The Emperor's Clothes

In that beloved tale, it took a child to see through the BS and tell the truth.

Well, it has been about 3/4 of a century since I was a child, but here goes:

Our esteemed president is not the smartest guy in the room. He is a dumb SOB. Am I insulting his mother? Well, she posed for nude photos of her bod. Not for a big Playboy paycheck (judging from the quality of the photography), apparently just for fun with an amateur photographer.

Obama has a single accomplishment: he has become pretty good at reading a speech. Not in a class with Ronald Reagan, by any stretch, but pretty good. His handlers, whoever they really are, know how to write for his reading, and they write endlessly. Even if this emperor has to address a classroom of children, his every word is prepared.

Take away his beloved teleprompter and he stammers like the idiot he is.

But, you say, he was president of The Harvard Law Review! No kidding! Now he is president of our United States (of which he has visited 57 with two more to go).

The only thing he ever wrote during his distinguished academic career (that isn't secret), was something about gorillas stomping grapes. Deep thinker.

As a youngster, Obama was mentored by Frank Marshall Davis, a Chicago Communist, who fully loaded his young mind with a belief that his mother's race - all white people - are evil. He has not strayed from that belief, but added to it all successful, accomplished people. He never knew Barack Obama, Sr., but bought his beliefs that all British are also evil.

A guy who pronounces 'corpsman' as 'corpseman' couldn't possibly identify a World War Two genre M1 Carbine, yet he has banned the re-importation of these relics from nations to which they were 'loaned' in the 1940s. (I once carried one when I delivered restricted military messages around the Philippines. Would love to have one now to show my grandkids.) Just who is pulling Obama's strings?

Obama repeatedly asserts things which prove to be complete falsehoods. Political opponents call him out. TV comedians tell jokes about him. But it does not stop his utterances.

American Foreign Policy is a mess. Iraq and Afghanistan are lost. All of North Africa is lost. The Middle East is in shambles. The few Arab allies we have enjoyed are turning against us. Our allies in the West are confused and suspicious. Iran is about to test an atomic weapon, vowing to destroy Israel, while we sit at a negotiating table with the Mullahs.

At home, each time a new scandal is uncovered, Obama asserts he did not know until it was reported by news media. How could Edward Snowden, a young contractor employee, know all these secrets while The Preisdent of The United States did not?

I worry that America may not survive until January, 2017, when Obama will retire with his ill-gotten millions to earn millions more speaking to still adoring idiots who support him.

What should be done? Beats me. I'm just a country boy who's grown old, deeply loving America every day of my life. Maybe "the media" could get rid of him. They forced Nixon to resign. But they didn't like Nixon and they adore Obama.

How phony is our Federal Government?

Here is an illustration.

Deep in the Gila National Forest of western New Mexico, is a place where some ancient people, perhaps the Mogollons, found some caves high up the side of a mountain, laboriously carried stones up the slope, and improved the caves to create inhabitable living spaces.

Stone is (almost) everlasting, so the efforts of these ancient people have remained, largely intact. This is such an interesting place that it has been designated a National Monument, known as the Gila Cliff Dwellings, to ensure its preservation. The National Park Service built a nice visitor's center, and employs a single person to oversee the operation.

Then, interested, civic-minded persons educated themselves in the history of the place and  regularly volunteer to act as guides. They help visitors understand the dwellings, and further protect the site from vandalism - or simply from over-enthusiastic visitors who want to take home a rock as a souvenir.

With the government shut down, the Monument is closed. The single paid employee is still on the job, still paid their salary, to keep the gate shut, the Visitor's Center shuttered, and advise visitors that they cannot enter the area. The unpaid volunteers are also forbidden to enter the Monument.

October is, perhaps, the most beautiful month in New Mexico. It is a wonderful time to explore our "Land of Enchantment". But, you can forget seeing the Gila Cliff Dwellings. They are 'shut down'.

The paid employee is still paid. The volunteers cannot volunteer. The visitors cannot visit. All because the Administration wants the public to 'feel the pain' of an affront to their policy.

Affordable Care Act

Each time I read that title for that piece of legislation, I shake my 84-year-old head.

Are we really that stupid? Do we really believe the government can provide health care, affordable or otherwise?

Health care is provided by a professional health care provider. Not by politicians, insurance companies, or anyone else.

What good is it to have some third party willing to pay the bill if there is no one to provide the care and present the invoice?

