Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Defining The Machine
Patrick Barron
Christopher Maider
“This isn’t about campaign finance reform. This is about people doing something that is wrong.”
Patrick Barron
2010 Independent
Congressional Candidate
In 2010 America elected a new breed of Congressional and Senatorial Representatives. The idea and the hope was that they would bring back accountability to the legislative process. They would be accountable to the people who elected them. The ‘Tea Party’ moniker that was attached to all these candidates lent an air of fiscal accountability and representation for the people to this new breed. It would help to propel them into office. What the Tea Party did not know, what most of the candidates didn’t know and what none of the media reported on is the enormous money machine which overshadows the entire legislative process after some one gets elected into office.
We are not talking about campaign finance reform, that is a totally separate argument. Rather, we are talking about an ongoing assembly line of party dues and party fundraising that begins in the chambers of Congress. In effect it is a ‘pay to play’ system of government. To claim that the system is ‘rigged’ does not even begin to scratch the surface. This includes how members rise through the ranks to obtain senior or “leadership” positions as they’re termed. This involves how committee assignments are rewarded, how becoming a ranking committee member is decided, how one can attach their name to bills which may aid in their re-election, to moving or stalling pieces of legislation.
When a candidate is seated he/she is immediately put onto a treadmill of constantly raising money. The demand is so paramount that two representatives, Pete Sessions (R Tx.) and Mike Fitzpatrick (R Pa) missed their swearing in ceremony because they were busy in the capital hosting celebration parties at the capital visitor center which many deemed to be fundraisers. Incidentally fundraising anywhere within the Capital building is not allowed.
Mike Fitzpatrick, a newly elected 1st term congressman missed his swearing in ceremony to host a fundraiser. To those who elected him this is a bad sign. To party leadership like Pete Sessions who also is the head of the Republican National Congressional Committee, they sit back and smile thinking this Fitzpatrick kid has a future in Washington.
Within the RNC and DNC just across the parking lot of Congressional offices and Capital Hill special “call centers” are set up for this very purpose. The list of donors to both parties are some of the most prominent companies in the United States today.
Failure to raise the designated money or failure to partake in the process altogether will result in being tossed under the bus come next election cycle. Your proposed Bills will die before the ink is dry, no committee seats for you Congressman, and no invites to those special luncheons either. The official is simply cut from the herd and is cast into a political no man’s land of obscurity to serve out their short and ineffectual one and only term.
However, compliance and/or raising more than your share of funds propels you into that special club of the game players. You get on that committee if not the chairmanship itself. You get all the CNN and FOX interviews you can handle, fully equipped staff, free parking and day passes at Sandals.
Lt. Col. Allen West is one of these special people in that special club. Part of his job is to strong arm other Reps for money. That is why he gets all the television time, sits on committees and ensures party support come November 2012.
The amount of time raising money is substantial. Every member of the house says they dislike this task yet most are not willing to give specifics to it. Most estimates have it between 30 and 70% of their time is raising money. Committee hearings are scheduled around fundraisers. Votes have been scheduled around fundraisers. They say they’re so busy which creates midnight and weekend votes. Imagine if they didn’t fundraise! They could vote between 9-5 Monday through Friday! The Parties won’t allow it.
What is more concerning is 30 to 70% of what a member of congress fundraises is given away! The money is transferred directly back to the parties or given to other members to buy influence which may be beneficial to their election, move or stall legislation and buying committee assignments.
All members entering congress are immediately in debt. They are automatically assigned what is called “party dues”. This is an annually assigned amount each member must pay or transfer from their campaign accounts to the Party coffers. The amounts are astronomical. For Party leadership Nancy Pelosi must raise 25 million dollars for the party. Minority whip Steny Hoyer is set to hand over 800,000 from his campaign account and raise another 2.5 million for the party, assistant leader and leader of the congressional black caucus James Clyburn will transfer 600,000. and raise another 1.5 million for the party. This is not optional if they want to be in leadership and stay in leadership. This is how they obtain leadership.
As reported in Politico the Democrats 2011 dues ranges from 75,000 for freshmen with no standing to 250,000 for ranking members of committees (which is what Jim McGovern D MA. pays). Sub-committees upwards of 500,000 for DCCC council leaders and deputy whips.
There is staff provided (or hired) specifically charged with the task of navigating this Niagra Falls of a financial rafting trip! There is a person who runs the call centers in both the RNC and DNC. Aids also participate in the process.
Ethics rules forbid the use of Congressional/Senatorial offices to raise campaign funds. So, with bi-partisan support as a show of political unity convenient offices were set up just across the parking lot of Capitol Hill.
But the Ethics rules are broad in scope. However, there has never been a rule or law that a politician hasn’t found a loophole to jump through. In fact, the Code of Ethics isn’t a ‘law’ or ‘rule’ in the strict sense of the word but rather “....a concurrent resolution expressing the ’sense of Congress’ rather than a statute (and)... represent continuing traditional standards of ethical conduct to be observed....” (House Ethics Manual).
A politician cannot (from his/her office) make campaign calls, send a letter to a contributor, even take or leave a message to a contributor. That’s what the RNC and DNC offices across the parking lot are for!
Unless, said contributions come from other members for party dues. Not only does this money pass freely but this ‘machine’ is running full throttle almost 24/7 during the entire politician’s term in office.
In a 2/25/09 article for Roll Call, Jackie Kucinich brought to light how the RNC secures party dues. “....if they do not pony up their dues, they will get no help for their re-election campaigns....” Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers (R) told lawmakers in one of those secret, closed door meetings “.... if you do not participate, you do not get help....” He then passed around a contract for all those present to sign or get left behind.
In 2010, The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) demanded an average $50,000 dollar hike in party dues. Former DCCC Chair Rahm Emmanuel was known to threaten Democratic lawmakers to be banned from DCCC offices (across the parking lot) until they kicked in the 50K. (Aaron Blake, The Hill).
Appointments to positions are now based on how much that politician has contributed; not their experience or knowledge. This facilitates party ideology and political polarization. Bi-partisan used to mean a meeting in the middle. Today it means whichever party is in the minority has to succumb to the party in the majority and to procedural strategies employed by that majority.
During the 2010 Congressional campaign in the 3rd District. Sitting Congressman Jim McGovern was hammered in a debate about why he raised over 2 million dollars in two past campaigns where he ran unopposed. He darted around the question a few times until he finally answered, “..because I can...”. And he was right. So can’t others. The party will tell you who to call, how many times, send in another list after you finish the first one and set the amounts to raise. In fact, the longer you serve and pay to play the better the money gets. That’s why Congressman McGovern “can”.
Curiously, the media pays no attention to this. The emphasis is on “campaign finance reform”, an appropriate, yet deceptive way of keeping the public’s attention elsewhere. The process simply promotes the one person who can benefit the party and the donors. With the media split down Left and Right there is little incentive to report this practice and expose it for what it is.
What would it matter anyways? What does either side gain from exposing the other side to a practice they both partake in? Sure, a few disgruntled voters this year and a few political sacrificial lambs to the media then business as usual after the election. It is a process that has gone on for decades and may take decades to remove. We must hold leaders accountable, find the ones who will not be part of the machine and work diligently to help them get re-elected (since the party won’t). Perhaps these are the people we are looking for.
Patrick Barron is creator of http://definingthemachine.com/ and was the 2010 Ind. Candidate for Congress in the 3rd Dist. Mass. Patrick works for the Mass. Dept. of Mental Health.
Christopher Maider is the writer of The Lexington Green at
http://thelexingtongreen.blogspot.com/ and producer of The Meat and Potatoes 2012 Youtube Channel at
http://www.youtube.com/user/MeatandPotatoes2012?feature=mhee
Friday, July 13, 2012
Deciple Deval
Deciple Deval has unleashed his fiscal 2013 budget at a merry 5.something billion dollars. Of course, the legislators want to tweek his recommendations a little. The largest chunk of pie is consumed by Health care. Gotta love that Romenycare!. Hey, didn't he say something about repealing another form of penalizing legislation? I digress.
