Mark's Cogitations

2012-01-30T14:50:00.001-06:00

If You Thought SOPA Was Bad, Just Wait Until You Meet ACTA - Forbes http://ping.fm/JpzeM

2012-01-30T14:01:00.001-06:00

Excellent! Here's why union membership keeps falling | The Examiner | Op Eds | Washington Examiner http://ping.fm/ESZPK

2012-01-30T11:08:00.001-06:00

Big first step in the '#right to work' direction: Missouri Senate panel endorses union legislation - Columbia Missourian http://ping.fm/ilXpV

2012-01-30T08:49:00.001-06:00

Truly Astonishing! Watch the video clip as well "Japan's Population Decline: Estimate Shows One-Third Shrink By 2060" http://ping.fm/NDvjy

Is there a real you?

2012-01-26T15:45:00.003-06:00

Julian Baggini: Is there a real you? | Video on TED.com

This video intrigued me because it seems on the surface to make sense, but the premise is incomplete because of the single minded (and closed minded) approach to the subject. Yes our identity is in part created by the sum of our experiences, and yes we can determine who we are and will be, but that is not all of who we are; we are so MUCH more! Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit priest and a philosopher, said: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience."(The Phenomenon of Man) Fundamental to our real identity is the fact that we lived before we came to this earth and that we will live beyond this earth life.

Of the kinship between God and man, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves" (TPJS, p. 343). "It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another" (TPJS, p. 345). (2) Adam, Enoch, Noah and all the ancient patriarchs experienced this reality, but the most complete and informative experience was recorded by Moses in the Book of Moses chapter 1, where Moses expresses both his understanding that man is nothing compared to the greatness of God and his realization that as a son of God in the 'similitude of His only Begotten Son' Moses is free to act and chose between good and evil. Moses' knowledge of his true identity 'the real him' empowers him to confront evil, even with an understanding of his mortality and weakness, through the power of Jesus Christ.

It is especially telling in this presentation to watch as the speaker compares human beings to inanimate objects effected by outside forces, and then mentions as an after thought the human power of self determination but in a moral vacuum because we are nothing more than the sum of our earthly experiences.

There is more to me than that; there is more to every human being ever born on this earth than that.
From Ode: Intimations of Immortality by William Wordsworth:
"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home..."

I say with perfect confidence: YES! There is a real you!

2012-01-26T11:25:00.002-06:00

For all you political junkies: Sunlight Before Signing, Year Three | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/S6lAy

2012-01-25T14:33:00.001-06:00

What Religious Freedom Means - LDS Newsroom http://ping.fm/ALWgA

2012-01-25T11:35:00.001-06:00

With not real upturn in sight this is very sobering: "State Dependency on the Federal Government" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/r9Qx5

2012-01-25T11:31:00.001-06:00

Interesting piece: "Keli Goff: Are You Smart Enough to Be a Religious Bigot in the Voting Booth?" http://ping.fm/ACMx2

2012-01-24T08:25:00.001-06:00

There is no such thing as a too big, too important, too smart, too anything to fail! Great video. | LinkedIn http://ping.fm/ArRXS

2012-01-23T17:06:00.001-06:00

Useful article: "Calculator: Is Your Food Spending Normal?" | Mother Jones http://ping.fm/yCZqi

2012-01-23T16:25:00.001-06:00

Time for an education revolution: ‘School Spending Predicted to Climb 50%’* | Cato @ Liberty http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/school-spending-predicted-to-climb-50/#utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Cato-at-liberty+%28Cato+at+Liberty%29

2012-01-23T08:26:00.001-06:00

Don't let the title put you off, there is something here worth listening to: "Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0" http://ping.fm/XJYOZ

2012-01-20T17:33:00.001-06:00

Belief in evolution boils down to a gut feeling - TODAY Tech - TODAY.com This is interesting, not because it depends on science, but because it basically says the evolution is a metter of faith in the sense that faith is believing in what we feel rather than see. Fortunately both science and my feelings lead me to a much more reasonable conclusion than to say it happened by chance. http://ping.fm/YKqbw

2012-01-20T14:52:00.001-06:00

Unbelievable! "Dems propose 'Reasonable Profits Board' to regulate oil company profits" - The Hill's Floor Action http://ping.fm/M9kV7

2012-01-19T14:31:00.001-06:00

For education this is very big! "Apple Introduces IBooks 2, IBooks Author, ITunes U App In Push To Transform Textbooks, Education" http://ping.fm/vQApk

2012-01-14T17:19:00.001-06:00

Excellent read, esp. paragraphs 2-4: "An Introduction to Religious Freedom" - LDS Newsroom http://ping.fm/3V3Rt

2012-01-10T14:47:00.001-06:00

More Gov. Scariness: "Department of Homeland Security’s National Operations Center Monitors Journalists" | TheBlaze.com http://ping.fm/69L1e

2012-01-10T13:05:00.001-06:00

Brilliant! "Is Income Inequality Increasing? Only If You Don’t Count Health Benefits" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/cJ6oa

2012-01-10T13:00:00.001-06:00

Read it and weep: "Ethanol Subsidies: Not Gone, Just Hidden a Little Better" | Mother Jones http://ping.fm/G1mA4

2012-01-10T12:44:00.001-06:00

This should entire transform education: "Physicists Seek To Lose The Lecture As Teaching Tool" : NPR http://ping.fm/ViLU4

2012-01-09T13:35:00.001-06:00

Thought provoking "5 Predictions for Higher Ed Technology in 2012" | Inside Higher Ed http://ping.fm/LJAxG

2012-01-09T11:33:00.001-06:00

Take 19 min to be inspired "Alberto Cairo: There are no scraps of men" | Video on TED.com http://ping.fm/ogOvr

2012-01-09T11:00:00.001-06:00

Visionsary! "Paddy Ashdown: The global power shift" | Video on TED.com http://ping.fm/j7h63

2012-01-05T16:14:00.001-06:00

Show down: 'Citizens United' Backlash: Montana Supreme Court Upholds State's Corporate Campaign Spending Ban http://ping.fm/zN3EH

2012-01-05T13:13:00.001-06:00

Bad Obama History: "Playing Politics with the Constitution and the Law" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/zmVqz

2012-01-03T12:01:00.001-06:00

For Iwoans avoting today blog post worth reading "Rick Santorum v. Limited Government | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/GOQDW

2012-01-03T11:53:00.001-06:00

Thought provoking "Dan Ehrlich: Disintegrating Iraqi Democracy Demarks Another US Nation Building Failure" http://ping.fm/rjpU3

2012-01-03T11:36:00.001-06:00

Super COOL! "Utah family rescued from icy river by bystanders" - CSMonitor.com http://ping.fm/WJqUX

2011-12-20T16:41:00.001-06:00

Interesting reading "Published: So What If Corporations Aren’t People?" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/AU2LZ

2011-12-19T15:31:00.001-06:00

Watch to the very end...priceless! "Saturday Night Live - Tebow" - Video - http://www.nbc.com http://ping.fm/khkH6/saturday-night-live/video/tebow/1374394

2011-12-19T13:24:00.001-06:00

Growing future problem: "Pension Problems — for Rick Perry and the Taxpayers" | Cato @ Liberty http://ping.fm/RrkmT

2011-12-16T17:37:00.001-06:00

Something to consider: "Company Saved By Romney Just Named Best Employer In America" http://ping.fm/qEfln

2011-12-15T16:58:00.001-06:00

Mark's Cogitations: Creation, Trial & Error, Iterations http://ping.fm/HwvpC

Creation, Trial & Error, Iterations

2011-12-15T16:06:00.003-06:00

Several weeks ago I watched a TED talk by Tim Harford: Trial, error and the God complex, it impressed me greatly at the time. Reading today from the blog Marc and Angel Hack Life: 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself, I had a revolutionary thought when I read number two.

What if creation in the metaphysical realms is really an eternal process of iterations. I realize that there are laws in place that must be obeyed, and principles to be followed, but I think within those bounds there is an infinite possibility for creation. The phrase: "Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time." made me think of the grander scale of opportunity that is mine if I will endure.

I couldn't help but be reminded also of the video entitled "Create"

I am reminded, inspired and challenged to persist in my efforts to create something unique, beautiful and enduring. Things like teaching my children, writing, building, drawing, speaking and even thinking.

2011-12-15T10:33:00.001-06:00

Who's in your circle? "Why In-Person Socializing Is A Mandatory To-Do Item" | Fast Company http://ping.fm/LIjHB

2011-12-15T10:25:00.001-06:00

Mark's Cogitations: Synergy and the Knitting Circle http://ping.fm/UdhQa

Synergy and the Knitting Circle

2011-12-15T09:27:00.002-06:00

After reading this article I had a challenging thought: who do I collaborate with in a meaningful, regular and synergistic way? I have experienced this type of collaborative synergism sporadically, unintentionally, so how do I make it both regular and intentional?

