Saturday, January 11, 2025

The Zen secret to letting go


Zen Buddhism: What is Zen Buddhism, its beliefs and symbols | TheMindFool

When you seek it, you lose it | The Zen Secret to Letting Go
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
(Einzelgänger) Jan. 11, 2025: What is Zen (the Japanese version of Chinese Chan) Buddhism? Let’s explore its core, several key concepts, and the practice. How does it differ from the traditional teaching of the historical Buddha (Siddhartha "Shakyamuni" Gautama) as embodied in the ancient Theravada Buddhist school and its practice of "tranquility" (jhana, dhyana, channa, chan, zen) and "insight" (vipassana, lit. "clear seeing") in this very life or through lives of striving?

Fun fact: most footage was shot during my recent trip to Kanazawa and Tokyo. This video: When You Seek It, You Lose It | The Zen Secret to Letting Go. #zen #alanwatts #taoism
  • As an American, I opt for a sudden awakening (because I ain't gots no time to be muddling through formal or intensive practice. I need to purify and clarify my inner vision and awaken ASAP!)
Where does "Zen" get all these non-Buddhist ideas? Lao Tzu's Taoism: The Art of Not Trying

Lao Tzu: The Art of Not Trying
Hi, Catty. My Tokyo culture came up with this.
(After Skool) July 9, 2024: The curious Taoist celestial sage Lao Tzu was aware of a human quirk. We get so lost in our intellectual prisons that we forget the "natural" way. We force and struggle, swimming against the stream [like the historical Buddha said his Dharma or Teaching traveled, not the way of the world but something counter to it]. We do this so much that sometimes we end up farther from our goals than when we started. So what if we stopped "trying" so hard and pursued a different way, an effortless way, of getting things done? This video explores Lao Tzu and the art of not trying or what one modern American author has capitalized on in his book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life. Because if there's one thing we Americans love, it's our misconceptions of what "Zen" is, teaches, and does. Happy Kensho or Satori.

Why does Theravada waste time with effort?

Theravada ("the Teaching of the Elder Enlightened Disciples of the historical Buddha") is such a drag. Why so slow, traditional monks and nuns? Get with the new program, the Hindu-fueled fast track to enlightenment and riches and everything you ever wanted. "Zen" sounds great, but it's an amalgamation that's gone off the rails.

It may be fun. It may be Taoism and Confucianism (and Shinto) with a whole lot of Vedanta and Hinduism thrown in, as is the way with Mahayana Buddhism. If only it worked as promised. What if we stripped away all the add-ons and cultural baggage? There might be nothing left but some naked Brahmanism/Hinduism.

Most of what people think is so "Buddhist" about Zen is actually Taoist. Have fun, but probably we shouldn't confuse it with or call it "Buddhism." That suggests the Buddha Shakyamuni was talking like this when he very much was not. What was he saying? His stripped-down teachings are reduced to misleading lists. The lists are good. The misleading part is that one can just memorize a list and think one knows anything.

Lists are a shorthand. They refer to very detailed teachings, most of which are not in the written texts but handed down in the teaching lineage of Theravada meditation masters. The suttas (discourses) are great for a broad understanding, and the Commentaries (like the Abhidhamma) are great for a pedantic detailed understanding (in ultimate terms), but actual practice always has been and is likely to always in the future be handed down through the practice.

Find a teacher who actually sits and teaches the art of sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindfulness, and the contemplations. The secret formula is this: Develop the jhanas (zens, dhyanas, chans, or meditative absorptions, which can be called the "meditations") to some extent, preferably to the fourth absorption, then apply the Satipatthanas or "Fourfold Setting Up of Mindfulness Practice."

