The Tea Party, The New Right-Wing, and the Prevention of Social Change

This article, written by Don Monkerud, exposes the truth on the Tea Party movement, how it came to power, and why it can ultimately lead to a state ripe with social injustice: http://www.consortiumnews.com/2010/072910c.html

Those who keep up with political news, depending on where one gets their news, are quite familiar with the Tea Party Patriots, Tea Party Express, and the lobbying group Freedomworks. These groups consist of 80 percent white members, 60 percent of whom are over the age of 50. These people fear Obama's "Marxist" reforms to the American government. 75 percent of the Tea Party members want smaller government. Meanwhile, many Tea Party members live on Social Security, benefit from Medicare, and a fearful of the current economic state. All of these statistics come from the said article.

The Tea Party's goal is to bring America back into the dark ages of social and economic repression. They want to lower taxes which, in the long run, will cause bigger problems and a worsening federal deficit. The social oppression they preach is frightening. Bernie Sanders, the independent-Democratic Socialist Senator from Vermont, frequently shows disgust at how the Republicans, many of which are Tea Party Members, are blocking real social, environmental, and economic change.

In his recent week in review (found at http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=e8de0a02-9fa9-4539-b326-4fd64951ca2f) Sanders speaks of hypocrisy in Congress: ""We have (to) expose the hypocrisy that`s taking place in Washington," Sanders said on MSNBC. "The Republicans refused to vote to extend unemployment benefits last week for 2.5 million American workers. At the same exact time, they wanted to provide a trillion dollars in tax relief for the top 0.3 percent of the population. If that`s not hypocrisy is, I don`t know what is."

Figures on both sides of the Political Spectrum are being fed up. The Conservatives can’t make their voices heard, so they turn to radical groups like the Tea Party, help fund their operations, and use their insane and immature tactics to make their ideas heard. Liberals cannot pass true social reform without the Tea Party bashing it. The current political climate is one of limbo. The gap between Liberal and Conservative has become so great. Name calling is prevalent. Tea Party members call Obama a Socialist and Liberals call Tea Party Members Fascists. It’s a real turbulent time, politically, in America right now.

All the American people can do is look on, laugh, and elect members of congress and vote on laws in an educated manner. As citizens, it is up to us to have our voices heard. We shall not allow our voices to be silenced by the radical Tea Party movement. Does wanting comprehensive health care for all truly make us Marxists? If so, everyone else around the world are surely Marxists. How does wanting Marriage Equality make us friends of the devil? Jesus preached equality, acceptance of all, and love, right? He preached against many of old Orthodox Jewish laws. He preached against many of the old Mosaic Laws in the Old Testament. One of which says no gay marriage. He told his followers to follow Him and not the impractical Mosaic Laws (one of which preaches consuming shellfish is a sin: http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/). I digress. This is not a religious blog post by any means. The point is, Tea Party Members must realize how hypocritical and immature they’re being. By gathering on Capitol Hill and calling Democrats Socialists really going to get their point across? I think it just makes them more of a spectical for the American people to laugh at. Speaking of which, Glen Beck, Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh are all firm supporters of the Tea Party. These men, Glen Beck especially, have been known for their crazy antics on radio and on “Faux News”.

My conclusion is that the Tea Party is an oppressive and ignorant group of white Americans that simply cannot stand that fact that a black man is president. The Tea Party is incredibly racist. There’s an entire article dedicated to ignorant Tea Party signs (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/10-most-offensive-tea-par_n_187554.html). Tea Party leaders state that any racism is swiftly dealt with and the offenders are asked to leave. How can you regulate this when you have 8,000 angry rednecks preaching for the destruction of the Department of Education (I kid you not) all holding up posters of the Statue of Liberty weeping with Obama’s election day scrawled underneath it? The Tea Party doesn’t care. They’re overtly racist. They are afraid of social change. Their ignorance has caused their own problems and, so, they’re blaming gays, blacks, and Mexicans for their problems. This is all a big game of pointing fingers at the powers that be for causing the problems of the “hard-working man”. America, I urge us, as citizens, to stop this horrendous display of false-Patriotism. Is calling Obama the N-word truly embodying the American spirit of equality for all? (Does the question need to be answered?) It is up to the citizens to vote in the next Congressional election in an educated manner. If the Tea Party gains more fuel, the majority of heart-broken, poor, and disenfranchised Americans will turn to radical groups like the Tea Party to make sure their voices are heard. Hopefully America will make the right decision and the Tea Party will finally be exposed and shut down for their racist and bigoted remarks. I wish I could sympathize with the Tea Party in some way, shape, or form, just so their message doesn’t seem so kooky. But when one of your main platforms is the destruction of the Department of Education, I simply cannot let a group like this stand uncontested. I’m gonna make my own group of Liberals called the Founding Fathers. The name makes just as much sense as the Tea Party Patriots.

