July 2009 Archives

     I found this article to be right on.   Hipsters have yet to stand for anything.  They don't encompass a new idea, and there's nothing new about them.  Physically, they are a collage of retro images, with a message that has yet to be delivered.  Therefore, I can only assume that...
     This is a generation that stands for nothing, lost in an urban recycle-bin loaded with two decades worth of media distortion, music industry mind-programming, and digital brain droppings.  From Operation Desert Bullshit to Barbie and Ken, to Wal-Mart, these 20-30 somethings have been hypnotized by American fascism; their parents seated, broken-footed, and Godless, isolated by the television or by divorce.   
     So, yes, in the absence of their message, in the inference I can make due to that absence, which is that they stand for nothing, their style and their elusive principles make perfect to me.
     A hipster will tell you, "Well, I just don't care."  But surely you must care if you go to such great lengths to acquire Grand-Pap glasses, jelly shoes, and Wham T-shirts.
     Perhaps hipsters stand for something.  I just don't know what that is yet.  I look forward to getting the memo.
     And, I don't want to give these clowns too hard a time.  It takes courage to go around looking like they do.  At least they aren't out wearing those ridiculous-looking, self-mutilating, blood clots we call business suits.

Image found at http://www.latfh.com

     I spent last weekend in Detroit.  A great American city with a rich heritage, this place appears to be sinking to rock bottom.

     As you drive along toward the metro area, you see boarded up storefronts, dead shells of fast food joints, dilapidated buildings, and poor black People hanging out on the streets selling drugs and sex.

     The miserable and despicable lifestyle of these People is proudly sponsored in full by the United States government. 

     Uncle Sam loves the welfare system because it is simply a slave system. But, on paper, it looks much better to whites, so it receives support.

     When Uncle Sam saw what black People could do when they organized during the civil rights movement, he felt threatened, and reacted with a diabolical reverse-psychology plan. 

     The administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson of the 1960s blew up the welfare system that came from the New Deal, and welfare has been going haywire ever since.

     The U.S. Government saw welfare as a perfect opportunity to sedate poor black People and keep them where it wants them - in a state of slavery.  Sadly, this program was well-received by black People, as most sought to gather some sort of reparations, and perhaps rightfully so.

     Here's my question:

     Evidently, fans went crazy over a surprise pop-in from Johnny Depp.  See here.

     Well, no shit.

     Johnny Depp, whether he's a real life American icon or an impressively managed PR puppet, is THE American Man of our time.

     Even when his movies aren't A+, Depp consistently brings a solid performance to his roles.  As physically striking as he is talented, the audience never gets the sense that Depp gives a shit about how he looks on film, which is more than I can say about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

     He's not out promoting garbage material like we find the Black Eyed Peas or Judd Apatow doing.

     The public hears only good and decent blurbs about his personal life.  We don't hear that he's having affairs with his co-stars.  He seems to be a tender-hearted family man.    

     Most important, he doesn't fall victim to fashion trends.  (I jest here, but c'mon)
Depp's persona includes his classic and individual style, influenced by the great and stylish American men of our past. 

     He talks of his heroes who include Marlon Brando, Humphrey Bogart, and Hunter S. Thomspon.  He had a modest upbringing, born and raised in Kentucky, a punk-guitarist who couldn't make it big as a musician.  He's well-read.  He's well-versed in American culture and tradition - a man with Cherokee blood in him.

    Johnny Depp is wrapped up in a package that appears to be humble, honest, confident, deeply human, and full of integrity.  That is how an American Man ought to be described.

    Even if Johnny Depp is not real, his image simply the shadow of an ordinary man, (albeit a fine actor) to me, he represents a True Blue American.  And, given that our American culture currently resides in a sad state of affairs, ill-equipped with any decent and moral role models, I choose to believe that he is real. 

     When the President hurries Congress like this, the bill he is hastening always stinks to high heaven. 

Doesn't he understand that it takes time for these politicians NOT to read the entire bill?

Doesn't he realize that we, the People, want Congress to take its time and fuck us slowly?

Listen, Barack.  I feel you pain.  Trying to get the government to do anything, especially mail a letter to or from Chicago, is nearly impossible.  But, this health care bill is kind of a big deal, so back off!

A friend recently sent me an important article written by Peter Fleckenstein, of Common Sense from a Common Man.  He points out the absurdity of this health care bill very well. 

If this isn't enough to make you want to become a Former Citizen, just wait until Uncle Sam forces a needle in your arm and tells you it's a vaccine that is going to save your life. 

