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26 May 2011

Why I Write Novels

I'm quite shy.  Once I get to know ya, I'll talk your ear off. Blogging is new to me.  I usually write novels and long essays.

In both written and spoken word, Brevity is not my forte.

I'm finding this whole blog thing very interesting, but I'm finding it difficult to pick a topic.  I start writing, and an hour later, I realize that I still haven't made my point.  (Then I toss it.)  I think I need to start with small chunks.  Don't worry if the whole WHOLE W-H-O-L-E point is espoused.  Do another blog some other time and link to relevant points.  blah blah blah

I enjoy typing, and I'm trying to get my fast chops back, so the weird TV recaps have been fun.  When I have access to a DVR in a few weeks, I should be able to really have some fun with them -- hopefully in a more readable way.  I think I'll try to keep up with the Beck recaps at least.  With him leaving Fox sometime soon (rumored for the end of the summer -- if he doesn't get shot in Jerusalem, that is), I think he's gonna stop holding back.  Fuck the sponsors.  Fuck Fox.  Fuck Media Matters.  Fuck Soros.

I'm still stunned by his eerie alignment of his trip to Israel and Courage campaign, and how it aligned with the new Israel news.  It's not like he's Nostradamus or whatever, but damn, he's good at watching the other hand.

The Glenn Beck Program, May 26 LIVEBLOG

American Exceptionalism.  Social Justice.

Are there problems here?  Yep.  But instead of looking at problems that need fixing, how about looking at WHAT MAKES AMERICA GREAT.

Stuff.  gadgets, cars, houses.  Is that what makes us great?
Ability to communicate.  Think about how powerful our words are, esp with social media.  Man's words have never had more power than they do today, ever.
Transportation.
Banking system
Infrastructure.

Beck's answer:  clip of flash mob destroying Dunkin Donuts.  terrorized the place, left cash in the drawer, left.; mcdonald's bully victim having seizure on the floor; planned fight between two teens while people watching do nothing, mom encourages her kid.

This is where you'll find America's greatness.  DeTocqueville.  He was seeking the answer to that question.  History teaches us the truth -- America is great.  It's what motivated the Fr to give us the Statue of Liberty.  That flame in her hand.  Is that freedom?

We're being taught that Freedom is "rights" -- "I've got rights, who are you to tell me."  It's all about who's at the wheel.

If you've heard the phrase America is great because America is good, that's D'T.  If America ceases to be good, ceases to be great.

me: god, I love D'T.

When the line of right/wrong is being challenged, it's easy to stand and do nothing if no one else does.  the EXCEPTION is the one who makes a stand.

If America is great, she must become good again.  How does she become good?
Founding Fathers: religion.
Ben Franklin, on the american religion: one god, governs by his providence, the most we can do for him is to do good.......... these i take to be<end of quote>
is a god
he's active
we should worship him
best way to do that is to d ogood to others
the rest will be taken care of later

that's why we're so moved by stuff like japan's reaction to crisis.  japan was great because japan was good.

joplin: he sent a team done there to document stories.  they are good.  clips of people talking in joplin.

me: i'm an atheist.  i have a really hard time reconciling Beck's patriotism + religion with my views.  on some wordless level, i get it, and it makes sense in my heart.  but i'm a person of logic, and i don't like things that can't be explained in words.

beck: this is why i no longer worry about impending doom.  ben franklin gave us the answer.  d't gave us the answer.  why fear anything if this -- strangers lifting each other up -- is the worst that can happen after devastation, i'm not worried about our country, i'm not worried about collapse.

"tale of two cities".  best of times, worst of times.  age of wisdom/foolishness.  me:this is really amazing to hear, in light of current stuff.  the epic story of struggle.  that's where we are now. keep a journal, tell your children.  survival vs destruction, which will you choose.

Beck starts talking about a book but doesn't say the title.  Gets teary.  "Silence in the face of evil is evil itself" he says.  None of us were born w/o a reason, to just watch the show.  We're all a puzzle piece.  The more we hang out and say not my problem, let the govt fix it, the more that's bad.  Our neighbors are unplugged, and plugging in can be uncomfortable.  But it's not a change, just a reminder of who we really are.  They're already embedded in who we are.  And it's dif here (US), 'cos America is different.  America is great because America has always been good.  All America needs to do is recognize what is great and do good.

COMMERCIAL

What was the book he got teary over?  Biography written by Erik something.  Or did he say Autobiography (which would be sort of weird).  he said he couldn't finish reading it because it was too personal.

quick google search shows erix metaxas wrote the Bonhoeffer biography that Beck loves so much.

gotta pee.  might miss a little when he comes back from break

We're back!

americans will make bad choices, so they need to be restricted and forced to do good.  that's what people are beginning to think.  joplin was the opposite: doing good, not mandated, no one telling them to do it.

walgreens employee fired shots at guys trying to rob them.  saved lives, cops said he did good.  he lost his job 'cos he violated osha laws

conv w sarah brady (that brady) and obama. "i just want you to know that we're working on it", we just gotta do some stuff "under the radar" -- obama.  is this good or bad = under the cover of darkness.

america becomes great when we encourage each other to live to our highest ideals.  find role models, hold them up.  and punish the bad guys.

