Category: Do the Right Thing

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Mister, why are YOU here?

That’s a question (almost) no politician will ask himself or if asked by anyone else will answer honestly.

But others can not be allowed such a luxury. From Robert A. Heinlein’s 1973 James Forrestal Memorial Lecture delivered at the United States Naval Academy:

Why are you here?

[directed] Mister, why are YOU here?

Never mind, son; that’s a rhetorical question. You are here to become a naval officer. That’s why this Academy was founded. That is why all of you are here: to become naval officers. If that is NOT why YOU are here, you’ve made a bad mistake. But I speak to the overwhelming majority who understood the oath they took on becoming midshipmen and look forward to the day when they will renew that oath as commissioned officers.

But why would anyone want to become a naval officer?

In the present dismal state of our culture there is little prestige attached to serving your country; recent public opinion polls place military service far down the list.

It can’t be the pay. No one gets rich on the pay. Even a 4-star admiral is paid much less than top executives in other lines. As for lower ranks the typical naval officer finds himself throughout his career just catching up from the unexpected expenses connected with the last change of duty when another change of duty causes a new financial crisis. Then, when he is about fifty, he is passed over and retires. . .but he can’t really retire because he has two kids in college and one still to go. So he has to find a job. . .and discovers that jobs for men his age are scarce and usually don’t pay well.

Working conditions? You’ll spend half your life away from your family. Your working hours? “Six days shalt thou work and do all thou art able; the seventh day the same, and pound the cable.” A forty-hour week is standard for civilians — but not for naval officers. You’ll work that forty-hour week but that’s just a starter. You’ll stand a night watch as well, and duty weekends. Then with every increase in grade your hours get longer — until at last you get a ship of your own and no longer stand watches. Instead you are on duty twenty-four hours a day. . .and you’ll sign your night order book with: “In case of doubt, do not hesitate to call me.”

Politicians *spit*–those self-styled elites–view such a service orientation as anathema… of course. But there is a much deeper course of service that transcends even duty, and it is a course that citizens need to at least be aware of, even if they never feel able to embrace it. It’s found elsewhere, but this, from Heinlein’s speech, is a poignant and powerful example:

… no one can force a man to feel this way. Instead he must embrace it freely. I want to tell about one such man …. no one knows his name, or where he came from; all we know is what he did.

In my home town sixty years ago when I was a child, my mother and father used to take me and my brothers and sisters out to Swope Park on Sunday afternoons. It was a wonderful place for kids, with picnic grounds and lakes and a zoo. But a railroad line cut straight through it.

One Sunday afternoon a young married couple were crossing those tracks. She apparently did not watch her step, for she managed to catch her foot in the frog of a switch to a siding and could not pull it free. Her husband stopped to help her.

But try as they might they could not get her foot loose. While they were working at it, a tramp showed up, walking the ties. He joined the husband in trying to pull the young woman’s foot loose. No luck —

Out of sight around the curve a train whistled. Perhaps there would have been time to run and flag it down, perhaps not. In any case both men went right ahead trying to pull her free, and the train hit them.

The wife was killed, the husband was mortally injured and died later, the tramp was killed — and testimony showed that neither man made the slightest effort to save himself.

The husband’s behavior was heroic, but what we expect of a husband toward his wife: his right, and his proud privilege, to die for his woman. But what of this nameless stranger? Up to the very last second he could have jumped clear. He did not. He was still trying to save this woman he had never seen before in his life, right up to the very instant the train killed him. And that’s all we’ll ever know about him.

This is how a man dies.

This is how a man lives!

Robert A. Heinlein, 5 April 1973
James Forrestal Memorial Lecture
United States Naval Academy

Do go read the entire speech.

(BTW, anyone who knows of a better posting of the speech–the one I found was on a discussion group, split between two postings–please send it my way.)

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, guerrilla radio, McCain Blogs, Adam’s Blog, Miss Beth’s Victory Dance, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Dumb Ox Daily News, Tilting At Windmill Farms, Pursuing Holiness, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Losing Civilization

In all the meaningless babble from Obama and tear-jerking from those jerks, the Klintoons, one thing stands out: facts, reason and indeed rationality itself have no place in the methods of leftist statists. (For that matter, they have almost as small a place in the methods of right wing statists, but that’s another problem that, though similar, needs to be addressed separately.)

