Living in The End Times

Last book read:  Living in the End Times - Zizek


Slavoj Zizek is the new Heidegger. And not necessarily in a good way. In this work, Zizek uses Hegelian dialectical philosophy, Lacanian psychology, and Marxian economics to deconstruct late capitalism. I think? perhaps more precisely he deconstructs the underlying ideology of the global economy that has been normalized as capitalism. It would seem that analysis of Kung Fu Panda and I am Legend, along with Rammstein to present  hidden ideologies is genius. But, it soon becomes clear that this work suffers from a lack of clarity and organization. There are brilliant points, but often the discussion will shift from geopolitics to deep psychological trauma (or worse the frequent references to bodily functions [1]) without coherent transitions. This work would be much improved with divisions into many more chapters, each one explicitly providing a systematic progression to his final conclusion. Better yet, it should have been broken into several books, each dealing with a different area. Zizek wrote How To Read Lacan, now someone should write How to Read Zizek. I'm afraid that he takes Continental philosophy to such an extreme that it begins to break, and the structure of analytical philosophy becomes sorely missed. On the other hand, it may be true that Zizek is "the most dangerous philosopher in the West."  He seems ready to break down all of the current global constructs in true revolutionary fashion, although he does not offer (apart from a few specific examples) what kind of "system" should replace capitalism.  There is just so many fragmented ideas here that I wouldn't know where to begin a coherent discussion, so for now I'm going to take a break and go read some Heidegger.

[1]  Zizek criticizes modern American morality and its acceptance of vulgarity while he praises Chavez's banning of US television.  However, he is guilty of the exact same thing that he blames artists like Serrano of doing.  The book is filled with references to bodily functions, which he uses to make extreme rhetorical points in a provocative manner.  In most cases these are completely unnecessary and I can only imagine that he employs the shock value of it to fulfill the role of a  "rock star" philosopher (doing "excremental philosophy").

Jeremiah Blues (3/12)

In the latest developments in the culture wars, this is an interesting look at how the Republican party has been taken over by radicals, turning it into a party of theocracy.

On the other obvious front, here's a piece about the theist/atheist/anti-theist fight.  I think the key part here is that it should not be reduced to a science/religion battle.  Neither side may be right.  As Appleyard notes about Stephen Hawking, "he was contemptuously anti-philosophical."  This, in my opinion, is the flaw in science - it is self limiting and there may be modes of thought that, while remaining rational and logical (or not [1]), are deeper, wider, and higher than science. Another interesting aspect of this conflict is the intensification of ideology in the post-9/11 world.  In this respect both fundamental Christianity and militant neo-atheism share the same tactics and the same goal: the eradication of an impending, alien culture (Islam).


Rush v Rush

Finally, I have to give credit to Peter Gabriel and Rush for standing up against misuse of their music by vile, ignorant, disgusting loud mouths who are always more about creating the problems and less about the solutions.  From a liberal perspective, both of these artists have always promoted the importance of the integrity of the individual.  From a conservative perspective, a la Ayn Rand, comes the importance of individual autonomy - the artist should always have control over their own work and not allow it to be appropriated by other ideologies.







[1] In a Nietzschean view, rationality is only one mode of thought and irrationality may be just as valid

Jeremiah Blues (2/12)

It would have been previously unimaginable to think that 2012 would be the year we fight about birth control, but yet here we are in some kind of regressive loop.  There is a war on freedom of religion.  Unfortunately this war is coming from the side of religion.  Refusing to provide birth control to an employee is a pure form of religious discrimination.  One's employer should not dictate what a worker must find moral or immoral.  This is no different than other labor laws.  If a particular religion found it against their code to employ blacks, would that mean its acceptable for them to racially discriminate?  I can't imagine any sane person thinking so.  If a group wants to do business and employ people than they should all be subject to the same fairness and anti-discrimination laws as anyone else.  Furthermore this is not the case of the religious organization being forced to pay for something they find immoral.  Employer-provided health insurance is provided as a part of the worker's compensation for being employed.  It is absolutely no different than their paycheck - it is the same as giving the employee a paycheck and having that worker spend their money on birth control.  Dictating what one can spend their income on would be totalitarian (and we all know how conservatives feel about private-property rights).  However, I think there is a solution for this.  Why are we forcing the burden of insuring people onto employers?  By going to a single-payer system, where we all obtain insurance through the government, we can free employers from the these kinds of problems, and every American citizen can have access to the same healthcare.