COMMERCIAL
I really do enjoy that the first part of the show is 20 minutes of Just Beck.  Gives him time to dig in.  But the result is lots of short segments and commercial breaks for the rest of the show, and that's really a bit of a letdown in comparison.
I'm back to sucking on nicotine candy 24/7.  I don't really understand how it happen.  My tongue is painfully ripped up, tho.  Sucks to be sensitive to anything/everything I put in my mouth.  Also sucks that these candies are pricey!
Beck helps me believe scary stuff that I already knew but thought was silly to think aloud.  It feels better. and worse.  I wish I had a way to be more involved in what I want to be.

BACK!
Beck jokes about how he's nervous about the Arab Spring.  He says he thinks those people do want to be free.  His doubts are that there's something deeper going on.
spiritual leader of muslim faith spoke about killing tons of jews, while the journalist was raped while people yelled jew!.... etc.  i've become desensitized to extremists calling for killing jews.  when i first saw that first clip, i was tunned to silence for days.

shows clips of childrens shows showing horrible anti-semite propaganda.  he's gonna scour their tv to show a better compilation.

how does a child raised with that stuff, what chance do those children have? searing hatred is being ingrained in them from the start.  they have no chance to develop loving relationships with their neighbors.

the world must decide, now, before they see the images of what is going to be thrust upon israel.

in OTHER NEWS, egypt is forming a new nazi party, w a contemporary frame of reference.  they say the membership has been going up #s have been going up, some comment about the marginalized liberal party that i didn't catch.  daily caller quote about german funding.

didn't we promise each other that we would never forget?

party membership when from hundreds to hundreds of thousands in the 1930s.  mr. president, how could you not know about this stuff?  you cheerlead the Arab Spring.  if you don't know, can i reccommend Bill Kristol's weekly standard for the basic facts?

COMMERCIAL
I'm looking for the Bill Kristol article to link it, but I haven't found it.

Back!
caliphate chalkboard.
the reason they are concentrating this summer... we are headed to mem day weekend.  by labor day weekend, the world will look like a dif place.

if israel is destroyed, split... it's the key to the western way of life.
palestine is the key that will unite.  they will agree on driving the jews in the sea.

day of rage plan for georgia has been cancelled, but kuwait is on (may 27). ethopia may 28th.  but wait, there's more.  palestinians calling for continuation of nakbuh day june 27th.  this is the day jersusalem was taken in 19XX.  the palestinian flag will unite the arab world.

cascade, check
spread, check
destabalize europe:  italy, greece, it's starting in france. watch for the palestinian flag.  you can turn a blind eye or you can admit that there's a problem.

plug for jerusalem gathering in august.  i'm really scared that beck is gonna get shot that weekend.
"reach out to a jewish community center and join arm in arm"

COMMERCIAL
I wish the newscasters who ridiculed Beck when he talked about the caliphate theory during the early days of egypt would have the balls to say that so far, he's not been far off the mark.  his long range, worst case scenario in which russia controls australia?  yes, that's bananas and easy to make fun of.  but it's no crazier than the far out theories you find on the ed show.  take out the flair and look at the substance.  the middle east is on fire.  we watched egypt with stunned curiosity.  now it's just the norm that there's uprising everywhere.  and we're complacent.  Egypt was only four months ago.  That's how many destabalized countries in how many months?

BACK!
started program talking about what makes america great.  what makes US great is that it's good.  we can get caught up in the news showing that stuff is falling apart (and it is) and look for someone to offer a solution...
comparison to germany and how society became selfish, prodded by govt, allowing people to look the other way.

doesn't believe in coincidence.  was given book "the righteous among nations".  couple weeks ago was at a holocaust memorial.  the book is about the people who helped during the holocaust (men, women, children) from all over the world who risked theiir own lives to stand, to help save the jews.  title of the book is a name for them.  no title more precious than to be given that title.  THAT should be our (America's, individuals) goal.

COMMERCIAL
Join us tommorrow for a Founders' Friday.  (ooh, he hasn't done one of those since last summer.  interesting.)

ADDED:
here's a link to Beck-text (+radio video) about the Egyptian Nazi party.
link to Jerusalem Post article, quoted when talking about Nazi stuff

The thing that sucks about the Hitler Card disarming arguments is -- what happens when the guy really is Hitler?  what happens when the comparison is legit?





"Judge strikes down Walker's collective bargaining law"

Read story here.  One step of the fight was struck down, but the war's far from over.

This really ain't a big deal.  It was bound to happen, especially given the politics of the judge.  No one thought this court would make the final decision.  Next, one of two things will happen.

1. Case keeps going through the court system til it gets to the state Supreme Court.
2. Walker tries to re-pass the bill.

With the students gone -- but teachers going on summer break soon -- I wonder if the govt will risk re-passing the bill, thus also risking a flood of protesters at the Capitol.

ADDED:

I find WI politics obsessively interesting, as well as exhausting, depressing, and generally a display of the worst parts of society (on both sides).  Today I'm feeling too tired to get on a soapbox.  I can only hope that the protesters feel the same way, too.