Where We Are This Week 06/09/2023

Failed TN legislation, UFOs(!), and Apple's newest, worstest product everest

I had a friend send me a podcast to listen to this week because he thought I would like it. Let me tell you, it’s nice to learn people are thinking about you. Not in a sort of narcissistic, self-gratifying way, but I have people in my life whom I think of fondly and it’s just nice when it’s reciprocated, unsolicited.

That’s why I try to tell people how I feel. We don’t have terribly long in this life so I think it might be prudent to get things out in the open while we can. But what do I know, I write half of these after midnight so anything’s possible.

But I digress, the podcast in question centered around a topic I’ve discussed several times here on the Common D. (hahaha) It focused on the conflict between the ideologies of revolution and reform; or how I’ve often framed it, pragmatism vs. idealism.

There is a definite tension between apparent reality and the one which we would build for ourselves if we had the ability; I find myself falling on either side of that coin depending on the issue at hand, but the problem is, I recognize I don’t have the wisdom to know if my solution is attainable or not.

I can’t stress enough how much we need each other. On a biological, spiritual, and ideological level, we have to continue to build and strengthen our communities. Because that’s the way - I think - that we’re able to develop real, tenable solutions as to how we move forward. So, thank you for being here with me, let’s keep going.

Rome wasn’t built in a day but the Eastern Bloc of the Soviet Union fell apart just by its people conversing. I don’t want to bore you with any more of my prognostications, so I’ll leave you with this, a line in a song I wrote in 2020 in hopes it makes some sense to you.

the world that we live in
well, it's the same one I fantasize 

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Drag’s Back

Well, it never really left.

Back in March, Governor Bill Lee signed into law the Adult Entertainment Act (AEA); the law sought to amend existing laws about ‘cabaret performances’ to explicitly include the prohibition of dressing as the opposite sex in front of minors in a prurient manner.

Look back to the local edition of Where We Are a couple of months ago for a breakdown of what the law’s effects would have been and my thoughts on the legislation.

The bill itself never took effect; a US district judge, Thomas Parker, blocked it from being enacted over concerns over its constitutionality. On June 2nd, Parker confirmed his original suspicions and struck down the proposed legislation saying that its contents were “both unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad.”

Now, before you citizens of MAGAstan launch into your remonstrations against George Soros DAs or woke judges, Parker was a Trump appointee, so you can direct your derision elsewhere - this once, at least.

Parker was, I think justifiably, in the opinion that the new law would infringe upon the first amendment rights of American citizens, and drafted his ruling adhering to Supreme Court precedent.

"Simply put, no majority of the Supreme Court has held that sexually explicit — but not obscene — speech receives less protection than political, artistic, or scientific speech," Parker’s ruling stated. He also said that it was, “substantially overbroad because it applies to public property or ‘anywhere’ a minor could be present.”

The decision conveniently - or inconveniently, depending on your persuasion -coincides with Pride month - why a whole month? - which means that during Nashville’s Pride Parade later this month, onlookers will likely be treated to a display of “taking the ball and running with it” in the form of unbridled kink and sexuality. Bring your kids!

This is essentially the result I would have expected, the conservative right got too greedy with their legislation, i.e. government overreach - and too sloppy with their language. Nevertheless, the judge’s decision will be misinterpreted by both sides of the argument; the left will see it as an affirmation of LGBTQIA+ identity politics and the right will see it as a chance to redouble their efforts in the culture war. I bet drag shows only serve Bud Lite. Mulva! Mulva!

But few will see the decision as what it is: a strict adherence to the highest standards of our constitutional rights. I’m not sure a consensus between the two parties was in the cards to begin with, but, certainly now, the fractured nature of our culture will only be exacerbated.

There’s ample room for the Tennessee legislature to redraft a bill with more specific language but whether they do that or appeal to a higher court is yet to be seen. Governor Bill Lee has not commented on the decision, and I haven’t heard from my state representative after months of trying to contact him.

One thing is for sure, though, Pride festivities statewide will only serve to escalate the discord between the two sides, and I would suspect Tennessee Republicans will emerge with a new, reinvigorated desire to pass relevant legislation. Maybe, they’ll get the wording right next time.

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Illegal Aliens

“Hey girl, are you the object of a secret government program hidden for decades from the United States public whose very existence could shatter the nature of our reality?”

“What? Why?”

“Because you’re out of this world.”

That, dear reader, is the very real, very accurate way in which I swept my wife off of her feet all those years ago. This is the story I’ll tell my grandchildren, should they ask. Now, you may be wondering how I was privy to such information when I was a teenager, and, honestly, I’d love to tell you - but I can neither confirm nor deny the provenance of my intel.

On June 5th, the Debrief broke what ought to be the biggest story in the world - maybe ever. INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS SAY U.S. HAS RETRIEVED CRAFT OF NON-HUMAN ORIGIN. That was the headline - and inconceivably, the world kept turning.

David Grusch is a military veteran of the Afghanistan war who previously served in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and has filed the necessary ‘whistleblower’ paperwork to dime on the Pentagon.

Grusch, whose credentials are irrefutable, claims that the US government for decades has had secret programs dedicated to the retrieval and reverse-engineering of ‘non-human technical vehicles.’ UFOs.

The former officer states that these programs were illegally operated without the knowledge or consent of Congress, and is taking the appropriate steps to shed light on these clandestine operations.

