DECADENCE

“A civilization, when the moment has come for crowds to acquire a high hand over it, is at the mercy of too many chances to endure for long. Could anything postpone for a while the hour of its ruin, it would be precisely the extreme instability of the opinions of crowds and their growing indifference and lack of respect for all general beliefs.”
― Gustave Le Bon, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind
“Nothing really matters much, it's Doom alone that counts...”-Bob Dylan,'Shelter from the Storm'
Decadence is not the same as “Wake and Bake”.
It's not synonymous with Homosexuality, or even Promiscuity.
I define it, after Toynbee and Barzun, as Cultural Exhaustion, with a concurrent inability to Discern the Real....the Important.
Exhaustion with keeping up, with being Informed...a weariness with trying to Better oneself and one's Community...
Indeed, an inability to connect, at all, with anything resembling Community.(as previously defined)
The Alienation I've rambled about is in play, here, as well.
What “Community” we have is Forced, or Artificial.
In Virtua Mundi, Facebook stands in for the Coffee Shop.

Atoms.
Fragments.
Soundbites.
In four years, I have conversed across my back fence with the neighbor behind me exactly Once.
And while I am for the most part Anomalous and Not Representative, in this case, I don't think that this is all that unusual.(he, quite ineptly, attempted to feel me out; to determine if I was Sufficiently Teamerican.)
Ah!
To be Cassandra in these times, when all of the warnings we have shouted are now evident, at every turn...yet still Disbelieved.
Attention Spans, withered to Nil...to a 60 second Spot.
...and when you do find someone who will stoop to discuss the Very Important Things...they are, to a man, so ill informed, and so Certain in their Befuddlement, that no ground can be gained...no consensus reached.
Here is the Wasteland...here, the Dark Age...
...and there ain't a damned thing to be done about it.
There are many Minds on the Internet...but how Kafkaesque...how Absurdly Coincidental...that they are all equally Far from Here!
This, the effect of a dozen years of Terror and Tea, of Right Wing Populism, masquerading as Objective Reality.
All that's lacking is the Tricorn.
Everyone merely goes through the motions...with little bursts of activity around the Scandal Du Jour...who fucked who...who got caught masturbating...who blamed the school for their own parental ineptitude...all so very commonplace.
Banal.
...and the Confusion!
No one seems to know just what they believe...bemoan the school being short of money, and vote for Rickfuckingperry, anyway...failing to see the connection.
Moan some more about how you can't afford to get sick, and then moan some more about Obamacare, and “Death Panels”....
Terrified of Muslims...while never having seen one.(I doubt that there's ever been anyone of the Muslim Faith, even passing through this little town...Ha!)
The only commonality, that I can detect, is two-fold:1. A propensity to get fucked up...and 2: an equal propensity to condemn those who get fucked up.(and I include , here, all forms of “getting fucked up”, including Religion.)
Quite the rickety structure on which to hang Civilisation.
Schizoid. Willfully Ignorant.
A vacant gleam.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
“But it is not only in the “little religions” or in the political mystiques (Marx, et alia-Ed.) that we find degenerated or camouflaged religious behaviour. It is no less to be seen in movements that openly avow themselves to be secular or even antireligious. Examples are nudism or the movement for complete sexual freedom, ideologies in which we can discern traces of the “nostalgia for Eden,” the desire to re-establish the paradisal state before the Fall, when sin did not yet exist and there was no conflict between the pleasures of the flesh and conscience.”-Mircea Eliade,-' The Sacred and the Profane.'
Monotheism, especially of the Protestant Christian Varieties( and of those, the worst are the Fundamentalist sorts)...have done great damage to the World...and especially to the Natural World.
Indeed, it is because of that Mindset, that I must make such a distinction: Human World and Natural World.
No Longing for Eden, there!
Instead, a Longing for King Death.
These Habits of Mind, as Eliade says, are present even in the avowed Non-Religious, Secular parts of our collective life.
These Habits prevent a sufficient number of Humans from seeing, let alone Understanding our Dire Predicament.
So we Fuck, and get Fucked and get Fucked Up...and run around in circles, “making a living”, “living our lives'...and, at the end of the day, it's all so meaningless....
So we talk about the neighbors...look down our noses...all to make us feel a little more Worthy, by comparison.
...and that is the Rub, right there: Worth.
Are We, as a Species, Worthy of Survival?
“Then to this earthen bowl did I adjourn
My lip the secret well of life to learn:
And lip to lip it murmur'd-”While you live,
Drink!-for once dead you never shall return.”
-From the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
What a Way to Go …..

Orrery

Of Cycles, Epicycles,and Contracycles.

                                           (**)

Wheels turn.
Pendulums swing.
Ripples expand.
Everything's in constant motion, forever interacting and canceling out, and adding to...
This is evident in the Physical World, from small to large...from Particles, orbiting, colliding, merging...to Planets, Galaxies...Clusters and Super-Clusters...
History, as a Lived Experience, has it's Cycles, too.
With our mere Century, at the outside, of Time in the World...it can be exceedingly difficult to grasp the broader movements of events, in which we, ourselves move, and interact.
It's even more difficult, when we keep our heads down, hard at work at the task at hand, for most of our ephemeral existence.
Humans tend to live out their lives in a subjectively eternal NOW...with just a little thought given to our own, personal history...and with even less tangible thought given to the unknowable Future.
Many of our secular would-be Prophets(economists) expend considerable effort to predict what comes next...and many Historians, or their future oriented analogs(Futurists)...build models, follow Trendlines, and otherwise attempt to divine the shape of things to come.
Science Fiction writers have had much success in this endeavor...predicting most accurately when they are writing about how things can go horribly wrong...creating Dystopian Worlds to serve as a Warning:Don't Go There!
...too often ignored, it turns out.
Let us step way back, to a shack on the Moon (in the Mare Crisium)...and sit on the Porch, and think about where we are,and where we've come from, and where we're going...

There appear to be Cycles within Cycles, as in any complex System...whether Natural or Created.
It seems to me that we are at the convergence...or very near it...of several Cycles...economic, geological,climatological,ecological,historical, and social.
For all the hollering against the very existence of these Cycles...and all the disinformation and lies, the willful Ignorance, and practiced Blindness....the insistence on a Static Universe, where it's the End of History, and we have entered the Secular Heaven of Democratic Capitalism, world without end....
For all that, and in spite of it, there are Great Changes afoot.
I'll take them in order.

Neoliberalism is a euphemism used to denote...or rather, point to...a complex extension of what used to be called Oligarchy. It is neither New, nor Liberal.
It grew out of the ideas surrounding Capitalism, but went several miles beyond.
It is a method of Harvesting wealth from the great mass of humans, and hoarding it for the benefit of the few. Aristocracy on Steroids,wearing a toga, waving Cross, and a Flag...forever invoking “The People!”, as it hoovers up the produce of the Endless Growth that it requires to survive.
But the petri dish is Finite..it has walls.
We've already Grown up to those walls, and the Neoliberal Machine turned around, and started eating Us...in the form of Serial Bubble Blowing...Tech, Housing,etc. The International Labor Arbitrage.
Derivatives.
One doesn't engage in such Cannibalism unless there's no other choice.
This Theme, of Petri Dishes and Cannibalism will recur with disturbing regularity.

This Neoliberal Machine needs fuel...like any organism...
The most important Fuel is that derived from Hydrocarbons...Fossilised, long ago, from the remains of Carboniferous Jungles and Swamps, and Algae Blooms...
The “Bank Account” of these substances, globally, is of course Finite....there's only so much of it. The Carboniferous Period only lasted for so long, and then the massive amounts of Carbon in the air, at the beginning of that period, had been used up...incorporated into Plantlife, and sequestered into the rocks the Plants became embedded in.
A quite remarkable species of Ape(that's us, btw), learned, at long last how to use these Hydrocarbons...and use them, we did...to replace the animal and unfortunate Human Slaves. The byproducts, we used to fuel agriculture, and materials science, even medicine.
A focus on the Short Term(due to our short term life span, relative to ...say Trees...Tortises...or the Earth, herself)...led us to have no care for the Finite Quality of these resources. There was so much of this stuff! Just stick a straw in the ground, in the right place, and up it came.

