The Pitfalls of Neoliberal Capitalism

This is a paper I wrote for my “Visions of a Good Society” class. A general overview of my opinions about modern capitalism and where I think society should be headed.

Stephen Moore’s Bullish on Bush articulates the neoliberal argument that the economic policies of George W. Bush are strengthening America’s economy and citizens by creating an “ownership society” in which the state does not interfere with commerce, and in which all members would prosper by owning a piece of the corporate pie. This approach to the problem of the elusive “good society” is an alluring one, with promises of a car in every driveway and a chicken in every pot; however, Moore’s focus is narrow, and fails to mention the serious drawbacks of relying on laissez-faire capitalism to solve societal ills.

The main shortcoming of the neoliberal position is its excessive emphasis on the individual and the concept of personal wealth, to the detriment of community and the goal of mental wellbeing. Modern capitalism has led American society to its present state of hyper-commercialism, extreme consumerism (at the cost of the environment), and social isolation. The neoliberal policies of the last two decades have focused on cutting social programs (what Moore designates “handouts,”) and creating economic policies that favor economic growth and the creation of wealth (Bush’s “hand up,” according to Moore.) Social programs for the less fortunate are not seen as aid in overcoming economic obstacles out of one’s control, but as excessive government interference that only creates an unhealthy dependence on the state.

The neoliberal position does not emphasize equality, a necessary consideration if our society is to be fully just and democratic. When the “compassionate conservative” discusses equality, he or she is typically referring to a supposedly existing equality of opportunity to own capital, which is perhaps an admirable goal, but a false reality at present. Most low-income Americans would, ostensibly, benefit financially from the opportunity to own capital, but there are currently inequalities in access to resources such as the means of production and advanced financial options like stocks and bonds. Furthermore, these inequalities actually benefit those who own the means of production, for capitalism thrives on an oppressed underclass of laborers who must remain fairly destitute and desperate for employment if their exploitation as workers is to be continued. Therefore I do not believe that the ruling class actually wishes to remedy these inequalities by providing increased access to wealth, but rather to further that elusive dream in the minds of the working class in order to ensure their continuing adherence to the capitalist system.

Another inherent flaw in capitalist logic rests in the mistaken belief in the self-regulation of the market; this fetishism of capital is nearly a religion for neoliberal thinkers. By shifting the responsibility for the welfare of all the citizens of a state onto the shoulders of a deified market, the neoliberal position insists that economic policies alone will provide wealth for the masses, if capitalism is only allowed to run free without government intervention. This outlook falsely attributes agency to a system that is, in fact, very much regulated by federal and independent organizations, groups composed of people who make choices about issues such as interest rates, budgets, development programs, loans, and currency value. To say that we should allow capitalism to regulate itself is really to argue that we should allow a select group of wealthy elites to manage the financial policies for the entire country, and this plutocracy is not an example of the free, universally prosperous and democratic society that Moore and other conservatives would have us believe they espouse. This vision does not seem especially well-equipped to confront social issues such as poverty.

The issue of poverty, often thought to be somehow eradicated in the mostly prosperous United States, seems to be a non-issue for neoliberal thinkers. Their philosophy holds that poverty is not a socially constructed phenomenon, nor is it one out of an individual’s control—if one wishes to be wealthy, one simply works hard, hoards earnings, and ultimately achieves. The current system may seem highly effective and productive to those at the top of the financial pyramid, but I am wary of such faith in unregulated market forces to simultaneously reward the industrious and punish the lazy. For every rags-to-riches, American-dream success story, in which hard work and determination allow a low-class individual to “pull himself up by the bootstraps” and achieve material prosperity, there is a “rags-to-rags” counterpart in which hard work, often manual labor, proves ultimately fruitless for a working-class family, the employed-but-struggling are ineligible for decreasing social programs, and the cycle of generational poverty remains unbroken. Therefore, I find Moore’s blithe rhetoric and complete espousal of free-market capitalism somewhat problematic, most notably his belief in the “trickle-down” effect, whereby wealth created for the investing class ultimately leads to benefits for the middle class, and presumably the lower classes, whom he rarely deigns to mention. Representing the neoliberal position on wealth and poverty, Moore endorses the idea that an ownership society will help all members of society, and that wealth generated for elites will find its way to the lowliest American.

To further examine the problems inherent in this rhetoric, Moore and other neoliberal analysts assume that the drive to accumulate wealth is a universal, or at least universally American, goal. By listing, “freedom, opportunity, and prosperity,” as fixed variables, as historically American ideals, Moore surreptitiously projects the goals of the upper classes onto the American public. While it may be true that all people desire some level of financial security and material well-being, I do not believe that every American wishes to be part of the class of capitalists that owns corporate stock. Prosperity is a socially defined trait that is not compatible with the desires of all Americans. Moore, however, does not question this assumption, but rather touts this supposedly universal drive to hoard money as a healthy cure-all for various social ills.

I believe the conservative response to poverty is largely ineffective, even detrimental, as is often the case when operating under the assumption that ignoring problems somehow solves them. Moore’s casual dismissal of social ills like poverty leads me to believe that, regardless of the actual situation, neoliberals will attempt to gloss over the negative trends with complex economic explanations. For example, Moore and other conservative economists might point to statistics showing an increase in GDP per capita, never mind that the wealth is concentrated in the top financial tier, never mind the increase in other variables such as homelessness, unemployment, and families applying for federal aid.

However, I realize that the liberal approach to poverty—increasing government spending for social programs—also has its downfalls. The limitations of a bureaucratic system become frustrating realities when individuals navigate the complex procedures of procuring welfare benefits, for example, or seeking emergency care at state-run health care facilities. The solution to issues of poverty may not depend exclusively on the state; however, I believe that the state should not leave low-income citizens to fend for themselves in a world ruled only by “market forces,” monetary policy, and capitalist logic.

Based on what little I know of the communitarian position, I believe that it would, theoretically, be the best suited to confront the issue of poverty. Small, tightly-knit community groups tend to view such problems as sickness, homelessness, and poverty as problems facing not individuals, as postulated by the neoliberal position, but as issues facing the whole community, and deserving of a community-based response and remedy. The model response would be a combination of voluntarism and mutual aid to help families and individuals out of poverty, bolstered by more efficient state programs. It would be ideal if the state could provide anti-poverty funds to all communities, and each community would utilize the budget as each saw fit. This idea is similar to Etzioni’s explanation of the process of “devolution” as outlined in Next—greater freedom of the community to solve the economic and social problems in a highly specific and local context. Admittedly, such a model would only work on a fairly small scale. But it is with this flexibility and creativity that poverty should be treated, and only with this issue in the forefront of an economic system can it someday be eradicated.

The world I want

I want to join a movement of world-wide universal compassion for all beings. I want to live in a world where people travel by bicycle and grow their own food and who realize, as Epicurus did, that life should be simple, wholesome, nutritional and supportive in all ways, physical, emotional and spiritual. I want to see the end of the corporate hegemony which sucks the life out of our local communities and replaces it with the robotic corporate model of the big box monoliths and the conformist consumer citizen automaton.

