The Iraq War
Someone once said, “War is the last act of diplomacy” and that just might be true but to me it sounds like something the intelligentsia would cook-up to prove how really advanced and intelligent they are. From a practical standpoint, such esoteric uttering would matter little to a Grunt stuck in a mud hole getting his butt shot off and all because previous diplomatic efforts to effectively communicate with a potential enemy had failed and produced a real enemy instead. Moreover this diplomacy thing begs the question, is diplomacy only conducted by commissioned Diplomats and as such are they, therefore, the only ones responsible for the peace failure? I think not. Perhaps diplomacy is conducted by a great number of responsible people, maybe even a President, regardless if he realizes it or not. For example, I recalled I literally cringed when President GWB announced with a halting voice that sounded like a chain going around a broken sprocket with a few teeth missing, “Your are either with us, or you’re against us.” Who really knows how much diplomatic damage this pronouncement made but I’ll wager my last Krugerrand that it was extensive. Well, regardless if war is diplomacy laced with bullets instead of words, war was addressed in 1936 by FDR who said to a very apprehensive nation, “I have seen war, and I hate war” and yet we ended up in the biggest war to date. Even though all of the worlds best and brightest Diplomats and world leaders tried with all of their might to prevent war, Hitler, Mussolini and Togo were not dissuaded from their Imperial designs by mere words but finally by bullets. Even though I hate to give any quarter to the Intelligentsia, they indeed are probably correct about this “War is the last act of diplomacy” thing because does anyone really think they could talk and reason with today’s Osama bin Laden to stop doing his dastardly deeds and maybe even convert to Christianity and become, for instance, a Southern Baptist. That would be as likely as Nancy Pelosi marrying Newt Gringrich and forming the new Jeffersonian Political Party. So we will have war until we can find a better way and regardless if it be a containment, preemptive, defensive, unnecessary or whatever kind of war, it, like today’s war in Iraq, is not necessarily a failure of diplomacy or any other kind of non-violent persuasion but rather simply a problem that can only be resolved by acquiescence or force. With this in mind, here is what I think might be as good as any explanation of why we are in the current Iraq war. Lacking a viable diplomatic strategy to deal with a wide spread enemy that does not stand up a uniformed army, lacks a central command structure and hides within the general civilian population, I believe it was decided upon a military strategy that is as old as the teachings of Sun Tzu's, The Art of War. As part of a larger war on radical Islam that is heating up again after 1,500 years of on again/ off again battles and now enabled by petroleum, the anecdotal evidence suggests that the decision was made to use Iraq as a killing field. I believe you send out a patrol to find out where the enemy is and then present a target to draw him to your position of strength, which looks exactly like what we are doing in Iraq. We cannot go into every country where the bad guys are hiding and kill them, so you present such an irresistible target that they must respond or lose credibility and I believe the US (the Great Satan) right smack dab in the middle of Islam country is that irresistible target and is drawing the bad guys to our killing field. If true, this would only be a workable military strategy in lieu of a viable diplomatic or strategic strategy and one can but say, what a miserable situation for the long-suffering Iraq people.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Flim Flam
You can buy this book directly from me for $12.00 instead of the $14.95 listed price, and I will pay for shipping. Send cash, check or MO to:
Flim Flam
c/o Ronald L Clark
12222 Huntington Circle
Indianapolis, Indiana 46229
Flim Flam Synopsis
Meet Wilhelm Thaddeus Quinton, AKA Spoon, the most likeable person you
would ever want to meet. How could you not like a guy who lives by the mantra a
six-pack a day keeps mediocrity away and draws a crowd of adoring people
by just walking into a room? When the Spoon Man comes upon the scene it’s like
a raucous parade beginning to form-up with plenty of excitement and adventure
awaiting all who only need to throw normal caution to the wind and join-up. But
there is another side to the Spoon Man, he is a Master Gamer and the Game
Meister has his sights set on playing in the biggest game of all, Politics. And
when you are a people magnet like the Spoon Man, you are a natural born
Politician. But wait, there’s more! When Wilhelm Thaddeus Quinton plays in a
game he is always a winner because winners won’t play in a game they can’t
win, i.e., winners always rig the game so they cannot lose and if they can’t rig the
game they will not play. Rigging the game of Politics is always done the old
fashioned way with the time honored practice of Flim Flam and the Spoon Man is
an accomplished and enlightened Flimflammer par excellence. With patience and
cold calculation Quinton gathers his Lieutenants and supporters about him as he
shows us all how to play the game of Politics. And never ever forget, it’s not
really about Politics, it’s always and forever about the game and winning!
