Today the price of a gallon of gas fell rather steeply.
It is a gift to the idiot national dems.
I wish the price would stay high.
And I hope the national dems will persist is their inane energy policies.
High gas prices are an ever-loving gift to the Good Guys right now.
Believe it!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
FOREST FIRES
Forests grow in the wilderness.
Real forests occasionally burn.
Fires can be good for the ecology of the forest.
Some forest folk (animals) even benefit from the effects of a fire.
Enter the forest subdivisions, and their inhabitants, the non-forest foresters.
They are not hunters or fisherpeople, but rather non-foresters.
Now you have a new reality. There is a big word for this, but reality will do.
Fires in non-forest subdivisions HAVE to be put out...quickly!
They do NO good there.
They are not natural.
Fires in a real forest are often, even usually natural.
They will burn and they will go out.
They do not have TO BE PUT OUT.
And the forest will return.
And the forest will most likely prosper and do well.
The point: It is ludricous to devote huge, maximum efforts to save homes in real forests.
Homes in real forests are in ... fuel.
There is a natural danger, a natural need, for the fuel to occasionally burn.
It is like.... it is natural for floods to occur in flood plains (sp?). Homes built in/on them will occasionally get flooded.
IT IS NATURAL!
Get used to it.
If you don't want to pay the freight, get out.
Spare the non-foresters like us from having to pay taxes to rebuild unprepared properties situated in fuel...and spare us the endless news coverage of homes being treated naturally by Mom or Dad Nature.
Real forests occasionally burn.
Fires can be good for the ecology of the forest.
Some forest folk (animals) even benefit from the effects of a fire.
Enter the forest subdivisions, and their inhabitants, the non-forest foresters.
They are not hunters or fisherpeople, but rather non-foresters.
Now you have a new reality. There is a big word for this, but reality will do.
Fires in non-forest subdivisions HAVE to be put out...quickly!
They do NO good there.
They are not natural.
Fires in a real forest are often, even usually natural.
They will burn and they will go out.
They do not have TO BE PUT OUT.
And the forest will return.
And the forest will most likely prosper and do well.
The point: It is ludricous to devote huge, maximum efforts to save homes in real forests.
Homes in real forests are in ... fuel.
There is a natural danger, a natural need, for the fuel to occasionally burn.
It is like.... it is natural for floods to occur in flood plains (sp?). Homes built in/on them will occasionally get flooded.
IT IS NATURAL!
Get used to it.
If you don't want to pay the freight, get out.
Spare the non-foresters like us from having to pay taxes to rebuild unprepared properties situated in fuel...and spare us the endless news coverage of homes being treated naturally by Mom or Dad Nature.
TEMPTATION
If the US elects a 'soft power' President, like b.o., the temptation for the barbarians to test him will be...perhaps overwhelming.
And the test will probably be a horrific act on American soil or against Americans.
Bush/Cheney were/are perceived by friend and foe alike as 'hard power' leaders.
They were tested once with a successful horrific act.
They responded.
Thank the Lord, thank Bush/Cheney etc., no similar act was ever carried out on their watch.
Even McCain might be tested.
b.o. surely will be.
And the test will probably be a horrific act on American soil or against Americans.
Bush/Cheney were/are perceived by friend and foe alike as 'hard power' leaders.
They were tested once with a successful horrific act.
They responded.
Thank the Lord, thank Bush/Cheney etc., no similar act was ever carried out on their watch.
Even McCain might be tested.
b.o. surely will be.
INANITIES
nancy p. and harry r. "...don't have time to allow debate on energy bill amendments.
And nancy is trying to save the planet.
A better bet is that she/they are trying to save b.o. from having to cast a negative vote on the sensible amendments.
Politics trumping national security/interests?
You think?
And nancy is trying to save the planet.
A better bet is that she/they are trying to save b.o. from having to cast a negative vote on the sensible amendments.
Politics trumping national security/interests?
You think?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
NORTHERN NOTES – HODGE PODGE
It is very likely that hodge podge is not a legitimate phrase. But I remember it from my youth, and it meant an unrelated collection of whatever thrown together for whatever reason.
And that is how I am using it for this posting.
