Eamon Loingsigh's Blog, page 2

Rant On A Corporate Oligarchy

Like a lot of people I watched pro-Palestinian protesters get bludgeoned on my work computer. I was in the office with a bunch of others who, with the tension of a horror movie, stayed silent about it. We were at work, of course, where we don’t have a constitutional right to free speech. So we ignore the silent screams.

Thankfully, the student protesters have remained mostly peaceful, even as they are attacked from all angles. In their actions they appeal to the traditional humanitarian in us, which was based on the Enlightenment in the west. But those days might be considered officially behind us now. Again, judging by actions, the United States has finally overcome the democratic value of humanism. Now, to the protesters’ pain and dismay, we all see that the value system of a corporate oligarchy has transformed the American moral doctrine.

In Israel, Palestinians have no rights. Therefore no rights are violated when they are murdered. They are animals, as we have heard Israeli government officials describe them. And American citizens pay for such a value system? And still call themselves humanitarian?

We have been transforming, shedding our old skin. Across many sectors, we are different now. More than ever, we live our lives as if we are at work. Ignoring silent screams under a corporate oligarchy’s value system. Less than ever do we live under the value system outlined in the Constitution, inspired by the Enlightenment.

There is a new doctrine being enforced. A doctrine that no longer occupies a moral high ground. Even its most important figures such as the President of the United States of America no longer pretends that this country’s policy is based on humanism. Modernism is dying off. More and more we live in a postmodern world where there are no universal themes such as humanism. Now there are only collectives. The strongest collectives win. The weaker are bludgeoned, like we see on campuses.

It’s time to accept that the Age of Reason has now passed into history. We have crossed a threshold. And for many, this is a sign of moral decline. As the 2024 election is now in full swing, roughly half of the country supports a dictator for a corporate oligarchy. The other half supports a figurehead for a corporate oligarchy. Take your pick. Both are occupied and embrace it.

A corporate oligarchy would have us all fight each other over race, gender, abortion, Taylor Swift, sporting events and other cultural issues. But not money. By acting against Israel, the current student protest movement came to realize that in reality they had bumped into money, the lifeblood of a corporate oligarchy. And the protesters were dealt with brutally.

What does that say about US education? That it too has been subjugated by a corporate oligarchy? Yes, higher education has been transitioning too and is now so thoroughly enveloped in the capitalist value system that its presidents are mere fundraisers since it is now forced to survive in the free market. Not to be run by a bunch of professors who have no business sense. This transition has been long in the making and is now bare naked in front of us.

But the transition of higher education is not an anomaly. Patterns and similarities can be found elsewhere.

Politicians are actors now, playing the part a corporate oligarchy would have them play. Waving in the funds from the country’s valuable tax revenue. Blocking bills that have no value to a corporate oligarchy. Politicians are rhetoricians again, like a barefoot Cicero in Washington. Framing all arguments on stage in front of us as if they were literally implementing Bertrand Russell’s Emotive Conjugation. Our disagreement among each other being a corporate oligarchy’s opportunity. And when a majority of citizens want reasonable gun laws, it doesn’t happen because of the gun lobby. When a majority of citizens want a ceasefire to stop a genocide with its tax money, it doesn’t happen because of the Israel lobby.

It’s been many years since the Frankfurt School proclaimed that media and entertainment would turn into a Culture Industry. An industry owned by a corporate oligarchy to spread messages that benefit them. And suppress messages that don’t, before they even get out to see the light of day. And all in the good name of art.

In Citizens United the Supreme Court chose the liberty of corporations over the equality of US citizens. This has weighted the balance of influence in favor of corporate interests by allowing them to control legislators and elections by dangling much-needed blood money for their campaigns to survive. Yes, our representatives too are forced to survive in the free market, which is the value system of a corporate oligarchy.

Media has transitioned too. Ownership has merged and been bought out by the corporate sector over many years to the point that its values no longer are concerned about educating the public, but rather improving ratings with click bait, sensationalism and the framing of arguments that must first serve the interests of the ownership class. Objectivity, another modern Enlightenment-era backstop against the accumulation of power has folded to the postmodernist notion that there is no such thing as objectivity. And that there is only individual subjectivity through the perspective of your ethnic or religious group.

