Red in a Blue State

Why this change?

2012-10-05T05:04:00.003-05:00

"The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government."

- George Washington

The venerable Constitution of The United States was written by truly inspired men. Men that looked beyond themselves to create a guiding document for the then thirteen colonies.

In its original form, these states were granted all powers not explicitly listed therein through the 'Enumerated Powers' clause found in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the Bill of Rights.

The three branch structure was crafted to prevent tyranny and allow the states to be free from excessive governmental power. It did this by providing the checks and balances today known as the hallmark of this American experiment of self-governance.

But, something has gone seriously wrong with government.

We only have to look at current approval ratings to see that. Even though many people do not pay attention to the day to day operations of our elected officials in Washington, their actions - and even their lack of action - has caused more pain and suffering in the past century than the founders could ever imagine.

Why did they not see this current fracturing of the country? We're they really not so gifted in their deliberations?

I would venture that they were indeed gifted and forthright in what they perceived as the best ways and then created structure of the three branches. But changes were made. Changes that at the time seemed reasonable but were really a poison pill that would eventually lead to the problems we face today.

You might wonder the purpose of the two houses of congress and what that framework was intended to accomplish.

If so, please consider the following: the framers knew that the parliamentary system used in the British system was flawed so they set about to construct a better system. When I studied this aspect in elementary school (yes, it was taught as a part of the core knowledge required of all citizens way back then), I wondered why were two houses needed that were essentially the same?

Indeed, they are the same today, but the founders and others who influenced the debate knew that to simply copy the British system would also lead to internal corruption, power grabs, backroom deals and seats granted based on who you knew or who you bought off. The landed gentry were often not allowed into the house of Lords in Parliament because they were considered beneath the ability 'to go along to get along' or that they be a loose cannon, thus ruining the proceedings with legislation that did not benefit those in power.

The founding fathers proposed a slight twist. Their logic in the creation of the Senate and its selection process was indeed sterling. Sadly, we no longer have that logic in control of government and can see the disastrous results in the perpetual gridlock found in Washington today. Many states also suffer this malady and the cause can be found to be a close parallel to the federal condition.

The House of Representatives and the Senate were both created to eliminate the problems found in the British system by having representatives chosen by the people of each region in the state. A popularity contest if you will. Nothing wrong with that because we need to have someone who is from our area to be able to speak with directly and to know that they face the same issues we do, be it local flooding or a group of people or businesses that might dominate the area by graft or force.

The Senate on the other hand was intended to be a more deliberative body and as such, needed to be insulated from the more local issues. They could take time to see and then debate how those effected in the states and if there was a need for the federal government to intervene in those local issues. If the Senate approved a measure from the house of representatives that did rise to the level of national importance, then the logic went, that the federal government should act to correct the problem. The Senate was described as deliberative body and as such the members served as statesmen (where the term gained it's current meaning) being our ambassadors to the Federal government.

The Senators were to be selected in a unique way - by selection of each state's legislature through whatever way the state decided to use. Many had settled on a popular vote or use of the same number of votes in the statehouse as found in the House of Representatives or state's legislature could form a super-committee of sorts to select their Senators.

These local legislatures were beholden to the people of the state in this regard; if I or my neighbor were selected to state office, we would really feel the pain if we chose to pass laws against the wishes of our constituents (usually family and friends as was so often the case in many states in colonial times and cans till be true today). By serving in that capacity, we would also have the opportunity to meet and work with other leaders from other regions of our state. In doing so, we would learn very quickly who were the doers and who were the slackers.

(One other change that was made at the same time was to reduce the influence of landholders by lessening their vote. They had a larger representation compared to the urban centers by a 200 to 1 margin.

Though that may not seem fair, but where is the fairness in having property owners pay for social programs that have little or no benefit to them? These landowners are often farmers and others who have put long hours into owning these large areas of land. Should their property be used as collateral for well-intended but oftentimes misdirected spending? No, indeed. This goes against all that we know to be the best use of our God given rights including the right to keep the fruits of our labors without others taking as they wish.)

If after having been voted into office, we were then also to pick two people to represent the state in Washington, we would definitely incur the wrath of our neighbors - who we often worked and worshiped with - if our selection was not a good choice. We would naturally be lobbied by those same people to select a better if not the best person to represent the state.

This was seen by many as a nod to the aristocracy in many European capitals but was instead a carefully crafted safety valve to keep government from running roughshod over the states. By letting me and my neighbors choose from the best of the best (knowing that I had worked alongside them in either local issues or even in state office) the people would be assured that the federal government would not be allowed to overreach or step into states and demand things be done a specific way.

All the states that sent representatives to the continental congress knew that this was a compromise but one that should and could preserve states rights for the foreseeable future. As proof of the logic used, and to make sure that the federal beast they had created stayed on it's leash, several states would not sign onto the new document unless and until the Bill of Rights were added. By including them as amendments, the founders sought and found a real, lasting compromise on the issue. In doing so, they insured that the fledgling American Dream would become reality.

All of this changed when several in power saw a way to increase their power and the money that flows through Washington DC by a change to the Constitution in the form of the 17th Amendment.

This (not so small) change caused a short circuit in the checks and balances long regarded as essential to self-governence.

One may ask as I did back in grade school, why are representatives elected to two year terms and Senators to six? The reasoning was to insulate the Senate from rash popular legislation. We have all seen the way that a popular ideal can spread but be quickly replaced by the next greatest all-improved, hippest, baddest, trend that can capture the public's fancy (Anyone want to buy a hardly worn leisure suit?).

