I don't hate you because you're beautiful, I hate you because you use your beauty to successfully improve you place in life and in the social order. I hate you because aside from being artistically or sexually pleasing to observe, you do not have one redeeming social quality.
After 23 years of recovering from drugs and alcohol, suffering homelessness, working in thankless, difficult jobs to make money for others, and surviving two emotionally and financially abusive marriages, I am a loving, caring, spiritual human being.
I am honest to the point of transparency. I am responsible both personally and to my family and community. I am entirely and completely faithful mentally, emotionally and physically to my significant other.
I do not drink, use tobacco, or use drugs or mind altering chemicals. I am as completely non-violent and unabusive as my life permits me to be. I even drive at or under the speed limit. I volunteer my time, and I donate money to legitimate cherities. I am raising two children and loving them as if they were my own, though I came into their lives when they were 9 and 12 yrs old.
Still, I'm overweight, and bald. My face isn't worthy of a place on GQ, and so, in the grand game of social value, you will succeed, and I will fail.
I hate you because I am better and brighter and I work harder every goddamn day of my life, but you will always be treated better than I.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Mr. President
Let's play "What If"...
What if you were President of The United States, not on the basis of your qualifications, or even on the basis of an democratic election by the people? You became The President by having your handlers, the same people who handled your daddy and his predecessor and certain relatives, bribe, extort and otherwise cheat the election out of the hands of the legitimately elected winner.
What if, prior to becoming President, you had committed a felony against the US military - commonly known as going AWOL - eventually desertion? Still, your father and his ilk made it go away.
What if you were the son of a long line of oil men, but after having been given multiple oil companies, the best that you could do was dig dry holes?
What if, in fact, you were so stupid that words like "nuclear" were impossible for you to pronounce correctly?
Now comes the interesting part;
What if you were early in your presidency and had pretty much ruined the economy, pretty much proven that you had no workable domestic policies, and were looking strongly like you would never serve a second term? What if your handlers and cohorts were primarily composed of people who made their primary income from the oil business? What would you do?
Lets see... First, we need a way to distract the American people, preferably something that will galvenize them and focus their attention on someone else....but who...
The second thing we need to figure out is how to raise oil profits... hmm... if only those damn Iraqi's, Saudi's and Iranians didn't control so much of the oil supply...
On September 11th two aircraft were hijacked and flown into The World Trade Center, killing hundreds, affecting millions. There was zero (0) iraqi people one either of those planes. There were no iraqis on the plane which hit the pentagon, or on the plane that went down. No iraqi hijackers.
By September 13, George W. Bush's acceptance rating was remarkably higher than anyone would have believed before September 11, as a result of this (and proven malfeasance) he was elected to his second term.
Gas prices on September 10, 2001 averaged $1.40 nationwide. Today they are between $3 and $4 a gallon
So, do I think that Geo. W. Bush orchestrated the Sept 11 attacks? Frankly, I am amazed that he can orchestrate wiping his ass.
Do I think that the people who handled him, his father and Ronald Reagan orchestrated it? I don't know, but it certainly feels more plausible than a coordinated terrorist attack by a group of people who are unable to carry off about 1/2 of their suicide bombings successfully, and who have not launched an attack since.
It seems to me that if I had the wherewithall to hijack and crash several large commercial planes, particularly when 2 went to the WTC and a third to the pentagon, you'd think I could manage to blow up some buildings, hijack more planes...Something! There has not been one verified terrorist attack since Sept. 11, 2001.
Gee, George, mission accomplished?
What if you were President of The United States, not on the basis of your qualifications, or even on the basis of an democratic election by the people? You became The President by having your handlers, the same people who handled your daddy and his predecessor and certain relatives, bribe, extort and otherwise cheat the election out of the hands of the legitimately elected winner.
What if, prior to becoming President, you had committed a felony against the US military - commonly known as going AWOL - eventually desertion? Still, your father and his ilk made it go away.
What if you were the son of a long line of oil men, but after having been given multiple oil companies, the best that you could do was dig dry holes?
What if, in fact, you were so stupid that words like "nuclear" were impossible for you to pronounce correctly?
Now comes the interesting part;
What if you were early in your presidency and had pretty much ruined the economy, pretty much proven that you had no workable domestic policies, and were looking strongly like you would never serve a second term? What if your handlers and cohorts were primarily composed of people who made their primary income from the oil business? What would you do?
Lets see... First, we need a way to distract the American people, preferably something that will galvenize them and focus their attention on someone else....but who...
The second thing we need to figure out is how to raise oil profits... hmm... if only those damn Iraqi's, Saudi's and Iranians didn't control so much of the oil supply...
