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Interesting quote of the day:
"During an interview on CNN’s Reliable Sources on Sunday, Rabbi David Nesenoff, known for exposing Helen Thomas’s anti-Semitic views, informed viewers that, up until now, he has considered himself to be a liberal Democrat – who even opposed the Iraq War and supported Barack Obama – but now asserts that...
"I have to really reevaluate liberal and conservative and really find out where I stand because I think I've been a little blind."
My 8 year old girl R completed a 1st grade school project, “If I Were President.” It’s a 7 page packet with lead-ins for each panel, and a space for her to add her thoughts and ideas. In 2040, please consider her as you vote for US President.
If I Were President by R
If I were President, the first thing I would do is:
Help everyone. But I would not take money from the rich and give it to the poor. Because the poor did not earn that money.
If I were President, I would eat:
good things like broclie, corn and beons.
If I were President, I would travel to:
Hawaii and Montana.
If I were President, I would have a pet:
dog and cat named Bella and Nickey.
If I were President, I would pass a law that: There would be no bullying! (I guess they don’t teach 1st graders yet that Presidents don’t pass laws).
If I were President, I would help: everyone. (Not just ACORN and the unions. OK- that last bit was mine).
Final Comments: I don’t think I would like to be the President. I think it is too much work! I mean, I would love to help people, but it would not work.
For more than 25 years I’ve been sitting at the intersection of faith and entertainment. I approached this joining of two “roads” when I became a huge fan of Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill and Keith Green as a teenager. These three gents did an amazing thing- they joined contemporary music and melody hooks to social commentary and faith messages in a way that challenged and grew me- heart, mind and soul.
This affected me deeply in various ways. It helped mature my faith, made me more self-aware as a follower of Jesus and how I relate and treat others, and also lit a flame inside of me to join in a movement. A growing chorus of artists and fans that were excited to engage faith and the arts at the same time.
I taught myself guitar and piano, and started to write songs. My goal early on was to follow in Keith Green’s artistic footsteps- piano-based pop/rock with lyrics that delivered a compelling and challenging message. As those skills developed it lead me to participate in a rock band during high school and land a gig handling all the music at a Christian youth camp. Fortunately it became clear to me early on that I wasn’t a good enough musician or vocalist to make writing and performing my vocation, but I knew music would remain a key part of my life.
There is no shortage of people that criticize faith-based music and film. One of the chief complaints, from inside and outside the church, is that the art is second rate, and becomes unpalatable when a “message” is shoved into a song or film and spoon fed to the listener or viewer. Another common refrain is that music and film should be more subtle, gently weaving a great story that may have a moral or thickly veiled message that we can draw from. And from outside the church, besides those types of comments, we also hear things like “I hate Christian movies- too preachy, always shoving values and morals down our throats.” And multiple variations of that, far too many to outline here.
There’s also great criticism of the marketing and promotional machines that are Christian music and film companies. That these folks put to much emphasis on packaging and marketing “MESSAGE” versus “ART.”
I’d like to point out a few items that have come to my attention in the last month- namely that some of these same types of people that despise faith-based music and film for using the arts to push a “message” or “agenda,” are genuine, good old-fashioned bona fide hypocrites.
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From the NY Times, May 1st 2009:
“Seeking to Save the Planet, With a Thesaurus“ by John M. Broder
WASHINGTON — The problem with global warming, some environmentalists believe, is “global warming.” The term turns people off, fostering images of shaggy-haired liberals, economic sacrifice and complex scientific disputes, according to extensive polling and focus group sessions conducted by ecoAmerica, a nonprofit environmental marketing and messaging firm in Washington.
Instead of grim warnings about global warming, the firm advises, talk about “our deteriorating atmosphere.” Drop discussions of carbon dioxide and bring up “moving away from the dirty fuels of the past.” Don’t confuse people with cap and trade; use terms like “cap and cash back” or “pollution reduction refund.”
EcoAmerica has been conducting research for the last several years to find new ways to frame environmental issues and so build public support for climate change legislation and other initiatives. A summary of the group’s latest findings and recommendations was accidentally sent by e-mail to a number of news organizations by someone who sat in this week on a briefing intended for government officials and environmental leaders.
