Now that Biden's numerous positive results have exhausted all of the RepugnaKlan criticisms, they've gone back to their old standby: Crime. But it won't work because their dictator Twitler is one of the Biggest Criminals in History. Yet they continue to support and make excuses for him and those crimes. We the people, including a LOT of Republicans nowadays, just ain't falling for it anymore.
Lincoln Project: Tough on crime
DOJ's most recent filing
Pictures are shown of cover sheets on Top Secret documents concerning human controlled information, signals intelligence and a government satellite program.
"The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the storage room. And that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation."
What IRS funding in the Inflation Reduction Act means
No wonder tax cheats like corporations and RepugnaKlans hate it: It gives IRS the money to make them pay their fair share to society.
We geezers thought we had it bad
No comparison with today. And there's a clear villain to blame here: The bribed RepugnaKlan Party. The hero is how the Dems finally got a few Repugs* to go along with at least the minimal beginnings of gun reform legislation.
* 15 yeas in the Senate, in the House only 14 yeas. With those few temporary exceptions they are still the villains.
The differences between flu and COVID
Someone I know, who generally follows CDC guidelines and got vaxxed with boosters, got COVID. She is sure she got it from eating in a restaurant with a group because that's the only indoor place she went without a mask. She if fortunate to have gotten a mild case. And yet she is determined to eat in restaurants again.
When I asked if she was concerned about transmitting to people who might have pre-existing conditions and would likely not fare as well, she wondered if the risk was compared to the flu. This surprised me since that has been a common refrain from COVID deniers all along. So here is a CDC article on that comparison, a few excerpts below.
"COVID-19 spreads more easily than flu. [...] The virus that causes COVID-19 is generally more contagious than flu viruses. [...] Compared to flu, COVID-19 can cause more serious illnesses in some people. [...] Serious COVID-19 illness resulting in hospitalization and death can occur even in healthy people. [...] COVID-19 can also take longer before people show symptoms, and people can remain contagious for longer periods of time. [...] If a person has COVID-19, it could take them longer to experience symptoms than if they have flu. [...] Also, COVID-19 has been observed to have more superspreading events than flu."
And this is critical:
"Post-COVID Conditions are a range of symptoms that can last weeks or months after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 or can appear weeks after infection. Long COVID can happen to anyone who has had COVID-19, even if their illness was mild, or if they had no symptoms."
Then there's this comparison of death rates:
"The COVID-19 situation continues to change, sometimes rapidly. Doctors and scientists are working to estimate the mortality rate of COVID-19. At present, it is thought to be substantially higher (possibly 10 times or more) than that of most strains of the flu."
This article citing CDC data:
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in the US there were 1.8 deaths from flu per 100 000 population between 1999 and 2019. The estimated death rate from covid was 217.54 per 100 000 in the US and 206.73 per 100 000 in the UK."
According to this article, in the US as of August 2022:
"COVID 1,039,836. Flu 12,442."
Rogan's insanity on COVID policy
He said "vote Republican" while talking about Covid restrictions. That since Democrats tried to protect public health and safety with mandates they are somehow anti-freedom. He used Gov. DeathSentence as an example of what he considers protecting freedom when in fact what the Gov did was disproportionately cause the death and illness of many more people than States that had mandates.
If you're still a fan of Rogan and DeathSentence then at least have the decency to acknowledge the cost of human lives and health that you're selfish freedom entails. Sorry, I forgot that such folks have no common human decency. That contradicts their narcissistic obsession. My bad. Our only alternative is to defeat them for public office so VOTE PROGRESSIVE and be the real pro-life, pro-health, pro-democracy, pro-humanity Party.
Hasan: There's nothing 'semi' about RepugnaKlan fascism
Like me he is convinced what they're doing now if full on fascism. He is supported by Mike Godwin, infamous for Godwin's Law, which implies that if you invoke Nazism against your opponent you've already lost the argument. What does Godwin now say about the RepugnaKlan Party?:
"People have asked me my opinion of President Biden's criticism of 'semi-fascism.' Well I can't overstate my disapproval of the inappropriate use of 'semi.'"
