Finally a Solution!

I had to share this.  Apparently Toto, the company that graces my bathroom with one of its lower tech options, has come up with a solution to the world’s energy problems.

That solution is a motorcycle that runs entirely on shit.  We either need to accept that our cars will smell like shit or french fries.  Quite the dilema.

http://gizmodo.com/5845671/this-poop+powered-toiletcycle-is-touring-japan-in-october

A Close to Our Summer of Discontent

I don’t quite remember the last time I heard some good news.  Violence continues in Libya.  It grows in Egypt and Syria.  A stalled US government is no better off than before finding a resolution to the “debt ceiling debate” that never should have been debated to begin with.  The stock market has been like a moody teenager, overreacting to every word it hears.  People cheer when Ron Paul implies he would let a man die (link).  Michelle Bachmann makes up a story about a woman’s daughter becoming mentally retarded after being given the HPV vaccine (link).  I’m sorry, being sexually active is not mental retardation.  Nor does the vaccine even promote sexual activity.  Do you think most 13-year-olds would even understand what the vaccine is for?  They hear it can prevent cancer.  Sure I’ll sign up for that.  Now millions of people will probably avoid the vaccine and they or their daughters will pay the consequences in the form of cervical cancer.  And people claim that they are trying to reign in medical spending.

I’m harsh on the republicans, yes.   More and more I find myself baffled that I live in a world where “liberal” is a dirty word, yet “conservative” is a gold standard.  Why is it a liability to be liberal?  What is wrong with progressivism?  What happened to make people cheer the death of a hypothetical uninsured person?

Yes, we need figure out a long term solution to America’s debt issues.  But, this shouldn’t mean turning the US into the Wild West again.  The federal government had to spend a lot of money to put an end to the systems of vigilante justice.  The railroads were built by private companies, but enabled by an act of congress (see Pacific Railway Acts).  Infrastructure spending held the union together.  Cuts do need to be made.  The Postal Service probably should end standard Saturday delivery.  Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security need reforms (reforms not termination).

Unlike the Wild West, though, there is no gold rush that can save us now.  Oil is a dwindling resource that is costing us more and more to clean up the messes from.  The Tech and software industries employ far too few people to carry 300 million people on its own.   US wages would need to fall much more for manufacturing to make a return.  It won’t be easy to get out of our predicament.

Change will take intelligence and patience, two things that America definitely does not have respect for.  Maybe we should ban abortion so we catch up to China’s population.  I guess then we’ll have the cheap workforce for China to start outsourcing jobs here.

Crisis Averted… We’re Doomed

Hooray!  The debt crisis has been averted!  We’re finally safe from the immediate risk of a massive US federal default.  Now let’s see what’s next on the agenda… hmm, the FAA has been shut down for almost two weeks now… the markets dipped to their lowest levels of the year… the European debt crisis has shown to be far from over and possibly contagious… Yup, we’re doomed.

I’ve always liked the expression “out of the frying pan, into the fire” since I first read it in The Hobbit.  It seems like an apt expression for just about everything in life.  One solution almost inevitably leads to a new problem.  Or at least the previous solution only illuminated the true problem.  In this case, the frying pan isn’t the problem; the fire underneath is.

So here we are after weeks of worrying about a United States debt default.  Crisis averted, but nothing was really solved.  The economy still sucks.  And, as long as the economy still sucks, we’re no closer to solvency.  You know what, even if the economy was doing better, we probably wouldn’t be any closer to solvency without some combination of austerity measures, increased taxes, and debt forgiveness.  The right will never let tax hikes pass, even if most of country thinks the wealthy should be taxed more.  The left probably won’t go for Greek style austerity measures.  And who the hell is going to forgive our debt?

So let me correct myself from earlier.  We’re not doomed.  We’re fucked.

But it’s okay.  It’s not always so bad living in a third world country.  The wealthy folk in those countries are usually extremely wealthy.  You eventually get used to the parasites in the water.

Maybe this will be the impetus for the United States to be less united.  Maybe the south will secede.  I say let them this time.  The only contribution that the Bible-Belt makes is to the country’s collective body mass index and obesity rates.  Sure divorce is usually tough.  The kids will be fucked up.  But they’ll get through it.  It might complicate things if one side gets remarried before the other side.  We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.  The worst thing to do is to just stick it out for the kids.

That last sentence got me thinking.  Just stop having kids.  Debt problem solved.

