That said, I’ll go finish the Pearl, so at least it will be ready to go when I am….. Hmm…. It’s ready, sort of, but, the internet is not. I’ve had to cease engagement with the corporate ghost; not going to deal with them if they’re going to try to have it all their own way. So, internet service is a day or two away yet, so this will have to be done downtown, and I’ve already missed a day. That’s no big; we’ve still got the Tardis. But ot IS  a PITA, to be sure….

In the interests of efficiency, we’ll take off now, so we’re in position at the proper moment….. Luigi, take it away….

Shall we Pearl?….

“We would like to apologize for the way in which politicians are represented in this programme.  It was never our intention to imply that politicians are weak-kneed, political time-servers who are more concerned with their personal vendettas and private power struggles than the problems of government, nor to suggest at any point that they sacrifice their credibility by denying free debate on vital matters in the mistaken impression that party unity comes before the well-being of the people they supposedly represent, nor to imply at any stage that they are squabbling little toadies without an ounce of concern for the vital social problems of today.  Nor indeed do we intend that viewers should consider them as crabby ulcerous little self-seeking vermin with furry legs and an excessive addiction to alcohol and certain explicit sexual practices which some people might find offensive.  We are sorry if this impression has come across.” — Monty Python

(Actually, no, we’re not…)

“Bias used to say that men ought to calculate life both as if they were fated to live a long and a short time, and that they ought to love one another as if at a future time they would come to hate one another; for that most men were bad.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Bias, v

“What’s the matter with the world? Why, there ain’t but one thing wrong with every one of us- and that’s “selfishness.” — Will Rogers

“If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns.” — Edward Abbey

(REMEMBER!…)

Asking politicians to vote themselves out of power is like asking rabbits not to multiply, it ain’t natural. — Bob Beckel, on term limits, CBS This Morning, 3/30/95

“Every actual State is corrupt.  Good men must not obey laws too well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), “Politics”

“Corruptissima republica plurimae leges.” [The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.] — Cornelius Tacitus, 56-120 A.D., Annals III 27

“Quem metuunt, oderunt.” (They hate whom they fear.) — Ennius (239-169 BC)

“A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his consciousness and his real self.” — Eric Hoffer

There. That should drive that point home with a sledge. Now we’ve seen just how nasty a creature the average politician is in today’s world, I’d like to leave our Gentle Reader with two thoughts, which, if utilized properly, are also an open message to the American people, and the people of all the countries in the world whose governments are trying to convince them they are in terrible danger from the forces of evil, i.e, “terrorists”….. while the entire time, THE GOVERNMENTS are the perpetrators of all the violence we see all around us…. If you just remember the truth of these two short statements, your ‘terror’ will become superfluous, and easily dismissed for the lie it is….

“We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.” — Eric Hoffer

“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” — African proverb

“I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.” — Wilson Mizner

“A man’s silence is wonderful to listen to.” — Thomas Hardy

“If it is not seemly, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, xii, 17

“By the worldly standards of public life, all scholars in their work are of course oddly virtuous. They do not make wild claims, they do not cheat,they do not try to persuade at any cost, they appeal neither to prejudice nor to authority, they are often frank about their ignorance, their disputes are fairly decorous, they do not confuse what is being argued with race, politics, sex or age, they listen patiently to the young and to the old who both know everything. These are the general virtues of scholarship, and they are peculiarly the virtues of science.” — Jacob Bronowski

“‘Truth’ never set anyone free. It is only *doubt* which will bring mental emancipation.” — Anton LaVey

“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.” — Samuel Johnson

“We are what we repeatedly do.” — Aristotle

“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will be the greatest enemy.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)

Well, I’m done, even if I can’t post yet; fucking corporations. In the further interests of efficiency, I’ll forgo any attempts at a brilliant closing paragraph, settling, instead, for saying, see y’all next time, whenever it may be. My internet at home is down, so, I’ll be hoofing it for a day or three, to the nearest free Wi-fi spot to get posted. SIGH…. I’ll get there, you’ll see….