The Lovin' Spoonful

Cute.

Lessons Unlearned

The next time you’re tempted to disparage somebody, Kaddafi, Mubarak, any nation, bedbugs, fleas - anything - make sure you know what you’re doing and why. (I’d be interested in knowing just how many of you still get a chance to listen to Glenn Beck since he’s been dropped from several major radio markets including mine. It’s still possible to hear his radio show on the internet. The connection is often tenuous, but it does appear to run in a continuous if erratic loop on Mercury Radio Arts.)

Anyway, today he gave one of his more lucid rants. Without necessarily meaning to, he described precisely how we got Obama. It started with Bush. Hatred for Bush and anything Republican was whipped up into a frenzy. It came to be known as ‘Bush Derangement Syndrome’. Everyone was invited to join in - and everyone did. By the time the 2008 elections rolled around anyone who was neither Bush or Republican could have been elected, no contest. And ‘anyone’ was. To this day most of us still don’t have no clue just who our man in the White House actually is.

I dare say, we no longer remember exactly why it was we hated Bush so much. Nobody has much scar tissue to show from when Bush was in office. We just hated him, for no particular reason. We hated him just to give expression to our hatred. It was cool to hate; it was the ‘in’ thing to do. The media drove it; Hollywood drove it; universities drove it - and we all went along for the ride.

In our mass-induced hypnotic state, nothing we could foresee could have been worse than Bush. We all fell for it. ‘Anybody’ would save us and cleanse us of the dirt in which we wallowed.

It was perfect. It was like using a saw to cut wood. Two separate pieces. It works every time. We never once asked ourselves who started it and why. Who stood to gain by Obama coming to power? Who supported him? Who also hated Bush so much that they were prepared to cut off their noses to spite our faces? As such we stood with the Left, we stood with Rev. Wright and his liberation theology; we stood with Ahmadinejad, we stood with Chavez and Castro. We stood with the socialists, with the jihadist. We stood with every one of America’s enemies.

What did we expect to happen? Not one of us said, “Hey! Wait a minute. What exactly is going on here?” Instead, we’re still trying to make the wicked step-sister’s foot fit into Cinderella's glass slipper.

It’s a lesson that remains unlearned. To this day we are spurred on to hate our own: Rush, Beck, Savage, Palin and anyone else who might have even a smidgeon of conservative credentials. Tea Parties in the crosshairs; Michelle Bachman, John Bolton, Clarence Thomas, Carl Rove - all strategically lined up for target practice. And shoot we will, as long as we’re served the rhetorical bullets on a silver platter by the media.

If you notice, Obama remains curiously absent the sniper’s target. No one would dare say a thing outright against him. He remains a victim - a victim of the targets he himself has set up. …and victims can never do wrong.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

The Definition of 'Crazy'

It’s always easy and entertaining to make fun of history in a Monty Python kind of way; to say what if, as if ‘if’ were some kind of Frankonian monster ripe for resurrecting at the snap of a finger. Much more difficult to see the lunacy of current policy. If Reagan had killed Kaddafi, who is to say that would have been the end of it?

Fact: For several years after we sent a package bomb into Kaddafi’s tent (killing his daughter among others) we never heard from Kaddafi again. Fact: He behaved himself for a time like a kid after a spanking. And then, we seemed to have lost the concept altogether and the likes of Kim Yong-Il, Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez were able to make their mischief unimpeded, turning the whole class into an uproar.

Now, nobody is learning. The teachers have fled the premises. The school is has become wildly dysfunctional and you have some version of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” going on everywhere you look.

Enter the 12th Imam to put a stop to it. I expect he’ll have enough buckets lined up to put out the fires that are raging; to snuff out the fuses that are burning toward setting off a nuclear holocaust. If not, it doesn’t really matter what any of us do.

For a brief while, we thought it was Obama who would fill the bill. We gave him every chance. We even called him ‘savior’. We were convinced that he was the one who would bring us together. He made quite a convincing start of it, giving speeches all around the world and drawing adoring crowds everywhere he went.

Now we know it was all just so much hot air, effectively causing the polar icecaps to melt and the bears to seek shelter inside an ever shrinking population of whales. Curiously the oceans didn’t rise as predicted and the island of Manhattan still stands (although we did our best to bring her down by other means).

As much as we make fun of Kaddafi, we still shy away from looking in the mirror to examine ourselves. The definition of ‘crazy’ is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. What we are doing in almost every aspect of our public policy is the same thing over and over again. And all it’s done is accelerate our fall from grace.

Spring is just around the corner and all of us here in the northern latitudes can put our snow shovels away and breathe a sigh of relief. Soon time to put some of the old stuff out on the curb for yard sales or for sanitation to pick up. Don’t plan on going anywhere though. Gas will likely be around $5 a gallon.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Ben Folds

Bad language aside, this song is perfect.

Mitch Daniels Misspeaks

‘Error code’ for what? I must have missed this. But I’m sure he must have said something to offend either the Right or the Left. If it’s the Right, redemption is still possible. If it’s the Left, he’s cooked. The very gates of hell will open up out of that shoe box (with the pot in it) of his.

It troubles me that Mitch Daniels felt compelled to walk anything back. It shows that his primary aim is to appeal to voters. Haven’t we had enough of that: politicians speaking out of both sides of their mouths, saying one thing to one audience and another thing to another; and walking it back both times. Who really knows what they intend?

I, for one, would have more respect for Obama if he were to come right out and say it; that his plan is to topple representative governance along with capitalism and impose shariah on the American people; and that, in addition, he wants to push Israel into the sea and murder every Jew on the face of the earth, instead of comparing himself to every past American president who happens to have - at one time or other - caught America’s imagination.

I would equally welcome any politician who would step forward (now) and declare his or her intention to stop Obama in his tracks. It’s not just about overturning Obamacare, reducing taxes, or soothing any other single-issue voters’ concern. It’s the whole ball of wax: energy, education, the economy, race relations, foreign policy, etc. - all of which feed into the mix of anti-Americanism in one way or another.

At least, this way we would know where we stand and we would not waste 99% of our time and energy debating each point separately to no conclusion.

Right now, I personally see no solution other than letting Obama have exactly what he wants - reduce our nation to the likes of Zimbabwe or North Korea - and watch if our population will not at some point rise up and hold the whole bunch of them responsible. Let them throw us in prisons; let them place an imam on every street corner, armed with a knife to slit our throats; let them take our children and keep them hostage in their madrassas; let them hold public hangings, floggings, stoning, and amputations; and make attendance mandatory. Let them demand our money and property and make them communal. Let them rape and defile our women. Let them do all these things and more and watch for the point at which the NYT and all the alphabet broadcasters decide to turn against them so that we can finally stand united against the onslaught that continues to rage against us. Change always comes from within.

Am hoping for the day when we will once again can see patriotic movies being made and hear patriotic songs sung. How much will it take to turn us around?

As long as we listen to guys the likes of Daniels and Gingrich with maple-flavored oatmeal dripping from their lips as they speak; I’d say, we still have a long way to go.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

A Jumble of Nine

It has become easy to connect the dots in the Middle East. We already see the outlines of the end game. Michael Vlahos is right when he says that underlying it all “is a search for dignity”. I did not hear the show but, I assume, he did not go so far as define ‘dignity’ as seen from the Islamic perspective.

