And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

Matthew 13:57

Do not suppose that I compare myself to the Almighty. Still amongst the mortals, I am a mere gnat compared to the Malkins of the blogosphere. However, the mischief that you spread about eventually catches up with you. That is true even if one writes anonymously, as I do in all of my blogs.

The first time I was confronted was by a friend, who thought so highly of the blogsite he was reading that he immediately Skyped me, along with a copy of the article directed to my chat box. As I clicked the answer button, and waited for the video to stabilize between us, I glanced at the text and realized I was the perpetrator.

“Hey! You should read this article.”

Well, of course I already had, but I wasn’t about to admit it to someone I respected right off the bat.

“Do you know who he works for?”

I allowed that I had heard a little about the writer, mostly by reputation. He was said to be well schooled, and something of a Renaissance man, if rumors could be trusted. Personally, I felt that the fellow had gotten by based more on his looks than his intellect, but that was only my opinion and there was probably a minority that disagreed with me on the point.

“Well, who is it? He didn’t stick his name on it”

“It is I.”

“What?”

“It is I. I write that blog”

Blank stare, followed by an immediate Skype disconnect. I remember thinking that I really should shop for a better router.

The same thing happened some months later. The “gentle bride” was sitting in the office, and said I should look at the site she was reading on her computer. I glanced at the screen and noted it was one of my own.

“I like reading his stuff, and he’s kind of funny too.”

“Thanks.”

“Huh?”

“Thanks. That’s one of my blogs”

A brief moment of incomprehesion, then a look of horror swept across her face as if Death had appeared on the doorstep with a Census ID wanting to know more about us. The webpage was hurriedly closed, the keyboard pushed back on the desk like it was throwing sparks, and I immediately found myself alone in the office. I don’t think she looked at that blog for another year.

Priceless.

As you may or may not know, I’ve always been a fan of propaganda done well. At all of 63 seconds this isn’t “Triumph of the Will”, but brevity being the soul of wit, it’s right up there.

No matter what your political affiliation, this is a real problem.

I’m just a messenger here, as I am old enough to have visited a number of these locations nearly 20 years ago. While I have my own opinions about what should and shouldn’t be presented at a historical site, I do know PC drek when I hear it. Allow me to elaborate.

Our trip was primarily based around visiting DC, Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello and finally Mount Vernon. While a one day dash onto the Mall environs yielded little time in any one place to make a judgment that I was comfortable with, it seems that there had been some “dumbing down” of the exhibits. There wasn’t nearly the amount of descriptive information associated with the exhibits as I’d seen in previous visits. Granted, the years may have diminished my perceptions, but that was what I was left with. In fairness, I will say that the actual appearance of the exhibits had been upgraded.

If you’re contemplating a visit to the Mall, using the Metro is the way to go. We boarded at the most southern station on the Blue Line, and had a pleasant 53 minute trip directly to the Smithsonian stop which cost us slightly more than three dollars. Sure, we paid four some bucks to park our car, but it was far less than we would have been required to cough up had we parked in downtown DC (if we were able to find parking at all). The ability to park and ride made it one of the more pleasant travel parts of our journey.

Colonial Williamsburg was another world. I’ll admit I didn’t know quite what to expect. Not everyone was “in character”, but those that were had it wired. It is such a large site, and done so well, that spending a whole day on the property is only a good start. It is a different experience than a museum as it is literally a living anachronism. Put it on your list when you visit that area. It is a high quality experience.

The Capitol at Williamsburg

The next stop was Jamestown. The National Park Service provided an excellent presentation in the form of our guide and lecturer, Mr. Kelso. As opposed to the rest of the tour guides encountered, he walked and talked us through the site over the next two hours (as opposed to just trying to “push” us through the site). Willingness to spend the time to actually discuss history, provide in-depth answers to our questions, and display a real interest in the subject made it a very different experience from that provided at Monticello. There were all sorts of informational tidbits offered. For instance, were you aware that there is little evidence of involuntary servitude (slavery) in Jamestown prior to 1640? Now there is as bit of significant history that leads to more questions. I will admit that it piqued my interest, as I thought it had always been with us in the colonies. The progression into slavery is not a subject that is generally discussed in schools, or the popular media. Such things are discussed at Jamestown.

