All posts by anniel

THE LANGUAGE BATTLE II – Part Two

Language, , , ,

“Free thought is key to political freedom.” Myron Magnet

After birth we all learn to speak, and if we are spoken to frequently we pick up grammar, metaphor, imagination, and vocabulary more quickly than one might think. Some forms of speech are more socially acceptable than others, and some forms are repugnant to others. Besides common speech, often called “kitchen” speech, there is sacred speech which some never learn, and there is profane speech that others learn only too well.

In my young life I was assaulted (truly) with profanity and it embarrassed me terribly. However, when I was about twelve a friend and I thought it would be funny to swear and I got pretty good at it. I didn’t swear around my parents even though my father used vulgarities all the time. I had been swearing for a few years when one day a bunch of us were ice skating on the local pond and a boy came up behind me with a snow shovel and scooped it under my feet. I went over on my ankle and severely sprained it. The pain was terrible and I started screaming profanities at the boy. Suddenly it was like my consciousness split and I was standing above my painful body hearing how awful I sounded. My words shocked me more than my pain. I was absolutely devastated by my language and resolved to stop swearing. That was one of the hardest habits I have ever broken.

So, what about free speech? I have heard that the First Amendment was to protect political speech. If that is all it was meant to protect, what about those who use language offensive to others? Why are some things that are not even “speech” protected? Do we go too far when we attach no shame to some speech and actions? I side with Voltaire on real speech freedoms, but some other things I’m not so sure about. I mean, is nude dancing really “speech?”

Politically Correct speech is so pervasive now that speaking what is true is almost forbidden. I see kids who can barely voice a coherent thought, whose speech makes them unemployable anywhere. No one teaches them speech that will prepare them for employment or for a place in a better society. Their language abilities are so impoverished one wonders how they can have any hope of learning to read with any mind expanding  possibilities, or thinking about and desiring a better life. How does a gang member ever break away and make a different life for himself? Do none of these children ever feel a sense of shock at how they sound? Perhaps they are so inured to their vulgarity they are no longer capable of shock. And yet we are forbidden to speak of such “victims of racism” or whatever else is claimed to excuse their “ghetto” language and behavior. What in fairness can be done to bring such people into an open society so they can enrich themselves intellectually and culturally? Why does such advancement mean ostracism and hatred by their own families and former friends? How can they intelligently enter into political life?

Out-of-Wedlock birth rates continue to rise and harm young girls, leaving them dependent and causing harm to their children. Can it possibly be good for society to allow the welfare dependency to continue? For children to continue having children? And what of the fathers who are not present in their children’s lives, do they never grow up? The babies born in these circumstances suffer impoverishment of life and spirit with little hope of escaping from their circumstances. And yet we cannot speak openly in any way about this heart breaking situation.

Such Political Correctness is the very opposite of free speech or thought in any form, and leaves us unable to make any effort to help and understand those most in need of our care and concern. Government has become so shallow and manipulative that many of our fellow citizens don’t recognize their own danger and to try to warn them is futile.

These people have no concept of free thought or speech so TRUTH becomes a daily casualty to the sway of political correctness. The most pitiable people are those who think they are “victims” and that someone else, preferably the government, should take care of their needs.

Those most in need of self control and self reliance become takers and make themselves slaves while forging their own chains.

THE LANGUAGE BATTLE II- Part One

Language,

“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.” Voltaire

Voltaire, who said a lot of things, has probably been the most ardent and most quoted free speech champion of all time. What is speech? When and how do we learn it? How do we think without speech? What is “free speech”, and why is it so important to a free people? Is free thought even possible without free speech?

LEARNING TO SPEAK

Studies have shown that human brains are “hard wired” for speech, that babies recognize and respond to the sounds they hear before birth, and even in the womb the child may “practice” sounds. Some researchers and many parents are aware that babies learn grammar and process imaginative ideas long before previously thought.

