused. {Good place to note that the first version of the ad had to be yanked because it was illegal- it was inaccurately citing and referencing the report. 2 of the 3 local stations it was airing on yanked it until it was redone in accordance with FUCKING COMMON 11th GRADE Essay ACCURACY, not to mention decency. Oh, an Kudos Channel 19 for being douches and refusing to pull the ad, because irrationally justifying slander/libel from one side over the other is a great way to encourage accurate reporting and some modicum of journalistic "balance", Station Owners}.
Full understanding of what that report REALLY meant, and why Griffith (that's Parker) was forced out, would entail a long diatribe about Huntsville Hospital. I am already in mid-long-diatribe and will refrain from further tangential bullshitting, other than to say: Huntsville Hospital is HUGELY political, and it has the smack of standard HH politics (i.e. been done before to other docs, administrators, board members, etc etc).
Currently, Parker (Griffith) is trying his damndest to get past this Torture-Doctor shite (look at his forcongress.com website), while continuing to attack Wayne Parker for being a stupid fucking lobbyist scumbag. Parker (that's Wayne) may have this sewn up, It's hard to tell.
The point is, though, that we have (supposedly) TWO candidates: Parker & Parker. But, with very little difference, according to their campaign materials, it's like voting for the the lesser half of the same fucking evil. It'd be like saying "I voted Bush Cheney '04 because, though I hate Cheney and Bush, I like Bush's legs. I can TRUST Bush's legs not to capitulate to terrorists, or fuck our economy up so bad it sends us into a global recession; and it's not like EITHER of them had anything to do with the TREASONOUS act of OUTING an UNDERCOVER CIA operative still on ACTIVE status. Nope, I just like those reassuringly chiseled calf muscles..."
In point of fact, this isn't likely the case. Look at Parker's (that's Griffith, Wayne has never held elected office) voting records and you'll see he's a fairly reliable democrat. He, apparently, is a socially conservative moderate democrat. Running against the guy who said, on the local TV debate, that he'd abolish the Department of Education. Parker (that's Griffith) has hit him HARD on that, listing the DoE's contribution to every school system in the 5th District- which is tens of millions of dollars. HOWEVER, it's obvious from his answers that Parker (that's Wayne) is likely a young earth creationist and Intelligent Design advocate. Parker (that's Wayne) really really really wants you to have to learn about God in Science class. Because we wouldn't want you to learn fucking SCIENCE in science class, we're only 24th of 14 developed countries surveyed in science! (See? If you'd fucking FUND the DoE instead of abolishing it, and stop trying to fuck with science education, I might know the sample size had to be bigger than 14 if we were 24th, and YOU might know that I was being facetious, or what that big fancy word meant!)
I hate having to vote for these schmucks. Parker Griffith shouldn't be ashamed at being A rated by the NRA, but he shouldn't pander so heavy-handedly, either. It's disgraceful, and his campaign is making him look like a republican in all but name. This is, probably, calculated; but it very well could mean I vote Independent and if I'm doing that, it could mean other swing votes are doing that. Wayne Parker is indistinguishable from a fool, a lobbyist, and an idiot. At the present time, it would be increasingly difficult to prove that Wayne Parker isn't the biggest piece of shit to ever try to lie, cheat, deceive, stupid (as the verb), and generally appeal to Palin-conservatives, his way into the AL-05. THAT is why I may actually NOT throw my vote away, and give it to the lesser side of the two evils (and his fairly reliable, intelligent, non-discriminatory voting record in the state Senate).
It's a disgusting election, this, and if I wasn't a horribly opinionated, atheist, skeptic, with no money, breeding, education, or worth I'd fucking run for this seat myself in four years and show these assholes that an intellectually honest, non-dogmatic, candidate can beat their dicks in with barely any money and only a spot at locally televised debates. Alas, how much better the world if my dreams- but not yours, yours are all creepy to us and really conveying that creepiness was the whole point of this post, thanks for reading through to it, and stop masturbating on the gerbils, now- were reality...
UPDATE: Just glanced at the newspaper for today, and see the CHRISTIAN COALITION has decried Wayne Parker's "Islam Ad" the headline reads "You need to win on the issues". I have not seen this ad (Not surprising since I watch little TV and when I do the channel tends to have B or MSN before the BC), nor read the story yet; more after lunch... Read More...
