tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post1263397002502554986..comments2024-03-27T11:16:36.951-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: Trialogues At the Edge of SlackGagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-83915683082753352692011-05-25T13:24:36.301-07:002011-05-25T13:24:36.301-07:00Evildoers are combatted also by educating them. D...<i>Evildoers are combatted also by educating them. Deep down all who do evil long to be pure again and this element in them can be reached and activated.</i><br /><br />And lazy liberals become happy conservatives once they discover the value of hard work?<br /><br />Sorry about the sarcasm, but I’ve already been there. Actually, in my experience you are mostly correct. Wannabes can be cowed. Convicted criminals can be educated in prison. Bullies can be beat down. Goodfellas get whacked. And at least one guy won’t be hiking down Appalachian trails in Argentina with a strong and smart spouse at home, again.<br /><br />But I also speak of the evildoers who use any and all education to modify their behavior, to become better evildoers. The incorrigible ones. Beck argues from a tabla rasa perspective, I think, but I’m not so sure. Humans have obvious extreme genetic conditions in almost every form imaginable. Why not born psychopaths?<br /><br />This is why I focus on educating the more normal people. Once you spot, do not follow, or you could be next.flunkynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-68545776949042868532011-05-25T10:42:10.073-07:002011-05-25T10:42:10.073-07:00I hear you, Flunky.
When you choose the Godly pat...I hear you, Flunky.<br /><br />When you choose the Godly path, which includes full-time kindness, you will attract to you opposition and violence from other people.<br /><br />Expecting this, God's operative girds the loins and fights, albeit fairly and with kindness.<br /><br />The Godly operative will gently obstruct and admonish the prospective evildoer and will also shield and defend any prospective victims.<br /><br />Evildoers are combatted also by educating them. Deep down all who do evil long to be pure again and this element in them can be reached and activated.<br /><br />That is how the operative deals with those who would try to destroy her.Ousted From Hell and Direct to Younoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-11608163744048862092011-05-24T23:44:33.082-07:002011-05-24T23:44:33.082-07:00OFF TOPIC OFF TOPIC
Sarah-John {Huntsman]?
hope i...OFF TOPIC OFF TOPIC<br />Sarah-John {Huntsman]?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/05/25/palins_secret_weapon_new_film_to_premiere_in_june_109949.html" rel="nofollow">hope is aqui</a> <br /><br />OLD TESTAMENT OLD TESTAMENT<br /><br />"REGUN"<br />NOSHITWV<br /><br />3rd try sorry for deletes <br />long links dont 'take' <br />snaminesgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02015936407999495181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-13086060993789021052011-05-24T23:26:40.278-07:002011-05-24T23:26:40.278-07:00Beuller?Beuller?Plead the Fifthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-82387780453667199972011-05-24T22:29:47.548-07:002011-05-24T22:29:47.548-07:00This is pretty much my favorite animal:
http://ww...This is pretty much my favorite animal:<br /><br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13520472Napoleannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-60271711397970059642011-05-24T20:37:55.930-07:002011-05-24T20:37:55.930-07:00I’d recommend a healthy dose of M. Scott Peck’s “P...I’d recommend a healthy dose of M. Scott Peck’s “People of the Lie” or similar, for those about to embark on journeys of kindness. While many will appreciate your efforts, others will eat you alive for it.<br /><br />They're out there.flunkynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-19448551335534190112011-05-24T17:49:52.169-07:002011-05-24T17:49:52.169-07:00Scory, Nice to hear someone mention William Law. ...Scory, Nice to hear someone mention William Law. <i>A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life</i> is one of my favorites.mushroomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07651027035577798096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-37609211959947894722011-05-24T17:18:34.845-07:002011-05-24T17:18:34.845-07:00Flunky, Scory:
I read and understood your heartfe...Flunky, Scory:<br /><br />I read and understood your heartfelt comments.<br /><br />Flunky, abuse is endemic in schools. Of course you couldn't help Mike. You were indirectly already a victim of intimidation because you were afraid.<br /><br />As far as success goes, the only measure of success is virtue. Everything else recycles back to the earth, but virtue accrues to you forever.<br /><br />Now you are powerful and free. Now if you see abuse, you can act to help the abused one, which is a right action, true, good, and beautiful.<br /><br />Scory, you are right, our nation is permeated with a sense of lovelessness, where sarcastic cutting remarks, mean humor, and the like all pass as acceptable. But you are now powerful and free and you don't have to dish it out, take it, or stand by while others dish it out or take it.<br /><br />You can, by your unwavering kindness, bring joy.<br /><br />By dropping all hatred and all selfish desires like raindrops drop from the lotus leaf, you can spread contentment to others.<br /><br />Then you are wise and like the moon coming out from behind clouds you illuminate the earth.<br /><br />Be virtuous,brothers, and love is ascendant.Hennie Pennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-8664158175822062982011-05-24T16:13:12.854-07:002011-05-24T16:13:12.854-07:00I’m going to blame the women.
