Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Feel the Love
The left I've come to know. They're not about "peace," "love," "compassion," or "justice." They're just plain arrogant, rude, self-righteous, and mean.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Just Don't Call Them Hypocrites - Not When They're Obviously So Cool
'One of the best essays I've seen in a long time that gives example (many examples) to why people like me so resent the hypocricies of the left.
This stuff is strait forward, in your face, and brutally obvious, not to mention irrefutable. Any Jacobin clown who doesn't "get" this is really holding hard to their illusions regarding what they represent, and what conservatives and Libertarians represent.
A very good, and somewhat entertaining read.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
The Open-minded, Flexible, and Tolerant Saints of Leftland
There seems to be a resurgence of an old trick (or self-delusion) utilized by the left to confirm for itself that it's values are not only superior but not pathological. That's to say, the left's belief that those who disagree with them are pathological.
"The authoritarian personality," we've been told, just happens to coincide with being on the wrong side of the political spectrum or favoring the Republican party - ah...yeah.
The non-aligned probably used to believe this stuff but the left has become so over the top in their desperation to demonize those who fail to worship at their altar, their "arguments" have become less and less convincing no matter how much "science" they claim to drape their analysis in.
The Weekly Standard has an excellent article that addresses the new fad in psychology of carefully documenting how "close-minded and resistant to change" those of us are for wanting lower taxes, limited government, and leaders that can actually do more than read from a teleprompter.
The Champions of Bias Still in Denial
This, from The Razor, is a great overview of the nonsense, still believed by some, that media outlets are remotely objective. I found the part about Fox News to be similar to my own experiences with people who write off some very legitimate information (coming from FOX) because it came from the source they are told so often to avoid or despise. Indeed, as was noted in the linked essay, virtually every time someone posts a link to FOX NEWS on my Facebook page, someone "comments" back that the entire article is meaningless because it was originally a product of FOX. One has to remember that these are the same clowns who think conservatives stand for pushing old ladies down staircases.
The Oil For Food scandal by the United Nations was arguably the greatest expression - in monetary value - of corruption in World History and we probably wouldn't even know about it had it not been for FOX NEWS. It seems that almost every week a revelation is made by FOX of something of serious importance to America that other sources try to keep off the radar until the absurdity of their non-objectivity become too obvious.
To some, it is simply unacceptable that a major source of news has emerged that doesn't echo the "Progressive" party line. Nonsense.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Obama the Creator of Fine Fiction
I realize that Glenn Beck's style can be a bit much - overly emotional and conspiratorial - but this is interesting and rather convincing.
Monday, May 14, 2012
"Society," the Individual, Allergies, Doing the Dishes, and Trying to Throw Things Away in Japan
(...a long and very random reverie complete with typos and grammatical errors).
It was at least a couple of decades ago that I first heard of "fractals." Upon first hearing of the concept and seeing images of their wonderful wedding of math and beauty, I was hooked, and like many who like to view the patterns around us I've come to see the concept of fractal geometry as a perfect template in which to view all processes around us, be they artistic, social or linguistic.
The idea of simple patterns overlapping on different scales to produce paradoxical complexity was fascinating to me. When I speculate on social movements or trends in history I can't help but consider the fractal template. Even before my discovery of fractals, I tended to view things and express myself through the symbolism of patterns and analogies.
The micro nit-pickers of the world tend not to like this way of viewing things. For them, things must be analyzed and filed away under categories of "trees" void of any "forests" or landscapes.
It appears that everything is "like" something else and if you follow the nature and proclivities of one concept or entity it will assuredly afford some insight into other concepts or entities, in spite of any superficial lack of relationship.
I'm one of those sufferers of horrid seasonal allergies. A miserable condition to anyone so afflicted. Certainly not life threatening, but annoying to an excessive degree. What makes allergy symptoms even more annoying to me is the realization as to why they are occurring. If I understand the basics correctly, the body, in the guise of protecting itself from an external threat (pollen), overreacts by producing the widely known symptoms of itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezing - symptoms far worse than the simple enduring of pollen's mild irritations.
