Friday, November 8, 2024

Reconstructing the Elephant: The Republican Party's Path Forward After a Fall from Grace

The GOP foundation is crumbling

 

As the dust settles on an electoral season defined by unprecedented turmoil, the Republican Party finds itself at a crossroads. Following the recent election of a felon and sexual offender to The White House, the party, once a bastion of conservative values and traditional American ethics, faces an existential crisis. It is a moment that demands introspection, reinvention, and a return to the core principles that once defined its identity.

The aftermath of the election reverberates not just through the halls of power, but deep into the community that the GOP calls home. Supporters are emboldened, activists are excited, and long-time Republican strategists are left pondering the political obligations of a brand now synonymous with scandal. As the party grapples with its new reality, there are echoes of a history marred by its own hand.

Take Michael Flynn, for example, the former national security adviser whose tumultuous tenure culminated in a guilty plea for lying to the FBI regarding his interactions with Russian officials. Flynn's fall from grace serves as a sobering reminder that the machinations of power can easily turn against those who manipulatively wield it. His legal woes did not just implicate him; they cast a shadow over the whole party, sending a message that the path to the top may be littered with deception and disregard for the very foundations of democracy.

Paul Manafort: CONVICTED

Then there is Paul Manafort, whose political career ended in spectacular disgrace after being convicted on multiple counts of financial fraud and conspiracy against the United States. In a stunning indictment of corruption, Manafort’s actions illuminated the depths to which some party officials would plunge to gain power and influence. His dealings raise pressing questions: Is the lust for power within the Republican Party so intoxicating that it blinds its members to ethical considerations? And what does it mean for a party that openly welcomes individuals who have shown a blatant disregard for the law?

With such figures casting a long shadow, the need for reinvention has never been more urgent. The Republican Party must confront not only the criminal actions within its ranks but also the values it projects to its constituents and the nation at large. The data is undeniable: trust in political institutions is waning, and the GOP risks becoming a relic of a bygone era if it fails to redefine itself as a party grounded in integrity and accountability.

Some may argue that the party has always enjoyed a constituency willing to overlook transgressions, buoyed by an unwavering commitment to conservative ideals. Yet, the recent events suggest a lack of depth in that loyalty. The real challenge lies in discerning whether support can continue in the face of scandals. When a party’s identity becomes synonymous with legal woes and ethical lapses, the electorate's patience wears thin.

To forge a new path, the Republican Party must embrace a robust narrative of renewal. It must be a party that prioritizes transparency over obfuscation, where accountability is woven into the fabric of its essence. This means cultivating fresh leadership that values civic duty above personal interest, and championing candidates who embody the principles of integrity, meritocracy, and genuine service to the public.

Consider the impact of conservative values on issues like family, education, and national security. Where once the party may have sidestepped these principles for the allure of power, it could now re-center its platform around the very tenets that resonate with the common American: hard work, personal responsibility, and respect for the rule of law.

Moreover, the embrace of a younger, more diverse demographic is essential. The party must make it a priority to engage with communities that have long been marginalized, expanding its appeal beyond traditional bases. This will require confronting uncomfortable truths about systemic issues rather than remaining ensconced in narratives that alienate potential allies.

In a moment when the nation is searching for leadership, the Republican Party’s reinvention rests on its ability to rise above the scandalous narrative that has overshadowed its heritage. It is not simply about rebuilding trust, but about reimagining the vision of the party itself. By discarding the vestiges of corruption and promising a commitment to ethical governance, there lies an opportunity—albeit fraught with challenges—to redefine the essence of what it means to be a Republican.

In the words of a now-disillusioned faith leader who stayed steadfast to the party through the turbulence, “It’s not enough to win; we must win the right way.” An echo of hope in a landscape often painted with the brush of cynicism, this sentiment could become the rallying cry for a party based, once more, on the principles upon which it was built. In this moment of reckoning, the Republican Party faces a choice: to stumble backward into the shadows of its past or to charge forward into a future fortified by integrity and purpose.

As the pages of history turn, will the Republican Party reinvent itself as a fortress of virtue, or will it be remembered as a cautionary tale—a once-great entity undone by the very vices it sought to eradicate? The answer lies not in the echoes of the past but in the choices made in the present.

