Monday, October 31, 2011

El Paso, Texas: Weather Report

no beauty
nothing beautiful to be seen
nothing

US Postal Service

I had a conversation the other day with a mail carrier.
It seems that in addition to his regular work, he is now asked to deliver mail for an extra route.
Exactly why this has happened is not clear to me. It is partially due to illnesses and absences among the other mail carriers.

However, he described one important detail. He was being given two hours work, but with a supervisor's note or official document describing it as an extra 1.5 hours.

In other words, the supervisor is stealing from those whom he supervises.

The guy suggested that the supervisor intended to get the mail carriers moving more quickly,
and that it would be impossible to carry out 2 hours of delivery in 1.5 hours.

On the other hand, there is the case of my mother complaining that the local mail carrier has been dropping mail at the wrong address. Not hard to explain if supervisors are pushing the carriers to work faster.

This smells. It is exactly the same as speeding up an assembly line.

I have to add one comment.
It is easy enough--or natural in the USA--to focus on individuals. That would be a mistake. It is not a question of one bad supervisor. There is a real system here. And until that system is changed, the individual efforts of individual workers or supervisors or bloggers won't make a big difference.

I know people who might say that I am advocating "fatalism" when I say that. But it would not be fatalism unless I said the system is inevitable; and it is not. It exists because a small number of powerful people benefit from it--not because it is in any sense an efficient or just system. On the other hand, there is a powerful ideology or secular religion which confuses people--especially in the USA--and makes it impossible for them to see their actual situation. One component of that system of confusion, that ideology or secular religion, is a focus upon the individual, and a concordant denial of the existence of social forces, or systemic forces. This makes it literally impossible for them to understand their own lives. Where something exists and has effects, they are literally blind to the thing itself or its effects. It is a cruel fate to be blind in that way, but it is a common fate. (I much prefer to live among a cynical people than a blindly optimistic individualist people.)

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Easy and Hard

In a capitalist plutocratic class society like the USA:

If something is good for you (like health insurance or education or public transport)
Then it is HARD and TOO EXPENSIVE

If something primarily benefits the ruling class (like imperial wars) then it is a
necessary expenditure

If something is easy to do (purchase of low quality consumer items produced
in sweat shops) then it primarily benefits the ruling class.....

There is a logic to this evil system.

30 October 2011

The misery which is the United States has never been adequately described.
There are hints and suggestions of the reality here and there.
But no artist has yet had the courage or the skill to get into the cage with the ugly beast.

Friday, October 28, 2011

in passing

About two years ago--just before I began my enforced exile in the leading exporter of violence--I recall there was a military coup in Honduras. The democratically elected President was escorted out of the country by a bunch of thugs--roused from his bed early in the morning.....
Just before the coup, the President had expressed a desire to raise the minimum wage. (So-called "minimum wage" because we know that these wages are never something anyone can really live on.)

Recently, in this desert outpost of a cruel empire, I have done a little browsing in the shops. I have been horrified and disgusted to notice that most of the clothes for sale seem to have been produced in Honduras.

So, in the USA, when we shop, if we purchase, say a t-shirt or a sweatshirt, we are supporting a military dictatorship. The problem can't easily be solved by a mere consumer boycott because we cannot simply stop purchasing things----bananas, underwear, coffee, etc. Whatever you name, it's been produced in an exploitative manner. Our very lives are purchased at the cost of someone else's misery.

I don't think that is a good thing or anything to be proud of. Quite the opposite.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

misery in the USA

The disaster which is the USA' s Don't-Care Medical system is ugly in countless ways.
Young doctors sit enshrined behind countless support staff, seeing the elderly and crippled who struggle to travel to the doctors----instead of the more logical idea that young healthy doctors should travel to their old and frail patients.. And then in El Paso, Texas. U.S.A., at any rate
(where unfortunately I am now trapped),.....nine out of ten doctors' offices are located in
buildings without proper handicapped access...


And then there are the all-knowing supervising visiting nurses, full of impractical suggestions, and totally unattentive to the fact that three people living in a crowded house constitute a complex living arrangement which one interferes with only at the risk of destroying a functional system of operation....something one shouldn't tinker with unless one studies it carefully first....

But, no, our visiting nurse-supervisor is full of impractical recommendations and suggestions made without any advance thought about the particulars of our situation.... in other words, suggestions made in ignorance of the actual situation.

