Littlestuff Weekender-4-2-2011

As a person who was reared on a farm, April is always a month of demarcation for me. Back in the day when we used the moldboard plow for everything, April is when the plowing and ground work would begin with fury. Also, depending on the weather, we might consider allowing the cows to roam out to pasture during the daylight hours. Easter usually was celebrated in April, and the “sunrise” services were special. One of my former preachers used to say “without the resurrection, the New Testament of the Word has no meaning. With the Resurrection, it means everything.”

Things are a little different in Libya than they were a week ago. Supposedly, we are no longer providing air power (at $700,000 per ordinance), but we now have CIA and SEALS on the ground there. Also, there are some rumblings that at Camp Lejeune, the Marines are being readied for some action. We shall see.

It seems unproductive to have such ferocious battles over two or three weeks funding for the federal government. My sense is that the Democrats are fighting every nickel of cuts in order to prevent their being “rolled” for the 2012 budget which is due by September 30^th. On the flip side, the House leadership wants to prove that they can “work” with Democrats by proposing token budget cuts and not attempting anything to severe. Then there is the minority of the Republican caucus who wants to have the showdown as early as possible in order to set the tone for going forward and to set the base for fiscal responsibility. The loudest and most vicious battle, by far, is the war of words. Personally, I believe the Democrats want to spend our nation into collapse (many of them doubt that it will happen because they get their training in economics from the backs of granola boxes), while the Republican leadership wants to display how “reasonable” they are. If one reads the second paragraph of The Declaration of Independence, you will find a passionate argument for shutting it down and building anew. As each day goes by, I become more committed to that point of view. Certainly a long term shut down would be painful and disruptive, but we might emerge with a more efficient and free government on the other side. Then again, perhaps not. Shoot, let’s give it a shot and see what happens.

Here in the Buckeye state Senate Bill 5 (re: public sector unions) has passed and been signed by Governor Kasich. The Democrats offered no amendments and made no attempts to change the bill as it wound its way through the process. It’s a two-pronged strategy: they can totally blame the GOP for attempting to destroy the public sector unions, thus securing their undying gratitude and dollars for perpetuity; and they can make the argument in the next election cycle for more Democrats in the legislature to stop the steamrolling Republicans. I believe that the D’s and their union pals have miscalculated the public sentiment. They have already begun to gather signatures to place the repeal of SB 5 on the ballot which will lead to a showdown of raw political power. The Ohio version of the “O.K. Corral” is coming soon to a street and polling place near you.

Don’t forget: Finding Common Ground Rally and Seminar

                        Saturday, April 9^th, 2011

                         Lyman Harbor Event Center, Sandusky, Ohio

                         Begins at 10:00am and goes to 7:00pm

Featuring a number of speakers and organizations who are working to restore representative government. Food and beverages are available.

I am honored to have the 10:15am to 10:45am slot at the podium. My topic is “Liberty unites us.”

Go to:  www.freedominstituteevents.org    for additional information.

Our progress on the first commentary of our Commentaries on Liberty series is being printed as we write and/or read. The second one is currently undergoing editing.

Book One: The Cornerstone of Liberty

Book Two: The Case for Liberty

We will be providing them for groups that want to resell to make some “dinero” for local operations. If your organization is interested, contact us at the email address listed at the bottom of the page. We are hoping that the printer will have some done in time for the April 9^th event in Sandusky. Our plan is for ten of the smaller books which will be merged into one massive door stop-sized tome.

Have a super, wonderful, fantabulistic  remainder of your weekend. Littlestuff –minoosha will return on Monday if God wills.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com       or    www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Face Book:  www.facebook.com/pages/Earl-for-Ohio/

Heads or Tails: redux

It’s time to pick a topic

For “Littlestuff” today

Too many to choose from

So much I want to say.

My favored two take a look

at attitudes and thought.

Just a little philosophical

‘bout answers that I’ve sought.

One way for me to carry on

is to view the growing mind.

The “seat of the pants” path

to knowing is another kind.

Knowledge and instinct

are vying for my attention.

Which one offers a better path

for catastrophe prevention?

So, shall it be mind or seat?

The answer cannot fail.

My mind and instinct have combined

To flip for head or tail.

Should I write a pithy piece

About our current bubble,

Or should I write of our history

And how we’re now in trouble?

Address the nation’s economy,

And how it’s gone to pot?

Or moan about the politicians

Who are such a sorry lot.

Our federal energy policy

Is based on stuff renewed.

It is not yet truly feasible

So  people are getting screwed.

The bureaucrats are stopping

The search for oil and gas.

Raising costs for consumers

while being a pain in the ____.

What is big government

But misery and grief.

The Tea Parties have united

To win us some relief.

If they should falter

While Big Brother grows bigger.

I’ll have to seek another route

For securing liberty, I figger.

I may fight for my freedom

‘till they put me in jail.

But even if they do it,

My faith will be my bail.

Government has grown too big.

It’s now much too large.

Keeps growing automatically,

With no one who’s in charge.

I’ve found a worthy topic

To write about today.

It’s our loss of liberty,

and our nation gone astray.

