This is the week we all die
Monday, December 17th, 2012
Well, folks, this is it. Friday it’s all over. Zap. Kaput. This weary old Earth and all of us with it — gone.
Even though I don’t believe a word of it, sometimes I think it couldn’t happen to a more deserving planet.
And as to that lame, feel-good theory that the Earth isn’t really going blooey, but is just going to go through a tribulation, with the survivors (i.e. the people holding the theory) going to emerge full of peace, love, and enlightenment … yeah.
You just tell me when peace, love, and enlightenment have ever lasted more than about 15 minutes before some jerk with a Bright Idea came along to screw them up.
Nope. Despite boundless skepticism about the Maya and their multitudes of modern-day misinterpreters, boom, biff, kapow are definitely more our style.
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It’s been a crappy month. Is there any country on the globe that’s not about to go to war with some other? And once the Be-medaled Big Man of some hellhole starts the nuking or the gassing or the whatever, is there one, single one of these wannabe wars that neocon-gov won’t throw us into, claiming (and manufacturing evidence for) some Vital National Interest? Or Democracy or something?
Here in the U.S., even before Mr. Evil decided to make his mark in the world by shooting elementary schoolers, things weren’t looking so good. Take just one piece of news (out of many): that our Beloved Attorney General decided unilaterally and arbitrarily that the fedgov can not only keep dossiers on anybody, but decided the gov can sell them to foreign governments for their scrutiny.
Now, this would have been bad enough had the media ferreted it out and jumped on it immediately with howling rage. And had an aroused public demanded an end to such tyranny — and Eric Holder’s term in office — and the entire Department of Homeland (Achtung!) Security — and the heads of quite a few politicians and bureaucrats — and restoration of the Bill of Rights. But as usual, the news took months to emerge … and was barely treated as news when it did.
I particularly like the way the few media outlets that actually reported it repeated the fedgov’s assurances that this is totally, perfectly, absolutely, no-doubt-about-it all right and doesn’t violate the Fourth Amendment (the what?) because of … oh, safeguards or some such thing. You know, because it’s the Good Old Red-White-n-Blue USA and the Government is Us and We’re the Government so what could possibly go wrong?
And of course there’s more. there’s always more. Even something as monumental as open-ended QE4 charging along right on the heels of QE3 doesn’t even raise an eyebrow (or the price of gold) even though the lowest member of Densa can see what it means.
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I’ve been having a crappy month, personally, too. It’s been brightened only (though I hasten to add, very, very considerably) by all the early visits from Santa and the goodness, support, and devotion to freedom each of those visits represents. Here in my living room, the tree, the dogs, and I are warm and happy.
And I hope you are, too, for the four and whatever-percentage of days that remain to you before your head (and everything else) explodes.
But for me, it’s been a month of small blows and small setbacks — not one of them amounting to anything by itself, but the whole chain of them leaving me in a Dangerous Mood.
Oh, not listening-to-the-voices-in-my-head dangerous. But dangerous in the sense of wanting to toss everything aside and become a beach bum. If only I could figure out how one makes a living being a beach bum.
Since I probably won’t figure that out before Friday, I guess you can count on me being here to bring you bad news, good cheer, and a relentlessly positive Bad Attitude for the foreseeable future.
Thanks for all the motivation to stick around, even if the future lasts more than four-and-a-fragment days.
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And let’s choose to be optimistic. The fact that the fedgov can “advance” tyranny by Godzilla-sized bounds and barely evoke yawns may be a good sign. It could just be that people have come to expect nothing else. Have come to divorce themselves by the millions from a government they recognize as thoroughly out of bounds and out of their control.
A government whose seemingly invincible underpinnings could collapse with a crash-boom at any moment. Who knows? Maybe even this Friday.
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All posters courtesy of MJR, with that last one stolen from here.
Newz links courtesy of P and J.
December 17th, 2012
well Claire I’ll be sittin here saturday morning on the 22nd reading your new post and drinkin my cofee laughing at all those idiots.
