tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post9002687872546658568..comments2024-03-28T20:04:20.286-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: The Perpetual War on HistoryGagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-55411173190310156802007-11-15T06:50:00.000-08:002007-11-15T06:50:00.000-08:00Van,I like your plan better. I was thinking of Jap...Van,<BR/>I like your plan better. I was thinking of Japan also.<BR/>But can we still get the TVs? I mean I bought all that Dish Network stock…<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I want to add, that unlike all lefty ‘plans’ for world peace, mine actually ends in world peace and it goes something like this…<BR/><BR/>…eventually, they will come to appreciate Seinfeld (ok, two generations) and when I’m 185 years old I can scratch “but I’m not gay” in the dirt and someone will reply “not that there’s anything wrong with that” and I will have someone to play Trivial Pursuit: Seinfeld Edition with besides Bob and all will be right with the world once again.<BR/><BR/>And for all the lefties who may argue with my plan, I say, since when are reality and success ever factors in any of your equations.<BR/>Since when.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-70606019955039865272007-11-15T05:46:00.000-08:002007-11-15T05:46:00.000-08:00Will & Ben,Yeah, me three.The basic idea of replac...Will & Ben,<BR/><BR/>Yeah, me three.<BR/><BR/>The basic idea of replacing the mid-eastern despots with American style gov't's isn't so bad, but mistaking American style gov't for 'Democracies' is a big boo-boo. The Palestinian situation is a perfect example of democracy in action and cause enough to send em to oblivion.<BR/><BR/>Given that you can't export Liberty, but we also can't allow things to remain the same, we should have faced that between bad and worse and foolish choices, we should have gone with the bad one: follow the MacArthur/Japan format. Impose a constitution and gov't upon them, and stay there several decades to see that the roots have taken, before even thinking of moving on.<BR/><BR/>Course for that to work best, they needed to realize that they'd be <I>defeated</I>, utterly and completely, first.<BR/><BR/>Tough to look Nicey-nice for the press, while pushing the 'road to baghdad'.<BR/><BR/>"And from this follows the wise Talmudic saying that those who are kind to the cruel will always end up being cruel to the kind."Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-26469393106114531322007-11-15T05:14:00.000-08:002007-11-15T05:14:00.000-08:00Hear, hear, Ben.And add TVs and unrestricted acces...Hear, hear, Ben.<BR/>And add TVs and unrestricted access to American broadcasting – all 500 channels (just not the naughty stuff like CNN, etc.) Once their kiddies see how good the other kiddies have it over here, they’ll morph into them without even realizing it. They’ll want their MTV too. Oops. I guess I should be careful what I wish for. But that will take a generation at least.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-55644654490067165782007-11-15T01:12:00.000-08:002007-11-15T01:12:00.000-08:00Will-I concur. Mere democracy without liberty can ...Will-<BR/>I concur. <BR/>Mere democracy without liberty can easily turn into a tyranny: mob rule, with no respect for rights or dissent of the minority.<BR/><BR/>The Palestinians are a prime example of this, as is Lebanon, Turkey and Pakistan.<BR/><BR/>I think President Bush is naive to believe that democracy without liberty will work in the long term.<BR/>Maybe he thinks it will still "change" those muslim countries for the better, and that they'll eventually adopt liberty. <BR/>Perhaps in stages. <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, I don't think that'll happen, but I would be happy to be proven wrong. <BR/><BR/>That's not to say I'm against the war. I'm all for it, including Iraq, but we must DEMAND liberty for all the folks we liberated.<BR/>I do think this will work better in Iraq than in Afghanistan, at least in the Kurdish territory, because they truly want peace and they respect other religions, for instance, as long as they aren't threatened. <BR/><BR/>The same goes for free trade. I disagree that free trade will democratize and bring liberty (in and of itself) to countries like China. <BR/>I believe that free trade should be equitable, in our best interest, and only with countries that value liberty. <BR/><BR/>We don't even have to discuss the illegal immigration fiasco or the LOST treaty.<BR/><BR/>However, despite these differences, I have a great respect for President Bush, and I know he's much better than any leftist Democrat. <BR/>I know he has a good heart and loves our Heroes.<BR/>Heck, I love the guy!<BR/><BR/>Yet, I hope our next President communicates better and realizes these timeless truths more clearly.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-77731793053310767952007-11-15T00:41:00.000-08:002007-11-15T00:41:00.000-08:00>> . . . it would be at odds with his (leftist) ow...>> . . . it would be at odds with his (leftist) own belief that people are basically the same, that they are guided by reason, and that they all want the same things<<<BR/><BR/>Might this not be said, to an extent, of G. Bush and his hopes for a flourishing democracy in Iraq and elsewhere in the muslim-dominated mideast? I'm afraid such a thing leads, has led, probably, to "limited warfare" in the face of evil -- and that is a prescription for complete disaster. <BR/><BR/>And in some ways I think it's led to the suicidal folly of this upcoming Israeli/Palestinian "peace conference." Are there any doubts among the sane on how that's going to turn out?