Pierre-Joseph Proudhon – What It Means To Be Governed.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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I had intended to indulge myself today with a bit of a Sunday Sermon about the increasing intrusiveness of government.

But then I found a quote from a Frenchman named Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and I decided to let him use my pulpit on this occasion.

He didn’t know about the “En ess a” snoopers who have been listening to our phone calls, reading our emails, and spying on the leaders of nations that are supposed to be friends and allies of the United States, because he was speaking about what it means to be governed more than two hundred years ago.

Nevertheless, his words ring eerily true.

Nothing, it seems, has changed.

In fact today’s technology has made things far worse.

This is what he had to say all those years ago….

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To be governed is to be

watched over,

inspected,

spied on,

directed,

legislated at,

regulated,

docketed,

indoctrinated,

preached at,

controlled,

assessed,

weighed,

censored,

(and) ordered about,

by men who have neither the right, nor the knowledge, nor the virtue.

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To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction,

noted,

registered,

enrolled,

taxed,

stamped,

measured,

numbered,

assessed,

licensed,

authorized,

admonished,

forbidden,

reformed,

corrected,

(and) punished.

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It is, under the pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be

placed under contribution,

trained,

ransomed,

exploited,

monopolized,

extorted,

squeezed,

mystified,

(and) robbed;

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Then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be

repressed,

fined,

despised,

harassed,

tracked,

abused,

clubbed,

disarmed,

choked,

imprisoned,

judged,

condemned,

shot,

deported,

sacrificed,

sold,

betrayed;

and, to crown all,

mocked,

ridiculed,

outraged,

(and) dishonoured.

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That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.

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The man knew what he was talking about.

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Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, (1809 – 1865) was a French politician, the founder of Mutualist philosophy, an economist and a libertarian socialist. He was the first person to declare himself an anarchist and is among its most influential theorists. He is considered by many to be the “father of anarchism”. He became a member of the French Parliament after the revolution of 1848, whereupon and thereafter he referred to himself as a federalist.

(Bio source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Joseph_Proudhon )

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Failure Is The Path Of Least Persistence.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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If failure is path of least persistence, you can’t accuse me of failing to stick up for puns.

This series has already been going a lot longer than I ever imagined.

Will it ever end?

Eventually I suppose.

But not this week.

So enjoy or endure some more!

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It’s your attitude and not your aptitude

that determines your altitude.

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Last night I had a dream that a silicon chip and

a hard drive conditionally offered to bring my dinner over.

If memory serves me.

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It’s been decided that there will be a

new gay wing of the Government.

They’re starting with the Homo Office.

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Who is the worst chicken killer in Shakespeare?

Macbeth. He did murder most foul.

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L’Oreal camouflage paint.

Because you’re war fit.

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My wife gave me a leaflet about

anger management last week…

I lost it.

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People hang on my every word.

Probably why I lost my job at the Samaritans.

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Two old ladies knocked on my door,

selling the bible and brown bread,

they were the Hovis witnesses!

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I’ve got an idea for a new interactive reality TV show.

It’s called ‘Bone Idol’.

I can’t be bothered to send it in though.

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At the recent winter Olympics, as the rest of the

bobsleigh team prepared for their first run,

the brake man suddenly fell to the floor clutching his leg.

“Go on without me,” he cried.

“I’ll only slow you down.”

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Drilling for oil is boring.

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I used to run a dating agency for chickens.

But I was struggling to make hens meet.

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Did you hear about the Frenchman

who could only count to seven?

He had a huit allergy.

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Cool, although I just barley got it…a little corny….

I can’t help it, they just keep cropping up….

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A bulb walks into an airport without any bags

wearing nothing but a shirt, sandals, and a hat.

The check in girl looks at him and says,

“Travelling light?”

The bulb says “Yes, I am.”

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Ready To Give Your Head A Good Workout?

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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The title means, of course, that it is quiz day again.

So if you are ready to give your head a bit of a work out to start the week you’ve come to the right place.

Easy, tricky and difficult, you should find something in this lot to make you think a bit. And if you get stuck you know the answers are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below – but NO cheating.

Enjoy.

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Q.  1:  We all know about Martha Stewart, but what did the American Martha Graham become famous for?

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Q.  2:  What is the capital of Finland?

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Q.  3:  What in the human body is the epidermis?

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Q.  4:  Sitting Bull, a victorious chief at the Battle of Little Big Horn later went on tour in which travelling show?

