Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Question everything...
****
Most people get along quite nicely in life without ever questioning their assumptions, or believing utter lies. Unless reality deigns to smack them over their heads, they'll get on just fine. Truth doesn't just jump out and say, "Here I am!" It's usually buried in lies and half-truths, or maybe you don't have enough information or experience to know it when you see it. It takes patience, wisdom, discernment and a little luck to find the truth of anything. You can't even pick up a Bible and expect for Truth to jump out at you if you don't do a little preparation first. There's a reason that Book warns of casting seed on unprepared ground.
For most people, information arrives on the television. It is not an unbiased source. As often as not, truth is buried in spin or, worse, bludgeoned to death with lies. Unfortunately, if we were to stop watching and listening to corporate (including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting) news media, 90% of Americans would know nothing about anything. Also unfortunately, there is no good alternative that reaches a mass audience.
The corporate media have a narrative. Turn on the local news and flip through the channels. The same stories. In the same blocks. Even the "features" are the same, sometimes a day or two behind or ahead but if you see it on channel 8 you'll almost assuredly see the same story on channel 13. The same applies to the national news whether it's ABC, NBC, or CBS. The "narrative" favored by the masters of information is all you're likely to be exposed to. Other sources have the same problem, of course. How does one then try to make sense of the information that bombards them everyday?
First, you must learn to control your immediate reaction and sift for facts, something the vast majority of Americans are either incapable of or don't have time to do. Information just comes in too fast, so for a shortcut, we resort to filters. From the first report you can watch the responses line up perfectly, especially in internet comboxes and message boards. The nutters scream, "False Flag!" The Progs foam at the mouth and trot out every Prog meme they've been fed from their "trusted sources" that might possibly relate and the knee-jerk Right does the same.
Our politicians cloud the issue still further. Even after the fact, so many are caught out lying or are found to be so agenda driven on all sides as to be untrustworthy, further making truth harder to apprehend.
This is not new. The media and politicians have been stampeding the herd from the inception of the Republic. It is difficult to tease out facts from spin; it always has been. Now our electorate is so fragmented that there may be no way to do so.
Who's lying or spinning? The cynic in me says, "All of them."
Who to trust? "None of them."
What to do about it?
If you're trying to catch a specific fish in a lake, you have to cast your net wide and sift through a bunch of fish you don't want. Read from several sources and not just sources you may superficially agree with. Read history and lots of it - primary sources as much as you can. Read non-contemporary writers. Ninety-nine percent of what is happening has happened before. For instance I find Chesterton to be a veritable goldmine of useful anecdotes and opinions on everything from Mormonism to Islam to Socialism and Evolution. There truly is nothing new under the sun. Everything we do has been done, at least in kind, before.
It's an individual quest though. Only you can do it. You can holler and shout and point at the elephant in the room and if nobody else can see it, you may as well save your breath. The best you can usually do is point at the parts of the pachyderm. "Look! There's a trunk, don't you think it might be attached to an elephant?"
Other than that? Teach your children well; more important, teach then to think, Teach them to challenge authority. Dump as much reading on them as you think they can stand, and then dump some more - but make sure you understand the material and can guide them through it. It doesn't do any good to get them to read Karl Marx or Adam Smith if they don't have the skill to properly critique it. Most of all teach them to question their own assumptions. Question yours. Pray for guidance and hope for the best.
Most people get along quite nicely in life without ever questioning their assumptions, or believing utter lies. Unless reality deigns to smack them over their heads, they'll get on just fine. Truth doesn't just jump out and say, "Here I am!" It's usually buried in lies and half-truths, or maybe you don't have enough information or experience to know it when you see it. It takes patience, wisdom, discernment and a little luck to find the truth of anything. You can't even pick up a Bible and expect for Truth to jump out at you if you don't do a little preparation first. There's a reason that Book warns of casting seed on unprepared ground.
For most people, information arrives on the television. It is not an unbiased source. As often as not, truth is buried in spin or, worse, bludgeoned to death with lies. Unfortunately, if we were to stop watching and listening to corporate (including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting) news media, 90% of Americans would know nothing about anything. Also unfortunately, there is no good alternative that reaches a mass audience.
The corporate media have a narrative. Turn on the local news and flip through the channels. The same stories. In the same blocks. Even the "features" are the same, sometimes a day or two behind or ahead but if you see it on channel 8 you'll almost assuredly see the same story on channel 13. The same applies to the national news whether it's ABC, NBC, or CBS. The "narrative" favored by the masters of information is all you're likely to be exposed to. Other sources have the same problem, of course. How does one then try to make sense of the information that bombards them everyday?
