Life’s too short to even care at all Ooh
I’m losing my mind losing my mind losing control
The fishes in the sea they’re staring at me
A wet world aches for a beat of a drum
If I could find a way to see this straight
I’d run away
To some fortune that I
Should have found by now
I’m waiting for this Cough Syrup to come down, come down
Life’s too short to even care at all
I’m coming up now coming up now out of the blue
These zombies in the park are looking for my heart
A dark world aches for a splash of the sun
-Young the Giant, “Cough Syrup” 2011
The last couple of years have challenged the American spirit in ways most of us have never would have imagined. The pain and suffering out there across America is palpable and real, leaving many of us reaching for more than cough syrup. For once perhaps the drama of the political rhetoric of our leaders does not even begin to address the depth and severity of the pain, insecurity and despair that many citizens feel across our land. Regardless of the prescriptions and solutions they offer to what ails us, to restore life I am no longer waiting for their cough syrup to come down.
Around me I have witnessed the supreme and strong, falling down, hopefully only intermittently, but still not sure. Yet, in the souls of many of my fellow Americans, however wounded or uncertain they may be, I see the ‘eye of the tiger’ looking only for a basis to rise again or maybe I am just looking in the mirror. In the words of Vince Lombardi:
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up. The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.”
“It ain’t about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can GET hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep – moving – forward.”
Or in the words of film industry legend, Mary Pickford:
“If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.”
Knock me down enough I say and all you are doing is training me in how to get up more proficiently. Let us give praise and thanks to those who have knocked us down for they will only make our victory even sweeter, in the end. This is the character of our people. It is written into the American DNA, yours and mine. Rest assured, the final bell has not yet rung, we will be prepared to rise and do battle in 2012. A little angel is gonna whisper in your ear: “get up you sonofabitch cause Mickey loves you”.
Cut me Mick I ain’t done fightin’ yet. This is not a time for platitudes or making cliched resolutions to toast at midnight but rather a calling to be resolute in all that we do. To all of you I hope and pray you find your splash of the sun in 2012. May you basque in it for the remainder of your days. It’s time we stop waiting for the cough syrup to come down. If we have to, maybe the answer is that we make our own.
I never thought that the day would come that I would even remotely consider quoting, listening to or making statements in support of Miley Cyrus ‘art form’ and that is itself not my being dismissive. I simply did not think she had anything of import to speak to my generation. Miley Cyrus’ latest creation is a rather effective pairing of a remix of her 2010 song Liberty Walk with footage from the Occupy Wall Street protests. It makes a statement.
I am not saying that Miley Cyrus’ Rock Mafia will replace my affinity for rock legends like Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Queen or the Smashing Pumpkins anytime soon. Hannah Montana, however, brought her Party in the USA straight to the OWS movement with the opening statement on her video that: “This is Dedicated to the thousands of people who are standing up for what they believe in.” Sure I noticed that the teen idol was adorable, insightful and funny playing Justin Bieber while hosting Saturday Night Live, but as a middle aged man though I did notice she seems to be growing into a rather fine looking young woman, it did not occur to me that she would be capable of this type of artistic expression. Nevertheless, from a civic minded perspective, her exhibition of a social conscience at a time where far too many are afraid to undermine their stature with the powerful, in any way, is refreshing.
I am not sure whether to be surprised that many mainstream media analysts have offered their hip, snarky critique aimed at dismissing the relevance of Miley Cyrus’ latest creation. As some mainstream media pundits ponder the sincerity of the ’slick corporate pop star’s’ controversial expression of solidarity with the Occupy movement, most failed to comprehend that the uprising in this country has been brewing for some time and that Cyrus has been in tune with it as this song was written a year for the uprising at Zuccotti Park. The simple lyrics to Liberty Walk very much match the bubbling soul of a nation that was rising to the surface despite efforts to snuff it out. The Occupy movement did not rise up in a vacuum. In the Post 9/11 world as rather clearly laid out in the Zeitgeist movie, the culture of distraction has been intentionally ratcheted up in high gear in America for the sole purpose of holding back the inevitable, stifling dissent with the hope of turning more of the dumb down masses into obedient sheeple, even as the Zeitgeist was shifting in America.
Ms. Cyrus deserves credit for standing on the right side of human history, regardless of what you think of her art form and regardless of the contempt for my . As was stated in the comments section on a rather odd, strangely Propanda’ish piece in the Village Voice:
“I’m no Miley Cyrus fan, but to my mind it’s a bit elitist to even criticize this video.”
