Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Old Cartoons

Actually, I'm thinking of timeless cartoons (My birthday is popping up soon.).

I will pass down to my future grandchildren a love for such as Bugs Bunny and his cohorts, Popeye, the Hanna-Barbera gang and others.

To me, old is best.

Those toons are not just timeless, they had meaning. Deeper and more personal than they might seem to some. They were satires of human nature, propaganda during war, and how we just might win against adversity.

Confident assured Bugs. Myopic Elmer. Switch baiting Daffy. Genius Wyle E. Coyote.

Soon to be proven what they claim or not -s-.

My favorite might be when Wyle comes to Bugs 'door' and presents his card and announces "I am Wyle E. Coyote, Genius'.

The amused Bugs sets to and eventually Wyle succumbs. He comes to Bugs' door and presents himself 'My name is mud.' He collapses.

The same for Wyle E. and the Road Runner.

No matter what device nor plan, RR screws WE up hehehe.

One of the most amusing pieces is the 'drag' stuff between Bugs and Elmer.

Set to opera, we have the 'Marriage of Figaro' and Wagner aka 'Brunhilde' etc set to artfully done comedy.

Surmise for yourself what the drag stuff means.

I see it as parody of not just the surface opera, but a way to get a point across.

That point might just be 'screw the system' and think for yourself.

There are those who 'think' they are 'geniuses'. It is our duty to show them they are not.

Love the bit where WyleE comes to Bugs' door and shows him as he announces that he is 'Wyle E. Coyote, Genius'.

Bugs smiles and a war of wills and skills ensues, with Bugs winning.

At the end Wyle E shows up and declares, 'My name is Mud.'

I suggest anyone who wishes to win Restortion back studies these old cartoons.

There is a 'message in the ravioli'.

In spite of all the machinations of those who would be our masters, we can outwit them.

In spite of all the 'acme' tech, we can circumspect them.

'Ain't I a stinka....?

Games

Someone said that what's going on in the world is not a game.

I disagree, at least from a certain view.

Intelligence gathering has always involved gamesmanship. Moves and counter moves. I've often said that spying reminds me of a chess game.

The British have called it the 'Great Game'. That specifically referred to British Russian rivalry in Central Asia from round 1813 to 1907, though it is extended in re the Soviet Union. The term is used by some to refer to NATO countries and SCO countries over Central Asian oil pipelines.

I use it to refer to intel gathering/espionage in general.

Spying is as good as the person doing so. Even when the org is rotten, there can be gooduns working within. It can be remote or hands on. Not everything is electronic. It still boils down to the people involved.

Some of those people are good, others bad and some just routine folks. These are flesh and blood people, nothing more. Except that some of them do exhibit patriotism and courage.

Most of the work is routine, but more than one thinks can be dangerous. Very little is glamorous and the fantastic elements are rare, but nonetheless do sometimes happen.

The game has existed ever since one tribe wanted to know what another was doing.

None of their business? Depends. And that would take a book to explain. But when there is a threat, action must be taken.

One of our greatest agents was Ben Franklin. He was a master at gathering what was needed and distributing likewise. There are even those who say he actually worked for the Brits. That's simply how good he was -s-.

Wars are won and lost in great part due to intel actions.

So it will be now.

And that will be in be due in no small part to dedicated folks who take their oaths seriously.

Often ops work is either ignored or deep sixed, much to the peril of us all.

Agents/ops have very long memories.

But it is quiet and unassuming, so any grazing here need not think they will upset any applecarts.

Game on.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Scaring The Past

70's on a Saturday night.

I'm thinking bout the past. Duh.

Was it a 'simpler' time?

Doubtful.

It was a time when I, for one, did not think. Many of us just slid along.

We thought we were 'ok'.

Sure, we had principles. Beliefs. But, we did NOT back em up.

We were self satisfied. We were real comfy and self satisfied. Self Satisfied.

What are we now? ? ? Where are we now..........

We worked, busted our butts. But we didn't think about what was coming.

How it could all be taken away.

Scaring the past.

The few did. The few will.

The Few.

Always the Few.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Almond Paste Coffee Cake

One of my all time favorites.

I used to get it from the Holland Pastry Shop in Broad Ripple, part of Indianapolis and once a small village just north of the city. Now, it's a yuppie haven but still part of home to me.

The bakery was started by Dutch Jewish immigrants who escaped from Nazi occupation. Everything was homemade, nothing was frozen and shipped in. There was always someone baking or putting something together in the back, which was visible from the customer area.