Would that she had studied anthropology and learned something about the complex patterns of cooperation which can emerge among small cooperative groups, patterns not readily visible, and patterns which shouldn't be disturbed casually.......

No, I have nothing, absolutely nothing good to say about this nurse-supervisor. She seems to pull isolated facts from the lectures she attended as a student or from something she has read, and then use them to assert her (wholly imaginary superiority---but, then, she is better paid than those who deliver essential services, those who she has the job of checking up on----do you sense disgust in my voice? Indeed this sort of hierarchy and the poor pay of those doing the real work, yes that makes me sick....).....

No, I have nothing, absolutely nothing good to say about this Don-t-Care System .....

After-thought:
Among decent people, you don't keep someone waiting for two hours...and, if you do, you apologize. Not so with doctors.....

Sunday, October 23, 2011

why.i.hate.el.paso.texas

Why do I hate el paso texas?
Because
--e.g.--

apples here are never, never

never really fresh;

and, it is always, always, always very disappointing,
--when,
an apple in hand,
I imagine,
I expect,
I want,
to have my tongue seduced,
tickled,
flooded,
BUT,
instead,
there is something less,
less taste,
less juice,
less life.......
Only
the remnants of what used to be a fresh apple.

And anyway there is that incalculable, unknowable element:
was this apple the product of genetic modification?


Saturday, October 22, 2011

El Paso, Texas: Weather Report

Today the militarists' theatre continues, an orgy of violence, the celebration of killing machines.
They call it an "Air Show", but it has nothing to do with air and everything to do with death and destruction, everything to do with the myth that wars are inevitable and that we who kill are glorious heroes. It has everything to do with ignoring the fact that no gun and no bomb has the magical ability to kill only bad guys. It has everything to do with an economy and a country that is based upon permanent war. It has everything to do with ignoring the fact that women and children are the first victims in war.

The USA's contribution to world culture: hypocritical militarism.

As the jets zoom and boom overhead, people gaze into the sky. They should cast their eyes downwards in shame. They should puke with disgust.

Friday, October 21, 2011

how embarrassing

I've just discovered that Michael Dawson has a detailed commentary on the official proclamation coming out of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. I haven't finished reading it, but offhand, what I've read seems spot on.

As I was simply so glad to hear some public criticism, I didn't think too much about what they were saying--although I have, in the past (On this very blog) expressed the reservation that what's needed is not merely reform.....

Dawson is much more specific.

militarism EL Paso Style

One of the characteristics of a militaristic society is the conviction that war is normal and inevitable.
In my lifetime the USA has fought not one defensive war. All of the wars waged by the USA in the past fifty years have been wars of aggression.

Consequently, when I hear loud, unpleasant noises over my head---the booming of jet planes--I think: American assholes.

They call it an "air show", but the air is not on show. What's on show is killing machines.

Nothing to celebrate there.

Sing a dirge, a sad song for the death of civilization represented by USA militarism.....

sad and bad

American Assholes: the FCC

1. An email I sent to the FCC:

The Nelsen Company or Agency or whatevery they call themselves has now called me twice.

I did not invite them to call. I did not request or suggest or do anything to encourage them.

The first time I explained that we do not do surveys in this household.

However, they continued to call a second time. That constitutes harassment.

Moreover, our phone number is on a NO CALL LIST.

Because I informed them that we do not do surveys, they should not have called a second time.

Because our phone number is on a No Call List, they should not have called the first time.

Note also that they are calling at times when working people are eating or enjoying the company of
family. Interrupting those precious hours is disrespectful----once again, harassment.

Sincerely yours,
Mark J. Lovas

2. The Reply I received from the FCC:

Dear Mr. Lovas,
>
> The following organizations or individuals are exempt from the TCPA Do-Not-Call rules.
>
> tax-exempt, non-profit organizations;
> politicians;
> pollsters and survey takers, not making sales calls;
> religious organizations;
> companies with which you have an "established business relationship;" and
> companies to whom you have given prior written permission to call you.

3. My response to the reply:

In other words the so-called "No Call" Rule is nonsense. In other words it does not protect
the individual's peace.

In any case, that doesn't matter. As I explained in my message, Nielsen now knows that we do
not wish to speak with them. Ergo, they are not off the hook.

Your recent message listing the numerous exceptions to the "No Call" list merely confirms my
conviction that all of the institutions of the USA are designed to serve the needs of the
richest of the citizens of the USA, a.k.a. the top 1% in terms of wealth.