I concur with that statement. Accordingly, I give her credit for taking a stand. Notably, as stated by one thoughtful individual who commented on the Village Voice piece:
“The only thing I’d like to question here is the move to examine the song via Cyrus’s possible sincerity, because ultimately, I think the question is besides the point, and would guess that 95% of that co-option of dissent was totally sincere; as was, say, the Third Eye Blind song ['If there ever was a time'] and Jay-Z’s Occupy All Streets t shirts. And while Miley Cyrus may not personally profit from this song, it remains opportunistic when considered structurally, as an attempt (albeit totally sincere) by—whatever you want to call it: the culture industry, the 1%, Disney, etc.—to enter a space from which it had been deliberately excluded.’
So many mainstream artists, who are well paid contributors to the culture of distraction, have literally NOTHING of import to say. And that says more about where those selfish whores stand. Obviously they want to continue to get paid. I do, however, expect more critical analysis from the Village Voice than to dismiss her as an artistic simpleton whose creations in this case were likely motivated by rather ‘vague, ill informed leftist beliefs.’ Norman Mailer would have wiped his rear end with that piece of mainstream propaganda and told the writer to go f$#!k yourself, likely right to his face. My critics be damned, even the Young Manhattanites. If most of the people who read this page truly understood how deeply corrupt the unholy alliance is between Wall Street and Government, there would be people hanging in the streets of Lower Manhattan and Police would be storming the Capitol in Washington, D.C. with riot gear to rip the immoral charlatans from their smug indifferent perches of power where they piss all over the hopes and dreams of the American people.
Too many Illuminati Artists dare not criticize the very corporate elites who enable or fund their continued existence with their elaborate networks. The rise of the Police State is the civil rights issue of our time but some folks like Jay Z have nothing to say because he is an insider with the very people that this movement attacks. He is too freaking busy gettin paid to say jack shit. So even as she brings her Party in the USA to the Occupy Movement, Miley may wish to note that while many have their hands up, it is not because “a Jay Z song is on.” Miley Cyrus may be opportunistic but she may also have bigger balls than a whole class of Illuminati Artists who linger in silence. TUPAC would never have been as silent as Jay Z which tells you all you need to know about the dark agenda of the forces pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The history books are written by the winners. In the words of Swedish pop band, ABBA, ‘the Winner takes it all, the loser standing small, beside the victory, that’s [our] destiny.’ The relative triviality of the loser’s pain and suffering is often long forgotten. But it truly need not be that way. With the Madoff Crime Family again in the headlines these days, what may be a worthwhile endeavor is to gather a petition of Madoff’s Victims worldwide to petition the institutions that benefited from donations made by one of the largest philanthropic frauds in American history —Jeffry Picower, the largest Madoff beneficiary. The petition should request that they strip his name as their donor of record and that whatever that they have named in his honor should be appropriately renamed for the interests of those defrauded as well as for the integrity of said institution’s brand going forward and their ability to raise funds in the future . For example:
The Madoff/Picower Fraud Survivors Institute for Learning and Memory
Picower’s name should be removed from any institution that carries his name honoring his philanthropy. Too much of American philanthropy often comes in one name at the expense of those who have had their legacy taken from them. The Madoff Survivors have had their legacy taken from them while Mr. Picower has not.
Critical to the American Restoration movement is that we discredit the legacy of those who have been honored for their philanthropic deeds with funds fraudulently obtained. In those cases it can be presumed that their generosity was not purely or honorably motivated but instead part of a fraudulent overall branding mechanism, the extension of their philanthropic brand masking their covert criminal wealth redistribution schemes. America must cleanse itself and conduct an internal accounting or philanthropic colonic to liberate and detoxify ourselves from the stench of a legacy built on a cesspool of corruption or a mountain of crappola.
This is a movement which may and ought to have legs. Let us discredit those previously honored. The legacy of Jeffry Picower is an objective fraud so let us begin with him. Despite the best public relations efforts of William Zabel and Picower’s widow, the Department of Justice settlement has not cleared the Picower name as intended in the eyes of most American citizens.
And I don’t want to be how they want me to be
I don’t want to be how they want me to be
You don’t want me to be how they want me to be
I don’t want me to be how they want me to be
-Best Coast, ‘How They Want Me to Be’ (2011)
In recent months, I have been listening to a group called Best Coast. I am hardly one of their earliest fans. Truth is that I had become weary of the American music scene over the last decade, or at least that being proffered by the Illuminati controlled music business which has served as the culture of distraction as our people have descended into the economic abyss. What was once a vibrant hip hop movement that dared ask questions about the course of humanity, the elevation of the righteous, the empowerment of and elevation of the humane and decent rather than the satanic, was hijacked by the hip-pop movement. The music no longer matches the times as it once did in other era’s like the 1960’s. It seeks to mask the pain of the present human condition, not to soothe it but to disable the creativity and evolution of the human spirit.
