Tag Archives: politics

In a manner of speaking…..

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Ffolkes,
Mornings such as this are becoming all too familiar. I sit here and stare at the monitor, waiting for an idea to float up to the surface of my mind, where I can pluck it up and lay it out for all to see. But, nothing is floating. The stream of consciousness keeps flowing by; I can feel the current. But, nothing is jumping into the net, or onto shore to flop around, and the baited hook is being ignored. Oh well, I suppose I’ll have to wing it; that’s better than diving in to catch ’em by hand……
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Q: “You’re right, of course.  I’m extraordinarily selfish.  But it has served me so well in the past.”
Picard: “It will not serve you here.”
Q: “Don’t be so hard on me, Jean-Luc.  You’ve been mortal all of your life, you know about dying.  I’ve never even given it a second-thought…or a first one for that matter.  I could’ve been killed.  If it hadn’t been for Data, and that brief little he created, I would’ve been gone.  No more me.  And no one would’ve missed me, would they?” — “Deja Q”, Stardate 43539.1

And right there is the answer to the question, why should one live with compassion and truth, honor and duty? Because if you don’t, NO ONE will miss you when you’re gone. Can there be a sadder way to die? Or, worse yet, a sadder way to live? I don’t believe there can be, at all, at all….
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“The assertion that all men are created equal was of no practical use in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the Declaration not for that, but for future use.” —  Abraham Lincoln

“All men are created unequal.”- Lazarus Long

“All men weren’t created equal. All were created with equal rights. But they weren’t created with equal abilities, or equal intelligence, or equal physical capabilities. Every man and woman is created with equal potential of being better than merely equal, and with the right to have that potential respected for what they may achieve. They should not be judged according to what someone with greater talent in one area or another may say, for they judge and condemn only according to their own assumed entitlement.” — gigoid ©
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“Termiter’s argument that God is His own grandmother generated a surprising amount of controversy among Church leaders, who on the one hand considered the argument unsupported by scripture but on the other hand were unwilling to risk offending God’s grandmother.” — Len Cool, American Pie

Vows with so much passion, swears with so much grace, that ‘t is a kind of heaven to be deluded by him. — Nathaniel Lee (1655-1692)  — Alexander the Great, Act i, Sc. 3

It can be a rather sobering pastime to contemplate the staggering effects of ignorance on human society. History is filled with evidence of just how silly mankind tends to be, especially when left to its own devices. How many times have we seen or read about some tin-plated demagogue spewing their vitriolic nonsense so loudly, and with such conviction, that millions of desperate people gather behind their banner, ready to die for the cause, however ignorant, on the off-chance that their lot my be improved thereby.

Let’s see….without googling, I can offer off the top of my head, Alexander. Genghis Khan. Jesus of Nazareth. Mohamed (yes, I know, but the spell-checker wants it spelled this way. Go figure). Hannibal, Adolph Hitler, Baha’ullah, Shrub, Sr. and Shrub, Jr., and a host of other charismatic leaders with the ability to pull people into their own particular delusional system. As a matter of fact, we have spent much of our history just recovering from the times when these charming idiots held sway over society.

Myself, I’m getting pretty tired of trying to live down the absolute nonsense perpetrated by these ignorant sociopaths; I wish it weren’t so, but it looks as if ignorance is going to win the final battle with reason, and humanity will join the dinosaurs in extinction, with the dubious honor of having chosen death over life……

“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.” — Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals

“The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

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“It may be true that my desk here is really “nothing but” a transient eddy of electrons in the flux of universal process. Nevertheless, I find that it continues to support my feet, my revolver, and my cigars all day long. What happens when my back is turned I don’t know. Or much care. That’s no concern of mine.” — Edward Abbey

I find this to be an insightful epiphany; it’s just curmudgeonly enough to appeal to that side of my nature, which, I do confess, I encourage shamelessly. But, and here’s the important part, it’s pretty much true, in the sense that the Universe does exist and operate in ways we don’t always understand. But, there is also no need to understand everything; many parts of the Universe bring with them an understanding that needs no communication beyond perception. If it looks like a cat, and sounds like a cat, and smells like a cat, and feels like a cat, AND it tastes like a cat, it’s probably a cat. If, after performing all of these perceptual tests upon the cat, you walk away with a number of scratches, well, that is just one more piece of evidence in favor of the theory that it was a cat….. it’s kinda like Mark Twain said, “A man who has held a bull by the tail knows several things more than a man who hasn’t”……
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“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,’ said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
” What’s for breakfast? said Pooh. What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said. — A. A. Milne, “Winnie the Pooh”

Here’s a fine little example of how simple is best. What a wonderful attitude to have in the morning, in whichever form you choose, breakfast, or excitement. It is only when one attains a certain age that mornings assume the aspect of a challenge rather than an inspiration. Part of the process of aging, for us humans, involves learning how to approach each day with some degree of cheerfulness, having found that it is better to accept what is, rather than struggle to make it more to our liking.

When one is young, that unknown day ahead of us is bright and shiny, with promise and potential. As we get older, we see less of the shine, and focus instead on the potential. By now, we know any promises involving reality are false; things usually change before a promise can even be uttered. Mother Nature offers us no guarantees, we just have to take everything “as is”…..therefore, learning to get back to the childish side of our nature allows us to at least look forward to each day, even though we know its challenges…..
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Wait….no, wait a minute…..oh. Okay. It’s okay, I just had a strong feeling of veja du. ” For a moment, I thought I had entered an alternate universe.” — Vir  But, it was only my sense of humor playing a joke on me….. (Sorry, I apologize…I couldn’t resist…..) But, think of this, if you will: these are only my opinions. You should see my convictions.  Y’all take care out there…..

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Intrusion of the Dubious….

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Ffolkes,
As the brightly colored dreidle spins, mesmerizing, laughter rings out above the noise of the crowded plaza. The sun beat down with heavy indifference, laying a mantle of sticky humidity on the poor, and on the not-so-poor denizens wandering listlessly among the filthy stalls. Occasionally, soldiers from the palace would stride past, looking neither left nor right, in squads of eight; any fewer would be an easy target for the bands of mercenaries purchased as protection by the criminal overlords of the city.