A coup has taken place, and we have barely noticed. A corporate oligarchy owns the media to frame arguments in their favor. A corporate oligarchy owns the entertainment industry to offset our frustration of having to work in a corporate oligarchy. A corporate oligarchy bombards us with advertisements which promote a morality that benefits it. A corporate oligarchy determines who will represent us and what stance they take on issues. A corporate oligarchy educates us at school. Everywhere a corporate oligarchy influences and enforces its brand of morality. And when citizens protest this, the police are called in, the courts are summoned, laws are passed, the media frames the arguments and entertainment is encouraged to divert attention.

All to the benefit of a corporate oligarchy.

Democracy Jones: Consummation

Shanachie51 Press and artofneed Productions are extraordinarily happy to announce that the second book in the Democracy Jones series, Democracy Jones: Consummation will be released during the Summer of 2024.

Consummation picks up a few days after the traumatic events of 7/13. Haisley is in the makeshift infirmary at Ellington High School, Captain Dick is now Gen. Schenk’s appointed Magistrate for Ellington Township and is in charge of both the Crassus Gang and 82nd Regiment BATAs, Abra is essentially a prisoner of the BATAs in town, De’ontay is among a group of survivors from Golden Door Estates who escaped to the Everglades and Zeke is hunting them down while communicating with the BATAs at Checkpoint Six and Captain Dick back in Ellington.

The terror that visited Ellington, and all suburbs across the USA on 7/13, actually gets worse in what can be called the arrival of a post-apocalyptic era. Confusion after 7/13 is compounded by the undisciplined actions of BATAs everywhere, who took it upon themselves to settle personal scores in their respective towns. Gen. Schenk’s dictatorship in Washington begins by creating a proscription list of his enemies who survived 7/13 and are to be killed on the spot. Across the country those survivors fled to open areas such as the Berkshire Mountains of the Northeast, the deserts of the Southwest, the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia, the national forests of the Northwest and the Everglades in Florida. Starving, injured and traumatized, these survivors begin the long and grueling path to restore democracy in the United States, even as their mission is fraught with doubt.

The Consummation Soundtrack , which accompanies the Democracy Jones: Consummation novel, will continue to be updated with new songs over the next few months. Check out the first song, Battle of the Scapegoats .

The Democracy Jones book series, which includes the audiobook versions, was planned for four books. Democracy Jones: 7/13, which is available now, is the first book. Democracy Jones: Consummation will be the second book.

We hope to publish the third and fourth books in the series, but that depends on you, the readers and listeners of this series. If you would like to see more books published in this series, please tell your friends why it is important, share it on social media and of course, please consider purchasing them.

If you are on Reddit, we are happy to see that a few fans created a sub explicitly for discussion of the book series at r/democracyjones. Feel free to check it out.

Please refer to the 7/13 Bible for detailed information about the Democracy Jones universe.

Thank you,

Shanachie51 Press & artofneed Productions

Corruption and Legitimacy

Two foreign countries, Israel and Russia, are influencing American public opinion and policy through their respective intelligence agencies.

In December, the New York Times ran a story called Screams Without Words, which detailed sexual crimes against Israeli women by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The article has since been debunked and found to have been researched and written by an Israeli Defense Force soldier and her in-law. Too late though, the damage has been done as Israel has the support of the United States to eliminate Hamas while slaughtering Palestinian civilians.

At the same time, Republican members of Congress who refuse to pass funding for Ukraine, and also defend Donald Trump, initiated impeachment proceedings against President Biden and his son based on information provided by Russian intelligence. This too has been proven to be false, and yet the damage has been done in smearing Biden and justifying Trump’s candidacy even though he instigated an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

These two current examples show that foreign interference in American policy and opinion is out in the open, and will influence the 2024 Presidential election through fake news from America’s “paper of record” and official Congressional lies.

As outlined in Back Circle Theory, this type of corruption degrades American democracy by casting doubt on the legitimacy of its media and its government.

