Ffolkes,
On some bright future day, I’ll wake up, and inspiration will smite me forcefully on the forehead, sending me reeling to my keyboard, where the profound thoughts that have been circulating behind the scenes in my mind will all come pouring forth, to impart beauty and wisdom to the masses in inimitable style…. The sheer brilliance and enlightenment of what I will write will become as a beacon of knowledge that shines into every corner of the darkness that holds society at risk, saving mankind from the consequences of our insensitivity and foolishness….. SIGH…. sadly, that day isn’t today….

Had some mildly disappointing news soon after getting up to start this morning’s Pearl; my grandson isn’t feeling well, and the visit originally set  for today was put off to next week…. Since I’m not at top form today, that is alright with me, but I know it is much more disappointing for my son, who has to wait another week to see his boy, when he’d rather be taking care of him while he is sick…. Justice does not live in this country anymore, not with any consistency….. and, unfortunately, there are no requirements for motherhood regarding intelligence or benevolence of nature….

Yet the law thinks that…. ah shit, I’m not getting into it again…… The idiotic collection of nonsense that makes up family law in this state, and country, is a mess of major proportion, without any real connection to reality, as far as I can tell…. and is so entrenched in its own circular illogic, not only can’t I fix it, it can’t be fixed, so the entire subject just pisses me off…. as do so many things about modern society, and the way that it fails to act in the best interests of its children….

Rather than dwell on the legal and moral idiocy that prevails in this country, let’s go searching for dirt to throw at some of my favorite targets…. politicians,  priests, and the foibles of human nature…. Shall we Pearl?
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“I believed in the Constitution. I believed in Congress’ constitutional right to investigate the intelligence community; and I believed that, as head of that community, I was required by the Constitution to cooperate with the Congress. I also believed that any other approach just wouldn’t work.” — Said no head of the intelligence community, ever….

And, if one of them did say it, I would bet serious money he was lying through his teeth…. We all know that, first of all, military intelligence is an oxymoron. Even if it weren’t, the entire intelligence community, as it is named here, would, by necessity, and by definition, be based on Sun Tzu’s Art of War, which clearly states, “all warfare is based on deception.” (A direct, literal translation from the original Chinese….) Sun Tzu’s most valuable and respected form of warrior was the spy; he considered an accomplished spy worth more than whole armies, with good reason. One man, infiltrated and trusted by the enemy, can cause more damage, by spreading disinformation, than months of siege by massive numbers of troops, and will bring about success much more speedily….. Yet, this unknown head of the NSA, or the CIA, or whichever clandestine organization was under scrutiny, would have us believe that he was being entirely truthful in what he revealed of their activities to Congress…. Riiiiight….. and I’m the Queen of Sheba, reincarnated as an overweight, long-haired, overeducated, dyspeptic Caucasian male…. I guess it’s possible, but, not too likely….

“If the obstacles of bigotry and priestcraft can be surmounted, we may hope that common sense will suffice to do everything else.” — Thomas Jefferson

Tom made an error in judgment here, assuming, as is common, perhaps, that common sense is, well, common. Alas, such is not the case, and priestcraft, of which I regard warfare and politics to be mere offshoots, remains the greatest obstacle to maintaining the freedom and liberties that Tom and his mates secured for us in the 18th century. With the full support of corporate business, the other greatest enemy of freedom, churches and government officials have conspired to manipulate, obfuscate, and bamboozle the American public into allowing them to lie, cheat, steal, and control the legislature and courts, until the freedoms we were given as our legacy have all but disappeared…..

I read a number of articles today, in the newspaper, and on the internet, that spoke of a recent poll taken by some independent agency (i.e., not connected to any political parties…. at least not on paper….). Any who, this poll determined that the choices being made about who people were going to vote for in the 2012 Presidential election were not in any way being decided by any disagreement on issues. The votes were being made according to race….. period. Over 50% of the responders, if I recall the number correctly (it amazed me, and I consider myself to be pretty phlegmatic, so factor that in….), of those voting for Romney, said they had made their decision to vote for Romney simply because Obama is black…. Martin Luther King, no doubt, is crying, wherever he may be…. as are any number of true Americans, such as myself, who had hoped that our nation had gotten beyond that sort of bigotry manifesting itself in the mainstream of society.

“After all there is but one race – humanity.” — George Moore

Is it any wonder I was amazed? Though there has been constant evidence of the part that race has played thus far in the election campaign, I don’t think any of us expected the issue to be so polarizing as to reveal the vast number of cowardly, fearful, STUPID people who refuse to join the rest of the human race. They have apparently been hiding their ignorance, completely accepting on faith all the loud, flag-waving, faith-based slogans and fear-mongering, all designed to whip the peasants into a frenzy under the canopy of false patriotism, and to the cry of “Take back America”…. as if someone had snatched it away from them when they weren’t looking….