Given the recent surge in Santorum's campaign, I have the a feeling that the right has decided to say "f***-it, burn it down".  Santorum, being both for big government and against personal liberty should be a concern for everyone, particularly conservatives who love to throw around words like liberty and freedom.  Having someone like this in office (especially after dangerous legislation like the NDAA) would risk a danger of creating a fundamentalists theocracy - no better than radical Islam and as dangerous as Hitler.  That's right, I'm already invoking Goodwin's law.  But conservatives, rather than giving in to a candidate that might be somewhat moderate, would rather destroy their own party and reverse their core values just to spite the rest of America. For now, all we can do is watch the Republican party fall into chaos and become a joke

Midnight at Noon

Amid all of the ridiculous Obama bashing from the Republican candidates recently, Andrew Sullivan makes an excellent examination of his presidency, revealing why he is not a Socialist and why he is not incompetent as the candidates would have us believe.  He argues that the stimulus was a success, adding 2.4 million jobs, more than Bush created in his entire presidency.  Meanwhile, government jobs have declined 2.6% (more than under Reagan). What happened to Obama massively increasing government?  Furthermore, Obama has lowered taxes for 95% of the population.  He has created $1.4 trillion in new spending , a;though that is more conservative than Bush's $5.07 trillion.  His healthcare program will reduce the deficit, unlike the results of Bush's Prescription Drug Benefit. In terms of foreign policy, Obama has "simply, quietly, relentlessly decimated our real enemies, while winning the broader propaganda war."  Sullivan also discusses why the liberal critiques of Obama are also off the mark, arguing that the President makes pragmatic progress rather than being a "liberal crusader."  Additionally, Sullivan has presented a graph on his blog regarding defense spending which shows the truth in response to the oft-repeated lie that Obama is neglecting the military and slashing funding.

While I can't agree completely with Sullivan, I think the operation in Libya was justified, and I think that Obama does share too many of his predecessors' traits of pro-corporatist policies, he presents a fair look at his accomplishments.  It would seem that the Republicans don't have much in the way of real issues and solutions to base their arguments on.  They are left to spin the truth in a desperate and jealous attempt to advance their ideology against a president that has been more competent than their own party members.

Happy Christmas (The War [on Christmas] is Over)

As usual John Stewart ends up presenting things I would like to, and in a much better way. So, I defer to his commentary on the War on Christmas. Beyoind pointing out the obvious that Christmas is a cultural holiday (I'll save my Robert Bellah analysis for later), I would just like to emphasize that religious freedom is much better today than it was in America's past. It is this freedom and its resulting multiperspectivism that is leading to the reactionary fabrication of the war on Christmas. It doesn't really exist. The conservatives who long for the return of America's Golden Days are deluding themselves and creating some Matrix-style memory construct that isn't real for the purpose of advancing their selfish agenda. Progress makes things better. Fighting it by creating a culture war to benefit one side only leads to mess we are in (NDAA and SOPA for easy examples). So Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays. Us liberals really don't care what you call it.

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And Then There Were (Six)

I hate to jump in with 11 months to go but after tonight"s Republican debate I have to solidify my position.  As the Circus is down to six candidates (no Huntsman here), here are my reactions:
Perry: the poor man's Bush Clone.  He was an Air Force pilot, but yet doesn't know what is and isn't a Predator drone.  But then he seems confused about everything.  Not a person to have on the button.
Paul: beside being the real life version of Jeff Dunham's Walter, he seems genuine and his political theory seems consistent.  But it's not coherent.  Not with the real world. 0% taxes, yeah that's going to work.  Given his isolationist stance, I can't believe he's accepted as a Republican.  Sure, with great power comes great responsibility.  That doesn't mean we should give up our influence on the world.  As a sole superpower, we owe it to ourselves and others to do what we can when we really think it will improve the world.
Santorum: One word - santorum.
Romney: My guess for nominee.  With $10,000 to casually bet, he really showed how out of touch he is with the working class.  I wouldn't expect much out of him.  The shots taken at him about being liberal were right (for a conservative).  His healthcare law is more liberal and works better than Obama's.  That may be a plus if he wins.
Bachmann: Uh, well, let's see, she attacked Obama's tax cuts on the middle class.  Aren't Republicans pushing for lower taxes?  Not when the cuts aren't theirs. I don't recall social security being in a lockbox, so any cuts come out of the general fund, regardless of source.  Can't she just move back to Iowa, that's all she talks about anyway.  She certainly hasn't done anything for her constituents. Don't get me started, let's move on before I have an aneurysm.
Gingrich:  The only "old-school" republican left.  He showed his inability to separate theory from practice, his mean-spirited disposition and his lack of self-discipline.  As a "Reaganite he was a pain in the country's ass in 1993 and still is (see my previous remarks about him and his inconsistency following capitalist principles)  Accused of being overly academic, it's interesting that anytime a liberal proposes a solution based on real world data, they get labeled as part of left-wing academia, too smart for the country.  I think Newt's academic outlook will be his undoing, but if any Republicans actually support him, they either have to answer for their anti-intellectualism or be a (I'll let you fill in the blank).  He let's his ideology overcome knowledge and given his disposition doesn't seem to be a good choice for the button either.

