Blogging

I recently gave up on another blogging network (not Blogger), where I had been writing for a year or so, not because of their format or layout, but more from frustration.  Clearly, the majority of users simply copied and pasted photos, cartoons and editorials from other sources and truly original writing was at a minimum. All that was needed to get hits, likes, and comments was to post pictures showing nudity, guns or motorcycles.  I wasn't there to browse porn, and I had no interest in the latter two subjects.

If I thought I had anything like an interesting or unique perspective on a topic, I'd post a piece, and unless it was either anti-gun or anti-GOP, all you could hear were crickets.  Worse, it appears that basement-dwelling internet trolls have been reproducing by the millions - worse than cockroaches - and if you received an insulting response, guaranteed there would be several more within a day, from their followers.  I first experienced this back when Yahoo debuted 360º, and people would engage in group trolling and reporting.  Things got so out-of-hand that Yahoo couldn't handle the traffic, between trolls and abused users, so they simply dismantled the service.  By the time I got fed-up with the current network, I had blocked no less than 900 users, because I didn't have the time and energy for their pinheaded rants, much less their hatred.

If someone I followed posted something original (interesting, beautiful, thought-provoking) I usually gave them a thumb-up and a response.  It's sort of like being a musician, many of which don't always receive compliments when they perform something nice. If I'm at a bar, I make a point of talking to them at break time and letting them know someone is enjoying their efforts.  Not only do they appreciate the feedback, but they frequently invite me to sit in with them.

So, then I figured why not share some of my original music. I've recorded over 50 songs and I'm currently working on my 5th album.  None of it was written with sales or commercial potential in mind; it was purely a labor of love.

For the most part, I might just as well have posted an article on paragraph structure or insurance, because response was slim to none.  I figured, hey, at least if I was performing in a bar, I could actually SEE whether people were enjoying a song, or not.  Worse, my music database logs hits and downloads, so I knew SOMEONE out there was listening, but comments?  Nada.

I guess I'll just stick to Facebook/Blogger, where I know my contacts actually read postings.

Hey, don't get me wrong. I got nothing against attractive models and political cartoons, but some of us actually know how to operate the keyboard, beyond CTRL+C, CTRL+V, and LOL.

(click Publish)

Who Taught You To Hate The Poor?

Original source:  http://shutchergobbigemowf.blogspot.com/2014/03/who-taught-you-to-hate-poor.html

"Who taught you how to hate the poor?  Who taught you that the poor were somehow sub-human, and not worthy of basic things, such as food, shelter, human dignity, and common decency?  

Who taught you to believe this hyper-partisan, self-serving garbage that the poor are nothing but takers?  My guess is that if you believe this way, you believe that you are one Republican election cycle away from the mystical, mythical unicorn people known as 'job creators' opening their offshore jobs war chest, and giving great jobs everywhere.  Ironically enough, the same people who condemn the poor for being poor, the same people who act as if poverty is a lifestyle choice, these are the same ones that rail AGAINST a living wage.  It doesn't matter if a person is working their tail off at a minimum wage job, at a company that won't give them full-time hours as a cost-cutting measure.

The people who hate the poor so much and the people who worry about tax costs when it comes to helping the poor are flat out hypocrites.  It is absolutely hypocritical to rail against the cost of public assistance when you are silent on the tax breaks that billion-dollar companies receive. 

That hatred certainly isn't Biblical, despite the fact that right-wing Evangelicals treat hating the poor as if it's Scripture.  If it were up to them, Jesus would only heal people if they proved they were worthy of being healed.

Who taught you to hate the poor?  And why didn't they teach you to stop scapegoating the poor because it's easy to do, and focus your attention on the people that are actually setting this country on a path towards destruction?  Like the Koch brothers and the Tea Party?  After all, if there's anyone that deserves the wrath of the general public, it's them."

