With the onset of the season of winter in many parts of the nation (about a month or more ago here in interior Alaska), I thought it might be beneficial to provide links to my earlier "Staying Warm" series, put out last winter. I've made no effort to revisit or edit them, so here they are, as written...
C.O.L.D.
The Head
The Core
Hands and Feet
Sleeping
Fueling the Furnace
There are a few more I want to write, such as one covering PT in the cold, one on tactical considerations, and one covering road travel. I'll write about travel in the next month or so, as I am about to make a trip 2,000 miles down the Alaska Highway pulling quite a load....with the entire family, and pets as well. Even the family bunny. Assuming I survive with sanity intact, I'm sure to have a few lessons learned to add to what I learned as a soldier in Arctic conditions.
Stay warm this winter, and stay in the fight.
Don't stop your training and PT just because its cold. Rest assured the bad people aren't. Your body will work in the cold, if you subjugate it to your will and take care of it. Your weapons will run in the cold, if they're brought out of the house and taken care of. Learning that your body and your tools are subject to your will is more valuable in itself than the physical processes of training and PT.
Monday, October 31, 2011
An encounter with the Welchkin...
"It ain't that big. The whole United States ain't that big. It ain't that big. It ain't big enough. There ain't room enough for you an' me, for your kind an' my kind, for rich and poor together all in one country, for thieves and honest men. For hunger and fat."
- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 12
Report from boots on the ground.
Yesterday...Congressman Peter Welch was HOLDING COURT for all of the unwashed MASSES, at R.J. Market in Waterbury Vermont.
When I walked in Peter had his table set up near the produce isle. What I noticed was odd. No Margaret Cheny his wife, no reporters, no MINIONS....Just Peter, and a woman who was his go-for.
The Congressman was talking to someone, so I went and got what I needed.. When I got back, they were just finishing. I went up to the Congressman, introduced myself and said I have several question I would like to ask you, and he smiled, nodded ok...His go-for brought him a coffee, he took a drink, and asked her "What the HELL is this"?? She replied it was coffee. He said "No it isn't, its HORRIBLE". She told him it was Green Mountain Coffee. He handed me the coffee, I told him if it is horrible, I am not going to drink it. I smelled the coffe, and told him it smell burned, or "Theey must have boiled it to long. By boiling water over and over again, thats how they make HOLY WATER". By the look on his face, he did not like that comment.
"Whats your questions" he asked me. The first question I asked him was since we are pulling out of Iraq, how long is it going to be, before we are back there. His answer was, "The Iraqis have been trained, and will be able to fight for their own freedom"...REALLY.... (How did that Vietnamization thing work out?? Ed)
Then I asked him about the Vehicle Mileage Tax.
"That will not pass this year because of the Republican controlled House. Maybe after 2012, we will see what happens. But we are talking about it. We need to do away with the Fuel Tax".
I told him I never have seen a tax GO AWAY.
The last question was....GUN WALKER...FAST AND FURIOUS.
"It was a TRAGIC.. TERRIBLE...AWFUL.. Its over...we stopped the funding...ITS OVER"...I asked him "Its over in Florida also". Now you can see he is getting AGITATED with me. "Yes I told you its over". I asked him if Eric Holder should cooperate with the hearings.
"Eric said he doesn't know anything about GUN WALKER, and I believe him."
At this point LIL PETEY backed up 2 to 3 feet from me and folded his arms (HE SHUT DOWN), until then he was cordial to me and in his answers. I then asked him if Janet Napolitano had any knowledge of GUN WALKER, and again he stated "NO SHE KNEW NOTHING EITHER"....Then he came out with this GEM.....
"Why are you trying to POLITICIZE THIS". I stated "Well Sir if this A.G. was a REPUBLICAN you guys would be screaming for his BLOOD, from the very beginning, But since he is a Democrat. I am hearing CRICKETS for YOU GUYS".
"All the evidence I am seeing, and reading about points to Holder, Napolitano, and the President all knew, knows about GUN WALKER. So you can spin this anyway YOU want, The TRUTH WILL COME OUT..."
I then said, "This sir is all about POLITICS." He then walked away from me.
As I was walking out his go-for came up to me and said, "Congressman Welch would like your name, and email address", then handed me a piece of paper. It was a Federal Form. I looked at her, and said "Really, what an honor", looked at the form again, and said "NO I DON'T THINK SO........And left.
Report by Angelo--Of The Watchers--
...LiL Petey got where he is by following orders. He is Pat Leahy's body servant and overall YES man. Pete has mastered the the concept of plausible deniability to the Ninth degree.
"It would be easier to encounter me than Peter Welch's spine or moral compass."
Some things change, but Peter Welch from the Golden Dome to Mordor on the Potomac stays the same...
Haunting Music for the Coming Winter
On a slightly off-topic note, I ran across what may be one of the most haunting scores of music in existence.
It is called "Adiago for Strings" by a man named Samuel Barber.
If any readers have video/music compilation skills, I would be interested in speaking with you about a few projects based on this score. I think what I have in mind could be quite powerful.
Here are two slideshows set to the score. I think they are very appropriate. Listen to the music; let it surround you, let it fill your being. Embrace the exquisite beauty and the wrenching sorrow. This piece has grasped me wholly, and will not let me go.
Winter is coming.
Wonderful, brutal, primal, cleansing winter.
Embrace it.
Welcome it.
It is our last best hope, and it is our destiny as a culture.
Winter is coming.
Resist.
It is called "Adiago for Strings" by a man named Samuel Barber.
If any readers have video/music compilation skills, I would be interested in speaking with you about a few projects based on this score. I think what I have in mind could be quite powerful.
Here are two slideshows set to the score. I think they are very appropriate. Listen to the music; let it surround you, let it fill your being. Embrace the exquisite beauty and the wrenching sorrow. This piece has grasped me wholly, and will not let me go.
Winter is coming.
Wonderful, brutal, primal, cleansing winter.
Embrace it.
Welcome it.
It is our last best hope, and it is our destiny as a culture.
Winter is coming.
Resist.
so you wannabe a SEAL?
So Lynn Thompson, chief owner and bottle washer of "Cold Steel Knives" has a blog and posted a video with some training tricks. MadOgre, the "blogfather" himself commented on how utterly stupid some of the advice shown on the video located here: http://blog.lynncthompson.com/2011/08/glock.html
I'm not a professional firearms instructor (although Ogre is), nor do I play one on TV (or YouTube). I am however well trained in training riflemen for the US Army although it is not my primary function. My primary function is to ensure that my NCOs are proficient at training marksmanship (and usually they are, but sometimes they too need corrective training).
As far as Lynn's level of fitness, that is his issue. I've seen morbidly obese service members from every branch. The good thing about having a gun is that it kind of negates the advantage the other guys has in how many pushups he can do every morning.
The idea of "suppressive fire" is simple. Shoot to make the other guy keep his head down while your buddy flanks left (or sometimes right, we mix it up like that cause we can) who can then take a kill shot so you can move on to the next objective and do it all over again. This is a war zone tactic that is the very basis for "fire and maneuver" which means a STATIONARY base of fire and a MANEUVER element flanking. It ain't rocket surgery. Some people think "fire and maneuver" means shooting on the move, but that is not the case. You will shoot and move for CQB, but I don't care how good you get, you will never be as accurate or as effective as when you are stationary. Practice enough and you can get pretty darn good, and at pistol ranges that is "good enough for government work."
Now, at NO POINT IN ANY CIVILIAN SITUATION should you use "Fire and Maneuver" to "reduce a threat" because simply put you are not at war. If you are at war please disregard and go about your business. If you are a law enforcement officer and the Zeta's come to town, hit me up and I'll give you some good pointers on how to use fire and maneuver (and hopefully dedicated marksmen) to keep you from becoming another decapitated corpse hanging from a bridge.
However, if you aren't fighting off a ruthless Mexican Drug Cartel you probably don't have any reason to practice "fire and maneuver" or "suppressive fire" when defending your life or the lives of others. Shoot to stop the threat. If that means "shoot to kill" that is what you do. Don't shoot the dirt, don't shoot to warn, shoot to stop the threat.
I have seen Navy SEALs use the "stitch" technique to clear corners. It is like "pieing" the corners except you are pulling the trigger the whole time to keep whoever is on the other side of the corner from being able to pull their trigger back at you. This works when you have a lot of men with MP5's and plenty of ammo. It doesn't work when you have a 5 shot 38 Special revolver as your carry piece. And that extended mag on Lynn's Glock? Probably not something you are going to carry day in and day out unless you happen to by Jared Loughner....
Aim fast, shoot fast. Don't spray and pray. Don't "walk your rounds in" unless your rounds are coming from long distance assistance in the form of mortars or artillery. Remember that you are fighting to stop the threat, not kill Osama Bin Laden on a night raid in a foreign country.
I'm not a professional firearms instructor (although Ogre is), nor do I play one on TV (or YouTube). I am however well trained in training riflemen for the US Army although it is not my primary function. My primary function is to ensure that my NCOs are proficient at training marksmanship (and usually they are, but sometimes they too need corrective training).
As far as Lynn's level of fitness, that is his issue. I've seen morbidly obese service members from every branch. The good thing about having a gun is that it kind of negates the advantage the other guys has in how many pushups he can do every morning.
The idea of "suppressive fire" is simple. Shoot to make the other guy keep his head down while your buddy flanks left (or sometimes right, we mix it up like that cause we can) who can then take a kill shot so you can move on to the next objective and do it all over again. This is a war zone tactic that is the very basis for "fire and maneuver" which means a STATIONARY base of fire and a MANEUVER element flanking. It ain't rocket surgery. Some people think "fire and maneuver" means shooting on the move, but that is not the case. You will shoot and move for CQB, but I don't care how good you get, you will never be as accurate or as effective as when you are stationary. Practice enough and you can get pretty darn good, and at pistol ranges that is "good enough for government work."
Now, at NO POINT IN ANY CIVILIAN SITUATION should you use "Fire and Maneuver" to "reduce a threat" because simply put you are not at war. If you are at war please disregard and go about your business. If you are a law enforcement officer and the Zeta's come to town, hit me up and I'll give you some good pointers on how to use fire and maneuver (and hopefully dedicated marksmen) to keep you from becoming another decapitated corpse hanging from a bridge.
However, if you aren't fighting off a ruthless Mexican Drug Cartel you probably don't have any reason to practice "fire and maneuver" or "suppressive fire" when defending your life or the lives of others. Shoot to stop the threat. If that means "shoot to kill" that is what you do. Don't shoot the dirt, don't shoot to warn, shoot to stop the threat.
I have seen Navy SEALs use the "stitch" technique to clear corners. It is like "pieing" the corners except you are pulling the trigger the whole time to keep whoever is on the other side of the corner from being able to pull their trigger back at you. This works when you have a lot of men with MP5's and plenty of ammo. It doesn't work when you have a 5 shot 38 Special revolver as your carry piece. And that extended mag on Lynn's Glock? Probably not something you are going to carry day in and day out unless you happen to by Jared Loughner....
Aim fast, shoot fast. Don't spray and pray. Don't "walk your rounds in" unless your rounds are coming from long distance assistance in the form of mortars or artillery. Remember that you are fighting to stop the threat, not kill Osama Bin Laden on a night raid in a foreign country.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Dump DC: What Are Unalienable Rights
Russ Longcore over at Dump DC examines "rights", and their nature.
He does an excellent job parsing "unalienable" and "inalienable" rights, and does so from several angles. He breaks down these rights and correlates them to the ever-relevant Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
To understand a subject, sometimes it is necessary to break it down to the most basic level. Then it can be reconstructed. This piece is an excellent example of this. I encourage you to read it. What's more, I encourage you to save it somewhere, and review it from time to time.
Knowing what you believe is important.
Knowing why you believe the way you do is even more critical.
He does an excellent job parsing "unalienable" and "inalienable" rights, and does so from several angles. He breaks down these rights and correlates them to the ever-relevant Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
To understand a subject, sometimes it is necessary to break it down to the most basic level. Then it can be reconstructed. This piece is an excellent example of this. I encourage you to read it. What's more, I encourage you to save it somewhere, and review it from time to time.
Knowing what you believe is important.
Knowing why you believe the way you do is even more critical.