Hell, even Paul LePage is being backed by the Tea Party *shudders. In fact, I shudder every time I see a LePage sign in Waterville... Which is all the time.

I’m pretty sure many of the readers will disagree with my views on the Tea Party (Fascists) but I’d like to hear from you and your views on this movement that has, in recent months, truly made gains in their political influence.

What makes music memorable?

One of my new favorite bands is from Montreal. They're a francophone indie pop band named "

La Patère Rose". Translates to, I believe, The Open Rose. This song has been stuck in my head for the past two days: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWx4bjwp8-Y

It’s poppy, joyful, beautiful, sorrowful, and delightful all at the same time. It’s quickly made my list of top ten Canadian indie pop songs ever. (Believe me there’re enough Canadian indie pop songs to facilitate such a list.) I don’t speak fluent French at all. I only know the typical phrases such as, “Comment Ca Va?” or “Je veux une biere, s'il vous plait.”.

So, why is it that this song, sung in a language I know little of, such an infectious and memorable song? Is it the lyrics? I don’t believe so. The song could be singing about animal rights for all I know and I’d still enjoy it. As a musician, I find the lyrics of a song to be just as important as the instrumentation of a song. The human voice is an instrument to me. Singing helps aid and strengthen a melody that has already been established by, in this case, a melodic instrument such as the piano.

In today’s musical society, consumers crave music with memorable lyrics. Do they care about how the voice sounds in relation to the harmonies and melodies in a musical piece? In Lil’ Wayne’s case, absolutely not. Lil’ Wayne sings (or should I say auto tunes) about drugs, country matters, and other various “rebellious” things in his music. Teenagers, the most important consumers of Pop music, find his music to be raw, pugnacious, and entertaining. Why? It’s because today’s teens have very little to rebel against, socially. Thus, horrendously sexist, misogynist, and sometimes racist themed music becomes the Pop music. The consumer determines what Pop music is. Therefore, Lil’ Wayne and other “gangsta” rappers have become the musical norm.

My point to this discussion about Pop music is that it forces unnecessary attention to the lyrics’ subject matter rather than the actual song as a whole. How can music truly be music if it’s being created with the intention that the music, as an entire piece, is being put on the back burner for lyrics that make the listener feel defiant? I’m not saying protest/revolutionary music (in the likes of Rage Against the Machine) is necessarily bad. It’s admirable. Rage Against the Machine, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix all used music to protest and question authority through a medium that is universally appreciated. Is Lil’ Wayne questioning authority and awakening social consciousness when he says: “She lick me like a lollipop.”? You can decide that answer for yourself.

Music in other languages is a whole other issue. La Patère Rose, Malajube, and Coeur De Pirate are all Francophone bands from Montreal that I truly love, appreciate, and find mean something. They all sing in French about widely different subjects. In one album, Malajube sings about Roman Catholicism’s role in Quebecois society (Labyrinthes). Coeur De Pirate sings about love.

What makes their music memorable and the likes of Lil’ Wayne and Drake not? It’s the music, instrumentation, and musicianship coming together into one idea that invokes imagery, emotion, and fascination. When Drake tells his “girl” that “She’s the f**king best”, what kind of imagery, emotion, or fascination does that conjure up? None. It’s terribly inefficient at conveying any sort of emotion. There is no imagery because he doesn’t want any. And, the only fascination I find in such a lyric is “How is this popular?”. Then I realize. IT’S THE RADIO STATION AND THE BEAT. Oh man! That beat is sick. The radio station stuffs it down your ear canals 3000 times a day. You’re bound to hear it, bob your head to the beat, listen to the chorus all 40 times it’s repeated, and go out and buy it on iTunes for $1.99.

For other songs that are catchy and fun before the lyrics are paid any attention to, look up “You Look Better When I’m Drunk” by White Tie Affair. (Believe me. I couldn’t make this song title up if I tried.) I’ve reached a conclusion. Pop music is memorable because of its beat, lyrical subject matter (no matter what it is; good or bad), and airplay. Let’s face it, no one would listen to this no matter how many times it was played on Top 40 Pop music radio in America: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD6hdj5-u9s .

