First three grandbabies

Daughter and son-in-law on last weekend getaway before 3rd combat deployment.   Praise the Lord that we can babysit 24/7 this weekend.  Look forward to the day when I can babysit – not pre-deployment – for as yet unborn babies from my other two children.  What a great day for the Clan every birth will be!  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for their health – and every day of their life. 

Picture is from this Easter – they’ve changed every week since then.  Grateful by leaps and bounds to live so close.

Isaiah 59:21.

3.6 million - new - unemployed Americans

The study of economics – micro and macro – includes consideration for the amount of time it takes for an input to the economic system – a stimulus bill, a bailout, or a tax cut – to have its full effect.  Nowhere in that body of knowledge is it taught that an input that is supposed to have a positive effect will have the directly opposite – negative – effect for oveer 9 months.   Especially, when there are no other negative inputs – like rising energy costs, huge natural disasters, or destructive wars interupting foreign trade.

So, why have 3.6 million Americans lost their jobs since B. Hussein Obama took office?  Because of socialism.  Whether it is called progressive, investing, saving, or just plain Democrat partisan politics – socialism never works.  Socialism never will work.  Fascism – the government intervention in economics – doesn’t work either – when it follows socialist planning.

The chart illustrates the incompetence of the Obama administration and the Democrat leadership in Congress.  Bush and the Republicans presided over the end stages over the disease that was the Housing Bubble.  It was a painful blip that should have hurt for a year – if left alone by government.  It should have knocked the Dow Jones down to the 10-11,00o range – where it is coming back up today – and then America would move on and up. 

But, the job losses and their pain, hardship and humiliation  – and then home foreclosure, car repossession, etc. are all on this administration.  Blame it on their incompetence or their criminal Marxist ideology.  It doesn’t matter.  B. Hussein Obama created the job losses and will continue to make them worse – as long as he remains clueless and there is no veto-proof majority of CONSTITUTIONAL  Republicans in Congress.

Heard the socialist elites (not a contradiction in terms – they are elites who can support socialism because they already have financial wealth) on NBC whining about the upcoming bonuses big banks will pay out.

The socialists were complaining that banks are giving out the taxpayer’s – our – money in exorbitant amounts. 

If you don’t like the bonuses that banks pay, then don’t support bailouts.

Banks that are too greedy or foolish will go under.  The FDIC will insure the average (isn’t that what counts in class warfare?) American.  Don’t give them a bailout.

As, to the leverage the socialists want to have – because of the bailout money.  Real taxpayer cash didn’t go to the banks.    Just freshly printed money – deficit made up, pretend money that will cause inflation - was given the banks.

The government has no business telling businesses what to pay their employees.  The exception is the Minimum Wage Act imposes a floor – which kills a number of jobs. 

The Leftmedia socialists have less business telling businesses what to pay their people.  Why don’t the media talking heads publish all of their own salaries on the screen when they are carping about bank bonuses? 

Let’s look again at the U.S. Constitution and see the authority for a Pay Czar – and what his duties, power and authority should be.   While we are looking, check out the legislative responsbilities of Congress.

What technology would change - as forecasted in 1991

Back to finishing off this series.  We’re working through the implications of change for the years 2005-2015 – from our study, Army 21, in 1990-92.   The point of the futures study - the implications adn findings  – were modifed from the Army and the U.S. by me – to see what matters for Virginia. 

The Information technologies were predicted to make a differences in the areas listed.   The changes would raise questions listed.  And the fundamental ideas at crossroads in the future - actually which is right now – are listed. 

I know I missed the phony techonology divide some politicians lamented in the 1990’s.  It was a temporal and phony point for pols to pontificate and pander. 

I didn’t put efficiencies in government productivity or cost savings.  Didn’t predict it in the 90s and not sure it actually happens. 

One thing I am certain we missed is the opportunity to put the legislative sessions and executive administrative procedures on line.  Early and for their entire cycles to make decisions.  Watching bills go through the General Assembly is a great step forward in participation from many of  The People.

And, it isn’t clear if political freedoms of ’speech’ on the internet will ebb or flow. 

