Well the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us and it is not the time to start thinking about defenses against the undead. Like the Boy Scouts, you need to be prepared for this well before the event. Fortunately, the Random Crusader has some tips to help you prepare a modest zombie defense. Of course the larger your local population the more preparations you need to make including having an escape route out of larger cities.
First, let me assure you that I have neither purchased nor read any books about zombie home defense. This is all from thorough video research and plain old common sense.
On to the target undead: the zombie. Unlike the modern movie or video game portrayal of the zombie, they should be a slow moving (ambling if you will) relatively non cunning foe. These are animated dead usually through low level dark magic or a super virus that infects the motor function of the zombie (some posit that spending too much time inside the DC beltway will also create zombies and cite Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and others as example). They will not recognize non-deceased friends or family as the higher brain functions (more evidence that politicians are infected) are still dead. The primary goal of a zombie is to consume - although this consumption neither satisfies nor sustains the zombie. Human brain attracts the zombie because the bio-electrical impulses of a living brain urge the zombie to try to return from its undead state to life. Consuming a living brain fails at this and generally only serves to infect the formerly living person, creating a new zombie. Be ready to see numerous zombies with head injuries and possibly gray matter hanging from said wound.
Killing a zombie is relatively easy when compared to other forms of the undead. Crushing the skull or decapitating it will stop a zombie cold. It should be noted however that the decapitated head of the zombie will live on for some time before the magic breaks or the virus starves to death so be careful not to reach anywhere close to the mouth if you have to handle the removed head of a zombie.
In your anti-zombie arsenal, you need at least one reusable, blunt instrument that can cause severe head trauma. Anything from an iron pipe to a baseball bat will do. I personally recommend having a cricket bat on hand. The cricket bat has a wide, flat, face good for slashing hits on the base of the skull (nearest the medulla oblongata). Cricket bats are sturdy and should get you through a good number of zombies before showing signs of wear. A regulation Louisville Slugger is also a good weapon to have. It offers higher swing speed due to less resistance than the cricket bat but can sustain less wear and tear (especially if it maple and not ash). In a pinch, you can also use a golf club or hockey stick though these will have extremely low reusability factors.
Next, I recommend a good sword. I personally carry a 'bastard' or hand and a half sword. It weighs about 5 pounds and has plenty of blade length guaranteeing good reuse factor as long as I don't drive it into trees, brick, or concrete. A machete is also a good tool but the single sided blade will be slower if you are surrounded. Axes and hatchets work well too though you have to be careful not to overswing with an axe because the momentum can carry you out of position and expose you to attacks. Other long blades will work well too. If you have to improvise, good meat cleavers can be used. Other good kitchen knives will also work but often put you in extremely close contact with the zombie. Remember you have to win every battle against a zombie while it just has to get in one lucky bite and you are lost. The further away from them you are, the better.
This brings me to what would seem like the best weapon against zombies: the gun. Unless you are the Lone Ranger, Annie Oakley, or Buffalo Bill, you might want to forgo handguns and rifles (although a handgun can be useful as a weapon of last resort at close range). A good shotgun is your best bet. At close to point blank range, any shotgun round will cause enough trauma to the zombie's cranium to save your lily white behind (sadly, African Americans and other minorities rarely survive encounters with the undead; I have a research staff on crack looking into this bizarre phenomenon). The downside to any gun is that it is relatively heavy and ammunition in any significant quantity will weigh you down even more. For this reason, I recommend guns as auxiliary weapons only though a good shotgun can be used as a bludgeoning weapon when ammo is exhausted.
Now that you have an arsenal to defend against zombies, your real goal becomes apparent: get out of town! Unless you have a survival bunker your primary aim should be to flee the city and get as far away from populated areas as possible. The Zombie Apocalypse will not last forever since the magic or virus that animates the corpse is limited to 2-4 weeks (my research staff on crack will also investigate what keeps DC beltway zombies going since there is no active brain matter inside the beltway) without the consumption of human brains.