Friday, September 27, 2024

New Album: Music For The Movies In Your Mind


 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Heartbreak Time Machine Releases New Album of Cinematic Instrumentals: "Music For The Movies In Your Mind"

FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA — September 20, 2024 — The Heartbreak Time Machine is thrilled to announce the release of their new album, "Music For The Movies In Your Mind," a collection of cinematic instrumentals that transcends genres and eras. The album is now available on all major streaming platforms. Find links to your favorite service at: https://linktr.ee/HeartbreakTimeMachine

Crafted for those who appreciate the emotive power of music, "Music For The Movies In Your Mind" seamlessly blends various styles to create a listening experience reminiscent of timeless film scores while incorporating contemporary sounds. Each track is designed to evoke rich imagery and emotions, making it perfect for fans of cinematic music or anyone looking to explore the boundaries of genre.

"Jeremiah is so incredibly talented and works so hard at his craft!" said Hans Eberbach, acclaimed singer and sometimes-collaborator. "This album showcases his dedication and artistry in every note."

Featuring a total of 22 tracks, including the captivating lead single "The Long Road Home," "Music For The Movies In Your Mind" invites listeners on a captivating journey through its lush soundscapes and intricate melodies. The album pays homage to the past while embracing innovative production techniques, appealing to a diverse audience.

Listeners can immerse themselves in "Music For The Movies In Your Mind" on popular streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

For more information and updates, please visit https://www.jeremiahjacobs.com or follow The Heartbreak Time Machine on Instagram: @heartbreak_time_machine.

About The Heartbreak Time Machine
The Heartbreak Time Machine, the creative project of composer and producer Jeremiah Jacobs, pushes the boundaries of instrumental music, blending cinematic soundscapes with influences from multiple genres and eras. With a dedication to storytelling through sound, The Heartbreak Time Machine continues to captivate audiences and redefine what instrumental music can be.

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I want to thank my patrons for their unending support.

Thursday, June 15, 2023

An Open Letter To UFO & ET Believers and Evangelists

 Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence: Show us the ships.

And not just the ships, but also account for where it came from and how it got here. And why we're not all dead from the introduction of untold biological matter into our ecosystem.

You have to answer ALL the questions at once, now. 

No more claims to secret knowledge.

Show us the ships.

No more elliptical arguments or grammatical sleights of hand.

Show us. The ships.

No more special appeals.

Show. Us. The. Ships.

There are no ET crafts, friends, I know. I've accepted this reality.

I've also accepted its rational conclusion: nobody is coming to save us.

People accuse skeptics of being close-minded, but it's the UFO believers who seem closed to trying to grasp the true nature of just how vast the universe really is. 

The fact that we exist at all forces us to accept one of a few possibilities. 

    One, maybe we're first. Someone has to be, and maybe it's us. 

    Two, maybe interstellar travel is just basically impossible, or so hard as to be effectively impossible. 

    Or three, there really are aliens out there, and somehow despite having hundreds of millions of years to reach out world, they're only just now arriving, right at the moment we have the technology to imagine and detect them. 

The level of coincidence in this last option is utterly staggering., but that its invoked so easily speaks to a massive deficiency in our understanding of math.

Right now, all of us are collectively attempting to dodge the emotional labor of getting our shit together, hence TikTok, "true crime" genres, and the continuing proliferation of drive-through coffee.

The fact that we exist at all imbues us with the responsibility to act to preserve the lives of generations we'll never know, but more importantly, will never know of us at all.

We have to save ourselves this time.

Or show us the ships.

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Netflix Is For Rich People

 

This is a new gilded age, and only the gilded shall have streaming.

From Netflix's perspective, "poor" people share passwords and stream lots of content, meaning they are expensive customers.

The rich, by contrast, pay the same fee but watch FAR less, i.e., they are a more profitable customer.

Yes, Netflix is ditching its most expensive customers. The poor can go back to YouTube and pay the ad-tax to watch.

If you can afford to put kids in college, you can afford to give them their own Netflix account.

Are you in the economic demographic of "Cannot afford two Netflix accounts?"

I'm sorry that capitalism didn't work out for you, either.

Tell your elected reps to support a Universal Basic Income.

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

The Top 5 Things Successful Musicians Do

  1.  Be Born Rich.


  2. .
  3.  

That's it - just the one thing: Be born rich.

Barring that, best of luck.

Thursday, September 23, 2021

A Lifetime in a Decade

I've been doing ten jobs for ten years:

  • Performing Artist / Keyboardist
  • Band Manager / Music Director
  • Booking Agent
  • Publicist
  • Songwriter
  • Music Producer
  • Graphic Designer
  • Audio Engineer
  • Market Researcher
  • Husband / Friend / Human

Each of these can be performed better by a single full-time person.

