Is it Time for Liberals and Progressives to Arm Themselves?

Now that the right has filled the supreme court with right wing thugs, the time has come for liberals to accept that democracy, the rule of law, and so forth no longer exists in America. There are those who argue that it never existed, but I think their arguments are, frankly, irrelevant. Many Americans *believed* that they lived in a flawed democracy, but now no one could possibly believe that. Its just a dictatorship set up for and by the rich.

People have secured their rights in this country in the past by fighting for them, and I don’t mean that in a symbolic or “representational democracy” sort of way. No I mean standing in a picket line and getting their heads beat up by thugs who are supported by our government. I mean the bonus marchers murdered for protesting their treatment at the hands of the government. I mean riots in the cities when the FBI murdered Martin Luther King (not their first murder). I mean protesting with violence when an innocent man or woman is raped in prison, beaten around the head and shoulders and then “hung himself” in his cell.

Nothing is more American than violence. Nothing is more American than the rich using the government to destroy the rights of the poor in order to get more money.

So is it time for liberals and progressives to arm themselves?  This is a very controversial topic and I do not have the answer to that.  I can argue either point of view all day long and get nowhere.  So lets just say it *may* be time to buy firearms, a great American tradition, and ask a few questions.  That will be reserved for the next post on the topic.

Yes, I know this is an upsetting and controversial topic.  Hey, not my fault.  Stay tuned! Things are just getting interesting.

You Dont Talk to Nazis

A reminder of why it is useless to talk to Nazis.

Infrastructure and Other Annoying Topics

There are several issues here and they are pretty annoying, they all come from poverty. A short version says that I have several different needs and not all fit any one computer. At the end of the day it seems to be something like this: a laptop capable of driving 4K graphics in real time (think going on location to a planetarium dome), a server capable of serious rendering and some machine learning, a display for reviewing images with some color integrity (not much, but some, see Eizo CS2730), a display for previewing 4K real time and doing development, a half dozen or more (or maybe just one) radio/computer controlled drones for testing, with associated infrastructure, a projector for a variety of purposes in public display and projection mapping, decent camera and lens, and the ability to attend perhaps 3-4 (?) conferences or shows, some of them international.

It is going to be tough. I am way out of date on some topics, less so on others. I have tentatively determined to try and work my way through maybe a half dozen subjects, all based around a text or two per subject, probably drawn from the texts used in entry level CS PhD programs at (for example) a place like Stanford CS. The Pharr book on physically based rendering is one such book. At the very least, a book/course on machine learning, presumably fundamental algorithms, and some others. Simulation of cities, society, and late-stage predatory capitalism? Computational biology? Original sin and the Fall from Grace? Modern sensors and explosives in public places? Kayaking? Burning Man?

"A man alone is easy prey", said Clint Eastwood in one of his movies. He went on to say that "a good man always knows his limitations", but in context it is meant as an insult.

Sadistic (Ex-) Friends

As many of you know, I recently experienced a very disturbing example of "kiss up, kick down" in which an old friend unleashed a flurry of emails at me listing all the ways I fell short, in his humble opinion.

Most of these shortcomings were false, but some were the necessary result of poverty.  In other words, it is true that the poor can not compete in most ways with the rich, so what?

But what was his motivation for this?  What was it all about?  My conclusion is that my friend of 30 years, a successful entertainment industry executive, is simply a sadist.  At some point, my number was up, and he decided to fuck me because he thought it was fun.

I mean, why not?  There is no downside to messing with me.  Like pulling wings off flies.

The Role of Violence in Achieving Social Justice

draft

A friend wants an example where violence ever resulted in anything positive.  How about the civil rights movement, the labor movement, the voting rights movement, the post WW 1 veterans movement, the American Revolution and World War II?

The best explanation I have heard for why the rich allowed the poor and middle classes to advance between 1917 - 1970 was because of genuine fear of violent revolution.  Once that fear went away, they returned to their previous policy of "we get everything, you get nothing".

This is certainly not an original idea.

Mike Amron To the Rescue

Mike drove my car to Santa Barbara where, as you all know, I am studying to be a priest.  Thank you Michael!

This is not his best picture, but he did not want his picture in my blog so I had to take what I could. I wonder if I have any other pictures on my phone?

My guess is that Mike is afraid to be associated with me, and that he only helped out for the money.

Why The Hulk Refuses to Appear in Avengers: Infinity Wars

For those reading this blog in the future, we are in the interim between the third Avengers movie and the fourth.  There are many unanswered questions about what happened and what will happen.  This post is of course a spoiler.

There are many theories about why Hulk does not want to appear and fight in Avengers: Infinity Wars, but I believe I have a special insight.  People want him around to fight their battles, but then they want him to go away and turn into Bruce Banner.  In other words, they dont really love him, they love the other guy.  They just use him now and then.

Well, this pisses him off.  Wouldnt it piss you off?  I am guessing the Hulk is saying No, love me and have me, or dont love me and not have me.  Your choice.

Thats my theory.

What Everyone In the South Knows (about the Supreme Court Decision)

I am from the South (Virginia, with time in Los Angeles) and anyone in the South would know immediately what the latest so-called Supreme Court decision means. But you might not, having grown up perhaps in a more genteel part of the world, so please forgive me if I mention something you might already know.

There have been dozens of variations on the Ohio law that the Supreme Court upheld, and they all had one purpose and one purpose only. It was to keep poor people, particular N-words, but certainly other groups as well including "poor white trash" and Puerto Ricans, and others, from voting. Period. End of story. There is a lot of history here. You and I might not know it all, but I promise you, everyone on the Supreme Court does. And anyone in the South would immediately know what this decision means.

Unambiguously, we have a racist supreme court.

Wells Fargo and Class Action Settlements

I had a wonderful conversation with a "banker" at Wells Fargo at 877 924 8697 about whether or not Wells Fargo had opened any accounts in my name.  Why they would not know that already and arrange to return any money is of course, typical corporate bullshit and theft.  But we checked and there is no unauthorized account in my name (didnt think there was, really) so I cant claim any money on the class action settlement.

What I really want of course is for their CEO who retired with $120 Million, coincidentally nearly the amount of the class action settlement, to give all that money to charity, but that will never happen in America where the rich live by one rules and exploit the rest of us.

The New and Future Blog

I cant decide what should be the purpose of this blog.  Positive? Negative? Honesty to the point of self-defeating behavior?  Marketing?  Half empty?  Half full?

Test of New Blog Approach

This is a test to see if typing directly into Blogger will result in acceptable formatting.  If so, it will greatly facilitate writing this blog given that the previous infrastructure is gone with the wind.