 

Questions?  Comment?

The Discovery to the Civilization That Matters

Traditional Columbus Day was October 12th.  I read of some untraditional, or, perhaps, new traditional teaching about Columbus Day.  Some public school teachers held mock courts for Christopher Columbus for crimes against humanity, or  taught about the details of his ‘crimes’  against native peoples.  They missed the movement – following Columbus’s discovery of lands and people unknown to Europe – of Western Civilization to civilize two whole continents in just the past 500 years.   I could criticize their perspective of presentism – under the influence of the trinity of race, class and gender(s) and bias against European culture and Western Civilization, but I doubt they would comprehend.

So, dear reader, let’s just consider why Columbus Day counts.  It matters because the rising Civilization from the 1500s – Europe – would expand its Civilization and Christianity to two new continents.   A big deal for history.  A huge deal for every soul saved.   It was a world changer for the better.   Much better.

Did colonization – and civilization – bring war, slavery, oppression, disease, and other terrible things that men do to men – as all humans do?  Yes.  People being people means evil abounds.  But, the Europeans conquering continents can be favorably compared to any indigeneous tribe’s conquest.    Just ask Virginia’s Piankatank Indians.  Oh, oops, that Indian tribe was wiped off the face of the earth byPowhatan and his warriors – in 1608 ( a year after the white, heterosexual, capitalist, Christian, English-speaking Europeans invaded the land and water – now called Virginia.  Consider why Cortes had so many Indians fighting with him AGAINST the Aztec Indians.

If Columbus had not discovered the New World, then most of us Americans would still be peasants in some corner of Europe.   The Americas would be more barbaric that the current Islamic civilizations that are 800 years behind the West today.   Nothing in indigenous native culture showed that progress would follow the path of Europe.  Indians hadn’t built anything like the civilizations that had existed elsewhere – up to 1500.  AD.   Mayans, Aztecs and Incas were interesting civilizations, but they weren’t China or Islam in 1000 AD or Christian Europe in 1500 AD. 

Consider how history happened in 500 year increments:

4000 BC to 500 BC: civilizations rise in Egypt, what is now Iraq and then throughout the Middle East and western Med,  India and China – and the Americas.   They rise and fall to barbarian invaders – and rise again.

In 500 BC enter the Greeks.   Greek Civilization.   Logos and universal culture.  Democracy.  Rationalism. 

500 years later, Rome has conquered Greece.  Rome builds upon, steals if you like – as if it matters, a great culture.  Romans built a civilization that stretches from Scotland to India.  

In 500 AD Rome and its remnant cultures fight the mobile barbarian invader.  Castles and heavy armed knights are winners.   From the 620s these barbarians include Muslims.   They fight invaders for 500 years.

In the year 1000 AD , China is the most advanced Civilization on earth.  Europe is getting on its feet and able to defend itself from hordes from the East and Muslims from the South.

Then, for 500 years Europe consolidates its stability, fights among its inhabitants and organizes, engineers, and imagines new horizons.  By 1500, the Italian city states, Holland, Spain, England and France are ready to take off as nation-states. 

From 1500, the next 500 years is the Rise of the West.  The civilization – of many countries – that can rule  over any and all of the rest of the world by the time they really get their military act together in the 18th Century.

Muslims conquered Constantinople  and cut off trade to China.  So, in 1492 Columbus sails the ocean blue.  Great opportunity.  Rough go for the native losers – as it always is when there are invasions.  But, ultimately, a great outcome to bring Christ to the New World, save millions of souls, and create new opportunites for a civilization – the West – to become more civilized – for the next 500 years. 

Over this last five hundred years two continents get civilized.  Islam goes further in deep decline until Western medicine promotes a population boom, Western countries invite Muslims to invade the culture as refugees and workers, and Western demand for oil brings wealth and weapons to dangerous Islamists.  China becomes backward and disfunctional – until it assumes Western capitalism for its economy and absorbs Western science.   The success of the Renaissaince promotes and evolves Europe – and is followed by the Reformation, Capitalism, and the Enlightenment.   The U.S. and the U.K. have three Great Awakenings. 

