In the Shadow of Nam

Vietnam put a real dent in the American War Machine, and this, coupled with Civil Rights, was the crisis of the 60's/70's, which translated into the snap back of the Wingnuts, with St. Ronnie leading the charge.

Starting with the LIBERATION of Grenada, bringing FREEDOM to this important nation. Baby war steps, really. Vietnam took the piss out of US, then throw in the OPEC embargo and the Iranian hostage situation, and America was ready for some Olde Tyme Isolationism. But St. Ronnie made sure that didn't happen with an unprecedented peace time military build up. Leading to

The LIBERATION of Panama, bringing FREEDOM to this important nation. A bigger engagement than Grenada, and a near flawless victory. Big boy steps! So, why the hell not?

The LIBERATION of Kuwait, bringing FREEDOM to this important nation. America got the neighborhood all together and everyone took care of that mean old So Damn Insane (Saddam Hussein). Another near flawless victory, and this one on a yet much bigger scale still. Looks like Vietnam Syndrome is cured! But still, like a teenager, tentative forays into the adult world

Serbia Bosnia Kosovo Yugoslavia and all that - Jeebers! What a confusing assortment of insignificant nations LIBERATED by the USA, as usual. LIBERATOR of the world, don't you know. W will prove it to you, for you see, we're cured of Vietnam Syndrome! War on!

Iraq 2 was not near as fun as Iraq 1, for most. A few had a grand old time, however. The Generals and the Money Men. Here's David Patraeus, stuck in a metaphorical sand trap, in no way signifying W.'s war.

Oh yeah Afghanistan too, I almost forget. Did we all not? I mean, everyone was for this war, but then Iraq happened and everyone was all about that and we all forgot about poor old Afghanistan. And it's true - poor, old, Afghanistan, once an actual nation, now ground to dust. And since Obama, of course, all our soldiers have turned gay

Thanks, Obama. And we're pulling out, again. EGADS! Come end of 2013 America will not be engaged in any wars! What ever shall we do?!

Mary Jane springs from the ground

A happy American tourist popping out of a tunnel in Vietnam. Communist Vietnam, mind you. Apparently, so many Americans have been visiting that right and proper tourist traps have sprung up. Consider the tunnels - the entrance/exit holes (seen here) had to be widened to allow for proper American access. Hilarious, right? The victor of the Vietnam War modifying the very tunnels used in that war for American tourists to visit. Like an Irony Wrap inside an Irony Burrito, which in turn has those little Irony bacon thingies. Lot's of irony!

But hey, swords to plowshares and all that. Better to barter and haggle than shoot and strangle. Peace through Material Comfort.

Opiate of the masses

"To the master of hemp growing". Hemp of course being a very useful plant. If you were wicked good at growing it in the USSR, you got this sweet pin. Congrats, Comrade!

But alas! There is also marijuana, which is from the same plant as hemp (cannabis), but with elevated THC concentrations. Drugs, m'kay? One that's been used for thousands of years, just not widely in the "West". And so it was treated as a dangerous radical foreign(er) drug that had to be prohibited. In so attempting, the Drug War has consumed the lives of millions and made billions for industry and created deadly and wealthy gangs while also placing a large percentage of African-Americans behind bars. It's been a resounding failure unless you work for Big Prison and enjoy high incarceration rates - USA is number 1, by the way, in imprisonment as a percent of the population. Fuck yeah!

But even more alas! It appears to be breaking. Many states have legalized medical marijuana, and now Washington and Colorado have legalized recreational use - in direct conflict to Federal law. So there's gonna be some legal stuff, but the tide has turned, it matters not. Soon enough a large part of the insanity of the Drug War will be done with, and marijuana will be legal across the USA, and maybe, just maybe, this country will be a cooler place.

Also, note for future oppressors: Always better to have your subjects intoxicated, yet still able to function at labor. A sober population causes trouble.

CONFORM CONSUME OBEY

From the 1988 classic "They Live". Great movie, you should totally stay in and snuggle up on the couch and watch it.  Or better yet

TV in bed is the best. Why ever get out of bed, really? Oh yes, work.

But hey at least the shopping is good downtown.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise: Selling out is the best!

Not War

Make love, man.

For all mankind - it's how humanity reproduces after all.

Communism applies to all vertebrates!

Not war, and not even cheap shots. Brother fighting brother is never the right way of it.

Nor kicking dogs. Even super protest dogs.

Push a dog too far, push a man too hard, push a people against the wall, and there's no choice:

When your cause is just, your strength is endless. When you are bound with your family, no power can stop you. Alone and apart, easily opposed. Organize or die!

Action!

There's also a booming business in "private" security up to and including mercenary armies for rich people. Yay! Wait till drones become even more widespread - rich guys with robotic armies will be grand. Till then:

Friendly neighborhood police officers, protecting local business. As they should - it's part of the job. Is this?

