Many Thanks to Global Voices Online and the ever-present Janine Mendes-Franco for picking up My post about Papá Héroes
This won't take long...
Tunisia. Libya. Egypt. Iran. Spain. Greece. England. Around the world, protesters are coming together, in relatively peaceful demonstrations, to tell their governments and the world that they are fed up with the status quo. The protests We focused on the most--We prisoners of the fascist-leaning U.S. of part of A. and its whorish media--were those of the dictatorships (Tunisia and Libya), but downplayed the protests that happened and continue to happen in Our "democratic allies." Which are also dictatorships.
In essence, a dictatorship is the rule of the nation by a small group that can and does impose its will by force. Now We tend to use "force" to only mean "military might," so that Our classical image of a dictator is a some medal-bedecked stocky half-wit with tanks and guns on his side. But no, the essential dictatorship stems from application of force, and in Spain, Greece, England and the good ol' U.S. of part if A., We have stocky half-wits with banks and laws. And instead of soldiers, the minions and mangy dogs are bankers, lawyers and lobbyists.
These lackeys saw the protests as civilians facing armed forces, the paradigm that ignored reality. That's why the protests were deemed to have "morphed" from "evil dictatorships" to "friendly democracies" in the eyes of Our media and many of Our leaders and pundits, half-wits all. To them, the protests were caused (yes, caused) by social media and the evils of unrestrained technology. The preservers of the status quo--beneficiaries to a greater extent within it than you and Me--saw the toppling of governments and began to wonder if the next to flee would be them. And they should be scared: witness the growth of the once-laughable "Occupy Wall Street" movement. And Let's face it: if there's going to a true terrorist attack in the U.S. of part of A., it will come from within, not without.
Some of the credit for the rising protest movement, and more importantly, its effectiveness, is ascribed to the book From Dictatorship to Democracy, by Gene Sharp. It is a generic, but heavily insightful analysis, of protest, revolutionary and independence movements. It has been banned in several countries. It can be read in a day, as it is barely 100 pages long.
And it applies to Puerto Rico without a shred of doubt.
You can download it here, in English, free: http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations/org/FDTD.pdf
In Spanish, again free: http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations/org/DelaDict-1.pdf
I provide the URL in case you want to copy/paste to spread it around.
Do We really want to make a change? Let's see how many of Us act in certain ways to make change. And one of those acts would be to read From Dictatorship to Democracy.
Time to stand up and be counted.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
03 October 2011
22 September 2011
Fathers As Heroes
Sometimes--if not most of the time--you have to make the good things happen yourself. That might be the dictum that lead Raúl Colón to launch Papá Héroes, a website that focuses on the good and great things that Dads do. In doing so, it helps remind Us that although there are a lot of voluntarily missing fathers and some who should be shot like rabid dogs, there's a huge number of men who take pride in being a father and do their best to be the best father they can be.
When Raúl launched the website, he kindly invited Me to join. I responded that I would, but this is as close as I've come. In the months since, Papá Héroes has grown into a combination journal-forum on what it is to be a good Dad. Reading through the anecdotes and posts, you get the sense that it starts with caring, just caring about your child and your role as a father.
Indifference is deadly, to the child's development and to having any chance to become a good father. I'd say simply caring is more important than love, because there are good fathers out there who don't love their children, either because they don't know how (think about it and you'll realize who I'm talking about) or because (more often) the children are not theirs, but they care for them anyway. A few step-fathers have told Me they don't really love their step-children, but that they try hard to be there for them in everything. I don't often believe what they say, but when I see them act as good responsible fathers year after year, I have to say: they are honest. And they are good fathers.
Biology makes mothers and fathers very different. A mother literally has the child as part of her body for nine months; for fathers, the connection becomes real when the child is born. By then, the mother has spent months sharing a heartbeat, and if you believe in that sort of thing, a soul with that baby. Fathers learn to love a child; mothers love the child as they love themselves.
That's why some mothers fail to be good mothers: not because they lack a connection to the child, but because they don't love themselves enough. Biological fathers may have more "reasons" (and they are all excuses, anyway) for not loving a child, and yet stepping up and being a father is just as important as being a mother. That so many men fail to do so is an indictment of Our society.
Over the years, I've worried about how I'm doing as a father. I berate Myself for missing a cue, for over-reacting, for not reacting enough, for being short-tempered or for being too patient. Time and time again people have told Me they think I'm a good father, even a great one, but the concern still weighs on Me: Am I? Can I be? Will I ever be?
Yet, on rare occasions, when I'm alone with My thoughts, a part of Me looks at My son and at My nephews, the boys I spent so much time with, and a small voice in My head says: "You're doing good. Keep it up."
I wish that voice would stick around a little longer. Barring that, I thank Raúl and the collaborators at Papá Héroes for bringing good Dads together and letting them--Us--share what it is to be a father.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
When Raúl launched the website, he kindly invited Me to join. I responded that I would, but this is as close as I've come. In the months since, Papá Héroes has grown into a combination journal-forum on what it is to be a good Dad. Reading through the anecdotes and posts, you get the sense that it starts with caring, just caring about your child and your role as a father.
Indifference is deadly, to the child's development and to having any chance to become a good father. I'd say simply caring is more important than love, because there are good fathers out there who don't love their children, either because they don't know how (think about it and you'll realize who I'm talking about) or because (more often) the children are not theirs, but they care for them anyway. A few step-fathers have told Me they don't really love their step-children, but that they try hard to be there for them in everything. I don't often believe what they say, but when I see them act as good responsible fathers year after year, I have to say: they are honest. And they are good fathers.
Biology makes mothers and fathers very different. A mother literally has the child as part of her body for nine months; for fathers, the connection becomes real when the child is born. By then, the mother has spent months sharing a heartbeat, and if you believe in that sort of thing, a soul with that baby. Fathers learn to love a child; mothers love the child as they love themselves.
That's why some mothers fail to be good mothers: not because they lack a connection to the child, but because they don't love themselves enough. Biological fathers may have more "reasons" (and they are all excuses, anyway) for not loving a child, and yet stepping up and being a father is just as important as being a mother. That so many men fail to do so is an indictment of Our society.
Over the years, I've worried about how I'm doing as a father. I berate Myself for missing a cue, for over-reacting, for not reacting enough, for being short-tempered or for being too patient. Time and time again people have told Me they think I'm a good father, even a great one, but the concern still weighs on Me: Am I? Can I be? Will I ever be?
Yet, on rare occasions, when I'm alone with My thoughts, a part of Me looks at My son and at My nephews, the boys I spent so much time with, and a small voice in My head says: "You're doing good. Keep it up."
I wish that voice would stick around a little longer. Barring that, I thank Raúl and the collaborators at Papá Héroes for bringing good Dads together and letting them--Us--share what it is to be a father.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
19 September 2011
(Not) Making Our Move
Here's what We need to do to get rid of the pig-fools and create a true democracy:
1) Knowledge of how we are getting screwed;
2) Pragmatic tactics, strategies, and solutions; and
3) The “energy to do battle.”
Taken from this article by Bruce Levine, in AlterNet, these steps are aimed at the lack of democracy in what was once the "Bastion of Democracy," the U.S. of part of A., but they apply equally well here on My Island.
Levine believes that the knowledge of how the people of the U.S. of part of A. are getting screwed, while not exactly widespread, has numbers larger than the group aware of tactics, strategies and solutions. Because he works for an alternative news site, cleverly called AlterNet, he's part of the "solution" to the lack of knowledge, swims in those waters and sees the lack of action based on the information pool he feeds as a matter of "scanty tactics and low energy."
Maybe so, in the U.S. of part of A. But here in My Patch of Green, the lack falls squarely in the category of "knowledge of how We're getting screwed." We don't know how it's happening, and except for when it touches Us directly, We don't care. "We don't care" is easy to define once "We don't know" is explained. So, okay Jenius, why don't We know?
--The media: Our media is as informative a group of people as fat cells are capable of thought. (Go ahead, parse it. I'll wait.) If it requires thought, they can't handle it, so they don't. If it requires confrontation--based on character and ethics instead of sensationalism--they can't manage it, so they don't. And if it requires courage...well, they don't have any.
--Government: Yeah, yeah, yeah, the source of all blames. Pifflegab. Here's the thing: We elect a good chunk of it. So when a mealy-mouthed wimp of a (non)governor places a snaky-assed weasel in charge of the power company and let's the snaky-assed weasel lie, lie and baldly lie about what's happening with the electric bill--rewarding said snaky-assed weasel with over $320,000 in salary and benefits--and that fact is buried under several other political scandals of varying degrees, then yes, the government is at fault for running reckless and saying nothing.
--Us: Of course, Us. Who else? It's Our house and Our people and Our problems and Our responsibility to come up with solutions to save Our asses. Waiting for Superman, the cavalry or Godot to fix Our morass isn't getting Us anywhere. If We don't fix it, We don't get fixed. Pure and simple.
Now where are the alternative news sources needed to illuminate Our darkened minds? Well, there are...none. Yes, there is a Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, a Center for Investigative Journalism, but they tackle very few stories and get little traction for them. Oh, and what's on the home page of their website right now: a story on 9/11. Yeah, that illuminates a lot about Our problems.
It might be a lack of numbers. With 300 million citizens, the U.S. of part of A. can rely on a measly 0.00001% of its population--3,000 contributors--to create an alternative news industry, leveraged by the power of the Internet for enormous reach (exceeding 83% penetration or roughly 250 million people.) In Puerto Rico, 0.00001% equals 40 of Us, leveraged by an Internet with a penetration rate of roughly 55% (no, it isn't any higher and I'm being generous with 55%; could be closer to 45%) reaching barely 2.2 million people...IF We had the 40 contributors and IF they wrote about topics that could galvanize Our interest. (And no, that list doesn't include "9/11".)
And Let's face it: Our interest level is piqued more by a senator's ass or a senatorial aide's ass than by the fact that We're getting screwed in the...abstract. And concretely. Every day. Yes, We lack the knowledge of how it's done, though several of Us, mainly in blogs, try to educate the masses. Yes, We lack the tactics and whatnot to make an effective protest become a resistance movement. Twitter--by itself--is not an action verb that changes history. And when it comes to energy, Our "revolutionary movements" have a long history of petering out in a few hours (shopping in Plaza Las Americas, anyone?), or at most a day, when "token authority" is exercised ("Whimper de Lares", anyone?)
The takeaway: there's plenty of work to be done to convert this oligarchic orgy of nation rape into a semblance of democracy. But as the joke goes, what are the definitiosn of "ignorance" and "arrogance"?
I don't know and I don't care.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 20 September 2011: And then this shows up on My Twitter feed: How to Use Twitter to Organize and Manage a Protest. Don't say I'm not helping Us make Our move or that I'm rigidly dogmatic about My opinions...]
1) Knowledge of how we are getting screwed;
2) Pragmatic tactics, strategies, and solutions; and
3) The “energy to do battle.”
Taken from this article by Bruce Levine, in AlterNet, these steps are aimed at the lack of democracy in what was once the "Bastion of Democracy," the U.S. of part of A., but they apply equally well here on My Island.
Levine believes that the knowledge of how the people of the U.S. of part of A. are getting screwed, while not exactly widespread, has numbers larger than the group aware of tactics, strategies and solutions. Because he works for an alternative news site, cleverly called AlterNet, he's part of the "solution" to the lack of knowledge, swims in those waters and sees the lack of action based on the information pool he feeds as a matter of "scanty tactics and low energy."
Maybe so, in the U.S. of part of A. But here in My Patch of Green, the lack falls squarely in the category of "knowledge of how We're getting screwed." We don't know how it's happening, and except for when it touches Us directly, We don't care. "We don't care" is easy to define once "We don't know" is explained. So, okay Jenius, why don't We know?
