Fundamental Concepts - Everything Old is New Again [Weirddave]

Every time I write one of these, I try to dink theeply about important shit, and then do my best to express my thoughts for discussion. Sometimes I do rather well. Sometimes I fail miserably. The column I was working on for today went hopelessly pear shaped, and it's going to take me a while to slap it into shape, so here it is, 2 AM, and I got nothing. Perhaps it's time to revisit someone who had something, something that's infinitely better than anything I'll ever write in any three lifetimes.

The Gods of the Copybook Headings
Rudyard Kipling

AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

To my mind, that's the most brilliant piece of political and social commentary ever written, and Kipling did it in verse, no less. Every time I read it (and I have it framed, hanging on the door to my office), I marvel at just how damn correct it is.

Some translations for modern reader. "Copybook Headings" were little aphorisms written at the top of the workbooks of 19th and 20th century British schoolboys. Sayings that they would copy to practice their penmanship, sayings that were intended to subtlety impart knowledge to the children without them noticing. "A penny saved is a penny earned" or "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", that kind of thing. Copybook headings were the distilled wisdom of centuries of English and human experience, captured in a simple proverb, and schoolboys had to write them dozens of times, by rote. I wonder if that had anything to do with the success of British culture.....nah, stupid thought. Forget it.

The other phrase that needs clarifying for modern audiences is "The Gods of the Marketplace". What Kipling meant by that was the transient, the trash, the fads, rumors or innuendo of the day. Kim Kardashian, or YouTube commentators, or People Magazine or HuffyPoo or Twitter ... you get the idea. These would be The Gods of the Marketplace in 2015, and this poem sets them against the enduring truths of mankind. Go back and re-read it with that in mind.

Now reread the 5th, 6th and 7th stanzas. Is this staring to sound familiar to anyone? This nation was built on the foundation of the Gods of the Copybook Headings, and as such it built up tremendous wealth and prosperity, but we've been coasting on that for quite some time now, feasting at the table of the Gods of the Marketplace. The Gods of the Copybook Headings have been rudely shown the door, yet they are patient and enduring. They'll wait outside in the cold, until the time comes when the Gods of the Marketplace inevitably falter, and then they'll bring that cold into our homes and our beds.

"As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man"

The terror.

And slaughter.

Return.

Happy New Year Y'all.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 11:01 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Nice

Posted by: Velvet Ambition at January 03, 2015 10:57 AM (R8hU8)

2 The erectile dysfunction ad is a definite microaggression.

Was there a post up there too?

I've loved Kipling for over 50 years.

Posted by: Meremortal at January 03, 2015 10:59 AM (1Y+hH)

3 Thanks for the background, WeirdDave. You've illumined me.

Posted by: Mindy at January 03, 2015 11:01 AM (tPzwn)

4 Some translations for modern reader. "Copybook Headings" were little aphorisms written at the top of the workbooks of 19th and 20th century British schoolboys. Sayings that they would copy to practice their penmanship, sayings that were intended to subtlety impart knowledge to the children without them noticing. "A penny saved is a penny earned" or "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", that kind of thing.

And now we have Twitter!

Posted by: AmishDude at January 03, 2015 11:04 AM (b4b5c)

5 That the Dog returns to his Vomit

Don't knock it till you've tried it.

Posted by: Cat Shit Eating Dogs Everywhere at January 03, 2015 11:04 AM (MbqmP)

6 So there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas?

Wrong again

http://iceagenow.info/2015/01/curious-snow-tunisia-algeria/

Posted by: JEM at January 03, 2015 11:05 AM (C+kFQ)

7 It's a cookbook!

Posted by: Dr. Varno at January 03, 2015 11:06 AM (fIv/H)

8 @5 - as one of the great lines of my childhood went - eat shot, eighty billion flies can't be wrong.

Posted by: JEM at January 03, 2015 11:06 AM (C+kFQ)

9 But all three groups were already on the U.S. sanctions list, and officials couldn't say whether any of the 10 individuals even have assets in the U.S. to freeze.

Posted by: August Ferdinand Möbius at January 03, 2015 11:06 AM (e8kgV)

10 Poem reminds me of Ecclesiastes

Posted by: Meh at January 03, 2015 11:08 AM (Yu5fe)

11 @8 - is there a term for being fucked by your phones autocorrect? If not, there should be, and I invite those cleverer than I to begin proposing such.

Posted by: JEM at January 03, 2015 11:09 AM (C+kFQ)

12 autoerror

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:09 AM (rwI+c)

13 or autofail

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:09 AM (rwI+c)

14 I teach this poem every year to my seniors right before graduation. They really like it, and I supplement it with YouTube videos of the time when the food stamp system went down a few years ago and how people acted. One kid liked it so much he asked me for a copy of it to keep!

Posted by: Jmel at January 03, 2015 11:10 AM (cfFqn)

15 The Great Wheel turneth and Man is Boned.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:10 AM (rwI+c)

16 Beautiful Weirddave.

Posted by: SMFH at it all at January 03, 2015 11:11 AM (OsWis)

17 Hello, new thread.

Genial, are we?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:11 AM (4WGfY)

18 I'm in the middle of the E-Book "Flapper", by Joshua Zeitz.
No not that kind...about the roaring 20's. The author doesn't seam to take a side "Progressive" vs "Conservative", but show the warts of both sides. The History I studied in school always got as far as the Civil Ward before the school year ended. I'm seeing a lot of similarities between then and now...yep, DOOM! Is just around the corner...

Posted by: Paladin at January 03, 2015 11:13 AM (Os2jE)

19 Where is cm9000 to say, "I don't get it", repeatedly.

I'm guessing he still doesn't get it.

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:14 AM (16bOT)

20 and Two and Two make Four

Racist cis-math'ers!

Posted by: The Gods of the Obamacare Marketplace at January 03, 2015 11:14 AM (FcR7P)

21 (CNN)Abu Anas al Libi, an alleged al Qaeda operative accused of involvement in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa who was captured by U.S. special forces in Libya, has died in a U.S. hospital, his son said Saturday.

Unanswered questions include:

1) was a drone involved in the death ?

2) was a Hellfire missile involved in the death ?

If either or both are true, then Obama is obviously blameless.

Posted by: General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle at January 03, 2015 11:15 AM (e8kgV)

22 lol

Posted by: SMFH at it all at January 03, 2015 11:15 AM (OsWis)

23 This poem is old and stupid.

Posted by: Cumbag9009 at January 03, 2015 11:15 AM (16bOT)

24 I'm seeing a lot of similarities between then and now...yep, DOOM!

Yeah, but we're too smart to make the same mistakes Hoover made.

Posted by: Paul von Hindenburg at January 03, 2015 11:15 AM (MbqmP)

25 I loved calling in fire for effect.

Posted by: SMFH at it all at January 03, 2015 11:16 AM (OsWis)

26 I don't understand the whole thing.

Posted by: Cumbag9009 at January 03, 2015 11:16 AM (16bOT)

27 "The Gods of the Marketplace"

Interesting. Not the staples, the needs, but the whims of the latest trend that ultimately mean nothing in the big picture.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:16 AM (4WGfY)

28 Why are we talking about this?

Posted by: Cumbag9009 at January 03, 2015 11:16 AM (16bOT)

29 Try sending a copy to your grown kids and they go yeah dad only reads old racist, privileged white guys.

Posted by: Rosie Registered Struktural Injineer at January 03, 2015 11:16 AM (dlIgS)

30 Can't say I feel sad for dead goatfuckers.

Posted by: SMFH at it all at January 03, 2015 11:17 AM (OsWis)

31 This makes no sense.

Posted by: Cumbag9009 at January 03, 2015 11:17 AM (16bOT)

32 Who was even asking about this?

Posted by: Cumbag9009 at January 03, 2015 11:17 AM (16bOT)

33 or autofail

autoflail - you'll be poking at it with a finger

Posted by: DaveA at January 03, 2015 11:17 AM (DL2i+)

34 I don't get it.

Posted by: Cumbag9009 at January 03, 2015 11:17 AM (16bOT)

35 LOL!

Posted by: SMFH at it all at January 03, 2015 11:18 AM (OsWis)

36 I teach this poem every year to my seniors right before graduation.

That's inconceivable to me, because I live in California and your house would be burned to the ground- by your fellow teachers!