At the same time, we refuse to connect the dots here at home. Most conservative pundits and political hopefuls openly state that our nation cannot survive another six years with Obama at the helm. What they really mean to say is ‘two’ (years). Most do not yet connect the chaos in the Middle East with the chaos in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Yet, clearly, the demonstrators themselves have made the connection. Their talk and signage shows that they are keenly aware of what’s happening in the Middle East and are in solidarity with it.

Last week marks the first time a major, nationally known politician raised the ‘I’ word in an interview with Newsmax TV. He did it in a sort of circumspect way, suggesting if President Sarah Palin had done what Obama did (re: DOMA), there would be immediate calls for her impeachment. Then, immediately backing off, he went on to say that, in Obama’s case, calls for impeachment are not warranted.

So, which is it Newt? Is it the old sock-in-the-mouth double standard again? With talk like that Newt cuts his own throat. And DOMA is not the only issue on which Obama finds himself on thin ice - constitutionally speaking. And that’s not even the sum of it. Look at where we are today domestically as well as internationally. Are we really better off now than when Bush left office? Or is the calliope crashing as we watch? Do we have a Plan B, or C, or D…? Or has what we are seeing been Plan A all along?

Come on Newt! You can do better than that. Say it like it is and then stick to it come hell or high water. Show some spine!

Kudos for getting the word out there, anyway. Hopefully, it’ll get the ball rolling (even though we all know that it won’t be you to roll that ball).

Here’s a prediction: The first one who owns the ball and takes charge of it wins. If no one is willing to do this much, then we’re even worse off than I thought we were.

How many glossed-over low blows will it take before we lose all appreciation of four corners (as in a ring)? How long before the number ’8’ becomes just another meaningless cipher among a jumble of nine?

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

LIVE

LIVE's best song on their best album ever. Turn it up!

A Short History of Travel

In the beginning is always the word. In Wisconsin and elsewhere, the public debate is between asking “is it fair (who defines ‘fair‘?)?” and “can we afford (who defines ‘afford‘?) it?” For those who claim we can’t afford it, ‘fairness’ is not an issue. For those who hold fairness above all, affordability is a moot point: Two trains passing in the night. There can never be agreement or compromise. These trains cannot be allowed to use the same track. Otherwise… disaster.

But still, it must have started somehow; when we were still united in the effort to find equitable solutions; when the 36 x 48 architectural paper was still in tubes, and we were still in the process of sharpening our pencils.

Back then the issue, as it presented itself, was simply getting from here to there, and back again. At first, the ‘back again’ part presented a problem. There was nothing we could not solve. So, it was decided, we should build two parallel tracks. Now there’s a solution!

Now we find that ‘here’ and ‘there’ are two separate places (as they had been all along); that people going there want this, and people coming here want that; and that the two would never compromise. You see, there is just enough to build one set of tracks. What to do?

Are any of us into derailing trains? Has it already reached the point, as it did during WWII, when the French resistance found it necessary to dig up tracks without telling anybody? Hell, you can go even further back and watch Buster Keaton’s “The General”!

History repeats. In the beginning there is always the word. From then on it can get confusing. One has to be nimble; one has to be quick to keep up. Our side is learning, but we are still way behind the curve. While we were busy lazing about - distracted - the Left was studying hard; working. Nobody thought, it’d ever get this far: the blurring of boundaries, identities (everyone the same, interchangeable); the blurring of truth; the blurring of meaning, of thought; two objects spinning independently in space: Farrakhan’s mother wheel (ship) and its anchor - tracking further and further apart.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Counting Crows

Counting Crows have made a number of near-perfect studio albums. "This Desert Life" (fom which this song was taken, may be the exception.

Kaddafi Blames bin Laden

Three days ago, JANA (Libya’s official news agency), blamed Israel for the unrest. It didn’t convince anyone (or at least not enough) to unite the country. Now, the blame shifts to bin Laden, self-declared - raised to the status of mythical arch - enemy of the West. Kaddafi is grasping at straws. In some part of what's left of his mind he remembers how the West is in the process of destroying itself with the notion that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’.

Not everything Kaddafi says is mad. In fact, when viewed objectively, he makes several good points - and all, seemingly without the help of a teleprompter. No one can doubt that at least some of what he says about AQ is true. No one can doubt that, to some extent, children have been deliberately wrested from their parents’ beliefs and control. Hell, it’s happening in our own country; schools teaching kids a lot of BS that their parents would never openly approve of! Parents, in both subtle and overt ways, are routinely accused by their kids of committing crimes against the planet; against humanity. It’s well documented that parents often find themselves on the defensive. As such, many have taken a back seat in hopes of avoiding arguments with their eco-fascistic offspring whom they are condemned to love.

With Kaddafi it’s not so complicated. I don’t know to what extent bin Laden is involved in the Libyan turmoil (if at all). He mentions bin Laden merely for the effect it might have in the West. Will the West mobilize to save him under the notion that ‘the enemy of my enemy…”? Probably not. Still, it was worth a try; and it does prove that he’s still out there punching, and not folding like a cheap camera - like Mubarak did.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Resurrection

Either by sheer ineptitude or by design, leadership (as most understand it) is not one of our president’s strong suits. We recommend that anyone waiting for Obama to make the first move not hold their breath. And why should the president trouble himself? By not acting - or only appearing to act - the stinkweed will still continue to bloom in in Michelle’s much-hyped White House garden.

In today’s WSJ there are two unsigned editorials relating to Obama’s policy regarding oil: he hates it, along with every other carbon based fuel. The Gulf oil spill introduced the opening chords of this multi-layered symphony. It gave the administration the excuse to declare a drilling moratorium. Despite being forced to rescind it at a judge’s order, this administration still hasn’t issued a single drilling permit, citing cut-backs in staffing and problems in deciphering the new regulations.

This is not the only time the Obama administration has chosen to drag its feet to achieve policy objectives. Since a judge declared the government’s health care plan unconstitutional, requiring the government to immediately cease its implementation, Obama has used every delaying tactic to circumvent the judge’s ruling. As in the drilling moratorium matter, it now finds itself in contempt of court rulings. But who would enforce it?

Setting the Middle East on fire also meets Obama’s objectives. Likely to drive up prices beyond endurance, the administration figures this to equate with a huge shot-in-the-arm for the fledgling alternative fuels industry…and, most importantly, ‘cap and trade’ legislation which would place a premium on energy usage to then be pocketed by favored constituencies - hence, wealth re-distribution, another policy objective high on the president’s list.

The entire field is in play; all the fuses are lit. All the president has to do is sit back and watch as the sacred cow dominos fall one by one.

I personally have trouble agreeing entirely with this analysis. There are too many steps involved, any one of which could put the ultimate objective ( so called energy independence) at risk. Not the least of which is that the alternative fuel bandwagon is still far from ready. But it does point to a target much closer: this, being America - to stop the blood flowing to America’s heart. If this can be achieved, by any means, America (as we know it) could be declared dead.

