Welcome to the Front Porch!!
Let's ALL chat...I'll prattle first to get the ball rolling!!
I've stolen 3 concepts that are ancient, and find that if I can intentionally practice them, I'm happier, have more clarity, and a lot less angst. Bet you've discovered these for yourselves. As I said, this is more prattle than news! The first technique is:
GRATITUDE
I learned from Earl Nightingale, once upon a time, that the mind can only hold one thought at a time. We have a choice of controlling our thoughts, or letting them control us. We make this choice constantly, hopefully making taking control a learned habit over time.
So why gratitude? Gratitude for our station in life, including family, friends, relative freedom, relative good health (as opposed to health's ultimate alternative), is mentally, physically and spiritually nourishing. If our thoughts are centered on gratitude, we're not self-poisoning with such toxins as bitterness, anger, envy. We are far more likely to 'get back' from others what we want in one form or another---in a word, let's call it 'love', however we choose to define it. If instead we're broadcasting resentment, suspicion, angst ---and we do broadcast our thoughts---we will get it back in most cases. Ironically that tends to reinforce our own pessimism and foul taste for our precious life. Amazing loop: think in gratitude, we're far more likely to trust and smile, and we're far more likely to be trusted and smiled at back. 'Stinking thinking,' as Zig Zigler calls it, will get stinking attitudes and results as our reward.
Here's an exercise to get a jump start on gratitude, for anyone not up to speed: Once a day. sit with paper and pen, or in front of your computer, and write at the top "20 Things I am Grateful for Today." Now here's where technique comes in...some call it 'brainstorming.' If the idea comes to you, write it down. Do not constipate the flow of your ideas. 4 out of 5 may stink on ice. But you'll never get to the good ones if you don't process the not-so-good ones. So unplug your critical faculties.
Do this every day and you'll find: (1) your gratitude is getting more clearly defined and honed (which is more convincing to the person in question: you) (2) Gratitude-related ideas will started popping into your head the day long. You've started a a 'gratitude machine'. (3) You'll notice results in your own spirit, productivity, and in the faces of those around you. Not too bad a pay-off for 15 minutes a day!!
The second technique is:
FORGIVENESS
Boy did I miss the point on this one in Sunday School!! As far as I can recall, we were asked to forgive because 'God wanted us to." If you're having trouble getting your mental arms around the concept of God, as I was, then the imprimatur holds no meaning. Left unexplained for it's earthly purposes, it becomes just another reason to think 'believing' is at best, beyond the ken, and, at worst, foolish.
Can't recall when I learned, but what an epiphany!! "Forgiveness" is not about going to heaven. It's not about the other guy we're forgiving. It's about the forgiver!! How many of us go through life with a heart filled with anger and hatred for someone, who may be totally unaware of our sanctimonious, miserable, disapproval? I learned from somewhere, that all that toxic trash belongs to me. I'm carting it through life with me, restricting my own life's enjoyment, own capacity to love and be loved, and general clear-headed efficiency in my self-assigned tasks. The anger hurts the angered, if we hold on to it. Hence the advice, "Let it go," or "Let it be." When we do, we open our hearts and minds to life's treasures that have been there all along, like Earl's 'Acres of Diamonds'. Again, releasing resentment and blame is healthy physically AND spiritually. Amazing...we're happier, more loving and better able to deal with current life challenges instead of dwelling on the uncontrollable when this self-imposed hostility has been exorcised.
To accomplish this walk out of the dark forest first requires our awareness that we have a chance to make life better for ourselves. Once we're aware, frankly I think we may need a "coach" to help us: pastor, wise friend, counselor. Typically it's quite a tangle when in the beginning we try to do it ourselves.
The third technique is:
HUMOR
"Reader's digest said it best: "Laughter is the best medicine." Like the preceding 2 techniques, it detoxifies, lifts the spirit and enhances our functions with people, career and projects. If we are prone to see the humor in situations and behaviour around us, we're going to be better and happier campers. As Earl said, since your mind can only hold one thought at a time, why not look for the humor wherever you go? We can't be grumpy and laughing simultaneously. After all what has 'grumpy' ever gotten us? It's like a useless, addictive drug that makes us feel good for the moment, and rots us from the inside.
By the way, is someone, or a group of someones, pissing you off? Stealing your porridge? Nothing is so effective as an aggravation retardant than greeting their intrusions with a sense of humor. They like nothing better than to arouse your angry response. It justifies their existence. Instead, smile. Why, I believe Jesus put it this way: "Turn the other cheek." And while you're at it, give 'em a wink!
If you feel finding the humor is difficult or unnatural for you try this: do the exercise recommended for GRATITUDE. Substitute
"20 Things that Would Make me Laugh" as the heading. Remember, the key is to write what comes to mind---to reiterate, don't constipate the process!!
I'm no pro at any of this, what do you do to get you where you want to be between your ears?
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
"What a ReVOLTing Development This Is!!" ---Chester A. Riley
The scams coming from DC are getting brazenly more transparent. Ah, that's a campaign promise,'transparency', kept by the President!! Well, sort of....
Welcome to The Front Porch, where we talk about the obvious!
We all are familiar with the recent automotive disaster that's been hatched by the DC and Union leader crowd: The Chevy Volt. Unlike 'Cash for Clunkers," it takes no depth of 'business understanding' at all to see where this baby's headed. Right past the Edsel into the Automotive History Hall of Shame.
If you know someone naive enough to think the $40,000 40 mile range Volt is a good idea, sell 'em your Carbon Credits you just picked up at Quik-copy.
First, the patently obvious:
What nitwit would spend his own money, $40,000 of his own money, for a car that sucks electricity out his house, travels only 40 miles, then sucks down premium gasoline. and requires a 3-4 hour 'charge' for each 40 miles?
What nitwit would buy the damned thing even if we're picking up $7,500 of the tab?
Just because Obama got 52% of the popular vote, doesn't mean that majority was totally stupid. 80% of them expected you would be paying for their "ride" (sorry about that). The story will be considerably different for the dole class and the snot class when they're asked to front their own money for the thing.
What nitwit believes this marketing Nagasaki will address 'environmental' concerns? Where does the electricity come from?
It will be interesting to see the next move when the only people buying the things are government agencies required to do so....
I'm sure folks owning Chevy dealerships are wetting their pants in anticipation. This is going to be WAY worse than the Vega. (Remember 'aluminum' engines?)
Meantime, "jobs" assembling these instant door stops will reward Union leaders. It WILL be your patriotic duty to buy one. $40,000 for a tin can that needs an extension cord? Self-immolation is not a patriotic duty.
In the end WE, the folks who are supposed to be stupid enough to buy one of these, will foot the bill for the next bail-out. After all, we can't let the ingenius working of sanctimoniously 'divine right' elitists who never ran a lemonade stand (but have a certificate of indoctrination from an Ivy Leaugue school) and Union bosses (who have killed jobs across America by underwhelming quality control and exorbitant prices they charge for their product via legislative monopoly) have to get on with their leeching, er, business. Besides, by then we'll all "know" this was "our" fault.
One irony, before ceasing my rant: Why is GM building $40,000 cars for a citizenry who is just getting shackled into 'restributing' their wealth to the poorer folks in the world? Maybe the answer to that one explains the true intention,as opposed to the publicly stated one, about this latest boondoggle.
Well, whaddya think?
Welcome to The Front Porch, where we talk about the obvious!
We all are familiar with the recent automotive disaster that's been hatched by the DC and Union leader crowd: The Chevy Volt. Unlike 'Cash for Clunkers," it takes no depth of 'business understanding' at all to see where this baby's headed. Right past the Edsel into the Automotive History Hall of Shame.
If you know someone naive enough to think the $40,000 40 mile range Volt is a good idea, sell 'em your Carbon Credits you just picked up at Quik-copy.
First, the patently obvious:
What nitwit would spend his own money, $40,000 of his own money, for a car that sucks electricity out his house, travels only 40 miles, then sucks down premium gasoline. and requires a 3-4 hour 'charge' for each 40 miles?
What nitwit would buy the damned thing even if we're picking up $7,500 of the tab?
Just because Obama got 52% of the popular vote, doesn't mean that majority was totally stupid. 80% of them expected you would be paying for their "ride" (sorry about that). The story will be considerably different for the dole class and the snot class when they're asked to front their own money for the thing.
What nitwit believes this marketing Nagasaki will address 'environmental' concerns? Where does the electricity come from?
It will be interesting to see the next move when the only people buying the things are government agencies required to do so....
I'm sure folks owning Chevy dealerships are wetting their pants in anticipation. This is going to be WAY worse than the Vega. (Remember 'aluminum' engines?)
Meantime, "jobs" assembling these instant door stops will reward Union leaders. It WILL be your patriotic duty to buy one. $40,000 for a tin can that needs an extension cord? Self-immolation is not a patriotic duty.
In the end WE, the folks who are supposed to be stupid enough to buy one of these, will foot the bill for the next bail-out. After all, we can't let the ingenius working of sanctimoniously 'divine right' elitists who never ran a lemonade stand (but have a certificate of indoctrination from an Ivy Leaugue school) and Union bosses (who have killed jobs across America by underwhelming quality control and exorbitant prices they charge for their product via legislative monopoly) have to get on with their leeching, er, business. Besides, by then we'll all "know" this was "our" fault.
One irony, before ceasing my rant: Why is GM building $40,000 cars for a citizenry who is just getting shackled into 'restributing' their wealth to the poorer folks in the world? Maybe the answer to that one explains the true intention,as opposed to the publicly stated one, about this latest boondoggle.
Well, whaddya think?
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Myth of Universal Desirability of Home 'Ownership'
Front Porch chatter is now in session!
On the "Obvious" not Being Real---The Myth of Universal Desirability of Home 'Ownership'
If you have friends or relatives still believing that it's always desirable to 'own' your home (which you never really do,BTW, even if there's no mortgage), you may want them to read Chapter 8 of Glenn Beck's ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, ENTITLED "Owning a Home: Waking Up from the American Dream."
That chapter alone is worth the price and the read. If you have not read the book yourself, you'll find it quite handy, and lots of LOL's. Glenn makes learning fun, unless it's your own ox that's being gored!
A few samples from this chapter...
"...For my entire life, I lived in a world where home ownership was the only acceptable ideal. When I rented, I felt like I had failed. I felt truly successfully only when I 'owned...
"...Should the American dream really be defined by signing a piece of paper that 'indebts' you to a bank for decades?" (If you have no mortgage, great, but there are more considerations to come.)
"That question is one big reason why I've started to rethink many of the arguments in favor of home ownership that I've always taken for granted (my latest home appraisal is another)....idiots like me relied on conventional wisdom instead of common sense...we now find ourselves on the wrong side of what was quite possibly the largest financial bubble of all time...
"The idea that real estate is a great investment seems to be...the Angus steak of sacred cows.(The Kobe beef of sacred cows comes later in this chapter.)
"...From generation to generation...Stories of 'I bought this house for $45,000 and sold it for $250,000!' litter our memories...reinforced with real-life evidence that comes in fancy looking charts and graphs."
Beck then shows a chart of home prices from the 1890's to the 2000's, ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION. He correctly concludes, "The reality is there have only been two good ways to make real money in the housing market over the past century: time the peaks and valleys perfectly, or buy a house during The Great Depression and sell it afterward."
This also happened to me,in 1985, in Spades: Beck continues, "...I sold my house in 2006---right near the peak of the housing bubble. The problem was that then I had no place to live. So I also BOUGHT a house near the absolute peak of the market...the new house that I bought was larger and more expensive than the house I sold. But that's pretty common, right?...But it locks you in a pattern: if you fail, it's likely to be the biggest bet you've ever made in your life...Do you really know enough about the real estate market to play those odds? I now know that I don't." (Neither do I, Mr. Beck)
"Well at least I'm not throwing money away on rent."
"Many people rationalize their purchase by using that argument, but renters actually spend, on average, 26% less on rent than owners do on their mortgage..." If you haven't read the previous blog that illustrates what a tiny, wafer-thin, 4% income tax hike can do to you, it's right below this one. How would spending 26% LESS for 30 years effect YOUR financial situation? Beck continues, "At the height of the bubble...renters were spending an incredible 66% less." Wow.
Beck goes on, "We also tend to forget that there's more to the cost of home ownership than meets the eye. About 7 to 10% of the cost of buying a home goes to closing costs and other tranaction fees. Upkeep on property ranges from 2 to 4 percent per year. Property taxes can approach 2 percent of the home's value each year, and, in states like New York, can exceed 8 percent of the area's median salary. And don't forget interest. When you sign on the dotted line for a 7 percent, 30 year mortgage ona $300,000 house, you've actually decided that home is worth $718,527.60, because that's how much you will have paid for it by the time you stop getting monthly nastygrams from your mortgage company."
(What else could you do with $418,527? Would you merely 'waste it' because you've been told you're incapable by the State 'educational' system, 'news' media, politicians etc. Ironically they are all overseeing the biggest swindle and finacial boondoggle in the history of man.)
"There are downsides to having so much of your wealth locked up in your home." Beck quotes THE ECONOMIST, "'It sucks up disproportionately large amounts of money...in America the equity tied up in houses accounts for 45 percent of the net worth of the average housholder. And it is illiquid. If you need to raise money, you cannot sell a room or two, whereas you can always sell a few shares.'...
"Our perception of homeowner stability comes from the fact that stable people decide to own homes. They're not made stable by their purchase...
"Owning a home can leave you in a position where the local economy dictates your PERSONAL economy..You see, 'when you're living there in Allentown, and they're closing all the factories down,' the appropriate response is not to start 'killing time, filling out forms, and standing in line.' It's a much better idea to pack up and move to Orlando.
"But when you own a home, that decision isn't really yours. It depends on convincing someone you don't know that the town YOU WANT TO LEAVE is a place THEY WANT TO LIVE. Then they have to want it bad enough to buy your house at a price that doesn't put you tens of thousands of dollars in the hole..."
Big government as our benevolent big brother, providing us, in Beck's words, "tax advantages, low interest loans, perks for first-time buyers...pathways to home ownership presented by the government and mortgage companies as no-lose propositions...And most of us lapped it up..."
Once again, we believed the politicians and their larcenous partners, that they were doing this for us. Tee Hee. When the chickens finally came home to roost, who gets the bail-outs? Answer: the real beneficiaries of artificiaally high real estate prices and the propagation of the myth that "you can't lose."
As Glenn says toward the chapter's end, that these hapless borrowers who purchase homes beyond reasonable assessment of the risks and affordability, "...once they're in the house, they have higher utility bills, higher property taxes, and more room to fill with useless junk"
He concludes with, "The American dream is not about owning a HOME, it's about owning your DESTINY...Perhaps idiots like me will someday finally learn that."
I'd like to add that our 'ownership' of our home is not real, even w/o a mortgage. We are at the mercy of the State. Didn't pay our taxes? Build a tool shed in the wrong spot? Can't have chickens? Trying to defend against intruders, vandals, other interlopers who seem to be protected by the State, rather than us, our family and property? Paint your place Candy Apple Red? See who really "owns" our home. No wonder your benevolent Big Brother wants you to "buy"---you're locked in.
Tell us what you think!!
On the "Obvious" not Being Real---The Myth of Universal Desirability of Home 'Ownership'
If you have friends or relatives still believing that it's always desirable to 'own' your home (which you never really do,BTW, even if there's no mortgage), you may want them to read Chapter 8 of Glenn Beck's ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, ENTITLED "Owning a Home: Waking Up from the American Dream."
That chapter alone is worth the price and the read. If you have not read the book yourself, you'll find it quite handy, and lots of LOL's. Glenn makes learning fun, unless it's your own ox that's being gored!
A few samples from this chapter...
"...For my entire life, I lived in a world where home ownership was the only acceptable ideal. When I rented, I felt like I had failed. I felt truly successfully only when I 'owned...
"...Should the American dream really be defined by signing a piece of paper that 'indebts' you to a bank for decades?" (If you have no mortgage, great, but there are more considerations to come.)
"That question is one big reason why I've started to rethink many of the arguments in favor of home ownership that I've always taken for granted (my latest home appraisal is another)....idiots like me relied on conventional wisdom instead of common sense...we now find ourselves on the wrong side of what was quite possibly the largest financial bubble of all time...
"The idea that real estate is a great investment seems to be...the Angus steak of sacred cows.(The Kobe beef of sacred cows comes later in this chapter.)
"...From generation to generation...Stories of 'I bought this house for $45,000 and sold it for $250,000!' litter our memories...reinforced with real-life evidence that comes in fancy looking charts and graphs."
Beck then shows a chart of home prices from the 1890's to the 2000's, ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION. He correctly concludes, "The reality is there have only been two good ways to make real money in the housing market over the past century: time the peaks and valleys perfectly, or buy a house during The Great Depression and sell it afterward."
