Foil And Strings

My Mom grew up 'poor'.  I say that, but her Dad, my Grandpa, made sure they ate and had a roof over their heads.  They survived before and during the depression. 

Sadly she was an only child, technically.  My Grandmother had a stillbirth and a couple of miscarriages.  One baby, a son, lived only a year. 

Mom did have cousins near her though.  They weathered life's storms and made do.

Being poor is a whole topic itself.  Seems a big gap between 20s-30s poor and now.  Then they were just beginning collectivist 'social reforms'.  Folks relied on themselves and one another.

One of her curious habits I noticed as a kid, was to save string, foil, things she said could be reused. 

Indeed, that whole generation was raised to save.  WW2 reinforced the practice spurred by the Great Depression.  That, btw, is an interesting time.  Lotta people suffered.  Lotta people didn't.  At least they pulled together and weathered storms.

I've been made aware that many young ones don't have skills to repair, to reuse.  We live in a very throwaway society.

I wager many who come here do have skills, however.  I probably don't have to tell you to pass them on.

My ex's dad just died recently.  He was multitalented, an artist and could manufacture things seemingly out of what most could call nothing.

No doubt this inability to 'make do' has been conditioned out of many.

Mom could bake from scratch.  So can I.  I've passed that onto the kids.

So on this New Years Eve, it may be well to reflect on that.

Pass on what you know and what you can do.  Inspire others to learn, to figure out what makes things tick.

As for saving things, we would do well to emulate my Mom.  I've found stuff handy and reduced the cost of living as it were. 

That everything drawer just might be at least a partial answer to what we can do to save the future.

 

Kids Aren't Kids

Kids do seem to grow up fast.  Maybe at birth and all the diapers, it doesn't appear so.  During all the literal first steps and achievements it goes unnoticed.  That's because we are living life, not ticking off dockets.  We are busy raising the kids and only notice the passage of time occasionally.  When they are adults, then we see all the moments coalesce but not much before.  We are there for them during those years.

A lot of kids don't grow up ie learn to be independent individuals.  They may wander through life with their hands out, convinced they are forever entitled to welfare.  Kind of an economical inversion, the other side being trust fund babies. 

Fractured families, combined with welfare, leads to a lack of focus.  Kids need guidance and all too often a lot of them get the wrong kind.  Gangs supply security, a surrogate parentage.  They can be generational, like the lower level organized crime they are.  Even when families are involved, it can be negative.

I remember during college, I worked one summer at the local juvenile center.  On visitors' night, I noticed a lot of parents and relatives giving me and the other attendants the stink eye.  They quickly explained that many of the parents were worse than the kids, being criminals too.

You can see that playing out today with all the demonstrations and worse.  Cops are between a rock and a hard place.  Now, this deserves yet another blog entry itself, so at the risk of taking it lightly, I don't.  I'm getting to responsibility and it's a two way street.  All the time, the fist of tyranny closes more tightly, at the expense of kids and cops and all of us.

From grade school kids shooting someone as gang initiation, to roving bands of 'youths' looking for people to beat up or kill and rob, some kids aren't kids anymore.

Of course the antigun collectivist blood dancers include the thugs in the number of children hurt/killed by firearms every year.  And lately, the past couple of years and now, kids who have made a decision to hurt, kill, intimidate and steal risk much.  Many have paid the price as well they should.

Yes it's sad on one hand.  Kids robbed of decent normal loving childhoods.  Don't break out the violins.  If the do the crime they pay the price.  Neither do I champ at the bit to 'waste' anyone.  I believe, as many of you know who have been here often, in self defense.

If your life is in danger, someone particularly pointing a gun at you, there is no choice.  It's one of the few times that is so, for life is rife with choices.  You stop the threat.  Of course, you always face the consequences.

That's where there is a difference between decent honest folks and thugs.  Thugs don't care, while we do.  They're liable to shoot into a crowd, not caring, whereas we seek to harm no one, except those who try to harm us.

Responsibility.  Our kids are raised to think for themselves and accept consequences.  Most of the time, as has been illustrated time and again, thugs and their families blame others.  It's an almost incredible pattern.  But these behaviors have taken a long time to take root.