I'm glad I'm not a Republican, it would be a hard choice to support any of these candidates.

Sting - 25 Years

Now that I've listened to the new box set (no I didn't personally buy it) I am convinced that it is a disappointment and quite a missed opportunity. It seems that no one took this seriously. Besides being a year late, all it amounts to is a 3 CD best of collection for $150. There is also a DVD of a performance cut down to 10 tracks, the only real new material. The Police bo set gave us five complete albums plus all the B-sides for $40, quite a difference.  The only promising material here are the remixes. The Blue Turtles tracks (Fortress, Set Them Free, Love is the Seventh Wave, and Consider Me Gone) show a considerable improvement from the original release, the bass and guitar parts are now clear and accented. The live tracks from that tour, (Driven to Tears and I Burn For You) are also much better, the remix actually making them sound live and not like studio overdubs found on the original Bring on The Night.

A Much better plan would have been something along the lines that U2 did, release a best of with a companion CD of B Side and remixes( here is my proposed tracklist).  This could have been followed up with remastered and remixed releases of each album.  The Entire Dream of the Blue Turtles album would find improvement and Bring on the Night would be a live album again and could use additional songs performed on the tour added back in (Fortress, Set Them Free, Message in a Bottle, etc).  The next three albums are probably good as they are, but his last two rock albums could use a complete makeover (the included remix of Never Coming Home is more interesting than the original release).

Along with that a lot of video could be released on DVD to make a nice overview of this 25 year span including the Tokyo 88 concert, the complete Soul Cages Live (the Peter Gabriel tracks could be included as Easter eggs), The Hollywood Bowl show from 91, a concert from 93 such as the Oslo show, and a full Broken Music show (perhaps with addition songs from other dates as this tour was fairly limited).

Fargo 2011

Fargo Airsho - 2011.08.11-12


Military acts included:
USN Blue Angels
USN VFA-122 F/A-18E Super Hornet demo
USAF Viper West F-16 demo
B-52 / KC-135 Fly-over

Statics were a bit light in the heavy area, as the C-5 was unavailable, although there was the F-15E, F-16C, F-18F and F-18C adversary along with the C-21, C-130, and E-6.  The biggest problem was the statics was that rather than an orderly line like last time, the displays were surrounded and crammed in by various activities, the Navy Band, some Guitar Hero game, information booths, etc.  This made observing and photographing the aircraft difficult and the noise made talking to the pilots difficult as well.   The lighting was a bit poor for photography, but otherwise, the show seemed to on without problems of weather, etc.

Zooropa

U2 @ TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis 2011.07.23

One could joke that Bono even has the power to influence the weather, seamlessly integrating it with the largest concert tour in history.  The TCF Bank Stadium show in Minneapolis was a combination of circumstances that came together in a way that could never be repeated, resulting in an incredible night and show.  U2 braved the weather, performing in hard rains on a flooded stage with a massive lightning show that extended the stage lighting effects all the way to the horizon.  In addition, Minneapolis decided to set off a fireworks show, the finale of which occurred during Bono's opera part of Miss Sarajevo.  The rain only served to enhance the expressionist effects of Bono's vocals, especially when projected on the video screen.  In celebration of the twentieth anniversary the show started off with four tracks from Achtung Baby and the inclusion of One and Zooropa into the setlist further revisited the spectacle that U2 managed to create in the early 90s, only this time the result was less artificial and cynical.  This concert would have been a great opportunity to play the rare Electrical Storm, but the only real letdown was the omission of Magnificent, easily the most energetic and interesting track on their latest release and underrepresented in U2's  public image in the last two years.  It will be exceedingly difficult for U2 to top this show and tour in future endeavors, and this performance may remain a pinnacle in U2s career for many years to come.

