Rules for Radicals.

 So, who is  Saul  Alinsky , anyway?
   First, let me tell you that without him, the 'Hill-Billy' Clintons, the diabolical Obamas , the "Moronic Man-Child" (Trudeau), could not have thrived to become the virtual rulers of the civilized world.   And much much more!                                                      
   The leaders of the developed world are primarily interested in maintaining power and are prepared to do anything to keep it.   Almost everything else they have to say are lies and some liars are much worse than others.

As Orwell explained:

“Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.”

― George Orwell, "1984".

tags: p

    Saul Alinsky was a community organizer in  Chicago (Obama - town)  He had also been a mentor to  Hilary Clinton.   He is considered to be the founder of modern community organizing which was directed at destroying the existing order and replacing it with anarchy.  He was born in  1909 and died in 1972.  His most noted work was titled;  
"Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals." 

   A 1971 book about how to successfully run a movement for change, it was the last book that Alinsky wrote and was published shortly before his death in 1972. His goal was to change he power structure in the United States.]  Rules for Radicals deals with uniting people to effect changes in  societal structure and to eliminate the capitalist structure of society and redistribute the wealth of the country regardless of the contribution of the citizens.   A very inviting concept to those who don't want to work much or not at all, but not so inviting to the hard-working successful folks who  have struggled to achieve what they have.
   Though published for the new generation of counter-culture era organizers in 1971, Alinsky's principles have been successfully been applied by numerous government,labour, community and  congregation based organizations and the main theme of his organizational methods that were elucidated upon in Rules for Radicals have been recurring elements in political campaigns in recent years.  
   Alinsky  was a mentor of Hilary Clinton; the Clintons and Obama, himself a Chicago community organizer, based their  anarchic philosophies on his teachings.  The Democratic  party came  to increasingly adopt his philosophy.  That philosophy is well outlined in his book 'Rules  for Radicals', written not long before he died.  Use of his rules demand the identification of an 'enemy' at whom they can ruthlessly and relentlessly be directed.

  In brief here they are. Elaboration will follow later.

The Rules:
"Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have."
"Never go outside the expertise of your people."
"Whenever possible go outside the expertise of the enemy."
"Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules."
"Ridicule is man's most potent weapon."
"A good tactic is one your people enjoy."
"A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag."
"Keep the pressure on."
"The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself."
"The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition."
"If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside"
"The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative."
"Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."

Come back later, if you want to know what this all means and how Saul Alinski has brainwashed you! Feel free to comment.

The Accelerating Decline and Fall of the West.

The Second Coming. W.B. Yeats.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

This poem by Yeats, written between WW1 and WW2 describes our current situation with uncanny accuracy.

Do you ever wonder what's happening to the world, now?
I do and I'm not optimistic. The Millennials (starting in the early 80s to the early 2000s) are in for some rude realities that they do not understand and that will affect them and their offspring. It is not going to be a pretty picture.  
How did we get here? How did the American Dream become a nightmare?
One man, played a major role in the modern march towards anarchy and the destruction of the relatively stable society we have enjoyed since WW2.
The name of that man? Saul Alinsky. My blog has already investigated and elaborated on his role. You should read them If you have never heard of him and his book "Rules for Radicals". You will get a surprise. Particularly when you learn how successful he was in undermining the relatively stable society I grew up in and replacing it with the worsening state of anarchy that exists today and how Obama and his sycophants including Trudeau adhere to his playbook.
Come back here for more.
If you have any views - spit 'em out!!

It Really Looks as though Stupidity is Incurable.

