Community Disorganizer

COMMUNITY, n. : 2. A society of people, having common rights and privileges, or common interests, civil, politcal or ecclesiastical; or living under the same laws and regulation.

This definition is from the American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828.
...so let's start with definition.

If we define a community as a society of people under the same laws, then suppose we define what a community organizer does, because if this society of law-abiding citizens needs organizing as the 2008 Presidential election showed; then shouldn't we know what's in store for us all?

From "The Community Organizing Toolbox"
http://www.nfg.org/cotb/12organizers.htm

"Organizers challenge people to act on behalf of their common interests."

America has long been a country defined by individual interests, with our Constitution and the Bill of Rights laying the boundaries within which we pursue our version of what makes us happy.
Communities within our nation are made up of people who have a common interest:
rich communities, poor communities, religious and secular, liberal and conservative.
The individual American decides what his definition of happiness is and gravitates to the communitiy which shares his views, ambitions (or lack thereof), and ethics.

To me, this defines America's common interest as one of liberty...freedom.
Which makes community organizing rather useless on a national scale.

"Organizers motivate people to act by creating experiences to challenge those feelings which inhibit action, such as fear, apathy, self-doubt, inertia and isolation with those feelings that support action such as anger, hope, self-worth, urgency and a sense of community."

Now this is interesting.

So the CO will motivate me to act by:
replacing my fear with anger; my apathy with hope, my self-doubt with self-worth; my inertia with urgency and my isolation with a sense of belonging.
Extraordinary!
One person has the capability to change my very soul!

...wait! didn't Jesus already do that?

Actually, this tactic has a name with its own definition: manipulation.
Again, I must point out, that to organize a community of individuals by manipulating emotions...well, it flies in the face of liberty, does it not?

"Organizers work at constructing communities which are bounded yet inclusive, communal yet diverse, soladaristic yet tolerant. "

...er,
...uhh,
I can only offer this challenge to anyone who is a community organizer or thinking of joining:

If you can explain with credible logic what "bounded yet inclusive", "communal yet diverse" and "soladaristic yet tolerant" mean without bringing on an aneurysm or speaking in a Martian dialect...I will shave my head and pass out daisies on the nearest street corner while wearing a placard promoting community organizing...amen.

'Reveille for Radicals' by Saul Alinsky

"A People's Organization is not a philanthropic plaything or a social service's ameliorative gesture. It is a deep, hard-driving social force, striking and cutting at the very roots of all the evils which beset the people."

"A People's Organization is dedicated to an eternal war...A war is not an intellectual debate, and in the war against social evils there are no rules of fair play."

'Rules for Radicals' by Saul Alinsky

"Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future."

"the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom – Lucifer."

Saul Alinksy: Community Organizer, radical Marxist.
President Obama absorbed Saul Alinsky's teachings during his formative years, when his ideology became entrenched.

Community organizing is not an action...it is an ideology.
It produces no work; it foments rebellion; it gives the illusion of freedom while taking it away.
It uses whatever means necessary to achieve its ends.

I think I'm ready for a little disorganization.

How about you?


redink

http://www.freeimages.co.uk/

It's a Wonderful World!

Enjoy!

redink

Truth in Baking

When I first started baking, I made all kinds of complicated doughs: natural sourdough starter doughs; brioche; flatbreads with three different kinds of flour; french bread with four different proofing stages and sponges so delicate they evaporated with a sneeze.

Some of them turned out great...others not so great.

But, one day when I tried my hand at the simplest dough of all--pizza dough--I got stuck.

Pizza dough is merely flour, yeast, water, sugar, salt and a little oil.

You just put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix; an hour later a nice, large pouffy bowl of risen dough should be the result.

...not for me.

I tried the same recipe for two weeks straight and all I could get was a lump of the same dough I started with.

It refused to rise.