--The media: Our media is as informative a group of people as fat cells are capable of thought. (Go ahead, parse it. I'll wait.) If it requires thought, they can't handle it, so they don't. If it requires confrontation--based on character and ethics instead of sensationalism--they can't manage it, so they don't. And if it requires courage...well, they don't have any.
--Government: Yeah, yeah, yeah, the source of all blames. Pifflegab. Here's the thing: We elect a good chunk of it. So when a mealy-mouthed wimp of a (non)governor places a snaky-assed weasel in charge of the power company and let's the snaky-assed weasel lie, lie and baldly lie about what's happening with the electric bill--rewarding said snaky-assed weasel with over $320,000 in salary and benefits--and that fact is buried under several other political scandals of varying degrees, then yes, the government is at fault for running reckless and saying nothing.
--Us: Of course, Us. Who else? It's Our house and Our people and Our problems and Our responsibility to come up with solutions to save Our asses. Waiting for Superman, the cavalry or Godot to fix Our morass isn't getting Us anywhere. If We don't fix it, We don't get fixed. Pure and simple.
Now where are the alternative news sources needed to illuminate Our darkened minds? Well, there are...none. Yes, there is a Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, a Center for Investigative Journalism, but they tackle very few stories and get little traction for them. Oh, and what's on the home page of their website right now: a story on 9/11. Yeah, that illuminates a lot about Our problems.
It might be a lack of numbers. With 300 million citizens, the U.S. of part of A. can rely on a measly 0.00001% of its population--3,000 contributors--to create an alternative news industry, leveraged by the power of the Internet for enormous reach (exceeding 83% penetration or roughly 250 million people.) In Puerto Rico, 0.00001% equals 40 of Us, leveraged by an Internet with a penetration rate of roughly 55% (no, it isn't any higher and I'm being generous with 55%; could be closer to 45%) reaching barely 2.2 million people...IF We had the 40 contributors and IF they wrote about topics that could galvanize Our interest. (And no, that list doesn't include "9/11".)
And Let's face it: Our interest level is piqued more by a senator's ass or a senatorial aide's ass than by the fact that We're getting screwed in the...abstract. And concretely. Every day. Yes, We lack the knowledge of how it's done, though several of Us, mainly in blogs, try to educate the masses. Yes, We lack the tactics and whatnot to make an effective protest become a resistance movement. Twitter--by itself--is not an action verb that changes history. And when it comes to energy, Our "revolutionary movements" have a long history of petering out in a few hours (shopping in Plaza Las Americas, anyone?), or at most a day, when "token authority" is exercised ("Whimper de Lares", anyone?)
The takeaway: there's plenty of work to be done to convert this oligarchic orgy of nation rape into a semblance of democracy. But as the joke goes, what are the definitiosn of "ignorance" and "arrogance"?
I don't know and I don't care.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 20 September 2011: And then this shows up on My Twitter feed: How to Use Twitter to Organize and Manage a Protest. Don't say I'm not helping Us make Our move or that I'm rigidly dogmatic about My opinions...]
15 September 2011
Non-Random Thoughts...Again
Thanks to Janine Mendes-Franco for selecting My post about Our police being gutted by the Federal Department of Justice report, pairing Me with a related post over at Dondequiera. Nice.
--My Pittsburgh Pirates lost their 82nd game of the year, extending their record losing-season streak to 19. The damn thing is old enough to vote. They were in first place as late as July 20th, and it all seemed to come crashing down when they lost a 19-inning game to the Braves on a blown call at the plate. Maybe that wasn't it, but the Buckos went into a severe tailspin. Add to that My Steelers getting clobbered 35-7 by the Ravens and this week has been a disaster for Jenius sports favorites.
--The local Electrical Power Authority has refused to make the fuel charge adjustment it normally makes, thus keeping Our electrical bills higher than they should be. The purpose: to force Us to accept the GasoDildo as the "solution" to high energy costs. Here's two simple solutions: scale back the subsidies granted to private companies here and to people living in housing projects. Corporations can get as much as 50% and some apartments in housing projects get capped at $30 max for running air conditioners all day. The only folks who should get the subsidy are those for whom medical equipment is needed, and even then it should be capped at $90-$100 to avoid the huge abuse We have.
--Under any objective measure, there is no doubt that the most corrupt party in Puerto Rico is the New Progressive Party. It's not the only corrupt party (PDP and PIP. anyone?), but the depths of moral and ethical ineptitude are deeper in the party founded by a reckless opportunist who backed into power without a single cohesive plan beyond "We won?!". I bring this up to let you know I'll be going back to the topic in an upcoming post. But for now, let's crown the NPP and its statehood-supporting weasels the Toilet Seat Crown of Shit-Headed Corruption.
--Is it surprising that the national media in the U.S. of part of A. made a big splash about welfare and federal aid recipients having to take drug tests (and only 2% tested positive), while here on My Island the media and Fools have kept coffin-quiet about the whole thing? How come We don't hear about this?
--Two recent crimes involving folks from the west side of the Island (My side) generated a lot of heat: two young volleyball prospects, lifelong friends, were gunned down in front of a popular pub in San Juan and an engineer was decapitated by two younger relatives, his head placed on the kitchen counter, surrounded by family pictures. Three men dead and there's much wailing; only some of it is honest. In a country where over a thousand people will be killed, some of them women at the hands of "lovers," We gnash Our teeth at three men dead. Yes, their deaths were tragic and horrifying, but almost all violent deaths are. What makes these three stand out is that they didn't happen in the streets, where death is "acceptable" to Us. They literally hit closer to home: a bar and an actual home. Yeah, all of a sudden when the violence comes off the streets and into Our "safe" places, then We act all prissy about it. Until then, the blood runs like a river through Our streets...and We don't really care. And yes, I've said it before, but it bears repeating until most of Us get it.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
--My Pittsburgh Pirates lost their 82nd game of the year, extending their record losing-season streak to 19. The damn thing is old enough to vote. They were in first place as late as July 20th, and it all seemed to come crashing down when they lost a 19-inning game to the Braves on a blown call at the plate. Maybe that wasn't it, but the Buckos went into a severe tailspin. Add to that My Steelers getting clobbered 35-7 by the Ravens and this week has been a disaster for Jenius sports favorites.
--The local Electrical Power Authority has refused to make the fuel charge adjustment it normally makes, thus keeping Our electrical bills higher than they should be. The purpose: to force Us to accept the GasoDildo as the "solution" to high energy costs. Here's two simple solutions: scale back the subsidies granted to private companies here and to people living in housing projects. Corporations can get as much as 50% and some apartments in housing projects get capped at $30 max for running air conditioners all day. The only folks who should get the subsidy are those for whom medical equipment is needed, and even then it should be capped at $90-$100 to avoid the huge abuse We have.
--Under any objective measure, there is no doubt that the most corrupt party in Puerto Rico is the New Progressive Party. It's not the only corrupt party (PDP and PIP. anyone?), but the depths of moral and ethical ineptitude are deeper in the party founded by a reckless opportunist who backed into power without a single cohesive plan beyond "We won?!". I bring this up to let you know I'll be going back to the topic in an upcoming post. But for now, let's crown the NPP and its statehood-supporting weasels the Toilet Seat Crown of Shit-Headed Corruption.
--Is it surprising that the national media in the U.S. of part of A. made a big splash about welfare and federal aid recipients having to take drug tests (and only 2% tested positive), while here on My Island the media and Fools have kept coffin-quiet about the whole thing? How come We don't hear about this?
--Two recent crimes involving folks from the west side of the Island (My side) generated a lot of heat: two young volleyball prospects, lifelong friends, were gunned down in front of a popular pub in San Juan and an engineer was decapitated by two younger relatives, his head placed on the kitchen counter, surrounded by family pictures. Three men dead and there's much wailing; only some of it is honest. In a country where over a thousand people will be killed, some of them women at the hands of "lovers," We gnash Our teeth at three men dead. Yes, their deaths were tragic and horrifying, but almost all violent deaths are. What makes these three stand out is that they didn't happen in the streets, where death is "acceptable" to Us. They literally hit closer to home: a bar and an actual home. Yeah, all of a sudden when the violence comes off the streets and into Our "safe" places, then We act all prissy about it. Until then, the blood runs like a river through Our streets...and We don't really care. And yes, I've said it before, but it bears repeating until most of Us get it.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
13 September 2011
Dam(n) Stupidity
Happy Birthday, Mom!
My house was flooded again. Now I know I could live someplace else; that's not the point. The point is that I like this house, I like the neighborhood, the neighborhood likes Me and the problem--flooding--is not some natural aspect of where I live, but a problem created by stupidity. Fucking stupidity.
Here's the photographic sequence, with times:
8:34 AM: After barely 95 minutes of rain, some of it heavy, but nowhere near the amount other parts of My Island received, the water's coming up to the level of My balcony. A school bus becomes a rescue vehicle spewing oil and diesel into waters that are either in people's houses or about to flood them. Only two people were inside the vehicle at this point: the driver and a young man who opened the widow and asked Me if I was leaving the house. Seeing as how he might have been a city employee, I chose not to let him steal My stuff. (Yeah, I said it.)
8:57 AM: The water flooded into My house at 8:39 AM. After checking to make sure I had secured what I could from water damage, I called My Mom to update her and wish her a Happy Birthday. (Priorities, people.) As We talk, I notice the water in My house is flowing outward, which made Me think that water was coming in from behind the house, adjacent to the large drainage canal. A quick check proved that idea wrong. The water was flowing out of the house because all the water in the street was flowing away. I took this picture of why that happened.
8:59 AM: The water on My street was there because the drainage project being built (that started just before the storm season) had created a dam--a fucking dam--to stop the water from flowing out and away from the street. Made from rubble (dirt, sand, gravel, rocks) it held back the rainfall, rising high because--once again--the drainage system was blocked. The whole idea of this project is to STOP THE FUCKING FLOODING. Instead, they actually MAKE THE FUCKING FLOOD HAPPEN.
Here's the proof: a picture taken at 3:17 PM, after My Sister, My Nephews, Mrs. Jenius and I had pretty much cleaned the house enough to make it comfortable. Note the rubble dam. The narrow canal to the right drains water from the other side of My neighborhood, with the water flowing to the bottom right corner of the picture. At one point, after the fucking dam gave way, the flow was so strong it carried away 50-gallon trashcans full of garbage. A flow that strong was needed to create outflow from My house, and would rain the street quickly.
9:37 AM: Although it was still raining lightly, and would rain more during the day, the street was clear of water. Draining the entire flooded area took 43 minutes and if it had happened 9 minutes sooner, My house would not have had 2 inches of water lapping at the walls. If I had known that fucking dam was there, I would have removed enough of it to avoid the damage. And if I see it again, I will. Fuck the contractor. Fuck the city government. Their stupidity and finger-pointing to avoid responsibility needs to be slapped. Hard.
Storm season ends in October, possibly early November. According to workers on this site, the drainage system--whatever it ends up being--is scheduled for completion in mid-November...or maybe closer to Christmas.
Stormwatch, anyone?
The Jenius Has Spoken.
My house was flooded again. Now I know I could live someplace else; that's not the point. The point is that I like this house, I like the neighborhood, the neighborhood likes Me and the problem--flooding--is not some natural aspect of where I live, but a problem created by stupidity. Fucking stupidity.
Here's the photographic sequence, with times:
Storm season ends in October, possibly early November. According to workers on this site, the drainage system--whatever it ends up being--is scheduled for completion in mid-November...or maybe closer to Christmas.
