I may be going out on a limb here, but has anyone else noticed how we are unifying the crazy Muslims in this world that hate us? By doing so, does that make it easier for the crazy Christians to point to a target on the map to drop bombs on? We had it relatively easy with the cold war, Russia was a giant bloc that was easily identifiable on a map. As Condy Rice was happy to state in her 9/11 testimony, the United States was no longer separated by oceans (which is something that we realized after WWII I believe, not after 9/11 and if she just figured it out on 9/11 then she's got bigger problems). We had an "evil empire" to point to, something identifiable. Not this weird ideology or emotion-driven collection of warriors. I wonder if Bush in all of his comic book lingo and religious delusion is trying to make it so that we can have an easily identifiable enemy once again. We had Iraq, now Syria and Iran. Saudi Arabia, despite having our precious, bubbling crude, is no longer safe for Americans and our government has issued a warning for all American citizens to leave that country. So now what? Bush said he was a unifier and he was right. I just wish that he could channel all of his energy into something more positive. In a way that will not bring on some horrible nuclear apocalypse.

In other news, Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore is coming out next week. I will be there and I will write a full review of the film. I am trying to be partial, but I am already giddy with anticipation after seeing the preview. Check it out for yourself. Fahrenheit 9/11

Luckily I am old enough to see the film. Apparently if you are under 17, good luck sneaking in. US film Board Rules 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Unsuitable for Teens, Sparks Protest

It's nice also to see that some diplomats and government officials are jumping on the "Down with Bush" bandwagon. Retired Officials Say Bush Must Go
Hearing their opposition is great, but really what good does it do in the long run? These are retired officials! They can afford to speak out. What I really want to see, what would really fill me with the spirit of the great pumpkin, would be to see Colin Powell come out. I was a little naive. I didn't realize how deeply embedded he was in the evil system. It hurts me to see what a prick his son Michael is now that he is in charge of the FCC. Very convenient since Mr. Secretary of State used to work for AOL and made $4 million dollars on the AOL/Time Warner merger. Funny how there was no opposition from his son at the FCC over that monopolizing merger, but what can you do, family sticks together.

This week though on Meet the Press he called some terrorist statistics wrong, even though he did oddly admit, you "can't cook the books now." Now. Great. You are giving me such confidence in your character, Colin. He has been teetering on the edge of dissent for quite some time. So here is an open letter to Mr. Colin Powell:

Dear Colin,

Jump, Colin, Jump. Fall into the warm embrace of the American People that would forgive you if you would just give us the sweet truth we desire. Implicate yourself, come clean, wash away the stench of conservative republicans that clings to you like the smell of vomit on a mid-summer subway car. Tell us everything you know, bring down the president, his goonies, the whole shebang. Ride into Iraq on a great white stallion of justice and save the soldiers you once thought of as your family. Swim in a tide of overwhelming pride for our armed forces, in compassion for their plight and their families, in sorrow for their wounds and losses.

Remember the boy who clawed his way out of the Bronx, who had a community of aunts and uncles and extended family that watched out for him, the way they used to in the good old days. Remember too, the children of today who have none of those wonderful people to make sure they did better and worked harder to stay on the straight and narrow. Think of the children, that's right children, that joined the army to escape the same ghetto that you escaped from, to pay for college, to find a better life for their families instead of being in a senseless, imperialistic war that lines the pockets of white men that keep you around in order to gain some kind of affirmative action street credibility. They have wealth that you will never see in this lifetime, a blue that pumps through their veins that you or your children will never acquire because you were not born with the birthright of a silver spoon in your mouth.

Remember the American citizens who had faith in you, people like myself that stood dumbfounded as we watched you remain silent when this court appointed president waged a war you knew was wrong. Remember us, gain inspiration from us and for us.


Sincerely,

The Scarlet Pimp

I am fond of ranting on my blog how we are not doing enough as a global community to eradicate the cancer of the Christian Capitalist Crusaders, but I don't really get in to specifics. So when people write me and ask me what they can do, I think long and hard and then I google.

There is a great list on Stop Bush in 2004, that gives 10 things a single person can do to make a difference. 10 Preliminary Actions to Defeat Bush in 2004. In addition to providing us with a detailed list of how every part of our lives is effected by companies that support Bush- even banks which brought forth flashbacks of the scene from Mary Poppins when there was a run on the bank because little Michael kept shouting, "give me back my tuppence!"- it brings up the point of swing states. I am not as politically savvy as I may seem. This whole idea of swing states is just as weird as the electoral college. But here is what Stop Bushers had to say:

"Choose Your STATE of Action. We must emphasize the importance of taking action in Swing States and take action in them. If you live in one of the following swing states, you will likely focus all of your efforts on your state.