<BR/><BR/>Make no mistake, I think the leftist camp actively colludes with evil, which I can't accuse Bush of doing, but land 'o goshen, my heart sinks . . .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-41832275455246620012007-11-14T19:30:00.000-08:002007-11-14T19:30:00.000-08:00*ahem*I got a call shortly after that last post. Y...*ahem*<BR/><BR/>I got a call shortly after that last post. You can tell I'm not a guy who can afford to buy one of these things. $10 milion apparently represents perhaps a <I>20% down payment</I> on a Global 5000.<BR/><BR/>Yikes. I knew Ron was rich (we always just said "multi-millionaire") but that's, um, <I>damn</I> rich. He <I>got</I> rich by owning more stock in Wendy's than even Dave Thomas did.<BR/><BR/>Well, this tale has nothing to do with anything here, but I guess maybe it's a little interesting...<BR/><BR/>The guy would have died if the plane touched 20 feet sooner. I think I'll mail him a copy of OCUG. And a Bible.Stephen Macdonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13474300559219020772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-7030111136972471872007-11-14T19:18:00.000-08:002007-11-14T19:18:00.000-08:00In the air today, but caught the column and had to...In the air today, but caught the column and had to say it was superb.<BR/><BR/>Back home in Nova Scotia a couple days ago my golfing pal's dad Ron decided to do a <A HRF="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071113.TIM13/TPStory/National">prolonged slide</A> down the runway in his brand new $10 million personal jet.<BR/><BR/>Seriously though, everyone was unhurt, thank God. <BR/><BR/>It made today's rough landing in Toronto a bit of a white-knuckle affair for me...Stephen Macdonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13474300559219020772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-6433150781016499922007-11-14T14:31:00.000-08:002007-11-14T14:31:00.000-08:00"...it has been a disaster when filtered through t..."...it has been a disaster when filtered through the left, since they embody the fervent energy of the religious crusader without the wisdom and guidance of tradition and revelation."<BR/><BR/>and, I might add, without love:<BR/><BR/>"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal (sound familiar?). If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."<BR/><BR/>I Cor 13:1-3 Whew!<BR/><BR/>Read on, it gets even <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=53&chapter=13&version=49" REL="nofollow">better!</A><BR/><BR/>Ahhh, worked in a little love again today.<BR/><BR/>8')NoMohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01100042056270224683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-1097973398964182802007-11-14T13:52:00.000-08:002007-11-14T13:52:00.000-08:00 Bob wrote: "Just as you cannot simultaneously lo... Bob wrote: "Just as you cannot simultaneously look at and through your glasses, you can either look at history, which is what historians do, or look through history at what it is converging upon, which is what a Raccoon does."<BR/><BR/>A few weeks ago my eyes beheld the Grand Canyon for the first time.<BR/><BR/>During the course of dawn breaking, as the sunlight became brighter and brighter, I began to see deeper and deeper into the depth of that immense expanse until, at last, I could see the bottom and <I>through</I> it and understand that <I> Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.</I>Mizz Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02325435271880036807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-64130863682377979062007-11-14T13:12:00.000-08:002007-11-14T13:12:00.000-08:00Just started reading Shadow Warriors: The Untold S...Just started reading Shadow Warriors: The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender by Kenneth Timmerman. It is amazing the lengths people in our own government will go to in the name of ideology and petty revenge. I think I may be even more amazed that our country runs as well as it does. As usual, it all boils down to faulty intelligence. It is a very dense book with extensive footnoting. It isn't really surprising to the average coon though. The book also does a great job of fairly implicating our media in their willful spread of misinformation. How anyone could want to work for the government or make it larger in any way is beyond me.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04969685296436358865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-39257460687916297942007-11-14T11:45:00.000-08:002007-11-14T11:45:00.000-08:00CO:That's a very good question that I've been mean...CO:<BR/><BR/>That's a very good question that I've been meaning to address in a post. That is, if knowledge is neither subjective nor objective, what exactly is it? Basically, it is situated on a gradient of deepening coherence, and therefore meaning, and evolves by being able to synthesize more and more particulars in its vision of the whole; it is always converging upon real Truth, even if it never techincallly arrives there.<BR/><BR/>Just as you cannot simultaneously look at and through your glasses, you can either look <I>at</I> history, which is what historians do, or look <I>through</I> history at what it is converging upon, which is what a Raccoon does.