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Post by Hunny on Nov 15, 2012 16:57:20 GMT
 __________________________________________________________            __________________________________ issue three - november 2012 _____ ![]() This month at Bitswe introduced a new fun thread for each weekday:      There's also a new contest every Wednesday.
This month it's a game called 'Bullsh*t!'
And we always have articles posted for discussion.
Don't be square! Be there! ![]() ![]() ___________________________________________
Our Member of The Month!Anna
Congratulations! 
___________________________________________
 COMIC QUOTES
~ Steven Wright ~You can't have everything. Where would you put it? I think it's wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly. I got up one morning and couldn't find my socks, so I called Information. She said, "Hello, Information." I said, "I can't find my socks." She said, "They're behind the couch." And they were! I saw a subliminal advertising executive, but only for a second. I was walking down Fifth Avenue today and I found a wallet, and I was gonna keep it, rather than return it, but I thought: "Well, if I lost a hundred and fifty dollars, how would I feel?" And I realized I would want to be taught a lesson.
Deep Thoughts
~ by JACK HANDEY ~
I wish a robot would get elected president. That way, when he came
to town, we could all take a shot at him, and not feel too bad.
Whenever I see an old lady slip and fall on a wet sidewalk, my first instinct is to laugh.
But then I think, what if I was an ant, and she fell on me. Then it wouldn't seem quite so funny.
The wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision a whole universe, but the stupid man will just lay down
on some seaweed, and roll around until he's completely draped in it. Then he'll stand up and go, "Hey, I'm Vine Man."
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Delusions of A
Hopeful Pessimist
by Sadie1263![]() Let me just say up front........I believe in Bigfoot. I think they are out there. I don’t care that we haven’t found a skeleton or definitive proof. I happen to know for a fact that I can and do lose my husband and my children in the grocery store and the mall for long periods of time.......and that’s with me searching really hard for them and them not even trying to evade me. So......given that they are in vast wilderness areas and obviously avoiding us........oh yeah.....they could pull it off. Think about it.....if they are watching us......they see hunters regularly walk into the woods with guns and shoot helpless animals on a regular basis........if they have half a brain.....I don’t blame them for staying hidden.
The other problem I have is that stories about these creatures have been around forever and cover the world. So there would have to be a secret, world wide group perpetrating the sightings, pictures, etc. Exactly what would they have to gain by this? Other than getting a big laugh over pulling it off? Then take into account the odds of getting everyone to keep the secret this long?? No way.
With that said.....there is a new series on tv about researchers, both believers and non-believers that are actively searching for proof of Bigfoot (is Bigfeet plural??), Sasquatches or whatever you prefer to call them. I am really enjoying the show. They go to areas where there have been pictures or films of the creatures and try and disprove them.....and they go out at night with all sorts of equipment to see if they can find them. I can’t say they have found any yet.......but there have definitely been some things out there moving around that couldn’t be put off to known animals. One of the individuals is always characterizing areas as “Squatchy”. (I just really find that term adorable but I am taking notes to make sure my house doesn't comply.) He seems to hear and see signs of them everywhere. While another one seems to think there are monkeys everywhere. While this show probably isn’t winning over non-believers......I can say it is making me give up any ideas of moving into the woods off by myself. I am completely freaked out by some of the stories of things peeking in windows or hitting the sides of houses and don’t even get me started on some of the camping stories! Camping is completely off my list unless it is with an armed circle of guards standing around the tent!!! I’ve never been just immensely brave about being out in the deep woods in the dark....so to be honest.....a few small animals and probably some tiny bugs would have me freaked out too.
I love the idea that there are still mysteries out there. That we still have to question what we know of the universe. How boring would life be if we really did know everything? I think every so often Mother Nature takes a poke at us just to keep us in line.....and maybe it’s the slightly mischievous side of me that really just loves that.
