One Step at a Time

There's been a lot of discussion around me regarding the current crop of GOP presidential candidates and the Tea Party. Here's my view:

I still support the Tea Party because I believe the Tea Party is simply regular people across the country finally waking up and realizing they must say no to the corruption in Washington. We must say no because that is our responsibility. It is true that several groups have tried to claim and/or take over the Tea Party - but the Tea Party truly does remain "We the People" and that can't be taken over if we don't let it. When we elect people that don't live up to our beliefs, then we vote them out and try again.  

We've gotten as deep in this mess as we are because we weren't paying attention and they walked us in step-by-step. Now we have to walk out step-by-step. It's not qoing to be pleasant and it's not going to be quick. It was just over a year ago that the Tea Party made huge changes across the country. In Alabama, for example, the state legislature turned red for the first time in 134 years. The change in state and local governments will make a huge difference. The difference often won't show right away, just like the journey into this mess didn't show right away -- but it is a step in the right direction.  

There is something about each and every candidate out there that I don't like. But there is also something about each candidate that I do like. I'm going to focus on the positive and help to take our country back to the Constitution, one step at a time.

The T-ball Generation

What we are seeing in our youth – and most glaringly at the Occupy Wall Street protests – is the result of raising kids to be the T-ball Generation. Adults taught: just show up and you deserve a trophy. Now the grown children believe they deserve a trophy just for showing up. It's how they've grown up. Train up a child in the way in which he will grow and when he is old he will not depart from it. and You can't raise no grown man. In other words – the way children are taught about the world and life when growing up is what they are going to believe when they are older.

So – all these kids that always received passing grades whether they studied or not, whether they turned in their homework or not - they learned that showing up was what was needed to pass. They didn't learn to do the work, to put forth any real effort on anything that they didn't want to do. Many of them passed with good grades, even though they didn't learn anything. They played on sports teams and everyone got trophies. If they lost they were told it wasn't their fault, it was someone else's fault. When the student fails a test or get's a poor grade report, the parents come in to the schools and complain about the teacher. When the student is caught doing something illegal or disruptive, the parent comes in and complains that it's not fair. When students are caught cheating to make up for their lack of effort (yes ACT students, I'm talking about you), adults say it's still not their fault – there is too much pressure on our children.

The students are raised and rewarded on the 'showing up' method. They go to college, because they are told that's the next thing to show up to, and once again the system rewards them – only this time they don't even have to show up for class. The students are told they aren't expected to graduate in 4 years even though they are earning a 4 year degree. It's too hard, they are told. They need to experience life – that's the most important part of their college time. The degree is almost a side-track, or a bonus, for the time they are experiencing life. They aren't told to work their butts off and sacrifice to get the knowledge and skills to take care of themselves and contribute to society. They are awarded bonus points for every imaginable reason.

In high schools and colleges, students are told to think about the tough questions and come to their own conclusions. Then they are presented with dumbed down curriculum that's designed to teach them to laugh at the tough questions and rarely voice an opinion. When they do voice an opinion, they are often laughed at. They are taught that every opinion is valid, however, if their opinion differs from the 'norm' or what the teacher/curriculum suggest, they are ostracized until they come around. When they go along with the crowd/agenda, whether they can back it up with facts, evidence, logic, or not, they are told how wise they are for thinking on their own. They should be proud for exploring the tough ideas.

It's no wonder then that the crowds gather. The others are doing it. They get graded for showing up, don't they.

Are We Being Set-up?

I've been reading though an article by Anthony Gregory from Mises Daily reviewing Ralph Raico's book Great Wars and Great Leaders: A Libertarian Rebuttal, which was originally posted at LewRockewell.com. (How's that for a mouthful.) There's a lot to digest in the article, but this excerpt jumped out at me.

