W.C. Fields on the national dems and the races for the White House:
A thing worth having is a thing worth cheating for.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
QUOTE(S) OF INTEREST
Lily Tomlin on the clintons:
No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up.
No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up.
COMPUTERS AND COCKTAIL HOURS
Never delete programs from your computer after an extended cocktail hour.
'Nuff said!
'Nuff said!
DO AND SAY WHAT YOU MEAN
Maintaining ambiguous, informal ties to Taiwan is confusing and potentially dangerous; it obscures Beijing's understanding of just how committed the United States is to Taiwan's defense and self-determination.
John Bolton was reviled by the national democrats. He was denied by them of his appointment as US Ambassador to the United Nations.
He was appointed by President Bush.
That was why he was opposed by the national dems.
He is insightful. He is brilliant. He doesn't give a damn for ignorant fools.
In this article, he points out the importance of clarity in international relations and the dangers which lurk in policies which muddy the diplomatic landscape.
Spies, intelligence agents, etc., will always be with us because nations have to know what their allies and enemies and whatever are really thinking and really doing.
John Bolton argues that it is generally helpful if nations make positions as clear as possible as they go about their affairs.
Check out the article.
It is persuasive.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-bolton29mar29,0,4808578,print.story
John Bolton was reviled by the national democrats. He was denied by them of his appointment as US Ambassador to the United Nations.
He was appointed by President Bush.
That was why he was opposed by the national dems.
He is insightful. He is brilliant. He doesn't give a damn for ignorant fools.
In this article, he points out the importance of clarity in international relations and the dangers which lurk in policies which muddy the diplomatic landscape.
Spies, intelligence agents, etc., will always be with us because nations have to know what their allies and enemies and whatever are really thinking and really doing.
John Bolton argues that it is generally helpful if nations make positions as clear as possible as they go about their affairs.
Check out the article.
It is persuasive.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-bolton29mar29,0,4808578,print.story
STAY WITH THE AMERICANS...CHURCHILL AGREES WITH ME
The experience of Iraq, coupled with Europe's increased role in the Balkans, has tempted some Eurocentrics to say that Nato is outmoded and that an enhanced military role for the EU should replace it. This is fantasy land. If there is one thing that would be even worse for Europe than fighting a war with the Americans as allies, it is fighting a war without them. [Emphasis mine]
Decades ago Sir Winston Churchill advised his successors, whatever the travails and the challenges, to "...stay with the Americans."
In the early 1960's, I, in my humble way and with all humility, wrote in a geopolitical paper that the UK should beware the pull of the Continent, that the Island Nation had far more in common with the offspring 'Across the Pond' than it ever did or would have with the various nations across the Channel.
And now The Guardian echoes the same sentiment, a paper with no conservative leanings, I might add.
The quote above registers this idea, as does the entire article which may be read at the link below.
It is grand to be on the same page with Sir Winston!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
SUEZ NAVAL INCIDENT
USS Cole was attacked some years ago, during the Presidency of clinton.
That was then.
Some months ago, a group of British sailors were captured by iranian gunboats whilst carrying out their duties in international waters.
More recently, a group of iranian fast boats aggressively approached a squadron of US Naval vessels.
And then there was the incident in the Strait of Taiwan.
And now, this incident in the Suez Canal in which a vessel under contract to the US Navy fired close on to an approaching Egyptian small vessel which refused to stand away.
US and British Naval units are deployed throughout the oceans of the world.
Their job, as in days of old, now there is a phrase, is to 'keep the sea lanes open' for the lawful intercourse, now there is another word, of the lawabiding nations of the world.
Pirates and rogue navies are plentiful. Pirates infest the waters around west Africa, the Caribbean, off the Asian coasts, and God knows where else.
iran operates gunboats in the vital oil shipping lanes of the Middle East.
And then there are the growing naval threat of mainland china and what is left of the Russian Navy.
The point is that the American and British Navies face complex and many challenges.
They have proven in recent encounters that they are not trigger happy.
This most recent Suez incident emphasizes the readiness of the US Navy to defend itself.
Such emphasis is good in a maritime world in which there is really no effective law enforcement beside that which the US and the British Navies are willing and able to carry out.
Make no mistake...there are laws of the sea, but said laws are only enforced by those nations which sail upon them.
And it is important for the well-being of the world that the right navies do the enforcing.
Check out thte link below for an account of the Suez incident and how it probably came about.
Bad guys will and should take notice.
.humanevents.com/article.php?print=yes&id=25695
That was then.
Some months ago, a group of British sailors were captured by iranian gunboats whilst carrying out their duties in international waters.
More recently, a group of iranian fast boats aggressively approached a squadron of US Naval vessels.
And then there was the incident in the Strait of Taiwan.
And now, this incident in the Suez Canal in which a vessel under contract to the US Navy fired close on to an approaching Egyptian small vessel which refused to stand away.
US and British Naval units are deployed throughout the oceans of the world.
