Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga

Structural Patterns

Reflections on Art, Technology and Society

Archive for the ‘2016 Elections’ Category

Dictator Cycle

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The series of work titled Dictator Cycle has a specific moment of inception – January 29th, 2014 when I heard that the Nicaraguan National Assembly had elected to do away with presidential term limits, effectively allowing, the current president Daniel Ortega to remain president throughout the remainder of his life.

With each manipulation of the Nicaraguan constitution by Ortega and the Sandinista party, I feel a deep sadness for the impoverished country, the birthplace of my parents and where I spent the best days of my childhood. I am also dumbfounded at the short-sightedness of the ruling party and the ignorant avarice of Daniel Ortega who will not hand over the political reigns of the country to a new generation.

Prosperity has been illusive to this small country that has suffered a long-lasting dictatorship, natural disasters, a popular revolution and seemingly inherent political corruption. If only true leaders would emerge who seeks an end to corruption and the engineering of a society striving for the well-being of all its people. Unfortunately, since the Nicaraguan National Assembly elected to eliminate presidential term limits, an end to poverty and corruption appears as distant as the worst period of the Somoza dynasty. Ortega has effectively become Somoza.

Nearly a year later, I illustrated Stalin/Putin out of anger of the increasingly draconian laws in Russia such as the “bloggers law” and “anti-gay law”. Following Stalin/Putin, I started work on the “Dictator Cycle” as an illustrative series depicting once young and noble leaders who had become corrupt autocrats unwilling to surrender power. Each “Dictator Cycle” pairing is alive today or their reign continues to have very real consequences upon the country. For example, although Gaddafi has been killed, Libya continues in disarray. Although Kim Il-sung died in 1994, his grandson Kim Jong-un is North Korea’s current supreme leader and is shown to perhaps be the most ruthless of the family dictatorship.

Get Out the Vote!

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Tomorrow – Friday, October 12th is the deadline for voter registration! But not only for voter registration, but also to change party affiliation for next year. After years of voting as an Independent and being locked out of primaries and telling myself that I need to switch out of Independent to Dem in order to have a valuable vote in NY/NYC, I made the switch online and it only took a few minutes:

Info Page:
https://www.dmv.org/ny-new-york/voter-registration.php

Direct link to voter registration:
https://voterreg.dmv.ny.gov/MotorVoter/

For U.S. citizen who now live in other countries but whose last U.S. address was in New York, email registration works.

Four steps:
1. Get your NY absentee ballot request here, pre-filled via this clever web form:
https://www.usvotefoundation.org/

2. Sign it.

3. Take a picture/make a PDF, and email that to the address provided before Friday. You should get an email confirmation back same day.

4. Mail your hard copy. This way your registration goes through even if it arrives after the Friday deadline.

WE MUST ALL VOTE TO HELP MAKE THIS “DEMOCRACY” WORK.

Written by ricardo

October 11th, 2018 at 10:06 am

The Problem With Trump

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Is that he doesn’t give a shit. He doesn’t care what you think. He doesn’t care what the law says. He doesn’t care about the history of the United States. Trump could give a flying shit about the constitution as well as the Haitians.

The problem with Trump is that he constructs his own reality at intervals. He could give a shit about reality, because he’s never had to live in reality. This is a golden spoon child, given $10 Million dollars to kick off an NYC real estate developer’s career without any clue of how the overwhelming vast majority of people live.

The problem with Trump is that WE ARE ALL SHIT HOLES.

The problem with Trump is that he has gotten the highest public service office in the United States of America without any experience or care for public service. He could give a flying fuck about public service, after all it’s work for shit holes to serve shit holes.

The problem with Trump is that he’s never had to work, he’s never had to earn a living, he’s never had to struggle.

The problem with Trump is that he has no political career to ruin as a shitty president, so he can give a flying fuck whether or not he shits on everything that this country has been built upon such as immigrants.

The problem with Trump is that he made his career as a real estate developer. He made his career as a TV producer and reality TV personality and an ego-maniac.

The problem with Trump is that he could give a flying shit about anyone other than himself and his own. He doesn’t understand public service or governance or the middle class or women or poverty or history or struggle or global citizenry or activism or ethics or morality.

And to all the white supremacist, America First, racist fucks who voted for Trump, if you are not a millionaire, you are a SHIT HOLE and he’s going to make you pay.

Written by ricardo

January 13th, 2018 at 6:31 pm

Trump Administration Fantasy League

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Donald Trump Paul Ryan Jared Kushner

I don’t play fantasy sports, not because I wouldn’t enjoy it, but more so because I’m not enough of a sports fan. I am however a measured political junky, so when I learned about the Trump Administration Fantasy League, I discovered a fantasy sport that I could find the time and interest to join! Join the Trump Administration Fantasy League by using the site’s random number generator to draft seven unique players from Trump’s administration that includes a selection of 29 players. Then track the league news via Twitter and see your players gain points! The creator of the site Matt McCaleb has been closely monitoring the latest news on the Trump administration to maintain up to date player stats!

Currently former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn is at the top of the score board at 100 points. Devin Nunes is a far second at 65 points. Trump needs to up his game as he’s only fourth at 35 points. If he launches a war against North Korea, I’m certain he’d win hands down (although I don’t see launching a war as a possible stat). The stats used to measure the value of the players include:

  • Arrested / Arrests another player 100
  • Dies / Kills another player 100
  • Resigns / Is fired 75
  • Flees jurisdiction 75
  • Turns state evidence 75
  • Prosecuted for a crime / Prosecutes another player for a crime 75

There are many more stats and some that I question the low value of such as “Fabricates information/Reveals another player’s fabrication of information” as only 10 points. The fabrication of information can of course lead to overwhelming consequences, so I feel it should be worth more. Or perhaps in the new world order, information fabrication is far too normalized to be worth much…

It’s tough to select a team, do you go for the most outspoken that may be out of the game sooner than later such as Bannon or the sleazier ones that may play the long game such as Devin Nunes? And why are Eric and Donald Jr Trump one figure?