Thinking further of real world examples of people who followed this practice was instructive. Jesus Christ, on a mission to save the world, didn't go about it in a cavalier way; he surrounded himself with twelve men with whom he worked, thought, spoke, and lived; they supported him in everything. Henry Ford--"I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done." There are a great many examples of great men and women who had a person or group of people with whom they exchanged letters, ideas and information.

I believe that everyone has nearly infinite potential, but I also believe that potential cannot be brought out without the help and support of other people. So I return to the original questions: who can I collaborate with? and How do I make that collaboration a regular and deliberate part of my life? Answer: I need to start a knitting circle.

2011-12-15T09:20:00.001-06:00

Now, how to implement? "How to Accomplish More by Doing Less" - Harvard Business Review http://ping.fm/87M0H

2011-12-15T09:05:00.001-06:00

Words to Live By "7 Things Highly Productive People Do" | Inc.com http://ping.fm/tPW2P

2011-12-14T12:14:00.001-06:00

JUST WRONG! Afghanistan: Imprisoned Rape Victim Released to Marry Rapist http://ping.fm/zivby

2011-12-14T11:49:00.001-06:00

Will administration sue states over voter ID laws? http://ping.fm/53iyM

The Story of the boots

2011-07-11T16:29:00.002-05:00

Well I put off purchasing boots (even though I need new ones) for Youth Conference for various reasons. The night before found me driving the hand cart down to the Charles Rich Cabin site and arriving home late, after any stores would be open (where I would want to buy boots anyway), so I decided to take my old boots. I patched them up as best I could, I put some tacks in the sole to hold it on, and hoped it would be enough for the hand cart trek.

I bought these boots about ten years ago at Recovery Sales Outlet (now Cargo Largo) in Independence MO. They were brand new and only $50, a fraction of what they were worth. It was a huge blessing at the time because money was tight and I really needed boots for work. The boots have never stopped being a blessing.

I’ve walked hundreds of miles in these boots over the last ten years. They’ve been to the Henry Mountains in Utah (climbed 7 peeks in them, somewhere around 40-50 miles of mountain climbing and hunting), to the Grand Canyon, Delicate Arch (all over Arches National Park), Red Rocks in Colorado, many scout campouts and on more than 15 deer hunts in Missouri. I’ve also warn these boots to countless service projects and move in parties and to work in on a daily basis for several years. But last of all these boots went with me to the Platte City Missouri Stake Youth Conference.

In all the time I have warn these boots, in the rough terrain and weather and through the many miles I have never once had a blister on my feet. They have kept my feet warm and protected from the elements, rocks, thorns and everything else.

During Youth Conference, after the eight miles on Thursday, the boots were doing just fine, but during the evening activities on Friday night the sole came almost completely off one of the boots. I asked around for some glue to see if I could possibly cobble them together for the last day of the trek, and who should have it…Sister Butler. She complained to me that she had dramatically over packed, but in my view she was following inspiration from the spirit in order to be the hands of the Lord in administering a tender mercy to me and my boots. Not only did Sister Butler have glue, she had shoe goo! Just what was needed. I took that shoe goo and patched my boots back up. And the next day they held together till the end of the day when the shoe goo let go and the boots died.

These boots have been a blessing from the Lord from the moment I bought them to the moment they died. They have blessed me through adventures and daily work, helped me to bless others and in the end to be blessed by others, and I am truly thankful for these boots, for all that I have experienced in these boots and most of all for that fact these boots help me know yet again with perfect surety that my Father in Heaven loves and knows me and provides the way before me.

So, Amber took a picture of my good old boots so I can remember them and all that they mean to me. That is the story of the boots.

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself

2011-06-09T14:10:00.001-05:00

via youtube.com

Love this! Great energy, clean lyrics and a little nostalgia.

Growing together

2011-03-23T09:43:00.005-05:00

I have been reading my wife's blog and thinking her thoughts and feeling her feelings. And it occurred to me that my creativity is woefully under-expressed, in fact that most of who I am and what I am is under-expressed and that that is not a good thing. So I am making an effort to express more of my thoughts and feelings in the moment before I lose them in the malaise of my work day.

My thought is that our life is like a tree. The branches are our progeny and the roots our ancestry, but the trunk of the tree is us. What is beautiful and significant to me it that we started out as separate people, but the longer we are married, in love, friends, parents, and so many other things, the more we are growing together. An excellent blending of two into a unique and wonderful one. Our true identity, more and more, is not you and me but us.

Best vs. Potential

2011-03-03T11:32:00.004-06:00

We (speaking on the large collective scale) often denigrate ourselves in the moment because we do not accomplish everything we hope to do, in the way we planned, to the standard we desired. We wonder "Did I do my best?" "What is my best?" I realized the other day that what we are holding ourselves up against is not truly our best in that moment but rather we are comparing our efforts in the moment to our eternal potential, and inevitably as we do this we are discouraged.

The solution is simple: keep things in perspective. As we all know simple does not equal easy but this really is the answer. When we ask ourselves "Did I live up to my full potential today?" the answer will most likely and persistently be no. But if we ask "Did I do my best to live up to my potential today?" hopefully the answer is yes more often than not. The key is the focus of the question. The first question has a very board focus and the second a very narrow focus. If we follow the principle of line upon line learning and growing we will not ask ourselves (in essence) 'did I reach perfection today?' we will focus on today's line, on today's actions, words and thoughts and ask 'did I do my best to reach toward perfection today?'

We are here to reach for perfection, but we cannot be discouraged when we do not arrive before the end of a day. The Savior hasn't asked for perfection in a day, He's asked for our best efforts, and then He makes up the difference. When we judge ourselves sub-par because we didn't perform to our full potential on a given day, we judge ourselves unrighteously, and we do not allow the Savior to help us grow and fulfill His commandment in Matt 11:28-30 28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6) that my best is good enough for one day and that I will best myself (my natural man) with the Saviors help, into the celestial kingdom...one best day at a time.

The Art of the Mini-Date

2011-03-02T15:26:00.003-06:00

I just went on a mini-date with my wife. I came home for lunch, ate quickly, and we took George outside to play because he is so very much in need of being outside right now. Then we sat on the front stairs in close proximity and talked while George cavorted under our somewhat watchful eyes. The sun was pleasant and warm and we were out of the wind. I enjoyed taking 30 minutes to just sit and talk and relax together. It made me realize the value of taking time in the moment. It also pointed out to me that I need to take my wife on dates during the day more often too, just for variety, and because the sun shine is so pleasant.

The Happiest Day of the Year

2011-02-13T15:51:00.002-06:00

Friday the 11th of February we went and met with our accountant Jim McKinley at Cameron Financial Services. We do this every year. We show him our latest addition (odd years only) and he tells us how great it is that we have another deduction and only X more till we are exempt. Then we give him a bunch of numbers and he tells us how much money we will get to catch up on our wants and needs.

We were driving along after the appointment and I was whistling and Amber laughed and asked did you know you were whistling 'The Most Wonderful Time of the Year'? I had to laugh because I hadn't noticed, it was completely subconscious on my part, and completely appropriate.

I can't think of any other day that is more exciting, more enabling, more liberating; truly 'The Most Wonderful Time of the Year'!

My Review of Milwaukee 48-76-5010 10 ft. Quik-Lok Cord, 2-Wire

2010-09-20T09:45:00.001-05:00

Originally submitted at PlumberSurplus.com

Milwaukee 48-76-5010 10 ft. Quik-Lok® Cord, 2-Wire Since its founding in 1924, Milwaukee has focused on a single vision: to produce the best heavy-duty electric power tools and accessories available to professional user. Today, the Milwaukee name stands for the highest quality, durable and reliabl...

Quik-Lok Heaven

By Renaissance Man from Maryville, Missouri on 9/20/2010

Pros: Well Designed, Durable, Easy to Install

Best Uses: Small Jobs, Outside, Big Jobs, Inside

Describe Yourself: Professional

Quik-Lok is dependable for performance and convenience. Solid construction and compatibility with multiple tools make this cord system a must for anyone who is serious about their tools!

(legalese)

YouTube - MormonMessages's Channel

2010-07-30T16:37:00.000-05:00

This message brings me joy!

YouTube - MormonMessages's Channel

Good Things to Come

2010-06-17T08:09:00.000-05:00

There are some messages that come at just the right time in just the right way...this for me is one of those messages. Although I'm a not so young father there are still times when I feel broke down at the side of the road, family vulnerable, and me with very little power to change that fact.

This message of hope reminds me of the peace that I sometimes forget to reach out for, but that is always there because my Savior Jesus Christ has borne my sorrows, my weaknesses, and my pains along with my sins.

I add my testimony to this one, that as we endure and trust in the Lord everything will be alright.

RFID Virus Hazard

2010-05-27T07:46:00.001-05:00

Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure

2010-05-06T15:12:00.000-05:00

A brief introduction to Roberts Rule's of Order and Parliamentary Procedure...very good for any political activist.

Minnesota Campaign for Liberty » Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure

Grandma Mason

2010-05-05T07:57:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking about Grandma Mason off and on since Dad called yesterday morning to say that she passed away during the night. It was unexpected, though she had been ill for a week; a cold, nothing major.

