Monthly Archives: May 2021

I find it increasingly disturbing when public officials, especially those in law enforcement, decide on the strength of their own beliefs or convictions, they are not going to follow or enforce the laws enacted by the legislature and voted into law by a majority of the voters.

Questioning constitutionality of laws is acceptable when processed through the judicial system as explicitly enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and those of each state. Why should the people tolerate or accept public officials who (not likely constitutional scholars) violate their oath of office, exceeding the scope of their duties and responsibilities, by volitionally choosing which laws they will enforce, which they will not enforce or upon whom they will enforce the laws.

I worked in law enforcement for 36 years for one of the largest sheriff's departments in Southern California. I was a deputy for 10 years and a sergeant for 26 years, working the streets on patrol at seven different sheriffs stations for 30 of those years. I've seen an abundance of the horror, pain, harm, injury and death of gun-related crimes and the negligence of gun owners. I was a school sergeant for three and a half years during the time of the Columbine mass murders, and my school deputies thwarted several gun violence incidents at schools in the years that followed.

Ive seen several colleagues killed by guns and brazen crimes committed with high capacity magazines in weapons designed originally to efficiently kill lots of people in war.

What I haven't seen is any significant or effective measures taken to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill, or angry, violent individuals and those with specific criminal intentions. I find it to be a ridiculously huge stretch of logic and imagination to suppose the authors of the Constitution intended the Second Amendment to allow every person the right to keep and bear arms, without regard or consideration for a person's mental health, propensity for violence or criminal inclination.

Nor could they imagine the rise of independent armed militias, neonazis, white supremacists or other radical groups who feel they have the right to amass arsenals and actively train and rehearse their espoused intentions to resist and kill law enforcement, government officials and contemplate the overthrow the government of their own volitional beliefs.

What I find repugnant is the unrestrained killing of our children and innocent citizens by violent individuals who our laws and we continue to fail identifying as mass murders, whether mentally ill or just angry, violent, vengeful people intent on making a statement, by murdering as many innocents before commiting suicide or suicide by cop.

I'm reminded of the fire triangle many learned about in grade school. Oxygen, fuel and heat (or an ignition source) are the three ingredients which enable a fire.

We learned a simple fact: if you remove any side or element of the triangle, you can prevent a fire.

Guns are like oxygen. They are ubiquitous and far too easy to obtain by virtually anyone, like oxygen.

People are equivalent to the fuel, catalyzed with the gun, ignited by their anger, despair, nihilism, irrationality, violent ideological self righteousness or other mental illness and instability.

Sheriff Rob Snaza's proposal and stance on enforcing the laws of his choice is a political determination and it makes his performance of the profession less honorable.

Gregory McHenry

Centralia

Original post:

Letter to the Editor: Sheriff's Second Amendment Sanctuary Pursuit Makes His Performance Less Honorable - Centralia Chronicle

Theres a word to describe political movements that emphasize ethnic, racial and religious solidarity over citizenship and pluralistic values, but it has unpleasant historical associations. Using it only causes political conversations to end in bitterness and name-calling.

So let us simply observe that whats going on in todays Republican Party represents the seeming fulfillment of Vladimir Putins ambitions for the Trump presidency. Undermining confidence in elections has long been Job One in the Kremlin: discrediting democracy to promote strongman rule. But Putins too cynical to understand America.

It matters not to him that the strongman in question is an incompetent blowhard, a clownish figure in elevator shoes. One of Americas two dominant political parties is in the process of losing its collective mind. Indeed, the very preposterousness of Donald Trumps Big Lie about being cheated out of an election he lost by 7 million votes claims rejected for lack of evidence in more than 60 courts of law only enhances its allure for conspiratorial thinkers.

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities, Voltaire wrote. The harder Trumps lies are to believe, the more fervently True Believers strive to affirm them. Longtime Republican strategist Sarah Longwell describes the MAGA faithful as QAnon curious, professing faith in deep-state mythology. A lot of these base voters are living in a post-truth nihilism, she told The New York Times, where you believe in nothing and think that everything might be untrue.

