Citizens unite!

New Short Story - 9/27

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:47:20 GMT

The Bomb
For Mark Casper
By Daniel Casper © 2009

“Have you found him?”

Colonel Koura barked the order to a man holding an assault rifle. There were two men behind him guarding the door, twelve men behind those guarding the door to that door, and another thirty men running throughout the facility taking prisoners under the Colonel’s order. It was a simple, surgical strike that the Colonel had only taken a week to invent after his spies had informed him of Professor Rensaw’s secret lab. The Colonel’s government had been more than willing to approve.

“No, sir. We’ve captured all of the Professor’s research staff. They claim to have no knowledge of the Professor’s whereabouts. They are being tortured by Team A as we speak. If they know anything, we will gut it out of them.”

Only the slits of the eyes were visible under the man’s hood. The Colonel could see a look of pleasure and glee in them as the Sergeant spoke. Men like this were invaluable, mused the Colonel. They did not ask questions, never hesitated to pull the trigger no matter the target. They were obedient as dogs, but far superior in ability. They were also profoundly moral – they gave everything, their body, their mind, and their very souls to the cause and delighted in serving it. That was their code and they served it without fail. The Colonel knew both he and his men served a higher purpose, the purpose of helping their nation Stervia, and this cause justified all of their actions by virtue of the people it would help.

“Very good. Now, bring team C into the lab. We must move the bomb to our truck outside.”

The man gave a brief salute, ran to the door, and called to the men. Six commandos entered in two rows, splitting apart when they reached the bomb, metallic and roughly the size and shape of a soccer ball hooked up by a series of cords to a large computer terminal. The men stood at attention, looking forward absently, waiting for orders. Each of these men had been hand-picked by the Colonel for this dangerous mission. Dangerous because it involved sneaking past the Tyrin border, stealing a large truck, attacking a heavily-guarded military research facility, then escaping with the bomb back into Stervia where its scientists would unlock the device’s mysteries and use it against Tyrin. They could exact any price they wanted out of their neighbor if his spies’ reports were accurate. A single bomb that could blow up cities. An infinite blackmail machine. A lever to topple the wealth and abundance of Tyrin and have it fall onto his poor, unfortunate nation. Tears formed in his eyes as he thought of feeding the hungry.

The Colonel looked around the room. His men had not moved. He did not know how long he had spent fantasizing about his mission’s success, but he knew to wait any longer would result in the failure of the mission. Killing the border guards had been easy enough, four of his men were trained snipers and each had simultaneously put a bullet through the head of each man at the post. They stopped and killed a man driving a large semi two miles down the road. Police would not find the body as he ordered his men to take it with them. The colonel had used that semi to ram past the gates separating the facility from the road and his men poured out like Greeks from the Trojan Horse. It took only ten minutes to seize the facility and capture all of the professor’s staff, thanks to his spies’ procurement of the facility’s blueprints. He thought of his men as a knife – no, he thought again, a giant fist, ready to smash anything that stood in their path. A righteous fist of his people.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” the Colonel barked out, folding his arms across his chest.

“Your orders,” the man with the assault rifle stated.

“Pick it up!” he yelled.

His men diligently obeyed, each placing a set of hands underneath the bomb. Yet as soon as the men touched the bomb, the computer terminal sprung to life. A series of commands, unintelligible to the Colonel and his men, ran across the screen. As quickly as they had started, they stopped, and the computerized voice of a woman came across the speakers.

“Nuclear device armed. Ten minutes to detonation.”

A commando reached for a wire connecting it to the computer terminal.

“Wait!” the Colonel screamed. The commando stopped, and all turned to face him. Their faces were blank, empty vessels waiting to be filled by his orders. The Colonel looked into each one of them trying hard to contain his own fear and uncertainty. The feeling grew when he realized none of his men shared the sentiment and that none of them, despite their training with explosives and bullets, had any knowledge beyond his of the object they all held. They did not even know the destructive capability of the small sphere. His eyes bulged wide with terror, and he realized that his arms were out stretched. The worst moment came when he realized that he was now equal to the rest of them. He thought briefly of disconnecting the bomb and having his men drag it out, to take it by force like how he had entered the facility, but how could he be sure that such an action would not detonate the bomb? The question hounded him, an endless loop playing in his mind like a broken record.

The computerized voice brought him back to his senses. “Nine minutes to detonation,” it said, without any feeling. It was a simple, immutable statement of fact to the Colonel.

“Colonel, we must act!” the man with the assault rifle called out to him.

“No! No! No one move! I must think!” he screamed. The colonel remembered that he must control his voice. If he panicked, what would the effect be on the moral of his men? Then again, he reminded himself, only men capable of asking questions were capable of knowing fear. He prayed that the trembling of his hands and arms were unnoticeable to his men, but he knew they would be alerted to that detail as they were alerted to all details. It was a prerequisite of being a commando that one be perceptive. No matter, he knew they would follow his orders no matter what commands he issued. The thought brought comfort to the Colonel, a dim feeling that he was still in control of the mission and could salvage it…if only he could make his mind work…if only he could think…

“Colonel,” the man said again, reaching towards the top of the device, “why don’t we…”

The Colonel whipped out his side-arm and shot the man in the head. He could not have any disunity or questions at a time like this. His mind added seconds later that he also couldn’t have some idiot who could not think detonate this complicated device. Then he realized he had just shot the demolitions expert in his squad. He swore to himself, stamping his feet, firing his pistol wildly into a desk beside him. After he discharged the entire clip, the Colonel gathered his composure and faced the bomb and the computer terminal. A sudden thought came to him.

“Men, let that be a lesson to you!” he called out triumphantly, “Never ask questions of your superiors! We know best! Questions lead to doubt, doubt leads to disunity, and disunity will lead to the failure of our noble goals! I have planned for all of you, and if you had not followed my orders faithfully, then we would not have made it this far! Thankfully,” he chuckled, a smile forming on his lips, “your Colonel knows something about computers and he will now disarm this monster.”

He walked over to the computer terminal as it chimed out, “Eight minutes to detonation.”

There was a command prompt blinking on the screen, a single white bar against a backdrop of black. The code made no sense to him, but his computer in his office at the Stervia capitol had a command prompt like this, and therefore, he concluded, the same commands would work. He typed the word “abort” and hit return, but the computer merely responded, “Invalid command. Please try again.” He tried “stop,” “terminate,” “restart,” even “help” to try to get a lead as to what commands would end the detonation sequence. All of the commands gave him the same output “Invalid command. Please try again.” He banged his fists on the terminal like a savage ape.

“Seven minutes to detonation.”

He glanced back at his men over his shoulder. They merely stood in place, like stone statues on a crypt. He suddenly felt a stab of hatred for his men, of utter loathing that they should not be able to think of any solutions that would help him. He thought of his countrymen, and how he hated them for being so weak as to force him to take care of them. He thought of Tyrin and how he hated it for being so successful and creative so as to design cars, and new types of food, and bombs such as this. He felt hatred for Professor Rensaw, for the computer screen, for that little blinking white line that seemed to mock his impotency with its constant blinking. Above all, he realized, he hated everything for existing and that he could not control it simply with his own will.

“Six minutes to detonation.”

The voice forced the image of the explosion into the mind of the Colonel. He saw an endless fire and the flesh being stripped off his body, followed by his skeleton being reduced to a pile of ash. He imagined his face being contorted into a look of unspeakable pain. He had spoken of how noble it was to die for one’s country, delivered it in speeches to graduates of the military academy. Now, the words came back to him and he could not stand to hear it. His terror stricken mind told him that the detonation would destroy the nearby Tyrinian town, and that if he died now he would be hailed as a martyr, his name treated with a reverent respect like those of the men he had sent to their deaths. But the Colonel did not want to be a martyr. His mind quickly seized a rationalization, that by escaping he could help his country further, that he, unlike the thousands he had ordered to be sacrificed, was too important to die. No, the Colonel told himself, his work was unfinished. His life could not be ended like this. He would leave these men to guard the bomb, take the rest of the commandos to ensure his escape back into Stervia, and…perhaps even be rewarded with a promotion…

“Stay here!” he ordered, “And die for your country! I’ll make sure your countrymen know of your heroic deed!”

The Colonel then ran out of the room.

The sentence “Five minutes to detonation,” was the last thing he heard before the doors behind him slammed shut.

The men obeyed silently, their wills steeled to achieve their single goal. Their whole lives had been spent learning the various ways in which they might die for the country as their leaders instructed, and they all viewed this as the moment to live up to their highest ideal. The commandos believed in the sacrifice of the individual to the common good and they had been told that by dying to weaken Tyrin they would help the people of Stervia benefit from Tyrin’s resources. How…they did not question how. Such questions were not theirs to ask. Their leaders had taken upon themselves the responsibility of finding those difficult answers, and so relieved them of the necessity to think. The quarter sized hole in the head of the commando on the floor next to them reminded them of what happened to those who tried to think. They merely held their rifles pointed at the door, ready to fire on anyone who opened that door.

“Four minutes to detonation.”

Suddenly, all six men dropped to the ground like dominoes collapsing in a row. A door, perfectly disguised and painted to match the walls of the laboratory, opened up and a man wearing a white lab coat stepped out. On his face was a gas mask. Walking slowly over to a terminal on a desk, he tapped a single button. There was a whir of fans, and cool air blasted into the chamber from the vents above. After a minute, the doctor removed his mask and collected each of the assault rifles, one by one. He emptied the clips of each, keeping one armed for himself. Then, he walked over to the bomb, his face clear of any anxiety. It had the look of peace and familiarity a child has with a bicycle he learned to ride in his youth.

“Three minutes to detonation.”

Professor Rensaw’s staff burst inside, clutching homemade clubs fashioned from table legs and wall fixtures. One had a pistol. As soon as they entered they stopped in their tracks, blinking. Their eyes went from the commandos sprawled out on the floor like rag-dolls to the white-haired man in a lab-coat, and their jaws dropped. The clubs fell to the ground as they stared on in disbelief.

“Professor Rensaw!” one of the younger staff-members cried out, “Is the bomb going to detonate? What’s going on? And how can you be so calm!?”

“One question at a time,” Professor Rensaw remarked, resting both of his hands on the small sphere. “As far as your first question is concerned, the answer is no.”

Every single member of his staff sighed in relief.

“Second, it appears that a Stervian commando unit has attempted to steal our research. I was ready for just such an occasion. This project was especially dangerous, so I had the architect install a few extra features not included in the original blueprints. The first was a safe-room built with a line to the military and control over all systems in the entire facility,” he pointed over to the door that had been expertly hidden in the laboratory, “and the second was a gas-line that fed straight into this room. The compound is non-lethal. They should be awake within the hour. And I’ve already contacted the military – they should be here to clean up the mess within the next five minutes…”

“Two minutes to detonation,” the computer terminal interrupted him.

