Well, it has been an interesting last few days for me. Sometimes I hate being proven correct once again, but there it is. Recently I have watched several movies dealing with the War on Terror. These movies are ones like In the Valley of Elah, Stop-Loss, The Road to Guantanamo, and other America-hating movies. This is topped off by the apparent cancellation of Columbus Day hearkens back to when I discussed worldviews oh so many posts ago.
Why do I talk about this now? The situation that we find ourselves in today, in this country, is a result of this worldview glorified by these movies and the BS that students are fed about the man who DISCOVERED America. Some of you might not remember what I am talking about, so I will refresh. The two sides here are the Goodly American Exceptionalist, and the Multi-cultural Moral Relativist. The GAE sees America as the shining city on the hill, a good and decent nation, and the greatest experiment of freedom in the world. The MMR sees America as no better than any other place, and honestly can't see any inherent worth in the foundations of America.
It is the MMR that creates these movies, started this economic mess (and prolong it), and are trying to cancel Columbus Day. Often a post-Soviet sympathizer, the MMR is enraged at the presumption of those who are GAE. They consider themselves of the highest moral caliber by making no judgements save ending intolerance except for their own. America must be taken down a peg, for the good of the world. Thus these people side with our enemies, gloss over their faults, destroy American legends and heroes, undermine our economy, and generally weaken our national culture.
It was on display when Jane Fonda travelled to North Vietnam, in order to show her support for the Communists. It is on display when Americans travel to be human shields for Iraq's former dictators. It is on display when a Code Pink member holds up a "Disarm Israel" in a House Subcommittee meeting on sanctions for Iran (I would only have to explain how this is wrong to a MMR person). It is on display when they ignore the gulag, the holocaust denier, the terrorist camp (yes, Iraq supported terrorism before 2003), and the anti-Semite. It is on display when they call America a "hateful" nation, and unable through freedom to provide quality of the lives of our citizens. It is on display when they say Americans are Nazis and war criminals. It is on display when tarnish our national heroes, and raise up those who oppose us.
The MMR wants to show American torture, when only the naive would consider it to be so. If one truly is to be educated, read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago. Then ask yourself if what was actually done at Guantanamo Bay truly torture. You would find that the KGB and the SS would call what is actually done there to be child's play. Furthermore, actually talk to our servicemen. Find out that they actually are not as depicted in the movies. They as a group are not murderers, rapists, terrorists, and subhumans. They for the most part are real heroes like Stop-Loss's Sgt. Steve Shriver, honorable men who sacrifice for their country to save their brother's in arms. They emulate John Wayne, a mythical hero from the Hollywood of yore. Consider the arguments that the MMR puts in front of you. They say that the Jews are responsible for the violence in the Middle East, when it has been the Jews that were attacked, bombed, and heaped with scorn. There is a reason that the text The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a popular book in the Arab countries of the region. It is not the Jews who deny the Holocaust, and seek to conquer the region. They did not start the wars of the 1940's-1970's between the state of Israel and its neighbors. It is not the Israelis who seek a new nuclear holocaust.
And why is Israel hated by the MMR? Because they are a lone beacon of the power of freedom in the region. They are linked to us, and by attacking Israel they attack us. But that is not the extent of it. In places that have seen long term political control by MMR in this country are economically depressed, dysfunctional and crime ridden. Their demagoguery keeps them in power, even though they are the cause of our problems. They rewrite our histories to leave themselves blameless, and rob our hardworking citizens of their money. They write incomprehensible laws designed to weaken the economy. They destroyed the housing market, and after that had been completed nationalized the banks and two car companies. The cabal of the MMR slaps itself on the back, giving awards and prizes out to its members who have done well in bringing America low.
Now, I am not saying that their is some Illuminati style conspiracy going on out there. There is no secrecy in any of this. These people truly believe that America needs reduction. It is how they see the world. These people are often found in government, entertainment and education. So, what are we to do?
First off, stop voting in anyone who doesn't believe in the greatness of America. Just how someone views the world can be found out in today's information soaked world. The mainstream media long ago went over to their side. Have the anti-American movies and TV shows continue to fail at the box office. The movies that I listed at the beginning of the post (and the other anti-American ones I did not) all were dismal failures. Thirdly, take back control of your children's education and educate yourselves. The brainwashing of the youth is how the MMR continues to increase its adherents.
This brings me to Columbus. There was a story in the news about how Columbus Day is no longer going to be celebrated. In the story there were mentions of classrooms that practice a "balanced" approach to Columbus. They put him on trial, talk about the Indians and how they suffered, or don't mention him at all. Why do I mention this? Columbus is a symbol, a symbol of the New World. The New World is hope, freedom and progress for mankind. By destroying Columbus the MMR degrade the New World. There are many good sources who give an actual and real account of Columbus, giving him the proper celebratory role in history.
Truly, the way to cease the corruption is to educate oneself. In this is gives me hope. I believe in the New World, as does the majority of the American public. They know that freedom is superior to anything else. They know that America is a goodly nation. They problem is when they listen to these who don't see the world in this way on TV, the movies, or on a blog or post online. Arguing with them can be fun, but ultimately pointless. Trying to change their mind is akin to convincing a mental patient that the sky is not falling, and that really ain't God speaking to you.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Other White Meat, or What Really Will Destroy Us All
I have been spending quite a bit of time recently talking about the health insurance takeover bills, and how they are bad. Yes, this is a simplistic description, but it should let you understand unless you haven't been reading my previous posts. Yet, just like the near war that rages on outside my computer, there is a second piece of death dealing legislation that needs to die a swift death, just like the health insurance bills.
This wonderful piece of paper is called cap and trade. For those of you who don't know what this is, cap and trade is climate legislation that will require carbon credits to be created, set caps of emissions, and enable those companies who are well below the carbon cap to trade their credits to those who cannot get down to that level. Sounds like capitalism doesn't it? One could not be more wrong.
The only reason for a carbon credit market to exist is for a government to say that they (credits)should exist. Carbon credits hold no actual value. Their actual worth in the open market is worth less than whatever paper that they are printed on. The "market" for carbon credits would have high prices for worthless items, which would lead to two possibilities. The first is what happened to the mortgage market (sub-prime) would happen to each company forced to participate. When prices are inflated eventually they will fall. The second would be that with no real value in the items being traded, graft and corruption (government) will creep into prices, as real competition will not exist because competition will cause the market to reflect the true value of a carbon credit.
Even after all of that, many people look at economics and their eyes glass over. They say that these people are rich, and need to pay to protect the environment for the rest of us. There are so many things wrong with that belief. Unfortunately that is what many of the Dear Leaders supporters believe. First off, just because these people are rich shouldn't force a new set of responsibilities on themselves. These rich people that we are talking about, the majority of them are corporations. Far from being evil as Hollywood would lead you to believe, a corporation is simply a legal entity, created to protect the investors in a business. These corporations employ a sizable portion of the American population. In order to waste money on carbon credits, these companies would be forced to raise prices for their products, lay off workers, or a combination of both. Many sole-proprietorships and partnerships would be forced out of business, or priced out of the market as well. Yes, less carbon would be put out, as multiple double digit unemployment caused many businesses to fail. On top of that the few goods that you would find in a store would be prohibitively expensive, so you would need to be rich to buy them. When someone desires to make another pay for someone, our world teaches us a lesson. By hurting the "evil" rich, we actually hurt ourselves, as it will be our plant that closes when we vote for a tax increase on the evil businesses.
The second wrongheaded idea in the belief beyond cap and trade is that the environment is at all in peril from carbon. From the EPA calling carbon dioxide a pollutant to increased stories that the arctic ice shelf is going to disappear and thus raise our sea level 400 feet lead the ignorant among us to believe that the end is nigh. Ok, I realize that those who still believe in global warming are on the opposite side of zealotry past the terrorists, but I will endeavor to set the record straight.
First, carbon dioxide is NOT a pollutant. I will say this again: carbon dioxide is NOT a pollutant. A naturally occurring gas, it functions as a greenhouse gas (although hardly the most important, can you guess which one that is) and as plant food. As such, the carbon in the molecule enters our food chain, and thus makes up each of our atomic structures. To follow the inverse, thus each molecule of carbon in all living things was once in the atmosphere at one time. Fossil fuels are made of former living things. To connect the dots for those who are from public schools, the carbon that is present in oil, gas and coal was in the atmosphere. Burning such fuels only completes the cycle of carbon.
CO2, even with its status as a greenhouse gas, has never been shown to be a driving factor in temperature. Surprise, surprise the largest factor in temperature is the sun. Solar activity has a much larger impact on climate, and as far as we know, we cannot control the activities of the sun. When measured against the power of our star, any activity that we engage in is ant like. I know that this conception for those who toil in the concrete jungles is hard to grasp. Over the last weekend I helped my parents fill a large hole with dirt, in preparation for placing a patio over the hole. The project involved moving about two tons of dirt. After completing the task, I ruminated about how small in scale this large task really was in comparison to the planet as a whole. To me, filling such a small hole was large. Even if I multiplied the amount of change by a billion times, the results would hardly be noticeable if viewed from space. What we do as humans is small compared to the Earth itself. We marvel at our own strength, but the power of the Earth is still beyond us. We cannot equal the eruptive power of a volcano, the sheer force of a hurricane or the speed of a tornado. The Earth, quite simply is larger than us, and anything we do has little effect on it.
The creative powers of the Earth are astounding as well. With our pittance of reintroducing CO2, why is it assumed that the Earth cannot reabsorb this small amount? Could the addition of more plants, (more plant food, more plants) be a good thing? Yes we can plant trees, but the vast majority of plant life doesn't need us to do anything, and in any environment if there is more food then more life will spring up to eat it.
The biggest worry that people have about global climate change is that the ice caps will melt, notably the Arctic ones. First off, if the Arctic ice cap melts entirely, the sea level will rise not one inch. To prove my point, go get a glass of water and put an ice cube in it. Measure the water level. Wait for the ice cube to melt. Measure it again. The water level will be the same, if not lower (due to evaporation). Go on, I will still be here when you get back.
The ice cap of Greenland in the past was much reduced if not gone entirely. Back in the days of the Medieval Warm Period, Viking colonists grew crops and raised animals there. It was called Greenland for a reason. During this time, there were not large areas of Europe under water, nor did polar bears become extinct. It also leads one to believe that even without increased CO2 (the Vikings didn't have cars) the Earth still warmed. All that I ask is that Occam's Razor be applied here.
On top of all of these things, cap and trade will only affect the United States. Even if we assume that CO2 legislation will hold off warming, a horrible assumption, the next two largest economies will never do this. India and China will never self-inflict this wound on themselves. Thus, instead of actually affecting the CO2 level, we will just injure ourselves and do nothing to "save" the planet.
Can we "save" Earth? Can we destroy it? The answer to both is no. Instead of worrying about how natural carbon is being put out into the atmosphere, we should worry about getting people jobs and making sure that they have indoor toilets. Food would also be nice, so they don't starve. Environmentalists are really ex-commies, pissed off that the Soviet Union collapsed and that the United States is the lone superpower. Debunking their agenda and fake science obviously will take more work than just one post, but I needed to at least mention the vile cap and trade, and tell my few readers that along with the health care bill, it will destroy our economy and fundamentally weaken and change America, not for the better.
This wonderful piece of paper is called cap and trade. For those of you who don't know what this is, cap and trade is climate legislation that will require carbon credits to be created, set caps of emissions, and enable those companies who are well below the carbon cap to trade their credits to those who cannot get down to that level. Sounds like capitalism doesn't it? One could not be more wrong.
The only reason for a carbon credit market to exist is for a government to say that they (credits)should exist. Carbon credits hold no actual value. Their actual worth in the open market is worth less than whatever paper that they are printed on. The "market" for carbon credits would have high prices for worthless items, which would lead to two possibilities. The first is what happened to the mortgage market (sub-prime) would happen to each company forced to participate. When prices are inflated eventually they will fall. The second would be that with no real value in the items being traded, graft and corruption (government) will creep into prices, as real competition will not exist because competition will cause the market to reflect the true value of a carbon credit.
Even after all of that, many people look at economics and their eyes glass over. They say that these people are rich, and need to pay to protect the environment for the rest of us. There are so many things wrong with that belief. Unfortunately that is what many of the Dear Leaders supporters believe. First off, just because these people are rich shouldn't force a new set of responsibilities on themselves. These rich people that we are talking about, the majority of them are corporations. Far from being evil as Hollywood would lead you to believe, a corporation is simply a legal entity, created to protect the investors in a business. These corporations employ a sizable portion of the American population. In order to waste money on carbon credits, these companies would be forced to raise prices for their products, lay off workers, or a combination of both. Many sole-proprietorships and partnerships would be forced out of business, or priced out of the market as well. Yes, less carbon would be put out, as multiple double digit unemployment caused many businesses to fail. On top of that the few goods that you would find in a store would be prohibitively expensive, so you would need to be rich to buy them. When someone desires to make another pay for someone, our world teaches us a lesson. By hurting the "evil" rich, we actually hurt ourselves, as it will be our plant that closes when we vote for a tax increase on the evil businesses.
The second wrongheaded idea in the belief beyond cap and trade is that the environment is at all in peril from carbon. From the EPA calling carbon dioxide a pollutant to increased stories that the arctic ice shelf is going to disappear and thus raise our sea level 400 feet lead the ignorant among us to believe that the end is nigh. Ok, I realize that those who still believe in global warming are on the opposite side of zealotry past the terrorists, but I will endeavor to set the record straight.
First, carbon dioxide is NOT a pollutant. I will say this again: carbon dioxide is NOT a pollutant. A naturally occurring gas, it functions as a greenhouse gas (although hardly the most important, can you guess which one that is) and as plant food. As such, the carbon in the molecule enters our food chain, and thus makes up each of our atomic structures. To follow the inverse, thus each molecule of carbon in all living things was once in the atmosphere at one time. Fossil fuels are made of former living things. To connect the dots for those who are from public schools, the carbon that is present in oil, gas and coal was in the atmosphere. Burning such fuels only completes the cycle of carbon.
CO2, even with its status as a greenhouse gas, has never been shown to be a driving factor in temperature. Surprise, surprise the largest factor in temperature is the sun. Solar activity has a much larger impact on climate, and as far as we know, we cannot control the activities of the sun. When measured against the power of our star, any activity that we engage in is ant like. I know that this conception for those who toil in the concrete jungles is hard to grasp. Over the last weekend I helped my parents fill a large hole with dirt, in preparation for placing a patio over the hole. The project involved moving about two tons of dirt. After completing the task, I ruminated about how small in scale this large task really was in comparison to the planet as a whole. To me, filling such a small hole was large. Even if I multiplied the amount of change by a billion times, the results would hardly be noticeable if viewed from space. What we do as humans is small compared to the Earth itself. We marvel at our own strength, but the power of the Earth is still beyond us. We cannot equal the eruptive power of a volcano, the sheer force of a hurricane or the speed of a tornado. The Earth, quite simply is larger than us, and anything we do has little effect on it.
The creative powers of the Earth are astounding as well. With our pittance of reintroducing CO2, why is it assumed that the Earth cannot reabsorb this small amount? Could the addition of more plants, (more plant food, more plants) be a good thing? Yes we can plant trees, but the vast majority of plant life doesn't need us to do anything, and in any environment if there is more food then more life will spring up to eat it.
The biggest worry that people have about global climate change is that the ice caps will melt, notably the Arctic ones. First off, if the Arctic ice cap melts entirely, the sea level will rise not one inch. To prove my point, go get a glass of water and put an ice cube in it. Measure the water level. Wait for the ice cube to melt. Measure it again. The water level will be the same, if not lower (due to evaporation). Go on, I will still be here when you get back.
The ice cap of Greenland in the past was much reduced if not gone entirely. Back in the days of the Medieval Warm Period, Viking colonists grew crops and raised animals there. It was called Greenland for a reason. During this time, there were not large areas of Europe under water, nor did polar bears become extinct. It also leads one to believe that even without increased CO2 (the Vikings didn't have cars) the Earth still warmed. All that I ask is that Occam's Razor be applied here.
On top of all of these things, cap and trade will only affect the United States. Even if we assume that CO2 legislation will hold off warming, a horrible assumption, the next two largest economies will never do this. India and China will never self-inflict this wound on themselves. Thus, instead of actually affecting the CO2 level, we will just injure ourselves and do nothing to "save" the planet.
Can we "save" Earth? Can we destroy it? The answer to both is no. Instead of worrying about how natural carbon is being put out into the atmosphere, we should worry about getting people jobs and making sure that they have indoor toilets. Food would also be nice, so they don't starve. Environmentalists are really ex-commies, pissed off that the Soviet Union collapsed and that the United States is the lone superpower. Debunking their agenda and fake science obviously will take more work than just one post, but I needed to at least mention the vile cap and trade, and tell my few readers that along with the health care bill, it will destroy our economy and fundamentally weaken and change America, not for the better.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Futuristic Slum of District 9
Yesterday I watched District 9. I first saw previews about this movie some time ago, and it looked quite interesting. I was not disappointed. Shown from a documentary-type point of view, the movie depicts a group of aliens who arrived from elsewhere in a broken down ship that hangs over the Johannesburg skyline. The movie is full of action and its story keeps the viewer engaged.
