Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care, about Time? – Chicago

In our house, none of the clocks tell the same time as any other clock in the house. My beloved seems to require a certain ambiguity that depends largely upon where she is when the issue of time becomes important. In the bedroom, the clock is deliberately set fifteen or even twenty minutes fast in order to spur her into action in the morning by creating the illusion that it is later than it actually is. In the kitchen the stove, microwave and clock radio cannot reach consensus due to the inevitable “creep” inherent in all things when given a mind of their own. The cable box for the television, my computer and my cell phone, receiving their time from a central collective, fare much better.

Certainly there is an objective actual time, but as I’ve grown older I find that I no longer seek it with the precision I did in the corporate world. My days are now governed more by what I intend to accomplish and my stamina than what the hands on my watch indicate. My watch, by the way, is set to match my cell phone whenever it becomes necessary to change the date. If I must be somewhere at an exact time, I usually opt to arrive early, in deference to those as slavishly clock bound as I once was. For them, the quantity of time is of far greater import than its quality. Now if I concede there is a quantity factor with respect to time, I must also concede there is a quality aspect to it as well.

I once scoffed at the idea of spending “quality time” with my children. I can distill the most amazing moments with my children to a few precious hours over the course of many, many years. Those moments would have happened whether I was there to witness them or not. That I was there was more a function of my always being there, and a modicum of luck. Those moments could not be scheduled to happen in the evenings between five and seven o’clock any more than any of the other flashes of insight that happen spontaneously in our lives. When an epiphany happens, it happens of its own accord. To witness this in our children is a gift, but it will happen when it will without regard to our presence.

I have come to reevaluate my position on “quality time” lately. A friend of mine, a cancer survivor, has the good fortune to have his daughter home for a few months between graduating from medical school and starting her residency requirements. It is unlikely that any grand thing will happen during this period; but he is savoring every minute of the precious time he has to spend with her. He realizes that time with this child will be very rare after her career takes off. It was only after reflecting on this that I realized something. Those amazing moments with my kids were exceptional, but the reality was that every interaction I had with my kids was and continues to be “quality time”. I just couldn’t see the quality for the quantity.

I guess I’ll have to factor in the quality of the time I spend as my years drift toward their inevitable end. Whatever my remaining time, I hope it will be spent on things I value, with people I love, doing things that have a meaning beyond myself, as I strive to be worthy of the mercy of the Living God. I pray all of my remaining time will be quality time.

Scottie

“I went down to the crossroads, got down on my knees . . .”  My how those Clapton lyrics resonate with me these days. I think everyone inevitably finds themselves here at life's crossroads many times in a lifetime. I was here when I was in my mid-twenties at the crossroads of a sustained adolescence and true adulthood. I was here again in my early thirties, when I realized that my life wasn’t what I wanted it to be and that the fault was entirely my own. I find myself here at yet another of life’s crossroads, at the cusp of being old and near the end of my better physical years. I have aches and pains now that for years I could simply shrug off. My eyesight is waning and I need glasses to read now. I don’t heal like I used to. The recovery process, like everything else about me, is slowing down.

I’ve greeted this loss of vigor with outrage and rancor. How on earth could the meager sum of my days lightly lived add to such a grand toll of years? Am I really going to be Fifty in a couple of months? Has it truly come down to this; am I truly at the crossroads again? There’s no escaping it; Yes! It is time to reflect again, to reevaluate things in light of what I’ve learned. Time to clean up my life and set a new course.

I’ve lost a lot and I’m sure to lose more. I just don’t have the stamina I used to have. I have to pace myself now. I have to learn to quit biting off more than I can actually do and do well. I can’t just stuff whatever I want into my mouth anymore; the doc says it’s time to watch these things. I’ll have to learn to savor a little instead of indulging at will. What was once effortless begins now to require effort. I’ll have to decide what exertions are worthy and learn to live with the loss of the things I can no longer do.

But in the losing there is always more to be gained. I lost my adolescence at the crossroads to adulthood. At the time I was saddened by the losses and utterly blinded to the benefits I would receive in exchange. In hindsight, the gains were monumentally greater than the loss. I had two wonderful children in those years. I learned a trade that I loved with the newfound discipline I received. The second time I left the crossroads, I was sure at the time that the cost was more than I could bear. I lost a wife to divorce and my father to the great beyond. I lost a job that had taken all I had and no longer had much to offer in return. In exchange, I received an education and a new profession worthy of my talents. I found a new hobby in close-up magic and was a fixture in the basement at the Magic Castle in Hollywood performing every weekend I could go. I got a fresh start and I made the most of it. In hindsight, I definitely got the better of the exchange.

Now I’m here again, at the crossroads, saying goodbye to many things I’ve long taken for granted. And while I’m sad to lose them, this time I’m as excited as a child on Christmas Eve. I’ve got new challenges ahead, new friends to make, and a fresh sheet of paper on which to draw a meaningful future for myself, and for my bride to be. This time I’m thankful to be here. This time I will not bemoan the loss; rather I will look forward to the new blessings I have yet to realize. I will be thankful for all that has brought me here, to the crossroads of life, once again.