The best part of the State budget has to do with EBT cards. I just found out that you can buy porn, booze and strippers with your EBT card. Or, you used to be able to, at least. Seems the legislators want to limit the use of them in these types of joints, but Deciple Deval wants to just prohibit the use of them entirely. Either plan is fine by me. What perplexes me is: You mean I could have bought porn, booze and strippers with my EBT card? I miss all the fun stuff! The fact that this thing existed and now they are agueing over the details of the repeal is ridiculous. Who is doing this? What wife lets her man go to the titty bar with the family food budget?
I can just see alot of nights on the couch if I came home with peanut butter and jelly and a stack of Hustlers and a quart of Jim Bean instaed of food for the family. She would cut off my head and no judge in the world would convict her for it.
The other thorn in my side is the looming 51% of the budget instantly tasked for Healthcare. Am I the only one who finds this diturbing? Every one against Government run Healthcare have pushed the same aguements over the ballooning costs and the proponents have gafawed it away. Well, surprise, surprise, surprise, the portion has grown from the projections of a few million to over 51%.. DeLeo, that corpulent crook, blasts something about "political grandstanding.." It is political granstanding you ape!
Reality is right before our eyes Massachusetts. The roads suck, the job market sucks but teachers and hospitals get all the gravy. That may take care of your patrons Mr. Speaker and Mr. P. but try being an average citizen here and need to see a doctor on your blessed Mass Healthcare. All the money thrown at this monster still does not resolve the problem of its lumbering and inability to live up to the standards we were promised.
....And That Is The Diatribe....
The best part of the State budget has to do with EBT cards. I just found out that you can buy porn, booze and strippers with your EBT card. Or, you used to be able to, at least. Seems the legislators want to limit the use of them in these types of joints, but Deciple Deval wants to just prohibit the use of them entirely. Either plan is fine by me. What perplexes me is: You mean I could have bought porn, booze and strippers with my EBT card? I miss all the fun stuff! The fact that this thing existed and now they are agueing over the details of the repeal is ridiculous. Who is doing this? What wife lets her man go to the titty bar with the family food budget?
I can just see alot of nights on the couch if I came home with peanut butter and jelly and a stack of Hustlers and a quart of Jim Bean instaed of food for the family. She would cut off my head and no judge in the world would convict her for it.
The other thorn in my side is the looming 51% of the budget instantly tasked for Healthcare. Am I the only one who finds this diturbing? Every one against Government run Healthcare have pushed the same aguements over the ballooning costs and the proponents have gafawed it away. Well, surprise, surprise, surprise, the portion has grown from the projections of a few million to over 51%.. DeLeo, that corpulent crook, blasts something about "political grandstanding.." It is political granstanding you ape!
Reality is right before our eyes Massachusetts. The roads suck, the job market sucks but teachers and hospitals get all the gravy. That may take care of your patrons Mr. Speaker and Mr. P. but try being an average citizen here and need to see a doctor on your blessed Mass Healthcare. All the money thrown at this monster still does not resolve the problem of its lumbering and inability to live up to the standards we were promised.
....And That Is The Diatribe....
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Conservative Talk and Awesome Rock Part II
Memoirs II
The winter of 2008-2009 was where I learned the art of radio broadcasting. It isn’t as difficult as one would think. My show was live, no preproduction save for the writing of the show to guide me through time slot. PJ would open the show and I would do a couple of segments with music, news or an interview. This is where I met Chris Damico of Great Blue.
It is never what you know, it is who you know.
Chris had this great band called The Great Blue. He also ran a recording company called Rivet Productions and was close friends with my sons. He and his band appeared on the show several times to play. In return I got to cut some promotional cd’s for the show. It took two hours to make a thirty second bit. Anyone who does recording knows what I mean.
This is also where I began to run into the drunken obnoxiousness of the guy on before us. I told you about those characters. PJ noticed it also and would get testy about getting on air on time. It rarely happened. I was in no position to say anything about it while there but I would easily lend my opinion to PJ after they left.
Hey, I like to partake but business is business and as much as I would have something of my own, I was gearing up for the show and always had my material in order. It was all fun and games while ramping up to the moment, but then we would stand there for the last five minutes while the clock ticked down and we had not been given the chance to seat ourselves and get our show uploaded. It drove PJ nuts!
You have to picture in your mind how this was. Imagine you have taken all your music collection and tossed it onto a table and just spread it out. Now open all those cases and toss that around. That’s what the console looked like. Fine, that’s his style. However, it was still lying around there as we were going live. We had to clear a ‘spot’ just for ourselves.
Oh, but it gets better (or, worse): Then as we are live, he would be shuffling around in the studio getting his act together snapping cases and packing in the backround. This continued well into my tenure and would grow in scope and become downright unprofessional.
Things were about to get worse for Captain PJ. He would enter a spate of bad luck I would not wish on anyone.
During one of our shows in Jan of 09 PJ asked me to take the music and our bags to the car and get it started. The show was wrapping down to its last ten minutes and it was cold out. I agreed, good idea.
So I go outside and walk around to the driver’s side door. The car is parallel parked along the curb right at the studio frontdoor. The streets are deserted except for one car coming down Main Street my way. I got the key into the door and looked down the road one more time to see if I could get into the car fast enough before this guy was passing me. Good thing I did. The first thing I noticed was that he was speeding up and veering slowly into a direct line to me. I let go of the key and looked the other way. Don’t want to get hit trying to avoid getting hit. I step back with the bags and now I can see that this idiot is going to crash into PJ’s car. I got about to the middle of the road right over the double yellow line when..WHAM!!!
Bits of plastic and glass mushroomed right in front of me. Good thing I wear glasses. I got peppered. The two cars heaved forward from the front door across an intersection a distance of over sixty feet. They both stopped with PJ’s car fish tailing into the street kitty-corner and the two idiots hitting the stop sign at the intersection. A guy had been coming the other way and was now stopped opposite the scene.
“Did you see that?!” I said.
“ I saw that, don’t look good.”
I walked over to the opposite curb and put down the bags.
“Dude, you got a phone? Can you call 911?” I said.
“Already on it. You OK?” I looked towards him and nodded then headed slowly towards the wreckage.
I really thought these guys were dead. They had to hit going at least fifty. I looked into the car and could see two bloody heads buried in now deflating airbags. In the distance I could hear sirens from the city. I suddenly thought of PJ. He had not come out. He was unaware of this whole thing and was going to lose his shit when he comes out.
Emergency vehicles were everywhere, lights, sound, Jaws of Life, onlookers, the whole nine yards. All we were missing was a news chopper. The idiots were (actually) OK, just wasted. One of them was using his cell phone to tell some one that “..yeah, yeah, we’re on our way..” The other one was accusing me of cutting him off. It was an amazing moment. The cops placed them all under arrest right on the scene.
Then PJ came out of the studio.
“My caaa! My fucking caa! (his thick Mass accent). “What the fuck happened to my fucking caa!”
What could I do? The cops were great and helped calm him down. I felt really bad and kind of blamed myself. I have horrible luck and most things go in a generally bad direction for me. This was not the first time I’ve had experiences like this.
All we could do was sit there and watch. The cops took our statements and in under an hour the streets were quiet again. Although we were fine there was one unresolved issue. We were now without transportation, we were both broke and it was three am. I soon learned how comfortable a desk chair can be for sleeping and the reviews are not good.
We ended up going home around seven with the Latin Christian DJ who did a religious show. He lived in our town and would be going that way anyhow. He was amazed over the story. Needless to say nothing got done that day.
For a couple of weeks my wife and I drove PJ to and from work. I was feeling really bad the whole time. I also drove to the station even though I had a revoked license. We even took a trip tot the junkyard to sawsall his trunk open to get his clothes and tools.