Environmental issues consistently rate near the bottom of public worry, according to many public opinion polls. A Pew Research Center poll released in January found global warming last among 20 voter concerns; it trailed issues like addressing moral decline and decreasing the influence of lobbyists. “We know why it’s lowest,” said Mr. Perkowitz, a marketer of outdoor clothing and home furnishings before he started ecoAmerica, whose activities are financed by corporations, foundations and individuals. “When someone thinks of global warming, they think of a politicized, polarized argument. When you say ‘global warming,’ a certain group of Americans think that’s a code word for progressive liberals, gay marriage and other such issues.”
The answer, Mr. Perkowitz said in his presentation at the briefing, is to reframe the issue using different language. “Energy efficiency” makes people think of shivering in the dark. Instead, it is more effective to speak of “saving money for a more prosperous future.” In fact, the group’s surveys and focus groups found, it is time to drop the term “the environment” and talk about “the air we breathe, the water our children drink.”
“Another key finding: remember to speak in TALKING POINTS aspirational language about shared American ideals, like freedom, prosperity, independence and self-sufficiency while avoiding jargon and details about policy, science, economics or technology,” said the e-mail account of the group’s study.
Robert J. Brulle of Drexel University, an expert on environmental communications, said ecoAmerica’s campaign was a mirror image of what industry and political conservatives were doing. “The form is the same; the message is just flipped,” he said. “You want to sell toothpaste, we’ll sell it. You want to sell global warming, we’ll sell that. It’s the use of advertising techniques to manipulate public opinion.”
And, Mr. Luntz and Mr. Perkowitz agree, “climate change” is an easier sell than “global warming.”
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And now to wrap this up, I present to you a few bit of “art” that recently graced the airwaves in an effort to shove a message and morality down our throats:
Watch just the first 2 minutes:
And here we see some of the priests and priestesses preaching the message:
And this is just downright painful to watch. Please- give me a tacky toupee-wearing sleazy televangelist over this tripe... at the end of the clip there's even a segment on confessing eco-sin. Do these people realize they have created a RELIGION?
Wow. This guy unloads both barrels on the UK Prime Minister. Holy Cow. I don’t know much about this gents politics, but his willingness to stand up and speak boldly and plainly about the WASTE that is government, and the pressure the wasteful, inefficient and unproductive government sector is putting on the productive private sector to soak up wealth in the form of more taxes and fees to then feed to unproductive segments of our society is deserving of long sustained applause. It’s also a call to arms.
I’ve been absent without leave from my blog for several weeks now. Very simple reason… anger and frustration with what’s going on around me. And…
My wife complained that my blog’s gone too political. I take that feedback very seriously because she and my four girls are the only readers I write for. So… I haven’t had much to say that isn’t politically tinged…
My heart and mind has been filled with awe (in the bad sense) and anger at what is happening before my very eyes. Our economy is teetering, our taxes will increase dramatically, my friend (a policeman) has mentioned increases in local suicides, people have lost half their wealth/retirement, the flow of friends and acquaintances letting me know they lost their job and to keep an eye out for them for new opportunities has now hit about 2-5 per week.
How quickly things change. And I doubt this is the change anyone hoped for.
The latest example to me of how insane things have got is the thousands of people protesting government cuts in NYC and California. Loud are the screams when the slop in the public trough dries up. But not to worry- Congress is dipping their ladles into our wallets and future right this very moment and are ready to spread a fresh heap of steaming wealth into the old wooden, cracked and broken trough.
...There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job.
What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country. Of course, as your employer, I am forbidden to tell you whom to vote for -- it is against the law to discriminate based on political affiliation, Race, creed, religion, etc.
Please vote who you think will serve your Interests the best. However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interest. First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story.
This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life. However, what you don't see is the back story.
I started this company 12 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living space was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.
My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.
Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's.
My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.
So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button For me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, ****, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to me like a 1 day old baby.
You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made. Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't.
The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for. Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:
I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.
The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check?
Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country. The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy. Here is what many of you don't understand; to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.
When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the mud of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine.
Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep. So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more. Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire.
You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.
While tax cuts to 95% of America sounds great on paper, don't forget the backstory: If there is no job, there is no income to tax. A tax cut on zero dollars is zero. So, when you make decision to vote, ask yourself, who understands the economics of business ownership and who doesn't? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of saving your job. While the media wants to tell you "It's the economy Stupid" I'm telling you it isn't.
If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the Constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me in South Caribbean sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.
Signed, Your boss,
Michael A. Crowley,
PE Crowley, Crisp & Associates, Inc.