All this emotional manipulation recalls to mind a brief passage from Wolf Time by Lars Walker

Get them to make small compromises, one at a time. Never use reason. Use feelings, for feelings are the only truth of the soul. There are just two kinds of people, you know — idea people and feeling people. It’s the idea people who’ve gotten the world into the mess it’s in. So if they try to pin you down with logic, don’t be ashamed to resort to the weapons of the heart. Like tears. Most people… would rather surrender any principle than cause a scene.

That’s the “logic” that dominates those who want to rule by blinding the electorate… or by simply using the already existing willful blindness of the sheeple who predominate in the electorate. *sigh*

It doesn’t help to point out that the emperor has no clothes on if all the emperor has to do to “win” the encounter is to call down the wrath of the people for making so hurtful an accusation (with appropriate tears and whinings about being victimized by so rude an observation).

Or better yet, have others point out how rude it is to note the emperor’s nudity, as in the case of Barry Hussein Obama-Winfrey supporters claiming racism whenever anyone asks probing questions of fact of Barry Hussein Obama-Winfrey or “shock!* happens to mention his middle name. (Why? Isn’t it his name? Oh, that’s right. Reality doesn’t matter, just reality-based fantasy.)

The end result of abandoning reason to emotional blackmail is barbarism… or worse. At least barbarians have to learn to deal with cold harsh realities.

I suppose now I should address the same kinds of behavior in Repugnican’t politicians *spit*, but my mind’s feeling dirty right now just thinking about the obscenity of the Left.

Another brief passage from Wolf Time before twc fades to black for today…

Some time back the courts, understanding the nature of the times we live in, accepted the establishment of a new class of law — the Hate Crime. This was their first official recognition that there are some ideas that simply cannot be tolerated in a free society; that it is our right and duty to root out certain kinds of thought.

Ah, yes. When thoughts become criminal, only criminals will think…

*sigh*

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Throwing Your Vote Away?

This brief article, at Credenda Agenda, transcribed from the print-only issue of 1996, says some powerful things to the 2008 election while speaking of the Dole-Clinton contest back in the day. For example,

Just so you know, not “throwing your vote away” is accomplished by voting for someone who solemnly covenants with us to destroy the nation slowly, rather than wickedly doing it right now.

I’ve been thinking about this observation while contemplating the possible matchups:

Juan Mexicain v. The Hildebeast

Juan Mexicain v. Barry Hussein Obama-Winfrey

…and it seem to me that there’s no possible way to avoid “throwing away my vote” in any possible matchup for the presidency.

My only route through this thicket seems to be to concentrate on lower, state and local and even Congressional, races and let the presidency just go to hell in a handbasket.

Unless… unless None of the Above were on the ballot.

Trackposted to Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Nuke Gingrich, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Tommy

Rudyard Kipling’s “Tommy” seems a timely comment on the Marines/Berkeley brouhaha, especially given the Code Pink pleas for help from Marines when they felt threatened by a passing motorist…

“While we were at the protest in Berkeley from 12 to 4 PM a white volvo drove by and a man spat upon code pink. They chased him down the street and got into a verbal altercation. The police were NO WHERE in sight. That’s not the best part, ready for this? Medea Benjamin yelled and I quote “Marines!” she actually yelled for our help because this man had stepped out of his car. Lol. I even asked her if she was yelling Police and she told me “I said Marines” then put her arm around my friend Allen (the Marine vet) Ironic?

An old story. Kipling’s commentary on the same sort of behavior is telling: unappreciative civilians disrespecting those who serve in the military are nothing new. The tag line is remarkably reminiscent of a Roman Centurion a couple of millennia back… (see “More”)

Tommy

I went into a public-‘ouse to get a pint o’beer,
The publican ‘e up an’ sez, “We serve no red-coats here.”
The girls be’ind the bar they laughed an’ giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an’ to myself sez I:

O it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, go away”;
But it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins,” when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it’s “Thank you, Mr. Atkins,” when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but ‘adn’t none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-‘alls,
But when it comes to fightin’, Lord! they’ll shove me in the stalls!