To give you some idea, a GOP-sponsored election recount in Phoenix has been searching for traces of bamboo on 2 million ballots based upon a rumor that votes were flown in from South Korea.

No, I couldnt make that up.

Attending rallies of like-minded believers in MAGA hats is important, yes. But so is the ritual purging of heretics like Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who has sinned against the faith by pointing out that Trump lost the election badly. For this, she is being removed from her leadership role in the House, to be replaced by New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a onetime New York moderate who has taken to parroting Trumps pronouncements word for word.

Claiming she wants to reassure Americans about election security, Stefanik and allies like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are unwittingly following the Kremlin playbook. Back in January, McCarthy professed anger at Trump for raising the mob that attacked Congress. Now he contends that anybody like Cheney blaming Trump for the Capitol riot is not being productive and needs to be removed from House leadership.

That said, Democrats, and Cheney herself, are mistaken to speak of Republican cowardice. Its not fear of Trump that drives them so much as naked ambition. And not ambition for the party or the country, its important to understand, but for themselves.

One thing Republicans in safe districts know is that the MAGA faithful hold the balance of power. A recent CNN poll showed upward of 70% of Republicans have bought the Trumpian Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. So if they want to remain in Congress, its best to keep skepticism about the claim to themselves, at least until the 2022 primaries are over.

And then what? Well, thats the big question, isnt it? Seventy percent of Republicans amounts to less than one-third of the electorate and shrinking, as GOP party membership has gradually declined in recent years. Trumps latest favorable rating was 32%. Try as they may, Republican state legislatures wont be able to prevent Democrats and independents from voting in 2022. Indeed, GOP efforts to make voting harder could very likely end up discouraging their own voters.

Anyway, heres how things look to one informed Republican, Maricopa County, Arizona (Phoenix) Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers: In Maricopa County, only a third of the voters are Republican, he told The New York Times. A third are Democrats and a third are independents. If you dont even have a third of the voting public altogether, how on earth can you expect to win over enough independents and others?

Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has spoken of the Cheney purge as a circular firing squad.

My own favorite Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, put it more colorfully on CBSs Face the Nation. Right now, he said, the Republican Party is basically the Titanic. Were like in the middle of this slow sink. We have a band playing on the deck, telling everybody its fine, and meanwhile, as Ive said, Donald Trump is running around trying to find womens clothing to get on the first lifeboat.

You dont have to be a genius to succeed in politics, the late Robert F. Kennedy once told a friend of mine. But you do have to be able to count.

To MAGA believers, counting is heresy. But not to the rest of us.

Arkansas Times columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of The Hunting of the President (St. Martins Press, 2000). You can email Lyons at [emailprotected]

Read more:

The math is not on the side of the MAGA gang - Brookings Register

(Welcome toThe Quarantine Stream, a series where the /Film team shares what theyve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)

The Series:Invincible

Where You Can Stream It:Amazon Prime Video

ThePitch:Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) is just like any 17-year-old kid: he deals with school bullies and school crushes, and he worships superheroes. Except that his father is actually one: the strongest superhero on Earth, Omni-Man(J.K. Simmons). After years of waiting, Mark finally gets the powers he was supposed to inherit super strength, power of flight, and super speed and can begin his training to be a superhero with his dad. But afterOmni-Man is found near-death alongside the bodies of the Guardians of the Globe, Mark has to step up to become a superhero outside of his fathers shadow.

Why Its Essential Viewing: Lets face it: brutal, hyperviolent superhero re-imaginings are a dime a dozen. Comics have been doing it since the 80s, movies have been doing it since adapting those self-same comics from the 80s, and its all the rage on TV now with notoriously bloody shows likeThe Boys andPreacher. NowInvincible, based on Robert Kirkmans comic book series of the same name, is here to fill the gap on the animation side.

Ill admit being a little skeptical ofInvinciblegoing into it. Despite receiving plenty of critical praise when it first premiered, Ive been wary of any hyper-violent shows or movies that seem too edgelord to me: falling prey to being shocking for shocks sake. And while the gore comes as a surprise inInvincible tacked on after the credits of the first episode its no more gruesome than what youll find in many an adult animated show, or even an anime. Rather, its more interesting how it lays the groundwork for howInvincible grapples with the current superhero landscape.

