Disclaimer or Digression? You decide.
Y'know, if all you want to do is bitch, then get the hell out of this country. We don't want you here.
I'm just saying...
108731622113027190
Anybody wanna quick laugh? Go here and bring your mini plastic flag. Damn, people are dumb.
Why are people dumb? Well, I think like every other problem in the world it has to do with identity. People who are ueberpatriotic have their very identity so tied into the country and America being so "great" that they have to believe it can do no wrong. This is what dictatorial power structures do - they make you believe that you ARE the state, that the state's success is your success. It's not a sacrifice if you believe that the sacrifice furthers your interest. So the way you get people to sacrifice their wealth, safety, and rights is by making them think that the state's interests are their interests (basically, fascism). False authorities lead to false identities. It's not that people are evil so much as people have issues; mental blockages that prevent them from seeing the whole picture.
Once again, I'd like to plug The Gift of Gab and his beautiful new solo album, 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up. Check this shit out:
See I know they don't tell us that we really are gods Dwelling in infinity through the power of now I spread the good karma out, grab a pen and a sheet, And empty out my mind so the ancestors can speak through me, I'm tweaked to beats, rock, eat the beats up Dwelling in the fourth dimension of spirit and going up, and it Can't stop, don't stop, won't stop, ain't gonna Stop, aim from the top, straight blowin' up
It's never been cooler to spew that hippy new age drivel!
108722880310535911
I had fun kayaking this weekend. I need more physical activity in my life. Maybe we can go backpacking again soon (my favorite activity that burns calories besides, well, never mind). BTW, here's a pic of me and Tasha backpacking in Alaska last summer.
Yes, that stream is fed by pure glacier water. Fucking gorgeous out there.
108722758304769382
I recently got into what almost appeared to be an intelligent conversation on Wil's blog, so I decided to move the topic here (HA!). The discussion was centering around what evil is, and for me it takes a bit of background first.
My view on "evil" is that it's relatively subjective, just like all morality. That view stems from a understanding that life is about understanding the self and the human condition, and not about "being happy" or "achieving goals" or anything like that (though understanding may result in these two outcomes, or other desirable ones). Generally, I've come to accept that there are basically two outlooks on life that we can embrace, and what determines the polarity to which we belong is a result of our fundamental ideations, issues, and actions.
The two polarities are unity and separation. They are experienced in the context of identity - one sees the self, and the interests of oneself, as essentially the same as, or unified with, other people. The other sees the self as different, separated, and therefore there is a need for further separation and domination of other people who are not the self. The former idea implies that the path of unity is more desirable because it is more in line with reality, or the idea that all life is simply subdivisions of one intelligence and being. The latter rejects this truth and focuses upon the subdivisions (the individual self in particular) especially. I'm not going to prove this one way or another; I'm just throwing it out there to see what y'all think. Feel free to blaspheme away in the comment list below.
108698851793202597
Who ended the Cold War? Gorbachev did.
So there.
Thank God it's Friday, I'm ready to go home and... umm... get on Blogger again.
108698230216288424
I know a lot of you are wondering who I am. Well, I took this test and this test and they said this movie and this leader represent me best:
Sweet - now I don't need to write my biography or an "About Jeremy" section.
108697020657785375
Rage against the (electronic voting) machine:
The adventure began in spring 2003, when a hacker broke into Diebold's computer system and unearthed 15,000 internal emails. In them, Diebold employees fret over the voting machines' vulnerability to hackers and their alarming habit of going on the fritz. "I need some answers!" one frantic employee wrote from Florida regarding the 2000 recount. "Precinct 216 gave Al Gore a minus 16,022 [votes] when it was uploaded. Will someone please explain this so that I have the information to give the auditor instead of standing here 'looking dumb.'"
See, this is what I don't understand: a voting machine should be the easiest thing in the world to build. From a software engineering standpoint, Diebold sound like a bunch of idiots. I mean, what could be easier than having an engine that simply increments a variable? That should be a piece of cake.
Try to remember that Diebold is solidly republican. Then there's all the ridiculous copyright bullshit corporations use to intimidate people:
108688715129555544
Undereported.com is a good site to check periodically, as they can keep you up to date on goings-on that are under the media line of sight (or explicitly covered up). They approach stuff from a somewhat Christian, pro-life point of view, so keep that in mind - still good info usually. Check out this story on a "terrorist" bombing in Germany.
