You could call it infiltrating the enemy, I suppose, but I call it compromise. Some things have happened in my life recently that I rather choose to prescribe to God than coincidence. That's really all it comes to anyway, right? Whether or not shit in your life (and I have sworn off cussing, btw, except for the word, "shit," which I refuse to give up...and it has nothing to do with religion, so get that out of your heads now.) is good or bad, right or wrong, evil or clown-schtooping evil is irrelevant. What you (we) need to concern yourself with is community. For whatever reason, most of the world's population still subscribes to a religion. I say it is our approach to religion in general, rather than a belief in it, that is the true problem.
What I have found in my bout with at first atheism and then agnosticism is, well, nothing. There is no culture, no joy, and the only community I found was populated by people who were so angry at Christians and religion in general that they were completely incapable of rational thought. As much as they go on about evidence, they're in short supply of it individually, as people. They are quick to lampoon literally anything that doesn't have a scientific modifier, and any theory posited that doesn't fit squarely and snugly into their view of atheism is summarily and soundly trumped and ridiculed . . . much like . . . religious people? In my atheistic experience, I would have to say that I dealt with people who were easily as intolerant of any views counter to their own as any Christians with whom I've dealt. Atheism is the antithesis of community, from what I can see.
I used to say to myself often that I would throw my lot in with the Christians if they would simply admit that the Bible was flawed. Then suddenly here I have my best friend, a Christian, saying just that. The Old Testament is fucked up. His words. But he will also proudly tell you he's a Christian.
So I asked m y friend one day, (a civil engineer and no dummy) why should I align myself with these hypocrites? He says...."you shouldn't. But you should align yourself with people who will lift you up. Always." But where was I to find that? I couldn't readily drop everything I knew to be right and good - because I've always wanted to be right and good in my actions - then hand it all over to this invisible being. I mean, I totally support the fact that Christianity will survive me. Question is, has Christianity earned its ability to survive. I, Pam, will compel <crush> you into submission. "No, Archer, no, wait - Archer, stop, nooo----"
"Goddammit." Cyril says grumpily.
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Monday, May 14, 2018
Experts say religious texts are not wholly asinine, say experts
All of these ancient religious texts so many of us subscribe to today were written by men (and some women) as wisdom to be carried down through the ages. They didn't have the "noise" that the vast majority of us have grown up with today, in this age. There was no television, no Internet, no video games nor movies and movie stars. No news, no publicized violence, and very little distraction. It isn't the authors' faults for having their words mistranslated, misused and misunderstood.
There is wisdom in the Bible, if you know how to read it. For instance, the "sin" of sex outside of marriage was a fundamentally pragmatic decision. Sex caused pregnancy and disease back then, as often as not. And women had at least a 30% chance of dying during childbirth. A pregnancy without an income to support the child was seen as a terrible burden. Disease was rampant, as there were no treatments or cures. Sex itself was not the sin. Irresponsible sex, even then, was viewed as terribly impractical. And therefore, from a philosophical perspective, immoral, i.e., sin.
Some people need to believe these words were directly from God. I tend to think they were, if not in the way that most people do. But those words simplify things for them because, let's face it, most people are simple. It was a way to govern the ignorant. The problem we face today is that even though most of us can read, we still do not truly comprehend what we read. For most of us, reading and writing are simply forms of communication. For others, they are the ultimate transference of thought and mind. Reading and understanding are not even remotely the same animal.
One can imply much in a sentence that is seemingly innocuous and banal. But to a scrupulous reader, there is much more information that goes unsaid, literally. One has to have the capacity to gather that implied information without prompting or explanation. This is very often - if not always - the case with religious texts.
That said, religious leaders - who only questionably understand the texts from which they teach - have no business dictating policy. That isn't to say that science and faith cannot collude and comingle. Quite the opposite. I can verifiably say that I have seen this work - faith coexisting with reason. Scientists, however, seem unable to admit they cannot yet understand a thing, despite their insistence otherwise; and religionists (I coined that term and now use it liberally) seem to think that anything that is perceived as against faith is somehow unholy. The very basis for both their faiths . . . is preposterous. Both of these institutions should be working toward meeting in the middle, yet they both seem determined to destroy one another. What neither of them seem to understand is that knowledge nor faith are going anywhere, anytime soon. If ever.
We are creatures of both reason and non-reason. We are intellectual and emotional beings, and I would daresay equally so. And to try and separate the two is madness. Faith is emotion-based. Intellect is mind-based. Keeping that in mind, there was a time not too long ago that if you told someone in the U.S. they could communicate with someone in China and have that communication translated instantaneously, without the aid of another human being, they would have called you a fool. And rightly so. If you had said 50 years ago that most of us would possess devices that would make the "communicators" on Star Trek look simple by comparison, you would likely think they were daydreaming, at the very least. And now we're on a very clear path to real androids (Sorry, Data), bio-mechanics, and - don't laugh - faster than light (FTL) travel. Whether or not you think it is possible, it is being actively studied, with big bucks backing it. And human beings have a tendency to do precisely what they set out to do. Say I'm wrong. I dare ya. 😉
There is wisdom in the Bible, if you know how to read it. For instance, the "sin" of sex outside of marriage was a fundamentally pragmatic decision. Sex caused pregnancy and disease back then, as often as not. And women had at least a 30% chance of dying during childbirth. A pregnancy without an income to support the child was seen as a terrible burden. Disease was rampant, as there were no treatments or cures. Sex itself was not the sin. Irresponsible sex, even then, was viewed as terribly impractical. And therefore, from a philosophical perspective, immoral, i.e., sin.
Some people need to believe these words were directly from God. I tend to think they were, if not in the way that most people do. But those words simplify things for them because, let's face it, most people are simple. It was a way to govern the ignorant. The problem we face today is that even though most of us can read, we still do not truly comprehend what we read. For most of us, reading and writing are simply forms of communication. For others, they are the ultimate transference of thought and mind. Reading and understanding are not even remotely the same animal.
That said, religious leaders - who only questionably understand the texts from which they teach - have no business dictating policy. That isn't to say that science and faith cannot collude and comingle. Quite the opposite. I can verifiably say that I have seen this work - faith coexisting with reason. Scientists, however, seem unable to admit they cannot yet understand a thing, despite their insistence otherwise; and religionists (I coined that term and now use it liberally) seem to think that anything that is perceived as against faith is somehow unholy. The very basis for both their faiths . . . is preposterous. Both of these institutions should be working toward meeting in the middle, yet they both seem determined to destroy one another. What neither of them seem to understand is that knowledge nor faith are going anywhere, anytime soon. If ever.
We are creatures of both reason and non-reason. We are intellectual and emotional beings, and I would daresay equally so. And to try and separate the two is madness. Faith is emotion-based. Intellect is mind-based. Keeping that in mind, there was a time not too long ago that if you told someone in the U.S. they could communicate with someone in China and have that communication translated instantaneously, without the aid of another human being, they would have called you a fool. And rightly so. If you had said 50 years ago that most of us would possess devices that would make the "communicators" on Star Trek look simple by comparison, you would likely think they were daydreaming, at the very least. And now we're on a very clear path to real androids (Sorry, Data), bio-mechanics, and - don't laugh - faster than light (FTL) travel. Whether or not you think it is possible, it is being actively studied, with big bucks backing it. And human beings have a tendency to do precisely what they set out to do. Say I'm wrong. I dare ya. 😉
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Baby hands throw the best tantrums, say Washington insiders
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/10/10/president-trumps-temper-tantrums-are-coming-at-an-accelerating-pace/?utm_term=.73bea1d4c27f
The article is a few months old, sure, but it is no less true today than it was when it was written. If anything, it has been further substantiated on a nearly daily basis. As the Facebook page, "The Other 98%," hilariously named him, "President Fucktweet" has put on public display his irrational behavior, his thin-skinned rebuttals, his inability to take criticism, and his utter lack of regard for the truth. And it all comes off as rather . . . toddler-ish.
The article is a few months old, sure, but it is no less true today than it was when it was written. If anything, it has been further substantiated on a nearly daily basis. As the Facebook page, "The Other 98%," hilariously named him, "President Fucktweet" has put on public display his irrational behavior, his thin-skinned rebuttals, his inability to take criticism, and his utter lack of regard for the truth. And it all comes off as rather . . . toddler-ish.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
I don't believe God listens to *every* prayer. . .but He listens to mine!
