Seduced by the smell of onions….

Posted on January 15, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

So much for routine…. Whatever routine I had developed over time is now kaput. (A word old as your granny, yet with a powerful connotation as a word to describe anything that is finished, or no longer in context) And, there I go, getting distracted, going off on a tangent before I’m out of the first paragraph…. Hell, look at this! I didn’t even get to the third sentence before pulling myself into a separate trail of thought…. SIGH….. Being a polymath isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be….

Most of us tend to rely on routines to get us started each day…. Each of us figures out the most efficient methods for us to arise, groom, dress, and head out to meet the day; I don’t know about y’all, but my methods tend to rely heavily on those actions that can be performed without any conscious thought or effort, as it takes me until after several hits of coffee before I’m able to see past the end of my nose, or, for that matter, before I even WANT to see any further…. For me, the coffee, with condiments, of course, is the central issue, the one factor that can screw up the rest of whatever happens, if it doesn’t happen as it is supposed to….

Without coffee, I have no real idea what the world is like, nor do I wish to know. I don’t CARE how anyone else feels about it, either. Until I have downed at least a half a cup, talking with people, or interacting with them in any way, is an activity fraught with danger, for both of us, but, mainly for the other person…. Not that I’m totally dangerous (though I can be….), but, it’s not a fair fight when one persons level of grump is so much higher than another’s….. A certain level of grump is required to overcome it in another, and there’s just no way to soften that reality, so, I just have to be careful not to see, or interact with, anyone before I’ve had my brew….

At this point, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that I’ve again lost track…. I mean, I know what I’m talking about…. I just haven’t a clue about how I got here, or why I should continue in this direction, when it so obviously leads nowhere in particular….. Though that is a destination we are quite familiar with here at ECR, it isn’t where I’d planned to end up today…. Ah well, that’s what I get for meandering through my own head for inspiration…. I have to take whatever comes up, and deal with it…. and, in this case, so do you….

To mitigate any difficulties you may be experiencing with that particular issue, I’ll bring this to a crashing halt here…. Getting on with our business of the day seems like the best thing to do now, since I’ve again written myself to a point where I can do nothing else…. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

Shall we Pearl?

“I, for my own part, had much rather people should say of me that there neither is nor ever was such a man as Plutarch, than that they should say, “Plutarch is an unsteady, fickle, froward, vindictive, and touchy fellow.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Superstition
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Well, they’ve done it again…. I thought when I began today I would not have a rantable subject, since the BRC’s Asininnies seem to have taken some time off here in the beginning of the year….. But, then I found this article, tucked way down the front page of the news site at SFGATE…. I imagine the story’s placement has a little to do with who the story is about…. The shadowy corporate masters of society don’t like to see this kind of stuff up on the main part of the page; they don’t like to spotlight anything they do, and this one is one they’ll not wish people to hear about too quickly, before they’ve secured the position the ruling below gives them…..

Yes, ffolkes, another federal judge, handily in the pocket of big money, has ruled in favor of Verizon, a shadowy corporate master if ever there was one, on their suit to be able to charge what they want, and restrict what they want, from the Internet services they provide, thus giving them the ability to, essentially, control the flow of data and information that goes over the ‘Net, and charge people however much they want for it…..

This judge, in a ruling that echoes the corruption of the original ruling that gave corporations “personhood”, once again ruled that the corporation was entitled to rights and privileges over their network, even though previously, the FCC had ruled the request to be discriminatory, thus spotlighting it as a proprietary attempt by Verizon to monopolize the Internet for its own use….

“Judges said although the FCC has oversight of how Internet providers manage traffic, its regulations were overreaching considering the agency classified broadband providers as “information services” companies rather than telecom companies, which “exempts them from treatment as common carriers.”

“exempts them from treatment as common carriers.”….. In and of itself, this doesn’t LOOK like the insane viewpoint it really is… I mean, is it sane to define a corporation as a person, and give them not just the same rights, but a version of those rights that actually favors them, as they can now perform actions, as a corporation, that would earn a real person a jail cell?…. NOBODY IS SUPPOSED TO BE “EXEMPT” FROM THE LAW!

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Will-net-neutrality-ruling-make-Web-like-cable-TV-5143669.php

“Verizon, which brought the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, argued that because it built its network, it has the right to manage its costs and services as it pleases.”

Here we have the basic statement of purpose, the one that shows just exactly how avaricious these assholes are…. “as it pleases”….. In other words, the company, because it has legal standing as a “person”, is thus given the right to do “as it pleases” with the Internet, or, that part of it that it can control (which, since they own much of the actual machinery over which the Internet users travel, means they would control ALL of it….)….

If that is NOT a statement of outright greed and selfishness, then my parents had no clue as what those words meant, because I was taught the exact opposite of what they are expressing…. As members of a society, we all have certain limits on what we can do “as we please”, limits that are connected to our own connection to other people, and the fact that those people have rights as well…

It seems to me that whenever a corporate person, and a real person end up in court, the ruling always seems to favor the corporation…. Now, why is that, do you think? Would it, perhaps, just maybe, be a result of who has the most money? Why, yes, I believe it would…. and has been that way since the mid-1800’s, when the Federal Appeals Courts first gave corporations their legal advantage over the rest of us…. That decision created today’s imbalanced situation, where it doesn’t matter at all that the agencies who fought against this presented very cogent, powerful arguments; the judge ruled the only way he could, and still preserve his position as one of the flunkies….

Those agencies who fought this suit included the FCC itself, which made this statement telling why it had resisted the suit brought by Verizon…. The agency, even though a federal bureaucracy itself, is well aware of what is at stake, and took the side of consumers for a change…..

“(FCC Chairman) Tom Wheeler said his agency is mulling a Supreme Court appeal, and insisted the FCC will not “abandon its responsibility to oversee that broadband networks operate in the public interest. (The FCC) will not disregard the possibility that exercises of economic power or of ideological preference by dominant network firms will diminish the value of the Internet to some or all segments of our society,” he wrote in a blog post.”

Other organizations with a stake also joined in to resist the suit in court…. The American Library Association said this, in describing the danger of giving up this power to the corporate world….

“Now that the Internet has become the primary mechanism for delivering information, services and applications to the general public, it is especially important that commercial Internet service providers are not able to control or manipulate the content of these communications,” said Barbara Stripling, president of the American Library Association. ”

Other organizations chimed in as well, in an effort to defend the FCC policies at stake….

“Rashad Robinson, executive director of the African American advocacy group ColorOfChange.org, fears that large private companies may start to squeeze out public discourse online. “Our communities rely on the Internet to speak without a corporate filter, to access information and connect to the world, and to be able to organize and hold public officials and corporations accountable.”

The corporation, of course, had their slimy, young, personable snakes out in full force, issuing press statements, to counter any public discourse with assurances that the company wouldn’t make any real changes to internet services…. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, the spin doctor who made this statement even believes this, in spite of the FACT that the company has never once shown any sort of morality when it comes to its business practices…. He says, assuring us of the company’s good intentions….

“Verizon has been and remains committed to the open Internet which provides consumers with competitive choices and unblocked access to lawful websites and content when, where and how they want,” a spokesman said in a statement. “This will not change in light of the court’s decision.”

Sure, mister…. all that will be true, at the same moment when the pigs take off to fly from the White House lawn, and the weather notices from Hell are mentioning snow….. How do these assholes convince themselves to say things like that in public, when not only does everyone listening know they’re lying, but, they can barely keep a straight face, due to their own knowledge of just how dishonest they’re being?….

I find it interesting to note, this statement contains 3 assertions, all 3 of which can be shown to be bald-faced lies…. This company does NOT show any commitment to an open Internet, does NOT provide competitive choices, or unblocked access (unless forced to….), and, in truth, you can be very sure they have every intention of changing the prices and controls over their network to suit themselves, and their insane avarice for profit by any means….

Okay, ffolkes, now you know…. The assholes who decide for us how much we are to have, have now decided, and it is, once again, far less than we wanted, or needed…. In fact, this whole issue, to me, is just another good example to show folks about how screwed up the world is, and not have to look far for evidence…. Of course, that assumes those folks have left their ears, and their minds, open enough to hear it, and possess the wit to understand…. Sadly, I’m afraid there aren’t enough ffolkes out there who can do that, or, at least, not enough to make a difference any more….

This decision by the Appeals Court, and the ensuing circus to come when society reacts to it, in my mind, is just another sign, among many, that our world is winding itself down to the end…. The corporations keep on securing all the resources and power over others that they can, never knowing that, by doing so, by continuing the insanity in which they’ve engaged for centuries, they are sealing their own fate….. while the rest of us have only to watch in fascination as the scenario unfolds in all its mad glory…..

In truth, I’m kind of starting to look forward to all of the end-time shenanigans that will no doubt ensue when these idiots finally realize what is happening, and what they’ve done…. The expressions on their faces will be priceless, and their contortions of despair, as they go about dying in agony, will only bring a smile to my own face….. A little something to look forward to, in a situation where such gems are scarce…. SIGH….

People are strange, aren’t they?

“Gee, I feel kind of LIGHT in the head now, knowing I can’t make my satellite dish PAYMENTS!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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When I began this morning, I had not intended to rant about anything…. Then, while looking through the headlines, I found the article under discussion above, and my outrage flared alarmingly…. So, I ended up with a fairly long rant, on a subject I will no doubt visit again…. Unexpected as it was, I am now a bit fatigued…. Writing from the position of outrage is not as easy as it looks; the emotional investment seems to suck energy as one types, due to the intense mental effort, and the concomitant emotional content that is connected…. All this is just to say, I got tired, and don’t want to work hard any more today…. Days such as this, Emily is the only poet that will do for me….

The feet of people walking home
With gayer sandals go –
The Crocus – til she rises
The Vassal of the snow –
The lips at Hallelujah
Long years of practice bore
Till bye and bye these Bargemen
Walked singing on the shore.

Pearls are the Diver’s farthings
Extorted from the Sea –
Pinions – the Seraph’s wagon
Pedestrian once – as we –

Night is the morning’s Canvas
Larceny – legacy –
Death, but our rapt attention
To Immortality.

My figures fail to tell me
How far the Village lies –
Whose peasants are the Angels –
Whose Cantons dot the skies –
My Classics veil their faces –
My faith that Dark adores –
Which from its solemn abbeys
Such resurrection pours.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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I’m definitely ready for this…. Below you will find a random harlequin pearl, sans directed parameters…. After a rant, and the rest of this morning’s solitary pursuits, this will be a cake walk…. Theoretically….

“I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too.” — Thomas Jefferson

“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” — Soren Kierkegaard

“Individuality seems to be Nature’s whole aim — and she cares nothing for individuals.” — Goethe

“That’s right, yes, you’re going, you’re gone for ages, already gone, you’re still here, just arrived, haven’t even met you yet. It all depends on who you are and how you look at it. Strange business, time.” — Doctor, Dragonfire

“We are in no danger, since we have realized we are condemned.” — Andrei Siniavski, Sudden Thoughts

” Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice.” — H. L. Mencken

“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness, and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” — Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
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All things considered, this one went fairly well…. It’s done, and that’s the primary characteristic we look for around here…. In fact, it’s so done, it’s getting dry…. Before I abuse the language any further, I’m outta here…. See you tomorrow….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Post-apocalyptic sticky buns for sale or mutilation….

Posted on January 7, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Hey, pal…”
“Yeah?”
“Got a match?”
“My butt, your face….”

Okay, so, this little furry, black alarm clock came stealing into our room this morning, loudly voicing its misguided insistence on company at 0430 in the morning, enforcing its tiny will with sharp claws to the mattress…. Since I was ready to get up, anyway, I let it have its way, to keep from awakening my partner, thus minimizing the damage to the furniture at the same time….

She (the cat…) has only begun this behavior in the last few days, having apparently taken this long, (four months since we moved in here…) to figure out my morning routine…. Or, she finally connected it in her head, to the coffee machine, which goes off at the same time each day, followed shortly by my ascent into the day….

Cats are funny about routines…. Once they are established in one, they do NOT like to have them change, either all of a sudden, or over time….. Any and all attempts to alter the routine are generally met with their full range of displeasure signs, including loud howling, pacing, scratching furniture, tail-whipping, and, the ultimate sign of anger from a cat, using your shoes as a litter box….

Of course, this doesn’t include the other worst type of cat reaction…. some of them are the nervous type, and a change in their environment, minor or major, will cause them to toss their cookies, in the most annoying and inconvenient places, such as behind your dresser, or under the bed….

Any who, since I was up, I went ahead and started this Pearl, with the nice little gift of a subject for the intro, provided most kindly by my small psycho kitty….. Now that I’m this far in, though, I’m wondering just how this is working…. Damn me, and my insistence on quality…. If I could get over trying to be “good” it would go a lot faster, and easier, that’s for sure…. Oh well, giving up is out of the question, given my father, and how I was raised, so, I may as well find something more amenable to complain about…. Perhaps the weather?…. No, that’s too crazy now, what with global warming playing its part….

I suppose I could go for some humor, but, it may too late for anything to save this…. Hell, I even started off today with a bit of mild, old humor (Very, very old…. I first heard this one BEFORE high school, though by the time I was IN high school, it was considered the highest form of humor…. especially if it could be scored off someone….), as sort of a visual, and mental, distraction, hoping to set the tone right away…. That seems to have worked alright… it’s the rest of it I’m not so sure about…. I suppose, though, now that it’s all done, there’s nothing more to be done about it…. not without starting over, and it’s far too late for that….

No, we’ll just have to take this in the manner in which we find it, and get on with our day the best we can….. Shall we Pearl?….

“Aha! Pronoun trouble!” — Daffy Duck
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http://news.yahoo.com/video/nsa-code-breaker-090826676.html

“The National Security Agency is building a computer capable of breaking encryptions used to protect medical, banking, business and government records around the world. ”

Doesn’t this just make you proud? Does it make you happy, all tingly with excited pleasure, that your government, with the tacit, if not overt, approval of the public, is now trying to totally eliminate all privacy from the world, (in a race with the other governments, of course….), to make it impossible for anyone to hide from them anything they feel entitled to know about anyone….

Other governments, of course, are now trying to do the same, so, what they have created, with their unbridled, unchecked fanaticism based on paranoia, is a world-wide effort to find two things…. a way to encrypt data so it CAN’T be broken, and a machine that CAN break any encryption…. Once we have those, boy, think of all the neat stuff we can find out!…..

Oh, wait, we don’t want them to find out that stuff, do we…. No, no we don’t, because they don’t have any idea what it means, beyond their own small, paranoid interpretations…. We are talking, of course, of the Asininnies, those idiots who WANT the world to be insane, so that it fits their own perverted vision of how things are, as long as it meets all of THEIR needs, and the hell with anyone else…. These fools are out of control, ffolkes, and we need to rein them in, quickly, or they’re going to get the idea they can do this kind of stuff whenever they want….

