After rereading Mark Steyn's America Alone, I have a dream. That dream is that if Republicans regain the White House in 2012, whomever we elect will have the good sense to make Mark Steyn the right hand man of the president. Secretary of Defense would not be bad, either...or, Secretary of State.
By the way, did you hear that Hillary Clinton has reported Arizona to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights? The State Department sent to the U.N. a report on America's record on human rights, and noted that the federal government has taken legal action against Arizona. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has demanded that Clinton remove the reference to the Arizona anti-illegal immigration law, calling its inclusion "downright offensive."
Anyway, back to Mark Steyn. I don't know anyone who is as knowledgeable about the state of the world as it is, and, more importantly, has the courage to write and speak about it. Mostly, he writes in this book about the threat of Islam, but he also does a lot of writing about the fall of Europe (which he refers to as Eurabia), and the weakening of America (our increasing dependence on entitlements and our loss of individual responsibility and self-reliance).
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Some thoughts to ponder
After reading Christopher Buckley's Supreme Courtship, I wanted more of Mr. Buckley's wonderful insights. I spent a little time with his Washington Schlepped Here, a wonderful walking tour of our nation's capital. Then I picked up Florence of Arabia, which is chock full of delicious ideas about how America could really make a difference in the Middle East. Now I am reading his wonderful memoir Losing Mom and Pup, which is about the lives and deaths of his two famous parents, both of whom died in the same year recently.
Here are some quotes that were meaningful to me as I began reading the last book. "Industry is the enemy of melancholy," a phrase penned by Oscar Wilde, is a thought most meaningful to me right now as I am in the midst of a major loss.
"The most beautiful words in the language are "I'm Sorry." Christopher Buckley.
Medical malpractice suits are declining, because doctors are learning how to say, "I'm sorry." (an article in the New York Times)
"Demons slipping their leash" a phrase used by Buckley in the book.
"I've searched all my life for the perfect Christian...and I've found him: a non-observant Jew!" (I can't remember whom that quote is from).
In today's Denver Post there are these tips for staying positive at work from Sonia Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness, A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want." Each of these points are expanded upon in her book, but here is the list:
Embrace gratitude
Commit random acts of kindness
Be optimistic
Reach out to others
Refuse to ruminate.
The Post article includes three more tips:
Plant something and nurture it.
Give yourself a treat every day, and take the time to really enjoy it.
Have a good laugh at least once a day (I need many more than one per day).
Here are some quotes that were meaningful to me as I began reading the last book. "Industry is the enemy of melancholy," a phrase penned by Oscar Wilde, is a thought most meaningful to me right now as I am in the midst of a major loss.
"The most beautiful words in the language are "I'm Sorry." Christopher Buckley.
Medical malpractice suits are declining, because doctors are learning how to say, "I'm sorry." (an article in the New York Times)
"Demons slipping their leash" a phrase used by Buckley in the book.
"I've searched all my life for the perfect Christian...and I've found him: a non-observant Jew!" (I can't remember whom that quote is from).
In today's Denver Post there are these tips for staying positive at work from Sonia Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness, A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want." Each of these points are expanded upon in her book, but here is the list:
Embrace gratitude
Commit random acts of kindness
Be optimistic
Reach out to others
Refuse to ruminate.
The Post article includes three more tips:
Plant something and nurture it.
Give yourself a treat every day, and take the time to really enjoy it.
Have a good laugh at least once a day (I need many more than one per day).
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
A Colorado Cow Caper
It all started with an e-mail. A woman was looking for a dependable person to milk her dairy cows. It so happened that one of Colleen's milk customers includes an unemployed man named Carl in his mid-thirties who loves cows and farming. Colleen highly recommended him, because he has often milked with her and helped her around the farm. He was hired, after the woman and her baby came to sleep in our house and interview him the next day. It seemed perfect: the dairy was in beautiful southwestern Colorado, and Carl (names have been changed to protect the guilty and the innocent) loved cows and the outdoors.
Colleen, the consummate networker, had a plan. Always! She has a friend name Ken on the high plains east of Colorado Springs. Ken has always wanted to learn how to make cheese. She has another friend named Sam who had a bull, six mamma cows and five calves at the dairy. Sam ranches on 660 acres near the beautiful town of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Another friend of Colleen's, Dan, drove from the eastern plains to the dairy to get Sam's bull and take him to Ken, in order to impregnate one of our cows. Don't ask me how Colleen meets all of these guys.
The woman's husband, Anthony, ran the dairy (he was the cousin of the owner). Anthony went "off the wagon," as the saying goes. It was not long after Carl arrived that Anthony went on a binge and beat up his wife, who promptly left with her baby. Carl got his pistol and headed for the hills, after Anthony came after him, threatening to kill him. Colleen made the first of many calls to the Sheriff. After an extensive search, deputies located Carl hiding on a river bank. Anthony was taken to the county jail.
