Runaways / Cloak & Dagger

While entertaining in all the wrong ways (no attempt was spared to show cleavage), and while adventurous, these shows were insanely stereotypical and harmful to the psyche of all who watched them. Also, in typical Disney fashion, all the power players were white...and all the "darkness" came out of some minority character. Nothing says Disney like, no less than 2 white princesses who literally exude light...and meanwhile the strong, smart, beautiful (and of course criminal) black woman, they literally had stabbed to death TWICE. Please Disney, hire some ethics scholars to consult...and stay away from children at all costs.

Chernobyl Mini-Series

Whether you are a Nuclear Physicist or Coal Miner, International Super Power or Dog Catcher this show bull-dozes civilization down. Every scene demands one thing above all else: HUMILITY. Dark and Intense, this show doesn't give two shits about your Disney "feels"; it's Serious and Sobering. Though explictly demanding HONESTY, hypocritically, it uses embellishment and storytelling to communicate its purposes. Overall, persuasive and impactful, worth a watch.

Obama

Marginalized communities put him in office for 8 years...thinking "this is a black man, with a black family, running on a campaign of HOPE and CHANGE...he's gonna shake it up." Fast forward...despite having a period where his party controlled Congress and the Presidency, he doubled down on "moderate republican policy" (his own words). Now he has the AUDACITY to do a "2020, too much 'hope and change' and I shit on progressives" tour...with his smug, condescending tone. Well guess what Obama, Fuck You! For the people, "hope and change" wasn't just a slogan...they really wanted and needed it. I hope you live to see your legacy crushed and the rise of a TRUE leader for the people.

Limiting Discussion

Something I heard Chomsky say struck me as so absolutely true and explains Twitter exactly.

Paraphrasing slightly:
"The beauty of forcing people to fit their ideas in between two commercials (or in 280 characters), is they can only repeat conventional thoughts."

Which Channel?

Every time I tell people they are being misled by mainstream media, they ask... "Well which channel should I watch to get the truth then?!" ...and there is the problem, there isn't one. Why do people assume that one of the cable news channels has the truth? The sad fact is you need alternative news sources, and independent journalism to have any chance of having a glimpse of reality. (Alternative Media is defined as media controlled by the public and not captured by governmental or corporate influences) Unfortunately so much misinformation is floating around, it's nearly impossible to have a truly accurate view of reality, but the closest you can come is to completely stay away from mainstream media, stay away from government spokespeople, and consume a variety of independent media sources, and get as close to source material as you can. Good night, and good luck.

Mainstream Media Has Shown Their Election Strategy

Mainstream Media has largely created Trump. They've under no uncertain terms, said how much they love him and profit from his presence. So why now is there non-stop coverage of his take-down? They see the country shifting...and they don't like it, they want someone who will champion the status quo that brings them billions. They know there is a swelling of people that realize neo-liberal philosophy and policy is largely to blame for the corrupt system we have, and rather than have that grassroots tidal wave crash down upon the system they love, they want to misdirect people to a straw-man to blame. They are running cover for soulless, corporate politicians, who believe in nothing and will sell their services to the highest bidder.

We can't let the media distract us from the REAL and SYSTEMIC problems. While Trump is horrible, he is a product of this system and without major changes to the system, another like him, or worse, is sure to come. Stop blaming, start identifying the systemic problems and creating policy that addresses core mechanisms that can correct our direction. Learn to think critically, use logic, and Bayesian probability. Inform yourselves of the history and reality in which you live. Shed all identities, be only a good person...and you will succeed in all the roles you take on. For a practical methodology you can begin today...vote EVERY time.

Religious Hegemony

Was catching an episode of Supergirl...a supposedly "woke" show that flies the flag of feminism (though not really). The bad guy is aiming an energy weapon at the ice caps that threatens to cause massive flooding and tsunamis...and what does the Martian Manhunter say..."there will be a flooding like we haven't seen since the time of Noah's Ark." Uh...there never was a time of Noah's Ark...that is a fairy tale from a bronze age book of fictional nonsense. So in addition to having to suffer through DC's ethically challenged writers...I now have to suffer through their creationist bullshit. Look, I am not a purist on using no religious language...if he had said the flood was "biblical" or something to that effect...I'd not care as much, you can make references to literature...but what you can't do is state a fictional scene as historical.