My daughter finally had her treasured girl (after five boys), and one day when Andreina was about five months old her mother told me she thought she was already talking. My own children had been rather precocious speakers, but I told my daughter Andreina probably couldn’t be speaking so young. Leah, our dog, came walking by and Andreina stuck her lip out, glared at me defiantly, smacked the dog and said, “Hi, Leah.” I’ll be darned if I know when and how children understand language. Leah was about all the baby babbled on about for some months, but she sure wanted me to know she could talk.

My best advice to parents is to speak to your children about everything, don’t use “baby” talk, and assume they understand just about everything you say.

I have decided here to add in about my eldest son who now speaks several languages and is big in the linguistics field.

When he was a baby, around a year old, I would try to get him to say something, anything would do. He stubbornly kept his mouth shut for months and I couldn’t  get him to even wave “bye-bye”. One evening when he was 17 months old we decided to go out for dinner and as I was putting his sister in her car seat, he started to whimper. “Don’t cry,” I said, “We’re going to feed you soon.” He stopped for a second, then said, “Are we getting Chinese soup and noodles?” I was stunned and tried to get him to talk to his dad when he got into the car. No deal. He didn’t say a word until we pulled up to the restaurant, then this is what we heard, “Oh boy, Chinese soup and noodles, my favorite. Are we getting egg rolls, too? Do you think Steve (the waiter) will give me extra fortune cookies?” We figured out later that he didn’t like doing anything until he knew how and had a horror of being thought stupid. By the way, he never closed his mouth again, taught himself to read, saw a book on learning Norwegian, asked me to buy it and proceeded to try learning how to speak it.

Never underestimate your children.

Part Two tomorrow.

Why Read the Bible?

Biblical Wisdom, Economics, Politics, , , ,

Seeing the Handwriting On The Wall – As told in Daniel, Chapter 5

People who never read the Bible miss a rich cultural heritage passed on and preserved for millennia. King Solomon correctly taught that “there is nothing new under the sun.” And yet each new generation arrogantly believes that they are the first ones to be in their circumstances or know truth. Because they reject historical biblical principles, many people no longer learn that liberty is an unalienable right that comes from God and in their ignorance sell their birthright for a mess of pottage.

Even today there are cultural differences that separate us from others. If an Australian Aborigine were suddenly transported to New York City and a New Yorker took his place in the Outback, which one would be most likely to survive? At least the Aborigine would know how to fight, could learn to raid garbage cans for food, and could sense danger, but what would a city boy alone know about how to orient himself by the stars, how to find food and water in the wild, or how to defend himself from wild animals?

In our hubris we have forgotten that people in the past also led full lives and had wisdom we can learn and receive guidance from. The Bible is one such source of practical lessons on life and recognizing what is important in human experience.

In the not too distant past even people who were not “religious” were somewhat literate in biblical knowledge. The writer Florence King wrote about having problems with Social Security. Finally she had an appointment with a supervisor and after once again explaining her problem the supervisor assured her she understood and the problem would be resolved. Miss King muttered, “I can see the handwriting on the wall already.” The supervisor looked at her blankly, then turned her chair around to look at the wall and said, “I don’t see any handwriting.”

Sometimes we don’t see “the handwriting on the wall” because we have never studied it enough to see its relevance to us.

In his book “After America: Get Ready For Armageddon”, Mark Steyn clarifies the story of Belshazzar, King of Babylon, and “the handwriting on the wall.”

Belshazzar had a feast for all his courtiers and brought out the gold and silver plates, utensils and goblets looted from the temple in Jerusalem and used them to drunkenly toast the gods of gold and silver worshiped by the Babylonians. In the midst of the feast a disembodied hand appeared and wrote the words, “mene, mene, tekel, upharsin,” on the wall. Belshazzar understood the words, but not why they suddenly were written during his big party.

No one ever explained to me what the words meant, I only knew the interpretation. Mr. Steyn explains that the words are names for units or weights of Babylonian currency, or as he says: half-dollar, half-dollar, penny and two bits.

Daniel the Jewish prophet was called in by the King to interpret the “handwriting on the wall.” The interpretation given to Belshazzar by Daniel is:

MENE: “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it”.   TEKEL: “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”  UPHARSIN: “Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Within a day Belshazzar was slain, and the Persians and Darius the Mede had taken over the kingdom.