One day in February I get a phone call from his sister. PJ was in the hospital with pneumonia and diabetes. That week’s show was cancelled as well as the next. I went to visit him over this time. He looked like hell but was responding and alert, so I felt happy for him and told him so. I was given instructions on what to do and he told me that I was taking over that slot. He was going to be in the hospital for weeks and he told me that it was time to take over.
In February of 2009 The Meat and Potatoes Show went full on air.
The winter of 2008-2009 was where I learned the art of radio broadcasting. It isn’t as difficult as one would think. My show was live, no preproduction save for the writing of the show to guide me through time slot. PJ would open the show and I would do a couple of segments with music, news or an interview. This is where I met Chris Damico of Great Blue.
It is never what you know, it is who you know.
Chris had this great band called The Great Blue. He also ran a recording company called Rivet Productions and was close friends with my sons. He and his band appeared on the show several times to play. In return I got to cut some promotional cd’s for the show. It took two hours to make a thirty second bit. Anyone who does recording knows what I mean.
This is also where I began to run into the drunken obnoxiousness of the guy on before us. I told you about those characters. PJ noticed it also and would get testy about getting on air on time. It rarely happened. I was in no position to say anything about it while there but I would easily lend my opinion to PJ after they left.
Hey, I like to partake but business is business and as much as I would have something of my own, I was gearing up for the show and always had my material in order. It was all fun and games while ramping up to the moment, but then we would stand there for the last five minutes while the clock ticked down and we had not been given the chance to seat ourselves and get our show uploaded. It drove PJ nuts!
You have to picture in your mind how this was. Imagine you have taken all your music collection and tossed it onto a table and just spread it out. Now open all those cases and toss that around. That’s what the console looked like. Fine, that’s his style. However, it was still lying around there as we were going live. We had to clear a ‘spot’ just for ourselves.
Oh, but it gets better (or, worse): Then as we are live, he would be shuffling around in the studio getting his act together snapping cases and packing in the backround. This continued well into my tenure and would grow in scope and become downright unprofessional.
Things were about to get worse for Captain PJ. He would enter a spate of bad luck I would not wish on anyone.
During one of our shows in Jan of 09 PJ asked me to take the music and our bags to the car and get it started. The show was wrapping down to its last ten minutes and it was cold out. I agreed, good idea.
So I go outside and walk around to the driver’s side door. The car is parallel parked along the curb right at the studio frontdoor. The streets are deserted except for one car coming down Main Street my way. I got the key into the door and looked down the road one more time to see if I could get into the car fast enough before this guy was passing me. Good thing I did. The first thing I noticed was that he was speeding up and veering slowly into a direct line to me. I let go of the key and looked the other way. Don’t want to get hit trying to avoid getting hit. I step back with the bags and now I can see that this idiot is going to crash into PJ’s car. I got about to the middle of the road right over the double yellow line when..WHAM!!!
Bits of plastic and glass mushroomed right in front of me. Good thing I wear glasses. I got peppered. The two cars heaved forward from the front door across an intersection a distance of over sixty feet. They both stopped with PJ’s car fish tailing into the street kitty-corner and the two idiots hitting the stop sign at the intersection. A guy had been coming the other way and was now stopped opposite the scene.
“Did you see that?!” I said.
“ I saw that, don’t look good.”
I walked over to the opposite curb and put down the bags.
“Dude, you got a phone? Can you call 911?” I said.
“Already on it. You OK?” I looked towards him and nodded then headed slowly towards the wreckage.
I really thought these guys were dead. They had to hit going at least fifty. I looked into the car and could see two bloody heads buried in now deflating airbags. In the distance I could hear sirens from the city. I suddenly thought of PJ. He had not come out. He was unaware of this whole thing and was going to lose his shit when he comes out.
Emergency vehicles were everywhere, lights, sound, Jaws of Life, onlookers, the whole nine yards. All we were missing was a news chopper. The idiots were (actually) OK, just wasted. One of them was using his cell phone to tell some one that “..yeah, yeah, we’re on our way..” The other one was accusing me of cutting him off. It was an amazing moment. The cops placed them all under arrest right on the scene.
Then PJ came out of the studio.
“My caaa! My fucking caa! (his thick Mass accent). “What the fuck happened to my fucking caa!”
What could I do? The cops were great and helped calm him down. I felt really bad and kind of blamed myself. I have horrible luck and most things go in a generally bad direction for me. This was not the first time I’ve had experiences like this.
All we could do was sit there and watch. The cops took our statements and in under an hour the streets were quiet again. Although we were fine there was one unresolved issue. We were now without transportation, we were both broke and it was three am. I soon learned how comfortable a desk chair can be for sleeping and the reviews are not good.
We ended up going home around seven with the Latin Christian DJ who did a religious show. He lived in our town and would be going that way anyhow. He was amazed over the story. Needless to say nothing got done that day.
For a couple of weeks my wife and I drove PJ to and from work. I was feeling really bad the whole time. I also drove to the station even though I had a revoked license. We even took a trip tot the junkyard to sawsall his trunk open to get his clothes and tools.
One day in February I get a phone call from his sister. PJ was in the hospital with pneumonia and diabetes. That week’s show was cancelled as well as the next. I went to visit him over this time. He looked like hell but was responding and alert, so I felt happy for him and told him so. I was given instructions on what to do and he told me that I was taking over that slot. He was going to be in the hospital for weeks and he told me that it was time to take over.
In February of 2009 The Meat and Potatoes Show went full on air.
Friday, May 11, 2012
"Nazis, I hate those guys!" Indiana Jones
There are few regimes, periods of history that are most reviled, most studied and, yet, referred to and portrayed in many movies than the Nazis. Japanese war movies do not share the same billing due to the sensitivities surrounding the internment of Japanese Americans. That specter haunts every military engagement we undertake with Government going to great lengths to ensure racial harmony with the particular ethnicity we are currently at war with. The current tendency towards placating Muslims may be misguided, though, considering the foremost tenet of Islam which is the destruction of anyone and anything non-Islamic. While open persecution of any race and religion is abhorrent, we must look closely at any group that openly professes hatred towards the United States and treat that group differently according to their actions. We do not tolerate the KKK or the Aryan Brotherhood with political correctness therefore, we must neither tolerate terrorist organizations and the religious arm that supports it with that arm hiding under Constitutional immunity.
Nazism is a form of Socialism. The Third Reich controlled all the media, all the daily operations of Germany and the German Economy. Like the Czars that now dominate the President’s Cabinet, the Ministers under Hitler were each assigned specific authority over various sectors of Government. One of the most notable figures was Albert Speer.
Albert Speer was the central planner, designer and chief ombudsman for Hitler’s plan to rebuild Germany. His desire to create a magnificent, modern Berlin was an obsession and Speer used his architectural training and experience to bring this obsession of Hitler’s to fruition. Speer had remarked in his memoirs about the Fuhrer’s accuracy in designs and ended up using many of the sketches with little changes.
The concept of Central Planning is nothing new. Rome did it, Greece did it, China is doing it and all over the world agencies are tasked with creating laws to regulate and secure construction standards. Free societies have the luxury of open competition and the ability to create art with the development of Real Estate. There is no Government office that controls content. This was done away with during the Third Reich. Hitler and Speer controlled the entire visual experience for the public. The underlying rule was “make everything grand and appear to last forever.” It had to be, considering Hitler planned on a thousand year reign. The Chancellery Building had a huge dome and the entryway was massive. The stadium where the great speeches were given was ringed with giant spotlights that pointed straight up as if to carry the message of Hitler’s power to God himself. Sir Neville Henderson referred to the Nuremburg Party Rally event as “.. a cathedral of ice.”
Another important factor in all of Speer’s designs was to create something uniquely German. Both Hitler and Speer detested the worn out, old look of Berlin and thought nothing as they razed structures and forced out residents and businesses. Although many aspects of Greco-Roman architecture were employed there was a desire to stay away from an international look. One of Speer’s earlier professors (Tessenow) had stated that there was no such thing as an international culture and that style was from the people native to their nation.
