Zen thought...

"We should practice zazen like someone who is dying. For him, there is nothing to rely on. When you reach this kind of understanding, you will not be fooled by anything."

-Shunryu Suzuki

A thought...

'Tis better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. (One of my Grandpa's favorite sayings.)

The Value of Adversity

It is good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not to hope in any worldly thing. It is good for us sometimes to suffer contradiction, to be misjudged by men even though we do well and mean well. These things help us to be humble and shield us from vainglory. When to all outward appearances men give us no credit, when they do not think well of us, then we are more inclined to seek God Who sees our hearts. Therefore, a man ought to root himself so firmly in God that he will not need the consolations of men.

When a man of good will is afflicted, tempted, and tormented by evil thoughts, he realizes clearly that his greatest need is God, without Whom he can do no good. Saddened by his miseries and sufferings, he laments and prays. He wearies of living longer and wishes for death that he might be dissolved and be with Christ. Then he understands fully that perfect security and complete peace cannot be found on earth.

- Thomas à Kempis > The Imitation of Christ > Book 1 > Chapter 12

545 People

545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

"Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking

thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red ..

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible..

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!"

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
*************************************************************************************

Now on to the issue of frivolous taxes...

This might be funny if it weren't so damned true:

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge T ax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Ser vice FeeTax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'
And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?


NOTE: Contents of this post retain the original material copyrights. This blog is published under the copyright provisions of Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107.

BREATHE

a journey begun in a realm of spirit
consciously unknown to me presently
spiraling emotions and upheaval of soul
Divine presence abounding, ad mysterium

i dwell within and know that
hope lies in the abandonment of self
but even here, in writing confused,
selfishness is evidenced in the
very style of my thought and pen

o how i desire to be free from
this tempestuous madness and melancholy
impulsive nature of this curious beast
has brought me far from home and
so near to death time and time
again, ad nauseam
just let my soul breathe...
if only for a moment

-D.C. Massey
(Copyright 2009)

NOTE: My muse has locked itself in a dark, far place...I am hoping for refreshing inspiration soon, until then I will occasionally re-post some of my older work. Thank you for staying tuned.

JUKEBOX

Diamond sands bury my thoughts.
A sinister thought spawns itself into
fruition and my jukebox money all went dry.
I think of carnal nothings and often wish
I'd pulled the trigger the first time.
A timid thing has come to pass as me
and I think it quite perverse.
Empty threats against myself, a lashing fear
thrashing my bones to a fine blackened dust.


-D.C. Massey
(Copyright 2009)

INFINITY?

...some feckless point of reference in a character
corrupted by darkness.
...i have located the skeletal remains of my soul,
presumably murdered by apathy and fear.
...the echo of self is self. VOICE, FORM, IDEA=
transient substantiation of ENERGY (GOD?/SPIRIT?)
...on and on and on and on and on and on and onandonandon
...I AM STILL QUITE APPALLED.
...a wave of indecision breaks on these shores of madness/
dragons breath carries on a light breeze
...I witness a light through the darkness of this night,
whose dreamer died before the births of all my fathers.

-D.C. Massey
(Copyright 2009)

SUMMER HEAT

look and you may see
not too close...his fists move fast
around the corner the child watches...terrorized, confused, hopeless
it is a disease with many faces
i watch through laced curtains
as the summer snows are cleared
from the gallows stairs...a circle of flames closes its fist around me
but maybe, just maybe
the not-so-Jewish boy willwalk me again through his garden
and share with me more of his
mind and soul
maybe, just maybe he'll show me some stardust and moonlight

-D.C. Massey
(Copyright 2008)

***NOTE: To those of you who are still kind enough to visit my blog, thank you. The ink well has been dry for me for awhile...please continue your patience, new material is coming soon. Peace and joy...Dale

"Your Honor,years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

-Eugene Debs
(Go HERE for Mr. Debs entire Statement to the Federal Court in 1918)

GNASHING ME

(yet another discussion with my "self")

i have found the alternative. seeking desperate as always for some fucking way out. the bombs falling without end, my brain non-stop set on some sort of destruction. so tired, just so very tired of this construct of reality. why am i so fucking afraid of dying?! grandiose ideas of reconstruction flood my perceptions. there's nothing left to build upon. i am but straw in the sand. waiting to flash into a pile of carbon and a wisp of salted water. nothing else. no spiritual journey to continue. no reincarnation at the whim of some unseen, uninformed phantom of a god. nil. nada. nothing. but i'll just keep gnashing my teeth into the dark, unsettling hours of this existence, carrying on some delusional attempt at life. you fucking monkey! where is your purple mountain majesty? i can no longer hear the sweet melodies of my dreams. i cannot feel anymore...i cut myself to the bone, yet no blood spills from my veins. i am forced by some malevolent compassion to live yet another solitary day for your uninformed benefit. perhaps i am too fucking vain. not self-pity, or so i believe...just a set of perceptions, neither good nor bad. just evidence of struggle, perhaps the by-product of something quite grand. perhaps...there is nothing at all.

