Ayn Rand and her followers are sociopaths

It's not that there would be a shortage of people to run those corporations but there would be a shortage of people with the sociopathic mentality to run the corporation as it would be wished to be run by the stock holders and Boards of Directors.

They need amoral people who have no problem putting money and profit ahead of people. These sociopaths are few and far between. There aren't very many people willing to actually sell out their fellow man for a few more dollars, people who will take the entire burden of the actions, allowing the boards and stock holders to place distance between themselves and the actions of their corporations.

The only thing they produce is the cover for the sociopathic, authoritarian dominator plutocrats and oligarchs to continue to consolidate power and money and through money consolidate more power.

Ayn Rand’s admiration of sociopaths extends beyond the captains of industry as her infatuation with murderer William Hickman is well documented. If this is the type of person she admired, the type of person upon which she wrote “Atlas Shrugged,” then what does that say about the people worshipping at the altar of objectivism? They are no better, at least mentally and morally, than the cultists that followed Manson to the Tate home. Although they may not realize it because the authoritarian followers will not allow this information to penetrate their bubble and if it does it will be dismissed as a lie because it is something that does not confirm their world view.

Sociopaths amongst us and they call themselves dirty names...

Finishing up a book that you can get for free called “The Authoritarians” if you google it and had a few thoughts.

Fascists don't like democracy, it's mob rule after all. They don't like the mobs unless it's the mobs of dupes they have fooled to march for them, to anthropomorphize the corporation that's sucking the country dry. Corporations as people, fascists and Ted Bundy all have something in common, they're sociopaths.

So, for those of you true-believers who think the Koch Brothers, GE, Exxon, Goldman Sachs have the best intentions of the country at heart, best of luck to you as you are fed to the machine of your own making, just like the people of Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida. If you think you can appease your fascist masters to give you your jobs back with tax cuts and lowering wages and working conditions collectively to those of a third world nation I have no sympathy for you. You're a fool, a dupe, a follower and a coward and in the end the lowest level of fools pay the price.

You voted in the surrogate fools of fascism and they are bringing it in wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross. You will be left wondering where your country went and you’ll want it back and it will be too late. And it won’t be because of your inherent xenophobia or racism because your country will actually disappear as we become the United Corporatocracy of America with a ruling oligarchy. However, you will succumb to your master so long as he spouts the right language to appease you and gives you a “them” to hate and bomb. So, tell me Teabaggers, Republicans, Corporatists all followers of Randian objectivism who by any other names are fascists, are we at war with Eurasia or Eastasia?

Pat Sajak is a moron

I saw this article from Pat Sajak posted on facebook and I found it laughable. I have not been able to confirm that it was actually written by Sajak since the right-wing likes to make up fake articles from celebrities and send them around the internet in spam style. It also wouldn’t be beyond Fox News to post it without verifying that it was, in fact, written by Pat Sajak. but I’m going to take a stab at responding too it after just waking up and pre-coffee.

At a dinner party in Washington the other night, I was asked a question I’m often asked. No, not, “Can I buy a vowel?” but, rather, “Why is Hollywood so uniformly made up of liberal Democrats?” 
There are a lot of theories on the subject, and I have a few of my own. First, I would strongly argue with the premise. My industry is certainly made up predominantly of liberal Democrats, but there is a surprising number found on the other side of the political spectrum. Lots of writers, producers, directors and performers are quite conservative in their views, but you don’t hear from them as much or as noisily as you do from the left. Part of it, sadly, is the fear that they’ll suffer professionally if they’re “outed”, and a number of them have stories to tell about being confronted on the issue.

[So money is more important than the country. We get it you’re conservatives, of course it is.]

But another factor is they’re far less comfortable lecturing their fellow citizens on how to live their lives.

[We all know conservatives don’t like telling people how to live their lives. You know I’ve never been told by a conservative that I need to accept Jesus as my lord and savior or I’m going to hell. Isn’t it conservatives that want to legislate abortion out of existence so they can tell women what to do with their bodies. And it’s a favorite past time of conservatives to tell gays they’re living their lives all wrong.]

You’re much more likely to see a liberal singer interrupt his performance with a global warming diatribe than you are to see a conservative singer praising the free enterprise system between songs.

[Because over the last 4 years we have learned 1) there is no such thing as a free enterprise system which 2) allows white collar criminals to collapse the economy and get away scott-free. It’s not something that’s easy to defend in modernity without sounding like a sociopathic brainwashed Randian ideologue.]

Another fact that might surprise you is that most of Hollywood—like most of America—isn’t really all that interested in politics except near election time. 
Most of the men and women who make their living in the entertainment field are much more focused on finding jobs and reading scripts and getting awards and going to events than they are on the intricacies of American politics. If you ask them about their views, they’re likely to spout a few liberal talking points because they’ve heard them so often, and it’s the safer position to take.

[It’s a safer position to take because unlike conservative positions you don’t sound like a sociopathic, Darwinist asshole. So being polite, people will take the position of caring about the plight of the less fortunate and the working class, a liberal position, over whether or not oil corporations get to make a few billion dollars more per year in profit.]

And that point leads me to my primary theory on why one side dominates the other. Putting aside the true believers and usual suspects (you know who they are on both sides), the liberal position provides the path of least resistance, especially for high-profile members of the Hollywood community. It’s hard to describe the bubble in which these folks live, but I’ll try. 
They are financially successful in ways most people can scarcely imagine

[as a conservative I can’t believe that you are begrudging them for making money in a capitalist, “free-enterprise system.];

their whims are treated as commands; outrageous or boorish behavior is condoned

[You mean outrageous or boorish behavior like: leaving your wife on her cancer bed for your third wife you’re having an affair with, or picking up men in an airport bathroom, or paying for hookers while on the House floor, or sending sexual explicit texts to teenage boys, or ordering a same sex hooker and meth, or escaping to Venezuela to see your mistress, or having a mistress and then paying her husband hush money, or is that not boorish just par for the course for conservatives as they lecture us on how to live.];

they travel in limos and fly (often privately) between their multiple homes

[much like McCain and his seven homes, or Sarah Palin and her private jet];

they hobnob with politicians who come to them for advice and input (and money); the glamour of their business rubs off on them and gives them access and a sense of importance and wisdom

[Isn’t that the same reason you’re writing this article? Seems a bit ironic.]. 

