Monday, June 29, 2009

NATION OF LIARS

freeacre

Charles Eisenstein’s essay, “The Ubiquitous Matrix of Lies” has haunted me for days. He writes regularly on the “Reality Sandwich” site, and was picked up last week on Carolyn Baker’s “Speaking Truth to Power.” Eisenstein is quickly becoming one of my favorite contemporary writers because I find his thinking so original, compassionate, and profound.

I think he has nailed perhaps the most important and yet most overlooked element of our deteriorating culture and empire – the debilitating effect of living and functioning in an atmosphere of falsehood. He begins with advertising slogans. “Coors Rocks Harrisburg.” Does anyone believe that Coors rocks Harrisburg? Of course not. Then there is the labeling of malls and neighborhoods. “Colonial Park Mall,” for instance. Neither colonial nor park, it is jut a boring boxy edifice. Needless to say, its food mart is not a “Café’ in the Park,” either. These are seemingly trivial examples. But, multiply them by how many advertising slogans and misdirecting labels that surround us each day, and begin to see how the illusions (or delusions) are created.

And, that is just the beginning. Eisenstein writes, “We live in a ubiquitous matrix of lies, a sea of mendacity so pervasive that it is nearly invisible. Because we are lied to all the time, in ways so subtle they are beneath conscious notice, then the most direct lies are losing their power to shock us.

The most shocking thing about the lies of the Bush administration was that those lies were not actually shocking to most people. Why do we as a society seemingly accept our leaders’ gross dishonesty as a matter of course? Why does the repeated exposure of their lies seem to arouse barely a ripple of indignation amount the general public? Where is the protest, the outrage, the sense of betrayal?

It is certainly not to be found in the person of Barack Obama. Just as there is little difference between Coors and Miller, so also is there little difference in the policies of Bush and Obama. I realize that this statement will provoke outrage from many of my readers. Sure, there are some differences between them – enough to establish Obama as a new brand – but the basic course of empire, of finance, the military, medicine, law, education, of the defining institutions of our society remains unchanged.”

“A new brand” – ouch. He’s right, though. If Obama et al were really devoted to “change” the way he said that he was, we’d be seeing brokers and bankers frog-stepped out of their offices in handcuffs and indicted for fraud and corruption – not handed billions of dollars worth of taxpayer’s money. No change is required if there are no negative consequences for criminal behavior.

Same goes for war crimes. “American do not torture,” Bush told us. Meanwhile, Iraqi men and boys were rounded up, beaten, raped, water-boarded, electrocuted, threatened with the rape and sodomy of their wives and children, and on and on with the administration’s full knowledge and consent. “They hate us for our freedoms,” Bush told us. Yeah, right.

Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were begun in order to gain permanent access to the last large stores of oil in the world, not to find Osama Bin Laden or Al Qaeda or spread democracy or to find the imaginary “weapons of mass destruction.” What a load.

Even 911 was a lie. Watch “Loose Change” on YouTube or the more recent Italian made “Zero: an Investigation into 911.” Just jaw-dropping.

The fact that subterfuge on this scale can be accomplished and maintained for years points to something even greater. It can’t be beaten by whistle blowers or courageous reporting. The truth is out there. Nothing is changing. Why not?

Eisenstein says that words don’t mean what they used to anymore. Because we have been continually lied to and so many things have been misrepresented, the words themselves are reduced in their impact on us. I would submit that it goes even further. I’d say that is goes back to being propped up in a baby rocker in front of the television so you can watch Sesame Street and learn to count with Count Dracula. And, it continues with being herded into daycare with your peers and being told vacuous bullshit all day. Then, you graduated on to public school where your teachers were forced to only repeat politically correct crap to you and you came to despise them. Then you went home and turned on the tube and watched dramas based on people lying and betraying each other and getting into trouble and then ducking the consequences. In between, there were the relentless commercials spewing countless lies and misrepresenting reality. And, when you weren’t watching TV, you went on dates that were just one exercise after another in manipulation and misrepresentation or whatever it took to get laid. Then you grew up and got a job that required you to say whatever was necessary to fit in, keep the boss happy, please the customers, or sell the product. Then you fill out the paperwork on your tax forms, your mortgage documents or whatever assorted forms with whatever contrived bunch of numbers and information that they want to hear or whatever you can get away with. Then, you take a break and watch “reality” t.v. , which, of course, is totally contrived.

In short, this is a nation of liars, and we are living in a putrid toxic soup of lies, falsehoods, and hypocrisies that corrupts and diminishes everything that it touches. Our word as a nation and for most individuals has no authority anymore. We are an idiocracy. Babbling morons … present company excepted, of course.

I believe that until we get our heads around this idea, and change over to a radical use of honesty, we will never heal what ails us as a nation and a people.

I think we lost heart when the Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King were killed, and while Vietnam dragged on an extra ten years after everyone knew it was sick and wrong. I believe that we have been damaged, wounded by the ruthless deceit of our government and those in financial power. We suffer many of the same symptoms as battered children or spouses. There is confusion where there should be outrage. There is denial where there should be curiosity. There is passivity where there should be action. There is a curious detachment to the world. There is an alarming dependence of drugs to assuage the psychic pain of a society driven to madness by words that have no connection with anything real. Lying not only wounds those lied to, it damages those who lie as well.

For that reason, I believe that the structure of our campfire is a small step toward healing. The native Americans worked this system out over the millennia to communicate with each other and foster wisdom and a sense of belonging. It is a great gift to us all:

Sit in a circle. Pick up the Talking Stick. While you have the stick, speak what is true for you. Nobody interrupts. Nobody contradicts or evaluates. Nobody tries to sell anything. Everyone listens. Then, somebody else picks up the stick. They say what is true for them. It might be different. That’s OK. Each person is heard and each person is respected. Those at the campfire are free to change their minds as they listen to differing perspectives. All are enriched and empowered by the process.