I will state here and now (and the reader can debate me later) that Nationalism is intrinsic to Americans. Nationalism is not necessarily a bad thing. It is love of country. It can be taken to extremes and part of our history has experienced Nationalism under the concept of Manifest Destiny. Xenophobia is another extreme of Nationalism and we will explore this further in this chapter.
Many of the movies we are exploring in this book are full of national pride. That pride is displayed in scenes, words, actions, ideas, sets, panoramas, wide shots, pull backs and basic story lines. The daily struggles of the poor are symbols of national pride; their resilience, sense of hope and overcoming odds. War movies are symbols of national pride, even the movies that portray negative events. Movies about inventors, doctors, race relations, old westerns, science fiction all reflect a form of Nationalism.
My wife and I love to watch old movies. I love to see the scenes of city streets from the 40’s, the old cars, the hand held phones, how everyone smokes and drinks, the suits, industry, bucolic towns. I am amazed, every time, when a modern ‘time period’ piece is made where research and accuracy create realism. Entire industries have been developed to reproduce items specific to a certain era just for film. This is Capitalism and is counter to the Liberal, Socialist ideas spouted by many daft actors and actresses and Capitalism is an example of national pride, or, Nationalism.
The Nazis could never attain the level of production that the United States had during WWII. Their sense of national pride existed only in the minds of those in power and was expansionist in nature. For sure the Germans loved their country but they were caught up in a revolution orchestrated by a few elitists. It is not unlike the wave of Socialism that runs through America today. It is orchestrated by a few elitists using the dictums of equality and fair distribution to promote an agenda. The Nazi concept of production quotas was just that, a production quota, and entry in a ledger somewhere in the Reichstag. American production is based on profit, efficiency and market domination. Workers are paid a fair wage and are allotted vacation time, healthcare, retirement and are free to leave a job in pursuit of another. Socialist regimes dictate work, pay and seldom allow for diversity or advancement. In a Capitalist society a person can buy stock in a company, save money in a bank, secure a loan, patent an idea and work for themselves. Not so in a Socialist society. Speer’s designs may have been his own but they were the sole property of the Third Reich.
Aside from the great building boom that spread across Germany the Nazis second largest industry was munitions and the development of a modern army. This is where production quotas held their highest importance and were expected to grow exponentially. Hitler’s violation of the Treaty of Versailles may have alarmed the League of Nations but, like the UN today, they were either unable or unwilling to do anything about it. I was amazed during Operation Iraqi Freedom at the debate over the invasion. The UN was feckless and wrote angry letter after angry letter to Saddam Hussein to no avail. Eventually the President formed a coalition and did something about it and the Left complained. I guess the axiom of history teaching us nothing is true.
Hitler’s invasion of Poland was the debut performance for the Third Reich’s modern arsenal and the West was alarmed. The German Nationalist movement had created a monster in the Wermach and Luftwaffe. Some guy named Werner was stuffing Hydrazine into a two story tube and touching it off with an electrical signal. Meanwhile, America’s version of Roosevelt Socialism was barely able to crawl out of the Great Depression by building a dam in the desert and a giant bridge across San Francisco Bay. Our planes were still made of wood and cloth and much of our infantry still rode horses. Hitler’s concept of a fast moving, totally overwhelming invasion force, known as ‘blitzkreig’ (lightning force) was unstoppable. America, still, wouldn’t give blacks weapons but they could dig all the latrines they wanted too. The Fuhrer’s megalomania and xenophobia would result in the worst atrocity unrivalled until Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Rwanda combined. Again, here in America the KKK would unleash a rampage across the South against the least armed, most vulnerable and poorest segment of our society. Nationalism, on both sides of the Atlantic had reached a tipping point resulting in some of the most horrific and unforgivable moments in history.
Nazism is a form of Socialism. The Third Reich controlled all the media, all the daily operations of Germany and the German Economy. Like the Czars that now dominate the President’s Cabinet, the Ministers under Hitler were each assigned specific authority over various sectors of Government. One of the most notable figures was Albert Speer.
Albert Speer was the central planner, designer and chief ombudsman for Hitler’s plan to rebuild Germany. His desire to create a magnificent, modern Berlin was an obsession and Speer used his architectural training and experience to bring this obsession of Hitler’s to fruition. Speer had remarked in his memoirs about the Fuhrer’s accuracy in designs and ended up using many of the sketches with little changes.
The concept of Central Planning is nothing new. Rome did it, Greece did it, China is doing it and all over the world agencies are tasked with creating laws to regulate and secure construction standards. Free societies have the luxury of open competition and the ability to create art with the development of Real Estate. There is no Government office that controls content. This was done away with during the Third Reich. Hitler and Speer controlled the entire visual experience for the public. The underlying rule was “make everything grand and appear to last forever.” It had to be, considering Hitler planned on a thousand year reign. The Chancellery Building had a huge dome and the entryway was massive. The stadium where the great speeches were given was ringed with giant spotlights that pointed straight up as if to carry the message of Hitler’s power to God himself. Sir Neville Henderson referred to the Nuremburg Party Rally event as “.. a cathedral of ice.”
Another important factor in all of Speer’s designs was to create something uniquely German. Both Hitler and Speer detested the worn out, old look of Berlin and thought nothing as they razed structures and forced out residents and businesses. Although many aspects of Greco-Roman architecture were employed there was a desire to stay away from an international look. One of Speer’s earlier professors (Tessenow) had stated that there was no such thing as an international culture and that style was from the people native to their nation.
I will state here and now (and the reader can debate me later) that Nationalism is intrinsic to Americans. Nationalism is not necessarily a bad thing. It is love of country. It can be taken to extremes and part of our history has experienced Nationalism under the concept of Manifest Destiny. Xenophobia is another extreme of Nationalism and we will explore this further in this chapter.
Many of the movies we are exploring in this book are full of national pride. That pride is displayed in scenes, words, actions, ideas, sets, panoramas, wide shots, pull backs and basic story lines. The daily struggles of the poor are symbols of national pride; their resilience, sense of hope and overcoming odds. War movies are symbols of national pride, even the movies that portray negative events. Movies about inventors, doctors, race relations, old westerns, science fiction all reflect a form of Nationalism.
My wife and I love to watch old movies. I love to see the scenes of city streets from the 40’s, the old cars, the hand held phones, how everyone smokes and drinks, the suits, industry, bucolic towns. I am amazed, every time, when a modern ‘time period’ piece is made where research and accuracy create realism. Entire industries have been developed to reproduce items specific to a certain era just for film. This is Capitalism and is counter to the Liberal, Socialist ideas spouted by many daft actors and actresses and Capitalism is an example of national pride, or, Nationalism.
The Nazis could never attain the level of production that the United States had during WWII. Their sense of national pride existed only in the minds of those in power and was expansionist in nature. For sure the Germans loved their country but they were caught up in a revolution orchestrated by a few elitists. It is not unlike the wave of Socialism that runs through America today. It is orchestrated by a few elitists using the dictums of equality and fair distribution to promote an agenda. The Nazi concept of production quotas was just that, a production quota, and entry in a ledger somewhere in the Reichstag. American production is based on profit, efficiency and market domination. Workers are paid a fair wage and are allotted vacation time, healthcare, retirement and are free to leave a job in pursuit of another. Socialist regimes dictate work, pay and seldom allow for diversity or advancement. In a Capitalist society a person can buy stock in a company, save money in a bank, secure a loan, patent an idea and work for themselves. Not so in a Socialist society. Speer’s designs may have been his own but they were the sole property of the Third Reich.
Aside from the great building boom that spread across Germany the Nazis second largest industry was munitions and the development of a modern army. This is where production quotas held their highest importance and were expected to grow exponentially. Hitler’s violation of the Treaty of Versailles may have alarmed the League of Nations but, like the UN today, they were either unable or unwilling to do anything about it. I was amazed during Operation Iraqi Freedom at the debate over the invasion. The UN was feckless and wrote angry letter after angry letter to Saddam Hussein to no avail. Eventually the President formed a coalition and did something about it and the Left complained. I guess the axiom of history teaching us nothing is true.
