Javier Ogaz

January 25th, 2012

American culture offers young Americans the “choices” of fundamentalist religion and fundamentalist consumerism. All varieties of fundamentalism narrow one’s focus and inhibit critical thinking. While some progressives are fond of calling fundamentalist religion the “opiate of the masses,” they too often neglect the pacifying nature of America’s other major fundamentalism. Fundamentalist consumerism pacifies young Americans in a variety of ways. Fundamentalist consumerism destroys self-reliance, creating people who feel completely dependent on others and who are thus more likely to turn over decision-making power to authorities, the precise mind-set that the ruling elite loves to see. A fundamentalist consumer culture legitimizes advertising, propaganda, and all kinds of manipulations, including lies; and when a society gives legitimacy to lies and manipulativeness, it destroys the capacity of people to trust one another and form democratic movements. Fundamentalist consumerism also promotes self-absorption, which makes it difficult for the solidarity necessary for democratic movements.

Bruce Levine, Alternet

January 24th, 2012

Zoom

rtnt:

The Making of a Post-Post-Partisan Presidency
Today’s guest submission is from Javier Ogaz.

As President Obama prepares to give his State of the Union address, which pundits will parse for evidence of how he plans to take on Republicans this fall, it’s easy to forget how different his strategy toward the opposing party was at the outset of his presidency. Three years in, it appears Obama’s efforts at post-partisanship have been futile. Ryan Lizza writes for the New Yorker on whether it is possible to reach across the aisle when an energized opposition has little interest in compromise:

Obama didn’t remake Washington. But his first two years stand as one of the most successful legislative periods in modern history. Among other achievements, he has saved the economy from depression, passed universal health care, and reformed Wall Street. Along the way, Obama may have changed his mind about his 2008 critique of Hillary Clinton. “Working the system, not changing it” and being “consumed with beating” Republicans “rather than unifying the country and building consensus to get things done” do not seem like such bad strategies for success after all.

Read the full article here.

Reblogged from Read This, Not That

January 21st, 2012

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse

Back To Black

It’s Saturday night and I’m home alone thinking about my life. Three glasses of wine make for good company. They loosen thoughts and free the mind. These thoughts are neither good or bad, but they paint an accurate picture of what I’m feeling. Amy Winehouse comes on the speakers and fills my apartment with lament. My odds are stacked. I’ll go back to black.

January 18th, 2012

newleftmedia:

NEW VIDEO! Most everyone has noticed the wide swath of internet websites that have been blacked out in protest of the pending PIPA / SOPA legislation in congress, but not as many people understand exactly why those bills are such a problem.

This short documentary explores PIPA and SOPA, how the bills work, who’s behind them, and why all internet users have reason to be concerned.

Please help us by SHARING THIS VIDEO and spreading the word about PIPA / SOPA.

New Left Media has just released a new video discussing PIPA/SOPA. If you want to know what the bills try to accomplish, the technical mechanisms that are used, and who supports the bills, WATCH THE VIDEO! Speak out against ONLINE CENSORSHIP!

PIPA/SOPA would have disastrous effects on the Internet. We’ve seen the ability of social media and the free flow of information change the everyday lives of millions of people. Stand up for free speech!

Reblogged from New Left Media

January 17th, 2012

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra)

Gotye

Making Mirrors

I’ve been listening to this song on repeat for longer than I’d like to admit. One of my close friends is dealing with getting over someone and I continually find myself unable to give him advice. I usually try to tell him that time heals all things. We move on from others when they aren’t in our lives. It happens with friends, family, and lovers. Each are complicated in their own way. There’s a certain sadness in all endings.

January 16th, 2012

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love

January 14th, 2012

lol @ broncos

I know it sounds a little harsh, but I’ve had to endure the last week of football posts. I was calling them #thecolosseum.

January 13th, 2012

Zoom

I’m getting ready to go out for the evening. As I post this picture, my building management is showing my apartment to perspective tenets. Looking around, I know I’m going to miss this place. The past seven months have been great and I was able to build a new space that felt like home, complete with one of my favorite friends. Things have changed, but I look forward to new homes and new spaces.

January 13th, 2012

But there’s a deeper problem in the whole notion that what this nation needs is a successful businessman as president: America is not, in fact, a corporation. Making good economic policy isn’t at all like maximizing corporate profits. And businessmen — even great businessmen — do not, in general, have any special insights into what it takes to achieve economic recovery. Why isn’t a national economy like a corporation? For one thing, there’s no simple bottom line. For another, the economy is vastly more complex than even the largest private company.

— Paul Krugman, America Isn’t a Corporation

Since the beginning of the Republican primary season, I’ve had doubts about Mitt Romney’s constant claim that his business experience makes him an ideal candidate for President. With Romney’s campaign, we are asked to replace Washington insiders and career politicians with a business executive; I struggle to make the connection between business experience and government efficiency. The two are different animals. Maybe business executive experience suggests a person is capable of making tough decisions, but tough decisions are easier to make when you are unconcerned with human costs. Government, on the other hand, is solely concerned with people (or so it used to be!) and unconcerned with maximizing profits and dividends, unless you consider an educated citizenry and a strong economy to be dividends of effective government. Like Mr. Krugman, I don’t buy the argument that a business executive should hold the office of the President. We are the United States of America, not America, Inc.

January 13th, 2012

Hulu Ad Tailor, GTFO!

There is no escaping advertisements! I pay for a subscription to Hulu Plus and it is impossible to watch a movie or tv show commercial-free. I’m not sure I understand the point of paying for a subscription if I am forced to watch eight ads during a forty minute show. I hate to complain about something insignificant, but the above message really pissed me off! Hulu is asking me questions to curtail a more personalized “ad experience”.

The thought of an “ad experience” is quite laughable. I pay Hulu to provide content of my choosing, but still subsidize their service by subjecting myself to their ad campaigns. The worst part about it is there is nothing I can do. They are going to give me ads and I am going to like it! I know that this a first-world problem, but that doesn’t make it any less absurd.

Javier Ogaz

lol @ broncos

Hulu Ad Tailor, GTFO!

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