Update from the Heartland
No.556
6.8.12 – 12.8.12
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
I often wonder what a person is
thinking as he trundles along in the left lane (except in the UK & other
right-hand drive countries) with a quarter mile of open lane ahead of him, cars
stacked up behind him, and car after car passes him on the right. What is he thinking? Whatever he is thinking, it must be so
profound that he is compelled to ignore reality around him. Is it actually too much to ask a driver
to regularly scan his side and rearview mirrors? California used to have a law that required slower vehicles
to pull-over even on two-lane roads, if five or more vehicles were stacked up
behind him. Kansas has a
slower-traffic-keep-right law, but I have never seen it or heard of it being
enforced; when enforcement is most needed, doing so would only make traffic
more difficult. In Italy, common
courtesy requires slower vehicles, not willing or able to maintain the flow of
traffic, move to the outside lanes; and, Italian drivers show that courtesy to
other drivers, near universally.
Why is it American drivers feel so compelled to clog up the flow of
traffic like an embolus in a vein? These are baffling questions to me.
The follow-up news items:
-- The intended assassin of Representative Gabrielle Dee “Gabby”
Giffords of Arizona [473] – Jared
Lee Loughner – pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. Given the plea deal, it is expected
that he will spend the remainder of his days in prison.
-- The attacker at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin last weekend
was identified as Wade Michael Page, a discharged U.S. Army soldier and a neo-Nazi,
white supremacist member of the Volksfront group. Apparently, he unilaterally sought to “inspire” other white
supremacists to take action.
Wounded by police officers, he committed suicide. The Volksfront group was new to me – no
longer.
-- After the successful landing of the Mars Rover Curiosity
and the start-up of the rover-mounted Mars Science Laboratory [555], I watched and strongly recommend
the National Geographic Channel program “Martian Mega Rover.” If you have even the slightest interest
in understanding the complexity of the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) phase
of the mission and the incredible engineering involved in the exploration
system, I have seen nothing better.
Live long and prosper!
Well, the too-big-to-fail bankers win another one! The U.S. Department of Justice decided
not to charge Goldman Sachs or any of its employees, following a year-long,
high-profile investigation of the bank’s subprime mortgage deals. Goldman Sachs
was accused of misleading investors about bundled mortgage deals, including
Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDO) such as “Abacus” and “Hudson Mezzanine”;
and then, they bet against the very same instruments with short-sells. The cynicism of such conduct is
disgusting and breeds distrust of bankers, investment advisors and the
financial system in general. The
Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations conducted an official congressional
inquiry and recommended prosecution of Goldman Sachs to the Department of
Justice.
Goldman
publicly claims they were cleared of any wrong-doing – pretty freakin’
audacious, if you ask me. I have
not read the legal documents, and I am not likely to do so – judicial inbox too
full already. As I read multiple
press reports across the political spectrum, I would say the Federal
prosecutors decided they had insufficient evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt,
to convict the Goldman executives and employees; that is a far cry from
“cleared” or “vindicated.” The
Department of Justice indicated the “burden of proof” could not be met for a
successful prosecution. Not a good
result from my perspective.
We finally have the principal field set for November’s
presidential election. Former Governor
Willard Mitt Romney of Massachusetts chose Representative Paul Davis Ryan of
Wisconsin to be his running mate. The official announcement came on Saturday with the retired
USS Wisconsin (BB-64) as a backdrop
in Norfolk, Virginia. Now, the
silly season graduates to a more intense level.
News from
the economic front:
-- The People’s Republic of China (PRC) reported their
consumer price inflation rate slowed to 1.8% in July, from 2.2% in June – now,
the lowest level in 30 months – another sign the world economy is
sputtering.
-- In another negative sign, PRC
exports rose 1.0% year-on-year in July, a six-month low and down from an 11.3% pace
in June – well below expectations.
In the wake of the PRC’s weak industrial production data for July, the
trade figures suggest that the government will likely take steps to stimulate
growth.
-- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed loan
servicers evaluate homeowners' applications for loan-assistance within 30 days
of receiving an application and would be barred from going ahead with a
foreclosure until a final decision has been reached on a borrower's application
for help.