The atmosphere was friendly, 'homey' and the smells! It was like being in my Greatgrandmother's and Mom's kitchens on steroids lol. The memory is like that of a hug when coming home.

It's gone now. Like so many heartwarming things from the past, it's just a wispy memory.

Don't know the particulars, so my guess is that like so many immigrant clans, the kids didn't go into the family business. They probably went onto other lines of work. But their parents made it possible by surviving, working hard and sacrificing to have a better life.

The nazis/commies couldn't kill it. In spite of so much extermination this group and many others not just survived, but overcame and truimphed.

They came to America with dreams and hope. Real hope that they would succeed.

By the sweat of their brows, with a generous portion of love thrown in, they gave so others might benefit.

We, of course, can do no less.

Are we not all the kids of immigrants (Except for many who were here to greet them. My Mom used to say one half of her family came over by boat and the other half were on the shore already -s-.)?

We certainly bear the heritage given to us no matter where we originally came from.

We may not do the same things our forebears did. Except for one important detail. Preserving Freedom.

Last time I went to where the Holland Pastry Shop was, my son was in a stroller. It's becoming a long stretch of time, that!

We were met by a cold fish kind of guy, who eyed us like we were specimens and not customers. The place had a darkly lit quality, cold and unwelcoming. The baked goods were seemingly mass cookie cutter stuff, with no particular flavor, like a cardboard cutout.

We left and never returned.

You may not be able to go home again. Or, if you do, it might be something that is a shabby substitute.

Perhaps, however, if we try we CAN go home again.

The efforts of our parents and ancestors will yield something stronger than any one of us.

Something we have to keep remaking, lest the flavor is gone forever.

Something Light instead of a cold dark facsimile.

Something Restored and real.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Crusades

As promised, here is a little something about the Crusades in medieval times.

Thanks to our collectivist friends, many think the Crusades were a plot by the evil westerners to extinguish the good, enlightened Moslems. It's another swift sword to cut out western civilization and replace it with propaganda.

T'aint so McGee.

Quite simply, Islam has been a threat to western civilization and the world at large since its inception. Interesting timing that it came along as a thorn in the side of both Christianity and Judaism when it did. The Roman empire was gone and its Eastern portions were usurped by Islam. It was a religion born of the sword and blood. Peace means total subjugation of all that is NOT Islam.

The Crusades were responses by Western Europe to free the Holyland, which had been predominantly Christian and was converted by the sword and to help christians in the East. Moslem objectives were and are elemental: total destruction of all enemies of the Prophet and Allah ie Christians and Jews (and by extension all who are not Moslem).

Riches? Nope. Few came back with anything. The objective was to free the Holyland, not gain wealth. There was little and many who served were already well off.

This was war, not some medieval romance. brutal and bloody, the martial arts were put to the test. And martial artists the Crusaders were, every bit as skilled as the now more famous Eastern/Oriental experts.

There may have been a handful of Jew haters, but one of the objectives was to rescue Jews too. The were 'living words' of Scripture and were to be left alone, albeit hoping for their 'salvation'.

After the First Crusade, which did cause Islam to retreat, there was little victory. Each attempt was bloody and eventually the Crusades failed. Islam continued to rise. Efforts to destroy Christianity continued, and though there were victories, Islam was halted by the Renaissance and the advance of Western European culture.

Of course, tyranny never stops, never sleeps. Fighting Islam continued as I mentioned in my previous post and included John Paul Jones joining up with Catherine the Great to repulse Ottoman Turks in the Black Sea.

And on and on.

Today. Islam is a threat. Both within and without US. But, there are so many enemies.

Therefore, we must sleep less and not just counter but sweep our enemies away.

Shall we replace our enemies with new tyranny?

Or Restore Freedom? This is the greatest question of all.

Red Dawn Ignored

With Patrick Swayze's death, in addition to prayers and best wishes for friends and family, there have been polls asking what Swayze film is one's favorite.

Maybe I just haven't been to the right places, but nowhere is Red Dawn mentioned. I've only seen mainstream tv, papers and web sites. Let me know if there is anywhere Red Dawn is mentioned.

It was an embarrassing film to many when it was released, and still is.

John Milius dared to direct and write with Kevin Reynolds, a movie about a Soviet invasion of the US. He showed the devastation, deprivation that war brings. He also showed how determined people who plan can win, always at a price.

Remembering it is a movie, it is a good study of 'what if' re TSHTF, both for how it's carried off and the response both internally and defensively.

Swayze played a recently graduated football star at the local high school. He seems to be one of those guys who is decent, but isn't very 'ambitious'. His little brother is played by Charlie Sheen.

