Congenital Defiance(or, Kiss My Ass...as Political Will)

“

• Actively refuses to comply with majority's requests or consensus supported rules^[8]

• Performs deliberate actions to annoy others^[8]”

From:

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppositional_defiant_disorder)

I consider the existence of such a “diagnosis” to be a major slice of supporting evidence for a large portion of what I think is wrong with the world I landed in.

Rather than a “Disorder”, Defiance…Opposition…is something We would be better off encouraging.
That lingering Habit of doing as we’re told does Violence to the world.
I am Stubborn.
Hard Headed. (the better to beat against the various and sundry Walls)

My Life would likely have been much easier if I had been a bit more malleable…but I would have had to surrender my Integrity.
My Rebellion was never for Rebellion’s Sake…it was always well considered.
Somehow, I kept finding myself confronted by Beaurocratic Mollusci….attached to my ass….preventing my slide into my own Square Hole,where the fit was much better.
Defiance!
I awoke, this morning, thinking about that Dean…a fat man, in an office…scrubbed pink, smelling artificially clean, like every politician and CEO I’ve ever met…..with the faint, underlying taint of not being able to reach the dirty places…Who was this Toad, to stand in my way with such inanities?To what purpose did his office search for such esoteric rules with which to set me back? There should not be such artificial barriers to Education.
The Fine Print belies the true purpose of Higher Ed….as well as almost every other endeavor in the late 20^th, early 21^st Centuries….Conform. We don’t want any Thinkers…anyone who would rock the boat, and unseat us from our Privilege.
College Credit should be easily and Universally Transferable.

Since I saw, quite clearly, that this administrative morass would kill my Funding….the paths ahead opening in my mind, right there, in his bland office…I gave him the Finger…said, ‘Find another chump’….and left…to consider my Escape.
I do not regret this….what I regret is the choice of that school..and my caving in, in switching my Major to RTF(Jobs), from Philosophy.
Can’t unring that bell.
The phrase,”lead, follow, or get the fuck out of the way” made perfect sense, to me.
Everywhere confronted with Ignorance, and the Peter Principal…and other artificial ensconcements of the Stupid in positions of Power.
How does this happen?
It has bewildered me, amazed me, for most of my life.
And just look at where this triumph of Mediocrity has brought us…..

Middling Functionaries Rule, like so many Polyps in the intestinal walls of Humanity….blocking Innovation…Alternatives.
All but forbidding Vision…when Visionaries are what is needed most.
I detest Rand, but she did have a valid point.(and as usual, the Right has totally missed that point…cherry picking, as is their wont, the narrow, self-serving parts….to shore up, and give ethical cover to avarice)

Cogs in the Machine did not give us the Enlightenment, the Renaissance…
Beaurocrats didn’t invent the wheel, or even the Agriculture Revolution.
It was not Cubicle Dwellers who spurred us out of the trees, into the savannah.
It was the Freaks!
Defiant Individuals who had the courage to chuck wrote conformism and blaze a new trail.

Now witness the Functionaries’ Revenge….
The Collective Mind of Cotton, where Thoughts go to Die….
Banal.

Boring.
The Box is the whole frigging world.

Despite my Poverty, and the proverbial Troubles of Job, I do not regret being Defiant.

Middle Finger points the way.

Coming Down the Mountain

‘Behold! This cup wants to be empty again, and Zarathustra wants to be a man again.

Thus began Zarathustra’s down-going.’

A woman stopped me in the sad excuse for a grocery store, and thanked me for Defending her Rights.(re; a letter to the editor)

I was humbled, and somewhat Mystified, by this….

She is, after all, a Bush2 Republican(bumperstickers).

Folks, I am finding, are very inconsistent in their Political Beliefs and adherences. This is not the first time I have encountered this…first and second hand.They are “Pro-Life”, until it reaches it’s logical conclusion, and threatens to affect them….or “Free Market”, until they are under the heel of Corp(se) Feudalism….
I am humbled and overwhelmed that my lte’s are so well received.

Over the last few years, when I have been forced into the World for whatever reason, folks ask “where have you been?”….my stock answer has been,”I am a Hermit”….and I have been met with tacit Understanding. This has surprised me, as well.

The Tide appears to be turning….the Bush Darkness seems to be abating….and the Collective Insanity and Polemicism would seem to be lifting, at least with some folks.(the (IMO) overly Religious, Right Leaning “Evangelicals”, aside…they have proliferated, but seem to spend most of their time on platitudes(“lifting up”(?)) and segregating themselves)

I am Agoraphobic.

When I must go forth, and be among the People…for a baseball game, or whatever….I find it exhausting, mentally and emotionally.

My teeth hurt, from gritting…and I habitually limit my utterances to a handful of stock phrases and niceties…unless prompted by direct questions regarding energy or Politics or Gardening….

Perhaps my little corner of the World is ready for me.

I have considered attending city council meetings…perhaps school board meetings…to get a feel for such things.

Try and determine if it’s worth the effort to run….

The current lot appears to be quite ineffectual and disconnected.(and at least “my” representatives harbour a certain, unwarranted elitism)

There are many things, locally, that must be Changed, in my estimation, if we are to meet the coming challenges.

