A MarketPlace of Ideas                        

Likely you have heard this old adage about security and liberty.  The security they talk about is economic.  Things are likely to get tougher in the near future.   We are shipping too much money out of the country for oil.   We are too dainty to allow it to be drilled on our coasts and in ANWR.   Thus things will deteriorate more until the pain threshold is found. 

Many people will want to vote for the politician that says it will be ok if we only regulate this or tax that.  These are the unDemocrats who will say anything to get elected.  Say anything to get the power.  I would like to think you as an electorate will have the sense not to listen.  But I’m doubtful about this.  You listened in the past and you likely will in the future.   The problem is this sort of thing never helps economically and in fact damages something much more precious than your temporary economic circumstances and that would be your liberty.  I know this is true.  My favorite home away from home country is Brazil.   As currently constituted Brazil has a fully implemented form of government that the unDemocrats want to have here.  The people know their government and changing it is hopeless.  Nothing will ever change in that area and the Brazilians know it.   With liberty you can improve your economic circumstances.   With economic wellbeing you can not necessarily do diddly squat about your liberty.  I know its tough to be a good soldier.  You have to be brave.  And clearly about 50% of the population lacks any impulse toward liberty. Quite the opposite.  They lick their chops at the thought of another round of incremental carving up of liberty for the sake of financial gain. 

Remember losing a job is temporary.  Living in a land of curtailed liberty is pretty much for your entire lifetime.    So don’t be dour Gus Halls who secretly long for a beer, a recliner and a black and white television.   For an inspired life you have to dream of liberty.

A joke told by Bernie Mac shows a Twain-ish twist that illustrates the high art of communication.  When you take it to this sort of level like Twain and Mac it pays.

His joke was as follows:

My little nephew came to me and he said, ‘Uncle, what’s the difference between a hypothetical question and a realistic question?   I said I don’t know … but I’ll tell you what you do. Go upstairs and ask your mother if she’d make love to the mailman for $50,000.   Mother saying she’d sleep  with anyone  for $50,000 — and daughter hypothetically answering the question in the same way.  Hypothetically speaking, we should have $100,000……….. But realistically speaking we live with two hos.

This joke is at its core very intellectual.    His illustration of wishful thinking versus realistic thinking contains a clarity hard to explain to people in normal language.   

It shows people who act out of motivation of wishful thinking to be the clowns that they are.( read liberal voter here ).  We conservatives have these laughs at you liberals expenses everyday.  When a liberal starts going on about global warming.  When you go on about raising taxes as a good thing.  We laugh at you.  We laugh hard.  And we wonder how can anyone be so damned square as to believe it.  But that is the "power" of wishful thinking.  It is the power to make use more powerfully brained conservatives laugh hysterically at your clumsy antics.

That light at the endo of the tunnel might just might be a huge human sized bugzapper so watch out. 

All the is shiny is not necessarily good and that which appears sullen might not all be bad. 

A friend name Beau Izdebski once said "Those who are hardest to get to know are often the best to get to know"

My experience since then suggests that is true.  It also suggests even so it might not last. However I always have loved a wild ride.