Blogbat

July 15, 2010

Your Most Interesting Web Searches II

 

 

IIt’s Fun Thursday. Every month tends to be a boon for interesting search queries that brought people to this blog. June was no departure.  Below is a list of hits ranked by their quantity. These can be fun lists and I publish them as often as possible.

 

So at the top (sadly), those searching for Flicka the horse wound up at my blog more than any other. Incidentally, these searches are being pointed to my post about the Flicka remake of a few years ago in which the animals were actually mistreated and some died.

 

Next in line is yours truly, but I redacted my name from the list to avoid the irony of having those searching for me finding me in a list about those who searched for me.  As a rule, I also redact phrases that include a not-so-family friendly term. There were none such this time.

 

Some of the more interesting searches? Someone wanted to find out if Vasili Mitrokhin, the ex-KGB officer who fled to the West, had documents indicating Carl Sagan was an enemy agent. Go find out for yourself. The rest are emboldened for your quicker skimmer pleasure. Teacher’s comments are of course in red.

 

 

flicka horse      

*Yours Truly*    

chomsky          

recession is when your neighbor loses his job. depression is when you lose yours. and recovery is when jimmy carter loses his. This one shows up in nearly every month’s list of top searches. Reagan lives! 

waterworld saga           

joe biden secret service This search found me because of a funny story I had related to me by a friend of a wife of one of Joe’s Secret Service agents.  

flicka the horse 2         

view the cnn pipeline news clip “terri schiavo’s parents” located on the materials tab of your student web site for week eight. state your stance on the terri schiavo case and identify the moral value judgment that influenced you to choose your stance.           

mongoloid child                       

coming back after a horse trailer accident          

spherion skill assessment what to expect          

aclu sex offenders katrina         

iraq unnecessary bush-had-done-nothing           

why france this week wouldn t practice in support of amilka       

beutiful atrocities          

anderson cooper ramada inn hurricane  

mitrokhin archives sagan        

jintao   

alien obama2012          

cchinese it theft cyber attack pentagon dod us companies titan rain Talk about not plugging the dang hole. And this was a serious problem on Bush’s watch. For all you Obamabots out there, stop reading now. It still remains unaddressed, putting us all at risk.       

how many horses were used in flicka 2span style="mso-tab-count:1">  

memoire de vladimir kryuchkov          

border war battle over illegal immigration           

putzin bugger off Because Vladimir Putin is a putz.       

bush achievements constitution

putin i am just a jealous gay litvinenko That would be “Jealous Guy”, and it’s a great video about Russia’s psycho “Putintate”.

pictures beavis and buttheadspan style="mso-tab-count:1">    

espella human zee

democrat double standards

*Yours Truly* myspace

streverse > base64 > rot13 > base64 > morse code to text All your base are belong to my post on fun little ways to encode whatever you’re up to.

where was the original my friend flicka shot

chinese officials torturing

i support israel wristband

hialeah#i=5

oboedīre

flicka a horse

chinese hardware backdoor

hansen dam horse tragedy

what is the penalty for entering mexico illegally? Shootings, hangings, beatings, imprisonment, and other manner of total disregard for human rights.

flaka the hlorsespan style="mso-tab-count:1"> 1

for i am not afraid for i was born for this         

political theory china venezuela chavez hu jintao dominoe effect Obviously a student. Keep at it kid.

quotations from dear john

abeisance

los diablos definition

worker bathroom break urinate  

chinese hardware contains backdoors

blogbats.com

what does the uss new jersey museum tour cover? Basically the USS New Jersey, and sometimes a BBQ, if you go at the right time. Check local listings.

 bush s achievements   

mexican presidential airplane

blogbat

in light of the law being a living body which is constantly evolving how do the personalities actions trends political correctness and the moral aptitudes and ineptitudes of our society influence laws currently being considered both locally within the state you live in and nationally? do you think that our current laws adequately govern the ills of our society? for instance do you think that there are certain social ills plaguing our society today that require tougher laws? on the flip side of that same coin do you think that there are certain laws that are too strict for certain social ills? explain your answers.  Holy Smokes!  

horrors in history          

agent provocateur russian cold war sex Probably linked to one of my posts about KGB tactics, which are of course still very much in use today.

mercy ministries st. louis girls Mercy is one of the best and most worthwhile causes you can support. I’ve known many of the people on staff there and can tell you that your giving makes a huge difference in these kids’ lives. http://www.mercyministries.org

weirdest story  

spherion employee policy dell   

beautiful atrocities        

russia stratfor

james pinkerton newsday father

areas helgstrand

rogue hardware malware

china hardware backdoors

essay soviet intelligence ogpu

clear channel outdoor advertising –largest billboard company in us ... overwhelmingly in support of the new arizona anti-immigration law. ... whe need imigration

stranded calif.  

penalty for entering mexico illegally   

real flicka horse

jimmy carter    

what a harware producer needs to know about china  

spherion policies dell    

laura schultz mercy ministries    

sangar and hitler         

search engine optimization You’re optimized if you made it here.         

the blogesse    

democrats racist hypocrisy       

venezuelan fake document penalties

dell computers employee conflict resolution      

penalty for illegally entering mexico   

sowell nea        

sposa son desprezzata Vivaldi’s Sposa son Desprezzata, a song I probably mentioned at some point.

ronald reagan when jimmy carter loses his     

intitle north korea or intitle dprk or intitle pyongyang or intitle democratic people s republic korea -football -volleyball -sport   

square resistance         

what is dressage Horse-lovers, baby!   

bush administration trade achievements

trusted foundry military cyber attack usb        

noam chomsky holocaust deniers       

putintate          

militant gnomes Probably linking to this: http://blogbat.us/mt/archives/2005/05/travelocity_pre.html       

dell employee performance       

usa vs europe healthcare          

jimmy cater loses his  

penalty for crossing into mexico illegally&                    

fliack the horse Your friend Fliack. Of coarse.

 

 

Martin recently completed an internship with the London-based Henry Jackson Society and is presently working on his Master's in National Security Studies. He holds a BA in International Relations. Prior to his time in London, he spent several months in Washington, D.C., where he attended several events, toured the White House, Capitol, and Pentagon. He is a member of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, the World Affairs Council, and United Nations Association.

Posted by Martin at 07:47 PM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2008

Army News on My Visit to Pentagon with WAC

 

 

LTG David H. Huntoon (click to enlarge) (Photo courtesy U.S. Army)

 

 

Here’s a nice write-up from the Army News about the Pentagon “fly-in” I participated in last week with the World Affairs Council.