The City Ordinances, for instance, are better suited to larger cities, than to this Far Place.Us little people are over regulated…why does Mason need a draconian Sign Ordinance? Or Zoning that forbids Cottage Industry? Do they really need their Pound of Flesh from Garage Sales? Have they not noticed the current Economic Malaise?

I am leery of advocating a Farmer’s Market, for fear that the City will fuck it up with unnecessary rules and fees…thus undoing whatever benefit could otherwise be derived.

Rules regarding Electricity ensure an over-reliance on extension cords and ‘power strips’….which, I venture, was not what was intended.

The City is like an ant bed….one tries not to disturb it.

Unresponsive….unless one pokes it with a stick, thus inviting scrutiny….and, given that there are so many rules and ordinances(largely secret), one is always likely to be in “Violation” of something…

Much of this seems to be due to laziness….and a penchant for meddling. The Sign Ordinances, for example, were lifted from those of Austin…and have no business here.

When I moved to town, I went to the City Office and asked for the Code Book….I wanted to know what all was in it….what they figured was their purview.
I was told,” tell me what ordinance you want, and I’ll make a copy of it….for a fee”

I said that I wanted to whole thing….isn’t it written down somewhere?

Blank stare….”why?”….incredulity.

This is ,perhaps, a tacit surveillance measure.

If a person asks about Electrical Ordinances, they must be contemplating Electrical Work, and can then be watched.

It shouldn’t be this way.

Laws should not be Secret….and Our Employees should endeavor to Work for Us, if not cheerfully, then at least with forbearance. As it stands, the City Office is quite threatening and mean spirited. Adversarial.

It may be necessary for me to Venture out of the Monastery.

Moloch.

The savage, like ourselves, feels the oppression of his impotence before the powers of Nature; but having in himself nothing that he respects more than Power, he is willing to prostrate himself before his gods, without inquiring whether they are worthy of his worship.--Bertrand Russell, "A Free man's Worship"

It is a common refrain ,that "we don't make anything here, anymore"..and that "all the Jobs were sent overseas"....
It is a cliche, that Manufacturing, once the powerhouse of our Economy, has been "Outsourced"....which is a cruel euphemism for "Exported".
This is explained by lots of Eco-Babble...like "Efficiency", and "Return on investment"...and even such almost Truths as "They do it for Cheaper"...
Attendant on this last assertion is the corollary, "American Workers are prohibitively expensive". That they are "Greedy", and want "Something for Nothing"....

This is where all this stops making sense, to me.
My Kindergartener just came in and informed me that his Crayons are "Made in China".
This is new to him...and largely meaningless.
I look at the news, and read various and sundry economic reports and missives....and the largest economic worry, out there in America, at the moment, is Lack of Jobs.
Unemployment is at record highs, even if one only considers the Official Numbers....which, I think most are aware, are largely Fiction. The actual numbers are much higher...and when one weeds through the Jargon and Gobbltey-Gook that accompanies such things, one finds things like U-25...."Birth/Death Model",and many other things that have as their sole purpose the Hiding of Truth
The Proverbial PHD Flipping Burgers.
We are told that "we" are doing everything possible to remedy the situation....but I have determined that this is a lie, as well.

The reason I can say this so blithely, is that there is a very simple remedy that has not been tried, or even suggested, save by unofficial folks like me: Start Making Things Here, Again.
Why is this so difficult to understand?
Sift through the "reasons" given for why this simple plan is unconscionable, and one gets down to the root of things: the Ceo's and "shareholders"....which are merely further euphemisms for "Elite"...don't want to. They make more money,and maintain their Power, by engaging in Labor Arbitrage.

Take a peasant out of his rice paddy, give him a TV and 3 square meals per day...perhaps heat, in the winter... and he'll think he's on cloud nine....he'll work for very little...as opposed to an American Worker,who is used to all those things, and much more...he(or she) has seen, and lived in the Promised Land, and is reluctant to either give it up..or to take a whole lot of undue crap from the Boss.
Boss would rather have the former.

This "discontinuity"...this Criminality(for that's what it is)...benefits the Few, at the Expense of the Many. It is Codified, into Law, Regulation and Treaty...it is exacerbated by Tax Policy, and by Monetary Policy.

It is all around us.

It is for the continuance of this Criminality, and the necessary continuance of our Failure to See it, that Economics is just barely taught in High School...and that we are taught to Hate and Fear all things Marx, from the very cradle.
It is why Unions are vilified...and everything Public.

...because those Elites, those Criminals, who benefit from this system, know that if We Knew...if We the People were aware of the extent of their Crimes, their reign would be Over.
So these Creations of Men...Markets, Economics....are believed to be Natural Laws...Immutable...Unchanging....like the Thunderstorm or the Earthquake....the Forces behind such things must not be Challenged by such mundane pleasantries as "Bring Home the Jobs".

The Priests intone: "We cannot, for the Market will be Angry with us".