Hitler’s invasion of Poland was the debut performance for the Third Reich’s modern arsenal and the West was alarmed. The German Nationalist movement had created a monster in the Wermach and Luftwaffe. Some guy named Werner was stuffing Hydrazine into a two story tube and touching it off with an electrical signal. Meanwhile, America’s version of Roosevelt Socialism was barely able to crawl out of the Great Depression by building a dam in the desert and a giant bridge across San Francisco Bay. Our planes were still made of wood and cloth and much of our infantry still rode horses. Hitler’s concept of a fast moving, totally overwhelming invasion force, known as ‘blitzkreig’ (lightning force) was unstoppable. America, still, wouldn’t give blacks weapons but they could dig all the latrines they wanted too. The Fuhrer’s megalomania and xenophobia would result in the worst atrocity unrivalled until Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Rwanda combined. Again, here in America the KKK would unleash a rampage across the South against the least armed, most vulnerable and poorest segment of our society. Nationalism, on both sides of the Atlantic had reached a tipping point resulting in some of the most horrific and unforgivable moments in history.
Star Wars, Reagan, Frederic Bastiat
One of the amazing things about the world’s best leaders is that many of them came from humble beginnings.
There is always one paradigm though; they all believed in God, believed in themselves and believed in the Divine Providence of America. They, also, had a less than stellar past life. Many, had to get comfortable with the ‘base’ side of their lives in order to preserve a greater cause: The cause of Liberty and the nation.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was formed by committee, not some angelic proclamation of God. So was the Bible, under Constantine.
This does not negate the role of Providence in how our nation was formed. Providence was first and fore most in the minds of our Founders. Providence, coupled with Reason was a radically new idea. The precept of Science and Man’s rights, given by God, of self determination blew the lid off of a thousand years of indoctrination. It would be by the barrel of a rifle to make this law.
Unfortunately it took, only, two hundred + years to bring it all back. We now live under a system of total Oligargic Control. We allow minority segments of our society to dictate to the majority. The oligarchy obliges minority votes to assuage the political action committee masses, under the ruse of Political Correctness, to circumvent Constitutional Republic. The Oligarchy controls banks, votes, is in league with Unions and controls our lives. America, included with the UN has become ‘The Empire’.. And it was not our wish.
We, the citizens, have become the Rebel Alliance.
One of the reasons for the American Revolution was the high taxation on good and services. A, secondary, less focused upon, was the lack of respect for the citizens.
The high taxes prompted business owners to complain to the Crown. Trickle Down Economics spurred the ire of the individual farmer, mercantile and trader. This caused a ripple effect through out the Colonies. Higher prices paid to England demanded lesser profits to the people who provided those good and services. No, self respecting American Colonist would stand for this. These taxes affected their lively hood, they impacted upon their distributors, suppliers, hired help. Even slave labor became more costly.
This is Reagan-omics taken straight from our own birth, as a nation. Government imposed regulations, drove up costs; which ‘trickled down’ to the most lowly slave digging a hole. Something needed to be done.
The sad thing is that, then, there was an independent streak among the Colonist. Having been cut off from England, subsisting on themselves for a generation they were now asked to oblige to a set of new laws imposed from afar. England had no clue as to what they had allowed to happen in The New World. The American Colonies would not stand for this. They were like Anakin Skywalker, they wanted to break free, just like a teenager to a parent.
This is lacking in our Nation today. We do not have that indignation of authority from afar handing down dictates. We have a central Government handing down dictates from close by. There is a national surrender to these dictums; We seem to ‘take it in stride’.
It is short of amazing that so many Colonists showed up to fight in the Revolution. No one knew the outcome. All of them knew they were outnumbered. All of them had been victims of British injustice in some form or another. The loss of battles may have led to questions from volunteers. Certainly the desertion rate was warranted. The involvement of the French was more of a ’Do or die’ trump card that needed to be revealed or the war would have been lost.
The story of the American Revolution is written by the individuals who served in it. From the Continental Congress to the starving soldier at Valley Forge eating his shoe; everyone involved had a stake in the outcome more so than even history eludes to. Historians can write about the fate that would befall them all if the war had been lost. No one can understand the fear in the hearts of our Founders had they lost. Once you understand this, it is a simple step to understand why our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution have so much investment and gratitude in Divine Providence and Reason.
Truly, a miracle had occurred and the world was to change from that day forward. The Revolution, it’s successful completion was a geo-political catastrophe for the powers that held sway. Darwinism may have not been conceived of yet, but this event was evolutionary in it’s scope. The ink on these documents was, symbolically, the blood of Patriots who gave ultimately of themselves. The social status of our Founders would not be an impediment where the matter of those men’s rights, and the rights of their heirs were concerned. Nothing would ever be the same, ever again.
The modern Tea Party has its roots in the original Tea Party event via name only. The storming of British merchant ships in 1775 was a cumulative event relating to the imposition of intolerable taxes upon goods and services. The modern day Tea Party organization is a demand for accountability in Government service and a stepping back of Government in our private lives and businesses.
The intrusion of Government authority in the private lives of citizens unfolds in the scenes from ‘Braveheart’. William Wallace marries his wife secretly to avoid a horrific practice of the British Crown known as “prima-norte”. This was the practice of the land owner having sexual privileges to a new bride over her husband.
The famous role of Dr. Zchivago played by Omar Sharif, comes home from serving in the Bolshevik Revolution and WWI to find the city’s Party Officials subletting his home to several families. His move to the country side, attempting to get away from the poverty of Moscow, is further intruded upon by Partisans who, literally, abduct him of the road.
The true life events during the days of the McCarthy Hearings, the Committee on Un American Activities and the Hollywood Black listings are a stunning example of Federal intrusion upon the citizens. In the movie, ‘Tucker and His Dream’ the automotive entrepreneur is thwarted by the collusion of corporate auto manufacturers and elected representatives resulting in the collapse of his company. Upon being unable to deliver all the vehicles within an imposed deadline the Government sues him. The movie concludes with all 51 Tuckers built being paraded in front of the courthouse. The Senatorial hearings that play out in ‘The Aviator’ exalt the intrusion of Government to ridiculous levels. Taken from the transcripts of the hearing, Howard Hughes, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, tears into the Maine Senator, stealing the floor, taking control of the hearing and walking out on the committee. The following scene is Hughes proving himself correct by launching the Hercules out of New York Harbor.
The attempts by authority to impose its will upon the electorate is rendered impotent by the courage and Conservative values held firm in the principles of our nation and its reliance upon Providence . In reality, Congress was never given the authority under the Constitution to subpoena a citizen. The self imposed legal mandates of Congress are a farce. Simply passing a law does not imply a right. It merely grants authority of enforcement.
French economist and Statesman, Frederic Bastiat sums up the use of force against the masses in his pamphlet of 1850, The Law.
“ ..Thus, since an individual cannot lawfully
use force against the person, liberty, or property
of another individual, then the common force,
for the same reason, cannot lawfully be used to
destroy the person, liberty or property of
individuals or groups....”
He goes on to say that the only law that truly exists is the “collective organization of the individual right of defense.”. Martin Luther King Jr. always reminded us that it was not justice that was the ultimate goal but the removal of injustice.
It is ironic how our world history is awash with great quotations from the past of freedom, liberty and justice, yet we always find ourselves neck deep in some new Totalitarian wave before we wake up to the realities of how close we are to drowning. The result of pure greed or a false sense of benevolence to humanity are the drivers to this inevitable, depositing on the shore of, human slavery. The perversion of law becomes a catalyst of the enforcers to plunder. The legislative pen becomes the instrument. Bastiat’s axiom, “..law, by no means, confines itself to its proper function.” becomes an epidemic with the demands of constituents, lobbyists and citizen groups exhibiting the worst of symptoms.
