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The efficiencies that we've developed over the past 100 or so years in manufacturing and marketing have created a level of lifestyle quality that is incredible for most people in developed countries. There are poor among us, but even the people in pretty poor circumstances are generally much better off than their counterparts a century ago. Your life may not seem amazing, but thing of how someone transported to your house from 100 years ago would think you must be a god to live the way we live today.
This post was inspired by two things: my discomfort with big retailers backing up "black Friday" into Thanksgiving evening, and a very short but good post that Seth Godin posted on Thanksgiving: A great way to give thanks....
The thing about business that most professional politicians and most people in academia never get is that businesses are created for one reason and one reason only: to make money... to make a profit. Businesses are not necessarily concerned with the long-range social implications of their marketing strategies or product offerings - they're concerned with making payroll and having some cash left over for profit.
As businesses competed and found better ways to produce their products and sell their products they exploited physics, science, ergonomics, psychology, as well as basic human nature. That's not a bad thing, business is not evil.
But just as technology progresses at a logarithmic pace, so does the down-side of all this progress in production and marketing. A good portion of the buying public has been reduced to mice in a maze, or, Pavlov's dog. Like Pavlov ringing that bell to make the dog slobber, retailers pull out discounts of desperation to fill their stores with supposedly sane people at 10pm or midnight on Thanksgiving night. And it works - people fight for their place in line and act like animals.
So what's wrong with this? The problem is that this is indicative of the decline of independence and common sense in our society. We've become slaves to merchandisers, governments, and the media. They ring the bell, we slobber and beg. They say it's blue and a good portion of the population will agree that's its blue even when it's obviously red.
I don't think that there's anything really wrong with a store opening at 10pm on Thanksgiving night and offering crazy discounts, as long as it pans out for the store in the long run. But this dog will not slobber when that bell goes ding! In fact, I think it should work the other way around, I think the retailer should slobber when we ring the bell!
North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue Calls for Suspending Elections...
Who remembers how Hitler and other elected officials in history went from being elected officials to dictators? That's right class; one way is that they suspended elections.
On September 27, 2011, North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue did exactly that, she called for suspending elections for two years...
"You have to have more ability from Congress, I think, to work together and to get over the partisan bickering and focus on fixing things. I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that. The one good thing about Raleigh is that for so many years we worked across party lines. It's a little bit more contentious now but it's not impossible to try to do what's right in this state. You want people who don't worry about the next election."
As a North Carolinian, I've never been happy that Perdue was elected Governor... in fact, I've been rather distraught about it... this just proves I was right.
Perdue says she was joking, but if you listen to her speaking, it's clear she was not joking. And if she was joking, there are some things you just don't joke about. Her office said she was using hyperbole, I don't believe that either.
She reasons that if we suspended elections for Congress for two years, that they could get something done if they didn't have to worry about being reelected. She just wants to focus on "fixing things"... right... They know that if the Democratic Party keeps doing what they've been doing that they will loose more seats and offices.
Mrs. Perdue, the whole system is based on the citizens being able to vote. If your party could fix things, they would have by now... just the fact that you could even suggest this shows how twisted and distorted your party's view of our Republic has become. I don't want to even think about the damage you could do if your party didn't have to "worry about being re-elected".
I think that Governor Perdue was not kidding and knew exactly what she was saying. The fact is, Mrs. Perdue's suggestion to suspend elections was a test "shot across the bow" because they know that in November 2012 we'll put a stop to the dismantling, destruction, and socialization of America by the Democratic Party.
The group "Americans for Limited Government" is already calling for Perdue to be impeached by the North Carolina Legislature for her remarks.
Mrs. Perdue, you need to go ahead and resign right now. It's unacceptable for a sitting Governor to even suggest suspending elections. If you're still in office in November 2012, you will be defeated. True Americans will not tolerate any farther erosion of our rights, and the right to vote is paramount to our Liberty and Freedom.
Sept 26, 2011 a heckler interrupted Obama at a fundraiser shouting (and I may not have this exactly correct) "The Christian God is the true one and only living God, the Creator of Heaven and the universe... Jesus Christ is God... you are the anti-Christ because..." his voice fades as the crowd gets louder and I can't get the rest of what the man said.
I'm giving a Big Double Barreled Salute to the Heckler!
Here's the video:
As the heckler is escorted away, the Obamanites start chanting "4 more years" over and over. Obama is worried about a jacket that he thinks belongs to the guy... I find that very odd. Why does he care about the guy's jacket? I think he's rattled and is trying to appear like he's not. When you're nervous your mind goes into auto-pilot and plus, he's off prompter at that point.