I think that the results of our campfire conversations are self-evident in the pictures that we are now sharing with each other. They are tangible evidence of the truth of our words. We have evolved together from ineffectual words and bitching about things to taking real steps towards creating a different paradigm. Like planting seeds, canning tomatoes, paying off the credit cards, turning off the TV, making real connections with each other, stocking up on necessities just in case, helping others in our communities.

Our Word is the source of our authority and personal power. The more truthful we are, the more respect we engender and the more confidence we have. If we are going to resist the tide of corruption and lies and create a better place after the collapse, it will require a radical commitment to honesty in all things. Without that, we will only be kidding ourselves.

Aho (I have spoken. The stick is passed.)

Here are the latest pictures of the garden. Things are progressing well. FINALLY it has warmed up and the greenery is responding. If the weather doesn't catch us off guard, we should have a productive year.









65 comments:

freeacre said...

No comments yet, so let me continue... anybody read on cryptogon a leaked memo regarding meeting between Bush and Blair to cook up a false flag event to provoke the war with Iraq? More grist for the mill...
Also, I hope it's ok with you, Rockpicker, but I am copying your poem once again because I put up the new post before your last entry got much play. It feels right for this spot as well.

The times seem to warrant this reprint.


Magnetic Ribbons and the Yellowcake of Faith


When we wake puking shame
at last, and know the dream
for sham, embraced en masse...
When bells that rang victorious
hang mute, their tarnished claims
ignored in disrepute, and
bitter sons, having been all they
could be, can't wish back innocence
or the leg below the knee...

(This brash regime's trimmed reason
from its ranks, its black guard
in the street, protecting flanks.)

...then will we heed the schemers'
gloating leer? "There's no future
for dissidents here."
Row on row, with hand
in trembling hand, it's come to this.
We dreamers need to stand.

-rockpicker

rockpicker said...

Freeacre;

Cool. And thank you. Another great post. At first, I mistook Eisenstein's piece for the work of Carolyn Baker. Glad to get that clarified. I'll look for this guy now, as he did, I think, correctly identify the source of some of those hard- to- put- your- finger- on feelings of uneasiness with what passes for American culture.

Along with the apparent matrix of lies we must struggle with daily, I've noticed how short people's attention span has become. You have to speak in sound bites and relay your message quickly, before the eyes drop and the subject's changed.

Talking about signs that reinforce our cynicism, here's one worth closer scrutiny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS_f3wetAo0

Emergency Containment Area?

WTF?

-rockpicker

freeacre said...

It is a continual frustration for me to see things like this and realize that since we are not told the truth (or no longer trust what we are told, whether is is true or not), people interpret ambiguous things according to their own projections. What are these "emergency containment areas?" Or other things like underground shelters, seed banks in the tundra, millions of plastic coffins sitting in the sun, FEMA camps, etc.? For good or evil? For a positive interpretation, for once, we watched the 1998 movie "Deep Impact" the other night. It was quite amazing as it was about astronomers discovering that a large comet was heading toward earth. If it hit, it would cause a life extinguishing event. So, the government initiated a secret plan on a couple of fronts. One, a secret space program to attack the comet which included building secret space facilities (note the secret spaceships pictures on Rense.com). The other, plans to attempt to save a portion of the population in underground caves and manage the rest with martial law (note the FEMA camps, etc. we have now.) It even featured Morgan Freeman as the President, a calm, articulate black president who seems very compassionate and a natural leader. And now, ten years later, we have current events that have eerie similarities to the movie... Could this all be in anticipation of the return of the planet Nirimbu? Personally, I would much prefer something like that to thinking that there is a conspiracy to exploit or dominate all the workers in the world by a small cabal of filthy rich Nazi oligarchs.
Who the hell knows? All I can do is to attempt to establish some sense of dominion over my own life and cultivate personal peace of mind no matter what is going on. Jeez.
Never a dull moment around here...four young rabbits got out of the hutch last night, and Murph is at the feed store buying a live trap so we can round them up before they eat up the garden. That's more like it... a problem that one can actually handle.

nina said...

four young rabbits got out of the hutch ... I love it!

Eisenstein continues to amaze. I've been into his work for a while now. Don't miss The Miracle of Self Creation
and A Gathering of the Tribe.
You know a lot of suffering goes into his works. Very easy to identify with ...

nina said...

Great poetry Rockpicker. Great.

nina said...

You really could make a helluva lawsuit out of the lies, but there isn't a judge on Earth who would take the case.

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

Nina - not one that wants to stay alive at least. Unfortunately Justice is no longer something which is defended with a sword and balanced in weighing scales. It has become a comodity that can be bought and sold just like anything on the shelves of Wally World.

I sure like that one Rockpicker

I will comment on the post tomorrow.

MoonRaven said...

Wow. Great post, freeacre, and only too true.

And, as you said, the antidote is when we speak our truth to each other, and each of us listens. May this continue.

rockpicker said...

Think we've got room to compile a list of all the most egregious lies we've been told since Roswell?

Here's my first entry:

http://www.rense.com/general86/moreap.htm

Thanks Nina and Belgium, for the kind words on the poem. And a special thanks to the Obama administration, for keeping this Bush-era relic relevant. Oy.

-rockpicker

rockpicker said...

Why hasn't this been all over the news?

http://naturalnews.com/z026503_pandemic_swine_flu_bioterrorism.html

rockpicker said...

The following quote is taken from the article referenced in the last comment.

"
Reference is made to a licensed Novartis bird flu vaccine that killed 21 homeless people in Poland in the summer of 2008 and had as its "primary outcome measure" an "adverse events rate", thereby meeting the U.S. government's own definition of a bioweapon (a biological agent designed to cause an adverse events rate, i.e death or injury) with a delivery system (injection)."

Question: was the drug considered a success, or a failure?

stoney13 said...