On September 11th two aircraft were hijacked and flown into The World Trade Center, killing hundreds, affecting millions. There was zero (0) iraqi people one either of those planes. There were no iraqis on the plane which hit the pentagon, or on the plane that went down. No iraqi hijackers.
By September 13, George W. Bush's acceptance rating was remarkably higher than anyone would have believed before September 11, as a result of this (and proven malfeasance) he was elected to his second term.
Gas prices on September 10, 2001 averaged $1.40 nationwide. Today they are between $3 and $4 a gallon
So, do I think that Geo. W. Bush orchestrated the Sept 11 attacks? Frankly, I am amazed that he can orchestrate wiping his ass.
Do I think that the people who handled him, his father and Ronald Reagan orchestrated it? I don't know, but it certainly feels more plausible than a coordinated terrorist attack by a group of people who are unable to carry off about 1/2 of their suicide bombings successfully, and who have not launched an attack since.
It seems to me that if I had the wherewithall to hijack and crash several large commercial planes, particularly when 2 went to the WTC and a third to the pentagon, you'd think I could manage to blow up some buildings, hijack more planes...Something! There has not been one verified terrorist attack since Sept. 11, 2001.
Gee, George, mission accomplished?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Rants I've Been Saving
Spastic Genius
"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots"
OK, the time has come and gone where bigotry is anything other than idiocy. I don't care if we're talking about religion, sexual orientation, race, or age. The time when bigotry is acceptable, tolerable, or worthy of being considered anything but the last haven of the mentally barren and socially bankrupt is over.With the exception of the amount of melanin in their skin, there is no fundamental difference between a man of one color and another. To believe or profess otherwise flies in the face of the science of men and the wishes of God. To be bigoted based on religious differences is the worst kind of serial horseshit (and the single most common reason for murder and war in the last two millennia). The Muslims, Moslems, Jews, and Christians all worship the same god. The sole difference is their belief in whether or not a prophet has returned, and if he did, who was he? An incredibly stupid reason to hate someone. As for the remaining religions? Almost all religions which have any real following at all agree on all of the important issues; Don't kill, don't hurt people, do until others as you'd have done to you/Karma, etc. Hating one and other because of religion is as stupid as hating someone because his wife has a different hair color than yours.Sexual orientation? What the hell business it of yours who someone sleeps with unless it's you? Lessee....yep, the bible does say, in the old testament, back when the tribes of Judah were dying out, that a man should not lay with a man as he lay with a woman (ya think maybe that's because they wanted more baby Judeans, and men with men weren't gonna provide 'em? This is about the same time that the laws against onanism (masturbation) and prostitution were brought about too... Seem like a pattern? Perhaps, a pattern that has long outlived it's usefulness)? So the religious angle is moot. In fact, the entire notion of homophobia is ridiculous. Further, gay/lesbian marriage should never even have been a point of contention. Ignoring the fact that forbidding them to marry is a violation of decency and common sense, it is a violation of the spirit of the constitution and a violation of the founding principles of this country. Two American citizens, employed, tax payers, voters, possibly veterans, are forbidden to engage in a civil contract because it would result in sexual activity that a vocal minority are avidly against. Remember when a woman had to be a virgin to marry? Pretty stupid, yes? No more so than the anti-gay marriage ban. Wake up and smell the taffeta. Age-ism is the practice of discriminating against people because they are beyond a certain age. They are seen as less viable because they "may" suffer from mental or intellectual breakdown (Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia, etc), a weakening of the body (arthritis, etc.) and a less attractive overall countenance. While it is based on truth of a sort, and it may be more profitable for businesses to present younger faces to be more attractive, age-ism leads to (or has already led to, in some places), a kind of bigotry where only those people who the company believes will be "marketable" will be hired. There are currently cases of Age-ism being perpetrated against people as young as their late 30's - not in modeling or cheerleading, but in office work, sales, marketing, etc. Anywhere the boss figures he/she can make a buck by putting a prettier face out to the world. Excuse me, I just threw up a little in my mouth.This is not to say that I don't, to a certain extent, agree with a certain amount of look-ism. I'm overweight, significantly. That said, I do believe that it's fair to make certain judgments about people who are overweight. Being overweight is unhealthy, it is frequently the result of either neuroses or compulsive/addictive behavior, and is NOT generally the result of a thyroid disorder. At least not nearly as often as people claim that it is. Generally speaking, fat people get to be fat people by eating too much. They stay fat by continuing to eat too much and not exercising. Unlike race and age and sexual orientation and (arguably) religion, body size is most often a matter of choice. Don't like to be treated differently because you're a 'big person'? Diet, exercise, and lose weight, otherwise, don't bitch.Bottom line, hating someone for anything other than actions directed against you, yours or society in general is pretty goddamn stupid.
