Thoth's Open Salon Blog

Vote

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:08:59 -0400

An out-of-breath fourteen-year-old girl in cheap shoes hurries to cross the street, her hand clenches over some cash and an electricity bill. A mother feels like forty miles of bad road, stands abandoned in a super market and ponders whether to buy milk or bread. After he sees his neighbor's newer model Rolls, the crushed millionaire drives his older model into poor areas and feels better. A grateful busboy eats his lunch in the alley next to a dumpster. An au courant angry, bitter, skinny woman wonders how much thinner she should be before becoming rich and famous. Insanity creeps on a teary-eyed father as they take his son—the college student—away to prison on pot charges. Technologically astute BFFs engage in a heated texting fight over whom should convert…the Kim-girl or the Paris-girl; two bros debate, which give more bulk, kettle bells or battle ropes; and an iPhoneless poor beautiful young woman chooses community college over porn but finds no classes available; she still learns to beg instructors for 'add-cards'. "What sin have I committed? You keep sending these stupid ugly heads my way," a television hair-and-makeup stylist says to God. A delusional Tongue-Fu master works his "magic" on his wife as she thinks, "Oh, loser! I can draw you a map, it's never gonna happen!" A priest contemplates a no-brainer: should the church buy food and shoes for poor children or finance Alzheimer's research? In an emergency room, a racist-in-the-make holds his sick daughter for seven hours watching undocumented non-English-speaking people receive treatment while his loved one remains in pain. An IRS agent interrogates an elderly small business owner into a heart attack; after all, he will not let her get away with a few hundred dollars of "taxpayers' money!" The government hands the Wall Street hustlers (aka the "talent" that brought the world economy down) a big chunk of money to cover tens of millions in bonuses. The US Supreme Court rules that money equals free speech, and the defeated Satan apologizes to his trusted demons as he leaves Hell, "I am sorry, I can never top that!"

Meanwhile, a despicable talking head on TV obscenely says, "The American people want this…the American people think that…" What "American people?" To which "people" is this vermin referring?

As guard labor, news anchors/political commentators invite "experts" on political talk shows to do their masters' bidding. No real news, no relevant information, no follow up questions, simply a whole lot a nothing and the message is always, "the status quo is great!" Watching these mockeries, one can easily detect the fake discourse and moronic bullshit. Disgusted by the charade, one cannot help but also realize that even the mediocre suits are worth far more than the talkers in them are. These TV heads redefine politics as cheap gossip; they make the National Enquirer look like a highbrow newspaper. None of these parasites could ever get a job outside the US, let alone be on TV. We, Americans, should demand the return of honest investigative journalism, where the main bulk of the news exposes corruption (Wall Street, banks, corporations, and their gofers) and pernicious legislation. Tell us who is stealing our money and how; otherwise, fire these assholes and give us some decent drama shows.

When a speaker calls on a citizenry, she understandably addresses the poor, the working class, not the rich, and politicians and crowds of all nations know this human universal. The rich do not need help. They have enough money to pay for anything and everything, except may be love and good genes. They also have the same rights as the rest; even the rule of law, by design, protects the rich "more equally." Capitalism is not an egalitarian system. There will always be lucky and unlucky, and everyone loses at some point. Yet illogically, in America, there is a fierce war against the poor, and more people fall into the unlucky category as the gap widens. If you lose in this game of chance, the word is, "You did not want it bad enough; you did not work hard enough."Yet, I can assure you, these are not the reasons I came in third place at the international championship sponsored by prettypenis.com ©.The smug attitude that one should claim all credit for his wealth and that success is eternal is as lame as it is nocuous. The owners of this country have an old simple policy called, "eating the cake and having it too:" in a façade of democracy, legislation will favor the rich and keep the peasants in check. It is all you need to know about American politics.

