Hobo Jungle

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I've heard it said, recently, that the Devil's greatest achievement has been that people do not believe he exists.

Got an Academy award for that.......

[webenda]

but you must choose between God and the devil.

Let's get a 3rs option. I'm not sure I'm altogether buying what either is being sold as........

I nominate Neil deGrasse Tyson as a 3rs option.

[Roy]

Maybe if God would deal with his egotism and jealousy problems, he wouldn't find it necessary to hire assshole middle management.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Maybe if God would deal with his egotism and jealousy problems, he wouldn't find it necessary to hire assshole middle management.

Oh. Remarkable. The only impression I have had of him is that he is well informed, well educated, and super-experienced in the subject in which he has become an acknowledged and respected leader.

Your assertions have shocked me.
Murph

[Rufus T. Firefly]

............. assshole middle management.

Such succinctness!
Such eloquence!

[Roy]

Maybe if God would deal with his egotism and jealousy problems, he wouldn't find it necessary to hire assshole middle management.

Oh. Remarkable. The only impression I have had of him is that he is well informed, well educated, and super-experienced in the subject in which he has become an acknowledged and respected leader.

Your assertions have shocked me.
Murph

Where's Joseph Campbell when I need him?

[rogruth]

Maybe if God would deal with his egotism and jealousy problems, he wouldn't find it necessary to hire assshole middle management.

I thought he was talking about God.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Maybe if God would deal with his egotism and jealousy problems, he wouldn't find it necessary to hire assshole middle management.

I thought he was talking about God.

It would appear that you are right, Roger. Such a remark never occurred to me to be about God. I guess it was the incorrect lower-case "h" , as written by Roy, that distracted me from such a concept.

I wonder if that meant Roy feels God created the whole Universe (what is the count, currently, of galaxies, 14trillion?) so He would have somebody to adore Him. Wow, Roy, If that's the case, you sure are bold.

Hey Roy, Does "******* middle management" include such folks as the Buddha, Muhammad, prophet of Islam, Moses, all The Apostles, all the clergy that ever were, all the rabbis that ever were, all the imams that ever were, and saints such as Saint Augustine ? Just curious. Not looking for a kerfuffle, just clarification on your part of such a bold , sweeping statement.

[Roy]

Hey Roy, Does "******** middle management" include such folks as the Buddha, Muhammad, prophet of Islam, Moses, all The Apostles, all the clergy that ever were, all the rabbis that ever were, all the imams that ever were, and saints such as Saint Augustine ? Just curious. Not looking for a kerfuffle, just clarification on your part of such a bold , sweeping statement.

I was speaking of the devil. That's what we were talking about, Murph.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Is it only I who has, more than once, misunderstood the intention or message of things you have written? Has this happened more than once?
Those considerations are interesting to me since I have made my living for over fifty years using (reading; writing; listening; speaking) language with skill.
Is there something deliberately slippery or vague in your approach to using words? I have come to wonder. And as a result, I am uncertain about desiring further conversations.
Of course, there is the possibility that I have been reading postings , especially yours, too quickly, giving them only a cursory focus.

Yet, there is your use of the pronouns "his" and "he" after the noun God. Grammatically, they would refer back to the noun ahead if them; hence, to the word God. It's a stretch to conclude those pronouns refer to the post above them or to several male figures (is the Devil a "he"?) ahead of them.
Lastly, have you found Joseph Campbell to be concerned with and an authority on the Devil? If so, may I know the pertinent literary references for such an understanding. I'd like to read that. My only reference, so far, of his, has been "The Power of Myth" and his conversations with Bill Moyers.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Hey Roy, Does "******** middle management" include such folks as the Buddha, Muhammad, prophet of Islam, Moses, all The Apostles, all the clergy that ever were, all the rabbis that ever were, all the imams that ever were, and saints such as Saint Augustine ? Just curious. Not looking for a kerfuffle, just clarification on your part of such a bold , sweeping statement.

I was speaking of the devil. That's what we were talking about, Murph.

So, Roger and I were both wrong in our interpretation of what you were writing. Just a coincidence?
Furthermore, Tramp mentioned deciding between God and the Devil. And Wayne cited four passages from The Bible, two of which referred to God and two to the Devil.

[Roy]

Maybe if God would deal with his egotism and jealousy problems, he wouldn't find it necessary to hire assshole middle management.

When I spoke of God, I was referring to God. When I spoke of assshole middle management, I was referring figuratively to the devil, in his role as ruler of the Earth.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Clarification is good.

[healey36]

I spent yesterday in Virginia on a staff-ride with my friends from DIA surveying the Chancellorsville battlefield site. The weather was spectacular and I got a good look at this central Virginia region, the scene of so many horrific engagements during the Civil War (Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness and Spotsylvania, among others).

Living close to Gettysburg I was struck by the near total absence of monuments and markers commemorating this battle in Virginia. Chancellorsville after all is the site of what many historians consider Lee's greatest victory. In the face of long odds he whipped an army twice the size of his own (Hooker had 130,000+ troops, Lee just 60,000). Today much of the field remains in private hands and at risk...the fight today is the effort to thwart further development on and adjacent to this ground.

Of course the seminal moment of the battle was the felling of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson by friendly fire, an event that, despite the great victory on the field, would sharply reduce Lee's chances for success over the remainder of the war.

Here's a few pics of mediocre quality shot with an old LG flip-phone:


Looking west from the tree line from which Jackson's Corps emerged to rout the Union Eleventh Corps and begin rolling up the Federal line. It was here that the German-American troops of Howard's Eleventh Corps with their German brigade commanders were awarded the ignominious nickname "The Flying Dutchmen".


Looking northeast from the Confederate artillery position at Hazel Grove. Unlike at Gettysburg, the Confederate gunners performed brilliantly here, at one point hitting a column on the front porch of Hooker's HQ upon which he was leaning, knocking him senseless for a few hours. Had he remained out of action historians consider it likely that General Couch would have rallied the Federals and possibly turned the tide of the battle. Unfortunately for the Union Hooker soon recovered.


One of the few monuments on the field, this marks a spot close to where Jackson was hit by friendly fire as he returned from a recon on the evening of the second day.


In the lexicon of last words, Jackson's did himself well. Delirious from pneumonia, the loss of blood and an arm, he mused "Let us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees."

Healey

[rogruth]

Not much "caring" about history anymore.
"Social Studies" are more important.