About Guys

There's been a lot of blogging recently about men on the topics of rape, misogyny, open-carry, etc. and I'm gonna tell it like it is.  There'll probably be some male whiners out there claiming I'm all wrong; that guys aren't really like that, or there's nothing wrong with acting macho or that they're really all warm and sensitive inside, but they just have an affection for things that go bang and boom.

Let 'em whine.  I'm not saying ALL guys are like this, but there's damn well a LOT of guys that fit the following description(s).

What are my qualifications for talking about the male psyche?  A:  manufacturing machinist for 40 yrs., performing artist for 48 yrs., wilderness canoeist, off-road enthusiast.  Just some of the more common male activities.

Where machinery is concerned - everything from lawn mowers to heavy equipment - I've seen scores of hammer heads; guys who think that if something didn't work right the first time, do it again, only harder and/or faster. More power. More force.  So many guys have very little concept of finesse or delicacy.  They just go get a bigger fucking hammer.  This usually doesn't work out well.  It's always a matter of too much - RPM, load factor, feed rate, compression, or charcoal lighting fluid.  I've seen guys wreck so much stuff; overheat it, seize it up, bend it, snap it, red-line it, etc., because they had too much testosterone on the brain and couldn't take five minutes to back up, back off and calmly troubleshoot the problem.  Too much in a hurry, too impatient and too incapable of finding a solution other than brute force.

Then, there's that whole thing about being LOUD, whether it's their own voice or some over-powered stereo system. Once, while at a classy car show with another couple, some dudes in the parking area had to fire-up their 2,000 watt car audio with some annoying hip-hop, filling the entire area with obnoxious booming.  All around, other couples turned and made disdainful expressions.  There seems to be some immature need to draw attention, even if it's negative.  They don't understand the concept of other people's right to be able to carry on a public conversation.

This general attitude spills over into the social skill area.  Whether at bars, festivals or at the beach, many guys are just strutting peacocks.  They're Neanderthals in board shorts.  Their strategy for attracting the opposite sex is to be drunk, loud and drawing attention to themselves.

Many younger guys have actually asked how to attract women, when what they really mean is "how can I get laid," as opposed to "how can I get into a relationship?" I've explained to them about venues other than bars - bookstores, garden centers, art fairs - but what it usually comes down to is a lack of language skills.  They can barely communicate verbally let alone in writing.  The popularity of texting these days should come as no surprise to anyone.

We all know that about 50% of marriages end in divorce. Guess what?  Three of the states with the highest divorce rates are:  Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma.  Apparently, a lot of red state macho men have significant problems with maintaining a relationship.  And BTW, of the top five reasons for divorce, communication is #1 and infidelity is down at the bottom. It's hard enough for guys to admit to something like feelings let alone express them.  They're keen on football plays or mechanical tricks, but emotions are more limited to cheering, booing and cursing.

This whole firearms/open-carry issue is a natural extension of a testosterone-fueled psyche. The best sportsmen I've ever know were rather quiet guys who had a deep respect for the environment and habitat. Many were involved in habitat-preservation activities.  You'd never find them parading around fast food restaurants, dressed in camp, carrying military-style rifles.  But then, we're actually getting into the realm of fantasy, because that's part of the whole appeal - imagining themselves blowing away some intruder or taking part in some Teabag revolution.

Doing something "because you can" is no excuse.  One could also dress up in fishnets and a Cyndi Lauper wig, or walk into a museum with a chainsaw, but what would be the point, other than to attract attention?  Must be a "guy thing."  For some knuckle-draggers, anyway.  The rest of us grew up.

Happy Together

I've been saying this for years.  Well, we both have, actually.  One of the biggest "secrets" to a happy marriage is just remembering why the two of you got together in the first place. It was about love.  And sex.  It sure as hell wasn't because you exchanged job resumes and decided that this would make a great business partnership.  It probably wasn't because you both really enjoyed bowling.