Set in a world where superheroes are increasingly common and privacy is a thing of the past,Invincible is balancing precariously on the edge of a totalitarian dystopia that many past subversive superhero titles have tackled before (think Watchmen, The Boys,even the Crime Syndicate of theCrisis on Infinite Earths). But theres a thread of optimism running through the show, embodied by our titular hero. Awkward, insecure, and just the right amount of reckless, Mark Grayson is almost frustratingly naive when it comes to the horrors that we know are waiting for him around the corner.Its like a cheery Peter Parker-type got thrown into the world ofWatchmen.

Thatsoptimistic, every character says when he tells them his code name. Mark knows, but hes just likable enough that you hope that his idealistic vision of the world of superheroes stays as shiny and clean as it is at the beginning. It explains thesimple animation style, which feels inspired by the beloved superhero animated shows of the 2000s. Coupled withthe obvious riffs on familiar DC and Marvel heroes,Invincible is enjoyable as a surprisingly straightforward superhero coming-of-age story until the shocks of blood and gore arrive. From then on, the show starts to have an intriguing dialogue with itself, between the optimistic roots of the superhero genre and the creeping nihilism of todays comic book flicks.

See the article here:

The Quarantine Stream: 'Invincible' is the Latest Brutal Reimagining of Superheroes That Avoids Shock for Edginess' Sake - /FILM

What diminishes the impact of Tim Miller's new batch of self-contained short films is the dire lack of original vision and conceptual audacity.

Season opener is Automated Customer Service

Language: English

Love Death & Robots proved to be an unexpected hit in 2019. For Black Mirror fans, the Netflix anthology series was a stopgap hangover cure. For animation junkies, it represented the medium's defiant push towards new definitions and styles. Across the 18 episodes of the first season, the magic of animation manifested in its speculative storytelling and immersive world-building. Not to mention the contrarian leanings promised by the titular subjects. Narratively though, a lot of the stories were found wanting.

The much-awaited follow-up suffers from similar narrative scarcity. But what diminishes the impact of Tim Miller's new batch of self-contained short films is the dire lack of original vision and conceptual audacity. Rehashing overfamiliar cyberpunk visions of humanity and traversing the uncanny valley only to get trapped in it, the new season makes for a mixed bag of mostly uninspired ideas. With episodes running for no longer than 10-15 minutes, it really belonged on Quibi (Rest in peace). Oddly, some of the episodes don't even fit into any one of the three categories suggested in the title.

Among those that do is the season opener Automated Customer Service. Roomba goes rogue, and mounts a rebellion against its ageing human master in an entirely AI-assisted retirement community. An old woman reports the malfunction to an automated customer service. In her frustrations is a farce about technological dependence. At one point, in its villainous rampage, the robot stops to fold a bunch of clothes thrown at it, as its programmed directive briefly supplants its free will. The sense of playfulness to Automated Customer Service is conveyed through a more caricaturish style. A malfunctioning robot turns homicidal even in Life Hutch, which is adapted from a short story by Harlan Ellison. Michael B Jordan plays a starship pilot who is forced to crash-land on a nearby planet during an intergalactic war. But his attempts to send a distress beacon to be rescued are hindered by a maintenance drone which considers him a threat. Its a worn-out plot beat that leaves little to imagination.

Pop Squad

The power of worldbuilding is on full display in Pop Squad and Snow in the Desert. Both imagine dystopias where the promise of immortality has led all things living to only immorality. The slippery slope in Pop Squad culminates in mankind charging a unit of police officers to kill illegally birthed children, as part of its war against overpopulation. While the affluent revel in luxury in their high-rise apartments, those who resist their authority are forced to live in the seedy fringes. If Pop Squad builds on the future noir template set by Blade Runner and Altered Carbon, Snow in the Desert draws heavily from Star Wars. Its desert planet is home to butt-ugly aliens, bounty hunters, and cantinas where they all clash. Here, a man named Snow is pursued by the worst of the worst looking to steal the gift of immortality that courses through his veins testicles. The only force at play here though is cosmic nihilism.