Professor Rensaw continued, “…And as far as the bomb goes, I activated it. It was unacceptable that the technology should fall into their hands. I believe everyone in this room, and everyone in this country, would understand that the consequences were too dire to ignore. Stervia would have used it against us until we were their slaves, just like what they do to their own people. I should know – I’m from that country. It just so happened that their leader, the Colonel, had no idea what to do in that situation and shot the only intelligent officer who might have. The threat of an explosion was enough to make the Colonel retreat and take the rest of his men with him. I waited to release the gas as I couldn’t have a few idiots wander in here, see him knocked out, and get their own bright idea to move the bomb without him around to think for them. Besides, men who achieve that high a rank in Stervia are always the cowards.”

“One minute to detonation,” the computer voice began as soon as he finished the statement.

Professor Rensaw’s staff stared at him with utter shock. They could not understand how a man could be so calm standing next to an explosive that could blow up an entire city set to detonate in sixty seconds.

“And last, I am calm because I know this bomb,” Professor Rensaw answered, raising the butt of his rifle into the air. He slammed it into a small cylinder that rose from the top of the bomb that was connected to the terminal. It came loose and clattered on the floor, throwing sparks like fireworks as it skidded a few feet then came to a rest. The computer counted down…10…9…8…7…reaching 0.Nothing happened.

“It amazes me,” Professor Rensaw laughed, patting the bomb, “that for all his willingess to use force, all the Colonel had to do to succeed was smash the detonator!”

Employers and Employees: Slaves to the Employee Free Choice Act - 7/27

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:48:39 GMT

Employers and Employees: Slaves to the Employee Free Choice Act

In the year 1935, the United States Government passed the National Labor Relations Act, establishing that employees in America have the right – regardless of their employer’s wishes – to form a Union for the purpose of a process called “collective bargaining.” Though collective bargaining is not defined in the law, it is the process when a business’s employee join together and make a demand of their employer in order to obtain, for example, higher wages, safer working conditions, or benefits. The law establishes that this collective, known commonly as a Union, can elect representatives to go before a government board, called the National Labor Relations Board, and present their grievances. The Board can then force, by means of an administrative judge, an employer to meet the terms of the Union through a process called mediation and arbitration.

In the 2009, the United States Government is about to amend the National Labor Relations Act with the new Employee Free Choice Act. This act, surprisingly only a page long, makes two changes: one, it allows Unions to form by way of a process called “card check,” instead of secret ballot required by the NLRA; two, it adds a $20,000 civil penalty for anyone found violating the original terms of the NLRA. The only “free choice” the government gives employees in the bill is the “right” to organize by submitting an open petition instead of an anonymous vote.

Yet do these two bills actually advance “freedom” and “rights”? Before that question can be answered, the terms must be defined. If freedom is to mean “free from compulsion from an outside force,” then how does Section 8, subsection A, article 5 of the NLRA, stating that employers cannot “refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees,” and Section 8, subsection B, article 3, stating that employees cannot “refuse to bargain collectively with an employer,” constitute freedom? Both parties, by order of the government, are forced to deal with one another. If a right is a “moral law which prevents men from forcefully seizing what belongs to an individual,” then how can there be, according to the NLRA, a “right of employees to organize” and make demands of a business owner? Since the business owned by an individual or a group of individuals constitutes property of that entity, no man or group of men may tell them what to do with it, not if freedom and rights are to be preserved.

The government would like to believe it has the right to destroy rights. The arbitration process established in the NLRA is a court order – it cannot be disobeyed by the Unions or business owner. For those who believe that the government can be an agent of justice in this circumstance, I call your attention to actual events which have occurred as a result of the NLRA. By manipulating the NLRA the United Automotive Workers have managed to be a leading cause behind the bankruptcy of American automotive maker, GM. Through the process of “collective bargaining,” unionized autoworkers shut down GM’s plants for 54 days in 1998, knocking off a “full percentage point off the U.S. economic growth rate that quarter.” According to the NLRA, GM could not fire the employees for exercising their right to “engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining,” despite the fact that the workers were actually harming their company. The average cost of a single Union employee to GM, of which there are 120,000, is $140,000 per year, according to George Reisman of the Mises Institute. That’s $16.8 billion a year in labor costs alone; causing a $1200 loss for each car GM produces. Compare that to Toyota, who has a profit of $2000 on each car due to the lack of Union manipulation, and it becomes obvious what justice the NLRA has rendered. Also according to the Mises Institute, if GM were to be free of Union contracts, it would be earning a profit of $400 per car, be free of $16 billion in pension contracts, and not have employees who make a mandatory $72 per hour wage with benefits factored in. That would have well accounted for the $19.4 billion GM “needed” from the Federal Government to continue operation. In perhaps the best example of injustice at the hands of the Unions and NLRA, unionized autoworkers in Oklahoma City are literally paid to do nothing, because GM is incapable of firing them due to Union contracts the government has helped create. Free from the NLRA and its government backed unions, GM would have had a fighting chance to survive as a company, instead of the nationalized failure it represents now.

The NLRA and Employee Free Choice Act are not representative of freedom at all. Rather, they make business owners slaves to their employees, and employees into slaves of the Federal Government. Business owners are not allowed to live free of the Union coercion – by law – while Union employees are forced to accept whatever terms the government negotiates for them. This process, by its own history, is as dangerous as it is immoral. Congressmen of the United States who seek to preserve freedom and the rights of the individual must oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, and begin voicing opposition to the NLRA, calling for its nullification. Then, perhaps, the American Economy can see the rebirth of its manufacturing and labor sector free from force, the enemy of employer and employee, alike.

Two Articles for Independence Day - 7/4

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:59:00 GMT

Hope for the Iranian Revolution
by Daniel Casper © 2009

In Iran, there exists a government run by a Supreme Leader, who is elected by a tribunal of twelve Islamic judges called "The Guardian Council." The Supreme Leader controls the armed forces, the police, all radio and television networks, the priests of the State religion, and the courts. The Guardian Council also decides who may or may not run for President. After being elected by a majority vote, the President sets the budgeting and planning, manages the contracts between all international trade, and can appoint government employees, with the approval of Parliament.

A man named Mousavi seeks to change this by running for President. Unaware of the true scope of his ambitions, The Guardian Council approved him for the election. As President, Mousavi proposed to rewrite the Constitution of Iran, end government control of the press, end the religious police who enforce "Islamic Law," and transfer all power over the armed forces and police to the Office of the President.

There is one problem: It seems that Mousavi has lost the current election. There is some question as to whether or not he actually lost – evidence exists that suggests that the election results were fraudulent. The Guardian Council, not surprisingly, has determined that there was some tampering with the election, but not enough to warrant redoing the entire election. They declared Ahmadinejad the winner by “divine assessment.” Yet the question remains: should Mousavi and the 13 million people who voted for him have to submit and be forced to accept President Ahmedinejad, the Guardian Council, and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's control?

I ask you what kind of monster could allow that to occur. The minority comprised of Mousavi and his voters have the right to live free of government compulsion. No man or government may ever seek to control the individual's life, his choices, and his property. As you read this, that Iranian minority is being killed and jailed by their government. The Iranian Government opened fire on a crowd of 500,000 who supported Mousavi, killing 7 people. Over 100 politicians, intellectuals, and journalists opposing the events occurring in Iran have been jailed. The Iranian Government shut down access to the internet during the elections, so as to prevent word of fraud or other injustices from reaching the press. This minority is being erased from existence by the same government that has also threatened and attacked American citizens.

One Iranian citizen would possess the right to overthrow this government. The only solution now is revolution, and as the Iranian Government has demonstrated, it will be bloody. If this occurs, the society could go from an Islamic Theocracy to Constitutional Republic, and with the advent of nuclear technology, become one of the world's greatest suppliers of energy.

Yet world leaders, such as the President of the United States, protest the violence, not the Iranian Government's right to exist. They are allowing a breath of life in the form of a free country to be snuffed out under the thumb of a religion whose very name means "submission."

It is ironic that on July 4th, the day that celebrates my country's independence, I am writing on behalf of another fledging independence. They, whether alone or with the help of foreign aid, must overthrow their government who has oppressed them for decades. Mousavi hopes for a peaceful effort and has said he will not use violence. Mousavi may wish to wait for another election, but the Iranian Government has already tampered with the first and seized his rightful position. Their government is composed of murderers, and the only responsible thing to do is to remove them from power. Iran must acquire its own independence day, and it is my hope that day is soon.

A New Independence
By Daniel Casper ©2009

Today, July 4^th, is the day the States of America united to overthrow the tyranny of Great Britain and establish their own government. The document which officially declared this revolution is known as “The Declaration of Independence.” In it, the newly declared American citizens did not recognize any government’s infringement on their “Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.” They declared their own ability to govern themselves, and swore to protect it with their lives.

That promise has been betrayed. The American Government has become pervasive in every part of the individual’s life. It censors the media under the guise of “protecting children,” it taxes citizens for welfare and corporate bail-outs, it wastes the lives of its troop on the sands of a country which posed no threat, and it controls the ability of men to make their own choices, in business and their personal lives. The American Government is doing the exact same thing to its citizens as the monarchy of Great Britain did to its colonists.

Yet what can be done? The only two political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, have both proven themselves to be destructive. The only solution is for the American citizens to rediscover the very principles on which freedom rests – rationality, selfishness, and Capitalism. Rationality, as it is by reason that Man lives, makes choices, and discovers his rights. Selfishness, as it is by his own desire for self-preservation that Man maintains his rights. Capitalism, as it is the only system of government which recognizes the rights of Man – with no exception. Under Capitalism, every man has a right to his property, whether it is his home, his business, or the money he makes, a right to his choices, so long as the right to property or life is not infringed upon, and a right to his life, as this right makes all the others possible. These rights are defended by the government, according to the laws set in a constitution.

The constitution allows the Congress, alongside the President, to remove, to amend, and to create laws, as well as amend that very constitution which establishes the law of the country. It is by amending the constitution that slavery was abolished, the income tax was established, and prohibition was enforced and then later repealed. In order for America to regain its status as a free nation, its citizens must elect new representatives for Congress and a President to pass their laws and defend the nation. With Iran and North Korea about to create a nuclear arsenal, there is no more prudent time than now to choose a President who can command the military competently. A new party, neither Democratic nor Republican, should be established, and its members should both run and vote for the Congress, the Presidency, and in state elections. Only by electing officials actually dedicated to renewing and preserving freedom can any positive change occur. It is time for America to give up the Democratic and Republican Party and move on to something better.

Many people believe the Libertarian Party to be the best method for change, but such is not the case. The Libertarian Party lacks the fundamental principles necessary to achieve a political revolution. This is most apparent in that while many Libertarians claim to stand for liberty, they will at the same time acknowledge government taxation, regulation, and intervention in the lives of American citizens. These things are incompatible with the actual nature of liberty – a state in which the individual is free from all forms of coercion, whether from an individual or a government. A party based on the fundamental principles mentioned previously – reason, selfishness, and Capitalism – is the only solution to the political problems facing America today.