Burmese Pa Auk Sayadaw (buddho.org)
That may sound fancy, but it's easy: Systematically practice mindfulness (sati) on four things: the body, feelings, mind, and mind objects. There's no need to figure it out. It is explained in the Satipatthana Sutta and the Maha Satipatthana Sutta. That's the conceptual part. The practice part is learned from an experienced teacher. There is one great one in Burma known as Pa Auk Sayadaw. Why is he great? He is a scholar-monk-practitioner. He actually did it, succeeded, and can explain it in terms of the texts. He is both a textual expert (scholar) AND a successful practitioner of it. Of what? He is a success at the practice of the Path that leads to enlightenment here and now in this very life. His greatest contribution may be that he left a line of awakened teachers able to teach -- monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (sayalays) and successful lay practitioners. They are out there.
  • (It is not true that Theravada advocates anyone take many lives; it may not be possible for everyone to reach full enlightenment in this life nowadays, but it remains true that nearly everyone can attain stream entry, the first stage of enlightenment, which assures full enlightenment in no long time, or what the Buddha promised was a maximum of seven more lives. That may sound like a long time, but compared to the countless lives we've already endured in samsara or the countless rebirths to come, it is as nothing, and it is a maximum. Most can finish in one more life, if they so wish, but now there's no hurry or stress because one is assured of no more rebirths in worlds of woe below the human plane, and one is likely destined for some very sublime and wonderful lives in the deva and brahma planes).
American Ajahn Sumedho | Buddho.org
There may be others (Thai Ajahn Chah and his Western students British Ajahn Brahm and American Ajahn Sumedho), but successful practitioner-teachers are rare. Most monastics prefer the easier route ("career") of study and teaching when it would be far better to apply those teachings to one's own life. In that way one could teach from experience and success, but this only very rarely happens.

Theravada may sound slow, but it is a back-to-basics movement about what the real Buddha, the historical human figure (rather than the Cosmic Buddhas and divine figures like Amitabha, Budai or Hotei, Guanyin or Kwan Yin, Avalokiteshvara, Ksitigarbha, and others) taught. The Buddha was not a Hindu (there was no Hinduism then) and not a Brahmin, not an advocate of the Vedas (though very familiar with them), and not an advocate of non-dualism, which many Mahayanists (acting like Hindus) equate with some kind of "enlightenment." Buddhist enlightenment is about penetrating the Four Ennobling Truths that lead one to the "noble" state of enlightenment/awakening. It is the way of direct wisdom, which is full of compassion.
  • Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; Einzelgänger, Jan. 11, 2025, After Skool, July 9, 2024

Simpsons: DE Weapon used on LA


All The Simpsons' predictions for 2025 😱 Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) on LA -- scary future
(Blakwoodz) Jan. 11, 2025: The Simpsons reveals future once again, but this time the most popular animated sitcom in history is revealing predictive programming for 2025. The Los Angeles fire was predicted by the writers for The Simpsons, which is something that looks unbelievable given the show is made here: use of a DEW or directed-energy weapon.


The show also seems to "predict" the rapture (or perhaps it's Project Blue Beam ushered in by government propagandists taking advantage of popular misconceptions about the Christian Apocalypse ("disclosure" or great "unveiling"), Armageddon (the location of another Jewish and Christian Zionist war), and the "Second Coming" of a Messiah figure (Maitreya, St. Issa, Iēsous, Yeshua Kristos, the nice Jewish boy Joshua, son of Yusuf and Miriam, drug mystery cult leader Jessie Kristus?), a prediction of famous Jesus returning as Christ. The Second Coming is finally at hand after the res-erection? What rough beast slouches towards Bethlehem to be reborn? The Simpsons says a rapture, maybe not The Rapture, and dedicates an entire episode to it, which is not as good as American Dad's "Rapture's Delight." But we get told what is to come by Homer and Co. not a Family Guy knockoff.
All links: linktr.ee/Blakwoodz. Business contact: blakwoodzbusiness@gmail.com. If anyone owns the copyright to content shown on this Blakwoodz video and would like it removed, contact: blakwoodzbusiness@gmail.com. x.com/Blakwoodz.

Channeled guidance from Bashar

WARNING: Is "Bashar" right? We do not know. Ask Darryl Anka, his channel. As when "Seth" speaks or "Abraham" advises, we ourselves must judge and decide.

What is the way? Shall we follow our bliss, like Abraham-Hicks says of the Law of Attraction? Are we to follow our feelings and heart...maybe our reason and head? Is it the Law of Vibration? What is the way of manifestation?

All asking, none knowing. All talking, none showing. All searching, none finding, traveling roads that go on winding. Channel Darryl Anka seems so passionate and sure.