For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, wait outside”;
But it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide,
The troopship’s on the tide, my boys, the troopship’s on the tide,
O it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide.

Yes, makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap;
An’ hustlin’ drunken soldiers when they’re goin’ large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit.

Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy how’s yer soul?”
But it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll.

We aren’t no thin red ‘eroes, nor we aren’t no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An’ if sometimes our conduck isn’t all your fancy paints:
Why, single men in barricks don’t grow into plaster saints;

While it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, fall be’ind,”
But it’s “Please to walk in front, sir,” when there’s trouble in the wind,
There’s trouble in the wind, my boys, there’s trouble in the wind,
O it’s “Please to walk in front, sir,” when there’s trouble in the wind.

You talk o’ better food for us, an’ schools, an’ fires an’ all:
We’ll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don’t mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow’s Uniform is not the soldier-man’s disgrace.

For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country,” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
But Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool – you bet that Tommy sees!

Continue reading “Tommy”

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Another “Dog Bites Man” Yawner

You’d think we’d learn our lesson: there is nothing newsworthy in a Dhimmicrappic candidate consorting with terrorists, enemies of the people, criminals, whatnot. No, such behavior is only “newsworthy” if it is committed by a Repugnican’t candidate.

So it is No News At All that the Mass Media Podpeople Hivemind is almost completely ignoring the fact that close associates of B. Hussein Obama-Winfrey are still quite proud of their bomb-setting days in the Weather Underground.

I’m shocked. Shocked, I say. It should not be so! Why isn’t this news being trumpeted abroad by the Communist Mass Media Podpeople Hivemind? These terrorists were (are) heros to the Podpeople from the Mothership orbiting Uranus… You’d think they’d want to bring forth that such heroes of the people *cough* are close associates of B. Hussein Obama-Winfrey!

Nope. Not news. It’s such a natural order of events that it’s one big yawner to the Mass Media Podpeople’s Hivemind.

(Oh, for those of y’all who think that it ought to be reported as news news–you know, of importance for the electorate in general to know that B. Hussein Obama-Winfrey is close associates with terrorists–you just need to get a life. That’s not the twisted way the Mass Media Podpeople Hivemind works… It’s muuuuuch more twisted than even this twisted presentation of it. “News? What news?” )

h.t., Obama’s Terrorist Friends, STACLU.

Trackposted to A Blog For All, WayWard Fundamentalist Christian, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Right Truth, The Pink Flamingo, Oblogatory Anecdotes, Cao’s Blog, Pursuing Holiness, and Chuck’s Place, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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“Snow” Day Again

Late start today. Not that the whole county shut down, but since my Wonder Woman had a “snow” day, I’ve kept things close in and we’ve worked on a little advance Spring Cleaning. I’ve been in storage areas of my office that haven’t seen the light of day for years. Two whole drawersfull of stuff I simply dumped in a box for later sorting (and yes, I will do that!) and labeled, “Junk from 2 drawers”–*heh*

Once whole LARGE file cabinet drawerfull of ancient floppies. Need to sort through them all, archive (and enter into database that’s stored in the same place!) all the data I should/want to keep and burn to multiple CDRs or a couple of (duplicate) DVDs for archiving, then format or toss (or even archive, sorted and labeled) the floppies in a more easily accessible fashion.

To give you an idea: I have 3.5″ and 5.25″ floppies going back through all the DOSes to about DOS 3, back further to TRSDOS floppies–and even some Mac software/archives.

That stuff really needed sorting out!

(My paper files were mostly sorted some weeks ago.)

Then, there’s the “surface” storage… shelves and such like. Most of the old music, language, history, etc., books have already been boxed (and labeled and etc.), but there’re still five very, very full shelves of books n such that need sorting out.

Then, of course, I need to clean and sort out the bookshelves in the living room for refiling with previously boxed books…

This Spring cleaning thing is pretty heavy stuff (book boxes, get it? :-))!

