WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE...?

This mornin', I came across somethin' on the Facebook that sparked me to think.  It was very simple- just an image of a sign on a metal T-post.  A sign bearin' only twelve words.  None of 'em cuss words.  No swearin', though the fourth word of the twelve was "God".  Just a simple sign, bound to a post, pounded into the ground- presumably along a property line or at the end of a rural lane leadin' up to somebody's place.

Glanced at it:  Twelve words- an instant read.  At first, I just dismissed it.  

The development of the Internet and the myriad of tools that have placed access to a world of near-limitless Facts and Information at our fingertips today is nothin' short of incredible.  However, the potential of these same tools in the hands of those who would use them to disseminate somethin' else is just as incredible.  And troublin'.  Fabrications, Distortions, Crassness, Lies- all flourish on this New Frontier.  And we become party to these kinds of things when we fail to exercise due diligence.

It has become too easy to "share" Falsehood, Provocation, Intolerance, Bigotry.  Hate.

Short attention spans, coupled with intellectual laziness and our appetite for simple, bite-size morsels of "news" and "information" (cultivated subtly, secretly, by our Manipulators) are a big part of what's goin' on.  Headlines, Soundbites, Talkin' Points, Commentary- these have dropped into the "time slot" that once was reserved for Thoughtfulness, Introspection, Study.

We have been cordially invited to actively participate in the Charade.  Menials, yes, but still Fellow Consructors in the creation of this, the grandest of all, this Ball of Confusion.  Co-conspirators in our own Brain-Washin'.  Signatories to our own Enslavement. 

Our eyes have been plucked from our Skulls, the Empty Sockets used to allow the pumpin' of Callousness and Ignorance directly into our Way of Thinkin', bringin' about the Suffocation, often the Complete Obliteration, of our Natural Intelligence, our Common Sense, our Shared Empathy.  We are bein' told that our Social Conscience is a Product of Weakness, Disease.  Disregard and Insensitivity are now viewed as Bold, Clever.  Even Comedic.

The cross-breedin' of Opposin' Philosophies in order to create a Nonsensical Hybrid that supports our Selfishness, while simultaneously strugglin' to rationalize, excuse, and disguise the very parsin' and crashin' together of details and indulgences that make up the Creature, is so Devoid of Logic that it scarcely resembles its Sires.

Devoutness is in the middle of a Bitter Divorce with Morality, and the Earth's Children are the ones sufferin' the most.  And we are all Children of Earth.

So, the twelve words on that sign?

"I believe in God and Guns...

Trespass and You will meet both."

If you love guns and are willing (eager?) to use one to take the life of a Fellow Human Being over anything, particularly something as trivial as trespassing, and you think that God, or Jesus, or Allah, or Vishnu, or whatever Deity you choose to acknowledge, is okay with that, then you may well be sufferin' from some sort of Mental Disorder.  You definitely fit the definitions of Paranoid, Anti-social, and Fanatical- in relation to both Religion and Firearms.

And, you have a really fucked up sense of humor...  

Fish

HAVE I GOT A DEAL FOR YOU...! (113th Congress, H.R. 1406)

As promised, I've been doin' some readin', some research, and a buncha thinkin' about the latest bone that's bein' thrown in the Common Man's Direction from the Fine Folks down in Washington, D.C.- H.R. 1406.

What's that?  Some of ya ain't heard about this, yet?  Well then, let me catch ya up before I go any further...

H.R. 1406 is a proposed amendment to "the Fair Labor and Standards Act of 1938 to provide compensatory time for employees in the private sector".  

Huh.  That doesn't sound too bad.  Provide- that's a good word.  Means somebody's gonna give somebody somethin'.  Compensatory- that's just the adjective form of the word compensate.   Familiar enough word- still means that somebody's gonna give somebody somethin'.

But, even more good words are gettin' strung together:

"Section 1.  Short Title.

This Act may be cited as the 'Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013'".

Hey...!  How 'bout that?  We're fixin' to get us some flexibility!  Now, that has gotta be good.  They even call us by our Collective Name- Working Families!  Yeah, Buddy!  That's us- Blue Collar, the Middle Class, Backbone of the Nation, the Nose-to-the-Grindstoners.  And damn proud of it!

