Here is a list of Society Blogs ordered by Most Commented, posted by members. A Blog is a journal you may enter about your life, thoughts, interesting experiences, or lessons you've learned. Post an opinion, impart words of wisdom, or talk about something interesting in your day. Update your blog on a regular basis, or just whenever you have something to say. Creating a blog is a good way to share something of yourself with others. Reading blogs is a good way to learn more about others. Click here to post a blog.
What next?
I am writing this to the sound of the karaoke version of Bat Out Of Hell blasting through the estate that I live on. Just across the road is a man with a microphone, standing right outside his front door. He is even doing the chat between songs. There are two or three people standing around looking at him. I daresay he thinks he is performing a public service; entertaining folks in these trying times. I suppose he has a half decent voice, but even if he had a completely decent voice I would still rather he wasn't there. How ridiculous do things have to get before all this is over?
The Persuaders
It seems there is always someone here trying to convince me of something or other, and it’s always for my own good that I need to listen to them. Some are on a mission to save the whole of Mankind from imminent peril, while others, not being quite so ambitious, only see it as their job to halt the decline of Western Society.
As far as the future of Mankind is concerned, I am being warned from all sides; stop using disposable plastic bags and accept the Lord God as your redeemer. Well I’m doing my bit with the bags, but my heart’s not really in the other thing.
So what about Western Society? How can I stop that from going over the cliff edge? I need to adopt a right wing attitude towards politics. Yes, I need to develop a severe intolerance towards a great many things that don’t currently cause me any concern.
The insidious crusade by some women to be treated as fully paid up Human Beings needs condemning, to start with. As does homosexuality; I must disapprove of it whenever an opportunity presents itself. I live in a society where the average household owns at least two cars, yet hardly any owns a gun. That can’t be right. I need to get it into my head that every Muslim I see on the street wants to blow up me and my family, and I must treat them accordingly, lest the possibility of us living in harmony should ever materialise.
If we want to live in a World fit for decent, God fearing, upstanding, right thinking people, we need to listen to the persuaders. Although when I try to imagine what it would be like to live in such a World, the thought of being blown up by a Muslim doesn’t seem quite so bad.
As far as the future of Mankind is concerned, I am being warned from all sides; stop using disposable plastic bags and accept the Lord God as your redeemer. Well I’m doing my bit with the bags, but my heart’s not really in the other thing.
So what about Western Society? How can I stop that from going over the cliff edge? I need to adopt a right wing attitude towards politics. Yes, I need to develop a severe intolerance towards a great many things that don’t currently cause me any concern.
The insidious crusade by some women to be treated as fully paid up Human Beings needs condemning, to start with. As does homosexuality; I must disapprove of it whenever an opportunity presents itself. I live in a society where the average household owns at least two cars, yet hardly any owns a gun. That can’t be right. I need to get it into my head that every Muslim I see on the street wants to blow up me and my family, and I must treat them accordingly, lest the possibility of us living in harmony should ever materialise.
If we want to live in a World fit for decent, God fearing, upstanding, right thinking people, we need to listen to the persuaders. Although when I try to imagine what it would be like to live in such a World, the thought of being blown up by a Muslim doesn’t seem quite so bad.
My Personal Space.
I’m all alone today. My sister and her husband are away for the weekend and I’m making my own food. Today I can eat what I want and when I want. My sister’s daughter invited me for lunch but I declined the offer. I need to be alone sometimes.
I maintain a personal space around me that only my lover, my parents, siblings, children, and grandchildren can violate at will. Of course, there are some other exceptions like the hairdresser, physician, dentist, and so on.
Big flirt that I am, I’m not the hugging or touching type. This is perhaps the main reason why everybody accepts my flirting. I don’t like people hanging on me and I hang on nobody. This is now the people other than a lover. She is the always welcome and I normally cannot get enough of her presence.
Other than my direct family, I seldom touch people. My friends, extended family (cousins etc), and their spouses are only permitted inside my space when we greet or congratulate each other. And then they must shake hands (or kiss) and bugger off or I will take a step backwards.
When I shake somebody’s hand and he holds onto my hand for too long, like some church brothers do, I will soon remove my hand. I’m not fond of dancing but when I do, I try to maintain my distance as well as I can.
But the funny thing is, I get annoyed when a woman offers me her cheek when I congratulate her on something. The same applies if she kisses me on the cheek when she congratulates or wishes me on something. It is just too impersonal and if she cannot kiss me on the mouth, I won’t even bother next time. Hell, I don’t have TB!