This also happened to me,in 1985, in Spades: Beck continues, "...I sold my house in 2006---right near the peak of the housing bubble. The problem was that then I had no place to live. So I also BOUGHT a house near the absolute peak of the market...the new house that I bought was larger and more expensive than the house I sold. But that's pretty common, right?...But it locks you in a pattern: if you fail, it's likely to be the biggest bet you've ever made in your life...Do you really know enough about the real estate market to play those odds? I now know that I don't." (Neither do I, Mr. Beck)
"Well at least I'm not throwing money away on rent."
"Many people rationalize their purchase by using that argument, but renters actually spend, on average, 26% less on rent than owners do on their mortgage..." If you haven't read the previous blog that illustrates what a tiny, wafer-thin, 4% income tax hike can do to you, it's right below this one. How would spending 26% LESS for 30 years effect YOUR financial situation? Beck continues, "At the height of the bubble...renters were spending an incredible 66% less." Wow.
Beck goes on, "We also tend to forget that there's more to the cost of home ownership than meets the eye. About 7 to 10% of the cost of buying a home goes to closing costs and other tranaction fees. Upkeep on property ranges from 2 to 4 percent per year. Property taxes can approach 2 percent of the home's value each year, and, in states like New York, can exceed 8 percent of the area's median salary. And don't forget interest. When you sign on the dotted line for a 7 percent, 30 year mortgage ona $300,000 house, you've actually decided that home is worth $718,527.60, because that's how much you will have paid for it by the time you stop getting monthly nastygrams from your mortgage company."
(What else could you do with $418,527? Would you merely 'waste it' because you've been told you're incapable by the State 'educational' system, 'news' media, politicians etc. Ironically they are all overseeing the biggest swindle and finacial boondoggle in the history of man.)
"There are downsides to having so much of your wealth locked up in your home." Beck quotes THE ECONOMIST, "'It sucks up disproportionately large amounts of money...in America the equity tied up in houses accounts for 45 percent of the net worth of the average housholder. And it is illiquid. If you need to raise money, you cannot sell a room or two, whereas you can always sell a few shares.'...
"Our perception of homeowner stability comes from the fact that stable people decide to own homes. They're not made stable by their purchase...
"Owning a home can leave you in a position where the local economy dictates your PERSONAL economy..You see, 'when you're living there in Allentown, and they're closing all the factories down,' the appropriate response is not to start 'killing time, filling out forms, and standing in line.' It's a much better idea to pack up and move to Orlando.
"But when you own a home, that decision isn't really yours. It depends on convincing someone you don't know that the town YOU WANT TO LEAVE is a place THEY WANT TO LIVE. Then they have to want it bad enough to buy your house at a price that doesn't put you tens of thousands of dollars in the hole..."
Big government as our benevolent big brother, providing us, in Beck's words, "tax advantages, low interest loans, perks for first-time buyers...pathways to home ownership presented by the government and mortgage companies as no-lose propositions...And most of us lapped it up..."
Once again, we believed the politicians and their larcenous partners, that they were doing this for us. Tee Hee. When the chickens finally came home to roost, who gets the bail-outs? Answer: the real beneficiaries of artificiaally high real estate prices and the propagation of the myth that "you can't lose."
As Glenn says toward the chapter's end, that these hapless borrowers who purchase homes beyond reasonable assessment of the risks and affordability, "...once they're in the house, they have higher utility bills, higher property taxes, and more room to fill with useless junk"
He concludes with, "The American dream is not about owning a HOME, it's about owning your DESTINY...Perhaps idiots like me will someday finally learn that."
I'd like to add that our 'ownership' of our home is not real, even w/o a mortgage. We are at the mercy of the State. Didn't pay our taxes? Build a tool shed in the wrong spot? Can't have chickens? Trying to defend against intruders, vandals, other interlopers who seem to be protected by the State, rather than us, our family and property? Paint your place Candy Apple Red? See who really "owns" our home. No wonder your benevolent Big Brother wants you to "buy"---you're locked in.
Tell us what you think!!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
What, you Can't Afford a Tiny, Wafer Thin 4% Tax Increase?
Welcome to the Front Porch. Hot enuf for ya'?
There's a Monty Python movie, "The Meaning of Life" where in one of the the vignettes a roundly obese "Mr. Creosote" sits in an expensive restaurant, opens the menu and says to the waiter, "I'll have the lot." In other words, he orders that he be served everything on the menu. What's more, when his order(s) arrive, he eats ALL of it. After Mr. Creosote has finished, the waiter comes over with a delicate tray, where on it sits a mint. The waiter offers it. At first Mr. Creosote refuses. alluding to being "full." The waiter persists. "Just one tiny, wafer-thin mint, sir?" Mr. Creosote acquiesces. He downs the mint. He proceeds to explode, in a comical, not macabre way, all over the restaurant. Somehow, the following discussion reminds of that scene.
"Just 4%?" JUST?
Politicians like to minimalize the impact of the tax de jeur. We've heard it: "it's just 4%"---which is the presumed increase if the Bush tax cut expires. A sales tax that goes from 5% to 6% is "just 1%." increase.
There's a group of us very Non-PC folks who understand just how misleading are these 'minimilizations'. You won't find these people in government, generally, and the Executive Branch in particular. They are called businesspeople. Instead government and it's politicians and bureaucrats are largely a part of a massive and growing group who have never run a business, never depended on functioning in one for their living, and who were 'educated' by academics of the same ilk. As far as making a real world business successful (profitable) is concerned, they blind have led the blind. With no real experience, these guys wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in Hades of competing with experienced competition in a real business. So our government, and consequently all of us, is in deep trouble. The problem is, the "blind" are steering the ship. Giving the orders. How's that working for us?
When I advanced from sales management to general management in the automotive retail field, I bumped right into a new, to me, concept. People operating businesses often use net profit as a per cent of sales as a yardstick for measuring the health of their operation. Twenty years ago, we were considered doing a good job if we kept, after bills were paid and payrolls met, 2% of our aggregate sales volume as net profit. 2%. 2 cents for every dollar we took in.
With a few exceptions, most mature businesses run pretty close to the same guidelines. What keeps us that close to the edge? Our competition. If we want sales at all, we have to price competitively. In the free market, established businesses cannot simply charge what they'd like, reap huge profits, because the customers will go elsewhere for the same product, or a workable substitute. This is why good businesspeople know they can't spend their way to profitability. Conversely, they can't save their way to profitability. It's a constant balance of both. When strong, aggressive sales of products and service are combined with rigorous expense-watching, the business fluorishes. Minus either, most businesses die a natural death, giving way to more efficient suppliers of goods and services.
Let's say, for the moment, that we buy the myth that we can't "fire" the government. America used to be the solution to that problem, not the cause. People ran to us. They wanted what we had: liberty, property, the opportunity to steer our own ships and select our own destinations. The difference is, now there's nowhere to go (correct me if I'm wrong---we're all ears!)
So what happens when small businesses, and your family, see a "tiny, wafer thin" tax increase of 4%? That would put small business OUT OF BUSINESS, and millions out of jobs, UNLESS...UNLESS they raise the price of their goods and services by a commensurate amount. And that means ALL OF US just saw the cost of everything we buy go up 4%.
So we pay their 4%, or they go under. But, what about our 4%? Well, in terms of buying power, that would reduce our ability to purchase by an overall 8%. But wait, there's more!! The original 4% tax is assessed against our gross income, not the 60% or so we are generally allowed to keep. So that tiny wafer-thin direct 4% tax is more like 6% of what we are used to keeping. Now add back the 4% we are paying to fund the continuation of our goods and services and we've just seen our gross relative spendable income sliced by 10%!! And wait---there's even more!! Ask yourself what percentage of your real income have you been saving or investing each month after your expenses? If you've managed to scrape 10% of your take home income together every month, the good news is: you won't have to change your mode of living. With the exception of course, that you won't have that nest egg you were accumulating.
If you're like most of us, you're not saving anywhere NEAR 10% of your income for a rainy day. Chances are much better that you're paying 20% interest on your credit cards. Where does this "tiny little 4% tax increase" put you now?
Is it time to stop ordering everything off the government menu, before that "wafer thin little mint" blows us all over the restaurant?
Don't leave here, without commenting!!
There's a Monty Python movie, "The Meaning of Life" where in one of the the vignettes a roundly obese "Mr. Creosote" sits in an expensive restaurant, opens the menu and says to the waiter, "I'll have the lot." In other words, he orders that he be served everything on the menu. What's more, when his order(s) arrive, he eats ALL of it. After Mr. Creosote has finished, the waiter comes over with a delicate tray, where on it sits a mint. The waiter offers it. At first Mr. Creosote refuses. alluding to being "full." The waiter persists. "Just one tiny, wafer-thin mint, sir?" Mr. Creosote acquiesces. He downs the mint. He proceeds to explode, in a comical, not macabre way, all over the restaurant. Somehow, the following discussion reminds of that scene.
"Just 4%?" JUST?
Politicians like to minimalize the impact of the tax de jeur. We've heard it: "it's just 4%"---which is the presumed increase if the Bush tax cut expires. A sales tax that goes from 5% to 6% is "just 1%." increase.
There's a group of us very Non-PC folks who understand just how misleading are these 'minimilizations'. You won't find these people in government, generally, and the Executive Branch in particular. They are called businesspeople. Instead government and it's politicians and bureaucrats are largely a part of a massive and growing group who have never run a business, never depended on functioning in one for their living, and who were 'educated' by academics of the same ilk. As far as making a real world business successful (profitable) is concerned, they blind have led the blind. With no real experience, these guys wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in Hades of competing with experienced competition in a real business. So our government, and consequently all of us, is in deep trouble. The problem is, the "blind" are steering the ship. Giving the orders. How's that working for us?
When I advanced from sales management to general management in the automotive retail field, I bumped right into a new, to me, concept. People operating businesses often use net profit as a per cent of sales as a yardstick for measuring the health of their operation. Twenty years ago, we were considered doing a good job if we kept, after bills were paid and payrolls met, 2% of our aggregate sales volume as net profit. 2%. 2 cents for every dollar we took in.
With a few exceptions, most mature businesses run pretty close to the same guidelines. What keeps us that close to the edge? Our competition. If we want sales at all, we have to price competitively. In the free market, established businesses cannot simply charge what they'd like, reap huge profits, because the customers will go elsewhere for the same product, or a workable substitute. This is why good businesspeople know they can't spend their way to profitability. Conversely, they can't save their way to profitability. It's a constant balance of both. When strong, aggressive sales of products and service are combined with rigorous expense-watching, the business fluorishes. Minus either, most businesses die a natural death, giving way to more efficient suppliers of goods and services.
Let's say, for the moment, that we buy the myth that we can't "fire" the government. America used to be the solution to that problem, not the cause. People ran to us. They wanted what we had: liberty, property, the opportunity to steer our own ships and select our own destinations. The difference is, now there's nowhere to go (correct me if I'm wrong---we're all ears!)
So what happens when small businesses, and your family, see a "tiny, wafer thin" tax increase of 4%? That would put small business OUT OF BUSINESS, and millions out of jobs, UNLESS...UNLESS they raise the price of their goods and services by a commensurate amount. And that means ALL OF US just saw the cost of everything we buy go up 4%.
So we pay their 4%, or they go under. But, what about our 4%? Well, in terms of buying power, that would reduce our ability to purchase by an overall 8%. But wait, there's more!! The original 4% tax is assessed against our gross income, not the 60% or so we are generally allowed to keep. So that tiny wafer-thin direct 4% tax is more like 6% of what we are used to keeping. Now add back the 4% we are paying to fund the continuation of our goods and services and we've just seen our gross relative spendable income sliced by 10%!! And wait---there's even more!! Ask yourself what percentage of your real income have you been saving or investing each month after your expenses? If you've managed to scrape 10% of your take home income together every month, the good news is: you won't have to change your mode of living. With the exception of course, that you won't have that nest egg you were accumulating.
If you're like most of us, you're not saving anywhere NEAR 10% of your income for a rainy day. Chances are much better that you're paying 20% interest on your credit cards. Where does this "tiny little 4% tax increase" put you now?
Is it time to stop ordering everything off the government menu, before that "wafer thin little mint" blows us all over the restaurant?
Don't leave here, without commenting!!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Why THEY are Ignoring YOU...
Welcome to the Front Porch!! Where your opinions are needed and welcome.
Mystified at the brazen disregard of your wishes by your 'employees' (read 'elected officials' and un-elected 'public servants')? A childood memory may help you eliminate your frustrated bewilderment. Then you may address the roots of the problem with clarity. Hint: the solution does not involve simply plugging new wires (different people) into the same old gizmo(the State).
Try this:
Close your eyes and let your thoughts drift back to your youth. Did you play 'Old Maids'? The game of matching characters and the person stuck with the lone Old Maid is the game's loser?
If you played long enough, you were able to identify the Old Maid card, avoid it, and never lose. You could identify it because of the markings, crinkles, whatever, on the card intentionally administered by your sly friends (but never you).
The Achilles heel of the strategy was that you constantly had to find new 'blood': folks who didn't know the secret of the marked Hag.
Otherwise, you're playing on a level field again. No fun!
To prolong your own enjoyment of faux superiority, you were always trolling for new 'useful idiots.' A steady stream of the the naive kept you in business!
Well, we're all in the Old Maid game for adults, except we vote the distribution of winnings. First, the 'haves' are plundered by the elites (strictly on behalf of the 'have-nots', mind you). Then we 'democratically' split the bounty.
Now the 'haves' get a little sensitive about this, and over time are less likely to want to play this game. What they don't understand is that no one gives a rat's "A" whether the haves actively participate in the voting process or not. New 'blood' has been found, has been taught the 'rules' and graduates from the indoctrination as certified useful idiots.
There's always a fresh crop of useful idiots eager to earn the approval of their new benevolent masters. It's easier than growing up.
Combine them with a solid slug of folks on the take: politicians, bureaucrats, 'special' interests, new recruits from across the borders, and monthly recipients of money as wards of the State. Consequently, producers and those morally offended can pound sand, SOL.
If you're one of the plundered, you hold the Old Maid by default!
This game goes on seemingly indefinitely, or at least until, as Margaret Thatcher observed in so many words, the loot has all been looted.
The simple "obvious" answer starts with: don't play the galdarn game. Who says you should participate in your own self-immolation? Hand the full kebob back, say 'no thank you', and make them publicly responsible for what they're doing to you. When they have to resort to direct force, shoot 'em (hopefully figuratively). Just sayin'...
Are we having fun yet?
Mystified at the brazen disregard of your wishes by your 'employees' (read 'elected officials' and un-elected 'public servants')? A childood memory may help you eliminate your frustrated bewilderment. Then you may address the roots of the problem with clarity. Hint: the solution does not involve simply plugging new wires (different people) into the same old gizmo(the State).
Try this:
Close your eyes and let your thoughts drift back to your youth. Did you play 'Old Maids'? The game of matching characters and the person stuck with the lone Old Maid is the game's loser?
If you played long enough, you were able to identify the Old Maid card, avoid it, and never lose. You could identify it because of the markings, crinkles, whatever, on the card intentionally administered by your sly friends (but never you).
The Achilles heel of the strategy was that you constantly had to find new 'blood': folks who didn't know the secret of the marked Hag.
Otherwise, you're playing on a level field again. No fun!
To prolong your own enjoyment of faux superiority, you were always trolling for new 'useful idiots.' A steady stream of the the naive kept you in business!
Well, we're all in the Old Maid game for adults, except we vote the distribution of winnings. First, the 'haves' are plundered by the elites (strictly on behalf of the 'have-nots', mind you). Then we 'democratically' split the bounty.
Now the 'haves' get a little sensitive about this, and over time are less likely to want to play this game. What they don't understand is that no one gives a rat's "A" whether the haves actively participate in the voting process or not. New 'blood' has been found, has been taught the 'rules' and graduates from the indoctrination as certified useful idiots.
There's always a fresh crop of useful idiots eager to earn the approval of their new benevolent masters. It's easier than growing up.
Combine them with a solid slug of folks on the take: politicians, bureaucrats, 'special' interests, new recruits from across the borders, and monthly recipients of money as wards of the State. Consequently, producers and those morally offended can pound sand, SOL.
If you're one of the plundered, you hold the Old Maid by default!
This game goes on seemingly indefinitely, or at least until, as Margaret Thatcher observed in so many words, the loot has all been looted.
The simple "obvious" answer starts with: don't play the galdarn game. Who says you should participate in your own self-immolation? Hand the full kebob back, say 'no thank you', and make them publicly responsible for what they're doing to you. When they have to resort to direct force, shoot 'em (hopefully figuratively). Just sayin'...
Are we having fun yet?
Monday, July 26, 2010
State Nursing Homes---Bet You Can't Wait
Welcome to the Front Porch! Tonight---let's contemplate Obamatopia!!
The State's Nursing Home
If you have had the melancholy experience of visiting a loved one in a nursing home, I bet it never occurs to you that, "My, my, this is really living."
