Category: Fourre-tout

“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ~Thomas Sowell

Like millions of people, I am immensely ignorant. But at least, I am aware of it… and it keeps my ego in check.

Human Knowledge is currently so incredibly vast that it is mind-boggling. When you think of it, it is a little bit like trying to visualize the universe. It is so huge that it is almost impossible to grasp its extent.

In the 15^th century, Leonardo da Vinci (1452 –1519) could have claimed to be a polymath, a “Universal Man”, but today it would be an impossible assertion.
In the 21^st century, no one can pretend to be well informed about everything. You might be a nuclear scientist, but you probably could not to fix a car or bake a soufflé dish.

Being Ignorant does not necessarily mean being uneducated. It can mean lacking information about a certain subject. For instance, many learned senior citizens are still afraid or disinclined to use a computer. This does not make them ignoramuses.

“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

Stem Cell therapy (a life-saving procedure) is a good example of such a predicament. Without knowing much about this subject, some people are adamantly opposed to it. If you are ignorant about a certain procedure, learn about it before fighting it and preventing others from benefiting from it.

Ignorance often goes hand in hand with intolerance. European Jews were persecuted for centuries because of the ridiculous (and widely debunked) Blood libel accusation.

“Blood libel is an accusation that Jews kidnapped and murdered the children of Christians in order to use their blood as part of their religious rituals during Jewish holidays.”

It also took a long time and some memorable publicity stunts for Antoine-Augustin Parmentier to entice starving French people to eat potatoes

“In 1748 the French Parliament had actually forbidden the cultivation of the potato (on the grounds that it was thought to cause leprosy among other things), and this law remained on the books in Parmentier’s time, until 1772.”

Ignorance

is not a “maladie honteuse”. It is a disease that is highly treatable. If you are open-minded and willing to apply yourself, it is a condition that can be easily cured.

Alain

PS: Only ignorant stooges will believe that our club has been hacked by Russian operatives.

Despite repeated promises to drain the “Swamp”, the Washington Black Lagoon is still alive and brimming with swamp creatures. They are known as lobbyists and there are an estimated 15,000 such critters in Washington. This should concern you.

But what is exactly a lobbyist?

California defines a lobbyist as follows:

“Lobbyist” means either of the following: (1) Any individual who receives $2,000 or more in economic consideration in a calendar month, other than reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses, or whose principal duties as an employee are, to communicate directly or through his or her agents with any elective state official, agency official, or legislative official for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action.”

So a lobbyist is a person who tries to control legislation on behalf of a special interest. And he/she will do this, regardless if his activity is harmful to the environment or to the public good.

And how much does a lobbyist get for such services?

“The median annual Lobbyist salary is $109,082, as of March 29, 2018, with a range usually between $87,902-$150,417, however, this can vary widely depending on a variety of factors.”

But then, what is a mercenary? A person primarily concerned with material rewards at the expense of ethics.

I am a rather unsophisticated person and I struggle to understand the difference between a lobbyist and a mercenary. Maybe “lobbyist” sounds more palatable than mercenary, just as “escort” sounds more acceptable than prostitute.

I wonder who has more scruples? A lobbyist or a mercenary? Or none of them…

Regardless, both groups are paid for services rendered without regards for the morality of their actions. Why should this concern you? Because lobbyists, (particularly Big Pharma), have too much influence over legislators.

If a disease won’t kill you, the unreasonable prices of drugs certainly will.

You ought to know that the present administration opted “not to have the federal government directly negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare. And chose not to allow American consumers to import low-cost medicines from abroad.”

❤ ❤

When you are in the voting booth, watch out for special interests and run the known scoundrels out of office.

Alain

After a prolonged absence Henry Wessel (aka the Holy Vessel) is back. As one of our star player (and pillar of our club) his sabbatical did not go unnoticed.
Everybody kept asking, “Where is Henry?” but the man was nowhere to be seen. Some people ventured that he went on a secret mission to North Korea, but nobody knows for sure and Henry won’t tell.

Today, low and behold, the wonder boy came in from the cold.
It is thus with an unmitigated pleasure that we welcomed Henry and Calvert back into our bosom.

Henry joined our club about 5 or 6 years ago. He was then a helpless greenhorn who yearned to play pétanque… but didn’t even know a single French cuss word. Can you imagine!
It looked like a hopeless case but through perseverance, he rose from the ranks to become one of our best cursers players.

It is never easy for an athlete to perform at a high level after a prolonged absence and it will take a while for “Hank” to readjust. But don’t believe for a minute that Henry and Calvert are “has-beens”; they will rise to the top again. It won’t be long before Henry Jr starts delivering his famed “carreaux” again.

My advice to you: take advantage of his temporary vulnerability before he regains his form and beat the c**p out of you.
You cannot keep a good man down ♫

Henry, among other things, is also a dog lover, which in my book puts him immediately a few notches above a bunch of people. As far as I am concerned, anybody who cares for animals is a friend of mine.

“Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.” ― Arthur Schopenhauer

Coda

I am sure that our club and the pétanque brotherhood will be delighted to hear that the dynamic duo is back in the arena.
Please join me in wishing them a wealth of success in all their future endeavors.

Alain