So, while I sympathize with our less than stellar governor, McCrory and his statement that he does not want a man to walk into a public bathroom where his daughter is showering, and say "This is what I think I am." I don't want that either. But, there are not all that many public restrooms with showers. And, I wonder at why I don't hear outcry and moaning over all the transgender people that have been going to the bathroom in the opposite gender facilities already. What, you don't think that is happening? You should run for the legislature then, they think like you do.
If we think about the vast, vast majority of bathrooms, they are small rooms with stalls, a prevailing odor and an awkward closeness that is contrary to normal bodily habits. How exactly are we to enforce the law that the legislature passed and governor signed?
I get the whole emotion thing behind it. I understand the kind of seething, foaming at the mouth this kind of issue produces on both ends of the spectrum. It is tailor made for both the ultra left, and the ultra right. Unfortunately, it is kind of ridiculous to the vast middle.
I am not volunteering to stand outside any restroom and judge the gender of the people entering by the way they look. "Excuse me, maam, but you look like a dude in a dress, can you show me your genitals please?" What in the hell are our elected leaders thinking? This gives the city management and the state legislature a reputation they deserve.
No cop is going to ask a burly looking lady to produce some proof of gender as she enters the public facilities. They would be wrong, 99% of the time, and fired for it, 100% of the time. But, let's play this out. What is the next step? Four bathrooms? One for straight men, one for gay men (including men dressed as women), one for straight women, and one for gay women (including women dressed as men)? And, do we hire a new branch of law enforcement to do potty patrol?
I mean it is just plain fricking ridiculous. In this day and age, where we can't keep a company in the country, where we worry daily about terrorism, where we see kids with MAC10's shooting up parks and malls, where we see environmental quality erosion, this, this potty issue, is the thing that we will call the assembly back into session over?
One side of this is congratulating themselves on a principled stand on unenforceable and ridiculous legislation. The other side is fermenting revolt and boycott and false outrage over unenforceable and ridiculous legislation. The middle road people worried about making ends meet, wondering why they fail to pass any useful highway repair funding, wondering when they will work on fixing the ridiculous gas tax we are tagged with, wondering when we will get adults worried about governing, and not campaigning, just look around us and think, this, this is the group I am stuck on the life raft with.
If there is a more ridiculous and foolish debate and waste of governmental time, both in passing the original statute and the horror filled immediate legislative response, I would like to know what it is. Maybe it is another bridge to nowhere in Alaska to service all 43 people that live there. Maybe it is another military procurement program like the F35, ten times the cost and still not delivered in a working condition. Maybe it is another government shutdown because we don't want to pay for the debt we have already incurred, right after we take the banks to task for not servicing debt they already incurred. Maybe it is anything to do with gay marriage. Maybe it is the plight of whales at Sea World.
For the sake of everything that is holy, can we get worked up over good jobs for our kids, good pay for our teachers, good educational opportunities, bridges that are not falling apart and water that doesn't poison those that drink it? That is a list of worthy things to go enforce, legislate, debate and work our asses off on.
Or, tell me you are the one that volunteers to tell the next "woman" with a slight mustache to hike her skirt to verify gender, before they use the restroom at the food court at the mall. Can we just grow up and get back to being adults, with real concerns and real issues? This is not going to protect people from rapists that prey on those in public restrooms. It is a dog whistle, and even my dog is not dumb enough to come when you blow it.
How in the world did these people get in charge? And what does it say that we keep electing them, over and over and over? Honestly, look in the mirror and ask yourself how did we get here. Think it all the way through and tell me you are satisfied with our state or federal government. Then tell me how you don't understand Trump/Sanders. They are suggesting all kind of unicorn with a gift bow crap that makes about as much sense as this. PT Barnum had it right.
GLYASDI
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Sunday, March 27, 2016
He is Risen
He is Risen Indeed!!!!!
A traditional Easter greeting. One that I think we assume we understand the power and magnitude of implicitly. Everyone knows what rising from the dead means. But, we are in a different place than those that were Jesus' contemporaries.
Death was a final frontier in the age of the Romans. You went across that divide and never came back from it. In fact, you often went so quickly that even if you wanted to come back, you couldn't. Especially in the hot and dry climate of the Middle East. Any desert region for that matter. You were put in the ground as quickly as possible, to avoid disease and contagion. Sometimes, there were people buried alive, because of the rush to deal with a potential corpse.
We did not understand microbes and viral impacts, but we, humans, did understand that bodies would decay very quickly. And that where there were decaying bodies, there was sickness and death waiting for you. For that reason, burial, cremation, disposal by whatever means, was done quickly. It would be a long time in the future before embalming of any kind was available to any besides Egyptian royalty and their cats.
Death was a final ending. It came with profound physical changes and indicators. Once a person died, there was no turning back, they were over. So, the miracles of Peter and Paul, raising the dead were the pinnacle of earthly miracles in this time. Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Paul, this is the list of the Bible's most profound holy men. Jesus, the Messiah, raised the dead. But he was God, there was no question of his ability to do so. An ordinary man with this power, he is to be listened to, to learn from. We know that Jesus was the Messiah, now, we forget that no one in that time understood who he was, to them, he was an ordinary man.
Today, it is very different. There is not the same mystery associated with raising the dead. As God has granted us greater and deeper understanding of how this miraculous shell he created for our souls works, we have become greater skilled in forestalling death. We speak frequently of and to people who were "brought back" several times. Always with the rejoinder, "I should not be here today". Well, of course they should, were it not God's intention, we would not be talking to that person.
We also have lost our respect of the speed of movement associated with death. Once a person has passed, we have access to refrigeration, embalming, a host of technology and technique that allow us to forestall the decay and putrification of the body. We can spend days staring at the corpse, looking remarkably like they were alive. No threat of disease, of noxious odor, or gases and distortion,those are things only homicide detectives and the coroner's crew see in our day and age.
So, the thought of raising someone that looks like the corpse in the casket, on the outside, does not seem so impossible. We are losing our respect for the profound miracle of resurrection. It is become another story of mystery in the Bible, that no longer seems as mysterious. In fact, the learned will give you the names of several conditions that can cause the body to assume the appearance of death, but will allow a person to waken later, as if from a long sleep.
They don't mention that Jesus was not found in a state of unconsciousness. He was nailed up on a cross, stabbed in the side to ensure he was dead, was taken off the cross, partially prepared for burial, and then put in a tomb that was guarded. A stone, a large and heavy stone that could not be easily moved by any one man, was placed over the opening. This was to prevent molestation of the grave and body, but also to prevent the smell of the decomposition from making those around sick.
Yet, somehow, the dead rose, the stone was moved, while guarded, and Jesus left that tomb, 3 days later. The women came that morning, to dress Jesus' body with herbs and oils, to prevent the smell of decay and other issues. They came, sure of his death, and left sure of his resurrection. They went to the Disciples and reported what they saw, and were met with disbelief.
So great was the impossibility of the act of raising the dead, that though they had seen Jesus do it, they did not believe anyone else in the world capable of it. And they were right, except that God had never left the world. And He has always been capable of it. It is an astounding feat to the Jews of that age. Beside being the Levitican law prohibiting touching the dead, it was truly unclean to deal with corpses, especially so many days after the death.
Who would have gone in there, who could have moved the stone around the guards, who would have stolen a body that had to have started bloating, swelling, smelling and changing? There were grave robbers, for sure, but they were looking for treasure left with the dead, rings, jewelry. They had no use nor interest in a corpse, especially a 3 day old one. This was miraculous. But, inside, they were all still filled with the same reservation we possess today.
Was this really a miracle, or had someone taken the body? Did the Romans come take it, so that no one could say he had risen? Did the Temple priests take it, for the same reason? None of their group would admit to the stealing of the body. But, there had to be an explanation. I suppose you cannot completely blame them. They were men and women, just like us. It is not that they were weaker or more suspect than we are today, they were just people still seeing the world through their own prism.
When you are sad, afraid, lost and feel alone, there is not a part of the soul that looks for a miracle. In fact, the world conditions us to look for the opposite and deny the existence of the miracle at all. It is even harder today, to consider this correctly, because they bring people back on every TV medical drama. They know that certain foods and medical concerns are the cause of death, not sin. There is a growing sense that we can understand how to live longer and better, that we will discover eternity from the power of our minds.
We no longer look for the miracle, we lean on the science. Even science cannot explain what happened in that tomb on that Easter Day. No man will ever find the equation or formula that explains the profound mystery of the greatest miracle ever for man. On that day, a Savior rose from the grave, from Hell, and came to the Disciples again. He was truly Emmanuel, God With Us. He fulfilled all that the Scripture had said about him. He bore the marks of the nails, and the spear.
He spoke encouragement, and chided those closest to him for their doubt. But, he loved them still. And he loves us still. Whether you believe in him or not, on that Easter Sunday, he rose from the grave because he believes in you. Enough to undergo all of the pain, change and punishment we must endure on this earth, to fulfill our sin debt.
He, who created the world with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who has been here since before there was a here, took on the form of a man, and destroyed that mortal form's power over us. He gave us the path to the Father, through the Holy Spirit.
So, today, when a brother or sister says to you, He is Risen!, respond with a clear and happy, forgiven and redeemed, bought and paid for, living for the glory of the Lord, heart:
HE IS RISEN INDEED, HALLELUJAH!
GLYASDI
A traditional Easter greeting. One that I think we assume we understand the power and magnitude of implicitly. Everyone knows what rising from the dead means. But, we are in a different place than those that were Jesus' contemporaries.
Death was a final frontier in the age of the Romans. You went across that divide and never came back from it. In fact, you often went so quickly that even if you wanted to come back, you couldn't. Especially in the hot and dry climate of the Middle East. Any desert region for that matter. You were put in the ground as quickly as possible, to avoid disease and contagion. Sometimes, there were people buried alive, because of the rush to deal with a potential corpse.
We did not understand microbes and viral impacts, but we, humans, did understand that bodies would decay very quickly. And that where there were decaying bodies, there was sickness and death waiting for you. For that reason, burial, cremation, disposal by whatever means, was done quickly. It would be a long time in the future before embalming of any kind was available to any besides Egyptian royalty and their cats.
Death was a final ending. It came with profound physical changes and indicators. Once a person died, there was no turning back, they were over. So, the miracles of Peter and Paul, raising the dead were the pinnacle of earthly miracles in this time. Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Paul, this is the list of the Bible's most profound holy men. Jesus, the Messiah, raised the dead. But he was God, there was no question of his ability to do so. An ordinary man with this power, he is to be listened to, to learn from. We know that Jesus was the Messiah, now, we forget that no one in that time understood who he was, to them, he was an ordinary man.
Today, it is very different. There is not the same mystery associated with raising the dead. As God has granted us greater and deeper understanding of how this miraculous shell he created for our souls works, we have become greater skilled in forestalling death. We speak frequently of and to people who were "brought back" several times. Always with the rejoinder, "I should not be here today". Well, of course they should, were it not God's intention, we would not be talking to that person.
We also have lost our respect of the speed of movement associated with death. Once a person has passed, we have access to refrigeration, embalming, a host of technology and technique that allow us to forestall the decay and putrification of the body. We can spend days staring at the corpse, looking remarkably like they were alive. No threat of disease, of noxious odor, or gases and distortion,those are things only homicide detectives and the coroner's crew see in our day and age.
So, the thought of raising someone that looks like the corpse in the casket, on the outside, does not seem so impossible. We are losing our respect for the profound miracle of resurrection. It is become another story of mystery in the Bible, that no longer seems as mysterious. In fact, the learned will give you the names of several conditions that can cause the body to assume the appearance of death, but will allow a person to waken later, as if from a long sleep.
They don't mention that Jesus was not found in a state of unconsciousness. He was nailed up on a cross, stabbed in the side to ensure he was dead, was taken off the cross, partially prepared for burial, and then put in a tomb that was guarded. A stone, a large and heavy stone that could not be easily moved by any one man, was placed over the opening. This was to prevent molestation of the grave and body, but also to prevent the smell of the decomposition from making those around sick.
Yet, somehow, the dead rose, the stone was moved, while guarded, and Jesus left that tomb, 3 days later. The women came that morning, to dress Jesus' body with herbs and oils, to prevent the smell of decay and other issues. They came, sure of his death, and left sure of his resurrection. They went to the Disciples and reported what they saw, and were met with disbelief.
So great was the impossibility of the act of raising the dead, that though they had seen Jesus do it, they did not believe anyone else in the world capable of it. And they were right, except that God had never left the world. And He has always been capable of it. It is an astounding feat to the Jews of that age. Beside being the Levitican law prohibiting touching the dead, it was truly unclean to deal with corpses, especially so many days after the death.
Who would have gone in there, who could have moved the stone around the guards, who would have stolen a body that had to have started bloating, swelling, smelling and changing? There were grave robbers, for sure, but they were looking for treasure left with the dead, rings, jewelry. They had no use nor interest in a corpse, especially a 3 day old one. This was miraculous. But, inside, they were all still filled with the same reservation we possess today.
Was this really a miracle, or had someone taken the body? Did the Romans come take it, so that no one could say he had risen? Did the Temple priests take it, for the same reason? None of their group would admit to the stealing of the body. But, there had to be an explanation. I suppose you cannot completely blame them. They were men and women, just like us. It is not that they were weaker or more suspect than we are today, they were just people still seeing the world through their own prism.
When you are sad, afraid, lost and feel alone, there is not a part of the soul that looks for a miracle. In fact, the world conditions us to look for the opposite and deny the existence of the miracle at all. It is even harder today, to consider this correctly, because they bring people back on every TV medical drama. They know that certain foods and medical concerns are the cause of death, not sin. There is a growing sense that we can understand how to live longer and better, that we will discover eternity from the power of our minds.
We no longer look for the miracle, we lean on the science. Even science cannot explain what happened in that tomb on that Easter Day. No man will ever find the equation or formula that explains the profound mystery of the greatest miracle ever for man. On that day, a Savior rose from the grave, from Hell, and came to the Disciples again. He was truly Emmanuel, God With Us. He fulfilled all that the Scripture had said about him. He bore the marks of the nails, and the spear.
He spoke encouragement, and chided those closest to him for their doubt. But, he loved them still. And he loves us still. Whether you believe in him or not, on that Easter Sunday, he rose from the grave because he believes in you. Enough to undergo all of the pain, change and punishment we must endure on this earth, to fulfill our sin debt.
He, who created the world with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who has been here since before there was a here, took on the form of a man, and destroyed that mortal form's power over us. He gave us the path to the Father, through the Holy Spirit.
So, today, when a brother or sister says to you, He is Risen!, respond with a clear and happy, forgiven and redeemed, bought and paid for, living for the glory of the Lord, heart:
HE IS RISEN INDEED, HALLELUJAH!