December 17th, 2012
We’d miss you Claire! If you decide to go the beach route let the commentariat know. I’m sure that, together, we can set you up with a satellite-enabled laptop.
It ain’t easy to get away from it all any more!
December 17th, 2012
J. Edgar Holder.
As for the Mayan Apocalypse… Big deal. Ol’ Harold Camping had apocalypses (apocalypsii? apocaleepse?) all the time. Mayan Doomsday is a single, isolated, on-time event of no statistical signif
December 17th, 2012
Ah, that last photo was funny. Thanks for the nice laugh.
December 17th, 2012
Of course, the “world as we know it” changes every second, change being the only constant. But it does seem there are particular times when many vectors of change converge… so, might this be one of those? I guess we’ll all find out. Given the general trend of recent “change”, might be nice to see some real change for a… change. As in some good news, to relieve our weary souls. Some, shall we say, hope for this world? Have we yet reached the extreme point where the pendulum stops and reverses direction?
On another hand, some there are who believe Yahweh is just about ready to wrap this whole show up, and “shake out all the evil,” so I’ve been told. All I know is, battling anxiety/depression/PTSD each day, all ramping up steadily with the apparently accelerating “evil” in the “world”, I’m pretty tired of the whole thing.
Perhaps simple disappointment would/will be the worst outcome. We shall see, no doubt of that.
December 17th, 2012
“All I know is, battling anxiety/depression/PTSD each day, all ramping up steadily with the apparently accelerating “evil” in the “world”, I’m pretty tired of the whole thing.”
I don’t know how much it helps, but you’re not alone. And of course, even aside from the evil, this is usually the toughest time of year for people who suffer those ills.
But be of good cheer (to the best of your anxious & depressive ability). Remember that line about the tighter they squeeze their fist, the more slips from their grasp ..
December 17th, 2012
When I get discouraged about the current problems, I go read some history. The poorest homeless person today, even with serious mental problems, has it far better than the common people of 9th – 12th century Europe. The poorest housing project inhabitant now has a more comfortable life than their “nobility” had then.
Let’s build on what we do have.
I find that death is not the enemy. It comes to us all. The enemy is aggression, betrayal, unearned pain, and despair in the meantime.
December 17th, 2012
Count me among those who have let the relentless stupidity get to them. It’s all I can do any more just to stomach looking at Facebook, for the absolutely breathtaking quantities of the Not-Gettin’-It. And of course that is but one source–one medium–among many that appear little different.
I for one hope you can resist the call for beachbummery, Claire, as your voice* is a big help to me in remembering that these things, too, shall pass, even if one of them someday sweeps me along with it. But hell, if that becomes the best answer for you, I’d wish you all the best.
In the meantime, I intend to hug my wife and kids, do my best to help build the world I want, and make myself available for human beings.
Both before the apocalypse and afterward. :-)
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* and I absolutely include the Commentariat as a component of that voice.
December 17th, 2012
If it makes you feel any better, please do not disappear. This is the first time I have had the nerve to comment on your writings but I have been reading the blog and the usual commentators for awhile. Even though I don’t always agree with you or them, you are an interesting and very knowledgeable group. It would be a shame if you became a beach bum! Hang in there.
December 17th, 2012
Thank you for the lovely comment, katiej. In these days when so many people only want to listen to views they agree with, you are particularly gracious to say what you did.
I agree this is an extraordinary place with an amazing group of people in it.
And even if I managed to figure out the economics of beach-bummery, I’d probably stick around just for that. :-)
Glad you commented.
December 18th, 2012
Thanks for the link-love!
December 18th, 2012
Well, thanks for the great wit, Commander! I’m glad you didn’t mind reader MJR adapting your work.
BTW, I also saw your post on “apocalypse food” for dogs and will surely blog a link to that one of these days soon.
December 19th, 2012
I’m gonna be slightly dissapointed if the world blows up the day before I turn 21…
I mean not really, but if we could postpone the apocalypse to sunday or monday that would be perfect.
December 19th, 2012
Claire, I know something about the feeling, I usually call it exhuberant despondency. Hang in there.
C6