Some 45 years ago, I was heavily involved in private flying. At the time, avionics (electronic communications and navigation equipment), at least those brands with a proven record of reliability, were quite expensive. Then, some manufacturer introduced a lower-priced version of one item. A close friend, a seasoned charter pilot and flight instructor, would have nothing to do with the lower priced equipment. But, I argued, it comes with a guarantee! "Supposing", he replied, "I am flying somewhere in the middle of the night and the thing fails? What should I do... pull out that guarantee, wave it at the failed equipment, and demand that it respond?"

If the ACA is fully implemented and I become ill, can I wave my insurance policy in the air and produce a medical professional to provide care?

Our government wishes to provide medical care to millions more people, while enforcing policies destined to reduce the number of care providers.

Again, I ask... "Are we really that stupid?"

In our music, our entertainment,

you find a snapshot of current social norms. Change those norms, and our music, our entertainment follows.

If you are old enough, you may remember a song titled "My Reverie", wherein a portion of the lyric read:

"...I dim all the lights and I sink in my chair - The smoke from my cigarette climbs through the air..."

Or, a song called Dream:

"Just watch the smoke rings rise in the air, you'll find your share of memories there..."

How about Two Sleepy People:

" ...here we are, out of cigarettes, holding hands and yawning, my how late it gets"

Those songs are gone because they made smoking sound too delightful (which it was until we learned the ravages of lung cancer).

From my childhood, I remember a song which said "Every old crow thinks her baby's white as snow..." 
On the farm, we considered crows a thieving bird. Someone once estimated how much corn a crow would eat in one year's time. We angered, loaded the shotgun and went crow hunting. But that song told us that a mother crow saw her fledgling as, not a thief, but pure as the driven snow. Motherly love.

But, folks came to believe it meant that "white" is better than "black" (the color of crow feathers). The song was racist, had to go.

Do you remember Amos and Andy?  It was a radio sitcom with a white cast acting in a stereotypical way as blacks. I saw the comedy as funny, clean, not degrading. But it was a white cast, acting black. Today, black performers act in a much more stereotypical, often derogatory, often vulgar way. But, it is a cast of blacks poking fun of blacks, which makes it okay.

There was a time when there was not so much hate, a time when most were too busy earning a living to worry about having their feelings hurt... a time when we all recognized our own silly habits and we laughed at ourselves as much as we laughed at each other.

There was a time when our popular music, our popular entertainment reflected those feelings.

Little boys

are interesting creatures. They bring about:

In Dads: amusement and angst. Amusement as we recall our own childhood antics. Angst as we remember that some of those antics brought us dangerously close to disaster.

In Moms: Love and pride. But Moms don't always know about the secret lives of their little boys.

In Sisters: Disgust. Utter disgust.

In other Little Boys: Respect and admiration for their honesty, truthfulness, predictability.

Little boys earn all those assessments. Adventurous and imaginative, they do some really dangerous things. I remember, during my own childhood, some boys who watched a freight train rumbling across a trestle wondered how it would feel to hang onto the underside of that trestle as a train thundered overhead. So, they tried it. They (regretfully, I was not among them!) crawled onto the underside of the trestle and held on for dear life as the train roared over their heads. Fortunately, they suffered no physical harm.

Early on, little boys learn that some of their most enjoyable pursuits are universally frowned upon by adults. It never occurs to a boy to give up something he truly enjoys, so he learns to do it in secret. In secret from adults, that is. Never in secret from each other. As a kid, I remember rolling cigarettes with dried corn silk and smoking them. When they burned too fast, we learned that dried, dead pieces of grapevine are hollow - you can draw air through them. So we cut pieces, three or four inches in length, lit the end of them on fire, then smoked them like a cigarette. We could always trust our friends to keep the secret.

Little boys are open about subjects adults never discuss. I knew one little boy who always checked his stool and classified his excrement as 'floaters', 'sinkers' or 'greasers'. I knew of two little boys who, in turn, dropped their pants and bent over. The other held a lit cigarette lighter near his friend's anus while he farted... just to see if the expelled gas would burn (I never knew their findings). Little boys like to stand on a creek bank and see who can pee the greatest distance. And, of course, little boys are obsessed with the subject of sex - a subject about which they have almost zero knowledge. As they grow a little older, boys sometime boast of sexual conquests with girls, all of which are imaginary. It is this thinking that disgusts girls.

While girls grow to avoid hurting each other's feelings, boys grow into men who delight in insulting each other. If girls/women meet an old friend on the street, each will compliment the other on their makeup, hair style, attire - all the while believing their friend has made stupid choices in each of those areas.