 

It’s a great read with some quotes from fellow WAC members and our hosts, so I encourage you to go check it out.

 

 

Posted by Martin at 08:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 14, 2007

Blogbat Publicitus: World Affairs Council

Lieber at Georgetown and Friedman at Stratfor.com

 

 

For the gentle reader inquisitive about my absence from this hallowed blog of late, I think I should pause to acknowledge my appreciation for your continued readership nonetheless, as well as offer some insight into the various projects and such which have consumed so much of my time; to wit, exactly why the cat got my tongue and where he hid it.

 

First of all, the cat has been going busily to and fro attending various gatherings of interest to those interested in international interests. Generally on the list among these are The World Affairs Council, UNA-USA, Greater Dallas Chamber, the Dallas Fed, and other speaking events, lectures, awards, charity auctions, volunteer events, and so forth. This time of year seems to offer an endless list of such, too.

 

Second after that is that the cat has been doing his part to ensure my continued faithful execution of my duties as devoted student. Those duties presently include intensive studies in international terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and of course various aspects of international law; the latter both how we see it and how the UN sees it (I’ll leave the details of this to the vivid faculties of an active and politically astute imagination). My instructors are nothing less than world-class, and you may even have seen them on the news and talk show circuit at some point. That, by the way, is not to brag, but quite the opposite: for me it's both greatly humbling and gratifying. Because the cat knows the mice will play while he’s away, he had no choice but to take my tongue so I wouldn’t be rattling on copiously concerning world events about which I should be writing more seriously for academic credit. So in other words, the writing continues, just more often for a more highly specialized audience that also happens to have the power over life or death.

 

All of this then to share two interesting luncheons I’ve attended these past two weeks, the first featuring as speaker Dr. Robert J. Lieber, Professor of Government and International Affairs at Georgetown University and author. In an engagement held at the Park City Club in Dallas and sponsored by the DFW World Affairs Council, Dr. Lieber was present to discuss the role of the US and her allies, particularly within the context of their various co-signatory IGOs (NATO, the UN, and so on). The presentation was interesting, but not entirely new in any sense; however, Dr. Lieber is fighting the good fight in many respects, particularly against the illogical and guiltist worldview of the far-left members among his fellow academics. The lunch was mediocre, but the table was colorful; this is something that is bound to happen with three very energetic little old ladies, one senior international correspondent for the Dallas Morning News who was fluent in Arabic and Spanish, two Air Force colonels, and two Barnes-Kondracke-type senior lawyers off in their own world discussing the merits of a NASDAQ-NYSE merger. The correspondent, who was sitting to my left, was a kindly fellow who had recently returned from London after the failing left-leaning paper was forced to do cutbacks, as most left-leaning papers are doing these days thanks to the alternative media. While he was present as a journalist, he had a secondary reason for attending, which was that Dr. Lieber had been a professor of his while attending Georgetown some years ago. The only real hint of his leftward leaning came during the question and answer session, when someone on the lunatic left fringe asked Dr. Lieber to comment on... get ready… the danger posed by the military-industrial complex (I know, how 70s). At this point the good natured journalist emphatically and without even being able to help himself mumbled loudly to himself, “GOOD QUESTION!!!” – to which a few of us tried to stifle a chuckle.

 

Yesterday’s speaker Dr. George Friedman is founder and chief executive officer of Strategic Forecasting Inc. (STRATFOR). He has been among the most interesting so far this year. The event was held at the Crescent Hotel ballroom and was sponsored by the Institute for Interesting People and the DFW World Affairs Council (now the largest such group in the nation). Friedman is a man after my own heart displaying prominently his ability to fly above the fray while looking down on and seeing the chess board for exactly what it is, tearing the veneer away to expose the naked grid and gears that lay out in plain text what almost certainly must happen next. The world geography, he noted, is much like a chess board, in which one finds that while he has several moves, he usually only has one or two decent moves, and only rarely has a really spectacular move. While his discussion of specific strategic issues was also interesting, the gem was his sharing of his understanding of human behavior, and how it on the micro level influences that of the macro as well as the reverse, how the confluence of various sets of realities confines the options among even the most powerful of national leaders, and something many often overlook: the idea of "empathetic analysis". Empathetic analysis is where one simply sees a particular event through the eyes of someone else, putting on their fears, concerns, quirks, logistical, and political realities. When applied to world leaders, it becomes far more likely to help in predicting what cards might be played, even when specific knowledge of particular cards may be somewhat lacking. One can then create a set of possible scenarios based on the cards he might have with some confidence. For instance, it’s good to know that many Iranian leaders believe that Americans are sneaky, clever, and, as Friedman noted, tend to become unpredictable when “on the ropes”. Such information, when true, could benefit the US in smartly playing to those assumptions, even as the Reagan administration often did with states around the world, most notably the Soviet Union. Naturally, such savvy chessmanship is often criticized by academia for being somehow unfair. Aside from making light several times of the French (which was roundly applauded, of course), Friedman also drew the stinging distinction between academicians and leaders. He said that while academicians may say things like, “if given the opportunity and I were president then…”, those who are among those who are and become presidents take the opportunity, and that is without question a most profound distinction.

 

An interesting theme that emerged from both venues was that we are currently (to various degrees) ignoring Russia and China at our own risk, and that these countries are actively seeking paradigms which are harmful to US and democratic interests, while threatening to become increasingly more so. While those within the intelligence community (including my own sources) seem to get this, it still seems of little interest to those inside the US State Department, some within the Pentagon, and other areas of the Bush administration. Certainly also for that matter much of mainstream media. Friedman also dispelled a popular myth about China: its economy. In point of fact, Friedman comments, China’s nonperforming loans account for about 40% of its GDP. By contrast, Japan during the worst part of its slump last decade was at an almost miniscule number. Yet China presses on, largely thanks to a reckless and morally bankrupt international investment community.

 

Both of these events, along with the one I wrote about two weeks ago, have indeed taken some of my time away from this blog, but hopefully they will help to enrich it when updates are posted.

 

Posted by Martin at 02:37 AM | Comments (2)

January 24, 2007

Blogbat Publicitus: Isobel Coleman on Arab Opportunities

 

 

I attended an interesting luncheon today hosted by the World Affairs Council (of which I happen to be a member) at the beautiful Arlington Hall at Lee Park. The event featured a seemingly somewhat sunburned Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy specializing in women’s issues for the Council on Foreign Relations (maybe it was her coral outfit).