We cling to the God Concept because it is very real to us. Even to a nonbeliever such as I. I don't have any problem admitting that I want there to be a god. I want there to be this Benevolent Being watching over us, daily, making us better, delivering a daily hand in all our affairs. Truth is though, I don't believe in such a being. I believe there is a force out there who may listen in your darkest hour, but that same force gave us the substance, the fortitude, to stand firm against whatever comes our way. We have the intellectual capacity, the creativity, the will to stand in the way of anything that threatens us.This Being expects us to use that which was given to us to prove ourselves. And yes, he/she/It may listen sometimes, but I don't think it is infinitely listening to all of our whining.
Update 4/15/2018:
All of the aforementioned said, I have recently come across some knowledge, and have had some experiences, which may contradict that stuff-n-stuff I said several months ago (more accurately put, six months, but time is a rather fluid concept for me, as it happens to interfere - often - with the things I enjoy doing . . . more on that later). Truth is, I went to jail, and some things happened subsequently which I cannot explain, not fully on an intellectual level at least. And before you say or think that jail is just a place where the truly desolate seek desperately for any outlet, any saving grace they can in order to deal with their predicaments . . . it is.
No question there. But that is not the case for me, because I was only there a month. 27 days to be precise.
I have very likely not "rended" anyone's mind since the inception of this blog.
I was hoping to, certainly, but profundity is always accompanied by something learned - usually a powerful lesson - and learning is something of which I have been in short supply as of late. But somehow, solitude (i.e., jail) seems to be a stark progenitor of new ideas. And as my life has spiraled utterly out of control since my recent divorce in March, 2017, being open to new ideas, philosophies, and esoteric concepts did not any longer seem so alien to my fragile psyche.
Simply put, I got "saved" in jail. I put the word in quotations only because I do not yet understand precisely what that means.
I opened myself to God, to the idea of the Christian God, and felt a presence. Then I tried prayer - meaningful, faithful prayer - with every expectation that it would come to fruition. And it did. So far, all of them. For instance, I was waiting for a ride from a friend one day and it was supposed to storm (I have a car, just not one where I was) a full two hours prior to my friend's arrival; tornadoes, 40 - 50 mph winds, lightning, thunder, the whole, big, bad enchilada. 90% chance, and there I am, sitting outside with the wind bending trees nearly double, reading a book. I got annoyed, so I prayed for it to die down - willed it to, even, arrowing my thoughts directly at the skies with a feeling in my chest much like sadness, only I wasn't sad - and as soon as I was done, the wind died down dramatically. Chance, right? So thought I.
Then the wind picked up again. So I prayed again just as before . . . and the wind died down again. I turned my attention back to my book - Dan Brown's Lost Symbol, in case you're wondering - and I heard thunder. Then lightning and more thunder. I began to doubt again. The wind picked up yet again, and so I prayed that the storm would hold off until 2:45, as my friend was supposed to arrive at 2:30. The rain and wind - thunder and lightning as well - held off for another hour and a half until my friend arrived, then for the next 20 minutes it took for us to reach my house. It took me a few minutes to unload my things, speak to my sister and make it back to my bedroom before I looked at my watch. It was exactly 2:45, and just then the bottom dropped out.
I am a pretty creative guy. I write both prose and poetry, I write music, songs, and I'm also not sucky with some pencils and a sketchbook.
Suffice to say, if I were going to make up some fantastic story, it would be about something a whole lot more interesting than a storm. But wait . . . there's more!
Before I continue, let me say that I have reread my old arguments against religion and religious tenets, and I have to say . . . they still hold water. Lots of it. Which is why I think, based on empirical evidence, that my newfound belief is a mixture of both science and faith (re: noetic science). I don't think I have ever believed that Man's belief in mysticism (religion, philosophy, esoteric knowledge) - literally as old as recorded history and more researched, studied and dissected than any other concept - was founded on fantasy and fever dreams. I knew there was a basis in fact. I knew that miracles were simply sciences that we did not yet understand. That is also why I know that things we cannot explain today are sciences we cannot yet understand. The word, "science," simply means 'to know'.
Singing to a plant has been scientifically proven to improve its growth rate and health, as does sending positive thoughts at it consistently (re, again: noetic science). There are certain particles that can only be seen if we expect to see them. Otherwise, they do not exist. That is, quite literally, mind over matter on an atomic level. And sure, I may be creative, but I'm no physicist; as in, there's no way I could make that stuff up, and it's all verifiable.
I discovered noetic science about a decade ago. I tried reading about it, but honestly, the concepts were way over my head. I only understood the basic, fundamental ins and outs, and even those with only the most rudimentary comprehension. Rationalists (of which I consider myself a member, so to speak) call it "bullshit science," only I have seen every bit as much intolerance, vitriol and condemnation from atheists as I have from any religious group. True story. So no, I did not come across noetic science in Lost Symbol, but I was delighted to see it crop up again, because it interests me even more today, especially regarding some of the experiences I have had lately. There is also much more available information today than when I first came across it.
The Pit Bull
So, a couple weeks prior to the storm incident, I went on a sabbatical of sorts shortly after I got out of jail. The place where I was staying was out in the country where the people just sort of let their dogs run wild. Generally, I don't think it's much of an issue, but in this case, there happened to be a couple of really strong dogs running loose around the area. One was a very large bull mastiff, and the other was a pit bull terrier around 6 - 8 months old (is my guess, and although I'm no expert, I have owned a pit bull in the past and figure my guess is fairly accurate).
There were some men working on a house near where I was staying, about a hundred yards away, and the mastiff begins barking at the house. So the foreman (we found out later) sent one of his helpers out to run the mastiff off, and as he does so, the pit bull runs up beside the mastiff and begins barking at the young man too. He panics, drops the hammer that was in his hand, and begins to run. Before he can get far, both of them are on him, biting him. His yells bring out the rest of the crew - about five men total - and as this was happening, I hopped into the back of the truck where I was and three more of us were speeding down the road to help him. Before we even got halfway there, the incident was over. The young man was lying on his back wincing in pain and the dogs had run off at the sight of the truck and the men coming toward them.
The very next day, the little, tan pit bull returns. We found out a little later that another dog, Ginger, who hung out around the house we were staying in, was in heat. Ginger was (I think) a setter/shiba mix and she was of a size with Biscuit, the pit bull - so I named him soon after because of his coloring.
Initially, I ran him off with a big stick . . . until Ginger got scared and ran under a flatbed trailer, as did Biscuit, who quickly began wagging his tail at me. He was plainly frightened, but it was obvious he was also quite friendly. It didn't take much persuasion to get him to come out (after, of course, I checked on Ginger), and as it turned out, he was just a sweet little guy with no guile in him whatsoever. I can only assume he was merely copying the older and larger mastiff when he attacked that young man, because everyone else at the house got to know and like the dog, and there were no more incidents at all.
Anyhow, the proprietor of the house where I was staying did his diligence and called the sheriff's office, who promptly responded and asked him to take photos if he saw the dog back on the property. I ran into Biscuit's owner a few days later who told me that she had found a new home for him and to contact her if I saw him again. I was unable to do so before the sheriff's deputy returned, showing me photos the proprietor had sent him. This dismayed me terribly as I had grown attached to Biscuit, and he in turn had shown me nothing but love and sweetness and playfulness for the last several days. I didn't want to see him wind up in the pound, so I decided to pray for him at prayer group that night. It was an unusual request, and I admitted as much, but the leader of the group reluctantly said a prayer for the little guy. On my part, I prayed just as I had for the storm (remember, this was prior to the storm, and one of the instances in which I can no longer deny the power of human thought . . . or prayer, if you will), with a sad feeling in my chest. Again, I wasn't sad, only concerned, because I knew Biscuit's fate if he was picked up by Animal Control, and it seemed inevitable that he would be.
The very next morning, the deputy came by again, showed me the photos of Biscuit, and asked if I'd seen him. I answered honestly that I had not. A few hours after the deputy left, I saw Ginger. No Biscuit. Now would be the point in the story where I should tell you folks who don't have a lot of experience with dogs that if there is a female dog in heat, literally every male dog who is able within the vicinity of a mile radius will be hovering nearby. Also keep in mind that Biscuit had become quite happy out our little ranch, and had made some good friends besides Ginger. He was getting treats - of both the edible and sexual variety (several people had seen the two dogs coupling) - and had every reason to stick around. Long story just a tad longer, it turns out his owner was able to catch him and get him to his new owner before the deputy returned again. Was it prayer? I think so. Can I prove it? Meh . . . probably not. But these two instances, and half a dozen others just in the last month or six weeks have moved my belief needle way over to the other side of things.
