Shall we Pearl?

“Passive activity income does not include the following: Income for an activity that is not a passive activity.” — IRS form 8583, Passive Activity Loss Limitation

And, don’t you forget it!….

This little guy was my childhood hero; I never missed one of his cartoons on Saturday, for as long as I can remember…. Enjoy!….

I decided NOT to produce a fresh rant, though I certainly could; there’s plenty of stuff going on out in the BBR at which to pick…. But, I found this older piece that works just fine with the above stimulus quote, from a few years back…. It’s actually two pearls from the Pearl posted in March of 2012. Enjoy, ffolkes! It’s all real, not to mention still relevant….

From 3/27/2012:

“And it came to pass that in the hands of the ignorant, the words of the bible were used to beat plowshares into swords…” — Alan Watts

“…You don’t have many suspects who are innocent of a crime. That’s contradictory.  If a person is innocent of a crime, then he is not   suspected.” — Edwin Meese

Viewed in light of the first quote, if one may assume its veracity, even temporarily, for the sake of argument, the second quote, while disappointing in the extreme, is not as surprising as it might otherwise have been seen. Oh, where to begin a response to such an outrageous display of ignorance and bigotry? I count only 26 words here, and can think of at least 14 ways this is just wrong, just off the top of my head. It piles one false assumption on top of another until any glimmer of possible relation to the truth, or reality, is completely obscured. Unfortunate as it is, this mind-set is still all-too-common, especially amongst the political pundit review currently on parade.

As a matter of fact, this mind-boggling distortion of our actual laws on the subject, reminds me very strongly of three of our esteemed Republican candidates being followed avidly by the news-mongers, especially Mitt the Twitt…. in the last week alone (post Etch-A-Sketch), he has made, (and I, along with a fairly large number of bloggers & citizens keeping track, counted), at minimum, 19 apparently deliberate lies that involved vague accusations of impropriety by the current administration.  Each and every one of these statements, when checked against reality, or what was reported in other media sources, was obviously made up on the spot, or completely in reverse of what actually occurred. He is so desperate to appear to be confident and forceful, he is completely oblivious to the fact that no one is buying into his nonsense any more; in response his lies get more and more removed from any connection to reality or truth.  His two closest challengers are no better; they make a habit of making statements that have absolutely no bearing on the subject under discussion, or accuse the media of playing favorites to distract the audience from whatever question they attempting to avoid answering by doing so.

All of these men have lost touch with reality in a lot of areas, and their denial of this fact serves as further evidence of that loss. Their belief, that they have their finger on the pulse of the American people, is so far removed from the truth it approaches the realm of delusion. They have completely lost track of, or denied, any connection they may have once had to the rest of their countrymen, insisting that their out-dated, ignorant policies, that didn’t work 45 years ago, or 90 years ago, will nonetheless work in today’s changing face of global politics, while completely ignoring the mountain of evidence to the contrary. They have assumed the mantle of the fanatic, a segment of the population that has previously been clearly identified as those folks who, when they have lost sight of their goal, redouble their efforts. Sad, and a terrible waste of everyone else’s time and energy to have to even listen to such nonsense. They have given up their place in the human tribe, and don’t even know it…… Pathetic, if you ask me…..

Mi taku oyasin.  (We are all related.) — Lakota belief
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There are times when the pearls I find that stimulate me to want to write about them are found in clusters. Several at once, all closely related, or similarly themed, just throw themselves at me, clamoring for inclusion. On these occasions I’ve learned to let them have their way. It is just as effective a lesson as my comments usually can claim to be, and has the added bonus of requiring less actual work on my part; the authors I choose have all done my thinking, and expressing for me, and usually much better than my discussions. Below are some observations on politics, patriotism, and the price of liberty, from some pretty well-respected political observers……

“In a state-run society the government promises you security. But it’s a false promise predicated on the idea that the opposite of security in risk. Nothing could be further from the truth. The opposite of security is insecurity, and the only way to overcome insecurity is to take risks. The gentle government that promises to hold your hand as you cross the street refuses to let go on the other side.” — Theodore Forstmann

“My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one’s country, not to its institutions or its officeholders.  The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” — Thomas Jefferson to A. Stuart, 1791

“I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.” — H. L. Mencken

“I don’t pick on politicians. They ain’t done nothin’.”– Red Skelton

“Don’t knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while.” — Kin Hubbard

(Don’t ask…. it just fit, that’s all…)

and finally….

“Life is pleasant.  Death is peaceful.  It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” — Isaac Asimov

“It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.” — The Vatican Sayings, Epicurus

“It ain’t loafing unless they can prove it.” — Dick Brown

“I only took the regular course.” “What was that?” inquired Alice. “Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with,” the Mock Turtle replied; “and then the different branches of Arithmetic — Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.” “What else had you to learn?” “Well, there was Mystery,” the Mock Turtle replied, counting off the subjects on his flippers, — “Mystery, ancient and modern, with Seaography: then Drawling — the Drawling-master was an old conger-eel, that used to come once a week: HE taught us Drawling, Stretching and Fainting in Coils. I never went to the Classical master, though.  He taught Laughing and Grief, they used to say.” — Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

“If only we’d stop trying to be happy we’d have a pretty good time.” — Edith Wharton

“Nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’, but it’s free.” — Kris Kristofferson

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Yet another day’s duty done; it’s not a bad feeling. In fact, it’s so good, I’m taking it, and my leave…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided the Apocalypse isn’t scheduled for tomorrow….