ant

ant https://www.dailykos.com/news/ant News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Sun, 26 Jan 2020 12:34:43 +0000 Sun, 26 Jan 2020 12:34:43 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Ant https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/12/30/1822490/-Ant I didn’t step on the ant. I didn’t think about it all that much, just moved my foot a couple of inches over from where I would have been walking. So, I didn’t kill the ant. Ants are strong, industrious and fast. But according to entomologists Hölldobler and Wilson, on average I’m about 750 times taller, and would weigh about a million times more than that ant. Give or take. So I had an advantage of sorts. I didn’t feel particularly god-like, though there was an element of that as I towered imperiously above. Like a god, I also realized the ant probably wasn’t even aware I was there, or was only there in answer to some ant mysticism or mythology, but hardly in the corporeal sense. But I passed on crushing it beneath the soul of my shoe. It just wasn’t a day for killing, and I had the advantage of making that choice. But it reminded me of my own relationship to the ant, and my own role in a world where I am often, the ant. Times when I am helpless before forces beyond my control, forces I might not even be aware are impending. The folks in what was Panama City, Florida, probably felt some of that October 10 of this year as Hurricane Michael stormed ashore, almost a category five; Japanese families in Hiroshima and Nagasaki might have had a microsecond of awareness; Jews in Berlin most likely realized it was too late on Kristallnacht, Nov. 9-10, 1938. Times when we are the ant. Times when we want to shout to some larger deity, some agency, someone, any one, that we are alive, we deserve to live. But the choice isn’t ours. We make those choices daily, without a thought for most of us, relative to the plant and animal kingdom, enjoying our steaks, seafood, poultry, even the plants consumed on the diet of mystics and vegans. But we are all connected to that life, and when our bodies return to dust, some of that dust will give rise to the plants that feed the animals our children will consume. I didn’t step on the ant. That too, is a metaphor for me, in the stepping I do daily interacting with the people I know, and more so with those I know and love. In the poisonous world of ‘social’ media and vitriolic politics, we step on others. In business in particular, and politics, it seems those who step on others gain ground. Which is an interesting thought, ‘gain ground.’ They do gain that, real estate, profit. But they lose ground in the push and pull of the good and evil in being human, in recognizing and promoting the connectedness of all. They can become wealthy by stepping on people; they can even become president. But they add nothing to the good in the world, rather, they compound the evil. From time to time it is good to think about where we step. rss@dailykos.com (rogerman) ant Business Evil God Good Hiroshima Hurricane Kill Killing Kristallnacht Media mythology Politics President profit Rescued RescuedtoRecommended _1822490 Sun, 30 Dec 2018 20:24:29 +0000 The Ant Farm https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/3/6/1071831/-The-Ant-Farm Republicans have been like an ant farm; all the worker ants walking up and down the line like good obedient mindless worker ants carrying out the orders of the high priest ant Fox (and Limbaugh and Rove but that carries my analogy too far afield) with the soldier ants keeping them in line. Obama's election was like a giant shoe stepping on the entrance to the ant farm and sending all the little mindless worker ants scurrying around in confusion and panic. They've lost their Red Queen Ant and are desperately searching for her. Mitt Romney called out "Hey, I'm over here."  Michele Bachmann shouted from her corner “No, I’m over here—and I’m female.” Rick Perry drawled “I’m the Queen that’s kept y’all all employed.” Ron Paul squeaked “If I were your queen you wouldn’t have to obey anything I ordered you to do.” Rick Santorum firmly stated “I am NOT a queen but I sure like being surrounded by all these soldier ants.” Newt Gingrich spread his feelers in an all-encompassing gesture and proclaimed “I am not the queen of this ant farm—I AM the ant farm!” There were other pretenders to the throne who quickly devoured themselves before they could claim much of anything. rss@dailykos.com (farleftyguy) ant Black elizabeth Politics Queen RED _1071831 Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:41:02 +0000 Boehner: a FOX NEWS Perspective https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/7/1/880995/-Boehner-a-FOX-NEWS-Perspective John Boehner continues to reinforce my commitment to my longstanding progressive political and social views. He and other leaders of the GOP consistently state how 'we could have come-up with' (fill-in the blank), instead of this (fill in the blank) number of pages bill.     rss@dailykos.com (The Pardu) ant Boehner JohnBoehner NuclearWar _880995 Fri, 02 Jul 2010 02:19:43 +0000 John Boehner FINAL SOLUTION To FIN-ANT-CIAL REFORM ! