It's America in Dire Need of a Re-ligamenting Thing

Dear America,

forgive me father, for I have sinned; it's been 25 days since my last blog.

what up, girl...you sorry slacker; you think having your college girl home for a few winks gives you any excuse? or was it the unexpected encounter with a dentist saying, oh girl (to my girl) you have no cavities, but....all four wisdom teeth need to come out, like, now.   If all goes right -- and so far so good, now that we are on day three of the long day after -- she will have plenty of time to have an In N Out Double Double, like for four days in a row, at least, before she has to go back to school.  Cross your fingers.  (and No.  There is no comparison to any other burger joint on the planet...and that includes, Five Guys, Splunkers, and Shake Shack, and the like.  So there.)

I digress.
Perhaps it would be an understatement to say that much has happened since my last entry.

ugh.

double double ugh.

At least, as of this moment, we are not shooting the muthafucka out of North Korea yet; there is that. But what a war of strategery going on, eh?   Perhaps if good ole boy BillyBobClinton settled this once and for all, way back when, we wouldn't be in this situation....anyone?

Um something tells me North Korea doesn't really wanna join the "community of nations" in any meaningful way.  (so,  given where we've been and where we stand today,  just maybe somebody should be looking deeper into that "good deal" we  made with Iran, um not so long ago.   Just sayin'; and second, is anyone gonna get Billy to comment on this downward trajectory of late and our fate? That would be fun.   No?)

But here we go --

into the fray --

into the furor and fury --

into the terrible things that happened just today, in America.


In Charlottsville, VA to be specific.  August 12, 2017.

At one point during the afternoon, our president's twitter account said this:  "We must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are ALL AMERICANS FIRST."

Oh my.  America has endured so much.

Timing is such, that just this morning I was reading my monthly issue of IMPRIMIS, from Hillsdale College.  In it -- the July/August edition -- there is more than one excerpt, of more than one occasion. adapted and made available through their "readers monthly."  Dr. Michael Ward is featured, with an adaptation of his convocation address, at the ground breaking in April, of Hillsdale's  new Christ Chapel, and titled:  A Time to Scatter Stones and a Time to Gather Stones Together.  It's REALLY GOOD!  BUT sadly, for some reason, the web is not cooperating in giving me access to this latest edition, perhaps its too early.  Not to fret; here is a link to the video of his actual speech from the day itself!  [It's only 25 minutes. But I don't care; watch it or don't watch it.]

The Imprimis edition hits all the hot spots; like the part when he describes one of his life's missions,  "to reclaim the word 'religion' from this verbicide it's been suffering.  [Given it's bad rap of late.]  It doesn't mean formalism or fanaticism.  Etymologically, it means rather something like tying back together -- re-ligion:  re-ligamenting, re-ligituring, finding the unifying reality behind disparate appearances, seeking oneness, integration, wholeness, 'a theory of everything' (as Stephen Hawking might say)."

And I just love this flashpoint -- beginning with something Richard Dawkins once said, that "religion flies planes into buildings but science flies rockets to the moon."  Dr. Ward goes on to poke fun at that kind of logic like so:   "Firstly, religion and science -- being abstract nouns, not people -- don't actually do anything, good or bad; they're not agents.  And secondly because, if we are going to play that game of ascribing agency to abstract nouns, one might as well say 'religion gives us Mother Teresa but science gives us mustard gas."


There is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones together....indeed.
And after a day like today in Charlottesville -- apparently, there is also a day to throw stones.

Oh for the joy of nation building...over and over and over again.

I'm not aiming to make light of what happened; there are so many things wrong with what seems to have happened today, not sure where to begin, really. So let's not.  Let us then get distracted one more time --

The second piece in the July/August Imprimis happens to be upon the dedication of a very special statue at Hillsdale....a distinguished American and change maker:  Frederick Douglass.  He was elevated to "statue-hood" by direct association with the township of Hillsdale, coming to meet one day with the ladies of the literary society.  As history would have it, he spoke in the College Chapel on January 21, 1863.   And as Imprimis highlights, the "title of his lecture was 'Popular Error and Unpopular Truth.'"  Douglass is quoted as saying, "There is no such thing as new truth.  Error might be old or new; but truth was as old as the universe."  So beautiful.

Going on to emphasize one of his observations, the Imprimis continues, quoting "that the Constitution knows no distinction between citizens on account of color....we utterly repudiate all invidious distinctions, whether in our favor or against us, and only ask for a fair field, and no favor."  And adding, "Douglass was no fan of 'race pride', counting it 'a positive evil' and a 'false foundation'.''   For Douglass, "the only relevant minority in America was the minority of one -- the individual.  The government of all should be partial to none."

That is all well and good, indeed.

Until today...

When a certain "race pride" rally got out of control.  What is wrong with the south? -- and so close to the Mason Dixon line, too.  What is this 1860?

Yes, the Constitution is color-blind and similar to religion and science  --  that "being abstract nouns, not people -- don't actually do anything, good or bad; they're not agents" -- the Constitution relies on the people to uphold its full and gracious and grand scope of all things relating to liberty and freedom for all.

