Is it possible. . .

. . . to be hypocritical. . . for the good?

He just ain’t no youngster anymore.  There are certain things in his life that were begun years ago in his youth which he must follow through to completion.  In the following-through process, he must interact with a number of persons.  Many of these persons are good, upstanding, honest, forthright, scrupulous, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth individuals.

But then, there are the others.  "Believe me," he said, "I am not being petty, catty or gossipy."  He had lived long enough and experienced a sufficient amount of humanity to recognize, and not necessarily at first sight- but after years of interacting with such individuals, personalities whose dedication to the preservation of self is so great that it consumes and underlies all their actions (and interactions) during the course of each day every day up to and surpassing good, correct and honest human behavior.  And consequently, in consciously acting in the above described manner, one must apply another ‘veneer’ to ensure (they think) that the general perception of their actions is that of good, correct and honest human behavior.

He called this hypocrisy because the inherent behavior of such individuals is of such a contrary extreme from that which they attempt to display (or ‘betray’), that he could summon no better descriptor of the phenomena.  But then, to them the combination of the dishonesty of their underlying actions and the dishonesty of their public personalities is probably united in their minds as normal behavior; or ‘just the way they are’.

So in reaction to the conduct of such individuals and in his pursuit of his ultimate goal, that being a ‘retirement’ of sorts from the daily routine of earning a living to the pursuit of his passion, he must undertake a similar ‘dance’.  As a result of his recognition of such undesirable and undermining conduct, he finds himself absolutely loathing such personalities.  Make clear that he must encounter them and interact with them on a daily basis, but he finds the experience to be an unappealing drudgery.  And then, in addition to this disgusting combination of circumstances, he must ‘be nice’ in order to remain active in this professional situation and follow through on his long-terms plans.

Is he just as hypocritical?

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Conversation . . .

. . . at it's intellectual best (worst?). . .

She:  There
He:  Me too.

She:  So now we can get the day started.  You go girl!
He:  Did that look like a girl getting dressed with you for work this morning?

She:  No, it did not.  But if we can use term 'guy' in a generic sense to encompass all genders, I believe that it is not a stretch to likewise utilize the word 'girl' to capture the spirit of oneness of all humanity.  See where I'm going here?
He:  That's the longest text I've ever seen.

She:  Respond to the merits and not the size although, size does matter.
He:  I see your point but 'guys' is infused with culturally acceptable unisexuality while 'girls' is used unisexually by only drill sergeants and drag queens.

She:  And Oprah.  Good retort.
He:  She doesn't use it unisexually 'cause no men are watching.

She:  Don't you mean she does use it unisexually?
He:  No.  She's only talking to real girls.

She:  This is getting a little too deep for me now.  I was only being cute and you're being too technical.  My girly brain can't take all this.
He:  I probably should have said omni, not uni- sexually.

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Powerlessness

. . . is power. . .

from  Chris Hedges, Truthdig | Op-Ed truth-out.org

'. . .All we have, as Vaclav Havel writes, is our own powerlessness. And that powerlessness is our strength. The survival of the movement depends on embracing this powerlessness. It depends on two of our most important assets—utter and complete transparency and a rigid adherence to nonviolence, including respect for private property. This permits us, as Havel puts it in his 1978 essay “The Power of the Powerless,” to live in truth. And by living in truth we expose a corrupt corporate state that perpetrates lies and lives in deceit. Havel, who would later become the first president of the Czech Republic, in the essay writes a reflection on the mind of a greengrocer who, as instructed, puts up a poster “among the onions and carrots” that reads: “Workers of the World Unite!” The poster is displayed partly out of habit, partly because everyone else does it, and partly out of fear of the consequences for not following the rules. The greengrocer would not, Havel writes, display a poster saying: “I am afraid and therefore unquestioningly obedient.” And here is the difference between the terror of a Josef Stalin or an Adolf Hitler and the collective charade between the rulers and the ruled that by the 1970s had gripped Czechoslovakia.

