Happy New Year's Eve 2013

Hey All!

I've been radio silent for a little while now. Had a lot going on over the past few months and no regular internet access to tell you about it. No worries: I'm still kicking ass and taking names! You know, 'cause that's how I roll.

We've all experienced good and bad and everything between this year...here's a thought and a poem for all of us.

An Old Year Thought:

To those of you still recovering from the hardships - no worries - you got this!
To those of you still basking in the glories of happiness - no worries - enjoy this!
To those of you, discombobulated few, rolling in the everything between - no worries - auto-pilot this!

A New Year Poem:

Enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the rain.
Good is good,
'cause you've experienced the pain.

One day, oh, one grand day,
the sun will shine just right
for the world to glow - alight
we'll laugh, play, as we say:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Then, we'll duck, fingers stuck
in our ears as the thunder claps
of fireworks that send sparks
showering the land of muck.

A Letter From the Heart Contest

Hey All!

I just found out that I'm one of four winners for this year's A Letter From the Heart Contest. Below you'll find the links to the contest's About Us page and 2013 Winners page.

http://aletterfromtheheartcontest.com/about
http://aletterfromtheheartcontest.com/2012-06-27-19-17-46

Hit up the About Us page to learn more about the contest or go directly to the Winners' page to read the top four entries.

Deuces!
Monique

Just Released: The Finley Human Experience

Great news, All!

The Finley Human Experience is now available on Amazon.com. If you'd like to check it out, that's groovy, Amazon offers the preview option free of charge.

Below is a list of the countries with their own Amazon listings of The Finley Human Experience.

U.K.
Japan
Canada
Germany
France
Spain
India

Many thanks to Beth Mitchum, editor and author at Ultra Violet Love Publishing. Through her mentoring and great patience, over a long journey, we've finally arrived at the destination! Thank you, Beth.

A Poem: Supreme Shake to the DOMA Debate

They wont debate the Constitutionality of banning homosexuality.
They wont debate the Constitutionality of barring homosexuals.
They wont debate the Constitutionality of...wait...what's that you say?
They debated? They debated in the Supreme Courthouse?
They debated the standing, the precedent, the merits?
But, you say they say they wont debate the Constitutionality?
Did they mention the 5th, the 14th, the--? Yes, they did!
That's the Constitution then. But, they still claim they wont?
Am I wrong to think they just did? Am I wrong to laugh as I just did?
They debated the tax and estate rights of legally married folks.
They really debated 1100 federal laws with that one stroke.
They debated the malice behind the word "DEFENSE" in DOMA,
as if married queers are all offensive guards looking for a touchback.
They debated the "innocence" of taking the traditional stand
in a country that traditionally stands with up-turning standing traditions
based in malice and misunderstanding of un-empowered citizens.
They debated "uniformity of law" in a country over-flowing with uninformed
uniformed enforcers of more differentiated laws than a life-time of reading
could cover if a life-time reader dedicated a life-time to the task.
They finally debated. That's the grandest part of "checks-and-balances",
each third has an opportunity, eventually, to say what they need to say,
to do what they need to do to move U.S. closer to that golden era,
that beautiful ideal, that inalienable human right to LIFE, LIBERTY,
and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS. So, maybe they didn't debate
the Constitutionality of homosexuality, they definitely did debate
the Constitutionality of creating second class citizenry where none need be.

A Poem: Dear Russians, Americans, Gays

In honor of the 3X reigning champions of the Finley Experience International Views Contest and in response to the recent news regarding the Russian government illegalizing a segment of its population. Stand strong Russian Gay Community. There is nothing wrong with you. There is something wrong with your government. I say this knowing that there is something wrong with my own government which has various laws against me. The fuck they say. From one "second-class citizen" to another: human rights belong to human beings. Love who you will. This is for the fags, dykes, and trannies who face death legislation and possible murder by homophobes. This is for you, my dear queers. No matter where you are, or, what your nationalities. Self-truth and self-preservation! You will survive! We will survive! Vale!

Dear Russians, Americans, Gays

I.                   Debate

It is not time to debate the merits of homosexuality.

It’s time to debate the merits of illegalizing people.

I once talked to a Muslim girl who told me no Muslim is gay.