In a nutshell, this amendment would give private employers and their employees the same option that is already written into the Law for public employers/employees, namely, the opportunity to opt to receive time off in lieu of overtime pay.  And, it would be one and one half the time off, just like the time and a half rate for overtime pay.  Boy, can't be nothin' wrong with this deal.  Sounds perfectly fair...

(My current employer offers somethin' similar, only at an hour for hour trade.  I've used this a few times.  Can be helpful, handy.  And no Act of Congress necessary.  Hmmm...)

I can see how this could be great:  Work a shitload of overtime, bank back somethin' like a couple weeks, and take a really great vacation.  Sweet!

No, wait.  My money's kinda tight.  I'd just wind up with a buncha extra days off with no extra cash.  I reckon a big vay-cay is most likely out.

But still- I could work a shitload of overtime, then just tell the boss that I'm gonna take a chunk of the Summer and hang out with the Wife and Kids, or maybe Dad.  That wouldn't cost much.  Yep, just pick my days and tell 'em I won't be in.  

No, wait.  It says here in "Section 2, Subsection (7), Use of Time", that "An employee- (A) who has accrued compensatory time off authorized to be provided under paragraph (1); and (B) who has requested the use of such compensatory time, shall be permitted by the employee's employer to use such time within a reasonable period after making the request if the use of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer."  

"...permitted by the employee's employer..."?  This makes it sound like they're doin' me a favor.

"...within a reasonable period..."?   Boy, this is, like, wide-open to interpretation, just not my interpretation.  

"...if...does not unduly disrupt..."?  Okay.  So, I can earn it, and I can ask for it, but the Company doesn't have to allow me to take it? 

Damn.  Sorta hard to plan much with that hangin' out there.  

Seems like they have all the control when it comes to me usin' my time.  Now it just doesn't seem much like my time anymore.  Soundin' a whole lot like time the Company can tell me to stay home when it suits 'em. 

Well, so maybe I am at the mercy of the Company when it comes to when I take my time, but they still gotta let me take it.  It's mine.  That's the deal, right?  Right?

Hold it.  Didn't catch this on the first couple reads...  "Section 3, (C), Excess of 80 Hours.- The employer may provide monetary compensation for an employee's unused compensatory time in excess of 80 hours at anytime after giving the employee at least 30 days notice."  So, the Company holds the right to take away my compensatory time and just cash me out if they decide that this is what's gonna work out best for them.  To Hell with my plans to hang out with Dad, or get that pesky hernia surgery I've been puttin' off for fear of missin' too much work.  My employer can decide that they would just rather gimme my money, after all.  And, they get to hold my money for thirty more days before they cut me a check?  Startin' to feel like there's a thumb on the scales, and it sure ain't my thumb.  Christ, ain't even my scales!

Alright.  If they can be like that, then I may just tell 'em I want cashed out right now damnit!  My money.  My choice.  Earned it weeks, or even months earlier!  Yep!  Uh... nope.  Wait a minute...  "Section 3, (E), Written Request.- An employee... may also request in writing that monetary compensation be provided, at any time, for all compensatory time accrued that has not yet been used.  Within 30 days of receiving the written request..."  What the Hell?!!  Again- 30 days!  So, when the Company wants to cash me out, the Company gets 30 days to do it.  And, when I decide I want to be cashed out,  the Company gets 30 days to do it!  Gettin' kinda hard to see just when this is considered to be workin' in my favor...

Thank The Lord I won't be bound to somethin' that's this one-sided!  Right?  Uh-oh...  Nope, nope, ain't exactly true...  "Section 2, (B) , Conditions.- ...in the case of employees who are not represented by a labor organization that has been certified or recognized as the representative of such employees under applicable law, an agreement arrived at between the employer and employee and affirmed by a written or otherwise verifiable record... (i) in which the employer has offered and the employee has chosen to receive compensatory time in lieu of monetary compensation..."  Okay.  I ain't no lawyer, but I'm fairly sure that this just described a legal contract.  

Clues?  "...agreement arrived at...", "...affirmed by...", "...verifiable record...".  So, to have even the possibility of compensatory time off, I gotta enter into this agreement that affords me absolutely no definitive say as to what actually takes place?

This whole thing ain't soundin' so much like the Big Favor that I thought it was at the start.  Favors don't typically involve a bindin' legal agreement.  