The crowds parted once again, and filled in behind, as a stranger, dressed in strangely colored garments, marched steadily toward the Speaking Stone. He reached the Stone and vaulted to the top; the crowd gathered around, and fell silent. As the sun began to sink behind the minarets to the west, the stranger looked out among the crowd, and spake thus, “Did you believe the lies? Did you doubt my words? If so, the proof of your mistaken choice stands before you. I have returned, and there will be a reckoning!” The crowd, still silent, fell back as the stranger quickly departed the plaza. Neighbor looked at neighbor, with baffled mien, until one shouted out, expressing the mutual confusion, and said “What! What the hell is that supposed to mean?”……

Sorry folks, just had to get that out…..we will now return to our regularly scheduled nonsense…..
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Alone!–that worn-out word,
So idly spoken, and so coldly heard;
Yet all that poets sing and grief hath known
Of hopes laid waste, knells in that word ALONE!
— Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1805-1873) — The New Timon, (1846), Part ii

It is interesting sometimes to see how the world works; there is always some piece of it that is stranger than we can imagine. This poem, though not of top notch quality, is nonetheless saved from total obscurity by the power of its plea. What interests me is that this gentleman is the same one who wrote the famous passage from the beginning of one of his books; it begins with “It was a dark and stormy night….” and proceeds to go downhill from there. It is considered by experts to be so bad that there is now a yearly literary contest, with a pretty hefty prize, called the Bulwer-Lytton Award.

The award is bestowed upon the author of the written passage that best exemplifies just how badly people can write. Each year, the winning pieces lend new meaning to Theodore Sturgeon’s Law of Everything, which tells us that “90 percent of science fiction is crap. But, then, 90% of everything is crap.” It’s all just another way for us to laugh at our best source of humor in life, ourselves and our personal struggle with our oh-so human nature…….
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“It is your resistance to ‘what is’ that causes your suffering.” — Buddha

In the movie, The Lion King, there is a scene wherein the young lion king-to-be is receiving a lesson from his shaman/mentor, the anorexic orangutan. The shaman would ask a question, and when the young lion answered, the shaman would hit him over the head with a stick, and say “Forget about it! It’s in the Past!”, carrying on with that until the point was obvious, to wit: Don’t hang on to baggage you can leave in the past, or you’ll drag it with you into the future.”

This is actually the only scene from the movie that I remember, so I guess my crap detector was on full alert. But this one scene makes the movie worthwhile for me, because this is a lesson that more kids (and adults) in this country need to have drilled into their heads. However, such a subtle concept as this is generally incomprehensible to westerners, who are conditioned from birth to avoid using their minds at all cost….to their eventual regret, and everyone else’s chagrin…..
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By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord Hymn

“Our safety, our liberty depends on preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate.  The people of the US are the rightful masters both Congress and the courts – Not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution” — Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country…. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.’ — Former US President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 — letter to Col. William F. Elkins — printed in “The Lincoln Encyclopedia”, — ed. Archer H. Shaw, Macmillan, 1950, NY

“Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear — kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor — with the cry of grave national emergency… Always there has been some terrible evil to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant sums demanded.  Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real.” — General Douglas MacArthur, 1957

This section of quotes hearkens back to the early days of the Pearls of Virtual Wisdom. The four quotes above, when considered as a continuing evolution of observations of American society, show an increasingly strong sense of impending threat to the freedoms our forefathers attempted to guarantee for us. The threat is getting even stronger as time goes on, and I can only hope that enough folks out there are aware of how close to the edge we are skating, and make a joint effort to pull us all back from danger…..but, then, I AM an optimist by nature…..
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Thou wast that all to me, love,
For which my soul did pine–
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine.
— Edgar Allan Poe

Poe didn’t live long, but he loved, and lived well, miserable though he was. To love well is to live well; perfect logic trimmed with Occam’s Razor. I have loved, so I can say I have lived well. I still love, and seek more. It is, after all, our most defining emotion. Robert Heinlein, of course, said it the best, as far as I can see, when he said that “Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” That’s a goal worth living for…..
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No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. — The Constitution of the United States of America Amendment 3, 1791

This is your daily reminder of what is now missing from your life…..no joke…..
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The above posting may seem like insignificant rubbish at first glance, but if you read between the lines, you will be surprised to discover the annals of Burt Bachrach, world peace, Oxford Advanced Readers Dictionary, quantum physics made easy, and an easy-to-use step-by-step walk-through on how to make a time traveling device that actually works. — DISCLAIMER

I can’t do it any better than that; not today. Today, I’ll be lucky if I can see my way clear to tomorrow. Matters at this point are, shall we say, unsettled? Good thing I refuse to be bored; to admit that is to admit I’m tired of what is in my own head. Not gonna happen in this lifetime…..meantime, y’all take care out there…..

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Arbitrary moments of sublime nostalgia……

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Ffolkes,
I’ve hit the wall. It hurts. The longer I sit here and try to find something, anything in my head, the more solid the wall becomes. I’m already bleeding on the forehead, and it’s threatening to run down my arms onto the keyboard (which, by the way, is covered with tiny little thorns on the touch pads). Oh well, such is life; I’ll just keep on typing until I bleed out……
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“We have a presidential election coming up. And I think the big problem, of course, is someone will win.” — Barry Crimmins

Of course this is funny. It’s funny because it hurts; we laugh most often to ease the pain of living. And the fact that this is funny, is for me the saddest part of the whole deal. It’s funny because it’s true; someone is going to win the election, and no matter who it is, we will once again be at the mercy of a sociopath. Not just any sociopath, mind you, but one who has received from us a mandate, to go forth amongst the people and steal, steal, steal. We constantly are forced to deal with the felonious activities of those we elect, because by electing them we tell them, “It’s okay; I’ll just bend over right here while you unbuckle your belt.”

Recently, one of our readers opted out of receiving this via email, giving “your politics” (ie., my politics) as the underlying reason. I want to make something clear, if it isn’t already. I don’t have any politics. I firmly believe that those in our society who want public office are sick people, who have their own personal agendas for seeking office; public spirit, altruism, and a desire to help others are not listed on those agendas. So let’s just say it straight out….. I don’t like ANY politicians. Not Democrats, not Republicans, not Libertarians, not Socialists, Communists, or Green Party-ists. A central government is unfortunately a necessary evil, but whenever it becomes merely a popularity contest to decide which group of thieves to live with, then I start poking at it, and buying into it as little as possible. It’s the only way I can keep from getting nauseous every time I read the latest outrage in the news…….
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He who knows nothing, loves nothing.
He who can do nothing understands nothing.
He who understands nothing is worthless.
— Paracelsus

That may be a bit harsh; they’re not entirely useless…..a person fitting this description obviously has the qualifications to be a candidate for the U.S. Republican Party’s bid for the Presidency. This fits all six of the current crop like a tailored glove……
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Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can sleep.