The Grace of Being
You can buy this book directly from me for $15.00 instead of the $17.95 listed price, and I will pay shipping. Send cash, check or MO to:
The Grace of Being
c/o Ronald L Clark
12222 Huntington Circle
Indianapolis, Indiana 46229
Suppose for a moment that you are God, even if you don’t believe in God or that there is any sentient intelligent life other than Human for that matter. And you as God decide, for one reason or another, that you are going to see to it that there should be life other than your own. By using your very Human logic and reason, why would you do it and how would you do it? By becoming a proxy for God and using your Human logic and reason you can maintain a Human perspective about this fundamental matter without resorting to a faith bound divine imperative.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
From his tongue flowed speech sweeter than honey…Homer, The Iliad.
We all have watched and listened with rapt attention as the Senator from Illinois has stormed upon our collective consciousness with pitch-perfect delivery and Hollywood star-quality image. The political arena has not seen such an accomplished practitioner of the persuasion arts since the late JFK marshaled the finest writers, idea Meisters and image-makers to promote the astonishing notion of a modern day Camelot to cure all of our political and social ills. Even God appears to be a loyal Lieutenant of Senator Obama because how else could you explain his recent trip to Europe when in cloudy and dismal Germany, the clouds parted and the sun begin to shine brightly just as the would be President began to speak to the adoring multitudes. With the brilliant Sun bathing the splendid new-age Man, he seemingly without visible effort, passed out soaring oratory and idealistic manna to the spiritually hungry modern multitudes rather like the Man who preached love and passed out the loaves and fishes to feed the hungry multitudes so long ago. And I say, why not? Who among us is not hungry for a satisfying spiritual meal in this modern materialist world that grinds us down to our least idealist parts? We all want to believe and faith is the coin of the political realm and when you have faith, all things are possible because change has been promised and I have faith that change is going to do us good, right? However, there is something troubling and vaguely familiar about self-described neo-Horatio person. This splendid new-age man who would have us believe that the age of Aquarius is finally within our reach, if we only we have faith and believe, has conjured up an old memory and the memory is a troubling one. Why this man’s message is troubling and familiar is because I experienced a man just like this when I was a young boy. When I was at the impressionable age of around 10 years old, I would accompany my Grandfather, who I thought was the wisest man on earth, to a marvelous Black Church where my Grandfather and I were generally the only white faces in the congregation. I really don’t know why my Grandfather went to a Black Church but I loved it because of the singing, the music and the flamboyant hell-fire and brimstone preaching among other things. But the preaching was the best! Oh that preaching, it would always encourage participation by the congregation that responded with rousing Hallelujahs and head-shaking Amens from every seat and corner. Juicy sin and everyday human failings were the usual targets by the soaring Reverend as he carefully revved-up the assembled to a raucous climax that captured every soul within reach. The Reverend, whom I will call Reverend G, was the undisputed Maestro of the congregation and was much respected as a man of the cloth as well as a spiritual and moral leader. Then one Sunday we assembled in the church and to my surprise it was unusually subdued and solemn and I soon found out why. Reverend G was not there and standing in his place was an older gentleman that only got an occasional Amen from the elderly as he struggled with his sermon. When the service was finally over, I asked my Grandfather why Reverend G was not there. With a nervous and embarrassed look, my Grandfather finally relayed the news that the good Reverend G had absconded with the church treasury and took one of the female parishioners, who happened to be another man’s wife, with him and had departed to points unknown. I was devastated! This troubling memory that has been revived by Barack Obama is because both Reverend G and Barack have a common attribute and that is to use soaring rhetoric and carefully crafted generalities to inspire and motivate those eager for change and spiritual fulfillment. Of particular concern is the ease by which these orators can captivate our young with their idealistic posturing. Our young are still idealistic (thank goodness) and do not have the benefit of a lifetime of reality to help shape their opinions and judgments and so they are become easy prey to lofty generalities and become active supporters. The troubling part is that my experience to date suggests that those who have used these kinds of attributes have usually done so for reasons not always associated with altruistic endeavors. Now I’m not at all suggesting that if elected President, Barack Obama would abscond with the federal treasury and take off with Nancy Pelosi and if you thought I am saying that, you missed the point. The point being that the more one relies on lofty generalities and inspirational rhetoric, the more likely that the person is not what he appears to be and the more likely it is that it is the less inspiring common lust for power that is the hidden endeavor.