Similar to the movies and show Alien Nation, these aliens have come to Earth escaping from home. Humanity appears to be divided between those who welcome the aliens and those who see them as dregs and sub-human. The largest difference between the two is that while the aliens of Alien Nation look more human and landed in the United States, while the aliens of District 9 land in South Africa.
For some, this might not seem as big of a difference. However, one can see a subtle critique of multinational government that lies within the movie. The aliens of Alien Nation, even though they have to deal with racism and distrust of humans, many integrate themselves into human society. The aliens of District 9 are ghettoized. They live in shantytowns, sifting through garbage and generally seen as trash by the general human population. They are controlled by a new international government organization, called the Multinational United. Possessing its own military and manufacturing base, this organization is responsible for housing the aliens and learning as much as can be gleaned from them. While it might have been intentional that this is a corporation, much of the MNU smacks of the UN.
Completely bureaucratized, the MNU doesn't treat its charges well, from putting them into the shantytown of District 9 to the forced relocation of District 10 and the experimentation done on them. No concept of freedom is given to the aliens, and they are seen sifting through trash throughout the movie, living in despicable conditions. They have their own agenda though, one that might not seem as alien to the human viewers of the movie.
This movie is worth the time spent watching it. It puts our own human insecurities up front and center, by showing us that even if they look different, often they are not so much. Along with the bad side of humanity, it shows our good as well, from bringing strange creatures to live and thrive on our world to self sacrifice for them. I enjoyed the movie very much, and I would think that most would as well.
Similar to the movies and show Alien Nation, these aliens have come to Earth escaping from home. Humanity appears to be divided between those who welcome the aliens and those who see them as dregs and sub-human. The largest difference between the two is that while the aliens of Alien Nation look more human and landed in the United States, while the aliens of District 9 land in South Africa.
For some, this might not seem as big of a difference. However, one can see a subtle critique of multinational government that lies within the movie. The aliens of Alien Nation, even though they have to deal with racism and distrust of humans, many integrate themselves into human society. The aliens of District 9 are ghettoized. They live in shantytowns, sifting through garbage and generally seen as trash by the general human population. They are controlled by a new international government organization, called the Multinational United. Possessing its own military and manufacturing base, this organization is responsible for housing the aliens and learning as much as can be gleaned from them. While it might have been intentional that this is a corporation, much of the MNU smacks of the UN.
Completely bureaucratized, the MNU doesn't treat its charges well, from putting them into the shantytown of District 9 to the forced relocation of District 10 and the experimentation done on them. No concept of freedom is given to the aliens, and they are seen sifting through trash throughout the movie, living in despicable conditions. They have their own agenda though, one that might not seem as alien to the human viewers of the movie.
This movie is worth the time spent watching it. It puts our own human insecurities up front and center, by showing us that even if they look different, often they are not so much. Along with the bad side of humanity, it shows our good as well, from bringing strange creatures to live and thrive on our world to self sacrifice for them. I enjoyed the movie very much, and I would think that most would as well.
Monday, September 21, 2009
I Am Not A Dutch Kid Filling Holes In The Dam
You know, maybe I have been too hard on our Dear Leader. Maybe he is really a decent and hard working good American, honestly wanting to make our country better, and that he doesn't lie to our faces each and everyday. Then, after thinking that, I hit myself in the back of the head, tell myself to stop thinking stupid and realize that the Dear Leader quite possibly is the worst leader of the free world since its inception.
Before you claim that I have gone off the deep end, there are valid points to support my supposition. With one exception, we have never had a leader so ashamed to be in charge of us than the Dear Leader. He apologizes for our very existence at every turn, and promises to relinquish our standing in the world, giving it back to the thugs. We don't deserve it. Good and decent nations like Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and Russia deserve the world. We will bend at the knee to our betters, and ask for their mercy for our impertinence in being the lone superpower. The only other leader of the United States who approached this level of stupidity was the national hemorrhoid Jimmy Carter, who was honestly just that naive.
So, our Dear Leader not only praises outright evil and vicious people, but spurns those that fight for freedom, such as the new president of Honduras. I have previously talked at length about the situation there but will reiterate it briefly here. The new president and the military of Honduras, under direction of their Supreme Court, evicted the previous occupant, a leftist dictator-in-waiting, who desired and was working towards cementing his permanent power. This coup was legal in all respects, and preserved democracy in a region of the world that has little history of it.
Above and beyond all of this, our Dear Leader has purposely and decisively weakened our nation, from ending missile defense in our new allies in Europe to nationalizing vital industries, to attempting to control our lives through health care "reform". In pursuit of these things he has mislead, lied and born false witness. He has been an agent of our enemies through his actions abroad, and a despot at home. His domestic policies are illegal de jure and de facto. Our beloved Constitution does not provide for these powers of nationalization and takeovers. Thus by our highest law they are illegal. On top of this, is the criminal waste of billions of our tax dollars in the "porkulus" bill. And if this was not enough, those who work for and support closely the Dear Leader are as criminal as he is. The organizations SEIU and ACORN have in recent days shown to be criminal and corrupt, and the Dear Leader's unconstitutional czars have as many skeletons in their closets as his cabinet does.
And what of those who bravely see what is being done to their country and are fighting back? They are belittled and called racists, Nazis and bigots. It is said that they cannot stand to have a president who looks different from their own reflection, but the truth is that they cannot stand the lack of good leadership and the criminal waste coming from this government. We don't ask for much from our government, only to live free and safe to pursue our dreams. This however is too much to ask from a leader who believes that the very idea of America is flawed, and evil.
We all have heard about the Dutch boy putting his fingers in the dam, trying to keep it from bursting. However, I will do this myself and I encourage you to do so as well. Stop trying to stop the dam from bursting. Weaken it by learning about what the Dear Leader truly wants to do, and when you realize the monstrosities of it, convince others. Let the people of America know who really is the enemy of our nation, and they will remember that we can fix it. Go to town hall meetings, support the tea parties, read the health care bill. Don't buy government owned cars from government owned companies. Call your Representatives, and tell them to fight the President. Give money to those who have done so already, such as Joe Wilson. And finally, seek out alternative media, and deny business to those outlets who sit like lapdogs in the Dear Leader's lap. Together we can unleash the flood that is America, and take our country back.
Before you claim that I have gone off the deep end, there are valid points to support my supposition. With one exception, we have never had a leader so ashamed to be in charge of us than the Dear Leader. He apologizes for our very existence at every turn, and promises to relinquish our standing in the world, giving it back to the thugs. We don't deserve it. Good and decent nations like Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and Russia deserve the world. We will bend at the knee to our betters, and ask for their mercy for our impertinence in being the lone superpower. The only other leader of the United States who approached this level of stupidity was the national hemorrhoid Jimmy Carter, who was honestly just that naive.
So, our Dear Leader not only praises outright evil and vicious people, but spurns those that fight for freedom, such as the new president of Honduras. I have previously talked at length about the situation there but will reiterate it briefly here. The new president and the military of Honduras, under direction of their Supreme Court, evicted the previous occupant, a leftist dictator-in-waiting, who desired and was working towards cementing his permanent power. This coup was legal in all respects, and preserved democracy in a region of the world that has little history of it.
Above and beyond all of this, our Dear Leader has purposely and decisively weakened our nation, from ending missile defense in our new allies in Europe to nationalizing vital industries, to attempting to control our lives through health care "reform". In pursuit of these things he has mislead, lied and born false witness. He has been an agent of our enemies through his actions abroad, and a despot at home. His domestic policies are illegal de jure and de facto. Our beloved Constitution does not provide for these powers of nationalization and takeovers. Thus by our highest law they are illegal. On top of this, is the criminal waste of billions of our tax dollars in the "porkulus" bill. And if this was not enough, those who work for and support closely the Dear Leader are as criminal as he is. The organizations SEIU and ACORN have in recent days shown to be criminal and corrupt, and the Dear Leader's unconstitutional czars have as many skeletons in their closets as his cabinet does.
And what of those who bravely see what is being done to their country and are fighting back? They are belittled and called racists, Nazis and bigots. It is said that they cannot stand to have a president who looks different from their own reflection, but the truth is that they cannot stand the lack of good leadership and the criminal waste coming from this government. We don't ask for much from our government, only to live free and safe to pursue our dreams. This however is too much to ask from a leader who believes that the very idea of America is flawed, and evil.
We all have heard about the Dutch boy putting his fingers in the dam, trying to keep it from bursting. However, I will do this myself and I encourage you to do so as well. Stop trying to stop the dam from bursting. Weaken it by learning about what the Dear Leader truly wants to do, and when you realize the monstrosities of it, convince others. Let the people of America know who really is the enemy of our nation, and they will remember that we can fix it. Go to town hall meetings, support the tea parties, read the health care bill. Don't buy government owned cars from government owned companies. Call your Representatives, and tell them to fight the President. Give money to those who have done so already, such as Joe Wilson. And finally, seek out alternative media, and deny business to those outlets who sit like lapdogs in the Dear Leader's lap. Together we can unleash the flood that is America, and take our country back.
Monday, September 14, 2009
My New Hero
Last week I found my new hero. Normally, my list of heroes remains constant, but any time that I see someone who stands up for what I believe in and thumbs his nose at those who are against me (and the rest of us), and then the list always has room for one more. This new name? Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina.
Just who is this champion of the people, you may ask? He is the one that interrupted Our Dear Leader's campaign speech to Congress last week with his rightly stating that Our Dear Leader was lying. It is always shocking when someone states that the emperor has no clothes. Now of course Representative Wilson was forced to apologize for breaking decorum to the Chief Henchman Rahm, but he has stood put on the substance of what he stated, as well as he should. Rare among politicians, who usually knuckle under with massive media onslaught even with the truth on his side, Representative Wilson has shown true courage. Now it cannot be compared to the courage demonstrated by our brave soldiers, but both are needed.
Only one person has to state the nudity of the emperor, and then the illusion is shattered. They will try to destroy the character of Representative Wilson, as they believe that will put the genie back into the bottle. They will call him crazy, racist, bigoted, etc. They will make his family cry. They will describe how horrible life would be under an America run by Joe Wilsons. They will charge him falsely with crimes, and ethics complaints. They will not stop until Wilson is dead, or another, greater threat emerges.
How does a hero survive such an onslaught? He needs friends and supporters to do so. Those who put Wilson into office need to write him, send money, show their support. In 2010, return him to office by massive margins. Those who put Wilson in his position to call out the Dear Leader need to show their continued support for him, otherwise he will crumble. Those outside his district can do the same, as I suspect that massive amounts of support have flooded into his office. This needs to continue. Even with this outpouring, success is not guaranteed, as we saw with Sarah Palin. Not to impugn her character in the slightest, but the onslaught that she experienced few can withstand.
It remains to be seen whether Representative Wilson can handle the heat. So far, we have hope. Our new hero must realize that large numbers of his countrymen support him, and that his small act of defiance was greatly appreciated by those who love our country. And yes, his act is the very definition of speaking truth to power. Greatly misused by those who are of the left, they find true applications of it hurtful, and respond in the same ways that they always have done, by attempting to ruin the person.
It is quite funny, that are long supposed guardians of truth, the mainstream media, turned on someone who spoke the truth to support a liar. All criticisms of the health insurance "reform" legislation have been valid. There will be death panels, illegals will be covered, and it will eliminate private coverage. This monstrous proposal will destroy a large part of what America means, and must be stopped at all costs. Representative Wilson's statement was a small step to its defeat. Some will maintain that one of the bills explicitly states that illegals wouldn't have to be covered. However, with a lack of ability in determining the legality of a prospective health insurance seeker there of course would be those who are criminal that would receive taxpayer funds. And yes, illegal immigrants are criminals. By definition it can be no other way. The lack of understanding of this simple concept is beyond most people, unless you think about the differing worldviews that the Left must have, in order for their ideas to have any logical basis.
Representative Joe Wilson, a new American hero, emerged last week. It is my sincere hope that he continues to be a voice for the people, and stands up for what America truly is: a land of the free, and home of the brave. This vile legislation is beyond un-American. Let us all stop it, with courageous leaders such as Representative Wilson at our forefront.
Just who is this champion of the people, you may ask? He is the one that interrupted Our Dear Leader's campaign speech to Congress last week with his rightly stating that Our Dear Leader was lying. It is always shocking when someone states that the emperor has no clothes. Now of course Representative Wilson was forced to apologize for breaking decorum to the Chief Henchman Rahm, but he has stood put on the substance of what he stated, as well as he should. Rare among politicians, who usually knuckle under with massive media onslaught even with the truth on his side, Representative Wilson has shown true courage. Now it cannot be compared to the courage demonstrated by our brave soldiers, but both are needed.
Only one person has to state the nudity of the emperor, and then the illusion is shattered. They will try to destroy the character of Representative Wilson, as they believe that will put the genie back into the bottle. They will call him crazy, racist, bigoted, etc. They will make his family cry. They will describe how horrible life would be under an America run by Joe Wilsons. They will charge him falsely with crimes, and ethics complaints. They will not stop until Wilson is dead, or another, greater threat emerges.
How does a hero survive such an onslaught? He needs friends and supporters to do so. Those who put Wilson into office need to write him, send money, show their support. In 2010, return him to office by massive margins. Those who put Wilson in his position to call out the Dear Leader need to show their continued support for him, otherwise he will crumble. Those outside his district can do the same, as I suspect that massive amounts of support have flooded into his office. This needs to continue. Even with this outpouring, success is not guaranteed, as we saw with Sarah Palin. Not to impugn her character in the slightest, but the onslaught that she experienced few can withstand.
It remains to be seen whether Representative Wilson can handle the heat. So far, we have hope. Our new hero must realize that large numbers of his countrymen support him, and that his small act of defiance was greatly appreciated by those who love our country. And yes, his act is the very definition of speaking truth to power. Greatly misused by those who are of the left, they find true applications of it hurtful, and respond in the same ways that they always have done, by attempting to ruin the person.
It is quite funny, that are long supposed guardians of truth, the mainstream media, turned on someone who spoke the truth to support a liar. All criticisms of the health insurance "reform" legislation have been valid. There will be death panels, illegals will be covered, and it will eliminate private coverage. This monstrous proposal will destroy a large part of what America means, and must be stopped at all costs. Representative Wilson's statement was a small step to its defeat. Some will maintain that one of the bills explicitly states that illegals wouldn't have to be covered. However, with a lack of ability in determining the legality of a prospective health insurance seeker there of course would be those who are criminal that would receive taxpayer funds. And yes, illegal immigrants are criminals. By definition it can be no other way. The lack of understanding of this simple concept is beyond most people, unless you think about the differing worldviews that the Left must have, in order for their ideas to have any logical basis.
Representative Joe Wilson, a new American hero, emerged last week. It is my sincere hope that he continues to be a voice for the people, and stands up for what America truly is: a land of the free, and home of the brave. This vile legislation is beyond un-American. Let us all stop it, with courageous leaders such as Representative Wilson at our forefront.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Learn About the World From The Comfort of Your Own Home
Last week I went to my ten year high school reunion. Now, I know what most people are thinking. High School reunions are usually a time when you see people that you haven't seen in many years, reminisce about good times that you shared, and possibly attempt to redress some of the regrets that you had. What I did not expect was to make some new friends. Almost everyone that was there was married, or soon to be married. I felt a little left out, but some of the new spouses were quite nice. One of them told me about her passions in life, one of which was teaching Girl Scouts about all numbers of things about different cultures.
Being an amiable fellow, I asked about her mission, and checked out her site. Normally I am not supremely impressed, as I try to be nonplussed, but her tack to teach children about different cultures around the world is quite well researched and interesting. Her site talks about each country, starting with the countries of Europe.
Her plan is to eventually have a section for each country in the world. Each section details a little general knowledge about the country, and several interesting arts/crafts, and cultural food ideas. Most cultural studies for college age people (which I was most used to) are usually quite boring, and give you little actual real understanding of how people actually live around the world. The type of information that you receive by actually doing and tasting what other people is rare knowledge. Most cultural education in the United States is sterile and clinic, often debasing it down to the sociological "underpinnings" that leave a stale taste in your mouth. However, this novel approach to learning about other cultures that she begins with her site is something that we should see more of.
A few odds and ends. First, this is a work in progress. Many of the countries have no listing, as research for over 160 countries will take some time. And yes, her intentions are to have at least a small amount of information concerning each and every country. Secondly, there are some formatting issues, but with all new projects, these can be worked out.
Why am I talking about this, when so many other things are going on? Well, first off, after I went to the site, the amount of material clearly merited some discussion, and that the approach of teaching culture through arts and crafts was something that I feel that most people have and will continue to overlook, unless such attempts are noted and disseminated. I guess you could say that I am doing my part to tell the world about this site, and what it is attempting to do. Secondly, sometimes I want to just talk about something new and interesting that is good. There are many things going on in the world that aren't bad, and sometimes just mentioning such things are helpful to maintain ones sanity.
