Comics!

The Coffeespy's blend of current events and comics - well, rocks! It's more than a little fun, and you should drop by and take in the Edwards' and Sheehan's noodling.

After Memorial Day

First, my apologies for letting this languish for a week. With that out of the way, and having celebrated Memorial Day by taking off for the weekend, I was somewhat taken aback by another pundit suggesting we bring back the draft. My response is easy: ABSOLUTELY NOT.

I like the all volunteer force. I like knowing that the soldiers and sailors serving in the armed forces chose to serve their country. After reading and listening to a few odds and ends I find myself appalled by some of the sentiments masquerading around our country as noble! For example, right before Memorial Day I saw a bumper sticker that said "He's not MY president." Now that is another one that deserves the "horseshit" moniker. While serving in the armed forces, one of the presidents I served under was Bill Clinton, a president I wasn't entirely glad to have in charge… especially as my Commander in Chief since he frequently failed to offer the simplest of military courtesies to those who served him honorably. Know what? He was MY president. After the vote was tallied, OUR country had made their choice, WE had a new president.

I like the all volunteer force. I like knowing that the soldiers and sailors serving in the armed forces chose to serve their country. By mutual consent, OUR country's citizenry agree to be governed by those selected via the exercise of OUR franchise. So, when some chubby little Dixie Chick says that veterans are not fighting for or defending her, I don't have a real problem saying that she's an ethical moron. When you eat a steak, you have the same moral standing as the butcher. When you participate in a REPRESENTATIVE democracy, you have the same moral standing as those who represent you.

I like the all volunteer force. I like knowing that the soldiers and sailors serving in the armed forces chose to serve their country. I especially like the way Robert Heinlein put it:

No state has an inherent right to survive through conscript troops and in the long run, no state ever has. Roman matrons used to say to their sons: "Come back with your shield, or on it." Later on, this custom declined. So did Rome.

We deserve to lose our freedoms when our citizens are no longer willing to defend them. I like the all volunteer force. I am more than proud of my father's, my daughters', my family's, and my friends' (you all know who you are) service to country, I honor them and their brothers and sisters in arms.

Both Sides of the Fence

In the book "The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff, I read something that was really cool:

An Empty sort of mind is valuable for finding pearls and tails and things because it can see what's in front of it. An Overstuffed mind is unable to. While the Clear mind listens to a bird singing, the Stuffed-Full-of-Knowledge-and-Cleverness mind wonders what kind of bird is singing. The more Stuffed Up it is, the less it can hear through its own ears and see through its own eyes. Knowledge and Cleverness tend to concern themselves with wrong sorts of things, and a mind confused by Knowledge,Cleverness and Abstract Ideas tends to go chasing off after things that don't matter, or that don't even exist, instead of seeing, appreciating, and making use of what is right in front of it.

Let's consider Emptiness in general for a moment. What is it about a Taoist landscape painting that seems so refreshing to so many different kinds of people? The Emptiness, the space that's not filled in. What is it about fresh snow, clean air, pure water? Or good music? As Claude Debussy expressed it, "Music is the space between notes."

… Many people are afraid of Emptiness, however, because it reminds them of Loneliness. Everything has to be filled in, it seems – appointment books, hillsides, vacant lots – but when all the spaces are filled, the Loneliness really begins. Then the Groups are joined, the Classes are signed up for, and the Gift-to-Yourself items are bought. When the Loneliness starts creeping in the door, the Television Set is turned on to make it go away. But it doesn't go away. So some of us do instead, and after discarding the emptiness of the Big Congested Mess, we discover the fullness of Nothing (Hoff, 1982, p. 146-147).

I prefer Classical music over most "Lyrical" music because Classical music allows my mind to wander and take a break, whereas Lyrical music tells me where to wander. Sometimes being told where to go (don't go there Skald) is OK, but I'm too busy as is. My mind needs a break, let it roam with my imagination! Also, in my photographs I tend not to clutter my compositions, I try to express openness, freedom, area to travel, wonder...etc. Here is one of my favorite pictures to help express the meaning of "Both Sides of the Fence" Where some only see a fence, I see What is on both sides of the fence. What side of the fence would you rather be on? The right or the left? The congested side or the side with more room to maneuver? I jumped the fence (caught my pants on the barbs as it happens in life too when you choose a different side) and found a huge, new, vast countryside to roam, explore, and appreciate.

