Tag Archives: Will Rogers

Since when do laxatives count?….

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Ffolkes,

At this point in the proceedings, it may be noted that I have heretofore previously stated my lack of appreciation for the aging process, at least as it applies to my own case. Most of the time, I feel inside like I’m still 25, and I can do anything I wish to do, from a physical standpoint. Of course, I’m not 25 anymore, and wishing it so won’t do, so, I just piss and moan about it, and I feel better….. Well, not really…. but, it sounds like fun. No, mostly I complain here, in writing, and dump it all on the blogosphere, where I’m sure people turn their heads away in embarrassment for me, and try not to snicker….

I don’t much care if they do, as long as the end result has me in less pain…. Take today, for instance… I wake up, and come out to my coffee machine, which has graciously gone off at the correct time, and provided me with coffee upon my arising. I pour and fix the first cup, and try to sit down to enjoy it…. whereupon my lower back explodes in pain, letting me know that it intends to make my day a living hell, if I let it….

I have no intention of doing so, however, but, it won’t be pretty, as, I can tell from the way the pain began, this episode is going to do its best to put me in bed for the day…. I hate when this happens, as it makes the production of this Pearl a struggle to complete…. Hurts some, too….

Given that information, I think I’d best cut today’s intro section short, and get right into the main events of the day, while I can…. Watch your step, as the drop-off may be quite steep…. I’m going to apply the take-off acceleration now, so, please, be careful, or at least hang on to your cabin-mates, and keep your safety lines untangled….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Everything that goes up must come down. But there comes a time when not everything that’s down can come up.” — George Burns (1896-1996)
_____________________________

Yesterday, a new reader was gracious enough to leave a nice comment, and to offer a couple of articles for my perusal, as possible subjects for a future rant…. Both articles are definitely rant-worthy material, so, I’ll oblige his suggestion by starting here….

I talk a lot about the BRC, (Beloved Ruling Class….), and the thievery they commit daily against the public, but, I don’t always provide a lot of examples, preferring to allow ffolkes, and/or folks, to seek out their own evidence…. This is because there is just so damn much of it, and it is so easy to find, I find it a better way to drive the point home, for people will believe it more when they come across the proof themselves, rather than having me provide it for them…. That way I can’t be accused of making it up, or coloring it…..

This article, supplied to me by a reader, is a perfect example of what I’ve often said about the news, to wit: it’s chock full of evidence of the chicanery and nonsense being perpetrated by our beloved rulers, and I don’t even need to point it out, for it’s right there for all to see…. Please, take a moment to read this one, about the governor of Louisiana, that fine old den of corruption in the southern US…. Try not to let the lack of hard evidence presented by the author to support the assertions made influence you, at this point…. just accept it as true for the sake of the argument they make, and worry about the actual paper proofs later…. It’s all there, believe me….

http://grist.org/news/bobby-jindal-to-axe-officials-who-took-on-big-oil/?utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&sub_email=dlw38%40sbcglobal.net

What is amazing to me in this article is the sheer effrontery shown by Governor Jindal…. He has no compunctions whatsoever in showing his corruption for all to see, blithely firing people who are trying to make his special interest supporters toe the legal line for their actions, and, in the process, help the people of his state. No, he just ignores any and all cries of outrage, and continues to stuff his pockets with the money they’ve poured into his campaign coffers, while the people of the state, and the state’s environment, is shredded by the corporate assholes who caused the entire problem….

This article shows exactly how far the issue of corruption has progressed in society, as the leaders we have elected are no longer bothering to cover up most of their machinations, but are showing their colors bright and clear in the public eye, deliberately firing people who might have made a difference, with no thought or regard for what his own constituency may want. His loyalty is all with the companies who have raped and pillaged the coastal marshes in their search for sources of oil, because they are the ones who are paying him, and the people can just go to hell, as far as he is concerned….

But, as I have pointed out previously, the people of Louisiana have only been given exactly what they deserve, for they are the ones who believed his lies during the election process, and elected him to office, knowing full well he was going to screw them over…. I sometimes wonder how these people manage to dress themselves, or feed themselves without help….  I am not particularly surprised by the situation there, though it saddens me to see it. Those marshes and coastal waterways are an important ecological formation, with a lot of animal life that depends on it to live, and I hate to see that get screwed up….

The other article sent by my friend Dave is one that, though also not particularly surprising, is even more disturbing, as it shows just how pervasive is the extent of corruption in government…. Canada has the reputation of having one of the most responsive governments in the world, one that seems, for the most part, to care about the people for whom it is working, and tries mostly to do things in a way that promotes societal well-being…. That is their reputation, anyway, even if not fully deserved….

It seems, however, that the madness that infects all the other states in the world seems to have found a place to germinate in the Canadian bureaucracy as well, causing its members to begin to follow the path to madness all the others have been flying down for many years….. This article describes a new policy being promulgated among the Canadian bureaucracies that will easily qualify them to join the ranks of those governments that have given up hiding their paranoia, and are busily pursuing insanity as a way of life….

Scientists, whether employed by universities, or private industry, or the government, are notoriously touchy about being told what to publish; this is an issue that is well-established in history, with the outcome always coming down on the side of the scientists…. In other words, history has shown us, many times, that it is counter-productive for society to muzzle researchers, for they always find a way to get the knowledge out, and all attempts at squashing it are a waste of time…. They keep trying, but, they don’t seem to learn from the past, a sure way to find oneself extinct, as Reality has a way of enforcing its will that is quite unstoppable by any human intervention…..

But, stupidity will have its way, so, they keep trying…. Read the article ffolkes, and realize just how far the world has gone toward piling itself against the wall of reality….. I mean, really….. snowflakes? They’re afraid of snowflakes?…. No, they’re afraid of knowledge, and it makes the BRC nervous to think about the public having all the facts…. Hence, their commitment to blocking the spread of knowledge at every turn, and trying to confuse and distract the public from seeing what they are up to behind the scenes…..

http://grist.org/climate-energy/canada-bans-researchers-from-discussing-snowflakes-findings-scientists-protest/?utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&sub_email=dlw38sbcglobal.net

The proof is there, ffolkes, for anyone to find…. The supposed leaders of our society, at all levels, are corrupt, not to mention clinically insane. They lie to the public in order to get elected, then continue to lie, cheat, and steal for as long as they are allowed to do so. They reward their constituents with more lies, and now have the nerve to show their true allegiance right out in public, as soon as they are sworn into their offices, laughing in the face of the public….

Isn’t it about time we all looked at our own complicity in this situation? How long are the people of this country going to allow their public officials to act, not only in ways that don’t benefit the public, but in ways that are actually dangerous to them? How long will the public ignore the unprincipled acts of liars and cheats, whom they have chosen to be their leadership? I’m afraid the answer is all too obvious, to anyone who is able to see, and think about what there is to see…. My own answer to those questions is, too long….. I haven’t seen any indication, in history, or in the present case, that would show that the public was able to throw off the yoke of the unseen masters of society, those super-rich, selfish assholes who determine just how events will transpire….

There is no point in history where mankind has been free of the influence and control of those in society who control all the resources. None…. If anyone can look back, and point out to me any time when that isn’t true, please, do so, and I will discuss the ramifications of that with great pleasure…. But, I’m a fair student of history, and I don’t find any place in all that time where our species has been free of the control of these silent rulers…. nor do I think we’ll ever be able to do so, not until a much greater percentage of the public is allowed to see the evidence of their handiwork, and realize just how badly, and how long, they have screwed the rest of us….

But, hey, it DOES give me something to rant about, whenever a new piece of evidence is allowed to be published…. Even if the stuff that we see isn’t any real threat to them, it’s encouraging to see that there is SOME degree of resistance to them, even if it is doomed to failure in the long run…. The people who run the world, for real, have had a long time to practice staying out of the public eye, and running things from the shadows….. and they’re very good at it, so, don’t expect any large revelations, or any huge lights being thrown on the shadowy limits of their existence…. They won’t allow anything that has any real chance of doing them harm to occur, you can be sure of that…..

Including shutting up people like me, should they ever feel the tiniest bit threatened by my words, or my attempts to make known just how deeply their control extends into our lives….. If I was doing them any real harm, you can bet they would have shut me down by now, so, it’s clear that, for now at least, I’m just another voice, shouting in the wilderness, without any real hope of harming them, or even giving them a moments discomfort….. But, I’ll keep trying, because, hey, that’s who I am….

gigoid has spoken…. so be it….

“A form of open-mindedness is the pathway to wisdom. Close your mind and you open the way for ignorance to flourish, but you will never even know it.” — Smart Bee

Whoops…. Sorry, thought I was done. But, then, this pearl dropped into my lap, and it just MADE me add it in here, to make the point, finally, and completely…. The following paragraph is unattributed in Smart Bee, my quote database, so I don’t know who said it first… Nor, I think, do I WANT to know, for they are evil, evil, I say…. This is a perfect statement of the attitude of almost every human being alive today, at least, every one of them who is involved in the governing of countries….. Read it, think about it…. this is EXACTLY the way they view the world, and it is sick, sick, sick, ffolkes…. no other word fits so well…..

“It is not possible to find morality in struggles for power. Your enemies view you as you do them and likely regard themselves as virtuous in their attempts at mayhem upon you. In struggles for power, your judgments should be based entirely on self-interest and finding as direct and economical a route to your goal as possible. If that route is bloody and barbaric, so much the worse for those who oppose you.” — Smart Bee, channeling a politician, or other card-carrying member of the BRC….
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On a day like today, I am compelled to use only my own material, making it legal for me to call this Pearl “fresh”….. Hence, the following poem, which is the one that most closely fits with the above rant…. Enjoy!…..

Intelligent Crimes

The value of wit is often said to cause harm,
for those who think, such is its greatest charm.
The new and the bold cannot be fulfilled
if innovation and change is left unwilled.

Society behaves at its base as a mob
conformity and submission its primary job.
Any sign of rebellion against the mob’s rule
is met with resentment, naming such rebel the fool.

Intellect and talent are looked at askance,
expressing artistry stands nary a chance.
To stand out from the rest of mankind
is fraught with danger, for body and mind.

Often I stand to watch in solemn dismay
as beauty and joy are left by the way,
ignored and reviled by the unwashed masses
who prefer darkness, and acting like asses.

With shouts of derision the normals make known
their fear of intelligence, greater than their own.
They hope to stop all semblance of progress;
for thoughts and ideas, they couldn’t care less.

The world struggles on in spite of all opposition,
managing to maintain its advanced position.
Pulling the foolish along in spite of reluctance,
helping each to learn the survival dance.

Hard though it may be to keep up with the future
genius manages its plans to develop and nurture.
In the final analysis, those who live by reason
enjoy life the most, season to season.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Oh boy! I’ve ranted, and rhymed, so now I get to go old-school, and nobody can say anything!…. Well, not legally, anyway…. I don’t think anyone will mind, actually, as it MUST be time for a bit of humor after all the seriousness above…. I know I could use a good belly laugh, or even a few mild chuckles…. Let’s see what Smart Bee can find today….

