BAD BOY!

"Bad little boy.  Now go to your room, and you can't play with your new gas toy for two days."

"Barry, honey , he is so lucky to have you to teach him the right things to do."

SOUL FOOD

Many of us, myself included, at times feel that there is not much good going on in our lives, that the early-in-our-life promise is missing and difficult to find, that life has become a bit humdrum, tedious, dull, blah, unimpassioned.

So, here's my suggested cure.

We make contact with the world through our 5 senses.  There are 5 weekdays in every week.  Let's change their names to Sightday, Tasteday, Hearday, Smellday, Touchday.  And on each weekday of every week, let's open up our particular sense to something new and fresh, exciting and super-pleasing. 

   *Visit a site you've been meaning to go to and walk in gardens you have not ever seen before. 

   *Try an odoriferous food that is a specialty of another country. 

   *Apply an exotic new cologne.

   *Find a quiet place and listen to stirring music that moves you. 

   *Touch or be touched by someone you love.

We feed our bodies each day.  We must feed our souls each day, as well.

SWEET LAND OF WHAT?

A lot of talk these days about it being "bad" to send your kids to private school.  Some even go so far as to call for the "banning" of private schools.  http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/08/private_school_vs_public_school_only_bad_people_send_their_kids_to_private.html

 Let's break it down.

You think those that send their kids to private school are bad people?  That's fine.  That's your opinion and in this "sweet land of liberty" you are free to have it.

You think that public schools are in need of improvement and the only way that will happen is if we all send our kids to public schools?  That's fine.  That's your opinion and in this "sweet land of liberty" you are free to have it.

You think that private schools should be banned?  You are singing the wrong song.  It is not "sweet land of tyranny".  Those are the words the political dictatorial leaders, the liberty haters, would have you sing in Syria, in Russia, in China, in Cuba, in Iraq.  You are in the wrong country.  So, pick up your ass and your kids and move to one of them.  Today.  They will welcome you with open arms...albeit open arms holding machetes.

And bonus time!  Those countries don't only ban private schools.  They ban all sorts of things...like the  religions you can't practice,  the opinions you can't voice in public, the types of work you can't do, and so much more.  Why spend so much time trying to change America when you can give the kids the environment you wish for them, and you can give it to them tomorrow.  Tomorrow.  You and the kids will be so well off, so deliriously happy. 

Need a ride to the airport?

ps:  Ever wonder why private schools are almost always the best schools in the neighborhood?  Because they can't force your attendance, they have to EARN it. 

A CASE FOR PRISON JUSTICE?

So, that Montana 45-year old teacher who had sex for a couple of years with one of his 14-year old students, who killed herself out of humiliation, was sentenced to 31 days in jail.  Defending the short sentence, the judge said "she looked older" and "he looked like he wouldn't do it again".  And the judge looks like he needs a serious pair of glasses.

First, she was in his class, so the teacher damn well knew how old she was.  Second, the teacher had entered into a deal with prosecutors under which he agreed not to be alone with minors...but  he broke that agreement.  Third, his criminal violations triggered her suicide, for which he has responsibility.  Fourth, whatever happened to the punishment aspect of sentencing?  Fifth, whatever happened to justice?
Sixth, what would the sentence have been if it were the judge's daughter who had been raped?

I have heard that prisoners do not like rapists of young children.  Perhaps they will impose that part of the sentence the judge overlooked. 

NO PAIN, NO GAIN

So, Syria.  Seriously.

We are ready to attack Syria because of the alleged use of chemical weapons by the dictatorial regime there against the Syrian population.  U.S. Navy ships armed with cruise missiles are in position, and I assume armed ground forces cannot be far behind.

Now, if the Syrian regime did use chemical weapons, it made a tactical error.  Had it continued its slaughter of the Syrian people with traditional bombs and bullets, wouldn't have bothered us a bit. There is, after all, a right way and a wrong way to slaughter.  Chemical weapons don't cause physical pain.  Take a breath or two of it, lie down under the shade of an apple tree, and die.  That's a no-no, the human species has evolved too far for that.  Beheadings, they're ok.  357 magnums to the head, they're fine.  Hangings are good.  Machine guns ratatatatat are great.  But gas?  Come on.  This is 2013, for heaven's sake.

I have written before that we humans should remember we are part of the beautiful animal kingdom.  That is an insult to the animals.  No animal, except maybe the piranha, kill as wantonly as we do.

We have evolved from friendly, cooperative, altruistic, chimpanzees into killer piranha.