Being a person both very annoyed by bureaucrats and pollen (this is the obvious analogy part of my essay), I noticed quite awhile back that they both operate under a simple principle - overreact/make the situation worse. Thus, like a teary eyed sneezing allergy sufferer, the citizens of the world endure endless annoyance and suffering all because some clowns on a micromanage mission have decided to overreact to a variety of concocted crises...'confusing the importance of procedure in relation to result. In spite of the lack of quality in an end product, the bureau-minded fool is obsessed with the correct format being followed, "it's to be folded this way"..."do this part last..." etc. Yeah, they "have their reasons" and a statist will be first to chime in the necessity of following the dictates of "the experts." But, the "experts" who oversee mundane matters like recycling have a track record for blatant stupidity. Things that don't matter and make no difference are magnified in their eyes as things of life or death importance. Things that truly are important are neglected, botched, and twisted to make more tedious work for everyone else. 'Dare mention a word like " efficiency" and they'll sermonize you with some bogus nonsense implying that efficiency is the polar opposite of love, peace, and compassion. One could accurately argue that when seeking to manifest love, peace, and compassion (i.e. charity), efficiency would go a long way in helping to "make it happen." But, as with everything in leftland, words and theories always trump any benefits to be gained in real life.
Another analogy occurred to me lately; mundane but revealing (I think). Before recently getting a dishwasher (they're not widely used in Japan, where I live), I often found myself being the one doing the dishes after dinner. I didn't mind the minor chore so much as the process under which it occurred. My extended family (again, Japanese style) would just pile up their plates, bowls, and glasses after eating and the poor sucker who got stuck with the chore had to spend at least a half hour wading through the disarray of grease and grime.
I would often find myself the unfortunate person performing my responsibilities to "society" (our little dining room table micro-society). It occurred to me that if each individual took their few items to the sink and washed them themselves they would take about two minutes, toss in an individual cooking pan or utensil and maybe they'd suffer for three minutes. No big deal for anyone. But no, the accepted method was to toss a collective- ist responsibility upon the hapless victim who would then toil in the mess of others, merely as an act of "responsibility." It was somehow justified because everyone would have a turn suffering (go figure).
It occurred to me that this was the perfect symbol of our debate between collectivism and individualism (personal autonomy and responsibility). It would no doubt be seen by some as selfish to expect people to fend for themselves and carry the burden of washing their own dishes and that each should "contribute to the collective interest." I realize that the minor chore of doing dishes is not the same as the big issues of health care and social welfare in contemporary society but often there are indeed minor chores, responsibilities and actions we could perform with relative ease that we instead place upon "society" (other people), the net result being an inefficient annoyance to all under the illusion of all "doing their fair share."
Such nonsense occurs with remarkable intensity in the matter of recycling and garbage disposal. You basically can't throw things away in Japan (an issue that I've written about before).
At your home you must use specially purchased bags for common garbage. Some company creates these stupid things at the behest of the local government and thus people pay to throw things away - brilliant. Each city has their own unique bag covered with gobs of wasted ink, packaged (in plastic bags) and delivered by truck to grocery stores and convenient stores everywhere (this is supposedly "helping the environment by not wasting"). We used to put garbage in the bags we got from shopping at the grocery store - actually not wasting.
I'm quite certain that some bureauclown was convinced that this inconvenience would force people to throw less away (that's probably their excuse). No doubt the politician / bureaucrat who ordains these things gets a cut or hefty contribution from the bag company who now has a large captive "market" (not the thing we call a "market" in a true capitalist system).
When you're outside of your home and have a tissue, a candy wrapper, ..anything, you've got to lug it home with you to throw out in your own special bags. One time while at a convenience store I noted three different people tossing good sized bags - the non-purchased variety- into the convenience stores waste bin. Now there are stern signs on the trash bins at convenient stores warning you not to throw your personal trash away there. No doubt some asshole thinks that this whole cluster-fk of a system is somehow helping the environment, I mean, if you throw the tissue away at your house instead of say, a local store you've...what exactly? Damned if I know.
