Excellent.
http://www.bostonreview.net/BR37.6/martin_oneill_thad_williamson_rawls_property_owning_democracy_american_politics.php
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
fragment on Dogma
On the Reagan
Revolution, and the Politicisation of Christianity
I have often gotten “in trouble” for calling out the
Religious Right.
Those riding in to the defense have usually been pretty Liberal minded, but were strongly Christian…and mistook my Ire for Anti-Christian-ism.
”Not all Christians are like that…you cannot lump us all together”….
I have countered that it ain’t me who Politicised Christianity, but a relatively small subsection of Christians, and their well funded and well organized allies.
To these good folks who have called me out, I have said,” Your Religion has been taken from You…it, really, is up to you to take it back”.
Here’s a great overview of how the Right of American Politics stole Christianity, and turned it into a Militant, Intolerant, ultimately Revolutionary Force for Bad.: http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v09n3-4/whynow.html
Those riding in to the defense have usually been pretty Liberal minded, but were strongly Christian…and mistook my Ire for Anti-Christian-ism.
”Not all Christians are like that…you cannot lump us all together”….
I have countered that it ain’t me who Politicised Christianity, but a relatively small subsection of Christians, and their well funded and well organized allies.
To these good folks who have called me out, I have said,” Your Religion has been taken from You…it, really, is up to you to take it back”.
Here’s a great overview of how the Right of American Politics stole Christianity, and turned it into a Militant, Intolerant, ultimately Revolutionary Force for Bad.: http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v09n3-4/whynow.html
Beginning around the Third Century,A.D., the Project of
Canonisation began, in earnest…but it wasn’t until Gutenburg that
Fundamentalism, and it’s Bibliolatry, became a force for Dogmatism and
Stagnation(2).
We’ve likely always had this tendency, but natural traits
can be manipulated.
With greater Understanding of the Universe, through Science, the world gets (from our perspective) more and more Complex….it was always so, we just know more and more about it, as the Inquiry proceeds.
”God”, and other Supernatural explanations for the Unknown, are pushed into narrower and narrower enclaves. For folks who do not understand Science, this is worrisome. It is even more so, for Folks who…for whatever reasons…Need a Protector…especially the transcendent kind. The Psychological(and Political, and Philosophical!) implications are large. Folks, understandably, React.
The Reaction takes many forms, from reluctant acceptance, to Modification, to outright Rejection of whatever new Knowledge is presented. This last has been artificially increased, for Political Ends.
Enter the Reagan Revolution…the Retrenchment of “Conservatism”///and all of the antiscientism, and antiintellectualism that accompanied it.
Instead of incorporating the New Knowledge, ever expanding, into a new Syncretism, the New Knowledge was/is (quite cynically) Denied, out of hand.
The Earth appears to be orders of magnitude Older than 6,000 years? It must be Satan, and his Minions at the University!!!
The Right used this Phenomenon for it’s own purposes…but now, after almost 40 years, it may be backfiring….reaching the point of Absurdity.
The Tiger the Rightist Leadership/controllers harnessed for political gain, has chewed through the reins….boxing the controllers in.
The Fundamentalism of Religion has been applied to Economics, as well as to Government.
This is a very Dangerous development.
Science tells us that the Climate is Changing, quite Dramatically. But we cannot respond, because almost half the population(the loudest half) Denies it….and regards such qualified assertions as an Attack on their Faith.
Objective Observation indicates that “Free Market Fundamentalism”(piss on Us) has Failed…but more than half the population Believes…and they cannot be dislodged by anything as “secular” as Evidence.
In the most important(objectively) areas of Modern Life, Dogmatic Mythology has replaced Reason and Thought.
Deliberately.
The Engineers of this Surreality at least some of them, must surely see the Problem, here.
But How to respond?!
They have backed themselves into a Corner, Ideologically, Rhetorically, and Politically.
Short Term Political Manipulation has Doomed all of us….unless We, in the “Reality Based Community”, find our Backbones and stand up to Ignorance and it’s deliberate manipulation.
With greater Understanding of the Universe, through Science, the world gets (from our perspective) more and more Complex….it was always so, we just know more and more about it, as the Inquiry proceeds.
”God”, and other Supernatural explanations for the Unknown, are pushed into narrower and narrower enclaves. For folks who do not understand Science, this is worrisome. It is even more so, for Folks who…for whatever reasons…Need a Protector…especially the transcendent kind. The Psychological(and Political, and Philosophical!) implications are large. Folks, understandably, React.
The Reaction takes many forms, from reluctant acceptance, to Modification, to outright Rejection of whatever new Knowledge is presented. This last has been artificially increased, for Political Ends.
Enter the Reagan Revolution…the Retrenchment of “Conservatism”///and all of the antiscientism, and antiintellectualism that accompanied it.
Instead of incorporating the New Knowledge, ever expanding, into a new Syncretism, the New Knowledge was/is (quite cynically) Denied, out of hand.
The Earth appears to be orders of magnitude Older than 6,000 years? It must be Satan, and his Minions at the University!!!
The Right used this Phenomenon for it’s own purposes…but now, after almost 40 years, it may be backfiring….reaching the point of Absurdity.
The Tiger the Rightist Leadership/controllers harnessed for political gain, has chewed through the reins….boxing the controllers in.
The Fundamentalism of Religion has been applied to Economics, as well as to Government.
This is a very Dangerous development.
Science tells us that the Climate is Changing, quite Dramatically. But we cannot respond, because almost half the population(the loudest half) Denies it….and regards such qualified assertions as an Attack on their Faith.
Objective Observation indicates that “Free Market Fundamentalism”(piss on Us) has Failed…but more than half the population Believes…and they cannot be dislodged by anything as “secular” as Evidence.
In the most important(objectively) areas of Modern Life, Dogmatic Mythology has replaced Reason and Thought.
Deliberately.
The Engineers of this Surreality at least some of them, must surely see the Problem, here.
But How to respond?!
They have backed themselves into a Corner, Ideologically, Rhetorically, and Politically.
Short Term Political Manipulation has Doomed all of us….unless We, in the “Reality Based Community”, find our Backbones and stand up to Ignorance and it’s deliberate manipulation.
“Some scholars have suggested that fundamentalism had its
birth in the invention of the printing press, and that its spread across the
planet region by region, religion by religion, has paralleled the growth of
literacy.”
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Frothy Cosmology (Spinoza has a Lebowski)
So I arise, late(for me) at 7, rebuild the fires…first real
cold front, 34 degrees.
Coerced, by circumstance, to bring in the wood.
Read about Gilles Deleuze, while I wait,
Coerced, by circumstance, to bring in the wood.
Read about Gilles Deleuze, while I wait,
Oh so Patiently. for the ambient to rise.
Hot, Hot bath, with incense, a joint
and that bubbling chaos machine that lies at the bottom of
the tub.
and dish soap.
From the very Smallest(Strings(Planke Length),so far), to the very Largest Phenomena(Strings of Super Clusters of Clusters of Galaxies)
and dish soap.
From the very Smallest(Strings(Planke Length),so far), to the very Largest Phenomena(Strings of Super Clusters of Clusters of Galaxies)
in the Observable Universe.
The same structure shows up, sort of,
again, and again.( Φ)
Add enough Energy to a System/Potential Field,
Add enough Energy to a System/Potential Field,
and it, counterintuitively, Chaoticises
Into Structure.
Is this the Hand of God?
Or the Accident of Conditions, before the “Birth” of our
Universe?
Must we decide, right now?
I’m comfortable with Not Knowing, for sure.
Intrusive Distractions and Boredom
Socratic Perplexity, and Resistance to Doublethink+
Theocracy+a Lament=Meander.
” ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα ”-Socrates(attr.)(1)
” ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα ”-Socrates(attr.)(1)
It’s hard, almost to the point of impossibility, to be
Objective.
We are not only surrounded by Cognitive Dissonance, we are filled with it(2,3)…it comes from within.
Madison Avenue has learned to use this feature, inherent in the Human Mind, and present in our Collective Mind(4).
Politics necessarily encompasses this Feature, as well…it being a rarified form of Salesmanship.
I identified the Distortion quite early…and almost entirely by accident. This was in the form of a Preacher, who preached one thing, while doing the opposite. Although I was only 7-8, it stuck with me…I could not ignore it, as I saw everyone else doing.
I have been resisting Certainty, ever since. All Knowledge is Provisional, even that of Gravity.(!)
Having this as one’s Foundation has been anything but Easy….and I Understand , therefore, that few choose to join me on this Island. Dogmatic Certainty is so much more comforting, in most cases. The sky appears blue, and it is relatively unimportant to our everyday lives to question this with thoughts about the Spectroscopy of Nitrogen, etc.
We each carry within us, a number of default prejudices and positions, and ways of interacting with the World.(3) The World is very complex, and most folks have neither the Time, nor the Inclination…let alone the Ability…to approach every Datum with such Rigorous Skepticism. This has, to the best of our knowledge, always been so…but it has gotten exponentially Worse, these past 35 years.
This Worsening is the intended effect of a Deliberate Policy of obfuscation and Confusion, undertaken by what I have called the Machine…especially that Faction within the Machine, who are most unapologetic…the Right. (We are beyond such simplistic concepts as Party, here… Remember, Republicans were once the Liberal Party)
We are not only surrounded by Cognitive Dissonance, we are filled with it(2,3)…it comes from within.
Madison Avenue has learned to use this feature, inherent in the Human Mind, and present in our Collective Mind(4).
Politics necessarily encompasses this Feature, as well…it being a rarified form of Salesmanship.
I identified the Distortion quite early…and almost entirely by accident. This was in the form of a Preacher, who preached one thing, while doing the opposite. Although I was only 7-8, it stuck with me…I could not ignore it, as I saw everyone else doing.
I have been resisting Certainty, ever since. All Knowledge is Provisional, even that of Gravity.(!)
Having this as one’s Foundation has been anything but Easy….and I Understand , therefore, that few choose to join me on this Island. Dogmatic Certainty is so much more comforting, in most cases. The sky appears blue, and it is relatively unimportant to our everyday lives to question this with thoughts about the Spectroscopy of Nitrogen, etc.
We each carry within us, a number of default prejudices and positions, and ways of interacting with the World.(3) The World is very complex, and most folks have neither the Time, nor the Inclination…let alone the Ability…to approach every Datum with such Rigorous Skepticism. This has, to the best of our knowledge, always been so…but it has gotten exponentially Worse, these past 35 years.
This Worsening is the intended effect of a Deliberate Policy of obfuscation and Confusion, undertaken by what I have called the Machine…especially that Faction within the Machine, who are most unapologetic…the Right. (We are beyond such simplistic concepts as Party, here… Remember, Republicans were once the Liberal Party)
In the (provisional) Model I’ve built, Machine is a largely
Unconscious Super-Organism, containing many constituent Super-Organisms, from Countries, to Religions
to Corporations, all accepting sets of Foundational Assumptions about the
World, and having become “PseudoConscious”, for lack of a better word. These
are the closest we’ve come to AI, without even being aware of the accomplishment.
When I think about this, I have, somewhere in mind,
Lovecraft’s Mindless Gods…the Logic of such Creatures are incomprehensible,
outside of their own Logic Systems, with their various Foundational Assumptions
about Reality.