 But those of us out here in the dust have been doing these ten jobs by ourselves and its no wonder we've burned out.

I've done a century's worth of work and for what? Three complete mental / emotional breakdowns that almost cost my marriage?

Thursday, November 5, 2020

A Near-Majority of Americans are Authoritarian Racists (And They're Just Fine With That)

 It's one thing to be a racist, but it's another to be called a racist.

Here's what I'm thinking about as American Democracy collapses under international attack:

American Exceptionalism (wiki link, lots of reading)

    My current sense is "most people" think of the US as an outlier nation - above all others in moral foundation and righteousness of action. Because we think of ourselves as a dominant power, we feel we're immune to attack (Russia, China) which is partly why those countries efforts to influence our elections are working.

Racism (and Sexism) predict support for Trump

    A Google Scholar search with lots of results. Key insight: Trump voters love the raw power of racism and sexism. They'll die to uphold white supremacy. Worse, they'll kill, too.

 Narcissism.

This is America's "real problem" however it intersects with the above in ways that predict authoritarian outcomes. To Republicans, "government" = "police" = "state violence." Advertising media amplifies this signal to +1000 overwhelming our ability to create a reality other than theirs.

The Overton Window

It has moved to the Right after The Fairness Doctrine was struck down (by Republicans... of course) which makes formerly centrist ideas appear "far left" (i.e., racial justice, police reform, medical care)

Running thoughts:

  • There is no American "left" to speak of, there is only a right wing noise machine that is basically a racist propaganda system. The "left" is a product of right-wing thinking, specifically "there must be an enemy to defeat" + false equivalence = "liberals are enemies!"
  • Facebook is a right-wing propaganda amplifier and has always been. Yes, they can buy your data from other companies, but getting away from the ecosystem entirely has health benefits that go beyond mental/emotional.
  • The sons and daughters of the WWII generation went on to raise a nation of sexist authoritarians who think Hitler might have been onto something in the first place.
  • Internet hosting companies who have "de-platformed" neo-nazi groups have never fully answered to how/why they were platformed in the first place...

TOE's (Theory Of Everything)

 Peak Complexity:

  • Predictable human response to complexity is seeking (or reducing to) simplest form(s)
  • Some things can no longer be reduced (mobile phones, radio technology, internet, etc)
  • All national and cultural origin stories are up for examination / deconstruction / annihilation. This is a worldwide existential crisis and predicts pockets of fundamentalist violence.
  • Most "entry level" jobs are now specialised (barista) and require specific training or behavioral adherence (i.e, food safety standards).Early entry to the workforce is critical to long-term positive outcomes, and higher bars to entry leave too many behind.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Adobe Audition is NOT for Music Producers


 ..and they say so right here in this forum post:

"Audition is a multitrack audio editor, and doesn't even attempt to cut it as music creation software, as such."

 Yes, the software can be used to edit music clips together, but it does not support VST instruments, the core of how music producers work these days.

The software also has latency issues that make recording / monitoring in realtime a bit challenging, which again, is only an issue for musicians.

This is really too bad, and I should have looked up the specifics before doing a subscription, but I'm only out about $40.

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Braindump: Adobe Audition and Headphones on Laptop

Here's a quick brain dump re: using Adobe Audition on a laptop (specifically in this case a Raider GE75, but this applies to others that use the RealTek audio hardware/software). In most apps (your web browser, Netflix) when you plug in your headphones, the system automatically connects that audio device and assigns the current audio to that output.

In your experience, you plug in your headset and it "just works."

But because Adobe Audition has taken over the system's "master clock" it cannot simply switch audio hardware or outputs - i.e., "hotplug" - so here's the little trick if your headphones don't work in Audition:

(*For MSI / Realtek / Raider)

Plug in your headphones (IN THE CORRECT JACK) and open the Realtek Audio Console.


Take note of the device name underneath the headphones icon, in this case "ReakTek HD Audio 2nd output."

Adobe Audition / Edit / Preferences / Audio Hardware -->


Drop down the "Default Output" options and select the (now available) headphone output.

VOILA! You should be hearing your work through your headphones!

I hope this helped!

Musicians: It's Ok If You Don't Know Why You're Successful

Few things are more confusing and confounding than success. Especially in music where "success" is defined individually yet also collectively in the form of capitalist measures (i.e., sales, followers, etc).