Make no mistake -- INDIVIDUALS made bad decisions today in Charlottesville.  INDIVIDUALS are to blame for the horror of all things executed today, things that most Americans believed we thought were long past.   long past.

Suffice it to say, though,  it wasn't the fault of the Dodge Charger; it was the person behind the wheel of the Dodge Charger.   (whether planes, trains, or automobiles...or guns...it's all the same.)

And who is he?  Someone equal to the age of my very own baby girl?  A twenty year old -- from Ohio -- who purposefully and recklessly and shamelessly and with malice in his heart, went to Charlottesville to wreak havoc, to dispel his kind of hatred towards another human being (or 20!)  God bless their souls.

So just as my twenty year old was dealing with the recovery of oral surgery, here was somebody's boy, of the exact same age, plowing down innocents -- and all I can compare this to now is the feeling of total shock.  If I put the two beside the other -- my girl and this boy --  as a mom, my heart sinks into an abyss of what his mama may be experiencing right about now.

...and I thought my last 48 hours was difficult.  

Truth is, the rally itself, never really got under way.  The warring factions took to the streets before the actual event -- even before the speeches, before the lament of times changing and the process deciding the fate of historical statues of ill repute (like that of Robert E. Lee) -- which as the courts would have it, suddenly had to come down simply based on the gut wrenching feelings of guilt, and being an open reminder of an age when many individuals aligned with the wrong side of human rights; for some, it was simply too upsetting for the faint of heart, unable to reflect upon the grace of God that brought us OUT of such dark ages to begin with.

The thing is:  wouldn't a statue such as this be almost necessary?  To remind us, with brutal honesty, of our transgressions, in order to never go back?

Couldn't these statues be looked upon in terms of being a constant re-ligamenting to the horror of the actions of other humans against other humans, and its effects upon American history of long ago?  We have to know these things, or what, pray tell, keeps us from sliding back into the way of so much of the rest of the world?  Is knowing the fault of our stars and stripes too much for us to handle these days? Really?   Are we really that weak?

I want my girl to know the damage of what's been done in all of America's 241 years -- along with every good.  And there has been lots of good.

It's all essential....the good, the bad and the ugly.

Today was really ugly.  And very bad.

I firmly believe that the people who voted for Trump, predominantly,  want good things for ALL AMERICANS.  I can say this, because I AM one of those Americans and I know what's in my heart.

I refuse to slide back into a civil war -- these "white nationalists" and "white supremacists" do not have the power over this land and do not speak for the majority.  It's of a certain false foundation, relying upon harmful civil disobedience to gain a foothold, and that I will have no part of.   The whole point of the Civil War --  the age of the sixties of both centuries, nineteenth and twentieth -- was about unification; a mountain top religious experience that made the theory of everything and nothing at square one again in equal portion (with maybe some lingering growing pains).

And with some certainty and a whole lot of travesty, there just may be a connection with the Black Lives Matter protests with what the centuries old stones turned over there in Charlottesville today...especially taking into account of what happened about a year ago in Dallas, Texas with the assassination of five police officers --  that was not a good day in America either.  Protests and rallies based upon the color of our skin is never a good idea, it's just not.

This is a time to gather stones together and rebuild.

This is a time to come together and revile all attacks that get in the way of the process of re-ligamenting America, every step of the way.

And the good news: this kind of resiliency and strength of courage is built into our very roots.  Time and time again we have dug deep, and time and time again we sprout, we heal, we make hay, we grow.  Nothing gets in our way when our intentions our good and pure and wholesome and of one, sound, loving mind in an e pluribus unum kinda way.

This is a sad day.  But here I sit, nearly exhausted of my own world of worries, and yet, fully confident that something good will come from all of this.

At this very moment, my baby girl -- of all of twenty years -- is resting peacefully...hence, the time to blog instead of a time to not blog; while also in this moment, my wish for another twenty year old is for him to rest in jail for the rest of his life, and may he never have a good night's rest.

My prayers go out to the families unexpectedly struck with grief -- so far, three people have lost their lives and many more injured.  God bless us one and all.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Ride Along C-Span Thing

Dear America,

Aye, Kilombo

[pronounced key - lome -bo by Argentinians]

it's what they say 

when everything is just a hot mess

happy friday

given this morning finds me tongue tied, unable to even think straight, flaming-ly flummoxed to the point of unrecognizable furor  -- at just the thought of 700 million dollars a month (in cash and gold) going to the Iranian regime, and perhaps to the tune of 33.6 Billion dollars! dating back to 2014! ...this girl has decided to do something a wee bit different.  For I simply cannot speak; my voice has been snuffed out, like a pinch between two fingers atop a candlestick, leaving a scorching reminder of how much it hurts bearing witness to the atrocities against this land of liberty and her rule of law.

The strangest thing happened on Sunday afternoon.  While channel surfing the hours away, being thoroughly lazy, even staying in my jammies all the live long day -- all of a sudden C-Span grabbed me, pulled me in with no mercy.  And I thought to myself, nooooooooo, don't linger G -- don't get hooked...just walk away...

But it was too late.

