Why the name Ranch Chimp? it was in humour because, science says that humans have similar DNA to a chimpanzee,so I felt some way related biologically to a chimpanzee. 2nd, everytime I was out of Texas on a vacation or for whatever reason I’m always asked things like, do I live on a ranch?,or have cattle? so I commonly call Dallas the Ranch. "Politically Depressed" was also humour inspired by the 1993- 2002 Bill Maher TV/ tele show "Politically Incorrect".
This posting will be for the "Dia de los Muertos", "Halloween" and "Taste of Texas" series of this journal/ blog. Dia de los Muertos is another big celebration in America today, although it's a celebration of Mexico. Today it's even become commercialized in the States, everyone from Walmart to Disney to the mom and pop business is cashing in ... they even made a special series of Lottery tickets for it in Texas, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh {:-) ... anything to make a buck in America, eh? But what's cool about it, is you can create your own costumes and makeup without having to go through the big corporations and have a good time. It's also like an added extension to the Halloween holiday, so if you're into partying, you can party for a few dayz straight. I myself alwayz enjoyed the pageantry and music of it, so it's alot of fun too. So ... you can honour the dead and leave a basket for their casket, as well as living life in remembrance of them and for them, so it's symbolic and cultural too. My first Dia de los Muertos celebration I went to was in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, who a friend, Isabella Rivera (RIP), took me to way back when I was fairly new to Texas, and a private ceremony after, out in a remote area south of Nuevo Laredo. I guess I was 19 at the time, and Isabella would have been 29 ... but it was fun and enlightening for me, because I never experienced this culture. Quite a difference for me, since I came to Texas from the north, and stayed in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) for awhile before coming here, in Montreal I stayed in the eastern part, which is the french language/ culture part (Saint Laurent Blvd in Montreal separates the french from the english). Below, I just wanted to highlight some of Dia de los Muertos here around Texas, from El Paso, Dallas, Terlingua, Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. I also included a link right below from USA Today, that I thought was pretty good as far as understanding the difference between Dia de la Muertos and Halloween, since many here in the states are just catching on to this holiday. Today's high temp in Dallas only made it in the 50's, and light rain throughout the day and night, so not the best night in Dallas for outdoor parties or Trick- or- Treating ... be careful and have fun. This will also be included in the "RCJ Music/ Arts Honour Roll Society" of this journal/ blog. Enjoy ....
WATCH: Speaker Ryan, House GOP leaders hold news conference ... Thanx to PBS NewsHour
This will be Part 16 of the "How To Privatize America" series. This is very boring, because it has to do with taxation, although it is something that Americans should be concerned about, and not get too excited over the hype and sales pitch of this. I mean, it's not as popular or showcased in media as former President George H. W. Bush, Harvey Weinstein, or Bill O'Reilly groping and raping women. I'm not an economist or a tax accountant, but have alot of questions when I view these things, or whenever someone is trying to sell me something, that looks too good to be true. I actually posted the video above for humour, because of how funny it was, listening to the "American people and workers" pitch this is cloaked in, either they are a little slow in the head, or they think the people are. When these people have corporate/ banking attorney drafted legislation to do anything, and they say, that they are doing it for you, or their love for country, etc ... that there should make you stop and think ... I mean, why, in the type of dog eat dog economies we live in, would these folks suddenly love us? What did we do as the American majority to deserve such generosity from these types? Are they humanitarians, philanthropists? Actions speak louder than words they say ... the history of actions by some of these folks have been clear, as to their agenda. We should call this tax plan what it truly is, not the Trump plan, it should be called more like a Goldman Sachs or Koch Industries tax plan, a Wall Street stimulus plan or whatever. The 'tax filing postcard' I put in the heading, and that they are flashing in their talk, is what really made me laugh. Just look at it closely ... a postcard with 14 simple lines, just fill it in, drop it in the mailbox, eh? ... all your financial/ earnings info is exposed to anyone ... no social security number?, what about your name and address?, etc ... the President himself wouldnt use it, he wont even make his tax filings public as it is. I mean, it looks simple and appealing of course, but can we really simplify our complex tax system with a couple pages overnight like this? Even if we all did our own taxes, we would still have to go through the new tax book every year, to refer to charts, revisions, qualifications, etc. I would bet the tax preparation lobbyists must be furious when they see this, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh {:-) ... can you imagine how much money/ business that would put them back? They say this is to compete in the global arena as far as corporate taxation, why?, so that we can try to outdo each other internationally to see who can get to the bottom first and eliminate all taxation and representative government?