Years later, I met a gay Muslim. Who was I to tell him he wasn’t?

It is not time to debate the merits of heterosexuality.

It’s time to debate the merits of illegalizing people.

I once talked to a Christian boy who told me no Christian is gay.

Years later, I met a bunch of gay Christians. Who was I to tell them they weren’t?

It is not time to debate the merits of transexuality.

It’s time to debate the merits of illegalizing people.

I once watched a country falter on its principles, telling citizens no one is gay.

Years later, I attended rainbow parades. Who was I to be one of them?

It is not time to debate the merits of pansexuality.

It’s time to debate the merits of illegalizing people.

I’m watching countries falter on their principles, telling citizens they’re not gay.

Years from now, we’ll dance at rainbow parties. Who are they, but the fetish-closeted?

II.                Reason

The true global calamity in this age of technological superiority is nothing more or less than the internet’s very own international intelligence agencies increasing the Iron Curtain tactics used on their own netizenry. As home of the original Iron Curtain, Russians know of government misinformation and subjecting the masses to rationing while Kremlin Kings kick back making Dynasty look like a weak Western attempt at luxury. One group staring at HD screens, asses growing larger by the second; the other group dictating what should be stared at and how many re-runs should air until the propaganda hits home and the subject can be changed, just slightly to keep the suspense building. Buck ass naked survivor, anyone?

But it’s not solely a national issue, it’s humanity's big problem. The iron in that age old curtain is how the oldest triangular structures became emblematic of something that has always been and always will be, the dictator’s goal: absolute control. Be fickle. You’re human. That’s the one piece of chaos in this fractal equation. Every redoubling effort has the quantum effect when human unpredictability is factored. And, usually, we forget to factor for the ingenuity of the human element, regardless of history that testament to prior experience. Let us, break it down:

III.             And Gradation

First, they attend our secret bars.

They love the shows, the drag kings

and queens and the songs they sing.

Then, they tell us it’s a lifestyle.

They love-fuck us, the hated queers

and dykes and all our peers.

So, we rise up, the beaten down.

The fags and their hags wielding high heels
while butches march with bears and their steel.  

Afterwards: “We Will Survive”

echoes through streets on mp4 players

and all dance to expose corruption's layers.

(*Side note: There’s nothing I find more

hypocritical than a homophobic homosexual

that becomes a politician to vote heterosexual.)

~Monique Finley
6-11-2013

Finley Experience 3rd Annual "International Views" Contest

Hey Y'all!

The results are in! It maybe no surprise to Russia, but they hit the top for a third year in a row. Congrats! Y'all really pulled ahead by a landslide this year.

Russia              2544
China               1087
Germany          672
France             412
U.K.                378
Ukraine            298
Poland             127
Israel               121
Brazil               104

Okay, Russia, it seems I'm averaging one poem a year for y'all. I did promise multiple poems per year, therefore, I'm behind. I hope you all will forgive me. They are in works, but nowhere near complete. Fortunately, as you can see from the count, Russia won the 3rd Annual Finley Experience "International Views" Contest. So, the poem debt to Russia grows!

This year's surprise entrant, China, leapt to second place over last year's second place winner, Germany. Last year's third place entrant, Ukraine, fell to sixth this year with France and U.K. making a comeback in the last round of the race.

Ukraine, what happened? You were doing so well. No worries! There's always the 4th Annual Finley Experience "International Views" Contest. Speaking of which, the contest began on June 1st 2013 and ends May 31st 2014. You've got time to get those views in.

I'll keep you all updated as the year progresses. And, be on the look out for the next poem about Russia. Never know when it'll show up, but it will be found at finleyexperience.com.

Inspiration, Dreams, and Bridging the "Divide"

I want to tell you the story of humor as a weapon of self-improvement.

Its the story of centurian polar-opposites learning balance, of self-reflection and projection, of dejection and reelection, of mass deception and genius conception. And, thankfully, the amazing guys of ERB have provided the visuals. In fact, aside from a little commentary here, each video tells a greater story than I could. Listen to them carefully, these are the voices of Epic Rap Battles of History, and whilst they may come off peculiar to the non-rap inclined, these guys take the time to research their insults, jabs, and 1-2 punches. It may be imaginary, but it doesn't have to be unreal.