Best Coast has an addictive sound that is so present day but yet makes me teary eyed for the alternative music scene of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and for the experiences that I had during America’s last great decade before George W. Bush became President and all hell broke loose in America. Best Coast brings back my nostalgia for that bygone era of musical creativity where we could sit back and listen to talented folksy artists who weaved poetically a portrait of the American experience that was like a veritable slice of modern day Americana or a Norman Rockwell painting. When I listened to the lyrical poetry of California based singer Beth Cosentino on ‘When I’m with You’ the vibe was reminiscent of what seemed like a lazy mexican summer in the go go 1990’s, driving to the beach in East Hampton, New York with my own little Go-Go by my side. Her smiling face framed by her golden locks, Persol sunglasses and pearly white grin is forever etched in the historical files of my life, forever ‘wishing I was [her] boyfriend.’ “I wish [s]he was my [girlfriend] I wish [s]he was my [girlfriend] I’d love her to the very end But instead [she's] just a friend.”
Many will recall that period before innocence was lost. The darkness which the mainstream illuminati controlled music industry brought over our land through the endless marketing of and control of the airwaves with music devoid of any soul, cultural insight or humanistic reflection masked our descent and the camouflaged for many what was truly happening in America. The emotional and intellectual bankruptcy of this so called ‘artistry’ only served to shield the people from the similar hollowing out of America’s soul at a higher level.
If the Cranberries, the Breeders and the Pixies had children who grew up at the beach they would be Best Coast. Their sound is classic yet original with a melodic wizardry that never grows old and seems otherwise timeless. I am no music critic, nor do I mean to suggest that there are not many talented in America’s music scene today, but that maybe perhaps we might need to evolve past the glorification of hip-pop mogul Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye et al etc. and look to the voices and sounds of the truly independent artists who seek less to whittle down American consciousness as they attempt to ‘Run This Town’ and likely run you down for the sole purpose of fattening of their own bank accounts and inspiring you to pledge your allegiance to their cult of greed and indifference and get ‘all black everything, black cards, black cars, black clothes’. F$%@k that!
Best Coast and the rise of alternative and indie artists like Jenny Electrik (Facebook Page, Green Bus Tour), who I discovered through my nephew, is what makes me hopeful about the American music scene, so hopeful that maybe I too can inspire you to seek out the positive independent voices in contemporary music, use your disposable income on iTunes wisely and get off the crack idol worship of Satan’s children that has for too long now been force fed into our stream of consciousness. Get off ‘The Feed’
FALSE NARRATIVES | FAUX PATRIOTS: The ’Occupy Wall Street’ Movement
“The people who [are] trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. Why should I ?” –Bob Marley
Don’t you know
They’re talkin’ bout a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Don’t you know
They’re talkin’ about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
While they’re standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
Don’t you know
They’re talkin’ bout a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take what’s theirs
Don’t you know
You better run, run, run, run, run,
run, run, run, run, run, run, run
Oh I said you better
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run,
run, run, run, run, run
Finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin’ bout a revolution
Finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin’ bout a revolution
Talkin’ bout a revolution
You are on your way to work and encounter crowds. Or maybe you cannot get to the Equinox Fitness Club or New York Sports Club on Wall Street to do a class or lift weights because of the combination of post 9/11 security around the NYSE and the Occupy Wall Street movement. What do you encounter? A seemingly incoherent, unkempt mob stationed in a park, filling the sidewalk and marching down the street. Many look disheveled. Quite a few are younger than you. Some have a trendy pair of blue jeans and hip t-shirts and have an Apple MacBook or an iPhone so you mistakenly conclude that they are all a bunch of trendy hipsters or trustafarian’s; and mutter to yourself, “as if there is a difference.” Those lazy kids should be looking for work you think to yourself. As reported in Reuters, One Wall Street banker described the protesters as “a bunch of whiny people who are lazy or incompetent and have nothing to do with their time” and even other smug bastards on Facebook laugh at the revolution. But then you remember, maybe they down sized some good folks at your company recently and your buddy down the street lost his home to foreclosure and you have not seen or heard from him since. You begin to wonder how many pay checks you could live without before you are down there on the street with them, maybe permanently. Am I right? And then there are those pesky Vietnam Veterans who maybe look to you like they need a shower or more because they stepped out of some 1960’s protest and landed in 2011.