 

Scottie

Why is healthcare so expensive? Paradoxically, it’s because it’s so cheap! We are grossly over-insured when it comes to healthcare. This is largely due our managing to shift the cost of our health insurance to others (employers and the government). We perceive a “free lunch”; so why not make it steak and lobster? But there is no “free lunch”, there never is.

Can you imagine the cost of auto insurance if it had to cover our vehicles as comprehensively as our health insurance covers our bodies? It would have to cover routine maintenance, fuel costs, minor repairs, all normal wear and tear, on top of any catastrophic damage. And how well would we care for our cars if insurance paid for all of these things? What would happen to the cost of an oil change if we were all free to demand synthetic oil and super premium filters for a mere $15 out-of-pocket co-pay?

I’ll bet you could never sell such a stupid idea to your employer. Only the government could push such an economically ignorant plan. Of course this was a logical response at its inception to another stupid government plan, Wage & Price controls. Since employers couldn’t raise wages to attract talented people, when the IRS ruled that employer provided health care insurance was tax deductible, employers turned to this form of Other Compensation. Now they’re stuck with it and face the prospect of being forced farther down this road with plans like Mitt Romney’s, requiring them to provide it whether they want to or not.

I have been without health insurance for some time. What strikes me as particularly surreal is my doctor’s inability to determine what amount I owe him for his services in cash on the day of service. He has no idea what the drugs he prescribes, the procedures he recommends, or the tests he requests, will cost me. He can’t even price his own services. He is utterly clueless about the cost structure of his industry, and has little incentive to find out. The consumer can’t shop around, because the system is so dysfunctional.

I'd also like to touch on the “right” to health care. I know several newly minted physicians. One of my best friend’s kids is getting ready to start her residency requirements. I’ve met her roommates and classmates, aspiring doctors all. They are all superlative people. I’ve never met a better group of people. By what “right” do we propose to take the fruits of their long years of sacrifice and dedication to education? Don’t they have a right to the well deserved benefits accruing to their astronomical investment of time, effort and money? Do we really think these intelligent people will not respond to having their services hijacked in the name of manufactured “Rights” by those unwilling and unable to do what they do? Anyone capable of becoming a doctor is capable of becoming just about anything else they might choose. Creating a powerful disincentive can only be counterproductive in the long run.

The latest wrinkle in this long sad tale is the “New” idea of socialized medicine. The same people that have screwed health care up now use its being screwed up as justification to further screw it up. You know, because the government is just so efficient at running things like education, mail delivery, issuing licenses, and all the other many wonderful things they do. To paraphrase Dr. Thomas Sowell, “Why do those that think health care is expensive now think it will somehow be cheaper after we add a layer of government bureaucracy to it?”

Give individuals the money and access to health insurance. Then they are the paying customers. If an insurance company gives poor service, consumers can take their business to another insurance company. If a doctor charges too much, they can shop around. If the consumer demand existed for up front pricing, it would be available. Suddenly a $5,000 deductible doesn’t sound out of line, does it? Maybe if we had to shell out the $1,000 for a MRI, we’d be more amenable to the $300 CT Scan instead. If we all had to pay for our own insurance, the incentives would straighten things out in pretty short order. If health insurance worked like home owner’s insurance or car insurance, everything else would start making sense, too. The answer isn’t more government. The answer isn’t forcing employers to absorb the costs. The answer isn’t to confiscate the services of doctors. The answer is to return the costs and responsibilities to the consumer and let the magic of the invisible hand make things right again.

Scottie

Two of my children are missing! I don’t recall when they arrived, and I’ve never actually seen them; but they seem to have simply vanished. Their names are “Not Me!” and “I Don’t Know!” Be careful if you run into them as they tend to be quite destructive. Every time something was broken or missing around the house, the other children assured me it was one of these two phantom siblings. I’m not surprised or sad to be rid of these little masters of entropy, but I am surprised by their impact on the world since they’ve left home.

My wife says she hears about them all the time at her insurance office. It seems they are responsible for an alarming portion of the auto accidents here in town. Their handiwork invariably shows up sooner or later in the door panels of many new cars within a week or two of purchase. So I know they‘re driving a vehicle of some sort.

The grocer finds the damaged goods that they break and hide in the back of the shelves, and the refrigerated stock that is left to spoil in various inappropriate places. Their paths through department stores are strewn with damaged merchandise. Every time I go to Home Depot, there are one or two items that do not match in every bin. I can’t just grab ten items, I have to check each one to be sure they are all the same and not seven of what I want and three that I don’t. So I know they’ve been shopping.

They like visiting the local park, too. Their trash is all over the ground, their fires still smoldering in the communal grills. They seem to think that restroom walls cry out for their graffitic witticisms. I think they might have considered painting, but they appear to have ADHD. Maybe they were trying to do some kind of advertising, but someone failed to tell them that a message had to be intelligible to be effective. At least I know they are getting out to play.