Until it didn't.
...which is where we are , now...going after the dregs, in deep water, in the coldest places on earth, the most inhospitable...pumping enormous amounts of water and other fluids, deep into old oil fields, to scour out the remaining Juice.We go to War in sandy, used up places...in jungles...and in some of the most pristine wildernesses left to us...all to suck up the dwindling remainder of this Carboniferous Substance, this Lifeblood of Civilisation, this accidental endowment, given to us by Ancient Plants.
In the course of this path of wanton Industrialism, we have inadvertently Released much of that bound up Carbon...back into the atmosphere...making that bubble of air that surrounds us more Carboniferous than it's been since the Period of that name.
This has the predictable effect of changing the conditions of this planet, back into what they were, way back then...hot and stagnant.
Many scientists...more and more, every year since the 40's, at least...have warned us, scolded us...but we, instead, listened to the Mouthpieces of the Neoliberal Machine....who told us, “No. We are Infinite. The End of History. Fear not, and Enjoy Our Largesse.”
But the Walls of the Petri Dish loomed before us....and the admonitions and comforting distractions of the Machine grew less and less believable.
Species died out...whole ecosystems died out.
We knew about it, because of a remarkable communications web that had been built by the Machine to distract us.
It did, indeed , distract us...but it also connected us, in new ways, that the Machine, and even ourselves, did not expect.
The Mouthpieces of Machine withered...for now, anyone could be a Reporter, an Observer, a Combat Photographer.
Scientists no longer had to have the blessing of the Machine to disseminate their Findings.
The Hubris of the machine led it to, on the one hand, attempt to Capitalise on this new development...and, on the other, to attempt to Control it...with the time worn tools of Authority; Fear, and Hatred and Ignorance.
Very busy, uneducated people were encouraged to Fear and Hate, and Remain Ignorant...and , what's more, to Enforce such Fear, Hate and Ignorance.
To sell such enforcement as “The American Way”, as Tradition, as Patriotism.
As “What God Wants”.
But cracks appeared in the Edifice.
Daylight crept in.
...and the Political/Philosophical Pendulum, that had been so artificially Stuck for so long, was dislodged.
Instead of Hypercompetition and Struggle...of Dog Eat Dog, Cannibalistic Frenzy...another way is forming...or at least appears to be.(near certainty in such things requires Hindsight)
Things like Altruism, Cooperation, and the proverbial Brotherhood of Man...for so long suppressed and denigrated as Hippy Dippy Communistic Fantasies..as Irrational, and Dangerous, even as Evil, itself....now seem rational to many...even Good, better than the old way.
Machine, at this moment, is busy sticking it's many fingers in the Dike...plumbing the leaky pipes, duct-taping the frayed cables, grinding smooth the cracked wheels and pulleys...
Turns out there may be Hope for Mankind, after all...and another Kinder way of doing things.
The great myriad Problems are still there, of course...the Petri Dish is still Finite...but, contrary to what's been hammered into the hearts and minds of Humanity,( TINA,there is no alternative)... there Is an Alternative(TIAA).
This is the Struggle...the Agon...we find ourselves in, today...can we take the reins of our fate...and find a more humane and sensible method of Powering Down to a more reasonable, and sustainable...and, yes, Kinder, way of living on Earth?
Or are we fated to follow the Machine into Cannibalism,and Death?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Trolls, minions of the Machine...whether they know it, or not...would have us lose Hope, and keep killing and gorging and despising one another.

I choose the Former...in spite of them...
Have the Courage to Hope, all the way to the End.
I Love You All.


(**)from the Dark Crystal.

Two Down

So.
Here we are.
Hip...fixed...although it still hurts.
Nothing like before.
I cannot sit for too long(feels like sitting on a spring in the the chair, but from inside)....still, much improved.
Backwards Poking Eyelashes....fixed.
Took all of 10 minutes,the Doc. Burning them away, at the roots, with a tiny radio-wave gun.Smell of burning hair, and done...a week more of a scab, and I can see.

Went for a follow-up with the hip guy....x-rayed my left knee(the better one, already did my right)...Chondromalacia(= arthritis).
And also my left ankle(=gravel pit,no cartilage, “loose bodies”)...so I get to go to their Ankle Guy, in 2 weeks, and...it is to be hoped...get the ball rolling on Fusing the whole joint; essentially, breaking everything between the bottom of my leg bones, to the middle of my foot, and inducing it to grow all together.
I'm told I'll still be able to wiggle my toes.

In addition, Hip Guy listened to my tale of woe, regarding all of the rest of me(especially Back...but arms,too)...about how I feel when I first wake, like I'm under a pile of rocks...or have been hauling hay, fighting in a bar, or been run over.(ya get the idea)
There's also what appear to be Myoclonic Jerks, and something like “Restless Leg”, in my arms, too.
There's no good reason for all of this,as yet.
Wear and Tear only goes so far.
So my Regular Doc had suggested a Rheumatologist.
None that I have found(around 40 on Medicaid's List) take Medicaid.
So the Hip Guy sends me for Bloodwork...so that maybe the Rheumatologist in his Gaggle of Bone Doctors will see fit to take me.
I am torn and frightened by this.
If the tests come back positive for some ailment that falls under Rheumatologist's purview...it means that I'm screwed...all of that stuff is incurable...and mostly untreatable.
If Negative, it means that it is still Unknown just what's wrong with me.
After much research, over the years, I lean towards Fibromyalgia...my Issues don't really fit all the rest of the possibilities...RA, etc....
But who knows?

While it would be nice, on a certain level, to have a name for what I feel...to have a Diagnosis...Fibro, like all the rest of the strange zoo of rheumatology, is a life sentence for Pain and Suffering.
They'll want me to try Cymbalta and Lyrica, again...prolly give me samples from the Hot Drug Pushers storming their Offices, every day.
I also expect to be led through the whole menagerie of NSAIDS, again...

If it all works, perfectly...if I can be Repaired...I have years of effort ahead of me, to get back muscle mass and endurance, and all the things one loses, when one has been through what I've been through...Seven Years of suffering.

Preacher

When I was in the last half of High School,
Sometimes I'd come home all fucked up.
Dad slept rather soundly, so it was ok.
Late at night, grubbing for some microwaveable vittles...the only thing on TV...worth watching, at least...was this guy:God's Angry Man

Dr. gene Scott.
I wasn't all that interested in Christianity...at least at a spiritual level. ..I was a Scholar of Religion, even then....detached ...Clinical.
Dr. Scott read Greek...on TV.
And Aramaic.
Then he'd break for the Horse Races...
Now, the Bikini Girls...
And droning on and on...and at times, getting real excited about something, or other.
Usually something completely Esoteric.
I loved that Dude.
Now, come to find out , that his Sexy Widow has taken over the store...(she was, apparently, one of the Bikini Girls, before she was his wife...that's how Dr. Scott rolled,lol)
The result....no video of Dr. Scott and his corncob pipe and strange headgear...not to even speak of his Wonderfully Weird take on Xianity...
None of it seems to be available, online.

I was sad to learn this...not because I believe in Dr Scott's 'Message', but because the world needs such Iconoclasty...Such Unwaveringly Strange and Creative Individuals...Bull Headed and Wild.
It appears to me that there is a Shortage of these people.
And Humanity is lessened by that lack.

Block,Uncarved.

I guess this is what writer's block feels like.
I start a hundred things, but can't finish a one.

Part of it is the current Health Sitrep...Hip's Great!
But the rest?
Xrays found nothing discernable w/ back and knee...I ask, “well, why do they hurt?”
Shots in both, 2 weeks+ ago...and, nothing...
And when these Drunken Spring Cold Fronts come?(it's Frikkin May!!)
It's all over.

