I think, before anyone actually comes up with an answer to that query, I’ll use my recently discovered brevity bone to take us out of the intro in a hurry. I’ve found that doing so will, at the very least, put a damper in any pending lawsuits; something out the air at the oyster beds keeps the process servers away…. Of course, the air there HAS been rated by government agencies as “miasma”, so, perhaps they have something about which to complain…. not that we care at all, but, it gives them something to do besides pick at each other.

Now, where was I, before I so rudely interrupted myself? Oh, right. We’re outta here…. See ya down the page ffolkes, and, I’d suggest you use the conveniently located handholds on the wall…. It’s gonna get bumpy…..

Shall we Pearl?

From 3/16/2014:

“…when all government… in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1821

Did you catch the key points in the report on these asshole bankers and their naked avarice? To me, one of the key points in the article, which shows just how ridiculous the whole thing becomes when examined in ANY light, is the sentence imposed on the banks for admitting their guilt…. Essentially, the decision says this: a) the banks were guilty of defrauding their customers (again)…. they admitted it without a qualm; b) they only have to pay back PART of what they stole by doing so, and c) they don’t have to go to jail, they get to stay in business, and keep ALL of the profits they made by this theft.

You know, it makes me wonder…. I’d wager serious money (if I could cover the bet…. I’m not a bank, and I bet with honor….)….. very serious money, that the banks, when they planned out their campaign of theft in this instance, included in their plans a certain amount of money to set aside to pay the legal fees involved in defending themselves once they got found out and sued for the fraud…. I BET they knew before they started that, eventually, the SEC and their counterparts (ie, government thieves….) in the BRC would catch them in their thievery, and take them to court, so they set aside a percentage of the profits to be made to cover that, and proceeded with the plan to steal from their customers, (i.e. US, you and me, and all the other little investors whose money they steal on a regular basis….), knowing ahead of time that they’d never do any time in jail, and could count on a certain amount of profit on the deal…

I don’t think anyone would take that bet, unless they’re stupider than they look….. Ffolkes, how much more proof is necessary? How many times do we have to let these assholes fuck everyone else in the world, and let them get away with it, before we do something about stopping it? Personally, I’ve about had it up to here (makes motion at neck…) with their sheer gall, to carry out a scheme like this, in full view of the public, knowing they’ll be able to not only get away with it without ever spending any time in jail for their crimes, but will make a decent profit by doing so…. a profit they, of course, feel is their RIGHT to make, just because they want it…..

It’s not the money…. though, of course, it would help a lot of people if it wasn’t stolen…. No, it’s the sheer effrontery, the gall, the entitlement that gives these assholes the idea they can do this with impunity that bothers me the most…. It’s the kind of thing calculated to piss me off enough to take some action, even if that action isn’t necessarily the one that will help the most…. No, I’m tempted, almost beyond control, to go buy a gun, and a LOT of bullets that go with the gun, so I could start picking off bankers, and politicians, and judges, and police officers, and all the other assholes who dump their loads of BS all over everyone else in the pursuit of their own agendas, never caring at all how many others they harm in the process…

Yep, ffolkes, the time is drawing nigh when my patience will be at an end, and I’ll actually DO something that will, if nothing else, make me feel as if I’d helped in a small way to put a stop to the bullshit going on all around us…. It may not change society, but I’ll damn sure feel a lot better, you betcha….

Bah, humbug! Writing about this has gotten me as worked up as reading the article did originally; I’m sitting here vibrating with anger at the corporate assholes who are constantly degrading life for the rest of us, and wishing there were some way to speed up the time until I can afford to buy a decent weapon (by “decent” I mean, of course, that it will do all I want it to do….)…. I have a feeling it won’t be terribly long now until that day actually arrives…. and I can’t wait, to tell the truth….

I’m too worked up to rant further about this, though I can feel a lot more inside me that needs to be released…. So, I’ll finish off with a little five-star pearl, using as a parameter the same subject upon which we’ve been gnawing…. Hey, it’s a quick, legitimate way to bring this to a dignified, if choppy, ending….. Enjoy….

— How many politicians does it take to change a light bulb? Four, one to change it and the other three to deny it. — Smart Bee

“Dealing with the government is like kicking a 300-pound sponge.” — Finagle’s Law of Government Contracting

“We are hypnotized into believing that two TV sets will make us twice as happy as one TV set.” — Laura Huxley (wife of Aldous)

“The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.” — John E.E. Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902), — “The History of Freedom in Antiquity”

“I don’t want the cheese, I just want to get out of the trap.” — Spanish Proverb

“And sometimes the bear eats you.” — Realist Bee

“I find television very educating.  Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” — Groucho Marx, 1890-1977

“Sleeping alone, except under doctor’s orders, does much harm. Children will  tell you how lonely it is sleeping alone. If possible you should always sleep with someone you love. You recharge your mutual batteries free of charge.” — Marlene Dietrich

“Conventional wisdom says to know your limits. To know them you must find them first. Finding your limits generally involves getting in over your head and
hoping you live long enough to benefit from the experience. That’s the fun part.” — Drew Marold

“No matter where you go, there you are.” — Buckaroo Banzai, Buckaroo Banzai – Across the 8th Dimension

“I’m the one who’s got to die when its time for me to die, so let me live  my life the way I want to.” — Jimi Hendrix

“The only people for me are the mad ones.” — Jack Kerouac

“All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream.” — Edgar Allen Poe, from the poem “A Dream Within a Dream”

“You have taken yourself too seriously. Knock it off.” — Cheeky Bee

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I’m a bit surprised to have finished this with as much aplomb as has been the case. Rather than make the seriously bad mistake of trying to explain that comment, I’ll leave you in suspense, thus obeying the old adage about leaving ’em with something to think about. I will, in spite of all attempts to stop me, or dissuade me, be back tomorrow, to do this again…. I can’t seem to stop myself….