Thor’s Hall

Evidently something unusual has been taking place at PSU.  Even though I matriculated from PSU oh so many moons ago, I tend to skim through news items and ignore the goings on there.  The school and I parted ways when I left Portland.  This morning, I am running through my rss feeds and Say Uncle pops up with a story at confrontations at PSU.

I am intrigued and click the link up pops an Oregon Live page with the story.  I read through thinking (among other things) :  Interesting stuff…. Oh Shit, I know him….  FBI Informant….  WTF???

I finish the article, kind of shake my head at the reported chain of events and reactions of some people and then look at the web page again.  Right there at the top of the page is an advertisement that looks like this:

Now it gets really weird.  My mother was the Office Manager for the PYP for many years.  My sister played violin in the PYP for many years.

To semi randomly find a link from a blogger that I believe is in Tennesse, that links to an article about someone I know, in Oregon, at a place that I have not been for 15 years or more is amazing.

To run across an advertisement on that same article that relates so closely to my family history….  very, very weird.

Over at Flopping Aces, there is an interesting post up discussing the phenomenon of complacency within America.  What caught my eye was:

During our political discussion Steve said to me “why do you even care about politics?  Why even try to stop this stuff? There’s nothing you can do.  You should just live your life and go with the flow.”  I told him “that’s exactly why I care.  I just want to live my life.  I don’t want the government involved in every aspect of my life.  Who are they to tell me how to live my life?  Who are they to tell me what to do with my money? … I care because if everyone had this “give in” attitude we would already be living under tyranny.”

The thought of Steve’s “just give in because there’s nothing you can do about it” attitude has been swirling around in my head for a while now.  It’s shameful that any American’s feel this way.  It is infuriating that any man would prefer a life of uninterrupted subservience to government authority  over one of turmoil in defense of their own rights and that of their descendant’s.  Yet it seems that many American’s have this attitude.  Our founding fathers recognized this unfortunate trait that many human beings possess.  They recognized that people would often prefer to do nothing rather than stand in their own defense.

It reminds me of many things:

1. My attitude towards politics 20+ years ago.
2. The self-centered attitude of much of our society.
3. The lack of leaders within our society.

It is also reminiscent of a clip that I posted a while back, of Mike Rowe discussing the concept of “work” in America.  It’s a little long but worth the time.

My thought is this, you get out of life what you put into it.  In turn your actions influence others, either by example or by competition.  If you want to sit in the mobile home all day and watch Jerry Springer, then that’s the influence that you will bring to your children and to your social circle.  On the other hand, you can work to better yourself and your friends and family.  This will in turn have a ripple effect through society.  Like the expanding ripples in a still pond.

Is it hard to do?  Hell ya.

Is it worth it the effort and pain?  Somedays you question the path but, yeah it’s all worth it.

Can anything you do “make a difference”?  Everything that you do makes a difference in someone’s life everyday.  Some days the ripples are small, other days they are far reaching and very large.

It’s up to you.  Influencing your immediate environment.  Influencing politicians.  Sharing your visions on issues with your elected officials.  Being the “squeaky wheel”.  All these actions will have an impact.  It’s up to you but, don’t ever be complacent.

The word awesome has had some interesting evolution in it’s use throughout my lifetime.  After seeing the picture below, I cannot think of a better one work description.

An interesting Supreme Court case coming up.  I’ve been following it as it has ramped up but, this month (tomorrow) the oral arguments are actually scheduled.

There are some good discussions of the issues in question out there.  The best that I have found so far is here.

Go read it.  This issue is about so much more than “gun rights” and is one of those opportunities that the SCOTUS rarely has to address precedents that are widely recognized as “bad law”.  The complete impact of this decision will be interesting to see in the coming decades.

I have avoided addressing the Haiti situation because it has pretty much been covered elsewhere in excruciating detail.  So let’s cover the highlights:

1. Natural disaster strikes.
2. US immediately sorties assets to evaluate situation.
3. Concurrently follow on assets readied to address anticipated logistical requirements.
4. US forces recalled, deployed, and diverted from current missions to assist.
5. International community complains loudly about US controlling and monopolizing the logistics train.
6. Affected locals complain about insufficient assistance, and slow support.
7. Celebrities and news crews on site for “in depth” coverage and photo ops.
8. US picks up costs of effort without comment.

Now all of this is necessary, and given the magnitude of the event it takes some time to get assets in place, assistance moving, and the situation stabilized.  That is the nature of anything that impacts so many people.  But, to stabilize the situation and get to the point that widespread basic services can be restored, and long term rebuilding can begin these steps have to happen.

But there is that short term period of time before the supply chain gets rolling where small teams of individuals, with the right mindset, the right skill set, and the support of a grass roots team can make all the difference in the world.

This is the story of Team Rubicon, the Marines, soldiers, and volunteers that are making a difference.

Back in the days before we became “politically correct” things were handled a bit differently.

In the “Incredible Files”…..