-- The U.S. Department of Agriculture reduced its estimate
for the U.S. corn crop by 16.9%, just 10.779B bushels, as the drought ravaging
the farm-belt had destroyed a sixth of the country’s corn crop in just one
month. The report sent benchmark corn futures up more than 3% to a record peak
of US$8.4375 a bushel.
Comments and contributions from Update no.555:
Comment to the Blog:
“I’ll keep this one brief. I agree with just about all of
your points concerning the Chick-Fil-A discussion, but doubt the usefulness of
your having a battle of wits with unarmed opponents.
“A friend of mine has a gift for simplicity. He suggests
that Mr. Cathy of Chick-Fil-A set up the entire incident as a way to increase
store traffic. If we follow the money, that’s the strongest explanation I’ve
heard of the entire situation. Segmenting markets makes directed marketing
possible and profitable. This situation exemplifies that. Chick-Fil-A had
already lost the business of people like me, but we are a very small segment of
a very large market. Mr. Cathy does not need the business of every American. If
he can appeal to the intellectually challenged likes of your opponents, he has
plenty of people to use in making money. On top of that, he need never make
sense. That’s not a priority for those people.”
. . . my response to the Blog:
I
believe it is important to include aspects of any debate. I offer my opinions to stimulate or
instigate public debate on contemporary issues. I seek all opinions.
I want citizens to confront my opinions. Public debate helps me understand, see other facets, and
refine my thinking. Hopefully,
such exchanges help other refine their thinking as well.
Re:
Cathy’s motive. Your observation
is plausible, but reflects a very cynical view of humanity and business, which
apparently, for Dan Cathy, is equally plausible. I see this whole episode as rather sad. We have so much to learn.
The continuation of
last week’s thread [555] regarding the Chic-Fil-A kerfuffle, or
homosexuality in American society:
. . . comment from contributor 3:
“There is no argument that can be used against the ‘anything
goes’ crowd. Once perversion is
accepted as normal because there is no longer a moral standard to govern
behavior the argument against this behavior gets reduced, at best, to one of
public hazard -- AIDS, pedophilia, hepatitis contagion, etc. Of course, even that isn't enough to
stop the ‘anything goes’ crowd.
They even go so far as to make it a Constitutional right! I'm sure that the founding fathers
would have an objection to that.
The 10th
Amendment reserves to the States the right to make laws to govern
their affairs without the Federal government overstepping their bounds to
enforce nationwide perversion anti-discrimination.”
. . . to which the host added:
“For over a decade I've been using that term I think I coined:
“CREATIVE RATIONALIZATION AND THUS JUSTIFICATION.
“This moral and ethical decay is directly a result of the
loss of God. There is a new belief
in our society that as you say ‘anything goes’ and there are no consequences to
one's decisions, actions and general behavior. This is not only attributable to the
cultural-generational decay permeating our country, but applies when we can
engage strangers from a Predator drone in foreign lands, and not even confirm
that the humans on the ground are truly our enemy. How many weddings have now had Hell Fire missiles/rockets
come blasting into their most happy day in life, to make it misery? We do not even call it ‘collateral
damage’ any longer because it is so frequent and the calculations in targeting
were so skewed. Why it is not even
our military half the time, it is a complaint someone must make to CIA. How dangerous is this? When will those
drones target Americans on American soil without due process of defense, trial,
lawyer and judge?
“We are at our destination and much of our cumulative
choices directed us here whether as individuals, groups, or a nation.
“People who want some moral decency from their nation are
now called ‘haters’ and ‘bullies’ and oh, those so terrible attributes of being
‘intolerant’ and ‘homophobic.’
“Did you see yesterday Rosanne Barr who in my opinion should
be a nobody, she has zero talent and sold her soul out long ago, well she said
she hopes the Chic-Fil-A supporters get cancer. Yet, they all say Chic-Fil-A's Dan Cathy made ‘hateful
statements’ when he said he could not, because of his Bible, support same-sex
marriage.
“Here's a technical blogger's comments I just came across
yesterday, on the Chic-Fil-A supporters on 1-August:
“‘Unintentionally hilarious line, from one of the thousands
of stories on the horde of angry white overweight people proudly showing
Chick-fil-A that they, too, hate the gays...’