Curl Up.
Like some desiccated spider.
I go to Medicaid's “provider's” web site...”find a doctor”...Ha!
Every one I dutifully write down(rheumatologist is indicated by Regular Doctor)...every one...from my “insurance's” own freaking web site...doesn't take Medicaid, any more.

At least those within 100 miles(one way).

ug.

At the same time, I am cut off from Vicodin.
I have around 14 left...no refills, and Regular Doc has indicated he's growing ever more leery of prescribing such things, now that the Hip is Titanium.(!?!)
So I Quit.
Cold Turkey.
(no symptoms of Withdrawal, save for the predicted Pain)

Got a big bottle of oxycodone, in reserve, that I didn't take after the Hip Surgery.
For particularly Bad Days.
So, it's weed...and the other, less effective, drugs....the ones with side effects , like heart burn/indigestion.

And I piddle around the Monastery and Environs, in a Haze of Pain.

Drink more often, to the chagrin and even Ire of Wife...

Simultaneously, is the Discouragement...Disillusionment...the utter Futility of Political Endeavors....(Doom is Political, too. Including attempting to prepare for it, a la Local Ag)...

When even “Libs” and “Dems' suffer from the Surreality, from the Mindfuck...Using the same Unreason...the same Tactics of Confusion...as the Reps, and Tea People...the same Hysterical Nonsense, but with “liberal/democratic” Food Coloring...and perhaps some Processed Cheese Product, on top?
What's the Point?!!

Cassandra in the Coal Mine, and in the Walmart, shouting “Doom!” and “Know yer Farmer!!”, as she's led away.

I give away eggs and spinach and lettuce and onions...to my immediate Neighbors...and to Folks who deign to speak to me in public.
Otherwise, it's close the gate...shut the door...and(it was warm, a little while ago) close the windows.
Retreat to the Monastery, once more.

Justice.

So they caught the guy.
After gun fights and bomb-fights on the streets of a major American City...after that City was on “Lock Down”...which amounts, essentially, to undeclared Martial Law....the Other Bomber is found bleeding in somebody's back yard.
Now what?

Some are calling for him to be sent to Guantanamo...saying that he's “too dangerous” to be afforded the Rights of an American Citizen(which he is).
Some are even calling for him to be Tortured...so as to “Extract Information”....
Shockingly, it's not just the usual suspects calling for these patently Unamerican things...
I have seen even staunch Liberals giving in to the emotion and fear...ready to pick up the Rope, or the Stone, in order to extract “Justice”.
But we're America...not East Germany...not Stalin's USSR.
We have a Justice System that was designed specifically to apprehend the Truth.
That system has been eroded, these past 12 years...to our peril.
The Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments are just as Important as the Second.
Fiat Justicias!
Let Justice be done....but in order to do that, the Worst Among Us must be afforded All of the Rights We are Guaranteed.
We either have these Right...or we do not.
No Exceptions.
It appears to me, that the Obama Administration is attempting to walk back the abuses of the Bush Administration...while still trying to provide themselves with Political Cover, from all the Take-Him-Out-and-Shoot-Him-People.
We have a long way to go...
Everyone should Calm Down.
If this guy...obviously already convicted in the Court of Public Opinion...if he has no Rights, then None of Us do.
My broken record, during the recent Gun Debate was...Let us Defend the Rest of the bill of Rights with the same Fervor that we use to Defend the Second.
Here's your Chance, America.

Dialog

"Come, Let us Reason, Together..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glen-browder/obama-legacy_b_2654287.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glen-browder/sooner-rather-than-later-_b_2839940.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glen-browder/america-is-drifting-mindl_b_2881138.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glen-browder/alternative-scenarios-for_b_2875298.html

FTA,PT4:”I also have a challenge for the Ameican people: Recommit to a new civic course accommodating change in our socity and systemic environment. Essentially, we all should participate, as responsible citizens, in that national dialogue; we also need to embrace change but resist radical alteration of the historic democratic experiment.

My suggested course for both the president and the people also means foregoing partisan advantage, as much as is humanly possible, in favor of practical democratic progress. Too often, for example, conservatives tend to cling stubbornly to cherished but outdated remnants of the past; and, alternatively, liberals tend to ignore valuable lessons of history. Such tendencies are acceptable when neither side prevails completely in our limited, representative system of governance. However, if one or the other assumes sufficient dominance and pursues wayward tendencies, within an extremely distempered environment, the outcome could threaten the substantive ideals and representative procedures of our historic experiment.”




This is a Transformative Time, in American, and World History...and including both of those(American and World)...including that Context is Important.
I am confronted Daily, by erstwhile Liberals(who often do not know it), who unwittingly Parrot Conservative Talking Points:”Obama is a Failure”,”He's Worse than Bush”,etc...and who aver that it's all over...and that We should give up on Democracy, and the Republic...since they're “All the Same”.
A sort of Galt's Gulch mentality, often shorn of it's Randian precursor of Selfishness as the Highest Good.

This Exhaustion is the direct result of two things, both part and parcel of the 35 year Project of what I term the Violent Parasitical Elite(VPE):1. The Wholesale Purchase of the Apparatus of American Governance, and 2. the accompanying Mindfuck, directed at the American People....the overwhelming Barrage of Confusion and Helplessness, the Confusion of Tongues and the Corruption of Language,Cognitive Dissonance, and Revisionist History.
All of this in the context of Racial Pandering, and the encouragement to Blame
our Neighbors and Fellow Prisoners for the Actions of our Ruling Class(whom they have convinced us, do not even exist.(“Classless Society” is part of the Mindfuck.))


While we're beating each other about the face over whether or not, variously, Black People, Brown People, Queers, Women, Non-Xians, etc are Citizens...or even People...the VPE have run off with the Country.
We have been sold into slavery, and our chains are made of Mythology and an Inability to Think.





A Comment:
FT Comments:”Thomas Pain

365 Fans

05:10 PM on 03/30/2013

Glen Browder's heart is in the right place, but call for a renewal America inspired by "the sacred fire of liberty," "a new birth of freedom," and a "dream of equality," is far to vague and amiguous to take us anywhere.

What we need is some very specific proposals.

First, I propose putting a sign at the front of every classroom in every school grades 1-12 that says:

______________________________________________________

I WILL TREAT OTHERS THE WAY I WANT THEM TO TREAT ME
______________________________________________________

Yes, the Golden Rule, restated as an affirmation, for this is the essence of the law, and of love, friendshp, civility, civic cooperation, and civilization.

Second, every student in high school must take a course in Political Philosophy, in which he, or she, will read and discuss "The Rights of Man," "The Age of Reason," "The American Crisis," and "Common Sense," by Thomas Paine (with an "e"), the most influential philospher of the American Revolution; the "Meditations" of Marcus Arelius, Emperor of Rome; "The Quotable Founding Fathers" edited by Buckner F. Melton, and "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer.

Fourth, also in every classrom, a poster with these words of Abraham Lincoln from his first annual message to Congress on December 3, 1861:

"Labor is prior to, and independent of, Capital. Capital is only the fruit of Labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to Capital, and deserves much the higher consideration." “

Consider, that in Texas, the new Social Studies Curriculum is...instead of being concerned with History, Context, and Truth....is all about Indoctrinating our Youth into believing many of the VPE's Favorite Mythologies...Christian Nation, “Capitalism” as 1. What we've been doing, and 2. the perfect expression of Liberty....the American Experience as Nothing but the Good and Positive...meaning,”My Country Right or Wrong”, and the Uncritical,”We're Number One!”.
What Mr Browder doesn't mention is all of this, as Context.
He is pointing to the Effects of the Mindfuck, without mentioning the Mindfuck.
It's the Ontological Crisis I've been hollering about all this time.

