Nation of Idiots Wins/Loses

This essay was originally published on the now defunct Disinfo.com, before Trump was elected...

If reasonable people don't vote, an army of idiots wins out.

In a few days Americans will go to the polls and elect a new president. Barring some unusual outcome, it will be either Hillary Clinton, a lifelong politician or Donald Trump, a "wealth celebrity." I think if Clinton wins you will have eight more years of business as usual, circling the drain. I think if Trump wins you will circle no more. 

Everywhere you look in modern life, there is a divide. We are much more apt to notice and appreciate differences rather than similarities. This is the hyper-manipulated self. It no longer matters if you are the generation that wrote the programming (dead), the generation that bought and sold the packaging (dying), the generation that wished for the programming to be correct (writing essays), or the generation that keeps their programming dynamic (not reading them): We are all aware that the people in charge are going to do whatever they see fit, in order to keep conditions in their favour. Thus, we peel back the curtain, revealing the shrivelled old wizard, bellowing commands into an ancient machine. We know it's a shit show, so we don't care, so we don't vote. In this scenario nobody wins and in this case, not winning could mean dying.

I understand the appeal of Trump, because I can appreciate wanting to shake up the system. There are a great many things wrong with America and with western society in general, but Captain Hair is not the answer. Most of what Trump says is incoherent and the things he uses as his selling points are imbecilic. Anyone who is smart enough to understand that Americans are enslaved by the elite, yet dumb enough to think that Trump is going to share the wealth is missing the point. It's true that Trump would make a difference, perhaps becoming the most radical president in history, but none of the things that he could accomplish would detract from business continuing unabated. If it did Trump would simply be killed, like JFK. Perhaps no president will be able to make the changes required to create a true democracy, because of money, greed and entitlement.

Americans are having to choose between an evil bitch and an evil bastard, which is difficult in any scenario, but with voter apathy threatening an intellectual shortfall at the polls, we might end up with the crazier of the two, rather than the saner. Plenty of former presidents have been a little bit crazy, but Trump's particular brand of crazy might be more dangerous than useful. If you're gonna go for crazy, America, you need someone who wants to desalinate oceans, go to Mars, end oil, provide free energy, food, water. Or rather you need someone able to stand up to the real powers that be, so that ideas like these can be taken from absurd fantasy to concrete reality. At any rate, Trump is not the person to deliver good change, neither is Clinton but she is at least safe. Just vote her in and the next time some crazy weirdo starts talking about good change, pie in the sky, save the world type stuff, listen. Don't vote for a guy whose solution is a bloody wall. Trump is a giant step backwards.

Trump Makes America his Bitch

(This essay was previously published on the now defunct Disinfo.com under the title, "Political Incorrectness.")

Merriam-Webster defines political correctness as "conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated."

This isn't the first definition available to me, upon my Google search but the other two were not really correct. This is because "political correctness" as a "thing" shifts, grows and changes. Dynamic definitions are not a particularly new phenomenon. In ye olden days, for instance, one might conspire to collect faggots with a gay friend, with nary an eyebrow raised. Such is it with ours, or any other language. Things change. Tastes change. Meanings change. ("Faggots" are bundles of kindling and "gay" means happy.)

I would be remiss not to point out the other two definitions of PC I googled, they're relevant:

"The avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against."

Well, that's pretty telling. I bet that "often considered as taken to extremes," part was added to the original. It's also a non-committal definition, "action(s) that are perceived to exclude..." and "socially disadvantaged" are unclear. It also takes our intentionality out of it by saying we "avoid" such "expression or action" rather than "conform to a belief," as in the first, more proper definition.

Our final definition is, "A way that we speak in America so we don't offend whining pussies."

This is from urbandictionary.com and while incomplete, it is the apparent consensus in America today. If you took a poll of which of these three definitions was most aptly suited to define PC, I'm sure the latter would win by a landslide. Philosophically, of course the first definition is the best. In terms of day to day life, we shall do the best we can, one day at a time, etc. (And we may have to define "aptly.")

Now we have Political Incorrectness: the attitude or policy shown by someone who does not believe that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated.

Such is it that we now find ourselves awash in the noxious rhetoric of a moral degenerate. Why is beyond me, (haven't we more interesting things to do than watch Rome burn?) Yet Donald Trump continues to bluntly fly in the face of all things politically correct at every chance. And the trucker-hatted masses eat it up. If Mr. Trump is asked about his derogatory comments, (toward women, Mexicans, immigrants, Muslims, insert group here,) he simply throws up his eyelids and announces political correctness is ruining the country. I'm not surprised that Trump has stupid answers, I'm surprised when audiences applaud them.