Their job, as in days of old, now there is a phrase, is to 'keep the sea lanes open' for the lawful intercourse, now there is another word, of the lawabiding nations of the world.
Pirates and rogue navies are plentiful. Pirates infest the waters around west Africa, the Caribbean, off the Asian coasts, and God knows where else.
iran operates gunboats in the vital oil shipping lanes of the Middle East.
And then there are the growing naval threat of mainland china and what is left of the Russian Navy.
The point is that the American and British Navies face complex and many challenges.
They have proven in recent encounters that they are not trigger happy.
This most recent Suez incident emphasizes the readiness of the US Navy to defend itself.
Such emphasis is good in a maritime world in which there is really no effective law enforcement beside that which the US and the British Navies are willing and able to carry out.
Make no mistake...there are laws of the sea, but said laws are only enforced by those nations which sail upon them.
And it is important for the well-being of the world that the right navies do the enforcing.
Check out thte link below for an account of the Suez incident and how it probably came about.
Bad guys will and should take notice.
.humanevents.com/article.php?print=yes&id=25695
ASSAULT
A friend was assaulted in a local school last week.
Assaulted as in fractured skull; broken ribs; collapsed lung; and assorted bruises and contusions.
Some teenage cretins have been apprehended.
Local TV did not do a face-to-face with Superintendent; school principal; or vice-principal.
The only official to speak out the week later was the President of the Teachers' Union.
What can one say?
Pathetic!!
Local paper called the school a war zone.
I expect the locals are intimidated.
I might be. Would be, but I am not an official in there.
A war zone.
The metal detectors and X-ray machines were not enough.
God save us all.
Assaulted as in fractured skull; broken ribs; collapsed lung; and assorted bruises and contusions.
Some teenage cretins have been apprehended.
Local TV did not do a face-to-face with Superintendent; school principal; or vice-principal.
The only official to speak out the week later was the President of the Teachers' Union.
What can one say?
Pathetic!!
Local paper called the school a war zone.
I expect the locals are intimidated.
I might be. Would be, but I am not an official in there.
A war zone.
The metal detectors and X-ray machines were not enough.
God save us all.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
RICHARD WIDMARK, R.I.P.
Mr. Widmark,
Thanks for the memories, as Bob Hope would say.
Thanks for the movies on Friday or Saturday matinees or evenings.
Thanks for scaring us or inspiring us.
I wish you well.
Thanks for the memories, as Bob Hope would say.
Thanks for the movies on Friday or Saturday matinees or evenings.
Thanks for scaring us or inspiring us.
I wish you well.
4000
4000 is the number.
Check out the link below and decide what you think about the MSM.
http://www.americanthinker.com/printpage/?url=http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/03/greatest_generation_ii.html
Check out the link below and decide what you think about the MSM.
http://www.americanthinker.com/printpage/?url=http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/03/greatest_generation_ii.html
hILLARY AND SIR WINSTON S. CHURCHILL
In a March 17 speech in Washington, Clinton said of the Bosnia trip:
"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."
My goodness. She thought she was under sniper fire.
She was in body armor.
She had on a helmet.
She ran for cover to the waiting vehicles.
And then there came the video.
And the tarmac greeting. And first daughter. And child with the greeting.
And the no armor.
And the no helmet.
And the no ducking and running, rather the walking and the smiling.
And the MISSTATING, OR MISSREMEMBERING, OR , DARE WE SAY, THE LYING.
Sir Winston was not a liar. He did not misspeak about important things.
He once said, in words regarding receiving hostile gunfire, that to be shot and missed was a transforming experience, that it made colors brighter; smells sweeter, and life ever-so-much dearer.
To be shot at and missed.
The implication is that it was not an event to be mistaken for any other. That one is either under fire or not under fire and that one would know the difference.
Military officers report that there was no incoming fire on the tarmac; that on the contrary, they would never have permitted a first lady to be exposed to such an environment.
I might add, not even this first lady.
The video really settles the matter.
hillary told the reporters to ‘lighten up’. I didn’t mean what I said. I was tired. It has been a long campaign.
She is an insulting figure: she has insulted the military, the intelligence of the American people; and has once again proved that she will say and do anything to achieve her goals.
Pathetic!!!
I can almost say good luck to barack. But not quite.
Anyone who thinks this person is worthy of the Highest Office is really not worth talking to about such things.
They just do not know the score.
I pity them.
"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."
My goodness. She thought she was under sniper fire.
She was in body armor.
She had on a helmet.
She ran for cover to the waiting vehicles.
And then there came the video.
And the tarmac greeting. And first daughter. And child with the greeting.
And the no armor.
And the no helmet.
And the no ducking and running, rather the walking and the smiling.
And the MISSTATING, OR MISSREMEMBERING, OR , DARE WE SAY, THE LYING.
Sir Winston was not a liar. He did not misspeak about important things.