I believe in the model of the credit union, the labor union, and the power of social capitalism and entrepreneurship. I believe in leveraging the power of the collective as against the “empire” mentality of our so called “leaders”. I believe that “free enterprise” and “free trade” must be lead by free humans in a social-political model of equality where people can move as freely as commodities across barriers now marked by barbed wire, death, and despair. I believe in caring for my brothers and sisters and for our mother earth and all her children whether man or beast.

I seek internally to beat my own psychic swords to plowshares and my arrows of indignant intolerance and anger into pruning hooks as I am aware that nothing in this world can effectively change until I change the demons from within. I desire the aid and nurture of my fellow beings to help me to overcome the unwholesome aspects of myself; and that in so doing I might recognize that the same internal forces that are now dragging me into the pits of despair and anguish over this suffering world are the forces that can deliver me from this suffering.

I believe in a world where hunger is history and where physical pain is a rare occasion. I believe in a world free for all expression; a world free for all the spectra of diversity; diversity of race, religion, non-religion, opinion, ideas, beliefs, culture, sexual/gender identity. I pray for a world where “different” is exciting, not threatening; where something new is an eye and heart opening adventure; where change is welcome not feared; Where hate is never defeated by hate but overcome only by love; where violence is never defeated by violence but overcome only by peace.

We must end the Bush/Cheny Regime Now!

In May of this year (2007) I sent out the following to all my friends and family. The threat of nuclear war still looms as the White House continues to scramble atop the rubble heap called ‘Iraq”.

ALL AMERICANS MUST NOW ACT, WITHOUT VIOLENCE TO DEPOSE THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The President of the United States, fourteen days ago, signed a presidential directive giving himself full dictatorial power over the sovereign United States in the event of an emergency which he declares.

This action, when considered with Vice president Cheney’s present attempt to have Israel provoke an Iranian attack on US Forces recently amassed and growing in the Persian Gulf is clearly a cold and calculated coordination of the offices of the president and vice president. IMHO this series of events will likely spark the flame of a third world war and a nuclear holocaust from which few of us will (and probably wouldn’t want to) survive.

As usual the mainstream media has failed to alert the general populous that a catastrophic series of events is in the offing.

Pundits, Spinners, and talking heads will all be covering the apparent revolt of Cheney from Bush.

This is a smoke screen. Bush’s feigned diplomacy with Iran is just that. Bush will soon be featured telling the nation that he gently put Cheney back in his place, meanwhile Cheney’s machinations will have caused Israel to strategically attack the current nuclear program in Iran.

We will all probably be dead within a year’s time unless we act now to peacefully depose President Bush and thereby rescue our fragile constitutional democracy which now stands to be lost in the imminent conflagration of another world war.

The plan first envisioned more than twenty years ago, by president Carter’s Defense Secretary Zbignew Brizinzky, and which has been coldly and ruthlessly pursued by the Bushies and the Neo Cons, is that world hegemony be achieved in this century by means of a self produced rationalization (9/11) to be followed by the recent emergency declaration of President Bush that he is seizing all power within the United States and declaring himself to be dictator of the United States of America.

Last year's proxy war in Lebanon was a mere warm up what is happening within Vice president Cheney's office today. He is now pursuing a direct route to bombing Iran imminently. The manner in which this will be carried out will be a provocative act by Israel on Iran's nuclear program by cruise missiles. The Iranian President is hoping this will happen and will happily respond by attacking the *US Fleet which has in the last few days grown immensely within the Persian Gulf. When Iran attacks this will provide the justification for the entirety of the American Military to be unleashed upon the civilian populations of the Middle East. China will respond by jamming all American navigational systems and the United States will fall to a status well below "world power". (Remember what happened to the British after Suez). The resulting instability will cause a series of chain reactions leading inevitably to nuclear war.

Are Americans Too Dumb for Democracy?

Currently the US is bogged down in an untenable military situation ostensibly in the name of bringing democracy to the Middle East, specifically to Iraq. The US proclaims the American model of democracy a triumph and a governmental ideal that the rest of the world should emulate, but is it? With widespread election fraud rampant in the last two US Presidential elections and less than a 12 % approval rating for both the sitting President and Congress, is democracy really working in the US? Who is to blame for the problems with democracy in the US? Does the blame belong to corrupt politicians who bend and even break laws and morality to further their own gains while they manipulate the American populace into believing their lies? Or does the fault lie ultimately with us, the American people, for living like pigs in a consumerist pen, content to allow the politicians free reign to chase their agendas as long as we have HDTV, TiVo, Nike, and all the McDonald’s we can eat.

Liberal Democracy

In theory, the idea of a Liberal Democracy that the US aspires to is a credible form of government. In a Liberal Democracy, the “common” people elect leaders to represent their interests in the nationwide government. There is a series of checks and balances to make sure that no one branch of the government has too much power over any of the others, and all the branches need to work together in order to create real change. In practice however, it’s usually the case that slickest politician with the best campaign ads and sound bytes gets elected, goes to Washington and lives high on the hog for a few years funded by special interest groups while doing just enough work to convince voters that their issues are being addressed. The day after an election politicians start planning out their re-election campaigns. The next Presidential race is 18 months away but already the hopeful candidates are starting to hold debates and create TV and radio buzz for themselves. Campaigning becomes a full time job, and the candidates who are already serving in Congress or other elected posts ignore those jobs in favor of spending time on the campaign trail. The idea of a Liberal Democracy is sound, but in practice it’s just not working.

The Blame Game

So who is to blame for the failure of democracy in America? In a recent NY Times column Gary Bass suggests that ultimately is the politicians who are at fault for not better guiding the American people to make better choices. Is it really the fault of the politicians for being greedy, self-serving elitists? Or is it the fault of the American people for putting those kinds of people into elected office based on advertising campaigns? Most people don’t vote in an informed way, if they vote at all. They vote randomly, based on sound bytes given in TV commercials or radio ads. Or, more often, they vote on a partisan basis. Once they ally themselves with a particular party they will vote along party lines, often knowing nothing about the candidates. Despite the massive amounts of information now available to Americans most people are happy to stay ignorant of anything regarding politics. There is disgust or anger about certain policies but that is overcome by apathy. Americans no longer believe that the common people can truly create change in the world, so we’ve stopped trying. We self-medicate with mindless TV, movies, shopping, food… anything that will fill out time without asking us to think or participate. Ultimately, the responsibility rests on us, the American people, for the failure of our leaders to lead and massive blunders that have ruined our reputation throughout the world. We put our leaders in office, either through our direct action (voting) or indirect action (not voting, not fighting voter fraud, not making informed votes etc).

Is There Hope for Democracy?

Will eight years of disastrous “leadership” by President Bush be enough to convince us that we need to be more informed and more active in politics? No ne can really know for sure. The sweeping election of Democrats in the mid-term election was a very hopeful sign that possibly American voters had realized their mistake and wanted to correct things but the Democratic legislature’s complete in ability to be at all effective signals that it might be too late to fix the system we have broken. And it is the American people who have broken it. Schools no longer teach civics or the fundamentals of democratic rule and theory, people no longer care about being politically active, people feel disconnected from the politicians they elect to office. Many people don’t have the first clue about how American democracy works. When the framers set up American government they were operating on the principle that with inalienable rights come inalienable responsibilities. One of those is the responsibility to be educated on the political process and to be active in government. Even if it’s just being more informed about the people we vote for, Americans have dropped the ball on doing the things we need to do in order for a Democracy to function effectively.

