Silent Cal

Lately I've been having to delete lots of older posts - 700 posts just for this year. I use up too much space on Blogger because I post so many pictures. I found this post in draft mode that I wrote 11/26/07 and which I somehow completely forgot about.

Earlier that month, in response to criticism of my then favorite candidate, Fred Thompson, I had said Thompson may not have been as "silent" as one of my favorite past Presidents, Calvin Coolidge, but that he was similarly laid-back and that, like Coolidge, he understood the spirit of the Founders' vision and put into words everything that I believed in.

It was said of Coolidge that "he embodied the spirit and hopes of the middle class, could interpret their longings and express their opinions. That he did represent the genius of the average is the most convincing proof of his strength."

Coolidge was not always "Silent Cal." He was full of enthusiasm and energy as VP and, when he became President after Harding died in 1923, he was so impressively able that he was nominated on the first ballot at the 1924 convention.

But soon after the convention, he was devastated by the death of his younger son, Calvin, Jr., who had developed a blister from playing tennis. The blister then became infected, and Calvin, Jr. died. After that Coolidge became withdrawn. He later said that "when he died, the power and glory of the Presidency went with him."

From Wikipedia:

In spite of his sadness, Coolidge ran his conventional campaign; he never maligned his opponents (or even mentioned them by name) and delivered speeches on his theory of government, including several that were broadcast over radio. It was easily the most subdued campaign since 1896, partly because the President was grieving for his son, but partly because Coolidge's style was naturally non-confrontational.

Probably the most famous Coolidge quote is from his address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington D.C., January 25, 1925:

"It is probable that a press which maintains an intimate touch with the business currents of the nation is likely to be more reliable than it would be if it were a stranger to these influences. After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world."

Leftists have interpreted that as meaning that Coolidge was a cold-hearted capitalist pig but:

During Coolidge's presidency the United States experienced the period of rapid economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties." His economic policy has often been misquoted as "generally speaking, the business of the American people is business" (full quotation below.) Although some commentators have criticized Coolidge as a doctrinaire laissez-faire ideologue, historian Robert Sobel offers some context based on Coolidge's sense of federalism:

"As Governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge supported wages and hours legislation, opposed child labor, imposed economic controls during World War I, favored safety measures in factories, and even worker representation on corporate boards. Did he support these measures while president? No, because in the 1920s, such matters were considered the responsibilities of state and local governments."

[...]

Coolidge's taxation policy, and that of his Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon, was that taxes should be lower and that fewer people should have to pay them. The Congress concurred, and the tax burden on Americans was reduced in Coolidge's term. In addition to these tax cuts, Coolidge proposed reductions in federal expenditures and retiring some of the federal debt. To that end, Coolidge declined to sign some of the spending that Congress approved. He vetoed the proposed McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Bill of 1926, designed to allow the federal government to purchase agricultural surpluses and sell them abroad at lowered prices. Coolidge declared that agriculture must stand "on an independent business basis," and said that "government control cannot be divorced from political control." He favored Herbert Hoover's proposal to modernize agriculture to create profits, instead of manipulating prices. When Congress re-passed the McNary-Haugen bill in 1927, Coolidge vetoed it again. "Farmers never have made much money," said Coolidge, the Vermont farmer's son, "I do not believe we can do much about it."

[...]

Coolidge has often been criticized for his actions during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the worst natural disaster to hit the Gulf Coast until Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Although he did eventually name Secretary Hoover to a commission in charge of flood relief, Coolidge's lack of interest in federal flood control has been much maligned. Coolidge did not believe that personally visiting the region after the floods would accomplish anything, but would be seen only as political grandstanding, and he did not want to incur the federal spending that flood control would require. Congress wanted a bill that would place the federal government completely in charge of flood mitigation; Coolidge wanted the property owners to bear much of the costs. When Congress passed a compromise measure in 1928, Coolidge declined to take credit for it and signed the bill in private on May 15.

While he was not an isolationist, Coolidge was reluctant to enter foreign alliances. Coolidge saw the landslide Republican victory of 1920 as a rejection of the Wilsonian idea that the United States should join the League of Nations. While not completely opposed to the idea, Coolidge believed the League, as then constituted, did not serve American interests, and he did not advocate membership in it.

[...]

Coolidge did not seek renomination; he announced his decision to reporters, in writing, with typical terseness: "I do not choose to run for President in 1928." After allowing them to take that in, Coolidge elaborated. "If I take another term, I will be in the White House till 1933 … Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had it—too long!" In his memoirs, Coolidge explained his decision not to run:

"The Presidential office takes a heavy toll of those who occupy it and those who are dear to them. While we should not refuse to spend and be spent in the service of our country, it is hazardous to attempt what we feel is beyond our strength to accomplish."

The Republicans retained the White House in 1928 in the person of Coolidge's Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover.

Coolidge had been lukewarm on the choice of Hoover as his successor; on one occasion he remarked that "for six years that man has given me unsolicited advice—all of it bad."

Despite his reputation as a quiet and even reclusive politician, Coolidge made use of the new medium of radio and made radio history several times while President. He made himself available to reporters, giving 529 press conferences, meeting with reporters more regularly than any President before or since. His inauguration was the first presidential inauguration broadcast on radio. On 6 December 1923, Coolidge was the first President whose address to Congress was broadcast on radio. On 12 February 1924, he became the first President of the United States to deliver a political speech on radio. On 11 August 1924, Coolidge was filmed on the White House lawn by Lee De Forest in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process, becoming the first President to appear in a sound film. The title of the DeForest film was President Coolidge, Taken on the White House Lawn.

It's no wonder that Reagan revered Silent Cal, a true American who understood America perfectly. He was the only President to be born on the Fourth of July.

A riff on "foreign entanglements"

After I wrote the post about why I detest most of the nations of western Europe - ten of which are still ruled by "royalty" - I got to thinking a bit. It's not worth making too much of this. It's just a late night riff to amuse myself.

Of the 17 nations that comprise "western Europe," only seven (Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal and Italy) are "republics." The other ten are still ruled by "royalty." Eight of the ten "royal" nations joined the "Coalition of the Willing." Belgium and Sweden abstained and Spain eventually pulled out after they were attacked by terrorists. Of the seven "republics" only Portugal and Italy joined the C of the W. Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria abstained.

These current foreign entanglements/alliances of ours got me thinking about the battle that went on between President Adams and Vice-President Jefferson over whether to support Britain or France in the war between those two nations. Adams loathed the French revolutionary republic but also despised "royal" Britain yet he was a practical man who simply wanted to keep us out of a foreign war. Of course Jefferson was sympathetic to the French republic. Lurking in the background was Hamilton who was a closet Tory royalist. Washington, nearing death, warned against foreign entanglements. Calm and sensible Madison bided his time but finally convinced Jefferson to be neutral in the ongoing wars between France and Britain.

I see the same tensions still present in current US foreign policy and in our national character. Our alliances still have to be based only on what's best for our Republic. We still can never trust "royalty" but should also be wary of socalled "republics" because none of them are as enlightened as ours. The USA is the most advanced and civilized nation in the world despite the fact that we have so many "Hamiltonian" Fifth Columnists. Sometimes I think that Burr did us a favor to kill him before he became one of our early Presidents.

Why I despise western European nations

From the British Economist (to which I subscribed for decades until they began to take an increasingly leftist slant during Thatcher's admin):

The world's biggest arms exporters:

JUST five countries supplied 80% of global arms exports between 2003 and 2007, according to a recent report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think-tank. SIPRI counts the deliveries of large conventional weapons, each of which are assigned a value according to cost, strategic importance and other criteria. America supplied a third of global exports by this count, with South Korea and Israel the main buyers. China is Russia's best customer, taking 45% of its total exports. China is also the largest recipient of imports, accounting for 12% of the global total. Other big importers include India and the United Arab Emirates.

Of course they make out that the USA is the Big Bad Wolf. What crap! The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute? Give me a break! See that big slice of the pie marked "Other 21%"? Guess who that means. Yep, a big chunk of that "Other" is Stockholm's country, Sweden, home of the Nobel Peace Prize (which, as we all know, was endowed by the inventor of Dynamite.) Sweden is a big exporter of weapons. In fact their famed cradle-to-grave welfare state could not exist without their arms exports.