So how should one speak from such a lofty perch? Well, many have concluded that the smartest way to handle it is to claim to be “one of the people.” So, no matter how rarified the air, liberalism is a smart career move. 
Is it hypocritical to ask people to drive electric cars while you’re flying in a Gulfstream? Or to tell them to conserve energy while the cumulative square-footage of your homes is measured in the tens of thousands of square feet? Or to ask them to pay more taxes while your high-priced accounting firms are protecting your money

[Much like the corpoations, Wall Street Execs, and tycoons that the conservatives flock to for advice. Except they don’t care about people, they are sociopaths]?

Of course it is, but hypocrisy cannot penetrate the bubble

[Oh we know it can’t Pat, you’ve just proven it in your previous paragraphs about conservatives and yourself.]. 

They care. Not like the greedy businessmen (from whom they collect their salaries and perks), but like the genuine people they really are.
However, the truth is that most celebrity political talk is just noise. It’s fodder for the entertainment shows and publications. People listen, not because they particularly care about what these folks have to say, or to get advice about how to vote or how to live, but simply because it’s a celebrity speaking

[No I don’t care what a celebrity says about politics because I’m not a Fox News watcher I base my political beliefs on rational logical facts that I believe will lead the country in a better direction. You’re on the wrong network if you care about reasoned political debate sans celebrity sensationalism. Again ironic seeing you are a celebrity.] 

Personally, I try not to mix my political side with my entertainment side

[FAIL!].

And, frankly, I would be appalled if anyone made an important political or lifestyle decision based on the advice of a TV game show host

[WIN! So this was just mental masturbation].

Maybe that’s the best news about the bubble: it not only protects us, but it protects you from us.

[Look if you’re dumb enough to believe something just because a celebrity says it you’re more than likely old or a Fox News watcher or more than likely both because one begets the other. Much the same reason they have Wilford Brimley do the diabetes commericals because old people don’t like to be challenged and like familiarity, the reason they watch Fox News.]

Labor Should Fight

It is time for the new labor movement. Young people don’t remember what it was like before Reagan started busting the unions. Maybe membership is dwindling because the new generation doesn’t understand the power and might of working class people united in ensuring that all workers are given fair compensation for their labor. A generation that grew up with Wal-Mart being the largest employer of underpaid, undercompensated workers wouldn’t understand that they have the right and ability to demand what is fair and they can bring about change through the power of collective bargaining. The young people today are just happy to get any job and are satisfied with the status quo. That was all planned by the corporatists. They shouldn’t be. They should do what our grandfathers did and not settle. If we become satisfied with earning an existence wage then we will soon become a country of forced labor like China. You see right wingers, workers get to vote with their feet. They get to walk out and they can conspire and collude to strike just as you can conspire and collude to create wars to send their children to fight, create fake markets to crash the US economy, and you collude and conspire to force them to give up their rights.

The Koch-Tea Party-front groups are now in the mix in Wisconsin, ensuring the voices of the billionaires are heard. Union reps have agreed to cut pensions and salaries but the Governor is not willing to negotiate. He wants everything and will give on nothing. This should be a total walkout across the country of all union workers. This is the continuation of a generational battle to take away the rights of workers that started with Reagan and will only end when workers are subjugated or workers fight back. IBEW, AFSCME, UAW, AFL-CIO, SEIU the whole lot should strike.

This is all because the collapse of the economy. You want a low down of what happened and why we can’t afford the pensions we promised to pay people. The pensions were invested in Wall Street, you know, like the plan to privatize Social Security would have done. Well, when the last bubble burst, thanks to Alan Greenspan,“The Biggest Asshole in the Universe,” as called by Matt Taibbi in “Griftopia,” this left the pensions depleted. The pensions were laden with the junk AAA-rated investments that at best were D-rated because the revolving door and deregulation left speculators and Wall Street tycoons to do whatever they wanted and get off scott-free with golden parachutes when the rigged bubble burst. This was the only outcome possible. This wasn’t an accident. This was so purposefully planned that these people should be lined up on death row for premeditated murder of the economy. So, now these pensions are coming due, the pensions people paid into over years of work. When unions negotiate they usually give up pay in order to gain benefits like pensions and healthcare. In a real free-market the pension holders would be required to pay what they owe or go to prison but in our kleptocratic oligarchy that will never happen. Wisconsin isn’t the end every state, 401k and nearly every pension program was invested in these junk securitized mortgage packages.

Because the people that owe the money have ensured that they can fix the rules by pumping billions into elections, thanks Citizens United and Supreme Court, that they will never have to pay what they owe or be held accountable. If you create a Ponzi scheme and dupe people out of thousands of dollars you’ll go to jail, but if you dupe people out of billions by creating a false economy that almost collapses an entire country then you get to go work for presidential administration or move to K Street and begin lobbying to ensure that rules are never put into place that would hold you or your future “yous” accountable for international grand larceny. So, who gets to pay for their greed? The working-class schlep who will never see a pension, lost their 401k and can’t afford to buy legislation to hold the scammers accountable.

Fascists don’t like unions because people are much easier to control individually. The autocratic personalities, like Republicans, conservatives and Tea Baggers like having one strong man in charge. The “every man for himself” mentality fits very well into their Social-Darwinist outlook. This is why they have obligatory masturbation whenever the word Ayn Rand is mention. One man’s “objectivism” is another man’s social Darwinism. Divide and conquer. Pit individual against individual and the objectivists can’t lose. That’s the Tea Party way, the conservative way, the Fascist way. Darwinism. Survival of the fittest. Doesn’t much fit their persona of good Christian American, because we all know as told to us in Matthew that Jesus asked for a co-pay before healing the lepers and welcomed the capitalists into the church.