I became obsessed. I went over that recipe with a fine-toothed comb. I tried different combinations at different times. I thought the water was too warm or too cold; I thought I kneaded it too much or too little; I tried bringing my bowl of dough over to my neighbor's house to rise, because I thought the temperature or humidity in my house was the culprit.

I must have thrown away a hundred pounds of dough.

Finally, I just gave up. I walked away from the recipe for a couple of days because I would cry every time I read it.

Six simple ingredients, and I couldn't handle it. My ego was severely bruised.

But I learned something from this...humility was the most important ingredient of all.

You see in baking--the truth is absolute.

You can play with flavors, but when it comes to measurements...there is no room for mistakes.

I took another look at the recipe a few days later and saw something different.

The recipe called for 4 tsp. of salt...that means teaspoons.

Now, salt is vital in giving giving the dough texture and support. Without it the dough would be a flavorless mass of nothing. But too much salt will turn dough into a hardened lump which would bake into a teeth-breaking loaf.

Too much salt prevents the dough from rising like it should.

...I had been using 4 tablespoons of salt.

For some reason, my eyes saw this: tblsp.

But, the real measurement was this: tsp.

And for two weeks I went insane trying to fix something a little dose of humility would have caught right away.

I knew the rules of baking; I knew if you got a measurement wrong it wouldn't turn out.

But, I was convinced I had gotten all the measurements correct...I kept reading the stupid thing day after day.

I just refused to see the truth.

The truth is irrefutable. We all arrive at the truth through different means, but it takes the same dose of humility to recognize it.

This is a link to an article by a columnist for the Chronicle Hearld: Andrew W. Smith.

http://http//thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1119680.html

Think of it as a recipe for President Obama's first 100 days:

From the article:

"•Obama’s first two major bills alone, the "stimulus" and "omnibus," cost nearly twice as much as was spent on Iraq over six years – $1.2 trillion vs. $650 billion.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise of "a net spending cut," his first annual deficit – not counting bailouts – being three times the worst deficit under President George W. Bush.

•Obama’s objective in his first G20 summit – commitments to spend our way to prosperity with massive stimulus boondoggles across the G20 – was rejected out of hand.

•Obama’s objective in his first NATO summit – commitments to combat troops for Afghanistan from "our European allies," which Obama and his party imagined were ready and willing to fight if only someone "enlightened" like him were running things – was predictably refused, with some more European non-combat contingents offered as a token.

•Obama’s Defence Department announced cuts of $1.4 billion to missile defence, the day after North Korea test-fired its long-range, multi-stage ballistic missile.

•Obama’s "tax cuts for 95 per cent" turned out to mean $13 a week from June to December, to be clawed back to $8 a week in January – as compared with President Bush’s 2008 tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 plus $300 per child, which were notably scoffed at during the election campaign by Michelle Obama.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise to reform earmarks, signing the omnibus bill which contained 8,816 of them.

•Obama took more money from AIG than any other politician in 2008 – over $100,000 – and signed into law the provision guaranteeing the AIG bonuses which later had him in front of the cameras "shaking with outrage" and siccing the pitchfork crowd on law-abiding citizens who had fulfilled their end of a contract and had their payment upheld by Obama’s own legislation. "

Now look carefully at that recipe and ask: if America were the dough, do you think it would rise?

redink

Churchill in May

Today is the first day of May.

I just wanted to use this day to spread my gratitude.
To see what is beautiful in the world.

The truth is beautiful, like sunshine--and like sunshine it can be a little harsh at times.

But, today I just want to pull back the curtains gently and let a little sunshine in.

Did you know the sun has antibacterial qualities?

So, here's some quotes from a man who deserves to be quoted...and a little sunshine to brighten the first day of May!

From Winston Churchill:

"The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is."

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."

"Continuous effort--not strength or intelligence--is the key to unlocking our potential."

"Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others."