On a dark and stormy night, oh hell, I don't know if it was stormy. I'm sure a historical climatologist could tell you. Regardless, it was night, and Lincoln was dead. Shot in the head while at Ford's Theatre. The gunman, John Wilkes Booth, ended President Lincoln's life, consequently he lost his own. This is the story every American child is taught in social studies. Myth building is grand and our imaginations have never been better. With a little historical reinventing, ERB gives you:



As you can see, its awesome and strangely informative, like the original "Got Milk?" commericial* which inadvertently taught an entire generation of Americans that Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton "in that famous duel." If it had only taught them who Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr actually were, perhaps what it was that they were fighting over, and why exactly we stopped having duels in congress, then we would have gotten some where. It does seem to have a civil air of finality to it: dueling. (*See below).

That is of course what rap battles are, verbal duels:



Isn't amazing, this ability to time travel yet go nowhere?



There's so much to be said for each dueller, for the lines, the actors, the back grounds, the forethought that went into each piece. But, perhaps most importantly, there's truths found in each rhyme, hard truths about society, where we're from, and where we're headed:



We're stratified into various categories by languages, cultures, and histories passed down to us from people who were categorized by their own times. Isn't it inspiring to see language, culture, and history shaken up?

It is the fans who leave pairings they'd love to see in comment sections that combine with the visions, talents, and efforts of the ERB crew to bring us verbal sparring betwixt characters be them imaginary, real, or both. It is the quarks of humor, the jabs of truth, the very essence of how best to deal with adversity.

Laugh the bastards off.

EAGLE!!!


(*Original "Got Milk?" Commercial)




Now, EAGLE! Damn it.

Mainstream Media: For-Profit, Forgot Physics

I want to scream out into the crowd, "Turn your faces to me. Listen to me. Stop what you're doing, then take a minute to think things through." I know it would do no good. Even with faces turned, their ears would not hear. They'd see beyond me into their immediate futures, thinking of dinner, the grocery store, the ripest gossip spread just five minutes ago. How to hold the attention of the world, if only for a second? Don't. Of seven billion plus people, there's only ever a small percentage who'll pay attention to any specific subject at any given moment. If you've read this far, then I'm talking to you.

Corporations utilize the propagandistic properties of advertisements in an attempt to gain the attention of current consumers and potential consumers. This simple truth is how "branding" (once a term for identifying livestock) became its very own industry full of propagandists, psychologists, staticians, graphic designers, web developers ad infinitum. All these little groups, multinational corporations, individual people, waving their hands and hollering, "LOOK!" And, based on their custom made employee and customer satisfaction surveys, they claim: "it's working."

I highly doubt that's the case. But, whatever.

The mainstream media consists of for-profit corporations: 1.) that brings a real conflict of interest into relaying the "news"; 2.) that means some "news" wont become "news," especially, if it hurts the corporate bottomline. Remember, corporations are on a quest for the mathematically impossible, never-ending rise in profits. Think: / but, remember gravity \. So...as you can see, understanding the basics of physics can also help one understand the basics of economics: what goes up, comes down (unless in a vacuum--space--then it keeps going until it crashes into something else). Corporations by definition consist of groups of people, most of whom seemingly neglected their physics courses. Physics also covers conflicts (of interest), in physics its called "friction."

Friction can best be seen when comparing news coverage between the various mainstream outlets. Each "news" story is branded by each company that releases it. The branding of this "news" is purposeful, deliberate, and meant specifically for a targeted demographic: the brand's viewers. The competition between brands slows the dissemination of facts while increasing spread of stories. This is friction and it is how dividing lines are drawn between people (demographics). These branded stories conflict with eachother as each corporation encourages the inaccurate and often misguided use of adjectives to obscure the "(un)known facts" with the journalist's own speculation.

Speculation bought and paid for by the very corporation that hired the journalist, who was given the corporation's writing guidelines, who then took the adjectival highway to a pugalist instead of an editor. Though, I'll admit, a good editor hits a writer far harder and usually with brass knuckles, that is beside the point. The mainstream media, in all its multinational and multibillion dollar glory, is conducting an adjectival orchestra as if the news, itself, is a string section, the transmission devices are the wood section with all that tweeting, and the viewers, well, what the hell is an orchestra with nobody to hear, to view, to experience it?