Take as many unaffected people with you as you can. Be aware though that minorities will likely not survive to get out of town (exempted from that are Samuel L Jackson or Ving Rhamesesque individuals). Others that seem to have trouble surviving are people of loose morals - especially women with 'reputations'. This may be less due to poor survival skills than the need to engage in the activities that gave them a reputation in the middle of said Zombie Apocalypse. The elderly are quite vulnerable but young children seem to have a higher survival rate than adults.
As you make your escape be aware of the following as well. If anyone is determined to leave the group, you might as well shoot them as they will soon be zombified anyway. Girlie girls (and I suppose girlie men) who cannot run or refuse to trade in stiletto heels for a good pair of running shoes should be culled from the group right away (your option on saving the high strung dog in their purses). People who refuse to believe what is happening should be summarily dispatched; preferably by pushing them into a group of oncoming zombies in order to save your own hide. At the other end of the spectrum is the chronic whiner who believes that we all all dead, or boned, or hosed, or insert preffered idiom for being doomed here. If you must take them along be prepared to hurl them into a group of zombies as a distraction or shoot them yourself along the way. Finally regarding the undesirables you will pick up as you make your escape is to remember that under no circumstances should you ever Ever EVER take any extraordinary steps to save them. They were dead the moment the ZA began and just haven't realized it yet.
Well, good luck and hopefully I will see you, alive and well, once the ZA is over.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A Czar too Far
Okay, so my random thoughts have had fun poking at the physical oddities of a couple of Obama Administration officials but its time to get serious about the unelected, unwanted advisers that the B-HO has set up as out masters.
I'll let Glenn Beck go after the Marxists and Maoists. I have a beef with one of the seemingly less objectionable members of the 'Czar' list: Economic Adviser Paul Volcker. Volcker slips under the radar often thanks to the blatant radicalism of other Obama advisers but when you dig down, he is just as bad as the rest.
Volcker has an impressive resume. He has worked for Chase Manhattan Bank, J. Rothchild Wolfensohn & Co. (Mr. Wolfensohn was president of the World Bank), and was Nixon's Undersecretary of the Treasury from 1969-74. He was also the Chairman of the Fed from 1979-87. He founded and chairs the Group of Thirty, a New York (of course) based economic 'consulting' firm (which had, until recently, among its active members one Timmy Geithner).
For the conspiracists among us, he is a Rockefeller friend which adds up to a stint as honorary chairman of the Trilateral Commission. He is also a Bilderberg member.
Volcker's most notable claim to 'fame' comes from his stint at Treasury. His was the deciding vote in suspending the gold convertibility of the dollar. That vote was the tipping point for the already strained Bretton Woods system instituted by central banking, Keynesian economic theorists after World War II. It might seem odd that a committed Keynesian and Central Banker like Volcker would do in a central banking system unless you consider Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals (and I am not implying that Volcker ever read that evil tome). Typical of Progressive leftists, Volcker and company created a crisis and then exploited it to increase centralized power, this time in central banks. The collapse of the Bretton Woods system created an economic recession that lasted through the 1970s and culminated in the early 1980s. President Nixon (also a Keynesian and a Progressive) instituted wage freezes and price fixing especially in wake of the Yom Kippur war (which is why there was no gasoline but that's another blog).
Jimmy Carter, America's reigning skin lesion, can be credited for one thing: completely destroying Keynesian economic theory. Keynesian theory demands that an economy cannot have rising unemployment, rising inflation at the same time. Thanks to 'stagflation' that has proven untrue and wrecked the foundation of Keynesian economics...and yet there are so many including Paul A. (Adolph!!!) Volcker that still cling to it. Carter rehires Volcker, one of the architects of the crisis, to try and solve the crisis. While Wikipedia (which I don't trust for much) claims he did, I suspect it had more to do with Reagan tax cuts and deregulation efforts over Fed objections.