Long-time fascism scholar Robert Paxton also previously thought it inappropriate to label Twitler fascist. He too changed his tune after Jan. 6 noting that "Trump's incitement of the invasion of the Capitol on Jan. 6 removes my objection to the fascist label. His open encouragement of civic violence to overturn an election crosses a red line. The label seems not just acceptable but necessary."
That RepugnaKlans either now outright justify the Jan. 6 and continued violence since then, or remain silent about it, is testament to their well-deserved fascist label.
Lincoln Project: What you're voting for
When you vote with the RepugnaKlan Party. If you're a true patriotic conservative they no longer represent your values.
Well done workers
You said you wouldn't work for peanuts anymore and now some employers responded with better wages. And they don't have to charge much more for the product either. As long as the wage increase is more than the product increase workers still make out. Imagine that.
The defunding side of college tuition
Some more basic math. Public colleges and universities have undergone severe and intentional defunding by RepugnaKlans over the years. Hence they've had to raise their tuition rates to keep afloat. Not to worry though. Also as intentionally planned the predatory loan business swooped in to keep us indebted for life.
Wages and prices, then and now
It's basic math. But we must remember that RepugnaKlans have been out to destroy public education all this time. So their brainwashed followers literally can't do the math. The receipts for the meme.
Who is behind the curtain?
Recall in Wizard of Oz it was a man behind the curtain manipulating an image to control others. Same difference in the loan forgiveness issue. The crapitalistic wizard wants you to believe that it's just irresponsible people who renege on their commitment. However what's happening behind the curtain is that it's a predatory loan industry that compounds interest so that you are paying back far more than you ever borrowed, oft times double or more.
Where Oz, when confronted, helped those who exposed him, crapitalism refuses to acknowledge its corrupt business model. They keep framing it in a way that perpetuates a system that keeps us in debt and servitude. In this analogy they are an evil wizard more akin to the Wicked Witch of the West rather than a wise and beneficent helper of humanity. If effect it is our job to listen to Toto and pull back the curtain exposing this corruption. And instead inculcate the values of fairness, justice and our common humanity.
Why fascists hate education
The meme is supported by this report. Higher education has always been the enemy of fascism. Understandably they are upset over anything that helps us to obtain it.
The real affidavit
This link has a copy of it. There is a lot to comment on. But for now I'll concentrate on just one item. Page 3 notes possible violations of 18 USC 793(e), which it quotes as follows:
"Under 18 US Code 793(e) '[w]hoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document...or information related to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury or the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered or transmitted,' or attempts to do or causes the same, 'to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer of employee of the United States entitled to receive it,' shall be fined or imprisoned nor more than ten years, or both."
The legitimate speculation then is that Twitler may have not just illegally had the documents but shared, or intended to share, them with those "not entitled to receive it." Otherwise why did they even include that verbiage of the statute if it was just about retaining the documents?
Liberal redneck on student loan forgiveness
He highlights progressive arguments for it and lampoons regressive excuses against it.
The real reason Repugs are upset
They hate helping the working class, and by extension, society as a whole. They just want to help their bribers so they get more bribes.
Student loan forgiveness metaphor
The criticism is basically: I was ripped off with greedy compound interest that ends up being far more than the loan so you should be too. It's a sick rationalization. What kind of society do we want?
Biden calls RepugnaKlan Party "semi-fascist"
It's a step in the right direction in framing them. But there's really no 'semi' about it.
With book banning, eliminating freedoms, punishing difference, white Christian nationalism, purging voters, attempts to overturn free and fair elections, inciting violence, arming vigilantes, enabling school shootings, destroying public health, forced birth, erasing history, abandoning law and order, obstructing justice, engaging in a coup, constant lying including the Big Lie: They are well on their way to full-blown fascism. And they'll achieve it if we don't fight back hard, fast and now.
Quit the half measures Biden. We need a full on assault. Call them what they are: Fascist. We need to know who and what our enemy is if we are to beat back this rape on our democracy.