THE ONE BEST WAY

We humans are fixated on the idea that there is one best way to do anything...everything  ..."the right way",  "the smartest way".  Perhaps that idea emanates out of our having to choose at every moment the course of our lives, and the responsibility we feel  for those choices.  Perhaps that is one reason why many choose not to even try.  Much easier for us to seek the one best way, and to do it that way...with little, if any, responsibility if it doesn't work ("wasn't really what I wanted to do, but it was the best way").

But there is no one best way to do just about anything...no one best way to be successful, no one best way to be happy   I learned that 25 years`ago when I developed an irregular heartbeat.  It took a while for the head of cardiology at one of the most renowned hospitals in the country to convince me "your heart does not have to beat regularly, though most people's hearts do...you are fine, don't worry, get on with your life".

The "best way" at any moment depends on all of the varying circumstances involved...and, most notably, it depends on YOU...your personality, your passion, your skill, your priorities, your preference.  The great musicians did not write music the same way, the great writers did not write the same way, the great thinkers did not think the same way.  It is a greatly confining error to believe the "one best way" myth, to buy into the "that's not the way it's done" drivel, to absorb the "how could you do it that way?" propaganda.

And once you reject those poisons, waiting there waiting to burst forth is the great joy of living YOUR life the truly one best way:  YOUR WAY.

So, don't worry, get on with your life. 

SINGALONG

A:  Democrats
B:  Republicans
C.  Conservatives (Tea`Partyers)
D.  Libertarians

A says we'll give you food stamps, housing, health insurance, schooling, some spending money...and if you are here without having technically gone through the immigration process, don't sweat it...you are our welcome guest and one of us (even though we don't know who the hell you are)

B says...hmmmmmmm

C says we want less government, fewer benefits, and what the founders wanted 200 years ago...don't know what that is?...you can read about it in the Constitution...that's Constitution with a C...it's in the back of some dictionaries

D says do whatever you want, you're on your own...no government, no nothing

OK, everybody,  sing along with me:

      "My country 'tis
       So long
       You were once
       Great and strong
       Where have you gone?"

ONE NATION, INVISIBLE

I have heard that to counter our increasingly oppressive government in Washington, DC, some are making the following choices:

*  they own no land
*  they work only for cash
* they have no bank accounts
* they use no credit cards
* they seek no government benefits
* they do not use their real name when marrying
* they homeschool their children
* they buy no insurance
* they use false credentials to obtain passports
* they own SUVs and are prepared to live in them, if necessary
* they do not vote, nor care to

They have become invisible.

WHAT ARE WE AFRAID OF?

Mr. and Mrs. Huguenon, professional photographers in New Mexico, refused to provide their services to a gay couple having a commitment ceremony on the grounds that it would violate their Christian tenets.   They were sued and found guilty of sexual discrimination.  In his decision, the judge said, in part:

"At its heart, this case teaches that at some point in our lives all of us must compromise, if only a little, to accommodate the contrasting values of others…. That compromise is part of the glue that holds us together as a nation, the tolerance that lubricates the varied moving parts of us as a people…. In short, I would say to the Huguenins, with the utmost respect: it is the price of citizenship."

And I would say to the judge, without the slightest bit of respect:  "You are barred from being a judge.  It is the price of ignorance."

1.  The glue that holds us together is our dedication to individual freedom.
2.  That freedom does not require us TO DO ANYTHING...it requires us TO REFRAIN FROM DOING SOMETHING: from denying others their freedom...which can only be done by force.
3.  Freedom is not alienable, nor subject to compromise.  If it were, it would not be freedom but temporary permission...and that is not what our country was founded on.
4.  When you require  the Huguenins to take those pictures, it is you that is guilty of a crime:  the initiation of force against them.

The Huguenins do not have to give any reason for turning down the job, religious or otherwise.  They are free to turn it down simply because they don't wish to do it.  They do not have to meet social standards for running a business (see 2 above).  They do not have to provide their services to anyone or everyone who walk in their shop (see 2 above).  They are free to choose to take pictures of only African Americans, or of only Jews, or of only people whose name begins with the letter M.  Their freedom is absolute, and their lives are absolutely theirs to live as they, not as judges, choose (see 1-4 above).

And your life is free to live as you choose.

Would someone please tell me why so many seem afraid of...freedom?

(In my book, Awakening the Real You, I discuss in detail how society, parents and teachers, have sought to restrain our freedom...and how to escape the devastating consequences of losing our natural right to live our lives as WE choose.)

MAKE NO MISTAKE

The secret District Court which monitors the National Security Agency's surveillance program found that NSA overstepped its authority under the Patriot Act.  The Court said that NSA acquires valuable information through its collection procedures, but not without "substantial intrusions on Fourth Amendment protected interests".  NSA admitted that the mistaken collection of domestic data, including e-mails and other Internet activity of Americans, totaled 58,000 a year over a 3-year period.