Overall, Paul Volcker has not been a positive influence in this nation's recent economic history. While Bretton Woods was a Keynesian/centralized system; it was less so than the system that is currently in collapse around us. Lord only knows what the committed Keynesians and Marxists in this administration (Volcker, Geithner, Romer, Browner, Feinberg, Sunstein, Emmanuel, Clinton, Vilsack, Locke, Sibelius, Solis, I'm sure there are others) will do to further centralize our economy and move us further into serfdom. The Progressives both in the Bush and Obama Administrations have used this recent recession and financial system collapse (which they have been engineering either by accident or design since the late 1970s) to consolidate small banks and seize control over large banks (though large banks like Chase are run by central banking allies anyway) increasing their iron grip on the economy. They continue to spend like mad driving the dollar's value to the breaking point. When (and it is now a matter of when not 'if') the dollar collapses and people start to really suffer (we'll be looking at this recession as good days) it will be that much easier for them to force a North American Union or world government on us.
Maybe that's paranoid but if I wanted to force people in that direction this is a great way to get it done.
Unrelated note: Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies on their second straight pennant. The umpiring in the series seems to be questionable and those of us who don't trust the Commissioner/used car salesman will always suspect foul play in favor of revenue. A Phillies/Yankees world series will likely draw well on the east coast but one would think a Dodgers/Yankees series would draw equally well if not better. An Angels/Phillies series would get terrible TV ratings so don't look for that! Maybe Paul Volcker can centralize baseball when he helps finish off the dollar.
I'll let Glenn Beck go after the Marxists and Maoists. I have a beef with one of the seemingly less objectionable members of the 'Czar' list: Economic Adviser Paul Volcker. Volcker slips under the radar often thanks to the blatant radicalism of other Obama advisers but when you dig down, he is just as bad as the rest.
Volcker has an impressive resume. He has worked for Chase Manhattan Bank, J. Rothchild Wolfensohn & Co. (Mr. Wolfensohn was president of the World Bank), and was Nixon's Undersecretary of the Treasury from 1969-74. He was also the Chairman of the Fed from 1979-87. He founded and chairs the Group of Thirty, a New York (of course) based economic 'consulting' firm (which had, until recently, among its active members one Timmy Geithner).
For the conspiracists among us, he is a Rockefeller friend which adds up to a stint as honorary chairman of the Trilateral Commission. He is also a Bilderberg member.
Volcker's most notable claim to 'fame' comes from his stint at Treasury. His was the deciding vote in suspending the gold convertibility of the dollar. That vote was the tipping point for the already strained Bretton Woods system instituted by central banking, Keynesian economic theorists after World War II. It might seem odd that a committed Keynesian and Central Banker like Volcker would do in a central banking system unless you consider Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals (and I am not implying that Volcker ever read that evil tome). Typical of Progressive leftists, Volcker and company created a crisis and then exploited it to increase centralized power, this time in central banks. The collapse of the Bretton Woods system created an economic recession that lasted through the 1970s and culminated in the early 1980s. President Nixon (also a Keynesian and a Progressive) instituted wage freezes and price fixing especially in wake of the Yom Kippur war (which is why there was no gasoline but that's another blog).
Jimmy Carter, America's reigning skin lesion, can be credited for one thing: completely destroying Keynesian economic theory. Keynesian theory demands that an economy cannot have rising unemployment, rising inflation at the same time. Thanks to 'stagflation' that has proven untrue and wrecked the foundation of Keynesian economics...and yet there are so many including Paul A. (Adolph!!!) Volcker that still cling to it. Carter rehires Volcker, one of the architects of the crisis, to try and solve the crisis. While Wikipedia (which I don't trust for much) claims he did, I suspect it had more to do with Reagan tax cuts and deregulation efforts over Fed objections.