It’s strange that we never actually see these two miscreants, only their handiwork. I’m sorry for inflicting these kids upon the rest of you. I would have strangled them myself if I’d ever actually encountered them. Please feel free to do so if you ever do. I’d consider it a personal favor.

I’ve spent a great deal of my adult life avoiding the abortion issue. “Choice” seemed like the moderate course; then I spent some time seriously reflecting on the matter. No matter how I approach this issue, I can no longer side with “Choice” with any intellectual honesty. The choice isn’t about a woman’s right to control her own body; it’s about her “right” to decide the fate of another’s, her baby’s. I cannot escape this conclusion, nor can anyone else once the situation is faced squarely and honestly.

As an analogy, let’s consider a shoplifter that is caught. At that point, I’m sure they are willing to return the stolen merchandise. But the act of shoplifting has already been committed; the bell cannot be un-rung. Similarly, once a woman has conceived, the bell has rung, however unintentionally. An abortion is comparable to requesting a return to the status quo ante, and just like the shoplifter, the relevant act has already been committed and cannot be undone.

While the shopkeeper may accept or decline this request as the injury is to him/her, in the case of the pregnant woman, the party to be spared or injured is the unborn baby. This baby is in no position to permit or forgive the consequence of the decision. In fact, this baby’s right to its destiny and its humanity must be denied for abortion to even be considered.

And it is a baby, make no mistake about that. It looks exactly like every other human baby at that stage of development; it develops just like any other human baby; and if unhindered in its development becomes a fully developed human baby. It is not “a clump of undifferentiated cells”, or a “potential” human being, or any other euphemism put forth to mask the gravity of the situation; it is in fact a human baby under development and nothing less.

The time for a woman to “control her own body” is forfeit once she has conceived. It is no longer her body that suffers the injury, but that of her developing child. While the exceptions for rape and incest are valid in the sense that the culpable party is not the woman but the man - who bears the responsibility for injury to both the woman and the child - this is not the case in more than a small portion of babies conceived. A pregnancy that genuinely threatens the life of the mother is also morally defensible, but again these make up a small portion of cases. Stretch marks, weight gain and all the other “injuries” a woman will rightly claim to suffer from carrying a child to term are more than outweighed by the injury of premature death suffered by an innocent child.

Finally, this developing human being is absolutely innocent. I cannot imagine an act committed before one’s first breath is drawn so grievous as to warrant the death penalty. Is the developing human a citizen? No. Does the law recognize the developing baby as a human being? No. But is it right to kill what we know to be an innocent human being? The only intellectually honest answer here is: No! At its essence, abortion is a question of right and wrong and the rights of the most vulnerable and innocent, not one of women’s rights to control their bodies.

It wasn’t unexpected, and I probably should be relieved, but I’m just so sad. She’s leaving this weekend; and taking everything I’ve ever given her with her. But it occurred to me that she’s taking something else that until last night I hadn’t even considered. She’s been such a big part of my life for so long; I don’t really know how to deal with the loss. We had dinner last night to iron out the details of her departure, and I just broke down on the way home when it finally hit me. My little girl isn’t my little girl any more. She graduates from college this Saturday and then it’s off to take on the world as an elementary school teacher.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m tremendously proud of her. She’s ready to take her place in the world; she’s earned it. This is the payoff for all the hard work she’s done. All the juggling of schedules, work at the restaurant, tests, work at the mall, student teaching, work at the bank, have all finally come to an end for her. Now she will enjoy the same grind everybody else in the workaday world does. I have no doubt she’ll do just fine out there. Did I mention how proud of her I am?

For the last quarter century, I’ve been her coach, mentor, support staff, financial aid department, driving instructor, teacher, protector, and cheerleader. It’s been a good job; one that I wouldn’t have traded for anything. I took pride in always being there for her. From her first night home from the hospital, I’ve doted and worried over her. It truly was the toughest job I ever loved.

I’ve been retired, let go, laid off, dismissed, terminated, fired; pick the term. In my mind I understand the necessity of this separation. This is the way of the world. Kids grow up and leave home to make their own mark on the world. And I’m not fretting about any unfinished business on my part. The job is done; well done. And we will see each other occasionally, and share e-mails, and the occasional phone call, just like I do with my brothers. But it’s never going to be the same again, and I’m just so sad.

Scottie

It's sad that boys today aren't exposed to the heroic literature of my youth.  Tales of courage and spirit by Jack London; adventures by Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs; stories of the human condition by Rudyard Kipling, have all vanished from the reading lists of the modern school.  These stories modeling traditional masculinity have been replaced with driveling feminized multicultural glop for the boys of today.  " Heather Has Two Mommys" has replaced "The Adventures of Robinson Carusoe."

Is it any wonder that today’s trendy male is the Metrosexual?  Has modern feminism managed to displace the concept of masculinity my father’s generation demanded of men; or has it been suppressed only waiting to reemerge as virile and unapologetic as in days of yore?  Exactly when did it become a sin to be unabashedly masculine?  I’m a man’s man in a world that offers few benefits to guys like me.  Well so be it.  But I’m not sorry.