There is always one paradigm though; they all believed in God, believed in themselves and believed in the Divine Providence of America. They, also, had a less than stellar past life. Many, had to get comfortable with the ‘base’ side of their lives in order to preserve a greater cause: The cause of Liberty and the nation.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was formed by committee, not some angelic proclamation of God. So was the Bible, under Constantine.
This does not negate the role of Providence in how our nation was formed. Providence was first and fore most in the minds of our Founders. Providence, coupled with Reason was a radically new idea. The precept of Science and Man’s rights, given by God, of self determination blew the lid off of a thousand years of indoctrination. It would be by the barrel of a rifle to make this law.
Unfortunately it took, only, two hundred + years to bring it all back. We now live under a system of total Oligargic Control. We allow minority segments of our society to dictate to the majority. The oligarchy obliges minority votes to assuage the political action committee masses, under the ruse of Political Correctness, to circumvent Constitutional Republic. The Oligarchy controls banks, votes, is in league with Unions and controls our lives. America, included with the UN has become ‘The Empire’.. And it was not our wish.
We, the citizens, have become the Rebel Alliance.
One of the reasons for the American Revolution was the high taxation on good and services. A, secondary, less focused upon, was the lack of respect for the citizens.
The high taxes prompted business owners to complain to the Crown. Trickle Down Economics spurred the ire of the individual farmer, mercantile and trader. This caused a ripple effect through out the Colonies. Higher prices paid to England demanded lesser profits to the people who provided those good and services. No, self respecting American Colonist would stand for this. These taxes affected their lively hood, they impacted upon their distributors, suppliers, hired help. Even slave labor became more costly.
This is Reagan-omics taken straight from our own birth, as a nation. Government imposed regulations, drove up costs; which ‘trickled down’ to the most lowly slave digging a hole. Something needed to be done.
The sad thing is that, then, there was an independent streak among the Colonist. Having been cut off from England, subsisting on themselves for a generation they were now asked to oblige to a set of new laws imposed from afar. England had no clue as to what they had allowed to happen in The New World. The American Colonies would not stand for this. They were like Anakin Skywalker, they wanted to break free, just like a teenager to a parent.
This is lacking in our Nation today. We do not have that indignation of authority from afar handing down dictates. We have a central Government handing down dictates from close by. There is a national surrender to these dictums; We seem to ‘take it in stride’.
It is short of amazing that so many Colonists showed up to fight in the Revolution. No one knew the outcome. All of them knew they were outnumbered. All of them had been victims of British injustice in some form or another. The loss of battles may have led to questions from volunteers. Certainly the desertion rate was warranted. The involvement of the French was more of a ’Do or die’ trump card that needed to be revealed or the war would have been lost.
The story of the American Revolution is written by the individuals who served in it. From the Continental Congress to the starving soldier at Valley Forge eating his shoe; everyone involved had a stake in the outcome more so than even history eludes to. Historians can write about the fate that would befall them all if the war had been lost. No one can understand the fear in the hearts of our Founders had they lost. Once you understand this, it is a simple step to understand why our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution have so much investment and gratitude in Divine Providence and Reason.
Truly, a miracle had occurred and the world was to change from that day forward. The Revolution, it’s successful completion was a geo-political catastrophe for the powers that held sway. Darwinism may have not been conceived of yet, but this event was evolutionary in it’s scope. The ink on these documents was, symbolically, the blood of Patriots who gave ultimately of themselves. The social status of our Founders would not be an impediment where the matter of those men’s rights, and the rights of their heirs were concerned. Nothing would ever be the same, ever again.
The modern Tea Party has its roots in the original Tea Party event via name only. The storming of British merchant ships in 1775 was a cumulative event relating to the imposition of intolerable taxes upon goods and services. The modern day Tea Party organization is a demand for accountability in Government service and a stepping back of Government in our private lives and businesses.
The intrusion of Government authority in the private lives of citizens unfolds in the scenes from ‘Braveheart’. William Wallace marries his wife secretly to avoid a horrific practice of the British Crown known as “prima-norte”. This was the practice of the land owner having sexual privileges to a new bride over her husband.
The famous role of Dr. Zchivago played by Omar Sharif, comes home from serving in the Bolshevik Revolution and WWI to find the city’s Party Officials subletting his home to several families. His move to the country side, attempting to get away from the poverty of Moscow, is further intruded upon by Partisans who, literally, abduct him of the road.
The true life events during the days of the McCarthy Hearings, the Committee on Un American Activities and the Hollywood Black listings are a stunning example of Federal intrusion upon the citizens. In the movie, ‘Tucker and His Dream’ the automotive entrepreneur is thwarted by the collusion of corporate auto manufacturers and elected representatives resulting in the collapse of his company. Upon being unable to deliver all the vehicles within an imposed deadline the Government sues him. The movie concludes with all 51 Tuckers built being paraded in front of the courthouse. The Senatorial hearings that play out in ‘The Aviator’ exalt the intrusion of Government to ridiculous levels. Taken from the transcripts of the hearing, Howard Hughes, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, tears into the Maine Senator, stealing the floor, taking control of the hearing and walking out on the committee. The following scene is Hughes proving himself correct by launching the Hercules out of New York Harbor.
The attempts by authority to impose its will upon the electorate is rendered impotent by the courage and Conservative values held firm in the principles of our nation and its reliance upon Providence . In reality, Congress was never given the authority under the Constitution to subpoena a citizen. The self imposed legal mandates of Congress are a farce. Simply passing a law does not imply a right. It merely grants authority of enforcement.
French economist and Statesman, Frederic Bastiat sums up the use of force against the masses in his pamphlet of 1850, The Law.
“ ..Thus, since an individual cannot lawfully
use force against the person, liberty, or property
of another individual, then the common force,
for the same reason, cannot lawfully be used to
destroy the person, liberty or property of
individuals or groups....”
He goes on to say that the only law that truly exists is the “collective organization of the individual right of defense.”. Martin Luther King Jr. always reminded us that it was not justice that was the ultimate goal but the removal of injustice.
It is ironic how our world history is awash with great quotations from the past of freedom, liberty and justice, yet we always find ourselves neck deep in some new Totalitarian wave before we wake up to the realities of how close we are to drowning. The result of pure greed or a false sense of benevolence to humanity are the drivers to this inevitable, depositing on the shore of, human slavery. The perversion of law becomes a catalyst of the enforcers to plunder. The legislative pen becomes the instrument. Bastiat’s axiom, “..law, by no means, confines itself to its proper function.” becomes an epidemic with the demands of constituents, lobbyists and citizen groups exhibiting the worst of symptoms.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Conservative Talk and Awesome Rock Part I
Memoirs
As everyone knows now the ‘on air’ version of The Meat and Potatoes Show has been terminated. My time at WCUW in Worcester has been rewarding for myself but difficult to be accepted. Almost immediately after the first independent show aired in 2009 I was ankle deep in controversy and complaints.
I knew then I was on to something. However:
You would think that people would want something to think about. You would think that a community, underground, independent, listener supported radio station would ‘want’ something that sparked a listener’s anxious ear for something (anything) provocative and new. Backbone in this post 9/11 America is anything ‘but’.
I think the one person who had any ‘hutzpah’ during this whole thing was my Mentor and friend, William Le Blanc. He is better known around here as Captain PJ of the Rockin’ Revolution radio show at WCUW. He stuck his neck out for me in 2008 and convinced an all Liberal radio Board of Directors to allow my decidedly Right show to be part of the schedule.
So, I interned for about eight months with PJ in 2008-2009. We had a lot of fun in those early days and I watched him spin his tunes and work the system. The best thing was that I played in rock bands for years and already understood how to work a Soundboard and hooking up components and tape, etc, etc. But the story gets even more detailed beyond what I understood at the time.