Dogs do this consistently. So do cats. Who are we to go against tradition? Besides, maybe they know something we don’t…… Well, at least some of us don’t know. What this really says is simpler than it seems, but is still some of the best advice one can receive. In essence, what this says is that “worry has killed more folks than bleeding to death ever did” (thanks to R. A. H. again).

The stress and unrelenting pressure that life in modern society puts on each of us, merely to fulfill those tasks essential to normal life, is so great that most folks are very seldom able to step back far enough to gain any perspective on their lives. Not only do they neglect to stop and smell the roses, they forget to even see them as they hurry by.

Learning to make one’s own pace, a pace designed to nurture and thrive rather than merely survive, is one of the most valuable lessons we can learn. It may not keep one from dying, but it makes living a lot more fun….. “The best way to get rid of worries is to let them die of neglect.”– Unknown Smart Person

Why lose we life in anxious cares,
To lay in hoards for future years?
Can these, when tortur’d by disease,
Cheer our sick hearts, or purchase ease?
Can these prolong one gasp of breath,
Or calm the troubled hour of death?
— Gay (1688-1732), Fables
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Dawn

Melting ice in a pool, waiting,
convex and patient.
Sunlight seeking.

gigoid

Long live Haiku! Poetry for the masses, indeed. Almost anyone, I think, who first reads a haiku, is often compelled to try to compose one themselves. The very brevity of its structure, displaying the absolute maximum of meaning in the minimum of expression seems to act as a challenge to even the least literate among us.

I enjoy the process; it reminds me at times of the state of mind I use when diving for Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, a modified state of limbo, where impressions and feelings guide my direction more than reason or facts. It’s an easy way, I’ve found, to touch the very center of reality within ourselves; sort of an alternate form of conscious meditation. Sounds a bit like New Age psychosocial babble-speak, I know, but, hey, it works for me….
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“No matter where you are, there you are.” — Oliver’s Law of Location

Here you are. Caught implacably in time between the past on one hand, and the future on the other. You cannot go back, only forward, though you hold the past in your heart. The future holds your hope, but only by being where you are now can you get to the future you desire. The seed of hope is planted today, and will be reaped in the future, as long as it is nourished and nurtured on each successive now. Wishing it were otherwise won’t make it so, nor will whining, complaining, or denying. Only by accepting can we be in the moment, where we belong……

“Yes! Living in today’s complex world of the Future IS much like having a hive of bees living in your head. But, there they are!”– Firesign Theater, “I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus”
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Opening to the inner eye, sinuous and subtle
floating truth, no fat, no rebuttal.
Fling away, share the innocent trouble,
as wells of laughter begin to bubble.

Okay, that’s another good start. I can feel more of this one in there somewhere, but it’s not ready to come out into the light just yet. Have patience, it’s all new to me, this poetry stuff. I gave up spending a lot of time in the pertinent state of mind needed to compose; too many interruptions from Reality for a lot of years. I’ll get it yet…..meantime, y’all take care out there….

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

This truffle intentionally left in ignorance….

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Ffolkes,
Here is the Pearl I put together on 5/28/11…. a bit of a blast from the relatively recent past. I believe this one was posted on SFGATE on that date last year….. today it appears with a couple of short pieces at the end as a bonus round. It seems I’m not completely out of things that need to be said…..

Ffolkes,
The process of diving for pearls in the ocean of knowledge that is the WWW is one I have tried not to analyze too closely, for fear the delicate sense of nuance would fade away under the scrutiny, and be forever lost. Leaving the matter of choosing up to my subconscious has worked out very well for me, and I’m afraid to bring it up into the light of logic, which resides most comfortably in the conscious mind.

And that’s okay by me….. researching, outlining, organizing, and composing are fine if I’m looking to write a review, or describing the cooking technique for a certain recipe. But when it really needs to be subtle, when it really needs to stimulate zazen, as does a koan, then I find it works best to allow myself to see through a curtain of intuition, and make the subliminal choice. Today’s offerings were chosen in this fashion, with only one criterion to apply, to wit: life is one big joke, so don’t let your serious face freeze in place…..

“I don’t ask questions, I just have fun!” — Bugs Bunny

You can’t get there from here, you have to go somewhere else first. (thank goodness!)

A wide-eyed, innocent UNICORN, poised delicately in a MEADOW filled with  LILACS, LOLLIPOPS & small CHILDREN at the HUSH of twilight?? — Zippy the Pinhead

On Monday, when the sun is hot,
I wonder to myself a lot;
‘Now is it true, or is it not,
‘That what is which and which is what?’

“On Tuesday, when it hails and snows,
The feeling on me grows and grows
That hardly anybody knows
If those are these or these are those.”

“On Wednesday, when the sky is blue,
And I have nothing else to do,
I sometimes wonder if it’s true
That who is what and what is who.” — A.A. Milne, Winnie The Pooh

“It’s wonderful to be here, it’s certainly a thrill…”–The Beatles

In the words of little Ruth Anne, “…and that’s the Truth! Thpppppt!”–Lily Tomlin.
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Between those who use their neighbors, and those who use a cane.
Between those in constant power, and those in constant pain.
Between those who run to evil, and those who cannot run.
Tell me which ones are the cripples, and which ones touch the sun.
— Ceili’s Muse “What you do with what you’ve got”

Just another cleverly disguised criticism of modern day politicians and/or preachers. (For clarity’s sake: I use the word ‘preacher’ to describe any and all of the ministers, priests, pastors, vicars, or cult leaders who believe that their particular vision of God and Reality is the only one that is a) true, and b) acceptable to their degree of ignorance (i.e., subordinate). They all tend to proselytize, which is no end of annoyance…..). I hope you’re not getting tired of my taking shots at the talking heads at every opportunity; I have no intention of stopping or moderating any of it, until the Constitution is safe from further degradation, and the seeds of ignorance have been dug up and burned……
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Speaking of which…..