Stormwatch, anyone?
The Jenius Has Spoken.
12 September 2011
Il Castrao's (Dead) Body Of Evidence
Let's hold Our noses pinched shut for a while as We take a closer look at the maggoty corpse of one Jorge "Il Castrao" Castro, the emasculated poster boy for really really stupid people who have the sheer unmitigated gall of thinking they are actually of average intelligence. And We will take this time for one simple reason: he is proving Me right.
Proof-in-the-pudding here.
Now, I don't need the support of someone beneath the contempt of an anal parasite, a noted liar, crook and weasel-faced con man with the morals of a pedophilic priest. But I caught a boatload of crap from some people--and you know who you are--for stating the following:
1) That the Il Castrao investigation was so huge (over 13,000 pieces of evidence) because it was also aimed at other targets.
2) That the targets of the investigation included current secretar(iat) of state, one Kenneth "Whinny Neigh" McClintock.
3) That an "ABC corruption scheme" was in place, with the "Alpha" being behind the ABC.
4) That the media is complicit, to wit, that the stranglehold the Ferré family has on newspapers is an obstacle to Our progress.
Now I am used to getting criticized for some of the things I write here. I actually look forward to it. Makes Me smile. But on the above topics, I got more than My usual (small) share of vitriol: I got it in waves. In fact, because of My intransigence on these positions, four people stopped talking to Me. Dropped Me like a leprous skunk. Haven't missed them...
...Until today. For according to the NotiCel proof-in-the-pudding, lawyers for Il Castrao are claiming that:
-- Evidence (testimony) against ex-senate president Kenny "Whinny Ninny", er, "Whinny Neigh" McClintock, (non)governor Luis "The Larva" Fortuño, ex-representatives and business leaders was given to the local Justice Department in 2008, but the prosecutors only went after Il Castrao. (Points 1 and 2.)
-- Amongst the business leaders named: one Antonio "Stick a Fork In It" Ferré, owner of the newspapers El Nuevo Día, Primera Hora and a double-handful of regional papers. (Point 4.)
-- The extensive bribery and payoffs scheme's outlines, according to Il Castrao's testimony, includes The Larva as what can be called "the shadow in the background," or more briefly, an alpha for an ABC. (Points 1, 2 and 3.)
So here's My last word to the vitriol-spewing ex-friends of Mon Jenius: Suck it.
Now is it possible that Il Castrao, knowing that his ass is grass, is lying, trying like hell to blame everyone he can think of to save his miserable skin? Yes, it is possible...in the same way it is possible that the Sun could be made of Philippine fondue cheese. For you see, Il Castrao, still facing tax evasion charges, gains nothing by lying, but can exact a measure of revenge for pushing the truth.
Let's see how much vitriol I get for stating that position.
I bet none.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
Proof-in-the-pudding here.
Now, I don't need the support of someone beneath the contempt of an anal parasite, a noted liar, crook and weasel-faced con man with the morals of a pedophilic priest. But I caught a boatload of crap from some people--and you know who you are--for stating the following:
1) That the Il Castrao investigation was so huge (over 13,000 pieces of evidence) because it was also aimed at other targets.
2) That the targets of the investigation included current secretar(iat) of state, one Kenneth "Whinny Neigh" McClintock.
3) That an "ABC corruption scheme" was in place, with the "Alpha" being behind the ABC.
4) That the media is complicit, to wit, that the stranglehold the Ferré family has on newspapers is an obstacle to Our progress.
Now I am used to getting criticized for some of the things I write here. I actually look forward to it. Makes Me smile. But on the above topics, I got more than My usual (small) share of vitriol: I got it in waves. In fact, because of My intransigence on these positions, four people stopped talking to Me. Dropped Me like a leprous skunk. Haven't missed them...
...Until today. For according to the NotiCel proof-in-the-pudding, lawyers for Il Castrao are claiming that:
-- Evidence (testimony) against ex-senate president Kenny "Whinny Ninny", er, "Whinny Neigh" McClintock, (non)governor Luis "The Larva" Fortuño, ex-representatives and business leaders was given to the local Justice Department in 2008, but the prosecutors only went after Il Castrao. (Points 1 and 2.)
-- Amongst the business leaders named: one Antonio "Stick a Fork In It" Ferré, owner of the newspapers El Nuevo Día, Primera Hora and a double-handful of regional papers. (Point 4.)
-- The extensive bribery and payoffs scheme's outlines, according to Il Castrao's testimony, includes The Larva as what can be called "the shadow in the background," or more briefly, an alpha for an ABC. (Points 1, 2 and 3.)
So here's My last word to the vitriol-spewing ex-friends of Mon Jenius: Suck it.
Now is it possible that Il Castrao, knowing that his ass is grass, is lying, trying like hell to blame everyone he can think of to save his miserable skin? Yes, it is possible...in the same way it is possible that the Sun could be made of Philippine fondue cheese. For you see, Il Castrao, still facing tax evasion charges, gains nothing by lying, but can exact a measure of revenge for pushing the truth.
Let's see how much vitriol I get for stating that position.
I bet none.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
08 September 2011
Protection, Integrity...Gutted
"Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD)'s motto, Proteccion, Integridad ("Protection, Integrity"), showcases these responsibilities and sets out PRPD's vision for ensuring the safety of the people of Puerto Rico while adhering to the highest professional, ethical, and legal standards. Unfortunately, far too many PRPD officers have broken their oath to uphold the rule of law, as they have been responsible for acts of crime and corruption and have routinely violated the constitutional rights of the residents of Puerto Rico. These officers have frequently subjected the very people they swore to protect to unreasonable force and unlawful searches and seizures. In addition, when faced with public demonstrations, PRPD relies on tactics that violate the free speech rights of demonstrators and the press.
The patterns and practices of civil rights violations we identified are profound. They are the result of chronic institutional and systemic deficiencies that directly contribute to repeated violations of the Constitution and federal law. PRPD does not currently provide its officers with sufficient or appropriate training, guidance, discipline, or supervision. As a result, PRPD both fails to equip its officers with the necessary skills to effectively serve the public and address officer misconduct in a timely or effective manner. Outdated policies and ineffective external oversight exacerbate PRPD's failure to ensure constitutional policing and contribute to continuing violations that erode the public's confidence in its efforts.
To date, Puerto Rico has failed to adequately address the causes that contribute to both its unconstitutional law enforcement and ineffective policing. Puerto Rico must act decisively, transparently, and immediately to restore the public's trust and correct PRPD's pattern of unconstitutional policing. We have outlined the minimum measures necessary to remedy PRPD's pattern of constitutional violations. Implementing these steps, with the oversight of the federal courts, will place PRPD on the path to lasting reform and permit PRPD to meet its public safety challenges while respecting the constitutional rights of the people of Puerto Rico."
Here's the link to the full Department of Justice report, courtesy of the New York Times. The quote above is from page 111, the Conclusion to the report.
Allow Me to point out the salient phrase of this lengthy quote: the U.S. of part of A. Justice Department is recommending--with the force of law behind it--that the federal courts monitor the Puerto Rico Police Department. This comes after a very detailed, 133-item suggestion list, practically eviscerates the PRPD, laying out such a lengthy laundry list of "fix this" points that it amounts to a judgment of "'Cuz you are broke all over."
Last October, 90 members of the PRPD were arrested, by the FBI. I wrote at the time:
"We've lost the ability to police Ourselves, pun fucking intended. We're no longer a healthy society, capable of fighting off infection: We're sick, diseased and without outside help, We'd simply get worse. How's that for "Yo soy boricua" pride?...
...To be clear, this is not a case of "federal" vs. "local," or "American" vs. "boricua" or much less "oppressor" vs. "oppressed": it is a case of an "outside enforcer" doing what the "on-site enfeebled" can no longer do. It is a case of the proactive actor doing what the pathetic patient can't do... or won't.
While We rearrange things to keep kids from learning and super-size the happiness levels of Our triple-handful of freeloaders, Let's notice--if only in passing--that We are losing Our society's ability to act in an adult, mature and self-responsible way, to the point where We don't give a cop's corrupt ass that it takes outsiders to do it."
Now We're being told--again--"You can't police yourselves." Pun fucking intended.
Damn it.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 23 September 2011: The Federal Justice Department prepares to file suit seeking to appoint a federal-level monitor to supervise the changes in the PRPD.]
[Update: 5 October 2011: From The New York Times, an article on how the PRPD grossly manipulated crime statistics so that the Superintendent and his Larval boss could lie with bald faces and claim that the crime rate had dropped.]
 |
| PRPD attacking protester, January 13, 2011 - NewsObserver.com |
The patterns and practices of civil rights violations we identified are profound. They are the result of chronic institutional and systemic deficiencies that directly contribute to repeated violations of the Constitution and federal law. PRPD does not currently provide its officers with sufficient or appropriate training, guidance, discipline, or supervision. As a result, PRPD both fails to equip its officers with the necessary skills to effectively serve the public and address officer misconduct in a timely or effective manner. Outdated policies and ineffective external oversight exacerbate PRPD's failure to ensure constitutional policing and contribute to continuing violations that erode the public's confidence in its efforts.
To date, Puerto Rico has failed to adequately address the causes that contribute to both its unconstitutional law enforcement and ineffective policing. Puerto Rico must act decisively, transparently, and immediately to restore the public's trust and correct PRPD's pattern of unconstitutional policing. We have outlined the minimum measures necessary to remedy PRPD's pattern of constitutional violations. Implementing these steps, with the oversight of the federal courts, will place PRPD on the path to lasting reform and permit PRPD to meet its public safety challenges while respecting the constitutional rights of the people of Puerto Rico."
Here's the link to the full Department of Justice report, courtesy of the New York Times. The quote above is from page 111, the Conclusion to the report.
Allow Me to point out the salient phrase of this lengthy quote: the U.S. of part of A. Justice Department is recommending--with the force of law behind it--that the federal courts monitor the Puerto Rico Police Department. This comes after a very detailed, 133-item suggestion list, practically eviscerates the PRPD, laying out such a lengthy laundry list of "fix this" points that it amounts to a judgment of "'Cuz you are broke all over."
 |
| FBI arrests Puerto Rico police officers -- Reuters Photo |
"We've lost the ability to police Ourselves, pun fucking intended. We're no longer a healthy society, capable of fighting off infection: We're sick, diseased and without outside help, We'd simply get worse. How's that for "Yo soy boricua" pride?...
...To be clear, this is not a case of "federal" vs. "local," or "American" vs. "boricua" or much less "oppressor" vs. "oppressed": it is a case of an "outside enforcer" doing what the "on-site enfeebled" can no longer do. It is a case of the proactive actor doing what the pathetic patient can't do... or won't.
While We rearrange things to keep kids from learning and super-size the happiness levels of Our triple-handful of freeloaders, Let's notice--if only in passing--that We are losing Our society's ability to act in an adult, mature and self-responsible way, to the point where We don't give a cop's corrupt ass that it takes outsiders to do it."
Now We're being told--again--"You can't police yourselves." Pun fucking intended.
Damn it.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 23 September 2011: The Federal Justice Department prepares to file suit seeking to appoint a federal-level monitor to supervise the changes in the PRPD.]
[Update: 5 October 2011: From The New York Times, an article on how the PRPD grossly manipulated crime statistics so that the Superintendent and his Larval boss could lie with bald faces and claim that the crime rate had dropped.]
05 September 2011
"Animal Farm": The Musical
After dealing with a naked asshole--and his pictures of it--yes, I took a break. And discovered a new ad campaign that has the makings of either sheer chutzpah, satanic cynicism or loopy insanity.