So, Democratic (Yeah, that's right, bitches) Representative Bud Cramer is out. He's the Congressman from Alabama's 5th District- because we don't have many people in the state(~4.5m), but we have towns (Birmingham) with bigger populations than Alaska- which includes Huntsville. His replacement fuck-ups are Wayne Parker (R) and Parker Griffith (D).
First, here are the issues for Huntsville, which means they're the issues for the vast majority of people in district 5, Defense spending, guns, anti-gays, and defense spending. It's prime Republican territory, and our Democratic representatives tend to be D in name more than policy. (Keeping the Dixiecrat tradition alive? Maybe; but not quite). Defense Spending is huge because of Redstone Arsenal, which is home to Space and Missile Defense Command. 85% of Missile components for the US military go through Huntsville at some point in time. [As an aside: Huntsville is the smartest city in the country. Per capita there are more PhDs here than anywhere else in the US; and this is LARGELY due to the above command and related industries.]
Second, the Candidates:
Wayne Parker - lost to Cramer in 1994 by less than 2000 votes, then lost by an asston in 1996. He was a lobbyist for two Alabama interest groups, for 5 years, and NEITHER of them remember him. In response to questions one referred to him as "this guy", as in "Someone told me this guy did some lobbying for us." Both groups said they didn't even recognize his name! Plus, back in 1994 he said Defense Spending wasn't important for Huntsville and that he thought they could cut some jobs and spending out on Redstone Arsenal. (Remember: Huntsville doesn't exist without Redstone. This is so much the case, that I have an unnerving {somewhat irrational} dislike for Goddard Space Flight Center because a lot of projects from here get yanked and thrown there).
Parker Griffith - Ex-Oncologist {Cancer Doctor, for both of you who don't watch House}, current freshman Dem in State Congress (since 2006). "A" rated by the NRA, doesn't support gay marriage, and says as a Christian he "knows where our values come from". This is the Democrat. THE FUCKING DEMOCRAT!
The facts:
Parker is attacking Parker (That's Wayne v Griffith) because Parker (that's Griffith) was reported by Huntsville Hospital (about as evil a charitable organization as can be) and forced out of their oncology center. Apparently some people thought Griffith (that's Parker) was withholding medication to ease the pain of his cancer patients. There was a report made, which found no fault, malpractice, nor justifiably actionable offense on the part of Parker (that's Griffith, like Andy- who supports Obama, which is possibly how and why PG is a Democrat). So, Parker (that's Wayne) has been running shit on the air, backed MASSIVELY by the GOP's financing committees, about how Parker's (that's Griffith's) patients were horribly abused. {Good place to note that the first version of the ad had to be yanked because it was illegal- it was inaccurately citing and referencing the report. 2 of the 3 local stations it was airing on yanked it until it was redone in accordance with FUCKING COMMON 11th GRADE Essay ACCURACY, not to mention decency. Oh, an Kudos Channel 19 for being douches and refusing to pull the ad, because irrationally justifying slander/libel from one side over the other is a great way to encourage accurate reporting and some modicum of journalistic "balance", Station Owners}.
Full understanding of what that report REALLY meant, and why Griffith (that's Parker) was forced out, would entail a long diatribe about Huntsville Hospital. I am already in mid-long-diatribe and will refrain from further tangential bullshitting, other than to say: Huntsville Hospital is HUGELY political, and it has the smack of standard HH politics (i.e. been done before to other docs, administrators, board members, etc etc).
Currently, Parker (Griffith) is trying his damndest to get past this Torture-Doctor shite (look at his forcongress.com website), while continuing to attack Wayne Parker for being a stupid fucking lobbyist scumbag. Parker (that's Wayne) may have this sewn up, It's hard to tell.
The point is, though, that we have (supposedly) TWO candidates: Parker & Parker. But, with very little difference, according to their campaign materials, it's like voting for the the lesser half of the same fucking evil. It'd be like saying "I voted Bush Cheney '04 because, though I hate Cheney and Bush, I like Bush's legs. I can TRUST Bush's legs not to capitulate to terrorists, or fuck our economy up so bad it sends us into a global recession; and it's not like EITHER of them had anything to do with the TREASONOUS act of OUTING an UNDERCOVER CIA operative still on ACTIVE status. Nope, I just like those reassuringly chiseled calf muscles..."
