Obscure Hippie Music of the late 60's

My good friend Microdot posted a recording I had never heard of but of course I loved it. I started to reminisce of some great but now obscure songs I use to perform in local bars. I was surprised to see when I found them so I had to pass them along also.

ENJOY and be careful of the FLASHBACKS!!! :-)

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Allies Charged With Sorcery

Here we have a currant day example of what happens when people allow a religious government rule a country. Many in this country want to have religion play a dominate role in U.S. Government and below is what can happen. My comments to these people are there was a very good reason our founding fathers impressed “Separation of Church and State.”

Today in Iran there is a power struggle between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader sees arrests and claims of undue influence of chief of staff.

Close allies of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been accused of using “Supernatural Powers” to further his policies amid an increasingly bitter power struggle between him and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Several people said to be close to the President and his Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been arrested in recent days and charged with being "MAGICIANS" and invoking DJINNS (SPRITS).

An Iranian news website, described one of the arrested men, Abbas Ghaffari, as "a man with special skills in metaphysics and connections with the unknown worlds".

The arrests come amid a growing rift between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei which has prompted several to call for the President to be impeached.

On Sunday, Ahmadinejad returned to his office after an 11-day walkout in an apparent protest over Khamenei's reinstatement of the intelligence minister, who the president had initially asked to resign.

Ahmadinejad's unprecedented disobedience prompted harsh criticism from conservatives who warned that he might face the fate of Abdulhassan Banisadr, Iran's first post-revolution president who was impeached and exiled for allegedly attempting to undermine CLERICAL POWER.

Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, a hard-line cleric close to Khamenei, warned that disobeying the supreme leader, who has the ultimate power in Iran, is equivalent to "Apostasy from God."

But the feud has taken a metaphysical turn following the release of an Iranian documentary alleging the imminent return of the Hidden Imam Mahdi, the revered Savior of Shia Islam, whose reappearance is anticipated by believers in a manner comparable to that with which Christian fundamentalists anticipate the “Second Coming of Jesus.”

So here is the perfect example of allowing Religion too much influence in Government. Religious Fanatics propensity abilities to accuse someone of the superstitious crimes such as “Witch Craft,” “Going against God’s Will,” their convenient interpretations of “Bible Teachings” etc. when decisions don’t meet with their approval.

AVDI VIDE TACE translated means “HEAR, SEE, BE SILENT”

The Royal Society, the premier and oldest learned society for the study of science, was founded in 1660 with the motto “Nullius in Verba” or “On the words of no one.” This date probably was the start of that remarkable period in the intellectual history of Europe that we call today “The Age of Enlightenment.”

But the story of the beginning of that age went back many years.

European universities and intellectual climate at the time were still dominated by Aristotle and Scholastic system of thinking, that of the “Disputatio.”

The way to arrive at truth was the method of “Deduction” axiomatic deductions from authorities. Who constituted the “Authorities" anyway? The sacred books, writings by ancient authorities and so on. Scant attention was paid to empirical evidence.

An example being based on the authorities of St. Thomas, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, Kings 1, (the last three are books of the Bible) and St. Augustine, one must logically deduce that witches exist, and therefore it was heresy to say otherwise. (Hence the Witch Trials that lasted for 100's of years)

The Catholic Church’s pressure on Galileo to recant his heliocentric world view was base on a similar line of reasoning. The authority of the Bible and of Ptolemy clearly stated that the earth was immovable and was the center of the universe. (Many intellectual men of this time lost their lives or came very close at the hands of the Church)

Even Martin Luther, the man who started the "Reformation" was steeped in the Aristotelian world view and was a follower of the method of scholasticism of his Age. He had this to say regarding the heliocentric world view: “This FOOL Copernicus wishes to reverse the entire science of astronomy; but sacred scripture tells us that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, and not the earth.” (Again the teachings had to be that the Earth was the center of the universe because the Bible said so)

Even today you will see people holding up a Bible or Koran as proof of anything they disagree with. Evolution, Gay Marriages, Women's Rights, etc.

That was the method of scholasticism that one drew upon the rigid axiomatic deductions by logic from premises, the veracity of which were based on "AUTHORITIES."

To sum this up, “TRUTH” is to be derived by induction from the particular to the general, by induction based on empirically collected data.

When I read or hear a person quoting sources of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Rielly, Donald Trump, or any other Mass Marketed Ultra-Conservative Personality as proof of their argument; my only thought is, “Hey Mindless, Non-Critical Thinking Lemming!!! At Least Try And Join The 17th Century Line Of Thinking!!”

“NULLIUS IN VERBA”

President Obama Has His Day With "The Donald" Trump

President Obama didn’t have to wait long to set out a big helping of “Bitch Slapping” for Donald Trump at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The real estate mogul, Republican Presidential Candidate Contender, and Birther Nutjob, who attended as a guest of The Washington Post, was treated to some zingers by the commander in chief.

President Obama had his moment with comments like: “I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than “The Donald.” And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”

“Just recently, in an episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” at the steakhouse, the men’s cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around. But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. And so ultimately, you didn’t blame Lil Jon or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. These are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir. Well handled.”

Then comedian Seth Meyers, the evening’s featured entertainer, tore into “The Donald.”

Meyers started off with, “Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising, since I just assumed he was running as a joke. Trump owns the Miss USA Pageant, which is great for Republicans because it will streamline the search for a vice president. Trump has said he's got a great relationship with "The Blacks"...Well unless "The Blacks" are a family of white people, I bet he's mistaken. Donald Trump often appears on Fox, which is ironic, because a FOX often appears on Donald Trump’s HEAD. If you’re at The Washington Post table with Trump and you can’t finish your entrée, don’t worry, the FOX will eat it."

