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American fascists are most easily recognized by their
deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and
propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in
the common front against fascism….
Henry A. Wallace

Hitler would have loved FOX News.

An author of ‘50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology’ discusses some of his favorite misconceptions.

Opposites attract….We use very little of our brainpower….the full moon makes you do crazy things….American culture teems with commonly accepted pop-psych beliefs. Read this article from U.S.News & World Report that discusses 5 of those myths. (READ IT HERE)

Does the full moon make you crazy?

By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer
Sun Oct 11, 3:58 am ET

MEXICO CITY – Apolinario Chile Pixtun is tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the Mayan calendar supposedly “running out” on Dec. 21, 2012. After all, it’s not the end of the world.

Or is it?

Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. “I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff.”

It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood’s “2012” opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.

At Cornell University, Ann Martin, who runs the “Curious? Ask an Astronomer” Web site, says people are scared.

“It’s too bad that we’re getting e-mails from fourth-graders who are saying that they’re too young to die,” Martin said. “We had a mother of two young children who was afraid she wouldn’t live to see them grow up.” (more…)

It was unusually warm for the beginning of November, a perfect day for any outside activity. It was one of those days that you were sure would be the last of the season. Of course all the old-timers were complaining that global warming was finally catching up to us and we were somehow going to end up paying for all this unseasonable mildness. But Milfred didn’t care, he was going to soak it all in while he could. What the hell, it’s November in Indiana. It could be snowing tomorrow.
Milfred has Mondays and Tuesdays off from his job. He’s the assistant manager at the “Electronic Shack” at the Green Ridge Mall. He’ll have eight years under his belt come January. When he’s not working at the store he spends most of his free time tinkering with gadgets that he’s made or surfing the web.
This day was different though. He was determined to spend some time outside at least until the postman came.
He piddled around in the yard for awhile. He raked a few leaves. He checked the oil in his Escort and made small talk with one of his neighbors. He was starting to get a little antsy and thought to himself, “when the hell is the stupid mailman going to get here?”. He had had enough of the nice weather crap already. There were some web sites he wanted to check out and a rented DVD that he needed to watch. Well as luck would have it his wait was nearly over. At that moment he looked up from his wristwatch and saw the Postal Service jeep coming down the street. (more…)

Tonight as is was checking some things out on the Web, I heard the neighbor’s dog barking. It’s not unusual for him to raise a little hell when he spots a cat or rabbit but this time he seemed to be much more excited than usual.

I decided to check it out in case it was a prowler (there have been some reports of suspicious people in the neighborhood lately). I clicked off the light in my bedroom and peeked through the blinds.

I could see the dog jumping and growling. He was trying his best to get over the fence. I had never seen him that upset before. (more…)

You will probably think I’m crazy for saying this, but aliens have been visiting my home for about the past three years. They have been coming at night while I sleep. I know it sounds weird but it’s true. Before you start thinking I’m some kind of nut-job let me explain. (more…)

I’ve been a level five rapid presser for almost four years now. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get a promotion. There are no better pressers on line 42, even though a few others have seniority.

I live in the “City”. I always have. As a matter of fact I’ve never been out of the City. Not even on a field trip. My grandpa went to Area Four during the Data Wars, but that was about fifty years ago.

I love my job but it’s starting to get a little boring. It’s not challenging anymore. I feel like I’m ready and able to take on some additional responsibilities. I think that I’ve outgrown my current position. I didn’t spend all that time in job-eds just to be stuck here on line 42 for the rest of my life. I want to start making a difference.

In the beginning, after I graduated and became a system worker, I thought I would just coast through life trying to do as little as possible (like in training). I figured that as long as I had a place to sleep and a full stomach everything would be okay. But as I saw and heard more about the real world and what it had to offer to those who work hard and strive to advance, I changed my mind. Now I’m not satisfied living in the middle class. Level five just doesn’t seem that exciting anymore.

For you non-tech or pre-grad readers let me explain how the system works.

Once you pass your grads exams you are evaluated and assigned to a position in the system. Most of the time an individual will be assigned to the same kind of job that his parents had when they started. There are some rare exceptions but in most cases if your father and grandfather were pressers, you will be one. About 60% of the population are pressers. Around 20% are domestics, 15% are Administrators and 5% are Top Floors.

The main function of a presser at any level is to press the button on his or her console at the
appropriate time in the cycle. There are ten levels of pressers and within each level there are three speed designations (slow, average and rapid). The level number is relative to the size of the button that the presser operates. The size of a level one button is about 3/8″ across. In comparison a level ten button is about 3″ across (or so I’ve been told). The speed designation only applies to the first five levels. Beginning with level six there is only one speed rating and that is average.

All pressers are responsible for one button. The button must be pressed at the right time in the cycle and at the right speed. Rapid pressers must press their button about once every three to four minutes. Every console has several built in safety features to help keep the presser from missing his press. There are three lights on the console for visual cues. A green light flashes when the button is ready to be pushed and the presser has forty-five seconds to press it. Once the cycle starts the red light flashes until the cycle has finished and then a yellow light flashes for about forty-five seconds before the green light comes back on and the process starts again. There are also two different audio warning signals to help prompt the presser at the appropriate time. One can only imagine how much more complicated and difficult the job would be as the size of the button increases.

At home I often look out through the port in my cubical to the residence section beyond the transport rail and dream about being there. It’s the section where the level six and sevens live. Once you make it to the other side of the rail you have it made.

I do admit that I’m a little jealous, but I guess they all deserve what they have. After all they do push a bigger button than I do.

The posters that the system put out say that we all can go as far as we want to go in the system and we all have an equal opportunity. All we have to do is work hard and follow the rules. So I figure that if I really buckle down and concentrate on “MY” button and leave all the big decisions and the rule making to the Top Floors, only good things can happen.

I should be pushing a bigger button in no time.

copyright 2006 Gary Templeton, gary@listentomelater.com