ONE MAN'S VERSION OF MOONLIGHT

Chairman Mao and Jerry Seinfeld

2012-01-29T22:21:00.000-08:00

During and since the Korean War, China has had the opportunity to observe and study our culture thoroughly. The U. S. being their main competitor, are we naive enough to think they let that opportunity pass them by? Haven't their psychologists and social engineers familiarized themselves with our strengths, weaknesses and overall behavior to the extent that they have a distinct advantage over us in peace, or should it occur at some future date, war?
Instead of getting paranoid about it, let's just assume for the moment that China is our enemy and ask ourselves, if that is so, who would be the dominant force. We cannot forget that an entire generation of adults who are currently in control of China (their baby-boomers) were indoctrinated by Mao and his crowd to hate and ultimately destroy us. Isn't that so? Haven’t we discovered all sorts of poisonous substances in food additives, toys and in animal and baby foods imported from China?
Not to mention the electrical and digital equipment and auto parts, geared to fail and get under our skin (psychologically) even to cause fires and/or other accidents.
Remember, we are only asumming they are our enemy here. So let’s just say, much of the stuff they make breaks down a lot, unleashing a constant and insidious epidemic of frustration (ala Jerry Seinfeld and the gang) across the nation—everything from broken shoelaces to broken backs as we heave the malfunctioning crap through the window. Do they need to do more to vanquish us?
Not much, methinks.
They know that all of that frustration wears and tears us down and down, and ultimately down and out. Not to say there aren’t other contributing factors, they are aware of such as our excessive life styles based on erroneous priorities, built in class warfare caused by the greed of a few and the exclusion of millions from adequate health care and enough equality to make a living for themselves and their families.
They are also thoroughly familiar with our American character—how catastrophically vulnerable we are because of the illusions we have about ourselves and our putrefying lack of self knowledge.
Here is one of the major truths the Chinese must know about us.
We are knee jerk reactive to an extreme, bordering on madness.
Example: A hand full of guys from Saudi Arabia got together and flew some planes into a few buildings killing several thousand people. Our knee jerk reaction (utterly irrational) was to invade a country that had nothing to do with it, kill one hundred thousand souls (men, women, children) and lie about why we were there and why we were doing it.
“GET EVEN” was the underlying fetch call to Congress and the people, no matter who or how many we killed in the process—a totally KNEEJERK reaction.
Yes, our kneejerk reaction was once again etched in relief for all the world to see—that particular facet of our American character—the “Dirty Harry” facet we love so much about ourselves and have laced with so much glory-worship. How righteously, powerful, justified and revengeful we felt, as the bombs rained down on Baghdad, knocking out the night janitors and cleaning women in Saddam’s castles and mansions.
We were the collective “Dirty Harry” archetype doing dirty work apparently for reasons only Clint Eastward aficionados and China know—especially China.
Actually weren't we simply a bunch of invading marauders setting their country aflame with our heinous weapons, crawling through their city streets and neighborhoods maiming and killing anyone in our way, or not in our way, proving once again that America is the biggest bully in the valley and no one better fuck with us unless they want their balls blown off and/or their kids engulfed in flames.
Haven’t we proved to the world by now just how wrathful and dangerous we can be? We massacred millions of Indians and drove them off their land. We enslaved millions of blacks to run our plantations, then after we were forced to free them, we wouldn’t allow them to vote or get educated in a proper way. We discriminated against women (still do) and treat them as second and third class citizens.
Not to mention our gay brothers and sisters. You know the ones—Cheney’s daughter—Gingrich’s sister etc.
And if we dare to question America’s behavior or motives, we are un-American and deserve to be scorned, imprisoned, tortured and banished (ala the Patriot Act and like legislation) away from the good people—the Wall Street manipulators, bankers, CEOs, arms and oil magnates and the brainwashed blue collared male Democrats who inexplicably see the moneyed elite Republicans as their betters in spite of being repeatedly screwed by them year after year, and the tea party folk whose attitude toward the poor is, “We got ours. Let them eat crumbs” and who, along with the others, earned their flag waving credentials being part of and/or sanctioning the only society on earth to use Atomic weapons against other humans and later ranting and raving how evil Saddam was to gas Kurds In Northern Iraq.
Back to the Chinese. They have produced a wondrous new Aircraft Carrier. Isn’t it interesting that they have brought it forth at this time in history.
Let us get a little paranoid again and explore the following reason.
They are certain of the kneejerk it will create in Congress— how it will light an immediate fire under kneejerkers like John Mc Caine, Lindsey Graham, Lieberman, Hatch, most of the other Senators and hundreds of House members to compete with them and build a bigger and better carrier, when we have already been downgraded and our monetary and moral solvency is at its lowest ebb since the great depression.
In short, unless the Chinese are really stupid, which of course they are not, they know that we will collapse under the burden and our decline will be fast and furious. They don’t need to worry about a thing.
And this is only one thing out of a thousand things that China knows about us. Do you think for one moment that they are unaware of the overreaching and unsustainability of our military in Afghanistan and the rest of the worlld, with bases in over a hundred and thirty other countries? Do you think they are unaware of our crumbling infrastructure—the vulnerability of our ports, bridges, railways, our water supply, the National Grid, nuclear and chemical plants, the Internet , our reliance on foreign oil and our foolhardy tracking down of potential terrorists throughout the Middle East and Africa, yea the fucking world!
Not to mention the societal ramifications of reintegrating our warriors and wounded as they return from their missions overseas.
And not to mention the ultimate futility of being the main arms supplier to the world, when if the world is to survive it must move in another direction entirely.
And a million more ”not to mentions.”
So, we don't need to make China our enemy.
We are our own worst . . .
aren't we?
Jack Flynn ©
Dec. 2011