GLYASDI
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Holy Saturday
What a day this is. This is the day, some 2000 years ago, that the world that had known the physical presence of the Creator and Savior of the universe, was this whole day, without his presence. What a bereft and empty feeling there must have been in the world, magnified so deeply for that core of followers that were left here to mourn.
How many really believed he would return? The Scripture only shows that one woman, Mary, his mother, was convinced of what would occur. It is unfathomable to me what an empty, hollow and horrible day that was.
We do not often consider what Jesus was doing during this day. While his followers mourned and mostly considered what would become of them, Jesus was engaged in one of the least remarked, but most important parts of his mission of salvation. He was in Hell. The Scripture does not describe in detail those events. Perhaps that is why we don't remark upon it often enough.
But, the God, who took on the form of man, who suffered and then died for our sins, went to Hell. We use that casually as a cussing phrase. "I hope you go to Hell!" We don't actually understand or mean what that phrase describes. It is the ultimate paradox. God, who was present at the creation, who was, who is, who will always be, went to Hell. The place that is described as the lake of fire, the eternal suffering. Jesus, as God, knew what a punishment and horror Hell was, when he created it. Yet, he went there, in the form of man.
The God who loves us, went to the place that is singular in that it is forever divorced from the presence of God. Imagine being in the darkest, scariest dungeon imaginable, imprisoned behind brick walls thousands of feet thick. Into that eternal nothing, comes the SOMETHING. The brightness and completeness of His presence must have been akin to the light of the creation of the universe. How painful for Jesus, to be completely bereft from the Father and Holy Spirit. How painful for the souls in Hell, to have in their presence for so short a time, the thing they most want union with and are forever forbidden.
It is implied that Jesus fought the devil there and won. I think that may not be exactly accurate. The devil has no power with which to fight Jesus, who made him. The devil has power against Angels and against man, but not against God. I think that Jesus punished the devil, by being there, his presence the painful reminder of what the devil betrayed, fought against and was cast out from. It is what enraged him, so that he goes about like a prowling lion, roaring in anger, and devouring those the consort with him.
Jesus was there, and there he did something, so that all of us had the ability to avoid descent into that place. That something has to be on the order of miraculous that is Creation. While it is the least described and understood part of the Easter mystery, it is potentially the most impactful. God, who suffered beating, torture, humiliation and ultimately death, then went to Hell. That is an unimaginable sacrifice to me, that someone, that knew the depth of the torture it is to be in Hell, went there for me. I have known men that gave their lives for another. I respect that courage and selfless spirit, but I can't imagine allowing myself to be sent to Hell, for someone as sinful as I am.
So, we will hear lots of sermons about the Disciples, how they suffered from doubt and misunderstanding. We will hear sermons about the resurrection. We will gladly proclaim He is Risen!, but will we consider what he has risen from? Will we offer worship and joy over what Jesus actually did for us, and the immense burden he bore for us? Do we recognize that he suffered our penalty? Not that he died, because we know that other men can do that. As much as we appreciate it, and honor it, it is not singular to the Trinity.
What is singular, is that simply, just like the sinner I am and continue to be, Jesus went to the place bereft of the love and light of the universe, for us all. In that time, in that way, he fulfilled all of our deserved punishment. That is what Jesus was doing on this day, that we symbolize on Holy Saturday. There is a feeling of nothing, of isolation and quiet, about this day in the church life. Imagine this day 2000 years ago.
Those that knew Jesus, tried to believe in Jesus, most keenly felt the loss of Jesus, their friend, their teacher, their Savior, cut off completely from God. For God in Hell for us, is an unimaginable thing. It is like understanding how when there was nothing, there was God. It does not make sense to us, it does not compute with our limited understanding. It is one of those stumbles, that believe that they can understand God, use to deny His existence. They claim to not believe unless they know, can prove it. Some become so hardened they deny the existence completely.
They do not realize they already are living in Hell. They are going to where Jesus went after he died for us, because just dying was not enough. Jesus had to overcome all the things that stand in our way to communion in the eternal presence of God. I feel for them. They live every day in the feeling this day has for me. There is no connection to the ultimate source of everything in the universe. It is cut off from us, and it is because that is required to pay the price for our sin. We were not created to know sin, but were created to freely worship the Lord.
Imagine never being able to be in that presence. Not just are you worthy, but just never being able to be in that presence. It is a horrible nightmare, because every human, in their heart, knows that they proceed from the Father who created us, was taught and saved by the Son who loved us, and is strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit that wants to live within us. Every agnostic, atheist, pagan, heretic, knows this in their heart, though they deny it. It is possible to condemn yourself to a life similar to that full day the Disciples spent 2000 years ago. It is a sad reality, and on this day of the Easter season I am always reminded of them and pray hardest for them.
While they are yet here, it is not too late to declare they are of God, that his Son died and WENT TO HELL FOR THEM, and that his Holy Spirit wants to in dwell them and guide them ever to the Father. Jut as is true of us, it is true of them. And if they do find their way home, all the hosts of Heaven celebrate in the presence of the Father, that one of his lost is found again. We are all lost, without Jesus, and we are all a source of pleasure and pride to the Father, and we are all worthy to the Holy Spirit.
That is what today signifies to me, and why Easter Sunday is so wonderful to me. I hope you feel the wonder of the resurrection, and the absolute pardon, that was won for you in a miraculous way on Holy Saturday. He will Rise, He will INDEED.
GLYASDI
How many really believed he would return? The Scripture only shows that one woman, Mary, his mother, was convinced of what would occur. It is unfathomable to me what an empty, hollow and horrible day that was.
We do not often consider what Jesus was doing during this day. While his followers mourned and mostly considered what would become of them, Jesus was engaged in one of the least remarked, but most important parts of his mission of salvation. He was in Hell. The Scripture does not describe in detail those events. Perhaps that is why we don't remark upon it often enough.
But, the God, who took on the form of man, who suffered and then died for our sins, went to Hell. We use that casually as a cussing phrase. "I hope you go to Hell!" We don't actually understand or mean what that phrase describes. It is the ultimate paradox. God, who was present at the creation, who was, who is, who will always be, went to Hell. The place that is described as the lake of fire, the eternal suffering. Jesus, as God, knew what a punishment and horror Hell was, when he created it. Yet, he went there, in the form of man.
The God who loves us, went to the place that is singular in that it is forever divorced from the presence of God. Imagine being in the darkest, scariest dungeon imaginable, imprisoned behind brick walls thousands of feet thick. Into that eternal nothing, comes the SOMETHING. The brightness and completeness of His presence must have been akin to the light of the creation of the universe. How painful for Jesus, to be completely bereft from the Father and Holy Spirit. How painful for the souls in Hell, to have in their presence for so short a time, the thing they most want union with and are forever forbidden.
It is implied that Jesus fought the devil there and won. I think that may not be exactly accurate. The devil has no power with which to fight Jesus, who made him. The devil has power against Angels and against man, but not against God. I think that Jesus punished the devil, by being there, his presence the painful reminder of what the devil betrayed, fought against and was cast out from. It is what enraged him, so that he goes about like a prowling lion, roaring in anger, and devouring those the consort with him.
Jesus was there, and there he did something, so that all of us had the ability to avoid descent into that place. That something has to be on the order of miraculous that is Creation. While it is the least described and understood part of the Easter mystery, it is potentially the most impactful. God, who suffered beating, torture, humiliation and ultimately death, then went to Hell. That is an unimaginable sacrifice to me, that someone, that knew the depth of the torture it is to be in Hell, went there for me. I have known men that gave their lives for another. I respect that courage and selfless spirit, but I can't imagine allowing myself to be sent to Hell, for someone as sinful as I am.
So, we will hear lots of sermons about the Disciples, how they suffered from doubt and misunderstanding. We will hear sermons about the resurrection. We will gladly proclaim He is Risen!, but will we consider what he has risen from? Will we offer worship and joy over what Jesus actually did for us, and the immense burden he bore for us? Do we recognize that he suffered our penalty? Not that he died, because we know that other men can do that. As much as we appreciate it, and honor it, it is not singular to the Trinity.
What is singular, is that simply, just like the sinner I am and continue to be, Jesus went to the place bereft of the love and light of the universe, for us all. In that time, in that way, he fulfilled all of our deserved punishment. That is what Jesus was doing on this day, that we symbolize on Holy Saturday. There is a feeling of nothing, of isolation and quiet, about this day in the church life. Imagine this day 2000 years ago.
Those that knew Jesus, tried to believe in Jesus, most keenly felt the loss of Jesus, their friend, their teacher, their Savior, cut off completely from God. For God in Hell for us, is an unimaginable thing. It is like understanding how when there was nothing, there was God. It does not make sense to us, it does not compute with our limited understanding. It is one of those stumbles, that believe that they can understand God, use to deny His existence. They claim to not believe unless they know, can prove it. Some become so hardened they deny the existence completely.
They do not realize they already are living in Hell. They are going to where Jesus went after he died for us, because just dying was not enough. Jesus had to overcome all the things that stand in our way to communion in the eternal presence of God. I feel for them. They live every day in the feeling this day has for me. There is no connection to the ultimate source of everything in the universe. It is cut off from us, and it is because that is required to pay the price for our sin. We were not created to know sin, but were created to freely worship the Lord.
Imagine never being able to be in that presence. Not just are you worthy, but just never being able to be in that presence. It is a horrible nightmare, because every human, in their heart, knows that they proceed from the Father who created us, was taught and saved by the Son who loved us, and is strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit that wants to live within us. Every agnostic, atheist, pagan, heretic, knows this in their heart, though they deny it. It is possible to condemn yourself to a life similar to that full day the Disciples spent 2000 years ago. It is a sad reality, and on this day of the Easter season I am always reminded of them and pray hardest for them.
While they are yet here, it is not too late to declare they are of God, that his Son died and WENT TO HELL FOR THEM, and that his Holy Spirit wants to in dwell them and guide them ever to the Father. Jut as is true of us, it is true of them. And if they do find their way home, all the hosts of Heaven celebrate in the presence of the Father, that one of his lost is found again. We are all lost, without Jesus, and we are all a source of pleasure and pride to the Father, and we are all worthy to the Holy Spirit.
That is what today signifies to me, and why Easter Sunday is so wonderful to me. I hope you feel the wonder of the resurrection, and the absolute pardon, that was won for you in a miraculous way on Holy Saturday. He will Rise, He will INDEED.
GLYASDI
Friday, March 25, 2016
Fair Winds
The sun just came up over the horizon. There is a quality to the light at the beach, during sunset or sunrise, that is not present anywhere else. I suppose there is science behind that, you know refraction, reflection, frequency and prisms. That kind of thing.
But, it is more diffuse, not as harsh. The only color that really pops is the blue of the sky, and how intensely blue but different it is from the ocean. There is a glow, a sort of warmth that comes through the light.
If you add to it the salt smell in the air, the smell that comes from uncounted trillions of gallons spreading beyond you to the horizon, straining the eye for as far as you can see, it is quite enchanting. It is my opinion that this is why so many come to the beach to retire. I think that the constant wind, the fact that you cannot walk quickly in sand, that waves never stop mumbling to you, that all this is what draws men to the shore.
Some men it draws out to the deep. I was one of those men. Those days are behind me now. I won't ever be a man that goes down to the sea in ships again. But, I will forever be a man that went down to the sea in ships.
If you have never seen the circle of horizon being nothing but deep blue, white capped water, if you have never watched the entire world move slowly up and down as your ship made way, if you have never watched the dolphin breasting alongside the bow, if you have never seen the albatross and the frigate birds living in the midst of a landless ocean, if you have never heard the howl of the gale, or felt the glory of the storm, you will struggle to understand the love of the sea that sailors have.
Just to be close to it makes me calmer. Hearing her constant conversation of waves and riffles and feeling her presence close, puts me at ease. I left my passion when I retired from the Navy. I was a carrier sailor. The thought of going out on a 30' short stack, to barely get beyond the sight of shore, to fish for fish I won't eat, does not fill me with desire. Getting on a sleek, streamlined, ghost grey behemoth of power and destruction, steering course directly to the wind and striking for either Cape with all good speed, that gets my motor running.
There is no play acting that conjures that feeling. I do not mourn the loss, I was blessed to have the time I did upon her waves, and to return, mostly unharmed, every time I set upon her. I saw things that other men dream. I did things that others cannot comprehend. I was fully and completely the man I was made to be by God, and did what I was called to do from above. I regret none of that time.
Nor do I regret leaving her behind. We were not to be forever entwined, and that was always true. She will stay forever that part of my life where I dared things I could not dream, and I saw things I could not fathom. But, it is a hard life, as the sailor to the sea. It is a life that makes you old, beats you, uses you up. It is a finite thing, and I came to my time of an end. And I left to find great challenges, great rewards, great friends and a world of love.
I am always happy to be back on her shores. I know the beauty and mystery and allure of what lies beyond her horizon. But, I do not seek it any longer, I do not feel compelled further. I am free to be the man I am, to know what I have known, to treasure it in my heart, and to make a life for myself and my family that benefits from that which I found along the way.
I love the ocean, I love the beach, and like any sailor, I love the sound of the waves, the feeling of the air as it rolls over the foam. I don't miss it, but I remember it fondly. I remember that time the Kraken nearly took us down to Davey Jones, but with a fork, a marlinspike, and a short length of line, we managed to win the ship free, and sail home a day early, with all souls on board.
The reality is much less believable than the tales, and the memories are keener here in the sea air. May Neptune give you favor, may you find fair winds, following seas and a clear white wake. All God's blessing on those that go down to the sea in ships, and those that toil on the land for God's good grace. It is a fine, soft morning here. Hope that yours is as well.
GLYASDI
But, it is more diffuse, not as harsh. The only color that really pops is the blue of the sky, and how intensely blue but different it is from the ocean. There is a glow, a sort of warmth that comes through the light.
If you add to it the salt smell in the air, the smell that comes from uncounted trillions of gallons spreading beyond you to the horizon, straining the eye for as far as you can see, it is quite enchanting. It is my opinion that this is why so many come to the beach to retire. I think that the constant wind, the fact that you cannot walk quickly in sand, that waves never stop mumbling to you, that all this is what draws men to the shore.
Some men it draws out to the deep. I was one of those men. Those days are behind me now. I won't ever be a man that goes down to the sea in ships again. But, I will forever be a man that went down to the sea in ships.
If you have never seen the circle of horizon being nothing but deep blue, white capped water, if you have never watched the entire world move slowly up and down as your ship made way, if you have never watched the dolphin breasting alongside the bow, if you have never seen the albatross and the frigate birds living in the midst of a landless ocean, if you have never heard the howl of the gale, or felt the glory of the storm, you will struggle to understand the love of the sea that sailors have.