Well, I ain't stupid.  This amendment does afford me one thing.  Says right here that I ain't even gotta play this game if I don't wanna...  "(E) WRITTEN REQUEST- An employee may withdraw an agreement described in paragraph (2)(B) at any time."  How 'bout that?  I'll just take extra money from now on when I work over.  That's the reason I work, anyway- 'cause I need money!  Wait a minute- If I decide I don't wanna participate, then whose to say that I just won't be offered any more overtime work?  But that wouldn't be fair, would it?  Oh yeah...  "Section 2, (3) Hour Limit, (D) POLICY- Except where a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise...", "Section (2), (B), Conditions- ...in the case of employees who are not represented by a labor organization..."  Crap, forgot about that- I ain't a member of a Labor Union, so the decision of who gets to work overtime (and who doesn't) is strictly up to The Man.  If I say I don't wanna play, they ain't gotta offer me jack in the way of any more overtime. And I have no recourse- no grievance process, no nothin'.  I reckon that has somethin' to do with why they keep bringin' it up:  They don't have to be fair.

I think I've looked at this hard and long enough.  There are still a number of points and scenarios I haven't shared with y'all, but they all point to the same conclusion:  Regardless of the positive name they've chosen to hang on this devious piece of legislation, it's obvious to me that it has little, if anything, to do with helpin' me and those like me.  It ultimately only succeeds in removin' Choice and Opportunity from the Toolkit of the Workin' Man, and places virtually all Power and Decision-Makin' regardin' this in the Hands of the Company.

The Company can "allow" me to accrue compensatory time, but there is nothin' forcin' them to "allow" me to take it.  Sure, they may have to cash me out at some point in the future, but that only means that I have been forced to loan them the overtime pay that I earned, interest free, for potentially months and months.  What a nice plus for their cash flow!  

Or, if it goes my way, then I have only succeeded in workin' extra hours for no money at all.

This was already passed in the House on May 8, 2013, along party lines-

Ayes (that means "For")

Republicans-  220

Democrats-  3

Noes (that means "No".  Stupid way to spell it...)

Republicans-  8

Democrats-  196

It was referred to Committee in the Senate the next day, May 9, 2013...

Hey! I just realized that I left out one really important detail- this piece of "legislation" has been introduced by the Republican Party.  Yep, that same buncha Good Ol' Boys and Girls that haven't offered up a single piece of legislation regardin' Jobs, not one, but have wasted a shitload of time and our Taxpayer Money, voting thirty-seven times to repeal the President's Affordable Health Care Act, that was already passed and signed into Law!  Ridiculous.  Pathetic.

Seems kinda obvious that these folks have completely forgotten what they were elected to do, and now have only one goal:  Contradict our President, no matter what the Cost to our Economy, our Country, or it's People.  Oh yeah, they actually are workin' hard on that one other thing- Protectin' the Wealthy and Their Money...

The Engine has jumped the rails at a hundred miles an hour.

This Crew has become Masters of Obstruction and Architects of Deceit.  They are the "Man Behind the Curtain", confusin' and overwhelmin' us with Truckloads of Bullshit, Hate, and Misdirection.  We are bein' played and are ignorant of the Rules of the Game.  

Chip, chip, chip. Chippin' Away...

But, to me, the most terrifyin' part?  Most of us seem to be Absolutely Oblivious to What is Really at Stake.

Ya scared?  Should be.

I know I am...

Fish

Footnote-  The entire text of the amendment can be found here, as well as a number of other places.  (You may also want to examine the original bill.)

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr1406/text

LIFE AND LIMB? IS THAT ALL YA GOT?

Just allowed myself to get caught up in some Bullshit Exchange about Prince Harry visitin' Arlington that immediately decayed into a buncha mouth about how our Current President doesn't respect Our Fallen, with no kinda actual examples or facts given.  Just a buncha mean-spirited hot air.

Pissed me off.

So, I decided to gather some facts and figures and assemble them into an example of what I consider to be one of the most extreme examples of Disrespect for Our Troops in my lifetime.  Actual facts.  What a concept.  (If you have any questions regardin' my sources for any of this information, I welcome them...)

I did some diggin', crunched some numbers...

If you happen to be an Avoider of Truth, you may want to look away.  Gonna get a little ugly...

A while back, we sent our Boys into Harm's Way in Iraq based on some fabricated Bullshit WMD "Intel" that was leaked to select Bush-friendly members of the Press by Dick Cheney, then cited by him on the Sunday mornin' talk show circuit like he knew nothin' about it.  