Threats to democracy #1 voter issue
According to recent polling. However it depends who is interpreting that threat. For Democrats it's more what the Jan. 6 Committee is exposing, as well as the FBI raid on Twitler. For Republicans though they see a stolen election and voter fraud as that threat. Granted the facts support Democratic concerns while the Republican concerns are lies. Nevertheless, both sides figure into that polling so it's a matter of winning the argument on what that threat really is.
538 on the midterms
49% of Americans approve of the FBI search while 38% do not. The numbers are similar for other Twit investigations. 50% say Twit has definitely or probably broke the law, which includes 25% of Republicans. This should be a key issue for the mid-terms, hammering that Twitiot candidates are criminal accessories.
Abortion has become a key issue for 70% for Democrats. This played out in NY's 19th district special election. Democratic Ryan made it an issue and won by 2% against his Republican opponent. Some consider it a bellwether for the mid-term elections.
Dems now have a 63% chance of keeping the Senate. Part of this is the shitty Repug candidates Walker, Oz and Vance. This reflects on the above numbers, since Twitler supports all three and voters are tiring of his criminal behavior.
Ben and Cameo WCS
2nd place Champions Jack and Jill at SwingTime Denver 2022. Their move at 0:50 is a creative new combination I haven't seen before.
The idiot's guide to Christian Nationalism
Betty Bowers once again shows the hypocrisy and propaganda of this fascist movement.
Yang san shou
Also see this article with descriptions and images. And this video. And this video. And this video of Tung san shou. In section 4 they do the whole thing slowly at around 45:00. Then they do it at speed around 51:00.
Socialized medicine is terrifying to whom?
Only to the corrupt health insurance industry. For we the people it works just fine. Maybe the former should go out of business and all of its employees find work administering a single-payer system? Of course then we'd have to have comprehensive reeducation and strict oversight systems because they've all learned how to be rip-off scumbags.
How many Republicans believe the Big Lie?
This from the NYT Morning Newsletter is alarming:
"Republicans who falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent now make up more than half of the party’s major elected officials in some states. In the House of Representatives, almost two-thirds of current Republican members objected to the 2020 result in at least one state. So did eight senators and attorneys general in 17 states."
The article continues to break down Republicans into three categories: The deniers, the enablers and the accepters. The first group are the above Repugs. The second group includes the likes of McCONhell and DeathSentence. While they avoid the Big Lie directly they nonetheless support those who do because they recognize that the Party has been so infected by it that they need those voters. The third group are those like Cheney who flat out call it what it is and rightly think it's tantamount to the downfall of democracy.
Unfortunately the first two groups collectively are by far a majority of the Party, which spells democracy's doom. The article pessimistically concluded that it's likely the first group would overturn a legitimate election and the second group would likely enable it. We best get off our asses and fight this before it's too late.
Black Hole Sun
Here's a NASA sound recording of a black hole. Meanwhile here's Soundgarden on the topic.
Honest Govt. Ad: UK
Seems the UK is going through that same shit as the US: Corruption in government at the public's expense. As usual this group nails it.
McCONhell knows some Repug candidates suck
In particular, Vance, Walker and Oz. He's made it quite clear in more general public statements. His motivation though is purely about winning back a Senate majority. And these candidates are going to prevent that.
McCON knows though that he must keep quiet about the underlying reasons. That is, this anti-democracy, pro-fascist takeover of his Party from top to bottom. But he knows it to be true given his criticism of how that dynamic has led to their primary victories. So he is just as much responsible for that fascist takeover because he won't openly admit and fight it. Instead he chooses to accept it to keep those voters. It's a must-win to retain power and democracy be damned in the process.
PS: Also see Krystal discussing it starting at 2:35 in this video.
Barr lied about considering obstruction charges against Twitler
Shocking, right? Prior to the bookmark in the video below, Rachel goes over how the Mueller Report detailed 10 possible cases of obstruction of justice against Twit. Barr said in a memo that he reviewed it and after looking into those recommendations determined that Twit did not commit any obstruction.