The Drowned Giant is based on a JG Ballard short story of the same name

The season standout is based on a simple premise with unadorned execution. Yet, it has far more to say than the other genre-heavy and hyper-stylised entries. Based on a JG Ballard short story of the same name, The Drowned Giant sees the naked corpse of a large man wash up on the shore of a small town. While the townsfolk's initial excitement dies down with time, the narrator reflects, via voiceover, on the changing roles and perceptions of the body. In its destruction and decay are reflections on life and death, the idea of God being a projection of man, and how man will pick every resource apart down to the bone. All Through the House also benefits from a straightforward premise. Though it has no love, death or robots, it offers a dark yet fun little subversion on the traditional figure of Santa Claus, in the vein of Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Sneaking downstairs on the night of Christmas eve, two kids expect to catch a sighting of the version of Santa popularised by Coca Cola. But what they see instead will ensure they're never naughty again. Even as All Through the House gives Santa a Lovecraftian makeover, its style deliberately draws from the likes of Pixar and Dreamwork Animation titles.

Ice

While most episodes resemble modern video game cut scenes not just in terms of shoddy dialogue but in their paint-by-numbers photorealistic rendering, Ice has a gorgeous graphic novel quality to it. On a frozen planet of genetically modded humans, an un-modded pariah tries to earn the respect of his brother and friends by contesting in a race with a giant whale in pursuit. There's a lot of great detail which brings to the fore the whimsiness and litheness afforded only by hand-drawn 2D animation. Judging purely on premise and execution, The Tall Grass, which sees a man hunted by some demogorgons, is another weak and predictable entry. But it's the animation which sustains its thrills.

There is a frustrating incompleteness to nearly every episode in the second season of Love, Death & Robots. Prizing animation at the expense of narrative, 3D realism over 2D abstraction, sure prove to be its undoing. So, you get the feeling you're watching a series of demo reels rather than fully finished films. Perhaps the show's value in a binge-and-forget culture is best symbolised in The Drowned Giant. Once the novelty wears off, it will fade into oblivion as people move on to the next shiny thing on their watchlist.

Love Death & Robots Volume 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

Here is the original post:

Love Death & Robots Volume 2 review: Netflix serves a stale batch of uninspired glimpses into the future - Firstpost

Niger guitarist Mdou Moctars playing is a shape-shifting riot of colour, evolving rhythms and lush melody. It is a reminder of the infinite possibilities that come from playing the electric guitar and an antidote to any player stuck trying to squeeze fresh blood from the same rusty pentatonic shapes and dull rock cliches.

His joyful contemporary fingerstyle playing blends the desert blues and Tuareg guitar styles with Western rock, psychedelia and jazz elements and if you havent heard it, you should. The consensus that is slowly forming is that he is not just one of the leading exponents of Sahel (Sub-Saharan) guitar music, but one of the finest and certainly most expressive, guitarists in the world.

His last record Ilana (The Creator) was the excoriating result of this cross-cultural embrace. Recorded in the US, it took you on a blistering psych rock ride from the Niger desert, past the Mississippi Delta before dipping its toes in the sun-kissed oceans of the West Coast. Now hes returned with Afrique Victime, an album that attempts to bottle the extremes of Moctars feelings for his homeland and the wider African continent. From addressing the suffering it continues to endure amid the fallout of empires and political instability, to moments of tender contentment amid loved ones and his home in the Agadez region.

As such, Afrique Victime captures his most ambitious, powerful playing yet (the astonishing Van Halen-esque solo of the title track, for example), but also some of his subtlest (the touching Tala Tannam), as he incorporates more of the acoustic work honed prior to Ilana.

We spoke to Moctar about the statement he is making with Afrique Victime, the power of music in communicating with the world and what he makes of rocks drink and drugs culture.

This interview was conducted via a translator.

Afrique Victime has been described as your most directly political album to date. You have discussed some of Nigers complex political challenges before. When and how did it become apparent to you that this would be a big theme of this particular record? And why now?