Every house has an elaborate chart and pages devoted to how specific items are to be disposed of. The whole thing has the aura of a religious rite. The other day I saw a relatively bucolic environment tarnished by four or five random fire extinguishers laying amongst the plants and weeds. Those fire extinguishers will never be disposed of. They'll sit there in all their environmental splendor as a testament to the economic principal of unintended consequences. There are areas in the mountainsall over Japan where people have dumped tires, TVs, washing machines, you name it. Anything to avoid the ordeal of simply trying to throw something away. Walking through the downtown area of the city I live in, between buildings and homes one can see refuse of all varieties left to rot like carcasses abandoned in war; pieces of sinks, small appliances, wires, and shards of unidentifiable metal.
Japan is literally covered in garbage and discarded appliances because the system won't let one easily throw garbage out or discard appliances and, god forbid a private company offer to deal with the issue for a competitive fee.
Like many people, I've left broken umbrellas in alleys or at the entryway to stores because I don't have a clue how to get rid of them - no one knows, or at least no one feels like taking the time to wade through pages of recycling regulations and paying a special superfluous fee. I'm sure it's written somewhere, and the guy who wrote it probably got paid plenty for his great wisdom. (Since beginning this post I've found that, in our local Japanese town, to discard an umbrella one most go to a convenient store and purchase a special sticker; ¥300 - currently about $2.40 - and place the broken item in a special bag (of course). What could be the possible practical purpose of such nonsense, to discourage people from having their umbrellas break? No, the answer is that this society, like many in the world is a corporatist bureau-state where the " ruling class " is an elite clique of "socially minded " overlords who toss crumbs to squadrons of bureau-mice who feed on the blood of fellow citizens. Thirty years or so ago in The States, if I had a broken umbrella and asked someone what I should do with it, they'd say, "throw it out"...duh. I don't know what they're doing back home now but no doubt they're catching up with stifled declining societies like Japan -- "Hope and Change." ...clearly the way "forward."
In the People's Republic of Boulder, Colorado, before I left to come to Japan, we recycled of course ( the concept of recycling itself makes total practical sense). Recycling there was pretty strait forward and one felt kind of like a customer - the waste disposal folks were working for you. In Japan, everything must be prepped and cleansed appropriately so the noble garbage dude doesn't soil his gloves. The living room / kitchen area of our house is spotted with varieties of recyclables. There are tissue boxes (plastic removed and folded neatly). 'Milk cartons; cleaned, cut, and bound for their special day and time. 'Beverage bottles; labels removed, cleansed, crushed and bagged appropriately. My father-in-law has a storage shed where half the contents are discarded small appliances and chunks of random who-knows-what.
When writing once before on this issue I had noted a Toshiba laptop that I had bought in the states and couldn't throw away here. The electronic store couldn't dispose of a Japanese appliance that wasn't purchased here. If it had been purchased in Japan I would only have to pay about $30.00 for the privilege of letting Toshiba salvage some rare metals from it. So, like any reasonably intelligent person confronted decrees from the assholes of government, I slowly - over a couple of months - dismantled the laptop onto unrecognizable pieces and put them in the "unburnable" bag purchased for more mundane waste.
So, what exactly is the point of all this. Am I - and people like me - "saving the Earth" by not throwing things away.
Another fun and stupid "allergic reaction to a contrived "problem" is water. Japan has more than its share of water. In addition to being surrounded by water (which evaporates and rains down minus salt), it has incredible amounts of yearly rainfall. Yet, go to a public faucet anywhere and struggle to wash your hands with a teaspoon portion of sensor produced illusion of water. I'm particularly annoyed by the ones that lightly sprinkle water like a storybook fairy urinating. One time I was at a place that actually had soap and I had to put each hand under the two side by side sinks to trick the damn thing into letting me rinse the soap off -- it was poring rain outside as if nature itself was mocking the blatant stupidity of bureaumind.