Two boys/men meet and the first says, 'Where'd you get that gut, Hoss... did you swallow a watermelon or are you pregnant?' To which his friend replies, 'Hey, don't criticize my gut...it took many cases of beer to get this gut. And, by the way, you'd better get some suspenders or your pants are gonna fall off your skinny ass!' Whereupon, the old friends put their arms on each others shoulders and head for the nearest park bench to reminisce and enjoy each others company.

It is this kind of honesty that makes little boys appealing. Hopefully, if not persuaded by feminists to become metrosexual, little boys grow into men who finesse their language while retaining their boyhood honesty.

Finally, watch any sporting event and you may conclude that there is still a measure of "little boy" in many grown men.

Imagination

I remember an old song with that title, by songwriters Van Heusen and Burke.. In part, the lyric stated:

"Imagination is funny, it makes a cloudy day sunny
It makes a bee think of honey, just as I think of you"

At my first broadcasting job, my boss was the father of a boy of about seven or eight years. That boy loved to talk, and if you engaged him in a conversation he would launch into an amazing tale of imaginary monsters and battles and victories, in the greatest and most colorful detail. His Dad was concerned about the boy's tall tales, but I thought he had an interesting mind.

Like him, I love to engage in imagination. Sometimes I awake in the middle of the night. I don't want to get out of bed, knowing I should, and would (sooner or later) go back to sleep. So, I imagine things. Deep things, like the origin of man. Understand, I am not so arrogant as to think I know anything about the subject. Was it Creation? Was it evolution? Was it a combination of the two. Don't know. Don't really care. We only know, to some degree, what is now. Let's imagine how it happened.

Genesis 2:27 says God created man and woman in his own image. Let's imagine it happening. He created man with muscular arms and legs, a hairy chest and face. Satisfied with this 'self portrait', he gave man life, reason, courage, integrity, all the things we hope to discover in a 'real' man.

Then, God decided to make a companion for man. But, He thought, let's make this one beautiful. I'll give her more delicate arms and hands, a nicely curved body, long shapely legs. I'll give her a gentle touch and a loving kiss, a companion man can cherish, will protect and provide for all the days of her life. 

When satisfied with this ultimate work of art, He gave woman life, intelligence, grace. He made her enjoy makeup to enhance her natural beauty. He made her to love perfume so man would sense her presence even before she came into view.

Pleased with this creation, He said, I will create no more. I will endow woman the exclusive ability to create more humans in my image. Man may participate only to contribute his genes, but it is woman who will carry and deliver each child. I will give her the exclusive ability to produce milk to nourish her newborn. I will give her compassion and tenderness to nurture her child.

Sometimes my imagination goes on, wondering how He will judge men who may mistreat his special gift. How He will judge women who mishandle the gift of beauty through gluttony, slovenliness, or whatever.

Depends on how quickly I go back to sleep.

More on Smart Politics

If you question the depth of the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, it may be because you have not really studied their actions. I do not claim to be a scholar, but time and again I am impressed with the way matters were handled.

When I first read the Declaration of Independence, I wondered about the term "... pursuit of happiness." Would not life and liberty guarantee the pursuit of happiness?

It seems the real issue was the protection of property. In old, English Common Law, it was recognized that man was never truly free unless he was guaranteed ownership of the fruits of his labor. The Founders wanted this to be a part of American's rights.

But, remember, slavery was very much a fact of life in the late 18th century. The Founders wanted to abolish slavery, but they knew it would have to be done in an effective, and, sadly, a patient way. It was pointed out that slaves were considered 'property' and any language protecting 'property' would be used by slaveholders to argue for slavery as a right.

So, the language was changed to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Who could argue against that? Then, in the Bill of Rights, in Amendment V, the Founders wrote "... nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation." They had protected private property in a quiet, almost after thought way, in the Bill of Rights.

Many state Constitutions do directly address private property. Section IV, the Inherent Rights section of the New Mexico Constitution reads: "All persons are born equally free, and have certain natural, inherent and inalienable rights, among which are the rights of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and of seeking and obtaining safety and happiness."

I'm sure there are more examples of the Founders practicing 'smart politics', and if I find them, I'll pass them along!

Congress

I've read sme harsh criticism of the way Congress is considering the Syria question. Some say they will dither endlessly, never coming to a conclusiion.

I disagree. I am rather proud of Congress' response. Rather than jump into a politically partisan vote, members seem to be using due diligence to hear all the learned opinions before voting?

That's the idea behind a republic. We elect representatives. We provide them the time and resources to research each question. We trust them with their decision - even if it opposes our own.

Good for them!

Should Employers Pay Higher Wages?