My latest acquaintance who's recently reaped some small financial rewards attributed his windfall to "persistence" and "just stayin in the game" and never once investigated his own data to find out what he should repeat. He ended up writing /releasing another single that sounded kinda like the one that was already selling - it didn't. Why? Nobody knows.

Success can be terrifying if you  don't know why because you also don't know what to repeat. How can you change/refine if you don't know what's working? Instead you just have this static fear that it will disappear without warning - AND IT WILL if you don't know what you're doing.

Few areas are as full  of mysticism as the professional arts - sans politics maybe - and I'll never understand WHY so many artists are content to remain ignorant of their own formulas.

Without exception the folks I see who are continuously successful are not only driven, they are disciplined, gentle, willing to change, and they trust their advisors. They are part of a TEAM and woe to those who fail to recognize the contributions of others to their own successes.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN 'INDEPENDENT' ARTIST!

Monday, June 15, 2020

On George Floyd and White Rage

Putting this thought down and hoping I'm wrong: it looked personal.

I have some firsthand experience with whiteness: I am.

It looked personal.

That white hot, righteous... rage. I've seen it and felt it. Ask me how I know: I'm white.

It felt personal.


I didn't know either of these men and I'm probably wrong about this.

(Note: I reserve the right to change my opinion when I feel like it.)

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Hello Ladies: My Dating Standards Are In No Way Unreasonable

Hello ladies, thanks for checking out my profile on this site! Ask me anything! I'm looking forward to meeting you and telling you what a disappointment you are when you don't meet my In No Way Unreasonable Dating Standards. But first, more about ME:

I'm a laid back cool guy man guy that does guy stuff like FIX SHIT (usually by taking it to another man who I'll pay with your money) and you'll know I'm a MAN'S GUY by how I (don't) dress, more specifically, I'll never wear a dress! Dresses are for ladies and I'M A MAN who's here for the ladies so gay dudes, sorry but I'm not available LOL (See, I know I'm a man's type of guy and that means that any shred of non-manness in you is gonna want to get pregnant by me and unless you're also a solid bro man guy hombre like me, you're just gonna get turned on and come at me, bro!)

Anyway, this profile is for the ladies who like REAL MEN and not FAKE MEN like all those other guys who also happen to be employed but that's just because people are afraid of REAL MEN but they shouldn't be because I'm just a harmless teddy bear GUY that will take care of you and always be gentle unless someone cuts us off in traffic or disagrees with me on social media in which case THAT PERSON should look out because a REAL MAN doesn't take shit from nobody but he does show other people how easily undermined he is and that's what I'll do with you!

I spend a lot of time doing MANBROGUYDUDE things like man-biking the guy-trails of Dude's Peak in the manscaped jungles of lower Ballsackian County where my uncle grew up and also my dad. So I don't have a lot of time to waste on time wasters but I have just enough to incessantly bother you for attention and validation when my needs demand it.

Me and my friends are so cool and awesome you won't need any of yours! This is great because I only want to do things I want to do, which involves everything from casual sex to other kinds as well!

Speaking of sex, I'll demand you're constantly at the sexual ready should I require it, but I won't be able to until after we're married and I'm on your healthcare and seen a doctor! But it'll be so worth it to have kept your non-existent needs in check while we're waiting on the "ALL CLEAR!"

You'll always know where you stand with me! For instance, is there a hotter woman in the room? Then you won't be standing next to me! Otherwise, your job is to be the hottest woman in the room, which should be easy because my totally reasonable standards mean you'll already be hot just by the fact that I'm dating you! I'm so good for your self-esteem!

The way I see it, the only unreasonable thing in the world are women that won't date me! That's a joke because I'm not!

I mean a dilapidated mobile home on some abandoned feral property. Why? I love nature and ecology or something, also this total bitch of a judge said I couldn't live near a school or parks and they just seem noisy to me and REAL MEN LIKE IT QUIET!

It's the only way to obsess over my insecurities.

So, tell me more about you? And by "you" I mean specifically "me" and by "tell me more about" I mean I'd like to hear compliments now about how awesome I am. Yes, I'll wait until right after you get back from the ladies room.

.......

Facebook is horrible

Facebook - (ahem, FACEBOOK) is horrible. I'm not going to rant too much other than to say I've had the oddest feeling this "thing" is working against "us" and for someone else. We're out here trying to build a future and FACEBOOK wants to live in it's prime, which is now our past.