“…Or, I may not feel that my belief-system needs to be self-consistent in a post-Goedelian epoch.” — Dan’l Danehy-Oakes

“We can’t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.” — Will Rogers

“You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do anything.  So I thought, once.  So did we all.  And the truth is that as a man’s real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower:  until at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he _must_ do.” — Ursula K. LeGuin, _A Wizard of Earthsea_

“Everyone, I think, remembers Voltaire’s famous line about freedom of speech. The version of it that you are familiar with is actually based on a faulty translation. What Voltaire actually said was this: “I do not agree with what you say, sir, though I will defend to the death your right to say it. But for now … shut up!” — Steve Allen

“The people always have some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness…. This and no other is the root from which tyranny springs.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.), “The Republic”
(Oops, how did that get in here?…. Oh well, it’s too pretty to throw away…. Just consider it as a late addition to the rant in section one….)

“Does history repeat itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce?   No, that’s too grand, too considered a process.  History just burps, and we taste again that raw-onion sandwich it swallowed centuries ago.” — Julian Barnes

“The reality you have dialed is not in service. Please check the value of pi or consult your local deity.” — Smart Bee
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I’m not sure how I did that…. The last couple of hours is all a blur, miserable moments of grinding pain in my hips and back, interspersed with furious typing spells, and cursing at Smart Bee in as many languages as I can remember…. It’s done, though, and I’m definitely not doing it over….. Let’s see if I can sit long enough to read it all; it grew to a point where it’s a bit intimidating…..

Well, it’s long, but, it’s not the worst I’ve ever done, for sure…. Plus, as I said, it’s done…. I’ll take it, and not count the change…. See ya, I’m gonna go take a pill, and, hopefully, crash without burning for a while…

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

dozer3

Picking random numbers in a somber mood….

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Ffolkes,

It’s been a good while since the sight of a blank screen in the morning scared me overmuch; I’ve learned to deal with that particular fear rather well, I think. This morning, though, I can’t help but feel a bit of trepidation…. it’s so blank, and so white! Just the color (or lack of it….) is enough to start the trembling and gibbering that usually accompanies my fears of this nature…. It’s not that I’m a coward; the hundreds of fights I’ve had to jump into, in order to stop a battle, or to control someone in a rage,  gave me more than enough proof that I’m not afraid of physical harm…. No, it’s the threat of a blank mind that gives me the heebie-jeebies….

But, in the last few weeks, I’ve found the solution, for the most part….. It’s not always pretty, but, it’s always a legal document, at least, it’s legal once I’ve let my head wander, dragging along my fingers, prancing them around the keyboard like little martinets. I always manage to find four or five paragraphs of relatively useless information have been deposited on screen, fulfilling my needs for an intro, at least from a legal point of view….. Artistically speaking, it’s a whole different ball of wax, but, nobody’s giving me any prizes or salary anyway, so it matters little in the long run. It gets me into the first section, where I can allow my creative side, whether it wants to rant, or go old-school, have its head…..

Still, there’s a small part of me that regrets my inability to find a template, or something consistent that could be used in this section to get us where we need to go….. It would make life easier, to be sure, but, since it doesn’t seem like it will ever happen, I don’t think I’m going to hold my breath until it does…. So, y’all will have to continue to suffer through these little personal conversations with myself, occasionally laughing, occasionally groaning, and often ducking in alarm, as some pretty dangerous concepts get thrown around at times, without any warning to speak of….

Then there are those mornings when, Murphy notwithstanding, things go badly, and I have to resort to one of my emergency procedures to get us out of the intro… Those days can be pretty tough to handle, especially if I am forced to resort to any of the procedures numbered 3 or 7….. those are both somewhat disruptive to the space-time continuum, and it can take a while for normality to resume its customary shapes…. Of course, I offer extra doses of Valium on those days, so it all balances out, mostly….

Why, look! It’s happened again….. Here we are, four and more paragraphs in, and not a single coherent word to be seen…. Oh, I know, it all SEEMS to be lucid, and reasonable, but, you’re not the one in my head, and can’t see what is really going on in there, so, be happy that is the case…. Even the strong have been known to faint in horror when confronted with that stuff too early in the day…. Regardless of all that, we’ve reached the legal line again, so we are now cleared to take off…. Y’all had best return to your seats, buckle up, and take your medication, because the ride is about to begin….

Shall we Pearl?….
_____________________________

This is going to be a strange little pearl…. I started out trying to pick quotes that would create an image of our society, showing not its strengths, but its weaknesses, with the intention of making fun of how silly it all is…. Well, I got a picture like that, but, silly isn’t the word I’d use to describe the image…. “Sad”, or “pathetic”, would be more accurate, I think…. It doesn’t even hit all of the high spots, in terms of all the stuff that is wrong with our culture, but, it does give a good idea of how fractured and disorganized it has become over time, until today, when nobody alive can make heads or tails out of it….. So, being strange, and sad, it thus gives a pretty good picture…. or, at least an accurate one….

“A hundred years ago we were much smarter; then you lived until you died and  not until you were just run over.” — Will Rogers

“In the beginning was nonsense, and the nonsense was with God, and the nonsense was God.” –Friedrich Nietzsche

“Forward goes the vanguard of the lunatic fringe, tickling the death clowns of normality.” — HealNorm

“I’d like to see people, instead of spending so much time on the ethical problem, get after the problems that really affect the people of this country.” — Richard Nixon

“Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the bible is filled, it would seem more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.” — Thomas Paine — The Age of Reason

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

“Fortune is like glass,–the brighter the glitter, the more easily broken.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 280

I feel as if this is not quite clear, so, I will add one more little powerful quote, to put it all into the proper perspective…..

“It’s so clean. It’s certainly uncontaminated by cheese.” — Smart Bee
_____________________________

So far today, all I seem to be able to produce is crap, or a reasonable facsimile thereof…. To avoid splashing any of that onto any other artists, especially those who have my respect and admiration, I’ll put in one of my own poems today, and hope for the best…. Enjoy!….

How It Works….

Retreat, retreat, he cries in vain
we cannot stand such pain!
Another battle, another day’s fight
Eternally at war, both day and night.

Storms within, crashing and thrashing about,
filling each moment with fear and doubt.
Cries of anguish, hopes for a swift end
Denied with wounds that will not mend.

The crisis approaches, time will not wait.
It marches on, driven madly by fate.
We have no recourse, no other road to walk,
No great power to whom we may talk.

Morning arrives, seemingly mild and free
Until one considers all that must be
An intro, some pearls, a photo or two
Today’s magnificent Pearl, created just for you…..

 ~~gigoid ~~

_____________________________

I should probably rant here, and actually have a good subject on which to go off…. However, my mood is such that I don’t have the patience to sit and be logical right now…. Not to mention the stiffness in my hips and back that is making it hard to sit for long…. Already this morning, I’ve been compelled to take a number of breaks, to stop my legs from going numb, or to prevent stiffness from building up…. Any who, all my physical handicaps aside, I just don’t feel like ranting, as I’d probably not just go off, but would most likely go over the top…. which is something y’all should strongly hope you never have to witness….

So, I’ll fall back on an old-school pearl to save the day…. In deference to my own lack of purpose this morning, I’ll let Smart Bee pick the subjects, and see what is in its little mind to highlight for discussion…. On the greater majority of times I let it have its own way, it seems to do very well, so…. off we go… Where we will end up has yet to be determined…. I hope it’s funny, though, I’m in the mood for funny….

“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” — Sigmund Freud

“And on the 8th day Man, unable to cope, discovered drugs.” — Smart Bee

A traveler at Sparta, standing long upon one leg, said to a Lacedaemonian, “I do not believe you can do as much.” “True,” said he, “but every goose can.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Remarkable Speeches

But it’s all right now.
I’ve learned my lesson well.
You see, you can’t please everyone,
So you gotta please yourself!

— Ricky Nelson

“The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul is: WHAT DOES A WOMAN WANT?” — Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

“Never underestimate the power of soup.”– Smart Bee

“I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.” — Thomas Carlyle

Well, I was right about one part…. it is strange, for certain…. I like it, though…. Kind of like the runt of the litter, y’know, it’s always the cutest….
_____________________________

Okay, that does it…. I’m done for the day, and nothing you could say or do could conceivably make me do it over…. Even before I go to proof it, I know it will be one of the oddest Pearls I’ve ever created, so, I’m a bit leery…. Oh, well, it ain’t getting done while I sit here moaning about it…..

I’m totally unsure of just how this got done, but, it’s done, and didn’t come out all that badly…. It won’t win any prizes, I’m pretty sure, but, it won’t hurt anyone in particular, unless they identify too strongly with one part or another, so, that removes it from the realm of being a public nuisance…. which, on a day like today, is the best I can hope for…. Tomorrow will be better, or different, whichever comes first….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

dozer3

We’ll have an asparagus pizza, and the Neopolitan pudding….

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Ffolkes,

I just want to be on record as saying that I believe, contrary to consensus opinion, Brussels sprouts are not little green balls of Evil. There are occasions, I will admit, when they’ve been used to foster Evil’s ends; infrequently, but, always fearfully, they are forced upon unwilling, terrified children as a form of hideous torture, in plain view at family meals, but, in my view, they are not inherently bad, merely easily manipulated…. That being said, we can get on with the day’s business, even though the ambiance regulator has already been set on weird…. S’okay, anything to do with Brussels sprouts can be considered weird, so, we’re good to go, conceptually….

And, then, I woke up…. dazed and confused doesn’t begin to describe the state of my no-mind…. which I don’t mean in a Zen sense, no sirree bob…. It does, however, mean I’m awake, after a fashion…. That is, if that word can legally be used to describe what I am just now…. I’m not sure of anything other than the fact that, since I’m writing this the night before, it is only an approximation, based on prior experiences, and may, or may not, be completely congruent with reality as it exists then…. or, now…. or, whenever it may, or may not be….. Now, I’m not sure what day it is anymore, and I think I’ll go back to bed…. try to start over….

The above paragraphs seem to have been left for me this morning, though I don’t recall having written them…. It must be a touch of early onset Alzheimer’s, or something….

No, actually, I’ll be honest…. I did  write them last night, and all in all, I think they’re not bad, if a bit odd. I was going to try to pass them off as forgotten, or as fresh, but, my honesty bone wouldn’t allow it, so I’m admitting them to be a plant….. No harm, no foul, right? If nothing else, it got me this far down the line into the intro, and not having to struggle for that is a bonus, for sure…. I’ve given up on finding the right template for this section, and now just let it flow as it occurs….

It has worked out fairly well that way, though it still causes me some worry, when I stare at the screen each morning, praying hypocritically for inspiration…. I’m flexible, and if there is a God, and He wants to help out, fine…. I don’t think so, but, I’ve been known to be wrong a couple of times in the past, and it can happen to anyone, so I like to leave some room for changing my mind, if necessary….

Like any real  writer, I’d sell my mother’s soul for a good line or two…. I’d feel guilty for a few minutes, but, I’d do it, especially if promised a complete poem…. Since, by my way of thinking, there isn’t a God, and, thus, no Devil, either, I’m pretty sure I’m safe in that respect…. Knowing this doesn’t stop the worry, but, it does keep me sane…. well, I think so, but, who am I to contradict the professionals?….