They respond immediately when the invasion comes to town. Escaping the commie dragnet, they take to the mountains and wage a guerilla war for months, with the help of a few townies. Also, there is the 'grandfather figure' played by Ben Johnson, who has a secluded ranch in the mountains.

Later, they are joined by a downed fighter pilot played by Powers Boothe who refines their combat technique.

I'm leaving huge gaps here and am not trying for a particular review, save that you should watch it.

And we can understand why it's not being mentioned much by our leftist press.

I can imagine they might think it 'offensive' to their dear comrades portrayed in the flick.

There is a remake being filmed with the premise it's the Chinese backed by Russians invading. Timely (They do have maneuvers together sometimes.).

Get it and watch and be inspired that there are really kids who will fight when the time comes.

That's how we are raising ours.

Friday, September 11, 2009

911 Who Won?

It's probably sarcastic to say, '911 What is the emergency?'

I think it's obvious.

Enemies within and without.

And whether you think 911 was an inside job or a bunch of radical islamofascists, we are living with the results.

Well known are the increasing abuses of Freedom such as Patriot Act, TSA bureaucracy, Stasi type informers etc.

Personally, I think it's a combination of people in gov and business and radical Islam. As I mentioned in Cops And Robbers, one side keeps the other going.

There has always been terrorism or something called terrorism. For some, it can be a point of view. After all, the Brits considered the Founders terrorists. Or there are those such as Castro, Guevara etal called terrorists. And there are the garden variety jihadists. Or, how about 3pers? Terrorist or patiot/Freedom fighter? More than a point of view.

Deeds speak after thought. Motivation? True Freedom aka Constitutional Republic vs oppression aka Marxist ideology. Aka jihadist extermination or nazi liquidation (They have a lot in common and there were islamists who collaborated with Hitler the extermination of Jews the common ground.).

Then again freedom as defined by the totalitarians/collectivists, including islamists, is very exclusive. It is defined by the mindset in sway. It has rules who is 'free' and who isn't. And strict penalties for disobeying.

911 was calculated to shove us into less Freedom. The military have done a magnificent job dealing with some of the culprits. Certainly, they deal with that midnset that says death to all except Islam. Little has changed over the centuries.

My ancestors were among those who fought Islam soon after its inception. They were allies of Charles Martel and others. Would that they had stamped it out then.

Onward the crimes continued and were retaliated against, such as 1683 and the Siege of Vienna. The Islamists were beaten by tenacity and the unwavering determination to stop the threat.

Polish King Sobieski led 81,000 Polish, German and Austrian troops and routed the Turks, who fled in panic. This was on September 11, 1683. Interesting date.

Let's don't forget President Jefferson sent Marines to deal with Barbary pirates. Again I believe they should have been completely eliminated.

Now, we have the same problem multiplied. There are still Barbary pirates. There are many groups working to destroy anything non Islamic. Note the 'invasion' of many European countries by an infusion of Muslims. They increasingly make ridiculaous demands and act as though they run things. Maybe they will if not checked.

Brigitte Bardot castigated the French government for allowing this cultural erosion. For her trouble, she was censured and branded a practician of 'hate speech'.

Aner here, at home, we are being manipulated to accept 'diversity' ie, slow social poison.

Differences have made us great, but only because of E Pluribus Unum-From Many One.

I'm proud of my Scot-Indian heritage. But, I'm American first and foremost.

Naturalized citizens take an oath to protect this country and the Constituion with arms if necessary.

There are many who seem to take citizenship more seriously than born countrymen.

We have raised our kids to be proud, but NOT to take Freedom for granted.

And to refuse to surrender our guns.

In case anyone has forgotten, THAT is the crux of Freedom.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Mind Spring Or Mind Set

There are always choices. No matter what cards are dealt you, there is a point where a particular choice has to be made. Of course, it depends what kind of deck you have.

Yoky Matsuoka is a brilliant associate professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. She is merging robotics and neuroscience in what she calls 'neurobotics to create more realistic prosthetics.

She is working on an arm and hand that matches bone for bone and muscle for muscle with strings for tendons. Her purpose is to have nervous system signals control the function of the prosthetic piece just like a natural appendage.

The road to where she is now was long and started with a strong desire to become a pro tennis player. The likelihood of that happening in Japan, her birthplace was slim to none, so her parents sent her to the US.

Try as she might, she never made the tennis grade,having to leave competition because of injuries, though she put her all into it.

It was found on the way that she had a strong acuity for math. This led to academic achievement, thus to a B.S. from UC Berkeley (Don't even say it.) and an M.S. and Ph.D in electrical engineering and computer science from M.I.T. She continued achieving til she arrived at her present job/work.