In fact, it just might be time to get pissed off, and begin the process of dumping them altogether, in a way that ensures they won’t return to cause more trouble…. Yes, I’m suggesting it is time for the Second American Revolution, ffolkes…. I, for one, am very tired of hearing about shit like this, where the Powers That Be are acting out their fantasies on the real world, with the rest of us are paying the price….

The planet is on the verge of killing us, as the only viable way to stop our nonsensical, insane pollution of the atmosphere, a process our species developed and began years ago, with no regard for any of the other creatures who share this world with us…. We, as a species, are showing all the signs of advanced mental illness, and in these cases, there is no other certain cure, but death….

I’m ready when anyone else is, to take away the reins of power from those who want it, and start putting it in the hands of those who are the most qualified…. I’m thinking, the first requirement for being elected ought to be that the person doesn’t WANT the job, but, will do so if elected…. We can provide incentive by telling them they can get out early if they do a good job…. (Thanks to Arthur C. Clarke for the idea…) Only then will we begin to see government by those who are capable of governing with intelligence, and compassion, rather than ambition and fear…..

There are a number of videos on the page link shown above, many of which cover different aspects of this particular issue, so it might be a good way to see just how far these assholes have gone in their quest to become the world’s information pirates, to effectively corner the entire market for their own purposes…..

As an American, I am not just ashamed of my government, but appalled by their sheer selfishness and paranoid entitlement…. Fuck them, and the damn white horses they THINK they rode in on!….. It’s time we, as Americans, stood up and actually acted like free men, rather than the pale imitation of formerly free men that now inhabit this land…

“Do you know Presidents talk to the country the way men talk to women? They say, Trust me, go all the way with me, and everything will be all right. And what happens? Nine months later, you’re in trouble!” — Murphy’s Discovery

Hmph! These days, in light of the state of global warming, and the erosion of the air we breathe, the gestation period is down to just a few weeks or months, and, most likely, not even nine of them, once the process of melting permafrost is firmly established….

We are literally looking at a matter of a few MONTHS until we can no longer breathe, if certain scientific scenarios are correct…. I can only hope that, this time, out of all the times they have been right, they might be wrong…. We may then have one last chance to throw out the assholes, and begin to save our sorry little asses from our own stupidity…..
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Back in my school days, we read a few of this woman’s poems, in English classes, but, beyond that, I never really looked into her work…. until recently, when I came across a fragment from one of her poems, in Smart Bee, and it sent me off to find more from her pen…. I’m really glad I went to look for more, for she is indeed a wonderful poet, worthy of all the fame she has enjoyed for the past two centuries…. Here is one that illustrates that quite well…. Short, to the point, and just plain brilliant….

Although they are

Although they are
only breath, words
which I command
are immortal

~~ Sappho ~~

One just isn’t quite enough, is it? Here is another, to soothe the urge for more….

He is more than a hero

He is more than a hero
he is a god in my eyes–
the man who is allowed
to sit beside you — he

who listens intimately
to the sweet murmur of
your voice, the enticing

laughter that makes my own
heart beat fast. If I meet
you suddenly, I can’t

speak — my tongue is broken;
a thin flame runs under
my skin; seeing nothing,

hearing only my own ears
drumming, I drip with sweat;
trembling shakes my body

and I turn paler than
dry grass. At such times
death isn’t far from me

~~ Sappho ~~

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The rant above, while somewhat mild in its execution (no blood involved being the main requirement to achieve “mild” status….), does fulfill my daily obligation, at least from a technical standpoint…. In this section, I’m going to go a little off wire, combining an old-school pearl with a previously written religirant…. Together, I think, they form a quite nice little scalpel-like instrument with which to poke at the Priestly Hierarchies, those Asininnies responsible for a great deal of the misery in this world….. Boy, I get so mad, when I stop to think about where Mankind COULD HAVE BEEN, had we not been handicapped by these assholes and their personal delusions of adequacy….

That being said, I offer the following five-star pearl, with a side of religirant from very early last year…. post election, pre-outing of the NSA…. The old-school section is quite sharp, so use care when handling….

“…this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it.” — John Adams, Letter to Thomas Jefferson, 1816

“I would not attack the faith of a heathen without being sure I had a better one to put in its place.” — Harriet Beecher Stowe
(Such arrogance and ignorance, in one phrase! Enough to fill the world!….)

“The missionaries go forth to Christianize the savages–as if the savages weren’t dangerous enough already.” — Edward Abbey

“…and so — for weeks after — you won’t be able to swing a dead CAT in Jerusalem without hitting someone descended from the house of David… anointed by a close relative… riding into town on a donkey.” — The tantalizing tail end of the Judge’s soliloquy, from CEREBUS

“If a ferret bites you it is nearly always your own fault.” — Phil Drabble

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From 2/13/13:

“The essence of Christianity is told us in the Garden of Eden history. The fruit that was forbidden was on the tree of knowledge. The subtext is, All the suffering you have is because you wanted to find out what was going on. You could be in the Garden of Eden if you had just keep your fucking mouth shut and hadn’t asked any questions.” — Frank Zappa Playboy Interview, April 1993

Hmm…. Frank’s take on matters are such that I generally find myself in complete agreement with what he says. Here, he has again put his finger on one of the more obvious facets of Christianity, one that defies all logical explanation in lieu of subservient belief, to wit: faith vs. knowledge, and the Christian’s unfortunate tendency to embrace the former, without any appeal to the latter…. To my way of thinking, that is not only foolish, but cowardly…. but, perhaps, that’s just me….

The fruit of the tree of knowledge gives mankind the go-ahead, to use the brain with which we were furnished at birth…. The preachers would have us abrogate that use, having us, instead, give over all our power of belief into the hands of the faithful, who, naturally, have only our best interests at heart…. Sure they do…. NOT…. I’m sorry, but, no matter how many times these folks say so, I am not going to accept that they know better than I what is best for me…. Nope, not even if there were twenty different Bibles out there, all proclaiming how true they are…. Oh wait, there are twenty of them, aren’t there?…. Oh, well, you know what I meant….

Why do people fall for this? I cannot understand how people, who are normally reasonably intelligent, will, by conscious choice, bury their heads in the sand to buy into this, without ever taking even one moment to examine any of it for truth, or even logical assumption. Is there some kind of mind-control drug in that incense? Maybe it’s something in the sacramental wine….

Whatever it is, it turns normally competent, intelligent people into mindless slaves, and does so with their complete agreement and approval…. To my mind, it is one of history’s saddest, most incomprehensible features, when I look at just how easily people fall for such egregious, and so obviously self-serving propaganda, as most of the dogmatic proclamations of the major religions tend to offer up.

“I hope I never get so old I get religious.” — Ingmar Bergman

I am compelled to add, “Me, too!” to this sentiment…. In the recent past, I’ve been taking a lot of shots at religions, and need to make clear that I do not hate Christians, or Buddhists, or Muslims, or the followers of any religion. I think they are being silly, deliberately and evilly so, at worst, or at best, misguided, but I don’t hate, or fear them, as is the case on their part whenever they consider me, or my criticisms of their beliefs.

I don’t hold that against them, either, as it is logically consistent for them to do so, given the limitations of their dogmatic position. Since, however, the fervor with which they will often defend their position can reach a rather fevered pitch, I tend to treat many of them like a stinging insect; I move, and speak, slowly and carefully, so as not to frighten them more than they already are….

Ethical and moral behavior is not confined to those who follow the precepts of one religion or another, despite what any of the proponents of those religions will try to tell you. In fact, if you look closely, the number of folks who are believers have a much higher percentage of failure in that regard than do the non-believers, which only makes sense….

The believers all have a sense of entitlement that gives them the idea that the rules of behavior don’t always apply to them, in terms of how they treat people who are not of the same faith, so, to those who are not of their own sect, they don’t bother being truthful, or honest, or ethical, as those people don’t count, in their eyes. People who make their own moral codes tend to follow them, and are much more tolerant of those who do not share their beliefs.

Basic human nature dictates these responses in people, so one can see how dangerous it is to remain ignorant, in the Biblical sense. Those who choose to buy into the myth of the Garden of Eden, giving up all their personal independence of mind for the comfort and safety of dogma, will fail to act according to their own morality much of the time, out of their sense of entitlement, and the belief that all of their sins will be forgiven, merely by the act of confessing them. Only those who consciously choose their moral code have the courage to act it out, it seems, except for those few people who actually try to live according to the morality that is espoused, but seldom embraced, by their less ethical peers.

Having the strength of mind to make one’s own moral code implies the courage to act it out…. This is why I choose to deny the dogma I’ve been exposed to all my life, as being illogical, and, ultimately, immoral…. It makes more sense to me to make my own decisions on such matters, and tell the busybodies, who assume they know best for all, to go jump in a lake…. Even better, just shut the hell up, and get out of the way, so the rest of us can get something relevant done, without having to put up with all the nonsense from that quarter….

“What is a church? Our honest sexton tells, ‘Tis a tall building, with a tower and bells.” — Crabbe
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Well, there you have it…. another Pearl, in a long series of such…. such as they are….. I have no regrets, nor do I fear retribution or angst; all I fear is indifference, and ignorance, which often go hand in hand…. Lest we join those ranks unknowingly, I’m outta here…. See ya….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

How many asparagus spears can we salvage for cloning?….

Posted on January 5, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Ah, good morning…. You may want to consider coming back later, or, if that isn’t doable, then, it’s probably best if you DUCK!!!…. Whew! Close one…. So, how’s it going this fine, beautiful morning…. Huh? What was that? Oh, nothing important, not to worry. We’re testing out some drones for the CIA, for use in the upcoming revolution…. Why, you might ask, am I helping the CIA perfect weapons for use on our own citizens? Well, there’s quite a story behind that, so, take a seat, and I’ll tell you….

It’s like this, you see…. I was approached by an agent from Langley, the CIA HQ, with a proposition that I figured might be one to take, for a number of valid reasons… First, you need to realize that my helping them is a sham…. I’m actually undercover for those self-same forces of the revolution, gathering information to be used when it all breaks loose here in the next few years. It’s just a matter of keeping my enemies closer than my friends, so that I know what they’re up to behind all those closed doors and high walls…. metaphorical as those may be. I’m sure that is exactly what they are doing by hiring me, so, turnabout is fair play….

Second, its’ fun! Playing with all these neat toys the government gets to play with, all months before the technology is filtered down to the public, where watered down versions of what the BRC has to use are sold to amuse those in the public venue who like toys, and to make the public believe the state of the technology is less than it actually is…. What? You thought they’d give up the edge by giving us the same level of developed technology as THEY have? Think again, ffolkes, the public only sees the prototypes, not the finished versions… For example, I see how the Army now has functioning laser weapons that can target and destroy planes in flight…. How many of those do you think they’ll be allowing the public to have, eh?….

Okay, fantasy done…. I don’t feel much like carrying that any further; it was already too cumbersome to do much more with…. Those three paragraphs, I can tell, are going to need some serious punching up to get them right…. It’s a good concept, but clumsily started, so I’ll have to figure out how to clean it up for consumption…. I like the concept, but my execution wasn’t spot on…. I think the victim is dead…. I’m going to have to resort to one of the emergency methods for getting out of this intro, because this is starting to feel somewhat sticky, & hard to get off my fingers….

Okay, that sinks it…. Now, my carpal tunnel is chiming in, to let me know it doesn’t want to type right now, at least not as much as other parts of me want to keep at it….. I HATE internal struggles, they’re so…… ARRRGH!!!! Fuck, fuck, fuck…. Sorry, but, sometimes, vulgarity is the only thing that works to ease the pain, or end the frustration…. That’s it, I’m done….. Immediate deployment, method #4, on 3…. One…. two….. three….

Shall we Pearl?….

“What about these commandments then?”
“You again? All right… There shall be TWO commandments, and this shall be the first of them: “Keep the noise down.”
“Just that? `Keep the noise down’?”
“You got it.”
“Hmmm. And the second of Your commandments, Lord?”
“Do what thou wilst,” (sayeth the Lord), “just go away and don’t bother Me now. For behold, some of Us are trying to get some sleep around here.”

— Seven Deadly Sins

(I dunno…. it works for me….. If one MUST put up with a deity, one who likes His naps would be a good one…. Just sayin’…..)
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In terms of routine, I’m a dead man walking, and I’m not interested today in any false heroism or pride; I’m going to cheat all I can to get this done in a timely manner, and the hell with my integrity as an author…. Considering some of what I’ve foisted upon an unsuspecting public, I should probably be the most like candidate for the next public hanging, or, perhaps, a bit of time in the pillory, metaphorically speaking….

Regardless of all that, or whatever other silly crap I can come up with, the following is an excellent rant…. a politirant, but, with plenty of vituperation to go around, in case the PHs, SCMs, or the IMs feel like they’re missing out….. As I sat in the morning air after this section, it occurred to me that, though this rant was written almost exactly six months ago, every word in it is still valid, as related to the issues under discussion…. Not a lot of progress in that time, was there?….. Ah, well, life goes on….. Enjoy…..

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From March 7, 2013:

“It is useless for sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while wolves remain of a different opinion.” — William Ralph Inge, D. D. 1860 – 1954

I’ve seen this little statement before, and like it a lot, for its honesty in describing our Beloved Ruling Class in relation to the flock of sheep that comprises most of mankind. And, yes, this is the beginning of another politirant…. This one is prompted by the most recent activities that our leaders, if such word applies, have been shown to be engaged in by the news outlets I watch…. to wit: the legislation under review and up for vote in the House of Reps that is concerned with the economy, to wit: the “sequester”, and the recent comments by the POTUS re: global warming and climate change…. Let’s see what we can note about these issues, shall we?….

I have noticed that the Congress, and the POTUS, are currently at odds, as usual, over the economy, and arguing over how to address an issue over which they have absolutely no control…. I just don’t get it, actually…. There is no evidence whatsoever that anything the government does, or has ever done, about the economy has any effect at all on it…. none.

Zero. Zilch. Nada damn thing…. The economy of the world, or even just this nation, is not subject to any manipulation by us; it’s too big, too amorphous…. It’s like trying to herd cats…. a lot of effort for small results, and you end up with a bunch of pissed off felines…. If you know anything about cats, you will realize that this is never a good thing….

Yet, because the public demands that something be done, the politicians start their idiotic posturing, pontificating, and, otherwise polluting the airwaves with nonsensical suggestions as to what should be done to fix the problems. NONE of those ever work, nor will they ever work; the economy does not move according to any rules that we can control, or even know, and any action we take is just as liable to have a bad effect as a good one…. But, the public wants the government to fix it, so the politicos in the BRC make noises as if they actually could do something helpful, when in fact, anything they do is as liable to hurt, as it is to help…. Sad, but, true as the day is long.