The experience of our physical reality is mediated by our thoughts and views, our cognitive labels and feeling tone. Our response matters more than the world or universe that provokes us. Life is 51% response to 49% things that happen. Maybe what happens is the result of our previous karma, but what it (the results) will mean is yet to be determined, discerned, designated?

The road opened up before me. The Universe said, "Not this way" but did not seem to say which way then. Who or what was that up to? Might I choose? Did I fail to see the signs? Whither go I? Which way is "right"?

The Dharma knows all. The Buddha articulated a path (of practice) to bring about realization. Is it in line with what Bashar is saying? How about Galactica and Abraham-Hicks? Who can say, who can say when it can be any way?

The simulation seems adaptable. Now what? It's always the now. That means it's ours to choose. But we know not which way this leads or that -- so what to do? What is the guide?

I know, I'll call 888-CALL PSYCHICS and they can tell me for as much as $9.99 a minute or more. There was also that mysterious lady at the palm reading shop at the pier. And there's Aunt Lucy the Slatanic seance meister who listens to Slayer while prognosticating futures. Cash only.

Friday, January 10, 2025

How to fully live now (Alan Watts)


How to be fully alive now - Alan Watts
(After Skool) Jan. 7, 2025: In this animation, Alan Watts explains how most of us are failing to experience the reality of life for what it really is. We get so caught up in language, ego, time, money, "problems," and distractions that we miss the beauty of the present moment -- the eternal Now. It's an inspirational and profound speech on the real and tangible here and now. What were we previously thinking, carrying on and going about on autopilot?

WARNING: This is NOT a test run. This is your real life. Live.

Original audio sourced from: “Alan Watts - Limits of Language-2." ► Follow the Alan Watts Organization: Speech courtesy of alanwatts.org. Instagram: alanwattsorg. Facebook: alanwattsauthor. YouTube: @alanwattsorg

What will the Apocalypse reveal?


Orthodox Apocalypse, N. Macedonia
Apocalypse has a very specific meaning, namely, the great "reveal" or "disclosure."  What revelation is at hand?

Is it possible that we are about to find out how our own beautiful government commits democide with intention and planning rather than neglect or incompetence? We know compartmentalized groups within the government do very unsavory things no democracy would be proud of or readily admit to (like assassinating a popular figure for not kowtowing to the power structure). Why not burn a few primo acres in Hawaii, Paradise, or greater metropolitan LA?


the Greek word apokálypsis, from which "apocalypse" is derived, means a revelation. It has been defined by John J Collins as "a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, in that it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world," which he later refined by adding that apocalypse "is intended to interpret present, earthly circumstances in light of the supernatural world and of the future, and to influence both the understanding and the behaviour of the audience by means of divine authority" [14].


Latest on the wildfires burning across Los Angeles County
(ABC7) Jan. 9, 2025: A red flag warning for much of Southern California has been extended through Friday evening as four fires continue to burn across Los Angeles County. Here's the latest on where those stand. abc7.com/live-updates/socal-b...

Palisades burning: Inside the worst wildfire in L.A. history | About That
(CBC News) Jan. 10, 2025: CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service. Devastating wildfires continue to burn throughout Los Angeles and southern California. Nearly 10,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed, with more than 180,000 people displaced. Andrew Chang explains how drought conditions and Santa Ana winds contributed to the biggest of the blazes, the Palisades Fire in L.A. County, and why firefighters are struggling to contain it. Images gathered from Reuters, Getty Images, and The Canadian Press.

LA Fire reaches the Valley

Trump, Greenland, Elon, Meta, Pornhub


Trump to buy Greenland, bromance with Elon on the rocks, Zuckerberg kisses ring

(Jimmy Kimmel Live) Jan. 7, 2025: It is very windy and smoky here in Los Angeles, Jimmy got an on-the-scene weather report from Guillermo this morning, Cher is on the show tonight, Trump gave a double-doozy of a press conference today from Mar-a-Lago where he covered all the big issues from rebranding the ocean to windmills to water pressure, he suggested that he might buy Greenland and sent his son Don Jr. to check it out, Lara Trump is busy ruining Tom Petty songs, Hunter Biden and Flavor Flav hung out at a White House gathering for digital creators, the bromance between Trump and Elon Musk appears to be precarious, Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a suspiciously Trump-friendly announcement today, Pornhub is no longer available in Florida, and the show shines a light on all the craziness with 2025’s first edition of “This Week in Florida.” #Kimmel


Rare planetary alignment begins


A rare alignment of all the planets is about to take place. Make sure to catch it
(The Secrets of the Universe) Jan. 10, 2025: This January, six of the seven planets in our solar system will be visible at the same time. Among them, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will be easy to spot with the naked eye, putting on a show that’s perfect for stargazers of all levels. But it gets even better. In February, this planetary alignment will turn into a seven-planet parade, with Mercury joining the lineup — an event so rare that it’s a must-see for anyone fascinated by the local cosmos.

