Political Dump

[waldopaper]

Oh... don't look at the crash. Damn... you looked. "Politics" are useless. But you can't avoid looking at the wreck. Then you wish you hadn't. Dump it on this thread. Maybe we can get it out of our system.

[waldopaper]

Look upon this website and despair....

[pan]

With my understanding of the definition of the words "intellectual" - one who actively researches theoretical concepts in a continuous quest to learn new things - and "conservative" - one who defends the status quo, believingthat the answers have all been answered by the mythical founders (of the republic, of the religion, of the economy, etc.) - have led me to the inescapable conclusion that the two terms are mutally exclusive as an intellectual, by definition, is one who knows he does not know the answers. Intellectual Conservative is an oxymoron. There is such a thing as an intellect - one who is highly educated - who is conservative but no such thing as an intellectual conservative.

[waldopaper]

Those were my first thoughts exactly, pan: "oxymoron." Perhaps an "intellectual conservative" is one who has deep historical knowledge and rigorous exploration of "The Calf Path." I know such a person who outranks me in the academic hierarchy... a regular reader of Atlantic Monthly. He doesn't appear (far as I know) to have the mean edge these people do. My initial reaction to the site was just like if you threw the kivvers back at bedtime after a long hard day and found a fat hairy tarantula on your pillow or saw the tail-end of a big-ass snake slithering off the pillow and down under the kivvers. YIIIIII!!!!! Initial reaction is just to stand back and hose the bed down with a flame-thrower. cant do that- burn the house down- so maybe... throw the covers back over and whack the bed with a bat until yer totally exhausted?? These people fucking FREAK ME OUT.

ok... i been all over this site for the past few days... and am considering logging on just to make my presence known... I am the enemy... and i am listening to you. no threat- no argument- i don't want to "debate" anything... and i don't think they do either. they would like to see me wiped off the earth... and to be honest... i would like to see THEM wiped off the earth. and who are "they?" all this week i've heard "conservative" bla bla bla "conservative" yadda yadda yadda... I'm doing the Indigo Montoya... "...you keep using that word..." OK... what do THEY think it means? In their words...

I support life. I support the Second Amendment. I support English as the national language. I support religious freedom. I am for school choice. I am high on defense and tough on crime. I am for smaller government, fewer regulations, less government spending and low taxes. I am for untrammeled national sovereignty and would love to see the UN cast into the ocean.

I oppose union thugs, socialist programs, unconstitutional powers, abortion for any reason, the so-called doctrine of a "living Constitution," open borders, unearned paths to citizenship, anchor babies, high taxes, uncontrolled regulations on businesses and bans on religious expression in schools… any schools.>>

OK... we could all pick at that. That's not important. Here's the key idea:
And, I am really against working with Democrats just to "prove" I am "reasonable" so that the liberal media establishment will love me.>> OK... pick thru the code words and all that ... here's what I have in common with "them:"

"They" don't want to "compromise," and neither do I. "They" share the same disgust for the clueless celebrity-cult air-head excuse for "politics" that I do. "They" have a clear vision of what they want (a Christian Nation) and so do I (a LOHAS collective). So far, "they" see these positions as totally incompatible.... and as long as "they" do, so do I. If "they" choose a "zero-sum game," then so do I. Each of us will (of course) blame the "other" for choosing a zero-sum game.

So I am going to log onto their site and identify myself as the "enemy." I won't engage in "debates," I just want them to know that I am there. They can summon me like a demon if they really want to know how "we" see the same phenomenon that "they" do, and maybe I'll respond. Probably not.

"We" shall see what happens...

[BO]

WaldoPaper, the Jason Bourne of the internet. Go get 'em, man.

[waldopaper]

I dont even know what that means... dur. Even after picking thru the wiki article... I still dont know what it means. I cant figure out how to post on the "intellectual conservative" website... so i sent them a "submission" email which said:

Hello there, “Intellectual Conservatives!” I am your “enemy.” I am everything you hate: a Birkenstock-wearing ex-hippie Vietnam-era long-haired college professor… and, so far, a Marxian: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxian

I was attracted to your site by the title, “Intellectual Conservative,” which at first seemed to be a total oxymoron. However, I have been “lurking” for quite some time, and am impressed with the clarity and honesty with which you express your “position.”

I am not sure the moderators will allow me here. I will not post (other than this one… or if I am asked), nor will I “debate.” I simply offer my services in case you want to know (which you would if you were “intellectuals”) how your “opponent” sees the same thing.

Naturally, I can not speak for “everybody” on the “other side.” Those are muddled terms for both of us. Clearly though, we are on opposite “sides.” You don't want to "compromise," and neither do I. You share the same disgust for the clueless celebrity-cult air-head excuse for "politics" that I do.

You have a clear vision of what you want (a Christian Nation) and so do I: (a LOHAS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOHAS collective): So far, you see these positions as totally incompatible.... and as long as you do, so do I. Ironically, if you choose a "zero-sum game," then so do I. Each of us will (of course) blame the "other" for choosing a zero-sum game.