This story out of Washington state has me befuddled with the mindset of America’s elected officials.

SEATTLE — Decades ago, poor children became known as “disadvantaged” to soften the stigma of poverty. Then they were “at risk.” Now, a Washington lawmaker wants to replace those euphemisms with a new one, “at hope.”

Democratic State Sen. Rosa Franklin says negative labels are hurting kids’ chances for success and has proposed rewriting 54 places in state law where words like “at risk” and “disadvantaged” are used.

The bill has gotten a warm welcome among fellow lawmakers, state officials and advocacy groups.

“We really put too many negatives on our kids,” says Franklin, who is the state Senate’s president pro tem. “We need to come up with positive terms.”

Really, isn’t there more important things for representatives to spend their time doing.  Is this the most pressing concern of this woman’s constituents?

The creativity of the human race never fails to amaze me.

The acquiesnce of the American public continues to flabergast me.

Out in my old stomping grounds of Seattle we find this  recent story:

A man used a large rock to rob a Bellingham shoe store over the weekend, according to Bellingham police.

Come On Man!  This wasn’t a projectile being fired from a slingshot.  Just one guy threatening another with a rock and as a result conducting a successful robbery.

It does not matter what you “control” guns, knives, spears, crossbows… there is always something to be used as a weapon.  And there often someone who will allow themselves to be a victim.

There have always been social and cultural issues within this nation. Whenever you construct a nation out of immigrants with distinct cultures, and historical bias you will always run into conflict. Perhaps in my wisdom gathering maturity I am becoming more attuned to the signs and symptoms of some of these issues. One of the things that is rolling through my head is, as this administration moves their socialist agenda forward how will society react?

Today we see this article in NYC.  A young man with a group of youths is discovered in a stairwell at 0230.  When confronted by authorities our young man  rabbits.   He is pursued, and he then draws a weapon and attempts to fire it a law enforcement. When the weapon malfunctions and he is being apprehended, his mother is heard encouraging him (or others) to shoot the cop.

In one camp you have the group like the above story mentions that is comfortable with social welfare, and the things that they need to do to survive. Let’s hypothetically expand that for a moment and include a broader population of those that “accept” social programs. What happens when authority steps in to say:

• “I am sorry Mrs. Jones, you will not be allowed to have the Chemo treatment that may extend your life for 5 more years. The government board has determined that we have to stop treatment”.

• After waiting in line for 10 hours and holding your little “number” in hand you hear: “The offices are closed now, please come back tomorrow and we might be able to help you with xyz”.  This happens today with Immigration services.

• You hear: “Well folks I have good news and bad news. The good news is we have found a liver transplant for you. The bad news, is that even with all of the expediting that we can do to get the organ here and all of the approvals in place, and bump the procedures that are already scheduled the liver will no longer be viable by the time we are able to transplant it. There just isn’t time to get the paperwork done”.

• You hear: “Mr. Smith, I am afraid that your appendectomy will have to wait a few more hours. Congressman X’s son broke his hand, and his procedure to put the pins in and set the bones is going to delay things”.

In the other camp you have the folks who oppose socialism. These have often been characterized as “the silent majority”. They include the folks who are attending “Tea Parties”, have an understanding of the US Constitution, and are becoming more vocal and visible.  These are the folks who understand the need for enforcing existing laws, and repealing those that should no longer be on the books.

Within each of these broad classifications you have subgroups and cultures that have their own opinions about courses of action.  Some of these take extreme points of views, and others take more moderate view points.   But, the real question rolling around my brain is: What happens when the majority of both groups reach the breaking point, and this administration continues to ignore them?

A corollary question. What happens when an event occurs that is the focus flash point for a group and that flash point ignites the nation? What is that event? A food shortage? A fuel shortage? A power failure? A Rodney King type of incident?  What happens when a percentage of law enforcement or the military see their “orders” as being in conflict with their oath?

I won’t even go down the road of what else might occur to either trigger an event, or compound the damage and duration of a flash point event.

The principles that founded this nation, and the way in which we have grown through the years leave us at a stage where there is no easy answer, and no silver bullet of a solution. There are however, courses of action that can steer us away from the dangers that our government seems to be steering us toward. But, those thoughts are food for another post.

Here’s one that got my blood simmering this morning.

It seems that some of the good folks at the University of California at San Diego have determined that the folks who cross our southern border without going through official channels need a bit of survival help.  To that end they have devised a toll to assist them in locating water stations.

Now this is all very humanitarian of these researchers and so forth, and having run across many bands of these folks wandering the deserts and the orange groves down in Yuma, it is a problem.  On the flip side, if these immigrants are to pursue the “American Dream” let them come through the appropriate border crossings.  If they are “political refugees” and are fleeing something specific then let’s put together the appropriate refugee care centers, and get them the care and protection that they need.  While the “crisis” is resolved.

However, the use of government funding to produce a device that aids in illegal border crossings is wrong.  Additionally, it is a symptom of what is failing in this great republic of ours.