Gridlock

People are dicks.  They’re pure assholes.  You know when you’re driving and there’s a red light up ahead but some cocksucker has the nerve to speed up and cut you off, only to have to stop short at the red light 10 feet ahead?  Yeah, that’s the dickishness I’m talking about.  It’s the culture of changing lanes in bumper to bumper traffic.  It’s worse than the simple “hurry up and wait” mindset.  It’s nastier than that.  It’s more malicious than that.

This is the culture of Capitol Hill now.  It’s less about winning and more about making sure the other side loses.  This didn’t happen suddenly.  Politicians have been trending this way for years.  The Debt Ceiling debate has brought the dickishness to the world’s attention.  We are completely unable to govern ourselves.  It is total gridlock.  Instead of waiting at the traffic light for the cars ahead to clear out, they’re just intentionally blocking the box.

Two compromises have been reached.  Two compromises that would have Keynes turning over in his grave, but that’s another debate entirely (this post is about the process, not the outcome).  Both will be (or have been) shot down.  Decisions are no longer being made in regards to what would be better for the country or more importantly its people.  All anyone can think of is how can I get (re)elected and who is going to pay for it?

I propose a solution.  No reelections.  People should not be able to serve consecutive terms.  Maybe political terms will need to be lengthened to accommodate this.  So be it.  Make a senate term 9 years, 3 years for congress, and 6 for the president.   This will let politicians govern instead of constantly worrying about reelection.  If the person does a good job, then people will remember them several years later.

On second thought, it might be time to give up on representational democracy entirely.  In a few years we’ll probably be back in a feudal system anyway.

What the Fuck?

This link should speak for itself:

Iraq’s Maliki says will buy 36 F-16 fighters from US – Reuters

Life Will Go On

Life is a sneaky little thing.  It manages to adapt and cling to any last thread in its quest for self-propagation.  I came across an interesting article in the NY Times today (yes that bastion of communist propaganda) about life evolving in our cities.  It looked at many species residing all around us that managed to survive and adapt and even evolve to cope with all the shit that humans have managed to throw at them.  There are fish in the Hudson that are completely immune to PCBs, a chemical that is highly toxic to just about every form of life it touches.  Then there are worms farther north near a battery factory that live and thrive in dangerous levels of cadmium.  And of course there are the countless bacteria that have become resistant to nearly every form of antibiotic we can throw at them. 

I’ll say it bluntly, but in light of these biological developments, if you still don’t believe in evolution you are a fucking idiot.

Now getting to my point, life finds a way.  Humans may have the capacity to wipe out most life on this planet, but to wipe it out entirely would take years of calculated effort.  I’m not saying that we couldn’t do it if we really tried, but if total elimination of life is our goal, humans are half-assing it.  For every toxin there is immunity; for every climate there is adaptation.  Even if the Earth were to disintegrate, I’m sure that some bacteria buried deep inside a rock would manage to survive in a dormant state until conditions were right for it to start its engines again.

Life will go on.  Something will feed off all the garbage and plastic floating in the pacific. Somehow the rats and roaches will come to enjoy 130 degree summers in New York.  Even humans, I believe, will survive.  Not 7 billion of them, but enough to muddle through a treacherous dark age.

Come to think of it, a treacherous dark age might actually be something to look forward to.  Or at least I would look forward to it as long as all the idiots, fat people, fundamentalist Christians, annoying housewives, and other people in my book of undesirables don’t survive.  One can only hope that evolution will do its duty, because no matter what, life will go on.

Reference:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/science/26evolve.html?_r=1&ref=science

The News Less Interesting

Something has happened over the past several months.  The world has changed.  It has changed many times over.  It changes more and more every day.  I feel overwhelmed by it.  The news no longer interests me in the same way that it used to.  I don’t feel that same pull and passion to have my voice heard.  I simply don’t care in the same way. 

Is it the volume of media?  The banality of most of it?  The vast negativity?  All are partly true, I’m sure.  It almost seems the worst of it is the attention span, though.  So much information is captured and presented every day that it’s nigh impossible to keep track of it all.  We are attacked by information.

• Who knows what’s happening in the Middle East now since an Egyptian Revolution, with an ongoing Libyan Civil War, and a tragic Syrian Clusterfuck.
• Then the Japan quake & Fukushima disaster took our attention away only to be given a back seat to the European Debt Crises, only to be briefly refreshed by a surprise victory by Japan in the Women’s World Cup.  Those reactors are still spitting out radiation.
• Somehow a crazy selfish bitch, Casey Anthony, managed to capture national headlines by murdering her daughter (though she got acquitted somehow).
• The NASA Shuttle program ended, which reminded us that some other crazy person tried to kill a congresswoman.
• Oh right, and Osama bin Laden was killed.

