Two possibilities

1. Jesus is risen. That's because he is the bread we eat, which had a healthy dose of yeast added before the baker placed it in the oven. But really, what a bunch of childish horseshit. I hate the Christian "religion," and that goes DOUBLE for all its morbid, depressing "Holy Days." 2. Easter? That's when Jesus rolls the boulder out from in front of the cave door. And if he sees his shadow, we get six more weeks of Winter!

A bit of wisdom from Noam

"Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about changing society. When you trap people in a system of debt they can't afford the time to think. Tuition fee increses are a disciplinary technique, and by the time students graduate, they are not only loaded with debt, but have also internalized the disciplinarian culture. This makes them efficient components of the consumer economy." Noam Chomsky Noam knows what he's talking about, as usual. I dropped out of Madison Area Technical College in 1988. At the time, I was too much into attending anti-nuclear rallies in Colorado and hiking in the Rockies. Worst decision ever, as things turned out. Not only do I have no degree, I still owe more than five grand. Even though I know that's chicken feed compared to the say, $80,000 others owe, I feel I gave myself the worst of both worlds. But at least I have enough consciousness and conscience to not be an "efficient component of the consumer economy." My advice to college-age youth is: "Stay in school, if you can afford to!"

Israeli Policy

Israeli military policy goes way above and beyond anything necessary for Israel's Survival. Though I'm not saying the Palestinians or other Arab nationalities involved have been entirely innocent. But Israel's policy of 100 Arab deaths for every Israeli fatality is simply barbaric and grotesque. I truly wish that the Zionists of the 20th Century had been successful in creating a secular, NOT sectarian Utopia in the Desert. But the moment they codified, in Law, that non-Jewish lives, particularly Muslim lives were less sacred and worthy of protection than Jewish lives, they lost the battle for moral supremacy. And these acts of militarism and aggression that have infested every facet of Israeli life have also succeeded, ultimately, in making Israel a far more dangerous place for JEWS than if they would engage in genuine negotiation. The same goes for every hyper-militarized nation on Earth; yes indeed, in that way they're just like every other Garrison state, from Ancient Rome to Twenty-first Century USA. As Michael Franti sings: "You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it to Peace."

The "Peaceful" Mr. Obama

Certainly Israelis should be bold in seeking peace with the Palestinians. But I won't believe Obama is sincere about peace, ANYWHERE, until HE begins to act peacefully. The reality is, Obama is a diabolically intelligent, self-possessed, articulate, dry, urbane and very calculating interventionist. What I'm saying is: I'll never believe President Obama is serious about bringing about peace. Mr. Obama can take his Nobel Prize and pawn it. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/21/obama-strong-call-israel-palestinian-peace

By the Time I Get to Phoenix

I've always been fascinated with Phoenix; it's just so very different from Madison. I saw it from the highway back in 1972 - but that was like unto a different lifetime. I was going to visit Phoenix about seven or eight years ago - then I g...ot more and more bad news about the place. It realy wasn't the incredibly hostile climate (I'm a winter kind of guy) that put me off - it was the incredibly hostile climate, as in the murderously reactionary political reality now enveloping Arizona. Anyway, I'm definitely voting to the effect that Phoenix will become absolutely unlivable in the fairly near future, for all the reasons Mr. deBuys expounds. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-debuys-phoenix-and-climate-change-20130314,0,4490600.story