Once in place, this new party must begin the long and complicated process of eradicating the national debt, defending its citizens from internal and external aggression, freeing businesses, reducing taxation, and amending current criminal and civil law. Such a task is colossal, but necessary. The longer America waits, the farther it falls into debt and control by its government. On this day that two hundred years ago marked the creation of a new State, one free from tyranny, America must rediscover the resolve to do it again. A new Independence is possible – and it must occur if we are to live free.

A Short Story - 6/30

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:37:51 GMT

"For You"
By Daniel Casper © 2009

Sylvia Fontaine woke between a pair of black silk sheets and to the light from the morning sun falling down in solid beams from the skylight above her. The world came into focus in the form of a clock which read 10:52 AM June 21^st. Immediately, she turned to the space in bed that Derek Parker should have occupied, but his outline was not even fresh on the sheets. She reached out and felt the coolness of the silk - he had been gone for some time. Sylvia wondered when he had slipped out of their home and for what purpose. After all, it was June 21^st and the thought that he should be anywhere but beside her for every second of this day was foreign to her.

She woke and tightened the sash of her matching black silk robe around her small frame. Taking a moment to smooth its wrinkles down over the small perks of her breasts, the flatness of her stomach, and her thin thighs, she wandered out of the bedroom in search of her dearest Derek. As she moved from room to room, she began to wonder with amazement that she had come to all this in the span of a single year. A year ago she had only a one bedroom the size of a closet in a frightening part of town where robberies and muggings were frequent. Her pantry was often empty, her rent was often late, her bed was a cot with harsh sheets and hard pillows. She also remember painstakingly, month by month, sound proofing its walls, purchasing a security alarm, and acquiring such a wide range of musical instruments that an orchestra could simply walk into her home and perform – if only they had the space. Paycheck by paycheck she had built her “sound room” at the expense of everything else. She looked upon her home now, and she could not help but ask herself if it was real, if this is what she had made of her life.

She entered her closet filled with the finest couture money could buy; gowns and dresses from Paris, Milan, New York, and Los Angeles. She selected a black sleeveless dress which left her shoulder and the area above her breast bare, held together by a diamond pin the shape of a wing on the other shoulder. She passed her kitchen with its marble-topped fixtures, her refrigerator filled with steak and champagne, the space containing rows of expensive bottles that looked to be made of emerald instead of glass under its light bulb. She moved to her den, where a sound system hidden by the walls of the loft began projecting Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto as if it were being played live by a symphony in her home. How had she come to this?

Then, as if her own home endeavored to answer the question for her, she entered the foyer and looked up at the skylight from which the outlines of the skyscrapers of downtown were soft shadows behind a white banner, draped from the highest rafter to well below the skylight’s opening. On it was the image of a winged man, eclipsed by the light from the morning sun, bathed in such brightness as if he seemed to be made from it. Her eyes followed the banner down to a glass table on which sat a single CD jewel, the image on the cover an exact replica of that on the banner. Inside that jewel was the single object which had propelled her to these heights. The light shone down onto the cover, refracted by the plastic into a kaleidoscope of color.

Turning to the entrance, she noted that Derek’s keys were absent from his hook next to the door. She took her own pair of keys from the hook beside Derek’s and rode the elevator to the lobby. There was only one logical place Derek could be if he were not at home with her: his office. Her pace was brisk as she strode through the lobby and to the revolving door that was the entrance to her building. The doorman smiled and bowed his head, stating clearly, “Good morning, Miss Fontaine,” as he opened the door for her. She smiled at him, went through the door, and walked out into the open, empty streets of downtown. Waiting for her in a parking spot not five feet from the entrance was her convertible, the exterior shining red as a ruby in the sun and the leather interior white as the clean, cottony clouds in the sky. Swinging her legs up over the side of the door and leaping into the driver’s seat, she ignited the engine and whipped out from her space in a flash of movement and speed. The roads, like the streets, were empty, giving her free range to move like a bird tearing through the sky as she roared towards Derek’s office. As she progressed, the street lights turned green one by one before her, as if timed to allow her unrestrained progress towards her destination. On the radio was that CD which a year ago had changed her entire existence. She smiled, joy surging through her body like the explosions in the engine as she leaned over the wheel and accelerated.

Her phone rang. “Derek?” she asked over the noise of the wind and the car. A woman’s voice laughed on the other end, friendly and warm as if in salute her. “No, Sylvia, it’s Jane. Is Derek not with you?”

The light before her turned red. Sylvia stopped.

“No, have you seen him?” she asked, with a touch of desperation in her voice. She could not help but want to be beside Derek on today of all days. To her, every second of his absence was almost unbearable. She was possessed with a single desire: to see Derek Parker.

“I’m afraid not. Knowing Derek, he’s in his office, which judging by the sound of your convertible, I assume you are on your way to.”

It was Sylvia’s turn to laugh. “Of course,” she said, as the light turned green and she let her foot fall heavily on the pedal, the car bursting forward and shooting off towards the building which housed Derek’s office.

“He’ll be there,” Jane sighed, “and he’ll be waiting for you. Oh, and Sylvia,” Jane added, “Happy Birthday.”

Sylvia thanked Jane and hung up her phone. She remembered how she met Jane Califax over two years ago, as it was by Jane Califax that she had come to meet Derek Parker. Jane Califax needed a violinist to play the opening event for her first real estate venture – The Califax Hotel. Sylvia had answered that call, auditioned, and found herself the lead violin for Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. In an almost dream-like state, she stood in front of a symphony that contained great musician the world over, her violin in one hand and her bow in the other. The audience was shocked to learn that it was not only her first paying gig, but it was the first time this self-taught musician had ever performed in public. A sea of men and women, bedecked in jewels brighter and larger than she had ever seen before, in gowns that were as expensive as a Steinway, lauded praise on her and told her of the bright future she had ahead of her. The greatest recognition, however, came in the words of a bright young man with blonde hair that was the color of gold. She had seen him staring at her openly from across the lobby, his face quiet and serene. When he approached her, Jane Califax at his side, he took her hand and kissed it. Then, immediately after, he looked up into her eyes, grinned, and asked if she gave lessons. Jane laughed and introduced Derek Parker, her business partner. Sylvia blushed openly as Derek released her hand and stood up. “Well?” he asked, his eyebrows arched with curiosity. She had never given lessons before, had not a clue as to the man’s ability, but knew that just as she had learned, so could he. There was something in his eyes, something in his confidence, something in the sincerity of his voice that thrilled her beyond any experience she had encountered. She answered, “Yes.”

The convertible flew into the open space in front of the Califax Hotel reserved for Sylvia Fontaine, stopping as quickly as it arrived. The Califax Hotel’s steel and glass frame rose 80 stories into the air, and on that 80^th story was Derek’s office with him, Sylvia believed, inside. After flashing a card across a magnetic reader by the entrance, she tore open the door and ran towards the elevator that would lead her to Derek’s office, unable to contain her excitement and anticipation any longer. The polished brass doors of the elevator silently slid open before her; she moved inside and pressed the button for the 80^th floor. The elevator lurched then started to rise through space, its window giving her a clear view of all the buildings downtown she was being lifted above. The panel near the button counted each floor ash she passed it, reminding of the days, one by one, that passed between her and Derek in her home.

At first she was embarrassed at the seemingly squalor conditions, but she noticed that Derek did not care and she quickly learned not to. Seven days a week he would arrive at her apartment, his arrival marked by the roar of a tremendous engine followed by a sudden silence. Seconds later, Derek was inside with an instrument in hand, ready to apply himself to the hours of study and practice where she taught him everything she knew about music, from theory to performance. She noticed that every day his smiled seemed to become wider, his eyes contained more fire and life, double that which she had seen in the lobby of the Califax Hotel where they first met. For hours, until the very break of dawn, he would practice on every instrument she owned, carefully guided by her technical advice. And just as she was now rising rapidly to the heights of the Califax Hotel, Derek had risen rapidly to the heights of musicianship. Amazed at his brilliance, she treasured the evenings they spent together. It was a joy she had never found anywhere else in existence, anywhere in another human being, and it propelled her forward, day by day, against her difficult financial situation and striking loneliness. She had even played her original works for him, pieces she had never revealed the existence of to another soul on the planet. She would watch him respond, note by note, movement by movement, to her music, his face reflecting every emotion she projected through her instrument. In those hours she would bare his soul to him through harmonies and melodies, knowing he understood. Then, as if to exceed the greatest dream she had ever hoped for, Derek obtained enough skill to perform her works with her. In that first twilight hour where the two reveled in her work as equals for the first time, she fell madly in love with Derek Parker.

Her love grew with each passing day. Yet the more she loved him, the more unbearable her time with him became. Every moment was a checked desire, an unfulfilled wish, a repressed thought that if she followed would lead her to the dead end image of Derek Parker and Jane Califax. What could a poor girl like her have on the rich and lovely Jane Califax, she wondered in innocent jealousy and frustration. She remembered the way Jane looked at him that night they met, her eyes possessing the same extreme desire that Sylvia carefully masked whenever he turned to her, the same desire that she was now hiding from Derek as well . No, she could not bear all her soul to Derek Parker. There was one part which she would never risk, because the pain of being rejected would be too much to bear.

So she thought as the elevator reached the 80^th story and the polished brass doors opened. The lights were on in the hallway to Derek’s office, the brilliant white marble floors gleaming under the shine of the overhead fluorescent lights. The light bounced off the floor and onto rows of picture frames, lined one by one alongside the walls. Each one was of Jane Califax, Derek Parker, and Sylvia Fontaine, together, smiling as if there was nothing in the world but success and happiness. Every major city in the world was represented on that wall, provided for by Jane Califax. She had single handedly flown both Derek and her around the entire world to perform that CD which sat atop an altar in her loft. Looking to her right and left she saw the three of them standing in front of the Philharmonie de Paris, the Boston Symphony Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Grand Ballet in Moscow, and on the stage of Carnegie Hall in New York, the opening night to the tour that Jane Califax had booked. Each photograph was a memory, precious and sacred, but there was one which would always remain closest to her heart. It was marked by the photograph that hung above the door to Derek’s office that crowned and surpassed all the rest. It was of her and Derek, alone, her arms wrapped around his waist as she leaned up to kiss his cheek, the neon lights of Tokyo glowing behind them like flameless fireworks at a celebration. It was the last stop on their world tour, and it was the first time Derek had spoken the words which she had come to cherish every day of her life. His eyes were closed in the photograph, and Sylvia observed that she had never seen a happier man in existence.

She opened the door to his office and saw his solid figure behind the frosted glass of his sound room, enclosed and set apart from the rest of his office. In one corner of the room was the outline of an upright bass, on the back wall were rows of brass, string, and wind instruments, next to him was the silhouette of a Grand Piano. It was one year ago this day, this June 21^st, that she had arrived to his office for the first time, standing in the exact spot she was standing in now. Derek had invited her up to privately celebrate her birthday. She recalled the wonder she felt walking down that hall, whose walls were bare and severe as stone at the time. Her next memory was how she gasped when she opened the door to his office, and in the space that his sound room now occupied was a Stradivarius Violin of incalculable value with a bow attached to the neck, encased in light atop a pedestal which at its base read, “Happy Birthday.”