Update 4/15/2018:
All of the aforementioned said, I have recently come across some knowledge, and have had some experiences, which may contradict that stuff-n-stuff I said several months ago (more accurately put, six months, but time is a rather fluid concept for me, as it happens to interfere - often - with the things I enjoy doing . . . more on that later). Truth is, I went to jail, and some things happened subsequently which I cannot explain, not fully on an intellectual level at least. And before you say or think that jail is just a place where the truly desolate seek desperately for any outlet, any saving grace they can in order to deal with their predicaments . . . it is.
I have very likely not "rended" anyone's mind since the inception of this blog.
Simply put, I got "saved" in jail. I put the word in quotations only because I do not yet understand precisely what that means.
Then the wind picked up again. So I prayed again just as before . . . and the wind died down again. I turned my attention back to my book - Dan Brown's Lost Symbol, in case you're wondering - and I heard thunder. Then lightning and more thunder. I began to doubt again. The wind picked up yet again, and so I prayed that the storm would hold off until 2:45, as my friend was supposed to arrive at 2:30. The rain and wind - thunder and lightning as well - held off for another hour and a half until my friend arrived, then for the next 20 minutes it took for us to reach my house. It took me a few minutes to unload my things, speak to my sister and make it back to my bedroom before I looked at my watch. It was exactly 2:45, and just then the bottom dropped out.
I am a pretty creative guy. I write both prose and poetry, I write music, songs, and I'm also not sucky with some pencils and a sketchbook.
 |
| Not perfect, but not terrible either, no? |
Before I continue, let me say that I have reread my old arguments against religion and religious tenets, and I have to say . . . they still hold water. Lots of it. Which is why I think, based on empirical evidence, that my newfound belief is a mixture of both science and faith (re: noetic science). I don't think I have ever believed that Man's belief in mysticism (religion, philosophy, esoteric knowledge) - literally as old as recorded history and more researched, studied and dissected than any other concept - was founded on fantasy and fever dreams. I knew there was a basis in fact. I knew that miracles were simply sciences that we did not yet understand. That is also why I know that things we cannot explain today are sciences we cannot yet understand. The word, "science," simply means 'to know'.
Singing to a plant has been scientifically proven to improve its growth rate and health, as does sending positive thoughts at it consistently (re, again: noetic science). There are certain particles that can only be seen if we expect to see them. Otherwise, they do not exist. That is, quite literally, mind over matter on an atomic level. And sure, I may be creative, but I'm no physicist; as in, there's no way I could make that stuff up, and it's all verifiable.
I discovered noetic science about a decade ago. I tried reading about it, but honestly, the concepts were way over my head. I only understood the basic, fundamental ins and outs, and even those with only the most rudimentary comprehension. Rationalists (of which I consider myself a member, so to speak) call it "bullshit science," only I have seen every bit as much intolerance, vitriol and condemnation from atheists as I have from any religious group. True story. So no, I did not come across noetic science in Lost Symbol, but I was delighted to see it crop up again, because it interests me even more today, especially regarding some of the experiences I have had lately. There is also much more available information today than when I first came across it.
The Pit Bull
So, a couple weeks prior to the storm incident, I went on a sabbatical of sorts shortly after I got out of jail. The place where I was staying was out in the country where the people just sort of let their dogs run wild. Generally, I don't think it's much of an issue, but in this case, there happened to be a couple of really strong dogs running loose around the area. One was a very large bull mastiff, and the other was a pit bull terrier around 6 - 8 months old (is my guess, and although I'm no expert, I have owned a pit bull in the past and figure my guess is fairly accurate).
There were some men working on a house near where I was staying, about a hundred yards away, and the mastiff begins barking at the house. So the foreman (we found out later) sent one of his helpers out to run the mastiff off, and as he does so, the pit bull runs up beside the mastiff and begins barking at the young man too. He panics, drops the hammer that was in his hand, and begins to run. Before he can get far, both of them are on him, biting him. His yells bring out the rest of the crew - about five men total - and as this was happening, I hopped into the back of the truck where I was and three more of us were speeding down the road to help him. Before we even got halfway there, the incident was over. The young man was lying on his back wincing in pain and the dogs had run off at the sight of the truck and the men coming toward them.
The very next day, the little, tan pit bull returns. We found out a little later that another dog, Ginger, who hung out around the house we were staying in, was in heat. Ginger was (I think) a setter/shiba mix and she was of a size with Biscuit, the pit bull - so I named him soon after because of his coloring.
 |
| very close approximation to "Biscuit" |
Anyhow, the proprietor of the house where I was staying did his diligence and called the sheriff's office, who promptly responded and asked him to take photos if he saw the dog back on the property. I ran into Biscuit's owner a few days later who told me that she had found a new home for him and to contact her if I saw him again. I was unable to do so before the sheriff's deputy returned, showing me photos the proprietor had sent him. This dismayed me terribly as I had grown attached to Biscuit, and he in turn had shown me nothing but love and sweetness and playfulness for the last several days. I didn't want to see him wind up in the pound, so I decided to pray for him at prayer group that night. It was an unusual request, and I admitted as much, but the leader of the group reluctantly said a prayer for the little guy. On my part, I prayed just as I had for the storm (remember, this was prior to the storm, and one of the instances in which I can no longer deny the power of human thought . . . or prayer, if you will), with a sad feeling in my chest. Again, I wasn't sad, only concerned, because I knew Biscuit's fate if he was picked up by Animal Control, and it seemed inevitable that he would be.
The very next morning, the deputy came by again, showed me the photos of Biscuit, and asked if I'd seen him. I answered honestly that I had not. A few hours after the deputy left, I saw Ginger. No Biscuit. Now would be the point in the story where I should tell you folks who don't have a lot of experience with dogs that if there is a female dog in heat, literally every male dog who is able within the vicinity of a mile radius will be hovering nearby. Also keep in mind that Biscuit had become quite happy out our little ranch, and had made some good friends besides Ginger. He was getting treats - of both the edible and sexual variety (several people had seen the two dogs coupling) - and had every reason to stick around. Long story just a tad longer, it turns out his owner was able to catch him and get him to his new owner before the deputy returned again. Was it prayer? I think so. Can I prove it? Meh . . . probably not. But these two instances, and half a dozen others just in the last month or six weeks have moved my belief needle way over to the other side of things.
Friday, October 6, 2017
Just so you understand . . . I do know what I'm doing, says inside source
So I thought I might share a couple of demo reels I produced at WLBT, a news station in Jackson, MS. Hope I'm not breaking any rules by putting this out there. But I wanted you, my readers, to know that the majority of the stuff those anchors read off the teleprompter, we, the producers, write, rewrite, and edit. And we even design all the graphics (i.e., names and occupations, dates, etc.)
In time I will also share some of my real news articles; not nearly so entertaining as the articles and insights you'll find here, but just to show that I am indeed the real deal. I use the fake headlines for humor, yes, but also because of my background in journalism - as an homage, if you will.
Monday, August 7, 2017
Agnostics are easily the smartest and most compassionate people in the world, experts say.
You could call it infiltrating the enemy, I suppose, but I call it
compromise. Some things have happened in my life recently that I rather
choose to prescribe to God than coincidence. That's really all it comes down
to anyway, right? Whether or not shit in your life (And I have sworn off
cussing [not 'cursing, which is completely different] btw, except for the word, "shit," which I refuse to give
up...and it has nothing to do with religion, so get that out of your
heads now.) is good or bad, right or wrong, evil or clown-schtoopingly
evil is irrelevant. What you (we) need to concern yourself with is
community. For whatever reason, most of the world's population still
subscribes to a religion. I say it is our approach to religion in
general, rather than a belief in it, that is the true problem.
What I have found in my bout with at first atheism and then agnosticism is, well, nothing. There is no culture, no joy, and the only community I found was populated by people who were so angry at Christians and religion in general that they were completely incapable of rational thought. As much as they go on about evidence, they're in short supply of it individually, as people. They are quick to lampoon literally anything that doesn't have a scientific modifier, and any theory posited that doesn't fit squarely and snugly into their view of atheism is summarily and soundly trumped and ridiculed . . . much like . . . religious people? In my atheistic experience, I would have to say that I dealt with people who were easily as intolerant of any views counter to their own as any Christians with whom I've dealt. Atheism is the antithesis of community, from what I can see.
I used to say to myself often that I would throw my lot in with the Christians if they would simply admit that the Bible was flawed. Then suddenly here I have my best friend, a Christian, saying just that. The Old Testament is fucked up. His words. But he will also proudly tell you he's a Christian.