We only have the rights we are willing to defend.
We only have the rights we are willing to kill and die for.
Government cannot grant rights.
Rights must be secured from tyrants and bought with blood.
Government cannot take away your rights.
You must choose to give them away.
If two men vote a third into slavery, he is justified in resistance.
If a thousand do likewise, the one may still resist.
If two hundred and thirty million voters consign one person to slavery, he is justified in resisting by any means available.
No matter what is legislated, no matter what voters decide, you are free.Resist.
Only you, through conscious choice, can change that.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Dragging Theory into the Streets
Recent discussions centered around a post of mine have caused me to think. This post is not directed to any one person, rather, it is another instance of me "thinking out loud" on a public forum. The wisdom of that is up for debate... I thank the people involved for the thoughts they have provoked, as this subject is a rather meaningful one to me personally. I usually prefer to avoid addressing it directly, in the manner I am doing here. Still, I think it is important, although uncomfortable. I am addressing it from a purely secular and physical (as much as it can be made to be so) viewpoint. Perhaps later I can address it from a Judeo-Christian and biblical viewpoint. I hope someone, somewhere, gets something out of this. It's been good for me to write it, in any case. Having sufficiently prefaced my post, I'll quit the idle chatter and get to it...
____________________________________________________________________________
In this post I want to share my thoughts around violence, preparing for it, and its aftermath. The reader may find application in a anticipated struggle for liberty, a coming cataclysmic global struggle, a Rawles-esque SHTF scenario, fighting off mutant zombie biker hordes, a home invasion, or even a heated flame war on AR15.com (ok, maybe this isn't meant to address something that traumatic). Whatever. I hope it is helpful and relevant to someone. It is to me.
There is a Solzhenitsyn quote that is often quoted and offered up these days.
“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?... The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”It sounds good on forums and on blogs. It sounds good in the theoretical realm. We can read his words, and sit and say, "Now we have no excuse".
It's not so clean cut in reality. Many of those agents of the state might be considered by many to be "good people". Very few could be categorically declared as wholly evil. After all, when we condemn someone as evil, we also condemn a bit of ourselves. Cue another Solzhenitsyn quote:
“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”Yet resistance to tyranny necessarily involves bad things happening to "good people". So do many "critical" survival situations. On both sides, like it or not.
This brings me to bring to your attention a document on the subject, brought to my attention via Kerodin's blog. I would encourage each and every person willing to struggle for liberty to read it and consider the implications, regardless of the original source (some of the nice folks in the "Occupy" movement). Consider that it is not the intent of this post to either advocate or discourage any individual's course of action or inaction. This post is meant to provoke serious thought in a society that hides its baggage behind doing anything but being serious. Violence and struggle come with serious implications. Physical, mental, social, and spiritual implications. No action or philosophy exists in a vacuum. When Concerned American implores you to harden yourself, I believe a big part of that hardening is mental acceptance and preparation for taking talk of liberty and struggle out of the realm of sanitized history book chapters, and placing it squarely into the realm of the guilt and pain one feels upon doing bad things to "bad people". These people may not, incidentally, be wholly "bad".
Nevertheless, any struggle against tyranny takes place at the personal level. The level of tears, blinding pain, sinking guilt, unrelenting remorse, and the helpless feeling that you can never undo what has been done. No struggle against tyranny exists at the philosophical level. No struggle for survival exists solely in the theoretical. That is just where the groundwork is laid and plans are made.
Whether you're preparing for SHTF, RevWar 3, WW3, or just the generic and open-ended "bad times", this is important. My point here is not to target the enforcers of tyranny. It is to encourage the application of cold water to the face of complacency, to try to bring the words bandied about on the forums and blogosphere to real life.
Harden yourselves. Make your decisions now, when it is easy. These decisions are, of necessity, intensely personal, and can be absolutely paralyzing. It's not something that can or should be coerced or forced upon anyone. Especially not by me, a mostly unknown and wholly inconsequential blogger. (Being a blogger, I still say that with a hint of disdain...)
It is easier than living a life under the cloud of remorse. Remorse that just will never leave you alone.
Steel your mind, body, and resolve now, or determine now to bow out. Whether you're a "scalper" (WRSA regulars will likely catch the reference) or a nonresistant pacifist, knowing where you stand is important. I've been in both camps at some point. Either direction, or a decision to sit somewhere in between, is intensely personal. I personally wouldn't judge either way. Sometimes pacifists and "cowards" are the biggest heroes. Cue Audie Murphy. Often, the big hero "talkers" freeze under pressure. Cue some people I will not name.
Solving for oneself the question of violence and force is likely the most consequential decision you may never need to act upon. Knowing though, reduces your chances of living with guilt one way or the other, forever. I know for a fact that you absolutely cannot shake that type of remorse. Once assumed, it is a heavy, unrelenting, crushing burden.
Read the document. Think. Pull struggle and violence out of the history books, and out of theory. Drag it into the streets where it belongs, and expose it for what it is. It's never pretty, fun, dramatic, or sometimes, even apparent (until it's right in your face, and then you cannot believe that it's really happening.). I believe it is coming.
Ugly.
Horrible.
The worst and best of humanity.
Struggle.
Life.
Winter is coming.
Resist.
The collapse of the dollar..
There is a lot of talk by people who know that there is a coming collapse in the derivatives market. What a lot of folks aren't talking about is the range of options that a collapse can bring.
It could be a house of cards that falls down and leaves nothing. A true worldwide collapse. I think this is unlikely.
It could be a complete devaluation of the Dollar and the start of a reboot of the American financial system. "Nuevo Dollores" so to speak.
Or it could just be another "too big to fail" moment and some behind the scenes deals are made and the public gets screwed.
Or it could be much ado about nothing. After all, this is imaginary money we are talking about. The court system may handle this in the normal fashion of broken contracts and bankruptcy. I mean, 78 Trillion dollars doesn't exist, so it makes sense that as one company folds under and that debt falls into bankruptcy protection that the whole exposure on the derivatives market will be more of a controlled implosion than a sudden crisis.
So what will it really mean? Well I think there is a high likelihood that the dollar will lose a lot of international confidence and suffer as a result. I also think that people who have their money in the stock market will be somewhat insulated as the market increases in value to the same rate that the dollar declines. I think that commodities will be insulated simply because they are commodities.
It could be a house of cards that falls down and leaves nothing. A true worldwide collapse. I think this is unlikely.
It could be a complete devaluation of the Dollar and the start of a reboot of the American financial system. "Nuevo Dollores" so to speak.
Or it could just be another "too big to fail" moment and some behind the scenes deals are made and the public gets screwed.
Or it could be much ado about nothing. After all, this is imaginary money we are talking about. The court system may handle this in the normal fashion of broken contracts and bankruptcy. I mean, 78 Trillion dollars doesn't exist, so it makes sense that as one company folds under and that debt falls into bankruptcy protection that the whole exposure on the derivatives market will be more of a controlled implosion than a sudden crisis.
So what will it really mean? Well I think there is a high likelihood that the dollar will lose a lot of international confidence and suffer as a result. I also think that people who have their money in the stock market will be somewhat insulated as the market increases in value to the same rate that the dollar declines. I think that commodities will be insulated simply because they are commodities.
The Occupy Movements and the Universities
The Occupy Movements and the Universities
Mark Naison
Fordham University
The Occupation movements spreading around the nation and the world have the potential to revitalize University life, particularly those initiatives involving community activism and the arts.. The role of arts activists in Occupy Wall Street is a story that has not been fully told,. Community arts organizations in New York such as the South Bronx's Rebel Diaz Arts Collective and Brooklyn's Global Block Collective have been involved with Occupy Wall Street for almost a month, making music videos on the site, documenting the movement's growth through film, and trying to bring working class people and people of colore into the movement. The Occupation has become an essential stopping point for a wide variety of performing artists, none of whom have asked for payment for their appearances ( see videos below)
Musicians Occupy Wall Street - YouTube
2 min - Oct 13, 2011
Uploaded by okayafrica
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCRm_zXrwEc
Bronx Hip-Hop Duo Rebel Diaz, Live From Occupy Wall Street ...
3 min - Oct 6, 2011
Uploaded by democracynow
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkPzXW1hpbA
Occupy Wall St. Hip Hop Anthem: Occupation Freedom ... - YouTube
3 min - Oct 10, 2011
Uploaded by djvibetv
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pl0pHJg_
University faculty and participants in community outreach initiatives can only benefit from tapping into this tremendous source of energy and idealism. I have never seen students on my campus so excited about anything political or artistic as they have about these Occupation movements, which have spread into outer borough New York neighborhoods ( We have had "Occupy the Bronx") as well as cities throughout the nation and the world. What the movement has done is reinvigorate democratic practice- much of it face to face- widely regarded as nearly extinct among young people allegedly atomized by their cell phones and ipods. One my students, a soccer player at Fordham said the following about her experience on a march across the Brooklyn Bridge that led to mass arrests
"Going to the protest I felt like this was the closest I was going to get to reliving my father/uncle's young adulthood! While we were stuck on the bridge people were passing around cigarettes, water, food anything anyone had they shared. Announcements were organized so everyone knew what was going on. People were yelling were changing the world! THE WOLRD IS WATCHING. I called my father on the bridge told him I was getting arrested, and I could tell he was proud! It was unbelievable".
Her sense of excitement about the energy and communal spirit at OWN mirrors my own. Each time I have been at OWS I have sat in on discusion groups created on topics ranging from Mideast politics, to understanding derivatives, to educational reform. The discussions I have participated in have been rigorous, political diverse, and to be honest much more virbrant than most comparable discussions I have been part of at universities.
Those of us who work at Universities need to find ways of connecting to a movement which has inspired so much creativity and intellectual vitality.. As someone who has been to many “Occupation” events, ranging from teach ins, to grade ins, to marches, and has spoken about this movement at my own university and to global media, I have experienced this energy and vitality first hand. But most important, my STUDENTS have experienced this and it has given them a sense that they have the power to make changes in a society which they feared had become hopelessly stagnant and hierarchical. Consider the remarks of 2010 Fordham grad Johanne Sterling who works at Fordham's Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, about what participating in this movement meant to her, even though the experience got her arrested and sprayed with mace
"
"I had plans to attend a peaceful protest on Wall Street . . . I was happy to know that I was offering my voice and my support to a movement I believed in. As a young person in this country, I cannot say that I have not grown more and more unnerved with the injustices I see every day. The fact that our governmet is quietly but surely taking away our democratic rights (First with the Patriot Act, ironically named, and then with new voting restrictions that are being put into law), the fact that so many of my fellow graduates cannot find meaningful, rewarding work no matter how hard they try, the fact that our country's infrastruture is falling apart while the richest 1% continue to increase astronomical amounts of wealth, and the fact our justice system was able to execute and continue to execute and/or imprison innocent individuals disproportionatey based on their socio-economic position and their ethnicity are simply a few reasons as to why I decided to attend the rally."
This kind of civic consciousness and social justice activism is precisely what so many progressive scholars and university based community outreach programs have sought to inspire. It is being brought to life by young people themselves in this growing national movement.
There are now over 100 Occupations in cities throughout the nation. They are part of a global awakening of young people that has caused governments around the world to tremble, and financial elites to face the first real challenge to their power in decades
We in the Universities did not create this movement. But we ignore it at our peril. It brings to life many things we have been teaching. And it does something that we should be doing, but aren't doing enough- it empowers our students!
Mark Naison
Fordham University
The Occupation movements spreading around the nation and the world have the potential to revitalize University life, particularly those initiatives involving community activism and the arts.. The role of arts activists in Occupy Wall Street is a story that has not been fully told,. Community arts organizations in New York such as the South Bronx's Rebel Diaz Arts Collective and Brooklyn's Global Block Collective have been involved with Occupy Wall Street for almost a month, making music videos on the site, documenting the movement's growth through film, and trying to bring working class people and people of colore into the movement. The Occupation has become an essential stopping point for a wide variety of performing artists, none of whom have asked for payment for their appearances ( see videos below)
Musicians Occupy Wall Street - YouTube
2 min - Oct 13, 2011
Uploaded by okayafrica
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCRm_zXrwEc
Bronx Hip-Hop Duo Rebel Diaz, Live From Occupy Wall Street ...