The campaign features the legendary salsa group El Gran Combo (50+ years of international stardom), singing one of their many hits, but with the lyrics rewritten. The original version sings about living "the great life", doing nothing and having fun. The title of the song is "No hago más ná'"--I don't do anything else. The new lyrics now sing about working hard and "moving forward, never backward."
The campaign, backed by notorious economic sumphole Banco Popular, asks viewers to call in and request the song so as to make it...popular. They actually imply in the ad that a song--and by extension, that their reworked song--can change a society
I sh--kid you not.
Take a stroll through The Jenius' posts, or a daily local puppy-trainer rag We call newspaper and you'll quickly come to the conclusion that We are neck-deep in problems. Serious problems. Problems that go way back to before "No hago más ná'" captured Our fondest wish and made it danceable. We are so deep into these problems that a whole host of vermin have come up to feed on them, to literally stake their lives on them, to entrench themselves in the sewage and thrive on it, while deep in their miniscule brains they fear being exposed to light, to having their feces-filled wallow drained so that others--more worthy and virtuous--can thrive better.
And Banco Popular is a massive slug in that vermin horde. (Paid back the TARP money, BP? Made the minimum percentage of loans to local clients, BP? Stopped using The Larva's wife's law firm as your principal mortgage legal advisors, BP? Got your stock back up over a dollar a share, penny-stupid and dollar-useless BP?)
Now here's the thing: this campaign is nothing new. And all it does is lend credence to a conclusion I stated in 2001 in My columns at PuertoRican.com com, and revisited in 2005 here in The Jenius. And because it applies so well, here it is again, the "Glee-ified" version of Our "Animal Farm":
Puerto Rican.com 008 – Week of 10 December 2001
Animal Farm
By Gil C. Schmidt
When I was a youngster, I overheard a man’s brief rant about “those in power” and how they had a “conspiracy” to keep Puerto Ricans ignorant, and thus, controllable. He pointed out how the educational system (this was in the late 1970s) was a mess, how the newspapers were written “for morons” and how politicians and others, “those in power”, kept manipulating “everything” to retain their grasp on the populace.
At the time, I thought he was crazy. A conspiracy? To keep people, as he said, “stupid”? A deliberate effort to not educate people? What was wrong with this guy? Hell, nobody seemed to be paying attention to him… Seemed to. For a little, insistent voice in my head was saying he might be right…and no one there was even trying to contradict him.
This was a small incident, but over the years, I’ve recalled it several times and mentioned it once before. The whole incident came roaring back when I saw the latest TV ad campaign and the title “Animal Farm” flashed into my head as the commercial ended.
The government (under Sila "Quitter" Calderón) has created a series of ads featuring business leaders encouraging effort, and now another series with “commoners”. (I only saw one, but I imagine there are at least one or two more) Their catch-line now is: “Adelante con Fuerza, Puerto Rico”. (Roughly: “Onward with Force/Strength/Energy, Puerto Rico.”) Supposedly common citizens urging their fellow citizens to make a greater effort. And all I could think of was the Horse, in “Animal Farm”.
George Orwell’s often heavy-handed fable of animals taking over a farm and creating a progressively-debased “utopia” is great reading. In it, the Horse is by far the strongest animal, capable of doing almost all of the necessary heavy work. But, his muscle is not matched by his brain. As things are going to pot on the Farm, his only comment and response is “I must work harder. I must work harder!” And so he does, with simple-minded, but poignantly noble strength. And while his muscles struggle, the Farm leaders--the Pigs--wallow in excess and create more chaos.
Oh, the parallels.
The reason I could never forget that man’s rant so long ago was the niggling feeling that maybe, maybe he was right. The points he made are still valid: The educational system is a mess, the media often does treat its audience as morons and what we see every week from our “leaders” has the acidly-sour taste of rampant manipulation in it.
• “Give them to me as children and I shall own them forever,” are words ascribed to Adolph Hitler.
• “The strongest protection of liberty is an educated people,” is ascribed to Thomas Jefferson.
• “Let him work harder!” is the Pigs’ implied response to the news that the Horse is struggling and dying.
And now, “Adelante con Fuerza, Puerto Rico”: Am I the only one who hears the subtext: “Work harder! It’s your fault! We have other—better!—things to do!” and the drunkenly-delighted cackle-grunts of the Pigs?
-------
I can't wait for the remix version of this musical, the Banco Popular production of "Ignore the screwing, just keep dancing! ¡Salsa de la buena!"
On second thought: Yes. I can.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
The campaign features the legendary salsa group El Gran Combo (50+ years of international stardom), singing one of their many hits, but with the lyrics rewritten. The original version sings about living "the great life", doing nothing and having fun. The title of the song is "No hago más ná'"--I don't do anything else. The new lyrics now sing about working hard and "moving forward, never backward."
The campaign, backed by notorious economic sumphole Banco Popular, asks viewers to call in and request the song so as to make it...popular. They actually imply in the ad that a song--and by extension, that their reworked song--can change a society
I sh--kid you not.
Take a stroll through The Jenius' posts, or a daily local puppy-trainer rag We call newspaper and you'll quickly come to the conclusion that We are neck-deep in problems. Serious problems. Problems that go way back to before "No hago más ná'" captured Our fondest wish and made it danceable. We are so deep into these problems that a whole host of vermin have come up to feed on them, to literally stake their lives on them, to entrench themselves in the sewage and thrive on it, while deep in their miniscule brains they fear being exposed to light, to having their feces-filled wallow drained so that others--more worthy and virtuous--can thrive better.
And Banco Popular is a massive slug in that vermin horde. (Paid back the TARP money, BP? Made the minimum percentage of loans to local clients, BP? Stopped using The Larva's wife's law firm as your principal mortgage legal advisors, BP? Got your stock back up over a dollar a share, penny-stupid and dollar-useless BP?)
Now here's the thing: this campaign is nothing new. And all it does is lend credence to a conclusion I stated in 2001 in My columns at PuertoRican.com com, and revisited in 2005 here in The Jenius. And because it applies so well, here it is again, the "Glee-ified" version of Our "Animal Farm":
Puerto Rican.com 008 – Week of 10 December 2001
Animal Farm
By Gil C. Schmidt
When I was a youngster, I overheard a man’s brief rant about “those in power” and how they had a “conspiracy” to keep Puerto Ricans ignorant, and thus, controllable. He pointed out how the educational system (this was in the late 1970s) was a mess, how the newspapers were written “for morons” and how politicians and others, “those in power”, kept manipulating “everything” to retain their grasp on the populace.
At the time, I thought he was crazy. A conspiracy? To keep people, as he said, “stupid”? A deliberate effort to not educate people? What was wrong with this guy? Hell, nobody seemed to be paying attention to him… Seemed to. For a little, insistent voice in my head was saying he might be right…and no one there was even trying to contradict him.
This was a small incident, but over the years, I’ve recalled it several times and mentioned it once before. The whole incident came roaring back when I saw the latest TV ad campaign and the title “Animal Farm” flashed into my head as the commercial ended.
The government (under Sila "Quitter" Calderón) has created a series of ads featuring business leaders encouraging effort, and now another series with “commoners”. (I only saw one, but I imagine there are at least one or two more) Their catch-line now is: “Adelante con Fuerza, Puerto Rico”. (Roughly: “Onward with Force/Strength/Energy, Puerto Rico.”) Supposedly common citizens urging their fellow citizens to make a greater effort. And all I could think of was the Horse, in “Animal Farm”.
George Orwell’s often heavy-handed fable of animals taking over a farm and creating a progressively-debased “utopia” is great reading. In it, the Horse is by far the strongest animal, capable of doing almost all of the necessary heavy work. But, his muscle is not matched by his brain. As things are going to pot on the Farm, his only comment and response is “I must work harder. I must work harder!” And so he does, with simple-minded, but poignantly noble strength. And while his muscles struggle, the Farm leaders--the Pigs--wallow in excess and create more chaos.
Oh, the parallels.
The reason I could never forget that man’s rant so long ago was the niggling feeling that maybe, maybe he was right. The points he made are still valid: The educational system is a mess, the media often does treat its audience as morons and what we see every week from our “leaders” has the acidly-sour taste of rampant manipulation in it.
• “Give them to me as children and I shall own them forever,” are words ascribed to Adolph Hitler.
• “The strongest protection of liberty is an educated people,” is ascribed to Thomas Jefferson.
• “Let him work harder!” is the Pigs’ implied response to the news that the Horse is struggling and dying.
And now, “Adelante con Fuerza, Puerto Rico”: Am I the only one who hears the subtext: “Work harder! It’s your fault! We have other—better!—things to do!” and the drunkenly-delighted cackle-grunts of the Pigs?
-------
I can't wait for the remix version of this musical, the Banco Popular production of "Ignore the screwing, just keep dancing! ¡Salsa de la buena!"
On second thought: Yes. I can.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
25 August 2011
Bareassed Hypocrisy
Oh.
Hell.
Pictures, self-taken from a cell phone, appear on a gay website. In a couple of them, a man is naked, on all fours, revealing his... base assets.
Point One: There is no doubt--no doubt at all--that the pictures are meant to be an invitation to sex. The pictures show a man, deliberately covering his face for that very important "sense of mystery," but revealing his body (one picture is of his naked torso), to the extent of "offering his wares" with his "doggy stance."
Point Two: What a person does in private is private and should remain that way, barring a greater good (solving a major crime, for example.) But what a person posts to the digital world is NOT private. It is NOT. Posting a picture to a website or tweeting a pic is NOT a private matter, simply because it spreads outside of anyone's control the moment you hit "Enter." Any position that doesn't acknowledge this basic truth is wrong.
The pictures were almost immediately linked to local senator and majority speaker Roberto "Me Espickin Inglich" Arango, notorious for his support of a statehood he can't define in the "official" language of the country he wants to become a part of.
His first reaction: That's not me. This is a political smear. Or words to that effect. Hell.
His second reaction, when shown the photos: He looks at them and then says That isn't Me.
Oh hell.
Here's the natural reaction of the totally innocent: It doesn't matter what photos you have, I don't have to see them because I'VE NEVER DONE THAT.
His third reaction: Yeah, that's me, but they were pictures taken of my weight loss efforts. But I don't remember those pictures.
Oh fucking hell.
Of course, the liar has already said he won't resign. Why should he? It's not like ethics or morality or integrity or dignity have ANYTHING to do with being a hyena-level thief in Our government. Hell, those are the "deal killers" that keep you from getting (s)elected.
The added twist is that Espickin Inglich has openly supported the proposed amendment to make marriage heterosexual only. So in a pattern that is very very familiar to observers of the Republican Party, the Moral Majority and other hypocrisy-required-for-membership groups, Espickin Inglich wants to legislate against those he wants to join. Carnally, to go Biblical on his ass.
Another day, another scandal, another dollop of barefaced--well actually: bareassed--hypocrisy.
Hell.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 28 August 2011: Espickin Inglich resigned his ass from the senate.]
[Update: 9 February 2012: Espickin Inglich photographed kissing a man on a Miami beach. Not a crime, but for an ex-public official who made it a point to mock homosexuals and try to persecute them, it simply confirms hypocrisy. And homosexuality, if you're counting.]
Hell.
Pictures, self-taken from a cell phone, appear on a gay website. In a couple of them, a man is naked, on all fours, revealing his... base assets.
Point One: There is no doubt--no doubt at all--that the pictures are meant to be an invitation to sex. The pictures show a man, deliberately covering his face for that very important "sense of mystery," but revealing his body (one picture is of his naked torso), to the extent of "offering his wares" with his "doggy stance."