It occurs to me that this is not very different from Sacrificing Humans to appease some other Imaginary Spirit.
Let us not let any more of our children "Pass through the Fire, unto Moloch."( Leviticus 18:21–23)
The Courts have determined that Money is Speech.
So be it.
Let your Speech be for the Relocalisation of America.

Let it be for the Democritisation of the Means of Production, as Adam Smith intended
Let it be for Repatriation of Manufacturing, and the Jobs that left with it....and let the Economists figure it out how to enter it into their ledgers

...and in the mean time, let your Speech be for looking out for one another, whether the Market likes it, or not.

Oh, Well....

I have entered the province of Hell.

On monday, I went to the Doctor to learn all about Sleep Apnea...seems I've gained almost 30 pounds these past 4 years...due to the inactivity that comes with greai pain...especially in the winter(Fronts, and such)
This led, I am informed, to the terribly unnerving exerience of failing to inhale, as I'm falling to sleep.I am assured that weight oss will Fix this.
So much for smoking cessation, for the time being.lol.
On tuesday, my left shoulder went nuts. pulled/pinched muscle/tendon, poterior, justunder the scapula.
Bad posture, during my pseudohibernation...m bdside table is on the left. cyclobenzapine(sp?) and meloxicam was indicated, along with the usual vicodin and Brownies.
Today, Thursday, I felt much better. Legs in retreat, and shoulder managale....went on a cleaning frenzy, in preparation for my brother's brood...untill, I lifted a pie of firewod for saturday's BBQ...

the Bckstrap,lol, on my right side....something popped! I am certain that it is muscular...strained muscle, most likely...but, my God!!!! i can hardly move!
All winter, knowing I needed it, I endeavored to practice a sort of Yoga of my wn invention....call it "Broken Branch Style"...
Just stretching, really...
Like a lying down Tai Chi.
Heaven knoiws I need such things....
I had hoped, thereby, to avoid such as this.
Oh, well...
Sometimes it really sucks being me.
I cannot see far enough to edit/correct this little missive.
Bear wit h me....

There has been so much Pain in my life..

For 7+ years I have needed a hip/ankle/knee.
The rest of my ills are peripheral to these...and derived from them.Most of these peripherals are undiagnosed, and unrecorded....like this event will likely be.

It is unknown how many of these derivative injuries could have been prevented, had I recieved timely medical care.
Uncaring dils, like Michel Bachmann, and Rik cPerry always come tto mind when i am in similar states.
keyboard is screwy, for some reason.Cheap chinese shit)

.

On the NDAA Suit, by Hedges, Wolff, etc

http://obrag.org/?p=57359

If they want me, I’d be happy to be a Plaintiff, in Spirit.

Friends have warned me…saying that they “worry about” me…as I am an Outspoken Curmudgeonly Liberal Hippie person.
I’m also a serial Letter Writer….to the White house, to various and sundry Congresscritters, and to whomever else gets my back up.

Being a student of History, it is not all that hard to see similarities between this Legislation, and Hitler’s Enabling Acts…and even the Inquisition.
This is what Power and Privilege resort to, when their tired old arguments no longer have effect….when they can no longer fool everybody, they first belittle and smear those opposed to them(“Well he’s a Commie…or, he hates America”, or whatever.
If that doesn’t work any longer, they send in the Law to harass and bother…from being scrutinized at airports, being pulled over, for no good reason.(like this never happens….it happens enough that it is a staple in TV Land.)
If all that fails, there is the example of Gandhi, MLK, RFK, JFK, Lennon….and on and on…
Yes, there “is no Proof”.
There wouldn’t be.
Or all the folks that fell out of airplanes, or were eaten by sharks, had “mechanical problems”…there was the guy (I’d hafta go and look it up, again…but it had to do with 9-11 and Iraq) who shot himself in the back of the head, in a boat in the Atlantic, while simultaneously tying his hands and feet and drowning.

No small feat!

Or the Flir Expert who was to testify at a hearing regarding Waco..who was found rotting weeks later in his apartment.
Nothing to see here….
Church Committee?
Ancient History…we’re America.
Pshaw!
This NDAA Provision is just one more nail in the coffin of Liberty…and by treating the above enumerated examples as “loony”, or “Conspiracy Theory”, OUR Employees do a great Evil.

This hearing is about whether these Brave Folks have “Standing” to sue the Fedgov…if there’s any validity to their Fears of being Targeted, and whisked away to some “Black Site”.

After 40 years of “Drug War”, 70 or so years of Cold War Hysteria,and now 10 years of a “War on Terror”….along with the Quakers being watched as “Terrorist sympathizers” by the FBI!!!~

Of Course They are Right to Worry!

Every Thinking American(I know yer there…) should be clogging the Congressional Switchboard, and the White House’s Phone lines…Demanding an End to all of this.
”National Security” be Damned!
That is just a convenient excuse for Operating in Darkness…which should have no place at all, in a Free Country.

No More Secrets…no more “Classified”…or “Top Secret”.
Under the aegis of these, and the FEAR that encourages, and excuses them…OUR Country has been taken from US.
If Our Employees cannot operate in Sunlight, then whatever they’re doing…should not be done.