Now......I’m off to go look for Unicorns..........______________________________________________________________________________________________ mikemarshall Husband to BigLin who founded the site, Mike Marshall is a retired college lecturer with a PhD in Philosophy. He and Lin have been together 15 years - married for 12 - and have a son who's eleven and a daughter aged seven. They make their way together, buying and renovating real estate to sell and let. Here is a great article which he was kind enough to write for us. ________________________________________________________
Communitarianism and Individualism
In essence these two philosophies have dominated political thinking since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. There are innumerable variants upon the basic models but each begins from a radically different starting point. Perhaps the classic statement of communitarianism was made by President Kennedy when he said 'ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.' In this remark we see the nub of the entire dispute. The real political divide is not between socialists and capitalists, left and right, liberals or conservatives but between communitarians and individualists. To a communitarian the individual is secondary and his or her status is wholly, largely or partly subsumed within the community, whether that be a state, a church, society or so lesser unit. The primacy of the group or the community over the individual is assumed. Anyone who wishes to enforce moral values upon the individuals comprising a community is ipso facto a communitarian. It makes no difference whether it is a politically correct group seeking to outlaw hate speech, a religious group attempting to outlaw abortion or a feminist group seeking to impose positive discrimination in favour of females by law. All three are motivated by communitarian principles and demand that individuals conform to their own precepts. Communitarianism seeks to order individuals within the community; individualism seeks to allow individuals to find their place within it. Just as communitarianism at its best represents a genuine and voluntary sense of togetherness so individualism at its worst represents selfishness and solipsism. Just as individualism at it best liberates the human spirit and allows the fullest potential of a person to be realised so communitarianism at its worst leads to intolerance, persecution, repression and even mass murder (as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and others demonstrated conclusively.) Unless we are like Crusoe on his desert island we as individuals have to interact within the framework of a community. There are two ways in which this necessary interaction can occur depending on whether or not the community is based on a preference for individualism or communitarianism. Societies based on individualist principles emphasise rights and see the community as being founded on the principles of mutually respected interlocking rights. Societies founded on communitarian principles emphasise duty and see the community as resting on the principles of duties that are, to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the degree of authoritarianism and intolerance of dissent, either relatively reciprocal or relatively unidirectional. Both philosophies have merits and drawbacks. It is frequently the case that thinkers become so conscious of the flaws in the position they are attacking that they fail to appreciate its virtues. From widely differing political perspectives I would argue that is the case with Rand, Nozick, Rawls, Hayek, Kirk, Viereck, Fromm, Bettelheim, Arendt, Skinner, McLuhan, Carson, Djilas, Adorno, Gramsci, Reich, Marcuse and Fanon. All have seen something but not clearly enough and are both blind to the virtues of the positions they criticise and the defects of the ones they espouse. To make a just society it is in my opinion necessary to begin from an individualist, rights-based approach and integrate individuals within the wider community. Historically communitarianism is a failed system that can only succeed in neutering and nullifying individuals. That is its ultimate problem. To paraphrase (parody?) a phrase from Marx, 'communitarianism contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction.' __________________________________________________ Member InterviewsAnnaHow did you hear about Bits? What brought you here? I have always had a good relationship with Lin!And what keeps you here? I like Lin!  How long have you been on the internet, at forums? Where were you before Bits? Since 2002. My first forum was www.finddru.com dedicated to Dru Sjodin,
who was missing at the time. Later on I registered at
www.prodeathpenalty.com where I met Lin.Please tell us your three favorite things in life? And photos would be great. My son, languages, chess. Sorry no photos! I'm very private!
Favorite advice or lesson you picked up along the way? Stay positive!
 The Fountain -by Linda Marshall
Yes, as you throw your trumpets
Of water high up in the air;
Yes, the glittering stars admire
Such slender music.
Upon the lawn within the public park
Others serenely walk, unnoticing
The miracle of gravity defied
That you achieve daily.
Oh, I watch and wait
As the cascading coolness of you
Nourishes everything around it
with your water of life
I bend my ear
Closer, to catch the cadence
Of your falling rhythms that yet
Rise up for all their diminuendo
Oh, spring of living water,
Here, in this pretty pastorelle
Of nature tamed, yet your wildness hangs
Over all this delicate parterre.
Come quickly to the fountain,
Watch the dance of molecules within,
Listen to the music of her rising,
And be as one with its glistening display
I like this forum. People are interesting and intelligent and have welcomed me, which I appreciate.
I've had a few bad experiences on a couple of other forums which have made me cautious. One becomes afraid of stepping on any toes, or saying the wrong thing, or upsetting the Admins. I have never felt this here, it's relaxed and friendly.
On a more brighter note! I've finally finished my book "three more pennies". You have no idea how good it feels to see it in hard copy form. Now to copyright it and try and get it published. It took three years to write, on and off. It's a memoir of my childhood and of a time and place that I felt was important to remember and not lose to history. For my three boys it's a legacy, and I feel very proud that I accomplished this.
Here it is!:
I've had such a busy year and summer, but now that the winter is nearly here,
I'll have more time to spend on-line, hopefully, so can be more active on here!