Turns out the DC Federal Appeals Court said Barr never even considered the evidence in the Mueller Report at all. So while Barr testified against Twit in the Jan. 6 Committee it was more to cover his own ugly ass. He is significantly responsible for Twit's subsequent actions because he let Twit get away with a legitimate case of 10 obstruction charges.
Combine that with how the RepugnaKlan Party also enabled Twit by voting against two legitimate impeachments. We must never let American voters forget that they are responsible for Twitler going as far as he did. We must tie them forever to this monster because they are accomplices to all of his crimes.
PS: Also see Kirschner's report on this.
Wednesday Addams
New TV series starting this fall. The preview below makes it look like a LOT of fun.
Lincoln Project: Kari Lake wants to fire the federal govt.
And what are the consequences of that? Obviously she hasn't thought it through. But thinking never was a Twitiot trait.
Contradictory CDC COVID guidelines
On 8/7/22 the CDC reported that it would maintain its pandemic recommendations on masking, testing and isolating. They also continued to recommend that "people should still use high-quality masks indoors in areas with high levels of Covid transmission. And people who have tested positive should isolate for at least five days, then wear a mask at home and in indoor public places up through day 10."
It was based on nearly 500 deaths and almost 136,000 new cases per day. At that time Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist and associate professor at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, noted that "it's reasonable to suggest that holding onto interventions is a good idea as we move into the fall and winter, which are likely to be worse."
Then on 8/11/22 the new CDC guidelines came out. Schools and institutions don't need to screen people anymore. No more social distancing. No more quarantining for the unvaccinated. If you do contract it there's no need for a negative test before ending a more limited 5-day quarantine. According to the CDC stats there are still 94,000 new cases and nearly 400 new deaths per day. The transmission levels continue to be high in 92% of US Counties.
And now Hanage said that the guidelines are "a concession to realism, to the way that a lot of people are handling this [and are] entirely reasonable." What a difference 4 days make, eh? Whereas Julia Raifman, an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, said: "The CDC sets the bar on what should happen, like a speed limit. Instead, we have the CDC establishing that there are no speed limits and making it very difficult for state and local governments to set better policies."
Nothing (1984)
Continuing this post on satire, back then I was beginning my study of Qabalistic Tarot and the foundation of creation was the Three Veils of Negative Existence. So while this song is about that philosophical notion, I parodied myself since I used it to rationalize my off the grid lifestyle.
Human potential satire 2
This is a continuation of this prior post. Satire is an ancient art form that contains grains of truth but uses humor and exaggeration (slight to heavy) to expose the folly and inherent absurdity of a particular claim.
In that light I offer another satire that I previously omitted, as it was buried and lost in this Facebook Integral Postmetaphysical Spiritually forum thread. This one is based on numerous sincere claims from philosophy and math on the notion of nothing or zero. Which I too take rather seriously. For example: The veils of negative existence from Qabalah; The Quintessential Teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj; This song from the band Death; The empty set; The essential mathematical concept of zero.
Maher: Go to the mall instead
He has a good commentary this week on the devastating social and environment costs of shopping online.
18 Twitler officials: His 'standing order' is BS
That's right, 18 of them said his 'standing order' to automatically declassify documents when he removes them from government property is only in his head.
John Kelly, former Chief of Staff: "Nothing approaching an order that foolish was ever given. And I can’t imagine anyone that worked at the White House after me that would have simply shrugged their shoulders and allowed that order to go forward without dying in the ditch trying to stop it."
"Mick Mulvaney, Kelly’s successor, also said he was not aware of any such order. Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton called Trump’s claim 'a complete fiction.' Olivia Troye, who was a homeland security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, called the idea of a blanket declassification 'ludicrous.'"