About "Gun Control" in these United States

About the present "gun control debate" in the USA; a few points worth considering. It is perhaps one of the more poorly known realities of the 1960s' Civil Rights Era that many members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (or "SCLC," Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's organization) had rifles and shotguns at the ready, a practical necessity for defending their homes and churches against Ku Klux Klan attack. It wasn't just the Black Panthers, my friends, who practiced armed self-defense 40-50 years ago. And while I do, in theory, vehemently agree as to the "merits" ("demerits" would be a better choice of words) of America's "gun-toting culture..." the more "extreme" proponents of gun control fail somewhat to see the broader picture when they neglect to survey the wider "culture" more comprehensively. Example: A rather high percentage of Native Americans - probably the most oppressed of all "America's" minorities - possesses firearms. If you do a "google" for "Wounded Knee 1890/Wounded Knee 1973," you might discover why this is. Actually, many "American Indians" own rifles and shotguns, mainly for hunting deer, game birds and small game. It's an aspect of their hunter/gatherer culture, going back several centuries. But it also has to do with a marginalized subgroup having experienced actual genocide directed at them from the White Power Structure. There is also a pretty high incidence of firearms ownership among African Americans, for better or worse. When one considers the long-standing, deadly historical repression brought to bear against America's black population, the reasons behind that high incidence of gun ownership become evident in short order. So while I'm not praising the phenomenon of individual gun ownership in this "Armed Madhouse" known conventionally as the United States, I'm not unilaterally condemning gun ownership on the part of the civilian population, either. I would concede, though, that as a matter of Constitutional Law, there is nothing in the language of the Second Amendment that explicitly confers to the civilain population a personal right to own guns. What the Bill of Rights actually sanctions, verbatim, is a Right to Bear Arms on the part of a "well-regulated militia."

Have you LOVED your US Postal Service lately?

It's such a lovely thing that the much maligned, under-utilized and mistreated US Postal Service has printed up umpteen hundred thousand "Forever stamps" with the word LOVE highlighted within a very fancy-schmancy design. Just today, I sent my "love" to Amnesty International, while at the same time explaining to them that when I joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) I did so, in my own mind, ONLY joining the ACLU. Regrettably, I can't afford to join EVERY worthwhile political advocacy organization that has been soliciting my contributions, very interestingly, since the very same month I joined the ACLU. (The ACLU sells its mailing list of potential "soft touches" like me to a variety of other outfits.) If I were RICH, no doubt I'd also be a member of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Sierra Club, Amnesty, The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Nukewatch, We Are Wisconsin, Greenpeace, The YMCA, Jews For The Preservation of Firearms and the Women's Temperance League, LOL. (Is that last one still around?) Anyway, I'm torn between having the ACLU finally remove my name from their mailing list and remaining on it. If I'm removed, the US Postal Service will lose just a little (every little bit counts) more desperately-needed revenue. On the other hand, if I stay on the mailing list, The Sierra Club and probably even Amnesty International (there's nothing more oblivious that a bureaucracy, ANY bureaucracy) will keep wasting postage on poor, low-income Dan. If you were me, and you even gave two shites, what would YOU do? Anyway, it's also LOVABLE that I'm able to, once again, send my LOVE to a friend who lives in a tiny cabin on Kauai, Hawai'i, seven miles from the nearest internet cafe', or post office box for that matter. The LOVING stamp she is about to receive is more sincerely a token of my LOVE, if truth be told, than the one I just sent to Amnesty. P.S: Deliver a little LOVE to your local Post Office, before it's too late!

In The Beginning Was The Word

The WORD is Heard. The Christian Store in Madison, on South Park St., right by St. Mary's Hospital, is going out of business. Hurry, hurry, everything must go! Don't delay, get your Salvation Today! It's all a kind of Bum Rush to the Final Judgment. Crash the Jesus Party, Marty! Get your God on, Ron! It's not about Babel, it's in the Bible! Have a good Time in Heaven Sublime! You can live Forever in an Earthly Paradise! Afterward eat your Pie in the Sky; Ain't that NICE? Don't think TWICE: Buy your Spaniel a Votive Candle! Practice Charity, Mr. Gerrity! Make this Sunday a big fat Fun-day! HE died for us, to drain our pus. Hop right on that Sacred Bus! To have your Sins forgiven is a MUST! Genuflect, Don't Reflect! The Hour is Late - Transubstantiate. Follow our Lord in all manner Great! HIS Adam's Apple exhorts Thee to Chapel. Be left Not in Sinner's Lurch - go forthwith unto Thy Church! Pray tell, dost thou lean Rome's Way? Bid thy Death Squad Pope, Good Day! Holy Moly, I caught the Glow: I do wail plaintive - how mine piety doth Grow! Thump the Good Book and have a Long Look. Remember, Christ gets all the discounts - He is Heaven's Thrift Shop Viscount! (God's Wounds!)