I am grateful to Mr. Steyn for identifying what the words written on the wall actually mean and placing the story in the context of Belshazzar having wasted the resources of his kingdom, thereby destroying it. If we were to ponder just a little would this story have any relevance to our nation’s trillions, trillions, billions, and millions in debt?

Is anyone in Washington reading the “handwriting on the wall?”

BLING

Politics, ,

ALL THAT GLITTERS  IS NOT GOLD – – Folk Saying

I well remember the first time I found gold. We must have been in Yellowstone Park and I was playing at the edge of a river when I saw the shine of iron pyrite and knew I had found gold and would be able to enrich my family. I grabbed a few rocks and ran shouting to my father that we were rich. He and my mother laughed while they explained I had only found “Fool’s gold.” No sugar coating was ever allowed by my parents, their daughter was a FOOL and boy did my brothers help reinforce that idea.

It would be many years before I stayed at a working gold mine in Alaska and found out how much work is involved in mining. It takes a lot of strength, grit and character to draw forth gold from the ground, and it takes more grit and strength of character to draw gold from ourselves.

We live in an age of glittering people who pursue power, fame and fortune at any cost. That cost is high for so many as they plunge into the abyss of adulation and wealth and then into drugs, loneliness and despair. The ruin of so many young people is particularly sad.

What constitutes true gold in a life? Do we even look anymore, or do we prefer the glitter over the real?

A person whose judgment I absolutely trust often uses the term “he’s only from the teeth out” to describe people he doesn’t trust. He recently referred to Joe Biden that way and I had to laugh because it was such a true statement. Can’t you just see the flash of light from “old Joe’s” teeth while he makes a fool of himself?

Learning the wisdom of judging fairly among competing interests for our time, money and loyalty is a wearying task, but one we avoid at our peril.

Take time to really listen and think hard about what you hear. After you have contemplated all sides, try to make an informed decision, apply your intelligence to the matter, and if someone is telling you it’s a crisis and the need to act is urgent, to “pass the bill so we can find out what’s in it”, ask yourself how trustworthy such advice is and why they who disagree are demonized with such hatred. Why is the issue being forced and what is to be gained from creating such chaos? The old saw about “follow the money” (and who gains power) applies here.

The silly theatrics of this administration are such a give-away about bling over substance. How can the idiots who stand behind this president as props not be ashamed of themselves? Maybe they just crave their fifteen minutes of fame.

Harry Reid and his lies and false witness against Romney were sickening to behold and should have been repudiated by all honest souls. That Romney did not more vigorously defend himself still astounds me.

Truth should not be silenced by fear and we all seem to need a truth detector these days.

SERIOUS WAR

Biblical Wisdom, Politics, , ,

And there was war in Heaven. . . Revelations 12:7

When I was young and first heard about war in Heaven I tried to imagine what it was like. It seemed so exciting. Did Michael and his side win by throwing the largest lightning bolts, using the biggest swords, killing the most foes — but wait, we’re speaking of immortal beings here. They can’t be killed, can they? So just how IS a war fought in Heaven?

On earth war is bloody, grim, noisy, dirty and frightening. Terror and loss are always present. But Heaven? How could Heavenly Beings turn against their own?

Apparently there were those who thought they were smarter and better at determining the best interests of others and so decided to strike out against the Great God and all who sided with Him. That is the eternal war. There are always those who fight against agency and freedom and few who are willing to bear the burden of freedom. And there are also those willing to use that fear of freedom to seize control. The struggle between liberty and bondage, between darkness and light, has been the same from the beginning and will be to the end.

I have watched and considered the doings of nations, the history of brother against brother, and decided that the war in Heaven was one of IDEAS, of WORDS used to hurt and degrade, to lie and persuade, to promise safety. Even in Heaven as here in mortal existence, the war has been one of deceit and hatred in order to gain power and glory. Always power over others, to control and defeat them.