As much as the right wing preaches about democracy, they don’t really like it. As much as they preach about being heard by their representatives they don’t really like that. Their adoration and worship of money and corporations puts their priorities on profits, prophets and corporations as holy institutions. Private industry and corporations can do everything better. CEOs are the latter-day Saints. This makes them Fascists, by definition. They would be much happier if we put the Koch Industries, Inc. in the White House and disbanded the legislature and the judiciary.

The only problem is that, as mentioned above, and as has been proven corporations are sociopaths. If you’ve watched the documentary “The Corporation” you know what I mean. If a real person, not a corporate person, did what a corporation does they would be put in a mental institution or locked away on death row as a danger to society. Operating with reckless and wanton abandon for the quality of human life with the only goal being “profit” does not leave very much respect for the working person or the human race. Doesn’t leave much room for rights.

So, who should be allowed to determine their destiny? The people themselves, en masse, as prescribed by democracy having their grievances heard? Or the unaccountable, megalomaniacal, corporations that have bought legislation to ensure subjugation? I think in a democracy the choice is clear and workers get to vote with their feet.

Fuck the Mormons, tax the churches

Tax the churches. Is there any doubt that churches are thrusting themselves into the political? A proposition that should go over well with the TeaBaggers. They don’t like lots of words, nuance or anything too complex. This would simplify the tax code a little for them. Churches should pay taxes on everything they do, like any other business. You know, like Joe the Plumber that wasn’t named Joe nor a plumber. If they don’t like it they can station themselves in a nice tax shelter in the Caribbean. Another reason the teabaggers should get on board is because they believe everyone should do their fair share and everyone should contribute equally. This should include all businesses that use the commons we all pay for to conduct their transactions. Think of how much property tax you could save if all of those churches had to pay property tax just like your business. I ask, why shouldn’t they be taxed? Out of some antiquated false and undeserved deference to a business hocking invisible wares?

They should also be taxed to pay for the government that they are involved in. Part of the deal of no taxation is that they can’t be involved in politics. Recent political and court battles have shown that churches are actively and defiantly involved in influencing politics to suit their theocratic agenda. This should not be taken lightly. If churches as an organization want a say, well, they have to pay.

This has been no more apparent than in the fight in California over Proposition 8 to legalize gay marriage. This fight was completely bankrolled and organized by none other than the flying batshit crazy Mormons which are only a step removed from Scientology and Jedi as a religion. They knew what they were doing was as wrong in California as it was in Hawaii years before, which is why they tried to keep it such a secret by creating front organizations like the National Organization for Marriage. I’m sure all the evangelicals that jumped on that train would be sickened to know that it was all created and funded by that dirty, crazy Mormon money. California didn’t speak on Prop 8, the Mormon Church did. How does it feel to have your state run by whackjob loons California? Well, not the usual California ones but the nutso religious ones.

When the church was first called on providing support to the Prop 8 fight they said they spent about $2,000 of in kind support. Then that went to 190,000, turns out it was well over $22,000,000. They either have a shitty accountant or they lied. I’m going to bet the holy Mormon church lied. Do the ends justify the means so long as it’s in the name of Jesus? Isn’t lying a sin? Did Jesus tell the President of the church to lie? Did he get one of those Monopoly get out of Celestial Heaven free cards? I bet it was on a gold plate.

So, the churches that should be spending that tax exempt money to follow the teachings of Jesus to help the poor, the needy, the sick, the challenged are instead using that money to manipulate politics, to push a Christian Taliban agenda where the end result is theocracy. That is their dream result. They are no better than the Taliban. There are 6000 references in the bible to helping and giving to the poor and a couple handful of mentions of homosexuality and Christ never even mentioned it. However, Christ did have a secret visit with the Lamanites or Nephites in the US after his death in his zombie phase, so he may have mentioned it then. It may have been in those secret golden plates of Joseph Smiths. The abuse and misuse of this special tax status is all the more reason to revoke it. If you think Taliban is too harsh read the story of Bruce Barton and what the leaders of the Mormon BYU campus did to him as a suspected homosexual. There is very little separation from them, most American evangelical leaders and the Taliban. They both have the same goal, the same endgame in mind: theocratic despot utopia. The leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Bullshit has created an environment in that state that has led to a higher per capita suicide rate amongst teens than all states and some countries. The great Christian leader said it was better to be dead than be gay. Ohhhh, I love those great Christian/Mormon morals and values. That’s straight from the prophet, the man that’s on Jesus’ speed dial. Isn’t suicide an unforgivable sin as well? I guess even Jesus gets confused by all of his father’s rules too.

The Mormon church is a organization of bigotry, racism, xenophoia and prejudice. Fuck them. Let their tax exempt status fall and make them pay taxes on all of those temples, churches and magic underwear.

And for the Evangelicals that think they are off of the hook now, your voodoo is just as much bullshit and made up as the Mormon’s. Your “religion” is being used as it always has been. It’s mind control. It makes you the “us” and gives you a “them” to hate and fight against. A common enemy to unite you and cement you in your beliefs. Moors, Moslems, witches, Communists and now homosexuals.

So, if I start selling some fake invisible bullshit; create an “us” and find a “them” to hate, If I just start spouting off about how much I hate everyone with blue eyes or something like that, can I be tax-exempt as well? I think it’s worth a shot and religion seems to be a pretty good racket right now. It provides a great protective umbrella from social and personal responsibility and always has the great out that the Almighty Spaghetti monster, or whatever, will forgive you no matter what you do. You can create rules for the society and push your agenda without having to contribute anything but your dogma based on zombie worship or some sort hatred of people that are different.

