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Thursday, December 13, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Taking America Back One Bit At A Time _ Part 6, The Process of ...
Earlier posts in this series can be found here: Part 1, Introduction, Part 2, The Founding, Part 3, The Taking, Part 4, The Taking continued, and Part 5, Looking Beyond December 2012.
{NOTE: This is the last post in this series and it is long.}
In Part 5, we speculated about the future. We divided the future into three parts:?1.) from December 2012 until the debt time bomb goes off, 2.) the period of chaos after the debt bomb goes off, and 3.) after the chaos. We will want to keep those three parts of the future in mind as we talk about how can work at taking America back, not in ?our time but in some future time. For me, I think about my great-grandchildren and those that will follow.
In thinking about the future in the three timeframes listed above, we have no way of know how long those time periods will be. But, for the purposes of this discussion let?s make some assumptions. Let?s assume that the debt bomb will go off in fifteen years. Let?s further assume that the period of chaos will last ten to fifteen years and after that order will begin to take place; whether naturally or imposed by The Powers That Be. With that time frame in mind, we then can set our goal of taking America back at two or more generations; 50 to 60 years from now. We can?t let the length of time break our spirit. Reality is a tough master. The chances of taking America back may be remote, but remote is good enough for me.
I am going to propose as a starting point for discussion five main pillars of focus for Taking America Back One Bit At A Time. Some these came to me from an article by Andrew Klavan. The others came to me from where I do not know for sure. Please understand that I am not claiming to have all the answers. I don?t. I am just throwing out some ideas here.
- Making Red States Redder
- Taking Back Our Children?s Education
- Putting Conservatism Back In Mainstream Media
- Putting Conservatism Back In The Entertainment Industry
- Putting God and Christianity Back In America?s Culture
I will talk about each of these bullet points and I will make reference to the Klavan article. To ?start with, the tag line of the Klavan article is:?Three areas the Right should address, financially and intellectually. In a Bill Whittle video thrown together within hours of knowing that Obama had won a second term, he makes a similar point. The point is if we patriots are serious about wanting to take America back, we are going to have to put our money where are mouths are. From those of us who can only give the least to the Koch brothers who can give the most, When organizations come to life that are trying to move forward on issues we believe in, we must be ready to give what we can.
Making The Red States Redder
When I first proposed that conservatives start thinking long-term, I didn?t get a lot of support. A few commenters said we need to focus on the local and state level as the way to begin taking our country back. If these commenters thought they were disagreeing with me, they were not. Taking our states back has to be an important pillar in taking our country back. Where better to start than in the states that have a majority of conservative voters, the Red States?
We patriotic conservatives to get involved in the Party structure in their cities and counties. That will give them a voice in choosing local and state candidates. Even in Red States we need to be sure we are electing true conservatives. Then maybe they can get control on these unelected planning commissions that can?t help themselves from accepting state and federal grants in exchange for implementing Smart Growth and Sustainable Living projects which are part of the UN?s Agenda 21 program to get everybody to ?lower their standard of living and to take land out of private hands and put it into limited use categories. If Red States can get enough true conservatives in their state houses maybe they could stop participating in optional federal programs. Doing so means giving up federal funds but that is what is needed so that states are not being told what to do by the federal government. And, of course, we need to elect true conservatives to the House and Senate.
What about those that live in Blue States? They can focus on the counties and districts that are not blue. And if you live in a blue county, contribute to candidates in red counties.
Taking Back Our Children?s Education
When it comes to our children?s education, we need to be thinking on a two-pronged attack. K-12 is one and universities is another. And, in my opinion, for the first many years we should be concentrating on only the education of the children of conservatives. When we know we have them taken care of, then we can expand to take in all children.