Setlist:

Even Better Than the Real Thing / The Fly / Mysterious Ways/ Until the End of the World/ I Will Follow / Get On Your Boots /  I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Stand By Me / Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of / Beautiful Day (Space Oddity) / Elevation / Pride / Miss Sarajevo / Zooropa / City of Blinding Lights / Vertigo / I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Scarlet / Walk On / One / Where The Streets Have No Name (Hallejulah/ Purple Rain)/ Hold Me Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me / With Or Without You / Moment of Surrender

+: Acthung Baby! Zooropa, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me

-: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.  No Magnificent. Ultraviolet, The Unforgettable Fire, All I Want is You have all been rotated out of the setlist.

133rd Air Expo

To celebrate the 90th annivesary of the Minnesota Air National Guard, the 133rd Airlift Wing held an open house at MSP.  The show was light on combat aircraft, featuring only an A-10 and MSP's old F-16 block 15 museum display.  It would have been great to see Duluth bring down some of their latest block 50 F-16s.  The show was loaded with heavy aircraft, however, displaying all of the Air Force's lift capability with the C-130, C-17, C-5, KC-10, KC-135 and C-21. The only aerial performance was a SOCOM jump team, but the event did allow time for venturing through the cockpits, cargo holds, and refueling stations of those large aircraft.

The Next 100 Years

Last Book Read: The Next 100 Years - George Friedman

In The Next 100 Years, Friedman attempts to map out geo-politically what may happen over the next century.  Unlike most other geo-political analyzers, Friedman thinks America is headed for a Golden Age.  He argues that nations go through three stages - barbarism, civilization and decadence.  The final stage of decadence is a period of nihilism when nothing particular is valued and society becomes complacent and self-distracted and thus unproductive. As America is still young (and undisciplined) it still has yet to evolve in Friedman's view.  Given effective decisions made during World War I and World War II which minimized American casualties and cost of war, the US quickly achieved superpower status.  Wining the Cold War allowed the US to become the first sole superpower and by having complete global dominance of the oceans, it is able to easily project its power anywhere it chooses. And this power projection is unrestrained as the US is the first nation in history to achieve this global dominance.  Future wars will only increase American determination and technological advancements and, allowing the US to further gain from every conflict it fights.

Friedman has an interesting theory about American history occurring in 50 year cycles, and what works in solving one crisis will not work in the next, rather something of its opposite is required instead, For instance Roosevelt's New Deal had to be later followed by Reagan's pro-business/ lower taxes economics in the next cycle.  What worked once won't work again.  And by that logic it would seem that it's time to move away from the sacred Reaganomics.

While discussing American technological capability, Freidman makes interesting points about pragmatism and American philosophy. American culture, he states, "is an uneasy melding of the Bible and the computer." "The significance of an idea is in its practical consequences."  An idea without practical consequences, it follows, lacks meaning.  The entire notion of contemplative reason as an end in itself is excluded, as is seen in the Anglo- American philosophy that rejects European and Continental metaphysics.  Computers reduce everything to data, they embody pragmatism.  But that data, it could be argued, is information that does not include meaning.  The computer "represents the unique manifestation of the American concept of reason and reality. . . [it] represents a powerful, reductionist force."  This is why America is so focused and effective.  It also explains the differences in American thought from Old World European ideas.

I won't go into detail about Friedman's predictions, but I certainly disagree with him on some matters of military strategy.  For instance, he ignores Russia's nuclear force - one that is maintained as a matter of utmost importance precisely to counter a foreign invasion of the kind that Freidman thinks might be conventionally possible.  Furthermore, he claims Japan already has a world class Navy and Air Force.  They don't, and I don't know why he would say this. Also, he claims that the US "Battlestars" will be vulnerable to a multiple missile attack.  But, if we look at the layers of defense systems a Carrier Battle Group has, it would seem just as unlikely that a Battlestar could be destroyed with certainty as a US carrier.  With the introduction of beam weapons, defensive systems would likely be more capable.  Finally, he thinks the US force of 2050 will be only hypersonic planes, of which only a few hundred survive.  But its already clear that we will have weapon systems such as the F-35 still in use and we will just be replacing our B-2 and B-52 forces.  I imagine we will still have a vastly numerous amount of  legacy-class systems and that it is unlikely that most of them could be destroyed in one attack.