Yet Derek was not the only one bearing a gift on that day a year ago, Sylvia humored to herself. She laughed at the irony of giving him a present on her birthday, a tribute to the man she loved more dearly than anything on Earth. It was a CD jewel with a winged man eclipsed in sunlight on its cover, with the dedication To Derek Parker on the inside case. He took it as if it were the most delicate and sacred object in existence, and placed it in his office’s stereo system. They listened together in silence, Sylvia watching his face in the same way she had done whenever she played her works for him. For an hour, the two sat next to each other, gazing into each other’s eyes as the music played, the harmonies and melodies spanning every emotion which Sylvia possessed. There were songs of terrible longing and wistful desire, pieces filled with bursting trumpets and pealing violins that embodied the very excitement of life, all crowned by a series of rhapsodies of pure joy, unhindered by any trace of pain. When it concluded, there was a moment of silence between the two, looking at each other as if they were the only two souls who lived. She was the first to speak. “If you want to invite Jane…”

“Later,” Derek interrupted her with a tone of finality. She remembered how she trembled as he leaned towards her and took her into his arms and kissed her with the same furious intensity as the music she had created for him, the music that she secretly recorded in the hours she was not in his company. Resolving to finish it upon her birthday, as a gift for herself and for Derek, she had succeeded. With it, she had earned from Derek the one birthday gift she truly wanted above all else: his love.

The door to Derek’s sound room opened and he stepped outside, holding a small square object in his hands. She beamed as he moved towards her and took her in his arms as he had done exactly one year ago. His pressed his mouth to her own as he lifted her body up and swung her around, causing her to laugh, sigh, and moan as he kissed her with a hunger that she shared and returned. Then, as he set her down and looked into her eyes, he handed her the object in his hand. It was a CD jewel with a charcoal drawing of their photograph from Tokyo on its cover, draped by a single bow around its corner. As she removed the bow and opened the jewel, she noticed the inside cover read To Sylvia Parker. She gasped, almost dropping the jewel in shock and surprise, unable to hold back tears that glistened as they slowly rolled down her cheeks. Derek wiped them away as he took her, now openly weeping, into his arms once again.

“This is for you,” he whispered into her ear. She moaned as she buried her face in his shoulder, wiping away her radiant tears of joy on his dress shirt.

“Play it for me, my fiancée,” she spoke softly, amazed that she had just spoken the words that had come off her lips. Derek took her by the waist and placed the CD in his office stereo. The two listened in complete silence, looking at each other, watching each other’s reactions, knowing with full certainty they shared something that no other souls possessed. The emotions on their separate faces were a mirror image of each other, each a unique variation on their own happiness and joy, their spirits the exact same, expressed openly to each other. They both knew in the span of that moment that their love was the greatest treasure they held on Earth. The sounds of Derek’s music encompassed them both, each note throwing fuel to the intense fires that were their individual souls. When the CD had finally finished, Derek said, “Happy Birthday, Sylvia.”

Sylvia Parker now had two June 21^sts she could never forget.

A Brief Review of "The Brothers Bloom" - 6/14

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:45:59 GMT

A new piece has been added to the annals of romantic literature and its name is "The Brothers Bloom." In keeping with the spirit of romanticism, this story is about the necessity of man to make choices he can live with. These choices are the only options for him to obtain happiness and fufillment, therefore he must discover them - and then act. What happens when a man defaults on this? The answer lies in the character of Bloom: a neurotic self torn by inner-doubt and plagued with unhappiness. Due to Bloom's own lack of certainty and conviction, he allows his brother to plot his life and thus he denies his own desires, leading him to this state. Bloom's inner conflict is present from start to finish in this story, which not only generates most of the suspense present in the script, but allows for an impressive climax which concretizes this theme perfectly. Each central character in the story achieves their highest values, in whatever variation, by virtue of their choices, an important moral conclusion which Bloom arrives at because of, ironically, his brother's plot. While this might seem self-defeating of the theme, it is not: Bloom's conclusion is wholly his own, and while his brother might have given him the concretes which led to this, it is Bloom's individual action which earns him the love of a woman and his own happiness. Even his brother, whose plot led to an unforeseen complication, earns his own happiness, paid for by his brother's new self-awareness. The plot is a testament to the intense devotion one should have for one's own values.

Perhaps the greatest character on the screen is that of Penelope, whose beautiful innocence and intelligence shines as a sort of beacon that not only leads Bloom to a renewed love of existence, but is a case study in hero-worship. To her, Bloom is the adventure which her life lacked - an opportunity to employ the skills and hobbies she acquired in isolation, in service to the man she loves. Her desire and actions are unashamed and consistent, and better, she is explicitly aware of this. Despite her lack of previous dealings with men, she, by virtue of her intelligence, is able to pin-point Bloom's inner conflict which she describes as a sort of "constipation of the soul." This is a perfect summation of Bloom's own frustation with the discovery and pursuit of what he actually wants. She loves Bloom so much that even when he is about to become the victim of this unresolved conflict, she seeks him out and tells him exactly what he needs to hear: that he is in love with her. Bloom's own actions, which he had come to doubt, demonstrate this, and it is at this moment that he comes to the realization that not only is she correct, but that he finally has a personal stake in his own life.

This realization does not garuntee Bloom his happiness - he is still required to act for it. Yet this realization gives Bloom the fuel and the reasoning necessary to overcome his chronic self-dobut and make the correct decision for his happiness at the necessary moment. This thematic message is repeated in several variations throughout the movie, but it is best stated in the last line of Penelope: "We're going to live like we're telling the best story in the world." This is the only proper approach to existence for a man, and "The Brothers Bloom" is an example of how it rewards him. That experience is well worth the price of admission.

-C

Video Game Music - 6/7

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:11:40 GMT

Citizens,

I would like to officially announce my love for video game music. The various 8 and 16 bit pieces from Nintendo and Sega are amongst the greatest works ever composed. If you are looking for complex and emotionally rewarding music, I can think of no better source. While the instruments in the music might be computer rendered imitations of their originals, they express the music and power of a piece just as well as their “real” counterparts. It is not surprising these works sprang from the minds of individual composers such as Koji Kondo, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Nobuo Uematsu. Their works, vast in quantity, are available for free on youtube, waiting for you to discover them. Music from video games has spawned musical industry in the form of sites like www.ocremix.org where composers rearrange the scores to these works into original compositions, to booked out shows at symphony halls, to purchasable CDs from bands such as The Black Mages (of which Nobuo Uematsu is the leader).

To get you started, games with excellent soundtracks include:

Final Fantasy I-VII (Nobuo Uematsu)
Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross (Yasunori Mitsuda)
Sonic 1 (Yuzo Koshiro)
All of the Mario Series (Koji Kondo)
All of the Zelda Series (Koji Kondo)
All of the Megaman Series (Ogeretsu Kun, Manami Ietel, and Yuukichan's Papa)

Oh, and while you’re at it, check out a lady by the name of Yoko Kanno and her ochestra, The Seatbelts. She might make music for anime instead of video games, but she’s just as good.

-C

Read 'Em and Weep, Statist Bastards - 6/2

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:05:14 GMT

News, Citizens!

So recently I was stopped by a door girl at a local bar and informed that the TABC (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission) told her that it was illegal to use my electrical cigarette in the bar due to the recent bout of fascistic rule.

Well! This was preposterous - the TABC does not even regulate tobacco! Just to make sure I emailed them today and received this response:

"The Commission does not regulate tobacco or simulated tobacco products or devices. I can only assume that this might have something to do with the City of Dallas – no smoking ordinance. However, since the Commission cannot enforce a city ordinance, I do not have the specific language of that ordinance available."

Okay, so the door girl was wrong. But just to be 100% certain I went to the final authority on these issues: the law itself. In this case, it is Dallas City Ordinance 27440, commonly known as the Dallas smoking ban.

But what does this law actually ban, C? Let me quote, citizen:

"inhaling, exhaling, possessing, or carrying any lighted or burning cigar or cigarette, or any pipe or other device that contains lighted or burning tobacco or tobacco products"

There you have it. Since the electric cigarette is not a tobacco product, and has no open flame or light, it is not banned under the letter of the law. I have printed a copy of the entire ordinance and am now keeping one on my person at all times in order to prevent unjust ticketing (which I have heard numerous rumors of) and to offer evidence to property owners afraid of the city's horrible mockery of justice. And if anyone decides to ticket me or anyone associated with me, I will fight them in whatever court available and not surrender until they lose.

They'll just have to make a whole new law to stop me from enjoying myself!

-C

A Brief Review of "Up" - 6/2

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:07:05 GMT

Art has the power to show men what the world can be; the best art shows men the world as it should be. This category of art is known as romanticism, which is marked by its recognition of the fact that man is a volitional creature, and therefore the selection of his values and their achievement is within his grasp. By showing what man is capable of, romantic art has the capability to inspire men to higher ambitions, to provide energy for the pursuit of their current ones, and to give a man a needed moment where he can bask in a world that honors his spirit and his struggle to live. Pixar’s “Up” is such a movie and for that reason it is worth every penny to see it.

The entire movie is dedicated to the idea that no matter what pain or misfortune occurs in life, happiness is so powerful that it erases the significance of anything negative. “Up” achieves this theme by demonstrating that even the sadness of death can be overcome by the joy found in existence. For the hero, Carl, that joy is found in the spirit of adventure, embodied by his own life and that of his late wife, Ellie. His love of her was a source of unending pleasure, which once removed brings Carl to a state of miserable depression. Yet after experiencing the pain of losing what is most valuable to him in the world, Carl rediscovers happiness on what he believes to be his last adventure before death, one that would honor his life and the memory of his late wife.

That adventure is to erect a house in Paradise Falls, a valley “lost to time” that embodies all the danger and excitement of the world the two fell in love over. While the circumstance of their life together did not allow them to achieve their dream, Carl takes it upon himself as his sole mission in life to complete this goal after her death. No matter what adversity or challenge he is faced with; villains and their heinous acts of force, tremendous tasks requiring immense strength and creativity, or navigating relationships he is forced into due to circumstance, he refuses to surrender his goal. While he might be a frail old man, the characters, and even the audience, may mistake him for weak. Weak is the one thing he is not.

Carl is a man literally possessed by the importance of his own values, and it is for this reason that Carl is a shining example of a hero. Carl is an ideal man by the fact that his life is a constant, never betrayed, pursuit of his own values. He possesses the unbreakable spirit which is required of a man in order to obtain happiness. It is this kind of spirit which gives him the strength to complete his adventure – and at its end discover a renewed love for life. This discovery, the plot event which triggers the climax of the film, is so well structured and such a vibrant salute to the life of man that it is a value in its own right.

Make sure you take the time to see “Up” in theatres while you still can – or you’ll also happen to miss out on the wonderfully integrated 3d effects of the movie. “Up” never settles for the cheap or trite; instead it is a tremendous work of art, aesthetically and morally. In a world that seems to pride itself on every new study of the depraved and grotesque, from serial killers to demonic possession, the reality that “Up” portrays is a wonderful oasis that anyone with a love for life can enjoy.