The whole ‘radio’ thing began when an old band I was in during the 80’s played live at WCUW. The performance was aired 8/25/85 on a show called ‘Radio Free Amerika’ and set up by Captain PJ. The entire performance is on a Reel in full audio complete with interview and I, cannot for the life of me, remember who hosted that show!.
But, that ‘Reel’ was lost soon after that performance. But stay tuned.
Fast forward to 2008..This is as related to 1985 and my band performance and the chance meeting of PJ in 2008 as chalk is to cheese. Stay with me here.
I lost my home in 2008 and moved to an apartment in the center of Northborough. I had many anxiety ridden sleepless nights.
The store in the center was open 24 hours and I would often walk the 100 feet to get coffee and chat with the clerk there. I had worked there years ago and knew this person well. ..Anyhow:
One morning I am there at three am stressing out and PJ wheels into the parking lot fresh from his show. Myself and the clerk are outside like Jay and Silent Bob smoking butts and talking shit.
Now PJ is quite a character. Picture in your mind a cross between a borderline Downs Syndrome Danny DeVito and a Iconoclastic Marlon Brando 50’s biker and you have Captain PJ. He was what we called a ‘Townie” back those days. He worked at WCUW forever and had been apart of every generation in Northborough since 1970. He knew about every dirt in town, every band, show, event, dealer, you name it: PJ was your Town Cryer.
PJ had a disability and he was living in an old house in town while awaiting ‘housing’. He was a crack ‘audiophile’ and knew music like you know your own ass!
So we start up a conversation and I just happen to spit out (nah, I put my foot in his door) that I would love to go back to the studio and get into radio. The following week I was riding shotgun in PJ’s car on my way to 910 Main Street Worcester.
What a hell hole that place had become..
It was never a high end studio on par with any commercial station but it was a radio station. The years had not been kind to WCUW. Bad management and a loss of revenue was plaguing this poor icon of a poor city. Not a whole lot of money had been spent on the building itself and it showed. The old stage area I performed once on was removed and now housed a make shift ‘library’ of cd’s. The transmitter was failing and there was no central heat, the roof leaked, hell, I have no idea what was keeping that place together.
The following months would witness the hiring of a new manager, the rebuilding of the studio, production room and the new FRONTROOM where live performances would take place. I was there and I was witness to it all the interactions and I was thrilled to be there. But the bloom was soon off the rose.
During my training days I had asked PJ about “The Reel”. I had searched the mishmash of a library and could not find it. I knew it was there. I felt it.. I had asked PJ about it.
Sure enough he knew exactly what I was talking about!
He assured me he would find it. The following weekly show, he had the original Reel from the recording from 1985.
I felt as if I had come home again.
This is where I met John, Bruce (his wacky girlfriend) and a guy I will call Bob. Bob is dead now. All of these characters had issues. Bruce (his wacky girlfriend) didn’t work and lived in public housing. Bob did too and all of them were ‘audiophiles’ also. John would drink and get wasted and play odd, acid laced music. Nine minute tunes from King Crimson and Pink Floyd, that kind of thing.
One thing I was guaranteed to witness was the blue haze of weed smoke as I entered the studio from these people every Thursday night at eleven. This radio thing was going to be fun!
As everyone knows now the ‘on air’ version of The Meat and Potatoes Show has been terminated. My time at WCUW in Worcester has been rewarding for myself but difficult to be accepted. Almost immediately after the first independent show aired in 2009 I was ankle deep in controversy and complaints.
I knew then I was on to something. However:
You would think that people would want something to think about. You would think that a community, underground, independent, listener supported radio station would ‘want’ something that sparked a listener’s anxious ear for something (anything) provocative and new. Backbone in this post 9/11 America is anything ‘but’.
I think the one person who had any ‘hutzpah’ during this whole thing was my Mentor and friend, William Le Blanc. He is better known around here as Captain PJ of the Rockin’ Revolution radio show at WCUW. He stuck his neck out for me in 2008 and convinced an all Liberal radio Board of Directors to allow my decidedly Right show to be part of the schedule.
So, I interned for about eight months with PJ in 2008-2009. We had a lot of fun in those early days and I watched him spin his tunes and work the system. The best thing was that I played in rock bands for years and already understood how to work a Soundboard and hooking up components and tape, etc, etc. But the story gets even more detailed beyond what I understood at the time.
The whole ‘radio’ thing began when an old band I was in during the 80’s played live at WCUW. The performance was aired 8/25/85 on a show called ‘Radio Free Amerika’ and set up by Captain PJ. The entire performance is on a Reel in full audio complete with interview and I, cannot for the life of me, remember who hosted that show!.
But, that ‘Reel’ was lost soon after that performance. But stay tuned.
Fast forward to 2008..This is as related to 1985 and my band performance and the chance meeting of PJ in 2008 as chalk is to cheese. Stay with me here.
I lost my home in 2008 and moved to an apartment in the center of Northborough. I had many anxiety ridden sleepless nights.
The store in the center was open 24 hours and I would often walk the 100 feet to get coffee and chat with the clerk there. I had worked there years ago and knew this person well. ..Anyhow:
One morning I am there at three am stressing out and PJ wheels into the parking lot fresh from his show. Myself and the clerk are outside like Jay and Silent Bob smoking butts and talking shit.
Now PJ is quite a character. Picture in your mind a cross between a borderline Downs Syndrome Danny DeVito and a Iconoclastic Marlon Brando 50’s biker and you have Captain PJ. He was what we called a ‘Townie” back those days. He worked at WCUW forever and had been apart of every generation in Northborough since 1970. He knew about every dirt in town, every band, show, event, dealer, you name it: PJ was your Town Cryer.
PJ had a disability and he was living in an old house in town while awaiting ‘housing’. He was a crack ‘audiophile’ and knew music like you know your own ass!
So we start up a conversation and I just happen to spit out (nah, I put my foot in his door) that I would love to go back to the studio and get into radio. The following week I was riding shotgun in PJ’s car on my way to 910 Main Street Worcester.
What a hell hole that place had become..
It was never a high end studio on par with any commercial station but it was a radio station. The years had not been kind to WCUW. Bad management and a loss of revenue was plaguing this poor icon of a poor city. Not a whole lot of money had been spent on the building itself and it showed. The old stage area I performed once on was removed and now housed a make shift ‘library’ of cd’s. The transmitter was failing and there was no central heat, the roof leaked, hell, I have no idea what was keeping that place together.
The following months would witness the hiring of a new manager, the rebuilding of the studio, production room and the new FRONTROOM where live performances would take place. I was there and I was witness to it all the interactions and I was thrilled to be there. But the bloom was soon off the rose.
During my training days I had asked PJ about “The Reel”. I had searched the mishmash of a library and could not find it. I knew it was there. I felt it.. I had asked PJ about it.
Sure enough he knew exactly what I was talking about!
He assured me he would find it. The following weekly show, he had the original Reel from the recording from 1985.
I felt as if I had come home again.
This is where I met John, Bruce (his wacky girlfriend) and a guy I will call Bob. Bob is dead now. All of these characters had issues. Bruce (his wacky girlfriend) didn’t work and lived in public housing. Bob did too and all of them were ‘audiophiles’ also. John would drink and get wasted and play odd, acid laced music. Nine minute tunes from King Crimson and Pink Floyd, that kind of thing.
One thing I was guaranteed to witness was the blue haze of weed smoke as I entered the studio from these people every Thursday night at eleven. This radio thing was going to be fun!
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Deflection From Truth
The cycle is almost complete. The complete take over of truth and the complete removal of debate.The convincing of the general public has been a stellar success. One would be hard pressed to find a corner of America where this does not exist. Where it does exist the natives are most likely armed. This transition has eclipsed Political Correctness and has morphed into Social Doctrine.
I was listening to WTKK one morning and the Lib anchor Jim Brody (sp?) effortlessly chimed about how Republicans are against any one getting healthcare if they have a pre-existing condition. My knowledge of the Healthcare Laws from my interviews on the radio gave me assurance that I knew otherwise. What bothered me was the ability of a major radio Programmer to pontificate something that was categorically false...And get away with it. No one called in, no manager took him to task, even the Co-Anchor tripped onward with the next topic as if nothing had happened.