Swing States: Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Potential Swing States: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, and Virginia.

If you don't live in a Swing State, split time between taking action in your state and a neighboring swing state. Determine which swing states are good for you."

Now take a moment and determine if you are a swing state or a potential swing state. I am not. I live in New York. Which means I must locate my nearest swing state, probably Pennsylvania if my public school geography education was accurate, and flock there with flyers and pamphlets and voter registration cards. You can also check out www.swingstateproject.com for a wonderfully informative map of all of states and where they stand, to the left or to the right, and you know who you are, the ones swinging in the middle.

I can tell you what I have started to do and what I plan to start doing to inform people of the election and their choices. I don't try to tell people how to vote, because voting is about choice. So I present them with as many facts as I possibly can about where the candidates stand. At work, I provided many of my coworkers with a packet of information on Bush, Kerry, and Nader and where they stand on ALL of the issues. Military, Social Security, Education, etc.. One coworker admitted she didn't vote and even though she was 30 she had never registered. After I recovered from this confession I downloaded an application for her from RockTheVote.com and gave one to her fiance too so that he could re-register after moving from another state. I am also in the process of compiling more flyers and I am going to put together a packet to leave at local businesses, in the ATM area at the bank, scattered with the free newspapers at Barnes and Nobles, in the laundromat, on the subway. When I have everything assembled I will even offer it here, so everyone can send in for it and I will mail it out at my own expense. So stay tuned for more info.

Back to swing states and what we can each do. Get your friends together. Make this a community affair. You don't have to be scary and confrontational, you are just informing the public, registering them to vote and answering any questions they might have. That is definitely something each of us can do in our lives. If you carry the flyers or a few voter registration cards in your purse or briefcase it's not really going to break you. You might even think of going into the less fortunate areas of your community. See if the poor people have registered. If you speak another language, help them fill out the form. Organize a field trip on November 4th, so that the English impaired can have a buddy that speaks and reads the language in order to help them vote. We can do it!


In other news:

Here are some great stuff that you should be reading. Now that Reagan is dead and the President has told us that we have to be a nation in mourning, it is important to remember the REAL Reagan: what he did and what he left for future generations. Check this out on Redefeatbush.org, What Reagan Taught Bush:Lessons for Counterrevolutionaries

Also, Check out Common Dreams: Amid Tributes, Activists Lament Reagan's Failures on Homelessness

Finally, all I have to say to the Iraqi Detainees that suffered abuse at Abu Ghraib is: Welcome to Democracy. Following the American tradition of suing when you have been wronged, Ex-Detainees Sue 2 U.S. Contractors

It seems only fair that if our president is hanging the soldiers involved out to dry for the abuse, saying they worked alone, etc., then why shouldn't these detainees seek justice in a civil court? It reminds me of the OJ Simpson case where the parents of the man that was killed sued him for lots of money and won despite his not guilty verdict. If you read the article you can see just how shitty these prisoners were treated and the companies should pay. PAY PAY PAY!!!! That is the only form of punishment the CCC's understand. (The Christian Capitalist Crusaders for those who are just joining me)

I am going to be working on an updated version, more elaborate, bells, whistles, the whole shebang, of this website. So if my postings don't come as often as they used to, bear with me. Keep spreading the love and write me back to let me know how you are fighting the good fight!

There is a man I work with named Andrew that asked me to write about him in my blog. I asked him what I should write about and he kept repeating that there was lots of stuff that was interesting about him but he did not elaborate. So I will write what I know and what I think about him.

Andrew has a B.S. in Sports Medicine and he works as a file clerk for the large healthcare corporation where I am the receptionist for the urology division. So if you are looking for penile implants or vasectomies, you know who to come to. He is a very friendly, personable gentleman in the truest sense of the word but he is a lousy file clerk. He is a lousy file clerk because he does not possess a passion for alphabetizing charts and making photocopies all day long. Why should he? The man has a degree in Sports Medicine for God's sake! I harass him as often as I can about finding a job that is more suited for him, something that will make him happy and give him a reason to wake up in the morning. But like many Generation X-ers (remember that term?) he is doing a job that gives him very little pleasure and I am sure very little money. I suffer from the same affliction to some extent. I work for the same white-collar sweatshop for less money than I am worth because I was too chicken shit to ask for more money at the bargaining table.

