Below is the text of an email I received last night from a Liberty acquaintance. Written by another, this nearly expresses my view precisely.

Imagine yourself in a frontier setting with few possessions, little wealth, and great obstacles before you. Take stock of what is most important. Recharge your spirit in the joy and miracles of those things; God’s Grace; Children; Wives and Husbands; Moms and Dads and extended families; Genuine Friends; A Clear Mind; Wonderful Music; and your next breath that will allow you to persevere for another moment.

Think of those who today live in various degrees of bondage, places on this earth where humanity has perhaps never known the kinds of freedom and liberty that we take for granted. Consider that for them to have hope of freedom, for them to have a hope of individual liberty and an opportunity to walk in truth, we must lead the way.

Recharge your spirit and prepare to recognize and join the forever struggle of this world, the struggle to make things as right as we can, give compassion to the hurting, fight the evil ones, and prosper perhaps not in wealth, but in truth.

Merry Christmas!

—–

Friends !

Alas, peace has arrived at [our] abode.  The tree has been cut, the house has been decorated. Presents have been bought and wrapped, the house smells of fresh baked cookies and sweet citrus fruits of the season.  The house is amiss with the laughter and excitement of kids who although older still cherish the comfort and safety of family, and the anticipation of Christmas morn. Greetings and cheers are spread far and generously as we remember friends, family and business associates who meant so much through the year.  Even [our town] is alive with excitement as Santa Claus goes by in his fire truck drawn sleigh and carolers are singing outside the door, just neighborhood folk spreading good cheer.

Tonight we go to Mass, and we celebrate the birth of Christ and the salvation of mankind.  We thank God for all that we have and all that we are.

Alas tomorrow is Christmas. I want to wish all of you a very Blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Rest up, take time to appreciate family and friends for when it’s all said and done that all that is really important and all we can count on.

Although there is peace in the air, an ill wind blows about us.  All is not well in our country.  Once the season is over, and we are fully rejuvenated we prepare for battle. We will take back what has been stolen from us, we will win this country back, street by street, town by town, county by county and state by state. And we will not stop until we have retained what is rightfully ours.

All, enjoy the holidays and watch for my calling, and that of others who are taking up the fight in the days to come.  The take back is about to begin.

<Signed>

Many college kids are home this weekend, beginning a full week out of classes in order to celebrate the most American of all holidays. My two arrived home last night.

At mid-day, one son was on his way back from the airport after picking up a former neighborhood buddy from ten years ago when we lived in another state. The buddy is coming to our area to join cousins for Thanksgiving and a reunion of sorts among childhood friends, my two sons.

These three boys were “best friends” during their wonder years. They built forts in the woods, formed and were the leaders of neighborhood clubs, and conducted “training” and “drills” in defense of their community against unknown and unseen enemies. This is how they played. This is what boys do.

At mid-day, the other son was with me at home when I determined the most important use of my precious time for the remainder of the day was to answer the call to stand up for freedom. The note had passed through facebook, “Capitol, east side, 1 p.m.”

The boys are big now. All “off to college” and off to some of the freedoms of living away from parents, and moving to what they initially think is liberation from the old-fashioned values of their parents. However, they have been paying attention. Now they have seen a tiny bit of the real world and perhaps some of the heartache and self-destruction of others that result from abandoning the tried and true. Now we learn that perhaps we have been successful in building them into men of true character, who will also answer the call to do the right thing in defending the ideas of the nation that they call “home.”

I call the son on his way back from the airport. They have stopped for lunch. I ask if they would be interested in going to the Capitol to protest the impending Senate action to enact the government take-over of healthcare. They say yes.

» More: One Day in The Battle for Liberty

Going Rogue was waiting on the doorstep when I arrived home this evening. I don’t think I will have time to actually read it anytime soon, however. But, that’s O.K., because I pretty much already know what it contains. I mean this in a complimentary way – unlike her zealot detractors who hate her for her sincere, and committed decency. My delay in reading will be due to competition for my time among things I must be doing to assist in the reclaiming of America from an approaching oblivion of intentional national destruction.

Sarah inspires because she not only touches the essence of America, but she is part of that essence. Those traditional, folksy, timeless features that include hard work, fair play, helping out your neighbor, and a firm recognition of a source of morality that exists outside of man. Within the history, and real culture of America, she is everybody’s nicest girl. Another reason she is despised, by some, is because she is nice.

Quickly leafing through the book, something quite interesting caught my attention, something that displays that she is one of us, in a genuine and unashamed way. Going Rogue has several pages of photographs, as one might expect in this type of book. However, these photos are different from what one would find in the book of a “politician.” Most of these photos are family snap-shots, just like the ones you and I have, stacked up in boxes in the back of a closet, appreciating in value, over time, to a value that cannot be assessed. These are the images of family, home, adventure, children, school friends, and genuine, normal people making lives for themselves, in every way that they can. They are photographs of normal days, graduations, camp-outs and holidays. Some are out of focus, the color off a little bit, and someone’s back is to the camera, but these “flaws” only add to the genuine character of normal.

My favorite picture: Little Sarah, wearing a cloth diaper as a scarf! Why my favorite? This photograph captures the ability of the American spirit to endure, to challenge the assumptions, to make something out of nothing, to be proud of small victories, and to be shameless about our convictions toward decency while at the same time being loving toward those who we might, for a moment errantly, think are below us.

Sarah is human, and she undoubtedly has flaws, as we all do. Though I think we would even trade some of the “perfections” of other women of household recognition, for some of the “flaws” of Sarah.

Thank you Sarah, for rising to the challenge of this day.

