Prudentia Sit

The title sounds like a pretty standard truth, but this is a city government gone completely off its nut.  I thought I understood the character Wonko the Sane in "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" the first time I met him but now I know him.  He had his house built inside-out and everything on our side, what we would normally call the outside, was called "The Asylum."  He determined the world had gone mad and he would try as he could to take care of the poor thing.  The thing that drove Wonko to sanity was that he saw instructions for use on a packet of toothpicks and decided that any civilization that needed instructions for the use of toothpicks was clearly gone off the deep end.  This story made me feel the same way, only, since I'm not a character in a novel (although some say I am a novel character, but that's a different subject) I was filled with a sinking despair for life and civilization as we know it.

I normally don't just put up a link to a news story but this was unbelievable.  Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has published a how-to primer for heroin addicts.  On my "My Yahoo" page I have a feed from Snopes and TSG, which is The Smoking Gun, a site that posts real police reports and mug shots and strange crime stories.  They also have a cool page called "Backstage Pass"  that lists what are known as the "backstage riders" for dozens of musicians and other acts, including the Van Halen '82 tour which insisted on having NO brown M&Ms.  Sometimes funny, sometimes crude, but always authentic stuff, this showed up this morning:

A Heroin How-To

New York City offers junkies guide to successfully shooting up

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0104101heroin1.html

I just kept on turning pages and going, "Oh my God, I can't believe this." as a prayer and expression of horror.

The thing that is so horrifying to me is this; I could understand some group, say some radical advocacy group or some other private organization doing something like this.  I would just consider it pretty much ho-hum and gloss over it, but this is the city government of New York telling people that it's okay to shoot heroin and here's how ya do it and where ya get the needles.

Gotta go for now, but just thought I would share this with you all so you can sit and wonder with me...

Herb "What is this handbasket and why is it so hot, suddenly?" Thiel

Going through my archives I discovered I have been blogging for a few years now.  I write my entries in Word and then cut and paste them into my blog.  Once in a while a piece will stand out as being timeless and significant and one that has expounded some truth I have discovered or one that I am proud of and would rewrite and re-post again and again.  This one, originally posted 10/10/05, is one of them.  The incident still affects me, filling me with every emotion I felt at the time.  I found it near the third anniversary of it and the piece is still true and a true reflection of what I feel and think now.  I re-read this and missed my friend all over again.  Originally posted 10/10/05, it's called

Dead Drunk

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There is still some hope in the world and not the kind of false hope presented by the Black Irish candidate, but I feel really upbeat and positive today.  First, Let me apologize for not being around more, but as I've told you in the past, when there is real life to be lived I have to go with it rather than blogging, or I won't have things like this to tell you about.  Actually I appreciate the supportive comments I have received lately and since I am feeling up and hopeful and inspired I will share this with you all, Gentle Reader.

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This piece from 11/18/04 is still relevant and if you vist the BSA Legal blawg you will be able to find a lot more.  I chose to reprint this "as-is" because the values and so-called "moral compass" of the Boy Scouts has not changed, so the basic article is still relevant.  I was looking for a quote on something and stumbled upon a site that will interest some readers called "Stop the ACLU - Beating them with their own hammer and sickle." and the ACRU.

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I cannot believe that the ACLU has nothing better to do than to pick on the Boy Scouts.  They are quick to sue not only the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) but any person that wants to remind us the principles that our God-fearing founders espoused.  Revisionists are trying to belittle and outright belie our heritage, but that does not bother the lawyers for an organization that claims to espouse freedom for everyone, the ACLU.  Why do they not fight for the rights of the Boy Scouts?  Oh, no!  To think that someone would support such a vile, evil, reprehensible group as the BSA is unbelievable.  And what sort of evil doctrines do the Boy Scouts teach?  I will expose this evil here and now!

I have a reprinted copy of the original "Boy Scouts of America Handbook for Boys" from 1910 and decided to compare it with a modern version of the same book.  There is a lot less need for harnessing horses properly nowadays but there are some things that these villains taught way back then that they are still teaching to boys nowadays.  They apparently are one of those organizations that think they are right and will not change.  They hand these teachings down from generation to generation, unchanged for ninety-four years.  Much of what I am going to tell you is directly from their books and teachings and, well, I must confess to you.  I was a Boy Scout leader and was trained to teach these things to children.

They have a motto, BE PREPARED.  The boy is expected to learn all he can and keep himself healthy and strong.  Oh, horrors!

Then, they also have a slogan to live by, DO A GOOD TURN DAILY.  They expect boys to do a helpful act of kindness every single day without pay or even boasting.

They also have a set of laws they are expected to live by.  They expect boys to be:

TRUSTWORTHY - They are expected to tell the truth and keep his promises.  (The original book says that if a boy lies he can have his Scout Badge taken away!)

LOYAL - True to family, friends, leaders, etc.

HELPFUL - Willingly volunteering to help others without expecting payment or reward.

FRIENDLY - He respects those with ideas and customs that are different from his own and seeks to understand others.

COURTEOUS - Polite to everyone regardless of age or position knowing that good manners help people get along.

KIND - He treats others as he would want to be treated and is not cruel.