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/7/1/880801/-John-Boehner-FINAL-SOLUTION-To-FIN-ANT-CIAL-REFORM John Bohner is a genius, we have been all wrong all along, by turning the worst recession since the great depression into an ANT he MINIMIZED the problem, making it almost non-existent, why is this brilliant?  By making the problem into one of the smallest insects known to man it means it can be dealt with proper measures like: rss@dailykos.com (DFutureIsNow) ant FinancialReform GOP JohnBoehner Recession Repellent _880801 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:40:23 +0000 The Ant and the Grasshopper (with poll!) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/1/9/823346/-The-Ant-and-the-Grasshopper-with-poll I know most of you have seen this email.  It's an old one, but apparently it's making the rounds again as a tea bagger call to arms. Here it is, with my response, below the fold... rss@dailykos.com (La Gitane) 2010 ant email grasshopper Lazy moral Taxes Vote Welfare Queen WelfareQueen WingNut _823346 Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:49:14 +0000 Ant and Grasshopper: Post-Modern Version (W/Poll) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/30/647117/-Ant-and-Grasshopper-Post-Modern-Version-W-Poll I often get emails from friends with the latest Republican version of "Taxes - Simple" or "Ant and The Grasshopper" that try to "explain" why voting for Democrats who will lower taxes for the middle class while asking the wealthy to pay their fair share is somehow  against the laws of man and nature. The most recent "Ant and the Grasshopper: Two Versions" arrived today with a Modern Version that includes a full cast of race-based bashing of liberals, media, the courts, taxes, welfare, equal opportunity and Kermit the Frog.   This is how they wrap up their twisted tale: rss@dailykos.com (Into The Woods) ant Bailout DeadbeatWallstreetBankers grasshopper PersonalResponsibility wealthredistribution _647117 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:50:58 +0000 The Pro-Choice Case That Needs To Go Viral https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/25/609744/-The-Pro-Choice-Case-That-Needs-To-Go-Viral Let's face facts. The Pro-Choice community has gotten complacent. While the Anti-Abortion groups continue to canvass and campaign and ask questions and write letters and protest on behalf of their side, the pro-choice community, comfortable with the status-quo has largely stayed silent. This is why, ever so slow, anti-abortion has wiggled it's way into being the majority opinion. The below video is the kind of nonsensible propaganda used by that group to sway moderates away from Obama and other democrats. And for that group, it is effective. <object width="425" height="344"><param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VqzMB-gA6Ro&hl=en&fs=1" name="movie"></param><param value="true" name="allowFullScreen"></param><embed width="425" allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VqzMB-gA6Ro&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344"></embed></object> It's time for the pro-choice community to make it's argument too. As a response, the below argument I implore you should be posted on blogs and message boards whenever appropriate. rss@dailykos.com (wikoogle) ant Pro-Choice _609744 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:00:41 +0000 Giving the old self a little passaroo https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/5/298472/-Giving-the-old-self-a-little-passaroo I have got to tell you - how can we keep talking about this meta, meta, meta stuff when the universe is unvieling itself to us by the moment.  While you all have been fighting over - I don't know I can't figure it all out, I'm always like five diaries behind - I have figured out one of the most important social-cultural phenomenons of our current age.  I call it giving the self a little passaroo (hence the title of the diary).  Basically what it consists of is that if you are the right person, in the right situation, if you do something wrong all you have to do is fling your hands in the air and say, "My Bad", and there, it's all better.  The more right a person you are, the more you can get over being wrong with one of these self-initiated passeroos.  How did I figure that out.  More below the fold. rss@dailykos.com (wilbur) ant paseroo _298472 Mon, 05 Feb 2007 16:32:15 +0000