Part 2 in a series on commerce, the engine that literally feeds us, and a topic area where many Americans are stuck on stupid. (Part 1)

A Cheap and Cheesy Pic for a Thrifty Blog

Robert and Anne, proprietors of the R&A Potato Ranch, a growing private enterprise, took a wagonload of potatoes to the market. Wanting to diversify their diet beyond the exquisite Pomme de Terre (“Apple of the Earth” – French for “Potato”), they traded 20 pounds of potatoes for one pound of goat cheese, a product of the J&H Goat Ranch. As we learned in Part 1, through that transaction both parties benefited by acquiring a product that was of higher value to the purchaser than was the product that they transferred in payment to the seller. As a result of the transaction where the value of each item was increased, overall wealth within this society was increased.

Back at the ranch, Robert and Anne have been working on a home remodeling project. They are building an addition to their home, a second room! They have collected many of the required materials from the bountiful land of their ranch, however they have determined that it may be more efficient for them to trade for some of the building materials, particularly the nails.

At the market, Robert and Anne inquire with several blacksmiths (the industry that transforms raw metal into useful things). They find that there are several blacksmiths to choose from, and most of them offer adequate quantities and qualities of nails for the home expansion project. However, Robert and Anne discover that other producers of potatoes have already traded potatoes for metal goods from each of the blacksmith shops.

» More: Potatoes for Cheese, Cheese for Nails - Part 2 in a series

Part 1 in a series on commerce, the engine that literally feeds us, and a topic area where many Americans are stuck on stupid. (Jump to: Part 2)

Preface: The talking heads on the financial shows may have fancy degrees, extensive and successful experience in the financial markets – but how often do they consider, or talk about The Basics? Never. Politicians talk about “stimulating” the economy and “creating jobs,” but can government actually directly deliver on either of those promises? No. The purpose of this series is to use a building-block approach to describe and explore The Basics of commerce and economics. Through our experience and intuition we can rediscover the consistent natural laws of commerce and economics that have been demonstrated to be governing features within any society.

———–

Please meet Robert and Anne. Robert and Anne both come from lines of potato farming families. They are beginning the new generation of making a living for themselves with a dream of self-sufficiency, providing for themselves through the “fruits of their labor.” They own and work the “R&A Potato Ranch.”

Mmm Mmm Good!

On the other side of town, please meet James and Helen. James and Helen both came from lines of goat farming families and are similarly in the early years of building a life for themselves. They own and work the “J&H Goat Ranch.”

"Baaaaah!" From Cranberry Ridge Farm

Helen, James, Anne and Robert apply physical labor, knowledge, creativity, thrift, frugality, and even love to their work as they produce goods that are useful to their own physical health. To simplify, let us call all of these inputs, “labor,” but we must not forget that this includes important, intangible elements (e.g. knowledge) beyond physical labor.

The R&A Ranch achieves some measure of success in producing potatoes and the J&H Ranch achieves some measure of success in producing goat cheese. Yum, yum! We are already workin’ up an appetite after a long day of work on the ranch!

Of course no one wants to live on a diet of just potatoes, and any good mama would tell you that “no man can live on goat cheese alone” (or something like that). Eureke! We have an opportunity for commerce!

» More: Potatoes, Cheese and A “Win-Win” Transaction - Part 1 of a series

Thinking about Gramps today. He fought his way into the Army - He was too old and had too much family for them to take him initially, but he knew that he must go.  He went to North Africa, and then on to Italy and up “The Boot.” He lead men who fixed things, a company of mechanics.

I miss him. This country misses common men of uncommon character. He left this world several years ago. I was in Korea, working at being ready to defend the weak from the oppressor, and ready to march to the sound of guns.

The human spirit longs for liberty, and in this world, that liberty is occasionally secured by men and women who are ready and willing to run into a fight, to defend what is good and right and true. To be truly human is to be ready to give greatly of yourself in the defense and liberation of another.

A World Upside-Down

This week we have been told, “rape is not rape,” at least not when the perpetrator is a member of the glitterati and the victim is thirteen years old. This week we witness the Empire State Building bathed in RED light to commemorate, or celebrate the communist takeover in China - notwithstanding the 70 or so millions murdered by Mao in the process.

Some might say that we are witnessing moments of insanity, but I would disagree.  We are not witnessing insanity. We are witnessing the products of a witch’s brew that contains an absence of the intuitive values of humanity.  When these values are removed from the collective conscience of those in positions to display what they believe to be the way of the times (also known as “progress”) we witness examples of thought that seem unconscionable to us mere common men. Absence of morality invites immorality.

» More: A World Upside-Down

This is going to seem like a ramble, but it is not.  My limber mind has been expertly crafting this post for the better part of twelve hours during varying levels of awareness.  Our minds do some of their best thinking when well fed and then left to quietly and creatively churn while away from the hammering of our will.

Imagine a solitary lifeboat on an expansive sea.  We are all in this boat together, as they say.  The big fat guy up front says he is going to give everybody something to do.  His latest initiative seems a little bit crazy.  He told one group of people to poke little holes in the bottom of the lifeboat so that another group could come along and repair the holes.

Stated as this metaphor, this initiative is completely insane but in a large economic sense it is descriptive of “Cash for Clunkers.”  One of the real forms of wealth that a nation possesses is in what is called “capital equipment.”  In a grand economic sense, and particularly since we are now hurtling toward a collectivist existence, even privately owned equipment, in a sense, is a portion of the wealth of our nation.

» More: Lifeboats With Holes, Cash For Clunkers, Power Plants and Windmills - Huh?