Professional Engineers 1
906 South Main Street, Suite 122
Wake Forest, NC 27587
_______________________________________________________________
This morning started with my regular cup of coffee, and morning internet news read to check on the state of the world around me. One of the sites I check had a link to a great story about a girl outside of Chicago with liberal mom and a conservative dad that was brave enough to find out what happens when you swim upstream in popular culture (and public schools).
Enjoy the read… it is enlightening and fast one that will leave you thinking.
Tolerance fails T-shirt test
John Kass, November 13, 2008 (Chicago Tribune)
As the media keeps gushing on about how America has finally adopted tolerance as the great virtue, and that we're all united now, let's consider the Brave Catherine Vogt Experiment.
Catherine Vogt, 14, is an Illinois 8th grader, the daughter of a liberal mom and a conservative dad. She wanted to conduct an experiment in political tolerance and diversity of opinion at her school in the liberal suburb of Oak Park.
She noticed that fellow students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama for president. His campaign kept preaching "inclusion," and she decided to see how included she could be.
So just before the election, Catherine consulted with her history teacher, then bravely wore a unique T-shirt to school and recorded the comments of teachers and students in her journal. The T-shirt bore the simple yet quite subversive words drawn with a red marker:
"McCain Girl."
"I was just really curious how they'd react to something that different, because a lot of people at my school wore Obama shirts and they are big Obama supporters," Catherine told us. "I just really wanted to see what their reaction would be."
Immediately, Catherine learned she was stupid for wearing a shirt with Republican John McCain's name. Not merely stupid. Very stupid.
"People were upset. But they started saying things, calling me very stupid, telling me my shirt was stupid and I shouldn't be wearing it," Catherine said.
Then it got worse.
"One person told me to go die. It was a lot of dying. A lot of comments about how I should be killed," Catherine said, of the tolerance in Oak Park.
But students weren't the only ones surprised that she wore a shirt supporting McCain.
"In one class, I had one teacher say she will not judge me for my choice, but that she was surprised that I supported McCain," Catherine said.
If Catherine was shocked by such passive-aggressive threats from instructors, just wait until she goes to college.
"Later, that teacher found out about the experiment and said she was embarrassed because she knew I was writing down what she said," Catherine said.
One student suggested that she be put up on a cross for her political beliefs.
"He said, 'You should be crucifixed.' It was kind of funny because, I was like, don't you mean 'crucified?' "Catherine said.
Other entries in her notebook involved suggestions by classmates that she be "burned with her shirt on" for "being a filthy-rich Republican."
Some said that because she supported McCain, by extension she supported a plan by deranged skinheads to kill Obama before the election. And I thought such politicized logic was confined to American newsrooms. Yet Catherine refused to argue with her peers. She didn't want to jeopardize her experiment.
"I couldn't show people really what it was for. I really kind of wanted to laugh because they had no idea what I was doing," she said.
Only a few times did anyone say anything remotely positive about her McCain shirt. One girl pulled her aside in a corner, out of earshot of other students, and whispered, "I really like your shirt."
That's when you know America is truly supportive of diversity of opinion, when children must whisper for fear of being ostracized, heckled and crucifixed.
The next day, in part 2 of The Brave Catherine Vogt Experiment, she wore another T-shirt, this one with "Obama Girl" written in blue. And an amazing thing happened.
Catherine wasn't very stupid anymore. She grew brains.
"People liked my shirt. They said things like my brain had come back, and I had put the right shirt on today," Catherine said.
Some students accused her of playing both sides.
"A lot of people liked it. But some people told me I was a flip-flopper," she said. "They said, 'You can't make up your mind. You can't wear a McCain shirt one day and an Obama shirt the next day.' "
But she sure did, and she turned her journal into a report for her history teacher, earning Catherine extra credit. We asked the teacher, Norma Cassin-Pountney, whether it was ironic that Catherine would be subject to such intolerance from pro-Obama supporters in a community that prides itself on its liberal outlook.
"That's what we discussed," Cassin-Pountney said about the debate in the classroom when the experiment was revealed. "I said, here you are, promoting this person [Obama] that believes we are all equal and included, and look what you've done? The students were kind of like, 'Oh, yeah.' I think they got it."
Catherine never told us which candidate she would have voted for if she weren't an 8th grader. But she said she learned what it was like to be in the minority.
