Writing a blog is, in and of itself, a lonely pursuit. Sitting in my office, with no one else around, staring at my computer screens, the television tuned to a news channel, I’m not in the most social of settings.
Living in my native state of Tennessee, an economic, social, intellectual and political backwater, engenders an even greater feeling of aloneness.
Searching the vast, impersonal cyber world for nuggets that might give me pause, on rare occasions I stumble across a gem. Below I am sharing a few minutes of video that is hilarious, while epitomizing the feeling of loneliness that is my most frequent companion.
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If London Bridge falls, it likely will have lots of company. Much of our infrastructure is approaching the ripe old age of eighty. How bad is it? They tell us that 63,000 bridges are structurally unsound. How are we supposed to get from here to there? At least we have a number . . . of the bridges. Federal funding has declined.
The number of derelict bridges alone presents us with a daunting problem. But, it isn’t just the bridges alone. You probably don’t wish to be on one of those bridges when it collapses. Maybe you could plan to be on one that isn’t collapsing at that particular moment. Congratulations. You avoided all 63,000 bridges. Careful. You’re still in jeopardy.
Not a single U.S. city ranks among the world’s most livable cities. Not a single U.S. airport is among the top 100 airports in the world. Our infrastructure is a shambles. The idiots in Washington fret that we can’t afford fixing the problem. That’s true, when we barely have enough for tax cuts for the parasites, welfare for corporations and the military capability to kill everyone that doesn’t like us.
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Yes. You too can become a mass murderer. Some self-chosen few are even making obscene amounts of money doing it. How many people is it possible to kill? Why stop at people?
Yes. You can help exterminate the entire human race. We can even throw in several thousands of species of fauna. How about even more? How about all of those pesky species of flora?
I am providing a video course below in how to remembered as among the greatest mass murderers of all time. Ooops. Sorry. Just one little problem. There won’t be anyone remaining to remember you. Well, anyway, it’s free.
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That’s right. You don’t matter. Neither do I. While the internet was created with my tax dollars and yours, who cares? Certainly not the FCC.
While you and I pay far too much to be connected others are making fortunes from it that would embarrass King Midas. It appears that nothing embarrasses Comcast, Verizon and AT&T. They need even greater advantage over my little blog.
Everyone is concerned about the loss of net neutrality, and rightly so. If the FCC takes that away, Comcast, Verizon and AT&T will provide a fast lane for companies extorted to pay more and a slow lane for the rest of us. That means Netflix and some other services and sites will cost us more.
Be forewarned, however, AT&T is pursuing a patent that takes a different route to their enrichment. This patent will allow them to determine what kind of content you are downloading and increase the prices for various types of content. They intend to get you both coming and going.
Stay with me. After you’ve read my blather you will find a treat. It’s worth hanging around. I guarantee it. [click to continue…]
“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.” – George Washington
“True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.” — Clarence Darrow
I didn’t make the ultimate sacrifice but I did serve this country. I decline to claim that I served my country. This is not the country that I served. This country does dishonor to those that served.
The Congress has duly earned the disrespect indicated by every poll. Here on Memorial Day I see further evidence of that. One of the buffoons, Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Were the GOTP to attain the majority, he would sit as chair of that committee.
This Dick sent an open letter to veterans just in time for Memorial Day. It claimed that six veterans’ organizations were more concerned with politics than their memberships. Why? Because they disagreed with the Dick.
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The patsies of the gun manufacturers, largely superposable with the members of the National Rifle Association (NRA), have substituted firearms for their genitalia and gun lobbyists’ cant for thinking. They consider their right to their manufactured machismo more important than the lives of tens of thousands of men, women and kindergarteners.
They are too intellectually limited and lazy to look up “well-regulated militia.” Therefor, they can’t quite grasp the reason the First Congress and George Washington adopted the 2nd Amendment.
They seem to feel that George and his merry men suffered unimaginable hardship and George and his fellow Founding Fathers risked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor just so a bunch of bozos who neither understand nor appreciate what this country is all about could oppose and try to destroy the very accomplishments for which real Americans honor them.
These twits claim that the Founding Fathers intentionally provided them (the twits) the “right” to destroy their (the Founders) handiwork. Did those illustrious men in powdered wigs really have such a low opinion of the results of their labor?
Au contraire. The Founders feared a standing army. The militia was intended to provide protection for the government. If they don’t belong to the militia (re: National Guard) and/or don’t wish to protect the government, they have not qualified to own any firearm.
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Hero? Patriot? Not exactly.
Criminal? Yes.
Millionaire Freeloader? Absolutely
Hypocrite? The very definition of one.
My grandmother taught me never to trust anyone that wears their religion or patriotism on their sleeve. Well, Cliven Bundy doesn’t always wear it on his sleeve but he does keep the American flag close at hand. He wants you to think he’s a patriotic American. Bullshit.
That’s ironic. This is the guy I saw on my television saying that he doesn’t recognize the federal government as legitimate. He’s a devotee of states’ rights. He does recognize the State of Nevada as legitimate . . . while ignoring its laws.
The federal government isn’t legitimate but he’s upset because that non-existent entity is violating his rights under its Constitution. I’m going to have to think about that for a while.
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The Shape of Things to Come
After gaining more than 90 pounds on a diet following the guidelines of the American Heart Association and the United States Department of Agriculture it was obvious that either they were in the pockets of the food industry or were totally ignorant of the subject. I’m inclined to think it is a combination of both.
Research quickly led me to ban soy from my table. More recently I have eliminated wheat. Many of the recipes that abjure wheat include flax. I have some in my pantry that I have not yet used. Most gluten-free items at the store include a mixture of starches. That is acceptable only for those wishing to gain weight quickly and risk diabetes.
I have not had much success yet in finding sources of food that are grown naturally for an affordable price. My research continues.
The following article is from alternet.org by Martha Rosenberg. Now that I have discovered her work, I wonder that I was not already familiar with such an accomplished, prolific author and journalist. I reference a book of hers below.
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Making lots of money is not necessarily proof of intelligence. It could have been luck. It could have been something less than honest or legal. Inheriting lots of money is even less demanding.
The Koch brothers, Charles and David, have shown signs of ego, greed, lack of empathy and other undesirable traits . . . but no hint of intelligence. Together, at more than $80 billion, they are wealthier than either Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. Bill and Warren earned theirs and are investing over half of what they have in trying to improve our world. Not so the Kochs.
They have contributed more than anyone else trying to eliminate Obamacare. They appear to be the largest contributors to the various Tea Parties. Okay, so they are squandering tons of money on lost causes and clowns. They are unlikely to be successful on their own but a couple of jokes by the Supreme Court of Wall Street has allowed them and their peers and corporations to buy even more politicians. It can’t be totally discounted.
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