Wed - October 8, 2003

California Über Alles


Wherein our narrator witnesses the passing of the torch to a new generation. Of Kennedys.

He gave a short speech, and a better showing - and not just in votes - than any other candidate this evening. Tom McClintock was gracious, because he has his eyes on Barbara Boxer's senate seat, up next year. Cruz Bustamante went onstage at 9 PM and was still talking at 10:30, and it wasn't clear to me that he actually ever conceded. (I'm still not sure he has.) Fortunately CNN cut him off when they realized he was just blathering on and on and on. Gray Davis actually looked happier in his loss than he ever looked during the campaign - almost ebullient. Perhaps he could feel the level of hatred that had been building since the electricity crisis of 2001 (as a Los Angeleno, with my own, municipal power company, I never felt the pinch, or the rate hikes), and the dot-com crash, and the persistent recession lift off his shoulders. Onto someone else with undeniably broader shoulders, tested against a heavier load. Of free weights.

I'm relieved too. It's over. That in itself is actually something that's sweet to savor; the temporary insanity that swept through California over the last 77 days is over. It has, perhaps, been replaced by a more lasting form of the illness, as a man that most would acknowledge as a single-minded megalomaniac assumes the mantle of office. All hail Arnold Schwartzenegger, Governor of the State of California.

Let's be clear about this: we Californians have taken the SUV of the political process and driven straight off the map. This is not Ronald Reagan, who was well versed in political affairs before he became governor. Yes, Arnold ran a successful initiative campaign back in 2002, and that does count for something. But we must admit that we have elected a man purely on the basis of his box-office appeal. There were no issues he stood for, no promises made (save repealing the car tax, which he has the power to do) but while that might have condemned another candidate to obscurity, in Arnold his complete lack of authority is a positive asset. He is the Californian tabula rasa, the blank slate upon which we can project all of our California dreaming.

I am Governor Terminate
My aura smiles
I never wait
Soon I will be president

Davis power will soon go away
I will be Fuhrer one day
I will command all of you
Your kids will bodybuild in school

California Uber Alles
Uber Alles California

Zen fascists will control you
100% natural
You will jog for the master race
And always wear the happy face

Close your eyes, can't happen here
Big Bro' on white horse is near
The robots won't come back you say
Fall in line or you will pay

California Uber Alles
Uber Alles California

Now it is 2004
Knock knock at your front door
It's the suede/denim secret police
They have come for your uncool neice

Come quitely to the camp
You'd look nice as a drawstring lamp
Don't you worry, it's only a shower
For your clothes here's a pretty flower

Die on organic poison gas
Serpent's egg's already hatched
You will crack, you little clown
When you mess with Terminator

California Uber Alles
Uber Alles California

etc, etc. It's just too easy to twist a few lyrics, here and there, and end up with something interesting.

Nightline is just finishing up, and I'm through listening to Ted Koppel, et. al, explain why governing California won't be easy, particularly when both houses of the legislature are ruled by the opposite party. But that's presuming that the Governor-elect is cast in the same mold as any other politician they've seen before. He isn't. He is ruled by charisma, and while politicians may understand the ego-drive, charisma is rare (as I reported last evening) and will affect the entire political process in weird & unpredictable ways. Let me state it again: we have driven off the map, and everything we thought we knew ain't necessarily so.

In some way, the most interesting image of the evening was the stage where Arnold made his victory speech, crowded as it was with Shirvers and Kennedys, so many that he claimed the stage was actually full with them. Given the way the Kennedys breed, he probably wasn't far off the mark. In conversation with my friend Steven, another longtime political junkie, we noted that perhaps this was the new evolution of the Kennedy political power base. Now that the Democrats seem to be in decline, they're branching out into the territory of moderate Republicans. It's a smart move, because the political polarization (covered in "The Civil WarS") has deprived American politics of a vital center. And if the country doesn't disintegrate into civil war, the center is the place to be. The Kennedys, despite all their liberal posturing, have always been centrist Democrats, and this slight move to the right means that the family political dynasty is staking out new territory in the universe next door. An Anschluss, of sorts, of a next-door neighbor.