Jamestown

There were actually open digs going on. It’s fascinating to see the disturbance in the earth where recently discovered graves are being uncovered. Mr. Kelso spent another 45 minutes after the tour answering questions from a small group of enthusiasts. It was clear that he relished the teaching experience. As an individual who taught at the university level for four years, it was fascinating to watch someone who does teaching well.

I liked his style.

I must say that the personalized “royal treatment” we received at Jamestown rather spoiled us for the rest of the trip. With this cautionary note, I’ll proceed with a description of how the presentation of an historical site should not be done. Unfortunately, that site is Monticello. Personal perception is always suspect, but it is what we use to analyze the world.

Monticello in late October 2010

On arriving at the Jefferson Visitors Center, we purchased our tickets and were assigned a 10:40 am tour. Loading of the bus at the base of the mountain was quite efficient and we arrived in plenty of time for our appointment. As before, we entered through Jefferson’s front door. With our tour guide, we began our visit in the entrance hall. The description of the clock, and gong was the same, but things deteriorated from there. It became pretty apparent that the lecture was aimed at somewhere south of a ten year old mentality. At least that was the feedback I started getting from my own children. The kids actually took me aside after the tour, and made specific commentary that they were NOT morons!

Well, OK! I disagree with them occasionally on that subject, but in this particular case they were correct. The tour lecture was aimed far below the mental capacity of the folks that were in our group. They missed their target by a mile, and I expected better.

Now here’s the clincher. The rumored dalliance between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings was broached. Unfortunately, it was presented as more than just a salacious rumor. The guide actually attempted to validate the story by stating that “historians” state that it is true. I would have loved to discuss the subject, but the commentary immediately moved on after that bit of bovine scatology. Now, I know that the scientific evidence, taken from mitochondrial DNA, indicates that there is some Jefferson blood in Hemming’s descendants. That’s a really fascinating bit of scientific detective work, but there is absolutely NO evidence that Thomas Jefferson specifically was involved (William G. Hyland, In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemings Sex Scandal). It is quite probable that we will never know for sure which Jefferson fathered Hemmning’s child. Again, there is no evidence that Thomas Jefferson was the father.

So why would a Monticello tour guide present such a misleading, and unprovable, position? It is arguably a PC statement, reminiscent of the recently discredited man-made global warming hoax. Both seem to be born of political expediency, rather than scientific evidence. As to why an employee would be taking the low road in Jefferson’s own home is perplexing.

Mt. Vernon

After the disappointment at Monticello, we came to Mt. Vernon. What a difference! Washington’s home has really changed, and for the better. Two decades have brought the Ford Visitor’s Center, and one of the best museums I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. The new museum is so “low key” that it’s gone subterranean. That’s right! It’s literally underground. I suspect it was buried so that it didn’t detract from Mt. Vernon itself. The combination of audiovisual presentations, exhibits, and a really polished facility make this museum world class. It’s not the Smithsonian, but it is the best confluence of technology, facility and exhibits of any museum that I’ve experienced.

Walking, walking, walking.........

If you haven’t been to Mt. Vernon since the museum was built (Or !horrors!, didn’t realize it was there when you visited) you really need to go again. When finished with the tour, it’s going to become apparent that GW was the real deal. I’ll admit I believed this before I went, but it is good enough to affect your view of our first president. The man was a class act.

Top of descent is just a few minutes away, so it’s time to close up shop and stow all my electronic toys. I’d say the whole trip came out on the black side in the travel ledger. Yes, Monticello slipped due to the quality of the tour guide. TJ is still what he was, and Monticello is still an architectural wonder. Poor presentation does not change reality. If you have the time, go see all of these sites. Every one of them is worthwhile, and your children will benefit from the experience for the rest of their lives.

It is time for them to be ordinary citizens — just like the rest of us.

The “switch” was made over 100 years ago in our family. Since then, it’s been mostly an American success story. The line seems to have produced poets, pilots, farmers, nurses and doctors (and a few nutballs of course). All of this over a century, with the next generation edging towards engineering. Was it because the family clung to an increasingly distant Indian heritage? On the contrary, it was because the decision was made early on that the future wasn’t back on the reservation, though I suppose they could have gone back if they ever wanted. None ever did. In retrospect, what would have been the benefit?

This year, when the teacher asked my children what they “are”, they answered “Nebraskan” or “Coloradan”. This is as it should be. My kids, on their own, rejected the ethnic constraints that others too willingly let themselves be shackled with. I can’t tell you how proud I was when their charter school teachers told us about the class conversation that ensued. At first the teachers didn’t understand, though the lights began to come on. The students caught on sooner. The 4th grade teacher informs us that there was more than one teacher in the classroom that day.

