Freedom is Fragile

GOD on high, there is joy in the morning this morning -- a chance to bring forth prosperity by unleashing freedoms that have been strangled by Control calling itself Compassion. Thank You, God, for the trumpet blast and the obedience of Your people to rise up against Statism at long last.

Thank You for freeing our people from foolishness and for restoring our government to heed  its people -- not the other way around. Please reveal and heal us from lies and divisions that have lured good people from discernment and from wisdom. Thank You, in advance, for the vindication(s) that will emerge as 320 bills are brought out from under the skirts of one bitterly deceived Senator, who's only a pawn in the game. Reveal, I pray, that Congress has NOT been doing nothing all these years. May these 320 bills that have been languishing bring Your Light to shine upon the duplicity and cronyism that has been in power for so long.

Thank You for returning us to Common Sense, Common Cents, and Civility. May we  stand in awe to have rigorous DEBATE returned to the halls of Congress along with RESPECT for those who hold differing viewpoints. Guide us back into Your wisdom and the SOLVING of so many difficult problems.

Thank You for another chance, O GOD. Thank You for the hope that is in us, You have brought us to an important juncture, a watershed moment. May we rise to the occasion with grace and mercy, and may the Light have entrance into our hearts and minds. What a relief to see in these election results that it is still true in these United States to say in GOD we trust. Unity, we par! Your Will! Your Way!

This photograph is by Kristofer Rowe.

Eureka!

Yesterday I was asked in a doctor's office if CAUCASIAN is my race, to which I replied, "No. Put me down as a HUMAN. I'm tired of racial distinctions." I am. I really am.

This photograph is from a Facebook page called Live Life in Color.

Pet Theories

I am a conservative, and I resent being made to feel inferior because it has become such an unpopular position. To me, conservatism is about CONSERVING! Freedom first and foremost... personal liberty and personal responsibility. 

The way I see it, freedom can only exist where government is limited and free-enterprise is unleashed. Liberalism seems bent on generating rules and regulations which, to me, is control-freakism. Controlling outcomes requires a LEASH. And lately, that leash has been attached to a prong collar.

Please note that this little dog doesn't even have a collar!

Freedom Is Fragile

While I'm at it (squawking as loud as I can -- and as often), here are some highlights I collected while reading The Road to Serfdom by. F Hayek -- a book that was banned for many years in the USSR and, at the rate we are presently heading into in America, may end up being banned here as well. In it this book were many explorations of why people tend to dismiss the notion freedom is so fragile, so easily forfeited and then, even, eventually, gone.  Here are some paraphrases:

Socialist ideas were only a strand of thought in a small minority in Germany before 1914 and were held in great contempt by the majority of Germans. Socialism came in anyway. We have a mistaken assurance that the same thing cannot happen here.

The tragedy of collectivist thought is that, while it starts out to elevate reason and make it supreme, it ends by destroying reason. Why?  Because it misconceives the process on which the growth of reason depends. It is super-individual forces that guide the growth of reason. Individualism is thus an attitude of humility and of tolerance of other opinions and is the exact opposite of that intellectual hubris which is at the root of comprehensive direction of the social process.

The life of freedom includes the interaction of individuals possessing vibrantly different views.  Because socialism inevitably attempts to control thought, its general climate includes the disappearance of the spirit of independent inquiry.

There is a condition that generally precedes suppressing democratic institutions and creating a totalitarian regime. That condition is a general demand for quick and determined government action. It comes from dissatisfaction with the slow and cumbersome course of democratic procedure. Totalitarianism sneaks in when “action for action’s sake” is the goal and permission to take such action is willingly handed over to the government. That socialism can be put into practice only by methods of which most socialists disapprove is, of course, a lesson learned by many social reformers in the past. 

  

There is at present, a great deal of muddleheaded talk about planning to equalize the standards of life.  Wealthy countries could be regarded as having the duty to bring about distributive justice between different people. Twenty-five years ago, there was, perhaps, still some excuse for holding the naive belief that “a planned society can be a far more free society than the competitive order it has come to replace." But history has shown that individualism cannot be reconciled with the supremacy of one single purpose to which the whole society must be subordinated. Thus, to find collectivism on the rise even in America is tragic beyond words. 

An individualist society rests on the existence of:  independence, self reliance, the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back one’s own convictions against a majority, non-interference with one’s neighbors, and a healthy suspicion of power and authority. Collectivism has nothing to put in their place. It leaves a void filled by nothing but the demand for obedience and compulsion of the individual to do what is collectively decided to be good.

As always with me, take what you liked and leave the rest. I offer these highlights as food for thought -- and comments. Comments most welcome!