3 min - Oct 6, 2011
Uploaded by democracynow
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkPzXW1hpbA
Occupy Wall St. Hip Hop Anthem: Occupation Freedom ... - YouTube
3 min - Oct 10, 2011
Uploaded by djvibetv
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pl0pHJg_
University faculty and participants in community outreach initiatives can only benefit from tapping into this tremendous source of energy and idealism. I have never seen students on my campus so excited about anything political or artistic as they have about these Occupation movements, which have spread into outer borough New York neighborhoods ( We have had "Occupy the Bronx") as well as cities throughout the nation and the world. What the movement has done is reinvigorate democratic practice- much of it face to face- widely regarded as nearly extinct among young people allegedly atomized by their cell phones and ipods. One my students, a soccer player at Fordham said the following about her experience on a march across the Brooklyn Bridge that led to mass arrests
"Going to the protest I felt like this was the closest I was going to get to reliving my father/uncle's young adulthood! While we were stuck on the bridge people were passing around cigarettes, water, food anything anyone had they shared. Announcements were organized so everyone knew what was going on. People were yelling were changing the world! THE WOLRD IS WATCHING. I called my father on the bridge told him I was getting arrested, and I could tell he was proud! It was unbelievable".
Her sense of excitement about the energy and communal spirit at OWN mirrors my own. Each time I have been at OWS I have sat in on discusion groups created on topics ranging from Mideast politics, to understanding derivatives, to educational reform. The discussions I have participated in have been rigorous, political diverse, and to be honest much more virbrant than most comparable discussions I have been part of at universities.
Those of us who work at Universities need to find ways of connecting to a movement which has inspired so much creativity and intellectual vitality.. As someone who has been to many “Occupation” events, ranging from teach ins, to grade ins, to marches, and has spoken about this movement at my own university and to global media, I have experienced this energy and vitality first hand. But most important, my STUDENTS have experienced this and it has given them a sense that they have the power to make changes in a society which they feared had become hopelessly stagnant and hierarchical. Consider the remarks of 2010 Fordham grad Johanne Sterling who works at Fordham's Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, about what participating in this movement meant to her, even though the experience got her arrested and sprayed with mace
"
"I had plans to attend a peaceful protest on Wall Street . . . I was happy to know that I was offering my voice and my support to a movement I believed in. As a young person in this country, I cannot say that I have not grown more and more unnerved with the injustices I see every day. The fact that our governmet is quietly but surely taking away our democratic rights (First with the Patriot Act, ironically named, and then with new voting restrictions that are being put into law), the fact that so many of my fellow graduates cannot find meaningful, rewarding work no matter how hard they try, the fact that our country's infrastruture is falling apart while the richest 1% continue to increase astronomical amounts of wealth, and the fact our justice system was able to execute and continue to execute and/or imprison innocent individuals disproportionatey based on their socio-economic position and their ethnicity are simply a few reasons as to why I decided to attend the rally."
This kind of civic consciousness and social justice activism is precisely what so many progressive scholars and university based community outreach programs have sought to inspire. It is being brought to life by young people themselves in this growing national movement.
There are now over 100 Occupations in cities throughout the nation. They are part of a global awakening of young people that has caused governments around the world to tremble, and financial elites to face the first real challenge to their power in decades
We in the Universities did not create this movement. But we ignore it at our peril. It brings to life many things we have been teaching. And it does something that we should be doing, but aren't doing enough- it empowers our students!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Occupy History! The Fall Fundraising Drive of the Bronx African American History Project
October 29, 2011
Friends
We live in challenging and exciting times. While the global recession continues to impose severe hardships, young people throughout the world are rising up to demand that governments respond to the will of their people and distribute wealth and resources more equitably.
Never has the uncovering and sharing of historical knowledge become more important and no research project in the nation does this more effectively than the Bronx African American History Project. The BAAHP is not merely an internationally known community history project, it creates partnerships between scholars, community leaders, and ordinary citizens that gives a voice to people who would otherwise be left out of history books and neglected by those formulating social policy. Members of our research team not only write books and articles, and archive oral histories as a data base for scholars around the world, we are out in the community giving tours, workshops and lectures and helping residents tell their stories in ways that empower them and bring needed resources to their neighborhoods.
Here are some examples of ways the BAAHP brings history to life:
Worked with community leaders to rename a park and a street in the Bronx’s Historic Morrisania neighborhood after the great coach and mentor Hilton White and to rename a street in that same neighborhood after a pioneering singing group “The Chords”
Collaborated with social workers, teachers and performing artists to have a third group from Berlin come to New York as part of the Bronx Berlin Youth exchange and a first group from the Bronx go to Berlin.
Sponsored conferences, health fairs, and cultural festivals in collaboration with leaders of the Bronx’s growing African immigrant community to make more resources available to this dynamic new population and to make scholars and public officials more aware of this community’s cultural traditions and needs.
Helped affordable housing groups plan and construct a new apartment building in the Bronx- the Melody- that honors the music traditions of the neighborhood, while working with our longtime community partner WHEDco ( Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation) to create the Bronx Heritage Music Center, an innovative complex which will include apartments, a school, and a performance space.
Worked with educators to create a “Teachers Talk Back Project” which helps teachers in the Bronx, and throughout the nation, fight for more arts, more history, and more community outreach projects in the public schools and encourages teachers to challenge testing and privatization schemes which erase creativity from the classroom.
If you are interested in promoting research that empowers Bronx residents, that creates an archive on Bronx history consulted by scholars around the world and inspires Fordham to place more of its resources at the disposal of people in Bronx communities, there is there is no better way of doing so than contributing the Bronx African American History Project.
Please make your checks out to the “Bronx African American History Project” and send them to BAAHP, 641 Dealy Hall, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458
Or, if you would like to Donate Online, go to http://fordham.edu/gifts_to_fordham/ Click on “Make a Gift Online” then select “BAAHP” under “Annual Giving and Resticted Funds”
Thank you for considering the BAAHP!
Sincerely
Mark D Naison
Founder and Principal Investigator
Bronx African American History Project
Friends
We live in challenging and exciting times. While the global recession continues to impose severe hardships, young people throughout the world are rising up to demand that governments respond to the will of their people and distribute wealth and resources more equitably.
Never has the uncovering and sharing of historical knowledge become more important and no research project in the nation does this more effectively than the Bronx African American History Project. The BAAHP is not merely an internationally known community history project, it creates partnerships between scholars, community leaders, and ordinary citizens that gives a voice to people who would otherwise be left out of history books and neglected by those formulating social policy. Members of our research team not only write books and articles, and archive oral histories as a data base for scholars around the world, we are out in the community giving tours, workshops and lectures and helping residents tell their stories in ways that empower them and bring needed resources to their neighborhoods.
Here are some examples of ways the BAAHP brings history to life:
Worked with community leaders to rename a park and a street in the Bronx’s Historic Morrisania neighborhood after the great coach and mentor Hilton White and to rename a street in that same neighborhood after a pioneering singing group “The Chords”
Collaborated with social workers, teachers and performing artists to have a third group from Berlin come to New York as part of the Bronx Berlin Youth exchange and a first group from the Bronx go to Berlin.
Sponsored conferences, health fairs, and cultural festivals in collaboration with leaders of the Bronx’s growing African immigrant community to make more resources available to this dynamic new population and to make scholars and public officials more aware of this community’s cultural traditions and needs.
Helped affordable housing groups plan and construct a new apartment building in the Bronx- the Melody- that honors the music traditions of the neighborhood, while working with our longtime community partner WHEDco ( Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation) to create the Bronx Heritage Music Center, an innovative complex which will include apartments, a school, and a performance space.
Worked with educators to create a “Teachers Talk Back Project” which helps teachers in the Bronx, and throughout the nation, fight for more arts, more history, and more community outreach projects in the public schools and encourages teachers to challenge testing and privatization schemes which erase creativity from the classroom.
If you are interested in promoting research that empowers Bronx residents, that creates an archive on Bronx history consulted by scholars around the world and inspires Fordham to place more of its resources at the disposal of people in Bronx communities, there is there is no better way of doing so than contributing the Bronx African American History Project.
Please make your checks out to the “Bronx African American History Project” and send them to BAAHP, 641 Dealy Hall, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458
Or, if you would like to Donate Online, go to http://fordham.edu/gifts_to_fordham/ Click on “Make a Gift Online” then select “BAAHP” under “Annual Giving and Resticted Funds”
Thank you for considering the BAAHP!
Sincerely
Mark D Naison
Founder and Principal Investigator
Bronx African American History Project
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sacrifice
Sacrifice sometimes mean "giving something up" but not everyone adds on the follow up "in order too gain something else."
Sacrifice without gain is failure. In chess you may sacrifice your queen to win the game. Sacrificing your queen to lose the game is utterly stupid.
So when someone says "You'll have to sacrifice a little more for the 'greater good'" they are telling you to give up something for no gain. That is not sacrifice, that is stupidity. When people talk about "shared sacrifice" but don't talk about "shared gain" they are simply telling you to give up something of yours for no gain.
People talk about the sacrifice those of us in the Military make. Yes we sacrifice our time and even our freedom of choice, but we do that to gain a paycheck and benefits.
The Occupy Wall Street movement wants to "eat the rich" and somehow make the rich "sacrifice" a little more in order to support some sort of social welfare scheme. Newsflash, social welfare is an utter failure wherever it is implemented. Cultures with social welfare stagnate, people stay in poverty, or stay in the middle class, and the rich stay rich. Social welfare doesn't spread the wealth.
So remember, when someone asks you to "sacrifice" you need to ask back, "what is in it for me?" and not be afraid to be labeled "cold hearted" or "heartless." Sacrifice must always be working towards a goal. Otherwise the player on the opposite side of the board is asking you to sacrifice the queen so that they will win.
Sacrifice without gain is failure. In chess you may sacrifice your queen to win the game. Sacrificing your queen to lose the game is utterly stupid.
So when someone says "You'll have to sacrifice a little more for the 'greater good'" they are telling you to give up something for no gain. That is not sacrifice, that is stupidity. When people talk about "shared sacrifice" but don't talk about "shared gain" they are simply telling you to give up something of yours for no gain.
People talk about the sacrifice those of us in the Military make. Yes we sacrifice our time and even our freedom of choice, but we do that to gain a paycheck and benefits.
The Occupy Wall Street movement wants to "eat the rich" and somehow make the rich "sacrifice" a little more in order to support some sort of social welfare scheme. Newsflash, social welfare is an utter failure wherever it is implemented. Cultures with social welfare stagnate, people stay in poverty, or stay in the middle class, and the rich stay rich. Social welfare doesn't spread the wealth.
So remember, when someone asks you to "sacrifice" you need to ask back, "what is in it for me?" and not be afraid to be labeled "cold hearted" or "heartless." Sacrifice must always be working towards a goal. Otherwise the player on the opposite side of the board is asking you to sacrifice the queen so that they will win.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Dump DC: Evangelicals, Politics, and the Kingdom of God
Evangelicals, Politics, and the Kingdom of God, via Dump DC.
I'd suggest you read it. Twice.
A quote:
I used to be there. My spiritual journey has been long and rough. Costly, in the real world. Another story for another day though."The focus of this commentary, then, is not upon the theological liberals who long ago abandoned historical Christianity for Progressive Statism. Instead, I am looking at the evangelicals who have abandoned historical Christianity for their own version of Progressive Statism, embracing the religion of “American Exceptionalism,” as though it were the essence of the Kingdom of God."
Don't confuse the "Kingdom of God" for the Kingdom of Mammon. Too many churches do. I've been called a heretic for fighting this very fight in a church. More than once.
For my Christian readers- Romans 13:1-5 does not, in my opinion, imply or demand what most churches teach that it does. (Again though, another story for another day. Maybe we'll get to that soon.) For starters, read that excerpt in context (...with Romans 12...) and with the word "oathbreakers" in the back of your mind.
I'd encourage you to read this Dump DC piece and examine it objectively.
Resist.
Six Fundamentals of Reconnaissance
Sometimes reality presents to us situations and choices that cannot remain unanswered.
In my experience, success consists of three parts.
Seeing opportunity (or danger) and recognizing it for what it is.
Reacting to opportunity (or danger). Thismay nearly always involves risk of some sort.