Cutting VA funding is not an option

If you were wounded in Vietnam you had a 70% chance of surviving. Due to advances and improvements in battlefield medicine, if you are wounded in OIF/OEF you have a +90% chance of surviving. When you come back and you complete your service and you separate from the military you may have wounds, physical or mental, that still need treatment or care. Some may even get a 100% disability rating for wounds they received in combat that were never physical at all. That’s the problem with war it’s messy. The war for the warrior doesn’t end on a date set by politicians and world leaders. The war will always be with them and me. It will be with us until the day we die. You called us to duty and we answered. Some of us answered the call multiple times and are suffering compounding injuries. The VA was created to take care of these injuries. It angers me to hear, as we are bogged down in two wars supposedly fighting for the American sheeple, that they want to cut VA funding as a solution to the deficit “crisis.” As a matter of fact it’s two wars I didn’t even hear mentioned by any, not one, of the fucking candidates for office. None of them that gained national attention even had the audacity to mention it. They don’t care about the wars because 1) these candidates, like Christine O’Donnell don’t know very much about them and 2) it’s longer than an episode of Dancing with the Stars so the wars have passed the attention span of the American people. But you would think in an election that was supposedly about deficits we would discuss the occupation-nation-building operations in two foreign countries costing the American taxpayers $200 million per day. Nah, they were more worried about raising the marginal tax rate on millionaires 3%.

The hypocrisy of the flag-waving patriots who speak out of both sides of their mouths is astounding and angering. Supporting the troops is more than a yellow ribbon magnet on your SUV. Partriotism requires more than lip service. It’s more than waving the flag and screaming about some imaginary Marxist boogeyman. You might want to discuss that at your next tea party. If the VA is underfunded, raise taxes to fund it. If you don’t want to pay for us to fight these wars then don’t fucking send us to fight these wars. True patriotism is about selfless service and sacrifice. Why don’t you just ask us, the veterans?

“Don’t tread on me,” is their battle cry. Well, don’t tread on us. Don’t wipe us veterans under your boot and think we’ll stay there. We’re fighters, we got these scars fighting and we won’t stay there long. Don’t brush us under the rug in chasing some imaginary white rabbit of deficit reduction. Don’t again make us casualties of a war of ideology. I’m tired of being in the shitty end of the stick in right wing delusional thrash cycle.

The VA is important. This is not a debt that is owed to me, this is a covenant from America to be kept. How can we fight for our country with the thought in our heads that we are expendable, that we are consumed in use overseas. That when we come home our sacrifice means nothing because the billionaires that benefit most from our fighting have decided they don’t want to pay 3% more in taxes. I’m sorry their patriotism doesn’t extend past their checkbook and can only be found in hackneyed platitudes of press statements from right wing think tanks that work for them and on the misspelled, offensive posters of supposed Tea Party “Patriots.”

Fund the VA every penny it needs. Tax every American that reaps the benefits of the security gained from the sacrifice of veterans to pay for it. Tax defense contractors that have reaped a whirlwind of profits from these two wars enough to make the war unprofitable to them just like we did in WWII. Take away the loopholes and shelters for corporations like GE, largest defense contractor in the US, and BP, largest US defense oil contracts, that paid $0 in taxes last year. Tax them until it hurts and it’s paid for.

Grow a spine, man up, put on some man pants and let’s be the country we once were. One that respected and appreciated the sacrifice of the warrior enough to ensure the wounds they received in defense of their country were treated, cared for and healed. Let’s be the patriots our grandparents were and not the faux-patriots the right-wing prides itself on being as guise to dupe people into voting against their best interests.

Let’s be the country we were under FDR. I for one don’t understand the brand of patriotism exhibited by people like Sewell Avery, CEO of Montgomery Ward in the 1940s. Mr. Avery didn’t want to pay his fair share of taxes to pay for WWII. The difference is that when he didn’t pay, FDR sent the national guard down to his office to arrest him and made an example of him and his faux-patriotism that puts profits before country. He was required to pay $30,000 and to put it in perspective in the 1950s he retired with a fortune worth more than $300 million, much of that from war profiteering. Don’t you think he owed a little back to the country that gave him the security, opportunity, roads to make that fortune possible?

So don’t wave your flag and yell about supporting the troops until you’re ready to put your money where your mouth is, or to make hold your corporate overlords accountable and have them do the same.

Anger Management, that's me, has been added to The Atheist Blogroll. You can see the blogroll in my sidebar. The Atheist blogroll is a community building service provided free of charge to Atheist bloggers from around the world. If you would like to join, visit Mojoey at Deep Thoughts for more information.

No Mosque Senor

No mosques near ground zero.

Then no Christian churches near Native American reservations that have been terrorized for 600 years by Christians. Christians killed 90% of the Native population of the Americas between 1492 and 1892 using the same convert or die strategy as the Muslims use today. Christopher Columbus was the first religious terrorist in the Americas.

Nor near the Oklahoma City bombing, nor anyplace where the Ku Klux Klan has terrorized people (pretty much takes out the south and Indiana).

No churches in Wichita, Kan. or anyplace an abortion clinic has been bombed, no churches in Atlanta, Ga. (1996 bombing by Christian "Patriot" Group).

You see how ridiculous your petty your war over which imaginary friend can beat up which imaginary friend can get. We are more moral than this fictional character called god created by stone-age man. All of your beliefs are archaic and retard mental, emotional and social growth. So I have a simple call no mosques, churches or places of worship anywhere. Let’s turn them all into buildings of science, thought and reason.

A thousand high fives a day quota

One of the great things about attending the Jamboree was being surrounded by the young men and women that find patriotism not to be passe or a trend, but inherent in their everyday lives. Their support, admiration and affection of the military was inspiring and humbling. As I was walking down the hot paved road against the wall of Scouts and leaders pushing the other way I would be awakened from my heat-induced, walking slumber with the near cry, “high five,” only to get my hand up, most times, just in time to slap the sweaty hand of a young Scout.

