#23 Ends his Neutrality

Posted: August 30, 2016 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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sportsroll

By @anarchyroll

Michael Jordan has ended his silence and neutrality on social issues in America. 

As someone raised in the Chicago area, Michael Jordan is on his own level of the iconosphere. He is beyond the words hero and role model. He is the unquestioned, undisputed Greatest Of All Time at his profession. To have been privileged enough to see a part of his career are memories I can’t forget even if I want to.

Another thing I can’t forget about Jordan even if I want to (besides Space Jam) is the fact that he never took a stand on any social issue during his playing career. Race, religion, economic inequality, gender pay gap, abortion, immigration. You name it, MJ was neutral or silent about it.

To take a stand on a social or political issue means you upset and/or alienate potential customers. In addition to being the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan is also the greatest product spokesman of all time. His list of endorsements is lengthy and legendary. Jordan didn’t just make money with his endorsements, he made companies and changed culture with his endorsements.

That is why fellow NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said Jordan chose “commerce over conscious” with his silence on any and all social issues during Air Jordan’s run of greatness in the 1980s and 90s.

Better late than never is a term served well in this case. There has been a lot of inequality and death in the African-American community since Jordans playing career. 2016 seems destined to go down as either a tipping point or a boiling point of race relations in America. Jordan breaking his silence with words and cold hard cash to raise both awareness and tangible prospects for progress are as welcome as they are overdue.

Michael Jordan has a net worth of $1.14 billion. Out of that billion, he has donated $2 million, split evenly between the NAACP and a community policing organization. A token gesture is better than no gesture. When it comes to race relations between African-American communities and the police, it’s all hands on deck and help will be taken anywhere it can be received.

Rapper and former Bernie Sanders campaign representative Killer Mike recently challenged Jordan to do something beyond a token gesture.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIx4YhyhzUJ/

 

How can $2 million be a token gesture? How can the most famous athlete in the world breaking three decades of silence and neutrality be a token gesture?

Are there not already African-American athletes donating money? Have prominent celebrities not already spoken out to draw attention and press to this issue? Is it not clear that there exists a very big problem with race relations in America?

$2 million or .2% of Jordan’s net worth is a good start, but is only a good start. If it is not the beginning of a plan or process than it is like shooting a heat seeking missile into the sun. It is a month later and this story is all but forgotten. Which is fine, the story can be lost in the shuffle, but Jordan’s tangible impact shouldn’t be. Diverting income from his already flushed coffers into black financial institutions for the long haul is how Jordan shows his actions are meant for serious impact rather than news cycle fodder.

#DNCLeaks Fallout Shows Wikileaks = #Journalism

Posted: August 12, 2016 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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By @anarchyroll

What is journalism? What does it mean to be a journalist in 2016?

What is journalism in the era of media conglomeration? Has media conglomeration turned journalism as it was known in the 20th century into public relations for the 1%?

Is journalism;

  • What we see on local evening news? Sensationalized reporting of gun violence amongst those on the low-end of the economic ladder between sports, traffic, and weather.
  • What we read in newspapers and magazines between the advertisements, crossword
  • What we see on national news and cable news? Human interest pieces, celebrity gossip, and opinions given about politics, sports, and Hollywood all looped and edited to elicit emotion rather than thought or discourse.

Is journalism meant to report facts and information that affects large numbers of people based on the political, economic, and/or environmental the information will impact? Or is it just people writing/broadcasting what newspaper owners and trending topics dictate?

Journalism is about facts and information. It’s about exposing injustice to the public. It is about shining the light of truth into the dark corners of conspiracy and deceit.

Just because a small group of billionaires has bought all major news outlets (media conglomeration), doesn’t mean they have bought the facts and information that qualifies as news. Just because political parties receive large donations and cater to these media conglomerates, doesn’t mean they are immune from the facts and information they wish to keep secret from being reported to the public.

As was shown in the DNC Leaks, MSNBC was in direct contact with the Democratic National Committee about what to say and what not to say about Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. If MSNBC is a news station, and they are conspiring to turn the news into specifically crafted public relations, do they not deserve to have this conspiracy reported on? Is that not a news story?

When the news is owned by the people the news used to report on, so they don’t get reported on anymore, then the nature of gathering facts and information as well as reporting them must change. If the 1% would divest all holdings in all news reporting outlets, and all journalism was once again independently financed, what purpose would Wikileaks serve?

In a post print media conglomerate landscape, hactivism has evolved into journalism.

How much content have credible news outlets turned the DNC Leaks into? How many articles, pictures, videos, sound bites, polls, tweets, vines, snaps, and stories have been created because of what Wikileaks has done? The only ones who seem to think it’s wrong, are the people who have been exposed and their allies.