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Q.  5:  In which famous short animation movie from 1969 does a beloved Disney character meet an untimely end?

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Q.  6:  Which very popular writer with a degree invented the word ‘nerd’?

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Q.  7:  Which three animals (a point for each) are directly responsible for  the most deaths each year in the USA? (The mosquito is excluded, as are fatalities resulting from a car crash with animals)

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Q.  8:  James Madison was the first US President to sport which clothing fashion?

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Q.  9:  In which two movies does Henry Fonda play the US President; and in which monumental movie does he play the ‘Medal of Honor’ winning son of US President Teddy Roosevelt? (Again a point for each correct answer)

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Q. 10:  Which Frenchman, famous for abhorring bad drink, said “A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world”?

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Q. 11:  David Hedison, Jack Lord, Rik van Nutter, Jeffrey Wright, John Terry, Cec Linder, Michael Pate, Norman Burton and Bernard Casey have all played which role in movies?

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Q. 12:  What kind of burst is the most powerful radiation known to science?  

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Q. 13:  Leningrad, Fort Sumter, Sarajevo and Massada are all examples of what?

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Q. 14:  Which famous Russian female made around the world headlines after the 3rd of November 1957?

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Q. 15:  Like other coastal regions in the area, what was the coast of Florida called in the 16th century?

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Q. 16:  What was depicted on the seal of the Knights Templar?

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Q. 17:  Which worry prone movie character is fluent in more than 6,000,000 forms of communication?

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Q. 18:  The name for which delightful and lofty empyrean goal stems from the Persian word for ‘walled enclosure’?

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Q. 19:  In which five US states has the USA tested atom bombs? (Another chance to get a point for each correct answer)

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Q. 20:  Philadelphia is the old name for the largest city in which country?

 

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  We all know about Martha Stewart, but what did the American Martha Graham become famous for?

A.  1:  As a Modern Dancer / Choreographer

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Q.  2:  What is the capital of Finland?

A.  2:  Helsinki

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Q.  3:  What in the human body is the epidermis?

A.  3:  Skin

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Q.  4:  Sitting Bull, a victorious chief at the Battle of Little Big Horn later went on tour in which travelling show?

A.  4:  Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show

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Q.  5:  In which famous short animation movie from 1969 does a beloved Disney character meet an untimely end?

A.  5:  Bambi meets Godzilla

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Q.  6:  Which very popular writer with a degree invented the word ‘nerd’?

A.  6:  Dr. Seuss.  From the book ‘If I ran the zoo’.

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Q.  7:  Which three animals (a point for each) are directly responsible for  the most deaths each year in the USA? (The mosquito is excluded, as are fatalities resulting from a car crash with animals)

A.  7:  Bees, dogs and horses.

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Q.  8:  James Madison was the first US President to sport which clothing fashion?

A.  8:  Long trousers (pants)

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Q.  9:  In which two movies does Henry Fonda play the US President; and in which monumental movie does he play the ‘Medal of Honor’ winning son of US President Teddy Roosevelt? (Again a point for each correct answer)

A.  9:  Fonda plays the US President in ‘Fail Safe’ and ‘Meteor’. In ‘The longest day’ he plays Teddy Roosevelt Jr.

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Q. 10:  Which Frenchman, famous for abhorring bad drink, said “A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world”?

A. 10:  Louis Pasteur

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Q. 11:  David Hedison, Jack Lord, Rik van Nutter, Jeffrey Wright, John Terry, Cec Linder, Michael Pate, Norman Burton and Bernard Casey have all played which role in movies?

A. 11:  CIA agent Felix Leiter in Bond films.

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Q. 12:  What kind of burst is the most powerful radiation known to science?  

A. 12:  A gamma ray burst. (A burst recorded in December 1997 was for a few seconds brighter than all the other objects in the entire universe put together.)

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Q. 13:  Leningrad, Fort Sumter, Sarajevo and Massada are all examples of what?

A. 13:  Famous or infamous sieges.

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Q. 14:  Which famous Russian female made around the world headlines after the 3rd of November 1957?

A. 14:  Laika. The Russian cosmonaut dog. (or muttnik )

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Q. 15:  Like other coastal regions in the area, what was the coast of Florida called in the 16th century?

A. 15:  The Spanish Main

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Q. 16:  What was depicted on the seal of the Knights Templar?