Every few years the big money commissions the media to stage a fight between the Democrats and the Republicans featuring the President and the Congress. In the last episode of each season, one or both sides will appear to compromise, and the peasants—that is what the big money calls the 90%—will buy the bridge. Meanwhile, each time, the big money ends up getting what it wants: sending the poor to war; cutting taxes for the rich; deregulating Wall Street and repealing the Banking Act of 1933; or raising oil prices. Unfortunately, for Obama, the big money's mandate this term is to cut social programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Education—when the exact opposite is long overdue—and lower taxes on the rich. Even the "liberal media" is selling this cruel injustice by regurgitating the Right-wing slogan, "We all have to make tough choices!" To sustain the illusion of democracy, the big money will occasionally give the dog a fake bone…and later take it away—the Supreme Court rules for Obamacare and the Congress may let the taxes go back up on the rich by 3%, rather than fairly raising their taxes by 30-50%. Incidentally, stifling the internet, the last standing venue of free speech, under the guise of property rights laws, is next.

This obscene level of corruption should neither surprise you, nor faze you in the least. As a citizen, you still have the most power: you can vote. You are the original politician. You do not need an expert to tell you what you want. You know what you and your family need. Vote for those who will deliver; if they don't, vote them out. Don't stand by and watch the states deny others the right to vote; instead, protest, assemble, petition, and take those votes back. You must also closely monitor legislation and know exactly what you are voting for, because the Congress keeps passing many of the most restrictive, most oppressive and most idiotic laws in history…the war on drugs is just one catastrophe. The Religious Right's backward rhetoric against birth control and abortion stems from the belief that women who have sex out of wedlock are whores. Therefore, next time think hard before you vote to keep sex work illegal, for example. A woman's right to have absolute control over her body should be sacred. To legislate what a woman can and cannot do with her body is the ultimate slippery slope. On the other hand, if those nice "family values-Christians" bring back the Inquisition and abortion becomes illegal, who do you think will suffer? Any rich woman can have an abortion during a long weekend in Paris and comes home as she left…with an extended middle finger!

The big money is running out of money to steal (and ways to steal it) while holding a big chunk of the country's capital hostage as dead wealth, chocking our economy. It is political blackmail, an insurance policy, if you will, in case the President or Congress wants to play hero. No loans, no investments, industries disappearing and manufacturing is slowing down. Raising taxes on the big money (including corporations) is the one right solution; it is the only incentive. That is, as long as you are investing your money building, producing and creating jobs, you will make even more money. Yet, if you decide to bury your money, the government will invest it for you. Moreover, the government should put its full weight behind certain industries or even take them over to level the playing field globally, just as China and many European countries do. Finally, since the poor and the Middle Class always spend their last dime, which strongly stimulates the economy; therefore, cutting social programs, let alone raising taxes on the Middle Class, is as stupid as it is putrid.

Beware! As I write, the "pious" Right is gaining might. The goal is evil: a time medieval. When the wingnut dim young farts, call the decent, "bleeding hearts," you tell them these two parts, "our hearts are meant to bleed, lest turn to stone by greed."

Santa Susan

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:12:00 -0500

Let us say—not “Since we know, we love,”
But rather “Since we love, we know enough.”
Robert Browning

Sudden harrowing, quivering, throbbing, stabbing, gnawing, excruciating ass, thigh, and leg pain Edward experiences for the first time. Hearing extreme distress in her father's voice on the phone, Sarah rushes him to the nearest emergency room, and begs the receptionist for help. Edward is a fifty-nine years old ex-marine, an ex-land-owner, and physically in top shape. He possesses the sin of pride and the gift of beauty; he is exceptionally handsome and likeable. Lo and behold, in the less than five minutes, a nurse opens the door, calls Edward's name, and the lucky patient is in. In an hour, Edward gets a shot of morphine and five minutes later, a second reading of his blood pressure shows a substantial drop.

