Thursday, May 28, 2020

Justice for George Floyd and Black America

If you have to wonder how I feel- or how you feel- about the killing of George Floyd- you really shouldn't. This particular instance is emblematic of outrageous overreach in the name of the law. I grieve with you who grieve, and speak back with you who believe in Truth. Our establishment's mission should only be to serve and protect the interest of all, not only well-to-do Whites. Do good or disband. Execute the law, not citizens. Be honorable or be done. Demand wisdom of your laws. Point to the corruption and inequality in their formulation wherever you see it. Prejudiced creation of the laws is one serious, wide-sweeping problem. Prejudiced practices of officers is its complement in mocking justice.

Let me be clear: I've suffered personally, directly, from the police 'obligation' to defend their own from charges of lies and abuse of power. It destroyed my friendly, useful livelihood in San Diego, and my peace of mind and sense of freedom and safety, doing it. It should not, however, take such direct suffering for you to empathize with the need to re-draw the line at what our society enables.

I have friends with firsthand accounts worse than what happened to me, who were no more criminals than I, an innocent person caught in their brutality. There can be no protests of 'fear for my life,' in this particular instigation of violence.

So long as they defend and lie for the bullies, liars and abusers in their midst, the good that anyone in law enforcement wants to do remains painted over with mistrust and loathing. I do not paint those in uniform with one wide brush of my own bigotry, but question the nature of executing the law (not citizens!).

Despite their beginnings as union suppressors and slave patrols, law officers are meant to be the responsible, answerable party, in heated disputes, or in the casual discharge of their services. The dishonorable deployment of the 'thin blue line' makes reform difficult, at great cost to society, and segregates officers from the communities they're sworn to protect.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Who Am I Kidding? From misunderstanding to mirth

I was writing about Integrity in information. I feel we need to approach people, in the case they do have our respect, or might have our respect, with an emotional and intellectual need for honesty.


There's a time and place for being funny, too- whether light-hearted, tension-breaking, or scathing. Some people retreat to sarcasm out of arrested development. If they know me well enough for me to feel they trust me to know what's what- and I trust their judgment, too- I might even play dumb for laughs. That's much easier in person. Nuances are easy to lose in typed words. Hell, spell-check is passing off a lot of people as more critically-thinking than you find, when you read between the lines. Dumb arguments have never been easier to pass off as smartly-written- if you don't know what smart writing ought to look like. (Here you can refer back to my post about misinformation, earlier today.)

Here, I took an instance where A FRIEND was kidding about 'anxiety.' I think that's why I named my comedy routine, "Relive the Anxiety."

I have one friend who posted on FB, this Anxiety Starter Kit. “Walking around quickly. Leg jumping, up and down! Peeing- a lot!”
(Take the measuring cup of water and the drinking cup in hand.)
Peeing’s a real conversation interrupter around the house. If you’re living with a dude, and you’re trying to talk to him while he’s in the bathroom, bear in mind. If he’s peeing, he can’t hear you. He can’t! Whatever you’re saying, (start pouring the water into the drinking cup, on-mic), it’s like:
Yeah! Uh-huh. Hey, sorry, I can’t hear you when I’m doing this. I can’t hear you, babe!

Anxious about not being a good listener. Anxious about not being heard! My friend’s starter kit post also had: “they hate me.” There’s an inspiring one for a stand-up routine with no laughter.
So I added a few, I did. I commented: Don't forget this one: "I just bared my soul in some small way. NOw I must hide any response from myself for at least two days." Maybe this one is an original.

Or this one: "I just set out a bold direction I've embraced. But that was days/ weeks ago and now I haven't done it and don't feel like it, so now I can't talk to anyone because I can't bear to hear myself complain about what I haven't done." It’s like ‘Anxious Bingo’!
Double points for "but failing was what everyone expected anyway" and bonus for "and I know no one cares, so now I can feel bad about that, too."

Or this one: "Uh, C Lue...that's just Your anxiety." Or, insert your own name.

Double points for: "I thought I was being funny, and now I've made someone self-conscious thinking I was examining his or her anxiety and they think I don't have that one but am judging them, smugly."

Bonus multiplier for : "and now I've made people sad because I thought I joked about personal anxieties I usually feel I've overcome, but I just triggered every depressed person who over-heard this."

So if I triggered you, I’ll apologize in the comments. And if I don’t get some ill-defined amount of affirmation, rest assured, I’ll be triggered, too. Slowly, agonizingly, I’ll relive the anxiety. Thank you!

So, humor's an aesthetic matter that falls on your individual nature. But is there really too much sincerity or honesty in the world of today's words?