This photograph is from a Facebook page called Life Life in Color.

Funny as Hell

I think it's funny that Hobby Lobby offers SIXTEEN forms of contraception, denying just four that are actually abortion wearing camouflage. We keep falling for straw men and false narratives -- even Hillary Clinton claiming this SCOTUS decision as somehow a war on women. Here's some more material I find funny -- funny as hell:

Six Questions Posted on Facebook (6/30/14)

The following is incredible! I didn't get one correct answer. Prepare for a shock at the answer and prepare yourself for the next election. Six trivia questions to see how much history you really know.  Be honest, it's kind of fun and revealing. If you don't know the answers, make your best guess. Answer all of the questions (no cheating) before looking at the answers. And, no, the answers to these questions aren't all “Barack Obama.” Who said it? 

1) "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."         

A. Karl Marx   B. Adolph Hitler  C. Joseph Stalin  D. Barack Obama   E. None of the above. 

2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few...... And to replace it with shared responsibility, for shared prosperity." 

A. Lenin   B. Mussolini  C. Idi Amin  D. Barack Obama   E. None of the above.

3) "(We).....can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."          

A. Nikita  Khrushev   B.  Joseph Goebbels  C. Boris Yeltsin  D. Barack Obama   E. None of the above. 

4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own ... in order to create this common ground."          

A. Mao Tse Tung  B. Hugo Chavez  C. Kim Jong II   D. Barack Obama  E. None of the above.

5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed." 

A.  Karl Marx  B. Lenin  C. Molotov  D. Barack Obama  E. None of the above .

6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."         

A. Pinochet   B. Milosevic  C. Saddam Hussein  D. Barack Obama  E. None of the above.

And the  answers  are…. 

(1)   E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004 

(2)   E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007 

(3)  E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007 

(4)   E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007 

(5 ) E None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007 

(6). E. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005 

Want to know something scary?  She may be the next president if you don't forward this to everyone that you know. So please THINK before you vote. I don’t want to have ANY more years like the ones we've been having since The Fall of 2008! We need government FOR the people and BY the people, led by someone(s) who respects America and the American Constitution -- not someone(s) who wants to change it.

Eureka!

Regarding the heartbreaking arrival of children from Central America, may I suggest an idea: Every college campus in this country invite some children (say 12) to be cared for with the help of their recent graduates who remain unemployed. Just saying...Kid Camps. They could be funded by public-private partnerships: (1) expanding Americorps, which already exists, and (2) seeking private philanthropic gifts to support this humanitarian outreach on a participating campus.

This photograph is by Jo Chaney.

Funny as Hell

My dog and I love oxymorons, and on our walk this morning, we remembered another one: 

Political Representatives

We find this kind of humor WRY -- and funny -- funny as hell. 

This is a photo of Roobie when she was twelve years younger, in her prime of life. Now she is old (91 in human terms) and gray (like her mum), but she's still catching scents and chasing them down, and when she finds something, she barks her head off. She is a pointer. A short-haired pointer. Like her mum.

Funny as Hell

My dog thinks it's funny that the term Political Correctness 

is an oxymoron... funny as hell.

This photograph was posted recently on Facebook and is attributed to Diane Grant.

Funny As Hell

I have decided to declare a war on words. No longer will I sit quietly, pretending something is fine with me when it isn't. I simply need to make a stand against the Orwellian whirlwind that is all around us. Common sense seems to have been swept away from where I sit. For me and Toto, it definitely does not look like we're in Kansas anymore.

What tornado has carried us so far and away? I'm thinking it may have started with the "gentle" breezes of Political Correctness, which, at first, appeared docile and right. The goal to was be tolerant. And YES, of course, we all said "YES!" to that.

For heaven's sake, this was America, and here we protect freedom of speech, freedom of thought, everyone's God-given freedom to think any way we choose within the limits of the law. We say "YES!" to respect for any and all holding a differing pint of view. So yes --  we said yes, we said yes.

Gradually, however, those breezes turn to stronger winds, and cold, and they blew through, carrying us into new meanings for Political Correctness -- primarily this: "Don't offend." Sensitivity became the goal,replacing respect for diversity. As the cold winds blew stronger, PC came to mean, "Don't offend anyone -- ever." 

And so, according to the current definitions of Political Correctness, it is now considered "not PC" to disagree with someone. Especially if your view might hurt another person's feelings --someone's feelings, anyone's feelings, someone(s), anyone(s).

The result: intolerance! If a viewpoint is considered "offensive" is "not PC" and therefore not to be expressed. So much for freedom of expression. It has been carried away, and we with it -- to Oz. 

Honestly, if it weren't so downright Orwellian, it would be funny. Funny as hell.