It’s still possible to save the Liberal Democracy that the framers intended for this country but it remains to be seen if the American people can pull themselves away from the trough of popular culture and advertising based culture long enough to do it. If we don’t, real democracy in this country will be replaced by oligarchy, where a group of businessmen and corporations make decisions that effect every aspect of our lives, even our health care. Or worse, a theocracy, where a group of “Christian” businessmen will decide those things. If the American people can’t take back the power of self-government that they willingly traded for Big Macs, SUV’s, reality TV and designer clothes, maybe we don’t deserve democracy.

Poor in the U.S.? It's Clearly Your Own Fault...

Just “get married and work longer hours,” said Rep. Jack Kingston, a Republican from Georgia. While the House was debating increasing the minimum wage, Kingston said raising the minimum wage would do nothing for poor Americans. Instead, if people marry and work longer hours, “they would be out of poverty,” he said. “It’s an economic fact.” As usual the Republicans would like to reduce every problem to idiotically simple dualistic terms and get home in time for dinner. In fact, Representative Kingston was angry that the Democrats wouldn’t let him cut out of work early and leave for home on Thursday instead of Friday. Clearly, he says, “the Democrats don’t care about families.” because they expect him to stay at work and serve the constituents who elected him.

The Real Economic Facts

In 2005 the poverty level for a single adult was considered to be $9,570. A person who works 40 hours per week at minimum wage would earn $9,888 before taxes. After taxes are deducted, a full time minimum wage job in the US would put a single individual officially below the poverty level. Working more hours, even if it’s feasible for the worker, usually isn’t an option since employers who only pay minimum wage tend to discourage their workers from working overtime so they don’t have to pay them time and a half. Certainly the more wage-earners in a household the better off all living there will be, so the Representative is right about that, but if both mom and dad work full-time who takes care of the kids? They are supposed to be married and raising kids, the Republicans say. Also then you need to deduct the cost of reliable child care, a significant expense, from their combined income. Millions of people are already living in extended families and makeshift collectives to try and make ends meet and they still can’t do it. Skyrocketing housing costs, utility costs, fuel costs and healthcare costs mean that millions live in poverty, and millions more live on the edge of it. As the Republicans’ pro-big business agenda continues to squeeze the middle class out of existence more and more people who had a tenuous grip on middle class comfort are falling into poverty.

In my adopted city of Chicago, a recent report compiled by an advocacy group put the homeless population of Chicago at a whopping 73,000 people between July of ‘05 and June of ‘06. There are more than 21,000 people sleeping on the streets every night, and more in shelters or in temporary housing. The report, by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, was the first to take into account people who are technically homeless but not on the street, such as people temporarily bunking with friends and family. Bouncing from couch to couch can impact these peoples’ ability to find work or to keep a job, especially if they are dependent on public transportation. Of those 73,000 homeless 24,600 are children. There are more than 9,000 children sleeping on the streets in Chicago every night. There is currently a battle being waged by our local utilities to be allowed to increase prices as much as 55%, if they win you can expect the number of homeless and hungry in Chicago to skyrocket even higher.

In New York City, 1 in 7 households face “food insecurity”. In the last two years they have seen a 17% increase in need for food assistance for people in NYC. Not just in families below the poverty line either. Static wages, job loss, and increases in cost of living are causing employed, previously financially stable people to look to charities and food pantries to supplement their food supplies. Since they can’t control things like rent increases, utility increases, gas and transportation costs, or inflation the first place that people usually cut back on their spending is the food budget, the one expense they have some control over. But school lunch and public assistance programs are getting cut to pay for the war in Iraq, and schools are serving cheap and nutritionally deficient food so the families who depend on those programs to give their children at least one solid meal a day are paying for those programs with their children’s health.

Judging Worth on Income

Americans have always reviled their poor. People usually don’t outright declare their belief that the poor deserve to be poor (unless they’re Republicans) but it’s always there in the way poverty is handled in this country. Work is equated with worth, and if you don’t work, well then you must be somehow deficient or lazy. The “working poor” are disdained, but tolerated because hey, at least they’re trying. The truly destitute are just worthless in American society.

So why do we hate our poor? It goes back to the very beginning of this country and the first settlers. The Puritans were persecuted in Europe for their religious beliefs so they came here, and brought with them the fervent Protestant ideas of one John Calvin, a 16th century Protestant Reformer who had radical ideas about God. He believed that as a result of Predestination poor people were poor as punishment from God, and by being poor they had been marked by God for their flaws, and should be outcast from society for their failings. Predestination states that God has already decided the fate of each person, and that nothing which person that does will affect the outcome. God decided at the beginning of time who he would save and who would not be saved, and the Puritans and other Protestant groups believed that God showed his favor by bestowing success and material wealth. People who prospered had been blessed by God and were therefore good, people who were poor were marked by God and therefore bad.

Now some of you who are quick on the draw are already seeing the contradiction of Predestination, how can an individual have God-given free will if that person’s life has already been decided upon by God? The Puritans (and other like groups) believed that salvation of the soul was entirely decided upon by God, an individual’s actions whether good or bad would not impact whether or not the individual would be saved by God. In the Puritan view God controls everything and is ultimately responsible for all outcomes, but those who are godly use their free will to choose to cooperate with God’s plans, and so they are given grace and work in conjunction with God. They are then rewarded with material success as a sign of their cooperation with the will of God. The ungodly use their free will to choose to not cooperate with God, and he punishes them with misfortune. Ultimately, God still is control of everything, but the individual still chooses whether or not to cooperate with God’s plan.

While we claim a separation of Church and State in the US we can never really separate ourselves from the religious beliefs of the founders of the country because their beliefs framed the entire system we have in place today. Even if we no longer consciously think of poverty in Calvinist religious terms, we still make the same fundamental assumption that poverty is the mark that a person has some sort of moral failing. They are either lazy, or spend what money they have on sin, or are sexually promiscuous, or something. It is their own fault they are poor and our society allows for little other discussions of the root causes of poverty.

Change is Still Possible

We need to change the framework of the debate about poverty. The number of Americans living in poverty is only going to increase in coming years as we recover from the cost of the Iraq war and the cost of having the Bush administration in the White House for eight years. Our society treats the poor as inherently inferior persons because, after all, if they weren’t inferior they would be wealthier. People who have always been poor tend to believe what society tells them, that they are poor because it is their own fault. The middle class people who are falling out of middle class into poverty come into it without that belief, and with the advantages of a certain sense of entitlement and usually a certain level of education.

Hopefully these people can be the catalyst to reframe the debate about poverty. Until we change the nature of the debate and recognize that people are poor as a result of market forces, the economy, and other outside factors and not as a result of their effort or their worth they will continue to suffer. And in a country with the resources that this country has, that is beyond disgraceful.