Just to be close to it makes me calmer. Hearing her constant conversation of waves and riffles and feeling her presence close, puts me at ease. I left my passion when I retired from the Navy. I was a carrier sailor. The thought of going out on a 30' short stack, to barely get beyond the sight of shore, to fish for fish I won't eat, does not fill me with desire. Getting on a sleek, streamlined, ghost grey behemoth of power and destruction, steering course directly to the wind and striking for either Cape with all good speed, that gets my motor running.
There is no play acting that conjures that feeling. I do not mourn the loss, I was blessed to have the time I did upon her waves, and to return, mostly unharmed, every time I set upon her. I saw things that other men dream. I did things that others cannot comprehend. I was fully and completely the man I was made to be by God, and did what I was called to do from above. I regret none of that time.
Nor do I regret leaving her behind. We were not to be forever entwined, and that was always true. She will stay forever that part of my life where I dared things I could not dream, and I saw things I could not fathom. But, it is a hard life, as the sailor to the sea. It is a life that makes you old, beats you, uses you up. It is a finite thing, and I came to my time of an end. And I left to find great challenges, great rewards, great friends and a world of love.
I am always happy to be back on her shores. I know the beauty and mystery and allure of what lies beyond her horizon. But, I do not seek it any longer, I do not feel compelled further. I am free to be the man I am, to know what I have known, to treasure it in my heart, and to make a life for myself and my family that benefits from that which I found along the way.
I love the ocean, I love the beach, and like any sailor, I love the sound of the waves, the feeling of the air as it rolls over the foam. I don't miss it, but I remember it fondly. I remember that time the Kraken nearly took us down to Davey Jones, but with a fork, a marlinspike, and a short length of line, we managed to win the ship free, and sail home a day early, with all souls on board.
The reality is much less believable than the tales, and the memories are keener here in the sea air. May Neptune give you favor, may you find fair winds, following seas and a clear white wake. All God's blessing on those that go down to the sea in ships, and those that toil on the land for God's good grace. It is a fine, soft morning here. Hope that yours is as well.
GLYASDI
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Horrible
There is no way to describe the terrorists attacks we are seeing, except as horrible. There is nothing redeeming about it. There is nothing logical, or understandable about it. There is nothing redemptive or uplifting about it. There is nothing about it but horror.
These are evil men. I don't know if they are born evil. I don't know if their religion turns them evil. I don't know if society turns them evil. I don't care.
It does not matter what makes these men evil, they just are evil. And there is only one way to deal with evil men in the world. Those actions are past me now. I am become an old man, in terms of dealing with this scourge of terrorism. Were I able, I would be there, doing something about this.
It does not matter to me what babbling goes on about whether or not Islam is the source of evil, or a peaceful religion perverted by ideologs. I do not care even the least bit, what anyone thinks justifies this activity, what generates this kind of evil. I don't care what color their skin is. I don't care what language they speak. I don't care what their background is.
I don't care even a little bit about their concerns, their desires, their goals, their issues. I would not even begin to discuss it with anyone. It is immaterial and wasteful to discuss in terms of dealing with these issues. I have said it before, and I will say it again, there needs to be a general like Sherman, or Grant, or Sheridan, or Ridgeway, or Gavin, or Clark, or McArthur, or Patton, or Bradley. A fighting general, a general that has the wherewithal and stones, regardless of their sex, to go kill people who only understand killing.
We did not beat the Nazis because we tried understanding them, or we worried about separating the good Germans from the bad Germans. We did not defeat the Japanese because we gave a crap about their cause or aims. We just shot them, bombed them, burned them and killed them in whatever number they presented to us. And we kept at it until they surrendered unconditionally and completely.
For those of you that have not served, or have not studied military history, there is no easy, clean or decent way to wage war. War is ugly, bloody, deadly and horrific. There is but one way to win a war. You have to go strangle, cut, shoot, beat, kick, spit, burn, scratch, poison, choke and stomp the enemy when they are in front of you. And if they are not in front of you, you go to where they are and commence waging war.
Sherman is alternately vilified and revered, sometimes by the same historians. He understood and applied a liberal form of war of maneuver to the tools of modern warfare. He did not focus on solely where the army of the enemy was, he destroyed the ability of the enemy to wage war. He did not focus on one aspect of the war, he went where there was the most damage to do, economically, militarily and emotionally, and enforced his will on his opponents. He left them unable to do anything but capitulate.
Grant threw thousands of men, after thousands of men, after thousands of men against Lee, backing him remorselessly into a tighter and tighter noose of maneuver. He drove him to Petersburg, then to Richmond then west to Appomattox. He did not waver, he did not shrink from it. He did not do anything but trudge forward, hammering his opponent day after day. It was bloody, it was horrific, and it was exactly what was required for the warfare being practiced.
What do we learn from these men? We learn that war is total, or it is futile. War is complete, or it is futile. War is fought above the level of brutality of your enemy, or you are going to lose. War is the decision that it is preferable to drop a nuclear bomb and kill hundreds of thousands, than lose many multiples of that number of your own troops, invading. War is never being sorry for that decision, whether you ever take pride in it or not. Saving the lives of your men, at the expense of the lives of your enemy is a trade you will make every day, if you are going to wage war and win.
War is not a partial endeavor, or a limited effort, or a measured response. If you are in a war, and decide not to fight a war, you are going to continue to suffer losses, casualties and misery. After 30 years following Reagan, we have lost sight of that maxim. It is my considered opinion that the Soviets did not do any more during the Cold War, because they understood that the men in the White House would wage war against them, with all the tools and weaponry at their disposal, until they were defeated.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, we have had pipsqueak Presidents and false narratives. We have continually decided to limit our involvement, shepherd our response, dilute our capabilities. Why don't coalitions bring much difference to the table? None of them can fight war on the scale and breadth that America can, except Russia and China. It is commendable that the French, Belgian, British and German military participate, but they are not key components or needed resources.
It is not muscle flexing to destroy the entity that attacks you. It is considered warfare. Warfare that we are afraid to fight and scared to wage. We have come to the conclusion that we can fight a clean war, against an enemy that lives intertwined with the "peaceful innocents". They shelter them, they provide for them, they hide them, they lie for them, they protect them and they support them. They are not neutral parties. Anymore than the civilians that worked in the Japanese and German war effort were neutral parties. They were participants, and had to be defeated just as the military had to be defeated.
What Sherman, Marshall, Nimitz, Patton, Alexander, Montgomery, all understood was that only forcible subjugation would defeat the enemy. We did not do this in Korea, or Vietnam, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Iraq again, or in Syria/Lybia/Egypt currently. Because of that, the results were muddy, unclear, non-permanent and transient. It was not worth the loss of life and treasure to have attempted the feat, only to give back gains and limit the extent to which we prosecute the effort.
Belgium is faced with a huge quandary. What do they do? They know where the trouble lives. They know that it is protected, supplied and supported by the inhabitants of that community. They know that to do anything meaningful, they will have to face world wide condemnation. In the European calculus, it is preferable to have occasional attacks, than it is to root out and destroy the cancer growing within.
That is their deal. More power to them, and France and Germany. But, here in America, we need to heed these events and take these lessons. If you are not willing to destroy the source of evil, you are tacitly approving that evil. Eventually, it will become unbearable and unsustainable, and we will unite and defeat this evil. I have no doubt that evil will not triumph. Our shared history shows that evil collapses into the corruption it breeds. Men and women of good conscience stand up, unite and strike down the forces of evil.
I hope that we study the last one hundred years of our history, it is still less than one hundred years since the conclusion of WWI. If we do not soon understand what it will take to defeat this enemy, that we must take the fight to where they are, that we must harden our hearts and wage war against their entire war making machine, the entire community wrapped up in their effort and successes, we are not going to win.
It is ugly, there is nothing glorious or commendable about war. That does not mean, if you wish to remain free and secure, you do not have to occasionally climb down into the trenches and go at it with the enemy. If you are unwilling to do so, you will not defeat them, you will never win.
War is hell. It is, and we are living in it, at the hands of evil and vile men and women, possessed of an evil outlook of the world, and approach to life. They are not indicative of anything but evil and murder. They are not justified because of economy. They are not justified because of persecution. They are not justified because of history. They are murderers, rapists, barbarian and cold hearted. The only way to defeat people like that is to hammer them with the very thing they understand. You have to be resolved to win, and demonstrate it daily and totally.
Eventually, we will figure this out, and hopefully it will not be too late. Europe is burning already. The Mid East has blazed for half a century. And it is creeping into Russia and America. Why is it not happening in China? They will do what the Soviets used to do. They will wage war that these evil bastards understand. And they will do it until they win. We are not considered to be that force anymore, and it should be shameful for every American that we have lost that.
It is not cruel or disproportionate to go crush your enemy that attacks your land. We did not wonder at the viewpoint of the world when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. We lost less Americans, and less total value, at Pearl Harbor, than we did on 9/11. Yet, here we sit, wondering what measured and careful response we can make.
We better be careful and measure every inch of that viper's nest that is breeding this evil. Then we better go make it so that these people do not ever decide to try the resolve of the United States again. Because we refuse to go where the head of this snake lives, because we refuse to cut it off and chop up the body, we are going to continue to accept this life that we live now.
Freedom is always a razor's edge. Evil hates freedom, because it cannot fathom it, cannot stomach it, and cannot overcome it. When freedom stops hating evil, and acting on it, it is lost forever. History is full of evidence to prove this. I hope we are not another chapter of teaching, that did not learn its lesson soon enough.
The object can no longer be to keep Americans safe, it has to be making sure America wins. That is the choice in war. You can fight it or you can try to stay safe. Safe is relative, war is not. Safe is subjective, war is not. You cannot be relatively at war, but you can be relatively safe. Safety is overrated and much less valuable than winning. The best key to safety is to defeat the enemy in front of you.
War is hell. Better to spend some time in hell to defeat evil, than sentence ourselves to an unending cycle of it.
GLYASDI
These are evil men. I don't know if they are born evil. I don't know if their religion turns them evil. I don't know if society turns them evil. I don't care.
It does not matter what makes these men evil, they just are evil. And there is only one way to deal with evil men in the world. Those actions are past me now. I am become an old man, in terms of dealing with this scourge of terrorism. Were I able, I would be there, doing something about this.
It does not matter to me what babbling goes on about whether or not Islam is the source of evil, or a peaceful religion perverted by ideologs. I do not care even the least bit, what anyone thinks justifies this activity, what generates this kind of evil. I don't care what color their skin is. I don't care what language they speak. I don't care what their background is.
I don't care even a little bit about their concerns, their desires, their goals, their issues. I would not even begin to discuss it with anyone. It is immaterial and wasteful to discuss in terms of dealing with these issues. I have said it before, and I will say it again, there needs to be a general like Sherman, or Grant, or Sheridan, or Ridgeway, or Gavin, or Clark, or McArthur, or Patton, or Bradley. A fighting general, a general that has the wherewithal and stones, regardless of their sex, to go kill people who only understand killing.
We did not beat the Nazis because we tried understanding them, or we worried about separating the good Germans from the bad Germans. We did not defeat the Japanese because we gave a crap about their cause or aims. We just shot them, bombed them, burned them and killed them in whatever number they presented to us. And we kept at it until they surrendered unconditionally and completely.
For those of you that have not served, or have not studied military history, there is no easy, clean or decent way to wage war. War is ugly, bloody, deadly and horrific. There is but one way to win a war. You have to go strangle, cut, shoot, beat, kick, spit, burn, scratch, poison, choke and stomp the enemy when they are in front of you. And if they are not in front of you, you go to where they are and commence waging war.
Sherman is alternately vilified and revered, sometimes by the same historians. He understood and applied a liberal form of war of maneuver to the tools of modern warfare. He did not focus on solely where the army of the enemy was, he destroyed the ability of the enemy to wage war. He did not focus on one aspect of the war, he went where there was the most damage to do, economically, militarily and emotionally, and enforced his will on his opponents. He left them unable to do anything but capitulate.
Grant threw thousands of men, after thousands of men, after thousands of men against Lee, backing him remorselessly into a tighter and tighter noose of maneuver. He drove him to Petersburg, then to Richmond then west to Appomattox. He did not waver, he did not shrink from it. He did not do anything but trudge forward, hammering his opponent day after day. It was bloody, it was horrific, and it was exactly what was required for the warfare being practiced.
What do we learn from these men? We learn that war is total, or it is futile. War is complete, or it is futile. War is fought above the level of brutality of your enemy, or you are going to lose. War is the decision that it is preferable to drop a nuclear bomb and kill hundreds of thousands, than lose many multiples of that number of your own troops, invading. War is never being sorry for that decision, whether you ever take pride in it or not. Saving the lives of your men, at the expense of the lives of your enemy is a trade you will make every day, if you are going to wage war and win.
War is not a partial endeavor, or a limited effort, or a measured response. If you are in a war, and decide not to fight a war, you are going to continue to suffer losses, casualties and misery. After 30 years following Reagan, we have lost sight of that maxim. It is my considered opinion that the Soviets did not do any more during the Cold War, because they understood that the men in the White House would wage war against them, with all the tools and weaponry at their disposal, until they were defeated.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, we have had pipsqueak Presidents and false narratives. We have continually decided to limit our involvement, shepherd our response, dilute our capabilities. Why don't coalitions bring much difference to the table? None of them can fight war on the scale and breadth that America can, except Russia and China. It is commendable that the French, Belgian, British and German military participate, but they are not key components or needed resources.
It is not muscle flexing to destroy the entity that attacks you. It is considered warfare. Warfare that we are afraid to fight and scared to wage. We have come to the conclusion that we can fight a clean war, against an enemy that lives intertwined with the "peaceful innocents". They shelter them, they provide for them, they hide them, they lie for them, they protect them and they support them. They are not neutral parties. Anymore than the civilians that worked in the Japanese and German war effort were neutral parties. They were participants, and had to be defeated just as the military had to be defeated.
What Sherman, Marshall, Nimitz, Patton, Alexander, Montgomery, all understood was that only forcible subjugation would defeat the enemy. We did not do this in Korea, or Vietnam, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Iraq again, or in Syria/Lybia/Egypt currently. Because of that, the results were muddy, unclear, non-permanent and transient. It was not worth the loss of life and treasure to have attempted the feat, only to give back gains and limit the extent to which we prosecute the effort.
Belgium is faced with a huge quandary. What do they do? They know where the trouble lives. They know that it is protected, supplied and supported by the inhabitants of that community. They know that to do anything meaningful, they will have to face world wide condemnation. In the European calculus, it is preferable to have occasional attacks, than it is to root out and destroy the cancer growing within.
That is their deal. More power to them, and France and Germany. But, here in America, we need to heed these events and take these lessons. If you are not willing to destroy the source of evil, you are tacitly approving that evil. Eventually, it will become unbearable and unsustainable, and we will unite and defeat this evil. I have no doubt that evil will not triumph. Our shared history shows that evil collapses into the corruption it breeds. Men and women of good conscience stand up, unite and strike down the forces of evil.
