If Memory Would Sustainably Serve

I know buzz words and chic code phrases when I hear them, but I tend to forget, so I think the ticket is to make a list which is constantly updated.

One common thread on trendy words and phrases is that they often lack much meaning if harsh analysis is applied.  Lots of what I think and say has that same vague foundation.  It's a curse.

These words are used quite often to imply that an argument is settled, and debate unthinkable.

Off the top of my head I can list several PC and oddly chic terms which are used to influence people and promote whoknowswhat:

sustainable
green
empower
diversity
multi-cultural
give back (actually phrase, often in front of 'to the community')
advantaged
disadvantaged
The Rich
99%
earth-friendly

The longest lasting, and one of the least well defined words is "fair".   When kids use it, it means "reality is not how I wish it to be".  Unions use it to mean any number of things, usually with the bottom line being we, the management of the union, demand power.   It rarely means equitable, or anything to do with quid pro quo, value for value, etc.

Fair is a good one.

I'm sure I'm missing the best ones.  Just can't remember.  Perhaps "braindead" is one of them.

This did not work out; can't remember what I was thinking, and don't like how it worked out.  This idea seems unsustainable, and it is not fair.  I know there are many diverse, green, eco-friendly terms and ideas I could have considered which would have made me feel more empowered.

For the longest time "empowered" meant "As a female, I am now more powerful than males".  I know, that sounds so bad, but it is the truth.  Empower was constantly used in a sense of political sex war.   Now metrosexual males in places like California tend to use it more.  It is great when tied in with "giving back" in diverse, and earth-friendly, green initiatives.

So, what am I saying?  I don't know for sure.  I think I am saying that our culture has been so bombarded with mind conditioning nonsense for so long that a huge portion of what we think, and how we direct those with guns and badges to control us is total and utter non sense.

It could just be me that finds his mind is nothing but a clutter of nonsense.

edit:  How could I forget FISCAL CLIFF?  Or, in some circles, physical cliff.   Because everyone from repubs to dems to news mannequins use the phrase, it must have real meaning. What it means I'm not sure, but unless the cliff is only four feet high, it is probably painful to go over it.
I'll bet the Bridge to the 21st century was put there so we wouldn't go off a millennial cliff.  It must have spanned between two cliffs.

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Congratulations and A Little Rain on the Parade

Good for Washington state.  Drug laws, especially ones involving hemp and cannabis are a sap on the treasury, and an affront to free people.   Just because one agrees with that statement does not mean one is using drugs or suggesting it.

I don't use cosmetics or get tattoos, either.  Doesn't mean I wouldn't be alarmed of such things were illegal.  Your choice.

So, good for you.  Aside from the fact it ought not be an issue, it is kind of like throwing up the middle finger to the Feds for regulating what they have no real, legitimate right to regulate.

Oh, Obamaites, your golden boy has not called off the dogs in this area.  They still raid California dispensaries of medical marijuana on an irregular and inconsistent basis.  BO ain't as cool as you think. Whether he cares what's being controlled or not, he is not going to stand up for what's right and let go of any power. Power and glory.  Very much the nature of that game.

Anyway, to rain just a little on the parade, expect WA to issue the permits and such for sales and production according to the forces of cronyism, and hence corruption.

Still, it beats wasting another dime on worrying what someone might be smoking.

Little Thought on Cost to Society/National Interest

The doctrine of 'compelling state interest' has an evil origin. The Supreme Court created this so-called 'balancing test' in 1944 to justify the criminal arrest and imprisonment of thousands of innocent Japanese-Americans.

Those aren't my words. I pulled them from an article somewhere, and since I am not a news source, or expecting to receive a grade or a promotion, I'm not bothering to further vet this.

The article goes on to say, blalblablablabla, etc.
And:
The 1944 Court dared to assert that it could balance the 'interests' of The State against the rights of individuals."

The matter of the interests of the state trumping the rights of individuals has been one of greater and greater concern since that time.  

I find it odd that those most likely to separate us into ethnic groups, and then decide who needs what based upon such foolishness, are the same people who think rights of the individual are expendable and  really just permissions granted by the state.  The same people who, over 60 years later make a big deal of apologizing to the mostly dead Japanese who were locked up.

Hypocrites.  We'll know mankind has truly evolved when we find ourselves governed so sparingly that it will be like gossamer compared to the thick wet heavy wool under which we function today.  But people can't be so small as to relish the thought of controlling the resources and personal choices of others.   Presently, most people cannot resist that cheap bit of power and revenge.

Hence this ridiculous generalization and demonization of The Rich.  A campaign largely conducted by those who are far richer and more powerful than most.  You'd think those on the bandwagon would ask themselves why those who fund and instigate such tangents do so.  

They May Not All Be Crazy

But you sure see a lot of pictures from certain parts of the world in which people take to the streets, giving up all personal space, to form such a tight mob that if you died on the spot you could not fall down.

