KKK is a wheel

Step right up! 2 bits for a ride! KKK only.

The "Civil" War, cont.

Sadly, despite the resounding Northern victory, the so called "American Civil War" (1860-1865) never really ended, as the cancer that was "The South" was allowed to persist, metastasizing into sharecroppers and Jim Crow laws and the KKK and thousands of lynchings. But then this aggressive Southern disease infected and took over the Republican Party - the very party that engaged their destruction a hundred years earlier. Goldwater, Regan, Nixon, and you have today's insanity, insto-presto in just the past 40 years (LOL I'm old). Legions of monsters, breaking down democracy and society across the country in pious fervor.

Somehow, despite desegregation and women's lib and gay marriage and so on, we've fallen under the sway of the Confederacy Risen, the Republican Party, the Southern Jim Crow culture writ large as "American Culture" and proving to be the doom of not just America, but the world.

What madness is this? And how can Earth escape?

Family

Betty Sue's been sleeping in Bobby Lee's bed since they were both piglets, and teenage obesity ain't gonna change that.

Know your Lord

Just in case you're confused, this friendly Tea Partier has a simple reminder. Of course, Jesus was the son of God and Allah is the Arabic word for God so in other words this Tea Partier is blaspheming.

And that's why it's great to be born again.

What Jesus wants

Since as we all know, the Jews of 33BCE Judea were blond, blue eyed, Aryan wonder boys. And this fine church going Southern lady will have none of this "Black" race in the Church of Christ, proper. Seems logical, from a biblical perspective.

Southern Hospitality*

The South is a very diverse and tolerant place. Come see our heritage parades and festivals!








*Post intended as sarcastic humor only

The Elephant in the Country

So true. You start thinking for yourself, and you find only trouble. Better to just let the Preacher do the thinking for you. Vote Republican!

I like bashing the South as much as anyone, but it must be noted that these numbers (and so many more) are influenced by the deplorable conditions many African Americans find themselves in Southern states - all run by racist whites, of course. But these same deplorable trends affect poor whites too, but hey, vote Republican!

Think how warped and twisted you have to be to get so angry over the possibility of high speed rail. I'LL NEVER GET ON A TRAIN OBAMA!!!

These poor whites who vote - who live - Republican have been so bamboozled, so brainwashed by the dual poison of Religion and Racism that they will cut off their nose - Gladly! - as long as it means black folk will suffer too. That's their mindset, and what we're up against - a legion of angry, deluded white people manipulated by some greedy billionaires. Vote Republican! 

Rebel Patriots

Real Americans support the Confederacy.

Pure Americans support the Confederacy.

There's no irony south of the imaginary Mason Dixon line.

It's a Joke

Technically, in comic book logic, this makes perfect sense. A man of stone would be immune to Medusa's powers, and thus able to behead her with ease. Or, strike up a conversation - it's the 21st century, man. You don't necessarily have to kill every Gorgon you see.

Or? Here's real merchandise from the early 1900's South. Ain't it charming? And today of course, racist collectors ensure art like this goes for good money, relative to a redneck's perspective.

Isn't it funny?! Little babies left out on a log in alligator country, ready to be eaten like popcorn. Someone's darling children - and all children are darling.

Implied in the word "bait", of course, there is a fine Southern Gentleman somewhere offscreen with a gun pointed at the alligator. That was the whole point afterall, right?

It's a sick state of mind, and too prevalent still. Especially in "The South".

American Apartheid

It was less than 50 years ago that an official and "legal" system of apartheid was in place in many places in the US.

And of course there were many unofficial enforcers of this system. The KKK for one, but also every racist redneck who took it upon themselves to "keep those people in their place".

These people. Kids. Imagine growing up in such a system?

It was only by force of the Federal Government (thanks Ike and LBJ!) that American apartheid ended. But oh, does it live on, unofficially, and make no mistake: The Republican Party of today is the political party actively pursuing the same goals - keep those people in their place.

A bonus today, of course, is lots of people can be those people. All the poor, for example. Yay, Republicans!

Good news everybody

The Supreme Court recently ruled that there's no longer any institutional racism in America. Yay!

Just folks - we're all just folks! - helping folks. Yay!

Ask Lindy Patton, ex-slave.

Justice in the FL

So, I've learned that if you're black teenager wearing a hoodie walking on the street in Florida, you should expect to get shot, in self defense. Cuz, you know, hoodies are threatening, and if you feel threatened in "Stand Your Ground" states - well, blast away. You'll walk. As long as you're not black.

Justice. And Freedom! And the right to murder, as the Founders intended.

Another Founder intention:

America, Land of the Free.

Black Jesus

Thought experiment: If Jesus were black, and was literally the Son of God, how many Christians would you find in the South?

Fuck yeah!

Reverse Racism

Oh yeah! We're goin' to the zoo! That's right! Gonna see a lion! Oh yeah! We're goin' to the zoo! That's right! Gonna see a cheetah!

Oh, sorry white people! Negroes only at this zoo. Find another.

LOL white people.

But seriously, if you just HAD to racial profile, then white people are your primary group to watch, white males specifically. Who else has caused and is causing more death and destruction, more suffering world wide than white males? No one, that's who. Hitler. Stalin. Lenin. Marx. Ayers. Vikings. All white guys.

Not that I'm condoning racial profiling (I'm not!), just asking questions, ya know?

Surf's Up!

