Life is meant to be hard

A serious moment upon the Stoa for a change. Life is hard. It is meant to be. It is the tempering that strengthens our steel and allows us to accept and recognize the changes in our lives.

The only constant about the universe is Entropy. Order will always break down and less orderly structures will take their place.

When we are young, everything must be learned. Life is never more of a struggle then during the first few years of life. You are helpless and subject to the whim of everyone. You have to learn to speak a language, sometimes two. You have to learn how to walk, read, and write. You have zero experience in anything except making noise and smelly messes.

Yet we endure.

Then, as a "Tweener", you start to glimmer the outside world. You begin to understand that life is far larger than your games and your friends around your home or school. You sense the great cogs and sprockets that whirl about you, determining what buses to ride, what you will have for dinner, why your parents won't let you ride motorcycles on the mountain side.

As a teenager, you have a false sense of power. On some level you understand that your parents are still providing you everything. From food to gas for your car, you have the freedom but little responsibility. There is "rebellion" as the teenager struggles to comprehend not just the scope of this huge world, but the complexities of living within it. Some take it seriously while others continue to fritter away their opportunities.

Eventually, the parents are not in active protection mode any longer. Success or failure rests upon YOUR shoulders alone. Bills and food, and repairs, and taxes, and everything else is on you.

Some marry. Facing life's difficulties with a partner is always easier than facing it alone. Hopefully, by the time you begin to have children you will be out of school and in your chosen profession. Not a requirement, but smarter.

Some divorce, and others suffer bankruptcy. Many others endure illness, the death of family members. Others suffer the death of their children. Some lose their jobs and many more lose their faith.

Unfortunately, life sometimes piles these things on you at once. It does not seem fair that this happens to you. You play by the rules. You work hard to get through school. You work hard to get your college degrees, sometimes two of them. You do what is expected of you by society and your family. Yet still, things fall apart. It happens sometimes.

I'm not overly religious, though I am very spiritual. I am Catholic by birth AND choice. That is important. When one is born into a religion, or even yet, a very religious family, the teachings of DOCTRINE muddy of the teachings of spirit. I believe that there are certain rules that we must adhere to while we are on our journey here upon the Earth.

We were placed here. We chose to be here. We chose our family and we chose the general circumstances of our life...before we were ever born. The game must be played through to its entirety or all your efforts will have been in vain.

Sometimes, when your spouse or significant other appears to not respect you, things grow dark. When you have children who look to you for support and constancy, you feel like you have failed them. Things become darker yet. You can not turn to your extended family because you will feel that you have failed them as well.

No where to turn, without tracking mud into the hearts of those you love.

Sometimes, some think it easier to simply remove themselves from the pain. They think that their absence will somehow make things easier on everyone around them. Or, in a more cowardly way, they simply seek to avoid the responsibilities of life.

The greatest sin one can perform is to remove yourself from life before it is time.

This is where I divert from the Stoics of old. They felt that you had ultimate choice in everything you do. When to eat, sleep, or even die. If a Stoic grew tired of life, they felt it just fine to end it early.

Like everything, there are no clear absolutes in life. Yes, you have the free will that God granted us. You have the freedom to succeed beyond your dreams and expectations. But, the sine wave turns down as well. You may fail beyond your worst nightmares as well. But this is not your choice to change, since you made the choice to live in the first place.

It happens.

The true test resides in our ability to endure. Sometimes I think that this is the secret to long life. Endurance. Entropy is real. Things change. Situations change. You may be down and out now, but things will change. They always do. The trick is to position yourself for success when the time becomes right.

This could be job seeking, hobby seeking, or simply finding a new purpose for yourself.

Things change.

Eventually, the family grows up and the children leave. A life that was structured for 20 years falls apart. A new order must arise. That order will rise despite your wishes.

Children leave and are no longer dependent upon you. There may be a divorce as well that leaves you feeling alone and vulnerable. Having a very religious extended family is sometimes a hinderance since you don't wish to disappoint.

Grandparents begin to pass on, along with the older aunts and uncles. Some of them may have been anchors of permanency in your life. Instead of remembering the good and the positive about them, you may only see the new hole in your life.

As you grow even older, you realize that the first half of your life was all about growth and opportunity. The limitless possibilities of a huge and complex world.

You see that the second half of your life has been about managing decline. Your dreams may not have turned out the way you wished them. Your professional life may not have been what you wanted. Your spouse may have divorced you or has passed prematurely. It does not seem fair. Your usual methods of securing comfort have gone or passed.

You have only yourself and your faith. Faith can be a thin blanked when times are dark and cold.

This is where you must endure. Things change. Don't be a shut in. Endure the pain and continue your life. Just keep swimming. It is all you really can do.

You are born into this world by choice. You live your life by your own choice. The only choice you really don't have is when it is to end. That is not your choice. Those that you left when you came to life will take you back when it is your time.

If you hasten this time because you are shirking your responsibilities then it will not end well for you on the other side. You cheated. You broke the rules.

In the end there is only death and a new kind of life. Here you can make a real difference. That is why you are here. You must have faith that what you do makes a difference. That difference does not have to benefit you.