On the way home from Seminary graduation on Sunday I wondered aloud to Amber how long Grandma and Grandpa would be with us. I think maybe the spirit was stirring my heart to know of things to come; I've certainly played this out in my mind before, but there was some feeling to the thought Sunday. It would have been about the time that Grandpa and Dad were administering to Grandma; Dad said that as they took their hands from her head that he was prompted that she didn't have long on the earth, not how long, just not long.

I shed a few tears but that's always just a fleeting feeling since it's mostly for those of us who will miss her, especially Grandpa. But the sadness turned to joy when I thought that now Grandma can walk! (She was in a wheel chair for more than 50 years because of polio.) Of course that made the tears flow more freely. I imagine that she went right to work in a Temple, but maybe there is something more important than that, if there is, she's doing it.

There is so much about Mary Lou Mason that was remarkable! So many things that she did despite her physical challenges. I feel very blessed that I am part of her legacy of faith, of life, and of endurance. I didn't get to say goodbye so i will say I love you Grandma, Thank you for your triumphant life!

Speech by Orson Scott Card: The Dismantling of America

2010-04-26T14:52:00.001-05:00

Orson Scott Card: The Dismantling of America

America has been a remarkably good and strong culture, but the Goodness of the culture has already been so damaged that it can barely be said to exist. And the Strength of the Culture is eating itself up from within. How did this happen? It’s simple enough. We changed our stories. That’s right. I, a professional storyteller, am telling you that storytelling is the glue, along with ritual, that holds a culture together…Mostly I do only one kind of storytelling: fiction. There are many other kinds. In fact, storytelling is the primary human activity whenever we’re together in groups.
Gossip — telling stories about people that we know or know of — and why they do what they do. Biography — telling really detailed stories about people alive or dead, and why they did what they did. History — telling stories about human communities and their leaders, and why they did what they did. Science — telling stories about nature and why it does what it does.
Politics — telling stories about what you’re going to do, and why it’s not your fault that it didn’t work the way you said.
News — telling whatever story the leaders gave you and pretending that it’s true. Oh, wait — I think I’m telling a different kind of story, called:
Criticism — telling stories about other people’s stories.
There are also rituals that bind a community together — rites of passage, experiences we all share. Watching movies or television is a Ritual; the content of what we watch is Story. We have rituals like graduations, marriages, passing through airport security, sitting in classrooms, playing sports and games. But we also tell stories about all our rituals — what they mean. Why
they matter.
The stories and rituals of a culture define the culture to its members and to outsiders. The self-definition of a culture is the single most powerful tool in passing the culture on to the next generation and constantly buttressing the allegiance of its members.
A Strong Culture must have powerful stories explaining why it is a Good Culture — or it will die. Even the best culture can destroy itself if those who hate the culture are successful in getting its members to believe stories that discourage them from having enough allegiance to make sacrifices for it, like:
1. Paying taxes and other costs in property or service.
2. Obeying laws even when they don’t fit in with your desires of the moment.
3. Letting the culture educate your children in its values.
4. Sending your children off to fight in wars to defend the culture from its rivals, or going yourself to fight and risk death and injury.
5. Tolerating people and events that the culture insists its members have to tolerate — including such obnoxious groups as the rich and powerful, the poor and untidy, the foreign and odd, and all others who deviate from the norm in ways that the culture has determined to allow.
6. Confining your sexual and reproductive actions to the boundaries set by the culture.
7. Making the effort to become educated enough in the culture to participate in its propagation.
8. Conforming with the outward values of the culture even when you disagree with them, in order to help maintain the illusion of unity.
These sacrifices are hard, every one of them. That’s why it’s essential, for the survival of a Good Culture, that it constantly propagate stories that support the willingness to sacrifice. (Propagate shares its root with propaganda —propaganda is only evil when it promotes an evil culture; it is essential to promoting a good culture as well.)
That’s why there is no such thing as a thriving culture that does not have the story “Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori”: “Sweet and proper it is to die for your country.” A culture that no one is willing to die for will soon cease to exist, having been supplanted by a culture that does have members willing to die for it…
In the 1960s, we started listening to stories that struck at the very heart of our Good, Strong Culture. These destructive stories fall into several groups:
1. The old morality is stupid. You can’t stop kids from having sex. Sexual fidelity is old-fashioned and selfish. It will liberate women to let men have sex with them without demanding any kind of commitment from them. Fetuses are not persons and you can kill them without conscience. Men have no right to have opinions about abortion. A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. Marriage should last only as long as you’re enjoying it and it’s nobody’s fault if it ends. Everybody lies about sex.
2. Amerika isn’t really a good culture. We mistreat other countries. We mistreat the poor. When we’re in conflict with other countries it’s our fault. Of course they hate us — we deserve their hatred. Their cultures are just as good as our culture — in fact, they’re better. Anybody who wants to be a soldier to fight for Amerika is a crypto-fascist, a violent dangerous person. Good people don’t want to be soldiers because soldiers are just killers with permission.
3. God is dead. People who believe in God are ignorant or stupid or, at the very best, deceived. Conservative Jews and Christians who try to promote their values are forcing their religion on other people. Political decisions should all be made without regard to the desires and opinions of religious people.
4. People who don’t have the same political beliefs as me are evil or stupid. They should be fired from their jobs. The law should be whatever I want it to be, and laws I don’t like should be struck down in any way possible. Speakers, writers, and demonstrators on their side are a public danger and must be stopped, but speakers, writers, and demonstrators on my side are exercising
their sacred rights. (Please note — it’s easy to see how this paragraph describes your opponents, but you’re not getting the point if you don’t also look at the same attitudes when they show up within your own ideological camp.)
5. My side should have complete control of the education of everybody else’s children. School is only a meal ticket; all education is vocational training.
6. If you don’t give unlimited overtime to the company that hired you, then you’re not serious about your career. If you put your family first, you’re not a team player. The only law in business is do what works, as long as you can get away with it. The answer to all doubts is: It’s business.
7. Forget about the time when the “American dream” was to be independent and self-reliant. Now it’s to have all the same stuff other people have and to be guaranteed that you’ll have the same rewards as people who are luckier or harder working or smarter than you.
Do these stories sound familiar? They should — and because so many people believe them, we have the horrible social chaos that surrounds us. Millions of fatherless children, unwed mothers, broken homes, delayed marriages — in other words: Visible widespread reproductive failure...
If you really believe that all the old American stories were evil and worthless (even though they led to America’s world dominance, economically, militarily, and culturally), then of course you should try to replace that culture with a better one. But it’s a good idea, before striking down the old stories, to be sure you have new stories that will create a culture at least as Good and at least as Strong as the one you’re tearing down.
What about me? I write fiction.
That’s like politics or advertising, only we fiction writers admit from the start that we make it all up.
Yet fictional storytelling is one of the strongest, most important parts of culture formation and maintenance. Fiction creates the public moral universe. Fictional stories are still about what they’ve always been about — “hunger, love, and death.” Or call it “reproduction, community, and identity.” In our made-up stories, we fiction writers tell you, usually without actually saying so, what matters. Which actions and motives make a person noble and good, or despicable and bad. In other words, how an admirable person in the culture we’re advocating should behave, and why.
We tell you why people do the strange things they do. We show you how love works and how it fails, what it means to belong to a community or be rejected by it. We show you what causes pain and which pains are worth suffering if the cause it right. We show you heroes who judge themselves harshly when they don’t measure up to their own high standards.
And in the past fifty years, I’ve watched an increasing number of fiction writers turn away from the old values and use their fiction to advocate the ineffective or destructive replacement values.
When Clark Gable took off his shirt in It Happened One Night and showed that he had been barechested under it, he killed the undershirt industry overnight. No man could wear one of those strappy undershirts after that. That was mere fashion. But Philadelphia Story showed us some of our favorite actors demonstrating that if you don’t forgive a man for committing adultery, then you’re the evil one; that if you uphold Christian values or even good manners, then you’re ridiculous.
Basically, we live today in the world that results from believing the moral exemplars of Philadelphia Story. That movie didn’t create it all by itself, but it laid groundwork for it.
From most movies, television, and novels today we — and our children — learn that the default decision is to have sex with people we barely know, as a kind of way of saying hello. That the only reason not to have sex is that your passions are not yet intense enough; that the only men who don’t have sex are geeks, and no admirable woman says, as her reason for refusing to have sex with an attractive man, that she only wants to give sexual access to a male who will enter into a faithful monogamous marriage.
Fortunately, it’s not all Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City. Movies, TV shows, and books are still being produced that promote a culture good and strong. They aren’t always decorous, but they value what is valuable. Some are BBC productions based on old literature, like Lark Rise to Candleford, the recent Emma, and Cranford. But some of the great television is made in America today, like The Good Wife, The Mentalist, Lie to Me, Medium — Medium in particular, which shows a good family facing problems together. And Temple Grandin, the best movie of this year, though it was released on HBO and you can’t get the DVD until the end of summer.
…Hollywood and New York have evidence, if they care to notice it, that there is still a substantial audience for the kind of story that supports a Culture Strong and Good. And when you write a story that says a society based on the old proven values is worth fighting for, worth giving up your life for, it can still find a huge audience.
But we stand at the cusp. The people who are trying to remake America according to their theories refuse to see that the result of their replacement stories has been and continues to be devastation. They always assume that the destruction caused by their changes in the culture can only be alleviated by implementing those changes even more fully. And an astonishing number of
writers ignore the obvious, proven destruction and continue to write as if these replacement stories actually worked.
But no matter how popular and fashionable the destructive replacement stories are, the culture itself does not forget that its members consist of semi-tamed chimps and baboons. The culture’s job is to suppress destructive chimp behavior; when the culture stops doing it, the chimps don’t put on suits and become Planet of the Apes. Humans become beasts, and we end up ruled by
the worst among us.
Civilized people see, at some level, that the cool destructive stories put their ability to have grandchildren at risk. As monogamy collapses, as marriage becomes an afterthought to reproduction, as young people delay marriage, as men are pushed or drawn out of any meaningful role in more and more households, as philandering Alpha males and opportunistic Loser males face no penalty for their actions and are encouraged in some of them, the role of
women becomes less and less secure, children lose faith in everything, and the
net national happiness plummets.
The old rules promoted sexual fidelity and universal lifetime monogamy, rearing children in stable families headed by role model fathers and mothers. The fact that no marriage was perfect does not change the fact that the model was worth aspiring to and measuring ourselves against. The replacement rules do the opposite. Who is happier?
The inevitable effect of the replacement rules is drastically decreased allegiance to the society. When the people who pay the tax bills and who maintain the stable families see the surrounding culture as hostile to their interests, they become less and less willing to sacrifice for the good of the whole. They not only don’t want to send their children off to war, they don’t even want to send
them to college, because they know that the professors at most colleges regard their religion and their lifestyle as something to be despised and disposed of.
A Strong, Good Culture can tolerate a certain amount of deviance — as long as it is marked as deviant behavior. A few rapacious businessmen, a few adulterous Alpha males, a few secret alcoholics, a few atheists on the faculty —these don’t damage the Stories of the Strong, Good Culture, in part because they prove the culture’s self-story of tolerance.
But when the deviancy from the norms becomes the norm, and the people who keep to the rules of stability, decency, fairness, fidelity, loyalty, faith, honor, generosity, courage, respect, conformity, and consistency are depicted as deviant in the replacement stories, then you’re looking at a society that has decided to die.
It cannot last, because when you declare that selfishness and faithlessness are virtues, then public trust by definition disappears. The community is shattered and it’s every man for himself…
Nations sink into despair or dissolve entirely, and society re-forms itself in small groups surrounding Alpha males — the lowest form of society. Tribalism. Balkanization. It’s the genocides of Rwanda and Bosnia. It’s the suicide bombers. It’s the gangs in the city turning into gangs in suburbia. It’s the society that picks a scapegoat and torments her until she kills herself.
Do you think that one high school was evil? Think again. It’s what happens when there are no more rules of honor and decency and empathy to restrain selfishness and xenophobia and hate. It’s the inevitable result of the stories promoted by the would-be replacement culture — the culture that celebrates the destruction of all the stories that kept the chimps under control and
satisfied.
It is social auto-immune disease, where the powerful institutions of authority are turned against the remaining healthy tissue; when it becomes too weak, the whole organism dies.
It has happened over and over again in history, in many different ways. Always, though, when a culture stops fulfilling the promises of civilization, the chimps stop accepting any limits on their behavior. All communities are fictions anyway — we all agree to pretend we’re alike because doing so confers powerful advantages. When the advantages are thrown away, then so is the
pretense.
I’ve told you a lot of stories tonight. I think they’re true. I think that for America to survive as a Culture Strong and Good, we must stop telling the stories that are destroying both our Strength and our Goodness, and work to combine the best parts of what’s old and what’s new into stories that will remake us, into not only a society that can last, but also one which should last.
The stakes are so high that it’s worth making the attempt, even if it turns out that it’s already too late to keep this culture from self-destruction. Even then, there would still be the hope of building something Good and Strong among the ashes.
Why do people do things that they know are not good for them? Because somebody has told them a lot of stories that sound good, but which are not true. Or because they prefer to go about their own business, thinking that the culture will take care of itself, without any particular attention or sacrifice from them.
America needs better stories, and it needs people who will hear them, believe them, and act on them. You are members of the culture; you act and speak within your homes, jobs, and the many communities you belong to.
I think of my friend, Rick Fenton, a corporate accountant in Greensboro. A year ago, before any Tea Parties, he decided it was not enough to think that our civilization was wrecking itself. He and his family came here to DC, having got the appropriate permission, and held a small demonstration on the mall. Just a handful of people, for just a few hours. Telling a better story; standing up for values that the intellectual elite ridicules and despises. They got no press
attention. But their friends knew what they had done, and most admired their courage and determination, and were themselves emboldened by it.
A lot of other people have felt the same impulse in the months since then, and have also spoken up — people who used to silently let the culture change around them. I don’t agree with everything these groups advocate, but I agree with the courage to act, the determination to tell a different story and make a different culture.
I think of the lonely voice of Winston Churchill, telling the story of calamity to come, in a time when nobody wanted to hear the warning, when they thought they could have a peaceful civilization just by giving the monsters what they wanted. That never works, but it took a long time for anyone to hear him.
When they finally did, it turned out, barely, not to be too late. But if he had not spoken, when the cost of speaking seemed to be the destruction of his career, then there would have been no story to turn to in order to stand firm in defense of civilization.
You’re not Winston Churchill? You’re no hero, no leader?
Well, why aren’t you? Winston Churchill was only Winston Churchill because he decided to speak, to act. In the world you move in, among the people you know and work with, why aren’t you?

