In the lead - head or heart?

Albert Schweitzer made 12 sojourns to Africa, eventually dying there in 1965. He discovered his philosophy of civilization there - reverence for life. He pondered the mystery of cruelty and pain that one creature causes another. He formulated the theory that those with the ‘Mark of Pain’ share a special solidarity. He believed that the enemy of morality is indifference or what Jesus called the attitude of the lukewarm. He wrote that true heart is rational; true reason has sensitivity. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and numerous other accolades. A genius like Albert Schweitzer with rarity, "comes to life and speaks out of a vacuum. Then it is silent, equally mysteriously," says historian, writer and philosopher, Paul Johnson. Inexplicable exceptionalism such as Schweitzer’s also manifested itself during the 300 year period from 1300 to 1600 in Europe, known as the Renaissance. Yet genius can erupt any time in history.

My flight into pondering the heights of accomplishment must be balanced with a visit to the real world of the ignorant as exemplified in Ohio. A high school student contributed an article to my local paper discussing the fact that 33% of girls and women in America are abused and seeking solutions. Also, a poll of registered Ohio voters showed that 86% felt the economy is "not so good or poor, " but less than ½, 44%, felt that their personal financial situation was "not so good or poor." Should we accept these percentages as facts? No. We should ask what is the definition of abuse. Who benefits from such an outrageous claim? How can the economy be poor for everyone but everyone not include the person questioned? The question should be asked whether ‘data’ reflects media biases designed to be ingested by gullible listeners and readers. Do numbers result from manipulation of questions framed to determine outcome? Reason should lead and hearts in the matters follow.

Unlike genius, ignorance erupts all the time in history. Politicians count on it.

Let's get 'eristic'

As candidate for President I have been calling for a "miracle of renewal" in America. WFB, William F. Buckley, the pre-eminent conservative voice in America for this century, has just died. He left us with the same message. In 2006, he said we need a "repristinated vision" for America. 2008, is not too soon to undertake this mission. Liberal, Democrat candidates for President, Obama and Clinton embrace the antithesis of conservatism - socialism - as the future course for America. One example is their opposition to NAFTA (North American Free Trade Alliance) which has been economically good for our country though they portray it otherwise. In the last 10 years the jobless rate has fallen to new lows and 18 million jobs have resulted from its inception. Yet Obama and Clinton rail against it as a disaster. I quote WFB again: "Despair is inappropriate for a culture as buoyant as our own." Even though William said this in 2006, I hope he feels the same way today. Conservatives ( including myself) should become eristic ( to use a WFB word) with the opposition. We need to become disputatious ( my word) with them because America is no longer a pure, working, constitutional democracy. We already can distinguish the horns of socialism’s ugly head.

Yin and Yang

Who would want to be associated with the Yin, especially the liberal Yin? Yin - black, darkness, the feminine contrasts with Yang - red, light, the male. Liberal Chris Dodd who just recently endorsed Barak Obama for President, said that Barak (the enlightened one?) would "restore our possibility" in America. Tavis Smiley, a liberal, television talk show host asked Dee Dee Myers a question from the perspective of her "womanhoodedness." A pundit suggested that liberal Obama if elected would be our first "feminized" President. What can we make of liberal Yin? It takes a representative of the Yang, such as conservative, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, to correctly assess Yins. They are "struggling for a coherent thought." The Chinese Yang, source of light and heat contrasts with Yin, representing cold and death. Yin needs to be controlled as much as possible if we are to enjoy the best of both possible worlds.

So predictable

Plato the ancient Greek philosopher observed that the style of music affects political institutions. In reverse, a political institution affects the type of waste. During his realm as the last Kaiser of Germany, Wilhelm II killed 33,967 animals and birds and 581 unspecified beasts. In 1915, 9 million pigs were slaughtered in Germany to the cause of World War I because they were "co-eaters" that threatened the supply of bread. Weren’t these victims’ sacrifices in vain? Our government has recently recalled 143 million pounds of beef due to one video of "supposed" animal cruelty without a shred of proof that the meat was tainted by disease. "Gigantic" and "devastating" do not suffice as adjectives to portray the horrible waste in these three instances. Haven’t the lives of these victims of slaughter been in vain? The power to govern, so predictable in its abuses, never abates. Only the force of music, such as recently flowed across North Korea from the New York Philharmonic has the power to soothe a savage beast.

Stop to think

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste," and deliberately blighting it with perversions of American history equates with criminality. This evil takes place in our public schools. Minds are indoctrinated with revisions that promote political correctness and collective guilt. Liberal politics accounts for this waste. I offer an anecdote employing humor in the ugly vein of a hero of the progressive left, Lenny Bruce. Former President Clinton was scheduled speak at an assembly locally to campaign for his wife yesterday. Liberal Democrats waxed poetic in anticipation. They bent over backwards to suck up to the ‘...hole.’ Of course, to liberals, reality appears as a reversal of truth. A reporter ended his exhortation to the public to attend the speech and rally with the words "keep your nose clean." He knew not how accurately he spoke. When liberals kiss up to socialistic liberalism, the Devil cleverly reconfigures twin buttocks into twin moons and supporters rally round the enlightened cause.

