Who Are These People and Why Are They So Shy?

One can only hope that this graph represents the end of the labyrinth of deceit, and that millions more of untraceable compensation for total failure are not hidden from public knowledge.  It is an insult to watch on TV the suggestion by Mr. Liddy today that these folks are in imminent danger and must be protected at all costs.  But, there is very good reason why inquiring minds want to know just who they are and what they have gotten away with.  The inquiring public mind now owns their “assets”, but the answers still eludes us all.

Shyness is akin to cowardliness, and this has nothing to do with threat of life, but rather threat of life in prison.  White-collar crime must bear the same stigma as any other crime to humanity.  What makes this a crime, and possibly one of collusion, is the burden so unjustly imposed on the backs of hard-working Americans.

The public outcry has become audible to the point of shaking the walls on Capitol Hill.  This represents a real and imminent threat all right, but not one that would excuse anyone from acting on behalf of the very individuals who have creped away, ever so quietly, to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Americans have done more than their share to “cooperate” for the “common good”.  Working for the common good has been, and continues to be, the exculpatory message from they who seek to harbor and protect the corporate elite.  However, as each day goes by the public buys into that rationale less and less.  The mob is a terrible monster to contend with, and totally unruly when drunk with anger.  Yes, let us ensure that we bring justice before we that are crying foul become the target of law.

Something has definitely been lost in the translation, but it has become crystal clear that today’s America is synonymous with the corporate elite.  We the People are we the corporate elite, who stand magnanimous in their plight to secure profit at the cost of a tax-impaled public. A prodigious parody of capitalism prevails throughout the Land of the Free, and the denizen who labor the fields are finally taking notice—so one must hope.

While conspiracy theorists must still defend their perspective from ridicule, some of the implications appear not so distorted.   Mainstream media is losing ground on their ability to secure passage for their benefactors—they are owned by them, after all, and thusly beholding to their interests.  New agendas sprout about on the Internet, unhindered by the bias of corporate intent, yet still very much committed to select interpretations of events.

In essence, the audience (We the People) is faced with an onslaught of information that it is often ill equipped to verify for authenticity and accuracy.  Nonetheless, certain messages ring true and the notion that salvation of the world is sacrifice of the individual still resonates against reason, and the true American Dream.

The legacy of Mr. Cundo Bermudez will resonate throughout the art world and Cuban community for many more decades to come, but this is a sad day for this blogger.  Mr. Bermudez was a kind soul whose personality was as vibrant and colorful as his masterpieces.  One often hopes that such great talent grace the path one walks in a lifetime, and so was the fortune of this proud Cuban blogger.  We will never forget you, Cundo!

Gracias por haber sido parte de esta contribucion.  Ha sido un honor conocerte.  Descansa en paz.

Wise fools become hedge fund managers, raking in billions for doing nothing more than betting on the market.  From this phenomenon result the so-called speculators that the media may at times refer to amidst the topical discussion of economic stress.  These Wall Street boys (they are male) sit on pots of gold that have no intrinsic value as such, only a subjective quality that is at the mercy of human emotion.

Then there is the strongest of all emotion, love—nay infatuation to the point of insanity—over something called oil.  The speculation over this tangible black gold is urged by what these managers of nothing know all too well to be a blanket guarantee: The perception of a need intoxicates the senses to the point of pure altruism.  To the detriment of the altruist what is sacrificed is ten-fold in value to anything that the crude can offer, because it translates beyond the self. 

Along come they who labor in earnest to salvage the economy, an economy that they helped create, when the boys in the penthouses summon government to provide the vehicle for their escape (their parachute).  Under such circumstances no one can claim a victory for capitalism and the free market system.  Moreover, no one can earn a merit badge for ethical conduct; not even the ones paying for the bill.  Greed and avarice envelops the meekest of the bunch, and within their influence all creatures get sucked into making decisions they rather would not.  And when that happens, liberty has been lost.

¾Samuel Delgado

October 12, 2008

As a parent, one should reflect upon how the collective mindset plays the role of the idiot chieftain. Rather than protecting the sanctity of parenthood, the masses weigh in to undermine the backbone of family structure.  The presumption that individuals are naturally negligent sanctions the abuse by mass absurdity.

When the masses intervene, they ultimately end up encroaching upon natural rights.  The collective creates its own autonomy, through which it binds all individuals that comprise it.  Often, the results of a well-meaning collective have the direst consequences; from which it cannot recover.  One might find that a cause very close to one’s heart, for which one fought and managed to implement in the community through an enacting of law, returns as an enemy to spite the individuals intended to be benefited.

So, when considering the appealing prospect that every child should be kept healthy, ask whether or not that means that the village should decide how any one parent must feed their child, medicate their child, etc.  In a village not too far rumor of a village family—a Vegetarian family—spread to surrounding villages.  There was a child, an allegedly malnourished child, at the center of the controversy.  The offices of Children and Families removed the child, because apparently the masses did not prescribe to the idea that a Vegetarian diet was sufficient to maintain a healthy child.