With the current 29 players, I would select the following seven:

  1. Steve Bannon
  2. Kellyanne Conway
  3. Devin Nunes
  4. Jared Kushner
  5. Rex Tillerson
  6. Vladimir Putin
  7. and Donald Trump himself

Trump Talk

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Donald to Donald: “I am the most famous man in the world. I AM THE MOST FAMOUS MAN IN THE WORLD. I CAN DO ANYTHING! I have OVER 25 MILLION TWITTER FOLLOWERS. I AM THE MOST FAMOUS MAN IN THE WORLD! I need to have another rally!”

Steve Bannon enters the room.

Steve to Donald: “Donald, we’ve got to turn back the clock! This country is in total disarray. It’s our job to clean things up. We’ve got to stop people from illegally pouring in to our country and taking away our resources. Stealing the welfare from hard working Americans!”

Donald to Steve: “Steve, you write it up and I sign it! 100% agree! I’m here to make America great again. This is why I won by a landslide!”

Donald to Donald: “I am AMAZING!”

Steve to Steve: “My dreams will be realized! White Christian Right America once again! Ours for at least the next 50 years, perhaps a 100 years when we get the second and third terms!”

Donald to Donald: “I love this office! I need an escape to the Southern White House! I need a rally! The people need to adore me!”

Steve to Donald: “I’ll get to work and have something drafted by the morning. Oh and we need to do something about the gays. People can’t just be going into any bathroom they want! The perverts can harm the innocent.”

Donald to Steve: “Draw it up! I’ll sign it!”

Donald to Donald: “I am amazing. The people love me! RALLY!”

Written by ricardo

February 22nd, 2017 at 9:30 pm

Constructing a Christian Right White Nation

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Not My President hashtag with Trump portrait

Not My President

The underlying narrative to the many promises that Trump made to his following during the long presidential campaign was a return to the idyllic and fictive whiteness of post World War II America. This is a socially conservative and materialistic culture obsessed with modern appliances, ease of life, conformity and the centrality of white privilege… This is Trump’s America First.

So how can the current administration divert the progression of the browning of America, the progression of religious diversity, the progression of the diversification of race and gender identity?

The Trump administration hopes to do so by sealing up the border by adding to the existing wall to keep the Latinos out and by instituting the Muslim Ban. In order to veil the America First racist agenda, Trump deals in fear, because these presidential executive orders are enacted in order to protect the United States from terrorism and crime. It is well documented that no terror attacks have been enacted by citizens of the 7 targeted nations. In Trump’s America First Brown equals Terror and Whiteness equals Safety, Normality and Privilege

Written by ricardo

January 31st, 2017 at 9:16 am

Trump Greatest President Ever!

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The 2017 Presidential Inauguration inspired this mashup:

Written by ricardo

January 22nd, 2017 at 7:25 am

On This Election Day

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This morning I was up with my family at 6am to vote. We got to the Brooklyn Museum and the lines were already getting long. People were excited, looking forward to the end to this much too long presidential campaign and surprisingly, people appeared to be in good moods, even at 6am facing growing lines!

So as the work day gets started, I’d like to briefly consider the accomplishments of the last two presidents…

Last time this country elected a Republican President:

We entered in to continual war on false pretenses as there were no weapons of mass destruction.

We entered in to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression resulting in evictions, foreclosures and prolonged unemployment.

Since electing a Democratic President:

The world has a more positive image of the United States of America.

Obama ordered U.S. military forces out of Iraq.

Signed $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 to spur economic growth that has lead to the current unemployment rate of 4.9%, consistent with pre-crisis unemployment rate.

Established universal health insurance, signed the Affordable Care Act (2010) giving millions of uninsured Americans health care, a quality of life right in wealthy countries.

Signed 2009 Children’s Health Insurance Authorization Act, which allows the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover health care for 4 million more children, paid for by a tax increase on tobacco products.

Signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) to re-regulate the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession.

Eliminated Osama bin laden, something that President Bush was incapable of executing while helping send an entire region of the globe into prolonged war.

Reversed President Bush pointless Torture Policies.

Increased Support for Veterans.

Released new fuel efficiency standards in 2011 that will nearly double the fuel economy for cars and trucks by 2025.

Signed Omnibus Public Lands Management Act (2009), which designated more than 2 million acres as wilderness, created thousands of miles of recreational and historic trails, and protected more than 1,000 miles of rivers.

Written by ricardo

November 8th, 2016 at 7:00 am

A Donald Love Affair Gone Wrong

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Donald Sterling and Donald Trump

Donald Sterling Is Not Happy With Donald Trump

This is the exchange that occurs when one ego undermines the culture in power.

Written by ricardo

October 12th, 2016 at 8:08 pm

To Trump Machado Is a Product

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Trump told “Fox and Friends” it was a “real problem” when Machado gained significant weight after winning the pageant he then owned. He added that Machado was “the worst we ever had. The worst. The absolute worst. She was impossible.”

If you consider critically these words by Trump, Alicia Mechado to Trump is a product, not a human being. Based on several other claims and responses during the debate last night, Trump considers everything as a business transaction. The value of this country, the value of people, the value of cities… His concern with the murder rate of Chicago is directly related to his properties in Chicago. The fact that Trump has refused to make his taxes public and did not pay federal taxes over years is smart, after all the government would waste his money. Waste his money in public education, in public resources… Why would any middle class individual who sends their kid to public school ever vote for someone who has such disdain for social health and stability?

Written by ricardo

September 27th, 2016 at 4:22 pm