Seriously, it’s scarey that Hellary Clinton and her opponent, Barak Obama, want to force Americans to collectively change. The crazy, depressing 19th century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard who might have philosophically wrestled himself to death at age 42, wrote this:

"The more the collective idea comes to dominate even the ordinary consciousness the more forbidding seems the transition to becoming a particular, existing human being instead of losing oneself in the race, and saying, ‘we, our age, the nineteenth century.’ That it is a little thing merely to be a particular existing human being is not to be denied; but for this very reason it requires considerable resignation not to make light of it. For what does a mere individual count for? Our age knows only too well how little it is, but here also lies the specific immorality of the age. Each age has its own characteristic depravity. Ours is perhaps not pleasure or indulgence of sensuality, but rather a dissolute pantheistic contempt for the individual man... Everything must attach itself so as to be a part of some movement; men are determined to lose themselves in the totality of things, in world history, fascinated and deceived by a magic witchery; no one wants to be a individual human being."

As the title of Kierkegaard’s great work suggests, America’s present decision is Either/Or . Either we decide to abandon our individuality and minds to the rhetoric and socialist cause of Obama in the hope of a changed America or we stop and think.

Utopia

Are we moving toward a Utopia as we, like the universe, slowly drift away from our core? St. Thomas More’s creation, Utopia, boasted of a ideal world where "though no one owns anything, everyone is rich." In contrast, the Greek demagogue, Creon, favored empire but warned that the three failings fatal to empire are "pity, sentiment, indulgence." Where is America today?
Somewhere at a frustrated mid point? Or tipping point? Government is poised to impose even more strictures, constraints and rules upon us if either progressive candidate, Barak Obama or Hellary Clinton inhabits the White House. Political correctness, hedonism, professional grief and a cult of victimhood and accusal characterize their versions of liberalism. The American empire would crack and crumble. Furthermore, liberal government - socialism, the abolishment of wealth, class divisions, self-sufficiency and entrepreneurism - envisions a romantic, Utopia on the horizon. Do we want our empire to fall and a socialist Utopia to arise and replace us? Nothing worse could prevail on the human soul than the abolishment of private property and class distinction. What would arise would be a planet of the apes in which the higher faculties of our evolutionary selves were abandoned and we ‘choose’ ( have been forced) to sit around in stuporous oblivion in a state of natural, pre-rational bliss, scratching each others’ backs.

Perfect marriage

Praxeology is a term coined around the turn of the 20th century for the study of human conduct. The fact that every issue can be seen from varying perspectives proves the legitimacy of this ‘ology’ in our lexicon. A story about a woman falling in love with a prisoner incarcerated for murder who helps him escape, consequently severing ties with her husband and family, was recently run in a national newspaper. It was evaluated by readers, one with an opinion of it as "horror," as "prurient" and "vicious" about people doing stupid things which don’t need to be known "especially in the details." On the other hand, revelations of personal passions were seen as "insightful without pity," "factual without being cold," a "tragedy of living out of duty" ..."but burying the desires of one’s heart" that does nothing but "kill the soul."

My God, the story of a woman who claims love after 30 years in a conventional career and family and throws it ‘all over’ should encourage people? Should we should be encouraged, as one reader suggested, "to consider asking ourselves not what the world needs (duty and obligation), but what makes us truly come alive (desire)? " Who says sex still does not sell? Yes, the heart has reasons but only the synthesis of duty, obligation and desire makes us truly human. An edifice to this wholeness proves my point.

The Glorious Golden Pagoda in Rangoon, Burma, called the Shwedagon (golden hills) built 2500 years ago, shines as a symbol and embodiment of the marriage of duty and obligation with a passionate desire of the heart. The bejeweled edifice memorializes respect to the Buddha. Supposedly, a relic of 8 hairs of the "Enlightened one" inspired its creation. What still matters today are the worshipers and appreciators who visit this spectacular shrine.

The pathetic (my word) woman in the story about her discovery of true love (for a self-professed young, wild criminal) that unveiled and confirmed her past, unhappy, moral life of duty and decorum - will never know a perfect marriage. Even if she took a trip to Burma after her release from prison, the message of the Shwedagon would elude her. Praxeology informs us that rare is the ability of a person to see both sides of an issue combining the two into a rational, moral union.

Waste not

As the lone surviving die-hard, in utero, unknown except to God, conservative in America, beholden to nobody in politics, needed by my country and available for President - I repeat my call for a renewal of our 4 freedoms:
Spend reasonably,
Save responsibly,
Choose morally,
Behave rationally.

Take my big 2 lb bag of frozen venison as an example, for which I paid a generous somebody $4.00. After I trimmed the sinew (deer meat bears virtually no fat) and sliced it into stir-fry pieces, I fried the residue in a pan for dog and cat treats. The balance of 30 oz, of my anticipated, carnivorous feast I popped into the freezer for future use. As a proper conservative, waste not, want not, is my driving force. The four freedoms must be at the forefront of my shopping experiences and meal planning.