Which is why the Shrivers and Kennedys were all smiling so broadly tonight. They are moving Right. And West.

Posted at 12:23 AM    

Tue - October 7, 2003

No One Receiving


Wherein the narrator receives furtive communications with the Embassy in question.

I checked my voice mail at noon today. A message had arrived about 45 minutes before from a woman named Beth, at the Australian Embassy in DC. Whoooheee! FORWARD MOTION! She asked that I return her call. So I did.

And got voice mail. I left a message, and my number at my father's in San Diego. And I waited a little bit. Decided I'd have a nice AV chat with my friend Dan up in Martinez. Asked him if he'd voted. (He had.) And waited. Then I called again, and left another VM. My sister called and I got her off the line, and used the fax line. (Thankfully my father has two phone lines.)

Waited another 10 minutes, and called again. Waited 10, called again. Etc.

In total, I left four VM messages for this "Beth", and called maybe 10 times, until 2:30 PM (closing time for the embassy in DC) when I called just once more, at 3:00 PM - just in case "Beth" might be working late.

Nothing, nothing, nothing. It appears that they can send calls from the embassy, but they can't actually receive them.

What kind of B.S. is this? Is it enough that I've been waiting five weeks for a visa? Or are there more hoops left to jump through? If the message had been somewhat more informative, I could have perhaps done something to answer any questions they might have, etc., but since the message revealed basically no information WHATSOEVER, not only am I left hanging, I'm left WASTING EVEN MORE TIME.

Thanks DIMIA. Thanks so very much.

I can only hope that this has been inspired by some pressure from Canberra - brought on by Peter Giles (kudos to him) - and that the pressure will continue until the matter is resolved successfully. Though at this point, all I have is hope, because right now, the embassy is just transmitting. There's no one receiving.

Posted at 07:17 PM    

Revelation No. 9


Wherein our narrator has a flash of understanding.

Just now, watching Nightline - entirely about tomorrow's recall election (or more accurately, today's recall election) - I realized that the battle of Davis vs. Schwartzenegger is the age old battle of routine versus charisma. Gray Davis is the embodiment of routinized power, the faceless bureaucrat who works behind the scenes, doing his best to close the gaps in the functioning of power.

For that reason alone I should hate him, and vote YES on the recall. But, but, but...

Then there is Ahnold, the very embodiment of charisma. Movie stardom is the modern concretization of charisma, and Ahnold has been a household name - far beyond his box office, actually - for nearly two decades. He's played semi-divine heroes (Conan), avenging angels (T2), demons (Terminator), and so on and so forth. Movies are mythic vehicles, and it's all too easy to conflate the actor with the myth. (Expect a cult of Keanu/Neo to spring up before too long.)

Just a month ago I penned "McBurners," a polemic which argued for the charismatic over the routinized, argued (perhaps romantically) that a return to original values was what Burning Man earnestly needed to recover it authenticity. And now Ahnold is using the same argument: a return to the authenticity of government by throwing the bastards out, and electing him, their hero, to highest office. He is doing battle - against Davis, the LA Times, ABC News, et. alia, - fighting the heroic uphill struggle to inevitable, eventual, total victory. A struggle. In Ahnold's native tongue, Ein Kampf. Or, in Arabic, jihad.

It's one of the oldest stories in the world - bubbling up from Gilgamesh and before - and touches deeply at the core of each of us, the eternal inner struggle between the anarchist, who rules only himself, and the mommy-daddy complex, who wants to comply with the dictates of an external authority.

Because charisma has mostly been abandoned in American politics - at least, since the assassination of Kennedy - we rarely see this bright star shining in the political firmament. Charisma is dangerous, it's inconstant, uncontrollable. And politics is all about control, so politics have driven charisma away - and given us its logical compliment in Gray Davis.

