Facing Our Own Mortality, Our Death

Obey, based on Chris Hedges' "Death of the Liberal Class." Facing my own mortality I select the artistic representation of Hedges' work as he says it better than I ever could.

Sadly, a quarrelsome crowd of so called community activists are trying to frame local politics as versions of the corrupt corporate power exposed in the clip. We have the good fortune of dedicated civil servants.  Their reward is character assassination via ideologues uninterested in real solutions or real dialog.  I have been too ill recently to take this on and it breaks my heart. We have very real and eminent corporate power to be fighting, to be monitoring, to be holding accountable. And, our most important goal of recruiting Encinitas citizens to engage in civic activities, to learn about our government and how to make our individual sills contribute to the public good?  How are we doing there?  The council is doing an incredible job.  The angry crowd is driving good people away. Community FAIL.

New Propaganda

Documentarian John Pilger writes:

What is modern propaganda? For many, it is the lies of a totalitarian state. In the 1970s, I met Leni Riefenstahl and asked her about her epic films that glorified the Nazis. Using revolutionary camera and lighting techniques, she produced a documentary form that mesmerized Germans; her Triumph of the Will cast Hitler's spell. 

She told me that the "messages" of her films were dependent not on "orders from above" but on the "submissive void" of the German public. Did that include the liberal, educated bourgeoisie? "Everyone," she said. 

Today, we prefer to believe that there is no submissive void. "Choice" is ubiquitous. Phones are "platforms" that launch every half-thought. There is Google from outer space if you need it. Caressed like rosary beads, the precious devices are borne heads-down, relentlessly monitored and prioritized. Their dominant theme is the self. Me. My needs. Riefenstahl's submissive void is today's digital slavery. [editor emphasis.]

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Number of the Day = 300

The richest 300 people on earth have the same wealth as the poorest 3 billion. This is no accident - those in power write the rules. Together, we have the power to change those rules.

The extreme truth about how wealth is divided globally. Inspired by the amazing "Wealth Inequality in America" video.

According to Mary: Developer

Shame on Senate

H/T Ad agency: Grey, NYC via Mock, Paper, Scissors