Ever met anyone famous? Yes, quite a few famous people, when I worked in the West End of London.Have you had a successful life? I think so, I set goals for myself and got them. Now I have new goals Where do you wish you were right now? Just where I am. It's the right place for me to be. I feel good about being right here for now.What word(s) describes you best? Kind, humorous, tenacious, and curious. What is your greatest accomplishment? Raising my kids. Hands down. It was the most challenging thing I ever did!What drives you every day? My hopes, my dreams, my goals. Who do you admire? People who survive and achieve against all the odds. Those who stand up for what's right, even though it might go against the popular opinion.What traits in others are you attracted to? Courage, kindness and intellect. How do you want to be remembered? I want my kids to remember me with love. And for all the good times we had. What turns you on the most? Mentally: Someone who is kind, brave and intelligent. Physically: A well-built body, nice eyes and smile. What three things do you think your past gf/bf/so would say about you? That I was fun to be with. That I could be a real pain at times. That I cared about the wider world.What are your future goals and aspirations? I want to do a lot more traveling. I'd like to set up some kind of organization to help orphaned and street kids in India.What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you? My neighbors would take me in as a kid, when they knew no one was home. That was very kind of them. So many have done many kind things for me, it's hard to just find one.One thing that really really annoys you? Underhanded and cruel people. If you were stranded on an island, who would you want to be with? Why? If only temporarily. Probably a hunk of man, who was good at fixing up things, hunting and you know.... ;D ______________________________________________________________________________________
by Hunny Coincidentally, Mike and I have
written on the same subject. He
disagrees with my assessment
but I feel my point: that it's not
'which man', in an election, it's
which party, needs to be said.
I recommend reading his article
and if you have any comments
for us, please share them.There are sides!
"Right-wing extremists beat migrants, anarchists beat the
right-wing thugs, and desperate local residents quietly cheer
one side or the other as society grows increasingly polarized." Those words are from an article about Greece. They speak of societal polarization, something dubiously human. Now we've just been through the painful ordeal which is an American Presidential election, with it's two sides fighting each other instead of joining hands and getting anything done at all, and it made me realize, wait...the American people don't even seem to realize there are sides! ..though the situation smacks them in the face! How could this be???
It consternates me perpetually that people seem to naturally divide themselves into a polar argument. They divide into "left", and "right". And that bewilders me in part because it's hard to understand why we're like this. And I find myself among people, virtually all of whom just say "everyone's entitled to an opinion" (no. there's only one set of facts.), or they go "debate is healthy" (no. there's only one set of facts.) So if the existence of a left and a right in a society is not explainable by the common misconceptions and excuses, then what is it about?
Well, this is over-simplified, and I'll tell you why it is so later, but.. the left is the people with brains and compassion. The right is the people who are mean and would inflict commands onto others. In other words, the nice thoughtful people - versus - the callous authoritarians.
The thinking people (left) examine for what really is before concluding they know. The callous authoritarians (right) just conform to whatever authority structure there is that they can be in the ranks of. They don't care what's right or if what they're defending is real or imagined. They don't even need to know. They just conform, and then bully others to do likewise.
I much prefer the left. And it's most despicable that the right brands it as awful, just because they want the ball so they can rob the place and order everyone around and play war. (Hey, this is what is MEANT by "right wing".)
The right in fact is nothing but people parroting propaganda against the real party, and that's all it can be, for the republicans are just a few rich guys whose interests oppose yours and they must lie to you and rely heavily on discrediting as their way to create the false perception that it would be in the people's interest to vote for them. I refer to the Democrats as the "the real party" since indeed they (used to at least) represent and legislate for the interests of the people of the country. They were a legitimate party. The republicans are just an interest group with a lot of power.
What saddens me is this is actually how things are, yet in a presidential election, the majority of people don't seem to have a clue that they're voting for a side. They go on as if they have to pick "which man" to vote for. No. The two parties have set things that they stand for and do. The Democrats are (or were) considerate and compassionate. The Republicans are only about controlling and fleecing and playing empire with our army. You don't pick which man, you pick which party; and what that party typically does and stands for is what you'll get from the man who figureheads for them.
Yet people think they're picking "which man" even still. And I have to repeat myself again and again. *sigh*
Sides! Don't they understand about sides??? How could they possibly tell themselves and each other bullshitisms like "both parties do the same thing". No. They don't. They're very different.
Is there a way to remedy this mass misconception which does so much damage to our country, our society, our lives? Well, an awareness campaign could be waged. The Republicans spent thirty-five years of effort to brainwash half a society with the stuff they invented to tell them. But it did work. Radio talk shows were a big part of it. So...an awareness campaign could be waged.