I'm sure many folks in the working classes can get excited looking at getting a few hundred or a thousand bucks in their pocket every year. But the idea, that this will make folks run out and buy new cars, homes, take cruise vacations or whatever, is a bit silly. Get a thousand bucks that year ... you would be lucky to get a month of child day care with it. The whole reason we get excited when peanuts are thrown to us, is because they have us lowering our expectations year to year, and constantly squeezing us for a few more bucks ... and basically, so they can give it out to some of these fucken fruit loops on Wall Street ... while we should be sending them to get counseling for gambling addiction instead. The idea for economic stimulus they present to us, is that, when we give out these massive breaks to the top wealth, they will no longer use all their international or U.S. state havens and shell companies to divert earnings, profits, so we can close these loopholes ... and miraculously they will decide to bring all their money back home (U.S.). In turn, they say that these people will invest here and create millions of jobs, etc, etc. What is the incentive in this global arena of today, that would make one of them choose to hire an American here at home for $10 bucks an hour for example, over paying someone in China or wherever a buck ($1) an hour? Would small businesses just hire on many more folks without reason or business to? Would President Trump bring his investments and business in China and elsewhere here to America? Would his daughter Ivanka do it, with all her business in these poverty wage countries? As I was explaining to some guys here in Dallas the other day ... let us just say that this goes through (even though I think it may run into obstacles in the Senate), and all of the sudden we pay less tax and are in 'Prosperity Heaven' psychologically, corporations are getting even more of a free ride, and the top of the top, etc ... what about the tax revenues that we annually depend on for our public services and needs across the board ... what happens to them? Where is the money going to come from to take care of our country's needs and to balance the costs of this? This is where the 'privatization' part expands itself. Who has all the money now? ... the public/ government certainly dont, so we have to again, ask for the mercy and help of the top wealth to financially take care of everything we once done for ourselves. We will need to depend on them (the top wealth we handed over all our money to) for everything from schools, to police, fire, public parks and libraries, etc, etc ... to invest their money in, making it now, not the peoples/ citizens, but their exclusive ownership, and all profit driven by their shareholders. They already have a monopoly on so much including our health care ... they would have to privatize everything to the top wealth ownership ... and boom, there goes more of our voice, democracy, liberties ... as well as our capital/ assets.