I maintain, that America is already dead. She can no longer defend herself in her present state while threats, both internal and external, abound. External aggression will not finish the job; i.e. strip the flesh off her bones. This will be done internally. The opposition in virtually every sector has already been eliminated. And no one from the outside will come to bury the body in accordance with respectful custom. Her one and only hope continues to be Israel which is under attack itself.

My one consolation is that the architects of this monumental crime will not be allowed to rest on their laurels. Whatever may be said of humanity, it does not celebrate murder.

As America is removed from the cross, a new spirit will sweep the world and the idea of ‘America’ will revive to guide it back into safe waters. It will signal a resurrection of sorts in which even the bad guys will have a chance for redemption, and the Mahdi will jump back into his well.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Blind Faith

60's Super group.

Gettysburg (redux)

Maybe we should exorcise the words ‘wrong’ and ‘right’ from our dictionaries. When pundits say that Obama, Kaddafi, Ahmadinejad, Mugabe, Chavez (or whoever) are on the ‘wrong’ side of history while Scott Walker, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck proclaim themselves to be on the ‘right’ side, it betrays a bias. There are only sides. ‘Wrong’ or ‘right’ are relative to the side one happens to be on. Let us then just say, “There is their side and there is our side.”

We have now established that there are indeed sides. Provided we feel strongly enough to identify our preference, we must then support our side with all we’ve got.

We’re in the midst of a global battle we must win. We can no longer be bystanders because the outcome of this battle will determine our future and the future of our children. It has become pointless to argue about ‘wrong’ and ‘right’. Each side thinks it’s right and that the others are ‘wrong’.

Similarly, ‘left’ and ‘right’ on the political scale has become solely diversion and used by both sides to confuse and obfuscate. You either believe that America has been ‘wrong’ throughout its history or you don’t. You either want to see it torn down, destroyed, to let the phoenix rise from its ashes; or you want to preserve what has already been built.

There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer. All that remains for us is to fight impeccably for whichever side we choose.

The winner of this battle will have the right to carry the banner of America. It will be either a ‘new and improved’ America or it will be America as it once was.

After the war has been settled, someone from the winning side will echo some version of President Abraham Lincoln’s stirring ‘Gettysburg Address’ in addressing the nation. It may not be at a cemetery, for (I should hope) we no longer fight our internal wars with guns and bullets. But we will have fought nevertheless. And the spoils will have gone to the victor.
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On the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the ’Soldiers’ National Cemetery’ in Gettysburg, PA, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at Gettysburg, President Lincoln delivered what has come to be known as ‘The Gettysburg Address‘:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

“Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

“But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Pray to God it will be someone from our side.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

What's In A Name

There are the drawbacks to globalization. When the fabric begins to tear in one part, expect the whole thing to be in shreds soon thereafter. Printing money won’t fix it; buying gold won’t fix it; whatever Kaddafi or Mubarak or Obama do is irrelevant. We can abandon the dollar and use chopsticks instead - nothing is likely to work and no one is immune from the hammering storm that has been gathering for some time in the heart of darkest Africa.

Of course, the world’s most fragile will be the first to suffer - the hallowed poor, for the sake of whom anything and everything is done. The fact is that all of us are in trouble - collectively.

Everything is always in balance. We may not necessarily like some of the items that are used to keep our world in balance, but balance is still preferable to chaos. For some still unexplained reason America has decided to jump off the see-saw. This has sent the see-saw and all who were on it crashing to the ground. The chaos will no doubt coalesce, and whatever emerges will be in balance. It will likely not look the same as what we are used to seeing. There are many ways in which things can be balanced.

Sometimes, it’s just a matter of re-naming things without really making any changes. We put a lot into a name. We name streets and airports after people we may have heard made a (positive) difference.
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It was another beautiful sunrise at the top of the world. Mt. Everest awoke and decided that he no longer wanted to be a mountain. He wanted to be a man and move about on his spindly legs. He no longer wanted to block the winds trying to move willy-nilly from here to there; he no longer wanted to anchor the earth’s crust to keep it from moving; he no longer wanted to stop the magnetic poles from shifting erratically as the earth groans on its axis. No, he wanted to be a man, digging inconsequential holes in the ground.

By it, he would satisfied two desires simultaneously. He would satisfy man whose boundless egotism is always eager to embrace both praise and blame for anything that has ever happened. And he satisfied himself, as he was tired and bored with performing his traditional functions.

Of course, it was all just a matter of semantics. Nothing was to essentially change; except that what had been called ‘mountain', was now called ‘man’ and vice versa.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Governor Scott Walker: Not Intimidated

Wisconsin is the clearest indication yet of a game that has been unfolding for some time. The object of the game is to win. Thank God, in Scott Walker we have a governor who is intent on winning this battle! He seems not to be about kicking the can down the road; he is not easily intimidated; and he appears to remain focused on the job at hand despite threats and ungainly public displays (by vocal minorities).

This drama is bound to repeat itself in other state capitols as well. It’s good that this happened first in Wisconsin where, I predict, Walker will win in the end.

The game pits public service unions against taxpayers. Any reasonable observer must know that, in our system, the taxpayer cannot simply be shunted aside. States, unlike the federal government, cannot print money to gloss over fiscal carelessness. The good health of the private sector taxpayer remains essential to the good fiscal health of the state. Inequities must be addressed.

Democrats, their union supporters and welfare clients, continue to be ill informed about basic economic principles. They seem equally ill informed about the job they were hired to do. Teachers, for instance, are supposed to teach our children. I suspect that most are trying to make an honest go of it, but are constantly undermined by a bureaucracy whose only aim in life is to fleece the public, protect its turf, and promote agendas. In essence, you have the tail wagging the dog. Despite all the money spent, Wisconsin’s record of achievement in public education remains far from exemplary.

Democrats, too, seem uninformed about the basics of the democratic process. As such, elections mean nothing to them. They are quite willing to block any legitimate legislative process by outlandish tricks. We’ve seen the same on the federal level.

It struck me today that I’m not in the habit of counting my change before sticking it in my pocket. I realized that’s because it never made much difference to me. Now I wonder how many times I’ve been cheated; how much money I might have thrown away in this fashion over the course of a lifetime? Had I ever had to budget carefully (as most do), I might not have been so flippant.

Our governments have been doing the same. They’ve played fast and loose with our money for years. Now, suddenly, the wolf is at the door. A million here, a million there - it all adds up when you no longer have a million.

Wisconsin represents an important milestone in the fight to return to some semblance of fiscal sanity. There’s a minority among us who do not agree that this has now become important. They may be ignorant; or, they might well believe themselves to be operating under a system that has not yet been adequately explained. A third possibility is that they are deliberately trying to collapse our existing system and create chaos.

No matter who ultimately wins in Wisconsin, at least one thing will be clear: the players on both sides have had to show their faces. POTUS has demonstrated a definite preference. Might this not also explain our current approach to foreign policy?

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Springwood, Hyde Park, NY

The following was written right after President Barack Hussein Obama had been nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize after less than a month in office:

In these days of hyper-electioneering, it is perhaps fitting for those of a particular ideological persuasion to visit Springwood, the Mecca of their political inspiration and, at the same time, pay homage to the man who did much to change the wordage and thrust of our civic dialogue while fighting hard to preserve America’s global prominence.