Then, Obama starts back into his speech and then stops and tries to agree with the man saying "Jesus Christ is the Lord, I believe in that...". That's not what the heckler said, the heckler said "Jesus Christ is God"... big difference... Obama is flippant as usual. What's the difference? Saying "Jesus Christ is Lord, I believe in that" is very non-committal, it does not convey that Obama believes in the One True Christian God, it does not convey that Obama believes in Jesus. Some people might say I'm splitting hairs, but I'm not. It's just like saying "love you" instead of "I love you" when someone tells you they love you, or, when signing a letter or card... it's a sidestep, an easy way out. "I love you" says and sends a much stronger message and commitment than "love you", which is flippant and casual... the same as Obama saying "yea uh-uh, Jesus Christ is the Lord, I believe in that...". Big, Big difference.
I read in some of the comments on facebook, or somewhere, that this just reaffirms Obama's Christian beliefs... I feel just the opposite, I think it confirms his lack of Christian faith, or, lets him squeak by looking sort of Christian while maintaining his other faith(s).
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure. I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message.
This is one idea that really should be passed around. Congressional Reform Act of 2011
No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make these contracts with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it is time. THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!!If you agree with the above, pass it on.
I've heard is said that if you want a preacher who can really help you, one who can reach you at a level that will engage you enough to change for the better, find a preacher who's done some sinning.
The same goes for freedom. To really value freedom you must have experienced the loss of freedom, or the horrors of war trying to liberate those with no freedom. Or really listened to and learned from those who have experienced these things.
You can't sugar-coat life; it ranges the gamut from beautiful and amazing to disgustingly ugly and brutal. Most of the time, for most people, it's somewhere in the middle. The political correctness in this country forces us to stay in the middle. You can't speak the truth if it's less than pretty. The truth needs to be heard, even if it's ugly. The truth will set you free. Unfortunately there's a large contingent of entitlement minded people who do not want the truth, who do not want freedom, even though they think they do, they have no concept of what freedom is, they just want to be taken care of because, well... just because they feel they're entitled. Give them the truth and they'll scream and cry and protest that you're violating their rights or being racist. The truth can be beautiful or cold, hard, and ugly... but the truth is just that, the truth. Like it or not, eventually it will catch up to us all.
A lot of people in this country today take freedom for granted. They think it's guaranteed by law, by our military, by a piece of old paper held behind bullet-proof glass, or by our elected officials. It's not.
What does guarantee our freedom? We do - you and me, the citizens of this country. Nothing more. Our votes guarantee our freedom... our votes for elected officials who will preserve (at this point restore) our freedoms and guard our rights.
That's why the founders of this country structured it the way they did. That's why they were strong believers in the right for citizens to arm themselves.
It's also why the founders of this country valued freedom of religion and separation of Church and state. It was not intended to stop me from worshiping or displaying symbols of Christianity, but rather to stop the government from controlling or creating an organized, state-sanctioned Church that could be used to control and manipulate the governed. Today we should have a separation of media and state... because before the media, the Church could be used to perform manipulation.
We have less freedom today than we've ever had... however, if you were to conduct a poll on the streets of an average city, most people would not realize it. They're more concerned with political correctness and their self-interests than with the truth. This same majority of people do not realize that our over-sized government, outrageously high taxes, and business-limiting laws and regulations are clipping the wings of this country, crippling the very thing they take for granted and, in most cases, unknowingly rely upon.
I'm deeply afraid for this country. However there are beacons of hope. But like an alcoholic, I'm afraid that we will probably hit rock-bottom before, as a country, we start to change. Before we shed the entitlement and special-interest you-owe-me-something attitudes, before ignorance is recognized for what it is instead of being worshiped and praised (and elected). The question is: how close are we to rock-bottom now?
This July 4th will hopefully signal a turning point in the coming November elections of 2012... I hope and pray.
Read this post One Vote Matters that I wrote in 2008 specifically the section titled Have We Forgotten, it's something written by my maternal grandfather Clyde W. Kirkman (1915 - 1989) more than 30 years ago. He served in WWII. He was with the Army's 69th Infantry, 271st Division, Company C. He was in the Battle of the Bulge, the Battle of Leipzig, the Capture of the Monument of Nations at Leipzig, to name a few. It's a fitting read for Independence Day and the current state of our nation.
Happy 4th of July! Go to a parade or fireworks show! Spend it with family.
Is Osama Bin Laden - "The Turn" or "The Prestige"?
