Of Militias and Puppets

The news is full of accounts of the attack by so-called "independent security contractor" the Blackwater Group on a crowd of Iraqis in which 11 civilians were killed. Blackwater is a not some corporate entity, it is a mercenary militia which does the U.S.'s bidding outside the eyes of governmental scrutiny. So Blackstone's mercenaries becomes just another militia in the Iraqi conflict victimizing the Iraqi people. But what the Blackwater episode reveals is how much the Iraqi "government" is just an ineffectual placeholding puppet of the George Bush regime.

It seems that when the Iraqi government was gifted with "sovereignty" from the US occupation authorities, they were explicitly forbidden any rights over controlling these foreign mercenary forces, and mercenary businesses like Blackwater were exempted from Iraqi (and presumably American) law as well as guaranteed indemnity from persecution for any (predictable) misdeeds. So now the Iraqi government is called for the severance of contracts with Blackwater and it's being pointed out that they don't have that right!

Hah. Some independence...the puppet strings have just become clear as ever. You're just stuck with a corporate fascist mercenary militia running amok in your streets. Welcome to the new American century.

Hello Imperialism!

If you know me you know of my inexplicable weakness for the iconic Japanese universe of Hello Kitty. Something about the simple bold line of its graphic sensibility and its bright color palette really works for me, despite my general loathing of brainwashing little girls with corporate sameness. Maybe I'm just gullible to Hello Kitty in a way I'm not to My Pretty Pony or Barbie.

Anyway it's not exactly tribute nor parody but I finished my design for my two Scarlet Menace calendars for 2008, and one of them is aptly entitled "Hello Imperialism!" with a cartoony graphic style based on bright un-communist gradients and Chinese cultural revolution comic book elements. The second is my Cold War Veteran's "Dead Dictator Chic" calendar and features a more traditional take on Stalin/Lenin/Mao/Kim Il Sung with a socialist realist sensibility. Both of these, as well as some accessorizable tee-shirts matching the calendars can be found here!

There's some other new stuff in there so shop around.

Joe Zawinul, r.i.p.

Joe Zawinul, long-time leader of the fusion group Weather Report, died this morning. Along with a changing cast of characters--Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, Alejandro Acuna, Ndugu, Alphonso Johnson, Manolo Badrena, and others--Zawinul and Weather Report played fusion in the post-Miles days when jazz was full of competing but living crosscurrents. Weather Report brought multiculturism--Zawinul was Austrian and his bandmates spanned many countries--to fusion giving a human and rhythmic edge to a music often too bogged down in music virtuosity and electronic technology. Before Weather Report he played keyboards with Cannonball Adderley, working with ground-breaking arranger David Axelrod in the 1960s. Although Zawinul wasn't my favorite of the Weather Report soloists, and his "third-stream" influences weren't to my taste, he was one of those musicians who managed to push jazz through as a popular music without sacrificing itself to smooth jazz pablum. While Weather Report may have spawned some yawny world and smooth jazz traditions, it was still first on the block.

time for a war on terror

Last week a block in Baghdad was levelled. Foreign fighters called in airstrikes when they were unable to seize some local partisans opposing the terrorist occupation of their city. At least one whole family--one innocent collection of women, children, men--were struck down and killed by the air raid.

Every week the NY Times shows pictures of Iraqi families trying to live their lives when foreign fighters seize their houses for barracks or merely for the sport of looking at all their belongings and watching to see if they make a false move while eating breakfast.

Every week hundreds of innocent people are killed inIraq because of the actions of a major foreign terrorist leader who, unprovoked, attacked the country, destroyed its infrastructure, and then has dictated how its people might live.

It's September 11. Six years after a small number of deluded criminals killed almost three thousand innocent people. Sadly, this was the start of the killing. In response to the actions of these criminals the most powerful terrorist nation on earth decided that every day would be September 11. Every day in Iraq, in Afghanistan, innocent people are murdered by the actions of this mighty terrorist nation.

I remember how awful September 11 was. How the week that followed was grim and mournful, how breaking into tears was just sonmething you had to do. But now I am numb, because, yes, I live in the powerful terrorist nation that has inflicted its ignorant careless rage on the middle east. I live in the nation that has sent its fighters to smash into the homes of innocent people; to level blocks of cities, to arrest and torture thousands, to kill--or allow to be killed--hundreds of thousands, yes many many times the number of precious Americans lost six years ago. I know how awful it must be to live in Iraq and experience the pain of that beautiful September day every new day for six years.

My nation is held captive by a brutal terrorist leader whose name is George Bush. He and his accomplices--who are legion--have no shame in lying and cheating and robbing and killing under their false flag of corporate democracy. Their armies of occupation, their high-tech war machine, their airstrikes, their soldiers stomping through the houses of innocents, their web of deception and ignorance, their greedy duplicitous politicians, their clubhouse of rapacious corporations: these are the true terrorist evil threatening the world today.

It is time for a war of peace-loving decent people to end this terror. The empire must fall. Stop the war; stop the murder of innocents. U.S. out of Iraq and Afghanistan and Africa...now! No more Bush, never again.

Peace.

disgusting racist americans deserve what they ask for

From a cartoon in the Columbus Dispatch. Picked it up from Lenin's Tomb. (thanks)

More proof that the disgusting americans who voted George Bush into office twice deserve to be the victims of the hornet's nest they stir up.

Sometimes I hate this country.

why george bush is president and how the u.s. got into iraq in the first place

From Miss Teen USA candidate Lauren Caitlin Upton of South Carolina, upon being asked why students in the country have trouble locating the United States on a world map:

"I personally believe the U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as and I believe they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa or should help the Iraq and Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us."

the expedience of democracy

So now a host of U.S. politicians are backtracking and saying establishing democracy was the wrong strategy in Iraq. Many--including Hillary Clinton--are saying Iraq Prime minister Maliki should be replaced. Not so long ago U.S. politicians were calling for greater democracy for the Palestinians: after Hamas's free and democratic election all of a sudden they announced they would only deal with (the unelected) Palestinian politicians from Fatah.

So after a decade and a half of American foreign policy apparently aligning away from dictators and claiming to support the establishment of democracy, now it returns to the expediency of supporting whoever it can get it to execute its dirty work.

This will shortly come into a third crisis as American puppet/dictator General Musharraf in Pakistan confronts the possibility of the return of two exile politicians who would surely oust him in elections.

But to my mind the lesson of this exercise in blatant hipocrisy is not to suggest that the U.S. recommit to establishing democracies in its client states.

I find it equally horrifying that who should be governing these other sovereign nations is at all the topic of conversations on the U.S. political scene. How arrogant that U.S. politicians and media offer their suggestions for who should be governing Iraq. How arrogant that they may get their way!

The best thing we in the U.S. can do for the Iraqi people is just get out. The second best thing we can do for the Iraqi people--and the rest of the peoples of the world--is replace our government, our system, with one committed to equality, progress, and freedom. Let's hear it for the revolution.

vietnam was a victory

president bush yesterday spoke to the largely right-wing organization veterans of foreign wars and gave a muddled and confused speech where he compared his Iraq war to the one the US lost in Vietnam and in so doing, thought he was actually defending his politicies.
as the NYTimes put it today, the main lesson Bush has drawn about the Vietnam war is that it didn't last long enough.
the mind, well, boggles. first, that a man who did everything possible to avoid serving in Vietnam would now suggest it should have lasted longer. (Such an alternate history reveals the tantalizing possibility that Bush's name would be etched in that monument wall down in Washington: such a happier world we'd have now if only.)
anyway, the truth is that the mightiest nation in the world was kicked out of Southeast Asia, and the lesson that should be applied to today's conflict in Iraq is that the US has no right imposing itself on the free peoples of the world. While I do not celebrate the victimization of those poor American servicemen drafted to their doom, I do celebrate the defeat of the US by the Vietnamese people. The American attempt to prop up corrupt and brutal neo-colonial dictatorships and inflict its will on the destiny of the Vietnamese was properly rebuffed. Ngo Dinh Diem, Nguyen Van Thieu, Nguyen Cao Cy and all the other stooges of imperialism are not mourned.
the u.s. anti-war movement was a caldron--albeit a failed one, in the end--of domestic social change that gave us a better world here at home even if its agenda was cut short by the same conservative impulses that today channel social change into the laps of the democrats who, once again, will leave us limp with disappointment.
sadly in today's Iraq there are not the kind of revolutionaries like the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam who heroically led their people's resistance. but this doesn't change the fact that a US withdrawal from Iraq will be a victory for the world's peoples just like its stinging defeat was those thirty-odd years ago. May the last U.S. helicopters be airlifting Iraqi collaborators out of the green zone soon.

scarlet menace updates

Here's some new Scarlet Menace stuff. One of my favorite recently-found images is a Chinese poster of revolutionaries in 1965 Santo Domingo, resisting the little-remembered US invasion. I've fussed with it and plastered it all over a bunch of Cafepress stuff and inaugurated my Hasta La Victoria Siempre section of Latin-American related items.