Social Justice and government VS Charity and God

2010-04-16T11:11:00.001-05:00

I think the quote below from Meridian Magazine particularly interesting and especially would point out the excellent comment by Michael Otterson of LDS church pulic affairs:

"Fox News commentator Glenn Beck elicits strong reactions from people, but never more so than this week on The Washington Post’s On Faith blog where the question itself was based on comments he made on his television show. The question was this:
Wallis vs. Beck: The politics of social justice

Fox News commentator Glenn Beck claims that faith-based calls for "social justice" are really ideological calls for "forced redistribution of wealth . . . under the guise of charity and/or justice," and that Christians should leave their churches if they preach or practice "social justice."

Rev. Jim Wallis disagrees, saying social justice is a faith-based commitment "to serve the poor and to attack the conditions that lead to poverty," central tents of the teachings of Jesus and at the heart of biblical faith.

Who's right? How does the pursuit of justice fit into your faith? Is 'social justice' an ideology or a theology?

The On Faith panel of respondents ranged from calling Beck “insane” or “our national fool” to frank agreement with him. Of great interest was the response of Michael Otterson who heads the worldwide public affairs office for the LDS Church. He wrote:

I have met both of these men just once.

I found Glenn Beck - despite the image generated by the entertainer, the hype and the passion - to be a sensitive and decent man who has struggled mightily to overcome problems in his own life. He is not an uncompassionate man. He is not an enemy to the poor.
Jim Wallis is a man with boundless empathy for the poor and disadvantaged. He is a Christian to the core, and he lives it. I admire any man who selflessly devotes his life to lifting those less fortunate than himself.

The issue here isn't purely theological, however. The essay by Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, gets it right. Care of the poor and needy is such a fundamental obligation for anyone claiming to embrace Christianity that it shouldn't need further discussion. (For that matter, most other religions embody the principle of helping the poor as a moral obligation).

As many have pointed out, Glenn Beck is a convert to Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). That, however, is irrelevant in this debate. Beck doesn't speak for the Church and he would be the last person in the world to suggest that he does. It's worth noting that nowhere does he attribute his opinions on social justice to his Mormon beliefs. Aside from that, the Church he belongs to has its own massive programs to aid the poor and deliver humanitarian aid and has elevated the charge to care for the poor and needy as one of its central missions

Here is the issue in a nutshell: Should care of the poor and needy fall to our individual, charitable and church responsibilities, with government playing a minimal role? Or should government take the major role, with individual charitable efforts in support?"

These two questions are the heart of the matter. Constitutionally the government is bound to protect the rights of the people and provide for the general welfare i.e. any thing the government provides must not only be universal it must also be equally administered to the whole body of the people.

The concept of social justice is directly opposed to these Constitutional limits on government. On the one hand the government infringes on the rights of the people and taxes them unequally and on the other it redistributes those tax moneys unequally giving subsidies and tax credits to corporations and the wealthy and welfare of various forms to the poor but leaving the main body of the people with emptier pockets. This has set up a pattern of dependency forcing more and more people to depend on the government for assistance whereas if the government would limit itself by the Constitution this forced redistribution of wealth would become a thing of the past. This has also set up the government as a grand socially justified thief, stealing the wealth of the people by the force of their power; against the will of the people.