I hope that we study the last one hundred years of our history, it is still less than one hundred years since the conclusion of WWI. If we do not soon understand what it will take to defeat this enemy, that we must take the fight to where they are, that we must harden our hearts and wage war against their entire war making machine, the entire community wrapped up in their effort and successes, we are not going to win.
It is ugly, there is nothing glorious or commendable about war. That does not mean, if you wish to remain free and secure, you do not have to occasionally climb down into the trenches and go at it with the enemy. If you are unwilling to do so, you will not defeat them, you will never win.
War is hell. It is, and we are living in it, at the hands of evil and vile men and women, possessed of an evil outlook of the world, and approach to life. They are not indicative of anything but evil and murder. They are not justified because of economy. They are not justified because of persecution. They are not justified because of history. They are murderers, rapists, barbarian and cold hearted. The only way to defeat people like that is to hammer them with the very thing they understand. You have to be resolved to win, and demonstrate it daily and totally.
Eventually, we will figure this out, and hopefully it will not be too late. Europe is burning already. The Mid East has blazed for half a century. And it is creeping into Russia and America. Why is it not happening in China? They will do what the Soviets used to do. They will wage war that these evil bastards understand. And they will do it until they win. We are not considered to be that force anymore, and it should be shameful for every American that we have lost that.
It is not cruel or disproportionate to go crush your enemy that attacks your land. We did not wonder at the viewpoint of the world when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. We lost less Americans, and less total value, at Pearl Harbor, than we did on 9/11. Yet, here we sit, wondering what measured and careful response we can make.
We better be careful and measure every inch of that viper's nest that is breeding this evil. Then we better go make it so that these people do not ever decide to try the resolve of the United States again. Because we refuse to go where the head of this snake lives, because we refuse to cut it off and chop up the body, we are going to continue to accept this life that we live now.
Freedom is always a razor's edge. Evil hates freedom, because it cannot fathom it, cannot stomach it, and cannot overcome it. When freedom stops hating evil, and acting on it, it is lost forever. History is full of evidence to prove this. I hope we are not another chapter of teaching, that did not learn its lesson soon enough.
The object can no longer be to keep Americans safe, it has to be making sure America wins. That is the choice in war. You can fight it or you can try to stay safe. Safe is relative, war is not. Safe is subjective, war is not. You cannot be relatively at war, but you can be relatively safe. Safety is overrated and much less valuable than winning. The best key to safety is to defeat the enemy in front of you.
War is hell. Better to spend some time in hell to defeat evil, than sentence ourselves to an unending cycle of it.
GLYASDI
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Perspective
I struggle sometimes, because not many people share my perspective. I should not say it that way, better there are not a large number of people that have had my experiences. I am not better, or smarter, or more anything than anyone else. I have just had the experiences of my life that have informed my opinions.
I saw a video that I shared on Facebook yesterday, of a motivational speaker, who was black, addressing an auditorium of black students (middle or high school). He was disrespected, there was general laughter and conversation while he was trying to speak. He called them to task, in a way that I am not sure would have worked by anyone else, outside of the military.
He talked to those kids the way I talked to junior sailors when I was in the military. I was leading people in the work place when I was 21 years old. I am now approaching my 49th anniversary of arrival, I would have been conceived this month in 1967. For 28 years, I have interacted with, motivated, taught, learned from, directed, pleaded, counseled, instructed, discussed, cried, drank, partied, laughed, fought, supported, protected, shielded and otherwise led other adults. Leadership is a collection of all those actions. It is the holistic relationship that draws out the best in others.
Anybody can manage people. If you make a list, see that it is communicated, and report any failures, you have succeeded in managing people. It is not enlightening, it is not valuable, it is not useful. Without leadership, it is a vacuum position that sucks energy and vitality out of any organization. With leadership, management can be an art form, and have the most amazing impact on any organization. Without leadership, no organization will succeed.
I say that to express how important I feel leadership is. I do not have a doctoral thesis developed from "observations" of application of principles. I do not have a diploma that grants me expert leadership status. I do, however, know leadership from the receiving and providing ends of the spectrum. I am always interested in other's take on this singular quality of personality.
Leadership is God given, or it is born into you. Some people have abundance of it, just as some people have abundance of physical abilities. I played football and baseball, but I did not have an abundance of talent or ability at it. I enjoyed it, but it was a game for me, and skills that I struggled to master. There were others that excelled with almost no effort, they were naturals.
Leadership works that way. Those not gifted with it naturally can practice the process, learn to do some of the things, develop some skills. But, unless you are a natural, you will not be excellent at it. I know that many thousands of books have been published claiming to be the secret to "learning" leadership, and, as a Navy Chief, I call bullshit. You cannot learn it. You can practice it to some benefit, to the extent of your abilities, but it is not a learnable thing, any more than Brett Favre, Cal Ripken, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretsky, and probably some soccer player, learned how to be great at their sport. They were all born with the abilities, and honed the craft to excel beyond all others at their field. That is how leadership is.
Muggsy Bogues is the shortest man to ever play NBA basketball. At 5'3" he is actually shorter than I am. He did not get onto the court of an NBA arena just because he worked extremely hard. He got there because he had God given gifts that he worked very hard to hone. Some combination of speed, jumping ability, hand-eye coordination, spacial awareness and body control worked to allow him to capitalize on all his traits and be superior. That is how leadership is.
You can be a naturally gifted leader and be really crappy at it. You can be a naturally gifted leader, and never hone those skills and abilities and ignore that capacity. You can be a naturally gifted leader that never is given the opportunity and never know you have the capacity. But, you cannot be someone without the born ability, and develop into a great or even capable leader. You just can't. I have watched hundreds and hundreds of people try it and fail. I have watched hundreds of people claim their particular snake oil would work to overcome your lack of natural ability, and fail. I have watched, read and evaluated hundreds of people that have studied and dissected and claimed to know and explain how it works, and get it wrong.
The truth is, it is like love. You know it is there, when you experience it. Most people look at it and wonder what the hell made that work. No one has developed a scale or measure that accurately details it. But it is real, accepted, and infinitely important to the human progress. No one can fake it till they make it as a leader, anymore than they can fake it till they make it as a lover. You will fail every time, and never make it in love or leadership, if you are faking it.
All that is to say that we have allowed management and social nicety to impact the ability of leadership to function well across our society. Because we have allowed a culture of mutual prohibited success to develop, because we have lost sight of the fact that there really are winners and losers in situations and in life, we have crippled the effectiveness of leadership at large in our culture. Good men and women stand up, and do the job, and it looks and sounds and feels so good when we see it. But the crushing blandness of the politically correct and stagnant society we are developing overwhelms it almost immediately.
It explains the Trump and Sanders phenomenon. They are playing to this on opposite ends of the spectrum. And, it is not leadership, it is rabble rousing charisma. They are spouting the salving words to the basest instincts of the distinct ends of American society. Trump speaks to the isolationist, scared, bereft and kind of hopeless middle of the right end of the spectrum, that believe there is a place and time for things, but there is an order at which they come about that cannot be violated. Sanders speaks to the disaffected, ignorant and idealistic middle of the left end of the spectrum, that believe there is a reason that the world owes you something, and everything should be equal, and that change is spontaneous, instant and lasting.
Both viewpoints are wrong. Change does not respect the order of things, but instantaneous and spontaneous change is never permanent. That is why the vast middle of America, regardless of race, party or beliefs, do not trust either of the charlatans. They know, instinctively, that what they are hearing is impossible, and fraught with tragedy and danger to attempt. It is not that they like it, they want to see it change immediately and permanently, but in the right order with the right outcome. But, deep inside, they know that what they are hearing does not work, and it will not ever work.
Leadership is missing. Why could Reagan say some of the same things that Trump is saying, and accomplish some of the things that Trump bleats about? Because he was a leader, it was instinctive and natural, and he could get others to understand the vision and the process and effect that change. Why could FDR say and do some of the things that Sanders is screaming? Because he was a leader, it was instinctive and natural, and he could get others to understand the vision and the process and effect that change.
We remember both Reagan and FDR as singularly capable and remarkable leaders. We denigrate Nixon, Ford, Carter, Clinton, Obama, as leaderless suits that held high office. Yet, we never consider that difference. We never consider what some say, and what some do. For instance, it is really kind of befuddling to me how Cruz (and Obama before him), has traction over Christie, Jeb Bush or John Kasich. (With Obama it was Wesley Clark, a real executive leader). There is no there, there. There is zero demonstrated leadership. There is great bombast, great grandstanding and personal aggrandizement. But, there is no leadership, no progress, no unity of purpose or direction. No outcome of importance or lasting effect, that is not negative.
We have intermixed our religion and politics in the Red States equation, such that the equation will never solve. We have completely invalidated our religion and social morals in the Blue States equation, such that the equation will never solve. Until someone stands up and explains the Red or Blue equation adequately, exposing the errors that prevent solution, and offers a path to a Purple equation that works for our good, we are going to continue to suffer Clintons, Bush Jr's and Obamas. Men that win on ego and personality and lack any kind of internal leadership structure that result in lasting and permanent improvement.
When you listen to the Republicans, only one leader emerges, that remains, and that is Kasich. He is the only one that understands that a Red America is no better than a Blue America, both are flawed, temporary and full of suffering. America has always been and always will be Purple, a combination and consensus. It is not perfect, but it is close enough from all angles to lift all boats. There is not a single voice of leadership on the Democratic side. And that is just all there is to say about it. When Webb dropped out, it left empty suits, resumes and alot of corrupt and stupid rhetoric.
When it comes right down to it, leadership and love are very real social qualities that you only know when you feel it. You can have $10 billion, you can have held every required office on the checklist, you could have smoked a whole trash bag of dope at Woodstock, you could have given sermons on Sunday for 10 years, but if you aint got it, you aint.
And, folks, from someone that knows it, practices it, has made their living from it, let me tell you, in my considered and professional opinion, they aint got it, in a major way. We better be very careful. Charisma can parade as leadership, but it often veneers sociopathic tendencies. Manson, Hitler, Mao, Stalin, they had charisma, not leadership. They were sociopaths, who had no limits, no internal strings filtering their actions. I am not claiming that any of our candidates are sociopaths. But, I am very much cautioning you that charisma feels good, sounds good to your ear, but once you sleep with it, it is gone in the morning. Whatever comes of that night, is all on you for the rest of your life.
We have that experience with Clinton, Bush Jr, and Obama. Still, we have not learned as a nation. Still we want to listen to the barn burners, the hate-mongers and pie-eyed idealists, on both sides of the equation. When Red + Blue does not equal one, it equals Depression, Great Recession, Bubble Collapse, Inflation, War in Iraq, ISIS. It is on us to no longer accept that, in the Presidency, or the Congress.
If the candidate only tells you what they will repeal, what they hate, or describes what you know is impossible, (ice cream for everyone after free college and all the dope you can smoke, or scarlet A's on the prairie dress of the loose women who would want an abortion), it is charisma. It smells bad, after you know what real leadership is. That is why people on all sides of the aisle hate Trump, Clinton, Sanders, Cruz. It is charisma and an empty suit, or pants suit. It will never work governing, or leading.
Trust me, it will be painful to prove we can't solve either of these equations. In a land that wants a government servant to serve all people, but only chooses its leaders and representatives based on how pure they are to one end of the spectrum or the other, it is foolish to claim we don't know why it is this way. If you want to make progress, vote for candidates that will go do something doable. 80 foot walls paid for by Mexico, free college, health care and everything else by only taxing the rich, there hundreds of others. These are not doable. It is ideological purity, and it is regressive and it is what we have lived with for 24 years. We have been on the major roller coaster since then, and felt its impact.
Obama is not to blame. Sure, he did not make good decisions or take us, together, where we need to go. But, neither did Bush before him, or Clinton before him. We are to blame, we voted for them, and the cast of clowns around them in Congress. Until we change what we are doing, it will not change in Washington. They are getting unbelievably rich, with an unbelievable pension and life long benefits better than the best corporate plans in America. They truly don't care in any meaningful way about you, they only care about the goal posts and where we have moved them to. You know how you can tell?
Because you don't want a world Sanders describes, we defeated it in the Cold War. And you don't want the world Trump describes, we defeated it in the last World War. You want the world that Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Paine, Madison described, that took into account all men, hopefully. They were leaders, none of them got all that they wanted, but they made action happen that lifted all boats. Who sounds the most like the founders? It is not Cruz, no matter how much he reveres them. It is not Trump. It is not Clinton. And it surely is not Sanders. We wrote a prohibition on what those four describe in 1789, and we call it the Constitution. It is not the Book of Leviticus or the Communist Manifesto. It is a documented crafted by leaders, intended to be implemented and overseen by leaders and set up to be protected and pruned by leaders.
Your vote is your piece of this, and it is priceless. Don't give it to just anyone, or for good words that appeal to your basest fears and cheapest desires. Things that are worthwhile are hard, and involve compromise within hard standards. If it was easy, Trump would have never gone bankrupt and Clinton would have used the secure government server for her email. But, you can't control the release and timing of a public sector server, can you? And you can't very well tell me how wonderful you are as a business person, when some of my tax dollars went to bail your business interest out, with no personal impact to your wealth.
Priceless, that is what leadership is. And it should be expected of those we elect. That is what the Founders based the Constitution on, not the Bible. They had all read the Bible, John Locke and a host of others. But, the document they ratified and sent to the states was based on being enacted and maintained by leaders. We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, we are required to find leaders, not snake oil salesmen.
Please, it is for all of our sakes.
GLYASDI
I saw a video that I shared on Facebook yesterday, of a motivational speaker, who was black, addressing an auditorium of black students (middle or high school). He was disrespected, there was general laughter and conversation while he was trying to speak. He called them to task, in a way that I am not sure would have worked by anyone else, outside of the military.
He talked to those kids the way I talked to junior sailors when I was in the military. I was leading people in the work place when I was 21 years old. I am now approaching my 49th anniversary of arrival, I would have been conceived this month in 1967. For 28 years, I have interacted with, motivated, taught, learned from, directed, pleaded, counseled, instructed, discussed, cried, drank, partied, laughed, fought, supported, protected, shielded and otherwise led other adults. Leadership is a collection of all those actions. It is the holistic relationship that draws out the best in others.
Anybody can manage people. If you make a list, see that it is communicated, and report any failures, you have succeeded in managing people. It is not enlightening, it is not valuable, it is not useful. Without leadership, it is a vacuum position that sucks energy and vitality out of any organization. With leadership, management can be an art form, and have the most amazing impact on any organization. Without leadership, no organization will succeed.