While cutting the fancy molding that Hazel simply MUST have in the bathroom, and wearing a sweat shirt because I am just recovering from the number five case of "Swine Flu" in Henderson County, I discovered some interesting things about electric miter saws:

(1) If you choose to operate an electric miter saw, while wearing a sweat shirt, be sure to roll the sleeves ALL THE WAY UP, or the blade will grab the sleeve and yank your arm in, opening a large and horrific gash!

(2) If you ignore the warning above, the only words required to your spouse are "Hospital! Now!" Any further recriminations, declarations, and accusations of stupidity, apologies, explanations, ruminations of explanations, and exclamations of "Just Drive Damn it!" can be saved for the trip.

(3) When arriving at the hospital, if you are wearing a two-day-funky sweat shirt, black cotton shorts, and barefooted, you will find no one wants to talk to you! They will however come around, as soon as they notice the ever spreading pool of blood at your feet.

(4) After a triage nurse examines the large ragged gash in your arm, and asks a thousand questions, that pertain to nothing concerning the large ragged gash in your arm, the hospital security guard will arrive to deftly pluck with rubber-gloved hand the cheap nylon spackle spreader from your pocket. He will then offer a grand litany concerning acts of grim and bloody violence which can be perpetrated upon his armed, and TASER-equipped person with such a fearsome implement. He will then ask what you want him to do with it. Suggest "something proctological". He will then go to find a dictionary. By the time he gets back, you'll be somewhere else! Don't sweat the spackle spreader.

(5) After being stripped, gowned, and install in a room, you will be asked how severe the pain is on a scale of one to ten. Always say seven or eight. Not high enough to be unrealistic, but severe enough to get you a couple of Percosets. Believe me, you need them. Don't bother prowling around in the cabinetry looking for more, you won't find any. Just stay cool, and keep your eyes open, and you might score some really cool roach-clips later!

(6) After waiting an hour, and discovering that reading a magazine while keeping your left arm elevated is a feat best left to circus folk, take a minute to survey your surroundings. There is always a radio, or television in there. If there's a television, tune in a war movie, and turn it up nice and loud! If it's a radio, tune in some Death Metal, and turn it up nice and loud! Your wait will soon be over!

(7) When the doctor arrives, and turns off the war movie/Death Metal, he/she will be carrying a tray with sutures, antiseptic, several pairs of hemostats, and some gauze. Lay your best hound dog eyes on this worthy and complain of great and terrible thirst. He/She will immediately rush to procure fluid refreshment. While he/she, is gone, snag a pair of hemostats! When he/she gets back, he/she will bring you some nice Percosets to go with your water. Don't argue with the Doctor about already having taken Percosets, he/she is a Doctor, and knows what you need: Percosets, and a really cool roach-clip!

stoney13 said...

(8) After deft and skillful stitching is done, compliment the Doctor on his skill, and angle for a "pair of them fancy tweezers", Score! A matched set! Now that's REALLY cool!

(9) An RN will arrive with papers, and a bottle of Percosets, and give you a lecture on wound care.

(10) An LPN will arrive with papers, and a bottle of Percosets, and give you a lecture on wound care.

(11) A CNA will arrive with papers, and a bottle of Percosets, and give you a lecture on wound care.

(12) The Doctor will arrive with papers, and a bottle of Percosets, and give you a lecture on wound care.

(13) The Doctor will tell you to have a nice day, and hand you your bloody, two-day-funky sweat shirt in a nice big plastic bag. Wait till he/she is gone, put your Percosets in the bag, and wander aimlessly around the halls, until somebody leads you to the door.

(14) On the way home,when your spouse asks what that "stupid grin is all about," tell them NOTHING!!!

freeacre said...

You have a gift, Stoney, for turning a disaster into a hilarious story. Glad you're okay now. It is disconcerting, though, that you actually had Swine Flu. How about Hazel and the boys? I know Belgium has been suffering from flu symptoms and respiratory distress. Murph and I did, too. How many others of us at the Campfire have had the flu or upper respiratory infections recently? The info regarding the flu and the vaccine and the "security" aspect of the "Clean Air Bill" is another outrageous obfuscation or terror/ disinformation campaign. It just goes on and on....

baz recon said...

Of course, when you have only been programmed your whole life to believe lies, how would you recognize the truth if someone told you it? The perennial question! Lies are so pervasive that people have lost the ability to know the truth anymore .. that in a vast sea of lies, a single truth will become lost. Worse still .. because it is so rare from the commonly held lies .. taken to be one!

Lies and truth are caught up in a semantic bind. Vietnam was a Great Big Shining Lie, and yet true to all who participated. A common 'coping mechanism' was to deny ever being there. To unravel the knot then is the quest for truth.

Examples abound! So many to choose from. OVERLOAD! Educators with letters after their names, are selling you something . Even if it is only a venue on the way to the recruiting office! Psychotherapists: a classic example. How many addicted to vicodin?

Truth—a many-sided crystal: even a cricket (dead or alive!), speaks to one. To another, his Grandfather speaks .. through him!

A seasoned hunter, very easily 'detects' what kind of animal has passed, by the 'footprint' the animal leaves, even though to the unobservant and inexperienced, there is 'no sign'. He cannot 'see' anything at all. There is nothing there! In the same way, you can often tell where a person has been, come from, by what he says, how he says it. British people, for example spell their words differently from American people—(other clues, inflection, nuance, syntax). And now: Google Earth! I read in the paper once (believe it or not), something like 70% of teen-age Americans thought Austria was a town in Texas, and not a South-Eastern European country! Clearly education is failing someone !

Messengers always run the risk of being shot, whether they bring good news, or bad. Someone's good news is often someone else's bad news. You can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people, all of the time.

To the forgotten soldier, or any damned soldier, damaged, wounded by the ruthless deceit of any damned government and those in financial power :— Remember—They only have as much power as you're willing to give them.

Excellent poem rockpicker, honestly! Here's another similar one .. from my Grandfather.

Ode—Music and Moonlight (1874).

