First of all, let me just say that I am WIRED tonight. One of my coworkers, who recently came back from an extended vacation overseas, brought a loaf of palm sugar and a plate of coffee beans to work, and the idea was to take a pinch of sugar (it has the consistency of brown sugar), and some coffee beans, pop both in at once, and enjoy. Something tells me I had too many coffee beans today – on top of my regular daily cup of coffee. And to add to it, today’s coffee was the best kind – that bottom-of-the-pot coffee that’s super strong. My coworkers even commented that I was particularly “animated” today. I blame the excess caffeine. Perhaps crunching on coffee beans and then washing it down with a cup of coffee wasn’t the best idea…
But the caffeine buzz might just work, because I have a lot to say today.
First of all, the title of this entry. I spotted this on the front page of the Express today:
Image: Express
“Cut your cheese in style”. Really. I saw that, and did my best to stifle laughter. It didn’t work. Now, the corresponding article was very interesting, talking about various types of designer cheese slicers. But I would guess that talking about cutting the cheese on the front page of the newspaper wasn’t the wisest editorial decision in the world. I don’t know how one would cut the cheese in style. I don’t think there is a way to do that with flair and pizzazz. The closest I can think of is what is often referred to as “silent but deadly”. And I don’t know who would honestly want to buy those various designer cheese slicers, but I’m guessing someone will.
Otherwise, I was treated to a new sight at Glenmont this evening:
Isn’t that a beaut. Ride-On has introduced a new paint scheme, seen here on bus 5749, a 2009 Gillig Low Floor. This not only introduces a new color scheme, doing away with the blue-and-white stripe pattern, but it also introduces a new logo, with that stylized “R” on there. That’s going to take some getting used to, but it’s definitely fresh and eye-catching, and actually builds in space for advertisements, which the old style didn’t (they ended up having to cover the logo on some of the older buses for ads).
And lastly, listening to Randi Rhodes on the podcast on Green 960 these last couple of days has been interesting. Randi’s been discussing the town hall meetings put on by members of Congress for their constituents regarding health care, and the disruption of such meetings by protesters. It’s the right wing up to their usual tricks again, it seems. These are the people who couldn’t muster up more than twenty people for an anti-war protest in March. The protesters are allegedly organized by the health insurance industry and right-wing lobbyists. In other words, this isn’t really a grassroots movement – it’s more what they call “astroturfing“.
I can’t say I quite understand these types – these kinds of people voted for the worst president in our history (Bush, and twice), and supported him as he led us into not one but two wars, and as the economy tanked. Then the fact that they want to leave health care to the market. And as we’ve seen, for-profit health care is a dismal failure. I have a friend with a mild heart condition who recently changed jobs and got new insurance. According to them, the insurance will cover everything… except heart issues, because it’s a pre-existing condition. Well, la-de-da. What’s the point in having health insurance if it won’t cover the area that needs the most attention? It’s worthless, if you ask me. The health care industry would gladly “euthanize grandma” by denying coverage for care if it means more money for them at the end of the day. As far as I’m concerned, single-payer (i.e. “Medicare for All“) is the way to go, but I unfortunately don’t see it happening. A shame. Perhaps if some of these people disrupting town hall meetings could actually get affordable health care, they might actually get their heads examined and realize that they’re a bit off kilter. But in a private system, where many are uninsured, they can’t afford it… a vicious catch-22.
Of course, these are the same kinds of right wingers, who, earlier this year, staged Tea Party protests such as the one seen below in DC:
Movie: Mike Flugennock
Yeah, I know – I can’t watch it all the way through, either, without wanting to throw something at the screen. They’re protesting Obama’s tax plan as their own taxes went down. Aren’t lower taxes what conservatives want? Oh, pardon me – that only applies to large corporations.
And I find it highly amusing that they’re using the Boston Tea Party as the theme for their teabagging demonstrations (and yes, I know what that term really means). Especially when they really hate on people who actually put the spirit of the Boston Tea Party into practice. After all, may I remind you…
The Boston Tea Party was a black bloc.
Yes, the Boston Tea Party was a black bloc. They made themselves look like a unified mass (dressing as native Americans in that case), and took direct action against the government and the various corporations that it is in bed with. That said, I think that if the colonists involved in the Boston Tea Party were alive today, they would look at the teabaggers and say, “Aw, that’s cute.” After all, action speaks louder than words. The government, after all, should fear its people. Not the other way around, which seems too often to be the case.
Still, if one wants to take the Boston Tea Party to modern times, I have plenty of evidence of the principles in practice:
Disrupting “business as usual” in the heart of Washington’s lobbying district.
Disrupting World Bank and IMF delegates at their hotels in the wee hours of the morning.
Direct action against corporate interests.
Direct action against the seat of our government. Despite what many think, this kind of tea party-like direct action was highly effective. People were talking about it for months.
And to illustrate that government should fear its people:
The MPDC will never admit it, but based on the way they handled the first night of October Rebellion, the government truly feared its people that night.
All I know is, if the Boston Tea Party is the image that they want, this isn’t it:
Image: HeroicLife
Nobody ever started a revolution by sitting on their butt. You’ve got to get up and take action. Real action. I wonder if these people would roll over and play dead if the nice police officer told them to. I’ll bet they would.