We’ve been eating cherries bought at a very congenial honor system roadside stand – no staff on duty.
And we started eating ‘em…and carefully depositing the pits in various containers.
And something caused me to think of Romans eating…was it oysters, and pitching them here and there.
I wonder if there is some similarity to Northern Michigan residents or visitors eating and pitching cherry pits and the ancient Romans eating oysters and pitching the oyster shells. And whether or not future investigators will dig up piles of ungerminated cherry pits and discuss the eating habits of the ancient Michiganians.
The Kayla Elise, our pontoon vessel, set sail from her slip today to the strains of Anchors Aweigh, manned by Grammi, Grandpa, and Kayla and Elise, distinguished Grandchildren.
We cruised The Narrows, a channel between the two halves of our 20+ mile long lake, looking at lake front homes, cottages, and being on the look out for wildlife, flora and fauna.
Target destination was a sugar sand beach for swimming, where the water depth went quickly from 70+ feet to two feet. Neat!
Boats collect along our lake at similar shallows and folks swim from their own decks.
Fun and frolic, food and drink. And a friendly wave from the Sheriff boat as he kept us all as safe as possible.
Grandparents need good grandkids. Our Grandkids are…perfect. They add a zest to all things.
Thank God for the blessings of Elise and Kayla.
My prayer is that all families could be similarly blessed.
Stopping by a pub for pizza takeout for dinner, we noted that b.o. is wowing lots of Europeans who think he is God’s gift to a troubled world.
Our experience with Europeans is limited. But our impression is that they know squat about American politics. And nowadays, they know squat about what it takes to run a world. Not that a world can really be run. But that folks can make a run at running it. And they have lost the skill.
They have lost the ability to know and to do. And yet they presume to be superior to the Yanks, to the one and only hyper power the world has ever seen.
Well, they suck up to the image of b.o. So do lots of Yanks.
What can I say?
Not all the dummies are on the other side of The Pond.
But the arrogance of the Europeans is…at times boggling. Is that a word?
Their sense of superiority, of superior food and art and etiquette and on and on and on.
Ok, I am displaying an American prejudice. I know it. I am. And there is lots of truth to it.
All cultures have to learn the lessons over and over again, given the passage of time.
The USA is learning to be a hyper power. I once told my son I had never had a teenage son before and that I would make mistakes but that I would apologize when wrong and try to do my best.
That is what the USA is up to in the world today. We are a hyper power learning how to use that power, how not to be governed by ‘old’ Europe and our national democrats.
Our status in the world is unique.
And some of us, many of us as we retire and recede into our Northern retreats and armchairs, see a lot and…regret perhaps that we have not done more to contribute to the success of our unique Republic.
But enough of that for now.
The list of b.o. flip/flops is growing. And the msm ignores ‘em. I could, I could list a number of them, but is is late and the dog is snoring and wife will soon put on the Up North News and I am trying to get a few thoughts down before that happens.
I will try to make up a list but, the few folks who read these humble pages doubtless know them already.
********************************************************************
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I think of this poem a lot.
And of the ending in the movie Saving Private Ryan wherein the saved character stands over the grave of the officer who helped save him and asks his family if his saving was worth it.
If I ever studied this poem a lifetime ago in college I have forgotten. I do not really know what it is saying.
But it reminds me that there are things that I wish I had done, things that I wish I had tried harder to finish, things that I wish I could have another go at.
We usually do not get a second chance. As the saying goes, we pass this way but once.
But wouldn’t it be nice to maybe pass by again?
Lots of folks think it can be done…again..
some faith disciplines say no. Others...yes.
What do I say?
Well, on the one hand, ha!!!!!!!!
And that is how I am using it for this posting.
We’ve been eating cherries bought at a very congenial honor system roadside stand – no staff on duty.
And we started eating ‘em…and carefully depositing the pits in various containers.
And something caused me to think of Romans eating…was it oysters, and pitching them here and there.
I wonder if there is some similarity to Northern Michigan residents or visitors eating and pitching cherry pits and the ancient Romans eating oysters and pitching the oyster shells. And whether or not future investigators will dig up piles of ungerminated cherry pits and discuss the eating habits of the ancient Michiganians.