The results are. taken for the whole, much better for all.  Thanks, Admiral Columbus.

Tammany Hall Defined Political Corruption

 

 Every student of American history knows Tammany Hall in New York City set the standard on how to do corruption.   Not, that Chicago, Boston, Memphis or many, many other cities and rural counties  couldn’t compete for corrupting every aspect of local representative government at different points in history.   It’s as American as apple pie.  But, because corruption is such a fall from American idealism its always seen as the ugly worm in the apple instead of some seed at its core.  Consequently, the Mother State, our Commonwealth of Virginia has its own way of doing political corruption.

Unlike our unseemly neighbors in Maryland and West Virginia who are always passing around bags of money, getting caught and going to jail, Virginia does corruption in a gentlemanly and genteel way.  No one ever sees the money change hands.  But much of the 70 plus Billion dollar budget moves to the right people. 

I was the vice-chairman of the kNOw Campaign in 2002 where our $40k beat the $2.2m put together to create a Regional Government and move billions to politicians to spend as they saw fit here in Tidewater Virginia.  In 2007, the General Assembly – with Republican majorities in both houses, steam rolled a bill, HB 3202, to create the same new layeer of government, with the same wrong taxes for ths same broken transportation plan - that didn’t actually decrease congestion.   The Senate Majority Leader was Tommy Norment. 

Republicans lost the majority in 2007.  The Virginia Supreme Court unanimously found HB 3202 to be UNCONSTITUTIONAL in 2008.  Corruption attempted became corruption denied and punished. 

Now, we see that Minority Leader Tommy Norment got a gig teaching two course at the College of William and Mary for $160k @ year.   Since Tommy is 63 years old, it makes a huge difference in figuring out his state retirement.   Norment’s retirement could be based on the $17k or so a year he earned as a state senator all these years, or it could be the last top three years where he earned state senator salary + William and Mary salary = $178k from the good people of Virginia.  (Tommy, a lawyer, also pulls in around $50k @ year as a commissioner of accounts to settle wills – from Virginia.)

I was paid $3k for one semester to teach a course of my own design, “Politics of the Cold War”, for one semester in 1993 as adjunct faculty at William & Mary.  Sen. Tommy Norment will be paid $160k for teaching 2 classes.  So, I guess if I got back and taught my class again, I’d be paid $80k – right?   Right.  Keep laughing.

Tommy Norment, yesterday’s majority leader, today’s minority leader and tomorrow’s well-paid state retiree, is an Establishment Republican.   When he was challenge for the Republican nomination, Tommy wrapped himself in Republican symbols, standards, and self-righteousness – while speaking every Conservative cliche he could mouth.  In our open primary system, Tommy Norment’s political career was saved by others than Conservatives and Libertarians – the real deal Constitutional Republicans.

Saved so Sen. Tommy Norment could get this gig with the College of William & Mary.  Not bad work if you can get it.

The Great Pretender

King Solomon said at the end of his life, “The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.  Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.  The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.”

And, “There is an evil I have seen under the eusn, the sort of error that arises from a ruler:  Fools are put in many hight positions, while the rich occupy low ones. ”

Solomon actually accomplished great things in his life.  He was truly wise for most of his life.  Yet, ultimately, he was influenced by his foreign wives and he built altars to their “detestable” gods.  And part of God, which is Spirit, left him.

He lamented that all things of earthly life were - meaningless.  Meaningless.   

Fast forward almost 3,000 years.  The most powerful man in the world is pretending all things but his keen understanding of political power, elections and organizing for his vision of socialism.   This emperor, called President, truly has no clothes. 

Yet, the adulation flows from more fools.   People who deny the truths of the world – the one, only, living God of the Holy Bible – revealed to the Jews and Christians, individual freedoms, market economics, and, for the U.S., Constitutional government – pile up their accolades for a pretender to power. 

Fools flock to folly.  Great fools commit grand folly.   Folly begets failure, defeat, ruin, and destruction. 

