Teapot Tantrums

June 6, 2010 - the 66th Anniversary of the Turning of the Tide

Sixty-six years ago today, the tide of the greatest war in mankind's history (to date) was turned in favor of the Western Allies. It's been said that we were victorious that day "only because of sheer numbers ... they ran out of bullets before we ran out of men." Having watched the 10-part series "WWII in HD" last weekend on the History Channel, I finally get it. That statement is right ... it's amazing to me that some people actually survived being in the various waves of men who landed on that fateful beach ... it's amazing to me, too, that some are willing to talk about it, to verbally relive the horrors they faced that day. The following are accounts by soldiers who are willing to talk about their memories of that day.

Without the sacrifices of the brave men and women who served in WWII, we would not likely be the country that we are today. We are better for them having served, and we as a people would be well served to remember and honor that sacrifice.

Ron Wyden: Horse's Patoot

I love this ... Oregon's own Ron Wyden doesn't get it ... about 8 minutes into this video Jim Demint makes a point that Conservative Oregonians have been trying unsuccessfully to make at the ballot box for years ... "after 10 years of working on this, the Senator from Oregon has missed the point ... the problem isn't "...secret holds" ... the problem is "secret bills" being passed!"

And yet Ron Wyden goes on to keep trying to convolute the language to get Sen. Demint to agree to something that he clearly hasn't said he'd agree to ... Thank goodness Demint is a strong individual who reiterated *again* the language that needs to go into the legislation, not Wyden's circular reasoning.

Makes me Oh So Proud to be from Oregon to have elected representatives like this ... no wait ... to quote Harry Potter in "HP & the Order of the Phoenix" ..... "I must not tell lies."

The Prescience of the Founding Fathers

In reading "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine I came across this, which I thought was quite appropos to the world we live in today (it's found in the chapter entitled "Of Monarchy & Hereditary Succession"):

"Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent. Selected from the rest of mankind, their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed in the government are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions."

Seems to me that this happens the most with "leaders" who emerge from the elite classes, our very own presumed "aristocracy" ... seems to me also that, for the most part, the majority of our best leaders have been men who came from more "common" origins, educated themselves, and were men of definite faith in someone/something higher than themselves, men who didn't have an excessive abundance of self esteem (i.e. delusions of grandeur), who looked for divine guidance and didn't lean on their own understanding for everything. In addition these men typically didn't surround themselves with thugs, crooks, people of questionable and/or deficient character, who were determined to garner sufficient personal/public power to stay "in power" for as long as possible, filling their own coffers or the coffers of their friends at the expense of the general populace.

These good leaders were the ones who saw a duty, filled it, and went back home to live among those they represented so that they didn't lose a sense of who they really were. They remained connected to the people and were able to maintain a common vision for what was best and what was needed.

Seems to me that far too many of today's "leaders" have lost that common connection to the people they pledged to serve and the Constitution they pledged to uphold and defend. 

On the other hand, there are some that have the right of it and are willing to take principled stands in defending the "common man." In my opinion and observation, I've seen this mostly in Republicans (but unfortunately not in *all* Republicans). Good examples are Michelle Bachman, Jan Brewer, Sarah Palin, Eric Cantor, Joe Wilson, Jim Demint, Greg Walden, and Mike Pence. So far, these individuals have my respect, my admiration, and my confidence. Let's hope they don't blow it.

.... anyway, that's how I see it.