First, you must learn to control your immediate reaction and sift for facts, something the vast majority of Americans are either incapable of or don't have time to do. Information just comes in too fast, so for a shortcut, we resort to filters. From the first report you can watch the responses line up perfectly, especially in internet comboxes and message boards. The nutters scream, "False Flag!" The Progs foam at the mouth and trot out every Prog meme they've been fed from their "trusted sources" that might possibly relate and the knee-jerk Right does the same.
Our politicians cloud the issue still further. Even after the fact, so many are caught out lying or are found to be so agenda driven on all sides as to be untrustworthy, further making truth harder to apprehend.
This is not new. The media and politicians have been stampeding the herd from the inception of the Republic. It is difficult to tease out facts from spin; it always has been. Now our electorate is so fragmented that there may be no way to do so.
Who's lying or spinning? The cynic in me says, "All of them."
Who to trust? "None of them."
What to do about it?
If you're trying to catch a specific fish in a lake, you have to cast your net wide and sift through a bunch of fish you don't want. Read from several sources and not just sources you may superficially agree with. Read history and lots of it - primary sources as much as you can. Read non-contemporary writers. Ninety-nine percent of what is happening has happened before. For instance I find Chesterton to be a veritable goldmine of useful anecdotes and opinions on everything from Mormonism to Islam to Socialism and Evolution. There truly is nothing new under the sun. Everything we do has been done, at least in kind, before.
It's an individual quest though. Only you can do it. You can holler and shout and point at the elephant in the room and if nobody else can see it, you may as well save your breath. The best you can usually do is point at the parts of the pachyderm. "Look! There's a trunk, don't you think it might be attached to an elephant?"
Other than that? Teach your children well; more important, teach then to think, Teach them to challenge authority. Dump as much reading on them as you think they can stand, and then dump some more - but make sure you understand the material and can guide them through it. It doesn't do any good to get them to read Karl Marx or Adam Smith if they don't have the skill to properly critique it. Most of all teach them to question their own assumptions. Question yours. Pray for guidance and hope for the best.
Labels: blather
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
I give up.
Comment spam has reared its ugly head and I 've tried to come up with a way to stop it short of turning on comment verification or going back to haloscan (urk) or CoComment.
No such luck.
So word verification it is.
If you stop by, do please comment, if just to say "Hello!"
No such luck.
So word verification it is.
If you stop by, do please comment, if just to say "Hello!"
Labels: blather
Thursday, December 04, 2008
A good prophet is one who is wrong.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The official end of summer...
****
Just finished a salad with the last of the vine-ripened tomatoes from the garden. I have about 3 pounds of tomatoes that I rescued from the freeze and in various shades of green ripening in the house, but it's just not the same.
Fall is my favorite time of year, elections notwithstanding, but it's bittersweet.
****
Wife had to teach today. That means I got to cook up a small school of whitefish. Mrs. Hoosiertoo hates seafood in general, so the only times I get seafood is when we go out - or when she leaves me alone.
Today it was unbreaded whitefish fillets cooked in butter with salt, pepper, garlic and a lot of parsley. Yum! The house reeks of fish; I'm going to catch it when she gets home.
I'll be at work. Heh...
Just finished a salad with the last of the vine-ripened tomatoes from the garden. I have about 3 pounds of tomatoes that I rescued from the freeze and in various shades of green ripening in the house, but it's just not the same.
Fall is my favorite time of year, elections notwithstanding, but it's bittersweet.
****
Wife had to teach today. That means I got to cook up a small school of whitefish. Mrs. Hoosiertoo hates seafood in general, so the only times I get seafood is when we go out - or when she leaves me alone.
Today it was unbreaded whitefish fillets cooked in butter with salt, pepper, garlic and a lot of parsley. Yum! The house reeks of fish; I'm going to catch it when she gets home.
I'll be at work. Heh...
Labels: blather
Friday, September 26, 2008
Strings and beer and Push-ups.
I was in an Osco in Chicago the other night picking up - or at least trying to - a remedy for the sinus infection that has plagued me for the past 2 weeks, when I happened to notice that some genius of marketing placed the alcohol selection next to the feminine hygiene products.
