Charlie Earl's Blog – May 2011 Archive (21)

What is honor? How do we define it? More importantly,

perhaps, is how do we practice or hold it? According to one of the many

versions of Webster’s, honor

is “high regard or respect, glory, fame, good reputation, or adherence to

principles considered right, integrity.” Most of us seem capable of recognizing

honor when we witness it, and fewer of us appear equipped to routinely practice

it. For many, an honorable person is one who is worthy of…

Fish on Friday

Today we are featuring a little lighthearted political

analysis. By using several species of North American fish we’ll attempt to

describe some of the partisan players in the current political scene. On a

“scale” of one to two, this column is probably a one.

Generic

Identifications:

Blowfish: The prime identifier for all career

politicians, aka the ruling…

According to an article in Global Research by Professor Jules Dufour, the United States

has a vast worldwide network of military bases. In the year 2007 there were 737

foreign-based U.S. military

installations scattered around the globe. It should be noted that number does

not include super, ultra, highly classified secret bases that are undoubtedly

located near potential adversaries and notorious hot spots. The site claimed

that there…

Ohio Senate Bill 148 passed on a party line vote. Twenty

three Republicans decided to restrict voters’ choices in future elections and

ten Democrats voted against the bill for a variety of reasons…primarily because

the early voting window was narrowed. Third party candidates must gather an

extraordinary number of signatures to qualify for the Ohio ballot. Usually

because most third party candidates and supporters have real jobs and are not

full-time career…

An article in the Monday Toledo Blade (D 1) has spawned this column. As you may know, a

portion of my profligate past was spent as a college teacher. For approximately

15 years at three different schools I taught Mass Communication and Journalism

courses. Over the years I had an opportunity to interact with thousands of

students from the early 1990’s through 2005. Throughout the course of my

teaching career I noted that an increasing number of students…

Sovereign immunity is sometimes called “crown immunity.” It

has been documented in early English common law. Sovereign immunity is the

doctrine that assumes that the monarch or the state cannot commit a legal

wrong. It follows, therefore, that state is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution. Some states have

waived immunity to allow for suits, and in other cases some individuals may be

charged as a surrogate for the state. In other words, unless…

Any successful enterprise that is focused on changing the status quo must be well organized.

Organization is even more critical when the agents of change represent a small

portion of the affected body. In today’s political environment the “Tea Party”

and liberty movements represent an active and determined minority that is

working to restore some sanity into the United States’ government institutions.

So, it follows that organization….and meetings are…

“The votes aren’t there” is the typical response of a

“conservative” politician who fails to initiate the type of legislation that is

necessary to stop our current madness. Another dodge that politicians use is

“the opposition is too strong right now to get this through.” Those statements

may be truthful. Indeed, they probably are, but they do not justify an

unwillingness to try to correct the deficiencies of government. Principled

advocates promote their…

In February it was announced that Deutsche Boerse had agreed

in principle to purchase the New York Stock Exchange (Euronext) for $10

billion. With the purchase, the German company would become the largest

exchange operator in the world. Politicians and the financial community lauded

the proposed deal as one of great opportunity for expanding markets. In

response Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. joined with Intercontinental Exchange Inc. to

offer a competing bid for…

Don’t get too excited. I am not going to sing a lullaby to

you. To the contrary I want to jar you awake. As we approach the 2012

elections, every party, every political wannabe and every career politician

will be assessing the voters to determine how to finesse a winning number…they

plan to be counting sheep. Politicians frequently lie. The uninformed, naïve

ones mislead because they believe that they can defeat the system once they are

elected. The cynical…

“Food” is a four letter word. It’s vital for our long-term

survival. Here in the United States our cost for food has been rising rather

steeply. There are a number of related reasons for this phenomenon. China is

suffering severe drought as are certain parts of the Southwest U.S. Other

global regions are having difficulty raising food because of weather or war. As

I have noted in previous columns, food is not included in the government’s

“market basket”…

When the time arrives for Spring Cleaning, an ample

collection of the proper supplies is essential for completing the task. If we

begin with the floors, we’ll need carpet cleaner and floor wax. Our political

parallel is the candidates. In order for our clean sweep to be successful we

must have capable, principled and informed candidates. While some of the

conspiracy theories floating around the internet may have validity, they will

not resonate with the…

A reader and friend sent an email to me about how a group of

lab monkeys reacted over time when faced with cold reality and obstacles. The

moral of the story was that the monkeys learned their behavior from the

experience of other monkeys, and if one wants to change the mind-set in

Congress, the whole group has to be turned out. If voters fail to remove

incumbents in a wholesale fashion, the returning legislators will infect the

newcomers with their “this…

In many respects the internet has made our lives much

easier. Information from numerous sources can be instantaneously retrieved and analyzed.

The flip side is that some of the material is untrustworthy, large portions of

it is opinion, and fantastic mythic themes become part of the mainstream

because of massive circulation throughout the web. The discerning reader must

approach the reams of information with caution as he-she seeks to separate

truth from…

An anomaly is something that is extraordinary or abnormal.

In a nation of 312 million people we have a huge government apparatus which

slinks into action whenever there is a freak occurrence in an attempt to

regulate it or prevent it from happening again. The nature of government

agencies is too attack the problem for which they were created then identify or

“create” additional issues requiring their intervention. Freakish things

happen, and it is not a…

The spirit of a nation is determined by its commitment to

individual liberty. On the battlefield America’s warriors have been known for

their passion and resourcefulness as a result of their freedom to make

reasonable choices. While the spirit of the nation is liberty, the blood of a

powerful economy is energy. Self-driven citizens and energetic entrepreneurs

have limited opportunity and scale if their power sources are mules and oxen. A

nation thrives with…

A friend and reader of this column passed the Tuesday

“Terrorists and Tyrants” piece on to a friend who responded rather forcefully

that she or he didn’t wish to read any more such ideological trash. The

individual went on to remark that I should be arrested and convicted if a

terror attack should occur because of my unsafe obsession with liberty. Let me

state that I fully understand that person’s concern with his or her safety.

None of us who has our right…

Have you had the experience of a four year old extending a

yellow stained hand and proudly stating      

 ” I picked some flowers for you?”

The crushed little cluster of dandelions represents her idea of beauty, and she

wanted to share them with you. The dandelion is an amazing little plant. Its bright

yellow flower and robust leaf array stand out in the middle of an immaculate

lawn. If left unchecked, the hardy dandelion will propagate until the…

Fear is a powerful thing. Many people fail to take risks

because they fear failing. Despots know this and utilize fear to control

others. Evil flourishes when people allow their fear to subvert their desire

for liberty. Fear overwhelms our rational thought and drives us toward making

choices that are contrary to our best interests. Choosing to live a life that

is marinated in fear as opposed to living in liberty is somewhat like a tiger

preferring the cage…

Yesterday I discussed the difficulty of maintaining a

republic because of a number of factors. There are others, I’m certain, but

those four (size, diversity, avarice, career politicians) seem to be those most

troublesome to me. Please understand that I am fully aware that this analysis

and proposed solution will probably have no effect on the nation’s discourse.

There are some considerations that I believe are worthy of notice if citizens

of various states…