Lately I've been saying, as have many of you, WE ARE GOING TO WIN!! And I'm not talking about merely the 2010 November elections. To borrow Ronald Reagan's words, we are going to push the Progressive Plague to the brink of the ash heap of history.
One of the many reasons we will win is natural law. When someone operates from false premises, their chances of long term success are near nil. Conversely, a focussed effort mounted from the Truth about Reality and man's Nature has a damned good chance of prevailing.
Despite the seeming propaganda successes of tyrannical regimes and mentalities over the past century, every effort to govern by lies has imploded. It only makes sense.
When we repeat a lie over and over, presumably for a 'higher cause' that usually boils down to our own aggrandizement and power, we ultimately start believing the BS our selves. When that BS has set firmly in our own mind, we start behaving, making decisions, based on the same lies we've told everyone else. Result: our ultimate failure.
The Progressives have been getting away with lying to the sheeples for a long time. Consequently, they now believe their own crap.
For example: first a groundswell Tea-party type cultural and poilitical movement 'didn't exist.' When that premise was no longer defensible, the next line of retreat was that that Tea-partiers were merely 'astroturf' for big business interests----ironically, the same ones who supported the President's '08 campaign and who are the direct beneficiaries of bail-outs. When that didn't hold water with the plebes, the keepers of our media and political culture hauled out their last weapon: character assassination. Tea-partiers and their ilk were white racist bigoted homophobic old folks who had no appeal outside their 'circle of hatred'. Well how has that been working out? :)
This character assassination tactic, designed to appeal to the lowest common denominators, has been unravelling for the would-be elitist class. It's just not playin' that well for the 'homeys' of all colors, economic classes etc.
One reason these tactics aren't working as they once did, is the the users of the tactics have lied so much they believe their own wishful thinking. If you believe the counter-collectivist groundswell doesn't exist, then you believe it's an artificial arm of big business, then you believe that anyone participating in defending their own liberty is subhuman, you'll act from those premises---and make very bad tactical, as well as strategic, decisions. And you will inevitably be crushed by the weight of your own disdain for Truth.
Case in point: the leading gubernatorial candidate in blue-state Maine is Paul Lepage. Paul has the following blemishes, among many: He's a Republican. A conservative. And a very successful businessman who worked his way up from nothing---anthema to the entitled.
He's blunt. And he favors ideas that all 'entitled' folks 'know' were discredited decades ago. Or so they have been saying and now obviously believe. To wit: the 'enlightened ones' are using what Mr. LePage stands for and speaks about 'against' him. That's because they think they can win elections in depressed Maine this time around by citing LePages' advocacy of offshore oil drilling and other energy development (e.g. nuclear), lowering taxes, disencumbering Maine businesses from ridiculous regulatory red tape, and making the State a place where its competent youth would like to stay to make their careers and raise their families. That's right, the LePage opposition is spending the money of their funders telling folks that he stands FOR these issues!! Now, for the self-inflicted coup-de-gras (not making this up) :
This week, Paul LePage said that, as Maine governor, he would tell Barack Obama to go to hell. Now the Dems and media have glommed onto this 'disgraceful' remark, making sure none of LePages' proponents have to spend a dime to get the message out that LePage would tell a Marxist President where to get off!! While these Ignoranti are at it, maybe they could organize a circular firing squad!!
Don't ya' love it?!?!?!?!?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Seditious Idea: Homeshooling Parents Work Together
"I, or my spouse and I, home school our kids." Hey!! That must be against some kind of law. That's SO dangerous! What if Abe Lincoln had been home schooled? George Washintron? Thomas Edison? (oopsie..) This all brings an idea to mind. (Maybe it's already conceived and even done---I sure as hell haven't heard of it!)
The fact that homeschooled kids are allowed, and perform better than their indoctrinated counteparts, brings to mind a question that begs...if we were in a sane world!
Why wouldn't it be OK for folks home-schooling in a given area to meet for school in a common setting? Just think---the last bastion of argument for the State Combines, lack of social interraction, would go poof! If a parent is sick or has to attend another event, the others would be there to keep the ball (well, maybe not Dodgeball) rolling. The S/T ratio could be a remarkable 10 to 7 or 8.
Will I be jailed for this kind of thinking?
The fact that homeschooled kids are allowed, and perform better than their indoctrinated counteparts, brings to mind a question that begs...if we were in a sane world!
Why wouldn't it be OK for folks home-schooling in a given area to meet for school in a common setting? Just think---the last bastion of argument for the State Combines, lack of social interraction, would go poof! If a parent is sick or has to attend another event, the others would be there to keep the ball (well, maybe not Dodgeball) rolling. The S/T ratio could be a remarkable 10 to 7 or 8.
Will I be jailed for this kind of thinking?
Canada Plagued by Liberals Fleeing US
As Reported by Mr. A. Nonnie Moose
American Liberals Fleeing to Canada
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From The Manitoba Herald
The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The recent actions of the Tea Party are prompting an exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and to agree with Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck.
Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.
"I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left before I even got a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"
In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. He then installed loudspeakers that blared Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through and Rush annoyed the cows so much that they wouldn't give any milk."
Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons and drive them across the border where they are simply left to fend for themselves.
"A lot of these people are not prepared for our rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a single bottle of imported drinking water They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."
When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about plans being made to build re-education camps where liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR races.
In recent days, liberals have turned to ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have been disguised as senior citizens taking a bus trip to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half- dozen young vegans in powdered wig disguises, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizens about Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney to prove that they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we become very suspicious about their age," an official said.
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and are renting all the Michael Moore movies. "I really feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"
In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice President Biden met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals. A source close to President Obama said, "We're going to have some Paul McCartney and Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might even put some endangered species on postage stamps. The President is determined to reach out," he said.
American Liberals Fleeing to Canada
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From The Manitoba Herald
The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The recent actions of the Tea Party are prompting an exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and to agree with Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck.
Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.
"I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left before I even got a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"
In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. He then installed loudspeakers that blared Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through and Rush annoyed the cows so much that they wouldn't give any milk."
Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons and drive them across the border where they are simply left to fend for themselves.
"A lot of these people are not prepared for our rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a single bottle of imported drinking water They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."
When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about plans being made to build re-education camps where liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR races.
In recent days, liberals have turned to ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have been disguised as senior citizens taking a bus trip to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half- dozen young vegans in powdered wig disguises, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizens about Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney to prove that they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we become very suspicious about their age," an official said.
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and are renting all the Michael Moore movies. "I really feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"
In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice President Biden met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals. A source close to President Obama said, "We're going to have some Paul McCartney and Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might even put some endangered species on postage stamps. The President is determined to reach out," he said.
Monday, September 27, 2010
For Your Friends with a Tenuous Grip on Econ 101
Welcome to the Front Porch today. Joining us are Henry Hazlitt, Jules Vern, and Ben Franklin. After a few words from me, this should get real lively!!
You know someone has been indoctrinated by public education, Statist media and collectivist academia when:
He's uncomfortable with hard currrency buy-sell rates on the free market.
He'll put his security blanket of ignorance up to the side of his face, insert thumb in mouth, and maintain that there is no 'buy-sell' rate for 'government currency' and that therefore "no one's getting ripped off." Ha ha Alice.
If he were 'duped' into buying a commodity type hard currency, say gold,, 10 years ago, and he held on to it as opposed to say, oh, dollars, he'd have three times (300%) the purchase power today than he would snuggling with his inflation riddled Franklins.
Fact is, entrusting faceless bankers and bureaucrats with 'taking care of the currency supply' is like inviting the vampire into the bedroom. It's not just about visible inflation. Through overt and covert taxation and regulation, our quality of life, standard of living, and, yes, life expectancy are stolen from us by the wizards of monetary Oz----in ways perhaps only calculable by the mind of an Einstein, Stephen Hawkins, or the most imaginative science fiction writer.
The solution: let's stop these Racketeers from the Dark Side. Step One: recognizing them for what they are!!
Back to you (comment below):
You know someone has been indoctrinated by public education, Statist media and collectivist academia when:
He's uncomfortable with hard currrency buy-sell rates on the free market.
He'll put his security blanket of ignorance up to the side of his face, insert thumb in mouth, and maintain that there is no 'buy-sell' rate for 'government currency' and that therefore "no one's getting ripped off." Ha ha Alice.
If he were 'duped' into buying a commodity type hard currency, say gold,, 10 years ago, and he held on to it as opposed to say, oh, dollars, he'd have three times (300%) the purchase power today than he would snuggling with his inflation riddled Franklins.
Fact is, entrusting faceless bankers and bureaucrats with 'taking care of the currency supply' is like inviting the vampire into the bedroom. It's not just about visible inflation. Through overt and covert taxation and regulation, our quality of life, standard of living, and, yes, life expectancy are stolen from us by the wizards of monetary Oz----in ways perhaps only calculable by the mind of an Einstein, Stephen Hawkins, or the most imaginative science fiction writer.
The solution: let's stop these Racketeers from the Dark Side. Step One: recognizing them for what they are!!
Back to you (comment below):
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Obama's Promise of $850M OPM to "Black Education"
"Reparations." How 'bout: theft? Need another illustration of why "Mamas, don't send your children to Harvard"? What kind of 'education' turns out an end-product SO arrogantly stupid that it thinks confiscating from one innocent group of people to compensate another group of people who live better than 99% of the world has ever lived (including the blessings of a smidgeon of freedom), to pay for the presumed sins of another group of people, perhaps dead for a century, and committed against another group of dead people would be a 'healing' process? We used to learn that taking stuff that's not ours, for whatever 'higher purposes', has undesirable consequences for ourselves, as well as the other involved parties; that the offended parties may even get a tad pissy. Pre-K stuff, as I recall.