Where (roughly) are you allowing reality to intrude on a young person's education?

Posted by: t-bird at January 03, 2015 11:19 AM (FcR7P)

37 A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.
Rudyard Kipling

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2015 11:19 AM (Zmw74)

38 The New Soviet Man isn't.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:19 AM (rwI+c)

39 sayings that were intended to subtlety impart knowledge to the children without them noticing. "A penny saved is a penny earned" or "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", that kind of thing.

I can haz cheezburger?

Posted by: LOL Cat at January 03, 2015 11:19 AM (0Ew3K)

40 When I deep thinkly I get a headache.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at January 03, 2015 11:20 AM (nTONj)

41 There were several whole days during which no statements had to be
issued by the U.S. Department of Explaining What the Vice President
Meant to Say.

Posted by: I'm not a mastermind or even an actor playing a mastermind at January 03, 2015 11:20 AM (e8kgV)

42 Dink theeply that is.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at January 03, 2015 11:20 AM (nTONj)

43 37,

He ain't met us 'ettes.

Hell, AtC alone would rock his world.

Posted by: SMFH at it all at January 03, 2015 11:20 AM (OsWis)

44 When I deep thinkly I get a headache.

I find that shaking your head vigorously will clear it, like an Etch-a-sketch.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:21 AM (rwI+c)

45 "Common" sense.

It almost doesn't make sense anymore.

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:21 AM (16bOT)

46 Pity that he's worm food.

Posted by: SMFH at it all at January 03, 2015 11:21 AM (OsWis)

47 There were also several whole days during which no statements had to be

issued by the U.S. Department of Things the President Learning Thru the Media.

Posted by: I'm not a Vice President or even an actor playing a Vice President at January 03, 2015 11:22 AM (e8kgV)

48 "The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return! "

So, a little ethnic cleansing is what we need, eh?

... and the dog returns to it's vomit. So how do you feed the pups who have been weaned from mother's milk? Or could we say, ' the bird returns to its nest to vomit into the mouths of its young'.

What a disgusting turn of phrase. Why all right thinking well educated elite know you go to petsmart for kibbles and bits. That's the way it should be done. It's the caring and compassionate way of rearing young.

Posted by: Lester Failsworth Jr at January 03, 2015 11:23 AM (dy6co)

49 This is ridiculous.

Posted by: cumbag 9009 (T) at January 03, 2015 11:23 AM (16bOT)

50 Kipling's original title for it was Let It Burn.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:23 AM (MQEz6)

51 " This nation was built on the foundation of the Gods of the Copybook
Headings, and as such it built up tremendous wealth and prosperity, but
we've been coasting on that for quite some time now, feasting at the
table of the Gods of the Marketplace."

Eh. Not so much what we're producing as a country but what Wall Street is producing.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:24 AM (4WGfY)

52 Derp

Posted by: modern hi skool seenyour undr kommon koor at January 03, 2015 11:24 AM (0Ew3K)

53 FB: Turtle dozers kitteh. http://is.gd/9u0LIX

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:25 AM (rwI+c)

54 Listening to Down With The Sickness.

Seems apt.

Posted by: SMFH at it all at January 03, 2015 11:26 AM (OsWis)

55 Kipling was the guy that told Luke to use the Force, right?

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:26 AM (MQEz6)

56 The Gods of the Marketplace want tail fins on their cars, they will BY GOD get tail fins on their cars. That why we have them even now. Just look at these cars and their tail fins. and chrome bumpers.

Posted by: Lester Failsworth Jr at January 03, 2015 11:27 AM (dy6co)

57 The people who don't understand this are the same people who dip buckets into the "Deep End", carry them over to the "Shallow End" and tell us that they're making the pool deeper.

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:27 AM (16bOT)

58 And now we have Twitter!
Posted by: AmishDude

The gods of twitter are very, very small gods.

As our societal problems get larger, our social interactions become sillier and more trivial.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative.... after dark at January 03, 2015 11:28 AM (+1T7c)

59 ...for the children.

...and the "Middle Class".

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:28 AM (16bOT)

60 Every system always ends up controlled by Thermodynamics, or in other words, TANSTAAFL.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:28 AM (MQEz6)

61 Kipling was a prophet.

As much as I dislike getting older, I sometimes find myself actually envying the oldest of the boomers. I know quite a few who are enjoying their retirements right now, which I don't expect to do. I'm middle-aged and by the time I retire, I think the whole system will be really be breaking down. While societal collapse will be no fun for anybody, it will really suck to be an old lady with probably some health issues at that point.

And yeah, I realize that's a pretty selfish way of looking at things - "oh, shit, am I gonna have it rough!" But I am afraid.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at January 03, 2015 11:28 AM (+XMAD)

62 There's a lot of ruin in a great nation, as we can plainly see. But at some point, you run out of seed corn to eat.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:29 AM (rwI+c)

63 Never read this poem before but appears Kipling is decrying real value vs. perceived value. Real value lasts trough good times and bad. Perceived value ebbs and flows with the wind. And, that false security is just that, false. Security is a personal responsibility.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:30 AM (4WGfY)

64 11 @8 - is there a term for being fucked by your phones autocorrect? If not, there should be, and I invite those cleverer than I to begin proposing such.
Posted by: JEM at January 03, 2015 11:09 AM (C+kFQ)

iBooBoo.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at January 03, 2015 11:30 AM (oKE6c)

65 "The gods of twitter are very, very small gods.

As our societal problems get larger, our social interactions become sillier and more trivial."
-Posted by: Bossy Conservative.... after dark at January 03, 2015 11:28 AM (+1T7c)

I'd tend to agree with you, but as Andrew Breitbart said:

"We're just Happy Warriors. We need to bring the ridicule to the Left, as we've been letting them get-away with for so long".

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:31 AM (16bOT)

66 When I deep thinkly I get a headache.
Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet

Jack Handy, is that you?

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....in the bleak midwinter at January 03, 2015 11:31 AM (+1T7c)

67 Thanks for this. Bill Whittle made an"updated" versionit. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rx9--zQDfog

Posted by: Ugly4126 at January 03, 2015 11:31 AM (8aJm5)

68 Did we have a Fundamentals Thread on Federalism/Localism?

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:31 AM (rwI+c)

69 Just look at these cars and their tail fins. and chrome bumpers.
Posted by: Lester Failsworth Jr at January 03, 2015 11:27 AM (dy6co)

Harley Earl certainly had something, but I'm betting this John DeLorean guy knows what we need for the 1976 model year.

Posted by: Vegas Full of Cocaine at January 03, 2015 11:31 AM (MbqmP)

70 60 Every system always ends up controlled by Thermodynamics, or in other words, TANSTAAFL.
Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:28 AM (MQEz6)

Aka, "reality bats last."

Posted by: Jay Guevara at January 03, 2015 11:31 AM (oKE6c)

71 "They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things."

If there is a demand for a thing, the marketplace will produce the thing. So we blame the marketplace for producing the thing we demand.

We blame the drug pusher for supplying the drug we demand. We want to get drunk and have sex and then cry rape when we get what we want, because after we get what we demand, we decide that wasn't what we wanted, and what we really wanted wasn't the alcohol and the sex.