It’s actually kind of fun watching the contortions they go through for issues such as this; since I know for a fact that none of it will have any real effect on the issue, I can enjoy the parade without worrying about whether it will actually do anything useful, or cause any harm…. It is a bit depressing to watch, since I am aware of just how little can be done, but, the show can be entertaining, and it does pass the time….

The most depressing part is knowing that the public is actually buying all of what they are saying, and really do expect something to change for the better…. But, then, I am always amazed at the depth of human stupidity. I don’t know why, as I KNOW how dumb people can be…. I am one, you know…. but, it always is a surprise to see just how deeply that stupidity is ingrained in the human condition….

Of course, this stupidity is part and parcel of why we are experiencing the second issue I mentioned above…. global warming and overpopulation. I will be very interested to see exactly how the POTUS intends to address the issue, as he has promised to do, several times now since his inauguration. Since the issue is well advanced beyond the point that most people think it is, what he does, or proposes to do, will be a telling factor in deciding how seriously the issue is being taken, and whether or not it will have any chance at all of being either enough to help, or soon enough to make a difference…. Both of these are critical factors, as the point of no-return for the ecological balance of this planet is so near, it may have already been passed some months, or years, ago….

I’m not sure how scientifically minded many of y’all are, but, I am…. scientifically minded, that is, and I can tell you without fear of contradiction (from anyone with any reliable scientific knowledge, anyway….) that the atmosphere of this planet is, without doubt, and without evidence to the contrary, on the very edge of becoming unbreathable for humans….

The millions of tons of carbon monoxide, and other toxic substances, that are being pumped into the air EVERY SECOND, and that has been pumped in now for over a hundred years, has reached the point where it will begin a process of leaching oxygen from the air, and the balance of gases we need to survive will change…. Hell, it IS changing, and fairly rapidly…. It will continue to do so, ever more swiftly, until it is no longer of a balance that we can safely breathe; moreover, once begun, the process is irreversible. The process is beyond our capability of stopping…. This is scientific FACT, not speculation, not a guess….. The process has already begun, the only question remaining is, how quickly will it happen?

“In the game of life you get to choose where you keep your brain – heads you win, tails you lose.” — Smart Bee

So, we’ll see where the POTUS keeps his brain, as he speaks in the next few days about this issue…. Whatever he decides to do, I would be willing to bet that it won’t be enough, and it won’t make a damn bit of difference, other than in a few Presidential approval polls, perhaps. After all, even though he is a fairly reform-oriented politician, he is still a politician, and you can lay good money, without fear of losing, on the fact that whatever he does is designed to benefit him and his Presidency, and any benefit for the public is a secondary concern….

He IS a politician, after all, and his primary concern is for his own success; it’s NOT the welfare of the people…. He has merely discovered that being the “People’s Champion” is currently a good political stance to take…. If it ever becomes too itchy a coat to wear, he will take it off in a heartbeat…. Count on it…. You don’t get to that level of the game without being a complete asshole in some respects, and I don’t think anyone who WANTS to be President can be accused of not being ambitious, and, in the process, they brand themselves as sociopathic….

“No people in the world ever did achieve their freedom by goody-goody talk and moral suasion: it being immutable law that all revolutions that will succeed, must begin in blood, whatever the answer afterward. If history teaches anything, it teaches that.” — Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889)

In this case, we aren’t talking about freedom, unless by that, one means the freedom to stay alive…. and the BRC isn’t going to do anything about it, I don’t believe…. Or, rather, I’ll believe it when I see it, and, so far, no dice in that respect. I’m enough of a cynic to believe, sadly, that it isn’t GOING to happen, either…. because I don’t believe that the POTUS, or the rest of the BRC, gives a damn about the rest of us, as long as they have their own…. This much is obvious from history, but, when did mankind at large ever pay any attention to history?….

If you have some evidence that contradicts that belief, I would dearly love to see it…. Truly, I would, because, quite frankly, my own intelligence, and the evidence I have now, forces me to conclude that we humans are shortly about to come to a bad end…. not with a bang, not with a whimper, but, choking to death in our own planet’s toxic air, victims to our own stupidity, and cupidity….

Daniel: “We’re damned if we do, we’re damned if we don’t; we need other options….” — from Stargate
_____________________________

Since I’m cheating already, there is no point in making anyone else feel at all guilty by association, so, here is a poem of my own, from September of 2012, which, apparently, was not a bad year for poetry…

Visible life

Forty-two days of pressure and internal rain,
leave marks of salvation, often in pain.
Such sharp reminders of yesterday’s remorse
fight heavily to keep a straight course.
Rash moments, bright, and routinely immense
Give us pleasure, bereft of common sense.

Still the night comes soft and eternally dear
to bring out wishful dreams so vitally clear.
Life’s myrmidons give freely in protest
lifting with skill, soul pieces first to infest,
Loudly brash, with no such voices to remain
Sealed in infamy, branded ugliness all too plain.

Now come brave signs of chapter and verse
Shielded by ignorance, irritable and terse.
Gravid portions of in-between retaliation
leave only pale marks of initial gestation
With hope even pallid warriors grow brave
Leading all humanity, to a warm, stale grave.

Hope never falters, nor leaves any trace
Yet lingers forever in a welcoming space.
Cheerful faces yet shine out of time
for tricking and fumbling sweet melody sublime.
Fill in the spaces with a long, strong retort
life is ever visible, if only as last resort.

~~ gigoid ~~

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A couple of the following quotes were found prior to the collection of the remainder, because I found them at different times, in different places, and intended to use them for a couple of rants…. Since that is off the agenda for today, due to circumstances I have no desire to alter, even if possible, I’m including them as part of what I call an indictment pearl, one that takes as many hard shots at the BRC, et al, as I can fit into a short, five-star volley…. Let’s see if SB will cooperate today….

“Make no laws whatever concerning speech and, speech will be free; so soon as you make a declaration on paper that speech shall be free, you will have a hundred lawyers proving that “freedom does not mean abuse, nor liberty license;” and they will define and define freedom out of existence.” — Voltarine de Cleyre (1866-1912)

“I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe.” — Thomas Jefferson

“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

“He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” — Thomas Paine

“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad, “Under Western Eyes”

“An experienced, industrious, ambitious, and often quite often picturesque liar.” — Mark Twain

Well, aside from Smart Bee pulling its covers, showing us it doesn’t know how to count, that came out well…. Maybe it needs one more….

“If we were to promise people nothing better than only revolution, they would scratch their heads and say: “Is it not better to have good goulash?” — Nikita Khruschev, quoted 1971

I love it when a plan comes together, even if the formatting has gone wonky….
_____________________________

For reasons unbeknownst to me, the formatting above decided to fuss with me, changing stuff without warning or purpose…. Since I don’t feel like tracking down the cause just now, it will have to do the way it is, and I’ll fix it on the fly, as it were…. Aha! Found it… Well, not exactly, but, the copy and paste process seems to have eliminated the wonkiness…. Okay, not bad, but, I still feel as if I’m in a panic, or should be…. I kind of feel like this man felt, back in the day…..

“I drank WHAT???????” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.)

Ah well, we can only do our best…. or, as gigoid has so aptly put it, many times and many ways, in the recent, as well as the far-distant past, “All we can do, is all we can do….” On that note, I shall bid thee adieu for another day….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Oodles of sympathetic ears….

Posted on January 3, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Today will be an interesting Pearl, and writing that phrase proves it to me…. The cat, bless her black little heart, decided that both of us needed to be up this morning, so Pat is up, and the process of creating this Pearl has exited the Zone of Silence…. As I wrote the first few words, above, Pat was speaking to me, and I had just decided to start writing, so, I tried to multi-task it…. No dice…. Got typos on the screen, forming a funny, if meaningless set of non-words, and gibberish in my ear, since half the words she said were now on the screen…. The concept of mixing typing, and listening, therefore, may be entered on the list of things NOT to bother with trying to multi-task….

Since my usual routine is smashed into tiny pieces, I’ll just sweep them aside, and get on with the business for which we have gathered here today…. Hmm… that makes it sound like a funeral, doesn’t it? I don’t think I’m quite ready to partake in any first-hand experiences with funerals, not for a few years, anyway…. I suspect it’s NOT the kind of thing one needs to rehearse, though one would like to think that it would come off gracefully. But, our own performance at such events isn’t required to be anything more than passive participation, so, it’s probably a moot point, and once again, a futile speculation….

We seem to come across those rather frequently around here…. futile speculations, that is…. I suppose they’re a side effect of trying to understand or explain human nature, as we do around here quite often; there WILL tend to be times when it all becomes too personal, or too accurate for comfort, whereupon your’s truly tends to retreat into piffle, or extreme nonsense…. Or, pretended confusion is always a good one, especially now that I can plead soft-headedness due to my age…. “I’m tired, and weak, and old…. won’t you think for me?”….. It would be easy to hide behind that mask, but, fortunately for all of us, my pride and dignity preclude any such dishonorable, manipulative behaviors…. At least, I feel one should not resort to such sleaze without some kind of provocation….

It’s too bad, really, that society continuously provides such provocation, mostly in the form of public acts of egregious ethical status by the BRC, the Priestly Hierarchies, or any of the other various sub-humans who comprise my new favorite group of targets for vituperation, the Asininnies…. One need only open up a newspaper, or read online, to find another reason to take shots at those assholes in power suits… Every day, they provide such a constant parade of ill-considered, downright stupid actions for the papers to report, one can hardly AVOID finding out their latest shenanigans….. Ah well, at least this tendency on their part makes it easy for us alternative writers to find the material we need to make ourselves heard…. they practically dump it in our lap…..

I suppose I’ve meandered around, avoiding any contact with Reality long enough to call this legal; there do seem to be the minimum required number of paragraphs, and there aren’t any new bodies to step around, so, we should be good to go, at least from the standpoint of possible litigation. I’m not sure how the ethical/moral/relevance view will turn out, but, that’s the responsibility of another department, so, I’ll let them do their work, and they can let me do mine, whatever that may be…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I do visit reality… although it’s on a tourist visa.” — Smart Bee
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Apparently, I spent a lot of time the first few days of last year, making sure the Pearls had some good material in them…. Below you’ll find yet another short rant from that period, one I found yesterday, and decided to re-post, just because I don’t believe I could write anything better right now, off the top of my head…. So, in the spirit of giving only the best stuff to my readers, here is another blast from the past…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From 1/1/13:

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

Oh well, so much for THAT hope! From all I can see in today’s society, what Tommy was afraid of has come to pass. If one takes almost any of the articles in the news that talk about the activities of government, religion, or society at large, it is obvious that bigotry and priestcraft have corrupted every level of those entities, and influence just about every human interaction that we see. Common sense is nowhere present, in any of those same activities under discussion. Of course, he forgot, in this instance, to include the bankers, but perhaps that is where a portion of the bigotry comes in…..

By its precise meaning, bigotry doesn’t include the idea of cheating, lying, and stealing from whomever one encounters; those activities, for a bigot, are only appropriate when done to those outside the personal group, to “foreigners, niggers, and chinks,” or some likely other group they’ve chosen to bless with their ignorant regard…… But, in a sense, bankers can be said to be universally bigoted, for they have no qualms about lying, cheating, or stealing from anyone, in any group, even their own. I guess that would qualify them as Ultimate Bigots…..

“As an ox goeth to the slaughter.” — Old Testament — Proverbs vii, 22; Jeremiah xi, 19

I would imagine this is how the bankers and preachers (either of which is capable of turning into a politician, at the drop of a hint….) view the masses of humanity who do not subscribe to their venality. In this view, they may be at least partially justified, by the apparent willingness of those masses to submit to whatever is done to them. Why should the politicians stop lying, when their lies secure for them the keys to the treasury? Why should the preachers not spread their delusions, when the masses are so willing to accept them, because it saves them the effort of either thinking about morality, or even better, saving them from having to BE moral?….. The bankers, of course, need no excuses to carry on their despicable acts of calumny upon the remainder of society; their sole motivation is based on profit for them, and nothing else concerns them at all…

“I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” — Thomas Jefferson

Back to Tom…. He was a bit over the top sometimes, in the force of his expression, but never, to my mind, in his sincere commitment to Truth, and his sincere love for Mankind. I would like to think I join him in this sentiment, especially today, when we are so besieged by attempts to tyrannize our minds by our own beloved ruling classes. The war against immorality continues unabated, and too many folks in the world have withdrawn from the battle, accepting the lies and delusions that are foisted upon them.

It is important, in my opinion, that the rest of us, who can see the depredations assaulting the common man every day, keep on shouting from the rooftops to the rest of our compatriots, if only to save our own sanity….. and, before the strain of the conflict brings us to our knees, and we enter Zippy’s domain, doomed to extinction…..

“I just forgot my whole philosophy of life!!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
_____________________________

After finishing a pearl with quotes from Zippy, I find it a good idea to return balance to the Force…. Nothing works better for that than a bit of Emily…..

The wind tapped like a tired man,
And like a host, “Come in,”
I boldly answered; entered then
My residence within

A rapid, footless guest,
To offer whom a chair
Were as impossible as hand
A sofa to the air.

No bone had he to bind him,
His speech was like the push
Of numerous humming-birds at once
From a superior bush.

His countenance a billow,
His fingers, if he pass,
Let go a music, as of tunes
Blown tremulous in glass.

He visited, still flitting;
Then, like a timid man,
Again he tapped–‘t was flurriedly–
And I became alone.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

“And I became alone.” Whew! The power of that leaves electricity zinging along the back of my neck…. Thank you , Emily….
_____________________________

“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

It took long enough, but, what I have been expecting to happen has actually come true…. The media, deeply in debt to Eric Snowden for the new life he breathed into their existence, has finally stepped forward to exert itself on his behalf…. The two major papers, The New York Times, and the Guardian, in the UK, who originally printed his revelations, are finally coming out publicly with editorials, strongly calling for clemency for him…. Here are two of the reports, one from Yahoo, one from SFGATE, the Chronicle news outlet online…. Together, the two articles give a good picture of the history, and the current state of the situation with Mr. Snowden, currently living in exile in the USSR….

http://news.yahoo.com/new-york-times–guardian–urge-clemency-for-snowden-153422938.html

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/2-newspapers-call-for-clemency-for-Edward-Snowden-5108503.php

What does one say about this? What is appropriate? What is important? Well, to be honest, ALL of it is pretty important, but not for the reasons most would believe, or, for that matter, understand…. That’s not being condescending, (well, maybe a little…), but, the majority of people who read about all of these issues regarding the spying are only capable of comprehending what they read at a fourth-grade level…. This is a commonly known fact, and is the reason newspapers, magazines, and the internet outlets that disseminate information do so at varying levels of complexity…. Most newspapers are written to a fourth grade level, and magazines usually write to the level of their targeted audiences….