I've been buying feminine hygiene products for over 30 years now. I'm largely incapable of embarrassment anyway, and picking out some hapless clerk - the younger the better - and trying to get her to explain the benefits and features of various flow absorbers used to be one of my favorite pastimes, so I never really mind the inevitable monthly trip to the drug store. You'd think that after the first couple of years of periodic visits from Aunt Flo women would get the hint that it might be a good idea to stock up on feminine hygiene products at least a couple of days in advance of the blessed event.
Alas, such is not the case.
Feminine hygiene products have changed a lot in the past 30-odd years. For one thing, there used to be one basic pad - roughly the size of a travel pillow - and tampons with either plastic or cardboard insertion devices, which reminded me a little of Push-Ups.
Push-Ups were usually some sort of sherbet in a cardboard tube with a plastic piston on a stick used to push the sherbet up the tube. My favorite flavor was orange - but I digress.
Tampons have strings for ease of removal (much less self examination required to get the damned thing back out) and this of course has inspired men to make crudes jokes involving flossing, pediculosis pubis and bungee jumping.
Push-Ups don't have strings.
Now, feminine hygiene products come in a bewildering array of sizes and shapes, making it even less likely that the poor guy who has to buy one of these products is actually going to get the correct product home to a stressed-out mass of raging hormones with a disposition somewhat analogous to a pissed-off badgerette and already fired-up because guys DON'T HAVE PERIODS (Thanks, God!) and who also believes against all reason that the guy should know that she ALWAYS buys Always Super Ultra-maxis with Wings and Ailerons.
As if. I've had to make the return trip more than a few times. Oddly, I've never encountered the same sales clerk twice.
Naturally the poor shlub who has to go through this process knowing he isn't likely to get laid for a week or so and who also has the privilege of putting up with a creature that, if, say, it was a house pet would be taken to an animal shelter - or shot - is understandably under a lot of stress.
Beer in moderation is a good stress reliever, though it doesn't do much for the badgerette's stress level. So while putting beer next to the feminine hygiene products was a GREAT IDEA - I'd bet it was a guy who thought it up - the marketing guru who puts boxed chocolates and fishing tackle next to the beer will get my vote for president.
I've been buying feminine hygiene products for over 30 years now. I'm largely incapable of embarrassment anyway, and picking out some hapless clerk - the younger the better - and trying to get her to explain the benefits and features of various flow absorbers used to be one of my favorite pastimes, so I never really mind the inevitable monthly trip to the drug store. You'd think that after the first couple of years of periodic visits from Aunt Flo women would get the hint that it might be a good idea to stock up on feminine hygiene products at least a couple of days in advance of the blessed event.
Alas, such is not the case.
Feminine hygiene products have changed a lot in the past 30-odd years. For one thing, there used to be one basic pad - roughly the size of a travel pillow - and tampons with either plastic or cardboard insertion devices, which reminded me a little of Push-Ups.
Push-Ups were usually some sort of sherbet in a cardboard tube with a plastic piston on a stick used to push the sherbet up the tube. My favorite flavor was orange - but I digress.
Tampons have strings for ease of removal (much less self examination required to get the damned thing back out) and this of course has inspired men to make crudes jokes involving flossing, pediculosis pubis and bungee jumping.
Push-Ups don't have strings.
Now, feminine hygiene products come in a bewildering array of sizes and shapes, making it even less likely that the poor guy who has to buy one of these products is actually going to get the correct product home to a stressed-out mass of raging hormones with a disposition somewhat analogous to a pissed-off badgerette and already fired-up because guys DON'T HAVE PERIODS (Thanks, God!) and who also believes against all reason that the guy should know that she ALWAYS buys Always Super Ultra-maxis with Wings and Ailerons.
As if. I've had to make the return trip more than a few times. Oddly, I've never encountered the same sales clerk twice.
Naturally the poor shlub who has to go through this process knowing he isn't likely to get laid for a week or so and who also has the privilege of putting up with a creature that, if, say, it was a house pet would be taken to an animal shelter - or shot - is understandably under a lot of stress.
Beer in moderation is a good stress reliever, though it doesn't do much for the badgerette's stress level. So while putting beer next to the feminine hygiene products was a GREAT IDEA - I'd bet it was a guy who thought it up - the marketing guru who puts boxed chocolates and fishing tackle next to the beer will get my vote for president.
Labels: blather
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
eMusic and MediaMaster
****
I very rarely - maybe never - write to recommend a product or service. Today, I'm going to recommend two. eMusic and MediaMaster.