108681366795192088
From The Onion:
Reagan To Be Honored With $5,000-A-Head Funeral WASHINGTON, DC-Former President Ronald Reagan will be honored with five days of memorial services, culminating in a $5,000 a head funeral in Washington's National Cathedral Friday, Paul Darlington, a spokesman for the Bush re-election campaign, said Monday. "At 5:15 p.m. EST, former President Reagan will be escorted from the U.S. Capitol and received with ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral, where a dinner of baby arugula, roast beef, and herbed red potatoes will commence," Darlington said. "As Reagan lies in repose, a host of leading Republican party members will be available for photo opportunities. President Bush, who will deliver a eulogy at the close of the solemn gathering, is urging all Americans to dig deep into their hearts to honor this great leader." Several thousand people are expected to pay their respects.
Heh, that says it all, doesn't it?
108678819666267642
More evidence of what happens when big business gives big government sexual gratification. Check out the shit Enron was trying to pull on Cali:
One employee is heard asking, "You want to do some fat boys or, or whatever, man, you know, take advantage of it."
Disgusting. Energy consumers, take notice - your young obese men are not safe in Enron's hands.
What's really disturbing is what Arnold Schwarzenegger did about the Enron scandal:
The wannabe governor has yet to deny that on May 17, 2001, at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he had consensual political intercourse with Enron chieftain Kenneth Lay. Also frolicking with Arnold and Ken was convicted stock swindler Mike Milken.
Eww!
108672471319229880
I read Counterpunch selectively - it's pretty left leaning - but when you have politics like mine, you take a little from column A and a little from column B. Over the years, I've learned to find points of agreement with conversants rather than seek out the points of disagreement (that is, unless I think we can handle a fistfight at that particular point in our friendship).
Anyway This article talks about a possible military coup if the neoconservatives try any funny business this election year. Also, there's this little disturbing blurb:
If the military does have to purge the Executive Branch of nut cases and les démagogues très dangereux, they will find support from Gore, who somehow wound up on a "check baggage" alert list at Reagan National Airport when he was boarding a flight to Wisconsin. Candidates for the Green Party and the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate have been similarly placed on passenger watch lists in what has become a Soviet-style system of internal travel controls and checkpoints.
What the fuck? People would be up in arms if they knew this shit was going on... I mean, first of all, how can the Libertarian candidate even afford airfare?
108663831470154577
Hey, this is hella interesting: check out New World Disorder, as well as the nifty blog with cool pictures and articles. Reading this blog makes me realize I have a long way to go to make my blog cool. I think I need more posts on metaphysics and spirituality. But check out the L/L Research and Ascension2000 (David Wilcock) links. That's good background on where I'm coming from, so read up young ones. And yes, there will be a test.
108662037564871223
Damn, Bush really does suck. I've never heard of this Capitol Hill Blue website before, but even if the shit on there isn't true, I have no problem spreading rumors for a site who's motto is: "Because nobody's life, liberty, or property is safe while Congress is in session". WORD.
Anyway, the articles in question. First there's this one on some unnamed witnesses' testimony that Bush knew about the intentional leak of the identity of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. Check this out:
Their damning testimony has prompted Bush to contact an outside lawyer for legal advice because evidence increasingly points to his involvement in the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame's name to syndicated columnist Robert Novak.
You knew there was more to Bush getting an attorney than "routine procedure". Second, there's this article about Bush being a nutcase.
Reason to Hope
If you want to vote against Bush, but don't want to support Comrade Kerry, vote libertarian! CBS news says it's ok! I would be totally cool with siphoning votes off of Bush so that Kerry gets in, because then the Republican party would be forced to realize that they can't talk the talk and not walk the walk of small government. Plus, for all the talk about Nader spoiling Kerry's chances, I haven't heard of ONE person, even a Green, who has said they'd vote for him. I've heard LOTS of people, mostly disenchanted Republicans, who say they'd vote for the Libertarian candidate. There is reason to hope, fellas.
A correction
Greg Palast once again makes a good point that, all in all, Reagan sucked. If he were held to account for the bullshit that happened during his presidency, I think his death and funeral would be at least as low key as Nixon's. I take back what I said before about him being anything better than a thug.