South Carolina/ Debate?

2012-01-17T07:34:00.000-08:00

Last night’s South Carolina debate was symptomatic of the racism that runs like a series of veins and arteries through the right wing electoral heart of America.
Is it rampant, conscious racism? Rampant, yes, mainly when there are Republican events going on like last night with an audience composed mainly of two groups—tea party conservatives and Evangelical Christians. They were ninety-eight percent white, dressed to the gills and obviously not hurting financially. The unemployed had no emissaries there. Blacks and Hispanics were markedly under- represented.
Is the racism conscious? In other words, was that audience aware that it was racist?
I think, for the most part, no.
So, how do I know that they were racist?
By their behavior, specifically when Newt Gingrich accused President Obama of providing more food stamps than any other President in history. He received supportive shouts and a standing ovation and when Juan Williams suggested that Newt’s remarks displayed racial insensitivity, he (Williams) was booed loudly. Then, there was the condescending look and slimy intonation of Williams’s first name— J-u-a-n-n-n, which elicited reams of support from that audience, like he was a slimy wetback or something.
The racist, Newt Gingrich, had found his audience. They ate up the way he pontificated and smiled complacently to himself from his elite position as the chosen White Race Chieftain—educating and prodding the “ignorant” Negros and poor Whites of America how to be real men and find janitorial jobs. The contempt for the poor and dispossessed that Newt and the ignorant people in that audience displayed was perfectly disgusting.
I say “ignorant” because Newt and his audience are patently unaware that they have even a smidgen of racism in their bones. But they are loaded with it in their bone marrow, which makes the whole thing even more insidious. The righteous facade of Gingrich, Santorum, Perry, the tea party folk and the Christian right is so convincing that it makes them downright dangerous should they achieve control of “our” government in the coming election.
The sons of bitches even smell good, which makes them really scary.
J.F.
12/17/12

I Watch the Republican debates to keep an eye on them because . . .

2012-01-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

should these people achieve power again, they will drive everything we know as kind and humane to its grave. They want to abolish the FDA, the EPA and the Department of Education. They want to privatize Medicare, Social Security and the Postal Service and fill the Federal Court system with Judges whose main agenda is to protect the rights and fortunes of millionaires and billionaires.

They lack a sense of caring or responsibility to those who through no fault of their own are suffering and they are oblivious to the fact that the "chain of being" we inhabit, is only as strong as its weakest link.

If we keep our mouths shut about it, we encourage their selfishness which has grown expedientially in recent years. If we allow them to regain power, unhampered, we will be helping them pave the way to a Cheney/ Halliburton /Blackwater country i.e. (gated communities and guns).

Not to say we don't need the Teaparty/Ayn Rand Republican types. They do not lack intelligence, talent, innovation, drive and even a modicum of good will and Charity at Christmas and the New Year (especially for their own).

Yes, they can run a company or factory like no one else, but they simply cannot handle political power without disallowing other people from a living wage and expressing themselves.

In spite of their sloppiness and disorganization, the men and women who can handle power and are more capable of keeping the Military in line, are the tried and true blue Democrats. As frustrating as they can be at times, they at least have a heart, less of a tendency to abuse power than the other guys, and more likely to act with the freedom of the individual in mind.

It used to be Guns and Butter. Today it is guns or margarine — hopefully a “smart balance”.