If you attended any of the Arena Shows it would be apparent from the beginning what their stance was on the military. A speaker didn’t get up without first thanking the military for their support of the Jamboree or sacrifice to our country in this time of war. The fact that these young people are raised to support and respect the military with unfettered infatuation, honestly, puts pressure on me to act appropriately as we walk the grounds of the Jamboree taking photos of the military supporting this great event.

We are demi-gods in our own right to them because we are the end personification of the goal of the Boy Scouts. We, in flesh and uniform, are the the commitment of service to one’s community and country that is the keystone of scouting. “On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, to God and my Country,” is the beginning of the Scout Oath.

“I want to be an Army Ranger,” said many of the young men. “I’m going to join the [insert branch here],” was heard many times over the course of two weeks. While the admiration and support is great, the innocence of it disturbed me until I saw something at the opening Arena Show. I can’t remember the speaker but the man at the front of the 50,000 Scouts and leaders asked them all to give a hand in support of the military supporting the Jamboree and protecting them overseas. Then, as if that wasn’t touching enough, he asked that all of those who have a relative currently serving in the Armed Forces please stand, and with that nearly 3/5ths of the audience rose.

That’s when I realized most of these young people not only get it but they live it. They live the sacrifice of missing a parent for a year or more at a time. They live the sacrifice of a parent missing life’s minor and major events. Some are even living the pain of dealing with a family member returning from war scarred physically or mentally. Their admiration is unfettered and made stronger not out of a lack of consciousness of those sacrifices but because of them. Their is no innocence in that admiration. They aren’t just drinking the Kool-Aid their parents gave them. At the end of the day, if I count them all up, I gave maybe a hundred or more high fives to kids who need it or deserve it more than me, and accepted them on behalf of my brothers and sisters in the Armed Forces, many of whom, certainly, need or deserve one more than me, then so be it, sore hand and all. “High five!” Smack!

Boy Scouts and supporting the National Scout Jamboree Part I

An informal AAR of the event that my unit, the 14th PAD and it’s seven Soldiers attended. This is not the official opinion of the JTF-NSJ, the U.S. Army, or the DOD. Unlicensed reproduction or distribution without the express written consent of the NFL is strictly prohibited.

So, I got to spend two weeks at Fort A.P. Hill, Va. from July 20th to August 5th supporting the National Scout Jamboree. It may come as a surprise to most people that there is actually a military Joint Task Force with a Brigadier General as commander, assigned to support the BSA with this event every 4 years since it has been held on a military installation. The JTF is about 2,000 service members comprising of everything from firemen, military police, logistics, medics, entomologists and yes, of course, public affairs.

It’s a large event with more than 50,000 scouts and leaders in attendance and 20,000 visitors expected. This year is the Centennial Celebration of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910, so it only compounds the issue with the number of people that would be interested in attending this event. The Jamboree which is usually held every four years was delayed one year to allow for it to take place on the centennial.
The military support to the event is a joint operation. All services and all components were represented from the active duty Marines and Army to the Air Force Reserve and Coast Guard Auxiliary. Much like Captain Planet these forces only combine when rings are held together and magical words are incanted.

So, basically one week before the event there is an exercise to ensure that everyone is on the same page concerning consequence management, reaction drills and most importantly powerpoint slide format. Heaven knows that the military would stop operating without Outlook and Powerpoint. If Powerpoint stops then we essentially stand up walk out of our offices and don’t return. It’s in the contracts, read it sometime.

Exercises are great when done with realism and when designed to test the limits of the system. The JTF exercise was pretty impressive with every thing from moulage, fake damaged body parts and blood, to on-post shooting incident exercise, to protests, and the introduction of a certain pushy, hard-nosed, NBC affiliate reporter, Chip Chipperson. Let me tell you, Chip Chipperson is a real asshole. His slogan, “Chip Chipperson doesn’t report the news he makes the news.” Chip is my newsman alter-ego with the quick-wit of Keith Olbermann and the paranoia and delusion of Glenn Beck and Alex Jones.

Here’s the deal though, when you bring 2,000 people together from 5 services, 4 components of those services, and about a hundrity bajillion different units no one really knows what they are supposed to do or what the other guy isn’t supposed to do for the first couple of days. Cue Yakety Sax. That’s what should be playing for the first few days. Because really it’s just people running in and out of doors being chased by a half-naked, middle-aged man.

But with the help of a good, realistic exercise those kinks are worked out and create at least a functional unit and eliminates the need for Yakety Sax or Benny Hill.

So, the first two days we were there we both documented and participated in the exercise. Plane crashes, media engagements, on-post shooter incident, out of control protestors, out of control fire. I think at the end of the two days of the exercise the JTF could say they were prepared for anything short of the alien abduction of a Boy Scout and even then I’m sure NORTHCOM and NORAD have some sort of contingency plan they fall to for that sort of thing.

...More to follow...

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“A thousand high-fives a day quota.”

Fucktards II: A rant...

The Tea Party is the largest group of near-sighted assholes I have ever had the privledge of witnessing. Fueled ideologically by the idiotic rants of failed shock-jock, opportunist, and moron-cult leader Glenn Beck, founded by a man who lobbied for terrorist organizations in the US, Dick Armey, and funded at the grass-tip, not roots, by ... See Morecorporations.I was at the 9-12 protest in D.C. and they have nothing but hate. It was a bunch of angry, spoiled almost all white people bitching about something they knew absolutely nothing about based on conspiracy theories and Fox News propaganda. They are sheep. I say give them what they want. Put their leaders in office and let them burn the country down around them.

Their platform is full of holes and contradictions. If you're against spending where were you when Reagan TRIPLED the national debt and Bush doubled it? If you're worried about jobs where were you when Bush lost 1.5 million jobs over the course of two terms? If you're concerned about oil spills where where you when the MMS was literally in bed with the oil lobby doing cocaine in a Denver hotel room with the same lobbyists and when Dick Cheney held actual SECRET meetings to establish US energy strategy with the oil companies? That's the exact definition of Fascism. Confronting these morons did no good then and does no good now. They would just go back to their retarded talking points about birth certificates and Saul Alinsky. They are stupid, ignorant, paranoid and delusional...all of them. If it's not about race, if it's not about party affiliation then where were they for the 8 years of Bush violating their supposed "platform" 100 times worse than Obama? None of them, and none that I've confronted, talked to, argued with can answer that simple question.