Spending reasonably, my limit for ‘protein’ is $2.00 a pound.
Saving responsibly, the cash left over from due diligence, finds itself in a balanced mutual fund.
Choosing morally ( including the venison offered to me by a ‘friend’), I shop locally from a predetermined grocery list at an economical, discount retailer following my guidelines for offerings within my price range and searching for any bonus of a reduced bargain.
Behaving rationally, I plan my menus carefully showing respect for conserving financial and natural resources. I am rewarded when I sit down at the table for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.

What I like takes precedence over what I find distasteful (literally) because extreme denial, like extreme narcissism, is unreasonable, irresponsible, immoral and irrational.

Beelzebub

Beelzebub assumes many forms in order to garner many converts. Liberals with passion for their cause often become devout followers. As a false god, a deceiver, he makes any good thing appear to be bad. The 7 pillars of Western wisdom - a free-market economy, meritocracy, a belief in pragmatism, a culture of peace, rule of law, an emphasis on education and the pursuit of advancement in science and technology - add up to a steamy pile of excreta for a die-hard liberal. Ditto for a Communist, encased as a socialist, encased as a charismatic visionary. Excreta is perceived as a gourmet snack. Beelzebub makes sure of that.

In England, a member of the Labor Party, equivalent to our Democratic party, called our President George W. Bush, "the greatest threat to life on this planet." And the misguided politician lived another day because Western wisdom respects the right to free speech under the rule of law. Here at home, the wife of a candidate running for President says she has never been proud to be an American yet her husband aspires to the Oval Office. Furthermore, with hope he plans to change America taking her down the socialist (Communist) road. Also, even though the oldest profession of prostitution has always been perceived as the work of the Devil, another old profession, journalism, continues to fulfill its role sympathetic to and openly supporting liberalism, progressivism, socialism and Communism. Today, the newspaper, NYT, (New York Times) printed a non-story to smear a candidate by using ancient history, no facts and lot of innuendo to move forward its liberal party line. My, Beelzebub must be happy.

Liberalism would tear down the pillars of representative Republican democracy that wisely have advanced civilization. Better to possess a ½ loaf than none. Better to elect a Republican President than a follower of Beelzebub whose minions see a ½ loaf where there is none because for them, a lie is always true.

Slave or free?

Since the first murder of Abel by his brother Cain, the course of humanity has been downhill in sin. After appropriating a sense of property, the use of animals and the practice of agriculture, humans naturally gravitated to a sense of war. Slavery followed. First, enslavement of conquered enemies; next enslavement of inferiors based upon race. Down through time, from 2000 B.C., records in Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Roman, Medieval Europe and the East, show that slavery was justified as the natural order of things. Aristotle put the capstone onto this philosophical basis for the superiority of one human being. The commander represented mind over matter, matter being the body of the slave. So from the 4th century B.C. that boasted both the Great philosopher Aristotle and Alexander the Great, slavery was the order of the day and nightmare of the human spoils of war and victims of racism. Even if the conquerors and the conquered repeatedly reversed their roles in wars, the concept and culture of master and slave remained intact. Over time the abolition of slavery became inevitable as man and civilization moved onto higher and higher ethical, moral and cultural grounds. Sometimes the facts of manumission are interesting. Henry VIII freed some of his serfs. Elizabeth I of England issued an Emancipation about 300 years before Abraham Lincoln. George Washington did but Thomas Jefferson did not, release his slaves. By the turn of the 20th century slavery was abolished on paper but not behind the scenes. What about today? When will it end? To paraphrase a popular counselor and psychologist, it will end when each individual person says "It’s over." Mind over matter; thought as a precedent to action. For the Romans the choice between death and slavery was real. Patrick Henry posited a similar question, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" No, it need not be; it’s all about choice. Slavery will end when we choose to say "It’s over." If as Socrates said, "Man is the measure of all things," it’s about time we measured up.

For nothing or something

For nothing or something a person in Cuba or Russia could be sent to prison or to the Gulag. Arrest for literary, religious or political opposition to the regime has been common. Even though one dictator, Castro has stepped down from power, another, Putin, remains in place. The BBC (British Broadcasting Company) says that Castro has made "impressive domestic strides," provided "good medical care freely available" and can boast of "95% literacy" in his country as well as an "infant mortality comparable to the best Western nations." Unfortunately, the leader himself provided the impressive data to the outside world. Russia’s present leader, Putin has a poor record of transparency too. In any Communist state, the dream for the Caesar is good, but for others it becomes a nightmare. As long as the devil operates apace, the appeal of a lie will live on. Even in a prestigious newspaper like the WSJ (Wall Street Journal), courage to deny the devil even a small victory is lacking. I noted today that Mia Farrow is credited for an article as "an actor," which, of course, is untrue. She is not only an actress but also one who has not acted for decades. She is also identified as Ms., which, of course, is politically correct but false because she has been married and produced a son. Why do women retain maiden names, use hyphenated names or maintain separate last names from husbands? For example, Ms. Hellary Rodham Clinton. For no reason or some reason, the devil is still being given his due.