The long term effect of the 17th amendment has been to undermine the state's role in government and replace it with this sort of "rush to produce (something / anything)" to make it appear that progress is being made. In looking back at the way all of this has played out, it can be seen that the decision to amend the constitution was really not well thought out after all. Through the years, the very things that the change sought to eliminate (a straw man argument to be kind) are the very things the change and resultant hasty decisions that it produced have caused to increase. This proves that there are unintended consequences to all things, most certainly when the changes are rushed into place with little or no regard other than "Well, it sounds good".

In their appeal to the populist sentiment of the times, the proponents said that the proposal they sought to establish as the 17th Amendment would reduce corruption and make it so that the deadlock they experienced in the Senate would be eliminated.

However, these were and are still straw man arguments. A review of the corruption charges shows that only 10 elections in the 100 or so years before were even brought up to a level of scrutiny and that required they be overturned.

The gridlock issue? We only have to look at the current situation in Washington to see that changing the selection by the state's legislatures to the people by popular vote has had little or no effect whatsoever.

Instead the power that was held by state legislatures has been replaced by special interest groups; the voice of the people of each state is now silenced. The special interest groups - from the AARP and ARA to the EPA and HSA plus all the other alphabet soup groups - have more control over our lives than our elected representative's decisions ever could.

Another unintended consequence was the reduction of a vast number of state and regional political parties into the current two party rule we live under today. Popular ideas spring up all the time 120 years ago. Today they are quashed because of the lack of national support for the ideas these regional groups have to offer. The current Democratic and Republican parties both had their roots in small regional factions. Many claimed that these regional groups were the source of the gridlock complaint at the turn of the last century. Others in government saw that the only way for them to gain more power over the people and thus their money was to be able to consolidate - and then eliminate - all of these smaller groups.

I know many feel that there is little to no difference between the "donkey" and the "elephant" political groups. The grip on power once obtained is not easily removed. After they've experienced the perks provided to elected officials, what person in their right mind would want to release the hold on power - and the purse strings - found in Washington?

These are not small issues and were thought out and fully debated many years ago in a small hall in Philadelphia. The founders knew both maxims "Power corrupts" and "Absolute power corrupts absolutely". They further knew that their system of governance by the people will only stand so long as free men (and women) are able and willing to take time out from their lives and serve... but then return to their lives when service is done. The "citizen statesman" was an idea that has been lost but can still be reclaimed.

Washington, the man, knew and lived out these ideals by refusing to be elected President for life.

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force.

Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."

- George Washington

"Delay is preferable to error."

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad
government results from too much government. "

- Thomas Jefferson

That the founders and authors knew of the problems inherent with many forms of governance is without question. Yet many think that our founding document is an anachronism best relegated to the ash-heap of history. Yes, Washington stated plainly that the document should not be frozen in amber - it is a living breathing constitution that we as free people can change if and when the need arises.

However the need for change can and must not be subject to the whim and folly of those who wish to further their personal agendas. It must be deliberated and molded to produce a workable end result that will address the problems in our modern age and still be suitable to serve those generations to follow.

If at that point in time our progeny wish to modify and alter it, fine. That is what the founders hoped would occur. But to discard the whole system - as many in the halls of government wish - will not serve anyone except them.

To replace portions or add amendments is not something without merit.

Some changes are at odds with the wishes and desires of the majority of men and women who will live work and die under it's foundation of law. Elimination of slavery, making sure that all citizens are allowed to vote, and the income tax were all addition to our legal system by the amendment process. These changes show that the process does work.

The issue of prohibition and it's subsequent repeal show that changes that run contrary to the wishes of the people can also be discarded. This is as planned by the founders.

The 17th amendment however shows that even with due diligence and deliberation the best of intentions can have serious unintended consequences.

It's time to repeal this ill suited amendment as was done with prohibition and get the "power of the people" rooted out of Washington DC and back to our neighborhoods. It is those areas that now live under the ever increasing shadow of a growing beast that will eventually take all they (we) have and still not be satisfied.

January 2013

2012-09-26T10:42:00.000-05:00

Little has been said about the Mayan calendar in recent weeks and I for one am glad.

The media has better stories to promote - at least until after Nov 6th. Kevin DuJan at the Hillbuzz blog broke a story that the Obama's are planning to move into a new residence in January 2013.

Of course, this would seem to indicate that the President is thinking that he will not be in the WH after that time. We can only wish but as many of the links on the Hillbuzz site are obviously slanted and the editor there is not enamored by President Obama, that remains to be seen if it's satire or just plain out and out mean-spirited, I'm not certain which.

I was still curious about the story and there are several sources saying "Yes, it's true" while others are saying "It's just a rumor"

Regardless, I clicked through several of the "pro" and "con" pages of each category and found the following site (link goes to the Whitehouse dot gov1 website) to be funny.

A series of pictures from the 'Whitehouse" website showing the Obama's past vacation to the islands.

http://whitehouse.gov1.info/blog/blog_post/hawaii-photos/obama-air-force1-one.jpg

http://whitehouse.gov1.info/blog/blog_post/hawaii-photos/obama-hanauma-bay.jpg

http://whitehouse.gov1.info/blog/blog_post/hawaii-photos/obama-grass-skirt.jpg

Feel free to use the photos as sort of "Where's Waldo" game.
Find the photoshopped elements and win points.
The person with the most points wins.
In case of a tie, there are additional photos at the whitehouse.gov1.info site to use for a tie-breaker!

Hint: look for anything that includes caricatures of the Hawaiian culture.

Good luck and happy hunting!

(More funny stuff there, so go, enjoy! I'll be here when you're done.)

L.V.

The final step off the plank?