Fucktards

I mean is there a better word to summarize a movement of fat, self-righteous, racist, nearly all white, Chrisitan people, naming their political movment after an act of sodomy all the while sucking the government tit for medicare and social security complaining about big government. God, I hate these people I wish they would just go away.
The reason America even recognizes them is because we always feel bad for retarded or slow people. It's kind of like saying, "Awww ain't that precious. Look at the flop and flail around out there." That' s all their doing is flailing and saying, "Nuh-uh" to everything Obama does and says between their Socialism-Tourettes where they just spew words they don't know the meaning for and string them into a diatribe of insults. "Commie-Social-Facsist-Muslim lover." What the hell does that even mean? Most of them attended the Sarah Palin School of Debate for Tourettes Syndrome. That's it. Sarah Palin doesn't make sense because she has Tourettes Syndrome. When she's speaking it's just a epileptical Tourettes Syndrome tick.

I feel much better now that I have that out of my system.
That's just some of it. It's been piling up for awhile.

Theses

Well, looks like taking command of an 8-person unit is not nearly as easy as you think. Thanks to all the support functions company-level units have to perform having more people is actually better. Fortunately, the PA soldiers are just as capable as artillery soldiers when it comes to working outside your MOS and just getting the job done because really that's all we can do at this point. HAHA!
We just did the change of command a little over a week ago and I feel like I've been here for months.
Got a lot to do in very little time for upcoming missions but my procratination is getting the best of me because really who wants to practice going to MOPP 4 when it's 100 outside. Not me. Blah.

Baggers in the Sky with Diamonds

Tea Baggers to Arms, to arms, they want to end a NASA program. First, I doubt that a majority of Americans can tell you what NASA means. There are just a few problems with the Tea Party outraged for the continued funding of the space program. First of all, the Tea Party doesn’t like science and space travel is all science. A majority of the Tea Partiers are Christian and a majority of those are young-earther’s which is the modern equivalent of flat-earthers. People who believe, like Sarah Palin, that the Earth/universe is 6,000 years old and dinosaur fossils were planted by Satan to trick us. I only say that they are mostly Christian because as stated by Palin the real America isn't east-coast secualrists. I can only assume that means mid-western atheists by association. I find it hilarious that these mostly scientifically-ignorant people, who don’t believe in science are so aghast at the end-run of a space program that was defunded under the Bush administration. Their best guess is that the spaceship is powered by magic Jesus dust and astronauts pass God and angels sitting on clouds as they shoot into space. Space, which was created 6,000 years ago by their almighty God, you remember, is the final frontier. Now it’s about the technology and the jobs. But, do you really want a government agency to be a jobs program? So, if they don’t want the science, since all scientists are liars beholden to their god Darwin, and they don’t want government creating jobs what do they want from NASA? I guess really when it comes down to it they just appreciate a good memory-foam mattress to kneel next to as they talk under their breath to the omnipotent, imaginary father-figure-in-the-sky.

Republican'ts

May I present the monarchy of anarchy...

First, they are the party of no government and self-proclaimed party of “no.” So, why vote for them to have a government job if they don’t like the government? Go get one of those private industry jobs that are so easy to find nowadays. I mean, afterall, you are just inflating the unemployment numbers by being employed by the government. They would rather shut everything down than have a debate about what is actually going on and what needs to be done. So, when they lose instead of becoming the reasonable minority adding to the debate, they close down debate and offer nothing but their backs; throwing fits like my four-year-old. Yelling out obscenities, not able to wait their turn to speak, not respecting the decorum and comity of the Congress or Senate. And I’m not talking about the protestors, they can do whatever the hell they want, I’m talking about the ‘leaders,’ the elected representatives.

These are the same people who whined,“Reagan [-Christ] never even took his jacket off in the oval office.” Then their elected representatives, not once, but twice have breached common etiquette and protocol in the Chamber. They are like an uncontrollable four-year-old throwing fits and tantrums, who can’t wait their turn in line or to speak. They can’t follow simple rules we learn in Kindergarten.

Next, the party is full of nepotism. It’s passed from one dynasty to the next. First the Bush’s now the Cheneys. There is always an heir apparent and it seems to always be in the bloodline of one of the former party leaders. Republicans are the party of monarchies and dynasties. Not to mentions Struass and the Kristols the fathers of neo-conservativism, more properly called neo-liberalism, but that is for another day.

Next, they defend the undefendable and sell America out at any cost. Liz Cheney has decided to defend her father’s oil cartel buddy Karzai after he made comments saying that he might join the Taliban. If anything they should be calling for his head not defending him. But oil is worth more than the American soldier putting his ass on the line to prop up that puppet regime so Halliburton can put their pipeline in Black Sea. They are essentially selling the American soldier down the road out of their loyalty to a drug-oil cartel. What do you know? Their foreign policy is exactly the same as their domestic policy. Prop up the drug-oil cartels at any and all costs. Drill, baby, drill. Kill, baby, kill.

I guess you have to ask yourself, do you want to be a member of the party of crying four-year-olds who didn’t get their way so they’re taking their ball and going home? Well, do you?

The whole debate from liberal to conservative, dove to hawk, pro-choice to pro-life, isolationist to neo-con (neo-lib) can be had in the Democratic Party. What use do we have for a bunch of whining crybabies who just take their toys and go home when we have some serious ‘playing’ to do?

Atheist Ireland fights blasphemy law with publication of 25 blasphemous quotes

"From today, 1 January 2010, the new Irish blasphemy law becomes operational, and we begin our campaign to have it repealed. Blasphemy is now a crime punishable by a €25,000 fine. The new law defines blasphemy as publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted."