In point of fact, this isn't likely the case. Look at Parker's (that's Griffith, Wayne has never held elected office) voting records and you'll see he's a fairly reliable democrat. He, apparently, is a socially conservative moderate democrat. Running against the guy who said, on the local TV debate, that he'd abolish the Department of Education. Parker (that's Griffith) has hit him HARD on that, listing the DoE's contribution to every school system in the 5th District- which is tens of millions of dollars. HOWEVER, it's obvious from his answers that Parker (that's Wayne) is likely a young earth creationist and Intelligent Design advocate. Parker (that's Wayne) really really really wants you to have to learn about God in Science class. Because we wouldn't want you to learn fucking SCIENCE in science class, we're only 24th of 14 developed countries surveyed in science! (See? If you'd fucking FUND the DoE instead of abolishing it, and stop trying to fuck with science education, I might know the sample size had to be bigger than 14 if we were 24th, and YOU might know that I was being facetious, or what that big fancy word meant!)
I hate having to vote for these schmucks. Parker Griffith shouldn't be ashamed at being A rated by the NRA, but he shouldn't pander so heavy-handedly, either. It's disgraceful, and his campaign is making him look like a republican in all but name. This is, probably, calculated; but it very well could mean I vote Independent and if I'm doing that, it could mean other swing votes are doing that. Wayne Parker is indistinguishable from a fool, a lobbyist, and an idiot. At the present time, it would be increasingly difficult to prove that Wayne Parker isn't the biggest piece of shit to ever try to lie, cheat, deceive, stupid (as the verb), and generally appeal to Palin-conservatives, his way into the AL-05. THAT is why I may actually NOT throw my vote away, and give it to the lesser side of the two evils (and his fairly reliable, intelligent, non-discriminatory voting record in the state Senate).
It's a disgusting election, this, and if I wasn't a horribly opinionated, atheist, skeptic, with no money, breeding, education, or worth I'd fucking run for this seat myself in four years and show these assholes that an intellectually honest, non-dogmatic, candidate can beat their dicks in with barely any money and only a spot at locally televised debates. Alas, how much better the world if my dreams- but not yours, yours are all creepy to us and really conveying that creepiness was the whole point of this post, thanks for reading through to it, and stop masturbating on the gerbils, now- were reality...
UPDATE: Just glanced at the newspaper for today, and see the CHRISTIAN COALITION has decried Wayne Parker's "Islam Ad" the headline reads "You need to win on the issues". I have not seen this ad (Not surprising since I watch little TV and when I do the channel tends to have B or MSN before the BC), nor read the story yet; more after lunch... Read More...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Come Again Comedian
What's wrong with our comedy, anymore?
Where are the new Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Henny Youngman, Rodney Dangerfield, Mitch Hedburg?
Worse (somehow) where are the old Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Dennis Leary, Robin Williams?
The answer is: they're there if you look for them; and they'll never come again.
First off, we're a media saturated culture. Thirty years ago there was no Comedy Central, showing stand-up to anyone with a basic cable subscription. Thirty years ago there really wasn't cable, at least nothing like what we have today. There was no TiVO, DVR, and not even VCR or Betamax (for both of you who remember those archaic form of recording); and no internet.
So, we get a lot more of the comedy that we once had to go to a Comedy Club to see. And, let's face it, most comedy sucks. To be honest, it simply doesn't appeal to very many people; but as Penn Jillette pointed out, in a country of 300(+) million you only have to appeal to a very small percentage to have millions of fans.
Second, because we're so saturated with information, we have less of an appetite for anything that isn't perfect. We feel that there are so many options that if it's not 100% perfect it's shit. For instance: back in the day when there were only three different styles of blue-jeans to choose from, and the pair you bought was a bit too short, tight, long, wide, stiff, uncomfortable, you dealt with it and moved along- you didn't have the choice to do otherwise, really; but now there's a million styles, colors, and fits so if your pair suits your tastes more than it did- but not 100%- you feel like maybe you made the wrong choice. The fact is, you made a great choice- especially in comparison to 30, 40, or 50 years ago.