Visit bit.ly/sotumova and get 10% off on 6-inch and 8.5-inch MOVA Globes with code SOTU. How this content was made: Auto-dubbed audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated. Learn more

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Death pays a visit, leaving ruin


We'll never die. We're not about to fall off this.
It's strange to face death. There Death is, here life be, who will win out? Eventually, Death (Mara) wins almost every time. It's the "almost" that's the key. When does it not win?

The Buddha and the arhats (fully enlightened beings) do not die. It may seem as if they do. They go away. The reason they do not "die" is because death necessarily entails rebirth. Where there is birth, necessarily there is death. With death comes rebirth, with birth comes redeath. This is the cycle of endless suffering known among the Indian religions as samsara.

We die and are reborn, not arhats who no longer cycle.
It is not quite correct to say "endless" because it can be brought to an end, to cessation, and deconstructed. It is just as well to refer to it as endless because it will not be ending by itself. Samsara has no expiration date, no natural completion, no coming to a standstill on its own.

So long as there is fuel, the fire keeps raging. What fuels samsara? Karma (activities) rooted in attachment, aversion, and ignorance (the Three Poisons usually rendered greed, hatred, and delusion or lobha, dosa, and moha). Since each act has the power to produce an exponential number of results (vipaka and phala), it will not be exhausted anytime soon.

This problem of death -- the loss of everything we love and are attached to in our foolishness as if the things we love and cling to were not of a nature to fall away -- was solved by the Buddha. This is the great significance of his great awakening (maha bodhi).

What does it matter to us? Good for him that he overcame all that can harm and upset. But what about us? That's just it! He did not awaken and depart. He awakened and stayed for 45 years, teaching until he established the Dharma (Teaching) and a competent Sangha (a spiritual community of those successfully Taught). Now, what does "successful" mean?

It means that the Buddha and his fully enlightened disciples established a method of teaching that produces more and more enlightened disciples, both humans and devas. The ordinary Monastic Sangha or Spiritual Community of monks and nuns are a great treasure in the world because they study, memorize, and retain the Teaching.


By their practice of it, as well as that of non-monastic disciples, there is a constant supply of arhats, non-returners, once-returners, and the various kinds of stream-enterers (the most fruitful field of merit) in the world. These four categories or pairs of individuals (counted as those who experience the supramundane paths and fruits or magga-phala) constitute the "noble ones" (Aryan disciples).

The first stage of enlightenment or awakening results in a guarantee of enlightenment within at most seven more rebirths, but the arhat has made an end of all suffering and all further rebirth in this very life.

The Buddha taught his Teaching in a way that an ordinary individual of average intelligence could successfully practice it to the end of suffering in this very life/

Death is coming

It's odd to be reminded that we are but ephemeral phenomena, arising and passing away, hurtling toward destruction. "Not having been, they come to be; once having been, they cease." What does? The Five Aggregates clung to as self. What are those?

They are the constituents of being, called "aggregates" because there are heaps of them, categories of them. There is the feeling group (vedana khandha), the pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. They are impermanent, unsatisfactory (disappointing), and impersonal.

It's unimaginable that they would be impersonal because they feel like they are the most personal things of all. But mindful observation of them with a mind intensified by the absorptions (jhanas) reveals how ephemeral they are, constantly rising and falling, unable to fulfill, and not at all under our control. They do not belong to us. Feelings feel and belong to feelings. It is, ultimately speaking, feeling that feels, not "us" -- not a me, myself, or I, not a self, soul, ego, personality, being, or atman.

