ICE

Is It Hot In Here, or Is It Me?

Damnit!  

Ya know, there are a buncha folks who use every drop in temperature and every snowfall as an opportunity to shout from the rooftops, proclaimin' that these incidents are proof positive that Global Warming is a Hoax.  (Usually, a "Liberal" Hoax.)

This extreme oversimplification of an extremely complex subject is really sad and doesn't serve the American Public at all.  In fact, this misinformation has proven to be incredibly damagin', as it has allowed Ignorance of the Big Picture to propagate, then be used as a Weapon of Deception by Those Who Have Somethin' to Gain by Maintainin' the Dumbass Portion of our Status Quo.  

Here's a distilled explanation of what's goin' on, courtesy of a high school graduate- that would be me.  I don't expect anyone to just "take my word for it".  In fact, I don't want you to.  I would hope this observation and examination of basic legitimacies might prompt you to have a look at this on your own.  You know: find some reliable sources, more than one or a couple, and decide for yourself.  For yourself.  First , identify, then tune out, all that proves to be Obvious Bullshit.  (This can be a Major Task- there are those that would use Deceit and Distraction as Weapons in a New Form of War.)  Look at the genuine information available,  ponder over it, and draw your own conclusion.  Your very own.  A decision you can defend on your own because you did the diggin', you did the thinkin'.

Here:

The term "Global Warming" refers to the increase in the overall average temperature of the entire planet.  For a variety of reasons, (and backed up by decades of research), the effects of this overall warming, of even a few degrees, manifests itself in the form of intense weather events that can be more frequent, more extreme- storms can be stronger, heat waves hotter, cold periods colder, droughts dryer, the loss of polar ice, reduction of seasonal snow pack, floods more devastatin', etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

"Global Climate Change" is the result of "Global Warming".

That's it.

Thanks, my Friends.  I truly hope this has "provoked" you and made you want to learn more.

Fish~

1/10/2014...

I spent my entire work day today workin' with a fella from AT&T, workin' on three T1 circuits for US Customs.

Charlie.  Seemed like a pretty good guy.  We got to talkin', (Me.  Talkin'.  How crazy is that?) and he said he started in residential installation when he was just sixteen.  He talked of his plans to retire in a few months.  When he does, he'll be sixty-two years old and have forty-five years with the company.  I thought that was damn amazin'.

Then, I got to thinkin' about my own work history, and then about Life in General. 

The only thing I could think of that I've done consistently for forty-five years was to breath.

 

And that was involuntary.

~Fish

CAPTIVE SKY

BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH (Or, Modifying You Message Based On Your Audience)

This is one of the great things about politicians that like to hear themselves talk, such as our Mr. Paul.

It appears that Rand Paul will only allow Rand Paul to cast aspersions on the character of Rand Paul.

Your assignment-

Identify the conflicting statements located within the two quotes below, then respond with an equally-as-absurd attempt to justify and reconcile those conflicting statements.

Begin.

"I never, ever cheated. I don't condone cheating. But I would sometimes spread misinformation. This is a great tactic. Misinformation can be very important....  So, that's my advice.  Misinformation works."

Rand Paul, speaking at the University of Louisville, 8/22/2013

“I take it as an insult and I will not lie down and say people can call me dishonest, misleading or misrepresenting.  And like I say, if, you know, if dueling were legal in Kentucky, if they keep it up, you know, it would be a duel challenge. But I can’t do that, because I can’t hold office in Kentucky then… I think I’m being unfairly targeted by a bunch of hacks and haters. And I’m just not going to put up with people casting aspersions on my character.”

Rand Paul, (yep, the same one) on George Stephanopoulis' show on ABC, 11/3/2013

Yours in Incredulity,

Fish

Misdirection of Outrage (Or, How I Lost My Freakin' Mind and Now Let Monsters Do My Thinkin')

You know, a buncha crazy shit happenin' in a hostile country is probably not the simplest thing to interpret, particularly early on.  And I would think any reasonable person would appreciate that for what it is.  

The events that took the lives of four Americans in Benghazi were trajic.  Sadly, instead of bein' allowed to mourn their deaths and stay focused on discoverin' who the murderers were and how we might bring them to Justice, it was turned into just the next in what seems to be an Unendin' Parade of Political Attacks on the President.  Ridiculously Obvious and Transparent.  Even with continuous Leaks, Lies, and Distortions, Shit slung rapid-fire in the hopes that somethin' sticks, the main accomplishment of this Freak Show has been the Extreme Waste of Time, Money, and Resources for something that has absolutely nothin' to do with Justice.  

Whoever was responsible for these deaths, you can bet they're laughin' their Collective Murderous Asses off as they watch what our elected officials are doin' to one another.  

They see us as a Joke.  A perception that, at this point, only an idiot would attempt to refute.

Who is keepin' so many of y'all so pumped up over this?  Are you as angry as They apparently are that the evidence so desperately searched for in the hopes of destroyin' our current President has simply failed to materialize, and that even a Deluge of Lies hasn't brought the desired results?