Shall we Pearl?…
_____________________________

The article to which the link below points, was written by a man with my dream job, had I any remaining interest at all in working for a living…. His name is Mark Morford, and he is a columnist for the SF Chronicle, writing a very long column once or twice a week, each of which shows an incredible command of the English written word, as well as, possibly, the largest vocabulary I have ever seen in actual use…

He doesn’t just use the language, he USES it, with great style, power, and facility, fueled by a sharply observant mind, and a cynical, doubting eye… Is it any wonder I like his stuff?…. Any who, he wrote a piece that I want to share with y’all, about a subject I rant on frequently, i.e., the lies we are told every day, by people at all levels of society, who don’t care to observe any sort of honesty in their lifestyles, to wit: practically everyone in positions of authority, for that matter, in any position at all…. I think you’ll enjoy it, and it will save me the time, which I can use to find more pearls for your delectation….

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2013/08/06/100-percent-all-natural-lies/

I couldn’t have said it better myself, and have done so in the past (you figure out the context in that sentence, if you wish, I couldn’t….), no humor intended, though it’s probably hilarious, taken correctly….. Any who, I thought it was a very clear, very convincing argument regarding the constant barrage of lies we receive every day from those who choose the news….

The corporations set the agendas, the beloved ruling class keeps the populace distracted, the judges protect them, the police bully the populace into following the corporate rules, and the preachers preach obedience to temporal authority, and pocket their kickbacks…. It’s been this way since the first cavemen got together to barter, way back before Jesus kicked the sticks out of his crib, and, still today, not enough ffolkes are aware of it all to make a difference in the outcome…..

SIGH…. It makes me wonder how humans can consider themselves as the most intelligent animal on this planet, because they sure don’t display much of it…. Since Mr. Morford was so illuminating with his article, I’ll merely try to get you to smile in acknowledgment, while promoting the same message with my pearls….

“Well, there were sixty-eight people there, and sixty-two of them had no more desire to throw a stone than you had, Satan!”
“Oh, it’s true.   I know your race.  It is made up of sheep.  It is governed by minorities, seldom or never by majorities.  It suppresses its feelings and its beliefs and follows the handful that makes the most noise.  Sometimes the noisy handful is right, sometimes wrong; but no matter, the crowd follows it. The vast majority of the race, whether savage or civilized, are secretly kind- hearted and shrink from inflicting pain, but in the presence of the aggressive and pitiless minority they don’t dare to assert themselves.  Think of it!  One kind-hearted creature spies upon another, and sees to it that he loyally helps in iniquities which revolt both of them.  Speaking as an expert, I know that ninety-nine out of a hundred of your race were strongly against the killing of witches when that foolishness was first agitated by a handful of pious lunatics in the long ago.  And I know that even to-day, after ages of transmitted prejudice and silly teaching, only one person in twenty puts any real heart into the harrying of a witch.  And yet apparently everybody hates witches and wants them killed.  Some day a handful will rise up on the other side and make the most noise — perhaps even a single daring man with a big voice and a determined front will do it — and in a week all the sheep will wheel and follow him, and witch-hunting will come to a sudden end.” — Mark Twain, The Mysterious Stranger

“The news is the one thing the networks can point to with pride. Everything else they do is crap – and they know it.” — Fred Friendly, 1980

“State legislators are merely politicians whose darkest secret prohibits them from running for higher office.” — Dennis Miller

“The trouble with Congress is every time they make a law, it’s a joke, and every time they make a joke, it’s a law!” — Will Rogers

“When politicians rush to fix things, it’s a sure sign that either the intended patient is dead or fully healed.” — Tony Snow (News Commentator, 2002)

“The problem of civil society is twofold: how to identify and select wise rulers, and how to assure that their wisdom will be used for the benefit of the ruled- or of the common good as distinct from their private good.” — Harry V. Jaffa

“To see what’s in front of one’s nose requires a constant struggle.” — George Orwell
_____________________________

I love poetry, as is probably apparent by my daily inclusion of one or more of them in these Pearls…. One of the reasons is that the power of words seems to increase when used well in a poem; the meaning of each seems to be larger, and amenable to greater flexibility of that meaning, allowing the poet to address more than one issue with the same words…. The following poem from one of my favorite poets is a perfect example of this, as so elegantly demonstrated in the final line…. Looked at with a certain viewpoint, this poem is a perfect complement to the rants above, in section one, both mine, and the one from Mr. Morford, as well…. Enjoy!…..

Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog Which I Gave to His Royal Highness

I am his Highness’ dog at Kew;
Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

_____________________________

I’m tired already, but not in either a physical or mental sense…. I’m just old, and feeling it. Regardless of the ‘why’, I need to get this last section filled in with something appropriate, so, I’m going to show exactly how lazy I’m able to be, and go with another old school pearl…. I have no excuse, nor do I feel I need one, as this pearl’s entire purpose is entertainment, not elucidation, or education, or even edification…. I know it can be a difficult task, but try to enjoy this, okay? It’s all in fun….

Axiom #2:  “Ability to type on a computer terminal is no guarantee of sanity, intelligence, or common sense.”
Corollary #3: “An infinite number of monkeys at an infinite number of keyboards  could produce something like Usenet.”
Corollary #4: “They could do a better job of it.”

— Gene Spafford, USENET Axiom #2
(Now you know more about the process of creating these Pearls than I ever intended anyone to know….)

“Real suffering has a face and a smell. It lasts in its most intense form no matter what you drape over it. And it knows your name.” — Mary Karr’s The Liar’s Club
(Scary thought, eh? All too true, though, in almost everyone’s life….)
(I thought we were being funny? Oh, right, we are…. sorry, got distracted….)
(Okay, I’ll stop commenting now….)

“Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams.” — Mary Ellen Kelly

“When choosing between two evils I always like to take the one I’ve never tried before.” — Mae West, in “Klondike Annie” 1936

“At 50 everyone has the face he deserves.” — George Orwell (1903-1950), “Journals”, 1949

“Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for, to them, you are crunchy, and tasty with ketchup.” — Anonymous

“The evidence of the emotions, save in cases where it has strong objective support, is really no evidence at all, for every recognizable emotion has its opposite, and if one points one way then another points the other way. Thus the familiar argument that there is an instinctive desire for immortality, and that this desire proves it to be a fact, becomes puerile when it is recalled that there is also a powerful and widespread fear of annihilation, and that this fear, on the same principle proves that there is nothing beyond the grave. Such childish proofs are typically theological, and they remain theological even when they are adduced by men who like to flatter themselves by believing that they are scientific gents…” — H. L. Mencken

I understand that more than a few of you may have become confused by the tone of the last quote, and may possibly have harmed innocent brain cells in the process of bringing your mind around in a 180 degree turn like that, especially if you kept looking for the punch line….

All I can say is, sorry about that…. I saw the quote, and it was just so clearly reasoned, and so logically presented, and gave such a strong message of the power of reason and doubt, I couldn’t help myself…. Plus, its inclusion here could  be considered a joke, so….. Any who, I hope you enjoyed this little trip into the less than perfectly sane areas of my head…..
_____________________________

Whew! That was an epic Pearl, to be sure…. I’m almost afraid to go proof it, but, being the dutiful lad I am…. Epic, I think, is quite accurate. Since I am so uncertain as to how the entire picture of this Pearl looks (it’s too big today to get a good grasp….), I’m going to trust my luck, and the fact that nobody really cares, and go ahead and post it…. I like it, and that is enough for me…. (Is this where I say nyah, nyah, nyah…. and make a rude gesture with my hands?…. No? Oh right, we don’t do that any more….)

I’m going to go now, before the voices get any louder, and start slipping in parenthetical thoughts on me…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

dozer3

Acres of discount bishops, reduced cardinals, and one used pope…..

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Ffolkes,

“I have many CHARTS and DIAGRAMS!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I don’t, but, in spite of that lack, I’m pretty sure I can make it through the day. Not that I’m saying that they wouldn’t be useful, for something or other, but, for our purposes here, which are, happily, much more mundane activities, not requiring the use of scientific paraphernalia, I don’t think we need to get that precise in our calculations. In fact, taking the time to fill them out, or in, could conceivably cause problems, and work to our disadvantage.

This, I think, is the primary reason that more ffolkes don’t use them on a regular basis, and why the market for them is often depressed. I’m sure it makes life difficult for those poor people who manufacture them for society’s use, but, it can’t be helped…. Perhaps it would be in their best interests to find a new line of work, one that isn’t quite so dependent on the current whims of society…. but, then, I’m not sure just when the market for charts and diagrams is going to get better…. Maybe they could start making lullabies, or perhaps, yogurt?…..

Don’t know why I woke up silly….. And if you try to tell me that the above wasn’t silly, I’ll slap you until you cry for your mama…. Well, okay, it could  have been sillier, but I don’t see how, really, unless we dressed Zippy up in a clown costume…. Oh, wait, he already wears a clown costume….

Okay, well, that proves it, right? Silly is as silly does, and clown costumes define the parameters, I should think. If not, they should, especially when they are covered in polka dots, like his often are… Surely, there’s nothing sillier than a gangly, pasty-white, pointy-headed dude, in need of a shave, fetchingly clad in a polka-dot clown suit, unless it’s imagining his mother and father, and how THEY might be dressed…..

Now that I’ve spoiled any appetite for breakfast you might have had, it must be time to get on with the day’s business, such as it is. I realize it isn’t of much importance to y’all, other than as a means of wasting more time before you start your own day, but, it keeps me off the streets, at least for a few hours, and the public authorities are always appreciative of that, given the extra officers they feel they have to have on patrol when I’m out and about…. I don’t know why, though; I haven’t eaten anyone in years….. They get SO nervous and worked up, just because of a few youthful indiscretions….

Be sure, however, that period of my life is in the past, to stay; my diet these days is much more exotic, as I now stick to political pundits and religious dogmatists for the greater part my nourishment; they’re much less of a loss to society than your average man on the street, and, with generous amounts of mustard and cheese, can be quite tasty…. yum! Almost as good as a corporate elitist, or one of those savory military-industrialists, glazed with sugar and cinnamon….. Throw in the occasional sautéed police commander, and I’m a happy gourmand….

Hmm…. okay, you tell me…. Did that cross the line of good taste? It’s hard to tell, in the case of those assholes I consider responsible for the mess the world is in…. I mean, they have no compunctions about screwing over the rest of us, just so they can think of themselves as one of the elite, to whom the rules don’t apply. Why should I worry about offending them?

Essentially, I don’t, and I don’t care much what they, or anyone else, for that matter, thinks about it…. As long as they are out there, actively making decisions that affect the entire world based on their own perverted sense of entitlement, then I’ll feel no qualms about taking the odd shot or two at them, whenever I feel like it…. Fuck ’em, if they can’t take a joke….

On that note, shall we Pearl?…..