Loving supermen are...I’m going to blame the women.<br /><br />Loving supermen are appreciated, but what the women really want are the bad boy supermen.<br /><br />Which begs the question: Are all the good boy supermen gay?<br /><br />Would you let yourself be helped by an ambiguously gay superhero? I wouldn’t. Maybe getting slapped on the upper cheeks really is better than getting slapped on the lower ones. <br /><br />Never mind.flunkynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-27541742110061905212011-05-24T16:00:04.455-07:002011-05-24T16:00:04.455-07:00Don Colacho’s okay, I guess. He sums up big pictu...Don Colacho’s okay, I guess. He sums up big pictures well, but the big picture is usually made up of other pictures. To wit:<br /><br />Big Picture:<br /><i>Envy tends to be the true force behind moral indignation.</i><br /><br />Other Picture:<br /><i>Emotional indignation tends to be the true force behind envy, and moral indignation follows.</i> <br /><br />If your deadbeat sister married well, would you be more envious if she bragged and gloated all the time, or if she happily shared some of her luck with you? <br />Which sister would wind up being That Gold Digger, and which would be the one you’re proud of?flunkynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-64246187137656905792011-05-24T15:47:58.017-07:002011-05-24T15:47:58.017-07:00Where resources are scarce, conflict abounds.
I t...Where resources are scarce, conflict abounds.<br /><br />I tried preaching. But it got my cheek slapped. And then the other one, when I turned. Some of the wee bystanders shielded their eyes. Others mocked. But most thought me the fool.<br /><br />Then I considered getting a few of those Powerlifters for Christ, to be our common superman heroes. Outside of muscles, they aren’t looking for material gain, right? My hope was that these supermen would inspire many others to do the loving thing - looking out for still weaker others who are just trying to do the loving thing, which would ultimately reduce government significantly. <br /><br />And no more socialized redistribution of wealth towards the rich and powerful (The oil company pro sports team Wall street Sachs too big to fail kind, and not the “liberal” kind).<br /><br />But then the powerlifters slapped my cheeks. And not the upper ones mind you. I became confused and despondent.flunkynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-88742899248208132392011-05-24T14:55:02.109-07:002011-05-24T14:55:02.109-07:00This is an age one of whose defining characteristi...This is an age one of whose defining characteristics is lovelessness. It is natural for any sane person to want to escape it. But that is not the way. The way has been shown by people like Theresa of Calcutta and William Law. And by Ramakrishna. The lesson is to love God with everything one has and to love our fellows - said love being expressed as compassion and service. <br /><br />It seems to me that in this age, as in every age, the religious among us are small in number and scattered. There are many who proclaim their righteousness but few who live it. And those who live it garner few, if any, headlines and tend to be thought of as odd or even heretical by the "main stream". The best people I know will die unrecognized by the world and prefer it that way. <br /><br />I am a Christian and I belong to a church that teaches that non-Christians can achieve salvation because God judges the hearts of men and anyone who would have accepted the gospel fully had they heard it will be welcome to His presence. This seems sane to me. But it is a doctrine that many would reject out-of-hand. The church I belong to has, I am quite sure, its share of errors. I have yet to hear of one that doesn't. But the people, the sincere ones who are really trying, are among the best I have ever met. Much better than me. They give without thought to receiving thanks. They repent when they screw up. Jesus called such people the salt of the earth and, as usual, He was right. I believe it is for their sake that this nation has not yet been severely judged. <br /><br />But the lovelessness that is a signature of the age is growing and overwhelming every decent and good thing. At some point things are going to give. God is not mocked and I believe that the people of this nation have become so degraded, so ignorant, so indifferent that the tipping point is now very near. I believe many of us are aware of this though not attributing it as I am. There is a feeling of dread that permeates the people. The future is not bright but threatening. And because so many have lost the foundation of faith in God they turn to any proferred hope. <br /><br />But the hope they turn to is loveless. It does not forgive or forbear. It is not meek and mild. It is not prudent or courageous. It is the opposite of all these things but above all it is strident and its stridency drowns out the nagging fear and smothers doubt. It also, sooner or later, fills the gulags and death camps with those who are deemed unfit or a threat to its existence. It destroys its own children in order "ease" the comfort of its devotees. It is pure destruction.