Overall, Paul Volcker has not been a positive influence in this nation's recent economic history. While Bretton Woods was a Keynesian/centralized system; it was less so than the system that is currently in collapse around us. Lord only knows what the committed Keynesians and Marxists in this administration (Volcker, Geithner, Romer, Browner, Feinberg, Sunstein, Emmanuel, Clinton, Vilsack, Locke, Sibelius, Solis, I'm sure there are others) will do to further centralize our economy and move us further into serfdom. The Progressives both in the Bush and Obama Administrations have used this recent recession and financial system collapse (which they have been engineering either by accident or design since the late 1970s) to consolidate small banks and seize control over large banks (though large banks like Chase are run by central banking allies anyway) increasing their iron grip on the economy. They continue to spend like mad driving the dollar's value to the breaking point. When (and it is now a matter of when not 'if') the dollar collapses and people start to really suffer (we'll be looking at this recession as good days) it will be that much easier for them to force a North American Union or world government on us.
Maybe that's paranoid but if I wanted to force people in that direction this is a great way to get it done.
Unrelated note: Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies on their second straight pennant. The umpiring in the series seems to be questionable and those of us who don't trust the Commissioner/used car salesman will always suspect foul play in favor of revenue. A Phillies/Yankees world series will likely draw well on the east coast but one would think a Dodgers/Yankees series would draw equally well if not better. An Angels/Phillies series would get terrible TV ratings so don't look for that! Maybe Paul Volcker can centralize baseball when he helps finish off the dollar.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Trafalgar
Random Thought: Does the Obama war on Fox News and talk radio make you think the Clinton's were thick skinned by comparison?
RTII: If the Constitution is a 'living' document then doesn't that mean that something or someone can kill it?
RTIII: I don't know if I'm more disturbed by Anita Dunne's incessant lip licking or the fact the Kathleen Sibelius right eye opens all the way and her left is mostly closed (although it looks like her mascara glued it shut).
He was the first modern dictator. He was ruthless, cunning, and one of the most brilliant generals to ever live. He was called the first AntiChrist. He was Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor of France and on this date 204 years ago he suffered his first major setback in his quest to conquer the world.
The architect of that setback was Admiral Horatio Nelson, hair turned prematurely white from a near fatal wound and missing his right arm from an ill-conceived Battle to take Tenerife in the Canary Islands. He was already a legend in England for exploits in the Battles of Cape St. Vincent, the Nile, and Copenhagen - all of which nibbled away at Napoleon's naval capacity. At Trafalgar he would become immortal.
Near Cadiz, Spain lies a small spit of land called Cape Trafalgar. In the Atlantic Ocean just to the west the historic battle took place.
At Trafalgar, Nelson was outnumbered 27 ships to the combined French-Spanish fleet of 33 (actually it was 33 British ships to 40 French but naval battles of the day only counted Ships-of-the-Line which were heavily gunned). Nelson was confident of victory even though outnumbered and outgunned. The British fleet attacked in two lines cutting the Franco-Spanish fleet in two places near the middle of their line. Four hours later, the British had captured 22 enemy ships with the loss of none (though several were badly mauled).
However, the British suffered one very important casualty. Nelson had been hit by an enemy sharpshooter. The ball smashed his internal organs and crushed his backbone. Still, he managed to keep tabs on the battle from below decks (even issuing orders) and lived long enough to know that his victory had been won.
Today Nelson remains one of the most celebrated figures of English history. He stands atop a victory column in Trafalgar square, his last, unfinished letter is preserved at the British Library, his portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery and his face looks out over England from schools to pubs and virtually everything else. His victory and martyrdom at Trafalgar ensured him a shrine in the basement of St. Paul's Cathedral, a beautiful onyx crypt set on a pedestal (in spite of the many signs forbidding touching the crypt, I could not help reach out and lay a hand on it). It also crushed Napoleon's overseas ambitions and ensured British world naval dominance for the next century.
Nelson's victory might be little more than a historical footnote to many people, especially those outside of England. But in a world where the 'heroes' are felonious sport stars, drugged up actors and rockers, and brainless 'reality stars', it becomes increasingly important to remember and celebrate real heroes. Nelson and many others gave their lives in a struggle against one of the modern world's first tyrants. Unlike a whiny, useless heiress with an even more useless dog in her purse or a sports star who has come back from a (usually self created) tragic story to return to the game, real heroes overcame real adversity. Nelson could have retired to the country after losing his arm and no one would have argued with him when he said that his arm was enough sacrifice for his nation. But he went out again and only with his last breaths did he claim that right when he told Captain Thomas Hardy: "Thank God I have done my duty."