It really looks as though stupidity can't be cured!
The Anti-vaxxers are at it again. They have an incurable disease - stupidity. As the punchline of the joke my father told me a hundred years ago went, the Village Idiot, (yes, long ago villages used to have idiots before all the idiots went to university and became really dangerous) said:
"People think I know Fuck Nothing, well, I''m telling them, I went to University I know Fuck all!"
The joke is not a joke anymore. People who know nothing about health care, often semi-literate, now think that they know more than professionals who have dedicated a significant part of their lives studying and delivering health care to the population, often at great cost to themselves and for the most part with amazing success. The greatest advance in modern medicine has been the prevention of disastrous, often crippling sometimes fatal disease through immunization, not the glamorous procedures that make such good television.. Many of the life-threatening diseases I used to see no longer exist, thanks to immunization. There are many other infectious diseases that were on the brink of elimination that are gaining momentum such as measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis and others.
And what do the Snowflakes think?  
They, in their ignorance, think immunization causes autism, despite extensive hard science investigation that proves it doesn't 
"We really know more that this quack," they say of gifted scientists who have spent their lives studying these issues, " we feel it, yes we feel it in our hearts."  
They never saw smallpox, a disease that no longer exists. They have never seen or even know about poliomyelitis, that left children in 'the iron lung' because they couldn't breath or, if they recovered paralyzed with withered limbs. They never saw people with rheumatic fever who sustained heart damage that left them crippled for life. I could go on at length.
They know little about medicine yet they inject doubt into the minds of others. Unfortunately, some of these ignoramuses (OK ignorami ) are influential. Not only do they do immeasurable damage to their own children and grandchildren they do it to yours and mine.
Attempts to educate the Ignorami have been in vain and although the province of Ontario has spent significant money on educational programs, less than 1% change their view.
Read Roald Dahl (of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fame) who lost a seven year old daughter to measles. His published letter titled “Measles: A Dangerous Illness,” was re-published by The Encephalitis Society Fact Sheet
to remind the public of the dangers they are subjecting their children to based on false science.
The anti-vaccination movement was initiated by a British Physician called Andrew Wakefield.
In 1998, a British physician and twelve of his colleagues published a small case series in the Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal that suggested MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine may be related to autism. MMR vaccination rates began to drop almost immediately as a result of that. Subsequent studies did not confirm any such relationship and ten of the twelve authors refuted the interpretation of the data on the basis of insufficient evidence. Further, it emerged that Wakefield et al had failed to disclose that they had been funded by lawyers who were engaged by the parents in legal suits against vaccine producing companies. Ultimately, Wakefield et al were found guilty of deliberate fraud and fabrication of facts apparently for personal gain. Wakefield was removed from the General Medical Council of Britain's register and was no longer permitted to practice medicine, emigrated to America where he became an instant hero, to lead and encourage the development of the 'Anti-Vaxxer' movement which would lead a significant group, many of whom should have known better, back into the dark ages.
So how is it that so many allegedly educated elitists buy into this absurd theory that measures which have done more to promote health and eliminate horrible disease are not healthy, are not natural and therefore should be avoided. How is it that these allegedly educated dopes cannot understand that what is natural is for people to die of infection, of pneumonia and indeed even of sepsis from an infected finger? Can they not understand that it is natural for one in five children to die in childbirth along with a goodly number of mothers? Can they not understand that pain and suffering is natural and that it is quite unnatural to remove those natural warnings? Do they not take antibiotics when infected or painkillers when in pain? You bet they do! Can they not understand that freezing to death is natural and that central heating and burning of fossil fuels is unnatural? Can they not understand heat and humidity are natural and that air conditioning is horribly unnatural? Those poor feckless milksops are to first to cry out for those unnatural balms that they so despised, as soon as they perceive it will spare THEM a little pain and suffering.  
Of course some really do understand what it is all about. They want to parade their ignorance as though it were knowledge. Many believe that their unscientific and uneducated views are "equal" to those of scholars and scientists who have spent their lives studying those topics. They are not, but unfortunately they can still do immense damage and inappropriately enjoy considerable credibility, while the herd immunity that the last generation acquired and offers them protection. Fortunately, most sensible folks protect their children, but we are going to see more outbreaks of these once well controlled diseases as immunity wanes.
Meanwhile, the pseudo scientific simpletons will continue to consider themselves as a elite group entitled to mislead their fellow beings.
Dr. Wakefield and his ilk will thrive as long as they can recruit the self righteous and the gullible!
The anti-vaxxers are subjecting their children to unacceptable hazard that borders on abuse. They are also subjecting the community as a whole to hazard as the herd immunity wanes.
It is time for the Government to show some leadership and make immunization mandatory as is done in many other countries.