Another Comment:”

Peter Goguen

3 Fans

01:44 PM on 03/30/2013

Despite the widespread belief that the present government is mired in partisan politics, I would assert that quite the opposite is true. We are embroiled in a national dialogue about fairness and justice, with more voices being heard than ever before, and this is a good thing. The issues over taxation,health care, gay marriage, and voting rights are being fervently discussed and argued at multiple levels of varying detail in every political news cycle of the day. As these arguments proceed they will eventually distill some form of consensus, enlighten the electorate and lead to a better America. Patience is all that is needed - good things are happening in America “

This is what I would like to Believe...and there is an argument to be made that there is Great Transformation happening, under the surface...after all, how would we expect to know...when the VPE have a Tentacle thrown across the Media(Hydraulic Despotism)?
When our Information about the World is Filtered through the wholly owned Corporate Media, is it any wonder that We are confused?

I am, of course, way out beyond mere Party and Politics...Review my Ramblings...Left and Right, Conservative and Liberal...none of this means much , any more...
Better: Dominator/Cooperator, or Authoritarian/Egalitarian.
I side with Democrats, because the LEAN towards Cooperator/Egalitarian...not because they EMBODY them. We let the Perfect be the Enemy of the Acceptable Improvement.

With that in mind, Protest Does, indeed Work...despite what my Naysaying Buddies would have us believe, on our way to Throwing in the Towel.
Racists use Euphamism and Code Words, instead of openly declaring their Racism=Progress.
Even Republicans are set to give up on Gay Marriage...shamed into silence for fear of losing elections=Progress.
Occupy, ere it was Cast into Outer Media Darkness...and Tea, ere it was Bought...agreeing on the Fundamental Problem of Super Rich Folks, and the Corps(e) they Hide Behind, essentially Buying Our Governments.=Progress.
There is reason for a little Hope....

Another Comment,Exemplifying the Confusion of Tongues:”Bart DePalma

Bart DePalma

563 Fans

11:27 AM on 03/30/2013

"Can our nation -- a people of growing cultural diversity, with increasingly divergent values, and dissentient governance inclinations, in a constrained systemic environment -- continue to sustain our collective pursuit of freedom, equality, and justice through the traditional framework of limited, representative government?"

Talk about your compound questions! Let's break this down...

The traditional framework of constitutionally limited, representative government is based on the proposal that the purpose of government is to protect the liberties of the people and accomplishes this purpose by limiting the power of government to infringe on liberty. The only proper law ("collective pursuit") is one that prevents the citizenry from harming one another.

This permits divergent cultures to live with one another peacefully.

The fundamental challenge to the existence of constitutionally limited, representative government is progressivism and socialism - the "dissentient governance inclinations" referred to in the question.

Progressivism and socialism are based upon the proposition of unlimited government power exercised by an unelected bureaucracy of "experts" directing the economy and society. This is the anti-thesis of and cannot coexist with constitutionally limited, representative government.

Under our current progressive and socialist government, the bureaucracy and courts rather than our elected Congress enact the vast majority of law.

Our caesarist President quite openly declines to enforce laws of which he disapproves and rules by executive order or bureaucratic decree where ever he can. How Professor Browder can even conceive of Mr. Obama as a transformative president advancing democracy is a complete mystery to me.”

Here is the Exemplar of the Confusion of Tongues....
To me, it is Obvious...the code Words,”Progressive”, allied with “Socialist”...mixed with the others,”Constitutionally Limited,Representative Government”....
Again, I am confronted Every Day, with such rhetoric...mostly by erstwhile Liberals...who do not Know that they are Liberals(after all, don't they eat babies?)
Who cannot Define Terms, save from Inside the Mindfuck....”Socialism/Progressivism/Liberalism”= Soviet Russia.(or even Nazi Germany!!)...always neglected in such statements is the Effects, even the Reality, of Corporate Domination of every area of Life.
I stand firmly with Mr Browder...We, the People, must Engage in Dialog....except that no one seems to recall what “Dialog” is.
In order to begin a Dialog, “Both Sides”(but especially what is known as “the Right”!) must accept the other as American, Too.
Our Diversity is often the root of our ineffectiveness.
Fear of the Other is fomented....by those who would have us fighting our Neighbor, rather than attacking the actual Enemies of Freedom.
We, the People, must overcome this Distraction...this Manufactured Division...if We are to ever even begin to, as we heard so often from TEA,”Take Our Country Back”..

Again, We have been riding the car, driven by maniacs, bumping along in the Right Hand Ditch...any correctional swerve to the left is regarded as going all the way, into the Left Hand Ditch...the Perfectly Serviceable Road remains Empty.

MAS

I haven't thought ...about Her...in almost a year...
Of course, I lie...
I've thought about Her with every song that evokes a hillside, and dry grass blowing...
Endless summer sunsets...
Or Longing...Existential Longing, in general...

She's somewhere in the World, again...lost to me, again...

Because I screwed it up...again...

I was angry at Her,

For so long.

So I happen across Her,

And I pick a Fight.

I've forgiven Her, because it was me..
I did this...after She was Lost.

I pined..
I saw Her

in every windswept hillside,

Every moonlit beach,

Heard Her voice in my head,

as I argued with myself...

She was alive in countless lonesome 80's songs,
And in my mind...

and somewhere...out there.

I chased Her back there,

again.

I forgave Her, because She didn't do it.

If only She could Forgive me.

An Update on the Walking,etc.3232013

…..Bored out of my damned mind.
That's the biggest thing.
I'm unable to do the simplest thing, to my satisfaction.
Can't stand and bend enough for dishes(I tried).
I can do laundry...but one load did me in...especially attempting to get the clothes OUT of the dryer(90% Rule)...I had to retreat, and retrieve my Grabber.
I find that I'm even less able to clean up after the boys, than before...which isn't saying much. The Floor has been out of reach, for a long time(unless I'd like to stay there).
I moved sprinklers, and birds, this am...didn't finish re-deploying the water...maybe later.
On the Plus Side(yes, there is positive news): With help, for moral support, I can walk about 2 blocks. Further than I've been able, in a couple of years.
Of course, after that, and the Laying Down Exercises, I'm Toast.
Still.
With all these new Books, I've been attempting to clean up and reorganise the Library.
Imagine tying your feet together, loosely...and tying your left hand behind your back...and wearing sunglasses in a darkened room(for the imbalance) full of books and boxes, and furniture. For added accuracy, drive an ice pick under the right patella, and a couple more into the left ankle...lol.
I'm gonna be pissed if this doesn't improve...
...which, of course, leads me into my 2 biggest fears:
1. that Rick Fucking Perry will, somehow, Kill Medicaid, or that I will, somehow, become uneligable.
2. that the long sought after surgeries(One Down!) will not be an improvement. I know it's early days, but permit me my Frustrations....4 weeks after the Hip Surgery, I find myself much improved from last week...but much worse than before the surgery.
This is to be expected, as far as I can tell...but it still causes much Frustration, Anger and Fear.
I cannot sleep. The usual distractions of my own Mind, as well as various snores and the kids phone ringing and the idiot with the Boom...Booom..Booom, at 11:45 every night...
But there's also the Uncomfortable-ness...
I cannot get comfortable...in any of the chairs I'm allowed to sit in, including this one...in the bed...in the car...
I've got another week of Norco(which I prefer, since it has only 325mg of Acetaminophen)...then it's back to Lortab/Vicodin...which I'll need at 3/day...while I only have enough for 20 days. Of course, that was intended to last a whole month, before the surgery.(to go the whole month on what they've given me before,it must be 2/day(=inadequate))
Bone Doctor has handed off Pain Management to my Regular Doc....so I'll need to go see him...and beg for adequate Pain Relief.
The Entire Medical/Governmental Establishment is set against me, in this.
Wouldn't want somebody getting high(and killing their liver, which is the Only reason to habitually combine Hydrocodone, and Acetaminophen. What does that say about our Country?)*

I've got a bottle of Oxycodone...but I don't want to take any. It's not Oxycontin, of Hillbilly Heroin Fame, it's Percocet.
It is the Last Line of Defense, as it were....If I get Tolerant of that, there's nothing else, aside from growing and smoking Opium.lol.
I don't want to go there...so Oxycodone stays in the Armory, for now.
I've been striving for years to keep the titration rate of Lortab at bay...so as not to become tolerant, for this very reason.(quit cold turkey for 5-7 days, twice a year...and drink a lot of beer)
As I've said, most of my “issues” are not well documented, if they're documented, at all.
This is a product of having no insurance, or money, for X-Rays.
So, the Doctors must take my word for it...since the System seems to be Single-Issue.( I want a Full Body Scan, dammit!)