Adjusting to the new reality that you have played a part in creating.
I can find parallels between life and some of the lessons I learned in the Army. One of these lessons I remember quite well are the six "fundamentals", drilled into my head as a private in the 1994-95 time frame. Even now, almost seventeen years later, I remember them. The parallels between negotiating life, and being an effective reconnaissance asset (or using them well as a commander) are there, if one looks hard enough.
Maximum reconnaissance force forward:
Rarely can we afford to sit on the fence, act halfheartedly, or do things halfway. Just as a commander must not hold back any effort to secure intelligence, we cannot afford to sabotage our lives with half-thoughts, half-actions, and half-completed jobs. Things may change, necessitating a change in course, but whatever we do, I think must be done wholeheartedly.
There is a quote from the movie "Gettysburg" that I think is relevant here:
I am not advocating burning bridges, or acting to make decisions irrevocable. What I am saying is that in order to make a course of action effective, we must be behind it 100%. Sometimes willpower can see us through. A parallel in the tactical world can be found in the phrase violence of action. I have seen horrible decisions and foolish courses of action succeed because once action was committed to, it was executed quickly and with motivation. Sometimes there is no "good" decision, so we work with what we have, and we make it work.
Orient on the reconnaissance objective:
No matter what happens, we must keep our eyes on the goal. "The goal" is unique to each individual and situation. This is not to say that we develop tunnel vision and ignore events and issues on the path to the goal, rather it is recognizing that it is necessary to weigh each decision and action against one basic criteria, namely, "how does this advance the goal"?
All actions must advance "the goal", or "the cause". If they do not, they are, at best, a waste of time. Previous posts concerning "moral high ground" come to mind. MHG = win.
Report information rapidly and accurately:
This is more challenging to relate to civilian life. Processing information as it relates to the goal or the cause rapidly is crucial. "How does this datapoint or information relate to my worldview? Does it change it? Reinforce it? Justify action or inaction?", and, "Who else do I know who might need to know this?"
Retain freedom to maneuver:
As a scout, I would analyze routes and terrain in terms of contingencies and potentials. Getting oneself locked into a "wadi", or a series of ditches can be fatal. I watched a squadron plus of the 3rd ACR get demolished by greatly inferior forces during an exercise because they -you guessed it- lost the freedom to maneuver. Don't burn bridges. I try as hard as I can to leave an "option B" open. It's not always that easy, but more options available = more control, and less left up to fortune.
Gain and maintain initiative:
As a scout, retaining freedom of maneuver often allows one to retain the initiative. Proactive movements are usually always better than reactive movements. Many people have read about the OODA loop. Disrupt the opponent's. Don't let your be disrupted. Make decisions, and act on reality. Don't let reality dictate to you any more than necessary.
Develop the situation:
At the beginning of this post, I mentioned seeing reality, making decisions based upon it, and adjusting to the new situation created. This is developing the situation. Once we make decisions, and those decisions have their effect on the world around us, we must react to and adapt to what we have created. Even if what we've created is a mess.
When I left the military, many people told me all I was qualified to do was be a cop or security guard, due to my combat arms service.
Sure, the military teaches people to kill people and break things. Sure, there's discipline and teamwork as well. I think there's more though. Life is a struggle. A fight.
In my opinion, there is much value to be gained in applying tactical principles to life in general.
It's helped me many times, as a friend once put it, to "manufacture" my own "luck".
It's not luck. It's tactics.
Resist.
In my experience, success consists of three parts.
Seeing opportunity (or danger) and recognizing it for what it is.
Reacting to opportunity (or danger). This
Adjusting to the new reality that you have played a part in creating.
I can find parallels between life and some of the lessons I learned in the Army. One of these lessons I remember quite well are the six "fundamentals", drilled into my head as a private in the 1994-95 time frame. Even now, almost seventeen years later, I remember them. The parallels between negotiating life, and being an effective reconnaissance asset (or using them well as a commander) are there, if one looks hard enough.
Maximum reconnaissance force forward:
Rarely can we afford to sit on the fence, act halfheartedly, or do things halfway. Just as a commander must not hold back any effort to secure intelligence, we cannot afford to sabotage our lives with half-thoughts, half-actions, and half-completed jobs. Things may change, necessitating a change in course, but whatever we do, I think must be done wholeheartedly.
There is a quote from the movie "Gettysburg" that I think is relevant here:
General, soldiering has one great trap: to be a good solider you must love the army. To be a good commander, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love. We do not fear our own death you and I. But there comes a time... We are never quite prepared for so many to die. Oh, we do expect the occasional empty chair. A salute to fallen comrades. But this war goes on and on and the men die and the price gets ever higher. We are prepared to loose some of us, but we are never prepared to loose all of us. And there is the great trap General. When you attack, you must hold nothing back. You must commit yourself totally. We are adrift here in a sea of blood and I want it to end. I want this to be the final battle. (AP-emphasis mine)
I am not advocating burning bridges, or acting to make decisions irrevocable. What I am saying is that in order to make a course of action effective, we must be behind it 100%. Sometimes willpower can see us through. A parallel in the tactical world can be found in the phrase violence of action. I have seen horrible decisions and foolish courses of action succeed because once action was committed to, it was executed quickly and with motivation. Sometimes there is no "good" decision, so we work with what we have, and we make it work.
Orient on the reconnaissance objective:
No matter what happens, we must keep our eyes on the goal. "The goal" is unique to each individual and situation. This is not to say that we develop tunnel vision and ignore events and issues on the path to the goal, rather it is recognizing that it is necessary to weigh each decision and action against one basic criteria, namely, "how does this advance the goal"?
All actions must advance "the goal", or "the cause". If they do not, they are, at best, a waste of time. Previous posts concerning "moral high ground" come to mind. MHG = win.
Report information rapidly and accurately:
This is more challenging to relate to civilian life. Processing information as it relates to the goal or the cause rapidly is crucial. "How does this datapoint or information relate to my worldview? Does it change it? Reinforce it? Justify action or inaction?", and, "Who else do I know who might need to know this?"
Retain freedom to maneuver:
As a scout, I would analyze routes and terrain in terms of contingencies and potentials. Getting oneself locked into a "wadi", or a series of ditches can be fatal. I watched a squadron plus of the 3rd ACR get demolished by greatly inferior forces during an exercise because they -you guessed it- lost the freedom to maneuver. Don't burn bridges. I try as hard as I can to leave an "option B" open. It's not always that easy, but more options available = more control, and less left up to fortune.
Gain and maintain initiative:
As a scout, retaining freedom of maneuver often allows one to retain the initiative. Proactive movements are usually always better than reactive movements. Many people have read about the OODA loop. Disrupt the opponent's. Don't let your be disrupted. Make decisions, and act on reality. Don't let reality dictate to you any more than necessary.
Develop the situation:
At the beginning of this post, I mentioned seeing reality, making decisions based upon it, and adjusting to the new situation created. This is developing the situation. Once we make decisions, and those decisions have their effect on the world around us, we must react to and adapt to what we have created. Even if what we've created is a mess.
When I left the military, many people told me all I was qualified to do was be a cop or security guard, due to my combat arms service.
Sure, the military teaches people to kill people and break things. Sure, there's discipline and teamwork as well. I think there's more though. Life is a struggle. A fight.
In my opinion, there is much value to be gained in applying tactical principles to life in general.
It's helped me many times, as a friend once put it, to "manufacture" my own "luck".
It's not luck. It's tactics.
Resist.
The Best Response to Police Violence: A Lesson From the Great Depression
The Best Response to Police Violence- A Lesson From the Great Depression
Mark Naison
In 1931, the Communist led Unemployed Councils started a movement to put back the furniture of families evicted from their apartments, and organize their neighbors to resist when the police and marshals tried to put the furniture back. Several months after the campaign began, three black Communists in Chicago were killed by police during such an eviction protest. Two days later, 50,000 people, from every one of Chicago's ethnic neighborhoods, joined a funeral march for the 3 men that police looked upon in silence and awe. No one was ever killed again resisting an eviction in Chicago and in some Chicago neighborhoods, it was impossible to kick families out of their homes!! The same was true in the Bronx. By the beginning of 1933, it was virtually impossible to conduct an eviction in the Bronx because so many people would congregate in the street and block the marshals.
When the police and the state use force to suppress protest, and use deadly violence against innocent people, the best weapon of organizers is the mass indignation and mass mobilization of those who suffer from the very conditions that protesters were challenging
There IS strength in numbers. I hope that our brothers and sisters- in Oakland and elsewhere- take this lesson to heart. The Oakland police and Oakland Mayor and those who would take similar actions around the nation must see-and feel- the full strength of our movement
Mark Naison
In 1931, the Communist led Unemployed Councils started a movement to put back the furniture of families evicted from their apartments, and organize their neighbors to resist when the police and marshals tried to put the furniture back. Several months after the campaign began, three black Communists in Chicago were killed by police during such an eviction protest. Two days later, 50,000 people, from every one of Chicago's ethnic neighborhoods, joined a funeral march for the 3 men that police looked upon in silence and awe. No one was ever killed again resisting an eviction in Chicago and in some Chicago neighborhoods, it was impossible to kick families out of their homes!! The same was true in the Bronx. By the beginning of 1933, it was virtually impossible to conduct an eviction in the Bronx because so many people would congregate in the street and block the marshals.
When the police and the state use force to suppress protest, and use deadly violence against innocent people, the best weapon of organizers is the mass indignation and mass mobilization of those who suffer from the very conditions that protesters were challenging
There IS strength in numbers. I hope that our brothers and sisters- in Oakland and elsewhere- take this lesson to heart. The Oakland police and Oakland Mayor and those who would take similar actions around the nation must see-and feel- the full strength of our movement
An interesting rifle....
I have often pondered the idea of a general utility rifle, one that could put meat on the table, be reliable, serve double duty as a sniper rifle out to 600 meters, and cheap enough that I could stash one somewhere for "just in case" ever becomes a reality.
So what do I see in the "Gun's and Ammo" that my wife sent in a care package but the "Mossberg MVP" 223 Rem bolt action rifle, heavy profile barrel, laminate stock of the "tactical" variety, and takes STANAG magazines? Well it fits the bill. 223 is a marginal round for big game, but marginal is better than a 22 rimfire, and if worst comes to worst big game will get scarce very quickly. The 1:9 twist will handle the old 69 gr SMK's just fine, and possibly 75 grain bullets if velocity is sufficient.
The MVP is like a lot of other entry level rifles on the market right now, shamelessly copied the features that make Savage rifles so nice, a barrel nut and wannabe "accutrigger." In the 308 realm I have a Saiga and a Savage, both with 20 inch barrels, both with "Tactical" scopes, but in 223 I only have an AR-15 that I use for High Power. So having another 223 in the stable makes a bit of sense, especially if I could get my wife hooked on rifle shooting.....
One of these days I'll upgrade the Saiga 308 to an AR-10 style rifle, maybe after I win the lotto?
Anyways, I would love to see the MVP in 308 and accepting M14/M1A style magazines. That would be the bees knees for an entry level "do it all" rifle. Fluted heavy barrel, good factory trigger, decent stock. It would definitely be a winner.
So what do I see in the "Gun's and Ammo" that my wife sent in a care package but the "Mossberg MVP" 223 Rem bolt action rifle, heavy profile barrel, laminate stock of the "tactical" variety, and takes STANAG magazines? Well it fits the bill. 223 is a marginal round for big game, but marginal is better than a 22 rimfire, and if worst comes to worst big game will get scarce very quickly. The 1:9 twist will handle the old 69 gr SMK's just fine, and possibly 75 grain bullets if velocity is sufficient.
The MVP is like a lot of other entry level rifles on the market right now, shamelessly copied the features that make Savage rifles so nice, a barrel nut and wannabe "accutrigger." In the 308 realm I have a Saiga and a Savage, both with 20 inch barrels, both with "Tactical" scopes, but in 223 I only have an AR-15 that I use for High Power. So having another 223 in the stable makes a bit of sense, especially if I could get my wife hooked on rifle shooting.....
One of these days I'll upgrade the Saiga 308 to an AR-10 style rifle, maybe after I win the lotto?