Posted by: Lester Failsworth Jr at January 03, 2015 11:32 AM (dy6co)

72 is there a term for being fucked by your phones autocorrect?
------------------

'Phucked'

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 11:32 AM (kgisg)

73 Donna@61 You're not alone...

Posted by: Vincent Vega at January 03, 2015 11:32 AM (NXyC4)

74 65,

I do that all the time...lol.

Posted by: SMFH at it all at January 03, 2015 11:32 AM (OsWis)

75 So Monty has been right all along?

Doom

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at January 03, 2015 11:32 AM (nTONj)

76 monty's doom in rhyme

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:32 AM (zOTsN)

77 Awesome post. Truly. I just read it to my wife and kids. We just had a great conversation about the nuances of this writing. And thank you for the contemporary translations. Happy New Year!

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at January 03, 2015 11:33 AM (5buP8)

78 Threads like these are good....

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:33 AM (4WGfY)

79 "Doom"

Doom.......or a philosophical primer for the future. That we've lost sight of.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:35 AM (4WGfY)

80 Skynet has figured out all it has to do is sit back and watch.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:35 AM (MQEz6)

81 This relates to one of my pet issues: The humanities and why they should be eliminated from higher education.

Now, I've argued with people on this regarding the quality of the humanities and what they can bring to one's general education, but it presupposes one thing: A canon.

The humanities are useless without a canon. If there isn't a core of received wisdom, it's no more useful than Oprah's book club.

But the humanities -- without specific goals and standards like science -- is easily susceptible to the winds of political correctness. Instead of received wisdom, we get the latest fads.

Exactly what the humanities is supposed to be fighting against. Whatever good is left in the host cannot survive. The rot has spread too far.

Kill it.

Posted by: AmishDude at January 03, 2015 11:35 AM (b4b5c)

82 This poem is utter genius. I keep a copy of it on my wall, along with Dane-geld.

Posted by: Insomniac at January 03, 2015 11:36 AM (AVWYi)

83 Donna@61, I'm coming from the same place. I worry about retirement too. For years I've jokingly said "canned food and ammunition" is the answer to everything. It isn't sounding that funny anymore...

Posted by: Dr Alice at January 03, 2015 11:36 AM (DMpNS)

84 If there is a demand for a thing, the marketplace will produce the thing. So we blame the marketplace for producing the thing we demand.

I think that you are totally missing the point of the poem.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:36 AM (rwI+c)

85 "I think that you are totally missing the point of the poem.
Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:36 AM (rwI+c)"

Same to you, bud.

Posted by: Lester Failsworth Jr at January 03, 2015 11:37 AM (dy6co)

86 The people who don't understand this are the same people who dip buckets into the "Deep End", carry them over to the "Shallow End" and tell us that they're making the pool deeper.
Posted by: ColdBeer1
---------------------------------

While consuming a portion of the water during transport.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 11:37 AM (kgisg)

87 Ah, the Rubber-Glue Gambit.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:38 AM (rwI+c)

88 Posted by: Lester Failsworth Jr at January 03, 2015 11:32 AM (dy6co)

You're either a spoof troll, or that WHOOOSH sound was the point of the poem going right over your head.

Posted by: Insomniac at January 03, 2015 11:38 AM (AVWYi)

89 if the marketplace demands we have child prostitutes, if the marketplace demands crack cocaine, if the marketplace demands slaves

the point is that our lives are no longer informed by our values but by what we are told are our appetites

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:39 AM (zOTsN)

90 83 Donna@61, I'm coming from the same place. I worry about retirement too. For years I've jokingly said "canned food and ammunition" is the answer to everything. It isn't sounding that funny anymore...
Posted by: Dr Alice at January 03, 2015 11:36 AM (DMpNS)

I remember the fights about the ticking entitlements time bomb that took place in the early Eighties.

Go find the reports and news from that time.

You won't believe how small the debt and deficit numbers were back then.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:39 AM (MQEz6)

91 ..."Exactly what the humanities is supposed to be fighting against. Whatever good is left in the host cannot survive. The rot has spread too far.

-Kill it."
-Posted by: AmishDude at January 03, 2015 11:35 AM (b4b5c)

Your newsletter was late last month. I nearly choked on my wheat-free pasta because of it.

I would like to Re-Up.

Enclosed is a partial earlobe, along with twelve dollars.

The terms we had agreed upon are sufficient, I hope beyond hope.

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:39 AM (16bOT)

92 Is the concept of the Veritas forbidden now?

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:40 AM (rwI+c)

93 "
If there is a demand for a thing, the marketplace will produce the
thing. So we blame the marketplace for producing the thing we demand.
"

It's deeper than than that. Think wheat versus MP3s.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:41 AM (4WGfY)

94 92 Is the concept of the Veritas forbidden now?
Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:40 AM (rwI+c)

In post-modernist society? Damn right it is.

Posted by: Insomniac at January 03, 2015 11:41 AM (AVWYi)

95 If there is a demand for a thing, the marketplace will produce the thing. So we blame the marketplace for producing the thing we demand.

***

I think that you are totally missing the point of the poem.
Posted by: toby928(C)

As Weird Dave explained, in the vernacular of Kipling's time, the Gods of the Marketplace were more analogous to "People Magazine", "Us", "Hollywood Tonight", "Oprah" and all the other populist garbage keeping up with famous banal people.

It's not about the "supply and demand" marketplace.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....in the bleak midwinter at January 03, 2015 11:41 AM (+1T7c)

96 I have some Kipling luggage. How can luggage write a poem? Duh!

Posted by: Johnny Derp at January 03, 2015 11:42 AM (QWiro)

97 ..."While consuming a portion of the water during transport."
-Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 11:37 AM (kgisg)

Damn. You got me on that. I had forgotten about that.

-King You.

*stacks a checker*

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:42 AM (16bOT)

98 It's hard to get people to believe in Eternal Truths when you can't get them to believe in Objective Reality.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:42 AM (rwI+c)

99 DrAlice @ 83 - Don't forget to include toilet paper in your portfolio.

Posted by: butch at January 03, 2015 11:42 AM (HLx1C)

100 Don't forget to include toilet paper in your portfolio.

Tampons: the overlooked trade good.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:43 AM (rwI+c)

101 100th

Posted by: jd at January 03, 2015 11:43 AM (3XgVe)

102 its about denying reality, The Gods of the Copybook Headings, to embrace what we wish were true

there is no punishment for sin

you can live without working

you can disarm and rely on others for your protection

its trading in reality for Hope and Change

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:44 AM (zOTsN)

103 For years I've jokingly said "canned food and ammunition" is the answer to everything. It isn't sounding that funny anymore...
Posted by: Dr Alice at January 03, 2015 11:36 AM (DMpNS)

& pornography in dead-tree form. Yow.

Posted by: Vegas Full of Cocaine at January 03, 2015 11:44 AM (MbqmP)

104 missed it by that much...

Posted by: jd at January 03, 2015 11:44 AM (3XgVe)

105 Is the concept of the Veritas forbidden now?
---------------------
Just malleable..., Liberals think.

On the other hand:

"Truth is powerful, and will prevail, when none care whether it prevail or not." - Coventry Patmore

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 11:45 AM (kgisg)

106 102 its about denying reality, The Gods of the Copybook Headings, to embrace what we wish were true

there is no punishment for sin

you can live without working

you can disarm and rely on others for your protection

its trading in reality for Hope and Change

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:44 AM (zOTsN)

You can borrow your way to prosperity.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at January 03, 2015 11:45 AM (oKE6c)

107 Sideways Kipling: Gravity doesn't care if you believe in it or not.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:45 AM (rwI+c)

108 ..."its trading in reality for Hope and Change."
-Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:44 AM (zOTsN)

I've got four Hope. Can I get Three Change?