I've expanded the Anti-War section with materials featuring a Chinese poster dating from the Anti-Vietnam-War struggle, with a lot of English in the poster. These items are available with the image plain as shown or backed with the slogan "Iraq Is Arabic For Vietnam." And as promised I've placed the Iranian-based image on a number of items. (In the Axis of Evil section this US Flag design is also available in it's original "Down with the USA" version.

Please buy my stuff!

yasser arafat, gay hero?

I was too sick to post about this when I first heard it, and it seems to be oddly under-reported, but apparently it has been confirmed that longtime Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat died of AIDS. And it seems to be confirmed that this was sexually transmitted, and that Arafat had well-known homosexual proclivities. In my mind this explains much of why Arafat has not been lionized since his passing, which I've always thought was odd since he was such a symbol of the Palestinian struggle during his lifetime.

While much could be said about Arafat and his choices, I choose to remember him as a hero, and now a gay hero. He never gave up, or sold out, the fight for Palestinian freedom: something that could not be said of the current Palestine authority coup leaders/Israeli collaborators under Abu Mazen. He resisted that final temptation to sell out Palestinian dreams to an intolerable ministate in the last negotiations under President Clinton. Although reviled for his refusal to clinch an almost done deal, I think he showed true wisdom and bravery. While many of his actions could be criticized over the years, this last one, and his heroic last stand in the ruins of Ramallah, redeem much of his blustery checkered past.

I am one gay man who welcomes him into the ranks of beloved AIDS dead.

jon lucien, rip

Ack, Jon Lucien has died, age 65.

He was one of my favorite singers. Possessing a deep deep voice with a little island lilt and an amazing musical sense he recorded three classic albums for RCA and two for Columbia in the 1970s, and a string of come-back albums for Verve, Shanachie and other small indies in the 1990s/2000s. The Columbia albums are not in print on CD, though fortunately the three RCAs ones are pretty readily available on a 2-CD set. His recent live album is as good as his old stuff.

At times kind of like a male Flora Purim his music was full of wordless vocals, Brazilian/latin grooves, and a real spirituality-tinged soulful jazz sensibility that was sexy without being cloying and false. Among his songs are an amazing anti-war anthem and a song proclaiming the romantic joys of chanting nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

He will be missed!

no u.s. attack on iran!

I saw a news article on Iran with a large billboard on the side of a building with a really interesting graphic. The scan was very lo-res so I reconstructed the billboard and then changed it around a bit.

I've also recreated a more faithful reconstruction of it which I'll post later. Anyway, here's a "No U.S. Attack on Iran!" jpg. I'll be creating some Scarlet Menace items with this artwork soon.

I'm terrified that Bush's government is actually going to do something stupid and attack Iran. What a recipe for disaster.

yes, more scarlet menace

I'm very proud of my latest batch of scarlet menace items. I've created a Sisterhood Is Powerful section, based primarily on an of Kim Il Sung's wife Kim Jeong Suk and a Spanish Civil War poster. I've created an Anti-War section, including items featuring the "Main Enemy Is at Home" speech from Liebknecht featured below and also my favorite Kathe Kollwitz lithograph. I found some great old KPD newspapers so there's a whole Red Front section. I colorized a beautiful Chinese graphic of Vietnamese fighters standing on a downed US aircraft and added Che's 2-3-many Vietnams quote for the Vietnam War section. There's some nice new African liberation images with Swahili captions on the back; a high-camp picture of Stalin featuring adoring Soviet citizens, and of course the WWCMD line. That's What Would Chairman Mao Do? for your non-believers. There's lots more.

Cafepress is raising some prices here and there which is disappointing, but I'm quite enjoying the creative outlet. And some stuff is actually being sold! Shop away!

dems talk to gays

Last night was the historic presidentjial candidates forum on MTV-owned LOGO, a cable station which aims for a gay audience. (I like LOGO's programming but it has too many commercials and too much editing and censorship). The event was co-sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which gets props for organizing this event though I find them an insufferable bunch of elitist closet-cases: the joke name for them is the Human Rights Champaign Foundation. Anyway, 6 of the 8 democrats appeared. No republicans accepted.

I enjoyed the event. Many of the discussions were a little more in-depth than other events I've seen, and I felt the questioners were intelligent and managed to get all the candidates to reveal something about who they actually were. The main, though not exclusive, focus was on same-same marriage.

Obama. I generally liked him. His answer on gay marriage, while not perfect, does manage to make a compromise that seems to me a principled one. Make all the civil rights of marriage common to all people, make marriage itself the purveyance of the religions that care about it. I wish he had acknowledged the fact that there was a compromise here, but I really liked most of what he said. I liked how intelligent he is.

Edwards. He said some really nice things. But he really came across like a politician. And he opposes gay marriage though like Obama he seems to be in favor of civil unions with some actual merit. I didn't like how much a politician he sounded. But I liked his populism.

Kucinich. He was really excellent. He supports gay marriage. He mentioned his opposition to war and how connected to everything that is. Offered a profoundly humanist point of view. I had zero points of disagreement. I wish he could win.

Gravel. Well, he's a character. I love his position on drugs. He's 100% right on legalizing marijuana and decriminalizing all others. Prohibition didn't work and the war on drugs isn't working either. But he seems a little kooky...like he might any minute say something really weird.

Richardson. I'm not sure what people see in him. He opposes gay marriage and said homosexuality is a choice. He's always seemed uninspired and uninspiring. Sorry, but he should go away.

Clinton. Well I'm hating her less. But it's fascinating to me that she can say the most hateful things and people can excuse them and somehow believe that deep down she actually believes what they do when all along she has she has been sayings omething completely different. She's excellent with connecting with people: she remembers names and faces and tried to make a connection with people that makes them feel they're all on the same side. But listen to what she says: is she really on our side? She said she could sympathize with gay peoples' pain on gay marriage. But, "oh well, those are my personal beliefs" she says about why she opposes gay marriage and then goes on to say she would only delete one clause from the In Defense of Marriage Act. I think she's using us and I don't like it. Listen to what she SAYS.

So Kucinich and Obama give me the most hope still, though I am concerned about some of Obama's tough-talking about fighting so called terrorism. (Not as concerned as I about the republican candidate--Tancredo?--who proposed bombing Mecca, mind you). I think Obama still has my vote, though I voted Kucinich before and I can easily see Obama making an nuforgivable mistake. Will I vote for Hillary in the general election? Hmmm. I don't think so.