From his tongue flowed speech sweeter than honey…Homer, The Iliad.
We all have watched and listened with rapt attention as the Senator from Illinois has stormed upon our collective consciousness with pitch-perfect delivery and Hollywood star-quality image. The political arena has not seen such an accomplished practitioner of the persuasion arts since the late JFK marshaled the finest writers, idea Meisters and image-makers to promote the astonishing notion of a modern day Camelot to cure all of our political and social ills. Even God appears to be a loyal Lieutenant of Senator Obama because how else could you explain his recent trip to Europe when in cloudy and dismal Germany, the clouds parted and the sun begin to shine brightly just as the would be President began to speak to the adoring multitudes. With the brilliant Sun bathing the splendid new-age Man, he seemingly without visible effort, passed out soaring oratory and idealistic manna to the spiritually hungry modern multitudes rather like the Man who preached love and passed out the loaves and fishes to feed the hungry multitudes so long ago. And I say, why not? Who among us is not hungry for a satisfying spiritual meal in this modern materialist world that grinds us down to our least idealist parts? We all want to believe and faith is the coin of the political realm and when you have faith, all things are possible because change has been promised and I have faith that change is going to do us good, right? However, there is something troubling and vaguely familiar about self-described neo-Horatio person. This splendid new-age man who would have us believe that the age of Aquarius is finally within our reach, if we only we have faith and believe, has conjured up an old memory and the memory is a troubling one. Why this man’s message is troubling and familiar is because I experienced a man just like this when I was a young boy. When I was at the impressionable age of around 10 years old, I would accompany my Grandfather, who I thought was the wisest man on earth, to a marvelous Black Church where my Grandfather and I were generally the only white faces in the congregation. I really don’t know why my Grandfather went to a Black Church but I loved it because of the singing, the music and the flamboyant hell-fire and brimstone preaching among other things. But the preaching was the best! Oh that preaching, it would always encourage participation by the congregation that responded with rousing Hallelujahs and head-shaking Amens from every seat and corner. Juicy sin and everyday human failings were the usual targets by the soaring Reverend as he carefully revved-up the assembled to a raucous climax that captured every soul within reach. The Reverend, whom I will call Reverend G, was the undisputed Maestro of the congregation and was much respected as a man of the cloth as well as a spiritual and moral leader. Then one Sunday we assembled in the church and to my surprise it was unusually subdued and solemn and I soon found out why. Reverend G was not there and standing in his place was an older gentleman that only got an occasional Amen from the elderly as he struggled with his sermon. When the service was finally over, I asked my Grandfather why Reverend G was not there. With a nervous and embarrassed look, my Grandfather finally relayed the news that the good Reverend G had absconded with the church treasury and took one of the female parishioners, who happened to be another man’s wife, with him and had departed to points unknown. I was devastated! This troubling memory that has been revived by Barack Obama is because both Reverend G and Barack have a common attribute and that is to use soaring rhetoric and carefully crafted generalities to inspire and motivate those eager for change and spiritual fulfillment. Of particular concern is the ease by which these orators can captivate our young with their idealistic posturing. Our young are still idealistic (thank goodness) and do not have the benefit of a lifetime of reality to help shape their opinions and judgments and so they are become easy prey to lofty generalities and become active supporters. The troubling part is that my experience to date suggests that those who have used these kinds of attributes have usually done so for reasons not always associated with altruistic endeavors. Now I’m not at all suggesting that if elected President, Barack Obama would abscond with the federal treasury and take off with Nancy Pelosi and if you thought I am saying that, you missed the point. The point being that the more one relies on lofty generalities and inspirational rhetoric, the more likely that the person is not what he appears to be and the more likely it is that it is the less inspiring common lust for power that is the hidden endeavor.