No, it was probably because you thought she was pretty.  You liked the way she smiled or the way she laughed.  There was some strong "electricity" between the two of you.  It wasn't just because he or she was good in bed, but because you liked waking up to one another.  You liked walks on the beach, or in the park, or wherever. 

When we got married, we didn't have that proverbial "pot to piss in."  We didn't have a lot of money.  We had each other and just enough to get by, and that was all that mattered.  We got married in 1970. Vietnam was still raging as was the Cold War.  In the back of people's minds, they had that nagging thought that everything could come to a sudden end with the push of a button.  I suppose most every generation had it's own political nightmares.  The point is, we simply enjoyed being together and we wanted more of that.  So we got married.  And while every couple has disagreements about something or other - it's part of getting your lives adjusted - we really didn't argue about money, simply because we didn't have much of it to argue about. 

And then, as we mature, as we grow within our respective professions, we earn a little bit more money, we move into a bigger house, we need more space to put our "stuff," and eventually, if we're not careful, the more we HAVE, the more we may ARGUE about what to do with it. 

Sure, most everybody likes (and has) "toys" of one sort or another. "Toys" don't have to be large items like snowmobiles or 4-wheelers, they can be small, like porcelain dolls or crystal, like tools or shoes.

And it's bad enough that couples should forget that they were first and foremost LOVERS, and begin quibbling about what to spend their "disposable income" on, but I guarantee you,  you're on the Highway to Hell the minute either one of you utters the words "my money," or "your money."  When every unnecessary purchase has to become a business negotiation, when things start to become tit-for-tat and quid pro quo, you've got a problem.  And the problem is rather two-fold;  you've accumulated too much fucking "stuff" and/or you've simply become more focused on the "stuff" than the fact that you're lovers.

Now granted, we all age and over time we probably don't perform as "acrobatic" of sex as we used to, but that doesn't have anything to do with being lovers and just enjoying one another's company.  It's not about the "having," it's about the "doing."  It's not about what kind of car you drive or how many of them you have, but how you feel when you're together riding in it.

It's not about clothes, shoes, knick-knacks, boats, cars, or any other kind of physical thing.  It's about being together and loving the other person. Get your eyes back on the "prize."  

I can honestly say that all of the "poor" people I've ever known were generous. They didn't have much, but they were always happy to share what they had.

Wealthy people, on the other hand are constantly faced with the issue of "who's handling their money."  Are they being ripped-off?  What kind of people are "benefitting" from the taxes they pay?  Simply put, the more people have, the more they worry about who's doing what with it, or who might be somehow "benefitting" from it that they don't think are "worthy."

If a hurricane or a flood suddenly wiped away all of your worldly possessions and I asked you if that meant you were finished as a couple, you'd undoubtedly answer,"Oh, hell no…..we love each other.  Those were just 'things.'"  Yeah, now that they're gone, they're just "things," but what about when you were surrounded by those "things?" 

As human beings, it's natural to become "accustomed" to higher and higher levels of living.  It "feels" good.  It's comforting to have a "nice home," drive a new car and eat something besides Kraft Dinner or Hamburger Helper.

Well, when we got married, we ate plenty of that stuff, and we were happy.

Now that we're retired, we may go back to eating some Kraft Dinner more often than going to a restaurant with "ambiance" for fettuccine. But we'll be happy.

Because we're lovers.

PROPAGANDA

"And this is how it works, chapter and verse.  The professional liar pipes up with a bald-faced lie.  Though it is quickly and easily disproven, other professional liars pipe up to say that if we ignore the fact that the liar is a lying, the liar raises a good point.  The liars take to the op-ed pages to note that the liar is just asking the question and now the question is out there.  And they will make damn sure the question is out there for as long as it takes to get a flock of morons and dunderheads to believe that there is a conspiracy to not answer the question, even though 'the question' was a lie to begin with and no less a lie through each of the various iterations meant to sanitize it enough for the public to forget that the whole thing was a fiction from the start.