Third, there really are a lot more shitty comedians. This is due to multiple things: the huge explosion of comedy in the late 70s and 80s, increased awareness of how to become a comedian, and more people. Thirty-five years ago, you had to REALLY want to be a comedian if you were from bum-fuck Texas and didn't already know a working comedian. Today, you hop online, hit a few forums, read some wikipedia article, jump to google maps, order some books from Amazon, and you're on your way. Then there's the fact that there's well over 300 million people in our country. If 1% of people (a year) ever tried to become comedians, and 1% of them (a year) get anywhere with it, and 1% of those (a year) make it onto comedy central, that's 300 people a year with 30 minutes to blow donkey nuts out of your television on Friday nights and weekday days. It might not seem like much; but try to name 30 comedians, now try to name 30 that don't include any I've already named in this post...
Shouldn't that mean that we have MORE Carlins, Pryors, and Hicks? Not at all. It's a different machine today than it was back then. There's no way to be certain that someone like Carlin would be nearly as popular if he came along today. Look at Lenny Bruce, he was so influential because he was such a new idea/phenomenon. No one had done or said the things he had; and no one had addressed the issues he addressed. He cussed, for one. Read Carlin on how Bruce changed his act! (Basically, the Carlin you know and love wouldn't have existed without Bruce). It's not that there are not new things to say and ways for it to be said, it's that the ways to be new are smaller, less indistinguishable from other ways. Look at music: find a ban that doesn't (or couldn't) get described by naming six other bands that came before them.
Back in the day it was: (1)Much harder to become a working comedian because there were far fewer venues. Henny Youngman, even at the height of his career, would perform at any Bar Mitzvah in the hotel he was staying at- and would actually go offer to preform at them. That's unimaginable for many people- even many comedians- today. This meant you had to REALLY want to do it, and REALLY be vested in getting better (appealing to more people), if you wanted to do the comedy. (2)More competitive amongst the comics because there were so few venues- no internet celebrities back then.
These two factors meant the people who did make it were seriously the best of the best. Today you can appeal to far less than 1% of people, and if you can get a dollar out of each of them you can be a millionaire. And you're not stuck appealing to one country. You can take advantage of every person who speaks the same language as you. Eddie Izzard has done his routines in many languages- including French, German, and Icelandic.
Add to it that people change, and people with reputations (and who make money off those reps) are cautious, protecting their money-makers, and you'll never see those few titans ever do the risky shit that made them their names. They don't need to, either. Robin Williams has millions of fans who will pay money to see him at his most mediocre because he enraptured them back when he was young, hungry, and doing enough cocaine to kill several peruvian pack animals. They don't need to strive like they did when they were proving themselves, they age and the creative spark fades, they get a family and their priorities change, they get rich and less connected to the people they once spoke for, and they get happier with life and no longer have that driving hate that so many of the best comedians seem to have.
It all adds up. But things aren't bleak.
Instead of waiting 6 years for the next Carlin record to drop, you can now get your favorite comedian's latest and greatest almost as soon as they perform it.
And there are still a number of REALLY great comedians out there. Patton Oswalt, Doug Stanhope, David Cross, Eddie Izzard, The Amazing Johnathan, so on and so on. And the amount of humorous acts and media is astounding: Penn & Teller, The Daily Show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Diesel Sweeties, XKCD, Fafblog, etc etc etc etc.
Don't forget that yesterday sucked, too. Today isn't any better, per se, it's different- and there's not really anything inherently wrong with that. Read More...
Where are the new Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Henny Youngman, Rodney Dangerfield, Mitch Hedburg?
Worse (somehow) where are the old Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Dennis Leary, Robin Williams?
The answer is: they're there if you look for them; and they'll never come again.
First off, we're a media saturated culture. Thirty years ago there was no Comedy Central, showing stand-up to anyone with a basic cable subscription. Thirty years ago there really wasn't cable, at least nothing like what we have today. There was no TiVO, DVR, and not even VCR or Betamax (for both of you who remember those archaic form of recording); and no internet.
So, we get a lot more of the comedy that we once had to go to a Comedy Club to see. And, let's face it, most comedy sucks. To be honest, it simply doesn't appeal to very many people; but as Penn Jillette pointed out, in a country of 300(+) million you only have to appeal to a very small percentage to have millions of fans.
Second, because we're so saturated with information, we have less of an appetite for anything that isn't perfect. We feel that there are so many options that if it's not 100% perfect it's shit. For instance: back in the day when there were only three different styles of blue-jeans to choose from, and the pair you bought was a bit too short, tight, long, wide, stiff, uncomfortable, you dealt with it and moved along- you didn't have the choice to do otherwise, really; but now there's a million styles, colors, and fits so if your pair suits your tastes more than it did- but not 100%- you feel like maybe you made the wrong choice. The fact is, you made a great choice- especially in comparison to 30, 40, or 50 years ago.