My understanding of where I'm at is that I can look forward to Pain, for the foreseeable future. Maybe, for the rest of my life,
Hip's fine(muscles there still suck, but are improving).
Knee Replacement is next...hopefully in September.(unknown recovery time.prolly similar to that of Hip)
Then it's Ankle...likely Fusion or even Amputation...it's too damaged for a Replacement. Fusion = 3 months in a cast, and a long recovery.
(I'm currently leaning towards hacking it off)
That puts us at more than a year from now(Sept,2014)....and I'll then hafta wait, to see how things are.

Assess the remaining Pain, and Injury.

Back could “fix itself”, I'm told...but don't really believe it.
Same with Wrists, Thumbs, Elbows, Shoulders.
Have to wait and see.
I'd be happy with Pain Free Legs.

Most people seem to think I'm being overly pessimistic, after this First Surgery.
I think that they are being overly Optimistic...to the point of Magical Thinking.
It's funny(at least when I'm wearing my Lay Psychologist Hat), but it appears that folks just don't want to acknowledge the Reality of Pain...and the Reality of Disability....and especially the Reality of someone Falling Through the Cracks as I have.
I have felt Validated, since the Hip Surgery...it's finally regarded as a Real Thing, by everyone.
(with no apology, of course, for the disbelief, and accusations, that came before)
But the Rest of my Issues are still relegated to 1. my Mind,or  2.my desire to Not Work, and to be a Welfare Queen.
Folks just can't help themselves, I guess.

So there it is...Progress and Pain, and a mixture of Optimism and Pessimism, hopefully Boiling Down to Realism...
I want to Clean the House.
I want to go Fishing.
I want to walk in the woods.
I want to Contribute!
Instead, I must wait...

* From the wiki for Hydrocodone:”As of July 2010, the FDA was considering banning some hydrocodone and oxycodone fixed-combination proprietary prescription drugs—based on the paracetamol content and the widespread occurrence of liver problems. “
Assholes.

Fragile

My normal time of awakening...between 3 and 5 am....is certainly problematic, these days.
Home for 2 and a half days, I could probably get to the kitchen, by the long way(walker won't fit, the short way)...but I fear Falling.
Inadvisable, at this point.
I call either wife, or eldest son, at 1 am, or so, to Be Dad...and mend the fire....
Channeling Hestia.
Turns out that the Magical Wood Stove Fairy, who keeps the fire going all night when it's in the 20's, is...Me.
I'm reluctant to wake them again....but dammit!
I want Coffee!
I do the various Bed Exercises given me...I can do most of them by myself, now.
It is remarkable, just how weary...exhausted even, such seemingly minor exertions can make you.
Pressing the heel, or the back of the knee, into the bed...
Sliding one's heel towards one's butt...always bearing in mind the "90 Degree Rule" and other prohibited positions and movements.
What eludes me, still, are the Abduction/Adduction Exercises...simply laying here, legs outstretched, and attempting to move the foot of the "Operative Leg" Outward, and back.
No Luck.
I command my leg, "Move!"...I bend my Will towards it...and it does nothing...
Like it belongs to someone else.
Those two muscles were clamped and stretched out of the Surgeon's way...
The one they cut is actually in better shape...although I still cannot lift the Op leg up onto the bed, without help.
I push myself.
Where 10 "reps" are indicated, I strive for 20.
When such sessions are encouraged twice a day, I do them so often as to lose count.
Now that the effects of the Dilaudid are gone(finally!), I find myself craving Protein....I want peanut butter for breakfast...even more than coffee.
 The Hip, itself, is pain free(!)
...and has been, since I awoke from Surgery.
The Muscles around it hurt like hell...
...and the curious effect of removing that Pain Center, has allowed the Cartilage Free Knee to reassert itself.
...as well as my "Good Ankle"...which is worrisome.
How high is that hill?
Does it grow still higher?
Peeing in a Jug is a Humbling experience.

I'm Back

Titanium Hip, and almost a 3 hr drive, and I'm propped up like Nero, on my nest of 19 pillows, with a mountain of books arrayed within reach (but that I cannot yet read, due to Narcotics(!))
Reachers, Grabbers, a telescoping scratcher(prolly the most sensible investment I've ever made),a walker, with a little basket, and my usual trapeze.
Fentanyl, and Dilaudid, injected into my spine...as well as "Versed", which makes ya forget...and I wake up after 10 seconds(actually around 2 hours) to Fog and a Sandy Beach with a hospital bed and a funny nurse person, asking pesky questions.
I answer with a falling brook of metaphysical nonsense...and then(Time?what Is Time?)
I'm being wheeled...rather the bed is being wheeled(I am a passenger(il Passant)) through corridors that all look strangely alike, going up and down elevators...all to no apparent purpose.
Then we take a sudden hard right, fly right  into the door jamb(crash! shudder!aaargggh!) and I am lifted(?) and...
I'm in room 419....fussed over by nurses and aides, and doctors, and cleaning ladies, and my wife and dad.
Dilaudid continues till next day...but it's effects continue even now.(co-on-sti-pat-ion...sung to the tune of Carly Simon's "Anticipation")
I take myself off of it, because I couldn't find my mind...and am remarkably pain tolerant.
 I don't realise these other, horrible, effects, till the 3rd day...after gorging myself on all manner of tasty vittles....thus making matters worse.
I resolve, from 3rd day, am, to eat fruit, alone...Joe, the tube-Nosed Fruit-Bat.
"Post Operative Fever"....and then, according to the Doc, "Costipation Related Fever" hits every afternoon...and abates 4 hours later with drenching sweat.
3rd day, midday...I'm up, again...sitting in a chair by the window(I had a great view), and the Hospital's Chaplain walks in(an older woman(and it's a Catholic Hosp)).
I open with, "I'm a Secular Humanist/Mystic".She appears intrigued, sits down and says, "Do tell...what do you mean by "Mystic"?...
Hour later...long after her appointed time(Time?),...she must go...says she's glad she's met such an interesting individual....most well read she's ever met.
Ha!
Doc(all 12 feet of him, in his blonde, boyishness) comes bounding into the room, at 7 this morning...looks at the "Wound"(google: Amfortas Wound)...says, "Get out of here", and is gone.
Pretty nurses, for the most part...and all but one is nice, careful, and super attentive.
I sent a note , addressed,"to the Head Honcho"...encouraging him/her/them to give Raises, all around.
I was all but Nekkid for this whole period...those little backwards dresses they give you are more trouble than they're worth...what with IV, Walker,PulseOx, etc etc.
It was obvious that they were having a care for My Modesty(I have none)...always pulling the damned dress this way and that...so the first day, I said.."Y'all see horridly obese patients, every day, in the most unholy positions...If my Nekkid doesn't bother you, it sure as hell doesn't bother me." Thus, the futile attempts at Modesty in such an immodest situation, was dispensed with.
I am, by all accounts, a Model Patient.
Here endeth the Tale.
..we're pretty washed out.
I haven't slept for more than an hour at a time in 4 days.

Amfortas ventures Forth(2-19-2013)

So I’m Calm, now.

Hour or so of that Yes! album(“Classic”) I got at wallywirld(ugh)…
Lite Beer(b/c I don’t really like it)
Now Miles, Filles de Kilimanjaro, and In a Silent Way…

Comforting…now, after bringing in Library Wood, for tomorrow’s Rain Event, it’s Kind of Blue…

I left, this morning, at 9:30….all the way to North Austin.
”Arboretum”

I remember when it was cedar woods and Rangeland.

Testing distances…so I took 29 to 183, at Seward’s Junction…and headed south…into Cedar Park/Round Rock…and the absolute Fuckup they’ve made of 183.
I know to blame Rick Fucking Perry, because it’s a goddamn TollRoad that’s smack in the middle of what used to be a rather simple Highway.