So what is it that has affected my generation? We had high hopes, we had dreams! We had degrees in Art history and Creative Writing because we loved to look at and write pretty things and now we are temping, driving trucks or working at blockbuster. I did some research on the internet to try to come to some kind of conclusion. Some call it a midlife crisis or a quarterlife crisis. We get to our mid-twenties to about thirty and we realize we know absolutely nothing. Funny how that sense of confidence a person possesses in their early twenties, that sense of intention and ability to make a difference changes almost overnight into the fears of our parents. There are car payments, the need for health insurance and school loans to repay. We also develop a need for material possessions that replaces our idealistic preference for minimalist furnishings and casual clothing.

Apparently our generation suffers from low expectations. A Promising Generation discusses this affliction which sounds all too familiar to me.

The author, Mike Bellah, writes:

"The greatest strength of this generation may lie in what many see as its greatest weakness, low expectations. According to a Roper poll, only 21% of Xers rate their future as very good. In this they are more like their Depression-era grandparents than their boomer parents.
Yet, like their grandparents, Xers are more likely to find a way to endure tough times. They will accept low-paying entry-level jobs. They will live at home in order to afford college. They will delay marriage and child-bearing. In short, they will do what it takes to survive."

Sadly, the author goes on to say this will lead us into happiness because all of our hard work will result in success which will exceed anything we ever expected. Yippy for us. I disagree. I think our low expectations are leading us right into a rut. Will we recover? Maybe, when we are mad as hell and not going to take anymore. But will our rut of low expectations leave us in a place that we can make effective change? And if yes, when? If Andrew stays in his job as a file clerk for very much longer, the space between his potential as a graduate of a Sports Medicine degree program and his extensive career as a file clerk will grow. He tells me, "it's not what you know, it's who you know." Perhaps there are not so many people in our generation that have that charmed a life. His low expectations are reinforced by his belief that should he want to work for the NY Jets rubbing mineral ice into sore muscles, it would be provided for him by someone other than himself. Would it be luck or chance? A happy coincidence? Perhaps, but it would be something unexpected I imagine if he were to just submit his resume or reply to a job posting in the newspaper. A dream job received simply because of one's own credentials and merit? Yeah, and I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya.

The average person is so disenchanted by the economy, the internet bust, corporate accounting fraud, stocks plummeting, unavailable jobs, outsourcing, the rising cost of living, the increase in gas prices, and so on that they have pretty much fucked themselves into a corner. Generation X was unfairly labeled as "slackers" but we are working very hard. We are hamsters running in a wheel and getting nowhere. But we never really expected to get anywhere, did we? All we want to do is make it to payday. To survive.

Maybe it is this notion of low expectations that makes us so reluctant to vote, to act out, to protest our government. So I ask all of you if there is a chance that we will recover from this depression across a generation. We can't seem to motive ourselves out of our jobs as file clerks, receptionists, starbucks coffee pushers, and blockbuster movie slingers, so how can we hope to motivate our country out of war and imperialist pursuits and into a global community based on compassion and equality?

There is a must read essay by Arianna Huffington on Commondreams. org. Everyone should check it out - Shakespeare Turns A Spotlight On Bush And Iraq.

This week I saw another horrendous commercial for the United States Army. I have previously written about the radio commercial that I had listened to which stated something like:

"After college, Jenny applied to all of the companies in her town, neither of them were hiring. Join the Army!"

This weekend there was a commercial shot through the lens of a target-periscope type thing. It takes place in the desert and middle eastern turban-wearing men are pacing back and forth in front of your generic, terrorist, compound-like structure with a gun slung over the shoulder as terrorists are known to carry. At first I thought this is a commercial for a tacky video game. Then words are typed across the screen as it narrows in on a couple of soldiers hiding in the hills disguised as bushes. It states:

"You have your orders and enough supplies to last for 5 days. Its day 12. Think you can handle it?"

It appears the marketing geniuses that work for the US Army have decided that the desperate graduating college student demographic wasn't paying off so now they should work on the macho, thrill seekers. You're not a real man if you can't survive in 100 degree weather without food or water for 7 days! Or are they trying to make lemonade out of the rotted lemons they have because our soldiers aren't taken care of, are not provided for, and everyone knows. I can just imagine a Madison Avenue Asshole saying, 'hey maybe we can use that bad publicity and make it work for us!'