Third, there really are a lot more shitty comedians. This is due to multiple things: the huge explosion of comedy in the late 70s and 80s, increased awareness of how to become a comedian, and more people. Thirty-five years ago, you had to REALLY want to be a comedian if you were from bum-fuck Texas and didn't already know a working comedian. Today, you hop online, hit a few forums, read some wikipedia article, jump to google maps, order some books from Amazon, and you're on your way. Then there's the fact that there's well over 300 million people in our country. If 1% of people (a year) ever tried to become comedians, and 1% of them (a year) get anywhere with it, and 1% of those (a year) make it onto comedy central, that's 300 people a year with 30 minutes to blow donkey nuts out of your television on Friday nights and weekday days. It might not seem like much; but try to name 30 comedians, now try to name 30 that don't include any I've already named in this post...
Shouldn't that mean that we have MORE Carlins, Pryors, and Hicks? Not at all. It's a different machine today than it was back then. There's no way to be certain that someone like Carlin would be nearly as popular if he came along today. Look at Lenny Bruce, he was so influential because he was such a new idea/phenomenon. No one had done or said the things he had; and no one had addressed the issues he addressed. He cussed, for one. Read Carlin on how Bruce changed his act! (Basically, the Carlin you know and love wouldn't have existed without Bruce). It's not that there are not new things to say and ways for it to be said, it's that the ways to be new are smaller, less indistinguishable from other ways. Look at music: find a ban that doesn't (or couldn't) get described by naming six other bands that came before them.
Back in the day it was: (1)Much harder to become a working comedian because there were far fewer venues. Henny Youngman, even at the height of his career, would perform at any Bar Mitzvah in the hotel he was staying at- and would actually go offer to preform at them. That's unimaginable for many people- even many comedians- today. This meant you had to REALLY want to do it, and REALLY be vested in getting better (appealing to more people), if you wanted to do the comedy. (2)More competitive amongst the comics because there were so few venues- no internet celebrities back then.
These two factors meant the people who did make it were seriously the best of the best. Today you can appeal to far less than 1% of people, and if you can get a dollar out of each of them you can be a millionaire. And you're not stuck appealing to one country. You can take advantage of every person who speaks the same language as you. Eddie Izzard has done his routines in many languages- including French, German, and Icelandic.
Add to it that people change, and people with reputations (and who make money off those reps) are cautious, protecting their money-makers, and you'll never see those few titans ever do the risky shit that made them their names. They don't need to, either. Robin Williams has millions of fans who will pay money to see him at his most mediocre because he enraptured them back when he was young, hungry, and doing enough cocaine to kill several peruvian pack animals. They don't need to strive like they did when they were proving themselves, they age and the creative spark fades, they get a family and their priorities change, they get rich and less connected to the people they once spoke for, and they get happier with life and no longer have that driving hate that so many of the best comedians seem to have.
It all adds up. But things aren't bleak.
Instead of waiting 6 years for the next Carlin record to drop, you can now get your favorite comedian's latest and greatest almost as soon as they perform it.
And there are still a number of REALLY great comedians out there. Patton Oswalt, Doug Stanhope, David Cross, Eddie Izzard, The Amazing Johnathan, so on and so on. And the amount of humorous acts and media is astounding: Penn & Teller, The Daily Show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Diesel Sweeties, XKCD, Fafblog, etc etc etc etc.
Don't forget that yesterday sucked, too. Today isn't any better, per se, it's different- and there's not really anything inherently wrong with that. Read More...
Sunday, October 26, 2008
SNL
It's no secret that SNL "ain't what it used to be". And by "what it used to be", I mean in the days of Dennis Miller, Adam Sandler, Farley, Carvey, McDonald, etc etc. (And maybe the times of Chase, Murphy, Ackroyd, Murray, etc etc).
With the exception of Tina Fey- though, I'm getting really annoyed with the constant reiteration of the same Palin jokes over and over again- I'd say the cast(s) have sucked for a long time. I was never a fan of Will Farrell, and I still find him far more annoying and monotonously over-done. But.