Spastic Genius
"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots"
Am I the only one who believes that it's WAY past time that drug companies stop making up syndromes so that they can market their worthless drugs? The latest I heard was PMDD, Pre-Menstrual Distress Disorder or some horseshit. Basically a made up disorder to allow a drug company to market a dangerous prescription drug for 20 or 30 times what it is worth. I see it on TV all the time! Of course, the really great one was ADD/ADHD. The kid eats sugar and carbohydrate crap all day, is ignored or abandoned by his parents who leave him either the TV or the Playstation for a babysitter, and then they don't understand why he's uncontrollable. Assholes. *IF* (and that's a hell of a big if) there is such a thing as ADD/ADHD, it is probably the most over-diagnosed, and over-treated disease on the planet and based, I suspect, on poor diet, and inattentive, lazy parents.WE DON'T NEED MORE DRUGS! What we need is a society with more courage. We need a race of people who don't go running to get drunk, or hide behind a pill every time that life hands them a bit more than they are used to, or each time that they get a little uncomfortable. We need a society where escaping and running away just aren't options.As long as we, as a society, refuse to deal with our lives and our problems, we will be slaves to the pharmacorps and medical conglomerates (and puppet governments and global corporate interests...). Sheep, waiting to be fleeced.
Spastic Genius
"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots"
Speaking of ADD/ADHD and its underlying causes, that brings me to one of my favorite topics; parenting. Let's be clear, I'm not over fond of children. 85% of children desperately need to have their parents beaten with a stick. Here's the deal... We already have too many bloody people. We do not have resources for the people currently alive, let alone the 2-5 little Johnnies and Jennies you mean to inflict on the rest of us. Further population expansion is going to lead to greater consumerism, a total depletion of resources, and pollution beyond what your tiny little mind can comprehend.All of that aside, those really are not the factors which bother me. What bothers me is that of people who have and will cause children to be born, the greater percentage cannot afford to raise them with any kind of real parenting in place. Even among those who CAN afford to be parents during their children's formative years, most will not raise their children, but ceded this responsibility to TV, videos and video games. This will result in the fact that they do not learn any real discipline, manners or social skills, which will in turn result in the fact that they will not receive the education or socialization necessary to be functional in our world. You want to know why there are so many more child suicides, child criminals, and juvenile delinquents now than in past generations? There's no parenting going on! Simply baring or siring a child, yelling at it when it irritates you, and otherwise hoping that it ignores you is not parenting. Parenting is spending the majority of a child's formative years with them making sure that they know that they are loved, and instilling in them the lessons of right and wrong, of discipline, respect and responsibility that they will require to grow up happy and healthy in our society. It is being available to them throughout their childhood to help them learn all the lessons that they will need to learn to live.I am of the strongest belief that having a baby should require a license, and that marriage and baby licenses should require you to pay a large fee, then pass a test, a credit check and a psych exam. Those who pass the baby license requirement would be put into a raffle, with 3 names per hundred being allowed to conceive, the rest would be allowed to adopt.Can't afford or don't want to spend time all your time with a child for the first 5-7 years? Can't afford to feed, cloth, provide medical care of your own means? DON'T HAVE CHILDREN!!I want to formally go on record supporting retroactive abortion for those individuals who insist on having children they have no intention or ability to raise, effective the day before their next copulation.