- K-12 _ ?Bill Whittle in the video linked above talked about himself possibly setting up some private for profit companies to provide services that conservatives want. ?His idea was that if 10 million conservatives contributed $10 per month to this company, that would be $1.2 billion per year and you can do a lot of good with that kind of money. Further more, because it is a for profit company, if the service or product isn?t deemed worth the price, the company will soon be out of business. So, he has some ideas on how to provide a good alternative to public schools. For many people home schooling is an alternative but for many more it is not. So,, maybe we need a network of homeschoolers who are willing to take on a few more students. Depending on the community and the types of businesses in the area there is the option of groups of concerned parents banning together and renting some space and then look for retired people who would love to teach, at least part-time.??And, businesses are often willing to let some of their qualified ?staff to?teach a course or, at least some lengthy seminars.?The point is that conservatives need to get their children and grandchildren out of public schools now! There are alternatives. We just need to put our collective heads together to find ones that will work.
- Universities _ Universities were once places where ideas were freely debated. Not anymore. Free speech is only for those that practice political correctness and multiculturalism and progressivism. Taking back our universities is a longer term proposition. Remember that I am just throwing out ideas here. If Whittle?s idea could work for a for-profit company, why couldn?t it work for a non-profit company; say a foundation. With $1.2 billion per year, a lot of good could be done. Couldn?t such a foundation work to promote a conservative student organizations on campuses? Couldn?t such a foundation provide scholarships to conservative students who would like to be teachers or professors or to study journalism or dramatic arts? Couldn?t such a foundation bring free speech law suits when students receive?failing grades because they chose a conservative answer on a paper? The bottom line is that we have to take our universities back little by little.
Putting Conservatism Back In Main Stream Media
In Taking The Long View, Andrew Klavan said:
To win that game, to create an electorate more deeply committed to true liberty and resistant to the sort of cultural scare tactics the president?s campaign team used so effectively, there are three areas to which conservatives need to commit intellectual and financial resources?three areas that our intelligentsia and funders, in their impractical practicality, too often ignore.
I am neither part of the intelligentsia or one of the funders. Those folks will do whatever it is they do. But, I do think we common folk can play a role as well. Klavan notes that Breitbart dedicated his life to fighting the left controlled media and tht fight must continue. But, Klavan asked a good question
How is it possible that the mind-boggling success of Fox News has failed to spawn half a dozen imitators ?
Besides Rupert Murdoch, where are our rich conservatives? Are the Koch brothers really conservatives? We could use their help, to be sure. But, using the Whittle model again, why couldn?t we support a conservative investment club to the tune of $1.2 billion per year to either help fund the starting of a Fox News style channel or to buy shares in an existing left stream media channel company until we had enough seats on the board to change their editorial style? Then they could hire the journalism students we are helping.
Putting Conservatism Back In The Entertainment Industry
Klavan said we have plenty of conservatives om Hollywood, but what is needed is
We need an infrastructure to support them: more funding, more distribution, sympathetic review venues, grants and awards for arts that speak the truth out loud.
Okay, why can?t we set up another Bill Whittle style company to do that? I now have our ten million patriotic conservatives donating ten dollars a month each to three causes. Is that too much to ask of people who really want their country back some day?
Putting God and Christianity Back In America?s Culture
Klavan talks in his article about religion for intellectuals. He has this to say:
The triumph of science, the comfort of Western life, and a sophisticated elite virulently hostile to religion have all contributed to an intellectual atmosphere of unbelief?a sense that atheism should be the default mode of reasonable, thinking people. That is a mere prejudice and needs to be answered in the culture, not with Bible-thumping literalism and small-minded judgmentalism?nor with banal happy-talk optimism?but by sound argument made publicly, unabashedly, and without fear.