What's important here is not the details but why Freidman makes these claims.  History repeats itself, and Friedman uses this to extrapolate future data, and given that he is an advisor to the US government, what he thinks may hold considerable weight.  Most interesting is how this study shows why the US does what it does, and how this thinking extends back centuries and every historical step we take builds upon some basic thinking.  For instance, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not important for us to win by achieving specific goals.  We are fighting them simply to disrupt the Middle East so that the Muslim world (or anyone else) cannot unite to become a dominate Asian power.

Even given Freidman's optimism, it seems that the end of the twenty-first century will bring us right back to where we are, experiencing a culture conflict with the rest of the world and struggling with issues of debt and immigration.  While he may not be accurate, his thinking does illuminate the development of America and where we are in the course of that progress.

American Gods

After Minnesota's Idiot Majority Leader (who I hate) attacked Neil Gaiman for accepting a public appearance fee, this was the response I sent, as the Republican are the priests of the American God -Money- hopefully this empty-headed politican will have something to think about.

In response to your public insults of Neil Gaiman: As a Republican, I imagine you support the free market economy. If so, then you believe the market sets the price. Neil Gaiman sets his price high because there is a great demand for his time. And people pay it - simple supply and demand economics - the market regulates the price. If the Stillwater Library did not think the price was worth it, why did they agree to pay it? If you think Gaiman should donate his time for free because the taxpayers are footing the bill, why do you not donate your time for free? To suggest he should sounds like socialism to me. When you were hired, you were offered a salary, I'm guessing you didn't refuse it. It is irrelevent that he is financially successful - does that mean I should be able to download the music of successful artists for free? Minnesota government has no problem giving corporate welfare to multi-billionarie sports teams.  Compared to that, 45K is nothing.  If you don't like the tax then work to repeal it - Minnesota's sales tax is way too high for the working class. But don't attack someone for setting a price for their work and then being freely paid that rate. I believe you owe Gaiman a far deeper apology, as well as one to the library system and the state of Minnesota. I will be watching your next election with great interest.

Matt Dean: Making Minnesota Dumber

Odyssey Dawn

Unsurprisingly, the Libya conflict has resulted in outrageous political claims.  Although we have been fighting two wars for a decade, without major calls for cessation, this much more limited conflict has drawn attack from the right.  The obvious conclusion: only wars started by Republicans are acceptable, any Democratic operation is reckless and a waste of American resources.  As usual talk is the opposite of reality.  The current president hasn't started anything, certainly not three wars.  He has worked on ending one (as much as it will ever be really ended) and has joined one by request of England, France, the Arab League and the U.N.  Whatever the real political reason for confronting Libya (including the 180 turn by France and Italy since 1986), it seems that 2011 has presented real opportunities for democracy.  As Michio Kaku has recently discussed, the spread of democracy is an important development in transitioning to a Type I civilization.  This is my argument for supporting Operation Odyssey Dawn, along with the fact that the Libyan actions of the 1980s have not been fully resolved (Reagan would be proud) and I believe it will also present an opportunity to reassess military spending in more practical terms.

Parallel Worlds

I. Stephen Hawking has once again claimed philosophy is dead. On the outset he is still completely wrong. No matter what final determination science can make about the nature of reality, it still can't give us a complete metaphysical picture. It is self limiting. More importantly, it can't tell us what to do. There will always be the need for philosophy as an assessment of the world we live in.

Having said that, philosophy is killing itself from the inside. After one hundred years of positivist influence, the contemporary state of philosophy as analytic is dead, in a sense of a wider historic view rather than a narrow technical method. Analytic philosophy is good at asking questions, but as it has thrown itself at the mathematical and scientific side of knowledge, it doesn't seem to do as well at answering them. In this respect, Continental philosophy fares better, as do other humanities. For instance, these days a lot of interesting works of philosophy can be found by writers like Terry Eagleton, an English professor. The other humanities, such as English, are undergoing the same difficulties, a century of "scienceitization" and intrusion by social science. Richard Rorty has written about this reorientation in both philosophy and English. In "The Inspirational Value of Great Works of Literature", he writes about philosophical dryness, and dissertation work being done on areas like " the proper analysis of subjunctive conditional sentences," and not in the engaging areas of philosophical wisdom.  The problem with a "little" philosophy, is that it is not enough.

