zerostao

i share your concern on that issue ralis. but i strongly oppose giving carte blanche authority to a highly centralized authority. the results of such absolute authority is what leads to situations such as Blair Mountain WV. where peaceful labor strikers/coal miners asking only for safer working conditions and the right to organize while sleeping in their tents, while US army troops ordered from DC with approval from the president and the supreme court murdered them while they slept. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain "The enforcement of martial law was from the beginning decidedly against the striking miners.[26] Miners in the scores and hundreds were arrested without habeas corpus and other basic legal rights. The smallest of infractions could mean imprisonment, while those on the other side of this 'law and order' were immune.[" ok, that was 1920's less than 100 years ago here in america. the story remains the same. the politicians fully back the corporate interests then and now. really even more blatantly now. nothing has changed here in my neck of the woods. so yeah i have a problem with the far religious right trying to push their agenda , i have an even bigger problem with the corporate world trying to rape the natural resources without paying taxes, without following epa guidelines, and without compensating the local citizens in any way, and ruthlessly crushing any signs of dissent. the only defense we have here are these small democratically principled groups i mentioned. still the local organizers of these groups routinely have their homes burned. any given decade-pick one- pick any decade since Blair Mountain and i will provide you with another example,,,this fight continues. what you are advocating is a pathway for the next louis xiv, stalin, or mao. i realize that the struggles of central appalachia are of little concern to folks far away, however i have noticed in my lifetime that the same tactics long used here by the corporate monarchy have started to spread methodically thru-out other parts of america. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msEYGql0drc you want to talk about "abject poverty" ?? its alive and well here my friend.

democracy is about organizing at a local level and exercising democratic priciples at the grassroots level. then like minded grassroots groups can network regionally and try to get something accomplished at the state level. it is difficult for small groups founded on democratic principles to get much done at the state level without organizing with other small groups. many of these groups form with a single issue/purpose in mind and if they acheive that purpose they often dissolve, i like to see groups that have exercised their democracy to become a multi issue organization and begin networking. it is about empowerment, empower folks who do not have the vast resources or political clout to go up against the large corporate oligarchy and the courts that those corporations own. it takes perseverance, patience, courage to do so. this is how democracy works. having a highly centralized think tank based on what is best for the corporate world handing down decisions that effect folks lives from the far away elitists that are not likely to understand the local situation and further more dont really care less anyways--- is not a democracy. ralis, i am actually very surprised that you are taking such a hard line position that favors the political might of the corporate oligarchy that has the main goals of stomping out regular folks, disadvantaged folks, and the working poor, and the downright down trodden. all types of environmental atrocities would occur more often than they already do if it were not for some of these courageous groups, that have their very lives threatened for going up against big uncle corp. and that is just one issue of concern that these democratic groups try to contend with. fair and safe working conditions is another. there are many others, and i can recount real life factual events from the history books and from my own experiences. ralis, this quote of yours "However, when it comes to tyranny, discrimination, equal rights, corruption and so forth a central government is of necessity." if what you are saying is that it is a central govt that makes tyranny, discrimination, corruption likely, then i agree 100%

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/man-gives-change-to-homeless-person--is-handcuffed-and-held-by-police-for-an-hour-223247155.html

if your gonna play the grandfather of modern blues --robert Johnson who, before his famous encounter with whoever/whatever in the crossroads was a part time player, harmonica for Son House, I think the influence shows clearly. not sure why Son House isn't considered the father of modern blues, but I digress, this thread aint about blues, altho all music IS blues, except jazz,,, but as I was sayin' ifin ya gonna post about the grandfather of blues I am gonna post the grandmother of punk

i couldve gone all day without reading this,, damn, but then that delivery gal that brings me the chicago style deep dish pizza has the same effect on me. still deciding its it the delivery gal or the pizza, hmmm mmmm

then it is somewhat ironic that constantine's 'edict of milan' had the intent to enforce tolerenace of all religions and, among other things, agreed to treat the christians benevolently. they had often been victims of persecution til then. but the "benevolence" actually went so far as to make christianity the official religion. during this time the iconography was going thru syncreticism. pagan images were becoming christian images, so Helios becomes Christ. an example of how one could look at a statue, sculpture, image etc at that time and not know exactly what it was truly representing; is the sheppard with the lamb. it was pagan imagery before christian. so besides the old testament foreshadowing christianity, pagan imagery also did. jonah under the gourd is the same image as edymion(sheppard/astronomer) sleeping. if constantine hadnt made christianity the official religion, then perhaps we would still have a lanscape of multi religious imagery, but that would not have consolidated political power,,,,,

its understood, but did you do the egyptian walk? or must i play the tune to inspire you? hehehehe

http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/music-news/bangles-susanna-hoffs-55-still-fabulous-190038133.html some punkers hold up well over time--susanna looks very not dead to me. lets all do a little egyptian walk now

20 years here, yo aetherous pm where you will be in like 18-19 years ha

ok sotg, good luck with that.

are you about to expire?

the rolling stones even have selections in punk and disco lol. we wont sample them now tho. and i reckon for those years i considered the who to be the greatesr r&r band dwight yokam has his cowpunk rockabilly,,different critter there tho,,, i went to see a Who concert once and the opening act was, well the 2 styles did CLASH they even have punk in nashville but nashville is a drinking town with a music problem,,, mh, ya never went for any elvis costello or talking heads even? how about? this one, its kinda punk and disco both imo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxpe1oSp_sg

i think lu zijan passed in 2012? speaking of super centarians; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longevity_claims