Taxes are Power
Taxes are Power
Sometimes things are so obvious and well understood that we forget the importance of them. This thought occurred to me while enduring the continuous political season we call modern living here in the good ole USA during which Politicians trot out the perennial silly talk of reducing taxes while increasing benefits for all. The enduring truth we all know and continue to forget, while listening to this Flim Flam, is that Taxes are Power! More Taxes equals more power, less Taxes equals less Power so there is no way on this beautiful blue Planet that taxes are really going to be reduced because the one thing that is as certain as gravity is that Politicians crave power! I hasten to point out that I did not use the moniker Flim Flam inadvisably when talking about Politicians promising to reduce taxes while increasing benefits for all because Flimflammers can only Flim Flam those who think they can get something for nothing. Reducing taxes while increasing benefits for all sure does sound like getting something for nothing, doesn’t it? Perhaps we all have been conditioned by a lifetime of advertising nonsense that promotes the notion “We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you,” so getting something for nothing really does make sense when it’s the always the other guy that gets cheated. I feel like the child that naively points out to the conditioned adults that, Wow, the Emperor is naked as a Jaybird when I feel the necessity of saying, Brothers and Sisters, the other guy is always us! We all must surely forget that we are the “other guy” because the Politician that promises to reduce taxes and raise benefits for all is always the one who get elected even though I know our Mothers taught us with waving finger and squinted eye, “Boy, listen to your Mother, you really can’t get something for nothing.” Perhaps we still need our Moms standing beside us with her waving finger fanning our troubled brow when we scribble our mark beside the name of the current Flim Flam Politician. All of this begs the question, why do Politicians do what they do? Because they get elected when they do it. So the truth must surely be and what we also continuously forget is, Politicians crave power like an addict craves narcotics and unlike Moa Tse-Tung who reckoned that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, Politicians in a Democracy realize that political power grows out of the fiat of taxes. And so we continue to buy in to the nonsense that taxes are a good thing and all law abiding and enlightened citizens should do their patriotic duty and support every “worthwhile” tax while secretly hoping that it is always the “other guy” that is going to get cheated. Sorry Mom.
Sometimes things are so obvious and well understood that we forget the importance of them. This thought occurred to me while enduring the continuous political season we call modern living here in the good ole USA during which Politicians trot out the perennial silly talk of reducing taxes while increasing benefits for all. The enduring truth we all know and continue to forget, while listening to this Flim Flam, is that Taxes are Power! More Taxes equals more power, less Taxes equals less Power so there is no way on this beautiful blue Planet that taxes are really going to be reduced because the one thing that is as certain as gravity is that Politicians crave power! I hasten to point out that I did not use the moniker Flim Flam inadvisably when talking about Politicians promising to reduce taxes while increasing benefits for all because Flimflammers can only Flim Flam those who think they can get something for nothing. Reducing taxes while increasing benefits for all sure does sound like getting something for nothing, doesn’t it? Perhaps we all have been conditioned by a lifetime of advertising nonsense that promotes the notion “We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you,” so getting something for nothing really does make sense when it’s the always the other guy that gets cheated. I feel like the child that naively points out to the conditioned adults that, Wow, the Emperor is naked as a Jaybird when I feel the necessity of saying, Brothers and Sisters, the other guy is always us! We all must surely forget that we are the “other guy” because the Politician that promises to reduce taxes and raise benefits for all is always the one who get elected even though I know our Mothers taught us with waving finger and squinted eye, “Boy, listen to your Mother, you really can’t get something for nothing.” Perhaps we still need our Moms standing beside us with her waving finger fanning our troubled brow when we scribble our mark beside the name of the current Flim Flam Politician. All of this begs the question, why do Politicians do what they do? Because they get elected when they do it. So the truth must surely be and what we also continuously forget is, Politicians crave power like an addict craves narcotics and unlike Moa Tse-Tung who reckoned that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, Politicians in a Democracy realize that political power grows out of the fiat of taxes. And so we continue to buy in to the nonsense that taxes are a good thing and all law abiding and enlightened citizens should do their patriotic duty and support every “worthwhile” tax while secretly hoping that it is always the “other guy” that is going to get cheated. Sorry Mom.
