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Sunday, March 20, 2016

Solitude

(For politics, please scroll down)


Do you ever feel this way? 

 I know that I do! 

Too much gregariousness, particularly political discussion combined with fretting and a sense of futility, leads to enervation.

57 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. SF,
      Everyone -- all sides -- have dug in their heels regarding the GOP nomination.

      Nothing that I say or even any question I pose will be heard or considered by those who perceive that I might disagree with their positions.

      I've made enemies of long-time cyber friends because I've dared to suggest that something in the GOP's leadership is nefarious and corrupt -- and has been for a long time.

      Epaminondas over at Infidel Bloggers Alliance said it best in his essay
      Hey, RedState, National Review, Charlie, Hayes, Jonah and the rest…
      -- as to why so much is roiling right now:

      Having read the LATEST jump in fear, warning and shrieking over Trump in the last 24 hours, we have arrived at the moment of counterproductive fascist/authoritarian caveats (including an oh so touching crie de coeur from WaPo editors)

      Your argument is not with Trump, it’s with the R’s that did not AT LEAST...


      Read the rest HERE.

      As you commented to Epa's essay:

      The GOP hoodwinked us, they've betrayed conservative principles, and now they cry that the Republican Mansion is on fire...

      I came to that conclusion last October.

      Delete
    2. AOW, I believe that the GOP leadership bears much of the blame for the current self destruct mode, but this should not solve the tantrum vote for Trump. Supporting a vile, pathological liar.....just to stick it to the elite....is no solution. The Republican electorate bears just as much of the blame for not only support of an intellectually unmoored sociopath....but in allowing their party to rot from within in the first place. The emphasis on merely voting R to keep a D out of office, has borne rotten fruit.

      Delete
    3. Apparently nobody really knows, including me. But I would say a good start is to dismantle the party duopoly and the media business model built around - and reliant upon it. But this would require citizens to vote for candidate over party. Not likely to happen.

      Delete
    4. Maybe Trump has a role in dismantling the party duopoly?

      Delete
    5. A few years I wrote the following in regards to the Tea Party. As you note, scum politicians that promised action to get elected on the Rep. side immediately told we the people who elected them to pi...off! once back in DC.:

      The Tea Party movement is many things to many people. To those in power, it is a threat. To those who believe in the hard core Marxist principles being espoused by this administration, it is a threat! For those who believe our country needs to subvert itself to the whims of Islamic Fanatics, or Euro Socialism or whatever else, it is a threat!

      As such, there are way too many people who do not remotely understand what is happening here. Our fighting men and women, our forefathers who gave their blood and lives for this country, they understand! Unfortunately, the folks that have either had everything handed to them or instead have chosen to ride on the back of others instead of being responsible for themselves combined with the elected morons who realize keeping people reliant on government insures their power, they do not understand!
      The Tea Party movement is not a fight for the heart and soul of the Republican party! A co-opted media led by a hard core left wing wanna be dictatorship government would want you to believe that it is in fact all about the Republicans. And they would be dead wrong! The Tea Party movement is a fight for the heart and soul of our country! It is a fight to return us to what made us the greatest country in the world! How sad that entrenched politicians on the right (I now say the RINO scum that is every bit as power mad as the Commie Dems) along with the garbage on the left cannot or refuse to understand such a basic tenet!

      Delete
    6. Maybe Trump has a role in dismantling the party duopoly?

      I'm not sure what that role would be, nor do I think Trump is in this game for any other reason than - Trump.

      Though ironically, he's neither a Republican nor a Conservative, so that's out of the norm.

      Delete
    7. Perhaps to expose the Machiavellianism within the leadership of the GOP -- a leadership determined to run RINO's as Presidential candidates?

      Delete
    8. CI: You use whatever weapon is handy.

      Delete
    9. Oh, Trump's a weapon alright. Not entirely convinced that he's not a weapon of the DNC. Either way, he's aimed at the right, and I believe will gift the election to Hillary.

      Delete
    10. As my blog post demonstrated, Trump is the Machiavellian.
      A weapon? A loose cannon is a weapon.
      He is the best hope of the dems and the non-dems who wish to destroy the Republican party.
      The "blow it up!" crowd.

      Delete
    11. Oh do not blame, I pray thee,
      The persons we elect.
      The problem is the way we
      Fail our thinking to direct.

      We vote on whim and false reports
      From propagandists vile
      We bow before the sharp retorts
      From bigots filled with bile.

      We sign our own death warrants
      When we go to the polls,
      And give support in torrents
      To malignant, venal trolls.


      ~ FreeThinke -

      Delete
    12. CI & Ed: I see trump more as a Willie Pete incendiary device...

      Ed: I am still waiting for someone to lay out Cruz's path to victory over Her Rotten Heinous. What Obama states will he flip to red?

      Delete
    13. I don't know. I don't see Trump doing it either.
      But I fully expect Hillary to become unelectable by then.
      I'm just optimistic about that.
      To me, Trump is Hillary Lite.

      Delete
    14. I think Hellary rides out the e-mail scandal, with help from Obama's JustUs Department.