“If you’re going to tell people the truth, be funny or they’ll kill you.” — Billy Wilder

(Okay, NOW I’m officially worried…..)
_____________________________

The quote above is what I call a ‘settlefer’, because that is what I did…. settled fer it. It does fit, though, so it can stay…. Below you will find…. well, I don’t know, yet, what you’ll find, as I have yet to pick them out…. Let’s just say that I think you’ll like it, and leave it at that…. Nothing I seem to come up with to say about these harlequin style pearls ever seems to quite make the grade, accuracy-wise, so I’ll just trust to fate, and the inherent integrity of Smart Bee, to make it worthwhile…. it usually works…. Let’s see what we can find….

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” — Plutarch

“If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?” — Will Rogers (1879-1935)

“I figure that if God actually does exist, He’s big enough to understand an honest difference of opinion.”  – Isaac Asimov

“In a philosophical dispute, he gains most who is defeated, since he  learns most.” — Epicurus

“Take away the right to say ‘fuck’ and you take away the right to say ‘fuck the government.'” — Lenny Bruce

Hmm… not too shabby at all….. I should leave it there, as it is quite perfect as it is, but, I’m an incurable meddler, when it comes to pearls, anyway…. Two more ought to round it out nicely, I think….

“Why did Nature create man? Was it to show that she is big enough to make mistakes, or was it pure ignorance?” — Holbrook Jackson

“In heaven all the interesting people are missing.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Alright, now you can slap me…. I’ll even hold your coat…. Sorry, couldn’t resist, but, at least it’s done for the day, eh? (Practicing my Canadian dialect…. or would that be the Canadian Dialectic?…. Eh?….)
_____________________________

The poem I have percolating is still doing just that, so, once more, I turn to one of the masters, with a poem that appeals to me, if for no other reason than the title…. as previously noted, I am easily entertained….

Another Song Of A Fool

This great purple butterfly,
In the prison of my hands,
Has a learning in his eye
Not a poor fool understands.

Once he lived a schoolmaster
With a stark, denying look;
A string of scholars went in fear
Of his great birch and his great book.

Like the clangour of a bell,
Sweet and harsh, harsh and sweet.
That is how he learnt so well
To take the roses for his meat.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

_____________________________

I’m not feeling lazy, but, I AM feeling lazy, so I’m dipping into the past to come up with today’s third section…. It has been some time since I posted this, which I try to do at least once a year, to keep new ffolkes apprised of my history, and provide some background for the stuff I write here…. some of the back story, as it were…. So, here is my philosophy of Life, and some of the rationalizations that prompted its creation….. Though Peruaosophy originally was composed in the 1980’s, this article was posted on the site, GoodBlogs.com, sometime in early 2011, prior to starting this blog on WordPress….

Birds Do It, Bees Do It
So Do I…

    In the dim, dark past, when I was, sort of, attending college at UC Berkeley, (1968-70) discussing philosophy was standard in many of the BS sessions in which I participated. In order to not be thought of as someone who was ignorant in the field, I naturally read the classic tomes by such philosophers as Friedrich Nietzsche, Soren Kirkegaard, Plato, Socrates, Epicurius, Solon, and Jung, as well as more modern folks, such as Bucky Fuller, Sartre, and John Lennon (yes, him too…his philosophy tends to lean way to the left…).

One day later on, sometime in the 80’s, I was involved in learning to raise kids, deal with a wife, and in general going quietly crazy trying to balance all the balls one must keep in the air to get by in today’s world. As I sat this particular day, it struck me how long it had been since I stretched my mind. It seemed as if I’d been buried in mundane details forever, and upon examination & reflection I decided I wanted to expand my consciousness, using the flight of imagination to lift me above the everyday cares and woes to which I had fallen prey. And I found, as well, that I had been unconsciously acting according to many of the precepts that I had learned in those halcyon days of my youth.

Encouraged by this revelation, I went one step further, and made the decision to codify my own personal philosophy, to put down in writing those things that I consider to be essential to becoming a well-grounded, well-rounded, productive and contented member of society. The process went more quickly than I had imagined, and I came up with seven basic concepts, all of which I hold to be an integral part of what I believe. Axiom #4 was added later as a necessary part of the whole, overlooked in the initial version, bringing the total number of axioms to eight.

The word I coined to describe this philosophy is Greek; “perua” means “pearl”, and of course, “osophy” is “the study of”.  Thus I give you Peruaosophy, the study of pearls of wisdom. Each axiom stands alone, and together they describe fairly well how I approach Life…..

Peruaosophy

The wisdom of pearls…
(The world is my oyster; which way to the pearls?)

Axioms

1)  I think I am; that’s close enough.

2) The nature of the Universe is Change.  Unpredictable, innovative
transformation of Reality is the Norm. If you have a problem with this, you’re in for a rough ride in Life.

3) Thou art God, you know.  Let’s do lunch.

4) Excellence is its own reward.

5) Girls think differently.  So do boys.  Don’t fight it.

6) Axiom #2 X axiom #5 = And God so loved the world, He said,
“Quit whining!”

7) Do your Duty.   Respect Life.   Honor the Truth.   Share your Love.

8)  Go back.  Everything you need to know is in the first seven axioms.

~~ gigoid ~~

_____________________________

Well, don’t I feel like an infinite number of monkeys with typewriters?!….. Well, at least it isn’t Shakespeare….. Let’s see how it holds up to scrutiny of the relatively easy sort….. All I can honestly say is that it’s a good thing I like my standards down where they are, and they’re getting used to the smell, so…. we’ll take it, and run….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

dozer3

Training aardvarks is thirsty work…..

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Ffolkes,
Fair warning….. today’s Pearl is being created under the most trying of conditions imaginable…..  I’m awake…. moreover, I don’t want to be awake….. If I could sleep, I would be doing so at this very moment, but, my aging body, and more than half-crazy head, have conspired to make any such valuable outcome well-nigh impossible…. Well, perhaps not impossible, but relatively fruitless, and not worth the effort of turning over and trying to find a comfortable position again…. Once I’m mostly awake, there pretty much isn’t one, anyway….

Since I had nothing better to do, I got up, and started to prepare to Pearl…. whereupon Smart Bee took a dump, going into its corrupted mode, the one where it sits on the task bar, pretending to be open, but cannot be viewed by mortal users….. This meant I had to take the time to uninstall SB, then go to their website, download a fresh install copy, and again install it on the computer…. Not hard, but all time-consuming, and frustrating to be blocked by reality first thing….

Of course, this is Murphy’s handiwork; that much is obvious, and not unexpected, other than by the exact timing, and he is well-practiced at knowing the exact right moment to reveal his machinations.  By its very nature, his work is hidden by Time itself, until the moment is correct, when the most surprise, and the most damage, will ensue…. Knowing all that doesn’t help to mitigate the anger and frustration, it just helps to keep me from pulling out quite as much hair, which I can’t afford to lose….

Not only has Murphy’s less-than-welcome reappearance thrown a wrench into the works, I’m afflicted with another slight handicap today, but, its nature is such that, if I told you about it, you’d be in terrible danger, (legally, I’d be required to kill you, or, at minimum, turn you into a vegetable….), so, I’ll be a nice guy for a change, and keep it to myself…. Besides, y’all couldn’t do anything to help, and it would just upset your sensibilities to be exposed to the knowledge of what I am experiencing…. Please don’t ask, because I can’t tell you, and it would make us both feel bad…. Not to mention the wear and tear on my shredder….

I may be in a hurry, but, that’s no excuse for a paragraph such as the previous one…. sheer idiocy, just filling in space with nonsense, and not very compelling nonsense, at that….. Pathetic, and not up to even MY loose standards for an intro section…. At this juncture, starting over might be a good idea, but would put me even further behind than I am already. I’m finding myself with less time in the mornings now, as I have a lot to do out in the Big Blue Room, preparing for my upcoming trip(s)…. which, now that it occurs to me, might be a pearl in the rough…. yeah, that’s the ticket…. Sorry, got distracted there….

Any who…..  I guess this is a sufficient amount of crap to throw out for one morning…. if I’m not careful, it could get on someone’s clothing. We’ll go on, just as if everything were going just the way it should be, just as if I knew what I was doing…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“Only exceptionally rational men can afford to be absurd.” — Allen Goldfein
__________________________________

“It has begun to occur to me that life is a stage I am going through.” — Ellen Goodman

A few days ago, I mentioned that I had received word that my SS had been approved, and though I’ve yet to receive anything on paper to that effect, it was proved true by the money that hit my account a few days ago, a relatively robust amount, comprising the back payments for the time I’ve waited since applying.

This money is going to fulfill my dream, of a retirement that isn’t marked by having to struggle to get by, but will allow me to live comfortably, without having to work, and still have enough to do some traveling, if I am thrifty. That shouldn’t be too hard, since I’ve learned how to live on next to nothing over the past two and a half years, and see no reason to start being a spendthrift now….

All that being said, this is going to have a side-effect, relating to this blog…. I intend to keep writing each day, and posting the Pearls before anything else I do each day…. It saved my sanity, and seems to be necessary for that to stay intact, so I’ll keep on writing, if for no other reason…. But, the content may change more than just a bit…. I’ll be traveling often, or, as often as I can work it out, so a lot of the posts will have to be written while doing that…. which I am actually looking forward to, as it means that my life is proceeding as I wish it to go on….

So, next Tuesday, the Pearl will be written while I’m riding the Pacific Coast Starliner, on my way to Oregon to visit with a friend…. I have no idea how that will go, but it promises to be an adventure, and I’m looking forward to it with great anticipation…. I’ll write a couple days while staying with my buddy, and then, on Friday, will board the train to come back here, so the Saturday Pearl will again be a mobile effort….

I don’t know right now what other trips may happen in April, but, they’ll be relatively short, as I’ve already booked, and paid for, the trip of my dreams for the following month…. I’ve wanted to visit Ireland, and the UK, for many, many years….. AND, I ‘ve wanted to go on another cruise ever since 2004, when I went on the last one…. I had one booked, that had to be canceled, when I had to nurse my mother back to health, so I missed out, and have wanted to go, badly, ever since January of 2011, when it was canceled…. Long story short, I decided to combine the two dreams, and have booked a cruise of 12 days, round trip from London, stopping in eight or nine ports, in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, as it sails around the British Isles…. Pretty cool, eh?….

I’m going to go 3 days early, before the cruise, staying in London long enough to get over jet lag before the departure, as well as have a bit of time to see some things I’ve always wanted to see, such as the changing of the guard at the Palace, Stonehenge, and Oxford, to name just a few….. I haven’t decided, but I may also stay over the end of the cruise a week or so, to further explore parts of Ireland…. I figure, since I’m already there, it would be cheaper to do that while I am, rather than leaving it for another trip, that may or may not happen, and may be more expensive….

So, in May, I’ll be gone for much of the month, exploring a much larger version of Consensual Reality than usual, and it promises to be interesting to see  how it affects my writing…. It will certainly affect the content, as I’ll write whatever comes to mind about the places I’m visiting, and hope to bring a new way of seeing things to historical sights…. It’s bound to be fun, as well as educational, for all of us…..  😆    Europe may never be the same, after I’ve had a look-through….   😈

“I’m in a (jet plane?) in 53 BC… I’ve landed in ancient Rome… Some gladiators are playing scrabble… I’m ordering Pizza….” ~~ Zippy the Pinhead
__________________________________

Some days my mood demands the classics…..