A. 16:  Two knights riding on one horse.

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Q. 17:  Which worry prone movie character is fluent in more than 6,000,000 forms of communication?

A. 17:  C3PO

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Q. 18:  The name for which delightful and lofty empyrean goal stems from the Persian word for ‘walled enclosure’?

A. 18:  Paradise

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Q. 19:  In which five US states has the USA tested atom bombs? (Another chance to get a point for each correct answer)

A. 19:  New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Alaska and Mississippi.

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Q. 20:  Philadelphia is the old name for the largest city in which country?

A. 20:  Jordan  (The city of Amman)

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Did You Know? More From The Strange Fact File

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Here is another very random selection of strange facts from fasab’s files.

As with other in this series, by the time you have read these you will know more than you did and possible more than you want to.

But have a look anyway.

Enjoy.

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The adult electric eel can produce a five hundred volt shock,

which is enough to stun a horse

– and I don’t mean a seahorse!

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As an iceberg melts, it makes a fizzing sound
because of the compressed air bubbles popping in the ice

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Kermit the frog delivered the commencement address

at Southampton College located in the state of New York in 1996

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The mythical Scottish town of Brigadoon

appears for one day every one hundred years

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A rainbow can occur only when the sun

is 40 degrees or less above the horizon

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The most common injury caused by cosmetics

is to the eye by a mascara wand

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The sound made by the toadfish when mating underwater

is so loud that it can be heard by humans on the shore

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In America, approximately 20% of children between

the ages of 2 – 7 have televisions in their rooms

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Families who do turn off the television during meals tend to eat healthier.

This was regardless of family income, or education

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Two out of five people end up marrying their first love

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Forty-one percent of women apply body and

hand moisturizer at least three times a day

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Scientists have determined that having guilty feelings

may actually damage your immune system

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The first box of Crayola that was ever sold

had the same eight colours that are sold in the box today

consisting of red, blue, yellow, green, violet, orange, black and brown.

The box was sold for a nickel in 1903

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The best time for a person to buy shoes is in the afternoon.

This is because the foot tends to swell a bit around this time

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According to psychologists, the shoe and the foot

are the most common sources of sexual fetishism in Western society

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Bank robber John Dillinger played professional baseball

John Dillinger top left

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The first company to mass produce teddy bears was the Ideal Toy Company

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Flight pioneer and pilot, Orville Wright,

was involved in the first aircraft accident.

His passenger was killed.

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The mother of famous astronomer Johannes Kepler

was accused of being a witch

Johannes Kepler 1610

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In the past 60 years, the groundhog has only predicted

the weather correctly 28% of the time.

The rushing back and forth from burrows

is believed to indicate sexual activity, not shadow seeking

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I Have Finally Decided On My New Year’s Resolution – It’s 1024 x 768!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Well, if you haven’t guessed already from the title, the year may be new but the puns probably aren’t!

But I figured if we get some of these in early then there’s a chance that the year will improve later.

Strap yourselves in. Here we go.

Enjoy.

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Does chasing the American Dream not count as exercise?

 

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Protons have mass?

I didn’t even know they were Catholic.

 

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Is Marx’s tomb a communist plot?

 

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I was checking into a hotel the other week.

At the counter, a guy in front of me said curtly to the receptionist, “I hope the porn channel is disabled.”

Unbelievable what some people are into.

 

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I went for a job interview as a blacksmith yesterday.

He said, “Have you ever shoed a horse?”

I said, “No, but I once told a donkey to f*** off.”

 

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I’ll stop at nothing to avoid using negative numbers.

 

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An Englishman, a Frenchman, a Spaniard and a German are all standing watching a street performer do some excellent juggling. The juggler notices that the four gentlemen have a very poor view, so he stands up on a large wooden box and calls out,

“Can you all see me now?”

“Yes.”

“Oui.”

“Sí.”

“Ja.”

 

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I’ve just taken up speed reading.

Last night I did war and peace in 20 seconds.

I know it’s only 3 words but it’s a start!

 

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I can’t see an end.

I have no control and I don’t think there’s any escape.

I don’t even have a home anymore.

Definitely time for a new keyboard.

 

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“Watch Back to the Future:- Tomorrow, on Yesterday” WTF????

 

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My laboratory assistant has invented a device that allows you to steal other people’s ideas and then permanently delete them from the subject’s memory. Why didn’t I think of that?

 

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I’m always frank with my sexual partners.

Don’t want them knowing my real name, do I?

 

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