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

Is this synchronicity or what? The Church of Nobody has put up a post on the same day as this one and his chosen subject this time is lying. But whereas this post deals with the barrage of small lies which wash over us from birth, his post deals with the Big Lie and the fact that Hitler in his book Mein Kampf, was the only person ever to break the code of silence and expose how the lie works.

http://churchofnobody.blogspot.com/


Back here again with a few more examples. There was no construction to speak of during the war and afterwards there was a great need for housing both for the returning heroes and the general increase in population. The answer was tenement blocks, which were usually four or five high, built as an open square or an open C with a concrete quad in the middle and even as a new construction they looked pretty grim. Every single one had the word ‘gardens’ in their name – Sydney Gardens, Myrtle Gardens etc, etc. At age seven or thereabouts when I was still a freshman in the University of Life, I walked around many of these looking for the grass and couldn’t even find a window box. Later I realised that this was just a feel good factor for those who lived there to have a posher sounding address than would otherwise have been the case. Boy it wouldn’t have made me feel better if I had lived in one.

There is a commercial currently running on our TV stations, where some celeb is telling the ladies “I have made my decision”. The lie is that because of who she is, she has the money to be discerning and tells everybody she actually chooses to use the cosmetic she is given a shit load of money to advertise. There again if the scam didn’t work she wouldn’t be paid to do it and by association if Bush’s lies didn’t work overall it would not have been long before he changed his tune.

One brilliant campaign of the 70’s and 80’s was Heineken’s claim that their beer “Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach”. Here the lie was so obvious it was turned into a joke and a send up of themselves in particular and the advertising industry in general. Here are some examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyAgy2CngfY&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnBtJAy5Ygs&NR=1

Anonymous said...

From Belgium pt 2

Back to the serious business of newspeak. I once read an article which unfortunately I can’t find back again that claimed dictionary definitions were getting simpler over time. To demonstrate his argument the author had four or five publishers, Chambers, Websters etc and each one was in editions which were roughly ten years apart. He picked ten everyday words at random, not technical or esoteric words and gave what each definition said. It was demonstrably true that modern dictionaries are becoming the fast food of language. I have a Castles 1963 dictionary with the spine missing and the covers held on with Sellotape but it is the only one I ever use.

Another example of how language is changing is the use of euphemisms to tone down unpleasant words or concepts. Over time, lame became crippled which became handicapped and finally disabled. My all time favourite euphemism is ‘friendly fire’ which is not so friendly for the poor fucker that has bullets ripping through his chest.

On the subject of language, the only thing Obama has changed from Bush is the quality of sound bite. There again Bushes quotes had a built in entertainment factor.

I now believe the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not wars primarily for oil, although this was an added benefit. The West’s (code for the 12 families who would dearly love to own the Eurasian Continent), phoney war on terror was actually a war on many Islamic countries’ policy of non-usury.

I always knew that Kennedy was talking of making moves against the Fed but the latest theory on his assassination, which I have just picked up from Nobody, was that he had only months before signed executive order 11110.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggADLt4s4pM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucffTz-b0Rw&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iSTZH-bPl8&feature=related

Baz Said, “To the forgotten soldier, or any damned soldier, damaged, wounded by the ruthless deceit of any damned government and those in financial power:— Remember—They only have as much power as you're willing to give them”.
That sure has shades of Buffy St Marie’s Universal Soldier which is as relevant today as it was in the 60’s. Many of the older kids today are becoming more clued up to the contrived college fees scam and are tipping their finger up at the military alternative.

Stoney, we need more people like you who can turn tragedy into comedy.

rockpicker said...

Belgium,
If you have the time, here's a link to an eye-opener film that probably a lot of people will refuse to watch in it's entirety, because of unwarranted guilt resulting from the confusing of anti-semitism with anti-zionism.

http://www.pakalertpress.com/?p=58

The USS Liberty attack cover-up, and the Oklahoma City bombing cover-up are two more examples of why Americans have grown increasingly jaded.

We all understand the press does a shitty job telling us the truth. The question is , 'why?'

Personally, I think David Icke, Maxwell Jordan, Webster Tarpley, Dick Eastman, Jim Kirwan, Karl Schwartz and many others who talk of international banking cartels attempting to install one-world government have a lot of credence. The facts, looked at objectively, would appear to substantiate their conspiracy theories. My gut feeling is that the real truth is even deeper and blacker than any of us can imagine.

BTW, Bill Ryan, of Project Camelot, has announced an up-coming interview with a Dr. Pete Peterson, says it's going to be exciting information. Two things--the American economy has only a few months left, and Obama's going to announce the ET presence by end of year.


What a shame America did not ignore the media sales pitch last year and champion a coalition of true statesmen, Kucinich and Paul.

Anonymous said...

So, I was at a coffee shop yesterday and low and behold, in comes Michael Jackson! I didn't have my camera with me so I couldn't take a picture of him so I don't have any proof (figures right?), but he was there! I swear! He ordered a double espresso latte and walked out. I rushed out to see where he was headed and he wasn't there! Dang! Michael Jackson is alive! The King of Pop lives!

Geebus! The corporate press is feeding us garbage on top of garbage. Makes me want to hurl, spew and blow chunks. What's worse is that the lemmings/sheeple in our break room are totally wrapped-up in it. Aaarrrrrppuke!

Oh, speaking of coffee shops, there's this shop not far from my place that has a brew that's made up of decaf coffee, skim milk and nutrisweet called, "What's the Point."

Anyway, awesome piece, fa. The Eisenstein essay caught my eye several days ago because I grew up about a half mile from the Colonail Park Mall in Harrisburg, PA. Haven't been back there in over 15 years and don't miss it one bit. Read yesterday that the local chapter of the NAACP in Harrisburg has asked the PA Gov to declair marshall law for the capitol due to the record pace of murders in the past few months. Nope, not a great place to be -especialy since "Coors Rocks Harrisburg." Coors sucks - Papst Blue Ribbon bay-bay! -NOT.

Funny as shit, Stoney. Suprised you weren't tazed for posing a threat -or for the hell of it.