2012-09-22T11:01:00.001-05:00

Daren Jonescu over at American Thinker has written a well though out summary of the challenges ahead entitled "Watch That Last Step, It's a Doozy"

"As any mature radical will tell you, the great advantage of a gradual unraveling, as opposed to the more colorful sudden insurrection, is that in the latter case, everyone knows what is happening and, if so inclined, may resist, whereas the former method is akin to the stealthy burglar who steals your jewels while you sleep. You might wake up and carry on with your life for days before realizing you have lost your prized possessions and family heirlooms. And by then it is too late."

I immediately thought of the analogy of how to catch wild pigs.

Mr. Jonescu continues,

...One invaluable tool in the radical's belt, however, is sometimes overlooked. This is the natural human weakness -- on display every day, everywhere -- for breaking a long process into its discernible stages, and then judging the significance of each stage relative to the whole, so that each stage appears less noteworthy than the preceding ones, as the growing whole proportionately diminishes each new part. This tendency of our thinking can prevent us from recognizing all sorts of gradual developments, both positive and negative. It allows us to observe incremental changes in our bodily condition over time without ever deducing that we have developed a serious illness, for example.

In the modern political context, this phenomenon helps to explain the blank stares or rolling eyes one meets when talking to people about the multifaceted catastrophe -- economic, social, and moral -- that looms just ahead of the Western world on its present path. "What are you getting all worked up about?" is a typical response, and a sure sign you are witnessing the psychological weakness in question. You, looking at the whole process, see an ever-expanding threat. They, focused only on the discrete stages -- each one seeming smaller than the last, compared to the whole -- see ever-shrinking dots against an amorphous gray background. "What's the big deal?"

Anyone truly interested in a return to constitutional principles should give read the entire post.

L.V.

The Founder's Intent

2012-09-20T21:07:00.002-05:00

I've long been a student of our system of government and as such still try to understand why a system set up over 235 years ago - able to survive several world wars, a civil war and various societal upheavals - seems lacking in today's society.

Have we outgrown the founder's "noble experiment"?

If so, what will replace it?

If it is still the "last great hope of mankind", what needs to be done to right this ship of state?

Recently, I read a very reasoned approach to the problems facing us today. In considering the pros and cons of a strong executive, the author makes it clear that the situation we are in today is not unique to our times. When looking at the treatise of "The Strong Executive", (Claremont.org) the reasoning behind our current system of governance becomes clear. Today's turmoil is because the separation of powers has been tilted unduly towards the executive branch and disregards the rule of law.

The problems may seem complex but the answers are really quite simple.

What do we need to do to get the American Dream off life support and back to a stable and growing realm for our children's children's children?

This requires not only a return to constitutional principles, but also more activity in the public square of We The People. Get involved, get active and make sure that your voice is heard - while at the same time, respect the opinions and viewpoints of others.

While you may not think or feel that will work, I merely ask you to consider the position and point of view of others - 'walking a mile in their shoes' so to speak.

For without extending this basic consideration to others, we cannot expect others to want to nor be willing to extend the same courtesy to us!

Now, it must also be made very clear that if those who wish to name call and shout down or over others (even online) want to be a part of the discussion, their very actions when called out on it, will make it clear that they have no interest in dialogue but rather only creating more of the same divisiveness that has put the country on it's current path.

I will not let them control my actions or my opinions because of their actions. But if they can explain it clearly and reasonably, it may well change my mind. Or my opinion might alter theirs.

If they insist on making unsupported statements as facts and do not wish to show where they obtained these facts, then I will have to take a position to have no further dialogue with them.

I will not respond when they refuse to back up their claims and continue to toss out 'ad hominem' attacks or 'straw men' to obscure and distract their resistance in supplying the factual basis of their position. But I would simply ask, "Why would they not want to?' unless their motive is not as they state or they have an agenda that is furthered by their fomenting dissent.

I simply cannot think of any other reasons.

For the considerations of others (that is the 'democracy' part of this great experiment) and electing representatives who share our values and interests (which is part of what makes this a Republic) is just what is set forth in the US Constitution.

I firmly believe that We The People - of these still United States but divided populace - owe our country that much at the very least.

Our National Disgrace

2012-09-06T12:01:00.000-05:00

OUR NATIONAL DISGRACE

I ran across this news release today and have to say that while I was not surprised, I was certainly disheartened. The economic slide in the USA being buried by the mainstream press. No amount of 'spin' can make this more palatable during the Presidential "Silly Season"

This in a time when we send millions upon millions of food relief aid to scores of countries around the world. Yet, right here at home, many families are not able to put food on the table.

Are these 17 million Americans better of THIS year, much less four years ago?

Please pray for these people - many just like you and I - for it's but by the grace of our Lord, we could be in this situation, too.

Why it matters to me.

2012-08-30T00:14:00.001-05:00

There is a simple concept that runs through my thoughts most every day. A thread that is as strong a spider's silk but can be as difficult to see as a delicate web spun in the highest corner of a dim room.

I am speaking of faith. In a previous post, I shared a video about that very subject and really did not comment much past that as I felt the video alone spoke volumes. But in looking to further explain the why of who I am, it is not really enough. Though this blog is really just for me it seems (and with a whopping total of less than 100 total page view in the past 3 years there is really no need for anyone in the blogoshpere to worry)... but nonetheless, it is in writing about things that helps me to sort through different events and things, sorting the chaff from the wheat and 'burning' the unusable. It is in studying what remains that I learn of what is truly important and what is merely good to know.

My faith like everyone else is extremely personal and yet at the same time I know without a doubt that many do not agree with me while others are on the same page - so much so that their descriptions of their personal conviction and inner faith parallel mine.

