American Realities...

Photo: Joakim Eskildsen

Actually, I'm not the greatest Joakim Eskildsen fan. I have The Roma Journeys, and while most of the photos are perfectly... OK, most of them really don't light my fire. I bought it primarily because of the half dozen or so photos that I saw online and imagined the rest to be as good, but (for me) the book just didn't follow through visually (purchased online). Truth be told, I bought it for the photo of the guy in the tub- I had to have the guy in the tub. He still makes me smile just thinking of him.

But I am, very much, looking forward to American Realities.* Personal aesthetic preferences aside, Eskildsen is one very thorough photographer, who once again looks like he went into this project to break it down not just visually, but sociologically, to give us a more intimate, accurate and nuanced portrayal of how far our once common American Dream has dissipated and deteriorated. Besides, I already see a coupla photos I just have to have...  *(not yet out)

Photo: Joakim Eskildsen

Sunday Meditation

9/21/14 NYC- Photo: © S. Banos

Democrats held up their hands and caved in Congress, held up at gun point by Big Banks on the same day the people took to the streets, hands held high protesting police killing after police killing throughout the country. And amidst it all, does anyone dare hope?                     

Minimum Wage/Maximum Outrage- From Debt To Death

Maria Fernandes

There are those who seek to better themselves through sheer force of will, working as many jobs and as many hours (often at minimum wage) as their bodies will endure. The constant physical wear involved in multiple jobs combined with the challenges of raising a family leaves many a parent with little time to rest, sleep or stabilize themselves long enough to maintain their physical, as well as psychological well being. Domestic abuse, addiction, and other stress and chronic health related issues all come to manifest themselves as a result of this physical and psychic abuse. Forget success, hard work and determination at minimum wage can't even cover the rent, and only guarantee perpetual slavery to a system designed to ensure just that. Sometimes, as in the case of Maria Fernandes, the result is the new face of economic martyrdom- the once proud American Dream reduced to the nightmare of premature death.

But what of education, Stan? Surely someone who's had some years in the teaching biz cannot deny the age old ladder towards upward mobility? Going through all the hoops against all odds from ghetto to mainstream for acceptance into jobs that are simply no longer there is bad enough, now the final insult has been firmly nailed in place with prohibitive tuition costs and for profit schools that are pledged to keep you in a world of debt before you even enter it.

I don't know how many new capitalist ploys will yet be introduced to squeeze every last remaining crumb and penny from those who can least afford it, for those who least need it- but fear not, they're working scheming on it...

The First 9/11

One of the major differences one can draw between Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, and Henry Kissinger and the CIA, is that bin Laden first warned the US of dire consequences to come should they not withdraw their troops from his native country. Kissinger (or Nixon) gave no such warning- nor was any transgression against the US ever made by Salvador Allende's Chile.

We installed and supported a terrorist who killed thousands of his own people, and decades later attacked yet another country whose leader, interestingly enough, we first supported, and then tired of- all before we decided to kill hundreds of thousands of that country's men, women and children, for no reason whatsoever.

And yet to this day, we continue to call others "TERRORISTS" without shame, without hesitation, without the slightest pretense of self awareness...

Like It Is...

Photo: S. Banos

Remember when the US would look down on banana republics for their overt political corruption and incompetency? And when you're young (or ignorant), you just figure those people are just incapable of anything better- often ignoring the fact that those are the very same institutions we would so often prop up and maintain to our benefit. Well, it seems we got so good at it, we pretty much established one right here at home...             -Update.    --X2.

Hypocrisy Unbound (cont.)

Obama's hypocrisy goes from murderously shameful, to... downright petty.

Hypocrisy Unbound

What do you do if you're President (particularly one pledged to "transparency" and human rights) and you just found out that you're responsible for the deaths of 21 children and fourteen women (five of them pregnant) with a simple wave of your hand. Do you at the very least accept responsibility for your action, at least attempt to make amends, and discontinue the policy that led to such a horrific event? Or do you attempt to cover up (by committing further wrongs) as the criminals in charge before you? And carry on as usual...   More here.