Mainstream media using the information provided by Wikileaks makes them complacent which makes what Wikileaks does with their hacking no longer any different from what a beat reporter did with their pen, paper, and access to newswires in the 20th century. Ten years ago Wikileaks may have been an underground, illegal, immoral, criminal, hacking networks of deviants, anarchists, and outsiders. In 2016, they are just another credible source alongside the Associated Press and Reuters. In 2016, Wikileaks is journalism.

Closing the #TerrorGap Stalemate Paints Unfortunate Ugly Portait of #America

Posted: July 13, 2016 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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download

By @anarchyroll

Suspected terrorists not being allowed to legally buy guns in America sounds like a no brainer. The type of legislation that is only a formality to pass because it is such common sense. What type of law-abiding citizen who exercises their right to bear arms for the purposes of hunting, stamp like collecting, and/or personal protection of property would object to such legislation?

Congressional legislation is rarely black and white or red and blue. The shades of gray, along with the devil, are in the details. In Congress, the devil and the details are earmarks, appropriations, and general language. Previous attempts to close the Terror Gap have stalled for all three of the aforementioned reasons.

There are so many mass shootings in America, it seems like something like the Terror  Gap would at least be used as a token gesture of good will. A way for the Congress to convince themselves and their varying constituents that they aren’t tone-deaf to the scare and suffering going on around the country at the hands of gun violence.

In the wake of the Pulse nightclub Orlando shooting, it is natural to assume that something needs to be done about guns in America. There are crazy, angry people everywhere in this world. In America however, those crazy, angry people just like the sane, happy people have consistent easy access to automatic weapons and military grade assault rifles.

Wishing for pie in the sky fantasy bills like a total ban on automatic weapons ie the Australia way, is not helpful. As far as America goes, file that under if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Filibustering and staging sit ins to draw attentions to Congressional gridlock although well-intentioned, do nothing to move forward tangibly or pragmatically in a country where gun ownership is not going away anytime soon. We need cooperation and Congressional compromise literally  now more than ever at the most polarized political point since the Red Scare.

Closing the Terror Gap with a bill sans earmarks or strings tied to appropriations is only a first step, not a cure-all. A first step forward on the issue of guns is just what the doctor ordered for America right about now. Resistance to closing the Terror Gap puts law-abiding gun owners in a negative light. An insatiable desire to go take away all the guns casts progressives as nothing more than the yang to the yin of the redneck, gun clutching, bible-thumpers they claim to be better than through an ego centered in education as opposed to ideology.

A new normal of never-ending mass shootings in America is the time for pragmatism in terms of gun control. What can we do in this situation, at this time, to take a step forward as a nation and a species. Critical mass has been reached and we are long past the tipping point. Something most be done about guns in America.

To think things will change going forward based upon our current actions is insanity defined. There are simply too many guns freely available in the United States of America. Action must be taken. Whether that action is drastic or pragmatic, remains to be seen. But closing the Terror Gap is a first step that can be taken regardless of whether the next step is that of a baby or a giant. And the time to close the gap was yesterday. We need the easy choices like closing the Terror Gap behind us so that we can face the real hard choices like adults, with the kiddy pool decisions already behind us.

 

#Internet as a #Utility

Posted: June 30, 2016 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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When was the last time something new was classified as a utility?

The internet being officially classified as a utility isn’t just another part of a disposable  news cycle. This is more than a current event. This is a piece of bonafied technological and human history.

The internet being classified in the same context as water, electrcity, gasoline, and the telephone is historic. Why? Because it changes many aspects of life for many many people forever. The direction the internet moves in, changes after this event. How? Because so many more people will have access to the internet. Regulation placed upon the price gouging Internet Service Providers will only help the have nots gain consistent access to the information super highway.

When things get bigger, they don’t stay the same. Evolution is inevitable just as change is the only constant.

Comcast, AT &T, Verizon and any/all ISPs have made their intentions clear with what they intend to do with the internet of the future, by the way they treat the technology AND the people dependent on the technology in the present. They want to tier and cap service while bleeding their dependent customer base for every nickel and dime they can. They have been doing this, are doing this, and will continue to do this until somebody stops them.

We have reached a tipping point where only an entity as big as the federal government can tell the ISPs that enough is enough, they’ve gone too far, it is time for regulation of pricing practices to democratize the technology for the masses  The masses need to internet not for the luxury of binge watching shows to waste their lives, but for the basics required in the 21st century to live their lives.


If people want to live and thrive in the modern world, internet use is required. It’s no longer a consumer-good-luxury-item. That which was once done on paper is now done online. Applying for a job is done online. A job is needed to pay the bills, which is also done online. After one gets a job and pays their bills, if they have something left over and want to buy anything, researching that product or service is done online. Either purchasing the product or service or finding directions to a physical location to go do are both done online.