Sounds good to me. I?ll let you decide what he means. An intellectual I am not. I am just a simple guy. What I know is that this country was founded, for better or worse, by a bunch of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs). In other words, it was founded by Christians. Although this country grew by immigrants from all over the world, the vast majority of them were also Christians. Christianity has always been an integral part of American culture. Christian morals and mores have been the glue that has held our culture together since its founding. The Progressive-Socialist-Communist have used a variety of tactics over decades to break the hold of Christianity on our culture. They have had an alarming success, haven?t they? I don?t have any great ideas on how to put God and Christianity back into our culture. Maybe Klavan?s intellectuals will come up with a grand plan. But, it does seem to me that it is time that Christians took a more aggressive stance on their values and beliefs. There are some small and not so small things Christians can do. Several blogs have recently posted videos of flash mobs breaking out singing Christmas Carols in malls crowded with people Christmas shopping. It is nice! ?I know it is just Christmas Carols. But, as the camara pans ?the faces in the crowds you see people listening intently and then a smile appears on their face and there is a slight nod of the head as they remember what Christmas is really celebrating. I wish there were ?flash mobs in every mall every day all across the country until Christmas day. How many Christians say to people they do not know ?Happy Holiday? instead of Merry Christmas because they are afraid they might offend someone if they are not Christian? That?s nonsense. ?Merry Christmas? is asking someone to enjoy or be happy during the Christian celebration. Ther is no reason for anyone to beoffended and if they are it is their problem. When someone wishes me a Happy Hanakah, I say thank you and wish them a Happy Hanakah back. What?s the problem? Okay, those are little things. Let;s move on to something bigger. Isn;t it time that Christians started standing up to the atheist who sue to remove an iron cross put up on a hill as a memorial to some fallen Marines, because the hill is government property. Or when the atheist sue to remove Christian images from buildings owned by government. This is nonsens! Our constitution says the government will not establish a religion. We have ib our country freedom of religion; not freedom from religion. Christians need to counter sue. It doesn?t have to cost much money; only time. I?d bet there are templates on the internet on how to file a civil suit or counter suit. The Christians don?t need a lawyer. ?They can make their own arguments. They need only tell the judge that Christian images or symbols on government property is not the same as establishing a religion. Christian images or symbols in government buildings are nothing more than a reflection of America?s history and culture. Will they win? Probably not, but they might get some good publicity in the local papers and who knows, they just might find an honest judge once in a while.
How would Taking America Back One Bit At A Time work during the period of chaos after the debt bomb goes off?
It?s possible that our efforts would have to go on hold during the chaos. Surviving may be the only thing that people can do. But, it may depend on what the chaos is like. If the federal government can continue to function is something we do not know. ?What if the federal government becomes so weak that it can barely function.? What if the safety nets can?t be maintained. How will the central government pay for all of the bureaucray? If I am still around to see the chaos, I will not be surprised if some states secede and form small confederations. This, of course, is not what we want for our country, but it is within the realm of possibilities. If that should happen, the states mostly like to secede would be the Red States. As horrible as that sounds, would that not be an opportunity for an American Renaissance to take place? Short of something like that happening, our strugglr will haave to wait for order to be restored. What ever that order is, conservatives will probably not like it; but it will likely be much better than the chaos.
Conclusion
For those who have managed to stay with me trough all six parts of this series on Taking America Back One Bit At A Time, I salute you. I know it could not have been easy for you. Whether it showed in the writing or not, I did put a lot of effort into this project. I feel very strongly that, although America is lost for now, the possibility does exist that in some time in the future there will be an opportunuity to try that great experiment again provided that we conservatives begin laying the ground work today. So, if I have succeeded in convincing one conservative to stay the course, I will consider my effort as having been worthwhile.
Belirve it or not, I actually had one more post in mind for this series. It was going to be on the subject of Leadership and Salesmanship. If this idea I am promoting has a chance of taking off, it will be because people with those skills make it happen. But, I will do a stand alone post on that subject one of these days.
Well, now you know what I?m ?thinking. What are your thoughts?
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Mussel goo inspires blood vessel glue
Dec. 11, 2012 ? A University of British Columbia researcher has helped create a gel -- based on the mussel's knack for clinging to rocks, piers and boat hulls -- that can be painted onto the walls of blood vessels and stay put, forming a protective barrier with potentially life-saving implications.
Co-invented by Assistant Professor Christian Kastrup while a postdoctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the gel is similar to the amino acid that enables mussels to resist the power of churning water. The variant that Kastrup and his collaborators created, described in the current issue of the online journal PNAS Early Edition, can withstand the flow of blood through arteries and veins.
The gel's "sheer strength" could shore up weakened vessel walls at risk of rupturing -- much like the way putty can fill in dents in a wall, says Kastrup, a member of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Michael Smith Laboratories.
