Thursday, October 30, 2008
Gates of Vienna: This Race Was Never about “Race”
Gates of Vienna: This Race Was Never about “Race”
Nope, this is about the assumption of power by the trans-nationals, those harmless - we thought - old hippies who were about to age out of the system. Instead of leaving quietly they are using their Manchurian... umm, make that Indonesian... candidate to cash in on all those years of hard work in the mines of the academy and the media.And here I thought I was original in the earlier post below calling BO a Manchurian Candidate. As always, Gates of Vienna says it well.
The emergence of conservative elitists
At least two of the top conservative commentators, George Will and Peggy Noonan, have shown that they are more concerned with the appearances of proper behavior and knowledge of the insides of the beltway than with the spirit of the Constitution. Both belittle Sarah Palin and for that matter John McCain, not with substantive issues but rather trivialization of side issues. They sound to me just like the liberal elitists that have done so much to defame Sarah Palin, and skew the news in Obama's favor.
It must be hard to be considered an intellectual leader, to have to forget that the US is built from common people, that Andrew Jackson (despite his poor performance as President) was elected by the people, that Davy Crocket went to Congress, that Abraham Lincoln was at one time an illiterate backwoodsman, that leaders are not always right, that new leaders more often arise from the common people not the elite, that the US was founded to get away from hereditary elites.
One of the distiguishing characteristics of elitists is they are more comfortable with other elitists even if of a different political persuasion than they are with people they supposedly agree with and influence, when those people are ordinary.
Despite my mother's best efforts to take it out of me, I have always had a "blue-collar" streak in me. I like people who work physically for a living and have done so myself. These are the people who understand what it takes to make things happen, who know that to get what one wants requires waiting, setting priorities, and making choices. They are also the people who realize that the first line of defense is the individual, not the police, and that there is absolute right and wrong.
The elitists on both sides of the political divide forget it is the non-elites that fight for our freedom, build our cities, collect the garbage, and make life generally livable for everyone. Elitists write articles on how degrading sweat shops are without realizing that to the people working there they may be a major step up (That does not necessarily justify the sweatshop, but there is a reason they exist). Basically elitists have no clue on survival vs. easy living, or that ordinary people do not feel sorry for themselves, but simply continue to work to improve their lives and their children's lives.
Regardless of the outcome of the election, John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin has ripped the masks off a lot of people, and shown just how trivial they really are, on both sides of the political spectrum.
It must be hard to be considered an intellectual leader, to have to forget that the US is built from common people, that Andrew Jackson (despite his poor performance as President) was elected by the people, that Davy Crocket went to Congress, that Abraham Lincoln was at one time an illiterate backwoodsman, that leaders are not always right, that new leaders more often arise from the common people not the elite, that the US was founded to get away from hereditary elites.
One of the distiguishing characteristics of elitists is they are more comfortable with other elitists even if of a different political persuasion than they are with people they supposedly agree with and influence, when those people are ordinary.
Despite my mother's best efforts to take it out of me, I have always had a "blue-collar" streak in me. I like people who work physically for a living and have done so myself. These are the people who understand what it takes to make things happen, who know that to get what one wants requires waiting, setting priorities, and making choices. They are also the people who realize that the first line of defense is the individual, not the police, and that there is absolute right and wrong.
The elitists on both sides of the political divide forget it is the non-elites that fight for our freedom, build our cities, collect the garbage, and make life generally livable for everyone. Elitists write articles on how degrading sweat shops are without realizing that to the people working there they may be a major step up (That does not necessarily justify the sweatshop, but there is a reason they exist). Basically elitists have no clue on survival vs. easy living, or that ordinary people do not feel sorry for themselves, but simply continue to work to improve their lives and their children's lives.
Regardless of the outcome of the election, John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin has ripped the masks off a lot of people, and shown just how trivial they really are, on both sides of the political spectrum.
The underlying problem with the US today......
The Patriot Post
Founders' Quote Daily
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it."
-- Thomas Paine (The Crisis, no. 4, 11 September 1777)
.....is failing to heed the above words.