The other night I listened to a hilarious TV debate during which a young, liberal lawyer argued that businesses should pay their employees higher wages. Just to be nice, apparently.

This person has satisfactorily completed elementary education, high school, college and law school, yet still has a total lack of understanding about how business works.

The liberal mind cannot grasp the idea of an individual and an employer agreeing to trade:
   from the employer, a certain number of dollars and other benefits;
   from the individual: a certain number of hours working at some tasks.

Is that really so complicated? To the liberal mind? Yes! If the agreed-upon wages and benefits do not provide the employee with the liberals' notion of "a living", the employer is evil!

With rare exception, if an employee decides to "throw in" some extra effort, the employer will "throw in" some extra dollars, in the form of a raise. I have experienced that phenomena several times. Once I worked for a radio station as an engineer. My employer was in the process of building a second radio station in another community. On numerous evenings and weekends I voluntarily drove to that other community to help with the construction. I did it for the joy of practicing my trade... the satisfaction of seeing something built with care and precision. When my employer found out what I was doing, he immediately increased my salary.

In later years, as an employer myself, I experienced the rarity, and the special value of an employee who truly believes in honest work for honest pay. I learned to bend heaven and earth to more generously compensate such an employee. Often, unfortunately, to my own detriment and to the detriment of that valued employee, and other, less-valued, employees.

Business is about arithmetic. If things don't add up to equal enough profit to keep the company going, the business will fail and everyone will lose. That is a concept which the liberal mind, despite years of formal education, cannot grasp.

Well, well, well...

An interesting thing happened recently in my adopted home county (Doña Ana County, NM). The County Clerk decided to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. A local minister from some off-beat religion agreed to perform marriage ceremonies. As you may expect, same-sex couples from throughout the region flocked here to be married.

But, the boom may be ending... the County Clerk of Bernalillo County (Albuquerque) has agreed to do the same. Albuquerque has an airport served by many carriers and is much more accessible.

(UPDATE: Eight New Mexico counties are now issuing same-sex marriage licenses.) 

NM Governor Susanna Martinez is not pleased. She thinks we cannot have a situation where the legality of marriage varies county by county. She wants a vote of the people to settle the question on a statewide basis.

While I oppose same-sex marriage, Technically I agree with both the Governor and the County Clerks.

Recently, August 18, we observed the 93rd anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protected the right to vote, irrespective of gender: Woman's Suffrage.

The 19th Amendment was good - enumerating that right, but was not really necessary. The 9th Amendment assured that enumerated rights did not deny or disparage other rights. The 10th Amendment went a step further; it says that unless something is specifically prohibited by the Constitution, that right is retained to the states or to the people. Nothing in the U.S. Constitution specifically prohibited women from voting, so they always (at least since March 4, 1789) had that right.

The New Mexico Constitution has similar provisions. Article II, Sec. 18 says: "Equality of rights under law shall not be denied on account of the sex of any person."

Article II, Sec. 23, "Reserved Rights", has language identical to the 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Thus, it does not specifically deny the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Then, there is that other matter; custom. or, the good of the many. Our second president, John Adams, commented, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Why did he say that? Because the very nature of immorality is to deny moral accountability to anyone but one's self! Immorality says, “I will do what I please”; morality says, “I will restrain my behavior for the good of myself and the good of the many.”

Recently, NY Senator Charles Schumer made the absurd statement that 'none of the Constitutional Amendments are absolute. You may not falsely yell "Fire" in a crowded theater'. As per John Adams' premise, surely no moral person believes the 1st Amendment was written to protect the right to falsely yell "Fire" in a crowded theater!

Marriage, between one man and one woman has been the custom throughout recorded history. As  British Historian, Paul Johnson said, “The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false.”

History also tells us that homosexuality has existed for eons. Is not the current trend of same-sex marriage one of the 'glib assumptions' Johnson referenced?

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple, Stupid!

That was one of our rules in radio broadcasting. Our language is full of thousands of wonderful words, which more perfectly describe daily events and common objects. Many of those words are unfamiliar to a large swath of the population. Our job was to communicate, not confuse. We worked hard to keep our speech immediately clear to all of our audience.

If you are writing for print, I believe in using the more descriptive words in our language. Reading the printed page, you can take a moment to check the definition of a word, then continue reading. My Dad had only a fourth grade education, but he loved to learn. He bought one of those Oxford unabridged dictionaries (about ten inches thick) and built a special stand for it. He kept that massive dictionary next to his chair, and he read all sorts of things. He constantly referenced his big dictionary for definitions.