As far as the Cheney, Gingrich, Lindsey Graham (i.e. Iago, the snake) and their dogs go, leave it to their own kind to keep them in line. They are the only ones who can.

Which side is your bread buttered on?

2012-01-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

If your political bread is buttered Republican and you seriously think your party has a chance in November, consider this: Your party of choice has succeeded in alienating, Policemen, Firemen, Teachers, Postal Workers, Union workers, Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, the Middle Class, the working poor, the unemployed, those without healthcare, those with inadequate healthcare, the pro-choice folk, the elderly (specifically Medicare and Social Security recipients) and college students.
Have I left anybody out? Others? Any other others?
Gee Wizz Elephants. Does it get any badder than this?

A FOOL'S GAME

2011-12-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

Has anyone been watching those two fools, Gingrich and Romney as they get closer and closer to the moment of truth in Iowa and New Hampshire?
Their sweaty desperation is showing through. Their voices are getting more and more hysterical—their speech patterns more rapid—the pitch higher and higher. Let's face it. Both of them are borderline hysterical. Neither of them can take the pressure and they're showing it. Do you think they want to show it. Of course not. They would give anything to be cool and collected, but instead they're acting like a couple of teenage boys, shoving each other and racing chaotically for the last hot dog at the picnic.
Come on. Are we seriously considering either of them as a viable choice to lead this country at this crucial moment in our history?
I doubt it.
Not unless we are as panicky and out of control as they are.

By now we are familiar to a point of exhaustion with the rest of the field as well—the gay bashing Guvner from Tex-ass, the plastic faced crawling thing from hell, MS. Bark-man, the ex Doctor, Ron Paul, who believes only in healthcare for those who are fortunate or smart enough to afford it and wants to render the FDA toothless and disband the (EPA) that protects the 4000 babies he delivered. Then there is Ricky Sanitarium determined to keep evolution, gays, and women out of the White house, and last and least, the infinitely forgettable Jon Huntsman who nobody can remember what he said two minutes after he has said it.
That's it gang. They ain't got nobody else.

Don't they know, there is only one guy who can beat Obama?

Yep

A Christmas Massage

2011-12-19T13:21:00.001-08:00

Any self respecting saint doesn't need to be worshiped, pandered to, or held in any sort of awe. That includes J.C. who must have moved on and through the fourth dimension by now and no doubt would be considered a fourth plane saint and all that entails. I mean, for God's sake, all he said was, "follow me" not, "Kiss my ass."

The Tea Party Folk

2011-12-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

The tacit motto of the Tea party Folk is, “Let them eat crumbs.”
That position, politically, historically and philosophically, is narcissistic by nature, immoral, unchristian, un-feeling, arrogant and thoughtless.
It is a self-defeating, anachronistic point of view, bereft of anything enlightening, praiseworthy, or ultimately practical—even functional in the long term.
Such an attitude nullifies the worthwhile development of the human species. It is an attitude that won't prevail much longer than the next election because if adopted by the majority, it would mean the coup de gras to a peaceful, humane and poverty free future for our children, grand and great grandchildren. It is antithetical to the quality of life beyond gated communities and a police state.
If America is to live out its destiny as leader of the free world, it will reject that lame philosophy and reaffirm its enduring belief in Liberty for ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!

TIME

2011-12-10T21:48:00.000-08:00

What is time, but a bend in the stuff of the cosmos that gives us the solace of a transilient outline that we call us. The Christian Right won't like it, but God is both Adam and Eve and the human race is the direct result of an incestuous dream involving those two culprits — i.e. Maya, the comforting illusion that we are not alone, when deep down, we know that we are. As long as we are adult enough to admit that it is all an illusion, we have the freedom to make it as pretty as can be.
In other words, there is no need to worry. Heaven is inevitable.

Love goes where it is sent.

2011-05-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

Lies, lies and more Lies

2010-12-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

The pharmaceutical, insurance and advertising industries want us to be depressed, unhappy and live in a constant state of fear, anxiety and worry so they can keep selling us pills, policies and gadgets to cure it all, which they can't. They fool the public into believing that government is on our backs, when their real goal is to keep government off their own backs, so they can continue to screw us and accumulate shameful profits.

We Came to Fight a War/the story of a B-17 Radio Gunner and his Pilot /as remembered by Al Kotler and written by Jack Flynn.

2009-02-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

2009-02-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

2009-01-20T22:43:00.000-08:00

NAVIGATOR TO PILOT:
“With two inboards out we’ll never make the Alps. We’re losing altitude and number four is leaking oil. We’d better head for Switzerland.”