Anyways, I would love to see the MVP in 308 and accepting M14/M1A style magazines. That would be the bees knees for an entry level "do it all" rifle. Fluted heavy barrel, good factory trigger, decent stock. It would definitely be a winner.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
BFF. Or until it becomes no longer expedient...
ex·pe·di·ent/ikˈspÄ“dÄ“É™nt/
Adjective:
(of an action) Convenient and practical, although possibly improper or immoral.
Noun:
A means of attaining an end, esp. one that is convenient but considered improper or immoral.
Go see what Western Rifle Shooters has for you. Then go shopping tomorrow for what you need for you and yours...
Hurry, as there is always the disclaimer "limited time offer" hovering like The Sword of Damocles.
"Does not Dionysius seem to have made it sufficiently clear that there can be nothing happy for the person over whom some fear always looms?" ~Cicero
Winter is coming.
Resist.
AR Pistol Progress...
It's been a while since I posted anything about my AR pistol project. It is moving along, although circumstances have dictated a snail's pace for progress.
I've decided on a 10.5" Black Rain Ordnance barrel for the AR pistol, capped with a Noveske KX3 "Krink" flash suppressor.
The Black Rain stainless barrel has polygonal rifling, which will, among other things, help minimize velocity loss inherent in a short barreled AR system. The KX3's design will help to keep the considerable concussion and blast pointed away from the good people and right at the bad people.
It's coming along nicely, I might add. I'm seeing it as a <200 meter platform, and a bedside weapon.
In spite of the jeers and ribbing I get about the "uselessness" of the AR pistol platform, similarly constructed pieces consistently ring steel at 200 meters. It fits into a nondescript, not-tactical backpack, plenty of power, good for home defense or urban social situations. A few hundred bucks and an ATF permission slip (*gag*), and voila, a short barreled rifle.
I don't know if future American wargames will require full tactical kit and gear, complete with Main Battle Rifles. A Garand has its place for sure, but not a major or even common one in what I think might be coming to us. I think that maybe the forward-thinking individual would be prepared for the traditional boonies-and-LBE type scenarios, while thinking ahead to a more urban, insurgent/local militia-type environment. Think jeans, slash-proof hoodie, and bandana instead of BDUs, boonie hats, and camo paint. In the woods, in the type of scenario often trained for by modern militias, a person is often just thermal image waiting to be isolated and destroyed. This is coming from a person who spent years playing OPFOR to OH-58d scout helicopters. You can hide, but it's hard to do so and remain combat effective. Very hard. Especially when they guide entire infantry companies right to your "hide" position. Drones aren't even that sportsmanlike. They just blast you. Camo won't hide you (well, there are techniques, but that's a different subject). Masses of people will. Like it or not, that's reality.
A good exercise for militia units, if indeed any happen to be reading this piece, would be to practice inconspicuous urban (or at least in whatever place passes for urban in your AO) movement/infiltration while inconspicuously carrying realistically sized water guns, or other similarly sized/shaped legal objects (don't go to jail for training). But anyway, I digress. Enough of my soapbox.
I'll post pictures when it's complete. I hope to have it done this year.
I've decided on a 10.5" Black Rain Ordnance barrel for the AR pistol, capped with a Noveske KX3 "Krink" flash suppressor.
The Black Rain stainless barrel has polygonal rifling, which will, among other things, help minimize velocity loss inherent in a short barreled AR system. The KX3's design will help to keep the considerable concussion and blast pointed away from the good people and right at the bad people.
It's coming along nicely, I might add. I'm seeing it as a <200 meter platform, and a bedside weapon.
In spite of the jeers and ribbing I get about the "uselessness" of the AR pistol platform, similarly constructed pieces consistently ring steel at 200 meters. It fits into a nondescript, not-tactical backpack, plenty of power, good for home defense or urban social situations. A few hundred bucks and an ATF permission slip (*gag*), and voila, a short barreled rifle.
I don't know if future American wargames will require full tactical kit and gear, complete with Main Battle Rifles. A Garand has its place for sure, but not a major or even common one in what I think might be coming to us. I think that maybe the forward-thinking individual would be prepared for the traditional boonies-and-LBE type scenarios, while thinking ahead to a more urban, insurgent/local militia-type environment. Think jeans, slash-proof hoodie, and bandana instead of BDUs, boonie hats, and camo paint. In the woods, in the type of scenario often trained for by modern militias, a person is often just thermal image waiting to be isolated and destroyed. This is coming from a person who spent years playing OPFOR to OH-58d scout helicopters. You can hide, but it's hard to do so and remain combat effective. Very hard. Especially when they guide entire infantry companies right to your "hide" position. Drones aren't even that sportsmanlike. They just blast you. Camo won't hide you (well, there are techniques, but that's a different subject). Masses of people will. Like it or not, that's reality.
A good exercise for militia units, if indeed any happen to be reading this piece, would be to practice inconspicuous urban (or at least in whatever place passes for urban in your AO) movement/infiltration while inconspicuously carrying realistically sized water guns, or other similarly sized/shaped legal objects (don't go to jail for training). But anyway, I digress. Enough of my soapbox.
I'll post pictures when it's complete. I hope to have it done this year.
The Red dawn on Pennsylvania Ave...
Here is all you need to know about what is going on in America today.
There is 13 parts to this. Watch them all.
"I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets." - Barack Obama (Dreams of My Father)
...Move on Kulak. Nothing to see here"....
Ah, Democracy
An important post from FerFAL on a recent election in his country.
I would encourage you to read it and consider the similarities and differences between America and Argentina.
He mentions a legal and near complete takeover of Argentina by an authoritarian figure. FerFAL mentions Argentina's past nationalization of retirement funds and unconstitutional laws. He mentions revisionist history in the schools, and the seduction of a people by big government. That could never happen here, after all.
'Cuz we have the Second Amendment to prevent that, right? Isn't that how the story goes? Cold dead hands and all?
Plus, we get to vote once in a while to "fix" things, and to "take our country back". Until the other half tires of that, then they get a turn to "take their country back". Back and forth. Left, right. Right, left.
Right?
The major constant is the growth of government. Government driven growth of government, government driven "reductions" of government. All government driven. Another constant is the enrichment and entrenchment of the as-of-yet unpunished Enemies of our country.
And the most we can do as a people is to have a few summertime brunch-parties in DC, and to send a bunch of defecating Marxist hippies to loaf around New York City, while our Enemies continue their plunder. The rallying cry is nothing less than a well thought-out "demand" for s $20/hour minimum wage. This is among other sparks of genius, like a call for a Constitutional Convention to make up new rules for looting the people and growing the government.
Yeah. Thank goodness for that 2nd Amendment. They'll never pull the wool over our eyes. No sir-ree.
FerFAL laments further:
You can argue details here, but I'll win with three simple names. Pelosi. Reid. Jackson Jr.
All re-elected. Again and again.
They people of Argentina chose to address the problems of their time through Ms. Kirchner, for whatever reason, just as many people addressed the injustices in mid 1900s Latin America through Che. Similarly, the Russian people addressed the injustices under the Czars through the Bolsheviks. The Germans addressed the injustices of Versailles and the outright looting of their nation through the NSDAP. The American Colonists addressed the injustices of King George through killing their countrymen and fighting a war against their government. The differences in these scenarios lie in not much more than definitions. Specifically, the definition of "injustice", and the amount of such that a people is willing to endure before forcing change. In each of these cases, the injustices were bad. In each case, the solutions brought about further injustices, often equal to or worse than the original problems.
The problem with democracy, in the end, is that often the people get exactly what they vote for.
Sometimes that is nothing less than suicide.
Resist.
Argentina was fatally wounded almost ten years ago and Argentina as I knew it died yesterday, October 23, 2011, when Ms. Kirchner was re-elected with over 50% of the votes, gaining complete control of the country. She now controls the executive of course, but also the congress, unions and even the media through the Kirchner Media Law. The headlines of the world consider this something of a surprise, a small number of Argentines such as myself consider this the culmination of a decade long process that started with the destruction of opposing parties by any means, legal or not, the indoctrination of the generations to come through several channels including the mandatory “Citizen Formation Studies” in schools and even an officially approved version of history.
I would encourage you to read it and consider the similarities and differences between America and Argentina.
He mentions a legal and near complete takeover of Argentina by an authoritarian figure. FerFAL mentions Argentina's past nationalization of retirement funds and unconstitutional laws. He mentions revisionist history in the schools, and the seduction of a people by big government. That could never happen here, after all.
'Cuz we have the Second Amendment to prevent that, right? Isn't that how the story goes? Cold dead hands and all?
Plus, we get to vote once in a while to "fix" things, and to "take our country back". Until the other half tires of that, then they get a turn to "take their country back". Back and forth. Left, right. Right, left.
Right?
The major constant is the growth of government. Government driven growth of government, government driven "reductions" of government. All government driven. Another constant is the enrichment and entrenchment of the as-of-yet unpunished Enemies of our country.
And the most we can do as a people is to have a few summertime brunch-parties in DC, and to send a bunch of defecating Marxist hippies to loaf around New York City, while our Enemies continue their plunder. The rallying cry is nothing less than a well thought-out "demand" for s $20/hour minimum wage. This is among other sparks of genius, like a call for a Constitutional Convention to make up new rules for looting the people and growing the government.
Yeah. Thank goodness for that 2nd Amendment. They'll never pull the wool over our eyes. No sir-ree.
FerFAL laments further:
Ms. K won with over half the country voting for her. This may appear to be a triumph of Democracy. You have to wonder though, if it really is a democracy after everything that has happened, including the sharing of power between husband and wife to extend their period in power. Hugo Chavez was voted at some time into office. So was Hitler. (Emphasis mine)Yes, it really was a triumph of democracy. One person, one vote, majority wins, right or wrong. Them's the rules. Ante up and kick in, boys. The people of Argentina saw the abuses, saw reality, and voted for "Ms." K. anyway.
You can argue details here, but I'll win with three simple names. Pelosi. Reid. Jackson Jr.
All re-elected. Again and again.
They people of Argentina chose to address the problems of their time through Ms. Kirchner, for whatever reason, just as many people addressed the injustices in mid 1900s Latin America through Che. Similarly, the Russian people addressed the injustices under the Czars through the Bolsheviks. The Germans addressed the injustices of Versailles and the outright looting of their nation through the NSDAP. The American Colonists addressed the injustices of King George through killing their countrymen and fighting a war against their government. The differences in these scenarios lie in not much more than definitions. Specifically, the definition of "injustice", and the amount of such that a people is willing to endure before forcing change. In each of these cases, the injustices were bad. In each case, the solutions brought about further injustices, often equal to or worse than the original problems.
The problem with democracy, in the end, is that often the people get exactly what they vote for.
Sometimes that is nothing less than suicide.
Resist.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sounds familiar?...
from Frankenstein Government
The Last, Hard, Line
Quote;
"After a half century, I cannot understand for the life of me, why this country is so fractured.
Why can't we seem to agree on anything?
It is very difficult to pinpoint the proximate causes of the death of our Republic. Just look at the Occupy Wall Street crowd. Oddly enough, I have been trying to find a stated purpose and objective for that demonstration. What is the goal? Have they forgotten who makes the laws that Wall St. exploited? I have read derisive comments, seen the demonstrators verbally attacked and their characters assassinated. We have become very good at fracturing ourselves.
We are on the precipice, the verge, of losing the greatest Republic ever conceived. This did not come about overnight. This came as a result of the apathy and ignorance of our citizenry. That might include you and it certainly includes me. In fact, up until 2007, I was just as apathetic as anyone else.
It was Hank Paulson's hijacking of nearly a trillion dollars without any discussion of alternatives that woke me out of my slumber. I vaguely knew he was the former Goldman Sachs CEO. What he did, in a matter of days, is legendary. Nobody has ever committed a greater theft. That was part of a coup."
(Read More)
...You see? Your not alone.
Music from the resistance...
Remember. Others have done more with less. DO NOT let it get to this point. But, if it does...
By. Any. Means. Necessary.
Kill. WIN. LIVE. Die...