The Main Enemy Is At Home

I remembered the gist of this quote but I found the whole article from which it was taken on line. Such prescient clear-thinking. It was written by German communist martyr Karl Liebknecht, one of the brave revolutionaries who, unlike the majority of his socialist party, resisted nationalism and patriotism in the face of world war one to stand on the side of the international working class. Here is an edited section.:

"We have seen how when war broke out, the masses were captured for the
capitalist aims of the war with enticing melodies from the ruling classes. We
have seen how the shiny bubbles of demagogy burst, how the foolish dreams... vanished, how, instead of happiness, suffering and misery came over the
people; how the tears of war widows and war orphans swelled to great currents;
how the maintenance of ...semi-absolutism... militarism, and police despotism –
became bitter truth....
The enemies of the people are counting on the forgetfulness of the masses – we counter this with the solution... learn everything, don't forget anything!...
The absurd slogan "stick it out" has hit rock bottom; it leads only deeper
and deeper into the maelstrom of genocide...
How long should the gamblers of imperialism abuse the patience of the people? Enough and more than enough slaughter! Down with the war instigators here and abroad!
An end to genocide!
Proletarians of all countries, follow the heroic example of your Italian brothers! Ally yourselves to the international class struggle against the conspiracies of secret diplomacy, against imperialism, against war, for peace with in the socialist spirit.
The main enemy is at home!"
--Karl Liebknecht, May 1915

Wow. Inspiring.

life intervenes

Sorry about the long delay between posts. Had some health issues. Let's just say I'm not sure I've enjoyed being accused of looking like Michael Moore but I'm definitely sure I don't like feeling like I'm the subject of one of his movies. Universal health care is a right!

new stuff at The Scarlet Menace

Bunch of new items at The Scarlet Menace. "Visit El Karameh 1968" on tees; "Glorious People's Tractor Factory" on shirts and bags; African Liberation, Jiang Qing, Mao, Electrifying Lenin, lots more.

Democratic Presidential Debate

I finally watched one of the Presidential debates. It was Tavis Smiley's All-American presidential debate on PBS, with focus meant to be on domestic issues, especially those of concern to African-Americans. I have to say I was underwhelmed.

Kookie old white guy Mike Gravel said the bravest things: end the war on drugs, take the money away from the military, make taxation transparent. I really liked most of what he said. But he's a nut. Dennis Kucinich said great things, also constantly tying the issues to the corruption of priorities caused by the war in Iraq. But (and I voted for him in the last democratic primary) he is so anti-charismatic, so unlikeable.

Dodd, Biden and Richardson seemed like the old establishment. All spouted flat rehashed speeches that could have been given by any politician any time in the last 20 years. Somewhat horrifyingly, the only time Biden got emotional was when he suggested the US intervene military in Darfur against the Sudanese government. What a horror these three seem.

Which leaves the three front runners. Honestly, I didn't hate Hillary. Expect for a moment or two of equivocation and then a horrifying hawk-like impulse on Darfur she was concise, well prepared, articulate, and respectful of the time limits and therefore the audience. The war wasn't really a topic so her bad history was set aside. My main problem with her remains that she is so so careful about how she phrases things you just don't trust her. Every sentence sounds like a legal contract you will be expected to understand and remember exactly. Edwards had great energy, if what he said was old hat and self-aggrandizement. But he had some good points. I didn't hate him either. Meanwhile Barack needs to take some geritol. He said some good stuff, and occasionally engaged with the audience. It's really clear that he has a deep commitment to progressive humanistic values and there's something tantalizing about what he says, but he's coming across a little boring. Time to jazz it up. Sadly, he hawked it up on Darfur also, though he then said the real problem is how America engages with Africa. He gets a couple points for bringing up homophobia.

I had some trouble staying awake. The field needs to be winnowed (I suggest Dodd, Biden and Richardson bow out), and then they need to start arguing. If Hillary is gonna be the front-runner I wanna see the others challenge her record. If Obama is gonna keep his poster up in my window I wanna see some inspiration. And if the Democrats are gonna get my vote then they need to start trying to stop the fucking war.

It's gonna be a long year.

Oh yeah, the Supreme Court trie dto roll back Brown vs. the Board of Education today. A sad day for America.

The One-State Solution

I thought this was a really striking article that reflects a lot of my own thinking reported earlier in The Cahokian. Check out The One-State Solution on Al-Jazeera.

is Paris burning?

Ah, some small justice in this world. Back to jail.

And now we return to our regularly scheduled programming.

attack of the air-headed skanks

I read an excellent article on The Huffington Post by Marty Kaplan about America and its news: how the majority of passive, entertainment-seeking Americans surely know everything about Paris Hilton but nothing about developments in Iraq that spell continued disaster for both Iraq and the U.S. and more importantly anyone there who might get in the way of a bullet or a bomb. Choosing mostly not to watch network TV and never to watch network TV news, I was somewhat isolated when golddigging air-headed skank Anna Nicole Smith met Glory. Sure, it was amusing internet blog fodder, but it's starting to no longer be funny.

So WTF? What's up with Britney Spears? When I worked for the music biz I used to see all her publicity photos. The earliest ones were the choicest: her handlers decide that this marginally-talented young teen could cultivate a fuck-me daddy persona completely inappropriate for her age and a hair short of child pornography. She becomes a mega-star for mobs of teenage girls desperately training at the Academy of Narcissism. Despite the money and the handlers she ends up acting like a white trash crack whore and melting down in a very public way. What did anyone expect? And America is entertained.

So WTF? What's up with Lindsay Lohan? An actually talented child actress apparently given too much independence much too soon imploding in an orgy of self-destructive addiction and attention-seeking. What did anyone expect? And America is enthralled.

So WTF? What's up with Jessica Simpson? She wonders if chicken of the sea is actually chicken, and people actually pay money for her records and movies?

So WTF? What's up with entitled heiresses like Nicole Ritchie with no apparent talents or social value and we need to be obsessed with her vomiting? And America eats it up.

So WTF with Angelina Jolie and Madonna and the baby-buying sprees in Africa? I actually love Madonna's music but really, is this a sick joke?

So WTF? What is up with Paris Hilton? An unattractive and spoiled debutante and dilettante, a true graduate of the Academy of Narcissism, breaks the law and begs not be sent to jail, where she is sentenced for 45 days. AND SHE SERVES THREE. Unimaginably wealthy, a convicted criminal, and she is then commuted to serving the rest of her sentence under mansion-arrest?

Really, so WTF! Prisoners serving 20 years only to have DNA evidence reveal their innocence? Political prisoners like the Cuban Five and Leonard Peltier and Mumia? People doing years for simple marijuana busts? Random middle-easterners caught up in Guantanamo and held incognito for 5 years? And Paris Hilton serves three days? And that's what America tunes into?

Something is not right. Assata Shakur for president. Cindy Sheehan for secretary of defense. Ariana Huffington for secretary of state. Angela Davis for elder states(wo)man. Lynne Stewart for attorney general. Sonia Sanchez for press secretary. Nikki Giovanni for secretary of education. These are beautiful important women we should pay attention to.

Forget the skanks. And Paris Hilton? Maybe there's a free cell in Abu Ghraib.

danger, will robinson

So president Bush announces he's very concerned about global warming and greenhouse gases and carbon emissions. Then he gets to the G8 summit in Europe and nixes any actionable plans proposed by the European governments. Then he announces plans to place (unproven) anti-missile missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic and Russia's Putin freaks out and threatens to re-aim Russian missiles at Europe. Bush at th G8 says "oh dont be silly these aren't directed at Russia, the cold war is over."

Well here's the thing. Bush is a liar. 6-1/2 years of lies are plainly evident to the world. An entire war and thousands of wasted lives are the fruits of these lies. Given his record of lies and manipulations, the world needs to realize it has a lot to be afraid of.

The bottom lines: Bush is not interested in any global warming initiatives that are not profitable for his pals in industry. His priority is only the most money to his cronies. He's not concerned about anything more or less. That interest includes political and military fronts as well. Which means he's looking for more enemies and Russia can join the list with Iran.

Danger, danger, a liar is on the loose. Lookout, world.

more on darfur

I recommend clicking on over to the left-wing blog Lenin's Tomb for the discussion of Darfur I haven't seen elsewhere. At last some light on the subject that makes sense. The discussion is sparked by new divisions in the mainstream "save darfur" movement over humanitarian concerns v. political/military ones.

Clear-thinking at last:

"It might make liberals feel good to demand the use of force when there are plainly atrocities going on. It certainly overcomes the feeling of helplessness to imagine that the President of the most militarily powerful nation of the world might be on your side. But such a policy is not only impracticable, in that it expects no-fly zones to be imposed over a region almost the same size as France, and not only destructive since it threatens to stop or dramatically curtail aid flights....And it inaugurates de facto, and sustained, military confrontation with the government of Sudan, which would have potentially catastrophic consequences. It is an imperialist policy, that is, not a solution that has been conceived with a view to enhancing the condition of Darfurians on any front..."

i can has revolushun?