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

God Bless!


redink

A Halo for a Hipster

People poured out of their office buildings and ran for cover.
Elevators, stairwells and the streets of Manhattan clogged with panicked men and women as a large plane flew close overhead.
Construction stopped. Traffic re-routed. Ambulances stalled.
And 9/11 returned to haunt those who had survived.
Fear returned to stalk those who were witness to the worst terrorist attack in American history.

An Air Force One backup and two F16 fighter jets flew low over Manhattan this morning to give the media a photo opportunity in chronicling Obama's first 100 days in office. Along with the extravaganzas planned (look for those Greek columns), they needed a great photograph representing...

what exactly?

That 9/11 wasn't that long ago?
That the threat of terrorism is never as far away as Obama would like us to believe?
That no matter what name you paste over terrorism, underneath we all know what it really looks like?

I'm being rhetorical, of course.
We all know how hard our President works to keep that halo around his head.

While our national security is being dismantled by the "righteous left", who believe that waterboarding is torture, and would rather L.A. had a hole to match the one in Manhattan rather than trickle water up the nose of the real torturers;

while dictators around the world salivate at the thought of getting their hands on the jewel that was once America;

while the President figures a golf game in the midst of a flu epidemic is a needed stress reliever;

while he leaves the CDC leaderless and rudderless;

while hollywood and politicians join forces to convince America to stop breathing and breeding, working, and worshipping a Christian God;

while the good guys are portrayed by the media as evil;

while the evil are portrayed as compassionate;

while our greatest natural resource is destroyed daily in the womb, and Obama spreads this evil even farther;

while mayhem and murder cover our southern borders;

while deposts and dictators get an apology from America's President for being...well, American;

while North Korea and Iran get nuclear;

while the viciously radical Taliban inch closer to Islamabad and control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal...

The President of the United States wants a photo-op:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/air-force-one-backup-rattles-new-york-nerve/

redink

UPDATE: The Hipster's halo slipped after this stunt; but he's counting on the masses, hypnotized by the glow of his evervescent personality and panache, to believe him when he says he found out about it the same time we did...and he's furious.

And if you do happen to believe that the President of the United States--the most protected and scheduled person on the planet-- did not know Air Force One! was being used for a flyby

...then I have some swampland and two bridges to sell in the Mojave Desert. Please call.

Venezuelan BFF

So let's get a handle on this Chavez fellow:

He took control of Venezuela in 1999.

Set himself up as a social justice Jesus...and managed to do it without the "accidental" halos from the Venezuelan media.

Quickly rewrote their constitution to give him more time in office and more power to put forth his social programs.

You know: the chicken-in-every-pot and gas-in-the-tank and pay-my-mortgage kinda socialism/communism thingy.

He replaced the elected congress with his own allies.

Called in troops to quell the protestors of his 2000 election.

In 2001, business and labor organizations in Venezuela got a little tired of Chavez's wealth re-distribution machine; so they did a "John Galt" and refused to produce.

In 2002 the oil workers did the same.

Things came to a boil and in a massive protest against Chavez's policies, 17 people were killed by Chavez's military.

Enough was enough...for a little while anyway.

Though Chavez was forced out of office, that international protest stuff started;
and lo and behold...Chavez got his crown back.
That wily Latino was still very popular with the poor.
And he promised them lotsa goodies for their support.

So in 2003, while those evil money makers called 'capitalists' worked to get a recall referendum on the dictator-to-be, Chavez raided the producer's pocketbooks and spent huge amounts for his social programs on those who were grateful not to have to work for a living.

Abracadabra...Chavez won his own referendum, which the opposition protested as fraudulent.

And once again the international observers gave Chavez a wink, a nod, and an okey-dokey from them...and he stayed.

Hey! What's a little election fraud among friends?

Moving on...

By 2007, Chavez had nationlized energy and telecomunications.
He shut down the main opposition t.v. station: Fox News...er, I mean RCTV;
and got the National Assembly to finally get rid of those pesky term limits on the presidency.

But our favorite dictator got a little trigger-happy in 2008 and replaced the secret police and intelligence agencies with the Chavez version--adding a happy little law that says anyone who does not assist said agency will enjoy some prison time.
...all in the name of national security, of course.

