Why I didn't vote for Barack Obama part 730 - Lame Duck Edition

So if you've never read my blog before, the first thing you need to know is that this commentary is NOT a pro-Sarah Palin, pro-Tea Party treatise on the Obama Administration's evil plans to turn the United States into a socialist state. The second thing you should know is that I explained why I wasn't planning on voting for Obama here and here.  I also wrote why I didn't vote for him here and here.

Consider this my Lame Duck 2010 re-affirmation of why I didn't vote for Obama. 

So, I hate to say I told you so, but...

I told you so. I told you so. I told you so.  I told you so. I told you so. I told you so.

Wow that was fun.  I think I'll do it again...

I told you so. I told you so. I told you so. I told you so. I told you so. I told you so.

Ok.  I think I got that out of my system.  What exactly did I tell you?  I told you that we would still be mired in these awful wars in the middle east.  I told you that Corporations were more powerful than political leaders (If you don't agree go see Inside Job) and I told you that we were on a never-ending seesaw.  Do you disagree?

The country is still at War.  One of the important reasons to vote for Obama was the suggestion that we needed to cast this vote for peace.  Not all of his supporters subscribed to this idea but there was certainly a vocal mass of  people in the peace community claiming that a vote for Obama was a vote for peace.  The idea was that the Bush Administration, took us down this ugly road and that we desperately needed a "progressive" voice to get us out of these wars.  The idea was that, there are children dying because of the wars in the Middle East and regardless of political leanings, it was our duty to vote for Obama because he would save the lives of thousands of civilians by bringing the wars to an end.  The problem with that philosophy was that it was dead wrong.

Obama was opposed to the War in Iraq but never said he wouldn't complete the mission over there.  Yes the combat operations have officially been concluded  but the war was moving in this direction at the end of the Bush Presidency.  Iraq is still unstable.  For nearly eight months the country went without a coalition government.  The possibility of a civil war in Iraq still exists.

And of course there is Afghanistan.  The conflict was escalated under the Obama Administration. The U.S. government just deployed tanks to the conflict for the first time.  My definition of peace does not involve sending tanks to a 9 year old conflict that's never seen them before.  The craziest part of all of this is that Obama said all along that he would do this and some people just ignored that.  So I was right about the wars in Middle East.  One point for me!

And how about those corporations?

Remember when I said corporations have more power than politicians.  If you remember in January, the Supreme Court ruled that Corporations should not be regulated for their political spending.  Corporations are still limited in direct contributions but can spend whatever they want on indirect costs.  So if you see a commercial that says paid for by Citizens That Think Barack Obama is a Socialist (CTTBOS -Not a real organization as far as I know.) make sure you note that Exxon Mobil or Morgan Stanely can contribute whatever they want to CTTBOS. In case you were wondering, this past election, 83.7 million dollars was spent by these groups.  Some of you might be thinking... "How can you blame Obama for that? He blasted the Supreme Court for this decision".  My response to you is to quote the Old Jewish Man played by Eddie Murphy in Coming to America: "AHAH!"  MY point exactly.  It is not Obamas fault that the Supreme Court made this election altering decision but it does highlight my point that corporations are more powerful than presidents.

If for some insane reason you still believe that the President is more powerful that the CEO's of the wealthiest corporations than do as I said earlier and watch the movie Inside Job.  You will be introduced to many slimy financial wizards like Larry Summers.  Who's he?  The former president of Harvard, the former Secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton, and Obama's chief economic adviser.  He also, once confused a spoken word album by Cornell West as a "rap" album and called it an "embarrassment" to Harvard.  He also once hypothesized that the reason women are underrepresented in high end science and engineering jobs because they naturally have a "lower aptitude".  If that wasn't enough, he also received a vote of no-confidence from the faculty of Harvard but I digress (See Wikipedia).  I'm not an economist but if you do watch the movie Inside Job, you will see the case be made that people like Summers were directly responsible for the financial collapse of 2008.  Please tell me, where is the change?  I want to know.  What is so damn different?  Obama's financial team, are some of the same players that got us into this economic mess.  Watch the movie and tell me that Corporations aren't the ones running this country.  Two points for me!

Lastly and ultimately, we are on a never-ending seesaw.  The democrats are in power, the republicans are in power.  Over and over.  If you get super excited because the Dems win, just remember that the Repubs will be back.  The system works well that way.  We are made to believe that we have a choice.  That we are empowered and have say in the power structure.  The primary problem with this is the premise that the Republicans and Democrats are so different.  I do not, accept the idea that because they differ in certain ways that this stands as proof that they are vastly different.  If I own a Black Range Rover and you own a Pink Lexus we might believe that our cars are completely different.  But they are both motor vehicles and they both cost over 40 G's brand new.  The vast majority of people can't afford either.  There is a world of political ideas and I don't believe in the entire spectrum of political thought, that Dems and Repubs represent the exact opposite sides.  I believe they are in a partnership that runs the country together and never challenges the power of the wealthy.  If you can buy my idea that the two parties are in partnership, you might see my point that we will never really make change by voting for either of them.  This is why I don't vote for either party.
Never Ending Seesaw, three points for me!

