Sheer Madness

My dander goes up when I hear people say, “Everybody does it.” Or, “Republicans are the same as Democrats.” It’s like saying, “Everybody is at fault,” when what you really mean to say, “Nobody is at fault.” If there is indeed fault, we need to get specific.

As pertains to the Middle East in particular, it is often said that Islamists target all who are not followers of Islam alike. Therefore, India, Europe and Canada all are in the crosshairs. This trope is spread by Israel for obvious reasons. It is, to my mind, is a simplification; when, in fact, the truth is even simpler than that.

I am an American. I have seen and heard people targeting America for destruction. Likewise, I have seen and heard people targeting Israel for destruction. I’ve seen and heard it as clear as a day in September. I’ve heard it said that anyone with ‘links to America’ must be destroyed. (This is important to understand: ‘links to America’.) I’ve dug a little deeper and learned that primary reason they hate us is because we have a history of supporting Israel. And suddenly, we arrive at the nub of it. It means that if Europe and Canada had no links to America, they would be safe. It means that if America did not have a history of supporting Israel, America would be safe.

These very same people (you all know who they are) have now partnered with the communists. This muddies the picture somewhat. Communists don’t care a whit about Israel. All they care about is that capitalism falls. They are using the first group of malcontents to see to it that it does. After that has been accomplished, the Islamists and the communists will fight it out. We will no longer care what happens, because we will no longer be around.

I’m not saying that we should abandon Israel. My posts have been consistent in their support of Israel; even now, when such unequivocal American support - as Israel has enjoyed in the past - appears to have eroded at the highest levels of our government. For me, Israel has always been a reliable bellwether to forecast our own situation. But, it has become more crucial than ever for us to define our terms precisely if we are to have any chance of prevailing in this struggle that has put our very identity at risk. Israel is a part of our identity.

To seek easy solutions – such as sacrificing Israel – or worse, ignoring the core problem all together, would be sheer madness.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

A Third Way

Much has been made of Obama leaving Bill Clinton to conduct a presidential presser. It’s even worse than it appears: Both Obama and Clinton are effectively endorsing Bush (tax cuts), fueling the conviction of some that there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the parties.

Both parties are under assault. It makes no difference, Democrat or Republican. The American version of British royalty must fall. They no longer offer viable alternatives. All either one can say is NO. There is no leadership on either side. Our nation is running on empty.

Now, here comes the tricky part: What will replace them? The tea parties? Unlikely. They have the spirit, but lack organization. The hard-left commies? No. It goes against the grain of everything our country stands for. Independents? No. Everyone is in mortal fear of them ever since the Perot debacles in the 90’s.

What may be needed is a ‘third way‘. Those who may be familiar with the term’s connotations (especially on this site) will bristle at this. It, like most terms used for political purposes, has been corrupted to favor one side over another. Even in its preferred usage, it refers to a compromise between the Left and the Right - hence, Center. None of this will work. A ‘third way’ must shun both Left and Right, and start from scratch. It must have an appreciation for what has made our nation great. As such, its approach must be practical. Its creed must be to preserve and protect. It’s thrust must be problem-solving.

If and when such a force were to arise from the shambles of our current political landscape, all this will be embodied in a leader. We will not fail to recognize him (or her). Current leadership has strayed from doing what’s good for America, concentrating instead on what’s good for the party. The Obama - Bush - Clinton paradigm has spent itself. There are only two ways in which a third way can assert itself: One is for a leader to appear; the second is by outside events conspiring to forge a ‘third way’ from our existing reservoir of the myopic and the timid. At this point it looks like that the proverbial Zen slap-in-the-face is what's needed.

It is interesting to note that every one of our enemies possess that which we lack: identity. It is identity that fuels their passion. We must display an equal or even greater passion in order to defeat them. They are growing stronger. We must lead by example. We must learn the definition of ‘winning’ - not whining. I understand that’s a tall order for a people who still have to learn what the definition of ‘is’ is.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Even As Everything Else Lies In Ruins

The unspoken voice in every region (of the world) is the U.S.’s It is the dog that isn’t barking. Every one of our foreign policy thrusts in recent years has failed precisely because we have refused to back it up with sufficient resolve, especially in terms of military power. In an effort to appease the anti-war crowd, we have hamstrung ourselves, bending our worldview into utopian hookah smoke rings. We have come to rely solely on empty rhetoric, endless negotiations, and paying out IOU bribes and/or ransom.

It’s all come to a head under Obama who will not even defend America’s political parties, its people and borders. He asserts time and time again that war is never an option; that we can and should not interfere; that our interference is (and always has been) intrinsically evil; that he will now lead by example; that we will disarm unilaterally; get out of the Middle East; continue to whittle down Israel’s defenses; and leave Asia to sort out its own. The planet can ultimately only benefit if mass slaughter should ensue.

We have boldly retreated from the world of Maya. If there are battles to be fought, they are to be fought here at home. We must accommodate the lecherous demands of thieves and tyrants. We must abandon our principles. We must surrender.

Any opposition to our new, progressive policy of appeasement must be severely dealt with; backbones surgically paralyzed. We must shun nationalism - especially our own. Tyranny is relative and will play itself out when one of the combatants - under spell of epiphany - voluntarily leaves the ring.

The world has noted the change. Though it’s been long in coming, under Obama it’s now official. This is why now all the would-be tyrants are making their moves. They’re out looting the granary while the going is good.