How much comes?  It depends on how soon the Congress, all of them, can be replaced with a super majority of Constitional Republicans – with a fierce fire in the belly for Federalism verbatim from the Constitution.   It depends on how much prayer can mitigate the damage until 2012 when B. Hussein Obama can be replaced by a man or woman with the wisdom to lead and the character to do so.

The First Three

 

The Christian retreat in Colorado ended with a business meeting.  Seven men are considering a start up company.  Defense Contracting and Consulting Wherever We Can Find Interesting Work (not the actual name of the proposed company). 

 

The first evening we gave our individual Christian testimonies.  They were as different as our lives.  They were consistent in the gift of God’s Grace – and the close relationship with Jesus.

 

Whether or not we get the business off the ground, I’m grateful for the fellowship, prayer, Bible Study and quiet time of our time together.

 

In my testimony I talked about how perfect my vision was in the rear view mirror of my life and how blind I am to tomorrow.  I’ve drawn graphs and stepping stones – I’m a visual guy – to capture what happened in the past.  My eyes opened, my mistakes, my heart strengthened, my failures and regrets, my joyful insights and His lovingkindness.

 

Two specific things I want to share in addition to what I know is my job in the community of Christ – You will read and write. 

 

In December 1992 the words from my daily Bible reading fairly jumped off the page at me. 

 

Isaiah 59:21  As for me, this [is] my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that [is] upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

 

I took this covenant with the Hebrews as my personal covenant.    If my grandchildren’s grandchildren and theirs and on and on are Christians, then my life was pretty well lived.   Right now 2 of my 3 children are observant Christians. 

 

 I have my first 3 – hope there are many more – grandchildren living in my house when their Daddy is away training or deployed. 

 

At the retreat we talked about the consequences for  everything we do or fail to do for the rest of our lives.  I’m keenly aware of what future these 3 babies face.   I’m going to do what I can to make a difference in their lives – appropriately as their old ‘Papa’ , not their Daddy and in my community, commonwealth and country – reading and writing with some speaking, organizing, etc.  on the side for their best future.

 

I pray for clear guidance.   A nice “to do ” list from the Lord, beyond the “how to” of the Bible, would be nice.    Meanwhile, this retired infantryman, still working at other labor,  will trudge on. 

 

The First Three

 

 

Fall festival of thanksgiving

Succoth is the Feast of Booths.   Remember what it was like wandering around the desert for 40 years?  This is how the Hebrews lived.  So, build a shelter of fronds.  Live it in for a week.   Get in touch with your innner, ancestral Hebrew if you are Jewish.

So, here is the lesson for mature Christians in 2009 – the Hebrews follow 7 days after their atonement, reaching the depths of their inner selves in truth through pain to honest confession to the living, one, only, true, holy, holy, holy Lord God – with a feast of rejoicing.  Joy, joy, joy.  Just like America’s – orginally Virginia’s – Thanksgiving.   Different foods, climate, enemies, weapons, but same sense of family and community in close communion with God.

Thank You, God.   Big time.  Thanksgiving. 

Ponder Hebrews 11:13.  “All these people werestill living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised, they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.”

The Great U.S. Culture War – our ACW III – and WW IV Against the Islamists are not likely to be done when I see this light no more, breath not, and am gone from here.

Every, or any,  family unresolved conflict may stay unsettled but end in perfect peace (Oh, please Lord) someday after I (we or you) are gone.  Think about it.

Paul planned on going to Spain.  Never happened.  What did he think when they cut his head off?  “I’m a loser?”  No, not in the Lord.   Today, sons are named ‘Paul’ and dogs are named ‘Nero.’   Irony abounds.  As Truth reigns. 

Life is hope.  Hope is life. 

And as my clan from West Tennessee says, “God is good.  All the time.  No matter what.”    No matter what.

I get the third festival.  I understand gratitude – through failure, pain, tears, disappointment, frustration, fear, worry, and all life can bring to kick one in the teeth.   I get it.  No matter what – thank You, Lord Jesus for every blessing.  Every moment, no matter what, every day here and in Your Presence in the Father’s House.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.   All y’all.