So I asked my friend one day, (a civil engineer and no dummy) why should I align myself with these hypocrites? He says...."you shouldn't. But you should align yourself with people who will lift you up. Always." But where was I to find that? I couldn't readily drop everything I knew to be right and good - because I've always wanted to be right and good in my actions - then hand it all over to this invisible being. I mean, I totally support the fact that Christianity will survive me. Question is, has Christianity earned its ability to survive?
[more later]
What I have found in my bout with at first atheism and then agnosticism is, well, nothing. There is no culture, no joy, and the only community I found was populated by people who were so angry at Christians and religion in general that they were completely incapable of rational thought. As much as they go on about evidence, they're in short supply of it individually, as people. They are quick to lampoon literally anything that doesn't have a scientific modifier, and any theory posited that doesn't fit squarely and snugly into their view of atheism is summarily and soundly trumped and ridiculed . . . much like . . . religious people? In my atheistic experience, I would have to say that I dealt with people who were easily as intolerant of any views counter to their own as any Christians with whom I've dealt. Atheism is the antithesis of community, from what I can see.
I used to say to myself often that I would throw my lot in with the Christians if they would simply admit that the Bible was flawed. Then suddenly here I have my best friend, a Christian, saying just that. The Old Testament is fucked up. His words. But he will also proudly tell you he's a Christian.
So I asked my friend one day, (a civil engineer and no dummy) why should I align myself with these hypocrites? He says...."you shouldn't. But you should align yourself with people who will lift you up. Always." But where was I to find that? I couldn't readily drop everything I knew to be right and good - because I've always wanted to be right and good in my actions - then hand it all over to this invisible being. I mean, I totally support the fact that Christianity will survive me. Question is, has Christianity earned its ability to survive?
[more later]
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Why Our Nation is BROKE(n)
Read the entire essay if you desire to comment. |
| I think they left out the part about multi-billion dollar corporations unwilling to pay a living wage. |
General Electric made $26 billion in profits in 2010 and paid $0.00 in taxes, we have the largest military industrial complex in the world with a $250 billion budget, and people wonder why our government is broke. Who are we fighting? The terrorists? Does anyone remember a time before 9/11, when terrorists were underfunded, radical, militant fringe groups who blew stuff up from time to time? Yeah, well, that's what they're still doing, what they still are, and that's all they will ever be. Does anyone remember a time when it was believed that everyone paid taxes. What was the adage? "Nothing is certain but death and taxes," unless you're a multi-national corporation (a personhood, if you will), claiming absurd deductions for which they are busily lobbying Congress for even more as I write these very words.
In other words, we no longer care enough. We are complacent, fat and lazy. We are content to let these fools and degenerates do our thinking for us, and actively choose to believe the lies and propaganda perpetrated and perpetuated by the news media each and every day. Did you know that elected office is one of the very few government jobs for which a requisite degree or certification is not required. Let me say that again: The most powerful people in this country are not even required to be legitimately, or even adequately, qualified for their positions. And we CHOOSE this! We know they are lying to us - we have all been told, and even when faced with irrefutable proof (Dubya lying about WMD's, Obama lying about repealing the USA PATRIOT Act, Trump lying about . . . well, everything), we CHOSE to ignore the dire implications, and now we live in a country where it is perfectly acceptable for our government agents to raid anyone's home they choose, to write their own warrants, and search and seize property without your consent. Because it is inconvenient.
Complacent, we are, and cowardly. How can we stand against a government - a Congress that would legislate itself salary raises for the "fantastic" job they are doing and turn a blind eye when Dubya called for war on a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11 - when all we really care about is still getting to go home and play World of Warcraft at night? Actually doing something would interfere greatly with Mad Men and Game of Thrones, and we might have to give up the MMO night playing Call of Duty with our buddies. Damn....social consciousness is just too damned inconvenient. How 'bout them Bulldogs?
 |
| "What do you think you're doing with my sippy cup, bitch?" |
But worse are the conservative heroes and pundits, each and every one of whom is a firebrand dedicated to inciting fear, paranoia and dread. Rush, Hannity, Ingraham, O'Reilly,
All the mainstream media outlets these days are controlled by corporate/political (because there is no distinction anymore) entities. But at least NBC doesn't feel the need to argue before each commercial break that they are "the most trusted news source" because they are unbiased. They're not. They're just cleverer about it, and they don't feel the insecurity of standing behind a motto that is so ludicrously, blatantly and obviously horseshit. Anyone ever listened to the "J.T. Show?" This ignorant fool has a political talk show, such as it is, every day on SuperTalk Mississippi, 97.3, for those of you who aren't familiar with him. He is, to reuse a word from the above paragraph, *very* decidedly one of the most ignorant and brainwashed individuals I have ever had the displeasure of hearing on the radio. His diatribes (such as they are considering his limited vocabulary, his atrocious grammar and diction, and his tenuous grasp on the political climate in general) are mindless rants about how liberals are ruining the country <yawn> that have no basis in reason or fact. He was doing Trump before Trump was doing Trump. How he has managed to stay on the air, in the slot he was given, as long as he has, is a complete mystery to me. This fool pronounces 'nuclear' like Dubya pronounced it: "Nuke-U-lar." Whether he is just deliberately ignorant or he just wants to be like his hero (Trump, Reagan or Bush, take your pick) is unclear. The fact is, he is a radio personality, to the extent that he has a show - not that he is in fact a "personality" of any note - and he has the ear of thousands of people every day. And he is not only paid to perpetuate (there goes that word again) his ignorance, but the good people of Mississippi encourage it.
So why are we broke again? Because our government pays for entitlement programs it cannot afford or because G.E., along with dozens of other one percenters, pay zero dollars in taxes? "But they will ship our jobs overseas!" some might say. And the Fed should fine the holy hell out of them if they do. That's what China does. They're doing pretty okay these days. Our government is broke because it lacks the will to tax corporate "personhoods." Because even Facebook thinks that word is wrong, if the red, squiggly line underneath it indicates anything. Our government is broke because its money is tied up in special interests our illustrious Congress has decided are more important than our national welfare. Our government is broke because they no longer give two shits about the American people, but spend 80% of their time in office fundraising for their next campaign. Our government is broke because it depends on, and is beholden to, an independent Central Bank that is NOT beholden to the government which houses, shelters and defends it. And our government is broke because its citizens are too lazy and too frightened to do - or not do, in certain cases - the things necessary to effect a change.
It used to be that only educated people were encouraged - or even capable - of practicing the art of journalism. Only now, with mediocrity the only height to which most aspire these days, journalism has become something much less than what it once was. People crave - thanks to the conditioning served up by the advertising media - nothing so much as what will entertain them, and care very little about factual accuracy or unbiased relaying of those facts.
And again, if you want to respond to this, please read the whole damned thing. I'll know if you did simply based on your comments. This took me a long time to write, and I am not going to repeat something that was already covered in this essay. I welcome intelligent conversation and debate, but I don't have the time or the inclination to respond to dick-ish repostes and rebuttals. Be civil, in other words, or don't say anything at all.
And guns. Leave my damn guns out of this conversation. I'll delete it in a heartbeat if one single mention of fun - I mean....gun control comes up. It's off-topic and just dumb. And a subject for another essay....
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Owning property makes you a property owner, not a good businessman, say Washington insiders
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/2/12/1630197/-Trump-has-transformed-the-lush-landscape-of-conservative-principles-into-a-magnificent-desolation#comment_65508631
I want his fall to be slow, though. And deeply humiliating. He should be in prison, but that tangerine, racist man-baby sits in the Oval Office instead. I want him to fall dramatically. Slowly, painfully and dishonorably. I believe the conclusion is foregone, inevitable, but he should be made to suffer as he has made the majority of this country suffer . . . through his tirades and lies, his infantile tantrums and his hypocritical insults. His calling Clinton “Crooked Hillary” makes me cringe even worse than when I hear the phrase, “Fox News. Fair and balanced.”
Again, he belongs in an orange jumpsuit (okay, maybe not orange because that might aid in his escape) on a work farm in Kansas somewhere, pickax in hand. Tax dodging, sexual assault, and fraud are just a few for which he has openly admitted — nay, boasted — committing. He brags about skipping out on a billion dollars in unpaid taxes, brags about grabbing women by the genitals and forcing his pasty lips on them without their consent (“I don’t even ask. I just kiss them.”), and brags about stiffing contractors out of what he owes them and calls it good business; and this utter fool is the leader of the free world? He is a terrible businessman. The only thing in which he has succeeded is his persistence in insisting that he is as wonderful as he thinks he is, to the point that enough simple-minded fools believed him enough to give him a reality TV show. A scripted show in which multiple takes were allowed to make him look smart/savvy and powerful. And frankly, when was the last time they made a reality show about . . . anyone with even a thimbleful of class?