-C

Post Memorial Day Article - 5/26

Tue, 26 May 2009 21:27:01 GMT

The purpose of Memorial Day is to honor the deaths of American soldiers who have died fighting for the freedom and rights of American citizens. That number is over 1,314,000 to date – men who lost their lives in the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War II, fighting against oppressive rule, against slavery, against whole-sale murder and destruction. These men fought to keep the very rights necessary for human existence – and paid for it with their lives.

The American soldier did not just fight these evils – he conquered them. America gained independence from England who sought to rule them by force. The Confederacy was destroyed and slavery ended in America. Germany and Japan surrendered unconditionally, liberating half the world from death camps and totalitarianism. The value of a soldier’s life is self-evident by these examples. He fights so that you can be free. Any man enjoying his freedom today owes these men a debt of gratitude for their actions, and it is right that a holiday should be devoted to their efforts.

These men, however, are owed more than just gratitude. There is a better payment to offer for their service, one far more important and meaningful. That payment is to make sure none of their brothers-in-arms die needlessly on a battlefield. Soldiers are first and foremost individuals whose lives are valuable, and it is the responsibility of the citizens they defend to respect that precious value. While the job of the soldier is to fight with his very life to defend the rights of a society, that does not mean he should die needlessly in the process. It is a crime against these men, and life in general, to place a soldier needlessly in harm’s way, to make them fight battles they cannot win, and to order them to war on immoral grounds. A soldier is too valuable, too important, to throw away, because their existence ensures your safety.

This means that every American citizen must understand the proper reason for war – self-defense. Any other cause is fundamentally unjust, for it is a preemptory use of force which is the exact thing we need these soldiers to protect us from. The cause of freedom is not advanced by forcing others to accept it, but by granting men the right to make their own choices in their lives. It is advanced, however, when a society goes to war to defend its right to exist. This means that wars to “democratize” a nation such as Iraq, to act as “peace-keeper” in Somalia or Bosnia, or to provide “humanitarian aid” to a country like Darfur, are all fundamentally wrong. Do not forget that soldiers have a right to live, too, and you do not have the right to sacrifice them for any “noble” cause whatsoever.

This also means that Americans must understand how to fight a war, so as to protect their troops. War is won in only one way: the defeat of your opponent. As Patten once said, “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” There is not better statement for the correct method of warfare. The right of a soldier to live supersedes that of those who attacked his country. Any hindering of the American soldier from defeating his opponent – whether by poor planning from leaders such as General McClellan in the Civil War, whose incompetent actions cost ten of thousands of lives and prolonged the Civil War by failing to defeat a weaker Confederate Army, to rules of engagement which put American soldiers needlessly at risk by forcing them to wait to be attacked before they can defend themselves in such examples as Somalia or Iraq, to improperly equipping soldiers for battle, making them incapable of properly fighting – is wrong. Anytime a soldier dies needlessly on the battlefield it is akin to murder.

In fact, sacrificing American troops does not achieve the objective of peace – peace is only possible once the aggressor surrenders. By failing to defeat the enemy, he is left intact to continue fighting. Peace is not possible when a Hitler sends tank divisions into a city in order to force them to accept his rule. Appeasement and diplomacy will not work either as British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain learned. He believed if the West let Hitler conquer Poland, peace would be achieved and Hitler would stop military action. The consequence was the Battle of Britain; full scale bombing raids conducted over civilian targets by Nazi Germany. In order to stop a Hitler and his army, Germany must be stopped, since that society is what grants him his power. Furthermore, to waste the lives of troops makes a country less capable of protecting itself. Ruthlessly destroying the enemy is the only way to ensure a permanent peace. The same applies to the modern battlefield. Stopping terrorist cells will not end attacks on America; defeating the societies which give them money, weapons, and support, will.

So if it is your goal to honor American soldiers on Memorial Day, do so by not making “memories” out of the soldier we do have. Honor and respect their virtue and value, and argue to send them in harm’s way only in self-defense. End peace-keeping missions where their ability to defend themselves is impeded, end their obligation to police and help a society which actively engages in their destruction, dedicate the proper resources and planning to minimize their losses, and, most importantly, use them aggressively and without reserve to defeat any nation which threatens the rights of American citizens to exist. There is no greater service you can do for them than that.

-C

Star Trek Review - 5/22

Fri, 22 May 2009 20:51:13 GMT

I'm going to save you $10, citizens (not counting popcorn and soda, which will most likely be an additional $10).

It is the money you would have spent to see Star Trek had you, like me, gave it an innocent chance. Science fiction always has interested me, for it necessarily involves a presentation of the future of man's progress, socially and scientifically. It is one of the few places you can experience the reality of innovations which men can only dream of, and long for, in the present. Plot, character, and theme are, however, the most important aspects when telling a story. In this case, despite the inclusions of space ships and lasers, Star Trek suffers from made-up science, a poor plot, and dismal thematic messages.

Someone should have told the writer of Star Trek that blackholes do not send people through time. Even better, he could have asked a physicist, who would also have informed that objects are torn apart by blackholes. In fact, when you get close to a black hole, you are sucked into the largest gravitional well in existence and are completely annihilated.

What relevance does this have to the movie? Well, the entire plot is constructed around a mining ship Captain being sucked back through time after Spock fails to save his home planet from an oncoming supernova. Once he arrives in the present, he quickly murders James T. Kirk's father, destroys a ship, and plots his revenge.

Why revenge, you ask? That's a question I had to ask myself during the movie, because all logic would suggest that not only is Spock's failure not a moral issue, but by his presence in the past he could warn his home planet and save everyone. Does he do this? No. Why? Because he wants the people who failed him to suffer like he did - no further explanation given. What does he decide to do? Commit planetcide and genocide in one fell swoop on the homeworld's of all the Federation planets who failed him. The writer even changes his motivation from one scene to the next. When you first meet Captain Nero, you are told he is murdering billions of people to save his planet. When you see him later in the movie, this motivation disappears and is replaced with the old, boring, "I'm just angry and I don't have to make any sense."

This kind of irresponsible writing is ever present throughout the movie. Take the presentation of the Vulcan society: when studying math, their children are using the greek alphabet. Why would the Vulcans, whose ancient history is entirely seperate from that of of Man, be using Greek symbols? The writer didn't want to bother with that detail.

The plot is even worse: the only reason James T. Kirk can save the day is because Ambassador Spock also travels back in time to serve as a convenient (and utterly coincidental) deus ex machina. Spock supplies an engineer with a formula that allows them to escape the planet all three are trapped on, and informs James T. Kirk not only of the villian's motivation, but his whole plan. He also tells Kirk how to replace Spock as Captain of the Enterprise, instead of him discovering it himself. Spock's presence, Kirk's presence, and engineer Scotty's presence on a god-forsaken little ice planet all just happen to line up and save Earth from destruction. What a relief!

There are only five major plot events relevant to the main story line, and this somehow takes a grueling two hours to move through. Fights are over cheroegraphed like in every modern action movie, taking twenty minutes to flash swords and phasers, and jump around a metal platform. I found myself yawning between these "action" segments, and wanted to get back to where the real action lay - Kirk's attempt to save the galaxy.

Really, Kirk is the best part of the movie. He is creative, dedicated, clever, and most of all, consistently right. The other characters are well played, though at times the racial and ethnic diversity of the Enterprise makes the starship seem more like a multicultural advertisement than a military vessel. Young Spock's character is also extremely well done; he is both intelligent and proud.

That being said, the thematic elements the story are the worst. The messages Star Trek tries to con on its audience contradict each other scene to scene. In one scene, young Spock, a social outcast due to his human mother, is told he must find his own destiny in life, endorsing man's ability to choose. In other scene, Spock from the future tells James Kirk that it is his destiny to captain The Enterprise and there is no alternative. In yet another scene, future Spock tells young Spock to "forget about logic and go with what feels right," when this is the same ideology which spawned the villain who destroyed their planet and culture. Not to mention the false emotion/reason dichotomy the movie presents as natural - Vulcan's are expected to "purge" their emotions in favor of logic. In reality, emotions are not an enemy whatsoever of one's thinking, they are merely responses to a mind's perception of reality. Logic and reason are the tools which allow you to enjoy and experience emotions responsibily. What kind of life is worth living without moments of pleasure, joy, happiness? Such a life is not living at all; it is a robotic state of existence which has no purpose, and no reward. For all their knowledge, the Vulcans really missed out on philosophy.

Star Trek is a slow-moving action film with bad ideas. If one tried to live by the theories presented in this movie they would be unhappy and/or dead. You are better off looking at pictures of Starships on the internet for free than wasting your money on this film, since really that is the only value this film offers.

-C

My Laugh - 5/15

Fri, 15 May 2009 21:32:40 GMT

I am amazed at how humorous and bright the world can be, citizens!

Why, just the other day I was invited to a little event at The Beat, a new 10 story loft in downtown Dallas, for the Dallas Junior League. My invitation originated from a lovely musician named Gabrielle, coupled with the promise of free food and drink. After having my car valeted for free and sucking down a Turkish silver, I took the elevator to the 2nd story, stepped out onto the "sub-roof," complete with pool and gazeebo, and surveyed the scene.

A brief note about the "Junior League of Dallas" - it is composed solely of rich women, aged 22-55, who promote volunteerism and charity by raising money through the league. They hold a themed ball every year, proceeds of course will go to some such charity for some such reason. Gabrielle is not a member; rather her employer helps organize the league.

So imagine my surprise when I step out onto a veranda directly overlooking downtown Dallas in the middle of a bright, sunlight late Spring afternoon and witness a sea of roughly 200 (I am not exaggerating) beautiful young women in the latest designer fashion drinking cocktails and smiling. It took me a few seconds to realize I was the only man at the entire event, besides the staff. Well! I took my customary position by the bar and immediately ordered a "blue martini," some concoction consisting of vodka, orange, and blueberry (I can only assume) liquor. Gabrielle drifted away for some social obligation somewhere and I was left free to admire the aesthetics of the whole scene.

After Gabrielle returned, we decided to leave the Junior League (which somehow over that short period of time she grew to detest), and instead decided to tour the 4th and 10th floor, which are for sale.

Citizens, I have never in my life seen a more beautiful space for a home! All of the exterior walls were windows cut evenly into rectangles by white painted metal, allowing you a breath-taking panorama of downtown Dallas on one-side and beautiful air-conditioning unit on the other, the fans spinning and chugging white fumes into the air. Each room was completely unique, suited to the life-style of the individual who would inhabit it. The "bachelor" pad, a single bedroom with a large area, had a marble topped bar, with a wide living room space that could easily accomodate a five piece band. A two bedroom was done in a wide, symmetrical T shape, with the bedrooms occupying the tips of the unit and a living space conjoining them. Another "economy" model, afforded a small space for someone who likes to enjoy their luxury in frugality and simplicity. And perhaps one of the most amazing features is each face of the building has four, wide, large, V shaped balconies which point out into space for perhaps a good twenty to thirty feet. At first, I believed these to be pointless "modern" ornmentations, but truly each and every balcony was functional! The two bed-room I mentioned earlier had a private balcony for both individuals.