The 9% Congress
The 9% Congress
Don’t you just love percentages? Sometimes I view percentages like Will Rogers viewed statistics, you know, “There are lies, damn lies, and statistics (percentages)” and just like statistics, percentages are about as subjective as you can get when defining Human endeavors. For example, how many times have we all scoured over our favorite baseball player’s batting percentages only to speculate with cynical wisdom, about the chances of our employment survival with a 323 average of performance success? And how about the chances of rain percentages that the weather guessers are always laying on us? I mean, is it really possible to get wetter if you are caught in a 90% chance of rain rather than a 30% chance. I have a remarkable and very unscientific theory about things like this based upon a lifetime of observations while usually sipping away on an ice-cold brewski, and it goes like this. Compensation (money, etc.) is usually inversely proportional to the importance of the job or position. Just think about it. The President of the US of A makes considerable less money than a tobacco-chewing and mediocre big leaguer while a really important job, like garbage collector, barely makes enough jack to buy cigarettes while trying to support a family. I think we all can validate my theory many times over. In an odd sort of way, this brings me to a recent Rasmussen poll that confirms what most of us already knew and that is about 9% of Americans think the highly compensated members of the United States Congress are doing a good or excellent job. When I saw the percentages listed in this poll, I was immediately drawn to the 9 % number. What attracted my attention was not the confirmation of my own feelings that the number represents, but rather the glaring 9% number sitting there all by itself. Let me explain, or pontificate if you prefer. The Pew research center reports that the American electorate has come to be divided along political party lines by the following percentages: 30% Democrat, 30% Republican and 30% Independent. Well I’m not a rocket scientist but I can calculate that 30 plus 30 plus 30 equals 90% of the electorate. So what happened to the remaining 10% of the American electorate that the poll failed to address? Well Rasmussen may not know who you are, but you 10% out there know who you are, and so do I. I have always been a little dismayed and a little envious of this 10% because they are the ones who never seem to go along with the rest of us because they don’t give a damn about what’s going on around them or what other people think about them for that matter. You know what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about the 10% who say out loud “I don’t want to work, just want to bang on the drum all day.” This of course brings us back to that glaring 9% number that is close enough to the 10% number to be “within the margin of error” so it occurred to me that the “don’t give a damn” 10% are the very same ones who think that the highly compensated members of Congress are doing a good or excellent job because they too (the highly compensated members of Congress) Don’t want to work, they just want to bang on the drum all day.
Don’t you just love percentages? Sometimes I view percentages like Will Rogers viewed statistics, you know, “There are lies, damn lies, and statistics (percentages)” and just like statistics, percentages are about as subjective as you can get when defining Human endeavors. For example, how many times have we all scoured over our favorite baseball player’s batting percentages only to speculate with cynical wisdom, about the chances of our employment survival with a 323 average of performance success? And how about the chances of rain percentages that the weather guessers are always laying on us? I mean, is it really possible to get wetter if you are caught in a 90% chance of rain rather than a 30% chance. I have a remarkable and very unscientific theory about things like this based upon a lifetime of observations while usually sipping away on an ice-cold brewski, and it goes like this. Compensation (money, etc.) is usually inversely proportional to the importance of the job or position. Just think about it. The President of the US of A makes considerable less money than a tobacco-chewing and mediocre big leaguer while a really important job, like garbage collector, barely makes enough jack to buy cigarettes while trying to support a family. I think we all can validate my theory many times over. In an odd sort of way, this brings me to a recent Rasmussen poll that confirms what most of us already knew and that is about 9% of Americans think the highly compensated members of the United States Congress are doing a good or excellent job. When I saw the percentages listed in this poll, I was immediately drawn to the 9 % number. What attracted my attention was not the confirmation of my own feelings that the number represents, but rather the glaring 9% number sitting there all by itself. Let me explain, or pontificate if you prefer. The Pew research center reports that the American electorate has come to be divided along political party lines by the following percentages: 30% Democrat, 30% Republican and 30% Independent. Well I’m not a rocket scientist but I can calculate that 30 plus 30 plus 30 equals 90% of the electorate. So what happened to the remaining 10% of the American electorate that the poll failed to address? Well Rasmussen may not know who you are, but you 10% out there know who you are, and so do I. I have always been a little dismayed and a little envious of this 10% because they are the ones who never seem to go along with the rest of us because they don’t give a damn about what’s going on around them or what other people think about them for that matter. You know what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about the 10% who say out loud “I don’t want to work, just want to bang on the drum all day.” This of course brings us back to that glaring 9% number that is close enough to the 10% number to be “within the margin of error” so it occurred to me that the “don’t give a damn” 10% are the very same ones who think that the highly compensated members of Congress are doing a good or excellent job because they too (the highly compensated members of Congress) Don’t want to work, they just want to bang on the drum all day.
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