This generally just sounds like mundane complaining, which it is on one level but, is there any reasonable, practical, or beneficial purpose to the countless things we do wasting minutes or hours of our lives obeying the state and its minions? Really.
Does it really make sense for a body to make its occupant miserable with histamines, or for a country to trash its environment...in the name of improving the environment?
I can only wish that, in the great fractal of life, one could use the equivalent of allergy medicine to alleviate the unnecessary symptoms of contrived "responsibility to society" and following the micro-dictates of fools.
Monday, May 07, 2012
More than half the French electorate just took a dying patient and put a gun to its head - my condolences.
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Local Boy Makes Good by Following Orders and Bombing Hawaii
With the popularity of a recent movie in Japan about Admiral Yamamoto (who planed the attack on Pearl Harbor) and with a special festival this weekend honoring Nagaoka's local hero, I feel compelled to post a link to this earlier posting on the famous military leader. I totally get how horrible the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were...I get that. I understand the horror of so many civilians killed in the fire bombings of Tokyo. What I don't get is the Japanese disconnect between their formal apologies about their own actions during World War II (and initiating the conflict in the Pacific) and the noticeable lack of sincere remorse over their actions. I'm reminded again and again that Yamamoto was personally opposed to the attack on Hawaii but,...please, the guy is no hero. To my knowledge, Germans don't celebrate and idolize Erwin Rommel (who by all accounts was a great military leader and involved in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler). What is it about an honest appraisal of history - and sensible manners -- that the Japanese public just can't seem to grasp?
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
"Competition" and "Cooperation" in the Era of Clowns on Parade
An overplayed and deceptive issue concocted by the left for some time now has been the "competition vs. Cooperation" meme. The implication of the concept being that there are dubious forces of greedy selfish cruelty ("competition") up against the noble goodness of "sharing and cooperation."
One person's selfish "competition" is another's vitality and striving for excellence. One person's "cooperation" is another's phony imposed obedience.
Voluntary cooperation and personal striving are both natural qualities that emerge in free, diverse, and dynamic societies. They are both positive attributes and to imagine they are somehow polarized or at war with each other is a fantasy that only a leftist could love. Strive, cooperate, and prosper...and let the Jacobins stew in their bile-laced dogma.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
A Great Man...
His landmark work on the dangers of unbridled commercial excess won him several prestigious awards in Canada, Europe, and America. He has been nominated for a Nobel Prize several times, once for the coveted Peace Prize.
He has warned us of the threats posed by greed and unnecessary consumption.
Academics across the globe have praised him for his blunt honesty and selfless concern for the downtrodden and less fortunate.
In spite of his scientifically proven conclusions he is mocked by some for his warnings that humankind's days may be numbered.
He knows that we all must unite as one, that no one should d be elevated socially or materially above others. He's got a plan, and since he's a genius we'd be fools to not listen to him.
We all know this man for we read of him and his beliefs everyday in books, classrooms, and television news. This man is everywhere...yet, nowhere.
Because, ...this man doesn't exist. He's a composite fabrication of the fantasies held by many who create and dispense the information and values that many of us buy into.
Unlike Dos Equis' famous "most interesting man in the world," The Great Man is not funny. He's not even interesting. But we're supposed to take him seriously.
He's idolized as the most profound man in the world but when his type shows up as a real human being, we find out that his books are boring and wouldn't even be sold if they weren't amongst required reading at high schools and Universities. For all the descriptions of his humanity and humility he usually lives the high life, mingling with fawning celebrities, traveling the globe, and retiring in a couple of expensive homes. He virtually never practices what he preaches.
Occasionally clowns like "the Great Man" actually obtain power over nations, ...and then lots of people die. But he keeps coming back and people keep believing him...and then more people die. If you're lucky, you'll merely be inconvenienced and not live life as fully as if he were not the "great" man some think he is.
He's a "great man" to a small clique of elitist snobs and ideologues and that's not a problem really. The problem occurs when many of our fellow citizens believe the "great man" and the people who sell him. The problem is when supposed greatness moves side by side with stupidity in numbers.
