Horsing Around

During the last visit to Cape Cod, the grand-girls donned cowgirl hats and took advantage of my good nature and ample back ...

They look happier about it than I do. The horse didn't even get an apple afterwards!

Next week I'll document my recent backpacking experience at Yosemite National Park ...

Signs of a Leftist Regime

Leftist coups have, historically, been laughably easy to foist onto a sleeping public. Lenin and a few friends managed the feat rather easily, as did Hitler and his minority. In each case, they simply exerted their will over a party, leveraged a crisis of the working class, and relied on heavy support from academia and the press.

The latter institutions seem to lust for the "fairness" of controlled and planned government, and they have tremendous disdain for capitalistic systems which let successful people reap rewards.

Lest we again be guilty of missing the signs of the presence of a left-leaning agenda, consider:

• We now have "czars" to control the economy. They oversee 70% of the American economy from a centralized executive branch with no constitutional justification.
• By the way, we are now told the constitution is a "guideline", not to be followed literally.
• We know that the administration loves a good crisis, and often seems to manufacture them.
• The villian is always, without fail, Bush. The propaganda machine is non-stop.
• The administration is busy courting big labor (auto unions) while closing down car dealerships (auto management).
• The federal government is taking states to task (Arizona) and bypassing Congress to bring about their own version of immigration reform. This, too, seems to violate the constitutional clause in which states reserve all functions not specifically enumerated for federal control.
• Leftist economists don't understand the economic principle of elasiticity. They believe taxes can be raised and raised and raised with no ill effect.
• It seems it's better to pay unemployment indefinitely rather than spur the economy to create jobs naturally. That's a mistake.
• The false belief that the business cycle can be controlled has returned.
• Statistics are manufactured.
• Race politics have returned. This is ironic given that the country just elected a minority president, but it serves a political purpose.
• The press is acting like sissies again.

By the way, the Republicans have been bitten with the same bug, so these are not partison comments - I just hate to be duped by people with a transparent plan.

We can do better.

Remodeling Update

Earlier, I provided some early pictures of a new room we were constructing in the basement. It's a smallish 5th bedroom - just what everyone needs.

This post is a simple progress report, designed to elicit at least one "that's nice" comment.

Posted earlier:



Same view now (just needs painting to finish):


Posted earlier:



Same view now (just needs carpet and baseboard trim to finish):


Exciting stuff.

What I Don't Know

Normally, I consider myself a pretty smart fellow, often wondering why those around me don't "get it". But then I do or say something incredibly naive, even stupid. Or I miss something which was crystal clear to 99.9% of the populace.

It makes you wonder how much we really know ...

Each generation likes to think of themselves as far advanced over the previous. But what computers tell us today were calculated by men using calculus in years past. And if you've read old documents, it's amazing how articulate the men and women of previous centuries really were. Our achievement? Texting. Maybe we're devolving rather than evolving, but we just have better toys.

Just when I achieve a satisfying victory over some home improvement project, the realization comes that a professional possesses 100X the knowledge I possess on the topic. And consider the subjects on which I know absolutely nothing!

Face it: we're not that smart. An overwhelming mass of knowledge eludes us.

I envision heaven has a library and, for those who care to know, every question is available for ready research and quick comprehension. The mysteries will be answered.

Whether there's a "library" there or not, heaven does exist.

That much I do know.

RV Dilemma

Our RV shopping criteria is crystal clear ...


First, we want a trailer which is nimble and towable so we can be as mobile as possible. Towing should be uneventful, not a chore, and it shouldn't require a monster vehicle to do the job. A short trailer will be easier to navigate, set-up, and maintain. It just makes sense. This requirement directs us to look at RV units which look like this:


Second, we want to be comfortable for the occassional multi-day stay. The RV should feature a large bedroom (with an oversize walkaround queen bed), a large bathroom, ample seating (couch plus a chair or two), and storage to hide everything. It just makes sense. This set of requirements leads us to consider RVs which look like this:


See the dilemma? We need a 20-foot trailer with a 35-foot interior!

Lyla's Room

Lyla would like to thank Catherine & Mary for leaving their stuffed animals at Grandma's to play with. (Though I'm not really sure she is playing with them. She might just be removing them from HER couch).She also really likes the small couches. They're just her size!

Utopia? No Thanks

In high school, we were baited by our political science teacher into designing the perfect utopian government. Little did we know, that all previous attempts had ended in dictatorships! I guess you could say that believing in utopia on earth is a sophomoric error.

Marx promised the possibility of a perfect world for everyone. He downplayed the use of force which he aslo predicted.

Lenin promised a worker's paradise to the Russian peasants. All they got was enslavement and lies.

Mussolini promised a perfect Italian society. They, too, recieved totalitarianism.

Hitler envisioned a perfect race built on social engineering and a managed economy. His people were militarized and defeated.

Mao Tse Tung told the peasant class he'd empower them. Instead, he enslaved them.

In the end, the drive toward utopia is marked by clear warning signs: cultic political personality, class warfare, a hate for the bourgeois (those who own things), and centralization of government (how many "czars" do we need?!?).

The American revolution was truly unique in that those who led it later stepped aside to share power with the people. It wasn't utopian because we the people are not perfect.

For that we can be thankful (and continually vigilant).