By forming a stable barrier between blood and the vessel walls, the gel could also prevent the inflammation that typically occurs when a stent is inserted to widen a narrowed artery or vein; that inflammation often counteracts the opening of the vessel that the stent was intended to achieve.
The widest potential application would be preventing the rupture of blood vessel plaque. When a plaque ruptures, the resulting clot can block blood flow to the heart (triggering a heart attack) or the brain (triggering a stroke). Mice treated with a combination of the gel and an anti-inflammatory steroid had more stable plaque than a control group of untreated mice.
"By mimicking the mussel's ability to cling to objects, we created a substance that stays in place in a very dynamic environment with high flow velocities," says Kastrup, a member of UBC's Centre for Blood Research.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of British Columbia.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Christian J. Kastrup, Matthias Nahrendorf, Jose Luiz Figueiredo, Haeshin Lee, Swetha Kambhampati, Timothy Lee, Seung-Woo Cho, Rostic Gorbatov, Yoshiko Iwamoto, Tram T. Dang, Partha Dutta, Ju Hun Yeon, Hao Cheng, Christopher D. Pritchard, Arturo J. Vegas, Cory D. Siegel, Samantha MacDougall, Michael Okonkwo, Anh Thai, James R. Stone, Arthur J. Coury, Ralph Weissleder, Robert Langer, and Daniel G. Anderson. Painting blood vessels and atherosclerotic plaques with an adhesive drug depot. PNAS, December 11, 2012 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1217972110
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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A Scrapbook of Our Relationship With the Universe
A complex group of sunspots, known as Active Region 10030. Sunspots are caused by powerful magnetic force-fields, which hamper convection and are up to 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the Sun?s surface, which is typically about 9,944 degrees.
Credit: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences/ Goran Scharmer, ISP/Mats Lofdahl, ISP/Michael Benson/Kinetikon Pictures
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/12/11/science/SCIBOOKS.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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China November trade weak in challenge to economy
BEIJING (AP) ? China's trade weakened sharply in November, adding to challenges for the world's second-largest economy as a gradual recovery takes shape.
Export growth plunged to 2.9 percent over a year earlier from the previous month's 11.6 percent, customs data showed Monday. Imports were flat, down from October's 2.4 percent growth.
The figures were in line with analysts' warnings that a trade rebound that began in August was unsustainable due to weak global demand amid Europe's debt problems and a slow U.S. recovery.
The trade weakness comes as stronger factory production and consumer spending show China is starting to emerge from its deepest economic downturn since the 2008 global crisis.
China's reliance on trade has declined as domestic consumption grows but export-driven manufacturing still employs millions of workers and any weakness raises the risk of job losses and unrest.
Global demand for China's goods is so weak that the government has said exports likely will contribute nothing to this year's overall economic growth.
Western export markets face uncertainties including the U.S. "fiscal cliff" ? or impending automatic tax and spending cuts that could disrupt economic growth ? and the euro area debt crisis.
"These potential external headwinds remain a major risk for the China economy in the near term," said J.P. Morgan economists in a report.
The International Monetary Fund and others are forecasting Chinese growth this year below 8 percent. That would be strong by the standards of struggling Western economies but China's weakest performance since the 1990s.
Economic growth fell to a three-and-a-half-year low of 7.4 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30. It is rebounding in the current quarter but a recovery is likely to be gradual and too weak to drive a global rebound without improvement in Europe and the United States, analysts say.
The improvement comes as a new generation of Communist Party leaders who were installed at a congress last month are taking power.
Data on Sunday showed November factory output increased 10.1 percent from a year earlier, up from the previous month's 9.6 percent. Retail sales rose 14.9 percent, up from October's 14.5 percent.
The improved factory output "will likely draw the attention of observers as a clear sign of recovery," said Goldman Sachs economists Yu Song and Yin Zhang in a report.
November exports were $179.4 billion while imports were $159.8 billion, the General Administration of Customs reported. The country's global trade surplus widened by 35 percent over a year earlier to $19.6 billion.