Yet, we know that few people will be so diligent in their quest to comprehend. So, important writings, such as law, should be written in the language of the average man. The Founding Fathers understood, and wrote the blueprint for our entire government in a brief document we call The Constitution. Recently, sitting in a waiting room in a doctor's office. I re-read the entire document. Amendments and all.

I believe most people prefer simple language for daily communication. That is why most native Spanish speakers speak Spanish in their homes. For them, Spanish is more instantly understood - they don't need to stop and puzzle over the meaning.

The popularity of the new reality TV show Duck Dynasty is further proof that many people are happiest when you 'keep it simple, stupid'.

Sometimes, however, the simplest form of expression is the most descriptive, the clearest in meaning.

Recently, Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty family gave a speech on abortion. He said our Declaration of Independence described life as an inalienable right. So, asked Robertson, how do we justify depriving an infant that inalienable right by ripping it, piece by piece, from its mother's womb.

Harsh language, to be sure. But what choice of words could actually be a more accurate description of the event we so delicately call choice?

Have we just forgotten?

I watched hours of TV news yesterday, listened to the radio a couple of hours, and checked the on-line version of our newspaper, yet I saw or heard no mention of the fact that August 15 is the anniversary of V-J Day - the day (in 1945) when the Imperial Government of Japan surrendered, ending combat in World War II.

I know, it has been 68 years. But when World War I ended, that date (November 11) became a national holiday. I am not suggesting another holiday, just a brief remembrance.

On December 7, 1941, when Japan dragged the U.S. into the war by destroying much of our Naval facilities in Hawaii, we were ill-prepared for war. But, within the span of just 1,347 days, we rebuilt our manufacturing capabilities and our military, and defeated the ready-for-war Axis powers.

Wouldn't you think someone in news media would have mentioned that? Given that youth is the valued asset in today's culture, there probably are no working reporters who were alive 68 years ago. But, is that date not noted on anyone's calendar? Or has Japan become such an important ally that it would not be PC to remind them of their defeat?

How about teaching Japanese students, and our own, that on August 15, 1945, the Japanese people came to their senses and tossed out the conquest-bound leaders who had led them into so much death and destruction? 

Smart Politics

Since I was a kid, suffering through Roosevelt's depression (there was nothing "great" about it), I have said that the Democrat Party will lie, cheat, steal, commit fraud, and do anything and everything illegal, to win an election. That is not "smart" politics. That is crooked politics.

I believe the original display of "smart" politics occurred in 1787. Then, The Founders wrote Article I, Section 2 of The Constitution. It enabled slave-holding states to count a slave as only 3/5 of a person, for the purpose of determining the number of their representatives in Congress.

Yes, that was a horrible proposition, but it was not illegal. The prejudiced slave-holders happily agreed, believing, as they did, that a black man was not fully a human being.

The result was that the representation in Congress by the slave-holding states was reduced, paving the way for the passage of anti-slavery measures. Then, in 1868, after the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th amendment was ratified, striking the 3/5 language from The Constitution.

Smart politics!

Now we are engaged in a debate over defunding The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). President Obama has threatened to "shut down" the government if such provisions are in a Continuing Resolution which, again, will bust the budget and spend another trillion dollars.

Recalling the events of 1995, many fear such an event would cause great harm to the Republican Party! It is time again for Smart Politics! Every credible poll shows that majorities of every imaginable group of Americans are opposed to ACA. If the Republicans clearly articulate their intentions to fund all of government except ACA, the public will support them. If the Democrats reject that proposal, it is they who will be shutting down the government.

Doing the will of the people, for the good of the people, is always smart politics!

Who Are We???

Are we Japan, where our Emperor is a Deity?

Are we England, where our Dear Queen, by virtue of birthright only, is entitled to respect and reverence for her entire life!

Are we North Korea, where one can be imprisoned for insulting our Dear Leader?

No! We are the United States of America, with three co-equal branches of government. Where the head of our Executive Branch is just another politician who has conned millions of citizens into
voting for him/her. Where we are guaranteed the right to criticize or speak against this political person.

Now comes an incident in my native state of Missouri, where a rodeo clown (clown=pretend-to-be-a-fool) is banned for life from the State Fair Rodeo, because he wore a mask of our current president and acted a fool.

Come on, people! This is not 1850 or 1860. This is 2013! Enough of the skin-color BS! Good Grief!

There have been "clown masks" of every president, since people learned how to make them cheaply and sell them, for a buck or so.

I am disgusted with Missouri State Fair officials, the NAACP, Sharpton, Jackson, and every other race-baiter on the planet.  