Now, we know, the mainstream media's adjective happy journalists work for corporations that think speculative branding of the news is more important than objectively telling the news. They think this because they're told this by their surveys, their survey analysts, and the numerous levels of yes-men within their ranks. They think this because they prefer stories over facts. More importantly, they think this because they have no imagination, they see only $$$. One can infer the story from the facts, if one has an active imagination and logic working for them. Unfortunately, with mainstream news stories one cannot infer the facts from the story.

One can definitely infer that something happened. And then, one can peruse the various video sites hoping to stumble upon RAW footage ("allegedly" not shopped), where one can begin the ardous process of thinking for one's self. But, wait. Why would RAW footage be so popular, if the viewers want stories? Oh, I don't know. Perhaps, the viewers actually want facts and not branded speculation? Just saying. Hold on. Do you recall that first paragraph? Scroll up if you need a refresher. Maybe the demographics are different for raw footage watchers and for mainstream media's viewers. I'll buy that. Maybe the branding helps disseminate the facts to larger groups by targeting specific sub-groups. Or, maybe the branding helps disinform larger groups by targeting specific sub-groups. Though it really could go either way, I lean towards the latter.

That said, when you read the news, read between the lines. Understand that regardless the position the news corporation takes, there is a fiscal motive. In the for-profit world there's always a fiscal motive. In fact, its legislated by Congress that there be a fiscal motive. Yes, that's right, the bottomline is profit because Congress legislated it to be so. Ah, but who the fuck is Congress? And, which fucking Congress did that dumb shit? It all goes back to...Stop. We'll save that one for another night.

I'll leave you with this: All news stories are biased interpretations of some of the facts, never all the facts. When news stories break most of the facts are unknown. How can one write 400+ words on a fact that takes less than ten words to adequately disseminate? Speculation. The speculatory tone is a way for mainstream media outlets to ensure proper branding of each breaking news piece. Once branded the news is then disseminated to the appropriate audiences where the constant bombardment of speculative adjectives leaves the audience drenched in subconcious anticipation of chaos spreading to their neighborhood, to their neck of the woods. All that inner tension building, external mounting pressure, branded by MSMs, stigmatized by wilting govies...its nothing but pitting, in-fighting among giants. And, that my friends, is friction, basically, it's physics.

Reality TV: C-SPAN Senate Hearings

The Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Hearing
entitled:
"Outsourcing Accountability? Examining the Role of Independent Consultants"

Starring:
Sen. Brown
Sen. Warren
Special appearance by: Sen. Reed

Guest Starring:
Panel 1: Mr. Stipano, Mr. Ashton
Panel 2: Mr. Alt, Mr. Flanagan, Mr. Ryan

Filmed: Thursday, 11 April 2013
Live Streamed: 10 AM - 12 PM

***If nothing else, cue to 2:27:11. After Sen. Brown thanks Mr. Alt, Sen. Warren goes to bat. Watch it to the end, then ask yourself: WTF?***

How many Senators are on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee?
22.

Where were the other Senators?
??

How many Senators were present for the entire hearing?
2 (see above)

What does it tell you when 19-20 Senators find some where else more important than the hearing where their commmittee quesions the banking regulators and the independent consultants that oversaw the audits of the felonious finacial institutions that collapsed the economy?

That's FUCKED! That's what it tells me. That's 19-20 Senators that ought to look for new jobs next election cycle. The foreclosure crisis unlawfully forced American families onto the streets. Banks illegally used police forces across the nation to evict people out of their homes. Once the people were homeless, cities across the nation began evicting the homeless from encampments. The police frequently use bulldozers to demolish encampments. So, after these people lost their houses, they also lost their tents and the last few possessions they might have had therein.

This little Senate hearing hasn't even begun to breach the truth of the problem. Our legal system has been hijacked by banks for banks. You see, banks have the money to hire lawyers average individuals cannot afford. Interestingly enough, after awhile, lawyers and bankers go into politics where they help to craft laws to benefit their friends. Average individuals do not usually get into politics, there have been exceptions.

If you like this episode, stay tuned.