Read that again:” the Logic of such Creatures are
incomprehensible, outside of their own Logic Systems, with their various
Foundational Assumptions about Reality.”
This is our Problem, in Apprehending Reality.(ugh. Font confusion!)
Dig:
” Abstract
The theory of cognitive dissonance (Festinger 1957)
states that inconsistency between beliefs or behaviors creates an aversive
motivational state akin to hunger or thirst. This tension is typically reduced
by changing one of the dissonant elements, or adding new ones, until mental
consonance is achieved. There have been three major revisions relevant to
modern interpretation of dissonance phenomena. Aronson's self-consistency model
( 1968)
proposed that dissonance resulted from behaviors that were discrepant with
one's conception of oneself as a decent and sensible person. Steele's
self-affirmation theory ( 1988)
proposed that dissonance emerged from threats to the overarching self- system,
and that dissonance reduction relied on re-establishing the integrity of the
global self-concept. Cooper and Fazio's `New Look' model ( 1984)
proposed that dissonance resulted from creating unwanted aversive consequences
and did not require cognitive inconsistency. A recent synthesis discussed by
Cooper ( 1999)
and Stone ( 1999)
suggests that dissonance is caused by a discrepancy between the outcome of a
behavioral act and the standard to which it is compared. According to this
self-standards model, contextual variables determine the comparison standard,
and it is this standard that determines which dissonance process is most likely
to be operative.”(5)
From this, it appears that one’s relatively Positive Self
Image guards against Dissonance.(mostly)
This is important, in my opinion, because of who is counted,
and counts themselves, in the Machine Supporting Group.
In my Taxonomy, simplified, there are 2 “kinds” of folks…what I call Right Wing, and Left. This labeling generates much confusion, due to historical misuse, as well as purposeful muddying tactics, by Machine.
LW, in my Taxonomy, is what falls under the Enlightenment…scrutiny of beliefs and other automata, and conscious application of Reason….leading to greater and greater Freedom, and more Knowledge about the Universe.
On the Contrary, RW equals Fear Based Retrenchment, adhering reactively to comfortable Tradition and Habit, rather than daring to “Disturb the universe”(Eliot).
These opposing “forces” can be discerned throughout History, and deduced in Prehistory(Gimbutas, Campbell).
It is the Perennial Human Struggle.
The LW, I think it’s safe to assert, will generally tend towards a more Positive Self-Assessment, as a result of eschewing Fear…which is a necessary precondition to the Thinking Outside the Box, so emblematic of this Mindset.
Beginning in the 1940’s, when the current incarnation of the Machine was born(marriage of “Intelligence”, Industry, Government, Media, in the Maintenance of Power Relationships, using, in many instances, the new field of Social Psychology….and , apparently, using Orwell as a Manual, instead of a Warning(6&7))
In my Taxonomy, simplified, there are 2 “kinds” of folks…what I call Right Wing, and Left. This labeling generates much confusion, due to historical misuse, as well as purposeful muddying tactics, by Machine.
LW, in my Taxonomy, is what falls under the Enlightenment…scrutiny of beliefs and other automata, and conscious application of Reason….leading to greater and greater Freedom, and more Knowledge about the Universe.
On the Contrary, RW equals Fear Based Retrenchment, adhering reactively to comfortable Tradition and Habit, rather than daring to “Disturb the universe”(Eliot).
These opposing “forces” can be discerned throughout History, and deduced in Prehistory(Gimbutas, Campbell).
It is the Perennial Human Struggle.
The LW, I think it’s safe to assert, will generally tend towards a more Positive Self-Assessment, as a result of eschewing Fear…which is a necessary precondition to the Thinking Outside the Box, so emblematic of this Mindset.
Beginning in the 1940’s, when the current incarnation of the Machine was born(marriage of “Intelligence”, Industry, Government, Media, in the Maintenance of Power Relationships, using, in many instances, the new field of Social Psychology….and , apparently, using Orwell as a Manual, instead of a Warning(6&7))
Despite my attempt at Perplexity, I find that one must
accept at least some Foundational Assumptions. Gravity is Real, for instance.
The Sky is Blue. When thinking about Philosophy, including Politics and
Economics, while the necessary
Assumptions are fewer and must be more carefully assessed, they do present
themselves, as one moves foreword.
I’ve been Antiauthoritarian, as I’ve said, from very early on…this is a Bias, and I try mightily to account for it.
I’ve been Antiauthoritarian, as I’ve said, from very early on…this is a Bias, and I try mightily to account for it.
However, Authority,”Power”, seems to Exist….ie: it’s
Objectively Real. The problem, is how we think about it…and how much weight we
give to our Assumptions regarding Power and it’s effect on, it’s Operation in,
the World. Remember that a mere 500 years ago, almost everyone on the planet
lived in a Surreal World of Mythological Constructs. Since then, the
Enlightenment has allowed much improvement, but this improvement is by no means
Universal.
Jefferson’s Assertion, that “All men are created equal…” is not an accomplished fact, rather it is a statement of Hope, of Potential. The vast Majority of Humans are quite stupid, when you get right down to it. I’m with Jefferson, and other Enlightenment figures, that this can be Modified, for the better, by Education, etc…but we ain’t there, yet.
Jefferson’s Assertion, that “All men are created equal…” is not an accomplished fact, rather it is a statement of Hope, of Potential. The vast Majority of Humans are quite stupid, when you get right down to it. I’m with Jefferson, and other Enlightenment figures, that this can be Modified, for the better, by Education, etc…but we ain’t there, yet.
That said, the Majority of Us are still stuck in various
Mythological Systems…some perfectly Natural, like the various Cognitive Biases;
many constructed from whole cloth, by the various factions of the Machine.
There has been a Deliberate Confusing of Tongues, a Muddying of the Water, this past almost-Century.
There has been a Deliberate Confusing of Tongues, a Muddying of the Water, this past almost-Century.
I found that the “Conventional Wisdom” was Contradictory,
Incoherent, and , largely, False. It did not accurately describe the World.
Thus, a better Model was needed.
The Left-Right Thing is a Continuum, rather than a Dichotomy.
Left, leans towards Reason, and Thought, and a careful weighing of available evidence, but is still subject to the Myths and Assumptions of Conventional Wisdom….at least to some degree.
The Right, on the other hand, leans towards Habit, Instinct, and the Gut.
The Former is a relative Minority in any given Population.
The Machine, itself, Leans Rightward…necessarily. That Logic is inherent.
Change is Disruptive, and the most effective way to ward off Change is to keep the Masses in perpetual Ignorance.
This is a Balancing Act, because the World is Changing, despite the wishes of the Machine and it’s Constituencies. Balancing How Change is allowed to Manifest, and controlling the results of sundry Exploration, is the business of the Machine.
Almost every person, above the Bum…and every Group, …believes that it is in Control, to some degree….of their own, personal lives; of the actions of their Business…
The Administrators of the various Constituencies of Machine believe, more than most, in their own Agency.
The Reality is that No One is in Control.
Thus, a better Model was needed.
The Left-Right Thing is a Continuum, rather than a Dichotomy.
Left, leans towards Reason, and Thought, and a careful weighing of available evidence, but is still subject to the Myths and Assumptions of Conventional Wisdom….at least to some degree.
The Right, on the other hand, leans towards Habit, Instinct, and the Gut.
The Former is a relative Minority in any given Population.
The Machine, itself, Leans Rightward…necessarily. That Logic is inherent.
Change is Disruptive, and the most effective way to ward off Change is to keep the Masses in perpetual Ignorance.
This is a Balancing Act, because the World is Changing, despite the wishes of the Machine and it’s Constituencies. Balancing How Change is allowed to Manifest, and controlling the results of sundry Exploration, is the business of the Machine.
Almost every person, above the Bum…and every Group, …believes that it is in Control, to some degree….of their own, personal lives; of the actions of their Business…
The Administrators of the various Constituencies of Machine believe, more than most, in their own Agency.
The Reality is that No One is in Control.
One must Surf the Wavefront of Events, Riding the Crest of
History.
No One’s in Charge.
This is both Liberating, and Terrifying.
No One’s in Charge.
This is both Liberating, and Terrifying.
From, “Heretics of Dune”:
”By your belief in granular singularities, you deny all movement-evolutionary or devolutionary. Belief fixes a granular universe and causes that universe to persist. Nothing can be allowed to change because that way your non-moving universe vanishes. But it moves of itself when you do not move. It evolves beyond you and is no longer accessible to you.”(8)
In other words, float above Events, and accept the Chaos of Change, that is the defining Feature of Universe.
”By your belief in granular singularities, you deny all movement-evolutionary or devolutionary. Belief fixes a granular universe and causes that universe to persist. Nothing can be allowed to change because that way your non-moving universe vanishes. But it moves of itself when you do not move. It evolves beyond you and is no longer accessible to you.”(8)
In other words, float above Events, and accept the Chaos of Change, that is the defining Feature of Universe.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
(five days later…)
Necessary interruption. Mom-Sitting, due to Slug’s absence, and the lingering effects of the Prowler-Problem.(jimmied the door, see (9)
There’s no Reverse.
Onward!
More from Dune Universe:
”Enter no conflict against fanatics unless you can defuse them. Oppose a religion with another religion only if your proofs (miracles) are irrefutable or if you can mesh in a way that the fanatics accept you as god-inspired. This has long been the barrier to science assuming a mantle of divine revelation. Science is so obviously man-made. Fanatics…must know where you stand, but more important, must recognize who whispers in your ear.-Missionaria Protectiva” – Chapterhouse Dune.
So many little Gems in these Tomes.
(at least the original six…the son has done well, but he
ain’t his daddy)
How does one “Defuse” the American Religious Right?
I think this is a very timely question.
The Violent Parasitical Elite are one thing….a tiny minority. They are Nothing, without great hordes of True Believers, Secular, and no.
That part of the True Believers who really are True Believers is what concerns me, here. The Secular Faction is Materialist and Opportunistic, quite cowardly when in extremis.
The American Jihadis(Xian) have God smiling on them!
Given the correct stimulation, and they will make a corpse of the World.
The Elite are playing with Fire.
After three decades of poking and prodding, is it too far gone to simply Defuse it?
I think this is a very timely question.
The Violent Parasitical Elite are one thing….a tiny minority. They are Nothing, without great hordes of True Believers, Secular, and no.
That part of the True Believers who really are True Believers is what concerns me, here. The Secular Faction is Materialist and Opportunistic, quite cowardly when in extremis.
The American Jihadis(Xian) have God smiling on them!
Given the correct stimulation, and they will make a corpse of the World.
The Elite are playing with Fire.
After three decades of poking and prodding, is it too far gone to simply Defuse it?
I take Douthat’s admonitions of restraint, of resistance to
Generalizing Hysteria, seriously (10).
However, there are Patterns.
While I haven’t systematically Infiltrated (Jane Goodall) the Fundy-Web, I have Lurked, extensively.
However, there are Patterns.
While I haven’t systematically Infiltrated (Jane Goodall) the Fundy-Web, I have Lurked, extensively.
There are worrying trends, out there.
It is obvious, on the one hand, that Good Ross is correct, Secularism and assorted Godlessness,is on the rise….Americans are less and less “Churched”, with every passing year, despite all the hollering and seeming omnipresence of “Apostles”, and Preachers and “Prophets”(by their own words, no less)…saying the darnedest things.