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” — Francis Bellamy, 1892

In case you didn’t notice, there is nothing in here about God. This is the original version of the pledge of allegiance; the phrase, “…under God…” was only added 62 years later, in 1954, by President Eisenhower. At that time, the stage was set for the eventual burning of the Bill of Rights, as more and more of our segments of government were taken over by fanatical Christians of one flavor or another. It was fairly simple, actually. We already expected our politicians to lie to us; Eisenhower wasn’t the first to do so in a major way when he conveniently “forgot” to mention to the American public that we were sending ‘military advisers’ to Vietnam in 1954, along with enough weapons and materials to equip them, and most of the South Vietnamese Army.

Every major politician in the last century, except perhaps Kennedy, who had other ways of concealing his true intentions, has shamelessly lied to us, telling the public whatever they needed to hear to get elected. Now, it seems it would be more honest to add one more short statement at the end of the pledge, one that makes it clear what is really meant…..to wit: …..with liberty and justice for all white Christians.” What do you think? Wouldn’t it be closer to the truth that way?….. but, oh yeah, I forgot….truth isn’t the point here; prejudice is……
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It’s a long and winding road, and as with any journey, it begins with but one step. The trick is to be prepared to take that step when the time is right. I’m ready, just waiting for wherewithal; as soon as it arrives, I’ll be on my way, to new horizons and new things to learn…..until then, this keeps me busy and fairly content. Y’all take care out there……

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Fundamentally flawed, but functional…

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Ffolkes,
Just so you know…..in order to deal more effectively with the lack of material in my head, I’ll be taking at least a couple days off, sort of. Not all the way off; I’ll be recycling older pearls. I figured out that, as I’ve been doing this for over 10 years,  some of the older ones hadn’t been seen yet by some of the newer readers.  A few days will suffice to both give them a treat from the past, and give my head some time to recuperate, and generate some more fresh food for thought…..that will begin tomorrow, so watch this space for blasts from the past…..
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A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow in the morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
— T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land

One of T.S.’s most powerful poems, and one of my favorites. A stiff and pointed stick jabbed right into the eye of society, making them see the stark landscape of modern life, devoid of compassion and joy. I’ll bet someone like Newt G. or Mitt R. would read this and feel very, very uncomfortable, without knowing why; but we would know, for it is a bitter condemnation of the modern way of life that venerates money, and ignores human suffering….
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“If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be … If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.” — Thomas Jefferson

“..it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.”  That about says it all. This, then, is why we are being systematically oppressed by our own leadership. This is why “they” were able to deregulate the Bill of Rights, right in front of us, and almost nobody knows, or cares. The American public, for the largest part, has abrogated this responsibility; we can no longer call ourselves free men, for we have given it up in favor of a false sense of security, and misguided trust in people who claim to have our interests at heart, but in reality don’t even really like other Americans. I would guesstimate that over 90% of the voting public has no idea that the Bill of Rights has been declared null and void; hell, that number of them probably couldn’t even name the Bill of Rights. It is disgusting, and frustrating, and downright scary how little people seem to care about having volunteered to become slaves of the beloved ruling class. I’m tempted to give in to my baser urges, and start slapping people silly when they display their ignorance in public. It may not return the Bill of Rights, but I’ll sure feel better…..

“They have exiled me now from their society and I am pleased, because humanity does not exile except the one whose noble spirit rebels against despotism and oppression.  He who does not prefer exile to slavery is not free by any measure of freedom, truth and duty” — Kahlil Gibran, from “Spirits Rebellious”
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” It is not the writer’s task to answer questions but to question answers. To be impertinent, and, if necessary, subversive.” — Edward Abbey

Perfect description of my attitude toward writing’s place in society; it couldn’t be said better. To be a gadfly, to question authority, to learn and share what is learned, regardless of who it embarrasses, this is the purpose a writer should always accept as integral to their work and expression. It wouldn’t be as necessary if people would just think for themselves, but it should be obvious by now that that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. If I were the kind of person who could just walk away from someone in need, maybe I could forgo some of what takes up so much of my time.

But, regardless of how stupid someone might be, they don’t deserve to be oppressed by assholes whose entire agenda is focused on self-aggrandizement. I still believe that anyone who actually WANTS to be an elected official in this country is clinically insane, with sociopathic tendencies. Only when one is blithely unconcerned with the fate of other people can one seek that much power over them. It’s just plain sick, and I intend to keep pointing it out until they’re all put in therapy, willing or not……
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“The land of the free!  This is the land of the free!  Why, if I say anything that displeases them, the free mob will lynch me, and that’s my freedom.  Free?  Why I have never been in any country where the individual has such an abject fear of his fellow countrymen.  Because, as I say, they are free to lynch him the moment he shows he is not one of them.” — D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930)

Hmmm…..I guess things around here haven’t changed so much after all. Mrs. Grundy and her ilk still oversee the morals of everyone else, shouting down any differences with strident cries of Infidel! Blasphemer!” At least here on the net, it’s still considered bad form to type in ALL CAPS…… but, we  need to be careful; those who care about such things are still trying to get legislation passed that will attempt to censor what can be posted online, and limit what the net can be used for. Don’t let them do it; they’ve already taken too many of our rights as it is. We can’t afford to lose any more…..
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“Poetry has been to me “its own exceeding great reward;” it has soothed my afflictions; it has multiplied and refined my enjoyments; it has endeared solitude; and it has given me the habit of wishing to discover the good and the beautiful in all that meets and surrounds me.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Me, too! As I’ve said before, or at least intimated, poetry is, in my humble opinion, the ultimate use of language; any idea expressed in a poem is more readily digestible to the human brain than any prose can possibly be. How many of us learned the alphabet by singing the “Alphabet Song”? The very basis of the written word, the alphabet, naturally lends itself to rhyming, which stimulates the mind to learn in a way that seamlessly coordinates with the way our minds perceive, so that deep knowledge is passed on with each short phrase, knowledge deeper than the mere meaning of each word, made clear to us by its structure, and organized compatibly by the cadence.

Perhaps that could be new project for me. I’ve never been happy with my own ability to produce a good poem; they always fall short of my expectations. Maybe it is time, now that I’ve had more experience with the language, to see if that experience has enhanced my creative side……hmmm, we’ll see……if anything moderately attractive comes of it, I’ll post it here, and take the risk of allowing others to see it, and judge its quality……

“A poet that fails in writing, becomes often a morose critic. The weak insipid white wine makes at length excellent vinegar.” — Shenstone
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Whew! Made it! I thought this would never end. Well, not really. It was enough fun that I lost track of where I was. But, we’ve finally come to a logical place to stop, so we’ll emulate Spock, and call it a day….. y’all take care out there…..

