Simple Truths beyond Pearls

On this day of Christmas, the birthday of Jesus, some say the founder of Christianity, said: 

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, neither throw your pearls before swine, that they may never trample them under their feet and turn around and rip you open.” 

Joe offers these words to all serious bloggers and commentators of integrity that are constantly pilloried by the disingenuous, stupid, moronic and inane commentator that hopes to express his/her profound opinionated ignorance. Take solice that not all are of their ilk. These simple truths make a great response, so use them with Joe's blessings.

Pearls of Wisdom? 

1. Peace is the fruit of activity, not of sleep.
2. No discussion can throw light if it wanders from the real point.
3. To teach, one must know the nature of those whom one is teaching.
4. It is an essential thing to have a fixed point from which to check reality now and then.
5. Not the greatest master can go even one step for his disciple.
6. An answer brings no illumination unless one asks the right question.
7. You will be free when you follow your heart without perturbance.
8. Paradise is within us all, and whosoever shall know himself shall find it.
9. Experience is a journey, not a destination.
10. Every man must act in the rhythm of his time...  such is wisdom
11. Discernment of truth does not grow in empty minds.
12. Always look for a fixed point, something you know is stable  ...yourself.
13. True teaching is not an accumulation of knowledge, it is an awakening of consciousness.
14. Growth doesn't depend upon the will of the intellect, but on the intensity of the inner urge.
15. Listen to your convictions even if they seem to absurd to your reason.
16. Our senses serve to affirm, not to know.
17. Knowledge is consciousness of reality, and reality the laws that govern nature.
18. The only active force that arises out of possession is fear of losing the object of possession.
19. The nut doesn't reveal the tree it contains.
20. Seek peacefully, you will find.
21. Understanding develops by degrees.
22. We mustn't confuse mastery with mimicry, knowledge with superstitious ignorance.
23. If you would build something solid, don't work with wind.
24. Routine distorts vision...  Each man thinks his own horizon is the limit of the world.
25. All thought comes from within, but the Master gives the keys.
26. Experience will show you, a Master can only point the way.
27. By knowing one reaches belief. By doing one gains conviction. When you know, dare.
28. A Master does not teach, but guides the seeker back on course when they stray.
29. Knowledge is not necessarily wisdom.
30. The seed cannot sprout upwards without simultaneously sending roots into the ground.
31. The key to all problems is the problem of consciousness.
32. The truth that links the divine to the mundane is incomprehensible to the cerebral intellegence.
33. Every man is rich in excuses to safeguard his prejudices, his instincts, and his opinions.
34. A seed can't reach its potential without receiving corresponding energies from the sky.
35. Popular beliefs must be examined in order to discover the original thought.
36. Each truth you learn will be, for you, as new if it had never been written.
37. Grain must return to the earth for new growth to begin.

More pearls?

Pearls? No. The pearls are those insightful people that can understand and apply the meaning of these self-evident truths in their daily reality. They are a rare, enlightened being in this dark-age world. They know that everything is about something different.

--Joe

Humbug SoHum Elite

This seems like a good time and place to make the following observations about a couple of Southern Humboldt Blogs. Blogs are essentially an online person's place of residence; a kind of alter ego home. When you open up that home for commentary you post a “Welcome” sign on your front door that says, “Please come in and speak to me and my guests.” Since visitors are invited guests, they should act like guests and be treated like they are, welcomed guests. Welcomed guests and hosts alike are first and foremost decent and respectful of the individual rights of all legitimate people to exist. Rarely do you ever read a “Welcome” sign that says: “ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.” Yet that is exactly what I have encountered at two prominent (if you consider all the commentary posted on their blogs to mean anything) Southern Humboldt blogger's abodes. They talk or write like they are some kind of self-righteous, supreme authority on all things in God's creation. An old logger might say, "They think their crap don't stink!" They invite or entice you in to have intercourse, to make commentary. In Joe's situation, make “observations,” no intercourse. When the payoff isn't satisfactory, doesn't produce what they expected or wanted, they then use that opportunity to tell you what a pile of dog crap they think you are. Then when you have the temerity to object to their personal diseased characterizations and demeaning accusations of being everything from the lowest form of slime to a psychotic imbecile they delete your response. Rarely will they ever tell you that you are NOT welcome and to not come back with anymore talk. They hope you'll come back and say something so they can publicly ridicule you some more.

My most recent experience with “assaulting the messenger” was with Eric Kirk, SoHum Parlance II. I realize Eric Kirk lives in own little dreamworld and can't handle getting his cage rattled once in awhile, like most of us. Going at me personally to justify censoring my observations prompted this partial response:

Since I know you’ll read this, let me say that when you open the door to your blog and invite everyone in including Anonymous people to denigrate, demean, slander and personally assault with foul, hypercritical and lying accusations then remove the response because it offends your pussy sensibilities you make your blog a whorehouse.

