I Shall Return!

Due to some chronic health issues and an upcoming surgery (on my knee, nothing too serious) I am stepping away from this blog for a bit. I'm still firing off defiant e-mails to my Senators and my Congressman (all Republicans alas, but oddly among the few who actually will vote against the mad king, if for the wrong reasons). But this battlefront will have to fall quiet for a time. Keep up the fight! As that stalwart warrior General MacArthur is reputed to have said, "I Shall Return!" 

Rip Off  

Fascism In America!

The FOURTEEN TRAITS of FACSCIM

1. Emphasis on Nationalism

    "America First"! Need I say more. 

2. Disdain for Human Rights

    The fight now is for everyone to get due process and keep "habeas corpus". 

3. Scapegoats

    Hard working Mexican immigrants have been targeted for many years. 

4.Glorification of Military

    They want a military parade on Dear Leader's birthday. 

5. Sexism and Rigid Definition of Gender

    Fear of transgenders fueled the takeover. 

6. Mass Media Control

    The threat of losing access has cowed all of the major outlets.

7. Emphasis on National Security 

    Everything is turned into a National Security threat. 

8. Religion fuses with Government

    Evangelicals believe the end is near and support for Israel tops all other issues. 

9, Corporations celebrated

    Nothing new in America. 

10. Unions suppressed

    This has been going on for years.  

11. Censorship of Intellectuals and the Arts

    "Common Sense" rules the day. 

12. Emphasis on Crime and Punishment

     Nothing new. 

13. Fraudulent Elections

    The "Big Lie". 

14. State is the Ultimate Authority

    We the People are told what to do at all times. 

(Traits identified by Lawrence Britt)

Looking at these indicators the United States is deeper in the tank than I imagined. The big reason for that is many of these markers were already in place when Stupid-Head took office. The attack on 9-11 spooked the country and made some shading of rights already an ongoing practice in many areas. The current crop of clowns are creating processes which are as cartoonish as they are cruel. 

Rip Off

America No More?

What would this planet look like if the United States withdrew as the leader of the free world. Well, here's an essay from a few years ago entitled 

"What Would Happen to the World Without the United States?" 

When this essay was written by Dr. Andre Kortunov in 2021 this was mere speculation. Now we are living it. 

Rip Off

The Death Of A Nation?

The Birth of a Nation is at once one of the greatest movies and most terrible movies ever made. D.W. Griffith's expansive and innovative storytelling is on full display and the magnificent power of cinema is is all too evident, but tragically the story this tells is one of a dreadful history, of an aspect of American life which is truly shameful. 

That shame is not present in Griffith's portrayal of the Klu Klux Klan, the Secret Empire which in this movie rises up out of a misguided sense of necessity to stem the savagery of the freed black slaves who show they are incapable of leading themselves in a civilized manner and threaten the creamy white skins of Southern womanhood. It's the most profound and dreadful bullshit! But this truly is a well-polished turd, and the artistry of The Birth of a Nation can be recognized, but never should its themes be celebrated.

The Birth of a Nation triggered a rebirth of the Klan, this time these cretins adopted the look of the movie and the wearing of the white robe became consistent throughout the country as chapters of this odious fraternity spread its wings over a seemingly ever-ready populace. The popularity of the Klan was such that they even marched in force in Washington D.C. in 1925. The Klu Klux Klan became damn near mainstream, but it was knocked out by the patriotic fervor of the World War II. The toads who had once sought to become Klan instead slithered around the new hate group in town -- the National Socialist Party better known as the Nazis. The Klan got another infusion of energy during the ascendency of Ronald Reagan to the Presidency. Now here we are again with a fourth version, all decked out in black and substituting an "X" for a Swastika. 

D.W. Griffith was a Kentuckian, and for that reason I was keen to include some of his work in a Film Studies class. But these are high school classes and not college and so much more care must be taken in selecting examples of cinema. When Spike Lee's BlacKKKlansman was in theaters, I sought to get permission from my principal to show The Birth of a Nation in class. I was eager to use the opportunity to drive home the misguided themes of the original movie within the context of the new film. Much to his credit my principal at the time listened to my arguments seriously but ultimately decided against it. I understand his decision. A news story that some white teacher was showing The Birth of a Nation to his mostly white students in a community famous for its conservative leanings could be publicity no one needed, least of all me. To attempt to explain the film being shown in some historical context with proper permissions from parents sought and signed, would've meant nothing to media intent on sensationalizing race relations in America at almost every turn. He likely saved me from myself.

But it's important in a way that Griffith made this document of the beliefs of the Klan one hundred years ago. This rosy anti-historical account is a byway into the mind of the racist nationalist who lives in constant fear of the outsider, the one who unlike himself seeks not just "tradition" and "heritage", but something new and different and vital. The real Klan is about preserving the false memory of a more civilized time when order was maintained through violence and the utter and complete dehumanization of men, women and children. It is the shame that will blight the American record for all time and sadly continues to spread its diseased tendrils down through the decades. 

And even more shameful that it has once again risen and taken hold of our federal leadership. Someone said recently that these new challenges to liberty threaten the soul of America, but in truth the country sold its soul long ago and has been trying in fits and starts and in a shambolic way to redeem itself. For the moment we seem to have taken a knee, but we will continue our journey. 

Rip Off