I don't know how the election is going to go, but I have a feeling in my gut, similar to the one I had in November 1980. I was a month too young to vote in the general election, and though I would have voted for independent candidate John Anderson, I secretly wanted Reagan to triumph over Jimmy Carter, because Reagan had at least a touch of the charisma that Carter, the archetype of the routinized technocrat, so visibly lacked. I hungered in my gut for some sort of great change.

And so Carter was swept aside, and so the world did change. I believe I will see it happen again, tomorrow. Today.

Posted at 12:59 AM    

Mon - October 6, 2003

The Highest Levels


Wherein our narrator gets a spot of news, and learns nothing of any value.

I've just heard from Peter Giles, my sponsor at AFTRS. Here's what he had to say:

Mark,
had an update from Canberra Immigration. They say it's highly irregular for this
process to take so long - also asked why we didn't do an online application as
they are generally faster (from my recollection, because I was sponsoring you
this wasn't an option for us).

Anyway, they are chasing it up with Washington - I've forwarded copies of all
the documents to them. I'll let you know as soon as I hear any more.

Peter

So there it is. I've firing off shots into the dark of the Australian Embassy in Washington DC, and Peter is being told that this never should have taken as long as it has. I presume inquiries are being made. Constantly. But I have no proof of it. And its interesting to note that Canberra said we could have handled this all on-line. Because we couldn't. This isn't a tourist visa, this is a long-stay business visa, and has to be approved by the Australian Embassy. Or so we have been led to believe.

I have this weird, nagging suspicion that the Australian Embassy actually sent everything back via USPS and it's sitting on a table in my home, waiting for me to open it up. If that happens, I'll be very chagrined - because who knows how long it's been there. Of course, this could only be true if the Embassy ignored the FedEx packaging I conveniently sent along for the return of my visa & passport. And since the tracking number hasn't been activated, I really don't know what to say. Perhaps the Embassy doesn't use FedEx, and doesn't know how to send a FedEx package? That seems incredibly unlikely - particularly since they probably do lots of business in America - but it is possible.

I don't know. I could run this scenario any of a thousand different ways, and always come up with confusing answers. I don't know that there are any answers, or that any will ever be offered to my satisfaction. Only that everyone is confused - including myself.

And what else is there to say? Right now, nothing.

Posted at 07:19 PM    

Sun - October 5, 2003

The Civil WarS


Wherein our narrator, trapped in a Kafka-esque limbo, between hither and yon, meditates on the Shape of Things.

Here we are, 2 days before the Election. And it's forced some issues into the spotlight that might otherwise not be seen clearly. Because this is an accidental election, because it could not be recast into any of the normal modes which causes reality to be obscured by rhetoric, some things have become clear. Rage. Fear. The desire, above all, for change.

What change remains to be seen. Because of the collapse of consensus that began in the late 1970s, with the rise of the evangelical Right wing in American politics - which equates liberalism with Satanism - the center has not held. It may well be that Bill Clinton was the last centrist leader this country will ever be able to elect. And he was impeached by that same "vast right-wing conspiracy" which thought his own indiscretions clearly highlighted the importance of moral, Christian leadership. That led to the furious battle of election 2000, decided by a handful of votes in a single state. The Florida recount illustrated how broad the divide in politics had become - that it had become an uncrossable chasm, not of politics, but of world-views. One half believes the other half is on its way to hell. The other half believes that the right-wing is creating that hell, immenatizing the Eschaton, to bring the Rapture, Apocalypse and Judgment.

All righty. Yes, that's definitely the reductio ad absurdum of the argument, but that's the point - there is no longer any middle ground. All that's left are the end points.

So where does that leave us?

Politics has finally been caught up in Singularity. Although Toffler pointed out the increasing desynchronization between our democratic institutions and our technical capabilities (which in turn influence language and thought) a quarter of a century ago in The Third Wave, it's only been in the past few years - probably when 9/11 woke us from single vision and Clinton's Sleep - that the great mass of the body politic have begun to sense the horror (and terror) of the situation. It's still an inchoate feeling. No one has been able to put voice to it, and no one knows where it is all going. Right now, political leaders are going on as if nothing has changed, bravely whistling past the graveyard, for fear of giving away the game: that there is no governor, anywhere.