Chapter 18. THE DECAY OF ETHICS

Since I'm off to bed, I figure I'll share another piece of the Tao te Ching:

When the way of the Tao is forgotten,
kindness and ethics need to be taught;
men learn to pretend to be wise and good.
All too often in the lives of men,
filial piety and devotion
arise only after conflict and strife,
just as loyal ministers all too often appear,
when the people are suppressed.

Motorcycle Zen

Not long ago I described a fun flat on my Harley. I managed to damage the rear wheel and rim in addition to shredding the tire – kind of a spendy repair. The shop was able to true the wheel and knock the kinks out of the rim (hallelujah!). I replaced the old rubber, front and rear, with beautifully scribed whitewalls. The ride home was circuitous, allowing time for the Harley mind-meld – that great place where rider and scooter are one… think Caddy Shack, and well, **BE the bike.** My Harley is often helpful in ways other than one might expect. It keeps me from running away from home, from going postal, from just choking the life out of people who disagree with me J

I suppose there are several reasons to mention "just being." Part of it is associated with Winnie-the-Pooh, another part with the Te of Piglet and the Tao of Pooh. In the Tao of Pooh we learn the importance of just being, Pooh just is. In the Te of Piglet we learn about something essential to the Tao – Virtue. This is a virtue that is partly reflected in the Judeo-Christian idea that "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." The Chinese character can be written two ways according to Benjamin Hoff; one way combines the characters for both "upright" and "heart." "The second way adds the character for 'left-foot,'" Te, or virtue in action.

Why even mention this? Primarily because some new age freaks want to make these ideas mean something other than what they are. These ideas do not deny reality or claim that our thoughts create our reality – that somehow our minds conjure matter. This continual fascination with "best-case scenarios," "positive thinking," and "creative visualization" is becoming a serious obstacle to sensible people. WE NEED OUR EYORES!!! Someone needed to say, "Maybe they won't greet us as liberators." Somebody needed to explore the worst-case.

OK, apart from my gratuitous jab at the administration, the point is that we can't simply "think" our future into existence – we must interact with our REAL environment. We need to DO. We are in Iraq; we need to finish the job. Remember the Goddess Nike? "Just do it." Again, why even mention this? OPRAH WINFREY is why even mentioning this seems prudent. John Gravois of Slate Magazine has a must read article at the previous link. Slate is soliciting anecdotal accounts of when negative thinking, "a healthy dose of pessimism," or envisioning the worst has helped you. Let's send these to Oprah via Slate to illustrate just how dangerous "The Secret" is, and as a result, take steps to prevent the same kind of errant nonsense associated with Christian Scientists refusing medical attention for themselves and their children. Like trying to convince the liberal left, it is extremely difficult to use facts to elicit change in people who deny reality, and "The Secret" advocates essentially that – reality bites, think it away.

Mmmm, maybe I've gone too far… nahhhh.

A Double Murder Relegated to Shades of Grey

Coffeespy tells a story of a horrific double murder that received little to no national media coverage. The story is compelling and it is worth the trip to Coffee's site for his commentary as well as the links to other pundits' positions on the murder and its lack of coverage. Even Wikipedia is keeping a page updated on this unfolding case. The Wiki article links to several examples of black on white murder in which the mainstream media (MSM) fails to report as is typically covered when the crime is white on black. Each of (Ken Tillery murder) these (The Wichita Massacre) articles (James Byrd murder) should be used as a backdrop that makes it clear Mark Alexander from the Patriot Post is absolutely right when he says:

This appalling attack is more than a case study in sociopathic evil. It is also a case study in journalistic malpractice.

I realize I've listed a few links, but they are worth the read – if only to fill out a more complete picture - NOT of the heinousness of the murders, but rather of the MSM's malpractice. Considering the hoopla generated by Imus, the Duke Lacrosse players, and several other instances of MSM "vigilance" and reporting "important breaking news," it seems this double murder might have received a passing nod…

Coffee et al already make the important points about "hate crimes," lack of coverage, etc., but there is another element I believe is noteworthy. It is most easily introduced by comments made at Snopes.com in their article covering this double murder. The writers first reproduce the email describing the murders (as is their SOP), and then proceed to debunk/comment. Normally, I truly like the product at Snopes; however, this particular article over reaches the evidence it provides in the email. It seems appropriate to use similar methods

Some commentators (as cited in the [email]…) have made much of the fact that the bulk of the news reportage about the Newsom/Christian murders has been Local (predominantly in Tennessee, where the crimes took place, and in neighboring Kentucky), while the case has received Little or no national coverage by major news outlets — a phenomenon attributed to supposedly biased news media loath to report black-on-white crime. (Both Christian and Newsom were white: all five of the suspects arrested in connection with their killings are black.)

