(Evolution is change over time under pressure by proliferating one's own gametes. This impulse takes no higher notice of good, better, best for others.)
Dawkins won't concede that religious beliefs are part of the adaptation process of the evolutionary imperative.
Bret Weinstein views this as unfortunate because there are definite social benefits which accrue when people act ethically toward one another. (Even when based on imaginary traditions.)
Where is the hang-up?
Dawkins feels he must totally reject superstitious, non-factual premise on which religion is based and view ALL religious impulses as a virus of the mind amounting to insanity.
Weinstein sees Evolution as the "instinct" to overcome all competition in the pursuit of spreading one's genes. Humans have more potential than merely that and unless they get a handle on other ways of adapting the drive to view others as tribe / non-tribe, civilization will tear itself apart in pissing matches, political wars, and turf struggles.
TerryWalstrom
JoinedPosts by TerryWalstrom
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40
Overcoming our Evolutionary purpose in order to save mankind (A most interesting discussion)
by TerryWalstrom inrecently bret weinstein and richard dawkins sat down for a debate.in the following video, weinstein talks about what can be done to address an error in dawkins'selfish gene theory in terms of the new atheism's error and regarding religion as a mind virus.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm8fksjljtm&t=1096s_____and a good follow up:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5yn2g4h54&t=904s.
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TerryWalstrom
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40
Overcoming our Evolutionary purpose in order to save mankind (A most interesting discussion)
by TerryWalstrom inrecently bret weinstein and richard dawkins sat down for a debate.in the following video, weinstein talks about what can be done to address an error in dawkins'selfish gene theory in terms of the new atheism's error and regarding religion as a mind virus.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm8fksjljtm&t=1096s_____and a good follow up:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5yn2g4h54&t=904s.
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TerryWalstrom
Recently Bret Weinstein and Richard Dawkins sat down for a debate.
In the following video, Weinstein talks about what can be done to address an error in Dawkins'
Selfish Gene theory in terms of the New Atheism's error and regarding religion as a mind virus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm8FksjlJtM&t=1096s
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And a good follow up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR5yN2G4h54&t=904s -
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A Cat's Last Emily (Emily's Last Cat)
by TerryWalstrom ina cat's last emily (emily's last cat) __________.
lifting her elbow up off of her cat.
emily whispered, .
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TerryWalstrom
Diogenesister: You must be published. Links?
I've written three books (two on Amazon) and one about to publish.
Thanks for your interest. -
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A Cat's Last Emily (Emily's Last Cat)
by TerryWalstrom ina cat's last emily (emily's last cat) __________.
lifting her elbow up off of her cat.
emily whispered, .
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TerryWalstrom
Thank you.
I woke this morning missing my old friend, Quincy. We were JW's together since the age of 13. He died two years ago and the sound of my phone not ringing is the saddest sound of all.
HOME IS WHERE YOUR HEART ISIf willows had wings and wasps could sing
If flurries of snowfall were blue
The roar of the Nile and its proud crocodiles
Would carry me back home to youIf pennies were time, I’d buy for a dime
An echo of you for a day
And then I could tell the old wishing well
To carry me back home to youThe wind comes along just to whisper your song
Then turns out its pockets for me
That broken old moon has spoken and soon
Will carry me back home to youIf death had no sting every church bell would ring
If tears made a sound in the night
The angels could listen and thunder would glisten
And carry me back home to youTime spins to an end and I’ll find you, old friend
A beautiful lie must be true
IF it rains pennies fall and we'll pay one and all
When they carry me back home to you(In Memory of my friend Quincy Roberts)
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A Cat's Last Emily (Emily's Last Cat)
by TerryWalstrom ina cat's last emily (emily's last cat) __________.
lifting her elbow up off of her cat.
emily whispered, .
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TerryWalstrom
Thanks for the encouraging words.
It was early this morning when a short phrase worked its way into my head.
It interested me for some strange reason. It had a kind of lilt to it and was suggestive of an idea. "Lifting her elbow up off of her cat" was all I had.
I had no idea where it would take me. So, what I did was select a piece of very evocative music to play through my earphones that would impel me to write in a stream of consciousness. The music was Emmanuel by Michael Colombier and played by Chris Botti.