I'm not judging people who vote, I'm critiquing people that believe we will be able to achieve a radical transformation in our society by electing any candidate.  I believe that fundamental change has only happened in this country when people demanded it, not through the ballot box but in spite of it.  The Civil Rights struggle has nothing to do with LBJ.  Civil Rights is the result of the blood sweat and tears of millions of people demanding a different nation.  The political system, fought this change tooth and nail and eventually caved because it had no choice.  Women's right to vote, the ending of slavery, and the organizing of labor, only came to pass because of the committed individuals that insisted and never accepted less.  The system eventually acquiesced not because of votes, because of unbeatable human energy that made resistance futile.  (Yes I just quoted The Borg from Star Trek)  I do not believe that Queer rights today are a result of any legislation.  In fact I believe that LGBTQ people have struggled against the political system for decades and now find opportunistic politicians willing to capitalize on "Gay Marriage" or "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in hopes of maintaining power.  Any political vote or signed bill that promotes any progressive  ideal exist only as a formality when people are unwilling to accept less.  At this point, the votes are almost irrelevant.

So in closing, most of you are scared to death of Sarah Palin, I am too.  And just the thought of a Sarah Palin Presidency is enough to get you do dust off those "Hope" signs.  I don't blame you.  All I'm saying is there will eventually be a conservative republican that scares you, back in the Oval Office.  The partnership the Dems have with the Repubs demands it.  I'm not saying that you shouldn't go out and cast a vote for the lesser of two evils, I'm saying that the BILLION DOLLARS (I Still feel like Dr. Evil when I say that) and MILLIONS OF HOURS that it takes to elect the lesser evil, could be better spent working on a grassroots level to insist on the changes we want to see.

Update re: Lolita

What's up everybody?  You may remember a little while back I wrote a poem about the death of the great Puerto Rican Heroine, Lolita Lebron entitled Attempting to Grieve. Anyway I got a lot of good feedback on the poem so I decided to email it to some people that are organizing a commemoration for Lolita at Hunter College in NYC.  To make a long story short, they've invited me to read my poem at the event.  So the commemoration is tonight at Hunter College.  The event is free but the word on the street is come early because the only have 500 seats and people are flying in from Puerto Rico just to be there.  So, I hope to see you there.  The flyer is below.

Halloween night!

Check out this amazing video from my friend.

Happiness

Around this time last year I wrote a post entitled Community.  I had attended the commitment ceremony of my dear family members G and T.  They chose to call it a "commitment ceremony" to avoid the patriarchal, homophobic connotations of a wedding.  I was asked to read a poem before they exchanged their vows to each other.  In honor of their one year anniversary, I've decided to share the poem I wrote for them, with all of you...

Happiness

We met him on a crowded city street in a non-descript city.

I can’t remember the day or year.

I just know that it was an autumn afternoon.

He said

“My name is Happiness, Happiness Santiago…

And the pleasure is all mine.”

He was half-Cuban, half Domican,

and was raised by Puerto Ricans in an Italian Neighborhood.

His smile was infectious, almost intoxicating.

“Yo Happiness, what’s good homie?”

A passerby yelled.

“Everything’s good my man.  I’m about to read a poem to my new friends” he said with a smile.

All of us laughed a little.

We had already been hooked.

“This poem is entitled the Auto-Biographical, Biography of Happiness Santiago.  It’s a love story for the most part. 

(And he screamed)

“Happiness”

It was one of those days, where everything lines up in the city.

The music from cars driving by move in step with

young people bopping their heads. 

The sun bounces from window to window

brightening the shade while the smells from

the various nearby eateries chose not to compete,

instead opting

to unify in the name of…

“I was born like y’all”

he continued. 

“I don’t think I need to explain, and everything else is history.  Like the essays of a wanderer with a full heart and warm mind. 

Breathing has been a pleasure from day one. From this very action

I’ve been brought to you. My purpose, to clarify the feelings that you’ve always understood in the far reaches of your sub-conscious, sub-zero recesses of the subway’s of the forgotten corners of your mind.  My heart’s been lifted to share the opportunity of your hopes and dreams.  Mine have been remembered in the reflections of the crystal ball’s you call your eyes.  I am a child playing on a jungle gym, running carelessly in the afternoon shade, not afraid to keep going until I collapse from the joy of satisfactory exhausted-ness.  And it’s obvious to me that you are no different.  In fact I can hear your heartbeats skipping double Dutch as we speak. 