But this Unchurching is a slow process.
Looming Crises, from Resource Depletion, to EconomicEnd-Points, to all manner of potential Flashpoints, including more Blowback….not to mention large “issues” with the Biosphere…all of these play into the hands of the most dangerous Lunatics in the Faith-Based Community.
Thanks to Lil George, the Federal Bureaucracy(damn!) is shot through with Fundamentalists…(11)
It is obvious, on the one hand, that Good Ross is correct, Secularism and assorted Godlessness,is on the rise….Americans are less and less “Churched”, with every passing year, despite all the hollering and seeming omnipresence of “Apostles”, and Preachers and “Prophets”(by their own words, no less)…saying the darnedest things.
But this Unchurching is a slow process.
Looming Crises, from Resource Depletion, to EconomicEnd-Points, to all manner of potential Flashpoints, including more Blowback….not to mention large “issues” with the Biosphere…all of these play into the hands of the most dangerous Lunatics in the Faith-Based Community.
Thanks to Lil George, the Federal Bureaucracy(damn!) is shot through with Fundamentalists…(11)
Ironic that the long sought after “Fifth Column” would be
of their own making. (12)
Our Military, as well…if the numerous reports are to be believed.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Oh, well.
Rambling.
Started with one thing, ended on another.
A perpetual Lament…for being unemployed, and cripple, and even often bedridden…World Intrudes, and I am Scattered. I want nothing more than to read Deleuze, etc and Think…and, Milagro!, discuss such esoterica…but I am continually Flung into Mundane Concerns: Political Philosophy, and all that goes with it…including the Still-Ongoing History of Humanity(Fukyama is a Fool,lol)(14)
The even more mundane concerns, too…from the above mentioned Mom-Sitting, to Soccer, to the Imperatives of Bringing in Wood(the Pain!)…a Distraction.
The lack of a Book-Budget…and the current Bunch at the Library(implying,”don’t bother us”…no more,de facto, interlibrary loan:”I forgot”, coupled with ,”why do you want that book?”…sigh.)
Our Military, as well…if the numerous reports are to be believed.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Oh, well.
Rambling.
Started with one thing, ended on another.
A perpetual Lament…for being unemployed, and cripple, and even often bedridden…World Intrudes, and I am Scattered. I want nothing more than to read Deleuze, etc and Think…and, Milagro!, discuss such esoterica…but I am continually Flung into Mundane Concerns: Political Philosophy, and all that goes with it…including the Still-Ongoing History of Humanity(Fukyama is a Fool,lol)(14)
The even more mundane concerns, too…from the above mentioned Mom-Sitting, to Soccer, to the Imperatives of Bringing in Wood(the Pain!)…a Distraction.
The lack of a Book-Budget…and the current Bunch at the Library(implying,”don’t bother us”…no more,de facto, interlibrary loan:”I forgot”, coupled with ,”why do you want that book?”…sigh.)
Hopelessly attempting to Re-Engage the tiny community of
left-leaners, out here, in what is admittedly, a Hopeless Endeavor…
I recede. Retreat.
I fully use the excuse of Handicapped…to stay in the truck, at soccer.
No one there I really want to engage with…”How are You?”
I fully use the excuse of Handicapped…to stay in the truck, at soccer.
No one there I really want to engage with…”How are You?”
“What have you been up to?”
Ha!
Like they want to know!
I’m so frikkin Tired of the Eyes Glazing…the Uncomprehending Stare.
The World as High School.
I’m so frikkin Tired of the Eyes Glazing…the Uncomprehending Stare.
The World as High School.
Is it Different someplace else?
Are there Others, of my Species, hiding in their Caves, perhaps just over the Hill?
8. I recommend the six original Dune Books, for an
unconventional Understanding of Geopolitics, Macropsychology and Economics.
9 http://www.stopos.info/os.pdf More on this, later. Mentat Projection,lol!
11 I’m thinking, specifically, of the Justice Department,
now full of folks from Regent and Liberty
and bob Jones.
14 Fukyama has since recanted, and renounced his association
with Neoconservatism….if I remember correctly. I don’t care enough to go there,
again.lol.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Perennial
I’d Rather Not…..But...
In review, for most of my life, I was happiest when I was
able to Simply Read and Think.
My Mom realized , early on, that to send me to my room was
no punishment, at all.
I was perfectly happy to be so sequestered.
I was Self Directed…by Abiding Curiosity; helped immensely by the presence of the Deluxe Set of Encyclopedias. As I’ve said many times, I would wander for days…and learned to maintain that Wandering, simultaneously, with whatever I was “Supposed” to be doing.(like School)
I was Self Directed…by Abiding Curiosity; helped immensely by the presence of the Deluxe Set of Encyclopedias. As I’ve said many times, I would wander for days…and learned to maintain that Wandering, simultaneously, with whatever I was “Supposed” to be doing.(like School)
Only MRL understood this…and even he Wandered a lot less,
and tended towards Approved Subjects.
I’d go, rather, wherever the “Spirit Moved Me’…in my case,
the Spirit of my Curiosity.
I chaffed at being Forced to Think about something that did
not Interest me(algebra)…I’d get to it when/if I thought it was Important.
My Natural Disposition is to Sit and Think.(not conducive to Wealth-Accumulation)
It’s an almost lifelong Joke, that I consider Aristotle/Gibbons/Kant or whatever as “Light Reading”.
My Natural Disposition is to Sit and Think.(not conducive to Wealth-Accumulation)
It’s an almost lifelong Joke, that I consider Aristotle/Gibbons/Kant or whatever as “Light Reading”.
Given this tendency, Politics was always a somewhat superficial
consideration, until it intruded into my life in such a way that I could not
ignore it.
Not 9-11, itself….but our Society’s Reaction to it, was the
Gun to my Head…Forcing me to consider such messy inanities.
I’d never really considered the motives and understanding of
Others.
It had never been all that important to me….save in learning to avoid cops and rednecks and other Mundane Threats.
It had never been all that important to me….save in learning to avoid cops and rednecks and other Mundane Threats.
A few years before that day, I had become aware of a lack of
Understanding, on my part, of Economics…so I had been studying that…and finding
so many Contradictions and Mythology surrounding it, that I despaired at ever
grasping the subject, as it applied to the Real World. The Libertarian
Argument(Austrian
School) sounded good to
me…until I went deeper, and tried to actually Apply the concepts. The Ass,
parading as if he were a King!
Free Market?
Free Market?
A Utopian Fantasy!
Similarly, with Politics…I thought that I knew up from down, using the Assumptions imparted by Dr Bob, and the General Milieu I grew up in. None of it was Applicable, after all….but (and here’s the startling Rub!)….we were expected to ignore this fact.
Similarly, with Politics…I thought that I knew up from down, using the Assumptions imparted by Dr Bob, and the General Milieu I grew up in. None of it was Applicable, after all….but (and here’s the startling Rub!)….we were expected to ignore this fact.
I perceived my Ignorance of the Motives and Thinking behind
our rapid, kneejerk to the Right.
So , I studied.
Again, I feel/felt that I was forced into this undertaking…I detected an Existential Threat, in the Actions of my Government, and in the Actions and Pronouncements of my Neighbors…far and near.
So , I studied.
Again, I feel/felt that I was forced into this undertaking…I detected an Existential Threat, in the Actions of my Government, and in the Actions and Pronouncements of my Neighbors…far and near.
This Endeavor has consumed me.
I had blithely Assumed that We, as a Species, were somehow beyond having to worry about Fascism, and the like.
I had blithely Assumed that We, as a Species, were somehow beyond having to worry about Fascism, and the like.
Yet, here were it’s Ingredients.
I was compelled to Understand, not only How…but Why.
Why would so many folks, who appeared Rational on the surface, fall into such an obvious Trap?
How could so many be Duped?
I was compelled to Understand, not only How…but Why.
Why would so many folks, who appeared Rational on the surface, fall into such an obvious Trap?
How could so many be Duped?
Back to Psychology, Mythology, Belief…and the concomitant
Methodology of Controlling these; from Propaganda, to Us/Them, to the
Manipulation of Our Beliefs about the World….and , behind all of this “How”…was
the Why!
Why would a Group(in this case, Neocons) want to do these things?
Why would a Group(in this case, Neocons) want to do these things?
Enter Deep Politics, and an understanding of the Real World,
as opposed to the Puppet Show.
I was Shocked to learn that the Surreality had been ongoing for at least 60 years…and more Haphazardly, for well over 5000!
What Hubris! What Audacity! That, for 35 years, the forces of Darkness had been so manipulating Reality, that the fruits could no longer be trusted…our assumptions, about almost Anything , were suspect!
The Neocons, of course, were/are a mere Faction…a subset of something else.
Call it the Universal State, the Matrix(in our current, secular mythology)…I have labeled it The Machine.
But I glean that it is more than the sum of it’s parts.
It’s not, merely, the agglomeration of Extremely Wealthy Families…nor of Corporate Boardrooms…nor of the Proverbial “Powers that Be”, sitting in their Study, pontificating on How to Shape things to their benefit.
It is, of course, all of these things…but I detect something more.
Not anything as silly as “Evil”, though it certainly is that…from a certain point of view.
It’s Automatic….and as old as Humanity.
Call it the Authoritarian Hierarchical Tendency…opposed to the Egalitarian, libertarian(small l ).
I was Shocked to learn that the Surreality had been ongoing for at least 60 years…and more Haphazardly, for well over 5000!
What Hubris! What Audacity! That, for 35 years, the forces of Darkness had been so manipulating Reality, that the fruits could no longer be trusted…our assumptions, about almost Anything , were suspect!
The Neocons, of course, were/are a mere Faction…a subset of something else.
Call it the Universal State, the Matrix(in our current, secular mythology)…I have labeled it The Machine.
But I glean that it is more than the sum of it’s parts.
It’s not, merely, the agglomeration of Extremely Wealthy Families…nor of Corporate Boardrooms…nor of the Proverbial “Powers that Be”, sitting in their Study, pontificating on How to Shape things to their benefit.
It is, of course, all of these things…but I detect something more.
Not anything as silly as “Evil”, though it certainly is that…from a certain point of view.
It’s Automatic….and as old as Humanity.
Call it the Authoritarian Hierarchical Tendency…opposed to the Egalitarian, libertarian(small l ).
It’s an unconscious Drive, that seems to be encoded in our
DNA.
Not Counter-Enlightenment, so much as Anti-Enlightenment.(Tao)
Not Counter-Enlightenment, so much as Anti-Enlightenment.(Tao)
(and, I must stress; no Gods, or Devils are necessary)
The “goal”, the “purpose” of Enlightenment(not just the
singular historical period)…inasmuch as there is a goal/purpose, is to Oppose
this Tendency.
It is the same struggle that has been ongoing for all of Human History.
Look at the Broad Sweep of that History, and you find, after sufficient Boiling, two Opposing Trends…
the one, Expanding Understanding, Freedom of inquiry in it’s service, and the provision of the Benefits to more and more Humans.
The other, pulling us backwards.
There’s my “Left and Right”, respectively.
Simple.