The rest happened organically right down to the last stanza when I got stuck. I wanted it to end the same way it began; melancholy but happy. But no--the music had its way and poor Emily never made it back up the stairs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClMTuUwl0tg
I've been told this was a bit on the dark and side side--so--I've been moved to write a brief epilogue:
EPILOGUE
(The landlord sits reading by her window at night
In her lap sits a book, a new cat block's the light
No longer lonely with this grateful Le Chat
The cat she names "Emily" ( Emily's last cat.) -
72
Did you know Banks create money out of thin air?
by TerryWalstrom inbanks create money “out of thin air.”empirical studies have been undertaken to prove this thesis and this is the conclusion:.
in the 5,000 year history of banking, banks have been thought of as “deposit taking institutions which lend money”.. 1. what is the legal reality?
banks don’t take deposits and don’t lend money.the public is under this false impression on purpose because the language of banks is not legal language.. so--what is a “deposit”?a deposit is not actually a deposit.
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TerryWalstrom
All week long I've been reading about the history of banks in the U.S
The idea of doing business without using, touching, or carrying actual gold or silver came about this way:
At a certain point in history, trading and barter became very burdensome. Coining valuable metal into portable currency seemed a better alternative. Not ideal, but better than barter. Local lending institutions with trusted operators became necessary. Poor people did NOT trust a National Bank over a Local Bank for a long time. Why? Because they were run by strangers and the opportunity for locals to keep an eye on the bankers was not possible or to judge their character.Local banks were run by people they knew.
The eventual solution? FREE BANKING ERA.
Local Banks could do as they pleased as long as funds were backed by an equal amount of gold on hand and on demand. Free banking spread rapidly to other states, and from 1840 to 1863 all banking business was done by state-chartered institutions.The legitimacy of any bank was solely determined by the LAWS passed locally or nationally to monitor and control operations.
“Wildcat” banking appeared because local laws could be “relaxed” by local politicians, cronies, and double-dipping investors!NOTE: Banknotes were issued against little or no security, and credit was over-expanded. The borrower couldn’t pay back the loan and the local economy became depressed (the payback funds were necessary for the Bank to make new loans).
What remedy was possible?
Federal Laws were enacted to examine and regulate all banks and bring currencies in use into harmony.
THE NATIONAL BANK ACT radically changed how banks operated.
Local banks which refused to abide were taxed until they came in line and agreed.
To compete with National Banks, State Banks created a new invention: the Checking Account. Customers could pay their bills and buy goods WITHOUT DEMANDING GOLD from the local bank’s on hand reserves.
During the Civil War, the Federal need for funds to fight the war led to the selling of Government Bonds (I.O.U.’s + interest) citizens purchased on promise of repayment and profit.
As the Age of Industry began, banks began investing in commercial enterprises by lending money to entrepreneurs for startup, equipment, etc. The interest charged added to the bank reserves on hand.
The whole idea of using paper money, Bonds, IOU's, promissory notes made "cashless" transaction possible as more and more people began to TRUST that somewhere somebody had gold or silver on hand to back up the transactions.
Human beings are not trustworthy when they get the chance to steal or gain advantage.
So?
So, after banks failed, the Federal Government stepped in and guaranteed local banks up to a certain amount. This was to instill trust (even when trust was illusory)
The big financial meltdown in 2008 came because untrustworthy people did untrustworthy things such as selling houses to customers without enough collateral.
Why would Lenders do that?
2 reasons
1. An act of Congress made them do it
2. Banks could sell the "bad paper" to Wall Street
Who went to prison for any of this?
I don't know--you tell me? Nobody is what I'd say.
Why nobody? Because Congress made it possible and Congress jumped in and supported the Too Big To Fail stop gap financing. TRUST was purchased. CONFIDENCE was purchased. With what money and from where? From future taxpayers.
That's right. People who aren't yet born.
Money from nothing.
Who do we owe all those TRILLIONS to? Each other.
We pay taxes. The government spends tax money not yet collected by borrowing.
Banks, the Treasury, the Fed all participate in a mostly illusory leveraging of the future to pay for the present.
Those who get angry fall into two categories.
1. Those who see nothing wrong with this and say it will all be okay, so shut the hell up.
2. Those who become convinced a vast conspiracy is involved.
What do I think? I think no conspiracy is necessary when most of what happens is made
legal by politicians acting in public (getting voter approval) who are paid to grease the wheels of fiat money and future leveraging.
The so-called 1% is enabled by voters, if you come right down to it.