Watching the last political campaign, hearing the obvious lies and ignorance, the pandering to greed, the twisting of truth . . . and then, BINGO!, the answer to war in Heaven came! POLITICS! Politics were introduced into the Holy Realms and mankind became locked in the perpetual battle for their right to be free.

“I was never so free as when I was a prisoner.” I decided upon reading that statement by Alexander Solzhenitsyn that as choices narrow the final choice a man must make in order to remain human and free is to always be aware of righteousness and our individual responsibility to ACT well before God. To be willing to die if necessary to protect liberty.

I can’t remember who said it, but there was the thought that, “we often forget the essential humanness of God.” He does love His creatures and is very kind to those who love and serve Him. We are commanded to become as He is, completed and perfect. Hard, yes, but we are to do the best we can in the battle we face.

This is a very serious war for the souls of all men.

THE LANGUAGE BATTLE I

Language, , , ,

“Ah, so, you are surprised I speak your language.”
Charlie Chan, fictional Detective, Honolulu Police Department.
(Movies made between 1925-1949, later shown on TV)

In the course of his investigations the “inscrutable Chinese” detective, Charlie Chan, would fool a witness/suspect into believing he could speak very little English. When the person would get careless and give away a clue Charlie would shock everyone by speaking impeccable English and saying “Ah, so, you are surprised I speak your language”, and almost immediately solve the case.

Do we all even speak the same language anymore?

When I was young the term “Confucius say” was a kind of joking way to introduce words of supposed Chinese wisdom. I seem to remember that Charlie Chan was the one who began the use of the term in the United States. When I actually read Confucius I was surprised about his absolute insistence on correct language so that people could clearly understand one another. He felt that knowledge of language and vocabulary is the most important skill for maintaining a civilized society, and that whoever controls the language controls the society.

Over many years I have thought of how words have been used to change and degrade our moral and religious perceptions. The most obvious example has been the bastardization of the word “abortion”. I had never even heard the word until I was in my late teens. Everyone in my social milieu knew that abortion meant killing- no, murdering- a baby, and the practice was never condoned. Did abortion occur and did women die in back alleys? I’m sure they did, but not nearly as many as proponents say. Then came the drive to legalize abortion. I have tried to remember how the word “baby” was changed, to “zygote”, “clump of cells”, “fetus”, “tissue mass”, “products of conception”, even “parasite”. I can’t even remember the iterations used to change hearts and minds away from the child lost.

The word “abortion”, too, went through many changes until the words “a woman’s right to choose” were finally hit upon. And now “choice” has become a woman’s sacred right.

One afternoon I picked my young children up from school and my third grade son was unusually silent. Suddenly he started to cry and said, “Mom, my teacher says that abortion means killing a baby. Did you know that?” “Yes,” I told him truthfully. “Then why don’t you stop it?” he sobbed. What could I say? I knew his teacher that year was bad and I had been excusing her crassness, but now she had crushed my child’s tender heart. I went to see her the next day, and described his reaction to her revelation. She snorted with laughter and said, “So what? He’ll get over it. He has to grow up sooner or later.” How does one cope with that?

Seeing my son with his little babies today I’m so glad he didn’t “get over it,” and still weeps for the loss of those other little babies.

Now we have the specter of political correctness hanging over our heads, destroying the enlightenment that comes from free and accurate speech. I fear for the young minds being formed in an environment of verbal poverty and profanity. How can one think and question if the words are not available?

It was George Orwell who wrote: “(Language) becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.”

More on language later.

KILLING THE GOOSE

Politics, , ,

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, in practice there is.
Yogi Bera

Something has been bothering me for a long time, and my mind still cannot wrap itself around those who are complicit (can we make a new word “complicitors”?) in the destruction of their own country and think they will escape the fallout, even those at the very pinnacle of power. They knowingly kill the goose, freedom, that lays the golden egg but think THEY can keep the eggs coming. In theory they expect to keep THEIR wealth and things while taking from you and me, presumably because our contributions don’t matter. In practice, however, they, too, will lose all.