Have you ever watched the movie "The Prestige"? It's a very dark, disturbing, riveting, movie about two competing magicians set in the end of Nineteenth Century London. In the opening sequence, Michael Caine's expertly played character, explains the three parts of a successful magic trick. The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige. Below is the actual quote from the opening of the movie...
"Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."
Both magicians end up dead at the end of the movie... actually, part of the plot is that one of the magicians is actually a twin (helps pull off the tricks) and so actually, two out of the three ends up dead.
Over the past week or so, I couldn't help think about this movie and wonder about President Obama's birth certificate, Donald Trump, Osama Bin Laden, and us, the audience.
Are we watching as Obama spins a great magic trick in front of our eyes? Was he himself The Pledge? Was the forged Birth Certificate the Turn? Is Osama Bin Laden The Prestige?
I think the Birth Certificate is altered and a fake, below I explain why. Some think Osama was killed or died years ago and we've had him on ice... or, not. I'll get to that later.
The Forger
Almost as soon as President Obama released his Long Form Birth Certificate, people started finding problems with it. It wasn't long before there were screen capture videos on YouTube showing that if you opened the PDF in Adobe Illustrator you could see several layers of edits showing modifications to the underlying image of the document.
I opened it in Illustrator myself and verified what these videos show - it's there.
The White House also posted a 4 page PDF showing correspondence between Obama and Hawaii requesting the birth certificate.
This PDF was not Created in Hawaii...
But there's one thing I've not seen pointed out... The letter FROM The State of Hawaii TO Obama containing two computer-generated and certified copies of the Certificate of Live Birth is dated April 25, 2011... and... if you open the PDF from the White House web site, its file details show that it was created on April 29, 2011...
File Info Box in Adobe Illustrator displaying info about the PDF for Obama's Birth Certificate. Click image for larger image.
Why is this important? The biggest argument that Barack Obama's posted birth certificate is NOT a fake or a forgery is that OCR software automatically created the layers in the PDF file... that it was not an attempt to alter the original document.
What is OCR? OCR is Optical Character Recognition software. When you scan a printed document, you get a picture, not a bunch of text like you type in the computer, in other words, you have a photo of the text - just as if you take a picture of a printed letter. OCR software is used to analyze these types of images and generate the text that's in the image. It does a pretty good job of doing this on clean, well printed, documents.
OCR does not however, create layers with partial words and mismatched type... that would be useless.
This date proves that argument is false, as fake as the document. Why? The State of Hawaii may have used OCR when and if they scanned old birth certificates into their computer systems... and it's possible that they sent along a digital copy, but it's not mentioned in the letter from Loretta J. Fuddy, Director of Health. No, she clearly states that she's enclosed two certified copies. But... if they had included a electronic file, it would have been dated April 25th, or before, not April 29!
This proves that someone associated to President Obama scanned one of the copies mailed to him and modified it. In this situation, a person would not use OCR software to scan something like a birth certificate to create a PDF... you would only do that if you were creating a huge database of certificates like a state has to maintain... no, you would simply place it in a scanner, or a multi-function-all-in-one printer/fax/copier like a lot of offices have, and you would end up with a scanned image, a picture of the certificate like I described above. You would then save that image as a PDF file. There would be no layers, no edits, no nothing... unless you edited or changed it...
Osama... The Terrorist
What if... Osama Bin Laden, or Usama Bin Laden as some spell it, either died from kidney failure or was killed by our military years ago? Would George W. Bush have come on the TV at 10:30pm Sunday night to tell us all that Osama was dead? No, I think George W, even though he had a lot of faults, was, and is a man of honor. I think he would have realized that boasting about this would create more problems. George W loves this country. If indeed this happened years ago at the hands of special ops, the men that carried it out would probably prefer to carry the knowledge of their mission(s) to their graves as opposed to bragging. I think "W" falls into this same category - I believe that he puts country before self, unlike Obama.
Obama had to call the press to the White House at 10:30pm on a Sunday... Keep in mind that the actual, alleged killing (this time) took place two weeks ago. The sense of urgency was not there. Then he made everyone wait almost an hour. More of The Turn perhaps, or, is this the Prestige?
I don't know what to believe on this. I think it's very odd that we spent almost 10 years trying to find and kill this guy and when we get him, we dump him overboard at sea. Huh? Of course, who knows what, or who, was actually buried at sea... I do know that not much of this adds up.
I think George W's objective was to make the country and the world safer - sure he made mistakes and did things we didn't like. I think Obama's objective is something else entirely - bad things happen when wimps try to act tough - remember Carter?
Men of Honor don't need to brag, gangsters and thugs do. If the killing of Osama did actually happen as Obama said, then he should have never said it: it should have been kept quiet.
"You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."