Now, over Four Thousand, Four Hundred of our Boys have died durin' the course of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  (Killer name!)  Thousands of others have come home forever injured- permantly debilitating head injuries, devastating burns, missing limbs, (missing limbs- don't shoot past it- missing limbs), PTSD, etcetera.

All predicated upon a Lie.

 

Dick Cheney's Halliburton received 39. 5 BILLION DOLLARS during the first decade of the Iraq War, most of it on no-bid contracts.  ("So, how much ya want for that?"  "A Shitload."  "Okay...")

Let it soak in- 39.5 BILLION DOLLARS.

39.5 BILLION DOLLARS.

39.5 BILLION DOLLARS.

39.5 BILLION.

BILLION.  With a friggin' "B".

This is how much of OUR TAX MONEY wound up in the hands of our Vice-President Dick and the War Machine that he and his Associates had spent decades creatin', while also hammerin' away at changin' Government Policy so that more and more military work and logistics became "privatized".  Then they just "happened" to have a Mechanism in place to step to the fore in this New Theater of Commerce, just as it became a Reality.

"Create a need, then fill it."

This means that, by Simple Math, Halliburton made approximately Eight Million, Nine Hundred Seventy-Seven Thousand Dollars for every Dead Soldier.  This does not include other smaller contractors and the cash they pulled down.  We paid for this with our tax money.  Our Soldiers were forced to use other forms of Currency.  Some of our Best and Brightest- we cashed 'em out.  

Their Wives, Children, and Mothers?  They got a Friggin' Apology.  It should have gone somethin' like this:

"So sorry for your Loss.  But you can be Proud in knowing that your Son/Husband/Father forfeited his Life in the Name of Capitalism..."

The Blood of Our Children is now traded as a Commodity.  Shouldn't be long until it's assigned a Ticker Symbol.

Those that Fall are considered as having Failed the System.  They have rendered themselves Devoid of Net Worth.  They are no longer capable of supplyin' Corporate America profits via their Surplus Value.  In fact, they are now an Ongoing Liability.  A Drain on the System.

Unless they are Among the Dead.  

Much simpler, then.

And, in the Right hands, a Damn-Good Public Relations Opportunity.

Mission Accomplished.  The Real One.

Fish

Late-Night Incidental Whiteboard Garage Art

HE SAID WHAT? (A "Match the Quote to the Author" Quiz)

Okay Boys and Girls! It's time for a little fun, and maybe we can a learn a little somethin' along the way. (Or maybe you'll just get freaked out.)

Here's how this is gonna work:
I'm gonna give y'all a list of ten names and a list of ten quotes. Your mission (if you choose to accept it) will be to try and match the author with their particular quote. I have vetted each quote for accuracy- at least two "nails" in every entry. This will be followed by a repeat of the quotes with their particular authors attached. (No "key" like in school- I want everyone to see the quote and the author's name together. More impact. Better retention.) And no peekin' ahead or usin' the Interweb. That's cheatin' and that ain't right.
So- y'all got it? Here we go...


The Authors-

George Washington
Adolph Hitler
Sinclair Lewis
Ben Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
Winston Churchill
Karl Marx
Vladimir Lenin
Joseph Stalin
Abraham Lincoln


The Quotes-

"The writer is the engineer to the human soul."

"I wish it (Christianity) were more productive of good works ... I mean real good works ... not holy-day keeping, sermon-hearing ... or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments despised by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity."

"To place any dependence upon militia, is, assuredly, resting upon a broken staff."

"Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."

"We must reduce workers' salaries and take away their right to strike."

"It is, of course, much easier to shout, abuse, and howl than to attempt to relate, to explain."

“When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession."

"Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains."

"The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them."



There ya are. Dependin' on how many ya get right, I'd say you're gonna be somewhere between a Student of Modern History and a Scholar of Sorry Guesses.