The Progessive Roots and Disastrous Consequences of Test Driven Pedagogy
The Progressive Roots and Disastrous Consequences of Test Driven Pedagogy
A Brief Reflection
Mark Naison
When the nation turned to the right in the 1980's and 1990's and neo-liberalism in its many manifestations began to dominate the policies of both political parties, parents in inner city neighborhoods desperate to do something in their increasingly violent, impoverished neighborhoods turned to schools to try to reverse the growing class and race inequality in the nation which they feared- quite accurately- was putting their children gravely at risk. In looking for help, they turned their attention to the one institution that had not abandoned their neighborhoods, the public schools and tried to figure out some way to have schools serve their needs. In trying to make schools work better, they ended up, making what turned out to be a Faustian bargain with leaders in corporations and foundatioins looking to revolutionize American education through technology. In city after city across the country, inner city parents and their advocates decided to endorse the application of universal testing in the schools to show how far their children were falling behind, and with it, the imposition of a test driven pedagogy, pioneered by charter schools, desgned to bring their children up to the levels of middle class and upper middlle class children in the acquisition of basic skills, and with it give their children an opportunity, in an increasingly hierarchical society, to gain entry into the middle class
Unfortunately, the whole strategy was destined to fail. It is difficult, if not impossible, to use the public schools to create greater class and race equality , when tax policy, income policy, and numerous informal dimensions of class privilege maximize those polarities., especially when the pedagogy involved discouraged creativity and critical thinking. The result proved to be the exact opposite of what is intended, despite the enthusiastic support of all levels of government and corporations and private philanthpy. Since No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have been institutioned, Black, Lationo and poor pepole, have fallen further behind the white middle class and upper class in every important social indicator, from unemployment rates, to the wealth gap, to home ownership and life expectancy.
And this leaves supporters of democratic education in a difficult position. We have to challenge a strategy that originally had widespread support in inner city communities. But challenge it we must. Just because minority parents, in their desperation to do SOMETHING about rampant inequality, decided to push for more testing and more accountability for schools based on those tests, doesn't mean the strategy was sound. In my judgment, it made schools in poor communities less able to prepare their students for college and a demanding job market than schools in middle class communities- including the ones policy makers send their children- which rely far less on standardized tests.
Moreover, such pedagogy discourages introducing young people in struggling neighborhoods to the critical thinking skills necessary to foster social justice activism--the only force that can realistically reduce racial and class in equality in this society. Teaching students individual mobility skills is a poor substitute for direct involvement in neighborhood redevelopment and in political movements- like Occupy Wall Street-that put demands on all levels of government for a redistribution of wealth.
A test driven pedagogy aimed at reducing "The Achivement Gap" is not only counterproductive in its own terms, it underminds the acquisition of the very skills necessary to reinvigorate democracy and fight effectively for racial and economic equality.
.
Or to put the matter more bluntly, anyone who supports the imposition of more standardized tests in the nation's public schools is PLAYING THE MAN'S GAME!!!
A Brief Reflection
Mark Naison
When the nation turned to the right in the 1980's and 1990's and neo-liberalism in its many manifestations began to dominate the policies of both political parties, parents in inner city neighborhoods desperate to do something in their increasingly violent, impoverished neighborhoods turned to schools to try to reverse the growing class and race inequality in the nation which they feared- quite accurately- was putting their children gravely at risk. In looking for help, they turned their attention to the one institution that had not abandoned their neighborhoods, the public schools and tried to figure out some way to have schools serve their needs. In trying to make schools work better, they ended up, making what turned out to be a Faustian bargain with leaders in corporations and foundatioins looking to revolutionize American education through technology. In city after city across the country, inner city parents and their advocates decided to endorse the application of universal testing in the schools to show how far their children were falling behind, and with it, the imposition of a test driven pedagogy, pioneered by charter schools, desgned to bring their children up to the levels of middle class and upper middlle class children in the acquisition of basic skills, and with it give their children an opportunity, in an increasingly hierarchical society, to gain entry into the middle class
Unfortunately, the whole strategy was destined to fail. It is difficult, if not impossible, to use the public schools to create greater class and race equality , when tax policy, income policy, and numerous informal dimensions of class privilege maximize those polarities., especially when the pedagogy involved discouraged creativity and critical thinking. The result proved to be the exact opposite of what is intended, despite the enthusiastic support of all levels of government and corporations and private philanthpy. Since No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have been institutioned, Black, Lationo and poor pepole, have fallen further behind the white middle class and upper class in every important social indicator, from unemployment rates, to the wealth gap, to home ownership and life expectancy.
And this leaves supporters of democratic education in a difficult position. We have to challenge a strategy that originally had widespread support in inner city communities. But challenge it we must. Just because minority parents, in their desperation to do SOMETHING about rampant inequality, decided to push for more testing and more accountability for schools based on those tests, doesn't mean the strategy was sound. In my judgment, it made schools in poor communities less able to prepare their students for college and a demanding job market than schools in middle class communities- including the ones policy makers send their children- which rely far less on standardized tests.
Moreover, such pedagogy discourages introducing young people in struggling neighborhoods to the critical thinking skills necessary to foster social justice activism--the only force that can realistically reduce racial and class in equality in this society. Teaching students individual mobility skills is a poor substitute for direct involvement in neighborhood redevelopment and in political movements- like Occupy Wall Street-that put demands on all levels of government for a redistribution of wealth.
A test driven pedagogy aimed at reducing "The Achivement Gap" is not only counterproductive in its own terms, it underminds the acquisition of the very skills necessary to reinvigorate democracy and fight effectively for racial and economic equality.
.
Or to put the matter more bluntly, anyone who supports the imposition of more standardized tests in the nation's public schools is PLAYING THE MAN'S GAME!!!
Three Percent Plan
Less than ONE percent of US citizens join the US Military.
The good news is that if there really is THREE PERCENT out there, you've got the military outnumbered three to one. Very good odds for the most part.
However, a well disciplined team will prevail against a disorganized mob.
The founding fathers weren't guerillas in the woods and swamps, they set up a government. Here in Afghanistan the Taliban has often set up "shadow governors" of districts and provinces in the same manner that our Founding Fathers did over two centuries ago.
What that "shadow government" was able to do was gain legitimacy from the people (only really about a third of them, but enough to last on the field of battle against what had been their own countrymen). Had King George any idea of what was going on in Philadelphia he would have marched the Army in and hung them all as traitors.
So what can we learn from this?
First, you need a government to replace the government you want to overthrow. Right now Libya will be going through some intense "growing pains" but one of the first things that they did when the bullets started flying was set up a "transitional council" to deal with the international community. Imagine if there were a power vacuum, the infighting that is going on now is bad enough.
Second, you need to have said government in place before you make any overt moves (or be like Lybia and be able to declare such a government right quick). The transition from monarchy to democracy happened rather smoothly (although the Articles of Confederation were kind of a bust) in the US, but it hasn't been so smooth for countries like France (that whole reign of terror thing).
Third, it is literally a life or death gamble, there are no half measures.
Fourth, it was economics that won the war. England could have sent fleet after fleet after fleet, except it couldn't fund such an endeavor and still guard the home front. It was economics that lost Vietnam and Afghanistan for the Soviets. Not necessarily monetary economics, just that when the accounting was done, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. In Libya it was NATO spending between one and three billion dollars to give the rebels an air force.
Right now neither the TEA Party nor the Occupy Wall Street movements have set up any "shadow governments" that I can see (doesn't mean they don't exist) so I am not to worried about "revolution" from either of those avenues. And until there is some sort of organization, at best all there is is a disorganized mob. And a well disciplined team will defeat an unorganized mob.
Historically militia movements have been easily penetrated by the FedGov in the US. Historically governments that get oppressive last for decades before collapsing (East Germany, USSR, Yugoslavia). So I don't think that ours is going to get any more free any time soon. There are no consequences to government for becoming increasingly oppressive. When we look at what works in bringing down those regimes it is massive civil disobedience. It is the people withdrawing support. It is much more than three percent. Armed resistance hasn't been the answer (except when backed by powerful international forces) for a long time.
But if massive, passive, civil disobedience fails? Then smart people would form shadow governments, reach out to sympathizers in the International Community, and prepare for the absolute worst in humanity.
The good news is that if there really is THREE PERCENT out there, you've got the military outnumbered three to one. Very good odds for the most part.
However, a well disciplined team will prevail against a disorganized mob.
The founding fathers weren't guerillas in the woods and swamps, they set up a government. Here in Afghanistan the Taliban has often set up "shadow governors" of districts and provinces in the same manner that our Founding Fathers did over two centuries ago.
What that "shadow government" was able to do was gain legitimacy from the people (only really about a third of them, but enough to last on the field of battle against what had been their own countrymen). Had King George any idea of what was going on in Philadelphia he would have marched the Army in and hung them all as traitors.
So what can we learn from this?
First, you need a government to replace the government you want to overthrow. Right now Libya will be going through some intense "growing pains" but one of the first things that they did when the bullets started flying was set up a "transitional council" to deal with the international community. Imagine if there were a power vacuum, the infighting that is going on now is bad enough.
Second, you need to have said government in place before you make any overt moves (or be like Lybia and be able to declare such a government right quick). The transition from monarchy to democracy happened rather smoothly (although the Articles of Confederation were kind of a bust) in the US, but it hasn't been so smooth for countries like France (that whole reign of terror thing).
Third, it is literally a life or death gamble, there are no half measures.
Fourth, it was economics that won the war. England could have sent fleet after fleet after fleet, except it couldn't fund such an endeavor and still guard the home front. It was economics that lost Vietnam and Afghanistan for the Soviets. Not necessarily monetary economics, just that when the accounting was done, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. In Libya it was NATO spending between one and three billion dollars to give the rebels an air force.
Right now neither the TEA Party nor the Occupy Wall Street movements have set up any "shadow governments" that I can see (doesn't mean they don't exist) so I am not to worried about "revolution" from either of those avenues. And until there is some sort of organization, at best all there is is a disorganized mob. And a well disciplined team will defeat an unorganized mob.
Historically militia movements have been easily penetrated by the FedGov in the US. Historically governments that get oppressive last for decades before collapsing (East Germany, USSR, Yugoslavia). So I don't think that ours is going to get any more free any time soon. There are no consequences to government for becoming increasingly oppressive. When we look at what works in bringing down those regimes it is massive civil disobedience. It is the people withdrawing support. It is much more than three percent. Armed resistance hasn't been the answer (except when backed by powerful international forces) for a long time.
But if massive, passive, civil disobedience fails? Then smart people would form shadow governments, reach out to sympathizers in the International Community, and prepare for the absolute worst in humanity.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Generation Gap
So, I was following the WRSA links in this post, which led me to this one.
Most of my friends are older than me. Old enough to be my father, in many cases. As a result of these associations, I often smile and nod while my generation (loosely defined as "younger" adults) is lambasted and cut down. This post is in part a response to that, and in part a response to a comment on an old WRSA post. I am not so much addressing the commenter as I am addressing a theme I hear all the time.
I will preface this entire post with this sentance from closer to the end of the post:
"It is not my point to start some argument about which generation is "better", or "up to the task". It will fall to whom it will fall to. Humans rise to the challenges presented."
There, at the old WRSA post, I found this comment, which, being a "soft", younger generation thirtysomething, directly hit me as both unfair and inaccurate.
"God help the fools in power today that somehow think this current generation is not of the same cloth. The great bulk of the people may still be asleep, and may have indeed grown soft, but "they" will be surprised at how fast the awakening and the hardening can happen."
That is my daily prayer.
However, that this present generation (30 and below?) is made of the same cloth as that of my father's generation is not well supported by observation.
I'm afraid it is left to us older folks to tote the mail again.
(AP-Emphasis added.)
I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, but, being a thirtysomething, I feel somewhat obligated to respond.
1.) You cannot judge or condemn a generation based upon its response to a challenge not yet presented. This is the problem with trying to support "by observation" the constitution and makeup of a generation. This generation has risen outstandingly well to the world given to it by the generation venerated by the commenter. A narcissistic, materialistic, distracted, directionless world where success is measured by gadgets, gizmos, and appearances. A world in which children are given over to surrogate caregivers while parents chase the almighty dollar. That is, of course, assuming said children survive the womb. Which generation created said world that the younger generation has adapted to marvelously?
Having said that, twenty and thirty somethings, get up and get over it. Upbringing is no excuse for lack of motivation, failure, or anything else. Your life is what you make it.