You can summon me like a demon if you really want to know how "we" see the same phenomenon that "you” do, and maybe I'll respond…probably not. I don’t think you have the slightest interest in opposing perspectives, but I could be wrong. And there, I think, is the greatest gulf between us:

I don’t believe “I could be wrong” is in your mind, vocabulary, or even an outside possibility to you. That is why I think “conservatives” must be suppressed.

But I could be wrong…


So far... from what they say... I HATE these motherfuckers. And so far... from what they say... I see no alternative but to "suppress" them... which is a euphemism that degenerates down into killing the next fucking nazi you encounter before they do the same for you. That involves the "pre-emptive attack" we despise so much... and rightfully so.

This is creepy... but if its gonna degenerate in the US as much as I THINK it is... the best each one of us (old fucks) can do is be prepared to hit the off-switch for a Blackwater mercinary in the most efficient manner when we are called upon to do so. Naturally, they will start making sure you wear your prison-airport-jammies and no-nail-clipper outfit everywhere all the time.

That is, unless we can convince these nazi fucks that the same tools they want to suppress US (big prisons, big military) can also be used to suppress THEM. Long shot... but I think it's worth it/

...for now.

[BO]

What I meant by the Bourne analogy was your willingness to do battle with those who would undoubtedly like to destroy you in a kind of mercenary fashion. Essentially, Bourne takes on a corrupt CIA by himself and does hand-to-hand combat with a bunch of bad guys out to get him.

Guess you would have to see the movie. I caught it last night so it was fresh in my memory.

BTW, here's a little illustration of the kind of mentality we're roiling against...

Taxi to the Dark Side.

Ya gotta love the way sociopaths think. They create a problem, then use that problem to justify their evil actions.

[BO]

BTW, check out a recent Stonefruit post...

Triumph of the heartless over the clueless?

This is the same theory that I keep harping on. It's the freeking culture! The US breeds sociopaths like flies.

[waldopaper]

After the Romney "speech," all I could say was, well... there's one super-sick elitist fuck. Chris Floyd says it better.

[BO]

Mouse could use a lullaby by a nice Irish gent.

From the movie 'Once'. Falling Slowly...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoSL_qayMCc&NR=1

[waldopaper]

Oh EM... DO take care of yourself. I too wonder how many ticks left in the ticker. I get soooo tired these days. The 1/2 class load feels like triple. Aye scrag-ends we be... and the Bourne name clicked some brain cells ... War and the Intellectuals... Randolph Bourne... "...crying out in a sheer soundless giggle." dissolving waves into the air... ripples on the time-pond... out to the stars... comin' home.

[Mouse]

That's very beautiful.

Sorry about last night, sleep sorted everything out again. Quoting from that second last link to Randolph Bourne:

Irreconcilable radicals, wringing their hands among the debris, become the most despicable and impotent of men. There seems no choice for the intellectual but to join the mass of acceptance. But again the terrible dilemma arises, - either support what is going on, in which case you count for nothing because you are swallowed in the mass and great incalculable forces bear you on; or remain aloof, passively resistant, in which case you count for nothing because you are outside the machinery of reality.

.....There must still be opposition to any contemplated "liberal" world-order founded on military coalitions. The "irreconcilable" need not be disloyal. He need not even be "impossibilist." His apathy towards war should take the form of a hightened energy and enthusiasm for the education, the art, the intrepretation that make for life in the midst of the world of death. The intellectual who retains his animus against war will push out more boldly than ever to make his case solid against it. The old ideals crumble; new ideals must be forged. His mind will continue to roam widely and ceaselessly. The thing he will fear most is premature crystallization. If the American intellectual class rivets itself to a "liberal" philosophy that perpetuates the old errors, there will then be need for "democrats" whose task will be to divide, confuse, disturb, keep the intellectual waters constantly in motion to prevent any such ice from ever forming.

Thought that hugely relevant to present situation. The personal struggle we all must have to keep our minds out of ruts, to be open to answers so we see excellent new directions of attention and thought, and not pass them by as we wander in the woods, dropping our breadcrumbs.

Randolph Bourne The War and the Intellectuals 1917

[BO]

Well, thanks to a Waldo link, I got to see the movie "Idiocracy" today. Based on a simple survival of the unfitist theme--idiots breed like flies while intellectuals don't--the future (2500?) is filled with garbage and the populace has been dumbed-down to the point where they've become barely communicable. Much like today--only a little bit worse.

Gotta be a cult film since I think a good portion of todays population would fail to see the humor in it. Some of the depictions weren't that big a stretch from today and I think a number of folks actually live that way.

In reality, it isn't gonna be ignorance or any particular political philosophy that does us in. It'll be greed and hubris. Sociopathy. And there ain't no way we're lasting to the year 2500. Hell, I doubt we'll make 2050.

I think the right attitude to have today is to accept the fact that our time here is limited. Eventually, our little trip to Disneyland is going to end. Mother nature will want her payment and she refuses to be bullshitted.

The best way to enjoy the show is to become detached. False hope is just another form of hubris.