I don't know her 'politics', nor anything else save how she got to where she is.

She, as a kid, repudiated her intellect. She wanted to 'fit in'. She went as far as not studying til days before tests (and still got where she is), not wanting to be seen with a book lest she be branded 'nerd'. This lasted even to M.I.T. where she used a nametag with the epithet 'Airhead'.

Her mentoring prof urged her to stop citing that she was 'p******' on her gifts (my word not his AFAIK). He emphasized that it was ok to be 'smart' and that she could still have a complete life.

She has achieved an integrated life balancing work with family and other outside interests.

Let us compare her to a certain young man of my acquaintance.

His whole life, he has been told how brilliant he is. He has always been a coddled, fat baby. He is 'boundary challenged' (I've seen this play out with many of our school shootings etal over the years). There is no focus nor any goals save for losing himself in gaming.

Beyond recreation, it is a walk through a world where fantasy and reality blur.

The problem is that no discipline was consistently applied.

Combined with being told he was so smart, it was a recipe for disaster.

Since I've known him, he has been an arrogant brat.

The reason I bring it up is the piquant contrast between him and Yoky M.

He thinks he's smart and behaves poorly, rather densely.

Yoky knew she was smart and acted dumbly.

Hers is the integrated life, while his is the fragmented life.

It is, of course, a choice.

But when the deck is stacked with self indulgence by people who wallow in mediocrity, there is really no choice.

Now, there are those who come from very adverse backgrounds who rise above their circumstances. At some point, they listen to themselves and others.

I hope this 'boy' (He is technically an adult, but deals very immaturely with his life.) overcomes.

But I doubt it. The generational disfunction is so intense that it would be a miracle.

Choices there always are. Spring forth and grow. Or, get set in concrete, weighed down with delusions of grandeur.

Unless one's mind is made up, spurred by the spurious ie, misery loves company. There is no way for some to disembark from the disfunctional merry-go-round.

I'd say the choice has been made.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Illegal Repairs

There's a guy I know who is pretty well off. By inheritance and his own hard work he has amassed a sizable spread and has a great deal of prestige.

A storm took out the roof on one of his buildings.

After pricing and determining the best course of action he hired a crew from an apparently reliable local source.

This resulted in having a crew show up that was inundated with hispanics.

No problem as far as I'd be concerned. Show me your real green cards or proof of citizenship and work away.

He did neither.

Instead, he seemed to rely on the 'reputable' contractor.

According to this guy, they did a great job. He praised them and mentioned the jobs that Americans do not want to do. WTF???

Here is this guy, with a big ole ranch who has extolled American work ethic carping this sh** and now seeming to kiss the ass of the illegals. Well he didn't ask for cards or citizenship.

He did not do this. He relied on the 'reputable' contractor.

And, as I said, he commended these guys for their good work!

Now, they may have done great work. Maybe they are master craftsmen (doubtful). But, they are NOT doing work Americans are shunning.

For that matter the illegals are undercutting Americans even in 'menial' labor.

Cleaning toilets, trash picking, making beds have plenty of Americans willing to work. I have done those very things before. Rather than shamble in entitlement, I chose to work.

I'll never forget the time I was an orderly, just coming on shift round 5-6 in the am.

One of the docs asked me if a particular ward was my responsibility. I said yes. He then smiled and said there was a senile fella in restraints, covered in sh** trying to escape.

I shuddered and commenced to clean @@@@@@ @@@@@@ (name held for confidentiality) up. I remonstrated him and he just chuckled and I proceeded to do my job.

Dirty, thankless and often daunting, I forged ahead.

Jobs Americans don't want to do my a$$!!!

This guy copped out, sold out to the wave of illegal tyranny.

How much money did he save? At what cost of good people who have made this their country, no matter for generations nor a few years?

Most of the illegal gains go back to Mexico, etal. They neither benefit our economy
nor support our people. It's economical rape. Catastrophe.

All the drunk drivers, rapists criminals in general, and the disease that has been mushrooming, along with healthcare costs, so no, this is catastrophe.

Of course, there are those who are honorable. 'Illegals' who contribute. Such as 'Acapulco Joe' who came 'under the wire' and was determiended to be an American. That is rare.

BTW, our jolly rancher refused to answer my query about how his roof repair undercut American incentive, craftsmanship and of course, how it (tacitly) compromised and made him a liar about his faith in American workers.

Prove I'm wrong. No pletora of glowing speeches will assuage the problems caused by illegals.

And prosecute people who employ illegals.

We can make it go away.