A Challenge

Has anyone looked around them lately? What do you see? Has anyone asked themselves lately if they’re actually 100% or at least close to 100% happy in their daily real lives? Since I don’t know even half of you, or probably even a quarter of you personally, the cool thing about this group is that somehow, I do know all of you through someone else. Through this group and this project we are showing the world in a simple, logical way that we as human beings are all connected. Yes the internet (a non-human form of contact) is our means for exposing this phenomenon as probably true, however the essence of the experiment is to PROVE TO PEOPLE THAT WE ARE ALL CONNECTED. Therefore, as many of you have probably already realized the most basic deduction one can make from this realization, is that if we can all be connected via the internet then we are all essentially connected as a people, end of story, bottom line. We all also share some other common knowledge: We know that first and foremost we are all human beings, we know that we all have feelings, we know that we are all biological organisms, we know that we are all innately creative, compassionate and caring individuals.

Some of us also know that there is something about our physical environments right now that is destructing us as a people. The evidence is all around us: there is historical evidence that conclusively shows our societal patterns as merely replications and mutations of the exact same patterns which existed in EVERY SINGLE SOCIETY THAT HAS COLLAPSED BEFORE US; there is tangible evidence available to each and everyone of us that the majority of our global population lives in poverty while a very few of us live in luxury – even in the western world, the dichotomy between rich and poor has grown so drastically that people of the “middle class” are now experiencing oppression on a regular basis; we have evidence that our forms of entertainment are serving to purposefully and intentionally desensitize us to extreme violence, extreme injustice and blind us to the dangers of extreme power. Have you ever stopped to question these things?

What’s even scarier to me, is that we are a collective global people have come to think it is common place and “socially acceptable” that our friends and family members are suffering because of our inaction – and let’s be honest even if we personally feel we are not suffering from any type of affliction, disease, oppression or any of the other atrocities which are happening everyday in the world around us, as members of this group and as citizens of the information age, we know that even though these things are not being physically experienced by ourselves, they are in fact being physically experienced by SOMEONE YOU PROBABLY KNOW INTIMATELY, LOVE and CARE FOR. The thing is, once you have been smacked in the face with this realization I believe you too will see clearly how important it is to take action.

And, the cool thing about action is that it is most effective when it has a powerful force behind it. Historically, when it comes to any type of action for change, the most powerful movements were those which were rooted in collective, unified, organized, goal oriented action. Moreover, the most successful movements for change within past societies and generations are those which have been led by everyday citizens who came together under the unified goal of change and peacefully and purposefully used the tools, systems and means available to them to bring about the change they wanted. Unfortunately, almost every society before us, and even some that exist today, have used violence to achieve their ends. I do not believe this is necessary in a truly democratic society. Actually, its really not at all because its against the laws as they exist right now.

Do me a favor: ask yourself what kind of future you want to live in: Does it involve personal wealth? does it involve being a mother or a father? does it involve being a family member of any type? does it involve you spending your free time as you wish, and having the financial means necessary to do so? Does it involve wanting to live in physically beautiful places? Now based on your image of your perfect future that you’ve now constructed in your imagination, ask yourself if you think that future is possible if our global village continues on its current path. If the future of your private dreams is not available to you then you should probably do something about that, hey?

Lets face it: by the collective us of western society not demanding: 1. the Ultimate transparency of our governments (within the restraints of logical reason of course); 2.complete disparity between our institutions and our governments; and, 3. Respect for the land that we live on the peoples that we share it with, we have served to disappoint and disrespect the people, principals and ideals the New World was founded on. Moreover, our passivity in the political process to date is only serving to detrimentally and exponentially propagate our problems as a society. We have only ourselves to blame. And when I use the expression that we’re not demanding these things from our governments I only mean to say: Because we are blatantly choosing to not hold those in power accountable for their actions (which in a democratic society, the idea is the people keep their governments in check, not the other way around), we as a people have then by definition given up our democratic rights through inaction. Which subsequently, logic says inaction = guilt. Guilt even for the international human sufferings we think we do not cause or have influence over. If we actually believe in freedom its time we friggin stand up for it, because face it people, just because we live in a place where we have “all the comforts of modern life” doesn’t mean we are living freely.

I realize I am raising very controversial issues by sharing these ideas, but that’s great. I’m not here to try to tell you what to do. I don’t have all the answers. I’m 22 years old and I’m scared of what will happen to my future if I don’t share what I know with everyone around me. The unfortunate situation of our world is that even our access to information is constantly being regulated, controlled and manipulated so that certain powers that be can keep an eye on us and therefore use that information to keep us wherever it is we need to be for them to continue to gain power. We as a people are being watched, patrolled and herded like cattle where-ever our governments tell us and it scares me – bottom line. I am not trying to spark some massive violent political uprising – what myself along with some very dear friends of mine – are trying to do is give you information that will shock you deeply enough so that you will be forced to question the world around you. If you start to question the world around you, you will be forced to act I’m sure about it. Also, if you’re wondering what sparked my passion to write this, among many other things you should definitely check out the movie zeitgeist (www.zeitgeistmovie.com). I have no attachments, affiliations or am otherwise involved in this project at all, although I @$@# well would like to be and am looking into it.

Furthermore, to be clear, the only action I’m talking about is passive, non-violent and simple. If we actually ARE living in democratic countries (which I currently question if we are), then we have the tools and means available to us to create change with little disruption to our lives as we know them. Remember, there’s safety in numbers and ultimate transparency will set you free: If a big enough group of us acts together in various but collective, cohesive and transparent movements we cannot be persecuted, charged or otherwise be held liable for our actions according to the fundamental meaning of living in a free, democratic society (side bar: the rule of engagement in this case being the actions in the name of change must be checked by and within the confines of the law as it currently exists at the time if they are to be meaningful and lasting. if you don’t like the laws you should probably change them. guess what you live in a democratic free society – you can). Therefore that means that taking political action and actualizing societal change in the 21st century, especially in a western democratic, internet-based society, should never have to be violent, complicated or beyond your personal means regardless of your age, sex, race, creed or any other orientation by which you choose to define yourself. Do me a favor…investigate that idea. If you realize I am speaking truth its that easy, please for don’t @@#%@@% let anyone tell you differently. one easy, passive, law-abiding thing I was thinking we could all do together is vote – what do you think about that? neat idea hey? we should probably also keep each other informed and figure out if who we vote for really represents what we want in our future. sounds simple I hope. Id hate to hear this is really more complicated because im not sure if i have time for such big complications right now. I’m a very busy young student, with a demanding part time job, a boyfriend, a wide social circle, a loving family and many other things I wish to attend to in my life. If this movement gets complicated it would really @$%@ with my whole program right now.

I’ve almost reached the end of my speal and well, If you are still not convinced, if you’re saying “give me a break, this girl thinks we’re not living in free societies – she’s another crazy hippie, fundamentalist yahoo,”, thats PERFECT! That means you will question what I’m saying…what do they call that? A catch 22 or something…either way you’ll probably do what i want, is all im saying. All I want is for you to question and get invovled ;). The point is: If you don’t believe me when I say that we are living in an absolutely crucial time in history and that the time for action is NOW, then I want you to do something for me. If you’re intrigued at all, please try this little exercise.

I want you to use this website: http://www.etymonline.com and look up TWO words: 1. DEMOCRACY (the socio-political state that operates most western countries, also known as the world super powers, all us good guys in the G8 or whatever) and 2. FASCISM. Then I want you to compare these definitions to your experiences in your daily life. Maybe make a sort of a list, write democracy and fascist state at the top (oooh wait, I’m feeling a lesson plan coming on – educators are you picking up the potential i’m throwing down right now?). Then list different life experiences you’ve had which fall under each category as you understand it after reading that word. Ok, done that? Great! Now look at your list. Ask yourself why, if we are living in a democratic country, do I have any life experiences listed at all under the fascist column? Ask yourself how you feel about that – if you so dearly value the idea of being a free thinking, free choosing, free roaming citizen, are you not at least a little bit interested in at least exploring this idea further?

