Liberals Are the New Normal: On the Re-election of Obama

We, the liberals, are the new normal. We are the majority. We have been the majority since 1968. However, corporate interests and billionaires like Rupert Murdoch went to extraordinary lengths to spread the culture of white bigotry in the recent decades. They bought radio stations, created a fake news channel (Fox News), and funded the pundits of hate: Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity.

What the re-election of Obama symbolizes for us... Is the end of this purchased illusion that white, conservative, nuclear 50's style families are the norm. Now, it is clear... You are not the norm. You are not the majority. You are not America. And now, you can't even buy that illusion with all of your money. 

This Tuesday, the majority of Americans voted for Barack Obama, and silenced the influence of 30 years of white bigot punditry - marginalizing Fox News and its' viewers, marginalizing the Tea Party, and marginalizing hatred. Yesterday, the majority of Americans closed the door on conservatism.

The Distorting of Money

Money was invented as a way to make it easier for people to trade valuable goods or services. So, if I grow peas, and you make horseshoes, I don't have to necessarily give you peas for some horseshoes I need. I can just pay you in money. 


The main problem with our "economy," is that we have forgotten what the purpose of money is. We have reversed the use of money. We now use trade as a way to grow money instead of using money as a way to facilitate trade.

We need to think differently about money. Specifically, we need to question whether or not this or that transaction should be "monetized," or if it makes sense for people to "profit" off of particular services.

Most of the civilized world has done this kind of thinking in regard to "health care," and by in large, the majority of civilized countries have decided to greatly limit the role of money in healthcare, finding it inappropriate for one man or company to greatly profit from another's death or illness.

An irrational "religion of money" has sprung up around a notion that the "free market" makes everything good. The assumption need not be argued against, nor can it be argued against, since it is a religious fantasy. Any sane individual knows that nothing is "perfect and makes everything good."

We need to conduct the same analysis that the world has conducted about healthcare about our food supply, prisons, and many other aspects of our trading lives.


The economy should support logical trading practices... and at times, monied transactions will be exactly appropriate and logical. In other instances, we may want to "un-monetize" other forms of trade if the presence of money in the transactions is causing the failure of the system.

Capitalism & The County Fair

Capitalism is like the county fair. There's a ticket booth... and if you run around, doing what the owners of the fair want you to do, you can eat funnel cakes, ride fancy rides, and win tokens by competing in the strong man swings a hammer, the squirt gun horse race, or whatever. 


At the end, if you are better than everyone else, you get a jack daniels mirror, or a led zeppelin glow in the dark poster. That's how i perceive rich people driving bmws & spending their leisure time on their yacht. It's really not very impressive at all... Kind of makes you a douche bag. And though you've got the jack daniels mirror, the real winner is the owner of the fair. You are essentially a tool. I'm far more impressed with a Native American grandma who can weave a beautiful rug and owns nothing.

Education in America

some thoughts on education in America:

"Productivity" has been a cherished value for some time. It is also the cause of global warming, toxic waste, and a growing plastic continent in the Pacific Ocean. Fundamentally, what is needed, is far less productivity, especially in childhood when the mind is forming. A society that values "thought" and "intelligence" cannot be a society that values "productivity" in itself. Our crisis in America in "science and math" isn't that we don't punish people enough for not studying these subjects; rather, it's that progress in science and math is the result of thoughtful people who imagine ways to improve the possibilities of life. People that are taught to be "productive" are not thoughtful, and have no reason to imagine anything.

The "crisis" in American education is not a crisis of teaching techniques. It is a crisis of values. The "managers" of our society, are by in large, "rich business people," who are in fact, uneducated themselves. Knowing how to sell hamburgers does not qualify Ray Kroc as one who understands education. As long as "profit" and "productivity" remain the core values of our society, we will continue to have inferior schools with students that have no real incentives. As long as we continue to conflate the notions of "success in business" with "success in life" our education will be a failure. We're like 100 years into hundreds of strong criticisms of these values... yet they continue to remain unchecked, and become more powerful everyday.

Pre-meditated Murder?

It seems to me that George Zimmerman's 911 call is an attempt to establish a "self-defense" case for a pre-meditated murder.  Take a listen:



If you listen to Zimmerman's 911 call at :58 on this video, you will hear:

"Now he's coming towards me.  He's got his hand in his waistband.  And he's a black male."

later at 1:21:

"He's coming to check me out.  Yep.  He's got something in his hands."

I don't know what can be proven legally in regard to these comments.  What I do know is that people do put guns in their waistbands.  However, Trayvon had no gun, but skittles and an iced tea... And it is quite difficult to imagine anyone putting a can of iced tea or skittles in their waistband.

The use of the term "waistband" to me seems to be Zimmerman creating an evidence trail to show he "feared for his life" so he can legally kill someone under Florida's "stand your ground" law.

I am very curious to see what Zimmerman may have been writing, googling, or chatting about in the months and years leading up to this killing.   It would not be surprising to me if mounds of evidence of a long-standing desire to kill someone is present.

This seems like a disturbed individual waiting for an opportunity to carry out some dark fantasy, nothing like a man in fear due the presence of a "suspicious individual."

An Open Letter to Adam Levine of Maroon 5

Dear Adam,

You don't have "moves like Jagger."  Nothing about you is like Mick Jagger.  But I was just going to let that go and ignore your silly pop song.  But when you sang the Beach Boys' "Surfer Girl" last night, you went too far.  It wasn't just bad, it was insulting to the Beach Boys, their fans, and humanity in general.  You need to get some perspective bro.

You are basically like Rick Springfield, except Rick Springfield wrote music and didn't use auto-tune to correct being a half-step flat.  Your music fills the void that has been left as the result of the demise of  Daytime Soap Operas.  If you understood that, you would stop pissing on the legacy of the Beach Boys or The Rolling Stones.

But marketing aside, you really just can't sing "Surfer Girl."  You were severely out of tune, and your pseudo-funky yelping was painfully de-contextual.  If  your publicist got you that gig or talked you into doing it, you should fire your publicist.

You may cover Rick Springfield, Gerardo, Milli Vannilli, and maybe even Huey Lewis (but that may be a bit too deep) in the future.  But anything else by or about the Beach Boys or The Rolling Stones is off limits.

Thanks Pal.  And Good Try.

Kimberly

U.S. Median Household Income By State

If deregulation is good for buisness, then why are the most liberal, most regulated states producing the wealthiest people?

via: winfographics