Oh, well, at least I had some “deck beer” to lighten the load. (“Deck beer”–over-sugared some beer for bottle conditioning. Temnps outside have been mostly below freezing for a while… so, placed a bunch of bottles of this beer outside for conditioning after only 3 days. It’s all turned out very, very good. Whatta save!)

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Hobson’s Choice

“A Hobson’s choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered, and one may refuse to take that option. The choice is therefore between taking the option or not taking it. The phrase is said to originate from Thomas Hobson (1544–1630), a livery stable owner at Cambridge, England who, in order to rotate the use of his horses, offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door—or taking none at all. It is analagous to the expression ‘my way or the highway’.”1

Well, the presidential field is narrowed even further, it seems. Now, we have a choice between candidates who want to drive the country off a cliff to its doom at 120mph and candidates who want to drive the country off a cliff at a sedate 75mph…

Not really much of a choice.

Makes the case for striving to see congresscritters, state and local pols elected who give a damn about more than just their own personal power and their “Surrender, America!” ideologies. (And if you think for one minute Juan McCain’s “surrender America’s sovereignty at the borders” position isn’t fundamentally the same as the other candidates’ “Surrender America” positions then you are sadly deluded.)

Look closely at candidates for Congress, for state and local offices. Vote “Hell no!” against those whose positions fail to defend the U.S., your State or locality against the evils of alien invasion and… invasive government. Vote for people with the [intestinal fortitude] to tell “Surrender America!” judges, executives and bureaucrats to take a quick ride on the express train to hell.

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“Mugger” Pledges: Will Give Money Back

…just not all of it and not exactly to the people it was taken from.

Yep, the Congress is promising an approximately $150B bill to return a portion of what it has ripped from productive citizens’ pockets, just not necessarily to those it took the money from (the aforesaid productive citizens), of course.

So, if the train stays on the track, expect perhaps as much as $600 per person in “beer money” to be distributed in a purely socialist fashion sometime this summer.

*pfui*

Big stinking deal. We’d be better off were that amount of “mugged” funds spent in a WPA-like investment in energy infrastructure: nuclear plants (MIT has placed the plans for a modular pebble bed reactor in the public domain–set up an assembly line and tell the Saudis and Chavezes of the world to go suck a sour lemon); new, more efficient, oil refineries; biomass to oil or methanol plants, etc.; conversion of railroads to electicity (with enough PBRs, that’d be a real step toward energy independence).

All that could be funded out of congresscritters favorite pork, without raising a dime of taxes. HEck, use ONLY pork and we could probably start paying down the national debt, too…

With the $100+/barrel oil now being held over our heads dealt with, other steps to really help the economy in substantive ways”

1. Abolish the IRS/16th Amendment in favor of the FairTax
2. Institute a 10% across-the-board import duty on ALL imports, no exceptions.

Those two things alone would make American products much, much more competitive in the international markets and start rebuilding America’s manufacturing capabilities, providing even more jobs, over and above the “jobs” (government funded jobs are parasitic on the economy–OK, a few offer some symbiotic benefits) that building new energy infrastructure would provide.

And it’s jobs, not government handbacks (or handouts, for those who didn’t pay in) that would be the real economic stimulus we need.

Of course, expecting something sensible from Congress is like expecting fairy dust to make pigs fly. First, you have to find the fairy dust (No, you can’t get any from homosexual activists. They don’t even pollinate). Then you have to catch the pig. Then you have to get clearance from the FAA to conduct fairy dust-flying pig experiments, an environmental impact assessment from the EPA, an OSHA evaluation of risks to the flight crew, etc., and an ASPCA/PETA signoff on the plan…

Come to think of it, that sounds a lot easier and more likely to happen than Congress growing some brains and then finding the balls to actually do the right thing.

BTW, I blame Rosemary for getting my crank turning on this topic. 🙂 She talked about the Fed cut, its possible effect on the housing market, and pressure on congresscritters to bail out irresponsible home “buyers” (who really, for the most part, just went into more debt than they could afford to “buy” a house they hadn’t earned and couldn’t afford to maintain).