From THE SWEDISH QUANDRY: ARMS DEALS OR PACIFISM?

Sweden's arms-trading affair centers on the activities of Bofors, the nation's biggest arms maker and part of the industrial empire founded by Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite who established the prizes in peace and other fields bearing his name. Two Areas of Scrutiny:

Bofors is under scrutiny for two things. The first involves Bofors arms shipped to countries blacklisted by the Sweden, mostly in the Middle East, including Iran. Although the extent of the illegal shipments is uncertain, Nobel Industries Sweden A.B. admitted in March that its Bofors subsidiary had contravened Sweden's strict arms export-control laws.

The other matter being examined involves allegations that bribes were paid by Bofors to Indian Government officials and middlemen to secure a $1.3 billion contract for field artillery that was awarded to the Swedish company in February 1986.

The rest of that 21% "Other" are the socialist western European nations which are still ruled by "royalty." I completely despise most western European nations. They are run by commie bureaucrats who totally ignore socalled "democratic" decisions and who are indentured servants of the "royal families." Socialism is the "royals" way of preventing revolution and their socialism is bankrolled by the sale of arms and pharmaceuticals to the tyrannical shit-heaps of Africa and the Mideast.

Ten western European nations are still ruled by "royalty" aka "the Mob of inbred idiots who control all the oil, pharmaceutical and arms corporations":

* The Kingdom Belgium,
* The Kingdom Denmark,
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
* The Principality Liechtenstein,
* The Grand Duchy Luxembourg,
* The Principality Monaco,
* The Kingdom of the Netherlands,
* The Kingdom Norway,
* The Kingdom Spain,
* The Kingdom Sweden.

We should not enter into any sort of alliance with any of these "royal" nations. In fact, if Bush and his neocon buddies were serious about bringing "democracy" to the whole world, they'd start by killing these royal parasitical hypocrites not sucking up to them as we did with the despicable two-faced commie, Tony Blair.

Communications Director for Gordon Smith? Moi?

Now I see why I had an Obama supporting visitor yesterday. The Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate linked to my article, Why I support Sen. Gordon Smith:

Honesty...is such a lonely word (for Gordon Smith)

Shorter Smith-supporter [Yep, that's a link to my blog.]: Vote for Gordo cuz he is anti-choice, wants no limits on campaign finance, doesn't give a crap about global climate change and energy prices, wants nothing to do with universal health care and prefers absolutely no regulation of firearms at all.

Yeah...could we maybe get this guy to be the new Communications Director for the Smith campaign? Or at the very least, he should be producing the TV commercials. Way more entertaining than the pap that Smith is pushing out right now.

And frankly, a helluva lot more honest.

Thanks, NW Prog, for at least saying that I'm honest. You aren't. You know as well as I do that Smith has sadly bought into the "global climate change" BS.

Why I support Sen. Gordon Smith

"An 80% friend is not a 20% enemy." - Ronald Reagan.

According to the latest poll by Rasmussen:

Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley for the first time has edged ahead of Republican Senator Gordon Smith 43% to 41% in Oregon, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. While the advantage is not statistically significant, it is noteworthy for an incumbent senator to receive such low levels of support at this point in a campaign.

Smith is the only Republican who holds a statewide office in Oregon. He's certainly not perfect and he's definitely not popular with conservatives but, like Mitt Romney in Massachussetts, he is operating in a state which is overwhelmingly Democratic and has had to adapt to his constituents. At first he supported the invasion of Iraq but has since changed his mind. I can agree to respectfully disagree with him about that and he is entitled to change his mind. I was dead against the war from the start but later came to support it.

But, compared with Merkley, who is currently Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, Smith is most decidedly the lesser of two evils - which is all I ever expect from politicians.

From the front page of Merkley's website:

George W. Bush attacks Women's Reproductive Rights.

The Bush Administration is trying to roll back a woman's right to choose.

Yep, that's on the front page. In other words his main concern is abortion.

So, let's see what On the Issues says about Merkley:

100 percent ratings from NARAL and Planned Parenthood

Abortions should always be legally available

Apply affirmative action to state hiring. (Nov 1998)

Increase rehabilitation & alternatives to incarceration

Spending limits on campaigns

Set a 25 percent renewable energy national standard by 2025

Supports 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050

Sustainable, renewable energy to combat global warming

Maintain restrictions on purchase & possession of firearms. (Nov 1998)

Support Healthy Americans Act: universal comprehensive care. (Jun 2008)

Provide affordable quality health care to all Americans. (Jun 2008)

Health care for all Americans. (Mar 2008)

Fight for inflation-indexed minimum and prevailing wage laws. (Jun 2008)

Signed onto "A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq". (Jun 2008)

Opposed the war from the start. (Jun 2008)

Redeploy American combat troops out of Iraq. (Mar 2008)

And here's what On the Issues says about Smith:

Voted YES on prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion. (Mar 2008)

Voted YES on barring HHS grants to organizations that perform abortions. (Oct 2007)

Voted YES on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. (Jul 2006)

Voted YES on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime. (Mar 2004)

Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions except for maternal life. (Mar 2003)

Voted YES on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions. (Jun 2000)

Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions. (Oct 1999)

Rated 14% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)

Voted YES on Balanced-budget constitutional amendment. (Mar 1997)

Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)

Rated 83% by the Christian Coalition: a pro-family voting record. (Dec 2003)

Voted NO on setting aside 10% of highway funds for minorities & women. (Mar 1998)

Voted YES on ending special funding for minority & women-owned business. (Oct 1997)

Rated 40% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)

Rated 33% by the HRC, indicating a mixed record on gay rights. (Dec 2006)

Rated 29% by the NAACP, indicating an anti-affirmative-action stance. (Dec 2006)

Voted YES on reforming bankruptcy to include means-testing & restrictions. (Mar 2005)

Rated 86% by the US COC, indicating a pro-business voting record. (Dec 2003)

Supports use of federal death penalty. (Jun 2008)

Rated 25% by CURE, indicating anti-rehabilitation crime votes. (Dec 2000)

Mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs. (Jun 2008)

Voted YES on increasing penalties for drug offenses. (Nov 1999)

Voted NO on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education. (Mar 2005)

Voted YES on Educational Savings Accounts. (Mar 2000)

Voted YES on school vouchers in DC. (Sep 1997)

Rated 57% by the NEA, indicating a mixed record on public education. (Dec 2003)

Voted NO on $3.1B for emergency oil assistance for hurricane-hit areas. (Oct 2005)

Voted NO on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%). (Jun 2005)

Voted YES on Bush Administration Energy Policy. (Jul 2003)

Voted YES on preserving budget for ANWR oil drilling. (Apr 2000)

Voted YES on approving a nuclear waste repository. (Apr 1997)

Rated 50% by CAF, indicating a mixed record on energy independence. (Dec 2006)

Rated 32% by the LCV, indicating anti-environment votes. (Dec 2003)

Voted YES on requiring photo ID to vote in federal elections. (Jul 2007)

Voted NO on favoring 1997 McCain-Feingold overhaul of campaign finance. (Oct 1997)

Voted YES on prohibiting foreign & UN aid that restricts US gun ownership. (Sep 2007)

Voted NO on background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)

Voted YES on loosening license & background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)

Voted YES on maintaining current law: guns sold without trigger locks. (Jul 1998)

Rated B by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun rights voting record. (Dec 2003)

Ban gun registration & trigger lock law in Washington DC. (Mar 2007)

Rated 0% by APHA, indicating a anti-public health voting record. (Dec 2003)

Voted NO on requiring FISA court warrant to monitor US-to-foreign calls. (Feb 2008)

Voted YES on removing need for FISA warrant for wiretapping abroad. (Aug 2007)

Voted NO on requiring CIA reports on detainees & interrogation methods. (Sep 2006)

Voted YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. (Mar 2006)

Voted YES on extending the PATRIOT Act's wiretap provision. (Dec 2005)