Our Remaining Indian Heritage

So I guess you can hold on to your ethnic heritage if you want. It’s a free country, of course. But as to the path to fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness (whatever that word means), our family already knows the answer.

Oh, owning land is fine. We seem to have a lot of it (not really sure why it continues to accumulate). I suppose it’s because we keep buying the damned stuff.  And yes, once we have it, no one wants to get rid of it (that would be wrong!). Funny how that works. The difference between us and the tribal crowd is that it’s OUR land, purchased with our sweat, and it has OUR name on the title. Indian/tribal affiliation was never a factor. It was all acquired under US rules, which is far better than the dysfunctional setup that seems to be popular of late. Truth be told, guilty white folks made up the American Indian myth as far back as Natty Bumppo. There have been generations of Indians that have bought into it, and probably as many that scammed  it.

A lot of Indian must have been bred out of us over the last century. Though we seem to have a familial predisposition for acquiring land, none of us seem to be getting warm fuzzy feelings about casinos. Perhaps the racial separation is finally complete. In that sense, it didn’t happen soon enough.

We clocked off five miles more, and I said, “But suppose there isn’t anything to find?”

And the Boss said, “There is always something.”

And I said, “Maybe not on the Judge.”

And he said, “Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud. There is always something.”

- ”All The King’s Men”, Robert Penn Warren

Most of us recall earlier this year, when the White House boresighted Limbaugh. The “Big Guy” stared ‘em down, then came right back swingin’. In the end, the Administration lost a fair amount of political capital in the attack. Now it’s Glenn Beck’s turn.

The Daily Kos contains a message from Keith Olbermann, in which he invites the members of the Left to dish him the dirt on Beck. Newsbusters also has a commentary on the gathering storm.

On Beck’s part, this is a move that cannot be unexpected. If nothing else, Beck is a survivor and his excellently honed sense of paranoia has no doubt prepared him for what is to come. It’s Glenn’s turn in the barrel, and though it will be unpleasant, I’m sure he’s spent no small amount of time in preparing.

Beck has lost a great deal in his life. He’s banged off both ends of the scale. However, when you’ve literally hit the skids, you put things into perspective. It becomes more difficult to be intimidated. What is the Left going to do, call him an alcoholic (he is)? He also suffers from ADD (self-admitted). In my opinion, he’s  bi-polar as the dickens (but a highly functional BP).

The point is that Beck has done plenty to publicly address his demons. One of his comments, which I wish he’d expand on is, “alcoholics and drug addicts are going to save this country”. I’d like to hear his explanation on that one!

Beck knows what he is, and was. Getting the dirt on him may mean nothing at all as he’s owned up to to a lot in his life. And, though he’s slightly tortured in his own skin, he seems to know himself better than most. This makes him a formidable opponent, as I don’t think he cares as much about himself as he does for the welfare of the Nation. They’ll have to do more than merely “dig the dirt” on him to take him out.

This is going to be hugely entertaining as it’s played out in the media. The White House isn’t going to be in  the lead on this one (they’re not commenting on Beck’s critiques). The Administration is recruiting their minions to shoulder the attack. No doubt this is due to Obama’s flagging popularity. He cannot afford to lose much more, but he can certainly try to get the public’s eye off of the ball. This is really all the maneuver is about.

It continues to get more interesting, as the chocks are thrown under the Obamites. As a student of political history, it is a good era to be alive.

The whole spectacle, every bit of it, is a wonderful education for our children in what not to do. In this world of whitewashed evil, our offspring seldom get to witness true malevolence. Well, this is their chance. I know my grade school children are acutely aware of the smarminess oozing from the administration. Don’t think that the rest of their generation isn’t aware of it.

One of this parent’s proudest moments, was learning that my daughter’s fifth grade class literally booed their teacher when they learned she was going to vote for Obama. It made all of those diaper changes worth it. <— Beaming Parent

Today, the unholy alliance between The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Obama administration seems to be getting some press. It will get more before 2012 arrives. Apparently there are government funds that are ready to be expended in the art community. In this case it is a quid pro quo. The artists are expected to produce favorable propaganda for the Obama administration. This begs the question of why all varieties of Pinkos (National Socialists, Commies, etc.), and their fellow travelers, the Progressives, have such a romance with artists. Granted, not all in the arts crowd are leftists, but I don’t think they necessarily track with the statistical norm either.