I Must Have Wanton Poets

MUST have wanton poets, pleasant wits,
Musicians, that with touching of a string
May draw the pliant king which way I please:
Music and poetry is his delight;
Therefore I’ll have Italian masks by night,
Sweet speeches, comedies, and pleasing shows;
And in the day, when he shall walk abroad,
Like sylvan nymphs my pages shall be clad;
My men, like satyrs grazing on the lawns,
Shall with their goat-feet dance the antic hay;
Sometime a lovely boy in Dian’s shape,
With hair that gilds the water as it glides,
Crownets of pearl about his naked arms,
And in his sportful hands an olive-tree,
To hide those parts which men delight to see,
Shall bathe him in a spring; and there, hard by,
One like Actæon, peeping through the grove,
Shall by the angry goddess be transform’d,
And running in the likeness of an hart,
By yelping hounds pull’d down, shall seem to die:
Such things as these best please his majesty.

~~ Christopher Marlowe

__________________________________


“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.” — Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was a very interesting man, as this aphorism makes clear. It’s not your typical statement from someone so deeply involved in politics as to have been the Dictator/President of France, as he was for so long, but,  the quote IS/WAS typical of him, or, at least, of the image he projected, as a maverick in the political world, both inside and outside of France. 

If I recall my history correctly, (he was alive for much of the first half of my life….), other world leaders didn’t trust him much, which tends to give him more cachet, in my mind…. If the normal run of politico mistrusted him, he’s obviously my kind of guy, as that kind of reaction from a politician generally implies the target subject is an honest man….

With this statement, he pulls the covers of the greater percentage of those in public office. Those eminent officials are constantly spouting off about how they are “public servants” and how their salaries are paid by the taxpayers…. All the while, they are shoveling money from the public treasury into their pockets just as fast as their little hands can move.

They make the same noises when they are up for re-election, to further solidify the image they wish to project, as concerned citizens just following their hearts to help the people, when in fact, they are merely petty thieves, with slick tongues and a smooth patter, no more honest than a street grifter, and no more likely to give a shit about anyone else….

I’m not going to make this a long rant today; this is one subject that is so obvious (to me) that I hesitate to even write about it, as it would be insulting my readers to assume they weren’t aware of this truism. But, I did want to remind y’all that, no matter how honest and sincere a politician may seem, no matter how often they tell you they are just your servant, they are lying, bare-faced and deliberately. This applies to ALL of them, from the top to the bottom of our federal, state, and local governments; the corruption is inherent in the structure of the system, which encourages behaviors that are self-serving, and rewards theft with more access to more money…..

“Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.” — John Stewart Mill (1806-1873)

I don’t think I need to even show any evidence here, as it ample proof of the chicanery prevalent in society is all over the news every day, if one knows where to look, and how to read between the lies….. (not a typo…)  The recent events surrounding the budget mess, have reached a stage where it is apparent, even to the citizens who blindly support anything the politicos say, that there is something wrong with this picture, and serve as a perfect example of what I am implying, nay, accusing them of here. The bickering and obstructionism reached levels that showed exactly how little the people mattered, in relation to the money, and who would have the control of it….. It’s a huge mess, and nobody has any acceptable solutions (so they say….)…

So, what do they do?…. Things get stalled long enough for the Supreme Court to take up the constitutionality of the concept of Gay Marriage, a decision that will have a long-term effect on how our country operates on some levels, and certainly engages the emotions of every citizen with any concern over the issue… Quite distracting, in fact, and to me, a bit suspicious in timing, as it takes the public awareness away from what Congress, and the White House, are up to, which, I assure you, is no good…. at least, not for us, or for the people at large….

SIGH… My outrage at the system is so large it keeps me awake at nights, sometimes…. but, it is so large because the system is, in nature, completely amorphous, with no obvious pieces that can be attacked and destroyed…. Add to that the fact that too few people alive are even aware of the need to do so, and it leaves me with little choice but to rant…. Life goes on, without any real changes; the rich keep getting richer, while the poor keep on keepin’ on, best they can…. Me, I’m gonna go take a nap…..

“The trouble with Congress is every time they make a law, it’s a joke, and every time they make a joke, it’s a law!” — Will Rogers
__________________________________

Not bad, I think, given the circumstances….. It’s done, and that just may be the deciding factor; it hangs together fairly well, and I don’t see anything legally actionable; the only name I mentioned was Charles de Gaulle’s, and he’s dead, and not likely to take offense, especially since I put him in a pretty positive light…. Therefore, I pronounce this Pearl completed, and wash my hands of it…. Gotta go, so…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Patterns in the dust say otherwise…..

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Ffolkes,
My schedule of posting is all screwed up…. First, I missed a day from rain. Today, the day I am writing this, is Christmas Day, one which I have worked very hard to both ignore, and to reach, and is another day I will be unable to post again, as there are no buses, the library is closed, and it is too far to walk to the nearest Wi-Fi spot (at Starbucks, about a mile and a half away)…. In addition, even though I wasn’t able to post on two days, I still wrote a complete Pearl for them. Now, I’m sitting on two days worth of material, and losing track of what goes where, and in what tense I should be speaking…. In the words of our dark little bear of little brains, Winnie the Pooh, “Bother!”…..

I don’t believe I’ve ever had this much material done ahead of time. Two complete Pearls ( each minus only a poem, generally supplied by a couple moments with Google and Poemhunter.com…), and another entire day to get through until I can post any of it. Today might be a good day to do some editing of past Pearls, to see if I can combine any of them into a salable book. Sounds like a plan….

Or, maybe I’ll spend some time in trance, and see if I can come up with a couple more original poems to go with these two almost finished products. The shout-out I wrote to Congress from us seniors was a pretty good one, I thought, especially the last quatrain and couplet; I thought they had a certain panache, that pleases me…. and they certainly were an accurate demonstration of the average senior’s feelings about the government just now, as they are making concerted attacks on Social Security, even as I write. I’m not going to start another rant in the intro, but, it sure pisses me off, that is for sure and for certain….. Makes me want to go up to Barack, and Congress, and read to them from the Book of Righteousness….

In lieu of that, I suggest we get on with this Pearl…. Basically, it is done, so that is merely a matter of filling in a poem, proof-reading the results, and it’s good to go. Since I don’t have anything further I can add at this point, I’ll abandon you here, and leave it to the format of the following Pearl to lead you where you need to go….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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In order to counter at least some of the saccharine in the air this time of year, it is good now and again to take the time to take a few unsolicited shots at targets who, by dint of their absence, cannot defend themselves…. Great fun for this slow-news time of year. Besides, my usual choices for such targets have no defense anyway, as they are continually assuming indefensible positions in a public venue. Here is an old-school pearl with some random  thoughts on my absolute favorite group of erstwhile clowns, those at which I most prefer to shoot darts of shame…. the creepy, dangerous kind who infest the halls and streets of Washington D.C., and numerous state capitals…..

“Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.”– Henry Clay (1777-1852) — Speech at Ashland, Ky., March 1829
(This one seems to have been overlooked, or at least ignored, for the most part, for the last 171 years…..)

“Imagine, if you will, that I am an idiot. Then, imagine that I am also a Congressman. But, alas, I repeat myself.” — Mark Twain

De la peau de lion l’ane s’etant vetu
Etoit craint partout a la ronde.
(Dressed in the lion’s skin, the ass spread terror far and wide.) — Jean de la Fontaine (1621-1695)
(Think about it….)

CONSUL, n.  In American politics, a person who, having failed to secure and office from the people, is given one by the Administration, on condition that he leave the country. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

A successful American spends more supporting the government than a family. — Smart Bee

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)
(This is especially true for politics, but remains valid for preachers, as well….)

“Since when is “public safety” the root password to the Constitution?” — C. D. Tavares

I find myself having to assert some control at this point. My feelings of anger at the government’s cupidity are rather raw this morning, and I find myself continuing my search for sharp, pointed sticks with which to poke, despite having already found a sufficient number to complete a pearl. The meaning is beginning to lose coherence, and adding more will only further confuse the issue, so we’ll go on to the final section, to compose some soothing prose…. Just remember, ffolkes, preachers, priests, imams, presidents, senators, judges, bankers, CEO’s….. none of these folks are looking out for your interests, nor will they ever do so, as they are too busy looking out for their own. It would be a good thing to keep it in mind, for your own protection…..

“If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?” — Will Rogers (1879-1935)
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A poet is a kind of liar who always speaks the truth. — Smart Bee

A child said, What is the grass?

A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . .I do not know what it
is any more than he.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful
green stuff woven.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped,
Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we
may see and remark, and say Whose?

Or I guess the grass is itself a child. . . .the produced babe
of the vegetation.

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow
zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the
same, I receive them the same.

And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.

Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them;
It may be you are from old people and from women, and
from offspring taken soon out of their mother’s laps,
And here you are the mother’s laps.

This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old
mothers,
Darker than the colorless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.

O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues!
And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths
for nothing.

I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men
and women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring
taken soon out of their laps.

What do you think has become of the young and old men?
What do you think has become of the women and
children?

They are alive and well somewhere;
The smallest sprouts show there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait
at the end to arrest it,
And ceased the moment life appeared.

All goes onward and outward. . . .and nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and
luckier.

Walt Whitman
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“Silence can be the biggest lie of all.  We have a responsibility to speak up; and whenever the occasion calls for it, we have a responsibility to raise bloody hell.” — Herbert Block

I’ve been looking at this pearl for a week, turning it over in my mind. I think, after due consideration, I can honestly say I have lived up to this responsibility quite well, at least in the past two years. Though my audience is not quite as large as I might hope for, I have faithfully accosted that audience with my own words of what I believe to be truth, truths that needs to be declared loudly, and often. Motivated partly by self-interest (relieving the stress of holding my thoughts in….), partly by a sense of humanity, and partly by patriotism. Outrage often supplies the emotional force behind my arguments, when my compassion is aroused, or when my sense of justice is affronted…..

My only wish is that I would be preaching to the choir, in the sense that the subjects about which I write are offensive to others, as well. In fact, I would love to see more people like myself shouting out their own outrage at the shenanigans of those in power in society. Those same beloved ruling class members have only themselves to blame if they become targets for criticism; their own actions are responsible for that. Mind you, I regard them to be insane, as a group, anyway, for their perverse desire to wield power over the affairs of others, and the most effective way to stop their depredations is to bring them into the light of public scrutiny, where society’s moral compass may be applied to redirect them into more socially acceptable, and socially beneficial, activities….

Sadly, I’m intelligent enough to read the writing on the wall, which says the beloved ruling class is never going to allow anything, or anyone, to take from them the riches and privileges they hold so tightly as their due. They have control of all the media, and the governments, and the banks, and the churches, and that control enables them to do just exactly as they please, hoarding all the resources available for themselves and their own purposes, leaving the dregs of whatever is left for the rest of us….