It was something out of Hillsdale College -- an interview with Dennis Prager -- and my personal power to disconnect from it was utterly useless; it got me, the tube wrapped around me so fast, there was no way out.   This was mother nature speaking to me and all I could do was sit back and take it.   

And yet, what began as a sign of weakness turned around full-tilt, just a green flash later this girl was hanging ten over the coffee table and my little ass wasn't gonna budge.  To my surprise, my ears were ringing, my soul was stirring, my heart was alive with what it is to be an American girl! [As if I ever truly have issues in this area...tee hee]

SO without further delay, HEAR ye HERE ye are some HIGHLIGHTS -- and dare I say, this will hardly do the entire experience justice; Dennis Prager is freaking awesome!  He's so clear on things, all things, everything; ask him a question and Prager has an answer that is Pithy, Practical, Precise, and Powerful with a capital P.   If P were a wave, this girl would be pounded into the sand and come up smiling for the experience and say cowabunga.  So join me now; let's ride --

"If you have LIBERTY -- there will be no equality."

"The French Revolution 

was all about equality of outcome; 

the American Revolution 

was about the equality of opportunity."

"Socialism spends what capitalism makes."

"Leftism has been the most dynamic religion in the world."

"Catholic schools teach Catholism -- 

it's a moral mandate to teach it; 

just as the many Public Schools today, 

teach Leftism."

"If it's a dysfunction in America, 

the Democrats will benefit."

[answering to those who dismiss and discredit arguments by making generalizations] ....and paraphrasing Prager, he said something like this:

"Without making generalities, 

humans are idiots,

 for there is no real understanding 

of life and how it works...

it is more important to ask, 

is the generalization accurate?"

"If it's a moral demand 

for free healthcare -- 

why isn't food free? 

surely that is more important..."

and then he reminds us of a phrase made popular by Milton Friedman, "there is no such thing as a free lunch"...   and then promptly brings the audience to this point:  "Because nothing is truly free --there is a cost somewhere and that cost is paid somewhere by somebody."...

Then a caller into C-Span reminded Prager of something he once said..."humans are not born good."

And so he added, "they're not born anything. they become something through environment, enrichment, experiences..."

Responding to the recent conversation started by Colin Kaepernick, Prager goes right to American exceptionalism to answer it  -- "there just isn't a country on earth that has such a racial mix that gets along so well."  

"America is not racist; there are racists in America"

truth is...

"you are privileged if you are raised with a father."

In Los Angeles, children are offered free breakfast and lunch, and Prager says --

"breakfast is the least expensive meal

 of the day...

if you can't supply breakfast 

for your own child, you're inept. 

 Child services 

should come take your children."  

[shocking, huh..but makes sense, right?]

the conversation shifts to being Jewish...

"America is the best country for Jews ever!"

"America is not anti-Semitic; 

there are anti-Semitics in America."

"Jews invent secular religions all the time...environmentalism, secularism, multiculturalism, ...as a replacement of the religion...The irony is that Jews embrace the Left, but the Left loathes them."

Re: Trump -- [disclosure: Prager was against Trump in the primary, but is now supporting the party's pick]

"we're not electing a pastor -- but a president."

Regarding picking the lesser of two evils -- 

"picture two doors.  

First door, IS a man eating lion.  

Second door, PERHAPS a man eating lion.  

Which one would you choose?"

I believe this was when he began responding to his latest book, The Ten Commandments, Still the Best Moral Code....

"what we do, how we behave, matters"

"God judges everybody by our behavior."

On behalf of the Right not teaching its stuff well, if at all anymore....he begins to tell a story....

Over the years, Prager has posed a question to his audiences -- 

When in the midst of some tragedy, would you save your dog or a stranger?   

1/3 of people say dog, 

1/3 people say Stranger, 

1/3 couldn't even decide.  

And then Prager quickly noted, if raised with the Judeo-Christian roots, the answer should always be to save the stranger....

Anywho, there is plenty more to say, but for now, for more on Prager, perhaps begin with a place called Prager U.  Start HERE.

And on that note, yay me -- with a little help from the P-ster, this girl has found her beach and it's corona time.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Me Making Magic with my Maker Thing

Dear America,

Happiness 

is an activity 

of the soul 

that expresses complete virtue. 

Aristotle, 

Nichomachean Ethics

...and it expresses this complete virtue,

through our own actions day in and day out...ultimately cultivated over a lifetime.

And to that end, this end result -- this happiness -- can only be fully recognized when we are done, finished, having come to the end of our now complete life.  Taking this long look back, we can then ask ourselves, what did this virtuous life thing bring?  Was it worth every do-good-er thing and thought -- completely tethered to a higher purpose and purity of moral responsibility, of course -- for the greater good of one and all?  How did we benefit? How did society benefit?

“As far as its name goes, most people virtually agree [about what the good is], since both the many and the cultivated call it happiness, and suppose that living well and doing well are the same as being happy. But they disagree about what happiness is, and the many do not give the same answer as the wise.” NE 1095a17-21

Granted -- this thing called happiness comes and goes in life.  It fluctuates -- within the day, even an hour, over many moons and years.  One minute we may be jumping for joy, and the next in tears.  As any reasonably intelligent human being may divine and conclude, our days are inconsistent, at best. 