So, 120 miles, and 2 ½ hours, and I’m pulling into Chuy’s…
The north Austin Version.

Get the patio…and learn that Austin’s No Smoking Crusade extends out there, as well…

as expected…
Order Enchilada’s Chicka Boom, or something…(Chuy’s Rocks)
…and read Neitzsche, alone in my little corner…birds

flocks of them,

Ignoring me.
The denizens of North Austin…staring…

They , in their Brooks Bro’s Shirts and Cologne,

…and I’m like a Ghost of Austin Past…
They can’t figger if I’m Real, or not.

‘Ecce Homo’, indeed!

So I go to the Bonesaw Shop, next door to the Hospital where the Blessed Event will take place…

Quick talk with the PA….
He’s in a hurry(vibes), and attempts to reassure me.(he’s recently from Chicago, so there may be certain cues, body language issues there…)

On to the hospital, proper…
More of the same…and more Exsanguination!

Mountain of Homework!

4PM Leaving.

Thick Austin Traffic.

I accidentally get on the Toll Road(Damn You, Rick Perry! Damn you to Hell!)

Reckon I’ve missed my desired Road…1441….but, no!

 There it is, after I find Regular 183.(!?!)

20 minutes later, headed West, sort of…and I’m in mostly The Country.

Winding, beautiful Road…Hills, covered with the hated Cedar(Mountain Juniper)…
Quite Lovely.

Light Traffic…as no one lives out here.

The Herd continues North…

….But there’s Smoke!

Lots of it.

 My Lovely Highway passes through Balcones Canyonlands Wildlife somethingorother…

(that’s why it’s so perty)

TPW is doing a Controlled Burn…that doesn’t appear to be all that “controlled”…
Helicopters with Buckets…Cops!

Firetrucks(mostly “Brushtrucks”) careening around, with Purpose(I assume, but cannot attest).

Almost 20 miles of this.

Finally get to Marble Falls, then Granite Shoals(speedtrap/Fundyland), then the Truck Overheats!

Pull in, next to the marker across from what used to be a Giant Granite Rock(Pluton/Batholith)…

but is, now, a broken pile, jagged…they’ve taken most of it away for seawalls, and state capitols…

Pour in a quart of oil, and the contents of one of the canteens…(“Be Prepared”…especially if yer Po Folks)

And on Home…after an uneventful 50+ miles.

I understand that people do this sort of thing every day….
But I most certainly do not.

Bully.

Friends and Relations, and the Necessity of Dissent.

In an insular and isolated community, social reinforcement mechanisms often become acute.
When one is in a minority, of some kind…be it religious, political or even ethnic/racial…one becomes keenly aware of this, and it takes a great deal of Courage to overcome such pressure,

 and speak one’s Truth.
When one’s minority status is of the political or religious variety, conflicts are bound to arise with friends and family, as well.
I am fortunate to have been born into a long line of Democrats and Left-Leaning individuals…not monolithically so…but in the main. Still, we have our share of conservatives, republicans and even  Tea People. This sometimes makes family relations uncomfortable…

so I understand.
In this little town…in this Far Place…the majority seems to be rather Apathetic, when it comes to Politics.
The second largest group are those of a Republican Bent, in all it’s variation.
There is a small Minority, often forgotten, of folks who are neither…who are, instead Democrats…and who, whether they know it, or not, are on the Left of the spectrum…part of a Tradition of Liberalism, of Free Thought, stretching back to the very first European Settlers in this region.(Adelsverein)
Nowadays, “Liberal” is most often heard in these parts as a slur…a pejorative.
This is due to a 40 year campaign of political Bullying.
That Bullying has become the Norm.
It can be found in classrooms, in church, at the grocery, at the café.
Letters to this paper are often filled with it, as are many of the regular columns.
It has become tacitly Acceptable Behaviour.
This, in it’s turn, has the effect of driving Dissenting Opinion into the shadows.
I understand.
I know the pain of rejection.
I understand the reluctance to Engage in such situations…the Courage needed to stand up to Incivility, disguised as Political Speech.

What some folks fail to remember, or acknowledge, is that we are a Pluralist Country…from our very Foundation.
The First Amendment says so.
Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion…these strongly imply a Freedom of Conscience.; without the overarching Freedom of Conscience, of Thought, the First Amendment is Meaningless.
The Minority of One enjoys the same Protections, is Entitled to the Same Freedoms, and is Subject to the same Restrictions, as the member of the greatest majority.
Diversity is Strength.
Those in the Majority must learn to accept that they are enjoined to Share this Nation with those who Disagree. The USA is not their Private Preserve…it belongs to Us.

 All of Us.
Those in the embattled Minority must, on the other hand, endeavor to Stand Up, and Speak their Truth…Our Democratic, Republican form of Government demands the Courage to Dissent.
If such Courage is lacking, the Bullies win…and Political Freedom  withers.

Use it ,or lose it.                                                       

Health Rant for February 2013

So I’m scheduled for Hip Replacement Surgery, on the 25th of this month…
In North Austin.
The “Pre-Op”..wherein they hook me up to an EKG and Exsanguinate me…was eyeopening…
Aside from my 70 year old skeleton,

I am, apparently, as Healthy as an Ox.
A little overweight…from Laying There, for so long…
In fact, technically, “Obese”…
I question this,…especially when I stand before the mirror, Nekkid.

A little Paunch…much more than what I consider my “Norm”…but where is that extra 35 pounds kept?

(I insist that it’s all in my head,lol…as in Brains)

Kidneys, Liver, even Lungs and Heart…wonderfully Robust.
I was shocked, really.
After the Drunken Ramble of the last 25 years, gradually tapering off, to today…
Chain Smoking, essentially…
And coupled with the increasing Immobility…

I had expected worse.

Of course, I could kick off, right on the Table…
As they say, “surgery is inherently Dangerous…”

(in that case, know that I dearly Love my Wife and Sons!...and I am very Fond

of all you so very Silent sons-a-bitches, out there…(giving a poignant edge to the word,”Lurk”!))

I’m very nervous about the whole Anesthesia, Catheter(!!!) and Tube in my Throat, bit…

After the wreck, I had no choice, for one….and I have no memory…aside from tiny flashes.

A Morphine Dream, of Pain and Disconnected, hallucinatory events…
This time, I’ve got almost a Month to Think about it.
I have avoided Thinking about it, for 6+ years…an amorphous , Future Event…at times, I despaired at ever reaching this point…
Now, it’s at the very forefront of my Mind…
the Blessed Event…and what comes after..

Will it Help?

Will it be orders of magnitude Better?

Unknown.

There’s still the rest of my Skeleton….
The Crumbling Vertebra T-4(or5,or 6…the XRay was only before me for a moment), is especially Bothersome.

Unknown.

I doubt I’ll ever cook agin.
What shall I do?

I will have to Reinvent myself…again.

I’m Limited by being stuck, way out here…few Jobs…fewer that don’t require Physical Labor..
and those that do not, I am unqualified for.

Honestly, I’m probably Unsuited for them ,as well!
”Unsuited” meaning,”Feral”
Ha!

I won’t wear a Tie…I won’t cut my hair.

Those sorts of jobs seem to require such Fakery…and I have grown too Wild , for that sort of Dishonesty.
Too, I have no Experience with “Office Work”….I have often wondered what they do all day!

I’m thinking of Artisan…Birdhouses, Hand Forged Crucifixes…something…

Or Author…once I can sit up for longer.
Local Ag. is one of  the Objects of my Crusading…as is Alt Energy… Especially Methane…
Unknown, until after…if I’m able enough for that.

Hyperegulation of Small Enterprise is a limiting factor, as well.

Maybe put in a Vineyard, out at Mom’s…join the budding Local Wine Industry.
It was, after all, My Idea…almost 20 years ago…(but, as I didn’t move on it, no one knows this,lol).

I have been ahead of my time, many times…there’s little money in Revolution, if one is Too Early!