Finally, the Attending physician makes a recommendation for physical therapy and writes a prescription for Tylenol. Sarah informs the doctor that she has never seen her father in such agonizing pain, and pleads for a stronger painkiller enough to last until the underlying cause passes. The Attending responds, "Do you think I'm an idiot? Do you know how many old people like your father come here every day with bullshit stories trying to score drugs?" Sarah sees that terrifyingly angry look in her father's eyes and immediately, in an attempt to save the doctor's life, she takes a few quick steps towards her father, hugs him with both arms and whispers, "Dad! Dad, Look at me! It's OK Dad, we are leaving now!"

Watching the entire scene is the sixty-two years old Dr. Susan A. Stein, a renowned private practice physician checking on a patient of hers across the hall. Susan does not know why, but she cannot stop staring at Edward even if she tries. For, suddenly she feels different. She feels those wonderful old erotic thrills tickling her body again and ecstasy comes to mind. She bites the lure, she’s happily sure: Let love endure, and come what may. Susan stops Edward and his daughter, expresses how sorry she is, hands her card out and offers her professional services if they would like to follow her to her clinic. With grateful eyes, Edward and Sarah accept, and Susan leaves praying, "Thank you, Lord, he's not wearing a wedding band, but when he opens his mouth, please, Lord, let him fuck-up not!"

Few dates later, Susan and Edward fall in love. For the first time in his life, Edward finds what he wants; he's alive. Susan is all female, a heavenly estrogen portrait, a marvel of nature, a pleasant spirit with a unique commanding coyness. When Susan talks, a choir of angels sings, when she walks, the rhythm is divine, and Edward hears Steve Gadd on the drums. Even though Edward is versed in the female ass-classification, Susan's is of the rare BAM (Bubble-Apple-Melon) variety, a wonder he has never seen, the most beautiful ass terrene. Leaving for work after their honeymoon, Susan kisses her husband tenderly and says, "Love of my life, remember now, if you don't want your ass to hurt again, never put your wallet in your back pocket!"

The End

Happy Holidays

99 + ? = 100

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:10:11 -0400

When it comes to discourse, short is sweet, easy does it, and some logic goes a long way; however, sometimes a bit of finesse renders a statement beautiful. When asked by Ed Schultz on MSNBC should the democrats embrace the Occupy Wall Street crowd, our Joan Walsh—whose demeanor on the show I can only describe as elegant—said, "Yeah, I would like to see more democrats approaching, and they have to approach in a spirit of humility, really…" Then she explained, "There are a lot of people down there who feel burned. A lot of young people came out and voted for change in 2008. They didn't see change; instead, they got unbelievable debt." If Ed asked me the same question, he would have had to bleep every other word I said. Yet, the phrase, "in the spirit of humility," was calming, admirably tactful, extremely polite, and most of all, made me think.

Imagine you cross unto a parallel universe. You are standing on the sidewalk of a big city street. It looks different, but you know it is the other United States. The sky is blue, the air is clean and there is something pleasant about the people walking down the street. Some women are dressed conservatively, but most women, especially the younger ones, are showing too much skin. Strangely, the men are not ogling and there are no obscene gestures or whistles judging and annoying these exceptionally confident dames and damsels. Then, you realize that you are looking too hard and missing the obvious, may be because you are seeing it for the first time. Most of these women are smiling—not that fake ugly wide expression showing super-white teeth under glassy empty eyes. Instead, you see genuine, full facial smiles; and the then you turn philosopher: "Damn! When they smile from the heart, all women are beautiful."

You go to a library and start reading newspapers. You learn that in this United States all citizens, rich and poor, are truly equal under the law. Legal cost for both sides in any civil suit must equal. That is, a rich citizen will provide a defense of equal value for his poor opponent. Social programs such as social security and free healthcare are there only for those who otherwise cannot afford what these programs offer; those who can are financially responsible for their children and their parents. Illicit drugs and prostitution are regulated but legal. Both car and health insurance are not mandatory. Higher education is also free, although private universities still exist. In fact, the biggest in the country is the (free) American University with huge campuses in all fifty states, and the government finds jobs for all its graduates.