  

It often feels fleeting, this happiness; and yet, sometimes, this happiness engulfs us, as if it takes over every cell of our being and overfloweth in delight.  And what we find -- really, discover in ourselves --  is that this true happiness is much more than a feeling.  It's more like a deep satisfaction, a gift from our Maker, a sensation affirming our unique reason for being is in our grasp, or at the very least, awfully close.

But the thing is -- this making of happiness -- depends solely upon ourselves.  Here's a lovely page to read for more on that...

and while all this is being said just to begin a day,  all there is to add is, oh wow... giddy up, girl...

I love how people are chatting about the Hillsdale Commencement ceremony for the 164th graduating class, featuring the great, the wonderful, the rather quiet soul that sits upon the bench of the highest seat of justice in the land, the Supreme Court --  the Honorable Clarence Thomas.

Being on the Imprimis [in the first place] mailing list, a monthly Hillsdale publication -- a weekend alert to watch the whole affair, complete with a live stream, did not go unheeded.  What a joyful thing, I thought.  

But lo and behold,  what began as a splendid idea, turned into a whirlwind of emotion, totally unsuspected.  

Now, perhaps the tears were just from exhaustion.  Perhaps the release was all the live long week, rocked with all the usual suspects of petty ups and downs and running ragged finally coming into their own, and feeling rather entitled, celebrating a chance to come to a flourishing finish...who really knows what it was, or where it came, or where it went when it was all done with me, right?  What goes up must come down.

I just couldn't stop crying.

It was as if I was trying to feel every word; taking everything to heart and becoming completely overcome, this neat little care package via the magic of apple and enjoining all things Americana, collegiate, our origins, and the great hope of our future was brought to my door -- the entire world, really -- bearing the gift of new life.  As in, what is truly old is obviously the new new.  Can I get a witness?

Larry P. Arnn, the twelfth president of Hillsdale College, opened the ceremony defining the "age old activity" of learning and its benefits (and paraphrasing as best I can,  I will try to be quick about it....tee hee):

1.  the activity itself, to learn, is joyful; the stuff humanity is made for, and of, to become more like our Maker
2. freedom -- for the learned soul cannot be enslaved
3. for the improvement of character...brave, moderate, and just
4. to enrich the connection with God, this being especially true at Hillsdale and an attribute required of gaining a complete education.  A connection with God is highly supported, encouraged, and even favored, while believing the right for everyone to worship as you please.

Now much of the message from Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas may be easily described as going by way of The Golden Rule, in both natural law and life.  Highlighting things his grandfather taught him [being almost entirely raised by his grandparents], Thomas said things like this, 'if we didn't work, we didn't eat; what we don't plant, we don't grow'...'lead by example'...'love thy neighbor as thyself'...'right is right'....these are the ideas a young Thomas was fed as a boy.  And just look at how he turned out...

He also reminded us of the words of President Kennedy, "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."  indeed

Thomas continued making his remarks and his beliefs UNapologetically made known, including telling a short tale of the modern age, and making up an instance based on a What If....And basically proposed, what if spring breakers returned fully exhausted from their reveling demanding the redistribution of grades with the students who stayed, studied, and got their fair share of an A, well deserved?  What kind of an injustice that would be, right?

Indeed, and all to make a point -- "if we continue to consume the benefits of a free society without making deposits...we will run out of other people's sacrifices..." 

 "Today, of course, there is much more focus on our rights as citizens and what we are owed...

It is not often that one hears of our obligation or our duties as citizens, unless of course there's talk of our duty to submit to yet another new policy being suggested or proposed...

At the risk of understating what is necessary to preserve liberty and our form of government, I think more and more that it depends on good citizens, discharging their daily duties and their daily obligations..

In addressing your own obligations and responsibilities in the right way, you actually help to ensure our liberties and our form of government."

this is how America was designed to work, literally.

We gave of ourselves, freely, in the support of liberty for all, by 'addressing our own obligations and responsibilities in the right way' dutifully -- we did not ask anything from town and country, but ultimately benefited town and country through living and working a virtuous and good life all the way around.  We were raised not to take from America, but give; and in turn, as luck and values and virtues work, we learned to benefit in the living of a complete and happy life, more or less.

It was duty and delight coming in contact with one another and making magic, imprimis.

Oh my word, I just found a new website!  It's called The Art of Manliness!  This link actually takes you to a wonderful post on Latin Words and Phrases Every Man Should Know.  It's just fabulous!  And ironically, it is written by a Brett and Kate McKay, so you can just stop the hate mongering, k.

The motto of Hillsdale, Virtus tentamine gaudet -- strength rejoices in the challenge -- is what brought me to the pages of manliness, for in my feeble attempt of taking notes during the commencement ceremony, my tee's were not crossed and my i's were not dotted, and that led me all over the place for just a wee bit, and mostly just for kicks. but surely, I digress.