I like to hunt when I can and I’m a better than average shot.  I can dress game, and cook it in many a tasty fashion.   I can put a keen edge on a knife and keep it there.  My guns are clean, loaded and ready at a moments notice.  That’s my idea of home insurance.  I’m not afraid to protect what is mine.  And I’m not sorry.

My tools are organized, maintained, and they work for a living.  They are extensions of who I am and enable me to perform tasks the modern man has let slip from his ken.  I can hang a door, paint a wall, wire an outlet, fix a lawnmower, roof a house, maintain my vehicles, and generally keep things working smoothly in my world.  And I’m not sorry.

My boys respect me, and my daughter is an independent young woman with a sense of her own value and direction.  I know the best way to help them is often to let them flounder and suffer the pain of their youthful mistakes.  I also know how to pick them up, dust them off and give them a pep talk when the situation requires.  “Get off your cross, build a bridge with the lumber, and get over it!” is my vernacular for “Go Kid Go”.  I’m a Dad, not a cheerleader.  And I’m not sorry.

My every waking hour is an example to my kids and a testament to my wife.  I don’t miss work, ever!  I go to church every Sunday.  I pay my debts and keep my word.  I read good books and listen to smart people.  I don’t suffer fools gladly.  I know horse puckey when I hear it and I’m not afraid to admit I’m wrong when I am.  I’m a good sport when I lose and a better one when I win.  I don’t run from confrontations, or delay dealing with unpleasant business.  I live by the rules I preach to my kids.  And I’m not sorry.

I take my share last without complaint.  I can deal with crumbled chips, bread heels, and three Cheez-its at the bottom of the box.  I can’t bear the thought of seeing my family hungry.  The house is always warm, lit, and dry.  The cupboards are full and the phone always works.  I’m generous with my time and enjoy explaining an algebra problem or checking a homework assignment.  It’s not about me, me, me in my world.  And I’m not sorry.

I’m aware of what is happening in the world around me.  I work to make my community better.  I vote intelligently in every election.  I watch out for the neighbor’s kids and stop to change a flat tire for a woman on the side of the road.  I know first aid and CPR.  I give blood.  I’ve served my country in the military.  I report crimes to the police.  I don’t do these things because I particularly want to or because I expect some kind of reward; I do them because it’s my duty to do these things.  And I’m not sorry.

I love my country, warts an all.  And I'm getting pretty sick of hearing about nothing but the warts all the time from people that don't appreciate or invest in this great nation of ours.  I know we're not perfect, but the naysayers that take cheap shots at my beloved homeland do it in the only land on earth that would allow them to act the way they do.  I don't love my government, or trust it much anymore; but, I'll take it over any other system on this planet.  Yes I'm a patriot.  And I'm not sorry.

I’ve sent three boys into the world with a pretty good blueprint to follow.  They are young men now.  None of them know what color “Windswept Ocean” is, or what the latest fashion is, and none of them care.  They all know the importance of work and discipline.  They are searching for their own paths in life; but they have a good sense of what is expected of them.  I’m a doting grandfather now.  An anachronism perhaps and getting older for sure, but I’m a man in the classic traditional sense of the word.  And I’m not sorry!

Scottie

 When I Use a Word, It Means Precisely What I Want It To Mean. Nothing More. Nothing Less."--Humpty Dumpty

If you Google Jessica Lynch, you will find the word heroine or hero prominent in the description of the top ten results. Could someone explain to me why Jessica Lynch is a hero(ine)? How exactly is answering the call of duty now the standard of Heroism? Isn’t there some element of willful disregard for one’s own safety involved? Isn’t it odd that Jessica is the hero for doing her job, but the anonymous soldiers that voluntarily risked their lives to rescue her (the real heroes) are largely unknown? Heroism just isn’t what it used to be. So many words in our language have been so watered down and usurped; it’s hard to take many concepts seriously. Words have meaning; but when they are casually misapplied or watered down, they cease to retain their original gravitas. I’ve noticed several words that just ain’t what they used to be.

Bigot and Racist used to mean people that harbored an irrational hated of other people because of the color of their skin or their ethnicity. These were truly despicable people. Today however, it generally means you don’t agree with someone of another race. You’re against affirmative action? Yep, you’re a racist. What is especially egregious is that apparently only white people are racists and bigots. The hateful language of Louis Farrakhan is perfectly acceptable; since he’s black, he can’t be racist or bigoted.

Gay used to mean happy, lively and merry. But this word too has been twisted; so twisted in fact, that if you try to use the thesaurus in Microsoft Word, it has no synonyms to offer. In fact it now denotes homosexuality. My point is not to argue about homosexuality, but to point out the twisting of the language. Even the geniuses in Seattle can’t find a way to deal with the unbelievable versatility of the word gay.

Rape used to have a meaning. It was the heinous act of taking a woman without her consent, usually by force or with the threat of violence. Most women used to know immediately when they were raped. Now consensual marital relations are argued to be a form of rape. Some young women now discover they’ve been raped only after being informed by counselors weeks after the fact. Talk about a word trying to hit a moving concept.