“And it shall come to pass that idiots shall roam the earth, and morons shall rule the masses.” — Smart Bee

I think it was Nostradamus who made this prediction; maybe not, though. Regardless of who said it, it is certainly apt. There are moments when even I, who have long known and understood the depths of human stupidity, am amazed and appalled by what somebody says, or does, right out in public where their idiocy is on display for all to see….. Even more, I am continually astounded at the depths of stupidity shown by the general public by their acceptance, and tacit approval, of the lies told to them every day by their erstwhile leaders.

Many millions of people recently voted for Obama, because it seemed clear, by his own words, that he would do all he could to protect seniors, Social Security, and Medicare. Now, at the first hint of opposition to one of his pet projects, he turns completely around on that promise, offering up massive cuts to the SS program over the next 20 years, cuts that would cripple the program, and send millions of seniors, like me, into poverty….. I find this to be not merely mendacious, but cruelly reprehensible, as well as morally indefensible. This kind of thing MUST be stopped, and the people responsible MUST be held responsible for their lies….

“Let honor be as strong to us an obligation as necessity is to others.” — Pliny the Elder

This is the ONLY solution to the problem, ffolkes…. In today’s society, our beloved ruling class has learned that it can act according to expediency, by claiming it as necessity, without any lasting consequences for them, and the public lets them do it. Only when honor replaces expediency can we hope to see society begin to function in the best interests of all; until that happens, only the power-hungry will be served in that respect. I cannot see how it will happen at all, unless the majority of humanity can put aside its blinders, and start calling a spade a spade…. which, historically, has never happened…. That is, after all, why we are in this mess in the first place….
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Hmm….. not too shabby, all in all. I’ll take it…. wrap it up and send it over to my hotel, would you? Thanks…..

I’ve always wanted to say that….. Now that is out of the way, I suppose I should try to repair some of this time confusion created by yesterday’s rain delay; if only I had a vague idea of where to start!…… Ah well, fudge it…. it will just have to settle itself, as it always does, given the time…… I’m outta here for today, ffolkes…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Scratching at the nadir of indifference….

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Ffolkes,
I’ve always known that Murphy was an asshole, but this month he has gone to new, extreme lengths to mess with my head, and I really don’t appreciate it.  As a non-corporeal entity, he no doubt feels safe from any retribution on my part, but I swear, I will figure out how to have a negative effect on an iconic force of nature, and he will pay, and pay, and pay for all the crap he puts me through….. and if not, well, it’s fun to think about it…..

I suspect that he really doesn’t have to extend himself very far to get cooperation from the USPS; they’re set up to aid his kind of purpose by the very nature of their business. They are responsible for carrying dreams and hopes to people who are desperately waiting for them to arrive, and it only takes a minimum of effort to slow that process down, thus putting the people waiting through a world of pain and anguish, merely by the act of being later than expected, or reasonably desired. And, the work is so mindlessly boring, once the routines are learned, that the people who move the mail generally end up slowing things down just to amuse themselves, not caring who is being screwed over by their lack of integrity….. SIGH…. I HATE Murphy, with a passion as great as any I’ve ever felt, and I WILL figure out a way to hurt him….

That being said, we may as well get on with the business at hand, which, while it may not be as important as what is coming in the mail, it is at least as interesting, in its way…. it’s too bad it has to wait until I can get online to get finished, but, I’m just not finding what I need without the resources there…. for the nonce, interest will have to be enough…. Shall we Pearl?……
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George Carlin was the most accurate, the most loved, and the most honest social and political philosopher of the twentieth century, without peer, and may well hold the same distinction for the twenty-first century. He pulled no punches, spared no feelings, and was as honest as the day is long. Nothing he ever said, in any of his monologues, or in what he wrote, was ever inaccurate; he spoke only of what had actually occurred, and what everyone could see around them in society. He was pitiless in his condemnation of stupidity and ignorance, and all of its proponents, who, as we know, are legion. Nobody in the public eye was spared the sharpness of his wit, or ignored and thereby enabled because they were too powerful; he speared them all, just as he does in the above statement……

Mitt Romney is one of the people (and I use the term advisedly…) who is in The Big Club…. He’s a relatively new member, but is well-liked by the others in the club, because he doesn’t seem to be bothered by people thinking this kind of stuff of him; he almost seems to enjoy being put into the elitist category, and almost smiles when he is vilified by the poor or vulnerable. Proof positive lies in the off-the-cuff statements he made last week at the fund-raising dinner, where he thought he was among friends, and could say what he really believes; it is obvious that it is not just that 47% of Americans about whom he was talking that he disrespects. It is ALL Americans who don’t make more than $100 million a year who have his disdain….. and that includes about 99% of the available people…. He doesn’t really care about ANY of them, even his own family…. they are just props for him to make him appear like the rest of America; they don’t really mean anything to him, beyond their images….

Romney and his cronies want to consolidate the power they already have, bringing their greed and total lack of compassion to new heights of calumny. They want to lower taxes for the rich, and raise them for the poor and middle classes; they want to take back the money I, and millions like me, have put into Social Security, and, like George says, put it back in the pockets of Wall Street’s denizens, thereby casting the most vulnerable part of the population, senior citizens, into poverty. They want to turn back the clock to the days when women, and people of color, and immigrants, were second-class citizens; they want to marginalize well over half of the population of this country, all in the name of the almighty dollar. They want to make being gay, lesbian, or transgender a crime; Paul Ryan has stated that he supports a law making it a crime for a woman to become pregnant without being married. They want to impose the religious beliefs of what is now a minority of citizens on all 330 million of us, no matter what our religious beliefs might be; their only concern is to maintain their own ascendancy…..

All of the statements I just made in the above paragraph are absolute truth; you can check out the veracity quite simply, by reading the Official Platform of the Republican Party for the 2012 election. It’s all there is black and white…. and yet, there are millions of STUPID, STUPID people who are going to vote for him, just because he isn’t black. It totally amazes me how these people, with the evidence right in front of them, will give their support to a man who will proceed to fuck them over royally as soon as he is in office. He holds as much, or more, disdain for them as he does for the rest of America, because he knows that they are so ignorant and bigoted they will let their fears of a “black President” overcome their common sense, and give their vote to him, merely because he is white…. and you thought racism was a thing of the past!…….

This country is, whether it realizes it or not, is at a crossroads, a nexus in time, where the fate of not just this country, but humanity at large is riding in the balance. If the election goes to the Republicans (who are making every attempt to control the vote in their favor, by passing illegal voter suppression laws that are continuously being struck down in court….) the overall effects on society will be felt over the entire world. This country will become even more isolated and at odds with the rest of the world than it is now, and the possibility of a world-wide conflagration is not entirely impossible….

So, as an American, each of us needs to make a decision…. Are we going to give in to the elitists who want to completely control the rest of us to their advantage, and take the chance of an end-of-time scenario, or will we make the choice to take back the controls they have usurped, and return the power to the people, where it properly resides? I can only hope that there are enough of us shouting out the truth to get the attention of all those who think they can let it go, that things will get better on their own…. otherwise, we are ALL up shit creek, and no paddles in sight……

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Abigail Adams, Paris, Feb. 22, 1787
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Fatal Supplication

But what becomes of our deepest dangerous dreams?
Does fantasy rescue any part of life’s imperiled favor?
Reality becomes but silvery pairs of mismatched teams,
Dining with affable elegance, such diffident waste to savor.

Who decides what sorrows to carry bravely to term?
Will fragrant moments of sanity make hasty manifestation?
Only Time’s patient mutability sends messages so firm,
Yet salient impersonal vexation lends credence to ripe imagination.

Can folly bring out sadness and rampant visions of beauty?
What kindness can be found in distant open relations?
With countless faces the dead disturb with dire impunity,
From separate caches of wisdom come simple stylish privations.

Shall shallow emotion serve to provide such explanations?
When does avaricious intensity assume primary focus?
Plain answers slide softly through with multiple mitigations,
While conceptually indignant bigots engage a fatally personal locus.

~~ gigoid

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Due to the unfortunate demise of Smart Bee, I am forced to search through my older Pearls for material…. I came across these gems, two consecutive  Pearls from sometime around April of 2008, while I was working at the state hospital…. they kind of fit in with today’s earlier themes, so I’ve included both below…. pearls were shorter then, but, hopefully, no less compellingly true…. enjoy!…..

Babbling brook

Ffolkes,
Generally I refrain from picking on politicians; it’s too easy. But, the American political arena has consistently made a hobby of attempting to legislate morality (to impress the great mass of religious sheep who habitually vote), and this hobby has created an unfortunate cultural phenomenon, what I like to call “warped honesty”.

I was listening this morning to a commercial (for a car which shall remain unnamed, for fairness’ sake). (the heck with it, it was rude….Subaru Forester). The announcer gleefully touted about 8 features of the car that demonstrated its’ superiority over other vehicles, speaking for about 38 seconds. The remaining 22 seconds in a full minute were taken up by one of those announcers who can speak 500 words a minute who gave the legal disclaimer, which consisted of a disclaimer for all 8 talking points in the advertisement. Amazing! Nothing in the commercial was true, but because of the disclaimers, they could say it anyway. It boggles the mind. Obviously, none of these people (the ad folks, the car sellers, or the politicians) have ever heard of axiom #4, or worse yet, #7. (#4: Excellence is its’ own reward. #7: Do your Duty. Honor the Truth. Respect Life.  Share your Love.) The sad part is, most folks haven’t heard of them. Sigh……

“In the mountains the shortest way is from peak to peak: but for that one must have long legs. Aphorisms should be peaks.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

Be alert folks……Y’all take care out there…..

yesterday, continued

Ffolkes,
There were some good responses to yesterday’s offering, and today I just want to finish up the line of reasoning begun. The two quotes below explain a lot about human nature, which is, without a doubt, our greatest handicap as well as our salvation. Enjoy!

“Morality is the best of devices for leading Mankind by the nose.”–Friederich Nietsche

“If stupidity got us into this mess, why can’t it get us out?”–Will Rogers

And never forget…

“Those who are clever, who have a brain, never understand anything.”–Winnie the Pooh

Y’all take care out there….

Not too bad for a flash from the past…..
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Such as it is, it is what it is, and cannot be more…. So be it…. It’s another Pearl fashioned on the run, and posted in haste…. hopefully, this will not detract from its relevance and veracity…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Abstinence of compassion is considered immoral….

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Ffolkes,
Wasted moments come back to haunt, rattling chains and screaming demons; unrequited dreams of love moan in despair. Yet time passes, and all becomes dust in the end. No pain, no gain, but, the gains are one step forward, three steps back. Silvered memories of golden days shine off in the distance, while the fire of anguish cleanses the soul. No one leaves without singing the blues…

Sometimes, I know what is going to go down when I start typing, other times, such as today, I haven’t a clue, so that what I see on screen is as new to me as it is to you…. not efficient, maybe, but guaranteed fresh. I don’t yet have the patience to stay with one theme for long, probably due to not being able to sit for long without having to move…it’s hard at times to finish one of my more extensive rants, as I tend to lose the driving impetus of outrage when I take a break from writing about whatever it is that affronted me. It’s a delicate line to walk, but hey, like I said above, no pain, no gain…. and I love singing the blues….