Think about that. Sometimes just being in someone else's life can make a positive difference in their lives. It is not always about you, you know. You may not be the first person on Mars, but you can inspire that person.

You may not be the person to transplant human thoughts onto memory chips, but you can help that person study.

You may not have all the answers to someone else's problems, but you can listen.

We all have our purpose and that purpose may not be apparent to us. Just trust in the idea that you are here an that there are no others like you anywhere else in this vast multi-verse.

Think about this and don't forget. Just keep swimming.

Live well,

--Zavost

Leadership and character

From the Stoa this day I find myself walking upon the same ground twice.

I've said it several times before and I will say it again: Leadership descends from Character. A leader's qualities of right and wrong come from here. Their sense or moral justification comes from here.

I know a lot of very smart people who are complete IDIOTS. They are all brains with no discipline. They will make a child's chemistry set explode just because the box says that it can't happen.

They don't have the shaping necessary to create a truly intelligent and functionally wise individual. They act out of feelings and desire rather than with purposeful intent.

They become doctors and lawyers and politicians because of the wealth, power, and influence they feel will be afforded to them. These are the ones who are either ineffective in their roles, or worse, are very effective at accumulating the above mentioned benefits without being effective in their roles. I'm looking in your direction, Obama and Ms. Pelosi.

I find myself thinking of Newt again, unfortunately. Look, do I feel he is more "Conservative" than Mitt Romney? Yes. I think Scott Brown is more conservative, and that is not saying much.

Newt bothers me because his moral compass wanders about a lot and sometimes he says things that are very conservative and other times he is profoundly un-conservative.

Leadership descends from character. Lets judge some characters here and think about them.

Ronald Reagan. Prior member of the Democrat party. Left when he felt he no longer agreed with their philosophy. Divorced, but remarries some years later. Stuck to a set of beliefs about right and wrong throughout his life and never changed.

Newt Gingrich. Prior member of the Republican part (now RINO). Jumped when he wanted to be more popular. Married and seeing a mistress. Divorces wife and marries mistress. THEN, finds another mistress and sees her for 6 years while married. Divorces wife and marries the other mistress when wife #2 will not grant him an "open" marriage.

Which one lives a more "conservative" lifestyle? Who here is the scum-bucket and who here did this right. I'll give you a few minutes if you need to think about it.

Mitt Romney. Current Mormon. Non-polygamous. Business man who started up companies and made money from them for himself and his shareholders. Inherited the Salt Lake City Olympics behind schedule and over budget. The Olympics are held on time and under budget when he is done. RomneyCare. Oh, I can't forgive him for that.

Bill Clinton. Communist background in Moscow. Draft Dodger. Creative use of cigars and interns. Lies about lying. Gets caught. Lies about getting caught, despite the DNA. Equally immoral wife plays along to further her own political ambitions.

Right and wrong can sometimes be gray and counter-intuitive. Sometimes being mean and uncompromising IS the correct and moral thing to do. You don't just let your kids take a hatchet to the wall just because they want to.

Wife numbers 2 and 3 are, in my opinion, just a morally ambivalent as Newt. Wife number 2 should not be shocked that he cheated on her since he was cheating on his first wife with HER. She should never have allowed whatever feeling motivated her to move her from the path of virtue.

Is Newt virtuous? Not by a long shot. You don't take money from lobbies and then rip on the lobbies for having too much influence. This goes for you too, Obama. Heck, this goes to ALL the politicians out there.

Was Reagan virtuous? Yes. Iran/Contra you say? Sure, lets talk about this. He ignored Congress to stop a regime of genocide that would export that terror and pain once they solidified their control of the country. At the same time, he freed hostages secretly who would otherwise have died or been forgotten.

Ignoring the will of Congress is wrong, no matter how Communist they were at the time. Checks and balances and all that. However, the others, though of dubious long-term policy angles, are clearer cut. Saving lives while attempting to create a more stable foreign policy. I think that is virtuous.

In the end I have to ask myself who would make a better President. Who respects the rule of law more, who respects the Constitution more, and who will slide us down the hill of Communism slower.
Obama? Not just no, but HELL no!
Mitt? God no.
Ron Paul? Full on Libertarian is Road Warrior world to me. So no.
Santorum? So far I like him, but I doubt he can win.
Newt Gingrich? For all the crap I heap on him, he may be the best choice from this motley group jacks. I'll vote with my nose pinched, though.

Remember, having character does not make you a wuss. Reagan bombed the crap out of Libya to make a point. If anything, I think having character prevents more problems otherwise because the bad guys will know that you can not be persuaded to "tolerate" their actions. Think about that.

Off to enjoy a wonderful Friday.

Live well.

--Zavost

That Which Endures

Upon the Stoa this day I ponder the endurance of humanity.

The endurance of our cultures, the endurance of our dreams. The endurance of our governments and the endurance of our evils.

What made me think about this was my recent studies on how Obama and company are nearing the point at which they may decide to become tyrants in fact if not in their dreams.

I thought of Founding Principles and what makes people think that these Principles need to change over time.