So that’s it for now my friends…that’s all I’ve got to say for now. I hope I got you asking some questions. I hope you don’t understand everything I’ve said because then you will ask me questions. #$#$, I’m still asking questions and I hope I will be until I’m old and grey and shrivled. I want you to ask your friends questions. I want you to ask your teachers, elders and parents questions. And you should DEFINITELY ask your bosses, superiors and government officials close to you questions. And 100% for god’s sake ask the friggin internet questions, but make sure you dont accept every answer it spits at you – critical thinking is crucial to this processes and i’m pretty sure every individual is capable of critical thinking. How do I know this for sure? We all do it everyday, yup, you do it every day. its how you make decisions – its the deduction or reduction of an amount of information until it fits into your personal world and then becomes what you know as your truth. when something becomes truth you act on it (consciously and unconsciously) and therefore you might say that critical thinking has the possibility to manifest things from your subconsicous to your conscious and into your life (quantum phsyiscs, can you hear me?! cognitive behavioral therapists unite!) Eventually when you are seeking truth you will find it if you look…or at least I think so.

And ps: If you like to question things, I just want you to think of the important role living in a democratic society plays in your ability to do that.

First Access Information Devices from Commondreams.org

Please see the attached word file for a comprehensive list of links that every activist should have.

this is crap... because it's true

our social degradation is due to our inability to fight apathy in the shadow of lies. this is our mistake, not the smirking chimps. we give these men power, which is us, and we can take it away. why don’t we? because we don’t have guns? no… because we don’t have direction. all we need is more things like rethos.com. this is reality not some impossible inclination of which we are expected to push a boulder up. instead we can open our minds, and mouths, cooperate and individually choose to change the world. if the individual couldn’t change anything, than ants wouldn’t exist, we wouldn’t exist, and the world would be a dot inside a vacum of nothingness. a system, a group, a colony, a series are all given power by the unification of individuals. individuals. we are the individual. we don’t need to believe in apathy.

Trickster energy and politics

The trickster energy is high right now, as we prepare for the election year. Be cautious, we must, and on guard against those who would exploit our weariness and our need for a change. We must test the spirit of all who would tell us what we most want to hear! Beware the too-quick smile, the all-too-easy compromise, the too-good-to-be-true promises and visions.

Most of all, beware the pseudo-humanitarian.

This creature plays a seductive tune… and seems so very ready to do whatever the humblest people need them to do… until they are in power and POWER begins to seduce THEM.

Be aware. Be awake. Look at every candidate with sober regard and filter their message through every ounce of consciousness we have…

Now is the time to respond to the truth that we are responsible for creating, not the “truth” we want someone else to create or interpret.

So...What is a President? (Part 1)

I admit, I should know better than to become, or to have remained, ignorant of my states senators and the presidential candidates. Perhaps starting when I reached the legal voting age I should have been more aware of the United States' politics in general. Until recently, I did not really know too much about them.

Americans should become aware of and at least get to know the corner of planet earth in which their country resides. This awareness begins with each person’s immediate world: their home, community, state or province, region, country, etcetera.

And, this understanding should go deeper than one’s recognition or affiliation to a similar ethnic background and gender. Decision making of this kind bases itself upon the apparent and outward characteristics of a person. Decisions made like this are immediate because of personal attachments a person might not even be aware of.

 For the sake of impartial, truthful decision-making of the highest quality, shouldn’t each person weigh and balance what personal attachments are kept in the decision-making process?

If one has taken the time to think about what attachments we project onto the decisions we make throughout daily life, one may see that it is a process.  We need to recognize what personal attachments we project towards another’s outward appearance, their behavior, physical appearance, gender and cultural background.  We then need to recognize how this affects how we feel about that person and why.  Decision-making of this kind needs to be more meditative, thoughtful or honest than deciding weather to stop or go when nearing an intersection as the traffic light has turns yellow.

The gut-feelings of intuition may help us make decisions in many instances. The influence of intuition may feel like a lingering yet ever-present truth, sprinkled upon us like fairy dust. However, when the rest of the world is watching and when our country tries to understand how to decide what person should be dubbed as the next president, we need some serious, logical thoughts to turn-up on our minds’ surfaces as well. Americans forget that the president is the figure-head, every American’s leader, the person that decides who goes to war, when, why and for how long. The president can and does change lives, laws and futures.

But, I am like many Americans. It is not that I do not care. I’m busy and I’m tired, and things are realatively comfortable after a long day. Giving my worries over to polititions that show up on T.V. in back of a Microphone only to falsely say that they will fight for our every wish and want is not one of my priorities.  And, like me, many Americans and perhaps polititions strive to keep away from true confrontation and conflict. We do not challenge the words that many leaders and want-to-be leaders give us. We accept a politicians talk as truth. Many times we forget that they are polititions, and that it is very difficult to become liked by a large group of people unless the politition says whatever people want to hear. The idea of flatering and giving the consumer whatever they want has spilled into various places within American Society. Political business is like that of commercialization.

The ads on the back of cereal boxes, billboards along the highway and customer rewards cards that clerks and cashiers try to sell me at coffee shop chains and bookstores take the pizzazz right out of my efforts to understand the community and cultural life happening around me.

The current news events are like the fine print at the bottom of your cell phone contract. Who has time to keep track of it all? If you miss a part of it, you have missed all of it, right? And sometimes I think "Of what benefit is it to take the time and energy to listen to these people of propaganda? It’s all going to happen regardless of what I think or do. Of what benefit is it for me and my life? The cost of gas constantly changes. Is a simple vote going to significantly change how much I am going to pay for gas each week?"

Like the procrastination that happens when one plans to start a diet or exercise, many Americans, including myself, put-off involvement in their country’s political issues.

And no, it’s not that I, and maybe you, think that political issues are not of great importance. Maybe it is because you find them too important and those that are involved in them will take care of them. But, this is diffusion of responsibility. We feel life is too full of things that we need to remember and do, so certainly someone else can handle what we should think about the next president. Or, maybe we should just choose to side with a candidate, quick.

There is not enough time in the day, or at least there are a lot of other things that need to be done before paying attention to all of the new nonsense that is going on in the news. When we hear about an issue that is not life-threatening or does not relate to immediate life, most of us would rather go take a nap. We want to hear about something that actually matters. Crazy things happen every day, but they usually do not relate to immediate life.

Yet, each American gets just one vote. I get one vote, the Mayor of my town gets one vote. Each of us is allowed this privilege and responsibility as an American. The rest of the world is watching you and me. Maybe not you or me individually, but as a whole, the world is watching what together, we will decide. What will we decide?

Will women vote for a candidate simply because she is a woman? I think she deserves more credit than that. Every candidate deserves more credit than to be judged by information found on a simple survey form: name, gender, birth date or age, ethnicity. They have worked too hard to be compared and contrasted in this way.