Point Two: What a person does in private is private and should remain that way, barring a greater good (solving a major crime, for example.) But what a person posts to the digital world is NOT private. It is NOT. Posting a picture to a website or tweeting a pic is NOT a private matter, simply because it spreads outside of anyone's control the moment you hit "Enter." Any position that doesn't acknowledge this basic truth is wrong.
The pictures were almost immediately linked to local senator and majority speaker Roberto "Me Espickin Inglich" Arango, notorious for his support of a statehood he can't define in the "official" language of the country he wants to become a part of.
His first reaction: That's not me. This is a political smear. Or words to that effect. Hell.
His second reaction, when shown the photos: He looks at them and then says That isn't Me.
Oh hell.
Here's the natural reaction of the totally innocent: It doesn't matter what photos you have, I don't have to see them because I'VE NEVER DONE THAT.
His third reaction: Yeah, that's me, but they were pictures taken of my weight loss efforts. But I don't remember those pictures.
Oh fucking hell.
Of course, the liar has already said he won't resign. Why should he? It's not like ethics or morality or integrity or dignity have ANYTHING to do with being a hyena-level thief in Our government. Hell, those are the "deal killers" that keep you from getting (s)elected.
The added twist is that Espickin Inglich has openly supported the proposed amendment to make marriage heterosexual only. So in a pattern that is very very familiar to observers of the Republican Party, the Moral Majority and other hypocrisy-required-for-membership groups, Espickin Inglich wants to legislate against those he wants to join. Carnally, to go Biblical on his ass.
Another day, another scandal, another dollop of barefaced--well actually: bareassed--hypocrisy.
Hell.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 28 August 2011: Espickin Inglich resigned his ass from the senate.]
[Update: 9 February 2012: Espickin Inglich photographed kissing a man on a Miami beach. Not a crime, but for an ex-public official who made it a point to mock homosexuals and try to persecute them, it simply confirms hypocrisy. And homosexuality, if you're counting.]
22 August 2011
The GasoDildo Down Our Throats
The president of the government board of the local power authority is front-page news in one of Our puppy-trainer rags because despite the deep drop in oil prices since May, she stated that the fuel charge on Our bills will not be adjusted for at least a year, by which time the proposed 93-mile natural gas pipeline they call "Vía Verde" and I accurately define as the GasoDildo, is expected to be operational.
Okay, that was the Vaseline.
At the same time, she pointed out that Our electric bills could not be expected to drop as "(O)ur agreement with (bond)holders is that losses are passed on to (Our) customers, not to them."
<Theme from "Shaft" goes here.>
GasoDildo, anyone?
The (non)government is spending an estimated 2 million dollars on advertising the "Vía Verde," the """"""green"""""" natural gas pipeline that will """"""save"""""" Us money and make Us less dependent on oil. Every electric bill comes with a blatant, bare-faced lie: how much money We "could" have saved with the green dildo project. So in one simple press conference, the whole scheme is revealed:
A) Our electric bill is being politically jimmied to force Us to accept the green dildo. This is known as the "Vaseline Gambit", and...
B) We're going to get screwed up the ying-yang to where it says "Made in Japan" when the whole green dildo thing blows up...either financially (a given) or literally (a distinct possibility with ignoramus engineers in charge.)
And Our protest is...where? It's like the whole thing is a green dildo crammed down Our throats: We know it's uncomfortable, We know it's hateful, but We can't seem to do much more than gag a feeble "ackh". If that.
So now what? The GasoDildo is revealed for what it is--exactly--and We...ignore it? Wait until it's ripped from Our throats and in the split-second before it plugs Our fundament We utter a feeble cry of protest, drowned out by the sounds of illegal and immoral profiteers pig-cackling at Our expense?
If the GasoDildo were truly a cost-saving, infrastructure-enhancing project, the electrical authority would continue business as usual because they already offered the bonds needed to pay for the damn thing. They wouldn't have to keep gouging Us. And if the project were truly cost-effective and the (non)government truly believed it would make a strong positive difference, We wouldn't be on the hook for it. Why? Because then the (non)government would have either raised a hell of a lot more money or they would have received a much higher bond rating (and pay a lower interest to investors.)
None of those things are true. The GasoDildo is not meant to benefit Us: it's meant to rape Us while a few pimps make out like...pimps.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 25 August 2011: Brazilian wind power cheaper than natural gas. And Brazil doesn't have to import natural, like We do. Alternative technologies--solar, wind, tidal--are cheaper in the long run than a 93-mile shaft. The problem? Our Fools can't figure out how to make oodles of money using them to screw Us. If they could, they would...and benefit Us. By mistake, but I'd take it.]
Okay, that was the Vaseline.
At the same time, she pointed out that Our electric bills could not be expected to drop as "(O)ur agreement with (bond)holders is that losses are passed on to (Our) customers, not to them."
<Theme from "Shaft" goes here.>
The (non)government is spending an estimated 2 million dollars on advertising the "Vía Verde," the """"""green"""""" natural gas pipeline that will """"""save"""""" Us money and make Us less dependent on oil. Every electric bill comes with a blatant, bare-faced lie: how much money We "could" have saved with the green dildo project. So in one simple press conference, the whole scheme is revealed:
A) Our electric bill is being politically jimmied to force Us to accept the green dildo. This is known as the "Vaseline Gambit", and...
B) We're going to get screwed up the ying-yang to where it says "Made in Japan" when the whole green dildo thing blows up...either financially (a given) or literally (a distinct possibility with ignoramus engineers in charge.)
And Our protest is...where? It's like the whole thing is a green dildo crammed down Our throats: We know it's uncomfortable, We know it's hateful, but We can't seem to do much more than gag a feeble "ackh". If that.
So now what? The GasoDildo is revealed for what it is--exactly--and We...ignore it? Wait until it's ripped from Our throats and in the split-second before it plugs Our fundament We utter a feeble cry of protest, drowned out by the sounds of illegal and immoral profiteers pig-cackling at Our expense?
None of those things are true. The GasoDildo is not meant to benefit Us: it's meant to rape Us while a few pimps make out like...pimps.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 25 August 2011: Brazilian wind power cheaper than natural gas. And Brazil doesn't have to import natural, like We do. Alternative technologies--solar, wind, tidal--are cheaper in the long run than a 93-mile shaft. The problem? Our Fools can't figure out how to make oodles of money using them to screw Us. If they could, they would...and benefit Us. By mistake, but I'd take it.]
18 August 2011
Who's Saving Us From Us?
[Once again, Global Voices Online gives wings to My words, this time about My blogger ethics. It's like Janine Mendes-Franco is a wizard or something. Or is she a witch? Okay, I should stop right there...]
I had an uncle who once told Me: "If you get slapped, turn the other cheek. But if you get slapped again, beat the shit out of the bastard because Jesus didn't say anything about what to do after turning the cheek."
I did put his words into practice a few times, with mixed results. Often, I was unable to turn the other cheek. When I did, and got hit again, I'd always go off and though I tried to win every fight, I lost a few. My bottom line was: I'd fight even if the reason was wrong.
Now I look at My Island and I see a people that turn the other cheek 3-4 times, pretend their neck is a cheek, offer up butt cheeks, use their kids' cheeks, write "cheek" on their hands and offer those up for beatings, anything to avoid the "Fuck it, it's time to fight" moment. As Jenius commenter (and outright Genius) Prometeo stated in his blog, We're "soft." (He used a different word; I'm letting you discover which one.) I called Us "cowards." Time to revisit that insult.
Within days of arriving in Puerto Rico, a person will be confronted by an island awash in problems. Here's a partial list: sub-standard (and sometimes sub-human) education; rampant political corruption; enormous unemployment; welfare recipients by the hundreds of thousands; overwhelming crime and underachieving law enforcement; consumerist mentality linked to a stagnant economy; religious leaders that act like criminals; media that acts like traitors and a self-image that seems to be based more on delusion and id than on pride and self-confidence. In short, We are fucked up.
But are We really doing anything about it? About anything on that list?
We are. We have to be. Somebody, somewhere, in some way, is doing something, however small, to plug the crumbling dam of Our society. It's impossible, even for Us, to have everyone being corrupt, for everyone to be a slacker, for all of Us to be parasites, for each of Our people to be a walking waste of human flesh, like Our politicians. Some of Us are saving Us...from Us.
But in the math of social disintegration, it isn't necessary for everyone to be a crook, thief, rapist, murderer, abuser, pederast or politician: it's enough that the good let the bad flourish. In short, the bad grows when the good allow it.
I don't have to be a bad person or engage in bad acts to aid and abet in the disintegration of My society: I simply have to be indifferent. To the bad. And even to the good, for if I don't acknowledge the good, and thus offer it support, I am "dis-encouraging" it as an acceptable path.
Now I can claim I'm too busy or too important or too caring about My family or too tired or whatever to try to excuse My indifference. Any way you choose to try to excuse it, all you're really doing is choosing to turn the other cheek.
Again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
At what point does one look at this behavior, where in the face of active attempts against a person that person does nothing, and say "S/He is soft"? At what point, as this non-reaction continues, does someone say "S/He is a coward"? At what point does someone say "S/He deserves every bit of pain they get, for they have done nothing to reject it"?
I passed the point of calling Us "cowards" long ago. I'm pretty damn sure I'm very close to looking at My Brethren and saying We deserve everything We've had and have coming to Us.
Or maybe I passed that point already and I'm too soft to acknowledge it.
We'll see.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
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I had an uncle who once told Me: "If you get slapped, turn the other cheek. But if you get slapped again, beat the shit out of the bastard because Jesus didn't say anything about what to do after turning the cheek."
I did put his words into practice a few times, with mixed results. Often, I was unable to turn the other cheek. When I did, and got hit again, I'd always go off and though I tried to win every fight, I lost a few. My bottom line was: I'd fight even if the reason was wrong.
Now I look at My Island and I see a people that turn the other cheek 3-4 times, pretend their neck is a cheek, offer up butt cheeks, use their kids' cheeks, write "cheek" on their hands and offer those up for beatings, anything to avoid the "Fuck it, it's time to fight" moment. As Jenius commenter (and outright Genius) Prometeo stated in his blog, We're "soft." (He used a different word; I'm letting you discover which one.) I called Us "cowards." Time to revisit that insult.
Within days of arriving in Puerto Rico, a person will be confronted by an island awash in problems. Here's a partial list: sub-standard (and sometimes sub-human) education; rampant political corruption; enormous unemployment; welfare recipients by the hundreds of thousands; overwhelming crime and underachieving law enforcement; consumerist mentality linked to a stagnant economy; religious leaders that act like criminals; media that acts like traitors and a self-image that seems to be based more on delusion and id than on pride and self-confidence. In short, We are fucked up.
But are We really doing anything about it? About anything on that list?
We are. We have to be. Somebody, somewhere, in some way, is doing something, however small, to plug the crumbling dam of Our society. It's impossible, even for Us, to have everyone being corrupt, for everyone to be a slacker, for all of Us to be parasites, for each of Our people to be a walking waste of human flesh, like Our politicians. Some of Us are saving Us...from Us.
But in the math of social disintegration, it isn't necessary for everyone to be a crook, thief, rapist, murderer, abuser, pederast or politician: it's enough that the good let the bad flourish. In short, the bad grows when the good allow it.
I don't have to be a bad person or engage in bad acts to aid and abet in the disintegration of My society: I simply have to be indifferent. To the bad. And even to the good, for if I don't acknowledge the good, and thus offer it support, I am "dis-encouraging" it as an acceptable path.
Now I can claim I'm too busy or too important or too caring about My family or too tired or whatever to try to excuse My indifference. Any way you choose to try to excuse it, all you're really doing is choosing to turn the other cheek.