At one point in human history, consistent access to drinking water was a luxury. But then the standard of living evolved just as the human race did. Electricity and gasoline instead of fire? A thought inconceivable as a witch’s magic at one point in our past. But we raised the bar. Shelter capable of protecting people all but only the most extreme elements of nature was once thought to be reserved for large stone castles.

Body language to spoken word to written hyrogliphs to the printing press to the telegraph to the telephone to the fax machine to the world wide web and now the smartphone. Technology once thought to be science fiction dreams of the future are now everyday essentials. Humans have come from using rocks and sticks to make fire to harnessing super computers in the palm of our hand utilizing satellites from space on a second to second basis.

This wonderful technology has given human beings great power to influence ourselves and the world at large. With this great power comes great responsibility. Part of that responsibility is sharing the power with the masses. Access to this power is no longer a luxurious leg up on the competition but has evolved into the minimum requirement to get in the game.

This issue is destined for a decision from the Supreme Court. There is too much money at stake for district courts. The internet touches too many lives for appellete courts. History beckons that the Supreme Court of the United States decide the law of the land on the issue of internet access as a necessary utility or a luxury consumer good.

#TMNT2 is Dependent on Nostalgia for Enjoyment

Posted: June 29, 2016 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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by @anarchyroll

How much is nostalgia worth if the nostalgia is mandatory to enjoy something in the present?


I certainly can’t say that I didn’t enjoy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Out of the Shadows. I also can’t say that I liked it for any other reason than the flashbacks down memory lane. The memories of playing with action figures while watching the cartoon or going nuts on the arcade games with friends; were required to look past the gigantic holes in quality that is the second act of this movie and this reborn movie franchise.

The movie starts off with a bang and a wonderfully sized portion of nostalgia. The Turtles finally busted out their van, complete with shooting manhole covers. I felt like a kid again and sounded like one complete with chuckles and cheers. Each of the four Turtles get spotlighted in a way that emphasizes their unique personalities and before you know it they’re eating pizza. The movie certainly started off running on the authentic foot.

The rest of the movie is a mixed bag of fun authentic and asking aloud; what the hell were they thinking?

Shredder and Casey Jones each spend ¾ of their individual screen time without their masks on. For characters who are known as masked comic book/cartoon characters, that’s a bit too long for my taste. The green ooze that the franchise is famous for was turned purple for no apparent reason. TGRI is now TCRI. The turtles struggle with a desire to be human which smacks in the face of their traditional enthusiasm for being turtles. But easily the most annoying and screen time sucking portion of the movie goes to the obsession Michael Bay had not with Megan Fox (who is not a screen hog) but with involving the NYPD.

The NYPD gets plenty of movie love. There are a plethora of movies out there in which the NYPD has a necessary, central aspect of the plot(s). The police in every incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are background characters at best. I have no problem with wanting to involve the NYPD for maybe five to ten minutes of screen time like was the case in the original Turtles movie. But the NYPD literally gets almost as much screen time as the Turtles themselves and more than any other side character, side kick, or henchmen.

Henchmen wise however, this movie hit a home run. The overdue big screen debut of Bebop and Rocksteady was executed wonderfully. The actors playing the characters captured the knucklehead, light-hearted spirit of both characters very well. When they are turned into the mutant warthog and rhino respectively, the attitude and actions of the characters seemed right out of the cartoon.

Also making a long overdue debut were Krang and the Technodrome. Check both under the well executed, authentic category. Krang sounded very much like the cartoon counterpart and both the villain and its home base were brought from another dimension as they should be. Krang’s combat suit was modernized and the second incarnation within the film that he uses for the climax fight scene is as authentic as it could be while trying to modernize the look.

Tyler Perry’s enthusiasm for playing Baxter Stockman came through very enjoyably on the screen for my taste. If there is a third movie, I look forward to seeing what he will bring to the table. A combination of his mousers and mutation (which did not occur in this film) cold make for an excellent first act conflict to set up for a bigger battle in the third act of a potential third movie.

Speculation of a third film is only speculation due to the lackluster box office numbers Out of the Shadows has done. And lackluster box office returns is really what this movie deserves. After all, how much is nostalgia worth if nostalgia is mandatory to enjoy something in the present?

In the theater I was able to overlook and/or be blind to the gaping holes in quality this movie had during the entire second act, bleeding into act three. The climax and resolution were solid by summer blockbuster standards. The big fight scene between Krang and the Turtles had me thinking Cowabunga! I would certainly welcome and pay to see a third TMNT movie. But I wouldn’t recommend the first one and definitely not the second one to anyone who didn’t watch any of the cartoon incarnations of the turtles as a child. Childhood memories are needed. Without them all you have left is another Michael Bay action disaster that unless there is an explosion, or is Bad Boys, is just bad.

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