My "Best Podcast Intro" Award

The winner is "Intercepted" with Jeremy Scahill.
Hilarious intros, find it here:
https://theintercept.com/podcasts/#intercepted

Death Circus

Again, they deify a dead politician. Bush, McCain, Cummings...look, under their watch...the world went to shit, sorry. Cummings was on the Committee on Oversight and Reform (how effectively did he stop Trump's corruption) and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure...well we haven't had good oversight or reform and our transportation sucks. I'm sorry, he may have been a really nice guy, but he was not an effective elected official and should not be paraded around for this bread and circus for elites.

Governance, The Ignored Science

Scientists always make ridiculous statements they -think- are profound...like "the question is not CAN we...but SHOULD we..." blah blah. Well, if you'd study those "soft" subjects you show so much disdain for, you'd probably have an answer. We keep pretending that anything that doesn't deal with particles of the universe is not a science...and our ignorance is showing with our reckless treatment of technology and our abuse of the environment. These "ethical" questions about pollution, CRISPR and Nuclear technology, etc.; they have answers. Just because the Social Sciences have nuanced, situational, and complicated answers, doesn't mean they aren't valid. Another thing that scientists have to get over is the fact that you can make the "right" decision, and have an undesired outcome. We are always working with imperfect knowledge; obviously that does not mean we can be careless and arbitrary, but sometimes we have to act with the limited knowledge we have. Bottom line, Scientists can't keep pretending Philosophy, Law, History, Ethics, etc. are things they should not have some understanding of. We need to sort out how to organize society, how to make decisions, how to handle dangerous technologies...we must figure out the Science of Civilization before we unleash more dangerous technologies.

Power Matters

Our modern society has made everything about EGO...money is not about resources, but about status...politics is not about structuring society intelligently, but about personalities and elections...but POWER MATTERS. The Kurds are the biggest reminder; with one careless tweet tens of thousands of (from what I can tell) some of the finest people...erased by fascists. We can't keep letting psychopaths erase good people...while I was once of the opinion that you can't kill good ideas...having seen the madness of genocide, the targeting of social leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., CIA confessions to destroying leftist agendas, and McCarthyist witch-hunts...I think ideas and the people with the temperament to derive them are in real danger. Power is not just a word, and we need intelligently benevolent people to hold the VAST majority of it...we have let it sit with people who are quite frankly, morons and despots. We must stop making elections about personalities and tribes, and bring them back to intelligent conversations about sound policy, ethics, and stewardship. The bar for who gains power should have nothing to do with how much money they can raise or if they can speak in ways that are meme worthy...we are devolving into Idiocracy. I know correcting this touches many industries, from media, to education, to government itself...but we MUST try, and with everything we've got because we are almost at a point where the machine runs autonomously and into oblivion.

DC's Feminism

DC has cast 3 gorgeous lead ladies to play in their Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Batwoman projects...unfortunately, they all have the same sad "girl power" ethos. Don't get me wrong, I welcome a new generation of strong women into the forefront, but using the Womens' Movement as a tool to sell your garbage shows/movies is shameless. All their projects lack character development. If you really believed in empowering women, you'd make them real people who just happened to be superheroes...instead we get this caricature of strong women and conflation of lesbianism with strength. Loving the IDEA of feminism more than showing what REAL strong women look like...serves the exact opposite effect, it makes strong women look like fiction. Look, I applaud them for casting female leads, it is absolutely a good first step, but they need to dig deeper and give young women a better vision of empowerment than lesbian supermodels who punch things.

Population

On average...EVERY SECOND, 2 people die, and 5 are born. Not bacteria nor ants, HUMANS, that live for decades each. Really think about the scale and complexity involved for that statement to be true. Then process the extreme imbalance in our death vs birth rate, and ask yourself if that's sustainable...no matter how we perform as a society.

Now, ask yourself, are those billions of people being nurtured into compassionate people, educated into intelligent/informed people, encouraged to use their talents to improve themselves and all humanity, and disciplined into being responsible stewards of our only planet...OR are they abused into being angry and desperate people, misinformed into delusional people, frenzied into destroying each other, and incentivized into a reckless, extractive mindset that pollutes and consumes the planet.

Greta's Getting It Wrong Also

As much as I respect the young activist for her passion, her message that we should simply "listen to Scientists" is problematic. While they may have consensus that Climate Destabilization is happening, they have no coherent plan to combat it. Saying "reduce carbon emissions" to our current political establishment is basically shouting into the void. We've built this consumptive and polluting extinction machine, and nobody is organizing to destroy it...we may want it gone...but nobody is ACTUALLY organizing a step by step plan to dismantle it, and that is why we'll die if RADICAL change does not occur. Our inability to address population explosion, out inability to focus on anything but "economic progress," our selfish culture that prevents us from working together...we need a complete overhaul of civilization. In the United States the "progressives" are the only ones even approaching the first baby steps towards the change we need...while politically they may be branded as "radical," they are vanilla apple pie. I appreciate their work, but we need to be even more radical. This is a Global problem, but how do you convince a billion of the most comfortable people on the planet to completely change the system that they are at the top of? It's the riddle of our time.