Sam, just four years older than Colleen, and a life-long bachelor, gave Colleen some money to fly to Santa Fe to spend Friday night at his five bedroom spread. Then, they left the next morning to get Carl, six mamma cows and five baby cows. Twelve years ago, when I first realized I was falling in love with this very attractive school psychologist who called me every day to ask me to investigate some allegation of child abuse or neglect, I had no clue that what would really turn her on twelve years later was not an intrepid social worker daring to challenge abusive parents and their attorneys, but rather the sight of a triple axle cow truck trailer!
They returned to our house at two a.m. Sunday. As Colleen was tending to the mamma cows, Sam opened the gate on the cow trailer, and one of the calves escaped. Sam, an ultra marathon runner, commenced to chase the cow for five miles, followed by Colleen and Carl, as a 60 mph wind was blowing in their faces. At 3 a.m. they gave up for the night.
Sunday, Greg and Jon, our nine and ten-year-old sons, made "wanted" posters and signs, Colleen and Sam made calls to local law enforcement and ranchers, and the hunt was on. Finally, yesterday a man called Colleen and told her he had spotted the calf in a large herd of cattle on a large ranch where he works. Colleen loaded our 18-year-old son Erik, Greg and Jon into Sam's pick-up truck (Sam had flown to Philadelphia for a meeting), along with Gary, the man who called Colleen. Erik drove the tough pick-up all over the 1000 acre ranch, finally cornering the frisky calf against a fence. (The pick-up now has some new features as a result of all the activities of the week, including a smashed tailgate and a broken grill guard).
Greg and Jon mostly walked the acreage. The calf ran right at Jon, who showed no fear. Jon "jumped on her head" and wrestled her down. Greg jumped on her back. Erik began putting a rope on her, but she got away. Erik grabbed the rope and brought her to a halt, while Greg and Jon jumped on her. Colleen made a halter (the boys said it was more like a noose) and tied it around the calf's neck. The team then wrestled the strong little critter aboard the pick up truck, brought her to our house, and dragged her into our barn, where she was reunited with Molly, a calf she has grown up with.
The calf featured in this story is the brown and white one in these photos.We don't know yet what to name her. Speedy, Cinnamon and Sugar, Fiona, Miss Little, (a Scottish name, after a runner named Little, since she is of Scottish origin), are the names I have heard. Do you have any suggestions? Here she is with Molly. If you click on this photo, I think it will give you the best idea of the frisky little critter's personality.
The next morning Ken called to say, "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is I am all set up to take the cows. The bad news is that my house burned to the ground last night." No worries: his insurance money may enable him to build a certified cheese-making facility. Colleen will market and distribute the cheese in the Denver metro area, and raise up the calves to become milk cows, in between her duties as a mom and a school psychologist. Her dream is to create a dairy that can be run by whichever of our kids might want to, after she and I pass on to the next life.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Highly Recommended Recent Reads
I just finished The Supreme Courtship by Christoper Buckley. It offers hilarious insight into our American culture. A good-guy President of the United States vetoes every spending bill sent to him by Congress. Congress gets back at him by refusing to confirm first one stellar nominee to the Supreme court, then another who is equally well-qualified to serve. One night, while lying in bed with his faithful dog, the president is channel-surfing and comes across one of the most popular American television shows, featuring a beautiful, witty judge. Voila! He has got the answer to his dillema! He offers Congress the nomination of Pepper Cartwright. What follows is one hilarious scene after another. The son of William F. Buckley is an amazingly witty writer. I had read only one other book by him, entitled Thank You For Smoking, about the hypocritical cigarrette company executives. That one was made into a movie, which I have not seen. I want to read every book this man writes (or has written).
Now I am re-reading Mark Steyn's brilliant book America Alone. As Saul Alinsky was fond of saying, "Do you want to live in the world as it is, or the world as you would like it to be?" Steyn should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the world as it is.
Now I am re-reading Mark Steyn's brilliant book America Alone. As Saul Alinsky was fond of saying, "Do you want to live in the world as it is, or the world as you would like it to be?" Steyn should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the world as it is.
Friday, August 20, 2010
The best photography on the web: Motel Zero
Later this evening, surfing the web, I learned that someone else was thinking about Ronald Reagan's famous quote: "Trust me. I'm from the government, and I'm here to help." The best photograpy on the web is found at Motel Zero, and now he has added pithy prose to go along with the wonderful photographic works of art.
Should we "tolerate an ideology that would end our ability to tolerate?"
Perhaps the hottest topic of the day is the mosque two blocks from Ground Zero. Greg Gutfeld has some very spot-on observations on the subject.