John Wayne
Were you alive and kickin' in the late 50', early 60's, before "The Man with No Name," "Dirty Harry," and pre "True Grit"?
If you were, you may recall that John Wayne, "The Duke," was the actor people knew they could depend upon to portray the Good Guy. He was wholesome, handsome, outdoorsy to say the least, and had no toleration for bad guys. And, of course, he was the bane of the lives of cultural leaders and movie critics of his time. They berated him. They hated him. And he never broke from being the genuine person he was.
If you do recall this, you may like the following that I wrote way-back near then. I have a cynical friend that says no one's going to get it. I'm betting that, if you were there, you will. If you weren't there, here's a little poetic history...it's about The Duke, his fans, and the folks who tried to destroy him.
-------
(Never Titled)
Soulless eyes scan a morbid horizon
And who should they spot alone in the distance
But you:
John Wayne.
You don't belong there, you know.
No doubt you do know and don't care.
Which is:
Your Treason.
That your bothers are yours, not Theirs;
Which is something those broad-minded
Cultural Parasites
Find Intolerable.
That your life goes untouched by their appeals
To a communion in the mud-pit of collective man.
For you are A man,
John Wayne.
One and living, bound by no social imperative
Except your own respect for those Alive like you.
Not dead and dying
Like your fellow artisans.
So, as long you stand Out There, a living Man
Among zombies, those soulless eyes will be
Hungry but
Not starving.
And their many owners will wish with
All the spirit they can muster that you will
Stay where
You don't belong.
------
OK. Who wins the bet?(Stakes are a case of Schlitz and a good ceegar.)
If you were, you may recall that John Wayne, "The Duke," was the actor people knew they could depend upon to portray the Good Guy. He was wholesome, handsome, outdoorsy to say the least, and had no toleration for bad guys. And, of course, he was the bane of the lives of cultural leaders and movie critics of his time. They berated him. They hated him. And he never broke from being the genuine person he was.
If you do recall this, you may like the following that I wrote way-back near then. I have a cynical friend that says no one's going to get it. I'm betting that, if you were there, you will. If you weren't there, here's a little poetic history...it's about The Duke, his fans, and the folks who tried to destroy him.
-------
(Never Titled)
Soulless eyes scan a morbid horizon
And who should they spot alone in the distance
But you:
John Wayne.
You don't belong there, you know.
No doubt you do know and don't care.
Which is:
Your Treason.
That your bothers are yours, not Theirs;
Which is something those broad-minded
Cultural Parasites
Find Intolerable.
That your life goes untouched by their appeals
To a communion in the mud-pit of collective man.
For you are A man,
John Wayne.
One and living, bound by no social imperative
Except your own respect for those Alive like you.
Not dead and dying
Like your fellow artisans.
So, as long you stand Out There, a living Man
Among zombies, those soulless eyes will be
Hungry but
Not starving.
And their many owners will wish with
All the spirit they can muster that you will
Stay where
You don't belong.
------
OK. Who wins the bet?(Stakes are a case of Schlitz and a good ceegar.)
Saturday, September 25, 2010
1955
Hello everyone! Brenda Dreyer stirs up some wit, wisdom, whimsy, nostalgia and satirical observation to start our conversation today!!
-----
Have ya'll ever been sittin' around with friends talkin' about how much things cost nowadays - whether it be the price of a house, a vehicle, medical care, food, clothing or just about anything else? Well...you've no doubt heard the comment "I remember when _______, only cost ______," followed by comments of how outrageous the prices are. And many remarks on how fast pace and out of control life is getting.
Well, check out the following. It'll almost leave your head spinning.
Comments made in the year 1955!
That's only 55 years ago!
"I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $10.00."
"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $1,000.00 will only buy a used one."
"Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging 7 cents just to mail a letter?"
"No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $15.00 a day in the hospital, it's too rich for my blood."
"There is no sense going on short trips anymore for a weekend, it cost nearly $2.00 a night to stay in a hotel."
"If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. Twenty cents a pack is ridiculous."
"If they raise minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the stores."
"When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 25 cents a gallon."
"Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $50,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President."
"I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business."
"It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet."
"I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now."
"The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on."
"Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to government."
Guess some things change....some not so much!
----
What has, hasn't changed for you?
-----
Have ya'll ever been sittin' around with friends talkin' about how much things cost nowadays - whether it be the price of a house, a vehicle, medical care, food, clothing or just about anything else? Well...you've no doubt heard the comment "I remember when _______, only cost ______," followed by comments of how outrageous the prices are. And many remarks on how fast pace and out of control life is getting.
Well, check out the following. It'll almost leave your head spinning.
Comments made in the year 1955!
That's only 55 years ago!
"I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $10.00."
"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $1,000.00 will only buy a used one."
"Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging 7 cents just to mail a letter?"
"No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $15.00 a day in the hospital, it's too rich for my blood."
"There is no sense going on short trips anymore for a weekend, it cost nearly $2.00 a night to stay in a hotel."
"If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. Twenty cents a pack is ridiculous."
"If they raise minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the stores."
"When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 25 cents a gallon."
"Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $50,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President."
"I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business."
"It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet."
"I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now."
"The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on."
"Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to government."
Guess some things change....some not so much!
----
What has, hasn't changed for you?
Friday, September 24, 2010
Brief Email to Chellie Pingree, (D) Congress, Maine
Thought you folks might enjoy the email I sent to Chellie Pingree, (D) US Congress, ME, today. I think it's self-explanatory...
Hello--thanks for asking for input! Your site is user-friendly as well, even for a geezer like me!
Sadly, Chellie, I don't like you. Your use of private air transportation is fine with me. What's not fine is having a different standard for the peons. That just rubs me raw. Call it the Al Gore syndrome.
I also do not approve of most of your other elitists statist positions, but this last one touches a nerve!!
Respectfully (of your humanity, not your character or performance)
Jack Greene
Hello--thanks for asking for input! Your site is user-friendly as well, even for a geezer like me!
Sadly, Chellie, I don't like you. Your use of private air transportation is fine with me. What's not fine is having a different standard for the peons. That just rubs me raw. Call it the Al Gore syndrome.
I also do not approve of most of your other elitists statist positions, but this last one touches a nerve!!
Respectfully (of your humanity, not your character or performance)
Jack Greene
Thursday, September 23, 2010
5 Ways to Really Enjoy Releasing the Charitable You
How to give effectively and painlessly...and have a great time doing it!!
If you're like us, you're being inundated with bonafide requests for campaign contributions for the upcoming election. Some of these requests are issues centered, some are candidate centered, pro or con.
Unlike years past, we've really enjoyed selectively contributing this year, thanks to a slightly different perspective on the role of our contribution, the amount of the contribution, and the awareness that we cannot sweat the concern that somewhere someone is giving more time, energy, or treasure than we are.
The following are some of those thoughts and perspectives that have made giving a thorough pleasure this year, instead of the dilemma it has presented in the past. Feel free to adjust these ideas to your own circumstances, passions.
1. Establish a monthly 'budget.' Ask yourself, how much can I contribute each month to selected causes (political or otherwise) without harming the welfare of me and my immediate family, and not having "buyer's remorse" at the end of the month? That number could be $10, $100, $500, $1000 or more. If it is less than $10, try working the formula quarterly instead of monthly.
Rule #1: Never EVER, "Give 'til it hurts." If it hurts, something is wrong with the equation!
2. Understand your contribution's role. Be OK with knowing that any cause is a TEAM effort. The good news is you are not doing doing this by yourself, any more than your one vote in a million elects the President. It took me years and years to understand this concept. Consequently, for years and years I was reluctant to give, or vote in elections. WRONG!! To someone coming from that old perspective, it can be hard to explain why it is not a productive one.
Moral suasion is confrontational, and typically causes the reluctant giver to dig in his heels. So-called 'practical arguments' also invite opposition; stiff opposition at that!! Frankly, I haven't been exhorting anyone to change their behaviour or priorities. I've been having too much fun delighting in this new world I've discovered!
And therein is the key. I'm happier. Literally having more fun. Not feeling so insignificant and helpless. And what better way to influence duplication of behaviour than being a living example of its product?
Rule #2: Be a member of a big team. By choice!
Enjoy---the world's not resting on your shoulders alone, and you're not sitting on the sidelines throwing a pity-party!
3. Most requests for dollars start high. Rightfully so. We seldom get what we don't ask for. Don't worry about that. There's generally a menu, in descending order, of gift amounts. But how do you select the 'painless' but fun amount for you to give? Substitute whatever numbers you like, I use factors of 10. I take my monthly budget and divide the aggregate amount by 10. That gives me 10 'slots' for the month. Up to 10 different gifts I can give, @ 10% of my budget.
Rule #3---simply put, Spread the risk and your Wealth in a reasonable way.!
4. Enter the "yahbutts." Yahbutt, what if I get ripped off? You will get ripped off. Yahbutt, what if I give money to a cause and it's not allocated to the purpose I was supporting? That will happen. Remember, you're spreading your risk amongst a NUMBER of recipients. There will be good ones and bad ones. Over time you sift out the ones with which you're uncomfortable, even feel cheated. You'll also develop favorites, and you will also get experience spotting ones to avoid. If you don't "give 'til it hurts" in the first place, you can chalk the whole thing up to your own education!
Rule #4---Enjoy being an adult. Infinite choices, self-responsibility, personal power, control.
5. Avoid the temptation of OPM. The quickest way to kill the beauty of giving is to try to countefeit it through theft from others, e.g. government programs. Also avoid "United Way" type approaches that bundle giving at the discretion of third parties. Those of us who've been around for a while know how that approach is toxic to the spirit of charity.
Rule #5---Charity means freedom. Defend it with the same tenacity you would defend your home from intruders.
You knew I'd get back to a libertarian theme, didn't you?