"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots"
OK, the time has come and gone where bigotry is anything other than idiocy. I don't care if we're talking about religion, sexual orientation, race, or age. The time when bigotry is acceptable, tolerable, or worthy of being considered anything but the last haven of the mentally barren and socially bankrupt is over.With the exception of the amount of melanin in their skin, there is no fundamental difference between a man of one color and another. To believe or profess otherwise flies in the face of the science of men and the wishes of God. To be bigoted based on religious differences is the worst kind of serial horseshit (and the single most common reason for murder and war in the last two millennia). The Muslims, Moslems, Jews, and Christians all worship the same god. The sole difference is their belief in whether or not a prophet has returned, and if he did, who was he? An incredibly stupid reason to hate someone. As for the remaining religions? Almost all religions which have any real following at all agree on all of the important issues; Don't kill, don't hurt people, do until others as you'd have done to you/Karma, etc. Hating one and other because of religion is as stupid as hating someone because his wife has a different hair color than yours.Sexual orientation? What the hell business it of yours who someone sleeps with unless it's you? Lessee....yep, the bible does say, in the old testament, back when the tribes of Judah were dying out, that a man should not lay with a man as he lay with a woman (ya think maybe that's because they wanted more baby Judeans, and men with men weren't gonna provide 'em? This is about the same time that the laws against onanism (masturbation) and prostitution were brought about too... Seem like a pattern? Perhaps, a pattern that has long outlived it's usefulness)? So the religious angle is moot. In fact, the entire notion of homophobia is ridiculous. Further, gay/lesbian marriage should never even have been a point of contention. Ignoring the fact that forbidding them to marry is a violation of decency and common sense, it is a violation of the spirit of the constitution and a violation of the founding principles of this country. Two American citizens, employed, tax payers, voters, possibly veterans, are forbidden to engage in a civil contract because it would result in sexual activity that a vocal minority are avidly against. Remember when a woman had to be a virgin to marry? Pretty stupid, yes? No more so than the anti-gay marriage ban. Wake up and smell the taffeta. Age-ism is the practice of discriminating against people because they are beyond a certain age. They are seen as less viable because they "may" suffer from mental or intellectual breakdown (Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia, etc), a weakening of the body (arthritis, etc.) and a less attractive overall countenance. While it is based on truth of a sort, and it may be more profitable for businesses to present younger faces to be more attractive, age-ism leads to (or has already led to, in some places), a kind of bigotry where only those people who the company believes will be "marketable" will be hired. There are currently cases of Age-ism being perpetrated against people as young as their late 30's - not in modeling or cheerleading, but in office work, sales, marketing, etc. Anywhere the boss figures he/she can make a buck by putting a prettier face out to the world. Excuse me, I just threw up a little in my mouth.This is not to say that I don't, to a certain extent, agree with a certain amount of look-ism. I'm overweight, significantly. That said, I do believe that it's fair to make certain judgments about people who are overweight. Being overweight is unhealthy, it is frequently the result of either neuroses or compulsive/addictive behavior, and is NOT generally the result of a thyroid disorder. At least not nearly as often as people claim that it is. Generally speaking, fat people get to be fat people by eating too much. They stay fat by continuing to eat too much and not exercising. Unlike race and age and sexual orientation and (arguably) religion, body size is most often a matter of choice. Don't like to be treated differently because you're a 'big person'? Diet, exercise, and lose weight, otherwise, don't bitch.Bottom line, hating someone for anything other than actions directed against you, yours or society in general is pretty goddamn stupid.
Spastic Genius
"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots"
Am I the only one who believes that it's WAY past time that drug companies stop making up syndromes so that they can market their worthless drugs? The latest I heard was PMDD, Pre-Menstrual Distress Disorder or some horseshit. Basically a made up disorder to allow a drug company to market a dangerous prescription drug for 20 or 30 times what it is worth. I see it on TV all the time! Of course, the really great one was ADD/ADHD. The kid eats sugar and carbohydrate crap all day, is ignored or abandoned by his parents who leave him either the TV or the Playstation for a babysitter, and then they don't understand why he's uncontrollable. Assholes. *IF* (and that's a hell of a big if) there is such a thing as ADD/ADHD, it is probably the most over-diagnosed, and over-treated disease on the planet and based, I suspect, on poor diet, and inattentive, lazy parents.WE DON'T NEED MORE DRUGS! What we need is a society with more courage. We need a race of people who don't go running to get drunk, or hide behind a pill every time that life hands them a bit more than they are used to, or each time that they get a little uncomfortable. We need a society where escaping and running away just aren't options.As long as we, as a society, refuse to deal with our lives and our problems, we will be slaves to the pharmacorps and medical conglomerates (and puppet governments and global corporate interests...). Sheep, waiting to be fleeced.