He once said, in words regarding receiving hostile gunfire, that to be shot and missed was a transforming experience, that it made colors brighter; smells sweeter, and life ever-so-much dearer.
To be shot at and missed.
The implication is that it was not an event to be mistaken for any other. That one is either under fire or not under fire and that one would know the difference.
Military officers report that there was no incoming fire on the tarmac; that on the contrary, they would never have permitted a first lady to be exposed to such an environment.
I might add, not even this first lady.
The video really settles the matter.
hillary told the reporters to ‘lighten up’. I didn’t mean what I said. I was tired. It has been a long campaign.
She is an insulting figure: she has insulted the military, the intelligence of the American people; and has once again proved that she will say and do anything to achieve her goals.
Pathetic!!!
I can almost say good luck to barack. But not quite.
Anyone who thinks this person is worthy of the Highest Office is really not worth talking to about such things.
They just do not know the score.
I pity them.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
JIM, R.I.P.
We buried a friend today.
Visitation at the funeral home was Tuesday night.
Burial from the Church was Wednesday morning.
A surgical procedure which should have gone well got derailed by an infection.
Bad things happen to good people.
We did not know him long enough.
But that’s how it is with folks you are growing close to. You never know them long enough.
I am reminded of the greeting on our annual Christmas Letter:
CHRISTMAS
Ah Friends, dear friends, as years go on
And heads get gray
Touch hands, touch hands, with those that stay.
CHRISTMAS
Ah Friends, dear friends, as years go on
And heads get gray
Touch hands, touch hands, with those that stay.
Take a little time and touch a hand or two.
Monday, March 17, 2008
THIS ‘N THAT…AND I’D GO AGAIN
I have heard birds singing in the early AM for the last few mornings.
Spring is no longer very far away.
barack’s pastor is giving him the heebie-jeebies.
hillary is making incredible claims about her ‘experience’.
John McCain is going about the serious business of consolidating his position of leadership in the Party and the Nation.
Good people who have concerns about McCain and are hesitating to support him should consider the alternatives: barack or hillary. ‘Nuff said.
The mayor of Detroit is making a fool of himself and of his city. I hope it is not his city.
If he succeeds in keeping his office, then Detroit will go to a lower-case d on this site, and it will deserve whatever negative future it gets.
The governor of NY did the right thing when he resigned. But New York and NYC would not put up with the likes of the mayor of Detroit. Detroit is once again proving itself to be a special case.
I am hearing that Great Lakes levels will be up this spring. Thank the Good Lord.
Ten of us recently attended a presentation and question-and-answer session with a noted npr radio political-talk-show hostess, Diane Rehm.
She is a gifted and gracious and knowledgeable host who is at ease with her audience and her topics.
It was her audience that I found to be very interesting.
It was quite properly composed largely of her fans. That was, after all, why I/we were there.
The interesting thing for me was what the questions which that liberal audience asked said about them, the questioners themselves.
Please know that I was there as a fan of Mrs. Rehm, but as a conservative fan. I enjoy her in spite of her liberalism.
The liberals who were there enjoy her for good reasons but also for the fact that they agree with her.
Big difference.
Every question put to the hostess about an international problem revealed that the prevailing consensus of that liberal assembly assumed as a matter of course that the US was, if not the cause of the world’s manifold problems, then that it was the reason why those problems were not being solved.
Awkwardly said, but I hope you get the point.
This assumption was blatant. Overt! Not at all subtle.
A few examples:
This or that festering and continuing problem will be solved if only:
…the US would talk w/o reservation to this or that barbarian leader.
…the US would stop supporting this or that right-wing or illiberal leader.
…Americans would vote in a non-Bush-like Presidential candidate
…the US would increase or redirect foreign aid.
…the US would stop polluting the atmosphere.
…the US would join/support Kyoto Accords
…the US would deal more “even-handedly with the Palestinian/Israeli
situation.
…the US stops being ‘inconsistent’ in the way it treats foreign nations.
…the US stops interfering with scientific progress.
Well, enough, you should get the point. It went on and on. Not only was the US having trouble dealing with difficult internatonal problems, but indeed, that it was the cause of most of them.
Pathetic!!!!!!!!!!
This was an upscale group of libs. We had a great time. We would not have missed it. And Mrs. Rehm is a superb host.
But she is a liberal and you have to factor that in to the responses she gives to her questioners, her fans.
But she is good and very worth listening to.
But her audience, the libs, is/are a real piece of work. This ‘bunch’ of them was articulate. Probably all of them are successful in their lines of work. They are no doubt very smart individuals.
But they are liberals and they displayed their liberal ignorance that night.
I’d go and watch the display again.
Spring is no longer very far away.
barack’s pastor is giving him the heebie-jeebies.
hillary is making incredible claims about her ‘experience’.
John McCain is going about the serious business of consolidating his position of leadership in the Party and the Nation.
Good people who have concerns about McCain and are hesitating to support him should consider the alternatives: barack or hillary. ‘Nuff said.
