F U

We have technology and industry. We can feed, clothe, and house every soul on the planet. We can offer easy access to birth control. We have the know how to provide clean energy and transport, and to replant the great forests to help reverse global warming.
We have clear orders from scripture to care for the creation and treat the oppressed with fairness and kindness. Though fundamentalists have always ignored the basics, and sadistic rich people have hoarded wealth and caused untold squalor and misery, decent folk have stood up to them throughout history. If everyone had, there would be no poverty or pollution. Instead, the rubes sit on their lazy asses while bullies run amok. Liars and thieves, pharisees and robber barons get away with everything.
This should be heaven on earth. It isn't simply because of all you heartless fu-k--g b-tches. If a fraction of you had taken up your civic duties, it would have been paradise decades ago. You didn't, of course. You still don't. And there's no sign that you cold hearted monsters ever will. So f--k you all.

Coming Out

'Come out,' the activists say. If everyone comes out, the straight world will see... that everyone is out.
But so what? It doesn't matter who's out because people usually know who is and who isn't. And if the out and proud set are shallow, heartless, and bigotted, they're not the best pr for us anyway.
Instead, how about we all lead responsible lives? Just for kicks, what if we valued character over looks, knowledge over youth, kindness over objectification and dehumanizing sexualization, and our civil responsibilities at least as much as disco. Wouldn't that be slightly better pr?
But I forgot. Responsible living is work. It takes learning and effort and compassion and integrity. And it would mean taking a hard look at the cruelty and ignorance of mainstream gay culture.
But why bother? We're already an oppressed minority. Grade A Certified. Millions despise us. And any criticism of us is by definition unfair. Being a self righteous minority definitely has its up side. We can ignore all criticism, no matter how true. And we can treat one another almost as badly as the bigots have treated us: with looksism, ageism, cruelty, and cattiness. We can turn straight homophobia into our own brand of bigotry.

Stimulus Redux

Change was a great slogan. And there was plenty of reason to think it was sincere. From day one of the primary, Obama swiped the Clinton agenda: fiscal responsibility; strategic investment; modest upper class tax increases to pay down the debt but leave capital for investment; targeted middle class tax cuts to support American industry; green energy (thank you Al); bipartisanship; far reaching diplomacy; and healthcare (thank you Hillary for suffering a crushing defeat on behalf of public health).

So it was natural to assume Obama would use neo liberal policy to get us out of this fix. Instead, the stimulus is a Keynesian hog fest of tax cuts, pork, and deficit spending that won't fix a thing. This is old school policy and very disappointing. It shows either that Obama is not as smart as we thought or that the thieves who got us into this mess are still firmly in control.

Tax cuts will only speed the decline, as republicans well know. Likely to go into savings, or be spent on junk from foreign sweat shops, they'll increase the debt without strengthening American industry. They're a measure of how dense the public are, to give themselves a tax break when the government is buried in debt. Deficit spending, meanwhile, will waste more resources on interest payments. And pork is the very least bang for the buck. It adds a few paychecks into circulation without goods, services, or infrastructure. The only thing missing from this blubber fest is defense spending. Military Keynesianism is another con game to barely float the economy without improving living standards. The defense budget is long overdue for cuts. But neither defense nor the stimulus can be reformed without a serious fight. For decades, powerful interests in both parties have kept public finances in the red in order to cripple government and collect interest payments on the national debt. The stimulus package is more of the same.

That Obama and the democrats have put forward this trash is deeply disturbing, especially when there are such better policies for tough times. The new deal succeeded quite nicely. By humane standards, it was heaven on earth. It put people to work and upgraded living standards beautifully. By the cold hearted standards of the profiteers, it was a failure, and only socialist nationalization of the major industries put the economy back in black. But corporate media have almost complete control of the public today, and they'll never allow their assets to be nationalized.

