APPEARANCES

The hurricane adds a dimension to the Republican National Convention, the RNC.

To some extent at least, we will be denied the hoopla of the opening speeches and what all.

It has been deemed less than fitting for the RNC to be seen to be celebrating while the storm is bearing down on our southeast.
And it has been deemed to be impolitic for various leaders and delegates to be at the RNC while the havoc is occurring in their home states.

The pity of it is that the RNC must go on and folks who are involved in it have a duty to be at the Convention and that there is no real need for them to have to go back to their home states.

It is show. Things must look a certain way. Folks must be on site, to be seen to seemingly be doing this or that, even when they could be doing those things from elsewhere, even in these days of … miraculous communication possibilities. And even when the ‘doing of this or that’ is itself largely symbolic.

Think of all the flak that President Bush took for taking the time to finish the story he was reading to the children when informed of 9-11, three years ago. Think of all those things he could have done in those four or five minutes.

And that is how it should be, I guess. At least, that is how it is.
Most likely.
It has been said that truth is perception. Even if perception is baloney.

But it is not really necessary. Governors and the like can orchestrate strategy and give orders from any state in the Union whilst carrying out various responsibilities, such as functioning as members of a nominating convention.

It is late.
The storm is on the way.
God save the Southeast. God save the Republic and the Republican Party.

THE EXPERIENCE ISSUE

Her critics will argue that she is young, that she lacks experience in ‘foreign affairs’.

Her defenders, rather her supporters, will/should argue that she is intelligent, gifted, energetic, and an experienced executive.

McCain has been certified to be healthy enough to take on the nation’s #1 job. There is no reason to believe that he will not be able to complete at least one complete term in office.

But anyway, she will be a quick study. She will be surrounded by the best staff and the best teachers to ‘bring her up to speed’ in any and all areas wherein she may be deficient.
She has time.
She is the #2, not the #1, and that is the/a big difference.
She has the time.

Her instincts, all of them, appear to be in the right places.

This alone puts her ahead of a flaming liberal who has repeatedly demonstrated his own fallibility.

FINALLY PROUD

I wonder if, in the next few days, Mr. Palen will announce that now, finally, he is proud to be an American.

dems BEWARE

The national dems stress in their speeches and print and broadcast media that the American dream is in trouble; that the economy is weak; that the war in Iraq is lost; and that US alliances are in disarray.

Democrats beware!

The traditional American Dream has allowed b.o. to take centre stage. The economy grew by over 3% last interval. The Iraq War is well on its way to being won. And US alliances are vibrant and well.

Apparently, b.o. spoke to over 80,000 folk.

He was well received. Of course, he promised a list of things that no superman could ever deliver. And b.o. is no superman.

If only the ‘true believers’ could look around them and pierce the haze that their myopic vision has limited them to.

The economy is not spiking, but it is not in recession. It is growing, albeit modestly.

The war is being one, one front of it anyway.

Unemployment is low, near 5%. In oil country, where the dems permit only limited drilling, it is booooooming.

Our alliances are strong and flourishing. NATO is pushing into Eastern Europe. Russia is having a catfit.

To hear the dems tell it, the US is a third world country. You have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to realize it.

HURRICANE THREAT

When Katrina hit New Orleans and local and state and Federal officials were less than optimally successful in their reactions, the Federal Government took the greatest pr hits.

In all fairness, the state and local officials were hugely remiss, as all right thinking folks know.

Now, if the current hurricane threat should hit New Orleans, God forbid, and if all the agencies do their jobs well, will the Feds get any credit? Or will all kudos go to the locals?

We'll see.

b.o.'s CONVENTION IS OVER

b.o.’s speech to 70,000+ folks is over.


The national dem convention is over.
We at The Study have watched parts of the doings over the last four days.

It was interesting.
It was flashy.
And finally it was enough.

We enjoyed the personalities for awhile. But after a while, the inanities and the inaccuracies and the pandering really began to cloy, to grow tiresome.
We look forward to the Republican National Convention. We look forward to less of the above negatives.

And then there is the drama of the networking feuds, the ones going on especially at NBC and MSNBC. We hope for more fireworks from that formerly decent network.

We think a well done is due to Joe Scarborough (sp?).

OVER SEXED; OVER PAID; AND OVER HERE

Whilst watching/listening to the national dem convention, I could not help but be aware of some of the hollywood celebs who were in attendance or who were making their opinions known via their 'work'.

madonna is currently busy, we are told, comparing McCain to Hitler and b.o. to Ghandi.

And richard dreyfuss, I think chevy chase (not sure), and others whom I did/do not recognize have appeared on screen, mouthing their ... 'wisdom'.

And it occurred to me that the British labels applied to our troops stationed in the UK in WW2, and perhaps in WW1, could be applied to these sorry actor and actress citizens:

These flaming libs are: Over sexed; over paid; and over here.