The Kayla Elise, our pontoon vessel, set sail from her slip today to the strains of Anchors Aweigh, manned by Grammi, Grandpa, and Kayla and Elise, distinguished Grandchildren.
We cruised The Narrows, a channel between the two halves of our 20+ mile long lake, looking at lake front homes, cottages, and being on the look out for wildlife, flora and fauna.
Target destination was a sugar sand beach for swimming, where the water depth went quickly from 70+ feet to two feet. Neat!
Boats collect along our lake at similar shallows and folks swim from their own decks.
Fun and frolic, food and drink. And a friendly wave from the Sheriff boat as he kept us all as safe as possible.
Grandparents need good grandkids. Our Grandkids are…perfect. They add a zest to all things.
Thank God for the blessings of Elise and Kayla.
My prayer is that all families could be similarly blessed.
Stopping by a pub for pizza takeout for dinner, we noted that b.o. is wowing lots of Europeans who think he is God’s gift to a troubled world.
Our experience with Europeans is limited. But our impression is that they know squat about American politics. And nowadays, they know squat about what it takes to run a world. Not that a world can really be run. But that folks can make a run at running it. And they have lost the skill.
They have lost the ability to know and to do. And yet they presume to be superior to the Yanks, to the one and only hyper power the world has ever seen.
Well, they suck up to the image of b.o. So do lots of Yanks.
What can I say?
Not all the dummies are on the other side of The Pond.
But the arrogance of the Europeans is…at times boggling. Is that a word?
Their sense of superiority, of superior food and art and etiquette and on and on and on.
Ok, I am displaying an American prejudice. I know it. I am. And there is lots of truth to it.
All cultures have to learn the lessons over and over again, given the passage of time.
The USA is learning to be a hyper power. I once told my son I had never had a teenage son before and that I would make mistakes but that I would apologize when wrong and try to do my best.
That is what the USA is up to in the world today. We are a hyper power learning how to use that power, how not to be governed by ‘old’ Europe and our national democrats.
Our status in the world is unique.
And some of us, many of us as we retire and recede into our Northern retreats and armchairs, see a lot and…regret perhaps that we have not done more to contribute to the success of our unique Republic.
But enough of that for now.
The list of b.o. flip/flops is growing. And the msm ignores ‘em. I could, I could list a number of them, but is is late and the dog is snoring and wife will soon put on the Up North News and I am trying to get a few thoughts down before that happens.
I will try to make up a list but, the few folks who read these humble pages doubtless know them already.
********************************************************************
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I think of this poem a lot.
And of the ending in the movie Saving Private Ryan wherein the saved character stands over the grave of the officer who helped save him and asks his family if his saving was worth it.
If I ever studied this poem a lifetime ago in college I have forgotten. I do not really know what it is saying.
But it reminds me that there are things that I wish I had done, things that I wish I had tried harder to finish, things that I wish I could have another go at.
We usually do not get a second chance. As the saying goes, we pass this way but once.
But wouldn’t it be nice to maybe pass by again?
Lots of folks think it can be done…again..
some faith disciplines say no. Others...yes.
What do I say?
Well, on the one hand, ha!!!!!!!!
Monday, July 21, 2008
REJECTED REBUTTAL..THE TIMES THEY ARE ACHANGIN'
It would seem that the nyt has rejected a McCain rebuttal piece to an editorial by b.o.
Obviously, the paper has the right to print or not to print.
But it has an obligation, as a paper of record, which it used to be, to be 'fair and balanced'.
Obligation v. right....
You have the right to cross the street if the green light is with you.
You have an obligation not to exercise that right if oncoming traffic is going to 'run' the red.
Not exactly the same thing, but the nyt should not exercise the right not to print.
The times, no pun intended, are achangin'.
Obviously, the paper has the right to print or not to print.
But it has an obligation, as a paper of record, which it used to be, to be 'fair and balanced'.
Obligation v. right....
You have the right to cross the street if the green light is with you.
You have an obligation not to exercise that right if oncoming traffic is going to 'run' the red.
Not exactly the same thing, but the nyt should not exercise the right not to print.
The times, no pun intended, are achangin'.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
NORTHERN NOTES
Grandkids are in the Northern Camp.
