No more effective than a blank stare….

Ffolkes,

    Well, damn! That must be why I keep getting wet! Who knew?

I did, of course…. but, since the pearl was about pearls, I couldn’t resist…. How ’bout that picture, eh?  I like it, not because I took it, but, because it’s a metaphor….. as is damn near everything around here. This one though, is not so much a metaphor, as a reminder that beauty comes in many guises, and may be beautiful merely for existing…. This flowering weed was growing in an abandoned lot near my place, where I found it on one of my meanders through the ‘hood; I live in an economically depressed city, in a relatively poor section, on the edge of the old downtown neighborhood…. There are a lot of abandoned lots, where new construction awaits a buyer with actual money to spend…

But, in spite of the depressed feel one gets viewing the entire lot, this weed was flowering madly, with these vividly blue flowers, showing off its colors to a world that does not care at all, spitting back at reality in defiance….. which only made it look more beautiful to me….. I admire that sort of tenacity at life, even if it is futile, as it mostly is when dealing with human civilization…. I’m not going to fall into a rant, but, this flowering weed can serve as a strong poke in the ribs for us, if we could only learn to understand what it is saying to us….

I haven’t felt good for days; not terrible, but, moderately miserable, I’d say…. I am still not quite right, so this will be a short intro today…. Thankfully, I managed to hit the archives for a bit, and found enough to fill in what I can’t write fresh for the day’s post…. Some may regard it as cheating, or at least dwelling on the past, but, hey, if it’s still a valid subject for ranting, it will fit, because my rants are usually fairly flexible, in that they may speak of specific times, but, the issues are more universal, and generally are still manifesting themselves in society, thus making even an old rant up to date…. Well, it sounds good, and it works for me, so, that’s what we’ll do…

Beyond that, I make no promises; what you will see is what you’ll get, and that’s the extent of it…. I wish this…. whatever the hell it is that won’t leave me be, would go away; it’s gone well past the predicted stay, and I’m not happy about it. If it doesn’t get any better today, I’m going down to Kaiser and pitching a fit, as I asked for their help four days ago, without anything ever happening…. SIGH, if they get damaged in the process, well, they have no one but themselves to blame…. By the time I get there, if I have to go, I will NOT be a happy camper, and will have every intention of blasting whomever comes within reach of my voice….. and damn the consequences….

Such being the case, perhaps I’d best get on with the rest of this mess; I doubt the sheriff will let me post from jail….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“In the world there are only two tragedies.  One is not getting what one wants and the other is getting it.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

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As is my wont, when I haven’t been feeling well, I work ahead, using old rants and pearls from the archives, as much of my material is concerned with issues that won’t go away…. Here is a politirant from 2013; it’s a two-fer, and rather long, so take a deep breath, and enjoy!….

From 12/21/2013:

Below, you will find the rant to which I referred above…. it’s another long one, thanks to the support I again found in the archives, but, it’s worth the read, for it will all point toward the rant I’m planning for tomorrow, one that will be a culmination, and a summarization, of all the rants I’ve done up to this point…. For today, please read, and pay attention to this, as it will end up being important for all of us…. a point which I hope to make clear tomorrow….

In order to achieve the proper understanding of this issue, and the following discussion, aka a ‘politirant’ of first magnitude, the article attached to the following link should be read first…. It contains some interesting information that is critical to the dialogue that may ensue, or, in any case, for a full data set to use for analyzing the issue at large…. Go ahead, we’ll wait here….

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Judge-NSA-program-is-likely-unconstitutional-5068946.php

It isn’t often this happens twice in a row, but, since I’m always attuned to the possibility of serendipity, it did…. happen twice, that is…. Below, you will find a rant I posted back in early March of this year, which, given the information contained in the article attached to the above link, is astoundingly accurate as a response to the actions demonstrated by the administration in this entire scenario….

First, let me say that I’m very, very happy that a federal judge had the courage and integrity to stand up against the tide of administrative pressure, which, as we all should realize by now, originates from the dens of the shadowy corporate masters, and special interest groups who dictate society’s course to suit themselves…. If you haven’t noted this from what you see happening everywhere in the public sector, well, I can’t convince you, but, it remains, nonetheless, the truth, well-documented in the news….

The government, of this country, and just about every other in the world, is in the control of the corporate special interests who control virtually ALL the money, and, along with that, ALL the resources needed to keep society working. It has been this way for millennia, and they are only getting better at the controls they possess over the happenings in the world around us, honed by centuries of practice and deception…. They are so good at it, virtually nobody even realizes the true nature of their control, or the extent of it…. and, that is just how they like it….