Ok, gotta go-

Randy

freeacre said...

OMG, Randy, I am LMAO (laughing my ass off). Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Yo! Check it out! Got on CNN's Cafferty blog again -and it was the first one 'ol Jack Cafferty spit out on air. Cool. I'm becoming a regular on that stupid show. Maybe I'll get my own show someday -woo hoo!

http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2009/06/23/should-govt-have-more-power-to-regulate-tobacco/

Randy

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

Murphs - had any unusual visitations to the blog lately. Over the last two posts, Nobody has had both Fort Hauchuca and the World Bank poking around in his site. There again probably not. “My lettuce all took a nose dive maybe it was too much shade”
“That’s pretty early in the season for that to happen, mine are all doing fine, look here is a picture”.
“There looking pretty good, I must try harder next year, now about rotating the cabbages…….. ;-)

rockpicker said...

Belgium;
Somebody's tapping my phone. I was talking to Oldensoul last week, and I picked up an audible 'beep' about every 15 seconds. Just a dead spot on her end.

stoney13 said...

You're not so slack yourself there, Randy!

Your's is the first "Micheal Jackson isn't dead, I saw him" story! Your so far ahead of the curve, they're still building the road! Be proud! You've made journalism history! (And probably pissed off the entire editorial staff of "The National Enquirer!)

RAS said...

Baz wrote: "Clearly education is failing someone !"
I wouldn't be so quick to say that. Who said they were trying to actually educate anyone? You need to know the goals to judge the outcome...

We've lied and been lied to so much we no longer know how to even recognize the truth, much less speak it.

stoney13 said...

Freeacre, and Belgium,

Thanks! It's a gift that's stood me in good service for a long time!

I learned a long time ago, to laugh in the face of pain. It usually pisses pain off, and he stomps off in a huff with all his toys to fuck with somebody else!

The lowest point of everybody's life has at least one utterly ridiculous absurdity in it to build on. After that, it's just a matter of knocking a frame together, and hanging something on it!

A good laugh is the best thing when you get wounded up, (unless you have broken ribs, then it sucks and plenty!)

stoney13 said...

Rockpicker

Unplug your telephone wire from the wall. Take another telephone wire, and cut the plug off of one end. Strip off about an inch or so of insulation from the two wires, and splice them on to a lamp cord with a 120VAC plug on the other end. Plug this into your phone jack, then plug the 12VAC plug into an electrical outlet and count to 3!

Now! Whatever listening device was plugged into you phone is fried, and whoever was listening in on it is very, very, pissed!

RAS said...

Whoa stoney, sorry about the arm. You do have a way of turning lemons into lemonade, though!

Here's a story that harkens back to the last post, and also reflects the lie of our higher education system:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106168349

rockpicker said...

Awright, all you bloggers out there, listen up!

You've probably already noticed the campaign launched to discredit citizen journalism. This piece is copied in it's entirety from Cryptogon, by way of Prison Planet.

"A stinging attack by John Hartigan, the CEO of Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited, labels bloggers and alternative media outlets as “political extremists”. Hartigan implies that bloggers should be jailed as they are in oppressive police states like China and Burma.

In a speech to the National Press Club, Hartigan savagely dismissed blogs as, “Something of such little intellectual value as to be barely discernible from massive ignorance.”

“Bloggers don’t go to jail for their work. They simply aren’t held accountable like real reporters….It could be said the blogosphere is all eyeballs and no insights,” barked Hartigan.

“In the blogosphere, of course, the mainstream media is always found wanting. It really is time this myth was blown apart.”

“Blogs, and a large number of comment sites, specialise in political extremism and personal vilification. Radical sweeping statements without evidence are common.”

Hartigan doesn’t seem to grasp the fact that the mainstream media is always found wanting because they habitually lie about news events and spin stories to suit the demands of their corporate owners. This is the very reason why blogs and alternative media outlets have become so popular and have eaten into the mainstream media’s audience share, because people are sick of being treated like idiots, sick of being lied to, and are desperately in search of the truth."

murph said...

Rockpicker,

Hear Hear!!! I read that article too. I had to go out and split up some wood to get out of the frame of mind it put me into. sigh.

murph said...

Rockpicker,

He is right in one respect. Bloggers are not held to journalistic standards, whatever that means. I wonder if anyone had the balls to ask him just what standards the mass media is held to in comparison. We're going to be pressed into Michael Jackson press releases for the next 10 years. Oh goodie!

Anonymous said...

Woo-hoo!! Got another one in and read "on the air!"

http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2009/07/02/good-idea-to-allow-guns-in-bars

Tell'in ya... I'm gonna get my own stupid non-news show someday -just like everybody else.

Have a good 4th everyone.

Randy

rockpicker said...

Murph;

Yeah I want to ask Hartigan
and that asshole from Harpers
"wanna talk some real shit?'
like, what happened to the USS Liberty? Or, does the name
Benton K. Partin, Brigadier General,
USAF, retired, mean anything to you?

These impudent writers deride
we unwashed masses for naivete.
They claim we lack the critical skills for thinking. I look them in the eye, without blinking, and say, 'tell me something I do not know. What's your opinion

of Aaron Russo? And Randy Weaver
on Ruby Ridge? What was the nature
of his mortal sin?' (Oy! McVeigh.)
Small arms without numbers
went untraced to Seal. Like, we haven't figured out the Mena deal.

Rothschild, Rothschild, who killed
Jack? And who shot Abraham
in the back?

rockpicker said...

I stand with Cynthia McInney and Magrid Mcguire, and all their friends, firmly behind the decent expenditure of aide to Palastine,
and to Hell with Zion.

freeacre said...

I wrote to Nancy Pelosi and both of my Senators in Washington, Rockpicer, regarding the imprisonment of Cynthia McKinney, et al. Unbelievably outrageous. I'm lighting a vigil candle for them.

RAS said...

Ok, my enormously high stress levels just went down a tad. I have a piece of very good free cake.
Let's see where we stand. The economy is in recovery. Green shoots everywhere, right? Umm...