Naturally, there are times when physical contact with strangers is unavoidable. When you leave a rugby stadium after a game, it is impossible not to touch people but that type of contact does not bother me. Why would it be that I’m quite prepared to be squashed by strangers but don’t like it when a friend put his hand on my shoulder?
Have a great day and forget about the Monday blues looming on the horizon.
I maintain a personal space around me that only my lover, my parents, siblings, children, and grandchildren can violate at will. Of course, there are some other exceptions like the hairdresser, physician, dentist, and so on.
Big flirt that I am, I’m not the hugging or touching type. This is perhaps the main reason why everybody accepts my flirting. I don’t like people hanging on me and I hang on nobody. This is now the people other than a lover. She is the always welcome and I normally cannot get enough of her presence.
Other than my direct family, I seldom touch people. My friends, extended family (cousins etc), and their spouses are only permitted inside my space when we greet or congratulate each other. And then they must shake hands (or kiss) and bugger off or I will take a step backwards.
When I shake somebody’s hand and he holds onto my hand for too long, like some church brothers do, I will soon remove my hand. I’m not fond of dancing but when I do, I try to maintain my distance as well as I can.
But the funny thing is, I get annoyed when a woman offers me her cheek when I congratulate her on something. The same applies if she kisses me on the cheek when she congratulates or wishes me on something. It is just too impersonal and if she cannot kiss me on the mouth, I won’t even bother next time. Hell, I don’t have TB!
Naturally, there are times when physical contact with strangers is unavoidable. When you leave a rugby stadium after a game, it is impossible not to touch people but that type of contact does not bother me. Why would it be that I’m quite prepared to be squashed by strangers but don’t like it when a friend put his hand on my shoulder?
Have a great day and forget about the Monday blues looming on the horizon.
What a beautiful morning !
The new dawn breaks this morning in both a solar and revolutionary meanings, as does the news of the impending sun setting with the demise of the worst presidency in US history.
The mail-in counts are not surprisingly almost all Biden's. After all, Trump insisted, that
his supporters vote in person. So, they took an early lead. But sanity slowly emerged as
the mail-in votes were counted. It was inevitable. The majority revolted in record numbers.
Confirmation will happen over the next few days.
For the following weeks we will hear constant whining & crying from the baby behavior "so-called" dictator wannabe and some of his delusional supporters. Trump will also likely try a variety of frivolous lawsuits and ultimately have to go through several stages, before having no choice but leave his free housing and golfing in late January as an impeached president with the worst record, responsible for an inept pandemic response, a crushed economy, record high national debt, record high inequality, and social unrest, an unenviable legacy of continued failure and corruption.
But, the healing will start. It will take a lot of time and effort to restore from the damage Trump has done. Indeed, years. But, slowly it will happen, as well as justice for the corruption Trump has been protected from, all beginning in February.
A new dawn has emerged and it has the promise of change for the better.
Public announcement
Will everyone please be on the lookout for a "stalker troll", who is believed to be operating in this vicinity.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Nurse Killer
What are your thoughts...what makes a serial killer?...is it a combination of nurture and nature?...Here is a documentary on Richard Speck...a serial killer who had a less than stellar upbringing...
Things that need doing
It was my birthday in March, it’s now nearly September and the three cards I received are still standing on my windowsill. On another windowsill, I have five filing boxes for storing bank statements, utility bills and such like. Next to the boxes is a pile of paper yet waiting to be filed away in the boxes. I sometimes sit for ages wishing I would get a duster and remove the dull grey coating that covers all my furniture, and I just can’t understand why I am prepared to waste ten minutes gazing at the crumbs under my table, yet begrudge spending a few seconds to get rid of them.
I hate clutter, which makes my tendency to create it both frustrating and puzzling. I might finish a jar of marmalade and rather than just throw the empty jar away, think, ah! that could come in handy for something, so I put it on top of the cupboard, next to the empty margarine carton. Then, one day, I will sit for ten minutes staring at the top of my cupboard thinking, hmm, I could put that lot in a plastic bag, take it out to the bin and be back in my chair -looking at nice, empty space on top of my cupboard- in less than two minutes. And, in deed, that is true; I could.
I don’t like doing housework, it’s as simple as that. Yes, I know lots of people don’t like housework yet still get on and do it, but knowing that is not enough to motivate me to do it. There are so many other things I would rather be doing, and that I would be doing if I could be bothered. But the thing is, I am bothered; this sorry state of affairs bothers me very much.