Not all blogs are corrupt, petty, mean-spirited, narcissistic, obtuse, and belligerent. Some wordmeisters do a fair job when they stick to what they know. Others like Brilliant Branscomb post comments like this: December 17, 2008 at 10:38 am - Ernie Branscomb (South Fork Ernie)

“Early on in the Arab world, they make great strides toward science and civilization, but recently they have become somewhat complacent. Some would say that they are no longer keeping pace with the modern world, indeed some would say that they are becoming a backward tribe of people, and they are starting to harm the progress toward civilization.” “Some would say” that ancient society, "Arab world," is uncivilized because it rejects Democracies “modern” anarchy, mob rule and corruption? We all know how Brancomb's ancestors modernized the North American Indian population.

The problem here with the both of these guys and the reason for their online conduct is that they are basically racist and dehumanize people and their societies to justify their intolerant racist actions. Like all racist warmongers when they can't support themselves they immediately attack their victims.

I posted this response because I went back to Erik's blog and asked him a third time to explain himself. I noticed that he's been back to that thread several times after I asked. Normally Joe has no time nor any tolerance for the rude and indecent behavior of the type encountered with these two prima donnas. However, after Erik left his little rat droppings all over both of my blogs, apparently trying to make some point, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, "discernment of truth does not grow in empty minds."

ADENNDUM :: Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Humbug Bloggers in Humboldt encompass a nifty little social club. A classic example of who these people are is the list on the sidebar of The Humboldt Herald. Pretty much says it all when you compare lists on other local Humboldt blogs. Joe vainly keeps checking for his blogs to magically appear, but no such luck . . .

I recently came across another good example of this "Good-ol' Boy Club" posted recently at 

Ernie's Place. His title, as far as Joe Blow observes, is in fact, Nothing New. His "list" is a-typical of "The Club," however. Here's a couple more similar blog links. If that's not enough, check this one out. "Do you like local history, droll humor and a sensible outlook?" From this guy's blog? Really? See what I mean?

--Joe

HumBug Blogger Elite

I started to write about my observations of the local "HumBug Blogger Elite" and their nice little cadre or club of butt-smeller's and pot-licker's. (Matthew 7:6) Joe Blow and his Reports had been around for awhile now and enough time had passed to allow the local bloggers ample opportunity to show their true colors.

I posted links to as many local blogs that I found current, relevant and of interest, which is an ever-changing landscape. I checked to see who and how many of these and other local bloggers returned the favor; linking the Joe Blow Reports on their blogs. I also made periodic observations on subjects of interest; doing a kind of "PR" job. The HumBuggers are real good when it comes to touting fellow club members, as well as discriminating and blackballing. In all, I got a pretty good cross section of who's who, and what's what. I even found a couple of troglodytes and a few of their troll family members. Mostly, though, I found decent, respectable, conscientious, and thoughtful bloggers and commentators. ADENNDUM::Friday, Dec. 12, 2008: Here's a real good example-blog with an appropriate article, "Scratch Your Creative Itch: Start Blogging" Always some great pictures too!

Then I got my Tuesday Times-Standard and found James Faulk's article: "The nature of this endeavor." I noticed lately that I make it a point to look for him. Anyway, after reading what he said I decided to let him speak for me on this subject. He does a real good job. Here's what he said in its entirety.

The nature of this endeavor
James Faulk/The Times-Standard
Posted: 12/09/2008 01:31:33 AM PST

Sometimes offering opinion in this community is like shouting down a well -- you do it for the pleasure of hearing your own voice, but in the end it does little to penetrate the dark.

Certainly, you'll get reaction.

Online, it'll come from trolls who have nothing better to do than insult your mother, your physical appearance, and your dog simply because that's what they learned in prison.

Occasionally, there are thoughtful, intelligent responses posted in the online comment forums, but then those people are pounced upon by the late-night Web addicts who prefer negativity to reasoned, but respectful, debate.

In print, you get better reasoned comments, from faithful readers who actually take the time to compose letters to the editor with well-chosen arguments and a strong point.

They may take issue with your opinion, but since their name is attached to their letter, they generally stop short of vulgarity. Accountability goes a long way toward making sure people play nice.

But after seven years at this job, in various newsroom roles, I can say with certainty that the tenor of civic discussion is on the decline.

People are much more prone to abuse these days, and it's not just limited to writers of columns and editorials.

Reporters work for days on a story, asking every question in the book and banging the disparate details into a relatable story. It's not a cakewalk, folks, and it can be torturous work. In the end, like in every other profession in the world, reporters do their best given the constraints of the day, and the end results vary accordingly.

And here's the comedy. Reactions from the public include plaudit calls from happy readers, congratulatory e-mails for a job well done, respectful requests for additional information, angry diatribes about the supposedly long-abused ethics of modern journalism, and disgusted catcalls about this or that reporter's relatives and the genetics of mediocrity.