The Soviet leaders had a name for such followers, they were called “useful idiots”, and that name was not just for the little guys, but soon included some of those very leaders. I think it was Beria who went to his death weeping, not that he was to die, but afraid Stalin did not love him anymore. His final words were addressed to that effect. Who will weep this time when they are being tossed aside?

The people who close their eyes to lies and sidle up to power will all lose when the leaders finally turn on their own, but there are other sides to this story. What happens when a civilization falls? How long can technology last when there is no innovation or upkeep available?

Without question there will be chaos when a nation falls, but I have another scenario about such a future that I think is true. If you want to know what will happen and how people will live when a population declines, choose a time with a much lower population number and learn how people lived then. Within a very few generations that is the way you and your descendants will live. How do you keep computers going when there is no way to repair and service them? What happens to satellites and other forms of communication? Who keeps automobiles running and airplanes flying? Think about all the things we have simply because we have the population to sustain them.

Cellphones are a great example of technological innovation. The first “mobile” phones were cumbersome, unreliable, and expensive. They were mostly used in commercial operations. When they started being used by individuals, only the so called “rich” had them. Those people were very limited in their calling system. Now the phones are small, reliable and cheap. Everyone has them. A man who worked in Africa told me how shocking it was to be in the African “bush” and find that every native had a cellphone. How long do you think any cellphone system will survive a societal breakdown?

If you had to leave your home in an emergency, with electricity gone and enemies at the door, and you told your children to grab just the necessities so you could run, what would they take? Their IPhones and computers, or warm clothing, food and water? Would they even believe they were in danger?

Back to the “complicitors”, where oh where will they be? It won’t take long for their lights to go out, too. They are fighting against us by design and what they do to themselves is out of sheer stupidity.

HISTORICAL MEMORY

Homespun philosophy, Politics, ,

Not to know what happened before you were born, that is to be always a boy, to be always a child. –Cicero

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. — George Santayana

So here we are today, historically illiterate beyond belief, and unaware of the dangers that beset us. How do we wake up those who have been taught no history, nor how to think with any logic or common sense? They are grown-up children with no real thought at all, no feelings for others nor knowledge of the needs and desires of their fellow beings.

Hannah Arendt famously coined the term “the banality of evil” and in our age that thought is true, many are so banal in their evil. But there are others who “think” and believe what they think is true simply because they are the ones who think it. Or, as someone else said, “If what you think about is BS, then what difference does it make?”

Are we to “repeat” history in our day? At a time when we are faced not only with a lack of historical context but have leaders and educators actively lying about that history, what are we, who lived that history, going to do?

I have wondered what some of these people who lie or rewrite our history do in the middle of the night when they awake, review their actions and have a crisis of conscience. I have finally concluded that they sleep the sleep of the just and never awake to question anything, especially not themselves. Thus we have IRS agents and other government bureaucrats who truly believe they have done nothing wrong, and see no inconsistency in hiding behind the Fifth. They continue their lies to advance their own agenda.

One of my grandsons watched “The Great Escape” and concluded that he “knew all about World War II and the Wehrmacht.”  Sorry, but not so. Later I gave the boys the series “Victory at Sea”, to watch. There was an episode about the Americans going onto a Pacific island and encountering a fearsome and very bloody Japanese attack. I was stunned to hear the boys talking about how “stupid” the Americans were to go there when there were that many of the enemy. I made them pause the episode and asked how the Americans could possibly have known the Japanese were there. Well, they could have seen them. How? Well, by satellites. They didn’t have any. Well, they should have flown planes over. What makes you think they didn’t? Have you ever heard of camouflage?  And planes have a limited range and get shot down. Their intelligence capabilities were very limited. The boys finally conceded that they knew very little and returned to their viewing. Then I heard a couple of them laugh about a dead body floating in the water. In black and white it didn’t look so bad to children raised viewing death and destruction on the big screen and seeing violent video games. Again I made them hit pause, and said, “That boy was somebody’s son or husband or father. He could have been my friend’s older brother. I remember the sadness and pain when he was killed in the Pacific.” That brought shock and silence.