II. Last Book Read - Parallel Worlds- Michio Kaku

As for science and philosophy, Michio Kaku's work Parallel Worlds does offer some insight.  This book serves as a great introduction to his work, as it summarizes much of the string theory information found in Beyond Einstein and Hyperspace as well as the future technology found in Physics of the Impossible.  He also presents interesting ideas about the transition of civilization from a Type 0 to Type I and beyond, such as the establishment of the internet as a Type I communication system and the evolution from nations to trading blocks, revealing the significance of our current time in history and the future paradigm shifts. Kaku discusses surviving the death of the solar system and, more importantly, the eventual death of the universe by using technology to escape to other locales in the multiverse. After theorizing about the "theory of everything" needed to reach this technological level, he concludes that even if we can reduce all the known physics down to a one inch equation, we still have to ask "why that equation?"  "Where did this equation come from?"  At this point, it seems that cosmology and physics can't help us.  There is still the problem of meaning.  Kaku shows that in the infinite multiverse , anything that can happen does and every choice is made both ways.  There is no uniqueness to any situation, no weight or consequence of choice, no "moral sense."  Kaku's resolution to this "quantum existential crisis" is that meaning must be created by each individual.  In this way, Kaku acknowledges that philosophy must pick up where science stops.

Random Notes

So Republicans are now proposing that everything is on the table to be cut - including Medicare.  Wasn't part of the outrage directed at Obama's reform incited by the scare tactics of cutting Medicare?  Of course the conservative pawns bought right into that one.  Furthermore, Boehner response to the charge that Republican cuts will cost jobs is "so be it." This comes after two years of nonstop complaining about Obama and his weak responses to job loss.

Bullet the Blue Sky

Since every February 6th this comes up, here's my tribute to Reagan, thanks to Think Progress:

10 Things Conservatives Don’t Want You To Know About Ronald Reagan

The Tide is Turning

As usual, Stephen Colbert continues to point out the idiocracy of the media. I can't let this critique of O'Reilly go unacknowledged, as Bill proceeds to exert the single-minded, misguided, and just plain stupid fundamentalism and anti-intellectualism that goes against everything I stand for. Did Bill really never learn about gravity in elementary school? I guess he was in the super-remedial class. "Gravity?! I don't know what that means. What does it mean? F**k it! F**k gravity!"


Edit: Of course if Bill really wanted to make a useful point, instead of the usual mindless child-like useless drivel he normally pronounces, he could have discussed the anthropic principle, I.e. why do we have a moon that stabilizes Earth's rotation enough to allow life to flourish (See Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku for a discussion). The answer, however disappointing to many, is of course if we didn't live in the "Goldilocks Zone" where conditions are just right, then we wouldn't be here to question why we live here.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bill O'Reilly Proves God's Existence - Neil deGrasse Tyson
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

I wish I had Neil deGrasse Tyson on speed-dial.

Invisible Sun

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/

http://www.slate.com/id/2278923/

Revolution Calling

Obama calls liberal critics 'sanctimonious'

Murmurs of Primary Challenge to Obama 

As Obama is already one of many conservatives' least favorite politicans, he has now decided to alienate liberals.  I'm  not sure what kind of political strategy this is, it leaves a very narrow slice of the population left for support. Who does he think voted for him on this idea of change?  It wasn't the Bush supporters. They obviously liked the way the country had become completely FUBAR. Quick compromise isn't always the best method.  Taking the easy road is exactly that, it isn't fighting for what's best for the country.  Democrats never seem to learn this, and that's why the Republicans remain a force of solidarity.  So now the talk moves to a primary challenger.

As for the Republicans, their behavior over the tax cuts has revealed their true colors.  And they're obnoxious.  Blocking any legislation until the rich get their way proves that the Republicans are nothing but paid shills for the wealthy.  But, one thing is for sure, they sure as hell better not bitch about budget deficits!   No one cares.  But they drone on and on endlessly, proving even more that Republicans do the opposite of what they say.  The rich are not in a situation to need the tax cuts, yet they will benefit more than the lower classes who desperately need more cuts. Merry f-ing Pearl Harbor Day. Revolution Calling.