Okay, so I'm a fan of lolspeak. I can has cheezeburgers. lolgays. I've seen lol stark trek. even lol porn. It's not just the unbearably cute kittens, it's the near-retarded syntax. I can't help it, it all cracks me up. So the Scarlet Menace introduces its "LOL Mao" line. Three basic designs on shirts and mugs: Two with Mao "I Can Has Revolushun? KThx Bai", "Oh Hai, We'z Fightin' Imperializm," and, featuring Kim Jong Il instead of Mao, "We'z On Ur Shirt (or in Ur Cup) Washin' Yer Brain."

Theez has flavor! Go shop at The Scarlet Menace now!

rotten fish

I've been thinking about one of the things bothering me about the Iraq war and the "discussion" of what should happen in Iraq in the american press and realized the same thing bothers me about discussion of Darfur and all sorts of other world flashpoints.

Darfur is a rotten fish. I wonder what those who call for no flight zones or sanctions or troops or whatever think would really happen if anglo-american-etc. intervention actually occurred?
as near as I can tell, the discussing of goings-on in the Sudan in the drawing rooms of London has been one of the world's problems for near 150 years, and is one of the things that needs to stop. Maybe the American do-gooders are more well intentioned than General Chinese Gordon and the classic British Imperialists of yore who met their match in the Mahdist rebellion in the Sudan in the late 19th century, but maybe they're not. This is not some kind of backyard, some annex to the parlor, some terrain diorama under glass or perhaps a really involved version of The Sims or Second Life.

Americans and English need to stop worrying about saving "good" Africans from "bad" Africans and start worrying how to save the rest of the world from the Americans and the English.

Americans and English need to stop worrying about what the "bad" Iraqis might do to the "good" Iraqis when the invasion forces leave, and start trying to prevent the next paroxysm of imperialist violence, and start materially atoning for the too much that has already been done.

US democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards seems decent enough, with some good positions and currently an anti-war stance. But he calls himsef an expert on fighting poverty while charging tens of thousands of dollars to give a speech (on poverty no less), lives in a millions of dollars estate, and can afford to pay hundreds of dollars for a haircut. Beware of rich people talking about poverty, and beware of imperialists talking about helping out in Africa or the middle east.

Toshikatsu Matsuoka, positive role model for scandal-ridden Bush administration

CNN reports that Japanese agricultural minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka has committed suicide rather than face the music in the face of a corruption scandal. May I modestly suggest that corrupt, scandal plagued members of the Bush adminstration follow in his footsteps. Karl Rove? Consider leaving the oven on and un-lit. Alberto Gonzales? Consider potato stuck in your car's exhaust pipe. Dick Cheney? Oh definitely razor blades and a tub of warm water.

It's memorial day, do the right thing. Perhaps in memory of the almost 4 thousand Americans whose lives you have wasted and the thousands upon thousands of Iraqis whose lives you have stolen.

Cold War Veteran's Association

I've developed a full line of CWVA items for The Scarlet Menace. They have a sense of humor, but I realize they're also expressing something--all of the Scarlet Menace is actually--about what I feel. It's not that I'm an ideological communist. Read anything about Stalin, Mao or the rest of their ilk and the deeper you go the more the more you realize what a facade they maintained. But at the same time I miss that facade. For me the propaganda, the socialist realism, the imagery of people united and struggling, is a kind of religious vision: an idealized expression of a world that didn't really exist and certainly doesn't now. The soviet secret police was the self-destructive reality behind many of the iconic expressions of freedom and justice. The red and black are strong spiritually compelling colors. That world is gone, but that spiritual hunger for equality, for righteousness, for freedom, for collectivity, for a reality that matches our aspirations, that remains. The ideology is discredited, and probably for good reason. But the symbols holds their power.

I am a veteran of the cold war. I served its front lines by being a more-or-less card-carrying communist for almost ten years. Its struggles informed my childhood; its memories color our new world of narcissistic money-based nihilism. The desperation of the so-called terrorists, the desperation of the so-called warriors on terror, it's all a reflection of the destruction, along with everything that was bad about the cold war era, of everything that was good about it and its time of politically and ideologically-based liberation struggle.

Yes, there were firing squads and brutality behind Mao's cultural revolution. There were firing squads and Siberian camps behind Stalin's nationalization of the Leninist ideal. But there was something else as well. Something the world misses.

Hope.

WTF with this liar

So WTF, Bush has some nerve talking about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden being a threat. How can anybody listen to this liar? Wasn't Bush saying a couple years ago that Osama was no longer relevant and finding him was no longer so important? Didn't he start a war with Saddam instead of follow through with Al Qaeda? Get these war-mongerers out. The so called war on terror is a farce.

1 point Obama, 1 point Hillary

Well the democrats showed their spinelessness and voted for the war money. I am happy, and honestly surprised, to report that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama voted against them. Let's hope that is the beginning of some real leadership. I sent emails to both of them. It's very easy to do, and presumably these politicians have people tallying up the emails that come in.

But the war still needs to be ended. And soon.

spineless democrats

According to the Huffington Post, Democrats in congress are preparing to pull any language demanding withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq from the war funding bill to end the impasse with Bush. What a pathetic cave in. The war needs to be ended, why can't these fools just stand up to principle? U.S. TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ--NOW AND FOREVER!

I'm sure hoping the alleged anti-war presidential candidates currently in government vote against any stripped down funding proposals. Anything less is supporting no the troops, but the president and his malicious war-mongering folly.

Jesus Is My Comrade

I'm proud to announce a new line at The Scarlet Menace. "XXXX Is My Comrade" will combine imagery from two of the world's great religions. Now available, "Jesus Is My Comrade" mugs, tees, bags, and tiles; and "Thor Is My Comrade" mugs and mead steins. Our deities stand in for Mao courtesy of the "Miracle" of modern technology. Happy shopping and God(s) bless. More to come.

the good die young

Jerry Falwell has died at age 73. (Thanks to Joe.My.God. for being first on the news!) Except for the fact that I don't believe in hell, I would wish that he rot there. Sadly, he spent his entire life trying to make the world a living hell for those who didn't fit his bigoted, narrow vision of religious morality. A vengeful militarist, a man who campaigned tirelessly to show his hatred for gay people, the world is now rid of him. Unfortunately, he leaves behind him several hundred thousand rabid believers. Pat Robertson, Fred Phelps, Ted Haggard, the rest of your ilk--Jerry Falwell requests the pleasure of your company six feet under.

Long live Tinky-Winky!

wasted lives

An article I found through the Huffington Post says that U.S. officials are saying we should "brace for a jump in casualties" in Iraq. Nowhere is there sadder, more tragic evidence that the war in Iraq must end now, and immediately. Somehow Bush believes that doing more of the same, wasting more young American--and countless Iraqi--life will have different result than the chaos it has produced in the last four years.

The Democrats must tell it like it is. Every single loss of life in Iraq from this day forward is a tragic waste. Every life lost to Bush's folly is another life squandered. While the American politicians debate and equivocate, and Iraqi politicians do lord knows what, people are dying, and none of those deaths mean a thing. These lives are not an obscene investment, that somehow things will get better if they are spent now. These lives are flesh and blood people, loved by many, that will be gone for nothing.

Many people now realize that the U.S. should not have upset the Iraqi apple cart in the first place. But this is the truth that must be embraced now: The US can do NOTHING now to prevent further deterioration in Iraq except leave. The longer the US stays, the more wasteful death, the more tragedy, the more hatred that young middle-easterners will feel toward this country.

Stop the debates. Stop the so-caled bipartisan negotiations. End this war now. Withdraw today, or tomorrow, but NOW.

Support the troops? Then bring them home!

massive upgrade to The Scarlet Menace

New products, new look, new images. Comrades, stay tuned for even more!

lolgays

in the brilliant spirit of "I can has cheezburgers," comes "lolgays" courtesy of a gawker fan. only this time it's not bizarrely syntaxed captions on cute animal pics, it's bizarrely syntaxed captions on photos of gays! well, plus LOTS of photos of gerbils. all in good fun. Bravo, LOLGAYS! Snarkiness rocks!