Anyway, enough is enough -I thought- so I finally did something about it; I wrote it all down, and here it is. I feel much better now. Although while I was writing I couldn’t help noticing the state of my keyboard, it’s a disgrace.
I hate clutter, which makes my tendency to create it both frustrating and puzzling. I might finish a jar of marmalade and rather than just throw the empty jar away, think, ah! that could come in handy for something, so I put it on top of the cupboard, next to the empty margarine carton. Then, one day, I will sit for ten minutes staring at the top of my cupboard thinking, hmm, I could put that lot in a plastic bag, take it out to the bin and be back in my chair -looking at nice, empty space on top of my cupboard- in less than two minutes. And, in deed, that is true; I could.
I don’t like doing housework, it’s as simple as that. Yes, I know lots of people don’t like housework yet still get on and do it, but knowing that is not enough to motivate me to do it. There are so many other things I would rather be doing, and that I would be doing if I could be bothered. But the thing is, I am bothered; this sorry state of affairs bothers me very much.
Anyway, enough is enough -I thought- so I finally did something about it; I wrote it all down, and here it is. I feel much better now. Although while I was writing I couldn’t help noticing the state of my keyboard, it’s a disgrace.
'Impeach - The Case against Donald Trump'
Author Neal Ketyal has a new book out, and he makes some truly excellent points in the following interview
Book Review;
In response to:
Former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal argues that there are three "high crimes" that he says the president is "clearly" guilty of. He explains to Steve Kornacki why, because of those alleged high crimes, he feels the House must impeach Trump and the Senate should remove him from office.
Former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal argues that there are three "high crimes" that he says the president is "clearly" guilty of. He explains to Steve Kornacki why, because of those alleged high crimes, he feels the House must impeach Trump and the Senate should remove him from office.
Book Review;
In response to:
Neal Katyal makes an unimpeachable case, concise but comprehensive, for impeachment. The author of Impeach knows the law and how to practice it. An attorney who has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court, Neal Katyal was Acting Solicitor General for the United States in the Obama administration. He is also a law professor at George Washington University.
He goes to the heart of the matter by quoting today’s vice president, Michael Pence, when he served in the House of Representatives in 2008: “This business of high crimes and misdemeanors goes to the question of whether or not the person serving as President of the United States put their own interests, their personal interests, ahead of public service.”
This statement Katyal calls the “Pence Standard” and refers to it throughout the book. The author says he is not a partisan but an “extreme centrist”—determined to apply the same legal yardstick to every case regardless of its party connection. Though this book attacks a Republican president, Katyal earlier clerked for today’s Chief Justice, John Roberts, and supported Trump’s appointments of justices Neal Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Katyal addresses some basic questions: Why our founders (and Pence) would have impeached Trump. What high crimes and misdemeanors are and are not. Why we need to impeach Trump and why this is different from Mueller. Why we can’t wait until the next election. To understand what are impeachable offenses, Katyal reviews the impeachment cases of presidents Tyler, Johnson, Nixon, and Clinton.
Digging into the charges against Trump, Katyal examines the evidence that Trump accepted and sought information from a foreign government to help him against a political rival; that he withheld security assistance to Ukraine and then asked for a favor to release it. He reviews the July 25 phone conversation with President Zelensky, and observes that Trump never once discussed U.S. national interests or Ukraine’s war with Russia.
The anonymous whistleblower complaint against Trump, as Katyal reports, was not sent to Congress for weeks after it was submitted to the intelligence community inspector general on August 22. This aspect of the story takes Katyal back to 1777 when two naval officers reported that their commander had tortured British prisoners. When the two whistleblowers were fired, the Continental Congress compensated them and passed a whistleblower protection act.
Katyal himself defended a whistleblower who, after 9/11, complained that the government was reducing the number of TSA marshals on flights. The Supreme Court in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts gave the whistleblower his life back. President Trump, however, has demanded unmasking today’s whistleblower, calling him almost a “spy.”
This book is nothing if not up to date. Published in November 2019, it refers to many events and documents released as recently as September. To be sure, much of the material has already been in the public domain, but Katyal with his legal mind analyzes it in a novel way. For example: If the president really wanted Ukrainians to investigate a case, he would not demand that they announce their decision to do so, because this would tip off the suspects. Nor would the State Department budget to promote anticorruption in Ukraine have been cut from $30 to $13 million......
Neal Katyal makes an unimpeachable case, concise but comprehensive, for impeachment. The author of Impeach knows the law and how to practice it. An attorney who has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court, Neal Katyal was Acting Solicitor General for the United States in the Obama administration. He is also a law professor at George Washington University.