It truly saddens me

To ponder on this thought:

The people have failed themselves.

See what we have wrought.

Maybe there’s still hope,

A flicker or a glimmer,

But the longer time goes on,

It’s becoming oh so slimmer.

The fight cannot stop,

Freedom must prevail.

We must not drop the ball today.

We simply must not fail.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com    or   www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

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Honey Pot

What’s your weak link? Which little delicacy do you find irresistible? Before I was diagnosed with diabetes, my weakness was Oreos and milk. I’d be in my chair, reading and dipping, until all the cookies were gone (yes, I know what the icing in the cookie is made from). Achilles had the spot on his heel that made him vulnerable, and Charlie Sheen apparently has a number of vulnerabilities. The purpose for this discussion of weakness or sweet spots is that they are more illustrative of a person’s behavior than their self-proclaimed strengths. The soft spots for most politicians, particularly Republicans, are that they want to be liked and they do not want to appear to be “unreasonable.” The weak link for Democrats is that they absolutely adore demographic groups and will do anything to help their favored bundles of people. Democrats fear individualists, but they do love the individual heart-wrenching anecdote.

One of the primary arts of war and sports is to discover your opponent’s weakness and exploit it. Democrats do an excellent job of making Republicans defensive about their positions and philosophy. Republicans, on the other hand, seem obsessed with not wanting Democrats to ridicule them. What they seem to not understand is that the Democrats laugh at them and chortle at their weakness. It is also rather illustrative that some people will not do the right thing because someone may make fun of them for doing so. That’s why so many people of faith fail to take a stand when their faith is being mocked. The Apostle Peter had the same issue.

Others are afraid to take a stand for what is right because they fear being “blamed” for it. Boehner and the House GOP find themselves in such a situation in the budget battle. They do not want to be “blamed” for shutting down the government in order to achieve a tiny measure of fiscal responsibility. These dim bulbs don’t understand that any cuts they propose will be labeled as “draconian” and “extreme.” Why not, then, do the right thing by suggesting real cuts that lead to a path of fiscal solvency and take the heat. The GOP will be blamed no matter what they do. Why not do the right thing …for once? At this point in our nation’s history for career politicians to assume that the “old way” of doing things will mollify us, is ill advised and wrong. Perhaps their political instincts are correct in the sense that the dependent class will be angry with them, but the producer class will be livid. If they pander to the dependents in order to avoid the heat, then if or when the national economy fails, everyone will blame them.

Courage has its own reward. The knowledge that one did the right thing in the face of hostile opposition generates its own self-satisfaction. When the goal is greater than the will to achieve it, then the soft spot or weak link must be abandoned if there is to be any hope of achieving the goal. Controlling blood glucose levels and maintaining the targeted weight requires severely restricting my Oreo intake. If Republicans sincerely care about our country and our progeny, then they will stop trying to be liked and concentrate on being right. Republicans should commit to doing the responsible thing by drastically reducing government as they attempt to pull us back from the precipice. If they do not do the responsible thing, then they will be responsible……for allowing the mess to occur on their watch.

Democrats are like Pooh Bear because their hands are always in the honey pot. They refuse to accept that honey is a finite commodity, and they might not have any in the out years. Because of their infantile behavior and actions, they cannot be trusted to take their hands out of the jar. The Republicans must act like adults if the country is to be saved. Can they act responsibly, and do they love our country enough to do what is necessary?

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com     or    www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

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Addiction Affliction

We appear to be a nation that is addicted to addiction. The magazines and tabloids at our supermarket checkouts are filled with stories about the latest celebrity to enter rehabilitation for problems associated with addiction. The panorama of addiction ranges from legal pharmaceuticals across the board through illegal substances, sex, Twinkies and spending. The difficulty with most addictive behavior is that the addiction erodes the productive ability of the junkie who needs greater resources to support the habit. It becomes a fast-paced spiral to the bottom. The cycle of destruction applies to politicians too. As they initiate more programs “for the people,” they must have larger resources to sustain them. Their insistence on micro-managing our lives undermines our productivity plus their additional programs consume larger portions of the nation’s capital which reduces our ability to generate funds for government. So, they borrow the funds to do good works for us, and saddle ours and future generations with massive debts. This attitude from our political leaders is akin to being told,” you’ll feel better when the beatings stop.”

It is obvious to me that the “spend-aholic” virus must be lurking somewhere in the Capitol building of the nation. Idealistic candidates run for office and vow to stop the profligate spending, but when their footsteps echo across the marble floors of that great building, things change. Three primary anatomical sectors of the Congress person’s body seem to be most affected by the spending virus. They are the heart, the brain and the spine. The heart is affected because the virus generates excessive bleeding whenever the legislator hears an anecdotal sob story. The resultant loss of blood causes the politician to lose all sense of proportion and demand that “something must be done” to alleviate the suffering for an indeterminate number of people.