The fall of America

The invasion of the Romans by the barbarians was just the beginning of the end of their empire. "There are, no doubt, lessons here for the contemporary reader, " writes Thomas Cahill. "The changing character of the native population, brought about through unremarked pressures on porous borders; the creation of an increasingly unwieldy and rigid bureaucracy, whose own survival becomes its overriding goal; the despising of the military and the avoidance of its service by established families, while its offices present unprecedented opportunity for marginal men to whom its ranks had once been closed; the lip service paid to values long dead; the pretense that we still are what we once were; the increasing concentrations of the populace into richer and poorer by way of a corrupt tax system, and the desperation that inevitably follows; the aggrandizement of executive power at the expense of the legislature; ineffectual legislation promulgated with great show; the moral vocation of the man at the top to maintain order at all costs, while growing bind to the cruel dilemmas of ordinary life- these are all the themes with which our world is familiar, nor are they the God-given property of any party or political point of view, even though we often act as if they were." Cahill continues that "At least, the emperor could not heap his economic burden on posterity by creating long-term debt, for floating capital had not yet been conceptualized." Too scarey the fact that this historian and author about the end of Roman civilization presents prescient analysis from history. He performs a service to the concept of the God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by pointing out what we could lose. A win for Hellary Clinton or Barak Obama in 2008 would usher in the very realities that he describes as preludes to our downfall.

War and Peace

When Patrick Henry said "these are the times that try men’s souls," he put into historical perspective a truth that often carried with it the presence of war. War, not peace, has transformed the lives of peoples around the world as great powers rise and fall. The words of Virgil, Rome’s greatest Latin poet who penned the Aeneid, are appropriate. "These are the tears of things, and the stuff of our mortality cuts us to the heart."

Edward Gibbon in 1776 said that the decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Rome fell due to the empyrean of narcissism which in turn led to the empyreal rise of Christianity. Each phenomenon was fired by fiery forces but with opposite outcomes. After the fall of Rome, medieval, Christian Renaissance thought triumphed on the world stage.

Of course, periods of peace have always been punctuated by periods of war. The daimon or inner spirit of Socrates transforms itself into the demon of war and the West has not been lacking in martial spirit over the centuries. Otto Skorzeny, a loyal Nazi working for Hitler in the early 1940's during World War II, knew that Germany need worry about the Allies because "in the hour of danger Anglo-Saxon capacity for resistance soars to stupendous heights."

When Pope Benedict XVI today calls for "wisdom and courage" of world leaders to end wars, don’t hold your breath. A rise and a fall are somewhere in the making.

Rome vs. Catholics

Rutherford B. Hayes was salaried $3,500 in 1858 as city solicitor for Cincinnati, Ohio. Pretty good money for a lawyer considering as a starting teacher in 1963, I only received $5,250 a year. Another lawyer, Barak Obama somehow in the early 1990's received an advance for a book sufficient to allow him to buy a 1.5 million dollar house. Pretty sweet! Now I learn that President Bush’s 2009 budget spends (over- spends) $10,000 on every person in America. How have I managed to miss attending the parties which are naturally and frequently thrown by politicians and lawyers? Animals feel pain but only humans suffer. I suffer knowing the inequities of pay and the money wasted by bureaucratic governance. Even killing all the lawyers, as Shakespeare suggested, won’t make the pain go away. Killing all the politicians would also have to be implemented. Remember the tension between Athens and Jerusalem that advanced civilization? The tug-of-war today more resembles a Rome versus the Catholics. Rome, the rich, powerful acquisitive, imperial, ruling class, taxes, borrows and spends at the expense of the populace. We plebs, humanitarian in our pursuits, do good, avoid evil and practice a Catholic concern for our fellow man. Who will triumph?

Unthrifty genes

Man’s thrifty genes waste a lot of time and money obsessing over contradictions. 1st, consider germs. Obsessing over them has resulted in anti-microbial and anti-bacterial products to prevent airborne infections. A dispenser even disinfects door knobs. Yet the ‘i’s still have it because viral infections are as yet incurable and enter the body mostly via the conduit of the eyes. Man must continue to rely upon thrifty anti-bodies imprinted in his genes to conquer infections and disease. The contradiction between biology and behavior based upon misconceptions persists. 2nd, consider the obsession with going green such as at Nike. Green technology has not rewarded the company with net profits, just monumental costs. Yet consumers of Nike sneakers don’t care if they pay $185.00 for green, fashion statements; they are just obsessed with satisfying their egos. 3rd, consider the obsession over risk. Even though every action contains the risk of a reaction, thrifty genes can’t be allowed to go about their business. A spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics is compelled to put a negative spin on the 30% of ATV injuries to riders under the age of 16 by calling for a minimum age for riders. The flip side puts a positive spin on reality when a member of the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America notes that injuries are decreasing for riders under 16, so this trend is good. Lastly, consider the contradiction in polls that explore the flat world’s obsession with free trade. Surveys prove that most citizens favor ‘free trade’; who would want to practice ‘unfair trade’? Yet each individual felt that his country experienced unfairness in trade practices with another country or countries. Man’s thrifty gene for truth lies somewhere in between contradictions. Unfortunately contradictory obsessions wastes both precious time and money.