Legitimacy is a basic condition for the use of power by a legally constituted government, and it is a lot more important than most people recognize. If Americans lose confidence in the ability of the media and government to be fair, and is instead proven to be corrupt, then it opens the door for more partisanship, mob violence and can lead to civil war or a coup.

“As the values of the government’s actors become increasingly politicized, legitimacy becomes a cancer that both sides compete against each other for a treatment. . . This back and forth of both sides claiming the other’s treatment is illegitimate. . . intensifies, enabling the cancer to metastasize until legitimacy itself dies.”* 

The best way to combat the corruption that leads the country’s institutions to lose its legitimacy in the eyes of its citizenry, is for the public to be aware of this so that it supports the Constitution’s system of checks and balances of the accumulation of power. This is done by forcing the media and its Congressional representatives to admit to wrongdoing, pay a price for the wrongdoing (accountability) and outline how they will do better in the future.

Please, do some research on these two topics of foreign intelligence interference. Tell your coworkers and friends and post about it on social media. Our democratic legitimacy is at stake.

Eamon Loingsigh

Rhetoric – Software for Neural Chips

What is an End-fluencer?

Free Audible Promo Codes, Democracy Jones: 7/13

If you’re on Audible and interested in the science fiction-horror genre, artofneed Productions & Shanachie51 Press is giving away Audible Promo Codes for Democracy Jones: 7/13.

This is a limited time offer, so please act fast. Democracy Jones: 7/13 has been getting a lot of interest lately, and we have one last giveaway that will be ending soon. The only thing we ask in return is that you write a short review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

To get the codes, email: artofneed@gmail.com

Audiobook – Democracy Jones: 7/13

Science fiction-horror novel, Democracy Jones: 7/13 is now available on Audible and Amazon as an audiobook.

This highly original novel, which tackles today’s most important issues concerning democracy, is revolutionizing the art of sound in motion. This is not like any novel you have ever listened to before. With its own original soundtrack, sound effects and voice acting for each character, Democracy Jones: 7/13 is paving the way for a new style of storytelling to shake up a stagnant market where money and influence damage the originality of the writer’s intention.

If you’re looking for something different, from an award-nominated author, Democracy Jones: 7/13 is a great place to start. Go to Audible for a wonderfully original experience.

The mind-blowing science fiction-horror novel, Democracy Jones: 7/13

Description: In the tradition of George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World comes a deep warning that if current behaviors continue, democracy in the United States could fall in an eerily similar fashion as the Roman Republic did over 2,000 years earlier. Collective narcissism by competing ideologies leads to fighting in Congress, assassinations and mob violence until the escalation reaches its natural conclusion, civil war or even a coup. The effect of which lands squarely on normal, law-abiding citizens and families who become displaced, are forced to choose a side and overwhelmingly suffer the consequences of living under the authoritarianism of an empire that grows out of the ashes of democracy.

Haisley & De’ontay are starting a new family in Ellington, a small American town

Captain Dick is the Chief of Police there, and his wife Emily is the mayor

Abra is the five year-old daughter of a rich, politically-partisan donor in town

Zeke is a revenge-driven townie whose business was cancelled by Abra’s father

They are all swept up in the tumult at 4pm on Friday the 13th of July, 2040 when Alexander Schenk, a five star general, uses a breakthrough software technology for neural chips called Rhetoric for his own benefit. With Rhetoric, General Schenk plans and executes a military coup that will change the face of America forever.

But it’s not too late. Well before the coup takes place, Haisley Jones had been chosen by Rhetoric’s creator to offset General Schenk. Now she must learn to harness its power in order to save democracy.

The countdown begins.