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Shadowscope, Leaning Straight Up, Big Dog’s Weblog, Cao’s Blog, A Newt One- The Truth Surge, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Wolf Pangloss, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, CORSARI D’ITALIA, and Dumb Ox Daily News, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Bright Line Test

There is one clear bright line that even idiots could use–if they could think to do so or suppress their basic sloth–to clearly choose candidates in races for all elective offices who would serve not only present interests but the interests of generations yet to come, and it’s found in a post I wrote a year ago…

Folks, the only difference of opinion that bears on elections of late is this: do you or do you not favor scrapping America in order to make it over into a fledgling third world country, as France, et al are attempting to do in Europe? Each and every one of the potential candidates [running for office as Dhims, and most who are running as Repubs *sigh*] are in favor of policies that would Frenchify America even further. It is still possible that the Republican’ts may come up with a candidate who is willing to at least drag his feet in approaching the ultimate goal of pulling America down to the level of Mexico or Saudi Arabia or Iran or even *shudder* France.

Remember: modern liberalism’s ultimate goal is to destroy the America the Founders left us (debate on this topic welcome, but be forewarned: I come armed with facts and I’m willing to use them. :-)). Modern “conservatism” (so-called) is simply modern liberalism lite, along the vein that R.L. Dabney observed of 19th century conservatism:

“Conservatism’s history has been that it demurs to each aggression of the progressive party, and aims to save its credit by a respectable amount of growling, but always acquiesces at last in the innovation. What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution, to be denounced and then adopted in its turn. American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward to perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt hath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard to explain. It is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It tends to risk nothing serious for the sake of truth.”

You need know nothing of Dabney’s considerable credentials (or his occasional lapses into Southern apologetics–ed.) to observe the authority of his statement; it is self-evident in “compassionate conservatism” that cedes America’s borders to foreign state-sponsored invasion, etc. (Yeh, how about the Mexican government issuing GPS devices to aid illegal border crossings?)

Consider the wisdom of James L. Burnham once again:

“Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for Western civilization as it commits suicide.”

Repeat that mantra every time you hear a NON-LIBERAL modern lefty spout modern liberalism’s talking points:

“Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for Western civilization as it commits suicide.”

Repeat that mantra every time you hear a modern (FAKE) “conservative” say something assinine like, we need illegal aliens to “do the jobs Americans won’t do” (thank you very much for the lying meme, President Bush).

“Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for Western civilization as it commits suicide.”

Again: the bright line,

Do you or do you not favor scrapping America in order to make it over into a fledgling third world country, as France, et al are attempting to do in Europe?

Strangely, there’s slightly more hope for France, since I wrote those words a year ago. But less hope for the U.S., as the unholy alliance of governors effecting virtual sanctuary states (*cough* Mike Huckabee *cough*) for alien invaders (and cities doing the same for localities), Mass Media Podpeople, congresscritters *spit* and other politicians waving the “Run away! Run away!” flag, and all other kinds of surrenderist anti-westerners duke it out with a remnant of States and localities (and individuals) seeking to preserve what little remains of the Republic the Founders left us–even attempt to restore some little bits of it.

What will be the end of the conflict? I dunno. But more and more, unless folks seriously ask the bright line question over and over concerning every candidate for every elective position, our children and grandchildren can look forward to no longer being a part of a great nation.

Do you or do you not favor scrapping America in order to make it over into a fledgling third world country, as France, et al are attempting to do in Europe?

And if you don’t, what the HECK are you doing about it?

Trackposted to Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Mark My Words, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Big Dog’s Weblog, Nuke Gingrich, Right Truth, and DragonLady’s World, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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A Reminder About the Law of Unintended Consequences

Something We the People ought to remember and (figuratively, unfortunately) tatoo on politicians’ *spit* foreheads (backwards, so those who can read are reminded when they are adoring their reflections in a mirror):

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agleigh.”

So, while our political masters are tilting at (politically-manufactured) windmills in their attempts to “solve” problems (more likely, create more problems to “solve”), we need to remember just why Murphy so loves politicians: they are a staple in his arsenal of making things go wrong.

Just a friendly reminder. Oh, and don’t forget: it’s the stupid, illiterate, greedy, lazy electorate that has given us our political masters. Pogo was oh so very right in more ways than he knew:

“We have met the enemy and he is us.”