My point here is, these are complex issues, and there are a LOT of lies being bandied about, mostly by one side, but, not necessarily ONLY by them. The ability to comprehend the cloud of information that is spewed out by a lot of readers is NOT up to the task, so, they end up picking out the easiest opinion for them to understand, and going with that, no matter what it might say…. This is how the BRC, the PH, and the SCMs keep control of the masses…. They pitch their story to the level of the people they address, and make it appeal to their most basic desires, (which process chiefly involves saying things that will reduce the level of diffuse anxiety, and the fears about the future that the masses feel…. those being the unrealistic, imaginary fears created by the ruling classes to begin with…..), thus establishing trust and belief on the part of the masses, making them willing to believe any further misinformation that is relayed….

“A man who carrys a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful. He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful. Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either. But if he wants to, I say let him!” — Mark Twain

So, anyway, it’s good to see the usual carriers of the administration’s manipulative lying doing a bit of their own fighting back, against the tide of über-control sought by the BRC, et al. As the largest information gathering and reporting companies in their respective countries, these two news outlets have the influence, both in the government, and with the public, to make a significant difference in any issue, and having them publicly come out with this particular expression of interest is not only unprecedented, (to my knowledge…), but extremely welcome….. It’s hard having most of the control over what gets into the media reports under the control of those who are in control of the government and banks; we, the public, NEED the media to work on our side, at least part of the time, or, there is no hope at all of ever making any changes, and, our doom would be sealed ever more tightly…..

“If people were required to know the law rather than to obey it, the government would be overthrown the next day.” — Smart Bee

There, how’s that for a fresh rant? Boot the assholes out, or make them straighten up and fly right, that’s what I say; I don’t much care which, but one of those two things are going to have to happen, if we are to have any chance at all to survive the upcoming events so graciously created for us by those same assholes. If we don’t get them, and their self-serving, selfish, ignorant, EVIL natures, out of their positions of control over the rest of us, they’re going to end up killing us all, and I am not being dramatic…. The evidence is all right out there to be seen, if one isn’t afraid to put the pieces together to form the picture….

It’s an ugly picture, ffolkes, and not much of a future to put our faith in…. Guess what, though? Like it or not, it’s the only future we have, if we don’t change…. and it’s just that simple…..

Folly, thou conquerest, and I must yield!
Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain. Exalted reason,
Resplendent daughter of the head divine,
Wise foundress of the system of the world,
Guide of the stars, who are thou then, if thou,
Bound to the tail of folly’s uncurb’d steed,
Must, vainly shrieking, with the drunken crowd,
Eyes open, plunge down headlong in the abyss.

— Johann Christian Friedrich von Schiller, The Maid of Orleans
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Hmm…. As it turns out, it’s practically one long rant, with a bit of ironic humor thrown in (hopefully…. re: the humor part…. I try….)…. Any who, it’s done, it’s not bad, and it’s going to go out just the way it is, because, hey, it is what it is, and that’s all what it is…. See ya….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Statistical universes encourage the use of pets….

Posted on December 31, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

You can expect no desperate whining, nor any trepidation at the blank screen this morning; the date, in all its glorious singularity, is subject enough for anyone to latch onto, providing all of us would-be authors and columnists with ample fodder for our grist, or grist for our mill, or more simply, lots to write about…..

The end of another year, for some reason, seems to put society into nostalgia mode, with year-end sales, year-end parties, year-end lists, and all sorts of activities designed to bring more attention to what just happened, thus avoiding both living in the moment, and preparing for the future, both of which would doubtlessly serve us better than gazing into our checkered past….

In this sense, we can see that all of the end of the year contortions people go through every damn year are just another method of avoiding anything that MIGHT resemble intelligent or productive living. Society would rather spend all their time going over the past year, with all of its problems and triumphs, than it would discussing what may be wrong now, or trying to prepare for a potentially fatally grim future, one very much likely to be less than a stable, peaceful path, but, rather, a short, violent one that leads to, shall we say, a less than desirable outcome, in a very short time…..

Last year, I wrote the following, as the beginning to the last Pearl of 2012…. I think it’s pretty good, so let’s see how it reads today….
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From 12/31/2012:

Exploring consensual reality means more than just talking about what people see as real; it means being real, and learning to accept the reality of others, while at the same time rejecting all those realities that are harmful in some way. It means speaking up against all the cruelty and evil that we see, refusing to join the masses who try to ignore what they cannot understand, and therefore, fear. It means exposing those who live their lives without regard for anyone else. It means taking responsibility for one’s own actions, and insisting that others do the same. It means, to me, that even though there is little hope of changing human nature at this late date, a small chance exists that we can survive, provided we learn to embrace ALL of life with honest regard, and can find a way to bring out the best in human nature, rather than allowing the worst to run rampant….

And that, pompous as it is, is ALL we will say about the future, or the past year, for the time being. Everyone else will, I’m sure, cover that adequately, and it would be a waste of my time to add to what is already a massive outpouring of material to read. I’d much rather provide something a bit different, and shall endeavor to do so, post haste…. Sorry, once pomposity sets in, it’s hard to put down….
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Not too bad, and certainly worth using again this year….. Now, if I could only figure out what the hell to write about today, I could fulfill my given task here at ECR with no fuss or muss…. But, as per normal around here, it looks like it will take some effort to get anything worthwhile to come out of this messy process….. This intro, as can be seen, is yet another experiment, this one thrown together and applied on short notice, as the day snuck up on me, so to speak… Well, actually, the idea snuck up on me, and…. oh, never mind….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“The answer to the question “why was I born trans?” is not in the past, but in the future. When we move beyond asking how we got here and ask what we should do with what we have we answer why we are here.” — Callan Williams

Believe me, this is a much more appropriate pearl than you may think upon first read….. and is much, much deeper than it may first appear….. Just think on it, and it will become clear why this is here, and what it means to all of us, not just the “trans”…..
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Not only was the opening of the Pearl from last year on this date a good one, but there was a religirant in there that is well worth reprinting today…. It is still completely valid, in all respects, remaining both an indictment of those who would foist this nonsense upon an unsuspecting society, and as a call to think about the dogma that is impressed upon the believers of what I consider to be delusional material… i.e. strong beliefs held in the absence of evidence or tangible proof….. In short, an indictment of preachers and priests, imams and sadhus, and all the other religious pundits who try to manipulate mankind by the application of massive guilt, and the concept of original sin…. the greatest scam of all time….
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Also from 12/31/2012:

Forgiveness. How does a person without faith in a higher power obtain this boon? Certainly not from themselves…. I know, if I have done something for which I feel the need, or desire, to be forgiven, then I most likely don’t deserve it, and refuse to give in to self-indulgence. According to the preachers, God forgives all, but damn me if I can see any reason to do so, no matter how ‘merciful’ he/she/it might be. How can anyone expect moral behavior, if even our most grievous sins are forgiven? Because of the promise of reward for compliance, or threat of punishment for refusal to conform? I agree with Albert Einstein, that any such philosophy is not realistic, and certainly not moral,,..

“In his private heart no man much respects himself.” — Mark Twain

All of us, without exception, have things we hide inside ourselves, secrets that nobody else will ever be told. Whether it is a memory of an act one is not proud of, or a bit of severe foolishness, or something so shameful that to share it would be to become a pariah, all of us humans have secrets. I would guess that almost all of them are akin to what is described in the first paragraph, to wit: acts that need forgiveness, but do not deserve it. I believe that this may be a method by which one can tell another person’s outlook on religion, for almost all religions are based on this principle, of divine forgiveness. Even though we may do things in life that are unforgivable, the gods, or God, for the monotheistic among us, are so merciful, that they will do so, if you but acknowledge their divinity, and admit they are your higher power….

It’s a good deal, all in all, if one buys it. Myself, I’m a bit sanguine about it, since I only have the word of the preachers that it is so; there is no real evidence to be found that supports the theory, and the scientist in me wants at least a little bit of proof before accepting something as truth. I’m not going to buy anything just on someone else’s word, or assertion of truth; I’ve been alive long enough to know that doing things like that can only lead to losing something, if only the advantage of self-respect.

“His ignorance covers the world like a blanket, and there’s scarcely a hole in it anywhere.” — Mark Twain

Wait, I thought we were talking about religion, not the last Republican President…. Sorry, couldn’t resist…. Any who, it all comes back to the basic idea of how we view reality, in terms of the concept of God, or a power greater than ourselves, that is responsible somehow for everything that exists, and thus, for us. By giving away that responsibility, I think, we are showing our own cowardice; I’m not willing to do that, not without more compelling evidence than hearsay.

I’m not blind to the other evidence that many religionists claim as being proof of God and his will; I’ve burst into tears myself at the sight of a particularly vivid sunrise, without knowing why, other than the beauty of it was so arrestingly powerful. I’ve seen good things happen everywhere, in human interaction, and in Nature. I’ve witnessed what priests like to call “grace”, and will admit that such events are not explainable by ordinary means.

I’ve also witnessed the other side of existence, where human nature turns dark and cruel, while Nature reveals its own complete indifference for human suffering; I cannot accept that the same entity would dare to assume, or want responsibility for such a wicked universe, even if the balance of good and evil is maintained by the presence of the other.

That assumption is purely human, and thus does not qualify, in my mind, as evidence of divinity in the form of God, by any of the visions held by any of the churches of Mankind. Unless, of course, one goes beyond doctrine, into philosophy, where the above contradictions do not apply, or can be explained by one further assumption. That assumption is a hard one for most humans, as it involves taking responsibility for EVERYTHING that they do, and for everything that happens to them. (Yep, that’s a paraphrase of the basic principle of Karma…)

In other words, as Robert Heinlein put it so aptly, in his epic statement of philosophy, Stranger In a Strange Land, “Thou art God.” I know, it’s blasphemous, but, hey, been there, done that, let’s get past it…. It is the only explanation that fits ALL the facts in evidence, and even if a bit grandiose, really isn’t, because we are, after all, just a bunch of bozos on the bus.

Being God, though, would be a really boring job, the way the job descriptions in all the churches read, and I don’t think I want to take that on, particularly. It may be the only way I can find any forgiveness for those things I’ve done in my long life of which I am not proud, but, since I don’t feel that I SHOULD be forgiven for them, I think I’ll just accept the responsibility, along with the consequence, a certain lessening of my self-esteem, and try to act in the future in ways that won’t make me feel that way….

It really isn’t hard to be good, in reality, as long as you care…. The problem is, not enough people care, or even think about stuff like this…. Me, I can’t help myself…. Caring, to me, is what being human is about; those who don’t care aren’t fully human, and won’t be until they do….

“I am covered with pure vegetable oil and I am writing a best seller!” — Zippy the Pinhead
_____________________________

Once again, I’m forced to resort to my own poetry, for honor’s sake…. It’s one of my strongest held beliefs, that no one else should ever get any of the blame for what happens here, so, there are times when I must use my own, to protect the names of the innocent….. I hope you enjoy it, as it was picked out to match today’s mood….

Stray Cats

The veils that billow and fold
between dreams and reality
may sometimes part,
showing the visions of one to the other,
blending, bleeding as one,
only to bring us up short,
closely jammed against immovable fate.

Still, we keep our watch,
seeking to find the vision
that brings with it the mark of reality’s regard,
a humble mind, and a compassionate heart.

Events of broad impact draw us away again,
distracting with shiny glitter and tinny music,
leaving our feelings raw and bruised,
the victim of universal disregard.

Now, in the twilight of years, the music is fading,
and the glitter has all gone….
yet the memory of visions remains sharp and clear,
melancholy reminders of reality’s promises,
unkept…..

~~gigoid~~

_____________________________

Since it IS the last day of the year, I will condescend to create one fresh section of today’s Pearl, even if it is only an old-school variety pearl, which I can throw together in my sleep…. No comments from the peanut gallery on that one, please…. In truth, Smart Bee has been really, really good at what it does of late, so I’m kind of trusting it to pull my fat from the fire, in a manner of speaking, as I have yet to really do much today, beyond blather, a form of literature at which I am gaining some expertise….. So, let’s see if SB can pull off another serendipitous grouping of wisdom in small pieces, eh?….

“A people who expect to be ignorant and free expect what never will, and never can, be.” — Thomas Jefferson

“Politics is for people who have a passion for changing life but lack a passion for living it.” — Tom Robbins

“For insurance purposes, an act of God is defined as something which no reasonable person could possibly have anticipated. In this same sense, Catholic theologians speak of the creation of humanity as an act of God! If carried to the logical conclusion, we might even find some sort of reason for your ordinary parking meter.” — Smart Bee

“We’re not afraid, its just that we have this thing about death.” — Smart Bee

Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. (Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.) — William of Occam, Occam’s Razor

“I feel like a fugitive from the law of averages.” — William H. Mauldin, “Up Front” 1944 *

“My face is new, my license is expired, and I’m under a doctor’s care!!!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

A bit obscure, but, you wouldn’t want it to be easy, now, would you? I think not…. You’ll take it the way it is, and like it….
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* “Up Front” 1944, by William H. “Bill” Mauldin This is a GREAT book…. I read it as a young child, because it was in my parent’s library, and we were always encouraged to look at the books. It was a series of cartoons, with two ordinary US Army joes as the ‘heroes’. It pictured the life of an average soldier, on the front lines during WWII in Europe, from the standpoint or these two typical Americans, Willie and Joe, following them with extremely realistic cartoon-like sketches, more portraiture than cartoons, like a comic book, in black and white for publishing in the newspapers of the time….

The sketches/cartoons took the reader with Willie and Joe through battles, life on post, life in the field, encounters with the locals overseas, fear, homesickness, illness, and all the trials and joys that are found in such times…. The text, which I read later, in my early teens, was simple and compelling, written by the author, a political cartoonist/journalist, who traveled around with the soldiers all over during the war years…. A great read…. It educated me at a young age about war, and how average people behaved at those times in history…. very enlightening re: human nature, as I recall…. and funny as hell, even to a five or six year old….

Well, for a final go, this certainly has some bulk to it…. Not a bad way to roll over into a new year, artificial as that distinction may be (What calendar do YOU follow? Gregorian? Orthodox? Mayan? Aztec? Chinese? It makes a difference, you know….). I suppose most of the ffolkes who would be reading this, as English speakers, even if not native, (NOT a handicap, I assure you….) are following the one that celebrates tonight as the crossing from one year to the next in line…..

