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Our Country?

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I never planned to be quoting from the Bible nor have I plans to do so in the future.  However, in reading this recently it struck me as applicable to the current day.  It is said, “Those that do not study history are bound to repeat it.”  I submit that it makes little difference.  Some of the most grievous offenders of repeating history (and thinking they can do better) are the most serious students of it.

From the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (Jer 7:23-28)

Thus says the Lord: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, so that you may prosperBut they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.  From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent untiringly all my servants the prophets.  Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.  When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either. When you call to them, they will not answer you.  Say to them: This is the nation that does not listen to the voice of the LORD, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.

Remind you of any particular country?

Slaves and Citizens

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Here’s a thought: how about we stop worrying about the differences between the rich and the poor and just focus on helping the poor not be poor.  This cannot be achieved via redistribution of the wealth of those that earned it to pay for welfare, food stamps, government dictated medical care and other gifts to those that did not.    This creates slaves, not citizens.  Slaves ever in debt morally to the government and the people paying for those handouts.  It CAN be achieved by allowing the rich to use their resources to create employment for the poor. This allows people to get out of the cycle of slavery and enter the ranks of true citizens.  Citizens proud they are able to provide for themselves and those reliant on them.

Unfortunately our current state of Socialism won’t allow this.  It is more concerned with equality for everyone than prosperity for anyone.  Since it is pretty much impossible for all of us to be rich (I certainly am not – and barring winning the lottery, will never be), the Socialist’s solution is to take the money away from the rich and just give it to the poor (the distribution being controlled by the Socialist elite of course).  One thing the Socialists in power don’t seem to get, the rich eventually run out of money or leave the country with what they have while they still have it.  The result being that we all end up poor.  Who pays then?  What a country!

Probably more on this later…

>>> The day is at a close, the night is drawing in and my cigar awaits – ’til next time…

Will we be ready for our next conflict?

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Failure to maintain air dominance has historically been measured in deaths. ~Adam J. Hebert (Editor in Chief, Journal of the Air Force Association)

I would suggest this goes likewise for land and sea.

Just a thought for those less inclined to support advancements in our military capability based on the idea that we are already ahead of potential adversaries or that it would be preparing for yesterday’s war.

I would assert that while the first may be accurate, said adversaries are not resting on their current capability.

Considering the second, it is wise we consider ANY kind of potential conflict and not be so arrogant as to think we can (or will) foresee the next enemy or equipment/tactics thereof.

Resting on our laurels is deadly (literally).

Take a Chance!

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Good judgment comes from experience, most of that comes from bad judgment.

Will Rogers / Mulla Nasrudin / Rita Mae Brown / and apparently many others (there doesn’t seem to be a way to actually determine the original sage)

Seeing and Believing

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The Point:  “Seeing is not Believing.  Believing is Seeing.”

Judy (an Elf) ~ The Santa Claus

While Judy was obviously speaking of Santa Claus, I would argue this applies to the reason for today.

One need not see God, or Jesus, his incarnation on earth, to believe.  One need only believe to see.

Merry Christmas to all

Lazlo’s Chinese Relativity Axiom

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Just a quick note for those of you who like to take EVERYTHING SO SERIOUSLY, consider Lazlo’s Chinese Relativity Axiom:

“No matter how great your triumphs or how tragic your defeats, approximately one billion Chinese couldn’t care less.”

Be happy when appropriate.  Be sad as appropriate.  Just remember, in the big scheme of things nothing you achieve or mess up in your life is THAT serious.

So lighten up a tad!

 

>>> The day is at a close, the night is drawing in and my cigar awaits – ’til next time…

Civility in CyberSpace

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I’ve been trying to think of a good way to enlighten some of the younger generation that what they post on social media sites such as Facebook matters.  Not just photos, but the language they use.  Sometimes vulgar.  Sometimes profane. Sometimes just inconsiderate.  I don’t think I could have found a better means than this article.  The crassness of, mostly younger, Americans is bordering on the absurd.  While I understand blurting out in anger or frustration on the rare occasion of something REALLY appalling, I find it completely incomprehensible that people think it appropriate to use such language in everyday, casual “conversation”.  This though is for a later time.

Regarding what one puts on these social media sites, if you are not concerned about what your family and friends think, ok.  Although I’m curious as to why you wouldn’t be.  However, if you don’t think your employer (or potential employers) will find out, think again.  If you don’t think it will impact your career progression, think again.  If you don’t think it will affect your employability, think again.  And keep in mind,  it’s not like a “slip up” in the office or just whatever language you may use in the bar scene – things of  which there is no record and that will be forgotten over time (presuming they don’t impact you immediately).  I don’t want to suggest such things are ok.  Consider civility in all aspects of your life.  But always remember, what you post now will live in cyberspace forever!  Try and chalk it up to youth.  See how far that gets you.  Always think long-term.  Our 21stCentury technology has given us many advantages.  However, if you want to make the most of them, consider how you use that technology.  This is not the first instance and certainly will not be the last…  Consider the following:

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MSN News (22 Nov 12)

Mass. woman loses job after posting photo on Facebook

A Massachusetts woman who posted a controversial photo on Facebook of herself at Arlington National Cemetery with her middle finger raised has lost her job due to controversy over the picture.

