What am I doing up so early again?

No good reason, there ought to be a law against it.

It is Sunday, and church at nine-thirty, coffee and talk, Sunday school lesson, then seaweed and rice soup for my wife and her friends as they chatter away, then back home. Must be some football somewhere, but I am drifting away from the noise on the television about whatever.

In the cable bill was the guide for doing my best on all that is out there - since there is too much, I will look at what is likely for my time, worthy. I am talking about the difference between regular and HD. Sure enough, when I went on the HD broadcast I had full screen and wonderful entertainment, then commercial interruption.

Nicest thing about being up at this time in the morning with no background noise, I can listen to the video clips on my laptop. Not the greatest sound system and production in this machine. But you can't expect it to overcome my hearing challenges - if I were serious about it I would wear a hearset, knocking out the chatter to listen to the great sounds, digitally produced. Or not.

Speaking of background noise, no matter all the experts and the political process, I will find more joy in knowing all that I love is getting blest. Hope you find it so, too.

Lost in translation and lack of common knowledge...

 From the text of Governor Romney's speech, from Fox News:

"My dad never made it through college, and he apprenticed as a laugh (ph) and plaster carpenter. He had big dreams. He convinced my mom, a beautiful young actress, to give up Hollywood to marry him. And moved to Detroit."

The job was 'lath and plaster carpenter' -- I once knew a man that fed his family on that work. But young folks may not know that profession, although I think Governor Romney knew what his father had started learning. How many speech writers know about lath and plaster?

From my mother's love of stories, and my early reading of legends and myths:

King Cnut set his throne by the sea shore and commanded the tide to halt and not wet his feet and robes. Yet "continuing to rise as usual [the tide] dashed over his feet and legs without respect to his royal person. Then the king lept backwards, saying: 'Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the King name, but He whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws.'

Governor Romney was reaching for me in the audience with this statement: "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans." or he thought that it was an illustration for those fearing the Greens and Global Warming... I like to think he was reaching for me, without saying that President Obama had failed to acknowledge the Lord's singular authority over the Universe - or that they don't teach the lessons of kingship that King Knute understood and demonstrated.

You know, I missed it...

I was watching the beginning of Clint Eastwood's bit on the stage in Tampa, and my brother called on Sykpe.com and I took the call.

Yeah, family is very like that. I even cooked dinner and had it waiting for my wife's return from work last night, that was different, too. So I have demonstrated some positive efforts at rejoining humanity and the struggle. I have hope.

One of the things my brother talked about was how long it is taking to get his body and life back to normal. I reminded him that he is older and it takes longer to correct injuries, surgeries and bad habits. I should have paid more attention to my wisdom, because it has been true of me for my own recovery and at least I am accepting it better. Do you think the country is going to be gracious and patient enough to recover from its experiments beyond the Constitution?  People do it all the time, excesses of flings of fancy go over well if you are Earl or Prince Harry, provided you use the foolish stunts to flee to growing up and growing old and remembering when. Kind of difficult to keep playing a bad boy when you get fat, wrinkled and baggy... although there are many trying, constantly.

Now the country is an institution, a geographic location, a population of folks, an idea, and still young and too rough and strong but mostly loving... all the fires are still burning, not many have been put out although some seemed banked for future starts upon waking up.  Yep, a dangerous idea, and seemingly self centered and often out of control - which could be very dangerous.  Be humble and handle with care, you aren't finished with life yet. I like my country, but I am sure that chanting USA or saying the Greatest isn't going to make it better. Begin in bumble and humble, that gives you room for growth. There are choices and chances to change the day. You have to make them and work on the one you think will help, just being outside of Washington, DC and the government gives you a better perspective of the possible. Seems that everyone that goes to DC as anything but a tourist gets tainted and disoriented. They did drain the physical swamp and build the city, but I wonder if they have ever thought about the spiritual swamp that government is mired in?

Time to go on my way, and begin my day, talking about the future and government isn't as good as thanking the Lord and asking His attention to my efforts, so my time here is done. Back later.... be good for the best of reasons - because you can and the Lord loves it. Amen.

It was my fault, I made a decision and ...

People are running around in panic, nothing they are doing is working. How did that happen? Well, it was me and thousands to millions like me, folks that wanted to do their jobs, their lives and get on with getting on... and then the folks that can't moved in to do their best to make everything better, at least for themselves and their buddies and perhaps for the rest of us less fortunate. That is how they sleep at night, knowing they are the good guys.