<br /><br />It follows, it seems to me, that the path of devotion is the exact counterpoint to the present age. Love of God and of one's fellows flies in the face of the spirit of "hope" that permeates the world. Love requires individuals in order to achieve its purposes. Union with the will of God makes such individuals. Slack follows naturally from this and in great abundance.scorynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-86019522752138651032011-05-24T14:15:15.937-07:002011-05-24T14:15:15.937-07:00Back in high school, my class was forced by well i...Back in high school, my class was forced by well intentioned instructors to watch a rather graphic Holocaust movie. It was like Mechanized Death on steroids. It bothered me immensely. How can people do this? Who are these people? I repeated to myself, many times. <br /><br />Are they liberals? Are they conservatives?<br /><br />Not long after, I noticed that a fellow student named Mike was being openly harassed in the halls. Mike was small and had mildly mongoloid features. Apparently, he had been mainstreamed into our school by well intentioned powers that be.<br /><br />The nic pasted onto him, was “Nasty Edwin”. I saw no evidence of nasty-ness, or Edwin-ness, but there it was. One day I saw him being bullied in plain sight, by a group of much larger “normals”, and Mike knelt down and cried. <br /><br />I would have stepped in myself to stop this, but the pragmatic side of me screamed “NO”. It told me that if it wasn’t for Mike, “Baby Huey” and a few chess club members, there but for the grace of God would go I. I was young and very small for my class. I had already been set atop and inside of lockers. So I wisely laid low.<br /><br />Logic told me that if I had instead been a future mover shaker / star quarterback / class president / swoonie ladies man type, I could have stepped in with a few of my homies and ended this thing. <br /><br />But apparently, there were no supermen alpha males to be found in that 3000 student school. So turning blind eyes or laying low was the common defense. Mike eventually had a breakdown and we never saw him again. <br /><br />Many years later I wondered what had happened to the characters in this scenario, and did some homework out of curiosity. Interestingly, many of the abusers were easy to find. One is a mortgage broker in Phoenix. Another owns his own successful Seattle based commercial property management company. Yet another managed to bail from Lehman Brothers before it collapsed, but retained his V.P. status at a similar firm in Chicago. <br /><br />The nice people were hard to find. One plays in a band by night, plays legal messenger by day. Another does tech support at Nintendo. Another is a faceless accountant in a sea of cubicles within a mega corporation. <br /><br />Mike is nowhere to be found. But maybe he’s working a fulfilling job somewhere saving up for a plasma TV? I’d sure like to think so.<br /><br />How does all this relate to the Holocaust? I guess if it’s in your DNA to not care, you’ll do well wherever you go. As long as you’re smart and don’t get roped into the Nazis. <br /><br />It really is up to you to succeed.<br /><br />(Disclaimer: I have a BIL who’s a nice guy. And he gets into goofy predicaments sometimes, like having to be rescued hanging off a second story gutter, or being caught digging through his wife’s purse while vacationing in Vegas. He also does his own nothing (do NOT ask him to help you pull an engine). Yet he is a successful vice president at several thousand person sized firm. His lifelong best friend is also his boss. But shhhh! If this gets out the nice guy paradigm might be blown.)flunkynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-62661564127669830962011-05-24T13:40:50.637-07:002011-05-24T13:40:50.637-07:00The SlackMeister sez:
"In ether worlds, you ...The SlackMeister sez:<br /><br />"In ether worlds, you can have all the slack you want, except that you can't be there to enjoy it."<br /><br />Yeah, that was always nagging at me in my Zen phase. You spend all that time trying to improve yourself so that you can end up losing yourself. Seemed kind of counterproductive, and cold.<br /><br />"Here "union is seen in a completely different way: it is the union of love, in which differences are not destroyed but are transformed in a higher union of those who love each other." "<br /><br />Nice comparison between east and west today. Very informative. <br /><br />This Pope guy, he's ok.John Lienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15607964922479543670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-78053306692186377282011-05-24T12:18:17.974-07:002011-05-24T12:18:17.974-07:00"By the way, nor does the SlackMeister believ..."By the way, nor does the SlackMeister believe there is any other political solution to the Problem of Man, including contemporary conservatism (much less randy Aynism(LOL), whom he would never embrace). Just because he passionately argues for the lesser of two evils, it hardly means that he is passionate about evil. Where is your sense of irony?"<br /><br />While politics can help reduce the numbers of problems which other men might introduce into your life, to imagine that it can solve the problems of your living your life... I think indicates a lack of being in the habit of living your own life.Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-57016634054864952802011-05-24T12:14:49.174-07:002011-05-24T12:14:49.174-07:00The pre-amble for this post dishes up stock respon...The pre-amble for this post dishes up stock responses to grievances in the last post:<br /><br />--You have no sense of humor.<br /><br />---You're too sensitive.<br /><br />--My writing is harmless.<br /><br />Well I don't buy it. Now you have a woman challenging your control here.<br /><br />Exactly what you don't want.Asomosa the Grandmothernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-40234003211214468112011-05-24T11:42:50.579-07:002011-05-24T11:42:50.579-07:00Glad to help out.