Poolside Chats: Pt3.

Naples is a nice "little" city. that has traffic like a big city. (This from a guy used to driving the 401!). Many of the roads have four lanes in each direction and the speed limit within the city is 45mph, miles not kilometers. I actually looked up the population and was amazed to find hat the year round population was a mere 25,000 or so, with a seaonal peak of about one third of a million (less than the city I live in!). Most of the drivers seem to ignore the speed limit and just drive at whatever speed they want, usually closer to 60mph than 45mph. Quite apart from that they tailgate, hop lanes and seem totally averse to signalling. Hardly a day went by without witnessing at least one collision. Was this just me getting a little older ? However, I was doing my laps in the pool one day, eavesdropping as I always do, (if I'm close enough to hear) when I overheard two fifty-ish men talking poolside about local traffic conditions.
Man # 1: "Roads here are a real hazard, aren't they? I'm a little nervous on these roads."
Man # 2: "I can't believe the speed they drive at. No signals, changing lanes without warning,cut you off regularly. I think I've seen an accident every day I've been here."
"Hey!" I chipped in as I swam by, "I just thought it was just me getting old."
"Hell no," man one answered, "and we're used to crazy drivers, we're from Chicago!"
I felt much better that it wasn't just 'old fogiism!
 
I got to know them over the next weeks while lazing around the pool, so when I found them in animated conversation while they were sitting sunning themselves I thought I'd better chip in.  
"Hey, what's up?" I smiled."You guys seem a little worked up."
"We're both managers in a steel works, different companies so we're comparing problems we have to deal with. One of our biggest problems is serious accidents in the line workers usually due to intoxication on the job. It's a huge problem and likely to become greater now that marijuana products will be more available. "
We had discussed the legalization of marijuana in Canada and they were well aware it would be coming their way soon.
"Yes, " said Steelman 2. "We've had some really horrible accidents. We had a woman decapitated recently. Guys roll in after their lunch stoned out of their mind but unless it's pretty obvious we can't do much about it. They have a strong Union and they usually succeed in curtailing any disciplinary action except in the most outrageous cases. Soon they'll be rolling in with a prescription for Medical marijuana from their doctor demanding they need to smoke a joint on the job."
"Ah well," said Steelman 1, " I'm retired this year with all my medical benefits. To tell you the truth, I would have retired a couple of years ago if it wasn't for my medical plan. The only problem is my wife is a few years younger than I am and she can't retire yet or she would lose her medical benefits and that's a big thing.. Looks like I am going to be spending the winters down here by myself a lot of the time, while she's freezing in Chicago."
"So you are down here by yourself?"
"Yes, we bought a condo here last year and we don't want to leave it empty. She comes down here for a long weekday, or sometimes four or five days, whenever she can get away but then she has to get back to work. Just last week her flight back was cancelled so she had to get a regular flight back, which set us back $600 instead of the $199 it usually cost on sale, but she had to get back to work! Once she retires we'll probably move down here permanently." 
"That's nice."
"Yes," He pulled a face, "but June, July and August are hell here, so we will have to experience a summer here before we make the final decision to move."
"Tough!" I said, only slightly sarcastically, but then I was going home to the arctic temperatures the next day!
The trip home was uneventful apart from the lengthy trip from Pearson International to the domestic flights which must have been over a mile, for the forty minute flight to London. Counting the layover time, I could easily have driven the distance in half the time!

Poolside Chats.