If regular civilians could spend like crazy and not pay their bills--(Big Brother will step in and pay) almost everybody would. But hey--a great many citizens live beyond their means using credit to purchase goods and services--all on a PROMISE to PAY.
In other words: we all do it--"money for nothing and the chicks are free." -
7
A Cat's Last Emily (Emily's Last Cat)
by TerryWalstrom ina cat's last emily (emily's last cat) __________.
lifting her elbow up off of her cat.
emily whispered, .
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TerryWalstrom
A CAT'S LAST EMILY (Emily's last cat)
__________Lifting her elbow up off of her cat
Emily whispered,
"Now, where is my hat?"
Barefoot she tiptoed embarrassed how late
she'd be for the Metro, then shrugged, "Such is fate."
Older is slower and patience is best
There's no sense in rushing, the long game is best
A gentleman's waiting is proof of desire
Winter is calling and passion is fire
Emily, wrapped in her ermine and pearls
long ago best of the Paris street girls,
Met her first sailor and right from the start
Lost both her innocence and most of her heart
Life, silly sad game of both give and take;
Losing a lover and lying awake
Cling to sad memories old songs tear apart
He's an old photo and love's an old art
Emily, slow now and barely alive,
reckons this winter is one to survive
Beauty's illusions work best in the dark
She's the magician to kindle that spark
Money is money and dreams are for fools
Actresses’ practices break all the rules
Pocket her money, take off her hat
A little of this (and a whole lot of that)
Snowfall comes early, the Metro is late
Shivering Emily is down by the gate
Reach for his photo and manage one tear
Darkness moves closer and closes the year.
Somewhere an ambulance wails in the dark
Neighbors awake at a dog's plaintive bark
None but the cat at the top of the stairs
Senses her passing much less even cares
Closing her eyes the last starlight fell
on Emily's story with no one to tell
Somewhere a sailor startles awake
Clasping his chest at a sudden heartbreak.
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EPILOGUE
(The landlord sits reading by her window at night
In her lap sit a book, a new cat block's her light
No longer lonely with this grateful Le Chat
A cat she names "Emily" ( Emily's last cat.)
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5
A (true) Horror story
by TerryWalstrom ina horror story (true)1970. we’re all familiar with that feeling--that creepy feeling of the mysterious unknown.well, this is that place.
right here.i’m standing in john’s house in the kitchen.
it’s murky inside this old place.
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TerryWalstrom
I think naive people don't trust their negative feelings about other people--only their positive.
Lots of little moments of dissonance arose and I pushed them aside.
I think it happens in marriage too when one partner is cheating on another. That tingly sensibility that whispers, "Beware" is there for a reason.
If humans possess any instincts (I believe they do) it should be the negative ones we listen to best; the warning feelings something just isn't right. -
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The Painting House (a prison memory)
by TerryWalstrom inthe painting house (a prison memory).
"your bedroom ain't the same if a snake crawls in.
one minute safe; next minute not.
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TerryWalstrom
I kept asking myself why a government would want to punish people with a conscience.
Ah, but I was asking the wrong question. The law of the land was to allow Conscientious Objectors to perform Alternate Service (usually in a hospital). In fact, I had successfully argued my case before my local Draft Board and was assigned hospital duty in Terrell hospital which was for mental patients.
My question should have been, "Why is my conscience being hijacked by my religion and my legal alternative being subverted?" -
6
The Painting House (a prison memory)
by TerryWalstrom inthe painting house (a prison memory).
"your bedroom ain't the same if a snake crawls in.
one minute safe; next minute not.
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TerryWalstrom
I didn't mention what Hoetzler looked like.
He looked totally the opposite of intimidating.
He wore thick glasses--almost so thick you'd think he was joking.
He was bald on top but his hair was a bit wild on the sides and kept too long.
He had a kind of caterpillar of hair across the top of his lip and it had never seen trimming.
I could see how he'd have been picked on as a child. He looked like a natural born victim.
But if he ever looked at you--straight on--into your eyes--that was more than creepy!
It was like standing outside staring into the sun; you had to look away. Only--it was darkness blinding you.
Funny how some people you meet just fall into a special category: unforgettable.
I've done some internet searches for my old prison buddies and when I do occasionally
find one, I've never had Hoetzler come to mind so's I'd talk about him.
I'm sure they'd remember--but only the silliness of his appearance. That's what throws you.
It looks like if you ever spoke with him it would be a laugh. Ha! not this guy.
Not this guy.