This is only one hint of how problematic this thing has become as an unregulated corporate institution - remember the disdain they've displayed toward public interrogation - and if it's this bad on the surface, what unimaginable evil have they been up too over there?



I've lost trust in this platform for a number of small reasons, this simple case makes for Exhibit: Infinity.

Friday, February 7, 2020

Don't Play In Traffic

Quick brain dump:

  • Here's a list of things we do in our bedrooms:
    • Sleep
    • Fuck
    • Eat
    • Relax
    • Cry
    • Retreat
    • Change clothes
    • Deepthink

  • Here's a list of things we do in our cars:
    • Sleep
    • Fuck
    • Eat
    • Relax
    • Cry
    • Retreat
    • Change clothes
    • Deepthink
    • Drive
My point: Our vehicle interiors are emotionally/psychologically connected to our bedrooms via a perception of safety. Our car's interior is one of our safest spaces.

And like any other safe space, we're uniquely tuned to perceived threats to its safety, and by proxy, our own. In some ways, this invisible stress - the moving of our safe space through an unsafe territory (read: traffic) - is one of the deepest roots of anxiety present like static in the background of our everyday experience. "I hate driving."

So here's my non-intuitive summary: please don't stop traffic as a means of political protest, unless you've absolutely got the numbers. People can react unpredictably to perceived threats to their safety, and you NEVER know who's behind the proverbial wheel. It is simply not worth the risk (IMHO) to your life. 

(Note: this in NO way forgives the "vehicle as weapon" scenario. That is a different psychology, but tangentially connected. Separate post.)

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

New Rules for Democratic Candidates

We're only a couple of months into 2020 and already the proverbial ground is shifting in the political world, and having read almost 10 tweets hashtagged with #politics, I'm ready to tell Democratic candidates the best strategy (I mean, they're all the best but plural nouns confuse me when I'm short on Red Bull and simultaneously listening to a Joe Rogan podcast)

  • Under no circumstances should you accept any campaign donations greater than $10. As we are well aware, this nation has a proud tradition of electing candidates that received the highest number of contributions from "everyday people." Ronald Reagan was famous for only accepting $5 bills from people on the street during his California Gubernatorial race.
  •  Only hire campaign staff that are willing to work for ramen and suffering. They should be highly skilled, of course, and above reproach in every possible way.
  • If participating in a "caucus", remember to take great care and consideration when selecting a high school gymnasium from which to select a representative of the nation & person who will command the the largest and most vicious military in history. Create an excel spreadsheet of all the regional mascots and accompanying wordage. Sort by proximity to a charter school. Select the one with the worst parking
  • Compile a histogram timeline of words commonly used in a sexist and diminutive sense regarding women. Examples: Shrill, high pitched, whining, pathetic, bickering, easily manipulated and powerless. Now apply all of these to yourself and your party.
  • Open a Twitter account and make sure your notifications are audible. That way you can know instantly when a random 17-year old fresh into the foster system needs to hurl sexually specific accusations into your DM's at 3am. He'll be a voter one day, so remember that!
  • Some voting blocs may demand specific concessions, like watching you fuck a bald eagle. Bear in mind you support "big tent" politics and if it takes a few eagle-fuckers to get you into office so you can finally enact  your Great Plan For America, well, then the eagle-fuckers get a voice. Just a less than $10 per individual eagle-fucker voice... 
  • DON'T BE UNELECTABLE: Here are some things that typically earn a candidate the dreaded "unelectable" scarlet letter...
    • Being a woman
    • Being a Democrat
    • Being non-white
    • Speaking languages other than "American"
    • Having parents from somewhere other than "just up the road"
    • Complete sentences.
  • Hold no wealth. Homes and steady incomes are for the 1%. To truly represent the "real america" you must suffer more than your constituents. If you've gone to college, be sure to convey you learned nothing.
  • Listen to your constituents (or their favorite podcast). The corpulent, high-school dropout truck driver who's double-wide sits in floodplain most likely possesses a nuanced grasp of the finer contours of international diplomacy. Just kidding! He likes meth.
Final note: NONE of this applies to Republicans.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Nothing To Marvel At

Cleaning out some old boxes and found a story/essay I'd written in elementary school. I was maybe nine years old at the time. The story's arc is pretty simple: space aliens are invading and only specific knowledge of American military hardware can be counted on to save the world (read: America) from whatever thing(s) the invading aliens did different.

The point of this horrific narrative was I thought it would impress my forebears, in this case not only my immediate father but his paternal power figure as well, aka my Grandfather.