We've entered the Thelemic era, naked, cross-eyed and painless, completely without a clue.

One of my friends - working for the Kusinich campaign - tells me that I need to work for progressive change, that the tide can be turned back, that we can return to a liberal America which, as near as I can tell, never really existed. Of course, she tells me that we've got to work to make that dream a reality, but I think that the part of America who equates liberalism with Satanism will, when threatened by liberalism, agressively move into invoking their own Apocalypse, something that will seem more like real civil war than anything that happened 140 years ago.

I know why the Europeans consider us a young country, why they consider us innocent. It has nothing to do with the fact that no major wars have been fought on our soil (other than at our own hands, of course). It has to do with the fact that we've had no religious wars. Consider the 30 years war in Germany. At the end, the population of Germany was less than when it started. Consider the Dutch, who fought a hundred years of wars, Catholic versus Protestant, before they finally emerged into pluralism. Or the Swiss, who fought wars for half a millennium. And the Spanish, and the French, and the English, and on and on and on. All of Western Europe fought the battles between faith and governance long before the Modern Era.

Only America and the Islamic world are fighting this battle today. And it's tearing both civilizations apart.

Is there any way out of this mess? I keep on telling folks that I want to go spend some time in Australia - particularly if W. wins next November - because I think America has to go through this process. It needs to fight this war, grapple with the full dimension of the horror of killing your brother because of his beliefs, before this will finally be excised from our political systems. It needs to be beaten into us with a rod, because the carrot of the Constitution hasn't worked. And since I've already gotten the message, I don't think I need to stick around for the Stark Fist of Removal.

I've been to the end; I don't need to see an instant replay.

Posted at 12:32 PM    

Fri - October 3, 2003

Silence is Smoldering


Wherein the narrator spends another day hiding in San Diego, waiting for someone to tell him where to go, while his domicile disintegrates.

Some dates are good, some are bad. Last evening's was fairly boring and let's leave it there.

Around 8 PM I got email from Leslie - who is staying at my place while I'm away (not that I'm actually away, yet) - and he informed me that the toilet had sprung a leak. Every time he flushed, the bathroom gushed with water. And the crack in the ceiling at the bottom of the stairs is getting scarier. So I called the super, who sent some workers over this morning. They fixed the toilet, but it'll be a bit harder to handle the problem at the base of the stairs. I expect I may return to Casa Pesce tomorrow to find all sorts of stuff torn up. We'll see. I might even take some pictures.

Anyway, back to the situation viz. the visa. Nothing. Nada. Silencio. Despite the statement in the automated response email that inquiries will be responded to within 24 hours, I haven't heard a word from the Australian Embassy. So now I'm beginning to wonder: is anyone working there? Are they actually processing visa requests? Is it possible to get a work visa to Australia? It may be that this is a sort of political football, that the Howard government is so paranoid about "guest workers" that even those of us INVITED by the Australian government (AFTRS is a national school) can't actually get permission to work in Australia. It may be.

Or I just might be paranoid.

And it's not that I hate being here in San Diego. I'm eating my way through my father's rather substantial supply of Costco-acquired foodstuffs, watching his cable TV, and driving his car. Sweet. But I'm not sixteen, so all of this has limited appeal, particularly as it's feeling a bit more like purgatory than a rest stop.

The latest commercial for Ahnold has voice-over narration which goes something like this:

An extraordinary man
At one with the people
A government for the people
For a change

The ultimate power
Still rests in the hands of the people.

Although the Nazi revelations have been popping up since Ahnold announced his candidacy, in view of the latest ad - which seems more Goebbels than Rove (the difference is subtle, but noticeable) - I'm even more worried than before. Particularly as it does look as though I will be here on Wednesday morning, when California wakes up from its Recall rave, and realizes, without all the MDMA floating around its nervous system, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to hand over the keys to the car to someone who maybe doesn't even know how to drive.