The place is Hyde Park, NY, where the ancestral home and final resting place of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd American President, is located. After his death in 1945, his wife, Eleanor, and her children donated the site to the National Park Service.

Every time I’ve visited there, Springwood Mansion was in the process of undergoing some kind of renovation, but the views of the Hudson Valley from the back of the house remain unchanged and spectacular.

The compound now includes the Henry Wallace Visitor’s Center, complete with souvenir and coffee shops. Just outside, there is a sculpture depicting Eleanor and Franklin sitting on a bench that leaves room for anyone so inclined to sit beside them. There is a rose garden, as well as a dramatic modern sculpture constructed from bits and pieces of the Berlin Wall by the granddaughter of Winston Churchill. The caption reads, “FREEDOM FROM FEAR”. The reference to President Roosevelt famous quotation about fear is unavoidable. In addition, the Park contains FDR’s Presidential Library and Museum.

Admittance to the grounds is free. Guided tours of Springwood Mansion, Top Cottage (where visiting dignitaries were routinely entertained), the Library and Museum, Eleanor’s home and the nearby Vanderbilt estate, however, can add up to a tidy sum.

Hyde Park seems a popular destination for the elderly - the blue-haired ladies and their now somewhat grizzled, mustachioed men – who, their memories of the period failing, still seek the caress of the echo of that tumultuous period in U. S. history. The people elected Franklin Roosevelt - a man of impeccable loyalties who would steer the great American Ship of State with a steady hand over the dangerous shoals of global dysfunction and treachery (though his own body was already broken and in steep decline) – to no less than four consecutive terms. His reassuring words (fireside chats) to the nation gave it the strength to confront and defeat the evil that had come into the world. From then on, the Jewish vote would overwhelmingly favor the Democrats.

The young too come – not in (tour) bus-size groups, but one by one; or in twos at the most. They come, but not for the same reasons. Thoughtful, almost obeisant in demeanor, they are seeking to forge some tangible connection to their innate progressive leanings. Surely, their hope is that Barack Obama will take up the mantle of Roosevelt (and others). He’s young enough, they say. He too promises to take the country to a new - a better - place; to right the wreckage Republican policies have wrought. I noted the idealism shining in their eyes. It was far brighter than the light of nostalgia I had seen among the old.

Here’s to hoping that the new American President will succeed in transcending ego and place our nation’s interests first. May blind ideology not cloud his reason and poison the well of good common sense. May his term in office remain untainted by corruption. And finally, may a clear vision guide his pronouncements and legislative decisions and thus inspire our population to support his personal sacrifice.

Peter Koelliker – pkoelliker8@yahoo.com

Lions And Ducks And Bears

The Middle East is burning. Protests spreading in Libya; protests spreading in the Middle East and beyond. Once the cat is out of the bag, everything becomes unpredictable. In Libya, the prize is light crude. Many nations - especially in Europe - depend on it. Oil prices rising everywhere - affecting everything. Someone in Libya shouts, “Where is America? Where is the UN? This is a massacre! We need help. Now!”

They don’t ask for Chinese intervention. They don’t ask for Russia - or Europe. They ask for America. An automatic reflex.

“Sorry guys, you’re on your own. We’ve got our own insurrection to deal with. Wisconsin. And it’s spreading to other states.“

“But what about the oil? We’ll pay!”

“Sorry again, guys. We don’t need your oil. We’re ’green' now. Don’t you see? We’re green. Oil is a cancer. We’re trying to choke it off. We’ve got windmills, batteries, solar panels - and mercury light bulbs. Besides ….besides what?

“While we may have started all this mess with the likes of Google, Facebook and the unions, it’s out of our hands now.”

Kaddafi is toast. He burnt us once too often. No sympathy for that dictator. He’s fresh out of IOU’s - and so are we. The rest will fall in place after the dust has settled. Blame it on Israel.
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In the center of the town, opposite the station, is the village green. There, right in the middle, is a pond. The family often goes there to feed the ducks after dinner with the bread that’s left over.

Dad says, “Look kids! They’re over there.” And the kids run over to where they are.

When the parents catch up with them, mother remarks, “My, how they’ve grown!”

Dad is unsure whom she’s referring to - the children or the ducks - and says nothing. When their bags are empty, the children are anxious to leave.

“Say good-bye to the ducks,” Mom says.

“They’re not ducks,” chime the children in unison.

“What are they then,” asks Mom.

“Bears,” say the children.

Mom and Dad laugh. They think it’s cute. From then on, the family refers to the ducks floating silently on the surface of their own reflections on the village pond as ‘bears‘.
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Later that year, the county proposed a bear hunt to cull the sloth that’s become a nuisance to garbage cans and pets. There were so many people against it that the idea was scrapped.

Mom mentions it one evening to Dad. “They’ve banned duck hunting,” she says.

Dad looks up from his paper. He seems annoyed. He liked to go duck hunting with his friends - in season, of course. “What’s wrong with duck hunting?” he exclaims.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

On The Verge of America's Third Revolution

Listening to Aaron Klein’s radio show today, I learned that Muslim student associations routinely recite the Muslim pledge of allegiance at their meetings on school grounds. This seems odd to me. While other religious organizations are often barred from holding meetings (on school grounds), the Muslim students seem to be getting away with it. It is not unusual for any organization to have a motto, pledge or mission statement. While most are relatively benign in content, the Muslim pledge sounds overtly seditious (to me). They are openly calling for the overthrow of the United States (and capitalism), pledging to give their very lives to their quest for global domination.

Why is Homeland Security not investigating these groups? Why is it that every other group (Tea Parties, veterans groups, the Boy Scouts, Catholics, etc.) is quick to raise suspicions within our Homeland Security apparatus while Muslim groups are given a free pass? (And I still don’t have an answer as to why Muslim women are not subject to mandatory airport pat-downs.) Can anyone still say ‘double standard‘? ‘Inexperience‘? ‘Incompetence on the part of our leadership‘? Or is it treason?

While every other religion is shunned, ridiculed and shamed into pulling in its horns under a policy of ‘separation of church and state’, only Islam faces no legal or societal roadblocks. In fact, as a nation we seem to roll over and play dead to any Islamic demand.

The answer is so obvious, it almost seems superfluous to articulate it. America has become a Muslim nation. It happened when we elected Barack Hussein Obama to be our supreme leader. The rest of the world knows this. If we could accept the fact that this has happened, we would begin understand a whole lot of things that have escaped our reason since the day our current president was sworn in without a Bible: from his refusal to show his birth certificate, to what is going on in the Middle East, to Wisconsin.

All the money we have poured into the Middle East for oil appears to have bought them our media, our major institutions, and even our government. Does anyone seriously think that they will ever let go of it? The second American revolution is already in the rearview mirror. It happened while we were sleeping. The sooner we wake up, the sooner can America’s third revolution begin.

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Chinese Annoyance

“I asked James Glanz if it can be done in the US, with vastly more nodes and choke points. The answer is, ‘Yes,’ because the choke point are finite. I asked if anyone knows them. Unknown.” - I bet GOOGLE knows.
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I never thought I’d agree with Hillary Clinton on anything. What she said about the internet was mostly right. What she said about rascals using the internet was mostly right. What she said about freedom vs. security was right (and she did it all without use of a teleprompter). I would expect her to stand up for the internet, free speech, and freedom of assembly when these become issues here in the U.S.