Voted NO on cutting nuclear weapons below START levels. (May 1999)

Voted YES on deploying National Missile Defense ASAP. (Mar 1999)

Voted YES on military pay raise of 4.8%. (Feb 1999)

Rated 0% by SANE, indicating a pro-military voting record. (Dec 2003)

Voted NO on continuing federal funds for declared "sanctuary cities". (Mar 2008)

Voted NO on comprehensive immigration reform. (Jun 2007)

Voted YES on declaring English as the official language of the US government. (Jun 2007)

Voted YES on building a fence along the Mexican border. (Sep 2006)

Voted NO on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security. (May 2006)

Voted YES on limiting welfare for immigrants. (Jun 1997)

English immersion over bilingual education. (Jul 2001)

Rated 41% by USBC, indicating a mixed record on open borders. (Dec 2006)

Rated 0% by the AFL-CIO, indicating an anti-union voting record. (Dec 2003)

Voted with Republican Party 71.0% of 324 votes. (Sep 2007)

Voted YES on confirming Samuel Alito as Supreme Court Justice. (Jan 2006)

Voted YES on confirming John Roberts for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. (Sep 2005)

Voted YES on allowing Roth IRAs for retirees. (May 1998)

Voted YES on allowing personal retirement accounts. (Apr 1998)

Supports individual savings accounts and work incentives. (Sep 1998)

Voted NO on increasing tax rate for people earning over $1 million. (Mar 2008)

Voted YES on allowing AMT reduction without budget offset. (Mar 2008)

Voted YES on raising the Death Tax exemption to $5M from $1M. (Feb 2008)

Voted YES on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax. (Mar 2007)

Voted YES on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million. (Mar 2007)

Voted YES on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts. (Aug 2006)

Voted YES on permanently repealing the `death tax`. (Jun 2006)

Voted YES on retaining reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends. (Feb 2006)

Voted YES on extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends. (Nov 2005)

Voted YES on $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years. (May 2003)

Voted YES on across-the-board spending cut. (Oct 1999)

Voted YES on requiring super-majority for raising taxes. (Apr 1998)

Rated 69% by NTU, indicating "Satisfactory" on tax votes. (Dec 2003)

Rated 0% by the CTJ, indicating opposition to progressive taxation. (Dec 2006)

Voted NO on redeploying non-essential US troops out of Iraq in 9 months. (Dec 2007)

Voted YES on designating Iran's Revolutionary Guards as terrorists. (Sep 2007)

Voted NO on redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007. (Jun 2006)

Voted YES on requiring on-budget funding for Iraq, not emergency funding. (Apr 2005)

Voted YES on $86 billion for military operations in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Oct 2003)

Voted YES on authorizing use of military force against Iraq. (Oct 2002)

Supports $48 billion in new spending for anti-terrorism. (Jan 2002)

Okay, so he only voted with the GOP 71% of the time which I guess makes him a 71% friend but it doesn't make him a 29% enemy. (Republicans in Congress voted incorrectly many times for "earmarks" or idiotic moralizing legislation.) Smith is an honest and sane man operating within the corrupt and insane Democratic-controlled political arena in Oregon and DC.

The garden - the fruits of our labors

As you can see, our garden is pretty informal and even utilitarian. It's mostly fruit trees and veggies with a few flowering plants in the small two acre patch which has been cleared out of the dense forest.

There was nothing here when we bought the land except acres of forest, a new house and three small rose bushes - oh - and lots of weeds. The first thing I did was plant my South African lily bulbs which I brought from San Francisco. Next we planted a small orchard: several different kinds each of apples, plums, cherries, pears, peaches, apricots and a fig tree and a walnut tree.

Since then I have been collecting mostly Oregon native plants plus anything that can handle summer droughts and winter downpours and doesn't need too much heat or pampering.

Here are some pics that I took this afternoon. They're big so click to enlarge.

These are native Shasta daisies which grow like weeds here - well, most people treat them as weeds. I think they're gorgeous.























This is yarrow, also regarded as a weed here.























Here's a white lavatera in front of the tank holding water pumped up from the north creek which we use for irrigating the orchard. Hopefully it will one day obscure the tank which is not exactly pretty.























And here's a pink lavatera. Both lavateras were only 6 inches high when we planted them last year. Lavateras are Mediterranean mallows that thrive here.























This pic does not do justice to this rose which is a screaming shocking pink. This bloom decided to grow backwards into the veranda.























A passion-flower vine which we planted only last year. It's a subtropical plant but it survives here because it goes dormant in winter.























A white rambling rose which grew from a cutting that we took from one of our rental properties two years ago. Roses adore this climate but must be watered and fertilized in summer.























The swarms of dragon-flies have finally eaten all of our killer skeeters but we are now under attack by biting "no-see-ums" which I had never heard of till I moved here. They are so small that you can't see them unless they are swarming in a shaft of sunlight but their bite is bigger and nastier than a skeeter bite. Skeeter bites are small red bumps. "No-see-um" bites are whitish lumps the size of dimes. I haven't got a clue what they are. Everyone just calls them "no-see-ums" - and, yes, they love sucking my hot African blood.

Denturists

Soon after I moved to Oregon, my little dog, Corrie, chewed my front fake tooth and snapped it in two. The dentist told me that a replacement would cost $550. I had earlier noticed that there was a denturist lab (there are actually two) in town open to the public so I went there and had it repaired for $45.

Last year I lost another of my front teeth. I already had a partial for the one adjacent to it. Both front teeth had been broken when I did boxing and they eventually became loose. The dentist quoted $875 to make a new partial with two teeth instead of one. I went to the denturist and he added a second tooth the my existing plate for $150.

This morning I had to go pick up my new partial dentures for two bottom teeth that I have lost in the past year. My dentist told me it would cost $975. The denturist charged me $750.

Dealing directly with a denturist and not having to go through a dentist is only possible in Oregon.

Denturism is currently legal in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Oregon. In the first three States, the denturist must practice under the supervision of a dentist, but in Oregon the denturist is able to enter independent practice.

Our deliciously boring weather

When we decided to leave San Francisco, we spent a year researching every nook and cranny in the nation. We had three main criteria: crime, politics and climate.

The crime factor was obviously most important. After having been mugged for the first time in my fairly adventurous life (three times in SF) I decided that I did not want to live anywhere near "projects" aka crime infested shit-heaps populated by rats of the human persuasion.

So number one consideration was a place nowhere near a town which had "projects." That ruled out all big cities and most big towns. There were quite a few candidates that met that criterion. This area has very few violent crimes. There has been one murder in our town since we moved here five years ago and it was the first ever.

As for politics: after 25 years in the open-air lunatic asylum known as San Francisco, I knew that I had to move back to the USA and live among real Americans. Nearly everywhere except the big cities fit that criterion. Our town and county voted for Bush twice. The nearest town, North Bend, is another story: 70% of the population of 9,000 are Democrats. Ugh! But it keeps things balanced and they aren't as insane as those in SF. So the clincher was climate.

When I first moved to San Francisco 30 years ago, I hated the cold foggy windy summers but, after five years there during which I travelled all over the States, I realized that I loved the cool mild summers so I knew that wherever we moved had to have similar summers.

The weekly weather forecast for my neck of the woods was just on the TV news. Here it is:

Low temps in the wee hours of the morning - 46F.

High temps in the pm - 66F.

Foggy in the am and sunny and windy in the pm.

Actually that's the way it has been since early May and will be until late September when we will have our Indian summer.

The view from my bedroom window. Yep, those are my boring old Fairy Wands. Of course I no longer "see" the mesh screen which appears so obviously in a photo.

Power, authority, leadership and responsibility

In the sidebar of Sailor Curt's blog, Captain of a Crew of One, he has posted this:

I can take a leadership role if necessary but I don't enjoy being responsible for others; however I definitely don't like anyone else assuming responsibility for me.

Last night I was explaining this to Andy (who was also in the Navy - for 8 years) and told him what Sailor Curt had written because I agree with it 100%.

All my life I have had leadership roles and responsibility thrust upon me. I have accepted my fate only when it was obvious that it was essential (usually because it involved younger or less fortunate folks) but I really do not like to have power or authority over others.