The Quotes and their Authors-

"The writer is the engineer to the human soul."- Joseph Stalin

"I wish it (Christianity) were more productive of good works ... I mean real good works ... not holy-day keeping, sermon-hearing ... or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments despised by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity."- Ben Franklin

"To place any dependence upon militia, is, assuredly, resting upon a broken staff."- George Washington

"Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."- Thomas Jefferson

"We must reduce workers' salaries and take away their right to strike."- Adolph Hitler

"It is, of course, much easier to shout, abuse, and howl than to attempt to relate, to explain."- Vladimir Lenin

“When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”- Sinclair Lewis

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession."- Abraham Lincoln

"Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains."- Winston Churchill

"The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them."- Karl Marx

Now- hopefully this has made you a little interested in what else at least some of these folks had to say, how they felt, what they thought. Fortunately, for us, the World is brimmin' with Good Words from Deep Thinkers. Unfortunately, a great deal of it is buried under a Mountain of Disinformation and Downright Bullshit. Do your own Research. Do your own Thinkin'.

Knowledge is Power. At least, it was at one time...

Fish

THE WAR ON STUFF

As of late, We, as a Nation of Folks, appear to have forgotten how to think for Ourselves. Our Intellectual Sloth has led to our Intellectual Hobblin'. Faith has been traded for Blind Faith. What passes these days for Intelligent Discourse is now nothin' more than a vulgar Exchange of Soundbites lifted from whatever particular flavor of Slanted Media our associates currently find fashionable, which promptly decays into a Swappin' of Insults and Name-Callin'. The Layin' of Blame. The questions "what's wrong?" and "what happened?" are now immediately met with the proclamations "they did it" and "not our fault."

Unproductive? Would that it were that simple. Destructive, Fatalistic, Myopic- these words are among the best at describin' the Current Norm. Accountability? Non-existent. Responsibility? Only in its tiniest, most selfish form.

When posed with a Taxin' Situation, a Complicated Issue, we are all too quick to turn to the Bag of Blurbs with which we have been inundated.

Sorta what I felt like talkin' about, thinkin' about.   Particularly, the oft-pitched "War on..." phrase.

Could we perhaps have a discussion about the solid things, the indisputable things?  The kinds of things that are abundantly clear?  I ain't talkin' about the things that result from a series of assumptions, suppositions, all that "what if" stuff. I'm talkin' about the abundantly clear things that stand on their own.  You know: Conclusions arrived at through careful study, through the gathering and interpretation of things such as historical data rather than high-level supposition and postulation and assumption.  Maybe even throw in a little of that old chestnut, "Scientific Method".  

(Remember that crazy thing you learned about in grade school?  Scientific Method?  Ahh, memories...)

Gettin' off track.  

Notice how everything is referred to as a "War" these days?  I mean, all kindsa stuff.  Used to be, War meant armies and guns and ships and planes and bombs.  But then, at some point, things began to change.  

"The Cold War."  I reckon that's the earliest example of atypical usage of the word "War" that I can think of.  I'm sure there are other examples that predate it, but the Cold War was that thing that sorta replaced all that actual combat, helped change our modern idea of traditional war.  It was a War of Ideologies, of Concepts.  A War waged for the Upper Hand, Influence and Power.  Control.

It ain't like all the old timey "I'll blow your ass to Hell" stuff went away.  Nope.  It never did and likely never will.  But it seemed to narrow in the types of participants: Dictators in Banana Republics, Despots that robbed and oppressed, many times their very own;  Skirmishes over a line in the sand or a stronger neighbor takin' someone else's shit just 'cause they wanted it. Sometimes, Lead against Stones, Poisons versus Sticks.  Armed conflicts sometimes carried out by surrogates and even mercenaries.  (Hell, that's just your classic Rapin' and Pillagin'.  Nothin' to see here.  Move along...)  

Nothin' short of a Catastrophic Global Event or Divine Intervention is gonna stop that shit.  (Take your pick: Armageddon, Meteor Strike, Nuclear War, Space Invaders maybe...)

Wheel in the ditch.  Stand by...

Sorry.  Gonna just make a short list here:

The War on Drugs

The War on Free Speech (First Ammendment)

The War on Guns (Second Amendment)

The War on Religion (Essentially any and all of it)

The War on Christmas (One of the most ridiculous)

The War on Immigration

The War on Family (Typically the "Leave it to Beaver/Father Knows Best" fantasy one)

The Race Wars

The War on Coal (Extra stupid)

The War on Science

The War on Democracy

The Trade Wars

The War on Intellectualism (similar to the War on Science)

I'm sure there's plenty more, but I'll stop here.

I think we can all agree that the word "war" can be considered an aggressive kinda word.  Strangely, we now use it to describe damn-near any and all disagreements or efforts or as a way to paint a particular group as somehow bein' victims, especially ourselves.

Fish~

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/war/