We at The Study Camp are busy, very busy, with family and Grandkid doings.
And there are visits by Family Folk from Downstate.
Northern things can really occupy your time. Wood to stack; picnics to pack for; boat matters; shopping to do; Church to attend; lunches and dinners and breakfasts to either fix or go out to.
And there is even the world to monitor. Boy, is it ever harder to do that monitoring whilst in The North.
There is just so much going on around the little enclave….
But there is cable TV; and there is the computer. And so it can be done, even if it must be done late at night and after a lot has happened to dull the razor sharp [??] mind.
Tomorrow is worship at a 150 year-old church; breakfast overlooking a picturesque bay; grocery shopping; boating if weather permits; marshmallows+choc+graham crackers over camp fire; grilling dinner out; neighboring with fellow campers; swimming at the beach or from the boat; and taking advantage of the nearby playground.
Youngest Grandchild has been named the Playground Bunny. The eldest is the Beach Bum.
Anyway, regarding the world:
Lambeth Conference has begun.
According to the msm coverage, the main issue(s) has to do with gay (rights).
Which leads me to recall the work of Elaine Pagels, although I do not pretend to be an expert on her work.
She writes that the ancient church was even more fragmented than is our present-day configuration.
Perhaps fragmentation is the way it has to be, in the long run. I just do not know.
I know that no one knows God’s will for sure. Those who feel they do are fools or whatever. It is late and I do not have time to delineate all the possibilities for those who feel they know what God is about.
For a church to spend time and energy and to split up over gay rights is pathetic.
The rights of gays are not worth the destruction of a denomination.
It is better to deny them (gays) their alleged rights than to destroy an institution.
But if it has to be destroyed, than so be it.
Truth is truth, and gene r. will not change it.
He will be the straw, or one of them, that does the destroying, but he does not care and maybe that is how it has to be in these days of “…me, me, me.”
The Little People will carry on in their various parishes and will find their ways to Heaven or to Whatever.
We will know what is in store when we get there.
We wont know till then.
I will liken it to deciding to attend a huge university.
You find your niche. You do not do it all.
You operate within your own realm, your own areas of interest.
The Early Church destroyed a lot of Christian sects. Many were destroyed, their texts burned.
Probably, without doubt even, there was value in these texts.
Ignorant burnings are disgusting. And the Early Church did it.
Disgusting.
And now we have the potential for a crackup of the EPCUSA.
Maybe it should be cracked up.
Maybe the Early Church was wrong to destroy what it THOUGHT was heresy.
WHO IS ANYONE TO DECLARE INFALLIBLY WHAT IS GOD’S POSITION ON ANYTHING?
Now, if you are one of the few, the very few who read these musings, you will very likely now come to believe that I do not believe that we can be sure of anything.
Bull!!!!!!
All I am saying is that there are more important things to worry about than whether God wants gene r. to get married to a man.
gene will find out God’s position on his bedroom activities when he kicks the bucket.
I don’t care a sh.t what gene does in his bedroom or anywhere.
In fact, I would like never to hear his gd name again.
The Good Guys can find their own ways to God w/o destroying a religious institution.
Go away, gene.
And b.o. is in Afghanistan.
He is touring the war fronts and has decided his position on future strategy before consulting with the field commanders.
He is a very special piece of work.
It is too late to disparage him now. I mean, too late this day. I will endeavor to highlight his weaknesses, deficiencies, failures, flip flops, etc., another day.
And then there are mudslides and forest fires.
Mudslides and forest fires do not occur in ‘normal’ subdivisions or cities.
They are only problems when people live in forests or on flood plains or hillsides. Is that really right???
I think so. No research. Just a feeling.
If you live in fuel, you just might burn up.
If you live on the side of a hill, you just might slide down.
Go and live in a ‘normal’ place.
I hope the price of gas goes to five or six dollars a gallon just before the fall elections.
I do not want it to stay there. Just long enough to expose the obscene ignorance and disgusting natures of pelosi, reid, and the national dems.
Five or six dollar gas just might elect McCain.
I hope so.
And then the price will or should go down.
We will drill Alaska.
We will develop oil shale.