“About our rapid decline: I've dealt with the ‘anything goes’
crowd ad nauseam in my profession.
I've seen the parties and attitudes, and lack of civility and courtesy
to the average person. Many of
those people crashed, lost their luxury cars, homes and marriages. I am the guy that calls stretch
limousines in Gas Lamp Sodom and Gomorrah on wheels.
“We have a great price to pay when we lose our
humanity. And while much of our
nation's masses narcissistically take PRIDE (false before that big fall) in
thinking they are loving, tolerant, non-haters, non-judgmental. Though truly they have lost much their
humanity and suffer from a seared conscience. Anyone and all of us are susceptible and never-ever immune.
“We are in the days where a great distortion of truth is the
reality. White is black and left
is right. The more confused the
populace is, the better the advantage by the entities who benefit from it.”
. . . my response:
Re:
morality. We can play the morality
game, if anyone wishes. The simple
variant definition of morality is, what each of us does when no one else is
watching. Regardless, the bottom
line is, morality is between the individual and God. Private morality should not and cannot be legislated or
enforced in a free society. Either
we are free or we are not. Public
morality is the domain of the State, thus our laws against murder, rape,
robbery, assault & battery, et cetera. We can debate private morality all we wish, but the State
must confine itself to the public domain.
Re:
the so-called "anything goes" crowd. A snappy moniker does NOT rationalize or justify the denial
of equal protection under the law.
The label implies an anarchistic mentality, presumably embraced by
non-heterosexual citizens. By what
right, law, or authority, does contributor 2 refer to regarding the dictation of private
conduct?
Re:
10th Amendment. Indeed, contributor 2 does properly state the
meaning and intent of the 10th Amendment. However, the Amendment does NOT authorize anyone, state or
federal, to impose upon an individual citizen’s fundamental rights without due
process of law. Here, we must face
the root question: What is the overriding public interest that would justify
the State’s imposition upon the private choices of any citizen, and in this
instance, specifically non-heterosexual citizens? contributor 2 is entitled to his moral
condemnation and avoidance of the choices of other citizens with whom he
disapproves or disagrees; he does NOT have the right to dictate how they should
choose; and, the 10th Amendment does not supercede the Constitution.
Re:
moral decay. You know, the
Temperance movement that blossomed in the 19th Century used precisely the same
argument. Alcohol was the moral
corrosive of American society. It
took nearly a century to enact the 18th Amendment, to codify the teetotalers’ moral
condemnation. The entire nation
paid a grievous price for their dictum.
I respectfully submit, the moral decay was orders of magnitude worse and
far more pervasive under Prohibition than prior to the enactment. Let us not get too self-righteous here.
Re:
drone attacks. A rather broad
corollary, but hey, what the heck.
Personally, I believe you have grossly over-simplified the process of
drone attacks in the War on Islamic Fascism. I could cite numerous jumps in warfare that were condemned
in their day. Regardless, the
implication that these notional “weddings” included innocent people is a rather
large stretch. RMS Lusitania, Nanking, the Blitz, Dresden,
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, et al ad infinitum, can all be cited in similar fashion,
and they were orders of magnitude less discriminating in their collateral
damage. You ask, “When will those
drones target Americans on American soil without due process of defense, trial,
lawyer and judge?” My answer: our
vigilance, suspicion and inquisitiveness must protect us. I cannot and will not say, never gonna
happen; because, I know that such government action is possible, and the closer
we get, the easier it becomes. Anwar
al-Awlaqi (30.9.2011) [511] was our
closest approach to date, and there was little to no doubt he was a clearly
defined and self-espoused enemy of this Grand Republic. Please, let us not go too far down that
road with this supposition.
Re:
“moral decency.” Really? What moral decency do you speak? This debate seems to be hung up on our
moral condemnation of non-heterosexual citizens. I have and intend to continue to defend every single
citizens fundamental right to choose his “Life, Liberty, and pursuit of
Happiness.” If anyone wishes to
impose heterosexuality on every citizen’s private conduct, then you must
demonstrate the public interest and necessity for such dicta. So, let have it.