I believe that the American Way is Humanity's DEFAULT mode. From conception we are endowed with our Creator's "factory default settings". We are born free. Mankind places chains upon each other and upon ourselves.

The United States was founded with the concept that All Men are Created Equal, and are Endowed by their Creator with Certain Inalienable Rights.

Does a right granted by God expire? Does it become irrelevant over time? Does an intelligence that could exceed 14.3 Billion years grow bored so quickly with the likes of us?

Doubtful.

All Mankind yearns to be free. None of us likes to be told what to do. Men don't like being nagged by women and women don't want to be called a nag. Children are a great example of how we are wired. Children lie. Adults lie just as much, they are just better at it. When I was young I wanted a Tonka truck, now I want a Ford F-150 (not really, I like my X-Terra). My wife dreamed of being a princess and I do my best to treat her like the Princess she is.

Marriages can endure the lifetime of the couple. The principles upon which they are married are mutual respect, common interests and beliefs...and patience.

Nations endure when they remember how they were created. The United States was finally, finally founded in its current form in 1787. 225 years old this year. The longest-lived government of its type. A Representative Republic. A nation formed with God in mind at every step. God is graffitied all over every monument prior to the hippy generation. All men are created equal. For the entire history of mankind this concept HAS NEVER been realized.

Today in America, there are "racial" components to crime and punishment. Really? If I walk up to an old, white woman, beat her to death, rifle her purse and then, finding nothing of interest, urinate on her corpse, I will likely get the death penalty for a brutal killing and corpse abuse. Plus attempted larceny, but that is just nuance.

If this were an old black woman, all of the above would still apply, BUT, the punishment will be more severe because the victim was black.

This violates a Founding Principle. All Men are created equal. We must be punished equally whether we be beggar or King. Otherwise we are living in a farce. A huge lie. Hollywood stars and politicians, the new American Royalty, must not be treated any better or worse than anyone else.

Conservatism is sometimes counter-intuitive. It makes blacks feel better to know that if they are touched or yelled at that a "Race" card can come down on the table, but it is wrong. Just plain wrong.

Welfare is a hand up, not a hand out. It sounds good, compassionate even, but if you subsidize anything, you simply get more of it. Some help is saintly, even a charitable responsibility, but no one should be forced to support another against their will. That is theft.

Yet so many ills endure as well. So many. Our way of life CAN endure, but we have to have faith. Faith in ourselves, faith in others, and faith in something greater than ourselves.

You can not have light without the dark, nor can you have a bright light without a dark, deep shadow. It is the ills that we fight every day that DEFINE what is right and what is wrong. Know how to identify the shadow and don't fear it. Face it, endure it, and grow from it.

I hope this has sparked some thought among the class today.

Live well,

--Zavost

The Fools and the Fools that Follow Them

The Stoa is a silent and contemplative place. An ideal local for deep thought and internal contemplation. There are no televisions here, and certainly no telephones.
On my way to the Stoa today, I heard several items on both the radio and the Internet. Interesting how the media spins things for the masses.

The poor, ignorant masses.

The media thinks them ignorant at their own peril. The vast majority of us are simply too busy to pay attention to the news on a regular basis. In an economy like ours, families are working two and three jobs to make ends meet.

The expanding underclass, those that were unemployed prior to 2008 and the generationally welfare-ridden citizens, are the ones that hear this message. The Main Stream Media (MSM) is a propaganda arm of the DNC, and the Government when the Democrats (S) are in power.

Ditto Hollywood. They are targeting the guilty rich and the ignorant affluent. Movies have been too expensive for this modest Stoic to afford for quite some time.

Here are some items, in no particular order that I'd like to bring up for the class to consider.

1. Unemployment has dropped from 9.8% to 8.5% over the last 18 months.
-The reality: unemployment drops every time the unemployment agency stops making payments to the unemployed. They are now "not counted" in terms of statistics. They have now "stopped seeking employment". Guess they don't really exist anymore.

2. The manufacturing sector is expanding.
-The Reality: No. The sector has "added" 300,000 jobs in the last six months, AFTER shedding nearly 15 MILLION jobs over the last 3 years. Industry is being killed by increased taxation and regulation (unfunded mandates). No CEO is going to hire a wave of employees in this environment.

3. Obama is fiscally conservative.
-Whoa, what a whopper. The reality: Presidents 1-43 (Bush-43) accumulated in round numbers, $4.3 Trillion in debt. President 44, Obama, has accumulated $4.5 Trillion in 3 YEARS and has requested ANOTHER $1 Trillion from Congress for his 4th year in office. Think on that a bit. It took 43 presidents and Congresses to accumulate $4.3 Trillion in debt. It took Obama 3 years to EXCEED $4.5 Trillion with another Trillion on the way for year 4.