Health Food = Expensive and Shitty

I would love to eat healthily...and I would love to eat food that is more clean and less environmentally destructive. That said, all the "health food stores" sell garbage food and are ridiculously expensive. I have never eaten a Trader Joe's branded item that didn't taste like cardboard and used the absolute lowest quality ingredients. Similarly, some friend insists on shopping at Whole Foods...that place is like the Gucci of food...so overpriced, and mediocre at best.

Look, the whole industry is already shady, there is so much misinformation about what is "balanced" or "healthy." I can't believe something as essential as FOOD, has such poor public information and such low standards. As most things, this is largely the fault of our economic incentives...but we need to push hard on standards for food and water safety on the regulation channel, and a socio-informational revolution regarding food quality and nutrition.

Quality, nutritious, tasty food, should not be a rare hobby for the elite, it should be at the center of human civilization.

A Carbon Tax Is Fisher-Price

We are beyond -only- Carbon Taxes, we need HARD cut-off DEADLINES for carbon, and we must heavily incentivize Carbon SEQUESTRATION. We waited so long, we can't just slow what we're doing, we need to go full REVERSE. We must stop using any new lands for development, we must abruptly reduce birth rates, and we must greatly reduce consumption. We must stop worrying about economic impact and start treating this as the existential threat it is.

Richard Stallman

Stallman has always had a very nuanced and intelligent morality. He is an eccentric for sure, but I am sad to see him ousted from MIT and the FSF. Misogyny is very common in the tech world but in Stallman's case, I'm inclined to think his statements are the result of him being on the spectrum, and less that he has a hatred for women leaking out of him. I must admit, I am a bit biased, his creation of the Copyleft was nothing less than brilliant and bold, his leadership in the GNU project has shifted the paradigm of open ideas and software freedom, and nobody wants to see their heroes fall. For someone who has given the world so much, I really hope these actions were carefully considered, he deserves nothing less.

The Paper Straw

Recently, I keep hearing that "paper straws are a distraction," etc. Well, yes and no...yes we do need to push for more radical actions to preserve the environment and stop climate destabilization, but the "single-use plastic" paradigm is VERY much at the heart of our problem. The world is disposable to this culture...and plastic is almost entirely made with petroleum products...so in a way, paper straws represents a good first step forward. Stop nit-picking, every step forward is a step forward, keep pushing for "everything at once" as Bill Nye says.

Labor Unions

In the 50's the US was in the "Golden Age" of labor...unions were at their strongest...and yet why just a few decades later, the whole thing came crashing down? Answer: The "capital" in Capitalism. When you have an owner class, the struggle will never end; if employees are paid more, the employer will ask more, and so on and so forth until the Unions go away OR the Unions become corrupt and the employees are overworked and "overpaid." What we really need is the next step in labor, that is, WORKER OWNED businesses. It will force intelligent decisions be made about how to treat workers, how much to pay workers, and how much to reinvest in the company. Labor Unions are the fantasy of the age of Marx, most of the gains that were imagined with this method are already realized...we need to march forward.

In the more distant future, we need to look even further beyond, towards a society where we don't work for money but as they say in Star Trek, "we work to better ourselves, and the rest of humanity."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH9Of4OVaTE

Universal Health Care

Here is the debate right now...

"We propose a deluxe better burger for cheaper than you currently pay for worse burgers. You can have all the same ingredients you're used to plus more."

--"How you going to pay for it? How you going to pay for it? HOW YOU GOING!!"

"Actually it's substantially cheaper than what we're paying now. It's $3 instead of $6."

--"I used to pay with a Five dollar bill plus a single One dollar bill...but now I have to use THREE One dollar bills?"

"Maybe, but it's cheaper."

--"Won't this raise the number of One dollar bills I might have to use? Why can't you just admit I might have to use MORE One dollar bills than I'm used to!"

"Look, every other good burger joint is already implementing this deal, it's not radical or new."

--"Nobody wants your Commy burger, with better ingredients...cuz...Capitalism!"

Let The Climate Wars Begin

For the United States, the Bahamians may be the first, clear Climate Refugees we've seen. The first of many, many, many more. This will clash with the rampant racism in the U.S. I think this is far more historic than 9-11...when the prerequisites for the Climate Migration Wars began.