(UPDATE: Can't wait for the next episode? Catch reruns at http://www.capitolhearings.org/. Not sure which committees to watch? Here's a link to the Senate site that shows members of each committee. For a quick place to start, just pick the committee with your state's officials, then go to the capitol hearings site to click on the committee. Browse, find a hearing, watch it, play it in the background while you do other things, like, your spring cleaning. It's the best Reality TV show, 'cause it deals with our lives in real life situations. Unlike most "reality tv" that consists of man-made obstacles courses and humiliation...oh, wait, nevermind. You'll definitely find a plethora of both in these Congressional hearings.)

A Poem: May the Broken Hearted Unite Us

May the Broken Hearted Unite Us

My heart breaks for the broken hearted, they are everywhere.
We have passed them everyday.
Some smile, some walk the other way.
How my heart breaks for the broken hearted, for they are we.

Me. You. Us. Them. Pick a side, doesn't matter which.
We are all sides, even when it is sides we switch.
Or, no sides that we pick. Some decisions cannot stick.
Whatever shall we do? We're all standing in the thick.

One shoveller heaps dirt on the feet of the nearest shoveller
as resulting dustbins turn aerial acrobatics into dirty words.
Stalks balk with the dusty tidings, plows--buried swords--
we're in the sand like osteriches: heads down, asses to the whir.

Rain: when it finally comes, our tears, rivulets of mud pour down
the streets, the creeks, the cheeks of the famished, the farmers
who begged for rain, wished for rain dancers, water charmers,
the mercy of an entity that turns storm clouds into a garden crown.

Perch that watery crown upon the cracked, parched grounds
that once fed the heart and soul of powerful nations.
Laborers, backs bent to hard work, wonder at their stations.
Fat cat facial creams, from foreskins of clipped boy babies, abound.

What's that sound? Disgust, don't let it rust. Grab it. Hold it. Know it.
There's a sickness plagues the lands. Swift, he understood
irony like nobody else could. And, Irish babies would
make headlines break: Feed'em to the rich, poverty sows it.

Take your disgust, do something useful with it. Stand up, shout out,
don't let them, don't let us, do anything that reeks of genocide.
The false promise of GMO killing us--worker bees--we die by pesticide.
We've got to, regardless whose stocks wilt. Greedsters: we must rout out.

And now, you know why. We are us and them and my heart
breaks for a world filled with dividing lines. It's no place to start.
But, it's the only place we've ever been--divided.
We know yet how to cleave to one another--united.

The broken hearts, the lovers who've lost, the parents, the children,
the families without, these hearts mend, then grow to love again.
So, too, can we, me and you, as we plant the seeds for prosperity
and tend the gardens with our tears until the rains aren't a rarity.

~Monique Finley
4-13-2013

Current Events Round Table at 7poundbag.com

That's right folks, back at it with the guys at 7poundbag.com! Just click the latest link to the April 5th, 2013 Current Events Round Table. These weeks topics include: Hillary Clinton's potential 2016 presedential candidacy, Caroline Kennedy's being tapped for ambassador to Japan, James Holmes' not guilty plea, and more.

While you're over there, don't forget to check out some of their other Round Tables. They cover a couple of different sport topics, as well as music and movies. Ah, just check'em out for yourself. ;)

Public Confidence in Smart Technology, Modern Economics, and the Great Swindle

In recent years, there's been a surge in consumer dissatisfaction with large companies and their bedfellows, large governments. Revolving door policies and light or no repurcussions for the perpetrators of the worst economic fraud in history have chiseled away at the public's confidence in the abilities of both mega-corporations and governments to make decisions on the behalf of the people.

The current manifestation of our collective reality is one more frightening than any known population has ever before endured. Or so the historic record says. The closest we can come to historical records of some prior society dealing with something similar involve the ancient tales of the gods flying around destroying everything. Fortunately, we know that technology does not a god make, regardless of the fool who screams otherwise. Of course, with nuclear warheads, heat-seeking missiles, and satellite imagery, one might make analogies (I'll try to refrain).