So will we see some good stuff coming out of the arts community when the ObamaBucks start kicking in? They have some tough standards to meet. Leni Reifenstahl did it best in film and set the bar. Significant portions of the arts community in Germany (1934-1945) were basically enlisted in an effort to glorify the Nazi’s to the masses. The Obama Administration is doing exactly the same thing.

Triumph of The Will, the program's front page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHs2coAzLJ8

You only have to get to the 30 minute point in this video to realize there are frightening parallels between then and now. Believe me when I say that the White House has been studying their predecessor’s technique, but you watch it and be the judge. After 30 minutes, you’re hooked for the rest of the movie. Besides the fact that it tracks with what is occurring today, it is technically perfect.

As an aside, few of us are aware that Colorado has one of the greatest repositories of Nazi art and memorabilia in the world. Much of their detritus continues to survive, safely warehoused in Pueblo since WWII. Germany didn’t want the stuff back, so our government boxed it up and stored it for them. You thought Indiana Jones was fiction? Pueblo is where that warehouse is located! Some years ago you could actually take tours, so if you’re an afficianado of fine art propaganda, then it’s I-25 South for you!

How does all this relate to the perennial problem that we know as Socialism? It’s the same old movie all over again. Socialists, bereft of the virtues of entrepreneurialism, are left with the need to retread. They are students of history by necessity. Here’s an example:

In the beginning of the 20th century, the Progressives held sway in America. Roosevelt (the first one), was a Progressive (as is our Secretary of State). As a victim of American public education, I used to think TR was a great guy. I was wrong. Eugenics was a Progressive product. The Nazi’s picked it up and, well you know how that story went. It was open season on the mentally handicapped, and many others. Eventually, these deficient “burdens” were removed from the population much as in utero “undesirables” are today.

Nazi Eugenics Poster

So what happened to the young man in the foreground? Nothing good, I’m afraid. The text of the poster reads something along the lines of, “This genetically ill person will cost our people’s community 60,000 marks over his lifetime. Citizens, that is your money”. Given the recent dialog on National Healthcare, does this sound somewhat familiar? I thought it might.

Keep your eyes on the art community, and the political support they’ll be providing for the Administration’s agendas at your expense. They will have to do a lot better than what was produced during the election. If you’re a student of propaganda history it will be apparent that you’re being ripped off. As evil as they were, there’s no doubt that the Nazi’s work product was far superior to what the domestic political artists have provided to date.

Though my blood chemistry was pretty good, I’m still relatively young, my weight “optimal”, no drugs, no alcohol (lifelong teatotaler, but I may have to start after this “incident”), it only made those worthy medical detectives dig in a little more to try to figure out the source of this rather unexpected event.

The incident happened subtly. I was on my hands and knees in the yard working on a recalcitrant irrigation valve, and had my head cranked way over to the side (and upside down) to try to read the manual shutoff marking on the side of the valve body. When I stood up I noticed that my left peripheral field had folded in by about five degrees.

“Hmph! What’d I do now?”. At first i thought I’d damaged the retina in my left eye. Closing my right eye, and waving my fingers around in the left field, I almost had myself convinced that it was my left eye that was the problem…..almost. I then closed my left eye and tested the left field of the right eye. Same problem.

“Oh, s$!^! …… BRAIN“. Time to head to the emergency room, and quickly. My “gentle bride” squired me down the 12 mile grade that lead to Memorial North, where I was involved in a rather unpleasant confrontation with the emergency room security guard. He couldn’t figure out why he was detecting metal as he waved his wand over the spinal cord stimulator implanted in my right flank. I pointed out that he was going to detect metal there all day long, and unless he let me into the emergency room, there was a statistical probability that I was going to expire right in front of him. He was bound and determined to find out why I was beeping his equipment though, and I imagine I might still be there (or dead), had an alert ER nurse not ended the foolishness by physically dragging me into the facility and slapping me on a gurney.

Three days later I was out the door of the hospital with a whole new set of pills, and some really neat syringes loaded up with fractionated heparin. You don’t want to know where those went (subcutaneous car wreck is rather apt).  Oh yes, and a diagnosis of Patent Foramen Ovale with some associated emboli in the aorta. Yes, the latter problem is pretty scary. Fortunately, the next two weeks were spent keeping my blood as absolutely thin as possible without bleeding out. Discussing the fate of the clots in my aorta with my GP, he told me not to worry.