Every society is different to differing degrees, and so too the reactions to authority. As in The Authority. The protest as a form of political expression is mostly gone in America. Another victim of the 60's. But it's alive and well in Europe and South America. I don't condone violence, but in some countries, at some times, the pressures are so great, the corruption and oppression so great, that violence is only inevitable. It doesn't have to be this way - though I sometimes wonder if protesting is a collegiate sport in France.

Anyway, here's a bunch of cool protest pictures with snappy captions.

Bravery unto foolishness.

Changing hearts and minds through nonviolent protest.

Kids are always so sweet at protests - and it's educational!

Throwing rocks is proven to bring people together. Try it out sometime - just start hucking rocks at shit. Friends will follow.

Bring Kanellos. Every protest is better with a dog.

Art is PROTEST. Art IS expression. ART is freedom.

The Man can use art, too. You know those ink bombs they put in money stolen from the bank? Abstract Expressionism.

The Man can look fabulous!

And never forget, protestors of the world, that the police, SWAT, Guard, Army, and all the rest are folks just like you and me. Most everyone likes cats, right? Let's focus on what connects us, rather than divides us.

Grandparents! Everyone loves grandparents.

Put it on my MarxCard

Debt, comrades, is the ball around your chain, keeping you enslaved into their system. It has always been so, but refined to an art today. Consider the so called American Dream - go to a private High School (60K), Ivy League college (120K), Grad School (80K), get married, have kids (150K each), buy a house (450K), and of course have a lot of toys and cars and awesome vacations (300K?). Add it all up, and it's a lot of debt. Chains that bind you, forever.

This has been the macro plan of the Republican party as well. To put America so into debt we have no choice but to cut back/eliminate any program that might attempt to promote the general welfare, at the expense of rich people. Can't have that!

And here's how, coupled of course with obscene bursts of spending. But remember! The Republican party is the part of fiscal responsibility! Even better, if a Democrat takes over, do nothing but badger them over the debt. Hilarious!

If you're in debt, you're working for the Bank and the State one way or another. Consider an average American of 50 years ago - how much debt do you think he had? Now, same guy, today? Whole different ballgame. We've been bought lock, stock, and barrel. By our own choice!

Workers of the World!

Class is in session, teaching today is Lenin Cat.

Please keep in mind Lenin Cat does not approve of the Lenins, Stalins, or Maos of the world, as they are totalitarian dictators who used the ideas of Marx to brutally control vast countries/populations, killing millions. Communism sucks. But Marxism is something else entirely, and that's what Lenin Cat is talking about: Power to the workers through freely chosen collectivism and a redistribution of wealth across the entire population fairly. Free food, free housing, free education, free healthcare for everyone, no exceptions.  For we, the 99%, are all workers, and run this world - literally - and always have.

Power to the people! Who else is going to fix/run something like this?

Another sweet Prokudin.

Who, I ask? It is the teachers, the nurses, the bakers, the mechanics, the drivers, the haulers, the sorters and pickers and sewers and stitchers who run this world, who make it possible. Not the uber-wealthy, who always have and always will be an anchor weighing down entire societies. Witness today's Royalty:

Just a quick weekend trip on my plane and yacht! From Rich Kids of Instagram. Witness the bar tabs:

And this shit just goes on and on. It's disgusting. 120K for a bottle of alcohol? Obscene.  Yet he we are, in this reality. What are you going to do about it? Not care? Keep your head down? Join in and help the rich keep everyone down? Your choice, of course. Mine? Hipster War.

Or not. Regardless, workers of the world must unite, for to not is to be individually enslaved. And perhaps we all are already, via debt.  Even if, we still must fight back in whatever ways we can. For instance, don't shop at Wal Mart. Fun fact! The Walton children's collective wealth represents something like 42% of the entire USA population - the lower part, obviously. How can anyone argue extremes like this are in any way good for a society, a country? Trickle down? Jerbs? Tell me more.

This Machine

With the Industrial Revolution came an entirely new level to the crushing burden workers would bear for the sake of the Owners. Early factories were death pits of torture and suffering, far worse than toiling in the fields previous generations of serfs and slaves endured. And yet, people organized, and with numbers came strength:

Indeed, strength enough to make even Republicans sane. But those days are gone, replaced with greedy morans hell bent on destroying this country and most of its people for a few quick bucks - for them. A lot and lot of bucks for a very small percentage. Let's call them the 1%

You can accept this or deny it, but that matters little. What does matter is whether you are aiding the effort to crush human rights, decent pay, health care, etc, or are fighting it. If fighting, then you must do two things ASAP. Let's cover the first here:

Speak up!

Make your voice heard!

Do whatever it takes to communicate what you think is right and wrong, using whatever medium you can. It matters, in large numbers and by one single person. For example, there are many Americans still vaguely convinced the Republican Party is similar to the party that put out that ad above in 1956. The entire MSM lives this general delusion. We must correct this dangerous misunderstanding.