The mayor of Detroit is making a fool of himself and of his city. I hope it is not his city.
If he succeeds in keeping his office, then Detroit will go to a lower-case d on this site, and it will deserve whatever negative future it gets.
The governor of NY did the right thing when he resigned. But New York and NYC would not put up with the likes of the mayor of Detroit. Detroit is once again proving itself to be a special case.
I am hearing that Great Lakes levels will be up this spring. Thank the Good Lord.
Ten of us recently attended a presentation and question-and-answer session with a noted npr radio political-talk-show hostess, Diane Rehm.
She is a gifted and gracious and knowledgeable host who is at ease with her audience and her topics.
It was her audience that I found to be very interesting.
It was quite properly composed largely of her fans. That was, after all, why I/we were there.
The interesting thing for me was what the questions which that liberal audience asked said about them, the questioners themselves.
Please know that I was there as a fan of Mrs. Rehm, but as a conservative fan. I enjoy her in spite of her liberalism.
The liberals who were there enjoy her for good reasons but also for the fact that they agree with her.
Big difference.
Every question put to the hostess about an international problem revealed that the prevailing consensus of that liberal assembly assumed as a matter of course that the US was, if not the cause of the world’s manifold problems, then that it was the reason why those problems were not being solved.
Awkwardly said, but I hope you get the point.
This assumption was blatant. Overt! Not at all subtle.
A few examples:
This or that festering and continuing problem will be solved if only:
…the US would talk w/o reservation to this or that barbarian leader.
…the US would stop supporting this or that right-wing or illiberal leader.
…Americans would vote in a non-Bush-like Presidential candidate
…the US would increase or redirect foreign aid.
…the US would stop polluting the atmosphere.
…the US would join/support Kyoto Accords
…the US would deal more “even-handedly with the Palestinian/Israeli
situation.
…the US stops being ‘inconsistent’ in the way it treats foreign nations.
…the US stops interfering with scientific progress.
Well, enough, you should get the point. It went on and on. Not only was the US having trouble dealing with difficult internatonal problems, but indeed, that it was the cause of most of them.
Pathetic!!!!!!!!!!
This was an upscale group of libs. We had a great time. We would not have missed it. And Mrs. Rehm is a superb host.
But she is a liberal and you have to factor that in to the responses she gives to her questioners, her fans.
But she is good and very worth listening to.
But her audience, the libs, is/are a real piece of work. This ‘bunch’ of them was articulate. Probably all of them are successful in their lines of work. They are no doubt very smart individuals.
But they are liberals and they displayed their liberal ignorance that night.
I’d go and watch the display again.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
WHAT IS AN AMERICAN?
The country [the United States], Lincoln believed, is the carrier of a precious cargo, a proposition that is the timeless human truth, and the survival of this principle will always be of providential importance. We assent to Lincoln's creed, wide open as it is, when we think of ourselves as Americans [emphasis mine].
I knew a history teacher once who opined that he did not really know what an American was or is.
The quotation above is a pretty good attempt at getting it right. Read the whole article by clicking on the link below.
This is a good one.
I wonder just how much we need to know about the religion of our leaders. Or rather, I wonder if it is not just as important how we learn about their religion.
Comments???
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120459428132509203.html
I knew a history teacher once who opined that he did not really know what an American was or is.
The quotation above is a pretty good attempt at getting it right. Read the whole article by clicking on the link below.
This is a good one.
I wonder just how much we need to know about the religion of our leaders. Or rather, I wonder if it is not just as important how we learn about their religion.
Comments???
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120459428132509203.html
Saturday, March 15, 2008
ROTTEN IN DENMARK
Attending a church for years and years and years in which the pastor spouts hate and vitriol and disgusting, disgraceful sentiments without raising any objection or without deciding no longer to attend DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE.
Something is rotten in Denmark
Something is rotten in Denmark
QUOTE(S) OF INTEREST
Henry Kissinger once said, according to a newsperson on one of my favorite stations/programs, concerning the Iran-Iraq War,
It is too bad that there could only be one loser.
It is too bad that there could only be one loser.
LIKE CHILDBIRTH
Getting a new computer is like childbirth:
It often takes a long time; it is stressful; it is joyful if it works out properly; you are very dependent on others; it leads eventually to very rewarding goingson (sp?); and it interferes a whole lot with everyday activities.
It often takes a long time; it is stressful; it is joyful if it works out properly; you are very dependent on others; it leads eventually to very rewarding goingson (sp?); and it interferes a whole lot with everyday activities.
Monday, March 10, 2008
506th PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT...CURRAHEE
The link below will take you to a website dedicated to the 506th PIR of the 101st Airborne Division.
Easy Company of the 506th is the Band of Brothers written about by Stephen Ambrose and the subject of the HBO special.
I have just discovered the site.
It is full of photos; memoirs; songs; history; and a depth that will just swallow you up. You can spend hours and hours exploring the links or pages contained within.
