BOLERO - Musical Interlude for Attitude Adjustment

Published on Jan 10, 2014 

Le Boléro de Ravel interprété par des musiciens de l'Orchestre national d'Île-de-France et des étudiants du conservatoire à rayonnement départemental d'Aulnay-sous-Bois lors d'un Flashmob à la gare Saint-Lazare en novembre 2013. Direction Christophe Mangou.

Why do we hurt each other when we could do this instead?

Consciousness

In the morning they are giving me injections into the nerves in my lower spine. The injections do not bother me. The anesthesia that takes away my consciousness scares me. I might not wake up.

I am worrying about the general state of my consciousness for other reasons as well. I am having fantasies in print of stabbing Trump protesters. I am 73 and having a hard go walking at the moment. So while I am serious, the whole plan is silly. At least for now.

So my Shrink has a word for what I am doing at the moment. I cannot remember what the word is. Damn. I have a mood disorder. I once ran someone over with a car. I have to work at living a little differently than others. I have to notice myself.

I am getting caught up in the air of violence coming out of my TV set. Even though they say the steroids into the spine will not make me manic, they are full of shit. Less manic than other forms. Thank God for Ativan.

I started reading about the Shoah and Hitler when I was about 17. I read William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in 1960. I read all the books about Evil and Zen that followed. I am a well read maniac. The Republican Party is scaring the beejesus out me. The Trump rallies are like cruelty parties. I am a Polish Roman Catholic. I know about cruelty parties. I have been in the middle of a mob of good old boys. Scary.

So, wish me luck. In spite of my whining, I will be fine. And my dropped foot and pain will have further improved. And Shrink is calling me tomorrow. I still want to stab people. Thank God for Ativan.

Sign of the Month - March 2016

I am not apologizing to anybody for this folk sign. Even though I am a Democrat. It is funny. Funny is more important than earnest ranting and raving partisanship in politics. It is a lot more fun and stuff may get done. Congress is at its lowest approval rating ever and will not or cannot govern.

When the doctrine of allegiance to party can utterly up-end a man's moral constitution and make a temporary fool of him besides, what excuse are you going to offer for preaching it, teaching it, extending it, perpetuating it? Shall you say, the best good of the country demands allegiance to party? Shall you also say it demands that a man kick his truth and his conscience into the gutter, and become a mouthing lunatic, besides?     - Mark Twain

"Consistency", paper read at the Hartford Monday Evening Club on 5 December 1887. The Complete Essays of Mark Twain.

Please Read This

from Hanksy

Here are Jordan Ray Correll’s comments about his experience at a Donald Trump rally in Fayetteville, NC:

“So, if you know me or my friend, Seth Quackenboss, then you know that we often get ourselves into ridiculously wacky situations, especially when we're together. Yesterday was one of those days. We decided to drive down to Fayetteville in order to hear a certain orange politician speak. Yes, you guessed it. We went to a Donald Trump rally.

Now, I am not a supporter of Mr. Trump in any way, shape, or form. I'm quite inclined to a certain berning sensation that I've been experiencing for some time. But that's beside the point. The point is, we thought that we were in for a time of jokes and hilarity. And at the beginning, it was. There were a few speakers before Trump came out and they were not well organized at all. They were comical. One man, a veteran, said that he had shed blood on 7 continents. And unless I missed the great Antarctica War, I highly doubt that's true. Let it be known for the record, that I am not against veterans in any way shape or form. I just thought that particular comment was funny. Because I doubt he actually wounded someone in Antarctica. But a more plausible explanation would be that he was doing penguin research and accidentally pricked a penguin and it bled. Anyway…

One speaker also said that we needed to get rid of 911 calls and we all need to handle our problems ourselves. Well...that's highly unlikely. I can't imagine that people will start forgoing 911 calls when their house in burning down in order to try and extinguish the fire themselves. But, ya know, it's a nice thought.

from Freaking News "Trump Primps for Debate"

So those were my laughable moments. Trump was about to come out. We had our signs ready. We were going to go all out. Yelling and screaming and whatnot. Because, why else were we there if not to join the spectacle? He comes out. People go crazy. For the first twenty to thirty minutes I sat there with high expectations of hilarity. After half an hour, my feelings turned extremely grim. I was scared and upset. Let me explain...