Now that you are probably as confused as I am, I think we should go find some pearls…. shall we?….
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“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

Uh, oh…. I have a feeling that Abe’s fears have already been realized. The rich have become richer, and even now are making a bid to bring their completely self-centered agenda out into the open, by attempting to put one of the the 1% into the office of the Presidency, supported by a running mate who is a fawning sycophant of the elite, one of their unapologetic myrmidons, who parrots whatever the corporate masters decree with a big smile and a wink, hoping that someday, he, too, will be allowed into the inner circle of the beloved ruling class….

“Our congressmen are the finest body of men money can buy.” — Morey Amsterdam (written for Will Rogers)

If anyone has any remaining doubts about this scenario’s reality, let me point you to a simple set of facts… first, the average man has no representation in Washington, as every Senator in office makes over a million dollars a year; how can they possibly understand the issues important to their constituents, when they live in an entirely different social strata….

Unfortunately, they all send out the message that they are the “champions of the little guy” and know “how the average family feels” (which should set off an alarm right away…. how can they be both at once? They are mutually exclusive societal groups; you can’t be their champion, and be one of them, too….) Members of the House purportedly make less money on average than the Senators, but not by much, and who knows what they are getting from lobbyists?

The three branches of government: lobbyists, media, PAC’s. — Smart Bee

There is the second fact to remember…. more money is spent each year by lobbyists, to bribe and/or influence Congress into voting in their favor, than is spent on ALL domestic programs that aid the populace. The budgets for housing, education, transportation, food and drug administration, Medicare & Medicaid, and all other social programs are dwarfed by what is spent lobbying against them. Even more money is spent to lobby defense and security programs, but those budgets are far larger than they need to be by a factor of at least 10….

Then there is the cost of keeping Congress in perks…. they make a salary reminiscent of a corporate CEO, with medical and pension benefits that make the finest of HMO’s look paltry in comparison. A member of the House, who only serves one term of two years, is retired with a full salary, and full medical benefits for life; same for a Senator who only serves one four year term…. life-long benefits at a yearly rate of income that is larger than over 50% of the people in this country, including those still working. Now, what have any of them done that deserves that?

“The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return.” — Gore Vidal

Aye, indeed, Gore has hit the head of the nail in one sure shot…. Last year, between the federal and state government, I paid about 25% taxes on my income, which is what I’ve had to pay most of my life. If I should work overtime, or make money considered extra to my salary, that rate went up to over 40%….. When I hear about somebody like Mitt the Twitt paying 13%, it pretty much pisses me off about as much as I can be… and that is only the one he let the public see… I’ll bet anything he paid less in other years, and I’ll bet he has more than one year when he didn’t pay any at all…. oh yeah, that’s fair and equitable law, for sure…. NOT!…..

“This is the age in which thin and theoretic minorities can cover and conquer unconscious and untheoretic majorities. — G. K. Chesterton, International League of Nations, 12/20/1919

Don’t forget to get out the vote ffolkes, this time it makes a difference. Not that the Democrats are doing much better, but at least they apologize when they plow into our exposed butts…. and I made that image gross on purpose, because the shafting we get from our government, our beloved ruling class, is an ass-fucking of advanced degree…. Any who, vote, and keep your powder dry….
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Below you will find an example of why the powers that be are always trying to suppress free speech, and particularly that of writers and poets…. They, our beloved ruling class, know that such words as these pose the greatest threat to their oppression of the populace… and these are particularly powerful words, worthy of their fear….

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou
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“He who endeavors to serve, to benefit, and improve the world, is like a swimmer, who struggles against a rapid current, in a river lashed into angry waves by the winds.  Often they roar over his head, often they beat him back and baffle him.  Most men yield to the stress of the current…  Only here and there the stout, strong heart and vigorous arms struggle on toward ultimate success.” — Albert Pike (1809-1891)

I like this statement, on several levels…. First, even though it is a bit pompous in its language, the message it delivers is one of great insight into human nature, and manages, in spite of its rather stiff phraseology, to inspire the very actions it describes. Second, it appeals to my old-fashioned views in many areas.

I have no idea who Albert Pike was, but just seeing when he lived, through much of the 19th century, gives us a glimpse of him… He was fortunate to be born at a time when this nation was young, and full of promise, with burgeoning confidence in our nation’s future. In addition, he lived through times that many did not, observing the growth of the country from 13 states to over 40, the Civil War, and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. He seems to have taken a lot of the best qualities he saw in society into his own thoughts, if this one is any indication. Let’s see what Google has to say about Albert….

From http://freedomfighter.co/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=1

“In 1859, Albert Pike 1809-1891), a lawyer, and leader of the U.S. Scottish Rite Masonry (who was called the “Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry,” the “Prophet of Freemasonry” and the “greatest Freemason of the nineteenth century.”), who was fascinated with the idea of a one-world government, was chosen to coordinate Illuminati activities in the United States. He said they needed to create a political party that would keep the world fighting, until they could bring peace. Pike said it would be done “with tongue and pen, with all our open and secret influences, with the purse, and if need be, with the sword…”

“Pike was born on December 29, 1809, in Boston, went to Harvard, then later served as a Brigadier-General in the Confederate Army. He was appointed by the Confederacy to be the Indian Commissioner in order to create an army of Indian warriors. He became Governor of the Indian territory, and succeeded in creating an army consisting of Chickasaws, Comanches, Creeks, Cherokees, Miamis, Osages, Kansas, and Choctaws. He became known to them as the “faithful pale-face friend and protector.” The savagery of their attacks caused Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy to disband the Indian army. After the Civil War, Pike was found guilty of treason and jailed, only to be pardoned by President Andrew Johnson on April 22, 1866, who met with him the next day at the White House. On June 20, 1867, Scottish Rite officials conferred upon Johnson, the 4th – 32nd degrees, and he later went to Boston to dedicate a Masonic Temple. The only monument to a Confederate general in Washington, D.C. was erected in Pike’s honor, and can be found between the Department of Labor building and the Municipal Building, between 3rd and 4th Streets, on D Street, NW.”

Very interesting man… the web page also listed some correspondence to and from Mr. Pike, and other historical information; it’s worth a few minutes to check it out…..
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Well, that was an interesting trip…. I’m done for the day…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Zipping in fields of pizazz….

Posted on by
15

Ffolkes,
Odd dreams, indeed, that persist into the day. Odder still when they ask for coffee. But there he was, a huge, red-skinned demon, complete with horns and a tail, big as life and twice as ugly, sitting in my only chair, and demanding coffee. I’m pretty sure, even without checking, that I’ve never had one of the nasty creatures that inhabit some of my less cheerful dreams sit in my living room, and the new experience wasn’t bringing me the thrill of discovery and wonder that one might expect. In fact, it was just pissing me off….

“What the hell makes you think I’m giving you coffee!” I said, calmly…. well, it would have been calmly, but for the volume set at “scream”…. My visitor merely smiled, looking at me as if I were a tardy student, and shook his head. “Because I asked for it?” he rumbled out of his over-sized mouth. “You’ve never been one to deny basic hospitality.” “I’m making an exception in your case, ” I snapped back, “since you seem to have invited yourself to this party.” “True, true,” he smiled, “but, you’ll feel better with some of it inside you, and we’ll have a better chat.” Fuming, but resigned because he was right, I moved into the small kitchen to pour a couple of cups.

There… that’s out. Better out than in, I always say…. I am starting today’s dive for pearls very late, as my body refused to get up at my usual time. I find myself here at my computer with three and a half extra hours of sleep, which I apparently needed badly.  It’s not really hard to understand why. I just don’t like to admit that it is so exhausting to sit around and fight against pain, but there seems to be little I can do to deny it, as that is all I do, mostly…. Let me tell you, this getting old sucks, big time….

Not only does it suck, but it makes me whine, which I hate in myself. It’s bad enough to have the pain, which no one can see, but to complain about it lacks dignity, and I can use all of that I can muster. So, if y’all don’t mind, I think I’ll just drag this cloak of dignity I found laying here around my shoulders, take a deep breath, and dive into the pool on a search for pearls…. take a breath now, if you’re going with me…One…two… three…. dive!……
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Here is a reverse pearl…. instead of a quote, or two, and my discussion of the subject, here are four excellent pearls, all of which I have previously discussed; there is really no need to write more about them, as my opinion is well-documented…. Instead, just read them all, in the order presented, and note how accurate a picture it paints of the current political scene in this country…. they clearly demonstrate, or at least highlight, how our own failure as citizens of a democracy has contributed to the position in which we now find ourselves….

“There is no such thing as security. There never has been.” — Germaine Greer

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
— C. S. Lewis

“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)

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” — H. L. Mencken

I was watching one of my favorite movies last night, “The American President” and one of the lines reminded me of just how far we have come from the dream our founding fathers had for us…. from the speech at the end of the movie, the President says, “I assure you, Bob Rumson (read: Mitt Romney) has no interest in solving your problems. He is interested in only two things, making you afraid of it, and telling you who to blame for it.” (That may be slightly incomplete or inaccurate as to exact wording, but the meaning and sentiment remain clear) If we elect a fool into office, we have no one to blame but ourselves. And me? I insist on only being afraid of what I choose to be afraid of, and what the political pundits would have me be afraid of is just an illusion…. another of the lies, the creation of which they are very facile and experienced….. stay alert folks….

“Liberty don’t work as good in practice as it does in speeches.” — Will Rogers
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Unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. — New Testament — Matthew xxv, 29

This will be one of the shortest pearls ever, even including this superfluous opening. All I have to say here is what came to mind when I read it just now during my dive, which was, “Well, the bankers sure took this one to heart, didn’t they?”  That’s all… just think about it… which is more than any Christian would do….

Heaven Holds a Place for Those who Prey — Smart Bee
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“Whenever I’m faced with a difficult situation, I like to ask myself what my idol, Edward R. Murrow, would think; and I think Ed would call this censorship.  But I also ask myself what my other hero, General George Patton, would think; and I think George would believe this country needs to be cleaned up. Why, if George were alive today, he’d take two armored tank divisions into Hollywood and knock those liberal pinheads into the ocean!  So, as you can see, I’m a very confused man.  And when I’m confused, there’s only one thing that makes me feel better: I watch TV.” — Les Nesman, “WKRP in Cincinatti”

I find this to be, while amusing, a very, very scary, and uncannily accurate, description of how most of this country approaches life. When things become too confusing, they go watch TV, so they can find out what they are supposed to be thinking. I personally know a great number of folks who center their entire day around what is on TV; hell, before I got them out of that habit, my own kids were almost suckered into that sort of approach. Fortunately, my daughter inherited my love of reading and books, and my son turned his attention to the real world, immersing himself in kung fu for most of this free time.

But, in general, what is on TV is what most of America will parrot when asked what they believe. Very few of us seem to have perpetuated the habit of thinking about what we’ve been told; sometimes it seems as the bloggers I follow are the only ones who are doing so. I certainly see very little evidence out in real life that tells me that anyone is paying attention to this issue.