This would put her at odds with the ideas of past and present Obama-appointed czars, each charged with overseeing (internet) broadband and broadcast development (and control). Most have been exposed as having ties to groups that seek to use the internet to promote leftist agendas.

Interesting that VOA has now ceased broadcasting into China. The reason given was cost-cutting. My wife tells me that VOA broadcasts along with the BBC were always a favorite when she was growing up in Trivandrum and Mysore (India), and during the darkest days of Indira Gandhi’s uncompromising reign. No reason to suspect that the Chinese were not equally enthralled by western voices telling of cultural trends.

Our government claims that the internet can now fulfill the same function that VOA once did - obviously a ruse explanation. Washington is quite obviously heeding some privately expressed Chinese annoyance.

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'Ajami': The Dark Ages

Excellent summary of what’s happening in the Maghreb, and analogy to ‘LA wildfire’ or wildfires in general. As in a wildfire, there’s not much fire departments can do. They’ll make a brave show of it, but their biggest partner in ultimate success is either concrete or a squall. Summary excludes the firebrands. We are looking forward and wondering how the chaos will end. Speculation in the middle going forward is never helpful. It’s like crossing a busy street with one’s eyes closed.

The same thing happened (and is still happening to some extent) with regard to our own housing meltdown. Our chronicle of same invariably starts in the middle, with the banks. Mention of the government’s role still lies buried in the bin of unmentionables (unless it’s Bush, of course).

Who stands to benefit from the chaos in the Maghreb and elsewhere? Who started it? Answer those questions and you arrive at the solution to the riddle of how it is likely to end. Who is the most organized; the most brutal? If the timeline going forward is predictable, the start and finish of the thing is apt to involve the same player(s).

For those who still believe that nothing has essentially changed; that things will return to some semblance of stability; that the next U.S. president will restore us to our former selves, take heed. Events, both here and abroad, are not unrelated or reversible. Houses burnt in a wildfire remain burnt. Rebuilding is arduous and there remains the question of whether homeowners would even retain an appetite for risking going through the whole thing again. Many will, of course. But many others will decide to relocate, leaving a scar of abandonment on the land.

Saw “Ajami” (2009), a film by Scandar Copti (a Christian Israeli Arab) and Yaron Shani. Critics compare this film to ‘Boyz N the Hood’ (LA), ‘The Wire’ (Baltimore) of ‘City of God’ (Rio de Janeiro). I’ve only seen the latter. All are said to be about gangs and gang justice. “Ajami“ happens to be set on the outskirts of an Arab ghetto in the Israeli city of Jaffa.

“Ajami” is not a great film, but certainly better than average. What jumped out at me was that it represented what many fear will be the “new world order” in which there still are people, money, and crime. Whereas in our system, the value of money is based on work, talent and the ability to innovate, in the “new world order” money will be based on protection. It will be a violent world and not one in which most of us can easily compete. It is the world of brutality, domination, oppression and ever changing players. This does not bode well for the individual, for human rights, dignity, and progress. The Dark Ages come immediately to mind - and, once initiated, it can last for a very long time.

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Jethro Tull

Hope you have a good audio system. Enjoy!

Dignity

Last night, the wind blew some tiles off the roof. I always wake up when one of them crashes and shatters. And I realized why the gambling house always wins; why Obama will ultimately be regarded as America’s savior. Why? Because he, perhaps more than any other man, has brought us face to face with our own mortality.

Saw “Import/Export” last night - a German film by Ulrich Seidl. It’s the kind of film best seen locked on fast-forward. As far as films go, there was something fundamentally wrong with it. It traced the lives of two young people from different parts of Europe - a man and a woman - struggling to survive. It was winter and the prospects for both looked pretty bleak. So much of what most of us take for granted, they didn’t have, like running water for instance.

The girl ends up in Germany which is only marginally better for her since she bears the legacy of communism and all its implications. The boy, Austrian, ends up working for his father in what was once referred to as 'die Ost-Zone'. Their lives never intersect.

Wisdom, knowledge, religion, grace, talent, skill - all are like mental jewelry. Any one of these takes years to nurture and develop. If conditions are right, they can mature into something far more precious than material wealth. We, here in America, have a better than even chance at all of it. There are people in other countries who don’t. In the past, they’ve looked west for a chance to earn what passes for human dignity. Some fall short, of course. They bring too much baggage along with them.

I look at my own children. They are adults now. Having made no serious mistakes to weigh them down, they are thriving as much as can be expected under current circumstances. But more than any of that, it is dignity that props them up. Dignity is the foundation of any successful endeavor. Without it, we remain stunted.

In the past few days, I’ve heard Wisconsin compared to Egypt. The people who say this have no clue. Our revolution (if you want to call it that) has nothing in common with what Egyptians are fighting for. Our grievance is a mere temper tantrum compared to theirs. Whereas we can go back to our homes and eat a good dinner after a day of marching and waving banners with pictures of Hitler and Che; they have nothing to come home to but begging, hoping that their bloodlust (which often masquerades as salvation) will sustain them another day.

Our tradition of individual dignity is at peril. It’s the only thing that’s held our noses above water for so many years. Obama has shown us that dignity’s fabric has frayed; that it may tear under stress if not properly repaired and maintained; that we may find ourselves chilled to the bone and huddling together like farm animals in a draughty barn; that the path downward is infinite, and that we have only just begun our descent.

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When The Law Is Eric Holder

Exactly right, Corlyss! This is all part and parcel of the ‘politics of personal intimidation’. That’s why there are no ‘good’ Muslims around. They’re afraid they will be singled out; their neighbors and families harassed.

The emphasis has shifted away from polls and is now firmly entrenched in virtual power. It’s long been the case on the nation’s college campuses; in the media; in the arts; on the cocktail circuit. Never let your conservative sentiments slip. You’ll find yourself disgraced; ridiculed; excluded. I’ve noticed it myself, buried in my bunker as I am. “I’m no longer your friend,” says one. “You’re just plain crazy,” says another. “I think you should see about getting some help,” a third suggests.

A few years back, I thought I might be able to further my career by writing liberal stuff. I tried. I just couldn’t do it. Yet, there are some out there doing it and collecting salaries.

Loved the ‘Arcade Fire’ tune though. I think I’ll post it on my own blog later. Oh, I know they’re all lefties - but, then again, they couldn’t all be that mindless. Most are just putting on an act to stay alive.

With these latest tactics, it only takes a relatively few - enough to fill a camera angle. Everything else drops off the frame. After that, you can say anything you want and have it be everywhere. It’s like these watchdog groups that consist of three people and a fax machine - the ones that caution against treading on cryptobiotic soil. I guess now it’s even gone beyond that.

In India, computer usage is strictly monitored. When you go into a cyber café to check your e-mails, you’re required to sign in and show your ID or passport. “There’d been threats against the Chief Minister,” they say.