He goes to the heart of the matter by quoting today’s vice president, Michael Pence, when he served in the House of Representatives in 2008: “This business of high crimes and misdemeanors goes to the question of whether or not the person serving as President of the United States put their own interests, their personal interests, ahead of public service.”
This statement Katyal calls the “Pence Standard” and refers to it throughout the book. The author says he is not a partisan but an “extreme centrist”—determined to apply the same legal yardstick to every case regardless of its party connection. Though this book attacks a Republican president, Katyal earlier clerked for today’s Chief Justice, John Roberts, and supported Trump’s appointments of justices Neal Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Katyal addresses some basic questions: Why our founders (and Pence) would have impeached Trump. What high crimes and misdemeanors are and are not. Why we need to impeach Trump and why this is different from Mueller. Why we can’t wait until the next election. To understand what are impeachable offenses, Katyal reviews the impeachment cases of presidents Tyler, Johnson, Nixon, and Clinton.
Digging into the charges against Trump, Katyal examines the evidence that Trump accepted and sought information from a foreign government to help him against a political rival; that he withheld security assistance to Ukraine and then asked for a favor to release it. He reviews the July 25 phone conversation with President Zelensky, and observes that Trump never once discussed U.S. national interests or Ukraine’s war with Russia.
The anonymous whistleblower complaint against Trump, as Katyal reports, was not sent to Congress for weeks after it was submitted to the intelligence community inspector general on August 22. This aspect of the story takes Katyal back to 1777 when two naval officers reported that their commander had tortured British prisoners. When the two whistleblowers were fired, the Continental Congress compensated them and passed a whistleblower protection act.
Katyal himself defended a whistleblower who, after 9/11, complained that the government was reducing the number of TSA marshals on flights. The Supreme Court in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts gave the whistleblower his life back. President Trump, however, has demanded unmasking today’s whistleblower, calling him almost a “spy.”
This book is nothing if not up to date. Published in November 2019, it refers to many events and documents released as recently as September. To be sure, much of the material has already been in the public domain, but Katyal with his legal mind analyzes it in a novel way. For example: If the president really wanted Ukrainians to investigate a case, he would not demand that they announce their decision to do so, because this would tip off the suspects. Nor would the State Department budget to promote anticorruption in Ukraine have been cut from $30 to $13 million......
Truth is a Lonely Path to Tread
‘None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. The truth has been kept from the depth of their minds by masters who rule them with lies. They feed them on falsehoods til wrong looks like right in their eyes’
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
One of the most effective ways of silencing truth-tellers is to spread disinformation that makes them look ridiculous. Disinformation agents come in many forms and may expose certain things, which have been covered up. But, they also peddle bogus theories and mix fact with fiction in a way that destroys the essence of an argument and the credibility of those speaking out against what is generally deemed to be consensus reality. A number of people have claimed that two well-known figures in the alternative media, David Icke and Alex Jones, are in fact controlled opposition who muddy the water and actually lead people astray. Genuine truth-seekers need to be constantly vigilant and be willing to thoroughly scrutinize all information, regardless of the source. Clearly, discernment is key in differentiating between those who are trustworthy and those who are not.
People who defend mainstream sources of information often seem very reluctant to accept that what is being presented to them may be a distorted version of the facts. They suffer from a strong normalcy bias, which makes it very difficult for some to believe that governments often have ulterior motives and that they lie. Perhaps people can accept that governments do lie on occasions to cover up certain things, but when the magnitude of the lies is huge and all-encompassing, it may seem completely incomprehensible. If the media, so-called fact checkers and many organisations and educational establishments are either directly under government control, recipients of funding from major pharmaceutical companies or party to other conflicts of interest, how can we ever really know how much truth there is in what they say? Speaking out against lies and any form of injustice is crucial if we are ever going to reclaim our basic human rights. When people are silent in the face of lies and deception, they collude with the lies and support a system that is taking away more and more of their freedom.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Standing up for truth and freedom requires real courage and an unshakeable determination not to buy into lies in any shape or form. But, it’s not always easy to discern what’s true and what’s not in a world where lies and cover-ups are becoming increasingly prevalent. Simply speaking the truth often leaves truth-tellers open to being attacked by those who place their trust in official sources and seem unwilling to probe beneath the surface by doing their own independent research. The truth is the truth. It’s not your belief or my belief or even what the majority believe that makes it so. The truth is quite simply the truth. Even if most people choose to believe a lie, that doesn’t make it the truth. It just means that those people have been deceived and are agreeing to the collective madness of groupthink.