The Right has little awareness of this…those who serve that Trend(R) seem to believe that they are, sometimes , serving the Other trend(L)…but, mostly, believe that their actions are simply Necessary.
They are not Evil, per se…at least not in their own Understanding. Their Reasons for their actions are Self-Evident, to them…derived from certain Assumptions that they seem to be unaware of, as such.
It is the same struggle that has been ongoing for all of Human History.
Look at the Broad Sweep of that History, and you find, after sufficient Boiling, two Opposing Trends…
the one, Expanding Understanding, Freedom of inquiry in it’s service, and the provision of the Benefits to more and more Humans.
The other, pulling us backwards.
There’s my “Left and Right”, respectively.
Simple.
The Right has little awareness of this…those who serve that Trend(R) seem to believe that they are, sometimes , serving the Other trend(L)…but, mostly, believe that their actions are simply Necessary.
They are not Evil, per se…at least not in their own Understanding. Their Reasons for their actions are Self-Evident, to them…derived from certain Assumptions that they seem to be unaware of, as such.
The Right automatically pursue a Static, Utopia…often
thought of as some past Golden Age..and an End Goal.
The Left, also, usually seem to have a Goal in mind, in their own pursuit.
But there is no Goal.
There’s no End State towards which Progress, in it’s most esoteric sense, is driving us.
It’s, at the risk of cliché, the Journey that counts…Progress, itself….and not “progress” in it’s usual , mundane sense. The Left, rather…and in it’s Roots…strives for that Expansion.
The Left, also, usually seem to have a Goal in mind, in their own pursuit.
But there is no Goal.
There’s no End State towards which Progress, in it’s most esoteric sense, is driving us.
It’s, at the risk of cliché, the Journey that counts…Progress, itself….and not “progress” in it’s usual , mundane sense. The Left, rather…and in it’s Roots…strives for that Expansion.
Expansion of Consciousness, of Understanding, and of Freedom, broadly
conceived.
We are, currently, at a relative Nadir in this Perpetual Struggle.
….and it appears quite Hopeless, sometimes.In fact, things will probably get a lot Worse, before We Remember…before We Realise Our Predicament, and Sally Forth, once again.
We are, currently, at a relative Nadir in this Perpetual Struggle.
….and it appears quite Hopeless, sometimes.In fact, things will probably get a lot Worse, before We Remember…before We Realise Our Predicament, and Sally Forth, once again.
This is what Politics is all about…this Struggle.
And, behind Politics, is Philosophy….also at a Nadir.
Our Task, if one can think of it in such Mundane terms…is to Guard the Spark of Enlightenment…keep it Safe, while the Rest flail about in Confusion…so that, when Humans are ready, it will still be there.
It is not inconceivable…in fact, it appears quite Likely…that We will descend further, into a full fledged Dark Age. The Civilisation that we have, however inadvertently, Designed relies, implicitly on certain Assumptions…certain Preconditions. Built into the Engine of Civilisation is , of course, Growth.
This will, necessarily, Cease in the near future. Finite Planet, and all.
I expect a long, slow Decline in Population, punctuated by various and sundry short sharp shocks…whether Natural(Tsunami,Pandemic) or Human Created(War,Pandemic(!),Totalitarianism)…the latter, justified by Sane Sounding Reason…subject to Unexamined Assumptions, and the concurrent Belief that We Know what we are doing..
Could be a thousand years, ere we climb out of the Mud, again.
And even that is no guarantee.
And, behind Politics, is Philosophy….also at a Nadir.
Our Task, if one can think of it in such Mundane terms…is to Guard the Spark of Enlightenment…keep it Safe, while the Rest flail about in Confusion…so that, when Humans are ready, it will still be there.
It is not inconceivable…in fact, it appears quite Likely…that We will descend further, into a full fledged Dark Age. The Civilisation that we have, however inadvertently, Designed relies, implicitly on certain Assumptions…certain Preconditions. Built into the Engine of Civilisation is , of course, Growth.
This will, necessarily, Cease in the near future. Finite Planet, and all.
I expect a long, slow Decline in Population, punctuated by various and sundry short sharp shocks…whether Natural(Tsunami,Pandemic) or Human Created(War,Pandemic(!),Totalitarianism)…the latter, justified by Sane Sounding Reason…subject to Unexamined Assumptions, and the concurrent Belief that We Know what we are doing..
Could be a thousand years, ere we climb out of the Mud, again.
And even that is no guarantee.
I’m coming around, in the current Election Season, to an
understanding that I can’t really Change the Direction .
The Course of Civilisation will go where it will, despite my action, or inaction.
All I can Hope for, is to help keep the Horn that holds the Spark(Quest for Fire!), relatively Safe…
and encourage Others to do the same.
The Tree is not the End to which we strive, but the Acorn.(Potentiality)
The Course of Civilisation will go where it will, despite my action, or inaction.
All I can Hope for, is to help keep the Horn that holds the Spark(Quest for Fire!), relatively Safe…
and encourage Others to do the same.
The Tree is not the End to which we strive, but the Acorn.(Potentiality)
However…..
It is not yet time to Retreat into the Monastery.
Magic is Intent, Manifested.
A system of Focusing Our Intention…forget for a moment the connotations of the word,”magic”.
I have said and implied , repeatedly, that , even given a Decline…How We Enter that decline Matters.
I’ll Vote, despite the likely Uselessness of that Act(Texas)…because such Acts of Deliberate Intention Resonate, out into the World…at least that part of it that is Human Consciousness.
Ripples on a Pond.
It is not yet time to Retreat into the Monastery.
Magic is Intent, Manifested.
A system of Focusing Our Intention…forget for a moment the connotations of the word,”magic”.
I have said and implied , repeatedly, that , even given a Decline…How We Enter that decline Matters.
I’ll Vote, despite the likely Uselessness of that Act(Texas)…because such Acts of Deliberate Intention Resonate, out into the World…at least that part of it that is Human Consciousness.
Ripples on a Pond.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Dearest Theocrats,
So the "Million Moms"....an appendage of the "American Family Association"....managed to get one of my Wife's shows Banned.
I couldn't care less about the show, itself ("Good Christian Bitches"(!?))....but I get pretty riled when Censorship happens.
I couldn't care less about the show, itself ("Good Christian Bitches"(!?))....but I get pretty riled when Censorship happens.
I left my alias, of course...I have no desire for an inbox full of the stuff they'd likely send...
I reckon I'm not too hard to find, though.
These things must not be countenanced.
You can holler at them, here:http://onemillionmoms.com/heads-up/thank-you/
I reckon I'm not too hard to find, though.
These things must not be countenanced.
You can holler at them, here:http://onemillionmoms.com/heads-up/thank-you/
I figger they could use a few pieces of mind.
///////////////////////
Dearest Theocrats,
I am truly sorry that you seem to have so little in your
life that you find fulfilling.
I would have thought that your purported love of Jesus would fill that hole.
Instead, your Hatred for America is on full display.
We in America enjoy the Protection of something called the First Amendment.
This re-affirms our Natural Right to, among other things, Freedom of Speech, and Freedom of Religion. Implied in the latter is also , necessarily, the Freedom FROM Religion.
Too, the Foundation on which all First Amendment Protections are built is Freedom of Thought.
In America, I am Free to be Xian, or not…Muslim, or not….Wiccan, or not…or Agnostic, if I Choose.
The point of the whole exercise is My Choice.
Not Yours.
You, of course, are similarly Free to believe whatever nonsense you like….up until the point that your assertion of such Freedom negates or otherwise interferes with Mine.
I have never heard of anyone attempting to remove the Numerous God Channels from the cable line-up. Nowhere is there evidence of an effort, by anyone, to remove such programs as the 700 Club, or the odious Gaithers, from the Media.
I really dislike such programs…but, rather than attempting to BAN them, I simply CHANGE THE CHANNEL!!!
It’s quite simple….
America does NOT belong to you…but to US. That includes you, me and everyone else.
All of us.
I am sick of your attempts to rewrite OUR History, to better fit your Delusions.
I grow weary of you and your Ilk’s neverending Meddling.
America is NOT a Theocracy.
It is neither a “Christian Nation”.
Never has been….and Never will be!
You will, of course, remain Free to believe whatever you like. I won’t stop you….no True American would even consider such action.
But I will Fight, as will many more Americans, all attempts to Subvert Our Natural, Constitutional Rights.
Please return to your Closet,(Matt.6:6)
I would have thought that your purported love of Jesus would fill that hole.
Instead, your Hatred for America is on full display.
We in America enjoy the Protection of something called the First Amendment.
This re-affirms our Natural Right to, among other things, Freedom of Speech, and Freedom of Religion. Implied in the latter is also , necessarily, the Freedom FROM Religion.
Too, the Foundation on which all First Amendment Protections are built is Freedom of Thought.
In America, I am Free to be Xian, or not…Muslim, or not….Wiccan, or not…or Agnostic, if I Choose.
The point of the whole exercise is My Choice.
Not Yours.
You, of course, are similarly Free to believe whatever nonsense you like….up until the point that your assertion of such Freedom negates or otherwise interferes with Mine.
I have never heard of anyone attempting to remove the Numerous God Channels from the cable line-up. Nowhere is there evidence of an effort, by anyone, to remove such programs as the 700 Club, or the odious Gaithers, from the Media.
I really dislike such programs…but, rather than attempting to BAN them, I simply CHANGE THE CHANNEL!!!
It’s quite simple….
America does NOT belong to you…but to US. That includes you, me and everyone else.
All of us.
I am sick of your attempts to rewrite OUR History, to better fit your Delusions.
I grow weary of you and your Ilk’s neverending Meddling.
America is NOT a Theocracy.
It is neither a “Christian Nation”.
Never has been….and Never will be!
You will, of course, remain Free to believe whatever you like. I won’t stop you….no True American would even consider such action.
But I will Fight, as will many more Americans, all attempts to Subvert Our Natural, Constitutional Rights.
Please return to your Closet,(Matt.6:6)
Amfortas
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Backstage, at the Puppet Show.
Sigh.
“So, with Obama you'll get clearly better management of the
hateful Empire with slightly better treatment of the down-and-outers, while
with Romney you'll get the comfort politics of white supremacy along with clumsy,
even disastrous management of the Empire, which will be dismissed from public
view by magical thinking and denial, and you'll get a slightly better chance
for the collapse of the Empire and the outbreak of the revolution. Less blood
and stronger Empire versus more blood and weaker Empire: take your pick.
No blood and no Empire is not an allowed choice. That is why
you can vote. “(4)
No matter who “wins”, Neoliberalism(8) wins.
Always.
Always.
Privatise the Profits; Socialise the Costs.
The Bewildered Herd blithely swallows the Blue Pill(Matrix),and play their Role in the Charade, because they “Know not what they do”…The Knowledge, and Critical Thinking Skills, necessary to change anything, are denied to them…
Also denied to them, is the Time for Reflection…should they , somehow, gain the requisite Knowledge and Ability to Think.
The Bewildered Herd blithely swallows the Blue Pill(Matrix),and play their Role in the Charade, because they “Know not what they do”…The Knowledge, and Critical Thinking Skills, necessary to change anything, are denied to them…
Also denied to them, is the Time for Reflection…should they , somehow, gain the requisite Knowledge and Ability to Think.