"So when the chips are down, Barack Obama is less a President than a lawyer, carefully parsing out manicured statements, designed to straddle fences."
"The fear of appearing insensitive is driving our government's behavior, which scares the crap out of me. Funny how we are asked to tolerate an ideology that would end our ability to tolerate, period."
"the progressive word of the decade: tolerance. They are demanding that we tolerate a doctrine that enforces intolerance. And if you don't tolerate intolerance, then you, in fact, are intolerant. You are a bigot, for rejecting bigotry."
A concommitant debate is also taking place on whether or not Barack Obama is a Muslim. It seems to be a choice of either a Christian believer in Black Liberation Theology ala his minister for twenty years, Reverend Wright, or his earlier training in the Muslim faith. C. Edmund Wright notes in the American Thinker that "we were required to have enough suspension of belief to count Black Liberation Theology as Christian in the first place. Right. Never mind Jeremiah Wright's relationship with and support of Louis Farrakhan."
I would just like to see Obama stand up for America. Please? Just once?
"So when the chips are down, Barack Obama is less a President than a lawyer, carefully parsing out manicured statements, designed to straddle fences."
"The fear of appearing insensitive is driving our government's behavior, which scares the crap out of me. Funny how we are asked to tolerate an ideology that would end our ability to tolerate, period."
"the progressive word of the decade: tolerance. They are demanding that we tolerate a doctrine that enforces intolerance. And if you don't tolerate intolerance, then you, in fact, are intolerant. You are a bigot, for rejecting bigotry."
A concommitant debate is also taking place on whether or not Barack Obama is a Muslim. It seems to be a choice of either a Christian believer in Black Liberation Theology ala his minister for twenty years, Reverend Wright, or his earlier training in the Muslim faith. C. Edmund Wright notes in the American Thinker that "we were required to have enough suspension of belief to count Black Liberation Theology as Christian in the first place. Right. Never mind Jeremiah Wright's relationship with and support of Louis Farrakhan."
I would just like to see Obama stand up for America. Please? Just once?
"Reload," Dr. Laura
Liberals are elated that Dr. Laura plans to end her radio program at the end of the year. Below, thanks to Town Hall, is the unabridged conversation Dr. Laura had with a woman from Colorado Springs, who, I believe, may well have set up Dr. Laura. Notice how the woman says, "How about the "n" word?" Yep, definitely a set up. Now the woman is on national t.v. shows, the new darling of the left. You think that is an accident? No way.
Dr. Laura has been an important voice. Why do I say that? Primarily because she does not allow callers to whine. She realizes that going down the "poor me" path is wrong, unhealthy, toxic for each and every one of us every single time we allow ourselves to go down that Satan-influenced path.
I am with Sarah Palin, who advised Dr. Laura to "reload."
Dr. Laura has been an important voice. Why do I say that? Primarily because she does not allow callers to whine. She realizes that going down the "poor me" path is wrong, unhealthy, toxic for each and every one of us every single time we allow ourselves to go down that Satan-influenced path.
I am with Sarah Palin, who advised Dr. Laura to "reload."
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The "Private Sector Recession"
This graph found at the First Things blog illustrates how the recession should be called a "private sector recession." because it sure has not hit the public sector. And the graph does not even show the federal jobs, which have increased dramatically since the election of Barack Obama. There has been a half-page ad running every Sunday in the "Jobs" section in the Denver Post announcing job openings at the IRS for bilingual (fluency in both Spanish and English) agents. Hmm, I wonder why they need to be bilingual? By the way, that "Jobs" section is really tiny, except for the IRS ad. The term "private sector recession" was coined by Maetenloch at Ace of Spades.
Quid pro quo
Scott Ott (Scrappleface} gives us this "fairly unbalanced" report on the bailout bill just passed by the House.
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, who called the House back into session this week to pass a $26 billion bailout bill to help cash-strapped states pay for 140,000 teachers, said the legislation’s price tag “may sound like a lot of money, but the value of having all of those union members on our Democrat campaign team makes it well worth the investment.”
“Most people don’t understand all of the good that these union members do,” said Rep. Pelosi. “These people make the phone calls, give the money, do the door-to-door work because they have a personal financial stake in the reelection of Democrats. You can’t get that kind of commitment out of mere volunteers. Without them, Democrats might lose their majority in Congress, as well as in many state legislatures.”
The Speaker said that once the American people understand the return they get for their investment in big public-sector unions like the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, “the only complaint they’ll have is ‘Why didn’t you give them $52 billion?’”
“It’s a quid pro quo arrangement,” Rep. Pelosi explained. “The public-sector unions make sure we get elected, and we make sure they get ever-increasing salaries, and sweet guaranteed pension deals for life, no matter what the economy does. It’s a classic win-win situation.”
