Reagan Quotes from 1979 and 1980

"Government we recognized and respected as a referee, with certain power to restrain. But that restraint was to restrain the players in the game to keep them from harming each other and I submit that that is governments primary responsibility still, that mainly and no other. Now it's 40 years later and somehow government with the best of intentions has become no only the referee, but a player in the game as well. To many, he is viewed as the great provider of all good things and the regulator of our very lives. We've been told that modern times are too complex for anything but big government. Big government growing always bigger. Not even the Office of Management and Budget today knows how many agencies, bureaus, departments, and commissions there are in Washington, but the regulations they've spawned are recorded in the federal registry that has almost as many pages as the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Businessmen have been told that if they all sell their product to everyone for the same price they are guilty of price fixing, and if they don't, they're in violation of the Fair Trade Practices Act. And sometimes they are found guilty of violating both at the same time by different agencies of the same government."

"As Dr. Parkinson said,'The government hires a rat-catcher and the first thing you know, he becomes a rodent-control officer and he has no intention of getting rid of the rat. They become his clients." - Reagan

"We haven't lost our moral fiber, we maybe have mislayed it temporarily. Actually, I think we should be happy about one thing and that's governments waste and extravagance. Can you imagine how miserable we'd be if we were getting all the government were paying for."

"There are those who say 'Oh but that's proof just that ours is a materialistic society." Is it? With that materialism we have more churches, more libraries, support by voluntary contribution, more symphony orchestras, more opera companies, more non-profit theater groups, and print more books than all the other nations of the world put together. We have more doctors per thousand people than any other country and one-third of all the young people in the world who are getting a higher education are getting it here in the United States."

"We fought hard and payed a higher price for freedom than any other generation that has ever lived. A few years ago, when the disturbances were going on the campuses, I had a young student rebel challenge me and he said, 'Your generation cannot understand ours.' He said, 'You , when you were our age, you didn't have instant electronic communication, nuclear power, space travel, cybernetics, computers figuring in seconds what it used to take men years to figure out." And that's true... we didn't have those things. We invented them."

"God has given us the responsibility of leadership. He has also blessed us for, if we doubled our present day troubles, were still better off than any people on earth. And he has blessed us by giving the people of this land a capacity for greatness that is needed to do, all that must be done. All we need to do is be like that farmer who finally took a vacation to Europe many years ago when it wasn't easy to do then. He was seeing the wonders of the old world and they were showing him Mt. Vesuvias and telling him the great power of that awful cataclysmic disturbance, that volcano that came on. And he listened patiently and then he said, 'We got a volunteer fire department at home, well put that out in 15 minutes.'"

KNUCKLE SANDWICH AWARD OF THE WEEK GOES TO...

Muammar al-Qadhafi. You look like hell dude. Sure we American's are pissed off about the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi's "heroic return" to your nation. Actually were infuriated. Your speach at the U.N. was written on diner napkins, Snuggle® Fabric Softener Sheets (which work by the way) and loose-leaf papers. Has this guy ever heard of a Trapper Keeper? You murder moderate world leaders and cover it up with a wave of tyranny and global deceipt (i.e. Musa al-Sadr of Lebanon). But I have to say, the thing that chaps my ass as I peck away on my keyboard... is that you sent a rogue squad of Libyan nationalists to kill Doc Brown in "Back to the Future". To that I say... Muammar, I serve you a KNUCKLE SANDWICH! One day you'll suffer for the indignation of your sins, the countless lives and blood that stains your hands and robe (fashion fopa btw) will come from the hands of the Almighty, or a soldier of fortune. Your avarice as well as your egregious plastic surgery performed by Nip/Tuck wannabes will come under judgement by the law of man or God. May Christopher Lloyd have mercy on your soul.

"God damn America" – Time magazine, April 2, 1973

On Afghanistan: Part 1

I have to tread careful water on this next entry because it is a matter of opinion that WILL be controversial. Let me say several things, if there was one true thing that I could allign myself with President Obama on, this would be it. First off, listen to Gen McCrystal. Commanders on the ground are the ones who should be making these decisions. OK, pressing on to what will be an on-going debate I urge you to uderstand that I have an Intel background. I have friends that have much more experience than I do, but I have come to certain deductions in my research. I'll go to the most stinging observation in Part 1. The reason we've seen Afghanistan deteriorate is because of several mitigating circumstances, but chief among them are WOMEN and their CONSTITUTION. The ratification of their constitution came in 2004 as well as their first election in which Pres Hamid Karzai was elected. If you read the constitution which was HEAVILY influenced by western nations, it requires by law that over 1/6 of their House of Commons be women, thus equating them to men. This is not well received by the Pashtuns, or the Hazara (whom hate each other, well get to that in another entry). Afghanis are largely territorial and are not binded to materialism like western thought requires, so their perception of private prooperty is limited at best. Private property is however, best examined in their view on women. They are possessions. Is this right... NO! But before we go all moral on the world, we have to recognize that in order to secure Afghanistan, we must to a degree submit to their mores. Americans are now realizing the distinction to which isolation vs. interventionalism is playing on the world. We toe a very small line in priority to our national defense. Do we who choose to enhance our security by securing the interior of nations who could harbor terrorists, enable ourselves to impose our morals, at the cost of ethnocentric aggression? I as a Christian, and soldier have to come to grips that maybe the moral thing is to allow Afghanistan and Iraq to govern democratically while not imposing certain freedoms and liberties on the misistries and departments within their respected governments. More thoughts on this to come...