"Just being on the outside, how it felt, it was not fun at all," she said.
Don't ever feel as if you must conform, Catherine. Being on the outside isn't so bad. Trust me.
- John Kass
This type of thing will get worse.
Hooray!
After more than 20 years of wishing and dreaming it finally looks to be a reality. One of my favorite books of all time (and one of the most influential in my life) is in pre-production:
Atlas Shrugged.
http://www.baldwinent.com/prod_atlasshrugged.html
Rumored talent for key roles? Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. If that happens, there will finally be a movie they do that I'll want to see.
Here’s the synopsis of the book’s character JOHN GALT:
John Galt is the heroic main characters in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged, although he is absent from much of the text. Instead he is the subject of the novel's oft repeated question: "Who is John Galt?", and the quest to discover the answer.
As the story is revealed, Galt is discovered to be a creator and inventor who embodies the power of the individual. He serves as a counterpoint to the social and economic structure depicted in the novel. The depiction portrays a society based on oppressive bureaucratic functionaries and a culture that embraces the stifling mediocrity and egalitarianism of socialistic idealism. He is a metaphorical Atlas of Greek mythology holding up the world and namesake for the title Atlas Shrugged.
An engineer by trade, Galt's actions include withdrawing his talents, 'stopping the motor of the world', and leading the 'strikers' (in this case the captains of industry) against the 'looters' (in this case the mob rule of strikers and the common man). The storyline unfolds by exploring rumors and legends about the identity of the Galt. The Galt's actual identity is learned only after a prolonged search by Dagny Taggart. She is the female heroine of the story, with whom Galt has a romantic relationship. Galt is also referred to in the story as the Mystery Worker.
The son of an Ohio garage mechanic, Galt left home at age 12 and began college at Patrick Henry University at age 16. There he befriended Francisco d'Anconia and Ragnar Danneskjöld. All three of them double-majored in physics and philosophy. They were the cherished students of the brilliant scientist Robert Stadler and the brilliant philosopher Hugh Akston.
After graduating, Galt becomes an engineer at the Twentieth Century Motor Works where he designs a revolutionary new motor powered by ambient static electricity with the potential to change the world. Like Ellis Wyatt, he creates what many had for years said was impossible. When the company owners decide to run the factory by the collectivist maxim, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need", Galt organizes a successful labor strike (but this time getting employers, inventors, businessmen and industrialists to go on strike against statist laws that violate their rights), proclaiming his promise to stop the motor of the world. Galt begins traversing the globe, meeting the world's most successful businessmen, systematically convincing them to follow in his footsteps; one by one, they began abandoning their business empires (which, Galt convinces them, were doomed to failure anyhow, given the increased nationalization of industry by the government). This strike forms the backdrop of the novel as the mystery which protagonist Dagny Taggart seeks to uncover, with Galt as her antagonist (the novel was originally titled The Strike).
Secretly, these captains of industry, led by Galt and banker Midas Mulligan, create their own society—a secret enclave of rational individualists living in 'Galt's Gulch', a town secluded high in a wilderness of mountains in Colorado. Taggart accidentally finds the town—and a shocked John Galt—by crash-landing a light aircraft while pursuing Quentin Daniels.
Since everyone across the country is repeating the phrase, "Who is John Galt?", it is natural that many people have attempted to answer that question. The phrase becomes an expression of helplessness and despair at the current state of the novel's fictionalized world. Dagny Taggart hears a number of legends of Galt before finding the real John Galt and eventually joining his cause, and learning that all of the stories have an element of truth to them.
- From Wikipedia
Of course I also learned that this story has been bouncing around studios and filmmakers for more than 20 years with many false starts. Based on current political affairs, my guess is it will make it this time.
Yesterday our kid’s schools held presidential elections. In both Franklin High School and Hillsboro Elementary/Middle School John McCain won handily.
My 7 year old girl, R, cast her vote for McCain.
When asked why she didn’t vote for Barack Obama she said, without prompting, “because Obama would take more of our money, and we don’t really know much about him. And, because he doesn’t have any experience.”
They are always listening, those little ones, aren’t they?
Ah... the fun of surfing the net and finding funny video files. Here's one for the "if McCain wins I'm leaving America" crowd. Of course, as Alec Baldwin proves- they never do.
Zero point zero-zero-zero-one-nine-three. Do you know what that minuscule number represents?