 

The discussion focused on the exploding growth of the 15-25 age group in the Middle East and the opportunities and dangers it offers. Ms. Coleman offered a pretty thorough assessment of both; however, she closed by making the statement that the U.S. (and perhaps the West in general) is “obligated” to help this region take advantage of the opportunity for economic growth and stability which presents itself during this time in which these states have relatively fewer senior citizens and school-age children to subsidize. While I’m pretty sure I can guess why she would state that, it still seems a bit shallow to make an assertion that calls for perhaps tens of millions of dollars and other resources to be spent without explaining the rationale.

 

That’s not to say most of us would completely disagree with her, though I probably do disagree a bit with what might be her reasoning. She seeming a bit left of center probably holds to some of the ideas as expressed by Andrew Simms in the New Statesman awhile back in his article, “Why We Owe So Much to Victims of Disaster”. Naturally, Simms is far more wild-eyed and far-left (he’s on the board of directors for Greenpeace) than Ms. Coleman, but the idea expressed in his piece illustrates the general thought processes of the left that we’ve raped, pillaged, and ruined the world; we caused Islamofascist terrorism, and we must therefore pay reparations through the “obligatory” funding of various projects and schemes throughout the disaffected south (Third World). Reagan-Conservatives on the other hand are motivated less by guilt and more by compassion, and that is where I arrive at a similar conclusion: that we should offer help to improve (and de-radicalize) education and help build stable regions that attract business and provide jobs (as Ms. Coleman mentioned, unemployment is literally off the scale among most Middle-Eastern teens and twenties). Although unemployment has always been big in that region, while this round of radicalism has been a bit more recent, it is still a tremendously beneficial thing to provide the framework for opportunities for young men who otherwise might fall into radicalism as part of a bigger solution. However, education and jobs (and trade) alone don't lead to peace and gentleness, as we learned with Nazi Germany. We cannot discount the role of ideology. In reality, materialism alone will lead to more problems than solutions. In addition to compassion, there is also the natural self-interest which states, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Both of those, compassion and practical long-term self-interest (or "self-compassion"), rather than conflicting work in tandem to offer a far more rational approach to thoughtful consideration of what needs to be addressed than the insane frenzy of guiltism, which can hardly bare to look at the problem long enough to throw money at it.

 

Ms. Coleman was also wrong in her assessment that, as she put it, U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq were “a failure”. While Iraq is certainly a child in the special-needs class, Afghanistan has been an amazing success. By her own seemingly begrudged admission, Afghanistan has moved ahead in light-years with respect to the position of women in society. That’s not to say there’s room for improvement still – and by her own admission, such things take time. However, none of it would have been possible if first there had not been a military solution to liberate the people from their cruel oppressors. Also, Coleman’s apparent assumption that it has to be an either-or with respect to the use of military versus non-military aid and support ignores the fact that Afghanistan has been the success that it is precisely because both, not one or the other, were used. Iraq too, is similar, and is bearing similar fruits in the Kurdish region. The difference it seems between Afghanistan and Iraq has been what appears to be a popular readiness for relief from tyranny through the work necessary to attain it.

 

It also cannot be discounted the dramatic inflow of interference coming from Iran and Syria, which curiously, left-leaning policy wonks seem to always state must be left alone at all costs. While the cynic may say that this is because it helps maintain the crisis as it now stands in Iraq, which then serves the political interests of the American left, I think in most cases it goes back again to this guilt and anxiety disorder that motivates that galumphing, knuckle-dragging monster known as the appeasement collective. Notwithstanding, she is correct in underscoring the danger of radicalist teachings within the educational establishments of countries like Saudi Arabia, Syria, and so on. However, the fact she understands this and still prefers to think that materialism is the water that douses all errant ideology puts faith in a far too fragile statue.

 

While Ms. Coleman is not entirely off-target in her assessment of the problem or her proffered solution, how she arrived at what she believes led to the problem and how she then arrives at its solution is also critically important, since the logic following those perceptions will determine the critical details of how that solution is to be applied and its eventual outcome.

 

Ms. Coleman is well-spoken and no doubt sincere, though she is certainly someone who is on the left at least with respect to the matter addressed today. She is also, no surprise, pro-abortion. However, there’s nothing “conspiratorial” about that: she’s just someone who lives in a “blue state” and is the product of likely considerable exposure to a leftwing educational establishment. She’s also clearly an emotional person, which arguably makes her more prone to modern Western liberalism’s guiltist thinking. There are certainly also many noted conservatives who share membership in her organization, including the great Charles Krauthammer. The fact that there are many of leftwing orientation in the CFR says more about the region in which it is headquartered and the large number of academicians who no doubt have joined to make themselves feel more important than they really are. Other organizations, study groups, and think tanks such as the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research are no different. Such groups are open to diverse political walks, but their location tends to make them more prone to leftwing thinkers than otherwise; not too different really than how one expects to catch more salmon in some streams, bass in others. If the CFR had been based in Enid, Oklahoma, it no doubt would instead have a right-ward slant (and a parking lot full of pickups). That’s not to discount the fact that some leftwing members would like to see bad things happen to the United States as we know it, but that’s a truism across the board for at least the radical members of the left in any organization, church, or business. The fact that as luck would have it they may make up most of this organization only states the obvious: the glass is most often defined by its contents, but the glass itself is not what it contains. One must simply change the contents of the glass to redefine it. That isn’t to say that those such as Ms. Coleman do not have a place; they not only do, believe it or not, we need them too. However, I would like to see more conservatives taking part. A think tank (among other things) that addresses such a wide scope of international issues as does the CFR absolutely has a necessary place, but it’s rendered a bit less useful when it has been to some degree hobbled by its abundant leftwing idealism and at times also a short-sighted economic idealism.

 

On a final note about this afternoon’s luncheon (and to leave you with something that struck me as a bit funny), I have a short little story to offer from something that happened during the Q & A portion of the event. A Brazilian educator who was present mentioned that she had been present at some sort of NEA (National Education Association) conference recently in which she brought up the subject of private school teachers and the NEA. The woman explained to us how shocked she was that those NEA members refused to even discuss letting private school teachers join the union. Indeed, she couldn’t comprehend why an organization made up of teachers would put politics ahead of education, apparently unaware of that union's long history of doing just such; something at which most of us knowingly chuckled. Even our speaker was forced to admit the proof was in the pudding, so to speak: public schools largely controlled by this union which almost always gets its way when it comes to textbooks and policies by and large are a failure. As for whether private school teachers would wish to join the NEA, that’s probably not something the NEA truly has to worry about; the NEA and private school teachers obviously have different agendas. :)

 

 

         

Posted by Martin at 02:52 AM | Comments (3)

January 05, 2007

Read Me at WorldNet Daily

…on Michael Medved, Bush, amnesty, & the rest

 

 

WorldNet Daily’s letter of the week features yours truly. “North American Union in College Texts”, covers some of what I’ve seen since my return to academe, but it also touched a bit on the fallacy imbedded in present-day internationalist thinking.

