Condolences

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6835347

A True Lighthouse in the Great Night.

"Be of good hope in the face of death. Believe in this one truth for certain, that no evil can befall a good man either in life or death, and that his fate is not a matter of indifference to the Gods." - Socrates

The worst thing about getting older is that you start losing so many of those you love.

Jackpine Needles

Cranky Commentary from a Countrified Curmudgeon

http://jackpineneedles.blogspot.com/

Dammit, some days it's just hard not to imagine a huge conspiracy is controlling the course of events in the world.
Monday, October 4, 2010

The US is now facing the greatest concentration of wealth at the top that we have seen since 1929, and we seem to have a Forever War going on. Even during the Clinton years, between the two Iraq wars, we continued a program of "low-intensity" warfare against Saddam. We have now shifted our focus to Afghanistan--that eternal sink of imperial ambitions--and will likely take on Pakistan next, followed by Iran.

The New Democrats in the US seem to be imperialist Republicans minus the hoods and burning crosses. The nation is being swept by anti-intellectualism: fundamentalist religion, climate change denial, writing Thomas Jefferson out of the history books, and the like. The public schools are being reduced to serf academies where students learn the minimal literacy and numeracy skills required to make them useful for their masters, while those parts of the curriculum having to do with critical thinking, artistic expression, and general understanding of the world are being subverted by various strategems.

A large portion of this country seems to think they live in a universe equipped with different physical laws than the one I believe myself to inhabit. Somehow, I think this is no accident. People who are willing to believe that humans coexisted with dinosaurs are also likely to accept the notion that their interests will best be served by deregulating the corporations and predatory investment banks, and that their true enemies are the trade unions, the Muslims, the socialists, and the brown-skinned unfortunates who pick their crops under brutal conditions for desperately little pay.


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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little reality-based minds.
Thursday, January 13, 2011

Give up consistency, give up rationality, give up the shackles of logic, and all things become possible to you.

You can balance the Federal budget by cutting taxes on the rich and create jobs by busting unions.

You can deny the poor the basic necessities of life, secure in your knowledge that you are doing the work of the Lord.

You can run an oil-based economy forever because oil is a renewable resource and there are no harmful consequences to burning it.

You can call your opponents “enemies” and “traitors” and advocate their assassination and rest assured that you have no responsibility when someone acts on your word.

You can take from others whatever it pleases you to take, and do to them whatever it pleases you to do, knowing that you are merely helping the Lord to carry out His will on those who deserve no better.

You can subject your enemies to pain, torture and death, knowing full well that you have the Lord’s blessing because they are also His enemies.

And finally, if you have any mild twinges of fear for your soul, at the end of your days you can utter certain magical phrases and all will be forgiven--if, indeed, there is actually anything to be forgiven in one who has lived such an exemplary life as yours has been.

http://jackpineneedles.blogspot.com/

Love his stuff. Damn he'll be missed.

He reached out to me and have me kindness years ago, when I was in a lot of pain and leaking it around here.

❤

I guess we HAVE been here a long time. The losses ARE immeasurable at this point.

Those of us who have been here for a while have all grown up, and a bit greyer, in this place. Together.

Here's to old friends, and may we never forget any of them.

Go in peace, Jackpine Radical.

I read for about a year before I joined. Even though I have been an activist most of my life, I felt I did not know much.

JackPine Radical was one of the first people here to speak to me and make me feel welcome.

RIP

Thank you.

I feel so sad

We have a lot of good people here as well as a few jackasses but the good outweigh the bad by far.

I don't know how to put into words how bereft I feel. I want to say something comforting to my fellow DUers, but I'm too crushed and sorrow-ridden to be of any use to anyone. I just wish I were as fine a person as Jim was, as selfless and compassionate and equanimous as he was.

We met up together a couple of times. We had lunch together, hiked through the woods together, had a couple beers together, and talked for hours. I was totally in love with him. Had he not been married, I would have done anything to be with him. I was scrupulous about keeping those feelings to myself. I wanted to be friends with him, without any shadow of desire, with full respect for his marriage. Nonetheless, I never stopped loving him.

I will never forget him, never stop loving him.

I never had the pleasure of meeting him in person, but I always loved his posts. He seemed like such a wise and kind person.

A most generous and and gentle and loving spirit. With an absolute killer sense of humor.

Like, discussing non-violence while walking in the woods - was it okay to swat mosquitos? If one wished them a better incarnation before swatting them, were we doing them a favor by speeding them on to their next life?

Damn. This is hard...

that I felt when JeffR passed. You just assume that some people will be here forever.

of any person....wise and kind?

We should all hope to be thought those things.

I only met him once at a meet up years ago. I always enjoyed his posts and will him and his writings very much - but I know your loss is much more personal than that.

Treasures like him are rare, indeed. My heart breaks for you and all that loved him.

family. May they find peace in time.

I wish I could put in words the way I feel about this immeasurable loss.

yes.

💔

At a time when I needed that.

We chatted from time to time, and I admired him very much.

💔

immeasurable loss.

But thank you. I feel honored. And I'm very grateful for this thread.

Jim/Jackpine was such a special and wonderful human being. We were all blessed to have him among us.