The question of "What is Faith?" comes up often when speaking with those who do not share my viewpoint. So much comes out of these internal dialogues that it can easily descend to the point that what they believe seems so far off base that for me to 'see the world they do' requires that I ignore my faith and beliefs that it can potentially go well past the point of rhetoric and conjecture into an almost creepy realization that what I consider right and wrong will not fit into their faith construct in any way. Furthermore, if I were to continue down that intellectual path, I could very well lose my own faith in the process.

I like to use the phrase that Henry Blackaby expounded on in his series "Experiencing God" who described it as "A Crisis of Faith".

At first blush, this seemed way out there, philosophically, because it has been those times that I really questioned my beliefs that I felt furthest from God and His mercy.

And Grace?

Not even able to see much less comprehend how that entered into the discussion. After diligent study, prayer and contemplation of the weekly lessons I eventually realized that I was moving further away from God and His plan during those times. Not intentionally nor because He had somehow moved, but the drift to a full-blown secular worldview was literally right around the corner and the old man would be demanding his way any minute. But that was and is simply a cleverly designed rabbit hole - one that could suck my very will away if I did not understand the truth at some point and turn back to higher ground. The distance from God's grace and mercy were real. The gulf I felt in those times was real but then I did not understand what was happening. I had allowed others to chip away at my faith and supplant it with a more politically correct worldview that would be much less threatening than what I knew in my heart to be true.

The gulf was caused by my taking my eye off of God and allowing the world with all it's glitter and fancy trappings to become vastly more important. Not only was I wrong in allowing this to happen, I was wrong in that God had somehow moved away from me and could not feel what I was going through. Jesus spoke from that same place on the cross at Golgotha. Matt 27:45-46

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).(NIV)

Wow! This is exactly how I had felt!

So, I could not say that God did not understand what I was going thought. He too had felt that great gulf between Him and the Father. Matthew's Gospel preceeds this wth a statement that the sky darkened from Noon to three in the afternoon. That darkness is, I believe, a direct example of how that crisis of faith can darken our viewpoint and claim us in the ensuing confusion of the soul.

So, how do we get out of that dark and desolate place? Well, in a nutshell, we have to honestly answer the questions of who is God and who am I?

I am a part of God's creation and as such, I cannot do any more than any other part of creation by causing the rain to fall or the sun to shine. Much as I would like to say that I could but in truth, I can really do very little to make much of a change in the larger world around me. This blog stands as proof of that. But God can and does make the rain fall and the sun to shine. Or the rain to stop and the sun to be obscured by clouds.

Much like the dark clouds that covered Golgotha on that first Good Friday, there are times when clouds darken the view of the world and the sun is hidden. The sun does not "go away" as it is still shining there above the clouds. Much in the same way can we understand God. Though our view of Him may be obscured and hidden, He is still there. He has always been there and will always be there.

Even when I want to cry out, "God, why did you let that or this happen and what are You going to do about it?" God is there. Not that He's too busy or any of the other malarkey one hears in those situations (Job heard all of that from his friends, too), He knows what is happening but as James wrote, we will be tried and tested for it is through those times that not only is our faith strengthened, we can also gain a deeper understanding of His purpose for us and what we need to do to be firmly and steadily in the path He has set before us.

Our faith can ground us like nothing else in the world. But without the proper connection to be author of our faith - when in the middle of a personal crisis - can also seem to be a useless rudder on a ship being tossed and buffeted by the winds and waves. We need to be careful of these times when the world and all that glitters can lure us like a siren's call into the rocks.

I tend to listen to quite a bit of music - no surprise - but occasionally I hear something in a song or lyric that makes me go "Wow! Great idea! That right there says so much to what I am going through right here and now!" It is as if He feels what I am going through and has allowed my to bask in His glory by revealing an underlying truth hidden from a cursory glance. One such song comes from the group Casting Crowns. It is simply called "Who Am I"

I could say more about how this was one of those songs that truly ministered to me but I feel that would take away from the power and beauty of both melody and lyric.

This YouTube video is a wonderful interpretation by UPC Conference Church - Oslo Youth Group.

Please enjoy!

L.V.

Technology and the Teisco Del Rey copy

2012-08-29T21:56:00.002-05:00

The ability to blog and share thoughts on any and all subjects is still quite novel to me... yet at the same time it is really just the end result of the relentless pursuit of technology we have seen in the last several decades.

As a musician who favors the sound of acoustic based instruments, I have always had a love/hate relationship with the technology that allows my music to be heard by a wider audience - figuratively and literally.

The first excursions into technology was an old tube amplified radio. That thing was capable of tuning in AM, FM and five SW bands. Plus (and most importantly) it had a selection that allowed the user to plug into the amp's
inputs. I had an acoustic guitar and knew from reading (books printed on pages - not on a blog or a Wikipedia entry) that the property of a phonograph needle in reproducing sound from vinyl was that it created an electric current when the needle was dragged back and forth in the groove.

I knew that this was true because I could run the needle across the ridges of the fingerprint on my thumb and hear the sound as it was transferred to the record players amp... but how to make this work on an old Sears Silvertone acoustic guitar? I salvaged the cartridge from a record player that had bit the dust and with a little careful splicing and a bit of black tape had a pickup that I could place on the guitar - under the long tailpiece section behind the bridge. The other end of the wire was placed into the the user input section of the aforementioned radio receiver and... I had an electric guitar. I was hooked. But family's situation ruled out me getting a real one, so I did what all 12 year old's who have dreams larger than their bank account... I started cutting grass for the neighbors.