We will drill off shore.
pelosi and reid are enemies of the United States.
Dare I say it: damn the work of pelosi and reid.
Anyone who supports their policies is a fool.
We at The Study Camp are busy, very busy, with family and Grandkid doings.
And there are visits by Family Folk from Downstate.
Northern things can really occupy your time. Wood to stack; picnics to pack for; boat matters; shopping to do; Church to attend; lunches and dinners and breakfasts to either fix or go out to.
And there is even the world to monitor. Boy, is it ever harder to do that monitoring whilst in The North.
There is just so much going on around the little enclave….
But there is cable TV; and there is the computer. And so it can be done, even if it must be done late at night and after a lot has happened to dull the razor sharp [??] mind.
Tomorrow is worship at a 150 year-old church; breakfast overlooking a picturesque bay; grocery shopping; boating if weather permits; marshmallows+choc+graham crackers over camp fire; grilling dinner out; neighboring with fellow campers; swimming at the beach or from the boat; and taking advantage of the nearby playground.
Youngest Grandchild has been named the Playground Bunny. The eldest is the Beach Bum.
Anyway, regarding the world:
Lambeth Conference has begun.
According to the msm coverage, the main issue(s) has to do with gay (rights).
Which leads me to recall the work of Elaine Pagels, although I do not pretend to be an expert on her work.
She writes that the ancient church was even more fragmented than is our present-day configuration.
Perhaps fragmentation is the way it has to be, in the long run. I just do not know.
I know that no one knows God’s will for sure. Those who feel they do are fools or whatever. It is late and I do not have time to delineate all the possibilities for those who feel they know what God is about.
For a church to spend time and energy and to split up over gay rights is pathetic.
The rights of gays are not worth the destruction of a denomination.
It is better to deny them (gays) their alleged rights than to destroy an institution.
But if it has to be destroyed, than so be it.
Truth is truth, and gene r. will not change it.
He will be the straw, or one of them, that does the destroying, but he does not care and maybe that is how it has to be in these days of “…me, me, me.”
The Little People will carry on in their various parishes and will find their ways to Heaven or to Whatever.
We will know what is in store when we get there.
We wont know till then.
I will liken it to deciding to attend a huge university.
You find your niche. You do not do it all.
You operate within your own realm, your own areas of interest.
The Early Church destroyed a lot of Christian sects. Many were destroyed, their texts burned.
Probably, without doubt even, there was value in these texts.
Ignorant burnings are disgusting. And the Early Church did it.
Disgusting.
And now we have the potential for a crackup of the EPCUSA.
Maybe it should be cracked up.
Maybe the Early Church was wrong to destroy what it THOUGHT was heresy.
WHO IS ANYONE TO DECLARE INFALLIBLY WHAT IS GOD’S POSITION ON ANYTHING?
Now, if you are one of the few, the very few who read these musings, you will very likely now come to believe that I do not believe that we can be sure of anything.
Bull!!!!!!
All I am saying is that there are more important things to worry about than whether God wants gene r. to get married to a man.
gene will find out God’s position on his bedroom activities when he kicks the bucket.
I don’t care a sh.t what gene does in his bedroom or anywhere.
In fact, I would like never to hear his gd name again.
The Good Guys can find their own ways to God w/o destroying a religious institution.
Go away, gene.
And b.o. is in Afghanistan.
He is touring the war fronts and has decided his position on future strategy before consulting with the field commanders.
He is a very special piece of work.
It is too late to disparage him now. I mean, too late this day. I will endeavor to highlight his weaknesses, deficiencies, failures, flip flops, etc., another day.
And then there are mudslides and forest fires.
Mudslides and forest fires do not occur in ‘normal’ subdivisions or cities.
They are only problems when people live in forests or on flood plains or hillsides. Is that really right???
I think so. No research. Just a feeling.
If you live in fuel, you just might burn up.
If you live on the side of a hill, you just might slide down.
Go and live in a ‘normal’ place.
I hope the price of gas goes to five or six dollars a gallon just before the fall elections.
I do not want it to stay there. Just long enough to expose the obscene ignorance and disgusting natures of pelosi, reid, and the national dems.