No matter how good a song is, it’s only as popular as its subject matter, beat, and radio play. It’s a cold hard fact in today's society that if you’re not on the radio, you’re pretty much an indie band. And if you’re on the radio, you’re a Pop puppet. I’m not telling people the radio is bad or that ALL music on Pop radio is bad. Once in a while, it’s nice to just let it all go while screaming “California Girls” by Katy Perry. It’s actually fun. I just hope that next time someone tunes into 92 Commercials (Credits to Goldsmith) they’ll sit there and actually listen to the lyrics. Maybe just maybe they might realize the sexist crap oozing out of the speakers and switch it off. That’s what I do on a daily basis. Hopefully this conjures up some sort of personal internal discussion about the music one listens to or maybe a debate between friends about what makes music enjoyable to them.

Thanks for the read. Feel free to comment.

- Andrew

North Korea declares war on US... For the lulz

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66M10I20100724

This article states that North Korea said on Saturday it would begin a "sacred war" against the United States and South Korea at "any time necessary" based on its nuclear deterrent, in response to "reckless" military exercises by the allies.

Well, Kim Jong Il dun goofed. The North Koreans sank a South Korean ship in March, killing 46 people on board. Thus, South Korea and US forces have been training side by side. Should I be scared? I don't know. I'm just anxious to see whether or not North Korea will actually follow through. They claim to be fighting a war against imperialistic America. I can sympathize with a sort of want for liberation for the World Police mentality the American military has. I'm not entirely sure what the American sanctions on Korean nukes states. However, it always seems, politically, that we feel the need to oppress nations for doing the same things we did. Okay, okay.... Kim Jong Il is insane and oppressive. He destroys human rights and flushes civil rights down the toilet. The fact that North Korea feels the need to obtain and keep nuclear weapons just proves the fact that Kim Jong Il is insane.

This is a so-called retaliatory war. North Korea states, in this quote, an obvious thing: "The army and people of the DPRK will start a retaliatory sacred war of their own style based on nuclear deterrent any time necessary in order to counter the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces deliberately pushing the situation to the brink of a war," the North's National Defense Commission said. The Defense Commission calls the US imperialist and the South Koreans a puppet force. The US ARE the World Police and are exploiting South Korea's geographical position to North Korea for their own use. The thing is, North Korea is only doing this to heighten the stakes of US nuclear sanctions.

Is this just Kim Jong Il being all "LOL watch what happens when I say war!"? Or is it a real cause for concern? I'm hoping it's the former. The US is already burned fighting terrorism (you cant defeat and idea) in Afghanistan. If North Korea decides to start a war, where will the resources come from to fight THAT war? Will we need a draft? Who knows. What I do know is that North Korea, through all of this media craziness, is making a bold statement. Although the statement was bold in a slightly irrational way, by declaring war, North Korea is saying "American military should really stop being the World Police. Like, seriously you guys. We're crazy, you know this. Why are you still trying to make Kimmy Il stop being crazy?". North Korea will always be a Fascist Authoritarian state cloaked under Communism. Kim Jong Il's son is set to become the next leader when the Korean succession takes place. Will this leader be less insane and more receptive to nuclear sanctions? Who knows? North Korea will constantly have problems politically and militarily. Should we be worried right now? I don't think so. It's probably just North Korean media scare tactics. I'm pretty sure North Korea has already declared war on us last year...

The U.N. should continue to sanction North Korea's nuclear weapons potential. War shouldn't be the answer but Kimmy Jong isn't listening. So, where do we go from here? Full on nuclear war? Do we invade their country? WIll they attack us? Should we be afraid? So many questions so little time. What we SHOULD do is talk to Kim's son, corrupt him and his regime, and then turn it into a touristy money-making Asian paradise. THE AMERICAN WAY!

AMERICA!

Some lyrics/ poem I wrote

I wrote this at about 1 a.m. I'd been watching Ghost Hunters all night on Hulu. They were some sort of abandoned Lunatic Asylum. I got inspired and wrote this. Now, I'm not too sure of the underlying theme of the poem, to be honest. I sort of wrote it focussing on strong imagery. Hopefully it conjures up imagery of an old seaside town, postmodern, blah blah blah "industrialization is bad mmm-kay" kind of thing. I seem to write a lot about masks and stuff. (Wonder what Freud would say about that). Anyway, it follows some sort of incoherent pattern. There's a chorus, one could say. Upon further reading into the lyrics, I suppose it's all about loneliness, longing, false-happiness; you know, teen angst stuff.

