Two days after Thanksgiving

We write the light stuff, the silly stuff, or we write not at all when things seem heaviest and hardest. This whole world seems in chaos just now, including close to home. Bomb attempts at the lighting of Portland's Christmas tree, murder of a young college girl in upstate New York, suicide bombings "in diverse places," North Korea starting up against South Korea with nuclear power to back it up, the US government printing money as we speak with nothing behind it, folks working the system, others just down and out.

So what's to say?

Maybe just that I count my blessings. Which are many. Anything else I might say seems not to matter much.

Yesterday's Election

Results should send a "stop what you're doing" message to Obama, but I'm waiting for his first wriggle out of it speech. Actually, I may have missed it already.

I've Had It Up to Here

I think BO is running scared, although he does not look scared. But he is everywhere these days. Talking up his whatever-you-want-to-call-them plans and performances. Telling folks it all really is working. That's behavior of a scared guy, isn't it?

And he pops in here and there unannounced (so they'd have us believe), surprising school children. Yeah, sure. They're safe. They won't ask the hard questions. They'll just cheer and smile.

I get worried sometimes. I'm afraid too many people are thinking, "Yes, we elected a black president. Aren't we wonderful!" And that is enough for them.

Not for me.

Keep running scared, BO. And by all means, keep talking off the cuff in those platitudinal (my spell checker says it should be platitudinous, but I like platitudinal better) phrases we've all memorized by now.

We have two years to do something about him. Excuse him from further service. Vote him out.

Yes, indeed

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.
- John Adams

Has anything changed?

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
- Aesop

I don't think so.

Oil Spills and Such

I used to ask my students how they would find out the truth of, say, a news story, suggesting to them they could not count on the news media, for instance. Their abbreviated reports, their need for readers/listeners/viewers, their editorial agenda, etc. All would interfere with the truth.

Today I ask the same question, because we have the story--and it's a big one--from so many sources. BP tells its truth, the federal government a different story, the Coast Guard another, the Navy, the folks who are on those few and small stretches of beach doing "clean up," reporters with limited access or skewed perspective, former BP employees, and anyone with something against any of those entities. Any or all may not be worthy of belief.

And it is possible that all news, or most of it, is filtered through BP. It's their oil, after all, their deal.

I wonder, do all parties have something to gain in this thing? Is there some profit to be made by hiding the facts?

Or is there someone, anyone, anywhere, who is actually disinterested, objective? Even objectivity is no promise of the truth.

Some pretend to objectivity, pretend to say the truth. Some may believe what they tell. Others just don't know the whole story. Does anyone?

Can anyone? I don't think so.

So who tells the truth?

I say, no one. Not really.

I am not a cynic. I may be an idealist shocked and disappointed a few too many times. But I simply believe we will never know the truth of this thing.

And I'm not sure most of us really want to know. We're usually happy with the quick reports. They're quite enough, thanks.

This and That

I guess I'll find out if Muslims read this blog, because I'm about to say, "Look out. They are taking over the world. Truly they are." So check on me once in a while. And I'm not kidding.

For instance, look at population data in Europe, particularly France and The Netherlands, and in Canada and the US--just for starters. And it's the IHH, the Muslim factor in Turkey, that is leading that country's tirade against Israel and advocating a severing of relations over the flotilla incident.

I suppose we shouldn't be surprised. It's kind of scriptural, you know. I just don't like witnessing it.

And so on.

I still stand with Israel. Fewer and fewer of us do. Seen a production of Fiddler on the Roof lately? And Mark Steyn says The Diary of Anne Frank is now on the do not read or produce list in Holland.

By the way, I'm not through on the Arizona issue, but that post is likely to be lengthy, given what I've been reading recently. So later. For now, I still stand with the state's right to establish laws regarding illegal immigration into it--the state--without the federal government overturning the laws.

No. I don't have it in for anyone. I will add, though, that I am sick and tired of King Barak. Hmm, new subject. Did British Petroleum give him $1,000,000 for his campaign? Yes, that is true. Didn't he let them slide on the safety issues? Oh dear, here I go.

Later.