Today, we have technological capabilities that in some cases surpass that which science fiction has hinted at and in other cases barely breaches the surface of what science fiction hopes to portray. We have computational devices that also act as communication or entertainment devices; they fit in our hands and we carry them in purses and pockets. The statutory GPS and e911 systems insure the devices can be tracked at all times (within the tracking zone - cell towers). Every year the established coverage area increases in size as more rural areas are incorporated within the service areas owned and operated by mega-corporations under charter from the federal, state, and local governements.

The progress we've made in wireless communication has directly impacted the inherent daily value of landlines (i.e. wired telephones); unless of course there's a natural disaster, in which case, the resilience of payphones and landlines are well-proven and cellphones, not so much. Needless to say, the recent invention of the smartphone and the touch screen has ushered human understanding of communication into an whole new sphere of what is possible and how quickly it is possible. That wide-spread understanding collectively sees payphones as obsolete.

Some companies have stepped into the playing field by introducing modernized payphones which offer video calling, internet connection, voice calling, and a credit card reader to accept usage payments. I have no idea how these modernized phones would hold up in a natural disaster, but it'll be interesting to find out (no worries, I'll update).

Meanwhile, the Librarian of Congress, a non-elected official, declared it illegal for Americans to free their cell phones from the locks carriers sneak into our phones. The decree included what is clearly an unjust punishment for any who dare free their purchased property. The punishment: a felony, five years imprisonment, and $500,000 fine. More importantly, where does he get off decreeing anything? This ain't a monarchy. He's supposed to help enforce congressional acts, he's not congress, he doesn't get to make laws. Freeing the phone from the monoplistic hands of cell carriers is a right of consumers.

One might speculate that the wireless carriers are less worried about unauthorized access to copyrighted material and more worried about forcing people to stay customers if they want to keep using their phones. Since smart devices are integral to modern society, one might conclude that wireless carriers and the Librarian of Congress (et al.) are less interested in finding ways to increase customer loyalty, than they are in strong-arming customers into retaining a service they no longer desire.

The myriad uses of a smartphone within the ever expanding frontier of web applications has created a boom in sharing knowledge and tools on the fly. As long as you're "in network" and "paid-in-full" you can access the world wide web in the palm of your hand. There even exists open source wifi applications that allow one to download applications to freely utilize open wifi sources. Some of these applications even give users their own phone numbers.

Every time we switch carriers and purchase a new phone, we're playing into their scheme. And, every time we unlock our phone before switching carriers, we're excercising the right to not spend needlessly. If a phone owner knows how to unlock their phone, then they're technologically advanced enough to understand that the phone's warranty may be voided. A do-it-yourself kind of person has the option to use their property as they see fit, so, if they're good with voiding the warranty, then the device manufacturer has no further obligations; either way that has nothing to do with the service carrier. Besides which, many manufacturers are notorious for not honoring their warranties, which means the do-it-yourself person ought not worry about wasting precious time waiting on the manufacturer to decide.

The thing that pisses me off about this is that no one has their computer locked to a specific internet carrier, a smartphone is a tiny ass computer, why was it locked in the first fucking place? Corporate bottomlines, that's why. Public officials and big businesses promote the portable devices as computers, we use them as computers, so, why the fuck is the Librarian of Congress suddenly changing position on the issue of unlocking phones and ordering punishments that do not fit the crimes?

One reason all should be upset with this blatant attack on the people: it's also an assualt on our small businesses. Smartphones now afford small business owners the ability to accept credit card payments pretty much anywhere, which also zeroes the costs of purchasing bulky credit card machines (leasing and maintenance). If a small business owner gets their phone set up perfectly, but later decides to switch phone carriers, they shouldn't have to worry about transferring their information to a new phone; unless, of course, they want to upgrade their phone.
_____

The issue of smartphone legality is merely one aspect of a much larger societal problem dealing with product creation, consumability and repairability. For corporations to receive uprecedented profits, year after year, consumers must purchase at uprecedented levels and governments must subsidize corporations. Since the global economic meltdown, some have termed the Great Recession, consumer spending fell, unemployment rose, and government subsidizing of corporations was extended and expanded to unimagined levels. A few factors that negate unprecedented consumer spending: consumers had no jobs, no savings, no retirement, and no way to recover what they had before the bubble burst and the Great Swindle was revealed. Oh, and let's not forget, the biggest stimulus package in the history of the United States was given, not to the taxpayers, but to the swindlers themselves, the very banks that engaged in felonious behavior.