Aviation Nation 2010

Aviation Nation 2010, Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada 2010.11.13-14

As usual, November brings with it one of the best air shows of the year. This time, Aviation Nation was a bit scaled back - there was only two tactical demo teams, but the level of energy managed to stay high.

Performers:
Thunderbirds (F-16) / F-22 (Zeke's final demo) / F/A-18C /
F-16 Aggressor fly-by / Nellis fly-by: F-16C, A-10, F-15C (Aggressor) / F-4 / T-33/
CSAR (modern): F-16C, A-10, C-130, HH-60 / CSAR (Vietnam): F-4, A-1, O-2, UH-1

Notable statics:

Nellis Line-up: F-16C, A-10, F-22, F-15C, F-15E, F-15C Aggressor, F-16C Aggressor

F/A-18C, F/A-18C (NASA), F-5E(N), A-10, Eurofighetr Typhoon (British), T-38

E-2C, EA-6B, B-52, E-6, RC-135, C-5, C-17, C-130, MV-22

Photo Gallery

 

Thanks to the members of the 64th AS and the 65th AS, they were great to talk to, especially the 64th commander, Shaggy. There was some info on upcoming aggressor paint schemes. As the 64th receives aircraft from the Duluth MN ANG during its conversion to the block 25, two of the aircraft will get the arctic scheme. There is also a proposed new blue flanker scheme. As for the 65th, the F-15 will be getting a splinter scheme.

+ Aggressor fly-by, CSAR demo

- No extra TAC or foreign demo, no C-17 demo,No B-1B static. Bus fubar on Saturday caused attendees to miss the first hour of the show, most importantly the aggressor fly-by. Aggressor squadron T-shirts were sold out.

Zombie

In recognition of Halloween, I'll give a recommendation for the new TV series Walking Dead.  As much as I hate zombies, I mean really hate zombies [1], this show seems to have good potential, and an ambitious cinematic feel.  Immediately, it seems like Mad Max meets 28 Days Later meets Jericho.

[1] That feeling originates from the days of playing Thief in the quiet darkness of the middle of the night.  Other than some joyous carnage playing Dead Rising, I try to avoid them at all costs.

A Radical Pessimist's Guide to the Next 10 years

Postmodern favorite Douglas Coupland has made some predictions about the future - and it doesn't look good.  Some of these are not necessarily his original ideas, but I think he makes valuable references by stating them.
Notable points:

Separation anxiety will become your permanent state
   Yep.

The middle class is over. It's not coming back
   Yep.  Having read Paull Fussell recently, that might not be a big loss - culturally.  Economically it's going to be a big punch.  Hopefully there will still be a way for "category X" to survive.  (Fussell's Category X, incidentally, is not unrelated to Coupland's Generation X.)

You may well burn out on the effort of being an individual.  To the new order you're just a node.
    The loss of subjectivity and its result - individuals are just nodes in a net  - is an idea that's been around for 25+ years in Jameson-style postmodernism, but it's about time people start to realize it.

North America can easily fragment quickly as did the Eastern Bloc in 1989.
    This is a nagging feeling I've had for a few years, and it seems quite plausible to me.  If the hate states group together though, I'm not sure this will be a bad thing (for the rest of us).

Being alone will become easier.
    I'm not sure about this one, it contradicts his idea of separation anxiety.  Unless this counter-reaction will just cause us to live in a neurotic state of denial. 

It will become harder to view your life as “a story.”
     Once again, the postmodern idea of the death of a narrative.

People who shun new technologies will be viewed as passive-aggressive control freaks trying to rope people into their world, much like vegetarian teenage girls in the early 1980s.
    Yep.

You're going to miss the 1990s more than you ever thought.
    Oh yes, I miss the 90s like I never thought I would.  The 21st Century has been nothing but an abysmal disappointment.  The last ten years have proven to be an intellectual and aesthetic wasteland.  Now, get off my lawn so I can enjoy my CDs in peace.

Stupid people will be in charge, only to be replaced by ever-stupider people. You will live in a world without kings, only princes in whom our faith is shattered.
    This one is painfully obvious.  Just when you thought the media couldn't find anyone dumber than Sarah Palin - here comes Christine O'Donnell.  And then, there are the even worse emptyheads (like SH) who defend the intellect of these devolved blankwits, making them even dumber than dumb.  It may be time for Plato's philosopher kings and a benevolent dictatorship.  But for now, stupid is the new norm.  Perhaps a majority of society can't handle the kinds of changes that Coupland is presenting here.  Ignorance is bliss.