Occasionally, there's a really funny skit coming out of SNL. The rastafarian digital this past weekend (also, the first time I've watched in years), the Marky Mark skit from two weeks ago, and the first couple Palin mocks. But, notice something: The rasta skit, and the Marky Mark skit, were done by the same guy. The Palin skit was done by Fey. Worth checking out, also, was a bit in a larger skit where Rev Wright and Bill Ayers appear... can't remember much else, fuck you you suffer the shit that is SNL if you really wanna see it.
So, what's the deal? Is it really worse, or have we- the ones who dislike it now and loved it before- changed? The answer is, obviously, both. In my case, I know my sense of humour has changed significantly. But, also, SNL really seems targetted at 17 year olds (if that) with jokes about shit that only a 27 year old (or older) would really understand. And it's seemed that way, to me, forever.
Plus the musical guests blow dick, anymore. Remember Sinead O'Connor? Not gonna see any risks like that anymore. It seems passe because a lot of what they do has been taken up by others and done better. Daily Show is a blatant rip off of weekend update (which was probably not an idea original to SNL), and is MUCH better even than the horrible Thursday 30-minute version of WU. Mr. Show kicked sketch-comedy in the testicles and then raped it's mom in the pooper, all while wearing clown make-up.
But of course, all comedy has sorta gone this way of shite and shite-ier. More on that, later.... Read More...
With the exception of Tina Fey- though, I'm getting really annoyed with the constant reiteration of the same Palin jokes over and over again- I'd say the cast(s) have sucked for a long time. I was never a fan of Will Farrell, and I still find him far more annoying and monotonously over-done. But.
Occasionally, there's a really funny skit coming out of SNL. The rastafarian digital this past weekend (also, the first time I've watched in years), the Marky Mark skit from two weeks ago, and the first couple Palin mocks. But, notice something: The rasta skit, and the Marky Mark skit, were done by the same guy. The Palin skit was done by Fey. Worth checking out, also, was a bit in a larger skit where Rev Wright and Bill Ayers appear... can't remember much else, fuck you you suffer the shit that is SNL if you really wanna see it.
So, what's the deal? Is it really worse, or have we- the ones who dislike it now and loved it before- changed? The answer is, obviously, both. In my case, I know my sense of humour has changed significantly. But, also, SNL really seems targetted at 17 year olds (if that) with jokes about shit that only a 27 year old (or older) would really understand. And it's seemed that way, to me, forever.
Plus the musical guests blow dick, anymore. Remember Sinead O'Connor? Not gonna see any risks like that anymore. It seems passe because a lot of what they do has been taken up by others and done better. Daily Show is a blatant rip off of weekend update (which was probably not an idea original to SNL), and is MUCH better even than the horrible Thursday 30-minute version of WU. Mr. Show kicked sketch-comedy in the testicles and then raped it's mom in the pooper, all while wearing clown make-up.
But of course, all comedy has sorta gone this way of shite and shite-ier. More on that, later.... Read More...
Friday, October 24, 2008
My Gogol Bordello Playlist
This Is what I've been listening to over and over again, recently.
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C899203D9C034297
And just because I'm curious about what this does:
Read More...
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C899203D9C034297
And just because I'm curious about what this does:
Read More...
Funny, WoWfag
So, it turns out the average MMO player is probably more physically fit than you are. This makes you a horrible fuck, and you should start playing MMOs because it will make you cool, hip, and healthier. (Originally heard about this via The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe)
Also, I recently saw a forum signature on the WoW forums that was funny. This isn't exactly new, lots of the humor is puerile and /b/tarded; but this particular one seemed in need of spreading:
GOP says, "We'll see your black guy and raise you a woman."
-Nubcoilz Read More...
Also, I recently saw a forum signature on the WoW forums that was funny. This isn't exactly new, lots of the humor is puerile and /b/tarded; but this particular one seemed in need of spreading:
GOP says, "We'll see your black guy and raise you a woman."
-Nubcoilz Read More...
Mortality Tables
Actuarial Tables - Mathematical measurement of probabilities, associated with age and other status factors, that a person of age X will survvie to their (X + 1)th birthday.
XKCD makes the fanboys cry. Read More...
XKCD makes the fanboys cry. Read More...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Culture for the Masstards
In an on-going attempt to force recognition of the many faceted awesomeness of various aspects of life, I present an on-going attempt to educate those who are uneducated, by choice, by accident, or by lack of ability:
Today's installment, Take Five by The Dave Brubeck Quartet:
Read More...