Hope you, or some friends and relatives of yours, find this useful. Join us in the comment section. Let us know!!
Jack
If you're like us, you're being inundated with bonafide requests for campaign contributions for the upcoming election. Some of these requests are issues centered, some are candidate centered, pro or con.
Unlike years past, we've really enjoyed selectively contributing this year, thanks to a slightly different perspective on the role of our contribution, the amount of the contribution, and the awareness that we cannot sweat the concern that somewhere someone is giving more time, energy, or treasure than we are.
The following are some of those thoughts and perspectives that have made giving a thorough pleasure this year, instead of the dilemma it has presented in the past. Feel free to adjust these ideas to your own circumstances, passions.
1. Establish a monthly 'budget.' Ask yourself, how much can I contribute each month to selected causes (political or otherwise) without harming the welfare of me and my immediate family, and not having "buyer's remorse" at the end of the month? That number could be $10, $100, $500, $1000 or more. If it is less than $10, try working the formula quarterly instead of monthly.
Rule #1: Never EVER, "Give 'til it hurts." If it hurts, something is wrong with the equation!
2. Understand your contribution's role. Be OK with knowing that any cause is a TEAM effort. The good news is you are not doing doing this by yourself, any more than your one vote in a million elects the President. It took me years and years to understand this concept. Consequently, for years and years I was reluctant to give, or vote in elections. WRONG!! To someone coming from that old perspective, it can be hard to explain why it is not a productive one.
Moral suasion is confrontational, and typically causes the reluctant giver to dig in his heels. So-called 'practical arguments' also invite opposition; stiff opposition at that!! Frankly, I haven't been exhorting anyone to change their behaviour or priorities. I've been having too much fun delighting in this new world I've discovered!
And therein is the key. I'm happier. Literally having more fun. Not feeling so insignificant and helpless. And what better way to influence duplication of behaviour than being a living example of its product?
Rule #2: Be a member of a big team. By choice!
Enjoy---the world's not resting on your shoulders alone, and you're not sitting on the sidelines throwing a pity-party!
3. Most requests for dollars start high. Rightfully so. We seldom get what we don't ask for. Don't worry about that. There's generally a menu, in descending order, of gift amounts. But how do you select the 'painless' but fun amount for you to give? Substitute whatever numbers you like, I use factors of 10. I take my monthly budget and divide the aggregate amount by 10. That gives me 10 'slots' for the month. Up to 10 different gifts I can give, @ 10% of my budget.
Rule #3---simply put, Spread the risk and your Wealth in a reasonable way.!
4. Enter the "yahbutts." Yahbutt, what if I get ripped off? You will get ripped off. Yahbutt, what if I give money to a cause and it's not allocated to the purpose I was supporting? That will happen. Remember, you're spreading your risk amongst a NUMBER of recipients. There will be good ones and bad ones. Over time you sift out the ones with which you're uncomfortable, even feel cheated. You'll also develop favorites, and you will also get experience spotting ones to avoid. If you don't "give 'til it hurts" in the first place, you can chalk the whole thing up to your own education!
Rule #4---Enjoy being an adult. Infinite choices, self-responsibility, personal power, control.
5. Avoid the temptation of OPM. The quickest way to kill the beauty of giving is to try to countefeit it through theft from others, e.g. government programs. Also avoid "United Way" type approaches that bundle giving at the discretion of third parties. Those of us who've been around for a while know how that approach is toxic to the spirit of charity.
Rule #5---Charity means freedom. Defend it with the same tenacity you would defend your home from intruders.
You knew I'd get back to a libertarian theme, didn't you?
Hope you, or some friends and relatives of yours, find this useful. Join us in the comment section. Let us know!!
Jack
Friday, September 17, 2010
Phony Experts, Collapse of Centralized Planning, the Inevitable Implosion of Totalitarianism: WE WIN
Welcome to the Front Porch! Lots to talk about---
----
Everyday we read about 'surprises to the experts.' You know how phony currency drives out good currency? It's not an idictment of the good currency. The same applies to our counterfeit 'experts' sporting their counterfeit certifications of having been 'educated'. Real expertise, like good currency has become a black market commodity.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-17/michigan-september-consumer-sentiment-index-unexpectedly-decreases-to-66-6.htm
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Index Unexpectedly Declines
www.bloomberg.com
Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly fell in September to a one-year low, a sign Americans will be less inclined to ramp up spending.
----
One Natural Law that Guarantees We Will Win
This week we were treated to the yummy convolution of theory and reality. It's the unneeded but welcome validation of:
1. Why current 'experts' are pretenders, phonies, liars
2. The abject inefficacy of 'centralized' planning
3. Why totalitarianism must implode and why, because of laws of nature, WE WILL WIN
Recent discussions on the the Front Porch have centered around our increasing wareness that, once again, freedom and liberty are getting ready to kick the ass of totalitarianism and slavery.
I submit this added proof to the 'practical-minded' amongst us:
There are some MAJOR practical applications to this, one of which flowered before us this week. Let's make that the dessert of this article. First we set the table with the principle we're about to celebrate. Then the main course is the meat and potatoes' familiar examples that we all know well, and with which we're cozy and comfortable. Then comes the triple chocolate mousse!!
Regardless of our ability to perceive or our willingness to acknowledge it, certain universal laws of physics and praxeology (human action and economics)apply. We ignore them at our peril. We seem, particularly, to ignore them after going through a nose-to the-grindstone cycle of respecting those laws and living in accordance to them. The 'reward' of strict respect for nature's principles has been the seed of our own destruction. We become arrogant, fat and lazy. And there we go again...
Let's not call this a law, since there is no built-in inevitability that we are doomed to repeat the sins of elder civilizations. Let's simply refer to it as the 'inclination to slovenliness and greed for unearned power.'
On the other hand, Evil is not so lucky as to have a way out of its own demise. There's a fatal principle in totalitarianism, or 'centralized management' of large numbers of human beings and especially their choices in economic activities, which eventually guarantees its implosion and deposition on the ash heaps of history.
Common sense and experience tell us that the closer we are to a 'problem', the more direct experience, good and bad, we had with dealing with it and its kind, and being accountable and rewarded for our results, the more effective we are at dealing with similar situations. Conversely, the further away we are, the less direct and accountable, the less hand-on experience we have, and the more we rely on third party 'experts' for guidance, the less effective we we will be.
There are many ways to describe this phenomenon. In sports, it's the 'home field advantage.' In war, it's a how a rag-tag bunch of farmers beat the earth's most powerful empire and secured its' freedom: the American Revolution. England's problem: a top heavy monarchy fighting on several dozen fronts, WORLDWIDE, at the same time. Not to mention the sweet arrogance that comes with being powerful. We win.
Totalitarianism is corrupted by the absolute power that corrupts absolutely. And it must fail. It becomes, in addition to arrogant, fat and blind. At some point usually early-on, one of it's first enemies is Truth. It disengages its subjects from truth as best it can, and, part of the fatal flaw, disengages itself from truth in the process. We all know operating from false premises destines us to fail. And we've watched some 'Big Dudes' fall over the past couple hundred years, no?
Before we get to dessert---let's clean our plates. Fast forward from the American Revolution to post WWI Russia and Stalin's five year plans to 'feed', that actually starved, his own people by the millions. For those of us who've emerged from our own state of indoctrinational gas, we know the first thing Stalin did was displace and KILL the farmers of his country, replacing them with useful idiots of the state. Starting to sound familiar?
I have a favorite battle story that illustrates the point about the flaw in the centralized planning concept. I don't know, don't care, if this story is totally accurate. Not interested in arguing the finer points. War gamers can debate the finer points.
US allies' victory at D-Day was not a forgone conclusion. As the story goes, things were not going that great when the first beaches were hit. As things changed, which is a constant in war and life, the Allies' commanders were PRESENT, on the beaches with their men. Simply put they ADJUSTED to what they found and what was happening, keeping their overall mission in mind.
Meanwhile, the defenses were commanded directly from Berlin. No decisions were made without the fuehrer's input and approval. Add to that, he was sleeping at the beginning. The Nazi Army was hamstrung to a game plan that became more and more inapplicable as the Longest Day wore on. We win.
Not to beat a dead horse. But to beat a dead horse, the post WWII Soviet Union became, by all appearances, the secondmost powerful military behemoth in the history of the world. What's more, it was a model of real-world centralization of power, run by real world people (not morons). Of course they were corrupt, elitist thugs. Goes with the territory of omnipotent government. One day the Soviet Union, as we knew it, was gone. A soggy fircracker goes out with more drama. Bad cars, scarce food, no incentive to work or risk, corruption were all part and parcel of the central control's Achilles heel for Russia. Don't let the fellow travelers in the West tell you the USSR fell solely because of desperately trying to keep up in the arm's race. It was the whole enchilada. Remember, the US spent more than they did...
The arrogance, ineffectiveness of top-heavy central planning is not confined to arms races and wars. The same attributes are found in the deaths of icons like GM, industries like the newspaper business, and even the local car dealership being run by spoiled 3rd generation flunkies who hate work and seek redemption in political causes. The difference is, with most businesses, including the business of labor unions, with no access to taxation and regulatory power, they succumb, as they should, to the the natural life-death cycle of business. Oopsie. In a corrupt environment, there just may be an institution, say, the State, ready and willing to 'partner up' for a while with the obsolete entity, until its usefulness to the parasite is no more....
Haaayyyyyyy---look what's coming!! The dessert!!
Thanks for grinding with me through this prose and stuff you already know. Now let's enjoy our triple chocolate mousse!