The California lawmaker added that “the genius of our Founding Fathers was to establish this relationship whereby we the people of the Democrat Party are sovereign, and we negotiate mutually-beneficial collective bargaining agreements with our union supporters. It’s a system of checks and balances that protects us all from the tyranny of the public.”
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, who called the House back into session this week to pass a $26 billion bailout bill to help cash-strapped states pay for 140,000 teachers, said the legislation’s price tag “may sound like a lot of money, but the value of having all of those union members on our Democrat campaign team makes it well worth the investment.”
“Most people don’t understand all of the good that these union members do,” said Rep. Pelosi. “These people make the phone calls, give the money, do the door-to-door work because they have a personal financial stake in the reelection of Democrats. You can’t get that kind of commitment out of mere volunteers. Without them, Democrats might lose their majority in Congress, as well as in many state legislatures.”
The Speaker said that once the American people understand the return they get for their investment in big public-sector unions like the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, “the only complaint they’ll have is ‘Why didn’t you give them $52 billion?’”
“It’s a quid pro quo arrangement,” Rep. Pelosi explained. “The public-sector unions make sure we get elected, and we make sure they get ever-increasing salaries, and sweet guaranteed pension deals for life, no matter what the economy does. It’s a classic win-win situation.”
The California lawmaker added that “the genius of our Founding Fathers was to establish this relationship whereby we the people of the Democrat Party are sovereign, and we negotiate mutually-beneficial collective bargaining agreements with our union supporters. It’s a system of checks and balances that protects us all from the tyranny of the public.”
High Stakes, Tough Choices!
Michael Anton gives us more information about Iranian nuclear capabilities, and discusses the difficult choices facing Israel and the rest of the free world.
Hopefully not forever
I like Neil's version of this better than Johnny Cash's. I can't handle Johnny's sadness in his voice. Neil sings it with some hope that perhaps he will not remain solitary forever.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
We must understand how Obama operates
The Washington Rebel blog once again knocks one way out of the park with a post entitled Death of a Strawman. I reprint it here in its entirety,because it is just so relevant and important for us all to understand how Obama operates.
08/13/2010
Death of a Strawman
You know you’re making a difference when Obama views you as enough of a threat to start launching his Alinskyite smear tactics on you, by name.
I am one who can appreciate the art of the debate. It is in my nature to turn a thing backwards and forewards trying to find the crack in an argument that will let me win. This comes up many times in writing and quite often in business negotiations. It is all a matter of keeping one's head in an argument, of creating an image of right and wrong. I don't have to explain this to the contributors of this page, but it does strike me odd that the president is unable to argue without killing a fair amount of strawmen. This is something I detest about his style of debate. So, for a moment I'd like to deconstruct one of his latest speeches and point out his technique.
"And they don't have to say who exactly the Americans for Prosperity are."
Okay, let's start here. First of all, it doesn't take a heck of a lot of investigation to know who started this group. It probably wouldn't be hard to get a list of members, but that isn't the question for Mr. Obama, he wants to create an illusion of mystical, dangerous and perhaps criminal (foreign entities contributing to American campaigns is illegal) elements to this accusation, a bit of sophistry the media will allow him without challenge.
"You don't know if it's a foreign-controlled corporation."
No, the fact is, we do. The insinuation he wants is one of criminality. He likes that a lot, though he never comes out and makes that charge, because he knows it is false. Koch Corporation and it's founder run AFP and Barack Freaking Obama knows it. But, that wouldn't put the boogieman in the closet, would it?
You don't know if it's a big oil company or a big bank.
This relies on the ignorance and blindness of his intended audience. Even a supporter would have to reconcile the facts that Obama has had a big hand in both Big Oil and Big Banks since stepping into the shoes of the President. He took BP money during his campaign and to a degree greater than any other candidate, but when someone else takes the money, there is something implicitly wrong with it. He helped support AIG. The TARP program he alternately takes credit for and distances himself from, continues to fund AIG, now 21st Century, but you wouldn't know that from these accusations. With his rhetoric, he seems to be against these entities he has relied on for funding.
It's a constant strawman with this guy. "Some people don't like me, they think my name sounds funny." "Some people would like to go back to the policies of the past."
Well, let me just say to Mr. Obama: Some people would help fund a Mosque on the graves of American citizens killed by Islamist Jihadist. Some people would prefer to see grandma die a peaceful, morphine-laden death than to give her medical treatment. Some people would let the economy melt down rather than use supply-side economics.
08/13/2010
Death of a Strawman
You know you’re making a difference when Obama views you as enough of a threat to start launching his Alinskyite smear tactics on you, by name.