It is of some interest to me that I should receive an unsigned communication from an employee of the U.S. government. It is somewhat similar to the appearance of police officers in plain clothes without identifying badges.

Have a nice day!

FINAL REMARK

In other words, I had a legitimate complaint, but someone at the FCC responded in a condescending manner, ignoring the substance of my complaint, and trying to catch me out on a mere technicality. That's what assholes do. And I don't for one minute imagine that this individual asshole had improvised this behavior. So, perhaps this individual isn't an asshole, but someone is....On the other hand, if your job requires you to be an asshole, then maybe you become one.....


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

American Assholes

American Asshole Award to The Nielsen Agency

These assholes call you up at precisely the time you do not want to be disturbed.
E.g., Sunday afternoon or Wednesday at 6pm
Precisely the time when a working person might be actually enjoying a few quiet
moments with family---very few if the Nielsen Assholes are calling.

Let's be clear:  They have called twice.  Someone needs to teach them English.
"No" means no.

ASSHOLES
The second time they called constituted harassment.
And once again I repeated the magic word, "NO".
I also informed that this this phone call constituted harassment.

There should be a special Hell for such Capitalist Assholes.
Someplace where they would be tortured....

Should be.......

The Insane Country

Here in this city in a desert--a city where there is the insane pretense that it is no desert but a rain-rich region, say Scotland--I am disturbed by my neighbors.
They are eternally present--despite the fences.
They are present in a way that irritates me.
They are an uninvited and unwanted presence:  with their barking dogs and their unsolicited advice about which weed killer to use, and their lament that my parents have lost the desire to have a "beautiful" home...
Ironical that the walls do not keep the neighbors out.
Insane that the people in this city seem to delight in walls, fences, and all manner of symbolic expression of the fact that this bit of dirt is MINE.

It makes me sick.
A small-minded, unthinking people.

A city of dust.
A city of misery.


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Communication Break-Down

The other day I found myself complaining about the poor quality of food locally:
fruit and vegetables that are not fresh, yogurt is crap, bread is crap, etc.
(The list could be continued.)
A local resident thought I was making a joke and laughed.
I don't imagine that the person in question happens to be reading this blog, or that any self-identified "El Pasoan" is......nonetheless, I will clarify: the food in this country is crap--and that's not a joke.

USA capitalism: contradictions and lies

It is commonly agreed that to live well one must not only think of the immediate future, but also have long-term plans.  Yet, the demands placed upon a person if he or she is to sell their labor (now), and thereby purchase groceries and pay the rent, are incompatible with long-term planning.

In my father's case, he moved far away from his family and friends (and my mother's family and friends) in order to get a decent job.  The long term consequences of that move are something I've been complaining about in this blog.  El Paso is not a nice place.  Nonetheless, it is probably unreasonable to suppose my father could have managed to think that far ahead.  However,  it is not unreasonable to point out that for most individuals the need to pay the rent and buy groceries blots out all other considerations.  Those immediate demands makes it unlikely that a person will spend much time reflecting upon the down-side of a particular employment situation.

Even more to the point:  we are forced to take jobs because we have no other choice or no other alternative.  (I do not consider starvation or a life of crime to be genuine alternatives.)

Thus we become wage slaves.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Good Idea

So the Mayor of New York City wants to clean up the park.......and kick out the Occupy Wall Street crowd?
What an idea!  We could kick out the Senators and the Congress and do some cleaning.
And the President.
And the Wall Street Crowd--I mean the Hedge Fund Scum and their ilk.......
We could, in short, put the finances of the USA in public hands, and let the people
decide how to spend the social surplus..

And even the City of New York itself might need a bit of cleaning!
What a good idea!
The possibilities are endless.
And we might even begin to have a real democracy....

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Journal of Mundane Behavior

JMB seems to have re-appeared.
So, anyone interested in reading my rants or the one article I published there is invited to check it out.


Rants: October 1, 2001; August 1, 2001, and October 5, 2002.

The essay "American Optimism Meets Slavic Fatalism" can be found at:


Sorry, that link doesn't seem to work. I'll have to add more details later.


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Hedonistic Measure

If I had a scale to measure pleasure and pain,
and if I placed on the left side all of the unpleasant experiences I have had since July 2009
(since coming back to the world's most militaristic country),
and if I were to place on the right the one or two pleasant experiences I have had
during that same time,
the scale would go crashing to the ground on the left side with a loud boom, and would probably break from
the force.