However, the notion that every major news outlet in the U.S. (all of them competitive, profit-making businesses) has conspired to ignore what would otherwise be a compelling national story is rather implausible. A more rational explanation might be found in the sober observation that murders — even decidedly horrific murders — are unfortunately too frequent an occurrence in the U.S. for all of them to garner national attention. The cases that do tend to attract prolonged, nationwide coverage are ones exhibiting a combination of factors (e.g., scandal, mystery, sexual elements, celebrity involvement, shockingly large numbers of deaths, victims who especially elicit sympathy) that make them particularly fascinating and compelling to the public at large, such as the still-unsolved murder of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, the mysterious disappearance (and death) of pregnant Laci Peterson, the massacre of 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech, and the celebrity trial to determine whether actress Lana Clarkson committed suicide or was killed by reclusive record producer Phil Spector.

I don't have a clue who originated the email, but Snopes is utterly disingenuous in their comments. After acknowledging that there was indeed little to no national coverage and and after reporting that the email writer and other pundits (none cited in the email) blame the lack of coverage on media bias, Snopes then states that a national conspiracy of media outlets is "rather implausible." The email nowhere suggests that "every major news outlet in the U.S. has conspired" to do anything. In fact, conspiracy of any sort is not suggested. Then of course, by implication Snopes suggests that anyone believing the conspiracy their writers create must be irrational, because a more rational explanation is… It is so much fun to pound the stuffing out of straw men!

The Laci Peterson murder, though horrible, simply wasn't as horrific. Since it seems we must compare the shock value, let's compare it to something that is actually "comparable." For example, it seems that if three rich white college men get accused of gang raping a black woman it IS all about race, and of course, there is an attendant media blitzkrieg. On the other hand, if four black men and one black woman get accused of gang rape, torture, mutilate, and ultimately murder two white kids it IS NOT about race, and of course, it doesn't merit the media blitz. That particular Snopes article was extraordinarily disappointing.

The question remains. Was it media bias? Excluding all "conspiracy theories," was it bias? Let me repeat a comment I heard made on CNN's Paula Zahn. Asked directly about black prejudice/bigotry, the guest made it plain that it is simply impossible for blacks to be bigots because they lack power. What errant nonsense. I think Thomas Sowell is right, there is a media bias and it is a result of a serious Conflict of Visions. We are in a serious situation, one that is not easily resolved.

Thomas Sowell has been reviled as a race traitor, but his books indicate otherwise. His commentaries on race, race relations, political struggle, and political philosophy are remarkable. In his book The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation As a Basis for Social Policy, he provides a much needed bit of clear headedness. He makes it clear we're making mistakes that are not unique to us:

In earlier eras as well, many individuals foresaw the self-destruction of their own civilizations, from the days of the Roman Empire to the eras of the Spanish, Ottoman, and other empires. Yet that alone was not enough to change the course that was leading to ruin. Today, despite free speech and the mass media, the prevailing social vision is dangerously close to sealing itself off from any discordant feedback from reality (Sowell, 1995).

If you don't think our problems with race and race relations aren't every bit as serious as the war or global warming… think again friend, this is another problem that needs addressing in a meaningful and realistic fashion.

Primordial Soup

My family and I took a trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and the photos... When I saw this jellyfish, it left me with what you might call the spirit of Carl Sagan's Cosmos series... Something straight out of the primordial soup.

Which Superhero are YOU?

Just a quick note today. My daughter currently serving in Iraq sent me a fun survey that determines your makeup in terms of superhero-hood. As it turns out, I'm mostly my favorite superhero... THE HULK! My daughter is mostly Supergirl.

Anyway, see the bottom of this page for the link - have fun!

Knowing, Nike, Perfection, and Just Doing It

So I'm motoring down Hwy 99W on my Harley, enjoying a perfect day for riding – (though yesterday was more perfect J, yes, there is an inside joke there) – when suddenly the rear end of the scooter goes into a skid toward oncoming traffic. Well, the old sphincter puckers, I muscle a turn into the skid and apply the front brakes and accelerate to right slide, and it works way too well and I'm now skidding toward the right shoulder. I pretty much do the same thing again, i.e., turn into the skid, and since there is no oncoming traffic, there is no need to apply front brake and accelerate to enhance the correction. I fishtail out of danger, slow, come to stop on the shoulder. I HATE controlling skids on a motorcycle, especially when the rear end just does not behave like it should!