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2BYzw6bTAk not afraid to cover songs from those who had powerful voices , like eric and grace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7hui5OQu1E when the truth is found to be lies and all the joy within you dies when the garden flowers baby are dead yes and your mind [, your mind ] is {so} full of RED your eyes, i say your eyes may look like his [yeah] but in your head baby I'm afraid you dont know where it is tears are running [ ahhh they're all ] running down your breast and your friends baby treat you like a guest

i think maybe bka is right about the more money will prevail issue. even if it goes to scotus, they have been ruling in favor of money over all else for awhile.

ya mu, i especially like your commentary on wu wei on that link.

http://news.yahoo.com/doomsday-clock-set-5-39-til-midnight-231118389.html somewhere a clock strikes midnight , a coyote yelps, a wolf howls, an owl flies silently,,,,,,,,

"How would you use the I-ching to gamble?" i cannot advocate such a thing. i have done it but,,,,,its not what the I Ching is for imo. i was in really dire straights when i decided to ask for guidance relating to gambling. i wouldnt want to mess up my relationship with I Ching over something like that. The I Ching has given me very specific detailed advice, it really doesnt have to, i feel extremely fortunate and humble.

the 7 card is an abstract game at times, but poker is poker (kinda lol) there is always the same 52 cards in the deck and best 5 wins at least. 5 card stud was my staple , and I feel that the hold'em combines the best of both of those. the second best hand is the worse possible hand always. I throw away winners before I take the chance on being second best.(usually) but doesn't it seem that picking one of 2 football teams is easier than poker or picking one out of ten horses? altho much variety in the way one can bet horses...I would never ever rarely ever(only in the case I need tuition $$) use the I Ching to try and predict my gambling outcomes. no limit can be crazy abstract, I like limits it plays to my math, or even pot limit,,NL I would be in way over my head I reckon,,,

i like loose players hehehe, the game i ran, 7 card stud, no ante, i would sit (as house and player) and wait til i got rolled up trip 9's or else i folded. worked out well enuff i fed the entire street the game was on for the year. whether they played or not. there are poker rooms in Kentucky that hold the hold em tourneys and afterwards there are the cash games. whether or not they are legal? idk but they exist, you might have to sign your name once to get a membership card or sth.........

not sure about the law in Alabama presently. when I was there and working for a guy who also owned a few nightclubs, the state legislature did pass a law saying that as long as the 'bookies' take was under 2 grand a day it was legal. I did a quick check and found this; http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Law-Summary/ so perhaps the law was rescinded? but for aggravated gambling, which I think(I am no lawyer or law enforcement)bookie activity would fall under is considered a misdemeanor and not a felony. it may fall under the social gambling, which is allowed ? so in some circles, a misdemeanor penalty is considered to be a green light. becoz, there will be not much of a call to pursue prosecution. betting on football games in Alabama, yeah no law enforcement is gonna kick a door in for that. like running a poker house in Kentucky (less the gaming machines of course) no one is going to raise a fuss. I think someone told me it could be passed off as a non-profit here even lol "Simple vs. Aggravated: The distinction between "simple" and "aggravated" gambling is also one that varies from state to state. That terminology may not be used in a state's criminal law at all. It may be phrased as mere "gambling" versus "professional gambling." It may come into play only based on second or third violations of a given criminal prohibition."

"What amazes me are the Las Vegas odds at the various books and how accurate most lines are. " (i used to work for a bookie in alabama, it became legal enterprise there) what amazed me was everytime the betting was extremely heavily one sided nationwide, guess what, the lighter side betters were the ones who cashed in. go figure. of course at the horse track, it was not too much of a surprise to be given a 2 week in advance notice(if one knew the right person) of a long shot horse to be sure and bet. this is much documented by fbi and traced to winter hill gang for example. but for major sports like NFL, MLB, NBA, well there was the one NBA ref that was convicted of making calls to determine final outcomes pointwise.so we are to believe that it was an isolated case,,, in the NCAA where athletes are not paid for their performances , we often hear of athletes connected to bookies etc. but for NBA, MLB, and especially the NFL where more money is wagered than all other gambling combined, well, go figure. i truly believe that Ali beat Foreman but when it first went down (foreman) there were calls for an investigation. and sometimes (like often) nascar results seem to be the stuff of fairytales.

the first morning of my last semester here at eku

i had a similar idea as Directed Discussion; http://thetaobums.com/topic/31846-contributed-articles-idea-open-for-discussion/ however, i have changed my mind about trying to push that idea forward, largely due to what i observed during the events on TTB that led to; http://thetaobums.com/topic/32483-admins-decision-re-current-ruckus-yinyang-mo-pai-etc/ these events and moderation considerations-even tho admin took that situation out of moderator hands and chose to deal with the responsibility on their own, still, those events caused me to reflect upon the Contributed Articles idea and while i do see some merit and advantage in either the CA or DD ideas--- those events of the "Ruckus" and other board activity of that time revealed to me that there are also disadvantages of having a CA or DD, and from my perspective as a member and as a mod, the disadvantages pose greater risks to the board and outweigh the benefits gained that the changes would bring us. since i became mod in the summer of 2013, there have been numerous changes made to the board and we are still debating on how to deal/mod with some long standing issues. so, until we have dealt with those and presented an updated mod philosophy to the board--my position is-- i am not in favor of making any new major changes at this time.