With that in mind, feel free to check out my rambling trip through 2020, "Watching the World On Fire."
http://ceaseill.blogspot.com/2020/05/watching-world-on-fire.html It's just two posts earlier!

It's the very fact of it being set to a jaunty, familiar tune that makes the horror of it all something about which we might actually laugh. Just like true information, I feel being able to laugh at fearsome things and our anxieties as intelligent human beings- that humor- is an invaluable tool to better mental health and peace. Be Chill, Cease ill.

Friday, May 15, 2020

Is that a fact: How keen is your eye for misinformation?

Seen your share of unbelievable 'news reports' lately? I'm not asking how you identify, politically. How keen is your eye for misinformation>

So, a young friend posted the terrible news that the ‘Dems’ had a plan to end Social Security by 2024. You can dislike and disagree with the Democratic National Committee at length. But if you’re been reading very long, you probably can suss out “BustaTroll.org” is playing with your urge to think for yourself to fill you with misinformation.

It’s like, if I read Donald Trump was using the military, or private contractors, to organize death camps (not ICE detention- though, the rampant COVID-19 outbreaks are making detention centers of all kinds, far more dangerous than they should be). Let's say, "on the moon."

Whatever I think of the President, I’d find that unbelievable, and no matter who posted it, and especially before I re-posted it, I’d double-check anything I found inflammatory. We're not talking about metaphors or equivalencies or emotional catharsis. Like Jack Webb said, "Just the facts, ma'am." Obviously, the real confusion lately has been about COVID-19. Strong opinions divide people on what they'll consider factual.

If I’m going to attach my name to something, I want to know it’s true. When I speak of integrity, I don't mean, I want to be right for the sake of my ego, but rather, because there's never enough illumination these days. I could write another entire post about kidding.

If it's got my name on it, for the sake of anyone who takes the time to consider my words, words I've shared, or make any decisions inspired by them, I need it to be right. That's my respect for others at play, too.


I asked my pal if “BustaTroll” vets its sources. Not surprisingly, she had no idea what that meant. She didn’t grok the lingo. “Vets”- the verb- just means, they check, they verify.

Numerous organizations, even with an international platform, generate inaccurate information. How occasionally do they- and do they run a retraction, admitting their mistake- is the cornerstone of Accountability.

Like, let's say, based on what I already know from previous reading, something seems out of place in a headline, or, if it's true, it would have important consequences. I might type in the name of the site and "media bias" to get something like this: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/

Some of these sites are serious news sites: when they report facts not presented as opinions, you can check with the boring-sounding agencies or sources, and what do you know, them's the facts.
Many depend on what we call "confirmation bias": they report things that could be true because you're predisposed to think that way, and they cater to people who don't fact-check.


So, even while those people think they're sharing some kind of earth-shattering news, they really take it as true on face value. Papers that correct their mistakes, or carefully edit to prevent being proved wrong before they go to print, are accountable.


Without accountable sources, we're stuck believing anything! We're lemmings of limited literacy.
This is how a lot of policies and politics are promoted. Someone wealthy funds a campaign to mis-inform the public, and many people, just to get clicks for their site, echo those ideas, because they get the happy advertising dollars, whether they're truthful or not.


My young friends, there are people three times your age who only read headlines or just spout ideas they heard somewhere, because it 'feels' true to them. So I don't want you to feel picked on. I wouldn't bother if I didn't think you were smart enough to make use of the available tools to become savvy. Good sources are able to call out any government or political party when they're wrong. Many sources cater to the left or right, but then, the important thing is, how factual are they?

Do they have a reputation of retracting mistakes and presenting real sources, or are they tin-foil hat, Russian Trollbots, National Enquirer-level speculation? Some of them report facts at times, too- there’s money to be made from picking up legitimate news stories when they fit their overall view of what their customers want. But they mostly produce garbage just to get people clicking. Even if a headline pisses someone off, whether they think it's right or wrong, my friends, our click helps feed the numbers they want to give advertisers to say, "hey, we can get eyes on your product."

This may seem so apparent to many of you. But I encourage you to think of an even-handed way to communicate the idea of how disinformation works, rather than just rip into people or shame them. What matters is that your self-respect includes respect you can personally extend to others. How they react does not change what you put out into the world, either. For all you know, they'll think about it later.

I know, it’s easier to just scroll on by, or hide people, when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Most of us want something more interesting to do. Some just want to take anger out on others. But if you’re going to strike out, rhetorically, hit at the source. Don’t throw our young people, especially, to the dogs.

