Category Archives: Political Rants

Political Rants

Big foot.

We made history this week, once again. In a small way, at least, but no insignificant. We apparently (and I have no proof, but it seems likely) convinced our European allies France, Spain, and Portugal to deny flyover permission to the plane carrying Evo Morales, president of Bolivia. In other words, we diverted an aircraft carrying a head of state to something other than its intended destination, not because of an emergency, but because we suspected that whistleblower Edward Snowden had somehow been secreted aboard the flight in an effort to offer him asylum. That was not the case, of course. Not that it would have been ample justification for diverting the Bolivian equivalent of Air Force One, but then … since when does the U.S. need justification to do anything to a nation as powerless as Bolivia?

New low: Dissing Evo MoralesThe reaction from South America has not been positive, as one might expect. Leaders from Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, and other countries have gathered in solidarity with Morales (who is now back home). This will likely be viewed by Washington as the usual suspects railing against American imperialism, blah blah blah. I’m sure Juan Ferarro will be on NPR tomorrow talking about how over the top their reaction is. But let’s consider this: why would we provoke such a negative reaction so gratuitously? What the fuck is the Obama Administration playing at here?

I have to admit, Obama’s foreign policy credibility has been seriously on the line this week. First, revelations about spying on our European “partners” – they’re completely pissed off at us. Then managing to instill hatred on both sides of the Egyptian divide. And now, manufacturing a major diplomatic row with South America over dead zero. (Ironically, John McCain and Lindsey Graham are hopping from devastated capital to devastated capital in the Middle East, mostly complaining about the only sensible thing Obama has done in foreign affairs – namely, not listen to those two about Syria.) Playing bigfoot with Evo Morales, though, is just plain low. Bolivia has taken enough shit from us. We are way out of line on that score.

So, happy fourth of July. As always, patriotism is about working toward something better than what we have. That option is still wide open, friends.

luv u,

jp

Political Rants

Making a killing.

I’ll keep this short, because there’s stuff to do. My advice to anyone who wants to kill someone (non-white) with impunity is simply to follow these three steps:

  1. Invite said person down to Florida
  2. Take them somewhere where no one can observe you closely, perhaps the Everglades, and shoot them dead
  3. Claim they made you feel threatened, thereby invoking  the “Stand Your Ground” law (signed by noted moderate Jeb Bush)

That’s pretty much all you need to know. Watching the Zimmerman trial, I can’t help but feel like he’s going to walk through that massive legal hole opened for him by bullet-brained state legislators (fueled by ALEC) and Big Jeb. I am struck by that sense, and by the overwhelming irony of the defense’s efforts to frame Zimmerman as the target of racial profiling. Cross examination of Trayvon Martin’s friend Rachel Jeantel was ludicrous. The girl did not want to be there, but felt she had to. She lost her friend, and she was herself being stereotyped on the stand. The insinuation that her use of a very standardized form of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) was just bad speech, uneducated muttering, etc., was quite simply racist. Watching the defense attorney, surrounded by white people, disrespecting this young lady was truly nauseating.

Regardless, though the Zimmerman defense team seems less than stellar, their fight is downhill all the way. All they need to do is sow doubt. It’s Zimmerman’s word against the silence of a dead young man. Seems like there was a time when a jury might take one look at this 200-plus pound vigilante, look at the slight kid he shot, and toss him in the slammer.  That time, if it ever existed, was before “Stand Your Ground”. (I’m not certain it ever existed when the young man was black and the shooter white, particularly in a place like Florida. )

Color me disgusted. On a week when they’ve gutted the voting rights act, it’s appropriate that we should be reminded of our deep cultural racism.

luv u,

jp

Political Rants

In the street.

While they’re all talking about the Sopranos … let’s talk about something that’s actually happening in the actual world. Like the uprisings in Turkey and in Brazil.

First, the way the U.S. press covers the government response to these protests is interesting, to say the least. I suppose they are so overcome by the loss of James Gandolfini that they have forgotten how harshly our own various municipal police forces cracked down on the Occupy Wall Street movement just eighteen months ago or so. The developing world doesn’t have a corner on repression, not by a long shot.

The only way things changeStill, it’s interesting that in both cases, the original impetus for the protest was a decision by the government affecting public services. Both Turkey and Brazil have been touted as relatively successful governments, and yet beneath many success stories there is often another story to tell, that of the poor, the working people, those left behind. You can see them in Brazil, in China, in India, in Turkey, just as you can see them here in the United States. True, the standard of living in Brazil has improved vastly over the last decade. But the people protesting increased transit fares are making us aware of the work that is yet to be done.

This did not come out of nowhere. The core of the movement in Brazil are organizers who have been working for years towards greater social and economic justice. These activists and the landless peasant movement was substantially responsible for the somewhat more progressive shift of national governments, starting with Lula’s election. (See this article in the New York Times.) I’m sure the same can be said of the people standing in the park in Turkey.

America is no different. Occupy Wall Street didn’t come out of thin air either. It was the next chapter of resistance to a society that rewards criminality on the part of the privileged and protects the powerful from accountability. From Ankara to Sao Paulo to New York, mass movements remain the best way to get our leaders to stop, listen, and act.

Feet on the street – that’s what does it, every time.

luv u,

jp