I am amazed, when I reflect that since the advent of the World
Wide Web, the People have become more divided, more Gullible and more prone to
Magical Thinking…with all of this Information, available at our fingertips, We
have become Less Informed.
“The elite succeeded in granting personhood to their
corporate dollars. Any call for a level playing field -- the American ideal
that anyone can make it if they just work hard enough -- has been rebranded as
Socialism.”(2)
Of course, the Prohibition on Marx, et alia, has been in
place for a lot longer than that….and this is hardly surprising.
We fight among ourselves, over which Corpse-Puppet will “Lead” Us…and never see the Stage where all of this takes place.
Of course, I prefer the Obama Puppet Show, to that of Mitt…but I’m under no illusions that things will Fundamentally Change for the better. I am angry that Our “Choices” have been whittled down so.
I’m frustrated that the vast majority of my Countrymen seem so incapable of understanding what I’m even talking about, here.
“In Roman times, it really didn't matter to the patricians who sponsored the
spectacles in the Circus Maximus which particular charioteer won a given race
and gained the favor of the masses, Massala or Ben-Hur, because after the
spectacle their class would still be in control of the economic engine and
military power of the imperial center. The public is allowed a multitude of
choices on trivial matters, and little if any choice on the issues of
fundamental importance.”(3)We fight among ourselves, over which Corpse-Puppet will “Lead” Us…and never see the Stage where all of this takes place.
Of course, I prefer the Obama Puppet Show, to that of Mitt…but I’m under no illusions that things will Fundamentally Change for the better. I am angry that Our “Choices” have been whittled down so.
I’m frustrated that the vast majority of my Countrymen seem so incapable of understanding what I’m even talking about, here.
No matter who “wins”…We Lose. It comes down to a “choice”, between Sooner, or Later…as well, I think, How We enter the Decline.
Given enough Time(which We do Not have), Reason and Compassion could, conceivably, Win…in the end…keep pressing on the Irrational and Hateful Right Wing Crazy Revolution, and it will eventually Fail.
Then, We could begin working on what passes for the Left…until, at some future point, We could have a Real choice.
“If health care and education were free, then anybody could achieve access to the success class of the permanently employed solely on the basis of merit, and that would vastly increase the competition for each such job. The net effect of such a meritocracy would be the diffusion of wealth out of the formerly inheritance-insured population, and a leveling out of family prosperity nationally. That might relieve much anxiety for those currently in the economic basement, but it would also end the exclusivity of inheritance insurance.”(3)
….But We do Not have Time.
Virtually All of the Political and Economic Changes and Challenges, of the last 40 years, are a response to the Reality…the one waiting all around us, that the Way We Do Things, is Over.
It is the Elite’s response…to hold on to Power and Privilege, for as long as possible…to shore it up, so that After…they can retain their “Rightful Place”, at the tippy-top of Human Civilisation.
““More complex societies are costlier to maintain than simpler ones and require higher support levels per capita,” Tainter writes. The investments required to maintain an overly complex system become too costly, and these investments yield declining returns. The elites, in a desperate effort to maintain their own levels of consumption and preserve the system that empowers them, through repression and austerity measures squeeze the masses harder and harder until the edifice collapses. This collapse leaves behind decentralized, autonomous pockets of human communities.”(7)
I still hold out a tiny Hope that there’s still time to at least begin a necessary Re-Ordering…but that Hope fades, every day.
Decentralisation, Democratisation, of Everything, is in order.
This is not possible, without an awareness of the Reality of our current situation…Hydraulic Despotism, in a World of Shrinking Resources, and Insane Population Growth. It is also Not Possible, with a continuance of the Secular Mythos of Neoliberalism…”World Without End…”
…which is merely a new word for “Fascism”…which was the new word for “Feudalism”…ad infinitum, back to Our first attempts at Civilisation.
“Heinberg says this is our fate. The quality of our lives will depend on the quality of our communities. If communal structures are strong we will be able to endure. If they are weak we will succumb to the bleakness. It is important that these structures be set in place before the onset of the crisis, he says. This means starting to “know your neighbors.” It means setting up food banks and farmers’ markets. It means establishing a local currency, carpooling, creating clothing exchanges, establishing cooperative housing, growing gardens, raising chickens and buying local. It is the matrix of neighbors, family and friends, Heinberg says, that will provide “our refuge and our opportunity to build anew.””(7)
I’ll enjoy the Political Circus Maximus, for now…I’ll Vote Obama, because he represents at least a Kinder , Gentler Empire…and a Slower, relatively more Compassionate Decline.
It is likely the best that we can hope for: a little more Time, to attempt to overcome the Divisions…
“The inevitable decline in resources to support societal complexity will generate a centrifugal force,” Heinberg said. “It will break up existing economic and governmental power structures. It will unleash a battle for diminishing resources. This battle will see conflicts erupt between nations and within nations. Localism will soon be our fate. It will also be our strategy for survival. Learning practical skills, becoming more self-sufficient, forming bonds of trust with our neighbors will determine the quality of our lives and the lives of our children.””(7)
Got Garden?
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Autumnal Thoughts;Rest-less Equinox
The After-Work Pain became remarkable around 2000.
Only marginally, at first.
Of course, it had been there since the Wreck…but it had been unremarkable, tolerable, until then.
It became Acute and Widespread, in 05, after 5 weeks of Produce Department.
A year later, I reluctantly Retired altogether.
I went from 4 days, to three, finally to one.
My days as a Bohemian Chef were over.
My days as an Employed Person,
were Done.
Having developed a habit of Bruxist Tenacity,
I Soldiered on as Househusband/Farmer/Dadda/Field-Hand….Diminishing steadily.
The Off Hours spent in Feral Scholarship, and a slow emotional breakdown.
Early Days of this Process of Disintegration, there was an irrepressible urge to Live, while I still could.
Canoe, Fly Fishing….also Diminishing, as my Skeleton Rebelled.
Replaced by Drink.
Six and a Half years of wrangling with the Empire, frustrated at every turn.
Trying not to think about what I was Losing, and purposefully avoiding any Hopeful Thoughts about what might come after, if I ….Miracle! …Won my Case.
Since there’s no Medicaid Card currently in my hand, I am still reluctant to Speculate.
….But I can’t help it.
I hate the very idea of Surgery.
Especially Hip,
And more especially Back.
Will it be a Second Chance at Living?
The Lame Walks again?
Bow Hunting with the Kids?
Will I Perish?!
Or merely less Misery, more restful sleep,
Perhaps an occasional Evening Walk?
I doubt seriously that I will ever work for someone, again.
I’ve lost the habit of interaction, and of taking orders.
Self-Employment, for me.
Maybe a Digester Manufactory, or something else in Alt Energy…
….but perhaps that is being too optimistic, Re: Rehabilitation….
How about procuring a used Smart Car…one of those little Euro-Things, all boxy, and efficient…
Mason’s first Cabby….for all of the Old People, and Carless Folks, to get to the one Grocery Store…
Of course, I still have the majority of the Café Equipment and Paraphernalia….
But I don’t see myself launching headlong into that, again…instead, a One Night Stand, Saturday Evening Affair…Reservations+Ad Hoc, Prix Fix, Chef’s Special, with a Side of Culture.
On the lot next door…with an Orchard and Herb Garden, Wandering Geese and Chickens.
And a rather large Nekkid Statue of Artemis.
Hire whatever local-yokel, but NonCountry(GAC!), Music Types I can find…
Pole Barn Palapa. A Parisian Café, meets Jovita’s.
I’d hafta remain strictly Back of the House;
One cannot Undo such a Withdrawal, in a day, or a year.
After 22 years, what is it like, to be without Pain?
Is that too much to Hope for?
I’d settle for less.
And for a trip to the Real Grocery Store being Less of an Epic Ordeal.
The first rough half of that Epoch, spent furiously Sucking what Marrow there was…knowing all too well the likely Trajectory of the Injuries…
The last, Lamenting the Losses, while stubbornly clinging to a semblance of Relevance,
of Agency.
One gets used to life as a Cripple, however unpleasant, or painful.
Chair to Chair,
Automatically calculating distance, grade and difficulty,
Including at least minimal recovery time in one’s travel plans…
To say nothing of Thoughtful, if not brilliant, Adaptation to Poverty.
I don’t know if I can manage a Garden, next year.
The promised Imperial Largesse(Ha!) can’t come too soon.
At the very least, Novelty.
Some small relief from the incessant Boredom.
I know every contour, and protuberance,
every nuance and stain on the drywall,
every lump in the mattress,
a connoisseur of the Pillow, and of the Art of Nest Building,
of Carcass Propping,
and of being very Still.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
the ditch, revisited.
With Willard’s continued Traveling Roadshow of “The Stupid Dance; Variations on a Theme”, I can’t help myself.(1)
I’ve been saying for a long time that I think they’re all crazy, and seem to inhabit an alternate universe…but, Damn!
When Willard was the choice that the Punditry picked, early on in the Primaries, I thought…”This is all they got?”
What does this mean? I wondered….
In a nutshell, the Conservative Revolution has run up against the Wall of it’s own absurdity.
As I’ve said, they got everything they wanted with Lil George…larded on to what Bill had handed them….a Fulfillment of the Reagan Revolution.
When their longed for Dream turned out to be made of Cow Shit, they scattered, and doubled down,…many pretended to have been “Libertarians”, all along…lol. The Smell was hard to shake.(image of dog that’s just been Skunked,lol)
Incoherent, Laughably Inept, Utopian, in the worst sense of the word.
Since at least 08, the Right’s Great Wurlitzer has been relying , more and more, on Misdirection, Nonissues, and Outright Lies, to keep their “Base” in Fear and Loathing.
The “Kenyan Usurper”(sic*) has played them masterfully…Presenting them with their own ideas and policy proposals, from years past, and watching them squirm, while pretending not to…contorting into ever more impossible shapes.
<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>
I’ve been studying these folks for a long time….as I said, I went and read a great lot of the “Source Material”….from Edmund Burke, to Buckley, to Goldwater, to Strauss, and on and on.
Starting around the same time I stumbled onto Latoc(’03?), I began Lurking on a few “Conservative” Fora(2) …Immersion, sort of, to see what they were talking about.
There was nothing nefarious about this…I tried hard NOT to be a Troll…I rarely said anything, at all.
I was Jane Goodall, sitting in my Blind, watching them when they were at their most comfortable.
I wanted to know what the draw was…and I approached it with as Open a Mind as I could muster.
What I found was mostly Hatred and Fear, and a whole lot of Ignorance about some very Basic Things.
The Economics side of things is the hardest to refute(a near-future post)…the rest would have been easy, if I had thought for a moment that anyone “over there” was even remotely interested in Apprehending the Truth.
As it stood, when I took off my mask, as it were, at the end of this Foray(maybe ’09?), and asked a few pointed questions…I was excoriated….and, then, Excommunicated.
No Thoughtful Critique is allowed!
(I was not disrespectful, I really wanted to know,lol)
I considered getting a couple more alter-e-mails, and starting over with the new Tea Party Mess…but, frankly, I couldn’t stomach any more. I’d learned enough. (although, I do still wander into that Cave, when something Big happens.)
So, when I say that I’m a Federalist, Libertarian, Social Democrat (lol!)…understand, that I didn’t just pick this out of a hat…it is the result of much Study, and much Thought….and a more than due Consideration for “The Other Side”.