Fetishizing Feudalism

Basically every culture romanticizes their history, and remakes it for the silver screen. That is because, of course, they've never seen the feudal era...and would die instantly if they did. Our past is filled with horrible values, deadly diseases, and -surprisingly- even worse economic systems. I wish people would look forward more and try to use the past, only to understand, avoid potential mistakes, and experiment with things that have worked.

How History Will View Trump

We all know that Trump is a disaster...while he is objectively dangerous, I think history will pity him. Trump is mentally ill and/or senile, and clearly doesn't even know what he doesn't know...we can't expect him to shoulder the burdens of the human species. The failure of Trump is a cascade of failures by everyone. The media portrays him as villain...I see him as a failure of the system and I think history will see it that way also.

Social Media Censorship

I don't dox people, I don't threaten or harass...and yet every single account I've had on social media they've either severely censored me or locked my account outright. They came for me... act now or they will come for you. Speaking truth and reason is now against "Terms and Conditions"... Democracy cannot exist inside of Capitalism, Period.

The Universal Alt-Right Response

Climate Destabilization? "I'LL RAPE YOU!"
Universal Health Care? "I'LL RAPE YOU!"
Less Inequality? "I HOPE SOMEONE RAPES YOU!"

Seriously people, get help.

Shame & Delusion

    I've long believed in the connection between shame and violence. Having just watched "Behind The Curve," I now see how shame is also connected to identity and delusional belief systems. It is obvious that the latching onto dogma is more about their connections with other humans than it is about the beliefs themselves. While I've long understood that the primary reason people latch onto identities is for "social" reasons...I don't think I've given enough weight to the drive that many people feel to pursue them over truth and progress.
    It's truly maddening, though, knowing that if we could shed this one thing...we could eliminate so many of our people problems...religion, anti-science conspiracies, anti-environmental sustainability ideologies, social darwinism, harmful economic dogmatic beliefs, harmful beliefs about "human nature," etc. We must all become truth-seekers and truth-teachers. I haven't given much thought into the best ways to implement that into the methodologies of society, but I should probably start.

Technology Abuse and Neo-McCarthyism

Since we're facing a new "Red Scare" with both the left and right afraid that Progressives will bring corporate rule to an end, or greatly diminish it... and the fact that fascism and hatred are seeing a resurgence; I figure it's only right to add some wisdom from Ed Murrow, who fought the previous generations battle against authoritarianism and abuse of public platforms.

"If we confuse dissent with disloyalty — if we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox — if we deny the essence of racial equality then hundreds of millions in Asia and Africa who are shopping about for a new allegiance will conclude that we are concerned to defend a myth and our present privileged status. Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the ... confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."

"This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and even it can inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it's nothing but wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful."

- Edward R. Murrow

The Gatekeepers Of Truth

I Googled for "historically accurate documentaries about McCarthyism"...and Google recommended "anti-communist movies." It SCARES the shit out of me that McCarthyism is simply reduced to "anti-communist"... McCarthyism was not just a "position" for or against communism, it was a period of MASSIVE rights violations, no matter what your opinion of communism is. I know people have been talking about Google bias for years now, but revisionist history and censorship is a FUNDAMENTAL flaw that MUST be remedied IMMEDIATELY. I know it sounds cliche, but seriously THINK OF THE CHILDREN. We are feeding them shit information, and not allowing them to see reality clearly and become moral, independent thinkers. Gas-lighting our children will only create a world where nothing is true, people can't distinguish between news and fake news, and people make emotional decisions based on tribe and self-interest... oh wait...

"War is Peace

Freedom is Slavery

Ignorance is Strength"

ALL HAIL BIG BROTHER!

If I only knew then, what... the fuck...

Everyone wishes they "had known earlier," or could do X over... well here we are in "do over" world. We have a chance to stop ANOTHER war for oil, masked as a humanitarian crisis and a "fight for democracy"... laughable. We have a Presidential election coming up with Trump, Corporate Democrats, and Bernie Sanders... let's see if Americans with EVERY FUCKING fact at hand, knowing intimately who and what they're dealing with, can make the right decision this time around. Seriously, if we can't do this basic thing, I'm becoming a geneticist so I can create a future generation that is radiation and toxin resistant, or a programmer/roboticist to create AI that can survive space travel... otherwise we have no future.