This photograph is from the Facebook page of Kristopher Rowe.

Eureka!

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

- George Orwell

Just moments ago I returned home from a walk with my DOG, during which time I heard the following about opposites:

• That the opposite of "pro-life" is not "pro-choice" but "pro-death."
• That the opposite of "right" is either "left" or ""wrong." 
• That the opposite of "straight" is not "gay" but "twisted." 

Forgive me if this sounds harsh. But I am trying to promote actual thinking about hard things. Thank you, George Orwell, for encouraging me to do all I can to invite civil discourse on topics that seem to make us uncomfortable. Help us, LORD, to speak truthfully with one another, learning to respect and tolerate our differences. Help us learn to be open and honest with You, with ourselves, and with one another... Amen!

Funny as Hell

Eureka:

Political Correctness is McCarthyism, a cross-dresser since its last time strutting around America. It's wearing a different outfit and singing a different tune, but it's the same old song, which is ridiculous -- and funny as hell.

Grim Fairy Tales

MY PERSONAL DIATRIBE ABOUT THE “PC POLICE”

Political Correctness recently caused the CEO of Mozilla to be removed from office. Why? Because he gave money to a cause that is no longer Politically Correct. Instantly, I recalled someone sayjng, “The job of a citizen is to keep an open mouth” and realized that Political Correctness has been shutting the mouths of many -- including me.

I have now officially overdosed on zipping it. I am no longer afraid of the PC Police, and will do all I can to speak what I believe is civilized and sane, even if it makes other people feel uncomfortable.

Of course everyone who believes anything believes he or she is right. And of course, it is our God-given right to be free -- free to believe whatever we choose to believe, free to live life any way we want, within the law, of course. Of course.

I do not intend to be disrespectful to anyone who disagrees with me. I just want to practice speak truthfully with other people, respecting diversity and truly tolerating another person’s right to speak truthfully with me.

It helps me to have seem Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel,

in which a handful of characters on Earth attempt to be civiilzed in a basically unciviled world. Hitler happened because a few good men did nothing. Therefore I am going to use every avenue I have to provoke civil discourse and the discussion of hard things. George Orwell said, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. It is! Not because the majority of people are stupid, but because we can’t see!

Like Little Red Riding Hood, we can’t see that the “wolf” has dressed up like Granny. Political Correctness is not Tolerance. It is INtolerance . But we can’t see this. We are HOODWINKED (beheading might some next). The “wolf” has learned how to put blinders over human eyes and earplugs into human ears and self-sufficiency into human minds and hearts.

The “wolf” has learned how easy it is to fool most of the people most of the time:

By changing words. In recent years, the phrase “global warming” has morphed into “climate change.” Why? Because the claim to warming no longer aligns with the facts. In Orwell’s book, 1984, this was called NewSpeak.

By misusing words. Social engineering requires UNfairness in order to achieve “fairness.” But fairness sounds so good -- as “inequality” sounds evil. Until one’s eyes are opened to the facts of history. Collectivism has failed every time it has been attempted.

By re-defining words. Example, the word “marriage” which has meant the union of one man with one woman since the beginning of time. Now it means the union of any two human beings, one to the other. For the moment.

By parsing words. Our President slyly saying, “There was a not a smidgeon of corruption in the IRS” which could mean it was not smidgeon -- it was a MASSIVE amount.

Therefore, I am declaring my personal war on Political Correctness. I am standing against Liberals, who say they love of freedom, yet insist upon rules and regulations to strangle it.

I thought that being “a Liberal” was supposed to mean respecting diversity. Why then the denigration of those who disagree with what iscurrently definition Politically Correct? Such as the CEO of Mozilla.

Regarding Counterfeits

A friend called this morning to say, "How stupid are we?" To which I replied, "For me, it's no longer a question -- it's a declarative sentence: We are that stupid." In a macabre sort of way, it's really quite funny -- funny as hell.

Grim Fairy Tales

A Diatribe Against Political Correctness

When “Political Correctness” first appeared, it seemed innocuous enough. It was about RESPECT for difference, which sounded moral and good and right. Since then, however, its meaning has morphed. No longer does it mean RESPECT for a differing opinion. Now it seems to mean "DO NOT OFFEND -- ANYONE -- EVER" with the result of intolerance for an opinion that might offend anyone. I posit that Political Correctness is, itself, intolerance for Political InCorrectness -- intolerance calling itself tolerance. And we’re okay with that?!?

·      Consider current events: terrorism -- no uniformed or identifiable enemy this time, no “swastikas” that are invisible. Yet they are sprinkled over all the planet like malignant cancer cells, with most of us reticent to say so -- some because they believe in diplomacy, others because they bow to Political Correctness.