      Sure, the intel and law enforcement agencies will go after her in the infotainment media, but her handlers will spin it all as more of that Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.

      Also, careful what you wish for. Biden-Warren would solidify the Democrat party and no Republican team could beat them.

      Delete
    15. SF,
      I agree that were Hillary to be sidelined, we'd see a Biden-Warren ticket.

      Delete
  2. Or maybe, Farmer, silly commentary like that is a large part of the reason we feel discussion is impossible.

    It does make you weary.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Duck,
    silly commentary like that is a large part of the reason we feel discussion is impossible

    Ahem. You've been known to make commentary viewed by many others as silly, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I keep hoping for a leader with reasoning ability and a sense of what America really needs with some concrete rational ideas on how to at least make things a bit better for the middle class. I think there will be a very long wait, so until then Hillary Clinton is the only answer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A corporate whore is the answer? At least with Trump, you get what's advertised. :)

      Delete
    2. I'm not for Hillary with who you know what you'll get, but I'm not for Trump the con-man who will pull the bait and switch.

      Delete
    3. Hugh Mann said:

      Honeypot, you not only don't know the answer, you don't even know the question. Hillary Clinton is every sane person's worst nightmare. To be willing to settle for a creature of that sorry sort is proof of ignorance and stupidity at best, insanity at worst.

      Delete
  5. @ ducky - If you wanted a REAL discussion, you wouldn't start it with an accusation. I'm a tit-4-tat man. You know THAT!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've started to believe that the trumpalongs are impervious to whatever nefarious activity their hero may engage in. You see, they must believe it is all for the cause, the greater good as they see good.

    dtrump has recently broke the 50% mark with GOP/TeaPublican base. This is going to get very messy methinks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep. The only factual remark Trump has made in this campaign, was that he could "stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody" and not lose any voters".

      Delete
    2. IDK. The odds are he was lying on that, also.

      Delete
    3. Methinks I smell a Lestard.

      Delete
  7. So who will it be? I predict that because Ted Cruz cost Rubio the Florida election, Rubio, and the rest of the “Republican Establishment” will put his endorsement and urge his followers to vote for Kasich. And, then, Kasich will mop the floor with Donald Trump ( which isn’t too difficult to do) in the remaining states. Then Cruz will be the remaining stooge standing and them he’ll get mopped up bu Hillary Clinton... Jus Sayin.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ______________ STILLNESS ______________

    No sound beyond the dropping of the leaves
    Or shushing in the treetops of the stirring
    In the air and periodic whirring
    Soft of wings and bundling of sheaves ––

    Every now and then a bird may call
    Looking for or longing for his mate;
    Escaping still the hunter’s dinner plate.
    Scythes swish steadily as grain grown tall

    Submits to delicate compelling force.
    Workers silently bent to their task
    Over whom hot sunshine spills its rays

    Reap swiftly knowing pain could come, of course.
    Later, in the afterglow they’ll bask
    Dreaming foolishly of better days.


    ~ FreeThinke

    ReplyDelete
  9. _____ White Sails _____

    An idyllic scene
    Fresh, clean, wholesome and serene

    Shows optimism.



    White sails in the breeze,
    
Unlike white flags, never show
    
Surrender to grief.

    

Blue sky and water

    Observed through a veil of trees
    
Restores faith in Life.


    ~ FreeThinke

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rain on the rooftop
    Sea sounds at a sunny beach
    City sounds at night

    The drip of water
    From all the soggy branches
    In the piney woods

    A kitten's purring
    During an afternoon nap
    On a shady porch

    The breeze in the trees
    The rustle of autumn leaves
    The sound of silence


    ~ FreeThinke

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow! For those on the right posting here....you've proven AOW's point! Lol! Too easy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. My new dishwasher
    Humming quietly as it
    Eases my burdens

    A murmuring stream
    The drip drip drip from the eaves
    As icicles melt

    Rush Limbaugh spouting
    Irrefutable logic
    In the afternoon


    ~ FreeThinke

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trying to channel Frank O'Hara, FT?

      Delete
    2. I think this is my favourite of his that I've seen. I wonder what the icicles represent?

      Delete
    3. When icicles hang by the wall,
      ___ And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
      And Tom bears logs into the hall,
      ___ And milk comes frozen home in pail,
      When blood is nipped, and ways be foul,
      Then nightly sings the staring owl,
      ________ To-whoo;
      To-whit, to-whoo, a merry note,
      While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

       
      When all aloud the wind doth blow,
      ___ And coughing drowns the parson’s saw,
      And birds sit brooding in the snow,
      ___ And Marian’s nose looks red and raw,
      When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
      Then nightly sings the staring owl,
      ________ To-whoo;
      To-whit, to-whoo, a merry note,
      While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.



      ~ William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
       
      From “Love’s Labor ’s Lost,” Act V. Sc. 2

      Delete
  13. To see the Christ in coffee grounds,
    Or on a slice of moldy bread,
    Or in the chocolate of Peter Paul Mounds,
    Or on an old man's grizzled head ...

    What harm is there to look for Him
    In these unlikely places?
    The dullest minds become less dim
    When hope lights their gaping faces.