The total percentage of likely voters in the United States that have been polled, since the completion of the conventions, about whom they would vote for in the presidential election.
That is an incredibly small number. 27,388 people to be exact, according to RealClearPolitics.com. That number is about ONE HALF the total population of my little town of Franklin, TN. And that’s supposed to represent the gazillions of voters that are spread from Hawaii to Alaska, Florida to Maine and to dozens of foreign nations where our citizens and soldiers live?
I just don’t get it. So many people live and die by the polls, yet year-in and year-out they’re shown to be just so much fluff.
I have NEVER been called by a pollster. No one I know has been. And, if they did, we wouldn’t answer it because we have caller ID and we don’t know who these stupid UNKNOWN numbers are.
The blogosphere is alight with the scathing comments made recently about the New York Times and it's inarguable left slant and unabashed support of one political party and candidate over another under the cover of journalism.
Quite frankly, since about 2003 I can't imagine anyone wanting to wait 24 hours to read old out of date news from a giant hunk of paper that bleeds black toner all over one's fingers, and often arrives soaking wet from rain or dew.
I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and jot a quick note to Bill Keller, executive editor of the NYT. Here’s my message:
--------------------------------------------------
From: DigitalRich
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 9:06 PM
To: Bill Keller executive-editor@nytimes.com
Subject: Oldsmobile
Dear Mr. Bill Keller;
I have never been a subscriber to your paper, though I have bought single issues in the past while in the city. I will no longer, and felt compelled to write and give you my opinion.
The NY Times is my father’s Oldsmobile. I can not for the life of me figure out why anyone would buy your paper when it is just as easy to read left and right slanted opinion paraded as news on sites like Huffington, Daily KOS, Hot Air and Newsbusters. It is so much easier, faster, and more comprehensive (and unfiltered) to get news and commentary online and through other electronic media. I fear your days (perhaps hours) are numbered.
If the NY Times had balanced and thoughtful news and commentary that freshly and fairly presented all sides it might be a compelling enough read that the paper would not be bleeding subscribers and advertisers like an Ebola victim. As it is, in my opinion your paper is a disgrace and embarrassment.
Then again, as I’m not a subscriber, you probably shouldn’t be worried or focused on my opinion. It’s just that you don’t seem to care about the views and opinions of the tens of thousands of people that have abandoned the NYTimes either.
I wish you well in your next endeavor.
70 miles from picturesque Key West, Florida, China is actively exploring oil fields and pumping “American oil” right from our backyard.
And so is Canada.
U.S. companies are barred from working in this area because of Democrats. Furthermore, they are preventing us from drilling in remote and human-less arctic Alaska... and of course we can't build any new refineries or nuclear plants.
If I hear one more goofy politician or pundit say "We can’t drill ourselves out of this problem” one more time I think I'm going to have blood spurt from my eyeballs.
Pardon me… we have global demand exceeding supply and driving oil and gas prices up, and we can’t drill for more oil that our nation owns and doesn’t have to import, and that wont help the problem?
Saying we can't drill ourselves out of this problem sounds about as stupid to me as if someone said “We know you have several small painful cuts and scrapes on your body, but you cant just put a Band-Aid on the problem.”
This world is getting meaner. People that spout “tolerance!” show anything but when people don’t agree with them.
In LA a few months ago, nice people heading out to get into their SUVs and head to work found their tires slashed and profance notes telling them they were killing the planet.
Today I saw a car that had a yellow ribbon showing support for our troops and someone had used a permenant black marker to scribble all over it and write on the car “murderers.” Then of course there are the absolutely insane people that want to stop abortion by bombing clinics and killing abortion providers. The world is teetering on its axle and about to spin out of control.
A few weeks ago our family pulled up to a restaurant, and as I got out of the car I noticed a hand-written note under the windshield wiper of the car next to us. I read it and was saddened. The car next to us had one simple, small bumper sticker- a W a few inches high and wide placed discretely on the back window.
The note spewed hate. The writer ripped the driver of the car up and down, and a KIND version of what he said went something like this:
“You are complete ass****. I don’t know how you people can live with yourselves. How can you support a moron, murderer and liar like George Bush! You make me so mad I could kill you and the world would be a better place without trash like you. I bet you don’t even have kids in Iraq. You send other people’s kids off to Iraq to get killed and its your fault. I hate you and hope you die a painful death and rot in hell.”