Re:
Rosanne Barr. A foolish thing to
say . . . ‘nuf said.
Re:
Dan Cathy & Chic-Fil-A. A
privately-owned business does not supercede the Constitution either.
Re:
your business. I am sorry that you
must endure bad people. A
limousine is not a private conveyance anymore than Chic-Fil-A is a private
store. Both may be privately
owned, but they do business in the public domain. Your threshold of tolerance is probably well beyond the
publicly tolerable threshold of conduct, and you would have every right to
reject fornication, nudity, intoxication and such in your limousine.
Re:
“seared conscience.” I’m not sure
what you mean here?
Re:
“distortion of truth.” Not sure
what you mean here either?
. . . to which was added a parallel
sub-thread; this is contributor 4:
“Here is that post, sent out July 27th, and I do believe you did
send it out. But perhaps you
did not read it. We
all get so much so that's quite possible. But the history of pederasty in high society, and
perhaps society-wide, was common in some ancient societies and even ignored or
promoted. If you
observe the history and compare it with the recent exposure of pederasty in the
Catholic Church and other religious institutions, it's easy to know it just
went underground. Now as
homosexuality is looked on as legitimate and a ‘live and let live’ sort of
validation is becoming the common view, you can see its just a matter of time
until pederasty or pedophilia, also becomes legit or valid. We live in a highly immoral
time. I see it coming.”
[the 27.July post
noted above]:
“History does not just rhyme. In all too many cases it repeats almost verbatim. Consider this, granted, a
too brief example of a woefully forgotten history.
“So society has once *again* officially condoned
homosexuality by law. It took a
few thousand years for populations to become desensitized towards homosexual
depravity and to once *again *accept it. And society as a whole is *again* fully responsible
for this sorry advent, by its apathetic acceptance and complicity by default,
but this time for its historical amnesia.
“Will pederasty be next?? Think about it: Pederasty has been practiced in the
Catholic religious system, worldwide, perhaps from its inception, and no doubt
by other religious institutions, that have received much less attention. But why NOW, did the crime of
rampant pederasty in the Catholic Church see the light? And pederasty is no unknown
object in the sports world?
It is in fact much more common than widely documented. Why now did the crimes of
Sandusky, after allegedly 15 years of total silence by the knowing related
sports celebrities who worked with him, as well as the knowing officials of the
university, suddenly come to light?
Could it be smooth conditioning, just like society has been conditioned
for ages to accept homosexuality, first by reporting the wide array of its
negativities--until they became all too common, just as the values of societies
themselves were transforming??
“Pederasty was legal in ancient Greece and accepted to
varying degrees in various bordering Hellenic States at the time. It was wholeheartedly recognized
during the time of Socrates, one
of the most celebrated philosophers----a homosexual and a pederast, whose
literary works are honored to this day by the literati. Socrates writings on
his leanings towards homosexuality and pederasty. They are available for all who care to see. For yours truly, they
were a main course of my ancient Greek language lessons at a young age.
“Homosexuality and pederasty were so rampant in that ancient
pre-Christian period, they adversely affected marriages and births. Socrates was finally put to death
and boys up to a certain age, if I recall, 15, were not permitted alone with
any man but a brother or father.
“According to Plato, legal and social norms did not clearly
condemn or prohibit homo-eroticism.
In Sparta, a Hellenic city State, homosexuality was institutionalized in
the military. Male homosexual warrior fraternities operated with flourish. Men
took boy lovers at quite a young age into the military with them, to foster
close bonding between males from a young age.
“As you heard or saw on TV, the military just last week
endorsed a full military dress parade in San Diego, by its homosexual military
members. Society
is no longer being conditioned.
The queer agenda is a fait accompli. The majority looked the other way or it became
too decadent itself to care one way or another, during the years of value
transformation by change agents in an increasingly lurid entertainment
environment and then in academia. That's how creep and then the establishment of
the introduced agenda becomes the new normal. In his grave, German propaganda Minister Goebbels is banging
his sides with mocking laughter. A long history shows human beings are quite
easily brainwashed. They are
corrupted with not much effort by appealing to their materialistic whims and
hedonistic urges.