The shock and silence of those who are not taught the realities of history.

We have many who are liars about history and everything else, and are too smug and self-satisfied to suffer “the long, dark tea-time of the soul” which leads to adulthood. They will always be children and condemned to learn the hard way.

It’s too bad they blind others and carry them to destruction with them.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

Homespun philosophy, Politics, ,

CAVEAT EMPTOR – BUYER BEWARE, OR NEVER BUY A PIG IN A POKE

Never buy a pig in a poke, the buyer’s beware of its day, has generated many explanations about sacks and pigs and stuff, but I prefer my mother’s take on the matter.

Many years ago women wore what were called “poke bonnets”. These bonnets were designed with a wide brim that projected out and around the wearer’s face. This allowed women to decorate the inside of the brim to frame and call attention to their lovely faces and away from other attributes that might not be so desirable. If a man were searching for a wife he might be taken in by the beautiful flowers, lace, and ribbons arrayed around a comely face and not see or think about flaws elsewhere. Or in the heat of the moment he might overlook personality or character issues.

When one falls for a (pardon the use of such an unladylike term) “pig in a poke”, he might not see clearly until he has brought the pig home and removed the bonnet, and we all know what happens when a pig, with lipstick or not, gets loose in the house.

This is not to say that women can’t be fooled, too. How many Jane Austin heroines got taken in by handsome men in “regimentals”?

The way I see it, the poke bonnet was the Madison Avenue of its time, the same false promises we are enticed with today by those who lie and connive for their own ends.

When was the last time you knew an advertisement was legit, or that a politician was telling any kind of truth? And yet we keep on buying things that don’t satisfy and believing what we really do know are lies. (Another old saying about “being led like pigs to the slaughter” comes to mind here. Sorry, that’s terrible, I know.)

There appears to be no area where politics does not rear its ugly head. Think about all the money and lies that go into a political campaign to make a candidate appear desirable, and the opposition not just wrong, but evil. Why oh why do we keep bringing the pigs home???

Please, don’t put your vote in a poke and then be surprised by the pig.

LIARS – Explicit and Implicit

Homespun philosophy, Politics, , , ,

THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO BE FOOLED. ONE IS TO BELIEVE WHAT IS NOT TRUE; THE OTHER IS TO REFUSE TO BELIEVE WHAT IS TRUE.
Soren Kirkegaard
. . . . . . . . . .

And so today we act as fools, because of a supposed “law”. The people of the United States can no longer close their eyes, minds and hearts to the explicit lies of our highest ranking leaders. We have also been treated to the explicit and implicit lies of all those who support those “leaders”: those who are true believers in the lies and those who just go along to get along.

What happens to a nation of liars and oath breakers? What happens to those who choose to believe and support and be enslaved by those lies and liars? If the truth will set us free then the opposite must also be true, when we believe a lie we become slaves to that lie.

If we believe what is not true, implicitly we are passive in our own downfall. If we refuse to believe what is true then we are explicitly partners in what our future holds.

Consider what it does to our own souls when we ACCEPT such lies and are either too lazy or too apathetic to confront the lies and demand the truth. Do we then also become implicit liars, no better than those in power who lie to perpetuate their power?

Lies at this point seem to be coin of the realm and are spent by many.

When our three older children were young (and we still had a TV), the kids liked to watch AMERICA’S MOST WANTED. They all had a highly developed sense of the necessity for bad guys to get caught and punished for their crimes and it pained them to see someone “getting away with it.” I tried to explain to them that no one “gets away” with anything, that we are what we are. One day I made it really simple and introduced the idea of a lie that they might have told and thought they “got away with” because no one else “caught” them. Then I asked, “Are you still a liar or not?” As young as they were they could see the point that until they confessed and determined not to ever lie again, they would remain liars. Then we could discuss whether a politician who lies, or a thief or a murderer can really “get away with it.”