 

While it can quite rightly be argued that internationalism in some respects and given certain conditions is a good thing, what is being pushed as such today is most often not being done so by level-headed, thoughtful, or apparently moderate voices within that camp. Instead of an intelligent, rational, and fair dialogue with the people, democracy is rather quickly being subverted.

 

By "being subverted", I mean that there is lacking the crucial debate over such things as how much, what, where, and with whom, such laws should be crafted and treaties signed toward regional and global unity on a variety of fronts. If one questions this, he should look at the growing frustration among EU citizens (which I wrote about here) over the increasing disenfranchisement they feel as growing EU power has not coincided with similar growth in EU-wide democratic institutional relief. Yet, this is the model after which many of the North American effete currently pursue, desires and needs of the people be darned.

 

The fact this is the current paradigm in academia does not make those who hold internationalist views evil; however, those who hold hard-line “unity at any cost” views, as I mentioned at WorldNet Daily, are either suffering “bouts of missing history” with respect to the long-standing ebb and flow of localization versus regionalism, or logic with respect to so much as truly rationally evaluating the historical information of which generally they are aware.

 

I Hope you enjoy the read.

 

 

Previous Blogbat posts:

 

The Case Against Breaching the Levee

When is it safe to open the locks in a canal? Only after the water has reached the same level on both sides.

 

Viva Farmer's Branch

 

Alien Amnesty: A Children's Crusade

 

NFTGJ: Hating the Elderly

 

Terrorism and Immigration News Roundup

 

Court TV: Inside the Border War

 

Blogbat does Geno's in Philly

 

Planet Moronia: Sowing Tears (more dead thanks to the wreckless border policy)

 

 

Posted by Martin at 07:56 PM | Comments (3)

July 14, 2006

Blogbat Publicitus: Wrapping Up Penn

Photoblogging America’s 230^th Birthday

 

 

Back at last we are from all that is the wonderful land of Pennsylvania, I decided to share one more travelblog photoset from the fortnight I spent.

 

 

First stop: Harrisburg, where residents are preparing for the centennial celebration of the capitol.

 

Though the original seat of Pennsylvania government was at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the current of two Pennsylvania state houses in Harrisburg was built after the previous building burned down in an accidental fire in 1897. According to the capitol website, original plans called for a low-budget $500,000 replacement structure decried by the governor at the time for being less than worthy or adequate to house the government. In his words, the so-called Cobb building was “made of common brick embedded in cheap mortar, looks like a hastily erected factory building and is repulsive to the eye.” That plan was scrapped and a larger, much more inspiring classical structure was erected instead at a cost of $12 million – 24 times the cost of the Cobb building, but exquisitely ornate, incomprehensibly expansive, and utterly jaw-droppingly beautiful. On October 4, 1906 the building was dedicated. President Theodore Roosevelt described the green-domed capitol he was in attendance to dedicate as “the most beautiful state Capitol in the nation,” which seems from my abbreviated survey an apt description.

 

 

Outside, the state house building sprawled across an expansive piece of real estate. On a personal note, the capitol also happens to be where my own mother worked as a staff member for the governor while she was in college. 

 

 

Inside the massive state house was like an elegantly hewn granite and marble cave, reflecting warm, ambient orange light that filled the room and sparkled off the golden accents and lettering like exposed veins of golden ore.

 

 

Next stop: Gettysburg, site of one of the most important clashes to take place during the American Civil War, aka “The War of Northern Aggression”, “The War to Free the Slaves”, “The War on Southerners and Indians”, etc., etc.

 

 

 

It was during the same week of our visit that the battle of Gettysburg took place.

 

 

The corn was tall, the days were hot and humid, and the fallow fields were thick with weeds and brambles catching the arms and legs of men and horses alike. And blood was spilled for a cause for which the hearts that pumped it would never feel the joy of its great conclusion.

 

 

 

 

Also of great importance was this town for the address given to it by Republican President Abraham Lincoln to Gettysburg, in which he reaffirmed the spirit by which the United States was founded - and the honor due those who humbly sacrificed all to make that reality for the living.

 

 

 

We end at the beginning: Valley Forge. Near Philadelphia, this town holds the honor of being a vital command post for General George Washington. After the end of the Revolution, General Washington, in 1783, stepped down and disbanded the army. The victorious general’s acquiescence to civilian authority had never been witnessed in all of human history. In his farewell he offered this prayer in closing:

 

 I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection; that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for brethren who have served in the field; and finally that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation.

 

As Abraham Lincoln reminded and exhorted Americans at the conclusion of his Gettysburg Address, "...[F]rom these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

 

God bless America. Remember your roots.

 

 

 

 

Posted by Martin at 02:45 AM | Comments (0)

July 04, 2006

Blogbat Publicitus: Day 7: Philadelphia 2006!

Photoblogging America’s 230^th Birthday

 

 

HAPPY 230^th AMERICA!

 

On this day, July 4, 1776, the signers of the Declaration of Independence “pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” – risking – and at times utterly forfeiting everything in pursuit of the noble cause of human freedom and dignity.

 

It was in this very hall that the ultimate risk for the ultimate noble gain was undertaken. With leaders who literally turned the world upside down, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and the list goes on. That a government would be ruled by the people, as guaranteed by a God-ordained written law, and that policy should be the child of a grand idea rather than the self-indulgence of the elite, was a new idea whose only chance at success were that men who championed it, did so humbly, and with noble hearts, rather than as those being corrupted by their own temporary sense power. Though the latter is always the case of godless ideological revolutions, such as we see with Communism, such could not be the case here, and because of that fact, the world would not ever be the same and truly peace on earth and goodwill toward men had a fighting chance:

 

 

 

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

 

 

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

 

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

 

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the

 

Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

 

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

 

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

 

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

 

Column 1
Georgia:
   Button Gwinnett
   Lyman Hall
   George Walton

 

Column 2
North Carolina:
   William Hooper
   Joseph Hewes
   John Penn
South Carolina:
   Edward Rutledge
   Thomas Heyward, Jr.
   Thomas Lynch, Jr.
   Arthur Middleton

 

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

 

Column 4
Pennsylvania:
   Robert Morris
   Benjamin Rush
   Benjamin Franklin
   John Morton
   George Clymer
   James Smith
   George Taylor
   James Wilson
   George Ross
Delaware:
   Caesar Rodney
   George Read
   Thomas McKean

 

Column 5
New York:
   William Floyd
   Philip Livingston
   Francis Lewis
   Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
   Richard Stockton
   John Witherspoon
   Francis Hopkinson
   John Hart
   Abraham Clark

 

Column 6
New Hampshire:
   Josiah Bartlett
   William Whipple
Massachusetts:
   Samuel Adams
   John Adams
   Robert Treat Paine
   Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
   Stephen Hopkins
   William Ellery
Connecticut:
   Roger Sherman
   Samuel Huntington
   William Williams
   Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
   Matthew Thornton

 

 

 

God bless, as always, America and all for which she was founded.

