Palin's Prophecy and Politics

I have not read her book (since it comes out today) and I may not, but I’ll think about it and eventually when somebody loans me a copy I will peruse it. But as yet, I’m not ready to fork over the dough to buy a copy of a "tell some, spin some and hold some back, as told to book".

Very few politicians of the past were able to write their memoirs without the help of a skilled writer. It is the way of the 20^th and 21^st century of casting a spin on what you want people to think and to believe and what you want to correct, in your opinion, as an inaccuracy.

Governor Palin has the right to engage a storyteller to tell her story.

Christie Whitman, former governor of New Jersey did it. President Jerry Ford did it. Many other leaders have done it before and will do it in the future and that’s fine.

But here's my “but”.

If this were truly her thoughts, her concession speech to America that she was not allowed to make; if these are her words, her feelings and emotions, her right of passage to a presidential candidacy, then I have to ask, why did she not write much of the book herself?  An as told "to" book is not the same as writing it yourself and having an accomplished editor clarify, punctuate and spell your words correctly.

If you are astute, aware, and intelligent enough to be the President of these United States, then you ought not need a ghostwriter to codify your hopes, your wishes, answer your critics and refute allegations of what was and then offer your expectations for a future America.

OK, I guess that pretty much puts me in the arena of not supporting Ms. Palin for President. That does not mean I don’t like her or her politics. It means I have a lot of questions to ask and she has a lot of answers to give me before I think she is qualified to by my leader.

Snowbirds

It is that time of year.

The folks who can, leave the cold of the northeast and head to the warmer climes of Florida for the winter or an extended visit. The permanent residents of Florida call them "snowbirds."

Thousands of people head south in trains and rarely drive the distance from Virginia to Florida. The auto-train is the preferred method of transportation if you are taking your car with you. I went down twice on the auto-train. Once to give a speech and then visit friends and the other time to get out of the cold for two weeks. My experience led to the following poetic ditty.

Snowbirds
© 2008 Rolland G. Smith

Quilted coats, shuffled steps and canes
Are what you find on South bound trains.
The halt, the lame, the elderly
The ill, the weak, and crotchety
Are Florida bound in cubby holes
With all their flaws and hairy moles.

Snowbirds they’re called without respect.
They flock to Florida’s warmth prospect.
If you are younger and can watch
Count the wrinkles, connect the blotch,
And you will see where you may be
Before they site your eulogy.

It is with respect that I acknowledge the elder in others and within myself and I understand just how close I am to the poetic expression of my words. The only counsel I would give all who call themselves or see themselves or know themselves to be elderly is to smile, laugh, tease the young and throw your healthful caution to the wind for it will carry you to places of wonder that cannot be seen or experienced in the morning light of youth.

Tristadecaphobia

Today is Friday the 13th.

Some thoughts on Tristadecaphobia.

The fear of the number thirteen.

The superstitution is ancient, it may have been enhanced during the time of Christ.  There were 13 people at  the last supper before Christ was betrayed.  Also, it is believed the crucifixion took place on a Friday, so the combination of the number and the day became a bad omen.

In American history, however, the number thirteen is esoterically prominent.

Take out a dollar bill.  Look at the back side.  In the two circles you will find both the front and reverse sides of the great seal of the United States.

Look at the eagle. In the left tallon he holds 13 arrows.  In the right tallon, an olive branch.  On it, 13 leaves and 13 berries.  The ribbon in the eagles beak contains the latin phrase " E Pluribus Enum".  Count the letters.  Thirteen.

The other side of the seal shows an unfinished pyramid.  Count the steps.  Thirteen.  The inscription "Annuit Coeptis" also contains thirteen letters.

Perhaps thirteen is not unlucky by it's nature.  Perhaps it responds to the energy we give it.  Like so many things, our response to something or someone, is directly related to the quality of our input.

Being positive or negative is a choice.

PTSD

This morning I am offering a small consideration of thought to a very large serious subject. I have no expertise in this condition nor do I want to diminish the legitimacy and trauma of those who are going through it.

I just watched a magnificent program on PBS on PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I won’t go into the technological or even medical symptoms of this disorder that affects so many of the young soldiers returning from the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan. I leave that to qualified medical personnel.

What I’d like to offer for thought is the legitimacy and efficacy of “spirit.” Not a single medical doctor or trained psychologist in the program mentioned, “spirit.” It is an understandable omission for science has yet to embrace the power of this unseen and unknowing force. Deep within each of us there is a gnosis of that power and its effect as a prime motivator within our being. We feel it even though we can't see it.

I believe our minds and bodies are motivated, controlled, influenced and even directed by our spirits, the divine essence of our being. That thought works for me. I think spirit is the only thing to survive our physical demise and therefore is the catylist of action, now and forever. The mind ends, as does the body; the spirit goes on forever.