This week we were treated to the yummy convolution of theory and reality. It's the unneeded but welcome validation of:
1. Why current 'experts' are pretenders, phonies, liars
2. The abject inefficacy of 'centralized' planning
3. Why totalitarianism must implode and why, because of laws of nature, WE WILL WIN
This week, an intially ignored, then mocked, then discounted group of "leaderless" people, with no central planners to tell them what to do, beat the livin' hell out of the 'experts': academicians, media pretenders, and the 2 most powerfully entrenched political sides of the same coin ever to symbolize the worst of the US persona, the Republican and Democratic Parties of the US. These 2 top heavy, solipsistic groups had no chance against folks who were free to respond to current battlefield conditions, market turns, and free to embrace Truth as an ally. The smears, denial, squirming and anguish coming from power centers is palpable, the last writhings of a dying predator. We win.
----
Everyday we read about 'surprises to the experts.' You know how phony currency drives out good currency? It's not an idictment of the good currency. The same applies to our counterfeit 'experts' sporting their counterfeit certifications of having been 'educated'. Real expertise, like good currency has become a black market commodity.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-17/michigan-september-consumer-sentiment-index-unexpectedly-decreases-to-66-6.htm
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Index Unexpectedly Declines
www.bloomberg.com
Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly fell in September to a one-year low, a sign Americans will be less inclined to ramp up spending.
----
One Natural Law that Guarantees We Will Win
This week we were treated to the yummy convolution of theory and reality. It's the unneeded but welcome validation of:
1. Why current 'experts' are pretenders, phonies, liars
2. The abject inefficacy of 'centralized' planning
3. Why totalitarianism must implode and why, because of laws of nature, WE WILL WIN
Recent discussions on the the Front Porch have centered around our increasing wareness that, once again, freedom and liberty are getting ready to kick the ass of totalitarianism and slavery.
I submit this added proof to the 'practical-minded' amongst us:
There are some MAJOR practical applications to this, one of which flowered before us this week. Let's make that the dessert of this article. First we set the table with the principle we're about to celebrate. Then the main course is the meat and potatoes' familiar examples that we all know well, and with which we're cozy and comfortable. Then comes the triple chocolate mousse!!
Regardless of our ability to perceive or our willingness to acknowledge it, certain universal laws of physics and praxeology (human action and economics)apply. We ignore them at our peril. We seem, particularly, to ignore them after going through a nose-to the-grindstone cycle of respecting those laws and living in accordance to them. The 'reward' of strict respect for nature's principles has been the seed of our own destruction. We become arrogant, fat and lazy. And there we go again...
Let's not call this a law, since there is no built-in inevitability that we are doomed to repeat the sins of elder civilizations. Let's simply refer to it as the 'inclination to slovenliness and greed for unearned power.'
On the other hand, Evil is not so lucky as to have a way out of its own demise. There's a fatal principle in totalitarianism, or 'centralized management' of large numbers of human beings and especially their choices in economic activities, which eventually guarantees its implosion and deposition on the ash heaps of history.
Common sense and experience tell us that the closer we are to a 'problem', the more direct experience, good and bad, we had with dealing with it and its kind, and being accountable and rewarded for our results, the more effective we are at dealing with similar situations. Conversely, the further away we are, the less direct and accountable, the less hand-on experience we have, and the more we rely on third party 'experts' for guidance, the less effective we we will be.
There are many ways to describe this phenomenon. In sports, it's the 'home field advantage.' In war, it's a how a rag-tag bunch of farmers beat the earth's most powerful empire and secured its' freedom: the American Revolution. England's problem: a top heavy monarchy fighting on several dozen fronts, WORLDWIDE, at the same time. Not to mention the sweet arrogance that comes with being powerful. We win.
Totalitarianism is corrupted by the absolute power that corrupts absolutely. And it must fail. It becomes, in addition to arrogant, fat and blind. At some point usually early-on, one of it's first enemies is Truth. It disengages its subjects from truth as best it can, and, part of the fatal flaw, disengages itself from truth in the process. We all know operating from false premises destines us to fail. And we've watched some 'Big Dudes' fall over the past couple hundred years, no?
Before we get to dessert---let's clean our plates. Fast forward from the American Revolution to post WWI Russia and Stalin's five year plans to 'feed', that actually starved, his own people by the millions. For those of us who've emerged from our own state of indoctrinational gas, we know the first thing Stalin did was displace and KILL the farmers of his country, replacing them with useful idiots of the state. Starting to sound familiar?
I have a favorite battle story that illustrates the point about the flaw in the centralized planning concept. I don't know, don't care, if this story is totally accurate. Not interested in arguing the finer points. War gamers can debate the finer points.
US allies' victory at D-Day was not a forgone conclusion. As the story goes, things were not going that great when the first beaches were hit. As things changed, which is a constant in war and life, the Allies' commanders were PRESENT, on the beaches with their men. Simply put they ADJUSTED to what they found and what was happening, keeping their overall mission in mind.
Meanwhile, the defenses were commanded directly from Berlin. No decisions were made without the fuehrer's input and approval. Add to that, he was sleeping at the beginning. The Nazi Army was hamstrung to a game plan that became more and more inapplicable as the Longest Day wore on. We win.
Not to beat a dead horse. But to beat a dead horse, the post WWII Soviet Union became, by all appearances, the secondmost powerful military behemoth in the history of the world. What's more, it was a model of real-world centralization of power, run by real world people (not morons). Of course they were corrupt, elitist thugs. Goes with the territory of omnipotent government. One day the Soviet Union, as we knew it, was gone. A soggy fircracker goes out with more drama. Bad cars, scarce food, no incentive to work or risk, corruption were all part and parcel of the central control's Achilles heel for Russia. Don't let the fellow travelers in the West tell you the USSR fell solely because of desperately trying to keep up in the arm's race. It was the whole enchilada. Remember, the US spent more than they did...
The arrogance, ineffectiveness of top-heavy central planning is not confined to arms races and wars. The same attributes are found in the deaths of icons like GM, industries like the newspaper business, and even the local car dealership being run by spoiled 3rd generation flunkies who hate work and seek redemption in political causes. The difference is, with most businesses, including the business of labor unions, with no access to taxation and regulatory power, they succumb, as they should, to the the natural life-death cycle of business. Oopsie. In a corrupt environment, there just may be an institution, say, the State, ready and willing to 'partner up' for a while with the obsolete entity, until its usefulness to the parasite is no more....
Haaayyyyyyy---look what's coming!! The dessert!!
Thanks for grinding with me through this prose and stuff you already know. Now let's enjoy our triple chocolate mousse!
This week we were treated to the yummy convolution of theory and reality. It's the unneeded but welcome validation of:
1. Why current 'experts' are pretenders, phonies, liars
2. The abject inefficacy of 'centralized' planning
3. Why totalitarianism must implode and why, because of laws of nature, WE WILL WIN
This week, an intially ignored, then mocked, then discounted group of "leaderless" people, with no central planners to tell them what to do, beat the livin' hell out of the 'experts': academicians, media pretenders, and the 2 most powerfully entrenched political sides of the same coin ever to symbolize the worst of the US persona, the Republican and Democratic Parties of the US. These 2 top heavy, solipsistic groups had no chance against folks who were free to respond to current battlefield conditions, market turns, and free to embrace Truth as an ally. The smears, denial, squirming and anguish coming from power centers is palpable, the last writhings of a dying predator. We win.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Why a 'Negligible' Tax Increase is More Like 40% to YOU
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?
Orig. pub. Front Porch, July, 2010.
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?
Orig. pub. Front Porch, July, 2010.
Don't leave here, without commenting!!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Death Panels---National Obscenity
Welcome to the Front Porch. I'm beside myself. This just dawned on me, and if it has yet to hit you full force, buckel your seat belt!!
Who are these sanctimoniously presumptious brazen idiots who want to control what resources other people choose to extend the length and quality of life, if for only moments, for someone at perhaps the end of their lives? "Death Panels" is a polite term. And thank you Sarah Palin.
Past the moral obscenity of presuming to impose one's judgment on the disposition of other people's resources toward these ends, the confoundingly STUPID aspect of the 'thinking' process is abhorrent.
New medicine and new technology (for you techies who can't think past your hatred for capitalism, what did the first computers cost to produce? Your way of thinking compared to the 'apparent' immediate 'social beneift' would have you using an abacus today, dumbass)... Not that it should be the deciding factor regarding which horse's ass, who couldn't run a lemonade stand, should determine how resources in these areas should be allocated. Can you spell p-r-i-v-a-t-e p-r-o-p-e-r-t-y? How 'bout Mind yer own damned business, intellectual rube!
What did the first pasteurization process cost? The first salk vaccine? For the people who were willing to pay the initial upfront prices, we owe a debt of gratitude for their compassion for others and vision for the future. To the people who would stop this in its tracks for 'Obamacare' today, we owe our utter contempt. And maybe 30 24 hour long days of gross public humiliation on Cable TV.
This rant deserves your contribution below!!
Who are these sanctimoniously presumptious brazen idiots who want to control what resources other people choose to extend the length and quality of life, if for only moments, for someone at perhaps the end of their lives? "Death Panels" is a polite term. And thank you Sarah Palin.
Past the moral obscenity of presuming to impose one's judgment on the disposition of other people's resources toward these ends, the confoundingly STUPID aspect of the 'thinking' process is abhorrent.
New medicine and new technology (for you techies who can't think past your hatred for capitalism, what did the first computers cost to produce? Your way of thinking compared to the 'apparent' immediate 'social beneift' would have you using an abacus today, dumbass)... Not that it should be the deciding factor regarding which horse's ass, who couldn't run a lemonade stand, should determine how resources in these areas should be allocated. Can you spell p-r-i-v-a-t-e p-r-o-p-e-r-t-y? How 'bout Mind yer own damned business, intellectual rube!