Founders' Quote Daily
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it."
-- Thomas Paine (The Crisis, no. 4, 11 September 1777)
.....is failing to heed the above words.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Read this, add in some of the latest revelations in the news.....
Essay by Wallid Phares
....and wonder if Obama is not some sort of Manchurian Candidate.
He is not what he appears to be.
....and wonder if Obama is not some sort of Manchurian Candidate.
He is not what he appears to be.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Joel Rosenberg and the Nature of Evil
I have just finished the five book series by Joel Rosenberg, The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll, and Dead Heat. The stories are well-written, very engrossing, and very scary in their predictions. Overall they are a cross between Vince Flynn and Tim LaShay, an international hero living in events that are leading up to the Rapture which is where the last book ends.
In combining current political events with Biblical prophesy, Joel Rosenberg runs a risk of being overrun by events and even being completely wrong in the final comparisons. However, part of his popularity and credibility comes from his anticipation of many of the current events of the last few years, not so much in absolute detail but in general outline.
I think this comes from two sources, the first is a very good understanding of international politics and the real motivations behind various governments, and the second is a clear understanding of what constitutes evil. Mr. Rosenberg is very clear in his statements that the current and near future regimes of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia are evil. In particular he names North Korea, Russia, Iran, and a rebuilt Iraq after Saddam Hussein. The pragmatic politicians of Europe and the various members of the UN come in for their share of condemnation as well.
One of the consequences of his understanding of the current world situation is that the US eventually becomes a non-entity in the final solution. Though he does not explicitly say so, it is the result of years of pragmatism, refusal to stick by principle, and the desire to avoid doing anything that is difficult or controversial. He shows that our unwillingness to recognize evil for what it is, and to be willing to accommodate it for years, leads to our eventual destruction as a world power. The primary reason is our lack of a clearly moral compass to guide our actions. Rather than setting our own rules and making them clear to the world as we once did, we try to play by the rules of the rest of the world, as we perceive them, not understanding that their purpose is our defeat.
The central hero of the book, Jon Bennett, is as conflicted as our society for much of the entire saga. He wants peace but fails to understand even on a personal survival level that it sometimes requires the effective use of force. In fact, Jon Bennett eventually dies, (as does his wife and unborn child, slightly before) at the end, though he is saved in the Christian sense of salvation. In many ways the lesson is clear, either fight evil at all times, wherever it appears or be defeated by it. Despite the application of Biblical prophesy to destroy much of evil in the third book of the series, evil does re-emerge and Christians are saved by the Rapture. However, the rest of the world is left to deal with the coming horrors.
My theology does not agree with that of the author. I do not believe that only Christians can become saved to go to Heaven, nor do I believe in the Rapture and the other doctrines that accompany belief in it. However, the fight between good and evil that is presented in Scripture both Old and New Testament is very real, and is very much with us today. The greatest danger we face today is trivializing evil and its adherents. Evil is not some wrong idea that can be reasoned with or explained away. Evil has only one goal, the total destruction of everything that is not evil, and due to its nature, the eventual destruction of all of its adherents as they turn on one another after destroying everything else. On this Joel Rosenberg was very clear, evil will never stop unless it is stopped by being destroyed, and being destroyed completely. Just as weeds re-emerge from a fragment of root left when uprooted, so evil will resurge after being defeated unless totally defeated.
Dealing with evil presents a problem for basically good people. First they have a hard, if not impossible, time believing that evil even exists. Second, even if they do realize the existence of evil and fight it, they are reluctant to totally defeat it. They want to give it a second chance, heal its wounds and believe that given a chance it will change. They do not understand history. When we won WW II, we did help our enemies after their defeat, but NOT THE ORIGINATORS. Hitler, Mussolini and their cronies were either dead or were tried and executed. The Japanese that were responsible for the waging of the war committed seppuku or were killed. It was the surviving people who were under their thrall that we helped and changed.
