Brain lock, my definition: possessing reasonable mental acuity, but lacking the capacity for using it. To phrase it another way: Why do seemingly intelligent people sometimes act so stupidly? We can observe instances of brain lock in nearly every aspect of human behavior. Minor traffic accidents may be the result of momentary brain freeze. Thoughtless and hurtful statements directed toward those we love may have arisen in an instant of mental incapacity. In my experience, however, brain lock is most prevalent in the realm of political thought and action. People often promote and vote for candidates whose histories are antithetical to their own professed interests. For example, why would someone claim to desire a smaller, Constitutionally-based government, and yet, vote for a clown who habitually supports legislation that is extra-Constitutional and generally budget busting? Has our brain-locked voter bought the sizzle and ignored the steak?
For those of us who cherish freedom, who don’t want some overpaid bureaucrat calling the shots for every aspect of our lives, it is difficult to understand why some who apparently share our concerns and values continue to support lifetime politicians who betray those very values. It is frustrating for some of us who have been consumed by the passion for self determination and personal responsibility to comprehend how so many people can be duped by syrupy words that do not reflect the actual record of the politician who utters them. Are these people naïve? Are they ignorant and unaware of the politician’s perfidy? Are they stupid? It’s a mystery for many freedom lovers. The stock answer that we are given when we ask voter why she/he votes as they do is...”if I vote for your people, then that would dilute the vote and X would win.” So, what you’re saying Ms./Mr. Voter is that partisan considerations trump principle. You’ve always supported a particular party, and if they can retain or return to power, then maybe, just maybe, this time, they’ll live up to their platform. You’ve always voted that way, and you dare not change now because your doing the principled thing would shake and destroy the foundations of your long-time party. Is that what you’re saying?
My question for you, Dear Citizen, is why not consecrate your devotion to the Rotary or Lions Club rather than a big-tent political machine? At least as a Rotarian, when you engage in such brain-dead decision making, you will not be jeopardizing my freedom, my property and my life. As a member of the Lions Club, you would, at the very least, be helping individuals rather than putting the country, my country, at risk by continuing to support your long-time political club. Either stand up and step out for freedom, Citizen, or stay home. Your unwillingness to put it all on the line for freedom makes you unworthy of it.
Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Party 3.0
With the advent of the “Tea Party” movement there is evidence of angst within certain political circles. Recently I have noted conservative bloggers and commentators warning that an effort to form a third party would be disastrous for the Republic. They argue that a movement coalescing into a party as a result of massive discontent with “politics as usual” would inevitably lead to an electoral victory for the progressive statists because the Constitutionalist/ Conservative majority would be divided. Perhaps.
As I approach my sixty-fourth birthday, I can count the scars and see the scorch marks all over my body as a result of my life-long reliance on Republican PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS to do the right thing…respect the limits of the Constitution. To expect ANY professional politician to honor the limits of Constitutional governance is, in my view, misplaced, naïve and stupid. Too often in the past four decades or so, I have witnessed political newcomers rail against the encroachment of big unresponsive government, only to watch them become more comfortable and, in fact, enable the incremental growth of government and its power over us. They transform from hard-charging challengers into defenders of the status quo. Their rhetoric changes from promoting the principle for the reduction of government influence to “I’ve offered amendments to minimize the damage.” They become (literally and figuratively) fat and comfortable as they pursue their lifetime careers from local to state to national arenas while proclaiming their devotion to limited government. They vote to put levies on the ballot so that “the people can get involved,” when in reality they have conspired with their cohorts to increase spending, and they do not have the courage to stop the spending or oppose the levy. The longer they seek office the smaller their reservoir of courage becomes. Their job-preservation instincts overwhelm their notions of servant hood. They plead, they beg, they grovel, and they barter for your votes so that they can “continue the fight for fiscal integrity.” Meanwhile, the budget grows faster than the GDP. Public employee unions become more rigidly embedded in the system. Taxes and fees are necessarily increased to finance the profligacy of our beloved guardians of Constitutional government.