Good news, I tore the note up and the person that owned the car never got it. I am sure his/her meal was good, and when he came out to the car he didn’t have his evening ruined.
Bad news- there is no freedom of speech if you don’t agree with some people. I would never put any bumper stickers on my car that communicated my positions on issues. I learned that lesson along time ago. America has changed.
I thouroughly enjoy The Drudge Report (http://www.drudgereport.com/). The site is often slammed as a right-wing news outlet, but I cant understand that at all. Drudge doesn’t say a THING on his own… he simply culls from the vast selection of domestic and international news outlets and provides links directly to the source, without editorial comment.
Below the news are tons of links to opinion sites, blogs and news sites. Through it I have discovered some very interesting sites. When I am bored and want a laugh I read North Korea’s Newsites. They never fail in spewing Orwellian newspeak, and calling black white. Its like the NY Times on steroids. Here is a ‘headline’ from today’s edition:
Western Countries Using ‘Human Rights’ Claims to Conquer The World
Pyongyang, August 17-- Rodong Sinmun today in its editorial article calls for resolutely frustrating the imperialists' "human rights" offensive, noting that it is a grave factor of preventing the independent development of each country and nation and threatening the global peace and security. (WHAT?)
The imperialists consider the "human rights" offensive as important leverage in carrying out their strategy for world supremacy, the article says, adding that it is, in essence, intended to force other countries and nations to introduce the "model of human rights" of Western style in a bid to Westernize and Americanize the world.
The danger of the offensive lies in that it is used as a lever for openly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and infringing upon their state sovereignty and a prelude to the war of aggression against other countries, the article notes, and goes on: The above-said offensive is mainly targeted against anti-imperialist independent countries, the revolutionary countries.
The offensive against socialist countries is the most persistent and vicious of the imperialists' reactionary "human rights" rackets. The imperialists' moves to destroy the politico-ideological unity and the collectivist way of life of the socialist society have reached a phase of dangerous actions. Their offensive is fierce as it is aimed at defaming and bringing down the socialist state and social system.
The main thrust of their offensive is to slander the leadership function and role of the party. Thoroughly frustrating the imperialists' "human rights" offensive is the key to winning the victory of the popular masses' cause of independence against imperialism and consolidating and developing the socialist society, the article points out, and continues: The practical experience of the Korean revolution clearly proves that it is important to firmly defend the country's sovereignty and adhere to the revolutionary principle, the working-class principle in order to smash the imperialists' "human rights" offensive.
It also proves that it is necessary to hold aloft the banner of Songun in order to foil the above-said offensive. It was entirely thanks to the Songun policy that the DPRK government could take a series of self-defensive measures to protect the country's sovereignty and dignity in the period when there prevailed a touch-and-go situation and greet the dawn of a great prosperous powerful nation after victoriously concluding the "Arduous March," the forced march.
Songun precisely means the life and soul of the Korean people. This is the faith they enshrined while weathering out stern trials. They will hold higher the banner of Songun in the future, too, and eternally glorify Korean-style socialism where genuine human rights are fully guaranteed.
I can almost see in my mind a proud and patriotic North Korean peasant reading this while eating a dirt pie and drinking muddy water and raising his arms in celebration at the great strides his nation and party are making in improving his life. Assuming of course it is daylight (see above picture to see North Korea versus South Korea at night), he has electricity, and a computer, and internet service...and can read.
Last night flipping through the channels on live TV (Tivo has yet again mistakenly put our account on hold believing we have an invalid credit card on file. 3rd time. Calling again today to get them straight), I stumbled on a speech from Ronald Reagan given more than 40 years ago. A timely message from one of our greatest presidents.
I know there are those that think he was a fool and a disaster of a president, but I humbly submit this: under his watch, and in most things at his prompting, communism in Europe fell freeing millions of souls, our economy rebounded and soared, our national pride was restored, and our military once again became the best in the world. For those that don’t think he was a great man, read his private letters to his wife, friends and contemporaries. Here was a man that loved his God, his country, his wife, his friends and his enemies, and the American people. Isn’t it interesting that just recently Poland has decided to erect a statue of Ronald Reagan in the main square of their capital? That he is loved and revered in so many foreign countries as well as to millions of his own countrymen?
Once again I’ve gone political on a non-political blog, but watching the speech last night fired me up and made me realize how much we need a passionate and plain spoken man (or woman) to lead our country during the decade ahead.