·      Consider the viewpoint discrimination that is alleged against the IRS. If this were a Republican in office right now, everyone would be screaming… the press would be screaming.

·      Consider the irony of someone voting for a candidate on the basis of skin color. Actor Kevin Sorbo says, “In the last two elections, if you didn’t vote for Obama, you were considered racist. I heard liberals saying they voted for Obama because he was black, but if I had said I was voting for someone because he or she was white, I would have been called racist.” 

And they would have been right. We Americans are so highly educated, yet here we are, drowning in denial. Terrorism unfolds into a massacre at Fort Hood, and it is called “workplace violence.” It is as though we are swimming in a sea of knowledge that contains not a drop of wisdom. I say that, if we’re not careful, we will drown in the arms of Stupidity calling itself Compassion.

Margaret Atwood says, “There is just one race -- the human race, and we’re all members of it. But if you differ with what is currently considered PC, you are clobbered for being “intolerant” ‘or “ignorant” or “judgmental.” Beautiful intelligence -- being so open-minded that our brains are falling out. We are hoodwinked, blinded from seeing Political Correctness for what it actually is: Bullying by grown-ups.

Elie Wiesel wrote of an apparent defect, seemingly built into humans, our inability to comprehend unthinkable horror, even when it’s right in front of us. He told of the Jews in a little town called Sighe, who were brought news of unimaginable massacres by a witness who had himself escaped. Wiesel writes that, “Incredulous, the villagers dismissed the man’s report, mocking his pleas and warnings, agreeing that he was, in all probability, a madman. Thus they became blind in the face of a destiny they could have escaped; thus they submitted with inconceivable passivity as they gave themselves up to it.”

Because of  our proclivity toward Denial, having tea with Hitler didn’t work. "He just kept killing, until the English were eating swastika for breakfast” (thank you, The Essays of E.B. White). I grew up when using good judgment was encouraged as a valuable asset. Not anymore –- it seems it’s now politically incorrect to use judgment of any kind. We cower to any distinctions between “right” and “wrong” because to do so would be considered “judgmental” -- and God forbid we should judge! The term “good judgment” is practically synonymous with cussing.

So… go ahead and have tea with the enemy if you would like -- it’s still a free country when last I looked. And go ahead: embrace Political Correctness if you want. But please be tolerant and tolerate me, who won’t and will not.

Funny As Hell

I think it's funny that "left" is the opposite of "right" and that, at the same time, the opposite of "right" is "wrong." Being a liberal used be about promoting freedom. Now it seems to be mostly about making rules and regulations to control outcomes. Really, in a macabre kind of way, it is funny -- funny as hell.

This is Oscar as photographed by Rachel Hale.

Funny As Hell

I think it's funny that the word "LIBERAL" used to mean freedom... Today it seems to be  synonymous with writing regulations to "make sure" of this, that, and the other thing... To me, it's Control dressed up as Compassion, a wolf dressed up like Granny, which is funny in a very dark kind of way -- funny as hell.

This photograph (posted on Facebook) is unattributed. What a shame!

Funny as Hell

REAL LIFE CAN BE STRANGER THAN FICTION

My dog caught the scent long before the main stream media did, and she -- like a good hunting dog -- pressed in to retrieve the facts. The main stream media, however, seems to have been lured off the trail already. She and I agree that they are lousy at digging now -- though they still consider themselves the earnest hunting dogs they were trained to be. It really is surreal and, in a morbid way, amusing. We are watching a once magnificent breed simply devolve. If it weren't so sad, it would be funny -- funny as hell.

This photograph was taken by the Burdon Family of Nana, who is still

 a very good dog.

Funny as Hell

My dog thinks it's funny that President Obama called the Ft. Hood massacre “workplace violence” and got away with it for four years. Funny as hell...

Funny as Hell

My dog and I see a wolf in Sheep's Clothing, but we've been barking and barking, and still, very few people see the tail hanging down from underneath his disguise. He is all dressed up as Compassion, luring sheep into the river to have their brains washed clean of common sense. It's so sad to see the wool being pulled over many eyes. If it weren't so dark and ironic, it would be funny. Funny as hell.

This photograph is from a Facebook page called Live Life In Color.

Funny as Hell

I think it's funny that Political Correctness has morphed from "RESPECT" to "DO NOT 

OFFEND --ANYONE, EVER."  Watching so many good-hearted people be hoodwinked into 

embracing intolerance in the name of tolerance, has been tragic really -- if it weren't so funny. 

Funny as hell.

This photograph is from a series called Animals as Art by Rachael Hale. 

This one is called "Oscar."