What I won’t do, is Dishonest Work…or Drudgery…which likely means that I won’t work “for” somebody…
If I have learned anything, it’s that Life is too damned Short for that.
Whatever I end up doing, it must be amenable to Passion!

And to those Qualities I consider my Best…my sin qua non.

Probably a tall order,lol.

Two Weeks, or so…to go….
Then I expect to have Hard Data to go on…

Until then, I might as well be talking about Lunar Colonisation.

Light a Candle, for me…or whatever it is that you do…on the 25th.

Fragment on,”Where the Wasteland Ends.”

(with a wink at IK)

Roszak is describing, in outline, a natural confluence of two rivers…Cartesian Dualism…the Scientific Mind of Reason…and what is regarded, here, as it’s anathema…the Romantic, Poetic, Ineffable Mind.

His Critique of what he terms “Single Vision” is in line with Adorno and Horkheimer, and of course Eliot and Blake…and all the rest of the Romantic, “Counterenlightenment”…

All of which I’m coming to see as, rather, an Extension of Enlightenment..

I keep coming back to Habermas’ instruction, that what the Enlightenment Project requires, is not a Reversal…a Retreat to the Old Forms…but “More Enlightenment”.
A Graduation, sort of, from the Adolescent to the Adult Stage of the Project.

A Reunion of the two Sides of the Brain, Right and Left…the Poet and the Scientist.

“Above all, how was one to break free of the idolatrous psychology which, thanks to Christianity, lay so heavily upon the mainstream of western culture?.....
…..Orthodox Christianity, however, was no use at all. Its history included a scattered contingent of ecstatic saints, celebrated yet marginal figures whose discontinuous biographies do not add  up to a tradition-or even to a school of thought. Again we return to the critical fact in the evolution of western consciousness. Mainstream Christianity had sacrificed the rhapsodic for the theological, the mythic for the literal. It had become religion of the word, not the experience. It was without a discipline of the visionary powers.”(p.283-4)

I could reorganize my Library into these opposing camps…Brothers, facing each other across the battlefield of How we apprehend the World. What Roszak is proposing, so far, is the same thing all the rest of the “Romantics” were after…a Family Reunion. The Enlightenment’s Universal Reason, Tempered with the Rapture of the Shaman.
I smell Nietzsche.

And, here’s my perennial Theme: I don’t Know, and that’s OK…look at the Milky Way, and those great Voids, scattered throughout. And Relax, and Dream.
This Hunger for Knowledge, and it’s black twin, the Fearful Hunger for Agency….that’s where the EP went off the rails…
I was astonished the first time I heard someone say that the Enlightenment Enabled Totalitarianism.
I couldn’t believe it. Twenty-Plus years later, it seems all too obvious, of course…the IBM Cards, Systematising the Nazi Death Machine…the Certainty, too…my favorite practice dummy.
The Certainty that the Nazis, or the Stalinists, Assumed,…Precisely at that point when Absurdities and, therefore, Questions , Arose….
Perhaps it’s mere Human Nature…a simple failure of Courage, to admit that one may have been Wrong….especially after so much cajoling Rhetoric had been expended to drag one’s Society down the oh so Reasonable Path…Logic, indeed, led to the Atrocities.
(here’s Fromm, lurking!)

Perhaps Western Man wasn’t “Ready” for the Enlightenment…
…which, in this vein, could be considered Multiple Truths…Instead of only One(TINA).

No matter, it’s the past, and we should Learn from it(More Enlightenment)…and Temper our continuing Bubble Expansion with the Humility and Awe of Mystics.

More Ire for AEI.

I inadvertently saved a receipt from Walmart. from 1996….I found it a few years ago, in a box…and put it in Wealth of Nations…over there, next to Marx’ Capital, a large portion of the output of Galbraith, and the Godfather.(the "Economics Shelf")

A “large bag of Catfood”, way back then, was around $4.00.

The “Same “ Bag, today, is closer to $20.

Did the Catfood Improve, exponentially(fortunate for the poor!)?

Did Catffood become Scarce?
I think a Reasonable explanation is , rather, that the Money we use to Purchase that Catfood, is that much less Valuable.

There’s lots of examples like this(but for which I didn’t save receipts)…that indicate that the Official Inflation Rate has been Artificially Low...that the "Purchasing Power"(utility*) of the Dollar is a lot Lower than it used to be. Indeed, that even the Official Numbers are Rosy, and thus Suspect.

(Steak=Hamburger, "Energy" is unimportant, so isn't counted,etc)

But…here’s AEI!

This is a sort of Random, Cursory, Sample of their section on Poverty…..the first, by my new Whipping Boy, Nicholas:

http://www.aei.org/article/society-and-culture/citizenship/the-poverty-of-the-poverty-rate/

http://www.aei.org/papers/social-and-culture/poverty/the-material-well-being-of-the-poor-and-middle-class-since-1980/

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2011/11/income-inequality-myths-no-the-rich-didnt-steal-all-the-money/

It is all in our heads, I guess!

I possess a Refrigerator(three, actually)…a Microwave….Three Computers….and the Internet.

We also have three window units(A/C is mentioned, a lot…as in “if ya got A/C, ya can’t be “poor””)

Under the Criteria, used in these links, I am Not Poor.

(yay)

I have a washer/dryer, too.

I submit, that folks who try to Research “Poverty”….hell, all Economists!....should spend a Year of their Education, Living at the Bottom.
Perhaps with some great weight attached to one leg…small stones placed in their shoes….or a Cilice.

 To simulate Disability.

//////////////////////
I can only stomach so much  Opposition Research, lol.

I will continue to pick on Nicholas, and his buddies…but, for Health Reasons, only when I’m already Angry.

*I do not mean "Utility" like Economists do...rather, I mean it: How good is the Hammer that is Money?
Does it just barely get the job done(like a bar of iron)? Or is it better, more suited to the job, at hand?
I had forgotten about their esoteric definition.lol

Anger

Sorry, if I offended.

I wrestled with that last thing…to the Nicholas Lizard.( http://amfortasthehippie.blogspot.com/2013/02/piss-on-my-gate.html )
My Reasoning is thus:1 He knowingly associates with such outfits as AEI, and WSJ…

2His entire “Argument” is Representative of the Mindfuck visited on the great mass of the Rest of Us, these past 35(100?) years.

3Mix 1 & 2, he painted a target on himself…and, as per usual, with such creatures, doesn’t expect any of Us to Bite Back.

 Number 3 is Important.

We should Bite Back…and Hard.

For most of my life, I (we) have been the Victims of Ad Hominem, and Elitist Sneering from such Reptiles.

They have played on the Fears and Ignorance of our friends and neighbors, to enlist them in the Fight against Us…we have endured Hatred, even Beatings, from their many versions of Brownshirts(from Tie Wearing Scolds, to Rednecks and Bikers).

Any Counterargument has been met with Derision, and Screaming.

The vast Majority of Humanity has been regarded as Worthless…including the Majority of their own supporters.(!!)

The Thinkers on Our Side have been Too Fucking Nice!

Basta!

I’m tired of being Nice.

I wish to Strike at the Root….and the Root lives on Wall Street.
The Folks out here…the Befuddled herd who blithely attach themselves to the Thieves and Whores and Weasels…without understanding their actions…they are Not the Enemy.

Heritage, AEI,PNAC(or whatever incarnation…)”Wall Street”, K Street, Madison Avenue, Etc etc…

They are the Enemy.

The ones who believe that the great mass of humanity are mere impediments to their further advancement…worse, stepping stones…

The ones who have , not only furthered…sold…the Heartless Evil of HyperAvarice….But Formulated the Rationale.

The ones who have Stolen the Whole World…Stolen even the Image of Jesus….perverted into their own image.

Even Our Own Party has been Stolen by this Insidious Band of Dark Philosophers, this Mob of Manipulators and Liars and Cheats.

The very Language has been perverted to their Ends…

And now, at this late hour, it becomes Evident that Time is Running Out.