As I have mentioned in previous interviews, I'm really inspired by what's around me to write what I see in nature, and of course, by recent events that are happening around me. So it depends on the periods. Currently, I'm really feeling the suffering of Africa, especially since Gaddafi was killed. Terrorism has been on the rise in various countries. You know, the terrorists of Boko Haram hit us every day. And there's crimes in various countries in the whole of the Sahel and Africa.

Of course, each country has more specific problems there's some diversity. And in Niger, I would say it's mostly the terrorists in the desert and the impact of the installation of a French and US military bases in the country. Other Arab countries have been impacted. For instance, recently, the African leader Idriss Dby was murdered. He was a leader from Chad. He was fighting terrorists and especially Boko Haram. And sadly, he's no more.

Music is my weapon

What role does music have in raising awareness of injustices in Niger and the wider African continent?

For me, music is my weapon. It allows me to transmit my tears of messages to the whole world and talk about what's happening around me. I have no other means to do it. You know, it's thanks to music that we're doing this interview today. I don't know how many people are gonna be able to hear my messages.

Even though, so far, I wouldn't say that my music has been able to cause a great change around me, I think it could happen one day. Even if the only thing that happens is, is people at least are aware of what's happening in Sahel, even that, for me is a huge gain, and it's crucially important. So that's why I chose music as a means as a means to transmit these messages about the situation.

Today things are changing faster and faster. I'm not the only artist transmitting messages of this type. Just in that Sahel region other bands like Tinariwen and Alpha Blondy are doing the same thing, trying to transmit messages of the revolution. Everyone's doing their best, so I want to follow that path and continue trying to do that because my ultimate objective is peace.

You can't even buy strings in the country

Youve undertaken a lot of activities to support other musicians from your local area. What are the limitations young musicians in Niger are facing?

So, as regards young musicians, I think the key thing is just giving them gear to play with just instruments, you know? Decent guitars. And the only way to get that in Niger is for someone who's travelling to bring it back. You can't even buy strings in the country. And the second thing is, we don't have any music schools here. So you need all these things.

"And regarding the music schools, it is not so much the teachings, but I would say what is key is mostly to have a place where they would be allowed to meet and be free to express themselves artistically in whatever way they want. It's quite hard to do that in Niger on a daily basis. You have to go and play and practice in the desert and then after the after that you have to head home. That's how we do it. [Both because music can be frowned upon but also because terrorists have been aiming for groups of people outside] So yeah, they really need a place to play with sophisticated instruments.

It can be difficult to meet like-minded players in any environment, let alone in those circumstances. How did you meet co-guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane?

We grew up in neighbouring villages. And every time there would be school holidays, he would come and stay at my place. And we will play together. So that's how we met. I've always thought he was very talented, even as a young artist, and he always had a strong passion for music.

At that time, when we grew up a little, I started becoming a bit more experimental than him. I had already done my first album, whereas he had left the village to study. So I started to have a bit of a name for myself, then I kind of knew the business a bit more. And I was able to acquire an acoustic guitar for him. So I gifted him his first guitar. And then around 2009 I moved to Agadez, because it was much easier for me to play music there and eventually he also moved there.

"With time, him, and other artists would come to my house and we would always eat together and spend some time and they could use my house to practise if they wanted to, so there was constantly music, where I lived. Then we started doing wedding concerts together a lot. And then it all progressed to how things are today.

In this latest album, Afrique Victime, weve developed some really complex pieces together. Were not necessarily playing in the ranges that you would expect

How would you describe your playing relationship with Ahmoudou? Where do we hear your respective styles?

Usually Im the one who sets the rhythm with the guitar. And then Ahmoudou will follow. And in particular, in this latest album, Afrique Victime, weve developed some really complex pieces together. Were not necessarily playing in the ranges that you would expect, so it took a bit more time for us to learn how to do that. But we understand each other really well, which is very helpful.

"Ahmoudou picks up extremely fast on things, which is why I feel so at ease with him. I feel very free to be able to play whatever I want and I know that Ahmoudou will be able to follow. Whereas when I play with other artists, I might play in more easily predictable ways because Im afraid that the other person will get off rhythm or not really expect it.