A14 year old is robbing someone, then points a gun at a cop, or any of us.  We defend ourselves.  then the family and fellow thugs moan and angrily lament the outcome.  We should have minded our own business was said recently  Really? Oh yes, the thugs are just making a living.  They believe this.  It's a complete way of life. 

Sorry, punks.  Not at the expense of my property, well being nor life. 

Why did they have to shoot my 'baby', 'angel' etc?  Because the kid made a choice, a decision that involved harming others.  Something apparently the parents (in name only I think), family and socalled friends aka fellow thugs embrace as well.

This has to be stopped.  They have to be held accountable.  It must be fearlessly addressed, this evil which is actually set up to divide and conquer the Republic.

We must deal with the immediate crimes, come what may.  We must stop the welfare system and replace it with folks teaching others to take responsibility and live productive lives.  It's helping others to help themselves to opportunities for honest living, not helping themselves to others' pockets.

'They're just kids.'  This came from a mom in our neighborhood whose kids were harassing ours, particularly our daughter.  Started with trespass and escalated.  One note.  In their taunting, they said how beautiful and black they were and how ugly and white she was.  Hatred/racism is being taught as well.  And, this may seem strange to you, the mom didn't know who Martin Luther King was.  Perhaps not so surprising, as education is hitting new lows.  Dr King has become a misused figurehead, good for a day off, while visions of entitlement (not what he intended) dance in heads. 

Jump ahead after years of ferment.  Increased violence with plenty of gun crime.  Talk about child abuse.  Seems they're not just kids.  They are cannon fodder to foment war.  Again, divide and conquer.

My kids handled this and other incidents with grace and sometimes the need for self defense aka pointing out how wrong the perps were and yes, fisticuffs.  Never kick em when they're down and never never turn your back.  Don't start it but finish it and don't let it hang on.

And more, for those tut tutters who might wonder how the kids feel about blacks, they have both had several black friends, let alone a man who is like a brother to me and a Creole godmother.  We don't wear it on our sleeves.  People are people.

I've mentioned this before.  There is a church near the library where we met some kids who were being kids.  That is, they were learning to be men and women, not thugs.  My hopes and prayers are with them and many more.

As for those who have warped kids, paraphrasing Jesus, it would be better for them to tie a millstone to their necks and jump into the sea.  Expose this.  Drag it into the light.  Don't let them get away with it. 

Teach self reliance.  Guide them and discipline them.  Choices have consequences for weal or woe.  Independent self reliant individuals will rise above the troubles. 

Kids ARE kids.  They are the gift of the future.  Let us make that a future of light.

Orange Is Green

I came across one of those poster type posts on Facebook.  I should have downloaded it, but c'est la vie.  Likewise, I can't remember what it was in reference to that day.  Anyway, it went something like this: If you're going to use the words communism and socialism, please define them in detail.

If memory serves, it was from someone of that particular ilk.

Now, the words are bandied about a great deal.  He's a commie, or it's commie bs etc are common counterslings to what is indeed commie rhetoric -s-.

One of my faves is 'red diaper baby'.  This is not just slinging.  It refers to those brought up in collectivist especially communist families.  It is the die-hard type of indoctrination that we see revealed in government now.

Didn't post there, but my suggestion would be to go to a search engine, type in the appropriate words and well, search.

Communist is a socialist with a gun.  That can be true.  However, even among the left (directions are irrelevant to me), they are used frequently in congress (sic) and alternately.

Further, we have Marxism, Leninism, Marxism-Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism and Maoism.  The point to derivations of the same collectivist theme.  BTW, I prefer collectivist as it includes Nazis among other 'socialist' groups.

Have at and don't forget to read Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital, Mao's red book and Hitler's Mein Kampf.  Study world history, in depth, from every angle.  Note the history/psychology of various countries.  If you like, check out their languages too.  Compare these writings etal to the Founder's documents.

Control is the operative word.  Those who would control every aspect of life as opposed to our Constitutional Republic's individualism and self government. etc.

As for orange is green, it refers to something Robert Culp's character, Kelly Robinson said in an I Spy episode titled Little Boy Lost.