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:46 AM (16bOT)

109 "Truth is powerful, and will prevail, when none care whether it prevail or not." - Coventry Patmore

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 11:45 AM (kgisg)

Report for re-education, comrade, for expressing counter-revolutionary ideas.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at January 03, 2015 11:46 AM (oKE6c)

110 It's not an anti-marketplace statement. It's an anti-fad statement.

Don't get tripped up by the whim of the day. Stay the course.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:47 AM (4WGfY)

111 It's hard to get people to believe in Eternal Truths when you can't get them to believe in Objective Reality.
Posted by: toby928(C)

I was reading some comments on another blog (about what I don't remember now), but one of the commenters said how stupid religion was, how obsolete the Bible was, how could anyone live in modern times with that trash, etc.

Regardless of whether you are a believing Christian or Jew (Old Testament), there is a lot of received wisdom about people in the Bible.
Even H.L. Mencken (an atheist) read the Bible daily, to remind himself of how flawed people were, how people craved moral reasoning, and how mortal we all were.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....in the bleak midwinter at January 03, 2015 11:47 AM (+1T7c)

112 I'm looking at my Spencerian Penmanship copy books and the headers have such exhortations as "Freedom is a Precious Boon", "Modesty Always Charms", "Promise Little and Do Much", "Quit Not Certainty for Hope" (ha!) and (sorry Gang of Gaming Morons) "Gaming Has Ruined Many".

If government calendars are any indication, today's headings would be about diversity, nondiscrimination, and conflict resolution.

What would a Moron copy book header be? "Always Get Cash Up Front" ... "Deguerreotypes or It Didn't Happen" ...

Posted by: All Hail Eris at January 03, 2015 11:48 AM (KH1sk)

113 Talking to Girl928 and her husband this holiday, both really smart "educated" people still living in the academic world, I was struck by how correct Reagan was when he said that the problem with liberals was not what they didn't know, but what they "knew" that just wasn't so.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:48 AM (rwI+c)

114 Police in Scotland goes full INGSOC.

Never go full INGSOC

http://tinyurl.com/o67uv4x

Posted by: Emmanuel Goldstein at January 03, 2015 11:48 AM (0Ew3K)

115 if wishes were horses, beggars would ride

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:48 AM (zOTsN)

116 AGW activists still freeze their asses off in the Arctic and Antarctic.

The Goddess Irony knows the Gods of the Copybook Headings.

They all play poker every Friday night.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:48 AM (MQEz6)

117 I got willowed in the energy thread. Check out my 11:33 am comment, and Bill Whittle's video.

Now off to read this one.

Posted by: rickl at January 03, 2015 11:48 AM (sdi6R)

118 what we really wanted wasn't the alcohol and the sex.

I do not understand those words in the order you have placed them.

Posted by: jwpaine at January 03, 2015 11:49 AM (a3NCX)

119 It's better to apologize than ask for permission.

Posted by: Some Guy In Prison For Rape at January 03, 2015 11:49 AM (MbqmP)

120
Thanks for this. Bill Whittle made an"updated" versionit. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rx9--zQDfog

Posted by: Ugly4126 at January 03, 2015 11:31 AM (8aJm5)
As usual, Whittle does a great job. Thanks for the link.

Posted by: Retread at January 03, 2015 11:49 AM (l7hog)

121 if wishes were horses, beggars would ride

if turds were biscuits, I'd eat 'til I died.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:49 AM (rwI+c)

122 "It's hard to get people to believe in Eternal Truths when you can't get them to believe in Objective Reality."

"Sideways Kipling: Gravity doesn't care if you believe in it or not."
-Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:42 AM (rwI+c)

^^^THIS GUY has a newsletter, I just know it!^^^

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:50 AM (16bOT)

123 What would a Moron copy book header be?
----------------------------

"Keep your powder dry"

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 11:50 AM (kgisg)

124 I graduated in '92 and the only reason I know about Kipling is because my dad read us The Jungle Books at home. Didn't find out about "If" and "Gods of the Copybook Headings" until I was adult (probably from here in fact). Trying my best to make sure my kids are familiar with him and his work.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 03, 2015 11:50 AM (GDulk)

125 is there a book of "Copybook Headings"?

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:50 AM (zOTsN)

126 I am a big Kipling fan. "If" is a great piece too.

Posted by: The Jackhole somewhere on Ventura Highway at January 03, 2015 11:51 AM (dULJN)

127 if wishes were horses, beggars would ride
---------------------

Corollary stated by a friend's father, "If 'Ifs' and 'Buts' were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas."

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 11:53 AM (kgisg)

128 is there a book of "Copybook Headings"?
Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:50 AM (zOTsN)

" Dreams from My Father" by president Dipshit?

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at January 03, 2015 11:53 AM (nTONj)

129 Girl928 insisted that 2014 was the hottest year on record. I just gestured toward the outdoors and asked Is it? The academic truth trumps personal experience.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:53 AM (rwI+c)

130 I think it is much too easy to predict doom when we must survive one more year of a man-child filled with vicious envy and the desire for revenge. (Think of his childhood.) However, Americans -- all of us, every color, creed, ethnic background, immigrants all, including native Siberians -- from the beginning have been amazingly resilient, destroying the plans of the powers that be who want control -- the British overlords, the slaveholders, the robber barons, the fascists, the marxists. So far we have done very well on the whole. Probably every AceofSpade reader's immediate and distant ancestors were involved in stopping the grandiose narcissism.

Remember back to the violent days of the late 1970s and 1980s -- the red brigrades, etc. -- they were much more violent and destructive than the silly, adolescent (even though dangerous and destructive) atwallstreets, and Icantbreathes, and shutitdowns. And at that time we believed we had run out of "oil" -- peak oil and only descent from there. America's glory days were over and only imperialist guilt should remain.

Today it is Marxism as farce and I think Americans know it. The biggest problem of the day is how we escape the wished-for stranglehold of the "oligarchs" (just identified in mass media) -- control of mass media, faked global warming, demonizing the molecule of life CO2 for control over energy resources, enabled bangsters, and entitled academics who teach lies while living decadently on the public purse (student loan boondoggle esp.).

I think we will make it through this, but it won't be easy. Americans do not go silent into that "good night" planned for us by the elites. Also remember the British did not think so highly of the "market place" as a realm of positive transformation. There is the bangster's thieving market place and then there is the market place of productive inventiveness.

Thanks for the thoughtful post and Happy New Year to all from a Classical Liberal.

Posted by: pyromancer76 at January 03, 2015 11:54 AM (zvcr8)

131 One in the hand is worth two in the bush.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Idle hands are the Devil's workshop.

You can catch more with honey than with vinegar.

Children should be seen, not heard.

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:54 AM (MQEz6)

132 The Goddess Irony knows the Gods of the Copybook Headings.

They all play poker every Friday night.

Strip poker. And you would think that a goddess could win every now and then.

Posted by: Fox2! at January 03, 2015 11:55 AM (brIR5)

133 "One in the hand is worth two in the bush.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Idle hands are the Devil's workshop.

You can catch more with honey than with vinegar.

Children should be seen, not heard.

A penny saved is a penny earned."

You been readin' the Bible again, haven't you?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:57 AM (4WGfY)

134 The wikipedia article on this poem references a nice, willful misreading as it promoting the Keynesian view of economics. That's lovely.

Posted by: Jarrod at January 03, 2015 11:57 AM (2zsMv)

135 The wikipedia article on this poem references a nice, willful misreading as it promoting the Keynesian view of economics. That's lovely.

Posted by: Jarrod at January 03, 2015 11:57 AM (2zsMv)

136 A fool,and his money are soon parted.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:57 AM (MQEz6)

137 One in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:54 AM (MQEz6)

I beg to disagree.

Posted by: Sandra Fluke at January 03, 2015 11:57 AM (0Ew3K)

138 How blessed is the person, who does not take the advice of the wicked, who does not stand on the path with sinners, and who does not sit in the seat of mockers.

Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:58 AM (rwI+c)

139 "A fool and his money are soon parted."
-Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:57 AM (MQEz6)

Where Do I Scan The Card?!?

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 11:58 AM (16bOT)

140 never a borrower nor a lender be

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:58 AM (zOTsN)

141 to thine own self be true

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:59 AM (zOTsN)

142 Yes we can!

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at January 03, 2015 11:59 AM (nTONj)

143 You can be stupid or lazy, but you can't be both.

A man learns something he can learn in no other way when he holds a cat by the tail.

Posted by: The Jackhole somewhere on Ventura Highway at January 03, 2015 11:59 AM (dULJN)

144 Posted by: Ricardo Kill at January 03, 2015 11:57 AM (4WGfY)

Not since I was a teenager.

I think one was from Ben Franklin, a fine American Moron.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 11:59 AM (MQEz6)

145 This explains Common Core exercise with sentences like
" The President's job is not easy"
"He makes sure the country's laws are fair"
"Government officials commands must be obeyed by all"
"An individual's wants are less important than the nation's well-being."
and it also explains why people like Bill Ayres went from blowing things up to teaching college........

Posted by: fuqdat at January 03, 2015 11:59 AM (4Z0vT)

146 who does not sit in the seat of mockers.

I guess that means this place is out. Shit.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Smoked Sausages at January 03, 2015 11:59 AM (MbqmP)

147 Thanks for the explanation on this WD. I never fully grokked it before because of not understanding a few of the terms from Kipling's day.

Posted by: PaleRider at January 03, 2015 12:00 PM (7w/kf)

148 "How blessed is the person, who does not take the advice of the wicked, who does not stand on the path with sinners, and who does not sit in the seat of mockers."
-Posted by: toby928(C) at January 03, 2015 11:58 AM (rwI+c)

Obama said Iran is Okay, douchebag.

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:00 PM (16bOT)

149 My dad had one: "Can't died in a mudhole."

Posted by: jwpaine at January 03, 2015 12:00 PM (a3NCX)

150 "Where Do I Scan The Card?!?"

Why, right here. Come right in. Heh.

Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:01 PM (4WGfY)

151
♫ Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
Do not forget: Stay out of debt;
Think twice, and take this good advice from me, Guard that old solvency. ♫

Posted by: toby928(C) quotes 'Hamlet: The Musical' at January 03, 2015 12:02 PM (rwI+c)

152 you don't foul your own nest

(a nicer way of saying you don't shit where you eat ie. mix business and pleasure, like schtupping the secretary)

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:03 PM (zOTsN)

153 "to thine own self be true."
-Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 11:59 AM (zOTsN)

That's Horse-Shit, Hamlet.

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:03 PM (16bOT)

154 I've been down all those pig trails and there is always a pig at the end.

Posted by: Velvet Ambition at January 03, 2015 12:03 PM (R8hU8)

155 I had older parents so Kipling was on our bookshelves, because any reasonably well-read middle class person did. It was just part of the "common core" of mass culture.

I've found that lots of military folks have read him too. Anybody else noticed this? It's usually right next to the Ringo.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at January 03, 2015 12:03 PM (KH1sk)

156 dammit, preempted by ThunderB

Posted by: toby928(C) quotes 'Hamlet: The Musical' at January 03, 2015 12:03 PM (rwI+c)

157 "Don't diddle the help".

Posted by: All Hail Eris at January 03, 2015 12:04 PM (KH1sk)

158 Fuck, I leave for an hour. What happen to elbows?

Posted by: Nip Sip at January 03, 2015 12:04 PM (0FSuD)

159 "Why, right here. Come right in. Heh."
-Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:01 PM (4WGfY)

*HAH!*

HaHaHaHAHa!

You can't even spell "Horrors" corectly!

*scans card*

What did I get?

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:05 PM (16bOT)

160 "Where Do I Scan The ~~Card~~ Smart Phone?!?"
---------------------

The trend.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 12:05 PM (kgisg)

161 cleanliness is next to godliness

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:05 PM (zOTsN)

162 Just the tip, I promise.

Posted by: Nip Sip at January 03, 2015 12:05 PM (0FSuD)

163 I can' spell "correctly" correctly!

HAHAHAHA!

*scans card*

can I haz moar?

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:05 PM (16bOT)

164 not really one, but

the higher the hair the closer to heaven

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:05 PM (zOTsN)

165 OK, put it all in.

No a promise is a promise.

Posted by: Nip Sip at January 03, 2015 12:06 PM (0FSuD)

166 What did I get?
Posted by: ColdBeer
-------------

Wait..., was that posted by Ricrado? ;^)

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 12:06 PM (kgisg)

167 I'm pretty sure History channel's all day Ancient Alien marathon has all the truthiness you need. Especially the dude with the awesome hair.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at January 03, 2015 12:06 PM (nTONj)

168 This nation was built on the foundation of the Gods of the Copybook Headings, and as such it built up tremendous wealth and prosperity, but we've been coasting on that for quite some time now, feasting at the table of the Gods of the Marketplace.

At Belmont Club, this is commonly described as "burning through our design margin".

Posted by: rickl at January 03, 2015 12:07 PM (sdi6R)

169 ohhh

bingo. You find them in proverbs

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:08 PM (zOTsN)

170 I like the cut of this Kipling fellow's jib.

Posted by: Poppa B at January 03, 2015 12:08 PM (qRI5w)

171 "Wait..., was that posted by Ricrado? ;^)"
-Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 12:06 PM (kgisg)

Yeah, but he really likes me.

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:08 PM (16bOT)

172 This nation was built on the foundation of the Gods of the Copybook Headings,
-----------------

They didn't build that.

Posted by: Barky at January 03, 2015 12:08 PM (kgisg)

173 I can't recall exact quote or source but 'Gold is the currency of kings, silver is the currency of merchants, barter is the currency of peasants, debt is the currency of slaves'.

Posted by: PaleRider at January 03, 2015 12:10 PM (7w/kf)

174 These copybook headings were all well and good in a more primitive time, but now you have Me.

Posted by: His Holiness Barack at January 03, 2015 12:10 PM (+hPbm)

175 Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty. You may as well borrow a person's money as his time. - Horace Mann

Posted by: toby928(C) quotes 'Hamlet: The Musical' at January 03, 2015 12:10 PM (rwI+c)

176 "I can't recall exact quote or source but 'Gold is the currency of kings, silver is the currency of merchants, barter is the currency of peasants, debt is the currency of slaves'."
-Posted by: PaleRider at January 03, 2015 12:10 PM (7w/kf)

I like that. I've never heard that before. Nixon has a SHITLOAD to answer for.

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:11 PM (16bOT)

177 It's not "rape" rape.

Posted by: Profound Statements Throughout History at January 03, 2015 12:12 PM (MbqmP)

178 152 you don't foul your own nest

(a nicer way of saying you don't shit where you eat ie. mix business and pleasure, like schtupping the secretary)
Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:03

Depends if she needs schtupping

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at January 03, 2015 12:12 PM (1FBjV)

179 a dog is a mans best friend

a chain is only as strong as its weakest link

even a cat can look at a king

a fish always rots from the head down

a good man is hard to find

a house divided cannot stand

a house is not a home

a little knowledge is a dangerous thing (meaning too little to know what you are talking about like claiming this poem is about Keynesian economics)

a man who acts as his own lawyer has a fool for a client

absolute power corrupts absolutely

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:12 PM (zOTsN)

180 Posted by: pyromancer76 at January 03, 2015 11:54 AM (zvcr

*********
One of the best posts I've read here in a long time.

Posted by: Trunk Monkey at January 03, 2015 12:12 PM (jucos)

181 A single guys friend, stupid price. Cheaper at grocery store.

http://tinyurl.com/nakbp3a

Posted by: Nip Sip at January 03, 2015 12:13 PM (0FSuD)

182 Neither a lender nor a borrower be.

Posted by: suitably adequate at January 03, 2015 12:13 PM (DvOSv)

183 I try to dink theeply about important shit, and then do my best to express my thoughts for discussion.

Well, it's a good one. Not being that well-read (unless you count science fiction), I only know Kipling from the Jungle Book album we had when I was little.

