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Tag Archives: Observation

The Real Saviors


During the war of 1812 the British gained the service of American slaves through runaways who were sheltered and freed. These Black Americans used this opportunity to gain their freedom and aided the cause of the British by spying, scouting and other aid that benefitted the British war effort. These were not un American activities but more activities to gain their freedom and to be treated as people. The British actively recruited runaway slaves as guides for their troops and enlisting some 400 into a special squadron called the Colonial marines. These troops helped the British strike into Virginia’s interior and eventually, to bring the war to the nation’s capital. Once the runaways showed their  value to the war effort, the slave got commitments to free their families who were then put aboard British ships for safety. This of course was not met well by the Virginians as their economy was based on slave labor and were always deathly afraid of a “slave revolt”. The slaves were considered the internal enemy of the Virginia slave owners so this mass flight was devastating. The slave owners were so blinded by their own fears that they never realized that the slaves only wanted be treated as people on equal footing with  other Americans. There was no evil intent beyond freedom and equality. Apparently this struggle is still going on. This post is excerpted from a book by Alan Taylor, the book is: The Internal Enemy, published by Norton.

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Ok


 This is a old spiritual sung a freedom song yet no many has heard it or remembered it. It is as pertinent today as it was years ago. It tells about the struggle to survive and suffer what ever consequences that might arise. It is imperative that we all heed the message and understand that no struggles are ever over until the end result is achieved. Do not believe our elected representatives have our best interests at heart. Unfortunately WE have allowed them too much leeway and they have picked our pockets.

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  Climbing up the mountain children (Oh Lord I) Didn’t come here for to stay (Oh brother) If I never more see you again Goin’ to meet you at the judgement day Repeat Verse 1
Moses went down into Egypt land He told ole Pharoah That the good Lord sittin’ on His heavenly throne Said, let my people go
Daniel in the den of lions He did begin to pray That the Angel of the Lord locked the lion’s jaw That sho’ was a mighty day (good Lord) Sho’ was a mighty day
Chorus: (I’m gonna ride) Ride the chariot in the mornin’ Lord (I’m gonna ride) Ride the chariot in the mornin’ Lord (I’m gettin’ ready) I’m gettin’ ready for the judgment day My Lord, my Lord
Repeat Chorus
Are you ready, my brother? (oh yes) Are you ready for the journey? (oh yes) Do you want to see your Jesus? (oh yes) I’m waiting for the chariot ’cause I’m ready to go
Are you ready, my sister? (oh yes) Are you ready for the journey? (oh yes) Do you want to see your Jesus? (oh yes) I’m waiting for the chariot ’cause I’m ready to go
Repeat Chorus
Ride the chariot in the mornin’ Lord Ride the chariot in the mornin’ Lord (I’m gettin’ ready) I’m gettin’ ready for the judgment day (I’m ready for) For the judgment day (I’ll be ready for the day)

Sing-Everyone!


Everyone sings at some point. This occurs at various and assorted times and places. What is impressive is the people who wear personal audio gear will sing along and have no concern that they are not good at it. It appears that many of us sing along but we attempt to sing like the professional singer. In that attempt we sound more like we are in pain than singing. When we were in school we  sang the national anthem in class to start the day, in a music class or  for the school assemblies. During those group sings everyone had their part to sing in the range of their voices. These orchestrated songfests sounded a lot better than current individual songbirds as the group dynamic allowed each person to stay with in their comfortable vocal range. This is not to say people should not sing but more to say that perhaps singing in their vocal range would sound better than the failed attempt to imitate the artist’s vocal range and quality. It is a fact that everyone can sing but not everyone has talent to pull it off.

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Illinois Legislature Flakes Again


In the true fashion of the Illinois legislature (Dupublicans and Scamocrats) a concealed carry bill has been approved. This approval has come after months of doing nothing then rushing in knee jerk fashion to what has been approved. To add more fuel to the fire there are several compromise and alternative bills still out there. This only means that we could have is another piece of legislature that will cost the taxpayers more money and have little to no effect where it is supposed to. It would have been wiser to examine some of the existing concealed carry laws to get a sense of what this bill should contain and cover. As usual the idea of getting re-elected has taken precedence over doing the job (correctly) as they were elected to do. Thank you Illinois Legislators for consistently failing to do your jobs again!!

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Galileo Galilei


All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.

Galileo Galilei

This quote is at once short but encompasses all we need to know about the election campaigns we have witnessed, the current news that we receive through “sources”. My take is : take nothing for truth until you can prove it to yourself, keep a jaded eye and ear on what you see and hear.

 

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Here We Go Still.


All of the recent writings I have offered and the many high profile (for better or worse) pro and anti firearm people serve to show that this issue is more like a dog with a bone. We just keep gnawing and gnawing but never making any substantial headway. The solution is a lot simpler that it appears because the talkers are each jockeying for position as being right. There is no right for the many people who have been killed or injured in the several recent and past firearm incidents around the country. The bottom line as I see it is the lack of  attention paid to the people young and old who have known and perceived mental instability. This lack is due in part to laws enacted ( or not) by States and Federal government that could have allowed these people to be properly treated or hospitalized if needed. It does not matter that our health care system is still not as good as it could be due to the many resistive  elements from State to State and in the (gasp) Congress. If these energies were directed toward  solutions, think of where we would be.

Rewards Cards or Carrot and Stick?


Where are the rewards in using rewards cards with the points  worth .10 per dollar spent? , to buy  or redeem for anything significant requires a lot of money to be spent. Often to redeem the points you have to spend the points within a specific amount of time. To receive bonus points purchaser  must spend a specified amount of money and sometimes have to use the points at once with certain limitations. These cards are designed to maintain customer traffic while offering  the incentive of points for certain purchases along with “bundled” purchases. These bundled purchases are usually items that complement one another. These rewards come with limitations that unless the customer reads the fine print can be off-putting. So if a person has 8000 points , they have only 8.00 to spend, this means that any thing that is big-ticket would require a huge amount of points for redemption. Some of you may remember trading stamps, same premise but no books to maintain. There are chances for  additional points available through special promotions for partner companies but no guarantees on winning the extra points even with a purchase. Many national companies have their own rewards cards which gives them the control over  the use of the cards , often the rewards are limited to their company stores and in some cases specific items or areas of the store. This is much like coupon clipping  which requires some time to research and  pursue. I wonder if the rewards are worth the effort but looking at this from the point of view of the issuing company, the fewer redemptions they get the better as they have gained in the purchases made. One could say ” the companies” have made a big investment in advertising and rollout of the program but there are tax advantages whether they make a profit or not. Carrot and stick?

Dullas


The recent return of Dallas tyo the small screen has recieved a lot of hype and coverage. This may have been the show to watch in its previous run but at this stage I can do without it. I never cared who shot J.R., I never cared about the machinations of the South Fork residents but I do care about “The Finder, Harry’s Law “and several other shows that no longer will appear on prime time TV. It is possible that a following takes a bit longer for some shows than other shows. That being said why couldn’t some of these shows be aired twice or even once a month to keep them on the air? It was done during the showing several Westerns which alternated their airings (remember “Maverick, Cheyenne and Sugar foot”?). For me Dullas is’nt doing it.