Strength may indeed rejoice in the challenge, for this sort of rapture only comes with perspective.  What value is there if all things are just handed out like participant trophies for everybody?  Satisfaction comes, happiness comes, and perhaps can only come,  after we have met the challenges of working hard at something, for something.  Perhaps a Bachelor of Science or Philosophy ir something... 

“Each function is completed well 

when its completion expresses

 the proper virtue. 

Therefore the human good

 turns out to be the soul’s activity

 that expresses virtue.” 

Aristotle, NE 1098a15-17

“[V]irtue of character 

is concerned with pleasures and pains. 

For it is pleasure that causes 

us to do base actions, 

and pain that causes

 us to abstain from fine ones.

 Hence we need to have had 

the appropriate upbringing—

right from early youth, as Plato says—

to make us find enjoyment 

or pain in the right things; 

for this is the correct education.” 

Aristotle, NE 11049-13

PUT GOOD IN, GET GOOD OUT!

“[N]either virtues nor vices are feelings.” 

Aristotle, NE 1105b29

No matter how we feel today, tomorrow, yesterday -- we must recognize the big picture and  all that is truly divine in the making of a day.  The Law works in equal portion for everyone, if we dare ask, align and agree to the terms, working with IT! -- the Universe says yes when we move our own two feet.

A simple day, the making of a life -- happy or sad -- it is ours to make or throw away, whether steeped in ignorance or knowledge.  It just is.   Enough with how we feel; let's get back to what we do!

And one thing's for sure, things are generally dulcius ex asperius...sweeter after difficulties.

and then of course, there's this:

flectere si nequeo superos, acheronta movebo

...if I cannot move heaven, I will raise hell.  hehehe   

[This phrase being perfectly embodied by Winston Churchill, right?]  

But as the Age of Manliness duly notes, it happens to be a phrase from Virgil's Aeneid...and just one more silly Latin thing this girl learned in a day...bon appetit (yeah, that is French....so?)

Gloria in excelsis Deo

and to think...you get all of this delight pro bono.  badump ba.

and now that you have arrived at the end of a day,  here's looking at you, kids.

This day is finished -- and as it ever was, where it stops nobody knows... it turned into a day in total, complete praise -- as in, magna cum laude to the max -- of Hillsdale College, Clarence Thomas, Aristotle...and me making magic with my Maker. amen.  It's just what we do in America, one day at a time...As Clarence Thomas declared, we began as a "flawed nation" but it IS our "last great hope."

semper fidelis,

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Coordinated Red Thread of Radicals to Fundamental Transformation Thing

Dear America,

did you really think "fundamental transformation" would look any different than this?

In order to get to the place that is thoroughly and fundamentally transformed, whatever operates in conflict with such a transformation -- either directly or indirectly -- must be removed, eliminated; all opposition must be taken out and become the new  non-event,  deemed obsolete and totally dispensable for the common good, and basically ridiculed, harassed and demonized until its gone.   poof!

Oh Alinsky rules, doesn't he?

What a brilliant, brilliant mind.

On the back cover of my edition of Rules for Radicals, A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals, a quote is offered up as enticement:

"Alinsky's techniques and teachings influenced generations of community and labor organizers, including the church-based group hiring a young [Barack] Obama to work on Chicago's South Side in the 1980's....Alinsky impressed a young [Hillary] Clinton, who was growing up in Park Ridge at the time Alinsky was the director of the Industrial Areas Foundation in Chicago." 

-- Chicago Sun-Times

oh really?


What is happening within the IRS is not an anomaly of this administration, or the teachings and workings of Saul Alinsky -- or for that manner, the tactics and teachings and workings of a "young [Barack] Obama."

"I have no patience with it. I will not tolerate it and we will make sure we find out exactly what happened on this."  said the aged President Obama yesterday...“If you’ve got the IRS operating in anything less than a neutral and non-partisan way then that is outrageous, it is contrary to our traditions and people have to be accountable and it’s got to be fixed."

Earth to reality check:  "lower level bureaucrats" don't just shoot from the hip and out their paper pushing-behinds pursuing 'fundamental transformation', funneling their energies by attacking organizations formally supporting "the other side" without a directive from somewhere else.   That kind of thing comes from a coordinated effort somewhere higher up in the chain of command.


While a report this morning completes that thought -- to a degree, anyway -- by claiming management is to blame.


This didn't just start like last Friday, folks.  It isn't an isolated incident in and around "Cincinnati," okay...

A caller on today's RUSH LIMBAUGH reminded all of us how Joe, the plumber, was targeted by the IRS immediately after his brush up with the president in the 2008 campaign.   How dare you, Joe, speak to [Barack] Obama like that...questioning redistribution and all...we'll show you....and promptly plastering Joe's financials all over the place.

And check this out from Breitbart;  it details outrageous allegations against the Obama camp, returning to an issue that became campaign fodder over a year ago:

"NOM [National Organization of Marriage]   announced Tuesday that it will sue the IRS for this alleged leak. Under immense political pressure, Attorney General Eric Holder launched a criminal investigation into the IRS's actions. Congress will conduct its own investigation.

In early April 2012, NOM published documents which it said showed this leaked confidential information did not come from a “whistleblower” but “came directly from the Internal Revenue Service and was provided to NOM's political opponents, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).” 