Oh, before I forget, I should mention the site. For those who are interested, the address is http://www.culturecottage.com/. Even if you don't normally enjoy arts and crafts (and that group includes me), check it out. Learn something, and pass the knowledge along. It will be worth it.
Being an amiable fellow, I asked about her mission, and checked out her site. Normally I am not supremely impressed, as I try to be nonplussed, but her tack to teach children about different cultures around the world is quite well researched and interesting. Her site talks about each country, starting with the countries of Europe.
Her plan is to eventually have a section for each country in the world. Each section details a little general knowledge about the country, and several interesting arts/crafts, and cultural food ideas. Most cultural studies for college age people (which I was most used to) are usually quite boring, and give you little actual real understanding of how people actually live around the world. The type of information that you receive by actually doing and tasting what other people is rare knowledge. Most cultural education in the United States is sterile and clinic, often debasing it down to the sociological "underpinnings" that leave a stale taste in your mouth. However, this novel approach to learning about other cultures that she begins with her site is something that we should see more of.
A few odds and ends. First, this is a work in progress. Many of the countries have no listing, as research for over 160 countries will take some time. And yes, her intentions are to have at least a small amount of information concerning each and every country. Secondly, there are some formatting issues, but with all new projects, these can be worked out.
Why am I talking about this, when so many other things are going on? Well, first off, after I went to the site, the amount of material clearly merited some discussion, and that the approach of teaching culture through arts and crafts was something that I feel that most people have and will continue to overlook, unless such attempts are noted and disseminated. I guess you could say that I am doing my part to tell the world about this site, and what it is attempting to do. Secondly, sometimes I want to just talk about something new and interesting that is good. There are many things going on in the world that aren't bad, and sometimes just mentioning such things are helpful to maintain ones sanity.
Oh, before I forget, I should mention the site. For those who are interested, the address is http://www.culturecottage.com/. Even if you don't normally enjoy arts and crafts (and that group includes me), check it out. Learn something, and pass the knowledge along. It will be worth it.
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Worst and the Best in Hope
Today I read an news article about a horrifying story that took place in California. There was a young girl, kidnapped eighteen years ago and turned into a sex slave by two depraved monsters. These monsters looked like people, having all the necessary parts, except for the small exception of a conscience. Her parents, long fearing that she had died, were grateful to find out that their little girl was in fact alive, even though she had been through a hell that even the Devil would have a difficult time devising.
Being a human being, and even though I am a man, I do possess some semblance of emotion, even though some women might disagree with that statement. The revelation of what had occurred shocked even my jaded self, and I do truly wish with all my heart that a special place in the Devil's den be reserved for the two (a husband and wife team). Preferably next to Hitler and his daily pineapple anal probe. While I don't normally comment on such base news items, this particular one pushed me to speak.
One thought that crossed my mind that in a way, I was grateful for the revelation. Her parents now know what happened to their long lost child, and even more so don't just have a muddy inappropriate grave site to visit but a warm and living person who then can reconnect to. Even in the depths of evil that were done to this poor woman, there is the small parcel of good that she survived her ordeal and a broken family can be reunited.
Her stepfather, long a suspect in the kidnapping case, said it best. To him, her discovery and return was better than winning the lottery. For someone who has neither children or a winning lottery ticket, I can only guess on the supreme power of such a feeling, but I can understand the gravity of it without experiencing it.
I cannot understand, on the other hand, the monsters who perpetrated the acts on the young girl. Even with the gift of new life that she was given (the monsters had impregnated her twice), a blessing that must stand out in the viciousness of what had occurred, the mentality of what was done confounds me. Keeping a person prisoner for nearly two decades as a personal sex slave is beyond anything that I can comprehend. Now, of course, our great psychological minds will try to understand the hows and whys, but I have long realized that some things go beyond reason, and psychologists by definition know little about humanity. They attempt to boil it down to scientifically verifiable things, when as humans (and supposedly monsters as well) we don't just live in a logical world.
Hope is one such thing that defies logical. To be true, I have often followed the purely logical approach when it comes to long term missing persons. I have often stated that Jodie Huisentruit, the most famous missing person case in my area of the country, is long dead and decomposed. It is a cold and harsh logical truth. But for those who know her personally, and love and care about her, this logic holds no sway. I wish for once that logical would fail me, and that we find her, alive and well one day. This finding of the missing girl in California should give hope to any who have lost someone, even as illogical as such hope is. Someone once said that the difference between reality and fiction is that fiction needs to be credible. It has to be logical.
So, mixed in with the evilness of the world, a good returned out of it. The illogical and impossible occurred. Hope springs anew and someones dreams did come true. Not to lessen the importance of these events that I have described, I am going to take some life lessons from this. Call me J.D. if you so desire, but it is the events and people around us mixed in with our hearts and minds that make us who we are. I sit here and wonder what her parents did for eighteen years. Certainly they cried and felt the bottomless pits of despair, but at some point they tried to move on in their lives. When this occurred was certainly after many around them told them to move on, to let go of hope and live normal life. This is a cruelty that we all have done to another and have experienced ourselves, albeit for less traumatic experiences as losing a child. Even when we have "moved on" from such hurts, a part of us still remains in the past. We all know this, often in the visage of our first true love (except for those lucky bastards who spend the rest of the lives with that person). The pain remains, and even with the passage of time we can forget about it for a few moments. Then, something happens, and that part reminds us that we carry it. But, along with that pain and suffering there is another side, hoping for a resolution for it. Most of us never get that. We find another to love, we get another opportunity that better suits us, or those lost people remain lost, draped in the fog of nothingness that the past truly is. We aren't truly people if we can forget these past hurts, and this hope of resolution is what makes the burdens of life able to be borne.
As I said, I have never lost or had a child, but I know something about pain. I have to believe that we deal with it similarly. A parent who loses a child must have the flash each time the door bell rings that it will be their child, returned. A husband whose wife has died dreams of seeing her again in the afterlife. A broken hearted woman wishes that with each phone call her old flame will realize just how much she loved him, and that he feels the same. The lesson I pull from all of this is, keep that hope alive, even if it is found by others to be silly or uncalled for. But it should be appropriate. Don't let either your pain or your hope prevent you from the rest of your life. Just let the both of them exist, and if you find yourself to be the true winner of life's lottery, thank God for each and everyday that you have had.
That being said, perhaps I am full of myself, and know little about what I am talking about. Honestly the thought has crossed my mind often. For what its worth, I am glad that someones hope was answered. It gives each of us another reason to dream, and that is a gift, no matter what anyone else says.
Being a human being, and even though I am a man, I do possess some semblance of emotion, even though some women might disagree with that statement. The revelation of what had occurred shocked even my jaded self, and I do truly wish with all my heart that a special place in the Devil's den be reserved for the two (a husband and wife team). Preferably next to Hitler and his daily pineapple anal probe. While I don't normally comment on such base news items, this particular one pushed me to speak.
One thought that crossed my mind that in a way, I was grateful for the revelation. Her parents now know what happened to their long lost child, and even more so don't just have a muddy inappropriate grave site to visit but a warm and living person who then can reconnect to. Even in the depths of evil that were done to this poor woman, there is the small parcel of good that she survived her ordeal and a broken family can be reunited.
Her stepfather, long a suspect in the kidnapping case, said it best. To him, her discovery and return was better than winning the lottery. For someone who has neither children or a winning lottery ticket, I can only guess on the supreme power of such a feeling, but I can understand the gravity of it without experiencing it.
I cannot understand, on the other hand, the monsters who perpetrated the acts on the young girl. Even with the gift of new life that she was given (the monsters had impregnated her twice), a blessing that must stand out in the viciousness of what had occurred, the mentality of what was done confounds me. Keeping a person prisoner for nearly two decades as a personal sex slave is beyond anything that I can comprehend. Now, of course, our great psychological minds will try to understand the hows and whys, but I have long realized that some things go beyond reason, and psychologists by definition know little about humanity. They attempt to boil it down to scientifically verifiable things, when as humans (and supposedly monsters as well) we don't just live in a logical world.
Hope is one such thing that defies logical. To be true, I have often followed the purely logical approach when it comes to long term missing persons. I have often stated that Jodie Huisentruit, the most famous missing person case in my area of the country, is long dead and decomposed. It is a cold and harsh logical truth. But for those who know her personally, and love and care about her, this logic holds no sway. I wish for once that logical would fail me, and that we find her, alive and well one day. This finding of the missing girl in California should give hope to any who have lost someone, even as illogical as such hope is. Someone once said that the difference between reality and fiction is that fiction needs to be credible. It has to be logical.
So, mixed in with the evilness of the world, a good returned out of it. The illogical and impossible occurred. Hope springs anew and someones dreams did come true. Not to lessen the importance of these events that I have described, I am going to take some life lessons from this. Call me J.D. if you so desire, but it is the events and people around us mixed in with our hearts and minds that make us who we are. I sit here and wonder what her parents did for eighteen years. Certainly they cried and felt the bottomless pits of despair, but at some point they tried to move on in their lives. When this occurred was certainly after many around them told them to move on, to let go of hope and live normal life. This is a cruelty that we all have done to another and have experienced ourselves, albeit for less traumatic experiences as losing a child. Even when we have "moved on" from such hurts, a part of us still remains in the past. We all know this, often in the visage of our first true love (except for those lucky bastards who spend the rest of the lives with that person). The pain remains, and even with the passage of time we can forget about it for a few moments. Then, something happens, and that part reminds us that we carry it. But, along with that pain and suffering there is another side, hoping for a resolution for it. Most of us never get that. We find another to love, we get another opportunity that better suits us, or those lost people remain lost, draped in the fog of nothingness that the past truly is. We aren't truly people if we can forget these past hurts, and this hope of resolution is what makes the burdens of life able to be borne.
As I said, I have never lost or had a child, but I know something about pain. I have to believe that we deal with it similarly. A parent who loses a child must have the flash each time the door bell rings that it will be their child, returned. A husband whose wife has died dreams of seeing her again in the afterlife. A broken hearted woman wishes that with each phone call her old flame will realize just how much she loved him, and that he feels the same. The lesson I pull from all of this is, keep that hope alive, even if it is found by others to be silly or uncalled for. But it should be appropriate. Don't let either your pain or your hope prevent you from the rest of your life. Just let the both of them exist, and if you find yourself to be the true winner of life's lottery, thank God for each and everyday that you have had.
That being said, perhaps I am full of myself, and know little about what I am talking about. Honestly the thought has crossed my mind often. For what its worth, I am glad that someones hope was answered. It gives each of us another reason to dream, and that is a gift, no matter what anyone else says.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Online Fantasies Come True Each And Every Day!
There are many different advertisements out there on the web. Often what they are advertising is too good to be true, saying that they will improve something about your body or offering instantaneous encounters with the opposite sex. However, there was one such ad which I discovered to be a pleasant surprise. Yes, I clicked on one of the ads for Evony.com, and discovered a fun, and in fact free, online game.
I have even told people that I see in the real world to play, for nothing else it is a great way to spend a few minutes each day. Like some fantasy games, it involves building a city and armies, which of course allows you to attack and pillage your neighbors. Quests keep the players active with things to do, and I have already begun a rivalry with a nearby player. One day I will be strong enough to smash him, but for now I must continue to build up my alliance of other players.
Very quickly can one be sucked in to the world of Evony, which in most terms isn't such a bad thing. For the modern, high graphic intensive gamer, the game might seem provincial, but to one who grew up with text based games, and old enough to realize the value of money, especially in today's economy, a truly free game that allows your imagination to run wild is a refreshing change from many other games.
What makes Evony fun? Well, the face is that I have always enjoyed online games, and especially enjoyed those with a fantasy bent. I like to construct something that takes time to build up, and see how my machinations and plans play out. Unlike other online games that I have played, Evony is like the city building games like Civilization or Alpha Centauri. You decide what gets built, and what goals your city (and later cities) take.
If there were things that I did not like about the game, I would have to say that the fact that I don't have to legally pay a dime makes up for them. You can do so if you desire, but the game is equally playable for those who do and those who don't. I would recommend Evony to anyone who enjoys fantasy games, or strategists would enjoy long term planning. For once, I was not disappointed in clicking on an Internet ad. Try Evony, and find out that some things in life truly are free. Look me up in the game when you play.
Lord Jackson
Server 27
I have even told people that I see in the real world to play, for nothing else it is a great way to spend a few minutes each day. Like some fantasy games, it involves building a city and armies, which of course allows you to attack and pillage your neighbors. Quests keep the players active with things to do, and I have already begun a rivalry with a nearby player. One day I will be strong enough to smash him, but for now I must continue to build up my alliance of other players.
Very quickly can one be sucked in to the world of Evony, which in most terms isn't such a bad thing. For the modern, high graphic intensive gamer, the game might seem provincial, but to one who grew up with text based games, and old enough to realize the value of money, especially in today's economy, a truly free game that allows your imagination to run wild is a refreshing change from many other games.
What makes Evony fun? Well, the face is that I have always enjoyed online games, and especially enjoyed those with a fantasy bent. I like to construct something that takes time to build up, and see how my machinations and plans play out. Unlike other online games that I have played, Evony is like the city building games like Civilization or Alpha Centauri. You decide what gets built, and what goals your city (and later cities) take.
If there were things that I did not like about the game, I would have to say that the fact that I don't have to legally pay a dime makes up for them. You can do so if you desire, but the game is equally playable for those who do and those who don't. I would recommend Evony to anyone who enjoys fantasy games, or strategists would enjoy long term planning. For once, I was not disappointed in clicking on an Internet ad. Try Evony, and find out that some things in life truly are free. Look me up in the game when you play.
Lord Jackson
Server 27
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Ted Kennedy's America
I awoke and saw that after suffering from terminal brain cancer, Senator Ted Kennedy has assumed room temperature. This long term senator from Massachusetts was in no way a political friend of myself. I did not wish for his death, except perhaps as a release from the pain of cancer, which I can only assume is exceptionally painful. The pain that the rest of us feel, however, is how others have used his death for their own purposes.
I find it funny that after someone famous dies, their legacy and life are scrubbed clean, and anything negative that they did in their lives is forgotten for a short time, and if anyone brings it up, then they are a cruel and evil person who is chided by those who praise the person to the rafters. There is a point to being respectful, but stating the truth about someones life is never disrespectful. I would think that glossing over some things would be more disrespectful. Even more so would be to use this temporarily untouchable person to advance a political agenda.
For someone my age, I remember Kennedy for two things, Chappaquiddick and Robert Bork.
Why these two things? To me, they show much more about the double standard that exists between Democrats and Republicans in the national media. Chappaquiddick smells like a rotted fish, and it is difficult to see if Kennedy had been a regular joe that he would not have been charged with a serious crime. The media, forced to mention this incident because of the importance of it, for years refused to press and connect the dots. At the very least, he was responsible for that young woman's death, and this has never been acknowledged.
Bork shows the other side. In an admittedly graphic and persuasive speech, Kennedy painted a picture of Robert Bork's America, a post-apocalyptic hell hole locked down underneath grime and oppression. Even though Senators are protected on the Senate floor against speech restrictions, if such a speech had been printed in the newspaper first, it would be a pristine example of libel. The newspapers dutifully reprinted the speech, calling it news and thus avoid libel. Borking, which is character defamation in the extreme, became standard practice for Supreme Court nominees by Republican Presidents, especially if those nominees would be originalists.
Why are these examples of a double standard? I would be hard pressed to see a Republican get away with a suspicious death, especially since they get pushed out of office for having affairs (i.e. Sanford). Now, both sides seem to have troubles, but it is the Democrats who stay in office (Rangel, Reid, William Jefferson (until recently), Frank), and the Republicans who are forced out. Now, Blago and Spitzer are exceptions in a way, since why they were pushed out was hypocrisy (Spitzer made his name on fighting prostitution in his early days) and blatant law breaking (Blago was unapologetic in soliciting bribes). Republicans have to leave for saying nice things (although politically incorrect) about an old man at his birthday (Lott), tapping their foot on a bathroom floor (Craig), and malevolent false and continual ethics charges (Palin). On the other hand, when it comes to Democrats, one cannot point out the truth about what they have done, much less lie about it or stretch the truth.
Is this the legacy of Senator Kennedy? No, but I don't feel the need to talk about it at length. For me, briefly, his legacy is only a long service to the state of Massachusetts. That's it. Kennedy is just a shining example of the hypocrisy of the current media bias, and that some people truly have no soul.
I ain't talking about Kennedy with this last point. I am talking about those who immediately following his death in their first press statement call for the health insurance reform to pass immediately because "That's was Ted would have wanted.". Now, this is disrespectful and disgusting. Even if it were true, law should never be enacted because a primary supporter has passed on. If this were the case, I want to go back and eliminate the income tax because Ronaldus Magnus, Ronald Reagan the Great, would have wanted it. If I proposed such a thing, there would be rightful calls that I was being disrespectful of the dead, but most of those would be from hypocrites.
Lastly, we should all pray for Kennedy's family. Losing a family member is always hard, especially when they are a public figure. For their sake, after the official mourning of such a long term public servant, we should leave the family to their grief. There is no torch being passed here, no new brother of the Kennedy's (yes, Chris Matthews is an idiot, and a moron. There isn't enough derisive words to describe that bloated bag of feces). There is just the ending of a life.