What did the first pasteurization process cost? The first salk vaccine? For the people who were willing to pay the initial upfront prices, we owe a debt of gratitude for their compassion for others and vision for the future. To the people who would stop this in its tracks for 'Obamacare' today, we owe our utter contempt. And maybe 30 24 hour long days of gross public humiliation on Cable TV.
This rant deserves your contribution below!!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Dirty Tricks...
Curious experience this week. Then figured it out. Got a letter from Michele Bachman's campaign couple of days ago. Have donated to her efforts a couple times previously. Seems the Dems are really targeting her in the election this fall, and the money from Unions, Soros, etc. is flowing into her opposition...follow me below.
Now, this story could be a sham just to raise more dough for whomever is funding Michele(Republicans, for example). I don't think so. She, with her clarity of expresion, integrity, understanding of free market principles, and her profound...ly real-time demonstration of true family values, is anathema to the butt-uglies (no gender reference here) everywhere.
Although have sent prior contributions, sprang for some more today and sealed it in the pre-paid envelope, for mailing tomorrow. Later this afternoon, the campaign called and said "Don't send" until we receive a new envelope in the mail in a couple of days. Took just a few moments to figure what's going on---suspect the story will get out soon, but you may be hearing it first here.
Remembered my own direct mail experiences from yesteryear wherein we'd used postage paid (by us) envelopes. Our offer of convenience to good customers (libertarian and conservative book buyers in that instance) of eliminating using their own stamps, generated a bit of a problem with the parasitic class.
Pretty soon, along with legit orders, there would be a pile of EMPTY envelopes as well as envelopes full of various levels of adolescent excrement in written form or otherwise arrriving, for which we had to pay the postage.
Checked the Bachman pre-paid postage envelope. Not only would it be easy to return empty or with some luverly message so characteristic of the tolerant, benevolent, gentle left, IT COULD ALSO BE RE-PRINTED EN MASSE for the profound enjoyment of the Universal Scum. Maybe it could even provide a the Post Officeosaurus a 'windfall profit.'
Glad the folks at the Bachman Campaign caught this one. Let's get this little 'dirty trick' publicized' so they have to resort back to other old scams, like the 'race card'.
------------
If you haven't, please take the time to answer the following simple question, and we'll tabulate the results manually from here and report them to you(We've had many responses, however the blog is posting slowly so what else is new?) :
I believe our chances of turning backing collectivism and restoring liberty in the US during my lifetime are: (Pick One---put into Comments section below....)
0-5%
6-20%
21-40%
41-60%
61-85%
86-98%
99-100%
Thanks!!
Now, this story could be a sham just to raise more dough for whomever is funding Michele(Republicans, for example). I don't think so. She, with her clarity of expresion, integrity, understanding of free market principles, and her profound...ly real-time demonstration of true family values, is anathema to the butt-uglies (no gender reference here) everywhere.
Although have sent prior contributions, sprang for some more today and sealed it in the pre-paid envelope, for mailing tomorrow. Later this afternoon, the campaign called and said "Don't send" until we receive a new envelope in the mail in a couple of days. Took just a few moments to figure what's going on---suspect the story will get out soon, but you may be hearing it first here.
Remembered my own direct mail experiences from yesteryear wherein we'd used postage paid (by us) envelopes. Our offer of convenience to good customers (libertarian and conservative book buyers in that instance) of eliminating using their own stamps, generated a bit of a problem with the parasitic class.
Pretty soon, along with legit orders, there would be a pile of EMPTY envelopes as well as envelopes full of various levels of adolescent excrement in written form or otherwise arrriving, for which we had to pay the postage.
Checked the Bachman pre-paid postage envelope. Not only would it be easy to return empty or with some luverly message so characteristic of the tolerant, benevolent, gentle left, IT COULD ALSO BE RE-PRINTED EN MASSE for the profound enjoyment of the Universal Scum. Maybe it could even provide a the Post Officeosaurus a 'windfall profit.'
Glad the folks at the Bachman Campaign caught this one. Let's get this little 'dirty trick' publicized' so they have to resort back to other old scams, like the 'race card'.
------------
If you haven't, please take the time to answer the following simple question, and we'll tabulate the results manually from here and report them to you(We've had many responses, however the blog is posting slowly so what else is new?) :
I believe our chances of turning backing collectivism and restoring liberty in the US during my lifetime are: (Pick One---put into Comments section below....)
0-5%
6-20%
21-40%
41-60%
61-85%
86-98%
99-100%
Thanks!!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Looking Glass World
Welcome to the Front Porch!! If you haven't registered your opinion at our one-question poll, you'll have the opportunity at the end of this article!!
Meanwhile, we live in magical times when up is down, freedom is slavery, productivity is rapacious, and we have "rights" to many things that didn't exist fifty years ago. But are we having fun yet?
In Our Looking Glass World:
---Taking money from a Bill Gates and giving it to a bureaucrat will stimulate creation of jobs
---Korans can be flushed down toilets
---Environmentally friendly light bulbs that require Hazmat for disposal
---The value of a person's contribution to the world is inversely proportional to what other people are willing to pay for that contribution
---2,500 page omnibus bills should be passed first, disclosed later
---Never ask the people successfully dealing with issues in a given enterprise on a daily basis for their input on policy
---A tinhorn group of 50 burning half a dozen Korans merits more concentrated attention than placing a war memorial for murderers of 3,000 2 blocks from the scene
---Reading, history, and economics are "niche interests" in the "education" community
---Innovation happens at the expense of those who don't innovate
---Your property and money belong to your "protectors" and you keep a portion of it if it suits them
---Other people are in charge of your "charity"
---Radio commentators are man's worst enemy
---"Congress" and the Executive Branch are the overseers of your morality
---The "law" depends on who you are
---Trashing a meeting place is not a graphic illustration of character and is not news, nor is cleaning up after ourselves a demonstration of social responsibility and personal integrity
---Mosquito nets cure malaria
---The millions who've died from malaria are worth the price of saving the lives of the worms in our apples
---Logic? What's that?
---Destruction is creative
---The rich will only "save" their money
---If you're among the "poor" in America, things will be better for you under global communism
---Stealing from their membership's retirment funds only means Union leaders put the interests of their rank and file first
---"Borrowing" from future generations isn't theft
---One sheet of toilet paper?
If you haven't, please take the time to answer the following simple question, and we'll tabulate the results manually from here and report them to you(We've had many responses, however the blog is posting slowly so what else is new?) :
I believe our chances of turning backing collectivism and restoring liberty in the US during my lifetime are: (Pick One---put into Comments section below....)
0-5%
6-20%
21-40%
41-60%
61-85%
86-98%
99-100%
Thanks!!
Meanwhile, we live in magical times when up is down, freedom is slavery, productivity is rapacious, and we have "rights" to many things that didn't exist fifty years ago. But are we having fun yet?
In Our Looking Glass World:
---Taking money from a Bill Gates and giving it to a bureaucrat will stimulate creation of jobs
---Korans can be flushed down toilets
---Environmentally friendly light bulbs that require Hazmat for disposal
---The value of a person's contribution to the world is inversely proportional to what other people are willing to pay for that contribution
---2,500 page omnibus bills should be passed first, disclosed later
---Never ask the people successfully dealing with issues in a given enterprise on a daily basis for their input on policy
---A tinhorn group of 50 burning half a dozen Korans merits more concentrated attention than placing a war memorial for murderers of 3,000 2 blocks from the scene
---Reading, history, and economics are "niche interests" in the "education" community
---Innovation happens at the expense of those who don't innovate
---Your property and money belong to your "protectors" and you keep a portion of it if it suits them
---Other people are in charge of your "charity"
---Radio commentators are man's worst enemy
---"Congress" and the Executive Branch are the overseers of your morality
---The "law" depends on who you are
---Trashing a meeting place is not a graphic illustration of character and is not news, nor is cleaning up after ourselves a demonstration of social responsibility and personal integrity
---Mosquito nets cure malaria
---The millions who've died from malaria are worth the price of saving the lives of the worms in our apples
---Logic? What's that?
---Destruction is creative
---The rich will only "save" their money
---If you're among the "poor" in America, things will be better for you under global communism
---Stealing from their membership's retirment funds only means Union leaders put the interests of their rank and file first
---"Borrowing" from future generations isn't theft
---One sheet of toilet paper?
If you haven't, please take the time to answer the following simple question, and we'll tabulate the results manually from here and report them to you(We've had many responses, however the blog is posting slowly so what else is new?) :
I believe our chances of turning backing collectivism and restoring liberty in the US during my lifetime are: (Pick One---put into Comments section below....)
0-5%
6-20%
21-40%
41-60%
61-85%
86-98%
99-100%
Thanks!!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Why? Well Why NOT?
Welcome to the Front Porch. Today, let's do some optimistic nostalgics!
"Old North Wind
Why frighten others?
In Nature's family,
All are brothers.
Puff and blow
And wheeze
And hiss
You cannot frighten
Shingebiss!"
---You can find the fable of Shingebiss in, among other places,STORIES THAT NEVER GROW OLD. It's a collection of fairy tales, generally far more familiar, that was published in the late 40's, early 50's. As a tyke, there was something I really liked about the mallard Shingebiss and his defiance of the elements in the wintertime from his warm teepee in the forest. Unlike a lot of other great fairy tales, the 'moral' was more of a spiritual, rather than practical nature. I unalytically loved the duck's courage and his rewards of joy and peace therefrom.
Something about the events of the past couple of months reminded me today of my childhood affection for Shingebiss.
