Free Market Fascism

Man that's a compelling blog title, isn't it?

Everyone has been talking about the recent Supreme Court case involving corporations ability to engage in free speech. I sorta held out of the conversation because from a singularly letter-of-the-law legal perspective, I think the SC was right.

I'm not a lawyer or anything, but for two years I performed legal research on a daily basis. One of the most frustrating terms of art was the word "individual." I frequently could not determine if a law applied to people, companies, partnerships or all three without serious research.

So, some might ask, "what's your problem then? Why are you even going to write a blog post about this? Hasn't everyone said everything that needs to be said?"

To which I say, "probably." But something has been bothering me about this whole thing, and that's where the title comes in.

To be completely upfront, I'm stealing a little move from the Frankfurt school - they loved calling everything disagreeable fascist. I think I'm merited in this instance though. What was the greatest tools of fascists? Propaganda. Some members of the Frankfurt school (Horkheimer, Adorno and Walter Benjamin) were particularly fearful of film. It is this magic medium that they thought the human mind just couldn't do battle with.

Back then, people were afraid of the government using propaganda against them to disseminate a single-party ideology.

Fast-forward to now. The Supreme Court gave something that we all view intuitively as a human right - the right of free speech - to a decidedly inhuman class of entities. These entities may seem separate and disparate, but they have a unifying and singular ideology: profit.

That's what really irks and creeps people out about this whole thing; the court went out of its way to give the single, and many would argue ruling, party the power of propaganda.

We all saw Kerry swiftboated. We know how these TV commercials work. They use suggestion and unsubstantiated claims to manipulate viewers. There is no truth in this type of advertising. This green-light on propaganda will further separate the country and keep our national lawmaking (and therefore enforcement) mechanisms in gridlock.

This goes far beyond Republican and Democrat. It is inconceivable, that a body designated to interpret and uphold the Constitution, a sacred document intended to protect the rights of the American people, would pervert that very document to further embroil us in the fascist mechanism of propaganda.

Local Boy Shrugs Off Systemic Thought

It's been a while since I've written a post, but I've had many ideas for posts. I swear! Life has been pervading though. Anyway, I'm back yo!

Today I was thinking about "sheeple" - you know that derogatory term that refers to the population that exists outside of you and your friends.  You don't? Well, it was a really popular term like four or five years ago.  It is a combination of the words sheep and people, and intended to refer to people that are part of the herd - conformists.

I have a bit of a problem with the term - probably because of where I went to university, University of King's College.  It was a somewhat snobby school. As you can see in the photo to the left, everyone is wearing robes and signing an big ledger book.  That's what we would do every year, but with a glass of sherry in hand (I'm not joking).

While at King's, the primary activity is the study of philosophy - specifically the history of philosophy, or what is called continental philosophy.


Continental philosophy is great. I love it to death, but if anything it can be too immersive.  Wide-eyed first years would sit down to read Plato, and upon finishing, believe they were going to be the Philosopher King.  At that school, people often held the sincere belief that reading a few books by Plato, Hegel, Nietzsche or Wittgenstein elevated them on a social level - rather than a personal level.

They forgot Socrates' most important credo: "the only thing that I know, is that I know nothing."  Socrates learns just as much - if not more - from slaves vs. generals and kings.

So what does this have to do with those nutty little sheeple?  People have a tendency to believe they are smarter than everyone around.  This tendency gives birth to many things - including road rage.  I guess that one shouldn't discount people even if they do seem to be blindly following along.

There are constructs that make us believe we are the elevated ones.  Intellectualism, privilege, religion, and psychology are just a few of the ways we seek to define ourselves against out "the other".

My point is: give people a chance, and never assume that they have nothing to offer, or that they have nothing going on behind their vacant soulless stare.

As they say in Fightclub. You are not a unique and individual snowflake. You are an animal, a social animal, and that's ok.

Old Poem

Can I hear,
the whistling hegemony
crashing the Parthenon?
Can I see,
L.E.D's blinking away
sanctimonious light?
Can I feel,
cyborgs coming,
crashing on the green door?
Man meets machine.
I want to have sex
in an industrial park,
and in parked cars.
With peeping, voyeuristic Networks
coming
across the F.M.

America's Love Affair

In the Summer of 2003, I got Ruby, a 1998 Subaru Legacy Brighton Edition.  This was the crowing achievement of what could only be described as a classic and formative Summer.  "Hey Ya" was burning up the charts, and every night was crazier than the last with joyous dancing.  What is a Brighton Edition?  I think it means - no frills.  None.  I have to stop this car with my feet a la Flintstones.  Despite the lack of modern conveniences like power locks and air conditioning, I have loved this car.  I once drove it from Halifax, NS to Skagway, AK and back.  That was a long trip.

I have taken this car everywhere, and I've gotten in - and out - of many scrapes with this fine example of Japanese engineering.

Action Items

I thought I would, very quickly, compile a list of my favorite corny action movie lines. A lot of them are from Schwarzenegger movies (go figure).

Eraser -

Eraser is a pretty damned bad movie, but it had one of my favorite lines of all time. Allow me to set the scene. Arnold is trapped in a zoo with Vanessa Williams. Why? I have no idea. He shoots an aquarium containing alligators as a distraction? The CG alligators are obviously very pissed about this and proceed to eat everyone they can find. They are about to eat Arnold, who blew up their habitat and killed their brother (probably) when Arnold shoots them in the face and says "You're luggage." That was an endangered species for christ sakes! Classic. Click below to read more!

Free Ideas for Money Making

Dear NYDOT,

I have a great idea for your Crown Point bridge razing. You should blow it up. I know that's not original, but here's the twist, NYDOT, you charge a $5 "safety charge" to bystanders. That's just bridge destruction monopolizing step one.

Next, have a raffle for the person that gets to push the dynamo. The dynamo is that awesome plunger that sets the explosion into motion. I'd pay 2 dollars per ticket to get the chance to push set the explosion in motion.

Also, melt down every piece of the bridge except for one, which would be a valuable commemorative piece. Auction the piece off. Cha-ching!

Finally, find a movie which is in production and needs a bridge explosion. Rent the bridge out to the movie. They could even set the charges/pyrotechnics! Hear those cheering people in the background of the video? They sound like dollar signs to me...

Please consider these suggestions, NYDOT. Going forward, let's try and find innovative ways to exploit our crumbling infrastructure to fund future crumbling infrastructures rather than engaging in costly and nonexplosive demolitions.

Facebook Prank Goes Hilariously Wrong

Sometimes a prank goes horribly wrong. Sometimes it goes hilariously wrong. This is a story of the latter. My former roommate Peter recently left Facebook. He said it was taking up too much of his time. He failed to understand that he was missing everything. He missed photos, inside jokes, invitations to parties. He missed major occasions in people's lives. Peter lives in Toronto and I live in Vermont, so we don't see each other that much. Facebook was an important way to stay connected, so I did the only thing I could do. I threatened him.

"Peter, if you don't get back onto Facebook, I'm going to start an account for you and you aren't going to like it."
"Go ahead. Start a fake account. I give you permission to manage my virtual life."