Sides, people. There are sides.
Are there really sides, or do we imagine them unnecessarily? Both. We could all be working on the same agenda together instead of having a fight, but it's also true that this is a natural division of people into the thoughtful versus the conformist. (My guess is nature provided that there would be those who'd think of things and those who'd follow blindly - and that way a social mammal such as humans are could form a tribe, hunting packs and even armies (dubious, but even monkeys make war. It's how as animals we're designed to work, so that the fittest survive as we evolve.) But since we now live in societies - machinated structures much larger than a tribe, which we are not designed for living in - the two kinds of people rather than blend together to make a functional team, can end up dividing apart and "warring" on each other. And this is when there is warring within the tribe, which is NOT natural, it does not strengthen us, it weakens us greatly. But this is precisely what's going in the United States, division into sides, war, within the tribe.
But we could all be on one team, if we'd been encouraged to see ourselves that way, over the decades. The problem for America though is their Republican "party" has created and encouraged this division. For it is actually just an interest group, not a legitimate party or alternative at all. They're just a few thousand rich guys who figured they could buy power and use it to make themselves richer and be in control. They're a takeover group, and all that they do is about that, and has been about that -for 35 years that I will count. And they have nothing to offer the people, because their interests directly oppose ours. THIS is the problem for America. A group of righties has bought even all the media so it can mindwash as many natural righties (unquestioning loyal follower types) as it can for support. And this is how a small group of men (the republicans) manages to have capable party status. And meanwhile, all those folks who foolishly believe it's "which man" to vote for -rather than which party- thus treat these awful no-gooders as a viable option for "who" to vote for. So they get in! They lie and get in!
Can our polarized condition be changed? Well, - in our society - mean won already, because kind won't give back the harmful aggressive treatment the mean use to oppress them. So you'd need to accept that it would take 1) stages of effort, and 2) decades of persistent hard work at them. And we'd start with that awareness campaign - because people don't even seem to be aware what the problem is, so start there! There are sides people. There are sides. And here's what each is like.
____________________________ We're having a series of monthly contests, each month a different one. We'll keep score (click) to see who wins overall, months from now. This contest is actually a game. Click here to play!![]() (Don't forget to read the rest of the magazine!)'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  Our Bits & Pieces snoop took his camera to a popular Wal-Mart and saw all this going on.There seems to be a few celebrities in the store tonight...Oh my gosh, it's Sister Sledge! Roy Orbison? Hmm, how about that, he didn't die after all!He just went shopping. Oprah! Jerry? David Crosby! ;D Here's Rusty, looking at the door thing which ate his shirt. Hmmm...seeing eye goat, Synonym? Psychic prediction? Not gonna' happen Hunny! You know what, I don't think that bag goes with that outfit, Trubble. Oh Lordy!  Yea, but what about the pants you wanted to buy, Mike? Oh yea. There's a guy who needs a hula hoop! Aaah! Try before you buy...(Oh, alright, so Toby's living in the store! So!!  ) SEE YOU ALL NEXT MONTH! Feel free to leave comments, please!Live your life as though there is great joy to be experienced... an abundance of goodness in each person you come in contact with, and the knowledge that you have enough inner wisdom to answer the mysteries that challenge you.__________________________________________________ Bits & Pieces
CONTRIBUTING STAFF
Big Lin
Mike Marshall
Sadie1263
Hunny
Chips
__________________________________________________  If you have anything you'd like to submit to Bits and Pieces to be printed in next month's issue,
send it to Hunny (click). We'd welcome you as Press Staff if you'd like to contribute something
you do monthly. Submissions subject to approval, but we're easy, it's your magazine! Copyrighted material re-printed herein is with permission, or for purpose of review or education, by allowance - in the U.S. - of the Fair Use Act.
We do not claim ownership of said material. Our writers do claim copyright of their own material, by-lined or not. To contact the Editor, click here.
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Post by Hunny on Nov 29, 2012 22:46:01 GMT
It's very good and I was wondering if I could offer something - don't worry, I'll try not to be all that controversial! Oh, cool! Just mail it to me. deadline is Monday, the 10th. |
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biglinmarshall.proboards.com/thread/7917/bits-pieces-magazine-issue-2024
Nov 4, 2024 17:39:29 GMT
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biglinmarshall.proboards.com/thread/7917/bits-pieces-magazine-issue-2024
Nov 4, 2024 17:39:29 GMT
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yay! 
thanks
Nov 2, 2024 17:09:05 GMT
Oct 23, 2024 18:34:05 GMT