God save us from giuliani time

So republican presidential hopeful and would-be dictator of New York City Rudy Giuliani has threatened, in the words of a NYT letter writer, the American public with "voting for him or dying". Apparently despite the fact that 9/11 happened while republicans were in office locally and nationally, he thinks somehow the bumbling tragedy of Bush's Iraq war is actually preventing the so-called terrorists from attacking us again. Such a fool.

He has also now repudiated his own support of civil unions for gay couples. Saying some religious claptrap about marriage being a sacred bond between a man and a woman, this drag-wearing gasbag who has been married three times and cheated on all his wives somehow thinks he's more entitled to privilege than monogamous gay life partners. Such pandering to the backwards red-staters. Such bigotry and hipocrisy. Should American fools actually vote him into office they will deserve what they get.

It's somehow actually shocking to me that Republicans--and half the country, apparently--live in his dreamworld of lies, corruption and hipocrisy.
Me, I choose differently.

harry reid tells it like it is

I don't know a lot about Democratic Senator Harry Reid...I'm tld he's socially conservative and not such a progressive guy. But I've been pretty impressed with some of what he's said about ending the Iraq war. Here's my new all-time favorite quote from him, in response to some evil, baiting, dishonest sniping from Vice President Strangelove, er, Cheney:

"Mr. Reid said he was not going to engage in a tit-for-tat with the vice president. “I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating,” Mr. Reid said."

Bravo, Harry Reid!

more on the menace

okay, now I have a logo, or a first try at one anyway. ta-da!

shop at The Scarlet Menace often!

the scarlet menace

well actually I'm not sure anybody reads this blog except me and the occasional hectored friend, but here's news on the propaganda front.

I've started a modest cafe press store, called The Scarlet Menace. I will be transforming some of my favorite propaganda images to housewares for the new urban revolutionary. or for the nostalgic boomer. Anyway check it out. I make a small profit, you get cool stuff.

If anybody buys any of it I will transform the shop into something bigger. Only one image up now, plenty more to come.

crazy AND bloodthirsty

So when asked about Iran on a recent campaign stop, aging senator John McCain began to sing "bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann". this is an international disgrace. apparently this veteran of the imperialist debacle in Vietnam is having fond flash backs to the days he was shot down bombing the heroic people of Vietnam. Sadly, he will no doubt die before being brought up on war crimes charges. If the united states attacks Iran, it deserves anything it gets. I just hope I have time to step out of the way.

meanwhile, John McCain needs to check himself into a rest home and refrain from bloodthirsty inhumane calls to slaughter.

pray for peace.

a good day in Baghdad?

so the shootings in Virginia were sad. one gunman, 32 dead, plus or minus. but frankly I'm a little sick of how special Americans think they are.

they marched into Iraq, killed a few hundred or a few thousand people, and by smashing a state, a society, a culture, opened the door to violence that has taken potentially hundreds of thousands of lives. these lives are 100% the fault of George W. Bush, his henchman, cronies, AND the people who voted for him. one deranged gunman? 32 dead teenagers? Imagine what it would be like to live in a country where a foreign country has destroyed everything your know to be familiar about your life, the good with the bad, and caused the death of that many people--at LEAST that many people--every day. Not once every few years, every DAY. where the soldiers of that country have the right with impunity to march into your house, look in your closet, look under your bed, arrest your mother, slap your uncle, shoot at your car while you're out for groceries, kill you, simply because, well, simply because nothing.

dead americans? dead iraqis? I don't see a difference. do you? are you really sadder today, than yesterday? than tomorrow? the campus at virginia tech is peaceful today. and will be tomorrow. Baghdad? Fallujah? Karbala? Ramadi?

Me, I'm out of tears.

questions on Darfur

okay. so George Clooney--who is a hottie--and Mia Farrow--who is an apparent kook--notwithstanding, I am not convinced that the stories we read and hear about "genocide" in the Darfur region of the Sudan are as black and white as made out. here are my questions.
1. why have well-meaning movie stars become the most important "political" activists on Darfur? what does this say about politics? about americans? do they actually know more on the subject?
2. what exactly do they want to happen? do they want--as first, last, any resort--the u.s. to attack Sudan or intercede in some way militarily?
3. are the numbers of victims of the so-called genocide accurate? what is the population of Sudan? of Darfur?
4. why did the united states bomb the Al Shifa pharmaceuticals factory in the Sudan? was it a "terrorist" factory or a pharmaceuticals factory?
5. what is the relationship of Israel to the Sudan? to Chad? to China?
6. are there exploited or unexploited natural resources in Darfur, elsewhere in Sudan or in Chad?
7. who are the rebels in Darfur? what is their relationship to the u.s.?
8. given apparent Chinese economic dominance in Africa, how does the global competition between China and the u.s. factor in?
9. what did/does the South Sudan Liberation Army, a non-Muslim force, say about Darfur?
10. what does it suggest that near-fascist far-right senator Sam Brownback is allied with numerous liberal spokespeople on the subject?
11. savedarfur.org advocates establishing a "no-fly zone" over Sudan similar to the one the u.s. military maintained over Iraq prior to the unprovoked American attack and invasion. how do they see that enforced?
12. also from savedarfur.org: "Bill Frist, a Nashville surgeon, is a former Senate Majority Leader from Tennessee. Each year he travels to Africa to serve as a medical missionary. This past February, Senator Frist returned to Sudan to see first hand the unfolding humanitarian crisis." That's a pretty misleading way to describe one of the most right-wing politicians in the u.s. ...what is the relationship of evangelical christians and neocolonialist missionaries to this so-called humanitarian issue? do evangelical Christians prosletyze among refugees?

international admiration society

so here's another piece of North Korean propaganda. pretty direct message...without reading Korean it's not hard to imagine what this might say. propaganda is such a fascinatingly visceral art form.

Marketplace of Lies

So senator and presidential hopeful John McCain was touring Iraq with a coterie of republicans. They announced how safe it was to walk around Baghdad, and that the open air market was just like an open air market in Indiana.

I was gratified to read in the New York Times an interview with several of the Iraqi merchants. They complained that the notoriety brought by the descent of a hoard of American politicians was likely to make the market even more dangerous than it already is. They pointed out that the politicians considered it safe only while the market was closed off by a security cordon including hovering air support, in the company of over 100 heavily armed soldiers, and that the americans all wore body armor. Nice day for shopping. The Iraqi merchants shook their heads at the ridiculousness of the publicity stunt. The article also mentions one general buying a small $1 rug, paying for it with a $20 bill, and saying imperiously, keep the change. Hmmm, didn't know you could use dollars in Iraq. Can you say, "neo-colonial occupation"?

It's clear that John McCain is walking down the path of lies laid for him by the current administration. Not sure why he thinks that might be a winning strategy but it sure is evidence, as I have long argued, that he's a nutcase.

In other news Hillary Clinton wants to keep U.S. bases in Iraq after her promised withdrawal, or more properly, wants to keep her options open in case her triangulation team decides she needs a different position. Yeah, keeping U.S. bases in Iraq sounds like a great idea. She is really a monster.

Finally, I heard a wonderful interview with Dennis Kucinich, also running a sadly hopeless campaign for president. His strong and completely hedge-free (listen up, Obama!) views on the need to withdraw from Iraq immediately remind me why I voted for him back in the 2004 primary. Too bad he seems not to have a snowball's chance in American hell.

Paranoid conspiracy theory of the moment: So the republicans seem to be having such a hard time picking a candidate who's not crazy or tarred by inelectibility. What if they killed off Dick Cheney and appointed a Bush-approved veep who could then be annointed as successor in time for the elections? Keep your eyes peeled. Also keep your eyes peeled for the resemblance between Rudy Giuliani and Count Chocula.

lying sacks of sh*t

so I don't have a lot to say on this subject, except the obvious. george bush expects people to believe that his agents will testify on the fired federal attorneys issue only behind closed doors, not under oath, and with no record. such utter contempt for the american people. he belongs in jail, as does alberto gonzalez, karl rove, harriet myers, dick cheney, and his entire administration. after they rot in american jail for a while then they can be sent to the hague for prosecution as war criminals. enough!