Again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
At what point does one look at this behavior, where in the face of active attempts against a person that person does nothing, and say "S/He is soft"? At what point, as this non-reaction continues, does someone say "S/He is a coward"? At what point does someone say "S/He deserves every bit of pain they get, for they have done nothing to reject it"?
I passed the point of calling Us "cowards" long ago. I'm pretty damn sure I'm very close to looking at My Brethren and saying We deserve everything We've had and have coming to Us.
Or maybe I passed that point already and I'm too soft to acknowledge it.
We'll see.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
15 August 2011
The Jenius' Blogger Ethics
[Global Voices Online. The Jenius. Janine Mendes-Franco. Thank you!]
Some time ago, I wrote about My Intellectual Honesty and concluded I deserved a B. Tough self-critic, I am. Now comes this Blogger Code of Ethics, as suggested several years ago by Charlene Li in a Forrester Research Report titled "Blogging: Bubble or Big Deal?".
Now in the spirit of My earlier self-examination, Let's tackle this one, shall We?
1) I will tell the truth. A. Can't give Myself an A+ because I never have all the facts and quite frankly, nobody does.
2) I will write deliberately and with accuracy. A-. I don't write "deliberately" 100% of the times (I do believe you've noticed) and nobody has 100% accuracy in what they write, even though some of Us try very hard. If I were more deliberate, I'd give Myself an A or A+.
3) I will acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly. A+. Easy, since as I mentioned before, I don't make many mistakes.
4) I will preserve the original post, using notations to show where I have made changes so as to maintain the integrity of my publishing. A. Could have been an A-, but the changes I make after posting are almost always to correct spelling (see #8, below.) Not once in 1,037 posts have I changed something to "improve" My presentation or retract what I've written. That's why I place Updates.
5) I will never delete a post. A+. See #4 above. And I've been asked to about 45-50 times.
6) I will not delete comments unless they are spam or off-topic. A+. For one, I have smart people making comments. For two, disagreeing with Me is not a problem. Most likely a mistake on the person's part, but not a problem.
7) I will reply to emails and comments when appropriate, and do so promptly. B. It's the "promptly" part where I fail to achieve excellence. I have improved, but no comment should go unnoticed for more than 24 hours; a few have exceeded that this year.
8) I will strive for high quality with every post – including basic spellchecking. B. I turned off the automatic spellchecker to force Me to read/edit/correct My posts. Worked well for about a month and then a Jenial Reader pointed out that I was making some mistakes. That and The Picky Grammar Lady not being around led Me to sloppiness. Definitely room for improvement, but I still rank at least in the 98th percentile.
9) I will stay on topic. A. My topic is "Puerto Rico," with the occasional foray into other areas. Or actually, the topic is The Jenius and I NEVER stray from that.
10) I will disagree with other opinions respectfully. F. For "Fuck that." Actually, taken as a whole, I tend to disagree with only slight disrespect, though I have outrageously gone off on a slow-witted sociologist, a (miseducation) secretary with more fat than brains and a Korean-American ex-kongresskritter who should have stayed in his kim-chi patch. Balancing that out has been My exchanges with people I know and don't, so I'll settle for a...D. For "Don't expect Me to change too much."
11) I will link to online references and original source materials directly. B. I can do better. I usually do it, but "usually" is not "always" and "always" is the only standard that matters.
12) I will disclose conflicts of interest. A+. I seldom have conflicts of interest because I choose to attack stupidity and stupid and Me don't mix. So there.
13) I will keep private issues and topics private, since discussing private issues would jeopardize my personal and work relationships. A+. I have touched on some items that I have personal knowledge of and state so. I also discuss some personal issues, but none that I wouldn't discuss amongst colleagues or friends. Like most people, I could blog about some truly juicy stuff, but at the expense of My reputation and people by and large don't deserve to be treated that way. Others, though, are in My sights for when the timing is right--and I am a patient man--they will be discussed. At length.
Okay, adding and dividing gives Me a 3.54 average, an A- if you want to be precise about it. (And for the math teachers in Our local schools: please have someone explain to you how I arrived at that figure...)
The Jenius Report Card: A in Blogger Ethics and a B in Intellectual Honesty. Assessment: The Jenius means well, but he needs to delve a little deeper into the facts and present them more objectively. (Here comes the bummer:) He definitely has room for improvement.
Okay.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
Some time ago, I wrote about My Intellectual Honesty and concluded I deserved a B. Tough self-critic, I am. Now comes this Blogger Code of Ethics, as suggested several years ago by Charlene Li in a Forrester Research Report titled "Blogging: Bubble or Big Deal?".
Now in the spirit of My earlier self-examination, Let's tackle this one, shall We?
1) I will tell the truth. A. Can't give Myself an A+ because I never have all the facts and quite frankly, nobody does.
2) I will write deliberately and with accuracy. A-. I don't write "deliberately" 100% of the times (I do believe you've noticed) and nobody has 100% accuracy in what they write, even though some of Us try very hard. If I were more deliberate, I'd give Myself an A or A+.
3) I will acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly. A+. Easy, since as I mentioned before, I don't make many mistakes.
4) I will preserve the original post, using notations to show where I have made changes so as to maintain the integrity of my publishing. A. Could have been an A-, but the changes I make after posting are almost always to correct spelling (see #8, below.) Not once in 1,037 posts have I changed something to "improve" My presentation or retract what I've written. That's why I place Updates.
5) I will never delete a post. A+. See #4 above. And I've been asked to about 45-50 times.
6) I will not delete comments unless they are spam or off-topic. A+. For one, I have smart people making comments. For two, disagreeing with Me is not a problem. Most likely a mistake on the person's part, but not a problem.
7) I will reply to emails and comments when appropriate, and do so promptly. B. It's the "promptly" part where I fail to achieve excellence. I have improved, but no comment should go unnoticed for more than 24 hours; a few have exceeded that this year.
8) I will strive for high quality with every post – including basic spellchecking. B. I turned off the automatic spellchecker to force Me to read/edit/correct My posts. Worked well for about a month and then a Jenial Reader pointed out that I was making some mistakes. That and The Picky Grammar Lady not being around led Me to sloppiness. Definitely room for improvement, but I still rank at least in the 98th percentile.
9) I will stay on topic. A. My topic is "Puerto Rico," with the occasional foray into other areas. Or actually, the topic is The Jenius and I NEVER stray from that.
10) I will disagree with other opinions respectfully. F. For "Fuck that." Actually, taken as a whole, I tend to disagree with only slight disrespect, though I have outrageously gone off on a slow-witted sociologist, a (miseducation) secretary with more fat than brains and a Korean-American ex-kongresskritter who should have stayed in his kim-chi patch. Balancing that out has been My exchanges with people I know and don't, so I'll settle for a...D. For "Don't expect Me to change too much."
11) I will link to online references and original source materials directly. B. I can do better. I usually do it, but "usually" is not "always" and "always" is the only standard that matters.
12) I will disclose conflicts of interest. A+. I seldom have conflicts of interest because I choose to attack stupidity and stupid and Me don't mix. So there.
13) I will keep private issues and topics private, since discussing private issues would jeopardize my personal and work relationships. A+. I have touched on some items that I have personal knowledge of and state so. I also discuss some personal issues, but none that I wouldn't discuss amongst colleagues or friends. Like most people, I could blog about some truly juicy stuff, but at the expense of My reputation and people by and large don't deserve to be treated that way. Others, though, are in My sights for when the timing is right--and I am a patient man--they will be discussed. At length.
Okay, adding and dividing gives Me a 3.54 average, an A- if you want to be precise about it. (And for the math teachers in Our local schools: please have someone explain to you how I arrived at that figure...)
The Jenius Report Card: A in Blogger Ethics and a B in Intellectual Honesty. Assessment: The Jenius means well, but he needs to delve a little deeper into the facts and present them more objectively. (Here comes the bummer:) He definitely has room for improvement.
Okay.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
11 August 2011
My Beige Cup
Every morning for the past 15 years or so, I drink coffee from a beige cup. Some sort of plastic, thick-walled, but light. For those who know Me and My kitchen utensils, beige is like having a Honda scooter in a Harley warehouse. Most of My stuff is brightly-colored: shiny blue, sparkling orange, dazzling yellow. Beige is definitely not like that.
I have other cups, some in dazzling colors. Given how much coffee I drink, I could go with a bigger mug (I have one with a Steelers logo) or if I want to cut back a little, I can go with a half-sized bone white cup with a deep royal blue edge. No. I stick to the beige cup. It has a couple of chips in it, probably from being a dropped a time or two. (Never thrown. Stop spreading rumors.) The inside has some dark lines that might be warning signals as to the more negative aspects of coffee. It doesn't matter.
The cup is very familiar to Me, more so than almost anything else I have. So much so that when I visit My mom's house and open her cupboard to get a water glass, it stuns Me to see three other beige cups. Like Mine, only newer.
Now those of you who have read "The Little Prince" and loved it know where I'm going with this. Those three beige cups are like Mine, in form and materials. They are newer, brighter even, if beige can be said to be "bright." For My coffee, a cup is a cup. Even if I ignore every other type of cup in the world, a newer beige cup might even be better at keeping My coffee warm for Me, or it might even taste better since the interior would be...unstained.
But.
My cup is Mine. Scarred and stained, a bit lopsided now that I look at it more closely, it is Mine. Its sheer presence in My hand, as part of My days, has made it special to Me. Unique. Mine.
My point is not about possession. Seeing as how My cup is just some kind of plastic in a neutral shade, if possession were the motivation, I would want to have all four of the beige cups and many more. Start a collection! Reach double digits and soar! Use a different one for every time I drink coffee until I reach the end of the lot and then start again. Cuts down on the staining, Methinks.
No, that's not the point. The point is that this beige cup, the one I just set down, has Me invested in it. Unaware, My simple choices added up to what can only be called a bond. I can use anyone of 19 other cups at hand (and about 2 dozen more stored for fancy-shmancy events I don't intend to hold), but I don't. I choose a plain beige cup. Correction: My plain beige cup.
In obvious and subtle ways, Our choices define Us. We can't escape that, so it has the force of a natural law. But We often act like Our choices don't really matter, that they are really nothing more than random acts, even ascribing some or many of them to "outside forces." If it weren't so sad I'd say it was droll. Yes, some choices are out of Our hands, but most are not. And that's how it is, whether We acknowledge it or not.
I'm having more coffee. You already know what cup I'll be using.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
The cup is very familiar to Me, more so than almost anything else I have. So much so that when I visit My mom's house and open her cupboard to get a water glass, it stuns Me to see three other beige cups. Like Mine, only newer.
Now those of you who have read "The Little Prince" and loved it know where I'm going with this. Those three beige cups are like Mine, in form and materials. They are newer, brighter even, if beige can be said to be "bright." For My coffee, a cup is a cup. Even if I ignore every other type of cup in the world, a newer beige cup might even be better at keeping My coffee warm for Me, or it might even taste better since the interior would be...unstained.
But.
My cup is Mine. Scarred and stained, a bit lopsided now that I look at it more closely, it is Mine. Its sheer presence in My hand, as part of My days, has made it special to Me. Unique. Mine.
My point is not about possession. Seeing as how My cup is just some kind of plastic in a neutral shade, if possession were the motivation, I would want to have all four of the beige cups and many more. Start a collection! Reach double digits and soar! Use a different one for every time I drink coffee until I reach the end of the lot and then start again. Cuts down on the staining, Methinks.
No, that's not the point. The point is that this beige cup, the one I just set down, has Me invested in it. Unaware, My simple choices added up to what can only be called a bond. I can use anyone of 19 other cups at hand (and about 2 dozen more stored for fancy-shmancy events I don't intend to hold), but I don't. I choose a plain beige cup. Correction: My plain beige cup.