One of the great dangers today, is that our so-called intellectual elite trivializes evil, and refuses to recognize it, and plays on the decency of the rest of us to hood-wink us into believing that evil is just another belief system, not a desire to destroy us. Evil is easy to recognize—it destroys anything that is not itself, just because of the other’s existence, not because it did anything. A homicide bomber that kills innocent men, women, and children, justifies his/her action simply because they exist as different in belief or behavior. The source of such a justification is truly evil. All decent creeds start with the premise that one should not kill. Of course they then have to modify the absolute to make it compatible with survival, mainly by saying, “except in self-defense.” Evil says, kill anybody that is not in agreement with it. Note that it has nothing to do with self-defense, but with the existence of something different.
There is also a form of evil that actually takes pleasure in destruction. This often appears in the desire to inflict pain and suffering in the process of destroying others. This can take the form of physical, mental, or emotional torture and destruction. This form of evil is more often recognized than any other form. There is also an evil that recognizes no end but its own. It does not seek to destroy unless its ends are obstructed. It is indifferent to anything else but itself and its desires. This form of evil is not always recognized, or if it is, it is seen as arrogance, egotism, or self-centeredness, rather than evil. However, anyone who gets in the road of the ends of such a person learns quickly how evil it is.
It is a damning indictment of our society that President Bush was criticized for naming the “Axis of Evil.” It shows how far down the road of moral failure we have traveled, to be unable to recognize or to admit the existence of evil.
In combining current political events with Biblical prophesy, Joel Rosenberg runs a risk of being overrun by events and even being completely wrong in the final comparisons. However, part of his popularity and credibility comes from his anticipation of many of the current events of the last few years, not so much in absolute detail but in general outline.
I think this comes from two sources, the first is a very good understanding of international politics and the real motivations behind various governments, and the second is a clear understanding of what constitutes evil. Mr. Rosenberg is very clear in his statements that the current and near future regimes of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia are evil. In particular he names North Korea, Russia, Iran, and a rebuilt Iraq after Saddam Hussein. The pragmatic politicians of Europe and the various members of the UN come in for their share of condemnation as well.
One of the consequences of his understanding of the current world situation is that the US eventually becomes a non-entity in the final solution. Though he does not explicitly say so, it is the result of years of pragmatism, refusal to stick by principle, and the desire to avoid doing anything that is difficult or controversial. He shows that our unwillingness to recognize evil for what it is, and to be willing to accommodate it for years, leads to our eventual destruction as a world power. The primary reason is our lack of a clearly moral compass to guide our actions. Rather than setting our own rules and making them clear to the world as we once did, we try to play by the rules of the rest of the world, as we perceive them, not understanding that their purpose is our defeat.
The central hero of the book, Jon Bennett, is as conflicted as our society for much of the entire saga. He wants peace but fails to understand even on a personal survival level that it sometimes requires the effective use of force. In fact, Jon Bennett eventually dies, (as does his wife and unborn child, slightly before) at the end, though he is saved in the Christian sense of salvation. In many ways the lesson is clear, either fight evil at all times, wherever it appears or be defeated by it. Despite the application of Biblical prophesy to destroy much of evil in the third book of the series, evil does re-emerge and Christians are saved by the Rapture. However, the rest of the world is left to deal with the coming horrors.
My theology does not agree with that of the author. I do not believe that only Christians can become saved to go to Heaven, nor do I believe in the Rapture and the other doctrines that accompany belief in it. However, the fight between good and evil that is presented in Scripture both Old and New Testament is very real, and is very much with us today. The greatest danger we face today is trivializing evil and its adherents. Evil is not some wrong idea that can be reasoned with or explained away. Evil has only one goal, the total destruction of everything that is not evil, and due to its nature, the eventual destruction of all of its adherents as they turn on one another after destroying everything else. On this Joel Rosenberg was very clear, evil will never stop unless it is stopped by being destroyed, and being destroyed completely. Just as weeds re-emerge from a fragment of root left when uprooted, so evil will resurge after being defeated unless totally defeated.
