(Credit Photo: John Hain via https://pixabay.com/illustrations/fingerprinting-blaming-division-2203448/)
July 2, 2023
When Politics Gets Personal
(Credit Photo: John Hain via https://pixabay.com/illustrations/fingerprinting-blaming-division-2203448/)
September 20, 2022
Remembering the 2017 Riots in Washington, D.C.
Remembering the 2017 Riots in Washington, D.C.
March 28, 2021
Walk Fort Lauderdale Beach
Walk Fort Lauderdale Beach
January 14, 2021
High Kicks Not City Riots
This is when on the Washington D.C. Mall there were high kicks and not riots.
It was a carefree spot and not a war zone.
The city wasn't filled with anger but with hope.
Politicians weren't giving each other a kick in the ass every day, but rather reaching across the aisle to try and get something done.
The country was trying to go forward, but now it's having trouble keeping up with the problems caused by China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
Then we stood tall and wore our colors proud, today we wonder about the crisis of the day and what tomorrow will bring. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
High Kicks Not City Riots
January 6, 2021
Breaching The Capitol
Like so many I am outraged that the Capitol got trashed today.
There are really no words to describe the depressing and sickening feeling seeing what happened with the rampaging mobs.
Moreover, one lady actually was killed over this!
Aside from the lawlessness, disrespect, and abandon of our great democracy, it was shocking that the security forces let it all unfold.
Doors barricaded and guns drawn, yet the mobs freely storming the building, hanging from the rafters in the chambers and making a farce at the podium.
Moreover, the offices of the legislators breached with computers unlocked and emails on the screen!
If ever we were afraid of what the Russians or Chinese could do to us, do you think any of their agents could possibly have found their way to blend into the rampaging crowd and chaos today and then do literally whatever they wanted anywhere in legislative branch of our government?
They wouldn't have had to be James Bond or hid in a SolarWinds application update to do us severe damage.
It seems like we just keep giving away the keys to the kingdom until eventually there is no kingdom of democracy anymore! ;-)
Breaching The Capitol
November 4, 2020
If The Other Side Wins The Election
I think this is how a lot of people feel...
if the other side wins the election (look where he's picking from)!
A picture is worth a thousand words.
One thing we know for sure is that the polls and the "Fake News" media got it all wrong again! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
If The Other Side Wins The Election
October 28, 2020
Overwhelming Public Fatigue
China Fatigue
Covid Fatigue
Election Fatigue
Exaggerations Fatigue
Extremism Fatigue
Fear Fatigue
Facebook Waste of Time Fatigue
Lies and Corruption Fatigue
Media Manipulation Fatigue
Power Politics Fatigue
Racism and Hate Fatigue
Riots and Looting Fatigue
Fatigue Fatigue ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Overwhelming Public Fatigue
October 15, 2020
Artsy Bike
Like a newspaper, it's black and white and "read" or actually rode all over.
How much time do you give a bike like this before it gets stolen on the streets downtown?
D.C. seems to be getting even worse than before, now with Coronavirus and the riots.
Doesn't feel safe, and it's in definite need of an urban makeover from all the horrible poverty and homelessness. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Artsy Bike
June 1, 2020
Our Cities Are Burning
Discipline equals freedom.
The opposite is true too:
From the violent riots across the country the last week, even a modicum of discipline has gone out the window, and with that comes a curtailment of freedom through deployment of the National Guard, Military, and imposition of curfews and more.
There was a time that peaceful protests led by leaders with integrity held sway...but now it's anarchy out there!
Today, the cities are burning, the stores are being looted, people are afraid, and our republic is being torn asunder by racism and filthy election politics. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Our Cities Are Burning
June 1, 2017
Is Our Democracy Failing Us?
Before that was Stephen Colbert uncool, profanity-laced barrage against the President.
Even Madonna lost her sh*t and threatened to blow up the White House at the mass women's march earlier this year.
But all this is still only the tip of the iceberg, as liberals "resist" him and extremists even riot and commit acts of violence; the investigators look to impeach him; the mass media lynches him daily; witches try to cast a mass spell on him; and even late night comedians make him into the butt of every joke and asses wisecrack.
No respect anymore.
No genuine dialogue.
No negotiation.
No compromise.
No problem-solving.
No putting the nation first.
The glove are off as tempers and politics are boiling over in Washington, D.C. and all across the nation.
As liberals and conservatives battle it out for the direction of our country.
Some may say that this is what democracy is supposed to do...
But at this extreme, this is how nations self-destruct, not govern!
Who is laughing?