Of course we have all told what we consider to be “white” lies, and we do have need of change. One can always find something positive to say without lying, or maybe the truth just needs to be out there. Until we accept our own culpability and make the necessary changes, we remain what we are. If we are liars we remain liars still. Our very souls remain calcified until we break the shells we build to hide from ourselves.

Our leaders seem to have highly calcified and impregnable shells, and they continue in their lies. We need to call their game so we are free from the lies placed upon us.

WHAT MAKES A LAW

Politics,

WHAT MAKES A LAW

One thing people seem to misunderstand is what a LAW really is. RIGHTS are natural and given to us by our Creator. Laws are made by men in order to accomplish various goals, such as protecting rights and property, maintaining order, restraining harmful behavior, defending against enemies, etc. Laws are necessary in order to ensure civilized behavior and to prevent anarchy.

From time to time bad laws are enacted and must be removed from the books. Perhaps the worst thing is when there is such a multitude of laws that no one can possibly know them all. Ignorance of the law then becomes a rational excuse for law breaking. “I didn’t know the gun was loaded. . .” may sound like a crazy defense, but “I didn’t know I’m not allowed to fish here. . .” may be very rational.

One aspect of law that is never discussed any more is “Equality before the law” as set forth in Article XVI of our Constitution. If one person (let alone thousands of government and union workers) is excused from a law how then can it remain a “law”? To be a law in truth it must apply to everyone equally. Obamacare should be thrown out on that basis alone. If one person is excused from the provisions of that law it is no longer a law, and anyone who chooses not to enter into the program (which is what it really is) should also be excused from its requirements.

Why is this principle of legal jurisprudence not addressed by anyone, not even judges and lawyers. Only “We The People” discuss this with friends and scratch our heads at the stupidity of things like hate crimes. Only whites can commit them? Really? There are Minority Set Asides of all kinds. How does that work? And what about the graft and corruption in the building trades when only certain minority groups have any chance of winning bids? And Affirmative Action in Education hurts ALL when the brightest are not even allowed to enroll in colleges and universities if they are Oriental or Caucasian and even the most capable and intelligent blacks become suspect under such programs.

The list of misuse of the Law is lengthy and brings such divisiveness to society. Abraham Lincoln, one of the great Presidents ever, the man who led a war to free the slaves, in his time of trial often repeated the Biblical injunction that a house divided against itself cannot stand.

Will we stand as friends and citizens today, or will our house remain divided?
For so it is.

Government Shutdown

Economics, Politics, , , , ,

         WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BUDGET BATTLE AND THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?

Do we really know which individuals, or groups, are responsible for the debt ceiling battle, the government shutdown and all the ugliness that has erupted? Who should the American people hold accountable?

Under the Constitution of the United States, the House of Representatives holds the purse strings and is charged with submitting a budget for each fiscal year, and there is a debt ceiling which is, supposedly, not to be exceeded. The budget proposed by the House is sent to the Senate where that body adds its demands for funding, then the budget goes before a joint conference committee for resolution. Both Houses vote on the finished product and once it is passed they forward it to the President for veto or signature. At least that’s how things are SUPPOSED to work.

In reality the budget forwarded by the House is loaded with pork barrel spending by the Senate and by both Houses during reconciliation. Thus the politicians can reward themselves and their cronies, and powerful voting blocs in each state get more funding. The longer members of Congress serve, the more powerful they become and the more pork they bring home, keeping their constituents happy and voting for them. So they keep playing the same old game, year after year.

Other methods of increased spending include supplemental spending resolutions and adding a desired unfunded program or project and cost as a rider on a completely unrelated bill. Everyone turns a blind eye to such shenanigans, and yet again the taxpayers are looted.

The President usually also presents a budget, making clear where his priorities lie. This President’s budgets have been rejected every year since he took office. NO ONE IN EITHER PARTY HAS EVER VOTED FOR HIS BUDGETS. Under this President the game has changed and there is a method to his madness. He prefers to have no limits on his power and with no budget he can unconstitutionally keep spending. That means that every time we reach the debt ceiling another battle erupts. And the cowards in the House of Representatives never have the courage to close the purse.