I'm not gonna wait that long, folks!  And I will NOT accept a National ID card, which is IN THIS BILL!!

Be sure to have something to throw up in nearby.



Image by "chris shoots for something that might be a halluci"


And now, from Mr. Fleckenstein:

Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Government will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits u get

Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!


Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose UR HC Benefits 4 you. U have no choice!

PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided 2 ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

     The modern American is notorious for acting in favor of instant gratification.  The problem with instant gratification is that it regularly yields long-term ruination.

     By accepting mortgages from banks, and security from insurance companies, we quick-fixed the challenges of buying a home and receiving quality healthcare.

     But, because of our short-sightedness, Americans have pigeon-holed themselves into disastrous situations, namely the mortgage, and unaffordable healthcare.

Think about this for a sec:

       If mortgages did not exist, or rather, if we the People refused them, then no seller could expect to collect $300,000 from you for his/her house.  Most people do not have that amount of money to spend on a house.  Therefore, the seller would have to accept something reasonable, like oh, $50,000 for a house.  See how the price just fell? 

     Now let's do the same for insurance.  If a doctor understood that we the People can spend only $1000 for a surgery, then that's what the doctor would charge.  But, because insurance companies pay them, doctors can charge and receive however much they want.  The insurance companies are willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money on our behalf. 

     Well, with friends like banks and insurance companies, who needs enemies?!

     You see, they are not our friends.  They are wolves in sheep's clothing.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  (THAT'S how it's done, Mr. Bush)

     Ultimately, the problem lies in the immoral decision-making of the American People.    We have ourselves to thank for these problems.  We only reap what we sow, and we've sown some terrible seeds for our children to harvest.

     So, now what?

     Well, let's sleep on it. 

     Until tomorrow.

Photo by RT44man

     This might have been the dumbest thing to ever come out of American politics.

     I can't believe anyone gave one split second of mindful attention to the absurdity that was the Homeland Security Advisory System, aka, the terrorism-alert color chart.  

     Did anyone actually plan their day according to its hue?  Did someone book a flight with the hopes of flying on a green day, only to cancel the trip once the clock struck red?

     Oh, the humanity!  The destiny of a color chart-watcher hangs in the balance, somewhere between orange-yellow and yellow-orange.  In the evening, their dreams of tomorrow rest peacefully on a dusk of yellow; just to feel the dagger of the sun, there on a bloody horizon, orange breaks to curse a morning where all that was planned was yellow.

     It's so clear that the joke was on the People.  We obviously didn't need the chart.  No one paid any attention to it, and now Uncle Sam is tossing it.

     Before he could sell us security, Uncle Sam had to sell us fear.  He offered fear with this ridiculous color chart, and we bought it.  

     For anyone who still navigates their fearful lives according to that ol' terrorism vane, take it from a Former Citizen:  The monster you should fear is the government.  And if you want a color to describe Uncle Sam, trust me, it's red.

     In today's Sun-Times, Scott Stewart wrote about Christopher Steiner's new book, $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better.

     Steiner is an Evanston engineer and journalist, and was also featured in Rolling Stone last month.

     His book posits the drastic impact of increasing gas prices on American life.

     At $6, good-bye SUVs.  Revenues from gas taxes plunge, causing roads to crumble and bridges to collapse.  Highways are privatized; higher tolls.
     At $12, Americans flock to cities.  Detroit and Cleveland are reborn.  Suburbia becomes the new inner city.  Empty McMansions, abandoned malls.
     At $20, 90% of Americans live in cities; 70% never own a car.  Nuclear reactors power everything.  (Ah ha!  I told you I was seeing into the future on this one - Windmills )

     Nevertheless, I have to admit, I find the basic idea of the book a little assumptuous (new word created by Liz Lux).  I mean, is it inevitable that the price of gas will continue to go up, and up to $20 a gallon?  The price of oil was down last week.  It goes up and down all the time.  If the climbing of gas prices is inevitable, wouldn't folks be stocking up on oil futures right now?

     In any event, many economists say the economy will get worse.  So, aside from gas, the prices of all goods and services will start to weigh heavily on the American People.  At least, that is the opinion of Former Citizen.

     Forget that Steiner's talking about gasoline.  He's not analyzing gasoline.  He's analyzing the American People's commitment, in hard times, to greasing this machine - this machine that has taken over where American lives used to be...before corporations, before the federal reserve. 

     It's very interesting to think about life without sushi, which Steiner associates with a $16 a gallon gas price.  Or, life without Walmart which he speculates will occur at $14 a gallon.