Reviews for Democracy Jones: 7/13

Since Democracy Jones: 7/13 was published on, you guessed it, July 13, reviews are now starting to trickle in. Here are some highlights so far:

Annika Nilsson on Goodreads was REALLY paying attention! Check out how well they articulated the themes and subtext.

scifi-horror novel Democracy Jones: 7/13 is available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and Paperback

ANNIKA NILSSON’S REVIEW: Even though this book takes place in 2040, it is a deep critique of the current American socio-political condition. I hadn’t realized that at first. Literally, I just ran across someone’s Instagram story about a goodreads giveaway and decided to give the book a read since I liked the cover. I had no idea I was getting a knowledgeable deconstruction of the effects of the commodification of journalism, the effects of social media algorithms, the effects of critical theory, the effects of reliance on rhetoric, the effects of technological breakthroughs that outstrip collective human maturity, the effects of the power of the entertainment industry, the effects of over-rationalization, the effects of the rise of authoritarian behaviors, and maybe the most important idea in the book, what the author Eamon Loingsigh calls the “bifurcation of values.” 

The bifurcation of values is the sociopolitical divide or polarization between conservatives and liberals, or the left vs. the right. These competing ideologies utilize damaging rhetoric to denounce each other, while strengthening their echo chambers. The example he uses throughout the book is the Late Republic era of Rome, which experienced a very similar bifurcation where everyone had to choose a side, or risk being called a traitor by both. The rhetoric used by each side can imperceptibly escalate and lead to political assassinations, mob violence and eventually civil war or a coup. Unless, of course, we use some of the ideas from the Enlightenment that inspired American democracy in the first place. Namely compromise. But I don’t see Republicans and Democrats and their voting blocs compromising much these days, and this book provides a worst-case scenario if we continue down this path. 

You may not agree with Democracy Jones: 7/13, but there is no way you can ignore its powerful premise. 

The first example from the book I’ll show here is how conservatives slander liberal groups with racist rhetoric. When a group of black college students come together to defend black veterans who aren’t offered the same benefits as white veterans, they are smeared as “Black Bourgeois Terrorists.” This leads to a nationwide debate and what became known as the “Color Fodder Protests,” which the conservative media logically calls the “Color Fodder Riots.” 

The second example concerns the character Zeke Greenlea, who is a local conservative in a small town in 2040 America. He was to inherit the family business. They are contractors of residential homes. But a liberal international real estate magnate wants the contract the Greenlea family business earned for Golden Door Estates, a gated housing community in town. So what does the magnate do? He uses his wealth and connections, forcing the small Greenlea contracting company into court. More importantly, the magnate hires social media “End-fluencers” (a play on Influencers) to smear the Greenlea name in the much more powerful court of public opinion. The mainstream media picks up on it, and soon enough Greenlea Contracting is liquidated by the federal government, allowing the liberal magnate to take over the contract in the small town. 

In the book, we see that during the military coup that takes place on July 13, 2040, Zeke Greenlea sets out for his revenge. And you get the sense, he’s got pretty good reasoning. 

But Democracy Jones: 7/13 does something no brand should do in today’s free market. It critiques both the left and the right. As the left primarily holds sway over the book industry, and the entertainment industry as a whole, it follows that the industry assumes the book comes from a conservative perspective. But that is not the case at all. 

Unfortunately, I feel like most people will miss out on this important work. 

Another quality review comes from Davis Stamford on Goodreads. Check it out!

DAVIS STAMFORD’S REVIEW: Probably my favorite author at this point. Democracy Jones: 7/13 is a departure, but this short science fiction horror novel packs a humungous punch. Since the biggest reveal is in the description, I don’t think I’m giving any spoilers when I say AI software for neural chips causes a military coup in 2040 USA. And it is an epic downfall. Worse than the twin towers, Jan. 6 or anything you can think of, all rolled into one. 

There is a lot of suspense that builds up to an explosive coup by the 3/4 mark. Each of the first 20 chapters or so have time stamps. 4pm is when the coup is supposed to happen, but we start at 11:30am and things just get worse and worse as the day progresses until boom time at 4pm. 

The novel takes place in the fictional small town of Ellington, FL where we follow a group of people and their impressions and involvement in the coup. 

Haisley Jones is the protagonist. She is a mixed race former Marine who is 3-weeks pregnant (yeah, in the future you’ll know right away when you’re pregnant). Haisley grew up in Ellington, but was sent to prison when she was 17 for murdering her father and leaving him in the Everglades for the buzzards to devour. Yikes. Now, ten years later, she moves back with her black husband De’ontay to start a family. 