Child abuse used to mean the cruel mistreatment of children without regard to their welfare. Now it can be smoking in their presence or giving them a paddling. In fact, its current meaning has become so elastic that no two state agencies can agree on the definition. Kind of like pornography, “the bureaucrat knows it when she sees it.” It just depends on which bureaucrat you draw in the crapshoot of government largess.

Poverty used to mean you couldn’t earn enough to sustain yourself. Poor people didn’t have enough food, or phones, or cable TV. They couldn’t afford to go to a doctor. Their homes were cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Today poverty has become, thanks to LBJ’s “War on Poverty”, largely a group of people with cable TV, microwaves, cars, housing, phones, medical care, day care, job training, AFDC, central air and heat, and food stamps. Just doesn’t seem as onerous as it once did, now does it?

And if poor isn’t what it used to be, rich sure has changed somewhere along the way. Rich used to mean your money worked for you, instead of you working for your money. Today it’s a nice loose term to mean “people that make more money than you.” I made a good living in Los Angeles, but I guess the government thought I was rich, because between state and federal income taxes and social security, more than half of my paycheck was confiscated every payday; and that’s before I contributed to my 401K and health insurance. Go figure; I was rich but I couldn’t scrape up enough money to leave town.

Nazis used to be a pretty foul group of fascists bent on annihilating the Jews and conquering the European continent. Now it’s anyone that doesn’t agree with you, especially if you’re a Republican. Any time you propose projecting military power, no matter the reason (i.e. self-defense), you’re being a Nazi. If war’s too strenuous for you, just run for President as a Republican and wait for it. With no effort at all, you will become a Nazi to some group of malcontents almost every week no matter what you do.

Respect used to be something you earned by your projection of integrity. It wasn’t something you could demand of anybody; you had to work for it. Today, if you don’t afford some punk without a job, an education, or a clue the courtesy normally reserved for heads of state, you’re dis(respect)ing them. Bizzarro World twists another perfectly meaningful word that was just minding its own business.

Tolerance once meant putting up with something, especially if you found it unpleasant or annoying, but not worth fighting about. You tolerated Uncle Herb’s flatulence. Now, tolerance means you accept, embrace, and sanctify anything no matter how offensive it is. If you don’t, you’re being intolerant. Apparently those redefining the term never had to sit next to Uncle Herb at Thanksgiving dinner.

Lie used to connote saying something you knew to be false. Now it means that if you ever have to make a decision, no matter how grave the situation, if you get a single word, idea or item wrong, you are a total liar and everything you ever said was a lie, and you can’t be trusted again, not ever, ever, ever. In fact you’re such a liar, you actually personally killed people! But what if you’re a Democratic President that gets caught lying about getting a hummer in the Oval Office? Fugetaboutit, that’s not a lie. That oath you took in court didn’t really mean anything. Perjury? Nahhh, that’s not lying. This word has become verbal silly putty.

Misogynist used to involve hating or mistreating women; kind of like the Muslims do to their women today. But now it means disagreeing with any disagreeable strident feminist. If you believe homemaking is an honorable pursuit and you’re male, you’re a misogynist. If you’re a woman, you’re just a misguided self-loathing sellout.

The phobic triad has pretty well gummed up the lexicon. Phobic once meant to have an irrational fear of something. But these modern phobias have transformed to denote opposition to various causes. Xenophobia = against illegal immigration; homophobia = against any part of the radical gay agenda; Islamophobia = having a rational fear of Islamists, Any term with the suffix of phobia or phobe is now suspect. It’s really a verbal two-fer. I’m better than you and my words are bigger.

I’m sure there are some things I’ve overlooked here, but the thrust is clear. We’ve carelessly used hyperbolic words to get some impact, and now they have no power anymore. Like the boy who cried “Wolf!”, we now get no response when one is called for. It’s sad that when a woman is raped, really raped, we all pause and wait for the inevitable shading we’ve come to expect. If there really is a racist, like David Duke, the term racist just doesn’t have the sting it once did. Our language has become so diluted that eating chickens is being compared to the holocaust (thanks PETA). I fear that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men cannot put our language in order again.

Scottie

Perhaps the simplest litmus test for determining whether someone is a liberal or a conservative is to ask, “Do you think Robin Hood is a hero or a criminal?”

Only an answer based on feeling would elicit the hero response.  It just feels good to punish those greedy rich people in order to help the poor, right?  If your basis for reasoning is feeling, you’re done.  Problem solved; next issue.  If someone confronts you on this position, all you have to do is accuse them of hating the poor.  Life is just so simple when you don’t have to invoke the power of reason before you take a position.

However, if your first impression is that he’s a criminal, you can probably come up with a bunch of questions on the matter with very little effort at all.  Isn’t it wrong to steal?  Who gets to identify the evil rich and the worthy poor?  Does giving free money to the poor really help them?  What would happen if everyone did this?  Where does it stop?

I think this is what separates the thinking of the Left from that of the Right.  Pick any issue that the Left FEELS strongly about, and you will find the same pattern.  Here are a couple of examples:

Immigration:

From the Left you get: “Yes, we should let anyone in that wants to come.”  And if you challenge this position, you get, “You’re just xenophobic”.

