No worries, though… I decided I’m not going to stress about it; I just came back, fired the computer back up, and proceeded to write this little pre-disclaimer to maintain some clarity. I don’t think any of what is below is time-sensitive, particularly, so it will still be relevant…. and, who knows? I might even get the poem I feel percolating to drip down before I get to a posting point tomorrow, which, now, is today….. At any rate, this is a pretty decent Pearl, I think, so….. enjoy…..

Ffolkes,
I know full well why I am not a success. Wait…. Okay, that’s wrong. I know full well why I AM a success…. Wait…. Okay, that’s wrong, too…

Alright, this is the right way to start….

Most folks in the mainstream would NOT call me successful, I suppose, though I know full well I am. The reason for this discrepancy is a different understanding of the definition of the word itself, along with a somewhat different idea of what determines that definition. To the average person in our world, successful means rich in money or property; you aren’t even in the ball park if you don’t own two cars and four TVs to go with your house and boat. This, as mentioned, differs widely from my own idea of what makes a person successful, as mine has nothing whatever to do with gelt…..

I am rich in friends. I am rich in my children. And, I am rich beyond the dreams of avarice in my mind, which is all I ever wanted. When I was very young, before the age of 10, I remember hearing the phrase “If you want a life full of trouble, fill your house with treasure.” I thought about that, decided that it sounded perfectly logical, and made up my mind there and then to never make the seeking of money, or things, an important goal in my life. There are far greater riches to be found in any random Mark Twain story than in any bank, and this I believe, implicitly…..

Oh, sure, it’s nice to not have to struggle financially, and I’m smart enough that I’ve never before had to struggle as I am today with money issues. Once, back in my early twenties, I went without work for a couple of months, and it was tough for a few weeks, but then I found a job, and all was well…. The rest of the time I’ve spent just enough effort to make enough to take care of myself, and my family, once I started it, and never felt any need for more. I can’t say I’ve felt deprived, at all, for not having experienced more in the way of the rich lifestyle, as I have had all I ever wanted…..

So, in that sense, I’ve always been extremely successful, for I have always done exactly as I wished to do, and been successful at attaining all I wanted. And, I can truthfully say, I have never had a moment of worry or anguish over being threatened with, or experiencing, being robbed. It’s easy, when you know there is nothing about which to worry, for there isn’t enough to tempt any robbers. It makes for a quite serene lifestyle, all in all…..

The other side of this coin under discussion is that I simply don’t give a crap about what others think, and never have….. Maybe it’s a gift, I don’t know, but I’ve never felt that what anyone else thought about ME had any bearing on what I was to do, or think. It just never occurred to me to let what anyone else said have that kind of influence over me…… It’s always been relatively easy for me to say “f___ you” to anyone (figuratively, of course….) when they try to tell me what I SHOULD do or think….. Gift or curse, I don’t care, it works for me….

Well, now, I was going somewhere with all this bilge water; where could that have been? Ah, yes…. the fucking feds & staties….. Sorry, when I write their names, the “fuck” is mandatory; that’s the law. Since the California State Department of Social Services has decided to draw out the time during which they can fuck with me about my own money, I am once again consigned to the confines of financial purgatory. They decided, because I mentioned a word they hadn’t heard before, (to wit: diverticulosis), they decided they’d better send me to another doctor about it, thus extending the process another three or four months, minimum. This puts me right back into limbo, where I’ve languished now for close to two years…. By the time these guys finish dicking around with my case, I’ll be eligible for my regular SS, at age 66, four years from now…. Bloody Assholes!….