If these people are not nuts, they do marvelous impersonations of lunatics, and so do their official, and unofficial leaders.

Here we see a man putting on his best lunatic impression while his armpit valet carries on with his duties.

You Can't Handle The Truth!

The old line from a Nicholson movie.   Actually, I can't handle the truth.  My truth scares me, when I let it.

So, I rarely write about real life in my fog filled bubble.  It all seems so simple on paper---do this, do that, fix this fix that, get rid of all that clutter, this clutter, and clean up after it.  Find woman, drag to cave, make happy.

Every once in awhile, maybe three times per day, I see something or think of something and say, "Oh man, you really blew it.  You squandered one perfectly good life."

My goal is to change that before I die.  I think I want to fix it before it is all gone.

I think people are crazy in groups, and fear freedom and all that,  but then I wonder if I am wrong, considering how difficult I find the simplest of normal life tasks.   Is it possible that I am crazy and they are right?  Or maybe I am right, and crazy.  I believe the latter to be the most accurate assessment.

It is the holiday season, and I guess this time of year brings out the remembered pain of numerous heartbreaks, the horror of bad judgement and irresponsible actions of the past, and fear when I realize how empty a certain part of me is.

Where to go from that is not actually a mystery, but doing it appears to involve taking down a 4 foot thick concrete wall with a ball peen hammer.

In the mean time, I have to go by the house of some friends on Christmas.  Then I think I'll disappear for a few days to a campsite on the edge of the earth.

None of this should be a surprise.  I knew I had serious disconnect and lack of cultural understanding way back when people first started playing air guitar.  When they actually began staging public contests for this bizarre sport, I realized I may forever be lost in this world.   Then came disco, karoke on Beale St in Memphis (dubious blues capital of the Delta), and reality TV.   Clearly my best path is not one which involves understanding, promoting or keeping abreast of pop culture and its many mysterious twists and turns.

If I can't figure that stuff out, how can I be surprised at all the other crazy stuff?  Let's all hope to win powerball so we can be filthy rich, but let's carry on a cultural campaign so that the words "rich" and "evil" become synonymous in the minds of the people.  I want to win lotto and be rich, but for now I hate THE RICH because they are all meanies.

First we had that Bridge to the New Millennium to cross, now we are all going to be cast over THE FISCAL CLIFF.  I've yet to even see the bridge, which means I may not have made it across into the glorious 21st century.  Perhaps being tossed over The Cliff would be the kindest thing.


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Foreign News

What is the deal with news departments hiring Brits and others who aren't American and don't really understand the place?  It's worse in CA I think.  Any accent other than one common to this country is seen as intellectually superior.

The people may be bright, educated and hard working, but in cases like Piers Morgan, they haven't a clue why we are not England, or anything remotely related to philosophy of freedom.

Maybe CNN thinks Americans can't report news with such a blatant disregard for fact checking and critical thinking.   So they hire smarmy foreigners who don't know the difference between liberty and tyranny, or fact and fiction.

I'm stunned that people get paid to be such dimwits.   Go back to England, Piers, and tell them your theories on what our Constitution means.  People like that are why we are here.  First their pompous heavy handedness contributed to it, and then their arrogance at underestimating their foe.  Qualities which Piers proudly wears wherever he speaks.
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Here's a little added statistic for the gun argument.

Those who encounter other humans and who carry a loaded weapon are 100% more likely to shoot some one or get shot than those who never encounter other humans and never carry a gun.

O Holy Smoke

Dear God inem,

Why is it that if we have to have a world with countries that are theocracies, they can't be Quakers,  or some happy fertility rite focussed cloister?  Or both, like one owns Iraq and one owns Iran.

Look, many of us get the joke.  We got it a long time ago.  So, how bout changing the skit to something a little less hardcore slapstick?    One big massive global brainwave treatment to reset minds might help.  Then again, maybe not.

Thank you.

I prefer to remain anonymous if you don't mind, so I won't tell you who I am.

Buy or Die

Buy or die, you lowly mofo.

I'm with/usurping your federal government, and I'm here to help you!

Of course, if you would just fill out the proper forms, and forever remain under our scrutiny, proving your state of income, etc., we might just give you free care, access to which would also be subject to approval and our assessment of your needs weighed against society's priorities, as we decree them, on a case by case basis.  See?  You can't lose, my filthy little peon of a citizen child.

Now, join the other 50% and thank me.

Better yet join the 30% who pray to me at night and know that I am holy.




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Guns and Lunatics

As usual,  another allegedly famous person, of whom I had no knowledge, is involved in a gun debacle, and our oh so wise, learned TV celebrities decry our freedom to own firearms.   If only whatsisname had not had access to firearms he and his victim would be alive and happy today.

The thought is that more regulation would make it all better.  If we restrict gun usage to only government agents and military, then we'll be OK.  We've done what we can to disarm the military on their own bases, and that worked out very well in helping the guy who ignored the rules to slaughter people on a military base.