Obama himself had a good laugh over the whole birth certificate thing. He began his remarks by announcing that he was prepared to go a step further, in case there were any lingering doubts about his American citizenship.

“Tonight, for the first time, I am releasing my official birth video,” he declared. On the video screens around the room, up popped the birth scene from “The Lion King.” The President then targeted the bias Fox Programming Group with the comment, “I want to make clear to the “Fox News” table: That was a joke,”…….“That was not my real birth video. That was a children’s cartoon. Call Disney if you don't believe me. They have the original long form version.”

I am of the opinion that the President and staff advisors released his long form Birth Certificate last week just to give the President plenty of material for the correspondents’ dinner.

I have posted a video clip for your enjoyment and a personal word to the President and Staff. Well Done!!!

The World’s Oldest Man, Walter Breuning, Dies At The Age Of 114 Years

Normally this would not be a topic for my post except for one reason alone. Walter Breuning was a Brother Master Mason, 33° Degree Member of the Scottish Rite and Shriners.

To be more exact Walter Breuning was 114 Years, and 205 Days old when he was called to the Celestial Lodge at 3 PM, Thursday, April 14, 2011.

He had been a Master Mason for 85 Years, 333 Days.

The following will mean more to those who are Masons:
Brother Walter received his degrees in Great Falls Lodge No. 118, Great Falls, Montana. He was initiated on March 7, 1925, passed on April 4, 1925 and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason on May 16, 1925. He affiliated with Cascade Lodge No. 34, Great Falls, Montana on January 1, 1992. He had served as Secretary of Great Falls Lodge No. 118 from January 1, 1946 through December 31, 1968. W. Brother Breuning received the Meritorious Service Medal on June 24, 1993.

On September 21, 2010, the plainspoken Breuning turned 114 years old, remaining the oldest man in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group. Brother Breuning was also verified as the fourth oldest person in the world.

Below is a clip of Walter Breuning speaking of Masonry and Scottich Rite

Walter Breuning- Scottish Rite Freemason from Scottish Rite on Vimeo.

Who Was Going To Destroy Your Health Care?

Remember during the last election you saw the Teabaggers screaming red faces at town halls how with the health care bill, “Obama better not mess with their Medicare!!” They were going around sounding the warning of Death Panels and how the Democrats were going to destroy Medicare.

Well as we can now well see, it is the Ultra Radical Teabaggers demanding removing Medicare and just give the retired population, “Insurance Vouchers” and sending them off to find private health insurance. Well reality is this older demographic population is not the customers Private Health Insurance wants as at this age they will get sick and the “Insurance Vouchers” is grossly under funding the elderly population’s needs.

Do these Dumb Ass Teabagger’s even remember what they were shouting during the election only to see those they claim to have elected wanting to take away their health safety net!!

Yes, once again the Extremely Conservative Republicans are throwing the Average Working Stiff under the “Insurance Bus” and now the Teabagger Lemmings are sing their praises.

Governor Scott Walker Admits Union-Busting Provision “Doesn’t Save Any Money For the State Of Wisconsin.”

Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called Govs. Scott Walker (R-WI) and Peter Shumlin (D-VT) to testify in a hearing titled “State and Municipal Debt: Tough Choices Ahead.” Much of the hearing was spent probing Wisconsin’s spate of anti-union restrictions it recently passed.

At one point, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) confronted Walker about his crackdown on public employee unions. The congressman referenced a provision Walker signed into law that would require union members to vote every year to continue their membership. Kucinich asked the governor how much money the state would save from the provision. Walker repeatedly dodged the question and eventually admitted that it actually wouldn’t save anything at all.
Kucinich then asked Walker how much money would be saved by barring union dues from being drawn from employee paychecks, another provision of Walker’s legislation. Walker claimed that it would save workers money, but was unable to explain how it would save the state any money. Kucinich then produced a document from the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the state’s equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office, that concluded that Walker’s measures were “nonfiscal” — meaning they had no impact on the state’s finances. Kucinich asked that the letter be included in the public record, but Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) refused:

KUCINICH: Let me ask you about some of the specific provisions in your proposals to strip collective bargaining rights. First, your proposal would require unions to hold annual votes to continue representing their own members. Can you please explain to me and members of this committee how much money this provision saves for your state budget?

WALKER: That and a number of other provisions we put in because if you’re going to ask, if you’re going to put in place a change like that, we wanted to make sure we protected the workers of our state, so they got value out of that. [...]

KUCINICH: Would you answer the question? How much money does it save, Governor?

WALKER: It doesn’t save any. [...]

KUCINICH: I want to ask about another one of your proposals. Under your plan you would prohibit paying union member dues from their paychecks. How much money would this provision save your state budget?

WALKER: It would save employees a thousand dollars a year they could use to pay for their pensions and health care contributions.

KUCINICH: Governor, it wouldn’t save the State of Wisconsin anything.



Walker’s admission is crucial because he had long claimed that his anti-union “budget repair bill” was designed to save the state money, not bust unions. But his words today echo those of Wisconsin state senate leader Scott Fitzgerald (R), who last month effectively admitted that the union fights are not about budgetary issues, but rather about winning the next election by depleting the ranks of organized labor.

Now why is this not the "Head Line News" on every broadcast across the Nation…...? “Wisconsin Governor Admits He Lied About Union-Busting!!!” Why is there not an out roar to impeach this lying asshole? What Has Happened To Our Country that we tolerate this kind of crap from our elected officials? Have we as a nation lost our moral compass?