Mostly, the folks who question authority try to remain true to the system, pursuing their goals within the constraints of that system. But, it doesn’t work, as the vast majority of folks in this country come home from their slave jobs to flick on the TV and let the nonsense fill their heads up with stuff that keeps them quiet and content, like “The Simpsons” or some such….. SIGH……
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    Not much needs saying here… this fine fellow is here merely to express my opinion of politicians, popes, kings, queens, ayatollahs, bankers, CEO’s, and every other type of human who seeks to assume power over others…. so there!…. and to illustrate the old saw about a picture being worth a thousand words… in my case it is often 1500 words, so this image saved you all from that this morning…. nice of him, eh?
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However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you
If you do not act on upon them?
— Buddha

My religious upbringing was pretty casual, since my parents weren’t particularly devout, at least outwardly. Most of my life we attended Presbyterian churches, but were never heavily involved. The whole story behind Christianity always seemed pretty improbable to me, even at the tender age of four or five when it was first introduced in Sunday School, where the kids in Presbyterian churches were sent during services to keep from either distracting the minister during his sermon, or to distract their parents from their nap during said sermon. (You can’t fool a four-year old about motivation….)

As I grew older, the things about church that first bothered me continued to grow in number, fueled most heavily by the actions of the church-goers. It always seemed to me that what was said in church on Sunday, and what actually happened out in the real world had nothing to do with each other. Nobody I could see was acting in a Christian manner anywhere but in church, and even then, it seemed pretty self-serving, as if the folks who were discussing morality were showing off for the preacher, more than they were invested in the morals themselves. (You can’t fool a teenager about hypocrisy….)

As my reading list expanded, I found that my suspicions and objections to Christian churches intensified, as I became more aware of what actually went on out in the real world, and was exposed to more religions and philosophies. It seemed, at least on the surface, that the proponents of the other big religions in the world were no less hypocritical in their actions than were the Christian, and further evidence of the accuracy of that observation has been in the news daily for a long time.

Nobody in the entire world, as far as I can see, really buys into any of the religions, unless they are so poor that they grasp onto the charitable aspects of their respective creeds in order to survive. I can find no religion, anywhere in the world, that has significantly advanced the cause of morality in humans; it generally has a negative effect instead, providing their constituents with reasons to practice immorality, as long as it is directed against those in other sects.

So, I continue to wage my own personal battle against the ignorance of reality that all churches demand of their followers, and promote rationality and reason as an approach to life, rather than encouraging people to submit to what, to me, is just another lie disguised as something supposedly “good for me”…. and I find the following statement to be extremely accurate, not only in the context of when it was written, but today as well…..

“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
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It is unusual for me to find myself with nothing to say; I’ve never been unable or unwilling to form an opinion on almost anything, and being who I am, I’m not shy about sharing those opinions. But, I feel now, at the end of this morning’s effort, to be without anything useful to add. So, being the reasonable, rational person I am, I will stop now…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

The Plight of the Stumble Bee…..

Posted on by
12

Ffolkes,
Unable, or unwilling, to enter the door, the clumsy-looking, shabbily dressed man, in a grimy overcoat that had seen better days, stared hungrily through the window toward the lights inside, a look of quiet determination crossing his face for an instant. I watched, then, as he straightened his shoulders, drew himself up to his maximum height of about 5’3″, and strode purposefully to the door, yanking it open with a fierce pull, banging it against the porch railing, hard. The ensuing deafening crash had the noise of the diner falling silent, as everyone crowding in the booths, and lining the counter, turned to look, startled, toward the noise.

The small man, now trembling with the force of whatever deep emotion held him in thrall, stood quivering in the doorway, moving his eyes from face to face, starting on his left, and working rapidly around the room. As his eyes came to rest upon a party about half-way down the aisle between the counter and booths, just being served at a table by the window, his expression hardened, and he started toward the object of his search, now appearing to glare at the people at the table with the sheer intensity of hatred and loathing.

I, along with the rest of the diner watched in rapt fascination as he came to the table, where he stopped, gazing down at the four well-dressed men who sat there, looking up at him with expressions of polite disinterest, somewhat incongruous, considering the drama of the small man’s approach, and the threatening, hateful visage that he now presented. For a long moment, he stared at each face in turn, then, in a surprisingly soft, lilting voice, he spoke, “Zo! You would send your assassins to the house of Giaccomo, eh? Your trained killers, zo dangerous, no? I will show you dangerous!”

On the last words, he reached into the pocket of his grimy coat, and pulled out a small, indistinct object. “Here….I give you back your assassins, both of them!” With that, he threw down what he held onto the table in front of the four silent, now grim-faced men. They looked down, shocked eyes wide, to where lay two human ears, covered in dried blood, looking a bit worse for wear. “Next time, send more! You will need them, and my garden can use the fertilizer!” Before they could move, the man swept the flatware, dishes, and glasses into the laps of the seated men, who reacted not at all, but merely watched, silent and still, as the small figure turned, and walked out the door, into the night. Inside the diner, silence held reign……

Once more, my manic-depressive Muse has taken over my fingers, to lay out the preceding paragraphs for your reading pleasure, or confusion, as the case may be; I’m tending toward the latter. I hope it does give pleasure, though… because it’s a little weird, having to sit here while words go down on screen that have never passed through my creative filter…. an odd feeling to have one’s subconscious mind playing tricks like that so early. I barely got a sip of coffee down before the Muse just took over, so I’m going to take a short break to soothe my nerves…. be back shortly…. I wonder who Giaccomo is?…

Okay, all better now…. I sure wish I could get my subconscious to quit doing that; it’s a bit disconcerting to have one’s volition so rudely usurped in such a cavalier fashion. It’s not like I wouldn’t share screen time….. ah well, I guess it will all come out in the wash. Let’s Pearl, shall we?……
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“The ideal life is in our blood and never will be still. Sad will be the day for any man when he becomes contented with the thoughts he is thinking and the deeds he is doing — where there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do.” — Phillips Brooks

I’ve been pushing this quote forward every day for a week, since I found it and copied it here for discussion. I keep putting it off. I haven’t figured out why that is, but I’m sick of dealing with it, and it’s too good to throw out, so…. deal with it, Ned…

I think the problem here is that I agree with this, and really couldn’t say it much better. And, it’s such a great little piece of insight disguised as a homily, it doesn’t need any expansion to increase or enhance its positive direction. So, I’m going to use a bit of cosmic Judo, and go with the flow… just enjoy it, and its message, which is, essentially, “Carpe diem, as soon as you recognize which diem you’re in!”…..
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“[The artist] speaks to our capacity for delight and wonder, to the sense of mystery surrounding our lives; to our sense of pity, and beauty, and pain; to the latent feeling of fellowship with all creation — and to the subtle but invincible conviction of solidarity in dreams, in joy, in sorrow, in aspirations, in illusions, in hope, in fear which binds together all humanity — the dead to the living and the living to the unborn.”     — Joseph Conrad

I can state, with some confidence, my belief that this is what most of us are shooting for as artists. Few of us can express how we approach our Art, or why, or easily answer any such pertinent questions, but all of us can feel what we wish to share, impatiently waiting for our keyboard/camera/computer program/clay/other artistic medium to be applied to the task at hand, giving to the Universe a small piece of our Soul, pieces that cry out for release, eager to be off to be consumed by other ears, other eyes, other minds.

For some of us, it is therapy. For others, it is the creative impulse. For still others, it is ambition, or outrage, or pride of accomplishment, or the desire to be understood. For a million and more reasons, our Art forces its way past our fears and denials, to find the light it must seek in other’s eyes. It is, to me, more proof of humanity, for the impulse to create Art is proof of our innate need for each other, and our need to be acknowledged, and loved. This is why we place our hearts, and souls, firmly in our work, and then give it away, gratis……
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“I wanted a perfect ending … Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.” — Gilda Radner

Why do the best of us have to die so young? “Delicious ambiguity.” What a brilliant summation of a wonderfully wise statement! One wouldn’t normally expect a woman known for her comedy to have such insight into Life, but then, there certainly are precedents for it. Will Rogers, Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Lily Tomlin, Dick Gregory, even Steve Allen, all were best known as comedians, and justly so. But all of them are also some of the most lucid, intelligent, and erudite social critics that ever lived, and they were certainly the most accurate, and important voices of that genre in the last century.

It makes one wonder, what our world would be like, if the love of humanity, the brilliant political and social conscience, and the acerbic wit, shown by these few masters of innuendo and sarcasm were to be set as the rules governing society at large. I know one thing for sure…. there would be more smiles seen everywhere, on the faces of children, adults, and elders, and it would be considered a social faux pas to darken another person’s attitude with sobriety…. much healthier for all of us, don’t you think?……

How he lies in his rights of a man!
Death has done all death can.
And absorbed in the new life he leads,
He recks not, he heeds
Nor his wrong nor my vengeance; both strike
On his senses alike,
And are lost in the solemn and strange
Surprise of the change.
— Robert Browning (1812-1890) — After
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…I’ll sulk for the rest of your days and make your life a living hell. So there.

Wait a minute! Who let my ex- in here without telling me?….. ah, okay, it’s only a random memory stim….whew! I thought for sure I’d gone back to Hell on Earth, where I resided for several years prior to her dramatic departure….. I never did get what I did to her that pissed her off so much, but I guess if I had a clue as to that, things would be different….no sense in living backwards, is there?….

But it does bring up a subject not often discussed, or even considered, due to its volatile nature; the impulse to hurt others, for perceived injuries of whatever nature, revenge, at its most petty. I suppose it is mostly a natural response, arising from the basic instinct to preserve life, but it seems to me it gets carried a lot further than necessary; the responses are usually much more powerful than the initial events that cause the perceived injuries.

For some reason, an attack on personal beliefs or self-image is less easily dismissed as are less personal affronts, and there seems to be no limit on the degree of intensity one may use in these instances. For example, it seems a bit harsh to me to throw silverware at someone’s head as a response to being asked “How are you this morning?”, or to scream uncontrollably at someone for being tardy for a meal by less than a minute, because of having paused to pick a flower for the screamer (both of which I have been treated to on more than one occasion….) But, maybe it’s just me….

“We need to talk.” — The scariest words known to man…. as engraved on the Tomb of the Unknown Husband….anonymously, of course….

SIGH… I guess it just goes to show, that everyone has their own idea of what love is, and finding someone who feels exactly the same is still a matter of chance. I’ve always preferred to approach it from the direction implied by the following little piece of common sense…. (well, it’s common in my world…..) It is a sentiment that naturally predisposes one to avoid those sorts of things that one would potentially need to be sorry about….

“There is never anything to feel sorry about with love. Never.” — Robert Heinlein

Curse on all laws but those which love has made!
Love, free as air at sight of human ties,
Spreads his light wings, and in a moment flies.
— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Eloisa to Abelard, Line 74

Weird….sometimes after I finish a discussion, a number of good pearls on that jump out at me in the search for the next… hmph! Good thing I’m easygoing…. wait, no I’m not!….. oh well, screw it….
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Boop Boop Bee Boop – Betty Boop

I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic’s; his hair was perfect.–from “Werewolves of London”

Some things are just perfect the way you find them…. and serendipity is real!

“I just can’t help myself!” — Standard disclaimer — Babs Bunny
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Well, I’ve probably done enough damage for one morning, and I’m running out of hit points, so I’ll bring this to an end here…. timing, as we know, is everything…. Y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!