Loosely Speaking

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Everything Else

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Trump does the totally expected

So it comes down to us, again... Just because Trump will not hold his own and his pals' businesses accountable for global warming, it doesn't mean we can't individually, voluntarily cut back on our driving, turn out lights, recycle, be generally more responsible for our ecological impact on the planet. It doesn't mean cities can't invest in or improve their light rail systems, promote re-usable bags, reward shifts towards sustainable power... The selfish won't see this, won't change what they do... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Here is a reading challenge...

This takes a while to read, but if you are mystified by how this segment of America thinks and behaves, if you have any interest in how to reach in and effect any change, in what can and can't work to bring light into this dark place, then this is a most useful article from someone who came out of that environment. Nothing can be mended or changed if the basic truths of it are not understood, not appreciated for what they are.... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Inspired by Pat's post today about the days of pot and flowers...

I also remember those times as both sweet and naive, but also deeply closeted for many still afraid to be known as gay or seen as rebellious against the dominant white culture. That was how naive we were, to simply be oblivious, thinking that war and brutality were the primary enemy. But the children we were then grew into the adults we are now, knowing that those times were illusory but still they held a dream, maybe a promise that someday we could arrive in the Star Trek Universe if only we... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

A sad reflection on pathological power

Thinking about Trump and Nixon, and about that special hubris common to narcissistic and criminal minds... The thing is, criminals think they are smarter than everyone else. They think they can outsmart the rest of the world. They think they can get away with anything. They are utterly blind to their own flaws and lacks. Their paranoia keeps them on edge and untrusting of anyone who suggests they are on a self-destructive path. In fact, they are desperately afraid, in their heart of hearts, of... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, May 5, 2017

"Let all the snakes that lurk in the mud hatch out..."

"Let all the snakes that lurk in the mud hatch out..." That was a line in the BBC production of I, CLAUDIUS, based on the Robert Graves novels of the life of that crippled, stammering, under-appreciated Roman who was suddenly and unwillingly elevated to be Emperor in the chaos after Caligula's assassination. This is novelized history, based on Suetonius, the Roman historian of the later Roman Empire, but also takes some dramatic liberties, so I can't say this is actually ho w it all was. But... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Speaking of thinking...

The extreme polarization of beliefs and opinions can work havoc in families, among coworkers, communities... That makes this interesting to consider, and worth the read. http://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, May 1, 2017

feeling weary...

Compassion Fatigue is a thing, psychologists talk about it, recognize it as a condition that healers are prone to in this world of so many pains and troubles, where they just burn out, can't do it anymore, feel overwhelmed and depressed. I'm noticing a new thing: Outrage Fatigue. It's dangerous, to become too tired to fight, to resist, to feel too powerless, to see too little of hopeful things happening. But they are happening, even as this current political season piles outrage upon outrage.... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

The Fate of Empires: Can we beat it?

Sadly, the current political climate has given permission not only to act out hate and fear other ethnic peoples, other cultures, "others..." it has also given permission to celebrate ignorance, to claim that education is over-rated, that it's okay to believe what you want, and act as if it's true. Science is their current scapegoat for their own awareness of their own unpreparedness to live successfully in the modern world. Every society in history has had its times of being governed by mad... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, April 14, 2017

United Airlines and Karma

No matter the legalities set by the fine print, United's chances in court, the anger of Just Folks will punish what they/we judge as simply wrong. United will suffer for this ugly, out-of-proportion incident, and the airline industry will also be forced by public judgements to reconsider how they operate. How long have people complained, walked away from a flight feeling angry, feeling resentful, feeling that they've been treated like cattle? There is a lot of old bitterness in the public... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Remember the South Sea Bubble?

Remember the South Sea Bubble? Remember when Pres Eisenhower warned us against letting the military/industrial complex gain power in America? For generations, since the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the huge fortunes amassed by the private, corporate 'robber barons' of the last two centuries, since Profit Over People became the direction of American's moral and ethical compass, since corporations became legally recognized as 'persons' against which real people could rarely compete and... Sign in to see full entry.

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