Opinions of recent observations

 
1. The gift of organized labor: Just read (or heard) some gal talking about all that organized labor has given the American people. She was so misinformed it was painful to observe. Organized labor did not give us the 40-hour week, as she said. Henry Ford did that. When he developed the assembly line for making automobiles, the work was so monotonous he could not keep employees. So he cut work time to an 8-hour day, five days a week, and doubled the hourly rate.

It worked pretty well, but later, when a young Japanese engineer named Toyoda sought his advice, Ford taught Toyoda many other things, like giving every employee the ability to stop the assembly line if he temporarily fell behind. These things made working on the line more bearable.

Toyoda employed Ford's advice in his motor car company (spelled Toyota) and became hugely successful. Interestingly, Toyota employees are not often union organized.

I'll tell you what organized labor gave us: an adversarial relationship between employers and employees. After the Great Depression, during which it was almost impossible to find a job, men were so grateful to have a steady paycheck, they believed in giving their employer an honest hour's work for an hour's pay.

Labor unions taught workers to believe they should squeeze every possible dime from their employers, while reducing their performance to the minimum necessary to hold their job.

2. Employer provided health insurance... isn't that a good thing?: Shakespeare wrote about "the tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive". Indeed. "During World War II, Employer-sponsored health insurance plans dramatically expanded as a direct result of wage controls imposed by the federal government.

The labor market was tight because of the increased demand for goods and decreased supply of workers during the war. Federally imposed wage and price controls prohibited manufacturers and other employers from raising wages enough to attract workers.

When the War Labor Board declared that fringe benefits, such as sick leave and health insurance, did not count as wages for the purpose of wage controls, employers responded with significantly increased offers of fringe benefits, especially health care coverage, to attract workers." (Wikipedia, the Online Encyclopedia.)

So, it all began with an effort to 'legally' break the law. Yes, that law was a misplaced idea, but that is all part of the tangled web.

3. Minimum wage laws: Of all the dumb things that originated in the last century, the mandated "minimum wage" is surely the dumbest.Two kinds of people push minimum wage: A: well-meaning, but ill-informed individuals who think they are bettering people's lives. ("You cannot support a family on minimum wage!") B. Well-informed but dishonest politicians who only seek more votes.

I once worked for 10¢ an hour. Hard work, too! I didn't need "support", I just wanted to earn some spending money. But I learned a lot about showing up on time and doing the job I was supposed to do.

I remember when movie theaters hired teenage ushers for 50¢ an hour. They just hung around at the back of the theater and when a customer came in, they used their flashlight to guide the customer down a dark aisle to a vacant seat.

The kids got to see movies for free and earn a little spending money. Like me, they also learned to show up for work, on time, bathed and appropriately dressed. They learned how to relate to people. Valuable experience for when they were ready to seek a full time job.

The minimum wage ended all that. Many kids, who had no skills, could no longer work. What do idle kids do? Many take to the streets and get into trouble. They may later mature. They may learn some skill. But without the experience of actually working on a real job, they are largely unemployable.

Should we forgive them?

Elliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner and Bob Filner are just the latest in a long string of politicians, involved in some sort of scandal, who have said they are sorry and have asked forgiveness.

Should we forgive them?

No!

The Founding Fathers wanted us to know that integrity in office was absolutely paramount.

John Adams wrote: (referenced by W. Cleon Skousen in The 5000 Year Leap Copyright 1991, 2006 by The National Center for Constitutional Studies)

Politics are the divine science, after all. How is it possible that any man should ever think of  making it subservient to his own little passions and mean private interests? Ye baseborn sons of fallen Adam, is the end of politics a fortune, a family, a gilded coach, a train of horses, and a troop of livery servants, balls at court, splendid dinners and suppers? Yet, the divine science of politics is at length in Europe reduced to a mechanical system composed of these materials. (Quoted in Koch, The American Enlightenment. p.189.)

"Some might feel inclined to smile at such a puritanical ideology in a practical politician such as John Adams, but he had a ready answer for the skeptic. Said he:"

What is to become of an independent statesman, one who will bow the knee to no idol, who will worship nothing as a divinity but truth, virtue, and his country? I will tell you; he will be regarded more by posterity then those who worship hounds and horses; and although he will not make his own fortune, he will make the fortune of his country. (Ibid.; italics added.)

