Layers Of Earth

….should be called “In Dulgent”….    

Seems as if my beloved Radiohead have run out of things to say, err, mumble. This band had a nice sonic progression going from The Bends through OK Computer and Kid A. There, they found the beeps and bloops hop sketchy “sound”, fell in love with 5/4 time and stopped evolving. The only progression, or REgession thereafter was in the songwriting, if one can call it that anymore. Songcraft, which was still present even through the most grating of production choices, has dissolved into cheesecloth - thin layers of itchy fabric covering the fake plastic shell of what used to be best band in the world.

Bah. Glad I only paid 2 pound 45 for it.

Of course, I reserve the right to fall in love with In Rainbows. Afterall, I did in fact hate OK Conputer the first time I heard it…

“…and you may say to yourself: ‘My God!! What have I done?’”

-The Talking Heads

I have been watching the Blackwater charade before Congress this week as it confirmed the painful truth about America as we have known it: It is gone. Sold to the most-connected bidder. In exchange, our Constitutional rights and protections were scuttled and sunk during a Law & Order commercial break. The majority don’t understand what has happened to their country or even seem to care. The entertainment offerings are enough to anaesthetize them from the grim realities of what a company like Blackwater means to their future.

For those of you reading this who don’t know what Blackwater USA is, wake the fuck up. Read this. And this. In short, this is the privatization of much of our military, operating under a different set of rules, with no vows to uphold the Constitution or anything. They are a legal mercenary group that is gobbling up BILLIONS of our tax dollars to do things like provide “security” for interests in Iraq. They guard oil and gas shipments, provide security to visiting diplomats and quell the riff raff on the Iraqi streets. They employ many former American military personnel ranging from Special Forces guys to former high-ranking officers. They also recruit military specialists (re: mercenaries) from other countries, such as Chili (an outstanding record there). In Iraq, they operate with an entirely different set of engagement rules than our military folks do, and there are many documented cases where their cowboy like tactics have resulted in the loss of innocent lives.

To make matters worse, Blackwater is run by a right-wing evangelical Christian nut job named Erik Prince (of darkness, methinks). He interned under George Bush, served as a Navy SEAL and founded Blackwatter USA in 1997. Blackwater was awarded a no-bid contract to provide the aforementioned services in Iraq and we have been paying the bill ever since.

Like I said, WAKE THE FUCK UP!!

There are so many things wrong with this scene it is hard to know where to start. I would think that questioning why we are privatizing many of the functions our own military should be performing is one thread we can embark on. A systematic disembowelment of our own military is running concurrent with the buildup of privatized responsibilities and resources. They are offering American soldiers up for re-inlistment more money and incentives to join them than our underfunded military can match.

Think of it this way: For every dollar we budget for this escapade in Iraq, 40 cents of it is going to private contractors like Blackwater. That is stunning, especially when compared to previous engagements like the first Iraq war.

But it is the Nazi-era parallels to this whole thing that makes my hair stand on end. It is the private military firm being allowed to build up personnel and resources without any governmental or Constitutional oversight. A company with guns, surveillance equipment, tactics and skills greater than my state police force, with a ideological agenda tied to a leader who has proven himself inflexible and incapable of acknowledging dissent or accepting compromise. This scenario, however paranoid, makes this post (and ones like it) a dodgy proposition. Who knows what private firm with resources and intent will use my online activities against me and/or my family in the future.

But I believe in America. My Dad fought in WWII and taught me that America is great because it is a country made of laws. Problem is, those who created our Constitution never envisioned having to fit an AK-47 into the scope of the second amendment. This same antiquated perspective never imagined multinational corporations so large that they could dissemble a government from within. That is what we are letting happen while we are watching Dancing with the Stars. That may seem like a fair price to some, but it sure as shit isn’t for me.

What to do? There ain’t no Mississippi moon here. Read, keep up, act by writing your congressional officials. Sign petitions like this one and this one to keep Blackwater out of California. This matter is of primary importance. More important than causes for gay rights or clean air. See, if they scuttle our military and replace it with something like Blackwater, there is no Constitutional protection for any of those things. Without Blackwater and companies like it, they won’t have the privatized boots to come kicking in your door someday because you don’t subscribe to their beliefs.

The conservative supporters of George W. Bush and this Iraqi acquisition always throw the rhetoric of supporting our troops smack into our collective faces. Here’s a chance to do just that. Support our troops,and our liberties, by de-funding Blackwater USA.

Now, back to our regular programming….

Ok Junior, your stepmonster did what we all thought she would do. No number 8 for you. I say don’t panic, don’t look back and take advantage of the opportunity that is in front of you. That begins with embracing the number 5.

Now before you go and dismiss the idea, think about the upside. This is a single digit, prime number. All good things. It also has a racing history. No, I’m not talking about Terry Labonte Please. That is an easy shadow to live in compared to your father’s. No, I’m speaking about:

Don’t laugh. Speed Racer is the reason I fell in love with racing. And no car was ever as cool as the Mach 5. Think of the possibilities. Hidden saw blades, automatic jacks and an underwater breathing apparatus in case you ever end up in Lake Lloyd.

On another point, I have heard that you are interested in something in the 80’s range as a number. DON’T DO IT. There are no real good, aggressive numbers there. Kinda like the sloppy leftovers for old independent drivers like Roger Hamby and H.B. Baily. The only exception is the always cool double digited 88 campaigned by Yates, and you ain’t getting that either. And I know what you are thinking here. You are concerned for your tattooed fans. Although this is a very noble consideration, this shouldn’t be your primary concern when choosing your new numeralled identity. Besides, the tattooed legions can always adjust their ink with this simple overlay:

Those with the budget can always remove the parts of the 8 that are extraneous (I’m sure the guy at the tattoo establishment knows what that means). Not that bad a deal. After all, we all know what 8 minus 5 equals.

I expect that if you follow my advice and run the 5 we’ll see you in a nice Speed Racer paint scheme come Richmond next Spring. That’s about the time that Speed Racer The Movie will hit the big screen. Running that car (along with the juiced up effects my beloved Mountain Dew will provide) virtually guarantees you a spot atop the championship standings.