Indeed, to imagine one's l...Glad to help out.<br /><br /><br /><i>Indeed, to imagine one's life would change in fundamental ways with the election of this or that politician makes one a little pathetic, don't you think?</i><br /><br />Yep. It is the state of mind prevalent on most political sites. Even where I generally agree with the politics, they make me uneasy.mushroomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07651027035577798096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-62530910367706902082011-05-24T10:13:08.509-07:002011-05-24T10:13:08.509-07:00Hello there, Sir!
There's been a while - almo...Hello there, Sir!<br /><br />There's been a while - almost 5 years, actually - since I learned about your blog from dissectleft.blogspot. I have been a lurker around here ever since. Your themes tends to go above my head, but I try to follow it anyway.<br /><br />I'm very fond of Van Morrison, just as you seems to be too.<br /><br />The reason why I'm sending this comment to you is that I decided it was about time to call your attention to a compatriote of mine, who's currently living in the US, and about whom I have a great deal of respect - I'm a Brazilian, by the way. He's name is Olavo de Carvalho and I think some of his writings might be of your interest.<br /><br />Check out his website when possible, and don't miss the online debate he's currently maitaining with Alexander Dugin, on "The USA and the New World Order" - particularly Olavo's 4th post to the debate. Here's the link to it:<br /><br />http://debateolavodugin.blogspot.com/2011/05/r4-olavo-eng.html<br /><br />And here's the link to Olavo's website, where some of the texts have been translated into English:<br /><br />http://www.olavodecarvalho.org/<br /><br /><br />Sincerely yours,<br /><br />Miguel<br /><br /><br />PS 1: Please, nevermind my use of English.<br /><br />PS 2: My personal email address: zemiguelt@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-11348633652764327432011-05-24T08:58:44.688-07:002011-05-24T08:58:44.688-07:00""The left’s theses are trains of though...""The left’s theses are trains of thought that are carefully stopped before they reach the argument that demolishes them""<br /><br />I had a good demo of that yesterday on my site regarding Israel. The aninny began with fair questions, but on answering them and pointing out the reasoning for them, they hit the point where they could go no further, had a melt down, reason gone, CAPS and insults (as opposed to insultainment) took it's place.<br /><br />They held out awhile though, gotta give 'em credit for at least trying to be human.<br /><br />But there is a point in pursuing the truth where... past which, it just burns....Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-13016016577899323902011-05-24T08:40:32.430-07:002011-05-24T08:40:32.430-07:00The liberal looks at America and imagines how much...<i>The liberal looks at America and imagines how much more perfect it could be. The conservative looks at the same world and is amazed and relieved that the system works at all</i><br /><br />And how.<br /><br />History has largely been a miserable struggle against starvation, oppression, and ignorance for your average person.<br /><br />The key problem with the utopians is the externalization of their existential pain. Little do they know that they would be just as miserable in paradise as they are now. (I'm reminded of Masamue Shirow's 'Appleseed')<br /><br />Regardless, many would still kill the golden goose in order to find out.Brazentidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14185966349888770222noreply@blogger.com