In juxtaposition to social justice is Charity, the greatest of the triune virtues Faith, Hope, and Charity as taught by the apostle Paul in the New Testament and by the prophet Moroni in The Book of Mormon. We know that the natural man is an enemy to God because of our fallen and selfish natures. The whole point of Charity is that we chose to transcend our natures through the Atonement of Christ and become Saints willingly imparting our substance to the poor and needy. Those who are rich and do not impart of their substance are condemned in the scriptures; the judgment is Gods. In administering Social Justice, so called, the government usurps that judgment from God and stands in His place to judge the people in complete subjectivity to the whims of those in office at the time: this is not justice.

Americans are the most generous people on the earth. They give more per ca pita and a greater percentage than any other nation on earth. They give more total than all the other nations of the earth combined. The government has stolen more than just our money is has tried to steal our choice to do good, to be Charitable. The government must stop stealing for the people from the people and start limiting itself by the Constitution once again. We the people can and will do the rest. Look at our history: we have lifted the poor and the needy time after time and do it now despite willful theft by our government. Here is what the Lord has said:

Doctrine & Covenants 104
11 It is wisdom in me; therefore, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall organize yourselves and appoint every man his stewardship;
12 That every man may give an account unto me of the stewardship which is appointed unto him.
13 For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures.
14 I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.
15 And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.
16 But it must needs be done in mine own away; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.
17 For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.
18 Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.

No mention of government in there, and no one is forced, we are free to make our choice with a full knowledge of the consequences. Charity is the answer.

Foreign aid VS. Non-intervention

2010-02-26T11:45:00.004-06:00

In the words of Secretary Clinton:

"I want to take this opportunity to thank you on behalf of the men and women who work every day for the State Department, for USAID here at home and around the world, putting our foreign policy into action, advancing America’s interests and values.

"And that’s what this budget we’re presenting today intends to do. Our fiscal year 2011 request for the State Department and USAID totals $52.8 billion. That’s a $4.9 billion increase over 2010. Of that increase, $3.6 billion will go to supporting efforts in the front-line states – Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Other funding will grow by $1.3 billion, which is a 2.7 percent increase that will help us address global challenges, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that the State Department and USAID are equipped with the right people and resources."

In the words of Mark Galbraith: Does the honorable secretary not know spending more money (bleeding money) into foreign nations in these very real times of depression will further sap the already flagging U.S. economy and undermine the very nation who's interests this budget seeks to 'advance'? At very least have the decency to freeze your budget for the next few years, but here's a novel idea: maybe diplomacy doesn't need a bank roll. Franklin and Jefferson did just fine without treasure chest...but maybe that's because foreign policy was non-interventionist at that point in time and successfully so for over one hundred twenty years after!

Economic Propoganda

2010-02-18T15:56:00.000-06:00

Who's telling the truth?

Or are they both lying?

Hope

2010-01-04T07:55:00.002-06:00

I love this message from President Uchtdorf about hope.

I am encouraged and lifted each day as I turn to the Savior in faith for strength, forgiveness, love and hope. I feel hopeful when I read these two scriptures.

1 Jn. 4: 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Moro. 8: 16 ...Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear.

Look at your life through Heavens Eyes

2009-12-16T07:43:00.002-06:00

I have always loved this song but I was extra thrilled to hear this rendition.

My Climate Change Plan

2009-12-14T10:14:00.002-06:00

You know how we are always talking about how Washington is broken and how they are all just blowing hot air? Well, I think we need to stem the flow of emissions from our federal legislators so here is My Climate Change Plan: I think we should cut government staffs, salaries, funding and government programs to pre 1900 levels. I think we should limit the house and the senate to 12 pieces of single subject legislation, less than 50 pages in length, per year. I think there should be single term limits and only one term per lifetime per legislative body per individual.

Considering advances in technology and efficiency I think it's not only possible I think it would be successful! Think about what would happen if representatives and senators actually read and understood the legislation in front of them and had to debate the constitutionality of each point of each new piece of legislation! What would happen if no one had to worry about being re-elected! What if being constitutionally correct trumped partisan cooperation and compromise in the name of 'getting things done.'

And think of all the jobs and opportunities that would open up for the free market to fill; Think of all the tax revenues we would be leaving in the free market to be reinvested in capital improvement and in new jobs; Think about a financial system without the federal reserve...glorious!

Food Stamps and the welfare state

2009-12-01T21:05:00.006-06:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/us/29foodstamps.html

This is particularly disturbing. The authors focus on the exception in the food stamp program...the married, working, middle class. This may be a new demographic but the vast majority of recipients do not fit this mold and honestly the majority of recipients are the reason for the stigma the food stamp program has carried for many years...Mr. Dawson's comment about the lazy, unworking, unmarried, poor is all too true. Food stamps may have once been an assistance program but it is not now...it is rightly called an entitlement program and is well represented by the tale of the ant and the grasshopper. The problem is that if the ants defect to the grasshopper's way of subsistence there will come a time that resources cannot be shared because of scarcity and people will die. The government (the grasshopper) has for the last eleven decades slowly adopted the same mind set slowly and inexorably consuming more than we (the ants) produce and taking more and more from the people to feed progressively larger expenditures that do not return resources to the producers. There is a point in the future when this trend will either have to be reversed or the system will collapse.

If we look to history for a precedent the great depression is a great example of the model we are now playing out. Unemployment and dept are skyrocketing and the dollar is near collapse, all because of failed regulation and rapidly expanding government programs and primarily because of the defection of an ever increasing minority of ants to the way of the grasshopper; resources are becoming stretched because there is less being produced than is being consumed and values of real goods are decreasing because there is no demand as driven by inflation which ties back to regulation. In the 1990's during the retraction of entitlement programs there was contraction of the national deficit in correlation to this retraction. This was driven by congress, not President Clinton, who later promoted the expansion of the food stamp and welfare programs that reversed the earlier retraction and once again expanded the national deficit. During the 1940's and 50's there was an unprecedented expansion of entrepreneurship, manufacturing and production, and an accompanying expansion of wealth in the middle class that established an enormous reservoir of capital upon which the nation financed tremendous expansions of the national infrastructure and the federal government.

2009-11-06T10:33:00.001-06:00

http://mises.org/story/3817

Thoughtful, though somewhat sterile essay about rights and society. It is interesting to think of this authors points in relation to 2 Nephi 2:11 "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." There is a balance that must be achieved, to find the good society, between government and rights; the first being evil and the other good. The enumerated powers of government in America were originally limited, but are much less so now because the people ceded their protection of their rights to the government almost completely for a time. There is a reawakening of the people in this regard and protection of rights is beginning to be taken back by the people. There is a touch point of ideology that should be returned to, namely the founding ideology. There we find the balance of government and rights, but finding our way back through the web of precedent and regulation we have made for ourselves will be a careful pursuit indeed.

Meridian Magazine:: Ideas and Society: Easily Offended or Easily Entreated

2009-11-06T08:45:00.000-06:00

Meridian Magazine:: Ideas and Society: Easily Offended or Easily Entreated

How true this is. All who are warriors of truth must face the world in the way of the peaceful warrior, our only weapon is the sword of the spirit that will pierce the hearts of those who oppose the truth as we bear pure and simple testimony of the truth. WE will stand for what is right come what may, and as the world rages around us we will live, and teach, and uphold truth and righteousness without fear and without apology. In the light of truth we will grow brighter and brighter until the perfect day when every knee will bend and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Hab. 2:14

Meridian Magazine : : Church Update: Elder Dallin H. Oaks: Religious Freedom at Risk

2009-10-26T07:03:00.000-05:00

Phenomenal discourse setting forth an issue that we are now facing, namely the confrontation of civil rights and civil liberties. The first being God given and self evident and the second man made and unfounded.

Meridian Magazine : : Church Update: Elder Dallin H. Oaks: Religious Freedom at Risk

1948 Cartoon Reveals Our Clear and Present Danger

2009-10-21T11:48:00.000-05:00

2009-10-21T08:02:00.002-05:00

Socialism, communism, and every other type of 'ism' government states are counterfeit ideas for the truth, or true forms of government; they are a great lie because they blur the line between church and state. There is, and ought to be, a separation of church and state.

The church provides for both the spiritual and the physical needs of the people under the rule of God's law and according to principles of mercy, charity, and free will. The state on the other hand, in particular the American state, protects the rights and freedom of the people as set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights--but that is the sole purpose--any government or state that assumes more than this is part of the great lie and counterfeit ideas of the ‘ism’ government states. Moreover the state can only protect the rights of the people under the rule of law according to principles of justice based on God's law and its inherent moral certitudes. Any departure from this moral foundation is not only a step toward the 'ism's' it is also a move toward the restriction of the God given rights of the people; a step into the realm of the church that must be held inviolate by the state.

I am concerned that the government is no longer protecting the rights of the people, rather they are attempting to prescribe the rights of the people and as part of that prescription they are favoring the rights of some over the rights of others; in most cases the rights desired by a few and eschewed by the majority.