That is how Whitewater worked.  This is how cattle futures worked.  This is how the worst human shitstains in America turned 'Vince Foster' into a talking point.  This is how stupid people came to believe that Barack Obama was secretly a Muslim.  This is why the first non-white president had to publicly release his birth certificate, and why there is no 'birth certificate' that will ever be considered - by a certain crowd that includes actual American congressional representatives - authentic enough to put 'the questions' to rest.  This is how it works.

It is, of course, propaganda.  It is intended as propaganda, it is invented as propaganda, it is promoted as propaganda.  Karl Rove did not care whether Hillary Clinton was in the hospital for a few days or a month; he did not care whether Hillary Clinton was wearing sunglasses meant for 'brain injury' or the same sunglasses she has been photographed wearing dozens of times before or since.  Rich Lowry does not care that Karl Rove was lying about both those things, and is eager to write a column suggesting that the question has been raised as to whether Rove's provably false statements are somehow true anyway.  The nice mainstream news outlet is happy to publish Rich Lowry raising the question, because being a nice mainstream news outlet means studiously avoiding critiques as to whether what you are publishing is in fact fraudulent, because it is naturally newsworthy that professional liars are asking the questions.

We continue to be a nation that deals out no punishment for being a professional liar.  On the contrary, we treat them very well, better than those that do not lie, in fact, because the liars are always sure to generate all-important buzz, and we give them columns and op-eds, and write columns and op-eds about them, and there is literally nothing they say that is so provably false as to finally discredit them as peddlers of falsehoods.  There can be no such thing as an informed populace if those that would inform them steadfastly insist that lying to them is just as good; the press is not truly free if it has been captured as a tool of propagandists, and willingly submits itself to the same.

This is how it works, and this is why we are now a nation that sees the ghosts of conspiracy in every corner.  This is why there is a Bundy ranch standoff, and why Benghazi! will get more hearings than all other attacks on American diplomatic outposts combined, and why climate change will continue to be disputed even as large parts of Antarctica cave off into the rising seas.  This is why we fought a war in Iraq, and why those that peddled it have faced no professional repercussions.  Because we continue to treat truth and ideologically laced falsehood with exactly equal merit, as if they are two equally worthy opponents for our attention and our respect, and govern ourselves with notions taken just as liberally from the falsehoods as from the facts."

Full article:  https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/18/1299603/-How-Karl-Rove-Rich-Lowry-and-Politico-are-damaging-America

Overwhelmed by Stupid

Somedays, it's just too much.  The stupid, that is.  And I'm not talking about your everyday, run-of-the-mill, grassroots stupid; not the hold my beer and watch this stupid, not the let's see what happens when I do this stupid.  I'm talking about big league, epic media stupid; sources that are virtual fountains of idiocracy. And it wouldn't be so bad if it was just a matter of the source being wrong, fraudulent or misleading, but of course, people choose to drink from these fountains and even bathe in them.

It's the usual sources; FOX pinheads like Hannity, political balloon heads like Palin, Bachmann and Boehner, and then there's those twits that the media has transformed into Godzilla-grade icons of stupid; people like Nugent and Bundy.

It's not bad enough that we have to deal with dolts like them at ground level. Oh, no.  Politicians and talking heads take them to their bosom, making them larger than life, giving them notoriety.

And it's honestly not just a matter of my ideology; there are thoughts and actions that just plain don't make any sense, but people will cling to them religiously, and I use that word in it's full ironic sense.  People who say things like I'm pro-life and in the next breath, they oppose universal health care. That's just plain selfishness and lack of benevolence.  What they mean is, pro-life for me and my immediate family, I could care less if you die.

People who think that it's somehow, by some strange twist of logic, psychologically healthy to walk around streets, parks, shops and other public areas, displaying or brandishing small arms, like that guy down in Georgia at the Little League game.  He might just as well have pulled out his penis, because his goal was to shock and and be ostentatious. Oh, look at me!  I have a gun and it's legal to show it off!  How incredibly odd that it would have been a crime for him to have exposed himself, showing an organ of procreation as opposed to an instrument of death.  I'm not promoting flashing; just saying that the psychology is identical.