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It is due to this “Field Work”,and much "Book Work", that I can say…almost Categorically…that the Right is Bankrupt. What Good Ideas they entertained in the past, they have abandoned in favor of Unmitigated Nuttyness.
There are a few who have come to the same conclusion(3)…indeed, it is becoming more and more apparent to all but the most Muddled and Fearful, every day.
I expect the Repubs to lose, badly, this year….despite the Billons and the belligerence.(4)
And then I expect the GOP to fracture, perhaps into as many as 4 parties…
Dare I say that the long awaited Pendulum Swing has …finally…begun?
I sure hope so.
Of course, I have many….Issues…with the Dems, as well.
But it’s more fun….and much less Mind-Liquefying…to Lurk on Dem Fora .(5)
At the very least, Reason lives there….and Objective Facts(as best as we can determine)…and as close as we are likely to get, without a Major Overhaul of Education, to a Genuine Regard for Truth, and it’s Pursuit.
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1http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/10-desperate-and-depressed-conservative-reactions-romneys-47-percent-moment?paging=off
* I am a fan of Obama, and I think the Ridiculousness is Delicious!
(2)From the horse’s mouth
http://townhall.com/ on the day I linked this, they had a “poll”,” Is Obama's foreign policy to blame for the attacks and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa?
1. Yes, absolutely
2. Somewhat
3. Unsure “
LOL. “No” is not an approved answer, I guess.
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/*/index
http://frontpagemag.com/
http://www.wnd.com/
(3)”Fair and Balanced”™ is Inoperable and Fubar. Reboot.
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/political-awakening-republican-i-had-viewed-whole-swaths-country-and-world-second?paging=off
http://www.aei.org/article/politics-and-public-opinion/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/
(4)Define;”Base”.
http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/bold-prediction-why-romney-and-ryan-are-going-down?paging=off
(5)I used to get these, but I went all stealth-mode… http://myrightwingdad.blogspot.com/
I’ve never received a Lefty-Analog: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002567124
Allophilia
Yesterday, as part of my First Grader’s “Star of the Week”-Thing, I moseyed down to his class, with Guitar in hand, and attempted to connect with his class.
Tough Crowd!
Blank stares,lol.
My kid was the only one who knew what “Blues” was.
Or Jazz.
Only three others knew what “Rock and Roll” meant.(!)
Everyone knew what “Country Music” was….which shouldn’t have surprised me, I guess.
From the beginning of our Parenthood, we have endeavored to Broaden and Deepen our boys’ Minds.
They are quite used to my long-winded explanations, filled with Nuance, and Complexity.
”Both Sides” of a given Historical Event are explored…North and south, Anglo/Indian, USA/Iraq,lol.
I’ve consistently employed the Socratic Method…encouraging them to Think.
I have also endeavored to Hijack the Music-Playing-Devices, at every opportunity.
This school year, I became systematic.
You Tube!
+100 Watts.
I wake them up with a wide variety of Music.
Today, it was Flamenco(Gypsy Kings, esp. “Trista Pena”)….and Fado (Mariza!)…
Yesterday, it was Louis Armstrong.
I usually have a Theme, of sorts…
Mahalia=> Ella=> Donna Reeves=> Billie Holliday.
Miles=> Coltrane=>Dizzy, etc
One morning, it was Wagner, Das Reingold…(Das Vorspiel!!!)
>>>>>>>>>
I reckon it’s safe to say, that we are the only one’s doing such things, around here.
If the school won’t do it, I will.
There’s more to the World, than Lil’ Wayne, and “New Country”(Barbed Wire Halo,lol.)
In the face of the Narrowness that surrounds us, here…I believe that a degree of Multiculturalism is important. If one actually knows a thing or two about Persian History and Culture, for instance, one is less likely to fall into the Hate Trap that is necessary for the usual War Mongering.
As I’ve said, we Hate what we Fear, and we Fear what we do not Understand.
It is Incumbent on me, as a Parent, to Mitigate such things.
Music is a nice beginning…
And a Cool Way to wake up.
”The world is a fine place; and worth fighting for.”-Hemmingway.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
...Tell us what ya Really think...
Mitt suffers from Hoof and Mouth,lol.
....and some have said that I'm Hyperbolic, in my characterisations of the Mind of the Parasitical Elite.
Faux is, of course, downplaying this..."should have little effect"...and comparing it to Obama's "Bitter People, clinging to their Guns and Bibles", comment.
Apples and oranges.
Obama went on to say that , in spite of their bitterness, he intended to be "Their President, too..."
Mitt's Muttering, on the other hand, is an attitude I heard often on the Golf Courses, when I worked for EZGO.
Welcome to Wogdom, America.lol.
Mitt and his buddies think half of you are Bums.
Interesting campaign strategy.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Class Warfare
(Poverty, and it’s Uses.)
We’ve been corralled into a focus on the wrong things…into believing, to the exclusion of other beliefs, in one metric of human value.
Under this Criteria, I am a worthless waste of air…and so are my Wife and Kids.
So’s my Mother in Law, and my Late Great-Grandmother.
So are 90% of my Neighbors…here, in the Barrio.
(and, more than likely, so are You)
This Criteria has been foisted on us…by Force, sometimes…but also insidiously, by Lies and Misdirection.
And Fear.
Always Fear.
”Net Worth”.
”Wealth”.
”Job Creators”.
The “Poor” are always implied to be somebody else…(somebody other than the “Real Americans” that are being addressed…)
And then eviscerated, as the “Other”…the one’s who are at fault.
The ones who are Taking..
Never giving…
The ones who are Poor, due to their Laziness…their Lack of Work Ethic…On Purpose.
“Welfare” , as the Family Business.
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Most “welfare recipients” are White Folks. (5)
This is never acknowledged…the Myth persists. (and if one includes so called, “Corporate Welfare”…most “welfare recipients’ are not even Human.)(15)
It amazes me, that with so many Nouveau Poor, these Assumptions are still thrown around, without challenge. The Right tapped into the Fear of Becoming Poor….as well as poorly concealed Racism…and, especially, the Shame that We are encouraged to feel, if We ….for whatever reason…Fail to meet the Criteria that determines Our Worth, as Human Beings/”Consumers”. Emphasis on “FAIL”.
The “Left”(lol) has been only marginally better…since what we call “Left” includes “Blue Dogs” and “Conservadems”…Remember, the “Liberal” Clinton “Ended Welfare as we know it”.
By an objective analysis, “Workfare”…”Welfare to Work”, has been an abject failure, at least since the Great Recession began….and , I assert that it was a failure from the get-go…relying on another, unexamined, part of the Mythology…that a “job is a job is a job”;that all jobs are equal.
I am enraged every time the Mythos of Welfare Queens is used…every time some pundit makes the assumption that being Poor is a Choice…that Folks set out to be Poor…and that it’s so fucking Easy to Do, that “Welfare” is preferable to Working.
That Poor Women Purposefully Get Pregnant, in order to rake in more Taxpayer Dollars…
That People on “Welfare” are…somehow…living the life of Riley….undeservedly.
This Mythos is completely, totally, made of Bullshit. There is not a shred of Evidence to prove it.
There is, on the other hand, plenty of Verifiable Evidence to Prove that it is False…but this is ignored.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In my Reluctant Journey into “Welfare”….I have found the various Federal and State and Local Programs to be Draconian, Byzantine, Convoluted and Stupid.
Most glaring…at least to me…is the Presumption of Bad Faith. It is assumed, from the Outset, that someone applying for any form of Government Help is attempting to Cheat….that they are more than likely Lying, in order to avoid having to work. The Burden of Proof is on the Applicant to Prove the Negative.
When my Doctor told me that I needed a Hip, and should apply for “Disability”,his assumption was that it would be Easy as Cake…and that soon, I would be able to access the medical care I needed. It will be Seven Years, this June(I think…my Timelessness has put me at a rather large disadvantage in this endeavor)…Seven Years of trying to get past the Funding Issue for my needed surgery.(now, it’s many surgeries.I Disintegrate)). At every Step along this still unfinished Journey, I have been made to feel Less of a Man, Less of an American and Less of a Human Being. This is written into the Rules and Regulations. It’s part and parcel of the Script, the Checklist, used by Government Functionaries.(If/Then Decision Scripts). It is Baked In to the Criteria used to determine Worthiness.
Luckily, the Boys were able to qualify for Medicaid, from the beginning…for Kids, even in Texas, the Bar is set much lower….but I expect this to become harder, the further we swing to the Right.
The one 3 month period, before my second son was born…and before I “Retired”…when my job put me just a little over the income cutoff, for Medicaid for my Boy…I attempted to procure Health Insurance…signed up with Unicare…paid them a bunch of money…and found, after a visit to the doctor for an ear infection, that nothing was covered…because allergies, and problems that flow from allergies, constitute “Preexisting Conditions”….ergo, None of the Common Childhood Ailments were to be covered…
Why, I reasoned, should I pay so much, for so little. I told Unicare to kiss my ass. It was cheaper to pay cash. “Free Market”, without the possibility of an “Informed Consumer”(go read your insurance policy, or your Medicaid/Medicare/Chip fine print.)
When the Crazy Bosslady Crashed her own business…back on Medicaid he went.
Even this remnant of “Welfare” has been anything but “Easy”. Texas assumes Fraud…so one has to “Reapply” every 3 months, or so…and you can’t predict what they will require, this time…the “Documentation Requirements” change, seemingly at the whim of whomever you happen to get on the phone, that day.
This Feature is widespread, it turns out; and has to do with those Decision Scripts.. Like with other Government Entanglements, if ya get an “unfavorable” answer, often, you can call back, and get a completely different one…but the whole thing leans hard towards Denial….
TANF…what used to be AFDC…is next to impossible…no matter your situation. These are Cash Payments…supposedly to lift the Super Poor up to some semblance if Civilised Living. Clinton’s Welfare “Reforms” ended whatever effectiveness this particular program had. I have reviewed the requirements, and decided against it…it’s just not worth the enormous Hassle. Foodstamps are bad enough….
With Foodstamps(Snap, it’s a debit card…and almost Fraudproof), the Assumption of Fraud…of Bad Faith…is omnipresent. We finally convinced the Bean Counters that we weren’t Lying…that, despite my Wife having a Full Time Job, and 2 Part Time Jobs…and Numerous One Off “Jobs”(like keeping “books” at basketball games, all of which is included in the one School Paycheck…so it counts as One Job)…that, despite all of this, we remain Poor. I look at the Federal Poverty Level, for a family of four, and think…Wow! We’d feel Rich if we could only pull down such Bank!
In Texas, one is told to , simply, call “211”…which is anything but Simple…it is, instead, a Black Pit of Labyrinthine Incompetence…
Barring that, on every such website, there is the Blithe encouragement to “ Pop In to your Local Welfare Office”…I understand that I live in the Wilderness, but still…my “Local Office” is, depending, between 50 and 100 miles away(this changes all the time). One cannot call such places and hope to talk to a Human, save with Superhuman Persistence.
Suffice it to say that I know what I’m talking about…If it were so damned Easy to game the system…to live large on the Dole…I would have been a shoe-in. I qualify for everything except “Adult Medicaid”….(due to Texas Republican’s Hatred of Poor People!). The Truth is, that even if one Obviously Qualifies for all of these Programs, the Bar is too high.