In obvious and subtle ways, Our choices define Us. We can't escape that, so it has the force of a natural law. But We often act like Our choices don't really matter, that they are really nothing more than random acts, even ascribing some or many of them to "outside forces." If it weren't so sad I'd say it was droll. Yes, some choices are out of Our hands, but most are not. And that's how it is, whether We acknowledge it or not.
I'm having more coffee. You already know what cup I'll be using.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
08 August 2011
Okay, When Do We Riot?
A man is shot by police in Tottenham, a suburb in North London. Rioting ensues. And continues, probably for another day or more.
Although Fools and eyes-in-their-asses """experts""" are saying that "criminal elements and thugs" are rioting, any glimpse at closed-circuit TV cameras (of which England has thousands) and pictures of the riots show that a generous cross-section of the population is rioting. They make up an uncontrolled and uncontrollable mob, a ferociously angry beast spurred to violence because a man was shot by the police. And because enough is enough.
The police represent the domestic muscle of government. It is the police that have pushed for CCTV cameras to be placed all over England. When the guardian says he wants to watch you more closely, the vast majority of people, who are innocent and law-abiding, have only two reactions: why? and fuck you. Toss in the police acting more brutally (333 killed, zero convictions), enforcing their muscle to suppress the natural reactions of people under economic and social stress (look up kettling...go ahead; I'll wait...) and you reach a point where people simply decide that enough is enough. Rioting ensues.
The reasons vary across nations: Tunisia, Spain, Egypt, Libya. But it boils down to two basic factors: a population that feels dissatisfied with its government and a government trying to suppress the populace. Oppression can only be taken so far.
So where's Our rioting? Where's Our "Enough is enough!" moment? If you're stupid enough to say We had that last year, let Me point out that the """""protest""""" ended up with many of the sheep making a detour to Plaza Las Americas Mall...to go window shopping. Now you may criticize Me for pushing the idea that maybe We should loot, pillage, burn and even harm innocent people and I'll state unequivocally that your criticism is valid.
But We should riot anyway. Short of property and personal harm, We have to riot.
How much are We going to tolerate before We either collapse into anarchy or literally take arms and wrench this fucking putrid system into a more positive direction?
-- We're on pace for over 1,050 murders this year, product of a drug war that floods Our streets with products largely meant to feed the bottomless addiction of Uncle Sam's nephews and nieces up north?
-- Our economy is subservient to Uncle Sam's, whose economy is being run into the ground by bankers and finance manipulators, fucking parasites that produce nothing but hardships for the rest of Us?
-- Our employment is dropping as jobs are not being created, they are being divided. The number of part-time workers has risen nearly 14% in the past 3 years, but overall employment has dropped. How? More 20-30 hour a week jobs paying little or no benefits. And yet, retail chains keep flocking to Our cities and towns because when it comes to buying, We are like Uncle Sam's drug-addicted nieces and nephews.
-- Our (non)government has increased Our debt, failed to reduce the size of the over-bloated tumor of an employee force, seeks to shove idiotic projects down Our throats and up Our asses, acts like it is a separate class from voters and We are still so MOTHERFUCKING stupid to keep electing these shitbags?
-- Our public education system is so bad, so pluperfect putrid, We'd be better served by eliminating the whole thing and spending 2-3 years engaging in "ad hoc schooling." How--how, damn it--can it be any worse than the turd-infested latrine collection We have now?
-- Lest We forget, Our police force is under congressional investigation for brutality, they have demanded--I repeat: demanded--the """""""right""""""" to record public gatherings for their own use and according to a 2010 poll are considered the least-trustworthy public servants We have.
Not enough? Not enough to stomp up to a public official and demand action. Not enough to scream into his/her weasel face: "You are through!"? Not enough yet?
Okay, then when? Because your limit of tolerance is hurting Us all.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 12 August 2011: From The Guardian, the context of these riots that cannot be ignored. In a nutshell: an unequal society with abusive tendencies. From CNN, "shock" at who the rioters are. Now I wonder who noticed that in their Jenius post 3 days earlier? Check the Comments of this post for another link that will crystallize what's happening in England. Here's a hint: 333-0. And if you can't be bothered to read for more than 30 seconds, try this statement from a Minister of Parliament that nails the crisis on its head. Notice how it applies to My Island, up to a certain point. You'll clearly see what that point is.]
[Update: 25 August 2011: Man tasered by British police dies, third police-related fatality in one week.]
Although Fools and eyes-in-their-asses """experts""" are saying that "criminal elements and thugs" are rioting, any glimpse at closed-circuit TV cameras (of which England has thousands) and pictures of the riots show that a generous cross-section of the population is rioting. They make up an uncontrolled and uncontrollable mob, a ferociously angry beast spurred to violence because a man was shot by the police. And because enough is enough.
The police represent the domestic muscle of government. It is the police that have pushed for CCTV cameras to be placed all over England. When the guardian says he wants to watch you more closely, the vast majority of people, who are innocent and law-abiding, have only two reactions: why? and fuck you. Toss in the police acting more brutally (333 killed, zero convictions), enforcing their muscle to suppress the natural reactions of people under economic and social stress (look up kettling...go ahead; I'll wait...) and you reach a point where people simply decide that enough is enough. Rioting ensues.
The reasons vary across nations: Tunisia, Spain, Egypt, Libya. But it boils down to two basic factors: a population that feels dissatisfied with its government and a government trying to suppress the populace. Oppression can only be taken so far.
So where's Our rioting? Where's Our "Enough is enough!" moment? If you're stupid enough to say We had that last year, let Me point out that the """""protest""""" ended up with many of the sheep making a detour to Plaza Las Americas Mall...to go window shopping. Now you may criticize Me for pushing the idea that maybe We should loot, pillage, burn and even harm innocent people and I'll state unequivocally that your criticism is valid.
But We should riot anyway. Short of property and personal harm, We have to riot.
How much are We going to tolerate before We either collapse into anarchy or literally take arms and wrench this fucking putrid system into a more positive direction?
-- We're on pace for over 1,050 murders this year, product of a drug war that floods Our streets with products largely meant to feed the bottomless addiction of Uncle Sam's nephews and nieces up north?
-- Our economy is subservient to Uncle Sam's, whose economy is being run into the ground by bankers and finance manipulators, fucking parasites that produce nothing but hardships for the rest of Us?
-- Our employment is dropping as jobs are not being created, they are being divided. The number of part-time workers has risen nearly 14% in the past 3 years, but overall employment has dropped. How? More 20-30 hour a week jobs paying little or no benefits. And yet, retail chains keep flocking to Our cities and towns because when it comes to buying, We are like Uncle Sam's drug-addicted nieces and nephews.
-- Our (non)government has increased Our debt, failed to reduce the size of the over-bloated tumor of an employee force, seeks to shove idiotic projects down Our throats and up Our asses, acts like it is a separate class from voters and We are still so MOTHERFUCKING stupid to keep electing these shitbags?
-- Our public education system is so bad, so pluperfect putrid, We'd be better served by eliminating the whole thing and spending 2-3 years engaging in "ad hoc schooling." How--how, damn it--can it be any worse than the turd-infested latrine collection We have now?
-- Lest We forget, Our police force is under congressional investigation for brutality, they have demanded--I repeat: demanded--the """""""right""""""" to record public gatherings for their own use and according to a 2010 poll are considered the least-trustworthy public servants We have.
Not enough? Not enough to stomp up to a public official and demand action. Not enough to scream into his/her weasel face: "You are through!"? Not enough yet?
Okay, then when? Because your limit of tolerance is hurting Us all.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
[Update: 12 August 2011: From The Guardian, the context of these riots that cannot be ignored. In a nutshell: an unequal society with abusive tendencies. From CNN, "shock" at who the rioters are. Now I wonder who noticed that in their Jenius post 3 days earlier? Check the Comments of this post for another link that will crystallize what's happening in England. Here's a hint: 333-0. And if you can't be bothered to read for more than 30 seconds, try this statement from a Minister of Parliament that nails the crisis on its head. Notice how it applies to My Island, up to a certain point. You'll clearly see what that point is.]
[Update: 25 August 2011: Man tasered by British police dies, third police-related fatality in one week.]
04 August 2011
Venting...Just Venting
Today would have been My Dad's 84th birthday. It would be nice to have him around.
-- Tropical Storm Emily, currently washing away topsoil in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, hit Puerto Rico the same way icebergs crash into Havana. And yet, The Larva We elected as (non)governor gave government employees the day off on Tuesday--before Emily was anywhere near Us--and kept the (non)government, uh, going, by extending the hogwash laziness into Wednesday. Emily, some 120 miles south of Us, dripped rain on about half the island. Not a deluge. Not a storm. Just rain. Like in "It's raining today, take the umbrella." No need to mention Noah or make canoe jokes. No. Nothing like that. And yet, power went out for over a million residents. So to make this perfectly clear: a normal rainfall caused 2 days of government stoppage and a power outage affecting 25% of Our population. I guess that means that if Emily had hit Us yesterday, We would be debating cannibalism by now.
-- The local school year starts Monday. A public report evaluating Our schools was buried in the Department of Education's pisshole of a website. The short version: Our schools suck worse than last year. Fully 88% of Our schools are in "Improvement Status," which means that they have failed to show adequate yearly progress. Now "No Child Left Behind" is to improving education what applying diluted dog shit does to eye infections, but here's the problem: it's the rules of the game. We accepted to play by those rules--for the money, of course--and We aren't playing well. Hell, We aren't playing "below average." We are stinking up the education joint, big-time. The U.S. of part of A. is pouring billions of dollars down a shithole system and doing everything it can to avoid making a bigger deal about it because it opens the door to all sorts of other political problems. If this were a stateside education department, it would have been taken over years ago. As it is, the whole gangrene-corrupt bloated tumor keeps rolling over Our kids and wrecking most of Our future. I can't wait to hear some local Fool make the obligatory "Education is important because children are Our future" remark so I can scheme a way to piss in his coffee. Twice.
-- Hey, Brethren: when was the last time you heard any of Our political leaders discuss taxes? It's been several months, a period of time during which Our lame-ass excuse for a (non)government dropped another $1.7 billion in debt on Our lame asses. Given that the sales tax is not pulling in what was expected, that income tax revenue was already seen to be dropping because of the recession-no!-depression and that the whole IVU-Loto "sales tax as a lottery game" isn't as big a money-maker as deluded, why the silence on taxes? Here's the list of reasons: (1) Politics: it would suuuuck to bring up taxes now, because it would kill the last 3 neurons left in the (non)government's campaign brain trust; (2) Lack of scapegoat: blaming the gringos would be seen as what it is--cowardly--though it would be accurate and the current (non)government cannot blame anyone simply because if the "executive" twig (too feeble to be a "branch") didn't launch some initiative, it was the "legislative" twig, and though they are at cross-purposes since before Election Day '08, they do belong to the same """"party""""; (3) Something else is going on, something that's "generating" money enough to keep the Fools from hinting at taxes. What is that? The so-called Pubic-Private Alliances. From the 93-mile GasoDildo to the shenanigans surrounding the International Airport to under-the-table allotments for rebuilding Our highways, the money is flowing, not like a river--legally--but like the sewer these hideous scum thrive in. Oh you'll hear about taxes...after the elections, when the new horde of whores makes its initial bread grab.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
-- Tropical Storm Emily, currently washing away topsoil in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, hit Puerto Rico the same way icebergs crash into Havana. And yet, The Larva We elected as (non)governor gave government employees the day off on Tuesday--before Emily was anywhere near Us--and kept the (non)government, uh, going, by extending the hogwash laziness into Wednesday. Emily, some 120 miles south of Us, dripped rain on about half the island. Not a deluge. Not a storm. Just rain. Like in "It's raining today, take the umbrella." No need to mention Noah or make canoe jokes. No. Nothing like that. And yet, power went out for over a million residents. So to make this perfectly clear: a normal rainfall caused 2 days of government stoppage and a power outage affecting 25% of Our population. I guess that means that if Emily had hit Us yesterday, We would be debating cannibalism by now.