Read the book. BUY the movie. Delve deeply into the site.
This is the real thing.
http://www.506infantry.org/index.htm
Easy Company of the 506th is the Band of Brothers written about by Stephen Ambrose and the subject of the HBO special.
I have just discovered the site.
It is full of photos; memoirs; songs; history; and a depth that will just swallow you up. You can spend hours and hours exploring the links or pages contained within.
Read the book. BUY the movie. Delve deeply into the site.
This is the real thing.
http://www.506infantry.org/index.htm
MORE ON IT NEVER MISSES…
On the subject that it is good if the bad guys don’t like you:
Some years ago, it was reported that a newly-elected US President went to watch the Secret Service practicing the art of protecting the Chief Executive.
The new President noticed that the officers commonly did not seek cover when they responded to incoming fire at the President.
He asked why they did not seek some sort of cover in order to protect themselves.
The training officer responded that it was the duty of the Secret Service to, if necessary, ‘take a bullet’ for the President.
Well, the President said, no one would want to shoot me.
The officer said, Sir, if there is really no one out there who thinks you are worth a shooting, you are not worth being the President of the United States.
In other words, if you have not enraged some bad guys on your way up the political ladder, you really have not been doing your job.
The US is doing the job in Iraq.
Iran is too, but it is doing the job for the bad guys.
Some years ago, it was reported that a newly-elected US President went to watch the Secret Service practicing the art of protecting the Chief Executive.
The new President noticed that the officers commonly did not seek cover when they responded to incoming fire at the President.
He asked why they did not seek some sort of cover in order to protect themselves.
The training officer responded that it was the duty of the Secret Service to, if necessary, ‘take a bullet’ for the President.
Well, the President said, no one would want to shoot me.
The officer said, Sir, if there is really no one out there who thinks you are worth a shooting, you are not worth being the President of the United States.
In other words, if you have not enraged some bad guys on your way up the political ladder, you really have not been doing your job.
The US is doing the job in Iraq.
Iran is too, but it is doing the job for the bad guys.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
IT NEVER MISSES AN OPPORTUNITY TO MISS AN OPPORTUNITY
The president of iran visited Iraq last week.
The voice of npr’s danshore opined that it was terribly significant that the president’s trip was announced; that he went about in broad daylight w/o the bevy of guards that any US official would find it necessary to employ; at least implying that such freedom of action is evidence of the failure of US policies and efforts.
On the one hand, danny is right. The US Coalition has failed to totally suppress the barbarians active in Iraq.
But the real point is that the bad guys in Iraq like the president of Iran and would never think of doing him in. he is a sponsor of their terror. He is a big reason why they are as well equipped as they are. he is part and parcel of what they are about.
They are trying to kill their opponents, the good guys. They are trying to kill Americans and Iraqis who are seeking, in the immortal words of hillary and barack, change.
It is not a good thing to be loved by the bad guys. It is a good thing to be hated and feared by them.
npr could have used the iranian’s lack of need for security as evidence that he is one of the criminals.
It did not.
Think about that if you are ever tempted to donate to this tax-supported network.
The voice of npr’s danshore opined that it was terribly significant that the president’s trip was announced; that he went about in broad daylight w/o the bevy of guards that any US official would find it necessary to employ; at least implying that such freedom of action is evidence of the failure of US policies and efforts.
On the one hand, danny is right. The US Coalition has failed to totally suppress the barbarians active in Iraq.
But the real point is that the bad guys in Iraq like the president of Iran and would never think of doing him in. he is a sponsor of their terror. He is a big reason why they are as well equipped as they are. he is part and parcel of what they are about.
They are trying to kill their opponents, the good guys. They are trying to kill Americans and Iraqis who are seeking, in the immortal words of hillary and barack, change.
It is not a good thing to be loved by the bad guys. It is a good thing to be hated and feared by them.
npr could have used the iranian’s lack of need for security as evidence that he is one of the criminals.
It did not.
Think about that if you are ever tempted to donate to this tax-supported network.
Friday, March 7, 2008
PRAYER
The season is Lent and we have been discussing prayer.
My goodness, are there ever a lot of opinions as to the efficacy of prayer.
And a lot of opinions as to how it works.
And on if it works.
And on how to do it.
Reading the literature and discussing with friends does not really lead to any final conclusions.
As the song lyric says,
You’ve got to walk that lonesome highway,
You’ve got to walk it by yourself.
Don’t ask the name of the song.
And the ‘by yourself’, I suggest, does not mean God is not with you. It means that you and God walk the highway, the two of you, together, on your own together terms. Family and friends and neighbors don’t make our decisions for us. Or they shouldn’t.
Some of the issues/problems I have identified are:
The problem of evil/apparent injustice
The problem of suffering
The problem of finite trying to understand infinite
The problem of thinking we can talk God into anything
The importance of understanding the way prayer does really work, for I suggest it really does
The problem of appreciating/understanding the results we get from prayer
The problem of knowing the best way to pray, what to pray for
Regarding the problems of evil, injustice, and suffering, an interesting book on the subject is Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions.
