Category: American wilderness

The illusion of an educated mind

“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge.” (Daniel J. Boorstin)

____________________________________________________

My wife and I, like so many people in this land, often watch Jeopardy in the evening. though we are bad Americans and skip over the commercials. (Commercials are often embedded in clues on that show – there is no escape.)  The show has a reputation for being brainy, bringing on smart contestants, and I suppose many of them are. But mostly they are just good at trivia.

I have thought from time to time that I might like to take a shot at getting on the show. To do so requires taking a test, and assuming I could pass that hurdle (I make no such assumption), I would have to begin a long process of study. But what to study? There are no systematic themes running through it, as categories can be anything from literature to geography to pop culture, with more emphasis on the latter. I would have to subject myself to repeated questioning about various topics, memorizing the answers, hoping that the broad knowledge would help me get lucky on the show and face a category or two with which I have some memorized knowledge.*

It is an exercise in rote memorization without ability to connect dots, think intelligently, or challenge authority and assumptions. In short, it would be like studying for the SAT. It is the American education system in microcosm.

I would like to take a sampling of people who have done well on Jeopardy, and test them on their ability to unwind American propaganda. I would quiz them on events like Vietnam, 9/11, Sandy Hook, Boston, San Bernardino, the Snowden, Manson and OJ affairs, the current hoax regarding Zika, and see if they have been able to sift and see through them. My guess would be no, that these winners exemplify the whole point of our education system, a fact-rich non-thinking environment.

Perhaps that’s why the show enjoys continuing popularity. It gives us ignorance in the form of illusion of knowledge.
____________
*Cliff Claven on Jeopardy(Cliff Claven, a character on the TV show Cheers, was fortunate in that all six categories on the night he appeared were about beer. He ran up a score of $22,000 in and blew it all when the Final Jeopardy question was on another topic.

Also, has anyone but me noticed that Alex Trebek is a disappointment in terms of personal engagement? After decades of exposure to trivia, he seems unable to carry on a conversation, and has at best a hokey-pokey sense of humor. I suppose that makes him perfect host for the show.

Weird scenes in Cibolo Creek Ranch

“There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear.”

The above words, from the song For What It’s Worth, purportedly written by Stephen Stills, were taken by most to be a war protest song. In reality, it was about the Sunset Strip riots, and the object of protest was closure of a night club. That kind of confusion is not unusual, as Stills, from a military family, was never one to object to war. He even bragged to others that he was in Special Forces in Vietnam.

The words came to mind as I reviewed the events surrounding the passage of Antonin Scalia.

Continue reading “Weird scenes in Cibolo Creek Ranch” →

Vulgar nation

imageWe are in Bozeman for one more day before returning to Colorado tomorrow. Yesterday we skied West Yellowstone, a taxing day leaving us exhausted. We don’t have many opportunities for Nordic skiing where we live, that is, when it snows you have to hit it right away, as within a few days the snow will be iced up.

West Yellowstone is primarily a snowmobiling town, and it is a spectacle to behold. The machines have gotten bigger and more powerful over time, and so too has the equipment needed to haul them. They need big trailers and powerful pickup trucks. The apparel is reminiscent of Matt Damon’s Mars experience, expensive clothing, gloves, helmets that hide all body parts from the cutting wind.

It is like being outdoors without experiencing the outdoors.

imageAs I witnessed the (usually) overweight bearded specimens riding the machines, I thought how vulgarized the American outdoor experience has become, snow machines in winter, ATV’s in summer, jet boats and motor boats and massive campers and trailers with satellites so that the occupants don’t miss any TV. We are in decline, surely. I can only hope that succeeding generations recover the experience of wind in the face, tired limbs and sore feet, vistas that take physical effort to behold, simple food and perhaps a rock to sit on and a book to read.

That, to me, is the outdoor experience.

Why Hillary will win the nomination

I listen to Rush Limbaugh when out and about these days. I find him less abrasive than in years past, even a little more open and honest.

It appears his primary function is to keep the eyes of his right-wing audience on the ball, focusing on Obama and the Democrats as evil lefties. This reinforces the illusion of two parties. Whether he knowingly does that it is just a useful idiot – who knows?

But he said one thing of interest, if just in passing. He noted that Hillary’s campaign appears to be collapsing, and of course finds Bernie repugnant, as do I. But then he said “Hillary will get the nomination, of course, as she owns the superdelegates.”

I had forgotten about that facet of the nominating process, the backstop in place to prevent real delegates from choosing someone upapproved by real power. I’ve been away from fake politics for too long!