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Political rhetoric for sale or lease: Entropy spoken here….

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Ffolkes,
I’ve been bitten by a tsetse fly….in the past three days, I have slept as much as I’ve been awake, but not in a normal pattern. About every 5 hours I start yawning and looking for my pillow, and go down for a 2-3 hour nap. Then I’m up to almost midnight, and up again at 5 AM, wide awake. It’s a bit strange, almost like some of the weird hours I kept when studying for finals at Berkeley.

I don’t know if they still do this, but one schedule I tried, thought up by a friend in the cooperative dorm I lived in, was perfect for finals week. One would go to bed (for the day) at about 3 PM, getting up at 10 or 11 PM, to start studying all night. At dawn, with the study material still fresh in the mind, one goes to take the final exams for that day. Afterward, a small meal, engage in a bit of business or recreation, then back to bed for the day, and up again at 10. A reverse cycle, as it were, and once accustomed to it, one became almost used to working in the quiet of the early morning hours, and always having an open seat wherever one went, as everyone else in the world was asleep.

But it got kinda lonely, too….it’s not a good schedule for anyone who wants a social life……thank goodness for no more final exams (except, of course, the ultimate final exam, requiring no study, and which everyone passes…..)
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“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” — H. L. Mencken

Mr. Mencken’s insight was first published back in the early twentieth century, and was actually less of an insight as it was an eerily accurate observation of American politics in the last hundred years. Since the end of the World War II, (the last time Congress actually declared war, as justified in the Constitution) our country’s leaders have involved us in at least five “police actions” (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iraq again), all supposedly necessary to protect us from the evils of communism, tyranny, or terrorism. Hundreds of thousands of young Americans have been sent to their deaths in far away places, all to make the old men back at home feel more comfortable in their insulation from reality.

I’m not the first to take note that young men die because of what old men believe, and hopefully I won’t be the last. This country has been hijacked by the 1%; they are no longer even trying to conceal their control over the rest of us. They have forgotten what one of their own said about 50 years ago: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” — John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963), 12 March 1962  For myself, I intend to enjoy watching the 1% reap the whirlwind they are creating……. which is a cleverly disguised euphemism for helping the whirlwind spin faster…..
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“It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor  of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.” — H.L. Mencken

Some days, H. L. just makes a lot of sense. I admire his perspicacity, and his unadulterated courage to say exactly what he believed, without compromise. A hundred years from now, his words will have the same weight, but hopefully, won’t be a common response to what is real. It would be nice to make this sort of joke a thing of the past, but I don’t see much chance of human nature changing anytime soon, so common virtues will probably remain uncommonly sparse among the denizens of human society…..
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What happens to your fist when you open your hand? — Zen Buddhism

In one sense, this koan is but a simple puzzle; the answer, obviously, is that the fist goes to the same place that our lap goes when we stand up. Now, you may ask, exactly where is that? Good question…..so, what do you think the answer might be? Another response might be, the fist is transformed, changed from a state of limited purpose to one of unlimited possibility. A fist can only be used in a small number of ways, but the open hand has few limits to its utility.  Perhaps one might say that the fist moves from the realm of reality to the confines of memory, abiding there until needed again.


This is the beauty of a Zen koan; it poses a question that sends the mind on a journey toward illumination, suggesting little-known paths in our own minds that can lead us to deeper knowledge of ourselves, and of reality. It is not the easiest path to self-improvement or self-growth, but then, the human mind gets lazy if things are too easy. We do better if we  push ourselves, at least a little, and goodness knows we all can find ways to do better in life…..anyone who doesn’t think so is only fooling themselves…..
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Farewell, Love, and all thy laws forever:
Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more;
Seneca and Plato call me from their lore,
To perfect wealth my wit for to endeavor.
In blind error when I did persevere,
Thy sharp repulse that pricketh aye so sore
Hath taught me to set in trifles no store
And scape forth, since liberty is liefer.
Therefore, farewell: go trouble younger hearts,
And in me claim no more authority;
With idle youth go use thy property
And thereon spend thy many brittle darts:
For hitherto though I have lost all my time,
Me lusteth no longer rotten boughs to climb.
— Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542), Farewell, Love

Sir Thomas must have had a really bad break-up to get this despondent and cynical. But he sure made a good poem out of it; I hope that was solace for him in his despair……
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“When they took the fourth amendment, I was silent because I don’t deal drugs.  When they took the sixth amendment, I kept quiet because I know I’m innocent.  When they took the second amendment, I said nothing because I don’t own a gun.  Now they’ve come for the first amendment, and I can’t say anything at all.” — Tim Freeman

I sincerely hope that y’all don’t get tired of hearing about this, because I have every intention of harping on it until the Bill of Rights has been restored. If you weren’t able to figure it out before now, I’ll make it clear…. I’m pissed. I’m royally and truly pissed off at our so called leadership; they have led us straight into voluntary slavery, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. I’d be glad to discuss this with anyone who can present a logical argument, or even an illogical one; we all have to find our fun somewhere.

If you don’t think you’ve lost any of your freedoms, try saying the word “bomb”, in any context, while standing in line in public. And get ready to spend the next hours in police custody, trying to convince them you’re not a terrorist about to blow up a bank. Think I’m kidding? Read the news……

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
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Well, here’s another fine mess I’ve created. I’ll have to start handing out brooms with each day’s offering…..ah, me, “.. 

I think I’d better go back to my DESK and toy with a few common MISAPPREHENSIONS…” — Zippy the Pinhead

T’would be best for all, methinks…..y’all take care out there…..

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Tawdry inspiration and cold tea….

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Ffolkes,
From where I’m standing, or rather, sitting, it’s all cold tea. I’m tired. I just got up after more than 8 hours in bed, and I’m tired. It must be a side effect of not sleeping very well; I toss & turn a lot, which makes for painful twinges in my back and/or shoulders; not much pain, but enough to keep me more awake than asleep. This has been going on for years now, ever since my back got so much worse about 6 years ago, after working as a tarbender for about a year. Even though I now take enough pain medicine to control the pain, it doesn’t go away; it’s  still there, just manageable most of the time.