Blue sky thinking
From David Loy:
"Well, this relates to the way we understand spirituality and meditation. For example, we often tend to understand meditation—in Zen especially—as getting rid of thoughts. We think that if we can just get rid of thought, then we can see the world as it is, clearly, without any interference from conceptuality. We view thinking as something negative that has to be eliminated in order to realize the emptiness of the mind. But this reflects the delusion of duality, rather than the solution to duality. As Dogen put it, the point isn’t to get rid of thought, but to liberate thought. Form is emptiness, yet emptiness is also form, and our emptiness always takes form. We don’t realize our emptiness apart from form, we realize it in form, as non-attached form. One of the very powerful and creative ways that our emptiness takes form is as thought. The point isn’t to have some pure mind, untainted by thought, like a blue, completely empty sky with no clouds. After a while that gets a little boring! Rather, one should be able to engage or play with the thought processes that arise in a creative, non-attached, nondualistic way. To put it in another way, the idea isn’t to get rid of all language, it’s to be free within language, so that one is non-attached to any particular kind of conceptual system, realizing that there are many possible ways of thinking and expressing oneself. The freedom from conceptualizing that we seek does not happen when we wipe away all thoughts; instead, it happens when we’re not clinging to, or stuck in, any particular thought system. The kind of transformation we seek in our spiritual practices is a mind that’s flexible, supple. Not a mind that clings to the empty blue sky. It’s a mind that’s able to dance with thoughts, to adapt itself according to the situation, the needs of the situation. It’s not an empty mind which can’t think. It’s an ability to talk with the kind of vocabulary or engage in the way that’s going to be most helpful in that situation."
Lindsey Stirling - Love Goes On and On
Featuring Amy Lee of Evanescence. Two of my favorite female artists together. Lyrics here.
Why are more people supporting Democrats?
It's shocking that Pox Spews would openly admit that per their recent poll there is a massive shift to Democrats in key demographics. The video explores why that is and concludes it's because of RepugnaKlan obsession with Big Dick Energy (BDE). Kari Lake, who won the GQP primary for AZ Governor, explicitly calls it that.
And what it means is surrendering to a fascist male dictator who tells us what to believe and do. Who controls every aspect of our lives. It's what Lakoff calls Strict Father ideology aka the Big Dick. And that is exactly why there is this significant shift away from that Party toward Democrats, who are in a battle for democracy.
So perhaps we need to frame Lakoff's alternative Nurturing Parent ideology with a catchy name to counter the fascists. How about Big Love Energy? Big Intercourse Energy?
Liberal Redneck: Cheney and the new GQP
Cheney's primary defeat confirms the end of their Party as one that formerly believed in democracy but has now turned fascist. Granted some Republicans like Cheney still want free and fair elections and law and order, but the majority in that Party do not.
Twitler-backed primary wins
This is quite serious, that this many Republicans believe in the Big Lie and Biggest Liar. Twit's endorsed candidates won 42 of 60 primaries. The interactive web page for the tally is here.
Here's hoping Dems can defeat them in the general election. While 538 predicts a 63% chance of Dems holding the Senate, it's only 22% for the House.
If they'd pay their fair share
Since they will never voluntarily contribute to society it's up to us to force our representatives to tax them fairly. Yes, that would require our representatives to not be bribed by them. So consider where your candidates for office get their contributions and vote accordingly (https://www.opensecrets.org/).
Schumer's back room deal with Manchin
If you thought the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was too good to be true then you were right. It turns out that Schumer made this handshake deal in order to get Manchin on board with it. This poison pill "focuses primarily on permitting changes that would help fast-track fossil fuel infrastructure—including a long-delayed pipeline in Manchin's home state of West Virginia. [...] The proposals included in the list would limit state authority under the Clean Water Act, require federal agencies to rush review processes, and limit—or even avoid—review under the National Environmental Policy Act. These measures would put a great deal of strain on federal agencies and limit their ability to thoroughly vet permits for polluting infrastructure. The wish list would ultimately benefit the fossil fuel industry and bring further harm to our climate and our futures."
House leaders plan to attach this atrocity to "must-pass spending legislation such as a bill to keep the government funded." Rep. Tlaib said that "handshake deals made by others in closed rooms do not dictate how I
vote, and we sure as hell don't owe Joe Manchin anything now." Other House Dems are joining the chorus so we need most all of them to demand it as a stand-alone bill and then vote it down.