Benjamin Franklin had some comments as well. In a speech to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Franklin said:

   Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence in the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power and the love of money. Separately, each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but when united in view of the same object, they have in many minds the most violent effects. Place before the eyes of such men a post of honor, that shall at the same time be a place of profit, and they will move heaven and earth to obtain it. The vast number of such places it is that renders the British government so tempestuous. The struggles for them are the true source of all those factions which are perpetually dividing the nation, distracting its councils, hurrying it sometimes into fruitless and mischievous wars, and often compelling a submission to dishonorable terms of peace. (Smyth, Writings of Benjamin Franklin, 7:4. Referenced by W. Cleon Skousen in The 5000 Year Leap Copyright 1991, 2006 by The National Center for Constitutional Studies)

 And, Edmund Burke said, "Constitute government how you please, infinitely the greater part of it must depend upon the exercise of the powers which are left at large to the prudence and uprightness of ministers of state." Prudence and uprightness. Remember those characteristics?

Can anyone imagine any reason but ambition and avarice for any of the aforementioned to seek or hold political office? I am not aware of any talents they may possess for making money outside of politics, but certainly high office is a road to riches. Something the Founding Fathers warned against.

Consider Barack Obama. Abandoned by his  father, before his birth, raised by a middle class family, but today worth millions. Just imagine the millions more he will be paid making speeches when he is finally out of office. Outside of politics, that is an almost impossible accomplishment.

Consider Nancy Pelosi. Already wealthy, she continues, after 26 years in Congress, to make the arduous journey between Washington and California. Averaging one trip per week, that is over 1,300 round trips at some 5,000 miles each. Over 6.5 million miles! 265 times around the earth. Only an insatiable thirst for power would drive that. Why, oh why, do voters keep re-electing such people?

Learning from the obvious

I'll give one thing to ancient mankind. When they made an observation, they thought about it. They often came to the wrong conclusion, as in the cause of weather phenomena, but at least they tried.

Modern man seems to prefer turning a blind eye to things most visible. British Historian, Paul Johnson, said, "The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false.”

It isn't just history. There are everyday things we might honor, but many ignore. 

Recently we've heard much about crime among black youth in America, and many opinions as to the solution. Most of those opinions seem wrong to me. For example, Thomas Sowell decried the fact that these are often called "troubled youth". He said "... they are not troubled... these young thugs are having the time of their life."

I look at black Americans and I see so many quality people. I am reluctant to start naming names, as I know I will forget some of the best. But here are a few: Dr. Benjamin Carson, Dr. Thomas Sowell, Dr. Walter E Williams, Star Parker, Col./Congressman Allen West, Deneen Borelli, Charles Payne, Ken Blackwell, the list is much longer. These are individuals who have earned the respect and admiration of a vast swath of America.

Barack Obama spoke of white people being afraid of black men. Col. Allen West said that no white woman ever 'clutched her purse' when he stepped into an elevator. No one fears the likes of Dr. Carson or Larry Elder. Personally I'd give anything to spend an hour or two in the presence of any of the aforementioned. Just to hear them talk.

Shouldn't every black child be taught to emulate these extraordinary people? Yes, I can imagine a single black mother, working two jobs to support her family; fighting the kids to do their homework, clean their room, take a bath, etc. She has little time for morality lessons.

Still, A number of these men attribute their success to a mother who insisted upon a certain code of behavior. Often we hear "mother made me study". Yet, several of these successful men were raised in poverty by a struggling single mother.
 
It seems to me that the blueprint for success is glaringly apparent to every black child in America. What can be done to make every one of them see it?

Intelligence vs. Education

Knowing I had not obtained a college degree, a friend recently asked me 'where the intelligence came from'.

Won't comment on my level of intelligence, but in our modern world, intelligence is equated to formal education. Strange. My father, born in 1893, had only a fourth grade education, but he had a curious mind and a thirst for knowledge. He purchased one of those huge, ten-inch-thick unabridged dictionaries and built a stand for it. It stood beside his reading chair and he consulted it frequently. He was, indeed, a very intelligent man.

That's not to say that formal education does not foster intelligence. An education in which one learns how to learn, will surely develop an aware, thinking human.

IQ tests are supposed to measure intelligence, or, at least the 'intelligence quotient', apart from education. But I hold that some measure of formal education will certainly help one attain a higher IQ score.

Schooling can bend the learning curve. But, so may other life experiences. Ralph Waldo Emerson pegged it when he said “Shall I tell you the secret of the true scholar? It is this: every man I meet is my master in some point, and in that I learn of him.” Always be prepared to listen to what someone has to say. You may be surprised to learn what you may learn!

Years ago a friend remarked that "the first time an internal combustion engine is started, it tries to tear itself apart. Eventually it succeeds" When you think about all those pistons and connecting rods and valve lifters, the crankshaft and the cam shaft, all whirling and clicking some 4,000 revolutions per minute, you see the reasoning behind that comment.

