Ffolkes,
Sleep, having assumed an aspect more resembling a foe than a friend, played tag with me all night, refusing to just settle down and play nice, and let me get some rest. Instead, for about 7 hours, it kept me on the edge of falling into a deep enough sleep to count, then finding some way to wake me up, to go to the throne, to cough, to be too hot….. anything other than sleep. Ah well, c’est la vie, when one get to this age, I suppose, and since there isn’t a damn thing I can do about that, we’ll just move on to something more illuminating, or at least less depressing….
Yesterday’s Pearl had a rant that was long enough that I was able to turn it into another article for posting elsewhere on the web. Then I thought about where I had done so, and thought I should share that with all of my readers, as a number of you may be looking for a place to get published…. and the site to which I am referring is just such a place. It is called Triond.com, and is what may be called a brokerage site….
One signs up as a member of their writing community, free, thus becoming eligible to post articles. Once an article is submitted to Triond, they shop it around to a number of websites that publish articles. When it is accepted, the article is posted on the web site that accepted it, who provides advertising for the page, and for the article posted under your name. The best part of all this is that the articles earn money for you, according to the number of views and clicks on the ads on the page. Triond keeps track of how much is earned, and pays off monthly, once the minimum payment amount is earned.
There is no limit as to a minimum number of articles one must publish, nor a maximum. There is a community of writers, and one can build a fan base as well as make contact with other writers. It’s a pretty good deal, and a good way to both get your name out there to start building a readership, and to earn a little cash while you are at it….. a win-win as far as I can see…. So, feel free to go on over to their site and sign up…. it’s a good gig…. the site address is: http://www.triond.com/ Enjoy!
Okay, altruism satisfied, we shall now proceed to Pearl…. let’s have at it, shall we?……
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Ralph & the Boss
I couldn’t help it. This picture is just too good to keep to myself. I’m pretty sure I found it on Facebook a couple weeks ago, but it possibly came from a WP site, No Ruff Days, that publishes pictures of dogs of all types…. but I don’t think it did come from them, as they seldom add any other animals to their photos…. This one appeals to me on a lot of levels, but mostly to the one that appreciates how the other animals on this planet besides humans all seem to be able to come to terms with one another, to achieve an understanding and respect that crosses the boundaries between their species, to acknowledge the little spark of life that is in each one of us.
Looking at this picture, once the laughter is under control, is a pure “Awww!”…. you know that that huge dog is just tickled to death at that little cat, and wouldn’t harm it for the world. And the cat obviously has adopted the big beast as its sibling. The caption perfectly states the most likely conversation between them, and is, to me, perfect! I can almost hear the little voice…. “Okay, Ralph….” Makes me smile just to type it… any who, not much of a lesson or big discussion here, just a great picture, and a warm heart to start the day….. you’ll likely need it to counteract my usual subject matter’s depressive nature….
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“In Germany, they came first for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I
didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists but I didn’t speak up because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time nobody was left to speak up.” — Martin Niemoeller, German Lutheran Pastor, Dachau, 1944
If one needs to ask why this is here, then I would suggest that one read the daily news with their eyes open rather than closed. One only needs to replace the word communist with terrorist, the word Jew with Muslim, trade unionist with political activist, and either Catholic or Protestant with Atheist. Our society has taken on all of the characteristics of the Nazi government in the late 1930’s in Germany…. they preach fear of all outsiders, purity of faith and/or race, and obedience to authority. Any sort of argument with the demands of “national security” are met swiftly with scorn and/or ridicule, or worse, censorship, and now, with the newly signed Executive Orders, the powers that be may now just “disappear” anyone who becomes enough of a threat, in their estimation. Any day now I’m expecting to hear the announcement that the next election has been canceled due to “concerns over public safety.”
“We stand for the maintenance of private property…. We shall protect free enterprise as the most expedient, or rather the sole possible
economic order.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), “Der Fuehrer” (Sounds a bit like the Supreme Court these days, doesn’t it?)
The saddest part of all this…. I don’t think there are enough real Americans left to fight for what they are taking away. I think there are a very large number of people in this country who will just go along with whatever the beloved ruling class is doing, as long as Wal-Mart stays open so they can get beer and plastic diapers….. So, if I were you, I’d start preparing to live in a world where none of the freedoms we now enjoy are part of life…. or, you can do as I intend to do, and make sure I am locked and loaded, well before they show up to take me away…..
“Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it…. While it lies there, it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it.” — Learned Hand, jurist
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Who hath not proved how feebly words essay
To fix one spark of beauty’s heavenly ray?
Who doth not feel, until his failing sight
Faints into dimness with its own delight,
His changing cheek, his sinking heart, confess
The might, the majesty of loveliness?
— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — The Bride of Abydos, Canto i, Stanza 6
I have no discussion here…. After writing, and thinking about, the previous section, I just needed a dose of beauty and grace, to counteract the bile that collected in my spleen….. so, enjoy, while I go find another pearl….
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“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency,
from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.” — Alexander Frazer Tyler (1748-1813), — The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic
This is a very scholarly, well-reasoned, and logically presented thesis, and has the added characteristic of being universal in its application to any Republic, not just the Athenian. As might be guessed, it can be accurately applied to describe modern American culture.
It would be my estimate that our culture has reached the penultimate stage of the given list; we have proceeded to a society-wide attitude of apathy, and are well on the way to becoming dependent. It is a short trip from there back to slavery…. and it doesn’t seem to me as if the majority of folks in this country are either aware of this, or if they are, they don’t seem to mind it so much, as long as the Simpson’s isn’t canceled, and they can afford to fill up the SUV….. where would YOU say our society lands on that scale?……
SIGH…….
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“If we are to survive, this nation must end its love affair with guns.” — U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
“If we are to survive, this nation must end its love affair with big brother government and individuals must relearn what it means to be free.”
— Jeff Chan, chan@shell.portal.com
I would have to say that the second line here is the more rational of the two statements…. Isn’t it funny how the folks who seem to want the right to bear arms to be given away (It is a right that can ONLY be given away…. ever try to TAKE a gun away from someone who has one? Not a good idea….), all seem to be those against whom they would most likely be used? The beloved ruling class now in charge of the government in America no longer trusts the American people to have guns, because they are deathly afraid (and rightly so!) that those guns might be turned on them. They seem to be constitutionally unable to see that such use against them would be righteous self-defense…..
Our forefathers, the men who formulated the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, fully recognized that a government that denies this right to its people is only interested in controlling them, not protecting them. In light of this FACT, (one equally true today) they determined that their descendants (Us…) would be safer if they kept that right in their own hands. Moreover, they believed fully that the average man, educated to appreciate the responsibilities of Liberty, as well as the benefits, was perfectly capable of having guns and only using them for defense.
Yes, there are bad people out there, and they will tend to use guns for other reasons, reasons that are completely self-serving. But I consider them to be less dangerous to me than those who would take away ALL guns from the public, leaving only themselves in possession of the power to control others by force.
To be completely honest, I have seen no evidence whatsoever that anyone in a position of power in this country has any of MY interests in mind, nor are they interested in improving anyone’s lot but their own. They most certainly are not at all concerned with my safety, especially from them. But I am supposed to give up my right to defend myself, and give over to these avaricious thieves the power to tell me what I should think, and what I may do?
Well, guess what? It ain’t gonna happen….. count on it…..
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As might have been expected, given my lack of sleep, my subject matter today turned a bit dark…. occupational hazard for us free thinkers, I guess. S’okay, I’ve said worse in my time, and this one, though it takes some pretty good shots at the beloved ruling class, isn’t quite as peripatetic as some of my rants. Or, maybe that’s just me…. It matters little now, as it’s going to fly as is….. Hopefully, I haven’t brought anyone down enough to spoil the day completely….
Ah well, time will tell, as it always does….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.
gigoid
Kowabunga!
gigoid 
While I share many of your concerns regarding the political course of our ever increasing leaky Ship Of State, and agree that sections of the National Defense Authorization Act could lead us to anchor in some authoritarian harbor, I still trust the american people to man the life boats if necessary. ( How’s that for torture?)
And as one, who has more than once, been handed hefty documents bearing The People Of The United States versus…I carry no truck with the Justice Department, nor feel the need to hunt and peck apologies for the administration. But two things Americans should never watch; software coding and law codifying.
The NDAA was a 500 page law of a highly political nature, made more convoluted when mashed up by Senate and House conferrees. The two sections, poorly and contradictory written has many legitimate concerns. This was recognized by many and justified outrage issued.
The President recognized this and added to the bill a “Signing Statement”, noting all of the above, and his concerns.
And then he issued an Executive Policy Directive trying to further address the problems, and laying out how those sections should be interpreted and enforced. It’s still not enough, and a Congressional corrective legislation has been introduced.
So there is pushback. Ass loads of it. And I think it will only grow stronger. More on the politics of this later.
Regarding the U.S. government going after guns. Where is this happening? This administration’s only move on guns was to enlarge the right to carry firearms. Certain federal parks. As for the states. It’s been an open carry open season, with no pushback from the Feds.
And thought you might find this interesting.