“It’s important to note that I am not hiding.  That although I find it my personal mission to run through the wind while the river is running beside me, I am not running from anything.  I am flying towards my future and fully apart of the present.  As I look at what appears to be a tear building up in the outside corner of your left eye, I want to be clear. Make no mistake my brothers and sisters; I’ve seen some of the darkest moments that pupils could possibly bring into focus.  I never pretend differently.  I’m not frozen into submission by events that have already passed, implanting them, with my invitation, squarely in the center of my tomorrow.  I will have none of that.  And this is the only thing in life that I can control.  My lung capacity is temporary but my ability to carve a new path remains infinite as long as my name remains Happiness.”

We all soaked it in mesmerized by the words of a stranger, slightly embarrassed at our obvious vulnerability.

“I love all of you”

He said with enough conviction that it felt completely sincere.

“I love men and women and the more the merrier”

Each of us blushed at his clear lack of inhibition.

“I’m here right now with you my friends, aware of all of the complexities that make up the human existence.  Or at least as many aspects as I’ve been introduced to thus far. If I had only one sentence to say, merely a handful of words to share, I would say remember me.  I apologize if my thoughts come across as arrogant.  That is certainly not my intention.  It’s just that I am very certain that I am you.  And if my intuition is true than you will never forget yourself.  And you will cherish each other.  And if I never see you again, it won’t matter because I will be remembered in the beat of your heart, your reflection in the mirror, in the reaction of your cells as you raise your hand to touch your cheek.  Don’t worry anymore.  Because tomorrow is alive in this unique second and you are alive.  The same way you have always been.  I expect that it feels different but the difference lays in the possibilities, not in your present smiles.  Your light-heartedness is the consecutive addition of a million separate moments and they’ve convened with us on this afternoon at this intersection of concrete and flesh.  And we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Each of us looked at each other and we realized the moment was about to end.  Our conditioning compelled us to try to hold on but our collective identity had already discarded expectations as afterthoughts.  It was if we were standing in front of a fire, except the flames were the mingling of identities on a city street corner. 

It took a second for us to notice that Happiness was already on his way.   He began to run and he yelled:

“Remember Happiness Santiago” as he jumped and gently kicked a concrete wall that propelled him towards the distance.  His light feet and curly hair were tattooed to the portraits in front of us, long after his presence was beyond our site…

I remember that day.  The day we met Happiness on a non-descript city street corner on a random autumn afternoon.  And I remind you to remember him too, not that you could have possibly forgotten.  It’s just that we have a handful of moments when time stands still and waits for us to choose our destination.  And I ask you to run through the wind and fly towards the future while fully involved in the present. 

And don’t forget Happiness because Happiness remembers you.

some quick hits

I know, I know I haven't written in a while.

Here is what I have for now.

Joe Manchin, the Democratic governor of West Virginia, is running to fill the U.S. Senate Seat of the late, former KKK member, Robert Byrd.  Considering the shoes Manchin's filling, I guess we shouldn't be surprised by his new TV Ad.

As a Puerto Rican, it feels amazing to watch Rosie Perez call out Ruben Diaz (Our Homophobic Puerto Rican NYS Senator).  As Rosie points out, not all Latinos are Homophobes.  If straight people can marry than gay people should be able to as well.  (Or as Chris Rock would say, "Gay people have the right to be miserable too.")  Go Rosie!

The infamous and illusive grafitti artist, Banksy was commisioned to do the opening spot for the Simpsons where he basically destroys Fox.  He calls them out for their sweat shop abuses regarding The Simpsons Merchandise.  Unfortunately the link I just provided will probably be shut down by the time you click on it due to copyright infringement claims by FOX.  So just do some googling and you'll find it eventually. 

Finally check out this video from legendary folk musician Ryan Harvey about the Tea Party.  And if you live anywhere near Albany, you should come to his show @ The Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave, Albany, NY on October 22nd at 8pm.  You can check out the Facebook event page here.

Attempting to Grieve

I don’t think anyone can comprehend what you meant to me as a child.

You were a Superhero.

In retrospect, it makes sense.

You were released from prison around the time

I started having coherent thoughts. 

My mother had an old chair and the back had fallen off.

It had an hour glass shape and I decided to use it as a canvass.

I remember drawing a picture of you wearing Adidas sneakers.

My mom must have gotten a chuckle out of my attempt.

I was never much of a visual artist. 

I don’t expect my drawing of you to

appear in a museum or gallery anytime soon.

But it wasn’t supposed to matter…

Because you were suppose to live forever.

When I received the text message,

I felt like a six year old.

I didn’t understand the words.

I asked for clarification.

Your death was confirmed.  

You see Lolita,

I’ve never once imagined a world that you weren’t living in.

I laid two parents to rest in my early twenties.