I say that to express how important I feel leadership is. I do not have a doctoral thesis developed from "observations" of application of principles. I do not have a diploma that grants me expert leadership status. I do, however, know leadership from the receiving and providing ends of the spectrum. I am always interested in other's take on this singular quality of personality.
Leadership is God given, or it is born into you. Some people have abundance of it, just as some people have abundance of physical abilities. I played football and baseball, but I did not have an abundance of talent or ability at it. I enjoyed it, but it was a game for me, and skills that I struggled to master. There were others that excelled with almost no effort, they were naturals.
Leadership works that way. Those not gifted with it naturally can practice the process, learn to do some of the things, develop some skills. But, unless you are a natural, you will not be excellent at it. I know that many thousands of books have been published claiming to be the secret to "learning" leadership, and, as a Navy Chief, I call bullshit. You cannot learn it. You can practice it to some benefit, to the extent of your abilities, but it is not a learnable thing, any more than Brett Favre, Cal Ripken, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretsky, and probably some soccer player, learned how to be great at their sport. They were all born with the abilities, and honed the craft to excel beyond all others at their field. That is how leadership is.
Muggsy Bogues is the shortest man to ever play NBA basketball. At 5'3" he is actually shorter than I am. He did not get onto the court of an NBA arena just because he worked extremely hard. He got there because he had God given gifts that he worked very hard to hone. Some combination of speed, jumping ability, hand-eye coordination, spacial awareness and body control worked to allow him to capitalize on all his traits and be superior. That is how leadership is.
You can be a naturally gifted leader and be really crappy at it. You can be a naturally gifted leader, and never hone those skills and abilities and ignore that capacity. You can be a naturally gifted leader that never is given the opportunity and never know you have the capacity. But, you cannot be someone without the born ability, and develop into a great or even capable leader. You just can't. I have watched hundreds and hundreds of people try it and fail. I have watched hundreds of people claim their particular snake oil would work to overcome your lack of natural ability, and fail. I have watched, read and evaluated hundreds of people that have studied and dissected and claimed to know and explain how it works, and get it wrong.
The truth is, it is like love. You know it is there, when you experience it. Most people look at it and wonder what the hell made that work. No one has developed a scale or measure that accurately details it. But it is real, accepted, and infinitely important to the human progress. No one can fake it till they make it as a leader, anymore than they can fake it till they make it as a lover. You will fail every time, and never make it in love or leadership, if you are faking it.
All that is to say that we have allowed management and social nicety to impact the ability of leadership to function well across our society. Because we have allowed a culture of mutual prohibited success to develop, because we have lost sight of the fact that there really are winners and losers in situations and in life, we have crippled the effectiveness of leadership at large in our culture. Good men and women stand up, and do the job, and it looks and sounds and feels so good when we see it. But the crushing blandness of the politically correct and stagnant society we are developing overwhelms it almost immediately.
It explains the Trump and Sanders phenomenon. They are playing to this on opposite ends of the spectrum. And, it is not leadership, it is rabble rousing charisma. They are spouting the salving words to the basest instincts of the distinct ends of American society. Trump speaks to the isolationist, scared, bereft and kind of hopeless middle of the right end of the spectrum, that believe there is a place and time for things, but there is an order at which they come about that cannot be violated. Sanders speaks to the disaffected, ignorant and idealistic middle of the left end of the spectrum, that believe there is a reason that the world owes you something, and everything should be equal, and that change is spontaneous, instant and lasting.
Both viewpoints are wrong. Change does not respect the order of things, but instantaneous and spontaneous change is never permanent. That is why the vast middle of America, regardless of race, party or beliefs, do not trust either of the charlatans. They know, instinctively, that what they are hearing is impossible, and fraught with tragedy and danger to attempt. It is not that they like it, they want to see it change immediately and permanently, but in the right order with the right outcome. But, deep inside, they know that what they are hearing does not work, and it will not ever work.
Leadership is missing. Why could Reagan say some of the same things that Trump is saying, and accomplish some of the things that Trump bleats about? Because he was a leader, it was instinctive and natural, and he could get others to understand the vision and the process and effect that change. Why could FDR say and do some of the things that Sanders is screaming? Because he was a leader, it was instinctive and natural, and he could get others to understand the vision and the process and effect that change.
We remember both Reagan and FDR as singularly capable and remarkable leaders. We denigrate Nixon, Ford, Carter, Clinton, Obama, as leaderless suits that held high office. Yet, we never consider that difference. We never consider what some say, and what some do. For instance, it is really kind of befuddling to me how Cruz (and Obama before him), has traction over Christie, Jeb Bush or John Kasich. (With Obama it was Wesley Clark, a real executive leader). There is no there, there. There is zero demonstrated leadership. There is great bombast, great grandstanding and personal aggrandizement. But, there is no leadership, no progress, no unity of purpose or direction. No outcome of importance or lasting effect, that is not negative.
We have intermixed our religion and politics in the Red States equation, such that the equation will never solve. We have completely invalidated our religion and social morals in the Blue States equation, such that the equation will never solve. Until someone stands up and explains the Red or Blue equation adequately, exposing the errors that prevent solution, and offers a path to a Purple equation that works for our good, we are going to continue to suffer Clintons, Bush Jr's and Obamas. Men that win on ego and personality and lack any kind of internal leadership structure that result in lasting and permanent improvement.
When you listen to the Republicans, only one leader emerges, that remains, and that is Kasich. He is the only one that understands that a Red America is no better than a Blue America, both are flawed, temporary and full of suffering. America has always been and always will be Purple, a combination and consensus. It is not perfect, but it is close enough from all angles to lift all boats. There is not a single voice of leadership on the Democratic side. And that is just all there is to say about it. When Webb dropped out, it left empty suits, resumes and alot of corrupt and stupid rhetoric.
When it comes right down to it, leadership and love are very real social qualities that you only know when you feel it. You can have $10 billion, you can have held every required office on the checklist, you could have smoked a whole trash bag of dope at Woodstock, you could have given sermons on Sunday for 10 years, but if you aint got it, you aint.
And, folks, from someone that knows it, practices it, has made their living from it, let me tell you, in my considered and professional opinion, they aint got it, in a major way. We better be very careful. Charisma can parade as leadership, but it often veneers sociopathic tendencies. Manson, Hitler, Mao, Stalin, they had charisma, not leadership. They were sociopaths, who had no limits, no internal strings filtering their actions. I am not claiming that any of our candidates are sociopaths. But, I am very much cautioning you that charisma feels good, sounds good to your ear, but once you sleep with it, it is gone in the morning. Whatever comes of that night, is all on you for the rest of your life.
We have that experience with Clinton, Bush Jr, and Obama. Still, we have not learned as a nation. Still we want to listen to the barn burners, the hate-mongers and pie-eyed idealists, on both sides of the equation. When Red + Blue does not equal one, it equals Depression, Great Recession, Bubble Collapse, Inflation, War in Iraq, ISIS. It is on us to no longer accept that, in the Presidency, or the Congress.
If the candidate only tells you what they will repeal, what they hate, or describes what you know is impossible, (ice cream for everyone after free college and all the dope you can smoke, or scarlet A's on the prairie dress of the loose women who would want an abortion), it is charisma. It smells bad, after you know what real leadership is. That is why people on all sides of the aisle hate Trump, Clinton, Sanders, Cruz. It is charisma and an empty suit, or pants suit. It will never work governing, or leading.
Trust me, it will be painful to prove we can't solve either of these equations. In a land that wants a government servant to serve all people, but only chooses its leaders and representatives based on how pure they are to one end of the spectrum or the other, it is foolish to claim we don't know why it is this way. If you want to make progress, vote for candidates that will go do something doable. 80 foot walls paid for by Mexico, free college, health care and everything else by only taxing the rich, there hundreds of others. These are not doable. It is ideological purity, and it is regressive and it is what we have lived with for 24 years. We have been on the major roller coaster since then, and felt its impact.
Obama is not to blame. Sure, he did not make good decisions or take us, together, where we need to go. But, neither did Bush before him, or Clinton before him. We are to blame, we voted for them, and the cast of clowns around them in Congress. Until we change what we are doing, it will not change in Washington. They are getting unbelievably rich, with an unbelievable pension and life long benefits better than the best corporate plans in America. They truly don't care in any meaningful way about you, they only care about the goal posts and where we have moved them to. You know how you can tell?
Because you don't want a world Sanders describes, we defeated it in the Cold War. And you don't want the world Trump describes, we defeated it in the last World War. You want the world that Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Paine, Madison described, that took into account all men, hopefully. They were leaders, none of them got all that they wanted, but they made action happen that lifted all boats. Who sounds the most like the founders? It is not Cruz, no matter how much he reveres them. It is not Trump. It is not Clinton. And it surely is not Sanders. We wrote a prohibition on what those four describe in 1789, and we call it the Constitution. It is not the Book of Leviticus or the Communist Manifesto. It is a documented crafted by leaders, intended to be implemented and overseen by leaders and set up to be protected and pruned by leaders.
Your vote is your piece of this, and it is priceless. Don't give it to just anyone, or for good words that appeal to your basest fears and cheapest desires. Things that are worthwhile are hard, and involve compromise within hard standards. If it was easy, Trump would have never gone bankrupt and Clinton would have used the secure government server for her email. But, you can't control the release and timing of a public sector server, can you? And you can't very well tell me how wonderful you are as a business person, when some of my tax dollars went to bail your business interest out, with no personal impact to your wealth.
Priceless, that is what leadership is. And it should be expected of those we elect. That is what the Founders based the Constitution on, not the Bible. They had all read the Bible, John Locke and a host of others. But, the document they ratified and sent to the states was based on being enacted and maintained by leaders. We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, we are required to find leaders, not snake oil salesmen.
Please, it is for all of our sakes.
GLYASDI
Friday, March 18, 2016
In the news
Listening to the local news this morning, and this story was reported. Minorities (blacks) were disproportionately pulled over by the Durham police. Advocacy groups to meet with city leaders today.
Those were the headlines. In the discussion, if you can call 45 seconds discussion, it was revealed that the traffic enforcement unit had not shown disproportionate rates of minority pull over. So, the folks patrolling the streets to keep traffic safe and enforce vehicle laws, were pulling over offenders based on offending, not skin color.
The disproportionate traffic stop pattern was in the HEAT unit. I missed the exact definition of the acronym, but it is basically a unit established to police in high crime areas and impact the increased crime rate in certain areas of the city. The traffic stops from this unit were disproportionately minority.
The obligatory crowd of reverends and activists were interviewed and all talked in somber tones about needing to hear what the city leaders would say to stop this practice. Remember that, they want to hear how city leaders will stop this. Sounds reasonable at the surface, right. One also has recently been quoted as saying that the police are not doing enough to protect the citizens in the high poverty neighborhoods in the city.
Now, for those of you not familiar with Durham, let me explain a couple of relevant facts. Durham houses Duke University and associated hospitals and professionals associated with that university. With its proximity to Chapel Hill, also a big teaching center, there are concentrations of high income citizens and low risk business. These are integrated communities that are generally quiet and relative free of trouble. There is not a racial basis of this, it is an economic basis.
The rest of Durham really resembles some of the Third World enclaves I have visited over the course of my life. Actually, some of the seedier cities in some of the seedier places in the world, are better than some of the ghettos of Durham. These areas are high poverty, high drug use rates, high government assistance, high free school lunch, high free preK program enrollment, high single parent households.
In areas that are described that way, there is a general correlation to a higher crime rate. If you watch the news in the Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville news market, you hear the same 5 or 6 neighborhoods mentioned every week around some violent crime. You see a continually stream of less than 25 year old men, the vast majority of which are minority (black and latino, not a big Asian component) wanted in connection with the various felonies reported.
In the interest of full disclosure, not all crime gets reported on TV. Many of the people wanted for heinous crimes are white. Many white folks are just as poor, income wise and character wise as anyone in a minority community. Crime is not a race issue, all races commit crimes. However, in the highly urban areas of Durham, Raleigh, Fayetteville (and Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and the DC Metro area, all places I am very familiar with) the population has a much greater minority percentage.
This is due to many societal constraints and proclivities. And that is not the point of this post. However, the highest concentration of crime in the area occurs in these highly urban, highly impoverished areas. So, the police tasked with impacting that higher crime rate, in areas that are a larger percentage of minority than the norm, should be expected to pull over more minorities than would otherwise be expected. Comparing the entire area, or the entirety of North Carolina, to the results in Durham is apples to oranges.
It does not make all minorities criminals, or all minority concentrations scary. It is just a fact of demographics and statistics. These are not concepts that translate easily to the high poverty communities. They do not, understandably, want to be lumped into a stereotype. There is not any desire to be treated by the color of their skin, and that is entirely understandable, and should be the requirement.
However, what the news never reports, is that most of these stops by units like the Durham HEAT unit, are stops related to observed activity. It is much safer for neighbors, the community at large, to apprehend suspects in a traffic stop. They are not in a home that may have multiple weapons, hiding places and risk neighbors in a cross fire. They do not usually have accomplices close by that could overwhelm the police doing the arrest. They generally are able to be observed, evaluated and dealt with in the safest and least likely way to end up in physical injury to anyone, police included.
Just looking at the total number of stops, by race, is not a credible way to evaluate the data. Look at the total number of stops by traffic patrol, and evaluating that by race is instructive and should not show a divergence due to race. Stops by units like HEAT need to be seperated. The stops that are random, can be normalized to race with some credibility. Stops that are tactical and part of ongoing investigations are not able to be normalized to race. The unfortunate truth is that in these neighborhoods, a large percentage of the drugs are dealt by minorities. A large percentage of the thefts and violent assaults are by minorities. A large percentage of the stops and arrests associated with these issues will need to be minorities.
The bleating and blathering of the press, and the activists whose income depends on rousing the masses regardless of accuracy, translates to ratings. It is what we see constantly. There is not a good reason to do anything based on race. But there is a good reason to arrest a criminal, regardless of race.
Studies that show correlations to convictions and pleas, to arrests are instructive. I do not believe that the Durham HEAT unit is arresting large numbers of people that are not ultimately charged and convicted or pled to the charges. This kind of half truth mess has to stop.
It builds racial animosity over doing the right things to protect the citizens that are most at risk to being the victims of crime, regardless of their skin color. It continues to divide us over issues and tactics that should unite us. We should all want to get the gangs and dealers and felons and murderers off our streets. We should all want to make our communities safe to sit on your front porch or walk from you car to your house. We should all want our children not to be at risk of being caught up in this never ending cycle of poverty and crime.
None of that is racial, it is just good citizenship. Cops are not bad because in the inner cities they arrest more minorities, at least not until those communities are not disproportionately violent and drug ridden. It is poor citizenship on the part of the press and the activists to perpetuate this false narrative. We end up angry at the cops for arresting a legitimate felon and violent offender, because we think it is just about them being latino, and not about them being a suspect in a murder or robbery.