Spastic Genius
"There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots"
Speaking of ADD/ADHD and its underlying causes, that brings me to one of my favorite topics; parenting. Let's be clear, I'm not over fond of children. 85% of children desperately need to have their parents beaten with a stick. Here's the deal... We already have too many bloody people. We do not have resources for the people currently alive, let alone the 2-5 little Johnnies and Jennies you mean to inflict on the rest of us. Further population expansion is going to lead to greater consumerism, a total depletion of resources, and pollution beyond what your tiny little mind can comprehend.All of that aside, those really are not the factors which bother me. What bothers me is that of people who have and will cause children to be born, the greater percentage cannot afford to raise them with any kind of real parenting in place. Even among those who CAN afford to be parents during their children's formative years, most will not raise their children, but ceded this responsibility to TV, videos and video games. This will result in the fact that they do not learn any real discipline, manners or social skills, which will in turn result in the fact that they will not receive the education or socialization necessary to be functional in our world. You want to know why there are so many more child suicides, child criminals, and juvenile delinquents now than in past generations? There's no parenting going on! Simply baring or siring a child, yelling at it when it irritates you, and otherwise hoping that it ignores you is not parenting. Parenting is spending the majority of a child's formative years with them making sure that they know that they are loved, and instilling in them the lessons of right and wrong, of discipline, respect and responsibility that they will require to grow up happy and healthy in our society. It is being available to them throughout their childhood to help them learn all the lessons that they will need to learn to live.I am of the strongest belief that having a baby should require a license, and that marriage and baby licenses should require you to pay a large fee, then pass a test, a credit check and a psych exam. Those who pass the baby license requirement would be put into a raffle, with 3 names per hundred being allowed to conceive, the rest would be allowed to adopt.Can't afford or don't want to spend time all your time with a child for the first 5-7 years? Can't afford to feed, cloth, provide medical care of your own means? DON'T HAVE CHILDREN!!I want to formally go on record supporting retroactive abortion for those individuals who insist on having children they have no intention or ability to raise, effective the day before their next copulation.
Qualifying...
Spastic Genius. My intelligence quotient is a bit more than three standard deviations above the mean. In lay terms, this means that if an average person could put all of their knowlege into a regular coffee cup, and an acutely mentally handicapped person a thimble, then the vessel for my knowlege would be one of those giant drink containers that 7-11 used to sell.
Another, perhaps more vivid comparison would be that I am as much more intelligent than the average person, as the average person is to a severely retarded person, (And most of the time, I'm convinced that the retarded folk are in charge).
That's my world. The number of people who are capable of really grasping some of the concepts and understanding, really understanding reality, are fewer than 4 percent of human population.
I shall share a secret with you; being smarter, even incredibly smarter, doesn't make you a better person, and it doesn't make you a happier person. In fact, I believe that the smarter a person is, the more likely that they will be clinically depressed or at least subject to periods of lethargy. You see, the more clearly one sees and understands the world as it is, particularly without the general anesthesia of alcohol, pot, television and mindless groups, the more clearly that person sees just how screwed up the world is, and how hopeless.
I believe in Darwinian Law, and I believe that the most intelligent are the most fit. Strong muscles and clever hands will never be superior, in a survival sense, to a keen intellect.
Now, I'm certain that someone is going to point out that unfulfilled genius is more common than rocks. That is certainly true. IQ is only the container to hold the knowlege. It will remain completely unfulfilled unless one applies the effort to gather that knowlege.
Unfortunately, the greater part of our society doesn't value intellect, shunning it in favor or beauty, or worse, belonging. This, combined with the fact that western educational institutions by and large use the worst possible methods to provide education, create an environment where only the most voracious and intrepid readers and students will actually learn anything approaching their potential. Worse still, I'm certain that a fair portion of educators are aware that they are doing a miserable job, but are more concerned with their tenure than with the care of their charges.
So, that is why I am the spastic genius. Trapped in a world that neither wants nor respects me until the point where I can bring them a profit.
Another, perhaps more vivid comparison would be that I am as much more intelligent than the average person, as the average person is to a severely retarded person, (And most of the time, I'm convinced that the retarded folk are in charge).
That's my world. The number of people who are capable of really grasping some of the concepts and understanding, really understanding reality, are fewer than 4 percent of human population.
I shall share a secret with you; being smarter, even incredibly smarter, doesn't make you a better person, and it doesn't make you a happier person. In fact, I believe that the smarter a person is, the more likely that they will be clinically depressed or at least subject to periods of lethargy. You see, the more clearly one sees and understands the world as it is, particularly without the general anesthesia of alcohol, pot, television and mindless groups, the more clearly that person sees just how screwed up the world is, and how hopeless.
I believe in Darwinian Law, and I believe that the most intelligent are the most fit. Strong muscles and clever hands will never be superior, in a survival sense, to a keen intellect.
Now, I'm certain that someone is going to point out that unfulfilled genius is more common than rocks. That is certainly true. IQ is only the container to hold the knowlege. It will remain completely unfulfilled unless one applies the effort to gather that knowlege.
Unfortunately, the greater part of our society doesn't value intellect, shunning it in favor or beauty, or worse, belonging. This, combined with the fact that western educational institutions by and large use the worst possible methods to provide education, create an environment where only the most voracious and intrepid readers and students will actually learn anything approaching their potential. Worse still, I'm certain that a fair portion of educators are aware that they are doing a miserable job, but are more concerned with their tenure than with the care of their charges.
So, that is why I am the spastic genius. Trapped in a world that neither wants nor respects me until the point where I can bring them a profit.
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