...and now fur sumthins verrrry different

swing the cuteness meter over to high, it's lolcats. yeah, no bitching about politics, wars, injustice, or the weather today, cuz cute cute cats are here! thanks to gawker for ruining my reputation and pointing out this uber cute site with its very own syntax and unbelievably kute photos of kittinz and katz. I could look at "excuse me do you has a flavor" all day. yeah, I'm sick. One day I will blog about the backyard cats, tentatively named Willy, Pickles, Scooter, Fraidycat, and Garcia. But I would really have to discuss Henry and Jimmie first, and I have some pride left. Not lots, but some.

Perhaps I can redeem myself by urging contributions to the kill-free shelter where I got my current roommates, the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition. Their website seems to be down today but you can find it on the web.

you senators can go fuck yourselves

Okay, sad to report that both Hillary Clinton (who I really dislike) and Barack Obama (who I really like) have massively equivocated on their response to General Pace's remarks. Both senators/presidential candidates refused to say "homosexuality is not immoral" when asked directly to comment on General Pace's statement. Both candidates chose to duck and focus instead on whether it was appropriate to inject personal beliefs into government policy. Both senators have issued somewhat conciliatory clarifications, but neither has said what they need to. Apparently it's okay to take lots of money from gay people, to say to our faces that they support us, but then refuse to stand up for us when we are not the only audience. Hillary, you're beyond redemption. This is probably strike 347. Obama, this is strike 1. Careful. That poster isn't staying up in my window when you get to 3.

senator of the moral?

I was reading in the gay blog Towleroad about the varying responses to u.s. general Pace suggesting gay people are "immoral" and should therefore be excluded from the military. Excluding, for a moment, the obvious question of what the hell kind of morality is that that approves of killing arab children, women and men at will, but opposes human identity, (and for that matter why on earth gay people would WANT to join the military) I'm happy to hear NPR's favorite republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback show his true colors. Brownback has endorsed Pace's ideas and lauded his courage for expresssing his moral convictions. So I wrote Brownback a note on his website. It's a little wimpy. But here it is.

Dear Mr. Brownback:
I have never counted myself one of your supporters. But even I am surprised you would go to the depths of endorsing General Pace's characterizing gay people as "immoral" and lauding him for the courage of his convictions. As a gay man who had no choice in my hair color, eye color, skin color, or sexual orientation, I am hurt that you, in this day and age, would condemn so many people as "immoral". These are backwards, mean-spirited ideas. God creates us each one to be the special individual we are, and that means some of us are gay and some of us straight. Hold whatever politicsl positions you like; oppose whatever you disagree with: I can accept these even as I remain in disagreement with you. But I cannot, and hope the American people cannot, sit by idly while you, a senator of alledgedly all the people--and there are many gay people in Kansas--cavalierly sit in God's chair issuing condemnations and judgments. You owe gay Americans an apology.

I left out the nasty parts floating in my mind. Brownback's politics are slightly to the right of the late Ayatollah Khomeini and I'm actually shocked at how nicely he's treated by the press.

calling all exorcists

So speaking of human sacrifice, according to CNN:

Mayan Indian leaders have vowed to "spiritually cleanse" an ancient site in Guatemala after U.S. President George W. Bush visits on Monday as he works his way through Latin America on a seven-day, five-nation tour.

Apparently the Mayan elders are concerned that Bush will be bringing along too many evil spirits. Perhaps they can smell the same sulfurous fumes that Venezuelan leader Chavez smelled. I can certainly smell them here in NYC. I recommend copious amounts of copal, a resin which is well-known in Central America and Mexico for its spiritually cleansing properties.

So yes, even the remnants of a culture which once practiced human sacrifice are finding Bush and his etheric coterie too horrifying. Perhaps this is because the Mayans had the wisdom to abolish human sacrifice, while Bush still practices it. Daily he offers up the blood of young Iraqi and American men and women to his evil gods. May the day come soon when all people learn the wisdom of the Maya and abolish this new human sacrifice.

I'm going to go burn some copal right now.

victims

The "Dirty Sanchez" fellow may be penalized for all this hou-ha over being a porn marine.

I'm going to say it.

I don't like the US government. I don't like the US marines. I don't like people who like the government. I don't like people who choose to join the marines. I don't like military/patriotic culture. I don't like Ann Coulter. I don't like people who choose to embrace Ann Coulter. I don't like people who go to conservative rallies. I don't like people who support the war. I don't like people who associate with people who think it's okay to use the word faggot in a hateful way. For that matter I don't like the kind of porn that Matt "dirty" Sanchez starred in, all plastic-looking people acting like robots. I don't like people who victimize gay people for who they are.

These people, they all deserve what they get. There are other choices, other paths. Choose an alternative.

propaganda

so I'm fascinated by anti-American propaganda. maybe it's just my mood. here's an OSPAAAL poster I just bought. this poster is gently suggesting U.S. troops leave South Korea "immediately". North Korean stamps also have some amazing propaganda images. I'll post some of those later.

stop the planet, I want to get off

apparently I am an alien who was kidnapped by earthlings and raised among them. however, now I'm hoping the mothership returns to pick me up soon because I'm no longer finding my anthropological studies of earthling behavior very interesting. it seems that earthlings, and a closely related subspecies, republicans, have values, experiences, and identities quite different than my own. I'm grateful to the mothership and the brave alien scientists who placed me here for making sure that the food, water, and atmosphere here on earth was compatible with our own back home on the planet, well, whatever it's called, but they failed to check for other toxic incompatibilities.

one of the blogs I read regularly which is quite interesting, is Joe. My. God. There's been a feature lately about this guy Dirty Sanchez--um, er, Matt Sanchez--a fairly unattractive and very shallow ex gay pornstar now hanging out with the likes of Ann Coulter and Newt Gingrich. this pornstar is a typical mirror-gazing narcissist who is now denouncing Columbia University's student body for being leftist. he's a marine, apparently thinking now that he's spent years shooting jizz for the entertainment of gay men he'd like to go kill some Arabs. with my fellow gay men (and the bears who who are well represented by JMG) I'm horrified by this fellow. but more than that I'm horrified by what he represents. The ridiculous "facercise" exercises, the unappealing pornography, the unappealing over-gymmed body, the shocking right-wing politics, I can only draw the conclusion that I belong to an alien culture and have been accidently left here among this nation of narcissists.

I watched an episode of American Idol. Untalented narcissists caterwauling and whining. Each time I saw someone's so-caled singing praised I wondered how my own idea of actual musical talent could be so different than what America--hmmm perhaps I shoud bring back Amerikkka--seems to enjoy. Surely on my own planet singing is pleasant and tuneful: this alleged talent is apparently overly influenced by some earth-based viral contaminant.

Then there's Bravo TV. Often entertaining. Well, like watching a train wreck or a bad accident on the freeway. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Workout. Top Design. Who ARE these people? How did they get their heads trapped so far up their own sphincters? Do these people live their whole lives thinking absolutely....nothing? Perhaps global warming has overheated their brains and caused irreversible damage?

I could go on and on. I'm not sure if the alien overlords read blogs, but if you do, dear overlords, please send the Mothership soon, and hurry! Beam me up!

why Mitt Romney won't be president

former massachusetts governor and republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has many unfortunate traits. at this early stage of the presidential election his primary liability is seen as his religion: he's a Mormon. I wish his primary liability was seen as his utterly hateful anti-gay bigotry. He's gone out of his way to ingratiate himself to the religious right by offering up gays as a political sacrifice. I actually think Mormons are fascinating, and am happy to say it's not his religion that frightens me. But here's a funny story that makes me think, wow, he really has no chance as a Momon to be accepted by americans.

when I was spending a lot of time in the world of Santeria (I am an initiated priest of Obatala, though completely inactive), I knew this lesbian couple in the religion. They were middle-aged, New York social worker types, very borough, and very dedicated to the religion. Half the couple was of Jewish ancestry, half Puerto Rican. As santeros they were very strict, but they had a lovely house in the religion. One of their daughter's was initiated, and they and their house members were very welcoming to me, a white gay man. One was a priestess of Ochun, and the other, of Obatala.

Anyway, they had recently taken a tour out west. They had gone to Salt Lake City. And described their visit to the Mormon Tabernacle. They said it was lovely. The one telling the tale said, "oh yes, we saw the altar." She lowered her voice conspiratorially, and looked left and right. "You know. The main altar. Where they do the human sacrifices."