We had a black man shot by the Raleigh police about two weeks ago. It turned out he was unarmed. What the news does not put out, and the activists gloss over, is that he was being picked up for a felony warrant. This was no altar boy or stranger to the police or policing. In that environment, non-compliance or resistance, shady actions and legitimate movements that are easily confused, can end up in death. The family claims he was shot in the back. They were not there.
Multiple stories about families being upset because their family member was shot by a home owner in the commission of the robbery. They have no right to do that, they assert. There is an assumed right that he/she can break in and steal, in that statement. Because they are owed something? Because they are overwhelmed? Because they are entitled?
Until we talk apples to apples and use our common sense, and the principle of right and wrong, and make our citizenry understand that you have a right to a trial by your peers and due process, not a right to refuse to cooperate with law enforcement, we will continue this fruitless debate. The only people that profit from that are Sharpton, Jackson, Rev? Barber and their ilk. They make their way on the backs of the suffering by confusing them about the path forward. As long as they are the "leadership" of the minority communities, this will not get better, because they are the champions of the entitlement culture.
Just saying.
GLYASDI
Those were the headlines. In the discussion, if you can call 45 seconds discussion, it was revealed that the traffic enforcement unit had not shown disproportionate rates of minority pull over. So, the folks patrolling the streets to keep traffic safe and enforce vehicle laws, were pulling over offenders based on offending, not skin color.
The disproportionate traffic stop pattern was in the HEAT unit. I missed the exact definition of the acronym, but it is basically a unit established to police in high crime areas and impact the increased crime rate in certain areas of the city. The traffic stops from this unit were disproportionately minority.
The obligatory crowd of reverends and activists were interviewed and all talked in somber tones about needing to hear what the city leaders would say to stop this practice. Remember that, they want to hear how city leaders will stop this. Sounds reasonable at the surface, right. One also has recently been quoted as saying that the police are not doing enough to protect the citizens in the high poverty neighborhoods in the city.
Now, for those of you not familiar with Durham, let me explain a couple of relevant facts. Durham houses Duke University and associated hospitals and professionals associated with that university. With its proximity to Chapel Hill, also a big teaching center, there are concentrations of high income citizens and low risk business. These are integrated communities that are generally quiet and relative free of trouble. There is not a racial basis of this, it is an economic basis.
The rest of Durham really resembles some of the Third World enclaves I have visited over the course of my life. Actually, some of the seedier cities in some of the seedier places in the world, are better than some of the ghettos of Durham. These areas are high poverty, high drug use rates, high government assistance, high free school lunch, high free preK program enrollment, high single parent households.
In areas that are described that way, there is a general correlation to a higher crime rate. If you watch the news in the Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville news market, you hear the same 5 or 6 neighborhoods mentioned every week around some violent crime. You see a continually stream of less than 25 year old men, the vast majority of which are minority (black and latino, not a big Asian component) wanted in connection with the various felonies reported.
In the interest of full disclosure, not all crime gets reported on TV. Many of the people wanted for heinous crimes are white. Many white folks are just as poor, income wise and character wise as anyone in a minority community. Crime is not a race issue, all races commit crimes. However, in the highly urban areas of Durham, Raleigh, Fayetteville (and Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and the DC Metro area, all places I am very familiar with) the population has a much greater minority percentage.
This is due to many societal constraints and proclivities. And that is not the point of this post. However, the highest concentration of crime in the area occurs in these highly urban, highly impoverished areas. So, the police tasked with impacting that higher crime rate, in areas that are a larger percentage of minority than the norm, should be expected to pull over more minorities than would otherwise be expected. Comparing the entire area, or the entirety of North Carolina, to the results in Durham is apples to oranges.
It does not make all minorities criminals, or all minority concentrations scary. It is just a fact of demographics and statistics. These are not concepts that translate easily to the high poverty communities. They do not, understandably, want to be lumped into a stereotype. There is not any desire to be treated by the color of their skin, and that is entirely understandable, and should be the requirement.
However, what the news never reports, is that most of these stops by units like the Durham HEAT unit, are stops related to observed activity. It is much safer for neighbors, the community at large, to apprehend suspects in a traffic stop. They are not in a home that may have multiple weapons, hiding places and risk neighbors in a cross fire. They do not usually have accomplices close by that could overwhelm the police doing the arrest. They generally are able to be observed, evaluated and dealt with in the safest and least likely way to end up in physical injury to anyone, police included.
Just looking at the total number of stops, by race, is not a credible way to evaluate the data. Look at the total number of stops by traffic patrol, and evaluating that by race is instructive and should not show a divergence due to race. Stops by units like HEAT need to be seperated. The stops that are random, can be normalized to race with some credibility. Stops that are tactical and part of ongoing investigations are not able to be normalized to race. The unfortunate truth is that in these neighborhoods, a large percentage of the drugs are dealt by minorities. A large percentage of the thefts and violent assaults are by minorities. A large percentage of the stops and arrests associated with these issues will need to be minorities.
The bleating and blathering of the press, and the activists whose income depends on rousing the masses regardless of accuracy, translates to ratings. It is what we see constantly. There is not a good reason to do anything based on race. But there is a good reason to arrest a criminal, regardless of race.
Studies that show correlations to convictions and pleas, to arrests are instructive. I do not believe that the Durham HEAT unit is arresting large numbers of people that are not ultimately charged and convicted or pled to the charges. This kind of half truth mess has to stop.
It builds racial animosity over doing the right things to protect the citizens that are most at risk to being the victims of crime, regardless of their skin color. It continues to divide us over issues and tactics that should unite us. We should all want to get the gangs and dealers and felons and murderers off our streets. We should all want to make our communities safe to sit on your front porch or walk from you car to your house. We should all want our children not to be at risk of being caught up in this never ending cycle of poverty and crime.
None of that is racial, it is just good citizenship. Cops are not bad because in the inner cities they arrest more minorities, at least not until those communities are not disproportionately violent and drug ridden. It is poor citizenship on the part of the press and the activists to perpetuate this false narrative. We end up angry at the cops for arresting a legitimate felon and violent offender, because we think it is just about them being latino, and not about them being a suspect in a murder or robbery.
We had a black man shot by the Raleigh police about two weeks ago. It turned out he was unarmed. What the news does not put out, and the activists gloss over, is that he was being picked up for a felony warrant. This was no altar boy or stranger to the police or policing. In that environment, non-compliance or resistance, shady actions and legitimate movements that are easily confused, can end up in death. The family claims he was shot in the back. They were not there.
Multiple stories about families being upset because their family member was shot by a home owner in the commission of the robbery. They have no right to do that, they assert. There is an assumed right that he/she can break in and steal, in that statement. Because they are owed something? Because they are overwhelmed? Because they are entitled?
Until we talk apples to apples and use our common sense, and the principle of right and wrong, and make our citizenry understand that you have a right to a trial by your peers and due process, not a right to refuse to cooperate with law enforcement, we will continue this fruitless debate. The only people that profit from that are Sharpton, Jackson, Rev? Barber and their ilk. They make their way on the backs of the suffering by confusing them about the path forward. As long as they are the "leadership" of the minority communities, this will not get better, because they are the champions of the entitlement culture.
Just saying.
GLYASDI
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
We Deserve What We Ask For
Unfortunately for him, Rubio's best speech, and most honest outing, was his concession/quitting speech. At least he finally said out loud what I have long believed. He put the blame for where we are squarely on the shoulders of those responsible.
The people responsible for Trump, and for that matter, Sanders, are the entrenched elected class in DC. Most of them serving over 15 years in Congress, they have completely lost the American people. I will not ever vote for Trump, because I won't vote for someone that courts violence, bigotry and jingoism. However, he is the future of the Republican party. I think that Sanders is a potential future of the Democrat Party, in the same way.
There is deep and bitter resentment at the leadership of both parties. The ship of state was entrusted to them, and they have wrecked it on rocks that we marked for them to avoid. They have completely ignored and abused the American people, with the condescending air of the elite. More attuned with the lobbyists and money class that purchased their souls, decades ago, they have given up governing for the good of the people, and now govern for the good of themselves and their cronies.
The group scrambling most madly to stop Trump, is the group that created him. Not only don't they see it, or recognize their responsibility, they also refuse to see what has caused the phenomenon. We did not send them to Washington to refuse to govern and playact over every insignificant issue. We did not send them to Washington to look out for the interests of the Koch brothers and the top 1%, at the exclusion of the other 99%.
There is nothing more self serving, than a "NO" politician. It is the easiest role in the world to play and the least worthwhile. If you campaign and govern around what you will not support, you are useless. If you do not have concrete ideas as to what we will change to accomplish our shared goals, it is next to foolish to be against something. Parents talking to their 3 year old can get away with "I told you so." Our elected officials should not be able to use that line, and as the 3 year olds they are talking to, shame on us for putting up with it.
If you do not like Obamacare, that is fine. There are certainly flaws, but what will you replace it with? A Trump pledge to have something so much better, without the lines (whatever that means), that is managed by the free market? Yeah, I don't think trusting Big Medicine to look out for our best interest is a good idea, and it was the driving reason behind creating Obamacare. The companies and entities that make up Big Medicine are not out for the best interest of the patients, they are out for the best interest of the shareholders. Look at the GM ignition switch scandal, the Toyota accelerator scandal, the airbag scandal. Those are example of what happens in a corporate regulated culture that is slaved to the best interest of the shareholders. Do you want that being the driver behind the hospital that operates on your heart? Or worse yet, do you want that to be the hospital you take your spouse or child to?
If you do not like the tax situation, that is fine. But, the American people have learned the fallacy of the promise that if you make it less painful on the richest people, the economic benefits trickle down. It has not worked in a sustained way, yet. I don't particularly want to pay more taxes, but I also don't want to continue to drive on roads that are in as bad a shape as our interstates, or travel bridges that are actually condemned, unsafe for travel, but still in use because there are no alternatives. I don't want to drink water from the Flint water treatment system. I don't want to let Duke Energy have free reign to regulate themselves and their coal ash pits. We have bills to pay, regardless of whether we like it or not. Cutting the revenue to service those bills does not work at your kitchen table, and it will not work in the public sector.
If you don't like the social constructs, gay marriage, abortion, etc, that is fine. Most probably agree with you. However, this is not a reason to shut down the government. Really heartfelt people that are deeply convicted in their faith, will still not support shutting down the government or failing to make progress in government over these distractions. We have litigated and legislated it over and over again. It is time to move on from that dead end debate, and face the actions and task required to make this nation solvent and strong.
Newsflash, there has been gay folks here in America since there has been people in America. (Yes, there were even gay Native Americans, it was not a contamination of the white scourge.) There has been poor and destitute people in American since there has been people in America. There has been sick people, physically and medically, in America since there has been people in America. The only thing that has changed has been our treatment and interaction with them.
For a while, in the late 1800's and early 1900's under the Republicans, and in the mid to late 1900's under the Democrats, we have progressed in our treatment and concern for the less fortunate and non-comforming members of society. Since the turn of the century, we have lost our way. Until the last eight years, where we have worked to make healthcare affordable to all and tolerance the law of the land. The Democrats only claim to superiority is that they have proposed a plan and a path, and by virtue of having a plan and a path, they got it done. Something always trumps nothing, even in River City. I think it is flawed, deeply, but it is progress.
Unfortunately, the Republican Party has managed to refuse to be part of the conversation that moves things forward. In their fit of rage, they have played the obstructionist. They have had a majority of the Congress and failed to put forward alternatives, failed to point a path forward in a coherent way, failed to govern. The one thing I will say for President Obama is that compared to the GOP, he looks sober, sane, concerned and like the adult in the room. Regardless of ideology, in comparison, the GOP suffers. And, it has enraged them and driven them further from the road of governance.
Even those predisposed culturally to hang tight to the GOP, have lost faith in the federal ruling class of the red states. They have refused to just do what the leadership thinks is good for them, and have supported a buffoon, because he was man enough to say things out loud they wanted to hear. Not so much, in my opinion, because the people are bigoted or close minded, but because they want rid of the folks that claim ideologic purity, say the right things in the right way, but have no ideas, no governance in them and no plan and path forward for the nation. The people are convinced that just cutting taxes and making gay marriage illegal is not an adequate plan forward for our nation any longer, and they don't trust people that are predicating their entire campaign on that. Likewise, most of the voting people in the nation claim they don't like Obamacare, dispute it bitterly, but are not going to vote for the guy that wants to turn their health care and insurance over to Big Medicine. They know how well that has worked for us in the past.
These are the realities, born out in state after state. This is especially true in the Republican Party, because its leadership, and the vision and candidates that they have put forward have been tremendously flawed. Rubio was an empty suit. Cruz is a lying, egomaniac. Bush was another 4 years of the buffoonery that caused most of our misery. Carson was a brother from another mother, and the mother was an alien from a galaxy far, far away. The rest were an alphabet soup of stirred up, incoherent crazy. Trump is all of those things, but he has put his thumb in Congress' eye and gouged and gouged and gouged. We believe, falsely, that he is not driven and controlled by the money class, that he is immune to big money.
Trump is big money. He doesn't need to let them in his circle, nor does he have to have them on his PAC. The billionaire class is not rebelling against Trump because Trump is one of them. They know they will be just fine if he is elected. The ones that are making noise are the smart ones, that realize he may struggle in a general election, he is too loose a cannon. They do not worry about what he will do, he is one of them, they know what he will do. Somehow, hard working folks, out of work due to corporate greed and graft, have gotten the notion that this guy is going to be on their side.
If you are one of them, and you think you hated Obama, wait for a Trump administration. It will make America crumble, like other Trump properties in troubled economies. If you measure your candidate by business success, realize Trump makes money where the economy is good, and folds and declares bankruptcy when the economy is bad. Hopefully, we never have a President with those tendencies, because there is nowhere for American to sue for bankruptcy, nor to make someone else pay our bills without a hefty penalty to the entire world.
And, I will not let Hillary slide. The Democrat Party has rigged its system to make sure the establishment picks the candidate, she is going to be the nominee, unless she is indicted, and maybe even so if she is. And she should be indicted. As a 26 year old E6 in the Navy, when I got my first government email address, I knew that having classified material in my unsecured email, whether it was marked or not, was a crime. It was my responsibility to know it, report it if I saw it, and make sure it did not get disseminated. Anyone that has ever served in the military in the email age will tell you the same thing.
Do not tell me that as Secretary of State, she did not recognize the classified nature of any of those emails at question, whether they were marked or not. Simply because the property is not marked that it belongs to someone else, does not prevent it from being a crime if you take it. As one of the top 5 people in succession to the Presidency, you should be required to be held to a higher standard and a higher responsibility than an E1 in the military at 18 years of age. If not higher, than at least the same standard and responsibility. And if she is, she is a criminal and should be prosecuted. If this was some functionary at an embassy in Dubai, they would be prosecuted as a potential spy.