That's about 175,000 admitted "mistakes", 175,000 times NSA acted unconstitutionally and violated our inalienable rights to privacy and to live our lives free of an overbearing, prying government.  

Of course, each time NSA made a mistake it failed to see it was making a mistake...that's another 175,000 mistakes. 

Or it did realize it was making a mistake and did nothing about it...that's another 175,000 mistakes. 

Or it did do something about it, but that something didn't work...that's another 175,000 mistakes.

Of course, one thing we know for sure is that NSA is not making a mistake as to the number of mistakes it made.  We can feel confident it was "only" 175,000.  Whew!

NSA wouldn't make the mistake of lying to us, would it?

  

NOW WE KNOW

I was reading an article by Rachel Maddow, arch Democrat supporter, about Republican Ted Cruz.  He was asked why he wasn't promoting the impeachment of the President and he said something to the effect of  "there isn't the votes in the Senate to support it."  Maddow was giddy when she wrote that Cruz, who might run for President in 2016, didn't even know that the Senate was not involved in impeachment proceedings.  Other than that, Maddow wrote sarcastically, Cruz knows everything he needs to know to run.

(But it's Maddow that is wrong.  Impeachment is generally thought of as`a two-step process.  The House votes on impeachment, and if that passes, the trial of the charges that led to the impeachment is held in the Senate.  If found guilty by 2/3rds of the Senate, the President is thrown out of office.  What d'ya know about that, Rachel!)

That is indicative of the state of politics in our country.  In the two houses of Congress combined, the number of Democrats and Republicans is about equal.  And each party is delighted to point out that the members on the other side of the aisle don't know what they are talking about. ..that a program that half of those in Congress approved is failing, crashing...and the more so, the better.

"It'll take us 20 years or more to recover from their foolishness and  stupidity.  hahaha."

"Yes, 4 died in our mistakes in Bengazi.  Know how many hundreds died needlessly in Iraq when your guy was in office?  hahaha"

In other words, the people who are in high political office...both sides...are delighted, pleased as punch, when the great ship America is foundering as a result of actions taken by "the other side" .  Why?  They live here, too, don't they?   And if America is hurting, so are they, and so are their families and loved ones and friends.  Why are they so happy?

Greed, plain old fashioned greed of power and profit.  That is what is driving almost all politicos these days.  Politicians see themselves as more likely to gain both if the other side fails, and fails miserably.  Rather than hope that what the other party pushed through will succeed and benefit us all, they hope and pray it will be a disaster.  A disastrous disaster.  The political party to which they belong takes priority in their minds to their service to the public. The Congress is a marketplace, plain and simple.  Votes are peddled...by all, but not for the benefit of all.  Some of the Founders voiced concern for where party affiliations can lead politicians.  Franklin, for one, was outspokenly concerned about where that greed, that lust, that party loyalty, would lead them.

Now we all know the answer.

DOES THIS FOREIGN AIDE YOU?

So, the U.S. gives Egypt $1.3 billion each year in foreign aid...aka bribes...in order allegedly to have some influence.   Last time I looked, our influence in that part of the world barely filled a thumbnail.  But we keep sending it over to them, 3-1/2 million a day, every day, every single day.

Now, there is a law on our books that foreign aid stops if the foreign powers getting it got their power via military coup...which is what the current Egyptian "government" did...but, again, Obama has decided that this is a law he doesn't like, so why should he abide by it?  He took an oath to enforce all our laws as President, you say?  I guess you didn't see it.  He had one hand on the Bible, the other behind his back with its fingers crossed...so that oath doesn't really count.  na nana nanana

Now, 150,000 bucks every hour of every day wouldn't be so bad if we had the dough, but we dough not got it!  Maybe it's better that way...giving away what we didn't have in the first place.

Wonder how much foreign aid WE get?  Take a guess.  Go ahead.

Much of the aid we send over no doubt never gets past the greedy pockets of those who open the UPS envelope we send the money in.   Hey, it's only 2,500 bucks a minute.  Don't get riled up about that piddling sum.

Nice to be rich, isn't it?
__________________________
You guessed right.  Zero, nada, gurnischt, zippo.

OUT OF THE WAY, CHRISTIE

The matter before NJ Gov. Christie was whether to allow a`2-year old child suffering 15 heart seizures a day from a rare form of epilepsy to chew certain marijuana that could save her life.

    "I think," said the Governor, "that I will approve it if she gets three doctors, including a psychiatrist, to prescribe it...but I don't think I will approve that brand of marijuana for older patients."