OBEDIENT - They are taught to follow rules and obey laws and if they think the rules or laws are unfair they try to change them in an orderly fashion.

CHEERFUL - Cheerfully doing tasks that he is assigned and trying to make others happy.

THRIFTY - They are expected to work to pay their way and help others.

BRAVE - He faces danger even if he is afraid and has the courage to stand up for what he thinks is right even if he is laughed at or threatened.

CLEAN - He keeps his body and mind clean.

REVERENT - we will get to this, the crux of this evil, in a moment, but he is supposed to be reverent to God, faithful in his religious duties and respect the beliefs of others.

And how do they enforce this law?  They expect that they will do their best to keep it on their honor and integrity.  They make a promise and are expected to keep it.  Their promise involves all of their heinous, criminal ideologies and says:

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

You can see it all right there.  Moreover, if the Department of Defense or other government agency gives any money at all to them or, according to a recent lawsuit, helps them or even lets them use government property, they are helping to establish a government religion because the Boy Scouts will not let just anybody join.  You cannot be an atheist and be in the Boy Scouts.  And what does the BSA teach about religion?  They teach and their leaders are trained that the best place to learn about religion is your family and your own church or religious organization.  They believe that if you are, for example, Catholic, the best place to learn about Catholicism is your priest and your family, not your scout leader, although all twelve points of their law support what Catholicism teaches.  The Boy Scouts are taught to respect God according to the way their family and church teaches and to respect the way others believe.  Boy Scouts can receive medals for the religious training they get.  These medals include, but are not limited to, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, Baptist, I think the Pentecostals have developed one, Unitarian Universalist, Buddhist, Latter Day Saints (who use the Boy Scout program as their youth program), Baha'i and a bunch of others I don't have handy.

So there you have it, folks.  A bunch of hooligans running around do good deeds for people (the book from 1910 shows a Scout helping an old lady across the street) without remuneration and respecting God and other people.

Visit http://www.bsalegal.org to see what's going on.

From the archives 10/18/04

 

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My van, a dirt and maroon 1993 Dodge Grand Caravan, was sitting at the gas pumps Saturday waiting for me to pay my bill.  It's a nice van and gets about 20 - 24 MPG when it's running right, which is good because we put on 100 - 200 miles in a day.  (We are also blessed in that we have found an honest mechanic.)  Even now, when i have to put in a quart of tranny fluid at each fill-up it still does me good and gets that mileage.  Under the dirt are my "W '04", "Bush/Cheney '04" and "Veterans For Bush" bumper stickers.  There is also one large anti-abortion one that says, "She's a Child...Not a Choice."

I had paid for my gas Saturday and was getting ready to pick up Margaret from a client's house (they are clients, by the way, not patients, pardon my previous vernacular) and here is this woman eyeballing the back of my van and giving me a real hard stare as i walk up to it.  As i get closer she has a rather stern appearance and is wearing dark glasses (i hate talking to people wearing dark glasses, there oughta be a law) and she says, "Excuse me!  This bumper sticker on the back of your car.  Do you mean that for just teenage girls or do you mean that for anyone or what do you mean?"

If you know much about me at all, you know the last thing i enjoy is a full-blown, face-to-face confrontation with someone in public.  I really have never been much of a fighter.  Yes, I understand that putting bumper stickers on your car could be considered a direct invitation to a fight, but it could also be possible that you could open a dialogue with someone.  I like to have discussions and friendly arguments, but i suppose i had not had the foresight to realize that a confrontation with a total stranger was possible as well.  Not that i am going to take my bumper stickers off now that i realize it's possible.  So anyway, there it was, an apparent full-blown confrontation in the 7-11 parking lot about to happen.

"Ma'am," i said intelligently, "I think abortion is wrong, period, no matter who or what."  I speak intelligently like that to strangers.  When I write i can, if i want to, take the time to think about what i am going to say, but sometimes the words don't come too fast if i am face-to-face with someone, especially an unknown, potential antagonist.

"Good."  She said.  "I think it's horrible."  She then proceeded to tell me that two of her three children are special needs and she was told by the doctors to abort them.  They hammered away at her and tried to get her to, in her own words, "kill my baby."  She had had an amniocentesis done and the geneticist got exasperated and asked her why she had had it done if she wasn't planning to have an abortion.  She told him it was so she could get the proper medical treatment.  We have known other people who have had a similar experience, which I related to her. The child I was talking about did turn out to be a "Special Needs" child, but any child that can say, "Daddy, I love you," should not have been murdered.  Her girls are teenagers now and she feels the same way.  She said she can't imagine how empty her life would be.

We talked further about how, in this state, Colorado, anyway, a teenage girl can go to the hospital and the doctor can give her the "Morning After" pill without even asking her parents and we spoke about the upcoming elections and the ban on Partial Birth abortions and just stuff in general and went our ways.  I was so flabbergasted that I completely forgot to invite her to church or give her a church card.

"Oh we'll smash the saloon when we're men,
We'll hit it again and again,
We shall tear it down,
Down unto the ground,
Oh, we'll smash the saloon when we're men…"

"We'll Smash the Saloon"…From a Sunday School songbook ca. 1900 called "Songs for Little Singers."