The Human Rights Campaign's president at the time, Joe Solmonese, "said in the release he felt Romney’s 'funding of a hate-filled campaign designed to drive a wedge between Americans is beyond despicable.' "  Oh right, because those of us who want to simply support traditional marriage are "hate-filled" bigots.   But the leveling of fundamental damage was in motion; in splendid liberal turn -- in perfect, synchronized coordination --  the full story was planted upon the pages of The Huffington Post with pride and prejudice.

And Joe -- Joe Solmonese --
oh he left the HRC and went on to work directly with the re-election campaign of [Barack] Obama the very next day.

"'After software removed the layers obscuring the document, it is shown that the document came from the Internal Revenue Service,' NOM asserted in its April 2012 release...Only the IRS would have the Form 990 with ‘Official Use’ information'....'The American people are entitled to know how a confidential tax return containing private donor information filed exclusively with the Internal Revenue Service has been given to our political opponents whose leader also happens to be co-chairing President Obama's reelection committee,' said [Brian] Brown."

“It is shocking that a political ally of President Obama's would come to possess and then publicly release a confidential tax return that came directly from the Internal Revenue Service," he declared. "We demand to know who is responsible for this criminal act and what the Administration is going to do to get to the bottom of it.”

Indeed.

Shocking.

Outrageous, even.

But you want to know what's even more outrageous?

What's outrageous is allowing Eric Holder investigate it.   We, the people, should feel secure leaving a political appointee of this regime in charge of investigating this crime?  Are you kidding me?

Do you even remember what [Barack] Obama calls the Tea Party? 

He often refers to the genuine, grassroots efforts by everyday citizens generally recognized as the Tea Party, as Tea Baggers -- a gay slur -- forever linking the derogatory, vagrant, seedy slip of the tongue with the Tea Party.

And now remember how quickly it became cool to make fun of the Tea Party Patriots from coast to coast.

Ridicule and delegitimize opposition;  it's simply brass tack tactics for the typical community organizer.

And then there is this --

Oh, but first, one itty bitty caveat -- we can't prove it -- but the story about what happened to Larry Conners  is something to talk about...you know, given the timing of it and all...Reporter: IRS Pressured Me After I Asked Obama Tough Questions

pretty outrageous, no?   And thank you, BuzzFeed Politics, for that.


The new targets --  anything and everything opposing the rosy red regime.

See here.

And here.

And here.

[and thank you, Drudge, for a little help]

Have we fallen down a rabbit hole?  Are we in some kind of parallel America that really lives on the other side of the world, the other side of sanity, the other side of liberty, sitting fundamentally transformed  yet suffocating under a pillow of goose feathers and soft tyranny?

We can't ask tough questions of a president now?    Thank you, Larry.

We can't make our own video and post it on YouTube?  Thank you, one guy who made a video against the prophet Mohammed.

We can't even run a fair and balanced campaign running on the merits.

We can't bear arms?  Thank you, knee jerk reactions following the horror of Newtown....Oh, unless it's bearing arms for Fast & Furious or gun running in Benghazi.

We can't freely exercise our religion?  Thank you, Obamacare, just for starters.  Oooh and this reminds me -- MUST READ THIS:   Religion and Public Life in America, R.R. Reno, Editor of First Things, essay adapted from a speech for Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar.


The outrageous things this shadow government stands for are finally coming to the surface.  The smudges are glaring, catching our eye no matter where we turn our heads.

But none of this should surprise any of us.

A sinister, creepy realization has come to light.    The uber-coordinated efforts to attack and eliminate opposition in order to FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA through deep background and bureaucracy -- through any means possible and available -- even if it's illegal -- thank you A/P -- is hardly outrageous for a community organizer.  It's all in a day's work, and the more under-world the better.   Thank you, Chicago.

There is a coordinated, red thread chaining together each and every dereliction of duty -- whether it be from the Department of Justice, the State Department, the Executive Branch and the Office of the President of the United States.

The only thing really intolerable, inexcusable, and outrageous to the community organizer is getting caught.

That is what we see on the face of our president -- shame.  The shame of getting caught.

This is a sad day for America.

Outrageous and so sad.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

happy monday.
it is a brand new week... the birdies are chirping... the fishy's are jumpin'...I just might sing me a round of Moon River on the steps of a fire escape, strumming my old guitar, before the day is done (and if you clicked Dear America you would get that)... for Congress has just bought themselves another week of life!  It's a good thing.

And yet, there was something off with the first whispers from the president immediately after the announcement of a deal on Friday night (or was it Saturday morning).  He said "I normally wouldn't be in favor of these sort of spending cuts" ... [and carried on anyway, almost begrudgingly... saying "but we have to"...ho hum...heavy sigh later... "we have to live within our means" now...]

You normally wouldn't be in favor?  ...of little... puny...hardly making a dent...less than 2% of the budget...spending cuts?  seriously?  what is going to happen over the course of the discussion about the 2012 budget, the upcoming debt ceiling debate, or your overall response of the insistence by 'we the people' to return our government to responsible fiscal policy? and going back to our questions of just last week -- what about your campaign promises to go "line by line" and ultimately "halve the deficit before the end of your first term" (instead of quadrupling it)?  You say you "normally wouldn't be in favor of these sort of spending cuts"...um, just what would the conditions need to look like for you to abnormally be in favor of it (if that even gets us any closer)?

but let's not dwell, shall we.
it's spring time by golly.