But he is a failure in every regard. He isn’t smart, he isn’t successful (Unless you consider a master bullshitter a success story, except he isn’t even any good at that — anyone paying attention knows when he’s lying . . . which is, quite literally, most of the time. Either that, or he simply starts saying words he thinks sound good, without thought or care to their accuracy or impact. Kellyanne Conway has to reach deep every time he missteps, and tries to paint him as this multilayered, cerebral guy, when it is plain as the screen I’m staring at that his vocabulary isn’t even multilayered, much less his personality and intellect. ), he isn’t handsome or knowledgeable, or even likable.
Even now, four months later, I am still baffled. And a bit nauseated. He inherited $120 million from his father (and still only worth about that much on paper, so I’ve read) and then convinces everyone he is successful because he’s rich. He’s even gotten many to believe he is a self-made man, although it behooves me to ask how you can be self-made when you were born wealthy? And owning property does not make a person a good businessman. It makes you a property owner, nothing more. All of his actual profit-making endeavors have failed dramatically, i.e., Trump Casinos, Trump Steaks, and Trump University. Paying someone to buy and sell property for you doesn’t make you business savvy. It’s acknowledging that you do not have the business acumen to make those decisions yourself, which is kind of smart. But also lazy. I thought the American people had a little more sense than this. Not much more. But surely more than enough not to take a scumbag like Trump seriously as a presidential candidate. I mean, every time he has run in the past, everyone considered it a joke. Because it was. Unfortunately, the joke is now on us.
I want his fall to be slow, though. And deeply humiliating. He should be in prison, but that tangerine, racist man-baby sits in the Oval Office instead. I want him to fall dramatically. Slowly, painfully and dishonorably. I believe the conclusion is foregone, inevitable, but he should be made to suffer as he has made the majority of this country suffer . . . through his tirades and lies, his infantile tantrums and his hypocritical insults. His calling Clinton “Crooked Hillary” makes me cringe even worse than when I hear the phrase, “Fox News. Fair and balanced.”
Again, he belongs in an orange jumpsuit (okay, maybe not orange because that might aid in his escape) on a work farm in Kansas somewhere, pickax in hand. Tax dodging, sexual assault, and fraud are just a few for which he has openly admitted — nay, boasted — committing. He brags about skipping out on a billion dollars in unpaid taxes, brags about grabbing women by the genitals and forcing his pasty lips on them without their consent (“I don’t even ask. I just kiss them.”), and brags about stiffing contractors out of what he owes them and calls it good business; and this utter fool is the leader of the free world? He is a terrible businessman. The only thing in which he has succeeded is his persistence in insisting that he is as wonderful as he thinks he is, to the point that enough simple-minded fools believed him enough to give him a reality TV show. A scripted show in which multiple takes were allowed to make him look smart/savvy and powerful. And frankly, when was the last time they made a reality show about . . . anyone with even a thimbleful of class?
But he is a failure in every regard. He isn’t smart, he isn’t successful (Unless you consider a master bullshitter a success story, except he isn’t even any good at that — anyone paying attention knows when he’s lying . . . which is, quite literally, most of the time. Either that, or he simply starts saying words he thinks sound good, without thought or care to their accuracy or impact. Kellyanne Conway has to reach deep every time he missteps, and tries to paint him as this multilayered, cerebral guy, when it is plain as the screen I’m staring at that his vocabulary isn’t even multilayered, much less his personality and intellect. ), he isn’t handsome or knowledgeable, or even likable.
Even now, four months later, I am still baffled. And a bit nauseated. He inherited $120 million from his father (and still only worth about that much on paper, so I’ve read) and then convinces everyone he is successful because he’s rich. He’s even gotten many to believe he is a self-made man, although it behooves me to ask how you can be self-made when you were born wealthy? And owning property does not make a person a good businessman. It makes you a property owner, nothing more. All of his actual profit-making endeavors have failed dramatically, i.e., Trump Casinos, Trump Steaks, and Trump University. Paying someone to buy and sell property for you doesn’t make you business savvy. It’s acknowledging that you do not have the business acumen to make those decisions yourself, which is kind of smart. But also lazy. I thought the American people had a little more sense than this. Not much more. But surely more than enough not to take a scumbag like Trump seriously as a presidential candidate. I mean, every time he has run in the past, everyone considered it a joke. Because it was. Unfortunately, the joke is now on us.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Your religion is dying, say religious leaders
I'm fairly and equally intolerant of most religious tenets - particularly those which have no place in the modern, Internet-dominated world. Particularly those that have no relevance to a culture genuinely headed toward moderate - private - belief in whatever the hell you choose to believe in. I'm all for you believing it. Just keep it the hell to yourself and don't try to make it *everyone's* truth, okay? Sam Harris isn't preaching hate. He is the only person (besides myself, ahem) who calls Islam on its bullshit without condemning all Islamists . . . but at the same time, yeah, condemning them for their hellish, war-like beliefs. Seriously! Don't show me a turd and try to explain to me it isn't a turd. It's a fucking TURD! I can see it! Smell it! Touch it.....if I want to. Which I don't..............or do I...?
Every time I see someone write, or hear them say, "Islam is a religion of peace," I want to scream at them (and sometimes do), "Have you read your f----ing Quran lately?" But I don't discriminate - and you'll never accuse me of doing so - because the Big One in the Christian world is also argued to be "a religion of peace." But you don't need to look far to read about a genocide, pedophilia, rape, torture or just utter nonsense happening in large amounts in the Bible. Seriously. Open up a random passage in the Old Testament without looking. My money is on God is killing some folks in said passage for not being scared enough of him.
Not saying that *some* wisdom cannot be found in these old tomes. I'm saying that we are beyond it now, creating our OWN wisdom because we have access to so much more than they did. (And for the record, NO, they did not have access to heavenly beings. Their "miracles" are either completely fabricated by those who came after, or charlatans' tricks. (FYI the Bible as a complete text wasn't written or compiled until 400 YEARS after the death of Christ.) Still some HOLY shit though, right??? If you think the Bible, the Quran, the Torah or any other religious text is the inspired Word of God, good on ya, pal. You go and believe the holy hell out of that shit! But when that same text tells you to do bad shit to me and mine, simply because we don't agree with you? That's where you fucked up big time. That's where your ENTIRE way of life screwed you in the ass, pal. Because I. Will. Fuck. You. Up. Without remorse, without hesitation, without guilt and without reservation. I will fucking OWN you. You let that sink in, noble Reader. I am the nicest fucker you will ever meet, but when you let your religious bullshit deliberately try to influence MY little girl? I will fuck you up. Let there be no mistake, no miscommunication. I ain't your typical tree hugging liberal. I'm that fucking weirdo with all the guns and the attitude. I'm that badass who went and studied martial arts because he wanted to know how to defend himself against assholes like you, the rabid Trump supporters. Sadly, I thought you fucking douchebags were in the minority! Now I got my work cut out for me, apparently. But mistake my kindness for weakness.....please.
Not saying that *some* wisdom cannot be found in these old tomes. I'm saying that we are beyond it now, creating our OWN wisdom because we have access to so much more than they did. (And for the record, NO, they did not have access to heavenly beings. Their "miracles" are either completely fabricated by those who came after, or charlatans' tricks. (FYI the Bible as a complete text wasn't written or compiled until 400 YEARS after the death of Christ.) Still some HOLY shit though, right??? If you think the Bible, the Quran, the Torah or any other religious text is the inspired Word of God, good on ya, pal. You go and believe the holy hell out of that shit! But when that same text tells you to do bad shit to me and mine, simply because we don't agree with you? That's where you fucked up big time. That's where your ENTIRE way of life screwed you in the ass, pal. Because I. Will. Fuck. You. Up. Without remorse, without hesitation, without guilt and without reservation. I will fucking OWN you. You let that sink in, noble Reader. I am the nicest fucker you will ever meet, but when you let your religious bullshit deliberately try to influence MY little girl? I will fuck you up. Let there be no mistake, no miscommunication. I ain't your typical tree hugging liberal. I'm that fucking weirdo with all the guns and the attitude. I'm that badass who went and studied martial arts because he wanted to know how to defend himself against assholes like you, the rabid Trump supporters. Sadly, I thought you fucking douchebags were in the minority! Now I got my work cut out for me, apparently. But mistake my kindness for weakness.....please.