Idiots like Cliven Bundy, who says (quote) I don't even recognize the United States government as even existing, and then stands next to an American flag.  At least be consistent enough to create your own flag.   Idiots like the militia people who say they defend the Constitution, but who are ready to turn on a dime and oppose whatever law they choose.

Or Bundy's claim that he's not racist.  Or the denials that we're experiencing severe climate change directly linked to pollution emissions.

Certainly no irony, hypocrisy or stupidity there, eh?

It's shit like that, the human equivalent of a train wreck and it's happening on almost a daily basis.  And I just have to look the other way before I start bleeding from the eyes.  I have to ground myself out on things more basic, more creative, more life-positive; my music, gardening, or canoeing.  I live within what I'd call a relative microcosm of sanity and reason; a world in which logic rules, a world in which one actually thinks before opening one's mouth.  A world that doesn't require a Glock or an AR-15 to go to QuickTrip for a gallon of milk.  A world that recognizes the success of Canada's healthcare program or the Netherland's sex education program. 

And then, I click the mouse, a news item comes up, and it's as if I'm peering directly into the Bizarro world of DC comics...

Clueless

There's no other explanation.  They don't know.  Moreover, they don't know that they don't know, which of course is the Dunning-Kruger effect.  Google it.

And our pathetic national literacy level couldn't possibly be a factor for our nation's problems, could it?  Average literacy is 8-9th grade.  20% read at 5th grade level and 30% are marginally illiterate, which means reading instructions on medications could be a real problem.

"If the verbiage of our society is at an elementary school level, how can the thoughts and actions that follow possibly be any loftier?"  Darryl Singer, from "The Decline of the English Language."

But it's more than knowing how to read and write.  There's that pesky thing called logic.

- How could a man like Cliven Bundy be blatantly racist, and not think that he is?

- How does nonsense just consistently flow from the mouths of Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann?

- How does Donald Sterling he's some kind of ok guy?

- How do people like militia members cry,"Hey, we're not doing anything illegal," which would suggest an actual respect for laws, and yet worship some vague ideology whereby they'll choose to obey the laws they think are just?

Hey, as long as we're talking about people with crazy ideas and crazy logic, let me suggest a crazy idea.

Let's just give these secessionists, racists and austerity freaks the states of Texas and Montana. Many of them are already there, so it won't mean a lot of relocating. That's over 415,000 square miles for them to do whatever the hell they want.

Montana is for those who like the cooler northern weather and green things.  And snow. Lots of freaking snow.

Texas is for those who like it a little warmer.  And sand.  Lots of that shit.  Plenty of room for shooting up old wrecked cars and blowing off piles of C-4.

Because the rest of us just flat out give up on their nonsense.  Take these two states and put up a big wall around both of 'em, just like along the Mexican border.  Whatever's inside the borders is yours; oil, minerals, whatever.  But you also get to own the downside.  Natural disasters?  Not our problem.  You bought it, you fix it.  No FEMA.

Supplies?  If you don't grow it, you'd better fly it in.  You don't wanna pay taxes for things like highways and bridges, you ain't using our highway system to truck-in stuff.  One exception; you can build one four-lane that connects the two states. No on or off ramps.

Security?  I thought you boys were good at that.  You own that, too. No air or ground support for any reason, whether the terrorism is internal or global.

And take care of all your other needs, too; natural resources, air and water quality, healthcare.  All of it.

You want to leave your unemployed and homeless to starve and die in the street?  Your choice.  You want to avoid vaccines?  Your choice. You want to forego workplace safety regulations?  Your choice.

Just go off and create your own little version of paradise, where every man, woman and child can open carry a gun.

But don't ask the rest of America for jack shit.