Today's installment, Take Five by The Dave Brubeck Quartet:
Read More...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
You Say You Want a Revolucion?
Here's some places you need to check out:
http://www.skepdic.com - Skeptic's Dictionary, outlining bullshit, woo, and psuedoscience, why they are wrong, and common terms, tools, and generally good things to know, think snopes.com in a way.
http://www.site.stopjenny.com/ - STOP JENNY MCCARTHY. The ex-booger picking idiot from MTV is on a crusade against vaccinations, wheat, and dairy products, claiming they all caused or contributed to her son's autism. SHe is wrong, there is evidence, and the whole anti-vaccination movement is responsible for Polio still being around.
http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/ - STOP SYLVIA BROWNE. This is another- like John Edwards, James Van Praag, and Uri Geller- fake ass psychic bilking people out of money. She's the one that told a couple on Montell that their child was dead and some years later the child was found- not extremely far away- being held by a nut-bag.
http://www.randi.org/ - JAMES RANDI EDUCATION FOUNDATION. The JREF is awesome, and a great resource, especially their very active Forums. Search the forums and it's likely all your questions will be answered.
http://www.theskepticsguide.org/ - THE SKEPTICS' GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE. Best Podcast EVER! Also an active Forum, 20 common Logical Fallacies, and other great resources.
http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/ - Doctor Steven Novella's blog
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/ - Group Blog, including Doctor Steven Novella, great resource fighting woo and psuedoscience in medicine (like anti-vaxxers)
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/ - PZ Myers blog (if you don't know him, you should).
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/ - Bad Astronomer, and President of the JREF, Phil Plait's blog.
http://skepchick.org/blog/ - Group Blog, featuring Rebecca Watson.
http://whatstheharm.net/ - WHAT'S THE HARM. So, you think belief in ghosts, psychics, homeopathy, or other such bullshit doesn't have a negative side? Go see how many people have died, been swindled, injured, or otherwise quantifiably hurt by woo, psuedoscience, and bullshit.
There are many others, but these are the ones I tend to hit, cite, and read regularly. These are important resources, especially when referring friends and family, or trying to develop better arguments against the crap people believe. I've included them here, because though these sites aren't necessarily atheists sites, a certain fat whore is all-over the intardwub today spouting her bullshit and hate; and I think it's a good time to remind people of the good guys in the face of such disgusting shit.
(By the by, I'm attacking her sexual proclivity and weight, not to cast doubt on her intelligence, or the validity of her arguments; but because I'm a hateful prick who enjoys preying on the weak and stupid. Well, actually I enjoy preying on the stupid, it just so happens most of them are rather weak-willed, too. Her arguments are wrong because of various reasons, I leave to readers to discover for themselves. She's a "cunted cunt" because her bloated disgusting hate is washing through my personal spaces today via multiple places I regularly enjoy reading, and I'm a bit pissed at having to deal with her crap. So, she's a fat whore- no offense to all the whores out there- because she's fucking with my groove, man. Warren and PZ forced me to write this tangential shit, the bastards....) [Last thing: It's really not a great way of handling that sorta shit; but I sorta agree with the ideals of Rational Response Squad that fighting anger and arrogance with anger and arrogance and truth and logic is a justifiable offensive strategy].
{Also: Che Guevera and the Beatles blow ass, just sayin'...} Read More...
http://www.skepdic.com - Skeptic's Dictionary, outlining bullshit, woo, and psuedoscience, why they are wrong, and common terms, tools, and generally good things to know, think snopes.com in a way.
http://www.site.stopjenny.com/ - STOP JENNY MCCARTHY. The ex-booger picking idiot from MTV is on a crusade against vaccinations, wheat, and dairy products, claiming they all caused or contributed to her son's autism. SHe is wrong, there is evidence, and the whole anti-vaccination movement is responsible for Polio still being around.
http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/ - STOP SYLVIA BROWNE. This is another- like John Edwards, James Van Praag, and Uri Geller- fake ass psychic bilking people out of money. She's the one that told a couple on Montell that their child was dead and some years later the child was found- not extremely far away- being held by a nut-bag.
http://www.randi.org/ - JAMES RANDI EDUCATION FOUNDATION. The JREF is awesome, and a great resource, especially their very active Forums. Search the forums and it's likely all your questions will be answered.
http://www.theskepticsguide.org/ - THE SKEPTICS' GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE. Best Podcast EVER! Also an active Forum, 20 common Logical Fallacies, and other great resources.
http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/ - Doctor Steven Novella's blog
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/ - Group Blog, including Doctor Steven Novella, great resource fighting woo and psuedoscience in medicine (like anti-vaxxers)
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/ - PZ Myers blog (if you don't know him, you should).