I find it funny that after someone famous dies, their legacy and life are scrubbed clean, and anything negative that they did in their lives is forgotten for a short time, and if anyone brings it up, then they are a cruel and evil person who is chided by those who praise the person to the rafters. There is a point to being respectful, but stating the truth about someones life is never disrespectful. I would think that glossing over some things would be more disrespectful. Even more so would be to use this temporarily untouchable person to advance a political agenda.
For someone my age, I remember Kennedy for two things, Chappaquiddick and Robert Bork.
Why these two things? To me, they show much more about the double standard that exists between Democrats and Republicans in the national media. Chappaquiddick smells like a rotted fish, and it is difficult to see if Kennedy had been a regular joe that he would not have been charged with a serious crime. The media, forced to mention this incident because of the importance of it, for years refused to press and connect the dots. At the very least, he was responsible for that young woman's death, and this has never been acknowledged.
Bork shows the other side. In an admittedly graphic and persuasive speech, Kennedy painted a picture of Robert Bork's America, a post-apocalyptic hell hole locked down underneath grime and oppression. Even though Senators are protected on the Senate floor against speech restrictions, if such a speech had been printed in the newspaper first, it would be a pristine example of libel. The newspapers dutifully reprinted the speech, calling it news and thus avoid libel. Borking, which is character defamation in the extreme, became standard practice for Supreme Court nominees by Republican Presidents, especially if those nominees would be originalists.
Why are these examples of a double standard? I would be hard pressed to see a Republican get away with a suspicious death, especially since they get pushed out of office for having affairs (i.e. Sanford). Now, both sides seem to have troubles, but it is the Democrats who stay in office (Rangel, Reid, William Jefferson (until recently), Frank), and the Republicans who are forced out. Now, Blago and Spitzer are exceptions in a way, since why they were pushed out was hypocrisy (Spitzer made his name on fighting prostitution in his early days) and blatant law breaking (Blago was unapologetic in soliciting bribes). Republicans have to leave for saying nice things (although politically incorrect) about an old man at his birthday (Lott), tapping their foot on a bathroom floor (Craig), and malevolent false and continual ethics charges (Palin). On the other hand, when it comes to Democrats, one cannot point out the truth about what they have done, much less lie about it or stretch the truth.
Is this the legacy of Senator Kennedy? No, but I don't feel the need to talk about it at length. For me, briefly, his legacy is only a long service to the state of Massachusetts. That's it. Kennedy is just a shining example of the hypocrisy of the current media bias, and that some people truly have no soul.
I ain't talking about Kennedy with this last point. I am talking about those who immediately following his death in their first press statement call for the health insurance reform to pass immediately because "That's was Ted would have wanted.". Now, this is disrespectful and disgusting. Even if it were true, law should never be enacted because a primary supporter has passed on. If this were the case, I want to go back and eliminate the income tax because Ronaldus Magnus, Ronald Reagan the Great, would have wanted it. If I proposed such a thing, there would be rightful calls that I was being disrespectful of the dead, but most of those would be from hypocrites.
Lastly, we should all pray for Kennedy's family. Losing a family member is always hard, especially when they are a public figure. For their sake, after the official mourning of such a long term public servant, we should leave the family to their grief. There is no torch being passed here, no new brother of the Kennedy's (yes, Chris Matthews is an idiot, and a moron. There isn't enough derisive words to describe that bloated bag of feces). There is just the ending of a life.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sensations
It is funny what things come up when you type a word into google and just see what you get when you put the I'm Feeling Lucky button. Try it with the title of this blog. Anywho, my pace of writing has been slower since my opening salvo. Partially because sometimes I am lazy, other times because I don't have anything to talk about and I try not to say the same things over and over again, unless I think that by doing so I will accomplish something, or perhaps I was just not understood the first time.
So why go with what I did for a title? Well, I have been thinking about things for a while. One thought that has been crossing my mind is a question of toughness. Am I tough? Now while this may seem like a juvenile question, the ramifications of such a question are not. By toughness I am talking about taking pain. Physical, emotion, or spiritual pain. Is something that is painful to me be as painful for someone else? Do tougher people feel less pain?
I imagine that if feelings could be transferred, and experienced the exact same way by two different people, then possibly this question could be answered. Modern medical science is of no help with this, and the pain scale (Ask the patient on a scale of 1-10 of how much it hurts) does not necessarily mean that two people feel pain exactly the same way.
I ask myself these questions because as a man, toughness is an important quality. We realize that the fairer sex is in fact tougher (especially during child birthing), but we must show it outwardly more than they do. We are to be made of steel. We are the defender of the keep, coated in iron and all injuries are to bounce off. We feel nothing. I look at those who epitomize this very ideal, and can see no pain on their face. Do they truly not feel it? Or do they just hide it? If they could, would they remain solid if they had my pain? Could I with theirs?
This is crux of the question. We all wish to empathize with others, but what they truly feel quite possibly cannot be felt by another. Words are a poor conduit for describing and relaying how one feels.
Having said that, this poor modicum of bleating out the pain is all that we have. What pain do I feel? Other than the normal hurts of life, I have but one that recently vexes me. Longing. There is someone that I miss. A tortured soul, bewitched by her own loss. I miss the times that we talked at length, and the short times that we spent in each other presence. In my mind I have the nagging sensation that the current lack of the former and the latter is somehow my fault, and I wish that is was. If it was the case, then possibly I could fix this, or at least understand why. I cannot grasp entirely the pain that troubles her, and realize that I cannot soothe it. I, being the archetype of man, will continue to try though, in my own way. Some may consider it a fault to fight a battle that cannot be won.
I, however, regard such a futile struggle as heroic. I am reminded of an old saying. It states that when someone tells you that none can help them in their struggle, and that they wish to be left alone, what they want is either exactly as they said, or they wish to see if you will follow them into hell. Just as you cannot feel pain for another, you cannot carry their burden. All that we are left with is to catch them when they fall.
So why go with what I did for a title? Well, I have been thinking about things for a while. One thought that has been crossing my mind is a question of toughness. Am I tough? Now while this may seem like a juvenile question, the ramifications of such a question are not. By toughness I am talking about taking pain. Physical, emotion, or spiritual pain. Is something that is painful to me be as painful for someone else? Do tougher people feel less pain?
I imagine that if feelings could be transferred, and experienced the exact same way by two different people, then possibly this question could be answered. Modern medical science is of no help with this, and the pain scale (Ask the patient on a scale of 1-10 of how much it hurts) does not necessarily mean that two people feel pain exactly the same way.
I ask myself these questions because as a man, toughness is an important quality. We realize that the fairer sex is in fact tougher (especially during child birthing), but we must show it outwardly more than they do. We are to be made of steel. We are the defender of the keep, coated in iron and all injuries are to bounce off. We feel nothing. I look at those who epitomize this very ideal, and can see no pain on their face. Do they truly not feel it? Or do they just hide it? If they could, would they remain solid if they had my pain? Could I with theirs?
This is crux of the question. We all wish to empathize with others, but what they truly feel quite possibly cannot be felt by another. Words are a poor conduit for describing and relaying how one feels.
Having said that, this poor modicum of bleating out the pain is all that we have. What pain do I feel? Other than the normal hurts of life, I have but one that recently vexes me. Longing. There is someone that I miss. A tortured soul, bewitched by her own loss. I miss the times that we talked at length, and the short times that we spent in each other presence. In my mind I have the nagging sensation that the current lack of the former and the latter is somehow my fault, and I wish that is was. If it was the case, then possibly I could fix this, or at least understand why. I cannot grasp entirely the pain that troubles her, and realize that I cannot soothe it. I, being the archetype of man, will continue to try though, in my own way. Some may consider it a fault to fight a battle that cannot be won.
I, however, regard such a futile struggle as heroic. I am reminded of an old saying. It states that when someone tells you that none can help them in their struggle, and that they wish to be left alone, what they want is either exactly as they said, or they wish to see if you will follow them into hell. Just as you cannot feel pain for another, you cannot carry their burden. All that we are left with is to catch them when they fall.
Monday, August 10, 2009
There Will Be Blood
No, this isn't going to be me talking about the movie of the same name. Speaking of movies, a short tangent. I am going to assume that the movie There Will Be Blood will be atrocious. I have come to realize that critically acclaimed movies that don't have a single movie "critic" who hated the movie are universally terrible. I mean, there is always someone who doesn't like a movie. There are people out there (loosely called people) who don't like The Blues Brothers. There are two movies in particular that I am thinking of, Gangs of New York and Brokeback Mountain. You couldn't find a bad review from either of these movies, and yet they were both stinkers. Gangs could have cut out the middle 2 and a half hours, leaving the bookend street fights. It was boring. I felt my life essence slowly die over the movie, and wanted the Almighty to return the wasted time of watching that stinker to me. Watching it without the street fights should be a preferred measure of "torture" at Guantanamo Bay. Brokeback was worse, which I did not see as possible. I will "spoil" this stinker for ya right here. The stinker goes like this - two cowboys become friends while herding sheep, get drunk one night and out of the blue decide to plug each other. After spending the rest of the summer screwing about, and might I add abandoning their jobs as ranchers, leaving the sheep to fend for themselves, they go off to live separate lives, getting married and having children. They decided to meet up to relive their summer of love, first destroying one family, complete with two little girls and a doormat wife (yes, Michelle Williams played the doormat perfectly) then another, complete with a brainless woman whose husband philanders his way through life with both men and women, resulting in his death. There are feeble attempts to show that through all of this, both men are "good" fathers, which they are not, and their love is true, except that at the very least ignoring the fact that they are gay both are liars and adulterers.
Whew, I am a little out of breath. Now, why is there going to be blood? Back to the real point, the health care "debate" has become violent. Union goons from SEIU have assaulted protesters and vendors at town hall meetings. They put a black vendor, selling buttons and flags at one event, in the hospital. While they beat him senseless, racial epitaphs were spewed out. The White House has set up snitch websites for people to report "misinformation" on the half-a-dozen bills under consideration, and laid out a plan for community groups to resist the regular citizenry, whose anger over their Representatives not doing their job and ignoring their constituents who don't want any of these bills.
None of these protests were violent until the union arrived, called in by the Dear Leader's administration to "police" and "protect" those Democrats whose job is to explain to the peasantry why they need the government to control their health care. The unfortunate thing (for the Dear Leader) is that the peasants know more about the proposed legislation than those who are supposed to vote for it.
I was reading an article about this outbreak of violence, and the comments placed there by other readers. Almost to a letter, each of those who "support" the Dear Leader are vile, hate-filled posts, tearing down those who are legitimately opposed by name-calling and threats. As I have spoken about before, there are two sides in seeing the world, and they can be clearly shown by reading these comments. For those who live in caves, it would seem that the two sides are going off completely different sets of information.
What does this say about the future? Well, the historical reaction to this is violence. Even in our modern screwed up mindset, violence is a completely understandable conclusion to two sides. There is nothing to talk about, as both sides are irreconcilable. The peasants aren't going to remain doormats any longer, and ignore the truth. The crazies aren't going to stop being crazy. Either way, neither side can live with the other. Thus, there will be violence.
For those of you who went to public school, throughout history violence has been the only way to settle things. Sure you can talk about things, and come to compromises, but eventually one side must win, and the other must lose. That is how things are done. There is no changing this. All it takes is a long line of abuses, and then a spark. This spark was the beating of a black man. First blood has been drawn by the crazies, and the righteous wrath of the people will only get larger.
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want this blood. No one really does. But it is human nature, and even with our "modern" sensibilities we can't overcome this. "Modern" sensibilities are jokes. People remain people. They haven't changed, and while they can take a large amount of abuse, there comes a breaking point. When that point approaches, strain can be shown, and that which is pushing the people towards this point instead of letting go pushes harder. It is inevitable, now. The die is cast. The Dear Leader has only sped up the process, with his leaps toward socialism. The country had been slowly moving towards it since the Teddy Roosevelt Administration under the guise of Progessivism. Now, the band will break, and things will be reset.
When I say violence, it does not mean that civil war is approaching us. That is a possibility though, although small. If the small scale violence by union goons continues, and a unacceptable socialist bill is rammed through the government, that small possibility grows mightily. If this bill dies, (which I hope it does) the violence will be limited. There will be a cleaning out of the supporters of the bill in 2010. Those who sided with the people will be catapulted into power. The Dear Leader's entire future is leaning on this bill, and he will collapse if it doesn't pass. There is even the possibility of removing him from office if the fall cleaning goes especially well.
To compound this, there is the other side. Violence is especially possible with them. The fascists who support the Dear Leader can tighten their power. It was they who drew first blood, and when things get uglier and uglier, just like any other dictator or wannabe dictator, when the going get tough the fist tightens. We will see more violence at town meetings, courtesy of union goons. Maybe instead of putting someone in the hospital, they will put someone in the morgue. Of course the privileged leadership will decry this, even as they order it to continue.
All of this paints a dark picture for the future. I don't want it. I just want them to go away, stop being crazy and leave the American people alone. Cease your drive to take over the country. Prevent this violence to come. The responsibility for the blood will be on the Dear Leader's hands, as it is his "leadership" that which is stirring up the hornet's nest.
Sometimes I shudder for our nation. If it were possible, our Founding Fathers would be spinning in their graves. They would be the first to protest the meetings, receive the blows from the thugs, and march on Washington D.C. to overturn this corrupt government. Steel yourselves for the days ahead. These will be times that try men's souls, and we, if we remain strong, will emerge from the shadow of the valley of death, and wonder just how we got there.
Whew, I am a little out of breath. Now, why is there going to be blood? Back to the real point, the health care "debate" has become violent. Union goons from SEIU have assaulted protesters and vendors at town hall meetings. They put a black vendor, selling buttons and flags at one event, in the hospital. While they beat him senseless, racial epitaphs were spewed out. The White House has set up snitch websites for people to report "misinformation" on the half-a-dozen bills under consideration, and laid out a plan for community groups to resist the regular citizenry, whose anger over their Representatives not doing their job and ignoring their constituents who don't want any of these bills.
None of these protests were violent until the union arrived, called in by the Dear Leader's administration to "police" and "protect" those Democrats whose job is to explain to the peasantry why they need the government to control their health care. The unfortunate thing (for the Dear Leader) is that the peasants know more about the proposed legislation than those who are supposed to vote for it.
I was reading an article about this outbreak of violence, and the comments placed there by other readers. Almost to a letter, each of those who "support" the Dear Leader are vile, hate-filled posts, tearing down those who are legitimately opposed by name-calling and threats. As I have spoken about before, there are two sides in seeing the world, and they can be clearly shown by reading these comments. For those who live in caves, it would seem that the two sides are going off completely different sets of information.
What does this say about the future? Well, the historical reaction to this is violence. Even in our modern screwed up mindset, violence is a completely understandable conclusion to two sides. There is nothing to talk about, as both sides are irreconcilable. The peasants aren't going to remain doormats any longer, and ignore the truth. The crazies aren't going to stop being crazy. Either way, neither side can live with the other. Thus, there will be violence.
For those of you who went to public school, throughout history violence has been the only way to settle things. Sure you can talk about things, and come to compromises, but eventually one side must win, and the other must lose. That is how things are done. There is no changing this. All it takes is a long line of abuses, and then a spark. This spark was the beating of a black man. First blood has been drawn by the crazies, and the righteous wrath of the people will only get larger.
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want this blood. No one really does. But it is human nature, and even with our "modern" sensibilities we can't overcome this. "Modern" sensibilities are jokes. People remain people. They haven't changed, and while they can take a large amount of abuse, there comes a breaking point. When that point approaches, strain can be shown, and that which is pushing the people towards this point instead of letting go pushes harder. It is inevitable, now. The die is cast. The Dear Leader has only sped up the process, with his leaps toward socialism. The country had been slowly moving towards it since the Teddy Roosevelt Administration under the guise of Progessivism. Now, the band will break, and things will be reset.
When I say violence, it does not mean that civil war is approaching us. That is a possibility though, although small. If the small scale violence by union goons continues, and a unacceptable socialist bill is rammed through the government, that small possibility grows mightily. If this bill dies, (which I hope it does) the violence will be limited. There will be a cleaning out of the supporters of the bill in 2010. Those who sided with the people will be catapulted into power. The Dear Leader's entire future is leaning on this bill, and he will collapse if it doesn't pass. There is even the possibility of removing him from office if the fall cleaning goes especially well.
To compound this, there is the other side. Violence is especially possible with them. The fascists who support the Dear Leader can tighten their power. It was they who drew first blood, and when things get uglier and uglier, just like any other dictator or wannabe dictator, when the going get tough the fist tightens. We will see more violence at town meetings, courtesy of union goons. Maybe instead of putting someone in the hospital, they will put someone in the morgue. Of course the privileged leadership will decry this, even as they order it to continue.
All of this paints a dark picture for the future. I don't want it. I just want them to go away, stop being crazy and leave the American people alone. Cease your drive to take over the country. Prevent this violence to come. The responsibility for the blood will be on the Dear Leader's hands, as it is his "leadership" that which is stirring up the hornet's nest.
