Tag: discussion

The contrast, stylistically, of the two Party Conventions stuck me very powerfully. The Democratic Convention had each evening main speakers offered one brilliant speech after another. These speeches were well-put together, well-delivered and proved to me that the Democratic Paty (DP) is fit to rule the Empire. Here are people with skillz–compared to the lame-ola speeches the Republican Party (RP) trotted out that could only appeal to the very stupid or the very greedy. The contest should be over right here right now but it isn’t. Why? Because we live in an authoritarian society that is in danger of devolving into tribalism and this seems to be the historical trend.

The contrast was clear. Exclusivity and tribalism on the right, inclusion and a constant plea for unity and civilized behavior on the “left.” Yes, I believe much of what the Dems were saying was clear bullshit but it was bullshit based on some facts even if they were cherry-picked. The Republicans had no argument to convince anyone to vote for them unless you were one of “them.” The Dems offered good reasons (even if most of those reason hid deep corruption) why any of us should vote for Obama and the Dems and this coming from someone that genuinely mainly revulsion for the DP.

There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party … and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt – until recently … and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties.

Gore Vidal

What Vidal describes has been the case for much of our post-WWII history. But quite honestly, I think the quote no longer quite works for today’s Republican Party (RP) has changed dramatically since Vidal wrote the above though the essential political arrangements are the same-both are part of the Property Party and very specifically the Property Party of the very, very rich, not any of the rest of us who happen to won a little property. The Property Party is the only political party and will always be the political party barring environmental disaster of the worst kind with galloping positive feedback loops which is possible.

When stress approaches, I used to get rather severe migraines.  Since I was often stressed, this was definitely not pleasant.

The migraines retreated after I transitioned.  But I still get headaches, though not as severe nor with the attendant visual disturbances the migraines came with.  The headaches I get nowadays are mostly of the sinus variety and are connected with allergies, it appears.

But sometimes I do still get stressed.

My strategy now is to try relaxing with my art program, rather than curl up in a dark place with a hot compress.  Mostly it works.

I decided to share what I created the past couple of days just in case someone else might find them useful in relieving some stress.

There are fourteen graphics inside.  Be forewarned.

Clicking on the graphics will open larger versions in a new tab.

A week ago, I started a graphic series.  As much as there ever is an inspiration to any of my graphics, there was the awareness that it was Bastille Day in France.  So I sat down at my program and created a series of unfinished (in my opinion) graphics, with the plan that I would come back later and finish each of them.

For some unknown reason, I decided to finish each one in two different ways, sometimes with something as simple as altering the hue.  Other times I made major alterations.

I don’t promise that they get better as they go along…but only that they got different.  It’s not a bad thing to surrender linear thinking sometimes, to explore what might have been if we had only done something different.

Obama Assesses Iraq Strategy, Challenges of New Presidency, this brings up the video’s.

After a major policy announcement that the U.S. combat mission in Iraq will end next year, President Obama spoke with Jim Lehrer about Iraq, Afghanistan and the challenges of his new presidency. Watch the full interview on Friday’s NewsHour.

Newsmaker: Obama Outlines Goals for Afghanistan, Iraq

In a speech Friday at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, President Barack Obama set a timetable for U.S. combat troop withdrawal in Iraq by 2010. The president discusses his military strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan with Jim Lehrer.

Full Transcript

Almost completely forgot about this, they’re airing some of it now!

We read.  We absorb.  We often find thoughts expressed in much better ways than we could ever express them ourselves.  Sometimes we seek to share those thoughts, hoping against hope that someone else will see what we see, hear what we hear, feel what we feel.

I’ve been spending a long time reading/reading about William Stafford, a neighbor of days gone by, trying to absorb perhaps what could have been in another happentrack.

The Locomotive’s engineer cast hir mind outwards and sought awareness.  The WeaveMothers, those collective consciousnesses which had distilled from the collective knowledge of all creatures in the Greataway were tending their flocks and new happentracks were condensing into existence.  SpaceTime expanded.  There were new choices for the path of the train to take.

The Storyteller plucked a poem from the past.  The Listener perked up.  The Passenger slept.

Every year is the same.  Father’s Day shows up, an uninvited guest which has already used up the first three days of its visit (as per the old saying) and is beginning to resemble the dead fish way too much.

father

O.E. fæder, from P.Gmc. *fader (cf. O.N. faðir, Ger. vater), from PIE *p@ter (cf. Sanskit pitar−, Gk. pater, L. pater, O.Pers. pita, O.Ir. athir “father”), presumably from baby-speak sound like pa. The classic example of Grimm’s Law, where PIE “p−” becomes Gmc. “f−.”  Spelling with −th− (16c.) reflects widespread phonetic shift in M.E. that turned −der to −ther in many words; spelling caught up to pronunciation in 1500s (cf. burden, murder).  Fatherland (1623) is a loan-translation of Ger. Vaterland, itself a loan-translation of L. patria (terra), lit. “father’s land.”  Father’s Day dates back to 1910 in Spokane, Wash., but was not widespread until 1943, in imitation of Mother’s Day.

—Online Etymology Dictionary

I mostly want to go hide somewhere, so I’ll mostly be watching men play golf.  Go figure.  It’s most assuredly not a good way to avoid Father’s Day.

Last year I wrote the following, which flashes back to an even earlier post in another SpaceTime.  It made the Rec List at the Orange.  Think of it as a way for me not to have to write something new.

I would be a fool not have doubts about posting some of the things I write.  I would be more of a fool if I let that stop me from posting them.

I’m a lesbian.  I’m not a gay man.  I’m not a man of any sort, though I am aware that there are many people who disagree with me on that.

Because I am a lesbian, I have the social liberty to speak out.  It’s really hard to find a straight transwoman who will speak up.  Did you ever wonder why?

Boom chucka chucka.  Boom chucka chucka. Boom chucka chucka.

The WeaveMothers rustled.

Rustled?  It’s as good a word as any to describe their collective motion.  A ripple of the fabric was often necessary since the units seemed predisposed to perform the same task over and over and over again.

Uncertainty happens.  At least it is supposed to happen.  One can’t be certain that it will.

Take one part eternal truth…

[We’ll leave aside the philosophical questions about whether or not their can be eternal truths about Truth and what the nature of those truths might be.]

Truth lies in the moment between the appearance of a thought and having words to express that thought.

Add one part political relevance (or not)…

So, some of you may know that every once in a while, I throw up a diary on Daily Kos called “Quotes for Discussion”.  Sometimes the quote is from a play or a book, sometimes it is from the news or from history, and sometimes it is just the lyrics to a song or a bit from a comedian.

Anyways, I was thinking of doing it more regularly as a feature here.  But does anyone at all besides me have an interest in that?