There are times when the medicine is not enough to keep the pain down, and I spend a couple of days in unrelenting agony, with pain at about level 7 or 8 of 10. It hasn’t happened in a good while, but the pain I do have is starting to affect my sleep more, which is cumulatively not good; the lack of sleep adds up after a while. I’m not sure what to do at this point; more meds aren’t the answer, and there are no further treatment modalities that will improve the condition. I suppose I’m going to have to go see my doctor again, & see if there is anything I can do; something has to change, or I’m going to go back to wanting to bite people…..hard…….ah well, let us go sublimate…..
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You no longer need to punish, deceive, or compromise yourself. Unless, of course, you want to stay employed.

I must be a lucky man. A bit over a year ago, I was pretty much forced into retiring, before I had actually planned to do so. The period of time since then hasn’t been the most comfortable, but has shown me that retirement has some basic advantages over working. The primary reason to be glad is the above statement. When I talk to folks who still work where I retired from, they all have the same story to tell, and it isn’t pretty. Poor management, personal agendas, petty politics, all combine to create a living hell for even the most calloused individuals. I guess in that way, I’ve always been lucky; I manage to avoid the bad things that happen to a lot of others, not by my own efforts, but by circumstance.

When I was eligible for the military draft back in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, I dragged the process out as far as I could with applying for conscientious objector status, then appealing the decision. In the mean time, I had gone for my physical, and despite every effort to fail, I was pronounced fit for military duty, status 1A. They were holding the first lottery drawing for numbers to determine who would be drafted first, and my birthday was picked at #19, so I was sure my next stop was going to be Fort Benning, Georgia for boot camp.

Next thing I knew, the draft was over, and my birthday group had been classified 1Y, a category that would never be called again. I had slipped right through a huge crack in the floor that no one could even see. I guess dodging bullets is part of my bag o’luck, the basic quotient of luck one is issued at birth. If so, I can’t complain at all…..
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So tell me, what color is the sky on your planet?

This is a question that occurs to me a lot these days, as I bear reluctant witness to the inane mouthings of the crop of Presidential wannabes currently plastered all over our TV’s. How is it possible that only one of the 8 original prospective candidates admits to believing in evolution? Most of the naysayers say so to woo the ultra-conservative fundamentalist Christians, claiming a “faith-based” belief in creationism. I ask again, how is this possible? Has our educational system failed so badly that theories with absolutely no concrete evidence are given precedence over a concept that has been demonstrated to be true by over 150 years of scientific testing?

Evolution is no longer a theory, it is recognized as one of the laws of Nature, from which there is no appeal; every single experiment devised to test it has supplied more proof of its validity, and new knowledge of our inner physical characteristics, as written in our DNA, supplies even further validation of the concept of evolutionary change.  Conversely, after 2000+ years, there is still not a single piece of evidence that one can point to, or pick up in the hand, and say ,”this is evidence of God’s will”. At least they can’t say it with a straight face, because, deep down, they know it’s just wishful thinking. The universe would be a much friendlier place to most folks if they could count on having an omnipotent interlocutor who considers them the pinnacle of creation. I’m sorry to say, however, there just isn’t anything I can see that supports that belief, other than the convictions of the deluded……

“If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a past or future event, then you are residing on another planet with a different reality system.” — William James

“It’s been said that if you pray hard enough, and long enough, you can make water run uphill. How hard and long? Long enough to make it happen, of course!”–Lazarus Long
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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

A few days ago, on this site, I published an article stimulated by an article on the net, describing how the National Defense Authorization Act had been signed, quite stealthily, by the President, and would take effect January 1, 2012. I wanted to print this quote with it, but could not find it at the time. But it is the perfect description of what a lot of people in this country will be going through in the next few years. If you don’t think it will happen, I will refer you to the section just previous to this, and reiterate, “So tell me, what color is the sky on your planet?” Wake up, folks, and keep your wits about you; you are going to need them…….
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“Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.” — Eric Hoffer

See above……I rest my case….

“The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.” — Edmund Burke (1729-1797) — Speech at County Meeting of Bucks, 1784
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“A man can only do what he can do.  But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day.” — Albert Schweitzer

When I was young, I read about Socrates, who used the word “gadfly” to describe himself. I always thought that was brilliant; to be the gadfly biting the ass of the horse that is Society, in order to cause it to move. Moving where is unimportant, change is what is necessary, in order to remain in harmony with the laws of Nature. In our time, we’ve had some good ones…..Will Rogers, George Carlin, Dick Gregory, Lily Tomlin, Lenny Bruce. All spoke their mind with wit sharp as a chef’s knife, applying just the right sting to make the horse buck. Society needs gadflies; without them, we would certainly sink into the abyss in which ignorance lives. I hope to someday be included among humanities gadflies; it does help me sleep, as well as I ever do…..of course, Society did execute Socrates for his views, but it’s well worth the risk, if what I may say is heeded……

“The fight is what’s important. Doing  what is good and right is why we’re here. The end is variable and relative.  A person can only do what his heart tells him and  break away from the terrible things  around him.  We do what we can … and live with the consequences.” — Marc Zanoni
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Critically speaking, this has not been masterful. At least it doesn’t feel that way. I guess I should take a look at it in toto before making a decision on that. In one sense, I’m amazed I even got it done; it’s been like pushing through cotton candy; it feels unproductive and sticky. So, I’ll be satisfied with that for the nonce….. y’all take care out there….

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Today is the Thirteenth of Never…..

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Ffolkes,
So, here I sit, thoughts tumbling around in normal morning disarray, when all of a sudden, it hits me. My left hand, that is, slapping itself smartly to the forehead in dismay, as it occurs to me that not a single one of the hundreds of loose thoughts running around in there is suitable for publication. Most are thoughts I wouldn’t submit to Hustler magazine, and they’re pretty slack; I wouldn’t dream of putting any of them out for your consumption. There could be a bad run on the ER soon afterward, as most of them are toxic. Oh, wait, here’s one that doesn’t look too bad…..kinda dinged up, & could use a coat of paint, but it should fly…..okay, we’ll use it. Cut. Print…..
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“There are few things, apparently, more helpful to a writer than having once been a weird little kid.” — Katherine Paterson