Briefly, a scientist's son, played by Ron Howard, takes a key component to an internal guidance system from his dad's lab, because he feels ignored.  The race is on to find him before the communists do.

At one point Robinson confronts a 'useful idiot' in the form of a girl who is indeed used by enemy agents to intercept the boy and hold him til they can come interrogate him.

His portion of the dialog is a scathing critique of communism, comparing it in part with the Federalist Papers.  His remark refers to how propaganda is shoved down people's throats and they are made to believe that orange is green, contrasting with the Founders' discussion about black and white facts.

He also tells the woman he isn't trying to dissuade or persuade her, only that he is presenting facts.  It was her choice to accept or not.

Another key word is choice.  We have a right to choose, to think for ourselves.  This contrasts with collectivist rhetoric.

I recommend this episode.  It's the 14th ep in the 2nd season.  Check out the whole series for some very down to earth intelligence work, albeit from Hollywood.

So that poster I spotted was a silly smoke and mirrors to attempt shutting up those who disagree with whatever they were espousing.  Made a real impression on me, huh?

Don't be afraid to critique these mokes.  And refer to Alinsky's Rules for Radicals.  This definition stuff is right up their alley.

Say howdy to all the commies, leftists, Nazis, progressives and liberals.  Not as well how collectivists have hijacked those last two words. 

Stick to truth, instead of lies and half lies.  Orange is orange.  Green is green.  And red is red.

Linear

Lines.  From one point to another.  Sequential development.  Mathematical permutations.  All this comes to mind re linear.  Straight to the point. 

It can mean get in line.  Get with the program.  Line up with whatever is current thought. 

Anyway -s- the other night I was in  Meijers store.  It's one of those 'superstores' containing just about everything like a Walmart.

Well I hadn't been out for a while, having suffered some kind of flu bug.  Coughing, weak, etc, you know the symptoms.

So, I got the few things I needed for the larder and headed to the checkout.

I decided for the self checkout, hoping to quickly get going so I could rest. 

Looking around, I noticed a few lines extending across the path into some of the aisles.  The self checkout seemed relatively clear.  Mind you, the devices are sort of staggered, in that while waiting, one might find a more distant checkout available.  People often crisscross.

So I glanced around and saw 2 or 3 folks across the path between the stations and some of the clothing aisles.

I positioned my self behind a couple of young ladies who also had few items.  It was one of those 12 item or less checkouts.

As I waited, a woman sidled up to me.  She didn't look me directly in the eye, but declared I had cut in line.  There were people waiting across the path.

Now far be it from me to cut lines.  Never have.  I've negotiated for a space now and then and have even been given a forward spot when someone with more stuff saw I had few items. 

I said 'really'.  Ok where is the 'line'.  It was apparently the gaggle of 3 folks waiting across the path.

I told them to please go ahead, it was relative and we all had few things.

Could have held my line, maybe just gone on.  But I acquiesced. 

I observed several things.

First, as I approached, this loose gaggle said nothing.  If I cut in line even inadvertently, there was not one protest.  Till I was behind the ladies.

The non-eye contact lady only then commented that I was out of place.

The third thing was to me the most interesting.  She maintained a self satisfied smirk.  It lasted as she herself checked out.

Let me tell you my observation skills are usually good.  I wasn't imagining her smirk.

Perhaps she had many instances of uncaring interfering a-holes cutting in line.  Maybe she felt she was the social arbiter of lines.  The motivations could be a long list.  Possibly her smirk was the celebration of those oppressed silent ones who allowed line cutters to walk over them -s-.  No matter, her work was done.

The whole point of this seemingly insignificant exercise is linear.

Are we 'in line' either with the tyranny against us or are we organizing against it?

If we are in line, do we submit to a commissar who keeps the line ordered and moving for all?

Do we size up a situation and decide if that specific instance is the time to stand?  Do we draw back and observe what's going on, then determine our next course of action?

Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill lol?

Do we in turn speak up and police ourselves when folks try to steal something from us, lines, food, guns, rights?

Just end of the year musings. 

And if we get out of line, should we then form our own?