I don't care that she has a vagina, or that she was married to Bill Clinton, or that she has a resume. The activity I avoided at my menial, functionary level in the government for 12 years, because it was illegal, was illegal for her too. I don't care about Vince Foster and Whitewater and whatever other shady nonsense you pile up on her. She is a criminal, who practiced activities potentially detrimental to the safety and security of the United States and that should disqualify her from running for President.
But, trust me, it is a toss up in a Trump/Clinton general. Their sleaziness kind of cancels out. The scary part to me is that angry might win, and Trump might become President. A character that only Jim Carrey could play in film, might become our President. Everyone better get straight and get smart and get on board. After last night, we are going to have a straight up traitor and criminal as President, or a sideshow barker with no scruples as President. This is what we have given ourselves.
It just sucks. Thanks. I have said it over and over again. But, we deserve what we ask for. We just have to touch this stove to see if it is hot. I just hope the burn is not so severe that it is deadly. It could be. I am praying for us, for America, and for God to make it okay. We sure as hell are not.
GLYASDI
The people responsible for Trump, and for that matter, Sanders, are the entrenched elected class in DC. Most of them serving over 15 years in Congress, they have completely lost the American people. I will not ever vote for Trump, because I won't vote for someone that courts violence, bigotry and jingoism. However, he is the future of the Republican party. I think that Sanders is a potential future of the Democrat Party, in the same way.
There is deep and bitter resentment at the leadership of both parties. The ship of state was entrusted to them, and they have wrecked it on rocks that we marked for them to avoid. They have completely ignored and abused the American people, with the condescending air of the elite. More attuned with the lobbyists and money class that purchased their souls, decades ago, they have given up governing for the good of the people, and now govern for the good of themselves and their cronies.
The group scrambling most madly to stop Trump, is the group that created him. Not only don't they see it, or recognize their responsibility, they also refuse to see what has caused the phenomenon. We did not send them to Washington to refuse to govern and playact over every insignificant issue. We did not send them to Washington to look out for the interests of the Koch brothers and the top 1%, at the exclusion of the other 99%.
There is nothing more self serving, than a "NO" politician. It is the easiest role in the world to play and the least worthwhile. If you campaign and govern around what you will not support, you are useless. If you do not have concrete ideas as to what we will change to accomplish our shared goals, it is next to foolish to be against something. Parents talking to their 3 year old can get away with "I told you so." Our elected officials should not be able to use that line, and as the 3 year olds they are talking to, shame on us for putting up with it.
If you do not like Obamacare, that is fine. There are certainly flaws, but what will you replace it with? A Trump pledge to have something so much better, without the lines (whatever that means), that is managed by the free market? Yeah, I don't think trusting Big Medicine to look out for our best interest is a good idea, and it was the driving reason behind creating Obamacare. The companies and entities that make up Big Medicine are not out for the best interest of the patients, they are out for the best interest of the shareholders. Look at the GM ignition switch scandal, the Toyota accelerator scandal, the airbag scandal. Those are example of what happens in a corporate regulated culture that is slaved to the best interest of the shareholders. Do you want that being the driver behind the hospital that operates on your heart? Or worse yet, do you want that to be the hospital you take your spouse or child to?
If you do not like the tax situation, that is fine. But, the American people have learned the fallacy of the promise that if you make it less painful on the richest people, the economic benefits trickle down. It has not worked in a sustained way, yet. I don't particularly want to pay more taxes, but I also don't want to continue to drive on roads that are in as bad a shape as our interstates, or travel bridges that are actually condemned, unsafe for travel, but still in use because there are no alternatives. I don't want to drink water from the Flint water treatment system. I don't want to let Duke Energy have free reign to regulate themselves and their coal ash pits. We have bills to pay, regardless of whether we like it or not. Cutting the revenue to service those bills does not work at your kitchen table, and it will not work in the public sector.
If you don't like the social constructs, gay marriage, abortion, etc, that is fine. Most probably agree with you. However, this is not a reason to shut down the government. Really heartfelt people that are deeply convicted in their faith, will still not support shutting down the government or failing to make progress in government over these distractions. We have litigated and legislated it over and over again. It is time to move on from that dead end debate, and face the actions and task required to make this nation solvent and strong.
Newsflash, there has been gay folks here in America since there has been people in America. (Yes, there were even gay Native Americans, it was not a contamination of the white scourge.) There has been poor and destitute people in American since there has been people in America. There has been sick people, physically and medically, in America since there has been people in America. The only thing that has changed has been our treatment and interaction with them.
For a while, in the late 1800's and early 1900's under the Republicans, and in the mid to late 1900's under the Democrats, we have progressed in our treatment and concern for the less fortunate and non-comforming members of society. Since the turn of the century, we have lost our way. Until the last eight years, where we have worked to make healthcare affordable to all and tolerance the law of the land. The Democrats only claim to superiority is that they have proposed a plan and a path, and by virtue of having a plan and a path, they got it done. Something always trumps nothing, even in River City. I think it is flawed, deeply, but it is progress.
Unfortunately, the Republican Party has managed to refuse to be part of the conversation that moves things forward. In their fit of rage, they have played the obstructionist. They have had a majority of the Congress and failed to put forward alternatives, failed to point a path forward in a coherent way, failed to govern. The one thing I will say for President Obama is that compared to the GOP, he looks sober, sane, concerned and like the adult in the room. Regardless of ideology, in comparison, the GOP suffers. And, it has enraged them and driven them further from the road of governance.
Even those predisposed culturally to hang tight to the GOP, have lost faith in the federal ruling class of the red states. They have refused to just do what the leadership thinks is good for them, and have supported a buffoon, because he was man enough to say things out loud they wanted to hear. Not so much, in my opinion, because the people are bigoted or close minded, but because they want rid of the folks that claim ideologic purity, say the right things in the right way, but have no ideas, no governance in them and no plan and path forward for the nation. The people are convinced that just cutting taxes and making gay marriage illegal is not an adequate plan forward for our nation any longer, and they don't trust people that are predicating their entire campaign on that. Likewise, most of the voting people in the nation claim they don't like Obamacare, dispute it bitterly, but are not going to vote for the guy that wants to turn their health care and insurance over to Big Medicine. They know how well that has worked for us in the past.
These are the realities, born out in state after state. This is especially true in the Republican Party, because its leadership, and the vision and candidates that they have put forward have been tremendously flawed. Rubio was an empty suit. Cruz is a lying, egomaniac. Bush was another 4 years of the buffoonery that caused most of our misery. Carson was a brother from another mother, and the mother was an alien from a galaxy far, far away. The rest were an alphabet soup of stirred up, incoherent crazy. Trump is all of those things, but he has put his thumb in Congress' eye and gouged and gouged and gouged. We believe, falsely, that he is not driven and controlled by the money class, that he is immune to big money.
Trump is big money. He doesn't need to let them in his circle, nor does he have to have them on his PAC. The billionaire class is not rebelling against Trump because Trump is one of them. They know they will be just fine if he is elected. The ones that are making noise are the smart ones, that realize he may struggle in a general election, he is too loose a cannon. They do not worry about what he will do, he is one of them, they know what he will do. Somehow, hard working folks, out of work due to corporate greed and graft, have gotten the notion that this guy is going to be on their side.
If you are one of them, and you think you hated Obama, wait for a Trump administration. It will make America crumble, like other Trump properties in troubled economies. If you measure your candidate by business success, realize Trump makes money where the economy is good, and folds and declares bankruptcy when the economy is bad. Hopefully, we never have a President with those tendencies, because there is nowhere for American to sue for bankruptcy, nor to make someone else pay our bills without a hefty penalty to the entire world.
And, I will not let Hillary slide. The Democrat Party has rigged its system to make sure the establishment picks the candidate, she is going to be the nominee, unless she is indicted, and maybe even so if she is. And she should be indicted. As a 26 year old E6 in the Navy, when I got my first government email address, I knew that having classified material in my unsecured email, whether it was marked or not, was a crime. It was my responsibility to know it, report it if I saw it, and make sure it did not get disseminated. Anyone that has ever served in the military in the email age will tell you the same thing.
Do not tell me that as Secretary of State, she did not recognize the classified nature of any of those emails at question, whether they were marked or not. Simply because the property is not marked that it belongs to someone else, does not prevent it from being a crime if you take it. As one of the top 5 people in succession to the Presidency, you should be required to be held to a higher standard and a higher responsibility than an E1 in the military at 18 years of age. If not higher, than at least the same standard and responsibility. And if she is, she is a criminal and should be prosecuted. If this was some functionary at an embassy in Dubai, they would be prosecuted as a potential spy.
I don't care that she has a vagina, or that she was married to Bill Clinton, or that she has a resume. The activity I avoided at my menial, functionary level in the government for 12 years, because it was illegal, was illegal for her too. I don't care about Vince Foster and Whitewater and whatever other shady nonsense you pile up on her. She is a criminal, who practiced activities potentially detrimental to the safety and security of the United States and that should disqualify her from running for President.
But, trust me, it is a toss up in a Trump/Clinton general. Their sleaziness kind of cancels out. The scary part to me is that angry might win, and Trump might become President. A character that only Jim Carrey could play in film, might become our President. Everyone better get straight and get smart and get on board. After last night, we are going to have a straight up traitor and criminal as President, or a sideshow barker with no scruples as President. This is what we have given ourselves.
It just sucks. Thanks. I have said it over and over again. But, we deserve what we ask for. We just have to touch this stove to see if it is hot. I just hope the burn is not so severe that it is deadly. It could be. I am praying for us, for America, and for God to make it okay. We sure as hell are not.
GLYASDI
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Things I can't predict
I can't predict how this baseball season will go. I have fallen out of knowledge about the teams, the prospects, the off season moves. I don't even know how the Yanks, Sox (Red) and Rays look. Usually, I can tell you their routine lineups and rotation, because I know how it stacks up against the O's. I don't this year. I will pick it up over time, but it has fallen off my radar.
I can't predict what is going to go on with the Skins this off season. I know that it is proceeding remarkably like previous off seasons, much to my horror. We find a quarterback that can work with our JV coaching staff, and can't ink a deal to keep him. We can't figure out what we are going to do with Matchstick Man (RGIII), I can only pray that Romo continues to experience general osteoporosis, and the Boys suck up Johnny Drunkard and RGIII. I don't much worry about the Eagles, as long as they keep Sam Bradford, they are guaranteed to have no 16 game starter. The Giants are a dismal wreck, but last time I said that, they went to the Super Bowl and won.
I can't predict what is going to happen with the weather. I think spring has arrived here in NC, but would not be surprised to see 18 inches of snow next week. Global warming is a myth and all that, but it is strange that we alternate between the Amazon jungle climate and the Antarctic each week. Lord knows, that is just how it has always been. Science has no hold on me!!(JK)
I can't see what will happen with the Presidential election. I am pretty certain that Trump and Hillary will end up the nominees, and I will for the first time explore what the LegalizeMarijuana Party candidate thinks about things other than weed. However, it is possible that Hillary will face a federal indictment before the convention, which could mean we have a nascent Communist running against a megalomaniac billionaire. I am not certain what that means for America, but I am pretty sure it is not good.
Honestly, I don't know about the rest of the elections. It would seem to me, considering the inability to do anything at all in DC, the ridiculousness of the behavior of our Congresspeople, and the fact we have not had a budget since the Korean War I think, should be telling facts. It would seem that there should be a wholesale swap out of folks serving. This election should be a bloodbath. Except, most of the crop of folks lining up to challenge the currently serving crop, are actually very much the same person as their opponent. There are exceptions, some serious folks that are just fed up. But, I fear that regardless of vote, we are continuing the inmates running the asylum. It sucks.
I don't worry too much, we have been in a mess since the Garden of Eden. I just don't like the tea leaves being so screwed up. It generates angst and confusion. Most of us are really not good with those particular conditions. Me, especially, I am not good with that. I don't like the feeling.
But a little piece of me is actually kind of excited to see how this turns out. Will we actually elect someone that has been investigated dozens of times, potentially knowingly mistreated top secret information, and ends up being charged with a felony, but not prosecuted as the President is immune to prosecution, outside of the Congress? Could we have a second Clinton Impeachment hearing? And, does anyone think that Reptillia Clinton will be able to convince as many Republicans as Slick Willie not to dump her ass?
Will we actually see an openly racist, sexist and homophobic billionaire be put in charge of a country reeling under the machinations of the biggest banks and financial institutions? A guy who has been playing footsies with the unions and local boards and councils, as a Republican and making a mint? A guy that has conducted business, knowingly or otherwise, with the Mafia, most likely knowingly? A guy who orders his wives from Russia, and lives in the Golden Xanadu?
Will we see Chris Davis win a World Series MVP? Will we see a rotation with three starters with 20 wins again? Will we see a group of stars stand up and place themselves in the same place in people's minds that Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, Raphael Palmeiro, and Brady Anderson still sit? Is this a generational change in one of the storied franchises in America's Game? Does Buck actually have the chops to do something with the talent and drive?
Will the Redskins return to the form of the 80's and early 90's? Will the Hogs root around again? Is there a new Fun Bunch around DeSean? Is Kerrigan a real star? Can we find a quarterback, stick with them, scheme for them, and win with them? Can we keep the owner in the owner's box and off the phone, until after the Gatorade bath? Will Jack Kent Cooke stop rolling around in his grave and causing earthquakes that damage the Washington Monument? Is it possible that Lombardi is again the name of the trophy the Skins win, and not just the name of a one season coach over 50 years ago?
Who knows? That is the beauty of the situation. We don't know. Death and taxes, and I suppose that is really it. While some of it is really concerning, like the thought of President Hillary, or Emperor Trump, some of it is not all that bad to ponder. Unless you are thinking about the Yanks winning a pennant or the Cowboys going to the playoffs. If you are, you seriously need to consider professional help. No one has time for that mess.
GLYASDI
I can't predict what is going to go on with the Skins this off season. I know that it is proceeding remarkably like previous off seasons, much to my horror. We find a quarterback that can work with our JV coaching staff, and can't ink a deal to keep him. We can't figure out what we are going to do with Matchstick Man (RGIII), I can only pray that Romo continues to experience general osteoporosis, and the Boys suck up Johnny Drunkard and RGIII. I don't much worry about the Eagles, as long as they keep Sam Bradford, they are guaranteed to have no 16 game starter. The Giants are a dismal wreck, but last time I said that, they went to the Super Bowl and won.