Abe vs. Barak

Which is preferable - a society based upon self-evident truths that Lincoln believed derived from our Constitution or a secula, process-oriented society the end result of which is a socialist state? I wish to contrast a representative of the former with Barak Obama. Even though his subjects and verbs rarely agree, a local, honest, career, law enforcement officer of 31 years running for sheriff more surely represents the spirit of America than a charismatic charlatan who never walked a daily beat or would never fracture his English by saying that he wants to ‘progress forward’ to get to his ‘priority cases’ because, ‘budgetary wise,’ his ‘priorities is in order.’ No, the articulate, appealing one Barak you see is not the one you get like in the case of the local, decent, unselfish citizen cop. The honest policeman’s sui generis contrasts with Barak’s. Unlike Lincoln who could annoy Americans with his straight talk about freedom and responsibility, Obama complains about the over-crowded law complex buildings (jails) because crime is going up. Then he says he represents ‘change’ for the future with hope by funding more initiatives with taxpayers’ monies (called theft) in a society which will be process-oriented in order to level playing fields with mandatory, universal programs that rescue the middle class and reorganize the meaning of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by socialist means to serve socialist ends. Oh, yes, there will be changes made if Obama becomes our next President.

Obamamania

Why bother when the world is passing me by? I believe in substance over form. In fact over fiction. In paying my own way over depending upon others. In freedom over submission to a leader. The adage to purchase only what you can pay for with cash has passed me by; buy now pay later replaces it. The justification to oppose the Iraq war but support the troops is accepted as logical to many in spite of its illogic. Those who bite off more house than they can chew are now politely excused and granted concessions on their payments. Doing the right things seem to be out of fashion. Hypocrisy and irresponsibility are in vogue. Smart thinkers may perceive that education is the solution to ignorance, crime and failure but its embrace, much less the definition of education is as yet unknown. On the net I read that "hypocrisy is tribute that vice pays to virtue." America could wipe out its national debt at the rate that Obamamaniacs pays tribute into the coffers of their Messiah.

At a recent rally in Madison, Wisconsin, Obamacans. Obama girls, Obama groupies, Obamites and Obamaistas went Obamagasmic as they Rocked around Barak. Logic and economic self-interest were hat-checked and willingly abandoned at the front door. A socialist was cheered. Substance was the price paid for Obama’s cause - change. Wanton salutes to the new Messiah signaled a willing disregard for reason. Self-education? Where was self-education? Knowing the policies or ideological positions of Obama took the back seat to standing, waving, wildly and cheering hypocrisy and emptiness masked by an appealing voice and face. As for me, 50 pounds would be just a start to enhancing Barak’s appeal. Eliminating the baa, baa, baa I heard from his sheep would also be a mandatory inducement. I say bring on the Hildebeast who has spelled out her socialistic agenda up front unlike Barak Obama who stands behind the podium mouthing platitudes and firing up a crowd who knows not what they do (or what he will do to them if elected their President).

Idiotcy

To use an analogy from my least favorite sport, (I am a short person) idiocy is a slam dunk nowadays. Che Guevera flags hang in Barak Obama’s Houston campaign headquarters. Obama refuses to wear an American flag pin but his supporters ‘fall’ over him knowing or ignoring the fact that he will institute a socialistic, dictatorship in America if elected President. His fellow Democrat and rival Hellary preaches about taking money away from successful companies like Exxon to give subsidies to failing businesses like GM who lost 39 billions dollars last year.( If I were a thousand dollars in the red in my bank I’d have fits). Democrats favor "slivers" of help as "silver bullets" to aid irresponsible mortgage holders of homes they could not afford even though they encouraged both the lending institutions and the private citizens to purchase the homes in the first place. Wrong has morphed into right. Good thing my hamburger pie rests safe and tasty in my paid-for refrigerator awaiting a pop into my 10 yr. old microwave, also fiscally in the black. An economically, efficient hamburger pie ( ground beef, instant mashed potato, frozen peas, onion, mushroom soup) might be an appropriate metaphor for the out-of-touch elitism that passes for populist rhetoric in politics. No Hitler, Castro, Lenin, Mao, Kim Il Sung, Stalin, Chavez, Sukarno, Pol Pot, Amin, Aristide, etc., ever ate humble pie. They only expected their proletariat to embrace it on a daily basis.

Darkness and light

Darkness ended when the big bang dawned,
And five centuries before Christ the Lord,
Euripides knew "how oft the darkest hour
Of ill breaks brightest into dawn."