Then my thoughts jumped to the late 60's, and a fellow named Phillip Abbott Luce. He had been a 'student' communist activist for some years, and, like other sincere former useful idiots, he came to understand the principles of libertartianism/conservatism. He became an outspoken opponent of organizations like SDS and subsequently the Weathermen. He wrote a popular book for his time, as I recall he entitled it UP AGAINST THE WALL, COMMIE! (Correction welcomed)
It told about his experiences of being with the Left. He talked reassuringly at a time when it seemed---sound familiar?----like they were winning the culture wars on every front: academia, US media, world wide. His message was a simple one. We could whip their asses for a combination of reasons. He summed up his thoughts with the following cliche', which I read for the first time in his book: "They put their pants on one leg at a time." In other words, they were not pre-destined to prevail.
Seems like almost a year ago, we started the Front Porch blog. At the time there was a tool available that made it easy to post a poll for the blog readers and run a day-to-day summary of results. The tool also precluded voting twice. One of the first things we did is set up a poll asking those willing to assess the percentage chances of their ever seeing predominant freedom in this country again. At the time, the results seemed quite predictable, reflecting the somber mood of freedom advocates everywhere. Summarily, those responding assesed their chances at less than 20% that they would ever see the liberty they and their predecessors had taken for granted years earlier.
Now, thanks to some heroic GIANTS who have emerged during the past short period (no way this is coincidental), the awakening of a vast segment of the populace of their interest in principles and history of liberty, and the appearance of a Luciferian cadre in DC that is so Evil and ham-handed it caricaturizes itself, Good has awakened, and for lots of reasons cited in the past week's articles, We Will Win.
Because we no longer seem to have that handy-dandy polling tool, let's get together and do it ourselves in the comment section below.
Please take the time to answer the following simple question, and we'll tabulate the results manually from here and report them to you:
I believe our chances of turning backing collectivism and restoring liberty in the US during my lifetime are: (Pick One---put into Comments section)
0-5%
6-20%
21-40%
41-60%
61-85%
86-98%
99-100%
Make sure your friends participate too!!
Dollars to donuts, we're all feelin' the power!!
Appreciatively...
"Old North Wind
Why frighten others?
In Nature's family,
All are brothers.
Puff and blow
And wheeze
And hiss
You cannot frighten
Shingebiss!"
---You can find the fable of Shingebiss in, among other places,STORIES THAT NEVER GROW OLD. It's a collection of fairy tales, generally far more familiar, that was published in the late 40's, early 50's. As a tyke, there was something I really liked about the mallard Shingebiss and his defiance of the elements in the wintertime from his warm teepee in the forest. Unlike a lot of other great fairy tales, the 'moral' was more of a spiritual, rather than practical nature. I unalytically loved the duck's courage and his rewards of joy and peace therefrom.
Something about the events of the past couple of months reminded me today of my childhood affection for Shingebiss.
Then my thoughts jumped to the late 60's, and a fellow named Phillip Abbott Luce. He had been a 'student' communist activist for some years, and, like other sincere former useful idiots, he came to understand the principles of libertartianism/conservatism. He became an outspoken opponent of organizations like SDS and subsequently the Weathermen. He wrote a popular book for his time, as I recall he entitled it UP AGAINST THE WALL, COMMIE! (Correction welcomed)
It told about his experiences of being with the Left. He talked reassuringly at a time when it seemed---sound familiar?----like they were winning the culture wars on every front: academia, US media, world wide. His message was a simple one. We could whip their asses for a combination of reasons. He summed up his thoughts with the following cliche', which I read for the first time in his book: "They put their pants on one leg at a time." In other words, they were not pre-destined to prevail.
Seems like almost a year ago, we started the Front Porch blog. At the time there was a tool available that made it easy to post a poll for the blog readers and run a day-to-day summary of results. The tool also precluded voting twice. One of the first things we did is set up a poll asking those willing to assess the percentage chances of their ever seeing predominant freedom in this country again. At the time, the results seemed quite predictable, reflecting the somber mood of freedom advocates everywhere. Summarily, those responding assesed their chances at less than 20% that they would ever see the liberty they and their predecessors had taken for granted years earlier.
Now, thanks to some heroic GIANTS who have emerged during the past short period (no way this is coincidental), the awakening of a vast segment of the populace of their interest in principles and history of liberty, and the appearance of a Luciferian cadre in DC that is so Evil and ham-handed it caricaturizes itself, Good has awakened, and for lots of reasons cited in the past week's articles, We Will Win.
Because we no longer seem to have that handy-dandy polling tool, let's get together and do it ourselves in the comment section below.
Please take the time to answer the following simple question, and we'll tabulate the results manually from here and report them to you:
I believe our chances of turning backing collectivism and restoring liberty in the US during my lifetime are: (Pick One---put into Comments section)
0-5%
6-20%
21-40%
41-60%
61-85%
86-98%
99-100%
Make sure your friends participate too!!
Dollars to donuts, we're all feelin' the power!!
Appreciatively...
Monday, September 6, 2010
Of Job Fairies and Golden Geese
Welcome to the Front Porch!! Join us for another cathartic rant!!
----
How often do you you have to hear, read and see something before it strikes a nerve and makes blood shoot out of your eyes?
While shaving this morning, the national radio network news reported that the "Prez" was headed to Milwaukee to talk about his 'commitment' to jobs. And to show how serious he is, he's actually going to engage in conversations with workers, families, and 'local politicians.' I practically swallowed my Ipana.
WHAT??
If you have a medical problem do you (1) poll the general public (2) seek out your local political thug (3) turn on MSNBC (4) ask a teenager? Good luck if you do.
Most of us, overburdened with common sense inclinations, would seek out an expert in medicine, i.e. a doctor. Hopefully we're training our children to do the same, even though this seems, culturally speaking, to be a repugnant form of antiquated exceptionalsim. Shame on us!!
Even our communist Prez gives lip service to the "job problem." What's his solution? A speech? Talk to the jobless? Ooze with local pols? Isn't he leaving something out of the equation? Like the people who provide the jobs, i.e. small businesspeople? What does he think, jobs appear magically at the behest of politicians and are brought to us by job fairies? Or is he as phony and evil as Lucifer, knowing full well what he's doing?
You make the call. We wrestle with these questions constantly. Of recent, I've been coming down on the side of "he damn well knows what he's doing and that he is Cloward and Pivening us into implosive civilizational collapse." I fear we've been too generous for too long regarding the intentions of those in government who seem to repeat the same mistakes, decade after decade after decade. Attributing the whole thing to ignorance ignores what I'm calling the Goldfinger Principle. It goes like this:
When Auric Goldfinger finally captures Bond in Fleming's masterpiece, he says to Bond, "Mr. Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action....Oddjob. The pressure room." Give me a second to lose the chills.
There should be a time, the 10th, 50th, 500th, when it dawns on us that these "political mistakes" are intentional, not accidental. That there's another agenda being served. That we've been hosed. And only by realizing the phoniness and abject evil of the presumed intentions of our would-be 'caretakers' can we then proceed to deal with it with moral certitude and practical effectiveness. I still believe this...but...
Even allowing for serpentine hate of indivudual freedom and happiness, there is something about these guys that still seems incredibly, arrogantly and sanctimoniously stupid. It seems they really have NO idea where human progress comes from. They've bought into the Envy Myth that someone who meritoriously discovers 163 uses for peanut butter, does it at the expense of everyone else who doesn't.
This, charitably speaking, blindspot, is nothing new of course. That's why we have fairy tales that warn us of such crass stupidity. There are many: "The Grasshopper and the Ants," "The Pied Piper of Hamlin," "The Three Little Pigs," many more. Wisdom lost by a generation. The most appropriate fairy tale for what we're seeing from the standard academius idiotus today would be "The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg." We know the story. But does the next generation?
It seems almost too obvious (to us) to say that we owe our incredible standard of living, health, lifestyles, not to politicians, the unemployed, the indolent, bureaucrats, but rather to those among us who have been left somewhat free to take risks, test their own ideas and profit or lose therefrom. Those who go through real-life learning curves, not Alice in Wonderland academia where A's and specially designated groups are rewarded on a curve. Where real history, logic, economics are shunted to the back room with the cobwebs, because they are 'niche interests'.
But Jeez, what fun is it to give solace and admiration to the obvious?
----
How often do you you have to hear, read and see something before it strikes a nerve and makes blood shoot out of your eyes?
While shaving this morning, the national radio network news reported that the "Prez" was headed to Milwaukee to talk about his 'commitment' to jobs. And to show how serious he is, he's actually going to engage in conversations with workers, families, and 'local politicians.' I practically swallowed my Ipana.
WHAT??
If you have a medical problem do you (1) poll the general public (2) seek out your local political thug (3) turn on MSNBC (4) ask a teenager? Good luck if you do.
Most of us, overburdened with common sense inclinations, would seek out an expert in medicine, i.e. a doctor. Hopefully we're training our children to do the same, even though this seems, culturally speaking, to be a repugnant form of antiquated exceptionalsim. Shame on us!!
Even our communist Prez gives lip service to the "job problem." What's his solution? A speech? Talk to the jobless? Ooze with local pols? Isn't he leaving something out of the equation? Like the people who provide the jobs, i.e. small businesspeople? What does he think, jobs appear magically at the behest of politicians and are brought to us by job fairies? Or is he as phony and evil as Lucifer, knowing full well what he's doing?
You make the call. We wrestle with these questions constantly. Of recent, I've been coming down on the side of "he damn well knows what he's doing and that he is Cloward and Pivening us into implosive civilizational collapse." I fear we've been too generous for too long regarding the intentions of those in government who seem to repeat the same mistakes, decade after decade after decade. Attributing the whole thing to ignorance ignores what I'm calling the Goldfinger Principle. It goes like this:
When Auric Goldfinger finally captures Bond in Fleming's masterpiece, he says to Bond, "Mr. Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action....Oddjob. The pressure room." Give me a second to lose the chills.
There should be a time, the 10th, 50th, 500th, when it dawns on us that these "political mistakes" are intentional, not accidental. That there's another agenda being served. That we've been hosed. And only by realizing the phoniness and abject evil of the presumed intentions of our would-be 'caretakers' can we then proceed to deal with it with moral certitude and practical effectiveness. I still believe this...but...