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The Self Censorship that Po’ Folks perform on themselves is a remarkable achievement. The Guilt at not being able, for whatever reason, to Thrive in a screwed up Economy is large…it is the reason that Poor People don’t get together. With the continuance of this Prohibition of the Voice of the Poor, nothing will change…which is just fine with those who benefit from the inconsistencies and gross inequalities inherent in our system. The Poor stay in the Closet, ashamed of their “Failure”; while the “masters of the universe” rob them blind.
I put my sordid tale Out There…but I have no idea how others fare…with very few exceptions.
Over the years, I’ve written and called a few hundred elected officials, top to bottom.
One is supposed to communicate with one’s Employees, after all.
I would like to think that others, who are in similar situations, make their Voices heard, as well.
I have no information, on this, either way…but I would bet that few do…..either from Shame, Denial, or Ignorance.
The other day, I listened to NPR, on the radio, on the way to Fredericksburg; Glen Beck, on the way back.
There is an amazing contrast, here…NPR, regarded as “liberal” by many, is Fact Based, low on Hyperbole, but mainly concerned with other issues, besides Poverty.
Beck(!) is almost completely Fact Free…and he does deal with Poverty, especially, now that it has (sort of) become a campaign issue….but Beck doesn’t have a Clue. The same old tired clichés….Lazy Poor, Poor as Terrorist Moochers…as, it is inferred, mostly Black or Brown…”Get a Job”…
Us in the “Reality Based Community” are at a disadvantage…because, in the service of Honesty…of Reality…we must Refute Every Damned Sentence. Beck hammers away at the Innuendo and at the insistence that it is Shameful to be Poor….and, of course, it’s yer own Fault.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I’m sick of all of this.
It’s Not Real.
For one thing…none of what I’m talking about is “Welfare”, at all….it’s Insurance…run by Government.
Food Stamps…the various Healthcare Programs…Unemployment Insurance…even AFDC?TANF….We, the People, Paid for that. All of Us.(Except for whatever incomes are above some arbitrary “Cap”(I think it’s still $100K)…effectively exempting the Super Rich from paying for much of any of this)
The Only “Bad Faith” that I have encountered is on the other side of the issue…the System, itself, and those who have purposefully made it dysfunctional and cruel….then go on TV and, on the one hand, pat themselves on the head for their Compassion;, on the other, belittle and besmirch and Slander the very Folks they want us to believe they are Compassionate about.
I cannot count the number of Congressional Aides, Bureaucrats, and Functionaries I have encountered, who are so obviously adherents of the Tea Party…Working For the very Government that they Hate with such Passion. I can hear the frothing, right through the phone.
I have been told, right into my ear, as it were, that I am little more than a Parasite….and that I should suck it up…that if I am really, truly, in such need, that the System will Catch Me. Fear Not.
Like Drowning Witches.
What does Winning look like?
You’re only Genuine if yer Dead?
What about Human Dignity?
What about having a care for one’s Fellow Man?
What of the Least of These?
Is Denial of Poverty, especially if you are actually Poor, such a palliative?
Does believing in the Narrative have so much of a positive effect on the Self-Esteem, that it alleviates one bit of Suffering?
I have always been poor…But I didn’t feel poor, until I lost the wherewithal to Work.
It was only then, that I found that the Narrative was Wrong. Worse, that it was a Deliberate Lie to Divide Us.
A few of my (I guess) well meaning Conservative acquaintances insist that it’s no great feat to get “On Welfare”…and answer my objections…based on the Facts of my own Experiences…with assertions that I must simply try again…or that,”Well, if you lived HERE, you would have no problem, at all”…’here’, meaning “where I live…among hordes of freeloading porch monkeys”…(but we ain’t racist!)
Ha!
Poor Folks will have to emerge from this Closet, at some point, if We are to reasonably hope for a Better World. We’ll have to rise, and challenge the Lies…the Sacred Myths of the Republicans.
We must stand up for ourselves, in any way We can…because the onslaught will not cease, unless We do.
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In addition to the widespread, systemic Presumption of Guilt…the Poor are Condescended to. From Headstart, to SNAP, to the myriad Healthcare Schemes.
Is there anyone in America who is unaware that Veggies and Fruit are Good For You? That you should endeavor to feed your kids healthy things, and limit Junk Food?
The Presumption of Stupidity, if not Nazi-Morality, is most evident at Headstart…(which is, overall, a good program) Do the majority of Poor People really need to be told that Beating their kids is a Bad Thing? That Raping them is wrong?
Who comes up with this stuff?! Who decided that most Poor People are violent sexual predators? And that stern admonitions against such things should be read aloud, from a worksheet, weekly?
On the one hand, “people” who see no problem with incest or injury towards their own children, are unlikely to change their behaviour at the suggestion of some bored government worker….on the other, I found it offensive …the Presumption that This is what Poor People Do. (!!!) (Don’t give your toddler Heroin…seriously)
Surely a better way to combat such abuse could be found, rather than Assuming that anyone attempting to get help is inhuman.
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“Economics, education, health outcomes, fashion, capitalism and music are inherently designed to favor people who have more money/wealth over those who do not have money or wealth.”(16)
Pointing out this quite Obvious feature of Civilisation is considered an unwarranted instigation of “Class Warfare”. Part of the Mindfuck I’m always ranting about is the insistence that in the USA, we enjoy a “Classless Society”. We are expected to Ignore any evidence to the contrary…which is Legion.
Whenever some Poor Person, or an advocate of Poor Folks, attempts to point out Systemic Maladjustments, Gross Inequalities of Opportunity, or the Overall Unfairness built in to our economic system, out come the Defenders of the Faith…”You’re engaging in Class Warfare!”…
Lost in the fray is the Fact…quoted, above…that the System is geared to benefit those that built it.
Myth Maintenance, accomplished by;1. Encouraging Shame, and Silence in the Poor(Closeting/Self-Censorship) 2. Denial that there is a Problem, at all…3.Othering, almost entirely Mythologically(most of the Poor are White).
And,4. “Blaming the Victim”.(17)
This last is reliant on a peculiar phenomenon known as the “Just World Hypothesis”(18)…which Assumes that one has Earned whatever misfortune that one is suffering under….that the Poor, in this instance, are Lazy, and without Morality and a Work Ethic…and, therefore, Deserve their Poverty.
I suspect that there’s a little Schadenfreude at work here, too.
I find it interesting that, according to the research…on the one hand, African Americans are the least likely Demographic to subscribe to a Just World Hypothesis…and, on the other, that those who lean Right(Authoritarian/Hierarchical Personality) are more likely.
It’s also quite interesting that these Right Leaning Folks are more likely to be subject to another Cognitive Bias; the “Semmelveis Reflex”…or, the “Backfire Effect”(19 & 20)…wherein new evidence that contradicts a deeply held Belief, has the actual effect, reflexively, of Strengthening that Belief. (!!!)
In other words, if you Believe that the Poor are Lazy, and, therefore, Deserve their Poverty…then evidence to the contrary…rather than pushing you to Amend such Beliefs…instead, leads to a Strengthening of the now Disproven Beliefs.
It’s Lose/Lose, for Liberals, and others in the “Reality Based Community”.
Facts no longer matter.
Hence, Ontological Crisis.
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(I can only speak to my own experiences, of course.
We have only the Appearance of a “Safety Net”.
At least in Texas…perhaps it’s different, somewhere else.
Perhaps in the more Civilised regions, there is a Functioning and Compassionate Government Insurance System…. I don’t know.
It is likely, as with so many things, something of a Continuum…further confusing the issue.
Here, the “thinkers” on the Right refer to it as the “Texas Model”….and want to export it…Universalise it…to the rest of the country. This indicates that it Is at least a little better elsewhere.)
“It’s not Class Warfare…it’s Patriotism!”-Corey Ellis
“It’s not Risky to be Wealthy…it’s Risky to be Poor!”-Melissa Harris Perry
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
1http://jacobinmag.com/2012/08/obama-channels-reagan-on-welfare/
2http://www.alternet.org/labor/how-reforming-welfare-and-gutting-programs-poor-became-bipartisan-platform?paging=off
3http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=936
4http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/23/politics/weflare-queen/index.html
5http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3677
“Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 64 percent of the population in 2010 and received 69 percent of the entitlement benefits. In contrast, Hispanics made up 16 percent of the population but received 12 percent of the benefits, less than their proportionate share — likely because they are a younger population and also because immigrants, including many legal immigrants, are ineligible for various benefits. Non-Hispanic African Americans account for 12 percent of the population and received 14 percent of the benefits.[6]”
6http://www.cbpp.org/research/index.cfm?fa=topic&id=37
7(http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/teaching-people-hate-their-own-govt-core-project-destroy-middle-class?paging=off)
8(http://thefifteensteps.com/)
it’s all imaginary, anyway:
9(http://www.alternet.org/economy/major-economic-ideas-we-live-are-shockingly-flimsy?paging=off)
so why not try an
alternative:
10(http://www.alternet.org/5-countries-where-you-dont-have-work-yourself-death-make-ends-meet?paging=off)
11http://www.sustainablehistory.com/
12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_dignity
13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_life
(14)for the Adventurous: http://jacobinmag.com/2012/08/how-the-left-has-won/
Too bad we are, generally, so unaware of Marx.lol.
And….We seem to have plenty of money…in the other account: 15http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/18/968223/-ExxonMobil-Billions-in-Subsidies-Profits-and-Not-one-Dime-in-Taxes-Paid
16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_discrimination
17 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_blaming
18 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis
19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semmelweis_reflex
20 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backfire_effect
Sometimes, the Links work...sometimes, they do not.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
El Crudo
foreign policy
The Rest of the World has been on a back burner, for me, for 4 years.
This, with 1 ongoing war(police action? Conflict?AUMF?)....and another only recently over….and the (we are told) Fires of Revolution, lighting the sky over North Africa and the Middle East.
I’m aware of things, but my Scrutiny has been directed elsewhere.
My Scorn, too.
With the Move, and the Adjustments that followed, as well as my continued Adventures with Beaurocracy(1)
…Tangled in the Safety Net….
I’ve been distracted.
But Mitt, apparently, Stepped in it…(I have not begun to Dig,only Alternet)…the Libya-thing…
And North Africa and the Rest of The World aren’t Going Away…
…and now Mitt thinks Neoconservatives have Good Ideas.(2)
I’ve said all I have to say about Health Care…until there’s a new development.
Mount Up.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
After 911, I wandered a bit, and hit on Peak Oil. I had colored pins in the map, and it only made sense if PO was included in the Model.
It was in this way, that I stumbled into LATOC. Noncrazy, for the most part, and even the trolls were fun.
It was in the last half of the Bush Darkness, so Foreign Policy was an important topic. Most expected more Attacks, and more Warmaking…and We tied all this together with Domestic Policy, and Economics.
Hard to separate, really, once one has that cast of mind….but what was the driving force of these, apparently, extreme and nonsensical actions?
My Research Frenzy into the Mind of the Right began with Neoconservatives. Scoop Jackson,Wolfie, Perle,both Kristols,Podheretz(sp?), and Bloom.
….and the Odious and Unnecessarily Dense, Leo Strauss.