4. The world will end on the winter solstice, 12-21-12.
-The reality: No. The whack-jobs say that the planets, the Sun, and the "Center of the Galaxy" will line up and cause an Apocalypse. No. The planets are like grains of sand compared to the mass of the Sun. All 8 planets lined up in 1988 or 1989 and no one seemed to care. When you think about it, the Sun always points to the Galactic center. So this has already happened. We're still here. The Galactic Center is 30,000 light years away from us. I think we are good. We are more at risk to a low mass black hole wandering into our solar system and wrecking up the joint then we have to fear from the Galactic Center and an alignment. Remember, even the Mayan calendar continues on after 2012, so again, I think we are good.

5. Mitt is a Conservative.
-The reality: any politician from MA is NOT a Conservative. I believe the last one left a generation ago and did not leave a forwarding address.

6. Newt is a Conservative.
-The reality: No. Newt supports a form of government control in just about every part of our lives. He began the decline of the GOP from a part of conservatives to a party of RINOs. The next GOP candidate may be the last GOP candidate. I doubt that the Tea Party will remain quiescent for much longer. Nor will the 3%'ers.

7. Global Warming is real.
-The reality: It happens. It has happened and it will happen again. Does it have anything to do with us? Not hardly. I'd like to go so far to say, "Not at all." 300 million years ago, the Earth was way hotter than now, and had way more oxygen in the atmosphere. Bugs were HUGE! 100,000 years ago, the Earth was frozen. A nearly infinite number of mixed drinks could be made with all that ice. We are simply living in the middle of an Inter-Glacial period right now. I'm more worried about global cooling than I am about Global Warming. Remember, humanity likes it warm. We evolved in warm weather. Siberia and Canada are full of snow and ice. Global warming will make vast areas of the Earth available for food production.

8. Smart Cars and Electric cars are "Green".
-The reality: no way. The laws of physics are not called concepts or "good ideas". They are called laws because they can not be changed by us or our good intentions. Mass x Velocity = Force. If my car, an X-Terra, hits a "smart" car head on and we are both doing 50 mph then my quick math tells me that........I'm going to drive home in my X-Terra and you are going to DIE. Is the environment that important to you?
-Reality Check 2: To create the batteries used in electric cars, the company must mine and refine lots and lots of heavy metals. Heavy metals are VERY toxic to the environment. The battery packs in a Prius must be replaced from time to time. It is just a reality. Those batteries must be recycled or disposed of. Where does all that refined heavy metal go? You know, now that you think about it, where does all that heavy metal COME FROM? You guessed it, THE ENVIRONMENT! It is not an artificial creation. Mankind, simply gathers it in low concentrations, and then CONCENTRATES the metal into a useful amount. It only becomes a problem when you produce the batteries and concentrate the hazard. Idiots.
-Reality Check 3: The tax payer has to fork over $10,000 for every battery that will only save $3,000 in fuel. Again, a quick check of my math tells me that.........you are ignorant. Let me check the figures again...nope, I'm right, you ARE ignorant.

9. Charter Schools are bad for your child's education.
-The Reality: wrong. Anything that is done in the Private Sector must survive in the harsh reality of the profit margin. This means that they must deliver the best product at the lowest price. Sometimes a lot of money is spent to accomplish this, but at least it is spent EFFECTIVELY. This is like paying $200 for a Big Mac because each staff member has to be paid $100,000/year WITHOUT regard to the quality of that Big Mac. To make things better, not only are you PAYING $200 for a Big Mac, get a crappy product, but you also have to PAY ever increasing taxes so that the staff can continue to get raises and benefits.

Please think on number nine for a bit before going ape on my mail box.

10. The United States is a Democracy.
-The Reality: No, we are not. The Greeks and the Romans knew that Democracy was the worst form of Tyranny. Not only did it take too long to make quick political decisions, but it was essentially the Rule of the Mob. Any charismatic person, think Pericles or Alcibiades could become a Tyrant. The minority, by simple majority vote, could be driven out, denied due process, or worse yet, fall victims to genocide. The Romans figured this out and modified a system of limited checks and balances. Eventually, that was overthrown by a series of would-be tyrants like Pompeii, the Gracchi brothers, Sulla, Marius, and finally, Caesar and Octavian.
-Reality Check 2: Since Lincoln, the Federal government has sought to weaken and stymie the checks and balances in our Constitution. That document was drawn up to protect the people from an over-reaching government. It was INTENTIONALLY designed to SLOW and STYMIE a would-be Tyrant. Obama, Pelosi, Reid, George "W" Bush, Carter, Nixon, LBJ, FDR, Hoover, Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, et al. are going to be known in future history books as primarily responsible for the decline and death of the American Republic. Check it. Mark it. Do your own research.

11. The Arab "Spring" is a good thing.
-Reality: Hardly. In every country where Spring has Sprung, liberties have been lost, Sharia has gained, and Islam has become more radicalized. How is this a good thing? I'm sure that if there are any women permitted to think for themselves they would disagree with it being characterized as a "good thing". The traditional dictators I grew up with like Assad and Assad, Ghadaffi, and Mubarak are being deposed and replaced with Theocracies. Certainly not good.

12. America has a two party system.
-Reality: America actually has many parties. We happen to have two dominant parties at this time. The names have changed since 1787, but two parties have generally dominated the show. You can even write in Mickey Mouse if you want. Many do.