My part of town was populated with older near retirement folks who were glad to have someone that would take care of their mowing. I started with just a push rotary mower but soon convinced my Mom that really needed to have a power mower. As this was something that the family could use for our own yard as well, the suggestion was approved by my Mom's boyfriend (who held the purse strings tighter than a New England fisherman - I'll just call him "Jake" to protect his privacy - and no offense to the New England fisherman among the readers) and soon we had a new power mower. But to save on the purchase they got a self-propelled rotary mower. Picture a push mower with a 5 HP Briggs and Stratton motor balanced on the top. It did make inclined yards easier to cut but the silly thing weighed almost as much as I did! After a year and a half of saving up the money (took that long because as I later found out, the price of the mower came off the top of the monies I made) Jake finally told me one evening that he would check with a friend of his that owned a pawn shop for a good used guitar. This was back in the early 70's and I had visions of a Strat or Les Paul waiting at the house when I got home from school that evening.

Now I don't know if anyone reading this knows more about guitars than the models cited above, but I will say that the last thing I was expecting was a real Fender or Gibson. But certainly was not expecting a Teisco Del Ray EV 2T in black with a white pickguard ("A what???"), which was a copy of a VOX Phantom. Now if you think about what a guitar looks like from an acoustic view and you might think about the violin shape or a large flat topped creation with ornate engraved mother-of-pearl inlays.... like Elvis or the Everly Brothers. I had heard of the Hollies and the Dave Clark Five and liked their music but my heart and soul really loved what I heard Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck doing with the Yardbirds. They were not using VOX - they were using Fenders and Gibsons to get their sound (little did I know that Jimmy Page was using an old pre-Tele broadcaster though a small 15 watt amp in the studio to get those awesome tones on the first couple of led Zep albums I later heard somewhere... (and this could be apocryphal - but I digress)).

But a Teisco? The couple of guys who played at school would be beside themselves in laughter when they saw this monstrosity that I'd been cursed with for all my hard work. Looking back on this time, I realize a few things that have stayed with me through the years. I played that guitar as if I was a man possessed. I gave it my all to learn how to make a crappy guitar sound - and play - good.

No, not just good, but great. That attitude caused problems (with a big ego to go with it) but standing beside some really talented folks over the years removed the ego quite effectively.

I also learned the most important thing of all... that what we carry inside us as we go through life matters more than the things that we carry with us as possessions. I have learned that someone could take everything I owned even the shirt off my back... but they could not take my pride (self-worth) nor my experiences. Those things have served me well in the journey since that time. I still carried a grudge about the way that "Jake" had sold me a short bill of goods for the 300.00 dollars that I made those two summers. I know that the guitar he bought was probably worth 50 dollars to the pawn shop owner he traded with. but that guitar was a real turning point for me. I would have to make the folks in our small hick town hear me past the look of it (and their small town attitude over my family's circumstances... and I left the grudge behind about twenty years ago... I was the one suffering. It didn't effect Jake in the least).

I was able to get people to listen by learning not just the music I wanted to hear and loved but by also including that portion of the music spectrum that I did not care for but knew that others enjoyed - what they loved. Swing. Big Band. Soul. RnB. Jazz. Country and Western. These in addition to the blues based rock that had caught my young ears on the late night AM radio stations out of Chicago. Plus, Earth Wind and Fire, the Spinners, Chuck Mangione, War, and on and on... In addition, I made myself listen to 'older music' to be able to 'speak' the language of swing and jazz. Did I mention Dave Brubeck? There are so many others whose music and melodies have since became a part of who I am and how I approach playing the guitar and other instruments. And those styles that didn't catch my ear at first? Now I love them as well!

The downside to the technology is best described by stating that when I listen to myself after recording a part, what I hear is still is just a reproduction of what had just happened... not the real deal by any means. I can hear the lack of nuance and the way the electronics split and then alter the sound. Techies can understand the change with terms like THD and RMS but to one who does not understand that distortion is not always a good thing, it was internalized and I felt that I was doing something wrong because the sound on the tape did not sound like 'me'!

After a dozen years and many such recording sessions, I realized that the audiences were also being shortchanged. Even more so today. If one has never heard an acoustic instrument played live, they know that any reproduction is but a shell... and with the increased use of samples and synths (and further diminish the acoustic sound), many times it is almost impossible to decipher just what the producer/composer had in mind with the sound they'd used on a track. ("They used a clarinet patch for that bass line? Mmmoookay...").

The lessons learned in my journey have sometimes been painful and sometimes silly, at the time.
Yet, I would not trade them for anything. The best part of the anger/disappointment/hurt I felt was that it spurred me onto a higher plateau in my ability and appreciation for the muse that stirs a restless soul into communicating their heart and being with an instrument.

In all, the past is just that - I do not now carry a grudge for wrongs, perceive or otherwise. I did sell the Teisco to a good friend of mine from high school afer I started college. I later asked him why would he want such a POS. He told me that he wanted to own a guitar that was once played by me. I was humbled beyond description.

So let me say now, Henry and Candy, both of you were so instrumental in giving me the ability to see me through your eyes and to foster my own hope in my talents. For that I can not repay you. I only know that I was blessed to be able to play for the two of you at your wedding all those years ago
The past's burdens are just old burdens unless we continue to carry them into the future.

I prefer to travel much lighter now and because of friends and others I've met over the years, I can only say "Thank you"!

CODA - my "Teisco blues" story still needs to be completed. That VOX copy guitar opened my eyes to other brands and today I use VOX amps exclusively and have a stable of 'no-name' guitars as well as few name brands that others would recognize.

The difference is...