How many times have you thought to yourself your countrymen had become misguided, apathetic, complacent and otherwise consumed with irrelevant and bad pop culture? Have you ever wondered why the people with their mixed messages seem confused, disorganized and incoherent to you? It is all by design. The Media is owned and controlled by the very same folks who created this unsustainable growing inequality in America. They created a “Culture of Distraction” to manipulate the minds of American citizens, turning them into mush. They have turned “the Sheeple” into consuming automatons, transfixed with the culture of celebrity and listening to music devoid of any value or soul. Today’s pop and hip-pop music is as barren as ever. What was once the hip-hop movement which spoke to elevating our culture and empowering the people and another wise positive forces for the course of humanity,was co-opted and bastardized into as hip-pop turning listeners away from righteous choices towards conspicuous consumption and crass materialism. People have turned away from holistic values or any appreciation we are all connected whether we like it or not on this planet. The godless have truly taken over. As you enable one way of life you collapse another. As stated by writerKatelyn Bald: “It is precisely this kind of apathetic complacency which gave way to the deconstruction of our middle class.” Consider the following rant by George Carlin:
The foregoing folks argue, in effect, that any attack on the existing system which has taken a Democratic Capitalist Society and turned it into a rigged game serving the interests of a handful of gluttonous insiders feeding on America’s economic carcass like kleptocratic uber vultures dining at the Staten Island dump is somehow an attack on the foundation of Capitalism itself and anti-business. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is, however, an effective rubric for masking or insulating from critique the corrupted element within an otherwise legitimate system. Distrust of The Federal Reserve System also runs deep in America. One need only read the book End The Fed by Ron Paul or listen to this incredible rant by an Occupy Wall Street protester Chris Savvinidis. There is and shall always be a place in this world for responsible capitalism, one that does not rape and pillage humanity. They have in effect created a veritable or functioning Kleptocracy allowing this group to self deal themselves the nation’s wealth, using the U.S. Treasury as their personal piggy bank and your pension funds and retirement savings as a midnight snack. As stated by Chris Savvinidis in response to critics who argue that critique of the existing system is anti-capitalism:
“If you’re asking me if I want to end the current system, I do, because that’s crony capitalism. It’s not real capitalism. Government’s hiding behind the name capitalism. What we have in this country are corporations who lobby in millions and millions of dollars to politicians and buy their votes for the highest bids…and Washington no longer speaks for us, they speak for all the big corporations and whoever has the most money.”
As I have stated before and must continue to repeat until it is quoted on every blog in the land:
“A society which is efficient for a few but grossly inequitable for many is not sustainable. It is not anti-business or Un-American to be humanist. A fair society is one which does not penalize success but it is also one that does not impede the progress of a majority of its citizens to fortify the extreme gluttony of a few. Civility, equity and compassion for your fellow citizen are not Un-American ideals.”
Why have these so called defenders or Liberty fight for the Liberty of 1% at the expense of the other 99%? The existing social order with them as the guardians of the security of the Plutocracy has made them quite comfortable. In a truly new world order by the people, there is no role for them. You see this little revolution is inconvenient for the Plutocrats and those who safeguard their interests. In their world, it is inefficient to strive for greater equity in society. Well let me tell you, this needs to get worse before it will get better. The Plutocracy and its way of thinking must come to an end by any means necessary. Take a look at the following speech by Elizabeth Warren who is running to replace Koch-sucker Scott Brown in the U.S. Senate:
Some of you even decide in what they assume is a creative stylish play on words to pen “(un)Occupy Wall Street” blogs because they are inconvenienced getting to the gym on their lunch hour. The problem is that at least one in particular came across as a shallow attempt at intellectualism written by a frat boy who is still employed and could not get to the gym to do some curls on time on his lunch hour as his country was collapsing around him. Pobrecito! The real challenge is for the rest of us who are not occupying Wall Street daily is to use our voices to effect change wherever we can. We need to emphasize that it is not anti-business to be humanist. Capitalism is not what is under attack. This is the narrative that criminal element that took over the free market uses to discredit the merits of the protest and deflect criticism of a rigged system.
Many folks do not understand how we are all connected in this system until one of the links on the fence breaks in their own front yard. So how is your fence doing?
Don’t blame your countrymen for finally waking up from the nightmare of the obliterated middle class. The revolution may be inconvenient for many who are still employed, have a roof over their head, food in the fridge and some seemingly sound investments, but know that what is happening is necessary if America is to have any chance of surviving. We need this re-birth; A Cool Revolution and a new age of Wisdom. Know, accept and realize, in earnest, that America is simply not sustainable in its present form. Why the hell do you think the uber elite have been fortifying their positions in recent years? Why do you think that the politicians have been doing the same thing? They knew that this day was coming. They had to know. Are you kidding me? Do you really believe otherwise? They know what America’s balance sheet truly looks like. You cannot drain all the water from a pool (i.e., the American Dream) and expect people to dive in without breaking their necks. Too many already have. And for this reason and many others, this is ‘Why the Elites Are in Trouble.’
The middle class should not be reduced to begging for Philanthropy. As one who supports the charitable mission of those entities who provide vital services and those that support such entities, despite the importance of philanthropy, I do believe, sincerely that if you reduce a society to begging the 1% to trickle down on the rest of us the proverbial 99%, your society is essentially doomed.
WARNING: To those who disparage, undermine or malign this movement in an effort to insulate the criminal class, be forewarned, the defense of indefensible greed and corruption committed against the interests of the Citizens of the United States of America is not only criminal, but may in fact be treasonous.