It will need 60 votes to pass in the Senate because it's outside the reconciliation process. That means it will require at least 10 Democratic Senators. So Schumer will be pressuring his Senators to go along with it to keep his despicable deal with Manchin. Once again we'll need to fight the establishment Dems to prevent a decent IRA, and our environment, from getting badly diluted and polluted. Please contact your Senators and tell them to vote it down.
Also see this UUSJ article discussing the side deal.
Buckminster Fuller and the geodesic dome
Those with even a passing familiarity of him know he is famous for the creation of the geodesic dome. The dome was actually created by someone else but Fuller expanded upon and popularized it. The dome is based on the principle of tensegrity: "A structural principle based on a system of isolated components under compression inside a network of continuous tension, and arranged in such a way that the compressed members (usually bars or struts) do not touch each other while the prestressed tensioned members (usually cables or tendons) delineate the system spatially."
It's a highly technical definition. I incorporate a less technical definition of tensegrity into my exploration of the different domains of hier(an)archical synplexity, an offshoot of hierarchical complexity. This brief paper is more of an annotated table of contents for the longer video discussion here. Below I copied and pasted from the former:
Abstract
Metatheory is that which juxtaposes, organizes, and integrates theories. Hier(an)archical synplexity accomplishes this via its principles of same/difference and the tensegrity that separates yet connects in the overlapping boundary spaces within and between a plurality of complementary yet autonomous theories.
Introduction
The following was written as a general outline and summary of ideas in preparation for the Integral Stage video series on Meta-models in the episode focusing on the above topic (Alderman et al. 2020). Please see the video for a deeper dive into the material.
Hieranarchy
John Caputo (2006) coined the term ‘hieranarchy’ and described it as the negotiation between the finite conditional and infinite unconditional. It is not a simple anarchy opposed to hierarchy but rather the relationship and tension between them. They are not strict, clearly defined opposites but rather ideas that are mutually entailing. It’s a difference that makes a différance, i.e. the same difference in the space between them.
Bryant (2014) discussed ‘an-arch,’ which only eliminates an ultimate, transcendent authority on its own deciding the law. It’s similar to Caputo in that the law is decided by the exception within the rules. In a sense that is how US law in theory operates, in that the particulars of each individual case determine how the rules are applied. Again, that tension between the two notions of transcendent and immanent, which is neither in total distinction but both in dynamic relationship. It is only when the transcendent is seen as the hierarchical source of the immanent where a priori metaphysics goes awry.
This is explicated further in Derrida’s examination of Plato’s description of khora. Khora is not a transcendent principle but rather an excess space between heaven and earth where both are negotiated. Once again the term ‘an-arche’ appears as différance, that principle by which complements interact. It is thus a way to keep meaning open so that it doesn't become fixed and rigid. All possibilities reside therein so that different contexts as yet unseen will provide new meaning. It requires that we are ceaselessly pushing our boundaries and testing our limits, boldly going where no one—except perhaps Jean Luc and crew—have gone before (Caputo, 1996).
Mark Edwards’ metatheory
Edwards (2010) takes up the above thesis when he notes that metatheory is not about creating one transcendent super theory that subsumes all other theories, but rather seeing how those theories relate, how they both support and challenge each other. He uses the notion of interpretative lenses to show which lens(es) each theory uses to support its edifice, and how other lenses are missing so thereby incomplete. The categories of his lenses include holarchical, bipolar, cyclical, standpoint and relational, with examples in each category.
Edwards et al. (2015) further explores how these lenses are organized in metatheory via the metaphor of bridges. Bridges exemplify the connecting and overlapping spaces that are negotiated in the tension between them. In this way it avoids the transcendent metaphysics noted above because there is no dominant lens or view that subsumes the others. Instead it’s a metaphysics of tensegrity, or syntegrity as they call it, whereby “the integrity of the structure is determined by the distributed tensile stress of the entire system.”