“It’s been four days since you started on the anti-coagulants. No problem.”

“No problem?! Why is there no problem? Are those things still in my aortic arch?”, I squeeked.

“I doubt you’ll form any more clots with the anticoagulants you’re on. No doubt the emboli that were in there went into your brain days ago.”

I was comforted, ……. sort of. Tough truth from my doctor, which is all too rare from the medical establishment. I may keep him.

Well, how does this fit in with the healthcare debate? From my standpoint, here’s how it comes down. The way the bill(s) are currently configured, a lot of the money for the program is going to come out of Medicare. Though I’m blessed with two great insurance programs (Medicare and a crackerjack PPO), I never asked for the Medicare. It was effectively forced on me in a convoluted arrangement with my disability insurance company. Having said that, Medicare has been pretty good to me over the years. It certainly works as well, or better in some cases, than the PPO.

Contrast this with the effect of a 40% reduction in Medicare payments, if the proposed healthcare bill is enacted. The money has to come from somewhere, and the biggest “pile” is directed at geezers such as myself (though I’m comfortably ensconced over on the left slope of that bell curve, thank you very much).

Am I looking forward to nationalized healthcare? Not on your life, or mine. When I seem to attract every odd and unlikely disease in existence, trusting a new government program is not the first thing that comes to mind (or what remains of it). Let us hope that the rumored failure of the bill is accurate.

Seems that pocket knives are having their turn in the PC barrel as to whether they should be banned. Yes, banned, ie. You can’t have ‘em. I’m quite at a loss over what to say about this, which makes it a challenge to do a blog, but here goes.

That's not a knife. THIS is a knife! - $1005 worth

“Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.”

- Johann Schiller, 1759-1805

Customs is now considering banning pocket knives, and the date for comment is June 21st. Now the first thing that comes to mind is that there will certainly be a lot of us to enforce such a law against, and beyond the shear numbers of potential miscreants involved, there is the annoying little matter of the Second Amendment. I’ll admit that I never thought of the possibility of the Second Amendment applying to pocket knives (something about taking a knife to a gunfight comes to mind). It’s just one of those things that you’re not too concerned about because it doesn’t go bang, but where would you be without a pocket knife? I mean, I had one even when I was an airline pilot, which would probably get me put on some sort of domestic terrorist watch list now (if this blog hasn’t already qualified me). They’re such a handy little item that you can do all sorts of things with, trim you’re cuticles, slice crewmeal seals, clip newpaper articles, and open up the blog groupie fan mail. But that may all be in the past shortly. Soon, we may get a free trip to the Pokey for carrying one, on no less than a felony rap! Who woulda’ thought?

It’s truly amazing how far a lib government thinks they can push this slack-jawed lunacy. It was just recently that BATF tried to regulate amateur rocketry. My kids Cub Scout den was set to change their uniform to stripes. Rather a sad state of affairs when something as cretinous as pocket knife control is considered to be the proper roll of the federal government, but now it’s here.

One do wonder about the nation’s educational system, and who the government seems to be hiring. It’s all too obvious who the voters have been hiring.

“I am always looking over my shoulder, wondering if I measure up,”

- Judge Sonia Sotomayor

 Definition: The impostor syndrome is feeling that one hasn’t earned his or her achievements – that the achievements are the result of luck. It is very common among high achieving persons, particularly women, who worry that some day they will be “found out” – that others will discover that they really do not know what they are doing.

Well of course she thinks that. That’s what affimative action does to minorities. When she got into college, she had to ask herself if she got there because of her own abilities, or because of some sort of minority quota system. The same goes for her admission to law school. The same goes for her first job, and her first judgeship, and her next, and her nomination to the Supreme Court.

It’s a terrible thing, what’s been done to minorities that have abilities and may (or may not) be good at what they do. There’s always that irksome little crawly thing, back in the base of their brain that perpetually asks, “Did I get here because I’m really good at what I do, or because of some quota system?” It’s just a horrible, monstrous, castrating thing that’s been done to them.

Unfortunately, she will always be  looking back over  her shoulder. If she doesn’t ask that question of herself, she knows there are plenty of others that are. It’s a Faustian bargain that the Libs have made. She, as an individual may never have bought into it, yet she is saddled with it for the rest of her life.

Bastards!