I thought Nuclear Apocalypse was too cliche

Trump is now talking about giving nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia...a country that floats on an ocean of oil, with endless, open, wind-swept spaces, bathed in sunlight...and they need NUCLEAR power to secure their energy future? On top of that, let's look at their ideology and determine if they have the maturity to handle nuclear technology...they are a THEOCRATIC MONARCHY...they have barbaric and draconian laws, they oppress women, people of -any- sexual orientation...they are, right now, involved in a genocide in Yemen...they take away documentation from immigrants so they can trap them in the country and use them as slaves, etc., etc., you get the point.

Okay, the answer is obvious... and yet, here we are... Trump is still President despite EVERY indication he is dangerously incompetent AT BEST, if not outright opposed to all reason... Okay, that too is obvious... and yet, here we are with CONGRESS able to remove the dangerous idiot... but they are too busy enriching the already absurdly wealthy, preaching endless war, sexually assaulting people, and generally also being dangerously incompetent... Okay, so that is AGAIN no secret... and yet, here we are with a PUBLIC able to put intelligent, capable, people in office... oh wait, they are too busy waging war on imaginary threats and demanding we build impossible solutions to those imaginary threats, reviving white nationalism, voting against basic necessities, endlessly consuming resources, and watching reboots that ruin everyone's childhoods... I've heard of "turtles all the way down," but how did we end up with "dangerous idiots all the way down"?

I don't know how to end this on a positive note, so I'll just say if you're even mildly intelligent, run for office, build your wealth, influence the influential...whatever it takes to get this ship under the control of rational and benevolent forces.

How To Protest

Recently, people have been protesting based solely on passion...and I'm sorry to say that is the wrong way to do it. A protest is a focused pressure on the system, it must be succinct and unbreakable. Save the in-fighting for the discussion groups, save the preaching, etc., when you show up to a protest, you must all have the same voice, the same policy agenda...shoulder to shoulder and solid.

"Work Ethic" Neurosis

    While we all agree that a healthy work ethic is a great thing...I think the way it's being portrayed in society today is so distorted. First of all, a strong work ethic is only "good" if what you're working at is good... to correct the religious meme on this subject: idle hands don't do the devils work...busy hands doing the devils work, do the devils work. This problem is compounded by the fact that the values promoted today are self-interested and tribal. This is further compounded by the fact that only work that the wealthy and powerful demand is properly incentivized. In the US, there are virtually no sources of funding for the public good...public banks have been destroyed by money interests, and politicians will not tax the wealthy or push initiatives that help the average person, because they ARE, or are beholden to money interests.
    When I look at all the people who claim to have strong work ethic and demand it of others...they don't have strong work ethics at all...they are simply laser-focused on solely improving their own situation and they misinterpret that dedication to self-interest as work ethic. Meanwhile, they accuse everyone else of being lazy, only when someone else refuses to do something THEY want. We don't have a work ethic problem, we have a problem with aggressive, self-interested people trying to coerce self-determined people.
    Keep an eye out in your own life, see if this is true for you as well.

Disposable Culture

If a person threatens a hunger strike, really it is an appeal to their opponents sense of "value of life." They are assuming that people will see that life is more valuable than whatever practice they are continuing/protecting. Similarly, if a people pour wine out, burn books, or pour tea into a harbor...they are making a similar point; appealing to a persons sense of "waste" and/or that the people protesting are willing to invest even more into destroying a practice/product than the cost of having it.

This works, only when people VALUE things...when they have a deeper understanding of the relationship between things/ideas and the efficiencies won or lost in the exchange of said things/ideas. However, we live in a "disposable" age...an age of single-use plastic, of stagnating wages, of leaders who happily torture and kill publicly (or would like to if allowed)... an age where we value virtually nothing and cater only to self-interest.

The key to solving this is public UNDERSTANDING, if one understands more, they can value more/appropriately.

Example: Your determination of the value of life becomes more accurate when you understand how difficult it is to "live" in the universe, how precarious and tied to the environment it is, the difference between a life of misery and a life of flourishing...when you really understand life, you can value life appropriately.

Bottom line, protesting means nothing if society values nothing...
Nobody can vote on action unless we agree on reality and the value of things in that reality...
The beginning of every change and solution is building our UNDERSTANDING.

War

"War... War never changes.
Since the dawn of humankind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything: from God, to justice, to simple, psychotic rage.
In the year 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. The world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation.
But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history.
For man had succeeded in destroying the world... but war... war never changes." 

- Opening Cinematic from Fallout 3

There is no winner in war. Everyone believes they are the hero in their story and will backwards justify any outcome...but in reality, we always lose precious progress on the whole. We must eliminate war from existence.
Although Eisenhower was involved in creating the Military Industrial Complex, he recognized his folly and later said:

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children."