So I did my best to imagine - at 7 to nine years of age - what story would appeal to both generations of parentage, the final desired outcome being the opening of the elder family's proverbial purse-strings and elevating me (and by proxy my family) from rural poverty to....well, whatever was better than that.

Which was pretty much everything.

But I digress. My larger point is this:

To me, this is what the Marvel franchise films feel like; someone tried to write a story that was meant to impress their elder family for whatever selfish reasons and what ended up on screen was a perfectly predictable outcome of that.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

What does Facebook do with your nude photos?

Quick: before you let your brain trick you into the safety of "probably nothing" please take into consideration these facts:
  • software that identifies nude photos has been functioning "in the wild" for over a decade, i.e., it's not new,
  • software that takes said photos and automatically archives them is hilariously easy to deploy,
  • why wouldn't a team of misogynists dude-bros create their own unique wank-bank of constantly-updating porn courtesy of blissfully unaware women?
  • The US political system has a long history of using intimate/private communications to unseat unfavorable actors
Now I'm not saying this is happening - that's silly - I'm saying the probability of this being the case is high enough to warrant a "this is probably happening." I'll leave the implications up to you.

Facebook is a New Thing, insofar as it doesn't really have an analog in history, which means what we learn from it's eventual demise will be new, too.

I don't know what Facebook really is, and neither do you. I have this gnawing sensation that it ultimately serves - somehow - a tiny percentage of powerful people in a way that undermines the rest of our ability to enjoy a functioning society. I'm not sure even deleting Facebook is enough to get away from this thing.

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Trump has won.

From Slate:
In October, a three-judge panel intervened in a different case challenging a separate set of Louisiana abortion limitations. The panel declared that abortion providers lacked standing to challenge much or all of the state’s abortion regime, a ploy that can insulate anti-abortion laws from judicial review altogether.
Republican appointees to the 5th Circuit make little effort to conceal their disgust with abortion. Ho accused women who terminate their pregnancies of furthering eugenics in a December concurrence. (His slander of these women is not only offensive but factually inaccurate.) Ho also praised the “the millions of Americans who believe in the sanctity of life,” insisting that Roe has no “basis in constitutional text or original meaning.” He even urged courts to hold hearings on “fetal pain,” writing: “If courts grant convicted murderers the right to discovery to mitigate pain from executions, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be even more solicitous of innocent babies.”
Where justice goes to die.

It's difficult to communicate how bad this is, as most of us are completely unaware of what a circuit court is, much less the 5th circuit, etc. But none of this is relevant anymore, and short of the icy hand of Death claiming the entire bench during a freak golfing accident, these men have immense power in shaping our day-to-day lives in invisible ways and will continue using it as a blunt hammer against all things different than them.

In my view today, Donald Trump was the Right's endgame: the summary of 30+ years of long-play gaming of the political system to favor highly focused outcomes from voter suppression to court-stacking, and of course, the endless war on women and by proxy, matriarchy.

(This may explain the pseudo-feminist fantasy appeal of Ms. Maisel, a character we are led to believe grew up in New York's upscale Jewish culture but also didn't. I digress...)

I also think contemporary analysis of his "appeal to voters" has been a little too forgiving in its reptilian brain simplicity. His message can be distilled to this: "You can fuck whatever you want."

This...freedom - an unchaining if you will - of the pure ego from all the lassos so peskily adorned by civil inconveniences like morality, law, etc is such a powerful suggestion from the top of America's Mt. Olympus that its easy to miss. I, too, am guilty of overthinking this.

Trump's impeachment will most likely plod along well into the next election cycle, cementing the right's hold on critical political infrastructure. This is foregone at this point.

I am out of answers and energy.

All I have left are warnings.

Things are about to get really bad, and then they'll get worse


I keep coming back to this quote by James Howard Kunstler in 2011:
Blood in the streets. #Charlottesville
"The clowns and villains who run America have accomplished something really epic: they have vanquished meaning. Nobody knows what anything means anymore. Anything goes now. All bets are off. It's not reassuring. It leads to bad things happening like blood in the streets. When nothing means anything anymore, some people will actually strive, make an effort, to reestablish meaning in practical economic and political life, because civilized life is impossible without it. So, in those historic moments when civilization is suspended, people will work like hell to restore meaning. Sometimes though, like Germany in the 1930s, you discover that the suspension of civilization is itself intoxicating, and you ride with that for a while.  
...There are heroes as-yet-sung-and-unsung in America, people who prefer reality over reality TV, people with a taste for meaning in life, which often requires the recognition that some things are true and some not so true, and you're better off with what's true."
And again from 2008(!!!)
This process is really out of control now. The bottom line is the comprehensive bankruptcy of the United States. The Republican Party under George Bush will be known as the party that wrecked America (release 2.0). Painful as it is, Americans had better get a new "Dream" and fast. It better be a dream based on the way the universe actually works, which is to say an operating procedure run on earnest effort and truthfulness rather than merely trying to get something for nothing and wishing on stars. We might begin symbolically by evacuating Las Vegas and calling in an air strike on the loathsome place -- to register our new reality-based attitude adjustment.

