June 26, 2010 archive

Democrats: KYAG!

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I hope Democrats enjoyed their brief ascendance, and that the Muslim-Socialist-Usurper has a few more pretty words left in his bag of tricks for his defense at impeachment, because I have a feeling we are going full-metal-jacket wingnut come November, regardless of whether the Gulf is still spewing oil or not.

Heckuva job.

Popular Culture (Music) 20100625. Emerson, Lake, and Palmer

Of all of the “progressive” bands, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (henceforth referred to as ELP) from the late 1960s and early 1970s, ELP was probably the most successful.  Only The Yes, in my opinion, had as much commercial success.  It is funny that The Yes are the backdrop sound for a popular credit card today, and ELP is only heard as bumper music on the horrific Sean Hannity Show on the radio.

Of all of the relatively obscure bands about which I have written, I actually saw ELP live at the Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas either in 1978 or 1979.  Mrs. Translator and I, along with my childhood friend Harold went to see them.  They put on a good show.

Original v. Cover — #31 in a Series

Otis Redding Pictures, Images and Photos

Aretha Franklin Pictures, Images and Photos

This week’s selection was written and recorded as a blues tune by a well-known and successful male Motown performer in 1965, reached the Top 5 on Billboard’s Black Singles Chart, and crossed over to a wider audience, peaking at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. This song’s success did not end here, however.

A rising female Motown star recorded her version on February 14, 1967, along with two sisters who provided backing vocals. King Curtis’ tenor saxophone was added to this recording, and became part of her debut album, entitled, “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You”, the title track becoming a hit in its own right.  This week’s selection was later released as a single, attaining far greater success than the original.  The song remained at the #1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and retained the same position for eight weeks on the Billboard Black Singles chart. This song also went to #10 on the charts in the U.K., propelling the performer to international stardom.  

Capitalism and pathocracy: Rule of, by, and for the morally insane.

In its pure, unregulated sense and form, capitalism is the creed and practice of psychopaths, nothing more than a vehicle for the uninhibited expression of psychopathological freedom.  Capitalists, once called “captains of industry,” and more recently known as “masters of the universe” due to malignant effects of their outsized egos on the global population at large, often pretend to adhere to some marginally plausible ethos purely for public relations value, e.g., “bringing cheap energy to market,” or “creating market efficiencies,” to mask and continue their depredations unmolested by the indignant outcries of normal people, in the end, the psychopath simply takes what he wants without any standard feeling of remorse for horrific outcomes.

Sociopaths are “outstanding” members of society in two senses: politically, they command attention because of the inordinate amount of crime they commit, and psychologically, they elicit fascination because most of us cannot fathom the cold, detached way they repeatedly harm and manipulate others.

http://www.bbsonline.org/Prepr… (1 of 63) [04/01/2008 16:28:32]

THE SOCIOBIOLOGY OF SOCIOPATHY: AN INTEGRATED…

Whether criminal or not, sociopaths typically exhibit what is generally considered to be irresponsible and unreliable behavior; their attributes include egocentrism, an inability to form lasting personal commitments and a marked degree of impulsivity. Underlying a superficial veneer of sociability and charm, sociopaths are characterized by a deficit of the social emotions (love, shame, guilt, empathy, and remorse). On the other hand, they are not intellectually handicapped, and are often able to deceive and manipulate others through elaborate scams and ruses including fraud, bigamy, embezzlement, and other crimes which rely on the trust and cooperation of others.  The sociopath is “aware of the discrepancy between his behavior and societal expectations, but he seems to be neither guided by the possibility of such a discrepancy, nor disturbed by its occurrence” (Widom 1976a, p 614). This cold- hearted and selfish approach to human interaction at one time garnered for sociopathy the moniker “moral insanity” (McCord 1983, Davison & Neale

1990).

What makes capitalism an ideal vehicle for the expression of psychopathology is its inclination toward pure profit regardless of external costs, hence its hypertrophic emphasis on unregulated, laissez faire, “let do” behavior.

Insofar as psychopaths and their creed of unfettered capitalism have infested and subverted the very government both regulating them and giving them license to operate, the United States has turned into what some have called a “pathocracy,” the rule of, by, and for the morally insane.

Is BP’s Blow Out Preventer Falling Off The Well Pipe?

After a video was released on June 13th recorded from BP’s underwater Viking Poseidon ROV 1 operating in the Gulf of Mexico near the blown out Macondo Well site showing what appeared to be oil leaks from gulf seabed cracks around BP’s well site, it seemed that it would be only a question of time before an oil saturated gulf seabed turning to wet slippery jello would no longer have the structural strength to support the weight of BP’s large steel 450 ton Blow Out Preventer (BOP) apparatus sitting on top of the well pipe projecting from that seabed.

“http://www.antemedius.com/files/images/BOP.jpg

Friday Philosophy: Trans News, Summer 2010

Every once in a while, I try to share news of interest to the trans community with people from outside our community, in the hopes that people will get a better idea about what goes on in our lives.  It’s all part of that teaching effort that we have been told we must do before we can ever hope to be accorded equal rights.

Recently there has been some good to go along with the usual stories of misuse and abuse.

Inside are stories from Houston and Dallas, San Francisco, Ireland, England, New York and the state department.

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