13. The Dollar is still the world's currency of choice.
-Reality: True, though whether that still means anything remains to be seen. The dollar has been so devalued through over-printing that inflation is going to rear its ugly head. The only thing that has kept us from collapsing yet has been the awful economy. Ironic, ain't it? There is still a huge downward pressure on prices that keeps inflation under double digits. Even so it is now around 8% per year. I don't trust the Treasury or the Federal Reserve to report the real numbers any longer.

14. Fiat currencies work.
-Reality: No, they don't. The dollar, the Euro, even the Swiss Franc are backed by....nothing. The penny is mostly zinc with a copper coating about one molecule thick. The nickel is not even made out of nickel any longer. The dime and quarter are mostly base metals with a spray coating of silver. Our paper money is not backed by gold and our coins are not even made out of rare metals any longer. Literally, and I do mean literally, we pay for things with Monopoly money. Fiat currencies are failing around the world and things will have to change.
-Reality Check 2: from our earliest days we either traded items of value for other items of value or we have traded pretty silver or gold metals. This worked until 1933 in America. It sort of continued until the 1960's and then was abandoned all together by 1971. So, more than 10,000 years of value-backed exchange vs. 41 years of fiat value. One word: FAIL

15. Justine Bieber is cool.
-Realitiy: no. Not now, not ever. A dorky punk with a bad copy of a bad 70's hair style.

16. Grimmjow is cool, perhaps even AWESOME.
-Reality: yes. One word: WIN

17. Pelosi ran the most transparent and ethical Congress in history.
-I didn't think I could get that all typed out without both crying and laughing at the same time.
-Reality: Not even in the realm of human imagination can that Congress be called either "Transparent" or "Ethical". Bills passed without any debate. Bills passed without any public review. Bills passed without even being read. Some bills were "deemed" to have bee passed BEFORE THEY WERE EVEN WRITTEN! Suuurreee, ethical. Those in Congress are like little kids who get to make up their own rules. When something does not work the way they want, they simply "make" it work. When I was younger we had a saying, "Let's not and say we did." That is what deeming is. Lets just say we passed a bill that allows us to do this and there won't be any vote that will hang on our necks come re-election time. I can hear a stoner in my mind saying, "coooooolllll".

18. Eric Holder and the ATF, the Justice Department, and others had no idea that "Gunwalker" was getting people killed.
-The reality: not only did they know, they banked on it. Democrats have to deal with a lot of crap when they try to touch our guns. What better way to grab them all then to let American-made guns "walk" over to Mexico and kill 50,000 people? See how bad they are? Evil American gun manufacturers. Look what you did! We'll just take those from you now. This is the worst kind of political manipulation that I can accuse another American of doing. Knowing that YOUR policy will result in the death of ANYONE, Mexican or otherwise, is simply evil. This is not the American way. It is not my way. Holder and Obama MUST be held accountable. Border agents are killed and terrorized by the cartel packing massive firepower and the government ignores the cries of the family. Real ethical, Obama.

I guess that is all I have for today. It was only a 20 minute drive in to work for me. It is amazing all the garbage you hear on a radio in 20 minutes.

Live well.

--Zavost

The Center can not hold

Upon the Stoa this day I feel the need to chat with the students for a moment. No particular reason only that a thought needs to be allowed out to germinate.

This country has been blessed in times past in our moments of need. At those times, a leader was always there to step forward and assume responsibility for guiding this country through its dark moments.

Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Coolidge, Harding, Nixon, Reagan, and "W" Bush. Some were unsung heroes that I hope will get their recognition, others had their heads carved on a mountain.

Today, we have a President who actively hates this country. We have a majority leader in the Senate that only seeks to enrich himself and his cronies, and we have a Speaker of the House that has a hard time staying Conservative. The Judicial has been packed by Liberals, and the Supreme Court has been compromised. We have an electorate that is both polarized and blasé.

We have a swelling underclass that is more and more dependent on handouts from the Government and the DNC. That never ends well. Remember "Breads and Circuses" in Rome?

Dark times with little to hope for. The Tea Party is being snapped in line with the "Moderate" wing of the RINO-GOP Party.

What is there to hope for?

You can't begin climbing until you hit bottom.

I hate to think that we have to have this happen, but until we live through the misery that 100 years of Progressive irresponsibility has wrought upon our beloved Republic can we truly appreciate what an uninformed, un-spiritual population does to a Republic can we learn the lesson.

We can either learn and grow, or take a new path and become something fundamentally different. Good or bad don't really enter into it. We will simply be different.

If we take the easy way out, then the great American experiment will really be dead. You can carve 1205-2012 on the tombstone, though I feel that future historians will have a better grasp on when the Republic really died. Remember that for a century or so after Caesar the population of Rome didn't really notice that their Republic was gone and replaced with the Empire.

Is Mitt our man? No. Is Ron Paul? Not hardly. Does anyone in the GOP field stand out? Santorum? Possibly. I'm not feeling it, though.

It will be interesting to see how things play out. Progressivism has a lot of momentum. That momentum has been building since Teddy Roosevelt and with only a few exceptions in the last 110 years has it been on cruise control. It will be difficult to slow that beast down and halt its damage.