(If you hurt and discredit the President, the means used are inconsequential, right?  Any damage to our Country is simply a matter of course.  All that matters is accomplishin' the Objective, right?  Right?)

And, with those questions posed, let me ask ya a few more:

So, then how is it that so many of you passionate people don't appear to be even remotely pissed about thousands of American Soldiers dead, and tens of thousands of citizens dead in a country that we invaded for reasons that turned out to be not just Wrong, but Intentional, Intricate, Calculated Lies?  Oh, but wait, wait...!  These were not just Lies of the Garden-Variety.  These were Big, Dark, Dirty Lies, hatched and executed to reward their small group of Authors and Architects with a Windfall of Billions upon Billions of  Dollars, drenched in Blood and caked thick with the Screams of Mothers and Children.  

(That last bit?  Doesn't matter to the Ones doin' the "Reapin'".  Still spends.  Right, Dick?  Yeah, Buddy.  Good Stuff.)  

And, it was always The Plan- a Plan that had been in the works for many, many years.  

That doesn't piss off anybody but me?   Seriously? 

Okay.  Let's say, for the sake of this argument, that mistakes were made in Benghazi.  Let's say that people held onto the Truth for a while before they shared it, for reasons good or bad, which has yet to proven, and wouldn't matter now, anyway.  You know what didn't happen?  Let's see...  Oh!  Here's one thing:  Nobody cashed in on it, by which I mean nobody got stupid rich from it, or, hopefully, ever will. 

(Addendum:  One Lyin' Bastard spewed crap on a popular Sunday network "news" show, a network that turned out to be owned by the same corporation that would release this same Lyin' Bastard's Book of Bullshit, just two days after featurin' this Piece of Shit as their exclusive "Eyewitness".  That buncha Modern Day Alchemists almost succeeded in turnin' Deciet into Gold, but their Lies were exposed.  An apology?  No, not a real one.  The only thing they truly regretted was gettin' found out.)  

Nobody created a decade long nightmare scenario that destroyed families- some because their loved ones were killed, some because they were fortunate to only have their limbs blown off and heads split open, but still survived to live out the wondrous new lives they've been handed, with a government that will barely acknowledge them and their sacrifice.  

Have you all just been savin' up all your Outrage and Disgust, just waitin' for someone to tell you where you should direct it?  Were you stowin' it all in a box under the bed, only now allowin' someone to dictate where you spend your vitriol for some secret, private reason?  What is it, really?

Is it because this guy ain't white?  

"No!", you cry, indignantly...

What is it, then?  

I am the last one to discount the death of anyone, American or otherwise.  (Personally, I'm more of a mind to begin at Human when it comes to my sadness and disdain over Needless Death.)  But, for the freakin' life of me, I just cannot get my head around why so many people allow themselves to be ratcheted up by a buncha Talkin' Heads over the terrible deaths of four people, while simultaneously refusin' to acknowledge a Horrific Event of such Scope and Magnitude, that a relative four deaths is scarcely distinguishable against the backdrop of the War Profiteering that has gone on for more than ten years.  Where in the Livin' Hell y'all been?!  I would think the overused and misused "Support Our Troops" would at least include not supportin' a Manufactured Scheme to swap Blood for Money!  

Look here:  If you support the Cheney-orchestrated War in Iraq, then I clearly support our Troops more than you.  I support their right to not be used as Cannon Fodder- to not be treated as an Expendable Resource in a Corporate Scheme to Dupe and Fleece our Public.  I support the Right of Our Troops to only be put in Harm's Way when there is no other recourse.  When it is the Absolute Last Resort.  I support their Right to Live.

I apologize for the rant.  Sort of.  I find myself frustrated by this type of Skewed, Selective Logic.  I am confounded by the Intellectual Lethargy practiced by so many of my Fellow Citizens.  I would hope that my attempt to point out what's really takin' place might stir some to step back and try and see the Big Picture.  Maybe slow down- spend some time thinkin' for themselves, perhaps re-evaluate their own chosen position, to challenge the Pre-packaged Reality of which they've been served such a steady helpin' for so long. 

But, sadly, I expect that many of you will return to your televisions and choose with your remote control just who you will have show you who to blame, who to hate, all the while designating the latest targets for your outrage, so that you don't have to go to all the trouble of thinkin' too hard or lettin' it get too complicated.

I just don't get it...

~Fish

Li'l Ed and Me

Ya can't tell it here, but Ed and Me are in the middle of a few thousand people at the Blues Festival, Water Tower, several years ago.  Ed was burnin' up a killer lead and left the stage, wireless, and walked through the crowd.  I was probably about seventy-five, maybe a hundred feet from the stage, and I had one a those cardboard cameras in my pocket.  So, I pulled it out and flipped on the flash, thinkin' I might get a good image if Ed got close enough.  He ended up right in front of me, still wailin'.  Then, with a beer in my right hand and that cheap camera in my left, I figured I'd just do this.  Didn't spill a drop a beer on Ed's guitar and he never missed a lick!  

Fun Times....

In a lotta ways, I have lived a charmed life.

~Fish~