What if...what if our spirits have evolved to a level where violence, killing, war, conflict, anything inimical to our natural spiritual condition of divine love is no longer a valid action or even a desired skill as a personal accoutrement of our “Being?”

What if?

Where does that leave us in the conflict between training for war, service to country or faith and the innate knowing within our hearts?

Having said that I do understand the difference between the necessity of stopping a bully and offering compassion and tough love. It is a very hard choice, both for individuals and for countries.

Veterans Day

It is right to honor those who serve this country. It is right to have this day of public appreciation. It is right to acknowledge in ceremony, and song, in words and prayer, the special gifts each veteran contributes to freedom, and liberty, democracy.

To each veteran today, America says thank you for your gift of time, thank you for your gifts of life, thank you for your gift of limb and thank you for your gift of talent, courage and bravery.

Veteran means people not gender. It means men and women. It means combatants and non-combatants alike, for a veteran's strength and a nation’s strength are one. It is both assertive and nurturing.

In the past, men and women have served separately, but equally for an ideal. Today they serve together and today they are honored together. It is right.

Having said that with humility and due honor to all vets, I would like to add a thought that not only honors our veterans, but exalts them as well.  If we never had to fight again and no one ever died in the anger and rage of war, they would have been the last to do so. What a world that would be.

November 11^th, 1911, at the eleventh hours an armistice was signed to end the First World War and supposedly all wars. The First World War was the war to end all wars.

Yeah right!

Humanity did not learn it then and it did not learn it in previous or subsequent wars and conflicts.

I wonder why?

Is not the phenomenal number of dead, both civilian and combatants, on both sides enough to let us collectively see the insanity of war?

We fought the British and today they are our fast and loyal friends.

We fought the French and today they are our friends.

We fought among ourselves and today we are one united nation.

We fought the Kaiser Germans and today Germany is our friend.

We fought the Germans again and the Italians and today we are friends.

We fought the Japanese and today we are allies and fierce competitors.

We are still working on friendships with the North Korea and the Vietnamese and with the Iraqis and Afghans, but given the path of history, I suspect friendship will evolve in time.

Since we seem to eventually become allies and friends and trading partners with most of those we have killed or tried to kill and who killed us, isn’t there some way we can see beyond bombs and bloodshed to accomplish a camaraderie in global living?

 

Fort Hood

How do we begin to understand the deep desperation, the consuming hatred of Dr. Hasan who viewed life with such little value and with so much darkness, that he could not see a future beyond the deaths and injury of his fellow soldiers.

What lesson did he hope to teach? It certainly is not one from the Koran. The true Islamic faith does not teach or preach terrorism or murder. Extremists do teach terrorism and murder. Extremists in all venues encourage and practice violence and indiscriminate terror.

         There are no clean or clear answers to the question "why". There is only speculation with charges and accusations. Discernment is always difficult when tragedy is the precursor to reason. We must not forget that judgments grow from many seeds and if we plant the wrong seed, vengeance usurps justice and drags us to the level of the killer or the fanatic.

         Some will find comfort in God. Some will look elsewhere. Some will need to forgive, some will need to blame and some will need to hate. All need to heal and to rebuild from the empty holes in our hearts and at Fort Hood. And we still ask why and expect no answer we can understand.

Hurricane Ida and Gasoline

Here are some Sunday headlines out of the Gulf of Mexico regarding hurricane Ida and oil platforms in the Gulf.

“* BP, Marathon shut production in Gulf of Mexico
* Louisiana Offshore Oil Port stops tanker offloading
* Chevron, Anadarko evacuating workers, no output shut
* Exxon preparing for possible shutdowns (Adds BP, Marathon output shut, Exxon preparing for possible shutdowns, helicopter company comments, double byline)”

In the interest of full disclosure, I have nothing against the oil companies accept for their penchant for greed.

There is a hurricane heading to the oil patch in the Gulf of Mexico. It is described and predicted by the Weather Service to be a category two hurricane. UPDATE: As of this morning - Monday - Ida is a category ONE hurricane

One and Two's are elatively small compared to the maximum force of five. The winds will probably be around 100-miles per hour. Strong? Yes, but generally not destructive enough to harm or destroy oil platforms. Wave height is another factor in the design of these deep-sea rigs.

Most of the rigs have been through stronger hurricanes in the past and survived.

What I am suggesting is that by shutting down the oil production, even though Ida is not a strong hurricane, is a ploy to raise gasoline prices.

I’ll bet we see a four to six cents a gallon increase in gasoline in the next two to three weeks. The oil companies will blame hurricane Ida even though the shutting down those platforms for a few days may not really affect their cost per barrel of oil.

It happens over and over and we take it.