Live well.

--Zavost

The Crusades, Bar Room Style

Upon the Stoa this day, I will attempt to simplify the roots of the Christian Crusades. Why it happened, how it happened, and where it happened.

If we are going to visit the Theater of the Absurd then I must first set the stage.

The date is January 1, 1000 a.d. The populace of Europe is hung over and surprised that the world did not come to an end, as so many thought it would.

Unknown by many, the world had been going through a global warming period. There was more land available for farming and more people being born to live upon it. More food always means more population. England produced the best wine in the world, much to the dismay of France.

Much to the dismay of England, however, was the rise of the Vikings. For generations, the harsh weather of scandinavia limited the number of Vikings outside of their traditional lands. With the warmer weather, their populations exploded. Second born sons needed lands to control and large Viking families needed to be fed and enriched.

Greenland was appropriately named by the Vikings since the sub-continent was green and lush at the time. Oh, and they liked English wine so much they decided to move in for the duration and wreck up the place.

All across Europe, in the first century of the 2nd Millennium of Christ, the population expanded. There were lots and lots of peasants tilling the land for their Lords in the Manor. There were also a lot more Lords. First born sons inherent. Second born sons go into the priesthood. Third born sons tended to become mercenaries. What about the 4th, 5th, and 6th? What happens to them?

Europe was full of fratricide and intrigue. These new nobility needed lands and peasants to rule. So, they fought and died for title and land. In other words, war rippled across Europe constantly as one generation attempted to push out another.

In Rome, the Pope watched with dismay as Europe burned. The Church was the single force that unified the fractious continent. It was the Church that crowned Charlemagne and created the Holy Roman Empire in an attempt to bring more stability to the knights and kings of Europe.

With the exploding population, the Pope decided that there were just too many knights and not enough castles to rule.

So, what is a Pope to do?

The stage is set and the story begins.

Europe is a vast collection of tables, some pushed close together and other scattered about. The East Roman Empire was a large table in the East of the bar with a smattering of smaller tables set up nearby.

A group of people who called themselves the "Turks" had begun to move in and kick over tables all over the Middle East. Tables that the Eastern Romans got to sit at had been take over by the rowdy bunch of Turks. The Romans had been asking the kings of Italy and Europe for help, but that help never came since there wasn't anything in it for them. Why leave your castle if the guy next door was looking to take it from you?

One day, the Pope, after having had to sit down a dozen squabbling princes of Europe and spank them, had an idea. If there was not enough land to rule in Europe, then it was time to look for land outside of Europe.

One day, around 1098 a.d., the fellow sitting in Jerusalem got lead poisoning in the form of a knife across the neck. The chair was pitched to the side, the body dumped, and a Turk put his muddy boots up on the table.

This was the table that Jesus sat at and now a filthy turk was putting up his lousy boots on the table.

At this same time, the Romans lost another table to the Turks. The Great Table of the Romans was being nibbled to death. Again, the Roman leaned over and caught the eye of the Pope, "Yo, can I get some help over here!"

The Pope was currently holding two Germans and an Italian by the scruff of their neck, who had just been beating on each other. The Pope decided that it was time to put his plan into action. With a wink and a nod toward Emperor Alexis of Rome (Constantinople), Innocent began to gather the raucous Europeans together.

Pulling the paper airplane from his beard, and brushing out the food bits that the French had been throwing, the Pope yelled for them all to, "SHUT UP!! Bohemia, put down Moravia!"

He then spoke about how the great table that Jesus ate at has been taken over by the filthy Turks. Pilgrims who had gone to look at the Holy initials carved into the table by the hand of Jesus himself were being killed or robbed. The Turks were not allowing people to see the sandals, the comb, or the dirty dishes of the Last Supper.

No sir, this could not be allowed to stand. The Pope told them all that if they went on a vast Crusade to push the Turk off the table of Jesus that none of their tables could be taken over by another. Nor would any crime be held against them as long as that crime was committed against the Turk.

A cheer went up from European side of the bar. Alexis the Roman was happy. He was going to use the European children to take back tables that he had lost to the Turks.

As the States of Europe swung by his table on the way to Jerusalem, he watched their tall, strapping forms hulk up, bulging with armor and weapons. Gathering around his table he told them to first head into Syria and Lebanon. Then they were to go to Judea and Egypt.

Slurping on a stein of Ale, one of the German Princes nodded and said that they were there for Jerusalem and not Syria. If Rome wanted Syria back, they could do it themselves.

While arguing with this German Prince, Alexis noticed that some of the Crusaders started mugging Cyprus, Lebanon, Acre, and Tyre. As they fell, the English, French, and Spaniards began to move in and set up shop.

Those tables were supposed to be Constantinople's tables, not to be kept by the barbarous European snots.

With some more prodding, several Crusaders began to round the corner and head towards Jerusalem. Some Arabs and Turks tried to stop them but were no match for the juiced up, hulking savages from Europe.

Beating down their opponents with glee, the Crusaders swept upon the Turk at Jerusalem.