 

Posted by Martin at 02:04 PM | Comments (5)

July 02, 2006

Blogbat Publicitus: Philly Supplemental

Photoblogging America’s 230^th Birthday

 

Just a few more pictures I took this evening from a roof in downtown Philly during and immediately after some thunderstorms came through. The evening colors outside were so vivid, I couldn’t pass it up. Tomorrow I should have some great ones of more historical interest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Martin at 11:14 PM | Comments (0)

Blogbat Publicitus: Day 6

Photoblogging America’s 230^th Birthday

 

 

Fun and fireworks last night at Penn’s Landing – where William Penn came ashore after navigating the Delaware River in 1682. As mentioned in previous posts, Penn later founded the town of Philadelphia. Penn's landing is on the Philadelphia bank of the Delaware River and lies just across from Camden, New Jersey. The Penn's Landing celebration begins in late June and continues through the second day of July. This firework show was definitely one of the best and longest I've seen, and the history and tidy waterfront setting make it all the better.

 

 

This is a shot of the Christ Church steeple, as shot from the ramp above Penn’s Landing. Christ Church is one of the oldest churches in Philadelphia. This is the same steeple which two centuries ago welcomed weary seafaring travelers. The church was completed in 1754 and was the house of worship for George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, Francis Hopkinson, Robert Morris, and their families, along with others. During and after the revolution, as with other buildings, the various busts and bas reliefs depicting English royalty were removed from the church, with only one of King George II remaining. On July 4, 1788 – 218 years ago – the bells of Christ Church tolled the whole day to celebrate the ratification of the US Constitution – now the oldest and most continuously active, and most wondrous legal document in the history of men.

 

 

 

The Benjamin Franklin Bridge (built in 1926) and the bow of the Gazela (a 177 foot long rigged Portuguese fishing vessel built in 1883).

 

 

 

The famous heroic WWII battleship the U.S.S. New Jersey (pictured), along with the WWII submarine U.S.S. Becuna on the New Jersey side, and the Spanish-American War era U.S.S. Olympia at Penn’s Landing are some of the featured landmarks along the river, together with some modern Naval faire. We’ll be exploring these ships later in the week and posting some much better photos.

 

 

 

At last, a better view of where we were shooting pictures of the fireworks – from the air conditioned comfort of the Hyatt Regency, filling our bellies and watching the throngs of people flood by outside. Those walls didn’t obstruct the view of the fireworks as much as these photos would seem – it was a spectacular show!

 

 

Posted by Martin at 11:08 AM | Comments (1)

July 01, 2006

Blogbat Publicitus: Day 5

Photoblogging America’s 230^th Birthday

 

 

 

We begin with a southward shot down Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward that famed monstrosity of a city building with statue of town father William Penn atop.  BFP was fashioned after the Champs-Elysées.

 

 

 

George Washington’s statue in Fairmont Park.

 

 

 

The Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter & Paul on BFP.

 

 

Posted by Martin at 06:16 PM | Comments (0)

June 30, 2006

Blogbat Publicitus: Day 4

Filling up on love of country

 

 

I actually spent a great deal of today on my laptop getting work done, but I did venture out a bit to visit the 12th Street Market to grab some home made fresh Amish bread, pretzels, and cinnamon rolls.

 

I also had the chance to meet the great American now under assault from the anti-America, anti-rule-of-law crowd on the left, owner or Geno’s Cheese Steaks Joe Vento.

 

Of course the flack initially began after Joe, the son of legal Italian immigrants and someone who understands what it means to become an American (and what it means to conduct business) posted a sign requiring that orders be placed in English. Even some illegal aliens who wished to assimilate agreed with Joe that to live, as anywhere, you must be able to function in the language. Anyone remember "when in Rome, do as the Romans do"? At any rate, the PC nutballs in city hall and elsewhere have been trying to find a way to punish Joe for his common sense, patriotic free speech (and free advice), despite his popularity with people around the world, including local police and firemen.

 

 

 

The place was incredibly crowded, though I finally found a seat across from a display of literally hundreds of police patches sent from as far away as Utah, Germany, Ireland, and even France! I even saw a patch from the Dallas Police Department - a department so overrun with the pro-illegal alien agenda, that officer would surely be fired had his PC fascist bosses discovered his transgression.

 

At the end of my meal I was sure to pick up a Geno’s t-shirt, which will no doubt be popular back in Texas: “I’m an American, so I order in English”. It’ll no doubt go as a nice compliment to the La Raza “I’m not an American, I don’t speak English, and thanks to a few bribes just like back home, I’ll be voting” idée de force.

 

Both Joe and his steaks are as good as gold.

 

 

Posted by Martin at 01:21 PM | Comments (1)

Blogbat Publicitus: Philadelphia Day 3

More than cream cheese and Eagles’ fans

 

 

 

 

For those of you wondering where I’ve been this past week, I’m taking in the sights and sounds of Philly (such as this photo I took of city hall - the largest such municipal building in the country) and getting ready for the 130^th anniversary of our great nation’s Declaration of Independence from Tyrannical King George and strange accents.

 

I’ll also be taking a tour of Gettysburg later next week. I’ve already visited some Civil War battle fields in Vicksburg, Mississippi and elsewhere, but this should by far overshadow anything from those experiences.

 

The itinerary is pretty hectic, but I will nonetheless be posting some photos I think you’ll enjoy which I've snapped from the sundry excursions.