My guess: Scalia just up and died

The Scalia matter:

  • Ignore stories about pillows on his face, other suspicious stuff like death on the 33rd parallel if that is even close to where he died. Those are probably planted. They like to fuck with us. News is not of much use. The Broncos did beat the Panthers. Beyond honest reporting of things like that, high skepticism is the rule of the day.
  • If the spooks wanted to off this guy, they could do it and make it look real. It is their stock in trade, and the tools they have at their disposal are immense and sophisticated.
  • The key right now is that there will be no autopsy. That is odd, as anytime anyone dies unexpectedly, an autopsy should be performed to determine cause of death, and especially for a public figure. It is generally up to the family, but spooks often pressure families to not exercise that right. We need an autopsy, have a right to know how he died.
  • However, that said, a heart attack can be induced and no trace left behind, so that an autopsy, even if an honest one, would not resolve all doubt.
  • The body will lie in repose all day Friday before a Catholic funeral on Saturday. If the casket is open and we are allowed to view the corpse, that should end the questions on the fact of his death, if not the means.
  • Personally, I cannot imagine any reason for powerful people wanting him dead. He’s been a good soldier for the fascist cause. The idea that Obama will appoint someone with a more liberal background is nonsense, as Obama himself is only fake liberal, and so would at best appoint a fake liberal (if he even has a say in the matter).
  • And anyway, it helps to understand that our institutions are corrupt, and the Supreme Court is no exception. The idea that they act and evaluate matters independently should be set aside along with notions of a free press and honest elections. If Bush v Gore and Citizens United did not teach you that, you’re not paying attention.
  • This stuff about Obama wanting his seat, resigning, being appointed by Biden to fill it is nonsense. The president does not have that kind of power. He’s an actor, nothing more. It has been that way for decades. Nixon was the last president to forcefully exercise the power of the office.
  • And anyway, is Obama even qualified?
  • That would be interesting however, as if he were nominated to the seat he should have to supply his college transcripts from Columbia and Harvard, currently under lock and key. It would finally answer the question of whether he actually attended those places, or whether his resume’, like the rest of his biography, is fake.

It appears to me at this time that Scalia just up and died. I would mourn his passing, but I’m a little busy. He was no one important or unusually talented. He was just another soldier.

Inconvenient documents

The post below dealt with the matter of fake death, and a commenter noted that fake deaths are not uncommon:

“We are now able to disappear thousands of bodies, whole passenger planes and the most notorious “terrorist” in history. Practice makes perfect. One need only think of the “witness protection” program to see how easy it is to relocate thousands of people in new lives and new places, in plain sight — like Montana. The truth is out there.”

Here’s another example: while no “plane” hit the Pentagon on 9/11, there apparently was a flyover, though witnesses place the track of that airliner off line with whatever hit the building. The pilot of that airliner, Chick Burlingame, is supposedly one of the thousands of victims of the sleek and shiny reptiles who pulled of that stunt that day. If he did not really die, he would have to take on a new identity and begin a new life. He would have to be careful not to blow the gig.  But what would happen if others knew about his fake death and began talking?

This might interest you. 

Continue reading “Inconvenient documents” →

Murky planet

I live by Carl Sagan’s maxim that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” It makes life easier, as I fear treading nowhere. I often encounter people spreading notions of space aliens, NSA watching my every move, remote viewing, Illuminati running everything, and I have no fear. If they bring the evidence I will join them. However, they always come up short. It always falls back on one person’s experience or deep knowledge without anything objective to harden the case.

People who read me regularly may be surprised at those words, as I do make claims that shock them – Bernie Sanders is a sheep dog*, Donald Trump might be genuine even if stupid on a high level, John F. Kennedy Jr. was really the love child of Jackie and Aristotle Onassis. And John Lennon did not die in 1980.

Continue reading “Murky planet” →

The market-based fake friendship world

In the YouTube video between Peter Joseph and Stefan Molyneux below, the one below the fold that is too long and tedious to watch (meaning only guys like me watch it), Joseph makes an interesting and dead-on point that I want to repeat:

Commerce robs us of our humanity. We don’t enter into relationships voluntarily, and we only behave in a friendly manner due to financial issues. We suck up to the boss, treat strangers with fake good will. We associate with people we do not like (think office Christmas party) because we have to. We act submissively to people who are no more talented than us, often less (“the boss”).

In real life friends are rare, real friends. Those are relationships based on genuine interest, leaving each with a good feeling and no obligation.

Most of what we do in this country is based in fake feelings driven by financial need. The market distorts our lives.

What’s with Trump?

I rarely dabble in party politics anymore, especially since being burned by “The One” in 2008, the fake “community organizer.” In general, Democrats leave me with that not-so-fresh feeling, while Republicans tend to be incredibly stupid, or at least pretend to be so for the sake of gathering votes. It is a carnival of whores.

Continue reading “What’s with Trump?” →