I can't predict what is going to happen with the weather. I think spring has arrived here in NC, but would not be surprised to see 18 inches of snow next week. Global warming is a myth and all that, but it is strange that we alternate between the Amazon jungle climate and the Antarctic each week. Lord knows, that is just how it has always been. Science has no hold on me!!(JK)
I can't see what will happen with the Presidential election. I am pretty certain that Trump and Hillary will end up the nominees, and I will for the first time explore what the LegalizeMarijuana Party candidate thinks about things other than weed. However, it is possible that Hillary will face a federal indictment before the convention, which could mean we have a nascent Communist running against a megalomaniac billionaire. I am not certain what that means for America, but I am pretty sure it is not good.
Honestly, I don't know about the rest of the elections. It would seem to me, considering the inability to do anything at all in DC, the ridiculousness of the behavior of our Congresspeople, and the fact we have not had a budget since the Korean War I think, should be telling facts. It would seem that there should be a wholesale swap out of folks serving. This election should be a bloodbath. Except, most of the crop of folks lining up to challenge the currently serving crop, are actually very much the same person as their opponent. There are exceptions, some serious folks that are just fed up. But, I fear that regardless of vote, we are continuing the inmates running the asylum. It sucks.
I don't worry too much, we have been in a mess since the Garden of Eden. I just don't like the tea leaves being so screwed up. It generates angst and confusion. Most of us are really not good with those particular conditions. Me, especially, I am not good with that. I don't like the feeling.
But a little piece of me is actually kind of excited to see how this turns out. Will we actually elect someone that has been investigated dozens of times, potentially knowingly mistreated top secret information, and ends up being charged with a felony, but not prosecuted as the President is immune to prosecution, outside of the Congress? Could we have a second Clinton Impeachment hearing? And, does anyone think that Reptillia Clinton will be able to convince as many Republicans as Slick Willie not to dump her ass?
Will we actually see an openly racist, sexist and homophobic billionaire be put in charge of a country reeling under the machinations of the biggest banks and financial institutions? A guy who has been playing footsies with the unions and local boards and councils, as a Republican and making a mint? A guy that has conducted business, knowingly or otherwise, with the Mafia, most likely knowingly? A guy who orders his wives from Russia, and lives in the Golden Xanadu?
Will we see Chris Davis win a World Series MVP? Will we see a rotation with three starters with 20 wins again? Will we see a group of stars stand up and place themselves in the same place in people's minds that Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, Raphael Palmeiro, and Brady Anderson still sit? Is this a generational change in one of the storied franchises in America's Game? Does Buck actually have the chops to do something with the talent and drive?
Will the Redskins return to the form of the 80's and early 90's? Will the Hogs root around again? Is there a new Fun Bunch around DeSean? Is Kerrigan a real star? Can we find a quarterback, stick with them, scheme for them, and win with them? Can we keep the owner in the owner's box and off the phone, until after the Gatorade bath? Will Jack Kent Cooke stop rolling around in his grave and causing earthquakes that damage the Washington Monument? Is it possible that Lombardi is again the name of the trophy the Skins win, and not just the name of a one season coach over 50 years ago?
Who knows? That is the beauty of the situation. We don't know. Death and taxes, and I suppose that is really it. While some of it is really concerning, like the thought of President Hillary, or Emperor Trump, some of it is not all that bad to ponder. Unless you are thinking about the Yanks winning a pennant or the Cowboys going to the playoffs. If you are, you seriously need to consider professional help. No one has time for that mess.
GLYASDI
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Not So Super Tuesday
It is something of an unbelievable week. Life is a tough place, a tough space. It can be incredible, and it can be indescribable. This week has been a tumult of everything.
We have seen Donald Trump, in all his bigoted, bloated, bloviating, biased and bullshit glory, solidify his hold on the Republican nomination. None but the most desperate believe anyone but Trump will win the nomination. This is what the Republican Party has given themselves. They are the ones to blame for Trump. And Super Tuesday, they will be served the dessert for all their work.
They have espoused a morally bankrupt, tone deaf, barely veiled racism for almost 40 years. The saddest piece is that Trump has boldly proclaimed what they have stood for, fought for and filibustered to protect. It is killing them. Having someone that actually says it out loud, that we should build a fortified wall on our border with a treaty trading partner; deport 11 or more million mostly law abiding people back to the hell hole, so vile they risked their lives and freedom to come here from, however they could; and speaks of wealth with the avarice that politicians cannot stand to hear aloud, though they privately practice that faith and allegiance at every turn. It is what they have earned. Trump is the ultimate embodiment of the insular, misogynist, jingoistic fantasy they have been building since 1980 and Reagan's election.
We have also seen Hillary complete the basis for her nomination. She no longer even speaks of Sanders, and only the most foolish feel like he has any possibility of winning the nomination. This is the sentence the Democrats have given themselves. A pandering, lying, conniving, power at any cost, selfish and egocentric narcissist that feels she is owed the Presidency, by virtue of her woman parts. Because she is a woman, because she has somehow earned it in her mind, by being potentially the worst Secretary of State we have had in the last 100 years, since the end of WWI and the League of Nations, she feels she is eminently qualified. The media, bless their heart, cannot figure out any better and just second her lunacy on that subject. And on Super Tuesday, we are going to make it official, and shame on us.
The Democrats have espoused the populist pablum that has zero opportunity for action for the last 20 years. We owe more to the poor, more entitlement waste, less defense spending in a more dangerous world, more lying to allies, more feckless policy and process, more unqualified bureaucrats instead of qualified professionals. She is the ultimate embodiment of everything the Democrats have worked for since 1980 and Reagan's election. More power to them, but my guess is they will choke on the scandal filled and gridlocked reality that she is, just as they did on Slick Willie.
This election will come down to two of the most tainted candidates, with less than one full person's worth of integrity between them. It is a colossal train wreck that we are all complicit in creating. We have enabled the idiots that play in this arena to hide behind partisanship and "principle". We have demanded that they play to the basest instincts of those on either side. We have ensured that unless they slavishly follow along with some perceived narrow band of ideology, that we will turn on them and vote for an even more extreme and less qualified model.
The Tea Party is a warning. Bernie Sanders is a warning. But the real lesson is going to either the Trump or Hillary Administration. We did it to ourselves. In 2008, I thought the worst had occurred. We had an election that pitted an untried first term Senator, that was notable only for his oratory, against a decorated, but seriously crazy, Vietnam war hero. Giving each their due, Obama won because he chose well in his advisers and his running mate, and he continued to rise to the challenge of ever greater oratory. He sounded great. McCain ran an impressive primary campaign, tactically defeating much more establishment friendly candidates. But, he failed to prune out the fools in his campaign and he saddled himself with one of the most epically unqualified running mates in the history of running mates.
Choosing poorly, to shore up a segment of the far right base, and continuing to slavishly follow the bleating of the "principled" idiots in Congress and the Tea Party, McCain threw away an election. How else do you explain a black man, community activist and Ivy League alumni, beating a decorated war hero, former prisoner of war? The Republicans threw it away, because they could not stop themselves.
The Democrats have done better at stopping themselves, and not pandering to the base of their party at the risk of the vast middle of the electorate, but just barely and only in comparison to the genocide the Republicans practice every 4 years. You never hear them saying the foolishness of the Right, "I would rather lose an election, than compromise an inch." Have it your way, and lose elections. The Dems figured that part out against Reagan, who refused to leave the middle ground, and outwitted them continually. They learned and took the lessons seriously.
But, they are falling apart. Now we have a candidate that is solely to salve the conscience of the Dems, because they feel like they robbed her in 2008. They had to pick between the first Black President and the first Female President, and the Dems always bet on black. It worked. But, now they are pulling a Republican move, and going with the person they feel they owe the chance to, regardless of how poor a person she truly is, nor the train wreck she is going to be as President.
She will beat Donald Trump in the fall. There is no question in my mind. Trump is too dangerous, too impromptu. He will say too much of the right thing the wrong way, and the wrong thing an even wronger way. The media, who hates him, will give Hillary untold hours of free negative campaigning. And the crazy, redneck 30% of the Republican party, that has relegated them nationally to a swath of states that looks impressive in number, but is paltry in electoral college votes, will not overcome the left and right coast and Great Lake states that decide Presidential elections and will vote against Trump. This is their own doing, and I don't feel sorry for them.
I feel sorry for America. But, we have done it to ourselves. We have created 2016, where the best we could do, to see to our ship of state, is a billionaire bigot and a felon except for conviction with female anatomy. There is not a worthwhile idea between them. There is not a worthwhile principle between them. There is not a worthwhile ounce of anything.
Whoever runs for the Green Party, and for the Libertarian Party, and Cream of Wheat Party, is about to be surprised at how many votes they get. The talking heads have some responsibility for this, but it falls on our shoulders. We deserve it. We put up with the last eight years in Washington, and did not vote out the factions of dischord. Now, the court jesters and serious criminals are about to take charge. It is the single most depressing news that will come out of today's election coverage. The inevitability of it is setting in.
And the worst part, the folks that vowed to leave the country if Hillary or Trump were nominated, they won't follow through on their vow. So we won't get rid of the Koch Brothers, or Sharpton. Not even that much good will be done. Sad, isn't it, that Carter and George Bush the First look so good in comparison. At least they stood for something and not just for themselves. God help us all.
GLYASDI
We have seen Donald Trump, in all his bigoted, bloated, bloviating, biased and bullshit glory, solidify his hold on the Republican nomination. None but the most desperate believe anyone but Trump will win the nomination. This is what the Republican Party has given themselves. They are the ones to blame for Trump. And Super Tuesday, they will be served the dessert for all their work.
They have espoused a morally bankrupt, tone deaf, barely veiled racism for almost 40 years. The saddest piece is that Trump has boldly proclaimed what they have stood for, fought for and filibustered to protect. It is killing them. Having someone that actually says it out loud, that we should build a fortified wall on our border with a treaty trading partner; deport 11 or more million mostly law abiding people back to the hell hole, so vile they risked their lives and freedom to come here from, however they could; and speaks of wealth with the avarice that politicians cannot stand to hear aloud, though they privately practice that faith and allegiance at every turn. It is what they have earned. Trump is the ultimate embodiment of the insular, misogynist, jingoistic fantasy they have been building since 1980 and Reagan's election.
We have also seen Hillary complete the basis for her nomination. She no longer even speaks of Sanders, and only the most foolish feel like he has any possibility of winning the nomination. This is the sentence the Democrats have given themselves. A pandering, lying, conniving, power at any cost, selfish and egocentric narcissist that feels she is owed the Presidency, by virtue of her woman parts. Because she is a woman, because she has somehow earned it in her mind, by being potentially the worst Secretary of State we have had in the last 100 years, since the end of WWI and the League of Nations, she feels she is eminently qualified. The media, bless their heart, cannot figure out any better and just second her lunacy on that subject. And on Super Tuesday, we are going to make it official, and shame on us.
The Democrats have espoused the populist pablum that has zero opportunity for action for the last 20 years. We owe more to the poor, more entitlement waste, less defense spending in a more dangerous world, more lying to allies, more feckless policy and process, more unqualified bureaucrats instead of qualified professionals. She is the ultimate embodiment of everything the Democrats have worked for since 1980 and Reagan's election. More power to them, but my guess is they will choke on the scandal filled and gridlocked reality that she is, just as they did on Slick Willie.
This election will come down to two of the most tainted candidates, with less than one full person's worth of integrity between them. It is a colossal train wreck that we are all complicit in creating. We have enabled the idiots that play in this arena to hide behind partisanship and "principle". We have demanded that they play to the basest instincts of those on either side. We have ensured that unless they slavishly follow along with some perceived narrow band of ideology, that we will turn on them and vote for an even more extreme and less qualified model.
The Tea Party is a warning. Bernie Sanders is a warning. But the real lesson is going to either the Trump or Hillary Administration. We did it to ourselves. In 2008, I thought the worst had occurred. We had an election that pitted an untried first term Senator, that was notable only for his oratory, against a decorated, but seriously crazy, Vietnam war hero. Giving each their due, Obama won because he chose well in his advisers and his running mate, and he continued to rise to the challenge of ever greater oratory. He sounded great. McCain ran an impressive primary campaign, tactically defeating much more establishment friendly candidates. But, he failed to prune out the fools in his campaign and he saddled himself with one of the most epically unqualified running mates in the history of running mates.
Choosing poorly, to shore up a segment of the far right base, and continuing to slavishly follow the bleating of the "principled" idiots in Congress and the Tea Party, McCain threw away an election. How else do you explain a black man, community activist and Ivy League alumni, beating a decorated war hero, former prisoner of war? The Republicans threw it away, because they could not stop themselves.
The Democrats have done better at stopping themselves, and not pandering to the base of their party at the risk of the vast middle of the electorate, but just barely and only in comparison to the genocide the Republicans practice every 4 years. You never hear them saying the foolishness of the Right, "I would rather lose an election, than compromise an inch." Have it your way, and lose elections. The Dems figured that part out against Reagan, who refused to leave the middle ground, and outwitted them continually. They learned and took the lessons seriously.
But, they are falling apart. Now we have a candidate that is solely to salve the conscience of the Dems, because they feel like they robbed her in 2008. They had to pick between the first Black President and the first Female President, and the Dems always bet on black. It worked. But, now they are pulling a Republican move, and going with the person they feel they owe the chance to, regardless of how poor a person she truly is, nor the train wreck she is going to be as President.
She will beat Donald Trump in the fall. There is no question in my mind. Trump is too dangerous, too impromptu. He will say too much of the right thing the wrong way, and the wrong thing an even wronger way. The media, who hates him, will give Hillary untold hours of free negative campaigning. And the crazy, redneck 30% of the Republican party, that has relegated them nationally to a swath of states that looks impressive in number, but is paltry in electoral college votes, will not overcome the left and right coast and Great Lake states that decide Presidential elections and will vote against Trump. This is their own doing, and I don't feel sorry for them.
I feel sorry for America. But, we have done it to ourselves. We have created 2016, where the best we could do, to see to our ship of state, is a billionaire bigot and a felon except for conviction with female anatomy. There is not a worthwhile idea between them. There is not a worthwhile principle between them. There is not a worthwhile ounce of anything.
Whoever runs for the Green Party, and for the Libertarian Party, and Cream of Wheat Party, is about to be surprised at how many votes they get. The talking heads have some responsibility for this, but it falls on our shoulders. We deserve it. We put up with the last eight years in Washington, and did not vote out the factions of dischord. Now, the court jesters and serious criminals are about to take charge. It is the single most depressing news that will come out of today's election coverage. The inevitability of it is setting in.
And the worst part, the folks that vowed to leave the country if Hillary or Trump were nominated, they won't follow through on their vow. So we won't get rid of the Koch Brothers, or Sharpton. Not even that much good will be done. Sad, isn't it, that Carter and George Bush the First look so good in comparison. At least they stood for something and not just for themselves. God help us all.
GLYASDI
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