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."  Proverbs 20:1

I hate alcohol.

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After reading Susan B's blog entry at http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=sbalak from November 1, 2004 (I think it's on the second or third page by now), where she says, "…I do not tuck my tail and run at the first mention of an opposing thought or idea. Which brings me to a whole other subject and I'll elaborate in the next paragraph.

What is the deal with men who are intimidated by women capable of thinking for themselves? The fact that these women are capable does NOT mean that they are going to have an issue with submission. It does not mean that they are stubborn and pig-headed. It simply means that it will take a person whose ideas and critical thinking skills are a little 'above average' for the woman to WANT to follow him. I believe the innermost part of every woman has a yearning and desire to submit and to follow a male figure, but a woman MUST have confidence that the man they are following is bright enough to lead (and I am talking husbands here...not pastors, although that is something to think about also). No one, man or woman, wants to follow a leader who they feel are less equipped than they are to do the job."  (reprinted by permission of the author)

I was inspired to write the following:

Men sometimes do not really understand what a wonderful creature a woman that knows her own mind is.  In this day and age when so many people appear to live by the old saw, "If it feels good, do it," and have little or no conscience and what conscience they do have is skewed by Hollyweird and Mad avenue, you would think that a man would be happy to meet a woman who can think for herself.  Once she has made up her mind, unlike the majority of T.V., movie, music industry and fashion idols that so many Americans follow, she can stick to it and follow her own path.  While this can, in some instances and circumstances equate with stubbornness or bullheadedness, what it really means is that if this woman decides that she loves you, you do not have to worry that her mind will suddenly change with the latest opinion poll of her friends or for any other reason.  You can put confidence in her.

Where would the country be, especially the West, if there were not women who could fight Indians alongside their husbands, work hard at the tasks best suited to them and leaving their husbands to do the work they had to do?  Pioneer women were strong women with minds and opinions of their own who followed by choice their equally strong husbands into equal danger.  When you have had a chance to meet some of these 100+ year old women and talk to them, you learn that life was a partnership and though vilified by some for "only" making babies and keeping house, they were, please excuse the ungallant expression I use to make a point, some tough old gals.

And where are the men that have enough manliness that they can lead such a woman?  Where are the men full of strength that inspire confidence and security?  Where are the mighty manly men who have convictions and beliefs that will not be shaken with every wind that blows and can articulately defend them to even the most crass and vulgar?  The gentleman, who will open a door for a woman or suggest to his fellows that they relinquish the volleyball court in favor of the women, or offer his seat on the bus to a woman now seems passé.

I almost said lady there, but where are the ladies?  Women, whose conversation nowadays, in public no less, could embarrass even the saltiest of sailors, are not exhibiting behavior that says they want to be respected and honored.  The conversation and behavior of the opposite sex has gone from being respectable to something wholly other.  They are "the Weaker Sex" no more.  In some ways that is okay, but to me the term always meant that men should be protective and diligent and respectful in their behavior, not that they were literally physically weaker so much as they should be treated with the little every day niceties that used to be a trademark of American society.

This untoward behavior by some women does not mean that a man cannot be gentle and strong and behave thoughtfully, like a gentleman.  Gentlemanliness is always fashionable and honorable.  I realize it could be readily pointed out that when it comes to gentlemanly behavior I often fall dreadfully short, but I try.  I often slip up but that does not mean my point is wrong.

Now, don't misunderstand what I am saying.  There is a time and a place for almost everything, and men, when they get together as a group, must be able in some way to contribute to such a gathering.  Men in groups since the earliest days have always behaved in a predictable way.  All men have something to add to, say, a campfire for example.  Whether it be by the slaying of the vile Colorado Barking Tree Toad or killing a colony of Fire-Breathing Kentucky Barking Gorilla Ants, or by telling of or performing some manly exploit(s).  Or older gents telling how much better and more superior the campfires were years ago or how much mightier the football players of old were.  Remember the old saying men will be boys.  This is natural and should not be a place where women would even want to think about going.  Men resent the presence of women at such gatherings but must always take the most extreme caution to leave the caveman/hunter mentality in its rightful place.

When women are present, however, men must always try to be on their best behavior and not purposefully embarrass their wives or girlfriends and probably not their sisters either, depending on the situation.  Mixed company is the time to dust off the manners and treat all of the women present like ladies.  (Grammar Checker Note:  Our society's use of polite terms such as gentleman or lady is frowned upon by Grammar Checker which suggests woman or person instead of lady.)

Now, in mixed company, a man and woman ought to be able to carry on a conversation without any trifling vulgarities.  If they talk enough they will at some point, disagree.  This is where life becomes interesting.  A strong woman with an intelligently articulated position can be interesting whereas anyone, woman or man, that argues just to hear themselves talk should be avoided.  An intelligent argument can be, in some cases, more interesting than wrestling a six foot two Army Sergeant with stinky feet.  A man should not fear an intelligent, articulate woman, but should try to show himself, if not able to be more articulate or intelligent, at least well-mannered and respectable.

Remember, the Good Book says, "If you find a wife it's a good thing as long as she don't smack you around too much."