Darkness always tries to swallow the light,
But when light shines it swallows up darkness.
Whoever is born is born to die - but
From darkness is born again into the light.

We will always love you

A disequilibriating factor emerged during that hellish time called the First World War - mud. In the summer of 1917, during the British offensive called the Third Battle of Ypres, near Passchendaele, spring rains and bombardments had churned up the earth to the depth of six feet. Many horses commandeered to serve their masters, sunk into the mud to succumb to ignominious deaths. Near this Valentine’s day, let’s remember with affection and gratitude those who have fallen in service to their countries during a time of war. John Keegan, a prominent military historian, said that, "Rare are the times in a great war when the fortunes of one side or the other are transformed by the sudden accretion of a disequilibritiating reinforcement." He was referencing the United States entry into WWI in the summer of 1917. Battle casualties and influenza eventually claimed 100,000 American lives. Following the armistice at Versailles, another disequilibriating factor, a civil war in Russia claimed 7 to 10 million lives. One never knows when a Black Swan, that unpredictable, earth-shaking, status quo shattering disequilibriating event might occur. One does know, however, that millions of men and men’s best, hoofed friends paid the ultimate price in great wars. Because war is Hell, mourners must remember the fallen. "We will always love you."

Valentine casualties

Over there, over there -
The French at Verdun -
The British at the Somme-
At Brusilov’s offensive, Russians,
Germans, Austrians, millions of
casualties in 1916, over there.

Over here, in 2008, millions
More, because what an old song
Sang, "Nobody else but you, but you,
Nobody else but you will do,"
My whole life through, for you,
What am I living for if not for you" -
Died. Here. Millions of casualties of love.

Miracle of renewal

Remember the 4 freedoms? Not those from Franklin D. Roosevelt, but mine. Americans are free to spend reasonably, save responsibly, choose morally and behave rationally. Too bad our Utilitarian States of America are in need of a miracle of renewal. Some with more money than brains have contributed 180 million dollars to sponsor the Presidential campaigns of Hellary and Barak. Others along with politicians have fostered initiatives to deprive Americans of their right to smoke maintaining the pretense that cigarettes and second-hand smoke cause death in epic proportions. (Parenthetically, only a mere 5.4 million people in the world, out of a population of billions, annually die prematurely from tobacco-related causes). Television continues to offer programs such as Battle of the Bods and Deal or No Deal which reflect the shallowness and narcissism of our culture. (Parenthetically, whenever an image award is up for grabs, such as between Super Bowl commercials, an animal always comes out looking best.) Nevertheless, human beings, merely animals encased in skin, never cease to compete amongst themselves. Obsession with the superficial still means that Americans do not opt for meaningful, retail or recreational purchases, do not stash away an investment nest egg, do not punch the remote control to change channels when legal porn flashes on the screen and do not engage their brains before tapping into their feelings in the voting booth or elsewhere. The loss of financial and moral security and responsibility sums up the need for a miracle of renewal.

Politics as usual

Just as Marco Polo needed a paiza (passport) to travel about the Mongol empire of Kublai Khan, Americans today need a rusty shovel to dig their way out of the muck and mire that passes for politicking. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, we cannot trust anyone to verify data. No person of importance or influence speaks straight because an agenda, power or greed provide the motivation. A medical expert in a study of traumatic head injuries writes about "mounting empirical evidence" and "enormous costs" as well as 100's of 1000's of deaths" that could be prevented. Yet he simultaneously admits the findings in his study are "very preliminary." Truth or dare? Presidential Republican candidate Mitt Romney (not out of contention) loved soundbites pandering to his evocative contrasts between Wal-Mart and Wall Street. Democrat candidate Hellary Clinton wants to steal Exxon’s excessive profits even though Exxon pays to the government, via taxes, an amount equal to what the bottom 50% of taxpayers, that is 65,000,000, pay in taxes. Wow! Truth to power. The Red Cross must now screen recipients of aid because of the fraud perpetrated upon them by ‘victims’ of hurricane Katrina. Remember Katrina? Reality denial about it from liberal politicians years later is still standard fare. Even the sad death of young Natalie Holloway in its abstract terms, cannot be evaluated in its proper context as a reality show. Her parents who allowed her to party abroad as a high school senior and Natalie putting herself in harm’s way, were not victims. Her privileged ( probable) killer in Aruba who banged the broads at night and surfed by day, enjoying ‘wave after wave’ was ready, willing and available. What I like best about history is the tragedy of inevitability following supposedly rational actions.

The first Great War provided the opportunity for hundreds and thousands of horses to break down under the strain of unrelenting advances by the German armies into Belgium at the start of the invasion which was accompanied by massacres of Belgians on a huge scale. That’s what I call a tragic, reality check. Who could have seen it coming? Or cared? Certainly not a politician. Influential politicians started World War I and finished it, but America’s politicians today perpetuate a war between opposing ideological camps. Sadness and shame are on order.