As far as I'm concerned, once you're an adult, you are responsible for yourself. If you have the same abilities and talents as I have, then you are my equal and I will gladly work with you as a team member but don't expect me to play one-up-man-ship games or indulge in power trips. I can't be bothered.

This was the same attitude that most of our Founders had. The philosophy of individual sovereignty was the basis of their revolution. It's also the basis of conservatism. Real conservatives are not interested in taking responsibility for other adults - and definitely don't want others taking responsibility for us.

It's what distinguishes us from leftists who crave power over others and who are willing to manipulate others and play games in order to control others. And those "others" are willing to let them take responsibility. That's all so European and pre-American Revolution. It has a name: serfdom.

The only truly free people in this world are Americans who revere our Revolution and Constitution.

Dierama

Dierama is member of the grass family but it is more like an iris than a lily because it has corms rather than bulbs. It has many common names: hairbells, fairybells, wandflowers, angels fishing-rods, fairy wands. It is native to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa which has a similar climate to western Oregon. As a result it does very well here.

The top picture is of them growing in their natural habitat in the Cape. Below that are three pics of mine that I took this afternoon. They have now reached their peak and are starting to fade. Some blooms have already fallen off.

Today's naked redneck chicks' post

Gore calls for end of using fossil fuels for electricity in US by 2018.

Jo Stafford is dead

Benning posted a comment about this.

When I did this post about her last Sunday and wrote: "I did a search and found that yes, she is still alive and will be turning 91 in November," I suddenly had one of those eerie superstitious feelings and thought, "Oh no!" And then I stopped myself from putting the rest of my thought into words. But now that thought has happened.

Jo Stafford, who died on Wednesday aged 90, not only had one of the most pure, wide-ranging voices in American popular song – adored by wartime servicemen, who dubbed her GI Jo – but also the ability to parody appalling, off-key vocalising under the guises of Darlene Edwards and Cinderella G Stump.

She first came to notice as one of the Pied Pipers group which backed Frank Sinatra on his early recordings with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in the late 1930s, and she made a decisive retirement in the early 1960s.

[...]

Jo Elizabeth Stafford was born on November 12 1917 at Coalinga, a one-horse town between San Francisco and Los Angeles, to which her father Grover Cleveland Stafford had brought the family from Gainesboro, Tennessee, in the hope of making a fortune from oil.

[...]

Her mother, Anne, had been an adroit performer on the five-string banjo, and the folk music of Tennessee was to remain an influence on Jo's voice and some of her later repertoire.

Meanwhile, at school, she spent five years in classical training, with the notion that she might become an opera singer, but she realised that it would require even more time than that, and there was a living to be earned in the meantime.

God bless you, Jo. You will live in my heart whenever I listen to your beautiful voice on the many recordings of you that I have.

Here she sings Long Ago and Far Away in 1944:

Long ago and far away
I dreamed a dream one day
And now that dream is here beside me
Long the skies were overcast
But now the clouds have passed
You're here at last!

Chills run up and down my spine
Aladdin's Lamp is mine
The dream I dreamed was not denied me
Just one look and then I knew
That all I longed for
Long ago was you.

Here is Jo in one of her final public performances with my other favorite singer, Ella Fitzgerald:

AIDS in Africa- calling a spade a spade

From John Derbyshire at the Corner:

The other day I noted an article by the fine Irish opinion journalist Kevin Myers in the center-right broadsheet newspaper Irish Independent, commenting on the pointlessness of giving aid to Africa.

Now it looks as though Kevin is going to get Steyned:

Immigrant body lodges Garda complaint over Myers article

The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) yesterday lodged a complaint at Pearse Street Garda station, Dublin, and with the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) about the article, which was published in the Irish Independent last week with the heading, "Africa is giving nothing to anyone — apart from Aids".

ICI chief executive Denise Charlton said in a statement that the council believed the article breached section two of the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 …

The Garda is the Irish national police force. The NCCRI is a gang of totalitarian busybodies dedicated to stamping out freedom of speech and association.

From Kevin Myers' article:

No. It will not do. Even as we see African states refusing to take action to restore something resembling civilisation in Zimbabwe, the begging bowl for Ethiopia is being passed around to us, yet again. It is nearly 25 years since Ethiopia's (and Bob Geldof's) famous Feed The World campaign, and in that time Ethiopia's population has grown from 33.5 million to 78 million today.

So why on earth should I do anything to encourage further catastrophic demographic growth in that country? Where is the logic? There is none. To be sure, there are two things saying that logic doesn't count.

One is my conscience, and the other is the picture, yet again, of another wide-eyed child, yet again, gazing, yet again, at the camera, which yet again, captures the tragedy of . . .

Sorry. My conscience has toured this territory on foot and financially. Unlike most of you, I have been to Ethiopia; like most of you, I have stumped up the loot to charities to stop starvation there. The wide-eyed boy-child we saved, 20 years or so ago, is now a priapic, Kalashnikov-bearing hearty, siring children whenever the whim takes him.

[...]

Alas, that wretched country is not alone in its madness. Somewhere, over the rainbow, lies Somalia, another fine land of violent, Kalashnikov-toting, khat-chewing, girl-circumcising, permanently tumescent layabouts.

Indeed, we now have almost an entire continent of sexually hyperactive indigents, with tens of millions of people who only survive because of help from the outside world.

This dependency has not stimulated political prudence or commonsense. Indeed, voodoo idiocy seems to be in the ascendant, with the next president of South Africa being a firm believer in the efficacy of a little tap water on the post-coital penis as a sure preventative against infection. Needless to say, poverty, hunger and societal meltdown have not prevented idiotic wars involving Tigre, Uganda, Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea etcetera.

[...]

Meanwhile, Africa's peoples are outstripping their resources, and causing catastrophic ecological degradation. By 2050, the population of Ethiopia will be 177 million: The equivalent of France, Germany and Benelux today, but located on the parched and increasingly protein-free wastelands of the Great Rift Valley.

So, how much sense does it make for us actively to increase the adult population of what is already a vastly over-populated, environmentally devastated and economically dependent country?

How much morality is there in saving an Ethiopian child from starvation today, for it to survive to a life of brutal circumcision, poverty, hunger, violence and sexual abuse, resulting in another half-dozen such wide-eyed children, with comparably jolly little lives ahead of them? Of course, it might make you feel better, which is a prime reason for so much charity. But that is not good enough.

For self-serving generosity has been one of the curses of Africa. It has sustained political systems which would otherwise have collapsed.

Well, I can see why the Immigrant Council of Ireland and the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism have their tits in a tangle. But sadly, Myers hits the nail right on its head. I've been saying this for years and been vilified as a racist (and worse) for doing so.

One of the most annoying things (to me) that Bush has done is buy into the "aid for African AIDS victims." The fact is that most of the cases of AIDS in Africa are nothing of the sort. Africans are simply dying of the same diseases (caused by malnutrition and lack of hygiene) that they have always been succumbing to for centuries.

From The truth about AIDS in Africa by Jeff Kaplan:

The continent of Africa has been touted as an Aids disaster, by the CDC, via the media, for the past several years.

Whole villages are said to have disappeared, leaving thousands of children orphaned, with local economies strained to the breaking point, due to massive death by Aids. Hospitals are reportedly unable to handle the Aids load any longer.

Upon careful inspection, the picture begins to look different. The African population growth is higher than for any other continent, averaging 3 percent per year. This alone belies the supposed devastation by Aids.

The reported cases of Aids in Africa were found to be dramatically less than those reported in the US, even though a higher percentage of Africans are reported to be HIV +.

In Africa, the number of actual Aids cases is so low, that the risk of getting Aids, if you are HIV +, is 0.2 % per year.

[...]

In the United States, ninety percent of the Aids cases are male. In Africa, the Aids cases are equally distributed between the sexes. In America, and Europe, the vast majority of Aids patients are IV drug users, homosexuals, or hemophiliacs. In Africa, Aids patients are merely poor.

Remember that "Aids" is a syndrome, that is, it is a blanket term to describe a whole potpourri of different unrelated diseases, lumped together under the "Aids umbrella".