The arguments tend to ignore the reasons that people like me would consider having some firepower handy.  When a thug is threatening, admonitions of "don't take the law into your own hands" offer little in the way of immediate conflict resolution.  Wait a minute, my good man, let's call 911 and see if we can settle this matter.

It is a shame that anyone needs or uses firearms to influence or stop the actions of people.  They are an effective tool in the process of self defense when one is outnumbered or out muscled, or when an intruder or assailant is armed.  The fact that there are so many people who believe in taking what is not theirs -property or life-by force will not change by disarming the harmless.

Although it is like having a pea shooter against a tank, I like knowing people can be armed simply because I think the biggest threat to property and life is the institution which has the most firepower--government.  Tyranny functions best when the people are rendered impotent.

It has nothing to do with hunting, or any of that.  It has to do with last line of defense in trying to maintain control of one's own life and destiny.  It is hard to enslave an armed group of people.

Thugs and cops present the biggest danger to one's freedom, if they are not somehow contained.  Usually one needn't be prepared to resist cops, but sometimes things get out of hand.  A government which fears the people because they have means to revolt, should they see the need, is better than a government which has no such fears.  It is one weak link in the system of checks to the power of the state.

That is why the foolish sheep, and the savvy purveyors of the religion of governmental solutions to problems both real and imagined, are all for disarming those who abide by the law.  The more we can't protect ourselves from the cultural results of decades of failed policies which helped facilitate the network of sociopathic criminal gangs and other aberrant forms of life, the worse off we are.

The cases in which senseless violence is in play are often the results of cultural decay, and The Big Pretense.  To think certain kinds of movies and video games have no influence on behavior is a bit naive.  That is not to say those things are totally to blame.  They are more a symptom.

We glorify mass murder in games and movies and even in the news, then wonder why depressed, confused kids who lack social skills and popularity decide to make a name for themselves in some tragic manner.   Lunatic shooters, even if thwarted get more press than people who make breakthroughs in research and invention.  It is sad.

But then, if you see a wonderful, work of art, movie, the fame and credit goes to the major actors, and rarely do you have a clue who actually created and wrote the piece.  That is kind of an interesting thing. It is remarkable how good actors and directors can bring a story to life, but the one who created the story and laid out the blueprint for the film is not of interest.

It takes little thought, and seems to be a case of jumping on the band wagon, when pundits reflexively assail gun ownership and the right to carry as if that is the root of the problem.   They sound like a broken record.  I accused the main news media of being the government's sales force many decades ago, and it has only become moreso over time.   They always seem to think that authoritarian rule is the answer.

When I saw that Costas had to do a little editorial during a football game, and heard the content of his message, I couldn't help but believe he was idiotically parroting the talking points of the usual neo-bolsheviks in order to gain cool guy points with the other useful idiots in the entertainment world.  Surely he didn't really try to think this out.

It amazes me how easily people will jump on peer pressure causes if they think it will cast their image as cool and intellectual.  Especially without the effort of really considering all the factors involved.  This is why people can be led into some form of slave state cheering and with their consent.

Oh well.  This is why decent and smart people should be breeding as fast as they can--the problem is cultural and the more good people that are put into the mix, the more likely it is that the culture will veer away from the Big Pretense and stepping on the sanctity and rights of the individual.

I suppose seeing the story of how Worcester, Mass. has been buying guns from people by offering a free flu shot and a grocery store gift card put me over the top on this.  Turn in your weapons and we'll toss you a little treat!  If I wanted my money to go toward buying guns, I'd buy them myself, not vote my tax money go toward that. Or your money.  Maybe all the peace officers in that town are saints, and the thugs all lined up to trade weapons for vaccinations and food.  Somehow I doubt it.

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Metaphors and things.

For some reason I was thinking about football just before the game, and the coaches inspirational words.
I guess it would be more high school or college.  I'm not sure if they give the same classic form of inspiration to a room full of millionaires with unions and contracts.

Whatever the venue, good words would be, "Save your hardest hit for first!"  I wonder if anyone ever said that.  Maybe Yogi Berra.

It is good advice because if you hit them harder and faster than they expect they'll be flinching a little the rest of the game.  I know this to be true.  They may come at you harder but then they are easier to go around.

The other thing was I keep thinking of how my brother is like the North Star in our family; steady, and he has always been able to hold pretty much to a path while being flexible enough to change course when necessary.  It isn't something that just happens by luck.

He consciously sticks to a chosen path and doesn't apologize to those who would have him do things differently.  That isn't always easy, but he's doing it right.  We aren't close and may never be, but there is a very powerful bond between us.  It could be that the strength of the deep bond makes it scary to be too close.  We both probably feel like we let the other down.  He may not.  I do.  With good enough experience to back both cases.

Life is like a bowl of cherries---chocolate is usually not in that bowl.   Maybe they said that no one said life IS a bowl of cherries.  Or did they say Life is a bowl of cherries?  They say some odd things.  But, say it enough and people take it for true.