The passing of the fiscal budget is a CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT, so both Houses appear to have evaded their duties. However, the House has regularly forwarded budgets to the Senate where ONE MAN, the odious Senate President, Harry Reid, has pronounced them DOA. Does he then negotiate with the House or attempt to resolve the issue? Not Slimy Harry. He throws the proposed budget someplace (a drawer, a garbage can? Who knows?). He then “forgets” that budget, everyone happily keeps spending, and the government faces another shut down and a trillion dollar addition to the “debt ceiling” to allow even more spending. As the old children’s song says, “The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round. . .”

And so, with no budgetary restraints, the Senate President and the President of the United States have proceeded to rape the Treasury and the citizens of this country, and each year increase their power exponentially. They now think they are so powerful there’s nothing that can be done to stop them and they can take whatever they want. You can always tell who the bad guys are. . . They are the ones who don’t care what happens to ANYONE but themselves and THEY DON’T CARE IF YOU KNOW IT.

There are words, dishonorable, oath breakers, liars and sinners come to mind, for those who have no conscience. The word that truly fits, though, is PSYCHOPATH. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear have now been shown President Barack Obama and Senator Harry Reid for who and what they truly are. 

THEY BOTH SHOULD BE IMPEACHED, NO MATTER WHAT THE PAIN MAY BE TO THE NATION. 

As for the cowards in the House and the abettors in the Senate, perhaps they need to be turned out to pasture as soon as possible.

We have let badness stand too long and now have but two choices, fight for freedom or allow evil to stand. Will the people be willing to bear that pain? Which choice will you and I make?

God will not hold us guiltless if we quit.

AFTER THE CAVE-IN BY HOUSE REPUBLICANS:

Now here we are, a trillion dollars more in debt and a few months to try and settle a new budget, which, by design, will never happen. And a new budget and debt ceiling loom. Add Obamacare to this mix and try to guess the debt ceiling next time. What’s a few trillion between thieves?

The always kind and thoughtful Harry Reid says that Ted Cruz is a laughing-stock. Methinks Harry forgot to look in the mirror this morning.

McDUCK

Economics

A PENNY HERE A PENNY THERE IS ENOUGH TO MAKE A MILLIONAIRE.    Uncle Scrooge McDuck

Everyone loved Donald Duck and his rascally nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. Uncle Scrooge, being a Scotsduck, could be nothing but parsimonious, but he was kind of lovable, too.

The first time I saw a Donald Duck comic book, Donald and his nephews were visiting Uncle Scrooge at McDuck Mansion and he took them to his treasure room where they stood on his boundless expanse of gold coins and jewels while Scrooge dived into the piles as though he were swimming in them. I was just a little girl and was enthralled by enough money to swim in, and then Scrooge informed the boys that, “A penny here a penny there is enough to make a millionaire.” It sounded good to me, but I knew my mom and dad saved pennies, dimes and quarters in an orange carnival glass on their dresser and we sure weren’t millionaires. I’ve never been quite sure why they didn’t save nickels, too, but they never did. Maybe dad saved nickels for buying coffee with his friends. Yes, that was what a cup of coffee cost then.

My older brother read the same comic book and immediately came to the conclusion that Donald and the boys were dumb and should just take whatever money they wanted and Scrooge would never know the difference. (Bilbo Baggins might tell him a thing or two about dragons, though.)

My brother’s take on the matter horrified me. Good people, like good ducks, would never, ever take what did not belong to them. I’m still absolutely certain that Uncle Scrooge earned his riches righteously, and that Donald and his nephews were absolutely trustworthy and honest.

Sometimes when I think about my parents savings being mere pennies at times, I marvel at how honest they were. It’s funny to think about now, but my father would go to the grocery store and check off the items on the tape when he and mom would put the groceries away. If there was a discrepancy on either side, even if it was only a penny, he would return to the store and either pay them or ask for a refund. The clerks never questioned his veracity.

What a legacy of savings and absolute honesty I was given. If you are honest, also be grateful, if you are not, best to at least think about what you do to yourself.