I have been an eMusic member for about five months. For $19.95 per month I get 75 downloads to use as I see fit. I've burned all my credits every month and have to talk myself out of buying more. Sure, it requires some mining, and it helps if you're not limited to Top 40, or one particular genre. I you're looking for Mariah Carey or Bruce Springsteen stuff, then eMusic isn't for you, but I could spend my monthly allotment of 75 credits just in classical music in the next hour. In just the past couple of weeks, I downloaded new releases from Maddy Prior (of Steeleye Span fame) and Symphony X.
Hell, I have more in my "Saved for Later" bin than credits I'll have available in the next year.
Music can be searched by artist, song, album or label. Want to know what music from Shanachie or Vanguard is available? Just check! One other cool feature of eMusic is the fact that my downloads are stored online, so I can download them again for free if I need to.
$19.95 for 75 credits works out to $.27 per song, which beats the hell out of iTunes. Check out eMusic.
****
You just can't beat free. MediaMaster has my entire collection of downloaded music stored in one spot, accessible from anyplace on the web. My music can be streamed to compatible devices and can even be shared. It features an easy to use interface. I was able to upload my entire iTunes library with one click.
So my music collection is backed up and accessible online. Sweet! If it wasn't free, I'd pay for the service.
I very rarely - maybe never - write to recommend a product or service. Today, I'm going to recommend two. eMusic and MediaMaster.
I have been an eMusic member for about five months. For $19.95 per month I get 75 downloads to use as I see fit. I've burned all my credits every month and have to talk myself out of buying more. Sure, it requires some mining, and it helps if you're not limited to Top 40, or one particular genre. I you're looking for Mariah Carey or Bruce Springsteen stuff, then eMusic isn't for you, but I could spend my monthly allotment of 75 credits just in classical music in the next hour. In just the past couple of weeks, I downloaded new releases from Maddy Prior (of Steeleye Span fame) and Symphony X.
Hell, I have more in my "Saved for Later" bin than credits I'll have available in the next year.
Music can be searched by artist, song, album or label. Want to know what music from Shanachie or Vanguard is available? Just check! One other cool feature of eMusic is the fact that my downloads are stored online, so I can download them again for free if I need to.
$19.95 for 75 credits works out to $.27 per song, which beats the hell out of iTunes. Check out eMusic.
****
You just can't beat free. MediaMaster has my entire collection of downloaded music stored in one spot, accessible from anyplace on the web. My music can be streamed to compatible devices and can even be shared. It features an easy to use interface. I was able to upload my entire iTunes library with one click.
So my music collection is backed up and accessible online. Sweet! If it wasn't free, I'd pay for the service.
Labels: blather
Monday, June 23, 2008
If I had to post a photo...
that expressed my life over the past couple of months, it would be a picture of my navel. Fortunately for you all, that is a photo that will not be posted; many years of beer and food in copious quantities have not been kind to my navel. I have, however, spent an inordinate amount of time engaged in gazing at my navel recently; that is, when not engaged in contemplation of all things ozone.
My rut is beginning to resemble a Habitrail.
My rut is beginning to resemble a Habitrail.
Labels: blather
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Quick update...sorta...
****
My motorcycle is inop. I am NOT happy. My garage currently has two dead bikes in it and I'm stuck driving my old Honda Accord, which air conditioning is also inop.
My truck has a flat tire; not too inconvenient as I drive it very rarely. At $100.00 a fill-up and 10 mpg, I probably won't be driving it much at all. Sometimes you just need a truck, though.
My lawn tractor has a flat and a bad battery.
****
I'm currently taking a conversational Spanish course. I long since forgot everything I learned in HS Spanish, except that Sra. Patton was kinda hot. She once beat the crap out of me with two yardsticks taped together. I was in the process of trying to beat the crap out of another student, so I probably had it coming - although I might've quit hitting him sooner if she hadn't been pissing me off by whacking me.
So, I blame her.
Hard to imagine nowadays, but back in the day teachers used to carry weapons in school openly. Paddles with holes drilled in them, yardsticks and rulers, etc. Some of them were proficient at causing pain. I had one teacher who loved to take his paddle out - a fearsomely carved and drilled device designed for a two-handed swing - and play with it while lecturing or stalking the classroom while we were working on in-class assignments. It was certainly an attention grabber.
There was a 6th grade English teacher who taught me verb conjugation and sentence parsing through the seat of my pants, skills I retain to this day. Maybe if I'd had him for Spanish instead of Sra. Patton...