-D.C. Massey
(Copyright 2008)

ACHTUNG!!!

I have recently ceased my use of tobacco (Snus)...hence, I will no longer be promoting the use of tobacco (via the "Mad Celt's Snus Blog"). "Musings of a Mad Celt" will remain active (albeit infrequent). Peace and joy.

Hmmm...

If your mind becomes firm like a rock
And no longer shakes
In a world where everything is shaking,
Your mind will be your greatest friend
And suffering will not come your way.

-Theragatha

VIRGIN

It is a cold, blue flame within...
not much warmth to share anymore.
There are stirrings beneath thin thin veneer of ice,
treacherous, lethal.
There is peace only in my silence.
My stare vacant into the blackened prisms
of my constant attenuation.
I fancy wrapping myself in silks and cotton.
Scenting the air with gentle incense.
Lying down on piles of virgin fleece and
gazing fecklessly into the cosmos with nothing
but the sound of the wind and the trees
and the water in my mind.

-D.C. Massey
(Copyright 2008)

"That's exactly it, " replied Don Quijote, "that's just how beautifully I've worked it all

out...because for a knight errant to go crazy for good reason, how much is that worth?

My idea is to become a lunatic for no good reason at all."

-Volume 1, Ch. 25, pg. 151

My many thanks to Lisa over at "Ranger Against War" for this quote.

HOLOCAUST

I sit still now, keeping the watch.
My bones chilled from the ravenous winds of this unending winter.
Yet there is a stirring beneath this placid facade;
foreign, nonetheless a part of me.
Shards of emotion stabbing at my conscience in
a desperate attempt to resurrect my soul, my humanity.
My anger at God sated by deicide ;
a vast sea of loneliness left in the wake of my atheist awakening.
I witness a bright, shining light there in the distance...
I wonder daftly if this is the beginning of me,
or might it be the holocaust of my dreams?
This is the price of my consciousness.

-D.C. Massey
(Copyright 2008)
Originally posted 12 July 2008

SETTLE IN

Yesterday is...and that's all.
It's NOW that I want to forget,
to dispatch, to forgo.
Alas compadres, we are deceived,
duped, hornswaggled.
This is all there ever was, ever will be.
Settle in and load your guns,
we have dreams to awaken.

-D.C. Massey
(Copyright 2008)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!!! Thank you for visiting CELTUS LUNATICUS. Due to infrequent internet access, further publications will be delayed...I will post as often as I am able. Please stay tuned. PEACE AND JOY.

MOON

the moon is on fire
and the meat is falling off the bone.
a transient thought finds a path into my mind,
while I take one final breath.
moving slowly to the beat of a distant drum,
I find that the light ahead is no longer in my view.
perhaps there was no light in the first place...
a manifestation of the gods residing in my mind.

-D.C. Massey
(Copyright 2008)

U2 (Bad)

If you twist and turn away
If you tear yourself in two again
If I could, yes I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
Surrender
Dislocate
If I could throw this
Lifeless lifeline to the wind
Leave this heart of clay
See you walk, walk away
Into the night
And through the rain
Into the half-light
And through the flame

If I could through myself
Set your spirit free
I'd lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light
And to the day

Oooh oooh, oooh oooh, oooh oooh oooh...

To let it go! And so to fade away
To let it go!
And so fade away
I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
Wide awake
I'm not sleeping, oh no, no, no

If you should ask then maybe they'd
Tell you what I would say
True colors fly in blue and black
Blue silken sky and burning flag
Colors crash, collide in blood shot eyes

Oooh oooh, oooh oooh, oooh oooh oooh...

If I could, you know I would
If I could, I would
Let it go

This desparation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation

Let it go
And so fade away
To let it go, oh yeah
And so fade away
To let it go, oh No
And so to fade away
I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
Wide awake
I'm not sleeping oh no no

Lyrics and video courtesy of U2 and YouTube.

Brothers & Sisters...Thank You.

Happy Belated Veterans Day.
(One day is not enough.)

And NOW is the time to restore OUR Constitution...to defend the rights of our LIVING Veterans and honor the memory of those Veterans who have left this world.
Call your Senators and Congress critters (presiding and newly elected), and DEMAND the repeal of the USA Patriot Act and Homeland Security Act.