I got "The Visit" and I returned the favor

Got a visit from three Jehovah's Witnesses today. They were young; the leader of the group was a "Twenty-something;" an adolescent girl and a young boy were tagging along. The young woman started to tell me about some ceremony coming up soon, wherein the J.W.s are going to "commemorate the Day Jesus Died." I quickly revealed that's I'm an atheist, and took exception to the "picture of Jesus" on the pamphlet she handed out to me as we were conversing. I pointed out that Christ, if he even existed, was not German, Slovak or Irish, and that he could not possibly have had the reddish-blond hair as he was portrayed in the "Witnesses'" illustration. The young woman tried to tell me that "Jesus's physical appearance isn't as important as what he stood for, as well as Christ's Message for Mankind here on Earth," etc., etc. But I kept pointing out that a man born two millennia ago in Bethlehem would be hard-pressed to look like Brad Pitt. I also pointed out that Christ was not born on December 25; the aspiring professional proselytizer agreed with me and even pointed out, on her own initiative, that nowhere does The Bible maintain that Christ WAS born on "Christmas Day." (I assume we were both correct about THAT at least.) We both agreed that "Christmas" is derived from ancient pagan celebrations, and that "Christ was actually a Pisces." Hence the symbol "Ichthys," or "Sign of the Fish" logo used to depict Him in the ancient Greek-speaking world and elsewhere. Well, we went on exchanging various claims and counter-claims for a while in this manner. But I kept on harping about their erroneous representation of the "Person of Jesus Christ" so persistently the woman decided to wish me well, but it was time for her to move on. It was obviously time to seek "greener pastures" and a more gullible audience. Somehow I don't think I'll be attending their ceremony, nor do I plan to join up with the Jehovah's Witnesses.

A Monument to Culture

We in America DO have places that are culturally signifcant. In New York City, I stood outside Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington gave his most important speech. In Boston, I walked the streets of Beacon Hill and the North End, some of them dating to the Seventeenth Century. New Orleans, which I visited a decade ago has the Vieux Carre', or French Quarter: the Crescent City was founded by Frenchmen in 1718. That's where the carnival of drunken debauchery known as Mardi Gras takes place every year; a true monument to Culture, seriously. San Francisco is famous for its sheer physical beauty, cultural and social diversity. Olvera Street in Los Angeles dates back quite a while; the "City of the Angels" was founded in 1781. San Juan, Puerto Rico, which I had the pleasure of visiting, is the oldest European city in the Western Hemisphere. Saint Augustine, Florida was founded in 1565, by the Spaniards of course; it's the oldest European city in the 48 contiguous US states. Santa Fe New Mexico, which I'm glad I've seen if only on one enchanting day, dates to the 1600s, when it was founded by Spanish conquistadors and/or missionaries. The Mound Building Native Americans left their mark for hundreds of miles along the Ohio River. Then there are those ruins, of extreme interest, left by the Anizazi people at Chaco Canyon, also in New Mexico. But I live in Madison, so I'm off to Burger King and I need a vacation.

Decline and Fall

Edward Gibbon really succeeded in writing for the ages. The prose, while sounding a bit flowery to us Twenty-first century types, is still lucid and easily understood. Much less difficult than Madison, Hamilton and John Jay's "Federalist Papers." Gibbon was a dandy, a Bon Vivant, a "gentleman" and an elitist, of course. But this is still highly fascinating, and a joy to read. http://books.google.com/books?id=yvlYUpqe-JMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+decline+and+fall+of+the+roman+empire&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bsNAUdLDHNKy0AGerYHgDA&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=the%20decline%20and%20fall%20of%20the%20roman%20empire&f=false

Rand's filibuster

I'm no fan of Libertarian extremist Rand Paul. But I'm glad he raised the drone issue. Pretty soon, the way things are headed, these unmanned vehicles/weapons will be hovering above your house, and mine. Oh wait, they probably are already. If Homeland Security had deployed drones, say a year or two ago, the level of secrecy that department practices would in all likelihood prevent us from finding out about it until several years later. If ever. The latest generation of drones can hang out hundreds of feet above you, in near total silence.

Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus: Just keep your idiotic religion out of MY life, please.

I'm neither a closet Catholic, nor a (hopefully) recovering Catholic like ao many millions. I'm a confirmed atheist, who would prefer to see the Catholic church collapse from its own corrupt burden. I'm privileged to have been raised by two atheist, agnostic, pagans, or whatever they called themselves at varying stages. My mom was raised Methodist, until she, along with my grandmother actually, left the church for good. Grandma said the congregation had become "a number of jackasses competing to see which one could bray the loudest." My dad was raised "reform" Jewish or something along those lines - he was forced to get Bar Mitzvahed and read Hebrew in a Brooklyn synagogue. He hated his theological studies, as it took him away from his favorite youthful pastimes, like Stickball and various acts of petty juvenile delinquency. I pretty much despise organized religion, viewing it as an anachronism that hinders human progress more than almost any other phenomenon. However, I'm not trying to stop them from their folly, even if I could, which of course isn't the case. After all, the First Amendment allows for Freedom OF Religion, as well as my freedom to be left alone by millions of religious whack-jobs, who want to preach their hallucinatory nonsense to everyone else night and day. Me? I just insist that religion be kept out of the public realm: There must be NO religious test for higher office, as in: "I, Barack Obama do solemnly swear, to uphold, preserve..., and defend the Constitution of the United States... so help me GOD;" NO "in God We Trust" on the money; NO "Ten Commandments" on the courthouse walls; NO "One Nation Under GOD" in the Pledge of Allegiance (which is no more than a gratuitous bit of jingoistic idiocy anyway) and NO "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth... so help me "GOD," when witnesses take the stand.

Something crucial

Time to point out something crucial. That is, how poorly funded public education, versus, for example, the military-prison-industrial complex has been for generations. I have in the past posted extensively along those lines. It's surely not my intention to point any fingers at public school teachers - most of them, it seems to me, do the very best they can in an unenviable environment. I had some very excellent educators, especially in middle and high school. I complement them every time I see them around town or elsewhere, including one I saw last month for the first time in two decades. If my memory serves me right, the US spends less than $200 billion annually on public K-12 education programs and infrastructure, whereas the Pentagon receives well in excess of a trillion dollars per year. One thing about our educational philosophy I object to though, is the system of "Normative Education," meaning everyone must be "so good" at every subject. For me, trying to comprehend Pre-college Algebra, to say nothing of Calculus, was simply a waste of time and effort. I believe I should have been free to concentrate on what I'm really good at - English, Spanish, French, German, History, Political "Science," Sociology (as much of a bunch of gobbledy-gook as the latter is) and all those other "Liberal Arts" type subjects.

Duh!

From "Chelsea," and the Ad Council, probably the most counter-productive Public Service Announcement of year 2012: "...uh, my mom didn't go to college, so she wants me to find out what that whole thing is about." (Duh.) "...I think that to get into college, I'll have to be determined, like to get a good job." (Duh.) "...just like when I want to get a new trick." (Duh.) "New trick?" That could be construed in a way that is quite unflattering to a 16 or 17 year old. All in all, just the sort of speech pattern that doesn't positively impress prospective employers. Unless I'm way out of touch, and the "Valley Girl" vernacular is now America's official workplace dialect. Not to mention the fact that one's skating prowess isn't necessarily the most important credential in order to get a "good job." But hey, at least the kid's wearing a helmet! Duh!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x5eFuWJZPQ