Condos starting at $100k! Prime real-estate.

Gabrielle and I then ventured to the Doublewide, a detestable hole-in-the-wall that seems to pride itself on its junk collection, so that she could show her prowess at word games on the Megatouch(C) entertainment unit. Indeed, she won a free game every time she played. Her game was interrupted by a DHCP server error at one point in time (the computer had lost its wireless connection to the router) and we headed for that glorious strip of downtown Dallas known as Main, in which resides all those glass and steel luxury clubs that sport millionaires and beautiful women on parade. The car was valeted yet again, and we listened to her friend, one Camille, play the guitar and sing songs about acrobats and feral cats with her four piece band. The music was decent, some form of upbeat country (as to be distinguished from "folk" that half-music, half boring poetry that passes off as beautiful music) and held enough interesting variations to keep the listener's ear on the music. Fish and Chips were on the menu for myself, coupled with a nice Budweiser and a Royal Fuck to conclude the night with.

As if that was not enough, I learned today that I am not in jeopardy of losing my job! Since Monday, I have been absolutely paranoid at work. While waiting to ask my boss a question, I overheard him on the telephone talking to a man he was promising "50k" to, and a request to "please look at our website to learn more information about the company." As they hired me not a month ago, I was concerned, and visited the HR department to confirm whether or not some "surprise" was waiting for me. Nina, the beautiful Asian woman who single-handedly runs the whole department, gave me a concerned look when I asked about my performance and told me that "Scott and I will speak to you later this week about your performance." I spent the next four days going over every single thing I've done since I've arrived at E4D, the company I work for, searching for some sort of deficiency that merited termination. I found none. Well, Friday rolled around, and I waited patiently for the axe I assumed was going to descend upon my newly acquired income. Nina even came by the Customer Support department in the morning, but then left without meeting with me. For sure, this was going to be the end!

Fifteen minutes later, my boss informed that I was signed up for the new training class next week. Three hours later, when told him I had spoken to Nina and wanted to know if I was performing acceptably, he laughed and told me I was doing fine and not to worry.

I should have known correlation does not mean casuality!

And perhaps even funnier are recent headlines. which include such titles as: "Obama Says Debt Load 'Unsustainable' ; Warns of skyrocketing interest rates," "Gov't pressuring Bank of America board change,"CIA chief's secret mission to stop Israel bombing Iranian nuclear plant...," and, supposedly my mother has found a document proving that the Treasury and Fed are going to force banks to accept TARP money (details pending). One cannot help but laugh at this mess of rediculousness! Obama warns of debt - and then spends more than any other President in history. The government thinks the Bank of America board should be replaced with those with "more experience" - after forcing them to accept assets which were determinetal to their bank. And the United States, a target of Iran, is trying to persuade a nation not to defend itself - and expecting them to listen!

Top that off with my recent discovery of a AUTOGRAPHED PAGE FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF ATLAS SHRUGGED ($50k), a response from The Undercurrent promising me feedback on my proposed articles, Yaron Brook, President of ARI, adding me on my facebook account, a computer repair job scheduled for later today for a sum of $50, an application for the beta test of Starcraft 2!

And lest I not forget the music! I have developed a "B" section to my chord progression in my original post, sliding naturally from the F-A#-D chord to D#-G#-C. From there it gets a little more complicated: from D#-G#-C go to A#-D-F, then to A#-D#-G, followed by C-G-A#, and finishing with C-G-C. It sounds rather nice to play the 1st chord, alternate between the 2rd and 3rd, play the 4th, and then alternate between the 4th and the 5th. And it transistions back into the original progression perfectly!

One last thing. I recorded the Dave Burris Trio featuring Matt Tollentino again and have decided to post the video. A quick note about the song; it was written by one of my favorite composers, Harry Roy, whose rendition of Canadian Capers is brilliant. While the song might be a bit rediculous, it's a good kind, and I think it fits this post nicely.

May your happiness know no bounds, citizens!

-C

Tango - 5/10

Mon, 11 May 2009 00:42:43 GMT

Hello Citizens,

You've once again been fiending for some new music, haven't you? Don't worry, I have a gift for you, which I had to wait a whole day to link as my computer has come down with a virus. I simply walked away for thirty minutes, came back, and the rogue Anti-Virus Virus had installed itself on my machine, without any user input! Somehow, I managed to contract this virus from breitbart.tv while I was examining President Obama's stand-up routine at the White House Press Dinner (I particularly liked the one where he commented that he would rest on the 73rd day as if he were a Christian god. Give the man credit; he can build a fake personality really well).

For those of you curious, symptoms include:

1. Automatic site rerouting by the virus altering your host file
2. Pop-ups declaring you have been infected with a virus, coupled with an invitation to purchase their software to remove it.
3. Unusual lag or slowness in computer operation.
4. A button in your taskbar in the shape of a shield, informing you of possible infection and security flaws.

So if you're like me and are counted amongst the "infected," I bring you the cure. Boot into safe mode with networking (by pressing f8 repeatedly when you power on your computer) and download Malwarebytes' Free Edition of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Avast! Anti-Virus, Install and run the full scan of Malwarebytes, followed by accepting the prompt to perform a pre-boot scan with Avast! after installation. There you are!

I'm going to sign off this week without too much commentary, but I want to tell you faithful citizens of a new publication that is exemplary as it is unique. It is the Undercurrent, devoted to the rational analysis and solution to the current cultural and political problems facing America, and I encourage you to scour over every article for a liberating presentation of things as they are - and as they should be.

Oh, and for all you O'Henry fans out there: here's this and this. Have a good week, citizens!

-C

Disposables - 5/4

Mon, 04 May 2009 19:52:08 GMT

Hello Citizens,

I hope the weekend was as enjoyable for you as it was me.

Recently, There's a CD I must recommend to you, should you enjoy music of the crazy funk category, and you can buy it here. That Ray Davies sure can write a tune. I'll keep you posted on any musical developments besides an awesome chord progression that goes C-D#-G, G#-C-D#, G-A#-D#, and ending with F-A#-D. Leads well back into the first chord and sounds nice when you go up an octave and repeat your first phrase.

There is something comic in the world persisting in fear and overreaction despite the knowledge that swine flu is not lethal. Usually, governments start quarentines before they whether know the diseases is bad or horrible, not after, but such is the case here. All this madness is causing pork producers to feel a little sick themselves, trying to desperately to explain to that world that cooking meat kills whatever virus happens to be lurking inside. In one week, pork futures have dropped 6 points, falling from 82 to 76. Vaccines are currently undergoing testing; guess who gets that deal and win some money on the stock market.

Speaking of the Stock Market, Obama and his team are going to try to find a way to regulate "some of the massive leveraging and the massive risk-taking that had become so common," meaning they want to control how you invest. The means are, of course, not detailed except with an ominous sounding "systemic risk regulator, with broad powers to seize large non-bank financial firms, such as insurers, hedge funds or private equity companies, if they are deemed to threaten the stability of the financial system." The madness doesn't stop there: Obama wants to close tax loopholes for American business sending jobs overseas, claiming the current system "says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York." This will "make it easier" for companies to create jobs, nevermind these businesses will have higher expenses and therefore have to cut back on their overhead (including labor).

Well, Obama provides a nice rationalization for those with practical concerns:

That means that more talent, more resources will be going to other sectors of the economy," he said. "I actually think that's healthy. We don't want every single college grad with mathematical aptitude to become a derivatives trader. We want some of them to go into engineering, and we want some of them to be going into computer design.

I'm glad to see Obama and the US government has taken upon itself the mantle of determining the lives of its citizens' youth. By what right do they have to dispose of the careers of young men who wish to enter the world of investing? And what will happen to the businessmen and entrepeneurs who desperately need the capitol and wealth that the stock market generates? The answer is: blank out. They claim a man's life is only valuable as it is to society, against which society can do whatever it likes to in order to secure that supposed value. What Obama and supporters of that statement evade is that no life is possible when you make "choices" available to a man after wielding a gun to "influence" his decision. Life, at least a human life, requires the freedom to make one's own choices and pursue them to their logical ends (barring the use of force).

Of course, the Fed and SEC will be there to make sure it happens. Whatever innocence or good intention was attempted by the Fed is undeniably dead. Obama proposes they now act as a government funded broker for the entire consumer and real estate market. This will only worsen the problem legitimate private banks are facing by removing valuable investments and loans they could make to worthy parties, thus further depleting their reserves. The aim is "confidence;" what Obama will get is failure, which I'm afraid does not promote confidence.

Confidence also arises from trust, when a party promises an action and then delivers. Well, today is May 4th, where are the results of the government stress tests? They are suspiciously absent from the headlines, and Bank of America and Citigroup are still struggling to get out from under the governments thumb, begging loans from private capitol. Papers report tomorrow, this week, quoting sources in the government as saying "None of these banks are insolvent," but there is simply no telling at this point. Also observe that none of the banks stood up to the government by claiming they had a right to keep private records from the public eye which could potentially hurt their business. Just as a doctor sometimes should withhold information from their patient to aid in their cure, so should businesses keep their records to themselves so as to prevent panic from ripping through their operation.

If the banks had refused, sadly, there is no doubt the government would have used force or coericion to make them capitulate. Starting with the news Bank of America, claims are now being made that the White House threatened to destroy investment firm Perella Weinberg Partners reputation with the White House press corps should it not remove its opposition to the Chrysler bankruptcy plan. While this has yet to be proven, it is perfectly well within par for the course of the US government - Republican and Democrat included. You can read the story here if you want to read the statements of both Perella Weinberg Partners and Obama's response.

Well, at least the White House is drawing a line on giving newspapers a bailout. Sorry folks, while we say sacrifice is a universal moral principle, I'm afraid we just can't apply it to you. Life requires compromises anyway, and besides, your employees will always be able to collect unemployment.

Oh, one last thing. China won't be buying as many T bonds. Looks like the government will have to find another sucker for that old "something-for-nothing" swindle. China has to be careful, though. It surely wouldn't want to depreciate the $800b it already holds in US debt.

-C

Katherine as Kira

Fri, 01 May 2009 19:56:09 GMT

I found something pretty cool for all you We The Living Fans out there.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1135710036

How someone managed to come by this is beyond me.

-C

Bonds FTL - 4/28

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:46:31 GMT

I was right, citizens.

The Treasury is going to have to "borrow" (also read as: set on fire and chant to summon the ghost of economist John Maynard Keynes) another $361b for the 2nd quarter of 2009, that is to say, just for the months of April through June. And just in case that $361b isn't enough, which it won't be since their goal of "saving" the economy will only destroy it, they are projecting a necessary $515b for July through September! Keep in mind that this quarter last year, the Federal Government needed only $13b; this time the Treasury has managed to deplete itself - right after tax collection! Come September, these amounts will cause the Federal Deficiet to quadruple to $1.75t. Don't worry, citizens, Congress will just push the national debt limit to $12.1t and we'll be able to continue to spend money as if there are no such thing as long term consequences!