These GOP politicians are so intoxicated like on happy pills, in their mental state of euphoria listening to them above, maybe we should call them 'dreamers', because I cannot find the math in anything I been reviewing, to even say this can work, and that our country as a whole would benefit economically. And it's nonsense having to listen to this talk about how high the taxes are ... sure, on paper/ law it looks high, but that's not the reality with all the loopholes, many dont pay squat in taxes. Right now, the markets are doing great, most on Wall Street are pumped up, profits at the top have broken records, etc. So why are so many people still living paycheck to paycheck, eh? Where are the tens of thousands of new jobs from all these new pipelines? The top wealth is NOT spending the money we have all collectively blessed them with ... instead, they are sitting on it and ratholing every buck they can. Many are just getting and stashing all they can, waiting for the next crash/ downturn, so they can all run to their algorithm controlled market slave computers, to short sell and whatever, to capitalize on the next downturn ... after all, even in a crash, while most lose ... those other few make off like bandits ... money doesnt disappear, it changes hands, eh? They dont need anymore breaks, they are over their limit, and we should be voting these people out of office that cater to these SOB's, we should be signing petitions, raising Hell, jamming their phone lines in Congress, etc. This last monday, I was first in line on first day of early voting in Dallas County, voting on every goddamn budget/ spending proposal and state amendment. With all the changes coming with AI/ robotics/ automation, we should be focusing more on tightening our giveaways to Wall Street, focusing more on our needs to come. I was talking with my son- in- law the other day, a corporate guy, who does his business in North and South American countries mostly ... they/ he been focusing on India now ... I asked "why India"? (even though I presumed why), he talked about their (India) new market and growing middle class, that everyone wants a piece of, that may surpass China even. That's the whole point here ... all this wealth knows this as well, they dont plan on doing jack shit for this country, they have their eyes elsewhere ... it's business, eh? The bottom line, is we need to look out for ourselves, instead of looking out for and feeding the top more ... they're doing great as it is. Below are some reads and videos, to take a closer look at this, from experts and their view. I even included David Stockman, who served in the Reagan Administration as Director of Office of Management and Budget, listen to what he has to say about this crap, while Reagan lover FOX News talking heads try to gang up on him, while kissing up to this garbage.
This posting will be a Halloween tribute posting with music, it serves as Part 9 of the "Halloween" series of this journal/ blog, and will also be included in the music/ arts honour roll society of this journal. I had about 30 pieces/ video that I selected of different artists/ music ... then narrowed that down to 6 final pieces to post here, there is so many that I would like to have in here, but for this posting I made 6 my limit. Have a fun Halloween to the viewer of this posting ... Enjoy!
Tim Burton- This is Halloween (by Broken Peach) ... Thanx to Broken Peach
THERION- The Falling Stone (Live 2007) ... Thanx to MASTERKINGU
Bauhaus- Bela Lugosi's Dead (Live Coachella 2005) ... Thanx to kamerarosak
Hotel guest, Rudy Habibe, runs for his life from the burning Hilton Wine Country Inn in Santa Rosa, monday 9 october 2017
This posting will be Part 51 of the "Global War'n'ing" series of this blog/ journal. I been following this all week (LA Times), so I wanted to record it in this journal ... and fires are still blazing out of control as I post this. The mainstream media been all over this like a cheap suit on sunday, and been doing a great job on covering so much of it. But again, there has been also a lack of discussion in media, as far as what is causing the intensity of these fires, just like when they covered Hurricane Harvey. For example, last night in prime time tele news with ABC Network, they were just talking about some downed power lines and transformers as being investigated as what caused these fires. These fires are even leveling cities like Santa Rosa, a major town in the north SF Bay Area, as well as the wineries ... the business/ real estate end is even enormous ... and not only up in the Bay Area, even threatening the LA/ SoCal area, and multiple counties between, with some of the highest real estate on the market in this country, you even have mansions of the wealthier classes being destroyed too. This is the reason why I wanted to avoid the mainstream talk, and go to a scientist to give some insight on the real issue ... so Thanx to Democracy Now and bioclimatologist Park Williams for covering this the way it should be. Sadly, between much of the mainstream media, political correctness, big oil/ gas/ coal influence, and politics ... we have to actually go to scientists to get any common sense, a straight assessment, and accuracy as to what our problem is. When these issues and discussions do come up in any of the mainstream, it's alwayz "inconclusive" talk ... saying that we dont have enough evidence and research yet to come to the conclusion that human activity is intensifying the extreme weather. Scientists have been pointing this out now for close to a half century, there has been more debates and research than you can shake a stick at, there is OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE if you just read the research/ findings, as well.