2.) The "older folks", as venerated, equipped the generation so despised to be exactly how they are. They brought upon the the sixties, the dissolution of traditional family structure, Roe v. Wade, and the greying out of black and white in many different areas. They gave us the current state of affairs, or at least did nothing to prevent it. Many of my generation never survived the womb. The current generation is nothing more than a reflection of these conditions. Granted, many in the current generation are spoiled, soft, unaccustomed to hard work, and narcissistic. As a parent, I must say that they were raised to be this way. No one can argue with the rapid decline in American society, morality, and amount of freedom in the past thirty to forty years. That decline, however, did not happen on the watch of the twenty-thirtysomethings.
However, if us thirtysomethings don't get off the couch and fight, we will inherit both the consequences and guilt for the state of affairs.
3.) I posit that the "older folks" have "toted the mail" long enough. This mess we're in has been a long time in coming, and will fall directly on the shoulders of all of us, to include my generation (thirtysomethings) and that of my children. This burden is shared, there is no way around that.
If you read much written before/around/just after WW1, the generation that fought it was considered by many to be shallow, directionless, and weak by the older generation...before the struggle. No one now would say this of a WW1 soldier. They rose to the challenge and adapted, as humans usually do. The challenges presented now to the "younger folks" are those that have, in part, been created by the "older" generations. If you think of how screwed up the world has become, I would say its amazing that there are any functional 20-30 somethings whatsoever. I would say the world we have inherited has as many challenges as has any other point in history.
So, a few questions:
If you're in the "older folks" category, what have you done to prepare one of the younger generation for "toting the mail"? Find a promising younger person, and mentor him. Don't denigrate him.
If you're in the younger generation, have you picked up your share of the mailbag fully, and are you teaching your children to do so? Are you teaching your children? Find an older, wiser person, and be willing to shut up and learn.
It is not my point to start some argument about which generation is "better", or "up to the task". It will fall to whom it will fall to. There is no "better" or "greatest" generation. Humans rise to the challenges presented. This is just natural law. The "greatest generation", for example, fought several horrible years of WW2. My generation, and likely that of my children, in contrast, has to fight perpetual wars, ad infinitum.
While it may seem that the younger generation is somewhat lacking in representation in the liberty/patriot community, I can absolutely assure you that this is not the case in reality. The majority of young people who feel as I do are usually absolutely silent on these subjects, due to their jobs/social acceptance/etc. I can tell you without reservations and from personal knowledge that when/if the ball drops, they will seem to you to come out of the woodwork. They are there, and just as capable as the "greatest generation". Accept this, and act accordingly.
Then we can all tote the mail together.
A song that is oozing with meaning in my personal life comes to mind. I hope it is instructive.
Just think about it.
There is no "greatest generation", no "lost generation". We're all in this together, and we all have things to learn and teach. There is no material difference whatsoever between the generations.
Different challenges.
That is all.
Resist.
Most of my friends are older than me. Old enough to be my father, in many cases. As a result of these associations, I often smile and nod while my generation (loosely defined as "younger" adults) is lambasted and cut down. This post is in part a response to that, and in part a response to a comment on an old WRSA post. I am not so much addressing the commenter as I am addressing a theme I hear all the time.
I will preface this entire post with this sentance from closer to the end of the post:
"It is not my point to start some argument about which generation is "better", or "up to the task". It will fall to whom it will fall to. Humans rise to the challenges presented."
There, at the old WRSA post, I found this comment, which, being a "soft", younger generation thirtysomething, directly hit me as both unfair and inaccurate.
"God help the fools in power today that somehow think this current generation is not of the same cloth. The great bulk of the people may still be asleep, and may have indeed grown soft, but "they" will be surprised at how fast the awakening and the hardening can happen."
That is my daily prayer.
However, that this present generation (30 and below?) is made of the same cloth as that of my father's generation is not well supported by observation.
I'm afraid it is left to us older folks to tote the mail again.
(AP-Emphasis added.)
I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, but, being a thirtysomething, I feel somewhat obligated to respond.
1.) You cannot judge or condemn a generation based upon its response to a challenge not yet presented. This is the problem with trying to support "by observation" the constitution and makeup of a generation. This generation has risen outstandingly well to the world given to it by the generation venerated by the commenter. A narcissistic, materialistic, distracted, directionless world where success is measured by gadgets, gizmos, and appearances. A world in which children are given over to surrogate caregivers while parents chase the almighty dollar. That is, of course, assuming said children survive the womb. Which generation created said world that the younger generation has adapted to marvelously?
Having said that, twenty and thirty somethings, get up and get over it. Upbringing is no excuse for lack of motivation, failure, or anything else. Your life is what you make it.
2.) The "older folks", as venerated, equipped the generation so despised to be exactly how they are. They brought upon the the sixties, the dissolution of traditional family structure, Roe v. Wade, and the greying out of black and white in many different areas. They gave us the current state of affairs, or at least did nothing to prevent it. Many of my generation never survived the womb. The current generation is nothing more than a reflection of these conditions. Granted, many in the current generation are spoiled, soft, unaccustomed to hard work, and narcissistic. As a parent, I must say that they were raised to be this way. No one can argue with the rapid decline in American society, morality, and amount of freedom in the past thirty to forty years. That decline, however, did not happen on the watch of the twenty-thirtysomethings.
However, if us thirtysomethings don't get off the couch and fight, we will inherit both the consequences and guilt for the state of affairs.
3.) I posit that the "older folks" have "toted the mail" long enough. This mess we're in has been a long time in coming, and will fall directly on the shoulders of all of us, to include my generation (thirtysomethings) and that of my children. This burden is shared, there is no way around that.
If you read much written before/around/just after WW1, the generation that fought it was considered by many to be shallow, directionless, and weak by the older generation...before the struggle. No one now would say this of a WW1 soldier. They rose to the challenge and adapted, as humans usually do. The challenges presented now to the "younger folks" are those that have, in part, been created by the "older" generations. If you think of how screwed up the world has become, I would say its amazing that there are any functional 20-30 somethings whatsoever. I would say the world we have inherited has as many challenges as has any other point in history.
So, a few questions:
If you're in the "older folks" category, what have you done to prepare one of the younger generation for "toting the mail"? Find a promising younger person, and mentor him. Don't denigrate him.
If you're in the younger generation, have you picked up your share of the mailbag fully, and are you teaching your children to do so? Are you teaching your children? Find an older, wiser person, and be willing to shut up and learn.
It is not my point to start some argument about which generation is "better", or "up to the task". It will fall to whom it will fall to. There is no "better" or "greatest" generation. Humans rise to the challenges presented. This is just natural law. The "greatest generation", for example, fought several horrible years of WW2. My generation, and likely that of my children, in contrast, has to fight perpetual wars, ad infinitum.
While it may seem that the younger generation is somewhat lacking in representation in the liberty/patriot community, I can absolutely assure you that this is not the case in reality. The majority of young people who feel as I do are usually absolutely silent on these subjects, due to their jobs/social acceptance/etc. I can tell you without reservations and from personal knowledge that when/if the ball drops, they will seem to you to come out of the woodwork. They are there, and just as capable as the "greatest generation". Accept this, and act accordingly.
Then we can all tote the mail together.
A song that is oozing with meaning in my personal life comes to mind. I hope it is instructive.
Just think about it.
Cats in the Cradle
My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then
My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then
Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then
I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then
My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then
Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then
I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then
There is no "greatest generation", no "lost generation". We're all in this together, and we all have things to learn and teach. There is no material difference whatsoever between the generations.
Different challenges.
That is all.
Resist.
A Buffalo Story: How School Turnaround Mandates Undermine Effective Community Organizing
A Buffalo Story: How Mindless Application of Federal and State School Turnaround Mandates Undermine Effective Community Organizing
Dr Mark Naison
Fordham University
During mid October, I had the privilege of spending two days getting an in-depth exposure to one of the most radical experiments in democratic urban transformation in the nation- a Choice Neighborhoods initiative in the East Side of Buffalo created by SUNY Buffalo’s Center for Urban Studies in partnership with Buffalo’s Municipal Housing Authority and Erie County’s community action agency. The brainchild of the Center for Urban Studies visionary leader, Dr Henry Taylor, the initiative seeks to engage residents in some of Buffalo’s poorest neighborhood in redesigning and transforming public housing projects, business districts, schools, and vacant properties in the target area. Improving schools is one of the key objectives of the initiative; but it seeks to do that not by insulating school children from the forces surrounding them and educating them to escape the neighborhood, but by engaging them in a democratic community planning process along with their teachers, their parents and their neighbors and by making a problem centered pedagogy part of the school curriculum. Even before the Choice Grant, the Center had gotten students in one of the schools involved in the initiative- Futures Academy- involved in transforming a rubble strewn lot across the street from the school into a beautiful park and vegetable garden and another smaller lot nearby into a bird park. The students had also done remarkable arts work for the initiative, both in public spaces, and the school. They had become agents of neighborhood change
What the students had accomplished was nothing short of miraculous, but unfortunately, such accomplishments did not register on the metrics mandated for low performing schools by No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top and mechanically applied by the State Education Department in Albany. As a result, Futures Academy, whose school population was drawn from students who could not get into or were pushed out of charter schools and magnet schools, went through three different principals in the ten years the Center had worked in it, each one forced out solely because of poor student performance on standardized tests. Student participation on democratic neighborhood transformation could not save those principals; they were judged solely test performance and Futures Academy, for school administrators, became a revolving door.
While Professor Taylor and his colleagues realize they cannot change educational policies being shaped in Washington and Albany, it is sad to see how these policies place handicaps on what they are trying to accomplish. In a neighborhood where over 90 percent of the residents are black, most are poor, half of the land sits vacant, public transportation is inadequate, and abandoned stores and factories dot local business districts, the public schools are one of the few remaining neighborhood anchors. They are not only the largest remaining buildings in the East Side neighborhood, they contain space and resources – auditoriums, gymnasiums, class rooms computer labs- which could be vital assets to all neighborhood residents as they participate in the planning ,well as underutilized cultural capital in the form of student creativity/ Professor Taylor’s goal, through in school and after school programs is to enlist public school students in every part of the neighborhood redevelopment initiative, from having them involved in public art projects, neighborhood beautification initiatives and urban agriculture, to having them help redesign local business districts, to having them imagine new neighborhood institutions which enhance public safety and democratic participation. But to have students play this role effectively, the project needs on stability and continuity in the administration in the administration of the three public schools included in the initiative- Futures Academy and ML King School, both K-8 schools, and East High School. And unfortunately state and federal mandates are making that difficult to impossible.
Let us take East High School, the one secondary school in the planning zone. Although East has had a rich history serving Buffalo’s Black community, producing many famous and accomplished graduates, in recent years, as the East Side neighborhood has undergone disinvestment, depopulation and decay, it has become a school of “last choice” in the Buffalo school district and a revolving door for principals. Now, a brilliant new principal has been brought in who specializes in “turning around” tough schools and who is an enthusiastic partner in Professor Taylor’s initiative. But as he told me when we met, the first day he entered the school, he realized he would be out in three years because he could never raise graduation rates to meet national and state mandates. Why?
Because of the 160 students in his freshman class, 157 were “1’s” ( on state reading and math tests), 2 were “2’s, and 1 was a “3”! Essentially, ONE student in his freshmen class tested above grade level, 157 below!!
How did this happen? Basically because after magnet schools and charter schools picked their students, those who were left went to schools like East Side. Not only did these students test poorly, they disproportionately came from troubled families that moved from house to house with great frequency and occasionally disappeared. Given this population, it was going to be virtually impossible to meet the graduation rate targets established by the state and the school would have to be placed in receivership once again with the principal removed, and up to 50 percent of the teachers replaced!