Political Incorrectness, as illustrated by Trump, (although he is not alone in this,) is easily enjoyed by ordinary folks who have been walking around biting their tongues since the 90s. Are people sick of PC? Do they now see it as going to far, or being BS or "not working?" Yes they do. In fact, so do I, in may ways. (If you're playing a sport and you're not keeping score, you've gone too far. If you don't want to learn about the Holocaust because it hurts your feelings, you've gone to far.)

However, thinking that a group of humans have taken things too far doesn't necessarily mean we should combat that by going too far the other way.

Even if political correctness is the number one contributor to what George Carlin called the "pussification of America" you still can't combat it by reverting to the basic bigotry of bygone eras. Unless of course, that is what you want. And if you want it, then it is you and you are it. This is how political incorrectness makes you its bitch. It asks you to announce your prejudices proudly, as if it is your duty to save the country by being an asshole.

Donald Trump beats bigoted drums to the sad ears of republicans, happy to be free of their muzzles. He makes money doing it.* Did you know that? Not only is the Donald paying for his own campaign, he's turning a profit. The more voters who jump on board and buy a trucker hat at $25 and $35 bucks, the more millions he puts in his pocket. I don't think Trump has winning the nomination as his goal, he just wants to shine in the light, have a bit of fun. So really, he's wasting time, except that he's shining light on crowds of people who think like him and that's a scary thing.

*SOURCE: http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-october-campaign-finance-report

The hallmarks of the left/right debate do not even enter into whether or not your find yourself on the PC or PIC side, Americans feel that people like Trump are just being honest, some of them find it refreshing. In a way, they are right. It's still not a solution.

This is the product of political and ideological extremism, moderate republicans are not drooling over Trump, moderate democrats are not decrying political incorrectness, because they don't take idiots seriously. That this conversation is even taking place is the result of a crafty weasel knowing some tricks that take advantage of a base ignorance.*

*SOURCE: http://www.bendbulletin.com/opinion/3865233-151/column-political-incorrectness-is-scientifically-bogus#

If Trump is popular because "he's saying the things we want to say and can't, " what does that say about PC, or PIC, or freedom of speech, or people's mindsets, intelligences and abilities? The answer seems to be "a great deal." For movements, (of any size from any place) do not grow from nothing. So if you are a nation of pre-emptive bigots, then you will get an appropriate leader to follow, who leads you where you want to be led. You won't because you're not. You're just a little confused because you haven't yet figured out that the people you desire are the enemy.

It's okay to like that Trump doesn't bend to the bullshit, or "is speaking honestly about his feelings," but wrong thinking is still wrong. Hitler spoke passionately about his beliefs, it doesn't make them right.

"All things in moderation," they say. If life is lived in the middle, the center is where all things meet, the hub of the wheel, Trump has no business there, neither does political incorrectness, or correctness for that matter. These things belong in the fringes of society. The extremity of desires are mislead and counterproductive. This will all go away by way of caring less, not more.

The Chill American

(Disinfo.com previously published this essay, but has since shut down...)

I am a dual citizen. In Canada, I am allowed to be a dual citizen, Canadian and American. I was born in Illinois. We moved to Canada when I was very young. My Dad was Canadian, a leftist liberal. My mom was American, a republican. Both came from blue collar homes, as did I, as did my children.

Being a dual citizen has little benefit, I still have to wait at the border when I go to a Mariners game, I still have to wait when I come back. I only bring it up because I wish to make it clear that I have experienced the differences between an American and a Canadian. I'm not educated on the matter, I've lived it. I've also heard all the jokes. Today these differences are no laughing matter, for I believe that America, on the whole and in general, needs to chill the fuck out. Of course, I'm a socialist Canadian, what else would I think? Hear me out brothers and sisters, for you all can take a big clue from your nerdy upstairs neighbour, maybe even stop killing one another.

1.) In 2015, America was the ninth richest country in the world (by GDP PPP) and the fourteenth in average ranking of its educational system. By comparison, Canada, a very similar nation culturally, was the fifteenth richest country in the world and seventh in its educational system. Our national IQ's are 98 in America, one point higher in Canada. From these fact we can deduce that wealth doesn't necessarily beget an education and that an education, while nurturing intelligence by exercising thought, doesn't necessarily enhance intelligence testing. IQ tests, it turns out, are always calibrated to average 100. Meaning, that if I could transport 50 average subjects from the year 1916 and give them today's IQ test, they would score lower than they would taking a similar test from their year. Oddly, if we were to take an intelligence from their year, we too would probably also score lower than we would taking our own time's test. This is because of the differences in language and fortunately, reason. It is the same reason that I find it hard to understand Shakespeare, or read Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. While I don't have much faith in IQ tests, I do hold out hope, both for myself and humankind, for if it is true that our species is experiencing an overall intellectual growth, it has to be due to improvements in our ability to be logical creatures. Reason always wins because it must.