This is but one example, one can think of the “medicated child” that is being treated for so many ailments—most predominantly to curve natural energy (Ritalin).  The Ritalin-induced child is a common manifestation of massive repression.  Similarly, the “vaccinated” child walks about without anyone having bothered to consider any long-term effects at the hands of the Witch Doctor.  The Witch Doctor, on the other hand, is very discrete in maintaining his mask of authority on at all times.  He is an ominous fellow, with all the reverence that only a Village can endow.

We must keep it alive though…it is critical to our economy.  Neglecting our collective duty to pitch in and rescue AIG—or the mortgage finance market for that matter—would be not only negligent, but also unpatriotic.  So, where does accountability come in?  The Private Citizen, that underdog with the superpower to save the day by forking out her hard earned cash through tax levies, is the one accountable—holding that bag of (you know what) that politicians keep throwing her way.

Yet, do not fear, we know that this 80% commitment (the equity stake) will ultimately render a high yield for our investing taxpayer.  Is that so?  When may we expect our dividends?  Will they come via another $600 tax rebate next year, or the year after that, or in a decade, or our lifetime—after our children pay off the war debt?  We the People…people…pawns.

Today you can bet that any hurricane, even if downgraded to a category one, will be a perfect fit to hike up prices at the pump.  Mother Nature has become yet another convenient excuse to suck it to the consumer.  Meanwhile, what is the government doing about it?…Absolutely nothing!  Why? Because we’re living in a Bush age, where Oil is King and people are the minions of corporate abuse.

Still, the slap on the face does not end in oil.  We, the taxpayers that is, are now rescuing the housing market.  Bailouts are not constitutional folks!  What we are witnessing is immoral and at the heart of what is wrong with America today.  Unfortunate events happen because people choose to abuse of other people and the welfare system that is in place to allegedly assist the people that are in dire need.  It all plays upon a cynical stage when private interests are the movers and shakers.  Meanwhile, the media—another monopolized network—provides all the choreography for the trailers of doom, and we buy into it.

Let’s take back the American Dream and say, “NO!”

Today I’ve decided to write to the source and submitted (online) my comments to Senator Leahy on the orphan works bills.  My objections will reflect the same concerns that we’re being told are illegimitate.  Stay tuned…

Dear Senator Leahy:

As an artist and American Citizen I’m totally appalled by your policy on the so-called Orphan Works issue.  I will vehemently oppose any and all attempts at striping artists of their right to their unique creations.

There are several reasons why both the House and Senate versions of the orphan works bills are to be repudiated.  What is most patronizing is the effort to justify these bills with the impression that either one will favor artists.  Quite to the contrary, this will not bring in business but rather encourage theft.

The mere proposition to allow infringement and then burden the artist with the arduous task of discovering such an elusive action, to then try to “settle” matters based on an even more indefinable condition of compensation is beyond belief!  This is back-door negotiation and totally in contradiction of any viable free-market system.  If any of these bills become law artists will not have only lost protection of their copyright, but will lose any chance at having a competitive edge in their unique market.

Artists are entitled to their constitutional right of free speech and expression to be protected.  These bills threaten this unalienable right, because they will stymie the creative process that represents the artist’s ultimate form of expression.

Please understand that objection not does reside in any intangible emotion, or necessarily in a failure to recognize the merits of a fair means to resolve true orphan works problems.  However, the implications and extended ramifications of these bills are critical to the well being of not only artists, but also the general public.  The prescription of these bills is rooted on a socialist policy that is most distressing.  Since I came to the United States as a refugee from Cuba, because my parents sought the promise of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, I cannot allow to sit idly by and see our government strip away private liberties.

This is bad policy and requires much further consideration.  I have elaborated my personal thoughts on the topic of orphan works and these bills in my blog (samdel.wordpress.com).  The People have lost all hope in our government; perhaps we might see a silver lining when our elected officials take a more sensible approach at implementing legislation for highly complex issues such as “orphan works”.  Please reconsider…

Sincerely,

(My Real Name Here)

Private Citizen

I have to credit the “anonymous” creator of the story below.  This is probably a case of an “orphaned” work.  It arrived on my inbox with no credit to whoever came up with it.  Yet, it remains a very good story and it actually brings home some of the points I’ve been trying to make.  Note: There’s a slight edit.  Here it goes…

So it goes that we get wrapped up in our own delusions to where we lose sight of the obvious.  The Orphan Works bills debate circles around a plain fact: The Tent will be gone and artists will lie there pondering about what it all means to look into space, except it will contain no stars; it will be barren and unbecoming.

By the way, “tonto” in Spanish means, “dumb”.  I guess that this is only a coincidence, but I’d rather believe that the author of the legendary characters had a dark sense of humor. )