It’s about to happen here as well. The government will control the internet in the name of ‘National Security’ and only the ‘right’ people will have full access. It’ll only take one mishap traced to some loony tunes in some basement garage to initiate a crackdown and make it permanent.

The freedom to assemble was included in the United Nations’ ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ in 1948. The fact that it had to be an enumerated right in the first place meant that some countries viewed it as a threat and did not allow it.

Conventional wisdom had it that relatively small gatherings can never be a threat to the enormity of a state. They never envisioned virtual assemblies on Facebook.

Still, a treat is a threat. It might be overt or implied. It’s a matter for the law to handle. It gets a bit trickier when the law is Eric Holder.

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We've Dug Deep Enough

Interesting architecture to the spin coming out of the Middle East (as the region burns). At first, it was Tunisia. Then Tunisia was faulted for what happened in Egypt; then, Tunisia was all but forgotten and Egypt became the fault for what’s happening in Bahrain; and so it goes on and on: the incident previous to the last one is conveniently forgotten with the aim of burying the source of the agitation. It’s very much like our housing collapse was explained to us.

Also, Israel is hardly ever mentioned; neither is Islam. POTUS is said to be unaware and unprepared. There’s no indication that he even knows that the 5th Fleet is anchored in Bahrain - or cares.

How can he not care? How can he not know? Ask such questions and you soon stumble upon the source of it all. He knows full well. He cares a lot - but not in the way we care. Despite all those exotic names that Americans can no longer pronounce or locate on a map, the real target in all this is the U.S. and, of course, Israel.

The script was hatched in the White House and it’s global in nature. It involves everything from Pakistan to Arizona and now Wisconsin. The plan is still unfolding, perfectly coordinated. There are no surprises for those in the know.

Look all that’s happened in the past two years since Barack Hussein Obama has been in office: the economy tanking; our foreign policy in disarray; people out in the streets protesting; our states insolvent; immigration out of control; our system of governance unresponsive to the public’s demands; jobs vanishing; oil and food prices spiking; etc. I suppose we can always blame it on Bush - or George Washington.

The ride to hell is infinite. We’ve already blown by any number of major milestones. (The passage of Obamacare was one. So was the sinking of the Cheonan.) We’ve been told to ignore all that. Who among us, looking at all this wreckage, can say we’ve turned the corner? Who can honestly say things are improving; that America is scoring points? Every day we’re treated to a new and ominous reality. Every day we dig ourselves deeper. Enough with the shovel-ready jobs already! We’ve dug deep enough.

It is an accident of destiny? I maintain it’s not. And we’d better start calling a spade a spade.

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500 Million Pounds of Cheese a Year

Is it just me, or do Democrats invariably resort to disgraceful tactics? If so, should they even be allowed to govern. It does seem like Republicans have no antidote. Darrell Issa tries to make a start. From what I hear, he now faces a whole team of gumshoes trying to dig up dirt to discredit him. Additionally, his committee has now been subpoenaed relating to hearings held back in 2008 regarding Roger Clemens’ steroid use. Henry Waxman - not Issa - presided back then. The Dems must be terribly afraid of what Issa might find. They’ll try everything to block the investigations.

There’s dirt on all of us. It shouldn’t be hard to find dirt on Issa. If he happens to be a saint, they’ll just make something up. And the press will run with it. And even our guys will buy into it. Why? Because they’re dirty too - some of them. The rest are cowards (thank you, Joe). They thought the political gig was going to be a cake walk.

This is not a way to run a railroad. There’s real corruption here. This isn’t a way to run anything, much less a nation.

The Democrat party in this country is completely out of control. They’ll say and do anything. And they’ll do it in broad daylight. And the media spins it for them. And they come up smelling like roses every single time.

The folks are hip to it. And they’re disgusted by it; yet, at the same time they applaud like seals when Republicans stumble. Republicans are like the Jews - the pariah underdog; and I do mean ‘dog‘. Everybody will be applauding today - including the Jews - when the UN resolution against Israel passes without America’s objection. Everybody will know that it’s a farce, but - like with Bush in his heyday - we seem to get a kick out of beating piñatas to death and spilling their guts.

Sure, there will be some who will voice concern. But their concerns won’t be heard on the national media which is stuck in its own template. When a CBS reporter was beaten and raped in Cairo while the crowd shouted, “JEW!”, everybody tried to pretend it never happened, because it didn’t fit the template of the ’happy revolution’. Yesterday, Obama is said to have called her at the hospital where she’s been recovering. It must have pained him to have to do this - his people behaving so shamefully. Why couldn’t it have been Israelis or Tea Party members? Or a gang of right-wing talk show hosts?

Hypocrisy again; double standard again; spinning again. So tired of pointing it out (again)! Union thugs in Madison, and Hamas in Gaza using children as human shields - both lying through their teeth. Lawmakers running for the hills in cheesy Wisconsin; taxpayers bleeding red ink - it’s all grist for the ever-grinding mill just as long ‘Democrats' are turning the screws.

My humble message for Republicans: Fight them tooth and nail or roll over now! But spare us the drama.

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Doorstop

There’s a door in our hallway that naturally closes. It has to be kept open with a doorstop - in our case, an antique Chinese casting of small dog.

I remember back around the time when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, Pakistan was regarded as ours, to do with as we wished. We had been conducting drone strikes (inside Pakistan) as a part of our effort in Afghanistan. Pakistan had been voicing its objections, but our foreign policy experts chose to continue with the strikes anyway because, they reasoned, Pakistan couldn’t do much about it. We essentially viewed it as a failed and deeply divided state - the lesser half, heavily dependent on U.S. foreign aid. Since then, Pakistan has made strides in coming together - and not necessarily in our favor.

The Ray Davis affair shows that things have changed significantly; that Pakistan is now asserting itself in a way it has never done before. It doesn’t do to declare any nation a failed state simply because we happen not to like it. And , yes, we do not like the Taliban; and, yes, we do not like AQ; and, yes, we do not like Islamic extremism; shariah; and, yes, we do not like people who do not like us and pray daily for their god to hasten our demise.

At some point, Pakistan had to chose between itself and us. It has chosen itself. The Ray Davis affair has brought the rift between us into sharp focus. Surely, we have offered untold sums to settle the matter quietly. And, while this might have worked in the past, it’s not working now. The people of Pakistan see America as a hated intruder; as interloper; as propping up illegitimate and corrupt governments that only serve to oppress to undermine their true desires.

The rulers of Pakistan have had to go along with the people’s wishes in order to remain in power. Another factor is the money we’ve been doling out. It doesn’t buy as much as it used to. Even the lowliest Pakistani citizen senses that America’s power is waning; that it will no longer do to try to keep themselves warm in the fading glow of dying embers.

On the other hand, Islam is on the rise. In order to survive, it has become necessary to throw in with Islam which appears to have even the once great America shaking in it’s boots.

Hanging the bastard publicly will serve as yet another signal that America’s days in the region are essentially over.

Things have indeed changed since Obama took power in America. Some would argue it was inevitable; that the door had been torn from its hinges long ago (translation: Bush). And now the doorstop has been discarded as well.