The brain is particularly susceptible to the virus because most career politicians suffer from mental deficiencies prior to taking office so the viral effect becomes exaggerated. The little intruder attacks the cranial area and gnaws away at the resident gray matter until the brain has been reduced beyond any capacity for normal functioning. As a result, reason is lost and common sense becomes a distant memory while the politician continues to roam the halls in a semi-vegetative state.  The spine is vulnerable to the virus because of its gelatinous consistency. An important element of the job description for a career politician is that the spine must be formed from Jell-O, and the virus finds the quivering mass extremely hospitable.

We should note that the “spend-aholic virus” has two distinct versions. The more basic branch affects the desire of the host organism to excessively spend his own money. The more virulent, deadly one, however, causes the recipient host to spend other people’s money. In addition, the impact on the host’s brain causes her or him to believe that their behavior is good and noble. The insidious virus cannot be medicated or irradiated, it must be surgically eliminated. The drastic surgical procedure is a three-part operation: 1) the heart must be totally bypassed because it has no cerebral capacity; 2) a full-scale lobotomy is necessary, but it is difficult because of the microscopic size of the brain; and 3) the spine must undergo a gradual transformation. First, replace the Jell-O with Pudding Pops followed by Popsicles, then pretzel rods, and finally, a titanium-steel alloy. Obviously an overhaul so dramatic requires an extensive period of rehabilitation just like any other recovery from an addiction.

Historically career politicians have resorted to booze or pills in their efforts to rehab from the spending virus. For obvious reasons those remedies have been unsuccessful. In the spirit of public service, I have decided to erect a rehab-halfway house for overspending politicians who now recognize the destructive nature of their disease. Its name shall be “Protect Our Overspending Politicians,” POOP. Given their lifestyles and the ways that they have abused our people and our nation, it seems reasonable and just for career politicians to spend the rest of their lives immersed in POOP.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com    or   www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

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Echo Chamber

The two major parties have alternately governed the country for more than 150 years…yes, for more than a century and a half. For more than 69 per cent of our nation’s constitutional history, the Democrats and Republicans have clutched the reins of power. Despite a gut-wrenching, devastating war between the states, a severe and debilitating depression, and numerous other monumental challenges, the two old parties have managed to preserve their places in the halls of power. Some of the time their governance has been inspired and selfless although more frequently their leadership has been partisan and damaging for the country. Sometimes the policies and leaders that they have promoted have been “so-so,” as the nation capitalized on its own industriousness to continue thriving. Their slogans have become tiresome, and their remedies do not work. Their priorities have become distorted, and their mindsets have been locked onto venal self-interest. When their lips are moving, it is as if we are standing in an echo chamber. The words are unceasingly repeated. Their ideas are predictably uninspired. Their ethics and honor are noticeably absent. The time has come to reassign their exclusive representative franchises to the people.

If you are familiar with Ayn Rand’s, Atlas Shrugged, you may have noted the current status of our country to be eerily familiar. Productivity and excellence have been pressured to yield to equality and fairness. Bureaucrats insert themselves into nearly every commercial transaction, and producers’ choices are limited by excessive government intervention. In a free society most transactions consist of contractual agreements between two parties. The present environment in the United States has inserted a third and sometimes a fourth party into the mix. The result is that what began as a simple transaction becomes unwieldy with the intervention of the federal and/or state bureaucracies. The execution of the contract becomes difficult and costly because of the constraints placed on the process by the government interventionists. The suffocating atmosphere may discourage future attempts to engage in mutually beneficial commerce wherein the overall GDP is incrementally diminished. This present sad state of affairs has come under the guidance of Republicans and Democrats. Neither old party has served us well.

So, how do we go about correcting the course of our nation after those two entrenched parties have steered it so far from where we started? First, we must ignore the meaningless words of the echo chamber. Both parties have been spouting the same lines of worthless promises for decades. Judge the parties and their candidates by their actions…their votes. If they express one attitude, but support their leadership for another view when its crunch time, we cannot afford to tolerate them anymore. We must insist that candidate address specific positions when they meet with us. Vague generalities are cop outs that allow the politician some “wiggle room.” We should pledge that if politicians are squirming, it is because we hold them accountable…not because they’re wiggling off the hook. The politicians, Democrat and Republican, do not fear us. So called “conservatives” speak of excessive spending and big government while approving bloated budgets and new programs. Compassionate “progressives” encourage big government slush funds for their political allies while they’re cheering “humanitarian” military intervention into third-world countries who might qualify as basket cases.

When an antique becomes a hundred fifty years old, its value may increase, but it remains a brittle, uncomfortable, old antique. Often, antiques have aesthetic value but very little practical value. Today’s two old parties have outlived their value for the nation. The Democrats have become a cluster of special interests to which their candidates must pander, and the Republicans’ biennial “big tent” appeal has diluted the principles and the message of the Grand Old Party. Neither party has a commitment to principle although they each have their favorite slogans and “hot buttons” that they employ to fire up their respective bases. Both parties blast their cynical messages in the electoral echo chamber, and like the echo, their statements have no substance and no enduring value. One hundred fifty years have been proven to be long enough for the two old parties to destroy the dream of the Founders. Actually, much too long. It is time for them to go. The Whigs, the Bull Moose and the Anti-Masonic parties are waiting for them in history’s dustbin.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com     or    www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

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