Even allowing for serpentine hate of indivudual freedom and happiness, there is something about these guys that still seems incredibly, arrogantly and sanctimoniously stupid. It seems they really have NO idea where human progress comes from. They've bought into the Envy Myth that someone who meritoriously discovers 163 uses for peanut butter, does it at the expense of everyone else who doesn't.
This, charitably speaking, blindspot, is nothing new of course. That's why we have fairy tales that warn us of such crass stupidity. There are many: "The Grasshopper and the Ants," "The Pied Piper of Hamlin," "The Three Little Pigs," many more. Wisdom lost by a generation. The most appropriate fairy tale for what we're seeing from the standard academius idiotus today would be "The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg." We know the story. But does the next generation?
It seems almost too obvious (to us) to say that we owe our incredible standard of living, health, lifestyles, not to politicians, the unemployed, the indolent, bureaucrats, but rather to those among us who have been left somewhat free to take risks, test their own ideas and profit or lose therefrom. Those who go through real-life learning curves, not Alice in Wonderland academia where A's and specially designated groups are rewarded on a curve. Where real history, logic, economics are shunted to the back room with the cobwebs, because they are 'niche interests'.
But Jeez, what fun is it to give solace and admiration to the obvious?
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Just Win, Baby!!
Welcome to the Front Porch...
Throughout life I've been at best a late bloomer and quite naive. But even a blind squirrel finds an occasional acorn.
My 'acorn' has to do with knowing exactly what a boondoggle the "Cash for Clunkers" program was going to be, along with the Feds and Unions running the once proudest ship in US auto history, GM. And I told everyone what was going to happen, probably including those who also had it figured out and may have been a little insulted by my lack of respect for their own knowledge from experience. My 'prescience', like all prescience I'm familiar with, came from being an expert in the field in question. In younger days, I became an expert in the sales, merchandising and marketing of new automobiles and trucks. It's one of the few things I ever did at which I became excellent. Downright famous within the industry. So, when "Cash for Clunkers" came along, I knew with bizarre clarity what was going to happen.
The purpose of this is not to belabor the history, nor to mull ad nauseam over the mechanics of what happens when the government tries to screw with markets and other people's money. No, today I merely want to rant a bit about the obscenity of the morality behind this type of folly.
Since I've referenced 'morality,' allow me to share what definition I'm using. I'm using the term in the context of what is benign, benevolent or inimical to the lives, liberty, property and happiness of ourselves, families, and chosen communities (chosen by us individually---not designated for us by some tinhorn crapass local or federal tyrant).
Thanks to the five alarm sirens going off over the countryside, many of us have awakened to the fact our world is burning down. Civilization is not a guaranteed thing, and has certain foundational requisites that must be established, maintained and nurtured to flourish. Otherwise we repeat the experience of the arrogances of past great peoples.
One of the the most irritatingly obvious, when things are going awry, fundamentals is common sense. We are all well aware we are living in a looking glass world where "yes" is "no", "freedom" is slavery, indolence is exalted while productivity is trashed as materialistic, being enlightened is to profess to know nothing. The list of idiocies that prevail today can be very discouraging, especially if we try to address them in solitude.
One thing is for sure---we also know ideas have consequences. The morality and practices in our culture today will, do, and have had, incalculable consequences. And it's infuriatingly simple: reward incompetence, and incompetence becomes the coin of the realm. Punish productivity, and the spigot of human genius will reduce slowly to a trickle. We will eventually be fighting over the spiritual and material bones of the most wondrous country ever to grace the surface of the earth. This is not prognostication. It's happening now.
Thank Jesus for the brazen obscenity of Obama, Pelosi and Reid, obsequious news media, the rot of academia.. We knew this cancer existed elsewhere in the world, but were dozing with the snooze alarm when it came to our own backyard. We have been sitting in the proverbial pan of water on the stove, like frogs,while the gradualists slowly boiled us to death. I guess it's only common sense to suppose that most wake-up calls are uncomfortable as hell when they happen. So here we are.
Now here's the cheery part. We're going to win!! I'm not making this up. As sure as vampires die with the coming of the sun at dawn, we will slay this beast. Never permanently. Someday in the future another generation will find that apathy and lack of vigilance have allowed the cancer to return from remission.
Yes, to repeat, we are going to win. It's astoundingly obvious why. Scroll down and read the prior article and smile....
Throughout life I've been at best a late bloomer and quite naive. But even a blind squirrel finds an occasional acorn.
My 'acorn' has to do with knowing exactly what a boondoggle the "Cash for Clunkers" program was going to be, along with the Feds and Unions running the once proudest ship in US auto history, GM. And I told everyone what was going to happen, probably including those who also had it figured out and may have been a little insulted by my lack of respect for their own knowledge from experience. My 'prescience', like all prescience I'm familiar with, came from being an expert in the field in question. In younger days, I became an expert in the sales, merchandising and marketing of new automobiles and trucks. It's one of the few things I ever did at which I became excellent. Downright famous within the industry. So, when "Cash for Clunkers" came along, I knew with bizarre clarity what was going to happen.
The purpose of this is not to belabor the history, nor to mull ad nauseam over the mechanics of what happens when the government tries to screw with markets and other people's money. No, today I merely want to rant a bit about the obscenity of the morality behind this type of folly.
Since I've referenced 'morality,' allow me to share what definition I'm using. I'm using the term in the context of what is benign, benevolent or inimical to the lives, liberty, property and happiness of ourselves, families, and chosen communities (chosen by us individually---not designated for us by some tinhorn crapass local or federal tyrant).
Thanks to the five alarm sirens going off over the countryside, many of us have awakened to the fact our world is burning down. Civilization is not a guaranteed thing, and has certain foundational requisites that must be established, maintained and nurtured to flourish. Otherwise we repeat the experience of the arrogances of past great peoples.
One of the the most irritatingly obvious, when things are going awry, fundamentals is common sense. We are all well aware we are living in a looking glass world where "yes" is "no", "freedom" is slavery, indolence is exalted while productivity is trashed as materialistic, being enlightened is to profess to know nothing. The list of idiocies that prevail today can be very discouraging, especially if we try to address them in solitude.
One thing is for sure---we also know ideas have consequences. The morality and practices in our culture today will, do, and have had, incalculable consequences. And it's infuriatingly simple: reward incompetence, and incompetence becomes the coin of the realm. Punish productivity, and the spigot of human genius will reduce slowly to a trickle. We will eventually be fighting over the spiritual and material bones of the most wondrous country ever to grace the surface of the earth. This is not prognostication. It's happening now.
Thank Jesus for the brazen obscenity of Obama, Pelosi and Reid, obsequious news media, the rot of academia.. We knew this cancer existed elsewhere in the world, but were dozing with the snooze alarm when it came to our own backyard. We have been sitting in the proverbial pan of water on the stove, like frogs,while the gradualists slowly boiled us to death. I guess it's only common sense to suppose that most wake-up calls are uncomfortable as hell when they happen. So here we are.
Now here's the cheery part. We're going to win!! I'm not making this up. As sure as vampires die with the coming of the sun at dawn, we will slay this beast. Never permanently. Someday in the future another generation will find that apathy and lack of vigilance have allowed the cancer to return from remission.
Yes, to repeat, we are going to win. It's astoundingly obvious why. Scroll down and read the prior article and smile....
Saturday, September 4, 2010
It's Inevitable ---We Win!!
Welcome!!
Why It's Inevitable : We Win!!
We all have been thinkin' about it. Tonight it hit me clear as a bell.
We ARE gonna win. For the spiritual reasons, I'll leave that to Glenn Beck and the Black Robe Brigade. I want to underscore some more earthy, practical reasons we are going to be victor over those who would steal our lives, liberty and property on their hateful way to dismantling human civilization.
Let's look at the two armies opposing each other, in particular their ethics and culture. This is so easy, you'll be amazed!
On one side, you have folks with a spiritual and philosphical foundation, grounded and unified in a world-view of the the value of SELF-RELIANCE and liberty. These people are tough, and have a clear awareness that they are responsible for getting the most out of life for themselves, family and friends.. These folks folks take responsibility for their perceptions, and how they act upon them. They eschew a victim or 'entitlement' mentality, and don't believe that someone else should think for them, take care of them.
These same people take responsibility for educating themselves and their own, including learning foundational principles, logic, how to reason, and human history.
Now pardon my disrespect. On the other side, Evil has assembled a band of whiners, dependent mental cripples, and the ignorant. By necessity. You can't fool the alert. Characteristically, this army of pathetic indolents is devoid of personal ambition, responsibility, honor. They're entitled and expect to be taken care of. They're dumbed way down. Pathetically sucking at the teat of the leaders of their hordes. They are self-admittedly incompetent, unprepared, and need the moment-to-moment guidance of their shepherds.
Now think about it. Which army do you want to lead?
What a ridiculously easy battle for which to forecast the outcome. Let your children sleep peacefully tonight. Because you are.
Am I missing something?
Why It's Inevitable : We Win!!
We all have been thinkin' about it. Tonight it hit me clear as a bell.
We ARE gonna win. For the spiritual reasons, I'll leave that to Glenn Beck and the Black Robe Brigade. I want to underscore some more earthy, practical reasons we are going to be victor over those who would steal our lives, liberty and property on their hateful way to dismantling human civilization.
Let's look at the two armies opposing each other, in particular their ethics and culture. This is so easy, you'll be amazed!
On one side, you have folks with a spiritual and philosphical foundation, grounded and unified in a world-view of the the value of SELF-RELIANCE and liberty. These people are tough, and have a clear awareness that they are responsible for getting the most out of life for themselves, family and friends.. These folks folks take responsibility for their perceptions, and how they act upon them. They eschew a victim or 'entitlement' mentality, and don't believe that someone else should think for them, take care of them.