Neo liberalism is obviously the better alternative. Finely crafted by the most knowledgeable leaders of our time, Clinton economic policy has the only chance of restoring the market in a reasonable time. Bill Clinton refined Keyensianism when he was an intellectual in the DLC and PPI. His version works like a charm in the mixed economy, but it steps on powerful toes, which is why the Clintons were under attack thoughout the 90s. That's also probably why Obama abandoned it after the election. He doesn't dare propose anything serious without massive public support, as a defense against media attacks. But the public are too lazy and ignorant to get involved. They barely noticed the Clintons' successes and didn't bother with the details. They also despise smart people, probably because they feel inferior. Brainiacs created neoliberalism. And no matter how great it works, just the thought of their damn book larnin' would send the entire population into a vindictive hissy fit. Yet neo liberalism is so finely tuned to the mixed economy, it's positively elegant.

First, government must be made fiscally responsible by cutting wasteful spending and taxing the rich. That will restore confidence in the market and redirect interest payments to public investment.

Broad based tax cuts are out of the question just now. Those of us who are solvent should actually pay more. And given how much deeper in debt we are, the rich should take a serious hit. That's always a problem, though. When rates went up even a few points in the nineties, the media unleashed a massive smear campaign. Who knows how they'll respond to the kind of taxes we need today? But after the screaming profits of the last eight years, sky high gas prices, and massive thefts in the financial industry, there's more than enough cash in the private sector. The public will have to be very clear, in the voting booth, opinion polls, and NGOs, that corporations need to pony up. But Americans don't like decisive action. By the time they get around to studying the issues, which would be a first in itself, we'll all be in bread lines.

The only tax cuts we can afford must be finely targeted to support American industry. The Clintons focused on education, a smart choice at the time. Today, we should give tax credits for clean autos from Detroit, or even from Japanese firms based in the US. We could give tax breaks to support many businesses. But congress needs to identify the key industries, a job that takes actual effort.

Job creation has to be totally redone. There's no reason it can't be structured to turn a profit. And it should improve living conditions with healthcare and education, and create a more efficient economy with transit and clean energy.

Maybe the worst problem we face is layoffs. They're effecting real estate because people can't pay mortgages or buy homes for fear of loosing their jobs. So housing prices are falling. That could be fixed by restructuring interest rates and mortgage payments according to people's changing incomes. This also is long overdue. Usury is not just a moral crime, it's fiscally disastrous. But the adjustments should be done carefully to prevent people from taking advantage, and quickly to keep housing prices from taking a nose dive.

We should also take equity positions in the industries we're bailing out. Though we can't monitor government closely enough for an extended takeover, we shouldn't be shy about imposing real regulation, and taking modest returns from the bank, mortgage, and auto bailouts. At the very least, Obama should fire the robber barons and appoint competent managers. It's reported today that he's trying to block the robbers' bonuses, a sign of how little he can do without public support. They should have had their as-es handed to them long ago. New managers would track every dime of the bailouts. If it isn't being used productively, it should be taxed right back into the treasury. They would also force Detroit to build modern vehicles. That would trigger a battle with the gas companies. Oil and auto stockholders bankrupted the car companies by forcing management to build gas sucking lemons. They'll fight tooth and claw against a fleet upgrade, which is another battle the public are not ready for.

One challenge is also a huge opportunity. The oil companies should be offered a deal. Build clean energy generation and be given the franchise for it, as long ago they were given the highway system. Or let the government build it and be cut out of the market.

None of this is complicated. Running the government with a reasonable profit margin would be a piece of cake for educated managers. But powerful forces will make a killing if labor costs and real estate values hit rock bottom. And the stimulus package shows they're still in control. To pass anything serious, Obama and the congress will need massive public support. Yes Virginia. We're again at the mercy of the slobbering masses. And time is running out. We all need to demand neo liberal policy in the voting booth and opinion polls, on the internet, and through NGOs. Until we do, robber barons will be raking in the cash while the economy continues in free fall.