With the socialist/progressive element of American politics, I know what I am getting. They’ll lie and misrepresent their intentions, and distort the outcomes of their ludicrous policies and actions. They’ll promise Nirvana and deliver nothing. They’ll confiscate my property and severely circumscribe my freedom. They’ll demean me, denounce me and, perhaps, destroy me. But I know who they are. I can resist them and fight them for every inch of Liberty’s turf. My “friends,” on the other hand will lull me into subservience with sweet utterances such as “rights, low taxes, common sense, and spending cuts” as they become complicit in the inexorable growth of the big “Nanny” state. It was a Republican who initiated the EPA and OSHA. It was a Republican who enacted wage and price controls. It was a Republican who started the massive federal land grab to set aside millions of acres and remove them from private development. It was a Republican who proposed a massive unfunded expansion of Medicare and increased the federal role in public education. I know who my enemies are, but it’s my friends who have betrayed me…time and time again. Screw it. Screw them. I would rather go down fighting, kicking and screaming…and be right. I will no longer be led and misled by PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS who artfully claim to be my friends. I will be betrayed no more. I am now a Libertarian, and I want my country back!
Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com
As I approach my sixty-fourth birthday, I can count the scars and see the scorch marks all over my body as a result of my life-long reliance on Republican PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS to do the right thing…respect the limits of the Constitution. To expect ANY professional politician to honor the limits of Constitutional governance is, in my view, misplaced, naïve and stupid. Too often in the past four decades or so, I have witnessed political newcomers rail against the encroachment of big unresponsive government, only to watch them become more comfortable and, in fact, enable the incremental growth of government and its power over us. They transform from hard-charging challengers into defenders of the status quo. Their rhetoric changes from promoting the principle for the reduction of government influence to “I’ve offered amendments to minimize the damage.” They become (literally and figuratively) fat and comfortable as they pursue their lifetime careers from local to state to national arenas while proclaiming their devotion to limited government. They vote to put levies on the ballot so that “the people can get involved,” when in reality they have conspired with their cohorts to increase spending, and they do not have the courage to stop the spending or oppose the levy. The longer they seek office the smaller their reservoir of courage becomes. Their job-preservation instincts overwhelm their notions of servant hood. They plead, they beg, they grovel, and they barter for your votes so that they can “continue the fight for fiscal integrity.” Meanwhile, the budget grows faster than the GDP. Public employee unions become more rigidly embedded in the system. Taxes and fees are necessarily increased to finance the profligacy of our beloved guardians of Constitutional government.
With the socialist/progressive element of American politics, I know what I am getting. They’ll lie and misrepresent their intentions, and distort the outcomes of their ludicrous policies and actions. They’ll promise Nirvana and deliver nothing. They’ll confiscate my property and severely circumscribe my freedom. They’ll demean me, denounce me and, perhaps, destroy me. But I know who they are. I can resist them and fight them for every inch of Liberty’s turf. My “friends,” on the other hand will lull me into subservience with sweet utterances such as “rights, low taxes, common sense, and spending cuts” as they become complicit in the inexorable growth of the big “Nanny” state. It was a Republican who initiated the EPA and OSHA. It was a Republican who enacted wage and price controls. It was a Republican who started the massive federal land grab to set aside millions of acres and remove them from private development. It was a Republican who proposed a massive unfunded expansion of Medicare and increased the federal role in public education. I know who my enemies are, but it’s my friends who have betrayed me…time and time again. Screw it. Screw them. I would rather go down fighting, kicking and screaming…and be right. I will no longer be led and misled by PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS who artfully claim to be my friends. I will be betrayed no more. I am now a Libertarian, and I want my country back!
Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Dreams
Before the apocryphal ham sandwich did her in, Mama Cass Elliot was best known as the lead singer of the Mama’s and the Papa’s. A number of their songs had a dreaming theme that seemed to translate well into chart success. One of my all time favorite tunes was one sung by the Everly Brothers called “All I have to do is Dream.” Dreeeeeam, Dream, dream, dream… dream, dreeeeeam. Perhaps I’m the only one who notices such things, but dreams and dreaming appear to be popular concepts in America. We have the greatest and most prosperous lifestyle in the history of the human race, yet we dream…and dream…and dream. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. electrified the nation with a speech while standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. He spoke of the dreams of a people who yearned for freedom, who sought to shed the heavy yoke of oppression.
For people who came to America voluntarily, or were transported here in shackles, or were born to the promise of liberty and freedom, the dream has persisted. For some, the dream for freedom has been a consuming passion that defined their lives, and for others it has been a smoldering awareness that must be fanned and nourished. Does the dream still live? Has our understanding of the innate desire for freedom been suppressed by prosperity and indifference? Have our dreams been replaced by fears…will I have a job tomorrow, am I prepared for the inevitable economic chaos that is just over the horizon?
Dreaming glorious dreams is difficult when one struggles to survive, and whatever glimmer of dreams we possess are suppressed by day to day considerations and uncertainty.
If our nation is to achieve what the Founders hoped for…if we are to become the manifestation of their dreams and their sacrifices, then we must begin dreaming again. We must not; we can not allow the political class and the elites to steal our dreams. For the sake of our children, their children and generations unborn, and for our own self respect and dignity, we must recapture the momentum and begin to dream again. This is my dream for you, for us and for the United States of America.
Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com
For people who came to America voluntarily, or were transported here in shackles, or were born to the promise of liberty and freedom, the dream has persisted. For some, the dream for freedom has been a consuming passion that defined their lives, and for others it has been a smoldering awareness that must be fanned and nourished. Does the dream still live? Has our understanding of the innate desire for freedom been suppressed by prosperity and indifference? Have our dreams been replaced by fears…will I have a job tomorrow, am I prepared for the inevitable economic chaos that is just over the horizon?
Dreaming glorious dreams is difficult when one struggles to survive, and whatever glimmer of dreams we possess are suppressed by day to day considerations and uncertainty.
If our nation is to achieve what the Founders hoped for…if we are to become the manifestation of their dreams and their sacrifices, then we must begin dreaming again. We must not; we can not allow the political class and the elites to steal our dreams. For the sake of our children, their children and generations unborn, and for our own self respect and dignity, we must recapture the momentum and begin to dream again. This is my dream for you, for us and for the United States of America.
Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Free Choice
The past one hundred years has been a century of amazing invention. My grandfather was born in 1900…before the Wright brothers’ historic 12 second flight, prior to Henry Ford’s assembly lines, and 12 years before Arizona became the 48th state in our union.
The first radio station of note, KDKA in Pittsburg, went on the air in 1923, and television began to be developed throughout the nation following the end of World War II. My generation, the Baby Boomers, began to populate the country in 1946 (my year) (so, what’s the second thing you did after getting home, soldier boy?).
There is one year that stands out for me in those early times…1952. Eisenhower was running for his first term, and Senator Robert Taft was still a power in GOP politics. Our little farm family leaped into the latter half of the 20th century with three major technological enhancements. We acquired an indoor bathroom by converting an old pantry. We purchased a power mower—a Reo reel-type, and we got our first TV from Spoon’s Hardware in McCutchenville, Ohio. It was a black and white GE model. With our 40 foot antenna we could pick up one station from Toledo---channel 13. Later, when I was in Junior High, we could access a second channel (11). It wasn’t until after I had left home that my parents could get channel 24 by attaching a UHF converter to their set. Today on my little farmette, my little patch of paradise, I receive more than 400 channels and watch eight—RFDTV, BIGTEN, CBS, FOX, Fox News, C-SPAN, C-SPAN II and The Gospel Music Channel. On rare occasions I turn to HGTV and the DIY networks. So that’s ten channels that I utilize out of the hundreds available to me. The bottom line is that I prefer books to TV, and except for Buckeye sports, I would rather read than watch.