But, apparently even socialists have their limits and the hue and cry forced him to reverse those policies.

...does a dictator ever actually reverse policies?
hmm...worth looking into.
Based on his past performances, I'd say Chavez just tucked that little number away until a more opportune time.

Last year Chavez approved 26 new laws to increase his control in government; create a new military branch; take control of more private companies and fuel distribution; and last but certainly not least, won a referendum giving him the ability to steal...er, I mean run for re-election indefinitely.

Ta-da!

Now, I think I could ignore a tin-pot dictator foolishly stuffing his country into the dust bin of communism--if he was only interested in his own country.

But, alas...the tower of Babel mindset has never really left us; and Chavez has reached out to dictators large and small all over the world to join hands in building the new world order, just like the old world order after the Flood...but, um...newer.

Of course Chavez's best chance at gathering a dictator club-of-the-month is to first: denounce Israel and the U.S.
Let me give a few examples:

In 2006 alone Chavez gave a strange little speech at the U.N. in which he called Bush the 'devil' and said he could 'smell the sulfur' coming from America.

Next he went to China and accused Israel of genocide.

Then a stop to his new BFF's in Tehran where he called Israel terrorists and fascists.

Then on Obama's favorite news network, Al Jazeera, Chavez likened Israel to Hitler (huh?) and declared the U.S. the worst menace to humanity, with Israel as our instrument.

...dittos in Qatar and everywhere anti-American, anti-semitism reigns.

Chavez has quite an audience.

And he hasn't even gotten started.

Three weeks ago, Chavez went to Iran and in Tehran sat down with his buddy, Ahmadinejad, and agreed to a joint bank between Iran and Venezeula. At the same time he said "Tehran for us is like arriving at our home."

Okay....I guess that means Chavez has given Roman Catholisim the heave-ho.

And in ridiculing the G20 summit Chavez said:
"Capitalism has to end."
"We must take a transitional road to a new model that we call 'socialism'."

Pssst....Chavez, dude, I hate to rain on your socialist parade, but that new model you're so excited about...well, it's been around for awhile now and the engine is shot.

Of course, we who take the time to find out about history already know this.
And it's a good bet Chavez and Obama know it too
...which is why they're shaking hands.

redink

I Heart Susan Boyle

She appeared as a contestant on the show "Britain's Got Talent" last week, and suddenly her voice has spread over the internet like a wildfire.

There are to date: 10 million, 150 thousand hits on YouTube for Susan Boyle's performance.

I wanted to know why.

Why did she touch so many people?

Why did her appearance inspire millions to watch her over and over?
Her voice surprised everyone, certainly.
I say surprised because it came from a homely, kind and rather frumpy old maid in her late forties.

Her silliness was large enough to cover her insecurities; but her sweetness shone through nonetheless.

...and she sang with the voice of the angels.

I watched as one of the girls in the audience rolled her eyes.
The girl was young, heavy make-up and lots of arrogance...but that is because she is a Susan Boyle.
Another older woman, frowning as she listens to Susan express her dream of being a famous singer; she was another Susan Boyle.
The audience of scoffers and laughers were all Susan Boyles; angry that someone like them would dare to dream; dare to get on that stage and entertain them with her plain face and dumpy figure...she couldn't possibly meet their expectations.

She was average...like them!

In fact, she was less than average!

She was the weak and foolish one that Jesus had singled out.
She was the jar of clay that Jesus filled with a voice too beautiful to forget.
She was all heart and no sense; taking the dreams that Jesus would not let die, and walking out onto that stage to show us that we are Susan Boyles too.

And when she let that first note come out...we all knew it.

We knew what she really was.

We saw God's thumbprint in her eyes, and heard His creation in her voice.

And we knew what we could be.

Those 10 million, 150 thousand visits were from every Susan Boyle on this earth; and are a witness to what God can do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

redink