The Microscope, part 2

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Part 2 of a short fiction work set in my unique world.  I’m trying for updates every Wednesday.Part 1 here:  http://davidvandykestewart.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-microscope-part-1.html             Felix forced his breathing to slow in an effort to control his anxiety and stop his shakes. Laying prone, he pushed his face into the soft fabric covering his shoulder to mask the sounds of his breathing as footfalls from the stairwell amplified in their approach.  He pushed his bag, containing the microscope, hard into his ribs and said a silent prayer to Prometheus. “Of course my lord, tell me more,” a demure voice said. …

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More Words That Emanate From the Hindquarters of Male (Genetically Modified) Cattle

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1. GMO/Monsanto/etc.  Let’s be honest, most people who post on Facebook about Monsanto (you know who you are) have no flipping clue what they are talking about; they’ve never set foot on a farm and have no concept of how the food industry works. They have probably never seen a live domesticated chicken (hint: was it white?), or have no idea what the fertilization process of corn is. Unless you eat exclusively wild game, all the food you eat is genetically modified.  ALL OF IT.  Cows didn’t just evolve into oversized meat-bags producing an excess of milk.  Those phenotypes were carefully…

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The Microscope, part 1

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The beginning of a short fiction work set in my unique world. I have a thing where my fiction just has to be read in Times, so sorry if the font bothers you. Enjoy!             Felix rubbed the rosin bag between his hands vigorously, making sure to get plenty on his forearms and the back of his hands.  He tossed the bag to Marta and proceeded to grip each hand to the opposite wrist, pulling hard and feeling for the familiar friction that meant safety during the show.  He had only ever dropped a partner once, and…

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Words or Phrases that Should Immediately Set Off Your B.S. Detector

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1. Equality-  There’s such thing as equal before the law (in concept, not in practice), but whenever somebody uses “equality” as a justification for something, you know the actions will involve theft, revocation of rights, or punishment for success and subsidy of failure. 2. Democracy- Even a casual student of the humanities knows how well democracy worked out for Socrates. Besides its serious shortcomings as a means of political organization, the idea of the majority rule is used as justification for a host of atrocities including foreign wars, theft through taxation, and as with Socrates, murder.  It, along with its…

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A Short Exposition on Bullying

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What is bullying? Bullying is classified a power relationship.  It is one of fear, and aggression, and violence.  It is one person being marginalized by another, being subjected to their will on some level, whether that will results in theft or malevolent degradation, or just plain violence. Bullying is a more horrific experience than you may realize. My childhood experience with my peers is one of violence.  Not necessarily as a “victim” per se, but as part of a general atmosphere.  Children sought to hurt each other, and they used far more than words; they used fists and knees and…

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The Heartbeat of the Emperor

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Twelve years and thousands of lives later, the war drums of the empire beat no more softly than they did when shifting face of the oligarchy was turned upon its own wounds.  It is the heartbeat of the emperor: vain, ceaseless, changeless, and unwilling to go gently into the night and allow men to be free.  The noble, gods unto themselves, play games with the lives of lesser men, with pride their only prize.  Honor and glory call the freemen to bind themselves and give their sword to those who would be kings.  The thrall tend the fields, fighting for…

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Political Philosophy 2: Rights and Responsibilities, pt. 1

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I. Introduction                Moving beyond the basic nature of human beings is the extension of rights that we ascribe to them, and the nature of those rights depends greatly on or view of the relationship of one man to another, and in a larger sense, one man to all men (or man to society).  As an American, the sensibility of rights is something that is nearly bred into us, a persistent word found in countless messages about our country, our history, and our neighbors that we have heard since birth.  Despite the prevalence of the word, the concepts that back…

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Political Philosophy 1: Human Nature

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               At the heart of every philosophy is a set of assumptions or conclusions on the nature of human beings and what guides their thoughts and behaviors.  It is perhaps too simplistic to dichotomize views on human nature, but as part of my own general view on humanity I understand that we understand our world through categorization, so on some level lines must be drawn, even on things which may not have a clear delineation of one position to the next.                Typically, discussions of human nature revolve around whether we are “good” or…

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The Value of an Education

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Lots of people talk about the value of a good education, but what is this value, really? The Market Value of a Degree Whether the market values your degree is almost entirely dependant on the type of profession you are entering and the type of degree you have acquired. A doctor must legally have a medical degree. Likewise a law degree is necessary to practice in most states. These are pretty significant gate checks if you are entering into these fields. So if you put in the time and effort to get an MD or JD there is a good…

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RETARD

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There are many in our world that would like to end the use of the words “retard” and “retarded.” Once upon a time these were politically correct replacements for moron and idiot (indeed, a student of history might know that Down Syndrome was once called “Mongoloid Idiocy”), and its literal meaning is “slow.” What you fail to understand is that the malicious use of these words is in no way attached to the conjunction of letters that is “retard” and “retarded.” Behind them is an idea, shared by most in our society, that it is better to be intelligent than…

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