Low Culture In High Places

American high culture was removed from the public square decades ago by the commercial media. Values like integrity, frugality, charity; and honorable thinkers like the fouding fathers, are of no use to commercial groups that control the economy. Educated values would be a serious threat to a wasteful and unjust economic system. And the founding fathers were a motley crew at best: deist, Christian, puritanical, and libertine. Ben Franklyn himself was a total f--k beast. But they were prinicipled and knowledgeable men whose ideals are at odds with the snake oil salesmen.

So commercial groups quietly replaced American values with soemthing more practical: Confederate culture. Selfish, heartless, and ignorant, rube culture so dominates the media today that most people think it's the real thing, and that high culture has something to do with opera and the museum.

It would never have been possible without the unholy union of rhetoric and mass communications. Rhetoric had been around for thousands of years but was mostly used by nerds arguing points of trivia too stupid for words. I think therefore I am. Please. It's like asking how many angels dance on the head of a pin. But with the rise of mass communications, rhetoric got a new lease on life, and a new mission: obliterating American high culture. And it's not the only game in town. More's the pity. The media is also propped up with science. Social scientists, in particular, conduct endless focus groups to learn how best to manipulate public opinion.

It's shocking to realize. But the snake oil salesman has a thousand soap boxes in every home in America. Whether he's selling laundry detergent, low culture drama, backwater values, or economic fanatasies, the snow job is complete. He's left the public in a state of deep hypnosis. Most people weren't given rhetoric in school, and they have no defense against even the crudest tricks: irrelevance; diversion and distraction; the values pretense; oversimplification; manipulation through hatred and prejudice, also known as scapegoating; suppression of facts; repetition to replace facts and logic; repetition to make lies more palatable; misplaced emphasis, also known as cherry picking; and false accusations, also known as bearing false witness.

These are a few examples. There are many others in reserve. They're not used now because the current batch are working so well. Repetition, for example, is a huge success. After decades of the same talking points repeated nonstop, the public don't bother with supporting evidence and will believe anything after the second hearing.

The best con of the last thirty years, though, is rhetorical stature, or the values pretence. With it, the media have convinced millions of fundamentalists that greedy and power mad oligarchs are actually gentle Christians. They could never have done it had fundamentalists actually know anything about scripture. They don't, of course. They're ignorant pharissees, and their actions proves it. They like lobster but hate queers. They want prayer in school, despite Matt 6:5. They bear false witness like it's going out of style. They cherry pick the law to pieces and ignore scripture's main priorities of fairness and social justice.

Because of commercial media's vast resources, there's no chance either genuine Christianity or American high culture will ever be allowed in the public square. Religion in the media is represented entirely by fundamentalists, Pharisees who ignore scripture by habit, from the call for stewardship of the creation, to the demands for kindness and fairness toward the oppressed, and everything in between. A toothless brand sometimes makes an appearance on PBS starring the Reverend Barry Lynn. He quibbles politely with the fundys, never calls them on their extreme hypocrisy, and never explains the gospel and prophets' central message.

American rationalism, meanwhile, is represented by Sam Harris. He was given the task of driving a wedge between liberal Christians and atheists. Media Directive 87 clearly states that educated groups must be divided by any means necessary. For doing that, Harris has had two books handsomely published. Both slander Christianity by cherry picking history to within an inch of its life. But accusing the church for the entire history of war is really over the top. He must not have noticed science's charming contributions: the a-bomb, gas chamber, and stealth fighter, to name a few. And he's somehow missed free thinkers' lack of charity and liberation work, not to mention their taste for mental masturbation. For someone who claims to love reason, Harris spends most of his time with rhetorical tricks.

Meanwhile, the debate on economics is a hash of republican talking points: small government, tax cuts, and the free market. These are fantasies, of course, while our actual system, the mixed economy, has somehow gone missing. It's a critical topic. Early examples like Rome and Britain are fascinating, yet not as important today as the Clinton refinements of Keynesianism: lean and smart government, fiscal responsibility, strategic investment, middle class supports, etc... As always in the mixed economy, it's everyone's responsibility to help choose which sectors to subsidize and regulate. But the public can't join the discussion when they don't know the first thing about their own economic system.