A Plymouth, Mass., woman whose “clowning around” photo at Arlington National Cemetery became the focus of online furor after she posted it on Facebook has resigned her job due to the controversy.
Lindsey Stone, a Plymouth, Mass., resident, posted a photo of herself on Facebook with her middle finger raised and pretending to shout next to a sign asking for “silence and respect” near the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. The photo was taken by a co-worker, Jamie Schuh, when the two were on a business trip to Washington, D.C., last month.
The posting ignited an online furor that included a “Fire Lindsey Stone” page on Facebook. Stone apologized through her father, Peter Stone, according to a Washington, D.C., TV station. Her father said she was clowning around and was reacting to the sign and not Arlington Cemetery.
According to the Boston Herald, Stone has resigned from the Cape Cod nonprofit, LIFE Inc., that she worked for and her resignation has been accepted. In a posting on its Facebook page, LIFE Inc., said both Stone and Schuh were no longer employees of the nonprofit.
“We deeply regret any disrespect to members of the military and their families,” the LIFE Inc. post said. “The incident and publicity has been very upsetting to the learning disabled population we serve.”
Both Stone and Schuh had been placed on unpaid leave while LIFE Inc., which helps adults with special needs, investigated.The Boston Herald quoted her father as saying: “She’s not happy at all. She’s just devastated. She had no idea that she was going to hurt anybody. It was never her intention.”
>>> The day is at a close, the night is drawing in and my cigar awaits – ’til next time…

Why penguins can’t fly

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My students wanted me to write a post explaining why penguins can’t fly (it was THE question on one of their course quizzes).  Although I’m giving it away for any future students that may read this (I can always change the quiz), as my Thanksgiving gift to them (and Christmas and all their birthdays and any other occasion upon which I wouldn’t give them a gift anyway), here goes…

Considering the four forces of flight (thrust, drag, lift, weight), Bernoulli’s Principle (an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure), and Newton’s Second Law of Motion (F=ma); it is intuitively obvious why penguins cannot fly.  Let us begin with the forces of flight.  Penguins weigh a lot.  Lift must be generated to overcome that weight.  Lift is generated via relative wind across properly and appropriately designed airfoils.  Bernoulli’s Principle requires an airfoil, in this case the penguin’s wings, designed to create a pressure differential (lower on top, higher on bottom) large enough to lift the penguin.  This requires that relative wind previously mentioned.  Relative wind is generated through thrust.  Thrust must first overcome drag.  Have I mentioned that penguins weigh a lot?  Since F=ma, and taking into account the mass of a penguin and the penguins wings not being designed in such a way as to create any real lift, a force great enough to overcome said mass and accelerate it to a speed swift enough to generate the required relative wind thereby creating the needed pressure differential, and thus lift, is impossible for a penguin to achieve.

Of great note to many of them – I did not ONCE mention water.

>>> The day is just beginning, the night and my cigar are a distant thought – but ’til next time… Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Thoughts from Xavier Lerma – Freelance writer for Pravda

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Xavier Lerma, a freelance conservative writer and columnist for the Russian news organization, Pravda, living in Moscow had much to say today [20 Nov 2012] about the reelection of President Obama and the American people…

In 2009; Vladimir Putin who was Prime Minister of Russia at the time gave a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Lerma stated that Putin said that the world should avoid the Soviet mistake.

Interestingly enough, Lerma pointed out that Putin had said the following.

“We are reducing taxes on production, investing money in the economy. We are optimizing state expenses. The second possible mistake would be excessive interference into the economic life of the country and the absolute faith into the all-mightiness of the state. There are no grounds to suggest that by putting the responsibility over to the state, one can achieve better results…Unreasonable expansion of the budget deficit, accumulation of the national debt – are as destructive as an adventurous stock market game.”

“During the time of the Soviet Union the role of the state in economy was made absolute, which eventually lead to the total non-competitiveness of the economy. That lesson cost us very dearly. I am sure no one would want history to repeat itself.”

Lerma went on to say, “Well, any normal individual understands that as true but liberalism is a psychosis. O’bomber even keeps the war going along the Mexican border with projects like “fast and furious” and there is still no sign of ending it. He is a Communist without question promoting the Communist Manifesto without calling it so. How shrewd he is in America. His cult of personality mesmerizes those who cannot go beyond their ignorance. They will continue to follow him like those fools who still praise Lenin and Stalin in Russia. Obama’s fools and Stalin’s fools share the same drink of illusion.”

