Reposted From Rant/Rave Blog

It seems that it is always in the best interest of those who wish to remain in power to use men and their gifts, their labor. It allows them to remain faceless while casting a brighter-than-necessary light on their minions - our neighbors. There is a mild complex of self-hatred that moves through us, evident in such actions as our viciousness toward the leader we chose twice to represent us to the world, the balancing act of our relentless pursuit of physical and emotional vanity standing alongside our innate cultural desire to destroy our bodies and the very environment that could save us.

We will always complain about being told what to do when, unfortunately, doing as we're told is the greatest skill we seem to be able to offer. Whether a barrel-chested collector for a frontier bank during the Great Depression or a mind above minds from M.I.T. working for the next start-up to "change how we ___", as Bob Dylan once sang, "You gotta serve somebody." The right to marry, healthcare for the uninsured, which war to fight - these are all worthy discussions to be had. The common man is not having them, however. These are debated and chewed on by those with degrees from schools that do not teach your story, those with homes you are not welcome in, those who would not shake your hand but for your vote and the even more valuable fire and brimstone you will rain down on those who oppose them.

They don't always like us. We tend to complain, carp about things that we do not understand. Look at it this way - even a young politician eager to change the status quo must be mentored in the dos and don'ts of the game. And who more qualified to look after and nurture the New Guard but the Old Guard? This is one of the most fundamental reasons why things have fundamentally remained unchanged. At times, those who benefit from our labor - politicians, our bosses, our civil servants - play on our fears of each other. These fears are too weak and feeble to even call hatred. Hatred is an acquired taste available only to those who know their adversary well. We tend to be swing wildly in the dark at obstacles with big names and little effect on our daily lives, hitting only our neighbors in the process.

We are sometimes remiss in acquiring all the details and they use this to their advantage. "Anyone who is not on your side is wrong, as long as you're on our side." They are children trying to sneak money from the purse or wallet of their dim-witted Mom or Dad, and they are good at it.

In every poll there is a word missing. A word that would transform these lists of "concerns" and "desires" of "the people". The word is Survival. What are the most important issues for the survival of America? What are the major concerns for the survival of the human species? Nah, those questions are a bummer. We are not fools - we just play them on T.V. In the end, we know how tails wag dogs and what's in the Kool-Aid. A marionette knows there are strings stapled into its back, but what is its use without them? The men who built this country went to great lengths, considerable debate, and indulged themselves in a tremendous amount of thought to practically "unionize" the citizens of this nation. We used to call them the "Founding Fathers", but now they are "The Framers of the Consitution". Maybe this is because a frame may be all that will be left soon.

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There's been a lot of talk these days of reinstating the military draft here in the United States, with major news outlets (including Newsweek) polling the public and providing op-ed pieces on the subject. Proponents of the draft speak to a desire to right the wrongs of the Vietnam draft and the exceptions that were made for the priviledged, promising a more balanced program that will draw evenly from the population.

As soon as one sits down to figure out how to force citizens to fight wars, the first point of priority has to be deciding who will not be subject to the rules. Will we draft those who have fought and struggled over generations for equality, such as women, physically handicapped citizens, and homosexuals? To exclude these groups who, in their private lives, have contributed fully and wholeheartedly to society could be an irreparable mistake. On the other hand, to include a proportional amount of these populations can easily make our military look desparate in an age where public perception is as important as it has ever been.

The most significant problem with the draft is the draft itself. The concept itself can come across as an admission of defeat in the government's battle to win the hearts and minds of its own citizens. Where is the spirit of democracy in a plan that would legally force a society to fight battles they may not feel should be fought? This isn't a wholesale condemnation of the idea, just a strong disagreement with it.

In the days, weeks, months, and years following September 11, 2001, scores of Americans found themselves compelled to provide their minds and bodies to serve their government and its attempts to secure the interests of the U.S. against tyranny and terrorism. Our military was being stocked by a new "Coalition of the Willing" - volunteers. I truly believe that if the American people are educated on both sides of the issues our country is involved in, we will offer ourselves and our skills to assist in the conflicts we feel are most righteous.

With roughly 160,000 troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's difficult to avoid the question - "How many more do you want?" Maybe things have changed over the years, but I've found that people are a lot less inclined to give their all in work they're forced to do. The first time a child of a member of Congress is given an exception, there's going to be Hell to pay. Thing is, since Congress writes the laws, how many members do you think will allow their children to face the same fate as yours?

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Last month, Radiohead made its new release, "In Rainbows", available for download and allowed fans to choose their own price. Although the album was virtually free, "In Rainbows" was the most illegally-downloaded album in its first week of release. Now, a study by comScore Inc. has been released that claims that roughly 38% of those who downloaded the album actually paid for it - an average of $6 per purchase. Much has been made of these figures in the mainstream and Internet press with many suggesting that the "pay-what-you-want" model was a failure for Radiohead. Far from it.

The "In Rainbows" website has had roughly 1.2 million visitors (you'll notice that almost every other blog is reporting this number as the amount of downloads - erroneous!) since the release of the album. Let's be conservative and assume that 50% of those visitors downloaded the album - 600,000. We'll then take 38% of these people and get an idea of how many actually paid - 228,000 purchases. Multiply that times the average price of the album ($6), and you get just about $1.37 million made by the band in a month. By the industry standard of $1 an album going to the artist, it's very clear that Radiohead came out ahead of their peers financially.