Five or six dollar gas just might elect McCain.
I hope so.
And then the price will or should go down.
We will drill Alaska.
We will develop oil shale.
We will drill off shore.
pelosi and reid are enemies of the United States.
Dare I say it: damn the work of pelosi and reid.
Anyone who supports their policies is a fool.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
RE TRUTH
Our Pastor said it this morning in his sermon.
To paraphrase, truth is absolute, no doubt about it. But our understanding of it, our reception of it, and our acting upon that truth is, are not absolute.
Think about it.
It makes sense.
It is consistent with the concept of an evolving sense of what is right and what is wrong.
Non-fundamentalist churches make much of the assertion that they are religions of reason as well as of faith. I know I may be using terms improperly here, but you are reading the work of a NON-theologian.
The point is that because we are not blessed with infinite wisdom, and because there is no infallibility this side of Heaven, our understanding of the Absolute, of the Infinite, is by definition insufficient, incomplete, in a word, inadequate or even wrong.
Re truth, therefore, the conscientious ‘seeker’ should ‘do no harm’ in debate, in the giving of advice, in condemning or praising various belief systems.
Condemnation should be…rare.
Truth is absolute.
Our understanding of it is not.
The excellence of our understanding of Truth may well improve over the centuries.
And then again, it may not.
I think the door swings both ways.
The art of seeking truth is to do it with great respect for our ignorance.
We just do not know all the answers.
We do not even know all the questions.
He or she or it that claims infallibility is, dare I say it, not to be believed. The human medium is too flawed, even if the texts of the infallibilists [is that a word?] claim otherwise.
The Episcopal Church of the US is an institution which is struggling with matters of truth.
Certain interest groups within the ECUSA have failed the test of the ‘good’ seeker of the Absolute.
Possibly this failure is an inevitable happening.
As our Rector observed this AM, we are a nation, indeed, we are a world of ‘the instant’. We have to have it now.
The interest groups read the texts in ways they wish to read them. Some of them want what they want now.
They find the teachings they want.
And the truth suffers.
Or maybe the ‘enlightened’ are right.
What do you say?
To paraphrase, truth is absolute, no doubt about it. But our understanding of it, our reception of it, and our acting upon that truth is, are not absolute.
Think about it.
It makes sense.
It is consistent with the concept of an evolving sense of what is right and what is wrong.
Non-fundamentalist churches make much of the assertion that they are religions of reason as well as of faith. I know I may be using terms improperly here, but you are reading the work of a NON-theologian.
The point is that because we are not blessed with infinite wisdom, and because there is no infallibility this side of Heaven, our understanding of the Absolute, of the Infinite, is by definition insufficient, incomplete, in a word, inadequate or even wrong.
Re truth, therefore, the conscientious ‘seeker’ should ‘do no harm’ in debate, in the giving of advice, in condemning or praising various belief systems.
Condemnation should be…rare.
Truth is absolute.
Our understanding of it is not.
The excellence of our understanding of Truth may well improve over the centuries.
And then again, it may not.
I think the door swings both ways.
The art of seeking truth is to do it with great respect for our ignorance.
We just do not know all the answers.
We do not even know all the questions.
He or she or it that claims infallibility is, dare I say it, not to be believed. The human medium is too flawed, even if the texts of the infallibilists [is that a word?] claim otherwise.
The Episcopal Church of the US is an institution which is struggling with matters of truth.
Certain interest groups within the ECUSA have failed the test of the ‘good’ seeker of the Absolute.
Possibly this failure is an inevitable happening.
As our Rector observed this AM, we are a nation, indeed, we are a world of ‘the instant’. We have to have it now.
The interest groups read the texts in ways they wish to read them. Some of them want what they want now.
They find the teachings they want.
And the truth suffers.
Or maybe the ‘enlightened’ are right.
What do you say?
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
"AS LIGHT AS AIR, AS STRONG AS IRON"
…Winston Churchill knew the importance of marshalling military strength and determination in the cause of freedom. He himself saw action as a young officer in Africa and India. Almost half a century later Churchill led the British people in the most complete wartime mobilisation in our history. Long before other people woke to the danger in 1930s Europe, Churchill was urging the nation to prepare, if freedom were to be defended. As he said in the bleak days of February 1941, "Give us the tools, and we will finish the job." He would understand the strength of purpose with which the U.S. Navy is today equipping itself to defend freedom in a new century.
