Reflections From a Murky Pond

Newly elected Governor, Scott Walker and his introduction of Assembly Bill 11 to the Republican dominated Wisconsin Senate, which strongly would sharply and strongly curtail the collective bargaining privileges of the state’s public sector unions has enough votes in the Wisconsin Senate but the 14 Democrat senators have fled the state in order to prevent that vote, or any other, from happening.

The one thing these 14 criminals and the the 100+ “teachers” that deliberately shutdown most schools in Wisconsin have done is prove Gov. Walker and the GOP right. Their bit of sophomoric theater has empirically proven the dangers of collective bargaining and of agreements that enable unions to shutdown needed civil services in order to coerce the government to bend to their will and demands.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, surprisingly since he was far to the Left of even Obama, said it best in his letter to Luther C. Steward, President, National Federation of Federal Employees on the resolution of Federation of Federal Employees against strikes in federal service:

The desire of Government employees for fair and adequate pay, reasonable hours of work, safe and suitable working conditions, development of opportunities for advancement, facilities for fair and impartial consideration and review of grievances, and other objectives of a proper employee relations policy, is basically no different from that of employees in private industry. Organization on their part to present their views on such matters is both natural and logical, but meticulous attention should be paid to the special relationships and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the Government.

All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees alike are governed and guided, and in many instances restricted, by laws which establish policies, procedures, or rules in personnel matters.

Particularly, I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place in the functions of any organization of Government employees. Upon employees in the Federal service rests the obligation to serve the whole people, whose interests and welfare require orderliness and continuity in the conduct of Government activities. This obligation is paramount. Since their own services have to do with the functioning of the Government, a strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government until their demands are satisfied. Such action, looking toward the paralysis of Government by those who have sworn to support it, is unthinkable and intolerable.

— F.D.R.
August 16, 1937

President Obama – or one of his mouthpieces with Organizing for America who’ve been stoking these protests; it’s unclear which – has described Gov. Walker’s bill as an “assault on unions” but the truth is that both the actions of the Wisconsin Democrats and the public union members is a clear and present assault upon- and danger to the People of Wisconsin who these state employees purport to serve.

They’re on the wrong side of current and future history and, most definitely, on the wrong side of the war for America’s future. They’re actions have proven this and proven Gov. Walker and the GOP absolutely and incontrovertibly right.

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Keep your eyes open. Travel light but load heavy, and always put another round in the enemy after they’re down. 😉

That Obama considers himself above scrutiny or accountability goes largely without saying. Each and every action that he has taken in his political career has been shrouded in secrecy – to the point that all details of his life, from birth to graduation, have been expunged from the public record, leaving only his voice to provide the narrative for it. His tenure in politics has followed the same shrouded and duplicitous path.

This is a useful and cunning course of action for the would-be demagogue or tyrant.

It is also part and parcel of the iconic image of the Magic Negro, a meme that was largely responsible for Obama’s election to the Presidency and, therefore, not to be considered unexpected behavior by Obama.

This has, however, become a severe problem since he was installed in office because Obama has extended this behavior to his actions as POTUS by denying the press normal access while forming his own State Media Machine so that it is, once again his voice alone is providing the narrative.

Even ABC, who went far out of their way and farther beyond the pale of journalistic ethics to ensure America had it’s First Black President, have begun to cry foul:

The White House Press Office now not only produces a website, blog, YouTube channel, Flickr photo stream, and Facebook and Twitter profiles, but also a mix of daily video programming, including live coverage of the president’s appearances and news-like shows that highlight his accomplishments.

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Over the past few months, as White House cameras have been granted free reign behind the scenes, officials have blocked broadcast news outlets from events traditionally open to coverage and limited opportunities to publicly question the president himself.

Obama’s recent signing of the historic New START treaty with Russia and his post-State of the Union cabinet meeting, for example, were both closed to reporters in a break with tradition. And during a recent question and answer session with the president and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the White House imposed an unusual limit of just one question each from the U.S. and Canadian press corps.

“The administration has narrowed access by the mainstream media to an unprecedented extent,” said ABC News White House correspondent Ann Compton, who has covered seven administrations. “Access here has shriveled.”

Members of the press have always had quibbles with White House media strategies, calling cut-backs in access an affront to transparency, even as administration officials insist they’re simply taking advantage of new technologies.

But some say the current dynamic is different, and dangerous.

“They’re opening the door to kicking the press out of historic events, and opening the door to having a very filtered format for which they give the American public information that doesn’t have any criticism allowed,” said University of Minnesota journalism professor and political communication analyst Heather LaMarre.

In point of fact, I have little sympathy for ABC or any of the “lamestream” media. They’ve been largely silent about the Obama’s Regime’s incessant attacks upon Fox News. I sort of feel that if you stay silent when they come for Fox you shouldn’t feel entitled to have anyone speak up when they come for you. Also, they had every reason to see this coming.

But the fact that I have little or no sympathy for ABC’s plight doesn’t mean that they’re not right or that this isn’t something that endangers more than just the media’s feelings and ratings.

This strikes like a shiv at the beating heart of American liberty and must not be tolerated by we, the People.

A reasonably free press is a needed to ensure that the government, rarely the true friend of the people, doesn’t go too far astray. Without the press having access to our elected politicians the descent into tyranny and despotism is assured.