This poem seems like one of the Important Things.

Posted by: t-bird at January 03, 2015 12:13 PM (FcR7P)

184 a nicer way of saying you don't shit where you eat ie. mix business and pleasure,
-------------------

Don't dip your pen in the company ink.

Posted by: Barky at January 03, 2015 12:13 PM (kgisg)

185 a man who acts as his own lawyer has a fool for a client

absolute power corrupts absolutely
Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:12 PM (zOTsN)

"What happens if I push this button?"

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2015 12:13 PM (Zmw74)

186 Just fire two shotgun blasts into the air.

Posted by: Profound Statements Throughout History at January 03, 2015 12:14 PM (MbqmP)

187 the truth will out

you reap what you sow

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:14 PM (zOTsN)

188 You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make the son of a bitch drink

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at January 03, 2015 12:14 PM (1FBjV)

189 OT or maybe not: NDGT is at it again. See Twitchy sidebar at Insty.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 12:14 PM (MQEz6)

190 174 These copybook headings were all well and good in a more primitive time, but now you have Me.
Posted by: His Holiness Barack at January 03, 2015 12:10 PM (+hPbm)

Yeah, they were written 100 years ago.

Posted by: Ezra Klein at January 03, 2015 12:14 PM (sdi6R)

191 It's hard to get people to believe in Eternal Truths when you can't get them to believe in Objective Reality.
Posted by: toby928(C)

I was reading some comments on another blog (about what I don't remember now), but one of the commenters said how stupid religion was, how obsolete the Bible was, how could anyone live in modern times with that trash, etc.

Regardless of whether you are a believing Christian or Jew (Old Testament), there is a lot of received wisdom about people in the Bible.

Even H.L. Mencken (an atheist) read the Bible daily, to remind himself of how flawed people were, how people craved moral reasoning, and how mortal we all were.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....in the bleak midwinter at January 03, 2015 11:47 AM (+1T7c)

Thank you.

This is an important point.

It's not so much that people are crazy about believing in the "Sky Fairy" or whatever the insult du jour is for militant atheists-

it's that the knowledge has been beta tested for thousands of years and found to work.

Christian societies may not be perfect but as a group they have continuously evolved toward more freedom and greater prosperity for al then any other other-philosophically oriented societies (Islam)-

until the recent infections of marxism and grievance politics.

That is, it is the most rigorously tested of all means of living a human life in a human society.

What societies have atheists built?

Lenin and Stalin's poverty stricken, death camp infused Russia
Hitler's Nazi Germany
Mao's Clusterfuck Krazee Kill Kultural Revolution
Pol Pot's Killing Fields
Kim Il Jong's Starvation Disneyland

These were/are all horrible attacks by gov't organized around atheistic principles against their own citizens-

systems beta tested and found grotesquely wanting by reality.

So, how's about we try sticking to the massively beta tested systems that work for everyone?

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2015 12:15 PM (KBvAm)

192 There is a salve for every sore.

Posted by: toby928(C) quotes 'Hamlet: The Musical' at January 03, 2015 12:16 PM (rwI+c)

193 you cant make a silk purse from a sows ear

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:16 PM (zOTsN)

194 Just look at these cars and their tail fins. and chrome bumpers.
Posted by: Lester Failsworth Jr at January 03, 2015 11:27 AM (dy6co)

I know where you can find lots of cars with tail fins and chrome bumpers. Havana.

Posted by: Susanamantha at January 03, 2015 12:16 PM (VOMks)

195 while there is life there is hope

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:17 PM (zOTsN)

196 Yeah, I fcuked up "horrors." Screw me.

Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:17 PM (4WGfY)

197 Yeah yeah, and I won't cum in your mouth.

Anal doesn't hurt.

I swear I never touched your sister.

Posted by: Nip Sip at January 03, 2015 12:17 PM (0FSuD)

198 Every Kettle has a Lid

Posted by: Trunk Monkey at January 03, 2015 12:17 PM (jucos)

199 if you search english proverbs there is a ton of them

Posted by: ThunderB at January 03, 2015 12:18 PM (zOTsN)

200 It was already on fire when I laid down on it.

Posted by: toby928(C) is keeping a list at January 03, 2015 12:18 PM (rwI+c)

201 I swear I never touched your sister.
Posted by: Nip Sip at January 03, 2015 12:17 PM (0FSuD)

Your Momma

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2015 12:18 PM (Zmw74)

202 Your mom wanted it.

Posted by: Nip Sip at January 03, 2015 12:18 PM (0FSuD)

203 I heard Kipling was racist or something so you shouldn't ever listen to anything he ever said. Cause possible racism. Maybe. Best not risk being infected.

Posted by: ProgMedia at January 03, 2015 12:18 PM (ZPrif)

204 "Yeah, I fcuked up "horrors." Screw me."
-Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:17 PM (4WGfY)

What? You took my credit card and what?!?

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:19 PM (16bOT)

205 It was like that when I found it.

Posted by: Bart Simpson at January 03, 2015 12:19 PM (sdi6R)

206 I was reading some comments on another blog (about what I don't remember now), but one of the commenters said how stupid religion was, how obsolete the Bible was, how could anyone live in modern times with that trash, etc.

Regardless of whether you are a believing Christian or Jew (Old Testament), there is a lot of received wisdom about people in the Bible.

Hehe. That was more or less the subject of the post that went off the rails.

Posted by: Weirddave at January 03, 2015 12:19 PM (KAmzK)

207 If I recall correctly Kipling wrote a lot of his stuff while living in Vermont.

Posted by: Mrs. Tonto at January 03, 2015 12:19 PM (3jmxp)

208 Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Don't count your eggs until they've hatched.

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 12:19 PM (MQEz6)

209 It's snowing here in the garden state.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2015 12:19 PM (Zmw74)

210 I watched a bootleg screener of Fury last night and was struck by what a simple movie about duty and comradeship it was. No real subplot at all.

Posted by: toby928(C) notices we are past 100 at January 03, 2015 12:20 PM (rwI+c)

211 I wish you dog would stop farting.

What, you don't have a dog. Oh, never mind

Posted by: Nip Sip at January 03, 2015 12:20 PM (0FSuD)

212 Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 12:19 PM (MQEz6)

And get's the hot shower before the hot water runs out

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2015 12:20 PM (Zmw74)

213 There once was a girl from Manchester....

Posted by: goatexchange at January 03, 2015 12:20 PM (sYUHT)

214 "Leave a Moron his head and one hand and he may yet conquer" -- ERB

Posted by: All Hail Eris at January 03, 2015 12:20 PM (KH1sk)

215 @130- pyromancer76

Nice

Posted by: teej says go K-State at January 03, 2015 12:20 PM (XHihg)

216 "Hold my beer and watch this."

Posted by: johnd01 at January 03, 2015 12:21 PM (VGqjW)

217 209
It's snowing here in the garden state.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2015 12:19 PM (Zmw74)

Well, if you are Greek, you can have a white Christmas

Posted by: Nip Sip at January 03, 2015 12:21 PM (0FSuD)

218 Someone has already talked about the Penny Saved, right?[/]

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:21 PM (16bOT)

219 I once killed a man just to watch him die

Posted by: Zombie Johnny Cash at January 03, 2015 12:22 PM (0FSuD)

220 Kipling? Meh. He repackaged my advice and sold it as his own. Typical copyright violating Brit.

Posted by: Zombie Ben Franklin w/ Kite at January 03, 2015 12:22 PM (QWiro)

221 203 I heard Kipling was racist or something so you shouldn't ever listen to anything he ever said. Cause possible racism. Maybe. Best not risk being infected.
Posted by: ProgMedia at January 03, 2015 12:18 PM (ZPrif)

Same goes for the Founding Fathers. Avoid. Nothing they said could possibly be relevant to our modern era.