To quote, paraphrase him:
If God is all, and in all…
A great problem is the corollary that attends God’s being all in all, which is that there is no evil.
Two other items which may be relevant are found in
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/evil
On a deeper level, in the view of the esoteric understanding of the Torah, evil and good are subjective perceptions of a single continuum (i.e. soul). That is, to the rectified mind which has transcended the dualities of perception, all phenomena are completely good (as is God). To the unrectified mind, the challenge is to find the good; once found, seeming evil turns out to be apparent good.
Or,
Some cultures or philosophies believe that evil can arise without meaning or reason (in neo-Platonic philosophy this is called absurd evil). Christianity in general does not adhere to this belief, but the prophet Isaiah implied that God is ultimately responsible for everything including evil (Isa.45:7 "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.")
Lots to think about.
As the well digger said as he started to dig, these are deep problems.
My goodness, are there ever a lot of opinions as to the efficacy of prayer.
And a lot of opinions as to how it works.
And on if it works.
And on how to do it.
Reading the literature and discussing with friends does not really lead to any final conclusions.
As the song lyric says,
You’ve got to walk that lonesome highway,
You’ve got to walk it by yourself.
Don’t ask the name of the song.
And the ‘by yourself’, I suggest, does not mean God is not with you. It means that you and God walk the highway, the two of you, together, on your own together terms. Family and friends and neighbors don’t make our decisions for us. Or they shouldn’t.
Some of the issues/problems I have identified are:
The problem of evil/apparent injustice
The problem of suffering
The problem of finite trying to understand infinite
The problem of thinking we can talk God into anything
The importance of understanding the way prayer does really work, for I suggest it really does
The problem of appreciating/understanding the results we get from prayer
The problem of knowing the best way to pray, what to pray for
Regarding the problems of evil, injustice, and suffering, an interesting book on the subject is Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions.
To quote, paraphrase him:
If God is all, and in all…
A great problem is the corollary that attends God’s being all in all, which is that there is no evil.
Two other items which may be relevant are found in
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/evil
On a deeper level, in the view of the esoteric understanding of the Torah, evil and good are subjective perceptions of a single continuum (i.e. soul). That is, to the rectified mind which has transcended the dualities of perception, all phenomena are completely good (as is God). To the unrectified mind, the challenge is to find the good; once found, seeming evil turns out to be apparent good.
Or,
Some cultures or philosophies believe that evil can arise without meaning or reason (in neo-Platonic philosophy this is called absurd evil). Christianity in general does not adhere to this belief, but the prophet Isaiah implied that God is ultimately responsible for everything including evil (Isa.45:7 "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.")
Lots to think about.
As the well digger said as he started to dig, these are deep problems.
THREE ERRORS
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
They make three claims.
They make three errors.
A major premise of The Study is proclaimed once again:
It is better to be feared than loved. Liked? Maybe. Loved? Nice but not necessary. Feared? Yes, in the best, most positive sense of the word.
Check out the link below.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/americas_popularity_not_all_th.html
They make three claims.
They make three errors.
A major premise of The Study is proclaimed once again:
It is better to be feared than loved. Liked? Maybe. Loved? Nice but not necessary. Feared? Yes, in the best, most positive sense of the word.
Check out the link below.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/americas_popularity_not_all_th.html
WE HAVE NO CHOICE
Barbarians have struck again in Iraq and Israel.
In Iraq, two bombs, the second designed to kill/wound first responders.
In Jerusalem, the barbarian shot up a seminary, killing eight young people.
As noted in an earlier post, these perpetrators do not deserve to be protected by laws which safeguard the rights of bona fide combatants in a war effort.
But that is common sense.
The reason that such outrages continue is that there is no good way to stop them, pure and simply put. The suicide murderers cannot be dissuaded by dangers to themselves.
And the victimized side cannot disengage, cannot satisfy the desires of the attackers who desire nothing less than their victim's destruction.
I suggest that this is the conundrum which all great powers have faced throughout the ages: fanatical minorities will forever seek to subvert the status quo enjoyed by and protected by the great powers.
Note that one no longer hears calls from any major candidates for total isolation of the US, as in the case of Lindbergh and American Firsters in the 1930’s, prior to WW2.
It is now an accepted fact of life that the US cannot withdraw totally behind the ocean walls.
Some progress in understanding of this at least has been made.
Isolationist ignorance is still to be found in calls for an end to ‘free’ trade; condemnation of ‘outsourcing’; and willy-nilly attacks on such agreements as NAFTA.
Beware such condemnations. Most of them are uttered for the benefit of audiences, for votes, and not for the good of the Republic.
But I digress.
The US is engaged in overt combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Twelve or thirteen carrier battle groups cruise the seven seas. Forward-deployed bases are to be found all over the globe.
The American economy is the engine of the world. American culture is universal.