The Turk stood up and told the approaching Europeans that he would allow pilgrims to gaze upon the dirty dishes of the Last Supper, and pray upon the holy initials carved in the wood. He would even allow them to see the blood stains on the floor from where Jesus was hung above.

Without slowing down the English hit the Turk high, the French hit the Turk low, and the German came in flying over the pile with his elbow coming down upon the now-prostrate Turk. With tongues wagging frantically, the Crusaders tore into the Turk. The table was flipped, the chairs scattered. Blood flew everywhere, Christian, Muslim, Jew, dog, cat, budgie, you name it. If it could be cut down by a sword, the Crusaders did their best to do so.

With the Turk vanquished, the Crusaders began to set the table back up and replace the chairs. It was not long before more scuffing and cursing came from that corner as the Germans, the English, and the French could not agree on WHO got to sit in the main chair. Constant fighting and squabbling ensued. Turks that got too close to Jerusalem would see the Crusaders quickly unite again and go on a Turk hunt.

As the years passed, more and more Crusaders came to the Holy Land. As more recruits were needed, various Popes would call a full Crusade. Sometimes, the Crusades were used by the Pope to send away a particularly troublesome Prince or King to learn a lesson.

As with all things, your zealots always will go first to the religious cause. As the waves of Crusaders continued over the next several centuries, the follow on waves got less and less pious. Less and less committed to the Christian cause.

In fact, so many books and prisoners had been brought back to Europe that they began to realize that the learning of the Arabs was ACTUALLY the continuation and preservation of the ancient European heritage as bequeathed to them by the Western and Eastern Roman Empire. Many of the buildings the Arabs had put up were newer buildings on the foundations of older Greek, Roman, or Egyptian structures.

Books and scrolls, the knowledge of the ancients was being translated from Greek and Roman, and Arabic into the vulgar versions of the descendants of ancient Latin, like Italian, Spanish and English. The world opened up to the great European nobility and they realized that they had been the puppets of the Pope for a good long time.

The Crusaders grew up. They did not necessarily get more peaceful. Noooo way. They did get clever, though.

Eventually, Jerusalem fell back into the hands of the Turks, and again, Constantinople called upon the Pope for aid. The Eastern Romans had continued to shrink, as the Turkish big brother, the Seljuks, and their even meaner cousins, the Ottomans, began to push deeper into old Asia Minor.

Constantinople had learned a long time ago not to invite the Crusaders in for tea and biscuits. Best to move them on their way as fast as possible into the direction of the Holy Land.

The date was 1204 a.d., and the Europeans had matured, just a little. They had matured enough to know that sacking Jerusalem again was not going to make the Arab issue go away. As long as the Arabs allowed pilgrims to continue to visit the Holy Land, then they would not take issue with them eating at the table of Jesus.

This latest major Crusade, the 4th, gathered and marched half way to Jerusalem and then camped near Constantinople. The Eastern Romans had wanted the Crusaders to punch their way Eastward over land and liberate the tables they had lost to the Turks over the last century.

Instead, the Crusaders muddled about and decided to take ships directly to Egypt and then to Jerusalem. While this was going on, the Crusaders were eating all the food that was coming to the table and were really making a mess.

Constantinople began to get more and more insisting that they move on. The bill was already large and he was living more and more on a fixed income as the Turks nibbled away at his Empire.

Then, one day while France, England, and Germany were chatting with the Sicilians and the Venetians, it dawned on them that none of them were really doing this for the Pope or for religious zealotry, they were doing this for fame and fortune.

Constantinople was a famous place. Constantinople held a fortune in gold and jewels. Venice wanted to control more of the merchant shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and had an interest in seeing Constantinople brought low.

The Italians and the Germans looked at each other and decided that if it was fame and fortune that they were after then they didn't have to walk all the way to Jerusalem, they could just take both here.

As Constantinople was getting ships ready to transport the Crusaders, shadows fell upon his table. On his left he saw some Norwegian, slapping an axe in his palm. Next was a Dane and a German scraping dirt out from under their fingernails with long swords. In front of him were the Italians and the Sicilians looking hungrily down at the gold on the table. To his right were other German and Spanish princes measuring the table's dimensions, as if they were going to put their own table cloths upon it.

"Guys, guys, I'll have shipping available for you shortly...guys, guys, hey!!"

The Crusaders piled upon Constantinople and sacked him as savagely as they had sacked Jerusalem two centuries earlier. The streets ran thick with the blood of its citizens. Houses burned, libraries destroyed...the priceless accumulation of ancient wisdom perished in that sacking. Only the sacking and burning of the Great Library at Alexandria rivaled the loss of ancient knowledge that was lost at Constantinople.

After days of looting, the table of Constantinople was finally set back up. A new fellow, Italian from the looks of him, was sitting there picking idly at some meat caught between his teeth with a dagger. Most of the Crusaders were heading home, their pockets and sacks bulging with artifacts, money, and all the salted bar nuts they could carry.