The politicians, bankers, and speculators? Well, they kept on politicking, banking, and speculating, their sins buried in the filth, corruption, and cronyism that permeates through every financial and government district in every part of the world. Their guilt written in the blood of slave laborers; written in the sweat of families foreclosed upon and forcefully evicted by the local police; written in the disillusionment of the police, firefighters, EMS, and teachers whose pensions, paychecks, and union protections were attacked from one side of the nation to the next; written in the LGBT lives lost to homophobia and transphobia in the workplace, the marketplace; written in the tears of women told what to do with their bodies; written in the painful tumors of cancer, PTSD, and fibromyalgia patients who might have experienced relief or cure from medicinal marijuana; written in the lives of American soldiers and Middle Eastern civilians murdered over opium and oil.

So deep does their guilt run, their fortunes all should be confiscated and used to provide services to the people they swindled, the remainder of their lives spent in prison, their children left without inheritance, their estates made into homeless shelters. Every day of their lives in prison they ought to work for pennies pressing license plates, dodging through general population just praying that no one within those walls holds a grudge or a shank. And, should any of them choose the gentleman's way out, suicide is a time honored tradition that their great grandfathers participated in (or, ought to have) after the crash of 1929.

Of course, I doubt any of these douchebags will grow a conscience and suddenly experience absolute remorse over their roll in devastating the economy and causing mass homelessness and unemployment. Which is precisely why the politicians ought to do their damn jobs and seek punishment of all guilty parties, of course, politicians are just as guilty. The perpetrators are psychopaths that don't feel remorse, as such they have to be brought to justice. Unfortunately, our justice system has been hijacked by cronies of the perpetrators (also psychopaths). As such, it remains up to the people to vote, to replace the old blood with new blood, to reject the long-known political families, to elect the younger generation of unknowns, the third party activists. The poor.

Americans have a duty to stand up against economic tyrants who derail our country and poison our people, our food supplies. Every time the government squashes personal freedom in the name of safety, security, or corporate rights, the people's inalienable right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is directly attacked. The people are guinea pigs testing products, pharmecuteical and street drugs, GMO frankenfoods, pesticides, plastics. Our bodies have reacted negatively, cancers and autoimmune diseases play evolutionary games with antibiotics as new strains resistant to old cures find their way into our blood streams, where they cross the blood-brain barrier and lodge their pernicious cells into our minds, before circling back to our hearts. Eaten alive from the inside as tumors spread.

Worse, yet, we've done it to ourselves, because our ancestors did it to themselves and kindly passed the tradition on to us. We are the loyal employees of testing companies, pharmaceutical companies, GMO R&D companies, oil companies, banks, police, military. We are the politicians, the bankers, the big industry policy shakers, the cashiers, the janitors, the site managers. It may feel just to point a finger, to place blame, to point out fraud and claim corruption. In cases where fraud and corruption have occured, it is just. Duty wont allow the finger pointing to stop there. Culpability covers a vast spectrum of humanity when the economic swindle of the world is revealed. The banking system, the players, the backers, the investors, the depositors, the debitors, the debitees: these are you and me and everyone participating in a fiat currency fiduciary system. The dutiful would recognize they've been duped into supporting the very tyranny they would dedicate a lifetime to fight against.

The sudden shift in public confidence evidences the awakening of the sleeping giant, the great wave of humanity's collective consciousness recognizing worldwide injustice, communicating culture and farce, providing humanitarian aid as well as fighting genocide. We were once warned that America is a "sleeping giant." The people of every country, of every nation are sleeping giants. And, unlike Cyclops, when they come out of slumber, wipe the sleep from their eyes, and take a look around, they'll not only see clearly, they'll also see potential solutions. One cannot fix a problem without fully examining the problem. If one doesn't know that there is a problem, one is not in a position to examine, nor to fix the problem.    





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On Perspectives - An Unedited & Uncensored One-Sided Dialogue

When's the last time your jaw dropped and your eyes buldged over something someone else did or said? Can you put yourself in that moment? Do you recall your perspective as you stood there perplexed by your observation(s)? Were you alone, with a handful of people, or in a crowd? In other words, how many witnesses? Did you remain locked in place watching, did you move to stop it, or did you leave to get others as further witnesses? If you remained in place, why? Same question to those who tried to stop it or left to gather witnesses, why?