I am one who can appreciate the art of the debate. It is in my nature to turn a thing backwards and forewards trying to find the crack in an argument that will let me win. This comes up many times in writing and quite often in business negotiations. It is all a matter of keeping one's head in an argument, of creating an image of right and wrong. I don't have to explain this to the contributors of this page, but it does strike me odd that the president is unable to argue without killing a fair amount of strawmen. This is something I detest about his style of debate. So, for a moment I'd like to deconstruct one of his latest speeches and point out his technique.
"And they don't have to say who exactly the Americans for Prosperity are."
Okay, let's start here. First of all, it doesn't take a heck of a lot of investigation to know who started this group. It probably wouldn't be hard to get a list of members, but that isn't the question for Mr. Obama, he wants to create an illusion of mystical, dangerous and perhaps criminal (foreign entities contributing to American campaigns is illegal) elements to this accusation, a bit of sophistry the media will allow him without challenge.
"You don't know if it's a foreign-controlled corporation."
No, the fact is, we do. The insinuation he wants is one of criminality. He likes that a lot, though he never comes out and makes that charge, because he knows it is false. Koch Corporation and it's founder run AFP and Barack Freaking Obama knows it. But, that wouldn't put the boogieman in the closet, would it?
You don't know if it's a big oil company or a big bank.
This relies on the ignorance and blindness of his intended audience. Even a supporter would have to reconcile the facts that Obama has had a big hand in both Big Oil and Big Banks since stepping into the shoes of the President. He took BP money during his campaign and to a degree greater than any other candidate, but when someone else takes the money, there is something implicitly wrong with it. He helped support AIG. The TARP program he alternately takes credit for and distances himself from, continues to fund AIG, now 21st Century, but you wouldn't know that from these accusations. With his rhetoric, he seems to be against these entities he has relied on for funding.
It's a constant strawman with this guy. "Some people don't like me, they think my name sounds funny." "Some people would like to go back to the policies of the past."
Well, let me just say to Mr. Obama: Some people would help fund a Mosque on the graves of American citizens killed by Islamist Jihadist. Some people would prefer to see grandma die a peaceful, morphine-laden death than to give her medical treatment. Some people would let the economy melt down rather than use supply-side economics.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Is Israel counting down?
Will Israel strike Iran's nuclear facility in the next eleven days? That is one conclusion that might be drawn from reading this Newsmax story quoting John Bolton.
News that Russia will load nuclear fuel rods into an Iranian reactor has touched off a countdown to a point of no return, a deadline by which Israel would have to launch an attack on Iran's Bushehr reactor before it becomes effectively "immune" to any assault, says former Bush administration U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton.
Once the fuel rods are loaded, Bolton told Fox News on Friday afternoon, "it makes it essentially immune from attack by Israel. Because once the rods are in the reactor an attack on the reactor risks spreading radiation in the air, and perhaps into the water of the Persian Gulf."
A redneck birthday party
Today is my birthday. Colleen asked me what I wanted to do. Then she asked what ELSE I wanted to do. I said I would like to go to a mountain stream. Because she had to pick up some farmer dude at the airport tonight, we decided to go someplace relatively close, to our old stomping grounds, the magnificently beautiful town of Golden. I just love Golden. It is surrounded on all sides by mountains. Coming down from the west is a roaring stream called Clear Creek. It really does run right through the Coors Brewery.
Golden has really changed in the three years we have been away. Yuppy college-age people throng to Clear Creek. These are the kids who would never think to volunteer to fight for our country. They will be running the corporations and government agencies that will employ the returning vets, and probably treat them badly.
The males ride down Clear Creek in inner tubes. Each time they go over a small water fall, dropping two feet at the most, they give themselves two-thumbs up. The females have no body fat whatsoever, and wear something called bikinis, which cover just enough of their bodies to prove my point about the lack of body fat.
Our redneck family also went to the Clear Creek. We fished for a while, and skipped rocks. But the family member who stole the show was Jon (Huck). Jon was standing on a rock right in the middle of the roaring stream, casting out his fishing line. Coming downstream behind him was a large Igloo cooler (minus a lid). We yelled at him to try to catch the cooler (our oldest two boys had confiscated our cooler earlier in the summer and kept it in their man-cave they live in in a Denver suburb called Wheat Ridge.} Jon snagged that cooler with one quick motion, and brought it safely to shore. About a half-hour later Jon came excitedly running up to us (he had wandered downstream). In one hand he had the lid to the cooler. In the other hand he had a four-foot-long snake! I persuaded him to let the (smelly) snake continue to live near Clear Creek, but that dang cooler no longer belongs to the college yuppies.
Jon and Greg spent the rest of the time diving into the roaring current and riding it downstream. No inner tubes needed thank you very much. Then we all went to the local pizza joint and pigged out.