     Soon enough, Americans we will be put in a position where we must reexamine our priorities.  We will have to decide where we want to be in a time when we can't travel so freely.  We'll have to figure out how to get food, how to make money, and decide what sacrifices we can endure to make our lives work again. 

      That's what this book does for its readers.  The scenarios it provides are a helpful guide for readers who want to plan for their future.  Check it out.

Photo by Bitzcelt

I heard someone raving about Intelligentsia coffee the other day.  I bought some and tried it out this morning.  Sure enough, it could've been Folgers crystals for all I know. 
     What really happened:  I was fooled into buying a Fair Trade coffee product by someone who I've now identified as a heat-seeking liberal.
     To alleviate my disappointment, I set out to expose the Fair Trade program for what it really is:  a purveyor of the finest Columbian bologna a do-gooder could ever get his/her coffee cup around.
     Fair Trade coffee buyers must pay at least $1.26 per pound for the coffee, while the world price hovers near $.50 per pound. 
     According to Global Exchange, "Many small coffee farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt."
     Well, the real cause for the farmers' cycle of poverty and debt is their willingness to continue operating as coffee farmers when the cost to produce their coffee is more than what is brought in by selling it.
       The market is flooded with coffee. Hence, the 50 cent price.  Keeping these farmers afloat prevents them from finding other ways of work which are actually profitable. If coffee production slowed, supply would decrease, prices would increase, and then the coffee farmers of the world could enjoy a better life. 
      Fair Traders are simply engaging in an "adopt-a-farmer" system that has no chance of sustainment.  What will happen to these farmers in 10 years when the do-gooders lose interest in their plight, deciding instead to put their efforts behind keeping Fruitflowers in business.
     This is nothing more than a short-term bail-out, with long-term devastation dissolved in every cup.

     In the Chicago Sun-Times today, "Mayor Daley portrayed the 2016 Summer Olympic Games as the economic salvation for Chicago, but warned Wednesday that it could lose the bid 'if people keep throwing darts.'"

     Daley said, "I would never bankrupt the City of Chicago."    

     He added, "This is the best economic engine we have going.  I have nothing [else] up my sleeve."

     Now, as much as my gut is inclined to trust a politician, especially one from Chicago, I still felt compelled to do a little Olympic economic research of my own.

    Although host cities often predict a post-Olympics tourism boom in the afterglow of hosting the Olympics, many studies refute this. 

    A study by Giesecke and Madden from the Centre of Policy Studies at Monash University in Australia shows that tourism to Sydney after the 2000 Olympics grew less than tourism to Australia as a whole.

   According to "Bidding for the Olympics: Fool's Gold?" by Baade and Matheson, "There is no economic residue that can be identified once the Games left town."

    In "Olympic Cities: Lessons Learned from Mega-Event Politics" by Andranovich, Burbank and Heying, "The long time-frames needed for planning, the use of public-private partnerships to design and implement Olympic development, and the absence of general citizen participation during this process add up to an extended business-as-usual theme in urban politics behind the rhetoric and symbolism of the Olympic movement."

     There's just no convincing evidence that allows one to believe that hosting the Olympics will be good for the People of Chicago. 

     Mayor Daley is putting all the City's eggs in one basket, and admits to having "nothing else up his sleeve."

     The Olympic bid and the Word of Mayor Daley:  Two things I throw darts at.

Here's the story about hackers shutting down government websites over the weekend.

The truth behind the above story is in Einstein 3.

Get to know your Uncle Sam.  He presents the problem.  He offers the solution to said problem.  He wins you over by bestowing a false sense of security in exchange for your freedom and privacy.

The only difference between Obama's Einstein 3 program and Bush's phone tapping policy is that Bush was honest about how he was fucking you.

How does Obama think he can monitor our Internet activity without invading our privacy?

I mean, does this even make sense to you? 

It's like saying, "I'm going to look in your closet for a blue shirt.  But, don't worry. I won't be looking around in your closet."

C'mon, folks.  No Einstein necessary here.

Cartoon by Javad Alizadeh

I'm gonna up the ante on this one.

I'll see Jermaine Jackson's comment declaring Michael Jackson a gift from God, and I'll raise him with the proclamation that Michael was and is, nothing short of God.

Michael Jackson, God?  I must be joking.  You know what? You're right.  Michael Jackson does NOT fit our qualifications for God.  Criteria for a Divine Savior are as follows:

     He or she must float down to Earth on a cloud.
     He or she must have been born in ancient times, or at least before the 1700s.
     He or she must be approved as God by all religious parties of interest.
     He or she must dress in some sort of robe.  (This one is a NON-negotiable!)