One may think that all of the presidential candidates have worked hard, maybe they all deserve to become president. In this case, voting could be a random act. However, it is what these individual democratic and republican candidates work towards. What candidate works with the mind of a president? What is a president? Who would make a good president? They are simple questions, but I am sure that not many have thought of answers.

As Aristotle writes, “All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.”

If They Were One of Us... No true representative government here!

The kicker to this piece being:

If you are without a permanent address, you do not GET to vote.

Even if you work, pay taxes, send your kids to school, pray, meditate, support the local economy, keep your neighborhood clean (even if that means picking up bottles for the deposit!!), are kind to others, polite, clean, and well-mannered… no home, no vote!

So in light of THAT, what DO the elections and the candidates truly signify?

Are the candidates YOUR servants? Or do THEY serve others with more money and political pull than (even) the President?

Feedback, please!!

Li Li

Blog Round Up for December 4, 2007

Check out the latest headlines from GamePolitics:

Senators on Hand as NIMF Report Card Zings Game Biz for “Ominous Backslide”

Dr. David Walsh of the National Institute on Media & the Family issued his 12th Annual Video Game Report Card this morning. In doing so he criticized the video game industry for “an ominous backslide on multiple fronts.”

Flanked by a pair of U.S. Senators (Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota) as well as Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN), Walsh awarded an overall grade of C to the game business.

Annual Video Game Report Card: The Grades

Parental Involvement: C
Ratings Education: B-
Retailers’ Policies: C-
National Retailers: D
Game Specialty Stores: B
Game Rental Shops: F

ESRB: Video Game Report Card Flawed, Contradicts Govt. Findings

ESRB president Patricia Vance wasted little time in responding to criticism leveled against her organization by this morning’s release of the National Institute on Media and the Family’s annual Video Game Report Card.

D.C. Smackdown Parodies Politicians & Pundits

John McCain battling Anne Coulter?

Hillary Clinton vs. Bill O’Reilly?

It could happen in D.C. Smackdown.

Former Disney animator Dave Holbrook’s new PC parody allows players to stage 16 levels of comedic combat. The game’s 17 recognizable characters include politicians, pundits and celebrities. As with most fighting games, each character possesses a signtaure move. Hillary Clinton, for example, can employ the “Intern Trample,” while Bill O’Reilly can rely on the “No Spin Zone”.

Detroit Prosecutor Issues (outdated) List of 10 Violent Games to Avoid For the Holidays

Detroit is the second most dangerous city in America, according to 2006 crime statistics.

Top Prosecutor Kym Worthy thinks violent video games may play a role. As reported by the Detroit News, Worthy has issued her 3rd annual list of the Top 10 Most Violent Games.

The campaign 2.0 bubble

There is a lot of online buzz around the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign, but I can’t help but wonder if any of this will actually translate into political action at the polls? Are Ron Paul and Barack Obama the Howard Deans of 2008?

I wrote a Wikinomics blog post a couple of weeks ago about this and thought some of the Rethos members might be interetsed. If you are, check out the link below (should link straight to the post).

Report Alleges that Bush Administration Censored Scientists

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a draft report Monday alleging that the Bush administration “engaged in a systematic effort to manipulate climate change science and mislead policymakers and the public about the dangers of global warming.”

The 37 page report is the result of a 16 month investigation led by Rep. Henry Waxman, a Democrat from California. Republicans on the committee disputed the finding. A key issue is how the White House Council on Environmental Quality managed and massaged the media’s access to scientists within National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, effectively censoring those with opinions that diverged with the White House’s stance on man-made global warming.

The report comes as US negotiators continue to fight greenhouse gas emissions caps that scientists believe are necessary to stave off the worst effects of global warming.

Among the litany of complaints contained in the report, these are the most salient:

• The White House prevented scientists who were not aligned with the Administration’s position from giving interviews. As former CEQ Chief of Staff Philip Cooney said, “Our communications people would render a view as to whether someone should give an interview or not and who it should be.”
• Cooney changed climate reports submitted by scientists to come into line with Administration positions. The report alleges he “made at least 294 edits to the Administration’s Strategic Plan of the Climate Change Science Program to exaggerate or emphasize scientific uncertainties or to deemphasize or diminish the importance of the human role in global warming.”

Republicans are claiming that the whole report is a political attack that relies too much on the testimony of a career public affair officer with the NOAA, Kent Laborde. But read these emails, and it is immediately clear that the NOAA press officers had gotten the message loud and clear that White House “sensitivities” were going to dictate the messaging that was coming out of their organization.

September 22, 2005, Scott Smullen, the deputy director of the NOAA public affairs office, e-mailed Mr. Laborde about a press request to interview Dr. Richard Reynold regarding warming of the Gulf of Mexico and its causes.  In his e-mail, Mr. Smullen stated that the interview “is cleared, with the caveat that we tell Richard to be very careful with how he frames the global warming signal aspect.

Senator Jim Inhofe's response to global warming

Hey happy readers.

Below is a copied and pasted email response from US Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma to myself concerning putting caps on our coal power plants.

What are your thoughts and views?

---

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding climate change. As a father of four and a grandfather of 12, I am extremely concerned about the issue of global warming. What concerns me the most is that imposing certain measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions would lower the quality of life and economic well-being for future generations.

There have been many bills introduced in the Senate this year that would set a cap on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted in the United States . Those who champion these bills fail to realize the dire economic consequences from imposing such a program. We are living in a time where energy demand is constantly growing while supply remains flat, and as a consequence, prices are rising rapidly. If this bill were to be adopted, conservative estimates indicate that electricity prices alone would be raised between 35 and 65 percent, and 1.2 to 2.3 million jobs would be lost by 2015.

Another problem associated with imposing such climate legislation on the American people, in addition to higher prices and lost jobs, is that it would do nothing to reduce global concentrations of greenhouse gases. China has already passed the United States as the leading GHG emitter and continues to build a new coal plant every three days. India is not far behind them. Without equivalent efforts to limit these gases among China and India , the United States stands to lose many hundreds of thousands of jobs to these countries, which will profit from unilateral action by the United States . In short, unilateral action would result in increased emissions globally, not decreased, because efficient manufacturing in our country would be exported to less efficient countries, thus increasing carbon emissions.

Even if global warming was a result of anthropogenic (man-made) gases, which has been challenged by many international scientists, recent attempts to curb greenhouse gases would fail miserably to accomplish anything. Studies have found that if the Kyoto treaty had been fully implemented the amount of averted global warming by the year 2050 would be 0.07 C.

My job as a United States Senator from Oklahoma is to represent the interests of American workers and families, and most importantly those workers and families of Oklahoma . Aside from losing American jobs to other countries, American families would suffer under a cap-and-trade system. An economist from the respected Charles Rivers Associates International recently stated that welfare losses alone would be $4 trillion to $6 trillion dollars over the next few decades under a cap-and-trade system. From rising electricity prices, to decreased purchasing power, and a loss of millions of jobs, the average American cannot withstand the burden of such a program

While the science of climate change is unsettled, the economics of enacting climate legislation is not. I can state with certainty that the economic consequences stemming from such a law would be devastating to the American people. I want only the best for the jobs and families in Oklahoma and in all of America . Passing legislation purely for symbolism will hinder that effort. I will not sacrifice our way of life for a climate plan that neither can, nor is designed to, work.