-- The local school year starts Monday. A public report evaluating Our schools was buried in the Department of Education's pisshole of a website. The short version: Our schools suck worse than last year. Fully 88% of Our schools are in "Improvement Status," which means that they have failed to show adequate yearly progress. Now "No Child Left Behind" is to improving education what applying diluted dog shit does to eye infections, but here's the problem: it's the rules of the game. We accepted to play by those rules--for the money, of course--and We aren't playing well. Hell, We aren't playing "below average." We are stinking up the education joint, big-time. The U.S. of part of A. is pouring billions of dollars down a shithole system and doing everything it can to avoid making a bigger deal about it because it opens the door to all sorts of other political problems. If this were a stateside education department, it would have been taken over years ago. As it is, the whole gangrene-corrupt bloated tumor keeps rolling over Our kids and wrecking most of Our future. I can't wait to hear some local Fool make the obligatory "Education is important because children are Our future" remark so I can scheme a way to piss in his coffee. Twice.
-- Hey, Brethren: when was the last time you heard any of Our political leaders discuss taxes? It's been several months, a period of time during which Our lame-ass excuse for a (non)government dropped another $1.7 billion in debt on Our lame asses. Given that the sales tax is not pulling in what was expected, that income tax revenue was already seen to be dropping because of the recession-no!-depression and that the whole IVU-Loto "sales tax as a lottery game" isn't as big a money-maker as deluded, why the silence on taxes? Here's the list of reasons: (1) Politics: it would suuuuck to bring up taxes now, because it would kill the last 3 neurons left in the (non)government's campaign brain trust; (2) Lack of scapegoat: blaming the gringos would be seen as what it is--cowardly--though it would be accurate and the current (non)government cannot blame anyone simply because if the "executive" twig (too feeble to be a "branch") didn't launch some initiative, it was the "legislative" twig, and though they are at cross-purposes since before Election Day '08, they do belong to the same """"party""""; (3) Something else is going on, something that's "generating" money enough to keep the Fools from hinting at taxes. What is that? The so-called Pubic-Private Alliances. From the 93-mile GasoDildo to the shenanigans surrounding the International Airport to under-the-table allotments for rebuilding Our highways, the money is flowing, not like a river--legally--but like the sewer these hideous scum thrive in. Oh you'll hear about taxes...after the elections, when the new horde of whores makes its initial bread grab.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
01 August 2011
Weak Bark, Why Bite?
[Jenial Gracias to Ms. Mendes-Franco over at Global Voices Online for picking up My post about the lack of libraries on My Island. While We're here, I do have a book compiling My pre-hiatus GVO appearances, and it is free. Right sidebar, click to download, thank you.]
Bruce Levin posted this on his blog: 8 Ways Young Americans’ Resistance to Domination Has Been Subdued.
I've removed most of his commentary (well worth reading) to apply his observations to My Brethren, older and younger than Me:
1. Student-Loan Debt: For Us, it's all debt. As Levine says: "Large debt—and the fear it creates—is a pacifying force." Our people are owned by the bank and the finance companies, so they are owned by their jobs and own nothing. Our freedom of choice is used--as We shall see below--to give it all away. We are idiots.
2. Psychopathologizing and Medicating Noncompliance. I coach a youth basketball team of 12 kids coming from 11 families (two are brothers). In seven of those families, I have heard one parent or grandparent mention Ritalin or some similar medication to "help" the boy. And several of the fathers and stepfathers cannot imagine spending an outing--with or without the boys--unless there's a few cases of beer to pass the time. We see drugs as a way to control and deal with "reality," easy fixes for what We can't face up to.
3. Schools That Educate for Compliance and Not for Democracy: Levine quotes New York Teacher of the Year, John Taylor Gatto, who said: “The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders." I've danced around this thought for too long, so here it is: Schools ruin Our children for anything but being victims. Schools are not Our allies, but that of the system that wants to control them. And as for strengthening a democracy, latrines have a higher moral value than Our current schools.
4. “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top”: And here's why: standardization and more standardization. Fit every peg into the same kind of hole. A latrine is morally neutral: these schools We have now are morally evil.
5. Shaming Young People Who Take Education—But Not Their Schooling—Seriously. Mark Twain said it best: "I never let my schooling interfere with my education." For those who want to learn outside the system, on their own, freely, responsibly, away from the heavy-handed hammer of complacency and obedience, the message is clear: that is bad. Why? Why is anyone's love of learning wrong unless it conforms to that of the State? I'll repeat Myself: education controlled by the government is the same as propaganda. Period.
6. The Normalization of Surveillance: Here on My Island, the police want to record protests and protesters. Openly. Without legal reason except "We fucking want to." In the States, a person got 15 years--15 fucking years--for recording a police officer making a public arrest. What thrives when the "powers that be" are left to act like hyenas in the dark is not democracy...but do We care, since We weren't taught what it was, have been trained to obey and fear losing Our jobs that turn Us into 1-day rerouters of money? Some of Us do. And We're your only hope, idiots.
7. Television: It has turned too many on My Island into dazed, fearful, useless batches of drooling baboons thisclose to mating with the diseased rhesus monkeys ruining Our crops. And here's another Levine quote about the convergence of TV with other digital image platforms that applies to a few of My basketball boys, especially My nephews: "While playing a video games is not as zombifying as passively viewing TV, such games have become for many boys and young men their only experience of potency, and this 'virtual potency' is certainly no threat to the ruling elite." Yeah, be a killer in "Call of Duty" or "NBA 2k11": real talent lies wasted and the hyenas are definitely not afraid of wasted talent, for that is what they feed on.
8. Fundamentalist Religion and Fundamentalist Consumerism: From Levine: "Fundamentalist consumerism destroys self-reliance, creating people who feel completely dependent on others and who are thus more likely to turn over decision-making power to authorities, the precise mind-set that the ruling elite loves to see." The get-yourself-into-debt movement, the practical application of the "Keep up with the Joneses" mindset has led Us down a path where We are convinced We can't do anything. And when it comes time to do something--and that point was reached over a decade ago--Levine has the reason why We haven't done jackshit: "Fundamentalist consumerism also promotes self-absorption, which makes it difficult for the solidarity necessary for democratic movements." In other words, We want Ours, but We don't want to help you get Yours. Too many of Us are too stupid to see that "I am You," or understand it when We read it.
Remember, O Tweeting Brethren, how last year's protests against the government firings, Law 7 and the university strikes was breathlessly hyped as the "Armapocalypse Goddamit Here IT IS Change Is A-Coming!"? But who said in essence: "No, nothing will change. Nothing."?
Damn right I did. And pinpointed that We wouldn't because of fear. Even a Jenius could make that call.
We've eschewed making the changes needed with ballots. Several times. Are We going to wait until We're cornered like sickly rats to actually do something, or will We merely bare Our teeth as the darkness swallows Us in the long night of the hyenas?
The Jenius Has Spoken.
Bruce Levin posted this on his blog: 8 Ways Young Americans’ Resistance to Domination Has Been Subdued.
I've removed most of his commentary (well worth reading) to apply his observations to My Brethren, older and younger than Me:
1. Student-Loan Debt: For Us, it's all debt. As Levine says: "Large debt—and the fear it creates—is a pacifying force." Our people are owned by the bank and the finance companies, so they are owned by their jobs and own nothing. Our freedom of choice is used--as We shall see below--to give it all away. We are idiots.
2. Psychopathologizing and Medicating Noncompliance. I coach a youth basketball team of 12 kids coming from 11 families (two are brothers). In seven of those families, I have heard one parent or grandparent mention Ritalin or some similar medication to "help" the boy. And several of the fathers and stepfathers cannot imagine spending an outing--with or without the boys--unless there's a few cases of beer to pass the time. We see drugs as a way to control and deal with "reality," easy fixes for what We can't face up to.
3. Schools That Educate for Compliance and Not for Democracy: Levine quotes New York Teacher of the Year, John Taylor Gatto, who said: “The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders." I've danced around this thought for too long, so here it is: Schools ruin Our children for anything but being victims. Schools are not Our allies, but that of the system that wants to control them. And as for strengthening a democracy, latrines have a higher moral value than Our current schools.
4. “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top”: And here's why: standardization and more standardization. Fit every peg into the same kind of hole. A latrine is morally neutral: these schools We have now are morally evil.
5. Shaming Young People Who Take Education—But Not Their Schooling—Seriously. Mark Twain said it best: "I never let my schooling interfere with my education." For those who want to learn outside the system, on their own, freely, responsibly, away from the heavy-handed hammer of complacency and obedience, the message is clear: that is bad. Why? Why is anyone's love of learning wrong unless it conforms to that of the State? I'll repeat Myself: education controlled by the government is the same as propaganda. Period.
6. The Normalization of Surveillance: Here on My Island, the police want to record protests and protesters. Openly. Without legal reason except "We fucking want to." In the States, a person got 15 years--15 fucking years--for recording a police officer making a public arrest. What thrives when the "powers that be" are left to act like hyenas in the dark is not democracy...but do We care, since We weren't taught what it was, have been trained to obey and fear losing Our jobs that turn Us into 1-day rerouters of money? Some of Us do. And We're your only hope, idiots.
7. Television: It has turned too many on My Island into dazed, fearful, useless batches of drooling baboons thisclose to mating with the diseased rhesus monkeys ruining Our crops. And here's another Levine quote about the convergence of TV with other digital image platforms that applies to a few of My basketball boys, especially My nephews: "While playing a video games is not as zombifying as passively viewing TV, such games have become for many boys and young men their only experience of potency, and this 'virtual potency' is certainly no threat to the ruling elite." Yeah, be a killer in "Call of Duty" or "NBA 2k11": real talent lies wasted and the hyenas are definitely not afraid of wasted talent, for that is what they feed on.
8. Fundamentalist Religion and Fundamentalist Consumerism: From Levine: "Fundamentalist consumerism destroys self-reliance, creating people who feel completely dependent on others and who are thus more likely to turn over decision-making power to authorities, the precise mind-set that the ruling elite loves to see." The get-yourself-into-debt movement, the practical application of the "Keep up with the Joneses" mindset has led Us down a path where We are convinced We can't do anything. And when it comes time to do something--and that point was reached over a decade ago--Levine has the reason why We haven't done jackshit: "Fundamentalist consumerism also promotes self-absorption, which makes it difficult for the solidarity necessary for democratic movements." In other words, We want Ours, but We don't want to help you get Yours. Too many of Us are too stupid to see that "I am You," or understand it when We read it.
Remember, O Tweeting Brethren, how last year's protests against the government firings, Law 7 and the university strikes was breathlessly hyped as the "Armapocalypse Goddamit Here IT IS Change Is A-Coming!"? But who said in essence: "No, nothing will change. Nothing."?
Damn right I did. And pinpointed that We wouldn't because of fear. Even a Jenius could make that call.
We've eschewed making the changes needed with ballots. Several times. Are We going to wait until We're cornered like sickly rats to actually do something, or will We merely bare Our teeth as the darkness swallows Us in the long night of the hyenas?
The Jenius Has Spoken.
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