I'M AVAILABLE

America needs me, but not to just pay money to belong to your team. I share your belief in the power of free individuals to achieve their own destiny. Yes, I am the lone, maverick conservative in America, available as the candidate to defeat Hellary in 2012 who calls for a miracle of renewal of our national identity. Some billionarie should come to New Holland. I accept the challenge faced by both the Republican and Democrat parties. I understand the need to restore common sense, free market entrepreneurial thinking and conservative values to America so that her future will be brighter. It will take a miracle of renewal. To vote other than Republican is impossible, of course in 2008, because the liberal alternative is scary. I am available for 2012. I lack financial backing and a campaign manager. Do you have any ideas or help for me? I am the undiscovered one that Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich and other conservative luminaries hope exists ‘out there’ as the genuine, lone conservative, a counterpoint to politics as usual.
The Republicans could lose control because the public perceives no difference between the parties. Haven’t we heard enough from politicians in words and observed too much of them in actions? The populace appropriately perceives elitism and a disconnected lifestyle and mindset from ingrained politicians. The "stakes get higher" for Republican Senate candidates with a Hellary in the White House, but looking backward to find another Ronald Reagan just won’t do. Some ‘unknown’ from ‘nowhere’ who literally personifies the conservative conscience is the candidate of the future. I am she. I represent the common American, unwilling victim of liberals when they impose upon me their higher taxes, left-leaning revisionist judges, weakened national security, socialized health care, global warming religion, wealth redistribution, misguided immigration policy, multi-lateral diplomacy, political correctness, cultural indecencies, uncivil discourse and behavioral regulations. The list goes on... Also, I have no intention of sharing my prosperity as Hellary will mandate and I believe no other American wants to or should share his.
I think Americans are tired of just words. I embrace this country’s traditional goodness, value system, constitutional guarantees and core conservatism. If a passion is required as a selling point, mine is probably not to waste money. Call me to test my credentials. Seriously, in retirement, I have had time for analysis and consideration. Sans any persona or independent wealth, my candidacy is ideally suited to represent Americans whose leader should still count for something other than power, pork, perks and privilege. I have been blogging in the wilderness 3 years under ‘uncommon sense.’ tcminc.blogspot.com
Sincerely,

To Ann Coulter

My country needs me. Pundits now talk about character in a Presidential candidate and disgust with partisan paralysis. I’m the unknown lone, conservative from nowhere, the forgotten woman, who has been saying that Americans are tired of business as usual in Washington and the blur between political parties. Nothing is new to what you and I have been saying all along. Today’s the last day to stop the slide, Ann, to which you alluded when you said you’d rather vote for Hellary than McCain. After reading Hellary’s socialist froth and fraud piece in the Wall Street Journal, however, I would suggest you reconsider your stance. McCain would at least - as he’s promised - put Conservative judges on the Supreme Court. Hellary’s progressivism and idea of shared prosperity would suck us into a socialistic state. I have no intention of sharing my hard-earned prosperity. Those who should share the wealth would be billionaires such as Gates, Jobs, Buffett, Yang, Brin or Schmidt. They have more money than they’ll ever need. Why should they not make voluntary contributions to help less fortunate citizens? Hellary, of course, whose goal is to share the wealth, would take the profits away from corporations not billionaires because some of them support her political agenda and her campaign. Hillary’s helping hand to the middle class would impose further burdens upon them and anyone else who actually pays taxes. Which ‘rich’ would subsidize her ‘poor’? Even though China has backed her rise to power and the Presidency, she claims America should not depend on the raging tiger for our economic support. Hypocrisy never sounded so good as articulated by Hellary Clinton. To both of us none of this is new. John McCain, a liberal Republican, represents the wave of the Republicans’ future. Yes, neither you nor I can accept this. The two decades from 1880 to 1910 expressed the ‘wild and free’ spirit of America. One hundred years later, say 2012, I’m ready to run to recapture that mood. But we won’t need change then, or shared prosperity; we’ll need a miracle. Only the last, lone conservative in America -me - will be ask for a miracle in 2012.

Bring it on!

At the turn of the 20TH century, American kitchens celebrated a plenitude of food. Then in the first decade, rationing, then in the 20's prohibition, in the 30's breadlines, the 40's rationing again, in the 50's abundance returned, then in the 60's DDT scares, the 70's nitrite scares, the 80's fat scares, and in the 90's a wealth of choices returns for a third round. In the1st decade of the 21st century, a food historian predicts healthier food choices, organic foods and avoidance of high fat items especially trans fats. How antithetical to reason these restrictions and precautions! What goes around the American kitchen, apparently comes around. Fads, falsehoods and the madness of crowds revolve in a circle of lies. When one in 10 Americans today uses food stamps, this statistic does not differ from conditions at the turn of the last century when agriculture drove the economy and poverty was inevitable for at least 1 out of 10 as a matter of course. At the turn of the 21st century, therefore, nothing is new. Gourmet magazine vs. A Taste of Home is the symbolic and real contrast between those who can cook and those who can admire cooking, between pretension and immersion, between, Martha Stewart’s labor intensive posturing in the kitchen and Rosanne Barr’s "comic vocabulary of material resentment." At the turn of the 21st century, the habit of dining out, more than ever, vs. home-cooking. Yet, famous chefs create calorie and fat-ladden menus that hold a candle to old-fashioned down-home favorites. So why do health nuts and government do-gooders claim junk foods and modern food choices are creating an unhealthy obesity epidemic? Earth day celebrations now hand out T-shirts instead of commemorating nature’s gastronomical bounty. Nothing’s changed. The irrationally of life in the American kitchen has manifested itself for 100 years. Logic says food is good, food is natural, food is good for us. But why is too much of a good thing bad? Bring on the bounty!