In Defense of Michael Bay

In what might be my most controversial subject, I implore you to see my reasoning. Through all of his films, only one has not made money. That being said, lets get to the meat and potatoes of the man who reinvented the explosion. As a member of the 90's youth you recount those summers at the cineplex. As a member of the card-carrying club for dudes, you tend to gravitate toward action films. Action films at this point were evolving. No longer was the cultural lexicon satisfied by mindless dribble, they wanted brains and pragmatism. The days of AH-nuld mutilating his enemies while using catchy idioms were numbered. However, some staples still applied. Earth rattling explosions, war-like gun-fire, epic cleavage and platinum vixens, and a villain with an accent were requirements if you wanted to be a part of the new cannon. Two films I believe gave birth to the new action renaissance. "Heat" and "The Rock". "Heat" was directed by Michael Mann, whom I truly consider the Oracle of gunfights. See "Public Enemies" or "The Kingdom", which he produced if you doubt my claims. But Bay made Nic Cage a smart, intellectual hero. Bay became the newest disciple to bravado cinema. Yes, he did Bad Boys in 1994, but The Rock showed us a new vision of what action could be. We saw helicopters flying into sunsets... actually we saw a lot of helicopters. Add Sean Connery, Ed Harris and you get accomplished actors headlining a film. It showed us that the acting must be on par with the ambition and the writing. Afterwards we got "Armageddon", which is a damn good movie too. The only thing good about "Deep Impact" (its meteor related rival that summer) is that you can remember it, CONGRATS! You reduced your chance of Alzheimers! Armageddon rescued Bruce Willis from obscurity in the genre he helped build. My only remorse for this film is... Ben Affleck. Michael Bay's next film became inexcusable... even for a fan. The only thing in recent memory to hurt my heart as bad was when Posh Spice left the Spice Girls. "Pearl Harbor" entered this world in 2001... starring Ben Affleck. Three things made me through this film; Kate Beckinsale, Jon Voight, and the bombs-eye view shot. Bay had created a shot that entered the literature of film students, which modern day movie snobs loathed. The bombs-eye view is something to be marveled, because frankly... Bay perfected it. He contributed to ACTUAL cinema. Then came "Bad Boys 2", and "The Island" which spread his ability to coach actors in real emotions, though not especially deep ones. Bay hit GOLD by becoming the newest mentoree to Steven Spielberg with the "Transformer" movies. All I can say is, if Spielberg believes, then so do I. Now Bay has become an American caricature (or icon), but his imprint on action in irrefutable. His influence stretches into his horror-produced remakes and the willingness for big name stars to work with him. He became Jerry Bruckheimer's prodigy. With the exception of Tony Scott, Bruckheimer (the greatest action producer of all time) goes with directors of little talent. He saw Bay hone his skills as a director of Aerosmith videos, to one day become the man who possibly upstaged him. Next time you marvel at how "cool" Tarantino is, or how much David Fincher rocks, or even when you hang that "Boondock Saints" poster... remember... who made the sunset cool again.

How Never To Miss A Chance At Being Awesome

When one thinks of me (The Duke) you either have rising thoughts of incredulity as to several aspects of my life. (Just please go along with this little narcissistic piece please, I assure you Im way more humble than this blog will make it out to be be.) I usually get asked these questions:

Where do you get your money?
Why are you moving there?
How do you land in such lucky situations?

You get the point. However, this can all be attributed to one universal truth. God. No joke. Me and the JC have been in business for years, "and brother... business is a boomin'". I also have a personality that can sometimes be either extremely over-whelming, undoubtedly reserved, suave or Carrot Top awkward. This does not preclude me from attempting to appear... "awesome". Here is a few tips off my list, that may help you, or cause you to stumble...

1. Never miss a chance to blair AC/DC from your car or truck. It makes people think you dive from explosions on a weekly basis.

2. Watch westerns. You can relate to your fathers generation a lot more, and plus people might assume you have a desire to paint your neighborhood red and cross-out your town's welcoming sign and put HELL! (High Plains Drifter)

3. Drink high end beers, and white trash beers. It says, yeah Im sophisticated, but if you fuck with me, Ill smash this Pabst Blue Ribbon over your head then go Bass fishing."

4. Travel as much as you can... and not just to Europe. Go to places where friends will elevate you to a Busch league Indiana Jones. If you can go by yourself and rely on your international savvy.

5. HUNT... or shoot, or own more than 2 guns... this is a general one. Dont try and substitute this with easter egg HUNTS, or owning a line of Super Soakers, or potato guns. Well potato guns are pretty cool.

6. Have friends that are slightly crazier than you. One group of friends forced me to run and jump over a moving train, jump in an ice hole in February (polar bear club), cliff jump into a quarry, and fit my 185 pound physique into a tight as hell cave in the Ozarks.