Edwards noted that his lenses appear so consistently in theories that they likely originate is some embodied mechanisms. Indeed they do, so to that we now turn.
Image schemas and basic categories
Lakoff and Johnson (1999) describe the nature of image schema as spatial and perceptive categories that ground our more abstract concepts. These are qualities that we pre-consciously ascribe to objects as intermediaries between the objective world and our subjective experience of it. Sample schemas include “container, source-path-goal, part-whole, center-periphery, link, cycle, iteration, contact, adjacency, forced motion (e.g., pushing, pulling, propelling), support, balance, straight-curved, and near-far.” One can see the embodied grounding to Edwards’ lenses.
Basic categories are how we directly and optimally interact with the objective world. It is the level at which a single image can represent the entire category. The category ‘chair’ is an example. It is the easiest image to do so instead of a more particular kind of chair or the more abstract category furniture. When viewed in any given categorical hierarchy, they are in the middle. Unlike hierarchies which have a fundamental smallest thing and/or a fundamental largest thing, the actual fundamental thing is smack dab in the middle. So this turns the typical Aristotelian or Platonic hierarchy requiring a priori necessary and sufficient conditions not upside down but inside out based on empirical perceptual categories.
Once again, both image schemas and basic categories are in a syntegral relationship holding together and redefining complements, in that middle space supporting a metaphysics of the between.
Madhyamaka
The term itself means the “middle way” between essentialism and nihilism. Granted there are disputes between the different Tibetan schools as to the interpretation of what this constitutes, but the one that most supports my thesis is that of Tsongkahapa of the Gelug clan as interpreted by Thakchoe (2007).
Again we see that ultimate and relative truth are mutually entailing rather than diametrically opposed.They are of a single ontological status, that is, they are both empty of inherent existence, which means they are both dependently arisen and don’t exist in and for themselves. However, epistemologically they can be differentiated in that conventional cognition tends to see both as having an independent nature (samsara), whereas ultimate cognition sees them both as empty and dependently arisen (nirvana). Once one has experienced nondual equipoise through disciplined, meditative practice then one can realize both conventional and ultimate knowledge in the dynamic tension of their mutual relation.
Batchelor (1998) is also of the Gelug persuasion. He reiterates that the two truths are ontologically dependently originated and mutually entailing, nonetheless through the illusion of samsara one does not apprehend this truth. That can only be discerned through the equipoise and non-dual meditative discipline, which transforms convention thought into nirvana.
Garfield (2003) agrees. Conventional truth applies to the empirical world, which can cloud the perception of the ultimate truth as empty, co-dependent arising. Ultimate truth does not deny the existence of conventional existence and its properties, only that it can misinterpret those properties an having independent existence. So ultimate reality is in effect just as empty of independent existence as conventional reality. Paradoxically, the ultimate truth is that there is no ultimate truth, if by the latter we mean a strictly transcendent truth completely distinct and separate from the conventional. Per above, we again see their mutual entailment via the tension between them.
Tai Chi Chuan and Dance
According to the Tai Chi Classics (Barlow, 2020) one can "use four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds." To do this one must "distinguish clearly between substantial and insubstantial." Both are accomplished via compression and leverage, both within one's body and by applying them to another body. Compression and leverage are accomplished by maintaining 4 ounces of resistance or pressure between complements at all times and through all changes. Without this resistance our biomagnetic and biomechanical energy does not flow with enough force to move much of anything, much less a thousand pounds.This is also critical in partner dance connection/communication.
For example, the fundamental premise of same-difference and connection-separation exemplifies the relation between any 'two.' This could relate not just a philosophical axiom but practically to one person or two people (or more). In practicing tai chi alone one is always playing with this ever-changing 'balance' between active and passive parts of their body-mind, or substantial and insubstantial. And there are several of these balances going on at the same space-time, like between the two hands, the two feet, the head and feet, the front and back, etc. These complimentary parts are connected yet "clearly distinguished."