(internal) weather report

I still hate it here. I hate very minute of being here. The food is wretched. The thought of driving a car makes me want to throw up. Conversations are fractured, unreal, unnatural.

Why do I stay? If I leave, who will take care of my elderly parents?

Nothing good to say, think, report..........

PS
thusfar it is a sort of pathetic joke.........the official help my parents receive via Medicare....
pathetically inadequate.......

Thursday, October 6, 2011

corporations

"I'll believe that corporations are people when the state of Georgia executes one."

--sign seen at Occupy Wall Street Rally

(cited by Tim Frasca who was quoted in The Guardian

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

occupy wall street

what are they up to?
what do they want?

The first official, collective statement of the protesters in Zuccotti Park:
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

0. They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
0. They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
0. They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one's skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
0. They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
0. They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
0. They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
0. They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
0. They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
0. They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
0. They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
0. They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
0. They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
0. They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
0. They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
0. They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
0. They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
0. They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.
0. They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
0. They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
0. They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
0. They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
0. They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
0. They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government ontracts.*

To the people of the world, We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
(This statement was found at the website “Nation of Change’;






Sunday, October 2, 2011

occupy wall street

I support the brave participants in Occupy Wall Street.

https://occupywallst.org/

The world needs a different economic system.

Time for a real change.

(One must, however, wonder whether the "occupiers" are merely after reform.
Nevertheless, even that would be progress....)

weather report

El Paso, Texas:

a place,

(not a city; nothing like a city; wholly antithetical to a city)

a barren and desolate place,

an unfriendly place,

a hostile place:

of great ugliness

the decaying country

Wanting to get some work done, I drove over to Starbucks.
Let me be very clear. I do not enjoy driving. In fact I resent the imposition constituted by the fact that to make even a relatively short trip, one must expend an enormous amount of personal resources. In plain English, it would be cheaper to take a tram; but no, that is not a possibility in the country which is so deluded as to call itself "free".

So, I drive. And it is an unpleasant experience. I cringe every time I get into the car. what madness possesses the individuals who design these cruel roadways. First there is the fascist mentality which delights in placing cameras everywhere. But, then there is the anally retentive approach to traffic lights: make them invisible until the driver is right on top of them.
And the way in which these large roads connect up --or mostly don't connect up--makes
driving a mad, risky business.

The sheer scale of the roads is insane. All calculated to promote maximum stress for drivers and maximum consumption of fuel. Oh, I know that it is done in the name of "efficiency", but I doubt whether anything good actually results. And I will repeat myself: I believe that nothing good comes from this system--no actual increase in well being.

The myth that faster is better is refuted at every turn. Just look at the omnipresent obesity of the local residents....

In addition, when you are traveling everywhere at fifty or forty-five miles per hour, and the roads are chaotic, without clear warnings of what's up ahead, with surprising twists and turns, it's a constant nuisance.

Arriving at "Starbucks", the coffee is inferior to that which I had ten or more years ago in the train station in Salamanca. It is inferior to anything I had anywhere in Portugal. And the bullshit coming out of the mouth of the person who gave it to me.... Well, in the USA it is impossible to simply get what you want. Every conversation seems predicated upon the assumption that you do not know what you want, and the person at the other end is going to suggest and seduce and insinuate until you buy something you do not want.

Then the music as well is canned.
the air conditioning is excessive.
and when I watched the overly large people emerge from the overly large trucks to order and drink their skinny lates or god knows what, I could have easily slit my wrists or jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge just to avoid letting their presence (the trucks and the large persons) register upon my consciousness....if there is anything characteristic of Americans (citizens of the USA) it is simultaneously an innocent naivete combined with a bizarre arrogance and single-minded confidence and thrusting of one's self forward into public space, the overweening confidence that this is the way to act, speak, live....... but of course, politically speaking, they are wandering around with their eyes closed, all the while confident that they are on top of the world......, in that situation a little bit of disillusionment can be a good thing......... a little disillusionment would mean just a little bit more awareness of reality....

get me out of here!

FOOTNOTE
Talk about ugliness. The actual establishment (theoh so USA coffee shop) is located in a parking lot--not a wooded area, not a place offering a vista. It is in a parking lot. If you choose to sit at an outdoor table, your eyes gaze upon asphalt and enormous trucks.....and you can probably smell the grease from the nearest purveyor of slow death if the wind is blowing right....
I have never lived in a place where the smell of grease was so common....