So, you're right.  Michael Jackson does NOT fit the mold we designed to create our God.

Now, that I've come to this conclusion, please try to forget that which made me believe he was God in the first place.

      Forget that Michael Jackson had talent that was out of this world.  Forget that he embodied the kindest spirit of anyone who's ever walked the planet.  Pay no mind to the Wonderland he created and dedicated to the children of the world.  Let go of the fact that every song he ever wrote was a hymn of love. 

     If God is love, then I believe God showed me Himself in the voice, the smile, and the life of Michael Jackson.

     Remember, Jesus said, "Let the children come to me."  I'm sure a lot of People took issue with Jesus' interest in their children at the time.  Unfortunately, no one engaged in lawsuiting the way they do in modern America.  What a shame.

     Something else I learned from Jesus is that People crucify their God, and that we only realize God after we've killed him.

     Michael Jackson will be remembered as someone who gave his People his highest self.  He was love through and through.  I am so happy to have lived in His time.  I love Michael Jackson.  For the rest of my life, I will try to follow the path of love that his footsteps created.

     Thank you God for Michael Jackson.

"When the groove is dead and gone
You know that love survives
So we can rock forever on" - Michael Jackson

Photo found at Loudream

Last year, I decided I would never attend the Taste of Chicago again.

The event is mismanaged beyond belief and is, therefore, a total disaster.

If I were to revamp the Taste of Chicago, all vendors would distribute an actual taste portion to festival-goers.  Vendors would not give festival-goers a menu of food choices. Rather, they would pick one or two of their best items and when someone comes to the counter, the vendor would collect a few tickets, simply ask, "Hot or mild?"  and then move the Taster along in a jiffy.

What you have instead are Tasters standing in long lines, waiting to spend too much money for more than a taste of food.  The line extends way out into the walkway because Tasters at the counter are seeing if they can get their ribs well-done and without sauce.  No!  This isn't how we serve it here.  Take your diet standards and don't come to the Taste.

That's what I did.  You're welcome.  People like me who realize that I can't wait in line to have my shish kabob and eat it too, who refuse to pay so much for what amounts to more than a taste, made the attendance of this cluster-fuck of a festival drop 6% this year. 

Maybe the Taste will take my advice some year.  Give me a short line for Kasia's deli. I will hand someone A ticket, pick up ONE potato pierogi, and be on my merry way.

Photo By City of Chicago/Chris McGuire

"One of the most successful foods on earth is Coca-Cola, a combination of intense sweetness, caffeine, and a prickly feeling against the nose that we find refreshing." - Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses.

If there's a person who understands the desperate plea for the icy soul-mate of a salty pizza or burger, it's me.  But, Coca Cola has no nutritional value and many regard the drink as poison.

My daydream goes like this:  I know it's not good for my body, but it's oh so good for my soul.

My snap-out goes like this:  Alert!  Citizen-thinking taking over!  Citizen's brain has been manipulated by the marketing schemes of the Coca Cola company for 30 years. 

What is the actual "Real thing" going on here? 

Interesting that Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca Cola, is a member of the Bilderberg Group, the powerful elite group "responsible for much of the capital-friendly, dissent-crushing law-making, poverty and general misery in the world" according to http://www.bilderberggroup.net.

Because of its secrecy and refusal to issue news releases, the group is frequently accused of wicked world plots by elements of the populist movement and fringe politics.

These plots include the extermination of some of the world's People in an attempt to control the earth's population.

The Citizen will scoff at this notion and continue to drink the Coca Cola Kool-aid.

The Former Citizen will put down the Coke, and wonder why the Bilderberg Group with all its infinite resources, cannot bring clean drinking water to the poorest of places, but can cover every inch of this earth with a working Coca Cola machine. 

Photo by Sunny-Drunk
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According to the AP, "Acetaminophen remains the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., according to the FDA."

Let's reread this message together.  An FDA-approved drug that is sold legally, on the shelves of every lil' ol' shop in America is lethal.  It is more lethal to your liver than alcohol.

This information, along with a plethora of other scholarly literature exposes the FDA as a farce. 

The US Dept. of Labor estimates an increase of 26% in the pharmaceutical industry by 2014, and doesn't see such an increase in any other industry.  

Our drug industry is exploding and still, we're the 37th sickest country in world.

Make sense?