Posted by: Other stuff ProgMedia says at January 03, 2015 12:22 PM (sdi6R)

222
"What? You took my credit card and what?!?"

Well, I charged it. What you expect?

Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:22 PM (4WGfY)

223 ...Save Tags.

I make them so I spend time OUTSIDE of The Barrel!

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:22 PM (16bOT)

224 Never open a closet door in Florida.

Never leave your uncle alone with alcohol and your girlfriend.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 12:23 PM (MQEz6)

225 The Audie Murphy Story had more subplot and character examination than Fury. The action just was. No deeper meaning that a man has a job to do, so he does it, however distasteful or dangerous.

Posted by: toby928(C) notices we are past 100 at January 03, 2015 12:23 PM (rwI+c)

226 "Well, I charged it. What you expect?"
-Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:22 PM (4WGfY)

Nothing, but...

Well, nothing.

Enjoy!

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:23 PM (16bOT)

227 Ask not for whom the Barell gapes, it gapes for thee.

Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 12:23 PM (MQEz6)

228 Never open a closet door in Florida.

Never leave your uncle alone with alcohol and your girlfriend.
Posted by: eman
-------------

Two of the eternal verities.

Posted by: Barky at January 03, 2015 12:25 PM (kgisg)

229
"Good things happen when you redistribute the wealth."

Of course, you have to do again from time to time, because the dumb shits to whom you redistributed the wealth will lose it and once again be poor.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at January 03, 2015 12:25 PM (oKE6c)

230 [on Jan 1, 2015] "In Rome, arctic-inspired winds brought temperatures as low as minus eight degrees Celsius," says this video by David DuByne. "Palermo woke up under a white blanket," Dozens of cars are trapped in snows towards Tripoli."

Meanwhile in Norway, they had to remove snow from below the chairlifts because there was too much snow. One worker said they've had more snow in the past two days than they've had in the last two years combined.

Posted by: I'm not a meteorologist or even an actor playing a meteorologist at January 03, 2015 12:25 PM (e8kgV)

231 /barky

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 12:25 PM (kgisg)

232 "Nothing, but..."

Any issues, you can see my lawyers:

Dewey, Cheatum Howe, Inc.

Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:26 PM (4WGfY)

233 I'm dancing at the Bada Bing! this weekend! Stop by!

Posted by: Penny Shaved at January 03, 2015 12:26 PM (QWiro)

234 My own that I submitted to Readers Digest when I was a teenager.

A glass is half full or half empty depending on whether you are filling it or emptying it.

Posted by: Mrs. Tonto at January 03, 2015 12:26 PM (3jmxp)

235 "Ask not for whom the Barell gapes, it gapes for thee."
-Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 12:23 PM (MQEz6)

You doubled-up on the wrong consonants. That's okay, though. I had my credit score ruined by pirates!

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:26 PM (16bOT)

236 224 Never open a closet door in Florida.
Never leave your uncle alone with alcohol and your girlfriend.
Posted by: eman at January 03, 2015 12:23 PM (MQEz6)

Never inspect the crawl space under a Democrat's home.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at January 03, 2015 12:26 PM (oKE6c)

237 Damn Redskin sock.

Posted by: Bob Belcher at January 03, 2015 12:27 PM (3jmxp)

238 And.......no ampersand.

When will free the ampersands around here?

Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:27 PM (4WGfY)

239 A hobo in the pot is better than three on the run.

Posted by: toby928(C) notices we are past 100 at January 03, 2015 12:27 PM (rwI+c)

240 "Dewey, Cheatum Howe, Inc."
-Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:26 PM (4WGfY)

Need a few of these... &&&&

&
&&&

&&

*sprinkles*

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:27 PM (16bOT)

241
Israel Freezes $127M in Funds to the PA For ICC Bid

Netanyahu orders financial penalty against the PA, which is already struggling to pay off staggering debts, to retaliate for ICC bid.

Yeah right. Like they have not done that before and then caved. Yawn.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2015 12:27 PM (Zmw74)

242 Never use Harry Reid's exercise equipment.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2015 12:28 PM (kgisg)

243 234 My own that I submitted to Readers Digest when I was a teenager.

A glass is half full or half empty depending on whether you are filling it or emptying it.
Posted by: Mrs. Tonto at January

Just another damn dirty dish to wash.

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at January 03, 2015 12:28 PM (1FBjV)

244 I promise I'll pull out!

Posted by: LeRoy, the LIV at January 03, 2015 12:28 PM (0FSuD)

245 I once killed a man just to watch him die

I once threw a man an inner-tube, just to watch him float by

Posted by: Kindltot at January 03, 2015 12:29 PM (t//F+)

246 Never use Harry Reid's exercise equipment.

not without chloroform at any rate.

Posted by: toby928(C) notices we are past 100 at January 03, 2015 12:29 PM (rwI+c)

247 Sheep lie.

Posted by: Profound Statements Throughout History at January 03, 2015 12:30 PM (MbqmP)

248 I feel ampersand raped.

Posted by: Ricardo's Little Shop of Horrers at January 03, 2015 12:30 PM (4WGfY)

249 I wrote the poem 'Underground'. All children will know it under Common Core. Kipling was a racist and his works will be banned. You're welcome.

Posted by: King Barry Soetoro at January 03, 2015 12:31 PM (QWiro)

250 247 Sheep lie.
Posted by: Profound Statements Throughout History at January 03, 2015 12:30 PM (MbqmP)

I was just helping it over the fence, honest!

Posted by: Al Qaeda at January 03, 2015 12:31 PM (oKE6c)

251 It is less important where you stand than which direction you face.

But don't stand in a wood-chipper.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 03, 2015 12:32 PM (t//F+)

252 If government hires everyone, unemployment would be zero!!

Posted by: Rep Jackson at January 03, 2015 12:32 PM (sYUHT)

253 >>>>I only know Kipling from the Jungle Book album we had when I was little.<<<<

If you get a chance read the Jungle Book. It is a lot different than any of the film adaptations and the Law of the Jungle poem that the wolves keep is very good.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at January 03, 2015 12:33 PM (M6Vhk)

254 "A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition!"

Posted by: R Kipling, Moron Emeritus at January 03, 2015 12:33 PM (fL/7/)

255 I don't see anything in draft and football is late today, so I went ahead and posted the Gardening Thread now.

IOW, nood.

Posted by: Y-not at January 03, 2015 12:33 PM (9BRsg)

256 240
*sprinkles*

Posted by: ColdBeer1 (Slap) (T) at January 03, 2015 12:27 PM (16bOT)

*kicks in door*

Posted by: The FDA at January 03, 2015 12:33 PM (sdi6R)

257 Children should be caged and suspended from the ceiling, not heard.

Posted by: Lincolntf at January 03, 2015 12:33 PM (2cS/G)

258 Hmm. I left my dumbbells in the janitor's closet.

Posted by: Hulk Harry at January 03, 2015 12:34 PM (Dwehj)

259 Remember when we used to have Deep Thought threads or Dick Cheney Is So Evil That...threads. I miss those type of posts.