The American Scheme

 

Credit card debt rose by 53% during the '90s for the middle class; for the working poor, it rose by 184%. Not because of a sudden increase in consumer greed, but because of the wholesale elimination of living wage jobs replaced with minimum and P/T employment w/o benefits.    Photo: S. Banos

Unless you make a minimum of 50Gs a year, you're little more than a shit stain in this country. And I oughta know, just like so many of my fellow Americans who live on half that. It means you live paycheck to paycheck, counting every damn penny, buying necessities on credit, with no chance of ever quite catching up- no chance of ever breathing a sigh of blessed relief. Actually, in many ways I am truly lucky, I have some modicum of health benefits- more importantly, I have no dependents to feed and worry about. 

This documentary, which follows the lives of two families over twenty years, exposes what has now become largely myth- that the American worth ethic will determine your success. It is no longer sage advice, simple logic or even common sense- it is now the exception to the rule. Your toil will no longer set you free, your dedication and perseverance simply prolongs your survival. The robust economy of yesteryear was never at the mercy of welfare queens driving pink Cadillacs as Reagan would have had us believe, just as it is not the victim of illegal immigrants today. Plentiful, decent paying jobs have been purposely dissipated overseas, along with our dreams, our benefits, and the billions of tax dollars that banks, corporations and CEOs once invested in this country. On any given day you can stand and watch the container ships from China parade under the Golden Gate in the beautiful California sunlight loaded with the economic bounty that was once ours. We are no longer meant to share in this country's great bounty, we are simply the means to increase that bounty for those already enriched.

The American Dream now exists solely as just that, an unattainable goal for the masses, a leftover legacy held high above our heads to first delude us, and ultimately, to shame us when we fall short in a system that is now largely rigged.

 When will we ever wake up?

Watch Two American Families on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

God Bless Edward Snowdon

"I had been looking for leaders, but I realised that leadership is about being the first to act."    

-- Edward Snowdon

He had it all. He could have easily kept his well paying job, his beautiful beyond words girl friend, and his successful lifestyle and career. No one ever threatened him, no one ever pressured him in the slightest, and there was certainly no prize to be had when all was said and done. He didn't have to do anything but continue living his rather fortunate life, unscathed and unconcerned- and yet act he did, and for the right reason... not that most people will ever give a flying fuck that he did it for them.

And now he must forever look behind his back for the remainder of his young life, looking back at a life that was once his.

"I will never feel safe," he said. "Things are very difficult for me in all terms, but speaking truth to power is never without risk."

Particularly when  hypocrisy in the realm of power knows no bounds...

Dirty Wars...

"The American Taliban- that is what we call the American soldiers with beards." 
--Afghan grandfather who had half his family killed (mistakenly) by American Special Ops

One has to wonder if the dozens, hundreds, thousands of new enemies we create every single time we kill innocent men, women and children all over the world is the real goal all along- a never ceasing supply of potential enemies the world over to feed the perpetual war machine ad infinitum!?!? An endless stream of money for the merchants of death- Gen. Smedley Butler's War Is A Racket on remote control steroids...

"Because Canada Doesn't Want It..."

Their own environmental disaster of near biblical proportions that is...  Yes, sir! May I have another!?

Scary...

Very scary when an absolute son of a bitch like Putin comes out in favor of transparency, in favor of exposing a life threatening practice that the US (ie- Obama) silently condones, and that has the power to so negatively affect the health and lives of not just its own citizens- but of people worldwide.

And not a blink from major media...

Obama: Exposed And Corrupted

Watching something like this makes me want to lash out and become as lawless, ruthless and criminally irresponsible as possible. In other words it inspires me to become every bit as criminally flagrant and opportunistic as the big banks, and every bit as negligent and thoroughly corrupt and hypocritical as the DOJ under the auspices of President Obama.

This administration, which swore to greater transparency, this administration that was voted into power under the guise of  justice, has effectively made the very word not only a joke (the prior administration saw to that) but a concept that can no longer be aspired to, or realized- certainly not for the remainder of his term. He has run that concept into the very ground, well beyond the reach and redemption of his most eloquent of speeches. He has taken America's greatest opportunity to lead, and perverted it into a sad, self serving mockery. And for that he cannot be excused.