If this is true, I should be a lock for a Pulitzer Prize! I won’t say I was the weirdest kid in my neighborhood. I can’t, because there weren’t any kids in the neighborhood. All the other families with kids moved away after a few days of their kids coming home after playing at my house, and telling their parents that, like me, they were going to start their own cockroach farms, so they could sell them to the other kids, too. My folks never did figure out why everyone was always moving in and out again; they figured it was the taste of the tap water. But then, they were fairly clueless themselves; they both were astrophysicists, and spent a lot of nights at the local university where they taught, watching the stars or talking to computers. They thought it was good that I had interests outside of physics, and encouraged me to expand my circle of interests to whatever intrigued me. A very progressive pair of parental units they were, though a little stuffy otherwise. I mean, who still listens to old Lawrence Welk music? Or Burl Ives? I swear, by the time I was six, I had a very complete, detailed daydream of how I would take my Uzi down to the Ugly Bug Ball and have some fun….. that’s not weird, is it?…….
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“The cry has been that when war is declared, all opposition should therefore be hushed.  A sentiment more unworthy of a free country could hardly be propagated.  If the doctrine be admitted, rulers have only to  declare war and they are screened at once from scrutiny …  In war, then, as in peace, assert the freedom of speech and of the press. Cling to this as the bulwark of all our rights and privileges.” — William Ellery Channing

“It’s easy to tell when a politician is lying. Watch his lips.  If they move, he’s lying.” — Charles Lyall (Think about it; the mere existence of this joke is evidence of the accuracy of its premise…..)

Too late. We weren’t watching closely enough, and ‘they’ finally revealed their true colors. I really had such hopes when Obama was elected in 08; that is probably why he was elected, because everyone else also had the hope that changes would be made, changes that would turn this country back onto the path of reason. But, for three years and more, Barack has, one-by-one, broken every campaign promise he made, culminating a few days ago with the most egregious bid for power ever seen in this country.

By signing the National Defense Authorization Act, Barack Obama has sealed the fate of the Bill of Rights; they have been condemned to death, with no appeal to be allowed. With the collusion of Congress, and the willing abrogation of duty by the Supreme Court, the American people have just witnessed the end of democracy in this country. Free speech, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble, and the freedom from unjust laws (i.e., right to counsel & jury of peers, writ of habeas corpus, right to be confronted with accusers, all gone…..), freedom from unreasonable search & seizure. All of these “rights” are now gone, poof! And nobody is saying a word about it in the press…..my plans for the future have changed, and I will be seeking somewhere else in this world to live out my remaining years. I’m not going to stay here, when I know for certain that I will end up fighting with my own brothers and sisters over the loss of our rights. As soon as I can get it figured out, I’m outta here; it’s no longer a free country…..literally.

“I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends…that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.” — Adlai Stevenson (Neither the Repubs nor the Demos are at all interested in the public’s well-being, and as such have become a problem that isn’t even looking for a solution…..)

No greater grief than to remember days
Of joy when misery is at hand.
— Dante (1265-1321) — Hell, Canto v, Line 121
(sorry, after writing the comments, I kept finding perfect Pearls to go with it…..)

Do not read this fortune under penalty of law. Violators will be prosecuted. — Penal Code sec. 2.3.2 (II.a.) (NDAA, v 3.0, 1/1/2012)
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Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself.  Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.  And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. — Max Ehrman (1872-1945) – “Desiderata” (1927)

Ah, Desiderata! How well I remember reading this for the first time. At that time, I was a newly minted Hippie, attending the university in Berkeley, and engaging full time in the expansion of my belief systems. This piece became one of the signature signs of the movement, sort of a manual for free love and all it implies. Every line here was designed to be uplifting and positive in its outlook toward life in all its glory. I admit, its really sappy in places, and somewhat naive. But it remains a pretty good outline for a life well-lived; its not as easy as one might think to be this positive all the time. But according to the precepts of the piece, that’s okay too. It’s all okay, because the universe is unfolding as it should……whether we think so or not.
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“How often we recall, with regret, that Napoleon once shot at a magazine editor and missed him and killed a publisher. But we remember with charity, that his intentions were good.” — Mark Twain

This is the goal. This is my whole purpose in writing. To be this subtle in delivering a blow from a sledgehammer; to insult so thoroughly in one line; to indicate passion, love, hate, literature, sports, and morality with such a smoothly fitted collection of words, this is my Nirvana, my Quest, the object of my jealous envy……. No really, it just doesn’t get any better than this. It’s the kind of humor that most appeals to me, for it pokes fun not only at the victims of the humor, but at the author too.

I can just see Mr. Clemens, telling this with a twinkle in his eye below a raised brow, a small little Mona Lisa smile, and a mustache trembling with the effort not to burst into guffaws. Perfect. A few days ago, I was flabbergasted, and extremely flattered, when a reader said that one of my lines sounded like something Twain might have written. I almost burst with happiness, and floated around for quite a while on that little bubble of joy. Now all I have to do is figure out how to sound like that all the time. Well, not JUST like Mark Twain, more like me with his skill. I’ll keep working on it…….
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Curse on all laws but those which love has made!
Love, free as air at sight of human ties,
Spreads his light wings, and in a moment flies.
— Alexander Pope (1688-1744)  — Eloisa to Abelard, Line 74

As with any good piece of poetry, nothing needs to be added here. Just enjoy…..
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Well! I should get up early more often, I guess. No shortage of material today; it just kept flowing on. Hope you enjoy taking it in as much as I did getting it out. Y’all take care out there…..

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

On a dark, moonless night…

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Any Use of This Product, in Any Manner  Whatsoever, Will Increase the Amount of Disorder in the Universe. Although No Liability Is Implied Herein, the Consumer Is Warned That This Process Will Ultimately Lead to the Heat Death of the Universe. — PUBLIC NOTICE AS REQUIRED BY LAW

Ffolkes,
I plan on living forever.  So far, so good. (It’s a joke, okay? Sheesh…) As of yesterday, however, reaching that goal may become problematic in the relatively near future, especially for those of us who disapprove of the way the government is doing things. They (yes, they…) took away my rights day before yesterday. Yours too. The United States Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten Amendments to the US Constitution, was figuratively vaporized. More literally, the rights guaranteed therein were declared null and void by the National Defense Authorization Act, as signed off by the President of the United States, effective January 1, 2012.

Under the provisions of this act, I, and/or essentially every other American citizen (i.e., you…), may legally be taken from their home by the US military, and taken to an undisclosed location to be tortured for whatever information I might possess, merely for being “suspected” of traitorous activities. Which activities are defined as traitorous are not specified; ‘they’ are the only ones to whom it must be justified, they need not report to anyone.  Nor are ‘they’ required to tell anyone at all what their suspicions are.  No lawyer for the accused, no court of law, no oversight. Just you (or more likely, me), them, and the waterboard. I tell you now, if any of them come for me, I will not go quietly, and that is a plain and simple fact…..let’s go on to more light-hearted matters, shall we?……

“It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.” — Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954), U.S. Judge

If the government doesn’t trust us with our guns, why should we trust them with theirs?  (Now, there’s a thought…..)