But whatever. I look at it this way: it's one more reason to get the hell out of here. If I'm allowed to.

On the upside, I'm loving this iBlog software. Truly loving it. It may actually help me keep some sort of record of my life. Not that it's going to be interesting to anyone else, but, well, we all know I love seeing my words in print.

And a spot of good news: Logan, a 10 year old son-of-one-of-my-oldest-friends has gone into complete remission after his first treatment for leukemia. Just as the doctor said he would. He's not entirely out of the woods yet, but it's encouraging...

Posted at 03:46 PM    

Thu - October 2, 2003

Waiting is the Hardest Part


Wherein the embassy is contacted, and little results, but the meds appear to be working.

It's been 4 weeks and 2 days since the Australian Embassy has received my form 456 request for a Sponsored Long-Term Business Visa. Since they have confirmed receipt of my documentation, I have not heard from them. I tried calling two weeks ago, and was told - politely - to fuck off until 4 weeks had passed.

Which they have.

Not that I got any more love from the embassy today. Now I learn that the number I've been given is the visa division's call center. No one there can actually answer any questions. They can handle my issues if I have an emergency (I don't) or if I have plane reservations (which I have refrained from making, lacking a visa, but this now seems a reasonable way to scam the system), but otherwise, they can't do anything until the embassy contacts me. Which they have not done. However, I do get an email address - dimia-washington@dfat.gov.au - to which I promptly send the following email:

My name is Mark Pesce, I submitted a Form 456 Sponsored Long-Term Business Visa request at the beginning of September; I received notification of receipt a week later, and was informed that average visa processing time is 4 weeks. This time period has elapsed, and I am wondering if I can get any information reguarding when the visa will be granted. My receipt is 45382. You may contact me via email or by phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Mark Pesce

Anyway, about 30 minutes later, I get a response:

THIS IS AN AUTOMATED RESPONSE

Thank you for contacting the Department of Immigration and Multicultural
and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA).

Please note that our website contains general information on visas and
migration to Australia along with forms and instructions for lodging an
application in all visa subclasses. If the answer to your query is
contained on our website, you will NOT receive a response from this
mailbox.

Additionally, please bear in mind that we are unable to provide advice on
which visa category you should apply under. This is a matter for you to
determine. The relevant information sheets, application forms, booklets and
websites contain all of the information you require to self assess whether
or not you are likely to be eligible for a particular type of visa. If your
query is not addressed on our website (http://www.austemb.org) or the
department website (http://www.immi.gov.au), we will endeavour to respond
within 24 hours.

Mark Pesce
<mark@playfulwor To: DIMIA-Washington@DFATL
ld.com> cc:
Subject: Visa status inquiry
02/10/2003 02:53
PM





My name is Mark Pesce, I submitted a Form 456 Sponsored Long-Term Business
Visa request at the beginning of September; I received notification of
receipt a week later, and was informed that average visa processing time is
4 weeks.  This time period has elapsed, and I am wondering if I can get any
information reguarding when the visa will be granted.  My receipt is 45382.
You may contact me via email at mark@playfulworld.com, or by phone at
XXX-ZZZ-YYYY.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Mark Pesce

Wow. The cockles of my heart are truly warmed by this amazing display of automated bureaucracy. Now at least I know that a computer at the Embassy has read my request for information. That's great.

On the good side of things my attack of Swimmer's Ear seems to be on the mend. While my ear canal seems to be nearly swollen shut, I'm no longer in any real pain - which is a good thing. The doctor had me bump my ear-drops from 2x daily to 4x daily for a 24 hour period - which is expiring as I write this. I don't know if the drops themselves could be causing the swelling - they contain steroids, which may be a problem - but if the swelling continues through tomorrow, I'll give the doctor a call and ask him whether we shouldn't be doing something about it.

And tonight, if I'm lucky, I'll get laid. Whee! If that happens, well, I'll put it down.

Posted at 03:57 PM    

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