Sometimes I shudder for our nation. If it were possible, our Founding Fathers would be spinning in their graves. They would be the first to protest the meetings, receive the blows from the thugs, and march on Washington D.C. to overturn this corrupt government. Steel yourselves for the days ahead. These will be times that try men's souls, and we, if we remain strong, will emerge from the shadow of the valley of death, and wonder just how we got there.
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Sage of my So Called Life
John Hughes, the sage of our lives, has died of a heart attack yesterday, as of this writing. For those who have been living in a cave for their entire lives, John Hughes was a director of iconic and classic movies in the 1980's and early 90's. He is behind such titles as Home Alone, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Uncle Buck, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and the greatest movie of the 1980's: The Breakfast Club. His loss is felt by many.
Hughes captured the 1980's perfectly. The characters of his movies are classic, and remain rewatchable twenty years after. To me, his movies are a perfect example of what it means to be myself. Normally, I would expound at length about each of the movies, but I am just going to leave you with a simple command. Watch some of Hughes movies. Even if you have seen them before. Relive the eighties just once more. It will be worth your time.
Hughes captured the 1980's perfectly. The characters of his movies are classic, and remain rewatchable twenty years after. To me, his movies are a perfect example of what it means to be myself. Normally, I would expound at length about each of the movies, but I am just going to leave you with a simple command. Watch some of Hughes movies. Even if you have seen them before. Relive the eighties just once more. It will be worth your time.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Ride the Wave: Or How To Turn Your Friends into Fascists in Less Than A Week!
Every so often I watch a film that really hits home. The likelihood of this happening is greater because I also watch foreign films. This is not to say that Hollywood doesn't do good work anymore, but sometimes there is something to be said to look at things from another perspective. Recently I saw two German films, both of which had dealt with a topic near and dear to the German heart - police states and fascism. Not to make light of the German's past, but totalitarian police states and oppressive fascism (DRG and Nazi Germany) often serve as archetypes for students around the world. The first film that I saw was The Lives of Others. An exceptional piece, Others details a Stazi surveillance team on a poet suspected of disloyalty. Even though this is not the film that I wish to talk about today, I mention it because it should be viewed by all who think they live under a police state, or even think that such existence would be preferable. Also, anyone interested in politics or just history would find it a moving piece of cinematography.
The second film is called Die Welle, or the Wave. Die Welle is the story of Ron Jones's original experiment set in modern-day Germany. For the majority of you, you have never heard of Ron Jones, and that is okay. The film first shows us the main characters, a gymnasium teacher (high school) and his students, each very normal and typical. They are approaching their project week, in which they break into classes and spend the week learning about different governmental topics. A very good idea I might add. The Ramones-loving Mr. Wegner, who desires to teach about anarchy, gets stuck with the autocracy class. Finding that the students don't take the subject seriously, believing that since the German people have evolved beyond tyranny, they don't need to learn about it. They believe that it can't happen again. Mr. Wegner proves them wrong.
I won't spoil the movie for you, as I truly believe that you should go watch it. The gist of it is that by starting small, Mr. Wegner takes a group of individuals and molds them into a brutal fascist organization. Very few of the students resist this. His point is clear, by experiencing autocracy his students would learn about it. However, the experiment goes wildly out of control, and serious consequences are to be doled out before it is all over.
The thing is that this actually happened, very close to how the movie describes it. The explosive ending aside, the events of Die Welle resemble the Third Wave experiment done by Ron Jones. Jones was a history teacher, who wanted to teach his class about how the German people could have gone along with the extermination of the Jews. This experiment was done at Cubberley High School in Pala Alto, California. It started on a Monday, April 3, 1967, and lasted until Friday of that same week. The students of his class joined this fascist organization known as the Third Wave, a figment of Jones's imagination. They began small, just like in the movie, but by the end of the week people outside of the class with Third Wavers and members would report failures by other members to Jones, even with out express instructions to do so.
Both the experiment and the film end similarly, with the organization assembled in full in front of the teacher. The lesson of the experiment is shown to all. The biggest message of the film is that the dangers of fascism are real, even for a people who should be on guard for them. Being who I am, I try to extrapolate into real life what is shown on the screen. The fascism of the Wave is obviously seen in the Dear Leader. Slogans are important, and his word is taken as truth by supporters. Detractors are to be reported. If you don't believe this, there is a new website and email address for people to report to the White House those who are against the plan to "reform" health care. There are people who view the Dear Leader as a messiah, hanging on each word that he says. Just like prior manifestations of fascism, opponents of the group are maligned. In this case they are called rich, wearing Brooks Brothers and full of hate. If you choose to report these things, the website is called www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/.
Films like Die Welle are very important. Even though it makes no modern political message, one can see a subtle criticism of those who practice fascism today, and they are out there. We all should be afraid of a slide into autocracy and fascism. Yes, people cried out that the prior administration was a fascist organization. They certainly had a few points, but the Dear Leader has left them in the dust.
So, in conclusion students, go and see Die Welle and The Lives of Others. Sure you will have to read subtitles or speak German to understand the movie. But that is a small price to pay to see what is reality. Autocracy is a constant danger, one that we as Americans now face front and center. It is not the first time, nor sadly will it be the last. We cannot bury our heads in the sand. If we do, we might wake up a week later and everyone we know will be marching in goosestep, saluting the Dear Leader. Now that would be scary.
The second film is called Die Welle, or the Wave. Die Welle is the story of Ron Jones's original experiment set in modern-day Germany. For the majority of you, you have never heard of Ron Jones, and that is okay. The film first shows us the main characters, a gymnasium teacher (high school) and his students, each very normal and typical. They are approaching their project week, in which they break into classes and spend the week learning about different governmental topics. A very good idea I might add. The Ramones-loving Mr. Wegner, who desires to teach about anarchy, gets stuck with the autocracy class. Finding that the students don't take the subject seriously, believing that since the German people have evolved beyond tyranny, they don't need to learn about it. They believe that it can't happen again. Mr. Wegner proves them wrong.
I won't spoil the movie for you, as I truly believe that you should go watch it. The gist of it is that by starting small, Mr. Wegner takes a group of individuals and molds them into a brutal fascist organization. Very few of the students resist this. His point is clear, by experiencing autocracy his students would learn about it. However, the experiment goes wildly out of control, and serious consequences are to be doled out before it is all over.
The thing is that this actually happened, very close to how the movie describes it. The explosive ending aside, the events of Die Welle resemble the Third Wave experiment done by Ron Jones. Jones was a history teacher, who wanted to teach his class about how the German people could have gone along with the extermination of the Jews. This experiment was done at Cubberley High School in Pala Alto, California. It started on a Monday, April 3, 1967, and lasted until Friday of that same week. The students of his class joined this fascist organization known as the Third Wave, a figment of Jones's imagination. They began small, just like in the movie, but by the end of the week people outside of the class with Third Wavers and members would report failures by other members to Jones, even with out express instructions to do so.
Both the experiment and the film end similarly, with the organization assembled in full in front of the teacher. The lesson of the experiment is shown to all. The biggest message of the film is that the dangers of fascism are real, even for a people who should be on guard for them. Being who I am, I try to extrapolate into real life what is shown on the screen. The fascism of the Wave is obviously seen in the Dear Leader. Slogans are important, and his word is taken as truth by supporters. Detractors are to be reported. If you don't believe this, there is a new website and email address for people to report to the White House those who are against the plan to "reform" health care. There are people who view the Dear Leader as a messiah, hanging on each word that he says. Just like prior manifestations of fascism, opponents of the group are maligned. In this case they are called rich, wearing Brooks Brothers and full of hate. If you choose to report these things, the website is called www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/.
Films like Die Welle are very important. Even though it makes no modern political message, one can see a subtle criticism of those who practice fascism today, and they are out there. We all should be afraid of a slide into autocracy and fascism. Yes, people cried out that the prior administration was a fascist organization. They certainly had a few points, but the Dear Leader has left them in the dust.
So, in conclusion students, go and see Die Welle and The Lives of Others. Sure you will have to read subtitles or speak German to understand the movie. But that is a small price to pay to see what is reality. Autocracy is a constant danger, one that we as Americans now face front and center. It is not the first time, nor sadly will it be the last. We cannot bury our heads in the sand. If we do, we might wake up a week later and everyone we know will be marching in goosestep, saluting the Dear Leader. Now that would be scary.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Let's Go Burn the Bastille
Over the last few weeks, a massive tidal wave has been growing underneath the soil of Middle America. This groundswell is a growing rebellion against the Dear Leader and his policies, and its eventual explosion is coming. If our Democrat leadership in Washington does not get their heads our of their asses, they will find a full scale country-wide revolt against them. 1994 will look like a minor glitch.
For those of you who don't follow the news outside of the major three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) the minor news networks (CNBC, CNN, and for completeness sake MSNBC, even though it only has a audience of about twenty people) and almost every major newspaper with the exception of the WSJ (Wall Street Journal), the revolt against the agenda of the Dear Leader is underway. For my part I say it is about time. It seems that while personally the Dear Leader remains popular, his policies and those who work under him have low marks, and even his popular facade is crumbling. It seems that when people voted for change, they did not want socialism as that change.
What is the impetus for this sea change? Health Care. Or to be actually correct, Health Coverage. Everyone has access to health care in America, the real problem is how do we pay for the service. I spoke at great length before about this problem, so I will not mention it here. What I will talk about is the revolt. Democrat congressmen and administration officials have been going out into the hinterland, selling the health coverage plan. At each stop, the assembled masses berate the speaker, showing their absolute ignorance of what the bill actual is. The crowd knows more about what is in the bill that those who are selling it. And they don't want it. National polls reflect this, as a super majority of the population now does not want the bill, with the numbers who oppose this grow each day as more and more actually read the bill.
The supporters of the bill, instead of listening to those who put them into office, denigrate their detractors and call them stupid for reading the bill. Representative John Conyers actually said that it is dumb that people expect their elected Representatives read the bills before they vote on them. The state-run media, when they mention the revolt, calls them extremists and pawns of the insurance industry. Apparently, those in government no longer have to listen to us who hold the real power in America, the people. They know better than us, and we should just trust them because they have our best interest at heart. Even if this were true, and it ain't, the very fact that we know what horrors are contained within the health coverage bill and they don't (because they haven't read it) would say that this one time they should listen to the little people. We don't want it.
This is not the first thing that this Administration has done that people don't want. They don't like the nationalization of the automobile and banking industries. They didn't want the failed stimulus bill. They don't want our President apologizing for America's "crimes". They expected a moderate Democrat, and they got a Marxist. The criminal and corrupt leadership of America is on the precipice, and they will fall off because they do not heed the words of the people.
This revolt is bringing out the few in Congress who for once in a great while realize just who they work for. Some of the Republicans are championing the people against this travesty, calling out that in a few short months there won't be a single person in the America who supports this bill. If they retain their kahones over the next two years, we could see the end of the Democratic Party as a possible majority party for at least the next twenty years.
If the Democrats push this bill through, and if the Republicans remain opposed, it will destroy their party. This bill is so unpopular, and so terrible, the people will never forgive them. When they go under, they will drag down the old media with them. The old media, who gave up journalism and went over to advocacy, has been losing audience for nearly fifteen years. They have tied their last hopes on the Dear Leader, and when he meets his Waterloo (thank you Jim DeMint) they will cease to be. It will be this bill, passed or not, that will destroy the Dear Leader's presidency. He loses credibility and popularity each day, and since he ties his success to these things, when they are done he will be as well.
We don't want unelected bureaucrats to control our lives, and decide when we die. This is the very thing that will happen if the bill passes. What the supporters of the bill tell us that we should want this. It is for our own good. The "experts" know better, and our say doesn't matter. Well, that is something that this country certainly doesn't support.
I am constantly reminded that what I say is usually right. Several posts ago I spoke about how people in the country view the world in completely different ways. I was reading an article about the Republican opposition to the health coverage bill and reading the comments following it. There were those who probably have read the bill, supporting the Republicans and ripping on the bill. And the others, full of vitriol and hate, spit venom on any who are against Obama, crying out for his saving touch and his bill. They use the old stereotypes of Republicans (which are actually not true. Your hyper-rich people are actually usually Democrats. Why? Just like Democrats, the super rich have a disjunction from reality.), call them Nazis and demand that the government save them. They want this plan to succeed, and if it don't they will die. They actually believe that Cuba has a better health system than the United States.
Not to go off on a tangent, but these proponents of socialized medicine put their faith in polls of the Cuban people, in which 96 percent of the population prefers their health care. I am surprised that 4 percent don't. I am going to say this once more. Never trust any type of polling or elections in dictatorships. They fall under the same principle that 99 percent of the population voted for Saddam Hussein. Of course they did. I believe that they did. But that is not actually how they feel. Imagine that you took a poll of Nazi Germany asking about the popularity of Adolf Hitler. You should be surprised if the number of people who support him was any less than 100%. For those of you who went to public school, the reason for this is that the secret police are often standing over the shoulders of those in the poll, either literally or figuratively. What this means that if they don't vote the way that the Gestapo want you to, you often get disappeared.
But back to the main problem. The Dear Leader's plan to change the health care system is falling apart, and the only reason for this is the general uprising of American people against it. This is happening, for all the right reasons. If current trends continue, we will have stopped the centerpiece of destroying our country within the next few weeks. Those who lined up against the American people will be remembered. I think back to the French Revolution. It was here, on July 14, 1789, that the French people, fed up with their government, stormed this ancient fortress prison known as the Bastille and started the revolution. They attacked the symbols of oppression. Today we see the beginnings of this discontent with each voice who shouts down the blubbering mouthpieces of the Administration who try to sell something that they don't know about or try to hide from us. They will not succeed. If they do not listen, they will be cast out of power, one way or another. It is funny, because those who cry at the top of their lungs about how they support the little common man in flyover country are those who ignore us, see us as children, and when we question them are told to go to our room. It is these people who will feel the wrath of the people, and been written about in the histories that they supported the Ancien Regime and lost. When we burn the Bastille it will be a good day, and we all will be better for it.
For those of you who don't follow the news outside of the major three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) the minor news networks (CNBC, CNN, and for completeness sake MSNBC, even though it only has a audience of about twenty people) and almost every major newspaper with the exception of the WSJ (Wall Street Journal), the revolt against the agenda of the Dear Leader is underway. For my part I say it is about time. It seems that while personally the Dear Leader remains popular, his policies and those who work under him have low marks, and even his popular facade is crumbling. It seems that when people voted for change, they did not want socialism as that change.
What is the impetus for this sea change? Health Care. Or to be actually correct, Health Coverage. Everyone has access to health care in America, the real problem is how do we pay for the service. I spoke at great length before about this problem, so I will not mention it here. What I will talk about is the revolt. Democrat congressmen and administration officials have been going out into the hinterland, selling the health coverage plan. At each stop, the assembled masses berate the speaker, showing their absolute ignorance of what the bill actual is. The crowd knows more about what is in the bill that those who are selling it. And they don't want it. National polls reflect this, as a super majority of the population now does not want the bill, with the numbers who oppose this grow each day as more and more actually read the bill.
The supporters of the bill, instead of listening to those who put them into office, denigrate their detractors and call them stupid for reading the bill. Representative John Conyers actually said that it is dumb that people expect their elected Representatives read the bills before they vote on them. The state-run media, when they mention the revolt, calls them extremists and pawns of the insurance industry. Apparently, those in government no longer have to listen to us who hold the real power in America, the people. They know better than us, and we should just trust them because they have our best interest at heart. Even if this were true, and it ain't, the very fact that we know what horrors are contained within the health coverage bill and they don't (because they haven't read it) would say that this one time they should listen to the little people. We don't want it.
This is not the first thing that this Administration has done that people don't want. They don't like the nationalization of the automobile and banking industries. They didn't want the failed stimulus bill. They don't want our President apologizing for America's "crimes". They expected a moderate Democrat, and they got a Marxist. The criminal and corrupt leadership of America is on the precipice, and they will fall off because they do not heed the words of the people.
This revolt is bringing out the few in Congress who for once in a great while realize just who they work for. Some of the Republicans are championing the people against this travesty, calling out that in a few short months there won't be a single person in the America who supports this bill. If they retain their kahones over the next two years, we could see the end of the Democratic Party as a possible majority party for at least the next twenty years.
If the Democrats push this bill through, and if the Republicans remain opposed, it will destroy their party. This bill is so unpopular, and so terrible, the people will never forgive them. When they go under, they will drag down the old media with them. The old media, who gave up journalism and went over to advocacy, has been losing audience for nearly fifteen years. They have tied their last hopes on the Dear Leader, and when he meets his Waterloo (thank you Jim DeMint) they will cease to be. It will be this bill, passed or not, that will destroy the Dear Leader's presidency. He loses credibility and popularity each day, and since he ties his success to these things, when they are done he will be as well.
We don't want unelected bureaucrats to control our lives, and decide when we die. This is the very thing that will happen if the bill passes. What the supporters of the bill tell us that we should want this. It is for our own good. The "experts" know better, and our say doesn't matter. Well, that is something that this country certainly doesn't support.