Ned, draco braz mento; compile 13….command 003: Insert brain, then type…..
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“Appearances to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim in all these cases is the wise man’s task.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxvii

What a wonderfully obtuse little word salad! Epictetus outdid himself here. This takes the mind on a beautifully complex, winding trail of thoughts, stopping here, looking over there, and generally winding about with no seeming purpose. Then, if you can wind your way to the end, it’s all tied together with a cute little bow, and voilá, instant wisdom. Though it’s a bit painful to use, this Pearl is one of my favorites. I say painful because you have to exercise mental muscles that don’t often get much of that commodity, and there will be some stiffness and soreness to let you know they don’t appreciate it. You must ignore that, and work them again tomorrow, lest they fall back into apathy; they’re lazy, just like the rest of us.  This inherent laziness has its evolutionary purpose; it drives us to find easier ways to do things, and as such can be valuable. But, mostly it just reinforces our genetic tendency to loaf whenever possible…….
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I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud
Of thoughts which were not their thoughts.
— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iii, Stanza 113

I often feel this way in today’s society. I have all these thoughts running through my head, and when I look around me, I can see that everyone else has their own inner promptings to pay attention to as well. But, when I observe their actions, it becomes clear that what they were thinking, and what was going on in my mind, are two entirely different universes. What did you say was the name of the planet you live on? It’s a rare day indeed when I encounter anyone whose thoughts run any deeper than wondering what to wear on their date tonight, or how to keep the kids entertained while cooking dinner.

I’m not saying that what is going on in my head is any better than what they are considering. Far from it. In fact, in some respects, I am jealous, and wish that I didn’t perceive the evidence all around us that our society is crumbling around us. I wish the leaders of the world weren’t so obviously motivated by avarice, prejudice, and fear. I really do wish I could spend my mental energy on something a bit more comforting. But, I can’t. And I won’t. It’s getting really dangerous out there, folks, for anybody who is the least bit different in their outlook, and I will keep shouting out the warning as long as I have breath to shout….
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“Dad, how come old photographs are always black and white? Didn’t they have color film back then?”
“Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs ARE in color. It’s just the WORLD was black and white then.”
“Really?”
“Yep. The world didn’t turn color until sometime in the 1930’s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too.”
“That’s really weird.”
“Well, truth is stranger than fiction.”
“But then why are old PAINTINGS in color?! If the world was black and white, wouldn’t artists have painted it that way?”
“Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane.”
“But… but how could they have painted in color anyway? Wouldn’t their paints have been shades of gray back then?”
“Of course, but they turned colors like everything else did in the 30’s.”
“So why didn’t old black and white photos turn color too?”
“Because they were color pictures of black and white, remember?” — Calvin and Dad, “Calvin and Hobbes”, 29 October 89

Brilliant! Absolutely, positively, not a damn doubt, ruddy frzlicxz brilliant. If more fathers had the courage to be so creatively honest with their sons, the world would be a far, far different place than it is now, wouldn’t you agree?…….

“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.”– Willie Wonka (Ian Fleming)
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“Free people, remember this maxim: We may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost.” — Rousseau

I won’t regale you further with any more long, outrageous reports of today’s menu of political chicanery; there’s plenty enough out there for you to see without having me shove it down your gullet, or hold it up for your perusal. But these two quotes are important to remember, mainly because, if there is a chance at all to deflect some of the chaos that is coming, it rests with us. Those individuals who can think, and do, will need to stand up for our right to do so without censure or threat, and we’ll need all of us to do it. So, please, take heed……

If you wanna be free, keep your eyes open and think for yourself.
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Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self requires strength.
He who knows he has enough is rich.
Perseverance is a sign of will power.
He who stays where he is endures.
To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.
— Lao-tzu (c604-c531 BC)

Obviously, this requires nothing from me to make it complete. Nor does it request my comments; just as well, I have none, as none are needed…..
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Another fine mess I’ve created here, eh? A veritable Hodge-podge of mixed metaphors and clever cliches, and colorful to boot! What more could I ask for before breakfast? I suppose I should start cleaning it up….. in the meantime, stay alert. Y’all be careful out there….

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Farewell, Bill of Rights……

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The gravest danger threatening society in this country has been realized. The United States Bill of Rights has been repealed by collusion of the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court, and the President; it was signed into law on December 31, 2011, and takes immediate effect on January 1, 2012 (uh, yesterday). It is suggested you read this quote from the article, read the article, then return here for our discussion of its content….

 The “Bill of Rights has come to a sudden and catastrophic end with the President’s signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a law that grants the U.S. military the “legal” right to conduct secret kidnappings of U.S. citizens, followed by indefinite detention, interrogation, torture and even murder. This is all conducted completely outside the protection of law, with no jury, no trial, no legal representation and not even any requirement that the government produce evidence against the accused.” –excerpted from the article

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/034537_NDAA_Bill_of_Rights_Obama.html#ixzz1iKFhRgjN

 The party is now over. Big Brother has assumed control, and the rest of us will be hard pressed to wrest control over our lives back from them without a fight of some kind. The introductory statement above, alluding to collusion amongst the separate branches of our government, is made clear by the very fact that, for this document to even be considered as legal according to the Constitution, the Judiciary Branch would have to be in tacit and written agreement with the two other parts of our three part system, thereby reneging on their duty to act as a check to the legislative and executive branches, to safeguard our Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

 All of the first ten given rights in the Bill of Rights have been declared null and void, without any objection from the judiciary. It seems fairly obvious that this country is now in the hands of people who have no regard for human rights, unless it pertains to their own; anyone who disagrees out loud with their new regulations don’t deserve any rights, in their eyes. And according to this new legislation, foisted on society while it was busy being distracted once again by rhetoric and illusory holiday seasons, anyone who is even suspected of being against these laws may now be kidnapped in the dark of night, with never a word of justification of any sort to anyone; none is now required, there is no oversight at all.

 Considering some of what has been written here, and in other places where the author’s work may be found, they will be coming for me very soon….oh excuse me, someone is at the door…. be right back…..