WHO THE HELL CARES WHAT YOU THINK?  The only question is what is right and what is wrong.  This girl is alive and it is right for her parents to give her WHATEVER IS NECESSARY for her to remain alive.  You can THINK all you want that 2 + 2 is 5, but it ain't.  And that's true for older patients as well.  Where oh where in tarnation did you get the idea that you can decide how much this girl must suffer, and whether she can live?  How the hell can there be a law that does not allow you to live?  Get out of the way, Christie, you are a damn fool."

And the idea that the government can restrict this use of marijuana because it is`a "controlled substance" is ridiculous.   The government labels it that way and then claims that because it is a controlled substance, they have a right to control it!  HUH? Ever hear of a more stupid, idiotic, example of circular reasoning? Absurd.

Imagine Christie coming up to a frontiersman and saying, "Hey, you can't chew or smoke that weed."  What would the frontiersman have said, after he stopped laughing and cocked his gun?

Nothing.  And then he would have taken another deep sniff.  And another.  And another.

THE MISSING MEDIA

Media, or medium, are good names for what the press is intended to be:  impartial, unbiased, and in the middle of an issue, not taking sides on any issue nor tilting the news presentation to favor one side over the other.

Not so, today.  With but a very few exceptions, news stations/programs are nothing more than propaganda outlets for political parties...trumpeting the correctness of their party's views while pounding away at all other views.  The Hannity (conservative) and Colmes (liberal) show was a rare exception until Colmes left...and Fox News saw no reason to replace him.  The popular show is now a one-sided tedium, rather than medium.  (The argument that guests or callers-in on the show include some non-conservatives, and provide some balance, does not hold up.  The whole thrust and weight of the show is one-sided.)

Important to keep in mind when watching or listening to these shows, is that you are not only getting just one perspective on the news, but you may not be getting all of the news.  Events that do not support the positions of the network or show, are likely to be omitted.  And the killer blow for me is the constant and excessive vituperative name-calling, berating, smearing and mudslinging which the supposedly objective news shows revel in.

Where to go?

Don't know.

CLOWNING AROUND

We are living so far from the frontier life, it ain't funny.

So, the rodeo clown puts on an Obama mask and the announcer warns the "President" that the bulls are gonna run him over.  Ban them for life!  Investigate them, they may be terrorists!  Funny masks are not particularly my type of humor, but there was a time, not so long ago, when many of us laughed at stuff like this.  But no more.  We have no backbone.  We have become a timid nation.

I wrote in a post recently that I thought racism was rampant in this country.  I wonder whether this clown story doesn't tell us there is something else that is rampant...the fear of being called a racist.  Would there be this outcry if the President were white?  Was there an outcry when people wore masks of Reagan, Carter, Clinton?

Let me go further.  Racism is stupid because it judges and treats people not on the basis of their individual traits but on those ascribed to a group.  But we have a right in this country to be stupid, to be racist and not like a particular group of people, if we wish. That's what America is all about, that's what the exhilaration of being Americans was all about...your freedom to be you, to live your life and not some politician's view of how your life should be lived.  Can you believe that this Administration wants to regulate what face masks you can wear?  Wearing a funny face mask is not and ought not be a punishable offense!

Let's settle down and start laughing a bit more.

Check that.  Laughing a whole lot more.

PS:  The rodeo clown said "I am a clown and I know it  The President is a clown but doesn't know it".  Not so.  The President is not a clown.  He is dead serious in his desire to transform this country into a socialist state.

'TILL TIME DO US PART

Why do we marry for life?  Hey, I don't know what I want for dinner tomorrow night, how am I supposed to know whom I want to eat it with 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 50 years from now?  I don't even know who I'm going to be years from now.  We all change, don't we?

Is there any other commitment we make that is for life?  When we buy a house, do we vow to live there for the rest of our lives?  When we take a job, do we...would we...promise never ever to quit?  Don't we switch careers, the color of our hair, our physicians?  Our religion?  Our politics?

Close to 50% of all marriages end in divorce.  I am surprised it's not higher.  When you add in the marriages that would end in divorce but the parties stay together for the children's sake or because of religious or financial  reasons, the percentage is no doubt much higher.  And I think understandably so.

Mexico City has just had a bill introduced that would allow term marriages of 2 or more years.  I understand that under Sharia law in Iran, marriage terms of 2 or more days are permitted.

Now, I do not know why marriages have traditionally been for a` lifetime.  It could be prompted by a desire for sexual exclusivity, although for many a lifetime marriage extends far beyond sexual activity.  It could emanate out of a desire for visibility and presence and being part of something "larger than ourselves.  It could come from a desire to provide children with stability.  Or it might come from social expectation and habit.

Regardless, seems to me there is room for another option:  term marriages with the length of the term chosen by the marrying couple, and with a minimum period of, say, 5 years, to avoid stripping this important relationship of all its values.  Renewals for additional periods would be permitted.