America, millions of years ago. Not only are the continents in perpetual motion (in 200 million years from now they'll be in much different places then today), but climate changes over geological periods. Thus, an inland ocean covering the plains and the south, with tropical creatures swimming around in the Arctic. Note that the very lands under the shallow inner America sea are now the most fertile farming areas on the continent. And in the case of the USA, this of course shaped the institution of slavery and thus our current political landscape.

Thanks, plate tectonics and global vulcanism! I blame Fox News on you.

Dots assembled

Here's a map from the 1860's showing the slave population of the south - the darker areas have more slaves. And now:

2008 Presidential election results. Red equals Republican, Blue, Democrat. Just a co-incidence, I'm sure.

Explains a good deal, when you consider the politics of America.This, however?

A map of NFL fans based on Google searches. Witness Steeler Nation! Also, sadly, Cowboys. Smallest real estate - NY Jets.

A single thread

There is a single thread that runs through the entirety of American history, right to this moment, and it's slavery. American slavery was created in Virgina early on, as a means to 1. Get cheap labor, of course (more on this), but also 2. Create a very effective divide and conquer tool. For you see, while slavery is pretty much as old as human civilization, racial slavery is an American (North to South) invention, and coupled with the plantation model (which is a riff on the European royalty and serfdom dynamic), it gave birth to just about every negative issue we as a country have faced, and face today. For, it pitted poor folks against poor folks and whenever that's the case, the rich laugh and laugh and bath in their money. "I may be a poor piece of white trash, but at least I ain't a nigger" pretty much sums it up, and this dynamic has been used by those in power to maintain and wield power since the Virginia Colony. It shaped all the founding American documents, including the Constitution, and was major factor in every election since. It shaped the number of states in the country, and the nature of the Senate/House. Slavery and the many related issues has shaped every major aspect of the USA. Obviously the Civil War was entirely about slavery (and the plantation system), but let us not lose sight of the post-Reconstruction implementation of Jim Crow laws across the South - divide and conquer, remember. Your life may suck, but it's better than "those" people's. Vote for me! Buford T. Richguy. Slavery was technically gone, but segregation worked ok. But then we as a country (let's be clear who the heroes of this tale are: Progressives) decided that was enough too, and the South let loose with:

Hop on board!

First day of school. Can you imagine walking in the front door to this:

Think how incredibly brave these kids were:

In the face of this:

"Honest", "Decent", "Hard Working" Americans.

Soak up these pictures, and try to imagine yourself living in those times, or any time earlier, as a black man, or as a poor white woman barely feeding her children. Look at the faces, and then look see here:

And know that these Teabaggers and Wingnuts and so called "Conservatives" are the direct descendents of the anti-busing racists of the 70's, and the anti-segregationists of the 60's and 50's, and the enforcers of the racist status quo in the years 1940 - 1670 or so. Poor white people fed steady diets of lies and hate until they well and truly internalize it, and live out the Master's wishes - and poor folk fight poor folk. Man fights man in the belief he's fighting "The Other", when it's really his own interests he's been fighting all along.

Make no mistake, the Tea Party is a wholly funded enterprise of wealthy Republicans - Freedomworks AKA the Kochs. Race is but one tool of the divide and conquer trade these days, but it still serves as the primary tool. But this - all of this, racism, slavery, serfdom - is but effect of the underlying cause: The powerful seeking to maintain their power. And this dynamic is as old as human society - kings and queens, popes and bishops, dictators and warlords, tycoons and oligarchs, it's all the same. The wealthy seek their own interests - which is getting even wealthier. They will employ whatever means available to their society/time in doing so. The only way the great majority of humanity can stand against them is to stand together. They know this far more than we do, so they divide and conquer, using race, religion, nationalism, tribalism, fear, hate, envy, all the base emotions to motivate people not to trust. Not to hope. And so it goes, from the first city, I assume. Before that, humanity was a species of literally dirty hippies living in drum circles.

Lest you think slavery is gone, by the way, think again - it's just been re-branded. It's called "Globalism". How resourceful! America has outsourced its slavery.

As long as a majority of voters are sufficiently sated/scared, the system continues. Until something breaks. Are we approaching some manner of break?

Yee-Haw?

Redneck spits on hippies or hippy accident? Who's to know. Just another fan photo.

Mechanical Spider Cars of the South

Imagine, if you will, a reality where dinosaurs were not wiped out by a terrible asteroid, but instead continued to prosper and evolve. After millions of years, one species got real smart, real fast, and then turned this world  - and space itself! - into their Kingdom, and all other creatures mere subordinates. Continue imagining, if you're still willing, that at the heights of their glory and power they became arrogant and crass, stupid drunk on their power, and they wiped themselves out. Alas!

Here's some ruins from their glorious but now departed culture. They liked mechanical spiders, according to scholars.

Also too: Nice pine trees!

Death of the Astronaut

The state of the US of A's manned space program: Dead, by suicide. Prodded on by Repuglicans. Why? It's an easy budget item to ax, all sciency and shit. It also helps humanity in general, rather than the Confederacy directly, so, gotta go!

Granted, robots are better than humans in space in a whole slate of categories. Most, actually. But there is an inspirational effect that man in space achieves that could never be replicated by a robot. The USA - in Cold War Fever - set the bar for this effect, when Neil Armstrong stepped off a ladder with the words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Alas! It was not true, Neil, despite your noble intentions.

All photos by Neil DaCosta. Brilliant series.

I'm not sure Americans will get back into space in a large way, government backed. Maybe private shuttle services, astro-truckers, essentially. Lets root for the Chinese in their needful pride to send folks back to the Moon and beyond. Go China!