I've been riding motorcycles for a large portion of my fifty years, and I've never had an explosive flat on the rear tire before today. So that's why the rear end behaved so poorly <blink, blink>. After five or ten minutes my sphincter un-puckered enough to let go of the seat, I started breathing, and either my heart finally started beating again or it simply slowed down. My perfect day was no longer, but I did spend the night in…

That wasn't a sea story, and unfortunately, I have a rear tire to repair this weekend. It is however a story that exemplifies the kinds of experience I not only tend to enjoy (in hindsight), but also helps to explain my fascination with philosophy, religion, and just generally being contrary. Danger that brushes up against my mortality spurs me on to re-examinations of my beliefs. Today, it brought to mind a conversation Gravebinder and I had earlier in the day on the nature of perfection. Though we disagreed on the nature of perfection, the conversation raised certain flags for me concerning epistemology – elements of that branch of philosophy I thought I had quite settled…

I realize that to most people understanding the nature of knowledge, i.e., what it is, how it is acquired, and what people actually know is beyond boring. In fact, most people probably disdain the study of any of the five major branches of philosophy, but it does provide foundational material for conversations on the nature of perfection… I mean really, can some perfect thing become "more" perfect? Is the answer to the question obvious? It's a conversation that occurs in philosophy, religion, and BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT, ETC! Nifty, hey?

Maybe I'll just stick with poetry and politics and not be concerned with how I know about these subjects <grin> of course, process is important and perhaps Nike is right:

The Goddess Nike On Performance Anxiety

Her lover said:

Tell me how, tell me where
Tell me when, talk me through
And tell me you came too

Tell me that I know how
To put that look upon your face
That in any other time or place
People would confuse with pain

She said:

Don’t talk unless you talk hard
Don’t ask unless you wanna know
The answers that I have, but oh!

God, don’t tell me what or how and when
But God! Just whisper. Then moan!
Sweet Jesus! Then groan!
Don’t talk, don’t stop, but oh God, Just Do It!

Introducing...

I haven't set my brother up as part of the blogging team yet. It requires a trip to his place. Since he can't access the comments for some reason, I'll post his comments as they show up:

Isn't it great how many outlets we have to express ourselves? Skald has his philosophy, poetry, music, and photography. I have photography and humor. I've never been good with words so I'll let my photos do the talking. Never really good at telling jokes so I'll stick to Puns and/or just being a SmartA$$! It makes me laugh!

Later,
Atilla the Pun

Hmmm, he also has woodworking, archery, and being a general freakin' artisan. ;-) It will definitely all be fun.

Tall Tales and Progressives in Action

There is a tradition in the sea service that makes it clear a fairy tale begins with "Once upon a time…" and a sea story begins with "This is a no-shitter," or "This ain't no shit…" Sailors are renowned for their sea stories! So, this is a no-shitter, dude:

I have a family of nine, my wife, myself, and 7 kids. I have a small arsenal because I believe I should be able to not only defend myself (and family), but also those who are unable to defend themselves. Comes a day and my family gets to defend our neighbors. They were attacked by a group of four gangbangers, and my eldest heard the first shot. I armed myself, my wife, and three of my children. My three eldest and I went to our neighbor's aid. During the fracas, two of my children were killed, my neighbor's wife was killed and two of his children injured, and we killed two of the attackers and subdued the other two for the authorities.

In keeping with a democrat's notion of "restorative justice," adjudication fell out in the following manner:

• The two surviving gangbangers were released on their own recognizance, but ultimately, both were put on probation. However, they filed a civil suit against my family for damages and suffering. We had to pay to rehabilitate the offenders.
  
• My neighbor's injuries were taken care of by their own insurance and a reparations fund from the county.
  
• My family, after paying for the rehab of the offenders, lost a substantial portion of our life savings. Additionally, 75 years later, my family was required to pay compensation to my surviving neighbors and their descendants for the crimes of the gangbangers.
  

Sounds like a tall tale? Sound like a sea story? Sounds like one of those infamous no-shitters? Sort of, kind of, well not exactly. Nope. Hat tip to Michelle Malkin for the link to Gateway Pundit's stellar info on the "Dems Offering Reparations to Guam For Japanese War Crimes." Please take the time to read it – follow the links, and check out the cost. If it doesn't stir your blood, then you need an abdopleximy. What's that? An abdopleximy is a special surgery that installs a piece of Plexiglas into your abdomen so you can see where in the world you're going with your head so far up your ass. I'm only marginally contrite for the off-color language… it seemed, somehow aproposJ!