From the Right you get a lot of questions that often go unanswered.  How will this influence the culture?  Who’s going to pay for all the social services we will have to provide?  Don’t we have rules about this?  Isn’t this a violation of our national sovereignty?

Affirmative Action:

From the Left you get: “Of course, we have to make up for past discrimination” followed by the “racist” epithet is you challenge this.

From the Right you again have some questions: How does sanctioning discrimination fix discrimination?  Wouldn’t it make more sense to help people based on lack of opportunity, rather than race?  Won’t this devalue the efforts of the people we help?”

This is particularly unnerving as many of these positions have been put into practice somewhere at one time or another and the results are there to be evaluated.  Programs leave a paper trail, empirical evidence that is often ignored or cherry picked.  The fundamentals of economics haven’t changed; but one has to understand them before rational conclusions can be reached.  One isn’t required to rely on emotion or instinct to evaluate proposals, but rather is required to do some “leg work”.

Thankfully, the internet makes a lot of this research available to the masses.  What is missing, particularly from those on the Left, is the intellectual curiosity to search for the answers, to see things clearly before coming to a conclusion.  All too often we see feelings substituting for facts and intellect.  If nothing else distinguishes the Left from the Right, the desire to understand the true nature of the situation tends to come from the Right whereas the resort to emotional evaluations tends to animate the Left.

I say “tend to come from” because many arguments the Right puts forth are arguments by biblical citation.  Theology is a wonderful basis for organizing a life, instilling a philosophy, and setting the fundamental tenets of social interaction.  But theological arguments are less convincing than those that put them forth would believe.  At their core they are emotional arguments based upon beliefs, not facts.  The theology to which one subscribes should indicate where one should look for the examples and answers rather than be put forth as an answer in and of itself.  Further, it doesn’t do much to sway those that do not share that theology.  Theology informs how to think through a problem, but lacks the necessary specificity to be a conclusive argument on its own.

I celebrate the diverse opinions and debate available to us here at Townhall.  I have developed a keen eye for arguments that fall flat from both sides.  I have seen people with intellectual gravitas undone in the heat of the exchange.  In virtually every case, it was because the response was emotional rather than reasoned.  If you “know” it, you should be able to prove it or give an example or two.  If you can’t, you have some work to do before you put your idea forth.  If you can’t do the work, the Left will provide you with a nice kit of “Verbal Stink Bombs”, and you will have much more time to lord your moral superiority over the rest of us without the bother of thinking, researching, or making sure you’re right.  The choice is yours; will emotion or reason inform your positions?

I:  Is Iran going to build nuclear weapons?
A: Our nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

I:  But your country is sitting on one of the largest oil reserves in the world; why
    does Iran need nuclear power?
A: It is our right as a sovereign nation to build nuclear capacity.

I:  You have called for the elimination of Israel from the face of the earth; do you
    mean that?
A: Allah commands it.

I:  Aren't you willing to negotiate with other nations to discontinue your nuclear
    ambitions?
A: To negotiate, yes; to stop, absolutely not.

I:  The other nations are willing to compromise with you to make progress.  Aren’t you
    willing to meet them halfway?
A: What can man give that would allow me to ignore the command of Allah?

I:  If Israel were attacked, Iran would face devastating retaliation in kind.  You are
    willing to risk the lives of every Iranian to destroy Israel?
A: All of my people are ready to be martyrs in the name of Allah.

I:  So you are willing to start a nuclear holocaust in the name of Allah?
A: If it is the only way to assure the return of the twelfth Imam, the perfect human
    being that is the salvation of the world, as promised by Allah.

I:  But you said your nuclear program was for peaceful purposes?
A: It is.  After the arrival of the twelfth Imam, there will peace throughout the world
    under Sharia, just as Allah has promised.

I:  Well thank you for this interview, it’s been very enlightening.  I think I’ll be
    going now to build a bomb shelter in my back yard.
A: You do that infidel, you do that.

 

Borrowing an idea from my fellow blogger Cynewolf, I’ve decided to post something a little lighter and less ponderous than my usual fare. Think of this as a nice sherbet to cleanse the intellectual palate between courses. Of course, I will gladly welcome any thoughts of this nature you wish to add. Enjoy.

Why do Asian teenagers, largely an intelligent, hardworking and successful group, seem to prefer rap music? Why do the rapper’s cries of injustice and oppression attract a group whose lifestyle and values are at complete odds with this message?

Why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Why do the wonderful ideas touted by the elites always have to be coerced by the government (i.e. at gunpoint)?

Why do they swab your arm with alcohol prior to administering a lethal injection?

When you go to a donut shop, they pick up your donuts with a piece of wax paper so they don’t touch the donuts with their hands. So why do they put that tainted piece of waxed paper into the bag with your donuts?

Why are there Braille pads on drive-up ATM’s?

Good news is worthless; bad news is actionable. If you hear all is well, what do you do? If a customer complains the coffee isn’t hot, you check the coffee pot!