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-4458074978382681972007-11-14T11:31:00.000-08:002007-11-14T11:31:00.000-08:00Bob,I have enjoyed today's and past posts on histo...Bob,<BR/>I have enjoyed today's and past posts on history (and the revisionism thereof). Given the limitations of human perception and human understanding, is it ever justifiable to label an historical account as "the official history of X"? The mere term "official history" seems like an oxymoron. I sometimes get the feeling that in our current age of hyper-information, people want to achieve a consensus on current and historical events. Is it ever possible to view any event holistically from a single, "official" perspective?COhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13954227474779622143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-6229227982432244012007-11-14T11:22:00.000-08:002007-11-14T11:22:00.000-08:00Both barrels today, Bob! Direct hit.Pivotdanger in...Both barrels today, Bob! Direct hit.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://robinstarfish.blogspot.com/2007/11/pivot.html" REL="nofollow">Pivot</A><BR/>danger in the field<BR/>helicopter spins around<BR/>young gun sets and shootsrobinstarfishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15665546554663005609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-14071332479213888012007-11-14T11:21:00.000-08:002007-11-14T11:21:00.000-08:00BTW, anyone else getting the 'bX-tgu0qs' error fro...BTW, anyone else getting the 'bX-tgu0qs' error from blogger?<BR/><BR/>Seems like wordverif is slowly seizing power....Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-91761636943416761992007-11-14T11:19:00.000-08:002007-11-14T11:19:00.000-08:00What Ricky said.And,"For example, if there is no o...What Ricky said.<BR/><BR/>And,<BR/><BR/>"For example, if there is no objective morality and human behavior is simply guided by the lust for power, on what basis can they condemn Israel for merely defending itself from Arab savagery?"<BR/><BR/>Wouldn't you just pay to see pasty face Harry Reid, Nancy Pullowsee or Bill Mared dance to that question?Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-34003673354180524942007-11-14T10:05:00.000-08:002007-11-14T10:05:00.000-08:00"...to be hysterical over the physical environment..."...to be hysterical over the physical environment but care not a bit about the much greater danger of soul pollution..."<BR/><BR/>The funniest thing about this one, to me, is the fact that, <I>generally</I> speaking, people who have faith based strongly in Judeo-Christian values (as well as a few other religious value systems) <I>do</I> care about the environment. We like the idea of using fewer resources, and practicing good stewardship (we learned it as Scouts). In fact, we consider it a duty, being the highest critters in this mostly horizontal plane. The bears, monkeys and elephants aren't likely to bother, nor are the dolphins, after all. <BR/><BR/>But we don't get hysterical about it. We don't value a rare species of flea (which just so happens to be identical to a prolific species a couple acres away) more than we value the right of an individual to build what they want on their own property. We know that the earth is resilient; it's survived much worse damage than humans have ever done - meteor strikes, solar flares and volcanic eruptions, for instance. We also know that the best way to improve the <I>world's</I> environment is to help bring other countries up to our standard of living. We have the luxury to care about the aforementioned fleas. People in third-world countries are too busy struggling to survive to worry that their grazing practices are turning their grassland into desert, or their poor farming practices are destroying the rain forest (and untold numbers of rare critters, no doubt).<BR/><BR/>Fix the souls first, and the world will follow.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-57814443626974483892007-11-14T09:51:00.000-08:002007-11-14T09:51:00.000-08:00Speaking of impaired family dynamics,it's funny (s...Speaking of impaired family dynamics,<BR/>it's funny (sad actually) how the most dysfuctional among us are the ones pushing the agenda. Ted Kennedy, Pathological Hillary and her sex addicted husband Bill, algore and his depressed wife Tipper etc.<BR/>Makes a person wonder.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-34193292401972169712007-11-14T09:39:00.000-08:002007-11-14T09:39:00.000-08:00Shaggy,Grew up in a Superfund site did ya?Shaggy,<BR/>Grew up in a Superfund site did ya?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-62276145313756926762007-11-14T09:29:00.000-08:002007-11-14T09:29:00.000-08:00'W''W'walthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388218390016612051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-34506405741775868992007-11-14T09:24:00.000-08:002007-11-14T09:24:00.000-08:00Well, I'm with Gore. Anyone who impedes the movem...Well, I'm with Gore. Anyone who impedes the movement towards environmental purity is a moral imebecile. <BR/><BR/>It IS all about the environment. Human evil is a product of poor diet and environmental toxins. These produce impaired family dynamics which in turn produce impaired people.<BR/><BR/>Fix the environment and all other problems fall like dominoes. <BR/><BR/>Get with the program, Mister.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-55796271176761193832007-11-14T09:15:00.000-08:002007-11-14T09:15:00.000-08:00Easily, easily, easily slated for the greatest hit...Easily, easily, easily slated for the greatest hits album. Looking like a boxed set lately.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.com