Many of those guys were former Trotsky-ites, believe it or don’t…
But Strauss was a piece of work.
He held that Plato, et al. wrote in a sort of code…so that in everything they wrote, there were two messages; one for the Masses(the Exoteric)…and one(the Truth) for the Little Cabinet of Philosopher Kings.(Esoteric)…He was concerned with “How” to read certain Philosophers.
From this Esoteric reading is derived Aggressive Empire Building and Complete distrust in the ability of the Masses to have a say in matters of State. Anti-Enlightenment, anti-small l liberal democracy.
It should come as no surprise that Strauss was a big fan of Machiavelli. Domestic “Policy” to these folks is whatever keeps the Masses either Fat and Sated, or Busy and Harassed…and Patriotic, of course.
This little maneuver gives Strauss and his Coterie a lot of Leeway in Justifying their Positions, or Actions.
If one refutes, however mildly, then one must not be in the Club…and therefore simply cannot understand such lofty matters.
I read Strauss’ “Natural Right and History” twice, and his “On Tyranny” only once. It’s somewhat exhausting to read this guy, since he attempts to disguise what he’s really saying, within what he’s actually saying.
Or something.( I read Drury later.)
The point is that the FP that comes from this muddle(Strauss and his Followers, and the Broader “Neoconservative Movement”(PNAC))….
=Empire.
A New Rome.
Astride the World, with it’s Benevolent Violence.
Starry Eyed Zealots, all…with an annoying habit of looking down their noses at anyone who disagrees.(Eso/Exo). The Hoi Polloi should go about their business(Go Shopping), and leave the Maintenance and Growth of the Empire to the Philosophers.
These are the folks who brought us, in response to 911, Prosecution by Military Force….two of the Wars they had been pining so ardently for.(they had a whole list). Pseudo Monarchists, they brought us the “Decider”, the Executive, Unbound! They had a Plan!
They read Thucydides, and really got worked up over Athens’ assault on Syracuse. What Heroism~! . But they seem to have stopped reading(vapors), at that point. The whole Collapse of Empire-Thing, that came after, was overlooked.
Hubris, without consideration of Nemesis.(see: Chalmers Johnson)
This is the same Bunch, who allied themselves with the Christ Militant Wing of the Religious Right…the Hagee’s, the Boykins, the ones who figure a Nuclear War with Iran(Gog) would be a Good Thing, because then Jesus would come.
The same lot, who worked so hard to replace the Specter of Fifth Column Communists, hiding under suburban beds, with bomb-throwing Muslims, bent on imposing Sharia Law in Amerca.
These “Philosophers”, nearly all of whom received multiple “Deferments” when they had the chance to go to War…these folks sit in the Tea Room of the Manor House, and pontificate that what the American People really need, is the chance to be Heroic…which is only available if we’re engaged in a Global and Endless War….an Existential Struggle,” That will not end in our lifetimes”… a Brilliant Crusade against the Dark Forces of Chaos.(4)
These are men Terrified of the World…Belligerent in their Pronouncements, to mask their flabby Spinelessness.(“my dad can kick your dad’s ass”)
From the Neocons’ own assertions, we find the idea that We can , basically, take over the Third World, and be greeted with Flower Throwing, Grateful Wogs…who will love us for our efforts to Liberate their Resources.(3) The excuse, of course, was the GWOT. 911 was a fish, leaping into their boat.
Bomb the Hell out of sandy countries, in order to kill a few bad guys. That was the Exoteric Reasoning.
(The Big Lie.)
Taking a sledgehammer to flies.(try it in your own house)
It’s a marvel that the world survived.(5)
Mitt wants more.
This is likely why the Romney Campaign has avoided much mention of FP.
Ignis est perfectior orbis terrarum.(sigh)(6)
Vote Obama.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>??????????????????????
(1).. ( I propose a New Word, to replace this one…perhaps,”Hive”, or something…)
(2)http://www.alternet.org/story/155212/mitt_romney%27s_dangerous_foreign_policy_team%3A_nostalgic_for_bush%2C_hellbent_on_war_with_iran?paging=off
(3)…Which is a sort of confirmation of PO, btw.It at least points that way. Colored Pins, on the map of the world.
(4)http://www.mittromney.com/sites/default/files/shared/AnAmericanCentury-WhitePaper_0.pdf
(5) It is disingenuous to pretend that Obama has withdrawn the Legions. http://www.alternet.org/world/inevitable-consequences-sending-special-forces-missions-120-different-countries-endless?paging=off
(6) I wish my Latin was better,lol.
The Preferred World, is a World on Fire.
Dangerous Lunatics.
Go back to your rocks.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Weather and Pain(again) Calling All Grad Students
I noticed a connection between Weather Phenomena(Cold Fronts) and Bone/Joint Pain, soon after my wreck…more than 20 years ago.
I was still bedridden…perhaps a month after the wreck, and all of a sudden had a noticeable Increase in the Pain. Approximately 12 hours later, a big Cold Front, with associated storms, blew through.
I remembered my Grandma’s “Weather Toe”, and other anecdotal examples of this phenomena, and forgot about it…until the next Front came. For many years, I thought of this only as it was happening…and attributed it to Pressure Changes…(turns out, that, and Humidity, have been where most of the relevant research into the matter have been focused…with little success).
When I moved out here, the wide open, Big Sky…as opposed to dense Pine Forest…as well as my first real access to the Internet, sparked an intense study of Meteorology. I had Radar and Satellite, at my fingertips…and could go out in the yard, and directly observe what was on my screen.
I became somewhat adept at weather forecasting…I could look at a cloud formation on the horizon, and know how far away it was(confirmed by radar) and what sort of Weather it entailed.
Since we lived in a trailer house, predicting Tornado Weather, lent added importance to all of this.
One of my observations is that our “mountain” seemed to deflect approaching storm fronts….if the squall line was roughly perpendicular(n=>s) to the general Lay of Mason Mountain(e=>w), the squall line would break in two…sparing us the heaviest weather. Tornadoes, and potential tornadoes(wall clouds, etc) would go around us. I watched this happen, in real time from the yard…and with minor delays, onscreen(radar).
That little bit of elevation(300-500 feet above the surrounding plateau) seemed to be enough to Break the Wave of the Squall Line….perhaps due, in part, to the ever so slightly increased pressure above the ‘mountain’…
I acquired a $50 walmart weather station…with a Barometer…and my Dad gave me a “Weather Glass”…coupled with the “surface analysis” maps, at NWS.gov, it was the best I could do, as far as measuring local Barometric Pressure…the accuracy of the digital barometer is unknown.
What I noticed, over the years, was the perception that I could Feel Fronts and Hurricanes, at great distances…
I tried to correct for bias…I purposefully avoided the weather page, until I Felt “something” approaching.
2005 was the best year , yet, for the idea of Action at a Distance…Katrina, Rita and Wilma(with the lowest Pressure ever recorded) were Felt, acutely, by me…There I was, going about my business, blissfully(if purposefully) unaware of the approach of hurricanes…until I suddenly Hurt Like Hell. To the computer, I went…and there they were. I felt Katrina, then Rita, as they crossed Florida, into the Gulf…a distance of 2000+ miles. My Glass and Digital Barometers showed no change in local Pressure. NWS, similarly, showed nothing(like isobars) that could account for this…what the hell was the Mechanism?!
When Wilma, a little while later, was close to the western end of Cuba…and was at it’s Lowest Pressure…I felt it…big time. It was all I could do to wait for the relevant pages to load, to see if the sudden, intense Pain, had any potential cause.
Again…no obvious Mechanism, between the storm, and my Skeleton.
I am, at best, an Amateur Scientist. I never acquired the Higher Math(Calculus) to be the Real Thing… So forgive me, please, if what I’m about to propose sounds silly, or even outside Conventional Science…and remember that Science is all about pushing Boundaries, and getting well outside the box…
There is some other Mechanism at work, here. It ain’t just air pressure. I regularly happen to glance at the Digibarometer, and Catch it moving, up or down, with no corresponding Skeletal Effect.
Could it be Perturbations in the Gravity Field of the Earth? I understand that Gravitational Waves are usually though of on Very Large Scales…still…I think it bears looking into. Too, although I don’t understand the Math, my Gut tells me(rather , my Bones,lol) that Tesla, Longitudinal Waves and something called “Scalar Fields”, may be at work. I know, I know…HAARP, and Conspiracy Theory! I’ve thought of that, too.lol…
It is my Instinct that compels me to put this out there…something is happening , here…I’ve attempted to be as rigorously Objective as possible…and I don’t think it’s “all in my head”. I suspect that what is lacking is instrumentation…something between my skel;eton, and the barometers, and LIGO. Surely there is a way to measure whatever this is…I think that in order to come up with Instrumentation, some thinking needs to be done, regarding a conceptual framework…what could the Mechanism for this Phenomena be?
I have neither the resources, or the skill set to pursue this any further…it is my hope that some Grad Student, with a penchant for the Fanciful, and a likely interest in Weather, and Theoretical Physics, will at least consider this.
Could be a stepping stone towards a Unified Theory, even.(if it turns out to be something so Grand, name a particle, or something, after me. lol).
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_pains#Possible_Mechanisms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitomagnetism#Equations
“Consider a toroidal mass with two degrees of rotation (both major axis and minor-axis spin, both turning inside out and revolving). This represents a "special case" in which gravitomagnetic effects generate a chiral corkscrew-like gravitational field around the object. The reaction forces to dragging at the inner and outer equators would normally be expected to be equal and opposite in magnitude and direction respectively in the simpler case involving only minor-axis spin. When both rotations are applied simultaneously, these two sets of reaction forces can be said to occur at different depths in a radial Coriolis field that extends across the rotating torus, making it more difficult to establish that cancellation is complete.[citation neede”
(could be a description of a Mesocyclone)(….and, remember Phi…and the similar structures of galaxies, storms and convection currents in hot grease, with cornmeal floating(I worked in a Catfish Place,lol)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitudinal_wave#Non-electromagnetic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wavy.gif
2-dimensional representation of a 3(or 4-) dimensional thingy(a scientific term).
looks like a thunderstorm, to me.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/19mar_grits/
http://pesn.com/2011/03/26/9501797_Teslas_Scalar_Waves_Replicated_by_Steve_Jackson/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_wave#Quantitative_description
I understand the difference between ‘gravity wave’ and ‘gravitational wave’…this is for analogy…the Capillary Wave-Idea, applied to the latterr…perhaps there’s a Blind Spot in our measurement, and/or Conception.
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/sfc/lrgnamsfcwbg.gif
the frontal boundary dipping into Texas, was 100 miles north of I-20, (about 300 miles North of me) at 2am, when I was roused by the usual crushing, general Pain…and the stabbing in my joints…that seems to distinguish Weather Pain, from other sorts…like work-induced(say, digging a ditch), or the ‘normal’ background pain. My Digital Barometer has a record of the last 24 hours of pressure….and shows no change, at all. Similarly, the above map shows nothing to account for what I feel.
Note the Differential, between the High(1030)in Nebraska, and the Low(1008) due South of Big Bend…draw a line between them, and I am a little to the right…about where the red number:1012 is. The greater the differential, the greater the pain…and it seems to be more acute if I’m sort of between the extremes.
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