Thus, as the Universe encourages us all to embrace Change, as acknowledged by Axiom #1 of Peruaosophy, I can say “Happy New Year” without any sense of embarrassment or guilt for being politically incorrect…. not that I give a shit, of course, but, hey, I try to be nice some of the time…. See ya next year, ffolkes… It’s been Real…. Now, if only we all could agree on how that Reality should proceed….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

In the domain of the demons of democracy…..

Posted on December 24, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Timing…. is everything….. and mine has been way off lately…. Here ’tis, Xmas Eve, and I’ve been so busy ranting about the upcoming climatological emergency, (an event COMING SOON, TO A PLANETARY UNIT YOU INHABIT), I completely skipped over talking about any of the rampant consumerism that is so “in your face” this time of year, all of which, in my opinion, is based on a delusional system that over a third of this planet has bought into, and fully believes…. I guess that’s what comes from not watching very much TV; the worst of it is on there, what with the massive amounts of money put into directing consumer’s habits and tastes every holiday, particularly Christmas….. Gasp! Epiphany!

Wow! I just realized why Christianity, all throughout history, has been so closely allied with the forces of corporate manipulation of society, i.e. the bankers, and/or whomever are in positions of authority…. And it isn’t because Christians are so “special”…. No, they are merely encouraged to think they are, because when they do, they are the most easily manipulated idiots on the face of the Earth, save perhaps cows, or, maybe, starfish….. and, hey, who’s worried they’ll take over, eh?….

Any who, at this time of year, the mask comes off, to a degree, and the rampant greed and sheer avarice of the very rich is fulfilled by the appetites created for them by the churches, the radios and TVs, and the newspapers, all of whom repeat and trumpet the latest deals into the public consciousness…. I actually saw a car commercial of some sort, in a rare moment when the TV was on, that said something to the effect of “Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy buy… buy” to the tune of some carol or another, complete with subtitles…. I kid you not!…. I had to laugh, to keep from weeping….

There is something good to be said for the spirit of compassion that is so much more common now than at other times of the year (Yet another sign of the morally and ethically juvenile make-up of society at large…..), but, on the whole, other than exchanging gifts with my kids, and a couple friends, I ignore most of what other folks are all excited about…. and that’s okay by me, a hard thing for some to understand, without getting an impression that isn’t wholly accurate….. C’est la vie, friends…. I can’t change the world…. at BEST, I can successfully ignore what it does to, or on, me (Think about it….), and learn to be content with whatever that may be…. or, if not content, resigned….

Aside from that aforementioned higher degree of human compassion that marks many interactions at this time of year, there is little to recommend it to me, as the commercials, the decorations (another area where greed and competitive spirit cause so many to go completely overboard….), the false bonhomie, the distressed parents and over-amped kids, and all of the other “holiday” treats the world has for us…. Well, all of that holiday spirit just tends to piss me off more than anything else….. This is because I realize it is ALL in place solely for the benefit of those who want power and money, and none of the given reasons for the season have any more influence on people than does the weather…. and nobody seems to care!….

Ah well, I’m tired of ranting to no purpose…. since I have a ways to go today to get this done, I’ll end this mini-intro-section-rant here, and get on with today’s dive…. It will serve more purpose than has been garnered by this section, that’s for sure and for certain….

Shall we Pearl?….

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

Of course, since I ranted, to some degree, in the introduction, y’all get the benefit of that, in the shape of an old-school pearl here in section one….. Yesterday, Smart Bee was being rather showy, providing all sorts of great quotes even when not asked for them…. It was a very lucrative day, aphorism-wise, and I’m hoping that attitude will extend into today’s search…. Murphy, bless his tiny little head, has been busy elsewhere during this holiday season, due mostly, I think, to my own lack of Christmas spirit, which doesn’t leave him a lot of leeway to pick at me…. I’m already in curmudgeon mode, so I’m less vulnerable at this time of year…. Yay!….. Any who, here you go….

Not bad for a first find…..

“And now, let the fun begin.” — Smart Bee

“I may RISE today, but I refuse to SHINE !!!” — gigoid, channeling Zippy

“A grave, wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul.” — Hawthorne

“Delay is preferable to error.” — Thomas Jefferson

“There is only one commandment: Thou Shalt Not Waste. All the others are superfluous.” — Solomon Short

“Mastering others is strength. Mastering one’s self is true power.” — Lao Tzu

“Ask me about my lobotomy.” — Smart Bee

We always know a pearl will work when Smart Bee provides the bracket quotes…. This one is a good one, all in all, and well balanced, for all its sparsity…. How well balanced? Allow me to demonstrate….

Not bad for a first find…..

“And now, let the fun begin.” — Smart Bee

“I may RISE today, but I refuse to SHINE !!!” — gigoid

“A grave, wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul.” — Hawthorne

“Delay is preferable to error.” — Thomas Jefferson

“There is only one commandment: Thou Shalt Not Waste. All the others are superfluous. — Solomon Short

“Mastering others is strength. Mastering one’s self is true power.” — Lao Tzu

“Ask me about my lobotomy.” — Smart Bee

See? Just TRY to knock THAT over!….. Not happening, ffolkes…. You will please note that the outline shape of the text is an exact replica of an Imperial Starship… which, as we all know, were pretty tough to bring down…. and even tougher to de-legitimize….. What? What does that MEAN? Why? Who needs to know? I mean, in the final analysis, it’s all dross and drivel, so, who the hell cares, eh?….

No, really, sorry ’bout that…. a bit of insanity and temper, just ignore me…. It’s kind of like Tourette’s Syndrome…. I need fluids, my electrolytes are imbalanced, or something…. I know, let’s try getting on with this…. maybe it will get back on to some sort of logical track on its own….. Hope springs eternal, you know…..
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While cruising some old pearls in the archives, I came across this poem, which I wrote…. some time …. and not in the future, so we know it was in the past. Sorry, I forget when it was, and it’s a long, laborious process to find it again, as my Pearls are not organized, by subject, content, category, or title…. Hence, I can’t find ANYTHING in there, unless I stumble across it while surfing…. Any who, this is one of my favorites of my own, if not exactly my best…. and mine is the only opinion that really bears any meaning for me, because, with me, it’s all about “better out than in”….. Being human yourselves, you will understand my obsessive need to make it all about ME!….. Oh well, try to enjoy it anyway….

Joe Friday’s lament

Life is short, and though I’m odd, they say
it really doesn’t bother me
to realize there is no God, per se.

Though other folks will disagree
and tell me I’m wrong
I won’t believe it, not with naught to see.

Liars, called padre, tell me, ‘have humility,
and do as the authorities say’,
then fondle little boys with facility.

They also tell me to share the wealth
and give them a 10% tithe
so they don’t have get it by stealth.

So spare me the delusions, please
don’t bother with such a tale;
I’m nobody that needs such a tease.

Keep your fantasies under your hat
and out of my face;
I don’t need them, they’ll make me fat….. headed.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Shoot! I lost some pearls…. I had several collected for this space, and inadvertently copied something over the top of them…. Now I must go back and find them again…. thank goodness for control-Z, or in SB’s case, just Z….. I’ll be back, to copy in what I’ve found…..

Okay, well, not bad, found a couple of them…. it will do…. Now I can get on with this, and finish off today’s effort, if I can only stay focused, and pain free for another twenty minutes or so…. Wish me luck, friends….. Oh, bonus prize today….. If you can articulate, exactly, what concept to which this pearl points, you will be absolved of any and all responsibility for what happens in the future….. S’truth! I’ve got an “in” with the gods of justice….

“Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” — American Proverb

“Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs.” — P. J. O’Rourke

“Beer commercials are so patriotic: “Made the American Way.” What does that have to do with America? Is that what America stands for? Feeling sluggish and urinating frequently?” — Scott Blakeman

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and left untried.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936), “What’s Wrong with the World”

“They gave me a book of checks. They didn’t ask for any deposits.” — Congressman Joe Early (D-Mass) at a press conference — to answer questions about the House Bank Scandal

“When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‘Present’ or ‘Not guilty.'” — Theodore Roosevelt

“Government of the people, by the lawyers, for the conservatives.” — Smart Bee

Bonus prize hint: The answer is included in the above text, about half-way through this group of pearls…..
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Yesterday, the day before, and today, I spent a lot of words, and time, speaking of the End Of The World As We Know It, and As We Don’t (which is obviously what we do more of…..) In the ensuing period of time since beginning those posts and pieces, I haven’t seen anything that tells me that the world has taken notice of the urgency that is present in the given statistical analysis, nor any indication that degree of ignorance, deliberate or not, will change…. Realistically, I couldn’t expect that to happen….. However, I’ve always been like Churchill, in this way at least….

“I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.” — Winston Churchill

Then, I find a little piece of wisdom like this one, from a poet extraordinaire….

History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.

— Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning” — delivered at the inauguration of Bill Clinton, Jan 21, 1993

At such moments, it’s hard to hang on to the depression that naturally ensues from the consideration of our species’ extinction at its own hands…. but, that issue isn’t going away, and there will be time to lament, and to rant, and to panic, and to watch, as the world goes stark, raving mad in the face of its own demise…. Such a pity, but, what are ya gonna do with them, eh? They just won’t listen….. Ah well, I’ll try again tomorrow….. See ya….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Only the finest of hydrogenated motor oils served here….

Posted on December 20, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Though my morning hours are becoming more regular, my brain is not, and the fear, unwelcome, unwanted, yet remains…. Paralyzing, unreasonable, it strikes me each day, as I gaze in terror at the blank screen, wondering how the hell I’ll come up with something new and fresh, when every thought in my brain feels old and wilted, like a three day old salad…. I probably resemble that remark more than I realize…. I’m not green, yet, though…. I’m guessing that’s something about which to be encouraged…

Encouragement seems to be the only positive to be found just now, so, we’ll take it and run with it…. I’ll just keep repeating this affirmation to myself, “I’m not green yet!”…. I’m not green yet!”…. I’ll say that over and over to myself, and somehow, about an hour from now, I’ll believe it… Of course, I’m going by what I’ve been told by some New Agers, followers of some guy named Jack Handey, who’s supposed to be the newest guru of the self-enlightenment crowd…. Having achieved my own enlightenment many years ago, while sitting under a baobab tree, I …. wait, that wasn’t me, that was the Buddha!…. What was I thinking?….

Hah! I guess I fooled you this time, didn’t I? You thought I was going to take credit for the Buddha’s enlightened words, didn’t you? Hah! So there! You can’t catch me like that! I’ve been boasting, er, sharing, yeah, sharing, that’s it…. sharing my knowledge of enlightenment, for many years now, and you won’t catch me so easily as that! You may as well go look for some other lightweight, sucker….

Where were we? Oh, yeah, enlightenment…. Yes, many years ago, I found inner peace. I was actually looking for some aliens I heard had landed near there, but found it laying under a rock…. I sold that batch to a guy on Forty-seventh Avenue for forty bucks, which bought me some very nice ganja uptown. The next time I found it, I couldn’t find a buyer (it was during the Bush recession, the first one….), so I just tossed it in the river, as it wasn’t doing me any good there on the streets….

Sometimes, I actually feel as if a lot of people in today’s world would react the same way as I did, if they did happen to accidentally find inner peace…. Hey, many of them most likely wouldn’t be able to recognize it anyway…. Today’s modern person lives under such pressure, with so many mental distractions from the internet, TV, radio, and now smart phones, they would find it hard, first, just to know they were in need of some inner peace, and second, what to do with it if they found it….. But, not me…. I happen to know there’s a good market for it on the street… the hard part is finding a sucker, and one of those comes along every few minutes, especially in the parts of town where I hang….

For now, though, shall we Pearl?….

“An infallible method of conciliating a tiger is to allow oneself to be devoured.” — Konrad Adenauer
_____________________________

Today’s Pearl was partially constructed ahead of time, due to an irresistible need to rant that snuck (that’s my new/old replacement for the just-plain-silly “sneaked”…..) up and struck me, right upside the head, of all places, all of a sudden, yesterday, just after noon…. Since the rant that spewed out onto the page at that time inarguably fulfills any possible requirements for length, by a factor of about, oh, three or four, I’ll just put together a bit of an old-school pearl here, of the random, harlequin style, which I’ve found to be the set of parameters that best fits the need for a fresh, yet well-balanced pearl that we have here today…. Balance, as we know, is the key, as is timing…. hence, I give you this fine little grouping, freshly picked from only the finest of oysters…..

“There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), “Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant”

“Truth and falsehood are both whatever, and simultaneously not so, rather than not.” — Tim Larkin, March 31, 1993

“Faith does not offer the least support for proof of truth.” — Nietzsche

“I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too.” — Thomas Jefferson

“It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” — Agnes Repplier

“We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.” — Albert Einstein

“There is the state religion of mindless consumerism, which is the real message of all advertisements. The state religion is more powerful than any other force; the wise person practices patience and stealth. The wise person creates images that can be unpacked to deliver other messages.” — Jon Carroll, S. F. Chronicle, March 7, 1996

Aha! I see that it turned out to be a Miss Manners pearl, giving advice on how to live with honor, dignity, and a bit of good, clean fun, taking pot shots at political and/or religious pundits at every opportunity….
_____________________________

There is just something charming and attractive to my mind about the image that Li Po presents, historically…. An amiable, brilliant, always drunk poet, wandering around the Chinese countryside, observing the world in his own inebriated way, composing poems from the depths of his genius, poems describing the beauty he saw, in all he saw, for the rest of us to enjoy…. which we have, for the past thirteen hundred years, or more…. Even if he lived a life completely different than the stories one hears, it wouldn’t matter, for his poetry is timeless….

Alone And Drinking Under The Moon

Amongst the flowers I
am alone with my pot of wine
drinking by myself; then lifting
my cup I asked the moon
to drink with me, its reflection
and mine in the wine cup, just
the three of us; then I sigh
for the moon cannot drink,
and my shadow goes emptily along
with me never saying a word;
with no other friends here, I can
but use these two for company;
in the time of happiness, I
too must be happy with all
around me; I sit and sing
and it is as if the moon
accompanies me; then if I
dance, it is my shadow that
dances along with me; while
still not drunk, I am glad
to make the moon and my shadow
into friends, but then when
I have drunk too much, we
all part; yet these are
friends I can always count on
these who have no emotion
whatsoever; I hope that one day
we three will meet again,
deep in the Milky Way.

~~ Li Po ~~

_____________________________

I intended to write a rant about the following article (see link below….), about how the White House has been yanking the chain of the American people over this whole issue right from the start of the problem, when Eric Snowden first released the information he took from the NSA (an act of sublime courage, with full knowledge of how he was affecting his life, destined to be labeled a criminal by his own country, in turn itself engaged in criminal acts, on a much larger scale than his alleged theft……), thereby embarrassing the administration….. THAT is the offense for which they cannot forgive him, as it undermines their license to lie with impunity….