Captain Dick is Ellington’s Chief of Police. His wife is cheating on him, and he allows it since it helps her political career. But simmering below the surface is a terribly dangerous man who was an army officer during two previous wars (remember this is 2040). When the coup takes place, Captain Dick turns into a monster (i.e. antagonist). In fact, his favorite song is called “Monster Man.” 

Abra is a five year-old Jewish girl who provides some light-hearted, innocent yet biting commentary. She just says exactly what’s on her mind, and it really helps the story move along.

Highly recommend! Loved it, hope there is a follow up to this. I’d love to see what happens after the coup.

Giveaway! Democracy Jones: 7/13

Get a free copy of Democracy Jones: 7/13 today.

Goodreads Book Giveaway Democracy Jonesby Eamon Loingsigh

Giveaway ends August 08, 2023. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter Giveaway

Why I Wrote A Scifi Horror Novel About A Coup In The US

Today we bear witness as brash, irresponsible and unapologetic politicians and cultural influencers from the two dominant American ideologies denounce their opponents, while at the same time enforce the belief systems within their own echo chambers. 

Democracy Jones: 7/13 is a scifi horror novel recently published.

This sociocultural divide has become ever more entrenched in the United States for a number of reasons. Most anthropologists and sociologists argue that all cultures naturally become divided. But not all become violent along those sociocultural divisions.

Republicans vs. Democrats, Liberals vs. Conservatives, Socialists vs. Capitalists, however the two dominant ideologies are named is much less important as how they are becoming increasingly oppositional. To the point at which they, the country’s dominant bipolar groups, are showing respective authoritarian behaviors to gain control over the world’s unipolar power system.  

The history of human civilizations tells us that this is a dangerous dichotomy in a democracy. Could the conflict between these oppositional ideologies continue to accelerate and result in a coup or civil war in America? 

Democracy Jones: 7/13 plays out the worst case scenario; that over the next 15 years or so, that divide turns into a complete bifurcation of value systems which compete for dominance in independent democratic American institutions, as neither are able to get a clear majority. 

Democracy Jones: 7/13 is a scifi horror novel recently published.

Of course we all know the answer to solving this problem; compromise. Yet we have already travelled so far down the road of partisanship that compromise has too often become a synonym for weakness. 

What could cause a civil war or coup? What would be the turning point? Wouldn’t it be gradual? Or would it be one issue or event in a society that refuses to compromise, that would cause the relationship to go from opposition within a democratic setting, to outright violent hostility? 

In Democracy Jones: 7/13, I chose a technological breakthrough as the cause for the breaking point. Seemingly outside the purview of important issues that divide Americans, technology is a power structure all its own which, the worst type of demagogue would see as a great opportunity if they were able to control it. 

In this scifi horror novel, ti is no coincidence that the dangerous technological breakthrough that knocks the relations between the two ideologies’s peaceful axis, is named Rhetoric. 

Since earliest times humanity has endeavored to develop systems of organization to meet group challenges, rhetoric has been a powerful tool to consolidate power. To narrow it down, rhetoric can be defined as the art of persuasion. There is great value in all societies for those of us who have the ability to persuade people. Politicians, influencers, actors, CEOs, lawyers, philosophers and anyone placed in a position of power usually have a great ability to speak and act in a manner that persuades audiences to follow along, or even submit to their premises.

Rhetoric has the ability to do great and wonderful things, of course, but it also can be used for manipulative means to nefarious ends. The software for neural chips in this science fiction story was called Rhetoric by its creator because of two main reasons, previously stated, the ability to persuade people, and its negative effects on society. 

The novel’s opening sentences describe Rhetoric‘s usage as neural implant chip software that gives a user “the ability to mathematically calculate weakness in a binary opposite, deconstruct it and formulate plans to capitalize, via probabilities.” 

Is it so far-fetched to believe artificial intelligence could be used to map plans for an incident that incites a civil war, an assassination or a military coup?

In the wrong hands, such as a Trumpian-style politician whose support mainly comes from the military and police in the United States of the year 2040, the consequences are devastating. 

For more about the mode of analysis utilized in Democracy Jones: 7/13, please read Back Circle Theory

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