Read more by clicking the title...

Fort Hood Nov 5th

As someone who is at Fort Hood, and was there that day, and has had to work very hard cleaning up the aftermath, I appreciate President Obama's thoughtfulness in this matter. I was at Fort Hood, in lockdown when the shooting was going on. I proceeded to work for nearly two days straight with little rest. My job as a public affairs officer is to answer media requests, do interviews, and set interviews up. Believe me there was no time for rest in the first day.

I was there when everyone from Pres. Obama to the CJCS visited. My wife was at the hospital when former President G.W. Bush made an unannounced and low-profile trip to visit the wounded simply out of care, respect, and concern. I was there answering phone calls, emails and letters from people all across the world sending their condolences to our military community. The calls came from Germany, California, Nebraska, Indiana and New York. I was there as I watched Senator John McCain, a hero himself, and Senator Al Franken sit next to each other at a ceremony to honor our fallen. But most importantly I was there as an American to watch as politics and parties were cast away to show respect for the fallen and support for the families and comrades left behind to deal with the aftermath. I’ve heard the amazing life stories of the Soldiers we lost and saw the respect given to those left behind. I have watched as those morals, values and laws that service members have defended with their life are put to the test as we allow the law enforcement officials and courts, not the court of public opinion, to determine guilt or innocence of the accused in such a heinous crime. That is what America is, that is what makes America great. I watched as hands were reached from inside our protected compound to the Islamic community outside our gates to share in our grief. I watched as a battle-hardened Sergeant and combat medic cried as he tried to come to grips with why a religion that gives him peace and the solace to deal with combat was being perverted to justify and laud the actions of the accused killer.

Let’s remember the fallen but let’s not forgot those left behind. The units those soldiers came from will still deploy to combat environments and will return. Ironically and hopefully, never having to encounter any situation of this magnitude on their deployment. Let us not forget the peaceful part of the Islamic community that wishes for justice the same as everyone else and considers this actions deplorable by any human being. My hope is that we will be able to move through this event while showing those great American values of equality, justice, compassion and fairness. My hope is that America’s true colors shine through the clouds of this tragic storm.

Would the Cheneys please go away

The Cheney cabal always seems to surprise me with their hypocrisy and cynicism.

Liz Cheney says that she thinks Obama used his landing and Dover and honoring the fallen from a pretty significant week of casualties in Afghanistan was a political stunt. This visit to the remains of the fallen foreshadows a pretty significant coming fortnight where the President will decide whether or not to up the ante in Afghanistan, and possibly increase the number of flag-draped coffins that would be in-transit to loved ones across the United States from that Dover airfield.

This assumption is based on the cynicism that everyone is like the Cheneys. That every move is to our own personal gain and not for the benefit of others. That's because 5-time-deferment-vice-coward-in-chief Dick Cheney and spawn would not know selfless service if it flew out of the sky and shot them in the face with bird shot. At every turn in their "public" service career they have used it for private gain, as Dick Cheney also used his lack of service in Vietnam, a war he cheered, for his own personal gain. Any time they have been put in a position of leadership or power they have used it to benefit them or their oligarchy.

So, no, they probably wouldn't believe or understand that someone could do something like President Obama did in visiting those remains and families as they flew in from a combat zone, as he makes the decision that will have to fix the mess left behind by them. The current administration is the cleaning crew that has been hired to clean up the mess left behind when Cheney and their closest friends threw a drunken frat party gone awry in administration of a country putting in collapse and two wars on the brink of loss. They disappeared like teenagers who knew they parents were coming home and knew they didn't want to be around to suffer the consequences of their power-orgy.

VP Cheney and kin, the parents are home now, and they are cleaning up your mess, you would be best to keep your mouth shut pretend you were never at the party. Everytime you open your mouth all you do is implicate yourself in the most failed administration of the Presidency in history.

You can see the pictures of the flag-draped coffins, or the dying Marine but it's completely different to experience it first-hand. It's completely different to hear the cries of agony come out of a woman who has just been told that she is a widow. President Obama showing up to see what the consequence of his future actions could be first-hand, shows me he understands the gravity of what he may or may not do in committing more forces to Afghanistan. You see, the President never served in the military and he realizes that there are experiences he has never had, he is not arrogant enough to assume that he could know what emotion those flag-draped coffins convey in person. This only makes more confident in the decision he may make, because he is taking it all in and computing all the costs his decisions could tally.

PG-13 Version of My Mind on Sunday at Starbucks waiting for my updates to download

Sunday is dress up day for the crazies. Here they go, in and out of the Starbucks to get the caffeine they’ll need to stay awake while some person stands in front of them and talks about Aesop’s fables and good standards of conduct. They have to do it. They have believe. They have to be good under punishment under eternal torture. Let us not be good for decencies sake but only if I get something out of it in the end.

The more they dress-up the more they are telling the people around them how devoted they are to the idea of an imaginary man in the sky, that had an imaginary son, that died for the things the people in charge of talking to the imaginary man call sins. So, the more dressed up the more crazy. I mean, I just saw a guy with a suit and bow-tie. Bow-tie, really. Is that necessary. probably not, but I have to admit it did look sharp.

That’s another thing. I’m intimidated by stores. I went into J. Crew yesterday. They had some pretty snazzy looking outfits on mannequins. I’m trying to branch out of cargo pants and jeans. After all, I get to wear cargo pants everyday why wear them in my off time.

Yesterday I went to get my uniform fixed. We get to put stripes on our right arm for overseas service. I asked for 5 and the Privates in line behind me looked at me like I was a God. And that’s good because I am. Not really, just kidding. But I did have to explain what they were and why you get them. You have to admire they young kids. And they’re young too. Think about it. People born in 1991 are now joining the military. They don’t even know who Nirvana is. They’ve been raised on computers, Britney Spears and pop-junk culture of brain-dead reality television.

I have to admit television is making a come-back. House, Bones, Mad Men, alot of good shows and not enough time to watch them.