But, there are moments when a bit of progress is made in keeping at least a minimum of mankind free of much of their influence, and this ruling in a federal court is one of those moments in history…. It still remains to be seen whether the rest of the federal courts, up to and including the Supremes, will continue to see the actual truth, or whether they’ll begin to color it, too, with the paint provided by the special interest groups, in whose best interests lie the abrogation of the amendments…. For the moment, though, we can be encouraged, at least a little bit…

I was especially heartened by two parts of this report…. First, the judge acknowledged James Madison, as one of the framers of the Bill of Rights, speaking of his obvious and well-placed mistrust of just this scenario, of corporate interests dictating the abrogation of civil rights, such as in this case, the Fourth Amendment, by those in power, and how Mr. Madison would be “aghast” at how far it has come true today….

Second, I was encouraged to see the steadfast dismissal of the reasoning by the administration’s lawyers on the basis of constitutionality, as it goes to prove the contention by Eric Snowden, that the laws and policies being perpetrated by the NSA would be found to be such, to wit: illegal according to the Constitution of the United States…. which would, in turn, prove his innocence under the laws of our country, which, theoretically, rewards those who speak the truth in defense of their fellows….

Good to know SOMEONE is paying attention in the judiciary system…. even if one of the Shrubs appointed him… That, apparently, didn’t turn him away from the Constitution, unlike the POTUS who gave him the job, who was on record as thinking some of the Bill of Rights went too far in giving people certain rights….

Further than that, the arguments presented below are the correct response to the above, which also goes to prove one small point, to wit: even nine months ago, I knew something was wrong in the pictures I was seeing out in the real world…. Enjoy!….

*Note from today, in 2014…. In reading over this, just prior to posting, it is obvious the last line above is confusing to the maximum, due to the excess of different posts and dates from which the rant(s) came… I knew this would happen if I started using the Tardis…. I’m losing track of when I am….. Okay, but, this time, ’tis a simple fix…. Just forget to look for the arguments below (as promised in the line, now two lines up from this…. (whew, it IS getting confusing, isn’t it?)….), as they were there, only in the SECOND post, in, well, I forget when it was, now, and since it’s done, now, it doesn’t matter does it?….)

There, are you less confused now? No? SIGH….. Ah, well… too late now, I suppose…. Onward….

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I know it’s a bit early to think about winter, but, it has been so bloody warm here for so long, on average, it is as if summer has come to stay… So, I thought of this poem, which, as it turns out, is better than I had thought I remembered it to be, ending up giving me a nice reminder of the cold weather which is, in winter, much more of a possibility…. Something to look forward to, at times, must come from memory…. Present reality can be stingy about providing such for us…. Hope this brings a moment of quiet reflection for y’all, as well….

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In order to say there is at least one fresh section today, I offer for your consideration the following old-school pearl, a random, harlequin style, with no obvious parameters…. often, these turn out to be the very best kind, so, we can hope…..

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.  I do not believe in circumstances.  The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they cannot find them, make them.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

“Forgive me my nonsense as I also forgive the nonsense of those who think they talk sense.” — Robert Frost

“You can’t make up anything anymore.  The world itself is a satire.  All you’re doing is recording it.” — Art Buchwald

“Certum est quia impossibile est.” [It is certain because it is impossible.] — Tertullian (160-240 AD) — De Carne Christi, c. 5

“One truth stands firm.  All that happens in world history rests on something spiritual. If the spiritual is strong, it creates world history.  If it is weak, it suffers world history.” — Albert Schweitzer

“Destiny is but a phrase of the weak human heart – the dark apology for every error. The strong and virtuous admit no destiny. On earth conscience guides; in heaven God watches. And destiny is but the phantom we invoke to silence the one and dethrone the other.” — Edward Bulwer-Lytton

“He declared that he knew nothing, except the fact of his ignorance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Socrates, xvi

Works every time…..

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The following is a test/experiment for me in geekitude; if it works, you will be able to see a video, of what, you may not believe, but, will quite possibly enjoy…. No worries, ffolkes, or even folks, it’s completely innocuous…. It is merely a test of whether or not I am using the code to put it up on my site correctly…. I guess, if it is, as I hope, also effective for email, it could work there as well…. Without further ado…..

    I’m writing this before I know if the above worked…. I don’t have much left, so, I’m just going to say, I hope I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Look for a post perhaps later than usual…. We’ll see what happens…. Okay, now I’m gone…. really, I am….. You can go now, really, it’s okay; we’re done here…..