The more diseases that are grouped under the label of Aids, the more it appears that an epidemic has occurred.

In Europe and the USA, the clinical signs and symptoms of the various disease entities are strikingly different, as compared to those in Africa.

In the former cases, the prevalent Aids diseases are pneumonia, candidiasis, mycobacterial infections, Kaposi's sarcoma, dementia, and some 20 other diseases.

In Africa, it is fever, diarrhea, and tuberculosis.

These African Aids diseases occur 10 times more often, in Africa, than they do in the United States.

On the other hand, the European/American disease of Kaposi's sarcoma, occurs 10 times more often than it does in Africa.

There has not been a single case of death reported, by Pneumoncystis pneumonia, in Africa.

In America, Pneumoncystis pneumonia is a major cause of death from Aids.

In Africa, instead of the symptoms of fever, diarrhea, and tuberculosis being caused by HIV, a new cause has been proposed, and that is malnutrition, parasitic infections, and poor sanitary conditions.

It has been further noted that the incidence of the African Aids defining diseases of fever, diarrhea, and tuberculosis are equally distributed among HIV - Africans, as well as HIV+.

Prior to the discovery of HIV, protein malnutrition was identified by Aids researchers, as the world's leading cause of immunodeficiency, especially in underdeveloped countries where hunger is common.

The most notable paper was published by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of National Inst. of Allergies and Infectious Diseases. He was a cohort and supporter of Robert Gallo. He stated in his paper that the world's number one cause of T-Cell depletion was malnutrition, and that it is the number one cause of immune deficiency diseases.

In the United States and Europe, Aids is comprised of 25 different diseases, mainly the above named diseases of Kaposi's sarcoma, Pneumoncystis pneumonia, dementia, and mycobacterial infections.

In Africa, there are only 3 basic Aids diseases, or symptoms, the two main ones being starvation and parasitic disease.

[...]

The Ugandan Aids surveillance system is considered internationally, a model for the rest of Africa. Medical clinics which see many HIV +'s, commonly find very few Aids cases. Dr. Felix Konotey-Ahulu, M.D., and scientist, visited several cities of sub-Sahara Africa, trying to size up the Aids epidemic. His conclusion was, "If tens of thousands are dying from Aids (and Africans do not cremate their dead), where are the graves?"

Dr. Konotney-Alulu made a point of visiting several hospitals that were featured as hotbeds of the Aids epidemic, but he consistently found very few Aids cases.

Many African doctors themselves contribute to building the myth of an Aids epidemic, because Aids generates far more money in the Third World from Western Organizations than for any other infectious disease.

Where there is "Aids", there is money-a brand new clinic, a new Mercedes, modern testing facilities, high paying jobs, international conferences.

A leading African physician stated, "When doctors are sent to Aids conferences around the world, the per diem they receive is equal to what they earn in a whole year at home."

To a large extent, the African Aids epidemic may have grown out of a report by two French charity workers, Phillippe and Evelyne Krynen. The report came out in the late 1980's, and summarized their findings of devastated villages, abandoned homes, growing numbers of orphans, and a sexually transmitted Aids epidemic that was threatening to depopulate northern Tanzania.

The Krynens were the heads of Partage, the largest Aids charity for Tanzanian children.

The story the Krynens told, was one that the news media could not resist, and it is one that is still reprinted today. What is not printed or reported is the fact that the Krynens changed their minds.

[...]

A lot of folks were indeed dying, but from malaria and poverty-lack of food and sanitation. Among the sick and dying, they found only a 13.7% incidence of HIV, and of these, many were false positives for HIV, due simply to parasite infestations, and other infections.

Repeated tests among the HIV - people, continued to be negative. They found no correlation between being HIV + and any risk of illness, of any sort.

If simply fed and treated for the real illness they had, they recovered...you have no right to call any of these deaths, "Aids".

[...]

"It has always been like this here; they may need help, but it has nothing to do with Aids. It has become a racket, both Aids workers, and false "victims" are making a handsome profit."

Phillippe Krynen now flatly states, "There is no Aids. It is something that has been invented. There are no epidemiological grounds for it; it doesn't exist for us." (N. Hodgkinson, "African Aids Plague a Myth", Sunday Times of London, Oct. 3, 1993., and "The Plague That Never Was", N. Hodgkinson, Sunday Times of London, Oct. 2, '93.).

Phillippe Krynen went on to describe how the Aids epidemic is perpetrated for media consumption:

"Families just bring children as orphans, and if you ask how the parents died, they will say Aids. It is fashionable nowadays to say that, because it brings money and support. If you say your father died in a car accident, it is bad luck, but if he had died from Aids, there is an agency to help you. The local people have seen so many agencies coming, called Aids support programs, that they want to join this group of victims. Everybody claims to be a victim of Aids nowadays. Local people working for Aids agencies have become rich."

[...]

Many third world diseases are confused with Aids, even if they are not a part of its official definition.

Malaria, a leading cause of death in the Third World, produces fever and other symptoms frequently misdiagnosed as Aids.

Tuberculosis in an HIV + patient, exhibits the same symptoms as Tuberculosis in an HIV - patient.

Both have fever, weight loss, and productive cough. According to Dr. Konotney-Ahulu, who presented these findings, he could find no clinical difference between TB/HIV +, and TB/HIV - patients.

He also further stated that immuno-suppressive diseases have always been in Africa, and elsewhere.

I was living in the AIDS capital of the USA, San Francisco, when South African president, Thabo Mbeki, outraged the AIDS industry by claiming that HIV does not cause AIDS. He refused to make government funds available for anti-AIDS drugs and said that the money would be better spent on food. When I said that I agreed with him, I was told that I was insane.

Now, I must confess that I have been skeptical about AIDS since the get-go. The first person whom I knew who died of what later came to be known as AIDS (actually he died of Kaposi's sarcoma) was in 1981. He was a nurse in the hospital in which I worked. Prior to this he had had several bouts of gonorrhea and syphilis. He used to inject methamphetamine and spend his entire weekend having sex with hundreds of anonymous partners in the socalled "bath-houses." He was also an alcoholic, seldom ate a proper meal and did not get enough sleep. Within the year, 14 other people whom I knew died of the "gay plague" as it was still known. Many of them were nurses in the hospital and should have known better.

Before HIV was discovered, it seemed obvious to me that these people were getting sick because their immune systems were being destroyed by having unhygiene sex with total strangers who also had diseases as well booze, drugs and lack of sleep and proper food. In other words the same things that I had seen killing Africans in Africa since - oh since their ancestors climbed down out of the trees.

Poisonous plants

Yes, it's a very very slow news day.

20 Deadliest Plants on the Planet:

And the winner is...

1) Oleander (Nerium oleander)

All parts of this attractive bush are toxic especially the leaves and woody stems. Most poisonings have involved ingestions of the leaves. They cause severe digestive upset, heart trouble, and contact dermatitis. It is the deadliest plant in the world. In 2002, there were 847 known human poisonings in the United States related to Oleander and there are innumerable reported suicidal cases of consuming mashed oleander seeds in southern India.

2) Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia)

Biting into the leaf causes immediate intense, painful burning in the mouth. This houseplant is one of the most frequently involved in injury to young children. All parts are poisonous, causing intense burning, irritation, and immobility of the tongue, mouth, and throat. Swelling can be severe enough to block breathing leading to death. The Dieffenbachia is considered one of the deadliest plants on earth.

3) Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna)

All parts of this plant contain toxic. The young plants and seeds are especially poisonous, causing nausea, muscle twitches, paralysis; often fatal. Deadly nightshade or belladonna is one of the most toxic plants found in the Western Hemisphere. Children have been poisoned by eating as few as three berries. Ingestion of a leaf of the Belladonna can be fatal to an adult. The root of the plant is generally the most toxic part.

4) Jimson Weed (Datura stramonium)

This weed is the cause of the first recorded plant poisoning in the United States, in the Jamestown settlement. All parts of Jimson weed which is also known for a variety of names such as datura, thorn apple, stinkweed, and Jamestown weed are poisonous, causing abnormal thirst, vision distortions, delirium, incoherence, coma and often fatal.

5) Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia)

All parts of the often fatal plant named Angel's trumpet or Brugmansia contain the tropane alkaloids scopolamine and atropine.

6) Monkshood (Aconitum variegatum)

All parts of the plant are highly poisonous. Ancient warriors used it to poison their enemies' water supplies. Used in the past for killing wolves. It causes burning, tingling, and numbness in the mouth, then the intestine, followed by vomiting, death by asphyxiation.

7) Aconitum (Aconitum napellus)

The poison is concentrated in the unripe seed pods and roots, but all parts are poisonous. It causes digestive upset, nervous excitement. The juice in plant parts is often fatal. Canadian film actor Andre Noble died of aconitine poisoning in 2004, after accidentally ingesting it. Several species of Aconitum have been used as arrow poisons. The Minaro in Ladakh use A. napellus on their arrows to hunt ibex, while the Ainus in Japan used a species of Aconitum to hunt bear. The Chinese also used Aconitum poisons both for hunting, and for warfare.

8) Yew (Taxus baccata)

The seeds are the most poisonous although all parts of the plant, except for the fleshy red bit of the fruit, contain taxane alkaloids. The seeds being especially poisonous are quickly fatal when ingested.

9) White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima)

All parts are poisonous, causing nausea and vomiting. When consumed by cattle the meat and milk become contaminated. When milk or meat from cattle feeding on White Snakeroot is consumed by humans, the poison is passed onto humans and can result in tremetol poisoning called milk sickness (notably the cause of death of Nancy Hanks, mother of Abraham Lincoln). It is also poisonous to horses, goats, and sheep. Signs of poisoning in animals include depression and lethargy; hind feet placed close together (horses, goats, cattle) or held far apart (sheep), nasal discharge, excessive salivation, arched body posture, and rapid or difficult breathing.

10) Water Hemlock (Cicuta)

The most poisonous part of this plant is the root. The plant is occasionally mistaken for parsnips, due to its clusters of white tuberous roots; this is an often fatal error, as the Cicuta is extremely poisonous. It is considered to be North America's most toxic plant. Cicuta is fatal when swallowed, causing violent and painful convulsions. Though a number of people have died from water hemlock poisoning over the centuries, livestock have long been the worst affected (hence the name “cowbane”), causing death in as little as 15 minutes.

11) Moonseed (Manispermum)

The fruits and seeds of moonseed are poisonous, causing nausea and vomiting and are often fatal.

12) Privet (Ligustrum sp.)

The leaves and berries of privet are poisonous which causes digestive disturbances, nervous symptoms and can be fatal. Privet is one of several plants which are poisonous to horses. In the some parts of the world where they are not native, some privet species have become invasive weeds, spreading into wilderness areas and displacing native species. This is particularly a problem in North America, where no species of the genus occurs naturally. Privet is a huge problem in New Zealand. It is banned from sale or cultivation in New Zealand due to the effects of its pollen on asthma sufferers. Privet pollen is known to cause asthma and eczema in sufferers.

13) Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)

The smoke of burning poison ivy can cause reactions in the lungs, and can be fatal. All parts of poison-ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac contain highly irritating oil with urushiol (this is actually not a poison, but an allergen). Skin reactions can include blisters and rashes. It spreads readily to clothes and back again, and has a very long life. Infections can follow scratching.

14) Yellow Jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens)

Children have been poisoned sucking the nectar from the trumpet shaped flowers. All parts of this plant are poisonous, causing nausea and vomiting. It's possible to become ill from ingesting honey made from jasmine nectar. All parts of this plant contain toxin and should not be consumed. The sap may cause skin irritation in sensitive individuals. The nectar is also toxic to honeybees, and causes brood death when gathered by the bees.

15) Larkspur (Delphinium)

Young plants and seeds of larkspur are poisonous, causing nausea, muscle twitches, and paralysis and often fatal. Larkspur is a significant cause of cattle poisoning on rangelands in the western United States.

16) Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis)

The bulbs of hyacinth are poisonous, causing nausea, vomiting, gasping, convulsions, and possibly death.H. orientalis contains alkaloids and is toxic if eaten in large quantities. The bulb is the most poisonous part and should not be ingested under any circumstances.

17) Hemlock (Conium maculatum)

Ingestion of Poison Hemlock in any quantity can result in respiratory collapse and death. All parts of hemlock contain the relatively simple alkaloid coniine which causes stomach pains, vomiting, progressive paralysis of the central nervous system and can be fatal; it is the poison which killed Socrates and is toxic to people and all classes of livestock. Coniine causes death by blocking the neuromuscular junction.

18) Daphne (Daphne sp.)

The berries of Daphne either red or yellow are poisonous, causing burns to mouth and digestive tract, followed by coma and often fatal.

19) Castor Oil Plant (Ricinus communis)

The seeds of a Castor Oil Plant are extremely toxic. It causes burning in mouth and throat, convulsions, and is often fatal. The toxicity of raw castor beans is well-known, and reports of actual poisoning are relatively rare. Children could conceivably die from as few as three beans; adults may require eight or more.

20) Doll's Eyes (Actaea pachypoda)

This weird-toy-looking plant is very poisonous. Berries of doll's eyes are highly poisonous, as well as all other parts is considered poisonous to humans. The berries contain cardiogenic toxins which can have an immediate sedative affect on human cardiac muscle tissue, and are the most poisonous part of the plant. Ingestion of the berries can lead to cardiac arrest and death.

21) Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

The leaves, seeds, and flowers of this lovely-looking plant are poisonous. These cause irregular heartbeat, and generally digestive upset and confusion and can be fatal. The entire plant is poisonous including the roots and seeds. The leaves of the upper stem are particularly potent, with just a nibble being enough to potentially cause death. Early symptoms of ingestion include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, abdominal pain, wild hallucinations, delirium, and severe headache. The plant is toxic to animals including all classes of livestock, as well as cats and dogs.

Yes, the article said 20 plants but there are 21. There were also a number of other errors such as misspelling of botanical names etc.

I knew about most of these plants but had not heard that privet is poisonous.

Oleander and Brugmansia are very common garden plants in South Africa and one of the first things my parents told us kids was to stay away from them. We were also warned never to eat the seeds of the Castor Oil plant (Ricinus) which grows like a weed in South Africa. The deadly poison, ricin, is made from the seeds of the Castor Oil plant.

Many of these plants have been used in pharmacy for centuries. The alkaloid atropine is extracted from Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna) and Tincture of Belladonna was used to reduce acidity in the stomach long before all the fancy antacids like Zantac and Prilosec were invented.

Jimson weed and its cousins (Datura) have been used in pharmacy for decades. The alkaloids scopolamine, atropine, and hyoscyamine are extracted from them.

The chemotherapeutic, Taxol, used for breast cancer, is made from yew (Taxus Baccata.)

One of the oldest pharmaceuticals made from plants is digitoxin (used to slow down the heartbeat and reduce blood pressure) which is extracted from the Foxglove (Digitalis.)

The difference between the American Revolution and the French Revolution

Today was Bastille Day which the French celebrate as the first day of their Revolution of 1789; their Independence Day - sort of but not quite.

Washington, Adams and Hamilton immediately realized that the French Revolt was not quite the same as our War of Independence. Even Thomas Jefferson, who was very enthusiastic about the French Revolution at first, eventually recoiled from it.

Our revolution's watch-words were "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The watch-words of the French Revolution were "liberty, equality, brotherhood." In other words, the Americans understood freedom to be an individual right while the French saw it as a collective right. In order to bring about "equality"and "brotherhood" it is an absolutely necessary requirement to sacrifice individual sovereignty for the "greater good" and that can only be achieved by coercion.

Although Jean-Jacques Rousseau died in 1778, it is his ridiculous romantic ideas of equality that inspired the French Revolution. We can thank Rousseau and the French Revolutionaries for introducing emotionalism and subjectivity.

