Now that the housekeeping has been completed, we could go on to something more compelling, or intense, but, who wants to wake up to that? I could comment along the lines of the quote from George Bernard, above, or, I could even start a rant in the same vein, i.e., political asininity…. We could take a 90 degree turn, heading off toward some shiny thought off in the distance…. Or, I could ignore everything, and just start babbling, much as I usually do each day….

I can’t seem to make up my mind, which, although not all that unusual, is a trifle more stubborn than I generally find it to be…. There’s no rhyme, nor reason, I can find, other than an impish sense of fun that is sort of hovering about, looking for a way to insert itself into the conversation…. It’s bound for disappointment today, I can tell ya…. My mood is such that “fun” might cause sparks, and a fire…. we don’t want to have to deal with that before I’ve had more coffee, believe me…. I’m already riding the edge of control, couldn’t say why, but, I can say, it would NOT be a good day to test my patience….

Maybe it’s because I was all set to do a politirant, right off the bat today…. The quote, a good one, is also a good springboard for a discussion of the dangers of patriotism without the intelligence to operate such a dangerous state of being…. To be a true patriot of this country, it requires, no, it demands the citizenry be educated, and not by merely one book; anything less will not allow us to keep the freedom to think, and to act in ways that are actually free, and not merely conforming to custom, or tradition…..

But, then, most of the citizens of this country can no longer use their minds for independent thought, having given away the right to use their own minds a long time ago…. In fact, I’m pretty sure the fundies and zealots were already planning their insidious take-over of the government, in collusion with the corporate snakeheads and their bribes…. Now, both of them have the government in a choke hold, and nothing gets done unless they say so…. If you don’t believe me, just look at how many bills this Congress has voted on…. it’s pathetic….

Both of these groups, neither of which gives a shit about the common man, other than as the means by which they can assume control of the world’s resources, have infiltrated the ranks of those who believe they are in charge, to manipulate them into making laws that favor two entities only….. Business, which is protected by the granting of “corporate personhood”, and religion, which is protected by all sorts of special advantages in the laws, just like the corporations… such as no taxes on their operations or properties…. What a scam!

Oh gosh…. look at that. I’ve lost control again, and started ranting in the intro…. when I said I probably shouldn’t rant at all….. and, I find I was right, as usual…. (I know, being right so often is annoying at times, but, hey, it’s still better than being wrong!…..) My mood is such that just that little bit of expressed ire, and my blood pressure banged up a few notches…. Bogus!

Ah well, we’ll pretend it never happened, and try to go on…. In fact, we’ll take this opportunity right here to make our escape, n’est pas? Oui….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The greatest torture in the world for most people is to think.” — Luther Burbank (1849-1926)

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“Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/07/29/prove-your-love-at-city-hall/

“The “rules” are more like frightened guesses based on pious fairytales, superstitious dogma, the thing that sort of worked for a few people, once, way back when. The church is more full of sh-t than anyone save maybe the government, right along with all developed cultures of the world, all clueless as stoned cats but simultaneously desperate to keep the populace locked into some sense of behavioral norm. ” — Mark Morford, Monday, 2014

I’ll bet you’re thinking, “Oh no! He’s going to rant again, against religion!” Well, you could be right, but, then, again, you might be wrong, too…. To be honest, I myself am, as yet, unsure which path to take…. Mark’s article is a good one, again, and this single paragraph is one of the finest short summaries of reality in our culture that I’ve seen in a long time… The last sentence in the excerpt, “….church is full of sh_t….”, etc. is BEAUTIFUL!, It’s precise, coherent, and shows reality in a strong, bright light….. such as it is….

I COULD rant…. goodness knows there is enough going on in the world to rant about, especially now the various branches of our government, which have been at war for generations, have apparently gone completely bonkers, with one branch trying to sue another branch, by filing suit with the third branch…. which just goes to show, the tree is rotten, to the core….

Rather than making it worse for you by pounding that into your face and mind, with a religirant, or a politirant, or even a politireligirant, I’ll make the same points, with a lighter touch, by putting together a pointed old-school pearl, with all of them, the politicians, the judges, the police, the corporate snakes, the preachers, the pimps, and all those other assholes who spend their lives taking from others, as the common target…. Enjoy….

“The Second Amendment doesn’t grant the right to keep and bear arms. You already have that right.  The Constitution just prohibits the government from taking it away from you.” — Smart Bee

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” — H.P. Lovecraft, “Supernatural Horror in Literature”

“There are two sentences inscribed upon the Delphic oracle, hugely accommodated to the usages of man’s life: “Know thyself”, and “Nothing too much”; and upon these all other precepts depend.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Consolation to Apollonius

“In fact, one thing that I have noticed . . . is that all of these conspiracy theories depend on the perpetrators being endlessly clever.  I think you’ll find the facts also work if you assume everyone is endlessly stupid.” — Brian E. Moore

“Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, so don’t kid yourself…” — Frank Zappa

“Money talks. Usually it says, “Bend over.”” — Solomon Short

“Don’t ever tell anyone they ain’t free, ‘cos they’re gonna get real busy killin’ and maimin’ just to prove they are.” — Terry Southern (script for Easy Rider)

And there, but for the grace of, well, somebody, go you or I…

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I’m using one of my poems, just because it fits the theme, perfectly…. Well, of course it does, silly, I wrote it, didn’t I?….

Okay, so, it’s getting a bit late, and I’m tired, even though I haven’t ranted very hard or long…. Just a factor of my age, I suppose…. which is something I refuse to give in to. Rather than ranting, though, which could cause bleeding from the ears at this juncture, we’ll go old school again, with a random, harlequin style pearl, sans parameters, to make the process of searching faster and simpler…. Now, watch Smart Bee screw with me, and keep me busy for a half-hour or more, looking for that last perfect pearl…. Wish me luck….

“Generally, he who occupies the field of battle first and awaits his enemies is at ease.” — Sun Tzu

“In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.” — Aristotle

“It is vain to look for a defence against lightning.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 835

“Let not thy mind run on what thou lackest as much as on what thou hast already.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, vii, 27

“The man who boasts that he habitually tells the truth is simply a man with no respect for it. It is not a thing to be thrown about loosely, like small change; it is something to be cherished and hoarded and disbursed only when absolutely necessary. The smallest atom of truth represents some man’s bitter toil and agony; for every ponderable chunk of it there is a brave truth-seeker’s grave upon some lonely ash-dump and a soul roasting in Hell.” — H. L. Mencken, Prejudices: Third Series

“The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common.  Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts  to fit their views…which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to  be one of the facts that needs altering.” — Doctor Who, “Face of Evil”

Naturally, I was, again, too bloody right…. except it took 45 minutes, rather than a mere 30…. But, the results were worth the time & effort, I think, so, I’ll let it go without further comment, which would only serve to anger me, and bore y’all…. Neither of those outcomes is desirable, so, we’ll just call it a day…. Well, we will, as soon as I can figure out the correct combination of words to get us out of here…. Oh, right, here they are…. See ya, ffolkes…. tomorrow, if everything goes the way it should….