"Honey, will you marry me, again?" may become the most loving words to say.

NO LAUGHING MATTER

So, Michael J. Fox will star in a new Fall tv show.  He plays the lead character, a news anchor who has Parkinson's.  Now, Mr. Fox, who does have Parkinson's in real life, refers to the disease as "frustrating and funny" and that will be the focus of the new show.  Jokes about his tremors, his imbalance, difficulty concentrating, perhaps incontinence, etc.  It's a comedy show.

Now, Mr. Fox is probably a good guy, and has done a lot of work for the Parkinson's Foundation.  And I guess he thinks humor is a good way to deal with some of this disease's debilitating effects.  But I, for one, am concerned that this show may prompt people to think this disease is not all that bad and does not warrant their concern or contributions.   You know the old saying, "If you can laugh, can't be all that bad".

I think what is needed is not humor but seriousness...and here is my serious message to Mr. Obama:

    A month or so ago, you took a one-week $100 million vacation in Africa.  This week, you are on what will likely be another $100 million one-weeker in Martha's Vineyard.  Now I know that research scientists and physicians have said they know how to cure Parkinson's and could have it ready for public use in fewer than 5 years IF THEY HAD MORE RESEARCH MONEY. 

    So here is my proposal:  the next time you take a vacation, make it a $50 million one...like the rest of us take every year...and give the other $50 million to the Parkinson's Foundation, the Alzheimer's Foundation, the Cancer Foundation, the Diabetes Foundation, the Heart Foundation, the Lupus Foundation, the HIV/AIDS Foundation, the Tuberculosis Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Asthma Foundation, the Malaria Foundation, and so on.

    In other words, instead of giving us national health insurance, just give us HEALTH.

                              If you think malarius
                              is nefarious
                              its pains deadly and various
                              be assured
                              it can't be cured
                              so you see its really hilarious
                              hahahahaha

TIME TO DO

So, some stupid judge in Tennessee ruled that a mother could not name her son, Messiah...beautiful name..."because that name is important to a lot of people around here, and that name has to be earned".  But not, I guess, the title "Judge".

Well, sorry Mr. Walken.  Christopher means "Christ bearing"  and you certainly aren't and Christ is a name that is important...

And Basil ("king"), Brendon ('prince"), Clara ("priest"), Bridget ("exalted one"), Ambrose ("immortal"), Agnes ("chaste" ???), gotta go.

There is no limit, is there?, to the number of ways in which the Government thinks it has the right to regulate our lives.  I thought Government decisions in our country were not to be religion-based or motivated.  Mark Levin has written a new book, The Liberty Amendments, detailing the ways our Constitution ought be amended to protect us from an overbearing Government.  I haven't read the book yet, but I suspect I will agree with most if not all of his proposals.

 I, for one, think the time to just talk is over.  The time to DO is upon us.  But like the Stoics I recently wrote about, I don't think I have to reveal everything to everyone...and so what I DO shall remain mine alone to know.

EUDAIMONIA

The attaining of eudaimonia...personal fluorishing... was a key element of the Stoic philosophy of thousands of years ago.  The Stoics believed that personal fulfillment and happiness do not require concretes, beauty, health or wealth, but were obtainable by living a virtuous life in harmony with nature.  Stoic virtues included reason, self-control, wisdom, courage, justice and compassion.  Stoics found no place for anger, envy or jealousy in personal relationships.  They recognized slaves as equals of all men. Stoic schools were closed in Greece by Emperor Justinian 1 in 529 AD because their pagan views were considered to be at odds with Christian faith.

Marcus Aurelius, a leading Stoic, wrote the following:

"If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you were bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, but satisfied to live now according to nature, speaking heroic truth in every word that you utter, you will live happy. And there is no man able to prevent this."

One's political views are rooted in one's ethical philosophy.  We desire to live with a political system that allows us to live our perception of a virtuous life.  And perhaps that is the root source of why America's political system is running amok these days...and where we can find the way out of the chaos.  We need to bring candidates out of the murky shadows cast by political parties, and focus our dialogue on the field of ethics, requiring all candidates for public office to reveal, specifically and in detail, their list of virtues...their vision of how to attain eudaimonia.  If I disagree with their vision, or if they are incapable of clearly stating it, they do not get my vote.

And we ought consider reopening those Stoic schools.

I UNDERSTAND

So, Obama won't go to Russia to meet with Putin because he let Snowden in...but he won't stop our athletes from going there to participate in next year's Olympics because our athletes are training so hard for it.  The President likes to play games, I understand.

So, Obama thinks that part of Obamacare requiring small businesses to provide massive health care to their employees will so disrupt our economy and dismay voters, that he is choosing not to implement that part until after the 2014 elections.  The President is, after all, pro-choice, I understand.