Then you figure it out, the key is free press—subsidized by the government in some cases to enforce the First Amendment—working for the people with militant emphasis on the betterment of social programs, education, employment and exposure of corruption everywhere. Free press, providing relevant information rather than disinformation, prevents people from voting against their interest. It also plays an essential part in shaping a tolerant culture with a proper order of priorities. The media's daily campaign against violence, mentioning every incident of rape or murder, rather than weeks at a time of airtime allocated to girl on a Spring Break lost in Aruba, resulted in the near eradication of gangs, let alone violent crime. Finally, this United States maintains her status as a sovereign country, enforces immigration laws, and defines immigration to include all nationalities, not just Mexican.

Meanwhile, you find out who killed Kennedy. You learn that Mitt Romney is acting in B-movies. Rush Limbaugh is doing time for ticket fraud. Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are both in an insane asylum for cruelty against animals. Rick Perry uses his bowlegs as a cautionary tale in beef and vitamin D commercials. Michele Bachmann finally found her calling and works as a madam in her husband's first brothel for gays and lesbians in the Great State of Minnesota. Ann Coulter did one year in prison in the 80s for her involvement in an illegal donkey show on the outskirts of New Canaan, Connecticut. Now, she is the most famous and highest paid dominatrix in America, working out of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Then you cross back to our universe only to realize a vivid picture of the status quo. The big money is still enjoying the policy of eating the cake and having it too, otherwise known as "Let them bark." Every two years or so the political parties stage a fight, then compromise, and the Middle Class and Lower Class lose. Since Reagan took office, they lowered the taxes on the rich, raised the price of oil, and cut social programs. This recent show between the parties is about cutting social security and Medicare. The congress already cut some and will cut more. Only in a nation with corrupt media, can the Supreme Court rule that money equals free speech and the Congress's philosophy stoops to "fuck the poor" domestically and "fuck the Arabs" internationally. We need free press for a better common culture.

Now, for poetry lovers, and for those who take money seriously, here is a magnificent satire from a master of tetrameter couplets (although, here, he added a couple of triplets for emphasis), Hilaire Belloc.

Lord Lucky

Lord Lucky, by a curious fluke,
Became a most important duke.
From living in a vile Hotel
A long way east of Camberwell
He rose, in less than half an hour,
To riches, dignity and power.
It happened in the following way:—
The Real Duke went out one day
To shoot with several people, one
Of whom had never used a gun.
This gentleman (a Mr. Meyer
Of Rabley Abbey, Rutlandshire),
As he was scrambling through the brake,
Discharged his weapon by mistake,
And plugged about an ounce of lead
Piff-bang into his Grace's Head—
Who naturally fell down dead.
His heir, Lord Ugly, roared, "You Brute!
Take that to teach you how to shoot!"
Whereat he volleyed, left and right;
But being somewhat short of sight,
His right-hand Barrel only got
The second heir, Lord Poddleplot;
The while the left-hand charge (or choke)
Accounted for another bloke,
Who stood with an astounded air
Bewildered by the whole affair
—And was the third remaining heir.
After the Execution (which
Is something rare among the Rich)
Lord Lucky, while of course he needed
Some help to prove their claim, succeeded.

Pick another God

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 14:10:14 -0400

“Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children, recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised.” Leo Tolstoy

Why? Because lie-detection and truth finding is an evolutionary tool our current big brains developed to outfox one another. We know that serious problems arise when parents lie or ask their children to lie, and when children see parents use violence against others, especially for monetary gain. Yes, a child innately wants his parent to earn, not to take by force. For, truth is justice, and justice is truth. Think about it. Justice is an inherent human universal, a basic criterion of human reason and logic, a deeply rooted Law of Design against unprovoked violence. Social justice was, is, and will always be the message of the Designer.