In a free society nursing homes take care of declining folks who are no longer capable of taking care of themselves. Nursing homes are a solution to one of life's unhappier situations. Notably, most of the residents, if still of reasonably sound mind, would rather be out--- where they were free and independent. The decision to put someone in a nursing home is done with a heavy heart. It's nowhere near a cause for celebration, except for the truly wickedly non-compassionate.
In a nursing home, everyone awakens at the same time. Has the same things to eat at the same time. Their medical decisions are made for them. The inmates, er, patients, have the same 'entertainment' available. All of this selected by other people, who are in fact way better qualified, capable, and are, hopefully empathetic. Hopefully the people in charge are not neglectful, abusive. Hopefully they really are focused on making the end times as comfortable as possible. The good news: since, in a free market, there is competition for this kind of care, the nursing homes most successful at fulfilling their mission, from their customers' point of view. are also the ones that thrive and prosper.
Now, since we don't live in a wholly 'free market', but rather a market in a stranglehold of the State, nursing home care is more expensive and less efficacious than we'd like. But then, so is everything.
You're probably wondering when I'm gonna get to the point. Hang on. We all agree (I dang well hope):
---Nursing home living stinks on ice compared to being free.
---No one sound of body and mind would want to live in one.
---Statists, e.g. Obamunists,, would like to put us all in one big State nursing home---where they make the choices about what we eat, our lifestyles, our careers, our healthcare, what happens to our earnings and property. Cradle to grave 'security' in their loving and enlightened hands. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm
Sounds yummy, no?
What...you got a problem wid 'dis? You must be one o' 'dem racists. Obviously too much information rattling around between your ears.
They have a cure for that---'re-education' camps, and the good ol' fashioned next to last resort featured in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". And, if you can't be'rehabilitated', there's always the final option, used over and over again throughout history when the Dark side is threatened.
What, did you think this was about bed pans?
The State's Nursing Home
If you have had the melancholy experience of visiting a loved one in a nursing home, I bet it never occurs to you that, "My, my, this is really living."
In a free society nursing homes take care of declining folks who are no longer capable of taking care of themselves. Nursing homes are a solution to one of life's unhappier situations. Notably, most of the residents, if still of reasonably sound mind, would rather be out--- where they were free and independent. The decision to put someone in a nursing home is done with a heavy heart. It's nowhere near a cause for celebration, except for the truly wickedly non-compassionate.
In a nursing home, everyone awakens at the same time. Has the same things to eat at the same time. Their medical decisions are made for them. The inmates, er, patients, have the same 'entertainment' available. All of this selected by other people, who are in fact way better qualified, capable, and are, hopefully empathetic. Hopefully the people in charge are not neglectful, abusive. Hopefully they really are focused on making the end times as comfortable as possible. The good news: since, in a free market, there is competition for this kind of care, the nursing homes most successful at fulfilling their mission, from their customers' point of view. are also the ones that thrive and prosper.
Now, since we don't live in a wholly 'free market', but rather a market in a stranglehold of the State, nursing home care is more expensive and less efficacious than we'd like. But then, so is everything.
You're probably wondering when I'm gonna get to the point. Hang on. We all agree (I dang well hope):
---Nursing home living stinks on ice compared to being free.
---No one sound of body and mind would want to live in one.
---Statists, e.g. Obamunists,, would like to put us all in one big State nursing home---where they make the choices about what we eat, our lifestyles, our careers, our healthcare, what happens to our earnings and property. Cradle to grave 'security' in their loving and enlightened hands. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm
Sounds yummy, no?
What...you got a problem wid 'dis? You must be one o' 'dem racists. Obviously too much information rattling around between your ears.
They have a cure for that---'re-education' camps, and the good ol' fashioned next to last resort featured in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". And, if you can't be'rehabilitated', there's always the final option, used over and over again throughout history when the Dark side is threatened.
What, did you think this was about bed pans?
"Liberty or Death"---full text of Patrick Henry's Speech
Hi Front Porchers! If you haven't read the full text, or it's been a while, feast!! We've all been here before...
Following the Boston Tea Party, Dec. 16, 1773, in which American colonists dumped 342 containers of tea into the Boston harbor, the British Parliament enacted a series of Acts in response to the rebellion in Massachusetts.
In May of 1774, General Thomas Gage, commander of all British military forces in the colonies, arrived in Boston, followed by the arrival of four regiments of British troops.
The First Continental Congress met in the fall of 1774 in Philadelphia with 56 American delegates, representing every colony, except Georgia. On September 17th, the Congress declared its opposition to the repressive Acts of Parliament, saying they are "not to be obeyed," and also promoted the formation of local militia units.
Thus economic and military tensions between the colonists and the British escalated. In February of 1775, a Provincial Congress was held in Massachusetts during which John Hancock and Joseph Warren began defensive preparations for a state of war. The British Parliament then declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.
On March 23rd, in Virginia, the largest colony in America, a meeting of the colony's delegates was held in St. John's church in Richmond. Resolutions were presented by Patrick Henry putting the colony of Virginia "into a posture of defense...embodying, arming, and disciplining such a number of men as may be sufficient for that purpose." Before the vote was taken on his resolutions, Henry delivered the speech below, imploring the delegates to vote in favor.
He spoke without any notes in a voice that became louder and louder, climaxing with the now famous ending. Following his speech, the vote was taken in which his resolutions passed by a narrow margin, and thus Virginia joined in the American Revolution.
==============
No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.
This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?
For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth -- to know the worst and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House?
Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation -- the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?
No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer on the subject? Nothing.
We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer.
Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.
Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.
If we wish to be free -- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending -- if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak -- unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable -- and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
Patrick Henry - March 23, 1775
The History Place - Great Speeches Collection
See also: The History Place - American Revolution
Following the Boston Tea Party, Dec. 16, 1773, in which American colonists dumped 342 containers of tea into the Boston harbor, the British Parliament enacted a series of Acts in response to the rebellion in Massachusetts.
In May of 1774, General Thomas Gage, commander of all British military forces in the colonies, arrived in Boston, followed by the arrival of four regiments of British troops.
The First Continental Congress met in the fall of 1774 in Philadelphia with 56 American delegates, representing every colony, except Georgia. On September 17th, the Congress declared its opposition to the repressive Acts of Parliament, saying they are "not to be obeyed," and also promoted the formation of local militia units.
Thus economic and military tensions between the colonists and the British escalated. In February of 1775, a Provincial Congress was held in Massachusetts during which John Hancock and Joseph Warren began defensive preparations for a state of war. The British Parliament then declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.
On March 23rd, in Virginia, the largest colony in America, a meeting of the colony's delegates was held in St. John's church in Richmond. Resolutions were presented by Patrick Henry putting the colony of Virginia "into a posture of defense...embodying, arming, and disciplining such a number of men as may be sufficient for that purpose." Before the vote was taken on his resolutions, Henry delivered the speech below, imploring the delegates to vote in favor.
He spoke without any notes in a voice that became louder and louder, climaxing with the now famous ending. Following his speech, the vote was taken in which his resolutions passed by a narrow margin, and thus Virginia joined in the American Revolution.
==============
No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.
This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?
For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth -- to know the worst and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House?
Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation -- the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?
No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer on the subject? Nothing.
We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer.
Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.
Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.
If we wish to be free -- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending -- if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak -- unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable -- and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
Patrick Henry - March 23, 1775
The History Place - Great Speeches Collection
See also: The History Place - American Revolution
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Part 3...Why the "Obviously Obvious" is often not real
Welcome to the "Front Porch."
This is Part 3 of some thoughts we've been sharing about why some people can't seem to see the obvious, particularly what politicians are doing to them, and how we can wake them up. If you have not read the first 2 parts, scroll down. This section is built from them.
In 1989 I was a millionaire. Back then being a millionaire was still an accomplishment...of sorts. I 'owned' a home appraised for $1.2 million dollars, had partial ownership of 2 new vehicle dealerships, and was involved in a partnership that was buying up rental properties in Portland, Maine. After a handfull of serious roller coaster rides of the financial kind, I 'knew' this time I was home free. Not that I consciously thought of it this way, but I was "ENTITLED" to the success I had achieved.
As someone said way before John Lennon, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." 3 years later I had lost all of it. Again. What happened? What seemed to be obvious wasn't real. It was obvious that "since they're not making any more real estate" that owning property was a can't miss proposition. It was obvious that my car business successes would continue, even if I were paying a teense less attention to the present matters at hand. "History" somehow assured me that I could go on, knocking the doors off the industry, because...well...because I already had.
Since real estate was an automatic "win" it made all the sense in the world to accumulate more of it, using my other properties as "leverage." Yes, in a word, or two, I was taking stupid pills. When the bottom fell out of the real estate market in the Northeast in 1989, I found myself "leveraged" out of all my possessions. Bankrupt in 1992. A fine lesson in "This would never happen to me..."
Small comfort, but there always seems to be something "obviously" inevitable that isn't. Many other folks today are confronting being upside down in their mortgages, which is not supposed to happen. Now their adversity has the seed of equivalent benefit if they choose to take responsibility for their decisions, learn from them, and eschew the temptation to soothe thier wounds with the toxic balm of blaming and feeling victimized. In the words of somebody, "Some will, some won't, so what? Next!! It's hard enough to manage our own predisposition to avoid the pain of error, withou thinking we can take primary responsibility for how someone else responds.
So what is next? We need prophets. I don't mean in the mystical sense.
The best prophets are the good students of history, which has nothing to do with the public educational system, public media, or our Ivy League doctorate(that's one hoax I didn't buy into. Even a blind squirrel...) As obvious as this should be, most people look to tribal witch doctors (figuratively) to determine their choice of a course of action, rather than people with real and long track records of being right most of the time. In the arena of politics, for example, there have been numerous historians who unpopularly forecast correctly, instead of telling people what they want to hear. For me, my favorite prognosticators of the "Obvious that isn't" include Ayn Rand, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and, thanks to Glenn educating me on 'missing' history, the Founding Fathers.
Whether we choose being likely to be right, or keeping our PC and the friends who value belonging with the herd over truth, it is up to each of us. It's important to know that regardless of our choice, we chose it. It would therefore "seem" obvious that we would maintain our individual autonomy rather than cede it to the next guy, usually a charlatan, who claims he'll place our welfare above his, and that, thanks to some magical bestowment, he knows better than we about what's good for us. (And then takes 40% or more of our income to execute his plan, which somehow includes Ancient Roman-type parties with food and celebrities flown in from the far corners of the Earth, and to which we're not invited, a private fleet of jets and Mercedes for himself.) But, for a lot of reasons, for a huge number of us,the "obvious isn't so obvious."
Now---let's hear from you. We don't win without each other's mutual support!! Then we do win!!
This is Part 3 of some thoughts we've been sharing about why some people can't seem to see the obvious, particularly what politicians are doing to them, and how we can wake them up. If you have not read the first 2 parts, scroll down. This section is built from them.
In 1989 I was a millionaire. Back then being a millionaire was still an accomplishment...of sorts. I 'owned' a home appraised for $1.2 million dollars, had partial ownership of 2 new vehicle dealerships, and was involved in a partnership that was buying up rental properties in Portland, Maine. After a handfull of serious roller coaster rides of the financial kind, I 'knew' this time I was home free. Not that I consciously thought of it this way, but I was "ENTITLED" to the success I had achieved.
As someone said way before John Lennon, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." 3 years later I had lost all of it. Again. What happened? What seemed to be obvious wasn't real. It was obvious that "since they're not making any more real estate" that owning property was a can't miss proposition. It was obvious that my car business successes would continue, even if I were paying a teense less attention to the present matters at hand. "History" somehow assured me that I could go on, knocking the doors off the industry, because...well...because I already had.
Since real estate was an automatic "win" it made all the sense in the world to accumulate more of it, using my other properties as "leverage." Yes, in a word, or two, I was taking stupid pills. When the bottom fell out of the real estate market in the Northeast in 1989, I found myself "leveraged" out of all my possessions. Bankrupt in 1992. A fine lesson in "This would never happen to me..."
Small comfort, but there always seems to be something "obviously" inevitable that isn't. Many other folks today are confronting being upside down in their mortgages, which is not supposed to happen. Now their adversity has the seed of equivalent benefit if they choose to take responsibility for their decisions, learn from them, and eschew the temptation to soothe thier wounds with the toxic balm of blaming and feeling victimized. In the words of somebody, "Some will, some won't, so what? Next!! It's hard enough to manage our own predisposition to avoid the pain of error, withou thinking we can take primary responsibility for how someone else responds.
So what is next? We need prophets. I don't mean in the mystical sense.
The best prophets are the good students of history, which has nothing to do with the public educational system, public media, or our Ivy League doctorate(that's one hoax I didn't buy into. Even a blind squirrel...) As obvious as this should be, most people look to tribal witch doctors (figuratively) to determine their choice of a course of action, rather than people with real and long track records of being right most of the time. In the arena of politics, for example, there have been numerous historians who unpopularly forecast correctly, instead of telling people what they want to hear. For me, my favorite prognosticators of the "Obvious that isn't" include Ayn Rand, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and, thanks to Glenn educating me on 'missing' history, the Founding Fathers.
Whether we choose being likely to be right, or keeping our PC and the friends who value belonging with the herd over truth, it is up to each of us. It's important to know that regardless of our choice, we chose it. It would therefore "seem" obvious that we would maintain our individual autonomy rather than cede it to the next guy, usually a charlatan, who claims he'll place our welfare above his, and that, thanks to some magical bestowment, he knows better than we about what's good for us. (And then takes 40% or more of our income to execute his plan, which somehow includes Ancient Roman-type parties with food and celebrities flown in from the far corners of the Earth, and to which we're not invited, a private fleet of jets and Mercedes for himself.) But, for a lot of reasons, for a huge number of us,the "obvious isn't so obvious."
Now---let's hear from you. We don't win without each other's mutual support!! Then we do win!!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Why the Obvious isn't...Part 2
Welcome back to the Front Porch!
Yesterday we talked about reasons why some folks can't 'see the forest for the trees' when it comes to their repeated acceptance of abuse from the political class. We discussed a few ideas about techniques we might use to help them "see" what's being done to them. If you haven't read the previous "Front Porch" article, scroll down and start there first for best results!!
Now we're asking everyone on the porch to put on their thinking caps and share comments, and hopefully suggestions at the conclusion of today's article...
Try this on:
Yesterday we looked at incest survivors as an example of folks employing no longer necessary survival techniques, like not 'seeing' the obvious. When these deeply in-grained techniques are 'kept' beyond their usefulness, the results can be downright terrible, even fatal.
Let's look at a far more common form of retention of no longer serviceable mind-sets.
In the process of growing up, we transition from being dependent on parental authority for our safety and 'truth', to getting some of our safety and 'truth' from 'educational' (often more like 'indoctrinational') institutions to hopefully, becoming a self-reliant, self-responsible adult.
The successful completion of this journey is far from inevitable, and has many false prophets along the way who would dissuade us from completing it, in deference to their ostensibly assuming responsibility for our successes and 'protection.' From gangs and tribes to corporate, union, media and political culture, some of us are easily waylaid.
Avoiding this growth-stunting stalemate is as much an 'unlearning' process as it is a 'learning' one. We unlearn dependency as a survival technique, and travel the bumpy adolescent road to self-dependency. We learn not to ask "what do others think I should do?," and we ultimately hold ourselves accountable for what's between our ears and what we do with it. If we make the journey, we marvel at those who don't let go of dependent thinking, but merely exchange masters. When we point out the downside, they don't 'see' it and will more often than not defend their position, egos, and mind-set from you, the perceived enemy. They are sealed off from the truth by old thinking habits.
As we said, this malady is somewhat correctable, but generally won't be accomplished by going 'through the front door' in a direct assault on this fortress of blindness. We find, if we care enough and believe the person is salvageable as a true adult, other doors through which to enter.
Each person seems to have his own doors unlike those of his neighbors. It probably involves an eye-opening unnannounced appearance that generates the first "aha". If nurtured, it flowers into the realization that this person has been his own worst enemy. This becomes the tactical battleground of the comfortable and dysfunctionaly obsolete fighting tooth and nail with the sunshine trying to break through. The outcome may be determined by the person's willingness to take 'necessary losses' along the way, such as friendly relationships with folks who like the old persona rather than the new. I would argue that this has to be one of the prime weapons the bad guys in the brain having going for them.
Now this is handy to know. It's not something our subject is going to tell you in so many words. It's why 'being there' for that person at this critical juncture is so important. Additionally, anything we can do to introduce him/her to other potential approving friends of the new persona may offset any fear of loss in favor of desire for newer, healthier relationships.
For most of us, these battles will be won or lost one mind at a time. We can, we must,win. Together.
Your comments, suggestions, stories required below!!
Yesterday we talked about reasons why some folks can't 'see the forest for the trees' when it comes to their repeated acceptance of abuse from the political class. We discussed a few ideas about techniques we might use to help them "see" what's being done to them. If you haven't read the previous "Front Porch" article, scroll down and start there first for best results!!