The Turks had braced for an attack that never came. Instead, they sat at and by their tables, mouths agape at this horrible looting of the most powerful citadel of Christendom. Some were glad that their traditional enemy to the North had been dealt a mortal blow, while others were glad that this army had not marched through their part of the bar. As powerful as the Arabs were, they saw European power continue to rise through the centuries. The truly wise among them knew they were going to need to evolve in the future to keep apace with them. They had been saved only by the greed and power lust inherent within the European political system.

It was not long after this that the great wars of religion spread about Europe. It was not about Eastern Orthodox or Western Orthodox, it became about Catholicism vs. Protestantism.

Entire regions of Europe were practically depopulated during these wars. The Arabs and Turks had a respite for the time being. The Mongols also caused some chaos, but that is another story.

The Crusades forced the Pope and the Church to evolve. Unwittingly, the church had sewn the seeds of change by sending of the surplus knights to fight for Christ.

The Princes of Europe realized that they had been fighting and dying for centuries for a Pope that was simply using them. For a church that enriched itself on their blood and misery. The Catholic Church evolved. The Protestant Reformation forced this. The Church of today no longer has political influence. Likewise, the thinkers of the day realized how political power could be corrupted by religion. They determined that the ideal state would maintain a Separation between Church and State.

Sound familiar?

By the time the Renaissance was in full swing in Europe, say 1500 a.d., a lot of maturing had taken place.

The bar looked quite different. All of the Crusader tables in the Middle East were gone. The Turks were united under the Ottomans. The Byzantine Romans got Constantinople back but then lost it again, forever, in 1453. The Southern and Eastern end of the bar were all Arab Muslim or Turkish Muslim.

The tables that made up Spain had pushed out all of the Arabs by 1492. The bodies were stacked everywhere. The Europeans were dumping the casualties of religious war out the window. The Ottomans were still cleaning up all the glass that had been smashed when they took the Constantinople table. Egypt and Northern Africa were struggling with rebellion and intrigue caused by the blending of politics and religion inherent within the Muslim faith.

France and England had settled their borders, Germany and Italy continued to be fractious and bloody. Europe still seethed with warfare, but there was now growth instead of mindless bloodshed.

By 1500, Europe was no longer looking to the Middle East, but instead looked Westward. The boundless energies that Europe seemed to possess were now being spent exploring the world and bringing new lands into the European sphere. By the early 1600's, European influence was spreading over two new continents.

Were the Crusades bloody? Oh, yes. Did Europe grow? Absolutely. Did the Muslims learn anything? Not really. The divorce of Politics from Religion and the re-connection of the West with the knowledge of the Ancients, propelled the modern world into its current shape.

So, there you have it. Muddy, yes. Funny? Not as much.

Live well, everyone.

--Zavost

Knock it off, Newt!

From the Stoa this morning I feel the need to vent somewhat. Though the air temperature is cool I am feeling quite warm at the base of my Stoa.

You would think that those of the GOP or the DNC would share similar philosophies. I mean, that is why, in our language, when you hear the terms GOP or RNC, you think several things: limited government, lower taxes, minimal regulation of industry, free market economy, and a strong defense; just to name a few. This is so that we can have shorter conversations. Instead of describing someone in those terms, you simply say, "He/she is part of the GOP." "Ahhhh", the other person would say.

You see how that works?

Now, when you hear DNC, or worse, Obama, one thinks: expansive and expanding government, higher taxes, less freedom, class warfare, centralized vs. free economy, distrusted and weak national defense; just to name a few.

So, Newt. Let's talk.

When a Republican says that someone else profited unfairly in the market place, what party will I think of?

When a Republican calls someone a "vulture capitalist", what party does one think of?

When a Republican plays at class warfare and belittles the very essence of a free market economy, what party do I think of?

Just how smart are you? That was rhetorical, please don't try to answer that.

Romney is chocked FULL of problems, but Bains is not one of them. OH, let's see...RomneyCare is a huge elephant in the room. Let's beat up on him for that. I do!

Obama has electability issues. Oh, lets think up a few here: millions unemployed because of his protectionist trade policies, millions unemployed due to his tax policy, his unclear strategy going forward, crony capitalism, race relations, foreign policy, religious questions, where he was really born, his spendthrift wife, and on and on.

So let's do a little comparison here, Newt.

You think that what Obama has done is not worth attacking, the National Debt and such, with its millions of unemployed Americans; and Mitt from 18 years ago, making business acquisitions to strengthen the company that he worked for.

What a conundrum.

What you are doing, Newt, is helping the other side with this discussion. You are like an angry family member that would rather burn the house down than see it go to someone else. Your attacks on Mitt only strengthen Obama. If you weaken other members of the GOP, then you are giving aid to the opposition. Knock it off.

Then again, since words mean things, lets think about the meaning of another an acronym. RINO. You know, Republican In Name Only? These are people who wear the GOP jacket and overcoat, but sound a lot like a Democrat.

Don't play their game. They have done it far longer and are much better at it than you. Plus, they are the genuine article. If you want Socialism, you will pull the lever for a Democrat. If you want Conservatism, then we need a clean handle for the voters to pull. Don't muck it up, Newt.

Live well.

--Zavost