Unlike the military men of the two wars, however, they are pretenders, folk who make their fortunes by pretending to be what they are not, and they enjoy a forum which their background no way necessarily entitles them to.

That these folks are as ignorant as they are and that they say what they do is not the main reason to be concerned. Rather, it is the fact that so many listeners pay heed to them, and regard them as real.

They are not real. But they look like they are.

And the pathetic thing is that they think they are real. And that so many folks believe in them.

nationl dem CONVENTION COVERAGE...FAIR AND BALANCED

We have been watching the coverages of the dem convention.

Fox News, cnn, msnbc, abc, nbc, etc.

I defy anyone to carefully watch all of them and not come away with clear, easily reached and defendable reasons why the one is not better, superior to all the rest.

For anyone to fail to see the superiority of the one I am afraid will cast doubt upon his or her ability to discriminate between the poor, mediocre, fabricating, misleading, and the most “fair and balanced”.

Nuff said.

And I have just read that certain national dem miscreants intend to be present at the Twin Cities in order to distract, disrupt, or otherwise frustrate the Republican Convention which is about to commence.

No surprise. What else could we expect?

national dem watchwords: fight; march; take back the country; punish the corporations; workers unite to take from the rich and give to the poor; save the world from the domination of corporate interests; provide equality of all sorts to all; etc, ad nauseam (sp?) .

Does total equality equal total excellence or...equal mediocrity...without exception?

Think about it.

A REASON TO STAY

The link below will suggest a line of reasoning which might allow disgruntled Episcopalians to refrain from leaving the American Episcopal Church.
It seeks to put a little perspective on how a conservative Christian might be able to put up with less than conservative leadership in the American Church.
Worth reading and thinking about.


http://3riversepiscopal.blogspot.com/2008/08/jeff-murph-reflects-on-spiritual.html

nancy p. AGAIN

nancy p., on Meet the Press again, this time quoted by TitusOneNine:

[Nancy] Pelosi was asked on NBC-TV's "Meet the Press" on Sunday to comment on when life begins.
She responded saying that as a Catholic, she had studied the issue for "a long time" and that "the doctors of the Church have not been able to make that definition."

Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U. Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William Lori, chairman of the Committee on Doctrine, said her answer "misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion."

And this woman is an important part of the leadership of the national democrat party.
And this woman is an ignorant citizen.

Beyond belief!!

nancy p. ...PATHETICALLY IGNORANT

BROKAW: Well, I think most people understand that, but at the same time, if we work our way off carbon-based fuels, in the meantime, this is not going to happen overnight.

PELOSI: No, it isn't, but you could -- again, you could reduce the price at the pump immediately with (inaudible). You can have a transition with natural gas. You can have a transition with natural gas. That is cheap, abundant and clean compared to fossil fuels.***

Can it be that nancy p. does not know that natural gas is a fossil fuel? That you have to drill for it?

The above quote is from Powerline and is quoted by them as having occurred on Meet the Press.

She is an ignorant national democrat.

Pathetic!!!

HARD POWER...MILITARY SUPREMACY

Russia is installed in two sections of Georgia, a former part of the USSR, and an important source oil for Western Europe is…somewhat more vulnerable.

Poland desires a US connection for obvious security reasons.

Israel continues to exist in a sea of hostility for a number of reasons, one of which is the US connection.

Taiwan is sovereign due to the US connection.

Piracy is no greater a threat than it is thanks to the US connection.

Iran has not closed the Gulf to shipping thanks to the US connection.

Kuwait is sovereign due to….

Western Europe is free of Soviet domination due to….

The above list is, of course, by no means at all complete. It could go on and on.
I was prompted to set it down only by reading of the developments in Georgia.

Soft power is only as effective as the hard power which hovers in the background.

Talk is only effective when the same is true.

Economic and cultural power can influence and win converts, but only if the hard power shelters and protects.

This is what the small englanders never seem to understand.

BOOK COVERS

Apparently Madonna has compared Sen. McCain to Hitler.
And she has compared b.o. to Ghandi.

I believe I just heard a news person say so.

The most important truth to be gained from this, if it is true, is to garner the wisdom that Madonna is a very attractive idiot.

A very sexy dominatrix…I think that is the spelling. But an ignorant fool. Perhaps most sexual predators are mentally less than attractive.

The old saying has it right: You cannot tell a book by its cover.

THE COMMONWEALTH

For years I’ve yearned to smoke a pipe
On the moors of England on a foggy night
A favourite briar – An ounce of shag
A glass of whisky
An historical lag

Above is a verse written on the eve of our first trip to England, many, many years ago.

On our recent trip to Alaska, we met many Australians and our discussions with them re world affairs and my memories of our visits to the UK caused me to recall the above verse.

Churchill told his successors never to forget the Americans.

I say the American Government, never forget the Commonwealth.

europe LIKES b.o.

The Germans apparently like b.o. more than candidate McCain.