Traditional values, meanwhile, are represented by the Heritage Foundation, The Traditional Values Coalition, and other snake oil salesmen, none of whom would know American high culture if it hauled a loom into the parlor, stipped naked, and cranked out a giant flag of Colorado while singing Red River Valley. American civic virtues like hard work, frugality, study and self improvement, charity, integrity, practicality, and civic responsibility have long ago been scrapped in favor of Confederate greed and ignorance. And commercial media would slit its own throat before celebrating the high culture of Ruth, Plato, Franklyn, Matthew, Tolkien, Chief Seattle, Aristotle, or the last clause of Gen 1:28.

The news news media is a hopeless pit of corruption, ignorance, and stupidity. But the real fun starts with the entertainment media. Their job is promoting low culture, and Hollywood shakers don't just dramatize hick culture. They live it. Culturally, LA is a trailer park, with no taste, less integrity, and a heartless streak a mile wide. It's common knowledge that industry shakers spend their days lying and stealing. And what else was the Confederate economy but the mass theft of people's work. We are now deep in the Universe of Irony, where celebrities pose as angels of enlightenment while working in sleaze town and doing nothing to change it. And millions adore them.

Dealing with industry players is a chilling experience. They lie faster than a normal person can tell the truth. In two shakes, they know if you're on board with low culture. If not, if you show one shred of taste or integrity, you're transferred to the Rip Off Department before you can say 'Please master. Give it to me dry. Your kinky pleasure is all that matters in my world.'

Decades ago, Hollywood transformed the drama into a hash of trailer park mores: social climbing, ignorance, and mindless consuming. The standard film character is a selfish rube with the emotional stability of a bitch in heat. The rare educated role is an obsessive weird head totally out of touch with reality.

The industry writes only for young people not because they're prettier and have more cash. They are prettier, but adults have a much better hold on disposable income. Hollywood writes for the young simply because commercial interests won't allow adult values in the public square. It's shocking to admit, but educated people are completely locked out of mass media. And if the last fifty years are any guide, they always will be. Commercial media have a vested interest in promoting the extreme selfishness of low mass culture. They aren't going anywhere. And the combination of rhetoric, corrupt science, and mass communications is too strong to overcome.

There are some ways out. The public might stop in at the library occassionally, and actually open a book. They could demand that educated speech be given space on the public airwaves.

What's most desperately needed, though, is a genuinely liberal network to challenge the media's fake liberalism and bogus conservatism. The network would stop bitching about everything without discussing what people can do, through volunteer work or community groups or NGOs. But it would take huge funds from the liberal elite. Serious content would offend consumers and threaten profits, and the elite are too corrupt to take the risk.

Or a miracle could happen. The public might take up a fraction of their civic and charitable duties. If even a few of them did, this would be heaven on earth. But the slobbering masses aren't interested in civilization. They have no use for basic fairness or integrity. Industrialism is working for them, despite the billions in poverty and the ecological meltdown. But they've been duped by decades of media bulls-it, so evidence is easy to ignore. And at this late date, they don't even recognize American culture. And they don't like educated values when they do appear. Try mentioning the Iroquois League at a cocktail party, and see what happens. You'll hear crickets.

Gay Cabinet Positions

Now that a genuine liberal is taking over the Presidency, it's time that queers get something from the deal. I'm not talking marraige rights or fair employment. Please. They are so ten minutes ago.
Gay people have made a good share of contributions in this backwater hole, and we deserve some reward. It’s common knowledge, for example, that queers invented logic, the marbel nude, and brunch. So it’s high time they got credit, and maybe some perks on the side. That doesn’t mean recovering the Table of Elements in silk brocade, or giving the entire government over to lesbian rule. But please. Throw us a bone, preferably with a man attached.
For starters, Elton should be made court composer. Rue Paul or k.d. would be First Lady in perpetuity. At the very least, gay people deserve seats on the President’s cabinet. The following positions are only a start. It will be easy to add seats as issues arise.