The Treaty of Versailles, a Germany burdened by war guilt and a resentful, demoralized, brutalized population, and the territorial changes resulting from the peace resulted not in worldwide democracy or an end to war, as promised, but in more conflict, brutality, authoritarianism, and eventually a war even much worse than World War I. Even more politically incorrect to mention, the old order of Europe, as inequitable as it might have been, was swept away, allowing for far greater evils:

Had the war not occurred, the Prussian Hohenzollerns would most probably have remained heads of Germany, with their panoply of subordinate kings and nobility in charge of the lesser German states. Whatever gains Hitler might have scored in the Reichstag elections, could he have erected his totalitarian, exterminationist dictatorship in the midst of this powerful aristocratic superstructure? Highly unlikely. In Russia, Lenin's few thousand Communist revolutionaries confronted the immense Imperial Russian Army, the largest in the world. For Lenin to have any chance to succeed, that great army had first to be pulverized, which is what the Germans did. So, a twentieth century without the Great War might well have meant a century without Nazis or Communists. Imagine that. (pp. 1–2)

 My understanding of this section suggests that if WWI hadn't taken place, the infrastructure and especially the military would have been in position to defend against the Nazis and the Communists. However, the war made the defending forces impotent, allowing the Nazis and Communists to take over their respective areas.
Let me stress this excerpt:

For Lenin to have any chance to succeed, that great army had first to be pulverized, which is what the Germans did. So, a twentieth century without the Great War might well have meant a century without Nazis or Communists. Imagine that. (pp. 1–2)

Now, with that understanding, I wonder what the purpose is behind the US Military's current engagement situation. We are in wars (call them what you will) all over the world. Many of those areas are distant from friendly support and if everything goes badly, they will be caught in the crossfire. The regular military, as well as our National Guard Units, have been hit hard. It hasn't been pulverized (yet), but many of our best have been wounded or killed, supplies are stretched thin, and public awareness appears to now put the wars somewhere far behind Dancing with the Stars -- the general public no longer cares.

I'm concerned that the present condition of the military not only leaves them in a precarious situation, it leaves the entire US and the rest of the world in a precarious situation. Are we being set-up? Will opportunists take advantage of the situation? Looking at Russia, China, and Iran today, I think so.

Dangerous Remedies?

There's been a lot of talk at the Occupy Stuff encampmetns about Guy Fawkes and I've seen several V for Vendetta masks being worn. I loved that movie, but more on that later. Seems several people are concerned that the Occupiers are going to go all Guy Fawkes and cause some chaos on Saturday. I found this little blurp at Forbes:

After his arrest, Fawkes is alleged to have declared that “A desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy,” and that quote too makes appearances in chat rooms. Authorities therefore have been forewarned, and the more cautious of citizens may want to stay indoors.

and this

As for today’s anarchists and revolutionaries, a closer look at the Guy Fawkes plot and England today shows that the plot’s true lesson may be that in fact contrary to Fawkes’s declaration – no dangerous remedy was needed.

No remedy was needed - time and cool headedness was needed. Determined direction. That's what we see with the Tea Party. Cool headed, determined direction. Now that we've awaken - we're on the move and we won't be stopped.

Honor Killings

This morning as I was drinking my morning cup of PG Tips tea and getting my daily dose of Instapundit, I came across yet another article about honor killings. Two Muslim women from India helped each other strangle their daughters (aged 19 and 26) with a rope because their daughters dared to marry Hindus. Still having a couple swigs of tea left to drink, I ventured down into the comments and found this one:

Wow. You are very assumptious. The more 'civilized' any nation becomes (at the median), the more content and carefree the people become. Islamists being mroe violent and radicalized has more to do with their general living conditions and place in the world than it does with the tenets of Islam itself. If WE were the ones behind in personal luxuries, freedoms, and technologies and THEY were more advanced and 'comfortable', there is no doubt in my mind that WE would be the 'holy warriors', violent and unhappy. Any religion possesses the potential for insane, unfathomable violence. We simply have the 'best' standing as a world super-power. Take that away from us and we'll become 'savages'. At least in the eyes of someone else.

I must now admit that I am continually surprised by this line of reasoning - you'd think I'd get over it because this line of reasoning is so easily found - but it's so absurd that I have a difficult time remembering that people actually believe it.

Let me poke a couple glaring holes in the commenter's reasoning. The women are from India, the Hindus their daughters married are also presumably from India. I seriously doubt that the Indian Hindus are ahead of the Indian Muslims in personal luxuries, freedom, and technology. Remember, India is the world's largest democracy - it is boom city there right now (except of course for the slums, but that's a different article). No matter the living conditions - the reason they say they killed their daughters is because they married Hindus - not because the Hindus have more stuff than they do.

Second - there have been enough honor killings in Western countries in which the Muslim families were at the very least middle class. Muslims living in Canada or the USA have the same in personal luxuries, freedom, and technology as the rest of those populations - regardless of which religion they practice.