Since everyone is so concerned also about the buck ($$) or the economy, I myself being a sort of pro- business environmentalist, this is also proof as to what it's going to cost us for our prepaid ignorance. Right now (last I read recently), we are at a point where even a majority of people are seriously questioning our part in contributing to global warming/ climate change, more than half the folks in this country (about 2/3rd on average), whichever political side they belong to, are using common sense and saying to themselves ... "something is really wrong in what we are doing", they can see what the problem is ... because of how clear it's becoming. Sure, forest fires have been a way of life in much of the west, especially in California, but because of the weather changes and more extreme conditions, the intensity of these fires is escalating. You also have the Central Valley drought issues (ScienceDaily), a mega strain on agriculture, not just on California's economy, produce and prices, but the entire country. California alone dont even have nearly the resources they need to fight these fires, and you know that these smaller states sure as Hell dont, they are using everything they have, and for years have been using low offender prisoners even, both men and women to fight fires. And this is more than California, it is everywhere west from Colorado to Washington to Arizona, all neighbouring states are feeling this intensity. Want to talk about dollars and the economy? ... how do you think this is going to effect banking/ finance?, how about the insurance industry?, for examples ... who finances and insures the properties and businesses, eh? What will this do to our taxes?, especially now, while they are trying to gut them more to appease big money interests? As it is, all these big banks and insurers alone are going to have to depend on tax subsidies in all these disasters along with skyrocketed premiums and financial institution costs, just to stay afloat. Our tax dollars are already subsidizing these too big to fail entities, as well as things like big oil down to the CEO pay ... and you know damn well that they are going to be whining for financial/ tax help to Congress over all these new costs.
This is also why I'm so concerned in this series on infrastructure funding, and NOT just for inner city sugarcoating gentrification and over building/ development of private/ public money for million dollar condos and shopping centers (as you see now, coast to coast) ... will you be able to sustain property values, business growth, occupancy, sales, etc, for the long term on this type of investing/ subsidizing?, etc. (this type of subsidizing/ investing only benefits a very small sector). Because when the economy tanks, and all the investment roaches come out of the woodwork to do stock buy backs, short sells or whatever, while many of these development investments dont pay off as they were rushed into thinking they would on the short term hustle ... we will have to subsidize them even more as well, which means cuts to public services, and more subsidizing/ welfare for the investors that took a hit, eh? ... I mean, that's how our politics/ legislation on these things worx. We are not doing very well as far as combating extreme weather at this point (and this is global as well), public and private infrastructure spending and redevelopment planning are going to be key in not only safety, but especially the economy ... bottom line, the way we are doing things and with this climate change, we can get totally wiped out financially as time goes on. You need more investment and planning development around areas that will be hit most from flooding or fire, irrigation and desalination of water expansion, better draining, more expansion and use in renewable energies, and much other infrastructure needs. My stepgrandson, Jeremy, will get his bachelor's degree in "civil engineering" this coming May, global warming played a large role in him wanting to get into that field, he talked to me about it since in high school ... he is a young progressive in thought too. And Thanx to so many of our graduates today, that are thinking about change and fixing problems. Right now, oil investments are getting big incentives and tax breaks to get new investors into oil as example (of course, you wont hear much about that in mainstream media), we need more equal incentives to expand way more into other forms of energy too.
We are wasting and splurging way too much not just on corporate welfare, but also on funding unnecessary defense spending as it is, and every year that the defense spending budget grows, they have to spend that amount (like in any business/ company), to keep at least the same budget approval for the next year. Some folks say the damage is done and we just have to live with it, etc (as far as climate change) ... there is alwayz room for improvement and to clean house. We are so worried about being the global idol and role model ... while many are not loving us around the globe as much as we may fantasize. Last I heard, we are currently under this new administration, talking about even rolling back regulations for these oil/ energy producers that are already fucking up big time and cant even control themselves, causing economic damage as well as environmental. With a President engaging in these bitch fights with places like North Korea, while planning on shelling out billions more on that crap. You want to really make this country a leader, innovator, role model, etc? ... do something different that changes business as usual, and contributes to real progress that shines, and you will really be recognized and make your mark in the world and set a new trend and goals. Enough out of my mouth on this ... listen to Park Williams below, and read the PDF as well for some further insight. After that at the bottom I included some photos in a link of the aftermath of some of these fires, and some video as well.