Here are a few samples of future commercials for the US Army:

Commercial #1

It takes place in a dark, dingy prison cell somewhere in the heart of Iraq. Dozens of starving, oily, young men are standing around in the cells, hanging off of the bars and staring lustily into the camera. Suddenly the camera pans to a spiked dog collar and leash hanging from a hook on the wall and a riding crop with US ARMY inscribed in gold letters. The words, "They've been so very naughty" flash across the screen and then cuts to the men again. The announcer says, "Are you a MASTER of Organization? Do you have a PASSION for bringing order from chaos? Join the Army!"

Commercial #2

It takes place on an Army base somewhere in Iraq. We see shots of all of the exits heavily guarded from the inside, not the outside. It becomes apparent that the guards are making sure no one escapes. We see soldiers in their barracks writing home to their families, calling them on the phone, and telling them they can't come home on leave. Only these soldiers are happy! One says to the camera, "With the factory closing in my home town, I probably won't be able to find another job. I was happy when they told me I would be rejected for retirement this year!" Another younger soldier says, "When I go home my wife is going to want me to help her take care of the children and help around the house. I can't stand to hear her nag. I know I've been here over a year, but six more months is a breeze." The last soldier comes on and says, "I don't have a family or any friends to return to. If I go home I will just spend all my money on liquor and strippers!" The Announcer comes on and says, "AN ARMY OF ONE!" Join the Army!

The Army needs new recruits. They are trying very hard to keep the soldiers they have by not letting them go home or retire and now we have to worry about the Draft. No longer a rumor, the Draft is coming for ya.

The Universal National Service Act of 2003 is at this moment waiting for the Armed Services Committee to give it the thumbs up. Here is a breakdown of the things you need to know about this important piece of legislation:

-if you are 18-26 you must complete 2 years in the armed forces, MALE OR FEMALE, and college cannot buy you a ticket out. Sorry future Cheneys and Rumsfelds, the only way out is to enroll in the Naval Academy or something like it, or by volunteering, or by order of the President. Here is what the hslda.org says:

"Official purpose: A bill to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
The language of this bill mandates a national service obligation for every U.S. citizen and permanent resident, aged 18-26. It authorizes the President to establish both the number of people to be selected for military service, and the means of selection. Additionally, the measure requires those not selected specifically for military service to perform their national service obligation in a civilian capacity for at least two years.
S. 89 language permits:
Deferments for education only through high school graduation, or until the age of 20.
Exceptions are made for those with 1) extreme hardship, or 2) physical or mental disability.
Conscientious objectors are defined and directed by the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 456(j))."

In fact, many things are by order of the President in this bill. He gets to say which of the drafted population is allowed to go to war and who is to stay home with their loved ones. Now check it, if we amend the constitution to discriminate against gay marriage, please follow me on this, who is to say our president, having set a precedent of discrimination, won't say "All black and spanish people should go to war because god told me that they would like it better in the hotter climates because they were born with more melanin in their skin whereas white people burn easier."

This is something that we should be outraged over and everyone should write to their representatives to vote against this bill. I understand the need for military service and I believe serving in the military is necessary when we have been threatened. Not this war. NOT THIS WAR! It is expected that this particular draft should be starting in June 2005. I think a draft might be necessary if people were coming to the US like the scene from the Brad Pitt movie TROY that I had no desire to see. If we see thousands of boats coming towards New York, then by all means hand me a gun and I will start fighting. What is important is domestic security. Our national guard is in another country and not defending us here where we need them. If they were here, we wouldn't need to say to men and women of 18, put that book down and pick up that gun! It's time to defend the country that didn't give you an appropriate healthcare or educational system, that didn't make your neighborhood safe, that didn't make your vote count because of faulty e-voting and a weird electoral system. During the civil war, rich people were allowed to buy their sons out of military service. Even the great Abraham Lincoln was shitty at times. Who says W. wouldn't bring that back? Remember GANGS OF NEW YORK? As soon as the new immigrants come to this country we can sign them up for military service so that way when we mistreat the soldiers it won't matter because they aren't "real" Americans anyway.

This is bad, people. We need to start writing, shouting, marching in the streets. Get to work.