Photos and Poetry

It’s a Saturday, and lest someone think me all business and no pleasure, I’ll share some more of my brother’s photography. I’ll share parts of the conversation and ideas behind the photos too, as these activities are – well, a pleasure. Now then, this first photo… well, I don’t know a thing about the photo. My brother sent it along with a couple others and said, “Check this one out too.”

No title, but I liked the photo, so for now, until LittleBro gives it a title, it’s called “Wooden Sky.” Enjoy!

UPDATE: Attila the Pun titles this photo "Eave'ning"

Now this second photo does have a title, and it’s a title that reflects what my brother saw when he took the photo. “As Foundations Crumble” and the alternate “Golden Years, Out to Pasture” inspired a conversation worth having. It also conjured up a poem I wrote for my “number three daughter” on her graduation. Here’s the photo and the poem.


January 6, 2005: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

For my daughter, on her eighteenth,
Looking forward to graduation.

There we were, your Mom and I,
eighteen years on the other side of yesterday
watching and waiting for you to arrive.

Astonishing! You — determined to be,
your Mother — determined to hold,
I — determined to watch

you slip out; face up, an angel’s kiss
upon your forehead, and clearing your lungs —
you were the life in our daughter’s cry.

The days, the weeks, the years crept by —
you crawled, you toddled, stumbled and walked —
you were the meaning in your first words.

We watched you take deep breaths,
blow your heart across an instrument,
and God, you were the music in your flute.

You pursued everything that seemed to make you smile,
music to marching, to flag waving, to cheering, and on
to being the passion in your dance.

Now, here we are, your Mom and I,
eighteen years on the other side of your birth,
wanting only joy in your life, meaning in your

pursuits, music in your celebrations, and the magic of passion —
passion for everything you do, everyone you love — so that you,
looking back from eighteen years on the other side of tomorrow,

will be soothed to sleep, by a life well lived,
and burrow deep into the summer of your beginning,
when you thought you had forever.


Here’s hoping I haven’t lost what little readership I have as a result of the poetry. I know some feel as Robert Heinlein feels, “A poet who reads his verse in public may have other nasty habits.” it’s true, I have other nasty habits ;-)

Patriot Games?

The Kansas City Star, The Washington Times, and The Chicago Tribune seem to be reporting on the estimable Senator Reid and his penchant for spreading athlete’s tongue. It seems a Senator might want to pay closer attention to his own comments than Rosie O’Donnell pays to her own blather. Now I realize this is old news, but the more I’ve read – the more it chapped my… irritated me. What’s more appalling to me are those citizens who bad mouth their country to foreign nationals, or spew the vilest of hate about their country of choice while maintaining their citizenship. For example:.

Not long ago I met a 70-year-old man who lived on a boat at the local marina. He had sailed the world's oceans for many years, and he hated America. He hated the music, the money, the television, the government; but most of all, he hated the people. In his opinion Americans were selfish and ignorant. After all, they enjoyed a social system called capitalism. America was therefore composed of a nation of thieves, polluters and economic imperialists (Nyquist, 2000).

I mention these tidbits, in part to raise your ire, but also to channel it into a small piece of a poem by Sir Walter Scott. It’s The Lay of the Last Minstrel, in the last canto of the poem. Though it is a small piece of the poem, I admire the skill with which Scott makes his point. Make no mistake, I loved Ivanhoe, but this, to use a new word with new meaning, is sublime:

Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd,
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd,
From wandering on a foreign strand!
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonor'd, and unsung. (The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Sir Walter Scott)

Indeed Senator, any songs of honor will be sung to those men and women in uniform you so callously cast off and apparently attempt to silence. What do I mean? Take a trip over to Michelle Malkin’s initial post concerning the Army crackdown on milbloggers and email and then read the follow up where a soldier asks, “Who will stand up for the rights of soldiers? Fight for us. We fight for you.” … Let’s be selective in our choices of leaders – Republican, Democrat, or otherwise.

School’s Out!

Blossom of the Sky: LittleBro (2007)

It is finished! The monograph, the thesis challenge, and the final class all are finished! The Skald is done with the master's program. This is mostly a note to say that, yes, I survived, and that I'll be spending a little more time keeping this online rag a little more up to date. I've a ton of junk in the trunk for offbeat punditry, but for now, I'm DONE!

Before I sign off for this evening, I'd like to introduce my brother and a little of his artistry. He hasn't chosen a moniker yet, so for the time being, it's LittleBro. He is one hell of a photographer and is just itching for a place to share his work. Were I a studio, I'd display his work, so the shot above is a taste of something different. Look forward to more.