Apparently, most of Europe does also.

Conclusion: vote for John McCain.

A WARNING?

Four tornadoes touching down in Denver?

I wonder if the Heavens are trying to tell us something.

Just kidding.

CONSENSUS...LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE GOOD GUYS

I’m thinking a little more about the church and the national interest.

I thinking that the relationship of church to nation can be and often is similar to the relationship of the home to the schools of the community.

In the ‘old’ days, when one got in trouble at school, he or she, or to use the old fashioned pronoun he, was in trouble at home as well.

Not necessarily true today.

Nowadays the school has to prove that the difficulty of the youngster was indeed a difficulty.

And so it is with our national churches. Is that phrase even applicable today.

We do have a National Cathedral. But is it really a cathedral that represents the nation. Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn’t.

At any rate, I have noticed that when our nation is involved in an international issue, that the churches I am aware of do not pray for the success of the national effort. Most likely they do not pray or speak of it at all.
And if they do, they do not pray for the success of our arms, or of our diplomats, but rather for the success of the right or righteous party. The other side is now generally given the benefit of the doubt. Let the right side prevail as it were.

There is no longer consensus, no longer a national opinion on so many areas of contention within our society.

We are a divided nation. Not so divided as to lead to a civil war. But divided enough to provoke violent demonstrations and the like.

This was sometimes the case in the past…but there was usually more consensus as well.

Today I sense less consensus, more indecisiveness, more ignorance, more lack of understanding.

And this lack is reflected in our institutions, our churches, schools, and community organizations.

It was not always so.

How about a prayer in church on Sunday for the success of our national effort in Iraq or Afghanistan; for the defeat of the barbarians; for the good guys to win?

How about an admission and a declaration that there are indeed good guys and that we are the good guys?

THE CHURCH AND NATIONAL INTEREST...A GRAIN OF SALT

Several church groups are urging the opening of an ‘interest section’ in Tehran.

The implication of their urgings would seem to be that all would be well, or at least all would be improved if only the United States would open something of a dialogue with the Iranian government…that that government would be responsive to ‘friendly’ gestures from the American Government.

The thought occurs to me that one should consider the source…that is, consider the interests which the church groups represent.

I am thinking that whereas the responsibility of the Government of the United States is to protect the interests of the United States, that the responsibility of the churches is to protect the interests of what those churches perceive as the interests of God’s churches or God's kingdom on the earth.

Now, inasmuch as it is relatively easy to correctly perceive a nation’s best interests in the arena of international relations and affairs, and inasmuch as it is infinitely more difficult, even impossible to be sure of correctly perceiving what God has in mind for His or Her earthly institutions, the recommendations of the various churches as to international affairs can only be taken with a few grains of salt.

Face it. God’s plans are not discernable…with absolute or even near absolute certainty.

A nation’s best interests can be mistaken as well, but with a far greater degree of certainty as to what is what.

Churches attempt to represent God’s will for the world.

Nations seek to represent the best interests of nations.

Decide for yourself which has the best chance of being right.

ALASKA NOTES

What can one say about the state of Alaska?

We expected it to be our state…but ‘heavy’…that is, wilder, more animals, more remote, more of all the things we love about the North of our state.

We were wrong.

Alaska is not just ‘more’.

Alaska is different. It is unique. It is a message of what was; what is; and what should be about many things.

It is an experience to be had; to be thought about; to be acted upon.

It is not better than our home state.

But it will add a dimension to the lives of all who experience it that did not exist before.

It will cause a change to occur within your consciousness if you let it.

But enough.

We are just back from fourteen days in that distant land, that distant part of the United States. Fourteen days by sea and by land.

At times we felt we were in a different country, that now that we are home that we have returned to the US.

But of course, we were not in a different country. But we were in different country, country which presents the observer with never-ending, seeming contradictions and unbelievable relationships and realities which all fit seamlessly together.

We have experienced nothing else like it in our lives.

How great it would be to be able to put all the particulars into words.

We’ll see.

MORE WORRISOM THAN b.o.

As has been written in these pages before, there is something more discouraging about b.o. than his ignorance, self-serving nature, and absurd ideas.

It is far more discouraging that the msm and so many of the American people think highly of him.

God save the United States from such blind, blundering, and stupid ignorance.

GORILLAS AND THE VICTORIANS

Over 120,000 gorillas have been discovered in a part of the Congo...God save them from exploitation.
Perhaps the sheer magnitude of the find will inspire the government of Congo to do something responsible for a change...and possibly inspire the interested parts of the world to help out.
And another thing, how nice to note that one of the major centers of gorilla expertise is still in that holy land of arcane expertise...the United Kingdom, Scotland to be exact.

Go gorillas.
Go Victorians who made themselves so knowledgeable about so many things and helped to shape our world today.
And let's hear it for the fact that there are still areas of the unknown, even for 'knowitall science'.