My point - all these desert religions you guys are still grasping onto have literally NOTHING to do with the world today. As my brother used to point out to me in his unexpected wisdom, you can read literally any horoscope from the newspaper and relate it back to yourself. Go ahead. I'll wait. And frankly, astrology makes more sense to me than all the major world religions, even though I know for a fact it's horseshit.
They - these ancient, desert religions - cannot coexist comfortably in a world in which language barriers are all but nonexistent. They cannot exist comfortably in a world in which all of the world's information is literally seconds away, at the touch of a fingertip. No wonder all the televangelists are preaching "End Times!" Because it truly is for them, hah. We are outgrowing religion, y'all. And the priests, preachers and imams all see it. They see it and it absolutely terrifies them. That's why televangelists having been saying for nearly half a century that the world is ending. That's why imams are requiring their most avid, shit-crazy soldiers to step up and "prove" whatever the fuck it is they're trying to prove. They're scared. The Information Age does not agree with them, their ideology. I mean, obviously, the answer ain't Scientology, but if we are going to persist in believing in religious dogma, we need to come up with a belief structure that fits US, not desert dwellers who lived two millennia ago. We are beyond that nonsense in every way. We're better than they were. We live longer. We're more knowledgeable, we're smarter, and LITERATE. We can read these religious tomes for ourselves - if you bothered to - and see them for what they are. Utterly ridiculous fairy tales predicated on the idea - no, the strongly held belief - that everything in them is true and goddamn rational! It. Is. NOT. 
And that's another thing that makes me want to pull my hair out. So, so many educated people who still buy into it, too afraid to say what they really think about it for fear of being persecuted by their fellow Muslim/Christian/Jew/Hindu - and I use slashes instead of commas because they are all pretty much the same to me. I admit that I DO want to offend you with this missive, but only enough to make you think. I don't want to offend you so much that you want to kill me. For some, I'm sure it's probably too late. You'll be dancing on my grave after everyone leaves the service. Which is another funny thing you may not know about me - I am perfectly willing to have a Christian burial. I'll do this for my family, for the handful of people that love me, because it will make *them* feel better, and I want them to be happy. I will go to my deathbed knowing that it won't make two shits difference in the grand scheme of things, but if it makes those I love happy, then so be it. 
One last thing, when my mom was on her deathbed, I told her I had rediscovered Jesus, that I knew I was going to Heaven. Yes, I lied to her. But to see that smile on her face, I would say that same lie a thousand times over. She died, a contented smile on her face, believing that my soul would be alright. She was correct. It will be. I'm a pretty good dude once you get past that religion stuff. Assuming I have a soul. Assuming, if there is a god, that fucker isn't ANYTHING like the terrible beast it's depicted as being in all these ancient desert tomes (sidebar - I find it more than a little hysterical how some lost, ancient manuscripts are considered Bible canon, yet others - just as validated and ancient - are immediately rejected by the Catholic church....which, guess what, Evangelicals? Everything you believe, pretty much, was created by the Catholics....that's funny as hell to me), then yeah, I think I'll be pretty smurfy. And whatever you may think of me, my mom died "knowing" I would meet her in Heaven. To my atheist and agnostic friends who insist they make their parents miserable because mom and dad "just don't get it?" I say, Fuck You, you selfish, insensitive asshole. Costs you nothing. Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Trump denies allegations of narcissistic personality disorder until he's told it's desirable - now says he's the best NPD in the world, say Washington insiders
So I'm watching an interview with Trevor Noah on CBS. And of course the conversation leads to Trump, and Noah's interview with Obama. But I took issue with Noah early in 2016, after discovering he was not who I believed, and to be truthful, wanted, him to be. I like Noah, I do. He has a genuine sweetness to him, he is ostensibly a really humble guy, and he seems for the most part honest. But as intelligent as he is, he absolutely had to know Hillary was the wrong person to run against Trump. She did not have the popularity or the moral fortitude to win. The news media couldn't let go of the ridiculous emails, and Noah couldn't stop gushing over Hillary even when she was well behind Sanders in the polls. And it isn't because I was a Sanders supporter (I was, unashamedly - still am, actually) that Noah's constant kissing of the hem of Clinton's dress bothered me. It was because it was done so blatantly, and the audacity with which he did it made it clear to me he was being influenced, or outright ordered, by those higher up the food chain to support Hillary publicly. The Democratic National Convention apparently has far more influence over its members than does the Republican National Convention, because the DNC got the establishment candidate they wanted, and the nimrods at the RNC were apoplectic when Trump took the nomination. Indeed, it would not have surprised me all that much if they had rescinded his nomination. Indeed, they had a fucking moral obligation to do so because Trump, simply put, is a bad person.
"Nobody knows the system better than I do," Trump boasted again at the the RNC - which would be insanely laughable if he were not about to be running that same system he knows literally nothing about. One thing he knows about the system very well indeed? How to pander to the fearful. (And how to toot his own horn, of course.) And conservatives have been clinically proven to be more fearful and aggressive to that which is uncommon or unfamiliar, and they also have a higher tendency to blame others (sadly, it's the poor and downtrodden conservative politicians so shamelessly blame for this country's woes) when things go south. Or rather, fearful, aggressive people who like to blame their problems on others overwhelmingly tend to be conservative, if that makes you feel better. Which brings me to my second point: He literally cannot take criticism. Worse, he does not have the ability to admit any lack of ability or knowledge of, or about, anything. According to Trump, he ties his shoes the best, and he is 'amazing' at brushing his teeth. Speaking of teeth, despite any formal training, I am only slightly joking when I say I think he would probably contend that he was the best dentist as well. Hate to keep reusing this word, but here, it is the only one that works, and that is . . . he is literally the most thin-skinned person I have ever seen. He is bizarrely infantile, or as Jon Stewart put it, "he's like a man-baby." Very appropriate in this context, few could honestly deny. He rants at anyone who disapproves of him, and his is a case of textbook, clinical, narcissistic personality disorder. And it is closely related to sociopathy.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Corporations still can't afford to pay a living wage despite making record profits, say bankers
I've said it before, but it deserves repeating. "A house divided cannot stand." I believe that was Thomas Jefferson....one of the founders, anyway. And it is profoundly true. Our leaders want us divided. It makes us easier to control.
We live in a country dominated wholly by corporate interests, in which almost every legislation enacted by our duly elected corporate cronies is aimed at providing those same corrupt, corporate entities with yet more power, more control over our economy, and thus our lives. They're the same people who lobbied Congress for "Corporate Personhood." Go ahead and look that up. I'll wait. These evil white men are making RECORD PROFITS, people. Easily researched. In fact, I'll do a little of my own to support my claim, although I have been doing so for years. And I say, "evil," because the whole scheme has a sinister quality to it unlike anything I have ever seen or imagined. The control they exercise over the direction of the U.S., and indeed, the world, is so complete that they literally control every facet of our lives. Without them, we cannot cook, see, or stay warm. Without their drugs, we would die. And our Federal Bank is privately owned, which is another subject entirely, but worth at least a footnote here.
But if that's the case, and it very decidedly is, why do they refuse to pay a living wage? That's the question we need to be asking. Probably the most important question of all. Besides, it is a sociological fact that happier workers are more productive workers. And how do you make an employee happy? You don't give him a honey baked ham at Christmas or throw a party. You pay him what he's worth. It is amazingly simple, bigly.
Again, if they are making record profits, which is, again, easily researched and confirmed, why do they still refuse to pay a living wage? Why are we having to work two and three jobs just to get the mortgage/rent paid? It wasn't that long ago when one household income could support an entire family. They're making record profits strictly BECAUSE they refuse to pay a living wage. Well, maybe not "strictly." They're far more sophisticated even than that. They have screwing Americans out of a dollar down to a science.
Again, if they are making record profits, which is, again, easily researched and confirmed, why do they still refuse to pay a living wage? Why are we having to work two and three jobs just to get the mortgage/rent paid? It wasn't that long ago when one household income could support an entire family. They're making record profits strictly BECAUSE they refuse to pay a living wage. Well, maybe not "strictly." They're far more sophisticated even than that. They have screwing Americans out of a dollar down to a science.