   I'm too old now to search  out excitement when I go on  vacation.  Instead, I like to hang around the pool, kidding myself that I'm staying fit by doing lengths in the pool and chatting with folks from various parts of the USA and Canada.  We tend to generalize when we think of folks from different regions, as though they were all the same and similar in views and aspirations.  When talking to  individuals, one is reminded that everyone is different despite what the 'Elites' suggest and that under the gentle warmth of the Florida winter sun that people tend to cast aside their natural wariness of others and talk surprisingly frankly of how they feel about things.  I think that particularly applies to more mature (of course I  mean older) folks.
   Before the present scandal affecting the Ivy League Universities in the U.S.broke, I was sitting at the edge of  the  pool chatting with a guy from Boston named Jack.  He was a little younger than me and he was whining about the  miserable winter in Boston and I was 'one-upping' him about the frigid Canadian climate.  He asked me where I was from and I, as usual was starting to  explain I was from London, Ontario, near Toronto,don't you know.
   "Yes, I know where London, Ontario is, in fact I was there once!" He said, shocking me with his knowledge of Canada.  "I went to a hockey game to see the 'London Knights'! " he added.
   We chatted for a while.  He was a nice talkative guy, like me and after a little while I  felt comfortable with springing an naive question.
   "So, what do you think of the way the President is running the country?" I asked innocently..
   He leaned over to me and dropped his voice several decibels.
   "I come from a long line of Boston Democrats," he said.  "My parents were democrats, my grand-parents were democrats and all my siblings except one brother were Democrats, he was Republican and was a bit of an outcast on that account.  Other than him, I don't think any member of this family wasn't a Democrat."
   He smiled sadly, leaned in a little closer and dropped his voice another couple of decibels.  "Stan, I probably wouldn't tell you this if you were an American, but in the last election I voted for Donald Trump!"
   I wasn't quite sure what to say, so I said "Wow!".
   I slipped back into the water and swam a couple of laps.  I put on my sunglasses and hat and lay back  on the lawn chair, next to Jack and picked up my novel.
   "By the way," said Jack, "You've got quite a clown leading  your country too!
   
   We ran into each other by the pool on several  more occasions.   In the course of our conversation it became apparent that Jack knew more about Canada than  I would  have expected.  I asked him how he came to be so much  more knowledgeable than most of his fellow Americans.  (I framed the question carefully of course).
   "My great grandmother emigrated from Ireland to escape the famine in  1848 and lived in Nova Scotia for a few years before coming to America, so  I've always been sort of interested in  Canada and have visited various parts of the country over the years."

   My last note on Jack relates to the recent University scandal.   While chatting about our respective families, Jack  mentioned he had a son who went to Harvard.  He was not bragging.
   "We were going through some difficulties at home and he wanted desperately to go to University away from home.  He applied to seventeen Universities, of which Harvard was the one he least wanted to go to .
He was rejected by all of them EXCEPT Harvard."
   Go figger!  But I did wonder how that might fit into the context of the 'Great Universities Scandal' ?  
 

Oh for a cupful of the warm South!

"Oh for a cupful of the warm South!"