-Official unemployment is 9.4%; unofficial unemployment has topped 18% -highter than the late 1930s.
-California has a fiscal crisis and is issuing IOUs.
-4 other states are on the brink.
-Inflation is creeping into the grocery stores. A lot of things I buy have gone up 10-15 cents in the past week.
-The IMF has started issuing its own bonds. Many countries, among them China and Russia, are snapping them up. Is this the next move in the global chess game of geopolitics?
-There is drought in parts of the midwest and India. The projections I've seen call for widespread food shortages in about 2 years. These projections do not include the effects of these droughts.
-The Irish potato blight is back in the northeast, and is affecting tomatoes and potatoes.

Did I cover everything? Oh wait, I forgot: my job is driving me crazy.
Calm down, take deep breaths, and work on the novel and garden.
One good thing: I am now officially halfway through the third draft of my 351 page novel!

rockpicker said...

Nation of Liars, indeed! This film maker was making a doc about the phoney economy when it exploded.

http://www.americancasinothemovie.com/

Freeacre;

If the Liberty affair had never happened, I'd feel less frightened for Cynthia, et al. Those people are ruthless. Good for you. I'll do that too.

(time is 11:11)

freeacre said...

Speaking of LIARS... I submit the what I consider egregious American Cancer Society. Those sons-of-bitches take millions and millions of dollars every year supposedly to "cure" cancer. Gee, it just so happens that it enriches the whole cancer establishment from research to treatments to pharmaceutical companies, etc, etc. Yet, NEVER A WORD about the CAUSES of cancer or campaigns to keep carcinogens out of our food and water and air. Fuck them. And, now it looks like autism is finally going to be linked to plastics and hormone switching chemicals as well. This is such a heartbreak that I can hardly stand it. All these upbeat stories of "cancer survivors" and pink sweatshirts and cancer camps for kids, etc. makes me want to puke. Not that they don't need support, but where is the outrage directed at the ones that are poisoning everybody?

Dave said...

Oh my god, freeacre! What a phenomenal piece!

I look around me and wonder what the other people see and think. I’m not willing to play the game anymore. I’m not willing to compromise myself for a roof over my head and food to eat. One should not have to do so. Yet so many people are doing just that.

One of the problems is that the way our society is structured it isolates us, so any one of us who sees what you have written feel s alone, isolated and powerless. I suspect that’s the reason why the existing structure thrives, because it disempowers “us” and empowers the PTB.

How can we possibly change that? I honestly don’t know. Now the most viable tool for grassroots organizing, the internet, is under daily assault and I fear its days are numbered. We really are going to have to return to the days of BBSs, perhaps updated with the use of the internet protocols.

But I have another concern. That years of state-sponsored indoctrination, such as in the public schools, combined with poor food, tainted water and “medicines,” have actually rendered large swaths of the population brain dead in a sense. In other words, it will never be possible to arouse those people from their “slumber.”

Dave - Erstwhile Urban Wanderer

baz recon said...

RAS, ain't that the truth! Felt so damn guilty, what with 'truth' and all that BS, that I decided to come clean, wearing nothing but lettuce leaves (the naked truth) and posit an 'actual' photo of me —> protesting downtown! Feel so much greener, for doing so.

FB, Whaddayou contra-dicking me? I DIDN'T SAY, or MEANT TO IMPLY, or INFER, or EUTHANIZE, ANYTHING of the sort! Hold on, wait-a-minute baz, before you strike at the solar-plexus .. Take another Calm-U! (gulp), OK,.. Oh yeah, I did! (hahaha) He did leave out the # between the power and the :— however! arghh, let it go .. this time. <—{Theatre, just so you know .. it's me!} Hey, maybe you could grow mushrooms where you're trying to grow lettuce—hahaha.

Other biz: Went pig-hunting yesterday, and came home with a bundle of mountain Watercress, instead! Wrapped it in my shirt. Sometimes the prey proves elusive! Doesn't matter—still got shit-loads in the freezer. And I didn't even have to grow or farm any of it! Just there for the taking baby .. while every other fool's 'working' in some BS job which don't amount to 'a hill of beans'! It's the whole experience/lifestyle thing. Fresh air, water, excercise. I mean I ain't breathing in some re-ticulated swine/human foul gym air, am I!

Palooka's Revenge said...

inspired by FA's great post and further inspired by a PDF file i just received i wrote a comment.

the PDF is a copy of an article written by one matt taibbi and published in the current issue of rolling stone.

big lies require big comments and turned out the comment was too long to post in one here so rather than break it up i published it on my blog this morning... http://theunseenroleofdenial.
blogspot.com/

there's an embedded link to taibbi's story at the bottom if you want to cut to the chase. no way i could expose this lie or do it the justice taibbi gives it.

and btw B... if you read between taibbi's lines we find the smoking gun re your recent observation about a deeper reason for the so-called war on terror and why we're in the mid east... preserve usury! very astute observation my friend!!

great post FA. as usual.

murph said...

Palooka,

That is a tremendous article. Thanks for putting up the link through your blog.

That article certainly explains a lot of what is and has been going on in the world of money. These guys need to go down for sure.

freeacre said...

Great post on your blogsite, Palooka! That piece should be mandatory reading for every living American. How anyone could invest another dime on Wall St. is just beyond me. Let's hope that there is some sort of cosmic justice, because it ain't here on the home front, that's for freakin' sure.

Staying home and watching this horrible 4th of July special on PBS. It looks for all the world like the Republican National Convention. Never saw such a sea of white people - and in a black town! HA! How corporate. Don't want to sit in the window tonight, as our exuberant neighbors like to get blasted and fire off their assorted firearms. Welcome to my world... lol

baz recon said...

inspired also by freeacre's post: 'Disinformation and Disorientation', back in March, posted this predecessor—Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone article, which I also thought was 'poignant', and .. no-one even noticed it!—go figure? More dancing girls! Ahead of it's time? Oh well, figure no harm in re-posting it, right? Maybe the time is ...