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Before They Gouge Out Our Eyes

Obviously it won’t be Obama who rides to our rescue. He’ll be the one seen as having run the country into the ground. No doubt, accusations will continue to fly from both sides. So who will it be? A Reagan-like figure? Or someone more centrist? Left? Anybody (again)? Will it even matter?

Hard to say at this point. I maintain we’re already ‘landing softly’. This is not enough for these people. The plan appears to be global. The action will center on the Middle East. That’s where the die will be cast. Everything will radiate out from there. Oil.

What struck me was how desperately Obama wanted to take credit for what happened in Egypt. It’s not yet over. If the worst should happen (and I don’t see how the worst can be avoided under our present leadership), will our president again seek to claim credit? Probably. But it won’t wash - not here, anyway.

A war in the Middle East, whether America is involved or not, will act as a ‘reset’ button for - not Russia, but - America. (How the Russians must have laughed!)

It’ll happen soon enough. While economic collapse could drag on for years, the Middle East - from Turkey to Pakistan and down into North Africa - has reached the boiling point. I have no clue if Israel is even prepared to defend itself. In any case, it’s probably out of Israel’s hands as well.

The era of cheap oil is be over. We hear it over and over again - like self-fulfilling prophecy. Oil has been the lifeblood of American ‘success‘. Our worthless dollars will no longer buy oil from the Middle East. And then there’s the matter of retribution. Venezuela will go along with it and cut us off.

Cloward-Piven has already achieved its aim. This can be illustrated in any number of ways. We’re now into our post-revolution. The point is, we no longer control the ropes. Who will come to our rescue (with some version of the Marshall Plan) should we stumble? (Again, we have already stumbled.) The sainted Brotherhood? The Chinese? The Russians? It’s likely that we’ll continue to wallow in our own stew for some time to come.

Doubtful too that Obama will be granted a villa in Shiraz (believe me, I tried to find some sort of beach resort for the family) to live out his miserable life. Though, it might be thrilling to catch a glimpse of Michelle’s ankle just before they gouge out our eyes.

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Somebody's House I Burning...

The president’s budget proposal yesterday confirms every negative charge that has ever been leveled against his leadership: he’s not serious; he’s stupid; he doesn’t grasp the gravity of his office; he’s actively trying to run this country into the ground. It all amounts to the same thing for us.

We all know we have a problem, and we know that Obama himself is somehow at the center of it. The house is on fire. We don’t know how much of it can be saved, but we also know that the longer we wait, the less is our chance of saving anything. Luckily we were able to get the family out. Our three dogs and the cat are still inside. Now we wait…

The fire department has been contacted but, due to budget cuts, the trucks must come all the way from neighboring South Fulton. Then there’s the matter of having argued about the fire service subscription fee (on top of our regular property tax) that S. Fulton demanded. Not sure if my wife ever wrote the check.

The trucks do arrive, but remain parked down the block. The men disembark but do nothing but watch. They claim they don’t have the authority to intercede. So, why the hell did they come in the first place? (Ditto, Republicans.)

It would make for some juicy headlines around the country. People were angry. There were red faces all around and heads flew. But we lost our house and most everything in it nonetheless.

So too, we now argue about why Obama is not leading our nation. The people who think he’s doing it deliberately currently have the edge. The ones who think he’s only stupid, though, seem insistent on making it a matter of pride to prove their point. The two factions are fighting it out on the lawn outside while our house (with no cats in the yard) is burning to the ground.

Jimi Hendrix

OASIS

Obama Thinking Out Loud

Bottom line: We’re flat broke. We don’t have the money. We’d like to carry on as before. We’d all like to stop at Starbucks for our morning coffee, but our wallet is empty. We’ve turned off the cell phone, because creditors are calling us every hour. They’re worried they won’t ever get paid back.

We’ve been broke for a long time. If I remember correctly, it started with Bush. The point is, it didn’t just happen overnight. For a while, friends would still spot us a couple of bucks for that cup of brew. If nobody happened to be around, the girl at the counter would let us have one simply for a promise and a smile.

Gotta cut back, but we also gotta keep up appearances. We’re the recognized leader of the Free World, after all. It simply won’t do to suddenly show up dressed in sack cloth.

Everybody agrees the economy is heading south. In fact, it’s so far down already, there’s really no longer any fix - nothing the public would go for anyway.

When things get this bad, the trick is not to give in to it. You do it with smoke and mirrors (Did I say ‘smoke‘? God, how I hate being married!); you try to give the impression that everything is still on the up and up. Sometimes, you’ve got to tell lies - like the one about ‘jobs saved’ (boy, was that one was a doozy!) The folks bought it all the same, at least I think they did - and now I’ll tell them we reduced the budget by a trillion while only increasing it seven times as much. (Damn! I’ve run out of space.) It’s technically true; we could have increased it by eight.

Checked in with ‘The Man’ this morning. He said, “Just keep going. You’re doing fine. Tell them about high-speed trains. They’ll like that.” Actually, I’m beginning to wonder just exactly what he’s up to.

Anyway, I still got the press drones out there, endlessly repeating that bit about ‘green’ jobs and how the economy is turning around; and how everything will work out as soon as Bush’s tax cuts expire - say what?

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Living By The Sword

Good if it were true; that ‘those who live by the sword, die by the sword‘. POTUS’ reaction to the Iranian protesters (if any) should be indicative. Obama also faces revolt - both from the right and from the left. There is no middle. His budget is widely seen as a joke. Money for increasingly heavy-handed IRS enforcement can only serve to annoy. It reflects the mindset of one who continues to believe that taxpayers are not paying enough; that wealth re-distribution, as he envisions it, has not yet reached its full potential.

For the first time, I concede, that this whole revolution thing could be tracking the other way. People appear to have figured out that tactics usually attributed to the Left could also work for the Right. Will the opposition in our Congress be enough to stop Obama’s and the Leftist’s merry-making? Will our state-run media finally come to recognize the damage that is being done to our nation?

When the media flips, the Obama regime is done. The roll-backs can begin unimpeded. …and the prosecutions.

Historians will note that the American Left actually had a chance during the first two years of the Obama administration; that what they failed to do was criminalize Bush policy. It might have worked: send Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al for trial in The Hague and, afterwards, sequester the lot in Guantanamo. Now, that the tide appears to be turning, the Right must not shrink from doing exactly this. There is now more than enough evidence that Obama and Democrats’ handling of affairs went far beyond incompetence. If the Right is to succeed, the Left must be held criminally liable. It would amount to ‘the shot heard ‘round the world’ and the revolution against real oppression could finally begin.

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The Righteous Brothers

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Playing Dead

The sainted revolution over, it’s difficult to understand why protesters are still in Tahrir Square (which is really a circle). Reminds of when Obamacare was passed and the next day people started showing up at clinics and hospitals, demanding medical services.

Today, Egyptians are protesting low wages and high food prices. Anyone to venture a guess when this will change?

Conditions are liable to get worse for Egyptians - not better. For one thing, the army is now in charge. They control streets, not markets. Nefarious elements will begin to disrupt things even more in hopes of positioning themselves just behind the tip of the spear.

After WWII , after Germany had been decisively defeated, there was the U.S. to step in to help. I’m not saying Europe couldn’t have pulled itself out of the muck. I’m just saying, it would have taken them a lot longer without the Marshall Plan and good old American know-how.