They were both admirers of you.

As difficult as it was to let them go,

it was something that I knew was inevitable,

even if it was earlier than expected.

As much as I loved my parents,

I knew they were mortals

and would eventually be forced 

to succumb to the same fate

as the rest of us.

You walked into congress with a gun and said

“I did not come here to kill,

I came here to die for Puerto Rico.”

You did not die that day because

you couldn’t be killed.

This became evident when you were released thirty years ago.

You roamed the island of Puerto Rico

 for most of my life,

a free woman.  

Who else could have accomplished such a feat?

Only a Superhero.

Rumor has it that RFK Jr once begged to meet you.

To think the progeny of the former Attorney General

would desire to meet you, 

when most politicians make a living these days

trying to scare us about people like you.

The truth is that most political leaders can’t understand true patriotism.

They can throw the names of George Washington 

and Thomas Payne around.

But they would never have the courage and conviction to defend this nation

the way you’ve fought for our little island. 

And that’s the problem.

Who is supposed to protect us now?

The capitalists have grown their

tentacles across our enchanted home.

But you were there to fight for us.

To stare them down,

daring them to take one more step,

to lay one more brick.

I assumed you would always be there. 

You would never abandon us and leave us mortals to defend ourselves.

Please come back to life Lolita. 

Please! This is not a funny prank.

What are we suppose to do?

Words can’t express the power

of the tears trapped behind my eyes at this very moment.

There is no way to explain the feeling inside me to

a stranger that has never heard of you,

but strike me dead if what I am about to say is wrong.

There are thousands of Puerto Ricans that feel exactly as I do,

who understand that you breathe rarefied air,

that know you could come back to life if you wanted to.

Perdóneme Doña  but I don’t know if we can go on without you.

I’m serious.

I might kill myself right now

if you don’t come back to us.

Please Doña

I’m begging you.

Please!

…Lo siento Lolita.

Please excuse my self-centered arrogance. 

I know that I’ve been way out of line.

I just never imagined that you wouldn’t be in this world,

standing as a shining example of grace,

strength and Puerto Rican Sovereignty.

Your loss is almost too much to bear. 

I understand that the struggle for liberation is in our hands now.

I realize that you’ve entrusted us with the mission to free Puerto Rico.

The first step in that journey will be protecting your legacy.

Customer Service

Well the service industry is having an interesting week don't you think?

First and foremost there is the incident of Steven Slater.  What did you say?  You've been under a rock for the last few days and just came up for air and have no idea who Steven Slater is? No he's not Christian Slater's brother, though he looks like he could be.  He is the Jet Blue flight attendant that made possibly the best "take this job and shove it" move ever! Those of you who have worked in customer service, especially in the food industry (flight attendants have it even worse), you've fantasized about a dramatic exit from your horrible job.  In fact, co-workers typically fantasize about this type of thing together.  And this is why Steven Slater is the new Great American Hero, because he actually did it, the fantastic exit.  And his was even better than the one you imagined.  Basically he was told off by a passenger who apparently hit him in the head with the luggage compartment door.  He ran to the intercom, told the passenger to "f*&$" herself and said it's been a good 28 years (as a flight attendant) and grabbed a beer or two and hopped out the emergency door and slid down the inflatable chute.   I've gotta be honest, I'm down with Steven Slater.  Sometime enough is enough.  By the accounts I've been reading he was trying to refrain from arguing with the passenger and finally lost it.  Who hasn't wanted to do this at one point in their life?  The bad news he's been arrested and is currently being held at Rikers Island.  Ouch!  That's a heck of a price to pay for telling the job to go "f*&$ itself".  If you watch this video you can see Steven smiling from ear to ear.  That my friends is the smile of a liberated man.  It would be a little ironic if he had to pay for his liberation by being incarcerated (for up to seven years).  Hopefully cooler heads prevail, no pun intended, and Slater get's a slap on the wrist and finds a new career as a Game Show host or something.  In the meantime you should check out the Free Steven Slater Facebook Page.  There are already 17,000 fans of the page.  Don't worry Steve; we've got your back.  Tell corporate America to shove its wage slavery and tell the puppet consumers who thrive on oppressing the workers to "f*&$ off!"  You've made our week!

And if this wasn't enough, a woman named Melodi Dushane was just sentenced to sixty days for a fight at McDonald's.  What was the fight about you ask?  Melodi was going through the drive thru and hoped to order some chicken McNuggets.  She was very disappointed to find out that Mickey D's was only serving breakfast.  After some time she responds by climbing out of the car and fighting the cashier through the window, eventually she throws something at the window and breaks it.  Watch the video, my favorite part is after she drives away and the cashier gives the next customer their food.  It's priceless.  And Melodi, I'm sorry but I don't have your back on this one. 

Next time I'll have a little more substance, I promise.