"psychopaths on Wall Street whom we allowed to gang-rape the American Dream."

Just now discovered—they've 'reduced' it—was muuuch longer, more exhaustive—still, the overall synopsis is intact! How much doom and gloom do you need for Chris-sakes?

Some pertinent excerpts, enjoy! :—

It's over — we're officially, royally fucked. No empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock,

So it's time to admit it: We're fools, protagonists in a kind of gruesome comedy about the marriage of greed and stupidity. And the worst part about it is that we're still in denial — we still think this is some kind of unfortunate accident, not something that was created by the group of psychopaths on Wall Street whom we ...

murph said...

Bas,

I went back and looked at March post and by god yes you did post a link to that article. I can't remember if I went to it or not. For us, sometimes we get busy enough around here that we don't get to all the links put up in the comments. Sorry about that. We try, really we do. Sometimes I try to remember to get to them later and never make it. Anyway, thanks for putting it up again.

freeacre said...

Another place to read Matt Taibbi is on Smirking Chimp, where he is a very regular contributor. You can go there, find one of his posts, and then click on "more of Matt Taibbi" and see 'em all.

Palooka's Revenge said...

thx for the link bos. sorta glad it was the short version. don't think i could take 15 more pages of this crap 2 days in a row without blowin major fuses. and at a time when fireworks are the order of the day eh! everytime i hear the word patriotism i get a bit more cynical over today's interpretation of what its 'spose to mean. closest i came to it yesterday was to cook up some ribs with mom's bbq sauce.

hey... we could probably all use a feel-good story with a playground sense of justice to it after those taibbi tales. this one comes from RS too. appropriate for the day too it being 4th weekend and all and it involving a little pissin contest between kris kristofferson and toby keith back at willie nelson's 70th birthday party at the beacon in the big apple in 03

keith, being the poster child for the war movement hell bent on the great ole amerikan tradition of bombin entire countries and peoples back to the stone ages (in this case, iraq), had a post 9/11 major hit called the angry amerikan where he called for boots up asses "courtesy of the red, white and blue". the song became the anthem (and keith the hero) for supporters of the war movement who, at the time, where in the vast majority. the perfect anthem for the biggest bully on the playground.

KK, who describes himself as "somewhere left of left", has never been shy about it. he's one of the most prolific writers of cut-to-the-bone justice on political, anti-war, and social issues. and, frankly, in my view it takes much bigger and more real balls to be and live issues of the heart than it does to be the biggest bully on the fuckin playground.

so anyway, this alledged altercation took place 6 years ago and at the time was news. then it dissappeared. but its come back again in ethan hawke's excellent profile of KK as "the last outlaw poet" featured in april's RS.

alledged? yup. keith continues to insist - always punctuated by a plethora of various and assorted fuck-you expletives - that it never happened. KK - being diplomatic about it - sez he "don't remember it". my take on KK taking that position is this... he's the kinda guy who don't back down but on something like this he considers it personal. it was between him and keith. he said what he needed to say at the time and thats that. its over. he don't need the publicity. keith on the other hand, being in obvious need of having his ego jerked off at every opportunity cuz way down deep inside he's a very insecure little brat, has to save face.

well, just so happens hawke was a witness (though he doesn't name keith directly) to the slap down which took place backstage in front of a who's who of the music industry including ray charles, willie, nora jones, elvis costello, paul simon, etc, etc, etc. so i'd bet my entire KK catalog that it did happen and, based on what i know of both keith and KK, probably exactly like he writes it.

the story line's in the next comment...

Palooka's Revenge said...

Up from the basement came one of country music's brightest stars (who shall remain nameless). At that moment in time, the Star had a monster radio hit about bombing America's enemies back into the Stone Age.

"Happy birthday," the Star said to Willie, breezing by us. As he passed Kristofferson in one long, confident stride, out of the corner of his mouth came "None of that lefty shit out there tonight, Kris."

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" Kris growled, stepping forward.

"Oh, no," groaned Willie under his breath. "Don't

get Kris all riled up."

"You heard me," the Star said, walking away in the darkness.

"Don't turn your back to me, boy," Kristofferson shouted, not giving a shit that basically the entire music industry seemed to be flanking him.

The Star turned around: "I don't want any problems, Kris — I just want you to tone it down."

"You ever worn your country's uniform?" Kris asked rhetorically.

"What?"

"Don't 'What?' me, boy! You heard the question. You just don't like the answer." He paused just long enough to get a full chest of air. "I asked, 'Have you ever served your country?' The answer is, no, you have not. Have you ever killed another man? Huh? Have you ever taken another man's life and then cashed the check your country gave you for doing it? No, you have not. So shut the fuck up!" I could feel his body pulsing with anger next to me. "You don't know what the hell you are talking about!"

"Whatever," the young Star muttered.

Ray Charles stood motionless. Willie Nelson looked at me and shrugged mischievously like a kid in the back of the classroom.

Kristofferson took a deep inhale and leaned against the wall, still vibrating with adrenaline. He looked over at Willie as if to say, "Don't say a word." Then his eyes found me.

"You know what Waylon Jennings said about guys like him?" he whispered.

I shook my head.

"They're doin' to country music what pantyhose did to finger-fuckin'."

Palooka's Revenge said...

sorry baz.. meant to have 2 s's in that... boss.

murph said...

Folks, if you have been keeping up with the Charles Smith book, or not, here is a link to an excellent analysis.

http://www.oftwominds.com/
survival-plus-
CHS.pdf

Anonymous said...

Both alternet and Huff Po have an article today about an inner-city (Milwaukee) gardening project. Neither article was more than a teaser, so I Googled the title and got growingpower.org. Very inspiring. I wish they'd be working outdoors, but greenhouses are undoubtedly safer and they can grow food during the winter, so this is the best solution for their situation. Check it out.