One of the most effective ways of silencing truth-tellers is to spread disinformation that makes them look ridiculous. Disinformation agents come in many forms and may expose certain things, which have been covered up. But, they also peddle bogus theories and mix fact with fiction in a way that destroys the essence of an argument and the credibility of those speaking out against what is generally deemed to be consensus reality. A number of people have claimed that two well-known figures in the alternative media, David Icke and Alex Jones, are in fact controlled opposition who muddy the water and actually lead people astray. Genuine truth-seekers need to be constantly vigilant and be willing to thoroughly scrutinize all information, regardless of the source. Clearly, discernment is key in differentiating between those who are trustworthy and those who are not.
People who defend mainstream sources of information often seem very reluctant to accept that what is being presented to them may be a distorted version of the facts. They suffer from a strong normalcy bias, which makes it very difficult for some to believe that governments often have ulterior motives and that they lie. Perhaps people can accept that governments do lie on occasions to cover up certain things, but when the magnitude of the lies is huge and all-encompassing, it may seem completely incomprehensible. If the media, so-called fact checkers and many organisations and educational establishments are either directly under government control, recipients of funding from major pharmaceutical companies or party to other conflicts of interest, how can we ever really know how much truth there is in what they say? Speaking out against lies and any form of injustice is crucial if we are ever going to reclaim our basic human rights. When people are silent in the face of lies and deception, they collude with the lies and support a system that is taking away more and more of their freedom.
How I live without god
Pretty well actually, and more like Christians are supposed to live, than most actual Christians, except for the going to church, praying, and believing in a god stuff. I also sometimes tend not to turn the other cheek and I don't own religious paraphernalia, like statues nor rosaries, etc....
The question was asked below (which is against blogging rules) and yet the blogger does not allow comments.
Rather odd.
Regardless, we ALL live without gods. Because gods don't exist. It's just that some people still BELIEVE in one god or another without ever seeing one.
Some have retained an ancient belief system passed down many generations,
originating before people had a much better understanding. Indeed, a lot of people embraced
the belief in a god, when they were a child and never rejected that belief system upon maturing. And every religion seems to think they have the right religion and have been belligerent about that. Indeed, thousands have died in wars because of their beliefs about this.
Don't get me wrong, we don't thoroughly understand everything yet, and perhaps never will. But, we have a far better understanding, than when people believed in some pretty weird things like gods, human sacrifices, and that the earth was the center of the solar system. Most people have made real progress in learning. Granted, not all.
Not all people are able to grasp the concepts of science. Indeed, there is a rather broad range in any large population with regard to intelligence level. We should accept that. Reality is, that some people are geniuses and some people are 'Darwin Award' recipients. Most people fall somewhere on
the scale in between those extremes. Our current "so-called" president is a lot closer to the 'Darwin Award' end of the scale than being a "stable genius". But, higher on the scale than those who actually believed he was a genius. He really had those people fooled. 
Some actually believe that a god chose him to be president a double buffoonery. 
Hey, to each their own. Live & let live.
But, sometimes it's shocking to watch them do harm to themselves.....and others.
The question was asked below (which is against blogging rules) and yet the blogger does not allow comments.
Rather odd. Regardless, we ALL live without gods. Because gods don't exist. It's just that some people still BELIEVE in one god or another without ever seeing one.
Some have retained an ancient belief system passed down many generations,
originating before people had a much better understanding. Indeed, a lot of people embraced
the belief in a god, when they were a child and never rejected that belief system upon maturing. And every religion seems to think they have the right religion and have been belligerent about that. Indeed, thousands have died in wars because of their beliefs about this.
Don't get me wrong, we don't thoroughly understand everything yet, and perhaps never will. But, we have a far better understanding, than when people believed in some pretty weird things like gods, human sacrifices, and that the earth was the center of the solar system. Most people have made real progress in learning. Granted, not all.
Not all people are able to grasp the concepts of science. Indeed, there is a rather broad range in any large population with regard to intelligence level. We should accept that. Reality is, that some people are geniuses and some people are 'Darwin Award' recipients. Most people fall somewhere on
the scale in between those extremes. Our current "so-called" president is a lot closer to the 'Darwin Award' end of the scale than being a "stable genius". But, higher on the scale than those who actually believed he was a genius.
He really had those people fooled. Some actually believe that a god chose him to be president
a double buffoonery. Hey, to each their own. Live & let live.
But, sometimes it's shocking to watch them do harm to themselves.....and others.
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