Truth in beauty

We are in deep doodoo because liars spread untruths to power. What were the Communist denials of the past -that Einstein, Hegel and God were lies of the idealists - cannot be excused or accepted today. A perspicacious Russian wrote about life under Stalin, that "the murder of the truthful words was the blackest of crimes." This lesson has still not been learned.. Celebrities, stars and influential icons can gather audiences to hear their lies as they claim that religion and faith have no traditional meaning, dogmas or certitudes, just spiritual offerings and that a belief in an omnipotent being is dangerous. Too many searchers for truth accept lies. Presidential candidate, Barak Obama, inspires a Ms. Eshoo because he "appeals to the best in us, and in doing so he restores the sense of idealism that brought me to public service. He challenges us to dream bigger and reach farther." Unfortunately, Mr. Obama’s appeal for change can anything or mean something ominous. Ms. Eshoo’s words could be re-interpreted as truths to accommodate the great struggle for the soul of Russia by her evil but inspiring leader, Josef Stalin. As one ‘true, young believer’ in Communism wrote in his autobiographical book, I imagined the "ugly, little pigmy, to be a handsome giant." America cannot afford to let the appealing lies of liberals speak as truths with the power to change our hearts and minds.

Also, as an aside, I am reminded that true freedom, true capitalism, true patriotism made us great. As is written in a letter to the editor of a national newspaper by a concerned citizen about the problem of poverty: "It is not capitalism, but the absence of true capitalism and economic freedom that suppresses wealth building ( and dream building, I might add)." A leader should "encourage countries to eliminate corruption, reduce crime, improve infrastructure, protect private property, reduce taxes, enforce contracts, support the rule of law, encourage savings, encourage investment, educate the population, become self-sufficient in food production and stop fighting... " ( with each other I might add.). "Capitalism is not failing the poor; the governments are failing the poor."

If we take each of the above ideas and hold them up to a mirror evaluating their condition (and implementation) in America today, I’m afraid we suffer from a bad case of acne. Many pimples of imperfection have popped up due to liberal thinking and politically correct actions. Corruption in Washington, inner-city crime waves, crumbling infrastructures, legal usurpation of private property, increased taxes, personal irresponsibility, plea bargaining, absence of savings and neglect of investment, complete dumbing down in public schools, food subsidies, tariffs and regulations and the inability of Republicans and Democrats to agree on core values - each is a dangerous eruption on the face of a great nation. What to do? What to do? Clearasil won’t do! Lying to ourselves won’t do. The truth is sometimes not pretty, but only the truth will do. As John Keats the young, gifted poet reminds us, Truth is beauty; beauty truth." That’s all you need to know.

Eat meat

Conspiracy theories tell more about their authors than about their subjects. Those who buy into a redesigning of reality should be shunned. The conspiracy theories about JFK’s death were nurtured mostly by liberals desperate to find an explanation for the murder by an avowed Marxist. For conspiracy nuts, occasional acts of evil just cannot be admitted to exist. Searches for a conspiracy have revolved around the death of JFK and of Lincoln, UFO cover-up’s, Blacks, the End Time, White Supremacy and even witches in pilgrim Salem. Backward, forward and today, liberal paranoia animates the conspiracy theorists. With the advent of the Internet, they have new venues over which to spit their venom. Extreme, left-wing political sites, Moveon.org and the blog, Kos. keep alive the tradition. Unrealistic conclusions and actions characterize the conspiracy mongering of liberals. A recent book about food, by Michael Pollan, a liberal, suggests the solution to the age-old quest of the omnivore: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." As usual a liberal strikes out by getting 2/3rds of the answer wrong. Mr. Pollen assumes that there is a modern conspiracy between the food industry and carnivores. His advice to ‘Eat food’ sounds rational. But ‘Not too much’ is purely counter-intuitive. ‘Mostly plants’ is anti-human biology. One can now understand why liberal’s conspiracy theories will never die.

Untitled

Windy, wet, moderate, without the sun -
Pow! Ra’s punch repudiates the dull
Sky like a shouted exclamation,
Unmasks my musing, uplifts my mood.
To Lenin, "Liberty is precious; so precious
It must be rationed." Nyet! Free, equal
Fraternal radiation, revolution, for all.