We would never penetrate and accept this until we see it for ourselves with an open and intensified mind. In ignorance, we fear all sorts of things, including wisdom. But wisdom/the Truth has the power to set us free. Who will gain stream entry? Only those who penetrate this ultimate truth -- discerning in all things the Three Facts or Characteristics of All Existence.

Because the ultimate truth is everywhere the same, it can be realized anywhere. But it is much easier to realize in some places over others. The easiest place to realize it is on the human plane (the manussya loka), which extends far beyond the Earth we know.

  • Project Blue Beam is live? (Blakwoodz) Jan. 9, 2025: The LA fire has become massively unstable, consuming almost everything in its way. And it totally seems like this whole fire is not natural. It surely looks like everything that's going on is a planned event. Someone very powerful might be in control. The Hollywood Hills are on fire and evacuations are taking place right now. This is beyond control. Winds are widespread. Speculations have been raised, questions about whether this is Project Blue Beam being activated. Is it the mythical Anti-Christ [what Dr. Ammon Hillman calls the "antidote"] before the second coming of Jesus [the kristos or "anointed," who dosed himself by the application of an ointment of medicinal psychedelic-like compounds from poisons]. The question, however, is Why are these things happening mostly in America? Prophecy: 2025 might be the final year of our life. Second channel: @blakwoodz2 All links: linktr.ee/Blakwoodz. Business contact: blakwoodzbusiness@gmail.com
Exciting stories of life and death
I'm from Hollywood to make killing 'n dying cool
The fire raged on the mountain there in the distance. The wind blew it away, up and over the foothills. Who dreamt is could turn back and eat the town? The wind raged, cars exploded, and houses -- homes of real people -- were set ablaze by embers (or directed energy weapons). They would soon be incinerated. One could fight the valiant fight with a fire extinguisher. But it was too late, the flames too far gone, eating the roof, crawling into the walls. Buildings set one next to the other, sharing a wall, they would all come down. No firefighters fought these flames, but looked on overwhelmed. What are they for if not to fight and save buildings, property, people? Who knows? There were overtime wages to collect. A planned catastrophe made to look like just the confluence of natural circumstances, who can prove otherwise? Sure, there were arsonists at play, but were they coordinated, acting alone, part of a conspiracy? Insurers collect premiums but provide no replacement. It's just too big to cover one's worth of premiums. Of course, people were paying for many, many years only to get the shaft when they needed that protection. The government (we the people by another name) will bail them out. The CEOs already made their billions, why not privatize the profits and socialize the costs? It's the disaster-capitalist way. Just ask Naomi Klein. How long will we go on spinning in this spin cycle?


Aren't you tired of the tide?
Samsara is an ocean that pulls us out to sea, where we bounce around, cold, alone, only to drown in a whirlpool. Even if we struggle, join others, and hang in a long time, Death wins by coming on again. Is there no end to it?

Tower of strength takes to the sea
Scours ocean via quay
Same old story: muscle bound and gory
Brand new story: death without glory
Infinite story: so new, so hoary

Build a tower of strength and watch it weaken
Construct high hopes as the brightest beacon
Watch the seagulls eat the trash
You contemptuously ditch

Do you know a seagull?
Do you know a wreck?

Are you tired of the tide?
Are you tired of the tide?
Roll in a rock pool, come let's hide

Do you know a raging wind?
Do you know a seagull?
Do you know a wreck?
Do you know a raging wind?

Are you tired of the tide?
Are you tired of the tide?
Roll in a rock pool, come let's hide

Tower of strength takes to the sea, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

What is vipassana (insight) meditation?


The Buddha's answer: What exactly is vipassanā?
Ego Podcast (Buddhism) Jan. 9, 2025: Many believe vipassanā (pronounced \vee-paw-saw-naw\) is said to be a standalone meditation technique distinct from samatha (\saw-maw-taw\), but the Buddha’s teachings suggest a deep integration of these practices. They are not standalone methods at all. Explore the truth about vipassanā and its role in successful Buddhist practice.

This video explores what vipassanā ("clear seeing") truly means, its role alongside samatha, and how they contribute to ultimate liberation. It is only on the basis of calm, stillness, and serenity developed through samatha that successful vipassana is possible. The first is the rocket fuel that feeds the second.