American/British English is the lingua franca of all people.
The US is the only super power, in fact, the most powerful nation the world has ever known.
And as a result, it/we do not have the luxury of letting the world take care of itself.
As 2008 works its way to the fall elections, know that we will be electing the single most important leader on earth.
The troubles in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc., have been troubles there for hundreds, even thousands of years.
Those troubles threaten the security and wellbeing of the United States, for better or worse.
It is possible that they will never be solved.
But the imperative for the US is that it, the US, must forever try to solve them.
Not to try, to withdraw as one of our major parties wants us to do, is to commit an act of national suicide.
Nations cannot, by definition, commit national suicide.
To do so is a crime. Those who advocate it are dangerous and should never be allowed into office.
The only reason that they are not punishable is that, hopefully, they do not intend harm. They intend good.
Motive, intent, is required for a criminal charge.
The US is engaged in really an eternal struggle. It will never really, totally end.
Suppression is the goal. Significant suppression is the victory.
We have allies.
We have to try.
We have no choice.
In Iraq, two bombs, the second designed to kill/wound first responders.
In Jerusalem, the barbarian shot up a seminary, killing eight young people.
As noted in an earlier post, these perpetrators do not deserve to be protected by laws which safeguard the rights of bona fide combatants in a war effort.
But that is common sense.
The reason that such outrages continue is that there is no good way to stop them, pure and simply put. The suicide murderers cannot be dissuaded by dangers to themselves.
And the victimized side cannot disengage, cannot satisfy the desires of the attackers who desire nothing less than their victim's destruction.
I suggest that this is the conundrum which all great powers have faced throughout the ages: fanatical minorities will forever seek to subvert the status quo enjoyed by and protected by the great powers.
Note that one no longer hears calls from any major candidates for total isolation of the US, as in the case of Lindbergh and American Firsters in the 1930’s, prior to WW2.
It is now an accepted fact of life that the US cannot withdraw totally behind the ocean walls.
Some progress in understanding of this at least has been made.
Isolationist ignorance is still to be found in calls for an end to ‘free’ trade; condemnation of ‘outsourcing’; and willy-nilly attacks on such agreements as NAFTA.
Beware such condemnations. Most of them are uttered for the benefit of audiences, for votes, and not for the good of the Republic.
But I digress.
The US is engaged in overt combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Twelve or thirteen carrier battle groups cruise the seven seas. Forward-deployed bases are to be found all over the globe.
The American economy is the engine of the world. American culture is universal.
American/British English is the lingua franca of all people.
The US is the only super power, in fact, the most powerful nation the world has ever known.
And as a result, it/we do not have the luxury of letting the world take care of itself.
As 2008 works its way to the fall elections, know that we will be electing the single most important leader on earth.
The troubles in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc., have been troubles there for hundreds, even thousands of years.
Those troubles threaten the security and wellbeing of the United States, for better or worse.
It is possible that they will never be solved.
But the imperative for the US is that it, the US, must forever try to solve them.
Not to try, to withdraw as one of our major parties wants us to do, is to commit an act of national suicide.
Nations cannot, by definition, commit national suicide.
To do so is a crime. Those who advocate it are dangerous and should never be allowed into office.
The only reason that they are not punishable is that, hopefully, they do not intend harm. They intend good.
Motive, intent, is required for a criminal charge.
The US is engaged in really an eternal struggle. It will never really, totally end.
Suppression is the goal. Significant suppression is the victory.
We have allies.
We have to try.
We have no choice.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
CLIMATE CHANGE
The factors governing the world's climate must be complex, complex to the max!!
The nature of climate itself is of the same order, of immense complexities.
For politicians and political hacks to attempt to take advantage of changes therein for their own benefits is pathetic and disgusting..
The link below will take you to an article wherein:
The science is up to the minute--unlike the UN's report, which deliberately disregarded the most recent studies and data. It's an excellent place to learn the basics of the global warming controversy.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/03/019946.php
Check it out.
Don't believe the greens and the algores.
They are largely full of it on this one.
QUOTE(S) OF INTEREST
Super Tuesday 2 has come and gone.
hillary and barrack struggle on with vigor toward what may well be a bitterly contested convention.
John McCain is now the nominee, officially, of the Republican Party. He is being received today at the White House.
Both sides have advantages and disadvantages. Such is the way of things.
I cannot remember when political contests, races, etc., were so close, the outcomes of which were so difficult to predict.
So much depends on every step, every move made by the various candidates.
Attack ads work. hillary has shown this beyond a doubt.
barrack and hillary take their polls and design their messages to fit their audiences.
John McCain soldiers on, walking the tightrope of remaining a maverick whilst courting the party base.
There once was a time when the voter could view the race for the Presidency and other high offices as choices between tweedledee and tweedledum.
That is not the case this year.
Samuel Johnson once said:
Paul now says:
that if you are tired of national politics in this Year of Our Lord, you are tired of that which is of supreme importance to our lives.
hillary and barrack struggle on with vigor toward what may well be a bitterly contested convention.