The story, as reported by bonafide journalists Leslie Keane and Ralph Blumenthal - the same journalist team that broke the 2017 David Fravor account - is about as sensational as it gets. The report says that the US, its allies and defense contractors aren’t the only ones who’ve pursued collecting these crafts, Grusch explains that there is a cold war of sorts amongst leading world powers aimed at decoding the foreign technology behind these vehicles.

Grusch doesn’t mention whether or not there has been successful reverse-engineering of these objects but analysis has revealed that they are, “of exotic origin (non-human intelligence, whether extraterrestrial or unknown origin) based on the vehicle morphologies and material science testing and the possession of unique atomic arrangements and radiological signatures.” It’s eerily similar to Bob Lazar and his testimony.

He’s not alone - apparently, neither are we - in his claims that these programs exist. Jonathan Grey, an officer with top-secret credentials who currently works for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center echoed his statements.

“The non-human intelligence phenomenon is real. We are not alone,” Grey said. “Retrievals of this kind are not limited to the United States. This is a global phenomenon, and yet a global solution continues to elude us.”

Additionally, Grusch told NewsNation that machinery wasn’t the only thing recovered by these agencies. “Well, naturally, when you recover something that’s either landed or crashed. Sometimes you encounter dead pilots and believe it or not, as fantastical as that sounds, it’s true,” he said. Wait, what?

Let’s recap. A government official has claimed that the US is in possession of multiple non-human craft and non-human pilots and the rest of us have continued about our lives as if nothing abnormal was reported.

What should be wall-to-wall coverage of this story has been a relative dull roar. If anything, the article goes to show that legacy media coverage is available to the highest bidder; despite Congress planning on an investigation into Grusch’s claims, the Pentagon holds firm that there is no such evidence to corroborate the story and will be fighting the release of any confidential information by tooth and nail.

But, why now? If multiple government agencies and nations across the globe have been dedicated to this enterprise for 80 years, as Grusch states, how have they managed to keep it a secret for this long?

I would hardly characterize the US government as competent so keeping something of this proportion under wraps for close to a century is almost as mind-blowing as the revelation itself.

Edward Snowden has said that, before he went the way of the whistleblower himself, when he had access to virtually everything the US government would have wanted kept secret, he found no evidence of aliens or anything like what this latest report states.

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent whole my life wishing it to be true that I’ve suddenly turned skeptic.

In my early 20s, my dad and I went hiking in the Tetons; it was my first time in big mountains like that. Before we left, I wanted desperately to see a grizzly bear. However, at 10,000 feet elevation, that animal was the last thing I wanted lurking around the corner - spoiler alert, it was lurking around the corner. Maybe, it’s that.

I don’t want or not want it to be aliens, I don’t need it to be. I just want the truth - but even that seems more outlandish than the alternative, doesn’t it?

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An apple a day keeps everyone away

Earlier this week, Apple unveiled its newest product in its growing lineup amid great furor. The tech company launched its 34th Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, the weeklong forum that is used to tease the release of new operating systems across several devices.

But what was much anticipated and much rumored was that Apple would finally be bringing to market their augmented reality/virtual reality product. Well, on Monday, during the keynote, it made its debut, the Apple Vision Pro.

It’s here, it’s really here! As you can tell, I can hardly contain my excitement for this pair of overpriced ski goggles. The newest line in the Apple family is an AR/VR headset that brings your apps to life - and beyond! - just what every consumer was clamoring for.

The Apple Vision Pro is unique to other VR headsets as it allows the user to look through the headset and see their surroundings, unaltered, but with a tap of a button, the apps of your iPhone are brought before you in three dimensions. Users can project movies and dim the lights all inside the system, and have the ability to make the experience as immersive as they wish.

Don’t get me wrong, the technology is incredibly impressive, and while we don’t have flying cars or teleportation, that Jetsons’/Star Trek future we were promised is nearing ever-closer. They just didn’t tell me it would be so depressing.

Never have I wanted a product launch from this company to fail as much as I have this one - I take that back, maybe the Apple savings account that launched a few weeks ago. But still, if these end up flying off the shelves once they hit the market, we’re a failed civilization.

I mean, it does make sense that a company that has to put nets around their manufacturing facilities to prevent their workers from killing themselves on the job would want to provide consumers an escape from reality, but the experiences depicted in the promotional video are dystopic and bleak.

During the nine-minute presentation, I kept waiting for it to tell me this groundbreaking technology would offer opportunities to share and connect with your partner or friends.

But, no, it’s meant for you. Alone. In your room.

Did the pandemic forever alter how we feel about our fellow humans? Are people back to hugging again?

If you video call a family member while you’re wearing this device, you see them in 3D, but they see this pseudo-realistic avatar of you mirroring your expressions. Nothing says I love you like a simulacrum with a dead smile on its cartoon face.

Friends, Romans, comrades, this is not the way. Let’s resist the urge to cloister ourselves in digital bunkers, marooned on an island of our own design. Did I just describe Animal Crossing?

I’ll tell anyone who will listen that I think my generation, and certainly, our children’s, will be presented with a stark dichotomy of ways they can live. With the rapid onset of AI and the inevitability of technologies like NeuralLink and virtual reality, I think that Frostian fork in the road might be a whole lot sooner than I previously anticipated.

As Father John Misty reminded us in the closing line of Pure Comedy, “I hate to say it, but each other’s all we’ve got.”

To a better next week.

Cheers,

~FDA