To this day we are fighting the same battle between the rationalism and objectivity of the American Revolution and the emotionalism and subjectivity of the French Revolution whose modern-day adherents in the West are the Marxists and socialists. Thank Rousseau for communism, Fascism and Nazism and all totalitarianisms because "equality" and "brotherhood" can only be achieved through totalitarianism. As C.S. Lewis wrote in the Screwtape Letters:

Hidden in the heart of this striving for Liberty there was also a deep hatred of personal freedom. That invaluable man Rousseau first revealed it. In his perfect democracy, only the state religion is permitted, slavery is restored, and the individual is told that he has really willed (though he didn't know it) whatever the Government tells him to do. From that starting point, via Hegel (another indispensable propagandist on our side), we easily contrived both the Nazi and the Communist state. Even in England we were pretty successful. I heard the other day that in that country a man could not, without a permit, cut down his own tree with his own axe, make it into planks with his own saw, and use the planks to build a toolshed in his own garden.

Lewis wrote the Screwtape Letters in 1942. So, if anyone thinks Britain has suddenly succumbed to "political correctness" and government coercion, think again. The whole of Europe has been in thrall to the French Revolution's hideous ideas of "equality" and state control for 219 years. The only truly free people in the world are Americans. Unfortunately our home-grown commies hate freedom just as much as the Europeans.

The American Revolution will need to be fought for until doomsday. The price of freedom is after all eternal vigilance.

The barbarians at the gate

There are more slaves in the world today than there ever were when it was legal: probably as many as 27,000,000. As many as 17,000 are brought into the USA annually. There are about a million slaves in Africa and 24 million in Asia. Who are these modern slaves? And I'm not talking about sex slaves although they do exist. Most modern slaves are enslaved due to debts incurred sometimes several generations ago. From People for Sale:

Most people imagine that slavery died in the 19th century. Since 1810, more than a dozen international conventions banning the slave trade have been signed. Yet today there are more slaves than at any time in human history.

And if you’re going to buy one in five hours, you’d better get a move on. First, hail a taxi to JFK International Airport and hop on a direct flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The flight takes three hours. After landing, take a tap-tap, a flatbed pickup retrofitted with benches and a canopy, three-quarters of the way up Route de Delmas, the capital’s main street. There, on a side street, you will find a group of men standing in front of Le Réseau (the Network) barbershop. As you approach, a man steps forward: “Are you looking to get a person?”

Meet Benavil Lebhom. He smiles easily. He has a trim mustache and wears a multicolored striped golf shirt, a gold chain, and Doc Martens knockoffs. Benavil is a courtier, or broker. He holds an official real estate license and calls himself an employment agent. Two-thirds of the employees he places are child slaves. The total number of Haitian children in bondage in their own country stands at 300,000. They are restavèks, the “stay-withs,” as they are euphemistically known in Creole. Forced, unpaid, they work in captivity from before dawn until night. Benavil and thousands of other formal and informal traffickers lure these children from desperately impoverished rural parents with promises of free schooling and a better life.

The negotiation to buy a child slave might sound a bit like this:

“How quickly do you think it would be possible to bring a child in? Somebody who could clean and cook?” you ask. “I don’t have a very big place; I have a small apartment. But I’m wondering how much that would cost? And how quickly?”

“Three days,” Benavil responds.

“And you could bring the child here?” you inquire. “Or are there children here already?”

“I don’t have any here in Port-au-Prince right now,” says Benavil, his eyes widening at the thought of a foreign client. “I would go out to the countryside.”

You ask about additional expenses. “Would I have to pay for transportation?”

“Bon,” says Benavil. “A hundred U.S.”

Smelling a rip-off, you press him, “And that’s just for transportation?”

“Transportation would be about 100 Haitian,” says Benavil, “because you’d have to get out there. Plus, [hotel and] food on the trip. Five hundred gourdes”—around $13.

[...]

It would be nice if that conversation were fictional. It is not. I recorded it in October 2005 as part of four years of research into slavery on five continents.

The sad fact is that, while we in the West live in the 21st century, we're only 10% of the world's total population. The other 90% live in varying degrees of societal, political and cultural development all the way from from the Stone Age (in the jungles of Africa, Amazonia and Papua-New Guinea) to an approximation of modernity in the socalled "developing nations" but the vast majority of human beings are still uncivilized barbarians.

Now is not the time to play footsy with these folks. The Muslims are the most bellicose of them (and are still some of the worst modern slave owners and traders as they have always been) but none of them are our equals morally, culturally or politically. Multiculturalism, moral equivalency and their ugly cousin, "political correctness" are quite simply ploys by Western Marxist Fifth Columnists to use the barbarians to destroy freedom and capitalism. The War on Terror is only one facet of the Great War for Civilization which we will be waging for the next few centuries.

I live better than royalty

I'm not boasting. I'm counting my blessings. I've just had dinner: roast beef, roast potatoes, drippings gravy and fresh sweet snow peas from the garden with a bottle of Menage a Trois Napa Valley meritage (a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and California's unique varietal, zinfandel.) Next I'll have dessert: fresh baked lemon cake with kiwi fruit slices and whipped cream followed by a few more episodes of John Adams.

Yes, I am very materialistic. I count my other more ephemeral and less visible blessings too (such as my faith in my Creator and a peaceful conscience that lets me sleep like a baby) but I do love my material comforts - especially food and wine.

I'm picky about what I spend my money on. I could have bought a fancier a house with less land but I chose a plain old bunk-house with lots of land instead. I could have spent my money on fancy cars but my truck and station wagon suit me fine. I could have bought fancy furniture but the stuff I've had for nearly 30 years suits me fine. I prefer to spend my money on good food and fine wine.

In a previous life-time when I was living in a monastery, my Brother Superior asked me to be completely honest about what I really wanted out of life. I was a Holy Joe at the time and I'm sure he expected me to say that I wanted to devote my life to the poor. So, when I told him what I really wanted, he asked me of I was really serious about my "vocation" because, as he said: "You are obviously a very materialistic person."

Guess what I told him. I told him that I wanted exactly what I have got right now: a house in a forest surrounded by animals, plants and lots of lovely food. I had gone homeless and hungry too many times in my impoverished youth (during the ten years that my father was sick and dying) to think that a cozy home and food were unimportant.

Patrick Joubert Conlon for President

Andy the Redneck posted this link in the comments.

Thanks, Andy. I really enjoyed that but I'm still scratching my silly head trying to figure out how it's done. Of course I have to decline because I was not born in the USA. ;-)

"GI Jo"

Last night we were listening to Jo Stafford during dinner and I wondered if she is still alive so I did a search and found that yes, she is still alive and will be turning 91 in November.

Stafford is one of my all time favorite Big Band singers. (She sang with the Tommy Dorsey Band.) Some of my earliest musical memories are of Jo Stafford's and Doris Day's Big Band hits in the late Forties and early Fifties. Of course this means nothing to to those who think music is rap, hip-hop or the awful tuneless screeching which passes for pop music nowadays.

Stafford was nicknamed "GI Jo" because she spent so much time touring with the USO in the last years of WWll and the Korean War. She was the first recording artist to sell twenty-five million records.












































Her biggest hit was "You Belong To Me" which she recorded in 1952. Here it is:

See the pyramids along the Nile
Watch the sun rise on a tropic isle
Just remember, darling, all the while
You belong to me.

See the marketplace in old Algiers
Send me photographs and souvenirs
But remember when a dream appears
You belong to me.

I'll be so alone without you
Maybe you'll be lonesome too---and blue

Fly the ocean in a silver plane
Watch the jungle when it's wet with rain
Just remember till you're home again
You belong to me

Home is where the heart is

Digby welcomes me home.


















Nearly all the South African Fairy Wands are in bloom now.























I just had to have a sniff of my favorite rose. Chas came over and asked if I wanted my pic taken. This lavender rose has such a strong perfume that one bloom will fill the house with its heavenly scent.


















The bunk-house.

The Manchurian Democratic Candidate

On January 11, 2007 the DNC announced that the Democratic Party National Convention would take place in Denver from Monday, August 25 to Thursday, August 28, 2008.

The 2004 Democratic National Convention took place from July 26 to July 29, 2004.