 

 

Posted by Martin at 01:14 AM | Comments (1)

October 16, 2005

Blogbat Publicitus Weekly Roundup II

 

 

In case you’re all wondering what I’ve been up to, much is the answer. You might find a couple of my adventures this week to be of moderate interest:

 

Monday I attended the Stephen A. Philbin Media Awards luncheon hosted by the Dallas Bar. Our featured keynote speaker was none other than former Secretary of State, James A. Baker III, who gave an interesting talk covering everything from Al Qaeda to gas prices to China. Of course there was some buzz about Harriet Miers, particularly since she served as former president for both the Dallas Bar and the Texas state Bar. Her name seemed to draw polite applause when it was mentioned from the podium and murmurs at the table.

 

That wasn’t the only topic at the table of course. We had two journalists from the Dallas Morning News dining with us as well; one a crime reporter, the other having just returned from covering New Orleans. The latter had some quite interesting tales to tell – and later that evening an award for a piece she had done earlier that year. The Dallas Morning News of course still suffering the embarrassing blow of having to repay advertisers after it was learned its circulation numbers were bloated.

 

A friend of mine who used to work for the paper says the management-top-heavy company still hasn’t learned anything yet. Beyond there being too many chiefs and not enough Indians at the company, they still haven’t lifted a finger to prepare for the demands of the 21^st Century, as if in denial that they are quickly becoming an antique. The friend, who also has worked for other Belo holdings he says were suffering similar problems told me that another such outlet in trouble for many of the same reasons was TXCN Texas Cable News. He predicts that as long as the companies continue to run things like the federal government, they’ll continue to suffer layoffs and other woes.

 

Wednesday I dropped in at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas to hear W. Michael Cox, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist speak over lunch. Richard W. Fisher, President and CEO of the Dallas Fed also spoke briefly. The talks were interesting, but not nearly so much so as the food, the literature or the company.

 

Before we were escorted into the dining hall I did manage to pick up something published by the Dallas Fed about China. The shiny new publication was chock full of ways the venturing investor could take advantage of Chinese workers currently being exploited by their government to help bankroll the Communist state’s military buildup. Of course, it wasn’t exactly laid out in this fashion. Not much mentioned either about the government’s harvesting of organs from political dissidents, bulldozing of churches, rampant infanticide or that nasty habit of supplying Iran and North Korea with all sorts of duel-use technology. Nor any mention of the duel-use potential of the technology we are shipping over there for them to cheaply assemble.

 

As for the luncheon, turnout was great; the fact that I was the only guy at a table that seats 8 that happened to be seating 7 charming and delightful gals wasn’t so bad either. During our introductions one of the more fascinating tales to emerge was that of one of the women who had just returned from Jordan where she worked for an Arab-Israeli magazine. During her time working near Amman, she managed even to learn some Arabic. But the other stories at the table were also interesting ones.

 

Posted by Martin at 11:25 PM | Comments (0)

October 08, 2005

Blogbat Publicitus Weekly Roundup

 

 

An interesting week with some newsmakers in Dallas. Beginning with a rally to protect our borders, this week also included run-ins with Karl Rove and Former CIA director R. James Woolsey.

 

Last Saturday was a highly successful Citizens for Immigration Reform demonstration in North Dallas. As such rallies and demonstrations always do, it served well to remind us that the illegal immigration issue is one that has truly been raised by the people – and is a grass-roots movement that will only continue to swell until its goals have been realized. As a sign of our good things to come, I stumbled across a five dollar bill as I got out of my car – (modest, sure, but it helped me pay my tip at P.F. Chang’s later that weekend...).

 

I would say our group was a fairly decent size for something lasting only 90 minutes. The group numbered around 30; however, the support was overwhelming among those walking and driving by - folks of every imaginable cultural stripe, as the case typically is. We even had some of those passing by decide to come and join us.

 

I think one of the things however that really stuck out about this event was just how much it reflected America and how much it really demonstrated that agreement on the need to control our borders is a universal American thing, not a hyphenated-American thing of any kind. We had among our numbers retired citizens, young families, college students and young professionals; Americans of black, white, hispanic, Asian – and other ancestries. We even had two or three very energetic 8-year olds running up and down waving American flags exclaiming "God bless America!" In a nutshell, a true cross-section of Anywhere, America standing up for national security and for protecting Americans from the sex offenders and violent criminals who also are not presently being filtered out at the border. It was a good thing to see, although not surprising when we consider that close to 80% of America knows it’s time to do something about the borders.

 

 

Wednesday I had the chance to attend a Karl Rove appearance before a relatively intimate gathering.

 

Rove, who next week will testify for an unprecedented fourth time before the Grand Jury looking into who leaked the name of CIA spook Valerie Plame, was in Texas to visit prospective colleges with his son. While Rove probably did not "out" Plame, testifying so late in the game of a grand jury investigation could wind up snagging him on a technicality, and it's possible he agreed to testify in hopes of clarifying the details of earlier statements.

 

I found Karl Rove to be a truly gregarious fellow; he spoke conversationally, relating stories of the President’s and First Lady’s fondness for wild game and Jurists named Miers.

 

 

Finally, Friday was spent at the SMU Cox Business School to hear former CIA director R. James Woolsey.

 

Woolsey began his talk by expressing how delighted he was to have been so warmly welcomed at SMU since he was not just a lawyer after all, and someone who worked for the CIA, but also a Clinton appointee at one time to boot.

 

The former director spoke mostly about the strategic implications of Arabian oil and his hopes that one day cars would compete with horses to get their fuel from prairie grass. With the price of gas, I suppose Woolsey’s thoughts could best be summed up by saying that if wishes were hybrids, than beggars would drive.

 

 

Oh, and speaking of prairie grass guzzlers, Thursday I happened to look at a couple of horses to buy (I'm in the market for a good Dressage horse, FYI)… but that’s probably not as newsworthy or as interesting of a thing, so I’ll spare you the details.

 

Posted by Martin at 01:49 AM | Comments (1)

July 04, 2005

Happy Fourth!

May those around the world still oppressed by tyranny and corruption take for themselves the liberty and fortunes endowed by our Creator upon all of us, and which we as Americans have so richly enjoyed for over two centuries.   If you missed seeing a fireworks show this year, some video captured courtesy of the Canon S70 isn’t exactly top-quality, but it might be entertaining nonetheless.     The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America   Adopted in Congress 4 July 1776   When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.   We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.   He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.   He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.   He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.   He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.   He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.   He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.   He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.   He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.   He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.   He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.   He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.   He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.   He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:   For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:   For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:   For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:   For imposing taxes on us without our consent:   For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:   For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:   For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:   For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:   For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.   He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.   He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.   He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworth the head of a civilized nation.   He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.   He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.   In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.   Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.   We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levey war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.   - 4th of July, 1776   The Patriot’s Library "What July Fourth Means to Me"   Happy Fourth - to all in the world where the Spirit of Liberty has henceforth spread. If she hasn't found you yet, may she do so in goodspeed.