I am concerned that there is no longer any honor in government and that representation in our Republic has disappeared from both major parties. The Constitution is no longer viewed as the foundational document rather it is considered a living document subject to the will of the majority and the whim of presidents.

I am concerned that the separation of church and state has morphed into the separation of morality and government; truth and righteousness have given way to compromise and realism.

I am concerned that The United States of America will soon be sold out to the rest of the world and wrested of all things that have made her great.

We the people have allowed and at times encouraged the transfer of our rights and therefore our power to the state. But even at this late date we have both recourse and the power to set things right. We have the "Petition of Rights", we have the impeachment process, we have the truth and the truth shall make us free in every sense.

Climate Change and US Sovereignty

2009-10-19T17:30:00.000-05:00

brief thoughts on life

2009-09-11T10:24:00.002-05:00

Is it just me or does life seem to be composed of series of necessity driven, chaotic, and somewhat meaningless activities punctuated by moments of inspired clarity, sublime joy, and peace? I'm grateful for the moments..."these little wonders, these twists and turns of fate...these small hours still remain." I think the whole point is to direct our lives toward these moments more and more until that's all there is. As it says in Doctrine & Covenants 50:24 "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." The ensuing verses talk about progression and the paradox of the servant leader--he that is the least is the greatest of all.

I actually do think I have it figured out...Heleman 5:12 we become more 'moment' oriented as we make Christ our foundation and we are able to "heed them not" (Nephi 8:33) them being Satan, the pride of the world etc. We begin to have the longevity of vision that brings eternal perspective to everything we see and experience, the joy that comes from... Read More confidence that nothing can shack us and the peace that comes from knowing and living right. With time we become, not just built on the Rock, we become part of the Rock, immovable, serene, happy.

Words of wisdom on liberal ideas

2009-09-02T06:30:00.001-05:00

Whenever I hear people talking about "liberal ideas," I am always astounded that men should love to fool themselves with empty sounds. An idea should never be liberal; it must be vigorous, positive, and without loose ends so that it may fulfill its divine mission and be productive. The proper place for liberality is in the realm of the emotions.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The tumult of life...at present.

2009-08-08T10:22:00.000-05:00

Letter from Langdon: Happy with Health Care? | Daily Yonder | Keep It Rural

2009-07-01T10:40:00.002-05:00

Letter from Langdon: Happy with Health Care? | Daily Yonder | Keep It Rural

Shared via AddThis

I'm surprised that rural Americans would even think about asking government to solve their health care problems for them, or trust them to do so for that matter. Since when have we bowed our heads and held out our hand for the dole?

It's interesting to note that the majority of the comments quoted in this article (from those not volunteering) do not support government changes to health care, and rightfully so. As the government becomes more involved in health care, costs are guaranteed to go up, and quality and speed of service to go down.

If we take a good hard look at our current health care system we find that the government already pays for about half of the health care provided in the United States through Medicaid, Medicare, and Veteran Services. We also find that the costs are high because of government regulation and restrictions on services, charges and payment.

Another law, another layer of complexity and more taxes are not what we need; they will not solve this dilemma. The real answer is ending all government health care programs and regulation of the health care industry. But who will keep doctors and hospitals honest and safe you ask? We will. Doctors and hospitals can't make money if we don't patronize them. Right now we go where we have to go to get covered and whatever service we get, well it is what it is. Imagine going where the service is best and shopping around to get the best price, if the government isn't part of the equation any more, this could actually be an affordable reality for more than just the few people who can afford it now.

Considering the lack of promised transparency and horrendous bowing to special interest groups (and foreign powers) exhibited by this administration, any health care plan proposed will be a bloated, two thousand page, fly by night bill that will further divide our partisan federal government and will burden the American people far beyond what we complain of today.

Cap and Trade Uncosititutional

2009-06-30T12:07:00.001-05:00

Dear Senator:

I have heard both that you do support and that you are considering not supporting HR2454 ‘Cap and Trade’. I write today to encourage you to vote against this bill. I do not do so without consideration of the environment, we have a great responsibility to be wise stewards of the environment and to live sustainably. However, this bill is not written to any great effect for our environment, I have read various estimates but most agree that there would be less than a 1% change in our emissions.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) May 7, 2009 testimony to the Senate Committee on Finance from Director Douglas W. Elmendorf about the Distribution of Revenues from a Cap-and-Trade Program for CO2 Emissions clearly states that the costs of this program would be borne by the American people and that the primary reason for this is to force people to change. “Such price increases would be essential to the success of a cap-and-trade program because they would be the most important mechanism through which businesses and households were encouraged to make investments and behavioral changes that reduced CO2 emissions.” Since scientists worldwide are far from reaching consensus on the topic of global warming, let alone it’s causes, I do not understand how government coercion of the people is justified. Further, there is no authority explicitly or implicitly granted in any document, law, or precedent to the federal or state governments, granting power to force the people to change in any way. I believe this to be just cause for anyone to reject this bill but there is further cause to vote against it.

The CBO has estimated the annual cost of this bill to be $147 per household. Others have estimated the cost to be between $1500-$3000 annually per household. In either case the cost is obviously not inclusive of all possible costs since the costs cannot be specifically enumerated at this point. Our economies both nationally and in the state of Missouri are weak. Investor and consumer confidence are shaky at best. The added variable cost of this bill is not likely to improve these facts, instead it is likely to further destabilize our already tenuous circumstances. If there is any real hope in government that we can recover from our current economic down turn voting for this bill would show intentions to the contrary.

One other major reason why this bill must be voted down: it is unconstitutional. Article 1 Section 8 paragraph 1 states “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;” this law does not comply with the requirement that it be ‘uniform throughout the United States.’ it has instead been intentionally written to penalize certain geographic areas, industries, and populations. The duties or consumption tax levied by this law are required by the Constitution to be uniform and if not uniform then unlawful.

Please consider these points. I encourage you to vote against HR2454 ‘Cap and Trade’.

Sincerely,

Mark Galbraith
Maryville, Missouri
660-254-0714

To be an American indeed

2009-06-24T13:40:00.003-05:00

January 3rd, 1919

Dear Mr. Hurd:

I cannot be with you and so all I can do is to wish you God speed. There must be no sagging back in the fight for Americanism merely because the war is over. There are plenty of persons who have already made the assertion that they believe the American people have a short memory and that they intend to revive all the foreign associations which most directly interfere with the complete Americanization of our people. Our principle in this matter should be absolutely simple. In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here does in good faith become an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American and nothing but an American. If he tries to keep segregated with men of his own origin and separated from the rest of America, then he isn’t doing his part as an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile. We have room for but one language here and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house; and we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people.

Faithfully yours,

Theodore Roosevelt

This is the text of a letter from Theodore Roosevelt to the President of the American Defense Society, Richard Hurd. Theodore Roosevelt died three days after it was written on January 6, 1919. The more times I read this letter the more inspired I am by the message, it proclaims without prejudice the sovereignty of the American people and the expectation that immigrants not just respect that sovereignty, but that they embrace it, and become every whit an American. Immigration is and will continue to be a challenging issue, especially illegal immigration, but I want to focus on the idea here presented of “complete Americanization” verses the segregation that so permeates our nation. My message in writing is to send out a call to all Americans to unite and rise in the might of our sovereignty as The People and force our government to bend to our will or be expelled.

We are at a crossroads in American history that has stymied Americans since the time this letter was written; we have so many internal divisions that we cannot exercise the power of our sovereignty to any effective degree. America is failing to some extent because we cannot let go of our divisions and simply be united under our Constitution. We have allowed race, ethnicity, political party, religion, special interests, lobbies, gender, the environment, and a host of other things to become so demanding of our energy and divisive that we have become impotent as Americans: we no longer have a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” and the very idea of this type of government is under attack by our current government and many who call themselves Americans.

In a few days we will celebrate Independence Day. It is a good time to reflect on what it means to be American. I believe that the flame of liberty still burns bright in the hearts of most Americans. I believe we can transcend divisions and be united under our Constitution and the flag that represents our Republic. I believe we can restore our sovereignty as a people and I believe the words of Abraham Lincoln: “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

There are millions of Americans who have gone before us and have made this nation great; who have kept the flame of liberty bright. The flame is now ours to protect or to extinguish. The choice is clear: do we unite and return to the simplicity of Constitutional law or do we divide and proceed into the quagmire of special legislation and case law that will drown the flame of liberty? Here is the challenge: we must scrub Washington D.C. clean and we must scrub each state capital clean; we must research and study and unite to remove from office every politician who will not hold aloft the flame of liberty, who bends to special interest groups and lobbies, who yields to calls to enact laws that favor this group or that cause, who bows to foreign powers, or who heeds the siren call of compromise without principle to ’get things done’. Let us petition for impeachment with truth and evidence, let us bring to light the closed door meetings and the back room deals, let us reveal and tear down corruption, and let us once again be free and sovereign Americans under the Constitution “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” “…we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people.”