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/ - Bad Astronomer, and President of the JREF, Phil Plait's blog.
http://skepchick.org/blog/ - Group Blog, featuring Rebecca Watson.
http://whatstheharm.net/ - WHAT'S THE HARM. So, you think belief in ghosts, psychics, homeopathy, or other such bullshit doesn't have a negative side? Go see how many people have died, been swindled, injured, or otherwise quantifiably hurt by woo, psuedoscience, and bullshit.
There are many others, but these are the ones I tend to hit, cite, and read regularly. These are important resources, especially when referring friends and family, or trying to develop better arguments against the crap people believe. I've included them here, because though these sites aren't necessarily atheists sites, a certain fat whore is all-over the intardwub today spouting her bullshit and hate; and I think it's a good time to remind people of the good guys in the face of such disgusting shit.
(By the by, I'm attacking her sexual proclivity and weight, not to cast doubt on her intelligence, or the validity of her arguments; but because I'm a hateful prick who enjoys preying on the weak and stupid. Well, actually I enjoy preying on the stupid, it just so happens most of them are rather weak-willed, too. Her arguments are wrong because of various reasons, I leave to readers to discover for themselves. She's a "cunted cunt" because her bloated disgusting hate is washing through my personal spaces today via multiple places I regularly enjoy reading, and I'm a bit pissed at having to deal with her crap. So, she's a fat whore- no offense to all the whores out there- because she's fucking with my groove, man. Warren and PZ forced me to write this tangential shit, the bastards....) [Last thing: It's really not a great way of handling that sorta shit; but I sorta agree with the ideals of Rational Response Squad that fighting anger and arrogance with anger and arrogance and truth and logic is a justifiable offensive strategy].
{Also: Che Guevera and the Beatles blow ass, just sayin'...} Read More...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Time to Talk
It's time we had a little talk. We're friends, right? And we can say, to each other, whatever we're thinking, right? This is a no-judging zone, right? Because we're friends. Good, good...
I know Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, and anyone else trying to legitimize anger over historical wrongs, and some modern hardships, has been telling you how there's a difference between "white people" and "black people"; but you do see they're getting paid to say that shit, right? Of course you do.
How many black presidents do there have to be before we can just drop this whole "I'm being treated differently based on the color of my skin" thing? Oh, settle down, I'm not talking about completely. I know there're some racist fucks still out there. I know there are still some people who distrust others on the color of their skin. There are still people who think "race" wasn't something we made up out of whole cloth. But, I mean in general. I mean, when can we stop the "I'm being singled out" defense for non-specific incidents?
Because isn't it racist to claim it when it's not true?
And does a black President mean it's time to address some of this last-generation, and before, bullshit that's only left over because the old hateful dinosaurs won't hurry the fuck up and die?
Or does even talking about this out loud, as a white devil (in the words of the Nation of Islam), mean I'm somehow racist?
Glad we could have this chat... Read More...
I know Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, and anyone else trying to legitimize anger over historical wrongs, and some modern hardships, has been telling you how there's a difference between "white people" and "black people"; but you do see they're getting paid to say that shit, right? Of course you do.
How many black presidents do there have to be before we can just drop this whole "I'm being treated differently based on the color of my skin" thing? Oh, settle down, I'm not talking about completely. I know there're some racist fucks still out there. I know there are still some people who distrust others on the color of their skin. There are still people who think "race" wasn't something we made up out of whole cloth. But, I mean in general. I mean, when can we stop the "I'm being singled out" defense for non-specific incidents?
Because isn't it racist to claim it when it's not true?
And does a black President mean it's time to address some of this last-generation, and before, bullshit that's only left over because the old hateful dinosaurs won't hurry the fuck up and die?
Or does even talking about this out loud, as a white devil (in the words of the Nation of Islam), mean I'm somehow racist?
Glad we could have this chat... Read More...
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