I am constantly reminded that what I say is usually right. Several posts ago I spoke about how people in the country view the world in completely different ways. I was reading an article about the Republican opposition to the health coverage bill and reading the comments following it. There were those who probably have read the bill, supporting the Republicans and ripping on the bill. And the others, full of vitriol and hate, spit venom on any who are against Obama, crying out for his saving touch and his bill. They use the old stereotypes of Republicans (which are actually not true. Your hyper-rich people are actually usually Democrats. Why? Just like Democrats, the super rich have a disjunction from reality.), call them Nazis and demand that the government save them. They want this plan to succeed, and if it don't they will die. They actually believe that Cuba has a better health system than the United States.
Not to go off on a tangent, but these proponents of socialized medicine put their faith in polls of the Cuban people, in which 96 percent of the population prefers their health care. I am surprised that 4 percent don't. I am going to say this once more. Never trust any type of polling or elections in dictatorships. They fall under the same principle that 99 percent of the population voted for Saddam Hussein. Of course they did. I believe that they did. But that is not actually how they feel. Imagine that you took a poll of Nazi Germany asking about the popularity of Adolf Hitler. You should be surprised if the number of people who support him was any less than 100%. For those of you who went to public school, the reason for this is that the secret police are often standing over the shoulders of those in the poll, either literally or figuratively. What this means that if they don't vote the way that the Gestapo want you to, you often get disappeared.
But back to the main problem. The Dear Leader's plan to change the health care system is falling apart, and the only reason for this is the general uprising of American people against it. This is happening, for all the right reasons. If current trends continue, we will have stopped the centerpiece of destroying our country within the next few weeks. Those who lined up against the American people will be remembered. I think back to the French Revolution. It was here, on July 14, 1789, that the French people, fed up with their government, stormed this ancient fortress prison known as the Bastille and started the revolution. They attacked the symbols of oppression. Today we see the beginnings of this discontent with each voice who shouts down the blubbering mouthpieces of the Administration who try to sell something that they don't know about or try to hide from us. They will not succeed. If they do not listen, they will be cast out of power, one way or another. It is funny, because those who cry at the top of their lungs about how they support the little common man in flyover country are those who ignore us, see us as children, and when we question them are told to go to our room. It is these people who will feel the wrath of the people, and been written about in the histories that they supported the Ancien Regime and lost. When we burn the Bastille it will be a good day, and we all will be better for it.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Guns of Passchendaele
Even though I am a few days behind, I am saddened to report the death of the last British World War I veteran Harry Patch. There still remains at least one American veteran of the war, Frank Buckles, who is 108. Patch fought in the trenches of the war, including the battle of Passchendaele at Ypres. Most of us these days have little knowledge of the "Great War", but we should take this opportunity to learn about the formative period of the 20th Century, which effects our world today.
World War I, or the Great War, was fought between 1914 and 1918. It ended on November 11, 1918, which is called Veteran's Day in the United States. In Great Britain it is called Remembrance Day. This national holiday is the first of the many ways that this period has changed our lives. Most of us continue to celebrate Veterans Day, usually by watching parades and visiting veterans' graves. We remember those who fought for our freedoms and died for us, even those who had yet to be born. I often visit my grandfather's and grandmother's graves on Veteran's Day, both veterans of World War II, buried next to each other in a small town in North Central Iowa. They met during the war, married in Caen, France and remained married for nearly fifty years until breast cancer took her shortly after I had been born. Especially on that day, I think of the stories of the war that my grandfather had told me, and the times that I had spent with him when he was alive. Even though one day is never enough, it is vitally important that we recognize the sacrifices that some make for our country. In our own time, each of us in our mid-twenties knows a veteran who is or has recently served. We may know someone who has died. Veteran's Day was the beginning of this drive to support our veterans, as veterans of previous wars were often forgotten.
World War I's political ramifications continue to reverberate throughout the world. First, this is the war that made the Middle East into what it is today. The Ottoman Empire fell, and the victorious Allies carved up the corpse. The modern nations of Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Israel were all birthed here. Great Britain and France occupied various areas of the old empire, and the borders were drawn. Each nation gained independence in the interwar years or shortly following the Second World War, but it was World War I that created them. It was the Jews and their ideas of Zionism which led them to migrate to Palestine and reclaim their ancient home under the safety of the British troops who occupied the area.
The war changed Europe as well. New nations arose, such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Hungary. The old Austrian-Hungarian Empire was no more, and the ancient nation of Poland, destroyed nearly 150 years earlier, returned. The Russian Empire collapsed in civil war, resulting in the Soviet Union. The German Empire was replaced with the Weimar Republic. France regained its provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The blame for the war was placed singularly on the shoulders of Germany, which is often credited with the impetus for the Second World War. Germany was forced to pay reparations, creating a system would has credibility is causing a world wide depression in the 1930's when their economy collapsed and the global flow of money stopped. Communism had found a home in the world, with the founding of the Soviet Union. This, almost above any other event, had more ripples throughout the world as the Communists began their long campaign to remake and conquer the world. With a secure base in the Soviet Union, communist groups sprung up throughout the world, and nation after nation fell to the Communist advance starting with Mongolia in 1924. The evils of Communism have been well documented, and its cancer still effects our lives.
World War I also was the death of glory. Prior to the war, war was seen as glorious and gentlemanly. In the trenches of the Somme and the mud of Passchendaele, war's inhumanity was laid bare for all to see. The death of so many millions for a few inches of land, often lost the next day, showed the futileness of glory, as the bullets of the Maxim cared not who they hit. The poison gas killed both scoundrels and gentleman, and how high was your birth could not save you from drowning in the mud. It was called the war to end all wars, a hopeful title, but alas one that will never come true. An entire generation died in the trenches, weakening the superpowers of Europe permanently. Britain and France became casualty adverse, never wanting the bloodletting to occur again. Their holds on their colonies became weaker. Germany suffered this after the Second World War. Long the constant battleground, the pieces were set in motion to end war in Europe.
Young men to this day still believe in the glory of war, but they are the only ones. I have heard stories from my friends who have seen it with their own eyes. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to war in all situations, at all costs. Sometimes it is the only option, but it must be chosen knowing full well the costs of it. We learned of shell shock, trenchfoot, and the suicide of returning veterans. We saw entire populations geared up to fight the first modern war, with industrialization and war bonds.
Yet with all of these things, there are still more changes. The spread of the airplane, the first man made object in space, advances in chemistry and medicine all came from the war. The United States took its first steps towards the superpower that it is today. Democracy had found its champion. In the blood of the war, the old order of the world started to die, and freedom from the shackles of tyranny began here. We began to have a sense of ourselves as one people, united in the League of Nations, where perhaps diplomacy can save lives. War as the primary tool of statecraft became a faux pas. Even though this idea still has troubles, its birth was out of the horrors of the war.
Harry Patch was one of the last who saw these horrors firsthand. His death is a loss of this unique perspective. He fought at Passchendaele, wounded by a German artillery shell that claimed the lives of three of his friends. Passchendaele was infamous for its mud, as 1917 was a very wet year and many drowned in the mud during the incessant attacks against the German defenses around the village in Belgium. Even though by the end of the battle the Allies had captured Passendaele, the cost of more than 500000 Allied lives and 300000 Germans made it a hollow strategic victory. We need to remember these things. It is often said that people who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. It would be a sad day if we forgot the guns of Passchendaele and Harry Patch.
World War I, or the Great War, was fought between 1914 and 1918. It ended on November 11, 1918, which is called Veteran's Day in the United States. In Great Britain it is called Remembrance Day. This national holiday is the first of the many ways that this period has changed our lives. Most of us continue to celebrate Veterans Day, usually by watching parades and visiting veterans' graves. We remember those who fought for our freedoms and died for us, even those who had yet to be born. I often visit my grandfather's and grandmother's graves on Veteran's Day, both veterans of World War II, buried next to each other in a small town in North Central Iowa. They met during the war, married in Caen, France and remained married for nearly fifty years until breast cancer took her shortly after I had been born. Especially on that day, I think of the stories of the war that my grandfather had told me, and the times that I had spent with him when he was alive. Even though one day is never enough, it is vitally important that we recognize the sacrifices that some make for our country. In our own time, each of us in our mid-twenties knows a veteran who is or has recently served. We may know someone who has died. Veteran's Day was the beginning of this drive to support our veterans, as veterans of previous wars were often forgotten.
World War I's political ramifications continue to reverberate throughout the world. First, this is the war that made the Middle East into what it is today. The Ottoman Empire fell, and the victorious Allies carved up the corpse. The modern nations of Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Israel were all birthed here. Great Britain and France occupied various areas of the old empire, and the borders were drawn. Each nation gained independence in the interwar years or shortly following the Second World War, but it was World War I that created them. It was the Jews and their ideas of Zionism which led them to migrate to Palestine and reclaim their ancient home under the safety of the British troops who occupied the area.
The war changed Europe as well. New nations arose, such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Hungary. The old Austrian-Hungarian Empire was no more, and the ancient nation of Poland, destroyed nearly 150 years earlier, returned. The Russian Empire collapsed in civil war, resulting in the Soviet Union. The German Empire was replaced with the Weimar Republic. France regained its provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The blame for the war was placed singularly on the shoulders of Germany, which is often credited with the impetus for the Second World War. Germany was forced to pay reparations, creating a system would has credibility is causing a world wide depression in the 1930's when their economy collapsed and the global flow of money stopped. Communism had found a home in the world, with the founding of the Soviet Union. This, almost above any other event, had more ripples throughout the world as the Communists began their long campaign to remake and conquer the world. With a secure base in the Soviet Union, communist groups sprung up throughout the world, and nation after nation fell to the Communist advance starting with Mongolia in 1924. The evils of Communism have been well documented, and its cancer still effects our lives.
World War I also was the death of glory. Prior to the war, war was seen as glorious and gentlemanly. In the trenches of the Somme and the mud of Passchendaele, war's inhumanity was laid bare for all to see. The death of so many millions for a few inches of land, often lost the next day, showed the futileness of glory, as the bullets of the Maxim cared not who they hit. The poison gas killed both scoundrels and gentleman, and how high was your birth could not save you from drowning in the mud. It was called the war to end all wars, a hopeful title, but alas one that will never come true. An entire generation died in the trenches, weakening the superpowers of Europe permanently. Britain and France became casualty adverse, never wanting the bloodletting to occur again. Their holds on their colonies became weaker. Germany suffered this after the Second World War. Long the constant battleground, the pieces were set in motion to end war in Europe.
Young men to this day still believe in the glory of war, but they are the only ones. I have heard stories from my friends who have seen it with their own eyes. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to war in all situations, at all costs. Sometimes it is the only option, but it must be chosen knowing full well the costs of it. We learned of shell shock, trenchfoot, and the suicide of returning veterans. We saw entire populations geared up to fight the first modern war, with industrialization and war bonds.
Yet with all of these things, there are still more changes. The spread of the airplane, the first man made object in space, advances in chemistry and medicine all came from the war. The United States took its first steps towards the superpower that it is today. Democracy had found its champion. In the blood of the war, the old order of the world started to die, and freedom from the shackles of tyranny began here. We began to have a sense of ourselves as one people, united in the League of Nations, where perhaps diplomacy can save lives. War as the primary tool of statecraft became a faux pas. Even though this idea still has troubles, its birth was out of the horrors of the war.
Harry Patch was one of the last who saw these horrors firsthand. His death is a loss of this unique perspective. He fought at Passchendaele, wounded by a German artillery shell that claimed the lives of three of his friends. Passchendaele was infamous for its mud, as 1917 was a very wet year and many drowned in the mud during the incessant attacks against the German defenses around the village in Belgium. Even though by the end of the battle the Allies had captured Passendaele, the cost of more than 500000 Allied lives and 300000 Germans made it a hollow strategic victory. We need to remember these things. It is often said that people who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. It would be a sad day if we forgot the guns of Passchendaele and Harry Patch.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Reason Why Andy Warhol Cut off Mozart's Ear
I have actually wanted to write this particular blog since I started this venture, but until recently other things have come up. Recently I have been moving my massive amount of things over to my new place, and playing a new "free" online crack known as Evony. I know, it is said but it actually leads me into a new segway into what I really want to talk about. I have often considered as to why creative people such as musicians and artists are so mentally deranged. From a constant stream of overdoses to cutting off one's own ear, creative genius often comes with a heavy price. For many of us, we look at these lives, often cut short with the madness within them, and feel sorry for them. If only they could have sought professional help, they might have still lived.
Well, I am here to say that all that professional help would have done is kill the genius inside. What extremely unpolitically correct thought forced this blasphemy to the surface? Since I defecate on political correctness in principle, and psychology in general, I am going to practice a little of it on my own. The reason why professional help could not save them is because it is that very madness that drives their genius. It is far more than just anecdotal. For each shining light of greatness, there exists an equally deep inky blackness in the same person. For example, I will mention for the first and last time Michael Jackson. One of the most talented persons ever seen in his chosen creative field, this height was matched by what one can only call extreme depravity or just plain weirdness.
Look back at each great creative mind in history. Each was deeply troubled, and those who weren't either hid it very well or weren't that great. Hemingway was a drunk, Van Gough cut off his ear, Jimmy Hendrix killed himself with drugs, as did Chris Farley. Farley is an interesting one. A comedic genius, Farley personified the funny fat guy. Did you ever wonder why most of the large men that you know are also funny? I include myself in this category. It is the same reason why clowns are really sad. If we make everyone laugh, then they will never notice how much we hurt on the inside.
Creativity comes from pain. A truly content person creates nothing, as there is no need. The more deep the pain or madness, the higher the corresponding greatness will be. It is why the best songs have a touch of sadness to them, why you can feel the longing of priceless poetry, and why the masterpieces in the Louvre often make those cry. Even positive emotions must be overwhelming in order for creation to occur.
Just like the autistic, the truly creative are over stimulated, but instead of them withdrawing into themselves fully, they put it into an outlet. Mountains of emotion flow their their brushes and typewriters, so they can live just one more day. Such people unfortunately sometimes have a short lifespan, as they cannot control or handle the overflow of emotional pain. Often the seek to cover up the mountain with drugs, or surrender to it with suicide.
Why do I say all of this? I say it because I think that I figured it all out, and did not want to forget. I see in myself the impetus for creative genius, and sometimes it scares me. Almost everyone who actually knows me would never suspect, as most people are totally fooled by the funny fat guy act. I am subdued, and rarely raise my voice. I never talk about my feelings, especially to those who I actually care about. My entire life is a facade, and I have become very good at maintaining it.
I know that if I try to fix all of this, my drive to create will cease. Normal people don't create things. At the moment it is small, as it consists of this blog, but I have many stories that need to be told. If I am ever corrected, and deal with the ocean of feeling in a "normal" and "healthy" way, it will all disappear. It is not to say that the other road is easy. There are many times that my inability to function like a "healthy" person has literally frozen me into inaction. I have deadened my insides just to survive. Recently there has been a little life, but for the longest time there were simply emotions that I would not let myself feel, or at least outwardly show them.
Why I wanted to write this blog is this: even with all of these bad things, there is the goodness as well. First, my insight has been returning to me. I have been told multiple times recently that prior advice that I had given was in fact quite good. This is quite extraordinary for someone who tells themselves on a daily basis that they don't know anything, not to mention in chorus with those who equal those sentiments. Being who I am I also have a large ego (don't ask me to explain this, because I can't, at least not yet), hearing from others that I knew what I was talking about is just the right kind of validation that I need and want. Secondly, when I have taken the opportunities to create something, everyone has indeed marveled in it. This goes back to the ego again. Finally, slowly but surely the mantra that I had been repeating for almost fifteen years is starting to come true. Everything happens for a reason, and people eventually get what they deserve. No matter how bad things have got in the past, things will be made good if I only wait long enough.
While you might discount this as a fairy tale, there is quite a bit of validation in it. Go back to my original point. Creative people have to have an equal amount of pain/discomfort/madness in order to be creative. It is the reason why the popular guy in high school works at the gas station while the geek marries the county fair queen. Our lives are about balance, and goodness in one thing is balanced out in another. The same applies to badness. The interesting thing about it is that we either forget about the badness or the goodness, and don't realize just when we are getting "paid back".
That is why you can't fix life, especially the messed up lives of those geniuses in our world. It is why Andy Warhol cut off Mozart's ear. Then he painted a picture of it. With a can of Campbell's soup. And now it hangs in Kevin Johnson's garage in Biloxi, next to some oil cans. Maybe I made up that last part.
Well, I am here to say that all that professional help would have done is kill the genius inside. What extremely unpolitically correct thought forced this blasphemy to the surface? Since I defecate on political correctness in principle, and psychology in general, I am going to practice a little of it on my own. The reason why professional help could not save them is because it is that very madness that drives their genius. It is far more than just anecdotal. For each shining light of greatness, there exists an equally deep inky blackness in the same person. For example, I will mention for the first and last time Michael Jackson. One of the most talented persons ever seen in his chosen creative field, this height was matched by what one can only call extreme depravity or just plain weirdness.