2.) America is the most armed nation in the world. Not everyone in America has a gun, but there are enough guns in America to accommodate its citizenry. With 112.6 guns for every 100 Americans, I think we should all feel confident that there will never be a moment in history where Red Dawn comes true and any force should paratroop into suburban neighbourhoods. Such a farce would end in corpses gently floating to the ground in a rain of blood. If we again compare ourselves (being Canadian) to our neighbours to the south, they have ten times the deaths caused by gun violence per year, but they also have ten times the population. I think the more telling stat is while they have more than a gun per citizen, we have three for every ten.

3.) Everyone is afraid. It might be because they know everyone is armed. They react from a place of fear, combined with a substandard education, an inability to cope with the stress of change. If they react, it too will likely take a violent form. The cycle has been socially engineered into their lives: you have the right to perpetuate this existence, perhaps even the duty. You have it all and want to keep it. You are correct to fear terrorists, criminals and nut jobs, they have weapons and ideals. You have ideals too, luckily you're in the right. Quick kill that guy before he kills you! Of course the problem here is that you don't have any really valid reason for killing that guy, in exactly the same way he has no valid reason to kill you. You're both programmed to believe the things you do by a system that wants you to do it. If you happen to be hungry, you're in possession of what I consider a valid reason to take action. Also, if you're: oppressed, violated, or otherwise damaged by the actions of others. But if you are killing people for things other people have done, there's something wrong with you, not them.

If your populace is entitled, armed and afraid, with a poor education, misguided since birth, it should come to no surprise that by way of competition rather than cooperation, we should end up killing each other rather than those who make us do these things. Wouldn't you rather just put down the gun and party with your neighbour, the gay, black, policeman. (You know he's got all the good drugs.) I know I would. What the world needs to see right now is the Chill American. Said American, having taken a moment to chill, might have a second to think about what is going on around them, what everyone is doing and more importantly, why? I fear that the only Chill American is a Canadian.

America's Water Problem

(Disinfo.com published this essay previously, but has since shut down their site, so here it is...)

"I can't believe we're going to have this conversation. I can't believe that this planet has been beaten by a viral spread of humans to the point where the very gifts the planet gives us have been rendered into poison, or perhaps worse yet, expropriated only for profit.

Water is a requirement for life. It is any individual's right to have access to clean water, for free, regardless of any other concern. To withhold water in any fashion should be a crime. To charge people for the water that the Earth provides should be a crime. To contaminate any water source should be a crime. The solution to any water problem has to be a response to corporatism and politics at the end of those doing the damage, as well as education for those of us currently suffering due to a mere lack of water. The water problem, like all our major concerns, is wholly concerned with money and the making of it. We needn't worry about protecting our resources from the thirsty, we need to protect them from the greedy."

The preceding two paragraphs are from an essay I wrote in 2013 On Water, it is the examination of one Canadian's view on what is a global problem, the systemic ruination of our most important resource. The issues experienced by places like Flint, Michigan are not unique or even rare. Now it seems every state east of the Mississippi has lead in their water. In the recent past, our search for oil and natural gas has rendered our taps into flame throwers and these are all things that are happening in our own backyard, saying nothing about what we do to other nations.

These issues continue to be the product of greed. If the water supply is, shall we say, in need of correction and the people charged with maintaining the water are lying about its safety, they are in fact poisoning the public. They don't do this merely in an attempt to protect their positions or to solely allow the gears of industry to roll on unhindered. There always has to be money involved. It is too expensive to even consider reasonable solutions, such as don't poison the fucking water in the first place. At any rate, we certainly don't have a time machine, so we'll just lie to the public and hope no one notices.

Of course we always notice. The new problem becomes one of necessity. When one's water becomes undrinkable, it is already too late. America's water problem is not simply because an industry shat in its employees' fountain, it is a product of everything that is wrong with America. Lack of foresight is tantamount to doom. Capitalism is easily perverted because money will always bypass empathy and ultimately, people take the path of least resistance.