But they didn't do it well, they got in everyone's way and things kept going wrong. They wanted to be if not a little prince or a god, they wanted to make the rules of gravity, differently. They couldn't, but they do keep trying. Thinking about the Soviet Man, where Communism was going to take us all, how did that become a model for a Free Man? It didn't, but we didn't want to talk about Liberty and Responsibility - that would mean you understood sacrifice. For you must be willing to risk it all to win a victory, but those that seem to be in charge don't understand sacrifice - they have no value in others, a nation, an idea nor a cause. And that is my fault. I am so sorry, I was supposed to be defending a free State and protecting its security. It takes an informed citizen to make a vote count, and I haven't taught anyone enough.

For everyone that worries about a vote for Ron Paul or Johnson, taking votes from Romney or Obama, you really need to find out much more about the Electoral College. Your individual vote counts for local races, but for the President not so much.

Really, a country that has as its citizens, only those that don't understand better than its representatives what would work for paying the bills, for the size and scope of the powers of government -- they do need to become more accepting of their ignorance and place at the bottom of the swamp - evolution says they aren't adapting to stupid behavior well.

I should have told you earlier that it was my fault you don't know, I should have taught History and marksmanship and leadership. There isn't enough of it around for the size of the stupidity and envy and greed.

Happy Thursday! Smile, you too could be...

You could be better than me, of course. I had teenage dreams, and my wife filled in as a girl friend with lots of walking. Good dream, has no bearing on reality, but then it does take me back farther than the military ones do, maybe I am regressing to childhood?

I did finally finish the computer cave, and I flipped two switches last night and shut the entire network and all the lights and waiting off. Then took the hot shower and went to bed. This morning I turned on the classical music station, and that was nice, the system came back up after flipping switches and punching buttons, good? Caught up to the political news by reading the speeches of the VP candidate and Condi Rice- without the audience reactions, and noticed they weren't the level of Lincoln's Address. Today, I can listen to people maybe smarter than I (certainly in better clothing, makeup, paid much more, and produced and directed with staff to fill in all their blanks) as I find out how the world went without Now if Isaac will take its rain and move on up the Mississippi, life would be more interesting than listening to folks wail about life as they know it could be so much better.

Since my dreams were far behind the current it is very easy to compare life then, and life now. I had no computer(s), and less (much less) television. More books, more friends and longer conversations, and more things happening where I was. Diversions? Expending all my life in foolish pursuits of pleasures - unrealized?

Paul Ryan's son struggling to stay awake as his father performs! Go to sleep, kid, adults making threatening rants, go to sleep, nothing happening here. Time for breaking my fast, so fat I am, and get to exercising and finding that innocent life I once lived without those electronic distractions.

I need a break

 
Still working on the computer cave and the entries to the Rabbit Hole. When I read about the boy signing his name and making the folks think he was pointing a gun, in violation of weapons policy... I decided to get off the Merry Go Round. What is the real problem people? You don't think, logically nor critically. Sigh, get off the Merry Go Round.

Hollow Point did destroy one CD driver, and there was a ton of dust inside the cabinet, the case and steel parts of the computer are pretty tough, only the boards, cables and software are very like my brain, too soon worn out and need replacing. Not having interest in being part of stupidity, I am on my last connections to the internet, and I gave up my cell phone, so: yes, I can! Never learned Morse Code and don't text messages to anyone anywhere, no twitter account. 

So I do hope your days are bright, and if you are getting the rains from the tropics, I hope it isn't more than you can use safely. Those still too dry, there are storms coming your way too one day.

So today, signing off, more work and adventure await your attention where you are.

Power continues to corrupt, doesn't it?

Ever wonder why both political parties look alike? The Republicans only want your money and one vote, just like the Democrats because the power isn't going to be shared. This is the United (under us) States of America. Floor fight you have to know that sooner or later the money guys will get to the 'leadership', which is almost why politics don't matter, Rome of Caesar's time or Tampa, Charlotte or Washington, DC. of our own. The Parties look very much like organized crime, or Union bosses with their thugs. The TEA Party has been less visible this election, but they are still out there, Ron Paul is still out there.

Maybe I should be kinder, maybe the TSA resembles the Republican and Democratic Parties more than organized crime. But the parties are too professionally clinging to power and giving favors in exchange of just a bit of support. Looks just like the Don at the wedding.

Yes, I still think it is worth supporting and casting your vote and talking at the conventions and in the offices and at town halls. But then I am still one of those that would have mustered at Concord, or even Lexington or in frozen Germany on Reforger, or some mountain top in Korea. Is it time for a bunker and hunker down mentality? Are we going to be forever betrayed by good intentions corrupted by EVIL Moneymen and Powerbrokers? Abe Lincoln didn't have quite this problem, did he?