“The only thing we seem to believe in anymore is freedom. Freedom has become the be-all and the end-all of our political expectation, the full meaning of the American experiment. Justice is gone, and even more conspicuously banished is that term of terms for movements from abolitionism to feminism, for Lincoln and King: equality.”
http://theamericanscholar.org/the-tyranny-of-freedom/
Sorry to go on so long.
Regards,
Doug… thanks for the response, and no need to apologize at all. I enjoy the dialogue, especially with someone whose thoughts I’ve come to respect, for the depth of knowledge you display, and the thorough reasoning, and careful thought you apply to the issues raised.
I haven’t had the time to read the document (the NDAA) fully at all, and the reports I read, from some who agreed and some who didn’t, (also some I trust, and some I didn’t…) didn’t discuss those addenda you mentioned regarding the issues of concern, so I wasn’t aware of them. I’m very glad to hear it, actually, as my opinion of the POTUS had suffered a hit when I heard he signed it, and as did how and when it took place. He also signed another set of E.O.’s recently that don’t appear to be in the best interests of the people, but I’m trying to not prejudge before I have more information on that.
I’m also heartened that you, and Linda, below, believe that there are more Americans out there who are paying attention than I am counting; perhaps you are right, and I can only hope so…. They don’t seem to be making a lot of noise though, which may or may not be a good thing. Sometimes I’m not sure I should be so insistent on speaking my complete mind, in terms of drawing attention… time will tell, as always… so I’ll hold on to the hope you offer.
The government is not, per se, going after guns currently, though I believe there is legislation under consideration in both houses that places some severe limits on what types are to be regulated or restricted, and I’ve heard that the POTUS supports those limits… some of which I do as well. (Does one really NEED a Gatling gun, except for the fun factor?)
But, I have also seen a LOT of articles in the mainstream media, as well as the Blog world, and the Internet side media, written by people who are trying to organize to repeal the Second Amendment. That organization is, as yet, not in place, nor is it officially a “hot topic” issue at this point. But from what I read, the folks behind the movement are pretty vocal, and some of them have money, so can spread their views widely. The Second is one of my strongest held rights, and so I probably get a bit paranoid about it when I see it threatened by those who don’t seem to have a clue as to the side of human nature that MUST be acknowledged, and suitably prepared for dealing with if confronted with its manifestation in reality. Which it invariably does when one is unprepared, in my extensive experience….
I’ve saved the link you provided; it will require some time, I think to give the proper attention…. I know this because the precis you give intrigued me; I want to see how the claim that political focus on freedom (which also begs explanation… I’m not sure I agree) has, or would produce the elimination of justice, feminism, and equality…. it should be an interesting take, for sure… no matter which way it leans….
So, again, thanks for your comments; they always challenge me to think, and it’s one of my favorite things…. 🙂 Take care, & see ya around the comments….
Thanks for the writing info Ned. I’ll check it out.
I agree with Doug. I have faith in all of us Americans and I think when push comes to shove we will push back. We are still that sleeping giant — maybe a little fatter and a little softer but powerfull all the same.
Linda…. thanks for taking the time to comment… rather than say it over, please take a moment to read my response to Doug, above… it answers what you’ve said as well… and I’ll reiterate here that what you and he pointed out about the number of us who care in this country may be right, and I hope so… so I’m encouraged to that extent…. so thanks…. take care…. 🙂
I’ve read the responses above and I wish I had the trust and faith in the american people that they do. I see the basic goodness in people, but I do not perceive us to be a people who care enough to intervene. I find us to be fat, complacent, apathetic, and in the process of falling sound asleep in our recliners, as we dose ourselves with any form of inane entertainment we can find. We’re being dumbed down and lulled to sleep, and it pains me to watch while we keep on keeping on.
This is a good one and I had to share it on my Facebook page. Right on!!
Brenda…. thanks for taking the time to respond… and thanks for your support and agreement with my take on the extent of the decay in society. I hope the above folks are right; it may be our only hope. But, society at large IS getting dumber, as we speak, so the issue will be taken right down to the brink of extinction, and whether or not we all go over the edge remains in question…. We’ll just have to be ready to jump, I guess, as far as we can…. Thanks for sharing on FB, too, this kind of message can only help if people hear it, so the more the merrier… You take care, & Blessed Be….
Anything goes under the guise of ‘national security’ it seems. Extremely clever as it casts all opponents as unpatriotic (if Amercan) and the ‘bad guys” (if foreigner)
Aye, they have a number of such phrases that tend to be divisive, and/or outright lies…. they’re good at it due to constant practice….
Thanks for being altruistic Ned… I will go and sign-up, there is nothing to lose hehehe 🙂
And as always, I learned something in today’s pearl… thank you!
Dolly… you’re quite welcome… don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before… I’m glad you always get something out of them…. and thanks! 🙂