Thank you again for taking the time to write to me, and I hope you find this information useful in your evaluation of the climate change debate. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

James Inhofe

Spiralling Outta Control

War. Debt. Personal Relations in turmoil. Lack of human contact. Polluted and congested political process. Kids killing and dying. Corporations running us into the graves with our consumer diseases. Education failing. ok…. I hear you… We know its a mess. I posted this piece not to harp on how bad everything is… but to illustrate – quite literally – how we all feel when we look at just what a mess we are in! And… to encourage us to think, feel, create, communicate, and take action to devise the solution! We need not just feel the vertigo of our chaotic world… we can stop the spin and stand in the perfect still center of it, allow its wrath to whip around us and see with crystal clarity that we are perfectly empowered by our own will and willingness… to change anything and everything!

What does that take?

Determination. Calm in the face of our fight or flight response. Let nothing sway us from our own certainty that “all things beautiful and bright”* can and will realize victory over the forces that seek to subdue them.

Find peace, abundance, justice, and sanctity in your own heart… and it will manifest in the world.

Namaste Li Li

• quotation from Peter Gabriel’s “Signal to Noise”

Who Will Be The Power Behind The "Throne"?

Attention, Voters in 2008!!

When you step up to the ballot box this year, you will not just be voting for the Presidential ticket… the man or woman who shall be the next President of the United States for four years and the man or woman who will be the Vice-President for the next four years…

You are voting for every man and woman whom the President shall appoint to his/her Cabinet, the White House Staff, the Supreme Court, and the Ambassadors to whom shall fall the responsibility of representing us to the rest of the World.

We do not make this a focal point during the pre-election term, we tend not to ask who will be appointed to these posts by the next President, and to fail to ask these questions of our candidates NOW is to make a huge mistake.

How many disastrous decisions have been made in the past seven years by Bush appointees (Ashcroft, Rumsfield, several Supreme Court Judges)? How much shame have they brought to our nation (think of poor Colin Powell)? How many lies and deceptions have been visited upon the American people and and how much power-grabbing has gone on (Rice, Cheney)... perpetuated by those appointed to key positions of massive power by George W Bush?

Perhaps we have been blind in the past to how much power these individuals have to create policy and enact it. Perhaps we have not paid attention in the past to how much influence they have over the President and his/her orientation towards the nation, its functionality, the world and our attitude towards all other nations…

I PROPOSE… That we change our willingness to wait and see whom the President shall appoint until AFTER the elections.

I PROPOSE… That we ask the questions NOW of all our candidates who they have in mind for these posts – whom would they be appointing to the Cabinet, etc, and make that a part of our decision process. This should be a more formal process than just leaving it a “guess-timate”. The names should appear on their ballots in subtext, or be listed in proximity to the candidates where voters could understand the WHOLE package they will be getting when they vote for candidate A or candidate B.

For instance: Who would Obama or McCain be likely to appoint and what would that mean to us and to the global population according to their character, influence, background, experience, etc? Would we be placing our future in the hands of those who truly embrace the qualities and ideals that we need and want in The White House of 2008 and beyond or… Would we hesitate to place power in those hands? Political pundits speculate over this, but it is not in our general context of understanding about who our candidates really are and what electing them to the White House would mean for us all.

We need to be a truly informed populace on Election Day.

Call your local media outlets and email the larger media outlets and canvas this concept. Get people with access to the candidates to ask these questions and lobby your local and state Reps to write up a bill demanding that this level of preparation by the candidates and the disclosure of those appointment plans be a part of every campaign.

“Rule of the governed”: these are not just fancy words, this is our RIGHT!

Don’t let the power behind the “throne” of the President be a rude awakening! Let us become an informed and therefore an empowered electorate.

Blog Round Up

Here’s the news provided by Gamepolitics.com.

Islamic Site Accuses “America’s Army” Game of Brainwashing

Even in the United States, the belief that the Defense Department uses the America’s Army game series as a military recruitment tool is  controversial.

It’s probably not surprising, then, that Empowered Muslim Youth, an Islamic blog, accuses America’s Army of “brainwashing.”

Fine Print: Lawyers Get $1M, you get (up to) 35 bucks in Hot Coffee Deal

As the gaming press widely reported recently, Take Two has settled a class-action lawsuit filed against it in the wake of the 2005 Hot Coffee scandal. Gaming Steve has dug into the fine print of the deal and discovered that the big winners are - surprise! - lawyers.

GTA IV Gets Dated, Triggers Obligatory Jack Thompson Threat

Last week’s announcement that the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto IV would be released on April 29th did not escape the notice of Miami attorney Jack Thompson.

Cooper Lawrence: “I Misspoke” about Mass Effect

The pop psychologist and author who so enraged the gaming community this week with her condescending attitude and false characterizations of BioWare’s Mass Effect has ‘fessed up to the New York Times.

Video Game Retailers Come Out Against New Mexico Tax Proposal

Yesterday, GamePolitics reported on the Entertainment Consumers Association’s opposition to a Sierra Club proposal that would impose a 1% surcharge on video games and TV sets sold in New Mexico.

We’ve also heard from the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), a trade group which represents a large bloc of video game retailers. The EMA has likewise taken a position against the proposed levy and shared with GamePolitics a letter sent to the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club in Albuquerque.

GP on Joystiq: Stand Up & Be Counted

…the one in which GP explains why EA’s decision to fight for Mass Effect means as much to gamers as it does to the video game industry.

Mass Effect Saga Continues: Fox News Says it Has Invited EA

There’s a new twist in the Mass Effect saga…

MTV Multiplayer reports that an unnamed Fox News rep claims the network has invited Electronic Arts to appear.

Parents Television Council Wants Video Game Legislation

Recent word that the Entertainment Software Association would begin making political contributions on behalf of the video game industry brought a sharp response from watchdog group the Parents Television Council.

Within days of the ESA announcement, PTC president Tim Winter issued a statement essentially threatening that his organization would target any elected official who “cashed a check” from the ESA

In an interview with Ars Technica PTC’s national grassroots director Gavin McKiernan, explained that video game legislation is central to its dispute with the video game industry.

ECA Opposes New Mexico Video Game Tax

Earlier this week GamePolitics reported on a New Mexico proposal which would impose a 1% sales tax on video games and TV sets.

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has now issued a statement in opposition to the New Mexico tax.

British Court Sends Manhunt 2 Back for Reconsideration

If you were waiting to purchase Manhunt 2 in the U.K., plan on waiting a bit longer.

As reported by GameSpot, a ruling by a judge in London’s Royal Courts of Justice will force a re-review of the game’s status by Britain’s Video Appeals Committee.

EA Calls Out Fox News Over Mass Effect Smear

Jeff Brown, VP of Communications for Electronic Arts, has requested that Fox News correct Monday’s disgraceful trashing of Mass Effect.

British Game Biz to Work with Government on Obesity Issue

Should the video game industry have a role in combating the obesity epidemic?

MCV reports that ELSPA, the trade group representing U.K. game publishers, has said it looks forward to working on the issue with the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Games Offer Biting Satire on Role of Religion in Politics, War

Here at GamePolitics we’re sensitive to the various religious persuasions (or not) of our readers. I mention that right up front because the pair of mini-games discussed in this article will surely be offensive to some.