Posted by: Bob Belcher at January 03, 2015 12:35 PM (3jmxp)

260 I tried to save her, really.

Posted by: Zombie Ted at January 03, 2015 12:35 PM (0FSuD)

261 If principals don't matter, then there is no point in arguing about means to achieve an end.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 03, 2015 12:35 PM (t//F+)

262 Ever try to swallow a medicine ball?

Posted by: Hulk Harry at January 03, 2015 12:38 PM (Dwehj)

263 Three things have saved the republic so far: the stupidity and sloth of the agency workers, the greed and empire building of the managers, and a legislature that relies solely on them to achieve power.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 03, 2015 12:38 PM (t//F+)

264 If principals don't matter, then there is no point in arguing about means to achieve an end.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 03, 2015 12:35 PM (t//F+)

You're damn right we matter.

Posted by: Principal Victoria at January 03, 2015 12:38 PM (MbqmP)

265 This makes you realize how important Common Core is to the next generation of young socialists. No way should they be reading about (or even aware of) dead white guys that created and ran a huge empire with a surprising amount of honor and understanding!

Posted by: Hrothgar at January 03, 2015 12:39 PM (fL/7/)

266 If being willowed didn't have a pay-off, people would stop doing it.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 03, 2015 12:39 PM (t//F+)

267 I will not rely on spell-check
I will not rely on spell-check
I will not rely on spell-check
I will not rely on spell-check
I will not rely on spell-check
I will not rely on spell-check
I will not rely on spell-check.....

Posted by: Kindltot at January 03, 2015 12:41 PM (t//F+)

268 Paladin, I was a reading a book a few years ago called " when money dies" about Germany before WWII when the inflation went crazy. Scary stuff.

Good post. Hadn't heard that one before.

Posted by: Lea at January 03, 2015 12:41 PM (/bd0t)

269 Nan, have that pool boy bring me a hot towel.

Posted by: Hulk Harry at January 03, 2015 12:42 PM (Dwehj)

270 Think about when Rudyard Kipling lived: b. 1865 when the sun never set on the English empire, d. 1936, when commie statists were ramping up to re-impearialize the world under the sole of a jackboot. And WW1.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at January 03, 2015 12:43 PM (5buP8)

271 there is a blog about the Argentine hyperinflation by a guy who was living in Buenos Aires.
He stresses what you need and strategies to survive.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 03, 2015 12:44 PM (t//F+)

272 Do you have a link to the blog,Kindltot or a name of it?

Thx.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 03, 2015 12:46 PM (Dj3AB)

273 111
I was reading some comments on another blog (about what I don't remember now), but one of the commenters said how stupid religion was, how obsolete the Bible was, how could anyone live in modern times with that trash, etc.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative....in the bleak midwinter at January 03, 2015 11:47 AM (+1T7c)

My boss, a small business owner who I've worked for over 20 years, took classical Greek and Roman literature when he was in college. He told me that they struggled with the same standard human foibles of greed, lust, laziness, hunger for power, stupidity, etc. that we still face today.

Languages and fashions change, but human nature doesn't.

Posted by: The FDA at January 03, 2015 12:50 PM (sdi6R)

274 Off, sock.

Posted by: rickl at January 03, 2015 12:51 PM (sdi6R)

275 The soldiers poet .
I bet there are thousands of copies of Kipling in our guys kits . Very relevant these days .

When your wounded and left on Afghanistans' plain . And the women come by to cut up what remains .
Just roll to your rifle and blow out your brains and go to your God like a soldier .
Fuzzy Wuzzy
Danny Deaver
Screw Guns

My old man was Infantry , I was raised on Kipling . Lifts glass to my old man and Kipling .
Toasts , confusion to the enemy .

Posted by: awkward davies at January 03, 2015 12:51 PM (Z+Mqb)

276 Well, better head back to the office. The Buns of Steel video I ordered should have arrived this morning.

Posted by: Hulk Harry at January 03, 2015 12:53 PM (Dwehj)

277 but one of the commenters said how stupid religion was, how obsolete the Bible was, how could anyone live in modern times with that trash, etc.

Yes, if we were all rational and progressive with no Judeo Christian religion or morality we could be very progressive just like Stalin's Russia or Castro's Cuba. Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 03, 2015 12:59 PM (Dj3AB)

278 Fenlon, try "Surviving in Argentina"
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/

Posted by: Kindltot at January 03, 2015 01:37 PM (t//F+)

279 Last summer I read The Jungle Book to my 7 year old boy.
From September through October we went 47 days reading Riki Tiki Tavi at bedtime and he fell asleep before the end every single time. This is probably the closest thing to a magic spell I have ever been able to cast.

But my favorite passage from the book is from the story Kaa's Hunting. The theme of the story is society without the rule of law. Mowgli has been captured by the Bander-log monkeys who live in an abandoned city and pretend to be people.

Sore, sleepy, and hungry as he was, Mowgli
could not help laughing when the Bandar-log began, twenty at a
time, to tell him how great and wise and strong and gentle they
were, and how foolish he was to wish to leave them. "We are
great. We are free. We are wonderful. We are the most wonderful
people in all the jungle! We all say so, and so it must be true,"
they shouted. "Now as you are a new listener and can carry our
words back to the Jungle-People so that they may notice us in
future, we will tell you all about our most excellent selves."
Mowgli made no objection, and the monkeys gathered by hundreds and
hundreds on the terrace to listen to their own speakers singing
the praises of the Bandar-log, and whenever a speaker stopped for
want of breath they would all shout together: "This is true; we
all say so."

Posted by: QT 3.14159 at January 03, 2015 01:37 PM (8YAGe)

280 Kipling -- something you can learn in the humanities. And use as foundation when the shiny objects lure.

Posted by: gracepmc at January 03, 2015 01:57 PM (xvd51)

281 "Kim Kardashian, or YouTube commentators, or People Magazine or HuffyPoo or Twitter ... you get the idea."

You left out Lena Dunham. And I'm sorry if I shamed Ace into changing his twitter handle. I'm definitely saving this.

Posted by: I Loathe Silence Sensually at January 03, 2015 02:25 PM (5kNXS)

282 So everyone's a liar including me.

Posted by: NYC Parent at January 03, 2015 03:07 PM (JLiKf)

283 You know, you could have just said: "Doom".

Posted by: Peter Pithy at January 03, 2015 03:16 PM (aZPTA)

284 30
Can't say I feel sad for dead goatfuckers.

--

Me too!

Posted by: The goat at January 03, 2015 03:49 PM (i4lxC)

285 Gridlock has caused an odd, but pervasive, stability in Washington. Spending has been static. No jarring reforms have passed -- no cap-and-trade, which would have artificially spiked energy prices and undercut the growth we're now experiencing. The inadvertent, but reigning, policy over the past four years has been, do no harm.

On the strength of good economic news, POLITICO reports that Obama will use his State of the Union to roll out an agenda aimed at the stagnating wages and those Americans left behind to build on the growth. I'm going to take wild guess and say that it's going to incorporate a lot of happy talk about "infrastructure" and a fairer reallocation of wealth. We need to grow from the middle out, if you will. No doubt, politically speaking, Democrats' fortunes are bound to improve somewhat as economic anxieties ebb. The president will surely see better approval numbers.

But let's hear specifics. As I remember it, the administration hasn't done anything in a long time. I know this because an incalculable number of op-eds have informed me that the president has had to contend with militant ideologues and has been unable to implement his agenda. I know this, because I've had to listen to years of hand-wringing about politicians' inaction. You can't have it both ways.

Posted by: Islamic Rage Boy at January 03, 2015 04:08 PM (e8kgV)

286 Just received my Dick Tracy decoder ring yesterday. I'm stoked!

Posted by: cuchieddie at January 03, 2015 05:19 PM (BYOka)

287 Begone from my thread, Russian whore spam! [WD]

Posted by: Tina at January 03, 2015 07:04 PM (rKEiy)

288 "Do you like Kipling?"

"I don't know. I've never kippled."

Posted by: Buford Gooch at January 03, 2015 08:30 PM (ZwQjw)

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