Mind you, this was a public school.
Spanish spoken by a fat old white guy with a flat Midwestern accent and an inability to trill an "r" is no doubt a source of amusement for native speakers. Turnabout really is fair play; I can now fail to communicate in two languages. I can't understand their English and they can't understand my Spanish. Life is good.
At one time - decades ago - I spoke passable German; now not so much. It's funny, but when I try to cast sentences en Espanol, especially using numbers, the German words pop out unbidden.
I also don't speak French worth a crap. Luckily I remember so little of it that I don't even try, much to the relief of Francophiles everywhere, I'm sure.
I should stick to moderate drinking and naive provincialism; it's much easier. Ja, ich hablo Aleman!
Merde.
My motorcycle is inop. I am NOT happy. My garage currently has two dead bikes in it and I'm stuck driving my old Honda Accord, which air conditioning is also inop.
My truck has a flat tire; not too inconvenient as I drive it very rarely. At $100.00 a fill-up and 10 mpg, I probably won't be driving it much at all. Sometimes you just need a truck, though.
My lawn tractor has a flat and a bad battery.
****
I'm currently taking a conversational Spanish course. I long since forgot everything I learned in HS Spanish, except that Sra. Patton was kinda hot. She once beat the crap out of me with two yardsticks taped together. I was in the process of trying to beat the crap out of another student, so I probably had it coming - although I might've quit hitting him sooner if she hadn't been pissing me off by whacking me.
So, I blame her.
Hard to imagine nowadays, but back in the day teachers used to carry weapons in school openly. Paddles with holes drilled in them, yardsticks and rulers, etc. Some of them were proficient at causing pain. I had one teacher who loved to take his paddle out - a fearsomely carved and drilled device designed for a two-handed swing - and play with it while lecturing or stalking the classroom while we were working on in-class assignments. It was certainly an attention grabber.
There was a 6th grade English teacher who taught me verb conjugation and sentence parsing through the seat of my pants, skills I retain to this day. Maybe if I'd had him for Spanish instead of Sra. Patton...
Mind you, this was a public school.
Spanish spoken by a fat old white guy with a flat Midwestern accent and an inability to trill an "r" is no doubt a source of amusement for native speakers. Turnabout really is fair play; I can now fail to communicate in two languages. I can't understand their English and they can't understand my Spanish. Life is good.
At one time - decades ago - I spoke passable German; now not so much. It's funny, but when I try to cast sentences en Espanol, especially using numbers, the German words pop out unbidden.
I also don't speak French worth a crap. Luckily I remember so little of it that I don't even try, much to the relief of Francophiles everywhere, I'm sure.
I should stick to moderate drinking and naive provincialism; it's much easier. Ja, ich hablo Aleman!
Merde.
Labels: blather
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Woohoo.
What I got for getting system certified.
Now I can toss a ratty t-shirt.
(My idea of dressing up is a new t-shirt and clean jeans.)
Labels: blather
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Um, here I am...
****
Sorry for the lack of updates, but I really haven't felt like playing on the blogs.
It's not as if my life has been mundane of late - there is actually no shortage of material for any number of posts - but my desire to document the doings has been nearly nil.
I hope to work my way back into the swing of things, so expect more regular posting (like I've ever been meticulous about posting regularly) and thank-you to kel and 2nd gen for checking up on me.
I did take some pics and they will be posted in more-or-less chronological sequence.
I actually bought a new camera during the hiatus; it's a 10 megapixel GE with face recognition and other goodies. It doesn't make me a better photographer, but it did ensure that I would have to get different cables to upload the pics from the camera.
Anyway, I apologize for the long absence. Pictures to come soon!
Sorry for the lack of updates, but I really haven't felt like playing on the blogs.
It's not as if my life has been mundane of late - there is actually no shortage of material for any number of posts - but my desire to document the doings has been nearly nil.
I hope to work my way back into the swing of things, so expect more regular posting (like I've ever been meticulous about posting regularly) and thank-you to kel and 2nd gen for checking up on me.
I did take some pics and they will be posted in more-or-less chronological sequence.
I actually bought a new camera during the hiatus; it's a 10 megapixel GE with face recognition and other goodies. It doesn't make me a better photographer, but it did ensure that I would have to get different cables to upload the pics from the camera.
Anyway, I apologize for the long absence. Pictures to come soon!
Labels: blather
Blogging is not my life...
****
Rather obviously.