Happy Independence Day

Create, What learned as a boy

2009-05-03T19:26:00.002-05:00

I spent some time today watching "Mormon Moments" on YouTube. I found that I was not only uplifted but inspired. I thought I would share a couple of my favorite videos.

Missouri 10th Amendment Resolution

2009-04-10T10:43:00.003-05:00

This is the text of a letter I send to our House Representative and Senator. I was asked to forward this to another Representative and HCR13 was born a few days later. I really hope that the State of Missouri will pass this 10th Amendment resolution this time. It's time for the federal government to be checked by the States.

"Sorry to be so persistent about this but it’s important to me.

HR294 is great and sends the right message to Washington about the ‘Freedom of Choice’ act; it even mentions the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, but it is not a statement addressing more than just the issue of abortion.

The part of HR 212 that made a clear statement about limited federal government and Missouri State sovereignty was not carried into HR294, and should be addressed separately. The Tenth Amendment is in my opinion a much larger issue than abortion, it states that powers not expressly granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the States. However, if the States continue to abdicate their powers and allow the federal government to assume those powers, as we have seen on an accelerated scale these last couple of months, there will come a time that the federal government supersedes the States authority in essence voiding that authority altogether.

We have seen this in the distribution of the ‘Stimulus’ funds as the federal government has made stipulations imposing it’s power on the States; we have seen this in the ‘Freedom of Choice’ act and the ‘Card Check’ act and in the recent issuance of (Executive orders) such as Presidential Determination No. 2009-15 of January 27, 2009 facilitating and paying for immigration from Gaza, the appointment of radical activists and lobbyists to executive cabinet positions—people who will do their best to push anti-gun, universal health care, pro-abortion, etc. laws through the House and Senate—that will dramatically reduce the right of the States to self govern and self regulate.

We have a Democrat and somewhat of a Republican (who in the last few months has seemed to have abandoned conservatism all together) in the US senate. They have, for whatever reason, not protected (nor have they promoted) the sovereignty of the State of Missouri at the federal level, they have instead participated in the quid pro quo compromise of principle and power to ‘get things done’, and by so doing have broken their oaths to uphold the Constitution and more especially the tenth amendment as for the last 17 years the executive and legislative branches of the federal government have chipped away at the rights reserved to the States.

I’m angry with federal (and some State) politicians who have been so caught up in getting things done that they don’t stop to hold up laws against the Constitution and ask, not if we should do it, but can we do it; does it stand up? Does it hold water? Does it meet the original intent? It’s time to stop laws from going out that don’t measure up to the principles meted out in the Constitution. The only way to do that is for the States to reassert their sovereignty and for representatives and senators at the federal level to represent that sovereignty and pull in the reigns. I believe that a House Resolution reminding the federal government of State sovereignty based on the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution is needed at this time.

Will you please work with others in the House and Senate to reintroduce a ‘Tenth Amendment’ resolution? I have attached a draft (based on Oklahoma HJR1003 and SJR10) that I hope will be useful to you. I am encouraging others to share their thoughts with you as well, hopefully you will hear from some of them.

Thank you for all you do and for your continuing efforts to make our State a better place."

There is a heavy burden of vigilance that rests on the shoulders of the people to guide their respective representatives by regular communication. If this guidance is not provided then the clamorous voices of special interests groups and lobbyists become their only gauge of the will of the people.

I am not content to let special interest groups and lobbyists, no matter how good their cause, represent me to my elected Representatives. I will make my own voice heard, and I will raise the call to good people everywhere: raise your own voice, make your self heard; e-mail, write, call, visit. When our elected officials listen to their inner voice, ours should be the voice that they hear above all others.

If we do not speak they will not hear. Be your own voice and be heard.

Money and the government...need I say more?

2009-01-30T11:55:00.004-06:00

I got a heads up on this video from the John Birch Society...this is serious stuff.

In the mid-nineteenth century America was in similar circumstances. True it was individual banks rather than the government printing the money, but the money was being printed without the backing of real currency-gold or silver.

How did we solve it then? Well we created a common currency and tied it to something with real value-gold. Did the economy of that time get turned on its head? Yes! Did America survive? Yes! Did we learn from history? Apparently not.

We are now mired so deep in debt, and so entrenched in the habit of debt that the government thinks that more dept and the resulting devaluation of our currency is a solution! Are we so in love with the things that our debt provides for us that we cannot see the root of this love smothering our own heart and soul? The lie of prosperity we have perpetuated for the last twenty years has come to light; I say it's time to start digging out the stifling root that got us here, and fall out of love with debt and money, government and people alike.

It's time for a rumble: We The People VS. Washington DC. This has become a defining social issue as much as it is a fiscal issue. The freedom of the average American family to save and to provide for their own needs, to plan for the future with confidence is slowly being squelched; squashed into oblivion. It's time for the 100 million of the Family Research Council, the Focus on the Family, the CATO Institute, the John Birch Society and every other freedom loving organization, but most especially individuals, to become the voice of reason and the fostering force for conscience in the mind of every congressman and senator, and in the mind of our president.

We must drown out the chaos of the lobbyists and the special interest groups with a firm and uninterrupted flow of communication and with united purpose and resolve. We The People have allowed the creation of they the government, and have through inaction, fostered it's growth to a great and festering blight on the body of freedom, the constitution and the founding ideals of America.

We can no longer simply enjoy our freedoms and idly leave the governance of our nation to others. Nor can we tolerate the ignorance, disregard and inaction of our elected officials. If they will not serve honorably, they must be pulled down ignominiously. If they cannot hold aloft the torch of freedom for fear they cannot hide, then we must hold it up and and bring to light every concealed action and closed door conversation.

I know personally people who have not voted because of apathy in three or more presidential election cycles. Awake America, Arise America, Be America!

They the government, their days are numbered. This bloated boil that sits atop a deep abscess must be cut away and the infection scraped out, however deep it may be, so that healing may begin. Borrowing must end, entitlements must decrease and then end, and spending must become balanced. Taxes must decrease to the point of only sustaining actual needs and government budgetary surpluses must be kept at acceptable levels not spent on the whims of the electors as dictated by the voice of the party or the lobby or the special interest. Now is the time! Wherever we stand is the place! We must raise our voices high and be heard.

It's time for a change that we make.

The week after surgery

2008-12-20T11:42:00.006-06:00

So I decided to go back to work last week...dumb move.

Beside there being way too much to do compressed into the last week before the yearly University two week shut down I had knee surgery three days ago!

I went home at the end of Monday exhausted, and thinking 'only a few more days'. I went home Tuesday exhausted, and thinking 'I have to go back for that installation meeting in the morning'. I came home Wednesday for lunch and fell asleep for three hours.

God knew I was going to try to finish out the week so...on Thursday the University sent everyone home at lunch time because of the impending ice storm.

The ice storm happened but there wasn't any damage in our area and the roads were blessedly clear the next day because Friday I had an appointment at Johnson County Orthopedics to get my sutures out. So we were up early Friday and driving.

If you have never had the opportunity to watch someone pull metal staples out of your skin, it's pretty cool! They have this tool that is shaped like a mini sheet metal crimper that grips the center of the staple and presses it down between two prongs and curls the ends up and out of your skin. I had always wondered how they did that; now I know.

So, I walked into the appointment on crutches, and after the nurse and the doctor were finished with their work the Athletic Trainer came in. He told me to get rid of the crutches and the brace; said didn't need them, at least at home. So I've taken him at his word and it's been great.

The main reason for this blog post is to show you some pictures from the week after surgery...

You can see the three small holes around the knee cap for the orthoscope the meniscus repair, two on the right and one low on the left; the other two holes served multiple purposes: drilling holes in the bone to set the new ACL and getting hamstring tendons for the repair and whatever else, I'm not sure. All in all not very invasive considering what I've seen on others.

My bruising on the other hand is impressive to say the least, so without further adieu:

One of the reasons it's so bad is that they used a tourniquet during surgery to control blood lose.

The long and the short of it is that I'm healing, I'm walking, and I have a couple of weeks of vacation coming up filled with family time and great activities, and may be even some time alone with my sweetheart! I'm not jumping for joy...because it hurts, so I'm sitting with energy.

Merry Christmas.

2008-12-13T18:02:00.002-06:00

I had a successful knee surgery on 11 Dec. The doctors fixed my ACL as planned but also fixed my MCL and cleaned up my Meniscus since there was a considerable amount of scar tissue; there was a lot of damage. All things considered the doctor told Amber that my knee would be better than most men's knees till the arthritis starts setting in twenty or so years from now.

Amber waited patiently the whole time amd drove us home afterword. She's wonderful.

Compaired to my previous general anesthetic experience this went very well...no nausia afterword, I was able to eat as soon as we got home without any problems, which was very nice since I had been fasting since the previous days lunch.

Goerge was a trooper the whole time, I think he slept the mjority of the time we were on the road. Uncharactoristically Amber did not have the camera with her so we don't have pictures of the facility, doctors, nurses, and before and after of the leg, I guess you will just have to imagine a really nice facility and lots of great poeple...and of course my beautiful leg with the middle third shaven and then wrapped quite tightly to cover the five little incisions they made to fix it up; hows that for a picture?!