When I was a child, I always anticipated a trip to “town” (Tiffin). If the timing were right and the egg money was sufficient, I would be treated to a hamburger at “Johnny’s” on East Madison Street. John and his wife, Mary, later opened a restaurant on Sandusky Street, but those burgers at the old location were the best that I have ever eaten. Today, nearly every intersection is populated with multiple chain restaurants offering a phenomenal variety of culinary choices. From the time that I eagerly awaited the delectable hamburgers from Johnny’s to today when I have difficulty choosing which cookie-cutter eatery to visit, I wonder if my life has improved. We have more choices for eating out. We have more choices on our televisions. We have more choices in nearly every aspect of our daily living, but yet…
As our lives have become less strenuous, and our options for entertainment and diversion have grown, our government has been growing as well. Our meaningless options have dramatically increased, and our significant choices have been reduced. We have the freedom to choose the burger de jour, but over regulation by the Nanny state has shrunk our abilities for vital decision making to a mere vestige of what they once were. I have concluded that I will willingly go back to one good hamburger choice. I will gleefully return to one or two channels of local television… If I must in order to restore the freedom, the liberty that once was mine. While I was staring at the Golden Arches, they took my country away. It stops now…today. No more diversions, no more accepting progress when it is wrapped in tyranny. It…stops…now.
Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com
The first radio station of note, KDKA in Pittsburg, went on the air in 1923, and television began to be developed throughout the nation following the end of World War II. My generation, the Baby Boomers, began to populate the country in 1946 (my year) (so, what’s the second thing you did after getting home, soldier boy?).
There is one year that stands out for me in those early times…1952. Eisenhower was running for his first term, and Senator Robert Taft was still a power in GOP politics. Our little farm family leaped into the latter half of the 20th century with three major technological enhancements. We acquired an indoor bathroom by converting an old pantry. We purchased a power mower—a Reo reel-type, and we got our first TV from Spoon’s Hardware in McCutchenville, Ohio. It was a black and white GE model. With our 40 foot antenna we could pick up one station from Toledo---channel 13. Later, when I was in Junior High, we could access a second channel (11). It wasn’t until after I had left home that my parents could get channel 24 by attaching a UHF converter to their set. Today on my little farmette, my little patch of paradise, I receive more than 400 channels and watch eight—RFDTV, BIGTEN, CBS, FOX, Fox News, C-SPAN, C-SPAN II and The Gospel Music Channel. On rare occasions I turn to HGTV and the DIY networks. So that’s ten channels that I utilize out of the hundreds available to me. The bottom line is that I prefer books to TV, and except for Buckeye sports, I would rather read than watch.
When I was a child, I always anticipated a trip to “town” (Tiffin). If the timing were right and the egg money was sufficient, I would be treated to a hamburger at “Johnny’s” on East Madison Street. John and his wife, Mary, later opened a restaurant on Sandusky Street, but those burgers at the old location were the best that I have ever eaten. Today, nearly every intersection is populated with multiple chain restaurants offering a phenomenal variety of culinary choices. From the time that I eagerly awaited the delectable hamburgers from Johnny’s to today when I have difficulty choosing which cookie-cutter eatery to visit, I wonder if my life has improved. We have more choices for eating out. We have more choices on our televisions. We have more choices in nearly every aspect of our daily living, but yet…
As our lives have become less strenuous, and our options for entertainment and diversion have grown, our government has been growing as well. Our meaningless options have dramatically increased, and our significant choices have been reduced. We have the freedom to choose the burger de jour, but over regulation by the Nanny state has shrunk our abilities for vital decision making to a mere vestige of what they once were. I have concluded that I will willingly go back to one good hamburger choice. I will gleefully return to one or two channels of local television… If I must in order to restore the freedom, the liberty that once was mine. While I was staring at the Golden Arches, they took my country away. It stops now…today. No more diversions, no more accepting progress when it is wrapped in tyranny. It…stops…now.
Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com
Monday, February 15, 2010
Wretched Masses.