These are all imaginary figures but they illustrate the fact that "In Rainbows" would had to have gone platinum-plus in its first month in order to bring in the same amount of money for the band. In this day and age, that would not have happened through brick-and-mortar physical sales. This musical revolution may be starting off on some wobbly legs but, with "In Rainbows" and "NiggyTardust" leading the way, who knows? One thing is for sure: The major labels are going to have to adapt and accomodate in order to maintain anything resembling a bottom line. The gauntlet has been thrown down.

[Note: Radiohead denies the figures claimed by comScore Inc. regarding the online sales of "In Rainbows" as well as the average price per user. A spokesperson for the band told BBC News that the numbers were "not for public consumption" due to the fact that "people were still downloading [the album] - Editor]

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Dear China,

I know we've been a little at odds these days and I just wanted to air things out. I've taken a lot of flak for you over the years for ignoring your occupation of Tibet, your terrible human rights violations, this anti-dollar thing you came up with to make me look stupid when I try to buy things in your neighborhood, and I don't feel very appreciated. You and the U.S.S.R. - er...Russia have been watching me fight for my life - uh, something in the Middle East and haven't lifted a finger to help. It's almost as if you're waiting to see if I spread myself thin enough for you guys to take advantage of me or something...

Anyway, you killed my cats and dogs with the poisonous pet food and never said "Sorry". Then the toys started giving my kids lead poisoning and I was furious. Now you've gone and replaced the lead in the toys with a chemical that breaks down into the "date rape drug" when my kids put the pieces in their mouths? Some of my kids have gone into convulsions, even comas! You know how I feel about drugs, and everyone knows how I feel about children's healthcare. I've gotta ask - China, why are you treating me this way? Ever since you got the Olympics, you've been acting like your crap doesn't stink.

I think we need to take some time apart and re-evaluate our relationship. Sometimes you're a little abusive of our friendship in a passive-aggressive Agatha-Christie-arsenic-in-my-tea sort of way and I'm more than a little uncomfortable with that. Maybe we can sit down and talk about this soon, but I'm going to need some real effort on your part to start building trust again. I'll talk to you soon.


Missing the old days,

America

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Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott is retiring after 35 years of service to his party. He's also retiring 5 years early, possibly to evade a new regulation that could hinder his bank account and is opening up yet another Republican seat in the Senate. Let's check the numbers.

Trent Lott's ranking amongst Senate Republicans: 2

Lott's years in the House and Senate: 16 & 19, respectively

The date in which new regulations extending (from 1 to 2 years) the "cooling off period" between leaving office and working for the lobbyists - Dec. 31, 2007

The date Lott will retire: Before January 2008

The date Lott's term ends: 2012

The amount of Senate Republicans who have retired (so far) this year: 6

The fact that Republicans now have to defend 23 seats next year, while Democrats will have only 12 at risk: PRICELESS

Thanks a Lott, Trent!

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Al Gore was our high school sweetheart - helped us with our homework, was caring, patient. Then George W. Bush came along and boy, was he a knockout in a smoking-behind-the-school sort of way. So naturally, we abandoned the nerd for the tough-talking C-student. That's how we do in this country. Things were okay for a minute, so we just wrote off Gore's fight in the aftermath of the 2000 election as sour grapes. He missed us and was willing to do anything to get us back, but we just wanted to move on and enjoy life with our new partner. Except the new chick got pregnant right after graduation, spent all our money on other men, started fights that we had to finish, and berated us in front of our buddies whenever we didn't agree with her.




Congratulations, America.




Our ex went on to get an Emmy and we were glad to see her move on and succeed on her own. Then came the Oscar for a movie that encapsulated all the things she had tried to teach our dumb ass when we were still dating. Okay, we looked a little silly for having left her so quickly but that's life and we live with our mistakes. Now, there's a Nobel Peace Prize sitting on the mantle next to the Oscar and the Emmy and the eight years of prosperity and we're sitting at home with a bottle of Jack Daniels, playing "Baby, Come Back", ad nauseum.




Congratulations, America.




We know a winner when we see one, don't we? It's usually the person waving in the rearview mirror as we haul ass away from sanity and common sense like a bat out of Hell. At some point we are going to have to face the fact that the reason why we complain about the same issues every four years is at least partly due to our inability to elect someone who can actually fix some of the problems. Sometimes it seems like patience and science and a willingness to discuss instead of attack are Kryptonite to voters. We may not have made this mess all on our own, but we're also not falling over ourselves to hire someone who will clean it up within a reasonable time frame. The honeymoon is over and now we spend our free time sneaking peeks at photos of that ex who tried to clean us up, get us a little healthier and present us to the world as someone who didn't use their jeans as napkins. Our ex would never have let his buddies take turns on top of us while we were asleep, and he damn sure wouldn't have stood in our faces and offered excuses for them and himself afterwards. But now he's gone, over us and happy.




Congratulations, America.




Saddest thing of all is that while we scream bloody murder over contractors betraying the public trust and stealing our money, as we slam our fists on the table and shake our cages to bring the troops back home, there's one thing we'll always remember and regret. We picked the jock who liked fights over the nerd who liked peace.




Congratulations, America.

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