Given this tragic and absurd outcome, why did the principal take the job and why did Dr Taylor choose to make East High School one of the anchors of his community development initiative.. The answer is simple. Because both saw East students as more than the sum total of their scores on standardized tests, and the problems they experienced in their homes and places of residence. They saw them as citizens in the making possessed of invaluable knowledge about their neighborhood and a deep reservoir of cultural capital not only in artistic and musical talent, but in resilience, endurance and ability to overcome great obstacles. They wanted to incorporate them in the neighborhood planning process, get their frank assessment of what needed to be preserved and what needed to be retained, and involve them in hands on tasks ranging from cleaning up the local business district, to organizing talent shows and oral history projects to highlight the community’s past strengths and future potential. In the process, their test scores might go up, and attendance might improve. But that was not the major goal. The goal was to tap the full range of East students talents in a process of community renewal and to encourage them to see East Buffalo as a place to be re-imagined and rebuilt, not as human toxic waste site that all people with skill and talent seek to escape/
This kind of idealism and faith in the human potential of students and neighborhoods is at the very heart of what Democratic Education should be about. Unfortunately, it is being undermined, in the name of equity, by federal and state policies which reduce students to test scores and graduation rates,
Dr Taylor,the Principal of East High School, the principal of the other two schools in the East Buffalo Choice neighborhood initiative will persevere no matter what, but wouldn’t it be better if state and federal authorities relaxed automatic school closing triggers and allowed schools the flexibility to become true centers of community empowerment?
We can only hope that at some point, sanity will prevail in the US Department of Education and the New York State Board of Regents. Hopefully, that moment will come sooner, rather than later
Mark Naison
October 21, 2011
Dr Mark Naison
Fordham University
During mid October, I had the privilege of spending two days getting an in-depth exposure to one of the most radical experiments in democratic urban transformation in the nation- a Choice Neighborhoods initiative in the East Side of Buffalo created by SUNY Buffalo’s Center for Urban Studies in partnership with Buffalo’s Municipal Housing Authority and Erie County’s community action agency. The brainchild of the Center for Urban Studies visionary leader, Dr Henry Taylor, the initiative seeks to engage residents in some of Buffalo’s poorest neighborhood in redesigning and transforming public housing projects, business districts, schools, and vacant properties in the target area. Improving schools is one of the key objectives of the initiative; but it seeks to do that not by insulating school children from the forces surrounding them and educating them to escape the neighborhood, but by engaging them in a democratic community planning process along with their teachers, their parents and their neighbors and by making a problem centered pedagogy part of the school curriculum. Even before the Choice Grant, the Center had gotten students in one of the schools involved in the initiative- Futures Academy- involved in transforming a rubble strewn lot across the street from the school into a beautiful park and vegetable garden and another smaller lot nearby into a bird park. The students had also done remarkable arts work for the initiative, both in public spaces, and the school. They had become agents of neighborhood change
What the students had accomplished was nothing short of miraculous, but unfortunately, such accomplishments did not register on the metrics mandated for low performing schools by No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top and mechanically applied by the State Education Department in Albany. As a result, Futures Academy, whose school population was drawn from students who could not get into or were pushed out of charter schools and magnet schools, went through three different principals in the ten years the Center had worked in it, each one forced out solely because of poor student performance on standardized tests. Student participation on democratic neighborhood transformation could not save those principals; they were judged solely test performance and Futures Academy, for school administrators, became a revolving door.
While Professor Taylor and his colleagues realize they cannot change educational policies being shaped in Washington and Albany, it is sad to see how these policies place handicaps on what they are trying to accomplish. In a neighborhood where over 90 percent of the residents are black, most are poor, half of the land sits vacant, public transportation is inadequate, and abandoned stores and factories dot local business districts, the public schools are one of the few remaining neighborhood anchors. They are not only the largest remaining buildings in the East Side neighborhood, they contain space and resources – auditoriums, gymnasiums, class rooms computer labs- which could be vital assets to all neighborhood residents as they participate in the planning ,well as underutilized cultural capital in the form of student creativity/ Professor Taylor’s goal, through in school and after school programs is to enlist public school students in every part of the neighborhood redevelopment initiative, from having them involved in public art projects, neighborhood beautification initiatives and urban agriculture, to having them help redesign local business districts, to having them imagine new neighborhood institutions which enhance public safety and democratic participation. But to have students play this role effectively, the project needs on stability and continuity in the administration in the administration of the three public schools included in the initiative- Futures Academy and ML King School, both K-8 schools, and East High School. And unfortunately state and federal mandates are making that difficult to impossible.
Let us take East High School, the one secondary school in the planning zone. Although East has had a rich history serving Buffalo’s Black community, producing many famous and accomplished graduates, in recent years, as the East Side neighborhood has undergone disinvestment, depopulation and decay, it has become a school of “last choice” in the Buffalo school district and a revolving door for principals. Now, a brilliant new principal has been brought in who specializes in “turning around” tough schools and who is an enthusiastic partner in Professor Taylor’s initiative. But as he told me when we met, the first day he entered the school, he realized he would be out in three years because he could never raise graduation rates to meet national and state mandates. Why?
Because of the 160 students in his freshman class, 157 were “1’s” ( on state reading and math tests), 2 were “2’s, and 1 was a “3”! Essentially, ONE student in his freshmen class tested above grade level, 157 below!!
How did this happen? Basically because after magnet schools and charter schools picked their students, those who were left went to schools like East Side. Not only did these students test poorly, they disproportionately came from troubled families that moved from house to house with great frequency and occasionally disappeared. Given this population, it was going to be virtually impossible to meet the graduation rate targets established by the state and the school would have to be placed in receivership once again with the principal removed, and up to 50 percent of the teachers replaced!
Given this tragic and absurd outcome, why did the principal take the job and why did Dr Taylor choose to make East High School one of the anchors of his community development initiative.. The answer is simple. Because both saw East students as more than the sum total of their scores on standardized tests, and the problems they experienced in their homes and places of residence. They saw them as citizens in the making possessed of invaluable knowledge about their neighborhood and a deep reservoir of cultural capital not only in artistic and musical talent, but in resilience, endurance and ability to overcome great obstacles. They wanted to incorporate them in the neighborhood planning process, get their frank assessment of what needed to be preserved and what needed to be retained, and involve them in hands on tasks ranging from cleaning up the local business district, to organizing talent shows and oral history projects to highlight the community’s past strengths and future potential. In the process, their test scores might go up, and attendance might improve. But that was not the major goal. The goal was to tap the full range of East students talents in a process of community renewal and to encourage them to see East Buffalo as a place to be re-imagined and rebuilt, not as human toxic waste site that all people with skill and talent seek to escape/
This kind of idealism and faith in the human potential of students and neighborhoods is at the very heart of what Democratic Education should be about. Unfortunately, it is being undermined, in the name of equity, by federal and state policies which reduce students to test scores and graduation rates,
Dr Taylor,the Principal of East High School, the principal of the other two schools in the East Buffalo Choice neighborhood initiative will persevere no matter what, but wouldn’t it be better if state and federal authorities relaxed automatic school closing triggers and allowed schools the flexibility to become true centers of community empowerment?
We can only hope that at some point, sanity will prevail in the US Department of Education and the New York State Board of Regents. Hopefully, that moment will come sooner, rather than later
Mark Naison
October 21, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Failure
When people look at Thomas Edison or Steve Jobs they see the successes. Unfortunately it is the freedom to fail that allows people to succeed. Without the freedom to fail we don't have freedom to learn. Learning is sometimes a painful process, ask any Ranger student or Organic Chem major. One is a physical pain, the other is a mental pain.
But the possibility of failure, in my case accepting a double recycle in Ranger school in order to continue, gave me the motivation to succeed. If Steve Jobs had never been pushed out of Apple he would have never gained the insight into marketing that he got outside of Apple. Imagine if Steve Jobs never learned the leadership lessons that let him inspire others to innovate and think outside the "beige box."
Similarly we find ourselves in a conundrum in Afghanistan. We won't let the Afghan's have freedom to fail because that would mean we ourselves failed. Back home some institutions were labeled "Too Big to Fail" and all that did was stall the market. Things need freedom to fail so that they can move forward.
Abraham Lincoln was a dismal failure in most everything he ever did, but he did hold the Union together at a terrible price.
So accepting failure, how many times have you heard someone say "Failure is not an option"? Unfortunately simply by dictating something doesn't make it true. Failure is ALWAYS an option.
The key to not failing when it counts is to test yourself to failure before hand. That is why Infantrymen go through Ranger school. That is why Engineers conduct "Stress Tests" on systems and materials. This is why having a FEMA approved plan for New Orleans was a complete and utter waste of time, it had never been tested.
And you can always fail a test.
So how are your preparation plans for an emergency? Have you TESTED them? Failure isn't a bad thing. The bad thing is refusing to learn from failure. Here in Afghanistan we are refusing to let the Afghans fail, so when we draw down and leave they will be untested. That scares me a little. I think it would be better to let them fail a bit now instead of a lot later. Unfortunately so many decisions and actions out here truly are life or death that progress is slow going.
But the possibility of failure, in my case accepting a double recycle in Ranger school in order to continue, gave me the motivation to succeed. If Steve Jobs had never been pushed out of Apple he would have never gained the insight into marketing that he got outside of Apple. Imagine if Steve Jobs never learned the leadership lessons that let him inspire others to innovate and think outside the "beige box."
Similarly we find ourselves in a conundrum in Afghanistan. We won't let the Afghan's have freedom to fail because that would mean we ourselves failed. Back home some institutions were labeled "Too Big to Fail" and all that did was stall the market. Things need freedom to fail so that they can move forward.
Abraham Lincoln was a dismal failure in most everything he ever did, but he did hold the Union together at a terrible price.
So accepting failure, how many times have you heard someone say "Failure is not an option"? Unfortunately simply by dictating something doesn't make it true. Failure is ALWAYS an option.
The key to not failing when it counts is to test yourself to failure before hand. That is why Infantrymen go through Ranger school. That is why Engineers conduct "Stress Tests" on systems and materials. This is why having a FEMA approved plan for New Orleans was a complete and utter waste of time, it had never been tested.
And you can always fail a test.
So how are your preparation plans for an emergency? Have you TESTED them? Failure isn't a bad thing. The bad thing is refusing to learn from failure. Here in Afghanistan we are refusing to let the Afghans fail, so when we draw down and leave they will be untested. That scares me a little. I think it would be better to let them fail a bit now instead of a lot later. Unfortunately so many decisions and actions out here truly are life or death that progress is slow going.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
When the bell tolls, who will muster on the green...
from TL in Exile
We Can Afford To Be Average No More
Quote;
"There are a few bigger things afoot than most are thinking about right now. Occupy Wall Street is nothing other than a show of force. I know I have mentioned this in a previous post, but it is becoming clear enough that some of the bigger bloggers are starting to realize it. I think a lot more people than that are coming to the realization that this is just the sort of thing a Community Organizer does so well.
Why the rich? What did they ever do to any of the punks down on Wall Street, or any of the other locales around the nation, other than give them their jobs, or pay for their college, or welfare? What the rich did was become the latest boogieman for the Obama Administration. They are the targets and the fools (the rich) have so far refused to support the only means of keeping them from being dragged from their mansions and brutalized by a mob of frantic Obamatrons and the useful idiots of George Soros.
In Denver a man was heard to say “F---- Rush Limbaugh” so that the audience of the local station carrying his program could hear it. He got close to the microphone to make that declaration. Why not “F--- George Soros? Soros has more money than Limbaugh, he has more clout and has been even convicted in France of insider trading. What has Limbaugh done? He has been a target of people like Soros, who use these dinks like un-thinking drones sent out to do as much damage to American society as they can."
(Read More)
Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage...Galatians 5:1
"He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote it's virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man. We must not conclude merely upon a man's haranguing upon liberty, and using the charming sound, that he is fit to be trusted with the liberties of his country. It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may judge by the whole tenor of their actions, mean nothing else by it but their own liberty, — to oppress without control or the restraint of laws all who are poorer or weaker than themselves. It is not, I say, unfrequent to see such instances, though at the same time I esteem it a justice due to my country to say that it is not without shining examples of the contrary kind; — examples of men of a distinguished attachment to this same liberty I have been describing; whom no hopes could draw, no terrors could drive, from steadily pursuing, in their sphere, the true interests of their country; whose fidelity has been tried in the nicest and tenderest manner, and has been ever firm and unshaken.
The sum of all is, if we would most truly enjoy this gift of Heaven, let us become a virtuous people."...Samuel Adams
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
John F. Kennedy, In a speech at the White House, 1962
"Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war let it begin here." Captain John Parker, to his Minute Men on Lexington Green, April 19, 1775.
...Are you a Liberty Immune response??
Winter. It is coming.
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