Now we're asking everyone on the porch to put on their thinking caps and share comments, and hopefully suggestions at the conclusion of today's article...
Try this on:
Yesterday we looked at incest survivors as an example of folks employing no longer necessary survival techniques, like not 'seeing' the obvious. When these deeply in-grained techniques are 'kept' beyond their usefulness, the results can be downright terrible, even fatal.
Let's look at a far more common form of retention of no longer serviceable mind-sets.
In the process of growing up, we transition from being dependent on parental authority for our safety and 'truth', to getting some of our safety and 'truth' from 'educational' (often more like 'indoctrinational') institutions to hopefully, becoming a self-reliant, self-responsible adult.
The successful completion of this journey is far from inevitable, and has many false prophets along the way who would dissuade us from completing it, in deference to their ostensibly assuming responsibility for our successes and 'protection.' From gangs and tribes to corporate, union, media and political culture, some of us are easily waylaid.
Avoiding this growth-stunting stalemate is as much an 'unlearning' process as it is a 'learning' one. We unlearn dependency as a survival technique, and travel the bumpy adolescent road to self-dependency. We learn not to ask "what do others think I should do?," and we ultimately hold ourselves accountable for what's between our ears and what we do with it. If we make the journey, we marvel at those who don't let go of dependent thinking, but merely exchange masters. When we point out the downside, they don't 'see' it and will more often than not defend their position, egos, and mind-set from you, the perceived enemy. They are sealed off from the truth by old thinking habits.
As we said, this malady is somewhat correctable, but generally won't be accomplished by going 'through the front door' in a direct assault on this fortress of blindness. We find, if we care enough and believe the person is salvageable as a true adult, other doors through which to enter.
Each person seems to have his own doors unlike those of his neighbors. It probably involves an eye-opening unnannounced appearance that generates the first "aha". If nurtured, it flowers into the realization that this person has been his own worst enemy. This becomes the tactical battleground of the comfortable and dysfunctionaly obsolete fighting tooth and nail with the sunshine trying to break through. The outcome may be determined by the person's willingness to take 'necessary losses' along the way, such as friendly relationships with folks who like the old persona rather than the new. I would argue that this has to be one of the prime weapons the bad guys in the brain having going for them.
Now this is handy to know. It's not something our subject is going to tell you in so many words. It's why 'being there' for that person at this critical juncture is so important. Additionally, anything we can do to introduce him/her to other potential approving friends of the new persona may offset any fear of loss in favor of desire for newer, healthier relationships.
For most of us, these battles will be won or lost one mind at a time. We can, we must,win. Together.
Your comments, suggestions, stories required below!!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Scatomas, Ericksonian Hynotherapy, Hoarding and why "The Obvious" Isn't
Welcome to the Front Porch. We're gettin' ready to talk about why our friends can't see the patently "obvious." In this conversation we're referencing failure of people to see corruption and its consequences in politics.
I believe there are a lot of normal folks out there who just don't "see" the truth. Now to us, it's plain as the noses on our faces. Politicians have, do and always will lie, cheat and plunder the property of the innocents they're supposed to be protecting. The unfortunate thing about George Washington is he left us with unreasonable expectations. Poisonous snakes do what they do, politicians do what they do. For some reason(s) however, your third cousin wants to dispute the latter. Why?
If we can root out some of the why's, perhaps we can restore sight to the blind!!
As an amatuer cracker barrel psychologist, I have a few thoughts on this. I bet you do, too. Let's get our heads together...
First premise: that "scatomas," (term thanks to Lou Tice as I recall) better known as "blind spots" can be corrected. The proof of this lies in each of our own experiences. How many times have we been stumbling along, getting modest or even negative results and wondering why? Then one day it just pops into our head : the "aha!" The moment occurs when we realize that like my Mom used to say, "It was right there along along. If it had been a snake it would've bit ya." If you're having trouble recalling one of these for yourself, then think of this: at some time or another you've seen one of those tricky pictures that can look like one thing ( e.g.the beautiful woman) or another (the old hag) depending on your persepective. After a while, at your option you can "see" either one, just not both at the same time. Have you ever counted the "f's" in the long sentence where you "see" 5, and it turns out to be 7, because you failed to "see" the "f's" in the word "of"?
One way or another, I think we can agree this stuff happens to practically everyone. Sometimes it's harmless, sometimes downright insidious.
Let's use a non-political example of the latter.
I know this person who, in her childhood, was repeatedly made an incest victim. When in the midst of the terror of the act, she would "go away" in her head. It was a legitimate learned survival technique that may even have saved her life at the time. The problem is, we generally don't have alarm clocks that go off telling us it's time to dump this deeply internalized technique when we become adults and the danger is no longer there. It's so deeply ingrained, we unconsciously employ it for other unpleasant situations that need our adult attention. And, because we can't "see", shit happens. If the poop gets deep enough, we wind up in front of a professional counselor who, if competent, will recognize the symptoms, help us to identify the causes and start us on a road to better functionality. Notice I did not call it "recovery."
Fortunately, there's more than one road out of this labrinthe. I want to mention one technique, because I believe its successful use has practical applications with our blind third cousin.
There's a psychological healing technique called Ericksonian Hypnotherapy. I've had the pleasure of it working for me a couple of decades ago. The theory is that the subconscious has filters it uses to prohibit "non-useful" information from getting into our heads. Without it, our brain would be a WalMart sized 'Sanford and Sons'. However, what if the subconscious is preventing us from getting information we need? Preventing us from "seeing the obvious"? What if childhood filters that once worked remained to cripple our perceptions as adults?
Ericksonian Hypnotheraphy involves, are you ready...hypnotherapy. The theory is that under hypnosis the guide talks to the subconscious in its own language. Kind of like a horse whisperer for the mind. It is believed, and seemingly proven through application, that the subconscious thinks, or operates, in its own language, and that the best way to communicate to it is metaphors. Stories. Stories that if your conscious mind heard them, it would say, WHAT?
My hypnotherapist told me stories about an elderly lady who passed away, leaving thousands of paper bags stashed in every available corner of her house. She had a problem. In light of the hoarding phenomenon that has come to light in recent years, not much of a stretch either. Now this story, told to the subconscious, is suggesting that it too has an over-size collection of useless and cluttering stuff. In fact, that many 'paper bags' can become a fire hazard (!)
Now if we could have spoken to this fictional lady and the conversation was realistic, she's likely to have told us that she barely notices that her walls are stacked to the ceiling with paper bags. In her daily routine, she doesn't "see" them. That's what many hoarders will tell you...
How is this information potentially useful for our libertarian ends? What if we make the argument that instead of paper bags, many of us hoard old opinions and ideas that have outlived their usefulness, to the point of being counterproductive, and that these opinions and ideas necessarily keep us blind to the "obvious"? As usual, the first step to solution is to identify the problem. We can't help someone else see their scatomas if we don't understand they exist and can be consciously, and/or subconsciously worked through.
Being merely the occasional Minister of the Cracker Barrel, I'm no expert at suggesting solutions---ways for us to get through to our "blind" third cousin. Perhaps the technique above, but that would require a lot of self-confrontation on their part. So maybe we can look at it this way: Why try to keep opening a door that is sealed shut? If your friend won't answer, try a different door!!
That's exactly what happened to me with libertarianism. In early high school I was your typical loud-mouthed, sanctimonious. socialist dork. I always won the arguments, which was very important to me since my sports ability was confined to hauling a water bucket, if I was careful not to fill it all the way.
One day a beautiful young lady and I traded books. It was my one ploy with the opposite sex. Somewhat to my chagrin, she handed me this monster which had, in addition to its objectionable size, the fact that it was written by a woman. The most dreadful books I'd ever read had been written by women. However, this book was THE FOUNTAINHEAD. It blew me out of my shoes.
And to conclude on an humbling note, I read the whole damned thing and saw no political relevance that changed my adolescent Stevensonian politics. But when I heard about ATLAS SHRUGGED from another friend, his review was so enthusiastic I had to have it. Read it and dreamed about it for 3 days. Even after the forewarning that the heroes were laissez-faire capitalists!!
For me, THE FOUNTAINHEAD had been the stealth door past my usual predispositions and blind spots. What was your door (realizing some of us grew up in the 'right' home and didn't have to relearn stuff)? I don't recommend this door to everyone, much as I've tried. Easily 80% of the folks I've tried to introduce to libertarianism via Rand were like the proverbial square pegs.
But, there is a door for most everyone of benevolent intent. I believe that. And you know what also opens doors? Panic and distress. Let's be sure it's us there on the other side when that happens...
Now, don't leave w/o a comment, observation, suggestion or a damned funny joke!!
I believe there are a lot of normal folks out there who just don't "see" the truth. Now to us, it's plain as the noses on our faces. Politicians have, do and always will lie, cheat and plunder the property of the innocents they're supposed to be protecting. The unfortunate thing about George Washington is he left us with unreasonable expectations. Poisonous snakes do what they do, politicians do what they do. For some reason(s) however, your third cousin wants to dispute the latter. Why?
If we can root out some of the why's, perhaps we can restore sight to the blind!!
As an amatuer cracker barrel psychologist, I have a few thoughts on this. I bet you do, too. Let's get our heads together...
First premise: that "scatomas," (term thanks to Lou Tice as I recall) better known as "blind spots" can be corrected. The proof of this lies in each of our own experiences. How many times have we been stumbling along, getting modest or even negative results and wondering why? Then one day it just pops into our head : the "aha!" The moment occurs when we realize that like my Mom used to say, "It was right there along along. If it had been a snake it would've bit ya." If you're having trouble recalling one of these for yourself, then think of this: at some time or another you've seen one of those tricky pictures that can look like one thing ( e.g.the beautiful woman) or another (the old hag) depending on your persepective. After a while, at your option you can "see" either one, just not both at the same time. Have you ever counted the "f's" in the long sentence where you "see" 5, and it turns out to be 7, because you failed to "see" the "f's" in the word "of"?
One way or another, I think we can agree this stuff happens to practically everyone. Sometimes it's harmless, sometimes downright insidious.
Let's use a non-political example of the latter.
I know this person who, in her childhood, was repeatedly made an incest victim. When in the midst of the terror of the act, she would "go away" in her head. It was a legitimate learned survival technique that may even have saved her life at the time. The problem is, we generally don't have alarm clocks that go off telling us it's time to dump this deeply internalized technique when we become adults and the danger is no longer there. It's so deeply ingrained, we unconsciously employ it for other unpleasant situations that need our adult attention. And, because we can't "see", shit happens. If the poop gets deep enough, we wind up in front of a professional counselor who, if competent, will recognize the symptoms, help us to identify the causes and start us on a road to better functionality. Notice I did not call it "recovery."
Fortunately, there's more than one road out of this labrinthe. I want to mention one technique, because I believe its successful use has practical applications with our blind third cousin.
There's a psychological healing technique called Ericksonian Hypnotherapy. I've had the pleasure of it working for me a couple of decades ago. The theory is that the subconscious has filters it uses to prohibit "non-useful" information from getting into our heads. Without it, our brain would be a WalMart sized 'Sanford and Sons'. However, what if the subconscious is preventing us from getting information we need? Preventing us from "seeing the obvious"? What if childhood filters that once worked remained to cripple our perceptions as adults?
Ericksonian Hypnotheraphy involves, are you ready...hypnotherapy. The theory is that under hypnosis the guide talks to the subconscious in its own language. Kind of like a horse whisperer for the mind. It is believed, and seemingly proven through application, that the subconscious thinks, or operates, in its own language, and that the best way to communicate to it is metaphors. Stories. Stories that if your conscious mind heard them, it would say, WHAT?
My hypnotherapist told me stories about an elderly lady who passed away, leaving thousands of paper bags stashed in every available corner of her house. She had a problem. In light of the hoarding phenomenon that has come to light in recent years, not much of a stretch either. Now this story, told to the subconscious, is suggesting that it too has an over-size collection of useless and cluttering stuff. In fact, that many 'paper bags' can become a fire hazard (!)
Now if we could have spoken to this fictional lady and the conversation was realistic, she's likely to have told us that she barely notices that her walls are stacked to the ceiling with paper bags. In her daily routine, she doesn't "see" them. That's what many hoarders will tell you...
How is this information potentially useful for our libertarian ends? What if we make the argument that instead of paper bags, many of us hoard old opinions and ideas that have outlived their usefulness, to the point of being counterproductive, and that these opinions and ideas necessarily keep us blind to the "obvious"? As usual, the first step to solution is to identify the problem. We can't help someone else see their scatomas if we don't understand they exist and can be consciously, and/or subconsciously worked through.
Being merely the occasional Minister of the Cracker Barrel, I'm no expert at suggesting solutions---ways for us to get through to our "blind" third cousin. Perhaps the technique above, but that would require a lot of self-confrontation on their part. So maybe we can look at it this way: Why try to keep opening a door that is sealed shut? If your friend won't answer, try a different door!!
That's exactly what happened to me with libertarianism. In early high school I was your typical loud-mouthed, sanctimonious. socialist dork. I always won the arguments, which was very important to me since my sports ability was confined to hauling a water bucket, if I was careful not to fill it all the way.
One day a beautiful young lady and I traded books. It was my one ploy with the opposite sex. Somewhat to my chagrin, she handed me this monster which had, in addition to its objectionable size, the fact that it was written by a woman. The most dreadful books I'd ever read had been written by women. However, this book was THE FOUNTAINHEAD. It blew me out of my shoes.
And to conclude on an humbling note, I read the whole damned thing and saw no political relevance that changed my adolescent Stevensonian politics. But when I heard about ATLAS SHRUGGED from another friend, his review was so enthusiastic I had to have it. Read it and dreamed about it for 3 days. Even after the forewarning that the heroes were laissez-faire capitalists!!
For me, THE FOUNTAINHEAD had been the stealth door past my usual predispositions and blind spots. What was your door (realizing some of us grew up in the 'right' home and didn't have to relearn stuff)? I don't recommend this door to everyone, much as I've tried. Easily 80% of the folks I've tried to introduce to libertarianism via Rand were like the proverbial square pegs.
But, there is a door for most everyone of benevolent intent. I believe that. And you know what also opens doors? Panic and distress. Let's be sure it's us there on the other side when that happens...
Now, don't leave w/o a comment, observation, suggestion or a damned funny joke!!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Concern Without Matching Passion is Worthless...
Welcome to the Front Porch. I'm a little worked up tonight...
----
You discover that upstairs your house has caught fire. Meanwhile, downstairs, the adult party is in full swing. You know that there are children at risk upstairs, not only from flames, but smoke inhalation and misguided efforts to flee the scene.
Do you...
Quietly walk up to one of the partiers and say, "I'm sorry, but is it convenient to speak to you now?" Is this a time to be sensitive about whether your friends think you're "cool"? Do you non-chalantly say, in a low-key way, "It's just my opinion, but it seems to me we might have a problem here?"
Do you ask for a meeting of interested parties to 'discuss', 'evaluate' and produce suggested recommendations?
Or do you yell, at the top of your voice, "The goddamned house is on fire and we have to get the kids from upstairs!!"?
Pretty obvious, eh?
Well, our Republic, our very civilization is on fire. A five alarmer. When do we start behaving in sync with what we know to be true? We must match the gravity of our perceptions with our response to those perceptions. Failure to do so will only deem us inconsequential, perhaps loony. No wonder our otherwise benevolent friends take what we say with a grain of salt.
Get EXCITED!!!
We've enjoyed our apathy and gift from previous generations too long. Hopefully we're coming to the abrupt realization that freedom and prosperity are not entitlements. Act like it. You'll lose friends. You might save the world for your children.
In the words of a fellow who saw the handwriting on the wall, "LET's ROLL!" Anything less passionate is cowardice.
Am I wrong?
----
You discover that upstairs your house has caught fire. Meanwhile, downstairs, the adult party is in full swing. You know that there are children at risk upstairs, not only from flames, but smoke inhalation and misguided efforts to flee the scene.
Do you...
Quietly walk up to one of the partiers and say, "I'm sorry, but is it convenient to speak to you now?" Is this a time to be sensitive about whether your friends think you're "cool"? Do you non-chalantly say, in a low-key way, "It's just my opinion, but it seems to me we might have a problem here?"
Do you ask for a meeting of interested parties to 'discuss', 'evaluate' and produce suggested recommendations?
Or do you yell, at the top of your voice, "The goddamned house is on fire and we have to get the kids from upstairs!!"?
Pretty obvious, eh?
Well, our Republic, our very civilization is on fire. A five alarmer. When do we start behaving in sync with what we know to be true? We must match the gravity of our perceptions with our response to those perceptions. Failure to do so will only deem us inconsequential, perhaps loony. No wonder our otherwise benevolent friends take what we say with a grain of salt.
Get EXCITED!!!
We've enjoyed our apathy and gift from previous generations too long. Hopefully we're coming to the abrupt realization that freedom and prosperity are not entitlements. Act like it. You'll lose friends. You might save the world for your children.