RTII: If the Constitution is a 'living' document then doesn't that mean that something or someone can kill it?
RTIII: I don't know if I'm more disturbed by Anita Dunne's incessant lip licking or the fact the Kathleen Sibelius right eye opens all the way and her left is mostly closed (although it looks like her mascara glued it shut).
He was the first modern dictator. He was ruthless, cunning, and one of the most brilliant generals to ever live. He was called the first AntiChrist. He was Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor of France and on this date 204 years ago he suffered his first major setback in his quest to conquer the world.
The architect of that setback was Admiral Horatio Nelson, hair turned prematurely white from a near fatal wound and missing his right arm from an ill-conceived Battle to take Tenerife in the Canary Islands. He was already a legend in England for exploits in the Battles of Cape St. Vincent, the Nile, and Copenhagen - all of which nibbled away at Napoleon's naval capacity. At Trafalgar he would become immortal.
Near Cadiz, Spain lies a small spit of land called Cape Trafalgar. In the Atlantic Ocean just to the west the historic battle took place.
At Trafalgar, Nelson was outnumbered 27 ships to the combined French-Spanish fleet of 33 (actually it was 33 British ships to 40 French but naval battles of the day only counted Ships-of-the-Line which were heavily gunned). Nelson was confident of victory even though outnumbered and outgunned. The British fleet attacked in two lines cutting the Franco-Spanish fleet in two places near the middle of their line. Four hours later, the British had captured 22 enemy ships with the loss of none (though several were badly mauled).
However, the British suffered one very important casualty. Nelson had been hit by an enemy sharpshooter. The ball smashed his internal organs and crushed his backbone. Still, he managed to keep tabs on the battle from below decks (even issuing orders) and lived long enough to know that his victory had been won.
Today Nelson remains one of the most celebrated figures of English history. He stands atop a victory column in Trafalgar square, his last, unfinished letter is preserved at the British Library, his portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery and his face looks out over England from schools to pubs and virtually everything else. His victory and martyrdom at Trafalgar ensured him a shrine in the basement of St. Paul's Cathedral, a beautiful onyx crypt set on a pedestal (in spite of the many signs forbidding touching the crypt, I could not help reach out and lay a hand on it). It also crushed Napoleon's overseas ambitions and ensured British world naval dominance for the next century.
Nelson's victory might be little more than a historical footnote to many people, especially those outside of England. But in a world where the 'heroes' are felonious sport stars, drugged up actors and rockers, and brainless 'reality stars', it becomes increasingly important to remember and celebrate real heroes. Nelson and many others gave their lives in a struggle against one of the modern world's first tyrants. Unlike a whiny, useless heiress with an even more useless dog in her purse or a sports star who has come back from a (usually self created) tragic story to return to the game, real heroes overcame real adversity. Nelson could have retired to the country after losing his arm and no one would have argued with him when he said that his arm was enough sacrifice for his nation. But he went out again and only with his last breaths did he claim that right when he told Captain Thomas Hardy: "Thank God I have done my duty."
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Lost in the Reids
Random Thought: Do you think if Hamid Kharzi had been an anti-American autocrat, that the UN election monitoring panel would have declared the Afghan election valid?
Random Thought #2: The balloon boy family is suspected of pulling a publicity stunt/hoax which is entirely plausible to anyone who saw the Mythbusters episode about helium balloons lifting a person (it takes a LOT of helium to even move a 60lb. child let alone get it up to 8000 feet). As soon as Shep Smith announced it was a helium filled balloon, I knew there was no way the boy was on it. Every policeman and responder, every TV station that filmed it, and every person put in any danger should file a civil suit against these people (and their backers) and ruin them financially. CPS should take their kids (that they were on Wife Swap should have been enough for that). Finally, someone should whack the dad on the back of the head with a nine iron for his Delta Bravo haircut (Delta Bravo is code for a feminine product one might use on a fresh Summer's Eve). These 'people' are prime examples Darwin was wrong. Some of us are 'devolving' back toward monkeys.