Lurid TV sitcoms and "everything-in-the-open" interviews,
celebrity shows, did their large part in indoctrinating the younger
generations, most who are now unchurched, just lurching about with no moral
compass.
“Did you foresee, years ago, the advent of the official
acceptance of homosexuality in your lifetimes? What about this:
Can you foresee the possibility then of the next step in advanced queer
debauchery, coming to the military----what might in the foreseeable future be
accepted, quietly at first, but more openly in due course? Pederasty: a Greek term for lover of
boys: one that practices anal
intercourse especially with a boy.
“Accepted or legalized homosexuality lived on into the Roman
Empire, from the Greek, when Emperor Justinian banned it. While homosexuality has
always existed and always will, the establishment of the Christian Church
banned the practice as immoral and unhealthful and it was sequestered to the
closet until our new epoch of trial and tribulations.
“Following once *again* history's misbegotten tread,
societies must experience the mass damage by the endorsement of homosexuality
as a ‘normal’ lifestyle, to be followed by pederasty sometime in the future, as
the conditioning of same sex practice is viewed as ‘perfectly normal’. Pederasty has been, for some years,
promoted by the Man-Boy homosexual group which, believe it or not, was endorsed
as a legitimate organization by the UN some years ago--whether it still is or
not, I have not checked.
“My two cents on the current homosexual agenda:
“Personally, (and no doubt many others feel this way), I'm
sick and tired and nauseous, of having the blatant, in-your-face,
like-it-or-not... queer agenda slapped into my face, day after day, as if it
were a bona fide human right I must adopt as valid or be persecuted and
condemned if I do not. Who
in Hell is running this agenda at this profound level and why? Many at the top are queers, you
can bet.
“It is NOT a valid right, just because a segment of society
practices sexual deviancy and a powerful influence on their side in the shadows
forces it down our throats. Just
because sexual deviancy is portrayed as OK in this muddled modern age...and
it's cacophony blares out there as all the rage, does not make it right, moral
or healthy, anymore than at any time in history. Period.
“Just take a look at the average age of homosexuals, which
last I checked in a medical report, was 52; and their high suicide rates; their
abnormally vicious crimes of sexual passion with each other and the various
ailments that befall them because of their sexual choices--the most
famous---the AIDS virus, for a long time known as the homosexual disease, until
its spread more widely and an active propaganda machine to constantly remind
the world. Homosexuality,
male or female, is not conducive to anything good or healthy. Of the many reports
read on the subject, only one that I've seen, and that one written by a
Lesbian, refuted other reports that claimed ‘adopted kids of homosexuals do not
conform to the homosexual lifestyle.’ The Lesbian sociologist was honest enough to say
‘not so.’ She went on to report
that just as all kids are models of their environment, so too are the adopted
kids of homosexuals. Most
will adhere to that choice.
What a terrible and disgraceful legacy we have awarded to a growing
number of kids by allowing homosexuals to adopt. I won't be around, but today I foresee a future
similar to ancient Greece's and an end to the decadence, just like it, forced
by serious necessity.
“Now, get this... here we have the ‘rights’ of a tiny
minority catapulted into the limelight at any cost, arrogantly driven ahead of
the right of a business to operate and create jobs, ahead of the right of a
business to express its own first amendment views. This, at the expense of society, and with the
imprimatur of government officials, no less. This is very alarming and very, very wrong. Where are the voices
in support of Chick-Fil-A and its
proprietor.
“This society is uncaringly and what seems like unmovingly,
diving into the deepest cesspool so fast, its breathtaking, to say the least.”
. . . to which I replied:
Where
do I begin? No wait, I give up!
There
is just enough history woven into the post to make it believable, and yet I
remain gobsmacked at the reasoning and projection.
To
equate pederasty with homosexuality is quite akin to equating pedophilia or
rape with heterosexuality. If you
believe these pseudo-intellectual efforts, then the debate becomes moot.
I
shall rest on one simple principle: condemn all you wish, but the State must be
removed from and remain out of the private domain. Private, non-injurious conduct is a moral issue, and thus
between the individual and God, not a matter of State interest.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
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