PUBLIC NOTICE
I would like to continue this blog. It is relevant, funny, and I don't need confirmation to know my experiences - and my unique ability to articulate those experiences - reflect volumes of thoughts and adventures worth sharing. Even moreso, I hope it resonates with you, my treasured readers. However, having said that (even bragged a little), I find that I have less and less time to manage it. Sure, I can tap out the words pretty quickly, but putting together the photos, keeping things consistent and noteworthy, compiling it in a way that grabs readers' attention is the real time killer.
I am looking for volunteers. Someone(s) who may or may not agree with me on everything, but who likes my delivery of it nonetheless. I don't get all of the mechanics available to me on Blogspot, first of all. I know I can add buttons, advertisements, other stuff, but I don't really know how to go about it, and I don't really have time to do it, to search for photos, gifs and other media, or the attention span to learn it all. But I'm betting there are a few readers out there who do. Because I do not imagine there are many - if any - of my readers who are uneducated. I don't write for the uneducated. I don't write to change people's minds. I write to confirm your own ideas, to articulate them, to put proverbial pen to proverbial paper for you - not me. And for the record, all education is voluntary. Being educated is a matter of choice, not upbringing or class. I am educated not because I attended college but because I chose to verse myself in those things which interested me. I sailed through college with an A average. Wasn't hard. I have an awesome short-term memory. Yay for me. Took good notes, read them 20 minutes before an exam, and viola! Aced it. Wanna put money on how much of it I actually retained, though? Yeah, only the parts I gave a shit about. That's what I remember from college. Stuff that interested me. Not one whisker more or less.
And I do not contend that I am smarter than you simply because I know how to put words together, or that I have a bachelor's degree - which equates to what an associate's degree was 15 years ago. I am no smarter (or stupider) than a cabinet maker, an accountant, a dog groomer, a doctor, a cashier or a machinist. In fact, I know people in all those aforementioned professions, and they are among the most intelligent people I have ever met. Indeed, the richest man I know - a vascular surgeon - is also the most foolish, reckless piece of shit I know. We all have a set - or sets - skills. Mine just happens to be putting words (and on an equally important level, music notes) together to make a thing. Makes no difference what you do for a living these days. It doesn't reflect your intelligence or who you are as an individual. We're all just trying to survive. Took me way too long to come to that (now) very obvious conclusion. We do what we must to carry on. Let your career define you and . . . you let your job - that thing you get up in the morning dreading - define who you are as a person. That's just lame, dude. Your family, your goals, your expectations, your art, your mind - let that define you. But if you're digging ditches at a waste management facility, I'm hoping you don't let thoughts of work keep you up at night. Just saying.
Of course there are exceptions. If you're an artist, I completely understand if your work defines you. I'm an artist, and my work as an artist defines me as well. Unfortunately, no one has bothered to mention that I should be fucking paid for it! Ahem, but I digress. If you work for a charity, or you're a physician (not a douchebag vascular surgeon), or you're a teacher - yeah, your work defines who you are, and it damn well should. But hell, I did floor covering (tile, carpet, hardwood) for 20 years on and off (mostly on), but it sure as shit didn't define me. I had to virtually fight my way out of it, still fighting that construction worker stigma - not that there's anything wrong with it - and when you're trying to change career fields when your body simply refuses to do the same shit you used to do without thinking, well, believe me when I tell you, it ain't easy. Thing is, since leaving that line of work, I haven't made even remotely the kind of money I made back then. Back then, I had more money than I knew what to do with, but I was miserable. Now, I am poorer than I've ever been, but also the happiest I've ever been. Funnier still, the whole time I was in school, I was persecuted by my coworkers who never tired of calling me "college boy," although they said it with love. But there is an organic (dunno why I used that word because I hate it...soooo overused nowadays....but it fits, here) resistance to transitioning from blue collar to white collar work. I haven't yet been able to put my finger on it, but it's there. Oh, it's there, goddammit. Kind of feels like you're trying to walk forward but someone has a hold on your shirt collar. Like, "Where do you think you're going, bitch boy?" That's the voice in my head. Always calling me a "bitch boy." Bastard. I'm on to you, Boy Bitch.
So! If you like what I'm doing, if you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down, please be kind and message me. I need, and would very much like, your assistance in keeping this thing going. And I will proudly credit you for your contributions.
Thanks in advance - Hat.
I am looking for volunteers. Someone(s) who may or may not agree with me on everything, but who likes my delivery of it nonetheless. I don't get all of the mechanics available to me on Blogspot, first of all. I know I can add buttons, advertisements, other stuff, but I don't really know how to go about it, and I don't really have time to do it, to search for photos, gifs and other media, or the attention span to learn it all. But I'm betting there are a few readers out there who do. Because I do not imagine there are many - if any - of my readers who are uneducated. I don't write for the uneducated. I don't write to change people's minds. I write to confirm your own ideas, to articulate them, to put proverbial pen to proverbial paper for you - not me. And for the record, all education is voluntary. Being educated is a matter of choice, not upbringing or class. I am educated not because I attended college but because I chose to verse myself in those things which interested me. I sailed through college with an A average. Wasn't hard. I have an awesome short-term memory. Yay for me. Took good notes, read them 20 minutes before an exam, and viola! Aced it. Wanna put money on how much of it I actually retained, though? Yeah, only the parts I gave a shit about. That's what I remember from college. Stuff that interested me. Not one whisker more or less.
And I do not contend that I am smarter than you simply because I know how to put words together, or that I have a bachelor's degree - which equates to what an associate's degree was 15 years ago. I am no smarter (or stupider) than a cabinet maker, an accountant, a dog groomer, a doctor, a cashier or a machinist. In fact, I know people in all those aforementioned professions, and they are among the most intelligent people I have ever met. Indeed, the richest man I know - a vascular surgeon - is also the most foolish, reckless piece of shit I know. We all have a set - or sets - skills. Mine just happens to be putting words (and on an equally important level, music notes) together to make a thing. Makes no difference what you do for a living these days. It doesn't reflect your intelligence or who you are as an individual. We're all just trying to survive. Took me way too long to come to that (now) very obvious conclusion. We do what we must to carry on. Let your career define you and . . . you let your job - that thing you get up in the morning dreading - define who you are as a person. That's just lame, dude. Your family, your goals, your expectations, your art, your mind - let that define you. But if you're digging ditches at a waste management facility, I'm hoping you don't let thoughts of work keep you up at night. Just saying.
Of course there are exceptions. If you're an artist, I completely understand if your work defines you. I'm an artist, and my work as an artist defines me as well. Unfortunately, no one has bothered to mention that I should be fucking paid for it! Ahem, but I digress. If you work for a charity, or you're a physician (not a douchebag vascular surgeon), or you're a teacher - yeah, your work defines who you are, and it damn well should. But hell, I did floor covering (tile, carpet, hardwood) for 20 years on and off (mostly on), but it sure as shit didn't define me. I had to virtually fight my way out of it, still fighting that construction worker stigma - not that there's anything wrong with it - and when you're trying to change career fields when your body simply refuses to do the same shit you used to do without thinking, well, believe me when I tell you, it ain't easy. Thing is, since leaving that line of work, I haven't made even remotely the kind of money I made back then. Back then, I had more money than I knew what to do with, but I was miserable. Now, I am poorer than I've ever been, but also the happiest I've ever been. Funnier still, the whole time I was in school, I was persecuted by my coworkers who never tired of calling me "college boy," although they said it with love. But there is an organic (dunno why I used that word because I hate it...soooo overused nowadays....but it fits, here) resistance to transitioning from blue collar to white collar work. I haven't yet been able to put my finger on it, but it's there. Oh, it's there, goddammit. Kind of feels like you're trying to walk forward but someone has a hold on your shirt collar. Like, "Where do you think you're going, bitch boy?" That's the voice in my head. Always calling me a "bitch boy." Bastard. I'm on to you, Boy Bitch.
So! If you like what I'm doing, if you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down, please be kind and message me. I need, and would very much like, your assistance in keeping this thing going. And I will proudly credit you for your contributions.
Thanks in advance - Hat.
"I'll take Eastern gods for $800, Alex."
So, this conversation grew into a thing. You know, one of those things. But unlike most of them, it didn't go nuclear, no anger directed at anyone - except for some very mild anger from myself at some well-perceived condescension - but seriously, it was quite possibly the most calm and rational religious debate I've ever had. And in fairness, I will include the counter arguments. Well, there's a little mirth mixed in with the fairness, but no one will be able to say I wasn't. Fair, that is. Unless by "fair" you mean that we were all equally intelligent and educated. To that I would say, ask them....behind a shitty, toothy smile. Oh, and please read through to the end. Or skip to the end. That's the best part.