It may come as a shock to those of you who know me that I have been to an event that featured Senate Majority Leader and all around schmuck, Harry Reid (D-Nevada) as the keynote speaker. Back in the spring of 2007, my family descended on Reno, Nevada for my cousin's graduation from Nursing school at UNR and unfortunately, Reid was the address speaker.
I grumbled on the way to the ceremony about having to tolerate a speech from one of the most inane politicians ever to leave a slime trail up the Capitol steps. My dad told me that we should give him a chance and hear what he had to say. Though I did not want to, I agreed that he was right and resigned myself to the speech. Sadly, the day would prove me right and my dad wrong.
Though I did not meet Reid, I'm fairly sure that no one else did either. He apparently arrived just a few moments before the address and marched up to the stage. Barely able to see him from our spot in the campus green (and the fact that his ugly mug barely cleared the podium), we could still, unfortunately, hear him. Did he offer platitudinous rhetoric about the future? No. Did he tell the students they could achieve their dreams through hard work? No. Did he talk about America as a land of opportunity? Big nope. He gave short, pointless speech about growing up in Searchlight, Nevada and blathered on a little bit about his lack of accomplishment in the State Gaming Commission, House, and Senate.
As if that weren't bad enough, directly after the speech, HE LEFT!!! He didn't even return to his seat, he shook hands with the President of the University and walked off the back of the stage. What combination of hubris and self-centrism does it take for a US Senator, a servant of the people, to ignore 3000-4000 potential constituents at a very public function? If he were any kind of decent person, let alone Senator, he would have remained and even asked to shake each graduate's hand afterward. But then I might be expecting too much from the slimy little (and I mean short of stature...though I wouldn't be surprised if he had other shortcomings) mountebank to act like an actual human being.
Let's compare that to my graduation which was keynoted by pianist Roger Williams (Born Free, Autumn Leaves, etc.). Granted Mr. Williams was not a US Senator, but he gave a very impressive address and followed it up after the graduation by remaining behind to shake the hand of every one who wanted to meet him (students and guests included) and sign autographs. He was as kind and interested in the last people through the line as he was the first.
Harry Reid is finally in trouble in Nevada which shows you how hard it is to dislodge one of these carbuncles once they latch on to the hull of the great ship of state. Reid has survived by trailing his slime across Nevada. He is a 'MINO' (Mormon in Name Only) but it has been enough to get him votes in very conservative and very Mormon rural Nevada. Until Obama telling everyone to not go to Vegas, Reid was also chummy with the 'legitimate business interests' running that fair city giving him enough leverage to fight off GOP challengers. But thankfully he may be on the way out. His high profile as Majority Leader has made it so the conservatives cannot ignore his liberalism and his buddy the B-HO has alienated him from Sinatra's friends in Las Vegas. With luck, he will be among the political casualties left in Obama's wake in 2010.
Random Thought #2: The balloon boy family is suspected of pulling a publicity stunt/hoax which is entirely plausible to anyone who saw the Mythbusters episode about helium balloons lifting a person (it takes a LOT of helium to even move a 60lb. child let alone get it up to 8000 feet). As soon as Shep Smith announced it was a helium filled balloon, I knew there was no way the boy was on it. Every policeman and responder, every TV station that filmed it, and every person put in any danger should file a civil suit against these people (and their backers) and ruin them financially. CPS should take their kids (that they were on Wife Swap should have been enough for that). Finally, someone should whack the dad on the back of the head with a nine iron for his Delta Bravo haircut (Delta Bravo is code for a feminine product one might use on a fresh Summer's Eve). These 'people' are prime examples Darwin was wrong. Some of us are 'devolving' back toward monkeys.