So, Obama spends $100 million on a one-week vacation even though the country is $17 trillion in debt.  Playing golf with Tiger Woods is fatiguing, I understand.

So, Obama won't enforce our immigration laws even though he took an oath to uphold the Constitution which requires him to enforce all our laws.  The President thinks it was wrong to swear in front of his children, I understand.

So, Obama took photos with Hillary after lunching with her at the White House even though he hates the Clintons, and they him.  The President believes in greater transparency, I understand.

So, Obama closed more than 20 embassies and consulates because of an alQaeda terror threat, even though he said alQaeda was down and out after Bin Laden went down and out.  The President doesn't believe everything he wants you to believe he believes, I understand.

BRAINSTORM

There is no question that we humans have a very...how shall I describe it...unusual, powerful, brain with seemingly limitless potential.  There is no question that that brain has enhanced human life in a myriad of ways.  Has expanded our world to the far reaches of the Universe.

There is no question, too, that of all the organs in our body, we may know least about our brain, how it functions, how best to use it...and perhaps most importantly, that it can and has led us down many wrong paths. Here are some of the ways in which our brain has led us astray:

NEED TO KNOW

The fact that we can and have "figured so many things out" leads some of us to think we can figure anything out.  The reality that we may not be able to leaves us frustrated.  Humans have been wondering about the meaning of life for thousands of years, and, as the saying goes, "we still ain't got a clue".

OUT OF STEP

Our brain's ability to vividly remember the past and to dream of the future has led many of us to fail to focus on the present...which is where we are.  The result?  Lowered enjoyment and appreciation of life and of ourselves.

MISTAKEN THOUGHTS

Human emotions occur automatically as a response to our beliefs about what is happening to us in reality.  This can lead us to make three errors:  (1) to believe emotions tell us the truth about what is happening in our lives...but they don't, they tell us only what we imagine is happening, (2) to believe that thinking is similarly automatic...but it isn't, we have to learn how to think, and most don't, and (3) to equate beliefs with knowledge...which they aren't necessarily.

COMPETITION

Because of the apparent magnificence of our brain, we use it as a prime source of our self-esteem.  Early on, schools begin the error by grading us, and using those grades to label us "smarter" or  "outstanding" and as worthy of awards.  That promotes for many a lifetime of competition with all others in virtually every aspect of life, resulting in not infrequently perceived failures and diminution of our self-image...even when they aren't.

Devilish wonderful thing, our brain.   

THE MISGUIDED BALANCING ACT

Obama said he welcomes the debate over NSA surveillance programs and that he is "seeking the right balance between national security and privacy concerns" (aka freedom).  I didn't know Obama was doing a circus act (but maybe I should have known).

This is a commonly-held, but erroneous belief:  that you can be 100% free or 80% free or 65% free, etc.  That freedom is quantifiable.  That it can be measured like the amount of milk you like in your morning coffee.  "I'm freer than you are" is not the same as "I'd like a little more milk".

Why?  Because you either are or are not free...like, you either are or are not alive.

Secondly, the President's call for a balancing act suggests that he believes security and freedom are in conflict with each other, that you cannot be both totally secure and totally free at the same time.  That to be secure, we must give up some of our freedom.  That, too, is erroneous.

In fact, we desire to be and must be both:  secure and free.

Let's look at free first.  We must be free if we are to live the full potential of our glorious life because Mother Nature so requires it.  I have written about this times before.  Acting in harmony with our nature is a prerequisite to happiness and a fulfilling life.  Remember, too, that freedom does not include the right to aid our enemies in any way, to help them or make it easier for them to use force against us.

And what does being secure mean?  Secure to do what?  To live the full potential of our glorious life.  To be free.  If security in fact requires...it doesn't...the surrender of our freedom, then it is not security that you are getting...and I don't want it.  It is of no interest to me.

Is it to you?

PS:  In his speech about NSA surveillance, Obama stridently said that Edward Snowden, who publicly revealed NSA'S illegal and unConstitutional activities, was "no patriot...and if he wants to clear the matter up, he should return to the U.S., face criminal charges and present his case".

So, according to our President, the revealer of the criminal activities should stand trial.  Should the orchestrator of  those criminal activities also stand trial, Mr. President?

I, MYSELF

We are well on the way to becoming a full-fledged others society.  We have to do what benefits most others, we have to help all others that`are in need, others can tell us what we can and cannot do.  Others tell us what's right and what's wrong.  Others outnumber us and this is a democracy, isn't it?

So, I am hereby setting up the first counter society, a myself society.  I have a right to live for myself, I myself choose what I do and don't do, I can spend all my money on myself if that's what I myself want to do.  I myself am boss over myself.  I myself am free, aren't I? 