Do you prefer wide open spaces? Colleen does. I like the protective quality of being surrounded by mountains. Durango, where I lived in southwestern Colorado in the 1980s, is like Golden, except it does not have Golden's proximity to a large city. Golden and Durango are two of my favorite places on earth.
Golden has really changed in the three years we have been away. Yuppy college-age people throng to Clear Creek. These are the kids who would never think to volunteer to fight for our country. They will be running the corporations and government agencies that will employ the returning vets, and probably treat them badly.
The males ride down Clear Creek in inner tubes. Each time they go over a small water fall, dropping two feet at the most, they give themselves two-thumbs up. The females have no body fat whatsoever, and wear something called bikinis, which cover just enough of their bodies to prove my point about the lack of body fat.
Our redneck family also went to the Clear Creek. We fished for a while, and skipped rocks. But the family member who stole the show was Jon (Huck). Jon was standing on a rock right in the middle of the roaring stream, casting out his fishing line. Coming downstream behind him was a large Igloo cooler (minus a lid). We yelled at him to try to catch the cooler (our oldest two boys had confiscated our cooler earlier in the summer and kept it in their man-cave they live in in a Denver suburb called Wheat Ridge.} Jon snagged that cooler with one quick motion, and brought it safely to shore. About a half-hour later Jon came excitedly running up to us (he had wandered downstream). In one hand he had the lid to the cooler. In the other hand he had a four-foot-long snake! I persuaded him to let the (smelly) snake continue to live near Clear Creek, but that dang cooler no longer belongs to the college yuppies.
Jon and Greg spent the rest of the time diving into the roaring current and riding it downstream. No inner tubes needed thank you very much. Then we all went to the local pizza joint and pigged out.
Do you prefer wide open spaces? Colleen does. I like the protective quality of being surrounded by mountains. Durango, where I lived in southwestern Colorado in the 1980s, is like Golden, except it does not have Golden's proximity to a large city. Golden and Durango are two of my favorite places on earth.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Fruits of the Journey
Every day I try to get in a bike ride or game of basketball (or both) with the kids. Today it was a bike ride. Sarah looked exasperated. "Dad, I can't believe you are stopping in the middle of a bike ride to cut flowers!" "Well, Sarah, I guess I just can't help myself. I love these sunflowers, especially in vase arrangements on our kitchen table."
What are the intentions of those who propose to build a mosque at Ground Zero?
How do you feel about the Muslims' plan to build a thirteen story mosque and community center near Ground Zero? This blog post gives us an historical perspective that may shed light on the true intentions of those who are planning it.
In a related matter, have you ever heard of the term "oven-walkers?" I heard it said by one of the parents of a person who was killed by the Islamists on September 11. He was referring to Mayor Bloomberg's lack of interest in knowing the motives and financing behind the proposed mosque. It is a reference to those Jews who just could not believe that evil like Hitler and the Nazis could possibly exist, and to prove it, those who denied the existence or possibility of such evil allegedly willingly walked into the ovens.
Is it hard to believe that such evil exists? It better not be, because such evil does exist in our world today.
In a related matter, have you ever heard of the term "oven-walkers?" I heard it said by one of the parents of a person who was killed by the Islamists on September 11. He was referring to Mayor Bloomberg's lack of interest in knowing the motives and financing behind the proposed mosque. It is a reference to those Jews who just could not believe that evil like Hitler and the Nazis could possibly exist, and to prove it, those who denied the existence or possibility of such evil allegedly willingly walked into the ovens.
Is it hard to believe that such evil exists? It better not be, because such evil does exist in our world today.
Is it time for a third party?
Victor Davis Hansen has a new column, in which he gives us his valuable insights into current events. He notes that in 19 months Obama has blown a 70% approval rating, and is now headed under 40%, which George W. Bush took six years to get to.
Yes, the "proverbial" people are angry. I, for one, as someone who prides himself in being an independent thinker and actor, do not feel represented by either political party. Although the time for a third party may be right, the problem with starting a third party, though, is that, as Fred Brown writes in today's Denver Post, "centrists don't have much passion going for them." The Republican Party is being led to its fringes by the passionate participants in their primaries, and the Democrats, under the finger of puppet master George Soros, have long since gone over the left cliff.
Those of us who find ourselves being left behind by both political parties, are scolded by those who have blindly followed and cheered on one or the other of those parties as they lost relevance. Yet, will third party candidates like Tom Tancredo articulate a positive platform in which they tell us what they are for? Or, will they, as Brown believes, tend to be defined by what they are against, rather than what they are for?
Yes, the "proverbial" people are angry. I, for one, as someone who prides himself in being an independent thinker and actor, do not feel represented by either political party. Although the time for a third party may be right, the problem with starting a third party, though, is that, as Fred Brown writes in today's Denver Post, "centrists don't have much passion going for them." The Republican Party is being led to its fringes by the passionate participants in their primaries, and the Democrats, under the finger of puppet master George Soros, have long since gone over the left cliff.