The 2000 Democratic National Convention took place from August 14 to August 17,

Why was August 28 chosen as the final day of the convention; the day on which the party's nominee formally accepts the nomination? Is it because August 28 happens to be the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech of 1963.

There would have been no historical significance to the date, August 28th, if the nominee had been Hillary Clinton or that Southern sissy boy, whose name I have forgotten.

Perhaps that date was chosen because the DNC already knew who the nominee would be way back in January 2007. Maybe they had Obama all lined up, ready and groomed to go years ago. We now know that the Democratic primaries are a sham; that their Super Delegates are the real king-makers.

How wonderfully significant it will be that Obama will be making this acceptance speech on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

A helluva day

A couple of weeks ago, I was pulling into a parking spot in the 7/11 near my trailer park when the car in the spot to my left suddenly backed out without looking. The lady driver was reversing too quickly and really dinged my driver-side front door. She was very polite and apologetic and had insurance so I wasn't too annoyed - until I had to deal with the insurance company and the body shop. The adjustor couldn't deal with the inspection until a week later and then the body shop (the local Ford dealer) couldn't do the job until today.

So I got up at the crack of dawn after only five hours of sleep to take the car to the shop (which is about as far from where I live as you can get in the Bay Area) only to find that the adjustor had not made arrangements for me to get a loaner car. The only vehicle that they had to lend me was a huge gas-guzzling Ford panel-van. The gears, brakes and console are similar enough to my F150 so I had no problems there but talk about blind spots. It's as bad as driving one of those Hertz moving vans.

That's why I didn't blog today. I was sleep-deprived, grumpy and had to put out the usual Monday morning fires at the park. Tomorrow I will take the van back and hopefully exchange it for a reasonable vehicle while my car is in the shop for the next 4 days - or more if the power window mechanism is busted. And I have a dental appointment in the morning too. Grrr!

PS I have since found out that the lady who dinged me is notorious in the Bay Area for dinging other vehicles in parking lots and her last claim hasn't even been processed yet. She's lucky that she is still a good-looking babe even though she's probably about 45. But she doesn't rely on her looks. She's really classy too. A real lady - but I pity her husband because she is one high-maintenance babe. I hope he's rich. It could have been worse: I could have been dinged by an illegal alien with no insurance.

Actinic keratosis

For the last years ten years or so I've had a reddish spot on my cheekbone under my left eye. One morning I woke up and was washing my face when I noticed that the reddish spot seemed to have a grid mark on it - just like the blankets that I had recently started to use - you know those cotton thermal blankets that they use in hospitals with the wide weave which are lighter and more comfy than heavy woollen blankets.

"Ah hah!" I thought; "so that's what that red spot is. It's the blanket." I sleep mostly on my left side and I figured that I somehow kept pulling the blanket up under my face and it kept leaving an impression on my skin.

Not quite. The reddish spot came and went but, a few months ago, it started to become permanent and turned dry and flaky and then, I noticed that a similar reddish spot was developing on my right cheekbone. That's when I realized that I may have actinic keratosis (AK.) So I started researching what treatments were available. Until recently there were no treatments and many elderly folks had AK spots on their faces and scalps.

AK should not be confused with seborrheic keratosis (or "Barnacles on the Skin"):

Benign lesions that don't ever turn into cancer, seborrheic keratoses, or Seb K's for short, can look dangerous. In reality they are just annoying. Also irreverently called barnacles, they come in all different shapes and sizes from large black growths to barely noticeable raised areas.

The wicked witch with a wart on her nose probably had a Seb K not a wart. So how can you tell if that bump on your face or chest is actually a Seb K? They do have some defining characteristics.

They are classically described as looking like someone took clay or a blob of dirt and "stuck" it on the skin. The edge of the seborrheic keratosis is not attached to the underlying skin making it appear that it could be removed by picking it off with your fingernail. This is because seborrheic keratoses arise from the epidermis, or top layer of skin. They don't extend deep into the skin like warts. What you see is what you get.

I developed two small brown spots on my shoulders a few years ago and went to a dermatologist thinking that they may be AK but was assured that I was simply turning into a witch getting old and ugly and had Seb K aka "barnacles." Unlike Seb K, AK, can turn into skin cancer.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S., with over one million new cases diagnosed every year. Left untreated, skin cancers can be very dangerous, but with early detection — and intervention — most are curable.

Actinic keratosis (AK), also known as solar keratosis, by far the most common precancer, is the result of prolonged exposure to sunlight. It is a small crusty or scaly bump or horn that arises on or beneath the skin surface. The base may be light or dark, tan, pink, red, or a combination of these ... or the same color as your skin. The scale or crust is horny, dry and rough, and is often recognized by touch rather than sight. Occasionally it itches or produces a pricking or tender sensation. It can also become inflamed and surrounded by redness. In rare instances, actinic keratoses can bleed.

The skin abnormality or lesion develops slowly and usually reaches a size from an eighth to a quarter of an inch (2mm to 4mm) but can sometimes be as large as one inch. Early on, it may disappear only to reappear later. It is not unusual to see several AKs at a time. AKs are most likely to appear on the face, lips, ears, scalp, neck, backs of the hands and forearms, shoulders and back — the parts of the body most often exposed to sunshine. The growths may be flat and pink or raised and rough.

Actinic keratoses can be the first step leading to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Some studies show that ten percent do advance, and 40-60 percent of SCCS begin as untreated AKs.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer, with over 250,000 new cases per year estimated in the United States. It arises in the squamous cells that compose most of the upper layer of the skin. Most SCCs are not serious. When identified early and treated promptly, the future is bright.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of cancer, with about a million new cases estimated in the U.S. each year.

Until recently many old folks had some form of AK (or even SCC and BCC) and did nothing about it. Now there are many treatments including a topical cream.

3M granted FDA approval for cream to treat superficial basal cell carcinoma:

16-Jul-2004

3M announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first prescription therapy in nearly a decade for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC), a type of nonmelanoma skin cancer. Aldara(TM) (imiquimod) Cream, 5%, a topical immune response modifier, is now available to treat biopsy-confirmed, primary sBCC in adults with normal immune systems.

In March, Aldara Cream received FDA approval for the treatment of certain types of actinic keratosis (AK) (clinically typical, nonhyperkeratotic, nonhypertrophic) on the face or scalp in adults with normal immune systems. AK is a precancerous skin condition with lesions often occurring on the face or scalp. Both AK and sBCC are skin conditions caused by chronic sun exposure.

[...]

About Superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma

According to the American Cancer Society, more than one million new cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer occur in the United States each year. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) affects an estimated 800,000 Americans each year, and there are four types of BCC comprised of superficial, nodular, pigmented, ulcerating or sclerosing types.

Individuals with fair skin, blond or red hair and blue or green eyes, and those living in sunny climates are at the greatest risk for developing sBCC. Usually, sBCC develops on sun-exposed areas of the body. Superficial BCC can appear as red, finely wrinkled, scaly patches that occasionally have a fine, pearly border.

Common treatments for sBCC include surgical excision, cryosurgery (freezing), curettage (scraping) and electrodesiccation (burning).

About Actinic Keratosis

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, AK affects as many as 10 million Americans each year. Caused by chronic sun exposure, AK is a precancerous skin condition, which often occurs on the face and scalp.

Actinic keratosis appears as rough, red, scaly patches or crusts on the skin. AK lesions usually measure less than one quarter inch in diameter and more than 80 percent of lesions occur on the upper limbs, head and neck. Individuals with fair skin, light hair and light-colored eyes are at greatest risk for AK. Because AK is caused by cumulative sun exposure, it can take years to develop. The condition usually appears first in older people, although cases have been reported in people in their 40s.

Common AK treatments include cryotherapy (freezing), surgical excision, electrodesiccation (burning), curettage (scraping), lasers, topical chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy.

I will be going to a dermatologist to confirm my own diagnosis but I do have all the classic risk factors: I was born with blond hair which turned reddish as I got older and have green eyes and fair skin and I had dozens of really bad sunburns as a kid in sunny South Africa to the point where my skin peeled off so deeply that it even bled sometimes. I think I'll try the cream before the other more drastic treatments.