Certainly those that would threaten our way of life: Russia. China. North Korea. Iran. ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Only sane Americans are crying out for leadership to stop killing each other and instead coalesce--irrespective of right and left--and to move this nation forward stronger in the world--militarily, economically, and socially.
As we continue to beat each other senseless with new revelations of debauchery and corruption every 5 minutes on TV, our politicians are black and blue, their agendas are dead on arrival, their proposals are torn to shreds, their votes are filibustered, the parties are deadlocked, the government nearly shutdown again, and progress is nowhere to be found.
As some states talk of succession, some nutty people out there are advocating for violence to our elected leaders, and others are even calling for civil war, should it come to it.
As many have commented, civility is gone from political discourse, and instead angry and violent discord rules!
This is not a healthy democracy, but a political system being torn apart by extremists and haters.
How do we get the destructive abnormal new normal back to a fruitful normal is normal again?
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Is Our Democracy Failing Us?
September 26, 2012
Mural of Brotherhood
This was posted up next to a local school near their track, field, and basketball courts.
When all the world is topsy-turvy with riots and fighting, WMD and threats of annihilation, and all sorts of financial doomsday scenarios--it is uplifting to see this simple and pure painting spreading happiness.
Let's create a world for our children and grandchildren with more joy, positivity, and stability, and less stress, fear, and uncertainty.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Mural of Brotherhood
December 25, 2011
Swarming For Social Order and Disorder
Swarms are powerful forces that we see in our society today in everything from the worldwide riots of 2011 to crowdsourcing on the Internet--to put it simply as they say, "there is power in numbers."
And swarms and their immense power dates back to the Bible, where the 8th plague sent on Egypt in Deuteronomy 10:14-15 was the plague of locusts:
"And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt...for they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees..."
This past year, we saw the power of swarms in the riots around the globe--from Tahir Square to Occupy Wall Street. In the case of Egypt, Mubarak was deposed after ruling for 30 years and in the case of Wall Street, the Occupy movement sparked protests around the globe lasting for many months.
Similarly, swarms are being put to the test in multiple military applications from the Army's Future Combat System (since renamed) that envision brigades of manned and unmanned combat vehicles linked via an ultra-fast network creating a highly coordinated and maneuverable fighting force to DARPA's iRobot Swarm Project creating a mesh network of mobile robots with sensors that can coordinate and perform surveillance and reconnaissance gaining dominance over the battlefield.
The power of the swarm is not just a physical phenomenon, but also a virtual one where crowdsourcing is used online to do everything from building incredible sources of knowledge like Wikipedia to soliciting citizens ideas for solving national problems such as on Challenge.gov.
Traditionally, the power behind the swarm (in nature whether bees, ants, or locusts) was the collective behavior of so many to attack an enemy, build a colony, or ravage the landscape. Today however, the swarm is powerful because of its collective intelligence--whether in pooling information, vetting ideas, or just coordinating activities with such sophistication that the group can outwit and outmaneuver its opponents.
Wired Magazine has an article for the new year (January 2012) called "Crowd Control" in which the riots of 2011 are viewed as both "dangerous and magnificent"--they represent a disconnected group getting connected, a mega-underground casting off its invisibility to embody itself, formidably, in physical space."
"Today's protest, revolts, and riots are self-organizing [and] hyper-networked"--and just like a swarm, individuals deindividuate and base their ideas and actions on the shared identify of the group and therein, a social psychology takes hold and with basic communication and social technology today, they can spontaneously form potent flash mobs, "flash robs," or worse.
The age old phenomenon of swarming behavior is intersecting with the 21st century technology such as smartphones and social media to create the ability of individuals to gather, act decisively, disperse into the crowds, and then reconvene elsewhere to act again.
The power of this modern swarm is no longer about "sheer numbers," but about being interconnected through messaging, tweets, videos,and more.
Many today are finding the power of the swarm with both friends and foes. Friends are using swarming to try to accomplish new social and scientific feats. While foes such as Al Qaeda are utilizing swarming for hit and run terrorism--moving agilely between safe havens and targeting their victims with tools of terror such as IEDs, car bombs, and other flash attacks.
Swarming is not just a behavior found in the animal kingdom any longer, today it is a fundamental source for both social order and disorder.
Swarming is now a strategy and a tactic--we need to wise up and gain the edge with social swarming behavior and technology to "outwit, outlast, and outplay" those who want to threaten society, and instead use it to improve and secure it.
(Source Photo: here)
Swarming For Social Order and Disorder
August 13, 2011
Attacked And Then Some
Attacked And Then Some
July 9, 2011
How Far Will You Go?
How Far Will You Go?