Cool Pic. Possible accompanying artwork(?)

Victorian Ghosts of Simple Bay

We’re all part of a greater composite

Floating, breathing, press play and pause it

Shooting the target with rhinestone arrows

Open up the polyphonic bones devour the marrow

Gazing up at the sky hopeful for an achromatic sunrise

Head hung low under this disguise

Living life with masks of anonymity

Playing with the fabric of of equanimity

We’re all robots ghoulishly masquerading as beings of worth

Experience a premature death followed by an overdue birth

The beginning of the end is here pulling at the threads

The children all look on with heavy heads, with heavy heads

The afterthought remains

Like heavy cold steel chains

Lavender moonlight falls into the sea

Shouting out please come back to me

Grey skies fading away

Sunlight creeping into the bay

Ships and anchors floating endlessly

In the infinite sea of senility

We’re all robots ghoulishly masquerading as beings of worth

Experience a premature death followed by an overdue birth

The beginning of the end is here pulling at the threads

The children all look on with heavy heads, with heavy heads

Ghosts and spirits in boundless replay

Walking the streets of endless decay

Haunting the heartless and favoring the bold

Heavy and shining like the purest of gold

We’re all robots ghoulishly masquerading as beings of worth

Experience a premature death followed by an overdue birth

The beginning of the end is here pulling at the threads

The children all look on with heavy heads, with heavy heads

Look outside; Good graphics

I was in my living room doing what the typical young adult does while on a laptop: laughing at an odd culture at japanisweird.com. After about an hour of quietly chuckling to myself at Japanese idiosyncrasies, advertising ploys, etc. I sluggishly glanced out through my window and saw this: "Oh look, it's just a typical backyard." you're most likely thinking. However, after hours upon hours of aimlessly gazing upon a bright white screen, this backyard looked incredibly lively. The emerald hues, white sky; it all seemed so utterly awesome, alive, and high definition.

Has technology desensitized us to the beauty of nature? Has high definition television given us a false sense of what life-like truly is? My naive hypothesis states that: Television, computers, and high resolution pictures, videos, etc. have caused us to alter our perceptions of sight. I don't know. Perhaps I've been inside for far too long and nature's beauty seems almost unattainable

My hypothesis is most likely flawed beyond reason. One could make the argument that high-definition television has caused the American culture to visit other worlds without leaving the comfort of one's own home and that this is a culturally advancing technology. Personally, I LOVE high-def TV. However, I realize I'd much rather visit these places in person and take in and experience the other senses these places have to offer other than sight. The smell, and sound of a far away locale is something that technology cannot duplicate... yet.

I've traveled to many different places and I feel privileged for doing so. Technology has caused the American people to become one with their couches, laptops, televisions, etc. I find myself spending hours of Facebook or youtube. When one of these sites goes down for maintenance, I find myself missing something in my life. Social networking has substituted going out and meeting friends in real life. I'm as guilty of this as anybody I know. I realize it's time for me to go outside more and enjoy the natural state of things. I try to appreciate nature and the natural world as much as possible. I only hope that other young people can do this. America's future is looking bleaker by the hour. If we become too dependent on technology to bring us happiness, relationships, and entertainment, what happens when technology can no longer stimulate us as it has for so long? I'm not sure I'm at liberty to determine the future of our culture, yet. However, I hope this post opens peoples' eyes to how the goodness of the internet and television has a darker side that negatively affects the perception of the basic human experience.

On a lighter note, I intend to set down the laptop for a while now and go out and talk to people the old-fashioned way: with my mouth. Crazy I know, but that's how it used to be "back in the day". (I realize that statement was rather pretentious.) I digress. It's beautiful out. Put down the cell phones, the computers, the remote, and step outside for an hour. Breathe in the air, look at the sky, and be alone for a little while.

- Andrew

A quick hello and introduction

Well, this isn't my first blog. I've created blogs in the past in which I posted random immature 13 year old thoughts, posted videos I found amusing, and ranted about the life of a middle school student. Sounds interesting? I assure you it is not. In this blog I intend on connecting with friends, past teachers, etc. I will be writing about random ideas, musings, and news that occurs in my life. I will also post some lyrics, music I've uploaded online, and pictures from various aspects of my life. Hopefully this enables people to keep up with my ever-evolving perception on life, politics, and myself. Post comments. Laugh. Cry. Enjoy.

-Andrew