In the words of a fellow who saw the handwriting on the wall, "LET's ROLL!" Anything less passionate is cowardice.
Am I wrong?
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Our Proud Badge of Political Apathy is a Joke on Us
Special thanks to a special person who inspired these observations, thanks for visiting the "Front Porch" and I hope the thoughts may be of use to you as well!!
----
When a way of thinking is paying us back with undesirable results, Ayn Rand has the RX: "Check your premises." There are a lot of "us" who have spent most of our lives wearing our disdain of "politics" like some kind of badge of honor. The joke's on us...
Fact is, our eschewing concern about the ruling class plays directly into the bad guys' hands If we're apathetic, we're not vigilant. Our self-protection is our responsibility and cannot be delegated. By 'self-protection' I do mean vigilance. You wouldn't turn over your guns to some phony claiming he's your 'protector'---you're too street smart for that. Well think of our brain as a mighty 16" gun turret. They have rotated the beast, turning it on ourselves. We have ceded our brain' to the people we rightfully distrust, loathe, and would love to strangle. And they're 'protecting' us right into poverty and slavery. Who let's them do it? We do. We who bought the BS that someone else is better equipped, better intended, to protect our life, liberty and property than we are. The same "us" that felt safe turning our kids' education over to the public schools. How's that been working for us?
Being "Right" is a growing process. Cementing ourselves in old beliefs and perceptions ends in humiliation and regret. There's no magic day when we can stop doing our own due diligence.
"WHO is right?" Wrong question, although it tells us what we need to do to rearrange our thinking. The correct question is, "WHAT is right?" It's a question that should not be evaded by a simplistic choice of deciding who to believe. Doesn't work long term, never will. The work, responsibility, and rewards or pain, are all ours.
There's no 'easy' path out of the woods. No one to carry us on their shoulders. We're going to have to choose between slashing our way through the thickets individually, or we can just lie down and quit. Regardless of which, we control the outcome. Kind of like Eddie in the storm at the end of The Christmas Sweater, no?
----
When a way of thinking is paying us back with undesirable results, Ayn Rand has the RX: "Check your premises." There are a lot of "us" who have spent most of our lives wearing our disdain of "politics" like some kind of badge of honor. The joke's on us...
Fact is, our eschewing concern about the ruling class plays directly into the bad guys' hands If we're apathetic, we're not vigilant. Our self-protection is our responsibility and cannot be delegated. By 'self-protection' I do mean vigilance. You wouldn't turn over your guns to some phony claiming he's your 'protector'---you're too street smart for that. Well think of our brain as a mighty 16" gun turret. They have rotated the beast, turning it on ourselves. We have ceded our brain' to the people we rightfully distrust, loathe, and would love to strangle. And they're 'protecting' us right into poverty and slavery. Who let's them do it? We do. We who bought the BS that someone else is better equipped, better intended, to protect our life, liberty and property than we are. The same "us" that felt safe turning our kids' education over to the public schools. How's that been working for us?
Being "Right" is a growing process. Cementing ourselves in old beliefs and perceptions ends in humiliation and regret. There's no magic day when we can stop doing our own due diligence.
"WHO is right?" Wrong question, although it tells us what we need to do to rearrange our thinking. The correct question is, "WHAT is right?" It's a question that should not be evaded by a simplistic choice of deciding who to believe. Doesn't work long term, never will. The work, responsibility, and rewards or pain, are all ours.
There's no 'easy' path out of the woods. No one to carry us on their shoulders. We're going to have to choose between slashing our way through the thickets individually, or we can just lie down and quit. Regardless of which, we control the outcome. Kind of like Eddie in the storm at the end of The Christmas Sweater, no?
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
A great comfort to you in days to come...
Dear Friend and Congenial Front Porch Regular,
As you know, the writer of the letter below is real, and has been courageously sharing her story in media that will take similar risk.
Do not be reluctant to pass this along. You will not be responsible for your friends' and relatives' reactions, pro, con or apathetic. You will have discharged your personal accountability for having warned them. That much you do control.
That will be a great comfort to you in days to come...
Respectfully,
Jack
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/gabriel.asp
EVERY AMERICAN NEEDS TO READ THIS!
Editor's Note: Below are selected excerpts from Brigitte Gabriel's speech delivered at the Intelligence Summit in Washington DC
We gather here today to share information and knowledge. Intelligence is not merely cold hard data about numerical strength or armament or disposition of military forces. The most important element of intelligence has to be understanding the mindset and intention of the enemy. The West has been wallowing in a state of ignorance and denial for thirty years as Muslim extremist perpetrated evil against innocent victims in the name of Allah.
I was ten years old when my home exploded around me, burying me under the rubble and leaving me to drink my blood to survive, as the perpetrators shouted, 'Allah Akbar!' My only crime was that I was a Christian living in a Christian town. At 10 years old, I learned the meaning of the word 'infidel.'
I had a crash course in survival. Not in the Girl Scouts, but in a bomb shelter where I lived for seven years in pitch darkness, freezing cold, drinking stale water and eating grass to live. At the age of 13, I dressed in my burial clothes going to bed at night, waiting to be slaughtered. By the age of 20, I had buried most of my friends--killed by Muslims. We were not Americans living in New York , or Britons in London . We were Arab Christians living in Lebanon.
As a victim of Islamic terror, I was amazed when I saw Americans waking up on September 12, 2001, and asking themselves 'Why do they hate us?' The psychoanalyst experts were coming up with all sort of excuses as to what did we do to offend the Muslim World. But if America and the West were paying attention to the Middle East they would not have had to ask the question. Simply put, they hate us because we are defined in their eyes by one simple word: 'infidels.'
Under the banner of Islam 'la, ilaha illa Allah, muhammad rasoulu Allah,' (None is god except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) they murdered Jewish children in Israel, massacred Christians in Lebanon, killed Copts in Egypt, Assyrians in Syria, Hindus in India, and expelled almost 900,000 Jews from Muslim lands. We Middle Eastern infidels paid the price then. Now infidels worldwide are paying the price for indifference and shortsightedness.
Tolerating evil is a crime. Appeasing murderers doesn't buy protection. It earns one disrespect and loathing in the enemy's eyes. Yet apathy is the weapon by which the West is committing suicide. Political correctness forms the shackles around our ankles, by which Islamist's are leading us to our demise.
America and the West are doomed to failure in this war unless they stand up and identify the real enemy: Islam. You hear about Cahaba and Salafi Islam as the only extreme form of Islam. All the other Muslims, supposedly, are wonderful moderates. Closer to the truth are the pictures of the irrational eruption of violence in reaction to the cartoons of Mohammed printed by a Danish newspaper. From burning embassies, to calls to butcher those who mock Islam, to warnings that the West be prepared for another holocaust, those pictures have given us a glimpse into the real face of the enemy. News pictures and video of these events represent a canvas of hate decorated by different nationalities who share one common ideology of hate, bigotry and intolerance derived from one source: authentic Islam. An Islam that is awakening from centuries of slumber to re-ignite its wrath against the infidel and dominate the world. An Islam which has declared 'Intifada' on the West.
America and the West can no longer afford to lay in their lazy state of overweight ignorance. The consequences of this mental disease are starting to attack the body, and if they don't take the necessary steps now to control it, death will be knocking soon. If you want to understand the nature of the enemy we face, visualize a tapestry of snakes. They slither and they hiss, and they would eat each other alive, but they will unite in a hideous mass to achieve their common goal of imposing Islam on the world.
This is the ugly face of the enemy we are fighting. We are fighting a powerful ideology that is capable of altering basic human instincts. An ideology that can turn a mother into a launching pad of death. A perfect example is a recently elected Hamas official in the Palestinian Territories who raves in heavenly joy about sending her three sons to death and offering the ones who are still alive for the cause. It is an ideology that is capable of offering highly educated individuals such as doctors and lawyers far more joy in attaining death than any respect and stature life in society is ever capable of giving them.
The United States has been a prime target for radical Islamic hatred and terror. Every Friday, mosques in the Middle East ring with shrill prayers and monotonous chants calling death, destruction and damnation down on America and its people. The radical Islamist deeds have been as vile as their words. Since the Iran hostage crisis, more than three thousand Americans have died in a terror campaign almost unprecedented in its calculated cruelty along with thousands of other citizens worldwide. Even the Nazis did not turn their own children into human bombs, and then rejoice at their deaths as well the deaths of their victims. This intentional, indiscriminate and wholesale murder of innocent American citizens is justified and glorified in the name of Islam.
America cannot effectively defend itself in this war unless and until the American people understand the nature of the enemy that we face. Even after 9/11 there are those who say that we must engage our terrorist enemies, that we must address their grievances. Their grievance is our freedom of religion. Their grievance is our freedom of speech. Their grievance is our democratic process where the rule of law comes from the voices of many not that of just one prophet. It is the respect we instill in our children towards all religions. It is the equality we grant each other as human beings sharing a planet and striving to make the world a better place for all humanity. Their grievance is the kindness and respect a man shows a woman, the justice we practice as equals under the law, and the mercy we grant our enemy. Their grievance cannot be answered by an apology for who or what we are.
Our mediocre attitude of not confronting Islamic forces of bigotry and hatred wherever they raised their ugly head in the last 30 years, has empowered and strengthened our enemy to launch a full scale attack on the very freedoms we cherish in their effort to impose their values and way of life on our civilization.
If we don't wake up and challenge our Muslim community to take action against the terrorists within it, if we don't believe in ourselves as Americans and in the standards we should hold every patriotic American to, we are going to pay a price for our delusion. For the sake of our children and our country, we must wake up and take action. In the face of a torrent of hateful invective and terrorist murder, America 's learning curve since the Iran hostage crisis is so shallow that it is almost flat. The longer we lay supine, the more difficult it will be to stand erect.
This is all coming true. A non-patriot pro-Muslim is President of this great country. How can this happen?? APATHY, that's how!!! Send this around.
Brigitte Gabriel is an expert on the Middle East conflict and lectures nationally and internationally on the subject. She's the former news anchor of World News for Middle East television and the founder of AmericanCongressforTruth.com
As you know, the writer of the letter below is real, and has been courageously sharing her story in media that will take similar risk.
Do not be reluctant to pass this along. You will not be responsible for your friends' and relatives' reactions, pro, con or apathetic. You will have discharged your personal accountability for having warned them. That much you do control.
That will be a great comfort to you in days to come...
Respectfully,
Jack
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/gabriel.asp
EVERY AMERICAN NEEDS TO READ THIS!
Editor's Note: Below are selected excerpts from Brigitte Gabriel's speech delivered at the Intelligence Summit in Washington DC
We gather here today to share information and knowledge. Intelligence is not merely cold hard data about numerical strength or armament or disposition of military forces. The most important element of intelligence has to be understanding the mindset and intention of the enemy. The West has been wallowing in a state of ignorance and denial for thirty years as Muslim extremist perpetrated evil against innocent victims in the name of Allah.
I was ten years old when my home exploded around me, burying me under the rubble and leaving me to drink my blood to survive, as the perpetrators shouted, 'Allah Akbar!' My only crime was that I was a Christian living in a Christian town. At 10 years old, I learned the meaning of the word 'infidel.'
I had a crash course in survival. Not in the Girl Scouts, but in a bomb shelter where I lived for seven years in pitch darkness, freezing cold, drinking stale water and eating grass to live. At the age of 13, I dressed in my burial clothes going to bed at night, waiting to be slaughtered. By the age of 20, I had buried most of my friends--killed by Muslims. We were not Americans living in New York , or Britons in London . We were Arab Christians living in Lebanon.
As a victim of Islamic terror, I was amazed when I saw Americans waking up on September 12, 2001, and asking themselves 'Why do they hate us?' The psychoanalyst experts were coming up with all sort of excuses as to what did we do to offend the Muslim World. But if America and the West were paying attention to the Middle East they would not have had to ask the question. Simply put, they hate us because we are defined in their eyes by one simple word: 'infidels.'
Under the banner of Islam 'la, ilaha illa Allah, muhammad rasoulu Allah,' (None is god except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) they murdered Jewish children in Israel, massacred Christians in Lebanon, killed Copts in Egypt, Assyrians in Syria, Hindus in India, and expelled almost 900,000 Jews from Muslim lands. We Middle Eastern infidels paid the price then. Now infidels worldwide are paying the price for indifference and shortsightedness.
Tolerating evil is a crime. Appeasing murderers doesn't buy protection. It earns one disrespect and loathing in the enemy's eyes. Yet apathy is the weapon by which the West is committing suicide. Political correctness forms the shackles around our ankles, by which Islamist's are leading us to our demise.
America and the West are doomed to failure in this war unless they stand up and identify the real enemy: Islam. You hear about Cahaba and Salafi Islam as the only extreme form of Islam. All the other Muslims, supposedly, are wonderful moderates. Closer to the truth are the pictures of the irrational eruption of violence in reaction to the cartoons of Mohammed printed by a Danish newspaper. From burning embassies, to calls to butcher those who mock Islam, to warnings that the West be prepared for another holocaust, those pictures have given us a glimpse into the real face of the enemy. News pictures and video of these events represent a canvas of hate decorated by different nationalities who share one common ideology of hate, bigotry and intolerance derived from one source: authentic Islam. An Islam that is awakening from centuries of slumber to re-ignite its wrath against the infidel and dominate the world. An Islam which has declared 'Intifada' on the West.
America and the West can no longer afford to lay in their lazy state of overweight ignorance. The consequences of this mental disease are starting to attack the body, and if they don't take the necessary steps now to control it, death will be knocking soon. If you want to understand the nature of the enemy we face, visualize a tapestry of snakes. They slither and they hiss, and they would eat each other alive, but they will unite in a hideous mass to achieve their common goal of imposing Islam on the world.
This is the ugly face of the enemy we are fighting. We are fighting a powerful ideology that is capable of altering basic human instincts. An ideology that can turn a mother into a launching pad of death. A perfect example is a recently elected Hamas official in the Palestinian Territories who raves in heavenly joy about sending her three sons to death and offering the ones who are still alive for the cause. It is an ideology that is capable of offering highly educated individuals such as doctors and lawyers far more joy in attaining death than any respect and stature life in society is ever capable of giving them.
The United States has been a prime target for radical Islamic hatred and terror. Every Friday, mosques in the Middle East ring with shrill prayers and monotonous chants calling death, destruction and damnation down on America and its people. The radical Islamist deeds have been as vile as their words. Since the Iran hostage crisis, more than three thousand Americans have died in a terror campaign almost unprecedented in its calculated cruelty along with thousands of other citizens worldwide. Even the Nazis did not turn their own children into human bombs, and then rejoice at their deaths as well the deaths of their victims. This intentional, indiscriminate and wholesale murder of innocent American citizens is justified and glorified in the name of Islam.
America cannot effectively defend itself in this war unless and until the American people understand the nature of the enemy that we face. Even after 9/11 there are those who say that we must engage our terrorist enemies, that we must address their grievances. Their grievance is our freedom of religion. Their grievance is our freedom of speech. Their grievance is our democratic process where the rule of law comes from the voices of many not that of just one prophet. It is the respect we instill in our children towards all religions. It is the equality we grant each other as human beings sharing a planet and striving to make the world a better place for all humanity. Their grievance is the kindness and respect a man shows a woman, the justice we practice as equals under the law, and the mercy we grant our enemy. Their grievance cannot be answered by an apology for who or what we are.
Our mediocre attitude of not confronting Islamic forces of bigotry and hatred wherever they raised their ugly head in the last 30 years, has empowered and strengthened our enemy to launch a full scale attack on the very freedoms we cherish in their effort to impose their values and way of life on our civilization.
If we don't wake up and challenge our Muslim community to take action against the terrorists within it, if we don't believe in ourselves as Americans and in the standards we should hold every patriotic American to, we are going to pay a price for our delusion. For the sake of our children and our country, we must wake up and take action. In the face of a torrent of hateful invective and terrorist murder, America 's learning curve since the Iran hostage crisis is so shallow that it is almost flat. The longer we lay supine, the more difficult it will be to stand erect.
This is all coming true. A non-patriot pro-Muslim is President of this great country. How can this happen?? APATHY, that's how!!! Send this around.
Brigitte Gabriel is an expert on the Middle East conflict and lectures nationally and internationally on the subject. She's the former news anchor of World News for Middle East television and the founder of AmericanCongressforTruth.com
Monday, July 19, 2010
Fissures in the State's Berlin Wall...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704334604575339153865582376.htmlmod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop
If you haven't enjoyed the WSJ article on cash-strapped cities turning to privatized police, janitorial services, etc. to SAVE MONEY, you're in for a big treat. Click on the above, then rejoin us us on the Front Porch for some frolicsome discussion!! Just continue here...
For those of us totally convinced of the efficacy of free markets providing better and less costly goods, services and light years faster technological advancement than state monopolies, the latest round of the turn to privatization is no surprise. We're aware that anything worth doing has already been done better, more efficiently, with far less corruption, and more futuristically by the private sector. Yes, Virginia, EVERYTHING!!