Word Out ....
Alton Park Williams | Bioclimatologist- Assistant Research Professor @ Columbia University
First up ... my thoughts and condolences to the families of the victims killed and injured in the recent Las Vegas mass shooting/ terror attack (CNN- victims), before anything else ... the problem in this country is NOT concert goers or the musicians ... our problems are some of our politicians and the rest that I do in these series. This posting will be for the "Corporatcommunazica" and "Human Morality" series of this blog/ journal. It is to highlight some interviews with History Professor Kevin M. Kruse, concerning one of his books. This is a posting I planned on doing some time back, but like many, never got around to it, I have many things that I want to post on, stuff jotted down on paper, etc ... that I simply dont get to, so better late than never. What inspired it the other day, was the last posting I done concerning the NFL player National Anthem piece, so it came to mind again. Whether you agree with Kruse or not, it's healthy information for thought, so I think the guy is worth the listen. In fairness to Eisenhower, even founding fathers like Pres. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, seemed to use religion/ God concept as a tool for the citizens, as far as promoting unity and virtue to build society on, and came from christian upbringing, yet their own beliefs as far as where they stood on denomination was questionable, prescribing a type of generic religion of sort for the public, but separating themselves, seeming more deist than anything. I've known many atheists and pagans with high moral standards, so I dont believe that a prescribed religion is the only way to achieve that in a society. Some video, audio, read/ transcript below ... then after below, I will add some of my own thoughts on the related.
As for me, I think Kevin makes some really good points concerning todayz corporatization using religion, same as politics as a tool to take over everything ... they (oligarchs) see their version of todayz capitalism design as soul mates with the carefully created religious ideology they molded, in todayz popular culture package of neoliberalism. I dont really enjoy much doing postings on religion or even politics ... I do them because of the issues/ problems with both, as another one of millions of folks on online media to bring atencion to it ... I actually like to do music postings the most, and as far as I'm concerned, I have too much religion and politics in here, in the past I trashed several hundred postings I had in here. My views should be fairly clear in these series, for me, this is nothing new. I point out throughout related postings/ series about what I call the "3 entities" to simplify it some ... bottom line, the manipulation and control of folks by government, corporations/ banks and religions, more like institutionalized programming of the masses. Nor do I see any of this as having a thing to do with belief in God/ Allah/ Higher Power, or spiritual at all, to me it's like a newly revised and repackaging of power and wealth doing what they alwayz done for centuries. At the same time, considering the type of system and era we live in ... I dont see the idea/ design of capitalism or corporations as the problem, but just a handful and their culture of those at the top as being the problem. Same with religion or ones personal beliefs, just those at the top in clergy and who dictates and buys them as the problem, and you can bet on it, that they are not being guided by spiritual divinity. Spirituality shouldnt be about oppression, slavery, thievery, wars to invade nations to take everything they have, or make them think to your specifications, etc. Politics shouldnt be about a handful of oligarchs controlling what should be the peoples voice and representation with a governing body, etc, the structure of our government has nothing wrong with it, only those who try to contaminate it ... and taxes should be to benefit our societies, not to give it all to those who have too much to begin with. Banks, corporations and capitalism by design shouldnt increase slavery, poverty, despair, austerity, etc ... or to create monopolies that restrict fair trade instead of expanding it. So whatever definitions, semantics, labels and sugarcoating you try to peddle these ideas as ... is bullshit, so dont let them manipulate you as much as they try, that is where you lose. These systems are not designed badly, they are abused and contaminated by a few only.
