Religion Defined

Religion is best defined as the attempt to control people through their spirituality

No man is an island

The successful are built on either the cooperation of others, or on their backs

Fetishizing the World

I've been reading The Lord and the Rings and Philosophy and I am enjoying the essays in there a good deal. Not only am I picking up philosophical thought but I'm revisiting a favorite book of mine and really learning it.

One bit in there discuses how the main plot of the story seems to be de-fetishizing the world.. and then that leads into how modern culture is fetishized.

Anytime you see scantily clad people draping themselves over the hoods of cars or other appliances, fetishing is going on.

Apparently that is a common phenomenon in the modern consumeristic world since the relationship between craftsman and buyer is no longer as personal as it once was.

Responsibility Blues

One of the puzzling aspects of American culture is this negative reaction toward responsibility. It's not negative in the sense that people don't live up to their responsibilities, though there's that, too. It's like this; our teachers, our parents, and just about any figure of authority that wants to scapegoat someone else always moans about "people living up to their responsibilities." They complain and shake their fingers and lecture that we have "responsibilities" we must live up to before we go off and have fun.

Well, all true, but rather negatively phrased don't you think?

not all responsibilities have to be a torment. The ones that require us to go off the the dentist to have our children's teeth drilled into are not what I mean... but taking out the garbage, cooking, cleaning, are all things that I actually enjoy on occasion. If on everyone given time people will dump all the housework on me and go off to play nintendo and leave me by myself; on those occasions maybe responsibility sucks. If everyone pitches together and works as one, discusses the day, tells jokes, and gets into a community spirit; those occasions are the best.

So, if not all responsibilities are a chore, why don't we start talking up Responsibility and sell it as something that can be fun?

American might not have such a weak dollar today if we had done that.

Tuesday Bluesday

Well, OK. There's not to much to report.

I'm trying to organize my thoughts and activities a bit more. So, We'll see how that goes.

<3

Dems Play Republican Enabler; Again

The Democratic front runners have all pelted for the doors in order to avoid voting on the Mukasey confirmation.

This poster on HuffPO had all the questions nicely arranged for us.

1. As political cover? They are not on recorded voting for or against the nomination; staying the middle course; non controversial; sitting on the fence post undisturbed?
2. Legitimate scheduling conflicts that they could not attend; surprised by the vote they did not have time to return to D.C.?
3. The vote was scheduled to exclude these presidential candidates; to make they look bad; a calculated strategy?
4. Other? (Dems and Repubs are really all part of the same club " so the vote really was predetermined while allowing pseudo political posturing?)
5. Just plain old incompetence? Complacency? Arrogance? Spineless? SNAFU?- LDJeff

I want to see what's going on in their political crystal balls. They have to know that they are looking like mighty prats in front of the world.. so what do they have to gain from abstaining?

Their donor's contributions, perhaps?

Krugman on Cartoon Physics

The First Law of Cartoon Physics .

Any body suspended in space will remain in space until made aware of its situation.

*giggle*