In the end, as every journalist learns, leather skin is the reporter's first prerequisite.

While the tone of criticism has changed over the years, due in part to the armor afforded by online anonymity, the vast majority of readers know that day in and day out we in the news business do the best we can with the tools at our disposal.

Some days we make mistakes, other days we succeed beyond our wildest expectations.

That's just the nature of this -- and almost every other -- human endeavor. And as I say in response to every breed of reader reaction: Thanks for reading. Let's do it again tomorrow.

It bears repeating and Joe Blow and his Reports join Mr. Faulk in, "That's just the nature of this -- and almost every other -- human endeavor. And as I say in response to every breed of reader reaction: Thanks for reading. Let's do it again tomorrow." Amen!

--Joe

The Price of Justice: Hurt Feelings!

Working in my yard, hear the tell-tale sound of a car coming around the corner a block away not even slowing down for the stop sign. As I stand up to look at the accelerating car bearing down on me approaching a very blind intersection and I know they, usually a young woman, but not always, have no intention of slowing down, let alone stop. Once in awhile when they notice me looking at them as they pass by, they give me the finger! I had a guy in a fancy Cadillac do it out the sunroof the other day. Hey, all I'm doing is looking at them. Then around the corner they go. I often wonder what they think I might do if they ever got into a wreck or hit someones kid coming or going to school. I have thought about buying a rope . . .

The consequences of people's calloused disregard for the law in something as simple as stopping at a stop sign, "no damned stop sign's going to tell me what to do" is ever-worsening anarchy. Innocent people die and all anyone worries about are how bad the murdering criminal feels.

So far we haven't heard how bad this guy, Alan Bear, feels, a man that went out of his way to cause the death of Greg Jennings. Why has it taken the DA nearly four months to enforce some justice? Is it because this guys name is "Bear" and he's from Hoopa? You can read the latest installment, "Ghost Bike" in the North Coast Journal's December 4, 2008, issue. The Green Wheels Blog posted, "His name was Greg Jennings" and their latest update: "Motorist Charged with Felony Manslaughter in Death of Cyclist"

The NC Journal and Green Wheels also posted a Special Meeting: December 8, 2008, where the The Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association sponsored a special forum titled: A Community Forum to Promote Safety for Cyclists: Seeking Solutions for Helping Motorists & Cyclists Share Roads & Highways. Joe sympathizes with their good intentions. However, all to words blogs, news paper articles, forum and meetings can produce, despite some probably very good practical suggestions, will never correct the problem until the state of anarchy is dealt with. Motor vehicles are a deadly weapon, essentially no different than a loaded gun. Neither is inherently dangerous when used properly. Yet, when the user shows a calloused disregard for what is "proper," both can kill and do so on a regular basis.

Proper us of these deadly weapons, to a large degree, are defined by law. A partial definition of anarchy is: "a state of lawlessness and disorder (usually resulting from a failure of government)." A classic example of a "failure of government" is in the Cheri Lyn Moore murder. Here the branches of "failed government," the County and City Supervisors and Council, the Courts and their Judges, District Attorney and police all have a vested interest in protecting themselves. More importantly, all those people that want to and do run stop signs with impunity, all they can think and talk about are the poor, hurt feelings of the criminals. The following is a classic example posted December 6, 2008, on the Humbold Hearld. "Cheri Moore case dismissed":

Anony.Miss Says:
December 6, 2008 at 10:52 am

She has a callous nature because she acknowledges that cops have feelings? The cops I know definitely have feelings, fear for their lives, and worries about the results of their behavior. (Emphasis by Joe) I think they walk a tightrope every day trying to balance being tough enough to the ones that need it and having empathy for those who need a more gentle treatment. Not yet knowing which type they are dealing with when asked to make a split second judgment is every day work for them.

Heraldo Says:
December 6, 2008 at 11:03 am

They cannot credibly claim they didn’t know who Cheri Moore was, what her mental state was, or that she was terrified of cops.

Sure cops have feelings, maybe even Terry Liles has a heart in there somewhere. But Delaney’s comments appear dismissive of the families of those killed — in this case unnecessarily — by police.

The most dangerous condition any community can imagine is a police force working 24/7 on the edge of paranoia because of "fear for their lives." Why then would or could any of us expect these people we pay to protect our rights put their lives at unnecessary risk just for a stupid stop sign?

When all the people can think about and enforce are their touchy-feely emotional points of view to the complete disregard for law and justice, the community has hung these people out without a parachute. Bottom line? They're on their own and we're on our own, judged and convicted well AFTER the FACT by whatever people FEEL inclined to do. Good intentions trumps the law everytime.
[Image Source] Times-Standard about Terry Liles: DA's decision leaves questions in its wake.

--Joe