We have the same problem up here in Canada, Lil' Baby America, trying to ruin its western provinces burning dinosaur bones. Giving fresh British Columbian water to Nestle for free. We are not exempt up here, we have idiots too, so don't get all defensive. I just want to know what we're all going to do about it. We simply cannot allow those charged with protecting the resources required for survival to fail, in any way, at all costs. I don't yet know what that means exactly, but if I turn on my tap and anything other than water comes out, action will be taken.

on water link

http://www.anti-socialengineering.com/2013/11/on-water.html

flint michigan link

http://www.businessinsider.in/This-billion-dollar-American-water-crisis-couldve-been-averted-for-36000/articleshow/50608132.cms

lead in their water link

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/22/water-lead-content-tests-us-authorities-distorting-flint-crisis

BC water to Nestle for free

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Outrage+boils+over+government+plans+sell+groundwater+million+litres/10865416/story.html

We are all Skynet

(Disinfo.com published this essay previously, but have since shut down their website. So here it is...)

The theory that Google is becoming or enacting SkyNet has been around since at least 2009. SkyNet for those of you that don't know, is a fictional, self-aware artificial intelligence that controls the Terminator, among other things, in the movie franchise of the same name. In the story, SkyNet decides the humans must die (the reason, "self-preservation" is not exactly relevant) and the War with the Machines begins. In reality, Google is at the forefront of all things technological and either by accident, design or perhaps both simultaneously, continues toward making SkyNet a possibility.

I'm not saying we're going to have to do battle with an army of muscled androids with Austrian accents any time soon. Yet, it's easy to see that the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place, spurring me to look into the matter. In 2002, Google's Co-Founder Larry Page told Wired Magazine that they were building an artificial intelligence. Search engines are the beginning of a learning system. You search out "Easter Bunny" and then click on an image, now Google knows what the Easter Bunny looks like. Conspiracy theorists note that Google decidedly wasn't in the AI business before the Patriot Act, but truthfully Google owned very few companies until about 2005. Since then Google has spent hundreds of billions, probably trillions (not all purchases have published dollar figures,) buying up companies. Since 2008, many of those companies are in fields of technology, robotics, satellites but even life sciences are being explored. Also during this time, Google, as a corporate entity, became aware of its power and place in the world, developed a proactive philosophy and began owning their ability to shape the future. (This is an important step in taking over the world, accepting your desire to do so.) The company began expanding exponentially and projects branched out: Google Cloud, Google X, Google DeepMind.

You've probably heard of Google Cloud and cloud computing in general. Your little bits of information are sent out into the web, where they are spread out and free up your computer's resources. When you need your bits of info, your computer gathers them from the cloud again. The cloud is SkyNet's greatest line of defence, as you can't kill what is spread out over an entire network. Since the magnificent expose of the NSA and their ability to (at least) access every keystroke, file or phone call and Google's (at minimum) complicity in managing the data, that is to say, nearly all data being collected, it's hard to imagine the limitations of what any such Google AI program could learn.

Or do! In 2013, just before Edward Snowden spilled the beans that digital privacy doesn't exist, the American government published a report on the state of its cyber-defences entitled the "Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets." Primarily capitalist in its concern and nation threatening in its tone, (particularly toward China) the report does contain terrifying admissions of numerous infrastructures being imminently hackable. This means that anyone might be able to open some deadly gas pipe and kill us all, remotely. It's an exaggeration, but not by much. The fact that the ability to direct airline traffic, nuclear power plants, trains, traffic, gas, water, hydro, power etc, is on the grid attests to the threat potential of a true SkyNet. *See related article.

A SkyNet that can already learn, protect itself and soon will be able to affect change in the real world seems to be the Google we have, so far. GoogleX, (now, like all Google branches, part of Alphabet) has as its goal, AI, in general, as well as other computational neuroscience projects. These are the people working on the "making of a mind." They do so in semi-secret. They also are working on the projects that will lead to cybernetics and cyborgs: replacement limbs, computer vision. Google Deep Mind is working solely on AI, but from within an algorithmic standpoint, more of a software concern than one of hardware.

Here we find the perfect triumvirate of our modern SkyNet: the internet is the brain, Google is the mind, we are but many purposed neurons bouncing around in that mind. It's not unlike our own intelligence, except that we, as neurons, are much more than mere activators. SkyNet simply lacks the self-awareness that seemingly scares the hell out of the bearer, causing it to lash out. This is what leads to the inevitably war with the machines. At the moment, the AI brain being spread out keeps this process naturally safe, we act as neurons by passing data back and forth, digitally. It's just our little data bits, nothing special, we don't know why they're recording it all... The best and healthiest thing everyone can do at this point is try to keep that data accurate and honest. We will have AI despite your intentions, but just as with any other relationship, we're going to have to discover what it is SkyNet wants, once it figures that out for itself. We shouldn't be surprised if SkyNet's desires turn out to be reflection of our own.

*Related Article

Advanced Pseudonymous Threat: Hyper-Manipulating America's Cyberdefences.

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread929168/pg1