Watching The World On Fire (after Billy Joel)

Watching The World On Fire
by Lue Lyron (after Billy Joel)

YouTube, LSU,
RuPaul picks the winning boobs,
Giving Palestine the least, making peace in Middle East

Australian bush fires
Elan’s truck has new tires
Adam Schiff positions- Bankrupt Boy Scouts (riff)

Peter Pan, Wuhan, Tensions rising with Iran
Nancy ripping speeches while the President touts

Dow Jones, tops out, viruses are in doubt
BTS on late night, going out for date night
Shooting schools, Bat soup,
Buy vagina candles Goop
President’s acquitted while the Senate’s leaning right

Watching the World on Fire
With a flame horizon, it’s desensitizing
Watching the world on Fire
Blowing smoke that’s rising
Chicks explode at Tyson



Buttigeig, Klobuchar, say that Sander’s too far
Left-wing, fight ring, Brady left the Pats
Soleimani gets killed, Delta’s dumping jet fuel
Billionaire Bloomberg, buying Democrats


Want to eat, KFC
No one’s heard of PPE
Socialists, distant, it’s a Communist plot
Warren plans a long ride, Iowa, they can’t decide
Learning how to Tootsie Slide, on the Tik Tok
Watching The World on Fire
Stimulus to borrow, but there’s no tomorrow
Watching the World on Fire
If it goes ka-blooey, Billy Joel, can’t sue me
Fauci, should we wear a mask?
Cheaper gallons of gas
COVID’s finally realized,
Boris is hospitalized,
Italy, looks sad, Donald Trump is looking mad
Pitter patter, Twitter, social media’s dumb
Moving to a new town
Now we’re on lockdown
Drink bleach, overreach,
UV up your bum

Watching the World on Fire
One percent is earning, while the karma’s turning
Watching the World on Fire
Situation screwy, Billy Joel, don’t sue me
Out of work, everywhere
Sitting home in underwear
Will they get what they deserve?
Barely bringing down the curve
(hammer-ons)
Tests, nobody knows
When’s a swab go up my nose?
Tickled brain, pickled brain
Run away from home school

Watching the World on Fire
If it goes ka-blooey, Billy Joel, can’t sue me

Workers on the frontline
Say goodbye to John Prine
Meatpackers, kickbackers, Billionaires, on top
Baseball, South Korea
No TP, no panacea
Plandemic, hopscotch
Quarantine, stop.

What a time to graduate
Murder Hornets, Liberate
Gates open, vaccine
Try hydroxychloroquine

Watching The World on Fire
Stimulus to borrow, but there’s no tomorrow

Zoom cam, newsfeed,
Biden gaffes and Tara Reade
Juice WRLD, Travis Scott
Social distance, forgot
Stimulus, socialist,
Virus on the A-List
Need complete immunity
Antibody, anybody
Home to pray, home to stay
Postal service, disarray
Luke Skywalker’s daughter’s Rey
What else do I have to say?
Watching the World on Fire
With a flame horizon, it’s desensitizing
Watching the world on Fire
Blowing smoke that’s rising
Chickens explode at Tyson

Watching the World on Fire
One percent is earning, while the karma’s turning
Watching the World on Fire
Situation screwy, Billy Joel, don’t sue me

Watching The World on Fire
Stimulus to borrow, but there’s no tomorrow
Watching the World on Fire
If it goes ka-blooey, Billy Joel, can’t sue me

When we’re gone, we’re gone, we’re gone, we’re gone
We’re gone, we’re gone, we’re gone, we’re gone

Watching the world on fire
Situation screwy, Billy Joel, don’t sue me

Watching the world on fire
If it goes ka-blooey, Billy Joel, can’t sue me




(Art from the game Drawception https://drawception.com/game/XrFRtN9rw1/exploding-chickens-explode/)

Monday, May 11, 2020

Beach Daze: A summertime fantasy song



What a dream it was
Flying down the highway
Flying to the river
Things were going our way

Didn’t feel like a car
Could’ve been my motorcycle
There was sun -calls a lizard to a stone
And I was not bothered by anything I own
And we were flying down the highway

And we were flying down the highway

Feels like a bird on the wind
It was feeling really good to be human
In a moment where it never ends
At the start of a three-day weekend
Where you’re going to laugh with your good friends
While holding on to the arm of your lover
Feel your heart pumping time to begin


I’m going to swim ‘til my muscles are burning
Without a thought, what we’re gonna do after
I’m going to float while the water is turning
Back stroke right into the laughter
Zip line
Through my mind
So alive so alive
Zip line through my mind