Sorry for the lack of updates, but I really haven't felt like saying anything. It's not as if my life has been mundane of late - there is actually no shortage of material for any number of posts - but my desire to document the doings has been nearly nil.
I hope to work my way back into the swing of things, so expect more regular posting (as if I've ever been meticulous about posting regularly) and thank you to kel and 2nd gen, who prodded me awake again.
Rather obviously.
Sorry for the lack of updates, but I really haven't felt like saying anything. It's not as if my life has been mundane of late - there is actually no shortage of material for any number of posts - but my desire to document the doings has been nearly nil.
I hope to work my way back into the swing of things, so expect more regular posting (as if I've ever been meticulous about posting regularly) and thank you to kel and 2nd gen, who prodded me awake again.
Labels: blather
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Liberal Fascism
Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism is a highly readable and well-researched book, and yet I can sum it up in two sentences:
1.) Progressives in all their political incarnations from the Jacobins to the Nazi's to the Fascists to Communists to Socialists to crusaders for the Social Gospel share a common ideological heritage and a murderous history.
2.) A little fascism is okay, as long as one agrees with the Glorious Leader's - or whatever social do-goodism suffices for a moral imperative - stated goals and it's for the right reasons.
Most any libertarian* not named Noam Chomsky could have saved you the trouble of reading Goldberg's book and told you the same thing. In the meantime, progressives of whatever ilk go about blithely increasing the power of government in the Pursuit of Heaven on Earth or some other enlightened vision of the perfectability of Man** and virtually no-one asks:
So what happens if the wrong Glorious Leader gets power?
It's not like Goldberg lacks for examples of totalitarianism run amok. Every abuse of liberty from the Reign of Terror to Buchenwald to the gulags and the unconstututional excesses of virtually every president - Republican or Democrat - since Wilson's abortive fascist experiment has followed in the Progressive goosestep. How he reaches the conclusion he does seems to me like a cognitive disconnect on his part.
All that said, I recommend Liberal Fascism. That Goldberg reaches a flawed conclusion doesn't mean I don't appreciate the service he has done in laying out an easily followed argument that modern American liberals - who are really anything but - and conservatives are really fruits of the same ideological tree. Scoop Jackson and Patrick Moynihan would have been perfectly at home in today's Republican Party. Unfortunately, libertarians aren't.
*that is a "classical liberal," or presumably a Randian. I really need to reread Ayn Rand. I suffered through The Fountainhead and a large chunk of Atlas Shrugged in high school - trust me, it wasn't part of the curriculum - but I wasn't ready for the ideas - probable - or maybe it was only because I was already radicalized to the left. Hey, this was 30-odd years ago; I thought Nixon was a righty. We grow too late smart and too soon old.
**In the collective, of course. Damned few people seem to be interested in perfecting themselves.
1.) Progressives in all their political incarnations from the Jacobins to the Nazi's to the Fascists to Communists to Socialists to crusaders for the Social Gospel share a common ideological heritage and a murderous history.
2.) A little fascism is okay, as long as one agrees with the Glorious Leader's - or whatever social do-goodism suffices for a moral imperative - stated goals and it's for the right reasons.
Most any libertarian* not named Noam Chomsky could have saved you the trouble of reading Goldberg's book and told you the same thing. In the meantime, progressives of whatever ilk go about blithely increasing the power of government in the Pursuit of Heaven on Earth or some other enlightened vision of the perfectability of Man** and virtually no-one asks:
So what happens if the wrong Glorious Leader gets power?
It's not like Goldberg lacks for examples of totalitarianism run amok. Every abuse of liberty from the Reign of Terror to Buchenwald to the gulags and the unconstututional excesses of virtually every president - Republican or Democrat - since Wilson's abortive fascist experiment has followed in the Progressive goosestep. How he reaches the conclusion he does seems to me like a cognitive disconnect on his part.
All that said, I recommend Liberal Fascism. That Goldberg reaches a flawed conclusion doesn't mean I don't appreciate the service he has done in laying out an easily followed argument that modern American liberals - who are really anything but - and conservatives are really fruits of the same ideological tree. Scoop Jackson and Patrick Moynihan would have been perfectly at home in today's Republican Party. Unfortunately, libertarians aren't.
*that is a "classical liberal," or presumably a Randian. I really need to reread Ayn Rand. I suffered through The Fountainhead and a large chunk of Atlas Shrugged in high school - trust me, it wasn't part of the curriculum - but I wasn't ready for the ideas - probable - or maybe it was only because I was already radicalized to the left. Hey, this was 30-odd years ago; I thought Nixon was a righty. We grow too late smart and too soon old.