Of course Obama, who tells us that he studied Constitutional Law, should know this. He just willfully chooses to violate this fundamental American precept in order to shield himself from criticism.

Does this mean that Obama is a tyrant? Not necessarily, though it is precursor behavior for one. But precursor behaviors do not always lead to full-blown end-states in behavior patterns.

But it doesn’t matter whether Obama is a would-be despot or merely a narcissistic man who believes himself to above scrutiny, criticism, and/or reproach; this method of “controlling the message” must be eradicated by firm and uncertain means.

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Keep your eyes open. Travel light but load heavy, and always put another round in the enemy after they’re down. 😉

Beer! It is, and has been for millennia, truly one of the foundations of civilization. Along with foole, beer allowed the Pyramids and other great public works of ancient Egypt and it allowed the rise of the great cities in Europe despite the dangerously contaminated water supplies they endured.

In the words of the American poet John Ciardi, “Fermentation and civilization are inseparable.”

Yes, beer has always been the Everyman’s drink; the preferred quaff of Joe Six-Pack – and Jane Six-Pack of course – after a long day toiling as the often forgotten and sometimes lambasted backbone of society. It’s long been a convivial beverage that had escaped the ceremonies, snobbery, and elitism that is so entrenched in wine.

Sadly, times are changing in America and the glorious rebirth of the American craft brewing industry has also birthed the misbegotten by-blows known as beer snobs.

There’s beer geeks and there’s beer snobs, and I’m a card-carrying, dyed-in-the-wool member of the beer geek community. How I differentiate between a beer geek and a beer snob is this: they could have an equal amount of knowledge about beer; they could have equally awesome palates; [they] can articulate everything about the qualities of beer; [and they can] tell you the history of brewing styles. Their knowledge might be the same. But a beer geek loves beer because he or she loves beer, and they want to learn more always, try new beers, and share that with the people they love. Whereas beer snobs try to know as much as they can about beer as a power point and to lord it over people, or to stick out as an expert in a field of neophytes.

— Sam Calagione
Founder, Dogfish Head Brewery

Beer lovers must not repeat the mistakes of the wine enthusiasts and devolve into snobbishness, elitism, and exclusion.

We lovers of beers certainly do not want to go down the road which led to 86% of all the wine drank in America being drunk by only 12% of the American population. This is especially true since 97% of the breweries in America are described as craft or microbreweries yet they account for 5% of the total market share.

Staying True To Joe Six-Pack is paramount irrespective of what each of our preferred six-packs might be.

The Feminists have always alternately whined and ranted about Disney’s “Princesses.” They’re still doing so, even to this day.

The thing is, once you get past their mindless cants, they have an valid point when it comes to lesson taught by these characters and the sorts of role models that they are.

There’s actually little that is good to be said for the “Princesses.”

They all, even the more modern iterations, tend towards the insipid; have few talents and little to offer beyond their beauty and – presumably – virginal sexuality; and always end up needing a “Prince” to save them and/or bring them fulfillment.

Frankly, the “Damsel in Distress” is a piss-poor role model even for an anti-Feminist woman and her daughters. Such a character brings little or nothing of her own – we’ll ignore the wealth or power her lineage might bring a would-be suitor or husband – to any lasting relationship she might enter into.

Shocked that I agree with the Feminists? You shouldn’t be; I’m a life-long supporter of the core components of their original movement before it was first hijacked misandrous radicals.

Fortunately for us all, the story artist and character designer, Jeffrey Thomas has kindly chosen to add some “twisted” reconstructions of Disney’s Princesses to his portfolio:

Perhaps Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger should look at Mr. Thomas’ artwork and talk to his producers; they might just come up with more interesting and acceptable female protagonists. 😉

Yes, I know; some, perhaps many, of what passes as Feminists today would still find grievous fault with- and complain about the depictions of the Disney Princesses above.

Those sorts would nigh on instantly decide that the characters were too “sexualized” and too dark, therefor equating strong women with evil and/or insanity and just proving, having been drawn by a man, that their delusion of the Patriarchy was existent and unadulteratedly evil.

Like all right-thinking members of society, including tens or hundreds of millions of women who refuse to identify as “Feminists” because of these harridans, I choose to ignore them since they’ve done absolutely nothing to earn the privilege of anyone entertaining their opinions.

It would certainly be nice if Disney could come up with some female protagonists that were actually good role models for girls who will grow up in a world far different from what existed when Snow White first went to the theaters. I’m not going to hold my breath though.

An American serviceman, be he or she a soldier, sailor, or Marine, is always somewhat concerned about what and where their next deployment will be. Their families are even more concerned about such things.

It’s a matter of grave importance to them.

My educated guess is that there’s a good chance that many of our servicemen and servicewomen will soon be deployed to the Sinai Peninsula in accordance with the 1981 Protocol to the Treaty of Peace.

Interactive Map of Sinai Peninsula With Zones of Control

How bad and dangerous duty in Sinai Peninsula will be will be determined largely by what happens in Egypt in the wake of the insurrectionists ousting President Mubarek.

How long the deployments will be is anyone’s guess but I would expect a significant increase in personnel for Task Force Sinai to happen soon – small increases have already happened in the last month – and the increased levels of force to be maintained until at least the 2012 Presidential Elections.