 

Posted by Martin at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

May 24, 2005

Blogbat Publicitus:

Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar Day 2

 

 

Today was spent on the Hillsdale information lifeboat with four very distinct and interesting characters: A professor, a research academician, a Paul Revere and a super-cop.

 

Day two got underway early with Larry Arnn’s professorial discussion of the value of wartime statesmanship. Though he rambled a bit, as professors often do, the main point this fan of Winston Churchill was conveyed clearly: without American values (human rights and dignity transcendent far beyond the scope of human law and empowered by the strength of moral clarity and authority), Americans could not have ever hoped to have come so far. Malise Ruthven, on the other hand offered us a more detailed description, as academicians who love research often do of our antithesis and the failing foundries from which it arises. Malise described the form of insanity that comes about when a person holds an unrealistic utopian ideal to which he will stop at nothing to force the world to conform. This, as he points out has been the case in the last century for Nazis, Fascists, Communists and of course Islamofascists. Such an ideal turns a normal German nationalist in the 1930’s into a card-carrying member of the National Socialist Workers Party, for example. He also paid close attention to the meaning of “fundamentalist” as it has been adopted and used in the media in recent history.

 

After breaking for lunch, we assembled once again to hear whether this time instead of the British, the Islamofascists (or Communists) were coming and whether they would come bearing an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) device, capable of completely disrupting modern technology-driven life as we know it. Frank Gaffney Jr. did a superb job of touching on the key areas of concern relating to an EMP event. He first discussed its most effective detonation point and then moved on to defining the three waves within the pulse that would effectively fry personal electronics and power grids. Noting then that such an event would effectively relegate the United States to 19^th century undeveloped status, he quickly pointed out it would be also without the benefit of 19^th century infrastructure. Cities would be unable to sustain their populations, transportation would be largely unavailable to carry these populations to the country and farmers would watch their crops rot. The point was and is very clear: we must harden our technological infrastructure and it must be a top priority. But in addition to what Mr. Gaffney recommends, I would simply add that those wise among us should also be making some sort of consideration for a short-term low-tech existence in the event an EMP should occur before we are sufficiently hardened or another threat has a similar effect. It has honestly concerned me for some time that we have made some of our most vital things so reliant on electronics even when it was not always necessary. This applies to our military as well. We should be able to still fight even if the enemy turns out the lights – which will be one of the first things a major enemy in battle will attempt. The Soviets of course worked on EMP technology for years before their collapse (and as Frank shockingly pointed out, several scientists who worked on that project then went over to North Korea where they live today). China as well as Iran and certainly Al Qaeda would certainly have a place for this technology and China is additionally working on a strategy (as is North Korea) for taking out our military satellites which would effectively blind much of our operations. And what if such a country were to launch a satellite intended to disperse an EMP over North America? Of course, our biggest concern at the moment is that a rogue ocean barge will fire one of those ubiquitous scuds or an airplane over our airspace and detonate a nuclear payload, causing an EMP event. But the thing I have to ask is why does it take a Frank J. Gaffney Jr. to point this out? Isn’t this just common sense? Give bad man spear, bad man use spear on good man, good man die. Bad man can’t find spear, use rock.

 

We wrapped up the day with R. James Woolsey. Truly a man of many hats, his forceful and plainspoken speaking style caused me to imagine an intellectual cop, if such a thing exists (though he also seemed to have a softer side for public lauding). Woolsey of course drew comparisons between Islamofascism and Nazism, both respect to outcome and the breeding grounds which foment such things. He rightly points out that America has had a history of sending the wrong message to our enemies who inevitably attack us because they have fallen into the belief that we are weak and wince at conflict – though Japan’s Admiral Yamamoto, who was well-acquainted with the American experience after having studied here, knew that Japan would not come out too favorably after the US war machine began to churn. With respect to our previous wars, Woolsey considers this war more similar to the Cold War than World War II, both in duration and in strategy. But I suppose this only depends on the relative size of a given flashpoint.  

 

This was an interesting and enjoyable seminar and I’m thankful to Hillsdale College for providing these speakers along with some fantastic food and company. Yesterday I nearly ran out of business cards and met so many fine, wonderful people (today I came prepared with twice as many cards in my pocket). I was also impressed with the number of home school families present, their children preparing to attend Hillsdale or already attending. What a wonderful resource this event, as well as the school are for these families. During the course of my time I also learned that the children of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard B. Myers were home schooled before attending Hillsdale. One of his daughters in fact recently graduated the college among the top 5 of her class. Not bad for an Air Force brat by any stretch!

 

For those interested in receiving full copies of the speeches from this week's event, contact Hillsdale College which may make available written copies or video at some point. These speeches are also often included in the school's magazine Imprimus available via free subscription or online.

 

Related:

 

Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar Day 1

March 30: Details of the National Leadership Seminar in Dallas

 

For further information on EMP:

 

EMP Commission Report Executive Summary: http://empcreport.ida.org

Washington Times Op-Ed: National Paralysis

 

 

 

Posted by Martin at 09:26 PM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2005

Blogbat Publicitus:

Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar Day 1

 

 

Speaking to us tonight was noted and almost always eloquent commentator George F. Will, who offered to us some interesting observations on the life and times of nation building, the key ingredients thereof for other countries and those that have gone into our own.

 

Will said that the road to a democracy china - and Iraq etc. was one which lead simply down the way of economic prosperity since, as he stated, trade and commerce promote civility and civility is the antithesis of war. It was by implication that this method was really the only ingredient necessary, as Will cited US policy toward China since the Nixon days forward as proof in the pudding. But he seems to overlook the obvious, which is that the pudding is still in the oven. As Will himself pointed out, quoting Leon Trotsky – “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you”. This can also apply to the fact that a well-fed crocodile is merely a stronger crocodile tomorrow who still wants to eat you. Clearly, what is needed alongside any economic development is moral development among private citizens and within their government – for it is disregard for human rights and a love of corruption which squelch long-term development. Whether Will simply did not play this up sufficiently is up for debate, but he did seem to realize a common morality and civility were key factors in the building of the US from the time of its inception. Will rightly pointed out that long before we had the economic and political revolution in the late 18^th century, we had a moral and cultural one. And I suppose that even George Will realizes this on some level, for during the course of his speaking in this vein, he posited whether the Iraqis will prove to be at such a point in history or not.