    Why opt so quickly for division
    When all comfort you deny
    To those sore wounded by derision
    When kind thoughts their tears might dry?


    ~ FreeThinke

    ReplyDelete
  14. ___ The Ass’s Lament ___

    Alas! Alack! For good or ill 

    The world is no tea party.
    
When issues press, voices get shrill

    And indignation hearty.
    

This may distress the sensitive
    
And rouse self-righteous ire

    But Life's duress oft tends to give
    
Each ass a kiss of fire!


    ~ };-]>

    ReplyDelete
  15. AOW, Great post. Yes, I'm the kind of person that only turns on the TV when necessary or for night time entertainment. I can't stand to have it on in the morning. Wife turns it on as soon as her feet hit the floor. Immediately, Junior Samples is trying to sell me his used cars. Just call BR-549

    I have to wonder if we'd have had an Aristotle, Newton, Homer, Michelangelo, Hubble, or any of thousands of others who took us light years ahead in knowledge if they'd been inundated with TV, radio, pop culture, internet, etc -in their time. Personally, I think Not.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gotta share this...

    Proof Positive has captured the essence of Bernie Sanders

    Karl's Jr.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hugh Mann said:

    I wonder how many see the irony of this thread? Here we have a call for a demonstration of the kind of desperately needed peace and quiet that could from the avoidance of talking politics, then immediately the discussion violates the stated purpose, which was to provide a respite from the usual round of bitter, acrimonious palaver, and starts to do exactly the opposite.

    Those few who attempted to follow what-was supposed-to-be the lead got ignored. It's funny on the face of it, but very very sad underneath for what it says about the fractious nature of the participants.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hugh.
    Bingo!

    This is what America is like today in these contentious times.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm pretty sure a number of us who comment here have been around for a while and have seen a lot of bizarre characters run for office. But who could ever, EVER imagine a candidate saying this and still stay in the race? Especially someone we know to have little to no knowledge of foreign or domestic policies -- and absolutely no understanding of our Constitution:

    ReplyDelete
  20. There MUST be a perfectly good explanation and/or reason for Hillary’s confusion regarding this whole pesky Benghazi, email and indictment thingy. It’s because she can’t tell the difference between an email and her damned gin bottle, much-less know WTF Benghazi even is. She has brain damage, HELLO... Her frequent “emergency” bathroom visits, her barking like a dog, her constant stumbling and falling, her coughing fits and her uncontrollable outbursts of inappropriate laughter are all common among those suffering from brain damage; moreover, they’re also common among those who’re addicted to, or under the influence of cheap gin. So, which one was it this time, Hillary?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The only real mystery regarding the desperately unattractive, often criminal conduct of Her Heinous is that so many regard her as a viable candidate for the highest office in the land.

      Delete
    2. "Her Heinous" could appear, publically, in a gin induced stupor, during a crisis, and her adoring minions (morons) wouldn't be phased in the slightest. But for the fact that B.O. got elected twice I'd say [she] wouldn't have a chance, but she does and now [we] don't!

      Delete
  21. On Saturday, enraging news broke out of Arizona where dozens of anti-Trump protesters blocked a major highway that led to the location of a planned event by Donald Trump. People have tried to say Trump’s opposition is “grassroots,” but the woman who led the protest has a damning past that says otherwise.

    As we previously reported, protesters blocked Shea Boulevard in Arizona, which led to a miles-long backup down the highway, where everyone, including emergency vehicles, was denied their right to freely travel all because some unhinged leftists threw a tantrum. Out of all the protesters, only three were actually arrested for anything despite the fact they committed numerous federal crimes, and now we’re starting to learn a little more about the woman who led the demonstration.

    The Gateway Pundit did some digging on Jacinta Gonzales, and found some rather questionable details about her past. For one, Gonzales doesn’t even live in Arizona – her home is in New Orleans – and she’s apparently funded by none other than the America-hating billionaire George Soros.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nothing the least bit surprising there I'm sorry to say..

      Delete
    2. She's apparently funded by The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans.

      Now, that may create a little dissonance for you, Farmer.
      So you can choose to research it or be led by the nose by a dweeb like Jim Hoft, the dumbest man on the internet.

      Delete
    3. Is everyone on the Internet me, now, McDuck?

      Get a grip. You're more paranoid than Beak.

      Delete
    4. My Socks ALL have blogs

      And so do your shoes
      __ your pants and your shirt
      ______ and possibly even
      __________ the rules you skirt.
      All your ten fingers
      ___ and all your ten toes
      Each of your ears
      ___ and also your nose
      And for all I know each elbow
      ___ and each of your knees
      ______ your eyes, each buttock
      _________ your every rib
      Each with its own blog
      ___ expressive and glib.

      How great it must be to be self-contained
      In a world of your making
      ___ where you act unrestrained!


      ~ FreeThinke - "On the Spot" };-)>

      Delete
  22. I do. Right now. I'm in the middle of a massive upgrade on a rental. And re-roofing 2 hours away at same time. Non-stop calls from vendors and contractors. I am READY for a silent retreat. :)

    ReplyDelete

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