It was good just to hear all the talking
I won’t remember half a word we say
There’s a trail where I wanna go walking
And feel every moment, passing the day

The kind of days where your brain makes pictures
The kind of nights photos get you in trouble
And you can see mountains over the water
And smell the trees when you splash the puddle

And it was fine, there’s a line, to divine in time
The feel of happily ever after
The kind of blast to your soul when you fall in love
And it was mine, so divine, give me your best shove

I’m going to swim ‘til my muscles are burning
Without a thought, what we’re gonna do after
I’m going to float while the water is turning
Back stroke right into the laughter
Zip line
Through my mind
So alive so alive
Zip line through my mind

And if it’s all a montage
Then I’ll still feel the sand
Swimming right over the surface
‘til I feel the ground with my hand
And then I wake up, the crowd is gone,
I’m in my bed it’s all a dream
I’m remembering in a song.


I’m going to swim ‘til my muscles are burning
Without a thought, what we’re gonna do after
I’m going to float while the water is turning
Back stroke right into the laughter
Zip line
Through my mind
So alive so alive
Zip line through my mind

-Lue Lyron, 2:45 - 3:20 pm, May 9th. I woke up from my nap, picked out the tune I heard- though I couldn't understand what the female vocal was saying yet. I took "I'm going to swim 'til my muscles are burning"- I think 'burning' was the closest thing to a word I could make out- and built the chorus around that. I decided to re-tell my dream- minus some details, plus others- to evoke the montage I experienced. There were a lot of children in the water, playing- I didn't hear where to say that in the lyrics.
I saw the faces of some people I consider my friends,
like Rebecca Diebert, and I am sure we were going to the water to meet Kelli and Eldon Dugan. That's funny, because Kelli's so fair-skinned, you might never expect a summer bliss-on-the-water song to include her. It was like a fantasy of something I look forward to, crossed with something I recall, crossed with a really great beer commerical, I guess. I hope my partner will be ready to sing it so you can hear it this week. I wish I could share a taste of the sound.


When you've lost someone to respiratory disease: my COVID-19 commentary

When people re-post inaccurate garbage about safety precautions, more and more I'm reminded of how my Dad died over twelve years ago. He worked at Bekaert Steel, and could've listened more carefully. Pulmonary fibrosis was a long, painful, horrid death.

Dad didn't check facts, either.

I miss him. He was a good person who overcame a lot of adversity to have basic comforts for his family.

So people's carelessness over respiratory illness is a bit personal for me. OK?

I've made a lifetime of running free from corporate-decreed doom, whatever else it cost me.
Sometimes I resent that other people's desire to serve their corporate masters has made a hazard of the simple act of going out to enjoy a band or buy us some food.

What I wish I could convey to so very many people, across this land:
I've lived my adult life to be free of your slave mentalities, your shallow worship of God, and now, your pathetic need to force others to deal with your 'liberties.'
Don't mistake my optimism or caring for weakness, weak-mindedness, programming. We're being asked to do something for the sake of one another. You're used to dictating how everyone else ought to live, but you don't have the guts to do anything other than what you've been told.

https://www.facebook.com/PPEbrigadeGA
You may not be able to fathom how little taste I have for being told what to do,or blindly accepting what to think; nor for forcing people to act against their will.
I have even less tolerance for forcing people to act against their own well-being.
On this, I've put my money where my mouth is- and where others mouths are, a few times, too.
Wise people have taken my suggestions and help- and helped more people than I could. I'm finally getting more feedback of the good people have done in other communities, some of them inspired by me, as I was inspired by them.

You'll look for any spineless opportunity to claim you're passing along 'the Truth' because it's something you've never honestly worked to discover, while that is all I've cared about, my whole life. But Death is the great equalizer.
One day the truth will set you free. It's all that sets me free of you, too.
At least I have peace in my heart, while I watch a people accelerate their madness. I may get cross, but I'm going to keep creating, learning, making people laugh, and connecting with a deeper reality, even with the humble lot that is mine.


I've lived a beautiful if obscure life with someone I love so much. I'm repulsed to see people scurry to get away from time to themselves, contemplation, sometimes their own family, because the rat race is all they can comprehend, at whatever cost. You won't ask for those who've taken almost everything to share. You vote for their usurpation of resources and your own sovereignity, and that of your fellow man.
Would you rather march off compliantly into a possibly early grave, or pass that dread opportunity to someone else who came in contact with you?
There's so much we don't yet know, but you force us all to take your chances decided in a cave of ignorance.

I didn't set out to shame anyone, but if this makes one solitary person think twice, it was worth sharing.