Those who do not carve out spaces separate from the state and its systems of power, those who cannot find room to become autonomous, or who do not “live in truth,” inevitably become compromised. In Havel’s words, they “are the system.” The Occupy movement, by naming corporate power and refusing to compromise with it, by forming alternative systems of community and society, embodies Havel’s call to “live in truth.” It does not appeal to the systems of control, and for this reason it is a genuine threat to the corporate state.

Occupy’s most powerful asset is that it articulates this truth. And this truth is understood by the mainstream, the 99 percent. . . "

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Analysts say . . .

. . . that the price of gasoline in Maryland could reach four dollars per gallon by Memorial Day.

Seems to me that whenever 'analysts' (as reported by our dear, respected media) SAY something about an increase in the price of gasoline, it comes true.

Is that particularly good ANALYSIS?  Or are the 'analysts' really oil industry payees simply 'preparing' us for the inevitable?

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Granny? . . .

. . . OH!  You said Grammy. . .

It's that time of year to get all caught up in one of pop culture's most self-indulgent events, the Grannys . . . I mean the Grammys.

I always chuckle to myself remembering when a friend asked me why, since I am so involved in music, do I not watch American Idle. . . I mean American Idol.   Groping for words, it was difficult to explain that my love of music is a love of music and not a love of pop culture.  And these days, with an exponentially larger number of avenues from which to obtain music than when I was a kid, I no longer have to settle for what the corporate music monopolies offer me. . . and I don't.

Not that I'm criticizing.  There's room in this big ole world for all of us with our many and varied tastes.  Just understand that it is a big ole world and there's lots more from which to choose.  But you have to open your eyes (or your ears) and find it.

So, Rock on Granny!   (I mean Grammy)

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Consumerproduchondria. . .

. . .  may well be the malady from which I suffer. . .I am a consumerproduchondriac. . .

 . . . a disease that is spread through the saliva of blututhious devisus (pictured above) when injected, unbeknownst to you, into your ear canal. Symptoms of the disease include the inability to make telephone contact with the person that you contact most, using the voice command feature.  All functions famously until the voice tells you, "calling mobile 1" and then nothing happens.

Consumerproduchondria can also be contracted through other consumer products, as I well know, and manifests itself in that the consumer product (or some specific function thereof) will, for some odd reason, work.

You know that it is consumerproduchondria specifically when you scour the manual that accompanies your product at purchase, and there is mention of nothing remotely resembling your situation to be found.  Identification of the disease becomes confirmed when you speak to a real customer service representative and they say, "I've never heard of that before."

The only remedy to this debilitating condition is a conscientious manufacturer with sympathetic customer service reps who will happily replace your item a little or no cost to you.  If you cannot locate the remedy at your local pharmacy, take two aspirin and call me in the morning.

 
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Enough. . .

. . . is enough!!! 

(from the Denver Post)
". . . On Thursday, the Senate voted 96-3 in favor of new restrictions designed to keep lawmakers from trading stocks based on inside information gleaned from their legislative roles. Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall supported the bill.The measure also would ban legislators from sharing insider knowledge with others who would make trades on it. In addition, federal lawmakers would be required to disclose their trading activity. The measures also would apply to some members of the executive branch. No doubt, it's a good thing. It's also an idea that has been kicking around since 2006. But it wasn't until "60 Minutes" and others in the media recently began reporting on the issue that it was put on the fast track in Congress. . . "

(from Jack Abramoff: Members Of Congress Engaged In Insider Trading Doug Mataconis)
". . . This is the kind of thing that only serves to increase public cynicism about government, of course. It strikes me that if it’s illegal for a corporate officer to engage in stock trades based on information that comes to him based on his position, it should be illegal for a Member of Congress or a member of his staff to do this same. The legal position that the information they base their decisions on is “public” because its in Congress is a legal fiction. In reality, as noted above, these people have knowledge about the timing of legislation and hearings, and the likelihood that a particular bill with pass that an ordinary investor does not. It’s either all illegal, or not [none] of it is. . . "

Vote them ALL OUT this election!!!

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