7. In regards to romance, treat yourself like a catch. Anyone who ends up with you is gonna be one lucky person.

8. Love your family and friends with the love God has given you.

9. Go to church, pray, read your Bible, take time and invest in the body of Christ.

10. Be yourself. This list is full of crap (except the last few entries). We all have a "list", but its tailored to our personality, and God, as well as the people in your life enjoy you for your personality, your quirks and your heart.

The Changing Paradigm

To use a word like paradigm with colleagues in a location like my hometown you better damn well have the word memorized to Webster's exact definition. I've come to the conclusion that big words threaten some people, annoy others, and invite the possibility for the rest to engage your intellectual prowess; it is in fact a theory generated framework. Indeed there have been very few in the media who have elaborated upon a "changing paradigm", but I am one to say, its been in the work for some time. What am I referring to... a new political prism. Disenfranchised conservatives, alienated voters, and an out of control liberal establishment have led our nation to the fringes of civilized discourse. You see a majority moving up, while those in office (both sides mind you) have trended down, Ill explain. Were seeing our nation divided into statists and libertarians (see the above diagram). Many on the Republican side have been and certainly will be taking advantage of it in the coming 2010 elections, but... if we elect an assembly of moderates, so help me God, the Republican party will die (I'll explain RINO's some other time). "Moderation in the pursuit for justice is no vanity", as I posted the other day reflects those of us who are sick of unethical compromise. Modern libertarian to conservative thought ingests a brand of liberty that is the very keystone to a democratic republic's political thought. Conservatism, (unlike what its been hijacked to represent) is an intellectual application birthed out of liberty and individual prosperity. Liberalism... well, liberalism, all one needs to do under it is... care. Because anyone who reads this will automatically be turned off by the word conservative (much like the term Christian), it behooves you understand how it came about. Read "Conscience of a Conservative", "God and Man at Yale", "The Fountainhead", "Liberty and Tyranny", Milton Friedman, Bill Buckley, Ayn Rand, Edmund Burke, and more importantly read the constitution. The two easiest ways to defeat a liberal in conversation is invoking a supreme knowledge of our constitution, our bylaws, our framework, the parallel rails that contain traffic. Liberal Justice Thurgood Marshall once said, ""You do what you think is right and let the law catch up". Folks, that's not constitutional reasoning or our framers intent. That's whiping your ass with the 1787 document. Trust me, it'll be rough on the cheeks. We must coach ourselves, educate ourselves, and impassioned as well as leads others and draw moderates to conservatism. Do not move to the center, stand firm, and those who seek freedom and liberty will be drawn in.

"In politics there is no left and right, there is only up and down." - Ronald Reagan

AuH2O Quotes You Better Damn Well Remember

"Now my fellow Americans, the tide has been running against freedom. Our people have followed both prophets. We must and we shall return to proven ways, not because they are old, but because they are true."

"We must and we shall set the tides running again in the cause of freedom."

"Anyone who joins us, in all sincerity, we will welcome."

"I will remind you that extremeism in the defense of liberty is no vice"

"And let me remind you also, that moderation in pursuit of justice... is no virtue."

HOPE got me no job

What do you do when you're an unemployed college grad who has an internship where theres plenty of down time? You got it, blog til your fingers bleed. Before I ascend the throne of blogaratti, I must confess that its taken me a while to finally break down and put my use of words for a cause other than ridiculing those in my life. Being one of the millions lumped into the largest college graduating class ever makes my bachelors degree feel like that time I walked away with a 17th place ribbon at a pinewood derby race in the Cub Scouts. Sure it looks like something important, but close up it makes for great ass whiping material. Which begs my question... why does a degree only mean your entitled a part-time career at Starbucks? Do I blame our education system? No. As you'll come to find I rarely find myself victim to "social injustice". I blame parents, banks, and well... the government. I separate our education system and the government because frankly, they should be. Government is for people who couldn't hack it the private sector, and thus cannot manage with competence. Parent... why should your kid go to school? Your child watches Family Guy, infuses Doritos as a dietary staple, borrows your 2003 Chrysler Sebring, and has only ever held a part time job at Subway for 3 months. THEY AREN'T READY FOR COLLEGE! Let them know that if they want a higher education they're going to have to work there way in. WORK, SAVE MONEY, GET SCHOLARSHIPS, SERVE IN THE MILITARY! Education is something you should have to fight for, it shouldn't be just handed on a platter with an all-access credit card. Work ethic is something best developed in the desire for something better. Banks... predatory lenders see student loans as great money makers. I see them as vacuums of debt that create higher interest rates on loans for people who rarely take out such requests and it creeps into other lending practices. And Government... is there anything that you don't completely screw up? When you have the keys to the printing press and a statist mentality, you can enforce your "goodwill" for humanity by pressing and changing the argument to benevolence and helping people. I'm am grown weary of my generation's entitlement complex. Since when did we earn everything that we claim were owed? Education like many of our contemporary issues is something that if you want, if you sacrifice for, you'll get. You have to want it enough.