I could rant about it for a long time, but this intro is already past the standards set for normalcy around here, so I’d best let it go for now….. Suffice it to say, I am once again NOT A HAPPY CAMPER! Wish me luck with my patience, please, I’m going to need it….. For now, I’m going to go for a dive, to try to take my mind to some other point in the universe, where things aren’t quite so dreary and depressing as they are around here just now…. Thank goodness for books and literature, they’ve saved me all my life, and continue to do so now….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Anyone who isn’t confused doesn’t really know what’s going on.” — Edward R. Murrow

To Mr. Murrow’s assertion, in today’s world, I would add, “Anyone who isn’t worried, isn’t paying attention.” I saw in the news yesterday that the President has offered up Social Security as a sacrifice to the Republicans in the Congress, to bribe them into signing some other tax bill. I can’t say it surprises me, as I have said all along that I don’t trust the President, any more than I trust any office holder in this country. But, given his most recent statements during the election run-up, I’m concerned that he is already turning what he said at that time into a lie; he promised, then, to protect senior citizens, and Social Security, and Medicare, from the depredations of the conservatives. To start abrogating his duties before he is even sworn in is not a good, or hopeful, sign for the future.

This particular threat is a serious one; the cuts proposed would have a very deleterious effect on my income, and that of every senior under the aegis of SS. One article claimed it could decrease the average senior’s yearly income by more than $3000, and possibly more over the next ten years. This, without any doubt whatsoever, is a reprehensible idea, and the person(s) responsible should be taken out an shot, without ceremony or delay. These politicians seem to think that the money that is in SS is theirs, when in fact, it belongs to me, and those like me, who have been pouring a percentage of our pay into it for our entire lives. It is NOT theirs, nor should it be thought of as even public money. It belongs to the people who put it there, and should be protected from the rapacious assholes who can’t stand the idea of anyone having something they don’t control….

ROBBER, n.  A candid man of affairs.  It is related of Voltaire that one night he and some traveling companion lodged at a wayside inn. The surroundings were suggestive, and after supper they agreed to tell robber stories in turn.  “Once there was a Farmer-General of the Revenues.”  Saying nothing more, he was encouraged to continue.  “That,” he said, “is the story.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

Thomas Jefferson, in certain of his writings to other patriots, mentioned the danger to the Republic from corporations, bankers, and preachers. He was particularly clear-sighted in this respect, and saw that once the legislators had voted themselves the power to control the treasury, both the income and output, the public would be in danger of continuous, and ongoing theft of public funds. He stated this many times, but, did anyone listen? Not enough of the right people, apparently, because everything he feared has come to pass.

“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

The legislature in today’s modern world is completely under the financial influence and control of the banks and corporations, aided by the preachers’ continuing repression/distraction of the public, to confuse the issue, and help obfuscate their actions, hiding them from public view. Anyone who does not believe this to be true is under that same influence, and should be referred back to our original statement above, i.e., you don’t really know what’s going on…… or, you are not paying attention…..

Now that Barack no longer has to worry about re-election, he can begin to show his truer colors, and screw the rest of us in the process. I told you all a while back; NO POLITICIAN can be fully trusted, either to tell the truth, or to act in the public’s interests, for they all suffer from the same issue of moral failure, and that is that they WANT to be in power.

“Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on them [public offices], a rottenness begins in his conduct.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), 1799

That desire, to have power over others, is a mental disorder, plain and simple. It is insane, both in my mind, and in scientific terms, to want to control other people like that. Even if the desire is motivated by what could be termed a moral impulse, the urge to help, the actual wielding of the power is corrupting, and soon overcomes any leftover morality, in favor of expedience.

Call the White House, and the Senate. Write them. Email them. Tell them we aren’t going to stand for this flip-flop from the President, and let them know that the true power really still does reside with the people. If we don’t, we may all end up regretting we ever listened to them….. again…..

“A statesman is a politician who places himself at the service of the nation.  A politician is a statesman who places the nation at his service.” — Georges Pompidou

As far as I can see, there are no statesmen alive today, only politicians….
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And, as in uffish thought he stood
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame
Came wiffling through the tulgey wood
And burbled as it came
— _Jabberwocky_, by Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson)

If it isn’t clear to y’all by now, I love nonsense. For me, it provides the balance so necessary to a harmonious existence, as the rest of reality is so often dreary, grim-faced, and sober. (see section one, above, for clear evidence of this assertion….) And, since poetry makes anything in words better, nonsensical poetry is sheer joy for me….. It doesn’t get any better than the above, which will provide adequate balance for whatever I find and choose to go in the latter half of this section…. so, enjoy, both the poetry, and the contrasting styles…..