I like to follow up on any intentions that I believe to be righteous in nature, so, let’s rant….. Mr. Snowden’s release of information, reportedly taken from his former employer, the NSA, is, because of the nature of the information, in my mind, and the minds of many Americans, not an act of treason against the people of this country. Rather, it was an act I believe to have been one of high patriotism, based on his concern over what the government was doing to normal people like him…. I would love to see him get the civilian equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, though I know it will never happen….

So, how does the administration respond when his act of courage brought on an outcry of indignation and anger, from the public, from Congress, from other countries and their leaders? They promised to form a committee, to “review the signals intelligence policies” that they have been using SINCE 2008! Ooh, boy, that’s going to resolve the issue, isn’t it? A committee…. Well, I suppose it COULD be considered a start toward a resolution… except that a committee, no matter what it finds, has no legal binding on the administration’s actions….

This committee was picked by that administration, no doubt with the intent of hearing a favorable report, but, instead, the group managed to come up with a report that showed, essentially, that A) they lied, and continue to lie B) they exceeded their authority and C) they need to consider stopping…. However, since the administration PICKED them, they aren’t bound by any law to follow their recommendations…. an event whose unlikeliness to have EVER occurred approaches the infinite…. Face it, ffolkes, they never meant to stop, or in any way discontinue what they’ve been doing without compunction for five years now….

Ffolkes, this administration, which promised to be the “most transparent ever” has been spying, much more than they want to admit, for the entire time they’ve been in office… This, despite the clear mandate by the American people that they wanted a “change” from the policies of clandestine activities and secrecy that characterized the previous administrations, run by a former CIA director, and his son….

Instead, they not only adopted the Bush policies on spying, they increased them tenfold, all by having the NDAA, the underlying authorizing document for the spying, signed as an executive order, on New Year’s Eve, with Congress recessed, and the nation drunk, at the behest of the retailers…. all without the authorization of Congress, or the courts, or the voters…. just the POTUS and the now unassailable, hidden commanders of the NSA, the Cyber Command, and the ever present CIA….

They won’t discuss any leniency or immunity for Snowden, not when they won’t even ADMIT they’ve done anything wrong…. see the language used by the White House yesterday, when it met with all the leaders of the tech giant companies who have been the biggest victims (in terms of amount of data stolen) of the spying…. There was no admission at all of any wrongdoing on their part, or that they may have gone too far…. none. They don’t intend to do anything but stonewall this, and hope the public will forget, as is the usual case…. Well, not this time, not if I can help it…. I’m really pissed off at all of this, and am really tired of having the people in whom I expect a high standard of behavior, as the recipient of my trust as indicated by my vote, essentially and regularly, piss on my trust….

By now, I suppose, I should know better than to place ANY trust in ANYONE running for an office, but, I had hopes during the last two elections, that perhaps things might just have a chance to change for the better…. I have to say, however, that hope has been pretty thoroughly dashed by the revelations of the past three or four years, more so by the reaction of the administration, than by any of the revelations themselves…. The denial, the refusal to accept responsibility, the repeated and ever-increasing lies, the stubborn refusal to see or accept the public’s displeasure and disgust at their actions, all of this has been more disturbing than the actual information presented…. because it is ALL making them look even guiltier than we know they are, yet they don’t seem to care….

There is a simple reason, ffolkes…. and I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell y’all…. It doesn’t matter… They will do what they will, and there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it, because WE ALREADY GAVE THEM THE POWER…. and, guess what? They won’t be giving it back, that’s for sure and for certain…. not without a severe struggle…..

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/White-House-task-force-urges-limit-on-NSA-snooping-5074958.php

If y’all don’t see, from the tone and words used by the White House, that they know they’ve got the upper hand, then, I encourage you to go back to wherever you have the little piece of sand, where you have the hole in which you prefer to hide your head in the presence of danger, and put your head in there for a good long while…. Things out here in the real world aren’t bound to change, except to follow the course away from liberty, as it has been doing for some time now, all with the approval of the most ignorant set of voters to ever grace a planet…..

Okay, so, today, you get a two-fer…. The above rant was based on the article, but, the thoughts and some of the evidence isn’t new; it’s old, like I’m getting to be, with some reluctance, but hopefully, some dignified acceptance for the process, if not the end results…. where was I? Oh, right…. the following rant is constructed upon the same base, but using the thoughts going through my head in July of this year…. I had intended to use them to support the article, but, that seems to have stimulated its own support, so, just view this as “more thoughts on the same subject”….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“One of the merits of democracy is quite obvious: it is perhaps the most charming form of government ever devised by man. The reason is not far to seek. It is based on propositions that are palpably not true — and what is not true, as everyone knows, is always immensely more fascinating and satisfying to the vast majority of men than what is true.” — H. L. Mencken

With this statement, Mr. Mencken has put his finger on the pulse of America, that is for certain. It goes a long way toward explaining why so many people in this country are so willing to believe the outright, egregious lies that are told to them every single day by the officials they elect every year at the polls that characterize our alleged republic…. They do lie, you know, with almost every statement that comes out of their mouths….

They begin with the most important lie they tell, from which all the others spring, and that is the lie they tell when they tell you that they want to be elected so they can work for YOU! Each and every politician learns early in their career, if they are at all to be successful, they MUST portray themselves as a public-spirited, honest, and tireless worker whose only purpose is to make life better for their constituents….

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth…. NONE of them are at all concerned with any of that nonsense; they are there to carry out their own agenda, which has very little to do with what is good for the general run of mankind…. No, they are there to serve the interests of the men and women who pay them, those lobbyists and special interest representatives who run the businesses of the corporate masters.

The people on the street cannot provide them with the perks, or the cash, that the clandestine rulers are able to come up with, other than peripherally, by electing them in the first place…. Once elected, their true colors come out into the light of day, and it can be easily seen how their actions are never congruent with what they have promised to the people who elected them….

It’s all about power and money to these folks, not service. In my entire life of observing politics around the world, I have yet to see a single elected official who could be shown to be honest, not at the national level. The one who came the closest was Jimmy Carter, and his presidency was marked by how little got done, because he was so honest that the true politicians in Congress blocked every reform he tried to institute during his time in office. His actions during that time showed him to be the exception to the usual rule for politicians, which is why, I believe, he was so ineffective as a legislator….

“Invest in America — Buy Japan!”– Smart Bee

Other than Carter, I have seen concrete proof that EVERY President of this country has lied to the American people, not just once or twice, but continuously, about nearly everything. Time and time again, public outcries are heard or seen in the news about some new revelation regarding something some politician lied about, just like it is breaking news or something, when it is actually the normal state of affairs….

I don’t know why it is, but if a man on a TV set, wearing a suit and tie, makes a statement to the public, the general public will believe it, sometimes fanatically, without ever examining it for whether or not it is true…. Then, when it turns out they were lied to, they get all upset and vocalize their displeasure, never once admitting it was their own cupidity that allowed the lie to occur in the first place…. It makes me wonder what happened to people in this country, to make them go soft in the head….

“Doctors are the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you too.” — Anton Chekhov

Did you ever notice how many politicians were lawyers, first? Most of them, as it turns out, for the simple reason that learning to be a lawyer gives a politician two advantageous types of training…. One advantage is that law school teaches the student how to lie in every imaginable way, in order to ascertain which kinds of lies are legal…. The other advantage is their primary motivation….

If asked, a very large percentage of lawyers will tell you their reason for becoming a barrister in the first place is that it is a good way to get rich, (without mentioning, of course, that this is true only as long as one doesn’t give a shit about other people, and what that might do to them). In other words, they make their money by taking advantage of people’s misery, holding them as hostages against their own destiny, in order to gain resources, i.e. money, and its sidekick, power….

Then the lawyers realize that their training is perfect for politics…. The ability to lie with facility comes in very handy to anyone who wants to be in the public eye, as that is how one gets elected in the first place…. Tell people what they want to hear, and they will vote for you, every time, coming back to the same trough to eat, even though they get screwed, time after time…. Having the facility to ignore what happens to others, due to their own actions, is the other skill so important to the political set, and the training one receives as a lawyer fits right into that category….

“Watching the democratic party in a presidential contest is like watching a washing machine with a defective bearing: It starts up smoothly enough, but soon, it begins to wobble and shake, jumping violently from place to place, until it tears itself to pieces, spewing dirty laundry all over the room.” – Smart Bee

Some people will say that there ARE some good lawyers out there, and I won’t argue that…. but, they’re still lawyers, not politicians, aren’t they? They’re doing what they can to help ffolkes find their way through the morass of our legal system to get what they need, even occasionally finding some justice…. But, they aren’t going further, and going into public service, are they? They’re still in place, where they can help, but, they are so few and far between, they are hard to find, and so are very busy, seldom having the time or resources to work against their less honest colleagues. Plus, they really are very few in number, as altruists seldom become lawyers in the first place….

I can see that this has evolved into a full scale rant, and we’ve just begun the day, so I’ll call a halt here. I often feel as if I’m preaching to the choir, anyway, when I go through this stuff again…. It’s all familiar material around here, so it isn’t as if I’m presenting new ideas for your examination…. No, this is all old stuff, and, sadly, doesn’t seem to ever create the outrage that I feel in very many other ffolkes…. which is too bad…. I forget who said that “if you keep on doing things the same ways as you always have, things will always be the way they’ve always been….”, but, they were absolutely correct…. We are on a path to our own destruction, clearly, but, nobody seems to care.

Nobody, that is, who seems able to DO anything about it, and they are the ones who will need to make the changes…. The people in authority over the rest of us are wearing blinders in this respect…. The idea that what they are doing is wrong, and will eventually kill us all, doesn’t fit into their world-view, so they won’t believe it, and will continue to refuse to make any of the changes needed to re-direct our steps onto a path less dangerous.

It is up to the rest of us to get it done, and that may entail overthrowing the current crop of rulers, either by the vote, or by the less agreeable option of using the necessary force, while making sure the new crop will act in OUR best interests, rather than their own…. If it does happen, it will be the first time in history, which is fine with me…. just as long as it is not the LAST time in history….

“… democracy is not something you believe in, or a place you hang your hat, but it’s something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles and falls apart.” — Abby Hoffman
_____________________________

Well, I seem to have a problem with stopping, once I get started on a rant, don’t I?…. Today, I even extended the guilty piece with an even longer supporting piece, that, despite its length, is of such good fit, I can’t bring myself to leave it out…. it just makes the whole thing complete. I can see, though, that some ffolkes may not get all the way through it, which is okay, just this once…. Next time, it will ALL be on the quiz….

Besides, what I wrote today is of the category that people really need to think more about, because if they don’t start paying attention to what I’m saying, they’re going to reap the rewards of the inattention they’ve been putting into their lives, in regards their beloved ruling class, and the degree to which they allow them to victimize the public without consequence….

And there I go, right back into the rant…. Let’s go proof, and see if this is ready to fly…. One thing is for sure…. nobody can accuse me of not getting it all out…. which, as we know, is exactly WHY I do this…. Better out than in, I always say…. But, they also say, say what you have to say, then, shut up… so, I’ll do that now, so nobody can say I can’t take advice…. See ya….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Tales of rabbits running, and thyme….

Posted on December 15, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I realized, at one point, while going over yesterday’s post, that my diatribe in the intro section, regarding some theoretical might-have-beens for one of our former POTUS’s, may conceivably have sounded as if I were disparaging, by stereotyping, “those kind of guys”, when I was speaking of GWB Jr, aka, Shrub, Jr….. That would be an erroneous conclusion, completely against the grain of my actual beliefs, and totally in opposition to the point I was making about the shrub’s latency…

In that respect, I meant only to suggest that HE, Mr. Shrub, Jr., would have been much better off had he been allowed to explore that, shall we say, more ethically and/or morally evolved side of his personality…. which, sadly, also does not mention how much better off we all would have been, had that series of unlikely events have taken place…. I wanted to make that perfectly clear, as I MUCH prefer the politics and personalities I find in the gay community over those I find in the Republican Party, as a rule…. Actually, I’d say it’s more like a natural law than a rule, as I’ve yet to meet a Republican I liked very much, and I generally enjoy ALL the gay and/or transgender ffolkes I meet…. though I’m sure they produce their share of assholes, too… We all take our turn at that….

I started this apologia yesterday, at the point in time when I realized what I had done, so it has usurped my usual beginning routine…. which fits right in with the rest of the day’s events thus far…. I arose at almost 6 AM, the latest hour I’ve arisen in the course of many blue moons, and a good indicator that my new medication regime for sleeping is effective. I’m getting a handle on the amount of medication (cannabis….) I need to consume, as well as getting to understand how long prior to the time I want to go out for the night I need to consume it, so for the past five nights, I’ve gone to bed at a relatively normal hour, and gotten up eight to nine hours later, refreshed and reasonably recharged….. It’s a real treat, believe me, after many years of interrupted sleeping…. I do wake up a bit confused, though, as my mind doesn’t understand why I was asleep so long….

All of the routines I’m now developing are new, so it may take some time to regularize them; bear with me until then, if you will, and give me some slack…. more than you’ve already given me over time, as you’ve watched me go through all the contortions that my particular brand of madness makes me display so ardently….. I know it can be difficult to see a human being going through some of this, but, just toughen up, ffolkes, it’s all in a good cause, as long as the subscription papers got signed for the turning over of all the profits to the charity funds I picked…. Of course, that’s assuming we can ever show a profit, an event unlikely to happen in this lifetime, as I’m making no effort to do so…. So there….

Not sure why the irritability is there, but, hey, I’ve been in stranger moods, and still gotten a Pearl done…. It’s probably just some left over confusion from waking up, a natural response to new routines, and a natural flip, to turn over the confusion to the curmudgeon in me, and let it out as grumpiness…. Every body needs to practice their skills, eh?…. Even if the only thing we’re going to do is go for a dive, in familiar waters…..

Shall we Pearl?…. Below you will find a quote, one of my all-time favorites, but, sadly, one I have always attributed incorrectly, to the wrong author…. I had always thought this came from Mahatma Gandhi, in one of his gentle moments of sardonicism…. but, I was wrong, so, I offer it here with the correct author given credit….

“Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.” — George Bernard Shaw
_____________________________

I’m not up to a rant today, ffolkes, even though I see by the news that the idiots are loose out there, even on a Sunday…. But, they’re talking about the budget, and the economy, and NOTHING is more upsetting to me than that…. They all talk just as if there were something they could do that would have some effect on the economy, when it is perfectly clear to even the most thick-headed that there is not a damn thing to be done… ANYTHING they do is the wrong thing, and it is something they will never understand, as it is beyond their capability….. So, rather than stand around and point out the obvious bleeding from the head wounds they give each other, pounding on a wall that won’t move, I’ll put together an old-school style pearl, to show the same derisive qualities, but with a bit of panache, and, hopefully, humor…. Let’s see if SB will cooperate today….