“The worst vice of the fanatic is his sincerity.” — Oscar Wilde

All of their noxious, bilious posturing is designed to ensure the racist, bigoted, ignorant cowards who buy into their lies will all come crawling out from under their rocks on election day, to cast their unwitting vote for the forces of Evil, never realizing they are signing their own warrants of economic doom, because they are only aware of their fear of the Black Bogie Man, and his liberal myrmidons…. a word they would have to look up, if they were in the habit of reading anything tougher than TV Guide…. (don’t worry, I had to look it up, too, when I first saw it, years ago, in a Sherlock Holmes story…. I love it, it is such a “precise” word….)

“Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.” — Smart Bee

Here is a piece of that common sense so prized by our forefathers…. Unfortunately, instead of changing the locks, we keep allowing the politicians to make copies, and don’t even change the locks after they leave. Have you ever heard about the retirement system that the federal government has given itself? All federal judges, and federal court officials, along with both the House of Representatives and the Senate, are guaranteed their salaries, and their most excellent healthcare coverage, EVEN AFTER THEY RETIRE, OR ARE NOT RE-ELECTED.

For life….. including a health care system, with coverage for life, that is much superior to MediCare, or anything available to the unwashed masses, i.e. the general citizenry of the country. All of it is paid for by our taxes… for life, for all of them…. and guess who voted all that stuff into existence? Why, they gave it to themselves, of course! As a reward, I guess, for having screwed us in the first place, and sort of as an ongoing pat on the back for the success of their lies….

“Ignorance is not bliss — it’s oblivion.” — Phillip Wylie

Once again, I seem to have tapped into a subject ripe for ranting, and we’re still ten days shy of the election. Let’s let this percolate for a bit, and see what else we can find in there on this path to perdition or profundity, your choice…. Me, I always go for the perdition…. more exciting, like when Mom drove on the freeway….  🙂

Regardless of the truth or lie of any of the above, profundity has fled, no doubt concerned about its reputation, and further pearls along this line of thought are not forthcoming from Smart Bee…. it did, however, give me a couple of pretty good ending pearls, so I will go with the flow, and leave you with this final thought…..

Government is a necessary evil, and it makes sense to me that having to pick between the lesser of two evils, while distasteful, is nonetheless necessary, and in the case of this election, more than merely necessary…. It is essential in the current world that reason remain paramount, and the obvious decision here can be ascertained with one eye shut. If one is a woman, a senior, LGBT, or a supporter of gay marriage and human rights for trans gender individuals, a black, Latino, Asian, or anyone else who is not white, and who makes more than $250,000/year, then you will be voting to save your own civil rights, because it is for sure and for certain that if the Republican party gets into office, all of these categories of citizens will be in a new classification…. they will be known as victims…. Don’t trust me, read the papers, all of what I’ve just related is documented there…. So, get out there and vote, ffolkes, and for goodness sake, use your head about it!……

“If you don’t control your mind, someone else will.” — John Allston

“Hold the MAYO & pass the COSMIC AWARENESS…” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Li Po, in my mind, is one of the five best poets who ever lived (no, I’m not going to pin myself down to the other four right now, so forget it….); indeed, his translator deserves a lot of credit, as well, for being able to indicate the simplicity, power, and depth of Li Po’s words from Chinese to English, no simple task, for certain….. We all know of the Taoist/Zen koan about the man dreaming of being a butterfly…. this is how a poet of genius first asked that universal question…..

Chuang Tzu And The Butterfly

Chuang Tzu in dream became a butterfly,
And the butterfly became Chuang Tzu at waking.
Which was the real—the butterfly or the man ?
Who can tell the end of the endless changes of things?
The water that flows into the depth of the distant sea
Returns anon to the shallows of a transparent stream.
The man, raising melons outside the green gate of the city,
Was once the Prince of the East Hill.
So must rank and riches vanish.
You know it, still you toil and toil,—what for?

Li Po

Indeed, for what do we toil? As for me, I’m still trying to find an answer…. asking the right question is only half the task…. Hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did….   🙂
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In  keeping with the theme above, here is a group of pearls, collected old-school style, and put together to lead the gentle reader to more insightful ideas about human nature, and the importance of intelligence, or more accurately, the absence of same….

“In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that He did not also limit his stupidity.” — Konrad Adenauer

‘Man has made use of his intelligence, he invented stupidity.” — Remy De Gourmant

“A human being has a natural desire to have more of a good thing than he needs.” — Mark Twain

“The beauty of America is that the average person always thinks she is above average.” — Sam Levenson

“The problem with America is that the average person always thinks she is above average.” — Smart Bee

Cogito, ergo doleo. I think, therefore I am depressed. — Smart Bee

“In such a strait the wisest may well be perplexed and the boldest staggered.” — Edmund Burke (1729-1797) — Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontent, Vol. i, p. 516

“I can’t give you a brain, but I can give you a degree” — Wizard of Oz to the Scarecrow

In light of such wisdom, virtual or not, I rest my case……
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Some days, as Mama said, there will be days like that…. and we all know she was right, don’t we? Logically, this means that some days it will be easier than others, to find, do, or be what we wish…. even if we know what that may be. If you aren’t confused now, then you haven’t been paying attention…. and my work here is done…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!