After that, we've got to get to work re-tooling all the everyday activities of life, including the way we grow our food, the way we raise and deploy capital, the way we do trade and manufacturing, the way we go from point A to point B, the way we educate children, the way we stay healthy, and the way we occupy the landscape. I know, it sounds like a lot, maybe too much. But grok this: we don't have any choice if we want a plausible future on this portion of the North American continent.

Of course, none of that is likely to happen. Instead, and under the worst imaginable economic conditions, we'll probably embark on a campaign to prop up the un-prop-up-able and sustain the unsustainable -- that is, defend every status quo habit and behavior that we're used to, whether it can be salvaged or not. Of course, this would be a fatal squandering of our dwindling resources, but it it tends, historically, to be the last act of the melodrama in any faltering empire.




An American corn-pone Hitler.

The result, pretty soon into that process, will be social breakdown and political upheaval. Every tattoo freak out there who has been prepping for his own starring role in some kind of comic book armageddon will finally get his chance to shine. Lots of people will get hurt and starve. Property will change hands in a disorderly way. And at the end of this process an American corn-pone Hitler may be waiting to set everything and everyone straight.
 And now a nod to Hannah Arendt:
Arendt had a deep insight into something that we are living through now. The very categories of truth vs. falsehood and facts vs. lies are in the process of being obliterated. Consequently, the possibilities for lying become boundless and frequently meet with little resistance. Lies are frequently used to deliberately deceive – to present a falsehood as if it were the truth. This still presupposes a distinction between lies and factual truth. But Arendt emphasises that something new occurs when the deceiver comes to believe his own lies. She points out how difficult it is to lie consistently without coming to believe in the “truth” of one’s own lies. Many liberals are perplexed that when there is “fact-checking” – when it is clearly and definitively shown that a lie is a lie – many people seem unconcerned and indifferent. But Arendt understood how propaganda really works. “What convinces masses are not facts, not even invented facts, but only the consistency of the system of which they are presumably a part.” People who feel that they have been neglected and forgotten yearn for a narrative – even an invented fictional story – that will make sense of the anxiety they are experiencing – one that promises some sort of redemption. In such a situation an authoritarian leader has enormous advantages by exploiting anxieties and creating a fiction that people want to believe. Argument and appeal to facts have little effectiveness is the face of such “persuasive” techniques – amplified by social media that penetrate our privacy and are so powerful in shaping opinions and beliefs. A fictional story that promises to solve one’s problems is much more appealing than facts and “reasonable” arguments. Arendt warns us that these dangers helped to smooth the way for the success of totalitarian regimes. These are the dangers that we face today in an alarming fashion.
I want to make a quick - albeit irresponsible - connecting point about modernism / postmodernism. For the purposes of this essay, "modernism" being a shorthand for the idea that "if you work hard enough, you will eventually reach some kind of truth."

This picture of a cat on a stump is entitled
to the same attention as your
medical fundraiser.

Postmodernism, by contrast, holds that ALL MEDIA is inherently equal and ultimately deserves an audience. No single media can be held above another.

The tension this society is feeling is these two diametrically opposed philosophies battling for dominance in our collective cerebral cortex as we try to solute the insoluble.

These cannot co-exist, and no, simply saying so in a Facebook comment won't change this.

Because all media is inherently equal, we cannot make sense of what's true. Even our "news" sites work to distract us from their own work by placing adverts and countless breaks between the paragraphs, annihilating the ability to create context or transfer knowledge.  

Most of us, given the option, will rate our own reading comprehension level at "collegiate" without once questioning what reading level someone who holds an actual degree might select. We tend to overestimate our own intelligence and relevant skillset(s).
Typically, metacognition and comprehension performance are highly related; that is, less skilled comprehenders often fail to adjust their reading in relation to reading goals and they tend to overestimate their own comprehension abilities.
But when tested, most people actually land in the middle-school region of reading and language comprehension. When polled afterwards, most people think the survey/poll/experiment is rigged against them.