2012-08-29T21:45:00.000-05:00

Morgan K Freeburg over at House of Eratosthenes has posted a column that deserves more views. The Caveman And The Calculator tries to explain the mindset of those who claim to have the best answer for those who could fall beneath the safety net of the entitlement programs.

The article is worth the read as it succinctly peals away the thought process (or lack of) that is behind the current debate on increases in the government handouts the country seen in the last 10 to 20 years.

"... when a lack of understanding automatically leads to curiosity, right off the bat that makes me different from the subjects I seek to study. They can surpass milestone after milestone in the spectrum of mounting frustration, and from what I’ve been able to see, entirely fail to realize even the slightest ambition to try to find out more than they already know."

Morgan always makes me think and that is a good thing.
Please visit his blog and see for yourself.

L.V.

What are we fighting?

2012-08-23T01:02:00.007-05:00

OR

How can we win when we don't know the rules?

Was recently in a discussion with a group of people of various backgrounds when someone made a comment that certain political operatives 'wrote the book' on this election cycle's mud slinging and how it has been particularly nasty. Made me think back to a book that I had heard of but had not read. I googled and wiki'ed the book and without saying much more, here is a portion of the page from Wikipedia.

So follow the link and learn... .wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_for_Radicals

On tactics

For an elementary illustration of tactics, take parts of your face as the point of reference; your eyes, your ears, and your nose. First the eyes: if you have organized a vast, mass-based people's organization, you can parade it visibly before the enemy and openly show your power. Second the ears; if your organization is small in numbers, then do what Gideon did: conceal the members in the dark but raise a din and clamor that will make the listener believe that your organization numbers many more than it does. Third, the nose; if your organization is too tiny even for noise, stink up the place.

The rules

RULE 1: “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” Power is derived from 2 main sources – money and people. “Have-Nots” must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)
RULE 2: “Never go outside the expertise of your people.” It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don’t address the “real” issues. This is why. They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)
RULE 3: “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.” Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)
RULE 4: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity’s very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)
RULE 5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)
RULE 6: “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’re doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different that any other human being. We all avoid “un-fun” activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)
RULE 7: “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” Don’t become old news. (Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)
RULE 8: “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)
RULE 9: “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists’ minds. The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions. The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)
RULE 10: “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management’s wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)
RULE 11: “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.” Never let the enemy score points because you’re caught without a solution to the problem. (Old saw: If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise solution.)
RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

I would normally find this merely interesting to read but when these ideas are being played out in front of us each and every day, it becomes more of a nightmare than the 'dream' of utopia some would seek. Please note that I do not agree with these tactics. I refuse to fight with a fool who will wear me down to their size and then win with experience.

The 'Talk" link on the Wiki page is also quite interesting and worth reading. Some liberals CAN disagree and not resort to name calling... that was new to me! LOL!

God Bless the USA, again!

L.V

Photolog 2011

2012-02-01T15:43:00.002-06:00

A few shots taken during the Air And Street Rod show this past fall.

This would called "Street Rods in the Wild" if it had to have a name.

OK, these are not technically "Street Rods, but are cool rides!

"Have A Happy Day!"

Trust

2011-08-08T14:07:00.001-05:00

Too often, we have an 'easy' faith... we place our trust only when our (limited) senses can verify what we assume are facts and base our faith on that assumption...

Eternal value

2011-04-18T06:29:00.000-05:00

I ran across this on the WND commentary page and thought that it was worth re-posting (emphasis added):

It is perhaps useful to think about heaven and hell in terms of utility rather than fairness. If God has a purpose for man beyond the grave and is distinguishing between those He finds useful for that purpose and those He does not, and if man has been created with an immortal soul, then obviously something must be done with those immortal souls who have been determined to be of no use to Him. This logic answers Rob Bell's simplistic concerns regarding the fate of Gandhi and anyone else deemed "good" by humanity; their perceived goodness during their time on Earth is totally irrelevant with regard to their eternal utility in the eyes of God. This should not be a difficult concept to grasp, as even the best Mixed Martial Arts fighter in the world is not considered to be of any value whatsoever to the United States Marine Corps.

Read more: Hell is for human trash http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=288309#ixzz1Js98X64n

In all things we see 'as through a glass darkly' but one day we shall see clearly. Who are we as mortal man to determine the heart of God and His wonderful purpose?

Behind the Veil

2010-12-16T19:28:00.001-06:00

BEHIND THE VEIL

July 26, 2008

There is an unseen world that lies counter to the one seen, tasted and touched. Though some may make the claim, it is not an imaginary realm - no, it’s as real as our own world. Its boundaries are not fixed and immutable although we’re never quite sure where the edge of one ends and the other begins - like the ocean as it ebbs and flows with the tides. In this realm we can only get a brief fleeting glimpse of what lies there. A vague uneasiness, a faint sound or a sudden chill is what seems to be encountered the most, but the influence that this place has on our own world is nonetheless very real indeed.

Terms like ‘supernatural’ and ‘the place between heavens’ are sometimes used to try to describe this place. Some believe that this is the dwelling place of what would be thought of as ghosts or poltergeists. The influence it has had on popular culture - even days of long ago when most stories were passed along in a verbal fashion - is not hard to mistake. The stories of the ancient campfire are not really so far removed from the one spun today - even as man has reached to the Moon and Mars in outer space and to the human Genome sequence in our own inner-space, we try to define the world that sits adjacent to ours.

Some are quick to claim alien abductions, lights in the sky or other such things to prove that life exists ‘out there’ beyond our planet. Yet these are the very one’s who can become so wrapped up in the fabric of science that when the subject turns to that which cannot be weighed, measured or tested they scream as if the very thought might somehow infect them with some strange terminal illness.