In related news, Americans Underestimate U.S. Wealth Inequality.  Simply put, the public isn't aware of the exterme inequality that plagues the U.S. these days.  If they were, they obviously wouldn't think that some regulation to tone down radical economic disparity would be a bad thing.  So all this talk of the current "socialist agenda" and "communism" is absolute nonsense.  Governement regulation into healthcare and other areas of extreme inequality are no worse than labor laws into place to regulate the massive disparity produced by early capitalism.

Presto

Rush @ The Minnesota State Fair 2010.08.27

Playing in one of the absolute worst music venues I have ever experienced, Rush returned to the Minnesota State Fair 36 years to the day they first played the fair (which also happens to be Alex's birthday).  Being more or less a greatest hits tour, the set featured heavily on the early classics with some of the very latest tracks thrown in.  In addition to performing the full Moving Pictures album (with the superior side B
finally represented), what middle-era tracks were present were highly anticipated, including the addition of the rare Presto.

Setlist:  The Spirit of Radio / Time Stand Still / Presto / Stick it Out/ Workin Them Angels / Leave That Thing Alone / Faithless / BU2B / Freewill / Marathon / Subdivisions / Tom Sawyer / Red Barchetta / Limelight  / The Camera Eye / Witch Hunt / Vital Signs / Caravan / Drum Solo / Closer to the Heart / 2112 Overture / 2112 The Temple of Syrinx / Far Cry / La Villa Strangiato / Working Man

+ Presto, Time Stand Still, Leave That Thing Alone, Marathon, Subdivisions, Moving Pictures Side B

- Working Man, Too many new songs/ old "classics"

Twenty Years Ago:  This summer marks the twentieth anniversary of Presto Tour, which played at the Met Center June 19th, 1990 (perhaps one of the last concerts at that venue).  This show marked my introduction to Rush, and seems to me to be the middle of their high period. I'm sure many long time classic fans thought this period was too modern and tracks like Superconductor were probably off to them, but Superconductor was the song that made me buy Presto after the show, and I still think that record is their best work and one of my favorite all time albums.  Perhaps they will continue the trend of playing full albums and perform the entire Presto in 2015.  For comparison, here is the setlist from that night:

Intro (A Show of Hands video) / Force Ten / Freewill / Distant Early Warning / Time Stand Still /Subdivisions / Marathon / Red Barchetta / Superconductor / Show Don't Tell / The Pass / Closer To The Heart / Manhattan Project / Xanadu / YYZ / The Rhythm Method (Drum solo) / Scars / War Paint / Mission / Tom Sawyer / The Spirit of Radio / 2112 (Overture) / La Villa Strangiato / In The Mood / Wipe Out

To Fight Socialism We Must Become Communist

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Deductible Me
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

* Disclaimer:  If anyone thinks the title of the post is serious - it isn't. Not for me. But I'm not so sure about conservatives.  Given their current anti-government state of mind, I wonder how different they really are from those with a proletarian idea of dissolving government.

St Cloud 2010 Air Show

Great Minnesota Air Show 2010.06.26-27

After the precipitous disasters of the 2008 season, I began to wonder when St Cloud may be large enough to consider having an air show.  My answer came on December 7th 2009, with the release of the jet team schedules.

The main attraction was of course the Blue Angels, but the real star of the show was the F-22, not only because of its fifth generation advancements, and its unprecedented maneuverability.  More important is its rarity, with only 18 global appearances this year (up from roughly 12 last year ).  This marked the first Raptor trip to Minnesota, for any F-22. Military statics were sparse: 2 EA-6Bs, NASA's F-18A and an MV-22, along with a last minute surprise of a VFC-111 F-5E.

During my five day adventure, I was able to complete my checklist, viewing all the arrivals and practices, getting close to the Raptor (briefly) and meeting the legendary, yet elusive Zeke.  The only glitch, besides the weather making photography problematic, was missing part of the Raptor practice, as I was coming back from lunch, but I did get the experience of having my car buzzed by Zeke.

Thanks to the Great Minnesota Air Show team for making that a possibility, let's hope for a continued tradition in the future.  Also, thanks to Zeke, Gap, Gabe, Zeke's family and the rest of the Raptor team.

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