The Queer Cabinet (Cherry or Mahogany Only)

Secretary of the Interior Design
Minister of Brunch
Secretary of (Rough) Trade
Special Assistant for the Rethinking of a Blazer with Jeans and Sneakers
Minister of Credit (Where Credit is Due)
Secretary of Commerce (Mall Division)

Reminiscing

I am so fed up with the public's bad taste. It's a cross between American Idol, a half naked Survivor, and Lou Throbs Tonight. Please. Those giant muscles look like Arnold on meth. Even worse, Dancing With The Stars is too mechanical and a total disappointment for anyone who's seen the real thing.

I should know. I was there. The seventies disco scene made choreographed moves look like a barn dance for androids. Of course I'm talking about the Trocadero Transfer, the hottest gay disco this side of anywhere. And I saw them all: The City, Mine Shaft, End Up, Ibeam, Stud, Saint, Zenon, and Paradise Garage. (Studio was a tad before my time, although I heard it was tired. And the LA scene is disqualified for having inflicted Saturday Night Fever upon us.)

This was all before the anti disco backlash, which was really homophobia in disguise. It did serious damage and the Universe has never recovered. The circuit scene is a pale comparison, a hard drug pit with hopeless music, mindless techno pop, and spastic air humping.

Disco rocked, well maybe not rocked. It was more subtle. The best places were off the beated track. And the music never got the credit it deserved. It was beautifully written and performed by the best writers and musicians in the world, a combination of African rhythms, computer syncopation, and sex moaning. Every note was polished to a blinding brilliance by Hollywood technicians with diapers soaked in tarnoff. What could be better?

The dancing, as previously mentioned, made Hollywood look like Holly wouldn't. It was tribal, for one thing. And it was originally ours, until John Travolta put his claws all over it. White polyester. Please. The real uniform was jeans and a T-shirt, which usually came off sometime after midnight. Before that, before the clone movement that is, there was a well dressed contingent. But they were seriously dressed, with silk jackets and ties, collarless shirts, decco slacks, you name it. You couldn't find a thread of polyester to save your life. And no one was waving his arms around like Richard Simons on meth. Travolta was animatronic. How he ever got a reputation for dancing is beyond my comprehension. Gay dance was more subdued, and beat driven, and sexy, and graceful, and spontaneous, and real.

The top of the scene was Trocadero, of course. It started with the best DJ ever: Bobby Viteritti. Other people have written enough about him. Let me just say that he was a great artist, a perfect genius of the craft. While others mixed the bass line at the ends of songs like a chore, Viteritti was everywhere, at the start, middle, end, on the bass or acoustic line, up, down, back and forth, and always seamless. And his taste in music. Forget about it. There's no accounting for taste. But his was perfect. He had three other skills, technical skills that could be copied, so I won't say what they were.

I'm not sure if the fan dancers were paid by the club, or if they were fan fanatics who spent hours practicing every day. But they added a ton. They whooshed the air and cooled things down. Think of them as air conditioners made of meat. They recreated the San Francisco winds, non stop and ever changing. And they brought a visual dimension that was hard to beat: weaving, waving, flashing, and circling for hours.

I was told at the time that people were doing drugs, and the favorite was MDA. They said it was a strong type of speed to help them stay up all night. Lately someone told me it was really Ecstasy. Who knew? But no one ODed in those days. The music was too precious to miss by being wasted.

The sound system was top shelf. Big deal. The mirror ball cluster was more distinctive. It gave the space a personality. You knew no one else had it. And if they got it, it would be a unoriginal and tired.