I look at this neoliberalism, market, institutionalized commercialized religion being pushed by the west today, as like an extension of the Roman Empire, and when they get "too big and fail", when their empires fall and the masses see through them, another takes over ... using the same shit and motives, with a different packaging and sales pitch. When you look at it, everything is controlled and designed over the centuries, to revise, refresh and keep past failed empires, ideologies and such alive to benefit those who would lose their asses otherwise, if they didnt have control over it. As far as religion in Christianity for example that is talked about above ... I even view the Holy Bible/ New Testament as Constantine's Bible, although some would disagree with me, saying that it was not finalized till years after the death of the Roman Emperor Constantine (Constantine order to Council of Nicaea), and text centuries before Constantine. I see institutional Christianity the same, of Constantine, who brought it mainstream, and freeing christians from past persecution, around 313 AD, first recognized as Roman religion about 323 AD through 380 AD. For me it was Constantine who kick started and inspired it all, from the Holy Bible of "today", to the religious- political institution of Christianity. Did not Constantine have a so called "divine intervention vision", that guided him to incorporate it into military, and conquer everyone he could to obtain wealth, power and control of trade? ... of course he did, and even crediting his victories and power to it himself, it served as a political tool as well ... you know ... conquer, destroy, control and enslave, in the name of goodness, liberty and patriotic duty, sound familiar? Christianity as a political and monetary institutional form and tool, made its way to conquer so many lands east and west, the Inquisition was an institutional group in the government of the Catholic Church ... you dont bow to and obey the oligarchs, you suffer and die ... and not because it is the will of God, but of men. Even in conquering the Americas and its natives, it was full of bloodshed, war, slavery, oppression and thievery, etc. Adolf Hitler used institutionalized Christianity for the same reasons, and to eradicate/ execute humans that they didnt approve of existing ... the Ku Klux Klan also used Christianity as a tool for racism and killing blacks and undesirables in our country. A country in our time like Saudi Arabia with their Wahhabism, institutionalize and politicize the faith of Islam in the Arab world to do what those I pointed out above do with Christianity ... and to gain power, wealth, conquer lands, and keep indefinite control, and to exterminate humans, even of the Muslim faith, who do not bow and obey to them.
It is also popular thought, or what I see as propaganda, that these institutional/ political religions are growing in numbers and the masses are embracing them more and more ... all that IS REALLY happening, is those at the top are spending a fortune to promote more of its media propaganda. This is all bullshit as well to me, many folks may claim to be of a religious brand/ faith, or have faith in God, especially when times get tough like now, and austerity and oppression are imposed more, while people lose their liberties slowly, but noticeably ... but as far as people embracing this institutional and political religion, frankly, people are losing faith and trust in it, because many are seeing what it's all about ... as also historically happens in any culture and empire, over and over. The same as people are losing faith in the governments and their political party favourites and its prepaid flunkies ... there is actually a resistance to all this once again growing, much more than those embracing this garbage. Just like other times throughout history over thousands of years, when these institutions once again, get too big and fail, the majority of the people dump them and walk away. Which they historically alwayz do fail over time, and will fail again, as far as empires, religions, politics and their prepaid institutions ... so like a merry- go- round ... those at top will try once again to convince the masses that they and their institutions are the chosen saviours of humanity and all our problems, and design some new bullshit, to try to preserve their old bullshit. In the meantime between these recorded events in human history, the majority alwayz manages to slowly create changes and maintain a certain amount of liberties and even some new ones that are past due. It is the majority who make everything work, most of those at the top, dont do much of damn thing, which is why I dont see many as "elite", or care to ever bow to them or praise them ... I mean, frankly we dont need them ... for where would they be without us? As far as their bullshit, that they are serving or doing the will of God ... they are only using a concept of God, to serve and do for themselves, nothing else ... dont waste your time, life and energy on trying to gain 'their' approval. Because of the subject in this posting, I wanted to close out with a video from Jesse Dollemore below, of some of this "prosperity gospel" snake oil of today, that Houston televangelist Joel Osteen (wikipedia) peddles for millions ($$$$) to millions of folks. Enough from me.
Word Out ....
Joel Osteen's "Gospel" Message to Starving and Thirsty Children ... Thanx to dollemore
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