Like, comment, and subscribe to deepen understanding of the Buddha’s teachings. #VipassanaMeditation #SamathaAndVipassana #BuddhaTeachings #MeditationTechniques #InsightAndTranquility.

Convicted Trump gets sentenced


In the days of action cartoons, the hero always got caught up by the evil villains in such a way that there was no escape this time. But he always escaped. How, that was the question. We never saw that coming, the how. That he would escape, that was assured. How, that we never knew. Often the writers had to cheat physics or go back a little further to show the great escape. Judge Juan Merchan should throw the book at felon Trump, but he has promised no punishment, just ignominy, a little humiliation, a legacy of disgrace, sexual abuse, felonies all over the place, and Trump an unindicted co-conspirator in what his associates were up to on his behalf.
Stuck with Trump, they're turning on Elon

Trump and Obama chat at Carter funeral while GOP politicizes LA fires
(The Daily Show) Jan. 9, 2025: Delightful Desi Lydic, genius comedian, tackles the historically awkward reunion between Trump and all his political enemies at Pres. Jimmy Carter's funeral. Plus, conservatives blame DEI for the raging wildfires in LA, so Michael Kosta is stepping in to help with his straight white maleness. #DailyShow #DesiLydic #LosAngeles. Subscribe to The Daily Show: @thedailyshow

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Deadly winds, fires, and Biden hit LA


Tragedy has struck, and we have been impacted. From the Santa Monica Bay to the foothills, Los Angeles is burning. Even Hollywood has not been spared. January 2025 Southern California wildfires. Is it natural? It's at least partially manmade because of the unnatural drought that uses a ridiculously high ridge of air to keep moisture away. Weather wars are real and have been in use by the military since the U.S. War on Vietnam. Paradise got it, Hawaii got it, why not the most populous city in the most populous state? All around us are scenes of devastation and normality, intermingled in a way that we did not imagine the Apocalypse. We were expecting "The Big One," a massive quake to end all services, civility, and any semblance of law and order. Instead, it's quite nice. People are pleasant, if not the best drivers. Mountains are smoldering, but otherwise most people are just carrying on their day-to-day existence without a visible change, except maybe rushing home to watch the news. The revolution will not be televised but the disasters will. We have an incompetent mayor and an even worse egomaniacal governor. What was anyone to expect? It's the perfect formula for imagining something fishy is going on, something willed. This is not just incompetence. But try to prove it.

Live KTLA 5 coverage: Wind-driven Palisades Fire in LA destroys homes

(KTLA 5) BREAKING NEWS: Firefighters are battling a fast-moving wildfire that has destroyed an undetermined number of homes (seaside mansions between the Hollywood studios and Santa Monica Bay) in the very affluent Pacific Palisades area of west Los Angeles. Watch KTLA 5 News team coverage. Liveblog: trib.al/tBDjKJ0



It was just wind damage in the morning

'Life-threatening windstorm' over SoCal
High pressure wind Diablo, Santa Ana
(FOX 11 Los Angeles) Jan. 6, 2025: The NWS said winds will reach "dangerous levels" by Tuesday afternoon, hitting LA and Ventura counties. Meteorologists estimated widespread gusts of 50 to 80 mph, with isolated gusts of 80 to 100 mph across the mountains/foothills possible. Red flag warning in effect.
SoCal sees its 'most destructive windstorm' in over a decade

(ABC7) Jan 7, 2025: Potentially destructive Santa Ana winds will blow through Southern California, elevating fire risk to dangerous levels for the next few days. abc7.com/los-angeles-weather-... Gusts up to 85 MPH, with sustained winds over 40 MPH, continuing for a few days.

Bag of wind visits SoCal to sign bill
We must not let Trump ruin this country like I ruined it, tried not to ruin it, y'know what I mean!
.
Is it true you tried to hang me on Jan. 6th?
Meanwhile, the weather is being worsened by a bag of hot air (Genocide Joe Biden) on the loose out there, east of Los Angeles, looking for a photo op as he declares public lands around Joshua Tree National Park a new monument dubbed Chuckwalla. Having arrived yesterday to disrupt the traffic, lame duck Biden is trying to leave a positive environmental legacy on top of all the destruction he has wrought with the U.S. War Machine as an old-timer with decades in Washington, DC, doing nothing to commend him or establish a good reputation.