Many years ago, the most learned men of science as well as church leaders believed that the world was flat. It was also believed that illnesses caused by bacteria and viruses were a result of someone’s lack of faith. Many insisted on a public trial, really a kangaroo court, for that one person who deduced that the Earth traveled around the Sun and not the other way around. As a result of his genius, Galileo had to renounce his theory of the Earth and Sun’s rotations to please the church and leading scientists of his day. He was still branded a heretic and lived under house arrest for the last years of his life. Has mankind really changed so much that the same thing could not occur today?

Today we have so much knowledge that we are like the doctor who learned more and more about less and less until he knew everything about nothing. But the other part of that old story also fits our day and age - the good doctor’s learned friend, studied less and less about more and more until he knew nothing about everything. That said to be the difference between a specialist and a generalist. Where are we along this scale?

Even in this era - surrounded by machines and technologies that would have been declared magic or witchcraft just a dozen generations ago - we have become like the two doctors. How can we say for certain that we understand everything about the nature of our world when despite all of the advances in medicine when there are still 30,000 deaths each year from the flu? Or despite the ability to send two payloads of highly advanced technology to examine and explore the Martian terrain, we still have men women and children dying from starvation every hour of every day all over the globe? Not to mention the ravages of the likes of the Avian (bird) flu or the AIDS virus upon our scared psyches or the millions afflicted with as yet unknown illnesses and diseases that not only have no cure are as are yet un-named so little is known about them.

As example of what we didn’t know then but have since learned, consider the term hysterical; “Hysterical (1615) - from L. hystericus "of the womb," from Gk. hysterikos "of the womb, suffering in the womb," from hystera "womb". Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the uterus. Hysterics is 1727; hysteria, abstract noun, formed 1801”. (From The Online Etymology Dictionary) http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hysterical

What is now understood to be in some cases simple personality differences was as recently as 200 years ago though of as something that only women suffered from and that it was a result of them being women. In this regard uncovering the world as it really is has helped the treatment of true disorders instead of just lumping them all together under one generic heading and calling it solved.

This knowledge was once beyond the veil.

Denizens of that world beyond the veil - that we cannot see -might just be enjoying our inability to be the demi-gods we’ve convinced ourselves to be. But if that were indeed true, there would be no deaths on this side of the veil. There would be no children left by their loving parents on the doorsteps of a monastery to insure that the child would not die of malnutrition or be killed due to a cultural bias or social convention. The demons that inhabit that realm might be downright gleeful in what they see us do to one another. Even better if we claim that what we’ve done is in the name of God. We must again learn that murder is murder. ‘Imprisonment’ and ‘torture’ are just that. Not ‘mercy killing’, ‘abortion’, ‘confinement’ and a personal favorite, ‘re-education’. George Orwell knew that left unchecked, we ourselves would become Big Brother. The government alone could not become as depraved as we’ve allowed our own culture to become. ‘Man-boy love’? No way! That’s ‘pedophilia’ and ‘perversion’. ‘Planned Parenthood’? Not on your life nor that of the unborn child’s!

The veil becomes so thin at times that we cannot as thinking feeling individuals ignore that which we know to be right and just when dictators kill their own citizens, terrorists - home-grown and from abroad -bomb civilian targets and we worry about how they're treated while in custody. Again the veil grows paper thin and we see that there is indeed such a thing as Evil. Large Capitals - EVIL.

We’ve even taken the words that once meant one thing and bastardized them to the point that the meanings of thoughts written not so very long ago now have an entirely different connotation.

“Gay” = “Happy”? I don’t know, but the folks who marched in the 4th of July parade recently seemed anything but 'happy' as they shoved their lifestyles in everyone’s face. “Homophobia” = “bigoted”? A phobia was/is something you’re afraid of - like spiders or snakes or heights or enclosed spaces. Now we're saying that if you fear them you must hate them to the point that you want them dead or must consider them to be part of a ‘lesser species’ of mankind?

Where did that line of thinking originate?

Words that once carried an extreme emotional weight not so very long ago are not what they used to be either. The child ‘born out of wedlock’ is one in three kids in your child or grandchild’s classroom - maybe even your own. The adulterer (or adulteress) was not a person you wanted to invite to the family Thanksgiving dinner. Now they host the event.

Not offering judgment here, just food for thought.

Still have an appetite?

We seem to have lost all capacity to feel any sense of shame for these things. Anymore there no sense of remorse that we, as a culture, have become the ‘master and commander’ of our personal realm and answer to no one except our own self and selfishness.

That other realm behind the veil must be having a grand celebration here of late. Seems that the 'Boss' had all of them working double shifts, but all of their hard work paid off. We’ve gotten fat and lazy. We try to shake off our uneasiness, and write it off to the stress of living in "Our Modern World". Screwtape should be proud of Wormwood's accomplishments here in the last 100 years.

Only problem with this rationalization is that every generation in history believed themselves to be the ‘moderns’. Look at the Romans with their Coliseum. Very modern in it’s day. How about the Pharaohs and those grand pyramids at Giza? Wow, such a stunning achievement for that very "modern society".

Where is all of this going? Where are we headed as we rush headlong to become the history our children’s children will read about?

The answer unfortunately to some extent is hidden behind the veil.

There is only one thing that can cure all of these ills mentioned here; a personal relationship with the one true God. By taking a lifelong walk with the Son of Man - who can and does live within His children through the Holy Spirit. He said that He would be with us to the end of the age. Whether that means the end of the Earth or of ourselves, make no mistake, He left a comforter in the person of the Holy Spirit.

That is the whole issue at stake here.