John McCain is now the nominee, officially, of the Republican Party. He is being received today at the White House.
Both sides have advantages and disadvantages. Such is the way of things.
I cannot remember when political contests, races, etc., were so close, the outcomes of which were so difficult to predict.
So much depends on every step, every move made by the various candidates.
Attack ads work. hillary has shown this beyond a doubt.
barrack and hillary take their polls and design their messages to fit their audiences.
John McCain soldiers on, walking the tightrope of remaining a maverick whilst courting the party base.
There once was a time when the voter could view the race for the Presidency and other high offices as choices between tweedledee and tweedledum.
That is not the case this year.
Samuel Johnson once said:
When a man is tired of London he is tired of llfe; for there is in London all that life can afford.
Paul now says:
that if you are tired of national politics in this Year of Our Lord, you are tired of that which is of supreme importance to our lives.
QUOTE(S) OF INTEREST
Rudyard Kipling on the national dems and those who vote for them:
The poor little street-bred people that vapour and fume and brag,
They are lifting their heads in the stillness to yelp...
THE ENEMY WE FACE
Alan Dershowitz paints a frightening picture of the enemy our nation faces in his recent article in The Wall Street Journal.
It is not the enemy the West is accustomed to dealing with.
The conventions regarding the rules of war really do not deal effectively with such an antagonist.
Here is an enemy who seeks to die as he carries out his operations against us.
With such an enemy, formerly proscribed rules of engagement become more and more necessary.
Formerly proscribed are the techniques that the national dems are so exercised about.
They are wrong.
The Bush Administration is right.
The next President had better be right, for all our sakes.
Use the link.
Read the article.
What do you think?
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120450617910806563.html
It is not the enemy the West is accustomed to dealing with.
The conventions regarding the rules of war really do not deal effectively with such an antagonist.
Here is an enemy who seeks to die as he carries out his operations against us.
With such an enemy, formerly proscribed rules of engagement become more and more necessary.
Formerly proscribed are the techniques that the national dems are so exercised about.
They are wrong.
The Bush Administration is right.
The next President had better be right, for all our sakes.
Use the link.
Read the article.
What do you think?
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120450617910806563.html
Saturday, March 1, 2008
IN A PIG'S EYE
It was during a late lunch on a Saturday afternoon. I had just made a bacon/lettuce sandwich and a bowl of hot tomato soup.
hillary was on the TV making a campaign speech.
She was promising stuff.
I put down my fork or spoon or whatever.
I think I heard her promising: free college ed for those in debt and in college; subsidized college funding for all needy prospective college young people; a negotiation/renegotiation (end) to NAFTA (w/o) warning our chief trading partner Canada; an end to No Child Left Behind; training/retraining for all non-college American workers; national health care for all Americans (emphasize all)enhanced head start programs; and probably other stuff which I missed between bites.
There was applause between each promise.
I didn’t hear barack during lunch but I presume he is promising similar things. I am sure he does.
They can deliver on these promises.
They can????
Yeah, right!!!!!!!!!!!
In a pig’s eye they can.
If you believe it, you deserve to be disappointed.
hillary was on the TV making a campaign speech.
She was promising stuff.
I put down my fork or spoon or whatever.
I think I heard her promising: free college ed for those in debt and in college; subsidized college funding for all needy prospective college young people; a negotiation/renegotiation (end) to NAFTA (w/o) warning our chief trading partner Canada; an end to No Child Left Behind; training/retraining for all non-college American workers; national health care for all Americans (emphasize all)enhanced head start programs; and probably other stuff which I missed between bites.
There was applause between each promise.
I didn’t hear barack during lunch but I presume he is promising similar things. I am sure he does.
They can deliver on these promises.
They can????
Yeah, right!!!!!!!!!!!
In a pig’s eye they can.
If you believe it, you deserve to be disappointed.
THE BRITISH PRINCE
A young Royal has done his duty.
He has set an example, a positive example which cannot, which should not be made light of.
And the British press has done the same.
In voluntarily sitting on the story of Prince Harry joining his Regiment in Afghanistan, the media has acted in the best interests of the nation.
The same cannot be said for whoever, for whatever it was that ‘blew’ the story.
Note the mention of the Ghurkas in the article linked to below. There are still two battalions, I believe, in the British Army.
The London Telegraph has some interesting observations. Check them out in the link below.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/03/01/do0102.xml
He has set an example, a positive example which cannot, which should not be made light of.
And the British press has done the same.
In voluntarily sitting on the story of Prince Harry joining his Regiment in Afghanistan, the media has acted in the best interests of the nation.
The same cannot be said for whoever, for whatever it was that ‘blew’ the story.
Note the mention of the Ghurkas in the article linked to below. There are still two battalions, I believe, in the British Army.
The London Telegraph has some interesting observations. Check them out in the link below.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/03/01/do0102.xml
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