I wonder if Alissa will make me watch Bones when I get home? Oh, Curb starts today I need to remind Alissa to record it.

Yeah Curb and Seinfeld will be on it. I can’t wait.

Pink Nikes really. that’s a bold statement. An untied tie hung around the neck, I don’t know what’s going on with that. I think he’s waiting to tie it, but it looks cool like that.

Sipping coffee through a straw everyone knows real men drink coffee hot, with whipped cream.

Boy or girl? Boy or girl? Boy or girl? Shit!! Uhhhhh, BOY! Yesssss, initial instinct was correct.

Hat.

Brushguard on a Yukon. In Texas, OK. But I don’t think you need it between Baltimore and D.C.

That guy is tall. He plays basketball. Lady just laughed at how tall he is. He must be 6’7“.

I must look angry because people look at me an turn around. These people are hilarious. Uh, bow-tie. I wish I could wear a bow-tie. White people and bow-ties don’t work though. You better be going to a wedding, debutante ball or Presidential Gala. Black guy with bow-tie some reason works.

Mocha is getting cold, must drink it. PAUSE>>>

Almost choked on aforementioned mocha.

This place is odd. The racial mix seems to be about 50/50. Very unlike Texas and Indiana. Indiana they try though.

Redskins Hats are big here. For the longest time I thought the redskins were in Washington not D.C. I hate sports. ESPN is the largest waste of electromagnetic spectrum. People could do so much more if they didn’t spend their time memorizing completely fucking useless sports trivia. Or maybe it’s good people don’t do more. I am a cynic after all. People should do less, way less. Or more. Maybe smart people that I agree with should do more and the people I disagree with should do less. So, it’s settled then. Less is more. Exactly. Time to go to Barnes and Noble to find a book about Afghanistan an it’s history.

Very interested in their past. That’s what connected it for me and Iraq. Of course, I had visited places the book talked about so it was very tangible. Be careful what you wish for. Looks like there is no limit on the amount of lives, blood and treasure we will soak into propping up a puppet government there. Ergo, I will probably be there before too long.

Did you know that when you write lists example: ”The dog is black, white and brown.” You don’t put a comma before the conjunction. I was taught just the opposite in school. Have I been alive long enough that the English language has evolved an evolution or was I taught wrong.

I will be fucking surprised if anyone reads this whole thing.

Sacrifice. What Sacrifice?

I was participating in a project to streamline logistics systems in the Iraq theater when the group of us working on the project were visited by the general in charge of the project. He looked at us very sternly and said, “This war is bankrupting our country and we can’t plan on fighting it the same way we have in the past.” I use quotes because it struck me so hard that I remembered exactly what he said. I have to be honest, until that moment I thought we had an unlimited amount of money to fight and win these wars.

It was very sobering to hear someone that high up the chain say those words. Essentially, he wanted to focus on getting the most bang for our bucks because the bucks are running out.

That leads me to this.

The CBO is looking for ways to cut money from the military budget. They’ve made suggestions ranging from cutting pay increases to increasing taxes.

I would like to point out a few things I have noticed. First, when dealing with logistics I am appalled and never surprised by the amount of money that we spend hiring a single contractor to do the job of one soldier in theater. The cost per capita for a contractor is way more than a soldier. We need to use fewer contractors. We can do this two ways: 1) allowing soldiers to do the job we pay them to do. This is an unpopular option, especially with the current OPTEMPO already faced by Soldiers. This would lead to making soldiers deploy without proper dwell time. The thought is not appealing to me either, after having done 2 extended deployments. 2) Begin cutting contractor provided services in theater. This would mean that Soldiers would have to do without certain amenities currently afforded. Those amenities would be clean water, electricity, billeting, warm food, vehicle repair and parts etc. Again not appealing to me either. This would mean once again asking the service member to sacrifice. This would mean an overall drawdown of the infrastructure we have spent so long building.

Other than asking more sacrifice from those already risking life and limb, we could ask the American people to actually pay for the wars that we are fighting for them. That is code for raising taxes by the way. We have actually done the opposite of what every country in recorded history has done, lowered taxes in a time of war. Considering no more has been asked of the American public than that they continue shopping since the beginning of these campaigns. If the American people actually consider not paying for the war then we withdrawal. We are the American Army this is supposedly a war to protect them, if they don’t want to pay then we can’t play.

This especially struck as I watched the Teabaggers yesterday in D.C. Their messages were inconsistent. I would see a sign that said, “Don’t Raise My Taxes,” next to a sign that said, “Support the Troops.” These people, the anti-tax advocates, seem to be oblivious that China is paying for the troops to fight these wars because they can’t be bothered to pay more taxes, and asking people of any political persuasion to pay more taxes is unpopular and a death-knell for a politicians career. If the American people and our Representatives are serious about supporting the troops, I think it’s time they prove it by not asking us, ‘the troops,’ to sacrifice anymore than we already do daily. It’s time for us to be realistic that fighting wars isn’t cheap and we can’t put it on the credit card without destroying our country. We have already spent enough money to pay for healthcare for all Americans ten-fold. I would also like to see these people with the Chinese-made yellow-ribbon magnets put their money where their magnet is.

The military should, of course, be good stewards of the equipment and supplies under our purview. Even with 100% efficient systems there will be waste. Not to mention, nation-building is not cheap and doing it in two countries also raises the cost significantly. One of those countries not having any great infrastructure compounds an already significantly expensive operation.

The bottom line is that this war is bankrupting our country, and it seems the country, our representatives and civilian leaders have no problem asking us, the service member, to sacrifice, more and more and more. If America as a whole wants to continue these wars they should be forced to pay for them. They should be forced to feel the sting of sacrifice for these things that are, supposedly, so important to them. Once that sting hits them we’ll see how important these exercises in nation-building are to them as bridges collapse in Minnesota, aging, out-dated power grids fail in California and state governments shut down because they no longer have the capital to provide services to their citizens. Really where should their sacrifice be going?