When given the task to clean up forty tables, most will immediately plan everything necessary to clean them. An exceptional few will first ask why the tables need to be cleaned.

Why are the keys on phones different from the number pads on computers?

Why can I calculate a mortgage with my old Hewitt-Packard calculator, turn it off, and when I turn it on a month later the mortgage calculation is still there, instantly; but it takes my computer ten minutes just to get started every morning?

Can an all powerful God make something so big he can’t lift it? Think about it.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Always asked, but never answered.

Why does a hamburger and a coke cost the same as a hamburger, coke and fries?

    I hate the concept of hyphenated Americans, and maybe I’ll do an article on that subject one of these days, but for the nonce I will accept the politically correct term in order to focus on more pressing issues. I cannot understand why the African-American community seems incapable of recognizing that the party they perpetually prop up is working at cross purposes to their own interests. Furthermore, given the nearly even split between the parties, it is unquestionable that African-American voters have the power to swing elections to the Republican side should they decide to do so. Let’s examine a few positions taken by the Democratic party that are in direct opposition to the best interests of the African-American community.

Gun Control:

    The Democratic Party is the party of gun control. These feel-good policies might sound good, but the actual effect is to disarm law abiding citizens, or turn them into unwitting criminals, while doing absolutely nothing to stop gun violence and crime. Given the disproportionately high crime rates in the urban neighborhoods in which many African Americans live, the need to maintain the ability to defend oneself is self-evident. The police aren’t going to be there until long after the crime has been committed. Since the state has no affirmative duty to come to the defense of the citizenry, disarming average citizens seems to be an all cost and no benefit position. The inability to defend oneself, particularly in high crime neighborhoods, has been actively supported by the Democratic Party. This is contrary to the best interests of the African-American community.

School Choice:

    The Democratic Party is beholden to the powerful National Education Association, the lobbying arm of the teacher’s unions. Any effort to reform the education system will have to come from somewhere other than the Democrats. Unfortunately, school choice (i.e. vouchers) is vehemently opposed by the Democratic Party. In fact, any serious effort at real education reform will be opposed. If a good education is the foundation for moving up and out of poverty, the Democrats haven’t delivered it in over two generations. This is hardly beneficial to the African-American community which has a disproportionate share of underperforming schools. The Democratic position is again contrary to the best interests of the African-American community.

Gay Marriage:

    As one of the most deeply religious and church centered groups in the nation, the African-American community doesn’t support same-sex marriage. The uproar that occurs when the gay community tries to compare itself to the civil rights struggles of African-Americans and co-opt the moral high ground earned by them supports this conclusion. These two Democratic constituencies have very little common ground beyond the way they vote. Given the inordinately high illegitimacy rate in the African-American community, undermining the institution of marriage certainly isn’t in their interests. Getting back to a more traditional family model would be an enormous benefit to the African-American community, but not if it’s compromised in the way the Democrats seem determined to do.

Social Security Reform:

    Given the shorter life expectancy in the African-American community, social security is a total rip-off for them. Nearly every dollar earned by African-Americans is subject to the FICA tax, and the wealth accumulated during a longer than average working life is forfeited when the earner dies. Having ownership of these savings would allow families to pass on this accumulated wealth to their children, supplying the seed money from which empires are built. Through their fear mongering, the Democrats have managed to gain support for the confiscation of this wealth from the very people from whom it is being expropriated. This is hardly in the interests of the African-American community.

Affirmative Action:

    In what can only be the longest running inside joke in the history of mankind, the elites have peddled this monstrosity to the African-American community. On its face it seems like a good idea and a boon to the recipients of this largess. But it is really nothing more than a condescending willingness to concede that African-Americans cannot succeed without the help of their white superiors. It makes a mockery of the concept of equality and runs counter to the ideas of Frederick Douglas and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  Every African-American success is tainted by this program, and the elites get to take credit for being so enlightened. Undermining the concept of merit and installing a sense of entitlement in its place isn’t in the true interests of the African-American community. The staunchest defenders of affirmative action, and its close cousin, diversity, are the Democrats.

Welfare Reform:

    The hyperbolic predictions emanating from the Democratic Party on welfare reform never came to pass. The planets didn’t stop orbiting the sun. In fact, once its success was apparent, the first “Black President” jumped to the front of the parade and claimed credit for the success. This reform was only signed in the eleventh hour by a president whose concern for reelection overwhelmed the virulent protests of his party. That welfare reform disproportionately benefited the African-American community is indisputable; as is the Democrat’s opposition to the reform in the first place. Once again, the Democrats were working against the true best interests of the African-American community.

    How can the African-American community continue to support the Democratic Party?  It just doesn’t make sense to me. The “War on Poverty” hasn’t delivered on the promise in over forty years.  We’ve spent enough money to give every poor person at its inception a nice three bedroom home and a college education to every child in those homes, and where are we at?  Affirmative action gets candidates into colleges and jobs that are beyond their abilities, and the subsequent inevitable failures that follow are simply ignored.  It’s insanity to keep doing the same things over and over again while expecting a different result every time.  Isn’t it time for a change?