Those of us who find ourselves being left behind by both political parties, are scolded by those who have blindly followed and cheered on one or the other of those parties as they lost relevance. Yet, will third party candidates like Tom Tancredo articulate a positive platform in which they tell us what they are for? Or, will they, as Brown believes, tend to be defined by what they are against, rather than what they are for?
A blog worth reading!
The Washington Rebel blog has really captured my attention. When someone speaks the truth with strength and clarity, it has a way of capturing my attention. Here is a post on Barack Obama, his mother, Stanley Dunham, (yes, that was her name) and his "puppet master," George Soros.
In another post, the Reb observes that "avoidance of core truth is an Obama specialty." The title of that post is "When the Father is Dead," because he asserts that "we are living at a time when there is no Father." He notes that "it is a sign of our times that our "elite" is more concerned about fitting an ideological strait-jacket over the English language than in engaging life at life's level, with all it's incongruencies."
In yet another post, entitled "The Quickening," the Reb confesses "to being startled whenever I hear someone express sincere convictions about Christianity, because the feeling of our time is that there are three impending fates for the Chartres Cathedral: (1) it will be allowed to deteriorate to the status of ruin; (2) the Muslims will erect a bloody crescent over it; or (3) it will be converted to a Wal-Mart. The general ambiance of our time is not that there is a God. There is a God vacuum, filled, by some, with dope; by others with consumerism; and by insane people with Leftism and Islamgruities."
In another post, the Reb observes that "avoidance of core truth is an Obama specialty." The title of that post is "When the Father is Dead," because he asserts that "we are living at a time when there is no Father." He notes that "it is a sign of our times that our "elite" is more concerned about fitting an ideological strait-jacket over the English language than in engaging life at life's level, with all it's incongruencies."
In yet another post, entitled "The Quickening," the Reb confesses "to being startled whenever I hear someone express sincere convictions about Christianity, because the feeling of our time is that there are three impending fates for the Chartres Cathedral: (1) it will be allowed to deteriorate to the status of ruin; (2) the Muslims will erect a bloody crescent over it; or (3) it will be converted to a Wal-Mart. The general ambiance of our time is not that there is a God. There is a God vacuum, filled, by some, with dope; by others with consumerism; and by insane people with Leftism and Islamgruities."
Friday, August 06, 2010
An Obama offer I can support
The inimitable Scott Ott has some inside information at Scrappleface about a White House job offer for Andy Stern.
Andy Stern, the former chief of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), is said to be “giving serious consideration” to an offer from President Barack Obama to appoint him “special ambassador to al Qaeda” with a mission to foster establishment of collective bargaining units among decentralized clusters of contract workers.
The organization’s associates, scattered around the global, reportedly work for low pay, in a hostile environment under the constant threat of sudden termination.
One White House source said the president is “moved with compassion for the plight of front-line Qaeda staff, who labor in abysmal conditions until their often-untimely demise — typically from exposure to hazardous materials at work.”
“They’re treated like parts in a massive machine,” said the unnamed Obama adviser. “They’re disposable.”
Republicans in Congress ordinarily resist government efforts to increase unionization. However, sources close to House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-OH, indicate the GOP may actually support this presidential initiative.
“If you consider what unionization has done to American industry, and is doing to our own city, state and federal governments,” said an unnamed Boehner aide, “we can only hope that collective bargaining will have the same effect on the jihadis.”
What size are your balls?
Every Wednesday VW BUG posts some jokes at her One Happy Dog Speaks blog. Here is one she posted yesterday.
1. The sport of choice for the urban poor is BASKETBALL.
2 The sport of choice for maintenance level employees is BOWLING.
3 The sport of choice for front-line workers is FOOTBALL.
4 The sport of choice for supervisors is BASEBALL.
5 The sport of choice for middle management is TENNIS.
and…
.
.
.
6 The sport of choice for corporate executives and officers is GOLF.
THE AMAZING CONCLUSION:
The higher you go in the corporate structure, the smaller your balls become.
Heartfelt words about love and family
One of the very best writers on the web, in my humble opinion, is Joan of Argghh!. Her niece's funeral was today. Joan writes about grief, sorrow, and family in several recent blog posts. These words rang so true to me.
I know that the modern thing is to “celebrate the life” of the beloved, but I shall thoroughly entertain the mercies of Grief and Sorrow. I should like to feel their ministrations to the edges of suffering, and having exhausted myself, submit to their tender rest and release. I need to be with family so that we may cry together and curse and argue and laugh and wonder at it all only to return home and smolder with the fires of deeper love, tender new scars, and as is more likely, renewed umbrages.