“Let’s give American voters the benefit of the doubt and say it was all voter fraud and not ignorance or stupidity in electing a man who does not even know what to do and refuses help from Russia when there was an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead we’ll say it’s true that the Communists usage of electronic voting was just a plan to manipulate the vote. Soros and his ownership of the company that counts the US votes in Spain helped put their puppet in power in the White House. According to the Huffington Post, residents in all 50 states have filed petitions to secede from the Unites States. We’ll say that these Americans are hostages to the Communists in power. How long will their government reign tyranny upon them?”

“Russia lost its’ civil war with the Reds and millions suffered torture and death for almost 75 years under the tyranny of the United Soviet Socialist Republic. Russians survived with a new and stronger faith in God and ever growing Christian Church. The question is how long will the once “Land of the Free” remain the United Socialist States of America? Their suffering has only begun,” said Lerma.

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I agree with much of what Mr. Lerma says.  However, his suggestion that Communists are in power here in the U.S. is overshooting a bit.  The current administration does not want Communism.  In the true sense, they would have to give up their power.  One of the reasons the USSR never made it that far (and I would suggest never actually tried).

According to Merriam-Webster, Socialism is any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and[/or] administration.  It is also a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between Capitalism and Communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.

The USSR stands for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.  Although the ultimate goal was supposedly Communism (from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs), it was never actually achieved (nor do I believe, at that level of society, could it ever be).  The USSR never made it past Socialism where the government made the decisions.  Communism was expected to be a voluntary utopia.

However, from each according to what the government decides, to each the same, is the state in which the USSR got fixed and is where we in the US are now.  The difference is at least their leaders pretended to want to go further.  They pretended the desire to achieve that utopia.  Those currently in power in the U.S. have no desire to go beyond the Socialist state.  It would mean giving up control and giving in to a philosophy of equality.  As with the leaders of old in the USSR, they claim to protect the proletariat, they have no desire for equality with them.

Where Mr. Lerma is unquestionably correct is that the experiment of the USSR failed and so too will it here.  The only question we both seem to have is: how much damage will be done prior to enough people realizing it?

A future post will discuss my claim that we are now, and very well may forever be, the Union of American Socialist Republics.   A slight twist on what Mr. Lerma suggests. But believe it our not, I coined mine prior to actually reading his. He was close. I’m spot on.  While we will still be in union, I don’t believe we are, or will truly again be, united.  As well, states or no states, we are definitely republics.  Unfortunately, Socialist Republics governed by-in-large by those in leadership of the Socialist Union.

>>> The day is at a close, the night is drawing in and my cigar awaits – ’til next time…

Taxing the Wealthy

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On November 18, 2012, Op-Ed Columnist Paul Krugman (NY Times) made the following comments: “Consider the question of tax rates on the wealthy. The modern American right [sic], and much of the alleged center, is obsessed with the notion that low tax rates at the top are essential to growth.”  Mr. Krugman is, as are most Liberal pontificators, wrong.  The “modern American right [sic]” IS obsessed with the notion of FAIR tax rates for all and constitutional use of the taxpayer’s money.  However, he uses the rationale that “…in the 1950s incomes in the top bracket faced a marginal tax rate of 91, that’s right, 91 percent”.  And that “[t]he best estimates suggest that circa 1960 the top 0.01 percent of Americans paid an effective federal tax rate of more than 70 percent, twice what they pay today”.  He, of course, provides no objectives (necessary or otherwise) for the government’s USE of the money.  Just that there is no reason the government shouldn’t take it.  He ended his diatribe suggesting how well the country prospered under such conditions.  So many of these clueless Libs fail to take into account two very important things.  First, what would have been different for the American worker had the tax rate actually been reasonable?  Would not the additional capital in the hands of the job creators led to even more prosperity?  Far more than the government waste or give-away schemes?  Second, how many other people would have been motivated to “get rich” via entrepreneurship or increase investments in established companies and increase even more the number of high-paying jobs in the workforce?  The considered answer is quite obvious to even the most casual of observers.  Sucking every penny from those that provide jobs is quite ill-advised – or, phrased a less eloquent way, just say plain stupid.  The Modern American Left on the other hand is obsessed with the complete redistribution of wealth regardless of the long term impact to debt, unemployment, wages, etc.  People exist; therefore they must have things.  Somebody else has to pay for it?  Sorry.  They don’t have to work for it?  Of course not.  The Libs’ misguided and imprudent programs cannot be afforded by the “wealthy” when one considers that even taking every dime they have would not be enough.  Hence, the crushing debt.  Not due to too low tax rates but to there not being enough money in the country to pay for it all.  The absurdity of the Left’s position on this is beyond rational.

There will of course be more on this topic in the future.  It is just too easy to explain how wrong they are.  It just baffles me how they can draw so many theoretically intelligent people into their way of thinking.

>>> The day is at a close, the night is drawing in and my cigar awaits – ’til next time…