So, in light of my american girl diary being abruptly hijacked with the hi-jinx of congress all last week, I certainly don't want to dwell on the past any more than I have to; what's done is done; what is left undone, is yet to be done -- or will never get done; what's undone and broken is now a matter of record -- and how.  History will decide, as they say.

This week officially begins 'spring break' for me and my girl. And I very much intend to move forward looking forward...in every way.

And proving the magnificence of the universe (again) -- because there are no accidents -- just the right stuff arrived fresh and flirty in my Saturday's mail to help me along (of course, a certain William McGurn might find that context a wee bit odd).  But pour me a scotch and light my ciggy anyway, I do believe a little spring forward is overflowing with possibility with ah, how do you say, a certain je ne sais quoi now that I have something truly tantalizing in front of me.  Oh darling, move over Holly Golightly, "dismal science" is so yesterday.

A Publication of Hillsdale College, the Imprimis, has arrived: "The Not so Dismal Science: Humanitarians v. Economists" is an adaptation from a speech given March 3, 2011, presented by William McGurn, while at Hillsdale taking part of a two-week residency "as a distinguished visiting fellow in speech and journalism."

As he prepares his audience for the argument in store for them, he begins:

"...when it comes to seeing the potential in even the most desperate citizens of this earth, our economists, business leaders, and champions of a commercial republic are often far ahead of our progressives, artists, and humanitarians."

McGurn leads us through a number of windows in history, from slavery to population control to impoverished nations, from the economics side to the humanitarian supply side, from the civil war on through to the present, and for a second, all the way back to the book of Genesis.  He makes ample and abundant the relationship of sound economics when applied with the firm belief that "free men and free women can accomplish for themselves."

Building upon the cornerstones of our society, he reminds us of "the unalienable dignity and matchless potential in every human life...The book of Genesis tells us we possess this dignity because we have been fashioned in the image and likeness of our Creator.  Adam Smith told us that we are equal because we share the same human nature."

and adding an observation from a conference McGurn attended nearly a decade ago, he quotes Gary Becker saying, "I am struck by the similarity between the church's view of the relationship between family and the economy and the view of economists -- arrived at by totally independent means, Economic science and spiritual concerns appear to point in the same direction."

And making a strong close, McGurn gives us this:

"One does not have to be an economist to recognize that societies that open their markets are better fed, better housed, and offer better opportunities for upward mobility than societies that remain closed and bureaucratic. Nor does one have to be a religious believer to recognize that the source of all man's wealth has been just this: that he does not take the world as given, but uses his mind to find new and creative ways to take from the earth and add to its bounty. 

If, however, we do believe, can we really be surprised that the Almighty who created us in His image also bequeathed to us a world where we are most prosperous when we are most free?"

I am feeling so springy that I believe I'm beginning to feel, ah, how do you say, a wee bit woozy.   hiccup.

In the beginning, of America, a long, long time ago, the connection with our Creator wasn't necessarily out of an organized religious force, as something that we had to do, as perhaps a stipulation against our will or fancy, under the commandment of some kind of heavy handed, vengeful, mean God who just wanted to rule the world in conjunction with a power synonymous with government control.  No.  We purposefully aligned, as individuals, and together as a society, protected Under God, endowed by our Creator, because doing so opened our hearts and minds to the creative Life Force that is God, that is Love, that is Creative (just look around and this sort of Intelligence affirms It's Presence everywhere...in every tiny living breathing thing).

And as McGurn pointed out, we don't even have to believe, or follow, an organized religion to do it, to create; all things being equal, whether accepted as your Truth, or not, all people, of all walks of life, are fully equipped to tap into the Source and create something out of nothing (shhhh, we are even doing it unconsciously at times, shhhh).  

We do it following natural urges and inclinations, for better or for worse, because we are kinda free like that to do so (emphasis on "kinda"); it is purely our talents, our application, our ability to transcend the trappings of humanity that may test our souls and stifle our god given purpose with a vitality and passion that is uniquely "fashioned in the image and likeness of our Creator."  We, as human beings, tap into the very same Goodness and Godliness of the Creator Itself.

The thing is -- being at the start of this happy-go-lightly spring break from school and normal routine -- is that it has equally stirred my senses to think about our schools and normal routines just the same. (weird)

Unless attending a private school to which time is generally, if not specifically, allotted, NOT once in our children's day in the public school system is turned over to reflect on the Creative Life Force within, or without; not once.

No moment of silence.  No re-alignment with the Great Equalizer that can shape a life from a pea to a princess, a pauper to a king, a Lula Mae into a Holly Golightly (I know, I know, a strange twist and a stretch, but humor me, if you will).  But in this modern era, even though we are said to have "progressed" over time, we now create children only to send them off to school to have their God given life force snuffed right out of them, or simply ignored altogether, if not also, demonized and sent to the back of the class.