 

In describing what he thinks has made America great – he points out with absolute accuracy that not only was commerce necessary - he cites the important role of Alexander Hamilton in that development - but a deep sense of morality. And he is right, but this also must be the case in order for despotic regimes such as China to come around. Indeed a great part of the success in West Germany after World War II was not only the introduction and growth of commerce but the moral turning and renewed sense of conscience and respect for human rights and civility that protected and allowed for an environment in which just commerce could flourish along with the great wealth it produces not just for the elites, but also for the average man or woman – as true long-term evidence of democracy. Without morality the strong by rule of nature abuse the weak and in that you will have one form of bondage or another, but rather equal be it commercial fiefdom or communism.

 

Will also fielded several questions from the audience, including ones on the matter of illegal immigration. Sadly here, he seemed to feign ignorance of the real issue: illegal immigrants rather than immigrants in general are what most Americans find objectionable from a moral standpoint as well as a national security and infrastructural one. This issue of course is the one the average American has no trouble distinguishing but many in Washington and New York etc. as well as academia and even the Pew Research Center seem not to luminously understand (hat-tip to Cam Edwards for the Pew story). Finally after being pinned down by a direct question about the legality and morality of illegal immigration by a third member of the audience, Will seemed to backpedal from the strong-arm avoidance tactic and admitted he believed illegal immigration as opposed to legal immigration was wrong and that borders should be strengthened – and even almost slipped and used the “S” word – as in “sealed”. But this took a lot of arm-twisting to bring him to acknowledge the distinction and it might be also said his overriding romanticization of illegals was no sign encouragement for those of us who still realize a sever blindness has stricken many on the east coast, who are as yet apparently unaware of the necessary common sense clarity available apparently only to those on the “front lines” at present.

 

But Mr. Will is an enjoyable commentator in person as he is elsewhere whether he presents his ideas in spoken form or written. And even though he may be wrong or failing to fully convey his beliefs on a few matters it certainly was good to hear from him tonight.

 

Tomorrow we will be hearing from  Larry P. Arnn (who also addressed us this evening as well) discussing “Statesmanship in Wartime”. Larry is president of Hillsdale College. After Larry Arnn Malise Ruthven will be speaking. Malise is an expert on comparative religion and author of A Fury for God: The Islamist Attack on America. He will be discussing the Origins of Islam. After lunch we will be treated to hearing from Frank Gaffney Jr., founder of the Center for Security Policy as he talks to us about “Meeting the Domestic Terror Threat”. Judging by an interview with a local (Dallas) radio talkshow today, this will probably deal in some large measure with the growing concern for Iran’s deployment of an electromagnetic pulse (or EMP) device. The dangers of EMP’s of course are something about which former CIA director R. James Woolsey has spoken and written over the years and no doubt will come up for discussion when Woolsey closes out the event by speaking to us concerning “The Long War of the 21^st Century: How We Must Fight It”. We’ll have more on all of this at the end of the day, as it were.

 

Related Post March 30: Details of the National Leadership Seminar in Dallas

 

Posted by Martin at 11:58 AM | Comments (1)

April 24, 2005

Blogbat Publicitus: Gerhard Politz Dressage Clinic

Der mit den Pferden spielt

 

 

 

I had the real delight Saturday of attending a riding clinic featuring a fantastic instructor who originally hails from Stuttgart, Germany. The event was hosted by the stables where I regularly work with my dressage trainer.

 

Dressage, for those new to the concept is an old and highly disciplined equestrian sport (which is also carried out as part of the quadrennial Summer Olympics) that in its more advanced levels really becomes more something of an art involving highly complex movements of rider and horse often set to music. Dressage is an offshoot of ancient military mounted battle techniques.

 

For those of you in the world of horses and particularly the world of dressage, Gerhard Politz is likely no stranger. Accomplished as instructor, medalist and author, Politz is professionally certified as a trainer in two EU member states, Germany and the UK. Since moving to the United States in 1987, he has worked hand-in-hand with the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) particularly with their instructor certification program. He is also a member of the International Dressage Trainers Club.

 

Mr. Politz is a regular contributor to three prominent dressage and equine magazines, The Chronicle of the Horse, Dressage Today and USDF Connections.

 

For a short period after moving to the US he returned to Germany in order to further refine his teaching and riding abilities. During this time he worked with Egon von Neindorff, General Albert Stecken, and Brigadier Kurt Albrecht, an "O" FEI judge who was also the former Director of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna (home of the famous Lipizzaner Stallions). Another mentor of his was Willi Schultheis, who is coach emeritus of the German Olympic team.

 

Now living and working out of California, he’s currently working with 45 horses, several apprentices and still competing at Grand Prix level, having won several gold, silver and bronze medals in national competitions in the US just as he has done back in his native Germany.

 

One of his more trademark accomplishments made its debut in 1995 while on the USDF sub-committee for designing dressage tests. As his website puts it, he introduced “the concepts of ‘Allowing the horse to chew the reins out of the hands’ (Zuegel aus der Hand kauen lassen) and the ‘Rein Release’ (Ueberstreichen).” These of course were two very important ideas he repeated with his students throughout the many hours of the riding clinic today.

 

Most impressively, Politz is extraordinarily patient with his students and prefers his students be extraordinarily patient with their horses, leaving little doubt he holds to the idea that the purpose of dressage is first to better the horse and then the rider.

 

In an article titled “On the Road to Grand Prix” in June 2004’s USDF Connection Politz discusses how this is observed in the training process for the horse,

 

Educating a young horse to Grand Prix is a fascinating undertaking. Consider that dressage riding is the only activity in which one neurological system – that of the rider – takes charge of another being’s neurological functions – those of the horse. When perfect harmony between the two is achieved, we can enter the realm of art. It is rather similar to creating a beautiful statue from a block of marble – except, of course, that this work of art is a living creature: the horse… I hope that my suggestions will help you to create a work of art without chipping off any essential pieces in the process. In terms of training your horse, this means respecting him as a living creature and caring for him in the best possible way, not taking any shortcuts, and not making any physical or psychological demands with which he cannot cope at the moment.

 

  

Be they applied to dressage, western pleasure or anything in between, these are ideas of course which wouldn’t hurt anyone to heed regardless of his style or manner of equitation.  

 

 

 

 

Related:

 

United States Dressage Federation

 

Gerhard Politz Official Website

 

Posted by Martin at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)