It may come as a shock to those of you who know me that I have been to an event that featured Senate Majority Leader and all around schmuck, Harry Reid (D-Nevada) as the keynote speaker. Back in the spring of 2007, my family descended on Reno, Nevada for my cousin's graduation from Nursing school at UNR and unfortunately, Reid was the address speaker.
I grumbled on the way to the ceremony about having to tolerate a speech from one of the most inane politicians ever to leave a slime trail up the Capitol steps. My dad told me that we should give him a chance and hear what he had to say. Though I did not want to, I agreed that he was right and resigned myself to the speech. Sadly, the day would prove me right and my dad wrong.
Though I did not meet Reid, I'm fairly sure that no one else did either. He apparently arrived just a few moments before the address and marched up to the stage. Barely able to see him from our spot in the campus green (and the fact that his ugly mug barely cleared the podium), we could still, unfortunately, hear him. Did he offer platitudinous rhetoric about the future? No. Did he tell the students they could achieve their dreams through hard work? No. Did he talk about America as a land of opportunity? Big nope. He gave short, pointless speech about growing up in Searchlight, Nevada and blathered on a little bit about his lack of accomplishment in the State Gaming Commission, House, and Senate.
As if that weren't bad enough, directly after the speech, HE LEFT!!! He didn't even return to his seat, he shook hands with the President of the University and walked off the back of the stage. What combination of hubris and self-centrism does it take for a US Senator, a servant of the people, to ignore 3000-4000 potential constituents at a very public function? If he were any kind of decent person, let alone Senator, he would have remained and even asked to shake each graduate's hand afterward. But then I might be expecting too much from the slimy little (and I mean short of stature...though I wouldn't be surprised if he had other shortcomings) mountebank to act like an actual human being.
Let's compare that to my graduation which was keynoted by pianist Roger Williams (Born Free, Autumn Leaves, etc.). Granted Mr. Williams was not a US Senator, but he gave a very impressive address and followed it up after the graduation by remaining behind to shake the hand of every one who wanted to meet him (students and guests included) and sign autographs. He was as kind and interested in the last people through the line as he was the first.
Harry Reid is finally in trouble in Nevada which shows you how hard it is to dislodge one of these carbuncles once they latch on to the hull of the great ship of state. Reid has survived by trailing his slime across Nevada. He is a 'MINO' (Mormon in Name Only) but it has been enough to get him votes in very conservative and very Mormon rural Nevada. Until Obama telling everyone to not go to Vegas, Reid was also chummy with the 'legitimate business interests' running that fair city giving him enough leverage to fight off GOP challengers. But thankfully he may be on the way out. His high profile as Majority Leader has made it so the conservatives cannot ignore his liberalism and his buddy the B-HO has alienated him from Sinatra's friends in Las Vegas. With luck, he will be among the political casualties left in Obama's wake in 2010.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Meandering Monday
America is often compared to Rome and many of those comparisons try to draw parallels between America's collapse to that of the Roman Empire. Those comparisons don't always sit well with me even though the Mexican border issue closely parallels that of the Germanic tribes freely crossing the Roman frontier toward Rome's end. America is having a bad time right now but modern Visigoths will not be sacking Washington DC any time soon. When comparing America and Rome we need to to turn the clock back several centuries to the end of the Roman Republic because we seem to be approaching that point. All that is missing so far is our Caesar. If that person comes along America will be a Fascist nation regardless of whether that person has an 'R' or a 'D' behind their name.
Of all taxes we are charged, property taxes are the most insidious. While you can limit a VAT or sales tax by reducing consumption and income taxes by not having an income, the only way to avoid property taxes is to not own property. If you fail to pay property taxes then there will be someone coming to take away your property which ultimately means that it is not yours. Real estate is the only property on which we are taxed continuously after purchase and we would do well to force our local governments to get rid of this one tax that makes otherwise free people into serfs.
One of the best exchanges from South Pacific is the conversation between a military officer and Emile, the Frenchman. I may not have the lines exact but the spirit remains:
Officer: Why, we're against the Japs of course...