The USS Winston S. Churchill is a very special ship. Check out the speech below re the ship and the 'special relationship'.
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=326
4 JULY 2008
4 JULY 2008
Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
We know what Master laid thy keel,
What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
'Tis of the wave and not the rock;
'Tis but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale!
In spite of rock and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee.
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee, -are all with thee!
FDR sent part of the above poem to Sir Winston Churchill during the early stages of WW2.
The most-referenced lines are the first five.
FDR was thinking of the fighting UK as a ship sailing through rough seas. Churchill was, after all, a former First Lord of the Admiralty, and England was historically, the Mistress of the Seas, defended by her ‘wooden walls’.
Now, what on earth does this poem have to do with the 4 July Weekend?
Well, I thought of this poem over the July 4th holiday weekend.
The Mole Hole Folks treated The Study Folks, for the second time, to a viewing of an aerial exhibition by the Navy’s BLUE ANGELS aboard The Mole Hole’s most lovely vessel, Renaway II.
We were in the midst of a grande weekend of celebration: food, fellowship, drinks, a lot of laughter and good conversation.
And one of the highlights of the weekend was the shipboard viewing of the ANGELS, or, as I call them, the SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF FREEDOM.
And after the show, and after the food, fellowship, etc., I thought of the poem.
We saw the ANGELS before we heard them; coming from a long way off…they were faster than sound.
They were ear splitting.
They were majestic.
They were predatory looking.
As my daughter used to say, you would not want to mess with them.
Anyway, after the show and the ride back to harbor and the dining and aftergloing, I thought over what we had seen and I thought of the poem. “Sail on….”
And those five lines stood out, more loudly and forcefully than ever:
...sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
I really only know those five lines.
And I got to thinking once again that the United States really is a Light on Top of the Hill.
The US really is the last, best hope of the world.
There is an enemy at or nearly at the gates [of civilization].
The folks within the walls are not really up to the job of dealing with that enemy.
The hyper power of the United States is really the sine qua non of the freedoms of the West, and, really, I suppose, of lots of folks everywhere else as well.
Power is composed of many ingredients. It is too late to list them all now. I am too tired and my notes are temporarily lost.
But military power is a biggie.
Experienced, that is, bloodied, stat-of-the-art military power is a required component of hyper power.
No country on earth can compare with the power components [they are varied and many] of the United States. Only one nation is capable of even operating with us.
But the Angels are a symbol of American capability. That is a big word for those who understand the breadth of such a term.
Capability.
Think of what an F-14 or F-15 or F-22 represents. Not just the firepower, but the train of culture, science, engineering, guts, wealth and treasure, courage, etc., etc., that each plane…not to mention each ship…represents.
The events which took place during the summer of the late 18th Century continued the process of development which has resulted in the United States of 2008.
Our July 4th commemorations are good times to think upon what our nation has become.
We are not perfect. But we are the last, best hope of mankind on this planet. We have taken up the baton with our parent country, our Mother Country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and we are doing our best to safeguard our freedoms and thereby the freedoms of as much of the world as humanly possible.
The BLUE ANGELS symbolize the capability of the US to confront the barbarians which are loose upon the planet.
For we should be under no illusion: the barbarian today is at least as lethal to civilization as he was in ages past. Possibly more lethal.
Talking with barbarians is fine if it gets us anywhere.
It will not get us anywhere unless during that talking the threatening barbarian is told that unless he ultimately does this or that he will be destroyed.
Destroyed…preemptively.
Contrary to what the libs say, profiling is a necessary police tool. It is also an absolutely necessary tool of diplomacy.
You have to know who are the good guys and the bad guys.
Whew!!!!!!
July 4th. God bless the weekend.
Please forgive the tirade.
I must add that I thank God that the events of our Revolution did not sever our way of life from that of the Mother Country.
We owe our origins to the British.
We are descendants of the British culture.
We do have a special relationship.
Churchill once told his successors never, never part with the Americans.