Then there were the live shows. I saw Taka Boom, Chaka Kan's sister. She was great. I also saw Grace Jones in NY, maybe at Paradise Garage, maybe at the place on the Hudson. Who can remember. But she was phenom. Having the top artists do shows in our humble dance clubs made us feel special and vulnerable and loved, a feeling we still don't get from the bitch queen public.

The Troc also started the red, white, and black parties long before the circuit scene. 'Nuff said.

For me, though, it was all about the dance. Not that I was any good. But I hung out with people seriously into the movement. They're mostly gone now, and the best eye candy ever has gone with them. The big dance was The Rock, which was inspired from the earthquakes. It started with a simple foot tap, but progressed into a million moves, perfectly timed to the music, but always changing and always surprising. It was by far the coolest dance before or since. There's no describing the perfect hamony of it.

The scene is gone now. But wonder of wonders, it's on its way back. I'll say no more, lest Hollywood dump another imitation on us, this time starring Vin Deisel as a Brooklyn wrestler who stumbles around the dance floor like Arnold on Ecstasy.

Deal With It - Or Not

Gay bigot culture has not changed one bit in 30 years. And don’t you dare expect it to in our lifetime.
As children, we all were taught horrible lessons about gayness. They learned to hate themselves and each other. And they molded that hatred into a subconscious, iron cast of internalized homophobia.
They objectify and sexualize one another like it's going out of style, until people loose their humanity and are reduced to blow up f--k me dolls. That’s if you look good; and are young; and have money; and a good bod; and the right, up to this very minute ensemble. If not, you’re treated like garbage, or worse. It's ironic. We expect civil rights from het society but can't be civil to one another.
Character doesn't count, or kindness, learning, integrity, etc... So long as you're hot, you can be as cruel and vulgar and ignorant as you like. And our leaders, with rare exceptions, are good looking dingbats.
The community is self destructive and filled with internalized homophobia. So when AIDS appeared, a few of us begged the mainstream to be more careful sexually. We were ignored. Suddenly there were hundreds of people in queer papers cranking out rhetorical mazes explaining how the Eternal Quest for Sacred Liberty demands that we all f--k with blindfolds. The fact that a sexually transmitted plague had arrived was rarely metioned. It was frustrating in the extreme, but also one of the the most bizar performances ever. Anyone who objected was literally buried in name calling, stereotyping, and false accusations. That's what happened to Larry Kramer, and recently to me in the queer blogs. Or they just yelled you down. For suggesting that our sexual practice needed to change in the early aighties, I was hollared out of discussion groups from Stanford, to Berkeley, to SF State.
Had anyone listened, AIDS would have been stopped in its tracks twenty five years ago. No one did of course, and the self hatred and internalized homophobia of the mainstream have continued unchallenged for thirty years.
The community didn't just rely on it's bullies. They also hired a butt load of pr agents to make excuses like Larry Craig on meth. But the freelancers are still out there. Try speaking rationally in any gay forum and listen to the rhetorical bulls--- flooding in from every direction.
Thank goodness there is medicine now. The pr agents are looking at some very nasty pink slips. And gay bigot culture can go on its way forevermore.
Needless to say, I'm bored with it. I've accepted that self destructiveness is a permanent ficture in the queer mainstream. No one can stop them from shooting themselves in the foot at every opportunity; from screwing each other to death for another twenty years; to letting the bare backers run rampant without using a shred of peer group pressure; to spitting in the face of natural allies like liberal christians, to missing a golden opportunity like domestic partnership in favor of a fight we can't win, like bouquet tossing. The pretty leaders couldn't strategize their way out of a paper bag. So we were supposed to get all messy about Rick Warren, perhaps expecting Obama to ignore the millions of right wingers whose support he'll need. It's always all about us, and if Obama even looks sideways at anyone we don't like, all hell will break loose.
Not a thing has changed. After thirty years of letting the big yapper run free, I've had to learn not to waste time arguing with the mob. Low gay culture is a never ending snooze fest and not worth the effort. And there are just too many sparkly gay achievements I'd rather be celebrating.