Look back at each great creative mind in history. Each was deeply troubled, and those who weren't either hid it very well or weren't that great. Hemingway was a drunk, Van Gough cut off his ear, Jimmy Hendrix killed himself with drugs, as did Chris Farley. Farley is an interesting one. A comedic genius, Farley personified the funny fat guy. Did you ever wonder why most of the large men that you know are also funny? I include myself in this category. It is the same reason why clowns are really sad. If we make everyone laugh, then they will never notice how much we hurt on the inside.
Creativity comes from pain. A truly content person creates nothing, as there is no need. The more deep the pain or madness, the higher the corresponding greatness will be. It is why the best songs have a touch of sadness to them, why you can feel the longing of priceless poetry, and why the masterpieces in the Louvre often make those cry. Even positive emotions must be overwhelming in order for creation to occur.
Just like the autistic, the truly creative are over stimulated, but instead of them withdrawing into themselves fully, they put it into an outlet. Mountains of emotion flow their their brushes and typewriters, so they can live just one more day. Such people unfortunately sometimes have a short lifespan, as they cannot control or handle the overflow of emotional pain. Often the seek to cover up the mountain with drugs, or surrender to it with suicide.
Why do I say all of this? I say it because I think that I figured it all out, and did not want to forget. I see in myself the impetus for creative genius, and sometimes it scares me. Almost everyone who actually knows me would never suspect, as most people are totally fooled by the funny fat guy act. I am subdued, and rarely raise my voice. I never talk about my feelings, especially to those who I actually care about. My entire life is a facade, and I have become very good at maintaining it.
I know that if I try to fix all of this, my drive to create will cease. Normal people don't create things. At the moment it is small, as it consists of this blog, but I have many stories that need to be told. If I am ever corrected, and deal with the ocean of feeling in a "normal" and "healthy" way, it will all disappear. It is not to say that the other road is easy. There are many times that my inability to function like a "healthy" person has literally frozen me into inaction. I have deadened my insides just to survive. Recently there has been a little life, but for the longest time there were simply emotions that I would not let myself feel, or at least outwardly show them.
Why I wanted to write this blog is this: even with all of these bad things, there is the goodness as well. First, my insight has been returning to me. I have been told multiple times recently that prior advice that I had given was in fact quite good. This is quite extraordinary for someone who tells themselves on a daily basis that they don't know anything, not to mention in chorus with those who equal those sentiments. Being who I am I also have a large ego (don't ask me to explain this, because I can't, at least not yet), hearing from others that I knew what I was talking about is just the right kind of validation that I need and want. Secondly, when I have taken the opportunities to create something, everyone has indeed marveled in it. This goes back to the ego again. Finally, slowly but surely the mantra that I had been repeating for almost fifteen years is starting to come true. Everything happens for a reason, and people eventually get what they deserve. No matter how bad things have got in the past, things will be made good if I only wait long enough.
While you might discount this as a fairy tale, there is quite a bit of validation in it. Go back to my original point. Creative people have to have an equal amount of pain/discomfort/madness in order to be creative. It is the reason why the popular guy in high school works at the gas station while the geek marries the county fair queen. Our lives are about balance, and goodness in one thing is balanced out in another. The same applies to badness. The interesting thing about it is that we either forget about the badness or the goodness, and don't realize just when we are getting "paid back".
That is why you can't fix life, especially the messed up lives of those geniuses in our world. It is why Andy Warhol cut off Mozart's ear. Then he painted a picture of it. With a can of Campbell's soup. And now it hangs in Kevin Johnson's garage in Biloxi, next to some oil cans. Maybe I made up that last part.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Last Train Running
The band Whiskey Falls has a song called Last Train Running. It is song written about regret, and looking back at the end of one's life. I am not saying that I am approaching the end of my life (I hope) even though I am approaching another birthday. I am long past the birthdays that I look forward to, since all they signify at this point is another year has passed and many of the things that I want for myself are still slipping through my fingers like water.
Such thoughts often come at an earlier time in the morning, just before the first rays of day poke through the black inky blanket of night. For the fortunate few, these thoughts are there when the sun forces open one's eyes at daybreak. But back to the song. Why I bring up this song is this. I sometimes see that last train coming, and know I will not catch it. The last chance to change something. Many of us cannot see that train, and this is a blessing. Doors close, and many of us don't realize it, not knowing until after we have passed that some things that could have been are not. The last train has a lonely whistle, its mournful song calling to each of us, pleading to our deepest recesses to take that passing hand hold and go for a ride.
Why do I know that this time, this time I won't take it? Because I know myself, and that fear of change will hold my outstretched arm back. It won't let me open my hands, and pull myself into a choice that I want very deeply. This fear is caused by doubt, a wretched cancer of the soul that eats away at the heart, slowly killing my will. It says that even if I do, I will not catch that train, I will fall onto the tracks, crushed and never to rise again. Even though this has happened more times than I can remember, my heart tells me that yes, this will be the one time that my grasp is strong enough, and that which I desire will happen. Because it has to. But there is still that doubt, that black hole that remembers the pain that will come, and its voice rasps that one more blow could just be the one that ends the journey once and for all. It is better to take the pain of regret, and suffer standing there on the platform.
Why do I put myself through this? Could it be that I know that maybe I am not ready to cash it in? Might there be a train that I will take, one that will take me to new and exciting places? This coming train looks like it is a good one, one that promises everything that I want. I am not concerned that if I do take this last train, that it will live up to its promise. Once the decision is made, I know that things will be as advertised. It is the fact that even if I want to get on, I might not be able to get the passing train, because perhaps my tickets are not correct or more likely, I arrive at the station too late, and it leaves because I am just not fast enough.
Is there anything that can be done? If I knew for certain, I would not be despondent. At this time, there are only two things that I am for certain about. One, even if it is not the "right" train, it would be leaving the station, and taking me someplace else. "Right" is also a changing matter of perspective. Two, if I stay on the platform and don't even try, then it will be as before. Nothing will happen. I don't want to go through my life and on my deathbed say that I did nothing. Nothing is not a eulogy or an engraving on a tombstone. Nothing is the greatest disappointment. We are not placed on this earth through the miracle of life to do nothing. We are to take chances, and accomplish something, even if to others they are small accomplishments. What others think is of little matter. We can't let the gawking of the vulgar crowd stop us from doing what we wish. It is that same crowd who at their core wishes that they could themselves reach for that train, but take small comfort in those who do so and do not make it.
What will I do? On this I can predict the future. I will arrive at the station, just as that train is leaving. I will cry out, and with all my strength I will grasp at the last car, wanting to hold back the train for just a moment. It is a battle that cannot be won though, and I will fall back, lying on the tracks as one more train leaves without me. Its whistle will fill my ears, and I will close my eyes. I will want another train to come, to finish me off, but alas none will. Finally, I pick myself up and wait for the next one. One of these days I might just actually take it.
Such thoughts often come at an earlier time in the morning, just before the first rays of day poke through the black inky blanket of night. For the fortunate few, these thoughts are there when the sun forces open one's eyes at daybreak. But back to the song. Why I bring up this song is this. I sometimes see that last train coming, and know I will not catch it. The last chance to change something. Many of us cannot see that train, and this is a blessing. Doors close, and many of us don't realize it, not knowing until after we have passed that some things that could have been are not. The last train has a lonely whistle, its mournful song calling to each of us, pleading to our deepest recesses to take that passing hand hold and go for a ride.
Why do I know that this time, this time I won't take it? Because I know myself, and that fear of change will hold my outstretched arm back. It won't let me open my hands, and pull myself into a choice that I want very deeply. This fear is caused by doubt, a wretched cancer of the soul that eats away at the heart, slowly killing my will. It says that even if I do, I will not catch that train, I will fall onto the tracks, crushed and never to rise again. Even though this has happened more times than I can remember, my heart tells me that yes, this will be the one time that my grasp is strong enough, and that which I desire will happen. Because it has to. But there is still that doubt, that black hole that remembers the pain that will come, and its voice rasps that one more blow could just be the one that ends the journey once and for all. It is better to take the pain of regret, and suffer standing there on the platform.
Why do I put myself through this? Could it be that I know that maybe I am not ready to cash it in? Might there be a train that I will take, one that will take me to new and exciting places? This coming train looks like it is a good one, one that promises everything that I want. I am not concerned that if I do take this last train, that it will live up to its promise. Once the decision is made, I know that things will be as advertised. It is the fact that even if I want to get on, I might not be able to get the passing train, because perhaps my tickets are not correct or more likely, I arrive at the station too late, and it leaves because I am just not fast enough.
Is there anything that can be done? If I knew for certain, I would not be despondent. At this time, there are only two things that I am for certain about. One, even if it is not the "right" train, it would be leaving the station, and taking me someplace else. "Right" is also a changing matter of perspective. Two, if I stay on the platform and don't even try, then it will be as before. Nothing will happen. I don't want to go through my life and on my deathbed say that I did nothing. Nothing is not a eulogy or an engraving on a tombstone. Nothing is the greatest disappointment. We are not placed on this earth through the miracle of life to do nothing. We are to take chances, and accomplish something, even if to others they are small accomplishments. What others think is of little matter. We can't let the gawking of the vulgar crowd stop us from doing what we wish. It is that same crowd who at their core wishes that they could themselves reach for that train, but take small comfort in those who do so and do not make it.
What will I do? On this I can predict the future. I will arrive at the station, just as that train is leaving. I will cry out, and with all my strength I will grasp at the last car, wanting to hold back the train for just a moment. It is a battle that cannot be won though, and I will fall back, lying on the tracks as one more train leaves without me. Its whistle will fill my ears, and I will close my eyes. I will want another train to come, to finish me off, but alas none will. Finally, I pick myself up and wait for the next one. One of these days I might just actually take it.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Welcome to the Banana Republic of the United States of America
I have never travelled to a banana republic. Seen mostly in tropical areas, these places are those where there is a coup every other week and your local policeman will accept a bribe of $5 to ignore the dead body in the car next to you. They are wonderful places, mostly because the antics of the banana republic provide endless humor and enjoyment to those of us who do not live under it. However, I am no longer laughing.
Our Dear Leader is pushing us down to become a banana republic. He puts us into bed with total banana republics like Venezuela, supports deposed banana politicians like Manuel Zelaya, and has put out feelers to make himself the President for Life here. Yeah, the likelihood of that happening is small, but with there still being a sizable minority of people for whom Our Dear Leader is the second coming anything is indeed possible. There are other ways in which the United States now is going to be a banana republic, if we don't do something to stop it.
First, just like a banana republic we are being remade into a structurally high unemployment economy, where a majority of the population depends on the government. At our current stage, about 43% of the population pay no income tax. As soon as this number reaches 51%, then a majority of people in this country will not have any concern of just who pays for things that the government does. They won't care who gets taxed, and how much they get taxed, because it won't be them and then there is more money to "vote" towards their own wallets. Remember, Benjamin Franklin once said: "When people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
This voting of money is the single greatest push towards banana republic, and did not begin with Our Dear Leader unfortunately. The massive bloating of the federal government began in 1913, with the passing of the 16th and 17th Constitutional Amendments. It has taken over ninety years for these mistakes to come to full flower. For those with a public school education, the 16th amendment repeals the prohibition of the income tax and the 17th makes senators directly elected by the people. What do these things mean? Well, the income tax allows the federal government to grow to absurd sizes, and with more money can place it ever more areas that it previously could not. With the amendment there was finally an amount of money there that people would be interested in, and only one obstacle stood in their way of voting for it, the Senate. Prior to 1913, the state legislatures appointed Senators, which gave the states a measure of power in the federal government. They also would act much like the House of Lords does in Great Britain, slowing down the passions of the people when they would do something that is unwise. With the Senate under the pressure of the normal populace, now no one could stop the exaggerations of democracy, with the lone exception of the courts, which are the least democratic of the three branches of the government.
Secondly, we slide to banana republic with each czar that is appointed, and each private company taken over by the government. Banana republics nationalize private corporations, often because they need money. We nationalize corporations to change their ownership, and give them to people who did not earn them so secure votes. The Dear Leader appoints czars to provide authoritarian control over sectors of the economy, and to push through massive changes through the bloated bureaucracy, which for once could work in our favor if it could slow down these horrible changes. The appointment of authoritarian judges also accomplishes this, judges like FJSS. Her judicial philosophy is one of making law without democratic input, thus making the Court even more tyrannous than it currently is. Fortunately we have a number of justices who do not follow that philosophy, but it is a sad state of affairs when appointments to the Court have such importance to the normal man. The Court was never intended to be the most powerful of the three branches of government, a position that it holds in the modern era.
Thirdly, and finally, a banana republic must have a leader. These leaders are "beloved" by the peasantry, and are often charismatic people who enjoy a wide following around the world. These leaders often have a cult of personality, and posses rabid supporters for whom the leader can do no wrong. Our Dear Leader fits this profile perfectly. A banana president surrounds himself with people who can accomplish his mission of holding on to power, including those who are criminal. They also discredit the former leaders of the nation, as to prevent them from returning to power. Convicting them of crimes is often the way that this is done.
How do we, as free citizens, stop this criminal action? First, we must dismantle the power of the government. Repeal the 16th and 17th amendments would be a great first step. The government would starve out of money. Most of the problems of graft and corruption would disappear if there was no money to be had. Tossing out the leader would be the next step, one that unfortunately has to wait until 2010 or 2012 to be accomplished. People who value freedom and limited government must be elected as soon as possible, and if this is done, the Dear Leader can be curtailed or impeached for high crimes against the people when good statesmen are elected. Finally, each of these destructive policies must be opposed with tooth and nail by the population of the United States. We can stop this slide towards dictatorship by pressuring our Congress to end all new government programs. Removing the illegal government structure will have to come with a new president. It is not too late to stop the banana republic without a total revolution, but it will take the right steps.
Our Dear Leader is pushing us down to become a banana republic. He puts us into bed with total banana republics like Venezuela, supports deposed banana politicians like Manuel Zelaya, and has put out feelers to make himself the President for Life here. Yeah, the likelihood of that happening is small, but with there still being a sizable minority of people for whom Our Dear Leader is the second coming anything is indeed possible. There are other ways in which the United States now is going to be a banana republic, if we don't do something to stop it.
First, just like a banana republic we are being remade into a structurally high unemployment economy, where a majority of the population depends on the government. At our current stage, about 43% of the population pay no income tax. As soon as this number reaches 51%, then a majority of people in this country will not have any concern of just who pays for things that the government does. They won't care who gets taxed, and how much they get taxed, because it won't be them and then there is more money to "vote" towards their own wallets. Remember, Benjamin Franklin once said: "When people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
This voting of money is the single greatest push towards banana republic, and did not begin with Our Dear Leader unfortunately. The massive bloating of the federal government began in 1913, with the passing of the 16th and 17th Constitutional Amendments. It has taken over ninety years for these mistakes to come to full flower. For those with a public school education, the 16th amendment repeals the prohibition of the income tax and the 17th makes senators directly elected by the people. What do these things mean? Well, the income tax allows the federal government to grow to absurd sizes, and with more money can place it ever more areas that it previously could not. With the amendment there was finally an amount of money there that people would be interested in, and only one obstacle stood in their way of voting for it, the Senate. Prior to 1913, the state legislatures appointed Senators, which gave the states a measure of power in the federal government. They also would act much like the House of Lords does in Great Britain, slowing down the passions of the people when they would do something that is unwise. With the Senate under the pressure of the normal populace, now no one could stop the exaggerations of democracy, with the lone exception of the courts, which are the least democratic of the three branches of the government.
Secondly, we slide to banana republic with each czar that is appointed, and each private company taken over by the government. Banana republics nationalize private corporations, often because they need money. We nationalize corporations to change their ownership, and give them to people who did not earn them so secure votes. The Dear Leader appoints czars to provide authoritarian control over sectors of the economy, and to push through massive changes through the bloated bureaucracy, which for once could work in our favor if it could slow down these horrible changes. The appointment of authoritarian judges also accomplishes this, judges like FJSS. Her judicial philosophy is one of making law without democratic input, thus making the Court even more tyrannous than it currently is. Fortunately we have a number of justices who do not follow that philosophy, but it is a sad state of affairs when appointments to the Court have such importance to the normal man. The Court was never intended to be the most powerful of the three branches of government, a position that it holds in the modern era.
Thirdly, and finally, a banana republic must have a leader. These leaders are "beloved" by the peasantry, and are often charismatic people who enjoy a wide following around the world. These leaders often have a cult of personality, and posses rabid supporters for whom the leader can do no wrong. Our Dear Leader fits this profile perfectly. A banana president surrounds himself with people who can accomplish his mission of holding on to power, including those who are criminal. They also discredit the former leaders of the nation, as to prevent them from returning to power. Convicting them of crimes is often the way that this is done.