What tips do you have for readers who are more used to traditional rock styles and trying to learn and understand Tuareg guitar styles?

My main advice is not necessarily about specific techniques. I feel that a lot of young people today are very eager, and in a rush to become known fast. Some people think that after they start playing for a month or two they are ready to be Eddie Van Halen, or Jimi Hendrix, and go play concerts. But I feel that you have to really take the time to create your own style and your own songs and that involves hard work. It's not the right vision if you're trying to rush it.

"It's really the work that pays off and the work that's going to help you create extraordinary things. So my main advice is to have patience and take it slow.

Mdou Moctars guitar gear

Guitars: (white) left-handed Fender American Strat, (black) left-handed Fender American Strat, CME (Blue) left-handed Fender Jaguar

Amps: 2x Roland JC-120s (a Boss DD-6 is used for a slight ping delay between the two)

Pedals: D'Addario CT-20, TC Electronic Polytune 2, Boss PH-3, Earthquaker Devices Acapulco Gold, Rocktar Fuzz Pedal, Boss DD-6

You famously built your first guitar yourself. Are you still prone to tweaking or experimenting with the builds of your instruments and equipment?

Actually, when I was when I was a child, the main reason why I built my guitar was not really for fun, but just because I didn't have a choice: it was a need. Today, I don't have that need and I'm really glad that I have access to all the different styles of guitar that I might like. When I'm trying to get a specific sound with my guitar, I do experiment [but with my pedals]. I always carry with me all the different types of pedals that I have and Ill use my hands to tweak the pedals. I experiment a lot with that.

What were the main guitars used on Afrique Victime? How would you describe their sound and character?

Its hard for me to answer this question. I don't really know [the terminology]. I definitely can say that I have a white Standard Stratocaster for the electric parts. And then I have this other acoustic guitar, which I bought in New York, but I can't for the life of me remember it because it's got very weird name! And that's the one I use for Layla. For the song, Layla and Tala Tannam.

[At this point we hit the limit of our combined abilities in communicating the terminology across the language barrier and agree to get an email update on his gear list, which you can check out on the right]

I don't even know the names of the different styles of music. So for instance, the words 'jazz' and 'rock', don't mean much to me

Which of the new songs are you most proud of, in terms of your playing? I loved Afrique Victime that guitar solo feels like a real statement.

Each piece really has its own value in the way I compose it, not necessarily because they're more technical. They all have a good reason for existing and people can pick whatever style they prefer. There's definitely a few interesting solos on the album and in the track Afrique Victime, specifically, there's that long solo, which you picked up on, where I'm really trying to transmit what I feel is deep inside of me.

"Really it's a solo where my intention is for the guitar to be spitting out the sound of revolution. Then in the songs that are more focused on feelings of love, those are some simpler solos, that are a bit softer, maybe. I want people to understand that the feeling is a bit calmer, when they're listening.

Rock musics initial principles have long been confused with a culture of drink and drugs or nihilism. As a practising Muslim, what is it you identify with in rock music that feels enduringly true to your values and lifestyle?

You know, to be very honest with you, I don't even know the names of the different styles of music. So for instance, the words 'jazz' and 'rock', don't mean much to me. My music has been described that way after people have heard it and commented on it. That's what I can make out. But regarding alcohol and drinking, it seems to me that stimulants have absolutely nothing to do with music. It's just people who are making themselves suffer for nothing. So, yeah, it's completely unrelated!

I think sometimes people may believe that they play better when they're high but apart from that, it sounds to me that, you know, some people have the privilege of spending large amounts of money to go to music school, whereas other rich people seem to be paying a lot to be ill, or go crazy. Thats how it seems to me. So again, yeah, I think what really pays off in music is practising and hard work. The drugs and alcohol part seems crazy to me

Mdou Moctar'sAfrique Victome is released on 21 May via Matador. For more info visit mdoumoctar.bandcamp.com

Continued here:

Mdou Moctar: My intention is for the guitar to be spitting out the sound of revolution - MusicRadar