**In the collective, of course. Damned few people seem to be interested in perfecting themselves.
Labels: blather, books, politics
Monday, March 03, 2008
Interlude V
February 27, 28 and 29 were the end of Hell Week. Friday night ended with a visit from the local PD as we caught a guy breaking into a customer's trailer. Other than that, I was pretty much locked in at work or sleeping. There are only so many pictures of broken trucks I can post...
I didn't log on to a computer for fun until after midnight on March 3rd. I did get pix for March 1 and 2, so I posted them.
I didn't log on to a computer for fun until after midnight on March 3rd. I did get pix for March 1 and 2, so I posted them.
Labels: blather, excuses, interlude
Monday, February 18, 2008
Interlude IV
Sorry for the long absence. I've been dealing with some personal problems that as a side effect produced a decided lack of enthusiasm for updating blogs.
Now that some of the issues are finally being resolved, I hope to do a better job of keeping up.
Now that some of the issues are finally being resolved, I hope to do a better job of keeping up.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
L'etat, c'est moi!
****
I'd like for someone to point to the verse in the New Testament where Jesus makes that claim, or where he declares that His kingdom is of this world.
****
Warning! I'm not teaching here - I'm questioning.
****
I'm a Christian. I...
I am a Catholic because I believe in the Real Prescence. I get infallibility. I get purgatory and all the other things that make Prots scratch their heads and go, "Huh?" Even indulgences - although I still ain't real comfortable with that one.
I'm not big on apparitions, Marian devotion, rosaries or a bunch of other popular stuff, and things like scapulars, medals, blessings of motorcycles* and throats, and asking saints to find car keys** I find frankly off-putting. I get the uncomfortable feeling that too many Christians think the faith is like "white" magic or something. Get the "spell" right and - Bingo! - long lost trinkets magically appear.
Let's face it - there's a lot about my Church I don't get. FWIW, I've attended innumerable mainline Prot, Fundie and other assorted Christian assemblies and have decided that silliness is nondenominational.
****
One thing I surely don't get is the Church's social gospel. Oh, I know all about helping widows and orphans and what not, and I get loving my neighbor as myself - even though I must hate myself, based on my feelings*** for some neighbors.
What I don't understand is the Church's insistence on attempting to push it's social agenda through programs administered by a secular - even hostile - government. If the Kingdom of God is supposed to look like a left-wing Utopia - minus abortion - then I confess to missing the point.
More to come...****
*A nondenominational phenomenon. I've seen bikes blessed by everyone from a priest to a hirsute biker/pastor, presumably from the Church of Hog Heaven. Cue "Riders in the Sky" by Roxette
**I'd suppose that Saint Anthony has better things to worry about. I try not to bug saints. They're busy. I'd rather have them interceding for my sorry butt than worrying about where I put my Honda keys.
***Good thing Love is an act of will and not a feeling.
****Sorry!
I'd like for someone to point to the verse in the New Testament where Jesus makes that claim, or where he declares that His kingdom is of this world.
****
Warning! I'm not teaching here - I'm questioning.
****
I'm a Christian. I...
****...believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
...believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven. By the power of the Holy Spirit, he born of the Virgin Mary,became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered, died and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
...believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
...believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
...acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
...look for the resurrection of the dead,and the life of the world to come.
I am a Catholic because I believe in the Real Prescence. I get infallibility. I get purgatory and all the other things that make Prots scratch their heads and go, "Huh?" Even indulgences - although I still ain't real comfortable with that one.
I'm not big on apparitions, Marian devotion, rosaries or a bunch of other popular stuff, and things like scapulars, medals, blessings of motorcycles* and throats, and asking saints to find car keys** I find frankly off-putting. I get the uncomfortable feeling that too many Christians think the faith is like "white" magic or something. Get the "spell" right and - Bingo! - long lost trinkets magically appear.
Let's face it - there's a lot about my Church I don't get. FWIW, I've attended innumerable mainline Prot, Fundie and other assorted Christian assemblies and have decided that silliness is nondenominational.
****
One thing I surely don't get is the Church's social gospel. Oh, I know all about helping widows and orphans and what not, and I get loving my neighbor as myself - even though I must hate myself, based on my feelings*** for some neighbors.