To Congress, with Love

Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,
except for their money, I thinks;
Though they talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,
what they actually do, it stinks.

“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,
steal from the aged, that’s their plan.
“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”
lie shamelessly, because they can.

Maybe just once, if we all act together,
it couldn’t miss.
Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,
take careful aim, and piss.

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid

Well, gosh, who knew that was in there?…..
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“Just because you’re not paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you!” — Smart Bee

Last week, or maybe earlier, another blogger and I were both ID’d as being a bit paranoid, (self-identified, I might add) because we happen to believe at least some of the conspiracy rumors continually floating around the internet. Each of us took comfort from the above sentiment, knowing it to be 100% true, and have mutual agreement in that belief. He seems to be pretty tech-savvy, posting a lot of different types of media on his blog, so he must have similar knowledge as I of computers, and the functions of which current technology is capable. This knowledge, along with a deep understanding of human nature, is the root cause for our paranoia, and, it’s justification…..

“No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.” — Aristotle

The little laptop computer upon which I type to create these Pearls of Virtual Wisdom is an amazing machine, and fairly representative of what is available to the public these days. It has, quite simply, more computing power in it than was present in the ENTIRE WORLD when the first laptop was on the design boards, when I got my first clunky 386. What this simple fact(oid) implies is this: the government, and its supporters, the bankers, corporations, and churches, has available for their use, enough computing power to record EVERY piece of communication, of EVERY type, created each day in the ENTIRE WORLD. Along with that capability, to monitor ALL communications, it has the capability of mining that huge amount of data for significant words, phrases, and patterns that will inform them of anyone, anywhere, who is speaking in a way that is potentially against their interests.

Yep…. every single piece of published communication, via phone, internet, TV, radio, or any other form of media by which humans communicate, is vulnerable to being overheard by those in the beloved ruling class…. Allow me to assure you, the reasons for which they want this information have nothing to do with YOUR rights, or YOUR interests, nor are they going to tell you, either that they are doing it, or how often, or where, or anything about it.  In many public places, with cameras and recording devices, it is possible for them to overhear even the words we speak to each other face to face. If they wish, they can even concentrate technology on a single spot, (such as your car, your living room, or kitchen…..), and listen to every word spoken there, even if they are not within miles of the place. There is, by published report, no place left on Earth where technology cannot penetrate, to listen to what is being spoken, given the opportunity, and the time to employ the needed technology.

So, my friend and I are well aware that what we write and publish here online is perfectly available to those who care about such matters, and they WILL be listening to what EVERYONE is saying, even, or, perhaps especially, us. Since I have a tendency to rant against the very people who are listening, I doubt that my name is missing from several lists of theirs. In fact, I’d be surprised if it was missing from those lists…. if it is, they’re not paying attention…..   🙂

As I’ve said before ffolkes, be alert; the world needs all the lerts it can get. You are being watched, and listened to, whether you choose to believe it or not, so it would behoove you to, perhaps, take that into account. Please, don’t fall into that, “oh, you’re just being paranoid,” attitude, or the “well, if I don’t say anything wrong, they can’t get me,” fallacy…. One of the primary characteristics of those with the power-mongering gene is a certain irrationality that is inherent in their make-up…. They have an unfortunate tendency to act on belief and faith, not on fact, so their actions, while fairly predictable, are somewhat irrationally chosen, and don’t necessarily make any sense to those of us who use our minds for other things than reclining upon…. Remember, as Lazarus Long advises, “Always cut the cards.”…..

I have read and understood the above.  X ______________________
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Today’s effort certainly doesn’t lack for original material….. It’s understandable, to me; I’ve got a lot of stuff to say, no viable, compelling  reason not to say it, and plenty of good reasons to do so. (“Stuff” being my most versatile word…. such flexibility of meaning!…..) Having said a lot of it, I’ll leave thee be to pursue thy own ends, for the nonce. You can’t say fairer than that….. Oh, yeah, happy holidays, I guess….