For this conversation, fellow alert libertarians, let "talk among our-
selves."
As one of the President's thugs observed correctly, though not with any originality, "Never let a crisis go to waste." The financial crisis faced by cities, states and countries today is forcing them to flirt with real solutions i.e. free markets and private ownership and enterprise, which is toxic anathema to the mystique of the State, long term.
This desperate measure by power elites is hoped to be temporary. They hope to take back control when free market enterprise has pulled the plunderers' chestnuts out of the fire. Their one haunting fear is that the dumbed-down that they have meticulously spent 100 years cultivating, won't awaken in significant numbers and spoil their centuries old con.
I'm not going to insult the intelligence of readers here with a rehashing of the history of succes of private enterpise, as well as the omission of that history in textbooks and in the classroom of useful idiots.
What I am going to suggest, to those of us who already know "these truthes are self-evident," is that we merely turn the tables on the Dark Side, and make sure this 'crisis' doesn't go to waste!! Let's get out in front of this latest manifestation, tell those not totally comatose what's going on, how, and why, and then let's amaze them with our 'magical' prognostication of what's going to happen next!!
Tell 'em before it happens, as it's happening, and after it has happened. It's a great technique that has been employed by the most influential among ourselves---Beck, Rand, Limbaugh, Hayek, deTocqueville, and all the other folks deserving of being included by name. "Magic" sells!! Let's roll!!
If you haven't enjoyed the WSJ article on cash-strapped cities turning to privatized police, janitorial services, etc. to SAVE MONEY, you're in for a big treat. Click on the above, then rejoin us us on the Front Porch for some frolicsome discussion!! Just continue here...
For those of us totally convinced of the efficacy of free markets providing better and less costly goods, services and light years faster technological advancement than state monopolies, the latest round of the turn to privatization is no surprise. We're aware that anything worth doing has already been done better, more efficiently, with far less corruption, and more futuristically by the private sector. Yes, Virginia, EVERYTHING!!
For this conversation, fellow alert libertarians, let "talk among our-
selves."
As one of the President's thugs observed correctly, though not with any originality, "Never let a crisis go to waste." The financial crisis faced by cities, states and countries today is forcing them to flirt with real solutions i.e. free markets and private ownership and enterprise, which is toxic anathema to the mystique of the State, long term.
This desperate measure by power elites is hoped to be temporary. They hope to take back control when free market enterprise has pulled the plunderers' chestnuts out of the fire. Their one haunting fear is that the dumbed-down that they have meticulously spent 100 years cultivating, won't awaken in significant numbers and spoil their centuries old con.
I'm not going to insult the intelligence of readers here with a rehashing of the history of succes of private enterpise, as well as the omission of that history in textbooks and in the classroom of useful idiots.
What I am going to suggest, to those of us who already know "these truthes are self-evident," is that we merely turn the tables on the Dark Side, and make sure this 'crisis' doesn't go to waste!! Let's get out in front of this latest manifestation, tell those not totally comatose what's going on, how, and why, and then let's amaze them with our 'magical' prognostication of what's going to happen next!!
Tell 'em before it happens, as it's happening, and after it has happened. It's a great technique that has been employed by the most influential among ourselves---Beck, Rand, Limbaugh, Hayek, deTocqueville, and all the other folks deserving of being included by name. "Magic" sells!! Let's roll!!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
This Fellow could use a sprinkle of Rothbard, a dash of Hazlitt, and a forkful of Friedman
A fellow on Facebook was saying:
"Capitalist countries sell the weapons to the socialist countries so they have the proper tools to destroy themselves and commit these horrific acts. Then we all point and say---SEE, It doesn't work!! lol---Don't get me wrong Socialism is a futile system as is Capitalism. They are all under the structure of the monetary system. WJC is an example of someone who takes advantage of a system. The system rewards that behavior. The monetary system rewards corruption with monetary gain. Of coarse, in this system---The more corrupt you are, the more successful you are financially. There are those that make an honest living, however---It is all relative. It doesn't matter what people kill in the name of, it is still murder. Whether it be for freedom, democracy, Allah, or A LAW!!---Still murder. We are all playing along with the rules of monetarism. That is what needs to change."
To which George and I responded:
"My eight cents Jeremy:
"1. Where do socialist countries get the wherewithal to buy this weaponry?
2. Why are murderers not held responsible for their own actions, while whole other groups of innocents are supposed to feel the transferred shame?
3. If State controlled money supply is what you mean by "our monetary system" I'm with you. If you're referring to money per se, it is merely a useful, very useful, medium of exchange, morally as neutral as oats, and its 'good' or 'evil' fruits are determined by its user.
4. If, by Capitalism you're referring to free trade among consenting individuals, it works damned well. It's where we get the good stuff. If you're talking about ersatz capitalism to describe a power partnership between State, Big Business and Big Labor, with the exception of those imposing the rules, it doesn't work. If you prefer that latter definition, which is what we have today, what shall we call the laissez-faire capitalism that liberals once embraced? Corruption for power takes the many forms. The language is corrupt. "What we have here," said George Kennnedy to Paul Newman, 'is a failure to communicate.' And it's no accident....let me have a shot at those deviled eggs...."
Hope we were helpful.
Now speak up and tell us about one your conversations with the confused!
"Capitalist countries sell the weapons to the socialist countries so they have the proper tools to destroy themselves and commit these horrific acts. Then we all point and say---SEE, It doesn't work!! lol---Don't get me wrong Socialism is a futile system as is Capitalism. They are all under the structure of the monetary system. WJC is an example of someone who takes advantage of a system. The system rewards that behavior. The monetary system rewards corruption with monetary gain. Of coarse, in this system---The more corrupt you are, the more successful you are financially. There are those that make an honest living, however---It is all relative. It doesn't matter what people kill in the name of, it is still murder. Whether it be for freedom, democracy, Allah, or A LAW!!---Still murder. We are all playing along with the rules of monetarism. That is what needs to change."
To which George and I responded:
"My eight cents Jeremy:
"1. Where do socialist countries get the wherewithal to buy this weaponry?
2. Why are murderers not held responsible for their own actions, while whole other groups of innocents are supposed to feel the transferred shame?
3. If State controlled money supply is what you mean by "our monetary system" I'm with you. If you're referring to money per se, it is merely a useful, very useful, medium of exchange, morally as neutral as oats, and its 'good' or 'evil' fruits are determined by its user.
4. If, by Capitalism you're referring to free trade among consenting individuals, it works damned well. It's where we get the good stuff. If you're talking about ersatz capitalism to describe a power partnership between State, Big Business and Big Labor, with the exception of those imposing the rules, it doesn't work. If you prefer that latter definition, which is what we have today, what shall we call the laissez-faire capitalism that liberals once embraced? Corruption for power takes the many forms. The language is corrupt. "What we have here," said George Kennnedy to Paul Newman, 'is a failure to communicate.' And it's no accident....let me have a shot at those deviled eggs...."
Hope we were helpful.
Now speak up and tell us about one your conversations with the confused!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Move Over "Racist" Pejorative, New Sheriff's Coming to Town!!
Obviously, to a segment of the population, RACIST does not mean exhorting some groups to 'kill cracker babies'. It means little ol' white men defiantly wearing tri-cornered hats.
It's guilt transferred by stealth and sleight of hand.
It's a weapon used by folks whose allegiances are not to truth, integrity and open discourse, but rather intimidation. They want you to shut your mouth.
The technique is one us older folks have seen for a long time, which is why it tends not to work quite as well on us as a group --- I hope!!
The latest round involves the tactic of calling anyone favoring limited government, individual responsibility and corollaries, RACISTS.
Now "Racist" used to mean someone who was willing to practice genocide for the sake of racial 'cleansing.' It was elevated to science on the foundation of eugenics, and was quite popular with those who would identify themselves as "Progressives" today. The Tinkertoy version of racist was the stereotypical toothless southern bigot under a white hood. But the movers and shakers came out of esteemed academia in Europe and the US..
"Racist" connotes visions of mass executions, gas chambers, forced starvations by the millions. On the Tinkertoy end, it conjures lynchings and church burnings. Regardless, being a "racist" eventually fell into deep disrepute, for painfully obvious reasons.
When the term "racist" today is applied to families at Tea Party gatherings, (families, I might add, who clean up after themselves before departure) the idea is YOU are supposed to envision the "old" racist of colossal Evil proportions, and let it stick to innocent folks who merely question the authority of the tinhorn dictatorial minds applying the perjorative. Works pretty well on the young, naive, and spineless. It employs the 'stolen concept' of the racism of old to shame you from a totally different form of peaceful behaviour today, i.e. not supporting the State.
I have friends who so fear being perceived as a 'racist' by their friends, relatives, the general public, that they abandon their own principles to conceal their 'identity.' Pitiful.
But here on the Front Porch, there is some somewhat cheering news. Calling folks "racist" as a tool does not have the same effect on many of its formerly sanctioining victims. We're onto their game. Those using the term to justify their own terror, theft, vandalism and murder are fast marginalizing themselves. Now, that does not mean that the tactic is going away, it merely means soon they will be using a fresh replacement for the shopworn term "Racism". Coming to the flatscreen in front of you. A fresh deck of Old Maids, you might say... Oh what will it be? All confirming that even parasites have to work occasionally.to feed themselves.
And now it's your turn. We won't let you leave the Front Porch until you tell us YOUR OWN thoughts!!
It's guilt transferred by stealth and sleight of hand.
It's a weapon used by folks whose allegiances are not to truth, integrity and open discourse, but rather intimidation. They want you to shut your mouth.
The technique is one us older folks have seen for a long time, which is why it tends not to work quite as well on us as a group --- I hope!!
The latest round involves the tactic of calling anyone favoring limited government, individual responsibility and corollaries, RACISTS.
Now "Racist" used to mean someone who was willing to practice genocide for the sake of racial 'cleansing.' It was elevated to science on the foundation of eugenics, and was quite popular with those who would identify themselves as "Progressives" today. The Tinkertoy version of racist was the stereotypical toothless southern bigot under a white hood. But the movers and shakers came out of esteemed academia in Europe and the US..
"Racist" connotes visions of mass executions, gas chambers, forced starvations by the millions. On the Tinkertoy end, it conjures lynchings and church burnings. Regardless, being a "racist" eventually fell into deep disrepute, for painfully obvious reasons.
When the term "racist" today is applied to families at Tea Party gatherings, (families, I might add, who clean up after themselves before departure) the idea is YOU are supposed to envision the "old" racist of colossal Evil proportions, and let it stick to innocent folks who merely question the authority of the tinhorn dictatorial minds applying the perjorative. Works pretty well on the young, naive, and spineless. It employs the 'stolen concept' of the racism of old to shame you from a totally different form of peaceful behaviour today, i.e. not supporting the State.
I have friends who so fear being perceived as a 'racist' by their friends, relatives, the general public, that they abandon their own principles to conceal their 'identity.' Pitiful.
But here on the Front Porch, there is some somewhat cheering news. Calling folks "racist" as a tool does not have the same effect on many of its formerly sanctioining victims. We're onto their game. Those using the term to justify their own terror, theft, vandalism and murder are fast marginalizing themselves. Now, that does not mean that the tactic is going away, it merely means soon they will be using a fresh replacement for the shopworn term "Racism". Coming to the flatscreen in front of you. A fresh deck of Old Maids, you might say... Oh what will it be? All confirming that even parasites have to work occasionally.to feed themselves.
And now it's your turn. We won't let you leave the Front Porch until you tell us YOUR OWN thoughts!!
Beat Writer's Block---Get Your Message OUT!!!
More than ever, we have welled up within us passion and knowledge we want to communicate. How often do you get inspired, sit down at your computer or other writing tool, and...nothing? Nothing comes out!! Needless to say, very frustrating.
One comforting thing is: you're not alone. It happens to all of us. This can help you unconstipate your verbiage:
When we sit down to write, we have this 'end view' in our mind of conveying our message, succinctly, effectively, compellingly. Then we confront that the end point of the journey, however magnificent, requires traveling a distance to get there. Uh-oh. Gulp.
There's a technique that has a name I want to withhold for now, that will help you past this blockage, and may even give you an end-product better than you envisioned! And, delightfully, it's easy!!
Here we go:
Just start writing your thoughts. Do NOT censor or critique them or try to limit what you write to just the good stuff. Consider it a brain enema. As it hits your mind, write it down. Write, write, write. The good, the bad, the ugly. Relax that mind sphincter that's shut so tight it's shutting you down! Don't stop to analyze. Go-go-go stream of consciousness. At the end, you will have the makings to build into the powerful imprimatur you had fancifully envisioned.
Now at first, it won't be a snap. In all likelihood you'll be yahbutting your every sentence. Stop it!! No one's seein' this but you!! Reminds me of learning to swim. Ya gotta get in the water first. Later you can fine-tune. But if you don't get it out, there's nothing to edit. And believe me, editing is a helluva lot easier than 'creating'. Want anecdotal proof---ever notice how much easier it is to critique and correct someone else's mess than your own?
This technique was once called 'brainstorming'. What better way to mine the 'acres of diamonds' in your own mind?
Recommended reference : Earl Nightingale's 'Lead the Field.'
Now, don't let the cat get your tongue with comments, thoughts, suggestions. That's what the Front Porch is for!!
One comforting thing is: you're not alone. It happens to all of us. This can help you unconstipate your verbiage:
When we sit down to write, we have this 'end view' in our mind of conveying our message, succinctly, effectively, compellingly. Then we confront that the end point of the journey, however magnificent, requires traveling a distance to get there. Uh-oh. Gulp.
There's a technique that has a name I want to withhold for now, that will help you past this blockage, and may even give you an end-product better than you envisioned! And, delightfully, it's easy!!
Here we go:
Just start writing your thoughts. Do NOT censor or critique them or try to limit what you write to just the good stuff. Consider it a brain enema. As it hits your mind, write it down. Write, write, write. The good, the bad, the ugly. Relax that mind sphincter that's shut so tight it's shutting you down! Don't stop to analyze. Go-go-go stream of consciousness. At the end, you will have the makings to build into the powerful imprimatur you had fancifully envisioned.
Now at first, it won't be a snap. In all likelihood you'll be yahbutting your every sentence. Stop it!! No one's seein' this but you!! Reminds me of learning to swim. Ya gotta get in the water first. Later you can fine-tune. But if you don't get it out, there's nothing to edit. And believe me, editing is a helluva lot easier than 'creating'. Want anecdotal proof---ever notice how much easier it is to critique and correct someone else's mess than your own?
This technique was once called 'brainstorming'. What better way to mine the 'acres of diamonds' in your own mind?
Recommended reference : Earl Nightingale's 'Lead the Field.'
Now, don't let the cat get your tongue with comments, thoughts, suggestions. That's what the Front Porch is for!!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Let's Get Serious...with Some Humor
Welcome to the Front Porch!! I have this mantra I try to focus on, like a three legged stool: To live well, be grateful, forgiving and humorous. (You're probably thinking I could use some practice, at least with the first 2. You'd be right!!)
Tonight, let's sit back and focus on that third leg...I'll get this puppy kick-started, with a lot of help from one of our Old Friends(guess who---answer at bottom!)...
"Nothing bad can happen if you haven't hit the SEND key." ---David Shipley and Bill Schwalbe
"Jealousy is all the fun you think they had." ---Erica Jong
"When my daughter was born, we videotaped the birth. Now when she makes me angry, I just hit REWIND and put her back in." ---Grace White
"I'd offered to drive my mother-in-law to the doctor's. But when I arrived at her house, I found her gossiping away with a neighbor.
'Mom, we've got to go,' I interjected, but she couldn't hear me over the chatter. 'Mom!' I repeated as I pulled her away.
'Sorry, but I didn't know what to do,'she said, getting into the car. 'That woman wouldn't stop listening to me.'" ---Christine Chapman
"I have six locks on my door and bolt every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they're always locking three." ---Elayne Boosier
"What to engrave on the inside of my husband-to-be's wedding ring? I turned to my sister and said 'I want something that has meaning and will remind him of me.' Her suggestion: 'Put it back on.'" ---Tracy Williams
"I was briefing my department on a less-than-thrilling subject: military etiquette. I suppose I was overly enthusiastic, because when I checked my watch, I was amazed at how late it was. Not my audience: One seaman said, 'Sir, if your watch has stopped, there's a calendar behind you.'" ---Capt. William Keller, USN Ret.
"Employee of the Month is a good example of when a person can be a winner and a loser at the same time." ---Demetri Martin
"My boss's wife was concerned about her son. He had gotten one D and three F's on his report card. 'Why do you think he's not doing well?' she asked me. Before I could stop the words from coming out of my mouth, I said, 'Seems to me he's concentrating too much on one subject.'" ---Al Curry
"I would be the worst mother. I'm too neurotic. If my kid yelled to me in the middle of the night, 'Mommy, I think there's a monster under my bed!' I'd be like, 'Of course there is honey. That's why I'm not coming in there.'" ---Jen Kirkman
"About a month before he died, my grandmother covered my grandfather's back with lard. After that, he went downhill very quickly." ---Milton Jones
Hope you enjoyed---now it's your turn!! If you need to cheat, like I did, you can go to rd.com.