What I don't understand is the Church's insistence on attempting to push it's social agenda through programs administered by a secular - even hostile - government. If the Kingdom of God is supposed to look like a left-wing Utopia - minus abortion - then I confess to missing the point.
More to come...****
*A nondenominational phenomenon. I've seen bikes blessed by everyone from a priest to a hirsute biker/pastor, presumably from the Church of Hog Heaven. Cue "Riders in the Sky" by Roxette
**I'd suppose that Saint Anthony has better things to worry about. I try not to bug saints. They're busy. I'd rather have them interceding for my sorry butt than worrying about where I put my Honda keys.
***Good thing Love is an act of will and not a feeling.
****Sorry!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Plant
****
Twenty-five-or-so years ago, my father had his first heart attack and subsequent quadruple bypass. This plant is a cutting from a plant that was given to him while he was recovering. The main plant has been transplanted and is still kicking in a corner of my dining room. I don't even know what kind of plant it is. This is a low res shot - I was just playing with the digital zoom.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Interlude II
This is tougher than I thought it would be. I take lots of pictures some days; some times I look at a daily file and can't figure out which to post. Other days I don't "see" anything worth shooting, or I'm not satisfied with anything I've shot.
Because I tend to stay occupied* I sometimes forget to post pictures I have taken. I got home at 2:00 am on the 15th and had to deal with a minor crisis when I got home, so didn't get to the computer until about 4:00. Sat there for about 30 seconds and decided I didn't want to deal with it. WTH, there's always later.
Got home at 2:30 this morning...
*Notice I typed "occupied" not "busy."
Because I tend to stay occupied* I sometimes forget to post pictures I have taken. I got home at 2:00 am on the 15th and had to deal with a minor crisis when I got home, so didn't get to the computer until about 4:00. Sat there for about 30 seconds and decided I didn't want to deal with it. WTH, there's always later.
Got home at 2:30 this morning...
*Notice I typed "occupied" not "busy."
Friday, January 11, 2008
Interlude - To: 365 Bloggers
I've now gone to most of the 365 blogs and deposited comments on the ones that looked like they were being maintained. I didn't know anyone, but WTH. You only go 'round once in life, so you might as well say "Hi!" to everyone.
I like to say, "Hi!" or wave to complete strangers; the puzzled looks are priceless.
Feel free to comment. Visit my other blog, lots to see and do. Feel free to throw rotten fruit at your monitor.
Welcome!
I like to say, "Hi!" or wave to complete strangers; the puzzled looks are priceless.
Feel free to comment. Visit my other blog, lots to see and do. Feel free to throw rotten fruit at your monitor.
Welcome!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
All I want for my birthday...
****
My wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I responded, "A home brewing kit."
I got THAT look...did I really say that? "No, really?"
"Well, yeah!" says I, "you can get a starter kit for 30 bucks."
That look again...Yeah. That's gonna happen.
Everyone says I'm nearly impossible to buy for. If I want it, I either already have it or nobody wants to buy it for me. I suppose it would be easier if I wanted what they wanted me to have. I'm a simple man. Beer, wine, gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and I'm happy for another year. Why is this so hard to figure out?
Besides, after TEOTWAWKI, some trade goods might come in handy.
Don't look in the garage, sweetie.
My wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I responded, "A home brewing kit."
I got THAT look...did I really say that? "No, really?"
"Well, yeah!" says I, "you can get a starter kit for 30 bucks."
That look again...Yeah. That's gonna happen.
Everyone says I'm nearly impossible to buy for. If I want it, I either already have it or nobody wants to buy it for me. I suppose it would be easier if I wanted what they wanted me to have. I'm a simple man. Beer, wine, gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and I'm happy for another year. Why is this so hard to figure out?
Besides, after TEOTWAWKI, some trade goods might come in handy.
Don't look in the garage, sweetie.
Labels: blather
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
40-odd degrees and sunny by noon - and that means...
...hoosiertoo went for a ride!
I put in about 40 miles before I had to go to work. It was GREAT! There are several good-sized creeks on the route I took to the Wabash valley - SR 25 through Delphi. The scenery was gorgeous, even with no leaves on the trees. With the row crops down, you can see for miles, and on the county roads you can encounter stuff like this:
Lancaster Bridge over the Wildcat Creek is about six miles from my house. There are no leaves this time of year of course. Farther upstream is Adams Mill covered bridge near Cutler, IN.
I'll have to post some current pictures. Anyway, being in the wind again was fantastic.
Labels: blather, motorcycling
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