I would add that we should never, never part from the British.
We at The Study thank the Folks at The Mole Hole for their courtesies and kindnesses and fellowship.
They have once again helped us to experience a truly meaningful Fourth of July.
Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
We know what Master laid thy keel,
What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
'Tis of the wave and not the rock;
'Tis but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale!
In spite of rock and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee.
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee, -are all with thee!
FDR sent part of the above poem to Sir Winston Churchill during the early stages of WW2.
The most-referenced lines are the first five.
FDR was thinking of the fighting UK as a ship sailing through rough seas. Churchill was, after all, a former First Lord of the Admiralty, and England was historically, the Mistress of the Seas, defended by her ‘wooden walls’.
Now, what on earth does this poem have to do with the 4 July Weekend?
Well, I thought of this poem over the July 4th holiday weekend.
The Mole Hole Folks treated The Study Folks, for the second time, to a viewing of an aerial exhibition by the Navy’s BLUE ANGELS aboard The Mole Hole’s most lovely vessel, Renaway II.
We were in the midst of a grande weekend of celebration: food, fellowship, drinks, a lot of laughter and good conversation.
And one of the highlights of the weekend was the shipboard viewing of the ANGELS, or, as I call them, the SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF FREEDOM.
And after the show, and after the food, fellowship, etc., I thought of the poem.
We saw the ANGELS before we heard them; coming from a long way off…they were faster than sound.
They were ear splitting.
They were majestic.
They were predatory looking.
As my daughter used to say, you would not want to mess with them.
Anyway, after the show and the ride back to harbor and the dining and aftergloing, I thought over what we had seen and I thought of the poem. “Sail on….”
And those five lines stood out, more loudly and forcefully than ever:
...sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
I really only know those five lines.
And I got to thinking once again that the United States really is a Light on Top of the Hill.
The US really is the last, best hope of the world.
There is an enemy at or nearly at the gates [of civilization].
The folks within the walls are not really up to the job of dealing with that enemy.
The hyper power of the United States is really the sine qua non of the freedoms of the West, and, really, I suppose, of lots of folks everywhere else as well.
Power is composed of many ingredients. It is too late to list them all now. I am too tired and my notes are temporarily lost.
But military power is a biggie.
Experienced, that is, bloodied, stat-of-the-art military power is a required component of hyper power.
No country on earth can compare with the power components [they are varied and many] of the United States. Only one nation is capable of even operating with us.
But the Angels are a symbol of American capability. That is a big word for those who understand the breadth of such a term.
Capability.
Think of what an F-14 or F-15 or F-22 represents. Not just the firepower, but the train of culture, science, engineering, guts, wealth and treasure, courage, etc., etc., that each plane…not to mention each ship…represents.
The events which took place during the summer of the late 18th Century continued the process of development which has resulted in the United States of 2008.
Our July 4th commemorations are good times to think upon what our nation has become.
We are not perfect. But we are the last, best hope of mankind on this planet. We have taken up the baton with our parent country, our Mother Country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and we are doing our best to safeguard our freedoms and thereby the freedoms of as much of the world as humanly possible.
The BLUE ANGELS symbolize the capability of the US to confront the barbarians which are loose upon the planet.
For we should be under no illusion: the barbarian today is at least as lethal to civilization as he was in ages past. Possibly more lethal.
Talking with barbarians is fine if it gets us anywhere.
It will not get us anywhere unless during that talking the threatening barbarian is told that unless he ultimately does this or that he will be destroyed.
Destroyed…preemptively.
Contrary to what the libs say, profiling is a necessary police tool. It is also an absolutely necessary tool of diplomacy.
You have to know who are the good guys and the bad guys.
Whew!!!!!!
July 4th. God bless the weekend.
Please forgive the tirade.
I must add that I thank God that the events of our Revolution did not sever our way of life from that of the Mother Country.
We owe our origins to the British.
We are descendants of the British culture.
We do have a special relationship.
Churchill once told his successors never, never part with the Americans.
I would add that we should never, never part from the British.
We at The Study thank the Folks at The Mole Hole for their courtesies and kindnesses and fellowship.
They have once again helped us to experience a truly meaningful Fourth of July.
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