PILOT TO NAVIGATOR: “We didn’t come here to go skiing, Dan. We came to fight a war. We’re going over. Get rid of everything in sight. If that’s not enough, throw Al out too.”

I’m Al—Alvin Kotler. I was the Radio Gunner on Bill Flynn’s B-17 that day.
It was one of the numerous life or death decisions Bill had to make during the course of our bombing missions out of Foggia Italy in ’44 and ’45.

We had flown through multiple walls of flak that morning over Austria. After dropping our payload, we got shot way off course and were limping back to Italy on our own. Once Bill made his decision, there was no more discussion. We jettisoned everything that wasn’t welded down out the bomb-bay—the 50 caliber machine guns, most of the radio equipment, flak suits, helmets, ammo—everything we could grab. The two outboards were still functioning so we had a chance—a slim one, but a chance.

The Italian Alps loomed before us like giant white sheets of death. If we were going to clear them it wouldn’t be by much. Looking down the open bomb-bay, I swore if I reached down I could have scooped up a handful of the purest snow on earth. Compared to the factory tainted snow in Malden, Massachusetts, it looked like heaven—or if we didn’t make it, hell . . .

Review

2009-01-20T21:45:00.000-08:00

MWSA (Military Writer's Society of America) REVIEW:

A wartime injustice is righted in this crisp, succinctly written memoir of a B 17 flight crew member who tells of the heroism, and tragedy of his pilot of more than 25 combat missions flown out of Italy during World War Two. Written by the brother of that pilot, the reader is given a chilling glimpse into the rigors, and horrors of those young men who flew the big bombers deep into enemy territory, on lengthy, harrowing missions.

1LT Bill Flynn was a professional, dependable, and much trusted pilot whose war time record was exemplary, if not magnificent. Shortly after the war ended he was wrongfully, disgracefully accused of deeds of which he was entirely innocent, and he paid a terrible professional, and personal price. As told to Flynn's brother Jack, crew member Al Kotler, recounts the story of 1LT Flynn, his war time valor, and the final betrayal by the army air corps that he so proudly served. The result is this magnificent little gem of a book that does not waste a single word in telling it like it was. The proud, and honorable way that 1LT Flynn lived the remainder of his life after his betrayal, is redeeming, but the reader is left with a smoldering anger that something like this could have, and did happen. That is what makes the book so believable, and real.

Review by Bob Flournoy, MWSA Reviewer (October 2010)

“Brother to brother, when it counted.
Friend to friend, to make things right.”

Book available on Amazon. Directions to your right.

Who is Illegal?

2008-01-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

We are a nation of immigrants. No one asked the Pilgrims for a green card.
How did you earn your citizenship?
I'll answer that.
It was, in most cases, given to you and required NOTHING of you. Now you fight like hell to stop others from getting it, while those others have struggled, worked and suffered to achieve it, enduring more than your worst nightmares could imagine. In my opinion, they have squatters rights. They have earned it through persistence and hard work, which is only to be respected, if not admired.
Like our own ancestors, they have overcome almost impossible odds to establish their lives and a future for themselves and their children.
Kicking out the babies??? Think of the brilliant minds we might send back—another Einstein, Gates, Lincoln or Ortiz. Think of the families that will be broken up and destroyed. Think of the dreams shattered? Would you like to see your own children deprived of their dreams—their future.

Pretty selfish way to live, isn’t it?

2007-07-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah, "Shit Happens", but shouldn't you at least try to get out of the way of it?

Thought for the Day

2006-12-12T00:12:00.000-08:00

Is the existence of God any more astounding or impossible than existence itself?

Love at First Sight

2006-12-12T00:11:00.000-08:00

Love at first sight is like spotting a cameo in a crowd. You know at that moment that she is the one.

Haiku

2006-12-12T00:08:00.001-08:00

blue moon cow grazing
on shimmering blue moon rocks
blue moon dust rises

I saw Jesus

2006-12-12T00:08:00.000-08:00

I saw Jesus on a bus the other day. He looked tired. I said, “Hiya Jesus”.

“Don’t bother me,” he said. I’m heading for the beach—need to soak in the sun and surf. I can’t understand why all these people are still following me. I did my work. The message is out there. But still they want a piece of me. All they have to do is follow the word but they keep bugging me wanting more and more. Tell them to lay off will you. They’re too much. I just want some sun and surf.”

I looked out the bus window. It was raining hard. “It’s raining,” I said.

“So what,” Jesus said, “can’t you see the silver lining behind those clouds?”

2006-12-11T23:31:00.000-08:00

Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity.

Freud

Three things

2006-10-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

There are three things men think they know everything about—sports, driving and sex.