Watch The Untouchables on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Guantanamo: Let The Dying Begin!

I’ve been detained at Guantánamo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial.   -Samir Naji al Hasan Moobel

Wasn't this nation expressly conceived and created to permanently abolish the very possibility of such living nightmares?

Over half the people there have been cleared for release. They have committed no crime, done no wrong- they know it, we know it. And yet we continue to imprison them in a living hell: without the slightest modicum of justice, without the slightest opportunity for hope. 

Basically, they have been told that we have committed such an egregious and fundamental error that admitting to it, even acknowledging it, would be such a monumental admission of guilt, that we simply could not endure the consequences of such embarrassment. Therefore, it was decided that it was in our best interest that they technically do not exist and should just die, quietly and well out of sight. All that we ask of them is that they do not do anything to draw attention to themselves.

Obama- this is on you...

It's Finally Over...

Benito Juarez

Wish I could gloat- but living in a non battleground state, I voted Jill Stein (Green Party) for President. Anyway, we can now all safely return to the joys of drug commercials for geriatric old farts like me, while eating our tumor inducing, genetically modified organisms.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party has to figure out how the hell they're gonna win anything on a national level when they can no longer rely on all the White men in the country to buy them the vote. The changing demographics in the US of A puts them in one helluva predicament- without letting in the very people they so absolutely abhor (all those nasty, yucky people the color of the earth), they won't be able to win the big ones. Maybe I can gloat after all...

And congratulations- Elizabeth Warren!

Wiping It Off Here, Boss!

Remember that line from Cool Hand Luke? The Democratic Party pissed in the faces of their own constituency during their own convention as the latter proceeded to wipe, forget and forgive. Fortunately, this Stan chose to write about it- and if you haven't already, treat yourself and catch his blog TYWKIWDBI... 

TOP(PED)!

I submitted this photo (containing approx. 8 security cameras) to Mike Johnston at TOP as a "counter balance" (if such is the appropriate term) to his post Friday concerning how we as photographers (professional and otherwise) continue to be unduly harassed by "authorities" (of what I'm not quite sure), as we go about doing what we are legally and unquestionably allowed to do. So I was quite honored to have it suddenly appear in a Random Excellence post...

Photo: S. Banos

I've always looked upon our flag with mixed emotions- proud for all the great good it inevitably stands for, shamed for all the... well, undeniable evil perpetrated in its name not only upon its own citizens, but on those of countless other countries. Of course, most citizens either conveniently choose to dismiss or deny the latter (eg- racism, economic enslavement both foreign and domestic, wars of convenience, etc). If only the average citizen was as aware of the abhorrent injustices committed in our name to this day as they are of the everyday occurrences of their favorite celebrities and sport teams! Still, I've always tried to maintain some small semblance of hope that America would continue to improve, if only by increment. Americans after all, like most people anywhere, are a generally generous and decent lot.

I wish I could be as proud, as confident, as hopeful for the future as that young father posing with his infant child! I suppose parenthood demands it. But optimism is no longer part of my outlook, and I'm not even talking economy. Basic liberties and cherished civic guarantees are gradually and purposely being eroded and eradicated- and they are as nothing compared to the sacrilege we have savaged upon our environment.

Cliche as it may be, and is, even the most cursory acquaintance with history will reveal our growing and undeniable parallels with The Roman Empire, particularly the part labelled- The Fall. Our obsession with celebrity and spectacle, consumerism and self have deluded and blinded us to the inevitable consequences of our own actions.

The roar of the Coliseum beckons...

The Price Of Inequality...

Goes well with this...

"Overwhelming Evidence Of Massive Criminal Behavior"

More On Target Than Any Drone Strike...

                                       

UPDATE:  One of the things that Mr. Colbert reminds us of (for those outside the US who can't watch the above) is that Mr. Obama has cleverly labeled all males of military age that are killed in drone attacks as "enemy combatants" (just as anyone at Comicon is probably a virgin), thus greatly reducing the random "collateral damage" his attacks incur. As for the all the innocent women and children who are also blown to bits- well, errr, ummm... over to you, Mr. Haviv!