Tonight, let's sit back and focus on that third leg...I'll get this puppy kick-started, with a lot of help from one of our Old Friends(guess who---answer at bottom!)...
"Nothing bad can happen if you haven't hit the SEND key." ---David Shipley and Bill Schwalbe
"Jealousy is all the fun you think they had." ---Erica Jong
"When my daughter was born, we videotaped the birth. Now when she makes me angry, I just hit REWIND and put her back in." ---Grace White
"I'd offered to drive my mother-in-law to the doctor's. But when I arrived at her house, I found her gossiping away with a neighbor.
'Mom, we've got to go,' I interjected, but she couldn't hear me over the chatter. 'Mom!' I repeated as I pulled her away.
'Sorry, but I didn't know what to do,'she said, getting into the car. 'That woman wouldn't stop listening to me.'" ---Christine Chapman
"I have six locks on my door and bolt every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they're always locking three." ---Elayne Boosier
"What to engrave on the inside of my husband-to-be's wedding ring? I turned to my sister and said 'I want something that has meaning and will remind him of me.' Her suggestion: 'Put it back on.'" ---Tracy Williams
"I was briefing my department on a less-than-thrilling subject: military etiquette. I suppose I was overly enthusiastic, because when I checked my watch, I was amazed at how late it was. Not my audience: One seaman said, 'Sir, if your watch has stopped, there's a calendar behind you.'" ---Capt. William Keller, USN Ret.
"Employee of the Month is a good example of when a person can be a winner and a loser at the same time." ---Demetri Martin
"My boss's wife was concerned about her son. He had gotten one D and three F's on his report card. 'Why do you think he's not doing well?' she asked me. Before I could stop the words from coming out of my mouth, I said, 'Seems to me he's concentrating too much on one subject.'" ---Al Curry
"I would be the worst mother. I'm too neurotic. If my kid yelled to me in the middle of the night, 'Mommy, I think there's a monster under my bed!' I'd be like, 'Of course there is honey. That's why I'm not coming in there.'" ---Jen Kirkman
"About a month before he died, my grandmother covered my grandfather's back with lard. After that, he went downhill very quickly." ---Milton Jones
Hope you enjoyed---now it's your turn!! If you need to cheat, like I did, you can go to rd.com.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Tonight: A Rollicking Discussion about Liberty and Atheism
Leave your sidearms home for this one...I'll share a few lighthearted remarks to get the party rolling!!
How's this for profundity? There's liberty over here. And there's atheism over here.
For some of us the two are miles apart. For others of us the two are inextricable. Some of us would argue that liberty is a subjective man-made construct. Some argue no one's a 'true' atheist. Then there are those of us who say "Who gives a rat's ass what gets us to the libertarian realization as long as we get there?" As usual, this is all "box" thinking at a time when box rental can be damned expensive...
But who can deny...
Some great atheists have been great libertarians (e.g. Ayn Rand)
Some atheists have been earth's biggest genocidal mass murderers (e.g. Stalin, Mao).
Some theists are our most revered heroes (e.g.Founding Fathers)
Other presumed theist believers use their religion to justify 21st century barbarism. (And it ain't new).
I'd like to submit for discussion that those of us who value human life and liberty for any reason should welcome new libertarians, regardless of their road travelled. In this case, it would be practical to be, using an unfortunately missaplied 'PC' term, tolerant.
I'm not here to impose priorities. If, for you, God comes before any consideration regarding how we treat each other politically, then we may have different priorities. Many of us feel freedom is a gift from God, and is therefore our 'natural right.' Personally I like that much better.
I also like the 'atheistic' argument that there is NO source of rights (God, State, any group of thugs self-identifying as 'The People') validating the imposition of one person's will over the other, regarding the latter's choices regarding life, liberty, family and property (will leave the discussion of 'what is property?' for another time---safe to say, I hope, what you have is yours and what I have is mine.)
We need all hands on deck these days...let's address our spiritual differences when we've safely recovered our rights to do so...
Comments now, please. If not now, when?
That's my two cents...take it, Tony!!
How's this for profundity? There's liberty over here. And there's atheism over here.
For some of us the two are miles apart. For others of us the two are inextricable. Some of us would argue that liberty is a subjective man-made construct. Some argue no one's a 'true' atheist. Then there are those of us who say "Who gives a rat's ass what gets us to the libertarian realization as long as we get there?" As usual, this is all "box" thinking at a time when box rental can be damned expensive...
But who can deny...
Some great atheists have been great libertarians (e.g. Ayn Rand)
Some atheists have been earth's biggest genocidal mass murderers (e.g. Stalin, Mao).
Some theists are our most revered heroes (e.g.Founding Fathers)
Other presumed theist believers use their religion to justify 21st century barbarism. (And it ain't new).
I'd like to submit for discussion that those of us who value human life and liberty for any reason should welcome new libertarians, regardless of their road travelled. In this case, it would be practical to be, using an unfortunately missaplied 'PC' term, tolerant.
I'm not here to impose priorities. If, for you, God comes before any consideration regarding how we treat each other politically, then we may have different priorities. Many of us feel freedom is a gift from God, and is therefore our 'natural right.' Personally I like that much better.
I also like the 'atheistic' argument that there is NO source of rights (God, State, any group of thugs self-identifying as 'The People') validating the imposition of one person's will over the other, regarding the latter's choices regarding life, liberty, family and property (will leave the discussion of 'what is property?' for another time---safe to say, I hope, what you have is yours and what I have is mine.)
We need all hands on deck these days...let's address our spiritual differences when we've safely recovered our rights to do so...
Comments now, please. If not now, when?
That's my two cents...take it, Tony!!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
To Our Non-radical Muslim Friends....
Let's Stop with the present-day Halocaust Denial...
You folks know this better than anyone. The biggest threat to your survival are the radical Muslims in your midst. You're in a frightening conundrum. You attempt to squelch their 7th century barbarism at your utter peril.
Yet you're aware that if they are allowed to continue savaging civilization, civilization will reach a tipping point and take the issue into it's own less discriminating hands. And you will be the collateral damage.
If for nothing else, we should thank our respective God for sending someone to the US White House who has inadvertently made their intentions perfectly clear. There should be no doubt or confusion or moral relativism now.
This is simply a practical fact. Non-Muslims need to understand your predicament, but somewhere along the line they'll be making choices between their safety and yours.
I don't offer a panacea, but it seems the first thing we all must do is be willing to face the facts that these folks are out to kill us, and would have no problem killing you if you get in their way. Obviously we have a dire mutual interest here.
If we have the courage to not sweep reality under the rug, which is what many innocent Muslims and non Muslims have tried, as the corpses stack up, we need to be talking to each other. It should be a cold hard talk about reality, not wishful PC thinking. We don't need more genocide, of any variety, because good folks expected someone else to be their protectors.
OK non Muslims and non rad Muslims---let's chat, time's gettin' short!!
You folks know this better than anyone. The biggest threat to your survival are the radical Muslims in your midst. You're in a frightening conundrum. You attempt to squelch their 7th century barbarism at your utter peril.
Yet you're aware that if they are allowed to continue savaging civilization, civilization will reach a tipping point and take the issue into it's own less discriminating hands. And you will be the collateral damage.
If for nothing else, we should thank our respective God for sending someone to the US White House who has inadvertently made their intentions perfectly clear. There should be no doubt or confusion or moral relativism now.
This is simply a practical fact. Non-Muslims need to understand your predicament, but somewhere along the line they'll be making choices between their safety and yours.
I don't offer a panacea, but it seems the first thing we all must do is be willing to face the facts that these folks are out to kill us, and would have no problem killing you if you get in their way. Obviously we have a dire mutual interest here.
If we have the courage to not sweep reality under the rug, which is what many innocent Muslims and non Muslims have tried, as the corpses stack up, we need to be talking to each other. It should be a cold hard talk about reality, not wishful PC thinking. We don't need more genocide, of any variety, because good folks expected someone else to be their protectors.
OK non Muslims and non rad Muslims---let's chat, time's gettin' short!!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Some Thoughts for Our Libertarian Anarchist Allies
Hey---welcome to the Front Porch!! Sit a spell. Share thoughts and comraderie!!
First a note to several political categories:
Some of you are rightfully saying to yourself how could one be an anarchist and not be a libertarian. Ask the socialist/communist anarchists. You know the ones setting fire to policemen. Maybe the self-description of "anarchist" is just another usurpation and obfuscation of the language. Whatever. I'm not talking to the bomb throwers...
I'm addrssing the philosphically and politically consistent anarchists who have a rich, honest heritage, and some compelling arguments.
Chances are, you were not born a 'free market' anarchist, or anarcho-capitalist if you will. You instead, like most of the Front Porch visitors, evolved to your current set of views. In your case, the far end spot of the political spectrum.
I have spent years visiting this spot myself. Recent years have, depending on whether attributed to old age wisdom or senility, rendered me less adamant on the insistence of a stand of limited government versus no government. Let this ol' fart explain why...
What has been the most spectacularly successful political movement of the last century? I say the Progressives. After failing to jam fascism down the throats of late 19th and early 20th century America, they took a different tack---and we should profit by their example.
(Thank you, Glenn Beck) They employed a patient but very practical technique to literally get us where we are today. The concept even has a name, "The Overton Window." It's the inexorable moving of a more and more enslaved and ignorant populace, done in subtle and bite-sized inches instead of miles, with the focus, patience, and surety of the habit of humans to fritter away their freedoms in favor of the illusions of security and 'free stuff' pilfered on their behalf from their neighbors and by their "representative " government.
To accomplish this, they kept themselves in context, rather than immersing themselves in pure idealism of the Evil kind. This is what I mean: the natural state of man has been tribal slavery.
"Constitutional" government conceived by the Founding fathers was barely over a hundred years old. It represented a gigantic shift in the mentalities and values of humanity worldwide. It was, in the words of another author, "The Five Thousand Year Leap." It is utterly amazing that the genius of this construct, the Constitution, thwarted the natural inclination for men to be sheep for as long as it has.
It accomplished this by putting the would-be rulers in a labrynthe of local, state and federal government that was so convoluted that it took them years and years to find thier way back to power and elite status.
Now we are in a battle for our very civilization. It's liberty vs. totalitarianism. Dark vs. Light. Good vs. Evil. And we all know that at some level time is short. In fact it is NOW.
There are lots of reasons that we can win this. We talk about these on the Front Porch most every evening. However, one way we will NOT win is if we do not respect the context of where we are in the evolution of human reception to the desirability of being free, and how that is best accomplished.
Let's marvel at the wisdom of the Founding Fathers.
Let's replicate the patience of the Progressives.
And let's appreciate our allies on this journey with us to bring freedom back to future generations. In that category are limited government advocates, folks who believe rights come from God, folks who believe the other guy has no magical "right" to override our own judgment and command us to self-immolate.
When we're bathed once again in the spiritual and material bounty of liberty, we'll have lots of time to continue our evolution and sort through the nuances...
"Let us all hang together, or we'll all hang separately."
Passing the mike to you...
First a note to several political categories:
Some of you are rightfully saying to yourself how could one be an anarchist and not be a libertarian. Ask the socialist/communist anarchists. You know the ones setting fire to policemen. Maybe the self-description of "anarchist" is just another usurpation and obfuscation of the language. Whatever. I'm not talking to the bomb throwers...
I'm addrssing the philosphically and politically consistent anarchists who have a rich, honest heritage, and some compelling arguments.
Chances are, you were not born a 'free market' anarchist, or anarcho-capitalist if you will. You instead, like most of the Front Porch visitors, evolved to your current set of views. In your case, the far end spot of the political spectrum.
I have spent years visiting this spot myself. Recent years have, depending on whether attributed to old age wisdom or senility, rendered me less adamant on the insistence of a stand of limited government versus no government. Let this ol' fart explain why...
What has been the most spectacularly successful political movement of the last century? I say the Progressives. After failing to jam fascism down the throats of late 19th and early 20th century America, they took a different tack---and we should profit by their example.
(Thank you, Glenn Beck) They employed a patient but very practical technique to literally get us where we are today. The concept even has a name, "The Overton Window." It's the inexorable moving of a more and more enslaved and ignorant populace, done in subtle and bite-sized inches instead of miles, with the focus, patience, and surety of the habit of humans to fritter away their freedoms in favor of the illusions of security and 'free stuff' pilfered on their behalf from their neighbors and by their "representative " government.
To accomplish this, they kept themselves in context, rather than immersing themselves in pure idealism of the Evil kind. This is what I mean: the natural state of man has been tribal slavery.
"Constitutional" government conceived by the Founding fathers was barely over a hundred years old. It represented a gigantic shift in the mentalities and values of humanity worldwide. It was, in the words of another author, "The Five Thousand Year Leap." It is utterly amazing that the genius of this construct, the Constitution, thwarted the natural inclination for men to be sheep for as long as it has.
It accomplished this by putting the would-be rulers in a labrynthe of local, state and federal government that was so convoluted that it took them years and years to find thier way back to power and elite status.
Now we are in a battle for our very civilization. It's liberty vs. totalitarianism. Dark vs. Light. Good vs. Evil. And we all know that at some level time is short. In fact it is NOW.
There are lots of reasons that we can win this. We talk about these on the Front Porch most every evening. However, one way we will NOT win is if we do not respect the context of where we are in the evolution of human reception to the desirability of being free, and how that is best accomplished.
Let's marvel at the wisdom of the Founding Fathers.
Let's replicate the patience of the Progressives.
And let's appreciate our allies on this journey with us to bring freedom back to future generations. In that category are limited government advocates, folks who believe rights come from God, folks who believe the other guy has no magical "right" to override our own judgment and command us to self-immolate.
When we're bathed once again in the spiritual and material bounty of liberty, we'll have lots of time to continue our evolution and sort through the nuances...
"Let us all hang together, or we'll all hang separately."
Passing the mike to you...
Monday, July 5, 2010
Repetition is a ten letter word for 'work,' and a 10 letter key to our success...
Here's another example of lessons learned elsewhere, that need to be applied to our concerns about getting our message heard regarding free markets, liberty, and property rights....Let's start with the obvious, and what we already know:
(1) Parenting. There is absolutely NO sane parent who believes that saying something once to their child is enough. With the little folks about whom we care most, we are annoying repetition machines. Without repetition there is no learning, no internalizing. This is not a popularity contest. If we don't take responsibility for the training of our childen, do we really think a remote , less interested party than us, will? Anything less than our full-blown attention would be criminal negligence.
(2) Coke knows it, Geico knows it. Procter and Gamble knows it. Repetition works. "Ring around the collar." Why not learn from the pros?
(3) Speaking of pros, Let's learn from the "Pros" who are best at separating you from your money and freedom, i.e. politicians, state-funded academicians, state-educated and funded news media, use repitition so well that we reasonably independent minded folks often find ourselves feeling guilty for non PC thoughts.
As the 'Progressives' learned 100 years ago, there's no shortcut to asserting one's will over others. It must be done gradually. The 'Overton Window' approach.
Repetition is a key component to their success. And if we don't use it, because its TMLW, or because it 'annoys', we will surely fail.
Want to win this? Apply what you already know. Again and again.
(1) Parenting. There is absolutely NO sane parent who believes that saying something once to their child is enough. With the little folks about whom we care most, we are annoying repetition machines. Without repetition there is no learning, no internalizing. This is not a popularity contest. If we don't take responsibility for the training of our childen, do we really think a remote , less interested party than us, will? Anything less than our full-blown attention would be criminal negligence.
(2) Coke knows it, Geico knows it. Procter and Gamble knows it. Repetition works. "Ring around the collar." Why not learn from the pros?
(3) Speaking of pros, Let's learn from the "Pros" who are best at separating you from your money and freedom, i.e. politicians, state-funded academicians, state-educated and funded news media, use repitition so well that we reasonably independent minded folks often find ourselves feeling guilty for non PC thoughts.
As the 'Progressives' learned 100 years ago, there's no shortcut to asserting one's will over others. It must be done gradually. The 'Overton Window' approach.
Repetition is a key component to their success. And if we don't use it, because its TMLW, or because it 'annoys', we will surely fail.
Want to win this? Apply what you already know. Again and again.
Let's Apply what We've Already Learned to a Bigger Problem...
There's a lesson we've learned in one way or another that a broader application simply applied would leave us a great deal more successful and happier.
That lesson is: when it comes to you and your family's interests, you'd better be proactive. Before I get to the crux of this, allow me a few anecdotes, any or all of which may have happened to you: The question then becomes, what does this tell us about the way things really are so we can thoroughly benefit from the experience?