“The long habit of living indisposeth us for dying.” — Sir Thomas Browne

“Life is Not Fair! Not today, Not tomorrow, Not ever! Get used to it!” — Smart Bee

“Doctors are the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you too.” — Anton Chekhov

“Difficulties are things that show what men are.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxiv

“It is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth.” — Oscar Wilde

“He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.” — Aristotle

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”
_____________________________

I know a poet is special when what they’ve written speaks to me as if I were standing next to them, watching them as they wrote the poem…. All of this man’s poems do that for me…. He is very, very real, and powerful, especially when he reveals the vulnerability we all feel sometimes…..

Bluebird

there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I’m not going
to let anybody see
you.
there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pour whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he’s
in there.

there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?
there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody’s asleep.
I say, I know that you’re there,
so don’t be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he’s singing a little
in there, I haven’t quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it’s nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don’t
weep, do
you?

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

_____________________________

When I began to put this section together, my intent was a bit more dignified than the end result might indicate….. But, I have no regrets at all over this one, as it happened to turn out to be rather a good little pearly mini-rant, with some fairly nice shots taken, and some good advice delivered…. If nothing else, it gives us all a chance to think about just how much it’s going to cost me to get the psychiatric help I need…. until we remember, it’s all free, if you’re already insane!…..

No, really, ffolkes, this one actually IS a good pearl, with all the right stuff to take someone in the right frame of mind right over into patriotic fervor, or possibly, an outbreak of common sense, or even random compassion…. One never knows with these pearls, you know, they can be pretty unpredictable in their effect on some ffolkes…. and even more so on other folks….

“It is not the fact of liberty but the way in which liberty is exercised that ultimately determines whether liberty itself survives… When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered.” — Dorothy Thompson, American journalist, author (1894-1961)

“Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in our own possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the _real_ object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?” — Patrick Henry

“A promise must never be broken.” — Alexander Hamilton

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?” — Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on Virginia”

“A right is not what someone gives you; it’s what no one can take from you.” — Ramsey Clark

“All the big corporations depreciate their possessions, and you can, too, provided you use them for business purposes. For example, if you subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, a business-related newspaper, you can deduct the cost of your house, because, in the words of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in a landmark 1979 tax decision: “Where else are you going to read the paper? Outside? What if it rains?” — Dave Barry, “Sweating Out Taxes”

“America … just a nation of two hundred million used car salesman with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.” — Hunter S. Thompson, “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail”
_____________________________

There are mornings when I’m uncertain whether or not I really should be doing this…. Then, I read it, and it’s all okay again…. Let’s see if that works today….. Well, I won’t take the high road, and insist that this is all well-intentioned, and should therefore be pardoned…. Nor will I take the low road, and say it is so poor and lacking in content it should be ignored…. for in truth, it is neither one of those, but, almost a proper Pearl, in almost every sense… I’m not certain how it came out that way, but, I’ll take it…. and see you tomorrow, considering myself fortunate to be able to run away without guilt, “an have harmed none”…..

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Improbably imbued with ponderous value….

Posted on December 10, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Vague flutters, as tiny wings not seen, but heard on the very edge of awareness, fall obscurely upon the dark shadows, soullessly inhabiting these empty halls. A terrible, heavy silence grips the night by the throat, quelling any thought of outcry, any hope of warning, as minute by minute, the hour of fate approaches unbidden, unwanted, unknown…. Baleful denizens of darkness cower, shivering in the cold of a terror so great, so powerfully evil, all hope died, screaming, before it was ever born…..

Then, of course, I woke up, and all was well…. or, as well as things can be, all things considered…. At least we’re not in the evil grip of some kind of Steven King-like novel, like the poor sap in the first paragraph, eh? I’d hate to go there every day, even if only in my head…. Having been blessed once more by 10 solid hours of sleep, I feel GREAT! Well, I feel pretty good, anyway; I don’t think I’ll be climbing any mountains anytime soon, but, I may be able to make it past 2 PM without a nap, if I’m lucky, so, that’s a good thing, right? Right….

In the last week, other than two trips out of the house to take care of some business out in the BBR, we’ve been stuck in the house ever since getting back from the cruise from hell, me with bronchitis, and my lady with a cold she managed to pick up inadvertently upon arriving home…. For the past five days, we have been alternating sitting, taking meds, and sleeping, pretty much, with some minor writing on my part in the early mornings, while my brain is actually functioning at a relatively normal level…. Part of what has kept us in the house, aside from illness, is the weather here in California, which has been reminiscent of Alaska in the early winter…. seriously…

It has been well below freezing point for five nights running, with temps here last night down to 21 degrees F…. For a town right on the water of a bay, on the Pacific Ocean, at around the 37th parallel, that is COLD!…. Especially here in this part of the state, where ‘mild’ is the word we use most often to describe our weather patterns…. This year, 2013, the area has had approximately five to six inches of rain, with only twenty-one days left in the year, whereas, the annual average is close to 24 inches…. But, there’s no such thing as global warming, so, hey, not to worry, eh?….

Okay, that’s enough… Some fictional musings, some personal patter, a bit of weather, a mini-mini-environmental rant…. It will suffice for our purposes here…. I think we’re good to go for a dive… If things turn out to make that an erroneous decision, well, hey, we’ve been wrong before, haven’t we? Yes, yes, we have….

Shall we Pearl?…..

That ‘s the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture.

— Robert Browning (1812-1890) — Home-Thoughts from Abroad, ii
_____________________________

“Whenever, therefore, the profession of arms becomes a distinct order in the state….the end of the social compact is defeated… No free government was ever founded, or ever preserved its liberty without uniting the characters of the citizen and soldier in those destined for the defense of the state…Such are a well regulated militia, composed of the freeholders, citizen and husbandman, who take up arms to preserve their property, as individuals, and their rights as freemen.” — Richard Henry Lee

I mentioned a few days ago that I’d found a good quote for the beginning of a rant, and I was right, wasn’t I?….. Specifically, for a politirant, concerning gun control, and the misguided attempts to alter the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, if not wholly, at least by abridging its intent. This, I believe, is a HUGE mistake, even though it was fully expected by those who first made the law, to wit: Jefferson, Franklin, Mason, Paine, Hamilton, etc…. our founding fathers, in short. All of them believed very strongly that this amendment was the very backbone of what made our freedoms possible, and were leery of ANY changes to this law….

“Liberty cannot be guaranteed by law. Nor by any thing else except the resolution of free citizens to defend their liberties.” — Edward Abbey

Those fears were expressed, verbally and in writing, many times, before and after the Constitution’s approval, and all the available evidence shows how little these men trusted the monied, or titled, elite in society… More than once, in correspondence with each other, they discussed their mistrust, of the bankers, the corporations, the aristocrats, the professional politicians, the professional soldiers, and all who support those categories of society. They knew that, as soon as the laws were passed, these special influences would begin using their money, and their influence, to try to abrogate the intent of the laws, limiting them, altering them until they no longer were capable of protecting our rights….

“Freedom isn’t cheap and it never goes on sale.” — Smart Bee

That assault on the Bill of Rights, especially those of the First and Second Amendments, has been continuous since 1786, as can be seen by the Congressional logs of bills that were brought forth at one time or another throughout our history, bills attempting to limit the power of the amendments; some were successful, some were not….. and the assault is not over; it continues to this day, as the special interest groups all clamor to fill the public’s attention with unreasoning fears, by making a huge hullabaloo over EVERY shooting that occurs in this country….

Well, as long as it suits them, of course…. They don’t make a big deal out of one of their police or paramilitary types blowing away some ‘perp’, (…. kind of a demeaning term, don’t you think?…. As well as prejudicial… A ‘perpetrator’ is one who is considered guilty of an act, by connotation, if not denotation….), who is robbing a store because he needs food, or drugs…. Even the shooting of some little kid playing with a toy gun brings no particular outrage from the governors, or even the media, in response to that lack…. No, those types of shootings get little attention past the first report; the only investigations into THOSE incidents are internal, and never find any blame, or file any charges….

No, it is the incidents where some crazy asshole, most likely some private citizen with a long time internal struggle to be normal, gets hold of a gun, goes to some public area, and proceeds to blow away a bunch of other innocents…. These events, relatively isolated in comparison with other types of shootings, of any kind, are the incidents that are brought into the limelight, so that every detail of the agony of the victims is expressed, fanning the public’s outrage, making them afraid for their own safety…. This makes them much more malleable when the talking heads propose their newest limits to the guns that the people can have…. Don’t worry, they’ll get them all, it will just take them more time…

As I’ve stated before, I’m a warrior, raised by a man of honor, and have studied the Art of War, (both the book by Sun Tzu, and the actual Art itself….), for almost my entire life…. and though I don’t, as a rule, use guns (They’re too loud, too complicated to maintain in the field, & hard to use with stealth…. heavy, too….. Knives, and sticks, of many shapes, are quieter, simple to use, & much easier to conceal…. Ropes are pretty useful, too….), I do know how to use them….

If I should ever need one, why, then, I’ll acquire one, from someone who has more than they need, to use as I so require. Then I’ll put it away again, or give it back to the owner, if that individual happened to loan it to me…. If the gun I end up using was pointed at me, well, they won’t be needing it back, anyway….. So far in life, I’ve been smart enough to avoid the necessity of dealing with that, and have had no need for one, so, I’m content with that, for the time being….

But, no matter what the talking heads may do, or say, or how they may change the laws, our founding fathers already GAVE me the rights I have, and I won’t be giving them up, no matter how many legal sounding words they may send through their lips…. It will all be just noise, as far as I am concerned…. There is no rationalization that is, to my mind, conceivable, that could persuade me to give up those rights, because I’ve already heard them all…. After all, in addition to my book/day from 1961 onward, I HAVE been watching TV since the early 1950’s, (I remember the Republican convention in 1954 that nominated Eisenhower, watching it on a small B&W console TV…. “I LIKE IKE!”….), so, I’ve seen or heard just about every political lie there is to perceive…. They just recycle the same old BS every time, anyway….

I’m tired of ranting about this, because, to me, it’s already a settled issue in my mind…. so, let’s see if I can find some pearls to lighten up the tone, and still deliver a few shots to the midsection of the pundits and preachers out there, who deserve as many shots as we can give them….

“War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.” — Sun Tzu

(Which is why I sincerely urge each and every one of you to PAY ATTENTION!….)

“The devil can quote Shakespeare for his own purpose.” — George Bernard Shaw

(And, too often, does so, right on TV, wearing a dark blue suit with a power red tie and a flag pin….)

“The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone expects to live at the expense of everyone else.” — Frederic Bastiat

“To use power is to make yourself infinitely vulnerable to greater powers.” — Bene Gesserit

“A promise must never be broken.” — Alexander Hamilton

(Wait! How did THAT get in here?…. Oh, okay, it’s alright, he’s not a pundit, just a founding father…. If a bit of a prude in some ways…. Smart, but a bit anal, y’know?….)

“The Bill of Rights goes too far–it should have stopped at “Congress shall make no law” — Smart Bee

“The man who finds a truth lights a torch.” — Robert G. Ingersoll, _The Truth_

“In the midst of this sublime and terrible storm [at Sidmouth], Dame Partington, who lived upon the beach, was seen at the door of her house with mop and pattens, trundling her mop, squeezing out the sea-water, and vigorously pushing away the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic was roused; Mrs. Partington’s spirit was up. But I need not tell you that the contest was unequal; the Atlantic Ocean beat Mrs. Partington.” — Sydney Smith (1769-1845) — Speech at Taunton, 1813
_____________________________

I like this, not merely because it is beautiful in its execution, but for what it says, as well…. Exquisitely romantic, and powerfully emotional, it is indeed what I consider the BEST kind of poetry…. to wit: it affects the reader, engaging and enlightening at once…. Enjoy!

Sonnet 14 – If thou must love me, let it be for nought

XIV

If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love’s sake only. Do not say
‘I love her for her smile — her look — her way
Of speaking gently, — for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day’—
For these things in themselves, Beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee,— and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity’s wiping my cheeks dry,—
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love’s sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love’s eternity.

~~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning ~~

_____________________________

“One of the most difficult of the philosopher’s tasks is to find out where the shoe pinches.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein

But, other times, the fools make it easy to show just where the pinch is biting…. such as when this fool opens his mouth…. You MUST read this, please… I know it is a hard one to believe, but, it was reported with a straight face by the news outlet, just as if it were real news, so we owe it the respect of doing the same, no matter how egregiously insane it may be…..

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2013/12/07/santorum-mandelas-fight-for-freedom-like-the-fight-against-obamacare/

Can you believe the sheer, blind selfishness of this man? No matter what his issues, he was asked to comment on the life of someone who died, and regardless of his own position, he could not put aside his own personal foibles long enough to make a statement of compassion for the family, or the loss to the world…. No, he attempted to equate the works of one of the last century’s most well-loved, and universally respected figures, trying to turn the moment to his own political advantage, with possibly the weakest, most illogical, most ill-informed argument I have heard outside a second-grade classroom, when the teacher asked the little boy why he ate his neighbor’s cookie….

“People become educated, as against trained, insofar as they achieve a grasp of certain critical principles, and the passion to choose, organize and shape their own ideas by means of them. Education is not a mere piling up of more and more bits and pieces of information. It is a process of deciding for ourselves what we believe. It implies a self-motivated action upon our own mental nature and a process in which we learn to open our mind, to correct and refine it, to enable it rationally to learn; thus to empower it to analyze and digest its own knowledge, to gain command over its own faculties, to achieve flexibility, fair-mindedness, and critical exactness. More and more students should have assignments that challenge their minds to think for themselves.

This requires, of course, that they are encouraged to question what is presented to them for belief, not only in the various subject areas, but on TV programs and movies, in news broadcasts, in the talk of their peers and others, in political speeches and personal discussions, in everyday decisions and ways of living. And they should do this not to discover that everything is relative and arbitrary or a matter of opinion, but that all beliefs and points of view are subject to rational analysis and assessment. Ideally the process will come to pervade the school climate and be reflected in the deepest structures of school life. By this means, schools can perhaps become, as they should be, leading institutions in society, paradigms of rationality, helping an irrational society to become what itself has said is its own highest goal: a free society of free and autonomous persons.” — Richard Paul

Rick Santorum is a perfect example of the kind of first type of education described in this quote, with a lot of well-memorized factoids running around in his head, which he is able to regurgitate in various formats on demand, all without ever having to apply a single moment’s actual thought, or use them to reason with for any purpose…. When one reasons, one might come up with a conclusion, which is a risk for a pundit….. He is a well-programmed autobot for the Republican right, which, for me, is a continual delight, as he also has an almost Romney-esque ability to keep his foot planted firmly between his teeth for long periods of time, and still talk around it…. This was a perfect example of that skill, along with a display of callous ignorance and lack of compassion that is merely astounding, rather than particularly surprising.