The author of the comment seems to suggest that we Americans (Christians) don't engage in honor killings only because we are a 'world super power'. However, a little trip through geography and history shows that when Christians are part of a non-world super power, they don't engage in honor killing or turn into savages. Christians also don't engage in that behavior when they are the downtrodden minority in a non-Christian country.

The overall impression I have of the above comment is that poverty causes jealousy and jealousy causes savage behavior and honor killing is simply to be expect by those that are jealous - it could happen to anybody. Yah, I don't think so. When black Americans (Christians) where being persecuted under slavery or Jim Crow Laws they did not resort to killing their daughters for behaving too 'white'.

Yes, there are people in every walk of life that act in evil ways - they even fight each other over trivial matters sometimes - but that doesn't cause them to kill their daughters. Disown them possibly, but kill them - hardly.  There is no justification for honor killing. Period.

Another country that kills their daughters is China - but that, too, is a different article.

The Eagle

I saw a trailer for the movie "The Eagle" the other day. Looks great! I read the book it's based on, "The Eagle of the Ninth" by Rosemary Sutcliff, to my girls years ago. The book is awesome. After watching Bill Whittle's review, I can't wait to watch the movie.

UPDATE: We did, indeed, watch the movie. Although it didn't follow the book exactly, (much to my daughter's chagrin), it did stay true to the message and bring the characters to life. It's available via Amazon if you missed it in theaters or just want to watch it again.

Time for the Mean Mom

Harry Reid is calling the GOP 'mean spirited.' Frankly as a 'Mean Mom,' I'd take that accusation as a complement. Oh - you don't know the 'Mean Mom?' - Let me tell you about her.

Mean Mother

A mean mother never allows candy or sweets

to take the place of a well balanced meal.

A mean mother insists on knowing

where her children are at all times,

who their friends are and what they do.

A mean mother breaks the child labor law

by making her children work. . .

washing dishes, making beds, learning

to cook and doing other chores.

A mean mother makes life miserable for her offspring

by insisting that they always tell the truth.

A mean mother produces teenagers

who are wiser and more sensible.

A mean mother can smile with secret delight

and pride when she hears her own

grandchildren call their parents "mean."

What the world needs now are

more "Mean Mothers."

Harry Reid is acting like a spoiled child - so are millions of liberals across the country. It's time they had a Mean Mom cut off the candy, make them do a few chores and tell the truth.

General Welfare

Didn't the Founding Fathers say something about 'for the general welfare' meaning that Federal intervention should treat the entire country, i.e., all the states, in the same way? It appears that someone forgot that when they started 'exempting' groups from ObamaCare. Now it's Maine's turn.

Building Up or Tearing Down

I don't understand why so many of the current administration's policies appear to be geared to tearing down our country. Less oil, less electricity, less food, less transportation, less education and more dependence. If this keeps up we will no longer be the shining city on the hill. I don't understand why some people don't want us to be that shining city anymore. I guess the lack of understanding I have comes from the basic difference between two different groups of people. If I could be in charge of a country, I'd like that country to be outrageously successful. The more successful the country, the more I'd have, right? Those currently in charge seem to prefer ruling over a desolate wasteland - I just don't see the pleasure of that. It does remind me of when I was little and a friend's mom was picking on me. My mom told me that some people find it easier to pull others down than to build themselves up. Too, bad. If we worked together, we could help each other up.

On Tuesday, in Boston, Obama said we need more money and more reform in education. Sure he wants to give more money to his union buddies - it's not like they're not skimming enough off the top as it is. Oh, wait, they are skimming off plenty, just check out what's going on in Wisconsin now. Or check out where your own local school funding is going - mostly not to the students.

I do agree that we need more reform - but I'm pretty sure Obama and I disagree what form that reform should take. I'll go with a Martin Luther type of reform - take the power and money from those that would rule over you and give it back to the people. I believe it's a local responsibility to educate our children. It is your (yes, I'm looking at you) responsibility to actually get out there and do something. Passing the responsibility on to government is shirking your duty. It's not about the money - it's about actual accountability and high expectations for our teachers and our students. I'm continually shocked at how lax we as a society are in that area. Homeschoolers are a great example - most do it on a shoestring budget and the children still excel.