Where the resistance or pressure comes in is in the dynamic tension between them. Note the preposition 'between.' It is what glues them together yet also keeps them apart like a generative (en)closure (Alderman, 2013). I.e, they are adjacent, not one and not two, at least not exactly (Pascal, 2013). This 4 ounces of resistance is strongly akin to any permeable boundary that is both open and closed, that not only separates one from another but also allows connection and communication with another. Hence the practice can also been done with another(s), which experience of working with another feeds back to working with oneself and vice versa. The ongoing training requires both. Hence this practice is also a non-dual, embodied syntegrity.
Model of hierarchical complexity
It is partly in response to the above model (MHC) that I came up with the phrase hier(an)archical synplexity. So let’s take a look at it.
Commons et al. discuss its Platonic and Aristotelian roots, which both arise from transcendent, idealistic and a priori axioms. Both operate on the dichotomous logic of the law of the excluded middle and set categorical necessary and sufficient conditions, i.e. something is either in the set or it isn’t. Also the orders of hierarchical complexity are fractals and scale-free, meaning the repetition of self-similar patterns at different scales. Yet Broido and Clauset, after examining a variety of a thousand networks, determined that models based on MHC principles do exist but are rare. And that other mathematical models are necessary to describe most other networks (Berge, 2019).
Lakoff and Nunez argue that there is no one correct or universal math. There are equally valid but mutually inconsistent maths depending on one's premised axioms. This is because math is also founded on embodied, basic categories and metaphors, from which particular axioms are unconsciously based (and biased), and can go in a multitude of valid inferential directions depending on which metaphor (or blend) is used in a particular contextual preference. They dispel this myth of a transcendent, Platonic math while validating a plurality of useful and accurate maths (Berge, 2019).
Hence the HMC is metaphorical blend with a consistent and coherent inferential structure and useful when applied to networks with which it is applicable. But its premises are not founded in a priori, transcendent Platonic or Aristotelian idealism but rather embodied image schema and metaphor. And it isn’t applicable for networks outside of its purview. It is one of a plurality of valid and useful models to be taken into account and organized into an overall metatheory by the principles of hier(an)archical synplexity as noted above.
Bibliography
Alderman, B., Pascal, L, Berge, E. (2020) “Hier(an)archical synplexity.” Integral Stage video series on Metamodels. https://youtu.be/-j9__VKUkKE
Alderman, B. (2013). “Magic circles, generative (en)closures and kosmic foam.” Integral Postmetaphysical Spirituality forum. http://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/topics/magic-circles-generative-en-closures-and-kosmic-foam
Barlow, G. (2020). “The Tai Chi Classic.” Blog post. https://thetaichinotebook.com/2020/02/25/the-tai-chi-classic-part-1-a-new-interpretation/
Batchelor. S. (1998). “Letting daylight into magic.” Blog post first published in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. https://www.stephenbatchelor.org/index.php/en/letting-daylight-into-magic
Berge, E. (2019). “The root of the power law religion.” Integral World. http://integralworld.net/berge11.html
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Caputo, J. (2006). The Weakness of God. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Edwards, M. (2010). Organizational Transformation for Sustainability: An Integral Metatheory. New York, London: Routledge.
Edwards, M. et al. (2015). “Inter-bridging: Bridges and bridging as metaphors for ‘syn-integrality’ in organization studies and practice.” Integral Review 11;3, September.
Garfield, J., Priest, G. (2003). “Nagarjuna and the limits of thought.” Philosophy East and West, 53:1, pp. 1 - 21.
Lakoff, G., Johnson, M. (1999) Philosophy in the Flesh. New York: Basic Books.
Pascal, L. (2013). “Principles of adjacency (draft).” Integral Postmetaphysical Spirituality Ning forum. http://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/topics/principles-of-adjacency-draft
Thakchoe, S. (2007). The Two Truths Debate: Tsongkhapa and Gorampa on the Middle Way. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications.
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Songs, lyrics, poems
Songs, lyrics, poems and other writing/media
Here are about a dozen songs I've recorded at YouTube.* And this link is to my lyrics and poems folder at Google docs, mostly from my ...