“My soul exalts the Lord. He has brought down rulers from their thrones and has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty handed.” Luke 1:46-53

Known now as the Magnificat, the Song of Mary is arguably the most profound statement in the New Testament, less abstract and more politically specific to its time than the older Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10) of the Old Testament. It is an introduction to the coming Jesus and the essence of His socio-political philosophy. "My soul exalts the Lord," is theologically so powerful it almost abolishes the line between divine and human will.

Mary lives under the oppression of the rich in Roman-occupied Palestine, shares the people's suffering and dreams of a rural kingdom of justice and peace where shepherds, farmers, and skilled workers are free from violence, unfair taxes and where all must care for the weak. These are the pillars of the Kingdom of God on earth. Therefore, when in many parts of the United States today churches and parents are teaching their children that Jesus loves the rich and despises the poor; it is a crime against God… and His people.

Whether you are a Buddhist or a Muslim, European or African, humans have always admired Jesus' altruism and His message of love and compassion for the weak. We all know His story. The evidence that Jesus defended the poor and died for the poor is overwhelming; the Sermon on the Mount is just another example. So Christians keep asking, what about the moneychangers, the banks and interest on loans, should conglomerates force individual farmers out, should there be two systems of "justice" where the one with more lawyers wins, why is the mortgage deductible but not the rent, and would Jesus condone capitalism?

Big money gofers—the clergy, the politicians or the media—have a single "official" answer to all these questions: "Hey! Give unto Caesar," the most overplayed spin and the stupidest lie in the history of Christendom. It is also the sole evidence these heretics use to show that Jesus is a capitalist. Yet, when you read the story in Luke, you will see that it is but a simple cautionary tale with a simple moral: Do not let them trick you into saying self-incriminating stuff. They try to have Jesus talk against Caesar; Jesus navigates the tight and answers a question with a question, drawing an obvious and clear distinction between two paths, God or Caesar.

And it happened, on one of those days, as He [was] teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the Gospel, the priests and the scribes, with the elders, approached [Him]. And having watched [Him] closely, they sent spies, pretending themselves to be righteous, so that they should seize on His word [fig., catch Him in some statement] in order to hand Him over to the rule and the authority of the governor. And they questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach correctly, and You do not accept a face [fig., show favoritism], _but_ You teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful for us to give tribute [or, a tax] to Caesar or not?" "Show to Me a denarius [i.e., a Roman, silver coin]. Whose image and inscription does it have?" Then answering, they said, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "So render the [things] of Caesar to Caesar and the [things] of God to God."
Luke 20:1, 20:20-25

Jesus, the Son of Man, fought for the poor, and died for the poor. This is his everlasting legacy. To say otherwise is heresy, sacrilege, and an egregious offense against the Lord. If you believe the poor deserve to suffer, or you are, for example, against social programs for the poor, you are not a follower of Jesus, and you may not invoke His name, for it is an affront to the true believers of Jesus Christ. So pick another god. After careful research, I found the perfect god that fits all the American Evangelical/Tea baggers criteria: William Graham Sumner. Call yours the Evangelical Church of William Sumner, and take William Sumner to be your Lord and Savior. Doesn't it sound patriotic?

William Graham Sumner: A Yale University political scientist who concocted an ideology driven pseudoscience to rationalize social injustice. Sumner, the most influential social Darwinist of his time, and his followers theorized that millionaires like J. P. Morgan are descendants of the first hominids to stand on two legs, while the poor descend from creatures that lack opposable thumbs and stood on all fours. Sumner decided that business titans of the Gilded Age were "A product of natural selection" and fair "scientific" market competition.

The American Dream: Last Call

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:06:54 -0400

The idea of bailing out Wall Street in a deregulated capitalism is far more fantastical than that of a casino giving back all the money a guy lost cheating all night in cahoots with the dealer.