Others are thought of as brothers.  Myselfers are thought of as selfish and self-centered.  Understandable.  Now, Democrats are major league others, Republicans are halfway others, Conservatives want less from others.  Libertarians are extreme full blown myselfers.

And the differences between others and myselfers comes into play at the very beginning:  What shall I be?  Others say I have no choice, that decision has been made for me by the others.  According to them, I am just another other.  Myselfers say I myself choose what I myself wish to be.

Are you another other, or are you a myselfer like I, myself?

The answer to that question sets the course of your entire life.

LET'S FACE IT

* Racism ain't going away. After Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, after the equal rights movement and affirmative action, after decades of talk about eradicating racism in our country, it is clear that racism is as rampant as it was before, if not more so. Overall, the races do not like each other, do not know each other, do not trust each other. Yes, we have seen an increase in interracial marriages, but I am not certain that even some of them,to some extent, are not racially motivated. The Zimmerman case made all of this clear. People who did not sit in on the trial, who did not hear the testimony, who did not know Zimmerman or Martin, claim to "know" what really happened. How do they know it? Racism tells them.

* High schools are a total waste of time and money. They in no way prepare students for their future lives, for their future careers, for their future relationships. They teach students meaningless mathematical formulas that virtually no student will ever need to know after he or she leaves school. They require students to wade through the same boring and tired literature that have little, if any, relevance to life in the`21st century. They require students to learn a foreign language for some mysterious reason I do not know. Most students will forget 95% of the language they learn within months after graduating. And as far as communicating with foreigners, 95% of the world's emerging generations already speak the same language: English.

And even worse are the valuable subjects missing from the high school agendas: logical thinking, parenting, choosing a career, morality, choosing a mate, investing, automobile maintenance, etc.

* All the blogs in the world, this one included, do not change one person's mind about anything. Nor do radio or tv talk shows.Why not? Because people make up their minds early on and are not disposed to rethink their opinion, nor to make the effort and take the time that objective thinking and judging require. And that is true for both blog writers and readers, for talkers and listeners.   Fixed opinions, locked and loaded.

BLESSINGS

Blessings of a Spiritual Life is a poster I designed that beautifully depicts ten blessings bestowed on those who live in accordance with God’s Word:

• Benevolence       
• Courage      
• Compassion      
• Grace       
• Serenity       
• Renewal       
• Honor       
• Optimism       
• Exaltation        
• Eternal Life

Each blessing is referenced to a direct quotation from the Bible…making the poster both educational and inspirational, and ideal for school and home.  It also makes a meaningful and enduring holiday gift.

The price is $6 per poster (shipping and handling included).  In New Jersey, add 7% sales tax.  The poster measures 17-1/2”  x  24”, suitable for standard size frames.

To buy, send your payment via PayPal to raynewman0025@gmail.com and we'll ship you a poster right away. 

HAPPY DAYS A'COMIN

Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion says "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction".  So the question is:  what will be the reaction to this Administration's crunching of small businesses via the imposition of higher corporate income tax rates, higher costs of employee health care, and endless regulations? (Remember, too, that this crunching is very likely to be continued  if Hillary Clinton succeeds Obama.)

I think we are heading to an off-the-books economy.  Sales will not be recorded, to keep reportable income and income taxes lower, and without written receipts, returns of goods will not be permitted and warranties will not be honored.  More employees will work for cash, which will lower employer Obamacare costs and lessen employer and employee contributions to Social Security, disability insurance and unemployment funds.  The Government will thus take in substantially less money, its 17 trillion dollar deficit will skyrocket and ultimately our entire economy will have a terminal illness.  The Administration's massive entitlement policy will have a diametrically opposite effect: it will suffocate benefit programs out of existence.

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
THE SKIES ABOVE ARE CLEAR AGAIN
SO LET'S SING A SONG OF CHEER AGAIN
HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!

STATS TO PONDER

A friend of mine wrote me and said she believed man was`a level above animals...and I suspect most people would agree. But I wonder whether that popular view is true:

• we abuse, debase, demean, mistreat, molest, ravish, cheat, lie, steal, plunder, pillage, rape, etc., 
• we murder half a million of us each year, 
• we have fought over 3,000 wars in recorded human history, 
• we killed over 160 million people in wars during the 20th century, 
• we have aborted over 1,300,000,000 fetuses since 1980
• we commit a rape in the U.S. every 2 minutes
• we commit a rape in South Africa every 18 seconds
• we have a divorce rate of 50% in the U.S. and 11 countries have a higher rate
• we have a life expectancy of 78 years, just 8 years more than the elephant and over 100 years less than the Galapagos tortoise, neither of which have the benefit of annual visits to a physician or prescription drugs or self-help books or exercise regimens
• we are weak and slow when compared to animals a fraction of our size
• we have the capacity to think conceptually, but few of us do it regularly and many of us don't even know`what that means. 