Scottie

I read Mona Charen's Column today and it breaks my heart.  The fix is in; we’re bugging out.  If we do, I will be ashamed of my country.  We will have done nothing to be proud of in abandoning Iraq.  The face of the old woman in Muslim headdress, smiling and proudly holding her ink stained finger up for all to see, haunts me.  How do we face the brave people of Iraq that stood in queues all day in the hot desert sun risking their very lives to vote, counting on us to deliver on our promise?  What balm is there for our collective conscience if we “redeploy”?

The left wants us to remember Viet Nam. Well I do remember.

I remember winning the war, and a feckless Democratic congress withdrawing support for our ally as part of the victory celebration for having ousted Richard Nixon.  I also recall that hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people were slaughtered.  I recall that the power vacuum we created by turning our backs on an ally emboldened Pol Pot to massacre a couple of million more.  I recall the humanitarian crisis the cowardice of our policy shift created.  And I recall the shame we felt as a nation for having lost the war.

Today, we’re forming a blue ribbon panel to certify that running away from our responsibility to the Iraqi people is the only logical course.  As I type this, I see the Speaker of the House elect Nancy Pelosi on television vowing to push for immediate withdrawal.  The Democrats have already organized a group headed by none other than the inimitable Maxine Waters to push the agenda forward.  And I also see the specter of shame this nation felt at the abandonment of Viet Nam preparing to visit us again.

How will any nation take us seriously after we abandon yet another nation to chaos?  What nation will believe us when we make a pledge?  When the inevitable purges come in our wake and we have the blood of millions on our hands again, how can we ever expect to recover our dignity and self respect as a nation?  I thought America stood for something. I don’t think lining up allies for slaughter and turning our backs on them was it.  Weren’t we the ones that would pay any price, bear any burden?  We’re developing a poor track record as an ally.

We will be withdrawing despite the pleas of our honorable fighting men; and in doing so we will dishonor them and all of their sacrifices.  We will be withdrawing from an Islamist world that already wishes us ill and in so doing we will be inviting them to bring the fight to us here at home.  We will have proven a throwback to the seventh century squatting in a cave absolutely correct; America doesn’t have the stomach to stick it out.  And while I pray for our nation, he will pray for our death.

(For Veteran's Day, I felt this poem was appropriate and that it conveys most powerfully my own thoughts better than I can myself.)

It's the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It's the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It's the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to demonstrate.

It's the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

And it's the soldier who salutes the flag,
who serves the flag,
whose coffin is draped in the flag,
that allows the protester to burn the flag.

Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USN Chaplain Corps


On this Veteren's Day, give some thought to the freedoms you have.  Freedoms that are paid for by the sacrifice and dedication of the warriors that defend them with their lives.  Freedoms you take for granted in this great nation.  Be grateful to those that serve, and respectful of their sacrifices.  They don't ask for it, but they most assuredly deserve it.  Airborne!!!  -- all the way and then some.

Scottie

 I received an email from a college student asking me what our company was doing to advance diversity at our company.  This was a class project wherein the students would poll executives on the matter as part of a bigger study.  I cannot locate the reply, but I will make the same general argument here that I sent to her.

When I was a kid, I loved playing baseball with my extended group of friends during the summer.  In southern California in the early seventies, most of my peers were either white or Mexican with a smattering of Japanese, Samoan, and black kids.  The pool of players was fairly representative of the population of the neighborhood as nearly all the baby boomer households had at least one kid my age.

The two best players were picked by the group as team captains, a coin was tossed, and the captains alternated picking from the pool of available players until both teams had enough players.  Obviously, each captain had an obligation to his team to pick the very best player available from the pool with each turn.  Without government intervention, we twelve year olds managed to select a diverse team every time.  No one ever gave any consideration to race; we wanted the best players we could get.  We wanted to win and chose accordingly.

Now that I am in the executive suite, I realize that nothing has changed.  When I look through a pile of resumes for a candidate for my team, I don’t care about their race, or their sex, or their ethnicity; I care that I choose the best possible candidate for my team.  I want my team to win.  Capitalism is at its essence a competition after all.

Looking around my office at the roughly fifty people here, I notice that about half of them are women and that we have people from every corner of the globe.  I also know that nobody put forth any effort to deliberately make it that way.  These are all brilliant people that I feel blessed to work with and humbled to be associated with.  I'm proud to be a member of this team.

It is only when we begin picking our team members based on considerations that have nothing to do with their ability to “play” that things go wrong.  A good human resource director can just as easily be a black man from Kenya as an hispanic woman from Arizona (we've had both).  A good CEO can just as easily be a Brazilian man of Portuguese ancestry as a white woman from Kansas (again we've had both).  No consideration of race, gender, or ethnicity was ever made in picking these people.  That they came from such diverse backgrounds simply points out the unbelievable opportunity this country affords anyone that wants to work hard and develop their skills.  America has a pretty wonderful pool from which to pick a team; just pick the best you can find and the rest will sort itself out.

Scottie