In my previous post, I stated that the only way to secure more funds would be to print more money or steal it via taxes, but I missed a third option which our government has consistently practiced for over 70 years: bonds. Hey, who doesn't think Bonds aren't a safe? After all, aren't they instruments of debt that mature over a certain period of time, after which the issuer is contractually obligated to pay? Not if the Government decides to roll the bond maturity date back!

If you want to see what all this money is going towards, I recommend this report by the Heritage Foundation. Though it provides details on spending from 1990 to 2008, it is demonstrates the trend of spending, initiated by the Republicans and about to be expanded by the Democrats. On the list is a funny little entitlement of $638b to Medicare under the Bush Administration. Well, no one can accuse the Conservatives of doing nothing! (just something evil and against their "capitalist" principles).

And if you want to see another set of pseudo-Capitalists, take a look at GM. GM has introduced a plan for its own nationalization, promising to close 13 of its 47 plants, cut 7000 jobs, beg for an additional $20b in stolen taxpayer money, and convert current government loans to equity. This would decrease its debt from $44b to an estimated $23b, not to mention chain the American tax payer to the success of the company by use of government force. Its debt would be converted into 89% equity of the company through a government trust. Otherwise, GM threatened its bond owners it will go into bankruptcy itself and perhaps give them "no consideration at all.” (direct quote from GM)

Sorry GM, your poor planning does not relieve you of your debt. You can't just take a loan and not pay it back because you spent it all and made no profit. No amount of crying, bullying, or begging releases you from your contractual obligations. Then again, the government could just declare the bonds null and void. Who's going to stop them?

Ironically, this government trust will managed by one of the very parties who caused GM's downfall, the UAW. Chrysler is taking a similar move, offering their destroyers 55% of their company along with Board Seats so as to reduce the UAW's government backed extorsion money by roughly $10b. To further demonstrate that the UAW is utterly insane, they are asking for a 20% raise for their works as part of the deal.

Despite all logic, Chief Executive of GM Fritz Henderson claims “The objective here is not to survive. The objective is to develop an operating plan that allows us to win.”

Well Fritz, delivering yourself into the hands of blackmailers and extorters does the opposite of that. Survival is a prerequisite to "winning" - god forbid he says posts a profit - and if you can't do that first step, then you cannot exist.

It all begs the question: When will producers take a stand against the Unions? Perhaps when they adopt a moral code that does not hold service to others and self-sacrifice as a primary, replaced with the enshirement of profit as the moral and rational goal of business, then they can begin to make progress.

Bank of America is experiencing more woes after the government said it needs more capital after its "stress tests." What these tests actually are have yet to be disclosed, but the government expects Bank of America and the American citizen to take them on faith - just like Bank of America CEO did when he purchased Merryl Lynch. You can guess where this extra capitol is going to come from. Did you just say the US Treasury? Very good, citizen. The Treasury, Fed, and its army of regulators are like a mad dog frothing at the mouth, unwilling to let go of the poor idiot who tried to pet it. Bank of America will attempt to protest the findings, fearing increased government control in the form of conversion of loan to equity. To demonstrate the insanity of the Treasury (and yet another reason to keep the banks out of their hands), they were quoted today as saying the stress test results will not have anything to do with the ""current solvency or viability of the firm." This is such a contradiction of the highest order - how does a review of a bank's assets and balance not have to do with its solvency? The very definition of solvency is: "Capable of meeting financial obligations." Someone please explain to the Treasury that losing billions of dollars leads to the inability to meet financial obligations. Supposedly, this will all come to light May 4th, when the stress tests' method and results will be released. Something tells me these results might be censored, though.

Speaking of censorship, the US Supreme Court upheld the government's ability to enact it on broadcasters in a 5-4 decision today, giving the FCC power to fine broadcasters over the use of a single "curse word." Using the rationalization of of giving "conscientious parents a relatively safe haven for their children," the Supreme Court continues to dismantle whatever rights American citizens have left. Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps called the decision "a big win for America's families," while intelligent men the world over are shaking their heads at the loss of freedom of speech. The Conservatives yet again betrayed the principals of liberty and property rights, teaming up together to defeat Rupert Murdoch and other broadcasters protest of the FCC's censorship over their aired programs. Before you couldn't curse on TV from 6 AM to 10 PM; now we have universal "clean" (also read as: government controlled) airwaves. The New York Supreme Court did its best to stop this travesty, but the Supreme Court swooped up the case and, as Justice Antonin Scalia said verbatim, "s-worded" all over the Constitution. In a great "moral passing of the buck" the Supreme Court refused to consider whether this action was Constitutional, meaning they refused to check with the very body of law when passing a legal decision.

C, isn't that the purpose of the Supreme Court?

Apparently that now belongs to the Federal Appeals Court, citizen, which the highest court in the country is defaulting to. Currently the FCC can only enact censorship on broadcast television and radio, while cable, satellite, and the Internet remain on the edges of freedom.

The insanity of the Conservatives even has Senator Spectre of Pennsylvania jumping ship to the Democratic Party in 2010. At least he knows its a dead movement with a sawdust heart and a picture of Jesus where its brain should be.

Not that the Left doesn't have their own Jesus. Now if he would just let himself be nailed to a cross the world would, indeed, be a better place.

One last thing: despite the impending "armageddon" from "climate change," the Democrats will most likely not bring a climate bill before Congress this year, with the evasion of its inability to pass through the Senate. So much for the "act now or die" bit.

Oh well; there's always music.

-C

Swine, Etc. - 4/27

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:01:02 GMT

Do you have flu symptoms, citizen?

An archealogist who met President Obama in Mexico City did; and died a day later. The President has reported no signs of this "Swine Flu," but it's only been a week. He met with his Cabinet today to discuss how to make the government "more efficient," a tag-line he's been harping on for weeks in his weekly addresses; they too do not show symptoms. The normal gestation period for Influenza is 24 to 48 hours, so it looks like that window closed.

What a relief.

The Swine Flu is similar to the one that killed a few million people early in the 20th century. For those of you who are not familar with the virus, it is fatal to young adults due to its manipulation of your stronger immune to system to, in effect, kill you. If you notice, however, the only really fatal cases are in Mexico, where there exists squalid conditions and lack of medical treatment. I would wager a dollar to say that the Swine Flu blows over like SARS and the Bird Flu. I have to hand it to Europe, however, their quarantine measures have been swift and inefficient, screening passengers, stopping flights, while the US hasn't bothered to close the border, or even screen travelers. This lack of responsibility would compound an actual problem exponentially. The government absolutely possess the right to stop individuals with infectious diseases from entering the country; its citizens have a right to their life. Quarantine, screening, and closed borders are the practical implementation of this and are the only logical (and moral) decisions in this instance.

Congress has decided to investigate the Paulson/Bernake coercion of Bank of America in response to his recent testimony. But C, isn't what those two did a violation against current SEC laws? Yes, but the government seems to have no problem with the Fed breaking its charter, or its own constitution; why would they have a problem with Paulson/Bernake "making a desperate action necessary to circumvent a meltdown of the financial sector?" For this action alone, those two deserve jail time, as it was a clear act of force that not only destroyed capital, but permanently marred a major bank.

In good news, GE has integrated holographic optical technology with media storage, producing a disk that can hold up to 500 GB of data. Replacing the thin metalic layer which is written to during the CD/DVD/BD burning process, the entirety of this new disk can be used to store information through a laser-induced chemical change which is read as a reflective surface. Ultimately, GE projects that it will decrease the cost of a gigabyte per media unit from roughly $1 to 90 cents.

You can read more, and learn of other scientific breakthroughs in other fields, at the blog "From Edison's Desk." From nanomaterials, to "pulsed detonation engine" (an engine running on small controlled explosions which burn fuel 5% more efficiently than let's say, oh, a combustion engine), it is definetly worth investigating if you find applied science fascinating.

That's all, citizens. Enjoy your day.

-C

Illegal Action - 4/24

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:41:15 GMT

Citizens,

Though this identification belongs to one Karl Denninger, I feel it important enough to bring it to you.

For those of you foolish enough to believe that the Government is some kind of safe-guard against corruption, and that by instilling it with more power will somehow save you from the "greed" of private banks (who are often manipulated into their own destruction by the coercion and laws of the Government, causing financial losses which the government "must respond to"), you should realize something about the nature of Government. A government is essentially a giant gun you point at someone who broke the law and then press the trigger. It is the sole arbritrator of the use of force, with a police force and an army, and as such it must be very limited in the scope of which it may act. Once you let the government intervene and manipulate business, there is no end to the problems it can create - since there is no force powerful enough to stop them.

Such is the case today. The Fed is acting outside of its authority established in its charter, by acquiring assets at the behest of the US Treasury from AIG and Bear Stearns to the tune of $74b in sub-prime loans and bonds, which have lost the Fed a total of $9.6b as disclosed today. Nowhere in the Fed charter does it permit the entity to acquire these assets. The most granted to the Fed is to purchase securities and bonds which have a mandatory maturity date of 90 days. Not even the government whom Americans have so much faith in follow the laws they set for themselves! If the Fed were any private bank, they would be so insolvent that it would only be a matter of time before they were bankrupt. Instead, the Treasury is not only allowing it to break the law, it is making sure that it succeeds in breaking the law.

That should be enough of a wake-up call to warrant a pause and at least a moment's reflection. But no, the Treasury must act! Like with the TARP money, the auto-bailouts, and god knows what other schemes they've cooked up in the sewers of Washington, the Treasury is going to loan the Fed TARP money in order to bail it out. It is a bad sign when the Fed has to be bailed out. So while the Treasury depletes itself on investments that are liable to yield no return, the question arises: Where the hell is all this money going to come from?

That's a very good question, citizen! The are two possibilities: One, they print more. Two, they take it from you by force and pour it down the well of "economic relief." The first decreases the value of the dollar, forces a rising interest rate thereby depleting the capital of businesses and financial institutions. The second just makes you a poor sonuvabitch.

Well, to give you an idea of how much money the Treasury puts out, they conjured $750m out of thin air in 2007. So it's probably not going to be from the former. And as far as taxation is concerned, you, the reader, probably will not bear the brunt of this. You can expect the wealthy, betrayed by their brothers who endorse this insane economic practice, to be skinned to the tune of anywhere from 33% to 50% of their income. The Treasury is literally looting from the American citizen to shore up its Reserves, and then carelessly loaning it out to private and public entities alike. Want to stop them? You might as well build an atomic bomb in your backyard, citizen.