How do we, as free citizens, stop this criminal action? First, we must dismantle the power of the government. Repeal the 16th and 17th amendments would be a great first step. The government would starve out of money. Most of the problems of graft and corruption would disappear if there was no money to be had. Tossing out the leader would be the next step, one that unfortunately has to wait until 2010 or 2012 to be accomplished. People who value freedom and limited government must be elected as soon as possible, and if this is done, the Dear Leader can be curtailed or impeached for high crimes against the people when good statesmen are elected. Finally, each of these destructive policies must be opposed with tooth and nail by the population of the United States. We can stop this slide towards dictatorship by pressuring our Congress to end all new government programs. Removing the illegal government structure will have to come with a new president. It is not too late to stop the banana republic without a total revolution, but it will take the right steps.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Definitive Modern Guide to A Knight in Shining Armor: Or Mastering the Subtle Art of Timing
Chivalry is dead, or at least that is what we are lead to believe. I don't buy it, but then again most people to their detriment don't listen to me because they think that they know better. There are some pieces of evidence that suggest that they are right, but a closer look will show that they are as usual wrong, and I will the passage of time are proven right.
First, there are no more dragons left. Knights fight dragons, and knights kill dragons. They did their job so well that there are no more dragons left. Thus they no longer need their suits of armor. And without their armor a knight is no longer a knight, and thus the whole code of chivalry is out the window. Pretty damning evidence.
Secondly, we are told that women no longer need a knight to defend their honor. We see women super heroes on the stage and screen, fighting zombies and bad guys even better than the knights could do it. We are also told that since the women can do all of this, we are regulated to hanging back and staying out of sight. That is if the woman has lowered herself to keeping a man instead of being alone or having a lesbian relationship, the highest possible state under our modern regime.
Thirdly, men (and thus knights) are now obsolete, as just recently sperm was created from stem cells. Now women don't need a man to produce children and thus future lesbian relationships that will allow humanity (at least half of it) to continue. So, because women no longer need men, thus chivalry is dead.
No, no its not. There never were dragons, at least outside of the fantasy world. Knights embodied (at least were supposed to) virtue in the medieval society. Just how much of this was reality is not the point. We don't live in a medieval society anymore, but the virtue that a knight represents is still valid, and is what women search for. Thus a modern guide for knights is needed.
To start, what do knights represent? Honor, loyalty, romantic love, and truth are the core values of a knight. Each of these virtues is more important than ever. Honor lies at the core. A man is only as good as his word, and respects each person regardless of whether they deserve such respect. A knight is loyal to his family, friends and his country. Romantic love is placing the fairer sex in a position of honor, both respecting her desires and her honor above your own. This is the fundamental protection for women, as men are on average stronger and more aggressive. Finally, truth completes the knight. To bear false witness is a grave error, and in the long term will make one into a shadow of a person, crying wolf while the sheep are stolen away.
None of these things require armor, shining or not. Now, don't get me wrong, I like strong women. Doormats are not attractive. However, I think that men and women can fall into natural roles. This is not a bad thing. Men are overt, women are covert. Part of the medieval mystique is that a woman's power is unseen, and limited only by other women. It is a well known fact that a women can make a man do almost anything. A man who can resist the charms of a woman is always under the spell of another.
The modern knight is not afraid of a strong woman, because he knows that together anything is possible. He protects her from the dangerousness of the world, in the ways that men excel at. He provides for her as best he can, but realizes that her contributions are important. Both sexes are necessary, because they see things differently. We are designed to fit together, not alone. There is no way around this.
A modern knight protects these truths. In my limited experience, women need men to complete them as much as we need them. They need that warm body sleeping next to them, caring about their problems and concerns, needing them to make everything alright when life gets too hard to bear.
I realize that for most people, including myself, these perfect ideals are out of reach. We, as men and women, disappoint each other often, because we are fallible. The point is to continue to work towards achieving these ideals of perfection. Struggling against the hazard is very knightly, especially if is it a battle that cannot be won. We have new weapons that replaced our suit of armor, one of which is timing. Timing is very important. Many people don't consider it in male/female relationships, and thus things fall apart. An example for the assembled crowd: a beautiful princess whose husband just died is pursued by numerous suitors. Many of the unknightly suitors press for her affections, only to be rebuffed. They blame her, not considering that she mourns for her dead spouse, even though he was a lout. However, her knight waits patiently, standing by her side as her shield bearer. It is only when she had shed her last tear for her dead husband that he will tell her about the great burden that he has carried in his heart, the burden of deep affection and a desire to take his place at her side as her husband. There is no greater hazard than this! A true knight realizes that he may be rebuffed, but with that the lady has spoken, and thus he must find another, or a modern dragon to perish in battle, with his love's name on his lips.
Very heavy stuff indeed, but life is full of these things. I mention these things not because I fulfill all of the qualifications of being a true knight, but I strive to reach them. We have need of knights even til this day. This guide is for those who have passed beyond the boyhood role of squire, and seek to make themselves true men. One day, perhaps even I will have gained my knighthood. Until then, I need to go to the store. Need some more Turtle Wax for the breastplate.
First, there are no more dragons left. Knights fight dragons, and knights kill dragons. They did their job so well that there are no more dragons left. Thus they no longer need their suits of armor. And without their armor a knight is no longer a knight, and thus the whole code of chivalry is out the window. Pretty damning evidence.
Secondly, we are told that women no longer need a knight to defend their honor. We see women super heroes on the stage and screen, fighting zombies and bad guys even better than the knights could do it. We are also told that since the women can do all of this, we are regulated to hanging back and staying out of sight. That is if the woman has lowered herself to keeping a man instead of being alone or having a lesbian relationship, the highest possible state under our modern regime.
Thirdly, men (and thus knights) are now obsolete, as just recently sperm was created from stem cells. Now women don't need a man to produce children and thus future lesbian relationships that will allow humanity (at least half of it) to continue. So, because women no longer need men, thus chivalry is dead.
No, no its not. There never were dragons, at least outside of the fantasy world. Knights embodied (at least were supposed to) virtue in the medieval society. Just how much of this was reality is not the point. We don't live in a medieval society anymore, but the virtue that a knight represents is still valid, and is what women search for. Thus a modern guide for knights is needed.
To start, what do knights represent? Honor, loyalty, romantic love, and truth are the core values of a knight. Each of these virtues is more important than ever. Honor lies at the core. A man is only as good as his word, and respects each person regardless of whether they deserve such respect. A knight is loyal to his family, friends and his country. Romantic love is placing the fairer sex in a position of honor, both respecting her desires and her honor above your own. This is the fundamental protection for women, as men are on average stronger and more aggressive. Finally, truth completes the knight. To bear false witness is a grave error, and in the long term will make one into a shadow of a person, crying wolf while the sheep are stolen away.
None of these things require armor, shining or not. Now, don't get me wrong, I like strong women. Doormats are not attractive. However, I think that men and women can fall into natural roles. This is not a bad thing. Men are overt, women are covert. Part of the medieval mystique is that a woman's power is unseen, and limited only by other women. It is a well known fact that a women can make a man do almost anything. A man who can resist the charms of a woman is always under the spell of another.
The modern knight is not afraid of a strong woman, because he knows that together anything is possible. He protects her from the dangerousness of the world, in the ways that men excel at. He provides for her as best he can, but realizes that her contributions are important. Both sexes are necessary, because they see things differently. We are designed to fit together, not alone. There is no way around this.
A modern knight protects these truths. In my limited experience, women need men to complete them as much as we need them. They need that warm body sleeping next to them, caring about their problems and concerns, needing them to make everything alright when life gets too hard to bear.
I realize that for most people, including myself, these perfect ideals are out of reach. We, as men and women, disappoint each other often, because we are fallible. The point is to continue to work towards achieving these ideals of perfection. Struggling against the hazard is very knightly, especially if is it a battle that cannot be won. We have new weapons that replaced our suit of armor, one of which is timing. Timing is very important. Many people don't consider it in male/female relationships, and thus things fall apart. An example for the assembled crowd: a beautiful princess whose husband just died is pursued by numerous suitors. Many of the unknightly suitors press for her affections, only to be rebuffed. They blame her, not considering that she mourns for her dead spouse, even though he was a lout. However, her knight waits patiently, standing by her side as her shield bearer. It is only when she had shed her last tear for her dead husband that he will tell her about the great burden that he has carried in his heart, the burden of deep affection and a desire to take his place at her side as her husband. There is no greater hazard than this! A true knight realizes that he may be rebuffed, but with that the lady has spoken, and thus he must find another, or a modern dragon to perish in battle, with his love's name on his lips.
Very heavy stuff indeed, but life is full of these things. I mention these things not because I fulfill all of the qualifications of being a true knight, but I strive to reach them. We have need of knights even til this day. This guide is for those who have passed beyond the boyhood role of squire, and seek to make themselves true men. One day, perhaps even I will have gained my knighthood. Until then, I need to go to the store. Need some more Turtle Wax for the breastplate.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy Birthday, My Home of the Free and the Brave
Today is the Fourth of July. A date that is important not just for the United States of America, but for the world. Before you criticize my American-centric view, here the facts. The United States' birth was a symbol of freedom's light for the world, and its role in showing the pinnacle of Enlightenment thought and progress is no better demonstrated here.
We celebrate the Fourth because as Americans, we see the need for keeping the light of freedom alive, and because we can always use an excuse to barbecue and often get a day off of work. However, many of us, due to the lack of a good civics lesson, do not know exactly what happened to unveil this light. That being said, each American at his heart knows the goodness of the Great Experiment, and knows that it is our ideals that make us special. But, we all can use a refresher on just what we as Americans stand for, because sometimes we need our head to speak, not just our heart.
It was on this day, in 1776, two years after the shot heard round the world at Lexington and Concord, that the United States were born. Even at this time, our people were not united in giving birth, as almost 1/3 of the population were still loyal to the crown. Keeping that in mind, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration, showing the world the abuses suffered under the tyranny of King George III, and putting them in permanent ink, demonstrated the resolve and will of the people. The largest and first signature was that of John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. These fifty-six men bore witness to the Declaration, and many of them would suffer for their principles. The King would label them traitors, and some of them would not fare well during and following the war.
The Declaration turned the rebellion against the King into a revolution for principles of democracy, free government, and a cause that promised a better world. Read the words, out loud. The Declaration reads as a verbal cathedral, uplifting the soul and humbling the body. Even though the largest portion of the Declaration contains the grievances against the king, even these read as a righteous preacher, calling down the devil to account for his crimes.
The war that followed was a vicious, and often cloudy process. The Americans lost more battles than they won, and at one time all of the major cities of the colonies were under British control. However, through the perseverance of our greatest heroes, not limited to but on the highest pedestal General George Washington. It is a common myth that Washington signed the Declaration, but his name is not among them.
Through many difficult and painful years, the brave forces of the Americans and their allies the French surrounded Lord General Charles Cornwallis's army at Yorktown, and the war was won with his surrender. It took two more years for the Treaty of Paris to be signed and ratified, which officially ended the war. With this we had our own country, free of interference from anyone else.
Why are these things important? They are important, and remain so for several reasons. First and foremost is that it demonstrated that a free people can and will defeat a tyranny, even one as powerful as Great Britain. People forget that Great Britain possessed the most powerful army in the world at the time, and the largest and most powerful navy. They had possessions across the globe, and no power challenged them for their role as the world's top superpower. This massive military machine was defeated by a scattered population of 3 million, in which nearly 1/3 did not support the revolution. The United States possessed no navy, and its army consisted of mostly untrained militia. It showed the rightness of the cause that even with these odds, it was the colonials who won their freedom, and tyranny from afar was defeated.
Secondly, the Declaration gives an inkling into what good government is, and is generally how we define it today. Democracy went from a novelty, to the true power in the world. You can see this is just how many countries blatantly continue under dictatorship, which is few. Most nations at least possess the facade of democracy, since it gives legitimacy. The Declaration was the beginning of this.
Thirdly, it shows what a determined group of men, confident in their principles can accomplish. It was these principles which won the war, giving each and every soldier something to fight for. Our first and only state "religion" is America, and all that she stands for. Each soldier believes this at their heart, that America is good and just, and carries this belief into battle. America still fights for these principles, both at home and abroad, and seeks to carry the light of freedom to all of the corners of our dark world.
There are those who disparage all of this, those who believe that America is not good, or just. They believe that America is broken, and was made that way. Even on its birthday, they hold this cancer close to their hearts, where it corrupts them and clouds their eyes. To them, nothing can be said that will cut out this blackness. They must come to it by themselves, or not at all. To those who listen to them, not knowing that there is this wretchedness inside of them, I say this. They want you to believe that America is not perfect. I agree with this. But when perfect ideals are put into practice, they due to our human condition become imperfect. It is a testament to our character that we struggle to unmake these wrongs. This is a battle that never can be won. But to say that our principles are flawed because our execution of them is, no greater lie has been told. We must continue to cherish what our Founding Fathers saw as the light of humanity, and under God's grace we will make the right choices to continue to grasp at overcoming human frailty and fallacy. America is since its founding has been the greatest nation that God has graced our world with. And we will continue to be so, as long as we continue to clutch our principles, knowing that even if we cannot perfectly accomplish them, there is goodness and greatness in reaching for them.
So, I say Happy Birthday, America. You are my home of the free and the brave. I would not wish to be anywhere else, on this day or any other. Now, pass some cake. Corner piece please.
We celebrate the Fourth because as Americans, we see the need for keeping the light of freedom alive, and because we can always use an excuse to barbecue and often get a day off of work. However, many of us, due to the lack of a good civics lesson, do not know exactly what happened to unveil this light. That being said, each American at his heart knows the goodness of the Great Experiment, and knows that it is our ideals that make us special. But, we all can use a refresher on just what we as Americans stand for, because sometimes we need our head to speak, not just our heart.
It was on this day, in 1776, two years after the shot heard round the world at Lexington and Concord, that the United States were born. Even at this time, our people were not united in giving birth, as almost 1/3 of the population were still loyal to the crown. Keeping that in mind, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration, showing the world the abuses suffered under the tyranny of King George III, and putting them in permanent ink, demonstrated the resolve and will of the people. The largest and first signature was that of John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. These fifty-six men bore witness to the Declaration, and many of them would suffer for their principles. The King would label them traitors, and some of them would not fare well during and following the war.
The Declaration turned the rebellion against the King into a revolution for principles of democracy, free government, and a cause that promised a better world. Read the words, out loud. The Declaration reads as a verbal cathedral, uplifting the soul and humbling the body. Even though the largest portion of the Declaration contains the grievances against the king, even these read as a righteous preacher, calling down the devil to account for his crimes.
The war that followed was a vicious, and often cloudy process. The Americans lost more battles than they won, and at one time all of the major cities of the colonies were under British control. However, through the perseverance of our greatest heroes, not limited to but on the highest pedestal General George Washington. It is a common myth that Washington signed the Declaration, but his name is not among them.
Through many difficult and painful years, the brave forces of the Americans and their allies the French surrounded Lord General Charles Cornwallis's army at Yorktown, and the war was won with his surrender. It took two more years for the Treaty of Paris to be signed and ratified, which officially ended the war. With this we had our own country, free of interference from anyone else.
Why are these things important? They are important, and remain so for several reasons. First and foremost is that it demonstrated that a free people can and will defeat a tyranny, even one as powerful as Great Britain. People forget that Great Britain possessed the most powerful army in the world at the time, and the largest and most powerful navy. They had possessions across the globe, and no power challenged them for their role as the world's top superpower. This massive military machine was defeated by a scattered population of 3 million, in which nearly 1/3 did not support the revolution. The United States possessed no navy, and its army consisted of mostly untrained militia. It showed the rightness of the cause that even with these odds, it was the colonials who won their freedom, and tyranny from afar was defeated.
Secondly, the Declaration gives an inkling into what good government is, and is generally how we define it today. Democracy went from a novelty, to the true power in the world. You can see this is just how many countries blatantly continue under dictatorship, which is few. Most nations at least possess the facade of democracy, since it gives legitimacy. The Declaration was the beginning of this.
Thirdly, it shows what a determined group of men, confident in their principles can accomplish. It was these principles which won the war, giving each and every soldier something to fight for. Our first and only state "religion" is America, and all that she stands for. Each soldier believes this at their heart, that America is good and just, and carries this belief into battle. America still fights for these principles, both at home and abroad, and seeks to carry the light of freedom to all of the corners of our dark world.
There are those who disparage all of this, those who believe that America is not good, or just. They believe that America is broken, and was made that way. Even on its birthday, they hold this cancer close to their hearts, where it corrupts them and clouds their eyes. To them, nothing can be said that will cut out this blackness. They must come to it by themselves, or not at all. To those who listen to them, not knowing that there is this wretchedness inside of them, I say this. They want you to believe that America is not perfect. I agree with this. But when perfect ideals are put into practice, they due to our human condition become imperfect. It is a testament to our character that we struggle to unmake these wrongs. This is a battle that never can be won. But to say that our principles are flawed because our execution of them is, no greater lie has been told. We must continue to cherish what our Founding Fathers saw as the light of humanity, and under God's grace we will make the right choices to continue to grasp at overcoming human frailty and fallacy. America is since its founding has been the greatest nation that God has graced our world with. And we will continue to be so, as long as we continue to clutch our principles, knowing that even if we cannot perfectly accomplish them, there is goodness and greatness in reaching for them.
So, I say Happy Birthday, America. You are my home of the free and the brave. I would not wish to be anywhere else, on this day or any other. Now, pass some cake. Corner piece please.
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