So yes, a Santeria Priestess who regularly wrung the heads off chickens and participated in numerous rituals where various barnyard animals were offered up to the Orishas, the gods of Santerias (it's a long story), a priestess of a religion often vilified and misrepresented in tabloid media, this priestess actually believed Mormons perform human sacrifice as part of their religion.

Now maybe it is I who is naive, but somehow I don't think so. So I might wish that Mitt Romney's hateful actions against gay people would disqualify him from being a viable political candidate, but I will have to settle for the misconceptions of the ignorant. I guess either way we win.

Too bad about those Mormons though. They seem like nice people.

american legacy

I remember when Al Sharpton first burst on the scene. He was divisive, abrasive, and the cause celebre which first made him famous was ugly. I won't mention her name here, it's not necessary. But a lot of time has passed and a lot of water has gone under that bridge. In the 20+ years since those days he's run for president, matured his ideals in the crucible of New York and American racial poltics, and become the leader he once only wished he was. His sense of humor is truly refreshing. His positions, such as his views on gay issues, have truly evolved as he embraced the logic of struggle for justice he has bravely pursued. He's still at times bombastic, still quirky, still abrasive, but I find him so much less divisive and I actually really like him now.

So the news has come, courtesy of an investigative investigation by the New York Daily News that his ancestors were once owned as slaves by ancestors of the late conservative segregationist politician Strom Thurmond. The phrase "only in America" takes on new and bitter meaning. On the one hand, how far we have come. On the other, what a bitter legacy to know this country was built on such cruel foundations. It leaves one speechless to consider the implications of such a revelation. The fact that Thurmond remained a staunch racist and that anyone--ANYONE--in this country in this century supported him is such sad witness to how much is undone in the healing of America's most tragic legacy.

Filmmaker Spike Lee's production company is named "Forty Acres and a Mule" after the empty promise of reparation made to freed slaves after the civil war. The news of Sharpton's ancestral lineage should make Americans work to fulfill that promise...not in the literal doling out of land and beasts of burden but in the uprooting and healing of racism and the ugly remnants of America's slaveowner past. All states must repudiate and apologize for slavery, as Virginia has begun to do. The confederate flag must be rooted out, like the swastika in Germany.

Al Sharpton is an American hero.

affiliations

I was browsing around wikipedia, an amazing resource for all sorts of arcane history and was inspired to write the following list of organizations I have been affiliated with. Hmm. Not sure if it's complete. Wow. I'm a weirdo!

Spartacus Youth League/Spartacist League US
The Spark
Gay Revolutionary Discussion Group
Revolutionary Socialist League
Coalition to Stop The Movie Cruising
Lavender Left
Coalition Against Racism, Antisemitism, Sexism and Heterosexism (CRASH)
Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee
sad coalition organizing sad gay march on United Nations, 1984, name forgotten
Democratic Party
Jesse Jackson for President committee, don't remember official name
New Moon New York
Coven of the Middle Pillar
Queer Pagans
Ile Yemaya Asinyabi
United Church of Christ
Unitarian Universalist Association
InDesign Users Group
American Philatelic Society
Metrobears

neo-imperialism at play

some miscellaneous tidbits of "good" news:

While I wouldn't be shocked to learn tomorrow it's all fallen through, North Korea has now been bullied into surrendering energy independence for dependence on polluting fossil fuels and the charity of the west.

I'm heartened to see all the suspicion over the bush regime's pathetic attempt to link Iran to the insurgency in Iraq. Uh, the shi'ites are "our" allies, dude, the government. The insurgents, those would be the ones allied to Saudi Arabia, oh, "our" ally as well. Um, yeah, makes sense. Remember the reichstag fire.

Bombings and assassinations in Lebanon: Um, go watch "Munich" and explain to me why the bombings and the assasinations of the past few years are the work of alleged pro-Syrian elements and not the Israeli mossad?

Imperialist patsy prime minister Howard of Australia says that Al Qaeda would be happy to see Barack Obama win. Hmmm, is Karl Rove vacationing down under? The nerve. As near as I can tell, Obama rocks. Blessed indeed.

the root of all evil

I was gonna write about how I received a fund-raising mailing from the Hillary Clinton for President campaign that shockingly didn't even mention Iraq; shockingly didn't oppose the war, shockingly didn't apologize for voting for the war, shockingly didn't even mention the biggest issue facing this country and how shocked--SHOCKED-- I was and then I learned of Anna Nicole Smith's shocking untimely passing, and seeing that item lead off every news page and blog I click on I think, well, wait, isn't that kind of actually the same story anyway?

We, and by that I do not mean "we" (see below), are fuc*ed.

what do you mean "we"

so this is not a new joke, but it's my favorite one. so now it's preserved for posterity. it dates me, yes, but what the heck, it also has a pretty profound political message.

The Lone Ranger and his loyal sidekick Tonto have been pursued by howling, shrieking Indians into a canyon. bullets and arrows are flying fast and furious.
looking around frantically from the back of his steed Silver, the Lone Ranger
shouts grimly to his Indian friend, "Tonto! I think this is the end! We're
surrounded." Tonto turns to the Lone Ranger and says, "What do you mean 'WE',
white man."

Ah yes. Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

ugly americans

finally the u.s. house of representatives is debating some of the disaster that has taken place in iraq since george bush attacked. I'm torn between being glad that some of the dirty laundry is being aired and being shocked that somehow the internal affairs of another country are now the daily debate in the u.s. government. i wonder what it's like to be a dancing puppet like the iraqi government, especially given their untenable position of one string pulled by the u.s. and the other pulled by iran. In the end millions more people in the world will have even more cause to hate americans.

so here's another scan from a 1971 Chinese children's book. Yes, that shows a little Vietnamese boy throwing a hand grenade and blowing up american soldiers. You would have to hate the united states an awful lot to generate that kind of proopaganda. Saddest of all, "we" never seem to learn.

i restate it: every single death--soldier, civilian, iraqi, american, terrorist, innocent, woman, man, child--is squarely the fault of one man. not osama, not saddam. that one man is george bush. think about it. what are we going to do about it?

and now for a little violent revolution

courtesy of the Chinese cultural revolution. as if.

faggot!

So a friend of mine asked my opinion about the latest Hollywood slander fest. You know, where the one actor from Grey's Anatomy (an African-American) called another, a recently "out" white guy, a faggot. I'm editing this post from my email with her.

I've been having a hard time following this. Mostly cuz while I enjoy gossip, read Gawker several times a day, etc etc, I can't get too riled up by Hollywood types misbehaving. When so many people are being killed in Iraq and Americans seem blindfolded to Bush's imminent attack on Iran (set off by a pretext that, no doubt, will put the Reichstag fire to shame) it's hard to get worked up about some actors who haven't learned their social graces. I also tried to watch Grey's anatomy once and didn't really get it, so I dunno, yawn. :)

I mean, did you read that thing about Celebrity Big Brother where one cast member made racist comments about the resident Bollywood star? You know I'm glad that had a happy ending, but really, did it need to be the lead on cnn.com? I'm sure I can go someplace and be called "faggot" and my African-American friend can go someplace and be called choice names much easier than winning a place on a televised reality show. There's a lot of things a lot better about the world in the last few years but, well you know, it ain't THAT much better!

stop meddling?

the white house is issuing ultimatums to iran to "stop meddling" in iraq. c'mon. is that the biggest display of hypocritical chutzpah ever? the bush regime invades a country, knocks down its government and virtually its entire society, runs the country with puppet strings, and then accuses somebody else of MEDDLING?

this must stop.

ANY DEMOCRAT WHO ABETS THE BUSH REGIME'S FURTHER DRIVE TO WAR WITH IRAN (listen up, Hillary) OR EQUIVOCATES ON THE NEED FOR WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ IS NO BETTER THAN BUSH.

proud to be american?