I’m not saying there’s not a kind of textbook elegance to what Obama believes. However, it’s a fiction. It can never be real. While the people can absorb a good fight for God and country, they will never stand idly by and watch their identity be trampled. In this, the leaders of Russia, Japan, China and Iran are far more ’democratic’ than our highly ‘enlightened’ ivory tower policy wonks. They are playing to their people directly, while we leave ours dangling over the abyss - with nothing to believe in; nothing to fight for or hold dear.

The end game is at hand. Both, the king and queen are in mortal danger. Once the queen is sacrificed, checkmate is at hand. Game over never involves the actual taking of the king. Obama is betting that this last convention will hold. He means to remain, even as everything else lies in ruins.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Will They Have the Guts?

China and America are in the process of trading places. Both are set to experience massive dislocation by significant segments of their populations. There will be blood on both sides. Indications are that the carnage on the American side will be greater primarily because America seems to have lost its identity. China has not. A second factor may play an even greater role: Whereas America seems resigned to continue its march toward atonement and subsequent obligatory punishment for past sins, China in general appears confident that its future remains bright.

Listening to Larry Kudlow, and anyone else who keeps talking about the November midterms as being our nation’s salvation, is starting to get on my nerves. Let me say categorically and unambiguously that the midterm elections - no matter how they turn out - will have absolutely no effect in stopping Obama’s hard left re-distributionist agenda.

Any legislation that a Republican-dominated congress is likely to advance will be immediately struck down by Obama’s veto pen. This would apply to any rollback of existing legislation as well as any legislation that can yet be expected to pass in the ‘lame duck’ session. We’ll be stuck with that. In many ways, the barn door is already wide open and the horses are long gone. There are numerous confiscatory tax increases in our immediate future that will absolutely cripple our already anemic private sector. More will surely be added during ‘lame duck’. Expect ‘cap and trade’ to pass; expect VAT; increased health care costs can be expected to add to our already insupportable deficits. Individual states will begin to default.

Republicans can shout all they want but they will not be able to do anything to change even one iota of the spending, tax policy, and regulations that are already in place. Add to this the fact that the president retains the use of the executive order in all matters; he will continue to make interim appointments and possibly even float a Supreme Court choice. Even if successive SC appointment are not approved for the remainder of this president’s term, it’ll make for devastating headlines, and the Court itself would now consist of eight. Not sure to what extent 4-4 decisions count.

Best of all, when things go wrong, as they surely must, Obama can and will blame Republicans.

Let me put this as delicately as possible: There is only one way we can get back on sane footing. And that is to impeach the president. A Republican congress may actually have the power to do just that. But will they have the guts?

People like Kudlow (which includes most of our media - right, left or in-between) are still assuming that the midterms will send such a powerful message that the White House will have to change course. Think again. Obama does not listen to messages; he does not play at politics in the usual sense. Obama has a dictator’s mentality. It is filled with rage toward any opposition. He will not rest until he sees this country destroyed or bent to his will.

No, my friends, we cannot survive another two years of this. We would end up like the Thanksgiving turkey left in the oven to defrost when someone decides to run the (oven) cleaning cycle without first checking if anything’s been left inside.

Betrayal

When we are first born we are nothing (as well as everything). We are equipped with specific tools chief of which is a sense of identity. It’s noteworthy that the first thing that usually happens is that we are given a name. The child opens its eyes and sees. And all it sees (it thinks) is a part of itself. It is only by learning the names of the people and objects around it that the divide between it and the outside world is established.

From there the child begins to make certain assumptions. He learns to manipulate specific objects - his mother, for instance - to get what he wants. She presumably knows what she must do in order to attend to his needs. He needs to eat; his diapers need to be changed. His dependence on her continues not as demand, but as expectation. It would never occur to him to say, “Thank you.”

The child’s name circumscribes his identity. His first allegiance is to himself (which now includes his parents). He does not see them as separate from himself. Later, as his world view expands, he must determine his own proper place within it.

No matter how complicated it may get, no matter how many paradoxes arise - all due to and resting on false assumptions - the shadow of his first life experience remains: I am (singularly responsible, either through my action or inaction, for) all I see.

Religion derives from identity and the desire to secure for oneself a place within eternity. In this, one’s assumptions become critical. Clearly the lion’s share of one’s efforts go towards achieving and maintaining one’s target position. The time may come when previous alliances and dependencies are no longer useful. These are then jettisoned. Guilt may arise from such acts as abandonment or betrayal that may have become essential to the service of one’s perceived (greater) self. Meanwhile, the shadow of one’s very first assumptions invariably come back to haunt.

Only saints are spared this dilemma. At this juncture ordinary people are faced with a choice: either to recognize and accept their limitations; or to strive for ever greater control on one hand, or utter dependence on the other.

Hinduism recognized this dilemma from the start. It created the caste system within which everybody is assigned their place. The promise of a higher entry into the next life (provided that one adheres honorably to one’s duties) helps the lower casts to endure. Only wise men realize that it is only a matter of appearances; that suffering as well as joy is spread out evenly among all.

In the West every individual is held responsible for his own fate, which (whether one admits it or not) extends to the afterlife. As we are our own severest critics the question of salvation comes into play. Liberals tend to fall victim to ego from which stems the infantile presumption of utter co-dependence with the universe. Therefore, for just one to be saved, all must be saved. Conservatives tend to harbor more modest ambitions. They are content with saving only themselves and perhaps a few others. They also tend to be happier, successful and self-satisfied.

Point of note: Identity drives all. This is why only a man of outside lineage can agree to commit an act of betrayal.