New Mexico Considers Tax on Video Games

Video games and TV sets could be subject to a 1% sales tax in New Mexico if a coalition of environmental groups has its way.

Second Lifer Parodies Presidential Candidate Huckabee

A Second Life resident known for biting political commentary has turned his attention to Republican Mike Huckabee.

Presidential Paintball Game Causes Alarm

A web-based game which pits the major presidential candidates against one another in cartoon combat has raised concerns.

WHO'S GREENER? Clinton or Obama? McCain or Romney?

WHO’S GREENER? Clinton or Obama? McCain or Romney?

As we get closer to primaries in more than 20 states on February 5th, and with the field of candidates narrowing quickly, it’s important to consider environmental issues as you prepare to cast a primary vote. Have the candidates’ positions on climate change, the Kyoto treaty, and their plans to increase energy efficiency or create green jobs changed your opinion of them? Is climate change a partisan issue? Tell us what you think at http://www.liveearth.org/?p=343 .

Still need more information on a candidate’s position before you make your decision? Our friends at Grist have put together a great chart that compares each candidate’s position on key issues – greenhouse gas emissions/ cap and trade, fuel economy, renewable energy, biofuels, and nuclear energy. Find out who is closest to your position: Grist Candidate Comparison Chart Live Earth and Scholastic Want Kids to Act Green! Kids care about the climate crisis too! Scholastic is launching ACT GREEN! at www.scholastic.com/actgreen, a fun, educational website designed to motivate and empower kids to take action in school, at home and in their community to preserve the environment. This multi-media website provides kids, parents and teachers with customized green plans, expert tips, and a “Greenroom” to share ideas with other kids.

Live Earth is pleased to provide several films from the Live Earth Film Series for kids, parents, and teachers to view on the ACT GREEN! site. Live Earth commissioned award-winning filmmakers from many genres to create inspiring shorts. The films range from factual and dramatic to fictional and comedic, and are directed by many of the industry’s most prominent filmmakers. We’ve selected those most appropriate for young people and educational use and shared them with Scholastic’s ACT GREEN!

Reminder: Focus the Nation is TODAY! On January 31st more than 1400 schools and colleges across the country are holding educational events on the climate crisis. You can find an event near you today! Be part of an unprecedented teach-in and call to action on climate issues. Fifteen members of Congress are already scheduled to participate – is yours one of them? Find out more at http://www.focusthenation.org CLIMATE CRISIS SOLUTION: Eat Seafood that is Healthy for you AND the Ocean Download and use the new mini-seafood guide produced by Oceana. Worried about mercury? Use this guide at the grocery store and at restaurants to make sure you’re only buying sustainable types of fish and seafood. Download the guide now at: http://www.oceana.org/fileadmin/oceana/uploads/marketing/Web_color_seafood_guide.pdf

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Blog Round Up

You can find the up to date news at Gamepolitics.com

Who Are the Tech-Friendly Candidates?

Last week, GamePolitics reported on Yahoo! Games’ recap of where the major presidential candidates stand on video game issues.

Cnet’s Declan McCullagh has now penned an insightful article which outlines how the top candidates view some critical technology issues. While not game-specific, some of these issues will certainly affect gamers in a significant way

One Doom Game Per Child? Classic Shooter Fires Up Controversy

One of our favorite do-good projects, One Laptop Per Child, finds itself in the midst of an unexpected game violence controversy. OLPC’s goal,of course, is to spread the power of personal computing and the Internet to children in poverty-stricken areas.

More Criticism of New Mexico Video Game Tax Legislation

New Mexico Rep. Gail Chasey’s recent proposal to tax video games and TV sets is controversial, to say the least.

HB583, the No Child Left Inside Act, would levy a 1% tax on games and TV’s. It enjoys the backing of environmental group the Sierra Club.

ESRB Releases Rating Breakdown for 2007

In its Winter newsletter, the ESRB has released the breakdown of ratings which it assigned to video games in 2007.

BBC Program: Brainy DS Game Discriminates Against Scottish Accents

Computer and Video Games reports that Nintendo DS title Brain Training (known as Brain Age in the U.S. market) was accused of discriminating against Scottish accents on a U.K. news program this week.

Mainstream Media Shoots Self in Foot with Sensationalized Game Coverage

Watching Fox News’ recent Mass Effect hatchet job, it became immediately apparent that the network knew nothing about the game and was in fact making outrageous claims about non-existent sexual escapades.

Perhaps the most frightening thing is that when confronted with the facts afterward the network didn’t seem to care that it got the story wrong.

Perhaps it should.

Publisher Gamecock Launches Site to Promote Voter Registration & Upcoming Game

E3 2007 convinced us that the crew at upstart publisher Gamecock Media Group are a little bit… different.

By way of reinforcing that idea, Austin-based Gamecock has debuted %##* The Vote!, a new website which is designed to encourage voter registration as well as promote Gamecock’s upcoming political parody Hail to the Chimp.

Immigrant Detainees’ Wii Play Sparks U.K. Protest

The question comes up from time to time: Should prisoners be allowed access to video games?

A member of the British Parliament and a taxpayer watchdog group say no, and have weighed in against the use of Nintendo’s Wii system by foreign detainees held in a U.K. prison.

Study: Men More Likely to Become Game-Addicted

A Stanford University researcher claims that men are more likely to develop a video game addiction than women.

As reported by Palo Alto’s KCBS-AM.

MIT’s Henry Jenkins: Why the Chinese Fear Game Addiction More than Game Violence

In the United States and Europe, the cultural struggle over the video game medium typically focuses on graphic portrayals of violence and sexuality.

In China, however, concerns over so-called video game addiction are fueling the debate. At least, that’s how MIT professor Henry Jenkins sees it. Writing for his Confessions of an Aca-Fan blog, Jenkins details a recent trip to China, where he attended the International Games and Learning Forum.

Rockstar’s Houser Expects GTA IV Controversy

Rockstar VP Dan Houser expects Grand Theft Auto IV to be controversial when it launches on April 29th.

Could Game Industry Nemesis Lieberman be VP Candidate?

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has long been a thorn in the side of the video game industry. The Independent Democrat brought to bear the pressure that led to the formation of the ESA and ESRB in the mid-1990’s.

So how would he deal with video game issues as vice-president?

In Finland: Political Party Wants Games Screened for Violence, Sex

The Finnish Christian Democratic Party (CDP) has issued a call for video games to be screened for violent and sexual content before being made available to the public.

Most Gamers Willing to Forgive Cooper Lawrence

GamePolitics has been running a poll for the last two days in order to determine if the gaming community is willing to forgive (but certainly not forget) Cooper Lawrence’s trashing of Mass Effect.

Yahoo! Games Rates Prez Hopefuls on Video Game Issues

Where do the leading presidential candidates stand on video game issues?

Ben Silverman of Yahoo! Games summarizes the positions of the top three candidates from both parties. Included in the recap is Democrat John Edwards, who announced yesterday that he is dropping out.

ECA’s Hal Halpin Calls on Fox News to Retract Mass Effect Story

Hal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA), has weighed in on the Mass Effect episode, calling on Fox News to correct its smear of the popular Xbox 360 game.