From Peak resources, to the terrifying changes in the Climate; from the Patenting and Manipulation of the Language of Life, itself…to the Encirclement, by Regulation and other means, of the capacity to Take Care of Ourselves and our Own…to the other Encirclement ,of the Panopticon…where We, the People, are Watched, tagged and Bagged.

When is the Right Time to Stand Up?

When is it Acceptable to say, No? Enough?

If the last 6 years have taught me anything, it is that the Systems that Nicholas and his buddies have built, are the epitome…the Quintessence…of Evil.

And that Mythology is at the Root of it.

When is it OK to Step on their Toes? To Piss them Off?

To Fight?

Much of the Citizenry is Offended by my Vitriol….

That’s unfortunate, I guess…

I am Offended, myself.

I am Offended at being Labeled a Leech.

I am Offended at being unjustly regarded as a Traitor, a Cockroach, a Terrorist.

I am Offended at being expected to sit idly by, in Silence, while My Country is Stolen from me.

I am Offended at the Use of even Christ, himself, to Further Hatred and Greed.

When is it Acceptable to Offend, in turn?

The Head, the Brain, of Our opponent is Impossible to find…Machine is Everywhere, and Nowhere.

Machine’s Representatives will have to do.

Nicholas is one such representative.

As FDR said, “I welcome their Hatred.”

Arise, folks, and Bite Back. 

Piss on my Gate.

 Re: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323539804578259940213918254.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Nicholas,

Regarding the Discussion(is that what we’ve been having?) about the “Welfare State”…You said,… that Obama said, that the “Discussion” is Over.
Then, you went on…

“It is not over—and won't be anytime soon, because the country's social-welfare spending is generating severe and mounting hazards for the nation. These hazards are not only fiscal but moral.”

When does the construction commence?

The Scaffolds and Guillotines will fit nicely, alongside that big ass Bull.

Let’s talk about Trillions of Dollars…Wasted on the Scum of the Earth!

…..

oh/….wait…you were talking about the poor and downtrodden?

I meant Wall Street.

You’ve pissed on my gate; I must Answer.

This latest attack on the poor , sick and injured is merely a rehash of that tired old “Welfare Queen” nonsense.
You all really must hire some new consultants.

There’s no evidence for widespread (individual) foodstamp or other welfare Fraud…and there is little evidence of widespread(individual) Disability Fraud.

It’s a Red Herring.

I have been unable to work, for over six years…at my doctor’s orders, I applied for Disability…

My Doctor and I both believed the sort of nonsense that you are spouting….that such endeavors would be stupidly easy.

They were not!

Here I was, Crippled, at 37…in need of a hip and an ankle…uninsurable…
We were sure I’d be a shoe-in.

Six and a half years later, I am only now…finally…getting a Hip.
Due to the delay….and wear and tear resulting from the delay…I now also need a Back, Wrists and Shoulders. Six and a Half Years! of Pain and Suffering!...not least of which was emotional…from the widespread Belief in that very Meme.

It took so long, and was inordinately unpleasant, because of people like You.

Always needing a whipping boy…someone to get everyone to Hate on and Blame…while you and your ilk run off with the country(since you write for the Journal, I assume that you are included in that lot’s crimes, if not, why do you work there(AEI)?…see above for my idea of a New WPA.)

I, instead, Blame You…and people like you…so coddled in your greed, so wrapped up in your Avarice…that you cannot see, let alone care, about the sufferings of your fellow man.

Re:” Over the 50-plus years since 1960, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, entitlement transfers—government payments of cash, goods and services to citizens—have been growing twice as fast as overall personal income.”

All but Ten of those years, give or take, saw NO Real Income Gains, relative to Inflation, for the majority of the American Workforce.

You, again:” According to the BEA, America's myriad social-welfare programs (the federal bureaucracy apparently cannot determine exactly how many of these there are) currently dispense entitlement benefits.>”etc etc

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States

     ….and remember that Rumsfeld said, on 9-10-2001, that they had “misplaced” some $2 Trillion…all before the two Bush Wars were added to my Children’s Debt.(over $2 Trillion, total)

Much of that Budget is either hidden away(DOE, USDA,ETC), or Classified, outright( National Frikkin Security).

“welfare” , on the other hand, is Stimulative(Ask USDA about “Foodstamps” and “Multipliers”). It is above board….all out in the open…and y’all still can’t figure it out.(lol)

Very little Individual Fraud. The vast majority of “Welfare Fraud”, in it’s broadest sense, is Institutional, or at least Organised…from Two Guys with a Truck, delivering wheelchairs, to Pfizer.
Not Grandma.
Not Unfortunates like myself.

You also seem to include SS and Medicare…perhaps even the Va?...in your aggregate number.
The Former two are, if let be, supposed to pay for themselves….aside from the relatively easy to fix demographic problem…Congress keeps running off with the fundage!

More you:” At this writing, about 35% of Americans (well over 100 million people) are accepting money, goods or services from "means-tested" government programs. This percentage is twice as high as in the early 1980s. Today, the overwhelming majority of Americans on entitlement programs are taking "means-tested" benefits. Only a third of all Americans receiving government entitlement transfers are seniors on Social Security and Medicare.”

Twice as High as in the Early Eighties….Hmmmm….

Something else happened around that time…..
Reagan, and his Revolution.
You and your ilk bullied and lied your way into Power, and started dismantling everything.(Vandals)

You screwed it all up.
Now you want to blame Us.

Typical.

As for the last bit where you seem to not care for means testing, it seems like a good idea, to me…if you have a care for efficiency; so long as it’s Fair.(it’s not)

A little more you:” As entitlement outlays have risen, there has been flight of men from the work force.”

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc.

It’s a (potential) Fallacy of Causation.

You  brushing your teeth in the morning doesn’t cause the sun to rise, either.

Sorry.

Since I’ve been Cripple, I’ve had a lot of time to think about this sort of thing…

Perhaps some men are merely doing a cost benefit analysis…I thought y’all’s favorite theories called for Rational Agents. Something like:”Hmmm. pain, sickness…no healthcare…shitty job= no light at end of tunnel…perhaps a little help is in order…”
Seriously,In my anecdotal research, I have found that a whole bunch of these unemployed folks  just cannot find a job…ditchdigging, or no…

The economy’s been in the toilet  since  you all won (?) the trifecta, in 2000-2004….Reagan’s Dreams Fulfilled!
Where is the Dancing?

Flowers in the street?

Again, y’all screwed everything up.

And ya want to blame us.

You just won’t stop!----” But the pool of working-age government disability recipients may be even larger than those getting funds just from the Social Security disability programs alone. The Department of Health and Human Services reports that more than 12.4 million working-age Americans obtained disability income support from all government programs in 2011.”

 Man!

Maybe the lack of meaningful Health Care…and Declining Rel;ative Wages…have contributed to more injuries and illness…Preventative Medicine is cheaper…as is Quick Medicine (SIX AND A ½ YEARS!)

Makes for a Healthier Workforce, too…which benefits even You.

You:“That's more than the total number of employees in the manufacturing sector of the economy.”

Strawmen burn.

Manufacturing left largely because the Giant Corps(e) wanted it to leave…it’s been steadily shrinking for a long while, now. Hardly a good number for your comparison, there.

The rest of your bit…well…enough…I tire of shouting at earless …^%$*

I wish you the musculoskeletal Pain I have endured,,

I wish you the Depression I have, then, suffered, as a result.
I wish you even a mere 10% of my pain…experience it, then tell me about Bootstraps.

How many times have I heard,”You don’t look cripple to me…”

So many Experts, who don’t happen to look like my Doctor….and may have X-Ray Vision!!

To that whole, “You’re Faking It!”, Hysterical Argument…

Fuck you Nicholas.

Fucking Reptile.

Walk a Mile(100 feet), in my shoes.

I can no longer Fish, nor Fuck, nor Play with my Kids.

The last 5 Years were Medically Unnecessary, and Harmful, and have probably Damaged me for Life.

And I Blame Greedy Bastards like You, and the Hateful Mythos you have spawned.

May the Mob find you quickly.

Amfortas