(1) For many many years, I had an accountant. His was a premier firm in the area, and the guy was aces at his job, his ethics, and being a sincere friend to his clients. Those of us who employed him and his team could sleep soundly at night, knowing that anything sent into the IRS over his name was respected and solid.
Obviously this man was focused on maintaining his sterling reputation, which should come first priority for any client who has a justifiable fear of IRS life intrusions.
Because of this focus, my accountant was extraordinarily conservative, and not one to be seeking out legal 'advantages' for his clients that could come under scrutiny. In his own way, he had a blind spot, a scatoma if you will, to certain legal advantages available in the Federal and State tax codes. After several years of working with him, my own experiences began diclosing this overlooking of possibilities.
I didn't need to be a 'professional' to suspect that I might have an additional legal refund coming, here or there, from earlier filings. Or that I might not have to pay as much, legally, for a present filing. After I would turn over the annual information he requested from me, and he and his team would assemble the 'final' return, I learned that it was up to me to ask him,"But what about this possibility? That?" As often as not I would wind up with juicier refunds, or less painful tax remittances.
The point is, here was an honest professional, tops in his field, well intentioned, even kind. He was someone I met with several times a year face-to-face, and not for sound bites. But that did not mean I could cede my financial well-being over to him entirely. For best results, I learned to stay present and assume personal responsibility rather than engaging in an illusion that I could wash my hands of paying attention and eveything would be fine.
(2) If you've lived long enough, hopefully you've had great medical care from the best doctors and their staffs. Hopefully you feel they have been focused on your well-being, and have given your health the scrutiny you seek. Hopefully somehow they haven't let the paper-pushing foisted on them by corporate and government bureaucracy interefere with their zest for their work in medicine.
I, too, along with those close to me who have undergone severe health issues, have had the good fortune to have professionally focused medical care. It's worth mentioning, as above, that these are people with whom we meet, engage eye-to-eye, and are not merely dispensing sound bites to the faceless masses.
Along the way we have learned the lesson my accountant taught me. Regardless of their degree of professionalism and care, medical care-takers need you to stay involved in the process. How many times has it been we who have uncovered a source of a health issue that the pros have missed? I bet most of us have experienced that!!
Abruptly put, if we shut down our own sense of self-responsibility because we think the pros are all-knowing, it could be fatal. No one but you has your perspective, your desire to survive. Accept no substitutes!!
(3) In your journey through formal education, you find a few gems: teachers who love their subject matter, are eloquent in presenting their knowledge, and actually care that their students learn practicable things about their subject of professorial specialty. These you remember fondly for life and these may have been important contributors to your life and career paths.
Feeling this way about them, would you have said to yourself, "this is all I'll ever need to know about this subject?" Or do you use it as a launching pad to further your exploration of life, as well as hone your effectiveness in the process? In other words, do you retain responsibility for further educating yourself? Of course you do. This is a real softball. But the question is, what can we learn from practicing this on-going self-resonsibility to continue learning and practicing the principles we discover along the way?
(4) One last example before we get to the point. I do hope this is a real softball!! Do you have folks in your life with whom you have a rock-solid trust to exchange services, money, wares? A special car salesperson, real estate saleperson, stock broker, marriage counselor...etc.? These, like the special teachers you recall, are life's gems. Never to be taken for granted. Ever to be grateful for.
Having said that, do you turn over your complete decision-making process to these experts in their field (I said it was softball)? Even though some of these folks you see face to face every day, you know their high level of professionalism and ethics in their field, and you feel a genuine like and trust that their advice and recommendations are intended well, you don't blindly accept their opinions without your own presence (read: vigilance). They get lots of input from you, and you remain the final arbiter.
Okay, okay, we all get it. So what's the point?
Since we wouldn't blindly turn over our financial well-being, health, education and day-to day transactions to the discretion of folks whose expertise we trust, whom we see eye to eye on occasion, who speak with us individually and at length and not in soundbites; why on earth would we trust our life, liberty and property to strangers a great distance away (DC) who have no expertise in the fields they want to govern, a demonstrated track record of arrogant incompetence, and are inarguably the biggest liars and thieves since Satan returned to Earth? Well?
That lesson is: when it comes to you and your family's interests, you'd better be proactive. Before I get to the crux of this, allow me a few anecdotes, any or all of which may have happened to you: The question then becomes, what does this tell us about the way things really are so we can thoroughly benefit from the experience?
(1) For many many years, I had an accountant. His was a premier firm in the area, and the guy was aces at his job, his ethics, and being a sincere friend to his clients. Those of us who employed him and his team could sleep soundly at night, knowing that anything sent into the IRS over his name was respected and solid.
Obviously this man was focused on maintaining his sterling reputation, which should come first priority for any client who has a justifiable fear of IRS life intrusions.
Because of this focus, my accountant was extraordinarily conservative, and not one to be seeking out legal 'advantages' for his clients that could come under scrutiny. In his own way, he had a blind spot, a scatoma if you will, to certain legal advantages available in the Federal and State tax codes. After several years of working with him, my own experiences began diclosing this overlooking of possibilities.
I didn't need to be a 'professional' to suspect that I might have an additional legal refund coming, here or there, from earlier filings. Or that I might not have to pay as much, legally, for a present filing. After I would turn over the annual information he requested from me, and he and his team would assemble the 'final' return, I learned that it was up to me to ask him,"But what about this possibility? That?" As often as not I would wind up with juicier refunds, or less painful tax remittances.
The point is, here was an honest professional, tops in his field, well intentioned, even kind. He was someone I met with several times a year face-to-face, and not for sound bites. But that did not mean I could cede my financial well-being over to him entirely. For best results, I learned to stay present and assume personal responsibility rather than engaging in an illusion that I could wash my hands of paying attention and eveything would be fine.
(2) If you've lived long enough, hopefully you've had great medical care from the best doctors and their staffs. Hopefully you feel they have been focused on your well-being, and have given your health the scrutiny you seek. Hopefully somehow they haven't let the paper-pushing foisted on them by corporate and government bureaucracy interefere with their zest for their work in medicine.
I, too, along with those close to me who have undergone severe health issues, have had the good fortune to have professionally focused medical care. It's worth mentioning, as above, that these are people with whom we meet, engage eye-to-eye, and are not merely dispensing sound bites to the faceless masses.
Along the way we have learned the lesson my accountant taught me. Regardless of their degree of professionalism and care, medical care-takers need you to stay involved in the process. How many times has it been we who have uncovered a source of a health issue that the pros have missed? I bet most of us have experienced that!!
Abruptly put, if we shut down our own sense of self-responsibility because we think the pros are all-knowing, it could be fatal. No one but you has your perspective, your desire to survive. Accept no substitutes!!
(3) In your journey through formal education, you find a few gems: teachers who love their subject matter, are eloquent in presenting their knowledge, and actually care that their students learn practicable things about their subject of professorial specialty. These you remember fondly for life and these may have been important contributors to your life and career paths.
Feeling this way about them, would you have said to yourself, "this is all I'll ever need to know about this subject?" Or do you use it as a launching pad to further your exploration of life, as well as hone your effectiveness in the process? In other words, do you retain responsibility for further educating yourself? Of course you do. This is a real softball. But the question is, what can we learn from practicing this on-going self-resonsibility to continue learning and practicing the principles we discover along the way?
(4) One last example before we get to the point. I do hope this is a real softball!! Do you have folks in your life with whom you have a rock-solid trust to exchange services, money, wares? A special car salesperson, real estate saleperson, stock broker, marriage counselor...etc.? These, like the special teachers you recall, are life's gems. Never to be taken for granted. Ever to be grateful for.
Having said that, do you turn over your complete decision-making process to these experts in their field (I said it was softball)? Even though some of these folks you see face to face every day, you know their high level of professionalism and ethics in their field, and you feel a genuine like and trust that their advice and recommendations are intended well, you don't blindly accept their opinions without your own presence (read: vigilance). They get lots of input from you, and you remain the final arbiter.
Okay, okay, we all get it. So what's the point?
Since we wouldn't blindly turn over our financial well-being, health, education and day-to day transactions to the discretion of folks whose expertise we trust, whom we see eye to eye on occasion, who speak with us individually and at length and not in soundbites; why on earth would we trust our life, liberty and property to strangers a great distance away (DC) who have no expertise in the fields they want to govern, a demonstrated track record of arrogant incompetence, and are inarguably the biggest liars and thieves since Satan returned to Earth? Well?
Sunday, July 4, 2010
You may be more ignorant than a redneck if...
Actually, folks, isn't 'Redneck' a stereotypical, borderline hateful racist term? Just sayin.'
Thanks for joinin us on the Front Porch tonight. Did you bring your thick skin (Speaking of skin...)?
You're a naive, useful idiot if...You believe politicians in DC are
1. Just making ignorant mistakes.
2. Have your interest as their primary motivation.
3. In it to "serve."
4. Unaware of the long term consequences of their actions to future generations
5. Caring about those consequences.
6. Liking and respecting you.
7. Not appreciative of the fact that the majority of them are millionaires, most directly as a result of being in the center of 'redistributive' power.
8. Expecting to drive the same suicide crates you do; live in the same crowded housing; eat the same "safe" food; wait hours, days, weeks, months, years on end for minimal medical care, if not disqualified for being too young, too old, or too far gone.
9. Planning to start telling you the truth tomorrow, when backed in a corner.
10. Not willing to do the "necessary thing for the public good" if you become too much of an impediment to their beneficent goal.
11. Merely in need of 'replacing' and all will be well again.
It's been going on for centuries, milleniums. Isnt' t it time to learn:
As the villain Auric Goldfinger said to his new captive, 007: "Mr. Bond. They have a saying in Chicago: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third times it's enemy action.'"
Folks, pick your source for the 'prophesies: the Bible, Shakespeare, Alexis de Tocqueville, Frederic Bastait, Lysander Spooner, George Orwell, Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck. so many others. They all had one thing in common---they were merely telling us that all this has happened before. Shall we give a good listen on the 10,000th time---for a change?
Thanks for joinin us on the Front Porch tonight. Did you bring your thick skin (Speaking of skin...)?
You're a naive, useful idiot if...You believe politicians in DC are
1. Just making ignorant mistakes.
2. Have your interest as their primary motivation.
3. In it to "serve."
4. Unaware of the long term consequences of their actions to future generations
5. Caring about those consequences.
6. Liking and respecting you.
7. Not appreciative of the fact that the majority of them are millionaires, most directly as a result of being in the center of 'redistributive' power.
8. Expecting to drive the same suicide crates you do; live in the same crowded housing; eat the same "safe" food; wait hours, days, weeks, months, years on end for minimal medical care, if not disqualified for being too young, too old, or too far gone.
9. Planning to start telling you the truth tomorrow, when backed in a corner.
10. Not willing to do the "necessary thing for the public good" if you become too much of an impediment to their beneficent goal.
11. Merely in need of 'replacing' and all will be well again.
It's been going on for centuries, milleniums. Isnt' t it time to learn:
As the villain Auric Goldfinger said to his new captive, 007: "Mr. Bond. They have a saying in Chicago: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third times it's enemy action.'"
Folks, pick your source for the 'prophesies: the Bible, Shakespeare, Alexis de Tocqueville, Frederic Bastait, Lysander Spooner, George Orwell, Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck. so many others. They all had one thing in common---they were merely telling us that all this has happened before. Shall we give a good listen on the 10,000th time---for a change?
Thanks to Wally Minto, a Practical Way to View 'Progressives'
Why are there some folks in our lives who just rub us the wrong way, and vice versa? Is there a disconnect that could be addressed if only we could identify it?
Too few of us had the gift of meeting and learning from Wally Minto, lecturer and author of a little book entitled Communication and Understanding Relationships. The simple, easy to understand message can be an eye-opener for anyone wanting a practical perspective on why we seem to click with some, clack with others.
The lesson taken can be applied to our desire to speak to more 'open minds' about the desirability of free markets, individual sovereignty, and private property.
I don't know for certain if Wally Minto was a libertarian in the concscious political sense, but he certainly was one by example in the way he lived and looked at, life.
Wally observed that for various means of communication such as auditory and touch, humans differ. They live on a spectrum. In Wally's words, some folks are talkers, some are non-talkers. Some are touchers, some are non-touchers. Awareness of this, and that most of us fall somewhere along these spectra, helps us understand others' response to us. Simply put, a 'non-talker' may not be ignoring you, and a non-toucher may not be avoiding direct contact because there is something about you they don't like, or love. Converesely, a full-blown toucher may not be communicating a deep feeling for you, and a full-blown talker may not be as dedicated to the subject as he/she is to the talking process.
.
This leads me to a possibly analogous situation between ourselves and folks inclined to a collectivist point of view. If there's some accuracy in this comparison, it could very well be useful to our libertarian ends.
Simply put, there is a spectrum of innocence and Evil among collectivists. Acknowledging this to ourselves should help us be more effective at 'conversions.'
On the innocent end are the well-intentioned, the naive, those very dependent on developing thier opinions by adopting the opinions of others. Lenin's less than affectionate term for these grown-up children was "useful idiots. They have learned this second hand information-gathering from childhood, when working with authority figures was the means of survival. For people who grow up beyond this behaviour, total dependence outlives its usefulness, and those who are fortunate enough to grow benefit from becoming full-fledged, self-responsible adults. People in this category are salvageable (perhaps you were one of those at one point as was I) needing only a wake-up call to get on the right track.
On the far other end of the spectrum are the poeple in fact and fiction (Toohey, Stoddard, Gardiner, Goldfinger) who know damned well the Evil they are doing, and have made a conscious decision to be who they are. Any dictator who exterminates a race or annihilates 70 million of his countrymen, is aware that he kills, and can tell you why he does it. The shadowy behind the scenes folks, working through the overt thugs, know as well the end consequences of the beliefs they perpetrate.
As with touchers, non-touchers, talkers, non-talkers, innocent collectivists and Evil collectivists minimally populate the the far ends of the spectrum. Most of us, as is the human way, fall somewhere inbetween (picture the "Overton Window.") more like 'fellow travelers' than 'useful idiots' or murdering despots. There tends to a be a little good and a little ill will in most of us.
Knowing the full context of this can help us have the patience, tolerance and empathy to work with folks who are salvageable, while giving us the resolve to regard with proper fear, respect and commensurate action the truly Evil by choice.
Too few of us had the gift of meeting and learning from Wally Minto, lecturer and author of a little book entitled Communication and Understanding Relationships. The simple, easy to understand message can be an eye-opener for anyone wanting a practical perspective on why we seem to click with some, clack with others.
The lesson taken can be applied to our desire to speak to more 'open minds' about the desirability of free markets, individual sovereignty, and private property.
I don't know for certain if Wally Minto was a libertarian in the concscious political sense, but he certainly was one by example in the way he lived and looked at, life.
Wally observed that for various means of communication such as auditory and touch, humans differ. They live on a spectrum. In Wally's words, some folks are talkers, some are non-talkers. Some are touchers, some are non-touchers. Awareness of this, and that most of us fall somewhere along these spectra, helps us understand others' response to us. Simply put, a 'non-talker' may not be ignoring you, and a non-toucher may not be avoiding direct contact because there is something about you they don't like, or love. Converesely, a full-blown toucher may not be communicating a deep feeling for you, and a full-blown talker may not be as dedicated to the subject as he/she is to the talking process.
.
This leads me to a possibly analogous situation between ourselves and folks inclined to a collectivist point of view. If there's some accuracy in this comparison, it could very well be useful to our libertarian ends.
Simply put, there is a spectrum of innocence and Evil among collectivists. Acknowledging this to ourselves should help us be more effective at 'conversions.'
On the innocent end are the well-intentioned, the naive, those very dependent on developing thier opinions by adopting the opinions of others. Lenin's less than affectionate term for these grown-up children was "useful idiots. They have learned this second hand information-gathering from childhood, when working with authority figures was the means of survival. For people who grow up beyond this behaviour, total dependence outlives its usefulness, and those who are fortunate enough to grow benefit from becoming full-fledged, self-responsible adults. People in this category are salvageable (perhaps you were one of those at one point as was I) needing only a wake-up call to get on the right track.
On the far other end of the spectrum are the poeple in fact and fiction (Toohey, Stoddard, Gardiner, Goldfinger) who know damned well the Evil they are doing, and have made a conscious decision to be who they are. Any dictator who exterminates a race or annihilates 70 million of his countrymen, is aware that he kills, and can tell you why he does it. The shadowy behind the scenes folks, working through the overt thugs, know as well the end consequences of the beliefs they perpetrate.
As with touchers, non-touchers, talkers, non-talkers, innocent collectivists and Evil collectivists minimally populate the the far ends of the spectrum. Most of us, as is the human way, fall somewhere inbetween (picture the "Overton Window.") more like 'fellow travelers' than 'useful idiots' or murdering despots. There tends to a be a little good and a little ill will in most of us.
Knowing the full context of this can help us have the patience, tolerance and empathy to work with folks who are salvageable, while giving us the resolve to regard with proper fear, respect and commensurate action the truly Evil by choice.
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