These same people take responsibility for educating themselves and their own, including learning foundational principles, logic, how to reason, and human history.
Now pardon my disrespect. On the other side, Evil has assembled a band of whiners, dependent mental cripples, and the ignorant. By necessity. You can't fool the alert. Characteristically, this army of pathetic indolents is devoid of personal ambition, responsibility, honor. They're entitled and expect to be taken care of. They're dumbed way down. Pathetically sucking at the teat of the leaders of their hordes. They are self-admittedly incompetent, unprepared, and need the moment-to-moment guidance of their shepherds.
Now think about it. Which army do you want to lead?
What a ridiculously easy battle for which to forecast the outcome. Let your children sleep peacefully tonight. Because you are.
Am I missing something?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Don't Feed the Bears
Welcome to the Front Porch...today, let's take a different look at the "it" that may be annoying you, robbing you of your spirit, capabilities, even sense of life.
Anyone worth their degree from Hanna-Barbera knows that the ranger doesn't want you to feed the animals in the park. We even understand, or most of us do, the reasons why feeding wild animals picnic goodies is neither good for them, nor good for ourselves.
There's another kind of animal we should not feed, for similar reasons. I call this animal a spiritual parasite. And we all have them in our lives, and some of us are too 'nice' to do the right thing by them, as well as ourselves, other friends and family.
Like the squirrels, the ducks and the bears in the parks, these folks come in all colors, shapes, sizes, and degrees of threat to our well-being. Some are innocently benign, others are downright evil ('evil' as defined as inimical to your own well-being and willing to invade your space, abrogate your rights and assert their will over yours to achieve their true agendas.)
Let's start with the relatively innocent, in terms of intent. Now don't tell us you you don't have, or haven't had, or more likely both, someone in your life like this!! Typically, they seem to be a 'hard-luck' Joe. The deck seems always stacked against them and life is dealing them deuces and treys. When you think of it, we all get those deuces and treys, but, for some reason EVERYONE KNOWS about this person's hardships, victimizations, and woes. Know what I mean?
This victim mentality manifests in an insidiously draining expeirence for the nicer folks around him. He NEEDS. He NEEDS your attention. He needs help. And, what's more, he expects the folks who haven't escaped his grip to drop everything to 'do stuff' for him. Not just occasionally, but as a matter of course. His is to interrupt, demand, and offer his misfortune as his coin of exchange. You find yourself, in the initial stages of this relationship, asking: "Huh? Has this person's family and friends abandoned him? How selfish and insensitive!" He's, in a word, pathetic. And he's good at it and practices it unconsciously, having learned the routine early in life. Your time, energy and attention are his. And most of all, he needs your sanction, and what will ultimately become feigned 'respect.'
At some point you begin realizing you have surrendered your own interests and those of your other friends and family, to someone who is a professional spiritual mooch. And a phony. The cycle, for him, continues, and, hopefully, you extricate yourself from the situation and actually LEARN from it. The other part of the equation is to recognize need that is worthy, and not parasitic, and be able to clearheadedly and with total benevolence act to help others who are not practicing professional parasitism.
Now, the above spiritual parasite has a relatively limited scope of ill effects. You are free to recognize what's going on, and go through the unpleasant task of getting out of the situation. But the good news is you can opt out.
But not everyone in the park is a relatively benign chipmunk or bunny rabbit. Some are bears who, will eventually, avail themselves of your flesh if you're naive or not vigilant. And believe me, when they metaphorically dine on your dreams and happiness, they're enjoying every moment of it.
These spiritual parasites are as recognizable as bears (and deserve the same respect). These are the ones who despise you for your self-reliance, independence, accomplishments, relatively meritorious standing in the community of the productive. They want to bring you down to their level of self-loathing, and veiled hatred for the rest of humanity. How does this incredible evil manifest?
Professional spiritual parasites have really honed their trade in the past couple of hundred years. As mankind, especially in the US, has soared like an eagle, the forces of evil, as defined above, have gone into 24/hour a day mode to try to halt the spectre of human independence and happiness.
They have corrupted the culture to the point where the once ridiculous is now considerd sublime. Truth has vanished into obscurity and moral and epistemological relativism. They have endeavored to corrupt our childrens's ability to go forth successfully in the world and ensuring their psychological and logistical dependence on a tolalitarian state. And, by all appearances, they almost pulled it off this time, plunging us into the next Dark Ages of humankind.
In the words of Ayn Rand, we are re-learning that A is A. That bunnies are bunnies, but bears are bears. And just in the nick of time. We are surrounded by legions of heroes stepping forward, in all shapes and sizes. Let's be sure we deserve their incredible efforts by telling heoroes in our lives every day how much we appreciate them. And let's withdraw our tolerance and sanction from the intentionally lecherous of heart. It's the least...the rest of us can do.
Epilog: the article is intended to be a warning about professional parasites, people who have trained themselves to get stuff from others via sympathy and guilt. On a small scale, it's the person who seems to soak up your time and energy with unwanted conversations, errands, demands of sympathy, and unearned respect. I'm trying to give folks the validation they need to cut the umbilical. On the macro-scale, it's the elitist statists who literally despise you for your independence, self-reliance, and accomplishments, and are willing to go to any ends necessary, including your death, to squash you and your sense of life. Hope you liked!
Jack
Anyone worth their degree from Hanna-Barbera knows that the ranger doesn't want you to feed the animals in the park. We even understand, or most of us do, the reasons why feeding wild animals picnic goodies is neither good for them, nor good for ourselves.
There's another kind of animal we should not feed, for similar reasons. I call this animal a spiritual parasite. And we all have them in our lives, and some of us are too 'nice' to do the right thing by them, as well as ourselves, other friends and family.
Like the squirrels, the ducks and the bears in the parks, these folks come in all colors, shapes, sizes, and degrees of threat to our well-being. Some are innocently benign, others are downright evil ('evil' as defined as inimical to your own well-being and willing to invade your space, abrogate your rights and assert their will over yours to achieve their true agendas.)
Let's start with the relatively innocent, in terms of intent. Now don't tell us you you don't have, or haven't had, or more likely both, someone in your life like this!! Typically, they seem to be a 'hard-luck' Joe. The deck seems always stacked against them and life is dealing them deuces and treys. When you think of it, we all get those deuces and treys, but, for some reason EVERYONE KNOWS about this person's hardships, victimizations, and woes. Know what I mean?
This victim mentality manifests in an insidiously draining expeirence for the nicer folks around him. He NEEDS. He NEEDS your attention. He needs help. And, what's more, he expects the folks who haven't escaped his grip to drop everything to 'do stuff' for him. Not just occasionally, but as a matter of course. His is to interrupt, demand, and offer his misfortune as his coin of exchange. You find yourself, in the initial stages of this relationship, asking: "Huh? Has this person's family and friends abandoned him? How selfish and insensitive!" He's, in a word, pathetic. And he's good at it and practices it unconsciously, having learned the routine early in life. Your time, energy and attention are his. And most of all, he needs your sanction, and what will ultimately become feigned 'respect.'
At some point you begin realizing you have surrendered your own interests and those of your other friends and family, to someone who is a professional spiritual mooch. And a phony. The cycle, for him, continues, and, hopefully, you extricate yourself from the situation and actually LEARN from it. The other part of the equation is to recognize need that is worthy, and not parasitic, and be able to clearheadedly and with total benevolence act to help others who are not practicing professional parasitism.
Now, the above spiritual parasite has a relatively limited scope of ill effects. You are free to recognize what's going on, and go through the unpleasant task of getting out of the situation. But the good news is you can opt out.
But not everyone in the park is a relatively benign chipmunk or bunny rabbit. Some are bears who, will eventually, avail themselves of your flesh if you're naive or not vigilant. And believe me, when they metaphorically dine on your dreams and happiness, they're enjoying every moment of it.
These spiritual parasites are as recognizable as bears (and deserve the same respect). These are the ones who despise you for your self-reliance, independence, accomplishments, relatively meritorious standing in the community of the productive. They want to bring you down to their level of self-loathing, and veiled hatred for the rest of humanity. How does this incredible evil manifest?
Professional spiritual parasites have really honed their trade in the past couple of hundred years. As mankind, especially in the US, has soared like an eagle, the forces of evil, as defined above, have gone into 24/hour a day mode to try to halt the spectre of human independence and happiness.
They have corrupted the culture to the point where the once ridiculous is now considerd sublime. Truth has vanished into obscurity and moral and epistemological relativism. They have endeavored to corrupt our childrens's ability to go forth successfully in the world and ensuring their psychological and logistical dependence on a tolalitarian state. And, by all appearances, they almost pulled it off this time, plunging us into the next Dark Ages of humankind.
In the words of Ayn Rand, we are re-learning that A is A. That bunnies are bunnies, but bears are bears. And just in the nick of time. We are surrounded by legions of heroes stepping forward, in all shapes and sizes. Let's be sure we deserve their incredible efforts by telling heoroes in our lives every day how much we appreciate them. And let's withdraw our tolerance and sanction from the intentionally lecherous of heart. It's the least...the rest of us can do.
Epilog: the article is intended to be a warning about professional parasites, people who have trained themselves to get stuff from others via sympathy and guilt. On a small scale, it's the person who seems to soak up your time and energy with unwanted conversations, errands, demands of sympathy, and unearned respect. I'm trying to give folks the validation they need to cut the umbilical. On the macro-scale, it's the elitist statists who literally despise you for your independence, self-reliance, and accomplishments, and are willing to go to any ends necessary, including your death, to squash you and your sense of life. Hope you liked!
Jack
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