Realizing he will eventually fall asleep, let alone he’s not the only one with a dart, the early strong hunter learns to share his game with the weak and the laggard. Later, an observer recognizes order in the sky and wonders why some men will not share a pie. Can’t they see time is ephemeral, the days waver, the present must pass and the future is uncertain? Then some become philosophers and some prophets, and the chosen die of murder for exposing unprovoked violence. Then the enlightened find the truth: one is free only when able to fight injustice and help the weak; ignoring the torture of others is the mark of a slave.

In the late sixties, some liberal intellectuals tire of the false egalitarianism and utopianism the democrats are preaching. Then the counterculture of the young comes as a last straw. In an attempt to protect the American Way of Life, these, now formal liberals, introduce a new political philosophy: Neoconservatism, which departs from conventional conservatism by embracing collective insurance and monetary help for the poor. Liberal programs, such as Social Security, the original neocons warn, could be the last line of defense against further socialization, which conservatives fear the most.

“A welfare state, properly conceived, can be an integral part of a conservative society...In a populous, complex, and affluent society, people may prefer to purchase certain goods and services collectively rather than individually...People will always want security as much as they want liberty, and the nineteenth-century liberal-individualist notion that life for all of us should be an enterprise at continual risk is doctrinaire fantasy,” wrote Irving Kristol in The American Spectator in 1977.

This was also echoed by the economist Samuel Bowles of the University of Massachusetts Amherst: “Individual success hinges on a big X factor: There’s a lot of luck involved. The whole idea of social security is to insure the unlucky by having the lucky pay a little extra.”

People everywhere desire a dignified life for their families, but not everyone is born a beg-borrow-and-steal-hustler ready for “business,” or aspiring early in life to become a fudge manager. Others may be proud, honorable, or simply decent folk looking for honest work. A fair government should provide employment to those who refuse to beg individuals (private business) for jobs; the same government should also regulate to protect small business.

In a society where money defines worth, money cannot buy rank, because there is always someone with more money; ironic, but it is capitalism’s only democratic charm. Socially, we must never express capitalism—an unfair system of privileged enterprise and a fertile ground for greed, corruption and nepotism—in winner-loser terms when luck, to be polite, is the main player. In such an infantile culture, people harshly judge and despise those with less money. Moreover, setting an arbitrary line for “winning” at, say, a few hundred thousand, or a million dollars a year, is wishful thinking on the part of the Middle Class, let alone cowardice: You cannot just quit halfway in the game.

If you make four hundred thousand dollars a year, rest assured that another, who makes five, calls you a loser, and this is a sincere warning to most of the delusional Upper-Middle Class. Board your private jet on the upper deck of your yacht, stop in Manchester for Richard Jewels to take your measurements, reach your villa in Monte Carlo just in time to see your daughter arrive in her Bugatti before you declare yourself a winner. Even though in the real world, only those at the top of the Upper Class can decide the winners amongst themselves. For example, a while ago they denounced Trump as a loser and an outsider, which explains the conniption fits he throws every time someone exposes his actual worth...the man lives in shame.

Three unspoken truths the Upper Class should share. First, only those who came to America already wealthy earned the title old money. That is, if your ancestors made their money in the New World, you are not old money. Second, the Upper Class despises none more than the Upper Middle Class; looking down, greed is ugliest. Third, no one (actually) earns billions of dollars, only a god can control all variables in time and space.

It is in the big money’s best interest to turn the culture around and use its media to glorify natural aristocracy (honesty, common decency and pleasant demeanor), promote virtue and deplore opportunism and the worship of dead wealth. Taxes on the rich must also help the government provide jobs (in energy and infrastructure, for example) and excellent social programs for security, health and education. Only then can the owners pursue their greed free from conflict or retaliation. Allow the peasants—this is what the winners call the losers—to keep their dignity; they will not care what you do with yours.

Fudge Manager: a low-life hustler who cheats—to be polite—people out of their money, a word play on the phrase ‘hedge fund manager’.