As for my personal efforts, I ate my third tomato yesterday, and have my dehydrator full of grapes out in the sun. The mockingbirds are having a wonderful time eating as much as they can. My cat has told me on several afternoons that it was too hot for him to go out and guard the grapes for me. Fortunately, there's more than enough to go around.

Caroline

RAS said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
freeacre said...

...uh, sorry. I'm still stuck on contemplating what pantyhose did to finger-fucking... carry on.

Palooka's Revenge said...

uhhhhhh.... i think they rendered such... ahem, impotent?

sorry... bad joke. more like... ended it.

you musta never got in to pantyhose FA

opps, i mean into.

damn, i better shuddup!

rockpicker said...

Here's what I know about pantyhose.

He: 'If Idda known you wus a virgin, I'd a taken more time.'

She: 'If I thought you had more time, I'd have taken off my pantyhose.'

rockpicker said...

Getting back to Matt Taibbi, does anybody know if he's still denigrating the 9/11 truthers? I remember reading his shit on alternet, when I used to go there hoping those people would grow up, but they haven't changed much.

Last I heard, Taibbi was still sounding like a gatekeeper. Concerning the latest article in RS, hooray! I watched an interview Matt gave with Bobby Kennedy on the radio. There's a Youtube video up. Haven't finished reading the piece, but the tenor of the article sounds right. Seems incongruous that someone can see clearly how insiders are taking down the country's economy, yet denies the possibility of insiders taking out the towers. One collapse mirrors, and portends, the other.

BTW, rense has a video of Gen. Bert Stubblebine calling the official 9/11 story a fraud. I think Cheney will eventually get caught. Maybe if congress gets up the nerve to actually throw water on the Wicked Witch of the Fed, they might get a brain, (and, maybe a set of kajones,) and actually revisit ground zero with some real bloodhounds. We can only hope.

Caroline, You reading about one of the newer "food safety" bills, H.R. 2749? It's already out of committee and moving to the full House for debate next week, I think. Sounds like Monsanto crafted the thing, and it may be very bad news for all us organic growers.

- resist

baz recon said...

awrhh murf—that's no excuse—hah, made you look! Tell the 'truth' .. it was the 'dancing girls', right!

Palooka, having 'heightened' senses, I can 'smell' those bbq-sauced-ribs, honestly! The music-biz morality tale was a-bit beyond me, being an Abba fan myself ~ just kidding! .. sorry—couldn't resist .. Waterloo .. won the war .. ah, ..

Weird shit is the new normal?

'There is a crack in everything, but that's how the light gets in !'

rockpicker said...

Was looking into recent sunspot activity and bumped into this. Better pour a stiff one for this.

http://www.lastalta2009.tk/

rockpicker said...

Everyone should take time to read this one, too. Man, I'm "bursting" with good news today!

http://birdflu666.wordpress.com/

Anonymous said...

From Belgium,

According to the Rolic News which is a free newspaper given away by the biggest Chinese food supermarket in Antwerp, there are now 21 cases of A/H1N1 flu confirmed on mainland China. All patients and their contacts have been quarantined and the disease is under control. All cases have contracted the disease abroad mainly America the last one being New York. Li Xingwang, director of the infectious disease sector of the Beijing Ditan Hospital is quoted as saying “There is no death or serious case in China caused by A/H1N1 flu which means the flu is still mild, even milder than seasonal flu”. So why is the WHO is getting excited about a relatively mild and harmless strain of flu. Is it possible the cure is worse than the disease?

The Rolic News is a good pose paper because you can turn it upside down and back to front and pretend to read it in Chinese. Good for when you are on the bus, not that anyone here would be impressed ;-)

Rp I saw the two hour vid you put up on the pervasiveness of the Jewish influence in US politics and it was quite a jaw dropper. When you see things like that it makes you wonder if Hitler wasn’t too much of a wuss.

Baz I liked the old picture better, the new image is a tad girly for a wild pig hunter.

freeacre said...

I can't remember where I read it, but there is also a prediction that some sort of electromagnetic pulse might render the internet as well as all things electrical mute on or around July 7. Of course, almost all of these sorts of predictions turn out to be wrong, so no big deal. But, it does serve to remind us that the lights could go out at any time due to a huge solar flare or godknowswhat. If an event like that happens, I would advise us to keep each other in our hearts and minds and extend a circle of power and protection and love to us all until we get the lights back on. Perhaps it would help to keep in mind that WE WERE BORN FOR THIS!
aho (I'm off to teach myself to make English muffins. Did you know that they are cooked in a cast iron pan? Good camp bread.)

freeacre said...

Well, I have not seen the video, but I would imagine that one could also make a pretty compelling case against Christians, the Huns, the English, men in general, etc. as being reprehensible. But you don't go out and round 'em all up and kill them whether they had anything to do with anything or not. That is just flat out monstrous.

rockpicker said...

Yes, the victims of monstrous behavior tolerate their own monstrosities. Watch the video. And pray for Gaza.phinsi

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

Yes FA there are lots of undesirables in the World, those who represented the Spanish; the Portuguese; the Dutch; the Central African Republic; Zimbabwe; Chad; especially the English but none of these had an agenda which was at odds with that of the country they represent. At least Machiavelli was loyal to his prince but these quislings of whom I speak are calling the shots in the government which has the most powerful military on earth and are serving a different master. You won’t often hear me quoting the Bible but I believe it was King Solomon who said “All the world is vexation and vanity”. Treasonous or not, Why not ask Cynthia McKinney for an opinion?

rockpicker said...

From Clif High, I love it!

"...Can we alter the future by collective will power?
Taking these in reverse order we first examine the idea that
collective human will power can affect manifest reality. Well, this
turns out to be true, and we have demonstrable evidence on
September 11, 2001 when the first minutes of the broadcast of the
attacks on the masonic Twin Towers actually altered the
magnetic’s of the planet as a whole, *and* these magnetic
changes were picked up from satellites. So the answer to that is a
‘possible yes’..."