In a way, though, he is also a frightening phenomenon, for there are actually people in this country who take what he says as gospel, who dote on his unpopular opinions, mostly because they tend to fall into misogynistic, racist, bigoted, fundamentalist Christian guidelines,…. a group of characteristics, you will note, that purportedly have NOTHING to do with government, other than as things to fight against inclusion in that process…. Yet, there he is, the darling of the fascistic fundies, just like that hive of bees in my head that, in spite of telling them of all the flowers that are in other locations, remains ensconced in the eaves under the roof of my mind…. and, well, there they are, so what do I do with them?….

“Annoy a Fundamentalist: Tell him the truth!” — Smart Bee

Hmm, that’s good advice…. To get back to Rick’s case, at least there are times like this one, when he provides me with at least a few moments of hilarity, at the breadth and depth of his stupidity, until, saddened by the same sheer ignorance in one in a position to do so much harm, I become depressed again, when I think of how many idiots are out there taking him seriously….. SIGH….. That thought is SO depressing, I’m going to quit this rant, and go find something fun to do, just so I don’t have to think about him any more….. Wish me luck, and I’ll wish it back at ya…. And remember, ffolkes, I may not be right, but I make up for it by being sure…..

“For the love of God, folks, don’t do this at home.” — David Letterman, CBS Late Show, demonstrating the Donut-o-pult, 1995
_____________________________

I’m not entirely certain just how it happened, but, I think I’ve done it…. Let’s go see…. Well…. I’m still not sure, but, now, at least, I know it did happen, so…. I guess I’m outta here for today…. See ya….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Albert says, “Insanity is relative, too!”….

Posted on November 25, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I never know what to do when I get enough sleep…. It’s such an unusual event, it always takes me by surprise…. That assertion, in and of itself, is NOT a surprise, as I’ve experienced the lack of good sleep for more years than I can count…. At first, it was due to my primary function, as a father, and husband, during those years when I had a wife, and children growing up…. I’m sure any father can empathize with what happens then…. I can’t really explain why, but, I know that I did the same as my own father, in that, I was always the first one up, and almost always the last one to bed….

That was just the way the job works, ffolkes, and I had no strong objections to it, as it was Duty….. As such, it offers no choice as to how it is to be accomplished, (to wit: without fail…. and no excuses….), and that was fine with me….. After my family was grown, I started experiencing the physical conditions that now work to keep me from sleeping easily, or with comfort, for more than a few hours at a time…. I learned to make do on whatever I was able to get, and learned to appreciate the power of napping as a supplement to the sleep I wasn’t getting at night… It’s always worked for me….

Then, occasionally, like last night, I get a night off, so to speak…. I went to bed last night at about 7 PM, having returned from a nice dinner out with milady Patricia, followed immediately by the consumption of my sleep aid (Alice Toklas style…), as is normal activity for a Sunday evening, prior to retiring…. I got really sleepy almost right away, while sitting in front of the computer, (probably from being full from dinner….), so I decided to just go down then, at 7, instead of waiting for the brownie to kick in…. So, I retired, whereupon I fell asleep immediately, proceeding to sleep hard, only turning twice, for about eight hours…. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the clock at 3 AM, as it meant I’d slept like a log for at least eight straight, which happens MAYBE twice a year….

I turned over & got another hour & a half, too, so, I’m up now, just bursting with energy…. at 0500 AM, when there is nothing open, and nothing to do, other than what I’m doing now…. It’s a good thing that I do have this to do now, or I’d be sitting around, twiddling my thumbs, vibrating with all the pent up energy I have available….. It’s probably better for the space-time continuum this way, too, as none of that energy will get used in ways that could affect the balance and stability we are currently enjoying…..

That could change any minute though, so I’d be smart to take what I’ve got here, and run with it…. It’s arguably of the correct length to qualify as an intro section, though some might have arguments to bring, saying it doesn’t DO anything, or SAY anything remotely introductory in nature…. I say to them, “Fuck off, busybody, nobody asked you”…. Well, no, I probably wouldn’t be that rude, though it would certainly pass through my mind as one of my options…. I would however, ignore their criticisms, and use the bloody thing to start off anyway, as I plan to do right now….

There, you see, I’ve done it again…. Another intro with absolutely NO redeeming qualities, nor ANY qualities that could conceivably be construed as appropriate material for either an introduction to anything, or, as an educational event, the only thing that might otherwise qualify it as acceptable for use among the unwashed masses…. That’s unless, of course, one considers all you have learned about me, which was, or is, with no doubt whatsoever, much more than was requested, or expected, or, for that matter, deserved…. But, it’s done, and there’s no going back at this point, so, like all of us here at ECR, you’ll just have to learn to live with it…. such as it is…. whatever it is…. Whew!

Shall we Pearl?…..

“It is our choices … that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” — J.K. Rowling, “Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets”, spoken by Albus Dumbledore
_____________________________

Given the accuracy, and potential relevance, of the quotation that ended the intro section, I’d best make a good choice here, or I’ll be seriously in arrears to my karmic responsibility…. What THAT means may be a bit unclear, but, suffice it to say that “I” know what it means, which is, basically, “Get your shit together, and do it right!….. Otherwise, you’re going to be in deeper shit than you can imagine….” I don’t know about y’all, but, I get that sort of thing rather often from the Universe…. Must be the Irish in me…

Since I have to come up to scratch here, with no further fussing about, I’m going to go old-school….. It’s my only hope to achieve some kind of rational balance this morning, since I’ve gone so far off the rails, irrationally speaking….. If I can’t bring this back in line, not even a poem of great power will suffice to balance things out, so, I’m hoping to get some cooperation from Smart Bee, as I depend on it a lot to give me what I need to make these pearls cogent, logical, and filled with beauty…. It’s asking a lot of a dB software program, I know, but, hey, if you can’t trust your shareware, what can you trust?…. With that, let’s see what I can find to turn this away from the Dark side of the Metaphorse, and back into the Light….

“I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to Heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letter To Francis Hopkinson, Paris Mar. 13, 1789

“Everybody experiences far more than he understands. Yet it is experience, rather than understanding, that influences behavior.” — Marshall McLuhan

Here the heart
May give a useful lesson to the head,
And Learning wiser grow without his books.

— William Cowper (1731-1800) — The Task, Book vi, Winter Walk at Noon, Line 85

“Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910)

“Ask a toad what is beauty?…a female with two great round eyes coming out of her little head, a large flat mouth, a yellow belly and a brown back.” — Voltaire (1694-1778)

“When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.” — Things We Can Learn From Dogs

Hah! Bet I fooled ya with the ending, didn’t I? Hell, I almost fooled myself…. 😆 It sure does feel good when a plan comes together….
_____________________________

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

Though I’ve seen the name, I had never, before this morning, read any of the work by this poet, Charles Bukowski…. He’s well worth the effort, from all I can see…. I picked one that is a bit long, but, pretty damn powerful…. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did…..

2 Flies

The flies are angry bits of life;
why are they so angry?
it seems they want more,
it seems almost as if they
are angry
that they are flies;
it is not my fault;
I sit in the room
with them
and they taunt me
with their agony;
it is as if they were
loose chunks of soul
left out of somewhere;
I try to read a paper
but they will not let me
be;
one seems to go in half-circles
high along the wall,
throwing a miserable sound
upon my head;
the other one, the smaller one
stays near and teases my hand,
saying nothing,
rising, dropping
crawling near;
what god puts these
lost things upon me?
other men suffer dictates of
empire, tragic love…
I suffer
insects…
I wave at the little one
which only seems to revive
his impulse to challenge:
he circles swifter,
nearer, even making
a fly-sound,
and one above
catching a sense of the new
whirling, he too, in excitement,
speeds his flight,
drops down suddenly
in a cuff of noise
and they join
in circling my hand,
strumming the base
of the lampshade
until some man-thing
in me
will take no more
unholiness
and I strike
with the rolled-up-paper –
missing! –
striking,
striking,
they break in discord,
some message lost between them,
and I get the big one
first, and he kicks on his back
flicking his legs
like an angry whore,
and I come down again
with my paper club
and he is a smear
of fly-ugliness;
the little one circles high
now, quiet and swift,
almost invisible;
he does not come near
my hand again;
he is tamed and
inaccessible; I leave
him be, he leaves me
be;
the paper, of course,
is ruined;
something has happened,
something has soiled my
day,
sometimes it does not
take man
or a woman,
only something alive;
I sit and watch
the small one;
we are woven together
in the air
and the living;
it is late
for both of us.

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

_____________________________

Even though it’s a bit early yet, I’m not in the mood to rant today…. and, as we all know…. (well, I know, so that’s all I need….), any good rant requires some angst; in other words, some kind of strong emotional power source, to drive one’s creativity all the way over into the ranting state…. I got so much sleep, and I’m so mellow this morning, that isn’t going to happen…. Hence, I’ve used that as an excuse to dip into the archives again, this time for a short, but powerful, religirant…. It was first posted in 2012, some time prior to the national election in November….. It’s not the longest I ever did, but, it’s pretty cute, and dead-on accurate, in describing my views, if naught else….. Enjoy!…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” — Sir Winston Churchill

“….for DEATH awaits you all, with nasty sharp pointy teeth!” — Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Death. The great equalizer. Nobody gets away from it. As a matter of fact, it has been proven, beyond a shadow of doubt, that everyone who breathes air, dies. So, air must not be good for us, right? That’s logic…. Of course it’s logical. It is also, however, not true, and serves as an example of the fact that logic doesn’t always lead to the correct answer to any particular question…. sometimes you gotta just go by what is real….

I like the first quote, by Winnie C., the PM…. When my turn to find out what happens after we die comes around, should the Christian viewpoint turn out to have been true, I would prefer to meet my maker with this same attitude. To my way of thinking, if it (Christianity) IS true, then God has a lot to answer for…… Seriously…. I’m sorry, but I just can’t believe in any deity who would allow his creation to show such perversions as this species has shown. Whenever I bring this point up to a priest, or theologian of any sort, all I get is “God works in mysterious ways….”

Yeah? Is that right? You say there is some hidden purpose to those actions we don’t understand? Well, fuck God then, because he’s acting like an asshole. I don’t care a whit if there is some hidden purpose; there is NO ACCEPTABLE REASON to suppose that a merciful God would condone child molesters, or rapists, or torture, (even during war). I don’t believe it; it is neither logical, nor rational…. Most importantly, it isn’t reasonable….

Claiming that God is beyond our understanding, and therefore we cannot understand his reasons for allowing such actions, is pure bullshit. If he is that far above us, why are his morals so perverted? I don’t care what you say, I won’t accept the rape of a child as being justifiable from ANY standpoint. None. And if God does have some justification, well, I ain’t buying it. No matter what it is, it isn’t right…. And going along with it, believing the lie, is just another cowardly way of avoiding responsibility….

Men are responsible for these actions, not God. Men kill, and rape, and pillage, and manipulate and coerce their fellows into performing acts of heinous nature. Numerous times in our bloody past, this killing has taken place in the name of God, as the fanatical zealots so common to Christianity, throughout its vicious history, carried their own particular brand of oppression to new lands, forcing the natives to swallow their version of reality, regardless of how they felt about it.

This blind, unreasoning zealotry continues today, with the current Republican candidate all set to bring the US right back into the Stone Age, should he. through some cruel quirk of fate, be elected as POTUS. If that happens, I’m pretty sure Armageddon will be close behind, as I don’t think the rest of the world is going to sit still long enough for him to cram his own faith down their throats. Hell, right here at home, should he be elected, I’d be surprised if there isn’t a revolutionary upheaval within a few months of the election. I know I would certainly be considering assassination as a viable political tool…. It is now legal for us to use torture as a resource, why should we balk at assassination?

Ah me…. I guess I got too much sleep. It seems to have awakened my old hippie instincts; I haven’t talked revolution in oh, six or eight months now…. I suppose I’ll just have to wait until November, to see which way to jump…. Let’s hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That’s always the best policy…. for survival, anyway…. and that may become our primary goal, if things keep on keepin’ on….

“It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.” — Voltaire
_____________________________

Aha! I see, by the last paragraph in section three, just why this religirant appealed to me…. It happened to get written, and posted, the LAST time I got so much sleep!…. No wonder, then, I suppose…. Like will always call to like, eh?….. Well, it does in my world, where Imagination rules, giving the lie to Reality, which, if one stops to think about it, is subject to change without the slightest notice…. That kind of makes imagination and reality pretty similar, don’t you think?…. Well, maybe, or maybe not; one set is capitalized, the other isn’t, so one has to be right, right?…. It’s good enough for our purposes here and now, I’d say, as it fits right in with today’s theme…. whatever that may be…. Maybe when I go back over this to proof, I’ll figure out just what that is…..

Well, there’s a lot of it, that’s for sure…. I think, if I must make a statement, I’d have to say, today’s theme would be best described as “The Quest for Enough”, with appropriate subtext, best acknowledged by merely stating, “Enough is enough, and more than….”. I hope that isn’t TOO obscure, but, if so, well, sorry, it’s the best I can do today…. I seem to be a little fuzzy these days, no matter how much sleep I get, but, hey, I’m entitled…. Can’t be sharp as a tack EVERY day….. Well, maybe I can…. but, that’s no reason to make things easy on ANY of us, is it?….. 😆 See ya….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

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

gigoid

Ned Moore, aka gigoid, is a 70 year-old, (!!!… When did that happen?….), retired dilettante, who would rather read than eat, most days. His first blog, "gigoid’s folly", has been emailed out to folks he knows for about 18 years now. He still considers it his best defense against angst, and the ever-present specter of sheer insanity..... Due to rigorous curmudgeon training requirements, he has discontinued his Facebook presence, but still indulges in the occasional Twitter session... In essence, he's socialized, but, not overly sociable; all labels and stereotypes are forbidden in his presence... and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that..... In fact, he doesn't want to talk anymore.... If you feel you MUST contact gigoid, his email address is: alphagigoid@gmail.com You can go read now.... Go on, beat it.... gigoid, the dubious

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Thomas Jefferson

Seduced by the smell of onions….

Post-apocalyptic sticky buns for sale or mutilation….

How many asparagus spears can we salvage for cloning?….

Oodles of sympathetic ears….

Statistical universes encourage the use of pets….

In the domain of the demons of democracy…..

Only the finest of hydrogenated motor oils served here….

Tales of rabbits running, and thyme….

Improbably imbued with ponderous value….

Albert says, “Insanity is relative, too!”….

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