Dealing with evil presents a problem for basically good people. First they have a hard, if not impossible, time believing that evil even exists. Second, even if they do realize the existence of evil and fight it, they are reluctant to totally defeat it. They want to give it a second chance, heal its wounds and believe that given a chance it will change. They do not understand history. When we won WW II, we did help our enemies after their defeat, but NOT THE ORIGINATORS. Hitler, Mussolini and their cronies were either dead or were tried and executed. The Japanese that were responsible for the waging of the war committed seppuku or were killed. It was the surviving people who were under their thrall that we helped and changed.
One of the great dangers today, is that our so-called intellectual elite trivializes evil, and refuses to recognize it, and plays on the decency of the rest of us to hood-wink us into believing that evil is just another belief system, not a desire to destroy us. Evil is easy to recognize—it destroys anything that is not itself, just because of the other’s existence, not because it did anything. A homicide bomber that kills innocent men, women, and children, justifies his/her action simply because they exist as different in belief or behavior. The source of such a justification is truly evil. All decent creeds start with the premise that one should not kill. Of course they then have to modify the absolute to make it compatible with survival, mainly by saying, “except in self-defense.” Evil says, kill anybody that is not in agreement with it. Note that it has nothing to do with self-defense, but with the existence of something different.
There is also a form of evil that actually takes pleasure in destruction. This often appears in the desire to inflict pain and suffering in the process of destroying others. This can take the form of physical, mental, or emotional torture and destruction. This form of evil is more often recognized than any other form. There is also an evil that recognizes no end but its own. It does not seek to destroy unless its ends are obstructed. It is indifferent to anything else but itself and its desires. This form of evil is not always recognized, or if it is, it is seen as arrogance, egotism, or self-centeredness, rather than evil. However, anyone who gets in the road of the ends of such a person learns quickly how evil it is.
It is a damning indictment of our society that President Bush was criticized for naming the “Axis of Evil.” It shows how far down the road of moral failure we have traveled, to be unable to recognize or to admit the existence of evil.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
She did it again!
Sunday, October 19, two days before her 54th birthday, my wife completed the full Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco--26.2 miles in 6 hours, 10 minutes.
This is a very tough course--all hills. the worst is mile 6-7 is one long grade going from 0 to 300 feet in about a mile. That is approximately a 6% grade which is very steep. There are no flat parts on the course. Again, she did it with Team-in-Training, and raised $3600 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The race had 8000 TNT members running in it and they raised a total of $18 million for LLS, just for this race. TNT is celebrating their 20th year this year and have raised over $900 million for LLS in that time.
I am very proud of her and TNT both for the personal accomplishment(s) and for what they are doing to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
This is a very tough course--all hills. the worst is mile 6-7 is one long grade going from 0 to 300 feet in about a mile. That is approximately a 6% grade which is very steep. There are no flat parts on the course. Again, she did it with Team-in-Training, and raised $3600 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The race had 8000 TNT members running in it and they raised a total of $18 million for LLS, just for this race. TNT is celebrating their 20th year this year and have raised over $900 million for LLS in that time.
I am very proud of her and TNT both for the personal accomplishment(s) and for what they are doing to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
This is a travesty of what citizenship is supposed to be
The headline in this article says:
To quote Pogo: "We have met the enemy and they are us."
As our freedom and belief in the republican form of government we created disappears, lets make sure we give proper thanks to all the politicians and so-called teachers that have foisted such a situation off on us. They will get what they want--a low even playing field that they control. We will be the ones paying for it--over and over again.
States hiring thousands of new bilingual workers in advance of electionThe definition and requirements of citizenship in the US clearly state that the new citizen must be able to read and write English. So why are translators needed? Either people will vote who are not US citizens, which is wrong, or they have been granted US citizenship without fulfilling the requirements which is equally wrong.
To quote Pogo: "We have met the enemy and they are us."
As our freedom and belief in the republican form of government we created disappears, lets make sure we give proper thanks to all the politicians and so-called teachers that have foisted such a situation off on us. They will get what they want--a low even playing field that they control. We will be the ones paying for it--over and over again.