In other news, Ford is posting less loses than expected by reducing its overhead and thus will not require a government bailout. Now if Chrysler and GM would just collapse, Ford can take over the American market and perhaps even post a profit. Speaking of GM, they just closed their Pontiac division. Not that it allows their to escape from Union obligations. Unions extortion is not simply an America Trend: demonstrating the logical progression of their US brothers, the savages who make up France's Electric Utilities Union have begun smashing power plants and electric transmission facilities to make sure that governments are forced to accept their demands of a universal 10% raise. These mongrels almost killed two people in intensive care with their brazen use of force; someone should just arrest the organizer and guard the facilities with the military. Shoot on sight is a really easy order to follow.

The upcoming stress tests on US banks will - supposedly - be released on May 4th, along with the method of testing the Treasury is employing. Stress testing implies letting something function as it naturally would to see if it would break. How the Treasury manages to conduct this on a bank, short of doing nothing, is beyond me. Perchance they measured the amount the bank lost in a given period of time against its assets and revenue, then caluclated the amount of money needed to refinance the bank so as to cover its losses within a given (see also: arbritary) span of time? I am going to make a shocking prediction, citizens - most American Banks, including Bank of America, will be almost completely insolvent, meaning their liabilities and debts exceed their all of their assets.

The Treasury says they might need another projected $1t. That's the first time I've used the "t" before and I rather dislike it in this context.

-C

"Market" Failure - 4/23

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:25:36 GMT

Well citizens,

Let me just give you a quick review of recent events:

A few dictators in South America said that President Obama didn't do enough for them, while some smiled and handed him literature. GE is trying to convince the world that the economic crisis is "resetting the rules of capitalism," meaning that their inability to generate profit demands money seized by force. The debt on GM is mounting, and talks of bankruptcy are whispered in the offices of lawyers, and politicians. GM is not the only one feeling the looming spectre of bankruptcy - The New York Times is $1.3b in debt, with $43m in its bank account, on top of which is placed $625m in Union obligations. The Boston Globe also needs $20m to by May 1st to pay off similar Union extorsions, and is now operating at a loss of $1m a month. Senator Kerry is doing his best to land the Boston Globe in his pocket by holding Senate hearings to bail them out of bankruptcy. Somehow, Kerry believes, their failure grants them a right to your money. No shock here; the Republicans and Democrats both supported the TARP funds and the Automaker bailout. I wonder what will be done about that? Senator Cardin of Maryland suggests letting the newspaper operate as non-profits. He thinks their failure should make them exempt from taxation - nevermind the property rights of all businesses to that.

-C

Addendum: The Treasury continues to meddle in the Market, putting an insane political philosophy before logical analysis and the imperative of profit. Recently, they asked the debt holders of Chrysler to lower the amount owed to them by $5b, and take 40% equity. Will these lenders succumb to the same fear and stupidity that seems to be swallowing up everyone in the credit industry? How about lender's adopting a method of verifying the long-term value of a given investment before sinking billions of dollars into it? Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis didn't bother with this process - and wound up acquiring Merryl Lynch who possessed loses of up to $15.8b. Not that then Treasury Secretary Paulson threatening to remove Bank of America's CEO and entire board if they didn't comply helped the issue.

Weekend Review - 4/19

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:45:16 GMT

Citizens,

Well if there was any doubt that the Fed could close a bank, it happened just yesterday, with the Fed closing American Sterling at a loss of $42m to the FDIC. Realizing the power they have given away, banks are scrambling to repay their TARP funds. It would be a fitting irony if the government converted those loans into equity shares. After all, who can stop them?

This is precisley the reason why the Federal Government should stay out of the economy, despite whether or not they can "help" in a given situation. Sure, the government could give your company a loan, your company could succeed and pay off that loan with interest, but in this process the principle that the government should be invovled whatsoever is conceeded. Suddenly the only legitimate user of force, the government, is an actor within the economy. The danger of this should be self-evident.

President Obama could learn a lesson or two on this subject from his new friend, Hugo Chavez. Chavez, the dictator of Venezuela, has been murdering, stealing, and destroying lives and property for several decades, climbing over a heap of corpses on his way to the complete control of his country. I'm glad to learn that Obama thinks this is a man we should cooperate with. Their apparent chuminess, in my opinion, comes from one single fact: both have explicitly condemned capitalism. Endorsing Obama allows Chavez to be consistent - Obama does not claim to be a Capitalist, but a progressive, a changer, a whole lot of pleasant sounding nouns - and gain credibility and perhaps a "favor" from the President. Obama gains credit in South America and will use it - for what purposes I can only guess. Ultimately, they are just playing each other for prestige and power, and you can see it in the smug little smile they give each other when shaking hands.

Well citizens, enough bad news! I have music for you, courtesy of Dave Burris and Matt Tollentino. They performed, amongst other hits, "Minor Swing" with Mr. Tollentino on the clarinet. Forgive the movement in the beginning; I spilled my beer on myself hitting the record button.

That's it for the weekend, citizens. May these next seven days be even better than the last!

-C

Up And Coming - 4/17

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 06:55:57 GMT

For those of you citizens who suffer from rising sea levels and unbearable temperatures, the EPA is taking the first steps to relieve your climate related plight. The EPA stated today that greenhouse gases linked to climate change "endanger public health and welfare," thus gaining regulatory power over all sources of these gases, made possible by the Federal Clean Air Act and bolstered by a Supreme Court decision two years ago stating that the EPA did indeed have regulatory power should greenhouse gases be considered to a public health risk. Rest assured, the EPA will do everything possible to limit and stop production in every sector of the Economy, and thus save you from a problem that has no scientific proof of its existence. Whether by bans, government enforced standards, or a "cap and trade" system where producers must purchase their right to produce from those who are not, it seems that the United States has accepted the doctorine of climate change and is ready to act on it. Ironically, these same men claim they will create jobs and reduce the prices of goods and services - while preventing them from coming into existence.

Banks are also finding themselves in a strange regulatory situation. Several banks wishing to return the TARP money provided to them by the Treasury are discovering that the US Treasury is literally refusing to respond to them, forcing them to keep the money. One such case is the Minnesota bank TCF Financial, who have for thirty days attempted to contact the Treasury as to the means to return their TARP loan. The Treasury has refused to answer, declining to comment to both the Bank and the press. TCF spokesman Jason Korstange said this about TCF's acceptance of the loan.

“They came to all the banks,” said Korstange. “They did come to us and suggested that it would be a good idea, that if you didn’t take it you would be looked on as a bank that couldn’t get it, that you were too bad to get it.

“It made sense to do it at that time. We thought we were being good citizens. We didn’t need the money,” Korstange added.

In fact, the US Treasury has decided to add a post-loan amendment to all US Banks who took TARP money that is leaving some banks cursing themselves for being such moral cowards. The US Treasury has stipulated that Federal Regulatory Agents, dispatched to any Bank who received TARP funds, will have the power to determine whether or not the Bank is "fit to survive," or if they must accept additional loans from the Treasury with any provisions it chooses to impose.

For US Banks, I would like to call attention to an old story. A man who desires something makes a strange deal with a fellow named Mephistopholes, and winds up being dragged down into a rather nasty place to fufill his end of the bargain. I'm certain the deal seemed attractive at the time, perhaps even necessary, but when legions of damned souls are tearing at your robes, you may just regret your contract. While government regulation and manipulation through such institutions as the Fed may be the direct cause in many cases, it was not regulation, but fear and stupidity that has TCF and their brothers-in-debt dangling over the abyss of nationalization.

Feeling worried over up and coming economic issues, citizens? I have a perscription for you. Simply listen to my "Exciting Music" station on www.pandora.com at http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh87246333670530012 and enjoy it. Nothing soothes the soul like good music.

-C

Evening News - 4/16

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:50:49 GMT

Good evening Citizens!

This is a follow up on yesterday's post concerning those lovable rogues, the Somali Pirates. Apparently, someone read yesterday's post and has taken my advice, assigning a navy escort for the vessel laying the East African Marine Cable connecting internet traffic between Kenya's Mombasa with the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah. The project is worth an estimate $130m, and will allow citizens in Kenya to access the Internet faster and cheaper, as opposed to using the current method of satellite connection. The story, announced by Reuters, did not mention what country's navy would participate in guarding the ship.

Also, the Tea Party brought out some strange things, including an estimated number of 250,000 protestors and an announcement from Texas Gov. Richard Perry that Texas could "leave [The Union] if we decided to do that," but ""We've got a great union," and "There is absolutely no reason to dissolve it."

Take that versus:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Indeed, citizens, Rick Perry is on the very vanguard of revolution. You can be assured he understands the fundamental nature of man and his need of rights. In fact, if Texas obtained complete autonomy, he and the legislative body certainly wouldn't regulate and appropriate private property, and pass laws which force its citizens to live a certain way. It wouldn't be like the Federal Government at all!

The real story here, however, is Texas's recent proposal of the HCR 50 bill, which states

"That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed."

What Texas is forgetting is the last time a state tried to pass a Bill of Nullification, a law which states that a Federal Law does not apply to a State, it was met with a Bill of Force from the US Congress, authorizing the President to use the military against South Carolina if it did not accept the law (see the Nullifcation Crisis of 1833). Texas politicians are welcome to try, but they shouldn't be shocked when the Federal Government withholds funds or arrests them for treason.

Of course, President Perry could just enact conscription and raise taxes to deal with that. Who wants a tyrannical Federal Government when you can have one much closer to your home?

-C

Good Afternoon Citizens - 4/15/09

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:40:20 GMT

Hello Citizens,

Welcome to my Livejournal. Today is Wednesday, April 15, and the world is still intact.

Citizens, I have exciting news. President Obama has obtained a puppy. He has personally assured the Press that the puppy will not sleep in bed with him, and that he will be a responsible dog owner. But all might not be well. The President has recently acquired intelligence that Portugese Waterdogs like tomatos, and has been forced to assign a Secret Service detail to the First Lady's garden at a cost of $25m per month. President Obama has proposed an "Argicultural Security" tax to Congress to pay for the understandably necessary expense, where it will certainly pass.

Also in the news: pirates, and how impotent the civilized world is before a group of men with automatic weapons in a dingy. How countries that possess destroyers, satellite imaging, and jet aircraft can lose hundreds of millions of dollars to these savages is beyond rediculous. These international shippers would be more than willing to pay for security, and if governments will not provide, I invite them to manage their own defense. As Richard Phillips's captors learned, nothing beats a few good snipers.

I'm glad to see the citizens of the world in such good hands! A group of dangerous reactionaries, however, have organized to protest against our government today, April 15, 2009, the deadline for the government's forceful seizure of your wealth. Calling it a "tea party," an homage to the destruction of imported tea by British Colonialists two centuries ago, these "revolutionaries" are protesting American taxation on its citizens. Hopefully, this mob understands what property rights are and will not violate them during their soiree.

Speaking of consumables, I have discovered a rather tasty calzone at Greenville Pizza for all you Dallas-ites. It costs $9.59 and is worth every penny.

Furthermore, RCeeezy will be hosting his weekly jam session with The Grits tonight at The Prophet Bar. You should go there, spend money, and/or jam. Cover is low, drinks are cheap, and the performers are talented.

I must return to work, citizens. May your toil make you rich.

-C