Voting matters.
(source: Graphs.net)
Which leads me to practical challenges in voting...

"The problem" with voting lies in how the system places equal value on votes when voters are mostly unequal. A 23-year old bilingual single mother who's holding down two part time jobs has different political needs than an 86 year old retirement-home resident who can no longer distinguish between times of day or understand how door handles work. And the irony of contemporary culture is both these people will spend 4-6 hours a day in the same building/space but operate under different realities.

That we are ok being ignorant about these arrangements is one of the many reasons why we've become comfortable (and complicit) in our feeling of powerlessness.

Working backwards, I believe our feeling(s) of powerlessness are driven by a coterie of intersecting forces: a political voting system that is paralyzed by our larger cultural inability to arrive at a reasonable consensus about the reality in which we inhabit, driven in part by widespread - and fundamental - misunderstandings about how the world functions.

And without these agreements, a functioning, civil society becomes really challenging if not impossible after a certain point, and at a time when global warming is driving human migration to historic levels, we are up against a set of challenges that we might be uniquely incapable of meeting because we don't agree which things are true. And its the shared truths upon which we build meaning.

Photo of New Orleans by TheDailyBeast
And this is why I think (today) "things" (read: the ability for a functioning government to deliver political goods, ala clean water, electricity, emergency services, law enforcement, etc) are going to get worse for a while - not better. Our current structures of governance seem well-tuned to the needs of historic demographics, but terrible at planning for new ones. (See: Hurricane Katrina)

Two closing thoughts: 1) I wish I had a clever quip or philosophical quote to summarize all of this with a simple, memetic hot-take, but I don't, and 2) I want to be wrong about all of this.
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Note to readers: I have most likely misunderstood Modernism/Postmodernism and it's probably not the correct reference, so I'm open to editing ideas💖💖

Suggested Reading:

Naomi Klein - The Shock Doctrine

Hanna Arendt: The Origins of Totalitarianism
  
Effects of reading goals on reading comprehension, reading rate, and allocation of working memory in children and adolescents with spina bifida meningomyelocele

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Hello Ladies - A Boilerplate Group Introduction for Enlightened Men That Are Definitely Not Here For Sex

Hello, ladies!

IRONY!

I said that because I know I'm not supposed to say that, but I'm a naughty little boy who's mischievous energy you won't find unappealing or creepy, ladies!

I'm enlightened enough to be both literal and ironic at the same time, ladies!

Did I mention this post is for the ladies?

Thank you for inviting me to your group of many genders, even though this first hello post is for you, ladies!

I'm excited to be here! Look at how many words I'm putting into this post! Did I mention I know you ladies like to read? I know what you ladies need – it's all I think about!

Check out these not-at-all-staged-or-curated photos of me! Don't I look the opposite of old and desperate? See all these activities I'm busy doing, ladies?

Gosh, I'm so active I barely had time to pose for these photos! Lucky for me there just happened to be a tripod with a camera mounted on it at the exact moment I was jetting from one activity to the next, probably meeting some ladies!

I posted this next photo because I feel good in it, and what's the crime in feeling good about yourself, AMIRITE, ladies?

Speaking of feeling good, ladies....

...here's a bunch of words that would be right at home on a FetLife profile but here they're just intended as harmless fun because I'm fun and a little bit of a boundary pusher but also literally I am thinking about doing this incredibly specific act that actually requires tons of upfront conversations about consent, which, incidentally I may or may not have a history of being bad at, so hopefully all these words will serve as a way for me to segue to “Consent is sexy, AMIRITE, ladies?!”

Oh man, and speaking of sexy, I'll go right ahead and just volunteer some deeply personal preferences and needs in hopes of attracting all of you while offending none of you. Because I also believe in equality, I'm attracted to all ladies, especially in the bedroom, ladies!

Are there men in this group, ladies? Don't worry, they are invisible to me as they should be to you. Have any of them typed this many words for you to read? Of course not, they're not thinking about your needs the way I am, ladies...

Oh, did you bring up needs? Because if you have any needs, ladies, you should feel safe and free to express them to me so that I alone may meet them on my terms, which will also be your terms because I will have sensed them beforehand with my superior male-enlightenment skills. One more note on consent – it's soooo sexy, right ladies?

I'll be DM'ing you soon, ladies!