privacy has always been overrated

joe geobbles once said that you couldn't have good government without good propaganda...which may or may not be true depending on your perspective on what constitutes good government...it seems that the underpinning of "good government" has been quietly shifting from propaganda to data ( not that old joe and company weren't curious about what "the volk" were up to...some things never change )...that politicians, and by extension governments, lie thorough their teeth is a given most ten year olds understand...they understand top down authority and its inherent resistance to change as well so they grow up to become corporate executives, lawyers, and yet another generation of lying politicians...it is the way of things...and authoritarian oligarchs posing as elected officials serving at the behest of "the people" and, allegedly, in their best interest are nosy parkers who want to know what you had for lunch and who you ate it with...and that is nowhere near as deep into the minutia of your life they'd like to delve...facebook and google are pale imitations of the nsa and we all bloody well know it...even though some are in deep denial about the whole apparatus and have bought into the " the system is broke and if we only adhered to the letter of the constitution everything would be swell again" tissue of whoppers hamilton, jay , and madison told to pull a fast one on the proles...system aint broke...working as planned ...but i am digressing here...this wonderful email from my internet provider landed in my inbox today and it is a stunner...of course they're working with the fcc since it is the regulatory body that has, among other things, killed net neutrality and opened they way for them to soak any and everybody...how could they not work with that? and, in a clear effort to improve my "online experience" the want me to sign up for a program that will "measure" my large file download speed and the quality of my video streaming...if i sign up and i am "selected" they are willing to send me a "new t-p link router enabled with SamKnows ( what a fucking giveaway )performance measurement software"...i can give them a categorical "no thanks"...as i see it the government and facebook and google and every other corporate structure you care to name already have a fat portfolio of what and who i am...why should i volunteer more information? let them find it on their own...they are fairly effective at it...they know where i live and what i buy from amazon and what video streams through here already...why should i aid them in acquiring data faster? that is the crux of their proposed "improvement" near as i can tell...fuck these people...where is the lake of fire?

$70,326,699 divided by 52...

renders an average of approximately $1,352,436.52 ( actually it is .519 ) as the cost of a property advertised inside this supplement to today's n y times aimed specifically ( for the most part ) upscale gentrifying ( if not civilizing ) chicago...

in answer to the overt question, yes i have and it isn't in chicago...nor would it have been in any other urban status ghetto for that matter...admittedly the urban landscape and i are mutually exclusive and doubtlessly the anathemas flow both ways..i am alright with that...the urbanists can pound sand and stay out of my back yard ( which could do with a fewer rabbits as well...both are pretty much pests )...

averages lie and the one above is no exception...the high end of the fifty two properties inside this glossy brochure is a $6,900,000 half floor on the gold coast...a deal for the up and coming elitist..a trophy..a physical manifestation of the obvious superiority of the wealthy...even if it is wealth marooned in the "second city" and not manhattan or the more fashionable ( but not fireproof ) sections of london...

oh there are more modest abodes here too...$95,000 will put you in a "starter home" condo out in buffalo grove with the suburban proles..motivation to move up into a better "place in the world "...shuffled off to the back pages, compass obviously equates a sub million dollar price tag as failure on the purchaser's part...

the gem of the collection is on the cover though...another gold coast condo for a trifling $7,850,000...with...apparently...a current owner with a penchant for wood floors and shoe decor...it would be tempting to lay all this imperial extravagance and worship of wealth at the doorstep of trumpist america...unfortunately the robber baron chic has been around a lot longer than trumpy...back past jay gould and charles tyson yerkes even..i am inclined to blame hamilton and his peers among the framers of the constitution...washington wasn't the first president because he was a competent general or a humble virginia farmer...

before i go i do have a question to ask...does nayone else find a 21,000 square foot home a gross misallocation of resources?