Trump basically said the same few things the whole time. He knows exactly what will get a cheer from the crowd and he says it. He mentioned his wall several times. About five or six if I can remember correctly. At one point he said "We're going to build a wall. And who's going to pay for it?" And the crowd yelled, "Mexico!" and then they lost their minds. Now, we all know exactly why this is stupid. So I won't elaborate. It was just very unsettling. He mentioned ISIS several times. About ten. But not exactly how to stop ISIS. Just comments like, "We're gonna get ISIS," and "ISIS is going down." Blanket statements. He did say that for America to win again (any sort of winning, not just against ISIS) we have to go outside of the law and he isn't afraid to do it. And that's unsettling for several reasons. But I'm just reporting the facts. And that was all he said on policy. Completely void of content or substance. Just statements that would get the crowd cheering.

Now, let's talk about the protesters. There were many. I think throughout the hour long rally, there were roughly 15-20 groups of protesters. Some of them were individuals and some were in groups. They popped up throughout the rally here and there. And some of them were yelling and causing a raucous but some of them were just standing there with their anti-Trump shirts or their pro-whoever else shirts. They were all removed. Peaceful or violent.

One man had a shirt that said "Love is the answer," and he was thrown out. Trump's comment on this man was, "And love is very important but I mean, who's making love to that guy?" And my stomach churned. A few minutes later, a woman stood up not far from where the other man was and starting protesting. She was removed. Trump's comment was, "She was with the other guy. They're actually a couple. A *clears throat* beautiful *gagging noises* couple." And the crowd laughed and cheered. It was horrifying.

But out of everything I saw, the crowd was the worst part. I have never seen more hateful people in my life. Everyone was just filled with so much hatred. If a protester had a sign, even the peaceful ones, they would take the sign from them, rip it up, and throw it back at the protesters. Whenever a protester would get removed, the crowd would yell horrible things. Once, after a protester was removed, Trump said, "Where are these people coming from? Who are they?" A lady, sitting not 5 feet from me, said, "Well hopefully when you're president, you'll get rid of em all!" Get rid of them? Get rid of anyone who opposes Trump? It was sickening. I felt truly nauseous. And these people loved the protesters. They loved the drama and the chaos. And Trump fed upon it. It was easily one of the strangest and uncomfortable things I've ever witnessed. I could just hear the horrible things being spoken around me and it made my skin crawl.

Needless to say, there was very little laughter on my part. I thought this was going to be joke...and it was, but for a very different reason.

I implore you, if you're thinking about voting for Trump, reconsider. You are only promoting chaos and hatred. I witnessed it firsthand. And trust me, this is not something you want to see in person. This is not what you want to happen to our country.

Jordan and Seth went there so Old Lady Me does not have to.  Thank you. 

Sigheil Drummpkopf - UPDATE BELOW

The Artist is deaddog at Freaking News. Too funny.

We are in more danger from white supremacists than ISIS. They are the terrorists who live next door. And Drummpkopf is their leader.

This scares me bigtime. I know fascism can happen here and I suspect it is happening here. Our wars are making us poor and angry. The solution is not jingoism and more war. That never has been a solution through the centuries although it does 'reduce the excess population.'

30

He who uses Tao to guide rulers
Does not force beneath-heaven with arms.
Such things recoil on their users.
Where armies are
Briars and brambles grow.

BANKSY

Bad harvests follow big wars.
Be firm and that is all:
Dare not rely on force
Be firm but not haughty,
Firm but not boastful,
Firm but not proud:
Firm when necessary,
Firm but non-violent.
Things that flourish
Fall into decay.
This is not-Tao,
And what is not-Tao soon ends.

UPDATE:

Freedom of Speech Must Include Freedom to Offend

The Intelligence2 debates are subject to taste. Not all are worth one's time and the wear and tear on one's sciatic nerve. This one speaks to my condition.