Emile: But what are you for?
As criticism of conservatives, conservative-libertarians, and especially those of us with traditional Christian values grows in both volume and fury we must take time to determine not what we are against but what we are for. The better we can articulate why the free market is superior to the command economy, Christian values are better than pop culture values, and why the vision of the Founders is better than that of so-called Progressives, Socialist, Fascists, and Communists we will be that much better off.
Last night I sat through the 20th Halloween special from the Simpsons. Now the Simpsons has been one of my favorite shows for a long time. Yes, it has always had a simmering bias against Christianity in its portrayal of the always square, sometimes judgmental, pushover Ned Flanders and his 'uber-Christian' family. Ned has always been a foil for Homer and in spite of his nerdiness, he has shown nothing but Christian love and forgiveness no matter how much abuse has been heaped upon him by Homer (which is quite surprising). But since the re-advent of truly horrid and anti-Christian The Family Guy and the equally anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-traditional values American Dad, the Simpsons have upped their anti-Christian bias to remain 'edgy' and 'meaningful' on Sunday night Fox "family" programming. The Simpsons has grown less funny and last night openly attacked the concept of the Christian Communion/Catholic Eucharist. Since I don't believe in Transubstantiation (the concept that the wine/grape juice and bread actually become the blood and body of Jesus) and was irritated rather than offended, I asked myself when was the last time the Simpsons or any show made fun of the foibles of the Islamic religion or any Dharmic religion from the East.
Weekends are supposed to work to let your mind rest and refocus but I find myself more unfocused than ever on Mondays. Maybe I'll start writing Monday's blog on Friday so I can get it together and focus on one thought for the rest of the week!
Of all taxes we are charged, property taxes are the most insidious. While you can limit a VAT or sales tax by reducing consumption and income taxes by not having an income, the only way to avoid property taxes is to not own property. If you fail to pay property taxes then there will be someone coming to take away your property which ultimately means that it is not yours. Real estate is the only property on which we are taxed continuously after purchase and we would do well to force our local governments to get rid of this one tax that makes otherwise free people into serfs.
One of the best exchanges from South Pacific is the conversation between a military officer and Emile, the Frenchman. I may not have the lines exact but the spirit remains:
Officer: Why, we're against the Japs of course...
Emile: But what are you for?
As criticism of conservatives, conservative-libertarians, and especially those of us with traditional Christian values grows in both volume and fury we must take time to determine not what we are against but what we are for. The better we can articulate why the free market is superior to the command economy, Christian values are better than pop culture values, and why the vision of the Founders is better than that of so-called Progressives, Socialist, Fascists, and Communists we will be that much better off.
Last night I sat through the 20th Halloween special from the Simpsons. Now the Simpsons has been one of my favorite shows for a long time. Yes, it has always had a simmering bias against Christianity in its portrayal of the always square, sometimes judgmental, pushover Ned Flanders and his 'uber-Christian' family. Ned has always been a foil for Homer and in spite of his nerdiness, he has shown nothing but Christian love and forgiveness no matter how much abuse has been heaped upon him by Homer (which is quite surprising). But since the re-advent of truly horrid and anti-Christian The Family Guy and the equally anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-traditional values American Dad, the Simpsons have upped their anti-Christian bias to remain 'edgy' and 'meaningful' on Sunday night Fox "family" programming. The Simpsons has grown less funny and last night openly attacked the concept of the Christian Communion/Catholic Eucharist. Since I don't believe in Transubstantiation (the concept that the wine/grape juice and bread actually become the blood and body of Jesus) and was irritated rather than offended, I asked myself when was the last time the Simpsons or any show made fun of the foibles of the Islamic religion or any Dharmic religion from the East.
Weekends are supposed to work to let your mind rest and refocus but I find myself more unfocused than ever on Mondays. Maybe I'll start writing Monday's blog on Friday so I can get it together and focus on one thought for the rest of the week!
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