Still think we are a level above?

CHIMP CHATTER

I have often wondered why humans talk so much, even when they haven't got much to say. You know, talk, talk, talk. Endless ramblings about the most mundane of matters. And its even worse. Most humans, it seems, feel there must be something psychologically or socially wrong with them if they sit quietly in a group without saying much.

I was reading the other day about my great, great, great, great grandparents and it said that chimpanzees...you knew they were chimps...like to sit around in groups of 30 or so, and when they do, they make constant guttural, clacking-type noises. They do that, apparently, not to communicate anything but merely to let the others know they are there. To give them a presence, so to speak. Out of that, would come a male and female to dominate the group.

Sound familiar? It's in our genes.

BOO!

Please don't tell me that we are winning the war on terrorism, or that America remains the superpower of the world.

 Last week, some alQaeda threats against us triggered our temporarily closing over 22 embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa. Now that's strength for you. We're threatened...not even attacked...and we run like the scared rabbits that this Administration is.

"Hey, they might send 10 or 20 guys over the walls to tear down our flag...let's get out of here before we get a splinter from the broken flagpole, or running from a sudden attack might cause some of us to spill our morning coffee and burn ourselves!"

 I was ashamed at our timidity, how easily we are bullied, and our failure and apparent inability to properly protect our personnel there, even after our failure to protect them in Benghazi. In WWII, we fought and beat three powerful nations, each of which had millions of trained armed troops and massive weaponry. Today, we run from a handful of thugs who couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag.

 And President Obama keeps cutting the size and weaponry of our military. Let's call it as it is: either the President does not know how to fight a war and therefore is not qualified to be our commander-in-chief, or he intentionally wants us to be a second-rate power and wants the war to continue. I think all the evidence over the past 5 years indicates both.

What message did he send alQaeda when he closed our facilities? What message did he send you?

(Be not concerned...waiting in the wings is High Noon sheriff Hillary Clinton.) .

MAJOR LEAGUE POLITICS

Here is a direct quote from the Associated Press:

   "Major League Baseball is threatening to kick Alex Rodriguez out of the game for life unless the Yankees star agrees not to fight a lengthy suspension for his role in the sport's latest drug scandal"

Oh, really?  That translates to "Alex, you either agree to a ban of 100 games, or we'll ban you for 1,000 games"...which at Rodriguez' rate of pay amounts to an extra  penalty of about $150,000,000.

Whatever happened to justice?  If Rodriguez is guilty of something, then he ought to be punished commensurately...but his punishment should not be increased because he chooses to fight for his innocence.  "Innocent until proven guilty", remember... and "Let the punishment fit the crime".  It is not a crime to make the "prosecutors" (in this case, Major League Baseball) prove its case.

Does this warped application of justice sound familiar?  It should.  It is what the present Administration does all the time.  In a broader sense, it is the way politics is played today.  "Give us this or we'll push through ten times as much".   Threats and more threats, rather than justice and what's right.

DIRTY SECRETS

Edward Snowden publicly revealed classified top secret information about the National Security Agency's extensive surveillance of American citizens.     The question is:  did Snowden do the right thing by exposing unconstitutional  U. S. Government activities that violated our rights, or did he do the wrong thing, and in fact is a traitor, for exposing some of America's secret anti-terrorism programs.

From what I know so far, it is clear to me that Snowden did the right thing.  The Constitution was written and adopted for that precise purpose:  to protect us from an overbearing government.  Those who serve in the government are duty-bound to adhere to our  Constitution.  I would suspect that our enemies know full well what our government is doing...but whether they know or not, it is infinitely more important that WE know when our presumed government protectors are attacking us by violating our rights.  If information about secret activities  benefits our enemies, it was not Snowden who is responsible but those in our government who orchestrated and authorized those illegal, unConstitutional activities.

I am not in love with the idea of Snowden settling in Russia, a country with a political philosophy in opposition to ours.  But Russia, despite all its braggadocio, is not a military threat to us at this time, and Snowden is free to find asylum there.  If in fact it is shown that Russia is aiding and abetting enemies of ours, then that country should be off limits to all Americans.

I think it would be beneficial, if feasible, for a department of our federal judiciary to be established, to which future Snowdens could first go to have it determined whether secret government activities are in fact unConstitutional before they are released to the public and to our enemies.

I, for one, would not be concerned if all of our secrets were revealed.  They are probably already well known by  those who might wish to harm us.  In the end, it is not secrets that will bring America down, but a failure to live by and adhere to our magnificent Constitution.