Now a couple of days later I am feeling rather useless on the couch as I have a hard time completing my physical therepy excersizes or getting up to do anything else at all. Yesterday I had my first physical therepy appointment, which though somewhat painful, I thought went rather well. Chad (the therepist) was impressed that I could, the day after surgery, bend my leg more than 90 degrees and straighten it out to 0 degrees. The leg lifts are a little painful but the bending stuff really smarts every now and then.

That's life right now...eat, take pain pill, sleep a little, hold George, change the occational bum (not mine), excersize, eat, pain pill, sleep, repete. I'm going to try to go back to work Monday, I'm not sure how that will go, but I think I'll be glad of something else to do. We only have another week before the university shuts down for a couple of weeks for Christmas and New Years Day so I will have some unstructured recovery time and hope to make the best of it.

It would really nice to be walking after the first of the year; I think that is realistic. I go in next Friday to get my stitches and staples out we will see what the doctor says then.

Honesty in Political Advertising

2008-10-10T11:45:00.001-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Mormon.org - The Restoration of Truth

2008-09-28T20:10:00.000-05:00

Mormon.org - The Restoration of Truth

I love this very eloquent and simple testimony that the Lord's words never cease. It portrays my feelings and beliefs about revelation and an open cannon of scripture. The Lord loves us and will never leave us alone in the darkness of this world without the comfort of His never ceasing word.

Evolutionary Thought

2008-07-22T22:21:00.002-05:00

What I think I am, what I think I was created to be, what I think I should be...

In the end it is only what I choose to be that matters.

I cannot think of a more simple synopsis of the meaning of life: thoughts and actions. I am made of that which is acted upon, but I am that which acts; I build, I begin, I create, I complete. I also dream, and imagine, and believe, and think, but the substance of these is in the action. Without action I am merely that which is acted upon.

Choice is the end of life, and the beginning; but if I do not choose I never live, I only exist.

Evolutionary theory has a new twist: self-determination. Self-determination recognizes that there is natural order in all things...snow flakes, lipids, genes, etc; when acted upon, everything changes to a more ordered state.

There is a wonderful step forward in this line if thinking, but the idea of a rock self-determining in the midst of a magma flow is quite absurd since the elements that compose the rock and every other kind of element for that matter have no self, they are not that which acts but that which is acted upon. So what does determine this order? Does it change? Are there exceptions? How did the order come to be? If we understand the workings of this order where does that lead? If we understand the workings of this order can we determine the end results? Can we change the results within the framework of this order? Points to ponder.

Family Vacation

2008-07-06T16:16:00.005-05:00

On the 14 of June we arrived home from a long anticipated family vacation. We left home on the 29 of May en route to Denver Colorado for the Mason Family Reunion and arrived late in the afternoon. Grandpa Mason provided us and everyone else rooms in a posh hotel for three or four nights and we enjoyed being reacquainted with aunts, uncles, and cousins (and lots of second cousins at this point).

This is the over head picture of the pizza party we had on Saturday night, it was mostly Galbraith's, but then most of the family are Galbraith's, more than two thirds.

One of my favorite parts of the family reunion was staying up till two or three a.m. playing cards with Dad, Nathanael, and Ryan; we did that two nights running. It was fun to just relax, talk, and tell jokes and stories with them; it's kind of a tradition that Dad and I started at the first Mason Family Reunion in 1997.

We went to the Denver temple on Friday and that was the first time that I have been in the temple with all of my married siblings at the same time; eight of us are married now. We did a sealing session with Grandpa and the spirit and experience were great. I think that was the most poignant moment in the whole reunion for me except possibly the fast and testimony meeting we attended with Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday. I got up to bare testimony and testified about families in our Heavenly Father's Plan and paid tribute Chet and Mary Lou Mason as the great patriarch and matriarch of our family.

On Monday the 2 of June we packed up and headed for Utah and our great friends the DeMille's.

The reunion and vacation

2008-06-18T08:39:00.004-05:00

From the 29th of May to the 14th of June we were on vacation. It was interesting, fun, challenging, beautiful, relaxing, energizing, educational, thought provoking, and deeply satisfying. I've posted on facebook some of the many pictures we took but here is one that deserves it's own post.

William DeMille let me tag along and help out with his bees. It was great fun and I learned a lot; specifically I learned why my brother Seth and I weren't successful at bee keeping as teens.

You have to open hives about once every two or three weeks and rotate the frames, check egg production including queen cells, honey stores, and if there is a good balance of drones and workers. You can actually shift frames along with population, eggs, honey and all to help strengthen a weak or struggling hive!

William also showed me a honey tree that he hived a swarm out of last year. He keeps watching in hopes of getting another swarm because the one he took last year is thriving.

Article comment post

2008-05-23T15:28:00.003-05:00

Today I received an e-mail from a magazine Miller-McCune, they are printing a comment I made on an article called 'The Doubt Makers'.

Here's the link to both http://www.miller-mccune.com/article/348

The article is rather long and really not worth the read unless you are trying to understand conspiracy theorists from the far political left, so here is the comment I made:

POSTED BY: Mark Galbraith, May 21, 2008, 02:23 PM
"This article is insidious. It makes some assumptions that are simply untrue, namely that: scientists and reporters can establish objective truth; that this established truth is not subject to personal perspective or flawed data/data interpretation; that only one side of any argument has an agenda; and that consensus among experts means the truth has been found.

The problem is that all of these assumptions are untrue. The truth as we know it, as we search it out, is simply our best understanding and interpretation of the finite data we gather in a particular limited context. This truth is neither absolute nor pure, whether in relation to climate change, theories of evolution, gravity, black holes or any other scientific subject; the truth as we know it is just our best guess.

In science change is the only constant that can be held absolutely true. The second we come to consensus that any scientific subject is settled is the second we loose all hope of finding truth. Agendas are universal. Whether they are conscious or unconscious every person, every group of people, every organization, every government, every business, every media outlet, every entertainment venue, and every expert has an agenda. The agenda of this author seems clear in the message of the article: only the bad guys have an agenda, you can trust the media, scientists all agree and you should too…if you don’t you’re a bad guy!

Lastly, consensus among experts means the truth has been found…bologna! Truth is not a democracy! Truth is not limited by our understanding or perception of it or by the agreement of the few or the many that we have found and established it. We cannot define the truth, we can only search for and identify the pieces we find, and try to fit them into the great puzzle that in the end is put together according to our view of the world. Any true scientist will admit that science isn’t interested in the truth, science is only interested in finding the answers that prove a hypothesis, that reinforce a theory, that explain a law, so the grant money won’t dry up…back to the agenda. May be it’s time we get back to equal time and let people find their own answers; after all it’s not just reporters and scientists that are sifting to find them."

Pie Day in Maryville

2008-04-20T19:22:00.005-05:00

The Maryville Branch pie day celebration (3.14 as in March 14th). What a great opportunity for all the guys to show...how crazy they are by eating a 9" cream pie in three minutes. This is not one of my greatest moments but I suppose it needs to go down in history anyway.

By the way...I won. Not sure what that says about me, but it was fun.

2008-04-20T18:23:00.002-05:00

This video speaks for itself as Nathanael and I record a really fast time on the crooscut saw at the 2005 Nauvoo Pagent. This is brotherhood at it's best!

Busy Spring

2008-03-18T18:27:00.000-05:00

This year seems to be accelerating dramatically in every respect. We will be having our sixth child...one closer to a really respectable family size. We will be taking our first real family vacation. Church and family activities seem to be multiplying and we can hardly keep up. To add insult to business my work is so chaotic and demanding that I can rarely get through a daily list without passing much of it forward to the next day.

Today Gabriella slunk into our room under a blanket as I was working on my laptop and handed me a little note that said "To Daddy, Havfun--Dear Daddy hav a good day tomoro. I like that song to. I wont you to know that I love you." I was listening to dance music and the girls especially like it because they dance. A song that I particularly like came on and I mentioned that I like it...it seems that little girls pay a lot of attention to what their daddys say, more than I thought they did.

The start of something...

2008-03-14T16:20:00.000-05:00

Today I decided to start blogging. I'm not sure if this will work for my journaling needs but it has to be better than just writing in my phyical journal every thre or four months.

The world is so full of ideas, and I am so busy so much of the time that I miss much of the great thinking that is going on. Because of that I'm always scrambling to find my opinion and what the truth is about any given thought or idea. I do have my foundation, the things, ideas and beliefs that don't change but everything else seems to be in flux most of the time; I think the only way I could keep up would be to read and think and discuss with good minds 24/7; not a possibility.

There are lines that are being drawn amoung all these ideas that are clearly defining the next stage in the battle between good and evil. It is truely amazing to me that so few people are paying attention that most don't see it happening; but considering my own struggle to keep up and think and have an opinion I guess it's not a surprize.

That's a good start, we'll see where I go from here!