It doesn’t matter. It’s family and it’s what families do, good or bad, that saves us a seat at the midnight circus of the incongruent: Life, in all its presentments and cruel consequences, is still worth the price of admission.
Party of the Rich
We all know that the Republicans are the party of the rich, right? Roger L. Simon begs to differ. Another myth shattered.
1939-1943 in color!
The Denver Post has published on the internet the first color photos I have ever seen of the years 1939-1943. The photos were taken by the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information. Here are three of the seventy photos to encourage you to click on the link.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
"A few magic words"
Thomas Sowell has a way of making his point with few words:
"If you could spend vast amounts of other people's money just by saying a few magic words, wouldn't you be tempted to do it? Barack Obama has spent hundreds of billions of dollars of the taxpayers' money just by using the magic words "stimulus" and "jobs."
It doesn't matter politically that the stimulus is not actually stimulating and that the unemployment rate remains up near double-digit levels, despite all the spending and all the rhetoric about jobs. And of course nothing negative will ever matter to those who are part of the Obama cult, including many in the media."
Read the rest of his thoughts on the subject here.
"If you could spend vast amounts of other people's money just by saying a few magic words, wouldn't you be tempted to do it? Barack Obama has spent hundreds of billions of dollars of the taxpayers' money just by using the magic words "stimulus" and "jobs."
It doesn't matter politically that the stimulus is not actually stimulating and that the unemployment rate remains up near double-digit levels, despite all the spending and all the rhetoric about jobs. And of course nothing negative will ever matter to those who are part of the Obama cult, including many in the media."
Read the rest of his thoughts on the subject here.
Monday, August 02, 2010
If you don't want to know the answer, don't ask the question!
This weekend the Denver Post showed us some polling results. It compared Constitutional Party candidate Tancredo with the two Republicans, and found them about even, although Tancredo has been in the race less than one week and the other two have been in it for over one year. It also compared the two Republicans with Democrat Hickenlooper. One thing it failed to ask: what happens in a two-way race between Tancredo and Hickenlooper? Don't ask when you don't want to know the answer!
"The Politics of Grievance"
In my post comparing Rush Limbaugh and Peggy Noonan, I forgot to mention that one of the points Rush consistently makes about liberals is that they are advocates of the "politics of grievance." Rush notes that there is nothing productive about hate, rage, victimhood, anger. In the end it is only destructive. So, you see, Rush and Peggy agree after all!
Choosing whom to listen to; choosing whom to read
One of the benefits of being a consumer is that you can choose! In deciding whom to read or whom to listen to, I can choose whomever I want, even if the two I choose do not like each other! For example, I choose to listen to Rush Limbaugh and read Peggy Noonan. I don't think they like each other, but I thoroughly enjoy them both.
Peggy emphasizes love. She says that is the most important virtue. She is right. She points out that the man she wrote speeches for, and whom she greatly admired, Ronald Reagan, was a man who attracted voters because of his genuine love for America. Rush Limbaugh also loved Ronald Reagan. Rush saw the same virtues that Peggy saw in Ronald Reagan. Rush is obsessed with resisting and exposing liberals. Ronald Reagan was obsessed with fighting and exposing communists. Peggy writes that our leaders need to be people of principle, but also people of grace and goodwill toward fellow Americans with whom they disagree. Rush would probably see that as being mushy. He believes in exposing and fighting liberals and articulating for us the principles that made this country great. No one does it better.
Peggy emphasizes love. She says that is the most important virtue. She is right. She points out that the man she wrote speeches for, and whom she greatly admired, Ronald Reagan, was a man who attracted voters because of his genuine love for America. Rush Limbaugh also loved Ronald Reagan. Rush saw the same virtues that Peggy saw in Ronald Reagan. Rush is obsessed with resisting and exposing liberals. Ronald Reagan was obsessed with fighting and exposing communists. Peggy writes that our leaders need to be people of principle, but also people of grace and goodwill toward fellow Americans with whom they disagree. Rush would probably see that as being mushy. He believes in exposing and fighting liberals and articulating for us the principles that made this country great. No one does it better.
Whom do you ask to fix the problem?
This morning I got to listen to Peter Boyles on KHOW radio. He made some points I liked. In talking about Tom Tancredo's candidacy for Colorado governor, he used the word resistance... that Tancredo resists the politically correct ways of doing things. I find that appealing. Boyles also quoted Einstein, who said that you don't ask the people who caused the problems to fix the problems! George Washington did not cause the problem. Thomas Jefferson did not cause the problem. Abraham Lincoln did not cause the problem. Ronald Reagan did not cause the problem. They were, however, exactly the right men to fix the problem, and lead our country to greater accomplishments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)