That’s just a small sampling of the past 6 months, let alone an entire year.

News as entertainment, entertainment as politicking.  There is no differentiation at this point except in the interpretation of said data by the recipient.  I can no longer use the words “reader,” “viewer,” or “participant” in referring to this use of media.  I can only call the consumers the “recipients” of data.  Most people limit their incoming bandwidth by trapping themselves in ghettos of philosophy where they only hear the reports that agree with their established view.  There is no challenge to the individuals’ status quo.  There is only exponential decent into something smaller, more closed off, and less open to change.

The internet was supposed to fix this ignorance.  It has only made it worse.  Maybe this is simply my perspective as an American in a descending country.  Or maybe it’s less that America is descending and more that the world is finally catching up to us.  The internet has greatly helped with that.

With this new perspective I rededicate my blog.  The apocalypse is still coming.  I don’t know what it’s brining.  It might be sudden or it might be gradual.  I don’t know when it will occur.  It may have already happened.  It might be something good for the world.  It might kill most of us (which might in fact be the good for the world I was waiting for).  But for now, we must bear with the present and keep an eye for apocalypse later.

Duck Season

Now that the election is over, there is a time of reflection.  The finger pointing can begin on the side of the Democrats while the Republicans can holler and beat their chests.

That’s right, it’s lame duck season.  It happens every year in some form or another and we can all breath a sigh of relief that the mudslinging can end for at least 6 months.

But what does it really mean that politicians don’t need to worry about reelection?  Maybe they can pass a sweeping climate bill to help curb climate change.  Maybe they’ll vote on a bill to finally try and eradicate AIDS and HIV.  Or maybe they’ll even figure out how to fund Social Security and Medicare.

But, more likely, we’ll probably be left to die as poor old folk, suffering from late stage HIV infection, while horrible hurricanes/droughts/floods/heat/frost/etc. destroy our homes and/or food supply.   At least we can enjoy the few years of status quo that are left.

Mostly though, I hope none of the pundits try to convince me it’s really rabbit season.

Apocalypse Later’s Pre-Election Analysis

I apologize in advance to my national readers for the California focus, but that’s what I know these days.

I could go on a rant about who I think you should vote for.  That’s what everyone else is doing, so why not join the party?  The fact is I’m not really in the business of telling you how to think.  All I can do is present information and let you decide for yourself.

Or I can ask pointed questions that skew your perceptions.  Here are a few examples.  Does Meg Whitman keep the heads of slaughtered goats as part of a sick pagan ritual?  Do you think Jerry Brown ever slept with a tranny hooker?  What are the chances that the gates of hell will open up if the democrats maintain control of the House and Senate for another two years?  Which corporate overlord will we need to bow down to first if the Republicans win the House and Senate?   (Answers below)

None of these questions have any basis in fact (except maybe the last one).  They only exist to plant a seed of doubt or fear in people’s heads.  Oddly enough, by phrasing it as a question it’s not defamation.  But regardless of veracity, it’s usually enough to make people form an opinion.  Don’t ask me to cite a source, but I’m pretty sure some psychiatrist/psychologist proved it.

Sadly, that is the environment that Americans have to vote in.  I honestly can’t tell you any candidates’ policy.  All I hear is bashing of the other side.  I don’t care that Meg Whitman has an illegal immigrant cleaning lady.  What rich person in this state doesn’t have an illegal immigrant cleaning lady.  I’m more disappointed that she fired her for the sake of her political career.  Have some respect for people that work hard.  As for Jerry Brown, I don’t know shit about him beyond quickly reading his Wikipedia page.

The truth is, no matter who wins any of the elections on Tuesday, nothing will change anyway.  The US government was designed so nothing ever gets done.  It’s to prevent stupid mobs of people from having too profound an effect on the direction and attitude of our government.  People say that it’s a broken system and that it has been broken for years.  But looking at most of the easily manipulated, weak-minded people in this country, I think it’s working just fine.

In California, there is one exception, though.  Vote YES on Prop 19.

Also California, it might not change anything, but for the love of God, green sector jobs, and the environment, Vote NO on 23.

 

Answer Key:

1. No, she keeps sheep hooves
2. No, it wasn’t a tranny
3. 3.5%
4. Kaiser Permanente (Google would have won, but they don’t need to make us bow to prove our allegiance to them)

Social Media gets in on the Apocalypse

Just launched Apocalypse Later on Facebook and Twitter. Check the links in the sidebar to lament with your friends.