Thus, my original post:
For that matter, who decides whether or not thought itself is bad? I think therefore I sin? Such horseshit! Whoever came up with that ideology was either rutted in guilt or trying to control others who were. I have a thought. I have sinned. That makes no fucking sense. You ask me to believe what you believe....when I know for truth what you believe is based in lies, deceit and utterly contrived nonsense. Don't ever ask me to believe what you believe, because I have this handy little pocket tool. It's called *reason*. And it has served me well. Don't ever ask me to believe what you believe again (don't even bring it up in conversation) because I will - without hesitation or remorse - take it apart, bit by ridiculous bit. I have no patience for it anymore.
You know the final answer I get from people now? "Well, I guess the lord will have to show you in his own way." Or some such nonsense. You know why, though? Because faith can never stand against reason. Never. Never has been able to, never will be able to, and until you or someone else can say one, clear, definitive thing worth saying, I stand by reason and reason alone. Faith has done absolutely shit for me, and believe me, I have lived as a person of faith. To no avail, of course. Those who seek comfort in God, Jesus, Allah, more power to you. If it makes you feel better to believe in some imaginary guy living up in the clouds who has nothing but love for you, bully for you. But I have a newsflash for you: What has Santa Claus ever done for you? Name one goddamned thing.
"Before you pray for my soul, consider this. I am not doomed. I am one of the very few who has moved away from religion, but closer to God. I cannot see Him in the pages of the Bible - a book which has no direct bearing on me - and I cannot see Him in the same places you see him....because you are told where to look for Him. I wasn't. And in that light, I was made to see. My mind is clear, open, untroubled by sin and guilt and regret. My path was not easy - indeed, it has been uniquely difficult - but I am at a place where I find your concern for my spiritual well-being just a bit condescending. As if you know something, or are in touch with something I am not. Let me reassure you, that isn't the case. If anything, it is the other way around. I walk free of guilt, of regret, free of fear and recrimination. I stand tall and proud in my uniqueness, my oneness. I live how I have always imagined I should live. I am happy, most of the time, and I fear nothing. Because there is no challenge that I have faced yet which I have not overcome, soundly.
But if it makes you - any of you - feel better to lament for my soul, by all means, go ahead. But please do so on your own time. I am whole. I do not need, nor want, your god's assistance, provided he ever even offered it. Which I highly doubt. I am good. No thanks to him, but in large and grateful thanks to you, my family and friends.
Thus, my original post:
Okay, just so I have this straight. I can rape who I want, kill who I want, rob who I want (I don't want any of these things, for the record), and I'm forgiven and justified just so long as I ask Jesus to forgive me, right? And after I ask for forgiveness, I can go back out, do the same thing over again, and I'm forgiven once again, correct? So...pretty much anything goes? I come to you and kill your daughter. I'm forgiven - because I'm a Christian - and you have to forgive me as well? Because YOU'RE a Christian?
It's a flawed system we're working with here, people. So far as I can see at least. Regardless of what I do to you, I'm forgiven. That isn't holy. And it certainly isn't justice. It's called murder, rape and robbery. And it isn't just a sin, it is against conventional law. And those laws weren't based on a religious text. They are based in simple human interaction. Ego. Era. In Bible times, it was perfectly acceptable for a man - a MAN ONLY - to have more than one wife. Why is that, though? Why was it cool for a dude to have two wives, but not so much for a wife to have two husbands? It still blows my mind that the Vatican still tries to justify the Old Testament.
You literally CANNOT be a Christian and believe in ANY of the teachings or prophecies put forth by the Old Testament. The very concept disallows, delegitimizes everything put forth as LAW from the Old Testament.
That was me. Here are some of the responses. And please believe me, these are the most intelligent ones.
"Bob M. - Ok dude,cold truth,,,,you have never been weak,,,,this seems a matter of self opinion ,,, I've always held your personal strength and wisdom in the highest regard,,,,may I suggest you view yourself in the same manor?"
Hat Thomas - I'm sick of it, Bob. The constant appeals of, "You should come to my church." Like that's going to show me the way. You know how many churches I've been to? Yeah, me neither. I lost count. Hundreds, likely. Because I *wanted* to believe in something. Thing is, I just got sick of that ONE thing they kept wanting me to believe in. Turned out, that Eastern desert religion didn't really fit my way of thinking. You guys know that Christianity - the religion that dominates Western culture and that 70% of Americans subscribe to - is an ARAB religion, right? Those guys were ARABS. The same people our government seeks to eradicate worldwide? The same people most right wing, Christian conservatives wish would simply go away? Their very morality is made up of an ARAB religion. Sorry, but if I'm going to subscribe to a religion, I'd prefer it be one my own ancestors came up with. Just saying. I don't. Don't get me wrong. But if I were to commit my life to some kind of faith, it damn sure wouldn't be one from a region where women are doormats and the wages of sin is death.
Amanda G. - Death in a spiritual sense. That's what that means. The man should love his wife more than he loves himself because to love his wife IS to love himself. They are one in Christ.
^^ Because that explains everything we just discussed, of course ^^
Hat Thomas - Did you not read any of it prior to the part about women being doormats?
Bob M. - It's about being right with you,,,,god may or may not be part of your life,,,, but you must live,correct ?
Hat Thomas - It's about being honest, and yes, right. I want to live right, morally, And to do so, I CANNOT follow the Arab Bible.
Hat Thomas - I'm not saying it's wrong for everyone - plainly that isn't the case - but it is very decidedly wrong for me.
And here's where I go off:
Hat Thomas - I don't personally commit acts that require forgiveness, Amanda. Like, rarely, if not never. I just don't engage in that kind of behavior anymore. So now it falls upon me to seek out these so-called sins where there are none to be found. But, as Christians, you go DEEP. You make sins out of literally nothing. Impure thoughts? What is the definition of impure (sexual? human thought?) and who defines it ultimately? Not the Bible, that's certain. At least the Catholics have a system by which they gauge such things. Protestants cannot even boast that one simple thing. Who decides which thoughts are bad and which aren't?
For that matter, who decides whether or not thought itself is bad? I think therefore I sin? Such horseshit! Whoever came up with that ideology was either rutted in guilt or trying to control others who were. I have a thought. I have sinned. That makes no fucking sense. You ask me to believe what you believe....when I know for truth what you believe is based in lies, deceit and utterly contrived nonsense. Don't ever ask me to believe what you believe, because I have this handy little pocket tool. It's called *reason*. And it has served me well. Don't ever ask me to believe what you believe again (don't even bring it up in conversation) because I will - without hesitation or remorse - take it apart, bit by ridiculous bit. I have no patience for it anymore.
You know the final answer I get from people now? "Well, I guess the lord will have to show you in his own way." Or some such nonsense. You know why, though? Because faith can never stand against reason. Never. Never has been able to, never will be able to, and until you or someone else can say one, clear, definitive thing worth saying, I stand by reason and reason alone. Faith has done absolutely shit for me, and believe me, I have lived as a person of faith. To no avail, of course. Those who seek comfort in God, Jesus, Allah, more power to you. If it makes you feel better to believe in some imaginary guy living up in the clouds who has nothing but love for you, bully for you. But I have a newsflash for you: What has Santa Claus ever done for you? Name one goddamned thing.
"Before you pray for my soul, consider this. I am not doomed. I am one of the very few who has moved away from religion, but closer to God. I cannot see Him in the pages of the Bible - a book which has no direct bearing on me - and I cannot see Him in the same places you see him....because you are told where to look for Him. I wasn't. And in that light, I was made to see. My mind is clear, open, untroubled by sin and guilt and regret. My path was not easy - indeed, it has been uniquely difficult - but I am at a place where I find your concern for my spiritual well-being just a bit condescending. As if you know something, or are in touch with something I am not. Let me reassure you, that isn't the case. If anything, it is the other way around. I walk free of guilt, of regret, free of fear and recrimination. I stand tall and proud in my uniqueness, my oneness. I live how I have always imagined I should live. I am happy, most of the time, and I fear nothing. Because there is no challenge that I have faced yet which I have not overcome, soundly.
But if it makes you - any of you - feel better to lament for my soul, by all means, go ahead. But please do so on your own time. I am whole. I do not need, nor want, your god's assistance, provided he ever even offered it. Which I highly doubt. I am good. No thanks to him, but in large and grateful thanks to you, my family and friends.
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