But, until I read this column by Philadelphia Daily News Columnist, Christine M. Flowers, I never applied that to humans. Ms. Flowers, commenting on a nephew who had just lost his first tooth wrote, "...even at the beginning of life, we start losing bits and pieces of ourselves. It's a subtle diminishment, but as they say, we start dying with our first breath."

That was not the main thrust of that particular columns, but isn't it great when another little light bulb clicks on above your head and you think, "Gee, I never thought of that!"

I love to learn!

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20130712_Of_life_and_morality__in_the_shadow_of_a_saint.html#7CP18xHbRdy4yQI1.99

even at the beginning of life, we start losing bits and pieces of ourselves. It's a subtle diminishment but, as they say, we start dying with our first breath.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20130712_Of_life_and_morality__in_the_shadow_of_a_saint.html#vxUpx3Bfks1oR5fU.99

even at the beginning of life, we start losing bits and pieces of ourselves. It's a subtle diminishment but, as they say, we start dying with our first breath.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20130712_Of_life_and_morality__in_the_shadow_of_a_saint.html#MkMxUzibU6uoQaX6.99

even at the beginning of life, we start losing bits and pieces of ourselves. It's a subtle diminishment but, as they say, we start dying with our first breath.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20130712_Of_life_and_morality__in_the_shadow_of_a_saint.html#MkMxUzibU6uoQaX6.99

Black Pastors and Trayvon Martin

With protests against the 'not guilty' verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial erupting in over 100 cities today - protests sparked by race-baiters Sharpton, Jackson, Obama, et al, it may seem that the entire black population of America opposed the verdict.

Not so.

A number of black Americans have spoken out in favor of the verdict, and in support of George Zimmerman.

Notable among them have been at least two black pastors. I have listened to black pastors during my lifetime. While elitist academians may find these pastors lacking in formal education, I have always found them unusually wise in everyday common sense knowledge. Something many academians are not.

Dr. James David Manning, speaking from the pulpit of his ATLAH World Missionary Church in New York City, called Martin a "pot-smoking, paranoid boy".

Rev. Jesse Lee Patterson, in a television interview, called Martin a "thug", not a "nice little boy".. Asked for evidence for that charge, Patterson spoke of Martins' use of marijuana, his behavior problems in school, and his propensity to engage in fighting.

The interviewer demanded to know if Rev. Patterson regarded everyone who had used 'pot' and had run afoul of school officials, as a 'thug'. Patterson explained about single-parent homes and other symptoms of a youth gone astray. Mostly his reply dealt with what I have always called 'moral grounding'. Many people engage in poor behavior in their youth, but those who have been taught morality soon discover the error in their ways. Without moral grounding, it is all downhill.

Several other black Americans, whom I consider intellectuals, have also spoken out against Martin's behavior. If you see news coverage of today's protests, do not think for a minute that all of black America agrees with the protestors.

More things that make an old man cry

Mark Steyn is always a good read, but this one is a crown jewel! Steyn revealed: The other day, The Boston Globe ran a story on how the city's police and other agencies had spent months planning a big training exercise for last weekend involving terrorists planting bombs hidden in backpacks left downtown. Unfortunately, the Marathon bombers preempted them, and turned the coppers' hypothetical scenario into bloody reality. What a freaky coincidence, eh? (snip) In the far more exciting Boston Police fantasy, the bombers were a group of right-wing militia men called "Free America Citizens," (who) even had their own little logo – a skull's head with an Uncle Sam hat.

"I was taught that if I left home, I would be fully responsible for any evil that befell me, because men cannot be expected to control their extincts." -  Manal al-Sharif, on growing up as a young girl in Saudi Arabia.

The crime is not hate speech, but hate thought -- a state of mind that apparently only self-appointed liberal referees can sort out. - Victor Davis Hanson in a discussion on charges of hate speech against conservatives.

Ron Kelly retired from the Army in 1993 after 20 years of service. As an infantryman who fired tanks and machine guns, he likely expelled over 100,000 rounds. But when he tried to buy a .22 caliber rifle at a local Wal-Mart recently, he was turned down because of an old conviction. Forty-two years before, when he was in high school, he got arrested for having a baggie of marijuana. He wasn’t even sentenced to a night in jail, but he did get one year of probation. He contacted his home state of North Carolina to find out if they had a  record of his arrest, and they didn’t, because it was so old. But the FBI obviously remembered. And they’ll never forget, because they want to make sure that no gun ends up in the “wrong hands.” - Political Outcast