Today, talk of anything ‘supernatural’ is tossed into the waste bin of popular culture and we end up with “Blair Witch”, “Ghostbusters” and “Ghost Hunters - Season 4”.

The true Holy Spirit or Ghost is not at all like that... the Holy Spirit is a real, honest to goodness “super – natural” being. This word, "supernatural", meaning above that which is the natural world, was first used by those trying to explain just what it was that allowed the Holy Spirit to do His work in the church... true supernatural events that many have written off as being nothing but campfire ghost stories.

In a sense they are – but the campfire is really hellfire and the story’s not yet finished.

We will all know the final act after we’ve passed beyond the veil.

10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV

=====
CODA - Originally posted on myChurch.com - July 28th 2008.

What's in a name?

2010-12-13T20:07:00.000-06:00

My given name is L.V. Not a normal name by any stretch of the imagination and like the character from the show M*A*S*H, Capt. B.J. Hunnicut, it constantly raises the question "what does it stand for?"

There are many folks who have only initials for a name, Harry S. Truman, J R Cash (also known as Johnny Cash) are but a few.

Well in my case, unlike the fictional army surgeon, I was named after my father, "L.V., Sr." so therefore I carry the appendage of Jr. after my name. But when asked what it stands for, I usually say that I was named after my father and that closes the question. Some persist and on and on it goes. I mean, really? Is it that earth-shattering to need to know the meaning and possibly be searching for a hidden meaning - which raises many questions in my mind about their motivation for persisting.

I have learned over the years to re-direct or defuse the questioner, or even rattle off something like "Call me LV, JV, RC or RV but don't call me late for supper" which usually get a chuckle and allows the conversation to take another branch.

I retrospect, what was a millstone in my youth has proven to have several real advantages. Phone rings and the caller asks for 'L' or for 'Lou'... right away I know that they are reading my name from a list provided by the telemarketing firm they work for and that allows me to quickly end the call.

You might ask "Lou? How does L.V. become Lou?" Reason is technology. Most forms used online do not recognize special characters such as periods or quotation marks in the portion for given names. As such, I constantly get error messages when entering "L.V." in a form field. On many such occasions, I would just enter "LV" but the computer's software - which really is so much smarter than we mere mortals - decides that I am a stupid human and my name must really be Lv. Which becomes Lu to the telemarketer who would not recognize either L.V. or Lv as a normal human name - despite the computer's better judgment - and thus would ask for 'Lou' - which allows me to end said call promptly. Anymore I just chuckle about these digital slights.

Lv has proven to be a great spam and junk mail filter... and those programs that use my email handle to start their salutation... "Hello Lvjmusic!" almost beg to have their spam output deleted immediately. Facebook on the other hand (here) cannot understand - even after sending an email pointing out that their form reader got it wrong.

So in Facebook's portion of cyberspace, I am known as "L.v."

But back to the back story... there was time many years ago when I asked the ones who named me, where the "L" did my name come from? Well it seems that back when Dad was born out in the sticks and hollers of Walker County, AL, the main form of home delivery was done using midwives. The attendants for his entry into the world were Lavonna and Vera.

Some have said that it's an interesting story and after these so many years I do realize that my name has a history as rich as many others who also have what may seem to be an unusual name, so I wear it proudly and without reservation.

Random Thoughts

2010-12-13T01:23:00.000-06:00

An amazing thing is these interwebs... I saved this several months (years?) ago and thought that I would add it to this page tonight ...

<snip>

"I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive text messages?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to our kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency"

This is something to make you go...where IS my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill and there are no dropped calls!"

</snip>

But before I posted it, I gave a short snip-pet of the text a run through Google to see how often it had appeared on the inter-tube-ules (don't want to seem like I'm parroting something for no reason than to pass an email along as a new blog post...) but there were 34K+ returns on the search... then I saw the Snoops.com's forum at the top of the list. Now that just out and out piques my curiosity... what would I find on the "stellar" web snoop for true and/or false information? Seems that the atheists and agnostics (aka progressive/liberal/democrats) were having a field day on the Snoopes forums when this tidbit arrived back in 2007... (see for yourself...(Snoops forum on Bible Vs. Cell Phone) ummm... wow... seems that user 'HollowMan" gave the above text a thorough 'Fisking"...

<snip2>

"I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
We would probably loose it somewhere.

What if we flipped through it several time a day?
We would damage it with use, and need to put it in the shop.

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
We would be late for work, and get fired.

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
This one's a stretch...

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
Then when we didn't have it, we'd DIE!!!eleventy-twelve!!1!

What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
They would probably break it, or be more enamored of the box."

</snip2>

Again, I can only say "WOW!"

If this is the state of mind of the prog/lib/dem's then our future is very, very scary under the "hopey-changey" admin we have these days... (want some tea?)

I was an agnostic for many years - even before I knew what the word 'agnostic' meant. To totally discard the message of real hope and a change of the old man to the new man as we have been promised and then to Fisk the writer just for an attempt to get a laugh? I should "Fisk-the-Fisker" just to feel better about all of this but it's really not worth my time as I would probably just end up creating a troll...

I had saved this to share with the Jr. High Sunday school class I was teaching at the time and knowing the kids in my class, their comments and questions would have been much more stinging than what "HollowMan' posted above... but then the screen-name says more than I could ever add to this discussion.

Winter in Illinois...

2010-12-12T17:50:00.003-06:00

Some people who are not familiar with the winters in the plains states will find this amusing... those of us who reside here understand the truth in this typo... OK, let's see...can't go to the Christmas party at Lincoln's ChalleNGe...and all of those Christmas concerts have been rescheduled... oh shoot... looks like we can't go to the village of Neoga either... they're closed... hope they open back up soon...