If you are not into politics and don't find this stuff as interesting as I do, stop now. See ya tomorrow.
Ronald Reagan Oct 1964
Those who would trade our freedom for the soup kitchen of the welfare state have told us that they have a utopian solution of peace without victory. They call their policy "accommodation." And they say if we only avoid any direct confrontation with the enemy, he will forget his evil ways and learn to love us. All who oppose them are indicted as warmongers. They say we offer simple answers to complex problems. Well, perhaps there is a simple answer--not an easy answer--but simple.
If you and I have the courage to tell our elected officials that we want our national policy based upon what we know in our hearts is morally right. We cannot buy our security, our freedom from the threat of the bomb by committing an immorality so great as saying to a billion now in slavery behind the Iron Curtain, "Give up your dreams of freedom because to save our own skin, we are willing to make a deal with your slave masters." Alexander Hamilton said, "A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one." Let's set the record straight. There is no argument over the choice between peace and war, but there is only one guaranteed way you can have peace--and you can have it in the next second--surrender.
Admittedly there is a risk in any course we follow other than this, but every lesson in history tells us that the greater risk lies in appeasement, and this is the specter our well-meaning liberal friends refuse to face--that their policy of accommodation is appeasement, and it gives no choice between peace and war, only between fight and surrender. If we continue to accommodate, continue to back and retreat, eventually we have to face the final demand--the ultimatum. And what then? When Nikita Khrushchev has told his people he knows what our answer will be? He has told them that we are retreating under the pressure of the Cold War, and someday when the time comes to deliver the ultimatum, our surrender will be voluntary because by that time we will have weakened from within spiritually, morally, and economically. He believes this because from our side he has heard voices pleading for "peace at any price" or "better Red than dead," or as one commentator put it, he would rather "live on his knees than die on his feet." And therein lies the road to war, because those voices don't speak for the rest of us. You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. If nothing in life is worth dying for, when did this begin--just in the face of this enemy? Or should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the pharaohs? Should Christ have refused the cross? Should the patriots at Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard 'round the world? The martyrs of history were not fools, and our honored dead who gave their lives to stop the advance of the Nazis didn't die in vain. Where, then, is the road to peace? Well, it's a simple answer after all.
You and I have the courage to say to our enemies, "There is a price we will not pay." There is a point beyond which they must not advance. This is the meaning in the phrase of Barry Goldwater's "peace through strength." Winston Churchill said that "the destiny of man is not measured by material computation. When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we are spirits--not animals." And he said, "There is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty."
You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.
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There are only two sides to a line drawn in the sand. Those that are backing a non-binding piece of paper with words that say "We don’t like you. We don’t like what you want to do. We won't do anything about it, but we just want to let you know we don't like it one bit" aren’t even near the line. They are somewhere on another planet not doing anything that requires a spine.
I am apologizing in advance for going political again.
Yesterday the US Senate acted like weak-kneed traitorous fools. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution condemning President Bush's surge plan in the war in Iraq. It will show up for a vote soon.
It is a non-binding resolution that will give our enemy hope. It is a slap in the face to our President and troops. It is unpatriotic and cowardly.
Before you assume my stance on the war, please be sure you clearly understand my view point: A non-binding resolution is NOTHING. It means NOTHING. It does NOTHING except push a political agenda and weaken the President and our armed forces.
The US Congress should do one of two things:
1. Embrace the plan, support it, and stand on the side for victory in the war on terrorOR
2. State clearly their opposition to the plan, and vote to de-fund the war in Iraq
Victory or defeat. Support or oppose. Back our President and troops for victory, or vote to de-fund the war in Iraq, end it now and bring our troops home. Those are the only choices for a true patriot- one willing to act on their beliefs.
Back to happy things now….
Right now, this very moment, there is need and suffering in my circle of concern. Beyond that circle, a far greater and unfathomably larger world exists with even more that I’m not even aware of.
In my circle of concern, RIGHT NOW…
Tell me again why I should care one bit what politicians say are the things Americans should be most concerned about?
Please don't read into this that I am somehow a greatly thoughtful and caring person... I am not.
I have a LONG way to go. I am humbled when I hear of the struggles people are going through, and THEN hear of the people around them that are really doing something about it. That's what I need to start doing. Sharing concern and praying for these people are good- don't get me wrong, but I need to start putting legs on those and get in gear.