Can you see the person(s) clearly? The one(s) who caused that confused expression to mold your face for the duration of the event and some time there after? What thoughts and accompanying actions might have led to unsaid person(s) behaving in such a way? Can you find any rationality in the act(s)? Yes, I'm asking you to rationalize the behavior of the person who caused your perplextion.

We know you were thinking: What The Fuck? But, the far more interesting question is: what was their rationalization for such behavior? To examine what the fuck might cause a person to behave in ways that others find confusing requires that we rationalize the behaviors of the confusing person, those around us, and ourselves. Recall again that situation. Can you rationalize it? If yes, was your initial confusion an issue of assumed appropriateness? The other witnesses (if any), did they register similar expressions? Would you care to speculate on the rational behind their expressions if shared? If not shared?

Can you rationalize your reaction during that confusing moment? Have you now rationalized every aspect of the moment? Can you see it from these different angles? Compare the rationalities, the sides, if you will. In your esteem, was the behavior more or less rational than the reaction? We're reactionaries: our faces, our bodies tell more than our words. We are a self-policing species utilizing facial expressions for unconsciously and instantaneously communicating approval or disapproval. We use this ability most effectively in social settings and rather pointlessly when alone.

If you would, apply Newton's Three Laws of Motion to the situation.
The first law: An object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an external force. An object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force.
The second law: Change in motion depends on the magnitude of the force and the mass of the object.
The third law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

How does each law effect the "more or less rational" determinations you just made? Were all sides equally subject to the Newtonian physics of the moment? Is it not amazing that people are simultaneously forces and objects each acting upon and being acted on by others? Our lives are but a series of situtaions whereby we are objects and forces. We either act or are acted on.

Newton's laws do not account for people as objects that are also forces. Though he does near the subject in explaining how most objects become forces, this does not explain forces that decide to become objects or objects that decide to become forces. In this sense, people are exceptions to Newton's laws, as the laws apply to that which cannot make a decision regarding its state of motion, an object. For an object change in motion comes from an external force. For a person, change in motion comes from both external and internal forces.

Can you recognize that initial reaction always falls under Newton's laws, while further action is not subject to those laws precisely because people can decide to act contrary to their initial reaction? Does it not speak volumes to you that a person can negate Newton's laws of physics by changing their mind regarding an action or inaction?

The ability to suddenly change perspective and thus action may come as a surprise to some, but all people are quite capable of it. So, the next time you're in one of those awkward situations where your initial reaction comes equipped with a look of bewilderment, recall your ability to negate physics, take a moment to rationalize the situation, and if appropriate change your perspective.

3rd and 4th Current Events Round Table with 7poundbag.com

(*UPDATE: Annoying white background now removed. Apologies all.)

Alright, here it is...this time, a two-fer:

6 Feb 2013
The panel discusses Iran nuclear talks, the budget deficit, Jodi Arias, and more.
http://7poundbag.com/2013/02/06/current-events-2613/

and, don't forget:

19 Feb 2013
The panel responds to the State of the Union, Pope Bendedict’s resignation, and being openly gay in MMA - Controversy?
http://7poundbag.com/2013/02/19/current-events-21913/

Big thank you to the guys over at 7poundbag.com! It's been a pleasure participating in the Current Events panel! Looking forward to the next round.

2nd Current Event Roundtable with 7poundbag.com

Hey all!

I'm a couple days late getting this out to you, but we're here now!

The guys over at 7poundbag.com welcomed me back for their second Current Events Roundtable! Hit the link to it check out.

This week we discuss gun control legislation, assault weapons bans, Lance Armstrong on Oprah, and the Inauguration.

First Ever Current Event Round Table on 7poundbag.com

Hey All!

David and the fellows over at 7poundbag.com asked me to participate in their first ever Current Events Round Table! I thought it was a groovy idea, so, I threw in my two cents. They've got an awesome site where they write on various subjects. Check them out!

I'll update you all when their second Current Events Round Table comes out this week.

Keep on rockin', y'all!
~Monique