Nobody to turn to now if you happen to crash your economy, have a revolution, or lose a war. America has given up on that gig. We’ve become green, taking nothing from the earth and subsisting entirely like Kobo Abe’s fictional, self-contained bug (eupcaccia) which he describes in the opening lines of his novel, “The Ark Sakura”, as subsisting entirely by eating its own feces.

And there is Obama, trying to take credit for what happened. In six months, Egyptians may well take him up on that. Meanwhile, unrest is said to be spreading throughout the Middle East. In his message to the Egyptian people, Obama voiced once again his commitment to stand by them, perhaps not yet realizing that, to the average Egyptian, any interference by America is like the kiss of death. Maybe his message was really directed at us? Oh, I don’t mean the Tea Parties. He can do without them - much too civilized; much too informed; stable. No, he means all the rabble that supports him. He’s been spoiling for a good fight. Republicans, it seems, aren’t really up to it. Much too eager to roll over and play dead.

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Flipped

Both China and Japan - (we could even go so far as to say) all countries - face challenges in implementing policy. There are always approaches that warrant tweaking. Since there might be questions as to the underlying assumptions that would presumably lead to improvement, it is possible that any given policy (based on such assumptions) might ultimately fail to produce the desired result. So far, China has done things pretty much by the book.

There is, however, nothing to guarantee that ‘the book’ - even the American book - is always right. Time is like a train rushing ahead. There also needs to be some measure of faith that the tracks will continue to be there.

There is no doubt in my mind that - although China has made some serious mistakes in the past, giving birth to any number of Albatrosses around its neck - China aims high. It wants to be top dog. As such, it intends to surpass America. This does not necessarily imply evil intent. It proceeds out of a sense of national pride. The leaders of China believe in destiny. They feel that their time is at hand, and that they must now prepare as much as possible and, when the time is right, ‘seize the day‘. Apart from China, there are any number of signals that the U.S. itself has been sending that confirm China’s suspicion that its own turn at the wheel is near.

When my wife queries me if I would prefer eggplant or carrots for supper, she immediately jumps to the conclusion that I don’t like carrots and will never buy them again. In truth, I don’t mind carrots at all. Confronted with a choice, I inevitably fall into a trap of my own making as soon as I voice an opinion. Carrots, after all, are different from eggplant.

I agree with a liberal friend of mine that we should not be in the business of exporting ‘democracy’ throughout the world. We should persuade by example. China has been watching us and has adopted many of our ways. It has helped them to become relatively successful in a short period of time. China also sees us now, and intends to avoid making our mistakes. The point is, the leadership of China seeks to do what it feels is best for China. We may or may not agree as to how China‘s ascendancy would ultimately affect us.
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Interesting opinion piece by Michael Medved in this morning’s WSJ, entitled, “Obama Isn’t Trying To ‘Weaken’ America”. The pull quote from it reads “Some conservatives call the president the political equivalent of a suicide bomber: so consumed with hatred (for America) that he is willing to blow himself up in order to inflict casualties on a society he loathes.”

It goes on to list various failings of past presidents from Franklin Pierce to Bill Clinton, implying that we have well survived all their foibles; that Obama’s fumbling in office is of no more consequence than Clinton’s diddling with Monica Lewinsky in an Oval Office anteroom. Medved’s grand proof that people like Rush Limbaugh - who has said, “I think we face something we’ve never faced before in our country; and that is, we’re now governed by people who do not like the country.” or Sarah Palin, who said, “...he (Obama) is hell-bent on weakening America.” - are imbecilic. He bolsters his argument by saying, “None of the attacks on Mr. Obama’s intentions offers an even vaguely plausible explanation of how the evil genius, once he has ruined our ‘strength, influence and standard of living’ hopes to get himself re-elected.” - as if elections would be of any concern to ‘evil geniuses’ in the first place.

I used to like listening to Medved’s radio program when he was here in New York years ago. I especially liked his movie reviews. It could be that he has flipped, like Philadelphia's Michael Smerconish, and as John Batchelor himself is forever threatening to do.

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Elvis Costello

CPAC blah, blah, blah...

McCotter has it exactly right. He gets it. Unfortunately, nobody is listening. Or, those who are listening have nothing to say about what our government is presently doing. Actually, there’s now a consensus in this country on a wide range of issues. The problem is that the tail continues to wag the dog.

You mean to say that passing Obamacare was a good idea? No. I do believe hardly anyone agrees with it - especially the people in the health care field. Yet, it was shoved through in a nasty, unconstitutional way, and now we’re apparently stuck with it. There’s virtually no chance of repeal. Republicans will try, but will run into so much static; it almost won’t be worth the effort. Same with every other bill that has become law during the Obama administration’s first two years in office.

Even after it came out that ‘global warming’ was a hoax, Obama and Democrats are still pushing their ‘green’ agenda. Gas is now well above $3.00 a gallon. (I believe they want it to go up to around five.) Food prices are rising. U.S. debt is rising. Internationally, dominos are falling… It’s all going to hell in a hand basket, much of which, despite what anybody says, is the direct result of our current administration‘s policies. It would now take but a feather to knock us down and out for good.

What is our government’s response? More of the same. Everything is fine. Prosperity is just around the corner. Voices, like McCotter’s are routinely ignored, discredited and marginalized by our own media. Any attempt to fix things is continually upstaged by events, sidetracked amid the din of ever escalating crisis.

There’s little chance of making headway now and for at least the next two years. By that time, it could well be over for us.

This winter alone, we’ve had to dig our cars out of snow banks no less than three times already. This was even before we could make it out into the street. Each time took longer to set things right. It wasn’t impossible. But each time the city plows passed by, they managed to throw even more snow into our driveway.

So too it is with a government seemingly determined to diminish our once great nation. We ought to be doing more than just make speeches. ‘Organizing For America’ (emphasis on ‘organizing’) still seems to be the only game in town. The rest is just endless talk about polls, put-downs, and ratings. Truly, I don’t see how we can last another two years, much less six.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

The Invention Of the Wheel

It’s nice watching the young people enjoying themselves; celebrating the invention of the wheel. We, of course, having been around long enough to have made a few turns ourselves, know that it doesn’t necessarily last. Still, it’s good seeing the joy, the enthusiasm; and the young'uns' capacity for hope and (dare I say it?) change.

I still believe that undue credit has been given the internet. They’re saying now that social networks were largely responsible for Egypt’s revolution. I tend to doubt it for reasons I have given previously. I think that the overriding factor that has apparently sent the whole world for a toss is America turning its back on whatever everyone assumed were its global responsibilities. Obama has made it clear that he no longer intends to play by the old rules (which in and of itself has arguably amounted to no more than containment).

Anyone, in a position of power, has known for years that we were about to run out of canning jars; that the putrid brews we’ve allowed to fester have long since turned toxic and the tops were about to blow; that that day was never far off. All the more important to have a leader who has our best interests in mind to help steer, inform and inspire us as we stumble across the rocky parts.

Unfortunately, here in America, just the opposite has happened. I hope to God someone has been plotting all along to emerge soon with something even a trifle more compelling than shariah and/or communism.