I created this image shortly after the invasion. I'm saddened to think that now, 4 years later, it's just as relevant, just as sad. And not proud at all.

palestine

This is an illustration from a Chinese children's book from 1970. A classic example of Chinese inspirational propaganda art. More to come.

the best of fidel

it's pretty obvious that fidel castro is about to leave the world stage. there's plenty to criticize about fidel, though the creepy rich exiles waiting in miami to reclaim their fincas and mansions at the expense of the Cuban people do not exactly have my sympathy. anyway, here is an excerpt that caught my eye from his "second declaration of havana" in the early 1960s.

"The duty of every revolutionary is to make the revolution. It is known that the revolution will triumph in America and throughout the world, but it is not for revolutionaries to sit in the doorways of their houses waiting for the corpse of imperialism to pass by. The role of Job doesn't suit a revolutionary. Each year that the liberation of America is speeded up will mean the lives of millions of children saved, millions of intelligences saved for culture, an in­finite quantity of pain spared the people. Even if the Yankee imperialists prepare a bloody drama for America, they will not succeed in crushing the peoples' struggles, they will only arouse universal hatred against themselves. And such a drama will also mark the death of their greedy and carnivorous system. "

okay, forty years later. still waiting. I guess we've all become Job.

Not For Black People Only

Tomorrow is the birthday of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., probably the most heroic man of the last century. All people who live in this country--and not just African Americans--live better lives because of him and his brave and selfless pursuit of justice, peace, and equality. I'm saddened when I hear my white friends act like it's only a holiday for black people. Dr. King gave his life so that all of us could be free of the shackles of racism and injustice. While his struggle is not complete he took us light years from the remnants of pre-civil war barbarism into the light of hope and possibility. It's our responsibility to carry forward his vision and make that dream of love and civility and peace a reality for this and future generations.

All praises to Dr. King; may his light shine forever.

Turiyasangitananda Transcends

Several friends have forwarded me sad news that Turiyasangitananda, Alice Coltrane, has passed at age 69. I count her as one of my great musical inspirations and this news makes me very sad. I feel so lucky to have seen her perform twice. Her albums are things of singular, passionate, eccentric beauty, compelling in their purposefulness and spiritual dedication.

As her spirit joins the ancestors and transcends to other planes I thank her for her presence in our lives and may her music live forever.

people of the world, unite and defeat u.s. imperialism and all its running dogs

yeah those are the immortal words of chairman Mao, who didn't apparently mean them so much (visualize the photo of him toasting president Nixon in Beijing while u.s. bombs rained on Hanoi). anyway, as u.s. special forces carry out continuing attacks on Somalia and as president Bush announces his escalation of the war/occupation of Iraq with a new campaign of urban repression and warfare these words need to be repeated.

sigh.

gerald ford, we beg your pardon

I've been remiss in mentioning the passing of James Brown and Saddam Hussein and not Gerald Ford. I was alive during Ford's presidency, and it seems very different what I remember from what is currently being eulogized.

I choose to remember him through african-american poet and singer Gil Scott-Heron's masterful work "Pardon Our Analysis (We Beg Your Pardon)" from his 1975 album Midnight Band: The First Minute of a New Day.

We beg your pardon because the pardon you gave this time was not yours to give
they call it due process and some people are... overdue
we beg your pardon america
somebody said brother man gonna break a window
gonna steal a hubcab gonna smoke a joint brother man gonna go to jail
the main who tried to steal america is not in jail
get caught with a nickel bag brother man
get caught with a nickel bag sister lady on your way to get your hair fixed
you'll do big ben and big ben is time but a man who tried a fix America will not do time
say they gonna slap his wrist
gonna retire him with $850,000 and America is shocked
America leads the world in shocks
unfortunately America does not lead the world in deciphering the cause of shocks
.....
what are the results of this pardon...
we now have oatmeal man
anytime you find someone in the middle
anytime you find someone who is tepid
anytime you find someone who is lukewarm
anytime you find someone who has been in congress for 25 years and nobody ever heard of him you have
oatmeal man
oatmeal man straddling uncomfortably 25 feet of barbed wire
...
We beg your pardon America, because the pardon you gave, this time, was not yours to give.

I've left out many of the best parts. It's brilliant. Check it out and remember the truth.

happy new year

I spent a quiet new year's eve with my boyfriend watching tv. I'm very grateful to be able to say those words. I've had exciting new years' eves, and sad ones, and lonely ones, and over-stimulated ones, and boring ones, and familial ones. I'm not sure I believe any of the popular sayings about new years and its oracular effect upon the year: I felt no omens last night. But I was happy, and while I'm focusing on the selfish, may the rest of the year pass this way.

My prayers for the new year for my self:
Finding a new job/career
Restoring my spiritual center
Maintaining good health
Deepening my relationship(s)
Listening to lots of great music
Getting rid of some stuff
Continuing to rebuild my stamp collection
Doing something creative
Being happy
Spending time with my loved ones
Spending time honoring my ancestors and spirit guides
Good health and happiness for my mom, my boyfriend, my friends, my cats

My prayers for the world:
peace peace peace
no new wars or invasions, not even in Darfur, despite many peoples' good intentions
may the democrats not turn out as evil as the republicans
justice
gay marriage in new york
hope for the palestinians
no terrorism in new york or anywhere
may God save us from Rudy Giuliani or McCain as president
may God protect Cuba, and even North Korea and Iran from the US

hanging despots

They killed Saddam Hussein today. I feel a kind of sadness. Not for the end, exactly, of a man who was a cruel dictator, but for another milestone in an unceasing unfolding tragedy. I've been reading up on Iraq...its leaders seem usually to come to a bad end. Assassination is the usual method, and this was a kind of slow drawn-out one. A dictator who quite successfully played the world game, gathering support from sheiks and soviets, freedom fighters and criminals, secularists and spiritualists, Saddam possessed the personal power found in few good and many bad men. How odd that image of him from 20 years ago of him shaking hands with a smiling Donald Rumsfeld.. It kind of sums up the arbitrariness of the world of bad men who also play that world game.

As tempted as I am to suggest the further execution of the rest of these bad men, and I wonder what my emotional response would be to images of George W. Bush's lifeless corpse swinging from the same gallows, mostly I think, why don't these bad bad men just leave the rest of us alone.

pray for peace.

the death of soul?

James Brown died early this morning.

James Brown invented the funk. Completely his own man, he was raw sexuality, raw power, raw groove, questionable taste, bad politics, big hair, shiny clothes, a vital font of energy birthed by the caldron of African-American oppression. He was sheer excess, eccentric, kinetic, unrefined. He took a gospel shout, a field holler, and the rhythm of sex and gave birth to the funk.

When I was a little boy he was one of a few Black artists I was not allowed to listen to. Too black, that gyrating tightly clad crotch just a little too much for my otherwise liberal mom. But now we're all listening to him every day, and I can't think of a better way to spend Christmas then to let out the funk and play James Brown.

God Bless the funk.

light/dark

happy solstice. of all the holidays this time of year, take your pick, it's the one I prefer. nothing against the baby Jesus, weird red-dressed fat guys dispensing presents, miraculous oil lamps, or even Maulana's seven principles, but the imminently observable passing of light and darkness and the moment it gives us to pause and consider is what will have me lighting a candle tonight. no chanting, weird robes, or consumerism required. peace.

day of remembrance

it's world aids day, 2006.

peace and blessings to the memory of all those lost, including:

MICHAEL BOTKIN, my friend and roommate in Chicago in 1980 and 1981. a gay hero.
JOE (GALANTI) ALONGI, my friend; revolutionary hero; Michael's boyfriend.
STEVE ROSE, my friend and roommate in New York in 1983 and 1984; gay revolutionary hero.
ALBERT TORRES, my friend and revolutionary hero; Steve's boyfriend.
JOHN MORONEY, my friend in New York in the 1980s and the kindest man I ever met.
DOUG GOULD, my best friend David's boyfriend in New York in the late 1980s.
MARCO ANTONIO OSORIO R, my friend from Mexico and gay revolutionary hero.
DAVE FRECHETTE, my friend and African-American gay hero.
Celebrities ROCK HUDSON, RICHARD LOCKE, PAUL MONETTE, SHARON REDD I never met you but you helped me become who I am.
ALL THE OTHERS--neighbors, idols, friends, friends' friends, enemies, lovers, passers-by--whose faces or names I struggle to remember.

may God and the Spirits bless all of you and keep you forever in our hearts.