After the short flight from London, Ontario to Toronto Ontario we finally got on to WestJet Flight WSWS1172 to Fort Myers, Fla., (A Boeing 737-800 of the recent variety, by the way!). It was no easy task. Travel certainly doesn't get easier as one gets older! Just as one requires a little more comfort, travel has become increasingly uncomfortable. Until recently I drove anywhere it was possible to drive. It was great, You left when it suited you, you drove until you were tired. You had a nice meal. If you had to line up, you were sitting in the comfort of your car. You were in control. Now, at 83 I am hesitant to take transcontinental safaris as a single driver.
A couple of years ago I decided it made more sense to fly. Once upon a time, I did travel frequently by air. Even traveling economy was an event for which most folks groomed themselves meticulously. Flying, in those days, was an activity for which one dressed up not down. Before the great reversal, the rich traveled by air. The poor traveled by sea and emigrated in relative poverty, in steerage, the class below third class. Now it is the rich who dress in rags. They actually do dress up in rags, for which they willingly pay a premium to have fashionably designed 'wear and tear' inflicted on their exorbitantly priced 'rags'. If you don't believe me, check out your local airport - or shopping mall.
Fortunately, I had requested wheelchair assistance for my wife because when we landed from London Ontario at Toronto airport the distance to the international terminal was unbelievable. I am sure it was at least a mile although I have yet to confirm that. Fortunately, a golf cart type trolley was eventually available, otherwise we wouldn't have made the connection. Getting old isn't fun.
Finally, after two or three of the usual flight delay notices, we boarded Flight WS1172 about ninety minutes late. I had the Isle seat and Irene had the middle seat of a three seat row. One always hopes that the third seat will remain unoccupied. My heart sank as I saw a middle aged attractive woman with a delightful little terrier type dog in her arms marching straight towards us.. Now, I like dogs and they like me. (My last really close doggy friend was a Rottweiler, ask her!) Nevertheless, I wasn't looking forward to a three and a half hour yappy, snappy trip.
The woman edged her way along the Isle of the aircraft towards row 15. That available window seat was to be occupied by woman and dog. The dog was to be domiciled in a neat little portable cradle that its Mom could wear on her back like a backpack. Like me, Irene likes dogs, so I didn't anticipate any nightmare, and the cute little doggy was placed in its container that neatly slid under the seat in front of it. We took off only an hour and a half late.
Soon after we took off, we started chatting with the Dog's owner. Although for various reasons I usually avoid confessing that I was once a physician, somehow it slipped out that I was once in the Health Care business.
"I used to be a nurse," said the Woman.
"I used to be a Physician," I confessed.
"I am a Physician," she confessed. "After several years as a nurse I decided that I wanted to go into medicine and I graduated as a physician after being a nurse for ten years."
"So, this is your winter holiday?" I asked.
"Not exactly," said she. "My husband is in the real estate business in Florida, so we have a home there. I have a very busy practice in X" - she named a mid sized town in Ontario, not very far from Toronto.
She broke off for a moment and took a treat from her purse, fed it into the container where her little dog seemed perfectly content, gave the dog a little stroke, then returned her attention to us.
"How do you manage your practice when you are away for a week every month or so? Aren't your patients dissatisfied when they need advice or attention when you are away?" I asked.
"Oh no," she answered. "They all have my email address and if they have any problems or questions they email me and I answer their problems or refer them to emergency, if necessary. They are very satisfied with the arrangement: it seems to meet my needs and theirs."
The clatter of the refreshment cart interrupted us as they offered us peanuts or cookies to sustain us through our three and a half hour flight.
"I'd like a Chardonnay and some pretzels," said
our new friend to the attendant. "Can I offer you one?" She asked us.
Naturally I acquiesced.
The rest of the trip flew by, both literally and metaphorically.
We chatted about how she managed her very large practice while she was at home and away. We discussed modern medicine and the amazing changes both better and worse.
All the time the cute little dog was quiet and magnificently behaved. Every now and then her owner gave her a little treat and a pat on the head. So much better than having a whining kid in the next seat!
We arrived at Fort Myers, Florida near midnight, about two hours late. I went straight to the Thrifty Car rental, to pick up the mid sized car I had pre-booked and pre paid.
"Sorry, Sir, We have only mini-vans left."
I looked at the Behemoth they wanted to give me. " I can't drive this thing. I booked and paid for a compact."
"Sorry sir, we rented five hundred and seventy-eight cars today, that's all we have left. There isnt a smaller one left on the lot."
I took the keys, went over to the van and started loading up.
"You can't drive that thing!" said Irene.
"That's all they have." said I.
Irene exploded. "I'm going to talk to them!"
Well, they may have thought they hadn't a smaller car left on their lot, but by the time my wife was through with them they found a little car parked off lot, that 'they didn't think was there!' (Obviously parked just off-site in case they had a difficult customer!) So I ended up with a nice little Nissan Sentra.
It was 2 am when we pulled off the I 75 at Naples heading for our final destination.

School Days.

   For some strange reason I have recently been reflecting on my schooldays and some of the excellent and not so excellent teachers who played a role in educating me.  Interestingly, this all started before the outrageous scandal of the Ivy  League Colleges and their money-grubbing evil behaviour that undermines.........