The trade surplus with the United States, which has overtaken Europe this year as China's biggest trading partner due to weak European demand, narrowed by 9 percent to $17.7 billion. The surplus with the 27-nation European Union was $7.9 billion.
Beijing set a 10 percent growth target for trade this year but it looks increasingly unlikely to meet that. Trade growth has fallen steadily and declined to 5.8 percent in the 11 months through November.
The commerce minister, Chen Deming, warned last month Chinese exporters face "relatively grim" conditions in coming months and "many difficulties next year."
The government said last month it saw "steady economic growth," suggesting there was no need for further major stimulus following interest rate cuts and higher spending on public works construction and investment by state companies.
China's import weakness reflects the impact of government curbs on construction and industrial investment that have suppressed demand for foreign iron ore, copper and other raw materials.
Communist leaders want to shift the basis of economic growth to domestic consumption and services, a strategy that promises smaller but more sustainable gains.
It could reduce China's appetite for imports, hurting suppliers such as Australia, Brazil and some African economies, where Chinese spending has fueled an economic boom.
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General Administration of Customs of China (in Chinese): www.customs.gov.cn
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-november-trade-weak-challenge-economy-054603310--finance.html
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Grandmother says NFL was dream of Cowboys' Brown
Grandmother says NFL was dream of Cowboys' Brown
By SCHUYLER DIXONBy SCHUYLER DIXON, AP Sports Writer?
?This photo provided by the Irving Police Department shows Dallas Cowboys' Josh Brent. Brent has been charged with intoxication manslaughter after he was speeding early Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012, in Irving, Texas, and his vehicle hit a curb and flipped, resulting in the death of teammate Jerry Brown. (AP Photo/Irving Police Department)
This photo provided by the Irving Police Department shows Dallas Cowboys' Josh Brent. Brent has been charged with intoxication manslaughter after he was speeding early Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012, in Irving, Texas, and his vehicle hit a curb and flipped, resulting in the death of teammate Jerry Brown. (AP Photo/Irving Police Department)
This photo provided by the Irving Police Department shows Dallas Cowboys' Josh Brent. Brent has been charged with intoxication manslaughter after he was speeding early Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012, in Irving, Texas, and his vehicle hit a curb and flipped, resulting in the death of teammate Jerry Brown. (AP Photo/Irving Police Department)
FILE - In this 2012 file photo, NFL football player Jerry Brown of the Indianapolis Colts is shown. Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent is facing an intoxication manslaughter charge after a one-vehicle accident that killed Brown, a member of the team's practice squad. Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz said the accident happened about 2:20 a.m. in Saturday, Dec. 7, 2012, in the Dallas suburb. The Cowboys signed Brown to their practice squad on Oct. 24, but he hasn't been on the active roster. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - In this 2012 file photo, Josh Brent of the Dallas Cowboys NFL football team is shown. Brent is facing an intoxication manslaughter charge after a one-vehicle accident that killed teammate Jerry Brown, a member of the team's practice squad. Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz said the accident happened about 2:20 a.m. in Saturday, Dec. 7, 2012, in the Dallas suburb. (AP Photo/File)
In this Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012, photo, Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent runs onto the field out of the team's tunnel after being introduced before an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Arlington, Texas. Brent is facing an intoxication manslaughter charge after a one-vehicle accident that killed linebacker Jerry Brown, a member of the team's practice squad. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
IRVING, Texas (AP) ? The grandmother of Jerry Brown, who was killed in what police say was a drunken-driving accident, remembers him as a young man who stopped at nothing to realize his dream of becoming a professional football player.
Theresa Clark of St. Louis tells The Associated Press that Brown lived for football, and loved it with all of his heart. He was a practice-squad linebacker with the Dallas Cowboys.
The 25-year-old Brown died Saturday in Irving, Texas. Teammate Josh Brent is charged with intoxication manslaughter and being held on $500,000 bond.
While Clark's heart is heavy over the death of her eldest grandson, she remains proud of his accomplishments.
She says Brown built a foundation of faith, hard work and discipline for his younger cousins to follow.
Associated Press
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