...because, heaven forbid, we try to teach them a moral conscience, a connection to mankind, the differences between good and evil, and the essence of the Creator itself planted deep within their soul, individually and collectively, and their inherent duty to live in relationship with It, whatever you want to call it...or even, for just a moment, THINK about just what It Is, and ponder It, question It, learn something from It.

yeah, heaven forbid we do that.

We used to teach these things -- back in the eighteen hundreds -- every day.  In addition to church on Sunday, our schools would teach our children through stories, like those captured in what became known as the McGuffey's Readers.  These books used fables and prose, poems and Bible verse, all to make a point:  to urge children to think, ponder, dwell upon the deeper questions and concerns we all have in common with being human.  And not only think about these things within themselves, but debate them with one another -- further allowing the creative life force to work It's magic through the classroom, and ultimately touching each and every child through osmosis, if nothing else.

Of course, McGuffey's Readers were not used everywhere, but when people joke about the olden days and only having an eighth grade education (yes, like the beginnings of certain Abraham Lincoln) they may not have considered how serious the studies were way back when...you know, back in the day. Some might even say, immediately following the age of enlightenment, came the age of what comes next -- how to best use this new found enlightenment in daily life for the betterment of the whole (taking into account economists and humanitarians alike, of course) while, not to mention, making striking advances for oneself.

From the author of Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach, came a companion book simply called, Something More.  In it, she makes an incredible claim saying, "We're not meant to fit in.  We're meant to stand out."  think about that!

And goes on to tell of a response to such a quandary for self-esteem from Marianne Williamson -- who is, in my opinion, one of the greatest New Age writer's of our day (especially during the 90's, when she was often on Oprah). Marianne laid things out like this:

"We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  [But] actually, who are you NOT to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.  [You] were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within [you]."

Adam Smith meet Marianne Williamson.

Yes!  Don't you just love that, "your playing small does not serve the world."  (and yet, if we get just one more charlie sheen...oi vay)

Our Judeo-Christian heritage, following the great escape from the Church of England, in order to create a more perfect union separating the church and state, had nothing to do with creating a separation from our Creator, nothing of the sort.  Whether authentically Christian, Jewish, or Deists, our founders connected to God as a Life Force, and a Life Force NOT intended to ever be separated.   For this creative principle is always beginning and never ending.  They believed in the manifestation of Divine Ideas through and through, and likewise, equally shared within each person, making it very easy to devise a system of government surrounded around freedom, liberty with as little government intervention as humanly possible (oops).

From the Science of Mind visionary, Ernest Holmes, "The profound thought of all ages has stood in awe of Life itself, realizing that here is a power and potentiality, the highest possibilities of which the human intellect cannot fathom.    Universal principles are never respecters of persons; the Universe has no favorites."  Another way to look at it, respective of the law that Thoughts are Things, is  -- what you think about expands...so be very, very careful of where your thought goes in the first place (but that we shall save for another day).

This is the stuff that we are made.  It is incredibly powerful -- while also wondrously fair. Our founders gave us the greatest gift ever by recognizing certain unalienable truths and principles  for all people -- for all free people, that is.  To be certain, societies falling under the unlimited, overzealous government umbrella, those perhaps deemed "closed and bureaucratic," fail to teach, and reach, potentialities and divine destiny every time.

While in one final argument, made by another stellar professorial type, Dr. Tibor Machan of The Daily Bell, reminds us how lucky are we that even our own morality, and choices thereof, must remain free to be or not to be (and perfect timing if I do say so myself... in my In Box.... just this morning....strange):

"It is impossible to do the  morally right thing at the point of a gun.  Coerced morality is a contradiction in terms.  Only when one does what is right or wrong voluntarily, of one's own free will or initiative, does it amount to something morally significant...But if one has a moral obligation to help one's unfortunate fellows, promote the arts, conserve resources, or guard against the destruction of ancient ruins – all of that and anything similar has to be undertaken voluntarily, not at gunpoint.  That's the nature of moral or ethical obligations and responsibilities."

exactly;  which is why the left (and right) cannot simply make it so by force through regulation by government commandments; which is why the education of our children must include simple discussions examining just that -- with no child left behind.

Our children require the tools to make up their own mind and construct the moral foundation from which they choose to live... creatively, abundantly, freely, in the pursuit of their own happiness...I mean, for goodness sakes, can't we at least talk about It?

Our children require time open for discussion -- giving ample time for real, deep, meaningful thought and debate to occur...so that maybe, one day, they too, "add to the bounty" of this great earth and not simply take things away. 

Our schools could be designed as miniature THINK TANKS for good, all over the country.  Not out of coercion, but from a place of learning, giving, for broadening horizons and even, "winning the future."  But a shutdown of the debate itself not only hinders our growth and expansion, but it suffocates even the tiniest possibilities to bud.  Our last hundred years took Spirit out of our schools and routines, may in the next, we bring It back.

At one time, we were all taught to tap into the Divine as if it were child's play, as if every day was like spring time. How on earth did we get here?  Think progress?

I think NOT.

Make it a Good Day, G