Not that I was particularly surprised by this moment of on air Newspeak and political demagoguery had occurred. It was the ease that pundits and politicians employ to feed us the Party Line and the nation sub consciously splits itself into their own political mental camp of ideology. Truth, reality and a little research play no part anymore in the quest for understanding complex social issues. By the time the truth comes out it is far too little too late for corrections. Besides the American spectator has already digested the well packaged and subtle misinformation as fact.
Sandra Fluke was a perfect example of this process. Within forty-eight hours of her Congressional testimony (which one Senator was wise enough to un-invite her, but another dingbat saw the chance to polarize the public and skew the facts of the case) she was making the LSM rounds on daytime talk shows to a willing audience. Never mind that this woman was crying poverty about her high cost of birth control, somehow she had the money to jet around the nation to plead her case.
The entire nation was now caught up in false information presented in a false issue, by a false witness. By the time we learned that Sandra Fluke was not a student but a 30 something single woman with a millionaire European lover; a political plant handled by former Obama Sect. Anita Dunn, it was too late. The public perception that Republicans are trying to get into a woman's womb was the catch phrase of the week and was set in stone.
Now we have the Tray-Von shooting in Florida. Al Sharpton of PMSNBC is spearheading all the public outrage. The facts of the case have nothing to do with the public discussion of the case. We will never know the facts at this point. The insistence that this a purely racially motivated murder will overshadow any concrete evidence to the contrary. This may even trump Al's Tawana debacle back in the 90's.
The point is that everything now is just pure misinformation. Nothing we see, or hear is the truth anymore. I think about how long I work to get an interview factually correct. I think about how I have to read, take in and figure out what I am going to write about so I have my story straight. This piece alone has gone through three drafts and is late to go to print!
Another component of this phenomenon is how the public isn't recognizing this happening on a mass level. That these arguments are spoon fed to us already with the concurrent opinions decided. The fact that we divide ourselves into such opposing camps of thought is exactly what is intended.
No one would have heard of the Florida shooting if it was a white man and (again) the WTKK host commented on that idea and agreed! This opened up another concern for me: Does that mean that every time a shooting of a black man occurs it is only racially motivated?. If a black man shoots a white man do we accept the preconceived notion that the white man deserved it? Maybe he was in the wrong neighborhood? Is this the logical result? Are all Intra-Latino shootings and black on black shootings just gang related now?
We can now take what has been building by example and create a model of the phenomenon and apply it to other situations. Just look at how easy it was to interject race into the discussion during the 2008 election. Look how easy the use of race is engaged to deflect the Fast and Furious Hearings. It is false and a blatant distraction, but it works. And it works every single time.
We convince ourselves that there is open and honest debate in our society and it makes our society stronger. I cannot see that as so anymore because there is no open and robust debate, just polarizing of society through tragic and heated events. Just how robust is that debate when the characters and events are hand picked for us to split over. For decades we have heard the same worn out arguments. We keep repeating the divisiveness of the past. If a person takes one minute to step outside from what they are being told that person comes to an enlightening conclusion: That none of this has anything to do with our daily lives nor the running of this nation and the solution to our long term problems. You come to realize that despite the rhetoric, women still get to choose, blacks and whites interact everyday equally, the environment keeps on chugging and we still have to get the car fixed!
No one takes that time. It would mean giving up all we have come to know by the great and powerful Oz. It means rejecting State Doctrine (at your peril, now) and possible ostracizing by one's peers.. It means not fitting in and being called 'subversive', or 'reactionary', or a racist.
But it is very liberating and has the ability to remove a burdensome weight from your shoulders. It opens your eyes, but more importantly, it opens your mind..
....And That Is The Diatribe....
I was listening to WTKK one morning and the Lib anchor Jim Brody (sp?) effortlessly chimed about how Republicans are against any one getting healthcare if they have a pre-existing condition. My knowledge of the Healthcare Laws from my interviews on the radio gave me assurance that I knew otherwise. What bothered me was the ability of a major radio Programmer to pontificate something that was categorically false...And get away with it. No one called in, no manager took him to task, even the Co-Anchor tripped onward with the next topic as if nothing had happened.
Not that I was particularly surprised by this moment of on air Newspeak and political demagoguery had occurred. It was the ease that pundits and politicians employ to feed us the Party Line and the nation sub consciously splits itself into their own political mental camp of ideology. Truth, reality and a little research play no part anymore in the quest for understanding complex social issues. By the time the truth comes out it is far too little too late for corrections. Besides the American spectator has already digested the well packaged and subtle misinformation as fact.
Sandra Fluke was a perfect example of this process. Within forty-eight hours of her Congressional testimony (which one Senator was wise enough to un-invite her, but another dingbat saw the chance to polarize the public and skew the facts of the case) she was making the LSM rounds on daytime talk shows to a willing audience. Never mind that this woman was crying poverty about her high cost of birth control, somehow she had the money to jet around the nation to plead her case.
The entire nation was now caught up in false information presented in a false issue, by a false witness. By the time we learned that Sandra Fluke was not a student but a 30 something single woman with a millionaire European lover; a political plant handled by former Obama Sect. Anita Dunn, it was too late. The public perception that Republicans are trying to get into a woman's womb was the catch phrase of the week and was set in stone.
Now we have the Tray-Von shooting in Florida. Al Sharpton of PMSNBC is spearheading all the public outrage. The facts of the case have nothing to do with the public discussion of the case. We will never know the facts at this point. The insistence that this a purely racially motivated murder will overshadow any concrete evidence to the contrary. This may even trump Al's Tawana debacle back in the 90's.
The point is that everything now is just pure misinformation. Nothing we see, or hear is the truth anymore. I think about how long I work to get an interview factually correct. I think about how I have to read, take in and figure out what I am going to write about so I have my story straight. This piece alone has gone through three drafts and is late to go to print!
Another component of this phenomenon is how the public isn't recognizing this happening on a mass level. That these arguments are spoon fed to us already with the concurrent opinions decided. The fact that we divide ourselves into such opposing camps of thought is exactly what is intended.
No one would have heard of the Florida shooting if it was a white man and (again) the WTKK host commented on that idea and agreed! This opened up another concern for me: Does that mean that every time a shooting of a black man occurs it is only racially motivated?. If a black man shoots a white man do we accept the preconceived notion that the white man deserved it? Maybe he was in the wrong neighborhood? Is this the logical result? Are all Intra-Latino shootings and black on black shootings just gang related now?
We can now take what has been building by example and create a model of the phenomenon and apply it to other situations. Just look at how easy it was to interject race into the discussion during the 2008 election. Look how easy the use of race is engaged to deflect the Fast and Furious Hearings. It is false and a blatant distraction, but it works. And it works every single time.
We convince ourselves that there is open and honest debate in our society and it makes our society stronger. I cannot see that as so anymore because there is no open and robust debate, just polarizing of society through tragic and heated events. Just how robust is that debate when the characters and events are hand picked for us to split over. For decades we have heard the same worn out arguments. We keep repeating the divisiveness of the past. If a person takes one minute to step outside from what they are being told that person comes to an enlightening conclusion: That none of this has anything to do with our daily lives nor the running of this nation and the solution to our long term problems. You come to realize that despite the rhetoric, women still get to choose, blacks and whites interact everyday equally, the environment keeps on chugging and we still have to get the car fixed!
No one takes that time. It would mean giving up all we have come to know by the great and powerful Oz. It means rejecting State Doctrine (at your peril, now) and possible ostracizing by one's peers.. It means not fitting in and being called 'subversive', or 'reactionary', or a racist.
But it is very liberating and has the ability to remove a burdensome weight from your shoulders. It opens your eyes, but more importantly, it opens your mind..
....And That Is The Diatribe....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)