They had a dream. Some of them sought to escape deadly persecution. Others left behind stagnant economies and failing nations. Many came to avoid famine and starvation. A few were seeking better educational opportunities, and once here, decided to stay. They came here for a variety of reasons, but they shared a common thread…freedom. Whether it was economic liberty, political freedom or just to experience the opportunity to make personal choices, they sought the fresh air of freedom. Ellis Island was a launching point for many. Their first steps in their new lives were on the sacred ground of that little patch of terra firma in the harbor. As they shuffled through the lines of others who were sharing their dreams, they basked in the shadow of Lady Liberty…a massive symbol of hope and new beginnings.
Although their eyes and their dreams were focused on the new land and their new lives, for many their hearts were still captive in the homes that they left behind. Communities, cousins, friends and perhaps siblings, parents or even spouses and children were there waiting, anticipating the letter from the new land that would change their lives too. The dreams of the travelers drove them forward, but their love and their hearts looked back. They continued to long for the land that they had abandoned, but cherished the hope and promise of their new location. Those who were the first of their families to arrive often had to take menial employment merely to survive. As their families joined or were born to them, they taught their offspring about the amazing opportunities available to them in this amazing nation.
The second generation of immigrants used the experience of their parents to vault forward into property ownership and small business success. They maintained the work ethic of their parents and added the benefit of being truly American in their attitudes and preferences. On occasion their thoughts would linger on the land of their parents, but they thought of themselves as Americans. They prospered and sent their children to college. After graduating, some of the third generation returned to the family enterprises while others scattered throughout the country. They married people who did not grow up in the old neighborhood, and the ties to the “old country” were weakened.
More than 17 million people trudged through the processing queues on the island. In many cases the generational changes in the family structure mirror those we have described here. Liberty and freedom…possess a magnetic attraction that draw people from the world, away from kith and kin, to a new land…a land where dreams can come true. Today, those dreams, the yearnings for freedom are endangered. The government that seems to grow exponentially is suffocating the dreamer’s hopes. In the old countries a serf remained a serf. A cobbler and his heirs would always be cobblers. Here and now the state becomes increasingly intrusive into our daily lives. What can we become? What have we become? What is to become of us? Will we see the vision and take the risk that those first generation immigrants did? Do we have the courage to help this nation return to its roots? Do we? Really, do you?
Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com
Although their eyes and their dreams were focused on the new land and their new lives, for many their hearts were still captive in the homes that they left behind. Communities, cousins, friends and perhaps siblings, parents or even spouses and children were there waiting, anticipating the letter from the new land that would change their lives too. The dreams of the travelers drove them forward, but their love and their hearts looked back. They continued to long for the land that they had abandoned, but cherished the hope and promise of their new location. Those who were the first of their families to arrive often had to take menial employment merely to survive. As their families joined or were born to them, they taught their offspring about the amazing opportunities available to them in this amazing nation.
The second generation of immigrants used the experience of their parents to vault forward into property ownership and small business success. They maintained the work ethic of their parents and added the benefit of being truly American in their attitudes and preferences. On occasion their thoughts would linger on the land of their parents, but they thought of themselves as Americans. They prospered and sent their children to college. After graduating, some of the third generation returned to the family enterprises while others scattered throughout the country. They married people who did not grow up in the old neighborhood, and the ties to the “old country” were weakened.
More than 17 million people trudged through the processing queues on the island. In many cases the generational changes in the family structure mirror those we have described here. Liberty and freedom…possess a magnetic attraction that draw people from the world, away from kith and kin, to a new land…a land where dreams can come true. Today, those dreams, the yearnings for freedom are endangered. The government that seems to grow exponentially is suffocating the dreamer’s hopes. In the old countries a serf remained a serf. A cobbler and his heirs would always be cobblers. Here and now the state becomes increasingly intrusive into our daily lives. What can we become? What have we become? What is to become of us? Will we see the vision and take the risk that those first generation immigrants did? Do we have the courage to help this nation return to its roots? Do we? Really, do you?
Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com
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